Late Night with Chico Maivia

最後のクライマックス

2011-05-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Four Fingered Mel rocks out and brings the Awesomerock!™ in a matter of hours. Epic Climax ahead.

I just spent the better part of two hours or so drawing a grasshopper. Fun times.

Now for some garnachas. Some tuneskies, too. For the digestion.

Real talk.

Endings and Beginnings

2011-05-01T04:41:00.001-07:00

The very nature of music is that it evolves; it doesn't just waste way and rest on its laurels, it grows. It therefore should be no shock that Four Fingered Mel has grown beyond the ska/punk image, and has evolved beyond established musical parameters. As such, it seems that Four Fingered Mel's time is up. It won't be around for too much longer.

That doesn't mean that I and my fellow musicians in Mel have called it quits; rather it means we're moving in a new direction musically. More on that as things develop.

Meanwhile we're rocking out at the House of Blues in Anaheim on May 19th. You could look upon it as a send-off to Mel, and the beginning of something new musically.

Here's the thing, folks: I haven't followed wrestling regularly in a long time. The end of the Attitude era pretty much marked the end of my days following wrestling regularly. This past WrestleMania was my first in a long time, to give you an idea. Regardless, I do have a few things to say regarding certain happenings, chief among them Edge's retirement. Edge was a great talent, and it's a real shame he's calling it a career so soon; but if his description of his physical condition is any indication, it's probably for the best that he's calling it quits now, rather than risking injury down the road.

Also, I'm deeply saddened with what's been going on recently with Scott Hall. His demons are well documented. What transpired recently at an independent show is unfortunate. Fans on the internet are clearly divided: some say Scott Hall should be held accountable for his actions on his own, others say the promoter should be held accountable. As far as I'm concerned, Scott should be held accountable for being in the state he was, but the promoter should also be held accountable for allowing Scott to hit the ring in the state he was in. I can only hope Scott cleans his act up before it is too late.

All for now. Time for some tuneskies.

I Bent My Wookie...

2011-04-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

So it turns out my entire engine was basically hanging on by a thread. Not in the sense of functionality so much as in the fact that three out of the four supports that basically make sure my engine and my car continue to function as one piece were either not completely tight or else totally broken. So like, if what happened on the way to Wal-Mart had happened, say, on the 10 or the 57 or really any major freeway and I was doing like eighty...well, I wouldn't here typing this if things had transpired as such. Thoughts like this keep me warm at night.

School is stressful in that odd, there's a lot to think about but not really a lot to do in as far as work is concerned type of way. At least, not as much as there was a couple semesters ago. In my drawing class I've drawn a money tree, a shoe, and now I have this positive space/negative space thing I'm supposed to paint, and I'm beginning to realize the view I chose of the subject matter was entirely flawed, and this thing probably won't end well. Always a fun thing to discover, let me assure you. Oh, well. It wouldn't be called beginning drawing if everybody knew their shit. Although there are some pretty stunning artists in this class. God damn them. Bitter? Fuck no.

Psychology of human sexuality continues to fascinate. I love the group discussion aspect of class and Dr. Ano is very funny and informative. Also he's pretty clear about what's going to be on the test and gives very comprehensive study guides, thank the F.S.M. Which is more than I can say for my Sociology professor, whose study guides are a little more of the look it up in the book variety.

My brain is both grateful beyond words to finally be in a creative environment and drawing--even if I suck beyond words--and also completely fried from school, car trouble (now fixed) and a particularly whirlwind trip to AZ for the sister's wedding.

Time for some tuneskies.

...And Boom Goes the Dynamite...

2011-03-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

You know that thing where your car starts spewing transmission fluid everywhere?

Yep. That happened.

I'm on my way to Wal-Mart--don't you dare fucking judge me right now--and right as I'm making a left turn, I feel this funny jerk, like I ran something over or whatever. I shrugged it off at first, until I noticed a marked decline in my car's performance where acceleration is concerned coupled with smoke billowing out from under the hood. I pull over and, lo and behold, the underside of the car is spewing red liquid. I knew right away this wasn't anti-freeze or oil or anything else; I knew it was transmission fuel and I could hear God pinching off a last loaf before he pulled his trousers up with a chuckle, eagerly anticipating his next bowel movement, relishing the thought of releasing its putridity on my person as he looks over his latest issue of Swank.

Fortunately the Bandit, ever the trooper, made it back to the house, even if it was at less than thirty miles an hour. At certain points I managed to do forty. Something about that leaves me hopeful that my car isn't quite as fucked as I had initially believed.

But I've been wrong before.

Oh, and my TV is broken. Looks like man made objects aren't my friend today. I'm kind of shocked this laptop is still functional, to be honest.

Other than that, it's a great day to be alive...

So many fucking leaves...

2011-03-02T23:41:00.000-08:00

Our first project in my drawing class is a still life, a contour line drawing of some plant life. I'm doing a money tree, and it's kicking my ass. I think I need to stress a little less about it looking the way it should and just draw the damn thing.

Art Spiegelman released a sketchbook collection--the brave, reckless bastard--which is called "Be A Nose!" and it's absolutely wonderful. The story behind its namesake is that he apparently once saw a scene in a movie--I can't remember just which at the moment--and a man in that movie is pounding furiously at a block of plaster, hollering "Be a nose, damn it! BE A NOSE!" Spiegelman asserted that this frantic, half-crazed approach best sums up and defines his approach to drawing (though I'm inclined to believe he's exaggerating a bit). Never have I identified with Spiegelman as much as today.

In case you're wondering, art supply prices are everything they're cracked up to be. Oy...

Caught a little bit of the Coco on the interwebs a bit ago...I needs me some basic cable. Like, now. And I don't even watch fucking TV anymore--I need it simply for the express purpose of getting my Conan fix. Although it would be nice to get to experience and enjoy some of the [adult swim] again. Been a little while.

Catching some vids on the YouTube have gotten me nostalgic of the old days, back when I would occasionally play wrestling video games with my buddies and we'd get a kick out of playing as our own created wrestler characters. WrestleMania 2000, WWF No Mercy, SmackDown: Just Bring It, Shut Your Mouth, Here Comes The Pain...maybe if I have some spare change lying around I'll pick up a copy of one of the SmackDown VS RAW games, just for fun times and great justice.

Such strange weather; it's raining, it's sunny, it's raining...I think we broke the planet.

I'm just gonna come right out and say it: I can't watch the original, live action Turtles movie and not want pizza afterwards. No. Fucking. Lie. That's just the way it is, I suppose...

Speaking of the old school Turtle flick, according to the IMDb, Elias Koteas--the dude who played Casey Jones--is apparently going to be in the next Harold and Kumar flick. Take that news as you will.

Alright, that's enough fucking nonsense for now.

So I says to Mabel, I says...

2011-03-01T23:00:00.000-08:00

So I guess I have something of an antiquated sense of romance. A friend of mine posted her ideas of what would make good wedding songs--these included "Kiss the Boy" from The Little Mermaid and "A Whole New World" from Aladdin.

Now, I'm of the mind that two persons should be able to do whatever the holy living fuck they want for their wedding. Period. If you don't feel like wearing a suit and you wanna just rock a suit jacket and one of those tuxedo t-shirts and Converse sneakers, by all means make it fucking happen. If you want to play Stromkern, or Amon Amarth, or whatever the fuck at a wedding, make it so, Number One.

That said, I responded that I wasn't sure I'd go with A Whole New World, and that I'd rather have something like That Old Black Magic going instead. Apparently my idea was less than romantic. Picture this for a second, though: live jazz band, vocalist belting out, all while in an old school dance hall. What's not to love?

Evidently this song isn't very romantic...even though, y'know...it's about romance. Like I said, I was just throwing ideas out there, though. It turns out she's not familiar with that song, though.

I was about to share my next suggestion--Huey Lewis and The News' "The Power of Love"--whereupon I received a notification that my friend is apparently unfamiliar with this song as well. Never have I felt so old...

Oh and by the way, through the miracle of hypertext time compression, it had only been about .003 seconds since you read that last part about me just throwing out suggestions, but there was a significant gap of time between that and my actually sharing with you my friend's lack of familiarity with Huey Lewis and The News' song, during which time there was much facepalm.

By the way, I'm not getting married anytime soon--fuck THAT noise. This is purely a hypothetical response to a friend's post on the book of face, two which I've now devoted a significant portion of this blog. We live in fascinating, frightening, frustrating times, folks.

Officially taking twelve units, and officially spent a shit ton of money on supplies for my drawing class. Worth it, though!

I'm looking at the small money tree plant I'm going to use as my subject--it's actually a pretty cool looking plant. I'm told they don't naturally grow with their trunks all twisted up--you actually have to manually keep twisting it up or it will grow wild and out of control. Trippy...

俺、参上！

2011-02-25T03:45:00.000-08:00

Been a long time since I updated this thing. And a lot has transpired in the meanwhile. Some of it worth remembering, some of it not so. Nothing too terrible has happened, and life has been something in the way of bearable, so that's good, right? The fact that my last entry had something to do with the now infamous Coco/Leno feud is...well, it gives you an idea of how long its been, and major props to Conando and his new show, which rocks your shit harder than Oprah on a baked Alaska. It should be noted that one big thing has happened, something I never would've guessed in a million years would happen.

Four Fingered Mel is back.

We started out back in '02 or '03, or some such thing. I actually didn't join up until Ernie decided horns would be a nice addition to the band. We stayed together up through 2007, or thereabouts, whereupon the bud came off the rose. If somebody were to tell me we'd be back and gigging full time by 2011...well, you get the idea.

Nevertheless, we're back. We've played a few fun shows, and we've even recorded some new material, which is very nice. A CD with said tunes was handed out at our show, and the tunes are also available on Facebook. God...we're actually on Facebook. Remember Myspace, kids? We started out in the Land of Wind and Ghosts...and now we're on fucking Facebook. Crazy.

Oh, and did I mention we have a website? Check the fucking sidebar already.

Anyway...outside of recreational stuff, I'm back in school, doing the book learnin'. Basically what I should have been doing ages ago. Now I'm making up for lost time.

Also some silly shit happened on the interwebs.

And fuck it, as long as we're basking in the absurdity that is teh insta-webs, put this in your pipe and smoke it.

This wouldn't be much of a return blog if I didn't mention my thoughts on some of the recently released and/or upcoming comic book flicks these days. Let's start with The Green Hornet, seeing as I've seen it about a dozen or so times. Bottom line: if you're looking for fun, escapist entertainment, rock on. If you're looking for some kind of homage to Van Williams' portrayal of the character, prepare for some serious disappointment. For my part, I enjoyed it. I damn well better have, considering how many times I've seen it. Anycrap, word on the streets is Anne Hathaway just got cast as Selina Kyle for the new Bat flick. I honestly don't know how to feel about that, or the fact that we're apparently going to be treated to an appearance by Bane, making his triumphant return to the silver screen after a thirteen year absence. This should be...interesting.

Honest to God it seems like Marvel's gonna have a better time of it. They got Thor, Cap...we got Bats, a Supes remake (sigh), and what looks to me like a very poorly executed Green Lantern flick. Swell.

Unrelated note: The Hangover Part 2: It's happening, bitches.

Also there's talk of a possible sequel or even a possible trilogy that is to be made of--wait for it--Independence Day. If your reaction ran along the lines of "WTF," you're not alone. ID4 was great, don't get me wrong--I just don't see how they're gonna wring another two movies out of the concept. Oh, well...maybe we'll see a return for Brent Spiner, even though his character seemed kind of...well...dead, and such.

If you haven't seen Batman: Under the Red Hood, please do so as soon as possible. Fucking ruled. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies also kicked much butt.

All for now, as the hour grows late and the post grows tl;dr.

Keep the faith, brothers.

No More Coco, Leno Can Go Blow

2010-01-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

Alright, here's all I'm gonna say.

Conan O'Brien is the only reason I even know what NBC is. Were it not for him and his brand of totally out there hilarity, I'd think NBC were some kind of social disease. "Shit...piss is burnin'...better get tested and make sure that bitch didn't give me a scorching case of NBC!"

Oh, well...no more NBC for me.

Anyway...give money to Stiller Strong and help out the folks in Haiti. Or send some dough to the Red Cross...be generous, but be careful; people love to use this sort of thing to get a little piece of the pie for themselves. Don't be duped!

This guy's pretty cool. His name's Jeffrey Brown and he's a pretty kick ass artist. So you should check him out. 'Cause it's the internet and I fucking said so.

****END COMMUNICATION****

Like a Parrot

2009-11-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

That's all I'm gonna say.

Like.

A.

Parrot.

Check out Louis C.K.'s new vid on YouTube promoting his new FX series "Louie," due out in March 2010.

Wow...

2009-11-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I updated this thing; Ledger's been in the ground for what, almost two years? Jesus...

Anycrap...I'm trying to figure out how to go about posting some artwork on this thing. I mean I have a printer/scanner and everything, but for some reason the damned thing doesn't want to save anything I scan to the computer; rather it chokes, sputters, and then proceeds to print out a copy. No matter how loud I yell, or what language I curse in (English: ineffectual; Spanish: no dice. Just wait 'til I master some Japanese swears...) the damned thing just does as it pleases while waving the bird at me in irreverent, mocking fashion. Fuck technology. Fuck it right up the ass...

So...I and the folks at BFB are on a quest to obtain representation in the form of a literary agent. We may have a bite, actually: somebody may be interested in reading our stuff. Further bulletins as events warrant.

Fuck Michael Ting.

Heath Ledger Bites Big One, Shuffles Off Mortal Coil

2008-01-22T14:47:00.001-08:00

Wuxtry! Read all about it!

Uno, Dos, Tres: LINKAGE!!

THE POOP

Well, there you have it. Seriously, that's all I got. While I'd love to add some titillating news about my daily life, we both know there is no such news to post. So there we are.

Other stuff later.

Blah blah blah...

2008-01-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

Oh, the joys of post-holiday hours.

Week before last, I had something like forty hours or so. Sweet deal, right? Then last week I had like thirty-six. This week it's twenty-five. Hours are going down all around, so I know it isn't just me that's suffering (or just my pocket book, for that matter.) There are people who got nineteen hours. Distressing...

So now I'm at a crossroads. I can either continue on with my tireless efforts not to have a massive infarct at Che Misery, or I can look for other employment. At this point, I'm going to withhold final judgment until such time as I see how bad my schedule is for next week. I should know within the next three days. I'd get into how much fun it is to deal with customers trying to push your shit in on a constant basis, but that'd require a little more grammatically complex profanity than I'm willing to actually write out in its entirety right now, so piss on that.

Cartoon stuff continues to progress. Had a table read last night which went extremely well, and we actually read stuff other than the pilot, just for fun. We had a minor hiccup with talent, but we'll work it out. Other than that, the ball is still rolling. Hopefully we'll see what happens soon.

Oh, and the Lil' Bandit is miraculously still running, though one can only guess how long it'll hold up. The search for a new auto begins soon.

Whatever.

It's Time! It's Time!

2007-10-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

It's blog time, bitches. First, let me cover the usual: the opinions, smart-ass remarks and general rambling herein is that of the author, and does not reflect that of Mervyns, its affiliates or its parent.

On to new business.
So here we are and it's October. Pretty soon we're gonna see people running around dressed like jackasses all over the place for Halloween, quite possibly my favorite holiday. I'm not really sure what I'm gonna wear, but I have some thoughts. My first idea consists of reusing my old Jar-Jar Binks mask, with my Arkham Asylum tee--which has a prisoner number on the front, and INMATE emblazoned on the back--and some orange pants, as well as some broken manacles and a rusty, "blood" soaked knife. Yeah, baby!

Anycrap... I may or may not do that. I have other thoughts in mind, but nothing strikes me as much as crazed escapee Jar-Jar does. Of course, I'll only do it if I can find the damn mask. I don't know of any Halloween parties just yet, but I'm sure I'll hear of them soon. After all, Halloween isn't Halloween without drunken hooliganism!

So it's official, my dad finally acknowledges that the Plymouth has a severe transmission problem. I mean, not that it was that hard to figure out--the damn thing runs like crap. At first the problems only manifested when the car was running on insufficient fuel--say, a quarter of a tank or less--but now the problems are much more prevalent. More than one person has mentioned an issue with the breaks--specifically the rotors--but this may only be part of the problem. So yeah... boned should cover it nicely.

Not that the Plymouth was much of a loss.

As it is, I plan to put my green towards a newer, less craptacular car. One with an untwistable stomach! Or something. I've already got a good amount of money saved, so we'll see what happens.

Work at the 'Vyns has been a little different lately, as I'm no longer on the register, and am now a permanent addition to the truck team. I'm rarely ever in front of a register anymore, and when I am, it's usually to cover a break or a lunch, usually in the shoe department. Which isn't to say I'm not in the shoe department anymore, I still have to assist with hauling a metric fuckton (1Mft) of shoes up there every so often, and also running said shoes onto the sales floor when needed, and endless back stocking. For the most part though, my duties have consisted of unloading and sorting, and a week of that shit beats an hour at the fucking register anytime, any day.

So yeah. Not too much else going on lately. Still waiting to see how things go with our cartoon. Updates as soon as ... things... need to be updated. So watch out for that shit!

Alright, I grow weary of putting words into this thing, so I leave you with one final thought: If Steven has two apples, and Mark has three apples, why don't they just shut the fuck up and start eating?

Has Much Changed?

2007-08-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

The views, sarcastic remarks, and rants on this blog are those of the writer, and do not reflect those of Mervyns, its affiliates or its parent.

So has much changed? Fuck no.
I'm still working at the 'Vyns, doing my thing. While I wish I could say I was getting mad bitches and ruling the streets with an iron fist, such is not the case, at least not for the moment. Work has been pretty painful lately due to my having to actually get up early. Who in the flying fuck orchestrated this monstrous schedule?? In addition to having worked the last few days--including today--from eight to five, I work tomorrow six to three, and Sunday--for the love of Jesus tap dancing Christ almighty--five to two. I have to get up early the entire fucking weekend, god the hell dammit!!

Oh well. At least I got paid today, and paid semi well. It almost made up for having to get out of bed at such an ungodly hour--and yes, 8AM is an ungodly hour. Also, since I spent the better part of the week working freight, it wasn't that bad since I really didn't interact with the general public all that much. I spent the sum of an hour on register this week, which was painful at certain points, but not too bad. At least not as bad as register can be.

Actually as a whole, work wise, my week was pretty easy. Mostly I was just handling back stock with shoes, which is twice as boring as it sounds, but it is far more relaxing and a far better job than register. I'd rather do a week of shoe freight than an hour at the register anytime. Especially during sales...heaven help us.

Not much else to report, really. License soon, hopefully. So many people to flip off, so little time.

All for now, pretty much. Update coming soon... say, September?

Rock on.

I'm Rich, Bitch!

2007-07-22T15:15:00.000-07:00

The sarcasm, idle threats and narcissistic hooplah expressed in this blog is that of the writer, and does not reflect that of Mervyns, its affiliates or its parent.

Yeah, I got payed.
And a nice chunk of change, too--that was a nice little surprise. Made all the hard work and the injuries well worth it. Once again, for the next week I'm scheduled in the loading dock/truck area, which is good times because it means another week not having to deal with the hustle and bustle of working the register in retail. Actually I did log my first forty-five minutes in about a week in front of a register two days or so ago, and it really wasn't so bad. Most of the customers I dealt with were pretty easy to get along with, and pretty nice, actually. I have a real suck-ass day ahead of me, though: I get to be up for an 8AM shift after getting off at 11:30 the night before. Nice, eh?

You're probably wondering about the injury thing--well, basically I was in the dock a few nights ago, and noticed I'd misplaced my box cutter. I walked into the trailer with the intention of asking one of my female coworkers if they had another, but she started walking in the other direction almost as soon as "Hey, do you have--???" came out of my mouth. I instinctively gave chase, and with my first step ended up landing up to my left knee between the trailer and the actual dock, pinned. This is every bit as amusing as it sounds--which by that I mean not amusing at all, if you're the one experiencing the gnarly, sudden wave of pain that rocked my socks. So I get helped up, and somebody says "You need to go to the office and file an accident report!" I says, "Bullshit! All the way to the fucking office??" Which, I should add, brings me to a point in this little narrative where I have to offer a bit of an explanation.

There's this entire labyrinth thing going on in the dock area, where the office is literally like a football field or so away from where we're at, and you still have to cross through the break room and down a hallway to reach it once you reach the end of this impossibly long maze of shelves and back stock. They should've just asked me to destroy the One Ring while I was hobbling my ass over there.

Anyway, I make it to the office, file an accident report, and I get an icepack, and I head to the latrine to strap this sucker to my leg, and what do I find in the stall?

A FUCKING BOX CUTTER!! Sitting there! Razzing me, glaring up at me, mocking me for my lame leg! So my reaction--no doubt audible to the customers milling around outside the latrine--ran along the lines of "@#$%^&*!!!!" At which point I went back to work.

I'm serious. Sure, I could've gone home, and milked the injury, but it was superficial. There was no bone damage and it was just sore as hell. Sure enough, I was walking around just fine in the morning. The only result of my little brush with death was a gnarly gash and a bruise on my leg. Pretty minor, if you ask me. The hilarity of it all lies in the fact that I rode a bike to work that night. Niiiiice.

Other than injuries, work, and getting a big thing of riches for said work, nothing much has been going on. I was supposed to go to Pismo with some buddies, but I couldn't get the time off. Alas. Just gonna truck on through the next work week--notice I use the phrase "truck on through," and I'm working truck! Get it? ... Oh, fuck off--and that's pretty much it, since there don't seem to be any weekend plans. Still working on stuff with friends, we'll see how that goes.

And that's all I got. So, go away.

Update, 'Cause My Sister Said So, Bitch!

2007-07-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

The views, witty off-color humor and generally random crap posted on this blog is that of the writer, and does not reflect the views of Mervyns, its affiliates, or its parent.

Is anything going on these days? Not in my life.
Work, work, work--that's the status quo these days. Delightful.

I found that working truck--meaning, working on the loading dock--is way better than anything I've done so far. I always have something to do, and it's really chill. It's like my ideal job. I spent a good five hours on the truck team last night, and although there was all kinds of crap to unload, put away, etc., it still wasn't all that bad.

The truck team got into a discussion about the end of the world briefly. Some people say 2030, other say 2012. Then again, it could happen five minutes after you read this, so never let it be said I didn't do my part in the Apocalypse.

Anycrap...work once again tonight. Another late night session at the 'Vyns, possibly doing recovery all night--which is gonna suck, but oh well. Somebody's gotta do it. It beats picking up fucking rocks.

And that's my update. Further bulletins as events warrant.

What? I have no life. Screw you all.

****END COMMUNICATION****

Out Of The Frying Pan...

2007-06-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

...And into the fire. Whoops, almost forgot!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the writer, and do not reflect the views of Mervyns, its affiliates or its parent. There, I said it.

Anyway, out of the frying pan and into the fire--that's the method which Mervyns uses to teach its associates the ins and outs of retail. No sooner did we learn how to work the registers and ring up all different kinds of transactions were we split up into different departments and ringing up actual customers--which, I'm happy to report, everyone I dealt with couldn't have been more patient and courteous. I get my actual schedule, ID number/PIN and all that crapola in the next few days.

I'm actually having a helluva good time, and learning pretty quick. You can't help but learn as quickly as possible with the way they thrust you into hands-on situations right away. Makes it to where you have to be quick on your feet, and pick things up running. Flying by the seat of your pants is my kind of deal anyway, so I was doing alright. Besides which, I had a wonderful bunch of people helping me whenever I ran into a problem--which didn't happen nearly as frequently as I was expecting.

Nothing else going on really. I'm incredibly depressed that I haven't seen M*A*S*H very much these last few days. What? Fuck yourself, I can have a favorite show, even if it is decades old.

By the way, this is an ongoing blog; I've tried to post it like three times already but so far haven't had any success; it was originally intended to be up yesterday, but oh well. Had to rely on auto save.

Basically that's it, people. Until next time.

Disclaimer..

2007-06-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Mervyns, their associates, or their parent.

From here on out, this disclaimer is going to be attached to any and all work related posts, and even some non-work related posts, so don't be surprised the next time you see it. Why the disclaimer, you ask? Read on...

It seems there's an entire section on blogging in my employee handbook, which makes it very clear that under no circumstances am I to post any trade secrets, secure or sensitive information, or post any negative/derisive commentary regarding the workplace, the company, or any of my associates under penalty of booting. Disparaging the boot is also a boot-able offense. Also I can't express my feelings for any coworkers beyond saying they're good workers. If I were to make any comments that ran along the lines of obscene, explicit or otherwise graphic sexual fantasies, I could get in dutch with management under the sexual harassment rules, and suffer the consequences for my actions, which can include termination, from what I understand.

Now, let me backpedal--I wasn't required to give the URL for this blog; they didn't ask for it, and I signed nothing that stated I had to submit it. The only thing is if I should happen to share it with a coworker, supervisor or whatever, and they happen to find something objectionable, they can take it up with me, the author. As it should be. So basically, I can go on writing as I normally would and feasibly make negative and/or disparaging remarks without consequence so long as nobody knows about this blog's existence. But I'll probably stick to being cautious and refrain from going into specifics--i.e. names, etc.--and just generally gripe about my day.

So basically, nothing changes.

Training goes on, nothing new to add. If anything comes up, rest assured it'll be here... in a week or so, maybe two. You know the drill, ladies and gents.

Anycrap, that's pretty much all I have to report. Until next time, don't look directly at the potato.

The Amazing Shark-Jumping Blog's First Update in Ages!

2007-06-17T12:11:00.001-07:00

Guess it's time for an update.
I figured, seeing as it's been a while since the last one. Like, a long while. What the fuck do you want from me, people? It's not like I lead an exciting life. Certainly not in the past few months. Okay, so lets get down to business, shall we?

First of all, as I've stated at least once before, I'm a man of many different characteristics--I'm a musician, a two-fisted drinker, a gambler, a general ne'er-do-well; I'm a glib, insincere operator and a moral degenerate. But now I can add one more thing to the list: I am now one of the many millions of exploited workers whose blood oils the machines of capitalism and forwards the agenda of faceless corporate interests nationwide.

It's fucking Mervyns, people. And I'm not a commie, so chill.

This marks the second job I got on the spot. Huzzah! Actually the interview process couldn't have been weirder. They sat us all in a conference room, telling us to pair up, take five minutes to get to know our partner and then we had to essentially explain who they are, their skills, and why they should be selected for employment. Unconventional, at best. Nevertheless, I got the job. So whatever.

Anycrap...orientation on Monday, bitches.

You may have noticed new tuneskies on the 'Space. I'd been looking for a song to post for a while, and I decided to go with Suicide is Painless, by Johnny Mandel and Michael Altman, which you'll no doubt recognize as the theme to the movie MASH, filmed in 1969 and released in 1970. Mike actually wrote the song to be used in a single scene of the film--the now infamous "Last Supper" scene wherein the dentist Waldowski prepares to commit suicide--but Mike's dad, director Robert Altman, and producer Ingo Preminger liked it so much, they had Johnny Mandel write some music for it and it ended up being used as the movie's main title theme. Two years later, an instrumental version was used for the premiere of the M*A*S*H TV series. End history lesson.

All I'm saying, is have a listen. You may like it. If not, fuck it.

That's pretty much it for now. Further bulletins as events warrant. Keep watching the skies.

****END COMMUNICATION****

Angels And Ministers of Grace, Defend Us!

2007-03-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

So let me tell you how much root canals suck.

No, really. I don't think you get it. They really suck.
Especially when persons make appointments for said procedures and fail to inform you until the night before. Which is really fucking classy, let me tell you. As luck would have it, I was in that very unfortunate position, and had to go under the drill just yesterday. I was sitting in that little chair for about two hours or more, getting drilled, prodded, poked, probed and systematically abused in every feasible way.

Oh, and it gets better: in addition to spending that amount of time under the drill, I get to make two more visits to conclude this procedure, and have yet another to look forward to in the near future to handle another dental problem. Don't get me wrong; I know I only have myself to blame, but that doesn't make it any easier. By the way, let me tell you how much local anesthetic sucks. Feels like a cross between electrocution and deep freezing, and in one painful, sharp jab. Oh and they do it not once, not twice, but thrice! Dear God in Heaven, what is this, the Dark Ages?

And after I get through this hellish dental nightmare, I get to have even more local anesthetic when I go under the knife to correct an inner ear problem. The good news keeps on comin', folks. I've got at least a month and a half of pain ahead of me.

The webcomic has kinda stalled, seeing as everybody got lazy. Surprisingly, I didn't see this one coming. Fortunately we'll be meeting up to kick around ideas some more and work together in the foreseeable future, so all is not lost. In the meanwhile I'll be honing my skills so as to be prepared to work on this, and future projects, and I'll also be hammering out the finishing touches on my as yet incomplete screenplay for a cartoon me and my friends are working on. Hopefully all this stuff will be completed soon, and links, URLs, downloadables, etc. will be available upon request. Further bulletins as events warrant.

And for those keeping track, I'm still broke. Huzzah!

Damn it all to hell if I'm gonna let a few setbacks stop me, though!
One way or another I'll earn a paycheck if I have to go back to temping as a Superhero. But hopefully '07 will not see the return of Spider-Dude, Spider-Man's non-union Nicaraguan equivalent.

Ahhh well. All for now, eager readers. The truth is out back.

P E A C E

Webcomic!

2007-02-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

I realize it's been some time since I updated this thing, but you know me--updates don't come often enough in my life to be able to consistently scrawl an interesting series of words onto this thing, but damned if I still don't try it!

The job search sluggishly continues, with no end in sight. I've got a few ideas of what places to hit up next, though. Gonna try for a job at The Red Cross--don't ask--and I'm also gonna try Subway, as well as the YMCA. Sure, they're not exactly the cushy office jobs I was looking for--and I never thought I'd actually live to enjoy a desk job--but at this point "Poopsmith" is looking mighty nice.

Actually the only interesting constant in my universe as it stands would be the webcomic I'm currently working on with a few cronies. We've already got a website lined up, and soon enough it'll be packed with our random, ass-backwards epics and tales to astonish. As of right now we're working on our first storyline, which, without revealing too much, is about an alien invasion. Other random stories and spectacular adventures will be coming soon enough, so keep those eyes peeled because the URL will be posted here soon enough, and the link will be included in my list o'links.

As of right now I'm working on a series of rough sketches and outlines for my end of the comic, including one or two roughly drawn pages. I still need to get my hands on some visual aids for the project, which I'm working hard to procure. Also the cover art for our little epics will be up on our fledgling site soon. Unfortunately this means I'll have to slow down on some of the other stuff I'm working on, but that's okay because mostly I've been doing a lot of writing anyhow, and not much actual artwork. Further bulletins will be posted as events warrant.

Alright, I've got coffee to drink, comics to draw, things to see and people to do, so I'll rock the blog again sometime later.

P E A C E.

Still Jobless! Will Drop Pants For $$$$

2007-01-24T17:17:00.000-08:00

Y'know, I was just marvelling at the futility of the cumbersome, almighty blog. How one manages to trudge out a daily record of ones comings and goings knowing full well that outside of a handful of people one already knows intimately, the world at large is completely uninterested unless you're dishing on the latest celebrity snafu, speaking ill of our Commander in Chief, or stationed in some God forsaken bunker somewhere in the middle east is beyond comprehension. And yet I manage to jot down a few random musings now and again.

These days, there's way too much spare time in the day to do it.
Since having to give up my cushy office, I've had nothing but trouble. Except for a lady who called me yesterday, the fish ain't biting. She was calling from someplace in Monrovia. It would be difficult at best to get from here to Monrovia with no transportation outside of an unreliable public transit system or a dusty, two-wheeled disaster of a bicycle like my own. I was grateful for the offer, though. She was the first and only offer since I posted an account on Monster. Oh sure, I contacted a fistful of employers and mostly got a frigid shoulder for my efforts. I'm hanging in there for some reason, though.

I forgot how much being broke sucks. I liked the certainty of a halfway decent piece of the pie now and then. I may just go begging for my old job back, on a somewhat limited schedule. I think I could handle the ride there if I didn't have to do it daily. Three times a week wouldn't be so bad. Thing of it is, I'd kind of like to gradually work my way towards contributing to the almost certain dissolution of our planet. Thoughts like that keep me warm at night.

Well, I guess I'll post another update as soon as one comes up. For right now all I can do is apply and wait. Catch you on the flipside, dudemeisters.

Unemployed!

2007-01-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

It begins.
I quit my job, ladies and gents. Not necessarily because I wanted to, either. The strain on my back and legs from having to ride a bike twenty miles a day, five days a week--ten of those miles uphill, mind you--was just too much, and I had to call it quits. I'm now struggling to find new employment around my own backyard. I went around today and yesterday looking for employment and all I got was the firm possibility of a definite maybe. I looked into City Hall H.R., and all they had available were positions for lifeguards, building permit inspectors and cops. I didn't wanna be a lifeguard, I don't wanna be a pig, and I'm not qualified to ... do ... whatever it is building inspectors do.

I'll be picking up on my search again in the A.M. One of the bookstores told me to come back then, 'cause their manager was out for the day or something, so we'll see what happens with that. If I'm gonna be completely honest, I don't see much happening. I was actually hoping to get into another office job, but we'll see. And I thought my money woes were bad before.

I actually applied at Albertson's. They have this little terminal where you can go ahead and fill out an application and it's entered into their system. The keyboard is made of little rubber do-dads that kinda feel like jello drops. They're also almost totally useless in terms of typing intelligible information into their system. The joys of unemployment.

I'll fill you cats in later on how I make out with the job search. Don't hope for too much.

Catch you later, ladies and germs. Fight the occupation.

The Beginning

2007-01-10T17:43:00.000-08:00

Of 2007, of course. A new year, a fresh start, a clean slate and all that good Christly garbage. Goodbye, Farewell and Amen to '06, and also to The O.C. Newport's gonna be a lot more boring now that the Cohen clan and the rest are going the way of dinosaurs and gasoline. Ironic, considering where gasoline comes from.

Anycrap... it's over, The O.C. is done, they bought the farm, they're officially room temp--that is, they will be in February. Fox phoned it in on the series which saved them--one bit of Simpsons hilarity depicted a statue of Mischa Barton at Fox Studios, of course lampooning The O.C. saving Fox--and it's due to ratings going way, way down. Which begs the question: was Marisa kicking the proverbial bucket the "jump the shark" moment for their dear little series? I mean once Marisa shuffled off this mortal coil, Ryan found himself cage fighting to get over the emotional stress. And sharks ducked and covered all around, so I guess that answers that.

Speaking of death, unfortunately we can't include Paris Hilton in The Big Three this time around, but keep your fucking fingers crossed for the sake of all that's good and holy. I was hoping she'd be number three--Gerry Ford and James Brown were one and two--in a Chihuahua-related immolation, but it's just as well that ol' Saddam got his in the form of an old fashioned noose around his neck. By the way, YouTube-ers, if you look real hard--or maybe not hard at all--you can actually watch ol' Chuckles eat it thanks to some industrious scamp who got a cellphone with video capabilities into the Lynchin' of Father Goose. How he got it past security, I'll never know; the point is you can actually watch the old bastard drop through the chute, and listen as people yell and cackle away. There's even a gruesome shot of him being dragged off to his final resting place, as whatever's in him rustles as it leaves.

The information age. Marvel, and cower.

Moving onto less gruesome stuff, the Carmona family Christmas--or as I like to call it, the Festival of the Empty Pocketbook--went off without a hitch. The kids got great, snazzy gifts, and I got a great, snazzy t-shirt. We watched El Chavo, since I got it for the wench on DVD. Fun times, for sure. The Shags sunk to a new low with his penny-pinching, getting me a gift card not for the traditional sum of twenty bucks, but rather fifteen. Merry Christmas indeed.

All was well, though. The kids certainly had a good time ripping open their gifts, and playing with the boardgames I got 'em. Which weren't cheap, I assure you. Stretched the dollar to the limit in the spirit of giving. And spending.

If you're waiting for New Year's Resolutions, go to hell; I don't make 'em. Perfection is not something that needs working on.

Alright, all for now ladies and gents. 'Til next time.

Broke As Per Usual

2006-12-17T20:04:00.000-08:00

Fuck a duck running, do I ever miss money.
Where the hell did it ever go? I had some, and then it was gone. Alas.

I know where some of it went.
I used most of my bonus to buy my nephews gifts, first and foremost. Everybody else'll have to wait until I get paid, quite possibly including my co-worker for our gift exchange. I didn't partake in the gift exchange last year due to my being new and not really knowing anybody. I know everybody now, so I kinda had to do it. I'm not complaining though, since I drew somebody cool.

It took some time but we finally got a tree like a week prior to X-mas, which is nothing new when it comes to this family. We were planning to get it two or three weeks ago but it didn't happen until today. We saw some signs for fifteen dollar trees at Eastland; turns out they were like north of fifty. Why in hell somebody would charge fifty dollars and up for a tree is beyond me, especially given the generally craptacular stock available. I actually saw a ninety-four dollar tree, which is absolute bullshit. We ended up paying less than thirty for a tree at the Home Depot, our usual tree-purchasing spot of choice. They actually have decent stock to look through for good prices, and not some ridiculously marked up horsecrap.

We still don't have any lights up, and I'm debating whether or not I'm actually gonna make the effort to set the whole thing up. It's a logistical nightmare, especially when you factor in the generally broken/useless quality of our lights after having been in storage for a year. I don't even know if we have enough to actually cover the house. The funny thing is that a lot of people actually put them on the front and sides; we usually stop with the front. The house actually does look pretty good with the icicle style lights.

What a time to be alive--Rosie O'Donnell getting racial on Asians, Britney Spears staggering around drunk with a visibly annoyed--and sober!--Paris Hilton in tow, and for once it isn't Paris showing off her bits 'n pieces in a drunken stupor. And who's the most interesting person in '06? Apparently it's ... you. Bullshit. Complete, undeniable bullshit. No amount of Vaseline on a camera lens can change that. What a crap year '06 must've been if they couldn't find a schmuck that was actually interesting enough to be named most interesting.

The search for more money goes on. Leave a comment, peeps. Vote Quimby.

****END COMMUNICATION****

Christmas Bonus, Bitch!

2006-12-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

I got quite a surprise today when my Christmas Bonus came in. I forgot all about those nifty little things!

Needless to say, any extra coin coming my way is a welcome surprise. Especially with the crap I have to put up with. Never let it be said that just because you put "Results needed ASAP" on a fax you will receive your results in a quick, timely, efficient manner. I have yet to get a voicemail in about two months from any of the people I frequently call for verifications. People that I call multiple times and fax multiple times simply refuse to get back to me. A crock of shit, I know, but it's my job.

There are days I wish a rocket would smash into the earth in my backyard so that I could go back there, walk in the wreckage and discover a magic ring and become a member of the GL Corps. Hey, it beats paperwork.

The benefits are crap, though, I'm told.
My bonus enables me to a) shop sooner for gifts and b) have more money for said gifts. I'll still have to deal with outrageously rude people in stores, for sure, though. At least I have a little more in the way of financial backing for the X-mas project now though. Merry F'n Christmas, bitches!

Work is still slow. I found myself reading about bowel resection earlier today in an effort to kill time. Fortunately a couple of my workers were out today and I was able to do some follow-up on their stuff. Why they were out, I dunno. My boss has this weird thing about arbitrarily handing out days and such. Last week he told three of the girls not to come in Thursday or Friday. A little strange, but I'm sure there's a method to his madness.

I'd like to think so, anyway.
Well, I think that's it for now, ladies and gents.
Time to party out, TGIF, bitches. Keep it real.

An Update For The Sake Of An Update

2006-12-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

I wish I could say a lot has transpired in the days since my previous post, but nothing much out of the ordinary has happened. I've pretty much stuck to the same rut that I've always been in, except now I've been having better luck when it comes to getting more work and staying later, and therefore earning more money. There's actually been a steady stream of work lately, although that stream seemed a little dry today. I had to actually dig into my co-worker's stuff to find stuff to do--which is allowed, don't worry--but basically I managed to pull a much fuller day than I have in months.

That isn't to say that everything's peachy keen. Forget I just used that expression; I actually meant to say that things aren't so great all over. I still have to drag my can ten miles and back everyday, which is a bitch like you wouldn't believe. I'm still not making as much money as I'd like, though I will be asking for a raise in due time. I've been making the same damn salary for too long, and it's either high time I picked up a little extra coin, or else it's high time I packed it in and found something different already, which has sounded like a good idea for a while, if only because there's been a steady lack of work.

As of this writing there haven't been many leaps or bounds in the way of my stories; I wish I could say it's because I'm stuck on some juicy plot point. I just haven't applied myself as much lately, and I really need to sit down and get my hands dirty again. It's been a while since I spent some time on it, so I'm thinking I'll get to it for the next couple nights. It helps that I recently acquired a bookcase, so my stuff isn't just laying on the floor anymore; I can actually walk up to a given shelf and grab a book from its place instead of having to scoop it up off the floor like an animal. My room is also looking neater than it has in years. I wish I could say the clean-up effort came of my own volition; it was actually my dad nagging me to get it done for reasons I can't begin to understand.

Let's put it this way: life has been slow, but not as slow as usual. I still don't see light at the end of the tunnel, but I'm getting there. Wish I could say I've been more gung-ho about everything, but alas it isn't so. It's been a while since I've seen the SICAMORE crowd; I should probably drop in on them this weekend and give 'em a how-do. I'm sure Lola will be happy to see me, and ol' Kody will probably slobber all over me too. The lunatic.

I might not be as sure about the direction I'm taking my story after all; in fact, I may just put it on hold and work on another one I came up with recently. Probably not a wise idea, but I was just considering it, is all. Every time I flip through The Dark Knight Strikes Again, I can't help but feel disappointed. Frank Miller is so much better than what he threw out with DK2, especially in the art department. If anything it'll show me what not to do. Maybe I ought to swing by John K's blog, and see what he's been writing about. Last I saw he'd just begun writing a how-to series. Gotta look in on that.

I'll make a mental note of it. Honest.
The Arizona excursion is finally firming up. Seems we'll be heading out MLK weekend to see old Ernesto, and hang out like old times. So far nobody has any scheduling problems and so far it seems like everyone is ready and excited to head out. Should be fun times if Ernesto's description of his area is any indication.

Not much else, ladies and gents. I'll get back to you in due time. Party on.

Reunited With The Wonders Of Technology At The Office

2006-12-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

I dunno if I mentioned it but our office got jacked three weeks ago. I'm not certain how the robbers managed to evade the security systems, but somehow or another they had time to steal eleven of the fifteen or so computers in our office. It took four weeks but we finally got new computers.

For the past four weeks, it's been nothing but hell--constantly bumping into other people either on the computer or waiting to use one. Hardly any work got done at all, at least in my case. With a hearty "Hiyo goddamn Silver," I turned my new computer on. The monitor's a little odd--somehow it's kind of bright without actually being that bright and the picture quality isn't that great. I had to fiddle with the settings because the soft glare was hurting my eyes. Figure we would end up with low end stuff.

At least everything else works fine, for the most part. I have to regain all my old favorites because it's a new comp and all, but that figures. It was very relaxing to finally be able to just sit at my computer and work at my own pace. There's still not much to do, unfortunately, but at least I have my own computer to use to handle what work there is.

The mailman called me an asshole today. That was kind of annoying since I didn't feel I did anything to deserve the rebuke. Basically as I was riding the Schwinnabago home I briefly took my eyes off the road and when I looked back up he was doing a power walk up some driveway. I had to hit the breaks hard to stop, and it spooked him because my rear tire's bald, and it squeals when you stop hard. I said sorry, but the guy muttered something like "get off the sidewalk, asshole" or some such thing. I think he was referring to the traffic law about bikes and sidewalks, which I never agreed with. He did have a point, but I don't think he had to be so caustic about it. I actually faced him down and apologized for startling him when he got to our house, but I didn't get to say anything about the asshole remark since Pops was standing right there. They joked like they were old friends for some reason. Figures.

The Search for More Money continues. More on that later. I'm gonna go handle the laundry. Stay classy, y'all.

Steady Updates, Even!

2006-11-30T21:05:00.000-08:00

Could this blog actually be picking up speed after laying dormant for so long? Not a chance--that'd require actual readers. I thought I'd go ahead and update this thing anyhow, though.

M*A*S*H blog is getting regular updates for the first time in God knows how long. Not that I wasn't watching, mind you--it's just that getting on here and updating hasn't happened as often as it should have. There's also the minor inconvenience of not having had anything to blog about besides...well, nothing. The ugliness that is work goes on; the only difference is that now I'm trying to do something I always wanted to and never actually sat down and applied myself to, and that of course is putting my graphic novel together. Speaking of, I should probably go work on it for a while tonight. Haven't picked it up since Glamis, so it's been a while.

Also, there's talk of a 4FM resurgence minus a couple originals. Don't know what direction that'll take, but rest assured the update will be here, as long as semi-regular updates on my book.

It took three weeks but it looks like the new computers are finally gonna be up at my work. None too soon--I'm getting kind of tired of having hop around the office looking for a computer to use, and apparently so is one of my co-workers who has had to share her computer with, well... everyone. Hopefully she won't have to after this week.

Nothing much else going on, ladies and gents. Life goes boringly on, at least for the moment, with little deviation. Sure, life tosses the abstract curveball here and there, but by and large the status quo reigns on, and has for some time. That's gonna change soon enough, and not just for myself. A buddy of mine quit his job, though for some unfathomable reason he did so without acquiring new employment elsewhere. He also plans to move out, though I don't see how he could without the proper funds in the way of a steady stream of liquid assets--which mind you, I STILL don't have. Just expressing concern, though--he has a way of getting himself out of just about everything. Too bad he couldn't get me out of jury duty...

By the way, for those who care, my last post marked my seventieth on this blogger thingee, so yay for trudging onward. Here's hoping for seventy more (not bloody likely.)

All for now, ladies and gents. Drink up.

Nerdiness, Thy Name Is Graphic Novel

2006-11-28T16:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm sure there's at least one person at home wondering, "Why a graphic novel all of a sudden?" Truth of the matter is I've been drawing since I could pick up a pencil, or crayon, or piece of flint dipped in charcoal. The drawings started crudely enough with stick-figure renditions of such favorites as Batman and Fred Flintstone. But they gradually evolved over time, and lately I've been really working hard at honing my craft and working towards a solid finished product. By that I don't just mean working on the drawing part of it, but the writing part most of all, and I've even been practicing lettering. You'd be amazed at how many young artists waste hours and hours of time drawing and re-drawing and re-designing characters without ever stopping to see if their handwriting is legible enough to not necessitate a letterer.

So what's it gonna be about, you ask? I have no idea. Well, I actually do have some idea--you can't work this hard on something and not have a few ideas as to what direction to take it all in. The main story I'm working on at the moment is somewhat biographical, as it draws from my experiences in band back in high school. There's not much more to it at the moment, though I do have a good idea where I'm taking it. There are other stories I have in mind, though none of them are fleshed out enough at the present time that they're worth mentioning, but give it a few weeks. By that time I'll probably be doing a lot more writing, and working on character design for my main story.

When I can get access to the necessary components I'll scan something and stick it on this thing to give you guys a preview to the masterpiece in progress. 'Til then you'll just have to wait and see what happens. And with the way I update this thing it could be a while.

Speaking of long overdue updates, the M*A*S*H blog has a new entry in it, so give that a once-over if you please. Yes, I did just plug a blog within a blog, 'cause I'm that fucked up in the head.

Still no computers at work. In case it wasn't previously mentioned in another blog--or your head was in your ass when it was--my place of business was robbed. Of the fourteen or so computers they took ten. As I previously mentioned they have yet to be replaced, even though it's been an entire holiday weekend already. Hopefully we'll get new equipment soon enough.

So how 'bout that Michael Richards? He just put a whole shoe store in his mouth, and probably just gave his career the maximum flush in the process, though it wasn't exactly going great to begin with. According to Richards a black man was heckling him in the crowd, so he proceeded to let fly with all kinds of racist remarks in blind rage. He's been banned from the Laugh Factory, and had to issue a public statement apologizing for his actions. Additionally the new Seinfeld DVD collection may already be being boycotted by the public at large, due in no small part to Richards' inflammatory remarks. Jerry Seinfeld wasted no time making a statement of his own since the guy's a savvy businessman and doesn't wanna lose money because one of his former co-workers went billy berserk over getting heckled. You know you're in hot water when old friends/co-workers publicly cover their asses to avoid having to be associated with your own mistakes.

Not much else to report on this end, ladies and gents. Keep it real, yo. I'm gonna go grab me some munchies. Remember, the truth is out there.

Doin' The Random Update

2006-11-27T15:15:00.000-08:00

Don't take this semi-regular update as a sign that this thing is back on an upswing, because it's only by the grace of god that my computer hasn't broken down yet. I'll try to get some new stuff on here once in a while, though, as I can manage it, which'll include stuff about my music shizzle, my drawings, and school and what not (did I just say school?) including my pending graphic novel. At the moment it's in the rough stages, and I'm focusing on the actual written plot, as well as fleshing out the characters. There's other stories on the way, but I think I'm gonna stick to focusing on this one for a while.

Went to Glamis for Thanksgiving. The actual given name for the location is the Algodones Dunes. Most people know it as Glamis, though. Nearly got killed a couple times on those crazy dunes, but that just comes with the territory. I'd love to get my hands on a sandrail, but it'll take more money than I can make in six decades working my current job; quite a chunk of change. Would be nice to have one, though.

Beyond my only just begun job hunt there really isn't much more to write about in terms of updating this crazy thing, but I'll have other stuff on here whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Other stories and musings and lots of bitching on the way, folks. Keep watching the skies.

****END COMMUNICATION****

Jury Duty, Nukes And My Train Didn't Stop In Tucumcari

2006-10-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

Jury Duty. Just thinking of those two wretched words is enough to tighten my colon. I call them up tonight to see if they've called my group number, but so far it hasn't happened. Additionally they expect me to call tomorrow night to see if I've been called then. Sons of bitches.

Oh, and guess what? North Korea has a nuke now. A working nuke, tested against the U.N.'s direct requests, and they don't seem to give a tenth of a shit about that. Thoughts like that keep me warm at night. Figure a nuclear winter would eventually wipe us off the face of this barely living planet.

And yet I still manage to ignore all that scary stuff and focus on how much work can suck sometimes. I had a girl very smugly tell me that I should look up something in the hardcopy next time instead of bugging the client, even though the info she was referring should be in the computer already, and it's her job to do that, and not mine. But wait, stop the presses, I'm thinking logically, which obviously doesn't work when you're dealing with people in the real world.

I'm trying to get back into semi-regular update mode, but the difficulty lies in writing something of note, writing about something interesting. Insofar, "interesting" hasn't exactly been a fitting word that can be used to describe my life as it stands these days. Guess that's how things are when you live day-by-day--you stop taking the big picture into account. Which can be a good thing since the picture's been pretty lousy-looking thus far. Not a whole lot to be happy about, proud of, and least of all hopeful for. When you've got a schmuck like Commander Kookoo Bananas at the helm, it doesn't get much more depressing.

Hackers on Myspace. It's getting a little out of hand--just a little. I know of at least three people who've had their Myspace hacked into by people looking to advertise everything from ring tones to adult sites. If you have the same password on your Myspace as your email address, you might want to correct that situation. These guys usually use bulletins for their operations, usually with some kind of flash/html link. Click the link and it looks like Myspace logged you out, and took you back to a login page, which is in fact designed to store email addy/password combos for later use. Always type www.myspace.com when you want to log back in if you've been logged out. Don't add strangers, ignore funny-looking bulletins, and keep an eye on your stuff. Just a little FYI for those of you privy to not losing your bank info.

Bought a couple graphic novels--the all-time classic Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Space Ghost, which is supposed to be an origin story for the classic character. Both great books, well worth the purchase. Don't worry, this isn't gonna turn into a comics review blog. Just thought I'd mention some of the material I've been reading lately.

Well, that's the end for now. If anything interesting happens, if I can come up with something worthy of this blog, I'll go ahead and write it up. 'Til then, bitches. Keep on smilin'.

So It's Time For The Semi-Bi-Monthly Update

2006-10-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here it is, kiddoes.
Well, Goddammit, it's not easy to come on and update, especially when you've got jack shit to write about. Life goes on, despite any number of global tragedies, and the status quo reigns over all, with very little interruption. Job continues on in its tiresome, plodding way. It's frightening how much time can drag on, and quickly slip away into the grand design of things. 10-31-06 marks a year at this new job, which is ridiculous. I didn't think I'd make it past 6 months. And yet, here I be.

I think this marks the first late night blog here at Late Night. Huzzah, huzzah.
So much for maintaining the irony around here. I have an ex who won't leave me alone for some reason, which is quite annoying, to say the least. She insists on salvaging the friendship we once had, but it has fallen by the wayside. Tough rocks for that bitch.

I have quite a few projects in the works, most of them musical, some of them artistic. More on those as developments warrant.

Time for shut-eye. Laters, gaterz.

2006-09-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

So I got a new bike. It was a well priced bike, too. I thought it was gonna be a lot more expensive--the tag said $79.99--but it turned out to be a little more than fifty bucks. A good buy, I do say so myself. Lucy suggested recently that I apply the use of imagery to this blog. I'd post a picture of the bike, but I'm so low-tech that I don't even have a digital cam. So here's an artist's rendering.

Sure, I should probably be worrying about the car situation, but what's done is done. Or what's bought is bought.

At some point I'm gonna have to get that damned Plymouth in working order. Not exactly sure as to how, but I'll find a way. Right now I'll focus on just getting it registered, blah blah blah. More on that later. The quest for the new job continues, ladies and gents, and a phonecall to a friend tonight should send me sailing at least somewhat in the right direction.

From what she tells me this place she worked at pays well and should be an easy job for me, considering the fact that I've been to the inferno that is called office work--which Dante wouldn't buy tickets for--and I'm well aware of the pain and suffering associated with such work. Plus the pay is sweet, so that's a major step in the right direction. We'll see what happens.

All for now, ladies and gents.

Another Update? Couldn't Be...

2006-08-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

I find blogging to be a very tiresome, boring process, if only because I rarely have anything to add to the last blog, nor do I have a lot going on in my day to day existance. I mean, sure I could regale you with tales from my many trips to the can, but somehow I think that'd be less than enjoyable reading material, no matter how hilarious--or gruesome, depending on your own point of view--it may be.

Bowel movements aside--and here's hoping I never have to use that segue again--not much went on today. Something I've come to expect from my basically uneventful life. Work today wasn't as hard as it usually is, probably because I didn't have to deal with as much strife. People actually responded, and in a timely manner. Yesterday actually marked a day wherein I achieved a personal best and got a fax back in half an hour, the quickest to date. Most people take a lot longer than half an hour. You're lucky if 24-48 hours translates into a week and a half.

This particular work week seems to be flying by faster than most. Usually on most Tuesdays I'm at work cursing the fact that I still have to get through most of the work day in addition to getting through the rest of the week. Much to my surprise, it's already Wednesday.

Well, I think that's all I have for now, seeing as the hour grows late, and I'm actually getting tired--which is maddeningly depressing, given it's not even 8PM yet--so I guess I'll leave you all to ponder when and where my blog'll strike next.

Kiss my grits.

Transitions, Transmissions, Travesties

2006-08-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't been as regular about updating this thing--or the MASH blog for that matter; what happened with that?--but I try, dammit.

Sometimes shit just doesn't happen.
You go through your day-to-day routine and nothing changes for a while. Shit gets boring. Actually some stuff has happened. Smart City Grinds, a venue that was always good about getting 4FM booked for shows has shut down. Folded up. The city of Azusa, in its infinite wisdom decided to shut the place down because a few little emofucks got too rowdy; they made too much noise and broke too much stuff, and since the place is right in front of residential housing the city decided it would be better if no more shows happened there. It's really an unfortunate turn of events, and I'm definitely gonna miss playing shows there.

Also 4FM is now minus two members--brothers, really--and they'll be sorely missed. We had some fun times, but I guess it's time to part ways. Words can't convey the pleasure we've had making music together and having such fun times, and I hope everything goes great with them in the future. In the meanwhile we're searching for new members. So if you play bass, drums, or sing at least better than a bull moose trying to pull its foot out of the mud, give us a call! We'd love to have your input. Also we could use a trombone player, so step up! If you know people, spread the word.

The hunt for wheels that work goes on. I could scrap the three busted lemons we have on our property and make some cash with which I could at LEAST begin to pay for something better. Something that doesn't have a transmission problem, or a broken axel or horribly atrophied parts. Something that actually ... runs.

Well, I gotta get going.
All for now, ladies and gents.

Blah Blah Blog

2006-07-18T20:20:00.001-07:00

My but the house is quiet for 9PM.
It didn't strike me until fairly recently.

Job/money/lack-of-a-car woes continue to mount.
I used to be able to say my job wasn't so bad, but that was a long time ago. Now people in H.R. are starting to tell me I have to fax in a release for salary info all the time, as opposed to only the few cases here and there a couple months back. Somebody up there loves me.

The office is getting boring a lot quicker these days. Calling people and getting them to tell me stuff has lost some of its zing, if it ever had any. Some lady waited well over a week to call me and tell me she was having trouble sending the fax, despite having our phone number right in front of her on our letterhead. Lobotomy patient, or criminal mastermind? You tell me.

Also I keep getting assignments requiring me to call high schools that are probably closed for the Summer. It's very annoying when you sometimes have a limited amount of time to work on those. It's even more annoying when a lady flat out refuses to help you and continues to refer you to an online source, despite telling her that your subject doesn't fit the criteria for the search. Am I painting a clear enough picture of my disdain?

It isn't all that bad, though. The people I work with are good people, and they're pretty nice. I get along with them well enough, and my boss isn't a bad guy either. I just wish I made a tiny bit more money than I do now. Also I wish some of these people knew enough to call me back or respond to a fucking fax.

21 years and I never dreamed I'd be holding down a desk job.

Not much to report at the moment, folks.
Still waiting on further details regarding both my bands, and still looking for a better means of producing liquid assets. You can hope for more consistent updates if you must, but I wouldn't asphyxiate myself.

All for now, ladies and gents. Keep watching the stars.

Lazy Sunday Blog

2006-07-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

Warm today, but not as hot as it's been lately.
I remember a friend complaining about the heat in like April or May, and I said "Yeah well, the worst is yet to come." Boy do I hate being right all the fucking time.

On the plus side, I have friends with pools.
I'm considering digging one of my own in the blistering wasteland we call a backyard. It'll cost a pretty penny, but then again it'll definitely be worth it. It'll also make for much nicer scenery than what we have now, which is looking a lot like 'Nam.

So Hermes J. Cat, willful accomplice to the Carmona crime family is no more. He ceased to be at around 12PM on the 15th day of July, 2006, Saturday. Acute kidney failure and bladder problems were too much for him to overcome. He was a peace maker, a lover, and an avid bird watcher. His favorite shows were M*A*S*H, Degrassi, and All My Children. He loved steak, chicken, and the occasional sparrow. His favorite books included The Outsiders, Ender's Game, and he was fond of Dickens. Turn-ons included Eva Longoria, Jessica Simpson and chicken. Turn-offs included stale food and children. He was single, survived by a family that will miss him dearly, and trolling alley cat whores whose hearts he broke.

So dawn goes out to day, nothing gold can stay. We'll miss you, buddy. Give Jesus my best.

Moving on, I'm gonna be in another band pretty soon, the working name of which will be Spearchucker Jones. A reference to the character of the same name from the movie MASH. Captain Oliver Harmon Jones earned the nickname for his skill with the javelin. He was also a negro, but I doubt that had anything to do with it. At any rate, it's just a thought. There are many other names we're considering. Fred Williamson, former football star and blacksploitation film star played the part of Captain Jones, even though he mentioned he was "not exactly crazy about the name." The band's gonna be a traditional ska band, very laid back, no distortion guitar. It sounds pretty fun, and I've been looking to get back into ska anyway.

Nothing much else to report, ladies and gents.
Keep your eyes peeled. This blog will be updated on an irregular basis, so stay tuned. And keep a look out for my new band, and keep your ears tuned to the musical orgasm that is Four Fingered Mel, my current band.

All for now. Enjoy your wanderings.

Boring Weekend

2006-07-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

At least I got a chance to forget about work. Unfortunately I have to go back tomorrow.

Last night was a trip, in that I was online roaming around Myspace, when all of a sudden it occured to me that the only sound in the entire house besides the whine of this war-surplus torpedo we call a computer as it struggled to run was the sound of my typing. So I got up, poked around and realised everybody took off. So I was home alone on a Saturday night online, poking around Myspace, basically performing the work of an online nerd/loser. Good to know.

I did however have a moment of excitement last night when I discovered that Nickelodeon was running Rocko's Modern Life, which I hadn't seen in about twelve years. I've also noticed Ren & Stimpy on from time to time. Both of these are some of the finest cartoons to come out of the Golden Age of cartoons--namely, the nineties. Those were the days, ladies and gents: The Tick, Batman: The Animated Series, Bobby's World, Eek! The Cat, and many other classic cartoons were on in those days, the very finest cartoons of them all next to the classics that came out of the eighties. These days all you see is shit like Pok-E-Mon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and all that other piddling crap I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Certainly a good portion of the anime out there is worth watching. I just miss the great cartoons of my day that have gone by the wayside. I'm constantly hoping and praying for DVD revival, but given the daunting task of dealing with who gets the rights, etc. it may be decades before some of these great cartoons make it to DVD land--and by that time the next big thing in technology will have come along, and DVD's will be in a pile with Beta tapes, VHS, and laser disks. God help us all.

Well, I guess I'm on my way out to take a dip. More rantings and ravings later on, kiddos.

Fight the occupation!

Bikes Suck

2006-06-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

Yeah I thought I'd do some more complaining about my lack of gas-powered transportation. What? Expected me to be hanging around Edwards or AMC looking to watch Superman Returns like everyone else who inexplicably can't get enough of the big, blue boyscout? Not so much. I'll probably watch it later, or tomorrow or something, if at all. You all should know I'm a well-documented Bat-fan.

On the way to work today, after toiling to get my damned bike running again, this guy on a bike pulled up behind me and was riding my ass. On a bike for some reason. He was in some kind of hurry or something. We get to a side street, and he pulls next to me and tries to pass me with the intent of using the street instead of the sidewalk I was on, when all of a sudden he eats it and hard. I mean, this guy ate shit! He went over the handle bars and landed on the side of his face, totally nose-diving into the blacktop. He was one of those dudes with a helmet and shades and gloves and the whole "I'm a biker and damned proud of it" type of thing. Stupidest shit I ever saw, the whole spandex hotpants and helmet thing. I mean, you're on a fucking bike! You can barely go 20 or 30 miles an hour, if that! Nobody has an ounce of respect for a man on a bike unless he's missing a testicle and beating the French on their home turf. Or unless he has a motorcycle, but that's stating the obvious.

I'm kind of growing weary of the ten-to-twelve mile ride to and from the office. It's a huge pain in the ass to have to get up early enough to make it on time. Plus by the time I get in the office each day I'm sweating like a pig. If my job were closer to the house, and paid me more money I'd have nothing at all to complain about. I'm serious--this isn't really that bad of a job, it's just somewhat inconvenient to have to go so far out of my way. To give you an idea it's about a fifteen or twenty minute drive. Biking takes twice as long. Otherwise it's actually not that bad, even with some of the stupid people I have to talk to on a daily basis.

Well that's all I got for now. Keep watching the skies.

Piece Of Shit Cars

2006-06-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

And the cycle begins anew.

About three or more years ago we had two broken down cars in our driveway which were rotting away, with parts atrophying left and right. It wasn't until fairly recently that we were forced to have them hauled away and scrapped, mostly at the behest of the city since mom refused to listen and get it done sooner so we could have a little spare cash.

Now it begins again.
We now currently have a piece of shit Toyota Tercel sitting in the driveway being eaten away by scum, bugs, and cats. It has yet to pass the smog check and it probably has some other underlying problems to be taken care of. And no radio. In addition we have a Plymouth Acclaim sitting right next to it with an alleged transmission problem collecting an equal amount of cat piss and dung. Yet nothing is being done about either one.

For me, it's a matter of picking the lesser of two evils. I can either drive the one that hasn't passed the smog check--which would be somewhat easier to deal with in terms of maintenance; also it's a Toyota--but that one apparently doesn't do so well on freeways. Then again, what else can you expect from a four-banger? On the other hand I could drive the Acclaim, but I'm told it sucks up the gas like Courtney Love sucks up the...ahhhh forget it. Bottom line it'll be expensive to drive just in terms of gas alone, and then I'll have to drop a few bills on a transmission... and maintenance, if I decide not to put the thing in with the aid of friends, which would be cheaper.

Or I could buy a new car. Pause for laughs...and move on. I need a higher-paying job. Background research just doesn't have the same aura it used to. When I first signed up I thought it'd be some Starsky & Hutch kinda deal, with lots of driving around and shootings, pimps 'n hos, crack busts and all of that fun stuff. Turns out I sit at a computer wishing for immediate destruction every morning like all the other 9 to 5ers. Sad, yes?

I'm not at work this morning due to a malfunction on the part of the Schwinnebago. I'm kind of glad it happened in that I get a day to relax and also I don't want to ride the twelve miles to and fro today. I could... I won't. Boss man told me to take it easy 'cause it's a slow day today, but I kind of didn't want to do it, seeing as I like money, and I tend to get less for not showing to work.

Alright. Food. Then television. Also bike. Be cool and leave me comments.

P E A C E

30 Days Or So Later...

2006-06-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

So I decided to update this thing for no other reason than the fact that I hadn't.

Played at Smart City Grinds last night, and had one hell of a fun time. Orange was the main attraction, a relatively new band--not much older than us--signed with the Hellcat/Epitaph label. I was wondering why I hadn't heard about them and it turns out they've only had one album come out. They were quite good, although a good portion of the people had left by the time they played. Oddly enough a large group of people stuck around to watch Supernothing and this other band (name escapes me.) I was a little unnerved when I heard Supernothing would be playing because I was under the impression it was the original Supernothing, a ska band we hadn't played with in years. Turns out it was a different band with a female singer, and they rocked hard. The band after them played surf music which was really awesome. First band must be new or something, or at least that's what I thought--they sounded a little green. They did alright for themselves either way.

The weird thing was we went up second to the headlining band--originally we were third out of the five groups, but ended up in the slot right before Orange. We got a pretty good crowd reaction for a Sunday night, and it was a really fun show overall. We were a little worried because we've got this new trumpet player and he just learned our stuff, and has a lot more to learn. Also we were playing some new stuff, so that was kind of a small hitch as well.

Don't know if we'll be playing any other shows in the future, but I'll keep y'all posted--even though you bastards never show up.

It's kind of sad that 30 some-odd days didn't result in more interesting stuff happening. I pretty much spent the entire time preparing for last night. The rest of the time I was at work putting up with annoying people who never return calls or fucking faxes. I'm seriously considering that asking for a raise may be in order. For the shit I have to put up with $8.00 Per Hour ain't cutting the mustard. One can only put up with The Man's bullshit for so long.

Anyway I've got t.v. to watch and people to do, so I'll leave you guys to ponder my random musings and comment randomly on them. See you in another thirty days.

Maybe.

Turns Out I'm Alive

2006-05-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

Barely.
Moving on.

Y'know, I'd heard people say before that ol' Bush was wound tight enough to snap, but this is ridiculous. I mean, whose side is he on? I'd say the immigrants, considering his statements that he will find some way to allow the decent hard-working people who are already here to earn their citizenship, but then he goes and says he's gonna send 6,000 National Guard troops to the United States/Mexico border, for "security reasons." Anybody else feel like a fried egg?

It's obvious that he can't decide who to pander to, so he's doing his best to please as many people as possible while at the same time making no logical discernible effort to come up with an effective plan of action. Then again, when has Bush ever given us the confidence that he'll execute a logical plan of action, let alone an effective one? Of course you've gotta stand up and salute the Joe-sixpacks of the U.S. of A., standing up and expressing such intelligent, well-pondered, clearly thought out opinions as "we have a hole in the ground in New York because we didn't secure our borders," and "they're gonna ruin the middle class for everyone!" And you wonder why I'm such a cynical fuck.

Why is there this sudden interest in illegals, anyhow? Why not ten years ago? Why hasn't there been an effective plan set in motion? Am I opening a barrel of monkeys by blogging about this shit, or what?

Well, the truth is this is all a ruse to distract you from two things: for one, I haven't blogged in a month and for two, nothing worth blogging about has happened in that time beyond the aforementioned lobotomized drivel.

Maybe I should just quit this whole "thinking logically" thing. Maybe I should raise chickens.

For those interested, once again we're rockin' out at Smart City, in Azusa. On the 25th of June, at about 8PM. Orange, a band signed to the Epitaph recording label will be there, so this should prove to be a most memorable engagement. So don't fucking miss it!

Alright, I got people to do, things to see, so later, sk8ers. LOLOMGWTF!!11!1!1

Good Times At The Grinds

2006-04-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

So for those of you deadbeats who weren't at the show, it rocked hard.
We got a really lively crowd, and they were very into it. The most amazing moment of the night came when Bagel started his rap, and everybody went nuts--placed exploded. Nothing rocks harder than a big fat white guy getting his jam on. Overall it was a really fun performance. Lots of energy.

Don't know when our next show is, but mine could be sooner rather than later. The guy who drummed for us that night said he'd be our permanent drummer if I'm willing to permanently play sax for them. They have a show coming up on Saturday at The Grinds, and they want me to play. Also, they're in the process of recording, and they may want some sax stuff on their CD. I haven't really thought about it all, but it should be fun, I guess. They play some original stuff, and a lot of covers. So that should be fun times, assuming I decide to give it a go.

Nothing much else of note lately. Band's just trying to survive, considering some line-up changes maybe, if it needs to be done. Trying like hell to be patient over our impending CD. Nothing else really going on. Shows coming up in the future, further bulletins as events warrant.

Alright ladies and gents, I'm out. Be a friend to your toothbrush.

C'mon, People...

2006-04-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

For fuck's sakes, what's eight bucks to you?
What could you possibly do with that kind of money?

Buy a hamburger? Maybe add fries?
How 'bout a new pair of tube socks?

C'mon, ladies and gentlemen--you know just as well as I do that wasting money like that, in such a frivolous manner would be criminal. So take a moment and reconsider how you spend those eight bucks. Why not see a show? As a matter of fact, I've got the perfect suggestion: come watch Four Fingered Mel, as they rock out at Smart City Grinds, in Azusa! You'll have a blast as we croon along and rock along, and make merry, for sure! Like you had better plans...

It's all happening on April 15th. Show starts around 8PM, if I'm not mistaken. Hurry up and run down to the Grinds, and pick up your tix! Go! NOW!

Alright, enough with the advertisements.
Not that there's much to cover these days. Work is the same, though it can get boring sometimes. I often catch myself wondering if they've been giving me easier assignments lately, but haven't really asked about it. Sometimes I wonder if maybe I should find something a little bit more worth my while moneywise to get into. I mean, the work isn't that hard to begin with, so maybe I'm just coming into my own a bit. Entering things into the computer all day and calling people who never call back, and faxing people who for days don't even offer any inkling as to whether or not a fax has been successfully received does become somewhat of a pain in the ass after a while. Maybe I can find something more fun, for more cash sometime soon. At any rate it would be nice if I at least made enough to fix up the Plymouth. Or better yet, if I made enough to actually buy a new car. It's definitely do-able, from what I hear. Takes a little something they call "money" though...

4fm raked in some dough this weekend. Made seventy bucks in tips at a party. My friend Stogie calls me up and says his friend's band is probably gonna have to back out from playing at Sage's birthday party. Sage is another friend, so I was more than willing to get the other members together to play. So even though our regular drummer had problems, we were able to get a back-up to play, and we had a great time. Everybody loved our stuff, and loved the covers we did, too--which incidentally, we hadn't really practiced--and our rendition of "Anything, Anything" which we haven't played for years went off without a hitch, and was very well received. So everybody had a great time, and Ed, the guy whose house the party was held at invited us to play there again after our show on the 15th, as a sort of after party. Hopefully we'll get a chance to do so. If we do end up rocking out at Ed's again, we'll more than likely play our regular set onstage, and then launch into a cover-fest at Ed's. Sounds like good times to me.

Well, I'll try and update more frequently, ladies and gents. As if you read.

All for now.

P E A C E

Updates & Such

2006-03-30T14:15:00.001-08:00

So I went with my pals in the band to pick up the tickets for our next event, which'll be at Smart City Grinds, in Azusa, on April 15. I believe the show starts around 8PM, and tickets are eight bucks. This will mark 4fm's second performance at this venue, our first one being one of the best we've had to date. There's the semi-standard lineup of four bands, though I don't know how we fit into said lineup. Pretty In Stereo is headlining, a band I've never really heard of, so we'll see how good they are. It's always fun to go to shows and see what the other bands are like, as far as performance and musicianship, which do still count in my mind, no matter what some of these guys think.

Also, we're still trying to work out the finer points with regards to setting up those shows in San Diego and T.J. I don't really have any new information to offer on that point, besides mentioning that we're trying to get ahold of the promoter in charge of making those shows happen. Also, we're still waiting on the finishing touches to be completed on our much-awaited CD. Hopefully this thing will be done sometime soon, as I'm just as excited as everyone else to hear the finished product.

You may have noticed a few new additions in the way of links to others' blogs. Have a look, and see some of the best artwork I've ever seen. These people know their stuff. Also, spread the word about fucking John K. already!

Alrightee, that's all I got. 'Til next time, ladies and gents.

Latest Developments

2006-03-26T12:10:00.000-08:00

A lot's been going on with the band lately.
First of all, it looks like we have a permanent drummer at long last in the form of our original drummer, Carlos. His former band Holloway recently self-destructed, which sort of left him open for new stuff--or old stuff, as it were. Certainly, it was a shame to get him to drum for us under these circumstances.

Tito and Bagel used to work for SamAsh, the music store. Recently we signed a sweet deal whereby we get $250 in store credit a month which can go towards accessories such as cables, reeds, etc. We also get a mention on their website, and in return we advertise for them. A sweet deal to be sure. We've also got shows coming up in April, and we may be playing in San Diego and T.J., though nothing's set in stone just yet. More on that later.

I think that's all the band news for now. Keep an eye out for more stuff in the future.

All for now, ladies and gents. A short entry, but an informative one. So stop bitching.

Random Thoughts On The Crap I Draw

2006-03-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

Drawing is a hideous bitch-goddess.
I'm serious. I mean, don't get me wrong--I have fun drawing most of the time. Lately though, I've tried to do a little bit more than just draw straight, and flat, like I used to. Lately I've been trying to work on the finer points of construction, and step-by-step rendering of a character, rather than just drawing something straight. On the one hand, it's given me a fantastic new way of seeing things, and taught me quite a bit about how characters can come to life, but on the other hand it can get ugly, believe me. I'll be penciling something together, paying close attention and drawing carefully, and then I'll ink the damned thing, and before I know it, a few eraser swipes later, I'm left with something that doesn't quite resonate the same way as it did in pencil. To be completely fucking frank, it sucks. Punctuality is a bitch.

I guess I have John K. and his blog to thank for actually getting me to start thinking about--and learning from--these particular mistakes. I have a few theories I'll have to hammer out over time. John K.'s input definitely helps out a lot.

I just realised that this is porbably the latest at night that I've ever written on this thing, so I guess I'm getting closer to my namesake, to some degree. I still haven't watched Conan in months, which is sad. I miss that guy--he never failed at making me laugh. I should pop in a blank tape and record it once in a while. I also haven't gotten the oppertunity to watch M*A*S*H as much, which kind of sucks, too. Need to find more time for my shows.

Not exactly looking forward to work tomorrow.
Or am I just not looking forward to getting up? Probably a little bit of both. Also, I'm not really looking forward to tracking people down, and finding out why they haven't responded to my calls, or faxes. It's really a pain. Thankfully, I don't have as much follow-up to do as I did a couple days ago. Hopefully I don't have that much more new stuff, either.

Well I think that's all for now, ladies and gents.
Peace out, yo.

#50

2006-03-21T21:49:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Lucy, for giving me an idea for writing this, my fiftieth blogger entry.

She commented in my last entry that there are no starving artists in America. I contend this is because a good portion of the individuals who reffer to themselves as "artists" are in it for a fast buck, and usually make one, by being more of a follower than an artist. There are plenty of bands that are trying to make it out there, some of them good, some of them not. A lot of them are in it for that fast track to fame, and are doing their best to shamelessly copy what's popular at the moment, almost to the point of copying entire songs. They exist solely for that elusive, holy grail of fame and fortune, and nothing else. As a result, a lot of what they produce is useless waste, with no meaning, devotion, or artistry behind it.

Thankfully, there are a good many bands like mine that are out there to have fun, play music, and party, and aren't just in it for dreams of glamour and prestige. They're out there working hard to entertain their audience, create something meaningfull, and generally have a good time. That's what's missing in music these days.

Okay, on to something else: I recently purchased the Ren & Stimpy Seasons 1 & 2 DVD boxed set. It has some of the greatest episodes, and offers commentary from series creator John Kricfalusi, among others.

Speaking of John K., he's here on blogger, and his blog will soon be linked up to mine. Be on the look-out for that one, folks.

I think that's pretty much it for now.
Take care of yourselves, and each other.

A Blog About Nothing

2006-03-14T09:44:00.000-08:00

Turns out I need more cash.
I mean, I make a somewhat decent amount of money, but because I'm stuck going to school, I don't get to work as many hours, and therefore make less money than if I were to just work nine to five. To that end, I'm gonna have to either find a new, higher-paying job--which would probably have to be something like what I'm doing now--or else, I'm gonna have to get a second job. I'm gonna be looking into the fabulous world of bartending, and serving up liquid courage for the vishnicker'd.

Ahhh Myspace...will you ever win?
Not with Tom at the helm.

Alright folks--I realise I'm probably not the only one this is happening to, but I'm getting to the point where if Tom doesn't do something about these cute little, fuzzy, "technical difficulties," I'll be forced to kick his face down his throat, then shove my foot up his ass and kick his face back up his throat.

The constant errors, the "You have to be logged in for that!" messages--even though you were clearly logged in just moments ago--all that great, vaguely-reminiscent-of-a-high-colonic fun just doesn't seem to have the same impact anymore. It wears thin.

Sure, Tom's probably been up at all hours working out the kinks, fixing the bugs, trying to find a way to make our little online collective run more smoothely...or he could be drinking..heavilly. After all those e-party fouls...

I've ranted about this elsewere--I've taken my fight to the 'Space itself, and I suggest you do the same. It may be unfair, but I think it's high time Tom took some of these threats to his life a bit more seriously.

I have yet to complete my third set of lifting for both the power clean and the bench. I don't know...maybe doing six reps of 160 after having done ten of 120 and eight of 140 isn't quite as easy as I thought it would be. Then again, maybe it's just as difficult--if not more so, than I thought it would be. I managed to do most of my reps, so I guess I'm in okay shape, but I could be better. There's always room for improvement, although there's always the fear that if I do just one more squat, or power clean, I'll be genuflecting for the rest of my life.

Would that I could find something interesting to write about in this damned thing, I'd come back more often and do so. I suppose I could mention some of the stuff I've been working on in terms of drawing and writing, but beyond a few sketches, and rough outlines, nothing worth mentioning has been produced, and I'd rather this be a forum for observation, humor, and general bitching, which we all do at some point on blogs.

I'd mention a few examples at the risk of opening a powder keg *cough*brokebackmountain!*cough* but ehhhh... I digress.

Enough for now, I suppose.

Rambling On Along

2006-03-07T09:30:00.000-08:00

It's been an uneventful couple weeks.
Beyond going to school--when I feel like it--and going to work, nothing much has happened. I'm still waiting for the cd, which is in the final stages of mixing/mastering/taking levels. In the meanwhile I've had to be content with listening to the unmastered tracks which are now up on our Myspace. There's maybe three or four songs up there, which sound pretty good, although at some points intonation is a little rocky; hopefully that's one of the things that has been looked into.

The CD is twelve tracks long, and mostly features some of what we now consider slightly older material, if only because we've been trying to work out new songs for a while.

I had to go through a max lift today, which was tiring. Basic idea: lift, until you can't; the last amount of weight you can successfully lift is your max. I got as far as 175 on the bench, but couldn't do 185, though I tried my damnedest. I got as far as 245 on squats, though I could've done about 265 or more. I just didn't want to risk straining my back. Put on too much weight when you're squatting, and you'll end up genuflecting for the rest of your life. I managed to do 135 on the power clean, which took me by surprise since I hate doing the power clean. All in all though, I was pretty much satisfied with my performance. Only thing is now, I want to go home and sleep.

Well, I think that's all for now, ladies and jerks.
'Scuse me while I kiss the sky.

Stupid Federal Holiday...

2006-02-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

So yesterday, I get up at the ass-crack of dawn, as per usual. It's Monday morning, around 7AM, and at this point I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground I'm so goddamned tired, but somehow I manage to roll over, force the ol' grey matter to start running, and within minutes, I'm freezing my ass as I get into some street clothes, and then freezing my ass on the street, making my way to work.

A brief busride followed by a brisk bike ride, and then I'm within sight of my comfy, warm, secure office...and I notice the parking lot's empty...and there's nobody there. I kick dirt and swear for about a solid five minutes, wondering where the hell everyone is; the office is supposed to open at 8:30AM, and it was now 9AM. My boss was not there, nobody from the office had arrived... I suddenly found myself standing in the blistering cold outside the office, alone. Then it hits me: it's a holiday.

With much fury, I curse my way back in the direction of home, wondering why nobody at work had reminded me. I guess they assumed I'd know it was a federal holiday, and I could stay home; the thing of it was, the last holiday, we had to work, so like a schmoe, I assumed nothing would change this time around.

I hate President's Day. I hate it. It's stupid. What's the point? What's the big deal, anyway? Why dedicate a day to all the former leaders of the free world? It's ludicrous. Especially when you have the nerve not to remind a guy to not come into work that day.

The worst thing about it all is that it's one less day of work, and therefore less money made on my part. Which stinks, 'cause I need all the dough I can get my filthy mits on.

Of course, there's also the fact that I didn't get to sleep in, which really is almost as bad. Hard enough going to work and school all early in the morning without catching at least forty winks at some point.

Had to check some mail right now, and delete some crap. Through the miracle of hypertext time compression, it has been about .003 seconds since you read the last paragraph, but about five minutes since I wrote it. I had to check my hotmail account, and yahoo, and even just discussed my rather quick--but rather poor--completion of a recent test.

Well, I think I've griped enough for this morning.
More griping on the way.

Keep on truckin'.

CD News

2006-02-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

Well, folks--the CD will be done really, really soon. Mixing and mastering is almost complete, and the tangible, final fruit of our labor will be available before you know it. It's a little exciting to stop and think that finally, after all this time, we'll have the finished product in our hands.

If you recall, it wasn't all that long ago that I was cursing and fuming because after a month of late nights--sometimes going from 10PM to 2AM--working hard, recording and re-recording, and really doing our best to put this thing together in as timely and efficient a manner as possible, the damned thing got deleted, and we had to start from that proverbial square marked "one." It was disheartening, frustrating, and a very unsavory situation to be in. Needless to say, we were royally and summarily pissed.

Flash forward about five months, and here we are, on the brink of seeing how we did, and what our finished, final product is going to sound like. Rest assured, copies will be distributed all around.

More than likely, this little gem is gonna lead to more shows, and more oppertunities. Exciting stuff, no doubt--I wished we had a CD more than once, on many occasions in the past, while were talking to scores of people. Hopefully now, this thing can act as the springboard we've been looking for.

Well, I guess that's all for now, folks.
CD coming soon.

A Random Entry

2006-02-14T09:36:00.000-08:00

What the hell is this world coming to?
Everyone I know is either engaged, getting married, or pregnant. It's almost absurd. I'm not 4 years removed from high school, and everything's shot to hell in a handbasket.

Not that having a kid isn't a great thing; it's just that everyone sort of ended up with child or on their way to being married almost in a flash, as if it were the fashionable thing to do. Maybe I'm just a little taken aback because I don't see myself anywhere close to doing anything that extreme in the near future. That can change if lightning were to strike, however. I do need some cash though, either way.

One of my friends just messaged me about how her wedding is gonna be a small affair, another just messaged me asking if she'd told me yet about how her sister is taking the vows. It's just a little bit bizarre to me.

Up until about an hour ago, I hadn't realized it's Valentine's Day.
I hate Valentine's Day. Such a sham. We're asked to spend our hard-earned cash on expensive baubles supposedly to express some kind of shallow love, all at the behest of Hallmark. I'm one of the firm believers in the sentiment that everyday should be Valentine's Day in a relationship, though God willing without all the expenditures. I've got enough to worry about without having to buy roses and an eight-pound box of chocolates with the meager amount of liquid assets I produce on a regular basis.

I'm looking forward to going into the office tomorrow, to earn some much-needed cash. I like what I do, I just wish I made a little bit more. Other than that, I don't have many complaints, even though some of the people I have to talk to in order to get information are kind of dumb. Also, since I work every other day, people come in and work on my stuff, and sometimes things get lost, or else I don't know if they're done, which can be a royal pain in the ass. Hopefully things won't be too chaotic tomorrow.

Well, I think I've rambled enough for now, ladies and gents. Peace oot!

And So Castles Made Of Sand Fall In The Sea Eventually...

2006-02-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

So as you may or may not already have guessed, I recently got a Jimi Hendrix CD, boasting some of his best material, including "Purple Haze," "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)," and others. I was just in a weird mood, and I felt I needed a new CD, and I figured Hendrix would make for great new listening material. I was right.

I've been meaning to go to the book store, to pick up some new reading material, and some other stuff, mostly for writing and drawing. I should probably go back to English class already, as I've been flaking lately, more for my intense desire to get home and rest than anything else. I should probably get on the ball already.

CD is still being mastered, as far as I know, but it should be done relatively soon. I'm definitely looking forward to obtaining my own copy. We did a lot more with this one the second time around than we did the first time, I think. More on that as soon as I can get more info. No shows coming up that I know of, but I'm sure that can change if lightning were to strike.

All for now, ladies and gents. A short one, but fuck it.

Something That Caught My Eye...

2006-02-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

So I go on Myspace this morning, and I see a post entitled "Evolution is a falsehood." So already my eyebrows are sinking at this, because I hate ignorant crap like that. I'm thinking there's gonna be this whole righteous waste of time of a bulletin to read, with something like "God is your spatula!! PRAISE HIM!! Repost this in ten minutes or the devil will steal your sneakers!!1!!!1" at the outset. Basically, something I didn't wanna waste my time or braincells reading.

It turned out to be somewhat of a joke. A teacher is trying to convey the idea that God doesn't exist, by pointing out the trees, the grass, and eventually the sky, asking of the little boy sees him. Then he asks if he sees God up there, in the sky. When the boy says he doesn't, the teacher replies "Exactly my point; you don't see Him because He isn't up there. He simply does not exist." To which a little girl responds by asking the boy if he sees the teacher's brain. When he says no, the girl says "Then by teacher's logic, it isn't there; it simply doesn't exist."

It was a nice little joke, but the religious message was plainly there. The only thing I didn't like was the title; it didn't have much to do with the joke. If the title had been something along the lines of "Is God out there?" maybe it would've made more sense, and maybe others would've been a little more likely to read and enjoy it--though I probably would've been even less inclined to do so.

The joke had little to do with evolution, although on some level the connection is there: don't believe in this phony-baloney science stuff; praise the Lord, etc., etc.

I hate moronic messages like saying science is the devil. All it does when a person who claims to be Christian says something like that is make them--and their religion--look stupid. There was actually an incident where a group of Christians--I use the term loosely--were burning Harry Potter books, because of his quote "Satanic works." Such bull. What is this, Nazi Germany, the USSR? Please, people...

This irrational fear, or dislike, or contempt toward science from some Christians really bugs me though. Who's to say that because we know about how arteries work, and about cells and muscle fibers, and how to do an end-to-end anastomosis, and how the neocortex and all that other stuff functions that it conclusively proves that there isn't a God out there? From my standpoint, if He is out there, then all we've done is figured out how His hardware works. We've just written out blueprints for how He put us together. To say that Evolution is a falsehood is also quite lame, because who's to say that God didn't intend for us to grow into something more? Who's to say He didn't want other creatures to grow and evolve? Some creatures weren't fit for this earth, but then I'm sure He had a hand in that, too--being all-powerful, and all. That isn't to say that they didn't get a chance to grow--even dinosaurs evolved, or the ones that survived did. The archaeopteryx is a perfect example; a dinosaur that evolved from a pterodactyl into a bird, and was the precursor to most modern birds. Even crocodillians are direct descendants of the dinosaurs.

Stupidity gets on my nerves.
Some of these idiots really ought to grow a brain. They also ought to do themselves a favor and read a book. Reading them is a lot more productive than burning them.

Alright, that's my rant.

Let's Make A List!

2006-02-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

Plagiarizing Lucy's blog, I got the idea to make a few Top 5 lists of my own, and such.
The lists are as follows:

Top 5 Things I Watch on TV
1. M*A*S*H
2. Comedy Central Presents
3. The Simpsons*
4. King of the Hill
5. COPS

The Simpsons deserves an asterisk if only because I try to avoid the new ones, and repeats of the newer seasons, and catch the older, classics--which I've discovered air on weekends, on Fox--because the new Simpsons need to die.

Top 5 Reasons George Dubbya Sucks
1. He's president
2. He got re-elected
3. He's a douchebag
4. He doesn't know he's a douchebag
5. He's not Chuck Norris

Top 5 Things I Need To Get Back Into Watching
1. Late Night with Conan O'Brien
2. Jimmy Kimmel Live
3. The Daily Show with John Stewart
4. Lucha Libre AAA
5. Lucha Libre CMLL

I realize I listed two different lucha libre programs, but really--they're completely different. And yet oddly the same... I mean, they have their own wrestlers and such, but sometimes they cross over, and sometimes a storyline in one promotion seems very similar to what's going on in the other. Lucha Libre AAA and CMLL have been going at it for decades in Mexico. It's vaguely reminiscent of the wars between the Ted Turner owned WCW and Vince McMahon's WWE (fka WWF.)

Top 5 Reasons I Plagiarized Lucy's Blog
1. I couldn't come up with anything better to write
2. I liked the idea of making up lists of things, so I decided I wanted to do it
3. It's more of a tribute
4. It gives me something to do
5. I know--or at least hope--she'll forgive me

Five Random Things I've Read Recently
1. Ender's Game
2. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed
3. The Simpsons: A Complete Guide To Our Favorite Family...Continued
4. Paul's Case
5. A couple random blogs

Five Random Facts About Chuck Norris
1. Chuck Norris does not go hunting, as that implies failure; Chuck Norris goes killing.
2. Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo's hiding.
3. Chuck Norris clogs the toilet even when he pees.
4. Chuck Norris does not sleep; he waits.
5. Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer

Five Random Movies--Past And Present--That Rock
1. The Rundown
2. Batman Begins
3. The Mask of Zorro
4. The Phantom
5. Twister

Five Random Movies--Past And Present--That Were Different From What I Expected
1. MASH
2. Walking Tall
3. Munich
4. Doom
5. Evil Dead 2

Five Random Movies Nobody Should Ever See
1. The 40 Year Old Virgin
2. Doom
3. Batman & Robin
4. Scary Movie 3
5. Catwoman

Alright, I think that's it for now.
Keep on truckin'.

#41

2006-02-02T10:53:00.000-08:00

I didn't even realize it, but my last entry was my 40th post here.
Which is a milestone, if nothing else. While I'd like to say I went back and reviewed some of my writings to see how things have changed, I haven't. I even thought of posting some of my favorite stuff, but it seemed lame to re-hash old ideas, in particular ones own.

Instead, I'll go on as usual, and blog about the crap that floats through my so-called mind on a daily basis.

First of all, Pops is back.
He's here for a couple weeks, or something like that, to visit. I finally get to give him the gift I got him for X-mas, a Jazz cd set, featuring Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and others. I'm sure he'll get a kick out of it. I would've given it to him earlier, but I was kind of busy, as I had to head out for school. Not that I was in any rush; I was late, after all, but then, what the hell do I care? It's not easy getting up early. It's only gym, after all.

Four Fingered Mel seems to have quite a few auspicious possibilities in the future. I think I've already mentioned that Evan will be doing an internship for his cousin in Washington in the near future, but I don't think I added that Tito may be moving to Arizona, as well. This opens up a ton of avenues, as we can now start to have shows in other states. We're already planning gigs in Washington, Arizona, San Francisco, and other places, too. We even met a band from the East coast at our latest gig, and we may be playing a show with them when we go to Washington.

Also, as I stated before, the cd is almost done. Mixing and mastering should be done in a week or two, more or less. I kind of lost track. The important thing is that it's almost here, which is damned good, because we'll be able to hand it out, and spread the word. We do wish that we could have had some of our newer stuff on there, although there is a chance one of the new songs made it on there as a hidden track...

Well, that's all for now, ladies and gents. Happy 41st, since I missed #40.

Announcements, Etc.

2006-01-28T16:11:00.000-08:00

After about six months of grueling, hard work, the cd is now in its final stages. We recorded the last bit of it last week, including some vocal tracks and other stuff. The cd is finally in the mixing/mastering stage, and that should only take at most a week or two. The main thing, however, is that it's done.

Had a show.
Smart City Grinds, in Azusa, this past Thursday night. It was actually a lot better than I expected, considering that I wasn't really all that eager to play. I was thinking it was going to be a show with a bunch of hardcore bands and emo-fucks, since that's the usual clientele at that place. There was actually a ska band there, and a pretty good other band called Cordova there, as well. They were in from Pittsburgh, if I'm not mistaken, or thereabouts, touring around California. There was also one other band, but we didn't have time to stick around for them.

We went on first, and we got a great reaction. People actually got our merch this time, mostly because it was for free. They got stickers and shirts, and the stickers ended up everywhere; on the walls, and on other bands' equipment. It was nuts--and it was also a step forward, in the sense that it got us a few new fans. People seemed to genuinely enjoy what we had to offer, which was really cool.

It'll be that much easier to get even more fans once we print a ton of copies of our cd to sell.
I wish we would've been done a week earlier, so we could've included cd's as part of our little package of merch.

New shirts and stickers undoubtedly on the way.
As well as the final copy of the cd.

All for now.

At It Again

2006-01-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

One of the strangest things about life is the daily grind. The routine. The repetitive, sluggish, day-to-day doin's. It's almost un-noticeable at first, but it becomes more than apparent once you're given time to sit there and think about it. We go, we work, do our thing, come home...but does anything really change? Is there any difference made? After all, it's not who you are underneath; it's what you do that defines you. So what do you do? What do I do?

I sit here like a fucking douchebag, wishing time would move faster so I could get in and out of a class already. And I marvel, once again, at the unspeakable volume of people that come to the library not for studying or to work out a project; rather, to check their Myspace. Some people around me are actually using the library for what it's meant for, but not many. Mostly, the library is a haven for those who wish to kill time between classes checking up on friend requests, messages, blogs, and any number of other cyberclutter. Nothing too productive, although time does get wasted in a hurry. So in a sense, since that's what people are here to do, I guess this place is productive, one way or another. Sure, time wasted can never be reclaimed, but in this case it isn't so much wasted as it is hurried along.

My right leg is kinda sore, from doing squats in weight training. I haven't done those in a while. I'll get by though. Weight training was easy compared to having to sit here for a couple sluggish hours, trying to kill time, waiting for my next class. I half considered coming home for an hour or two, but then I'd have the return trip ahead of me, which is one I don't want to make. The price for taking classes so far apart, I fear. At least on the days I do have class, I have time to grab a bite to eat; I don't normally get to eat until after work when I do have to drag my sorry carcass into the office. I've been toying with the idea of asking for a raise, but I don't think I've earned one just yet. Sure, I work my ass off from the time I punch in to the time I head out the door, but I still don't feel like I've done enough to deserve one, beyond developing the need for a larger stream of liquid assets. In the meanwhile, I'll have to make do with the money I'm earning now.

After a disastrous show with a bunch of emo-fucks and schmuckcore fans, the band is gonna play at Smart City Grinds in Azusa next Thursday night with--guess what?--some hardcore bands. I'm not exactly looking forward to it. Maybe it's the fact that we got stabbed in the back by the last group of hardcore kids/emo-fucks, or maybe it's just that I'm getting sick of not being taken seriously. Either way, I'm not thrilled about playing the show. Maybe you can also throw in the fact that I feel we need a little more work on the new stuff we made. We worked pretty hard on it over the last couple weeks, and then a lot of the stuff we worked on kind of sank in a little bit when we played the house party on the weekend. Which pissed me off, to be sure. I wish we were playing at The Hard Rock again; those were good times.

Not much else to report, or ramble on about, folks. Lucky you.

All for now.

A Semi-Daily Ritual

2006-01-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Killing time before class blows. It blows chunks. You don't even know.

There's nothing to do except surf mindlessly on the internet, every now and then glancing at the clock, and agonizing at how little time has gone by. Unfortunately, I'll have to get used to it, as classes are kind of spread apart during the day for me this semester.

Oh, well--it's giving me time to catch up with some people via Myspace, and such. I've also taken the oppertunity to spread the word about our show.

The CD is almost done, as well. A couple more sessions, and we've got it. Hopefully I'll finally get the chance to go in there, and fix a few things, but I'm not holding my breath. Right now it's about getting it done, above everything else, unfortunately. Makes me that much angrier that it got erased in the first place.

Wasting time at school is easy--wasting time at work? Not so much.
At least at school, you can go into the library and do whatever you want online. At work, I have to sit there until somebody throws me a bone. I have to wait until something comes my way, and usually just review all the other crap I have to do in the meanwhile. The one time my boss did see me doing something personal--in fact, writing for this very blog--he gave me a first, and last warning. I understood perfectly. Unfortunately, that makes for some very real boredom at work. So at least things aren't too bad at school.

I'm amazed at the number of people at my school on myspace. It's almost disgusting. I actually have a few former classmates as friends on my Myspace. It seems like every other person in the library who's using a computer is checking out Myspace. It's really sick. Depraved, even. People sending messages, looking up other people, trying to IM hot members of the opposite sex, messing with their top eight... unbelieveable. All this coming from a man who just spent the last couple hours...on Myspace.

Do yourselves a favor and grab a copy of Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, And Other Things I've Learned, Alan Alda's book about his life. It's actually a remarkably good read, although it doesn't have nearly as much in it about M*A*S*H as I would've hoped. Still, a really good book. While you're at it, pick up a copy of Kiss Me Like A Stranger, Gene Wilder's book.

All for now.
P E A C E.

Upcoming Shows, And A New Name

2006-01-10T11:03:00.000-08:00

So all of a sudden our band name is "And More."

See, we have this show in Chino on the 14th, and the thing of it is the bands we're playing with don't take us seriously just because we have a saxophone, trumpet, and trombone. They're assuming we're gonna be ska. Of course, we're playing with a bunch of emo/screamo-fucks, and some other hardcore band. So it isn't what we'd call our crowd.

By most indications, this show is a mistake. Apparently Holloway was asked to play, and also asked if they knew of any independent bands that could come play the show with them. They apparently said "Sure! Just check our Myspace," completely neglecting that we were in their top eight.

Carlos has yet to formally acknowledge the fact that we're going to be having a show with Holloway.

In fact, the same can apparently said about the other bands.
On a recent flyer for the show, all the bands were listed except for ours. "Come see Holloway, Shaunteclair, The Light Season and MORE!!" the flyer boasted. All of a sudden, we're And More. We've never been "and more" in the entire time we've been a band.

Now, I'm not angry. I'm not pointing fingers. I'm not complaining at all. Was it a little unfair to simply list us as "and more," despite the fact that we're the only other band playing? Maybe. Is it unfair to judge us even before giving us a listen? Definitely. These kids are only upset because they believe we don't belong. They're assuming we're a ska band before they've even heard us play a note. We haven't played ska in a while. In fact, there's really only one song left in our set that would even remotely qualify in the ska category. We're more of an experimental group than anything else lately. We completely overhauled our set in the past weeks, and we have a bunch of new material, none of which remotely fits in the ska genre. The only reason these kids are getting jumpy is because they don't believe we're good enough, or tough enough, or whatever else to hang with them simply because we have horns in the band. They think that their screaming, and emoting, and wailing like idiots sounds better. They think their second-rate poetry has an edge over us, without even giving us a chance.

Won't they be surprised.

We are sweating it a little bit because some of the songs don't have lyrics yet. I'm sure we'll be able to pick up the slack. Either way, we are going to sound good. I'm not too worried.

CD's almost done.

All for now.
P E A C E.

December 25th, 2005

2005-12-25T16:58:00.000-08:00

Merry F***ing Christmas.
The kids came over today, and opened up our gifts for them. They got a couple Power Rangers action figures--which will never come even a fraction of an inch close to besting the o.g., old school Power Rangers--and some other such toys. Shags got them a couple Marvel Comics action figures--one of which injured me as I put the f***ing thing together--and I got them a Spider-Man Stunt System. He swings on webs, and punks out badguys. The kids'll be playing with that one for weeks. It was a bitch to put the damned thing together.

They also got monster trucks, and a bunch of other cool stuff.
We all sat around and watched A Christmas Story, and had a good chuckle.
My mom wanted to throw on Christmas With The Cranks, but I wasn't really all that interested in seeing that.

All in all Christmas went okay.
Hope you all had a good one.

All for now, ladies and gents. Happy Birthday, Jesus.

Makin' Some Tuneskies

2005-12-23T16:30:00.000-08:00

For the first time in a long time, 4FM actually got together and did more than just run through old stuff--we wrote a couple new tunes.

It's hard to acuratelly describe what they're like, because they're different and out there. If you've ever heard of At The Drive-In, one of our songs sounds like something they'd play. The other one is sounding more like a Less Than Jake tune. Personally, I think as you listen to the tunes we wrote more recently, they sound better and better. I like a lot of our newer stuff, and hate most of the old stuff.

We're still trying to get this CD done. I need to sit down and go over the stuff I did to look for troublespots. There's other stuff to be done with horns, and some vocals and other stuff.

Once again the clan Carmona puts off their Christmas devices until the last possible moment. This inevitably happens every year. You'd think me and my blood pressure would be better equipped for the insanity that insues thereafter what with all the practice we've had, but...

Actually, we're gonna end up doing this thing tomorrow--don't look so shocked; this isn't the first time it's come down to throwing down on the 24th. We've had a couple X-mas Eves in the past where we've been scrambling through the isles of some godforsaken department store. Pops is lucky he got out when he did.

These people are running around trying to decorate the tree and creating all kinds of havoc, so I'm gonna go ahead and sign off.

Merry F'n Christmas.
Avoid the Noid. He ruins pizzas.

Merry F'n Christmas

2005-12-15T17:40:00.000-08:00

So a few weeks ago, I ran into an old friend I hadn't seen or heard from for almost ten years. Well, I didn't so much run into them as I discovered their Myspace page. Can you imagine?

Instead of running into an old friend in a diner, or on the street, or at a ballgame, you can just stumble across their online page. What a world we live in. It's disquieting.

Anyway...I was supposed to hang out with her a week or two ago. Meet up, share old times, etc. She didn't come by, because as it turns out, she got word that day that her father was dying.

I'm not sure what is condition is of late, but say a prayer for her, y'all.

Anycrap... there's some kind of X-mas get-together at work on the 23rd. May or may not go, depending on my mood, and depending on what's going on. I need to go out and buy some lights for the damned house. Sure, an outhouse with rusty hinges would be in better shape than the dilapidated death-trap of a shack we live in, but some lights'll at least make the place a little more lively. Also, I'll need to grab a chainsaw and hack down some of the limbs that are hanging down in the way on the damned tree--it's gonna pull a Lord of the Rings on us, and just get up and walk to Toledo one of these days.

All for now, ladies and gents.
21 gun salute to our fallen brother, Richard Pryor.

Connections, Connections...

2005-12-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we sent that message to the guy with the Aquabats, and we also ended up spending time with another popular guy.

His name is Matt Embree.
He's with a band called the RX Bandits.

He performed at a coffee shop on the USC Campus a few days ago. Right before the show, as if by Happenstance, Evan's girlfriend Shin found a Four Fingered Mel guitar pick in her coat pocket that had been sitting in there for the better portion of a year. I forget who, but somebody mentioned it would be a good idea to give it to Matt to play with for the show. There was a usual amount of hemming and hawing, until I grabbed the pick and went up there. I said "Matt! Yo, MATT!" He looked over, and I said "Yo, you need a pick man?" to which he says "Oh sure, thanks, brother!" He took the pick, and ended up using it for the next song.

And the entire night.
It was an awesome show. I came right up to him afterwards and asked him if the pick worked out okay, and he said "Sure, it worked out fine." I mentioned that the band name was on the pick, and that he could find us on Myspace. My friends came up soon afterwards and we talked shop, asking about his label, etc. I don't know if anything serious is gonna come of it, but it was definitely a fun time either way. Good guy, that Matt. Who knows if one day we'll cross paths again on a grander stage.

As far as I know, the other guy--the one with the Aquabats--hasn't responded to our little missive just yet. Hopefully we'll get a satisfactory response, though I'm never one to count my chickens before they hatch.

All for now.
Blog on. Or don't.

[adult swim]

The Aquabats at The Glass House in Pomona!

2005-11-27T14:40:00.000-08:00

So last night I saw The Aquabats at The Glass House in Pomona. Why do I suddenly feel like the narrator for a cheap, 1950's serial?

Anyway... they rocked hard. As did the other two bands, Bad Credit and The Aggrolites.
But oddly enough, that's not the important part.

What is the important part is that we ran into The Aquabats' tour manager. After exchanging greetings, we managed to ask him about playing with the 'Bats. His reaction was surprising; you'd think a tour manager--especially one for a band as popular and with as big a following as The Aquabats--would get a lot more attention from would-be rock heroes. He actually corrected us on that point, stating that it's actually a lot more rare than you'd think for a guy from a band to come up and ask about playing together. Basically, he said to send him a recording--say, a CD, like the one we've been trying to fucking finish for fucking God knows how long--and he'd have a listen; if he likes what he hears, we'll work something out.

So basically, this is a huge--really huge window of opportunity. I'm not one to count his chickens before they hatch. I'm as pessimistic as it gets, but even I was hopeful that something would come of this, and it may. Tito put in a call to Joseph, immediately insisting on studio time so we can get this thing done ASAP. So hopefully this week, we'll get to go in, get it done and get it sent in to this dude.

All for now, ladies and gents; support your local starving artists.

New DVD's, Bitches...

2005-11-24T12:49:00.000-08:00

So I finally got my very own copy of Batman Begins on DVD recently. The greatest movie of all time, period.

I mean, I've waited eight long years to see another Batman movie, and I had high hopes that it would be the very best of them all, and it was. Christian Bale delivered, Michael Caine was hilarious, Cillian Murphy did an excellent job, and Liam Neeson was incredible as always. The movie's only short-comings were in the form of the always-regrettable Katie Holmes. Her God-awful presence in the movie nearly killed it for me. Everyone else had great performances. Part of the magic of the movie was that the actors weren't trying to portray comic book characters; they were acting as if it was a real movie, with real, flesh-and-blood characters. They weren't treating it like "Batman" as much as they were treating it as a real film. Which was really cool. It gave the movie a lot more realism, and a stronger edge.

The other DVD I bought was Twister.
Don't ask.

I've tried for years, dammit, and I still can't figure out exactly why I like this movie so damned much, but I do. Maybe it's the lame jokes, the bovines flying through the air, or Bill Paxton's bad acting, but dammit, I enjoy this movie. I can't believe that Philip Seymour Hoffman is actually playing the lead in Capote though. I mean, maybe it's because I've only seen him as Dusty in Twister, but I just can't imagine it. It seems like he did a great job though, because everyone's talking about his movie. So props to him.

Ten years is a long time, for anyone. And it's been about ten years since I spoke to a particular friend of mine but she's coming to pay a visit on Friday. More on that later...Maybe. Then on Saturday I get to go watch The Aquabats live, for the first time. So that should be cool.

All for now. Enjoy turkey day. I leave you with a particularly fond memory of mine:

DALE: So did your people ever celebrate Thanksgiving, John Redcorn?
JOHN REDCORN: Yes....once.

Another Day at The Office

2005-11-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

Or so I thought.
Those bastards.
How dare they take me by surprise like this?

On Thursday, as you may or may not know--depending on whether you live under a rock or are illiterate, and therefore cannot read this blog--I celebrated my 21st birthday. I had a vague suspicion my coworkers might do something for me, but I wasn't getting my hopes up, and was definitely not surprised when they didn't.

So you can imagine my surprise when today, all of a sudden over the intercom, we hear an announcement to meet in the kitchen right away. I get there first, and notice a card with my name on it sitting on the table, and right next to it a cake. So they sang the damned song, I blew out the damned candle, and we ate some damned cake. I mean, it was cool they did it, but I don't really like doing too much for my birthday.

...

...What?

Expecting a Vegas report?

Forget it. What happens there stays there. So, nyeh.

Well... I might write something later in the week. *GASP!*

21 At Last

2005-11-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

Yep.
As of this 17th Day of November, 2005, I'm 21.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't make a fuss on a birthday, but as I may have mentioned before, my friends are dragging my cheap ass to Vegas this weekend. I mean, I didn't want to go at first because, as I said, I'm cheap. And Vegas isn't. Plus, I hate doing anything for my birthday, let alone traveling. Never the less, I'm going Friday-Sunday afternoon/evening.

Hope that answers your question, RV3.

Why is it that we are inevitably destined to leave things we know we should do right away to the last possible moment? I have this group project for my Psychology of Human Relationships class, and we haven't started on it. Mind you, the only time we can meet is during class time, since all of our schedules clash to hell, and our project is due next Tuesday. To say it's crunch time would be an understatement. We're gonna meet up this afternoon and try to square this sumbitch away once and for all.

I'd like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Eddie Guerrero, who passed away this past Sunday morning. He was a gifted entertainer, a remarkable inspiration, and the first ever Luchador to become a World Champion of wrestling in this country. He's cemented his legacy as one of the true greats, and is also born of the Guerrero wrestling dynasty, as the son of the legendary Gory Guerrero, and relation to Hector, Mando, and Chavo Guerrero. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. May he rest in peace.

Eddie Guerrero
1967-2005

The Random Inconveniences of Being In A Band

2005-11-12T12:28:00.000-08:00

Of which there are many.
But I'll only be focusing on the one that came up last night.

It's not like I had anything to do, so I guess you could say it wasn't all that inconvenient, but it certainly materialised from out of the blue. It seems that Tito's e-mail didn't inform him that he had a new myspace message Thursday, and when he logged in to check it yesterday, it turned out that on Thursday a band had invited us to play a show with them. Basically, I'm sitting at home, thinking I'm not gonna do anything for the rest of the day, and Tito calls up.

"Hey, you wanna play a show?"
"Sure, sounds good. When?"
"Uhhhh, how does tonight sound?"

How does tonight sound, he asks.
Mind you, Evan--our fearless leader, vocalist, and bassist--had work that night, and was almost positive he wouldn't be able to get out on time. Somehow or another, he managed to get off work though, and we were even able to get Carlos to play, which is definitely saying something, because Carlos is usually less than avaiable, most of the time. He managed to come and drum for us, which was cool. We were able to get everyone together except for Chachi, but that's only because he was out visiting with family. Everyone else was there, however.

The sound guy looked like the type of guy that you would either buy drugs off of, or hire to whack somebody more than he looked like a sound guy. Although he had big, expensive equipment, he was a novice at doing sound. Also, he cut us off, suddenly telling us in the middle of our set that we had five minutes left to play. My best guess is he did this to save time, but also because his son was in one of the next bands, and he wanted to get him on there quickly. Which kind of pissed me off. Also, when he introduced us--and the second band--he just kind of said "Ladies and gentlemen, [insert bandname here]!" whereas when his son's band came on, he said all this stuff about how they placed high in these Battle of the Bands tourneys, and how they were on MTV for some reality show and placed in the top ten or some such b.s., basically overselling them.

But whatever; a show is a show, and we didn't stay to watch his band really, anyhow. We all had to leave. We listened to part of their first song, and that was it. I'm not saying that the last band was crappy, per se, as I didn't really get to hear their full set. I'm just saying that their dad kind of screwed us over when it came to our on-stage time. The second band got to do their full set for some reason, which kind of bugged me, because I didn't really like them all that much. They had two tenor saxes, and a tenor/bari sax player, and two trumpets, with two guitars and a bassist. The horns sounded like they were tripping over each other, though that might've been because of the sound guy.

Our next show is gonna happen sometime towards the end of the month, at this place in Azusa. After that, we're gonna have a show in December, at this Karate place, where we'll be playing Christmas covers. Oh, joy. Sorry, but I'm not much of a Christmas songs guy for the most part, although I'm looking forward to covering "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow."

All for now.

P E A C E.

Killing Time

2005-11-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

Basically, I had about two and a half hours to kill between classes today, because rather than meeting at our usual time, our English class chartered a room at the school library for separate meetings with the teacher, with regards to our research papers. Which basically meant that we'd end up having to come in at a certain, scheduled time, group by group, rather than meeting together as a class, as per usual. I still have about 35 minutes before it's my turn.

The clouds are starting to roll in, and it looks like we might get some rain. Which sucks for me, since I have to ride my bike to and from work--at least until I can buy a car.

Four Fingered Mel has shows coming up at various times and places. We're playing a show at this place in Azusa sometime this month. We're also gonna have a Christmas show of sorts at Red Dragon Karate, and we'll actually be playing some Christmas covers. Yay.

Boy am I not looking forward to work tomorrow. Oh well.

Hopefully I'll be going in to record my end of the CD soon. If you weren't around when we had our little accident, go ahead and look back at the archives. Trust me, you can't miss the entry; it's called "DAMN, DIGGITY, DAMMITY, DAMN, DAMMIT!!" Basically though, we're almost back to where we were. The CD will be done soon enough...I hope.

I think that'll about do it for now.

New Look, Bitches...

2005-11-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

Yep.
I sexified this Blog like no other. And now, I'm taking an entry to gloat. 'Cause I can.

House party went okay last night--played well, rocked well. There weren't as many people there as we were expecting, but that's alright--it was still a good show. There was supposed to be a second band playing, but they never showed up, so we were the main entertainment, which was cool.

Think I'll do some more e-Gloating.
This sure as hell is the best looking blog online. Sexified and all.
I've been meaning to do this for a while now, ever since I first got this thing. Somehow the old template wasn't that bad, but it didn't suit me. And the other generic ones didn't, either. Some of them were too artsy-fartsy, the others were too corporate looking...so I decided to pick this one, and pimp it out...eventually. And I finally got to it.

Bow down, bitches.
Been here all week--tip your waitress.

[adult swim]

The Working Man's Rant #1

2005-11-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

"What?? Chico's doing a working man's rant already?!" you may be asking yourself.

Indeed, I am.
One week into this thing, and already I'm finding myself sleeping away my afternoons. It's not that the work is all that strenuous, nor is it overly monotonous--it's actually rather borderline, most of the time. As with a few different things in life, it's not the meat that's tiresome, or annoying, or overtly aggrevating--it's the herbs and spices. It's the little goddamn things, folks--like having to have a form with everything, and everything with its form. Like having the general idea of what to do, but always managing to forget a detail here and there. It's frustrating as hell.

I would go into detail, but there's only so much I can mention online. Confidentiality, you know. I can't go around blabbing about specific cases, etc., etc. That would probably break a rule of some sort, and more than a few laws, I'm sure. The point is, sometimes you get easy ones, and sometimes you get ones that make you want to strangle the person who gave you such vague, almost impossible to verify information.

I veered off course there for a second, taking the time to check out some hotspots online. Through the miracle of hypertext time compression, it has been about .003 seconds since you read the last paragraph, but about 8 minutes since I wrote it. I even had time to go on Myspace briefly.

The point is underlings--and there is a point--I can't wait for payday.

House Party on Saturday; Vegas in a week or two.

Tip your waitress, bitches.

[adult swim]

Blogging From Work

2005-11-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

Technically, I should be doing some work right now, but instead, I'm blogging. Sue me.

Had a show last night. Went okay, I suppose. There was one other band there called Rayah. I posted a link. Had you read my earlier entry, you'd know that.

Anyway... the show went okay, as I said. The only thing was one of Bagel's brother's douchebag friends fucked with the P.A., and it partially went out on us. We didn't know until after the show. Which kind of pisses me off, because Bagel's brother would have a friend who'd do something stupid like that.

Next performance is at a house party, coming up. Details later.

Gotta get back to work. All for now.

He Shoots...

2005-10-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

...He SCORES.
Guess who's now a part of the American work force, bitches?
Mmmm Hmmmm. 'Cause I'm that damn good.

The job is at a place called SmartHire, in Glendora. I didn't realise just how far away it was from my house, however. I took the bus to Gladstone and Grand, and walked all the way up Gladstone to N. Lone Hill Ave., which was quite a ways up. Maybe three or four lights. It was ridiculous. I finally got to the place though, and I was early. I met with the guy, gave him a nice firm handshake, and didn't waver in my eye contact once. He hired me on the spot.

So what's my job?
I do background checks, or I'm going to. Say you own a store, like Target. One week you get a bunch of new applicants, who responded to your big, shiney, "NOW HIRING!" sign. You call us, and we make sure they worked where they say they did, and were educated where they say they did. It isn't gonna be easy; some people just put "Home Depot" as a place they worked, with no other valid info. So it's gonna be an uphill battle at times, but I'm feeling more than equal to the task.

And it's 8 dollars an hour. I'd dance with a chimp on a street corner for eight bucks an hour.

So that's what I'm gonna be doing for my money. I'm looking forward to it.

All for now, folks.

DAMNATION...!!

2005-10-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

Will this day of horrors never end?

So okay, I was supposed to return this book which was of no use to me and cost me x amount of dollars today, and it turns out that I missed the return dates, and therefore am stuck with it, and in the hole x amount of dollars. Which is complete bullshit. I mean, why should you have to be stuck with a book you don't want or need anyway?

Here's the kicker: I try to sign up for eBay, thinking I can cleverly vend it to some poor schmoe online. You need a credit card or checking account in order to set up a seller's account. I wish the world were a fly, and I was a GIANT, ROLLED-UP NEWSPAPER!!

Anyway, I have a meeting tomorrow at 10AM, a sort of job interview with this place looking for somebody to do background checks. The thing of it is, it's out in the middle of nowhere in Glendora, out by Auto Center Ave. or whatever, a few miles east on Gladstone, I believe. I was hoping to have the money from having sold the book so that I could fix my bike, take the bus most of the way, and then just ride my bike the rest of the way, which would've been easy for a spry, affable, handsome young specimen of perfection like myself. Unfortunately, the man once again has fucked me over. So now I'm probably gonna have to leave a lot earlier, and walk a long way. *sigh*

Oh, well. That's the least of my concerns. I wanna nail this thing. After all, it's eight bucks an hour, which is major coin for a broke, disheveled bastard like me. Particularly when you take into account my less than proudly held card-carrying membership to the poorest family in Covina. Hopefully, I'll nail it, and get the job. If not, it's off to the overpass with a sack of oranges I go.

In other news, apparently Rosa Park died. She was ninety-two. I didn't even know she was still alive, but it's a shame she's gone. A real pioneer, she was. Rest In Peace.

Alright that's it for now.
Thank you, thank you very much. Been here all week. Tip your waitress.

Movies, Wrestling, Recording, Myspace, Etc.

2005-10-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

DOOM premiered in theaters on Friday. A friend took me to go see it.
The movie was based on the popular videogame series, and it features The Rock. The movie itself was kind of disappointing though. Although they tried to include a lot of the stuff you'd see in the game--including violence, freakshow-type aliens, etc.--it just didn't live up to the hype, especially considering what a departure it was from the actual storyline of the videogames. So if you haven't seeen it, you're doing yourself a major favor.

The Legend of Zorro is also on its way to theatres. It's a sequel to The Mask of Zorro, wherein Antonio Banderas returns as the masked hero. I gotta tell ya--this one looks kind of crappy, too. The first one was great, one of my all-time favorites--this one is not looking so good. But I'll still see it, just to see if I'm wrong.

Batman Begins made its DVD debut, and I cannot wait to get my filthy meat-hooks on a copy. Best Batman movie ever! If you haven't seen it, shame on you. Seriously. Go stand in the corner.

I mentioned The Rock earlier, and now I'll take a minute to mention another semi-inactive wrestler, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Stone Cold might just have one more match, and he might just have it with none other than the immortal Hulk Hogan. While some fans are excited about seeing the two greats go at it, other fans--myself included--are worried that this is gonna turn into one of the most heated backstage battles ever. While Hogan seems genuinely enthusiastic to wrestle Steve, he seems to feel enthusiastic with the idea that he'd be getting the win with his infamous Legdrop. Stone Cold hasn't officially stated that he's against the idea, and seems to have no reservations with it, but he doesn't seem to be prepared to lay down for Hogan, either. It seems that a political powder keg is set to go off with this match at WWE H.Q. Here's hoping Vince McMahon knows what he's getting himself into.

Evan was supposed to go in to do his bass stuff last night, but our producers had to cancell. I'm not sure when he's gonna end up doing his thing, but I hope it's soon, as I'm ready to record right now. Tito's got his guitar stuff out of the way, as did Bagel. So I'm pretty eager to get my stuff in the can, too. However as of right now, there's no set date as to when Evan goes in for his recording, let alone when I go in for mine. Hopefully it'll happen sometime in the near future, as I'm ready and willing to do it whenever they need me.

Our show is gonna happen on the 31st, as announced earlier. We don't have another band playing anymore, as I'm certain it's just gonna be us. We went ahead and passed around a flyer, and hopefully that'll get enough attention to where some people might show up. I'm hoping for at least a decent sized crowd. Not to huge, but not a small trickle of people, either. I know we'll play all our stuff well, I'm just hoping there'll be a large enough audience to be there to appreciate it.

I hate Myspace sometimes.
Why are there so many errors? Somebody needs to PM Tom and tell him to get his act together. The place is a mess sometimes!

Alright, that's all for now.
What, you wanted more in the Myspace section? Tough.
Tip your waitress. Smoke if you got 'em!

Halloween, Etc.

2005-10-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

So one of the bands that was supposed to play with us for our Halloween "Let's Hope We Get At Least Some Kind of Audience And Manage To Entertain Them" show has backed out, because their bass player has problems with his appendix, or has a bounty on his head, or some such thing. In any case, they can't play the show, so we're looking for another band.

If you kiddos did your homework--and you damned well better have--you would know that we're in the process of trying to get another band to play, and you read the adendum to my previous post, you'd know that that other band would be Rayah (www.rayahmusic.com) and we're hopefull that they can make it.

I talked to the guy I know from that band in class today, and he said "Oh, I'm sorry--I completely forgot to talk to them, but as soon as we get together, I'll talk to my bandmates." So here's hoping we get an answer soon. I don't wanna be a bother, but we really need at least one other band for this thing. After all, it's not like were Aerosmith here...

In the meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out why I haven't gotten any calls/memos/notes daggered to my door regarding recording. I mean, son of a bitch--we just finished this cd, and all the info is lost, and we have to start re-recording it, and at first we were moving at a good clip, getting the scratch track done in two nights. Then I didn't hear anything else. Hopefully they'll give me a call, and tell me when the hell I'm gonna go in to record, but at this point, I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground.

All for now, ladies and gents.
Fight the power!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Halloween

2005-10-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. The freedom to drop everything and just be whoever you want to be for a night is very cool, especially when you were a kid and got to walk around and get candy, or just a few years ago as a teenager going around getting candy while at the same time vandalising, and especially when you get to go to a party and hang out, maybe knock back a few with some friends. Good times.

Lucy's recent entry got me to thinking about all the stuff I've done in terms of costumes over the years. Many's the year I dressed up as the Dark Knight, Batman. There was even a couple years I shamed myself by dressing as the last son of Krypton. There was a really cool year I braved the elements dressed as Spidey. I had a mad flu for like a month, but damn was it worth it!

But that was years ago. More recently, my costumes have included a Jar-Jar Binks mask with street clothes--which for me, consisted of a jeans jacket, t-shirt, baggy jeans and boots--and a forty in a paperbag, as I staggered around, pretending to be drunk. Then I think the year after that I dressed up as a pimp, which was cool. I think it was a year or two ago that I dressed up as El Demonio Azul, wearing his lucha hood, and a nice suit. That was pimp. Gotta love wrestlers who made B-movies in the Seventies.

I don't know what I'm gonna be this Halloween. I've gone through a number of ideas, mostly show related. We were gonna dress up as Speed Racer characters, and I was gonna dress up as Snake Oiler for that. Then it was Nintendo characters, and I was gonna be Wario. I also had a show idea where I walk out on stage dressed as Fidel Castro, waving like a dictator, then tripping and eating it hard--of course, lampooning when he fell down and nosedived into the front row recently--which would be hillarious. Of course, I also thought about being Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H, which could be cool as well. But right now I haven't really come to a decision.

4FM is not--repeat--NOT playing at the Allan Theatre, because the people running the Skalloween show there have all the bands they need. So instead, Bagel hooked up a show at this juice bar in the Eastland Center here in Covina. I'm not really looking forward to it, since we have no fans, and I don't think there's gonna be a whole lot of buzz for us. We're not exactly Less Than Jake.

I guess maybe if we were better known, and actually had a fanbase to call on, we could have a pretty good show. But we've never really had a diehard fanbase, which kind of sucks. I don't think it's a good idea to play a show with just us performing, because we don't have any fans. Which is why I suggested we get another band, but it looks like it'd be hard to get a band, especially on such short notice. Hopefully it'll work out, and hopefully people will come. I can't help having a bad feeling though, a really bad feeling.

So yeah. Wish us luck. And show up, if you will. Hopefully people will give our music a chance.

All for now.

CD Has Begun Anew

2005-10-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Well, we started recording ... again, on Monday. Amazingly, we're already through the scratch track. I know I probably explained this before, but bear with me. For those who don't know, a scratch track is basically made when a band sits down with their drummer, and although all parties are recorded, all the instrumentation except the drum parts gets thrown out, or "scratched." The drum parts are kept, and then the real recordings of the individual parts are made, and then the whole thing goes through a mixing and mastering phase, and it's all done.

Last time, it had to have taken a week or more to do the scratch track. This time we got it done in two nights. Six songs on one night, six songs the next, quickly and efficiently. Now the guitars/bass get to record at Billy-Jack's house, and then it'll be horns and vocals at the studio, and after mastering, it'll all be done. So it's really exciting to be moving this quickly. If we're lucky, we might even have the cd to hand out at Skalloween.

Speaking of, there are two possibilities for that show: we're either gonna dress up as Speed Racer's main characters--Tito as Racer X, Evan as Speed, Bagel as Pops, Chachi as Sparky, and myself as Snake Oiler--or Nintendo characters. In which case, Evan's probably gonna be Link, I'm probably gonna be Wario, and everyone else is still figuring their costumes out. Either way, it should be a blast.

There's a few shows coming up. We might play at The Hard Rock in Hollywood, we're almost certainly playing Skalloween at the Alan Theatre--mind you, I probably misspelled "Alan," seeing as I've never actually heard of this place--and there are certainly other shows in the works.

All for now though. Class soon.
Fight the power!

Uneasy Feelings

2005-10-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight's our first official night--hopefully--re-recording the damned cd. I say hopefully because I've been told at least a hundred times this month that we were gonna begin recording, only to have them re-schedule.

That guy we thought deleted our crap has been stringing us along. At least twice now, he's claimed he found our stuff, only to have Ed go confirm, and realise that he didn't know what the hell he was talking about. I still don't understand what his problem is, or why he's still on the payroll.

I mean, sure--all we have is circumstantial evidence, but it's pretty strong evidence; Ed, Joe, and this guy are the only ones who have access to the recording system. The recording just dropped off the computer, without a trace. He's claimed a couple times now that he's found it, and so far, he's been either wrong, or lying. He's a known drug user, and it's theorized that he could've gotten blitzed and deleted our crap, out of spite. The thing is, I don't see what he has to gain.

If he didn't want us to be there recording, deleting our crap wasn't the best way to get rid of us, as all we'd end up doing is starting from scratch, all over again. I just don't get what his motivation could be, assuming he's responsible.

In any case, it could've just been a computer glitch. A really weird, poorly-timed computer glitch. Sergio was like "Did you guys have a back-up?" I assumed we did, and therefore didn't say anything, but apparently I was wrong. Now we're gonna have our stuff on a separate drive, which is a good idea.

I still can't help feeling unsafe. I don't really know if I can bring myself to trust that place again. I keep thinking this'll just happen again. If it does, I'm for going to a different place, despite the great deal we're getting. At the same time though, I feel like it'll all work out.

Hopefully.

All for now.

Less Than Jake

2005-10-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

Went to a concert last night, which was sold out.
Less Than Jake played at The Roxy. My friends had bought their tickets in advance, but I went along anyway to try and buy at the door. Unfortunately, they were sold out. So I didn't really know what we were gonna do, and I kinda thought we were gonna have to leave and it'd be my fault, but instead my friend Ryan comes out with this lady--apparently the one who was in charge of ticket sales or some such thing--and she said "Tonight's your lucky night." So I got to watch them for free, which was pretty kick-ass.

I missed most of the first band's set, and didn't really mind, because although they were passable, they really weren't my style of music. Their bassist was dancing around way too much. I mean, maybe if they were playing Less Than Jake's style, or hardcore, or punk, I could see him dancing around like that, but it was totally inappropriate for their semi-emo stylings. Next, there was yet another band that came on, and had a forty-five minute suck-fest. I mean, I don't really like to talk bad about other bands, especially 'cause I'm in one, trying to make it just the same as they are--but these guys really brought a new meaning to "suck," at least in my eyes. I really did not like their style, at all. The whole time I was up there, I was wishing them away, hoping they'd get off stage. I looked at my phone like four times. Finally, their set ended, and the main event was about to begin. Their lead singer was walking around, talking to people, signing cd's and stuff. He actually bumped into me, and gave me this houlier than thou, I"I'm a rockstar God" look, and I gave him a "You sucked hard, don't ever play another song again as long as you live" look. He just kind of kept moving, though somehow I think he got the drift.

So after about a half-hour wait, Less Than Jake, came on. Right from the first song, people were completely going nuts in the pit. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen one that big. It literally took up three quarters of the standing room. There was crowd surfing, and water being thrown everywhere. It was nuts. Less Than Jake was pretty awesome, I'd have to say, as well. Definitely put on a show people would remember.

Afterwards, we had Bob's Big Boy. Which was pretty good. All in all, a good night.

As for recording, well...we're scheduled for Monday. So much for finding our stuff. Hopefully the deal still stands, and we still get that extra month; we'll need it.

All for now. Tip your waitress.

HAIL TO THE KING, BABY!

2005-09-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yeahhhh, that's right...
Last night, I got to meet none other than Bruce F'n Campbell.
Star of such classics as the Evil Dead trilogy, Bubba Ho-Tep, and regular guest star on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Xena: Warrior Princess. He appeared at the Tower Records off Sunset Blvd. to promote--and sign--his new book, Make Love! The Bruce Campbell way, both in its written form, and on cd, which I bought. We got there at 4:45, and he wasn't due 'till six. He got there at around six, and it was funny because you'd think he'd show up in a limo, or a Hummer, but he rolls up riding shotgun in a Honda Civic. Classic. Then everyone's silent, and in awe while he walks into the building. Couple minutes later, we're in for the Q&A section.

One of the coolest people I've ever met.
The Q&A was hillarious because he was such a smug, sarcastic bastard. This one girl said she loved Alien Apocalypse--which was a movie he did for Sci-Fi, which I watched--and he said "You need to get out more." Some other girl showed him a copy of Evil Dead, and asked him if he'd ever seen the design on the box, but he took it to the smart-ass level, and was like "Have I ever seen this movie? Hmmmm... 'Evil Dead...' Doesn't ring a bell, does it?" He was awesome.

Then there was the signing. I actually had him sign my cd, and my horn. It was funny because the first thing he said was "Alright, a man with a saxophone." I asked him to sign it, and he was like "Why do you want me to sign your horn? I've don't even play." I was like "It would just be cool." And he said "Alright," and signed it, writing "PLAY THIS!" on the bell. Good times. I shook his hand, thanking him for his time, and moved on. Then Tito comes up--and he brought the door to his bedroom. He signed it, writing "I hope everything comes out okay!" Which was good. All in all, it was fun times.

So we AREN'T gonna record yet, because Ed is STILL looking for our stuff. So here's hoping for an update soon.

All for now.

Class Time...

2005-09-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here in art class, attemtping to use my time wisely and constructively, without instruction from the teacher. Insofar, all we've done is sat, doing our own thing. Except for giving occasional pointers, the teacher hasn't said much in the last couple days, so I'm doing what I can to get this flash thing done. Writing the script, etc. It's hard because you think to yourself, "Am I wasting time, or not using enough of it?" It's hard to imagine how the action will line up to a ninety-second window of time.

I'm thinking I'm gonna pull aside a smart kid and ask them. No, I'm not a smart kid, I'm a smart ASS. Big difference.

We start recording tomorrow. Or I should say we start OVER tomorrow. Helio's coming in, and we're gonna plow through as many songs as possible for the scratch track. Hopefully we'll get them all done, but sometimes that doesn't happen. Also there's more than one gig coming up, including Skalloween, which should be fun. Apparently, we're gonna dress up as Speed Racer characters, with Evan dressing up as Speed, Tito as Racer X, Bagel as Pops, myself as Snake Oiler, etc... hopefully it'll rock.

Bruce Campbell is gonna be appearing at Tower tomorrow, and Tito's taking me and his little brother, and maybe Bagel to meet him. You can bring as much as two items to get signed, so Tito's bringing his Evil Dead "Ash" action figure, and the door to his room. This should be interesting.

All for now, ladies and gents.
Fear the Republicans...for their stupidity. LOLOMEGWTF?!11/1.

Rainy Daze...

2005-09-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

Class was cancelled today.

Unfortunately, nobody told me until after I waited forty-five minutes in the rain at the bus stop, then got on the bus and made the trek accross Covina and Glendora to Citrus. My instructor was there, and he said "Sorry, class is cancelled today." I didn't really make too much of an effort to cover up my anger, and said "You've gotta be kidding..." and he said "Power's out in the whole building. I can't teach class in the dark." So there you go. Had to go home.

I almost missed the bus home, but thankfully there was a whole legion of jerks holding it up, and I had time to sprint the fifty yards to the bus stop. And then I came home.

You'd think they would've sent out a memo or something, or at least called us up. It sucks. But whatever. I guess I'll have to wait 'till Thursday now, to get the results of my test.

Hopefully we start on the CD this week. Or rather, start over on the CD. But with two whole months to work in, I think it'll all come together nicely. As it is, we have a couple shows on the horizon, including one at The Hard Rock in L.A., and one at the Allan Theatre, for Skalloween, which should be cool. We're planning on dressing up as Speed Racer characters for that show.

All for now, I guess.
Take care of yourselves, and each other.
*Cue "JERRY!" chant*

Damn, Diggedy, Dammity, Damn, Dammit!!

2005-09-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

Good news and bad, folks...

First the bad. As you may or may not know--depending on whether or not you're illiterate--we've been recording a cd for about a month now. It's twelve tracks long, and it was coming along nicely. Unfortunately we were hit with a bit of bad news last night, when we came in for one of our last sessions.

Apparently, it's all gone.
Everything we did over the last month, week in, week out, late night, from 10 to 3Am some nights, is gone. The producers are attributing it to some kind of technical error. They say that there's a small possibility of recovering the old material, but that more than likely it's gone.

Now the good news.
The producers feel that this may actually be a blessing in disguise, in that now we know what to expect, we know what we had trouble on and what to look out for, and we have the oppertunity to make it even better than it was before. The best part is that our producers are being very generous this time around, and instead of giving us the usual month to do it in--remember, we got the cd done in a month last time--they're giving us two.

From a recording standpoint, two months is an eternity.
We have the oppertunity to add new songs, screw around even more with the ones we have... two months is a long time to work with, which is a very good thing. So now all we have to do is kind of move forward, and give it our best shot.

Here's hoping we don't end up having to do this a third time.
All for now.

Future Possibilities...

2005-09-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

I had to lean in, and look real hard to make sure I didn't misspell "possibilities."

Again, writing from school. Been a long time between rants, kiddos. Let's move.

As we speak presently, the CD is almost complete. We might have to re-do all the guitar and bass stuff, just because one of the guys got this new computer program for recording and mastering, that is supposed to make bass and guitar sound much, much better. Best CD possible, right?

I'm completely done with all my recording, or so I would like to think. There's always SOMETHING you have to re-do, or re-record, or something that they want to do a different way. Or sometimes, you just need to be there to help out with things.

At any rate, I THINK I'm done.
I have all my songs in the can, all my solos, etc. But a thought occured to me this past Friday night. I was watching the news--And A Current Affair. SHOCKING! (oh, snap!)--and of course, they had this big piece on the aftermath of Katrina. Some of the things seen and discussed were beyond words. But oddly enough, it was enough of an inspiration to get me to ask my fellow bandmates if we could hold a benefit show, with a few other bands, and have all the proceeds go to hurricane victims. Which, so far, they seem to think is a good idea.

We don't have a date or a venue yet, but one of the bands we wanted to play with already confirmed they'd be down to play, which is cool. We may or may not sell the cd at this show. In fact, we may or may not have this show, depending on how quickly we can get it together. But I really wanna do it, and so do the other guys.

Alright, all for now. Time for teh skool!!11!1!

P E A C E.

Halfway There...

2005-08-31T08:38:00.000-07:00

I finished my track for the CD Monday night. So far, we have drums, guitar, bass, and sax in the can. We need to record trombone parts, trumpet parts, and add a few other things, then all we have to do is some mastering/mixing and the cd will be done, more than likely by next week.

I actually have two more songs I need to do, because for some reason, there was a computer glitch, and two of the songs just disappeared. We had to re-record them last night, and did guitar parts and bass parts for them. Once I do those two, that's when I'm done. But basically we're halfway there. Due to his hectic schedule, Ryan's trumpet parts are probably gonna be the very last things we do. Hopefully we can get him in this week, but I have a feeling it's gonna be next week before we get him in.

School is... school. It's going ok, I suppose. No complaints...yet.

All for now.

Recording...

2005-08-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

I finally got to start my track last night. Tito's apparently all done with his stuff, and so is Evan. But in order to have a kind of flow to the proccess, the Powers That Be decided it would be best to record Ryan after Evan, to get his guitar stuff over with. It took him about an hour and a half to do his crap, which was ridiculous. It was obvious that he hadn't practiced, or if he had, he hadn't in the proper manner. He just went through the motions, as opposed to actually breaking the music down, and smoothing out trouble spots. TIto looked very frustrated with Ryan, and with good reason. In all reality, he didn't really do three songs, as much as he did two and a half; he didn't play the intro part of this one song. After he got done though, I got my chance. Unfortunately, due to a glitch in the system we had to call it after I only recorded one song. Plus it was about 2AM. I wanted to keep going, but at least I might get the chance to finish tonight.

Well, art class continues to be confusing, and somewhat fast-paced, but I'm hanging in there, despite my being here to blog about it at the same time!

All for now.
Enjoy your wandrings.

Until next time, Space Cowboy...

[adult swim]

School stuff

2005-08-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

My first week is almost over, and it's been a mixture of fun, and horrible stress. I have a ridiculous amount of books to buy. Four alone in my English 101 class. But aside from that, I guess it's been okay.

Computer art Basics is getting a little bit more interesting. We were working with adobe illustrator today, just learning what does what. I kind of spaced, messing around with a few things, so I kind of missed out on some of the things Radar was saying today. Oh well. I'll eventually get it. Computer Animation was pretty awesome, in that already we're storyboarding and animating. We have to do a three-second little clip of something happening, some kind of story. We're doing a gun being fired, and then following the path of the bullet into a stick-figure dude, and having him fall out a window, then a moment later having his angel rise up into heaven. It's surprisingly time-consmuming, and kind of hard to get it all to match up correctly. But it's pretty fun. The only thing was, there was this one dude not doing anything, and not for laziness, or lack of interest. It's just that this thing was kind of a three-man job. One guy was drawing one scene, I was drawing another, and the third guy was kind of like a supervisor, and this fourth dude kind of got lost in the shuffle. I offered to let him do the closing part of the animation, but I don't think he was really all that receptive. So whatever.

So far, I have no idea what the hell Psychology of Human Relations is supposed to be about, beyond ... human relations, I guess. But it seems like it's gonna be a fun class. All in all, school is actually pretty fun these days, which is saying something, because usually I'm miserable at school.

Recording is going well enough. We're almost through with the scratch track. For those unfamiliar with how recording works, a band begins by playing the guitar, bass, vocals or horns as needed, along with the drums. Although these are all recorded at the same time as the drum stuff, this stuff is eventually going to be scrapped as the drum stuff is refined, and adjusted. The bass, guitars, horns and vocals all record off the drum track, and after some more editing, it's an album. So as of now, the scratch track is almost done. After that, I believe there's gonna be some fine tuning of the drum work, along with recording of the bass, and the electric guitar. I may or may not record this week; it may actually happen on the weekend. At any rate, I'm probably gonna be up first, but I'm not really nervous at all. I'm looking forward to it.

The guy in charge of recording is kind of a dictator though. Tito and the others were calling him "Mussolini." He's very demanding, and expects nothing less than perfection, which is good, because it'll make the album that much better. Unfortunately, this means Bagel is gonna have to practice his ass off, because this guy is a reall hard-ass. I'm not worried because I know I'm going first out of the horn section, and I know I'll nail all my crap. And they aren't worried about me, because they know I know what I'm doing. Nobody is really worried about Chachi either, because he'll have his crap down, too. Everyone is sweating Bagel because he's the suckiest. But hopefully, he'll do okay. In any event, he's recording last, so he doesn't take up mine and Chachi's recording time.

Well, all for now, ladies and gents.
Avoid The Noid. He ruins Pizzas.

More Stuff

2005-08-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

A new entry. And the Peasants rejoiced.

Had my first day yesterday. It went okay, I guess. We really haven't jumped into anything that advanced or difficult yet. Just made a newsletter on Microsoft Word. My Computer Art Basics instructor seems like a pretty cool guy though. I can't get over the fact that he looks like Radar O'Reiley from M*A*S*H. It's hysterical.

Guy was in a bit of a pickle when he talked to us though. He also teaches Computer Animation on the same days as Computer Art Basics, only in the mornings. He needed four more people to join his class, otherwise the Powers That Be are gonna shut it down for the semester. So I asked him about it, and now I get to be in the same class room for like 6 hours a day every Monday and Wednesday. Yay.

We started recording last night. I'm pretty sure it was just bass and drums though. If they get done recording Tito quickly, I might just record right after him. That would just leave Bagel and Chachi. I'm not worried about Chachi, but I have this deep, dark feeling in the pit of my stomach that I'm gonna have to fucking teach Bagel stuff before he plays it, right there at the studio for his recording time. But I guess that won't be too bad.

So after taking English 100 twice, I finally got into English 101, the class I SHOULD'VE been in from the first. But because I didn't completely 100% ace the English portion of the placement exam--I tested like a 95 or something--I got stuck in 100. What the hell IS that?? I tested high enough to be in 101 I believe, but they still stuck me in the remedial class. But I finally got into 101, no thanks to those bastards.

Well I guess that's all I got for now, folks.
Dig your own grave, and save!

Stuff...

2005-08-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Recording has been pushed to this Monday.
Apparently when Tito left for Mexico for the week, he never confirmed for this Monday, so now we have to wait until this Monday. Which is okay, because we're booked solid, and it's all set. No excuses this time.

Show at the bar went okay, I guess.
Played for entirely the wrong crowd: drunk metalheads.
So the crowd was kind of lukewarm, understandably. But they politely applauded for us, after each song, which was cool. It shows that we didn't entirely suck.

Anyway... don't really have any other shows booked.
I wanted to play a show in the next couple weeks at Lampost again, but I don't know if that's gonna happen. We'd have to find a bunch of bands to play and such.

Other than that, not much going on around here.
Thursday: Last day of Eng 100
Friday-Sunday: rest
Monday: Fall semester starts. *cry*

Feed your fish, and try not to bitch.

And So, A New Rant Begins...

2005-07-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

Update: Four Fingered Mel will be playing their first show in at least two months in Corona next week, Friday night. We'll be playing at a 21+ bar, which is good, 'cause drunks love our stuff. They're our people. We can have people under 21 there, but they can't be younger than 18, and they have to leave after the performance, but the upside is we're getting a cut of the money, so that's good. All the groups performing on Friday get a cut of ticket sales or something like that. Watch this space for further updates...

Also we now have a (somewhat) firm date for recording: August 9th/10th. So hopefully that'll be up on Myspace as soon as we can get it up there.

Other than that, not much to tell. World keeps spinnin'... but if I do laundry, believe me: you guys will be the first to know, since no Blog is complete without worthless, unadulterated spam.

All for now, ladies and gents...
Watch out for Jacko.

REEL BIG FISH!! REEL BIG FISH!!

2005-07-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

Before I go on, I have to make it clear that I wouldn't exactly consider myself a die-hard fan of Reel Big Fish. I don't know any of their lyrics, song titles, or even album titles. But I've heard some of their stuff, and I think they're pretty awesome.

And last night I got to see them.
I got to see them on one of their very last shows.

The rumor has it that this band is going to be breaking up soon, and that they're on a final, farewell tour. I'm not really sure why they're breaking up, I just know they are. Now, I'm not stupid enough to assume this really is it for Reel Big Fish. There've been plenty of bands in the past that have claimed that they were through, and they've re-united--and disbanded--several times over the ensuing years. Reel Big Fish may or may not join them; I don't know.

But I do know they rocked hard last night.
Me and my friends went to the beach yesterday afternoon and hung out. Tito and Evan surfed a bit; I just went in and had a dip. The water wasn't that cold, but I did get hammered by a few waves. I inhaled about a gallon and a half of salt water. We almost got stung by some gellyfish. And then we went and had a burger. Then we picked up Tito's girlfriend, and drove out to Anacrime, to Downtown Disney. Reel Big Fish was supposed to be playing at The Hard Rock at Downtown Disney. So after a little bit of trouble finding parking, we got the tickets, and watched them rock hard. Of course, me and Tito went into the pit as soon as we got the oppertunity. There was some girl who couldn't have been taller than 4'3", and she was in the pit, actually holding her own. Then a few seconds later, there was a trainwreck and she got burried under some big guys. And she was STILL okay. Tough girl.

I got shoved around a few times, but I threw a few elbows, and that was cool. At one point the circle opened up, and people danced in the middle; I got my chance, and I guess everyone thought I sucked, 'cause right afterwards, it started up again. I was upside down more than a few times. It was like a cyclone.

But overall, the show was pretty damned fun. Two hours of rockin' out. It's a shame they have to break up. Those people chanted "REEL BIG FISH!! REEL BIG FISH!!" at the beginning, the middle, and the very end of the show. Devoted fans.

So it was a helluva fun night. True, over half the sweat on my body wasn't mine--though some of the smell was--but it was all worth it.

All for now, folks. Be a friend to your toothbrush. Avoid The Noid.

Ranting and Raving Once Again...

2005-07-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, folks, this won't take long... it'll be about as quick as Bronson Pinchot's busy hands.

Anycrap...
So last night was pretty exciting for the band. Tito's little brother Alvarro actually found a kid at South Hills, a friend of his, who would be willing to drum for us. Hell, his mom was even willing to let him go to Minnesota with us. But we didn't end up going--thank the Good Lord for THAT one--so he didn't have to ask his dad. But he showed up to practice with us. For the first maybe 15 minutes of practice, he just sat there and watched while our current backup Helio played the set for him. After that he hopped behind the drums, and started learning a few songs, and actually doing quite well for himself. The only problem was, he neglected to tell anyone that he was gonna be hanging with us that night, and his mom and dad were really worried, looking for him. His dad talked to me and Tito, and said he didn't blame us, but that they were worried sick.

Hopefully that won't be the last we hear of this kid. He's too good, and we're too desperate.
...But not as desperate as Bronson Pinchot.

In other news, James Doohan, who portrayed the character of Chief Engineer Scott--aka "Scotty"--on the original Star Trek series recently passed away. Unfortunately, when he got his star on the Walk of Fame a few months back, it didn't seem like he had much time left, as he was battling both Alzeimers and Parkinson's disease, among other ailments. His ashes are to be sent into outer space by the same organization that did the same for the late great Gene Roddenberry.

Alright folks, I think that's it for now.
Be sure to tune in again next time. Same Bat-time, Same Bat-channel.

Entry #2

2005-07-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

The big one, folks.
Numero dos.
The big.................... 2.

Not that anything interesting has happened since the last entry and this fresh, new one--fresh and breezy like a clean pair of socks--but gosh darnit, I just HAD to write SOMETHING to keep you all entertained.

Note to Wendy: you suck.

I kid, I kid...'cause I love.

So I'm getting a little worried about recording. Ryan Quinto--plays trumpet for us; better known as VIP--couldn't show up to practice last night, and he hasn't shown up for a while. I need him to come in at least twice, to work out a few things. And I'm beginning to notice another disturbing thing: I don't think Bagel has a set trombone part for any song that he plays trombone for, and recording is coming pretty fast... I actually had to re-teach him a part at a practice a few nights ago. And it seems he's forgotten another part I taught him weaks ago. And to make matters worse, our drummer seems to have appalling time--or very low stamina, indeed. At least until last night--every other practice, he'd start a song at a certain tempo, and he'd end up much slower by the end of it. But last night he seemed to have pretty decent time, which is a good sign. Maybe this thing will come out halfway decent-sounding after all...

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it. PAY UP, DAMMIT!!

So what's up with Hogan Knows Best, on VH-1? New reality show starring, of all people, the Hogan clan! Nooo, God no, not PAUL Hogan... Jeez, are you insane?? I'm talking about The Icon, The IMMORTAL Hulk Hogan! Not suprisingly, he made a return to WWE as well, no doubt to gain some exposure going into his reality tv venture. So far, Hogan has had to deal with daughter Brooke--sixteen--and her first date with "Adam"--22. He was less than enthusiastic. "No daughter of mine is going out with a 22 year old--not as long as my name is Hulk Hogan!" he bellowed. In fact, he DID let her go out...in one if his cars...in which he implanted an OnStar homing device. Protective much?

Hey, but I don't blame the old guy; if my sixteen year old daughter told me she wanted to go out with a 22 year old guy, I'd laugh in her face 'till mine turned blue. But the Hogans got through it admirably, though it's probably the last time Brooke will ever see Adam--considering brother Nick revealed that Adam is a partyer...who drinks a lot...who has gone to topless beaches... and has pierced nipples. Ow. And not ow as in "OW!! THAT'S HOT, BABY!" but ow as in "MOTHER ****ER!! What were you thinking, man?!"

But whatever.
Anycrap... I have this research paper that I have to write for my english class, and my teacher wants my research subject choice by tomorrow, written up. And I don't have a damned clue what to write about! But worry not, friends--I'll have it down by tonight, or tomorrow at 1:45 PM--just hours away from class time--for sure. Hey, to err is human. To procrastinate, divine.

Oh, and I saw Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Johnny Depp plays Wonka himself, and he pulls it off, with his own approach to the character, but I have to say I think the original, with Gene Wilder, is slightly better than this one. I liked Mr. Wilder's Wonka better. Not that Johnny Depp didn't do a good job--he played the character well. I just preffer the original.

Well, that's all for me, bitches.
Watch out for Wacko-Jacko, kiddos... he lurks beneath your beds.

The First Entry: Read On, Bitches...

2005-07-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

Yeahhh... I'm on Blogger now. Why, I don't have a fucking clue.
Let's move...

Four Fingered Mel--my band, for those of you privy to giving a shit--is going to begin recording either late July or early August. Which is exciting, for sure. We'll be recording all the songs on our current set on one, fantasmic cd, full of good times, kick your mom in the balls music. Huzzah!

Also, my friends in the band want to drag me off to Vegas for my 21st birthday. I'm not the type who even likes a CAKE for his birthday, let alone having to travel someplace to celebrate it. I haven't had a birthday party since I was like 12, and if I don't have one again 'till I'm 25, it'll be too soon. But these guys wanna go. Evan--our lead singer, and good friend--told me that they made it out to be my idea when they were telling him about it, which is crap. I hate parties, and I hate making a fuss about my own birthday. One of the guys actually asked me if I would be interested in going, and the other--Tito, friend and lead guitarist--actually said we're going, and that's it! So that's that, folks--Vegas, here I come...begrudgingly.

Well, that's it for now, folks.
P E A C E.