The phrase "Once in a Lifetime" gets overused a fair amount, especially by David Byrne. Now you may ask yourself, "What constitutes a true once in a lifetime event, you wuss?"

I'd gently ask you to refrain from calling me a wuss, first off. And then I'd tell you about the awesome Belle And Sebastian show I saw. Then, as soon as the words "Belle And Sebastian" left my mouth, you'd be like, "I shouldn't have used that word, but I'm confident in its sentiment, you- Well, you know."

In 2004, Belle & Sebastian played their well-loved "If You're Feeling Sinister" album top to bottom, as part of ATP's ongoing "Don't Look Back" concert series. Fanboy that I am, I decided that I had to see it, and brought/dragged my wife along for the ride.

It was my first time in London, and, actually, my first time outside of the continental US. What can I say, I love my couch. That's why I'm wonderful.

The concert itself was in Barbican Hall, a giant symphony hall packed to the brim with shy people in thick glasses and worn-out cardigans. If a bomb had been dropped on us, the UK would have been depleted of it's full supply of shyness and worn-out cardigans.

The show was wonderful, and happily enough, was preserved for posterity by a source other than some guy with a mini-cassette player hidden in his worn-out cardigan. (http://tinyurl.com/buncsg)

But certainly, there were a spate of runner-up cool things. Let's enjoy them, won't you?

*Hanging out in Rough Trade Records, who's namesake label was/is a defining tastemaker in the world of music listened to by your pale college ex-boyfriend.

*Drinking beer at 11:00am, because if other people are doing it, it's normal and I don't have a problem.

*Seeing "Guys and Dolls" with a 99% English cast, doing the worst American accents I've heard since the "Texan" episode of "Fawlty Towers."

*And finally, watching a documentary about the history of soft-core films in the UK, and learning about the "Confessions" movies, starring the bare-assed, but never embarrassed Robin Askwith. If you have not seen "Confessions of a Window Cleaner" or "Confessions of a Pop Performer," you're missing out on untoned body parts, milk-pale skin, and sped-up hump scenes that would make Benny Hill say, "That's a bit much, now."

Oh, and I enjoyed beans and toast. The end.