S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT!

Being a panda for Halloween is a fantastic journey. So when Will and I took on this journey (thanks to his grandma for making the costumes) we discovered a few things:

1. Being dressed up like a panda is sort of like being a celebrity. Everyone waves to you. You get that same amount of smiles as Cat-calls. The attention is exhilarating.

2. We met up with two more Chicago bloggers (Classy & Fancy, The Gancer) who had more energy in one night than I have in an entire year. It was a fun time (I'm a slowly turning into an old fart).

3. Straight or gay, young drunk girls will try to make out with you... when you are a panda.

4. Nick's is really Mix, and yes, there is a $10 cover.

5. Some great costumes this year included: Duff's Beer Man, MySpace, Jem (she was truly outrageous), a Double Dare team, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

6. By the end of the night one person finally "got" that we were trying to be the pandas from Jackass... yelling at us "Hey! Pandas! Where's your skateboards, Jackass!" Classic.

Will and Fred, Pandas 2006.

Bubble Breaker.

I bought a new phone a few months back and just descovered a game on it called Bubble Breaker. Well, the truth is, that I discovered the game the day I bought the phone, but since there are no directions to it I just figured out how to play it. No, it did not take me months to figure it out... just months to give it enough attention for one sitting to figure it out. Now - I'm totally hooked. This game is super easy, but to break the high score is becoming more difficult. And I am not a gamer... I could care less about video games... but Bubble Breaker has me hooked.

Yes, I am a dork.

Friday: Random Notes

1. The Map Room is a great pub. Fantastic beer and a good crowd (not filled with Frat boys... in fact I think the only high-five that went down was between Jason and me).

2. For all of those Detroit Tiger bandwagon jumpers (or those just "rising to the occasion"), you should go purchase a St. Louis hat.

Who does this to their child?

3. The blogs for the World Series on MLB.com are a good read.

4. My jeans are too tight. I was thinking during the first half of my walk to work that I should turn around and go back home to change pants. The problem is that they are low-rise cut (they were on sale), but I do not wear them as a low-rise... I am not into showing my butt crack. So they are a little too snugly around the crotch.

5. I learned that the singer of My Chemical Romance is really short.

6. The past few days of rain have reminded me why we left Portland, OR.

7. I am excited to hear the new Magic Numbers new album. "Those The Brokes" comes out on November 6.

Sunburn.

My dream last night:
I woke up in a hotel room with vague memories from the previous day of being on the beach and doing lots of activities in the blazing sun. No surfing though. I get out of my big hotel bed and walk into the bathroom. I turn the light on and look into the mirror and see that my face is completely disfigured. I have such a bad sunburn from the day before that my face is a dark purple color, very swollen, dry and flaking, and some puss oozing out. I look like I am dying... like someone beat the crap out of me (or at least my face).
So I decide to go for a walk (my dream skipped the shower, etc.). I run into some friends who tell me how bad my face looks, and they remind me that they told me countless times the day before that I should get out of the sun. This seems to not bother me too much, so I keep walking and walking (not really sure where I am going). As I walk on I start running into people I have not seen in years. They all want to talk about how life is going... and they all try to avoid talking about my face. After seeing tons of old acquaintances I walk into a big room where I discover that I am at my high school reunion.
Then I woke up.
Strange.

3 years.

I wanna be Ben Wallace.

For some crazy reason I have been wanting to purchase a Chicago Bulls jersey. Now this might not be crazy to everyone, but for me it certainly does not make a lot of sense taking in to count these factors:

1. I do not really like basketball.
2. I do not really like basketball.
3. I would have absolutely no place to wear it, besides at home... in which I am sure LP would make fun of me.
4. I do not really like basketball.

So I am not really sure where this desire to buy a Bulls jersey is coming from... but if I happen to make that purchase I will be going with the Ben Wallace jersey since he has crazy hair like me (well if I let mine grow out).

Weekend: Random Notes.

1. I was told all about how sketchy the "famous" Chicago dive in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood called Tuman's Alcohol Abuse Center. Well now it's just called Tuman's and the only thing sketchy I witnessed on Friday night was the horribly awful deejay. But it's alright for a bar.
Side Note: The best party trick I saw was the dumb-ass who went into the bathroom, put his beer on the floor right next to the toilet (not the urinal), peed (which splashed all over the beer), picked up the beer and drank it. Wow. Yes, we could see into the guys bathroom from our table.

2. Kenny Rogers (the pitcher of the Detroit Tigers) looks mean. Maybe it's because he is always yelling. Or maybe it's because he beat up that cameraman last year. But whatever it is... I don't think he has too many friends. And now that some people think he is cheating, he is losing respect.

3. Pinochle and drinking often leads to potty mouth.

4. My favorite new album of the week is "Flashlights" by So Many Dynamos.

Funny-face.

This one picture represents me well.

Special.

I am special... I have made the leap to the Beta site. Look at me now! Superstar!

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan.

I am a fan of Belle & Sebastian. The Screaming Trees were one of my favorite groups of all time. Mark Lanegan's solo material has been hit or miss... but more hits than misses. So when I read that Isobel Campbell was teaming up with Mark Lanegan to record an album I was excited. Two amazing voices that could possibly mesh to make a perfect record. Wrong.

Oh, the reviews have been pretty good. Pitchfork said good things. Allmusic said good things. So how could I not go out and purchase "Ballad of the Broken Seas." It is certain to be the record of the year. Wrong.

This is the most disappointing long player of the year. Not the worst album of the year, just the most disappointing. (If I were to start writing about worst records of the year I'd have to start somewhere around the Killer's huge crap sandwich called "Sam's Town.") "Ballad of the Broken Seas" is soooooooo boring. I understand it is a collection of mellow material (I like Low and the Dirty Three). But this album goes no where. It just runs on and on and on.

So if you are in the mood to go out and purchase one record this month... please make sure it is not Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan's "Ballad of the Broken Seas" on V2.

Jackass, Number 2.

WARNING: Jackass, Number 2 is super funny. Hilarious. The stunts in the second movie are way more dangerous... and just completely wrong. The laugh-factor is extremely high (my face and stomach hurt after it). The musical number is genius. This again proves that this group of nuts are 100% insane. And I might have to go see it again.

I am glad I have a friend like Will who will go see completely stupid movies with me.

Vinyl Rights?

I have been a vinyl (12" & 7" records) fan since I was in 3rd grade. Jefferson Starship's "Modern Times" was my first purchase that I made with a gift certificate to Rainbow Records (in Valco Mall) that I won at school. I bought it since my brother told me it had bad words on "Stairway to Cleveland," which it did. Corrupted youth starting at 3rd grade. My next purchases were by Black Flag, Pop-o-Pies, and the Big Boys.

Over the years I have purchased tapes and CDs, but I truly love records. There is something about playing a record that is much more enjoyable than any other format. But at the same time I have become very dependent on my MP3 player. I take it everywhere. It is my stereo at work. The only place my MP3 player is not used is at home. This has caused a dilemma in my life when purchasing music. Do I buy something on vinyl or CD (downloading blows)? If I buy the record I cannot put it on my MP3 player. And if I buy the CD I just do not get the complete satisfaction of buying a record.

Lately a few indie record labels have made this an easy solution. Labels like Matador, Merge, and Quarterstick have been including a coupon for a free download of the album in MP3 format with the purchase of the vinyl record (Mudhoney's last record comes with the CD inside). Great! This past weekend when I bought the newest Brightblack Morning Light (on Matador) release on vinyl I not only got great 12" packaging, and two 180 gram lps, and a set of stoner 3-D glasses so you can trip out on the artwork, and two extra songs not on the CD... but a free download coupon. If you buy the CD or just download the songs you miss out on so much.

I hope more labels start doing the same... it's a good thing. And it keeps record buyers, like me, very happy... and wanting to keep buying records.

Buy this album or vinyl!

Cats.

Just a stupid email I got today that made me laugh.

House Guests.

Since Thursday, LP and I have been hosting two house guests. A cousin from Tennessee, and her college friend who happens to be an exchange student from Austria. They are really nice... typical teenage college students. They are in Chicago to see the sites and have some fun. Not loud. Not drinkers. Not obnoxious.

Not sure why... but I am always a big ball of stress when we have house guests. Every time. I think it's mostly due to the fact I am very anal retentive. When people are on vacation / traveling they tend to not be so neat (especially college students and band members). I hate when my house is messy. It completely drives me up the wall and that in turn makes me stress out which makes me grumpy. I know life is too short to be grumpy and stressed over house guests' mess - but I cannot ever seem to get over it. And I have no clue why I cannot get over it.

I am writing about this today so maybe it will help me get over it. Realistically, one of my family members will read it and come visit and be so over the top messy on purpose just to watch me flip out.

Great News.

It's snowing out side!!!!! I am so super duper excited that I can hardly control myself. I just hope this means that Chicago is going to have the snowiest winter in 100 years! Yea for snow!!!!

I was thinking about writing something about Cory Lidle and how sad it is that he died yesterday in the plane crash in NYC. But so much has been written about it already. It's just sad.

Zombie Surf Movies.

My friend Brian is a life long surfer and a movie freak. He has been a part of some great zombie surf shorts that all should watch. Yes, Zombie Surf Shorts. And since this is the season of Halloween... this will get all in the mood.

http://www.aquasurfshop.com/images/media_gallery/media_gallery.html

Tuesday: Random Notes.

Just some random things I was thinking about on my walk to work this morning:

1. Lots of houses on the way to work are decorated with Halloween props. Ghosts, goblins, spiders, tombstones, and even two pumpkins made in to Mr & Mrs Potato Head. But the strangest house I passed had two pumpkins and a 12 pack of Diet Coke on each step of the stairs leading to the front door... about 12 steps in all. WTF?

2. I bash the Yankees often on my blog, but I would like to point out that my friend Jason is a true baseball fan, and a true Yankees fan (although living in Chicago for more than 5 years he needs to move on). Jason is a good sport and can laugh with the rest of the world when the Yankees choke. Sure he is bummed out by the loss, but he also shows that the best part of being a fan is the game of baseball. I wish more Yankees fans were true baseball fans... maybe a large chunk of them would cheer for the teams closest to where they live. But like most sports people just jump on the bandwagon for the winning team.

3. On last night's episode of How I Met Your Mother, they used a song from the first Decemberists' album. I know the Decemberists are getting pretty popular, but I remember seeing them in Portland before their first record came out on Hush. It was really cool to see TV people are catching on as well.

4. Last night was another new episode of The Class, and it was alright... but the ending really threw me for a loop.

Happiness.

The New York Yankees have spent just over $1.2 Billion on salaries and luxury taxes in the past six years to ensure a World Series win. But in the past six years they have not won the World Series. And this past weekend they again were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. This makes someone like me smile from ear to ear. If the Yankees stop spending a ton of money and focus on bringing up young talent they will be better off... they could possibly be the Yankees we saw in the mid-to-late 1990's. They currently have some amazing young players.

This past week sports reporters (especially ESPN) have been going on and on and on about what a great line up the Yankees have. They spent countless hours and words talking over and over about how great the Yankees are. They spent very little time on the other seven teams in the play-offs. Now that the Detroit Tigers (David) slain The Yankees (Goliath) all of these sports analysts are spending so much time on talking about how The Yankees had everything right on paper but that it did not work on the field... so much time on the Yankees. Why not spend most of the time on the teams that made it to the final four?

And just as a random side note: if you grow up in southern Indiana you most likely grow up a Carnidals fan or a Reds fan, since both cities (depending on where in southern Indiana you live) are less than 3 hours away. See you do not have to make up excuses to be a Yankees fan. Cheer for your home (or near home team) where ever you live.

Yankees Suck!

X2, Electric Boogaloo.

When it comes to the X-Men movies it always amazes me on how many people I know that absolutely love them. This has always baffled me since I did go see the first movie in the theater and fell asleep (and snored) even with LP trying to wake me up over and over. So how could I poo poo such a loved film... or how could so many people like such a poo poo film?

This weekend I decided to watch the X-Men trilogy. Maybe I could find out what I was missing.

I would like to say let everyone (especially Will and Terry) know how wrong I was. These films are so much fun. I am not sure how I could of not liked the first movie from the start. And X2 is way better than the first. I have not watched to third installment yet, but I am sure it will be as fun as the first two.

Life at work with no email.

This morning I got to work to discover my email is not working and the company's website is down. Lovely. It's crazy to think how work-life revolves around email. I actually had to pick up the phone and call clients this morning... a very strange concept. And to go even more old school... I actually faxed someone a few documents this morning. So I am sitting here... waiting for email... updating the 5 of 9er.

The Class.

I watch plenty of television. I am not super absorbed with it, but I definitely am not anti-tv. I tend to not watch the big popular shows... I've never seen ER, CSI, and I never saw The West Wing. My major problem with television is when I decide to "get into" a new show it gets cancelled within the first couple seasons (usually the first). Some of my favorite short lived shows were: Tru Calling, Freak And Geeks, Wonderfalls, Get Real, and Doctor Doctor.

So this fall I have stumbled onto a new sitcom on CBS called The Class. The main reason I stumbled on it is because it is on right before my favorite show How I Met Your Mother (which I am sure will be cancelled soon because I am really into it). The Class is not a great show. It's a tad slap-sticky. It introduced a lot of characters from the get go which all seem to have their own subplots. This little bit of chaos keeps me watching... I want to know where this will all go. But honestly I think I like the fact that no one else seems to be into it. No one I know has watched it yet, or really cares to. It is up against Monday Night Football (who cares) and Prision Break (it's not even filmed in Chicago anymore... boo) so it looks like I am again getting into another dead-end show.

Ode to my small suitcase.

Little suitcase, little suitcase, where can you be?
We checked you in at the American counter in Memphis, Tennessee.
When we arrived in Chicago we waited until we were blue.
Many bags went by (all black) but none of them were you.
Were you on the plane? Did you make the flight?
We should of never let you out of our sight.
Come home little one, with all of our toiletries,
LP's shoes, my shoes, and our Celine Dion CDs.
I am kidding (really) about the Celine Dion CDs,
But sadly not about LP's shoes you see.
So get home soon, get home soon,
Because when American Airlines loses your bag it totally sucks.