I'm sure I must have linked to stuff from this site before, but nonetheless, I have rediscovered Retro Junk and hereby deem it the best website in the world.

They've got tons of old commercials that you can stream, and watching them after not seeing them in years has made me realize something - your life before reaching eleven years of age must be the most confusing time in the world, because I barely remember any of these commercials that aired before I reached 6th grade. This is strange considering I watched TV nonstop.

Other important lessons:
-There was a Go-Bot named Baron Von Joy! He was a friendly robot sports car!
-Any hope of me developing into normal heterosexual adulthood flew (fabulously) out the window as soon as I saw the opening sequence to She-Ra. Woah. Just... woah. It even sounds like Giorgio Moroder wrote the theme song.
-You can have your stupid Mac G5. The Commodore Vic 20 is the wonder computer of the '80s.

These images of the Pope's dead body everywhere really give me the creeps.

I'm really not a fan of funerals where the cadaver is on display. I suppose it provides a certain closure to those mourning, but I really would rather not be laid out at my funeral. It's a terrible last image to have of someone.

So, instead, let's remember the Pope for who he was - the best breakdancing judge ever!

So, the frozen food aisle fascinates me. Being a vegetarian/food snob/relatively health conscious person, the majority of the items offerred are strictly taboo, and with the exception of Morningstar Farms' chick patties (yummericious!) and frozen peas, the only thing in my freezer is ice.

What fascinates me even more is that people eat this stuff, lots of it. Some people seem to live solely off of this stuff.

So, without further ado, I present the web page that captivated me while I ate my lunch today.

Question of the Day: Would the whole nu-metal thing have worked out better if, instead of Korn, the Deftones were the big break-out band? And if the Deftones had gotten really big, would they have begun to suck as much as Korn does?

Amazing tapas restaurant alert: Azafran. Surprisingly vegetarian friendly too. Highlight: grilled eggplant with mascarpone. Buttah!

Am I the only one who's completely awed and amazed whenever they see that Burger King commercial with Hootie? From the moment the ad starts until that country lady goes "Cooooome aaaaand geet it!" at the end, I completely tune out the rest of the world and focus solely on the TV. It's odd. I think I might even stop breathing when it's on.

It's the weekend, everyone! Call me on your banana phone!!!!

I totally hate real estate.

I like the idea of owning a place or even two or three, but when you're in the middle of a huge bubble (yes, I said it, even though no one wants to admit it, this is a bubble) and trying to buy in an already competitive market, the whole thing just becomes completely discouraging. Today's Times article about people acting completely irrationally is of no surprise to me. You didn't see the dump we saw going for $600K two days ago.

Actually, it's not that I don't hate real estate, I hate real estate agents. Most people hate lawyers, but real estate agents are one profession I think the world would be a better place without.

Roar!

Here's an article that reveals some interesting findings in cognitive psychology, but man, does it have one crappy headline.

Our government's attitude towards international relations:

-If you do not have nuclear weapons, we will invade your country if we feel like it.
-If you do have them, we gonna leave yo' ass alone!

HO LEEEE COW!!!!

EGM has another hilarious installment of their Child's Play feature, where they gather kids' opions on the cutting-edge time wasters of yesteryear. Their reaction to Mike Tyson's Punchout (a game I spent many an hour sitting Indian style in front of) is priceless, and their adoration for the first Legend of Zelda is surprising. The first installment can be found here.

You know what really, really, really, really grates on me? When someone makes a statement, then says "Why?", then answers their own question.

Example:

Me: "I don't like sardines."
Stupid Person: "I like sardines. Why? Because they are the only friends I have."

The "why" is completely unnecessary. If you are giving support for your statement, a "because" is sufficient. Or, you can end your sentence and begin a new sentence providing the support for your argument. Saying "Why?" between thoughts makes you sound like a pompous, arrogant blowhard and immediately reduces the validity of your supporting statement.

Saying "because" instead of "why" - it's a good thing.

Nifty Blog alert: 1000 Bars. Concept: Go to 1000 different bars in a year.

Since I'm always going to the same bars, maybe this guy will end up finding some hidden jems. His latest entry was all about my block, and his assessment of Village 227 is head on; that place is weird and it should be destroyed via baby giraffe stampede.

To build anticipation for my 30th Birthday Showcase Showdown, which is only a precious 10 months away (reserve your seat now, folks), I present the top indicators that I'm really getting old:

-I've stopped counting the grey hairs that fall off my head when I get my hair cut.
-New musical genres (see emo, crunk, glitch, screamo) irritate me and are basically just noise.
-Biz Markie is on a reality show.
-Flavor Flav is on TWO reality shows.
-Ice Cube is in a family movie!
-I find teenagers to be really dumb.
-Strangers say things to you like "Oh, to be young again" and expect you to say something in return like "I know what you're talking about, sweetie!"
-I find newfangled video games to be needlessly complicated and time consuming, and the fact that Mario and Zelda are key figures of my childhood dates me quite a bit.
-I'm starting to watch CBS Sunday Morning.

Popmatters has their Top 100 Albums of the Year list out. Kanye's #1, and it looks like he'll hold the top spot on a bunch of other year list and be the big winner at the Grammys too. I just picked up his album last week (after holding off forever), and it's worth the hype.

So now, is there really a need to list 100 top records of the year? I mean, when all is said and done, it's a pretty amazing if 10 years down the road you have a whopping 15 CDs that you thoroughly enjoy from a particular year. These kids today.

And my favorites of the year (since you're just dying to know) in no particular order:

Kanye West-The College Dropout
Interpol-Antics
De La Soul-The Grind Date
Air-Walkie Talkie
DJ Vibe-The Underground Sound of Lisbon (Mixed CD)
Danny Tenaglia presents Kult of Krameria-Esperanca/Voodoo Doll (12")
Victor Calderone-Resonate (DJ Vibe Mix) (12")
Notorious B.I.G.-Ready to Die (Reissue)
Nas-Illmatic (Reissue)
Blaze-Found Love (12")
Jill Scott-Beautifully Human
Alicia Keys-The Diary of Alicia Keys

That is all.

Somebody saw the Pixies last night.

I think it's finally setting in, too. The concert was fantastic (although the older I get the less patience I have for tall people and the idiots that push their way up front as soon as the concert starts). For some reason, it's easy to forget how just hard some of their songs are, and it's the thrashers that really came to life in concert.

For most of the time, I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. Joey Santiago (the best guitar player, by the way, this is an undisputed fact) providing a flawless performance, Kim Deal grinning from ear to ear (and sounding as angelic as ever), David Lovering hamming it up, and Frank Black howling like he's 17 again. And when they sang "La, La, Love You" during their encore, I knew they were singing only to me. :)

The Datsuns opened, and they suck, like, reeeeaaaaalll bad.

Is there a better way of saying "Happy Friday" a day early than supplying you with a link about disgusting food? Of course not! Ch-ch-ch check it out!

A short article on the website that singlehandedly ruined indie rock for me, basically because it epitomizes the insular, holier-than-thou, inablility to express enjoyment in a non-ironic manner wankfest that is, in effect, the present day hipster. They manage to stay in my daily rotation of web surfing because I haven't found a decent source of daily music news, but right next to their news column lurks the daily reviews. Each and everyday I click on the main review du jour, knowing that the pretentiousness and lack of rounded musical knowledge is going to grate on my nerves and make me subconsciously tighten the grip on my coffe cup. I skim through the review, go "C'mon, just get to the point! Who has time to read this garbage!," and then go over to the New York Times or BBC News and remind myself that, along with the staff of Pitchfork and much of the rest of the country, I spend too much time worrying about stuff that doesn't matter.

Here's a short Rolling Stone roundtable discussion on the election.

The Christian Right vs. The Environment. Certainly explains a lot.

woops!

Greenspan talks, and the IMF talks, but is Bush listening?

"I know there's payola, because I get billed for it" - Don Henley

It'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

The dollar's falling like a robot on rollerblades. Will Bush do anything besides give out more tax cuts?

For the time being, a larger portion of my 401K portfolio is going to international investments.

Also, a Times article here.

d'oh! i missed the chengwin homecoming in soho this weekend. it's nice to see the guy get so much support.

no, i really have no idea what the whole chengwin thing is about, i just heard about it five minutes ago, but it's absolutely absurd and nonsensical, hence it's right up my alley.

read up on chengwin here, then fill me in on your findings.

i think i'm getting old.

rest in peace, big baby jesus, we'll miss ya.

wu-tang is for the children.

Are we really that divided after all? This map shows a breakdown of blue versus red by county. While the midwest still has a whole lotta red, look at the blues in Texas and the Southeast. Maybe this place ain't so bad after all, eh?

Wow, what a bummer, huh?

After being a zombie for much of yesterday, I was encouraged (ever so slightly) by Bush's stated intentions to bring the country back together. The fact remains that I wouldn't trust him to watch my pet rock, but I guess we'll just have to see.

Like many people, I'm just now realizing the tremendous influence of evangelical politics.

Interesting reading:
Presidential politics and the evangelical movement
the evangelical outpost
Ruling Divides Evangelical Christians (regarding a ten commandments monument in an Alabama courthouse)
Christian Politics in the Third World
Evangelicals frustrated by Bush
Evangelical about politics
Evangelical surged to vote and 'shape public policy'
The Christian Right
Evangelical Christianity Has Been Hijacked

Welcome to the most influential cult in America, folks.

the dance music industry begins to adapt

as mighty labels such as hooj choons, strictly rhythm, and nervous shut down, and 12" record stores drop like flies (or become ghost towns compared to just a couple years ago), it's nice to see a site such as beatport give it a go. while it's just getting started, and the lack of selection is obvious after your first search, the big strong point (and one that apple should pay serious attention to) is that new releases are ripped at 320 kps. So, not only will the highs, mids, and lows not sound compressed as shit (i'm talkin' to you itunes), but the files will probably sound decent played at club volume through a final scratch set-up.

if this is successful, this should also prove to be beneficial to the artists and labels in the long run. i can think of no other genres besides house and techno where 99% of new releases are out of print after their first or second pressing. so, if you suddently want a record that was released, oh, three months ago, you have to basically cross your fingers and hope there's a stray beaten-up copy at satellite or head on over to ebay. neither the label nor the artist benefits from this.

of course, if sites such as beatport do catch on, the need for record labels dwindles substantially. but that's a whole other discussion.

uhhhh.... hi.

kind of haven't posted in a while.

it was the summer, you know.

i'm going through an odd internal conflict following the death of ronald reagan, which can be pretty much summed up as:

i'm really not as glad to see you go as i thought i'd be, but jeez, did you really have to screw everything up as much as you did?

...and the world becomes a better place. happy friday!

an open letter to the individuals who decide what videos are to be shown on the televisions at the gym:

-people go to the gym for a number of reasons, and many expect to be active when they go. while I enjoy artists such as sarah mclachlan and norah jones, something a bit more uptempo might be a bit more appropriate when we're benchpressing and jogging on the treadmill.
-none of the patrons at the gym are under 18 years of age. it may also be nice to not be forced to listen to music aimed at the "tween" demographic. also, many of these videos appear to be a few years old and from teeny bopper artists that never made it big during the big bubble-gum goldrush of a few years ago. i really don't think these artists are going to find a second wind with the gym crowd.
-r.e.m. is one of my all time favorite groups, but ten years ago the entire world, in a rare display of solidarity, got together and decided that "shiny happy people" should never ever ever be heard again.

that is all.

do you know the truth about cicadas? have you ensured that your children will not get eaten alive by these huge monstrous beasts? don't say i didn't warn you.

all kidding aside, i really don't remember anything special happening the last time the cicadas emerged. it's not like these things were piled up all over the grass, dancing in the streets, and eating my rocky road cereal. i don't think anybody even mentioned them. to top things off, even though i'd seen the word before, i've never heard anyone even say the word cicada before this year. i was convinced it was one of those crazy words that was pronounced completely differently from the way it was spelled.

i guess the media needs something inconsequential to latch onto, and it's not shark attack season yet, so there you have it.

i hate mondays.

so, i had kind of written them off a long time ago, but the yeah yeah yeahs have proven me wrong with "maps". its a fantastic jolt of post sonic youth noise-pop, kinda like lou reed and lou barlow's illegitimate love child. i can't believe it's on mtv. they don't love you like i love you.

so, the village voice's jazz and pop 2004 results came out a few weeks ago, and the top 40 lists are far less interesting than the comments made by the contributors to the poll of polls. i particularly enjoy how many finally admit to how racist the results tend to be, it kind of explains how mary j blige continually gets kicked to the curb while pj harvey is concurrently praised, or why, i don't know, teenage "where are they now?" fanclub beat out the likes of a tribe called quest and de la soul ten years ago.

outkast got a lot of top nods this year, most notably from the grammys (which are always at the cusp of the cultural zeitgeist, might i add), and, along with a percursory viewing of any week's billboard top singles charts, lead many to exhalt 2004 as the year that hip-hop finaly broke. to me, this couldn't be further from the truth. if anything, this was the year that hip hop completely shed itself of any ties it initally had to being the "cnn of black america" as it once was called and ultimately became a simple unit-shifting commodity. public enemy's fury is nothing but a dimming legacy in a world dominated by chingy, and even haters like myself began to say "whatever, it was good while it lasted, i'm going to download 'hot in herre'" keep in mind andre 3000's side to the outkast album, which is favored by most of those that voted for the love below, contains very little of what would be considered to be "hip hop" by today's kids.

my top nod for 2003 would be q-tip's "kamaal the abstact", which most people haven't heard because it's an album that was never released and resulted in said artist being dropped from his label. it's an album that could have been to hip-hop what wilco's "yankee hotel foxtrot" was to indie-rock/alt-country. if the same critics that praised wilco paid attention to the former tribe called quest frontman, they would have praised "kamall the abstract" for its multi-dimensionality, its simultaneous nods to miles davis circa bitches brew, prince before he was known as the artist, and the early years of house music. they would have called it post-rap or a new era of sorts. instead, q-tip was critcized as unfocused, no documentary about his troubles with his record label was released on dvd, and 50 cent ended up on magazine covers agross america.

there's still hope for music of course. this was the year that justin timberlake, beyonce, britney spears, and christina aguilera put out crafty, timeless songs while the new releases by radiohead, blur, and massive attack bored the shit out of us. and if you get sick of clear channel forcing the same ten songs down your throat, there's always entire catalogs by the likes of john coltrane, sonny rollins, and thelonious monk to discover again, or for the first time.

late breaking news: whale with large penis EXPLODES in taiwan. residents hold their nose in fear.

lately i've become completely fascinated by the era that is nyc in the '80s. mostly, i'm interested in the completely depressed state of the east village/lower east side (which are now completely gentrified and uber trendy respectively) and the subways. there's some great images of the tagged-to-death trains here from bruce davidson. i think i may have to pick his book up when it's reissued next month.

business trip to l.a.: on the company
dinner at chi chi japanese restaurant: on the company
walking around in 75 degree weather while everyone in new york is freezing: priceless

i'm having a hard time being productive at work today. it's monday, i'm exhausted from my study-free weekend (school's out, yay!), and i'd much rather be preparing for christmas and new year's than tracking revenue. needless to say, i've been the fish-eyed web-surfer today, and satan's laundromat has been my savior. it's a blog of some really terrific photos of new york. there's a photo taken in my town (carroll gardens) that i can't place for the life of me. web diversions, they're a good thing.

this site really has me wishing i had bought one of those yaschika cameras when they were mad cheap years ago so i could take a stab at photography. i would like to have more art and photography on my walls, but i just can't afford to pay for original stuff or good cindy sherman prints.

my cat is absolutely terrified by the street cleaner that goes down our block a few times a week. the vehicle makes this kind of low vibrating noise as it eases down the road at like, 5 mph, so there is a bit of a rumbling in the bedroom when it's outside. but dude, if you were a cat, and you spent 24 hours a day in the same relatively small area, i would think certain things wouldn't surprise you after a while. perhaps you'd come to certain conclusions, things like "the street cleaner is not going to eat me" and "the vacuum cleaner is not going to eat me" and "i am never in any sort of danger at all, i always have food, water, and comfortable furniture to sleep on, so i should stop being such a fraidy cat". this just will not do for no-alarms-and-no-surprises larry, good thing she's the cutest cat in the world. :)

in case you're wondering, even when you're older, there's nothing that brings out the hardcore procrastination techniques like having to study for a final.

as someone who plays videogames occasionally (like when it's cold and snowy outside) i often disagree with a lot of discussions about violence in games. although i tend to not play violent games (i prefer games like zelda where you figure out riddle after riddle), i don't think shooting games like doom or halo are going to give birth to a generation of sharpshooting trenchcoat mafiosos. the fun in those games is more of the have-fun-while-you-kick-your-friend's-ass variety. and, i was a huge fan of the controversial grand theft auto 3. it was simply an amazingly crafted piece of work, not unlike the sopranos, which is also noticeably violent. as long as this stuff is kept out of kids' hands, i don't have a problem with it.

however, the producers of grand theft auto have just released a new title that severely crosses lines of decency for any medium; manhunt. in manhunt, you play the part of a character that is for some reason or another coerced by a snuff-film maker into performing a series of very very sadistic murders for his videos. there is a six minute video of footage from the game circulating on the net now which i will not link to, because the visuals are simply too deranged. if grand theft auto is the sopranos, manhunt is faces of death. we're talking disemboweling individuals with a chainsaw here.

where's the fun in that?

so, the foo fighters have done a cover of prince's "darlin' nikki", and i really don't know what to think about it. well, first off, prince really wailed pretty well on this song, and dave grohl just can't cut it. i really can't believe my parents let me listen to lyrics like this when i was was nine, but hey, i turned out ok. (this song, by the way, was a huge focus of tipper gore's pmrc campaign in the 80's)

it's a shame what's happened to prince though. in the 80's he was so darn prolific he was giving away amazing songs to other artists; vanity (and appolonia) 6, the time, sinead o'connor, the bangles, sheila e. now he can't seem to release anything all that memorable.

this also seems to have happened to a lot of bands since the 90's, with the popularity of import singles and b-sides increasing. look at radiohead, some of their best stuff has been hidden away on b-sides that the average person will never hear. now with this new record they just sound tired and going-through-the-motions-ish. the same could be said for oasis and smashing pumpkins.

so the moral of the story is, if you're on a roll, be patient young jedi!

hey, wait a sec, what's the mary jane girls' "in my house" doing on that pmrc list?

good news everybody, new wilco in the spring!

i also don't understand why companies hold back on vpn. this is basically the jist of my story.

them: "we're going to need you to do some testing for us late at night and on the weekends to ensure the conversion goes well. here's your laptop, beeper, blah blah blah"
me: "ok, i have dsl at home, so this won't be too bad"
them: "well, actually, you'll have to dial in. we wont' be able to give you vpn"
me: "uh, but i have dsl, how can i do anything over a 56k connection"
them: "well, you can check your e-mail"
me: "but receiving and sending attachments is going to take forever, not to mention everything else that i'll need to do"
them: "...."
me: "so, basically, the laptop is worthless, and i'm going to have to come in on weekends now"
them: "..."

dude, check out the global rich list. it really puts things into perspective, and shows just how much we have to be thankful for this holiday season. but, how come i'm in the top .8% of the world and i can't buy a friggin' apartment?

south park has been absolutely on fire this season, and the best episode so far involved cartman's devious plans to get to some cheesy mexican restaurant. if you saw it, you may be shocked to know that casa bonita actually exists, cliff divers included! anybody wanna take a road trip to colorado with me?

news flash: network executives may make intelligent, obvious business decision.

family guy isn't the best show ever, but it's pretty darn funny. fox cancelled it because it just wasn't getting the ratings they wanted (this was after moving its time slot constantly, and ultimately leaving it to compete with survivor on thursday nights). rapid fire cancellations of tv shows seem to happen a lot though. those tv exec board meetings must be a hoot!

uber-cool it's-friday-and-i-don't-want-to-do-work-today distraction (courtesy of underground dragon); slow wave, a collective dream diary illustrated in comic book fashion. some of the dreams in the archives are great, like the sophia loren one. i'm also glad to find out that i'm not the only person who dreams about talking dogs. i have in fact dreamed about talking dogs twice. in the first one the dog was really smart, charming, and in a lesbian relationship with an old acquaintance from high school (i figured, wow, a dog this smart probably couldn't be in a relationship with another dog). in the other dream the dog talked but just wasn't as spectacular.

addictive web diversion of the day; the awful plastic surgery blog! this brings me to two points:
- i predict all female celebrities will be emaciated ghouls by 2015
-i always thought amanda lepore walked around with wax lips. there's no way she pumps them up with that much collagen!

so last night for dinner i made sauteed seitan with onions, a side of okra and portobello mushrooms with garam masala, and a salad. in the middle of it, i realized i was not stressed out in the least. a few years ago, the exent of my cooking was grilled cheese, pasta, and quesadillas. people that said that cooking was "relaxing" befuddled me. now i've become one of those people, and i think everyone should learn their way aroudn the kitchen. i owe it all to the food network, the best channel ever.

today i have seen no more than two people completey going to town picking their nose in public. i mean, this was well beyond a small tinkering on the down low. we're talking digging for gold, people. gold!

more crazy old recipes for you. dude, at what point between 1974 and 2003 did people start eating regular food? this stuff is just bizarre.

holy cow did it get cold this weekend! two saturdays ago i was strolling around manhattan with jeans and a short sleeved shirt on (it was like 75 degrees). this past saturday i was jumping in front of cabs begging them to take me in and save me from getting frostbitten. i have a feeling this is going to be a really cold winter, and i'm going to be watching a bunch of dvds.

the new york times has a decent article on the soon to be changing clubbing landscape in chelsea. well, none of these places appeal to me in the slightest, and i don't see how five clubs targeting the "a-list crowd" are going to succeed in the middle of a recession, but what do i know. four years ago, if you told me that i'd miss twilo greatly and regret not going there often i'd probably have called you crazy.

so, i'm doing some research for this year's christmas shopping, and amazon always seems to be the best place to do that. but, man, those customer reviews are like a tennis match. the first review is like "oh my god, i've had this for three years now, and it changed my life". the next review is "this thing is crap. it broke after a week and it gave my dog cancer". the thing is, it's like this for every product. the staff reviews aren't much help, as they're usually just "this is a good product and this is what it does". grrrr!

so, yesterday i walk into the gym and there's a spinning class going on. now, usually, spinning class looks like hell on earth to me. there's jersey shore "house" music pitched up to 160 bpm's blaring in the room and everyone looks like they're about to die, either from heat exhaustion, a heart attack, or too many drumrolls. but things were noticably more somber in there this time, and i realized they were spinning to "there there" by radiohead. when i got out of the locker room they were listening to "airbag". noone seemed to be in pain, or doing much heavy duty spinning for that matter, they were just kind of riding their bikes at a calm, leisurely pace. note to instructor: you might want to play something a bit more upbeat for your class next time.

post-millenium tension at its funniest. takes a while to load.

acid house is back, folks, so i now present the super-timely, super-cool download of the year; your own emulated 303! ok, so it takes forever to figure the darn thing out, but once you get the thing started, woo hoo! (if you get static, go to file-buffer and hit ok, as per the read me file).

the only thing worse than a long meeting is a long conference call meeting. sitting through an hour and a half of someone reading off a powerpoint deck is the perfect remedy for late night insomnia, not the after lunch slump.

here's something to either make you crack up or make you swoon on this wonderful friday morning; the morrissey animated-gif-a-thon page!

ok, this is a total shocker to me. elliot smith is dead.

egm has a hilarious article this month about kids playing classic games from our childhood (may take a few seconds to load). one kid's comment on the atari 2600 game of e.t.: Maybe another movie company that didn't want you to like E.T. made this game.

rolling stone actually has a good article this month about what happened to lauryn hill. you gotta feel bad for her, but at the same time how could someone fall for the religious fanatic swindle in this day and age? didn't you people watch what's happening when you were young?

dude, margaret cho has has a BLOG! best.comedian.ever!

people say weird things. like, why do people say "not to mention", then follow that by mentioning something? it just doesn't make sense!

while this is retarded, why don't these guys go up against all the hip hop artists that are propagating such stereotypes for monetary gain?

in 2003, the most rebellious thing you can do, apparently, is bust out to vanity 6 and beyonce in a bar. i really hope these guys make some headway soon.

ok, so it's time to come out of the closet; i completely adore everything justin timberlake has put out since going solo. i resisted it for so long but i just can't anymore, timbaland and the neptunes have brought out the best in this guy, and i don't think white 12 year old girls have enjoyed something this funky since michael jackson's thriller. oh yeah, and beyonce's "crazy in love" is the best song of the year. now go about your business.

radiohead rorschach, a pretty funny article about forcing fifth graders to listen to radiohead and draw. even eleven year olds know that kid a is their best album.

i know i've been away for a while, folks, but i am the bearer of very very good news today. you see, the pixies are getting back together!!!! my life will soon be complete :)

oh dear, i've become an irresponsible blogger again. right now, i'm on a short breather from school, and it feels grrrreat!!!

basically, this summer has sucked eggs. check this out!

-right around the summer solstice, my wallet got stolen at the gym, and $3000 worth of sporting goods and computer equipment got charged while i was benchin', curlin', and pressin'. i wasn't held responsible for any of it, but it took weeks for me to get all my identification and platinum purchasing power back.
-field day fest was $100, and it rained all day!
-it then rained every weekend in june!
-we got bed bugs! yes, bed bugs. because of some stupid hippychicks who've since left the building next to us, we're now paying $2000 a month for third world conditions. do you know what it's like going to bed at night knowing that something is going to creep out and suck blood out of you?
-the siren fest was a total letdown! the music was just not loud enough to overpower the sound of the cyclone and the stage wasn't high enough to actually see the bands performing. thus, you had a bunch of kids who thought they were the hottest thing since sliced bread for standing around in a trucker hat and acting as miserable as possible.
-i had one day of fun in the sun, and got the worst sunburn of my life! so for a week, i went to bed in pain while waiting to get the blood sucked out of me.
-we're converting from oracle to s.a.p. at work, so inbetween cramming for my midterms and finals (which in summer semesters, come every two weeks), i had to sit in on meetings everyday while trying to not nod off in a visible manner.

it hasn't been all bad, i've had a blast hanging out at the bars. as homer said, alcohol is the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems ;)

the people that brought you the study of the hungry man microwaveable heart attack breakfast are back with a less than flattering look at the mcgriddle. the pictures really take away any passing curiosity i had in this crazy thing.

hmmm, maybe drinking tons of red bull while dancing isn't such a good idea.

hold on to your horses, folks, this upcoming election is gonna get nastaaaay.

friday time waster alert: come out to brooklyn and play hipser bingo.

in less fortunate news, nike is buying converse, which is a bit of a double edged sword. on one hand, at least it'll be easier to get your hands on a pair of one stars, which i consider to be the sassiest darn shoes ever designed. on the other hand, get ready for the star-studded marketing blitz.

oh my fucking god, people, check this out! i mean, this is not even remotely close to confirmation of a reunion tour, but still, legend had it that kim and frank absolutely hated each other after the break-up. now they're jamming together? color me surprised!

some new ben folds news. these eps sound pretty cool. i'd like to hear his take on "in between days", and i hope one of the later releases includes his take on liz phair's "chopsticks", which is just hilarious.

speaking of liz phair, has anyone in the history of music made such a stir by putting out a crappy single as she has? the new album has been unanimously slagged by the critics and every interviewer seems to demand an answer as to why she's decided to become the 35 year old avril lavigne. this has all apparently been a bit too much for her, as she's lashed out at a poor review in the new york times by likening the journalist to chicken little. you can be a star, liz, just don't put out sucky songs!

vote for the sexiest vegetarian alive! why am i not on this list?

please welcome two blogs new to the wbsg cavalcade of stars; hektik's journal (don't believe anything he says about me) and why pigeons annoy me (check out the homestarrunner techno and trogdor links!)

do you like sigur ros? do you spend your days wishing you could conduct four horses to create your own post-rock masterpiece? well look no further, my friend, your web distraction of the day is here!!!! (link has been fixed if it didn't work the last time you tried)

speaking of coney island, the siren fest is coming soon. did i tell you it's free?

note to self: go see 28 days later.

something i find incredibly fascinating even though it bothers me to read it; a list of recent theme park accidents. it's surprising how many of these happen at the disney parks. i expected half of them to be from coney island (if you've been there, you'd know why)

josh wink's follow-up to one of the greatest mix cd's of all time is just around the corner. from the sound of things, it has plenty of that dense minimal tech-house that makes being in a dark sweaty club at 6 a.m. so darn lovely.

good news everybody, we might be getting money back!

so, i made it through the field day fest. first of all, it rained all day. second of all, what was supposed to be a sort of celebration of the leftfield (sigur ros were headliners for cyring out loud) and in the tradition of brittain's great reading and glastonbury festivals, ended up being pretty much lollapalooza at giant's stadium. the concert was truncated to one day and the number of bands cut in half (with some shady decisions in that department-spiritualized over sigur ros? ours and gemma hayes (who ever heard of them?) over royksopp). there was noone on the main stage that wasn't on a major label. while it's always great seeing the alterna-rock greats, there was only one electronic act on the bill (underworld, who absolutely rocked and woke the crowd up), and absolutely noone representing the new garage rock stuff that the kids seem to dig these days.

which is not to say the concert sucked, because it didn't. it was actually pretty fun, and would have been really great if it weren't for the cold raininess and numerous technical difficulties that the cold raininess wrought (not the least of which was a stage hand hitting beck in the chest with a metal pipe right before his set, causing him to rush to the hospital and cancel his performance).

by the end of the day, people were pretty much exhausted, uncomfortable, and a bit underwhelmed by the whole thing. then radiohead decided to put on their best show in years. they were absolutely phenomenal, and by the end of their set the wet socks and five dollar ponchos didn't seem to matter so much.

with the rave act having passed the house and the senate just two months ago, it is already being used to squash political activity. please note that sasha and digweed were not going to play at this event.

interesting tidbit about the ancestry of the aids virus. kinda better than that "some guy had sex with a monkey" theory.

brace yourselves, folks. there's a live action transformers movie in the pipeline. i hope i get to play soundwave. some guy out there likes soundwave so much he wrote a story about him fighting the borg! how crazy is that?

hydrogen fuel cells might hurt the ozone. pretty discouraging news.

a pretty interesting look at bush's fiscal policy; The underlying strategy here is all too familiar: Instead of challenging popular liberal programs directly, the Republicans are creating fiscal conditions that make those programs unsustainable.

here's an article about trading spaces makeovers gone bad. watch the show all you want, just don't let these people in your house!

the field day fest will not be happening in riverhead. not unexpectedly, this is having a domino effect on the local economy.

i for one welcome our new synergistically enhanced media regulations. just think of how our nightly news reports will improve:
-guerilla journalism about the week's top 10 grossing movies
-shark attacks: the third summer is always the deadliest summer!
-going shopping can help you lose weight!

i just can't wait!

so i broke my mp3 downloading cherry this weekend (with soulseek down, kazaa is a good study break). sure, i've ummm, borrowed music before. but this weekend i said "aw shucks" and downloaded entire albums that i didn't want to plop down 15 bucks for and be disappointed (that means you, starsailor!). so i got both white stripes albums, royksopp, zero 7, avalanches, and kylie minogue. if i like what i hear, i will actually buy the albums. it's just good karma.

i also went temporarily insane and downloaded the greatest hits of expose and the cover girls. "funk boutique" rules!

you gotta love how futurama and family guy, two shows that fox has cancelled due to poor ratings, are flourishing on the cartoon network. i really hate when networks do retarded things, like put futurama on at 7:00 on sunday, or family guy on thursday directly against survivor, and then go "oh golly gee willickers, nobody's watching, we have to cancel these!" now they're beating out jay leno and david letterman in the ratings.
at any rate, i'm hooked on both shows now. futurama rocks (the writers from the golden age of the simpsons write and direct the episodes, and it shows), and i'm getting into family guy after resisting it for a while. these shows are so funny that i don't mind them keeping me from watching the bbc news at night.