Saturday, August 20, 2011

war on the poors

i realize that john stewart is a comedian, with a team of writers, but once again he is spot on.





it's also quite disheartening that there is a group of people out there that actually believe the crap that the other side is saying. seriously, i get super depressed every time i'm teaching sociology and we talk about wage inequality in the u.s. and income levels. the idea that the federal poverty line is set around 23k for a family of 4 is insane. i have my students break down the monthly expenses for a family of 4 as a way of demonstrating how impossible it is to actually live around that level. and yet, people still vote against themselves and their own best interests. the believe the insane people that are actually conducting class warfare.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

lost smiths promo video

it was a godsend when i saw this press video for the smiths from 1992 over @ laughing squid today. i knew i would be spending time watching and listening to some heavenly music.




not enough smiths for you? of course not. go over here and enjoy more smiths videos dammit.

Monday, August 15, 2011

mondat haiku 8 15

heat is kicking my
rear and i have little want
but to nap and nap

Thursday, August 11, 2011

back in the valley, jailbreak at fulton 55

some musical happenings this weekend.

friday night, our friend malcolm sosa will be playing a solo set over @ studio itz from 8-10 pm. it's a free show, and he'll be joined by two acts from l.a. (i don't know the acts, but malcolm called them "two great acts.")

UPDATE: i've heard through facebook that one of the other bands is manhattan murder mystery.

saturday night, there's a cool show down @ fulton 55.



a little bit of rockabilly, a little bit of old school country, and a bit of our friend vince corsaro on drums. sounds great.

Tuesday, August 09, 2011

fresno distributing

fresno distributing, aka fresno d, has always been a little odd to me. i liked the idea of supporting local businesses, but as a distributor type store i found it a bit off putting as a customer. the show room seems like an afterthought, and if i want to get a new faucet or whatever, i probably would hit up the easy display and multiple options of lowes.

around the fourth of july, we had an issue with our shower. the divertor, which allows the change from bath to shower to happen, wasn't working properly. we also had a long-time leak on our cold water handle, but that was a nagging concern and had their not been a problem with the divertor i would have let it keep dripping. my go - to spot for home repairs is fresno ag, so i headed over there. they had the right parts to fix my problems, and things were reasonably priced. while we were there, we inquired about other handles for our price pfister, 1970's looking set up. unfortunately, for the set up we had there were only a few, equally ugly options.

on our way home, we decided to pop in at fresno d, and see if they had other options. we spoke with one of the parts guys, discussed what we had, and he let us know a few options. eventually, we realized that we could switch out the stems behind the handles, and found these real sweet, sleek brushed nickel handles. we placed an order and started waiting. now, it's a little scary that their paperwork says that orders can take up to three months to come in, but they told us that it should be in three or four weeks. after just about a month, our new handles and parts were in.

today, i drove over to pick up the parts. the original guy we worked in wasn't in (i think he was on lunch break) but that wasn't a big deal because we were just picking up a unit. i got my box, and headed out.

this is where things went wonky. i looked at what i had, and it was only a two handle set up, according to the box. i popped the box open, and while they were the right two handles, we were missing the third. i went back in, and waited to be helped. after a minute or so, i was able to explain my issue to someone, and he began to investigate. he looked up the faucets and what not in their books, and what we wanted (finish wise) didn't come in a three handle. was i going to be stuck with two sweet handles, and one ugly one?

the guy i worked with, whose name i sadly didn't catch, was amazing. essentially, he found all the appropriate pieces from other sets or packages. all of the parts. and, even more cool, they did it for free. i was figuring that i would have to shell out for the additional stuff. i wouldn't have been stoked about that, but i would have had my parts. nope, they said that because there was a miscommunication they were going to give me the parts i needed since i'd already bought the other parts. freaking awesome.

thanks a ton, fresno d. you may not have all the things that lowes, home depot or even fresno ag have, but you do your thing well. and, your customer service is awesome - seriously, i was able to watch several customers treated very well, and the employees go out of their way to figure out people's needs/problems and do their best to help. great work.

Monday, August 08, 2011

monday haiku 8/8

watching damages
is a new passion of mine
a very good show

Sunday, August 07, 2011

a post for adam

a little post for adam, who has had a lot of fun with at&t over the last few months.



www.toothpastefordinner.com/080711/

Friday, August 05, 2011

evolution of the hipster

i've featured some hipster flow charts and other stuff talking about the hipster. now, i don't want to just pick on a group of people, but i did think this little video from glove and boots does present a humorous history of the hipster. sit back, and enjoy some history.

Thursday, August 04, 2011

christian boobs

i wanted to share with you a great blog post from the blog jesus needs new pr. it's about how people dress. or, rather, how people should dress, specifically women, if they want to be modest, Xian women.

in short, he points out:
inherent sexism in modesty discussions
inconsistent standards
modesty is a culturally determined standard
the shame attached to modesty talks

i don't always check out that blog, but i drop by every so often and scroll down to see hilariously bad church signs, weird Xian videos, and more. i hope you enjoy the read.

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

matt damon vs reporter on teachers



matt damon is friggin awesome. seriously, he seems to have a much better grasp on economics than the reporter and cameraman asking him questions. and, he understands that most people simply aren't doing their job for the paycheck, especially teachers.

in a world of celebrities that ought to shut the hell up, i'd like to hear more from mr. damon. and, frankly, in a world of people like charlie sheen and mel gibson, i want to watch more of mr. damon's work.