Spring Love

No real content just wanted to share that I am loving the weather recently and hope it is improving everyone's days in the same way it is mine.

Outdoors basketball twice in as many days and pleasant walks around wearing only a t-shirt and being comfortable. I am so glad to see the shit weather behind us.

If it does go back to the rain though I might be forced to jump off a bridge now.

UPDATE: After leaving work and coming home, it looks like I will be throwing myself off the Aurora bridge tonight. Stupid Seattle.

Good Times in the Mountains or Switchback Driving with a VIP Cake in the Back

These are from my sister's awesome wedding last year in the middle of the mountains Colorado.

The wedding was a whole bunch of fun and I can only hope that mine matches up to hers. All the involved families got there early and spent time hanging out in the cabins, spending time with one another and playing a little golf. For a fun little game try to determine which of the people I am related to in the following pictures.


The one thing that I failed to remember about being in the mountains though is how much closer you are to the sun and how much quicker my already fair complexion burns. I managed to survive though through a self-medication regime that involved wine, good food and lots of time in the pool.


Another thing about the altitude was that it made my camera unusable for all but some random five minutes a day.

It decided to work again at the BBQ rehearsal dinner where the food looked awesome and from what I heard it was. It also included some great picture slide shows that everyone enjoyed immensely. Much props go to Kip's sister (Kip being my sister's husband) for putting those together.

A good picture of the womans before the camera started to go.


And my uncle's and aunt as the camera started giving up the ghost.




And then the camera pretty much gone:


Overall it was a great weekend and everything worked out more well than could be imagined at least from my perspective.

The only potentially fatal flaw was making me drive up from Denver with the wedding cake in the back with only Morgan's friend Becca to secure it.

We managed to keep it pretty unbattered though.

Smile

Last night was the Lily Allen show and contrary to Yachi's preconceived notions it was not full of 14 year olds. Wait until next year, right now Ms. Allen is still on the taste maker curve so it was just a lot people our age in nice clothes.

I thought she performed very well. The fact that she had a full horn section definitely added to that opinion. Also her drummer was pretty great as Eric said not too over the top but played everything excellently. Her music has enough nods to great English bands so that you like it without any thought. The high point of the night was her acknowledging this by bringing out Lynval Golding, the guitarist for the Specials. The Specials started the ska revival in England and apparently had a great impact on her music.

The second great thing about the concert was her choosing Heart of Glass as a cover for an encore.

I was impressed with how candid she was and her choice of banter in between sets. Chris was slightly less impressed. In five minutes she went from stomach trouble, to belching, to her disgust with our president. She does not fit easily into the female pop star box which is refreshing. It will be interesting to see how her career progresses.

Playing Dad

Tonight I got a chance to help a friend change their blown-out tire and it made me feel like a father.

For some reason I learned how to change a tire when I was 12, oh wait I remember it was switching from snow tires and back again twice a year. Any ways it was fun getting to go out and teach someone else how to do it, even if the car did fall off of the jack and almost crush my feets.

But overall my feets are intact and another person knows how to change their tire. Also I learned that BMWs do everything short of changing themselves. They have a tool kit that is better than the one we have at home. Apparently it is for changing tires and applying dry wall.

Biggie Memoriam

Stupid Blogger, anyways this is the second version of the post so it might be a little rushed.

The anniversary of Biggie's passing was earlier this month with the Fader hosting an hour long show dedicated to him on their Let Out podcast. It is one of the best hours of music I have heard in a while. What makes it so great is it is all the hard to find yet awesome Biggie stuff that you used to hear and spend weeks trying to find. When put together like this it is staggering how much quality shit he had that was not on any given LP.

You can find the show here for at least a little while. If for some reason it is gone when you try to access let me know and I can send it to you.

While you are at EVR you should sign up for just about every other podcast they offer as there have been no bads ones I have heard, just too much competing for my ears.

Here is the only video I could find on Youtube (Stupid Viacom) of the Notorious:

Beer, Beef and Nipples

It was St. Patty's and the night started off pretty well with MSU doing well against the #1 seeded NC (until the last 5 minutes when they basically fell apart). Combine this with corned beef cabbage and booze and you have great beginnings.

After finally winning in cribbage it was on to dominance in beer pong. I had never played this yet somehow managed to destroy the other team in the first game. In the second I was not able to make the clutch shots but it was a valiant effort.

It was on to an English bar for an Irish night which I think I would have protested more vehemently had I realized it at the time.

For much talking, drinking, and mugging for photos.



Apparently at some point the rain followed us in prompting the unfurling of the umbrella at the table which started a great chain reaction of beer glasses falling all over.

There also was a couple of random nipple sightings. Mine, of course, showed itself

But we also got to see Ming's

Then the night was over and I had to show my unhappy face

Getting Old

5 years at Microsoft will get you the following:


I remember when I started work saying to myself I would be here 4-6 years then on to bigger and better. I wonder what that is going to be?

Bring on the Leeches

I have debated actually posting anything about this but as I finished squeezing the pus out of my leg I decided to share because I love you all just that much.

I have somehow grown a dime sized growth on my leg that is basically a volcano of pus and blood. I have pictures but they do not belong on the internet. If I really love you maybe I will show you offline.

It is interesting seeing how knocked out my body is though by an infection in my leg. Having said that though I am pretty ready for everything to be better so I can walk normal again and get back in the pool.

Give me some sympathy when you see me as this is just a cry for that.

Not Cause I Hate the Macs...

...but because it is funny. Any criticism of blind faith that is done well is going to make me giggle and this is no exception.

What makes it funnier to me is that I have been using a Mac at work and find myself wanting to be part of this big beautiful Mac community. They do just work.

The Wonders of the Internet

Wonder #1

A photographer that manages to get a lot of photos of musicians. He has shots of artists from Jean Grae to Fantômas. My favorites were the photos of Slick Rick as the exactly captured what I always think of when I think of Slick Rick. There also is a crazy shot of some kids blasting on someone or something that looks pretty authentic.

Wonder #2

A podcast that has provided me with lots of amusement. Grammar girl is all about (surprise, surprise) grammar. Her style of explaining things is really listenable and she always manages to mention something that I had not know before about why grammar is the way it is. Besides each segment is only about 3-5 minutes. Worth listening to if you like knowing why splitting infinitives is OK to do in today's society.

Acting Up

I was going to post on some random internet funs but got the fever for some activism instead.

It looks like Gizmodo is trying to stand up to the monster that is the RIAA. Info here and much more eloquently stated than I could. It is about time that someone tries in whatever way possible to take this stand and hopefully have people realize that they do not have to put up with such a bullying organization.

Here are some quotes from the manifesto that caught my attention:

The goal of the RIAA's lawsuits is to make people so afraid of being sued that they will stop downloading music. However, in their lawsuits they circumvent the law and extort money from people who haven't been given the benefit of a legal trial...

it's worth noting that issues such as the underpayment of artists and album price-fixing are quite serious and should be considered as good a reason as any to keep your money from going to their pockets. Two articles worth reading to study up on how major labels screw over the artists they claim to represent are Courtney Love's speech to the Digital Hollywood online entertainment conference and The Problem with Music by Steve Albini.

The first step Gizmodo wants people to take is to boycott all music that comes from an RIAA label. [Website that will tell you if a piece of music is money in the RIAA's pocket or not]. A lot of my favorite groups are on an RIAA label and it is going to be hard not to buy any music from one of those labels but hopefully it will make the message more powerful.

The second message I got today was from the showbox and I thought it was good timing as the issue had come up at lunch today. We missed the meeting but an email to a council member can still help:

As you know, many of Seattle's neighborhoods are thriving and attracting more residents, businesses and bars, nightlife. This growth is a welcome indication of Seattle's economic vitality and cultural vibrancy. Some might argue that nightlife is what drives new residents and businesses to many of Seattle's neighborhoods, and is necessary to keep attracting a vital young workforce to the City. We definitely know that neighborhoods with lots of bars and clubs have seen corresponding dramatic increases in condo prices.

Unfortunately, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has tried to divide residents and the nightlife community, and has proposed an oppressive new ordinance that threatens to kill nightlife in Seattle. This ordinance won't solve the issues that come with increased nightlife and residential housing, it won't address the lack of Police and other services the City provides at night, it won't decrease street crime, it won't help solve the issues of drug gangs selling crack on the street, it won't decrease noise coming from people on the street at night. It WILL kill healthy clubs. It will keep new investment from opening new bars and clubs in Seattle. It will ultimately harm the nightlife scene and especially the live music community.

We need you to speak out against this ordinance now.

The City Council's Economic Development and Neighborhoods Committee will have a public hearing on this legislation on Thursday, March 1st at 9:30 a.m. The hearing takes place at City Hall in the Council Chambers (600 4th Ave, 2nd floor). If you're interested in making sure Seattle has a safe, vibrant nightlife and music scene, this is an opportunity to voice your opposition to The Mayor and this horrible legislation.

If you can't make the meeting, be sure to write the Council to let them know how you feel about this ordinance and the need for nightlife and music in Seattle. The more personal emails you write the better - let them know your positive experiences, how music and nightlife benefit you, and solutions you think could happen differently than the Mayor's ordinance. Check out more info on nightlife and music issues at www.seattlenma.org.

Please email the following people as soon as possible:

Michael Gilmore (michael.gilmore@seattle.gov); Jan Drago (jan.drago@seattle.gov); Richard Conlin (Richard.Conlin@seattle.gov); Richard McIver (richard.mciver@seattle.gov); Peter Steinbrueck (peter.steinbrueck@seattle.gov); Nick Licata (Nick.Licata@Seattle.gov); David Della (David.Della@Seattle.gov); Tom Rasmussen (tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov); Jean Godden (Jean.Godden@Seattle.gov); Sally Clark (sally.clark@seattle.gov); James Keblas (james.keblas@seattle.gov)

Do what you feel is right.