Wednesday, December 31, 2008
new years playlist
so my new years playlist is "resolution" themed, so all the songs refer to resolutions i will attempt to make and keep in the year 2009.
Song: Everyday I Write the Book - Elvis Costello
Resolution: I will write a book.
Song: Amsterdam - Peter, Bjorn and John
Resolution: I will start seriously looking into ways to live in my favorite city in Europe.
Songs: Grand Canyon - Magnetic Fields, Washington DC - Magnetic Fields, Chicago - Sufjan Stevens, No Sleep Til Brooklyn - The Beastie Boys, Tennessee Sucks - Ryan Adams
Resolution: I will go on a Great American Roadtrip.
Song: The Legionnaire's Lament - The Decemberists
Resolution: I will expand my vocabulary with words like "laudanum," "fecundity," and "charabanc."
Song: The New Workout Plan - Kanye West
Resolution: I will finally get in shape.
Song: Elevator - Flo Rida featuring Timbaland
Resolution: I will start taking the stairs.
Song: Love is Like a Rock - Donnie Iris
Resolution: I will listen to more "homegrown" artists.
Song: After the Goldrush - Neil Young
Resolution: I will give up on this whole "panning for gold" get-rich-quick thing.
Song: Cherchez La Ghost - Ghostface Killah
Resolution: I will learn French.
Song: Spiderwebs - No Doubt
Resolution: I will change the message on my answering machine.
Song: So Fresh, So Clean - Outkast
Resolution: I will try to bathe every day.
Song: Pussy Galore - The Roots
Resolution: I will catch up on all the old Bond movies I've yet to see.
Song: It's Not Easy Being Green - Kermit the Frog
Resolution: I'll start looking into sustainable sources of energy and becoming more environmentally conscious.
Song: Step into My Office, Baby - Belle and Sebastian
Resolution: I will stop sleeping with my secretary.
Song: Got Ya Money - Ol' Dirty Bastard
Resolution (well, not really): God give us strength to continue living on this planet another year without ODB.
Here's to 2009!
Love, Jen
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Pens Pens Pens Period 3
Monday, December 22, 2008
Pens Game Live Blog!
J Robb and Topaz are comparing and contrasting Pinot Noir vs. Shiraz. All are boxed.
"I like the extra dry body of the Shiraz." -Topaz is becoming... what do you call someone who knows shit about wine? A wino?
"These glasses have to be at least 5 or 6 oz. No way we're drinking 3 oz... that'd be a fucking Capri Sun. Or Robb's white wine glass that he's drinking red wine out of." - Paz
So... the Pens. They are down 3-2 after a busy second period. Nothing exciting has happened yet in the third, or maybe no one has been paying attention.
The Pens are not playing outside on New Years this year. Stupid. No one likes the Red Wings.
Unfortunately, T Mill isn't here to yell "Where are the Dockers commercials?"
I have never heard Topaz sound so refined AND sophisticated.
The Pens are finally on a power play.
Goal! Goligoski. "Goal"igoski. Things are all tied up now. Alex now has two goals tonight.
We're discussing team nicknames.
Jen: Does Goligoski have a nickname?
T: Alex.
G: Dupuis' nickname is Dupeezy.
T: According to the Pens its "Dupes."
7:04 left. Discussing Stover's recent trip to the gym in Sq. Hill. He enjoys the sauna with the old naked Jewish men.
"If I had to take a survey on living in a Jewish neighborhood, I'd definitely write "Yes, I'd recommend this to a friend." -Topaz
Fleury just made a nice save.
A question has arisen: why did they call it Squirrel Hill? A wikipedia search was commissioned but was unsuccessful. We also couldn't find a list of the funniest google searches. We're guessing "boobs" is up there.
Someone who has more expertise at googling should be manning the room's internet portal.
Topaz just used the word "bogus." Then a joke was called out by everyone that I didn't understand. I'm so out of the loop.
"Jen, there's this great show called Summer Height's High..." -Alicia
"HA HA! Did that just start with there's this great show?" -Topaz.
9 seconds left. See you in overtime.
peace one, jen g out.
Christmas Week update
I figured I'd just add a post since I'm lounging around the 5534 waiting for the Comcast man to arrive...the most important note to add at present is that the Wu-Tang show at Mr. Smalls is this Friday. Several members of the 5534 will be in attendance, provided that Topaz's fireproof safe is truly a good place to store tickets and not in fact the first place that burglars would ransack.
Anyway, the occasion of the show brings back an interesting question that I've debated on multiple occasions: who is the greatest Wu-Tang member? I've found that as time goes by, For the sake of argument, I'll choose to limit this to original members (and not Redman, Graham). As a reminder, this would include: RZA, GZA, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Masta Killa, and last, but not least, the dearly departed Dirty. That eliminates Cappadonna, though I'd find it hard to believe someone wouldn't rate him above Masta Killa, being that his biggest contribution to the group might be this song, which is utterly stolen by a posthumous rant from Dirty at the very beginning.
So that will be the task to get down to. Ideally, there will be some follow-up posts this week taking you, the reader, through the thought process as we count down to the number 1. Get ready for the garment renaissance.
As always, I invite commentary in the form of blog posts (if you're a 5534 member) or respond below. Now back to the task of pilfering music on year-end top ten lists.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
I miss the back porch
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Steelers live blog First Half.
Stupid we had a bunch of live blog going on, but mega burn from Comcast assholes.
Ankney we need FIOS.
Fink is here laying on the living room, little does he realize how infrequently we vacuum there. He definitely fought about it.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Survey of Great Significance
I have been conducting a survey for a few months now. The sample size is probably about 10 females between the ages of 18 and 24. I ask two questions.
1. Who is your favorite Steeler?
2. Who is your least favorite Steeler?
More often than not the second question must be re-phrased because they "love all the Steelers." So I would then say...
2a. Who breaks your heart most often?
According to the graph, two then selected Ben, an understandable choice because he really blew a few games last year. One chose Kordell whose last season with the Steelers was 2002 and who hasn't played professional football at all since 2005. A surprise by all means. The other seven just love all the Steelers. I propose that the only three Steelers that matter are Troy, Ben and Hines. No one picked Fast Willie, Casey Hampton or Skippy, not even the punter Sepulveda, who is supposed to really be the most. Maybe it is because of the marketing and spiffy pink jerseys, or maybe they don't pay enough attention to be able to name any other players. What about the William Gay's, Nate Washington's, The Dump Truck's, and Heath for crying out loud!?!?
Watch out for The Dump Truck though, he's coming.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Stanley Cup Finals Game Four Liveblog - Period Two
Intermission update: Stover and Ankey are undefeated for the night at Baggo. They have just beaten TMill and Topaz, and earlier beat myself and Alicia quite handedly.
Chewning said to Jeff: "You are knocking me OUT with those American thighs."
TMill is missing a sweet Dockers commercial.
2nd period.
There's heavy discussion about whether or not it is currently a comfortable temperature in the living room. J Robb claims the air conditioner is on, but I can't hear it. Apparently this cooling device can "kick the jams."
Chewning has provided the 2nd period haiku:
Jaarko Ruutu is
provoking the RedWings team
This is Pens hockey.
"There's only one commercial, and it's heaven. That Dockers commercial is why I believe in God." -TMill
Gary Roberts is a beast.
Jordan Staal called for interference. Unfortunately for him, he's not Gunnar Stahl from D2: The Mighty Ducks. Gunnar could murder someone and not get called.
13:38 some people are getting Hossa-fied.
The Redwings positioning is tremendous..... That's what she said.
Alicia tried to liveblog and came up with one senseless sentence.
There is a creepy baby commercial on TV right now.
The guys are comparing sports stars to superheroes. Superman is Brett Favre. PacMan Jones is Dr. Octogon. Roger Clemens is the Riddler because "for every question, he asks another question."
Two important questions that have arisen:
Are there any superheroes who are hispanic so Sammy Sosa can be one?
Could Zeus be considered a superhero?
New nickname for Gary Roberts: "Gare Bear"
courtesy of Chewning.
6:40 there has been no actual game coverage in this liveblog.
The Penguins are knocking on the door.
Nice save by Fleury.
"Clink for Dockers."
We decided Malkin hosting SNL in Russian would be funnier than normal SNL in English.
3:01. nothing is happening with this power play.
I've lost the liveblog fire. No score in the second.
The third period is going to be the most important 20 hockey minutes of our lives thusfar.
peace one, JenG out.
Stanley Cup Finals Game Four Liveblog - Period One
GOAL!!!!!!!! SLUTS!!!!!! Hossa just killed their face. Detriot BASKETBALL!!!!!! SUCKS!!
This just in Chris Osgood hasn't been good since 1989, ask Gary Roberts.
Graham: "Get your beers down, hossa just railed Osgood."
- Graham only said some of that.
Pens white outs are awesome, I've always been down with rainbows outs, but that hasn't caught on yet.
15:44 1st period - Hossa is going nuts. He wants to get paid. Off the post, Osgood is getting Hossa-fied.
14:56 1st period - Cleary is a dirty diver, not as fat as Holmstrom.
Chewning - all of detriots team is over weight as fuck.
Lidstrom just hit a puck 900 mph, score 1-1. Really disappointing goal.
Osgood is the biggest diver ever, im pretty sure manu is the goalie.
The edge eclipse commercial in on, its the greatest rave ever. Tons of broads, no ankney's in sight.
Robb said I can't look at porn, but he didn't say anything about pictures of Brian Westbrook shirtless...he's fat.. trust me
Jeff Ankney is talking about girls, wait, i meant grills. (that joke isnt funny at all) but jeff ankney is funny.
I think Jean Claude Van Dame is the goalie tonight for the pens, just in case.
I wish I was wearing Dockers. Dockers are awesome. I want to party with the edge eclipse girls, in san fran, wearing dockers, but no ankney's, maybe Jayson, he seems to rock out.
Dockers is sponsoring the 4 Impact Players of the Game, best advertising ever.
10:57 - Pens power play. Hossa is having a great game. Osgood is starting to look pregnant, Hossa-fied. Great save by Osgood, Hossa and Roberts were right there. Great power play, though no goals. Malkin should try shooting a little bit more, passed up too many good looks.
Little kids are really annoying. You should have to pass a sports IQ test to get tickets.
The US Girls soccer commercial is on. Way to go, you got hammered by Brazil, what else is new.
Jen- are they suggesting they drove to brazil. Answer - they are lesbians.
Jeff ankney has never watched soccer, but he loves Jerome Bettis, ask him.
Jen - Jeff Ankney has never seen Rambo or the Godfather movies, Chewning tried to kill him. Dont worry, jeff loves Jerome Bettis.
The Love Guru looks like Aunt Rachel, from Family Matters, according to Chewning. Personally, Step by Step is the realness.
Robb hates Kid Rock, but did a rap about Kid Rock. Jeff Ankney saw Kid Rock in concert, he loves Kid Rock.
Stover has a haiku:
this is my emphany that I dedicate to the future hat trick of Ruutu and NHL Sega 96....
Hoss-a-with-Moss-a
Oct-to-pus-taste-like-pee-wee
berr-ies-taste-like-pens
-good fight, good night
Orpik was facewashing a red wing with a giant 4 legged octopus.
Hossa is easily the best player on the ice right now, he must be trying out for the Red Wings next year, considering no one else will be able to afford him.
Casper apparently wasn't the ghost with the most, it might have been BeetleJuice (stacey loves Beetle juice). Apparently Casper never talked about how much ghost he was.
End of the first period, tied 1-1.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Something that should never happen
In other news: this morning was drab and shitty, but now that the sun is shining through the trees on Raleigh street, I have the the Islands' song "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby" stuck in my head. Their 2006 debut album, "Return to the Sea," is already an all-time classic summer album in my estimation, and its follow-up, "Arm's Way," comes out Tuesday.
And coming soon: A post about my trip to Chicago, including such highlights as:
+ Inadvertently partying with Duran Duran
+ Smoking a joint on the beach not 200 yards from the nearest skyscraper
+ Having my masculinity and Japanese-made (but American-assembled) car insulted by a Beaver County police officer at 3 a.m. this morning shortly before we opened my spare tire well and found cans of Natty Light that expired while I was still in high school.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Updates to the Site
After getting my knowledge up from Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke, one of my favorite Pittsburgh Pirates blogs. I signed up for HaloScan, edited the HTML and pimped out the blog. There are now ratings and trackbacks as well as recent comments which are displayed on the sidebar which will be more fun for everyone. If any readers have any ideas or suggestions for posts, they are welcomed and encouraged.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
The Raleigh Street Panhandler
Saturday, May 10, 2008
CHUD will get you weird, real weird
Thursday, May 8, 2008
PENS' GENITALIA II
As promised, next in the exam room, Adam Hall. Hall has good physical measurements, which is why he's on the list. At 6'3", he's one of the tallest players on the team. Add to that the fact that he's only about 206 pounds, and you figure he's a little on the thin side too. Based on my previous formula, you'd guess he could be really throwin' down. But then you'd be wrong. Hall's "intangibles" if you will, are all wrong. To keep things short, he's blonde. Looking ridiculous aside, I've never seen a blonde man with a big dick. Something about it radiates weakness. Add in that he just joined the Pens this year, and you realize he's got some major catching up to do.
Grade: 6.55"
Fortunately, the goods get better as we put Evgeni Malkin to the test. By eye, Malkin is one of the lankiest players on the team, and his paper stats back up that observation. 6'3" and only 195? Since we all know they exaggerate their weights, Malkin is a huge prospect. Watching him this season I've noticed something else: namely, that he often falls on the ice for no apparent reason. At first I figured he was just clumsy, but after studying hours of tape, it appears that when he leans or moves suddenly, his penis actually rapidly moves his center of gravity causing him to fall. Further, I hypothesize that he uses this phenomenon to his advantage, adding momentum to his slap shots for added power. My last evidence in Malkin's favor is that he's Russian. That spells rugged and tough. He was likely fed cheap vodka from the bottle as a baby, which I think may have the same effects as Keyston Ice in infants (Miller, 2007). Add in superstardom, and there's no doubt about it, Malkin is hangin' dubs.*
Grade: 10.97"
Last up for this post, Pittsburgh's own, Ryan Malone. At 6'4", Malone is somewhere around a tie for second tallest player on the team. Unfortunately, his bulky 224 pounds are definitely sucking in his penis, possibly costing him valuable inches. Malone used to be weak, playing well below his potential. Lucky for him, several seasons with the Pens seemed to have given him a boost in both confidence and genital. This can be seen in his physically tough play and goal scoring on the ice. But all that great play may lead to him finding a new home soon, so although he'll get paid, his dick will suffer losses up to inches. Either way, he's no Malkin, so I can only give him assistant big dick this post.
Grade: 8.81"
Coming up in the next (and last) installment, Staal, Laraque and Gill.
* "Hangin' dubs" is an old reference of mine and a few others meaning to hang (as in penis hanging) double digits of inches (in penis length). i.e., if you are hanging dubs, your penis is at least 10 inches long. It is also the root of "Hangin' dubs around."
Miller, Travis. 2007. All babies start off as girls and then their parents give them Keystone Ice if they want them to turn into boys. At that point their boobs fall off and they grow balls and a penis.
---This is typically only done for a limited amount of time to produce normal males. I am suggesting that it may result in further enhancement of the male package if the process were continued indefinitely (as in the case of Malkin's vodka feedings).
Monday, May 5, 2008
Escapades from April 26
Before finals, AJ, a friend from my graduate program, who happens to be a Phillies fan, a fanatic if you will, invited me to go the Buccos - Phillies game on the 26th. Sadly, it was the last start for Matt Morris. He didn't make it out of the second inning, giving up six runs, three earned, much to the delight of AJ and other Philly fans. After the game and some quarters at Hemingway's Jared and Matt came to the after party at my house, to the delight of my roommates who were all sleeping or trying to go to sleep. Robb was apparently out pretty cold because as I burst into his room, requesting his fine drumming services for Rock Band, he yelled/screamed at me. After it became readily apparent that a fourth was not to be, we proceeded rocking. As the night wore on, and the beers got drank, fun was had by all. Near the end though, the blue drum pad ceased to function.
Several theories have been developed.
1) Someone poured beer on the blue drum pad rendering it useless. Topaz thought the entire drum set felt sticky.
2) We made late night Peanut Butter Dainties, and powdered sugar was licked off the blue drum pad, leaving a sticky residue and in the process, the drum pad lost its functionality.
3) Topaz broke it, just like he broke the pedal, by playing Mississippi Queen. To be fair he "made sure them drums [were] smacking." He then attempted to fix the pads with duct tape and broken metal pieces, but wasn't so lucky this time.
4) Jon broke it in a fit of rage because "shitting has been a totally new experience...for the worse."
5) Robb broke it because he missed out on the PBD's.
These are only theories, there is no way of knowing what really happened. What is known however, is that in 5-7 days a new drum kit will arrive via UPS and we can get back to rocking.
In closing, comments on all posts are appreciated and welcome.
Nine Inch Nails
Unfortunately, I just finished listening to the album, and it's truly terrible. It starts out promising enough with a cool little atmospheric intro song followed by a pretty fun and straightforward song... a really simple propulsive drum beat under ripsaw power chords, probably the closest thing NIN will ever record to punk rock. And after that, everything is pretty much terrible bullshit that falls into one of two categories:
1) Stuff that sounds like a terrible parody of "The Downward Spiral" and "The Fragile": The lyrics are skull-boringly simple and deal with alienation and depression in broad-to-the-point-of-meaningless ways. For a dude who has been sober for several years and is now working with unbridled creative freedom with no one to answer to but himself, I don't understand why he's still singing about being in a hole cut off from himself staring into the broken mirror telling himself to stop when he knows he can't blah blah blah. Give me a fucking break.
2) Vapid instrumentals that sound like he's trying to pull a Low-era Bowie and falling way short of the mark.
Here is what I'd rate other Nine Inch Nails albums out of 10: Pretty Hate Machine, 8. Downward Spiral, 9. The Fragile, 7. With Teeth, 4. Year Zero, 5. The Slip, 2.
Given that the album was just finished a few days ago but Mr. Reznor promised a special treat for his fans on this day two weeks ago, I think its fair to assume that he didn't give The Slip away just because it's shitty; he could have just as well made a masterpiece and given it away. But I do think that it's a bad idea for bands to start putting out their material immediately for the same reason that I don't think someone should turn in an essay for school without letting it "sit in a drawer" for two weeks... you need some time to take stock and return to your work with a fresh perspective, and that often leads to improvements. So while I totally support giving away shit for free, and I think every major millionaire band should do this*, I think they should give it a few weeks first.
In other house news, Graham, Robb and I had breakfast for dinner, and that was whacky. Big props to Graham for locating the secret bacon, which really hit the spot. Speaking of bacon, if you have never played the game Psychonauts, it is a masterpiece.
*except U2, who should stop recording music entirely and just fucking die, but they will probably give an album away to be cool but still find a way to make a shitload of money off of it by selling the iPhones that come preloaded with it or something
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Pens' Genitalia
I have a rough formula for determining a man's penis size without actually seeing the package. Basically, the taller, thinner and blacker, the bigger. The smaller, fatter and more asian, the smaller. Of course, there are other intangibles that must be thrown into the mix.
So here's my quick rundown of the most likely candidates:
First off, none other than Sidney Crosby. He's young, healthy and sexy. He's an all around hero so he seems to have a lot going for his dick size at the surface. However, 5'11" and 200 pounds with a stalky build and huge powerful man-ass, plus Canadian?? No way he's got the biggest junk on the team.
Grade: 7.25"
Moving on, an older gentleman. Gary (Scary/G-Bobs) Roberts. Roberts is downright tough. No one questions that. With that kind of confidence, you know he's packing. Roberts has surpising size, 6'2" and 215 pounds, which leads me to think he has good penis size. Now I would normally say that since he's old, maybe it's shrunk up a bit, but not with Roberts. Roberts is so old and tough that he actually gets the elusive "Dad penis" factor, giving him at least 2 more inches than any normal estimate.
Grade: 9.10"
Last of all, for this post, Brooks Orpik. Orpik stands tall at 6'2, but his 219 pounds make him a bit too chubby to really let his boners rage. Even though he's tough, he is fairly middle aged. Plus he's a pretty regular looking white guy from California, so although his dick may be tan and experienced, it can't be the biggest on this big swinging roster.
Grade: 7.00"
Next time's penises: Hall, Malkin and Malone.
On shitting
By special request from J-Robb, I will briefly discuss how quitting smoking has affected my bowel movements.
My favorite thing besides smoking is shitting, and I often say that I wouldn't know a quarter as much as I do if it weren't for bathroom reading; I consider myself something of an autodidact, and the toilet is my classroom. So it has been very difficult for me to deal with constipation as a withdrawal symptom. Nicotine is a laxative, so not only was I happier when I was smoking because I was smoking, but I was also happier because I made more frequent and informative trips to the bathroom. Apparently for heavy smokers it takes the body several weeks to adjust to completely normal bowel movements, so until this time I have to apologize for my prolonged, albeit infrequent, trips to the bathroom.
In other news, two major symptoms I have not had:
+ Coughing/mucus. Apparently this starts early and slowly wanes, so I don't think it will be a problem. Although some people have told me they started coughing up black shit two weeks later, so maybe I'll start doing that. I'll keep you posted with photos and videos if appropriate.
+ Increased appetite/weight gain. I have actually had a decreased and I would say much healthier appetite. As a result, I have experienced slight weight loss. Revision: Having spent May 7 - 18 doing intense boozing across several states with such notorious partiers such as Joe Grande, Tyler Allchin, Nick Hoffman, Zach Lau, Jeff Luce and Noah Gammel, this no longer holds true
LESSON: DON'T START SMOKING. It is the greatest feeling on Earth, but if you never start it, you'll never know you'll missing it, and you'll never have to deal with the worst feeling on Earth, the feverish/anxious/depressing/tingly/constipated/angry/tired/achy/insomniac feeling of quitting smoking. The only thing that gets me through it is daydreaming about my steadily improving flow of precious oxygen... I can't wait to use this oxygen for improved mental and physical performance!!!
Live Blog of Period 3
Steve Monac - Fried Bologna
Oakland Arby's has bought the naming rights to the Mellon Arena.
Arby's in Oakland Arena is the new name.
In the time I went upstairs to grab my Napster, the game was 2-1 and then they just scored tying it up at 2's which is really lame.
15:00 left in the third.
Brady Quinn is the number one quarterback ever according to T-Mill.
Straka seems like a big cry baby. Yeah just got slashed but have a little class.
11:22 left.
Earlier Ruutu knocked over Jagr and it was sweet.
Mike Milbury really sucks, he was never a good GM in New York, Islanders that is.
T-Mill's parents gave away Steelers season tickets.
Who wants to go to California and wear Docker's? Anybody?
T-Mill then called everyone assholes for making fun of him being peer pressured into buying Docker's and thinking that they're really cool.
Boner pockets and boner repellent are currently being discussed.
7:00 left.
Topaz is trying to watch the game and not contribute to the blog, as per usual, at least with regards to not contributing to the blog.
Iron Man is precious.
Everyone has been pretty well quiet.
Pens are rocking to Panama.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Fuck Portishead
UPDATE: Fuck, no, I'm not listening to these shitty mp3s. I don't give a fuck anymore. I never want to hear this album ever. Someone give me a goddamn cigarette.
UPDATE: This post is embarrassing.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Oh Titty Damnit This is So Expensive
Saturday, April 26, 2008
SUCCESS
Pens Win...Pirates Lose...Robb Doesn't Buy Beer
Pens pulled off a big-time win against the Rangers after going down 3 - Dick. I really thought Mikey T should have pulled Fleury after the the third goal, yet he is laughing last. Crosby has been big pimpin' all over the playoffs, Doo Doo also was proving it tonight. Before the game I called Robb regarding the possibility of him buying beers in celebration of my last day of finals and the first game of the second round of the playoffs. He was driving still at this point. Somehow he was driving up a hill, probably LOST, and while trying to turn around, we all know how maladroit Robb is (thesaurus served), he managed to run over a 60 - 70 year old woman's special flower pot. After telling him they cost $40, he gave her $20 and hence the beer money for the evening. And that kids is why you always leave a note.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Human Giant
As many of you may know, CMU's "Carnival" took place last week and with it came a variety of events that 5534 Raleigh had been eagerly anticipating. You may note, for instance, one of Graham's last posts involving his photo at the Roots show on Thursday, which I did not attend in my attempt to make the company softball "A" team.
Sidebar: I did not make the company softball "A" team (Not as cool as the real A-Team anyway. "Hey man, you're crazier than Murdoch!" - gets me every time. Also, a question out there: I assume that this "crime that they didn't commit" was discussed at some point on the A-Team, but I, for one, never knew what it was. Bonus points for anyone who can answer that one). Anyway, what bothers me about not making the fake A-team isn't the fact that it shows my lack of softball skills (I'm only mediumly crappy at it). The annoying thing is that the follow-up e-mail detailing the cut list noted that "splitting up the teams has very little to do with talent, it has more to do with making sure each team will have enough players consistently showing up to games."
But the thing is, the B team can see what staff made each team...and it's pretty clear that attendance was not the primary concern. The list clearly indicated that the best softball players (at least according to the observations that I was able to make at this try-out/practice) were on the A-team. Also the two leagues are called, respectively, the "can of corn" and "log swingers" league (or something like that). Now, even idiot, apparently uncoordinated, mouthbreathers such as myself can figure out that the can of corn league is for wusses and the log swingers league is for the true playas (in Graham's terms). And the can of corn league is the league that the B team is in. But whatever, there's beers involved, so I'm sure everyone's gonna have a good time and that's what it's all about in the end. I just feel like we should avoid stepping around the issue and simply state that the best players will be on the A-team. No need to coddle everyone's feelings. End of story...and end of sidebar.
So...as the above lengthy aside indicates, I regrettably missed out on the Roots concert on that Thursday, which seemed to be a good time from Graham's photo. I also suspect that it might have been a good time since Jon woke me from a sound sleep at about 1am by blasting the Kinks, then leaving his room for an extended period of time. I stumbled out of bed into his room and finding that this sonic assault was for the pleasure of apparently no one, returned to my room to cry myself to sleep.
CMU's Carnival celebration continued on Friday with a show from Human Giant. I hadn't really seen any of their sketches until recently, when Chewning turned me on to their "Will Arnett Sex Tape" sketch (available on Funny or Die.com, I highly recommend checking it out), but since that sketch was so ridiculously funny, I figured that going to their free show was a good plan. Graham seemed to be of a similar mindset and Jon was kind enough to offer a ride down there, since he and his friend from Ohio were going to swing by the show before going to see Beach House.
I'm now going to wrap this post up in a hurry, because I started writing it a really long time ago and forgot what the point was. Human Giant was pretty funny, Aziz is probably my favorite of the troupe and Paul was not there sadly, due to flight delays or some such shenanigans. His gap was missed. They said "fuck" a great many times, yet parents with young children were there. This is why society has no hope for the future.
Graham and I then went to the Fuddle, and ate free food. Speaking of the Fuddle, I invite anyone who's made it to the end of this pointless post to list their favorite half off meal at the Fuddle. That is all, maybe next time I'll post something worth your time.
Q: How many hipsters does it take to screw in a light bulb?
- Courtesy of the Onion AV Club Message Board.
Addressing sickness
History:
After spending 4:30-7:30 a.m. Wednesday going through five or six vomiting sessions that took me through a reverse chronology of each meal from the previous two days, I spent literally the entire day watching seasons 1 and 2 of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," alternating from feeling somewhat OK enough to walk up and down the stairs, but mostly laying around feeling terrible chills and unable to move or think. Accordingly, some episodes of "Sunny" seemed hilarious, and others seemed intellectually impenetrable.
I got 9.5 uninterrupted hours of sleep last night, and woke up today feeling basically fine except for a really sore neck. I was able to accomplish several things today, including making a trip to The Exchange to buy every Arnold Schwarzenegger movie they had in stock. (I plan to watch every single one in slow motion.) My appetite seemed fine, but I didn't really push it, eating only a can of soup for lunch and crackers and eventually some cheez-its. I felt totally fine. ... Until I decided to throw caution to the wind and attempt to eat a giant Tessaro's burger.
This was not a good idea.
I definitely don't feel like I'm going to puke, and, really, I don't feel sick at all -- even the pain in my neck is gone. However, I seem completely incapable of digesting the burger. I only ate half of it, and I don't feel full. But I had it at least 4 and a half hours ago, and it's just sitting in my stomach. I'm really worried about it, and I'm either feeling or imagining pains in my right arm, and I am therefore unable to fall asleep.
If i could redo today, I would have done it exactly the same, except I wouldn't have eaten dinner and had a great awesome sleep like I did last night instead of potentially having a heart attack.
Anyway:
1) Alicia we did not hear you puke or even notice that you had shown up at all for that matter. Way to vomit discreetly!
2) Thanks for picking up some Sprite Graham, I will hit you back.
3) I'm never smoking again, if only so I never have to quit again.
4) If anyone tries to tell me I'm "not myself if I'm not smoking," I will gouge his or her fucking eyes out.
5)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
whoopsy daisy
Bangin' Around South Oakland
bang around - a hot broad who promiscuously sleeps with gentlemen around a specific area so as to not have to pay rent "Topaz's hot cousin bangs around South Oakland."
The catch with banging around is that in order to execute it, one needs to have a "friends with benefits typed situation," so that they can leave their stuff somewhere for an extended period of time.
In the end, it turned out that Robb and I unfairly assumed Topaz's cousin to be a hot chick, instead he's a dude.
House of Sick
Casualties
Alicia - brought in the illness
Topaz - vomited real hard outside the cart return at Wal-Mart, receiving a double thumbs up from the worker...missed two days of work
Jon - quit smoking...vomited in the toilet...sick all day today
When I was about to leave for school/work, Jon, laying on the couch looking way under the weather, asked me if he could borrow It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I obliged. Then as I proceeded out the front door, I noticed two packages that appeared to be record albums. Jon normally buys records and as it turns out they were for him. Before leaving I brought them in giving them to Jon. He said essentially said thanks and then I quote "everything is going to be okay," as I left. I really enjoyed it because even though he was real sick he got new records and that made it better. "Because that's what Kool's are?"
P.S. Thanks to blogspot's nifty spell checker I learned the past tense spelling of vomit which is clearly vomited. Have a great day.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
All mysteries revealed
HIghlights:
+ Elvis vowed to quit recording
+ The album was recorded and mixed during a total of eight days earlier this year. Damn.
+ It was released on vinyl first because he feels that is the proper way to hear the album
+ Two sides are listed because it's meant to be understood as two sides, although they did it on four for sound quality.
Momofuku, Pt. 5 of 5
Overall, a very good and solid album that only suffers from its sagging in the third quarter. I doubt I'll ever value it higher than "The Delivery Man," which has grown in my estimation to be one of his best albums, or even "North", which I think is the best kept secret of his discography, but its definitely his best straightforward pop album since at least 1994's underrated "Brutal Youth" or even 1986's "King of America." Because I love lists, here is a sketch of my general Elvis Costello album hierarchy:
Imperial Bedroom
Could not rate over each other: My Aim is True, This Year's Model, Armed Forces, Get Happy!!
Blood and Chocolate
The Delivery Man
Trust
**Momofuku**
Brutal Youth
North
Almost Blue
When I Was Cruel
Punch the Clock
Albums deliberately not included: Live at the El Mocambo, Painted from Memory (totally awesome), The Sweetest Punch, the album he did with that opera singer chick, Il Sogno, My Flame Burns Blue, The River in Reverse (totally awesome)
Albums I'm not familiar with: Goodbye Cruel World (supposed to be terrible), Spike, Mighty Like a Rose (supposed to be weird and shitty), The Juliet Letters (classical), G.B.H. (TV), Kojak Variety, Jake's Progress (TV), Terror & Magnificence (classical)
Well, I have other records to listen to, and I should probably eat.
Momo Fuku, Side 3 - Costello Live Blog, Pt. 4
"Mr. Feathers" is a Beatlesesque trifle with some kind of lame studio experimentation. Will side three end up being totally lame???
"My Three Sons" is a pretty straight-forward, good-in-a-workmanlike-sort-of-way song that is about how much Costello loves his three sons. And I guess implicitly also that he sorry that he divorced so many other women and banged so many other chicks while he was married to them.
Side three, you let me down. Fuck.
Costello Live Blog pt. 3
Elvis Costello live blog pt. 2
Live blogging the new Elvis Costello album, "Momofuku"
So I picked it up today, and in the spirit of both its hip, nontraditional release as well as my unemployment, I'm going to LIVE BLOG MY LISTENING EXPERIENCE.
The record comes in a fairly sturdy gatefold vinyl package, and the cover looks a little better in person than it did on the Internet. (The red shit at the bottom is a box of peaches, and for some reason, this detail appeals to me.) The Impostors are the same band they were for the past few albums (The Attractions with a different bassist, I believe), and there are several guest stars including Jenny Lewis and Pete Thomas' daughter, Tennessee Thomas. No idea who the other people are (is Jonathan Wilson a Beach Boy? [UPDATE: no, apparently he's some lame Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter session musician type]), but maybe I should. Oh well.
The back is mislabled -- intentionally? -- to say there are only two sides, but it is in fact a double LP album (so there are four sides with three songs each = 12 songs). The record includes a lame cardboard stencil so you can, I don't know, tag your neighborhood with the word "MOMOFUKU"? I guess those vying for street cred will enjoy this touch. There is also a coupon for the free album download, but I think some people will be disappointed to find that it's unavailable to use until May 1 -- that's over a week from now, and only 5 days shy of the album's CD release. I guess this is to stave off piracy or, more importantly, to let people enjoy the album with a completely fresh perspective. In fact, I love the idea of having absolutely no idea what to expect from the album and having it spring so suddenly on me. Way to go Mr. Costello. Maybe that's what the title means... it's something deliberately confusing meant to give you no expectations whatsoever, a word that generally sounds like complete nonsense but has enough of a connection to reality to lead you to ponder its significance without arriving at any conclusions.
I have now listened to the first side (first three songs) twice in a row, and I really like what I hear. I'd compare it most readily to Armed Forces or Blood and Chocolate -- they're unabashedly hook-y, well-written pop songs.
"No Hiding Place" is a great opener, sounding like classic Costello gently adorned with Delivery Man-esque steel guitar. Jenny Lewis' backing vocals are used very tastefully.
"American Gangster TIme" is awesome -- with an absolutely classic vox organ line by Steve Neive dominating the song, it sounds like something right off Armed Forces without the new wavey production.
"Turpentine" begins somewhat ominously with a rumbling bassline from Danny Farghar and DOUBLE DRUMMING from the Pete and Tennessee Thomas (father-daughter double drumming! awesome!) It progresses into a pretty complicated arrangements with a lot of different kinds of guitars and keyboards before breaking into a shimmering chorus. I believe every person who worked on the album is featured on this song.
So that is it for side one. I will post more later.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
The Roots
Is that Kosher?
Friday, April 18, 2008
Rick Rolling
Here's an example:
Hey guys, check out this video of David Hasselhoff shirtless trying to eat a cheeseburger.
In other news, if Graham's lady friends are reading this, I want to apologize for threatening to have sex with you last night.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
M-ed up
Live bloggin the third...
Monday, April 14, 2008
Recent updates
On Saturday morning as I walked some errands I noticed a Mexican restaurant called "Restaurante Mexicano'. It looked like a small, somewhat divey place that would have massive combos for cheap and great margaritas. (Ohioans will recall El Rincon, Talaquepaque and that awesome place in Columbus.) I also appreciated that it was a genuine Mexican restaurant in the middle of a predominantly Jewish neighborhood -- I've always had a thing for underdogs and outsiders. I made it my goal to convince the rest of the house to have a feast there that night; Robb was the first to agree, and he was soon followed by Graham, Topaz and Alicia.
Here are the unfortunate things that happened once we got to Restaurante Mexicano:
1) It had an actual name other than Restaurante Mexicano that I can't recall.
2) It wasn't as divey as it looked from the outside.
3) The service was incredibly slow. It took forever to take our drink order, then forever to bring our drinks, then forever to take our food order, then forever to bring our food.
4) It was more expensive than it looked, and the menu consisted of more than just combos. Most egregiously, the menu did not feature a generic page explaining each basic menu item (e.g., definitions of taco, enchilada, quesadilla).
5) Our margaritas were terrible. The waitress forgot to ask whether we wanted our pitcher frozen, which we did, and of course it wasn't. There was very little ice in it. It basically tasted just like margarita mix with no discernible alcohol. When Topaz asked the waitress bluntly if there was any alcohol in it -- we cautioned him not to do this until we received our food, which of course he ignored -- she explained that she put at least a fifth of a bottle in, and there was so little ice because she wanted to put more alcohol in. This was clearly a lie.
6) The food was terrible, way too salty.
7) The bill made little sense and seemed to be a little too high. Topaz did not make any special requests with his order, but for some reason there was an auspicious, heavily circled P next to his order. This confirmed for us that someone had been instructed to urinate in his meal after he complained about the margaritas.
8) With all the slow service, we left just late enough to arrive at the liquor store as they were locking the door and shutting off the lights; therefore, we were unable to buy tequila to make real margaritas.
Undeterred, we managed to scrounge up enough alcohol from the cupboards and Coldspot(*) to get suitably soused. I also had my first (two) Jagerbomb(s) and learned about their awesome powers: they give you a raging but clear-headed drunk and give you enough energy to party to the break of dawn. My body would only allow me four hours of sleep, but I felt great the next day! Until I almost fell asleep during a showing of Barton Fink at the Regent Square theater Sunday night.
Anyway.
There is a big weekend coming up. Thursday night The Roots are playing for free at CMU, Human Giant is performing stand-up also free there Friday night, and Beach House will be at Garfield Artworks that night, where Laura Kahl's photography is still on display. Saturday is roller derby, which, if you haven't seen it, is our nation's greatest sport: hot punk rock girls covered in fake blood beating the shit out of each other on roller skates. To keep the party going, I'm suggesting to the rest of the house that we have a gathering on our Massive Back Deck Saturday night. Ideally, this gathering would consist of grilling and kegs, and everyone would get laid. For those who do not get that clever Jeff Luce reference, it comes from the following story:
Jeff Luce ran through my house at 3:30 in the morning trying to convince us to go to a party by screaming "WE'RE ALLLLL GETTIN' LAAAAIIIID."
End of story. But if you are interested in such a gathering let me know, and we'll make it happen.
End of post.
(*) The Coldspot is the name of our 1960s fridge.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Stick that in your pipe
In other news, I have spent the entire day waiting for the delivery of Moneybags McRobb's new television set, which was supposed to be here 25 minutes ago at the very latest. God I'm so lonely.
Jon
Jamie Kennedy Experiment
You're on my hidden camera show called the Jamie Kennedy Experiment (laughing)!!!
There are cameras here and here and over there and there...
I finally got the third and, sadly, final season of the Jamie Kennedy Experiment.
Jamie Kennedy and I are best friends now and by owning the final installment of this glorious series, I got his cell phone number and an autographed 8 x 10.
It has been declared...Jamie Kennedy Experiment 5 years from today is going to have a substantial cult following that will spill over into the mainstream, when everyone realizes its genius. I have already made this step, others will follow, time needs to elapse and perculation must occur. Thus, to anyone interested in having your mind blown, I can lend the series, in the meanwhile, prepare for an awakening...not The Awakening, but you might like it anyway.
DankHead527 Out
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Robb....
Jokes and Jokes and Jokes...Spaghetti Spaghetti Spaghetti
Don't get blown away...
Graham is dumb
It's a double tip and I am properly hydrated
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Shady Grove vs. Hockey: The Great Debate
Hockey is a drinking card game involving exactly four people and a deck of cards. Each player receives 13 cards and the person to the left of the dealer plays a card first. The next person can either: score by throwing a 4 (automatic goal) or the same card as was just played, block by throwing an 8 (preventing the next person from scoring), or finally any other card, in hopes that the next player does not have that card. Play continues in that manner around the table. Teammates sit opposite from each other and whenever goals are scored the other team has to drink. The fun part is that you are also drinking partners with a member of the other team, such that when a goal is scored you have to start drinking and continue drinking until they tell you to stop. Thus, whenever they are not paying attention, you have to keep drinking, which may be problematic, but it's a drinking game. Periods are complete when all of the cards have been played, the total goals are tallied and then the deal passes to the person left of the dealer. Three periods are played and whichever team has the most goals, wins. In the event of a tie, an overtime period ensues with the same rules for a regular period.
Shady Grove Pros:
1.) One time, the Bud Light man was there and we got like 5 pitchers of beer for like 10 bucks and free t-shirts, although mine does not fit.
2.) That same time, we got to sit at a table, but the Pens lost in OT that night.
Hockey Pros:
1.) Dudes get to hang out.
2.) You get to drink whatever beer/drink you want and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
3.) It's not smoky.
4.) You can hear each other talk.
5.) You get to test your card counting abilities.
6.) It's awesome.
Shady Grove Cons:
1.) Lacks all of the superior qualities of Hockey and its associated pros.
Hockey Cons:
1.) Only four people can play at a time.
It is abundantly clear that Hockey wins and is the best.
Comments are welcome.