Cryptic Animation

A Dip Into the Snuff Box

2008-04-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a montage I found of this hilarious bit from my current favorite show (though it's old in Britain already), Snuff Box. Something about this makes the man in me laugh and laugh. We've all been there.

Andrew W.K. Stylee

2008-03-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

That's means I've been partying hard, my Gentle Viewers!

SxSW came and went, and while I didn't get to see and do as much as my roommate, I made the best of it with what little time I did have for the event.

First was the kickoff weekend where Sunday night, Marshall, Cheryal, and I went to a film party sponsored in part by Reversal Films and NOLCHA. It was at Speakeasy, so without an alcohol sponsor, the drinks were a bit on the pricey side. Suffice to say I did not drink enough to get drunk. This was our opportunity to schmooze, pass out business cards, and try to make contacts. However, out hosts were too busy with their own partying and schmoozing to help us out and and I was in the middle of one of my rare social "shutdowns" where everyone seems unfriendly and I don't want to associate with anyone. But Marshall pulled through and handed out a few cards and talked to a few important people, but nothing on par with the SxSW fantasy of every band where that one famous figure in the crowd is waiting to snatch you up and get you signed to a contract. Regardless of all of this it was a helluva party and the live music was great. First was an Indie Rock band called Belaire. They sounded kinda like Of Montreal and Dressy Bessy to me, and I really enjoyed them. But the main attraction was a Hip Hop group from LA called "People Under The Stairs." They were old school hip hop to the max, rapping about partying, getting everyone to put their hands in the air, and all the other crowd jiving. They put on such an energetic show that even though most people didn't even know who they were, everyone participated and got a lot out of the experience.

The next bit of fun to be had was a free late night show at Emo's on Tuesday that featured The Last Vegas, Portugal. The Man, and White Denim. I don't remember that Vegas band being very good, but we did make fun of his tight white pants.

Portugal. The Man, however, were spectacular. I've been a fan of the Church Mouth album ever since Mark introduced me to them, but to see them live is a new experience. With the lights, dense instrumentation and such a high level of energy, it was one of the better shows I've seen in quite a while. They played a couple from Church Mouth, a new song, some Waiter You Vultures, and during one song they even did a bit of "Helter Skelter!" I knew they would be playing more at SxSW, so I couldn't wait to see more.

White Denim was a sharp contrast. Their visuals were non-existent and their sound was sparse, but they made up for that with energy and intensity. There show was pretty good and dance-able. If I can dance to it, then it's got something going on.

I can't remember what happened Wednesday night...no wait, it's coming back to me! I went to the Longbranch Inn on East 11th Street and saw Easy Action and Dickey Moist (or something juvenile like that) with Emilie and Jeff. This was definitely not my sort of scene, nor Emilie, but it was something to do. Plus the one of the guys in Dickey Moist is Mark Olliveri, the guy from Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, and Mondo Generator. Yikes it was terrible. One of the ones that stood out in its awfulness had a chorus that went something like, "real American hero...half-ass Bobby DeNiro." Really guys? This is your anti-war song? Their awful sound and cliche lyrics made the opening band sound awesome in comparison. But we had plenty of drinks and fun anyway, so it was okay.

Everyone's Buddy

Thursday night was Spoon and Del The Funky Homosapien. A strange combination, I know, but I enjoyed both! Before the rocking and rapping could even begin Emilie and I got a picture with HEB Buddy! That was a fun and silly moment. Back to the music, Del was very spot-on, chatting with the crowd and making jokes, getting people to shout things, and just generally keeping it going despite a mostly white crowd looking nervous and waiting for Spoon. Though I did see a drunk college student jump up from his blanket when Del played "Virus," exclaiming, "Yeah! Deltron!"

Spoon in their blurry glory

Spoon was...ok. When one combines a group of people near me who would not shut the fuck up the entire time (Honestly, who goes to a show just to TALK?!) and the fact that they're already not a really active band in concert it doesn't make for the greatest time. But we had fun anyway. Afterwards there was some hemming and hawing about what to do next, but we ended up going back to Jeff's to just relax and listen to some music. Cheryal parted ways at this point to rest, and even though I should have, I did not, and instead went downtown with Emilie and Jeff and wandered the streets, eventually having very sore feat. All the wandering was due to the fact that we had intended to go to the Children's Museum party, but it was PACKED...like a capacity packed. They were only letting people in if someone left, which was not a very speedy process. Everyone was having too much fun playing around all sorts of shapes and sizes of toys all while under the influence of free drinks. Lucky people. We didn't have much luck finding an alternative, and instead just cooled our heels in Lovejoy with a winding down beer, and then headed home to get a little bit of sleep before my half work day and afternoon of shows!

The morning crawled by with menial tasks, my mind all the while on my escape. Even if it was just a half day, it felt glorious to be able to escape when everyone else was there. I dashed out of the place and off to my federal fingerprinting appointment. I guess to make sure I wasn't a criminal. Second one of those things in the past 3 months! But it took no time and I was flying towards downtown, parking on the east side and sprinting to Brush Square Park for the Aussie BBQ!

This was going to be my chance to the Vines. Yes, the "Get Free" guys. I have always liked them a great deal and really regretted the fact that he melted down before I was ever able to see them in concert. And even though it was only a 30 minute set, they rocked it full throttle and it was a damn fine show! They played a couple from the first two albums: "Get Free," "Highly Evolved," "Outtathaway!" and "Ride." The underated, underheard third album even got shown some love and they even managed to squeeze in a cover of "Miss Jackson" and some new songs!
It was an outstanding and kinetic set with me right up front, thrashing around and singing along.

After their set I proceeded to help myself to the free hotdogs and alcohol, filling my empty stomach and getting to that "feeling good" sensation early on in the day. So far my SxSW weekend was off to a great start, but this was no time to rest on my laurels! It was time to make it to another show!

A hop, skip, and a jump later I was down at Headhunters, watching Portugal. The Man perform an acoustic set, which they were obviously nervous as hell about. But I think they pulled it off nicely, and the songs they chose translated real well. I was hoping they would have included "My Mind" because I think it would have been absolutely sublime, but no dice. If wishes were horses...

Stripped down but incredible

Winter hats...don't they know it's Texas?

The guy on the left is the awesome one who recognized me later

When faced with the situation of meeting musicians that I respect, I am always faced with a problem. I want to talk to them, get a picture, and let them know how much their music means to me, but at the same time I don't want to be another drooling fanboy. I'm sure most bands have enough of that. So I opted to not take a picture with them and instead waiting till they were outside having a smoke, and bummed a smoke off the keyboardist and proceeded to talk to them for a while. I talked to him and another of the members for a while, about Austin, Seattle, how they have already recorded the majority of their follow-up to Church Mouth and it was produced by the other band member I was talking to, and about SxSW in general. The lead singer walked by and I got to exchange a few sentences with him about how much I enjoyed the band, and I how I wanted to buy the vinyl to support them. I had read his rant on their website and the merits of vinyl and how they totally approve of downloading. He was quiet, but very sincere guy.

Off to another show. I was getting to Club Deville early so I could be sure to catch Jens Lekman, and ended up getting to see most of Peter Moren's (of Peter, Bjorn, & John) set, which was quite good. He sounded a bit like Lennon at times, and had some great little ditties. But the true draw for me and most of the crowd was Jens. He really knew how to play the crowd, making little jokes, telling stories, encouraging crowd participation, and playing really fun songs. Everything about his performance was sheer brilliance. I was texting people telling them, "I love this man." Not in any romatic way, but just so enraptured by his lovable stage presence.

Performing "Black Cab" with his bongos player

At the end of his set I met up with Cheryal, who happened to have a free beer wristband for me (because she's awesome), and I took full advantage of that, getting to the point of feeling "quite good." After this we were supposed to meet up with LeAnne and Mark and go to Red Eyed Fly for an Autolux gig, but the line was way out the door, so we passed on that, and decided to head back south, so we could get some food and recoup in hopes of making a second surge on the downtown scene later that night. We got some Chinese food and after that headed to LeAnne's to rest for a bit. The idea of rest was a bit too tempting and I passed out for a while. I awoke to everyone telling me we were leaving and heading back out.

We first had the intention of seeing a show with Rogue Wave and Nada Surf, but that had an incredibly long and slow line as well, so we opted out of that, deciding instead to wander for a bit, try to find something less crowded to see. Because, and ONLY because it was one of the few uncrowded places, we went to the Co-Op Bar. Lame place, but the drinks were cheap, and they were playing Rage Against The Machine and Tool, so it was ok. But when some band started playing music that was somewhere between Sublime and the "Cops" theme, it was time to go.

So off into the night we traveled once more. We decided to give up on finding something worthwhile in the music department, and decided to go to the Longbranch Inn, where we met up with Mando to listen to whatever random bands were there, and to just drink and hang out. By the time of arrival I was flagging, so a quick trip to the corner store and a Red Bull later, I was ready for more drinks and action. It was quite of fun night of ridiculous conversation, but that tends to happen when Mando is involved.

What happened next was one of those, "holy shit, it really IS a small world!" moments. The band that was playing when we walked in looked familiar. Certainly I had seen these hard rocking chicks before...and sure enough, by the end of the night I had gained the courage to ask, and lo and behold they were the very same girls that had been rocking a basement party in Ballard at Adrian's house! We talked Seattle and their band a bit, and it was great! It was quite exciting to see someone playing a SxSW gig that I had watched at a houseparty basement. It was such a cool moment. Around 1 or 2 I was feeling the toll of such a long day, and headed home to get some rest before the circus began again.

With a good night's sleep and a shower under my belt I headed back into the fray with Emilie and Jeff, having lunch at the tad pricey but very delicious Blue Dhalia Cafe and then seeing Ben's band Ramifications at Headhunter's. It was basically the same people that always go to their shows, but I was happy they got a gig at SxSW. They're a really good band, and deserved to get more gigs and recognition. After that was done I bolted down to Mohawk's to try to catch A Place To Bury Strangers, whom I had nearly seen for many days but was finally going to witness. It was a great performance, but I must say, they are an atmospheric kind of music. They kind you see indoors, in a dark smokey club where you would let the feedback and icy delivery of the vocals wash over you in a sea of euphoric macabre, if such a thing even exists or is possible. But I could appreciate the musicianship anyway in the middle of a bright hot day. Leaving impressed (Jeff liked 'em too!) and Emilie very nonplussed, we headed over to the French Ligation, where many people were to play, including She & Him and Okkerville River.

I had never been to this place, but it turns out to be a completely gorgeous garden area in east Austin! There was a huge green lawn with many people casually lounging around, and people under a mid-sized canopy enjoying the bands. It seemed like an idyllic spot--but there was one problem: it was too crowded! This place was designed for many less people. The tent area was overcrowded, the beer line was astronomical and the port-o-potty line almost as long! As cool of a spot as it was, I had no desire to stay. I wanted to seek less crowded pastures, so I called up LeAnne and Cheryal and I agreed to meet up with her and head to the Do512.com party on South Lamar.

This place eventually became the most fun of any party I went to during all of SxSW. First off it was in this tucked away area with these garage-looking buildings which were apparently inhabited by artists, some of which were having an open house for people to look at the art and enjoy free drinks. The art inside was awesome and everyone found something they wanted to take home if they were in slightly higher tax bracket. ;-) The party was also co-sponsored by Sweet Leaf Tea and 42 Degrees vodka, so the vodka tea drinks were flowing, as well as the beer (but I passed on beer). Free drinks out the wazoo! Okay, I'm over it now. Then we proceeded to see some amazing performances. First up was Wild Orchid Children, a side project of some of the members of Portugal. The Man. It was a wacking screaming sort of experiment band, but HIGHLY enjoyable. If they had an album, I'd love to hear it.

Mustaches 'a plenty with Orchid Wild Children

After them went the actual Portugal. The Man, who put on yet another stellar performance, this one much more "jammy" than any of the other ones. But it was a good thing, watching them take these songs that I had seen them perform before and venture into new soundscapes with them. Directly after their performances Mark and LeAnne departed, headed for the Diesel party, or some such thing.

Rollicking Neon Adventures

Claps and tambourines

After they played the keyboardist walked by and recognized me! Just a brief, "hey! (shake hands here) enjoying the show? Take it easy!" Small but awesome gesture. By this time I was starving, and onsite for the party (but not free, sadly) was Torchy's "Damn Good" Tacos. Jimminy Cricket did they live up to the name! I got both a beef fajita taco but also a chipotle verde pork taco, which was incredible! We ravinously gobbled these down while watching the Von Bondies, who put on a solid, rocking performance.

Somewhere around this point Emilie and Jeff reunited with Cheryal and I, and with almost suspicious timing so did the Red Bull! So now I was downing Red Bull & Vodka, which made me feel loose but crazy, which is exactly how I need to be for Man Man!

Where the neon madmen climb

I've seen these guys twice before and they've never disappointed. It's always such an energetic hullabaloo. I've often described the vibe to other people as, "Where The Wild Things Are - The Band." They certainly lived up to this for a third time, pulling out old favorites and playing plenty of new songs, which sounded fantastic and flowed excellently with older material. My only minor quibble would be that the instrumentation seemed more sparse. I don't know if there were members missing our their "kitchen sink" approach has been altered, but it seemed more focused, and less zany. Still and incendiary performance that I danced my ass off during, but just noticeably different. I honestly can't wait to hear their new album, Rabbit Habits, which comes out April 8.

Hurly/Burly and good rambunctious fun

Once the last bits of rattle and hum left the stage, I left with everyone else, except I think I was a sweatier mess than most. Cheryal and I headed over to Jeff's for some grilling and chilling until we headed off to a secret Octopus Project show. Emilie made her delicious cream cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers. So delicious! We all piled into the car and went a few blocks down the street to check out this secret show, but it turned it we were too late, it already happened. It was just in someone's backyard, and everyone except the band and their close friends had cleared out, making our arrival a bit awkward, but we had a drink from their keg, chatted with the band and expressed our dismay at missing the show and departed, and which time everyone went home to sleep.

The next day, and this past week for that matter I have spent recovering from a zany stint of drinking, dancing, and partying. Just been trying to take it easy and start work on a new project with mi hermano.

Fear not, there are plenty of great shows ahead, so at the very least, watch this space for reviews of more Spring concert madness!

Goodbyes, Hellos, and Potential

2008-02-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

So it's been a long while my Gentle Viewers.

It seems like I never find the time for this thing. It's unfortunate, but true. Well, that or things are particularly boring or crappy and don't feel like whining or putting you to sleep. You want action, excitement, adventure, and all the things leave you on the edge of your computer chair, moments from swallowing a bit too much coffee and choking on hard truths and realizations.

So let's see what's been going on...

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to My Homies...

Last month my long time friend and brother from another mother Jason left the Neverland that is Austin, TX and set off for California. I miss him a lot. Him and I had gotten quite close in the months leading up to his departure. But from what he tells me and what I've heard from others who speak to him more frequently than I, he's doing quite well, living in a small town outside of LA. He might work at Yosemite this summer, and I really hope he does, so I can live vicariously through him. I want to wander the land and have more adventure, but I've done that plenty, and now I need to get my life in some semblance of order. Or at least that's what society tells me. :::sigh:::

But before this great guy left, we had a party, and here's a few snapshots from the shindig:

Surprise visit from Chrissie & David!
We haven't seen these guys in a long time!

Matt and Blunck share a beer and a moment

With a smirk and a glowing jacket he charms them all

The Man of the Hour & Me (looking weird)

Requiem for a Relationship

So I had a girlfriend for a few months, as you could have at least guessed from my blog. Eventually the differences between us became too much and we just drifted apart. When the intensity and passion is gone, there's no sense in forcing it. She was a great gal and I miss her, but had to do what was right for both of us.

New Jobby-Job!

So for the past few months I worked at the Waterloo store in the airp0rt. It was humbling in many ways, but I did get to watch music DVDs all day. But my mind and my bank account screamed out for the something better, something more. So I started job hunting, went to plenty of interviews (some good, some terrible). But I can happily say I've now landed a great new job.

I work in an office, but also with kids. It's a very busy, hectic, and maddening, but I really feel like I'm doing something good, helping kids. I also love that I do a million different things a day. I may complain in the moment, but in the long run it keeps me busy and interested for longer because I don't have time to space out and long for something to stimulate me. Everyone I work with seems really nice. My boss is very serious and demanding sometimes but it's manageable.

The greatest thing about is all of the funny moments I have with the kids on a daily basis. They crack me up, amaze me, and baffle me, all at the same time. Here's some of the highlights:

* When ordering art supplies I noticed paints called "People Colors!" I cracked up at this. I mean, back in the day people were brown or apricot, that was it. Now there are race oriented paints. What will this modern politically correct world think of next?

* I'm observing a room of infants around 12 months old. I sit down, they take one look at me and all burst into tears. Intense stranger anxiety at this age the teacher tells me....

* A girl runs around the playground comes up to me and says, "I'm going on vacation. I'm gonna fight a big poo!" She then runs away. I shoot a questioning look over to one of teachers and he tells me, "yeah, they're pretty obsessed with bodily functions at this age."

* Another girl runs around the classroom, finger out announcing, "look! look! BM! BM!" The teacher looks at her and says, "where did you..." and then pulls open her pants and says, "you stuck your hand down your diaper, didn't you?!"

* I relieve a teacher for a bathroom break and she hands me a book. "Here, I was reading them a story, finish it up." The kids immediately crowd around me on the floor, and one even crawls into my lap to hear the story. (I know, AWWWWW!)

I'll try to post more often, at least to share some funny anecdotes about the kids.

Inching Towards Success

So Marshall and I have been writing screenplays for a while now, and for quite some time we've been in talks with some people about our latest script since they say it has a lot of potential. Nothing solid yet in terms of deals or funding or anything like that, but I do feel closer than ever to my film career taking off, and our film contacts promise to introduce us to "industry people" at SxSW, so it will be a key time for me to schmooze. Maybe I should get business cards?

In The Meantime...Geek Joy

2008-02-05T18:15:00.000-08:00

Hey Gentle Viewers!

Lots of stuff brewing in the "me" world lately, haven't been able to blog, but I promise I will soon. In the meantime, enjoy this piece of pure geek awesomeness!!

low

2007-12-21T21:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted.

The job hunt has not been going well. All I've been able to come up with is a job at the airp0rt, selling CDs. The pay isn't great and the hours suck. And while all of my friends are going home for the holidays and taking trips to the beach, I'm stuck here working on both Christmas Eve and Day. It's quite depressing.

So everybody have fun for me on your holidays, will ya?

Sometimes what seemed like the easy road turns out to be the hardest road, and you long for that other fork, the one where the potential seemed frightening and wrought with hard work, but endless. Maybe one day things will get easy or at least more clear...

Playing Catch-Up & Barbershop Man Fest

2007-12-02T17:31:00.000-08:00

It feels like every time I post something on here I'm playing catch-up, and more often than not, letting pictures do the talking for me. So why bother? I guess the inner-writer in me keeps me compelled to continue. I guess I feel like it's not worth posting unless I've done something post-worthy, and being on the job hunt trying to not go anywhere or spend money tends to lead to rather uneventful times.

BUT, here's a few pics from my birthday bash from a couple of weekends back. It was a GREAT time, I freakin' loved it.

Marshall, Blunck, and Silly-Lookin' Mark

Ben drinks beer, hears no evil while Jason is entertained by Blunck

Radha, Emilie, and Matt later in evening

So in the meantime I've just been job hunting and taking short temp assignments which can be frustrating and nerve-wracking, but in the meantime, Jason and I play guitar hero and Llana and I hang out and have fun, so that's something.

Man Fest!

So it's Saturday and Llana and I decide to look for something to do, being tired of usual derisions and being sick still, wanting something to get out of the house for is all we can think about, so I look on good ole Austin360.com and find that Bird's Barbershop is hosting "Man Fest," a free event with live bands, skits, and free alcohol and food. The manliness part comes in with the Lumberjack photo booth and arm wrestling contests and such. Oh, and they were giving out free stick-on mustaches to everyone, which was strange and funny. Here's some pics of this highly entertaining affair.

Never been here before, but I might after such a cool event

Mustache rides from everyone tonight!

Lumberjack photos with stump & flannel

More Manliness: A Good Ole Fashioned Shoe Shinin'

The mustachioed girls looked fierce, I dared not...

Llana enjoying the free draft beer

Camo lady + baby + weiner dog-in-a-bag=AWESOME

Golden Bear performing a manly set

So all in all a fun event and good way to spend a bit of the evening. Later that night we went and saw...

So it's true that I don't get out the theater much to see movies, but this is one of the most intriguing movies I've seen in a long time. Such a unique way to portray the strange journey of a legend. The cinematography, the performances, the semi-coherent, semi-arty nonsense, all of it blended into such a marvelous swirl of cinema magic. Plus one has to love a movie that throws in little extra bits for the die-hard fans, using Dylan lyrics as lines in the script, seeing him typing on a type writer what would later be "Like A Rolling Stone," and then typing excerpts from his bizarre book Tarantula. All these bits thrilled me and made it that much more of an in-depth experience. I especially recommend this film to any fan of Dylan, and even to those who aren't very familiar, for the art of a film it is, and I wouldn't be surprised if it turned you into a bigger fan, or made you decide to finally, "see what that Dylan fellow is all about."

Today was a lazy day of the Sunday Maria's Taco Xpress tradition, and then a relaxing stroll through Zilker Park and laying around reading in the sun. A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

This week, let's see what I can do about the whole job situation...

Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary

2007-11-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

Today is that day. The one that brings joy, fear, and contemplation: the birthday.

As if there wasn't plenty of opportunities to reflect on life in my daily routine I have to endure a day of these thoughts washing over me with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face. I must look back at this past year, "25" and think about what worked, what didn't and what to do for the next year.

This was a rollercoaster of a year. Some of the highest highs and lowest lows of my entire life. I won't detail them here, because most of you already know. But dealing with these has been so difficult and a test of my patience, peace of mind, and the capacity of my heart. Let's look towards the future and what I can do better in the coming year, because if I think about it all too much I'll cry. Which makes me just want to announce for the record, yes I know I am dramatic, yes I know I'm overly emotional. It's just part of me. I can't change it to any great extent. That's just me. Love it or leave. Emo-ness and all.

In this next year, first and foremost I want to take the time and effort to let everybody in my life know how much I love them and how much they mean to me. These things are always assumed and taken for granted, and nobody deserves this. If you care about someone, tell them. If they do something nice for you, thank them, whether it be in words or returned favors. Let's all take care of each other and let one another just how much love there is. Don't let a single person slip away or grow cold just because you didn't take time to pay attention to the little things and be the most caring person you could be. And in keeping in spirit of this, I would just like to say a big thank you to Kim for making my last birthday really fun and special. That means a lot to me.

Health is another thing, and I know it sounds terribly cliche to talk about it, but it's true. The body's only going to get weaker and metabolism slower. Now's the time to start taking care of myself, eating better and exercising regularly. I started this in the past few weeks, and I hope to continue it. Because not only do I feel better, but I will eventually lose a little weight and be more tone, and that would be awesome.

The other important thing for this year is to pursue my dreams and desires to the fullest. Life's not getting any longer, and the opportunities are not getting more plentiful. As Ryan Adams says, "If you want any flowers, you've got to get your seeds into the ground." So that's what I'm going to try to do. Plant the seeds of success, whether that be through meeting more film people, taking some informal classes on some high-end software, or continue writing. Now is the time to go for it. I've been off to a good start this year. Marshall and I have completed two feature-length scripts and are working on a short currently. This is progress, and it should continue, full strength. Never should the desire to just laze around, drink, or play video games come before making my dreams happen. I've spent enough of my early to mid-20s just playing like the thoughtless grasshopper in summer. True I've gained some grit and survival skills in the past two years that have helped me grow immensely inside, but I still didn't have my eye on the prize, wasn't feeling that metaphorical "fire" under me, except in brief moments when some of those around me would pump me up, and show that they believed in me. God, if only I had started taking all of this serious earlier, things could have been so different, or at least got rolling earlier. Because now I feel I am coming to the sink or swim point, whether I decide to continue wallowing in just "getting-by" or really go for it and carve out a respectable existence for myself. I feel like I still have so much to do and say, so much to think and dream.

These are just a couple of things I had to put down on "paper." I suppose part of me believes that if I put it in writing then it will be more material and substantial. And it's not the most elegantly written thing in the world, but I just needed to spit this out to all of you, and myself. Let you know where I'm at mentally on this day, because most people ask you on your birthday, "how do you feel? do you feel any older?" Do I still feel young? I guess. Do I feel a little old? Yup. So this is how I feel.

To end things on a funny note, here's the lyrics to Shake's new birthday song from Aqua Teen Hunger Force because he hated the traditional birthday song. It was played by Zakk Wylde and was crazy. Enjoy!

"Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary"

Deep within the womb of time,
a creature thus be born
The seed of life is united with
the egg of tyranny
Gestates forth from within the womb of life
for three-quarter and nigh a year
The creature thus be born!
The creature thus be formed!
And ye of years ... bells will chime!
When the heavens open up
and drink from the silver cup
The creature thus be born!
And blow the magic horn!
To alert the spirit deep within the cycle of life.
The creature has begun it's journey deep forlorn,
upon this day which he be formed
In the sea of mucus the spirit rides down from the mountain
and unites with the creature in the womb
A holy union, dark mortality, until the dark mortality
breaks the chain of life
The creature thus be born
And every year raineth down the celebratory tears
A celebration of the years
from mere mortal sky

Coffee + Sleep Deprivation

2007-11-09T07:27:00.000-08:00

The need for escape feels overwhelming. This burning desire to transcend the confines of my physical being and mental capacity pervades every thought I have as I sit here and mindlessly type these numbers for this job that doesn't matter in a building that does nothing more than give the wrong people money and make them feel important. This is not my world. Not the one I claim to be my own. The one where I would dearly love to lay my head would be a much more open one--expanisve. it would strentch for days with infinite sky. Free of limitation and necessity. In such a place one could exist in peace and pursue the thoughts and activites that they knew were meant for them, the things they felt in their inner-being. It would certainly not be what someone else thought one was capable of, putting a cap on your mobility and creativity. I feel it's this way in the which the world grinds along that makes people dead inside, to be brow beaten by someone else's expectations, void of ideas to dream for themselves, to reach into the infinite possibilities waiting for anyone with enough desire and grit.

Perhaps it's the coffee and that makes my mind work overtime, racing with a million thoughts a minute, unable to control my words or my thoughts, let alone concentrate on this menial task before me. This environment can be stifiling and depressing at times, but one must just say, "This is not me. When I am elsewhere, they will still be here." A while ago the inner adventurer, dreamer was fully unlocked by the right mind and heart, and it's impossible to go back to accepting what life gives with only a faint hope of happiness once one has tasted the possibilities and lived life lean and wild, ready for anything this world threw at you, whether you knew you were ready for it or not.

If sheer imagination and mental power alone could shake the foundations of this earth, I feel as if they would right now, under the weight of racing fragments of fury and thought that bounce inside my skull. I see myself not as what greets me in the mirror, but in ideal, thoughts, and feelings--an existence of intesity riding the crest of large and lethal golden wave. Sometimes I'm at the top with a beautiful ocean view, wind in my hair and face, smiling and letting the experience wash over me, and other times I have been cast ashore by this wave, clammering in the sandy shore, violently swimming back out towards the waves, hoping to catch it again, not knowing how long I must paddle until I find it again. This is the time when arms tire and the mind weakens, but if I just remain fixed on those times when I was madly dancing atop the wave, strength returns to my arms and new determination fills the mind. It feels as if the next chance to catch the tide is fast approacing whether I am prepared or not. Is that it just a few miles out, or is that my mind playing tricks on me? Only time will reveal the truth and in the meantime I must continue on as if it is just a few knots away.

Trying to Level Off...

2007-10-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to report when I had some good news, or things were at least stable. Doesn't seem like that's happening any time soon, so I'll just go ahead and give a quick update.

I'm living in an apartment with Chris, and it's an awesome apartment. I really like it. So that's a good thing.

I've had two jobs, but don't have them anymore for various reasons, which is upsetting. So now I'm looking for work again, which I completely deplore. So if anybody's got any job leads, please let me know.

Aside from job concerns, I've had trouble sleeping. I'm always exhausted and never sleep a good, consistent amount and it's really caused trouble. I just can't sleep. I guess I should look into getting some sleep-aid or something.

Ryan Adams played Houston on Thursday night and it was awesome. At times there were extended jams, and there was a lot of joking around between Ryan, the band, and the audience (though for the most part the crowd were assholes). He even played a couple of minutes of "Freebird" which was hilarious. It was a fantastic show, and if anybody gets the chance to see him, I highly recommend it. Sober Ryan puts on a great, consistent performance now.

Yesterday I went to a film meet-up where I was the only one there other than the person that organized it (well, aside from a crazy old lady carrying a little dog who stopped in for a while). But that was ok, she was a really awesome, driven person and we've committed to trying to pull together a short film by the end of the year, which is exciting. Besides, one incredibly driven, determined person is worth 5 people with a vague, "yeah, let's do something."

Last night I went on a blind date from that website crazyblindate.com, and that was pretty cool/interesting. I'm all up for trying new things and meeting new people. Afterwards I went and saw Man Man, who were simply incredible. The amount of energy they put into each and every show is astounding. It was so much fun and I danced my ass off, leaving the place wringing with sweat. But that's how a good concert should be.

It's finally getting slightly cooler (AKA not sweat-pouring heat), so I'm going to take advantage of it and go to the park. If it's a nice day where you are, try to enjoy it and have fun.

Maybe next time I'll have some better news and some pictures. Until then...

ACL Fest: Day 3

2007-10-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

As a whole the day was better than Saturday, but nothing all weekend compared to the glory of Muse.

Yo La Tengo:

Not interesting enough to photo

The National:

The Alligator Boxers

Common:

I never told you to put down your hands...

Bloc Party:

Hella Rockin' Show

Regina Spektor:

She was glad to be there, astonished by the crowd

Wilco & My Morning Jacket:

Sounded ok, but not close enough to care

I'd rather get a good spot for...

The Decemberists:

La-duh-dah-da-dah, duh-da-da, duh-da-da-da-da-da-daaa..

"The Island"

"16 Military Wives"

Bob Dylan:
Croaking Legend and festival finish

ACL Fest: Day 2

2007-10-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

To try to speed things up and try to live not so much in the past, I'll just post pictures from the other 2 days of ACL Fest. But rest assured it was a fantastic weekend my Gentle Viewers.

Augustana:
A Horrible Concoction of Saves The Day meets Goo Goo Dolls

Cold War Kids:
Better than expected; the song "St. John" is amazing

Andrew Bird:
Mesmerizing, and the best whistler in rock to boot!

Damien Rice:
Fuzzed-out delicateness

"Delicate"

Waiting...
And waiting for...

Muse:
Face-Melting Rock Supremacy

"Take A Bow"

ACL Fest: Day 1

2007-09-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

So here we are, recapping a crazy weekend of music. I'll do my best to hit the highs and lows, but for some of it I will rely on pictures, b/c we know how the old saying goes.

I was going to get there around 12:30 so I could catch Jesse Malin, but that did not happen. I stayed up too late partying the night before and just couldn't get up at a decent hour. I finally got out there around 3:30 just in time for...

Blonde Redhead

Theirs is a music better set in a dark club with moody lighting to catchy all of the subtlety and atmospherics of their performance. But considering the circumstances, I think they did a great job, playing more upbeat songs for most part and kept my attention for their entire set, but this comes from a pretty big fan, not a casual fan who would have preferred to see String Cheese Incident or something. You could tell the heat was really getting to Kazu, she looked tired and had circles under her eyes. She definitely seems like she's not used to doing festival gigs in scorching heat, but she pulled through like a champ rotating between bass and keyboard, the latter which looked like a giant black rocking horse! Her and the rest of the band romped through old and new songs alike, including "In Particular," "Equus," "Falling Man," and "The Dress." It was a great way to start my festival day.

Then came a period of wandering and sampling the various offerings. First we went to check out M.I.A. which I've listened to a couple of times and really dig it. Like a more world beat oriented Lady Sovereign or something. Well, the beats were steady and it was a grooving set, but she and her sidekick were ridiculous to watch on stage one was dressed in semi-traditional African gear but we garish colors and M.I.A. herself was in a neon pink jumpsuit. They looked like Star Search '88 contests jumping around the stage in those get ups. So the silliness of it overwhelmed me and my friends so we decided to cut out early to check out LCD Soundsystem. So I've listened to these guys in passing, and all I remember was a repetitive beat and the guy saying, "Daft Punk is playing at my house, MY HOUSE!" He did that for the whole song. They aren't good enough for using the trick of the band who they evoked. Unfortunately the vague recollection I had of this band proved to be about all they did. Some large ridiculous man was on stage shouting, not even singing, about not being British, and then had a song that was almost 10 minutes long where the only words were, "yeah yeah yeah!" It was sort of annoying and I wish I had stayed at M.I.A. and learned to ignore the wardrobe and groove to that, not this drivel. It reminds of the way people talked highly of the Happy Mondays, but it was really just some fat bastard yelling and mumbling about nothing. But the migration wasn't for naught, because then right behind me began...

Queens of the Stone Age

It was either seeing these guys or Spoon, and unlike the unsubstantiated logic of the stooges at NPR, it was a no-brainer for me. Spoon are wonderful and their new album is fantastic, but they are very hit and miss in concert, while Queens of the Stone Age are sure thing, full of hard rocking and thrashing grooves.

It was a great set full of well known songs and crowd pleasures, but material from Rated R was strangely absent, which is a shame, because I would have loved to hear "Monster in the Parasol" or "Lost Art of Keeping a Secret." Fortunately their set was comprised in large of songs from still their best work Songs for the Deaf. Here's a list of songs they played: "Go With The Flow," "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire," "Song for the Dead," "In My Head," "Burn The Witch," "No One Knows," and new songs "Turnin' On The Screw," "Mexicola," "3's and 7's," and personal favorite "I Wanna Make It Wit Chu."

It was very satisfying to see them, as always. They always put on a great show, Josh Homme is generally in a great mood and encouraging everyone to "get laid," and you can dance around to it in a head banging sort of way. What's not to like?

Afterwards we made the trek across the park to stake out a good spot for the main event...

Björk

Something to keep in mind here: she's one of my absolute favorites, and as such has been near the top of my "Must-See In Concert" list. With completing my goals of seeing Page/Plant, Radiohead, Tool, and others of my favorites, she was about the only one left, other than Nick Cave and David Bowie. So even though expectations were high, I was just very excited at the thought of seeing her at all.

She entered the stage wearing a bright gold leotard and dress with her forehead painted in bright neon colors, followed by her women's brass section dressed in matching neon and face paint. Then came the guys doing electronics which looked less like instruments or even drum beat machines and more like something you'd find aboard a ship in Lost In Space. There were crazy volume bars that changed with the touch of their fingers or electric looking flat board where circular objects were moved around to produce certain tones. It was very surreal.

She opened up with one of the most upbeat songs from her new album "Innocence" and it really started things off right, getting everyone jumping around feeling good. Why she didn't continue in a similar vein, I don't know. Instead she kept the set mostly atmospheric and languid, preferring to deliver slow-burning ballads and subdued versions of songs. There was the occasional upbeat song, and "Pluto" rocked really hard.

But regardless, it was hard to deny her pixie-like charming and soaring voice. One of the speakers even caught fire while she was backstage! She came back out and said, "Did you see that? Our speaker caught fire! But we don't care, we're going to play anyway." It was adorable.

So I did get to groove and jig around a little bit to her set, and was in awe the whole time, seeing one of the truly great musicians and performers of our generation. Thank you Björk, you've made this fan's dream come true.

Björk's set included:

Innocence
Hunter
Joga
Pagan Poetry
Hidden Place
Immature
5 Years
Cover Me
Anchor Song
I Miss You
Hyper Ballad
The Pleasure Is Mine
Army of Me
Pluto
Declare Independence

Björk - "Joga"

Björk - "Declare Independence"

Sorry for the Delay

2007-07-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been a really long time Gentle Viewers! Sorry about that, life has been busy and transitory. So I'll be brief and for the most part let the pictures do the talking, cuz y'know, pictures are worth lots of words and all that rot.

So, it feels like so long ago already, but yes, I left Seattle. After my job ended I enjoyed my last few days in Seattle, because the weather was nice and there was plenty to do. The best was the day I spent at the Experience Music Project and the Science Fiction Museum. All in all Seattle had its low points, but it was all around a beneficial experience. It helped me to grow as a person and experience different lifestyles and environments. Plus, I became a coffee snob while I was there. Oh well, what can you do. Truth be told, I do miss the city a little. I hope to return to you someday Seattle.

So then I returned to Angleton for a seemingly extended stay, but first thing when I arrived my parents and I set off on a cruise around the Caribbean! I'll mostly just let the pictures do the talking.

Jamaica

Sunset Beach Resort, all-inclusive resort we spent the day at

The swim-up bar

Visited by "liquid sunshine"

Montego Bay: Harassment a-plenty!

Grand Cayman Island

Me and the peg-legged turtle ^_^

Near the shore

Tasty, with free internet!

Cock of the Bakery

Yo ho, and a bottle of rum

Blinded by the Light

Grand Cayman Snorkeling

View from the boat

Our snorkel boat, water view

A multi-colored reef, some fishies too

Lots o' little fishies, payin' me no mind

I love this little blue guy

Follow me to Sting Ray City

We're surrounded!

Many a tourist visited the lively rays

Give it a kiss for luck!

Cozumel

Monster of a cruise ship in Cozumel harbor

Entrance to the horse riding ranch/Mayan ruins

Bilingual info for all at the ranch

Bonita y Tranquilo

Surveying our steeds

Our guide and some posteriors

Ruinas Mayas

Gun boats under the banner

Just reflections of the sky

Around The Ship

Galveston Harbor from the ship. Hi Elissa!

Crazy multi-floored inside of the boat

Singing some Ryan Adams @ karaoke

P.I.M.P.

So after the cruise I hung out at my parents' house and spent plenty of time with my grandma. But after that I had to go to my job training...

Chicago

Downtown from an orb's perspective

The orb's looking at me!

Modern spitty arty

So then after that I journeyed to Austin to begin my camp summer, which is now over. 8 weeks. 8 weeks of non-stop tech camp, teach some good kids, some spoiled brats that I basically babysat. 8 weeks of poor living conditions in the dorm, and food so terrible in the cafeteria that I on so many occasions that I lost count I felt ill and bloated. Glad to be rid of that.

Hangin' around

On the positive, I did have some really good times, and make some great new friends, like Jake from Ohio, Weston from Colorado, and Hemanth from Corpus (but originally India!). We had some great times during the job, and some even better times going downtown, smoking, drinking, etc. Oh, and now that the summer is over, I can reveal that when we were making plans for drinking and kids were around we would call it Mario Kart. Such as, "I can't wait, as soon as I leave tonight, I'm going to Mario Kart until I pass out!" So it was funny to us, maybe not so much to you, but it made it fun feeling like we had a secret code.

Leading the chillens in "shout-outs!"

Omar the badass web dude/musician and one of my more "interesting" students

So now the summer camp is over, and now is a time to relax a little, catch up on my sleep, and my video gaming. But more importantly than that, it's time to find a job, and with that, a place to live. Big ups to my sis and Mark for helping me out this summer with a place to stay, and I don't want to stay too much longer and wear out my welcome. I want to get a place for myself. Right now Jake, Fabian, and I are wanting to get a place together, but they don't want to make the big move Austin without finding a job first. But they better hurry, because I don't want to be a couch bum for much longer! May the Gods of employment shine down upon them and help them achieve their goal of finding a job and being able to stay in Austin. You know me, I'll be around...

Whew! That's it! After a whole summer, months, and working on the one blog posting on and off for like 2 weeks, it's finally done. I promise it will be a lot less time until the next one.

Expectations Go Out The Window

2007-04-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

4/24/07 @ Neumo's

Remember the experience of going to your first concerts? The ones where everybody smashed together up front to get close to the band, slam danced like a crazy sweating mess, and pumped your fist at every opportunity? Well this is the vibe Electric Six evoked with their show tonight.

There were two opening bands tonight, and I thought if I left later than usual, I might be so lucky as to dodge that bullet. However, things were running late I guess, and when I got there the first opening band, Nights Kills The Day was still playing. It has been a long time since I've disliked and scoffed at a band so much. Pumping out middle of the road Breaking Benjamin, Nickelback type stuff with a vocalist with the mid-range warbling of Axl Rose in the intonation of Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, but completely lacking in any range (and looking like a lame Dave Mustaine), they ripped through a set only they enjoyed, with such stereotypical song titles as "Blindfolded." Oh, and the guitarist who was pulling wanker solo after another looked like Hunter Thompson. Yikes.

One word: LAME

The next band was anywhere near as bad. They are called Test Your Reflex, and apparently they even had a few people in attendance that were actually there for them. They made bouncy indie-alterna-rock with butt rock anthem-like choruses. Which is band as far as opening bands go. It's not painful for the ears, and is a good way to pass the time before the band you paid for arrives on stage.

Kind of blurry, but there's Test Your Reflex

After what felt like forever, Electric Six entered the stage with "Mr. Woman," and didn't let the party let up until his extremely tongue-in-cheek diatribe about how great Bush is and how we should all be so lucky as to somehow get pregnant and birth the next Bush for the presidency. It was similar to the speech I saw him give only a few months ago last time they came through, but different enough that I didn't feel like it was the exact same show.

Dick showing Bush some love. Ha.

When I arrived the crowd was incredibly small, smaller than I've seen it at any show of recent memory, which made me sad/nervous for E6: where they losing their crowd? But by the time they went on the crowd had beefed up quite a bit, about 2/3 full.

Speaking of beef, if I had a quarter for every sweaty fat shirtless or so soaked in sweat that it didn't matter guy that slammed into me, I'd be able to do laundry for a couple of weeks, I'll tell you that. Yuck. Pretty much every show I've been to here in Seattle, people have remained relatively calm, trying to look cool while admiring the show, which was absurd at Man Man. But here, every guy with the heart of a frat guy was out in full force, jumping around, shouting, spraying beer on people and sweating profusely. It's not that I'm not used to it, it's just that it's been so long since I've been to a show where that was the population of the crowd that it was strange.

So here are my two complaints about the show, because few shows are perfect: first was how i kept getting grossly sweaty people slamming into me when I wasn't paying attention, disrupting me from the show, and the second complaint is that while the rest of the band looks wacky enough, they never speak or have moments to shine, so they just seem like Dick Valentine's puppets. I know it's his baby, but I like when the band at least attempts to show themselves off too.

You play a mean guitar, but who are you?

Dick Valentine did seem to be in a great mood, and even seemed like he was trying much harder than last time to hit all the notes and falsetto moments, putting on a spirited performance. Highlights included "Dance Epidemic," "The Future Is In The Future," "I Buy The Drugs," and "Germans In Mexico." And of course it's always great to see "Danger! High Voltage," the song that introduced the world and myself to the wonderfully energetic band with a tongue planted so firmly in cheek they risk biting it off.

In reviewing my almost 3-day stint of concert going, it seemed like there was a logical digression, in terms of mission and "high brow" art and entertainment. Blonde Redhead was moody and very much a personal experience for each audience member, plus they are Indie Rock media darlings. Peeping Tom still had an element of "cool" because it was Mike Patton, but it was all about the fun and stage show that night. Everybody's just having a good time, but with very creative, diverse styles of music. Tonight was a good ole rock-n-roll show, plain and simple. No frills, no back up singers, guest spots, DJs, or anything. Just men, their instruments, and pseudo sex/love anthems with a penchant for dancing and jumping around.

Just like my first few concerts.

p.s. here's a great new song from their latest album Switzerland, the nocturnal love anthem "Night Vision"

How U Feelin' ?

2007-04-24T02:08:00.000-07:00

Peeping Tom

4/23/07 @ The Showbox

My mind is still buzzing like a drunken wasp in jar, reeling from the genre-defying musical onslaught that is Peeping Tom.

Mike Patton's latest project is his most poppy and accessible since Mr. Bungle's album California, and that certainly isn't a bad thing. Afterall, it's still Mike Patton, so you know it's a strange take on whatever type of music he's tackling at the moment. The album is fantastic and easily one of my most played of 2006. However, I did have some apprehension how all of this would play out live. There were so many guests on the record, how do you take a beast like that out on the road?

The answer lies in crack team of mostly unknowns from the LA area: a young female beatboxing champion, a poofy haired woman who sings great backing vocals and provides electric violin in unexpected yet appropriate times, a super geeky keyboard player, a drummer that looks like he belongs in the Beastie Boys "Sabotage" video, and legendary DJ/Programmer badass Dan The Automator (!!!!). The last one was a surprise to be sure, but a very welcome one. Everything this man touches is gold.

King Midas workin' at the wheels

But allow me to back up the train for a minute and talk about the opener, Pigeon John. I had never heard of him and his name is fairly goofy, but as far as opening acts go, he was perfect. Blending Reggae and Hip Hop into a very upbeat, pleasant style, he warmed up the crowd, got them to shout plenty of "heys!" and "hos!" and all the other crowd interaction one gets at a hip hop show. Hell, by the end I was even dancing around to it, and some girl walking by took notice and danced with me for minute. That was a strange, funny interaction. But after a minute or two she casually walked away towards the bar. My friend Eric looked and me, I shrugged and laughed. All part of the concert-going experience I suppose. So, all that added up to a fun and pleasant way to begin the evening. I don't think I'll be running out and picking up his albums, but he was a cool opener.

The only man to rhyme "pigeon" & "smidgen"

Patton entered the stage wearing his by now infamous stocking cap/hairnet and sport the sleaze stache as always. He was in a fun, pleasant mood, and really enjoyed playing with crowd, getting them to shout irregular utterances like "arriba! aiiii!" encouraging everyone to give him the finger, and even getting the whole crowd to laugh at the band because according to him, "there's too much positive reinforcement going on! Laugh at us!"

Setlist songs included opening song "It's A Desperate Situation" by Marvin Gaye and every song from the album except "Celebrity Deathmatch." Kool Keith's part was done by Pigeon John making up his own verses, which was ok, but still...it's no Kool Keith! "Five Seconds" was particularly energetic and really had the crowd bouncing, as did "Mojo." I could spend paragraph after paragraph talking about all the cool moments in each song, because each song did have memorable moments. The surprise in the set came when they played the song "Get Up Punk!" from the album General Patton Vs. The X-Ecutioners. That made me really happy and jump around like mad.

The only disappointment in the whole show was that Dan the Automator did not get his own set to show off his skillz. The beatboxing chick, and even the band Dub Trio (who's featured on the album cut "We're Not Alone") had their own mini-set in the middle of Peeping Tom's set, yet no Automator set. So that was a drag, but the show itself was flawless.

In a very un-Patton move, they even came back and did an encore, which was the song "Across 110th Street," which was completely unknown to me. If somebody knows who it's by, please let me in on it, I'm curious.

This night was a beautiful contrast and counterpoint to Saturday's Blonde Redhead performance. While that one was all about building a mood for the viewer to take a journey, this was more of a rock show, with tons of crowd interaction, jumping up and down, and screaming; singing along to every song as loud as I could; getting a thrill just watching a master of his craft work his mojo.

His mojo was certainly working, and I advise all my Gentle Viewers to catch this show if Peeping Tom is in your hood. It will be a night of raucous fun and hairnets.

Here's the Peeping Tom song "Your Neighborhood Spaceman" for your enjoyment.

I'll let Mike Patton himself end this blog:

Dr. Strangeluv

2007-04-23T12:28:00.000-07:00

Blonde Redhead
4/21/07 @ The Showbox

The doctor prescribed a heavy slab of atmospherics for this wonderful performance. They never spoke a word until halfway through their set, instead focusing on building a mood and enveloping sound to coat this listener, to sink into them and take the mind to places not necessarily on stage or the here and now. There were times I envisioned myself in a small warm room, filled with some and wrapped in blankets. This first part of their set consisted of cuts from their new album 23, which up until this point I had no listened to much, or gave it much attention because it didn't grab me instantly the way Misery Is A Butterfly did. But I must now go back and fully explore that record, as it has been fleshed out beautifully in concert, and shown me the true nature of it's dense, moody craftsmanship.

Little bit of mood lighting goes a long way

The fog let up a little and eased into a more upbeat, clap along, bobbing number "In Particular," a fan favorite and a track that I absolutely adore. From there we were treated to a couple of older songs from Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons and others, one of which the stopped short, Kazu apologizing that they tried, but had forgotten how the rest of it went. It's alright, as spot-on and mesmerizing as they'd been up until that point, I'm willing to let that slide, and give them an 'E' for effort in trying to bring out a back catalog track.

After they left the stage there was thunderous applause and stomping, demanding the return of everyone's favorite angular noise rock-turned melancholy art house indie darlings. They reappeared shortly, dishing out a couple more slices of pure mood, but not too be confused with those terrible New Age CDs you order from TV. This was the real deal, and an awesome concert experience. Not one of energy and hype and movement, but one of personal internal journey, the sort of concert where the performance isn't the key, the music is but a tool to take the listener to places not as easily achievable at home with your turntable.

I recommend to anyone to see this great band whom I can't give enough superfluous remarks to. Just don't come expecting a raucous live show. Instead, grab a blanket and some tissues for your third eye.

As a special treat, here's the song "Dr. Strangeluv" from their new album 23.

Performing one of my favorites, "Taking Out the Eurotrash" at the Showbox last year

The Times They Are A-Changin'

2007-04-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome Gentle Viewers to another installment of the Chronicles of Riddick! Wait, my name's not Riddick...nevermind then, just welcome!

Farewell to Accounting

Tuesday the 17th was my last day at the accounting firm. Not sorry to see it go, as I was pulling 60 hour weeks by the end. But despite these grueling hours I was never treated like a slave or was too miserable. They fed us incredibly well, sometimes both lunch and dinner. On the last day not only did I get a farewell card with a Starbucks giftcard, but there was a huge end of tax season party at Tiki Bob's with a taco buffet and all the freeze booze I could drink.

I mostly just hung out with Fred, easily the office's nicest, funniest, and geekiest employee. Not that it's a bad thing. Hell, I was glad I finally met someone in Seattle that could go toe-to-toe with MY geekdom and even beyond, so that was very welcome. I also hung with the guy I shared an office with, John. You wouldn't think it from looking at him, but John is a Goth. He goes to Goth clubs every weekend and dresses all in black and talks about the lavish neon drinks he has there and all the types of alcohol they have in them. Sounds cool if I could tolerate the majority of the music, but I can't. Don't get me wrong, there are a few bands that are considered "Goth" that I really enjoy: Joy Division, Bauhaus, Siouxsie & The Banshees, and others. But much beyond that and it's just crushed velvet, eyeliner, goblets, and lasers. No thanks.

Not John, just funny as hell

So we partied there until 11 or 12 and went home. Hopefully Fred and I will get to hang out and play Guitar Hero II.

John (left), Fred (right), with me in the middle. Damn those rabbit ears!

My Days Are Numbered

So that's it. Now that my accounting days are over with, my days in Seattle are very limited. With Kim already gone and the apartment leased out to someone new, most loose ends are tied up. I spent the whole day after work ended packing and getting ready to go. I figured it was better to do it all now than try to foolishly do it all the day before I left. I've seen the results of that, and it's ugly. No, I try to be more prepared these days.

So what am I doing to fill my days of leisure, you ask? Well, getting more sleep for one. My body tries to wake up at 7:30 in time for work like a good robot every morning and I have to force myself to go back to sleep. Then I get up a few hours later, have some coffee, listen to some Dylan, Velvet Underground, or something else appropriate for coffee-filled mornings, make myself a delicious breakfast that usually involves bacon, and play around on the internet or spend some quality time on my DS. But amongst this lazy behavior, I do try to be active, going to the park to read or walking downtown to get the second issue of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 comic! Seriously though, I am trying to be active, so that when I go on the cruise in a week or so I'm not a blob.

I even got a haircut so I could be more streamlined for the summer!

I'm lookin' hard!

Other than that, there are a couple of great concerts coming up!

Blonde Redhead *Tonight!* 4/21 @ Showbox
Peeping Tom 4/23 @ Showbox
Electric 6 4/24 @ Neumos

Expect full reviews of each, so stay tuned!

Got My Mojo Working

Marshall and I are at it again, working on our second screenplay, currently called The Mojo Hand. It's based on the legends of the blues, and the holy grail of all blues aspirations: acquiring the mojo hand, or the best blues guitar playing known to man. Usually involves deals with the devil, crossroads and such. These themes have been touched upon in film, but never really done justice and in the full scope. Well we aim to fix that. I think we've got solid gold on our hands. This script's got something for everybody: spirited music performances, mythology, action, violence, romance, tragedy, black magic, comedy, and a midget. Yessiree. Good stuff. We've completed a treatment for it, so now we're waiting to hear back from our "connection" on it, but in the coming weeks are beginning to write the actual screenplay. Trust me, all of you will want to read this one.

Feel the voodoo of the Mojo Hand

Oh, and I beat Final Fantasy I last night! Woot!

See ya soon hax0rs of the internets!

Yessss! Cue the Fanfare!

2007-04-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY beat The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap tonight!

Not that it's a hard game or anything, but I refused for a long time to beat it until I had found absolutely everything in the game. Unfortunately, this was frustrating, and I put it away for a long time. There was one Kinstone piece that I couldn't find the match-up, and I think it was the king from way earlier in the game, before I knew how to do this stuff. So I couldn't do that, and I didn't have the patience to keep finding shells, pulling the handle and hoping for a new figurine to complete my set.

So I gave up trying, and just went to the castle and beat it. Fun stuff! I would say this is easily the best Zelda game on a handheld system. Well, only if you don't count the port they did of Link To The Past, the Super Nintendo game that was by far the best of the series. So this one was great because it introduced new items and gameplay concepts, had a good sense of humor, and was just plain fun. Maybe I'll try to convince LeAnne or somebody to play it, so that the only who isn't scratching their head when I talk about all of this is Chris Mikesell.

Now the wait is on for The Phantom Hour Glass, which looks to be incredible.

Last Friday I bought Sonic Rush, because I had heard/read good things about it, plus I have historically been a fan of the Sonic series, and hadn't picked one up in a long time, so I figured it was about time I did.

Unfortunately, it's not really what I was looking for. Either the charm of the classic Sonic formula has worn off, or I'm just really bad at it now, because the game is terribly frustrating. Don't get me wrong, the usage of both screens for the maps is really awesome, and easily the coolest thing about the game, but I dunno...something just didn't click for me. I kept dying at seemingly random spots or in cheap ways, and would stare at the GAME OVER screen in disbelief going, "Really?!" So either I've outgrown Sonic or Sonic has outgrown me. Which makes me really sad. I mean, Sonic 2 was one of my favorite games ever (funny about the twos, cuz Mega Man 2 is THE best).

So I think I'm going to take EB up on it's 'exchange in seven days if you don't like it' policy and get a different game. I want something fun and interactive, that makes use of the DS's touch screen and mic and stuff. So I think I might get this game:
Okay, I know it looks kiddie as all hell, but I hear the mini-games and micro-games beat the pants off anything on Wario Ware, and I really dig Wario Ware. The multiplayer sounds really cool and versatile, and of course, I'm a sucker for anything Final Fantasy. So I'll let you know what I think, Gentle Viewers.

I'll leave you with my next goal of game winning: Final Fantasy I for GBA. I got to the end and thought about doing all the extra dungeons and decided against it. Like the guys on 1up said, this game can feel grueling and like a "tour of duty" so I'm just going to get it out of the way and beat it. Afterall, that cute little chocobo needs my attention. Not to mention I'm still working on games in New Super Mario Bros., Yoshi's Island DS, and Final Fantasy VI: Advance.

Oh, and I'm trying to start work on the next screen play, and give my girlfriend all the love and attention she deserves. =) So my plate is quite full...

Until next time.

Canada, Departure, Mouse & Man (Man), & The Ear infection from Hell

2007-04-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

Well it's certainly been a long time, since the last one, so here's another go my Gentle Viewers.

For the longest time I didn't update because nothing was happening. I was working my tax job, I'd come up and chill with Kim, and that was about it. Now everything's different and will still change even more in the coming weeks/months. So it's time to catch my blog breath before things get crazier. Here's what's been going on so far...

* Modest Mouse in concert!!

Surprise! Modest Mouse is coming in 3-4 days! I scrambled to get tickets, and did thanks to Kim's keen Internet skillz. They played on South Lake Union at the Naval Reserve Building. I've been in there before for an interview and didn't really envision it as a concert place, because it looked for like a gymnasium than a concert venue. However, it worked really well, and we had an easy time seeing because they built the stage so high up. It was also decorated with old lanterns that in pictures just looked like stage lights, but in-person they blinked periodically, and swayed to the vibration of the music, and made for excellent ambiance, especially when the stage was darkened.

They opened with a rather lackluster "Ocean Breathes Salty" that had me worry it was going to be a repeat of their half-hearted performance at Austin City Limits Festival, but it was only uphill from there, cranking it into high gear with catchy, head-bobbing single "Dashboard." They mostly played tracks from their latest (We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank) and Good News, with a few older ones sprinkled in. And that was a bit of a bummer, but since I am a big fan of their latter day output, I didn't mind so much. But they completely KILLED "Doin' The Cockroach." Holy Jumpin' Jesus On a Pogo Stick! It was incendiary and exhilarating. They definitely still "have it."

Johnny Marr is on the far left, Issac Brock on the far right.
Thanks to whoever & their blog I stole this pic from...

I've also read a few blogs where people were excited to see new member (and ex-Smiths) Johnny Marr, but didn't feel he added to the performance. But I was up close on his side and I felt like he really added a lot to their sound. Filled out more jangling, sparse numbers, and gave the newest songs that added melody, rhythm, and glitter that really make the POP. I'm only a casual fan of the Smiths, but it was very cool to see a legend and unquestionable pro thrown into the Mouse mix. All in all it was great show and I had lot of fun.

This is such a cinematic & beautiful promo picture.

But before I leave the topic of Modest Mouse, I'd like to spend a moment and sing the praises of their latest release, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. It has received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. Old fans and indie critics aren't happy because it's not like their old stuff and assume every song on it is trying to be the next "Float On." Pop critics are complaining that there isn't another "Float On" and that the album isn't as catchy as the last. Both the types have retarded expectations are stuck in a fixed paradigm about the band. Just relax and appreciate what is in face a fantastic album, full on great, catchy yet off-kilter tracks. The opening song "March Into The Sea" is fantastic opener, portraying Brock as some mad sea captain, sailing into oblivion and laughing all the way defiantly. Then we jump into the catch-as-all-hell and toe-tap inducing "Dashboard." I won't do a track-by-track analysis, but suffice to say it's got a little bit of everything, emotions rise and fall in all the right places, and somehow brings out more of the strange dark humor and odd melodies of their past than Good News did. Plus it's got James Mercer of The Shins on a few tracks adding some super-sweet backing vocals! Other notable tracks are "Missed The Boat" "Little Motel" and "Spitting Venom."

* Victoria, BC (Canada!!!)

Thanks to the very gracious lending of her by Nannette, Kim & I were able to go to Victoria, British Columbia 2 weekends ago. We drove as far as we could on the US side, parked, and hopped on a boat to takes us to the magical land of Canada, where Kraft dinner reign supreme, and the good folks have beady eyes and flappy heads, or at least that's what South Park says.

Despite slightly adverse weather, we wandered around for a while checking out the town before heading to our hotel we had booked for the night. The hotel was pretty nice and quite comfortable. Kim wanted to stay in and lounge for a bit, so I took to the streets and wandered around. Very quaint big city, if you catch my meaning. Just a cool vibe. While wandering around I got offered drugs THREE times on the same street corner! I just had to laugh to myself and keep walking. I came across a pretty good bookstore in my wanderings and stopped in long enough to pick up some essential reading, which you can check the sidebar for in the future.

After I'd had my fill on aimless wandering, I went back and grabbed Kim and her and I went out. We had coffee, strolled the streets, and eventually ended up a pretty swanky Italian restaurant. It was really nice and all, but I also couldn't shake the vibe that this was the place kids came for prom, or that some guys thought of this establishment as a "romantic" place for first dates, what with it's mood lighting, urban chic design with a mixture of rustic (how that works I haven't a clue) and a pricey menu to improve your money cred (I guess). The food was quite tasty, however I found it quite strange that the bread tasted like a slightly softer Goldfish.

After dinner, it was extremely cold and windy, so after taking a pit stop for excellent photo ops, we headed back to the hotel room to lay in a full belly malaise.

I'm a blur of motion in front of the parliament building

We finally scraped ourselves out of the hotel around 11:30, and headed out on the town for more exploring and coffee. While we were out, I found a place that had the Buffy Season 8 comic! I nearly had a heart attack as I saw it in the window and had to go inside and purchase it. It's been announced as "coming soon" for so long I gave up watching the release date, so it was an excellent surprise to see it. It's freaking excellent, by the way. There was much to be had in the way of Buffy collectibles, and I almost left Canada with an Angel puppet! Who can resist Smile Time?

"Do you have anything to declare?" says US Customs.
"Just an Angel puppet," I would reply.

We even stopped by a mall where I got to play Wii for minute and totally whooped an old guy at WiiTennis.

Overall, a very pleasant visit to a great town. I'm so glad Kim and I went and would love to go back when I have more time to go to the park, do the whale watching tour and all the other things I missed.

* The Leaving of My Lovely Lady =( [x 1000]

So last Wednesday Kim left. She's off to Michigan to begin her Great Lakes adventure for the next few months (aka infinity). I miss her so much already. This apartment is so much emptier without her. When I walk in the door after work I always half-expect her to be here, ready to greet me with a hug and a kiss. But I guess between tons of overtime at work and drinking, I'll make it these next few weeks okay. We talk often, so that's good, but still... Yeah, I don't know what else to say without getting upset. I'm really sad and lonely without her.

My beautiful girl and I in Canada

* The Ear Problems from HELL! (aka Speak To Me In My Good Ear)

So while all of this has been happening, I've been coping with progressively worse ear problems. I started losing hearing in my left ear progressively for the past couple of weeks, but on our last day in Canada, it began to hurt, badly. Over the next day it only worsened to the point where it felt swollen inside and I could barely concentrate because of the pressure and itching.

Somewhere between point 1 & 2 there is a BAD problem.

I was in a bit of a pickle though, because I don't have health insurance, so I had to figure out how to be treated, so we came across Country Family Doctor Clinic or something like that. They promise the charge on a "sliding scale," so that's good. I go in and see the doctor and he he says that I've got earwax buildup. Apparently my use of q-tips packed it all in so tightly against the eardrum it couldn't move and that's why it was infected. But instead of removing the wax or giving me antibiotics, all I got was some lousy drops. On the plus side, it doesn't really hurt anymore. However, it is six days later, and I still can't hear of that ear, when the drops were supposed to work in 3-5. SIGH. So unless it magically unclogs tonight, I'm calling for a follow-up appointment and ask quite forcefully that something more be done. It's so strange to only really be able to use one ear.

* Man Man LIVE!
Great googly moogly! I heard their album and thought it was pretty damn cool and original (despite some Tom Waits-ish tendencies), but after seeing them in concert, I'd go as far as to say they are one of the best damn live bands out there today!

From beginning to end, their show was pure energy and a rambunctious hootenanny of catharsis and fun! Clad in their signature all white clothing and war paint covered they ripped through so many songs in so little time, it was almost a medley, though the best medley I've ever heard! Even the crowd was into it and moving around, which is an amazing thing when it concerns Seattle crowds! They usually just stand there arms crossed nodding their head, so to see people dancing around and even crowd surfing made me happy. If any band deserved that sort of energy, it was them.

A glimpse into the beautiful madness

The only snafu came when one of the band's personal friends got ejected from the concert. They made a huge deal about it and stopped the show for almost 10 minutes, appealing for their friend. They also let us know that this was the first time they ever stopped a show, and it would be the last time they played Neumos. But that's OK, because I think they could fill the Showbox, and not that, I'd rather see them at the Crocodile Cafe anyway.

I can't stress enough how amazing this band is in concert. If you get the chance to see them, do whatever you can to do so! You WILL NOT regret it! Seriously, this was the best show I've seen since the last time I saw The Mars Volta. They were THAT good.

Here' s a little taste of Man Man. Enjoy!

So that's it for now. I'll post if anything else comes up. Hope you enjoyed the update.

Listen.

2007-02-22T18:15:00.000-08:00

Have you PEEPED this song yet??!!!!

It makes me dance like crazy!!!

Concrete Jungle

2007-02-15T17:40:00.000-08:00

Whoops!

Sorry Gentle Viewers, I went and told you I was going to update more often and then I didn't. Sorry. Things have been busy. Here's some of the highlights:

* Finished our script! Hooray! Now we wait for magic to happen...

* Saw Of Montreal in concert!
- They were a blast in concert, as always, super-fun-happy dance time! Highlights were "Rapture Rapes The Muses" and "Oslo In The Summertime." For video clips from the show, see Kim's blog.
* Woodland Park Zoo day!
- We spent last Sunday at the zoo and had such a blast! I hadn't been to the zoo in years and it was really great to see all the animals again. This day was special because the animals were getting Valentine's Day treats! So we watched them get fed Blood-Sicles in the shape of a heart (there were meat chunks in there too). Or, in the lemur and red panda's case, a wicker heart covered in fruit. Here's some pics:

I finally got to see those damned elusive (but extremely cute) otters!

Kim feeds a bird in the aviary. For LeAnne, it would be a nightmare!

Everybody loves Penguins. They are the new monkey, after all.

Look at these cute fellas! They were a highlight of the trip!

Red Ruffed Lemurs love blood oranges. =)

Anybody who says we're not related to these guys is full of it. They were like weird, shriveled people.

Red Panda is the Asian raccoon. Cute as hell too.

The strangest animal in the zoo...

* Karaoke @ 0hana's
- I sang my heart out! Very good times. After the first one the waitress gave me a beer and said, "This one's on the house, you ROCK!" Kim caught pieces of it on video!

"I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" by The White Stripes

I dedicated this one to my people in Texas!

So there's a look at some of the cool stuff I've been up to. The not so cool is being unemployed. But I managed to get a job at an accounting firm downtown. At first tho, they made me clean fridges and shit, and it was very demeaning and crappy. But now I've moved on to boredom tears-inducing paperwork. The life of an accountant. Yippee. So, in dedication to my new workdays, here's a song of the day! It's Danzig's "Tired of Being Alive." Enjoy!

Soundtrack of My Life (Random Remix)

2007-01-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

So I decided to totally steal my sister's idea and try this for myself.

I have to say, it fills me with a bit of trepidation because I've found my iPod's randomization to be faulty in the past, so this might turn out hella strange. Let's see...

Opening Credits: "Letter to Memphis" by Pixies
This is a great instrumental. Full of pep. I can see me walking triumphantly on a shining moment, or maybe a montage of awesome moments, rife with high-fives. Or maybe I'm just in a basement in my socks and undies air guitaring. Anyway you slice it, FUN.

Waking Up: "Hip Hop" by Dead Prez
This is the social alarm clock everyone needs. It forces me to look past the music and realize...it's bigger. Or maybe it's for me to realize my vanilla-ass skin is the problem. "I'm all for running up on those crackers in they city hall." Maybe that's my goal for the day. A morning in the hood.

First Day at School: "Underwater Love" by Faith No More
Oh boy am I laughing. It's going to be a violent day, I can tell. So at my first day of school I fall in love with my teacher, but realize she's too old for me and it can never be, so I decide to drown her. But I still can't escape her stare, all authoritative and cold. What did you do on your first day of school?

Falling In Love: "Shores of Avalon" by Mullmuzzler
WOW. And here I thought it was going to be a violent day in the hood. It's just got Epically progged out with this solo track from the Dream Theater lead singer. After I drown my teacher I am sucked into a portal, perhaps as penance. I'm in a medieval world with a sword fighting evil, searching for a fair maiden. But she's hiding a Turkish dagger to stab me! Oh man are paybacks a bitch.

Fight Song: "Where the White Boys Dance" by The Killers
So that trip to never-never land was to get me understand the danger of violence. Back in the real world, I decide to resolve my problems through dancing. I have a problem with this guy, and we just cha-cha it out, in slow motion. Giving each other mean looks, but in a totally hetero slow-motion moment. Save the Last Dance ain't got shit on me boy.

Breaking Up: "Televators" by The Mars Volta
This is a really sad song. Especially since it's my breaking up song. The love I won through my manly show of dance now lies cold on the pavement. I am bereft and alone. How will I recover from this? What will I tell others? And most importantly, who will I take to prom now? Riddle me THAT! I guess I gotta stalk the ground for ladies...dance style.

Prom: "Sharpening Skills" by Elysian Fields
Just when I think I'm flying solo, in shadows of an alley I see a sultry older lady (do I have a thing for older women or what? ;) smoking a clove, humming to herself a deep, rich tone. I approach her in my tux, give her a flower to pin to her exquisite dress, and she gives me a swig of her scotch. We walk hand in hand inside, and slow dance to every track, no matter the speed, sharpening our "skills" for later that night...

Life: "This Book Is A Movie" by Spoon
You can't get any more post-modern than that. Living a life a action, violence, betrayal, and fantastic adventures beyond belief, I slow down long enough, to get my story out on a little recorder I talk into as I'm in the back seat of an old Lincoln as I drive through NYC at night. The tape gets put to paper, and I am a best-selling author for the impressive stories of my life. And now they want to make a movie out of it. But I thought there was already a movie going on...

Mental Breakdown: "Operation Rescue" by Bad Religion
"When need restoration now of our integrity" indeed. The celebrated life has driven me to madness. My mind spins at a break-neck pace. I try to do good, and people assure me, but it feels like this are spinning out a control too fast, I can't keep up. What compels them all? I need some rescue...

Driving: "Just A Man" by Faith No More
I'm always able to gain my focus when driving. The cool night air clears my head. Here I was thinking everything was of Godlike importance, and it was driving me mad. The sins of pride I tell you. Things become so much simpler when you realize one must look past his Icarus tendencies and realize, "but me, I am just a man." But I still dream about a cloudy sky. And any revelation I have should be accompanied by a gospel choir.

Flashback: "El Scorcho" by Weezer
When I let my mind clear and just wandered, I return to that first day of school. When I was busy looking to big fish to fry, I missed the best thing that was right in front of me. A cute little girl in my class who liked all the same things, and really liked swings. That one day we refused to stop swinging and come to class was magic. We wouldn't stop until our parents came after school and physically removed us from them. It was one best days of my life, and I never told her how I felt.

Wedding: "I Don't Like the Drugs" by Marilyn Manson
What can I say about this one? One simple drug experiment turned into something crazy. You go on a acid burn for a few days, and once they pry your sorry ass off the ceiling, give you some orange slices and a cup of coffee, you find you're married. Life's funny that way. But not funny haha. But hey, my life had a gospel choir again! Hooray!

Birth of a Child: "Static" by Beck
After coming down, sometimes you just want to lock yourself indoors, and if you do so with a wife, what do you expect will happen? A child. So we decided to have the child in the same place it was conceived, locked up in my house, quietly, without attention from anyone. It was peaceful, beautiful birth.

Final Battle: "Alone Jealous and Stoned" by The Secret Machines
So at some point, I lost the kid and wife. I never made it outdoors much in those days, took comfort in the drugs. I envied those who had a simple life that wasn't filled with murder, portals, drugged-out weddings and super-stardom books and movies. A sad battle of inner-struggle and yet catharsis. My greatest obstacle/opponent was me.

Death Scene: "Jimmy" by Tool
"Leaving me with the dead and hopeless" indeed. Waving goodbye. Heading home. Home to eternity, oblivion. As a last ditch effort to save my worthless life, I trek out into the woods, a candle as my only guide on a dark, misty night. Driven by something in my head, whether it be drug residue, a conscious, or some being across the astral plane. I attempt to open temporal gateway to reverse everything that's happened up until this point, but instead something evil comes out of the portal, a slithering, secret, evil. Before I know it, it scoops me up, flings me high into the air, cuts my thrown, and then I fall, earthbound, landing not where I started, but instead in Times Square, where thousands can look upon my once famous face and destruction all of it wrought. Dark Magicks are not to be toyed with. But I am finally at rest.

Funeral Song: "The Crane Wife 1 & 2" by The Decemberists
Everyone that knew me is relieved that it's all over. And they can look at all the positive things I did with my life that I wasn't able to cover here, and my ex-wife and child forgive me. All I ever wanted was for things to turn out right. Sometimes we lose our way. But all is not lost. Others can learn from our mistakes, and even in that small way, we make the world a better place. It's a small private funeral for just those closest to me through the years, though it is quite an extravaganza of people, like at the end of Big Fish. Everyone shares stories of me, and hugs and has a good happy cry.

End Credits: "Sleeping In" by The Postal Service
Ah, the reflection of a life that seemed so real, but was all a dream, a prophetic vision of things to come if I continue down my current road. I wake in a Bob Newhart -like state, and give my head a shake, laugh out loud Donnie Darko style before he got squished, and then just pull the covers over my head and go back to bed.

So I wish there would have been some Led Zeppelin, Ryan Adams, and Kool Keith, but it's random, what can ya do? Maybe I'll do a hand-picked one sometime.

So what do YOU think? Questions? Comments?

Just laugh and laugh and laugh

2007-01-19T08:57:00.000-08:00

I saw this picture on somebody's signature on the The Comatorium and just sat at my desk laughing for a few minutes. I don't know why. There's something about it that's child-like, unrealistic, and just absurd that makes me love it. Enjoy!

Com Lag

2007-01-17T20:06:00.000-08:00

And people lag too my Gentle Viewers.

Here's to bring you up to speed.

My external hard drive crashed. I lost all of my music and my films I made. I cried. Devastation. I mailed it to Chris who is kind enough to try to extract the stuff in data recovery. It's been almost 2 weeks and the package still hasn't made it to him. Music and hard drives and all is a very touchy subject with me.

I had my first Christmas away from home. Kim and I had a great time, and were treated to Nanette's hospitality and excellent cooking (made a stop by her Aunt's too). Got some cool stuff too. Here's the Christmas spirit:

That's Kim showing Clark some love and sporting the new shirt I got her.

A crown of lights. Am I Nordic? I'm wearing the new coat Kim got me. Deliciously warm.

So then some boring work and then New Year's Eve!! The Beard, Cass, and JB came over and we drank it up, danced, and then went downtown to the Lava Lounge. Thanks for the pitchers JB! Almost ate at the Hurricane Cafe, but decided fuck it after waiting 30 min. with not even water or coffee. All in all a great night. People said I looked like Robert Palmer. Fuck those guys. If anything, it's the Hives I was going for. Though I have been told I'm "Simply Irresistible." Sorry. Couldn't resist.

Shaking our groove thangs to "SexyBack."
You CANNOT resist the Justin Timberlake.

On our way downtown. Drinking Pabst in my Garth Brooks coozie!!
(Doesn't this look like an album cover?)

Completely Boofy Blitzed

There's been a ton crazy weather here lately. Ice and snow everywhere. No canceled work unfortunately. But it was cool to experience lots of snow. The dry kind that crunches under your feet and gives a crispness to the air that is exhilarating.

Beautiful sky in the kingdom of snow.
(What world was that in Mario 3?)

No time to play in the snow, I've got a job to go to.
But a quick trip through the park is a must.

So that brings you up to speed up until the last few days. I think I'm going to try to update more often. Even if it is just a few lines. Let you know what's up, what's on my mind. Maybe try to have a song of the day.

Still at my temp job. It's ok. It's a paycheck. But it's not my real job. I'm on the grind people. Great things lurk in the recesses of the mind. Won't you join me in unleashing them?

The Hills Are Alive (with the sound of kitch)

2006-12-17T23:54:00.000-08:00

Over the river, through the mountains and snow we traveled yesterday to a small town named Leavenworth. It's styled after the old Bavarian villages. All of the store fronts and fonts on the signs and such. You could practically add "Ye Olde" to most signs and it would have been totally appropriate. But we weren't the only ones with this quaint little plan. This lil' burg was SWARMING with people!!

You wouldn't believe the cold. Well, with the mounds of snow and sledding, yes I guess you could. Seeing all of the snow on the sides of these roads and mountains thinking. If it all came down, that would be a bad way for a Texan to go out...

But here's an example of those "ye olde" signs.

But it was a cute little town filled with shops with items like Nutcrackers, beer steins and other old world goodies, and even a hat store, that was apparently quite the rage, stocking hats as diverse as old style conductor and bowler hats to big christmas trees for the top of your head! The insane thing about this store, however, was the line way out the door! Who knew stupid hats were so popular? Or these crazy cat figurines for that matter? (I hope I am actually very wrong)

As the sun set on this (faux) old town the wandering and cold had gotten to us, and we headed inside for very nice Italian dinner, opting out of the street vendor kielbasa and elk burgers for finer dining. But not before snapping this beautiful shot:
Now dark, we waddled back into the streets for some last minute shopping for loved ones before we headed out onto the dangerous now dark snowy mountain passes. Intermittently stopping for great photo ops, we drank coffee and harassed the tourists. All in good fun.

Trudging with icy bricks for fingers and toes we made our way back to the frozen car and began the long, dark journey back to Seattle and said Auf Weidersein to the little Bavarian village.

Happy Holidays Gentle Viewers!

The Weather Outside Is Frightening.

2006-12-16T01:39:00.000-08:00

Yeah, nothing to do with that wretched song. Some holiday songs just get under my skin and make me want to throw up in my mouth. Sorry. I guess that's not the right spirit. Now if only it could be EGGNOG Flavored vomit! Then the holidays would I feel, inside and out.

But last night there was an insane wind storm. Like all of the trees were going apeshit, swirling around in some chaotic dance. I have rarely witnessed wind so threatening.

"Whatever Jarad, it's just wind. At least it's not that rain you whine about."

WRONG TOTO. Look at these pictures. Taken by me, right outside my friggin' apt.

Oh, I guess I'll chat a bit about what I've been up to. Unemployed. SIGH. Don't wanna talk about it. But I've kept busy. For more details on this, stop on over at Kim's blog and read up about Jesika's visit, a great Pogues tribute concert and other adventures.

Tomorrow should be a great day. Going to some small town in the mountains that's been pitched to me as Washington's Fredricksburg. And then that night going to see my favorite Aussie band (no, not who you think, though I am perpetually in love with "Thunderstruck") The Living End!! Yaaaah! Hopefully there will be photography afoot.

Oh, and monday I start a job programming fax machines. I AM the boring job monkey.

But hey, if film guys in Oahu are reading this, HIRE ME.

Until next time, Gentle Viewers...

Snow and Such

2006-12-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd spare you more musings this time, and instead just show some pictures of the weather around here recently.

Enjoy my Gentle Viewers!

(This last one looks very ominous, don't you agree?)

There and Back Again...A Turkey Tale

2006-11-28T17:56:00.000-08:00

So I have something to admit my Gentle Viewers...

I'm sometimes lazy, and the blog things, well they don't write themselves. But enough with the excuses, and more with the update.

Two holidays have came and went since we last spoke. Halloween was fairly uneventful, but I did walk around that day wearing a hockey mask and got a lot of great stares from people. As I walked about like a Voorhees, I went and picked up the new Deftones album, Saturday Night Wrist. I have to say, I'm very impressed with it. Definitely a return to form, and much better than the self-titled release of 2003. The songs for the most part can be described as violently beautiful, and has probably gotten more spins than most albums for me lately. I'm completely re-infatuated with the Deftones. I agree with whatever review it is that I read that said something to the effect of, "if you don't have any heavy albums in your collection this should be the first." I would recommend it to new and old fans alike.

I've also been to 3 shows since last we shared:

Electric Six - This was such a fun show. Dick Valentine (which is the coolest stage name imo) has great stage presence, a great sense of humor and rapport with the audience and the band were tight. I danced the night away listened to them non-stop afterwards. This is a band that is more than the "Danger! High Voltage" song. I have a feeling they'll be making fun, danceable music for years to come.

(As a side note in a similar vein, check out the new Rapture album Pieces of the People We Love. Brilliant stuff, and makes me do a happy jig.

Beirut - Wow. That's all I can say. I've never been to a show like this before. It was at the intimate Crocodile Cafe and it was the perfect setting for the band. The 10 or so members squished together on stage, blaring out the best gypsy music this side of the Balkans. The main guy crooned and played trumpet, and the band flowed through song after song of beautiful, exotic music, at times even encouraging the audience to get into the act by wandering around the crowd with tamborines and trumpets. It felt more like a house party than a formal concert. Plus, openers A Hawk and A Hacksaw (main guy was the drummer of Neutral Milk Hotel) were fantastic, definitely setting the mood for the the music to come.

Because of this concert I have really been into Eastern European music, and in specific, the music of the Balkans and Gypsies. I've grabbed discs where I can and have been trying to absorb it all. It just takes me to a far away place in my mind, most of the time back to wander the small cobblestone streets of Stare Mesto, Praha. I feel this passion and pull towards the area. I feel as if I'm destined to return there someday. Hopefully to stay for a while, teach English, live. Even though I value stability, and I like having nice things. I just can't see me as a "company man" who keeps the same job for 20 years with a new plaque every few years on his desk. More heart yearns for more, and my mind wants to absorb everything this world has to offer. It's just that right now this is the forefront in appealing. Egypt is somwhere on that list too. As is Turkey, Thailand, and Antarctica.

Kool Keith - Hey thanked the "Seattle Organization." A LOT. He asked ladies to put on thongs over their clothes while he played "Girl Let Me Touch You There." Even after most of the crowd was gone he was still ranting about "sniffing the artwork" and "No more camera phones." It was a crazy show, and fun as hell. He did hits, he did more obscure tracks, new ones, and even flowed a couple of times. It was a show to be remembered. I'll forgive how long it took him to get out onto the friggin' stage because he was so spot-on. The weirdest thing was when he was playing a song called "The G Spot" and some trashed looking girl with a mohawk stumbled onstage and started dancing provocatively and after the song he ramble about it being "so exotic" and like "being in the Navy. I'm on the water for 2 minutes, I'm in the navy." Whatever that means. She proceeded to stay on stage and bump into the DJ, who got PISSED OFF and had her removed from the stage. Haha. A night of hip hop to remember.

I got a job for a while working at the UW Medical Center in the Materials Mgmt Dept. I did inventory in all sort of creepy places and put speculums in a bag! It was boring and sucked. I never saw my boss, and people were always telling me different things to do. Plus there was NO formal training, so it was basically sink or swim. So eventually they decided that even though they didn't see me hardly at all, but somebody always had something for me to do, which someone else thought was wrong, I decided I "wasn't working out." But I guess you figured that from my use of past tense from the very beginning. Good on ya. Have an interview at the Mac Store tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Maybe I can be a sales monkey...again.

So, on to more recent things like Thanksgiving holiday! I arrived home last Tuesday night, after missing my original flight that morning. I was angry, but it was no big deal. We had a great Italian dinner, and afterwards I hung out with the Suttons, Fer Fer, Robert and his wife, and Blunck! We talked, drank, etc. It was so great to see everyone. I was so freakin' happy about it, especially to see Blunck, who I haven't seen in around a year. I really missed that fool. Every night I got to see more and more familiar faces, including my awesome sister LeAnne, Mark, Crab, Mike Jones, Pookie, mi hermano Marshall, Robert, Jennifer "Ruth" German (!!!) and many more. Drank, smoked, talked, laughed, video gamed, and I loved every minute of it. (Even the inevitable shopping where I found the monkey slipper below)

On a different note, I got to spend quality time with my Grandmother, who turned the big 8-0 this past Saturday. We had a huge gathering at our house with relatives, food, champagne, and even a vocal performance from my mostly MIA cousin. It made her so happy, and it was great to see her get all of that attention and care. She needs and deserves it. She lives in a nursing home, and I won't even get into how awful I think that is.

The last day of my trip home my mom and I went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We saw an IMAX film on Greece that has inspired me to make it a goal to sail around the Greek islands. We wandered through the exhibit halls, seeing dinosaur bones, African wildlife, shells, precious gemstones, and much more. It was fun and educational day, and good bonding thing to do with my mom. She really enjoyed it, which shows me that my parents can do fun and interesting things, they just need a push to think outside the box of movie theater and mall.

So now I'm back in Seattle. It's colder than witch's teat here. In the 20s. Snow still on the ground and rooftops. All I have is a stupid radiator, which I don't think is very effective, so I'm wrapped up in a blanket. I think I'll go make some hot chocolate and take a shower. Think warm thoughts for me. Oh, and while we're thinking about it, think high-paying job thoughts for me too.

Cheers.

Don’t Call It A Comeback (Or, The Countryside Search for the Great Pumpkin)

2006-10-13T16:25:00.000-07:00

Just when the blog world thought I fell off the earth into obscurity or real life pursuance, here I am, ready to give my Gentle Viewers another peek into the controlled cyclone that is my life.

Well, since I last spoke, a lot has changed. The biggest is that I’m now a resident of Seattle, Washington. Got an apartment up on Capitol Hill, a pretty hip area with coffee shops, grocery stores, and concert venues all within walking distance. It’s a nice place to be if you don’t have a car. Downtown’s even a brisk walk downhill and no problem. Even have a pretty sweet view of Queen Anne and the sunset when it happens. So all of that is great.

That aside though, things have been tough in the job dept. I’ve been searching for a while, trying to find something not only that I could enjoy, but make money at. I’m tired of crap jobs, and unless it comes to the absolute worst I don’t want to do it again. I did an after school thing when I first got here, but it sucked a lot. I worked only 3 hours a day, and commuted an hour each way, so it just wasn’t’ worth it. So I quit. Been trying the temp agencies too, offering me various things when they’re not busy giving me tons of typing tests and other menial quizzes like, “can you delete icons from the Windows desktop?” Uh, yeah, I think I can handle that. Oh, after all of that testing you still don’t have anything available or if you do it isn’t until a month or two from now? Oh, thanks for your help. Even worked a day at a T-M0bile event. It was really stupid and pompous. There was giant ice block carved with their logo and new campaign name that they poured punch through and such pretentious fluff items as a chocolate fountain and a DJ. For what? Just to pump up the people working in their call center. My role in this shenanigan? Folding and handing out shirts. But for $11/hr, sure, whatever. Better than not making money…

Last Sunday was really awesome. Kim and I got up really early and went to Nanette’s house and Kim cooked this awesome big breakfast. There’s something sacred and all-important to the point of almost ritual when it comes to breakfast. No other meal ever fills quite as fulfilling. I mean, there’s bacon involved, how could you go wrong?! After that, we went to Redmond and to a PUMPKIN PATCH!! We wandered around for about an hour sifting through pumpkins and picking ones we’d like to take home. It’s so much more rewarding than walking up to a grocery store and grabbing one from out front.

Even Thom got in on the action….

Representing for Texas too!

Once we got back, we began carving pumpkins and watching Night of the Living Dead. Nannette made a delicious apple pie and pumpkin soup. I had never had pumpkin soup, but it was delicious and curry-based, so with a good piece of bread for dipping (is that a Southern thang?) It was quite filling…well, with room for pie of course.

One thing I thought about while I was watching the movie. In many ways, this movie is an advancement for African Americans. The main character is one, and he is obviously the most clever person in the movie, and survives…well until the coming of the ignorant white folks…what do you guys think? I think it’s a positive image, but don’t really know how it was taken at the time, or whether that aspect was discussed (I’m sure it was).

But this is just an example of one awesome day. This weekend we might even go to the San Juan Islands! I’ve heard such good things about it with whales and whatnot, even if they’ve probably already gone by this time of year, sadly…

HOLD ON! What about your job crap Jarad? It seemed somewhat unresolved a few paragraphs back you scatterbrain! Tell me about the fucking golf shoes!

Ok, so right now I’m in the process of being hired for a pretty sweet Americ0rps job. The pay wouldn’t be great, but it would be an awesome opportunity. It would be doing events and such with a local center for at-risk/homeless kids. I would be heading up a film club/dept. where I would teach them how to make films and such. Getting the arts in the hands of those less fortunate. That would be such an enriching opportunity, and I’d have a job that involved film, so hey, I would be very happy with that.

FUCK. Blog FLASH UPDATE. Right as I was writing this, I was called and informed that when my name was input into the computer for some survey the corporate side of things, I was in the “control group” which means I’m not eligible for the job. They can’t hire me, even though they really wanted to. I’m so fucking pissed. Not because of qualifications, but just randomly I’m shut down. FUCK THIS. FUCK AMERICORPS. I hope they read this. See what fucktards they are. That they could have had a person make a good, positive difference in the community and instead he’s kicked to the curb because of some 1’s and 0’s on a computer. Need any more evidence technology is used for evil purposes? I’m fuming.

Fortunate for my ass, like the cocoa powder Mexican chefs put in spicy foods to dull the burn, the guy from UW Temp calls and offers me an office job for the next 2 weeks. Pay’s decent and it’s something to keep me busy until my fall-back temp job kicks in—call center bullshit for Starfucks coffee. Whatever. I guess I wasn’t destined to work for the betterment of mankind and humanity, but instead to be a corporate tool. For now anyway…

The job chase is like waiting for the Great Pumpkin. You do everything you can to wait, to know your subject, but in reality he’s never going to come. You just end up looking like a fool. But I guess that’s really negative. Maybe he will show up. Someday.

I gotta go, I’m too scatterbrained and raging to blog anymore, but hey, I’m back.

HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH!

Just when you thought it was safe...

2006-08-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

So there I was, all ready to write my gentle viewers a nice blog about my long, tiring but rewarding summer job being over and my stressful search for a new job and new life, not to mention all of the stress and sadness of the decline in health of my grandmother, when like Michael Corleone said best, "they pull me back in!"

I'm in Angleton on Wednesday, packing my bags to head back to Austin to begin the job search again and to have some distance from the Angleton homestead, when I get a call from the illustrious iD Tech, telling me that they lost a counselor "literally, at lunch." And they want to know if I will fly to Conencticut TONIGHT! Geez louize! So after thinking about it for a bit, I decided that I would indeed do it. I hopped on a 7pm flight and FINALLY ended up in the not so big CT around 1:30am, after arriving in NYC at 11:30 and having the regional manager pick me up from the airport and drive me. But she was really nice, so it was cool.

But what is so sad as well is missing the departure of my dear friend Matt, who is going to Russian next Saturday for the semester! I'm going to miss him so much and I don't even get to see him off! ARGH!! Take care dear sweet matthew, I love ya much.

So here I am now. In CT at Sacred Heart University. Away from my pretty gal. Teaching a class that I haven't taught all summer and that by all sense I shold be able to do because I got a freakin' degree in film, but it's a bit tougher than one might think. And most camps run only 7 weeks. I am now in my NINTH week of teaching and counseling. I am burnt out to the max. It's too much. I mean, I'll do it, it's a paycheck and all that, but I just feel stretched thin. Too much of my time dedicated to kids and not my own life. It would have been better if I was a commuter, not being here all the time.

But the really AWESOME thing about being here in New England is getting to see my old buddy Stephen Sutton!

I haven't seen him since like beginning of January, so it was great to spend time with him and his girlfriend. We watched cartoons, played video games until the wee hours, went to bars and even saw a shakespeare play where there were turkeys roaming around out front!

I'd call that a pretty good weekend in all! I just wish I wasn't up here so long. I need to get on with finding a job and getting place and setting up a life and all of that jazz! I thought I was done with camp, trying to move on and all that! Argh! We'll see how all of that develops in the next few weeks. Pray for Mojo.

P.S. Miss you Kim!

Summertime, and the livin's BUSY!

2006-07-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

So here I sit in my dorm room in Dallas. Yup. I'm in Dallas. The regional manager said to work this week I had to travel to SMU to teach. At least I'm teaching Game Modding and not something else that I have no idea about like 3D game design or something... Anyway, it's not so bad here. The cafeteria food is better, and the staff is pretty cool, esp. my roommate. They're just a lot smaller of a camp and a bit more unorganized. The kids are ok, except for a few. Blargh. But it's ok. I just feel constantly busy, that's all. I only get 1 full day off at a time, and that is NEVER enough. Like this Friday I drive to Angleton to see my parents and grandma, which will be a 5 hour drive, chill saturday, and then have to be back in Austin to begin another week of camp on Sunday @ 3pm.

But on the positive side, I flew Kim to Austin for her birthday to be with me. That was great. We went kayaking and other cool stuff. DAMN I wish we took pictures, but never thought of it until after the fact. Grrr... these blog things are so much cooler when you have pics to go along with them. So take this one I guess...

Better than nothing, right? Sure...

I'm supposed to be looking for jobs in LA and such, but it's hard to find the time/will. The few free moments I have I want nothing more than to chill out in front of a movie or video game, preferably with libations of some sort. Right now I'm watching the Faith No More concert "You Fat Bastards." Oh, long haired Mike Patton, you're silly. I prefer him with short hair and a sleeze stash, fits his persona more. See:

Speaking of Mike Patton, the Peeping Tom album is fucking rad. It's one of my top albums of the summer and it's in heavy rotation. Every track grabs my ear. It's so good to hear Mike Patton actually singing melodies and such again. I like Fantomas as much as the next guy, but he's got such a nice voice and never really uses it. The standout tracks are "Mojo" and "Your Neighborhood Spaceman." Listen to it, trust me. Instant pimp juice and the likes.

The other "feel good album of the summer" is without a doubt Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere album. I know there are those such as Chris Mikesell that don't like it, but it's so much fun. Some sort of mix of hip hop beats and neo-soul. It's an ass-shaking album, and those don't have to be profound or anything, just something great to jig around to. The single "Crazy" is of course infectious but boderline played-out already, but "Smiley Face" and "Transformer" are quite rad, and worth a listen/download. This album is an instant dance party. Pick it up and let the groove begin!

Having to watch over kids limits your music listening time. I wish I had more of that. These are the only two albums I've really even had the chance to focus on and really appreciate. Well, that and tons of Ryan Adams as always...

But if you have some cool new music to recommend to me, just leave me a comment about it, and I'll try to check it out.

Hopefully next time I can yak about something other than camp and my busy work schedule.

Until then Gentle Viewers.

Argh...and some update.

2006-06-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

So I just wrote a long blog about how I'm doing, how camp is, how much I love and miss my girlfriend and then this stupid computer in the lab crashed, and I lost it and everything. SOOOO frustrating. After that happens, you don't really have the will to write it again. So here it is again, in bullet form:

* I love Kim VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY much and miss her terribly. She told me the boat guys are douches and picky eaters. She also said she's getting a Volkswagen Bus (green & white) when she gets back. That's AWESOME.

* 1st week of camp went well, only had 2 students. I like getting paid to play with Warcraft III.

* The weekend was fun, partied @ Em's birthday bash, and looked through record stores with Mark, finally saw Pirates of the Caribbean. I really liked it.

*This week is going to be harder. I have 5 students, and all very different. It will be a challenge.

Until I find the will to brave it again, my Gentle Viewers,

Jarad.

Workin' for the Weekend

2006-06-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

This is my life right now. I promise I'll update on the weekend, when I finally get a break. *whew!* coffee is my friend now....more so.

I miss HER.

2006-05-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

This is the love of my life. I need her near me...

Wave Goodbye

2006-05-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

Here I sit in a coffee shop on 45th and Division in Portland, Oregon. I even biked here, despite all the huffing and puffing and sore ass from biking yesterday too and being so out of shape... Tomorrow will be my last day in this town, possibly ever. I thought it might be a good moment to say farewell to this town.

It's definitely been a strange fucking time in my life. A very difficult one too. Trying to scrape and survive and be the master of my own destiny, trying to make things work, from the ground up. It hasn't been easy. Down right infuriating at times.

FUCK! Speaking of frustrating, I'm trying to download the new episode of "Lost" and this coffee shop's connection is SHITE! Did I mention that it's frustrating not having consistent internet?? And not having a car is so crippling, I never knew. Gee, thanks mom and dad for not supporting my decisions and my life and leaving me stranded without my vehicle. Really awesome of you.

If I sound slightly bitter, it's because I am. This has been the most difficult point in my life and I don't feel like there were any leeway, allowances, or anything of the sort to ease the transition, especially when things concern my parents. And the way everyone's so natural and hippie and PC, that's annoying too. I mean, it has it's good points, but the differences can be overwhelming and make you feel like the way you've lived your entire life, was schmuck-like, and a dirty corporate whore, even when you thought you've lived as just as you could. Grrr. I'm just a man!

Here! Laugh at this piece of funny writing I caught:

But I'll try to overcome all of this, I don't want to sound like a whiny blog bitch for all of this, I'd like to try to focus on some good stuff too. Seeing and living in a completely different American culture has been an adventure, and a lesson in human behavior. I've traveled in Europe and learned about them, but I've never lived anywhere else in the US, so this is definitely a lesson as well. Gives one a better understanding of American culture, and one side of it I've never seen--the extreme Left. Sure there are patches of it in Austin, but here there is nothing else. Kinda cool, but kinda strange. It seems almost less cool since it's not something you have to fight for, and be different about; that it's a given. Everybody up here is like that. In a way it's too homogenous. Yet I found all the loud rude rednecks in town at the Ryan Adams show...but that's a story pretty much already told.

It certainly seems like a nice town. Especially on paper. And especially if I wasn't struggling, AND if I had a car to be able to fully explore the city , get an idea of layout, instead of feeling like when you're playing a dungeon in Zelda, where the whole picture is dark, and the only areas that light up are the ones you visit on foot, wandering around. And you have to cover a LOT of ground to be able to uncover the whole. Those that understand the metaphor, you know what I mean.

But at least I've met some really nice people. Some of the people we've met have been very kind to us, over and above what is called for, considering the limited amount of time we've known them, so thanks to Zo and Melissa for helping us out.

Anyway, on to the future! If the present hasn't laid any fruit at your feet, at least look to the future for hopes of better things, and that's what I will do. Tomorrow we're hitching a ride with these girls from Cirque du Soleil up to Seattle, where we'll stay at Kim's Dad's place for the rest of May, up until I head to Chicago for training for my *NEW* summer job. Her friend Nanette is supposed to take us sailing one day, and there's some big party going on one night next week too. Plus I have to get my CPR certification before I head out too. So I'll be busy, and in a town I'm really fond of. So until my dear gal departs for the ocean, we'll keep busy, so that's good.

So farewell Portland, my home for the past 2 months. My last night here will be beautiful, seeing Sigur Ros at the Schnitzer. I'm very excited to see this show, as I'm sure you would be too if you were going to see some of the most amazing music ever made.

Until next time my Gentle Viewers, here's a beautiful picture that Kim took in this nice weather of recent here in Portland.

discombobulated.

2006-04-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

I feel like shit. Didn't sleep last night. Head feels awful, full of snot, can barely breathe.... can someone send me some cyber chicken soup?

Double Dose of Frustrating Brilliance

2006-04-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

It’s time for a review of the 2 Ryan Adams shows I went to over the weekend. This is as much for my own documentation as it is to let you, Gentle Viewers, know how they were.

Excitement mixed with frustration is the best way to describe both nights. There were moments of sheer beauty and candid brilliance, but one had to be very patient for these moments, for they happened so sporadically.

First was Seattle, at the Moore Theatre. It’s a fairly large old concert hall, with a floor filled with chairs, and two balconies about, reaching very high. We were only in the first balcony but the piano and chair with guitar seemed small. But I liked the ambience and mis-en-scene of the place, which felt like I was about to a watch an opera, or a one-man play with very limited props.

I had heard of opener Jesse Malin, before, but only because I know he was friends with and had his first album produced by Ryan. Well, that and LeAnne, Aaron, and I saw him back when he fronted a punk band, DGeneration, which opened for The Offspring and Living End. Back then he was a snotty punk upstart whom howled fiercely with the whole microphone stuffed into his mouth. But now he strode upon stage confidently, strapped with an acoustic guitar and blasted his way through an energetic set of about 6 or 7 folk/punk songs with humorous anecdotes about his vegetarianism and other things. I also loved the song in his set where he challenged the usually apathetic Seattle crowd to clap along to his song “Ridin’ on the Subway” by saying, “Let’s see how many of you are too fucking indie to clap your hands!” Surprisingly, the whole place clapped beginning to end much to his delight. The highlight of his performance was his cover of The Flaming Lips’ song “Yoshimi Vs. The Pink Robots.” It’s so satisfying when people cover brilliant songs by contemporary artists.

Shortly after Ryan came shuffling out of the dark, lit cigarette in his mouth, bottle of wine in his hand. After a moment or two of settling in he sat at the piano and played the last track off of Heartbreaker, “Sweet Lil’ Gal,” followed by “Call Me On Your Way Back Home” and one of the standouts on Love Is Hell, “Please Do Not Let Me Go.”

The night was filled with songs of lost love and remorse, almost weaving into a pattern or theme, as I’m sure Ryan intended, or at least what was chiefly on his mind. New songs included “Blue Hotel,” “Two” and “Don’t Get Sentimental On Me.”

However, the concert did not flow as smoothly as the listing of songs in this review. Between almost every song there was around 5 minutes of shuffling around, talking to himself, talking to people offstage, and bantering with the audience. Some which was funny, but some of which was just plain tedious. He even tried to play “La Cienga Just Smiled” and forgot the words and had to be reminded by an audience member in front. One could really tell, even from far away in the balcony just how nervous he was. In the last quarter of the show he even walked offstage, saying he had to get a shot of cortisone for his wrist so he could continue the show. At this point some people around me became weary of all the pauses and delays and started getting up and walking out. Ouch. As frustrated as I could get and I would never walk out on a show, or even a movie for that matter. I paid good money for it, and I’m going to see it through, for good or for bad.

Overall, it was a worthwhile performance. The moments when he concentrated were pure brilliance and worth every penny of admission. Afterwards I thought to myself, “This was just first-night jitters, everything will be go smoothly tomorrow night.” Afterall, that’s how it went last summer when I saw him. He was quiet and focused in Houston, and in Austin he relaxed and put on a romping performance. Little did I know how inaccurate my hopes would become…

By the time we got back to Portland there was just enough time to return the rental car on time. The place was downtown so after dropping off the car we walked down to the Roseland to see if there was already a line. And there was. So, we figured with little else to do with not much money and no transportation, sure, why not wait. Kim went to the ATM and to Powell’s Books to get some books to study for her exams. TWICE while she was gone Ryan walked by with a tall lady with orange-ish-yellow hair looking spacey and not paying much attention to the crowd already waiting outside to see him. Time moved by slowly.

At 7 they let us in, and much to our excitement, we got FRONT ROW SEATS!! It was very exciting sitting directly up front, for I have done it so rarely in my entire extensive concert going. We chatted a bit with the people around us, finding out that most of the people up front where pretty big fans, so that was comforting. One lady even got my email and is going to send me pics from the show! Very nice of her. One guy was pretty nice to talk to, and then left to go have some drinks at the bar.

8 on the dot and Jesse comes out and treats us to almost the same set as last night, but with different stories about each song, and the inclusion of a new song, “Little Star.” I enjoy his music more and more with each listen. The guy whom was nice and polite but excited before the show had become drunk before Jesse came on (and perhaps took who knows what in the bathroom) because he had become a loud, obnoxious fan-monster, shouting song titles and lame comments of praise between every song, as loud as he could, in addition to conversation VERY loudly with his wife during the songs. But Jesse played another great set nonetheless.

We waited an even longer amount of time before Ryan appeared on stage, dressed more casually than the night before, but a bit more off-kilter (even admitting at one point that he was really high). When he finally started he fumbled through pretty much the same set as the night before, yet leaving out standouts from the night before including “A Kiss Before I Go” and “Nightbirds” but did get the new half-baked song “Everything Dies” and learn that the song “Blue Hotel” was written for Willie Nelson for the new album they collaborated on, which is very exciting.

The pauses and fumbling were even more frustrating than the night before, and went on for even longer. The audience didn’t help matters either, screaming out song titles throughout the whole set, even after Ryan made a remark about it, saying he didn’t appreciate it. Some people just don’t get, especially the fucked up dude next to Kim, who kept screaming for songs up until the end of the show. Women in the audience were just as bad too, yelling things like, “You’re So Hot Ryan!” and other inane shit. All of this caused Ryan to mumble to himself and walk off the stage and talk to people behind the scenes about “breaking the fourth wall” all sardonically and shit. ARGH. Neither him nor the audience really understood it was a vicious cycle. He acts unprofessional and unprepared, then the audience isn’t going to act professional either and they will continually tear each other down. But despite this you could really tell he loved playing in Portland and the Roseland.

The highlights of the evening came with surprise guest-appearances, which kept Ryan focused on the task at hand, because a when you’re playing with someone else, it’s not good to break the rhythm to talk and walk around and shit. Jesse came out and they performed “Solitaire” together, which was fantastic. Their voices really go together well, and I would really enjoy hearing a full-on collaboration between the two in the future, maybe like Jack White and Brendan Benson of The Raconteurs.

The real surprise was when he called to Phil from the side and asked if he wanted to come play, and Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh came out and jammed with Ryan for what seemed like a long time, doing “Stella Blues,” “Wharf Rat,” and closing the night with “Magnolia Mountain.” After a while they really locked in and gave a stellar performance and Phil provided some wonderful backing vocals to the songs. I don’t know if the whole audience really realized what was going, but those that did were ecstatic about it. This happened last year when I saw him in Austin, Phil came out then and played “Wharf Rat” with Ryan on that occasion too. This acoustic one was much more intimate and enjoyable. It was a magnificent way to close the set, and redeemed the more or less poor concert that had been taking place previously.

So overall, it was an interesting experience seeing solo acoustic Ryan. I guess I wasn’t fully prepared for his onstage behavior, since when I saw him with the Cardinals he seemed so much more focused. It makes me think that it really helps him as a live performer to be playing with other people, because it keeps him concentrating and at top quality.

But would I go see him again? In a heartbeat. He’s one of the greatest songwriters of our generation, and I think time will prove me right.

Three Cheers for Washington State!

2006-04-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome Back Gentle Viewers!

I have returned from my weekend adventure in Seattle! Well, not exactly weekend, since we left on Sunday and returned Monday afternoon, but it felt like the weekend nonetheless. And what a time we had!

We cruised up Highway 5 Sunday morning, and eventually turned off onto some smaller roads, passing through quaint little towns on our way to the impressively looming Mt. Rainier, our first destination for the day.

Never before have I seen a more beautiful mountain! Within the first few miles of entering the park you notice the road is lined with snow. LOTS of dirty snow. The higher up you wind through this magnificent park, the higher the piles of snow go, soon towering above you on both sides, hiding street signs and trunks of trees.

At the first scenic stop on the way up we ran around in the snow. Well, more like carefully walked I guess, because at different points the snow was unstable and one could sink in up his kneecap! But it was really fun and surreal to stomp around in snow when it feels so much like spring/summer.

The highest up point you can go to without hiking with proper gear, there is a sunny observation deck, which we spent a fair amount of time just lounging and looking through telescopes to get a better view of the peak, named “Point Success.”

We also had lunch there, eating sandwiches outside, admiring the snowcapped mountain and gorgeous surroundings.

But soon we had to say goodbye to the mighty mountain, for Seattle still lay a good hour ahead of us, and we had to be there to make it to the Ryan Adams concert.

Next was the concert, but I’ll cover that in a separate blog, instead focusing on the Seattle trip in this one.

After the show we went to Dick’s to get some grub, then tried to find somewhere to sleep. No luck. So we slept in the car, in one of the most uncomfortable nights of sleep in my LIFE. Oh well, saved some money and gained another experience, so it’s all good.

That morning we went to the ship yard, where Kim met with a man about a job on a tugboat for Crowley. Afterwards we went for breakfast at Mecca Café where the waffle sucked, but the ambience was cool and laid back so that was enjoyable.

Plus within a block is one of the best music shop’s I’ve ever been in, East Street Records. I could have spent HOURS in there! But after that was the highlight of the morning, going to Lighthouse Coffee, getting the BEST Americano in the free world. Sat outside on the rocks in the sunshine sipping kick-ass coffee and chatting with lovely gal, when she mentions we should go to the beach real quick before we have to take off for Portland. Sure, why not?

It was over in west Seattle and reminded me of California, or if the Galveston strip had money and wasn’t creepy. The water was beautiful and cold, and the sand was warm. I really like the sand there, it’s from granite. Much cleaner feeling on the skin than the stuff back home at surfside. Plus, the view of Seattle from the Pier in west Seattle is fantastic. With this last wonderful moment on the pier, gazing, kissing, and dreaming, we set off for Portland.

Yet again, another wonderful trip to Seattle. A part of me has really fallen for this city. Probably my favorite American city next to Austin. It just has a great vibe, and kicks the shit out of Portland. I just haven’t been a fan of the place so far…

Winning Days in the Vision Valley...

2006-04-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

Good Evening Gentle Viewers,

So this morning Kim and I went upstairs to make breakfast on this beautiful day. She wanted me to put on some happy music that would be appropriate for the sunny day. I chose to put on the Vines' first album, Highly Evolved.

As sausages sizzle on the pan, I jump and sing and thrash around the kitchen to this fun and saucy record. And unfortunately, amongst all this fun, I stop and recall this review about the Vines' new record, Vision Valley (which is romping bit of fun imo) I read recently from the retardedly pretentious fucktards at PitchFork Media.

Ouch. It really infuriates me when someone even bothers to review an album when at the beginning of it they pretty much tell you that this sort of music is not "their thing" or don't take it seriously. Or perhaps that's the wrong phrasing, for this is exactly my problem with this over-hyped group of commentators and many music fans alike--seriousness.

Not every band has to be Radiohead, with the weight of the world on their shoulders, expected to "save Rock-n-Roll" or whatever the hype is the media keeps blabbering about for years now. Let me say that Rock doesn't need saving. It's very much alive. But the best of it, for the most part, is very hobbit-like: deep in a hole and doesn't like to venture out much for fear of unnecessary harassment from the "big folk" (aka corporate jerk-wads) and are content in their own world with those whom know and love them. People just have to try harder to hear good music, which means they can't simply switch on the radio and expect to hear something that catches their ear or minds. And for some, that's too much effort so they just submit to the trash on the radio and claim that somebody needs to come save them and rock as a whole. Kind of reminds me of a line from Aesop Rock from his song "Save Yourself" off the incredibly brilliant album Labor Days, "Next time you wanna be a hero try saving somethin' other than hip-hop
And maybe hip-hop'll save you from the pit-stop." But the same applies to Rock and music in general. But this is not the point of this rant, though it is important as well....

FUN! That's what I was trying to get to. One can enjoy a record and just dance around to it, without it having to be about Global Warming or some other dire issue. Now am I a saying to run out and purchase the latest piece of pop garbage that tops the Billboard Charts? HELL NO!! But something can be quality but not have some important issue to get across. Which brings me to the Vines. Their music is somewhere between surf, Beatles-esque pop, and grunge wall-of-sound. And I think it's a great sound. Fun stuff to sing along to, to drive to the beach or some other recreation and just vibe to it. Which is still how I feel about Weezer's Green album that was severely trashed and underrated as well, because it wasn't a tortured Pinkerton masterpiece, instead being just a fun summer record to sing, drink, and smoke to with your pals. In fact, I will list here a few of my favourite records that are just fun records to dance or thrash to:

* Head Automatica - Decadence
* Electric Six - Fire
* Hot Hot Heat - Make Up the Breakdown & Elevator
* The Faint - Danse Macabre, Blankwave Arcade, and Wet from Birth
* Weezer - Green album & Maladroit
* Franz Ferdinand - Both of their albums
* Modest Mouse - Good News...
* The Stokes - Is This It
* The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious, Tyrannosaurus Hives
* Any Sugarcubes album
* Hell, Misfits records are fun as hell too!

Anyway, you get the point. Or at least I hope you do. These are not incredibly famous bands (most) but still have fun quality work that you can throw on with a group of friends and just enjoy without worry. And that's how it should be. Or at least that's how the whole thing started. Like the Birds said there's a time for ...well all sorts of stuff anyway. So don't be on the heady serious road all the time. Lighten up and enjoy yourself and your music. Don't just sit around and listen to Neutral Milk Hotel and weep. Life can be a fun thing, enjoy it. But make sure you have the proper soundtrack. Have fun people. The world is full of enough woe and sorrow that sometimes the only way to combat it is to show that all its weight doesn't drag you down, and you can your happiness can endure.

P.S. How can you say "NO" to this guy?!

Stumbling Towards Meaning

2006-04-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am Gentle Viewers! (cookie to those who can name the reference)

So I finally have a blog. Ha. Weird. I know I already have a myspace, but this is slightly different. It's sort of funny, because pretty much the motivation for getting a blog was not only to post my thoughts, but at first just to have somwhere to post my last.fm account to show you dudes what I've been listening to. Today has been sort of a metal mood, listened to the classic Master of Puppets. MAN, it really takes me back to high school. Ripped jeans, bad attitude, and video games. No, it wasn't the 80s, and actually, not much has changed since then. I still have ripped jeans, I can have a bad attitude at times, especially when it involves authority of any kind and the oppresive forces of the world that at times feel out of my hands. And well, I still have a deep love for video games in my heart, but the gaming is at an all-time low, because I didn't bring my Gamecube with me, and just my Gameboy Advance SP, and played the occasional Zelda: Oracle of Seasons or Mario Kart. But it doesn't quite fill that thirst for gaming like staring at the idiot box with a full-fledged controller in my mits. But I digress...

So things have been extremely different for me ever since I left for Europe last September. Just a whirlwind of change uprooting everything stable in my life and taking me on one adventure after another, for good or ill. Right now I am in Portland. My time in the Northwest has had its ups and downs certainly...

Pros:
*Spending everyday with the love of my life, Kim
*Visiting Seattle and having the best coffee of my life at Lighthouse Coffee
*Downloading all sorts of music and rekindling my love of Metal & Punk
*Meeting all sorts of different people
*Just the sheer experience of living somwhere completely different

Cons:
*Broke as all hell, sometimes eating only rice and potatoes
*Rain EVERY FUH-REEKING DAY!!!
*Job situation being unstable
*All of this having an impact on a new relationship

So yeah, that's a peek into what's been going on, without even going into depth about the saga of jobs at Cirque du Soleil, Wells Fargo, and Blockbuster. But there's no point delving too far into the murk of my Portland life. I started this to look to the future, and reflect on the present. So here's how it stands at present:

* I don't have a job...BUT thankfully tax return will be arriving shortly...

* I DO have a fun film-type gig in the beginning stages. It's with a improv-comedy group that wants someone to film their shows and film project. I went to their show last Friday, and it was a lot of fun. Mucho good energy and excitement, and it really made me miss the improv days of J.A.S.S.S. in high school (R.I.P. Steven O'Farrell) They want to rehearse and pitch ideas around on Thursday, and then go out and film the thing on Saturday! Now there's some good turn-around! It would be great to work with these guys and get something good and post-graduation on my film reel.

* I DO have a phone interview on Thursday @ 5p.m. for the job of Tech Camp Counselor for the Summer. So I might be back in Texas this Summer. And that's pretty cool and exciting. I miss all my peeps.

So things are slowly in motion for me, gearing up towards something more than day jobs and the day-to-day hustle. Lost of plans and ideas in my head, but I will keep those private for now, until they take full form. For now this update and status-check will have to do for you all, my Gentle Viewers.

P.S. One more thing, Proof of D12 died the other day. I was saddened by this, as I thought he was one of the better MCs from the group and quite enjoyed his raps. So R.I.P Proof.

Rev the Engine.

2006-04-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

Test, test. This thing on?