perpetual memory loss

The Mets are a mess but at least they are providing comedians with plenty of good material.

If I have said it once I have said it a million times YouTube is one of the biggest time vampires in my life.  Sometimes I really don’t know how I get anything done at all.  For instance, right now I should be wading my way through 70+ pages of notes and writing out practice essays for the big test on Friday, but instead I have been meandering my way through videos on YouTube.  I just can’t help it sometimes I hit a good thread and just keep going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole.  Here now are a couple of the gems that I found today (incidently I got started on this topic by finding this website that tracks TWSS comments over twitter).  The first is every (almost) “That’s what she said” from The Office and the other one is some TWSS from the Star Wars trilogy.  Maybe  it’s just me but TWSS jokes never get old.  It’s now time to go back to (or start) studying.  It’s going to be hard, but I have to tear myself away from the interwebs.  Enjoy.

Last night I finally got to see Jimmy Eat World live in concert.  After all these years of being a fan of them, and constantly missing out on their shows, I finally made one.  First off I will always be grateful to neverbesocial for introducing me to Jimmy Eat World back in those halcyon Phoenix days.  (Actually I have to thank him for introducing me to quite a few of my favorite bands.  He has been a sort of musical Gandalf guiding me through the perilous path of new music.  Although I still can’t stand Mates of State or Portugal the Man, but hey whatever I can’t be expected to like everything he does.)  Anyways I got to the show earlier than I did for The Black Keys a few weeks ago, but despite that, there was still a huge line–over a block long–by the time I got there.  The people at Terminal 5, however, kept the line moving quickly and I was able to get inside before I froze completely to death.

Once inside I went back up to my spot on the third floor railing, grabbed an empanada, a couple beers, and got ready for the show.  I can’t tell you how excited I was for this show.  I have been looking forward to seeing JEW for a long time now and the fact that my first concert was going to be the Clarity tour only added to my exhilaration–as Clarity is one of my all-time favorite albums.  So I suffered through the opening act–they actually were not that bad, but I just didn’t feel like waiting any longer to see JEW.  A little bit after 9:00 JEW came out to the rousing cheers of the crowd and commenced to playing Clarity in it’s entirety–including Goodbye Sky Harbor.  It was a fantastic show and they sounded great, and considering this was their first show on the tour, I expect that as the tour rolls on they will tighten up their sound even more.  After they finished playing Clarity they left so they could take part in the obligatory encore–bands really need to stop doing that as it’s pretty contrived–and then they came back out and played some of their b-sides and then finished off the show with Work, Pain, The Middle, and Sweetness.  The crowd went absolutely ape-shit for Sweetness and it really is the best song to finish the show to as everyone left completely pumped after that song.  Well there is not really much more for me to say that the pics and videos can’t say on their own.  So enjoy the pics and videos.  (By the way Jimmy Eat World if you all are upset about me posting these pics and videos online just twitter me to take it down.  No need to release the hounds.)

Continue reading

Yesterday turned out to be quite the adventure.  It was supposed to be just an easy night out on the town watching The Black Keys.  I left my apartment and after a long train ride and a long walk I made it to Terminal 5 at about 7:30.  As I stood in line waiting to get frisked I pulled out all the crap in my pockets so the process would go quicker.  Of course I get frisked by a beast of a women (how come it’s socially ok for a female to frisk a male but not vice-versa?) who decided to take some liberties with her frisking by grabbing my ass a few times. Wtf is up with shit like this happening to me (if you are new refer to this post here)?

Immediately after that weirdness I went to the bar and started crushing beers like my life depended on it.  I milled around for a bit and then decided that since I had my camera on me I would stake out a good spot upstairs to watch the show.  I ended up on the third floor railing with a good view of the stage, and bonus I was spitting distance from the bar.  My plan was to get nice and loaded during the opening bands and then to slow down or quit drinking once the Keys came on stage.  As usually plans went awry and I kept pounding all night long.  (I really think it was the last four Sierra Nevadas that did me in.)  This was the third time I have seen them live and as always the show was epic.  (No show will ever be as good as the first time I saw them in Cali at Brick by Brick just because of the extraordinary lengths I went through to go to that show, and because of the amount of laws–military and civilian–that I broke just by going to it.)  Since I took a bunch of pictures and videos of the show I will let them speak for the epicness of the show instead of babbling on and on.

After the show I hooked myself up with a new t-shirt and I got it for $10 instead of the usual $20.  I think that was because I was incredibly drunk and the dude who was running the counter just wanted to get rid of me.  Once I left Terminal 5 it took me forever to get home as I was chatting on the phone and ended up walking a few miles past my subway stop, then I fell asleep on the E-train (again), and it wasn’t until after 4 that I ended up stumbling home.  All in all it was a good night with all the mandatory ingredients for a good night: live music, beer, stumbling around NYC, and falling asleep on the train.  Anytime that happens it is definitely good night.  Pictures and videos (sorry they are a bit wobbly, I blame the beer) after the fold, enjoy.

Continue reading

Some things are just meant to be together, like peanut butter & jelly or peanut butter & chocolate (damn why is peanut butter so darn good).  I have always been a big fan of drinking profusely and I have always been a big fan of history, and even though at times I have mixed the two, I have never actually thought of recording said conversations.  So a big thank you to Sara for texting me to inform me of these skits, which combine two of my favorite things, and also fits in perfectly with the theme of  this blog.  This is just one more great combo in life that was meant to be.  Maybe one of these days I’ll get my own episode and I’ll give them a drunken lecture on some random historical event (seriously Pacificus/Helvidius debates are still fresh in my mind and I could wax about it drunk no problem).  Now enjoy Drunk History.

Merry Christmas to everyone out there on the internets.  In keeping with the spirit of the season I have compiled some of my favorite videos to help bring joy to you.  So your welcome.

First up is one of my all-time favorite Christmas cartoons: How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s the greatest although the ending is a bit weak. I would have liked to see the Grinch stay grinchy instead of turning into a bit fat sap, but, oh well, nothing is perfect although this cartoon comes close. I have to admit that the Grinch taught me a lot about the spirit of the season. Thanks Grinch.

Next up is some clips from Red Sleigh Down, one of the funnier South Park episodes. Money line: “This is Baghdad God what a shit hole, I mean, oh wow these poor unfortunate people.” Full episode here.

Continue reading

In honor of the Governor’s hair-brained scheme to put taxes on iTunes downloads (and possibly other DLC), and a host of other dumb taxes, I am posting this SNL skit about him.  I mean there is a $15.4 billion budget gap.  So raising taxes on small stuff like digital content and soda is a bit like McCain’s claims that if we vetoed all ear-marks we would magically have a budget surplus.  15.4 billion is a big number and means that there is inefficiency in your government, so fix that shit first, and that most (if not all) of the gap is going to have to be made up with broad reforms to the way things are done on a daily basis in government.  Proposals like this just piss people off because they know that instead of looking in the mirror you are just trying to squeeze some more money out of everyday people.  One more thing if you appoint Caroline Kennedy as Hillary’s replacement then you should be impeached, because she has the same amount of experience as Sarah Palin.

Updated – 4:38

Ok here is a commentary from Paterson explaining why he wants to raise taxes on sugary drinks.  Basically it boils down to taxing a substance like soda in the hopes of preventing people from drinking an excess of soda, and hopefully to curb the rising rates of childhood obesity.  Now in theory I shouldn’t care because I rarely ever drink soda, but I do have a huge problem with this.  This is just another instance of the government stepping in and taking on a role that does not belong to them.  Since when is it the governments job to tell people what to eat and drink.  It takes away the responsibilty from the parents and essentially absovles them of being shitty parents.  The government should be finding a way to put responsibility and blame back on the parents instead of taking more upon itself.

Another point I want to make is the taxing of iTunes and possibly other digital downloads.  This is a terrible idea also because the government and corporations have been fighting to get digital piracy under control, and they have been making success over the last few years–specifically with iTunes.  However, start throwing extra taxes on these legitimate downloads and it will have the same effect as the Coercive and Townshend Acts did, namely drive people back to piracy.  Dumb ideas, government needs to look in the mirror and start trimming the fat off of some of their programs, and they need to modernize and get hip with the digital age.

I was supposed to be working on finishing up my paper today that is due on the 11th (which should be a day off, but don’t get me started on that one).  Instead, however, I have been hanging out with my old friend procrastination.  This afternoon I spent a few hours playing Gears of War 2, and then I went for a walk grabbed a couple slices of pizza.  Lately I’ve been hanging out on the Internet looking at random shirts like this one.  I have also spent way too much time on YouTube watching videos like this one:

YouTube Direkt

or this one:

YouTube Direkt

or this one:

YouTube Direkt

I’m not sure what it is about monkeys or idiots hurting themselves, but damn do I enjoy watching them.  So much so that I’ve wasted hours watching random videos of monkeys doing all manner of silly shit.  The best part about monkeys is they don’t even have to be doing anything crazy, just watching monkeys on the Discovery channel cracks me up.  Monkeys, midgets, and Japanese game shows always make me laugh, and YouTube has a plethora of hilarious videos to keep me occupied and help me procrastinate.  Well time for another Rockstar, and then, hopefully, I will be able to get some work done, after I finish watching Saving Private Ryan that is.

Get the fuck out Bush!!

I wanted to wait a bit and digest yesterdays events before I wrote up my feelings.  So first off unless you live in a cave you know that Obama won.  I’m exceedingly happy that he won, since he was who I was pulling for.  His campaign was the first campaign that I have ever been interested enough in to donate some of my not-really-hard-earned-skrilla.

I sat around for most of last night waiting and waiting for the results to come in, and hoping for the best.  Most of the tension came early in the day as once the results came in there wasn’t much drama.  McCain got trounced, and one of the main reasons was the Palin-monkey.  I could have handled a McCain administration sans Palin, but with her I would have been worried about McCain’s health 24/7.  In the hours after Obama was elected all I really felt was a bit of shock and tons of relief.  Relief that the election was finally over, and relief that Bush’s stank will soon be over.  I woke up this morning still tired but feeling much happier than I have in months.  I attribute this to knowing that Bush’s reign is almost over, and with it I feel like there is the light at the end of the tunnel in Iraq.  This war plagues my thoughts on a daily basis, and I spend so much energy thinking about the war, the deaths, the monetary costs; and then that transposes itself into my burning–like the duel Tattooine suns burning–hatred for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al.  On this one issue Obama gets no lee-way at fucking all.  I will give him the benefit of the doubt of a lot of issues, but on Iraq there is none, for me.  On all the other issues I will be patient, vigilant, and actively involved in making my views known to my representatives.  Obama will have my goodwill and full support, but I won’t give him a free pass.

Another outcome of last night is that finally being built up year after year the youth vote finally showed up.  We had a decisive effect on the election helping to tip the scale, and I think the better candidate won, but that remains to be seen.  Ask me in four years.  Even more encouraging was the fact that the voter turnout was higher than any election in the last century, as over 130 million people voted.  Some regions of the country saw up to 90% of their registered electorate vote.  Amazing numbers.

McCain last night gave in my view his best speech of the campaign, and it reminded me of why I wanted him to win in 2000.  The money quote:

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

This was an important note for McCain to make especially since his rallies have been extremely angry and volitile lately.  Like John Wayne said after Kennedy won “I didn’t vote for him, but he’s my president, and I hope he does a good job.”  Wise words for all of us to take to heart, and you can’t argue with The Duke.

Combine that speech with his appearance on SNL a few days earlier, and you have a couple of the best moments of the McCain campaign.  Unfortunately, I think he was swayed by the neo-cons on his staff and the religious right.  He sold his soul to the worst elements of his party and I think that if he had run a more moderate campaign like the old McCain, and if he would have picked a real VP, things could have been much different.

Obama’s speech last night wasn’t quite what I expected but it was a good, solid, conciliatory speech.  This was the quote that struck me:

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.  To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you.  To those who seek peace and security – we support you.  And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

Hopefully I can come off saying this without sounding like a groupie, but Obama winning is important.  The first minority president of a major western nation.  Where else could this happen.  Not many places, but we are the first, and I think that speaks volumes about our nation.  The only nation on Earth that wasn’t founded on race or ethnicity, but with an idea.  The idea that everyone is free, and that free people can govern themselves.  Some of the founders didn’t think that our republic would last 20 years let alone the 232 we have lasted.  It has been painful for me to watch the standing of our country fall precipitously over the last few years.  Watching the current administration conduct a war like two virgins fucking in the dark, learning about our government conducting torture in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, learning about the administration spying on innocent Americans without a warrant.  These types of injustices have been hard to watch, and have lost us all kinds of respect throughout the world.  With that loss of respect I’ve had to listen to all these wanna-be leaders around the world talk shit just because we are a bit down on our luck, and no one’s manning the helm.  Well last night the world got put on fucking notice.  America’s back bitches. Regardless of what you think of Obama, we all witnessed history last night.  I really feel that our founders would have been exceedingly proud of what happened last night, especially Alexander Hamilton.

Will Obama make everything alright, well shit no of course not, but we have done something, once again, that sets a benchmark for the rest of the world follow.  So if that allows me to gloat, and gives volume to my constant assertions that this is the best fucking country in the world, then so be it.  I don’t need the validation, but for a few months at least the rest of the world will have to again acknowledge that yes America is the shit.  No one knows how these next four years will work out, but I can say with certainty that it will be better than the last eight.  I hope that the republican party crawls out of the cave they have been in and take a good long hard look in the mirror.  They need to come home to the true principles of conservatism–limited government, individual rights, modest foreign policy, etc–because this country needs two parties.  We don’t need the neo-cons, we need real conservatives, because while I am hopeful about Obama, I am not hopeful about Pelosi and Reid.

I will continue to feel happy, hopeful, and relieved for the next 75 days until Bush gets the fuck out.  Then the real work of putting this country back together starts.  But until then I will sit back and celebrate the history made, and the fucking awesomeness of America.  Speaking of celebrating here is a video I got from The Daily Dish of a celebration going on here in the ‘fake’ America last night:

For me that was one of the worst aspects of the McCain campaign, and a slap in the face to everyone I know who doesn’t live in the ‘real’ America, but yet served their country honorably.  It’s not often that you see a group spontaneously break out into singing the American anthem.  I love that video, and it sends chills up my spine.  I wish I was there for that moment.  I have to say I truly, deeply love country, our flag, and our anthem.  Even though at times the Marine Corps was unbearable, if the need ever arose, I am still willing to die for my country and the ideals of our Constitution.

After that it will be time to get to work, because as the old saying goes politics is a contact sport not a spectator sport.  So I implore everyone to keep your enthusiasm up, stay in touch with your representatives, and let them know where you stand on the issues as they come up.  One last thing since I’m on the East Coast and it is relatively close by, I’m thinking of going to the inauguration this year.  If you are planning on going let me know.

Oh yeh…

AMERICA FUCK YEH!!

I’m not ashamed to admit that I have a few man-crushes.  One of my man-crushes is for Clint Eastwood.  I love all the old spaghetti westerns, the non-spaghetti westerns, and pretty much everything else he’s done.  Some of my all time fave’s are The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Hang ‘Em High, Unforgiven, and Dirty Harry–although if any his westerns are on I’ll watch them.  He has also directed some great, touching movies.  Last years Flags of Our Father’s and Letters From Iwo Jima were amazing, and some of his best, imo, work.  Now I’ll probably get around to seeing the Changeling even though I don’t like Jolie, but this December is the movie that I’m excited for.  It’s called Gran Torino, and it looks fucking wicked.  Check out the trailer below or if you really want to get the full experience check it out on Quicktime HD.