Scarf + Shrug + Shawl = Schlug
Regretsy: Where DIY meets WT Partnering with People of Walmart and Lamebook, April Winchell offers a new array of absurdities to gawk and guffaw at with regretsy.com and Regretsy the book.
Scarf + Shrug + Shawl = Schlug
Regretsy: Where DIY meets WT Partnering with People of Walmart and Lamebook, April Winchell offers a new array of absurdities to gawk and guffaw at with regretsy.com and Regretsy the book. Most of the items on Regretsy come from the handmade wares site, Etsy, where crafters sell everything from latex body suits to aluminum can tab bracelets. The website and companion book are great for a laugh at others' expenses, but to compensate for helping to smut-up your soul, all revenue from the website goes to various charities and in many cases the attention on Regretsy helps sell the weird items featured. - Hope Rurik
HOP HEAD
It's about to be October, and in my mind, time to crack open the perfect harbinger of fall, an Octoberfest beer. I've been reading beer tasting notes on some of the beerhead websites, and there's a happy concurrence that Ayinger Oktoberfest is THE German beer to start off the season. Here's the tasting notes from the Beverage Testing Institute: "Amber color. Intense focused aromas of spicy banana bread, dried fruits, oily nuts and toffee. A lush, smooth entry leads to a rich, dry-yet-fruity medium-full body of chocolate covered cherries and nuts, caramel, lemon curd and mild clay-like hop flavors with a long, velvety finish. Impressive and eminently drinkable." Yup, just as effusive as the wine guys. Ayinger Oktoberfest, $3.10 for a 500-ml bottle, at Philippe's Wine Cellar, Ambassador Caffery, 769-8619, downtown,
234-5890. - Mary Tutwiler
JUKE JOINT HERO
Singer, songwriter and magic man Mark Meaux ain't been sitting on his duff since his former band The Bluerunners spilt up. He's been holed up in the woodshed, gigging and recording his latest project - the enigmatically named Sam Rey. Who is Sam Rey? What is Sam Rey? Where is Sam Rey? Mark Meaux is Sam Rey, a one-man band rooted in dirt boogie, juke politics, arcane electronics and Southern mystery. Meaux's latest CD, Sam Rey, recorded by Ivan Klisanin, adds to the cultured mystique of Southern roots music, taking one step backward and forward in the time machine of the present. Think vintage guitar riffage, poured like chocolate liqueur over the six great tunes that comprise this EP. Minimalist beats and tidal swells of ambient electronics oscillate in the banjo backwoods where the ghost of John Lee Hooker mingles with the ghost of Jean-Paul Sartre in the dark boogie of corridors of power. Alternately haunted, resigned, celebratory, this Sam Rey is way listenable. Even danceable. And now obtainable. Folks can get it at www.samrey.net along with a bonus track. The entire record will also be available as a free download. Nice! - Dege Legg