+ Monday, August 29th - 2:49pm +

- A must view: (The Other) Top Ten Most Ridiculous Black Metal Pics (thanks Jason). Made me throw on some Immortal and Emperor. The OG list is available here.

- This Vice article points out 'extreme' marketing using animal icons. Just perfect. You bet your ass 'Poochie' is up in there. "Hey kids...always recycle...TO THE EXTREME. Bust it." Nice dig on Bam for good measure.

- Looks like a missed a large Porsche gathering in Santa Rosa. Nice photos.

- Rebel8 is printing up some high quality Mike Giant shirts.


+ Friday, August 26th - 11:28am +

Every once in a while you stumble across an experience that takes you totally off guard and blows you away. Enter Peelander-Z.

Hell, I had never even heard of this Japanese born / NYC based punk band until yesterday when I was emailed the link to their website and an invite to check out their show at Bottom Of the Hill that night. OH. MY. GOD. Let's put it this way, I had read that they were featured on MXC...and now it makes perfect sense.

Peelander Blue, Yellow, and Red hit the stage in full uniform mode to their theme song, which could easily open an Japanese cartoon. From there it's high energy punk with props, signs that feature sing-a-long lyrics, half the audience on stage, and broken english mayhem. Make no mistake, these guys can play.... but I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at a show. On purpose, that is. For the finale they clear the middle of the club and perform human bowling while audience members play their instruments. I shit you not.

They've got a video posted for the song 'Mad Tiger' (26mgs and worth it) that pretty much sums up their live show. You can also listen to 'Dragon' which is a pretty solid song. Catchy as hell.

If Peelander-Z land in your town, be sure to go and check out the madness. Oh, and they would appriciate it if you brought a hand fan and dressed up like a box of tissues. (I can't belive that makes sense to me)




+ Wednesday, August 24th - 7:56pm +

- This past weekend we spent a few days at theRussian River. I was surprised that it's so close to SF. The redwood trees up there are amazing. Kato did quite a bit of swimming.

- The 40 Year Old Virgin is the funniest film of the year. Steve Carell was perfect. Too many memorable parts to mention. Judd Apathow is the man. If you've never seen it, his TV series Undeclared came out this past week on DVD. Worth a viewing. He also was Executive Producer on Freaks And Geeks. Nice resume.

- Also, The Simpsons season 6 is out on DVD. Worth every penny

- God forbid San Francisco do something fun. "Some neighborhood residents, the district representative on the Board of Supervisors and a bride who feared the crowds would ruin her wedding had pleaded with the mayor to call off the ski-jumping spectacle. " Boo hoo. I'm not pro-Jonny Moseley or Mtv...but wasn't there a time when SF was into stuff like this? Now it's all uptight rich people.




+ Tuesday, August 16th - 10:13pm +

- If you missed the Gorilla Biscuits show last Saturday (I'm sure you did), you can check out some photos here...and download the ENTIRE SHOW and watch it in Windows Media. Holy shit. I've watched this entire thing TWICE. Incredible. I'm too embarassed to say how much I would have paid to see this show. I was a bit saddened to hear that Civ had a 'Biscuits themed drink at the bar...but what are you going to do, it's been X14 yearsX.

- In other reunion news, Hellfest has been cancelled. Bummer.

- I can't get over how fucking good the new Death Cab for Cutie is. It's a truly amazing album. This could be the record of the year. There is no question, this record is going to be huge. Radio airplay, more commericals and movies huge. It's going to happen...


+ Monday, August 15th - 4:31pm +

- Jessica is doing fine. Thanks for asking.

- Burton launched their 2006 website today. Regardless of what you think about snowboarding or the company...they always raise the bar in terms of web design. They've always been able to organize a wealth of information in a simple, clean way. I spent 20 minutes going deeper and deeper into the VERY well done 'Board Graphics' section. Most of the Michael Jager videos are worth the time. Being someone who took on the challenge of designing snowboards for a few years, I can honestly say this some of the best work I've seen.

- There has been a wealth of new trailers released over at Apple. The two that stand out for me are Everything Is Illuminated and Steve Martin's Shop Girl. Dig that 'Death Cab' soundtrack. The must be raking in the dough. Good for them.

- Check out these amazing old anti-Krishna flyers by the guys in Born Against. Here. Here. Here. And Here. These were handed out in NYC during the whole Krishnacore period. Pretty great.

- This guy has a fucking Neckface tattoo. Seriously. I don't understand how anyone thinks his 'art' is any good. Poorly done childrens drawings that have been done better before by countless others. Fuck, I've ranted about this before...but this guy got a tattoo! Unreal.




+ Sunday, August 14th - 9:28am +

It's rare to report an injury that's not mine.

Yesterday, Jessica broke her wrist on thejob. She was pulling a table box off a shelf by holding the plastic load strap and the strap broke. She fell backwards, catching herself with her left hand and breaking her wrist. Ouch.

It doesn't seem to be too bad of a break (her two arm bones are still in place) but she is sporting a plaster splint (not a cast) and will go back next week to see if a cast is needed. You tend to forget how awful it is dealing with hospitals. Wait...wait...wait.

She's unstoppable...and has already bounced back.


+ Friday, August 12th - 1:13pm +

- Ah, the interweb. I just received the new Death Cab For Cutie album. Seems like a solid disc. I'm enjoying it so far. You can hear the single, Soul Meets Body, at their website.

- Listen to the new FMTM song again. Seriously.

- There's something fun about reading through CNET's list of Dot Com Flops. Every once in a while I'll see a worn Kozmo branded scooter on the streets of SF. those were the days...

- Morrissey is selling his home in LA. Maybe he's planning a Portland move?

- Speaking of Moz, one of my header designs has been added over at Morrissey-solo (they rotate). I wonder how much more traffic I'll get? If you want to see all three designs, click here.


+ Wednesday, August 10th - 4:08pm +

From Monument To Masses have joined the My Space army and have posted a new song from their upcoming remix album, 'Schools of thought contend'.

'Deafening' is an amazing song. They have really taken their sampling to new heights here. Towards the middle of the song when the strings peak during a reading of Victor Jara's last poem before his execution ("To them, blood equals medals, Slaughter equals heroism...") I was blown away. Incredibly moving and masterfully done. I'm very much looking forward to this album and future live shows. FMTM need to be heard by a larger audience.




+ Monday, August 8th - 11:16am +

- Yesterday I put some new seats in the Porsche. It's amazing that the stock seats had been in there for close to 40 years without a single rip. The springs, on the other hand, were completely shot. It's a much better feel now. The Melee countdown begins.

- Crazy Cooter must be pissed. It did get some of the worst reviews of the year...and yet public didn't seem to mind.

- I think my hardcore show days may be over. After Darkest Hour a few weeks back, I've just lost interest. I skipped Embrace Today last night (I actually haven't been as excited with their new record after multiple listens). I don't want to be that 'old guy' at the shows. Besides, it's all about fashion now. I may check out Pelican on Thursday though...liking that record a lot.

- These quotes may be out of context, but they are still chilling. American Taliban indeed.


+ Thursday, August 4th - 4:25pm +

- Oakland's 'Bordertown' skatepark gets support from the city. Nice map showing the park location. I wonder how many Mom's and kids are going to show up this weekend just to get the stink eye from the locals. Welcome to Burnside 2 assholes, grab a fucking shovel or go home.

- Another tattoo 'blog' pops up online. Not bad, although I'm still trying to figure out if it's run by marketing people trying to promote the very shitty, vegas based 'Inked' show on A&E or not. I doubt Mike Giant would lend his work to something corporare sponsored, so maybe it's legit.

- Is that it for the 'Chapelle Show'? Does he have to return the $50 million?

- You Know I Couldn't Last...



+ Monday, August 1st - 12:00am +

Due to the SF Marathon, I was a bit land locked Sunday morning. I decided at the very last minute to check out an early IMAX screening of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

First things first, Johnny Depp was terrible.

The performance fell flat. The whole character made no sense. If you hate kids why give one your factory? Why have a contest when you simply seem annoyed the entire time? What was with that face and voice? The whole thing was distracting. I agree with most critics who say Depp was the worst part of the film. I also didn't care for the new story, the over the top (but flat) songs, or the idea of a singular Oompa Loompa.

The Art Direction, however, was amazing. Certainly one of Tim Burton's best looking films. The sets, the effects, and even the actors all looked amazing. Seeing the film in IMAX was very impressive. I suppose it was worth seeing just for the visuals alone.

I may have enjoyed it more if I wasn't such a fan of the original Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Gene Wilder was just SO spot on. He played the character perfectly, and the story was just so much stronger.


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