UPDATE: Knockaround sunglasses

Back in March I bit the bullet and ordered a couple of pairs of sunglasses from Knockaround. I wrote a review about the glasses which can be found here. In that review, I indicated how one of the pairs had developed a crack in the frame and within less than two weeks had completely broken. Due to their stated return policy (or lack thereof), I didn't bother contacting Knockaround about it and just chalked it up to that being a side effect of buying inexpensive sunglasses.

Well, last week, I received an anonymous comment on that post from a person who said that they had the exact same problem, but that after contacting Knockaround about it, they sent him or her a new pair. Intrigued by this, I sent an email to Knockaround's customer service and they agreed to send me a new pair. Upon getting home from vacation this past weekend, sure enough, I found a new pair waiting for me in my mailbox.

I wanted to write this follow-up as I felt like this was great customer service, and companies that provide such service, particularly on inexpensive and relatively disposable items, deserve recognition for it. If you were on the fence about getting a pair or two based on my previous review, I would encourage you to give it a shot.

I should also note that the other pair of Knockaround sunglasses that I got are still in good condition.

Review of Knockaround Sunglasses

UPDATE: After reading this, seem my updated review here.

If you're like me, you've seen the ads on Total Frat Move, and other websites, for Knockaround sunglasses. Given their low price ($7.00 per pair for Originals, $14.00 per pair for Premiums) and large variety of styles, they've looked pretty appealing. However, the gigantic "Knockaround" logo on the side has really been a big turnoff. For a while now I've wondered just how good or bad they really are. A quick search of the internet did not reveal any real reviews, though.

After they started offering several pairs with mirrored lenses, though, I decided to bite the bullet and order a couple of pairs (I'm a sucker for mirrored lenses). I figured I would try to scrape the logos off, and if I was successful, I'd have two decent pairs of cheap sunglasses. If I couldn't, I'd only be out $30.

Due to the fact that they could almost be mistaken for Oakley Frogskins, I got a pair of the Black/Sunset and Frosted Grey/Red Sunset. It was nice to see that Knockaround gives you several options for shipping, with both USPS and UPS. Mine arrived after a few days and I opened them up. I was a bit surprised at how light they were, but they seemed pretty well made (having purchased a couple of $10 knock-off Wayfarers on Ebay, the quality was actually very good in comparison). While they didn't seem like they'd fall apart, I did have some reservations about how much abuse the frames could take due to the type of plastic they were made from.

This is how the grey pair looked with its logo (I should note that I had already started scraping before I took the picture):

Using an old trick that I'd heard about on the Ask Andy forums, I used a penny to easily scrape off the logo on the grey pair. I basically got all of it off. Here is what they looked like when I got done:

Here is how the black pair initially looked:

I started trying to scrape them with the penny first, but I hit a bit of a snag. The logo seems to be applied in a different way and it wouldn't really scrape off. I accidentally scraped a little too hard at one point and left a little bit of a gouge. I wasn't really sure what to do, so I did a little Googleing and found some model train forums that talked about ways to remove paint from plastic. One poster actually mentioned using Pine-Sol. While this seemed weird, already being in possession of some, I wiped some on and let it sit for a few minutes. I started scraping with my fingernail, and slowly but surely, I was able to start to remove the logo. Every now and then I applied some more Pine-Sol and would scrape again with my fingernail. After a while, this is how they turned out:

Not perfect, but certainly an improvement from the logo. From more than a couple of feet away, it's pretty difficult to spot.

So, now being in possession of two sweet pairs of sunglasses I started wearing them around. In sunlight, the lenses worked well, though they did have a bit of fogginess (as is typical of lower-quality lenses) if facing directly towards the sun. Although I initially liked the grey pair more, I ended up wearing the black pair more. But after about week of wearing them, I noticed a small crack had formed above the left lens. Here's a picture:

While I don't usually baby the things that I own, I do take pretty good care of things, especially small, expensive things like sunglasses. I can't really say how this cracked developed. In the time I had them, they weren't sat on, and I don't think I placed anything heavy on them. I'm not sure if it came from stretching while putting them on my face or what. Obviously I didn't pay a lot for them, but I would have expected them to hold up for more than a week. I had planned on buying some sort of glue to patch them up, but before I could they finally broke:

Knockaround clearly states on their website that they don't accept returns, and now it's pretty clear why. Oh well, I'm out $14. The grey pair seem to be holding up better, possibly because the type of plastic they're made from is better.

Would I recommend Knockaround sunglasses? Yeah, probably, especially if you're looking for some to take on a trip to the beach or some other place where sunglasses could easily get lost or broken. They have a large variety of good looking-styles, including a number of pairs with mirrored lenses, they're pretty cheap, and the lenses do a good job of tinting the sun. Best of all, the horrible logo can be removed, though it may take a bit of effort. Don't expect to much out of these, though. Be prepared for them to break, and if they last a while, consider yourself lucky.

Review: LL Bean Signature Work Boot

By now, everyone should know that LL Bean Signature is the best single collection of clothes out there. Thanks to Alex Carleton, as well as the entire LL Bean archive that is at his disposal, LL Bean has essentially out-J.Crewed J.Crew and come out with a line that is successfully combines traditional items with a more modern fit and details. While J.Crew has gone off the deep end with their expensive sloppy-Americana-workwear-reinterpretation look, LL Bean has embraced its actual history and heritage and created new old classics.

When the preview of fall items came out, the item that caught my attention immediately was the new Signature Work Boot. It looked like a great moc-toe boot that would work well with both jeans and khakis once the temperatures finally come down. Fortunately, my pair came in yesterday, so I can finally provide a hands-on perspective.

The first thing that intrigued me, as well as worried me, about the boot was the leather. While it appeared to be different from the leather used on any existing LL Bean shoe or boot, I was afraid that when it came it would be the same soft but easily-scuffed leather that is found on the Blucher Moc. However, my fears were allayed once I actually got my hands on the boots as this leather really is pretty nice. It's thick, buttery, and already has great depth of color to it. It's somewhat stiff, but seems like it will soften up nicely once it gets broken in. It also appear capable of taking a beating and should hold up for quite a while.

As you can see from the pictures, the sole is rugged, but has a fairly low profile, allowing it to more easily transition to casual situations without looking like you just got done climbing a mountain.

In terms of height, you can see that they are almost exactly as tall as the 10" Maine Hunting Shoe. I'd say this is a pretty practical height as it provides good ankle support for a variety of activities, but doesn't make them to difficult to easily get on or off. The speed laces are a nice touch. When laced up, there are stiffer around the ankles than my Maine Hunting Shoe, but again, I suspect they will soften up a bit once they get some wear.

The insole is leather, and when wearing them, they feel more like a moccasin and less like a boot in that there isn't really much arch support. This isn't necessarily a good or bad thing, but I may end up wearing my own insoles with them at some point.

In terms of styling, I feel like the name "Work Boot" is almost a misnomer in that they simply don't look as rugged as, say, the Katahdin Iron Works Engineer Boot. I mean this in a good way, though, as I feel like this boot is much more versatile with a more refined look.. If I did have one complaint, it would be that the toe is a little more squared off than I would prefer. Not a deal-breaker, but if I had my drothers, I would have made it a little differently.

Overall, I'm really pleased with these boots. As I mentioned, I can't wait for the fall weather so I can break these out, and I'm looking forward to being able to wear these instead of my Maine Hunting Shoes out in the dove field. If you're in the market for a boot but don't want to go the Red Wing route, I would certainly recommend giving these a look.

Volunteer Traditions

You may remember my post back in December about the Southern state flag belts being sold Traditional State/Volunteer Traditions. While I recommended the products back then, I hadn't actually put my hands on any of them. Well, a couple of weeks ago, Mason, the founder of the company, offered to send me a few of their products to check out for myself. While they had previously been selling their products under both the names "Volunteer Traditions" and "Traditional State," they recently decided to consolidate things and sell them all under the (original) name "Volunteer Traditions." While there is always the threat of isolating potential non-Tennessee SEC, as I told Mason, I think that it was wise move and that "Volunteer Traditions" is a solid name. The products for states other than Tennessee are sold under their new "Heritage Line."

Mason sent me one of their new Georgia flag hats, an Alabama belt (I went to school in Alabama), as well as a pair of Croakies and a koozie (that's a whole nother post, though). I know that Daryl from Southern Gent and Jay from Red Clay Soul recently talked about how good their products are, but really, once I got my hands on them, I was impressed.

The belts are made by Leather Man Ltd., who, in my opinion, make the best emblematic belts on the market, and these are certainly no exception. The backing is khaki-colored, and looks really good with khakis. Also, the flags are slightly bigger than the flags on another flag belt I have, and I think this makes them look even better. The hat is probably where I was most impressed. While I am not a big "hat guy," I do own my fair share and wear them from time to time. While Jay noted on his post that the hats are not too shallow, I would like to point out, that the hat is not too deep either (that being my number one complaint about a lot of hats). In fact, I would say that the hat is the Goldilocks of hats, and is basically just right. The koozie and Croakies are both solid as well, and I've got to say that I really like the dog logo on the koozie.

If you haven't looked at the Volunteer Tradition website in a while, be sure to pay it a visit. They have expanded their offerings, and from what I have tried out, they are solid. Also, their prices are still very good. While Mason didn't indicate whether they have any other states in the works, here's to hoping.

Thoughts on Las Vegas

As I mentioned last week, I went to Vegas for a couple of days for a pseudo-Spring Break with my college roommate. This was actually my second trip out there, but here are a few random thoughts and observations.

1. We flew AirTran from Atlanta to Vegas. I'm not sure I had flown AirTran before, but it was actually a pretty good experience. While the trip was long, it was made a lot better by the fact that AirTran was offering their wireless internet for free for a limited time. I've got to say that being able to talk to people on Gchat on my Blackberry while in the air made me feel like the President of the United States.

2. For our trip out there we did one of those airfare and hotel room package deals. It actually ended up being pretty reasonable, but we chose to stay at the Monte Carlo. I have to say that I wasn't really impressed, with the hotel room or with the casino, and was marginally impressed with the pool. If I were to go out there again (which remains to be seen), I would not stay there again.

3. Sperry Topsiders, even with an insole, make for awful walking shoes, especially when walking 4+ miles a day up and down the Strip. My feet were not happy with me after a couple of days.

4. We went to downtown Las Vegas on Sunday and had a great time. Downtown is way better than the Strip in that there is cheap food ($1 hot dogs, anyone?), cheap booze, cheap tables ($5 blackjack was pretty easy to find), and excellent drink service while gambling. Also, many of the casinos along Fremont were a lot nicer than I imagined they would be, the Golden Nugget in particular. Again, if I were to go back out there, I would even consider staying down there instead of the Strip.

5. Speaking of cheap drinks, if you are on the Strip and looking to get some cheap beers, be sure to go by Casino Royale. It is located on the east side of the Strip, between Harrah's and the Venetian, and looks almost as gaudy on the outside as it is on the inside. If you can handle the vomit smell that seemed to mysteriously linger by the bar, you can take advantage of $1 Michelobs, which can be combined with an easily-obtained 2-for-1 coupon. $0.50 beers are never a bad thing.

6. Part of our decision to stay at the Monte Carlo was related to its proximity to the new City Center that was recently completed. When I was out there last, in fall of 2007, it was mostly a hole in the ground, so it was difficult to imagine what it would be like. Upon seeing it, I wasn't really that impressed. For something that bills itself as a "city center," there was very little effort made create a positive pedestrian environment, particularly one that draws people in off of the Strip, and there was very little interaction between the buildings. Instead, it just seemed like 3 or 4 separate projects that didn't relate to each other at all rather than a "center." The only real interaction with pedestrians along the Strip was the stupid "mall" that was there that you could walk through to get to the other side of the project. Perhaps I completely underestimate the all of the schlubs walking around Vegas, but I simply have no idea how a mall made up completely of ultra-high end stores (Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Zegna) can possibly be financially viable, especially in this market.

7. Speaking of the City Center, we did actually manage to make our way over to the casino at the Aria, which is the new hotel/casino there. It was actually pretty cool, and we both had a good time there.

8. In case you were unaware, Las Vegas is an absolute blackhole of manners, good taste, and style. Believe it or not, people out there actually wear Christian Audigier/Ed Hardy clothes like it isn't some sort of gigantic cliche. Same goes for all of those MMA-related brands like Tap Out and Affliction.

In the Bible there is a story where God tells Abraham that He plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, but Abraham asks God if He will spare the cities if he can find fifty righteous men. Unable to find fifty, Abraham goes back to God and asks if He will spare the cities if he can find forty-five righteous men. Again, Abraham is unable to do it, and subsequently asks God if He will spare the cities if he can find thirty righteous men, then twenty, then ten, and he is unable to do so each time. I think we all know how that story ended. I highlight this story because if God planned to destroy Las Vegas but agreed to stay His wrath if only ten well-dressed men were found there, I've got a feeling that Las Vegas wouldn't make it.

9. In spite of its lack of class and prevalence of obnoxious tourists, there were a large number of very attractive women all over the place. This is always a nice perk, especially if you have the confidence to actually go up and talk to them (which my buddy and I are not famous for possessing).

10. There is a double-decker bus that runs between the Strip and downtown Las Vegas called "The Deuce." It is only $3 for a one-way trip, or $7 for an all-day pass. We gave it a try when we went from our hotel to downtown, and after the five mile trip took something like 45 minutes, I've got to say that the "the deuce" is a pretty appropriate name.

11. We got a two-for-one coupon for the ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris hotel and casino, so we decided to give it a shot on our last night there. This was definitely worth it, especially for $7.75 per person. I would highly recommend it.

12. Finally, while there is plenty to be cynical about in Vegas, I would say that the fountain show at the Bellagio is one thing that is hard to not be impressed by. It is free, it happens every 15 minutes, and it seems like it is always set to a different song. It is easily one of the best things on the Strip.

Well, in case you are fortunate/unfortunate enough to be taking a trip to Vegas anytime soon, I hope that this guide will be of some help to you. Also, be sure to check out the website Cheapo Vegas. It is a very useful and humorous guide to just about everything to you need to know about Vegas, including reviews on all of the hotels and casinos in downtown and on the Strip. It was a lifesaver while we were out there, and I constantly was referring to it on my Blackberry.

P.S.- The lack of images from my trip is not due to the fact that they were incriminating, rather it is due to the fact that I only took a few. I apologize that I could not include a Hangover-style photoessay with my review.

Review of Bedale repair and reproofing by Green Mountain Reproofing

OK, I understand that some of you may be sick of me talking about reproofing my Barbour jackets. If so, you may want to check back for an update tomorrow. If you're not, here is the review of my experience with Green Mountain Reproofing that I first mentioned a little less than a month ago. I'm providing a time line to give you an idea about my experience with the turn-around time.

I mailed my jacket off on Saturday, November 14th and got a call from Ken Bissonette at Green Mountain the following Friday. Ken went over everything that he saw on my jacket, gave me prices, and asked what I would like to have done. I had a hole on the front, a hole on the left sleeve, and several holes and a tear on the right sleeve. Ken quoted me $8 per for the holes on the front and left sleeve, and then $15 to fix the whole right sleeve. I thought this sounded pretty reasonable, and was not nearly as bad as I had thought that it might be. I also had them reproof the jacket as it sorely needed it. Ken said that it would probably take around two weeks and that I could go ahead and send a check.

With the following week being Thanksgiving week, things got pretty crazy and I never got a chance to mail the check. Ken followed-up with an email on the 29th and said that my jacket was ready and that as soon as he received a check, he would ship it to me. The total, with repairs, reproofing, and return shipping, came out to $72.90. I finally got a check mailed that Monday, and received the jacket the following Monday, December 7th. All-in-all, it took about 25 days from the time I shipped the jacket to the time it arrived at my house. This could have probably been shortened by at least a few days (if not a week) if I had mailed the check when Ken initially called so that the jacket could have been shipped as soon as it was done, so that's on me. Overall, though, I'm pretty pleased with the turn-around time, especially after hearing horror stories about people shipping their jackets to Barbour in the fall and not getting them back til December or after the New Year.

Below are some pictures of the jacket after about a week of wear. I've got to say, when I first pulled it out of the box, I was blown away by the reproofing job as it looked like a brand-new jacket (much better than my DIY job).

I then looked to see how the holes were repaired.

You can see how the holes on the front and left sleeve were stitched up. I had no idea what they would look like when they were repaired, but I'm pretty pleased and they are fairly unnoticeable unless someone is really looking.

Now when it comes to the repair of the tear and multiple holes on the right sleeve, when I first looked, I wasn't sure how they were repaired as there was no trace of them and I was a little dumbfounded. Then, upon closer inspection, I realized that they actually sewed a patch onto the sleeve to cover all of the holes and the tear. The matching was pretty impressive, and really, this is something that is hard to notice, and the patch-up job gives the jacket a bit more character and history.

So what is the final verdict? I am most certainly pleased, and definitely feel like it was money well-spent. One can always reproof their jacket themselves, but repairs are best left to the professionals, and the folks at Green Mountain clearly know what they're doing. Even still, the reproofing costs $32.95, and combined with return shipping of $8.95, your jacket comes back looking brand new for just over $40. If you're on the fence, it is my suggestion to go for it. Ken was great to work with and I think that they're doing a great job up there in Vermont. I would really love to see how the process is done and how the professionals get are able to do that perfect reproofing job.

On a bit of side note, while my Bedale was in the "shop," I wore my Beaufort on pretty much a daily basis. After about four weeks of this, though, I realized that I really prefer my Bedale over my Beaufort. While the Beaufort is certainly a good jacket, especially if you are actually out hunting birds, since I am on the shorter side, the Bedale is really a much easier jacket for day-to-day wear for me.

J. Crew Bowery drafting tote review

About a month ago I wrote about the Bowery drafting tote at J. Crew and compared it to some similar bags that are currently available. In the process, I concluded that in spite of its $98 price tag, it really was a pretty good value.

Well, this past Saturday, my wallet a little heavier with money that I made from house/pet-sitting, I went over to J. Crew to take another look. When I got there, I found that the bag wasn't where I had originally seen it, but was in the back with the sale items. When I looked at the price tag, I saw that it had been marked down to $50, and when I took it up to the register, it rang up for $30! I don't know if this was some sort of mistake or not, especially since the bag still costs $98 on the J. Crew website, but I'm certainly not complaining.

I have to say, while I think that bag was a pretty good value for $98, for $30 this thing is an absolute steal. Here are some additional pictures, in case you're interested.





As for thoughts on the bag, I don't really have any complaints. As you can see from the pictures, the interior pockets are plentiful and useful--something that is too often lacking on a lot of tote bags. Its also large enough to fit my laptop, along with a textbook or two, so it certainly versatile. While the bag is promoted as being waxed, it's not like someone took a Barbour jacket and made it into a bag. However, I am somewhat tempted to give an application of Barbour wax to see how it would look. Regardless, it seems pretty well-made and the materials seem like they are going to age really nicely.

If you're interested in the bag, I suggest getting on the phone with your local J. Crew to see if they have marked them down in the store as I suspect these things will sell out quickly once they get marked down on the website.

Ryan Adams- Fox Theatre, Atlanta 3/20/2009

Photo taken by Ryan Adams Archive forum member nextolastsong

Last night I attended the Ryan Adams concert at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. You may recall that this was somewhat of a make-up show for the show that he played in Alpharetta back in October in which he walked off the stage after an hour. After that experience, and after the so-so reviews I’d heard about the shows in Birmingham and Charleston, I really set my standards pretty low for this show, just in case. Luckily, it turns out these fears were unfounded, and Ryan and the Cardinals put on one of the best concerts I have ever been to. In fact, the first 45 minutes or so of the show were so good, they could have just played that, and I really would have been pretty satisfied.

They played for right around two and a half hours, with a 10 minute break about an hour and a half into the show. This was much better than the hour and 45 minute show that I was hoping for. The setlist was pretty incredible; lots of songs from Cold Roses, which is never a bad thing. The highlights for me were “Let it Ride,” a version of “Dear Chicago” that sounded like it belonged on Cold Roses and “Oh My Sweet Carolina.” Everyone went nuts during “Oh My Sweet Carolina,” especially after the line “all the sweetest winds they blow across the South,” and rightfully so. God Bless the South… There were plenty of songs from Cardinology, including the opener, “Magick,” and I’m now pretty tempted to go out and buy it.

Video taken by Ryan Adams Archive forum member LightBulb_Sunset

Overall the crowd was really good and really into and the Fox seemed pretty packed. Ryan was in a good mood and joked around a number of times, including his dedication of “Beautiful Sorta” to Method Man and Red Man. Anyways, this concert really restored my confidence in Ryan. I’ll admit that after the last show, I was really pretty turned off to him and didn’t listen to his music very much in the mean time. After last night’s show, however, I remembered again why I liked him so much in the first place. Great job, Ryan.

Here’s the setlist, obtained from a poster on Ryan Adams Archive:

1. “Magick”
2. “Let it Ride”
3. “Two”
4. “Everybody Knows”
5. “Beautiful Sorta”
6. “Mockingbird”>
7. “Dear Chicago”>
8. “Blue Hotel”
9. “Cold Roses “
10. “Natural Ghost”
11. “Easy Plateau”>
12. “Bartering Lines”
13. Band Intros
14. “Fix It”
15. “Magnolia Mountain”
16. “Please Do Not Let Me Go”
17. “Peaceful Valley”
18. “Freeway to the Canyon”

Break

19. “When the Stars Go Blue”
20. “Sink Ships”
21. “Oh My Sweet Carolina”
22. “Grand Island”
23. “Evening Joke”
24. “I See Monsters”
25. “Come Pick Me Up”
26. “Rescue Blues”
27. “Wonderwall”
28. “Goodnight Rose”

J. Crew Timex military watch, redux

Photo courtesy of Alan's Vintage Watches

In my post last November, I provided some alternatives to the Timex military watch that J. Crew is currently selling. The other day I received an email from Alan at Alan's Vintage Watches telling me that he had a review, with a number of photos, of the J. Crew Timex on his website. While I am not generally a favor of people soliciting their websites like that, after taking a look at his page, I realized that it really was worth sharing. If you didn't want one of these watches before, after reading his page, it just might change your mind. Check out the review here.

Ryan Adams

I started listening to Ryan Adams about two years ago. I had heard of Ryan Adams but had never really listened to him and didn't understand what the big deal was. So when I saw one of his CDs, "Cold Roses," at the library, I checked it out and put it on my Itunes. I tried listening to it, along with "Love is Hell," for a couple of weeks, but could never really get into it. Finally, after at least half a dozen listenings, I got it; something clicked. Ryan Adams is incredible and I have been listening ever since. I've got nine of his studio albums (which include two Whiskeytown albums) and four of his unreleased/bootleg abums. If I could rank myself as a Ryan Adams fan on a scale from 1-10, I would probably consider myself a pretty solid 7.

So last month when I heard that Ryan Adams was going to be playing in Alpharetta, and that one of my friends/classmates was going to be going, I jumped on the chance and bought two tickets. I'm not really a "concert guy," but I figured this was a fairly rare opportunity to see him, so it was a no-brainer.

Well, the big day finally arrived this past Friday and I drove over to the new Verizon Wireless Amphithreatre (which was very nice, by the way) with my brother, my friend/classmate, and her boyfriend. We got there around 8:15 and the Cardinals (Ryan Adams' band, whose name he is now playing under) finally started playing at 8:45. They opened with some new songs from their upcoming record and played a "Peaceful Valley" from Cold Roses (which was probably the best song of the concert, in my opinion). However, about 20 minutes into the concert Ryan apologized that he was losing his voice and said that they would do the best they could to get through it. I knew at this moment that things were not likely going to end well.

In case you are unaware, Ryan has a pretty ugly reputation for ending shows mid-way through, walking off stage, getting mad and cussing out the audience. A lot of this reputedly has to do with his problems with drugs and alcohol, but Ryan has supposedly been clean for about the past two years. These problems were supposed to have ended, but apparently not. The band continued to play, and after a few more songs Ryan complained and apologized about his voice again. This happened a couple of more times, and finally, after "Shakedown On 9th Street" Ryan apologized again, apologized for and to the band, and walked off stage. The rest of the Cardinals looked pretty dismayed and eventually walked off too. This was about 9:50; the band had been playing for just over an hour.

At first people didn't do anything because they either assumed that it was some sort of stunt, or thought that perhaps they were going to take a quick break and come back and play more. I knew it was for real though, and it became clear to everyone else once the house lights came back up. Eventually, everyone just started to leave, many of whom were cursing his name.

Needless to say, I was pretty annoyed. I think I was even mroe annoyed by the fact that Ryan's voice never sounded bad anyways, and I couldn't tell whether he really was sick, or whether he was just unsatisfied with the crowd or the venue or both. When I got home, I went on forum at the Ryan Adams Archive website to see what others were saying. By that time, there were already three pages of posts complaining about the show. By the time I got back to Clemson that night, there were seven pages worth. There were more than a few disgruntled fans expressing their angre and disappointment, while several of the older forum members insisted on defending him, in spite of the fact that none of them were actually at the concert. Then, when I went to check it the next day, I found that the moderators had inexplicably deleted the entire thread. From what I learned on some other Ryan Adams forums, Ryan Adams Archive is the officially sanctioned by the Cardinals, and deleting the thread may have been a decision that came from the band itself. Regardless, I found this to be an egregious example of censorship, and it probably did not create any good will on behalf of the fans in Atlanta.

So what am I getting at here? I'm not really sure. I still think Ryan Adams is a fantastic musician; I will likely even purchase the new album, "Cardinology," when it comes out. However, I will have no qualms about getting any of his other albums for free in order to make up for the money that was wasted on the tickets to the concert. And I will certainly think twice about buying tickets to another Ryan Adams concert; it seems like attending his shows are like playing a game of Russian roulette with more than one bullet in the gun. As I noted earlier, I don't go to a lot of concerts, but I have been to my share of live shows and I have never seen anything remotely like this happen. The Cardinals issued a statement about the show on their blog and said that they will make it up. I'll believe it when I see it, but I would like to think that they will keep their word about that.

Restaurant review: Siam Royal Thai Cuisine in Clemson

I am primarily writing this review in the hopes that someone Googling for a review of this restaurant will come across this post so that they may avoid the mistake that I made. That mistake would be eating at the new Thai restaurant in Clemson.

For a little background, about a year and a half ago, the shopping center where the old Thai restaurant in Clemson used to be burned down. This shopping center has been rebuilt since then and a new Thai restaurant (or perhaps the latest incarnation of the old restaurant) opened up around a month ago. Being a lover of Thai food, a love which I developed at the Surin restaurants in Birmingham, I was quite excited about this. A few weeks ago my classmate/neighbor went there for lunch and came back raving about it, so later that week I went up there for dinner with said neighbor, as well as three other friends.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was nothing to write home about, but certainly wasn't bad. It is fairly small and there were only a few other customers in there at the time. We sat down and began looking at the menu. It had a pretty typical Thai menu and seemed to offer most of the "traditional" dishes that one would look for. Right away we noticed that the prices were pretty high with most dinner entrees costing around $13-$15. The lunch menu isn't much cheaper and there few options under $10. Since masaman curry is what I usually get, and the gold standard by which I judge Thai restaurants, I ordered that, though I did ask them to hold the pineapple (I have never seen pineapple in masaman before coming to South Carolina; I don't get it).

It didn't take very long for our food to arrive, along with our disappointment. One friend, who was the first to get her food, ordered yellow curry. What arrived was a reddish-looking bowl of soupy curry covered with a coat of red oil. My curry arrived and did not look much better. I have never made curry from scratch, but I do understand that a proper curry does not have a layer of oil floating on top. My curry was actually fairly bland-tasting, had beef instead of the chicken that I ordered, and didn't have any cashews--one of the key ingredient of masaman as far as I'm concerned. The friend who recommended the restaurant ordered pad see ew, his typical dish, and again raved about it. I didn't taste it, but I did observe that the portion size looked pretty small for $13.

The friend who ordered yellow curry found hers, in spite of being labelled "mild," to be very spicy, too spicy for her, in fact. She tried to eat it, but really found it to be too much for her. She called the waitress over, said that she found the dish to be too hot and asked if she could order something else. She ordered some crab angel things (cream cheese and crab fried in a wonton) which were pretty good. Anyways, when the bill came, said friend found that she was charged for both her entree and appetizer. She asked mentioned this to the manager/owner (I could not tell exactly who it was), indicating that the curry was much spicier than she had been led to believe and that it wasn't what she ordered, and asked why she had been charged for both. His response was that the food had to be thrown away and that it was just the same as if she had eaten it. He grudgingly conceded to taking it off the menu with the warning that this would be the only time he would do that. I worked in a restaurant for 3 years in high school and have pretty good sympathy for restaurant staff. However, I also have pretty decent standards for customer service at restaurants and I found this to be pretty abysmal "service." Even if the food had been good, I'm pretty sure that most of us would have thought twice about going back there to eat.

Anyways, to sum up, Siam Royal Thai Cuisine really did not have any redeeming qualities. The food was not good, was over priced, had poor portions for the price, and has bad customer service (though I will say that our waitress was nice). Like I said, I hope that someone will read this review and avoid wasting their money there, or perhaps it will inspire someone at the restaurant to step things up and solve these problems. Clemson could use a good Thai restaurant, and I guess we will have to keep waiting.