I had an enlightening experience (enlightening to me, anyway) with music over the past couple of nights walking the dogs. Each evening, I take Callie and Indy for a walk around my neighborhood, and I put on headphones and listen to music as we walk. Two nights ago, I dug out some older CDs just to mix up my playlist a bit (I tend to get stuck on a specific CD that I play repeatedly, which lately has been Mike Doughty's Smofe & Smang). So on Tuesday night I listened to The Chemical Brothers' Dig Your Own Hole (by the way, The Chemical Brothers' official website is one of the most annoying websites I've ever visited). The album isn't that old (1997), but I hadn't listened to it in a long time. Coincidentally, the next evening (yesterday), I swapped it out for The Smiths' Singles. Now, each of these musical entities got their start in Manchester (The Smiths in 1982, and The Chemical Brothers in 1989), and yet they have almost nothing else in common. The CBs were a short-time favorite of mine at some point in my past -- perhaps 1997 or 1998 -- while The Smiths were a favorite of mine in the mid- and late-'80s.

Surprisingly, I found that -- for me -- The Smiths retained their charm, while The CBs had lost theirs. I will always have a place in my heart for "Block Rockin' Beats" and "Where Do I Begin?" (the Beth Orton vocal contribution), but for some reason it sounds tinny and droning to me. Whereas, at one point in my life, I couldn't hear enough of The CBs. What changed in me to alter my enjoyment? Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy good house/d&b/techno from time to time, but it seems to be only in a different context. Everything is contextual!

There is a new restaurant opening in Pittsburgh, PA, which describes itself thusly:

We're a robot-themed restaurant open for lunch and dinner. You don't need to be a member to enjoy a great meal while you see famous and soon-to-be-famous fighting robots.

We're also the world's first permanent robot fighting facility open to the public seven days a week. We rent robots, sell parts, give classes, and provide members with a safe place to test and fight their own fighting machines.

I have no response to that.