Friday, December 30, 2011

The Big Oh

The Audiophile celebrated what is commonly called a "significant birthday" this past week. In keeping with custom, I sang him the birthday song Marilyn Monroe style. That is if Marilyn were a little off-key, a little less provocative, and among the living. I like to think this ritual of mine keeps the bar low for Alison Krauss to consistently sound better in an A/B comparison with myself.

Since significant birthdays are made slightly more palatable with significant gifts, I was going to take The Audiophile on a trip to the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. However, it seems the show is not open to the general grazing public, probably because of our tendency to be more interested in cud chewing than purchasing in bulk.

Instead, I went to the mall to browse the brightly lit exhibits on display at the Steve Jobs Memorial Hall of Fame. It was a confusing and intimidating experience, and although there was not a single black turtleneck sweater available for purchase, there were plenty of outlandishly-priced alternatives that fought for my attention.

Now The Audiophile can blow out virtual birthday candles and read "The Sound Pile" digitally - that is once I'm finished cataloging my recipes and updating my social network status. At first blush, this gift may ring of selfish motivation, yet, if you will recall, my most recent gift from him was a sound system.

And that, my friends, is audio winning.