Happy Halloween!!

Trick

or Treat

Link of the Day

My young techno friends have probably already bookmarked this site, but for those who are in need of a new (free) font this site has bucket loads.

Da Font

I'm a Liberal

The World's Shortest Political Quiz

Worth a Buck

If by chance you woke up this moring and found some money in the back pocket of your jeans, buying any of these 5 songs would be worthwhile investment.

Slide Away -- Joseph Arthur
Ain't No Reason -- Brett Dennen
Vincent O'Brien -- M Ward
Twenty-one -- The Red West
Honey I've Thinking About You -- Jackie Greene

Great Blog: Knot!

Here's a site worthy of a bookmark. It's a comprehensive instructional site that takes you step by step through tying about every knot imagineable.

Knots

Beer, Bats, and the Blues (and other genres)

Those are bats!


I'm seriously considering a road trip to Austin in March for SXSW. Anybody interested?

Enough Already

My fall back position when I have trouble coming up with something to add to the blog is to throw something up about Ryan Adams. Since I gotta big bag full of nothing this evening here's a link to what I believe is RA's first performance of Come Pick Me Up.

Come Pick Me Up

Vanity Post

I got weight control religion a couple years ago when a doctor read me the riot act. After a strict diet and exercise program, I dropped about 25 pounds. But predictably, I let things slide and gained back about 15 pounds. Well, I am happy to say those 15 pounds have disappeared and I am comfortably back into my 34s.

On Radar (and John Mayer's, too): Brett Dennen

Brett Dennen MySpace

Brett Dennen

Field Trip: Joseph Arthur

I'd guess at one time or another we all wish we were Mick Jagger, well Joseph Arthur is living the dream. JA, usually a solo act, is fronting a band for this tour.

The Nickster and I took in his show at the House of Blues late Thursday night (and early Friday morning). The show was a bit of a surprise as JA seemed to be trying to channel the Stone's lead singer for much of the concert. The channeling reached it greatest effect when he covered "Miss You". JA did sing the occasional "Honey and the Moon" but he seemed to have a lot more fun playing the rock star.

All in all it was a good show. The band was tight and Arthur is a performer.

Studio 60

Once again The Onion gets it right: Studio 60 Was Better When It First Came Out

The Onion

It's All About the Art, Man

You gotta check out these guys' stuff. The panoramics are particularly awesome

Art

Field Trip: SDSU

I just got back from SDSU where the Nickster got me into a free preview of the movie Borat. We met up with David and his roommate, Andrew. They must have figured that since the movie let out around 6:30 and we would be walking right by a Chipotles they might get a free dinner out of the deal. (They were right) Anyway, it's been a while since I have been on a college camous. I think if I would have untucked my shirt, worn flip flops, and erased 30 years I might have blended in a bit better.

The movie is racist, sexist, incredibly vulgar, and often hilarious.

Here's a deleted scene. If you surf around, there 5 more secenes floating around.

The Doldrums

Nothing to report. Things should pick up tomorrow. Nicky and I are going to try to check out the Borat movie, and Joseph Arthur croons on Thursday.

So for your viewing pleasure here's a long version of Sony's awesome super ball commercial. Who hasn't dreamed of sending thousands of super balls down a steep San Francisco street, filming it, and setting the film to some cool music.

Sony Commercial

P.J. O'Rourke

P.J. O'Rourke at his very best. My favorite line:

"President Bush said that if illegal immigrants want citizenship they'd have to do three things: pay taxes, hold meaningful jobs, and learn English. Bush doesn't meet those qualifications."

P.J. O'Rourke

Note: O'Rourke is a conservative

On Radar: The Damnwells

I like this band a lot. They're opening for The Fray at the SDSU Open Air Theater -- I'll be there.



The Damnwells: MySpace

On Radar: Damien Rice

I have been enjoying the fact that there seems to be an audience for singer song writers once again. I'll be doing my part for supporting the genre by going to see Joseph Arthur Thursday night at the House of Blues.

I don't think there will be many people my age at the concert as the doors don't open until 10:00 p.m. I'm going to need a nap.

Here's another ssw I've been listening to:

Oops

This one is dedicated to our family RC airplane enthusiast, Wes.



Can you get insurance on those things?

Update: The RC B-52 in the video cost $60,000. Ouch!

Attention All Scrapbookers

It is now safe to throw away your scissors, stickers, and calligraphy pens.

I'm not much of a scrapbooker. Well actually, since I have never made a scrapbook I guess I'm nothing like a scrapbooker. But, if I can use a mouse instead of scissors there's a chance I might become one.

Some very clever people at ScrapBlog have (if their update becomes a reality) moved scrabooking into the 21st century. And in the best of the Web 2.0 tradition it's free with nothing to download.

Scoble has a nice video demonstration of ScrapBlog. ScrapBlog Demo Video

The site isn't operational yet for new users, but you can register for an invite here: ScrapBlog

Slip SlideSharing Away

I'm not sure they are going to be getting any $1.65B offers in the near future, but I think this site has some utility. Essentially, it's a PowerPoint version of YouTube.

From their site:

"SlideShare is a free service for sharing presentations and slideshows. You can upload your PowerPoint and OpenOffice presentations, tag them, embed them into your blog or website, browse others' presentations, and comment on individual slides. It's a great way to share your ideas with others, or to learn from other people. And it's free."

SlideShare

Red State, Blue State, Purple State?

I thought this was kinda interesting. Here's a quote from a Cato Institute (whatever that is) report.

via Andrew Sullivan's Blog

"Libertarians preferred George W. Bush over Al Gore by 72 percent to 20 percent, but Bush’s margin dropped in 2004 to 59-38 over John Kerry. Congressional voting showed a similar swing from 2002 to 2004," observe David Boaz and David Kirby. In House races, the libertarian vote for Republicans dropped from 73 percent in 2000 to 53 percent in 2004, while the libertarian vote for Democrats increased from 23 to 44 percent. There was a similar swing in Senate races.

"They are a larger share of the electorate than the fabled 'soccer moms' and 'NASCAR dads,'" they write... "Conservatives resist cultural change and personal liberation; liberals resist economic dynamism and globalization. Libertarians embrace both. The political party that comes to terms with than can win the next generation."

I have my doubts, but I certainly hope they're right

Grindhouse

I'm not sure I want to see this, but I'm sure some my younger friends will.



From what I gather Tarantino and Rodriguez have joined forces and are making a double feature that will be mashed together and presented as one movie. First in the double feature, is Death Proof (directed by Quentin Tarantino) a slasher flick, then it cuts to 'Planet Terror' (directed by Robert Rodriguez) which takes place in an alien world similar (but different) to our own.

Joseph Arthur

Joseph Arthur popped up my radar a few weeks ago, but after listening to some of his stuff I had downloaded from ITunes, I had all but decided not to go see him next week. But, he was on Letterman last night and I have changed my mind. The concert is next Thursday and the doors don't open until 10:00 p.m. (I think I might need a nap) Let me know you are interested.

Joseph Arthur on Letterman

Man Crush

I realize the number of posts Ive dedicated to Ryan Adams probably reveals an obsession of Tiger Beat proportions, but here's a video I hadn't seen before:

From 2001

No More Arguments

The official rules of calling shotgun.

Shotgun Rules

A Flock Update

So, after using Flock for a day or so I have to say I like kinda like it. I love the RSS reader, I like the Flickr integrartion (it would be a lot cooler if some of you had Flickr accounts), and it's neat that I can update Scent Weakly from within Flock (Like I'm doing now!)

On the downside the bookmarking organization is terrible, it's a bit sluggish at times, and although Flock doesn't crash it seems that an occasional screen does.

I'll probably use it as my default browser, but Firefox 2.0 came out last week so I'll have to give that a try.

For Grandmas Only

Observing several twenty somethings hanging around our house it dawned on me that unless you are a webcam girl, a viagra dealer, or perhaps a grandma email is no longer a cutting edge communication tool. If my kids are representative for those under the age of 30, IMs, text messages, and MySpace comments have effectively replaced email. I'd guess the major reason for this is the lack of spam, but immediacy probably also plays a part.

Anyway, I've got to tap out a few missives myself. Does anyone remember if the A is dot dash or dash dot?

Seamhead 2007 1.1

Gary made the suggestion that Milwaukee makes sense, and after checking, I found it is indeed doable. The logistics of including the NFL Hall of Fame still needs some work, but I think we're closing in on a plan.

Seamhead Itinerary 1.1

Fly to Minneapolis on Sunday, June 24 or Monday, June 26

Monday June 25 Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins

Tuesday June 26 Drive to Milwaukee
Houston Astros at Milwaukee Brewers

Wednesday June 27 Drive to Chicago
Colorado Rockies at Chicago Cubs

Thursday June 28 Drive to Detroit
Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers

Friday June 29 Drive to Cleveland
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Cleveland Indians

Saturday June 30 Drive to Pittsburgh
NFL Hall of Fame Canton, Ohio??
Washington Nationals at Pittsburgh Pirates

Sunday July 1 Fly home

Flock You

I started playing with Flock, a new web browser, this morning and I have to admit I am having fun with it. From what I gather it's essentially Firefox tricked out with some very cool bells and whistles.

What sets Flock apart is a very nice integration with Flickr and Photo Bucket. You have access to your photostream within the browser via a button. Flock also allows you drag and drop photos from your photostream into a comment post on places like MySpace. That was the fun part. Being an old guy I am unfamiliar with the nuts and bolts of MySpace. But with Flock, I was easily able to drop some embarrassing picture bombs into my kids MySpace comments. As a result I am sure I will be unfriended, but it's not like I was in their top eight anyway.

Flock also has a very nice RSS reader, and a clipboard tool for collecting images a text for posting to a blog.

I'm going to continue to play with it for a few more days, but I think it's got a good shot at being my browser of choice.

Flock

Xmas Presents

I'd expect a few of these under the tree 12/25
DVD Rewinder

Dude Shouldn't Have Eaten Those Mushrooms

Professor Bruce Potts University of New Mexico

Now, There Are Three of Us

So, Brad Stone at Newsweek has some words about a certain TV show returning on Friday. The money quote:

"But let me just say that “Battlestar Galactica,” which starts its third season this week on the Sci Fi Channel (premiering Friday night at 10 p.m. ET), is indisputably, hands-down and without question, the best show on television."

Going Galactic

On Radar: Concerts

I've wanted to catch this guy live for a while. I really liked his first album, and his new one came out today. A review will be forthcoming.

Amos Lee: Monday, December 4 -- 8:00 PM BellyUp Tavern

Amos Lee

Mark Freakin Bellhorn?

Somebody much smarter than me is going to have to explain what the Padres' braintrust was thinking when they put Mark Bellhorn on the playoff roster. Yes, Mark Freakin' Bellhorn whose last hit was sometime in August is on the Padres bench during the palyoffs.

Well, guess what. In the first game of the series the Pads are down 5 - 1, but start making a little run at the Cards (bases loaded one out). Bochy looks down his bench and sends out his best option, Mark Freakin' Bellhorn. And, as expected, MFB struck out.

Ahhh that feels better. Game two is on Thursday. Go Pads!

Seamhead VI

Here's a tentative itinerary for the 2007 Seamhead Ballpark Tour


Monday June 25 Fly to Minneapolis
Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins

Tuesday June 26 Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins

Wednesday June 27 Fly to Chicago
Colorado Rockies at Chicago Cubs

Thursday June 28 Drive to Detroit
Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers

Friday June 29 Drive to Cleveland
Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Cleveland Indians

Saturday June 30 Drive to Pittsburgh
Washington Nationals at Pittsburgh Pirates

Sunday July 1 Fly home

Citizenship

I realize politics for those under the age of 25 probably ranks well below beer pong and only slightly above butter churning as an area of interest. So my effort to direct your attention to discussions of governance and the coming elections will probably fall on deaf ears. But I'll give it a try anyway

As a founding member of the under-represented People's Party of Radical Centrists I'd like to direct you to a couple of political blogs that you might find of interest.

Andrew Sullivan

Kevin Drum

Sullivan is a libertarian conservative and Drum is a moderate Democrat. Although they have very different political philosophies they share an extreme contempt of George Bush and the Republican party.

Ryan Adams Radio

I've been listening to this site alot lately. It streams recent RA concerts. The concert currently streamng ends with a killer I See Monsters.

Ryan Adams Radio

World's Best Sandwich

... at least David and Nicky think so. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

grilled chicken - I marinate it in Italian dressing
pita bread - I like the non-pocket flat bread style from the local Arabic market but any kind will do
red pepper hummus (Costco)
pepperjack cheese
grilled or sauteed red onion and bell pepper

1. Grill chicken and veggies (or saute)
2. Put a thin slice or two of pepperjack cheese on the pita and put under the boiler until the cheese melts.
3. Remove pita from broiler and smear with a generous tablespoon or two of the red pepper hummus
4. Add the chicken and veggies
5. Fold over like a taco and enjoy

Video of the Day

CBS Sucks!

So, what's the deal? They've televised the Chargers twice, and neither game has been in hi-def. Did they use their equipment upgrade budget to pay Katie Couric?

Man Card Revoked

I know my man card will be revoked for noticing this, but wasn't the woman on the left in the photograph on Project Runway? Evidently, she and her partners won first prize at Yahoo's Hack Day. I think they hacked a purse with a camera that posts photos to a blog every few steps.