Wow, it seems like I'm really busy lately. Last night, we headed over to the Beachland Ballroom to see Blue Lunch. Blue Lunch brought in two women referred to as the Blues Divas. One was Candye Kane, and, yes, it was that Candye Kane, she of large breast fame. The other was Michelle Wilson.

I kinda dug Michelle a bit more, because I thought she displayed a wider range. Candye was more of a raunchy, belt it out type of singer. They were both good, but I liked Wilson's act a bit better. The band was pretty hot and it made for an enjoyable time. Plus, we got to park in the lot, even after arriving after showtime.

Meal of Links

Since I gave Gale the only Christmas present ever cancelled (the badgering of Casey Blake), I've been searching for things to do. Today we headed over to ICASI in Chesterland, for a five-course lunch made by a culinary student. They asked if we would like to be seated with other people and we said, "Sure." Turns out they had lived in Hawaii. Him by Diamond Head, her in Kailua, which is where I stayed. What are the odds on that happening?

I had:

Corn Fritters with Creole Aioli
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Mango and Cucumber Salad with Mesclun Greens and Lime Vinaigrette
Grilled Mahi Mahi with Pineapple Salsa, Peas, and Basmati Rice
Key Lime Pie with Rum Whipped Cream

Gale chose:

Stuffed Red Peppers with Seafood Brandade and Assorted Olives
Shrimp and Clam Chowder
Spinach and Citrus Fruit Salad with Toasted Peanuts and Honey-Orange Vinaigrette
Seared Duck Breast with Cocounut Curry, Sauteed Swiss Chard and Spiced Roasted Taters
Cocunut Flan with Kiwi Fruit and Mint

Of course, we shared and I think we decided that, clearly, I had the better of the deal. Especially that gumbo.

Now, it's $15 apiece and you don't get huge portions by any means. The Mahi Mahi could have been called Mahi, and the pie was a bit slim. But I must say, I asked for the Gumbo recipe, because I would crawl a mile for the gumbo I had today, it was that good. They had an 11:30 and 1:30 seating. We took the later time and it was not filled to capacity. Overall, a experience that worked out pretty well.

A Detroit kid downloads Song No. One Billion from iTunes. He gets 10 iPods. Ten of 'em. One for each mood, I guess.

Here comes Lenovo. Get used to it.

Exercise Yard

Today was the last CSU hoops game against Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Vikings lost, 76-72 or something like that. Not a very good defensive effort today. They were outrebounded and allowed 46% three-point shooting. CSU concluded the regular season with 10 wins and 17 losses. It's getting old. Lots of winnable games went by the wayside and, quite frankly, they escaped with some wins they had no business getting. It will be interesting to see where the off-season takes us. We'll see if they keep Coach G. Regardless, it's another tough sell next year.

Today was CYO Day and that padded the crowd to over 4200 tonight. The concession lines led me to really dislike children. It was also Alumni Day and City Council declared it "CSU Basketball Day" or some such nonsense.

Visitor

43 Across: Model Carangi (3 letters) Answer: Gia