green eggs and the met

i've said it already once this week, but you should be at the met tonight for this event. it's going to be major.



i'm stoked to see what hors d'ouvres and cocktails they come up with.

10 ft. great white attacked by 20 ft great white

holy crap. read that title again.

a 20' great white attacked a 10' great white and nearly bit it in half.

"The smaller - relatively speaking - great white was hooked on a baited drum line when it was attacked, and was still alive when it was hauled onto a boat off north Stradbroke Island in Queensland."

here's a photo of the shark that was bitten



good lord. stay out of the water off the australian coast.

subtle sexuality - male prima donna

tonight's episode of the office was rather enjoyable, and they advertised their new webisodes featuring a music video. i knew i needed to watch it right then.



it's funny, not too long, and i love the nard dog in that clip. and ryan's rap humorous.

rogue 2010 - we need you, artists

Call to visual artists:

It's that time of year again. Volunteers and staff have been quietly ramping up for 2010's Rogue Festival. October 1st marked the day that applications were opened for artists and November 15th marks the day that applications close. If you or someone you know is interested in sharing their artistry with throngs of Fresnans, now is the time! Obviously, there are a limited number of spots available and they go on a first come, first served basis so don't delay! If you know an artist who should be showing, be sure to let them know and urge their participation. You do not want to miss out on a chance to showcase your art in the largest festival of its kind on the West coast.


A few details: This year's venues for visual artists include La Luna Loca, Veni Vidi Vici, and Ashtree Studio. This is the first year that we are offering spots for 3D visual artists. As well, Ashtree Studio is offering the premium gallery spot again this year where the "Why did you do it that way?: An Artist Forum" will be taking place. You as an artist get three opportunities to talk about your art and field questions from attendees. It's a fantastic way to share depth and insight into your work.

Time is of the essence. Go to the Rogue Festival website and get more details today!


btw, i've submitted my application. get yours in.

green eggs & the met

looking for something fun to do friday night? here is your solution:



for more details, click over to the view looks good from here, fresno and listen to episode 38 where we talk to one of the event coordinators.

chap hop history by mr. b

umm, so i love hip hop, and i also love strange things, like a guy playing the banjolele. this chap goes through many of hip hop's greatest hits in quite an interesting and enjoyable fashion. it's five minutes long and doesn't touch nearly enough of hip hop. i could use five minutes more.



this also reminds me of a conversation i had with boney beasely from argyle pimps before we recorded our podcast the other night. now, we hit a little bit of it in the podcast when we discussed embracing or avoiding schtick. but, this guy, mr. b really reminds me of many of the nerdcore artists out there. it's well done, but is it hip hop? and do they really consider themselves hip hop artists? that is for them to decide, but it still leaves me wondering about how much of gimmick do we "allow" in hip hop before we start saying they're something else? and, do we apply that rule across the board, say with horror rap, nerdcore, or even a more established gimmick like gangsta rap?

monday haiku

new podcast up with
boney beazely argyle pimp
embrace the pimp schtick

fay wrays weatherman

some video i took last night of the fay wrays during a very enjoyable show.



i loved fay wrays last night. the played stuff from the new album, some newer songs and more. wheels of fortune were enjoyable, but i keep talking to people that don't enjoy them so much. i can't figure out why.

shoot, i even enjoyed racelegs' set, and i haven't in the past.

update on me pt. 2

so, i'm actually working my way through papers, but also am fixing a late lunch. i'm making some breakfast sausage that i bought at the store the other day. i didn't read the package too closely, but apparently they have a maple flavoring to them. smells awesome.

update on me

i have a bunch of papers to grade right now. so, of course, i'm surfing the net and stalling. i've had three weeks to get them graded. i have to have them graded and submitted by the end of the day.

pure awesomeness.

fay wrays' cd release show

in case you didn't know



fay wrays have an album release tonight. you should be there. it will be super fun.

what do you think i fought for at omaho beach?

so, i didn't realize until yesterday that maine has a ballot initiative that would repeal the right for gay couples to be married. i started looking for information on what the bill actually would accomplish, and mainly found out that the people that are for prop 1 are using the same ads & tactics that the pro prop 8 folks out here in ca. used.

later in the evening i was checking blogs and ran across this video. it's a video of an 86 year old ww2 vet, speaking at a public meeting on april 22, 2009. please watch.

rza is a geek

"yo, we geeks man, we geeks!"

this is for my people out there that enjoy the wu, especially the fellas over @ dumbdrum.com who posted a rza/colbert interview recently.



wu tang clan ain't nuthin to geek with!

i did think his quote about how he would rather raise nerds than gangsters was interesting. they've come a long way from the 36 chambers and talking about banging somebody's genitals with a spiked bat, or sowing someone's anus shut and feedin 'em and feedin 'em (two hilarious lines, btw). i'm fine with this. actually, i'm glad that he's grown up as a person. now, if the wu were to put out a new album talking about how they still were gangsta and were doing dirt right now, i might call out the cognitive dissonance. but i'm fine with him saying, 'hey, i'm a producer, i'm into all this nerdy electronic stuff, i love video games.' i'd even be fine with him saying that he liked guns, too. just as long as he doesn't try and come all hard core today/i make movies about road trips with kids tomorrow.

not about education

i'm often amazed at how misinformation lingers. people think iraq was involved in 9/11. or that there were wmd's in iraq.

today, i was speaking to someone about prop 8. this person said that the were fine with however people want to live, but they didn't want it taught in school. this baffled me (not really) but i did my damndest to remind that there was nothing in prop 8 about schools, and that there were, in fact, already books in schools that dealt with homosexuality and other different types of families even though prop & passed.

i doubt it will be remembered.

monday haiku

another day gone
tons of grading this whole week
one thing at a time




rams almost won game
but they remembered who they
are, st. louis rams

donkey kong vs mortal combat

enjoy the mash up of video games from parts of my youth:

high five new york

so this guy, nathaniel kassel rides his bike through nyc and gives people high fives when they're hailing cabs. pretty funny, especially when you see the various reactions. most people seem alright, but some people really freak out. i'm not sure how i'd react, but i think it would be sort of heartwarming to just randomly get a high five.



sadly, this wouldn't work in fresno, as we can't hail cabs in the street.

new toy

so, it's not quite yet my birthday, but i already got my present from monticore.



160 gb goodness.

corin hoggard day at the fair

ah, tuesday of the fair. it seems like it always rains on tuesday. maybe i'm wrong, but it does always rain one day of the fair, at least enough that many will stay away. i usually try and go that day.

but today, today was corin hoggard day. no one wants to sit at the channel 30 booth when it's raining out. well, almost no one. corin and shannon handy were there today despite the rain. and not only did corin get me in, he gave me this bad boy:



that's right, the new head shot. autographed just for me. okay, they do these for everyone, but this one was for me.. and while we were tehre, a kid named anakin was also getting an autograph. turns out he was also a mutton buster.

after chatting with corin, we moved along for a late lunch, consisting of far too much meat. i enjoyed a plate of ribs and part of a turkey leg. i think i could have eaten more of the turkey leg, but it was a little too salty.

during lunch the rain started to really pick up a bit, so we went finished eating and went into the buildings were they hock junk. there wasn't too much to see, but we looked none the less. the rain stopped and then it was off to the midway.

as to be expected, the midway was like a ghost town. the rain will do that. and, the rides of the midway weren't opening until 3. so, we bought some tickets, and waited for the rides.

you know how fun it is to ride the swings with only one other person on the ride? it's amazing. sure, the seats were a little wet, but the ride was a blast. after teh swings, there wasn't much else to do. i was full, i had enjoyed a ride, i had seen most of everything to see and we decided to go.

and then the sky broke open again and dumped rain on us the entire walk back to the car.

oh yeah, yes, corin, i do love you guys back.

sell the vatican, feed the world

sarah silverman, very funny. and, full of language that you usually can't listen to at work or around children. but funny.




thanks laughing squid.

picture fresno

so, a friend of mine, and some other people i've met, have started a new blog that is tons of fun. it's called picture fresno, and it's found at picturefresno.blogspot.com. the premise of the blog is that they show a partial picture of a fresno landmark and the goal is to leave a guess in the comments. if this sounds familiar, it's because two of the authors were recently on our podcast.

i'll be honest, it's pretty tough. i managed to guess a few, but some have got me, and others, stumped. you should click on over and try your hand at guessing fresno spots. a few new go up every day.

monday haiku

rain clouds on the way
will corin hoggard day be
wet or dry and fun?

corin hoggard day at the big fresno fair

so, i'm planning on multiple fair trips this year, and am thinking i may get my first visit on friday.

but, i'm also planning on an afternoon visit on tuesday because it'll be this guy's day over @ the channel 30 booth from 12-3:



maybe i can get a new head shot. and some fried food. hopefully it won't be pouring rain.

episode 36 of tvlgfhf

hey, there's a new episode of the view looks good from here, fresno available, featuring two of the authors of picturefresno.blogspot.com.

click over the the podcast website (in the sidebar) and enjoy, or download via itunes.

monday haiku

re:fuse fest was fun
even if i only saw
four of the acts play


entourage season
over but was it good at
all? mediocre

re:fuse festival recommendations

(click the photo to go to the re:fuse fest artist & line up page)

hey, the re:fuse fest is upon us. tonight is the opening party @ full circle brewery and the rest of the festival takes place tomorrow. with seven venues you might be struggling to figure out who to see. or, you might not. but have no fear, i'm hear to help you with some suggestions. i'm even going to put an * to the shows that i think are a don't miss, you'll kick yourself if you do shows.

-the festival kicks off @ 3 w/yesterday's chonies playing the spiral garage. go to the garage and buy your pass, and then head over to joe's steakhouse for buffalo guns. now, you probably would have to work to really hit all these, or at least hustle between spots.
-3:30 buffalo guns (joe's steakhouse)
*-4:00 wewalkanddrive (spiral garage)*
-4:30 down word (joe's steakhouse)
*-5:00 the escorts (club one)
-6:00 black pennies (spiral garage)
-7:00 this one's a toss up - blake jones & trike shop (spiral garage) or motel drive (club one)
*-7:30 populus (joe's steakhouse)*
-8:00 40 watt hype (club one) - this is a toss up with wheels of fortune (spiral garage) but i haven't seen 40 watt hype in a while so i'm saying them.
*-9:00 the sleepover disaster* - this is the last sleepover show for a while, and possibly ever. do not miss it as they close out the shows @ the spiral garage.*
-10:00 after show @ tokyo.

now, i realize it will be tough to hit all these recommendations. if nothing else, hit my * don't miss shows. if you don't trust my recommendations, hit up the website and pick your own re:fuse fest route.

whatever you do, don't miss this festival. $15 for a ton of good bands.

show review: wheels of fortune, rademacher + more

ah, the post art hop show. it's a monthly tradition, and generally it's a good time. i've seen a ton of great bands over the last few years and have graciously dropped tons of cash to tommy and toshi. i've also encountered several bands, both local and out of town, whom i've bought cd's from and started to follow.

last night doesn't really fit in to the above description. maybe that's too harsh.

so, the first act was michael k. he was a solo act with an electric guitar. i've seen ted leo play (on t.v.) all by himself with a guitar and rock the crowd. michael k. was no ted leo. i'm not saying his music was bad, because sonically it was fine. it just lacked energy, or anything to pull me in at all.

the second act was yesterday's chonies. i've seen this band play on the sidewalk outside of tokyo garden before and thought they were sorta quirky and interesting. since that time, they've played around town and even been involved in an internet controversy. i know what i like, and i know what i don't like. i don't like yesterday's chonies. as a strange brass band, their music could be interesting. but, it ends up just being a mess. time isn't kept that well, the singing ranges in and out of tune, and it never seems to come together. i will say that i did enjoy some parts, and the washboard actually created a sound that hooked my ear a bit.

wheels of fortune went on third, and it was their cd release show. i like wheels, and have talked about them here before. right from the start there were sound problems, and they seemed to carry through most of the show. seriously, lots of unintended feedback, and the band seemed a little frustrated and rattled. they pushed through, and i commend them for that. i enjoyed the songs, and after the sound issues were cleared up the show seemed to really come together for wheels. unfortunately, by then they were almost done with their set.

rademacher closed out the show, and i honestly was a bit surprised they were even playing. they literally just returned from a midwest tour, by car, on wednesday. in talking to the guys before their set they all seemed a bit weary and in need of a few more hours of sleep. to their credit, that weariness didn't carry over to their set. it seemed pretty crisp and i enjoyed it.

i will say that my main goals of the night were to see wheels of fortune and pick up their cd, as well as rademacher's new ep, and i accomplished those. the bands i wanted to see were enjoyable and i've got some new cd's to listen to.