the countdown to the end of the world begins

World destruction would almost a relief considering the stress of 2011, except that 2011 brought me this cute bundle of t-r-o-u-b-l-e.

hardcore mixtape

This is really frigging cool.

Hardcore or die from Radio Soulwax on Vimeo.

what's up with the fruit panties...you hating on me?

"NEWT GINGRICH" — a Bad Lip Reading Soundbite - watch more funny videos

you're never gonna be ok

In the CD/mp3 age, whenever I listen to an album, I always seem to focus on the first few songs. By the time I get to the second half of the record, I'm listening about half as closely as I was at first. It creates the opportunity for great songs to be "lost" on the second half of a record. This is partly the fault of CD's and mp3 playlists that don't need to be "flipped" (the concept of "sides" might be the worst thing about the demise of vinyl and tapes, and may be partly behind the revival of both). So sometimes it's not until much, much later, that I realize one of those "lost" songs is actually one of the highlights of the album. I mention this because of track 9 of 12 on In Desolation.




Yes, I've posted this before, but dammit this is a great song.

team android for life

Apple Hits Google in Patent Ruling:

Apple 1, Google 0. A federal trade agency ruled Monday that HTC infringed on an Apple patent that allows users to place calls by tapping phone numbers that appear in emails or text messages. The “data tapping” case is a narrow victory for Apple, but it’s the first definitive ruling in the smartphone patent wars—and may be the first of many Apple victories against the Google-crafted Android platform. Apple maintained its original stance against Android in a statement: “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

This is ridiculous. Tapping a phone number on a text message or website to call it belongs to Apple? What a completely unique and totally justified copyright concept! Seriously, what asshats. Exactly why I can't stand Apple. Reminds me of "Aging Orange" by the Vandals, "I invented socks, and I invented gravy, I made up the cotton gin, but no one ever paid me"

curl up into a ball keep saying it ain't on

Toys That Kill. "The White Lies". Soda Bar. San Diego. 11-09-10.

Last one of the night!

we don't talk much but the sex is great

Toys That Kill, "Runnin' The Front" + "They Tied Up All Our Lace" Soda Bar, San Diego, 11/9/2010.

my rabbit's foot was their hors d'ouevre

Toys That Kill. "Bomb Sniffin' Dogs". Soda Bar. San Diego. 11/9/2010.

where the scream mutes the sound

Toys That Kill doing Amphetamine Street at Soda Bar (San Diego) on November 9, 2010.



Cleaning out my SD cards. So expect a lot more of this.

and we thought nation-states were a bad idea

Gingrich: Palestinians Are ‘Invented’ People:

“I believe that the Jewish people have a right to have a state. And I believe the commitments that were made at the time—remember there was no Palestinian state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think we’ve had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community.”

I'm not sure what Newt's point is, or why it would be an argument against statehood. Technically, I guess you could argue he is correct. What I don't think he would agree with, even though it is absolutely true and uses the same logic he applies to Palestinians, is that "Americans" are also an "invented" people. There was no "United States". It was part of the British Empire. American people, who were in fact Caucasians, were historically part of the European community.

Other "invented" people? Oh, almost every single nationality on Earth.

bring on the steamed croutons

dora

Now that I have a kid, I think I've watched more kid's TV shows this year than I did when I was a kid. At first, she responded to Spongebob, which I must admit I rather enjoy. She got bored with that, and now it's Dora The Explorer. Oh, it's the worst. First of all, it apparently treats kids like they have, not a developing brain, but no brain at all. For example, Dora will be on some quest that involves, let's say, a red box. At some point Dora will ask the kids at home, "Can you find the red box?" and it looks something like this:

Thanks to Wifey for artistic guidance.

What kid on Earth understands what Dora is saying but can't find the box? IT'S RIGHT THERE! THE HUGE THING TAKING UP HALF THE SCREEN!  I don't seem to remember the shows I watched treating me like such an idiot. I guess we'll see in a few years when I buy Finn some Electric Company and Muppets DVDs. Secondly, it has a not-so-secret plan to indoctonate kids by teaching then Spanish. This is the first step in the Reconquista. This is America! Speak American! Ok, for reals, the Spanish is actually the coolest thing about the show. But I am a little suprised that Republicans haven't tried to boycott the show.

But the worst part of the show is the songs. Holy Christ these stupid flipping songs will get stuck in your head. All day long, "we did it, we did it, we did it, Hooray!" Ay yi yi, I wanted to die.

The only silver lining is that it was that freaking map song.*

Jokes.com
Brian Regan - Dora the Explorer
comedians.comedycentral.com
Brian Regan Comedian Stand-Up

*Wow. "Flipping" and "freaking" in the same blog post. Parenthood sure has fucking changed me.

this starbucks is freak-kay

trip out

Yeah, I'm still around. Baby, new house and new job are keeping me quite busy. Meanwhile, WTF is this all about?

get that woodchuck a tuna melt

the most disgusting fish in the sea

Hagfish: The Most Disgusting Fish in the Sea? [Video]:

Slime Killer Hagfish Feasts in Rotten Flesh sounds like a B horror movie from the 1950s, but it's totally not: It's the title of this brand-new New Scientist article on hagfish, which might be the grossest, most disgusting-est fish in the ocean.

Really? Not one mention of the band, Gawker?

only off by 3 months

This is from a 1987 sitcom:

herman cain is pro-....something

Pro-life:

MORGAN: Abortion. What's your view of abortion?

CAIN: I believe that life begins at conception. And abortion under no circumstances. And here's why --

MORGAN: No circumstances?

CAIN: No circumstances.

Er, I mean pro-choice:

MORGAN: But you’ve had children, grandchildren. If one of your female children, grand children was raped, you would honestly want her to bring up that baby as her own?


CAIN: You’re mixing two things here, Piers?


MORGAN: Why?


CAIN: You’re mixing –


MORGAN: That’s what it comes down to.


CAIN: No, it comes down to it’s not the government’s role or anybody else’s role to make that decision. Secondly, if you look at the statistical incidents, you’re not talking about that big a number. So what I’m saying is it ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to make.


Not me as president, not some politician, not a bureaucrat. It gets down to that family. And whatever they decide, they decide. I shouldn’t have to tell them what decision to make for such a sensitive issue.

welcome to la mesa

The city where I've chosen to spend the next 30 years. Oy vey.

La Mesa votes down fair-trade designation:

LA MESA — There will be no official fair-trade designation for La Mesa.

The City Council voted 3-2 Tuesday against a city resolution backing the fair-trade movement, which has found political approval in San Francisco, Berkeley, Chicago, Boston and other parts of the United States. Mayor Art Madrid and City Councilman Dave Allan backed the fair-trade designation for the city.

The movement aims to secure what it says are fair prices for products from developing countries, investment in people and communities, environmental sustainability, economic empowerment of small scale producers, direct trade and fair labor conditions around the globe.

Speakers in opposition to the designation said government should not be involved in determining what retailers offer, and others said the city should focus its attention on local matters first. The opposition took backers by surprise.

“We did not expect this — we thought it was a no-brainer,” said lifelong La Mesa resident Nancy Ryan, who had brought up the idea to Madrid months ago. La Mesa would have been the first Southern California city to be officially declared a fair-trade town.

Ryan and La Mesa resident Anne Pacheco both spoke to the council, asking the city to lend its official support to fair trade.

The two are co-chairwomen of a local steering committee that backs what Fair Trade Towns USA describes as an effort to “build demand for fair trade products, thereby providing increased benefits for farmers, workers and artisans in Latin America, Africa and Asia.”

The committee has been speaking to clubs in the city, including Kiwanis, Sunrise Rotary and Lions, to explain fair trade.

Some of the products involved are coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, spices, body care products, wine, crafts and apparel. Producers can obtain fair-trade certification for their wares if they meet standards set by Fairtrade International.

Scott Alevy, a Blossom Valley resident, spoke to the council on behalf of the East County Chamber of Commerce, of which he is president and CEO.

“The government should not be telling businesses what to sell, who to hire,” Alevy said. “When it comes to what goes on shelf and retail choices, we think that’s a place government is best off staying out of.”

La Mesa resident Russell Buckley told the council that the government, even at a local level, should not tell retailers what to sell nor influence consumers on what to buy.

“That decision what to buy, who to buy and where... that should be left to each individual without the influence of ‘Big Brother,’” Buckley said.

Councilman Ernie Ewin echoed that sentiment.

“I certainly appreciate the effort and issues (the fair-trade movement) bring to the forefront, but equally important is we still have to understand that there are choices to be made,” Ewin said. “We want to be fair and do good things, but the government has no business being engaged in economic processes in our city.”

Ryan said citizens and council members who voted down the measure were misinformed about what the movement, and that many stores in La Mesa currently carry a variety of fair-trade products.

“There were so many misunderstandings, things that were said that were totally not true,” Ryan said. “That is the worst part of this. That the city would dictate where people should shop, pitting one merchant against another? That is not what we were saying. We weren’t able to have a chance to clarify what was said by the opposition.”

indian summer

The Awl forgot the best song called Indian Summer:

is it that bad?

get these goats for our computer industry

The circus continues. The past two weeks has been a whilrwind of packing, moving, and now unpacking. I'm trying to catch up on my Google Reader subscriptions, and am only up to Sept. 27th, so some of my posts will be old for you, but they are new to me.

Take, for example, this:

 

the situation

white wires

Radio Molotov: The White Wires - Pretty girl (7") #2009:

These guys (and gal) played Awesomefest. Great stuff.

f to the r to the e to the d

i heart elizabeth warren

the slow death at awesomefest 5

Don't know the name of the song. Perhaps it's on the new album?

hate to burst your bubble

But I'm 100% sure this guy saw the get pitted surfer dude and was just waiting for the chance to get some YouTube fame.

 

The more I see it, the more I'm convinced surfer dude was totally faking it as well. I'm a cynical fuck, I
know.

scared of chaka at awesomefest 5 - complete set

The Scared Of Chaka reunion was one of the main reasons I bought my Awesome Fest tickets. I was gonna record a song or two, then thought fuck it, who knows if this is ever going to happen again. So I taped the whole thing.

I maintain that Hutch Brown Sanygwich was one of the greatest records of the 90's, so I was a little bummed not more off that album was played. They also did not play "I Must" or "Straight To The Office", two of my other favorite SOC songs. But it's still a rippin' set.

Enjoy.

toys that kill - awesome fest 5

So here's the first video.


I worshipped FYP in college. I drove up to Mount Shasta to see them. But people grow up, and when Todd dismantled FYP and started Toys That Kill, you could hear that maturation immediately. Just a great band.

awesome fest 5

So, this past weekend was Awesome Fest 5 in San Diego. I've been wanting to go to one of these shin digs for quite awhile now, but like clockwork, I've always had a scheduling conflict. Until this year.

So I took my old ass down to North Park Saturday and Sunday. By Monday, I was a wreck. Felt like I'd been hit by a truck.

Was it because of all the drinking? No, I don't drink.

The drugs? Nope. Caffeine is my only drug.

Oh, ok, it was all that moshing and dancing, right? Nah, those days are long past.

So what did I do to make me feel like this? Two things:

1. I stood up for a long period of time. 
2. I stayed out late. 

That's it. This is what my life has come to. Embarrassing. Had a good time though.

I recorded a lot of video, which I will be posting. My camera records awesome sound, but terrible video. Keep that in mind.

Oh, yeah, and I know I'm too old to be doing this shit. But the bands that I mainly went to see: Toys That Kill, The Bananas, Everready (who I missed, FUCK), and Scared Of Chaka, are all as old/older than me. So fuck off.

nardcooooooooore

Nard Times:

Great comp, courtesy of the almighty Hearse!

yah mos - right on (1993 sunney sindecut records)

Spastic Sacramento punk with funk undertones (which were much more apparent live) but not in a lame Red Hot Chili Peppers way. I posted their another EP before.

Like I said before, the core of the band moved to New York and formed !!!. So if you're a hipster dufus, you're welcome.

HOLY SHIT! When I opened the record sleeve, eight Grimple stickers fell out. Score!

Once again, thanks to Pukekos.

1. Your Best Interest
2. Refusenik
3. Letter Bomb
4. Rent Is Due 
5. Be Cool

Boom, boom, kaboom.

well, that's one way to do it

Man with cable about neck decapitates self:

A Chicago man who quickly accelerated in a sport utility vehicle with a cable around his neck decapitated himself after a domestic dispute in Yorktown, authorities said Tuesday."

My mind immediatly goes here:

Off With Their Heads - "Drive"

eat the rich

Companies Pay More to CEOs than Taxes:

At least 25 companies paid more to their CEOs last year than they paid in federal taxes, according to the Institute for Policy Studies. These include big corporations like General Electric, Boeing, Verizon, and eBay. The companies paid their executives an average of $16.8 million in 2010. Meanwhile, many of these companies actually receive tax refunds from the federal government valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. Verizon, for example, gave its CEO an $18 million package while reaping a $705 million tax refund.

Gee, I wonder why the U.S. is in debt?

test

Testing blogger for android.

crimpshrine - quit talkin' claude (1989 lookout! records)

Jeff Ott's gravelly vocals and Aaron Cometbus' great drumming made Crimpshrine stand out in the pop-punk scene. I was going to type more, but seriously, if you don't know who Crimpshrine is it's your loss.

Once again, gotta give props to a third party blog for beating me to the ripping. Lots o' blogs have posted this already; I used the rip from War's No Fun.

1. Butterflies
2. Situation
3. Easy Answers
4. Inspiration

There's no easy answers at all. 

a tribute to the f***boyz (1996 farmhouse/six weeks/monkey bites records)

So, let's get this out of the way: yeah, I censored the title. And yeah, I feel lame for doing it. But my blogs get posted on my Facebook page, and I just don't need the drama putting Fuckboyz in the title will bring with certain friends and family. I suck, I know.

 That being said, FUCKBOYZ! FUCKBOYZ! FUCKBOYZ!

 The Fuckboyz were basically the earlier, unripened, East Coast version of Hickey (not that Hickey was "ripe". As in mature and fully formed. From what I saw they probably smelled pretty ripe, But that's not what I meant. What the fuck am I talking about?) Anyways, upon moving from Florida to Cali, they (meaning Matty Luv and Aesop) kept the Fuckboyz name for couple of awesome records before disbanding, then resurrecting as Hickey. Also, that history could be totally wrong, but it's how I seem to remember it.

 I may have mentioned a couple of hundred times that Hickey is my favorite band ever. So by proxy that love extends to the Fuckboyz. Most of their discography is up at the Matty Luv tribute site, so you should head there first, grab those songs, read the guestbook, pay your respects, and then come back and grab this.

This is a fantastic tribute to the embryonic form of the best band ever.

Big, big thanks to Nobody Knows I'm New Wave for the excellent rip (plus all the scans!), saving me some time and trouble. 

1. Red #9 - Nurse 
2. All You Can Eat - Prozac 
3. 40% Saline Solution - Hallucinating 
4. Wooly Mammoth - Rock 'N' Roll Problem
5. Idiot Bitch - Chapels Of Reno 
6. Krupted Peasant Farmers - Don't Fuck Me Up 
7. Your Mother - Stick Fish 
8. The Dread - Hit Me With Your Best Shot 

Sometimes you remind me of every hot dog I've ever eaten.

judgment awaits you

I thought Donnie Paycheck was playing in TH?

me and aziz see eye to eye

Barstool Philly posted this video of Aziz Ansari having to walk around with a boombox blaring 10 awful songs.


Me and Wifey long ago concluded that "Butterfly" is the worst song ever made, and I'm glad Aziz also recognizes that.

viva coke zero!

battalion of saints - muscle of love (1997 taang! records)

No need to sugarcoat it, this is not the Battalion Of Saints finest hour. But coming a full decade and a half after their peak, should it be? Answer: No. A decent cover of a bad Alice Cooper song and a pretty good original on the flip. 10 bonus points for being from San Diego.

Thanks to the folks at Down Underground for ripping this so I didn't have to. Check out that blog, just ignore all the RAC bullshit.

1. Muscle Of Love (Alice Cooper)
2. I Don't Know

Who's the cream of the crop?

the riverdales - back to you (1995 lookout! records)

As if Screeching Weasel wasn't Ramones-inspired enough, Ben Weasel had to form basically an unabashed  Ramones clone. But, imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, so while they are never going to get any awards for originality, The Riverdales definitely hold their own. FYI: B-Side of this is a Billie Holiday cover.

1. Back To You
2. I Can't Pretend

I know I'd be a fool to go back to you.

how to make an iPad "killer"

Over the years, many companies have tried to develop an iPod/iPhone/iPad "killer". They have all failed. But I think HP just accidentally stumbled upon the secret.

Sell your iPad-y thingymabob for $99. But don't discontinue it.

How do you make money on this? No idea. But obviously people will go out of their way for the chance to have one.

typical east-coast bias

5.9, East Coast? Really? Nice try.

We Californians get a 6.0 out here and go right back to sleep, if we wake up at all. The East Coast gets one and life as they know it is over. 24/7 news coverage. Forget Libya, D.C. shook! Mildly! Really, people felt it in North Carolina and Toronto, Canada? A 5.9 earthquake? Please. Get a grip y'all. You're freaking out like we do when it rains for more than a half-hour.

Edit: Oh, let me guess, your earthquakes are more humid.

Find more songs like Earthquake at Myspace Music

grimple - get me out of my van i have no key phil (1992 homemade records)

So, we bought a house. Jesus, I move back to San Diego a single, jaded man ready to finally accept my destiny and live a meaningless life filled with meaningless relationships. Three years later, wife, baby, house. I guess all that's left is a dog? Where am I going with this? Oh yeah, we'll be packing shit up soon, so I gotta get cracking finishing up ripping and posting my records before w e move. Don't worry, I'll buy more once we get settled in,  Sorry for the lull.

From New Mexico via Oakland (or is it Oakland via New Mexico? They were in New Mexico and moved to Oakland. There.), Grimple was one of the best bands no one talks about. Raw as fuck, thick with attitude, yet under it all is a distinct sense of melody.

At the Recess Needle And Pins Festival (or was it Pins And Needles? Here we go a-fucking-gain.), festival at Mount Shasta in the mid-90's, the singer for Second Hand publicly offered top dollar for the Grimple full length. I had it, but kept my mouth shut. Though it's been reissued (as has this 7-inch) a few times, it remains one of my prized possessions.

1. One More
2. Rabie Punx
3. Get A Grip
4. Guess Who

One push, one shove. 

malfunction

Well, this is something that makes me think I'm sleeping and this is a dream. Check this out, it's an auto-tuned, popped out song called Malfunction by somthing called Lavalette. Except that the original is a crossover classic by the Cro-Mags. What the hell?

I gets psycho killer norman bates

Okay, so I'm a bit late to this Wugazi thing. A mashup of Fugazi and Wu_Tang Clan? Sounds like a faux hipsters wet dream. Except...it's good. Reaaaaaal good.

Add some Omar and The Wire to push shit over the top.

vacation, all i ever wanted

Overheard at work: "Can you imagine if Bush played 80 rounds of golf? Can you imagine the shit he would get?"

Yes, because if George Bush was know for anything, it was for how hard he worked and how he never took a break.

So far, President Obama has taken 61 vacation days after 31 months in office. At this point in their presidencies, George W. Bush had spent 180 days at his ranch where his staff often joined him for meetings. And Ronald Reagan had taken 112 vacation days at his ranch.

on the run

Oh, this makes me nostalgic for the days when I used to pretend to be a skater.



Update: Effing Blogger's ability to embed video is Bloggered.

creepiest thing i've seen all month

what. the. hell?

[barstoolPA]

shep, shep, shep

heads up!

Watch the background of this clip and you will see a coach get beaned in the head with a ball during some ground ball drills.



I don't post this because I get any particular glee from seeing someone get blasted in the head with a ball. I post it because it reminds me of when I witnessed the same thing in High School, playing for the mighty Tigers of Lemoore High.

I was on the JV team and we were doing infield/outfield drills. If you're not familiar, it's a routine practice drill, that looks pretty complicated, with balls flying around everywhere, but once a team has it down, it runs like a smooth machine.

Well, one day the machine broke down, and our coach got a baseball upside his head. The offending first baseman could do nothing but stare at the ground while he paced in circles. Now, Coach was a good guy, but he had an extreme temper. In fact, when we were on the freshman team, we witnessed one of his outbursts on the team bus, and it made us practically scared to play for him. But like I sad, he was a good guy, as long as you weren't beaning him in the head or showing up to practice in a golf visor and stirrups with ankle socks (that's another story). Needless to say, once he had his bearings, we got an earful and practice was cancelled.

So the lesson here is simple: if you want out of practice, bean your coach in the head.

louie louie louie looo-waaay

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Here's a funny Louis CK story. Back in like 2004, all the fine folks on the Something Awful forums were raving about Louis CK, I never bothered to actually check him out. Why? Cuz his name was Louis CK. What was up with that gimmicky last name? I thought he was going for some sort of hip moniker to relate to the youth of today (not Youth Of Today). Only later did I realize that wasn't the case, it's just a an easier to pronounce bastardization of his hard to pronounce real last name of Szekely. Once again, assumptions, ass, u, me, blah blah blah.

Anyways, the actual point of this post is: If you're not watching Louie, you're an idiot.

 Louis CK is generally regarded, and quite rightfully so, as the greatest comedian of the last 10 years. On his show, FX basically let him do whatever he wanted and remained completely hands off. The show is exactly what Loius CK wants it to be. And it's glorious.

Given how funny Louis CK is, you'd expect the show to just the funniest thing ever. And it is, no doubt. But that's not all it is. It's also strange, and poignant, and serious, and just everything a good show would be. Sometimes it's not even that funny (like last season's "religion" episode, which was downright amazing). Parts of his standup routine litter every show (this made me laugh harder than anything in recent memory), but what's in between is simply some of the boldest TV I have ever seen. If you're expecting nothing but laugh after laugh, you're going to be a bit bewildered. But have an open mind and you will reap the rewards.

I can only hope that this experience will lead other networks to trust their talent and not have everything rewritten and watered down by 100 editors.

fighting boys have no choice but to fight

One of the best slabs of vinyl to ever come out of San Diego.

Battalion Of Saints - Fighting Boys EP (@ DOWN UNDERGROUND)

"

don't tread on me

Via NBC San Diego comes this photo and caption:

Now for the sake of my head exploding in an hypocrisy-fueled rage, I hope this guy is wearing his "Don't Tread On Me" shirt in tribute of the Continental Marines, and not as a Tea Party symbol, because well, that would be stupid, seeing how the Police are part of Government, and is paid for through taxes, and cutting the benefits and pay of Government employees (such as the police) is one way to limit government and avoid raising taxes, two Tea Party priorities. Also, "union" and "tea party" go together like orange juice and toothpaste.

peaches

MIHO is without a doubt making some of the best burgers in town. The current version of the MIHO burger is a grilled peach burger with gruyere and bacon (optional). I went to get one last week, and they were sold out. Went again today, and scored. Good thing, too, as this is the last week for the burger.

I hope it comes back. It's outstanding. Hours later, I'm still thinking about it. The peaches play off the bacon to do that salty-sweet thing. Worth every penny.

The fries were good, but the redeeming aspect of them was the homemade Moroccan catsup. Superb! MIHO may be the truck to beat in the SD market.

proper gastropub

Proper is a gastropub connected to Petco Park, home of the Padres, in downtown San Diego. I don't think my or my wife's agoraphobia could handle the crowd on a game day, so we checked it out on a night the Padres were not playing.

I ordered the Pub burger. Nothing too fancy, just a real, real, good burger with some real, real good bacon. I was expecting a decent burger, and was still surprised how good it was. The fries chips were pretty amazing as well. I don't eat at a lot of British Pub type places, but Wifey informed me most of them make fries chips this good (God I wish every place had malt vinegar on the table). So, I will probably be going to more British Pub type places.

Black & Tan Mac 'N' Cheese. Made with some fancy cheeses and beers, with tomatoes and bacon mixed in. Obviously it was really good. The cheese sauce could have been a little thicker, but that's a minor squabble. I enjoyed it much more than Wifey.

The convience to Petco cannot be beat, so if you ever head out to a Padres game, you won't have to stray far for dinner.

there's a moron in lemoore

I grew up in Lemoore, California, and it's certainly no a secret that I harbor a love/hate relationship with it.

Well, recently Sarah Palin apparently rolled into town to talk to the townsfolk and fully illustrate the hate side of my relationship with Lemoore.



To be fair, not everyone in Lemoore would hoot and holler at a Sarah Palin rally. Only like 90% of the town. But in that other 10% are some of the best people a guy could ever hope to know. Some of them are even Conservative Republicans!

junky for her

curiocity (and a food truck rant)

Curiocity is a new food truck in San Diego that I checked out today on my lunch break.

They some crab risotto dish, a fancypants salad, and some thai chicken, but of course I had to go straight for the burger. Burger was pretty straight-up, lettuce-tomato-pickle-cheese-sauce, no grilled peaches or anything. And it was good. Not great, but good. Not $7 good, but oh well. Considering the MIHO truck had an iffy start and now make some of the best food on wheels, this is acceptable. There's room to grow. The "truffle" fries were also good, but not great.

But this "truffle fries" nonsense leads me to another rant, which, I have to emphasize, is NOT aimed at Curiocity specifically.

Why is pouring some fake-ass truffle oil on some fries and call them truffle fries? We all know there are no actual truffles involved. Why are places allowed to advertise Kobe/Waygu Beef burgers and sliders when we know they are not using 100% Kobe/Waygu beef? Why are you allowed to use the word Kona to describe coffee when there are hardly any Kona beans in the blend? I consider all of this a form of dishonesty, and it cheapens the meaning of the actual 100% pure products they are named after.

Furthermore, why are fries at a food truck always over $3? Adjectives like "truffle" and "Belgian-cut" are bandied about, but they are just french fries, and I have yet to taste any food truck fries that were worth the steep price (though, against my better judgment, I keep trying). I  don't have an issue paying the $6+ dollars you charge for a decent burger, but by the time I add your overpriced fried and fancy pants soda, I'm out $12 or more. This cuts down on the frequency of my food truck visits by at least 2/3. 

There's a definite food truck bubble at the moment. So I guess strike while the iron is hot, but don't start wondering hey wha happen when the bubble bursts.

cat, i'm a kitty cat

i heart matt damon

pizza pizza

So, we were having a conversation about food (go figure) at work, when I told a co-worker something I truly believe (not really): Besides the internet, the greatest technological advance in my lifetime has been the improvement of frozen pizza.

To which he, who is obviously  much younger, replies, "I know, right? Remember when all there was was Tombstone?"

Tombstone!? Tombstone pizza was a muhfuggin revolution in frozen pizza. Before Tombstone, we suffered through the cardboard crusts, cubed pepperoni, and fennel seed saugage disasters of Mr.P's and Celeste. Don't hate on Tombstone. Surely it doesn't match up to what came after, but it was light years ahead of what was before.

the summer jam of 2011

Lord of the Lobsters, indeed!

dear oompa loompa boehner

"Bipartisan compromise" means negotiating with the other party, not the Looney Tunes (thx David) faction of your own party. You seriously just wasted two days negotiating with your own frigging party.

Is this real life?

nice tats, bro

BarstoolNY: Does This Look Like The Face Of A Wisconsin Man Who’s Been Arrested For 5 DUIs?

wwf does not like smashing pumpkins

the human fund

See the donation link over there ----------------------> 

Here's the story of the Human Fund. 

Money. For people. 

hi. let me introduce myself.

I don't have a lot of dedicated viewers of this blog. Most people just pop in, grab a download, and are on their merry way. But there are some regulars. And it's occurred to me that I don't know much about them, and they don't know much about me. Time to change that. I decided to record a video introduction for you all so you could get to know me a bit better and see what I'm all about. I'm a little nervous about my formal introduction to the blogosphere, but here goes nothing:

1) born 2) hired 3) disposed

We cool?

who do you blame when your kid is a brat?

Time for a political rant! Apologies in advance for the juvenile cursing and the childish name calling, but trust me, it's theraputic.

Look, raising the debt limit is not rocket science. It's been done regularly for decades. All you do is pass a bill saying "hey, the debt limit is now this". That's it. It has been raised 72 fucking times since 1964. 10 times since 2001! Bush raised it 7 times! Making spending cuts a part of it is not required. This is something Boehner and the Republicans have basically made up to try and make Obama look bad. And all that's at stake is the financial ruin of this country. No biggie. 

You know I how I can tell that Boehner & Co. are the one's playing politics? The title of his propasal.  No, its not "Plan To Raise The Fucking Debt Ceiling". It's "Two Step Approach To Hold President Obama Accountable." Unbelievable.

And now we're where we are because of it this made up imperative. Obama has conceded more to the Republicans than any Democratic president should ever be expected too. I mean seriously, a Democratic president actually discussing cuts to Medicare and Social Security? And yet it's not enough. According to the Republicans, only the poor and those who receive Social Security and Medicare benefits should have to bear the suffering of spending cuts. If the richest people in this country are expecting to sacrifice even a little eensy beensy bit, then it is a no-go. Fucking assholes. Yes, this is class war. 

Regarding the debt ceiling, last year Boehner told the New Yorker, “This is going to be probably the first really big adult moment” for the new Republican majority. “You can underline ‘adult.’"

In his speech the other night, Boehner said, “You know, I’ve always believed, the bigger government, the smaller the people.” That's some bold talk coming from an Oompa Loompa. Especially considering the world's tallest people come from the Netherlands, whose government is huge like Willy Wonka's hat.

What a stupid world.