Drop mail not bombs

I've never had a problem working the day after Christmas. There's never any traffic on the streets, the office is always super mellow, and you can get a lot done. Or that's what I thought until some mail arrived to distract me. Remember Kaia Wong from New York? I interviewed her last year about her band (Mixel Pixel) and her indie lip balm company (Lips by Wong). Out of nowhere, she sent a sampler bag full of her homemade, organic, vegan balms. I tried the Pink Lemonade. Interesting flavor, because if you had really chapped lips, you'd think lemons would sting! But the aroma is quite nice and the feel is much juicier than typical ChapStick. Wait, there's glitter in it? Well, there's no one else here and I don't think anyone can tell anyway. Happy new year to you, too, Kaia.


From Japan, I received yet another new CD from Boris. This one was recorded with guitar god Michio Kurihara in 2006 but has just now been released by Pedal Records. The two long collaborative tracks, "Cloud Chambers Pt. 1" and "Cloud Chamber Pt. 2," are fuzzy instrumentals. The first part is extremely atmospheric, and almost reminds me of Tuvan throat singing. The second starts off more the rock end of the spectrum before mellowing out into something that is very pensive, and sort of thoughtful. Of course, the packaging is quite tasteful. Do you dare break the seal? Enju, are you still coming out to L.A. in 2009?


Finally, a box from the 8five2 shop in Hong Kong. After seening Daniel Wu's line all over blogs, ads, and catalogs, I finally get to see check out some of the gear in person. I'll totally wear the dress shirt, which has a lot of subtle touches that aren't obvious in pictures, and the denim is nice looking but sturdy. I know the bomber jacket is super warm because I just took it for a test ride out to Sawtelle. Way to go, Dan, and thanks for hooking me up!

So much good stuff coming in, I'll probably get home and find a mailbox full of bills to balance it out.