grammy reaction

so, i actually watched the grammys last night, which wasn't a first, but it's not something i usually do. and, i also participated in some live commenting over @ the beehive, which made it a little more fun.

i watch awards show occasionally, so i understand that they're always a little lame and overdone, and this one fit right in with that. i also understand that there will be wins and losses that people are upset about. shoot, i remember being a young metalhead and feeling that metallica was robbed of the first ever metal grammy. shoot, i still feel that way. but, whatever, it happens.

here are some of my reactions on the night:
- like most, i hadn't heard of the winnner of best new artist. that's okay, she does jazz, and so i'll check her out. i'm not surprised i don't know her, she is doing something different. i do appreciate that she is a trained musician, and doesn't seem to be a part of the mainstream machine. she's not the latest pop princess, prefab regurgitated pablum. that excites me, even if i don't know her music.
- enjoyed most of the collaborative musical pieces. shoot, that cover of dolly parton's jolene was one of my favorite moments of the night. just great sounding. and i thought the grammy's did a good job of putting those moments together last night.
- arcade fire. not everyone likes them, and that's fine. i do like them, and i was surprised they won. was it the album of the year? i don't know, but honestly, i think it's a good album. i'm not just saying that as a fan of theirs. it does make me chuckle that kanye's rated 10 album didn't even get nominated, let alone win. and for all those people that are up in arms (or tweets) over arcade fire winning, settle down. if you've never heard of the band, that's on you. they've been on saturday night live twice, and been on most of the late night shows. they've released three successful albums, and the latest did sell rather well. in fact, it debuted on the billboard charts at number 1. so, if you've never heard of arcade fire, that's on you. be more aware of the culture around you because it's not like they're some fringe band. that doesn't mean you have to like them or agree with the grammys, just don't be some knee jerk 'i don't know who they are' type.
- presenters: mixed reactions to the presenters last night. some, like puffy, j-lo and marc antony seemed a bit off. don't know what they were doing before coming on stage, but they all seemed a little lost with the teleprompter. maybe a little too happy. and, it looked like puffy had braces. seth rogan was forgettable but i thought jason segal was pretty funny in his little bit, as was neil patrick harris, who had a little wink about his sexuality. as for cbs using several cbs people, i guess that's par for the course.

overall, the show was interesting, but it dragged in the last hour, and i don't know if i'd watch next year. i guess we'll see.

monday haiku

weather person tricked
me again. surprise rain got
my clothes wet once more.

uppercut fight club

another cool video from the people over @ california is a place. i've enjoyed their great mini docs about scraper bikes, real dolls, the border and so on. this is the latest. uppercut.

Uppercut from California is a place. on Vimeo.

as an enthusiast of the film fight club, i was intrigued by this.

elephants on parade dubstep

loving this dubstep remix of elephants on parade from dumbo.

Daladubz - Pink elephants VIP by Daladubz

wednesday and thursday fun

looking for things to do in the next few days. well, of course you should hit up pub quiz on wednesday. seriously, if you haven't been yet, why?



then, thursday night, head on down to fulton 55 and hit up the beehive birthday bash. i've been to a few of these, and they're usually quite a fun time.



they'll have bands like motel drive, food trucks from la elegante (some of fresno's best tacos) and dusty buns (always delicious), and tons of giveaways. there will be other entertainment as well. i'm also excited that i'll be able to check out fulton 55 for the first time.

monday haiku

not a very good
season of big love this time
glad it's the last one

super bowl xlv fun

i enjoyed watching the super bowl this year with just a few friends. we grubbed, joked, and made a few little wagers amongst ourselves. i must say, i did rather well.

bets i won:
heads vs tails (heads)
over/under 38 points (over)
first penalty (pitt)
first qb to pass for td (rogers)
first coach's challenge (gb)
first td pass or run (pass)
first pitt score (fg)

bet i lost
3rd roethlisberger int (i said yes)

congrats to the packers for holding on to a win in close game. it was very enjoyable to watch.

everything is a remix

i love educational videos, especially those about music or culture. (remember the amen break?) well here's two about how everything is a remix

Everything is a Remix from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

Everything is a Remix Part 2 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

"sorry about colonialism."

can't wait for the final parts. maybe i'll even donate @ some point.

everything is a remix

post art hop @ tokyo

look who's back at making cool flyers for their shows:



that's right, your favorite, and mine, rademacher. this week's post art hop show sounds like fun. achievement house is getting a lot of local buzz, i think the current rademacher line up is one of their best, and blake jones & the trike shop do some quirky, cool songs.

btw, last week i went over to the quiet show featuring malcolm sosa, niiiiiiiilo smeds, rc, and luke giffen. good show. enjoyed new songs by all those guys.

work thoughts

please bear with me for a moment while i briefly express myself.

i wish one or two of my jobs would pay better so i didn't have to do the third job. or that one of my hobbies was actually a job. or, maybe i just wish i didn't have a stack of papers to grade with no desire to grade them.

that's all.

monday haiku

if you're not watching
shameless then you are missing
out on great t.v.

hipster superheroes

saw this little gem from college humor and thought i'd share.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

lunch review: watts family grill

good, solid bbq restaurant. i went there and ordered the watt's riot to go with some friends before one of the nfl games. i was happy that they were able to accommodate on the spot, and the guys behind us ordered the same without any problem.

the ribs were decent, but i've had a little better lately. the pork was amazing and tender. the chicken was decent, tri tip was good. what really stood out to me was the baked beans. they were great. almost like a chili bean.

the watts riot is a big meal, that they say serves 4. i think with all the sides and meat you could easily serve 5 or 6. i'm a big boy, and the guys with me are pretty big eaters as well and we had left overs.

good place, and it's pretty close to my neighborhood so i'll be back to try some of their combos or their chicken & waffles.

1448 N Blackstone Ave
Fresno, CA 93703
(559) 268-6800

"productive" friday

these are the things i accomplished (cough cough) today that make me feel "productive" about a friday:
- finished call of duty: black ops. i didn't realize i was almost done, and sorta feel that the storyline ends very weird. and unexpectedly.
- went to lowes to make sure they had door in stock. tomorrow, i'm getting a new front door & have a friend w/a truck going with me. didn't want to have him drive to the store to find out it wasn't in stock, so today i went over there to check.
- activated costco membership - yep, i'm a member again, this time thanks to a friend's family business that put me on their account. i also looked around, had a few samples, and ate a slice of pizza.
- bought coffee @ cafe corazon. still the best around, and every week i enjoy a walk over to buy a freshly roasted pound.
- researched scaffolding & ladders - as i move forward in my mural project, i'm going to need a tall ladder, and so i wanted to check rental prices from companies in fresno. i think i've found what i'm looking for.

3 cents

today i filled up the motorcycle at one of the gas stations i usually go to. there are two am/pm-arco's near my work, so i usually hit one of them up because the victory runs on premium, and they've got good prices. for those that don't know, am/pm takes cash & debit, and i usually pay cash. you can insert your money out at a terminal, and after you're done pumping you get change inside. my bike usually takes about 4 gallons to fill, and so that's always going to give me change off a $20.

such was the case today. i prepaid with a $20, and filled it up. when it was done, i noticed that my total was $13.37 (that's right geeks, 1337). i walked in and waited in line for my change, $6.63. when it was my turn, the salesclerk gave me my change and i walked out of the store.

as i put my change in my pocket, my mind turned over, because the change just didn't seem right. i hadn't looked closely at what the cashier had given me, just sort of glanced and put it in my pocket. did she give me only 3 coins? how could she have given me correct change with only 3 coins? so, i reached back into my pocket and could only feel 3 coins. i pulled them out - two quarters and a dime. i reached back in my pocket, no other coins to be found. the cashier shorted me three cents. i stood there dumbfounded for a second, wondering if i should just move along with my day, or go back and get my 3 cents. i mean, it's only 3 cents. and as i stood there thinking, i got a little bit pissed. it wasn't about the actual worth of the money, it was about the principle of it.

i went back inside and stood in line for the same cashier. when i got to the front of the line, i said to the cashier, "you shorted me on my change. it's only three cents but..." and before i could finish she was handing me the three cents. she didn't check my change, didn't check my receipt, didn't let me finish and tell her how much it was. it really seemed like she knew exactly how much she had shorted me, and was quick to fix the error.. it felt like she had intentionally shorted me and probably does it regularly to customers, but most of us just stuff our change in our pocket without checking. sure, it was only 3 cents to me, but over thousand of transactions it adds up nicely for the business. shady.

el olio wolof final concert review

i know i've blogged a lot lately about el olio wolof, but i don't mind. they were a great band, and i think have had big impact on the fresno & greater valley indie scene over the last six + years. when i heard they were moving on to other things, i knew i wanted to see them every chance i could get. i saw their last fresno show, and when i talked to r.c. and he told me about their very last show ever, i knew i needed to at least try to be there. there partisan in merced is just a hop, skip, and a jump away, so that and a $5 ticket price assured i'd be there saturday night. for a fan of this band, what was more important than their finale last night? all members, past or present, were going to play as el olio navigated through their entire history and catalog of music (one ex member didn't make it).

i could tell you about the two opening acts, but that's not why i went to the show. i will say that both neal jackson and willy tea were both very interesting and talented musicians. the crowd was especially familiar and responsive to willy tea.

the crowd overall had a very good, friendly vibe. most everyone there knew who el olio is, and was there to send them off in style. of course, there were also people there that didn't know el olio, and there was your handful of annoying people that are there, taking up space, talking loudly, and not paying attention to the show. (sidenote: why pay $5 to get into a concert and not pay attention at all?) but really, it was a very warm feeling in the partisan last night. during some songs you could just feel the energy as people sang along and the floor bounced with movement.

when el olio started, i was sorta in the back of the crowd. but, as people moved in and out of the crowd i was able to move forward, eventually ending up about five feet from the stage. consequentially, i didn't take any videos of their very early on music.



although you don't see it in any of the videos, r.c. sort of narrated the changes in the band through the show, along with some of the people they met along the way. kinda nice to see who they started with, who was added when, and to watch the band literally change on stage to reflect the band changes. but, eventually you had all of the members, past and present, on stage.



there were a lot of photographers, both the fan variety and what seemed like more professional variety there on the night. this is alright, but the "pros" seemed to feel like they had priority on being close to the stage. i often observed photogs weaseling their way to the front, taking up space where people were enjoying the music, to get their shots. i suppose they're doing there job, but i found it a tad annoying trying to watch the show through people's cameras. btw, my videos were all shot while i was leaning on a wall. no one's view was obstructed by my shots. during this third video you'll see a photog enter the frame, take some shots, etc. enjoy looking at his california baseball cap.



i will admit that the flashes from cameras did create a magical, firework-esque effect combined with the house lights.

and now for my favorite el olio song, tree shakers/tree climbers. there was no way that i wouldn't be recording the last ever performance of this song.



sorry about the video on this last one. i forgot that while you can rotate the camera, it stays recording the same way.



what a night. i hope all the best for the members of el olio wolof in their future endeavors. and, if you ever get a chance to go to a show at the partisan, you should.

el olio wolof's end

this is the end, beautiful friend.



tonight

smokin them bones

i'll say right off the bat that this is probably a 5 star place, but i'm going 4 stars because i've only been there once and i want to give it another try to really confirm that 5th star. but, really, this is a five star place in my opinion.

i had heard about a new bbq spot in town and wanted to try it out, and since i had some free time today i thought i'd go find it. and really, you've got to find it. to track down the location i googled 'smokin them bones fresno' and the only worthwhile hit was something on twitter - fortunately someone i know so i knew that the directions were legit - on mckinley east of first. and, that's just where it is, on mckinley, just past the shopping center with popeyes & carl's jr, on the right if you're headed east. there is a small, 8 or so car lot + street parking.



i came in and it was just me and the staff, but by the time i was finished with lunch the place had several customers. the staff had a friendly report with all the customers, and two guys came in and had tracked the chef down from another bbq spot he had been at. the service was very quick and the restaurant was nice and clean.

i surveyed the the menu and of course decided to get ribs. originally i ordered the rib dinner, but switched to the rib sandwich - 2 ribs on bread + 1 side. for my side i ordered the cajun friend rice. the rice was my first surprise. when my order came up it looked lovely, and the rice was very tasty. it had rice, sausage, squash, onion and maybe a few other little things. very good tasting.



the ribs had a light sauce coating but were very good. the meat was super tender and easily came off the bone. honestly, i want to go back and order a whole rack or more. very good.

i noticed that they make (& i think sell) their own sauces - bbq & hot sauce. i hadn't used the hot sauce with my meal, so i put some on my fork just to taste - another nice thing. not too hot, good smokey spice flavor.

overall, great experience, and i'll definitely go back.

open mon-sat 10 a.m.- 7 p.m.
3298 e. mckinley, fresno, 93703
559.237.1700

ghostbusters inception

wonderfully recut trailer for ghostbusters.



i'd see it.

which, btw, this trailer actually makes me want to rewatch ghostbusters. i haven't seen the original in quite some time. i'm sure not all the effects would hold up, but i think it would still be a rather watchable film.

the rap guide to evolution...needs you?

i saw this over on boing boing and thought i'd share it here, mainly because it's got fresno ties. baba brinkman is a guy who has performed @ the rogue festival, and i caught him one year. he's pretty interesting, and basically what he does is rap. the first year (2?) that he was at the rogue he did rap canterbury tales. the year i saw him it was the rap guide to evolution, and it drew a mild amount of controversy, at least in the comments on the rogue page for it. well, it seems that he has a dvd out now, and here is the trailer for it.



he's trying to raise funds (isn't everyone these days) to do all the post production, so i thought i'd share that need with fresnans who might want to threw him a few bucks.

i also will admit that i probably disagree with him at some points about behavior and biology, but that's not that important here.

Fantasy Fiancé

alright, so i thought this video was pretty funny, but it has some problems. problem 1: there is swearing, so if that bugs you, don't watch. problem two: the ladies in this are portrayed as nincompoops, so if you can't get past that, don't watch. problem three: the ending isn't that great. it's funny, but i think they couldn't figure out a great way to end it. so, if that won't bother you, watch.

border fences don't work

i saw this video and thought it quite interesting. basically, it shows 2 young ladies climbing the border fence between the u.s. and mexico.



now, assuming that the video is accurate, and these two climbed it on their first try and in under twenty seconds, i have little hope that this fence could actually keep anything out that wanted in. hell, if you can be up and over in under a minute, it's not even like it would be a deterrent.

monday haiku 1/3

rams choke away their
chance for the playoffs and ruin
last bit of weekend

pajama jeans

my wife saw this commercial and decided it was the answer to all her problems.



UPDATE: it appears hmac @ the beehive had a similar post last february, although the video was different.

new year's vacation

we spent new year's eve and a few other days over in santa barbara, and it was a fun time. but, it's also nice to be home, sleep in your own bed, and get back into the rhythm of life.

but, i also wanted to share a few photos with you from my trip. this first is from nye, were we rang in the new year at a bar called old kings road. this was the door to the ladies' room.



the sinks in the mens' room also were out of order, but i guess we could duece if needed.

the second photo i took because of word choice. it was outside of the restaurant we had breakfast at on the first. is "your" the proper word?



here is a link to a definition of your.

so, i've been trying to rework the sentence so it seems better, at least to me.

the original:
we appreciate your not smoking here.

my first attempt:
we appreciate you not smoking here.

my complete rework:
thank you for not smoking here.

the end is near for el olio wolof

new years bring new opportunities. they can also bring on the end of good things. such is the case this upcoming week as we see the end of one of my favorite bands, el olio wolof. we knew it was coming, and it's not like it's a new announcement, but there last show ever is upon us.

next saturday in merced will be great, that i am sure of. there will be great music as most, if not all, of el olio's members reunite like voltron and they perform their entire catalog of music.

to purchase tickets, click over here. even if you don't want to buy tickets, click over anyway and read the great retrospective on the band. seriously.

new years eve

looking for something to do in fresno on new years eve? something other than just hanging out at a bar? well, the treasury has something you might like.



our good friend woody is one of the dj's at this event, so say hi to him.

monday haiku 12/27

christmas has gone by
but friends are still around us
so enjoy them now

sfw

this post is safe for work

true grit review

tonight, we went and saw true grit. and, i've got more to say then in my last review, mainly because i was blown away by black swan, and true grit...well, didn't have the same effect.

overall, i enjoyed the movie. i think the actors all do a fine job, and i liked matt damon's quirkiness. and, some of the bit characters, the background people were really intriguing to me. the movie is also beautifully shot, although the snow seemed very cgi to me, and it bugged me.

two things surprised me: 1. josh brolin is in the movie a lot less than i expected. i haven't seen the original, so i didn't know how big or little that role is. the billing and commercials made me think it was a bigger role than it was. this isn't a bad or good thing, just and observation.
2. for being a coen brothers film, this was a pretty straight take. yes, there are a few strange bits, but overall it was pretty much a normal movie. i'm fine with them breaking their mold, but i guess i just expected something more dark or bizarre from them.

again, overall i think the movie was good and you should see it. you could probably wait for video if you're inclined.

black swan review

my take on black swan: wow. amazing movie. extremely well made. beautiful art.

dubstep christmas

another funny video from england. this one is done by some comedians, goldie lookie chain.

8 bit safe sex ad

pretty funny little safe sex psa done by a anti-teen pregnancy group in leicestershire, england.

obama's failure

there are people out there, democrats, that are saying this presidency is a failure. that president obama, as he works with the republicans is a failure because he's not sticking to his guns. if there is a failure, it is our failure.

greedy democrats have wanted to shove it down the republican throats, to run up the score. since he hasn't, we're pissed. but you know what? that's not how it's supposed to work. the parties are supposed to work with each other, while checking each other's power as well. our government shouldn't work with a motto of, "we're in power so we're going to do whatever the eff we want."

i don't care if we feel that the other side did it when they controlled the house & senate. that doesn't mean that's how we should have been working.

now, i also don't think that the president or the democrats should give up on all of their ideals or plans and just give the republicans whatever they want. and, i also think that if the republicans are going to just drag their feet on everything we need to do a better job exposing that, letting the public at large know that nothing is happening because people being unwilling to work together to make a better america.

anderson cooper disproves birther rhetoric

thanks, anderson.



what scares me is that this guy is a congressman texas state representative who is either willfully ignorant or just a blatant liar.

rademacher show review

so, i only managed to make it to one of the thanksgiving shows down at tokyo garden, and it was the last one. the show was supposed to be brother luke & the comrades, archaeology, and rademacher. the funny thing is, archaeology was nowhere to be found. it's as if they didn't even know they were supposed to be in fresno and not their native portland, because they posted something online about being done with rehearsal and heading to a show to watch & listen.

so, i headed out to the show, and only made it for the last song or two of brother luke. that's okay, i wasn't really going to see his set, not that i have anything against that group. there was a decent crowd for a show at tokyo, and it did seem like some out of town folks had managed to incorporate the show in their visit home plans.

rademacher is playing again as a five piece, and they are really starting to click again. i saw them in this set up a few weeks back in visalia, but this time the sound was much better. and by that, i mean there was no feedback. and you could hear the keyboards. they're currently playing a set list that's mostly from stunts, which is good, but i was surprised when mike mentioned during the show that it came out in 2006 (i think it actually was released in 2007). holy crap, time flies. as i enjoyed the music, i pondered where the years had gone. and why good bands like rademacher, the sleepover disaster and el olio wolof toil away without getting big enough to really get noticed and "make it." and perhaps now, with this line up, rademacher can grab someone's ear because they sound really good. it's a very focused sound, a well oiled machine. honestly, they sound as good as they ever did, and hopefully they'll be able to keep it up.

thanksgiving greatness @ tokyo garden

Looking for something to do over the thanksgiving holidays? Why not check out some great local, live music @ tokyo garden. All shows are scheduled to start at 9:30PM and all the shows cost $5.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24th

UNDERCURRENT BENEFIT!!!

College Kids (Acoustic)
High Winds (Solo)
Brian Kenney Fresno

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26th

Aesop Fables
SOMOS 1
Destructo Bunny

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27th

Brother Luke + The Comrades
Archaeology
Rademacher

monday haiku

clear skies in the 'no
tons of great rain this weekend
i slept through the hail

slow down poster

i'd like to blame my lack of posting on my computer being in the shop, which it is, but that's not really why. i'm just lazy.

national unfriend day

why can't we unfriend?



for those that don't know, jimmy kimmel has declared nov. 17 national unfriend day on facebook. he's encouraging people to ditch or unfriend people that aren't really our friends. i'm in. now, i'm not going to get rid of everyone, but have realized there are people that i'm "friends" with that i've never met, have no desire to meet, and am not even always sure how we became friends. so, i'll be weeding them out.

i'm also going to slim down my twitter roster. there are some people's tweets & posts i just don't care to read.

monday haiku

it's light in the morn
now, helps me wake up and go
too bad it's for work

if you got some magic

last friday we went down to visalia to see rademacher & the dodos at howie and sons pizza. i decided to shoot a little video of rad rad rad. enjoy the salad bar shot.



btw, i thought both rademacher and the dodos were fabulous. however, the sound guy sucked crap. really, there was feedback on almost every rademacher song, you couldn't hear the keyboards at all. and, it didn't get any better during the dodos. they didn't have as many feedback issues, but they were still there.

man up

i'm not sure if california did this, but it's funny.

colbert says man up

monday haiku

giants win it all
party in san francisco
grizzlies play super

monday haiku

saw review on yelp of
k f c and they said it
was greasy. morons.

upcoming and interesting

so, there are a lot of cool shows coming to fresno and the area in the next month and beyond. this is great news for me, as i haven't been to a show in ages and have missed hearing live music.

nov. 1 - the generationals & el olio wolof @ audie's olympic. i've never heard of the generationals, but they have a pretty cool sound. sort of reminds me of old motown, but not totally. anyway, i'll be at this show without a doubt because it's el olio's last fresno show ever. i don't know why it's their last show, but whatever. i love their music, and will be there to give them one last cheer.

nov. 5 - the dodos and rademacher - my love for rademacher is well documented, so it shouldn't be too surprising that i'm interested in going to a show of theirs. really, i'm pumped to see them open for a big, touring band. and, several of my friends are really into the dodos, so that's good for them. this shows in visalia @ howie & sons pizza, where i've never been, but i hear decent things about the place.

dec. 18 - the grouch and brother ali @ the cellar door. brother ali has got to be my favorite hip hop artist. i love his cadence and vocals, and his lyrics are amazing. this shows a ways out, but that gives you time to save up the $22 for tickets. also, it's @ the cellar door, so it'll be a great, intimate venue.

swings at the big fresno fair

college kids on the dope slope

do you wake up early. i do.

do you watch kopi & the great day crew? me, hell no. i hate that crap. but, this almost makes me want to tune in. almost.

our friend malcolm sosa, from rademacher, and his new band college kids on the dope slope will be on great day tomorrow morning. they'll be doing a few songs.



if you like more sensible time slots and share a dislike for kopi, you can also hear this band on the view looks good from here, fresno podcast. we're scheduled to record with them thursday evening and you'll be able to download after that.

thanks clawson & redline

if you've ever read this blog, you should know that i really like to shop local when i'm able. today, i needed to get some things done, and it really paid off, in my opinion, that these were local shops.

first up was clawson motor sports. a while back they became the licensed victory dealer & service department for the area. i was happy about this because the previous one was down in fowler, and if i could avoid driving a bit of distance to get service done on my bike, great. and, clawson is right around the corner from one of my jobs so it usually makes it easy for me to get it over there. anyway, last week my headlight was having issues. it turned out that one of the two bulbs, the high beam one, was dead and if you tried to use it the fuse would blow. this would mean no headlight at all, which is illegal. i generally run with the high on for more visibility on my bike, but was fine running with just the regular until i could the other fixed. but, i didn't know why the light was out, and i didn't realize it was a blown fuze due to the other bulb. i took the bike into clawson, but unfortunately they didn't have the bulb in. they didn't know that at first, and had the bike in for a while which caused me a labor charge. anyway, they ordered the new bulb, which came in yesterday, and so today i went by with the bike to get the bulb changed. i'd already paid for the bulb, but i knew i'd be paying a little more labor for the install. i waited as the work was done, and when the finished, the service rep comped it. when they said it was zero i was a bit confused, because i was counting on the labor charge. the rep nicely explained that it wasn't my fault they didn't have the bulb in the other day, i paid for labor then, so she didn't think it was fair/right for me to pay the labor again. super nice! i already planned on bringing the bike back there for future service, but this really seals the deal.

after clawson, i figured i would run one more stop before home. the other day i lost a little ball that goes on my earrings, basically locking it on my ear. i hit it while taking off my helmet, so i wanted to replace it. i had originally bought these rings at redline tattoo and piercing, so i figured they would have the replacement ball i needed.



anyway, i arrived at the shop, and they were hanging out, talking and waiting for customers like often seems to be the case at tattoo shops. i explained what happened, and the owner (i'm assuming) told the piercing guy to just comp me a replacement. sweet. the piercing guy searched for the right sized ball, and not only gave me one that he thought was the right size, he also gave me two others that were a little bigger and may stay on better. free. since i was planning to pay for the part, i gladly accepted them for free, and tipped the guy a few bucks out of thanks. that made him happy.

all in all it was a great afternoon. now, i'll get ready for my next local experience over at...the local. that's right, it's almost time for pub quiz at landmark tonight.

.22 fresno

.22

.22

.22 is much higher the .08. in fact, it's just under 3 times higher than the legal limit to drive.

.22 came up in two stories that i read today.

the first was about a student, a young man that was shot by the fresno police. his bac was said to be .22. now, this isn't a precise science, and his bac may not have been exactly that when the police shot him.

i haven't commented much on that story because i know the guy. i saw him about 3.5 hours before he was killed by fpd. at the time, he seemed to be in good spirits, we joked about some things, he said by and walked off with two other people i know. a few hours later, i received some phone calls about the situation. as i think about it now, i still have a lot of questions about what happened, and we'll never fully know what went down. i doubt the veracity of the official version, although i don't doubt that this young man made some terrible decisions that involved drinking and holding a weapon in the presence of fpd. this young man is now deceased, and there are seven officers on paid leave. at least chief dyer is concerned about the number of shots his cops let fly into a neighborhood filled with children and right next to a school - 63. i mean, he's not expressing his concern that officers fired under questionable circumstances from 70-100 feet away, but it seems he's at least concerned that his trigger happy cops dumped so many shots in a school zone.

the other story went down much differently. this second story was about one of fresno's finest, one of the boys in blue that also had a .22 bac. this officer was driving a giant weapon drunk, and was simply arrested. he's now on modified duty.

that arrest happened on the heels of another fpd member being involved in a dui hit & run. that cop was cited and released to a "responsible adult." the article doesn't say the bac, and i wonder if they actually gave a breathalyzer or just did field sobriety tests. the end result, another cop on paid leave.

so, when it's all said and done, we have 1 dead, and 9 cops on leave. all involving alcohol. but, good old jerry isn't pushing for alcohol to be made illegal, or telling his officers not to drink. or, maybe he is.

corin hoggard day

it's time for my annual proclamation...

corin hoggard day at the fair!



friend of this blog corin hoggard will be at the abc 30 booth of the big fresno fair on saturday, october 9, 2010 from 6-8 p.m. slanging pictures, shacking hands, kissing babies, and whatever else. if you're a c.h. groupie or follower, why not stop by and say hi to the man, the myth, the reporting legend corin hoggard.

then, go enjoy the rest of the fair.

i-sleep pro black noise

snl featuring brian cranston was alright. it had some moments, but in general it wasn't that stunning. however, one of the last things they did was a spoof ad that cracked me up.



love it. it almost reminds me of tracy morgan asking, "ooh baby, do they have buttermilk?"

comings and going

i thought i'd share some cool stuff going on around fresno in the next few days:

quiz on



the juggernaut that is fresno pub quiz continues on tonight. our attendance is still around 100, which is a great number and provides quite a diverse group of players and skill.

(on another f.p.q. note, i would hate to schedule against us. we bring in a lot of fresno people that get out and do stuff. it's not everyone available obviously, but still, it's got to be tough to draw on wednesdays from 7-10 imho.)

UPDATE: i realize the preceding paragraph sound jerkish. i really don't mean it to be.

get blended



friday is the next creative fresno blender. if you recall, we went and had a good time last month, enjoyed dinner, and met some people. this month's venue is over at a new venue, urban salvage central valley. here's the description of the event from cf's website:
The October Blender will be a special event for a couple of reasons: First, we're celebrating the grand opening of Urban Salvage Central Valley, Downtown Fresno's premier architectural salvage center and second, this is the site for our next mural!

Along with the treasures of Urban Salvage we'll have some fiery entertainment provided by Creative Fresno's own Jaime Holt and the awesome music of local favorites Blake Jones and the Trike Shop! You really must be there!

Connect with artists, entrepreneurs and other creative professionals over a cocktail and complimentary appetizers. Great conversations and great fun! Join us won't you?

The Blenders, which take place on the first Friday of the month, are Creative Fresno's social mixers of professionals, artists and entrepreneurs whose exchange of ideas are an effort to revitalize the urban life and landscape of the Fresno region.

When: Friday, October 1
Where: Urban Salvage Central Valley - 1515 Broadway Street
Time: 5 - 8 p.m.
Web: www.creativefresno.com


and, if you want to read more about urban salvage, here's a blog post written by dominique, one of the bloggers over at i heart fresno. btw, monticore and i met her last month at...the cf blender!

get your war on



this weekend is the annual civil war reenactment over at kearney park. and, thanks to our friends over at fresno famous, i've got some tickets. who's in?

monday haiku

sports trivia at
the landmark tonight during
football game halftime






stupid hot weather
over hundred degrees and
almost october

fresno and detroit

so, meg whitman made some remark comparing fresno to detroit. of course, it's getting a lot of press in fresno. we have a chip on our shoulder, and since the statement was part of an interview to a newspaper in san jose, it feels sorta like the big city snobs looking down their noses at us again, taking shots.

now, honestly, there are some parallels that we could actually discuss. detroit is an economically depressed area, and fresno county/the central valley is an economically depressed area. and, we can talk about the fact that it was just a sound byte we're hearing and there is a bigger context we can talk about. but, it's not like we're getting any concrete plans from whitman on how we can change our economic situation here in the valley or here in california. i mean, her commercials tell me that her #1 priority is to bring jobs to california, but nothing about how. and that bugs me.

but i'm not interested in having a huge political discussion here. what it made me thing was, "i wonder if fresno will become a hipster hotbed like i've heard about detroit becoming."

i heard about this blog and a documentary about detroit being somewhat revitalized by hipsters, artists, and other people of that sorts. i'm intrigued.

if you have a long time, watch these segments. or, watch one part, and come back and watch the others as you have time.

don't forget the tower

it's going to be difficult to get around the tower district for a little while. you see, they're changing out some water piping, and then they'll be doing a remodel on the curbs and intersection as a pilot program for what they hope will be the future, special look of the tower.

in the meantime, business are going to suffer. they are going to struggle. so, i encourage us all to try and spend when and where we can. i know times are tough on us all, but these businesses are essentially having a leg cut off while the race is still going on. not good. so, go buy some coffee beans at cafe corazon. stop in at twee (i'm getting a bunch of buttons for fresno pub quiz). go eat at any of the restaurnats on olive or the surrounding area. and then, go back and do it all again once or twice more in the next month or so. the businesses will love you for it.

meze house dinner review

tonight we ate dinner @ a new mediterranean restaurant in the tower. we had heard about it, and had heard good things, but hadn't been able to get over there yet.

first off, i love how they've transformed the place. the decor inside and out is very nice. the patio area is great, and we ate our there tonight as the weather was great.

i ordered the lamb kabob dinner plate. first, it came with a salad that blew me away. i'm not a big salad guy, and i usually don't like leafy greens, but for some reason i tore this one up. the dressing was a nice balsamic vinaigrette that work well with the kalamata olives and the feta. i even shocked myself by eating the cucumbers, something i rarely do. the lamb was very good, and i enjoyed it with some tahini and hummus on a pita. the pilaf under it all was good, too. i suppose i would've liked more lamb, but after it was all said and done, i was full.

monticore had a falafel that looked good, and was a pretty large portion. she enjoyed it, and i had a bite to taste the chickpea goodness. i thought it was nice, but i'm not sure it's what i would pick when we go back for more. she also ordered a side of fries which were simple little shoe string fries, but the spices they had on them made them scrumptious. seriously, i was full but i kept grabbing more.

it was a very good meal, and the family running the place seemed very nice. we'll definitely go back and try more of the menu.

552 E Olive Ave
Fresno, CA 93728
(559) 266-6393

yep.

every so often i miss days (a week) of blogging. i feel bad, i promise i'll be more consistent in my writing...and then it happens a month or so later.

this time, i say whatever. i've been busy lately. i'll have time, and then i'll get you some good quality material. today, i'm just letting you know that i'm thinking about you, loyal readers and people that click onto this blog looking for pulp fiction images.

if it's any consolation, i haven't been reading blogs much lately either.

me on film

i managed to get on the news last night, which is always nice. i'm part of a fantasy football league, and we were having our draft at a local restaurant (me n ed's victory grill). this is actually the third year we've had the league, and the draft there.




let me break down the video for you:
20 seconds in - the show me on camera, and say my name. yep, that's me crossing off picks in the first round.
28 seconds in - the interview. brief, only a fraction of what i said. that's how tv news rolls (at least they used some of me. mike oz, who set up the league didn't even get on at all).
60 seconds in - the pan across our draft, you get to see my back.

and there you go. now, go back and watch my interview and see if you can see my comical mustache. it's faint, but you can see it on my upper lip. you also catch glimpses on my cheeks of the swirl part of the mustache. it sorta looks like shadows on both cheeks or maybe dimples. nice. i shaved a comical mustache purely for the fun of the draft, and end up in an interview. of course, i'm a camera whore so i jumped up to be interviewed. one of the last times i did a stupid mustache was for the rogue festival 2 years ago, same result, interviewed.

shepherds inn - a dinner review

i hadn't been the shepherd's inn since...well, since it was the santa fe basque, and that trip was probably 14 years ago. i don't remember much about that meal.

creative fresno, a local group that i've attended some events from, was having their monthly evening blender (get together) there last friday so i thought i'd give it a shot. now, i didn't check out the whole place, and we didn't eat in the proper dining room, but i'll give you my review as it was.

first of all, the bar was very nice. honestly, the decor of the bar itself is amazing. the bar tender was friendly and helpful, and the drinks were very reasonably priced. cocktails were around $5, and beers were cheaper. they have a decent amount on tap, and a whole ton in cans/bottles.

creative fresno had some free appetizers provided. i missed out on the wings, but there were still breaded/fried mushrooms which were delicious. man, they were breaded nice, and still nice and juicy.

we knew that appetizers weren't going to be enough, so we sat down with some friends at a table. our group of five was looked in on fairly quickly, the waiter was helpful, and honestly, the meal didn't take too long from order to arrival.

two of my friends had cheeseburgers. they were rather basic, but both liked what they had. from my seat, these burgers looked pretty nice. the fries were tasty but simple - i know because i had them with my meal as well.

one of my friends had their signature thick rib eye (i forget exactly the name they use). it was cooked to his order, and he dug it.

i just had the regular signature rib eye, and i thought it was very good. i eat a fair amount of steaks at restaurants, and i think this was better than most that i've had lately (richards, landmark, livingstones - not that i'm saying those were bad, just this was better). my meal came with clam chowder & salad (signature items get both, normal meals one or other) but i only ate the soup - needed to save room. one of my cheeseburger friends ate the salad. i thought the clam chowder was pretty good, but more or less standard clam chowder. the steak came topped with grilled onions, peppers and mushrooms which was a great addition to the steak, which tasted great. there was a choice of pilaf, potatoes, fries or veggies, and i went with fries.

finally, my wife ordered a house salad and the cheese plate appetizer. i was rather impressed with the look of the salad. it wasn't too fancy, but it had actual greens in it - not just some chopped up iceberg lettuce. it also didn't just look like some "bag" salad thrown in a bowl. the cheese plate was only decent, but that was because it was just one cheese - they were out of the other type that normally comes on it. but it was still fairly cheap for a cheese plate.

overall, we had a great time at the restaurant. while it won't become my every week haunt, i'd definitely go there for another dinner.

935 Santa Fe Ave
Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 266-2228

whitney avalon & cee lo - thoughts

so, the other day i tweeted about how cee lo's new song, f--k you isn't good. a few people i interact with tweeted how they liked it, and i made a response back about how the lyrics were weak, the music was mediocre and all that it had was being catchy. then i tweeted that herpes was catchy and stayed with you as well. all good fun.

since then, i actually looked up the lyrics, and they're aren't as bad as i thought, but i still don't think they're great. i also still stand by my assessment that the song isn't very good. but, if you like it, fine.

today i saw a rebuttal to the song, done by whitney avalon. honestly, i think it's on par with cee lo's song.




i don't have anything against cee lo. he was a great part of goodie mob, and has been on some of my favorite outkast songs. i dug the stuff he did with gnarls barkley. i just think he can do better.

hunter shoots a bear

this is a great web campaign. the initial video is just a starter, and i wonder how far it can go.



basically, you'll choose your own adventure with the hunter, but then you get to type in what they'll do next. pretty cool. my first was hug the bear. what'll happen if you get frisky?

creative fresno september blender

i feel like i might be forgetting something. oh yeah, this is what it was:



creative fresno is having a blender this friday. the blenders have been a little hit or miss for me. i mean, sometimes i go, most of the time i don't. here's why: i end up talking to the same people, and it's mostly just my friends that i probably came with. what good is that? i can do that on my own over drinks, and not have potentially awkward conversations with strangers.

but i'm interested in this blender. why? well, i'm not exactly sure, but i think that creative fresno has been doing a lot of cool stuff lately. maybe i'm more aware of the org because of the kickstart campaign (see to the right - you can still donate) or maybe because i know a few more members, or maybe it's because of twitter. i dunno, but cf has been more...on my mind lately. not in a creepy way. so, when i saw they were having a blender @ the shepherd's inn, i thought, "why not?"


"September(Fun) + Great Conversation + You/Blender = Shepherd's Inn. This is Creative Fresno's equation for a kick-off a long weekend while enjoying the final days of summer at a downtown icon good time! Join us won't you?

Connect with artists, entrepreneurs and other creative professionals over a cocktail and complimentary appetizers. Great conversations and great fun!

The Blenders, which take place on the first Friday of the month, are Creative Fresno's social mixers of professionals, artists and entrepreneurs whose exchange of ideas are an effort to revitalize the urban life and landscape of the Fresno region.

When: Friday, September 3
Where: Shepherd's Inn - 935 Santa Fe Avenue
Time: 5 - 8 p.m."


and, if you go to the blender, you can join, or rejoin creative fresno. i use their website occassionally (rarely) but think i may actually re-up. i was a member years ago, but didn't see much benefit/reward to paying for membership over not paying for membership. this year, there is a lot more to membership. and, i'm sorta involved with their kickstarter campaign by giving and retweeting (and harassing the fuse fest & cf twitter accounts).

karl pilkington: an idiot abroad

this post is mainly for heather, because she loves karl pilkington. i'm sure we'll be trying to watch this.

fierce creatures on the view looks good from here, fresno

we captured (not really) two of the fierce creatures and recorded a podcast. check it out. and, if you haven't already, pick up a copy of their ep. it's available at shows, on itunes, on emusic, and probably somewhere else. definitely worth the $.

unbranding

i was telling some friends about this interesting article and trend that i saw. let me share with you:

"Allegedly, the anxious folks at these various luxury houses are all aggressively gifting our gal Snookums with free bags. No surprise, right? But here's the shocker: They are not sending her their own bags. They are sending her each other's bags! Competitors' bags!"

this is interesting and awesome. fashion houses, and i might suspect other companies as well, are sending gifts to less desirable "stars" like snooki from the jersey shore. they figure that people of haute couture don't want to be associated with a drunk mini-person that is pretty much the antithesis of fashion.

argyle pimps at the starline

tonight could be a very good time. you see, the argyle pimps are playing a show. i'll admit, i think i've only seen them play once, which is sorta surprising for a fairly well established fresno band. i enjoy their music, have their album, but just never really saw them play. along with the pimps will be fresno's latest buzz band, fierce creatures. i saw part of a creatures show, but wasn't in the mood for it so i didn't stay for the whole set. but, i also have their ep release and it is rather good.

another reason why this show could be intriguing is that starline is no longer 18 & over. that could cut down on the annoying kid factor. hey, i'm 34, i admit that i think of shows in a different way than when i was 18, 19 or 20. sure, it's unfortunate that there are less venues when younger patrons can go, but that also means there will be less people clogging up the bar, ordering soda or water, or taking up seats. and since there will be less people there, i'm a little more inclined to be there and show some support.

protect your neck - busker style

not exactly sure where this guy is (i sorta think england) but he does a fairly good version of wu tang's protect your neck

i'm voting tea party

i love finding funny websites, even if i'm not going to buy their stuff.



click over and check out several very funny t-shirt ideas.

stormtrooper singing in the rain

the good folks over at the dumb drum bring you "real" posts about star wars with content releases. well i say pishaw! i give you videos of stormtroopers dancing!

fred the raver

so, this kid is like our friend woody, but much younger. and blond.



but, it reminds me of seeing his daughter sing along to songs.

have another

meaty spaghetti sauce

so, i've been wanting to me a little more inventive with my cooking lately. not to crazy, but just actually using recipes for grilling and cooking. yeah, i know, crazy. anyway, i was thinking about making spaghetti & sauce for a meal, so i started poking around the 'net and found this one at cooks.com:

2 lbs. hamburger
1 lb. bacon
1 onion (medium)
4 cans reg size tomato soup
1 can contadina tomato paste w/ italian seasonings
dash worcestershire sauce
dash white vinegar
Cut bacon into bite size pieces. Chop up onion. Fry onion and bacon
together until onion is tender and bacon is cooked thoroughly. Drain.
Brown hamburger. Drain.
Mix all remaining ingredients together with onion/bacon mixture and
hamburger.

it looked interesting, but i decided to bastardize it and make it my own. here's approximately what i did:

1/4-1/3 lb of fresh bacon from butcher
onion powder to taste

1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 tsp of garlic

1 can of campbells tomato soup
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
dash of worcestershire sauce
salt, pepper & basil to taste

i followed the prep directions pretty much in the original order. the ingredients above are grouped how i put them in.

the sauce as it finished cooking



some wheat spaghetti that i prepared



the finished product with a bit of grated parmesan



i'm pretty happy how well it turned out. honestly, as the sauce got hot and i was tasting it in its final stages i kinda just wanted to eat sauce. the flavors came together rather well, and i liked the ratio of sauce and diced tomato - i'm not a big fan of big tomato chunks. surprisingly, the bacon almost disappears in this mix and isn't a heavy hitter in the overall flavor, but when you bite in a chunk as your going it's a nice surprise.

fresno urban sound experience kickstart

the fresno urban sound experience (fuse 2010) is back again. last year we had a great time downtown, and we froze our butts off on the spiral garage seeing the sleepover disaster. if you want to see a list of confirmed artists for this year, you can click over to the fresnan, and watch for updates there as well.

anyway, they're raising ca$h for this year's festival and thought i'd share that with you (as if you didn't know that already). if you donate, creative fresno will share some goodies with you, depending on donation level. pretty cool stuff, and you're helping the festival come together.

on top of that, local newshound mike oz is doing funny stuff for donors. pretty cool, eh?

so, you can give some $ to help fund a great festival, which is good. then, you get some swag from creative fresno, double good. add in mike oz's bonus, triple goodness for everyone.

i say you do it. even if it's only a small donation - every cent is needed (and it's tax deductible).

skating vacant fresno pools

every so often a new video pops up with skaters draining pools in or around the fresno area. some are good, some are bad. i was perusing laughing squid today, and saw this one and was really impressed with the production of the video.

Cannonball from California is a place. on Vimeo.

it also got me to click over to the source of the video, california is a place. i tweeted their video honey pie, but hadn't seen their other vids. rather nice site, and i'm curious how many more videos they'll do.

and, demonstrating my short memory, mike oz posted this very video back in may. stupid brain.

stump removal

saturday i lured 3 friends into my backyard with pizza and beer for the task of removing a stump. the job before we started:



and with the magic of photos, here's the hole after we pulled the stump. there are a few remaining roots that i'm hoping are small and deep enough to not matter.



here's the pile of roots & stump that we removed:



and here we have the debris along with the filled in hole, all nice and smoothed out:



big thanks to adam, corin and mike for lending hands. these guys rocked, and without them it would've taken me a lot longer to get the job done, and my yard would've been a mess. i also learned that it's been a long time since i did manual labor, and my hands are very used to their white collar life.

twitter: the movie

i'm actually interest in seeing the social network (the movie about facebook). i think the story is interesting, and i think jesse eisenberg is a fine young actor. so, i'm pretty sure i'll check out that flick. until then, i'll just have to enjoy parodies like this one about twitter.

blake jones & the trike shop at tokyo garden

hey, if you're not going to see exit through the gift shop tonight, go see blake jones & the trike shop along with bad andy & the sunburns, and old toy trains. they're playing over @ tokyo garden. tell blake you saw a cat playing a theremin.

exit through the gift shop

i've been to many fresno filmworks presentations, but it's been a while. and, it's been a while since i've been as excited to see a film.



i love banksy's work, and this film has got me all twitterpated. okay, i'm not that giggly and whatnot, but i am excited to see the film. pretty sure we're going to the 8 pm show, feel free to join us.

denny's fried cheese melt

yeah, denny's must of been jealous of kfc and their double down sandwich, because they're rolling out something as heart attackingly "delicious." it's called the fried cheese melt.



so, you've got 4 mozzarella sticks inside of a grilled cheese sandwich. yep, sounds about right.

i can't get too high and mighty on this, because i've got to admit that i have eaten a similar hamburger at red robin that had mozzarella sticks on it (it wasn't very good).