8.8.8. Tour Kickoff

Get Your Groove On At Firecracker This Weekend

New Dr. Dooom Video

Cool KCRW AD

DJ Krush the new KCRW posterboy for LA Metro bus billboards... WHO KNEW?
Keep Krushin' 'Em

McMafia

This is a pretty cool book that I just started reading today. Its about the global criminal underworld, and all sorts of other shady shit thats going down in throughout the World, but primarily in Eastern Europe. Let's just say, it'll make you think twice before you buy that Beluga Caviar in Istanbul, pick up that Hooker in Tel Aviv, or open up a business in Moscow... To find out what I'm talking about read the book!
La Costra Nostra Ain't Got Nuthin' On Solntsevskaya Bratva

CATALINA

I went to Catalina for the first time ever today, despite living in Southern California for nearly 30 years. My girlfriend, and I went with a couple of friends to go chill out and ride our mountain bikes around the island. Unfortunately, the internet lied to us and it wasn't an easy place to ride by any stretch of the imagination. Well let me rephrase that... I could ride it just fine since I'm and avid mountain biker, but the rest of the group nearly all died from exhaustion going up the mountain to the trail head. After an hour or so of this we all decided to go back down the mountain to chill out and eat. The rest of our time there was pretty much spent wandering around and relaxing, All in all it was a fun trip.
The Catalina Marina
The Most Famous Building On Catalina
Leaving Mi Casita
What's The Matter Everyone? Too Steep For You?
Me and My Chica Chillin' On The Mountain
Mountain View Of Harbor
Da Boats! Da Boats!
Us, Not Them
Freezing My Ass Off On The Ferry Ride Home

Carcass Re-animated!

I guess Carcass is doing a reunion tour later this year. Too bad the closest spot I can check them out is up in San Francisco! If I can get tickets I will definitely go up there and get Herb Wested and startle some people.
Re-animator Juice In Full Effect
•SHOW UPDATE• I guess I was wrong and Carcass added some additional dates. THey are now playing at the House of Blues in Hollywood and I was lucky enough to score some pre-sale tickets!!! Whoo Hoo!!

WV

I am probably going to be back in West Virginia sometime later this year to visit my grandma. My family has 2 huge farms back there spanning a few hundred acres, and the land has been ours since the late 1700s. Here is a pic of the farm my dad just inherited. The photo was taken sometime last fall.
Legend Says There's Buried Treasure Somewhere On The Farm

Marker On Wood

Saw this when I was walking around last night.
This Person Should Become A Cartoonist

Metal Gear Solid 4

Best Game EVER!!! I've been so addicted to this game lately its ridiculous. If you have a Playstation 3 go out right now and buy it. That's an order!!!
Yes That Is Really How Badass The Graphics Are

Cheesy Humor

Check out this shirt, its pretty gouda looking and will cost a good amount of cheddar since its only available in limited numbers...
A Must Have For All Cheese Lovers

Have You...

I was walking down Centinela a couple of days ago and saw a bunch of these fake "missing" posters taped up all over the place. Needless to say, I was cracking up once I took a closer look. You've gotta love street art!!!
Luckily I Haven't

Casa Sanchez

Tonight my lady and I went to a new restaurant in Mar Vista called Casa Sanchez to celebrate her mom's 60th B-Day. It is run by the same family that owns Sanchez Meat Market over on Inglewood Blvd. which is where we buy the most delicious carne asada in all of Los Angeles. The food was great (I stuck with the carne asada steak since I knew it would be bomb), and to top it off they had a 10 piece mariachi band playing all sorts of tunes through out the night. If you want to have a fun night of music and Mexican Food definitely stop by.
El Tapatio (The Mariachi Band Not The Hot Sauce)
The Dancing Duo

GLOW

On Saturday night, my lady and I went to this Art Festival at the Santa Monica Pier called GLOW. It was way way way too crowded and they didn't have enough concessions stands to serve the 200,000+ that showed up. Other than that it was pretty cool. We saw these weird robotic jellyfish that some artist made, and some other cool stuff, then rode back down the Venice Boardwalk at midnight to go home (which was a very surreal experience). Anyways I'm glad we went, but I just wish the event planners had set it up a little better to make it more enjoyable for the insane crowd that showed up. Here are some pics courtesy of the LA TIMES.
Psychedelic Imagery Projected On Water Being Sprayed In The Air
Crowd Overload

Again?!?!

Steven Adler, the original drummer for Gun's N' Roses got busted again for either heroin or coke! Not that Im surprised, but after suffering a stroke that left him partially paralyzed you think he would have learned his lesson! I guess Mr. Brownstone's been knockin' and he won't leave Steve alone...
I used to get up around 7, get outta bed around 9...

Mike Black on VBS - Episode 3

The final chapter of Horacio Nubbelchub.

China Scares Me

While on vacation I read several books, one of which really stood out. It's a book called The Corpse Walker and is written by Liao Yiwu, a Chinese Poet and Human Rights activist who happens to be big on the Chinese Government's shit list. Anyways, it is filled with 27 or so stories/ interviews with people from the "undesirable" classes and professions in Chinese Society, and it really packs a punch. Let me just say that you can thank your lucky stars that you didn't have to go through Mao's Cultural Revolution or the Great Leap Forward, because if you did you would probably be dead right now. People lost all of their possessions and wealth, were subject to mob justice and executions without trial, resorted to cannibalizing their own children so they wouldn't starve to death, and much much more... If that sounds interesting to you and you don't get depressed too easily I suggest you check this book out. It's very very interesting and informative, and made me a little more cautious about wanting to ever visit China.
Read It And Weep

BACK TO REALITY

After 10 days of vacation I'm back at work today. As all of us know, this has to be one of the worst feelings ever... UGGHHHHH!

Mexican Food Craving

After being in Mexico for a week and a half, I'm sure you're thinking that Mexican Food would be the last possible thing that I would have a craving for. Well you're wrong! Do you know how hard it was for me to find just a plain old bean and cheese burrito? I only ate that once the entire time I was there! And what about those delicious street tacos with onions and cilantro that us Los Angeles residents have grown so accustomed to? Well in the few occasions I saw them (which was maybe 2 times total) there was no way in hell I was going to risk getting Montezuma's Revenge style blowout and ruin my trip by eating at the sleazy filthy places in which they were served. So to make a long story short, the first thing I ate when I got back to LA was King Taco. I had to get some of that red and green sauce in my system ASAP! I wound up ordering 3 carne asada tacos, a bean and cheese burrito, and a cheese and jalapeno tamale! I was stuffed and my mouth was on fire, but boy was I happy to be back...
My Friendly Neighborhood King Taco

Cancun Trip, Day 9:

PICS AND STORY COMING SOON

Cancun Trip, Day 8: Chichen Itza Ruins aka The Mayan Proposal

Today was the day we had been waiting for. A trip to one of the 7 Wonders of the World, the Famous Ruins of Chichen Itza. The place where they played the "Ball Game" and sacrificed the winning team, the place where people's hearts were routinely cut out while they were still alive, and also the place I decided to "pop the question" to my girlfriend of 5 years. I figured if she said no I could just jump into the Serpent's Cenote or run off into the jungle and live the life of a ancient Mayan Tribesman. To Make a long story short, we explored the ruins for a few hours, my girlfriend said yes (YAY!) and we wound up with at least a few hundred pictures of the ruins. Since I can't post them all, hopefully the few that I do post will suffice. This was one of the greatest days EVER! (LONGER STORY AND MORE PICTURES SOON)
Chichen Itza, Wonder Of The World
The Serpents
Hey You're Blocking My View Of The Pyramid!
Kukulcan's Pyramid
The Temple Of 1,000 Pillars
Pillar Mania!
The Temple Of 1,000 Pillars, Side View
Ruins, Ruins, And More Ruin
I Wonder Where That Sealed Doorway Leads...
A Crumbling Serpent Head
A Smaller Building Of Some Sort
Intricate Carvings
Partly Ruined Partly Restored
The Tree Of Life From The Fountain ?
Between Sacrifices The Mayans Liked to Play Tic Tac Toe
Look At Those Life-like Statues! Oh Nevermind, Thats Just Us!
Chillin' In An Ancient Mayan Courtyard
The Midget Cousin Of The Main Pyramid
Aliens Had To Have Built Chichen Itza
Totem Pole And Pyramid
Evil Face On Mayan Totem Pole

Cancun Trip, Day 7:

PICS AND STORY COMING SOON

Cancun Trip, Day 6:

PICS AND STORY COMING SOON!

Cancun Trip, Day 5:

PICS AND STORY COMING SOON

Cancun Trip, Day 4:

PICS AND STORY COMING SOON

Cancun Trip, Day 3: Zip Line Action In The Jungle

PICS AND STORY COMING SOON!!!

Cancun Trip, Day 2: Relaxation and Recovery

After a long day of travel yesterday, we set aside today for maxin' and chillaxin' which translates to chillin' out at the beach, eating good meals, and most importantly drinking mas cerveza y tequila! For the most part we got acquainted with the beach, the hotel, the hotel's delicious outdoor restaurant, the local currency converting ATM, and the Kukulcan Mall which is about 2 miles down the strip via bus. At the hotel's pool side restaurant I sampled some of the most delicious chicken fajitas I've ever had, and later that evening we had some DELICIOUS authentic mexican food at a place called Don Chuey's or something like that. I got some dish that had chorizo, chicken, steak, cheese, and cactus strips which was bomb, and my lady had something that looked good, but I can't recall as to what exactly it was. Oh yeah for desert we had some insanely good flan. Actually the best Flan EVER. (I keep touting things as the best don't I???) What a great first day in Cancun.
Just The Two Of Us
Chop It Up
Fill It Up
Bring It Over
Serve It Up
Drink It Up
Time To Check Out The Waters Of The Yucatan Peninsulal
The Classic Tourist Photo
Come On In... The Water's Fine!
Watch Out Behind You!
Look At Me... I Can Fly!
Don't Hate... Congratulate
Pacifico In A Can!? In Mexico!?!?! You've Got To Be Shitting Me!
Whether It's The Pool Or Ocean, This Is Paradise!
Damn The Pool Water Looks Inviting
Ok Now We Know That The Underwater Camera Works
An Underwater Smile
I Need Some Air!
My Lady Lookin' Good By The Fountain As We Walk To The Bus
The Bus Was Sleazy But Only Cost About 30 Cents Each!
Kukulcan Mall, The Gateway To Luxury
Posin' In Front of Kukulcan Mall
The Mall Had A Crazy Interactive Mayan Stained Glass Ceiling
Now You See It
Now You Don't!
I Can't Believe We Just Ate All That!
One Of The Coolest Souvenirs I Saw At The Mall
Nay Leaning On Barrels At The Tequila Emporium
Me Kukulcanin Like A Mofo