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!