video video

so, i saw an interesting story on fresno famous. there was going to be a peta protest over @ fig garden village today. they offered $5 to the first person to upload some photos to their flicker group. i thought, "i'm not doing anything @ this second, why not cruise over there and shoot a few pics?" so i hopped on the bike and did. on the way home, i thought i'd catch some video of me driving my vegas, and so i did that too. it's not the greatest, but it's interesting. there's a few seconds where i reach over with my left hand and grab the camera so it's steady.

nuts for oil!

just read the most amazing story about an alternative fuel: coconuts! papua new guinea has long suffered the tremendous cost of importing oil based fuels, and has developed a viable solution.

it's all about the oil. pretty much, this seems like a different biodiesel. but it seems like we can grow a tree, and then take the coconut and make fuel. that sounds tremendously safer, cheaper & and more eco friendly than drilling wells, and so on.

fun times

doing my monday night t.a. gig right now. the first hour of class, the teleconference stuff wasn't working. pretty much the only reason they have ta's @ the different centers is in the event that there is a problem such as this. the thing is, no one is really trained on how to trouble shoot the system. so, we kept trying to call the other classrooms to no avail. then, we gave up for like a half hour (after a half hour of trying). on a whim, we called again, and it worked. smooth.

so, i'm also grading papers during this time (for a completely unrelated deal). there should have been 26 papers submitted. 15 actually turned in. 5 of which contain elements of plagiarism. good times. i'm not sure if people don't know how to write papers or what. well, i do know that most understand how to write and could at least attempt to give credit. heck, at least improperly give credit. but, there is so much cut & paste going on. heck, i even found someone using a pdf file that i could find on the 'net.

for all writers out there: if you can find your info with a google search, so can i. really, that's all i do. google sentences. and when it pops up, and you haven't quoted or cited it, you're in trouble.

amazing race all stars finale

so, tonight was the finale of the amazing race all stars. mike joined heather and i in watching it. let's refresh our memories of
who we picked

mike picked rob & amber, and candice & dustin
heather picked charla & mirna, and oswaldo and danny
i picked eric & danielle, and candice & dustin

the final three: charla & mirna, candice & dustin, eric & danielle, so we all had a chance to win. and i had two of the final three right, much better than the previous season.

(spoiler for you t-vo people)



and the winner is
eric & danielle. the funny thing is, i don't remember picking them, so i'm glad that i blogged about it. candice & danielle came in 2nd, charla & mirna (the team i despise) finished third.


booyakasha respect.

a post for lefty (and all you other comic book heads too)

hey, so while i watched spider man an idea popped in my head. but, i forgot it. now, i'm watching the batman and it came to mind again.

who pays for all the damage done by these superhero fights? have they covered that in any comics, even if briefly?

601 = drunk hoff, spidey sense

for my 601st post, a little interesting story about david hasselhoff. it seems that he has a bit of a drinking problem. and, he's attempting to shut it down. there's a video out there of him drunk, that he made. i guess it's working, because he says he's "back on his game."

i haven't found the video yet online, but it's all over the celebrity news shows.

in other news, i will be going to see spider man 3 at the recockulously early time of 3:15 a.m. i'm not really sure why, as i didn't even see the second one yet. but, for some reason, it sounded like something fun to do. maybe because of the black suit storyline.

safer roads ahead

generally i don't revel in someone else's potential downfall, but this would be very good.

boo hoo man u

so, i was greatly disappointed today in manchester united. it's not that i'm a big fan of theirs, it just that i despise italian teams. so, when milan crushed them 3-0, i was upset. although, i must admit that the first two goals were amazing shots. so, kudos to liverpool and ac milan for making it to the champions league final.

triumph rocket 3

the la times has a spiffy review of the new triumph motorcycle. and holy crap, i thought my vegas' 1634 cc was a big beast of an engine. this thing has 2294 cc engine. yow! watch the video, too. it's actually a better review than the article, in my opinion. i'd be curious to actually see the bike in person, get an idea about size. the reviewer, a lady, seems very small in comparison to the bike. i mean, i think this bike is probably a big ol' beast (bigger engine & weight that my vegas) but how much bigger?

bush vetoes spending bill as promised

president defies will of people. that is, if you believe that we are a representative democracy, and that the last election voiced the will of the people on key issues that are country is facing, like, say...the war.

and let us never forget that victory was declared years ago by this same president. now, president says that we will be defeatists, that we will let the terrorists win if we set a time table for withdrawal. so, we're defeatists if we withdraw troops from an area where war is over? oh, does that mean the war never was over? or are we saying that the "sectarian violence" is civil war now?

btw, as much as i have been wholeheartedly against this war, i also don't agree with the proposed timetable. not that i'm against timetables, but i don't see how this particular one actually accomplishes any sort of stability in the area. i also disagree with a president that says he will veto and bill that has a timetable.

coming up

tomorrow you can probably count on a blog about the second leg of the chelsea v liverpool game. if anyone wants to try and catch some with me, it's on @ 11:45.


you can also expect another few posts from me this evening, as i'm t.a.'ing for class and am doing a whole lot of nothing.

flare

"who's the big winner? mikey's the big winner!"

well, actually, this time i am, although it's not all that big. you see, the junior college i work @ was having a visual arts contest open to students, faculty and staff. there were prizes for the top student work, and one for faculty/staff. the voting was open for a month, you could vote as many times as you wanted. frankly, i was a little nervous about submitting a piece for the show. i'd like to think i'm an artist, and to lose could damage my fragile ego. i was especially worried because abstract art isn't always understood or well received. but, i submitted two pieces anyway.

and the winner was...me! yeah me! hurray. here's the piece that won me a small cash prize: the one on the far right.

liberation & basketball

two unrelated topics

first, i wanted to present an interesting piece from hometown baghdad. it's called liberation. i felt that it was a good reflection on the situation, especially presenting a few, brief ideas about the history of the situation while still presenting the question of, "where is the liberation?"



second, it was somewhat surreal, sitting @ home, surfing the 'net, watching basketball, and then watching that video (among a few others i hadn't watched yet on their site). i had already planned a post about basketball, and decided to make it a brief double post. so, here's my basketball take: congrats to my favorite team, the bulls, for sweeping last year's champ. the bulls lost last year to the heat in round one in a hard fought, 6 game series. one year later, we're ending their season in 4. awesome. nicely done gents. nicely done. something that inspired me very early on to post about this game is how lame pro sports can be, especially trying to motivate fans. american fans are relatively uninspired, show up late, and only cheer when told to. this always bothers me. anyway, something that i noticed was that miami's fans were all in white. i'm sure they bill this as some sort of, "you're wearing the same color as the home team." also, miami's other color is red (the bulls away color) so you don't want your fans all decked out in red. but, here's what i also think is motivation for having your fans wear white. the seats are white. so, for the first five minutes of the game, i played an enjoyable mental game of differentiating between the people dressed in white and the empty seats. and you know what, the seats were winning for a good while.

r.i.p.

this guy died. it makes me want to watch this film.

stealing art

apparently, todd goldman is an art thief. i was telling adam, nick & kasey about this lhttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifast night, and thought i'd post it up here, too. adam even has a that goldman knocked off (scroll to the bottom of that one to see the shirt adam has).

chelsea vs liverpool

second verse, same as the first: uefa champions league.

"didier drogba unsheathed the dagger and joe cole plunged it into the heart of liverpool"

29 minutes in, chelski 1, liverpool nil.

chelsea is owned by roman abramovich, mentioned in this link (see the story on rich russians)



the wisdom of a fortune cookie, from the lunch i ate while watching footy.

so, we're to half of a relatively mild game. been some flashes, like cole's goal, but otherwise not too much happening. although, to be truthful, i did miss the first 20 minutes of the game while i was getting a haircut.

in the meantime, i thought i'd show you that lady from yesterday's fresno famous link myspace page. yeah, i think she may have some issues. to illustrate my point, i want to show you pictures she uses to "prove" her case about buildings being moved, and some guy that is secretly behind so much of it



this one is my favorite. remember, this is supposed to show a real person who is behind it all.


i sort of feel bad about highlighting this stuff. but, the lady is all over the place. she posts this stuff on fresno famous, on the tower district myspace group, anywhere she can.

i was really excited to watch a good bit of this game and to catch the result later. i've been a long time bulls fan, this may be the first playoff series win since jordan left.

hey, not that we care, but rosie is leaving the view.


so, maybe you've figured out by all the other sideline comments that the game isn't very interesting. you'd be right. yesterday's match had much more drama (at least so far). neither side seems to be playing very inspired soccer.

another brit, banksy, is doing very well for himself right now.

inside the final minute, chelsea still leading...oh wait, two minutes stoppage time...during which nothing happened.

chelsea 1, liverpool 0.

facist horizon?

"Because Americans like me were born in freedom, we have a hard time even considering that it is possible for us to become as unfree - domestically - as many other nations. Because we no longer learn much about our rights or our system of government - the task of being aware of the constitution has been outsourced from citizens' ownership to being the domain of professionals such as lawyers and professors - we scarcely recognise the checks and balances that the founders put in place, even as they are being systematically dismantled."

wow.

"I am arguing that we need also to look at the lessons of European and other kinds of fascism to understand the potential seriousness of the events we see unfolding in the US."

okay, let's look and consider. this author suggests there are 10 steps towards facism
1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy
well, okay. done.
2. Create a gulag
yep. we have gitmo. and then we found out about the real hidden cia prisons in poland and whatnot.
3. Develop a thug caste
the author here points to the mercenaries, err "contractors" we use in iraq as well as "groups of angry young Republican men, dressed in identical shirts and trousers, menaced poll workers counting the votes in Florida in 2000." i'm not as convinced that these two groups equate w/the blackshirts in facist italy or the brownshirts in germany. but, i do think that we are employing mercenaries of companies like blackwater. and, i strongly oppose the idea that they should be immune from prosecution should they do illegal & immoral things (which bush has proposed).
4. Set up an internal surveillance system
well, the gov't says they're only listening to you if you're talking to terrorists. so, we know they're listening. but we don't really know how much.
5. Harass citizens' groups
yep. peace fresno gained some national attention when it was discovered that they had been infiltrated by the local police.
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release
i remember reading stories about "arabs" being detained after 9/11. the author points to the "no fly" lists, something i don't immediately associate w/detaining. but, i do think you're often being arbitrarily denied or at least harassed.
7. Target key individuals
there's been pressure here. the author also links the recent lawyer firings to this. i'm not so sure that it's the same.
8. Control the press
well, this is happening @ least in parts. one example is the pentagon denying the right to show photos of coffins returning from iraq. there's a journalist in sf in jail for refusing to turn over video of an antiwar demonstration.
9. Dissent equals treason
how cow. i've heard this tons of time. i've had it said to me (although not using them thar fancy words.) i've had students tell me this and they can't see any possible way why it wouldn't be true. the author points out another aspect that continues to frighten me, "when Congress wrongly, foolishly, passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 - the president has the power to call any US citizen an "enemy combatant". He has the power to define what "enemy combatant" means. The president can also delegate to anyone he chooses in the executive branch the right to define "enemy combatant" any way he or she wants and then seize Americans accordingly."
10. Suspend the rule of law
"the president may now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, terrorist attack or any 'other condition'." this is a change in policy, and some say it even violates the constitution.

so, by just looking @ this article, the author, in my opinion, had pretty good footing for 8 of the 10. and the shaky 2 aren't that far off. the author continues by saying,
"Of course, the United States is not vulnerable to the violent, total closing-down of the system that followed Mussolini's march on Rome or Hitler's roundup of political prisoners. Our democratic habits are too resilient, and our military and judiciary too independent, for any kind of scenario like that.

Rather, as other critics are noting, our experiment in democracy could be closed down by a process of erosion."

see, i'm not all that convinced that it couldn't also happen the first way. it's definitely happening the latter way already, but i don't think that means the former won't as well.

ac milan vs manchester united

ah, time for another post that only dana, nick and my brother may care about. (but i'm sprinkling in other junk to make the rest of you read too!)today's semifinal match up in the champions league. i'm getting to watch ac milan vs manchester united. i may even be able to watch tomorrow's match of chelsea vs liverpool. sorta crazy that 3 of the four remaining teams are from the premiership. it can really stake the claim as the top notch league of the world.

4:52, man u just scored a ridiculous goal on a set piece. and i don't mean ridiculous in a good sense. well, the corner was good, and christiano ronaldo had a nice header into the keepers neck/shoulder. then it just sorta flew into the air and dida tipped it into the net. kinda ugly. of course, gabriel heinze was there as well and probably would've put it home had dida not.


(btw, i'm surfing the net while watching the game. from sports gal's review of bachelor last night, "What qualifies for a connection these days? Sharing a drink over 10 minutes of awkward conversation as 12 other girls lurk in the background? This show continues to make women proud." that's just awesome. and, "When they arrived in Tahoe, the women shrieked with excitement when they saw their suite at Harrah's. It's a bed covered with cigarette burns! Woo hoo!" hey, i made a joke about how these tramps are so excited to enter a room.)

"and with blinking of an eye, ac milan have that priceless away goal!" kaka just buried an absolutely sick goal, low to the back post. disgusting.

and @ the 36th minute kaka doubles up with another sweet goal. three manchester defenders in the area, two collide, the other one didn't really have much of a chance, and he sends it past van der saar.

so, over on fresno famous, there's this lady that always puts up crazy posts like this one. i am constantly restraining myself from responding.


59th minute, rooney scores his for the third game in a row. came off of some good team work, chopped it in.

69th minute, scoles fouled about 20 yards out. free kick. giggs bends a sick ball around the wall...just wide.

it's been a tail of two halves. milan definately looked better in the first, manchester in the second. even the fouls matched up that way. 1st, milan got all the calls. 2nd, manchester.

christiano ronaldo just had such a sick play that resulted in a corner. 83rd minute. i literally dropped my jaw open on that. he worked it around several players, ripped a fierce shot towards the near corner that was just touched by dida. it still ended up in the outside netting. wonderful stuff.

just inside stoppage...giggs long run...feeds rooney...who drives it home! his second of the night. what a strike.

and man u has won every single home game during this champions league season.

solar state

wow. i'm impressed with fresno state for once. well, not everything they do is misguided (like the campus pointe project), but it just seems like they're usually screwing the pooch (how many scandals do you want me to list from their athletics?). but here, they may be on the right page. chevron and fresno state are working together to create a parking shelter for 700 cars that will be fitted w/solar panels. that's a great idea. i honestly think fresno, as a city, should be very proactive and require all new homes to have them installed. and, fresno unified should put them on all the schools. and, the city of fresno should have them on theirs, too.

but, of course, it's not that easy. but i can dream.

great thoughts on hip hop

so, i'm a little behind on all of this. but, i saw a story today chanced a rabbit down a hole. it was interesting and thought it was worth sharing. now, i can't give it all to you, because it's super long.

but it all starts with this: oprah. oprah doesn't like hip hop. she hasn't hid it. and that's footage from her town hall meeting. (and i don't like her. this doesn't make us even though. and hip hop will get her. maybe it will be o'shea.)

saul williams, noted poet, responded with this.
choice quotes:
"One of my first theater professors, Pearle Cleage, shook me from my adolescent dream state. It was the year that Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" was released and our introduction to Snoop Dogg as he sang catchy hooks like "Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks..." Although, it was a playwriting class, what seemed to take precedence was Ms. Cleages political ideology, which had recently been pressed and bound in her 1st book, Mad at Miles. As, you know, in this book she spoke of how she could not listen to the music of Miles Davis and his muted trumpet without hearing the muted screams of the women that he was outspoken about "man-handling". It was my first exposure to the idea of an artist being held accountable for their actions outside of their art. It was the first time I had ever heard the word, "misogyny". And as Ms. Cleage would walk into the classroom fuming over the women she would pass on campus, blasting those Snoop lyrics from their cars and jeeps, we, her students, would be privy to many freestyle rants and raves on the dangers of nodding our heads to a music that could serve as our own demise.

Her words, coupled with the words of the young women I found myself interacting with forever changed how I listened to Hip Hop and quite frankly ruined what would have been a number of good songs for me. I had now been burdened with a level of awareness that made it impossible for me to enjoy what the growing masses were ushering into the mainstream."

"The genius, as far as the marketability, of Hip Hop is in its competitiveness. Its roots are as much in the dignified aspects of our oral tradition as it is in the tradition of "the dozens" or "signifying". In Hip Hop, every emcee is automatically pitted against every other emcee, sort of like characters with super powers in comic books. No one wants to listen to a rapper unless they claim to be the best or the greatest. This sort of braggadocio leads to all sorts of tirades, showdowns, battles, and sometimes even deaths. In all cases, confidence is the ruling card. Because of the competitive stance that all emcees are prone to take, they, like soldiers begin to believe that they can show no sign of vulnerability. Thus, the most popular emcees of our age are often those that claim to be heartless or show no feelings or signs of emotion. The poet, on the other hand, is the one who realizes that their vulnerability is their power."

"We cannot address the root of what plagues Hip Hop without addressing the root of what plagues today's society and the world.

You see, Ms. Winfrey, at it's worse; Hip Hop is simply a reflection of the society that birthed it. Our love affair with gangsterism and the denigration of women is not rooted in Hip Hop; rather it is rooted in the very core of our personal faith and religions. The gangsters that rule Hip Hop are the same gangsters that rule our nation. 50 Cent and George Bush have the same birthday (July 6th)."

"Name calling, racist generalizations, sexist perceptions, are all rooted in something much deeper than an uncensored music. Like the rest of the world, I watched footage on AOL of you dancing mindlessly to 50 Cent on your fiftieth birthday as he proclaimed, "I got the ex/if you're into taking drugs/ I'm into having sex/ I ain't into making love" and you looked like you were having a great time. No judgment. I like that song too. Just as I do, James Brown's Sex Machine or Grand Master Flashes "White Lines". Sex, drugs, and rock and roll is how the story goes. Censorship will never solve our problems. It will only foster the sub-cultures of the underground, which inevitably inhabit the mainstream."

"Hip Hop, like Rock and Roll, like the media, and the government, all reflect an idea of power that labels vulnerability as weakness."

"Censoring songs, sermons, or the tirades of radio personalities will change nothing except the format of our discussion. If we are to sincerely address the change we are praying for then we must first address to whom we are praying."


russel simmons, hip hop mogul, responded with this.
"We are consistent in our strong affirmation, defense, and protection of the First Amendment right of free speech and artistic expression. We have recently been involved in a process of dialogue with recording and broadcast industry executives about issues concerning corporate social responsibility.

It is important to re-emphasize that our internal discussions with industry leaders are not about censorship. Our discussions are about the corporate social responsibility of the industry to voluntarily show respect to African Americans and other people of color, African American women and to all women in lyrics and images."

russ goes on to suggest that we bleep out and consider these sorts of terms as extreme curse words, to be avoided @ all cost.


i don't hear either of these guys letting hip hop off the hook. but, i do hear mr. williams saying something much different. i hear mr. williams pointing towards our greater societal problems, and many types of music, as well as art, reflecting the culture/society we live in. mr. simmons, on the other hand, is representing industry. he is representing his financial institution. in my opinion, he's protecting his checkbook.

perhaps i'm being jaded. but i'm much more in line w/saul williams than russ simmons, even if i did appropriate his idea of wearing adidas @ his wedding.

how many calories is ink?

a good chance you're in for a lot of posts tonight. i'm working as a t.a. @ the university. it'll be interesting for the next 6 mondays, i'll be here from 6-10. so, that means a bit of down time for me. the requirements are slim for what i've got to do for the class. i'm somewhat interested to do this, especially because this current class i'm sitting in is one that i've taught. so, i get to hear another person's take on the course.

but, i saw this cookie, and thought, "yum." must go on blog.

rage against the machine

so, i've been a huge fan of rage for a long time now. i was extremely excited that they were reuniting to play coachella, but as always, i wasn't going to be able to go to the show due to track commitments.

well, God bless their little hearts, they've announced some more dates they'll be playing. there's a show on saturday, august 11. i think i may be picking up tickets in the next few days. well, maybe. the ticket levels are $76 and $151 + fees. yikes! so, the "cheaper" tix are $90. hmmm, i've got to mull this decision over.

Lineup: Rage Against the Machine, Wu-tang Clan, Cypress Hill, The Roots, Mos Def, Nas, EPMD, Pharoahe Monch, Mf Doom, Felt, Immortal Technique, Jedi Mind Tricks, Sage Francis, Brother Ali, Living Legends, The Grouch & Eligh, Cage, Hangar 18, Blueprint, Mike Realm, plus very special guest Public Enemy. Hosted by Supernatural, Rahzel and Hi-Tek Vip includes: Official Rock The Bells backpack, official concert tee, poster, souvenir laminate, 2 drink tickets, access to the VIP lounge area and amenities.

(although i think all that vip stuff comes only @ the 151 level.)

newsy

so, i thought i'd give some links to articles through snarky quips


surprise! a kenyan won a marathon.

shocking! russian rich people live in palaces, outside of the big city.

wha? alec balwin is like a lot of other parents and said something stupid about his kid?

jobless? it could be your own fault. apparently, bad resumes make good comedy.

shark snacks on dolphin, punished for act by being caught. big, bad shark may be a record. gotta love florida.

china is developing abilities that we already have. of course, we're afraid. countdown to attack has begun.

really? the state that allowed polygamy still is a little resistant to federal rules? funny quote in story, "by dang we're not going to give them up."

is a female king a queen?

the high school in my neighborhood is making some national headlines. i think it will be interesting to follow this story, see what happens with this election.


in other news, i don't even remember who was the prom king or queen either of the years that i went.

i heart chris parnell

maybe he didn't write this, maybe he did. but, i do miss his comedy on snl.

i was cleaning out the closet and...

so, um, yeah. i just read this story after seeing a clip on the news about it. wow.

does anyone know of something that i can buy for about $200 that can later be sold for about 3 mill.?

ozomotli

so, i was on emusic today, looking to finish up my monthly downloads of stuff. i had picked up this album by pedro the lion, and a few tracks from rjd2. that completed the 15 i had remaining. then i saw it...


i know what i'll be downloading in a few days when my account refreshes

zach & tom

blog in hiding

friends et al,
my blog may be in hiding for a few days more. i'm super busy grading papers and such. but, it looks like the light @ the end of the tunnel is friday. but who knows, i may just pop on and hit up something brief in the meantime

vegas 1, hyundia santa fe 0

so, today was an afternoon of accidents of sorts.

i was going to track practice, and was riding my bike on the freeway. as i exited the freeway i took my normal offramp. the street that it dumps you on is currently under construction (again). well, traffic was backed up on both the offramp and the street. so, as i was going down the offramp and coming to a stop i was in pretty heavy traffic. the vehicle in front of me, one hyundai santa fe, was trying to move over a lane, while it was also slowing in traffic. the traffic in front of it came to a quick stop, and so they did as well. uh oh! ed's following a little too close, and is trying to avoid locking up the brakes and sliding into the santa fe, or just outright crashing into it. what will happen next to our hero?

well, i didn't lock them up, and i didn't slide. unfortunately, i bumped the santa fe, leaving a little bit o' tire and some wear marks (scratches?) on the bumper. dang. double dang. but, my bike seems to have emerged from the incident unscathed. so, we traded info and off i went to practice. when i got there, i called my insurance agent to let them know to be expecting a call. i figure it'll be a bumper repaint. of course, in today's world, some company will charge a grip of money for that.

at track, one of the other coaches tried to cut or smash my finger off. you see, due to idiocy, we share the infield of the track with the soccer programs. so, despite it being our season, there are a few scrimmages scheduled. this doesn't really seem like a problem, except that it means we have to take down part of our discus cage. and, due to further idiocy, we've had to build a cage that has poles that aren't sleeved into the ground. apparently, having concrete 6" under the grass was unacceptable to the soccer coach. too dangerous. so, we have these 20' poles that are attached to rolling bases that weigh about 75-100lbs. but, with the netting up, there is a danger of it toppling over in a strong breeze (it's like a sail). so, we drive these 2' metal stakes through the bases to further anchor them down. to get the stakes out, you take down the net, and then rock the pole until they're loose and can be pulled out. pretty simple, right? well, we were taking out the first set of stakes, and i had already rocked the base/pole until the stakes were far enough out. i had even pulled one of the stakes completely out already. as i grabbed the second stake, the other coach, thinking that it wasn't free yet, pulled back on the pole to rock the stake loose. yow! finger smashed in between metal stake top and base of pole. so, for the next 30 minutes or so, my finger was feeling pretty numb. fortunately, it only bled a little, and it seems mostly alright now. heck, i'm typing right now.

life is funny. you can be pretty attentive to things most of the time. but, in those instants where you may zone out a little, it can turn sour quickly. now, i was actually paying pretty close attention during both of these situations, but still i almost ended up worse off.

and you thought soccer was low scoring

so, i had a few minutes between one job and another today, and i flipped on the tv, knowing that there was some champions league soccer on. uhhh, what the heck happened to roma? they won 2-1 @ home last week against manchester united. i turn on the match and it's 4-0 manchester, a few minutes into the 2nd half. as i dilly dallied about the house, it quickly became 5-0. and then 6-0. it's freakin 6 to nil with 30 minutes remaining in the match! so, manchester is currently up 7-2 on aggregate scoring. i think they'll be advancing to the champions league semifinal.

r.i.p.

o'shea jackson.

okay, you're not really dead, but don't count on me ever buying another one of your albums. this is what put the final nail in your cofffin.







who am i kidding? i would probably get your next stupid album, too. but i won't be seeing that p.o.s. or the prequel to it.

skyrockets in flight, afternoon delight

so, today i decided to order some pizza for lunch. i had a coupon, so i got a large pepperoni & an order of wings. the food was as good as always, but it also came with something funny: excessive condiments. you see, they usually give you a little bag that contains some parmesan cheese, some crushed red peppers, some ranch, & jalepenos. today they went a little overboard



that's 12 parmesan cheese packets, 9 crushed red peppers, 3 ranch cups, 2 jalepeno cups. uhh, i ordered a large pizza, not 6.

i loved you in that

so, i'm watching dead man walking right now, to prepare for my ethics class tomorrow. today we discussed reward and punishment in class, and had a movie scheduled for today. so, i was interested in showing a movie that dealt with prison, sentencing, and the death penalty (all good ethics issues). last time i taught the class i showed the movie redemption around this time. it featured jamie foxx as stanley "tookie" williams. it was alright, but i thought maybe i'd switch it up this time. so, the next movie of the genre that popped into my head was dead man walking.

so, off to blockbuster to rent it. i start watching the movie, and see a young girl, playing susan sarandon's character as a child. and i think, dang that's a dead ringer for her, it must be her daughter. and it is. you may also remember her from saved.

now, it wasn't all that surprising to me that her daughter was in the movie. but, as i scrolled the cast list, i did find it funny to see this guy. and, this guy, too.

a post for heather

hey, there is no doubt that i'm a huge fan of the sports guy's writing. and, his wife was pretty funny during football season when she got to write a regular little section in his column. well, now she's scored a regular column, writing about the newest season of the bachelor. this is a terrible show. but, i find it pretty funny to read one woman's perspective on it. i figured heather might like it too. sara also appreciated the sports gal's stuff i've put up here before, so hey, this post is for her, too. heck, it can be for all of us who've ever felt like a woman. crank up the shania.

whachu gonna do with all that junk?

steve provided me with this funny little song. i'm impressed with alanis. i didn't think that she'd do something like this:

brazzaville review

so, last week, fresno famous was advertising the chance to win tickets to a concert on saturday night. brazzaville, an internationally known group, was coming to fresno and playing w/3 local acts. it was a fundraiser for 90.7, kfsr. kfsr is the local college station, and has been a source of tremendously great & diverse music in my life. my brother used to record music from there, which in turn exposed me to lots of new stuff. anyway, back to my story. basically, i'd never heard of brazzaville. but, one of the local acts (el olio wolof) is a favorite of mine, so i wanted to go to the show just to see them. so, when i saw the contest, i started entering. the contest was to create a snazzy tag line for their evening eclectic show. i bombarded them with slogans. shoot, i wouldn't be surprised if i won based on the amount of entries i had.

i had sort of forgotten about the contest, and hadn't been on the computer in two days. while i watched ucla lose in the final four (dang), i decided to check my email, blogs, fresno famous, etc. and what do i see? i won tickets for two. sadly, i couldn't give the other ticket away. it seems that people had other plans, were out of town, or not interested. and, i couldn't think of who else to invite. so, i went alone. but, i was armed with my trusty camera, a pen, and a piece of paper. i figured, hey, i'm going because of fresno famous, i might as well review the show for them as well. granted, these aren't the longest or most in depth reviews, but whatever. and, i've got videos! (speaking of which, i apologize in advance for the shaky camera work and the poor sound quality at times. it was louder than my camera wanted to accommodate.)

first up was patrick contreras. i'd never heard him, but there's been a lot of buzz going around about the rock and roll violinist. it was dang good music. i preferred the instrumentals to the songs with vocals, but maybe that's just me. this guy has spunk, and his band is fun to watch, too. patrick ended w/a led zepplin song that was really well done.
patrick contreras video

(on a side note, how do drink prices go up during a show? i don't think i arrived during a happy hour, when i came at 8:20ish. but, the price of the drink i had started @ $3.50. i think i was charged $5 the second time, a bit later and slightly after the show started. the rest of the night i think they charged my $4 for it. wha?)

next on tap was el olio wolof. as i mentioned before, i've seen them before, i really enjoy their music, and pretty much went to the show to see them and to hear brazzaville. el olio didn't disappoint. they're always great. el olio reminds me of a pentecostal tim burton carnival, whatever that means. i highly recommend that you go see them @ the undercurrent benefit show on sunday april 29th @ club fred (hey, you should subscribe to undercurrent as well. so should i.)
el olio wolof 1
el olio wolof 2
el olio wolof 3
el olio wolof 4
el olio wolof 5

third on the bill was the same shape. the same shape reminded me of early radiohead, and i mean that in a good way. i really like radiohead, so i'd take this as a compliment. i don't thing they're trying to bite their sound though. they also had some tunes that reminded me of cream. good stuff, and they played well to the crowd.
the same shape 1
the same shape 2
the same shape 3

(i should mention that the sound guys seemed very helpful to all of the bands. and, i thought that the overall sound quality of the venue was good. always nice when a venue actually has good sound.)

finally, we get to the headliner. i didn't know much about brazzaville before the show. all i had heard was that they were from spain. and that they were good. since the show, i've done a little reading up on them. anyway, they more than lived up to the simple billing that i heard. (and their name is not brazilville, like this doofus next to me kept telling people around him.) brazzaville's sound reminded me of david bowie, and a tad bit of pete yorn. mostly, it was mellow but highly entertaining. these guys were definitely professional, but they were also quite personable. they didn't have "rock star" attitudes on stage. i would recommend them to anyone that likes music.
brazzaville 1
brazzaville 2
brazzaville 3
brazzaville 4
brazzaville 5
brazzaville 6

*disclosure, i'm posting this on my blogspot blog as well as on my fresno famous blog. i hope a lot of people read my meager review, and are influenced to check out & patronize all of the musicians. oh yeah, and listen to 90.7 kfsr. heck, email them and let them know that people want more shows, and more of evening eclectic. i know, i know, people like jazz and it's good that we have a quality station playing diverse jazz. but dammit, i want more "college" radio as well.

why are there so many songs about rainbows

i love kermit

some more musical news

i first heard about it through their myspace, and then i saw it on fresno famous. but, i thought i'd bring it to your attention, too, here. local indie favs rademacher are getting noticed. if by some chance you still haven't heard them, well, go to their myspace. you can order their cd's online. or, you can see them play next thursday night after art hop.

other local music news, my friend julia dawn is about to go on tour. she'll be cruising about the country solo. she's really good, w/or w/o her band. wednesday night you can check her out @ veni's. i think i'm going to go to that show, even though the $ for libations is exorbitant. it's also a birthday party for chuck mcnally.

hometown baghdad

this is posted on adam's blog as well, but i thought i'd throw it up for anyone that may check mine and not his. adam told me about this last night, and it struck my interest, especially because i have had baghdad burning on my sidebar for so long. so, i think i may be adding these vloggers too.

hometown baghdad, they're doing a series of 45 2 minute shorts.



this particular video is about a new salad that makes you an infidel.

thou shalt always kill

steve p (who never ever ever ever ever updates his dead blog) sent me this. english mc over some electronic beats. he has a beard like he's jewish, but i don't know, and frankly it doesn't matter. so, hear we have it (like that?)

Thou Shalt Always Kill by dans le sac vs scroobius pip

lady linkage

so, ladies, you've moved onto the sidebar. i've put kendall in their in the hopes that it will stir her towards regular posting. i put kasey in there because she is currently destroying both kendall and nick in updates.

we'll see if anyone else can crack the list, or get pulled.

lost

so, some people haven't enjoyed lost as much in this current season. me, i'm really enjoying it. although, i must admit i'm not a fan of their new, later timeslot. so, i've ended up watching the last 3 episodes via the internet. abc's got a pretty manageable system going on that. about 4 commercials during the while show. i've watched survivor on cbs online, and it was pretty sucky compared to abc. sadly, my dsl isn't the fastest connection out there, so i have to watch it on a small screen rather than full screen.

anyway, although last night's episode was about some auxiliary characters, it was still pretty good. i liked the twists in the plot, a slightly different story telling style, and that the ending reminded me of poe or hitchcock. and, more people are dead. booya!

sometimes i hate you tv

for some reason, heather wanted to watch the results show of dancing with the stars. i found this very odd because we didn't watch the actual dance show yesterday. she's only really following the show right now because she wants heather mills to fall down off her fake leg (btw, look @ the picture of her in that link).

highlights of the show:
during one of the dancer numbers there was a lady clapping terribly off beat.
jimmy kimmel was marginally entertaining joking about the tango.

lowlights: dionne warwick singing
the dance numbers featuring just the professional dancers
heather mills talking
seeing billy ray cyrus
steve sanders, errr, ian ziering saying that "pressure makes diamonds"
and, pretty much everything else.

sticker it to ya

this is pretty good. i think that some of my friends might appreciate it.

fold your furniture

adam was showing us a drawing of a mobius strip bench he was thinking about making. so, when i saw this link to foldable furniture i thought of him. there are several things there to look at and download.

warning, long post

occasionally i read jim wallis of soujourners. i don't always agree with his perspectives, or how he interprets/understands scripture, but sometimes i do. today, i received an email from soujourners (they're biweekly or something.) i often either skim or just delete them, but today, i decided to read it. i appreciated what i read, and the sentiments expressed that i thought i would just cut and paste it here. please read, reflect, comment if you like

"Below is the full text of my message at the Washington National Cathedral service of the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, where I, along with many other religious leaders, spoke to a capacity crowd before marching to the White House:

Four years ago today, my son Jack was born – two days before the war began. I always know how long this awful war has gone on.

The war in Iraq is personal for me. It’s personal for you too, or you wouldn’t be here tonight.

It’s personal for the families and loved ones of the more than 3,200 American soldiers who have lost the precious gift of life. The stories I hear every day on the radio and TV break my heart. They are so young to die, and it is so unnecessary. When I look at my son and celebrate his birthday, I think of all the children whose fathers or mothers won’t be coming back from the war to celebrate theirs.

It’s personal for the tens of thousands of service men and women who have lost their limbs or their mental and emotional health, and who now feel abandoned and mistreated.

It’s personal for all the Iraqis who have lost their loved ones, as many as hundreds of thousands. What would it be like to wait in line at morgues to check dead bodies, desperately hoping that you don’t recognize someone you love? I can only imagine. And when I look at my son, I think of all the Iraqi children who will never celebrate another birthday.

This isn’t just political; it’s personal for millions of us now. And for all of us here tonight, the war in Iraq is actually more than personal – it has become a matter of faith.

By our deepest convictions about Christian standards and teaching, the war in Iraq was not just a well-intended mistake or only mismanaged. This war, from a Christian point of view, is morally wrong – and was from the very start. It cannot be justified with either the teaching of Jesus Christ or the criteria of St. Augustine’s just war. It simply doesn’t pass either test, and did not from its beginning. This war is not just an offense against the young Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice or the Iraqis who have paid such a horrible price. This war is not only an offense to the poor at home and around the world who have paid the price of misdirected resources and priorities – this war is also an offense against God.

And so we are here tonight, very simply and resolutely, to begin to end the war in Iraq – not by anger, though we are angry; not just by politics, though it will take political courage; but by faith, because we are people of faith.

This service and procession are not just another political protest, but an act of faith, an act of prayer, an act of non-violent witness. Politics led us into this war, and politics is unlikely to save us by itself. The American people have voted against the war in Iraq, but political proposals keep failing one after the other.

I believe it will take faith to end this war. It will take prayer to end it. It will take a mobilization of the faith community to end it – to change the political climate, to change the wind. It will take a revolution of love to end it, because this endless war in Iraq is based ultimately on fear, and Jesus says that only perfect love will cast out fear.

So tonight we say, as people of faith, as followers of Jesus, that the deep fear that has paralyzed the conscience of this nation, which has caused us to become the kind of people that we are not called to be, that has allowed us to tolerate violations of our most basic values, and that has perpetuated an endless cycle of violence and counter-violence must be exorcised as the demon it is – this fear must be cast out!

And to cast out that fear, we must act in faith, in prayer, in love, and in hope – so we might help to heal the fears that keep this war going. Tonight we march not in belligerence, or to attack individuals (even those leaders directly responsible for the war), or to use human suffering for partisan political purposes. Rather, we process to the White House tonight as an act of faith, believing that only faith can save us now.

Ironically, this war has often been cloaked in the name and symbols of our faith, confused American imperial designs with God’s purposes, and tragically discredited Christian faith around the world, having so tied it to flawed American behavior and agendas. Millions of people around the world sadly believe this is a Christian war. So as people of faith, let us say tonight to our brothers and sisters around the world, and as clearly as we can – America is not the hope of the earth and the light of the world, Jesus Christ is! And it is his way that we follow, and not the flawed path of our nation’s leaders who prosecute this war. As an evangelical Christian, I must say that the war in Iraq has hindered the cause of Christ and, in this season of Lent, we must repent of this war!

So let us march tonight, believing that faith is stronger than fear;

Let us march tonight, believing that hope is stronger than hate;

Let us march tonight, believing that perfect love can cast out both hate and fear.

And let us march tonight, believing that the peace of Christ is stronger than the ways of war;

Let us march tonight, to say to a nation still captive to fear but weary of war, "May the peace of Christ be with you!"

Let’s march tonight, as Dr. Martin Luther King told us in another magnificent house of worship 40 years ago this spring, to "rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter-but beautiful-struggle for a new world."

And then let us return to our homes from the 48 states represented here tonight and generate a flood of public pressure that can wash away the blind intransigence of our White House and the cautious procrastination of our divided Congress. Your letters, phone calls, lobby visits, and actions at home will put a megaphone behind the sound of your feet today.

And all of this must be wrapped in the power of prayer. Because we believe that God can still work miracles in and through our prayers – and that prayer followed by action can turn valleys of despair into mountains of hope. God has acted before in history and we believe that God will act again through us. Tonight we leave this Cathedral humbly hoping to be God’s instruments of peace and the earthly agents of the kingdom of God.

It sometimes appears that the light of peace has almost gone out in America, but tonight we re-light the candle and take the light of peace to the White House!

Tonight, by faith, we begin to end the war in Iraq!

The peace of Christ be with you!"


click here for an mp3 of the speech.

not much else though

half way through my morning work week. it's the first week of session, and that's always a little hectic as things get set up and running.

this weekend, i have my first weekend class for the university. it's not too bad, because i co-teach it and we divide up the work. the sucky thing is that it goes until 10 on friday night. and then starts saturday morning @ 8. but, at least it's done by 3:30 on saturday.

dang, i want a nap right now. but, don't have the time. maybe later.

trying new things

so, today while watching basketball, i tried one of these. i'd never heard of the company until the other day when the sports guy referenced it. then, when i was @ bevmo, i saw them, they were on sale (st paddy's) so i figured i would give them a try. pretty nice. smooth and tasty.

they're currently owned by the same company as guinness, and frankly, i think i may prefer smithwick's.

march 17

four years it's been going on. well, that and the prior decade where we were economically and literally starving women and children.

make it stop please

so topical

toothpastefordinner.com


man, i loooooove this comic. and, this painting even reminds me of my own work. and the reaction i get whem i'm trying to describe

next weekend anticipation

go to this guy's myspace page and look @ his upcoming show list

ncaa tourney

like many people in the united states right now, i'm totally obsessed w/march madness. i love these first two days. so many games, the chance of a big seed falling. duke provided a little bit of that yesterday, but really, the way they've played this season (at one time falling completely out of the top 25 rankings) they just aren't the duke of old. and, they mid level seed, but really that was probably more about history & respect than how good they are this year. so, they lost a close one.

(the sports guy has a pretty funny running diary about watching the tourney.)

after this initial weekend, the energy tapers of a bit, but i still enjoy following it all, seeing types scramble to advance, watching the purity of the sport. it's all about win today or you're done.

what stinks is being an "adult" now in the "working world" and missing games. of course, today is a light work day, and it's 9:30 am and i'm blogging at home. i'm currently watching unlv put it onto georgia tech. but, i've got to go to a new student orientation @ work in about twenty minutes and won't be able to watch any games until noonish.

(right now a number 15 seed is leading a number 2 seed. could be a big upset, especially because on some of my brackets i have that 2 seed winning 2 more games. i'm sure they'll get their act together though.)

toothpaste and stuff

so, i know i've used toothpaste for dinner here before, but it's a really funny comic (imho). so, i thought i throw a few at you


toothpastefordinner.com


i like politics, but that's how a lot of us feel. same old s___ with each candidate.


now, i don't always check it every day, so today i was catching up on a few. this one reminded me of this (please don't take offense adam. it just reminded me of the post.)

what's happening

tonight is the last night of teaching in my 6 wk evening course for the university. it's gone pretty well. so, now i've got 4 upcoming weekend course between now & july for them.

but, next week i'll start teaching 2 courses in the mornings for the jc during the next 5 weeks.

and we've still got track season going on. wtf = women's track and field, not whatever jay thought it meant.

and my bike is over 1100 miles now.

something strange

one of my friends referenced something i'd never heard of the other day, the pubic wig. wha? huh? we had intended to look into it, but forgot. so, today, i went to wiki. and, ta-da! click here to read an interesting history of the merkin.

galaxy vs fuego

in the first half, we were sitting behind the fuego goal, which was a good place to be if you: a)wanted to see goals; b)were a galaxy fan. fortunately, i was sporting my galaxy jersey and had a lot to cheer about. here's the third goal of the first half. look how wide open the galaxy attackers are on the goal.

is it a moral dilemma?

tonight, my local side is playing my mls team. i have jerseys for both. previously, when these teams have met, i've worn the mls gear. here's where the problem enters: my friend plays for the local side. in fact, he got us the tickets (some of his player comps). so, am i obligated to wear the local gear, and root for them? or do i go with the pro's?

uefa

so, i'm getting ready to watch the 2nd uefa match today, and it's real madrid vs bayern munich. i'm particularly stoked because i really like madrid, and this should be a great match. so, as the teams are coming out and standing there, this is what music is playing in the stadium. yep, germans.

wouldn't you know it, munich scores in like 16 seconds, the fastest ever in uefa champions league. damn. we're all equal on aggregate score (3-3), but munich has away goals tie breaker as of now.

take that boston!

toothpastefordinner.com

quick hit

i know it's not as important as universal health and dental care, but i thought i'd point out that fox news scewed up again. scroll down (in the link) and see the screen grab from them about scooter libby.

disgusting - now with update!

this really makes me angry. really, really angry. i know this person doesn't speak for all republicans, but this makes me never want to vote for a republican candidate again. ever.




(i saw this first on jay's blog) it really bothers me that there is applause and no one booing or countering it at this speech.

sadly, most of the responses i watched on youtube were of the knee jerk reaction variety. "she said he was a ______, well she's a C yoU Next Tuesday!" I'm looking for a more appropriate response.

here we go


although it's only a, "we don't condone it" from the repubs.


here is john edwards' response, on fox news of all places. (i didn't see it on la times, fresno bee, bbc, drudge report).

and her response to her own bigoted comments, "C'mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean," Coulter told the New York Times. uhhhhhh, really? that's how you want to respond to be homophobic? that's how you want to respond to using derogatory remarks?


UPDATE: slate had an interesting (to me) piece about how basically no one should be surprised, or even really cover it (which is funny because they say that while covering it). some choice quotes to end it, "So, I suppose it's only a matter of time before she calls Barack Obama a Black Panther masquerading as Uncle Tom, describes Hillary Clinton as a dyke Hitler, or reaches for something even more irreverent."

art update

thought i'd post some photos of works in progress, as well as note that there are four new posts on my art blog (link here and to the right). they are photos of some of the pieces that are currently in my rogue show, that weren't already on my site.

and now to the in-progress stuff:

tentatively called petrified waves


untitled




these three are a triptych, with an updated flair to them


this will be the 3rd in my tower series (and it's upside down)

ibid

so, you can get one of the best mc's i've heard @ emusic. i bought his cd after seeing him for the second time live last night. but, i'm also a big fan of emusic. what's that, you aren't a member of emusic? well, if you'd like to be, let me know. not only can you get great deals by signing up, but we both can get a better deal if you sign up through my membership.

or, you could see him live somewhere and buy a cd for more $ but it goes directly into his pocket.

a post for steve

steve, i think you might enjoy these guys. others mights as well. i did. saw them live @ tokyo garden. sorta alt/country, sorta ccr throwback. really good. and it's some of the guys from el olio wolof, whom i adore.

freedom of the press?

adam, when you go to miami, don't take any pictures of the police. you may end up in trouble.

rogue 2007

yep, the rogue festival starts tonight. i hope to post some pictures from my show either tonight or tomorrow. in the meantime, go here or here for good stuff.

art update

in preparation for my upcoming show, i've uploaded 6 more pictures of painting on my art blog. i'm really trying to make it a functional showcase of my work & where i'll be showing. so, click on over and see 18 of my pieces with more to come. sadly, the newest stuff isn't up there yet, as i've not had the chance to photo it.

they're watching you

watched an interesting documentary today on bet. it was called black and blue: legends of the hip hop cop. it was about the nypd's rap unit, a group w/in their force that profiles and tracks hip hop artists. or, i should say, it was a doc that attempted to look into whether or not police profile and track hip hop artists.

the documentary was interesting because new york says that it doesn't have a unit like this. but, there is confirmation from the miami pd that they have a unit of their own and were trained by nypd. and, there is this binder, from the nypd, that catalogs a ton of rappers. it had rap sheets, business ties, and on and on. and the documentary showed the binder. nypd, nope, we didn't make that. the doc also interviewed the nypd cop who basically was the main guy for this unit. but, no, we don't have a unit like that.

(a funny note, the documentary had commercials during it. i was watching and started thinking, there sure are a lot of black people in these commercials. that's odd. and then i remember, oh yeah, i'm watching black entertainment television.)


(i wrote this on sunday, but forgot about it. so, i'll post it now.)

a link for lefty

hey lefty,
have you heard of/read this graphic novel? it sounds pretty cool to me, just wondering if you have input.

a link for justin

check out this window. very, very cool design.

free and freaky

the stooges have a new song

*i saw this on stereogum

monday afternoon briefs

some days i think i shouldn't leave my house with a wallet. i'm not a huge impulse buyer, but sometimes i'll just do it. this counters a lot of what i believe about frivolous consumption, and i realize that. but still, sometimes i just buy stuff. fortunately, most of these purchases aren't huge. the little things add up though. anyway, i used to buy lots of shoes. every couple of months i would buy a pair or two. that's mostly changed, and now i usually buy a pair or two a year.

but something else has taken it's place...hats




so, i saw this hat the other day @ retro rag as i strolled by. today, i was out getting up flyers for my upcoming art show, and just stopped in to see how much, selection, etc. and then i bought a hat. fortunately, i'm out in the sun a lot and have the need to wear something to keep the sun off my head and face (i really don't want skin cancer). sure, this little fedora variation isn't the ideal sun protection, but it will do.


in other news, our cat has decided that it likes the tower adam made. she sits on it frequently now.

look out

holy cow. or, if you use this property, maybe it will be a hole-y cow.


oh, and click on the picture to watch a video that loads really slowly.

ladies needed apply

could female clerics counter the rise of radical islam? this article from the bbc talks about this very recent appointing of fifty female clerics in morocco. now, i don't know enough about the culture in morocco to know if they are progressive across the board, but i'd say that this is an interesting step.

a little bit of shhhhh

adam should love this story. it's about his favorite car part.

in other news, rainn wilson did a great monologue for snl




finally, i set up my show for the rogue festival today. now i need to make my title cards. hey, did i mention i have a web page there, too? it's a little something they did for all the artists. that's right, i did.

how you killed your brand

so, i'm still a playstation fan, but this is a funny video

my life as a soundtrack

so, i'm taking on a meme i saw on lefty's web

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend your cool...
7. When you're finished tag some other people to do it!

Here are the areas that you need to fill out:

Opening credits:
Waking up:
First day of school:
Falling in love:
First song:
Breaking up:
Prom:
Life:
Mental Breakdown:
Driving:
Flashback:
Getting back together:
Wedding:
Birth of Child:
Final Battle:
Death Scene:
Funeral song:
End Credits:

and the results are:

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend your cool...
7. When you're finished tag some other people to do it!

Here are the areas that you need to fill out:

Opening credits: ain't no other man - christina aguilara *
Waking up: davis stoutmeyer - LA symphony
First day of school: half jack - dresden dolls
Falling in love: lurgee - radiohead
First song: dreams - the allman brothers band
Breaking up: johnny 99 - bruce springsteen
Prom: sektor five - mix master mike
Life: work - bob marley & the wailers
Mental Breakdown: hype talk - dizee rascal
Driving: collapse - sparta
Flashback: warm - nofx
Getting back together: respect me - dizzee rascal
Wedding: a day at the races - jurassic five
Birth of Child: who's to blame - ozomotli (now that's funny)
Final Battle: midnight - a tribe called quest
Death Scene: every little thing she does is magic - the police
Funeral song: helicopter - bloc party
End Credits: - rock the house - gorillaz

meh. some work out funny or could be fitting, others seem to be out of step. oh well. who's next?

*i forgot to put in a song here, and so this was a late add, but still randomly done.

my baby turned 500!

well, actually it turned 500 (miles) earlier, i think on saturday. currently, it's @ 657. so, tomorrow it's getting its first check up, i mean servicing.

updatey do

today, i accepted another position @ the university where i'm working. it's another part time deal. one night a week, for a few hours. the pay is pretty good for what i've got to do (very little). but, it's quite a commitment: 15 months. and, since it's one night a week, that means that i won't be able to take any night classes @ the j.c. i've been working at. so, hopefully i'll be able to get morning and daytime classes there while building up my resume & experience.

and, i'm working my way further into the system where i'd like to work.

rogue

rogue is coming very soon. i'm busy as a beaver, painting up a storm. click on my art blog link (to the right) to see previous work, some of which will appear @ the rogue.

amazing race all stars

so, tonight came by and watched the first episode of amazing race all stars.

we picked teams, each of us picking two squads:
mike - rob & amber, kandice & dustin (beauty queens)
heather - charla & mirna, ozwald & danny
ed - kandice & dustin, eric & danielle

so, we're fifteen minutes in. we'll see if one of my teams gets eliminated the first night, like last time.

death for swindlers!

uhhh, i'm not a fan of the death penalty, so i generally think that any time it is being exercised that it's wrong.

i came across this story on the bbc and thought, holy cow. death penalty for running a scam. c r a z y.


and then i saw this story about youtube & mexican drug cartels. even crazier.

and a link for annthrope

check check check check check it out

interested in reading something funny i wrote?

back from the dead

no, not me. our laptop. it seems that after i posted my last blog entry last thursday night, our computer decided to take a dump on me. not exactly sure what happened, but somehow our o.s. got messed up. so, it wasn't working very well out all. at first, i could still do most things, slowly, but later it wouldn't let me on the internet. so, i knew trouble was a brewin'.

thankfully, i've got a buddy who is a bit of a mac guru. that used to be scott, but south carolina is a long way to take the computer. my buddy mark helped me get it all fixed up and working snappy. we ran several different programs to fix the hard drive, and when it was all said and done we still had to reinstall everything.

but it's working!

survivor fiji

heads up, tonight is the debut of survivor fiji. if any of you fresno folks want to get together to watch it, give me a call. and, if you want to put together a pool i'm game for it. i'll also be watching csi (please remove liev schreiber). and, we'll be recording earl, office & scrubs.

something else to watch out for is the debut of the next round of amazing race on sunday. it's all stars.

coca = good

i saw this article while riding the bus in the bee, and figured i'd try and find it online when i got home.

the article, which is about hugo chavez, president of venezuala offering to buy coca products from bolivia. pretty interesting idea, and something that could actually help to cut back on production of cocaine. the coca plant can be used for many legal substances, and has deep cultural significance in bolivia.

i've said before that i like chavez (or at least i thought i did, i can't find a blog post about it). there may be things where i would quibble with him, but this is another example of positive ways to help a country. it doesn't just have to be about funding "wars" and overthrowing governments (i'm not pointing any fingers here, don't get testy uncle sam). here's some other proposals, "Among his foreign aid programs is a promised refinery for Nicaragua, cut-rate fuels for Ecuador and continuing bond purchases from Argentina."

pretty good stuff.

now them's some cheap tickets

hey, i've only got a little soft spot in my heart for metal, but this make me excited.

so, about the tower

interested in reading an article about the tower district that doesn't really say all that much? got to love the bee.

hoaxes

so, clink on this link to see massachusett's hoax bomb law. section b is particularly interesting.

basically, if i leave something, and someone "reasonably" believes it to be a threat, i'm going to get arrested as a bomb threat. can't say i agree with that.

here's another perspective.

"To us, they're so obviously not suspicious," said King County sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart. "They're not suspicious devices or packages. We don't consider them dangerous." that's a different take from law enforcement.

two more perspectives
san fran


or

new york

your memories are wrong

last night, adam and kasey and i were chatting about a whole lot of things. somehow, our discussion went to fashion fair mall, and the location of one of the bathrooms. you see, there was a particular restroom that was located downstairs, next to orange julius, in front of where santa hangs out (when he's there).

anyhow, we all remember the restroom. but, do the restrooms still exist? or were they moved? two of us remembered it one way. one of us said that they were no longer there.

it didn't get heated, but a bet was placed. at first, it was just about honor. but, @ the prodding of someone (ok, me), the bet needed to be worth something. $10 seemed like a fitting amount. and i was dispatched to provide a definitive answer (i don't work too far from there).

here we go:

approaching the area. i see the sign for restrooms, pointing towards the location. looks good for someone


d'oh! this is the view from santa's spot. i see starbucks, i can see security spot, and no restroom.


a closer shot that illustrates much the same. no restroom in between santa & starbucks


sign that explains where the restroom went


the view from the other side


adam, you owe kasey $10. we should have known better than to doubt a woman about knowledge of a mall (i know, stereotype, & i'm just kidding).