mialuv ulongty & notown derby match review

we may have a new favorite roller girl over @ the view looks good from here, fresno. i mean, we didn't vote or anything, but we were both blown away by the skill of mialuv ulongty. not only was her name and number (10 dolla) hilarious, she had the skillz to pay the billz. really, she cut through the crowd without any difficulty. at times it looked like she was the only one moving in a pack, and then she was fifteen feet ahead.

overall, the notown derby girls looked very good. they played hard, and looked way more prepared than the opposition from chino. i was worried that notown might be in a little trouble because hari kari was out injured, but several ladies stepped up big as jammers. even lotta leadpipe took a turn at jammer and scored some points. and, the notown

couple of suggestions (because i got 'em):
-whorechata might want to throw a few less elbows. seriously, i love the passion, but i'm not sure i saw her make two laps around the track without getting tossed into the penalty box.
-stop arguing with the refs. and refs, stop listening to arguments. if you make a call, make it. if someone wants to argue, tell them to stfu. having watched sports all my life, i know that when refs entertain players "suggestions" it makes them look like they don't know what they're doing. i understand a little, but if after every other jam we (the crowd) has to sit and wait while the refs get spoken to, have a mini huddle, call people over, talk more, etc it sucks.
-the sound in the building is still really uneven. i was talking to a friend on the south side of the track during a break and the sound was rather intelligible. i was seated on the north side of the track and it was pretty garbled. it seemed like they made some improvements, but it could still get a little better.
-if you're ever looking for announcers, the view looks good from here, fresno would love to give it a try. it's possible we might suck, but hey, maybe no one hears it anyway.

again, great work by notown and everyone who helped put it together last night.

basketball playing dog

my friend posted videos showing a dog doing squats. well, here's one that can play basketball.



take that squatting dog.

tower community garden

an interesting story is brewing in my neighborhood. several people have planted crops, but the crops may not remain. why? well, they've planted them on land that is not theirs. here's an interesting report done by the local news about the issue

(i wanted to embed the video but it wasn't working properly so just click on the link above)

now, i want to keep following the issue, but here are my thoughts so far:
-i like that the city is willing to work with community gardeners.
-i like that the city is willing to enforce code.
-i like that the city is willing to take stances that are unpoplular.
-if these gardeners did not have persmission of the owner, they shouldn't be allowed to just set up shop, even if it is nicer to see veggies than weeds.
-if they had permission, then the city is willing to work with the farmers, and that's good.

meet in the middle 4 equality

if you only have time to do one thing this weekend, it should be this: the meet in the middle for equality rally. the rally begins @ 1pm but they're expecting a huge turnout so get there early.

$50 art sale

so, i've slashed prices on some paintings.

check out my stuff that's currently on discount.

guitar fatigue

it's weird how things float in and out of life. i played guitar today. i think it's the first time in a year. i missed it.


of course, since i haven't played in so long, it was short lived because my hand quickly tired.


now i'm going to go paint a bit. got to get things done for my july show.

notown roller derby in fresno, the jabronskis in merced

if you're not doing this saturday




make a drive up to merced and check out this

"HEY HEY HOOOOO!

It is the first Jabronskis show in 2 years, we are going to be playing with our musical brothers THE GOOD LUCK THRIFT STORE OUTFIT at The Partisan in downtown Merced witch is owned by 3 of the 4 Jabronskis. Gee I wonder how we got the show.

Anyways, not sure when we are going to be playing again, but I do know we have over an hour of material to play. So come out and lets get rowdy.

Love,
The Jabronskis

Sat May 30th 2009
at The Partisan
432 West MAin Street
Merced CA 95340
thepartisanmerced.com

doors at 8pm
shows at 9pm
$5.00
21+"

now, it's been a while since i've seen the jabronskis, and apparently been a while since they've played together. i really enjoy their music, and hope maybe they'll hit fresno some time soon.

knife fight at a party

you know what's not good? going to a birthday party and getting stabbed.

you know what's even worse? when it's your son that stabs you. or your dad.

good thing they both got arrested. clovis is now a safer place.

what is the cost of progress?

i was reading and came across an idea that really pushed me to ask a question and think.


what is the cost of progress?



i'd love to read your thoughts.

upcoming fresno events

there's a lot of cool stuff coming up in fresno. why am i telling you? well, because i want you to share the fun with me. and, i want people to know about some events that are a little away and should be put on your calendar.

this thursday is the last week of the rademacher residency @ tokyo garden. this show will be super awesome with the sleepover disaster playing before rademacher. rademacher will have brian kenney fresno, thomas from gypsy cab, luke from sleepover, benji from fay wrays (at least i think they're all guesting this week) all playing along. it should be a sick show.



on saturday, head over to the fairgrounds and check out notown roller derby. these ladies are legit, and it's a fantastic experience.



you could also head over to the fulton mall and check out the rev fest, which promises a ton of motorcycles, a parade down the mall, and more.

speaking of the fulton mall, you can head back down to the mall the next weekend and enjoy the hye fest. tons of armenian food, music and stuff on saturday (and sunday?).

june 2nd, you can enjoy a cocktail and support creative fresno's downtown mural project over @ the bartender challenge. this one is set @ the landmark and features a competitor from the megazone contest: joey "lola la chola" fernandez.



on monday the 8th you need to be over @ starline for pecha cucha night 3, another creative fresno event. adam is slated to present.

june 13 - undercurrent anniversary show, 3rd edition. it's a little after the actual anniversary, but whatever. for $15 you get 8 great bands, and i think they're playing in this order: it's an icicle, son del valle, the fay wrays, shon j, 3 bags full, patrick contreras band, the sleepover disaster, and destructo bunny. i really dig destrecto, although i've mainly seen him dj'ing and rapping with ibid. since then, he's moved down to southern cali and has been making a bit of noise. i'm excited to see him back and will be promoting the hell outta this show.

june 20 - patrick contreras band cd release show. this really is too big for fresno to ignore. patrick has budwiser sponsoring his cd release, it's shut down a whole parking lot in the tower, they're parading in, and so on. it'll be a fun time and actually showcase the tower district as well patrick contreras.



july 2 - arthop - edward stewart showing @ milano. downtown fresno, fulton mall, 5-8pm.

so, I saw this during taste and toast of the tower, but let's speak on this: the spot that was the wild blue is reopening as a venue. it could be good, it could be terrrrrible. i hear it's now owned by the cats that own million elepahant.

we will see.

will it once again be a good venue to see a good show or will it me crap?

ps22 sings landslide

ps22 is a new york city public school. there is a music teacher, gregg "mr. b" breinberg that has his kids doing some beautiful songs. they're 5th graders, and sing wonderfully. check them out doing "landslide" by fleetwood mac.



check out their youtube channel and listen to some different songs. i enjoyed "eye of the tiger" and "if you want to sing out" by cat stevens.

they're kids, they're singing. they're not the best ever, but i do appreciate that they are public school kids. this isn't some elite private prep school. this is a group of fifth graders that changes every year.

monday haiku

remember the lost
memorial day is here
give thanks with some friends





good u.f.c. sat
several nice bouts that night
evans still sleeping

suck it trebek

i passed adam in visits. thanks y'all.

rademacher residency review of week 3

so, last night was week three of the residency and i was excited to see circles and circles. they didn't disappoint.

neither did rademacher. in fact, all the complaints i had a few weeks back i take back. they were spot on, and played a very good set despite coming straight off the road. they literally arrived back from touring with the airborne toxic event and the henry clay people to play this show, which caused it all to start a little late. but it was worth the wait.

santonie's revenge opened the show, and i found them quite enjoyable. i liked their punk/rock mix of sound. the songs were well crafted and enjoyable. what i didn't really like - the half naked hipster guy dancing behind the band. he was like a car crash that you couldn't look away from.

all in all, i'm excited for the final week of the residency which will have sleepover disaster playing, and brian kenney fresno joining rademacher.

rademacher residency in the ghetto week 3

tonight is the 3rd week of rademacher's residency at tokyo garden. the bus may either be road hardened or read weary from a little road trip to l.a. and arizona.



joining the rad's tonight circles and circles, a truly amazing band.

they're also playing with santonie's revenge, a band i've never seen, but i like their sound on myspace.

pick the ufc winner

i'm a big of fantasy sports, and trying to pick winners in nfl games, boxing matches, soccer, whatever. so, when a friend suggested a ufc pick site, i was instantly in.

you should, too.

you have to create an account, but it's not hard and from there it's predict and win.

jesse ventura on the view

"if we're going to be a country that follows the rule of law, which we are, torture is illegal."



"advanced interrogation is dick cheney cheney changing a word. dick cheney comes up with a new word to cover his ass."


now, i don't know if everything jesse ventura says is right, but i do like his recent outspokenness on torture and chickenhawk dick cheney.

*cross posted @ left turn only.

obits @ the cellar door

i like shows. i like music. and, i like trying to listen and find new music. the other day i was poking around emusic and based on some recommendation stumbled upon a band called the obits. i hadn't heard of them, even though i actually have a song from them on my ipod (it was on the emusic selected & collected sampler that rademacher was on). they have a 7" out now, as they're working towards a full length.



today in my email i saw that the obits would be playing in visalia on thursday night. pretty cool show if you're in that area or up for a drive. here's the info from sound n vision:

Thursday, May 21, 2009
OBITS (SUB POP Records)
THE LIGHTS
The Suicides
$5, 21+, 9:30pm
The Cellar Door
101 W. Main St., Visalia CA

Brooklyn-based Obits is making some of the best straight ahead rock n' roll music these days.

Their sharply interwoven guitar lines, muscular rhythms, and garage-influenced punk meets rockabilly sound is a reminder of just how powerful good ol' rock music can be in the hands of the right band.

Band leader Rick Froberg has fronted influential indie bands Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes. Now with Obit's new Sub Pop release "I Blame You", Froberg has created his most accessible and catchy album to date.

Check out their song "Two-Headed Coin" while imagining them live. You'll channel enough sonic grit, attitude, and energy to make their mid-week performance worth staying up late to attend.

Seattle's The Lights play the middles spot, while a mix of Visalia indie veterans known as The Suicides will start the show!

samba tower closed

maybe the spot that once held the daily planet is now cursed. i saw this sign today that samba tower was closed (sorry for the big glare in the pic).



maybe it was the bad economy. maybe it was a style of food that people aren't super sure about. maybe it was the cost of overhauling an existing space and trying to create something new there. however, i think this next sign may be quite telling as to why samba tower closed:



hmm, violation of the alcoholic beverage control act, that doesn't sound good. it seems that the ownership group that tried "m", club m, samba tower just had too many strikes against them at this location. i know they were open for taste and toast of the tower, i wonder if that was the final blow against them?

and don't think i'm trying to talk crap on samba tower. i liked the place. i like brazilian bbq, and will go to the north fresno location again. it just seems like they could never drum up enough business in the tower.