Best. Night. Ever.

Last night’s Bruce Springsteen show could not have gone any more perfectly. To begin with, we were the 20th people in the pit. Which meant we were in the first, first, first row. Like, elbows resting on the stage. Bruce jumping down, kneeling on the stage and letting us play his guitar. Twice. My glasses dirty from Bruce’s sweat (okay, that part was kind of gross, but whatever). And as if that wasn't enough, Bruce proceeded to take our sign, which read “Obama called, he wants Rosie,” say “By executive request,” and play Rosalita for the final song. And now, apparently, PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS A SIGNED COPY OF OUR SIGN! Can 7 twentysomethings get lucky enough to see the Boss AND give a shout out to Obama? Yes we can.

From the Washington Post:
Team Obama was well represented last night when the Boss held up a sign from someone in the audience at the Verizon Center that said: "Obama called, he wants Rosie." That sign now belongs to President Obama. Backstage after the concert, Bruce Springsteen personally autographed the Rosie poster and gave it to White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel to deliver to Obama at the White House, an eyewitness tells the Sleuth.

From Politico:
TOM HOARE, with the play-by-play: 'Bruce just held up a sign from the audience with the Obama sun rising that said 'Obama called, he wants Rosie.' And played 'Rosalita' as the last song. Absolutely brought the house down.'

From Backstreets:
This was, of course, the E Street Band’s first performance in Washington since the election. And while politics is not a key element of the new album or the current tour, compared to some of Bruce’s recent outings, there were plenty of nods to the location and occasion, from the a triumphant “No Surrender” that was audibled early in the set, to Roy’s brief “Hail to the Chief” intro to “Rosalita.” That showstopping number was prompted by a request sign reading: “Obama called, he wants Rosie.” While the Commander in Chief himself did not appear to be in house, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel was sitting (mostly standing, in fact) in the section right next to the stage, and seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.


Elan, me, Steph, Evvie, Sasha, Blake (Mike not pictured even though he took all of the pictures you see above!)

The heart-stopping, pants-dropping, house-rocking, earth-shaking, booty-quaking, Viagra-taking, love-making - Le-gen-dary E - Street - Band!

Riding on the Para-Success of a Heavy-Handed Metaphor

You may have been forwarded an email that attributes these analogies to high school essays. I think they are actually from a Washington Post humor contest, but, still, there are some great ones in here:

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife’s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty Bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan’s teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from noteating for a while.

22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe fromstepping on a land mine or something.

23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

Freeze That Thought

Posted on Mark Bittman’s NYT blog The Minimalist this week is a great guide to freezing food. There are some obvious points (freezing reduces waste, saves time and money, blah, blah, blah), but the part that breaks down how best to freeze particular foods is very helpful. I particularly like his suggestion of laying out fruits and vegetables on trays and freezing them BEFORE going back and putting them in bags so that they don’t freeze into one shape. And the idea of making batter or dough, freezing that and then baking what you need (as opposed to freezing leftover cookies or bread products) is great too. Why didn’t I ever think of that?!

Cycle2City

This is my dream. A full service, urban bike commuter station that has secure bike parking, air-conditioned locker rooms, showers, and laundry service for those of us who bike into the office but need a place to magically transform into our office selves. They even have flexible purchase plans (5 days a week, 3 days a week or daily)! Too bad you have to go to Australia to get it. Maybe one day...