PDX and King Kong

It's 2AM. Jason and I got back from watching King Kong which was excellent. Great cast, great direction, great effects. I didn't think I would like it but I really enjoyed it. I wish Peter Jackson would have made the Lord of the Rings trilogy after King Kong because it was so much more well put together (written, paced, etc) than the ol' Rings. Of course, Kong would never be Kong without Frodo (or Gollum).


I think I'm packed but it's only for the weekend so it feels like I"m missing something but it's just for the weekend. I have to get up in 7 hours, hopefully, I'll get some sleep tonight.

This trip is a bit over the top but I have to say the whole thing has got me psyched. *punches air* I hope I don't fall in love with the Pacific Northwest.

LAND HO!


EDIT: It's 8:36AM and I got up a bit early. Since this isn't an official the Woods tour, I have no idea what their playlist will be like but if I could pick one from each cd so far:

the Woods - obviously Let's Call It Love
One Beat - Step Aside
All Hands on the Bad One - You're No just kidding - The Ballad of a Lady Man
The Hot Rock - haven't listened to it enough
Dig Me Out - Turn It On

Actually I hope they play some of their popish songs too. It's the end of the year what the hell.

w00t!!!

Sleater-Kinney at The Showbox (Seattle) and The Crystal Ballroom (Portland): SOLD OUT


There were no tickets available that matched your request

There are several things you can try:

* Change the quantity of tickets you are requesting.
* If you selected a specific seat section, try switching to "Best Available".
* If you are unable to find tickets, be sure to check back often. As the date of the event nears, often times a limited number of tickets may be released.
* If you entered a promotional code, check that the code is valid for the ticket price and criteria you selected.

and just in time for the best story of 2005:

mzee and owen

(AFP/File/Peter Greste) *

rock stuff

I went to Tower Records yesterday to redeem my $10 gift coupon for buying a $50 gift coupon (for my brother). They had 3 copies of the Woods and 1 copy of One Beat... but no more the Hot Rock! Just about two days ago there was a copy right there. I asked the clerk if he showed any in stock and he told me there was one.

We went to the rack and he did some rummaging through the racks near S-K and there it was. I was impressed to comment, "That's awesome!" I searched the sides, but never thought of diagnals.

I only heard it once and it sounds very different from both the previous cd, Dig Me Out and the cd after, All Hands on the Bad One. It sounds the most experimental" of the five CDs I've heard. I'll check it out again tonight.

a dream I had two nights before I picked up the CD:
I was rummaging through the music/video collection (it was on sale) when I found two laserdics on S-K. One was a Criterion edition with a lavender case.
As I rushed home to see them, I saw Corin, Carrie and someone else (not Janet) in a white pickup truck across the street. I ran up to them to get my discs autographed. Corin was very nice and Carrie signed it, "from Me"

I almost named my guitar Lindsay but eventually picked Carrie.

Tonight I almost picked up The Hot Rock (the CD that was out of my backwards sequence) at Tower Records. Instead, I bought a $50 gift certificate at Tower Records today in exchange for a future $10 OFF coupon (after Christmas, Sunday). I'm hoping that this means that I will buy The Hot Rock for $6. Great cover, is that Portland?


I figured out the first bit of the guitar part in the chorus of Jumpers. Co-workers who own cats expressed concern that I didn't get anything for Lindsay (for the holidays). (l to r: write songs, start a band, break hearts, live dreams.)



I got my ticket to Sleater-Kinney today. About a week from now I will have rocked out with S-K.


How's work?

Are you ready to rock?

I said are you ready to... what the

Sonic Youth and Hendrix made me appreciate the guitar and now Sleater-Kinney made me take action. I had asked my OG guitar experts Mason, Steve and Chris on a good starter guitar and Fender was mentioned a few times. And just when I was about to pick one up, I saw the Hello Kitty Fender "Strat" Squier on Cute Overload. It was inevitable.

It arrived last night unexpectedly early. What can I say? It's glossy, it's cute, it's badass (more or less). Just look at it!

I thought that it came with a HK pick but alas, being the guitar noob, I misunderstood what came with it. But no matter, I think I saw one online.

I now understand why so many of my friends are obsessed with guitars and the Big Irony is that all that time I've hung out and lived with them I showed little or no interest. Now I know no one who plays the guitar within 1000 mile radius.

Now I'm looking at the accessories/necessities like a case, a strap (the possiblities), amp, some kind of effects thing (I must play Hendrix/Brownstein/Moore distortions ASAP), the pick, strings, etc.

It took me a while to figure out how to tune it and I'm still not sure I got it right. I strummed and picked all night and eventually discovered the scale (the do reh mi stuff) which was very cool but it was getting late and even without an amp, it can get noisy. oh and I can play the "G" chord which my friend Mason taught me years ago and I actually remembered it.

It's so glossy... and the weight feels really nice.

I almost got the pink one. almost.

foiled

I know it's just a matter of time before they drill it, but the news about the Senate blocking the passage of the Arctic drilling + defense bill made my otherwise groggy morning.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/12/21/national/w094408S89.DTL

On the subject of oil, my brother and I saw Syriana this past weekend and I highly recommend it. It made me feel a bit hopeless about the state of big business but it's an illuminating film.

(print by Mat Daly)

what the shit

drunk, half-naked Finn sets Norway record

(12-16) 08:12 PST OSLO, Norway (AP) --

A Finnish citizen arrested on a public bus while drunk and nearly naked has set an apparent record for unpaid fines in Norway, with an estimated 99 of them, police said Friday.

The man, whose name was not released, is known by police for his tendency to discard pieces of clothing as his level of intoxication increases, the Bergens Tidende newspaper reported.

"He has gotten up to 99 fines," police attorney Rudolf Christophersen told the newspaper. "In the (Bergen area's) Hordaland Police District alone he has 95,000 kroner (euro12,200; US$14,260) worth of fines. That must be a record."

The man, whom police said offered up five different identities, has repeatedly been expelled from Norway, but keeps returning.

In the latest incident, on Wednesday, police received a telephone call from the bus driver in Bergen, the main city on Norway's west coast, who said: "There is a naked, drunk, difficult Finn causing trouble on board."

Police found the man dressed only his underpants, and extremely drunk, and are seeking to have him jailed on charges that include indecent exposure, vagrancy, public drunkenness and failing to pay his outstanding fines.

Neither Christophersen nor Bergen police spokesman Trygve Hillestad could immediately be reached for comment

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/12/16/international/i081232S01.DTL

fried salt

That's what Alecia and I call KFC's popcorn chicken. Who knew it could be so good?

Despite the cold weather (currently 46 F !), I am fairly certain I will be going for crab #3 today for lunch. Besides I noticed a bit of fog so it will be even more appropriate.

EDIT: I'm back from pier 41 and I might have overdone it a bit this time: 6.75/lb x 1.9 lbs = $13.00. The first one the lady picked out was 2.2 lbs which I knew was too much (the last few ones I had were $10 each).

There were two live crabs on a counter next to me and two girls stopped as they passed it and said, "how sad!" several times. I finally looked over with my mouth full of crab and said "It's for a good cause." I got no response but they did order some kind of bread bowls.

Anyways, I went to the Crab Station #2 this time and I feel a bit sick kind of like meat poisoning or worse, I might slightly be allergic to crab...


On a slightly crab industry related note:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/14/MNGNKG7Q0V1.DTL

random thoughts

dungeness crab 3 (85% chance on Tuesday)

Maybe it's because I saw Bridge on the River Kwai in about three installments it wasn't nearly as amazing as Lean's Lawrence of Arabia.

There's only 2 weeks and 4 days left until Portland...

Alecia came back from Atlanta today. I've noticed her absence quite a bit. It's good to have her back.


I've broken my earphones for my ipod (general neglect) and Alecia recently lent me her earphones. I had left the room not much longer than 5 minutes and when I got back I discovered them like this:


The black holes are where Linds bit through. The right earbud hit nearly in the center and now it shocks me every once in a while. It's actually a bit scary as I can feel the build up of static in my ears just before it shocks me. It's happened twice.

a blast from the past...

August 9th, 2001: I sent Alecia a photo of a UN sniper for whatever reason and she sent it back to me after she photoshopped Leah with a curious comment, "now you've done it Andy!"

fresh dungeness crab

I've been anxious for the dungeness crab season since SF Gate has been hyping it.

So for lunch, I hopped on the F-Market train and headed to Pier 41 (NOT 39) and stepped into crab heaven. A stand run by a chinese family ("Do you sell half of a crab?" "no." "How much is this one?" "9.1.1")(the crab stand starts with a G and has been opened since early 20th century - I'll remember when I go back). Unfortunately the crab was dead but they put it in a steamer/boiler for like 30 seconds and out came my crab.

I don't remember exactly what happened in the next 5 minutes. It was an flurry of crab meat, shell bits, lemon juice, cocktail sauce and crab juice. I vaguely remember wiping the juices and sauce from my sweater a few times. There was another asian guy eating next to me who I thought was eating even faster than me.

The real question is how much crab can one eat without getting sick?

Sleater-Kinney at Portland on New Year's Day weekend

I just bought ALL of my tickets for my Portland trip. It was pretty stressful to reserve the ticket for a room, airplane and the concert ticket without any of them expiring. I think it took me about 2 hours, but I "saved" about 100 bucks from my first estimate which I've only started today but still 3 weeks prior. It's 1:50AM on Monday so I am pretty beat.

!!!

ok that was super stupid

jpg courtesy of http://www.grandiose.com

argh, I almost got into some old fashioned fisticuffs today on my way home, kind of. It's been a pretty lousy week and it was not fun to go into work today (as a barista at Starbucks said, "you look tired Andy."). The day went surprisingly fast and still I couldn't wait any longer to go home. I left work on time on time unusual as I almost always leave 30 minutes early.

On the way home on the MUNI (M-line) I realized that I had left my home keys at work (I've done this once before when I eargerly went home to go see my then 3 month old kitty Lindsay and all I could do was look at her through a window) and promptly got off at the Powell exit. I switched trains to go back to the office and as I waited for the passengers to exit, a particular 60 year old white male remarked to "get the fuck out of my way" He like myself must have been having a bad day, but unfortunately for the both of us, I was in his way.

I instinctively and foolishly shoved him and the direction was towards the tracks. He lost his blance for a second and of course this started off a chain reaction where now he was ready to fight.

I've never really been this close to throwing punches, and I have to admit it was scary because I could actually imagine thowing fists at him. I took my headphones off (I was really looking forward to listening to Sleater-Kinney's Let's Call It Love) and he threw down a folder he was carrying.

We feinted so that the other would throw a punch first. Then he called me a "chinaman" which instinctually made me kick his folder on the floor which flew all over the station. I guess this pissed him off instinctuall equally since he swung a punch at me and I was surprisingly able to dodge. Of course this only made me want to fight more (cause it looked so easy), but then I could tell he (and I) started getting nervous as he stated that despite being 60 years old he could take me. I could imagine his glasses being smashed into his face and his hearing aid shooting out of his ears as I landed my punch. We tried to provoke each other for a few more seconds. What flashed through my mind was "jail time" and "death and/or serious injury." He eventually called me a "faggot" at which point I decided the whole this was beyond ridiculous.

I stepped into the train (the driver was right in front of us the whole time with the doors open) and asked the conductor to call the cops or something at which point the door closing chime rang and we left the station. He never responded to me. Only a passenger asked, "what happend?" Of course I didn't reply.

That's about it, oh the guy gave me the finger as we left the station.

The Woods: a quick review

It's so good that even though my computer crashed a few months ago, I converted the CD on my backup laptop, and then proceeded to wipe out 4GB of music (truth be told I wasn't listening to most of it anyways) just so I can have The Woods on my Ipod. I crave it so.

A quick favorite track list:
1. Let's Call It Love - 11 minute tour de force that conjures up Hendrix, Zepplin, etc.
2. Entertain - Carrie's best over the top song.
3. Modern Girl - Carrie at her cutest.
4. Jumpers - It's about San Francisco and it's topical
5. Night Light - nice finish to Let's Call It Love

I have bought 3 copies so far and have given 2 as holiday/birthday gifts.

More in depth review coming up.