Jake & Josh's Mum’s Neighborhood

For whatever reason, the musical duo seems to be making a comeback. It's refreshing, given the ongoing trend of promoting self-indulgent solo artist that's continuing to destroy great collaborations like No Doubt and BEP in favour of spotlight-hogging divas like Gwen Stefani and Fergie.

Sure, the duo seems most at home in the field of electronica, but at least they're producing great music without focusing on the cult of personality. The French duo Justice is one shining example, but there's also MGMT, Basement Jaxx, Cassius, Simian Mobile Disco, and to a much lesser extent Daft Punk.

Well, add another to that list. Walter Meego is a Chicago-based duo and, while I'm not entirely sold on their music, their song "Girls" is just about the catchiest little trifle I've heard this summer. It's got the simplest of lyrics, but that just makes it all the easier to memorize, so I've pretty much boppin' around the city with this song lodged in my ear for the past two weeks.

In Syracuse, gas was $4.21/gal. Honestly, I have no idea if that's good or bad, I'm so used to the metric system - but it was the average in the area. Fine.

A few stations were advertising a price of $4.13/gal. Of course we went there, hoping to save a few bucks. Well, those a$$holes were lying.

Turns out, there's fine print on the sign. Gas was actually $4.23/gal unless you buy a car wash. That's just false advertising. Who has time to read the fine print on these signs while looking for gas from the road?

Why isn't this practice illegal? It's certainly immoral. Deceit doesn't build a client base, you know.

Jerks.

The week before we headed south, we bought a new toy - a GPS (or SatNav as the Brits say) - and didn't it prove to be the most invaluable little tool.

Aside from the obvious help in getting us to our destination, we found it really useful when it came time to find restaurants and stores. This model has a feature that lists "what's nearby" sorted into categories, and completely searchable. So put in "pho" and you get a list of local pho vietnamese restaurants, as well as tons of photography stores. It took us to places in Syracuse we'd never been before, and we found a pretty rockin' little Indian buffet up near the University.

This is a toy that's totally worth the moolah.

Last weekend we unwound in upstate New york (is Albany considered upstate?). The trip included stops in Albany (to see Comedienne Kathy Griffin), Waterloo (to shop) and Syracuse (because there aren't any hotels in Waterloo.)

Kathy was wonderful - so quick-witted. Her routine is clearly only partly scripted. Aside from a few segments that she could tell any time, most of her act involved gossip about the latest celebrity headlines and the dumbass things they do. Her biggest targets were Paula Abdul's blundering on American Idol (she's either hepped up on goofballs or the judges' comments are completely scripted) and Mylie Cyrus's recent photoshoot cuddling with her dad (which is just creepy).

Kathy's humour isn't so much about content - there's nothing inherently funny about The View or Oprah (except that these shows have an audience - oh wait, I'm confusing funny with sad again) - it's about her delivery. She comes out with some truly witty turns of phrase, making Hollywood bigwigs look the fools they are. And it's all done so off-the-cuff - some of these gossip stories are only days old - that it seems likely her upcoming Toronto show in August will be almost completely different from the one we saw in Albany. I'd be lying if I said we aren't tempted to go.

It was well worth the 6-hour drive to Albany. And that's saying a lot because Albany doesn't have much else to offer.

We stayed in the "entertainment district" and let me tell you, it was pretty dead by the time we arrived around 5pm. The area doubles as the business district and, like Ottawa, it simply empties out in the evening. We spent hours wandering around looking for a liquor store and a decent restaurant that was open for dinner, but to little avail. In fact, the hotel staff said they couldn't advise us of a place to go buy liquor that would be safe.

How can people live like that, scared of their own city? Last October we walked throughout Manhattan - day and night - and never once felt threatened. What's with Albany?!

Still, we took a few pics the morning before we left, checking out the state legislature building and a kind of cool, sci-fi looking area that was actually a mix of government buildings and a performing arts theatre, known as the egg - for obvious reasons.

Then we decided enough was enough and, after a quick trip to iHop (We never go to the US and don't go to iHop), we hightailed it outta there and headed towards a full day of shopping in Waterloo.

Waterloo (about 20 muinutes from Syracuse) is a bit of a hidden treasure. Everytime we mention it, people ask "You mean Watertown?" No, not Watertown. Watertown is a hole. Waterloo is a hole with an outlet mall. And amazing deals! Banana Republic at 50% off?! Hello! Sign me up.

Very happy we didn't take Margot's challenge of not buying new clothes for a year. I think we spent about $600 each. I got loads of new dress pants and nice shirts, and I got 4 new pairs of shoes (that would be my mother's genes kicking in.) Mel did similarly well and, after more than 6 hours of shopping - and a visit to Arby's (I never go to the US and don't go to Arby's) - the stores closed at 9pm.

We headed back to Syracuse for the night to prepare for the 100% accurate trip through customs the next day.

Although almost every day at Six Apart is Take Your Dog to Work Day, Friday was extra special because it was the official Take Your Dog to Work Day! Plus, as lovers of blogs and animals, we think it's great that active blogger and Human Society's President and CEO, Wayne Pacelle, thinks having dogs around the office is a good reminder of "who we're working for."

We realize some people have it ruff and aren't lucky enough to be able to bring their dog to work, but hopefully these pictures taken at Six Apart last Friday will get your tails wagging... And let me tell you, it's harder than it looks to get all the doggies and their fetching owners in one picture.

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, today is the summer solstice. For ancient civilizations, this day was akin to our modern day New Year's Eve and was viewed as a time to reflect and renew. So why not kick off your summer celebration with a new theme?

See all of our themes in the Design Area.

Or choose from one of  these brand-new themes. (Available under "New.")

I always have a song running through my head. Always. Next time you see me, just ask and I'll be happy to tell you what it is. Thankfully, the playlist is pretty dynamic. My internal deejay does a good job of keeping it interesting - switching it up pretty frequently.

Still, there are days when it's just one song over and over and over. Generally that's a result of having heard a great new song, and on those days I'm usually quite pleased to have the earworm. It keeps me smiling.

But on occasion, I do get a nasty piece of music in my head -- a tune I truly dislike and just will not go away. This happened last weekend, and I realize by writing about it that the song is already back in my head. Yargh.

We went out dancing on Friday night and the deejay was horrible. She wasn't mixing well at all and she just kept playing track after track of bad music. Then came the coup de grâce: Tainted Love by Soft Cell. It burrowed deep and nested in my brain all day Saturday. It was only after intense alcohol therapy on Saturday evening that I was finally able to put an end to the cursed thing - killing a few brain cells in the process, I'm sure. I don't mind this approach to killing earworms, but my liver might not like it - so I do need to find a different method.

Thankfully, Radiolab offered me some hope. In today's podcast, they asked people to phone in suggestions about how to get rid of these unwanted attacks - whether it be passing the earworm to someone else,  replacing it with a better song, or simply listening to a recording of it. Check out their blog and listen to this short (10 min) piece on earworms while I struggle to get Tainted Love out of my head...again.

A couple of months ago, we told you about Blog It powered by TypePad, the first cross-platform blogging application for Facebook the enables you to post to your Vox blog - and ALL your blogs - with a single click.

Within a week, Blog It had nearly 4,000 active users posting tweets and creating blog posts, as well as updating their status messages with the title and link to the published post. Today, Blog It's Facebook application has nearly 10,000 users. But here's the thing: You're not always sitting in front of the computer when the inspiration to blog strikes. And at Six Apart, it is our goal to provide you the tools you need need to blog where you want, and when you want.

Which is why this week we introduced Blog It for iPhone, a free web application just like the one we introduced for Facebook - only now - on your iPhone. Built specifically for iPhone's Safari browser, Blog It for iPhone enables you to post blog entries or status updates from wherever you are to more than a dozen different online services. And just like the original Facebook version, you can choose to share your posts with the people you know across various social networks.

To start blogging with Blog It for iPhone, go to  http://blogit.typepad.com with your iPhone's Safari browser and install the Blog It icon onto your mobile desktop. Then, all you have to do is click the Blog It icon and start creating posts!

Whether you're riding the bus to work, cheering on your team courtside, or enjoying a picnic by the lake, now it's easier than ever to Blog It.

We will be performing scheduled maintenance on Vox tonight (Friday, June 6, 2008) from 11:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. PDT. Although we don't anticipate this maintenance to be highly disruptive, we always like to give you advance notification when there is a slight chance of some downtime.

As always, thank you for your patience - and have a great weekend!

Update: There WILL be downtime between 11:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. PDT. so please plan accordingly.

Get your closets ready because the 2nd Annual SHOP SF Event is less than two weeks away, and Gen Art is offering Voxers an exclusive 25% discount on VIP and General Admission to this one-of-a-kind shopping fête.

The event will showcase over 40 local designers specializing in stylish clothing, jewelry and accessories for both men and women. These local designers were culled from the Gen Art alumni, local art schools, as well as the Bay Area's hottest emerging designer boutiques. With so many amazing looks to choose from, you'll be sure to find head-turning styles perfectly tailored to your individual taste. After all, that's what we think being a Bay Area resident is all about, don't you?

When: Saturday, June 14th

VIP Preview Hour: 12:00 - 1:00 P.M. (Includes access to the VIP lounge, Shu Uemura Lash Bar, complimentary coat check and a gift bag.)
General Public: 1:00 - 6:00 P.M.

Where: 511 Harrison Street (at 1st Street0
San Francisco, CA 94105

RSVP for the event at Gen Art and enter offer code VoxShopSF to save 25% off VIP or General Admission.

Wondering how you can say "Thank You" to Gen Art for their generous offer? Raid the closet of your boyfriend, husband, father, or best male bud, and bring a paper bag full of menswear (in good condition) to donate to The Saint Vincent de Paul Society. Donations will go to help more than a thousand people trying to overcome poverty, homelessness, substance abuse and domestic violence in the Bay Area. Plus, for your kind offering, you'll receive a Goorin Bros. hat or accessory.

Let us know in the comments if you'll be attending this exciting event. We can't wait to see you there!