stubbed toes, casseroles, and the genius of John Mayer

I am coming off of a very relaxing weekend (yes, I realize that right now my whole life is a weekend) with Caitlin of watching movies and hanging out together. However, yesterday afternoon I stubbed my toe so badly that it is bruised. I think that stubbing my toe is one of the biggest pet peeves that I have. It hurts like crazy and I, personally, feel that by the age of 27 I should have mastered the whole walking thing, thus essentially eliminating the chances of toe stubbage. Obviously, I was wrong.

I would love to point out for the benefit of everyone that my Leafs are back on track, having won three straight, including the utter destruction of the New York Rangers on Saturday night, 9-2, in the latest "Forbes Bowl", thus named because Forbes magazine listed these two teams as the richest and most valuable in the NHL. Kyle Wellwood: hat trick, 5 points. Alexei Ponikarovsky: 2 goals, three assists. Good work, men!

I really love a good casserole. Caitlin and I made this killer vegetarian casserole last night for dinner and were congratulating each other on our culinary genius. I was definitely impressed with the tastes, textures, and the German wine that we had with it! And the nicest thing about big casseroles? Leftovers!

Those of you who know me well may consider me a man of strong opinions, especially about music. And you would also know that I had long since written off John Mayer because of his cutesy, navel-gazing, 'sensitive' persona that, to me, caused him to make music that, while being catchy and skillfully played, gets old pretty quickly. However, Mr. Mayer had the good sense, at the apex of his career, to start playing the kind of music that inspired him in the first place: the blues and more funk-based material. Thank heavens he did, because it indicates that I won't ever have to hear that "Body is a Wonderland" crap again!! Hallelujah! His live record, "Try!", with the John Mayer Trio is a gigantic, Stevie Ray Vauhan-esque, funky blues masterpiece. I love the fact that Mayer is a wicked, wicked, guitarist and he finally decided to show off his skills. Mayer's latest album, "Continuum", is just as good, though decidedly more laid back. Still, it finds him infusing his great songs with a slinky R & B feel and some bluesy lead work that makes my mouth water. These two albums alone are enough to make him one of my absolute favourite guitarists. I always knew he was a good axeman, but a virtuouso he has proven himself to be! He is also a very witty writer, as evidenced by his column in Esquire Magazine last year, entitled "Music Lessons with John Mayer" Good stuff. I hope he wins any of the 5 Grammy Awards for which he is nominated in February.

I hope you all are enjoying December thus far and check back in for more updates here and on the Binghams' blog. Rock on...