tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118375932011-04-21T20:19:46.990-07:00Rejecting all organs of information ... but my senses, I rid myself of the Pyrrhonisms with which an indulgence in speculations hyperphysical and antiphysical so uselessly occupy and disquiet the mind.Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.comBlogger1901100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-88121312868207218042008-10-17T20:31:00.000-07:002008-10-17T20:37:26.976-07:00

Sara and I took a trip down to smelLA for Desmond's first birthday. Well, that and so I could go see My Bloody Valentine again and go to Disneyland. An action-packed weekend. We were at Whole Paycheck in Sherman Oaks when we saw the rare chocolate bar with bacon by Vosges. I had read about similar delicacies, but this was my first time to indulge for myself. Delicious! The salty bacon really

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-20427084371565199052008-09-14T10:24:00.001-07:002008-09-14T10:26:06.994-07:00

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-77860203840151122312008-08-15T19:53:00.001-07:002008-08-15T19:57:32.357-07:00

We were driving over the Bay Bridge from Oakland into SF a couple of months ago when what do we see but the Girls Gone Wild bus! It took all my strength not to run it off the road, plunging into the Bay and thus sacrificing myself for the good of all humankind.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-85829944227967141642008-08-15T19:46:00.000-07:002008-08-15T19:51:58.618-07:00

Last weekend after Desmond's first camping trip, we stopped in Sebastapol for a Gravenstein apple festival. Besides yummy apple treats there was an awesome mariachi band and an even more amazing country and western band. The woman wore this old timey yellow dress with her red hair piled on top of her head and the back up band all dressed in black. We bought a pie from a church group and I didn't

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-19036480587408174552008-07-26T08:13:00.001-07:002008-07-26T08:15:52.110-07:00

Don't underestimate the octopus. It's got 3 hearts of a champion...

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-84100931607280204342008-06-16T09:11:00.000-07:002008-06-16T09:16:20.275-07:00

If you loved me you would buy this for me.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-51364037383616136602008-05-30T16:03:00.001-07:002008-05-30T21:05:28.859-07:00

My dahlink friend Michelle went to Argentina and was kind enough to capture some graffiti to share...Love the bear that was just shot.Nico lives in Argentina...right next to some creepy, dead doll heads and Mr. T.Happy bear says "Hello! I have a freakishly small body!"My favorite. Maybe because I am so crabby.More to come. Michelle took some really nice bathroom shots. Anyone who is obsessed with

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-53489193423060105522008-05-26T21:52:00.001-07:002008-05-26T21:59:50.244-07:00

I'm not a big fan of taggers--prefer images to ego tripping--but I had to take a picture of this one. Something about the stripes on that couch and the angle that it was propped that caught my fancy.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-22996007675926196652008-05-26T21:46:00.001-07:002008-05-26T21:59:08.752-07:00

This cupcake appeared next to Lake Merritt. Love to see it reappear.Delicious!p.s. Someone asked if I knew of any others. I have no clue beyond these two.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-32683520483135792432008-05-17T10:41:00.000-07:002008-05-17T10:52:19.899-07:00

I went to Nobu 57 last week while in NYC for work. Of course it was amazing--especially the miso cod, which is a no-brainer. Though I was pretty much full, I looked at the dessert menu to see if there were anything unique that I couldn't get anywhere else. And there it was--White Peach and Jasmine Soup. It sounded like it would be the best thing ever or utter gross. It was the former. The title

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-10671096501568301222008-05-17T10:37:00.000-07:002008-05-17T10:40:40.937-07:00

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-14351933259775137322008-04-29T21:27:00.000-07:002008-04-29T21:31:05.465-07:00

Ikea makes a Battle Star Galactica joke? No frackin' doubt.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-12008572027761583232008-04-27T12:26:00.001-07:002008-04-27T22:16:55.007-07:00

Sara went to Whole Foods to pick up a little treat for us to eat while vegging out to TV one night. I gave her full power of purchase, which is always dangerous. She came back very proud of herself, saying,"Ever since I had seen these brownies I wanted to try them. I mean, what do $13 brownies taste like?" (This is not a direct quote, merely something I made up, but it does capture the gist.) She

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-84533856338217800322008-04-16T21:44:00.001-07:002008-04-16T21:50:25.678-07:00

Junior and I went to Trader Vic's in Emeryville over the weekend. This is the classic tiki bar/restaurant, so we had to have the big rum drink. Deeeeliteful.Look at what a great parent I am!

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-5800303024006248292008-04-12T23:28:00.000-07:002008-04-12T23:31:17.545-07:00

Bock! Bock!

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-25279802188464410142008-04-12T23:21:00.000-07:002008-04-12T23:31:39.143-07:00

I took a CPR class a while back (I'm certified by the Redd Cross to save your sad ass!) and we used these dummies to practice breathing and pumping the chest. They look pretty freaky.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-19122024785742341482008-03-23T12:45:00.000-07:002008-03-23T13:08:13.230-07:00

The title is a quote from Blade Runner. These robots are closer to the original Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep with its obsession with real and android animals. Anyhoo...I haven't posted a good robot video for a while now, so I give you two.My favorite part is when the "snake" crawls up the guy's trouser leg.This is a different film of the "Robot Donkey" in a previous post. Again with the

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-91289466911353601572008-03-17T22:23:00.000-07:002008-03-17T22:27:20.433-07:00

So, there is a guy at my work who is the local crack dealer...well, actually he just always has candy in a drawer for anyone. This has led me to have numerous snack-cidents. My new favorite is my old favorite--Almond Joy. I hadn't eaten one since probably 1978. They are still as yummy as ever.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-40536040938528647582008-03-16T09:07:00.001-07:002008-03-16T09:16:17.102-07:00

I was riding BART the other day and saw this little creature sneaking up on a sleeping rider. It made me think of a susuwatari (traveling soot)from Spirited Away. So instead of thinking that this was a really gross example of human detritus, I thought of it as riding home after a long day of hauling coal for Kamaji. BART on, little susuwatari!

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-20965422393659079822008-01-31T17:09:00.001-08:002008-01-31T17:17:01.570-08:00

This picture sucks, but it is boxes of Gummy Bacon, which is exactly what it is. Strawberry flavored, shockingly similar visually to bacon. This box has farmer pig on it, one of the first times that a pig representing "bacon" doesn't make me feel slightly weird. I used to drive by the Farmer John slaughterhouse outside LA when I was younger, and besides the stench that made me roll up my windows,

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-70423346472240581482008-01-29T09:55:00.000-08:002008-01-29T09:59:43.789-08:00

The Tagged in Motion project. Looks veddy kool.Via Core77 Design Blog

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-20986245411710661362007-11-09T13:44:00.000-08:002007-11-09T13:47:24.274-08:00

Saw this on Boing Boing. Lurve it!Sorry I haven't been around much. I do have an excuse! Braaaaainz.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-80545066342391377812007-09-12T13:49:00.000-07:002007-09-12T13:57:46.441-07:00

Theo Jansen is a Dutch artist who creates kinetic sculptures that run on wind and solar energy and are quite amazing. They seem to employ a lot of the techniques used in walking robots, but in a somewhat different way. His vision is to put a whole herd of them on a beach and have them run around, living off of the natural resource that drives them, in definitely. And here's his kinetic "rhino":

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-76406085560845285102007-09-07T15:32:00.001-07:002007-09-07T15:39:02.830-07:00

We saw these beautiful, simple grafitti cupcakes as we were coming back from the awesome Grand Lake Farmers Market near our house a few weeks ago. I love silly shit like this. It makes me wish I could live in a real-life Mario Brothers game.P.S. Doesn't preggo Sara look cute? You should see her stomach now--the alien is soon emerging!

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-55176940048026221782007-09-04T08:29:00.000-07:002007-09-04T08:47:08.338-07:00

Sara and I went to LA over the long weekend to show her belly off to my family and friends there. It would have been much nicer had it not been a fricken inferno every day we were there. Over 105 degrees every day! Madness. Meanwhile, back in good ol' Oakland it barely broke 80.Anyway, we had a barbecue with carne asada--my favorite kind of BBQ--and went to a new carniceria. There, I saw these

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-91295828995538900382007-08-30T12:45:00.001-07:002007-08-30T12:59:34.726-07:00

I was a little old to be a rabid Garbage Pail Kid fan, though I love them all the same. Wacky Packs were more age appropriate for me. The classic, the original.When I saw that I could create my own, personalized Garbage Pail Kid, though, I was all about it. The app is pretty buggy--I get an error whenever I send out an email link--and you can't really export it, so I had to snag-it. But it's

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-4835475445580423382007-08-02T22:59:00.001-07:002007-08-02T23:02:41.995-07:00

I think it's 20th St. Definitely at Harrison. This boarded up store gets tagged quite a bit and looks kinda scary--like something out of Escape from New York. That's why it was so awesome to have this guy and his creepy crawlies staring at me as I walked by the other night. Good evening, Mudd Guts, good to know you.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-56665293914898249832007-07-31T08:21:00.000-07:002007-07-31T08:28:44.785-07:00

I might want to explain the lack of posts for the past month on some sort of solidarity with Oakland Waste Management strikers, who just settled their contracts and are finally back on the job. In any other city if there were a garbage strike--even a partial one like this one--for nearly a month people would have gone batshit. But here it just seemed to be something to be tolerated.ANYHOO...my

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-39013981341162840772007-07-06T08:28:00.000-07:002007-07-06T08:35:52.674-07:00

Last weekend we had Sara's oldest friend over. She has a pair of very cute kids who were in serious need of entertainment. This was our ticket into the fabled Fairy Land, just down the street from us. You see, you can't get into Fairy Land without a kid (pedophiles need not apply). Inside, it promised a land of wonder with storybooks sprinkled throughout that could be accessed with little keys

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-60354282083914043402007-07-02T09:44:00.000-07:002007-07-02T09:50:28.824-07:00

Saturday we went to drop off our boxes at a recycle dump in Oakland. Scary indeed. This is where all the shopping cart recyclers come to get money for the cans and bottles taken from recycle bins at the curb. Good on them for doing it, but it was a little crazy there with conveyer belts growling and bottles screeching as they go to their certain doom.Outside the chaos were two sentinels that I

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-21206960435296923972007-06-22T09:05:00.000-07:002007-06-22T09:09:43.608-07:00

Amazing show. Sorry Josef couldn't be there.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-11037773423223130742007-06-21T13:25:00.000-07:002007-06-21T13:37:01.443-07:00

What does one do when one goes to a casino? Gamble? Sure. Drink? Mais bien sur! I also love a good buffet. Gorging myself like the Roman royalty that I ain't is always a good time. The most interesting and exciting thing that we discovered at the Forest Buffet ("Best Buffet in Tahoe!") was this "peach." It's actually a rice bun with red bean inside and tastes better than it looks. Still, it was a

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-16310766862265020262007-06-20T08:03:00.001-07:002007-06-20T08:08:18.213-07:00

While we were in Lake Tahoe, Sara and I went up to Angora Lakes. We likee the lemonade there and the beautiful views. When we saw that we could rent a canoe we were all about it. The last time we rented a canoe was in Pokhara in Nepal. That trip was kind of a nightmare, so it was good to have a fresh memory so that boating could be safe again.Before that, the only boat that I had rented was in

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-50047167001827721072007-06-19T13:35:00.000-07:002007-06-19T13:45:12.017-07:00

It's hard to find a good miniature golf course these days. They either fall into the giant castle with gross water all around it and little imagination camp or into the so ramshackle that you risk getting tetanus if you play variety. Luckily, South Lake Tahoe has a very cool, old school course that Sara and I go to when we are particularly jonesing for some goofy golf action.There are three

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-62556489008388325722007-06-11T13:39:00.000-07:002007-06-11T13:54:46.597-07:00

Sara and I went to Moab on our way across the country to our new place. We were dragging a 16' truck with our car behind it over mountain pass after mountain pass. At one point we were nearly two miles high--going about 10 mph up the hill--but still!One of the real highlights was going to Arches National Park. I had never been there, and looking at those amazing rock formations and hiking around

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-31016025871562140392007-06-09T11:00:00.000-07:002007-06-09T16:09:52.173-07:00

Finally back on the radar. After moving Sara from Houston with our little alien inside her belly, we have settled in picturesque Oakland, CA. I love Oakland. When you walk around San Francisco with this sense of entitlement. "I own this place. I pay enough rent, so I own this place." In Oakland the feeling is a little different. After the fourth police car passes you in full-on code 3 (that's

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-11539935713256513252007-05-17T08:17:00.000-07:002007-05-17T08:23:52.596-07:00

Next Wednesday I move out of my lovely pad in the Mission and into Oakland. While I am supa excited to move into my new place--mostly because Sara will be there and not in Houston--I will definitely miss the food from the neighborhood. Case in point is the tostada/tamale van. Now, usually vans like this kind of creep me out...looks like something a serial killer would drive. This van only has ki-

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-71828136473148968312007-05-05T15:48:00.000-07:002007-05-05T15:58:38.193-07:00

As I am getting ready to move to Oakland with my loverly wife, I had a good reminder of what it is like to move anything in San Francisco. My friends, the M&Ms, bought what everyone considered to be a small couch. Getting that couch upstairs proved to be a bit more work that we anticipated. First, it got stuck (as seen here). We left it there for a bit and sought out the correct screwdriver to

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-33684607142113138222007-04-30T08:50:00.000-07:002007-04-30T08:55:41.842-07:00

My cousin had an amazing old-skool organ in his basement. He got it free at a yard sale in Pueblo--one of the great things about living in a small town is that you are more likely to get in on a lucky find. I could only imagine what this could have fetched in SF on kitsch value alone. I mean, look at the font for the name. C'mon! I only had time to mess with it for a few minutes, but I can only

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-14240978485125892022007-04-30T08:45:00.000-07:002007-04-30T08:47:25.162-07:00

Love it.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-8067793492325879472007-04-15T17:28:00.000-07:002007-04-15T17:32:23.419-07:00

And now for the good news: Sara and I are having a baby!This is the fruit of my loins in utero. Note how future baby is thumbing his nose to the world. A chip off the old blocks.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-89742690248966884742007-04-13T09:56:00.000-07:002007-04-13T10:14:30.353-07:00

Let me start this by saying I love Friday the 13th. I always wear black and make a lot of bad jokes that involve my patented malevolent laugh at the end. Today when I went to leave I found the vagabond cat that spends time at our place (she doesn't live here but has her own entrance and we feed her--she's the landlord's cat maybe?) as you see her above. Black cats rule.Today my wonderful black

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-22992003558240562012007-04-11T13:26:00.000-07:002007-04-30T08:48:58.591-07:00

One of the few nice things about walking to the BART at 6:45 in the morning is walking past a huge church with a glowing "chubby Buddha." I know, there really isn't a corpulent Buddha--it's Hotei, a god of luck in Japanese mythology and Budai, a wandering monk from 9th century China. Whatever he is, I am cheered on these dark and dreary mornings of daylight savings as I trudge up 22nd St. and see

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-37317760748372039162007-04-09T12:09:00.000-07:002007-04-09T12:22:55.541-07:00

So I know this picture makes my guilty pleasure look as bad as Kurt Russell's nachos in Death Proof, but I swear these breakfast chilaquiles are delicious. On my little vacation back to Houston to remind Sara that she is still married to me we went to Buffalo Grille and I totally over-indulged. In fact, I am still paying for it with a creeping case of slow burn just above my heart. If you've

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-43072335162789771382007-04-04T13:39:00.000-07:002007-04-04T13:48:24.945-07:00

This is a taqueria just up the street from me in SF. I have to admit that I've never seen many of these things on a menu. Guess I've never lived in the Inner Mission before, huh? I tried the barbacoa, which is the inside cheek, and it was as tender as you would think. But it's best not to think. I have to admit that I couldn't even imagine trying ojo or buche, but maybe I should. For $1.50 I

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-61968813300990064832007-04-03T19:04:00.000-07:002007-04-03T19:18:25.431-07:00

I created this with Pixcavator, which was a free download.Then I did this to a picture of Josef I stole from his blog.I love it! Reminds me of '90s graphic novel art for some unknown reason.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-5319271044707238372007-04-03T19:01:00.000-07:002007-04-03T19:03:36.392-07:00

Anyone else getting flooded with Asian spam for virus software?

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-47438029692740358362007-03-29T19:49:00.000-07:002007-03-29T19:57:23.367-07:00

Poor Spot--so cute hanging out on this wall at Webster and Geary. I only stumbled upon him by accident when, in a trance, I got off the bus three stops too early. But there he was, in jail. You can see my shadow self taunting him because I am free.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-27694425546301003482007-03-16T18:29:00.000-07:002007-03-16T18:42:32.377-07:00

Scary!Oh the humanity!I was walking to work this morning in somewhat of a daze (F U Congress with your new and improved daylight savings plunging me into morning darkness from which I cannot emerge while simultaneously twisting my favorite saying, "Spring forward, fall back," into an outright lie, a LIE!)when I came upon this carnage. Apparently some sort of electro-vampire or techno-werewolf

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-17741574478542941142007-03-16T18:26:00.000-07:002007-03-16T18:45:21.914-07:00

...or Paris and the Eiffel Tower are toast?This was duct taped to my building this morning. I can't quite figure out if it's a threat or a grand compliment to on of my house mates. Since this is a city of peace and love I will assume the best. Have some champagne on me.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-56822426325453904912007-03-06T16:51:00.000-08:002007-03-06T16:54:04.626-08:00

If you care. And you should.It's only temporary until Sara comes out. Until then I am a Missionite.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-79561099064249206512007-03-05T20:10:00.000-08:002007-03-05T20:16:16.796-08:00

Josef posted this. I hereby challenge him to a glasses war.p.s. What the fuck is up with Blogger? Everyone's templates are all screwy.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-62655607628841383502007-03-05T19:53:00.000-08:002007-03-05T20:10:11.658-08:00

So when I make it out to LA I like to hang out with my friend Derwood. A couple of weeks ago I was there and because we enjoy reliving the faint memory of our youth at Miss T's Barcade in Korea Town.I must admit, though I spent many a quarter trying to get good at video games, I was really too much of a spaz to get really good. Still I enjoy a good game of Asteroids. Darren is seen above kicking

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-7473182579732165432007-02-24T20:08:00.000-08:002007-02-24T20:18:09.047-08:00

Every time I go to New Orleans I like to look at the crazy cross with the scrolling digital display. Tonight I watched Jesus Camp, and it creeped me out. Their assuredness is what unnerves me. They are proud of the cultural war and are stoking that fire. They are placing a fear and urgency in their members and especially the children that is reflected in the tactics of the government. I probably

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-42997133182924954582007-02-23T07:33:00.000-08:002007-02-23T08:19:07.911-08:00

Just before Xmas I received a mysterious package. I wasn't expecting anything...I don't get many presents in the mail anymore. When I opened the plain brown box, I discovered a copy of The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain. Oh joy! Months before, I had filled out an online form to receive the book for free. I have no recollection of why the site was making the offer...hell, I don't even remember the

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-41789359912401738572007-02-13T11:28:00.000-08:002007-03-05T20:29:46.747-08:00

As I ponder leaving Houston and returning to San Francisco, it is sights like these that I will miss. This kind of crazy non-ironic expression of personal taste is wonderful. I imagine this being parked next to the Pussy Wagon with sweet, sweet love floating on the breeze.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-60015090648062923562007-02-13T11:23:00.000-08:002007-02-09T05:54:14.400-08:00

This is Beau, the very handsome dog that lived in the yard outside my apartment in Austin. He was a very big but skittish dog who would go crazy when he heard rain or especially thunder. I would come home and my Vespa would be knocked over because he had freaked out and rammed the gate open to escape from the booming thunder.I miss seeing Beau every day. Hope the ice last month didn't make him

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-41768744494158264922007-02-09T05:50:00.000-08:002007-02-09T05:53:08.538-08:00

Sara has been getting acupuncture for migraines. I've heard crazy stories from friends where they go in for their first session and have this total emotional reaction to the procedure, breaking down and crying. This did not happen for Sara. In fact, not much happened in either of her sessions.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-58800276495711101322007-02-07T18:24:00.000-08:002007-02-07T18:31:37.193-08:00

I know this is a total tourist drink. I know it is totally cheesy to go into a bar and order this. But c'mon, this is in the French Quarter just down the block from Cafe du Monde. Of all the places in NOLA that I go to every time--Coop's for the shrimp po' boy, the bar at the Monteleone--I always look forward to going to Molly's to get the frozen coffee drink. This is strange if you know me. I

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-21098916917554409082007-02-07T08:50:00.000-08:002007-02-07T20:15:26.732-08:00

To celebrate my birthday and say bye bye to the South, Sara and I went to New Orleans for a few days. The city is still trying to put everything together after Katrina (restaurants are still closed, touristas are still not back in full force), but overall the average visitor won't see much difference from pre-hurricane NOLA. Unless you are visiting the 9th Ward or outside of the French Quarter/

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-65938191427101626992007-02-07T06:52:00.000-08:002007-02-07T09:16:12.417-08:00

Where:An = number of units of alcohol consumed S = smokiness of the room (graded from 0-10, where 0 clear air; 10 extremely smoky) L = luminance of 'person of interest' (candelas per square metre; typically 1 pitch black; 150 as seen in normal room lighting) Vo = Snellen visual acuity (6/6 normal; 6/12 just meets driving standard) d = distance from 'person of interest' (metres; 0.5 to

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1168872159109424272007-01-15T06:40:00.000-08:002007-03-05T20:25:35.320-08:00

I met these two creatures while walking around SF over Xmas break. How could I resist?

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1168715499242665872007-01-13T11:05:00.000-08:002007-01-13T11:11:39.256-08:00

There's an old African American graveyard behind my building in Houston. I love walking through graveyards. It goes back to when I lived in Colorado as a wee and we used to go walking my cousin's crazy dog Charlie through the Canon City cemetery. When you are a kid cemeteries still have that holy/spooky/reverent/mysterious/mystical aura to them. Now they're just beautiful.Anyway, I was walking

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1165442995414018342006-12-06T14:05:00.000-08:002006-12-06T14:12:03.616-08:00

This is pretty genius--a mashup of Toy Story 2 and Requiem for a Dream. I still feel dirty every time I think of the latter film. Darren Aronofsky and Cubby Selby stole my innocence.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1165387591724015232006-12-05T22:43:00.000-08:002006-12-05T22:46:31.736-08:00

This was the "outline" for my final big paper for grad school. Though I knew it would be good for me professionally, I don't think I had any idea as to the depth of knowledge and skills that it would provide. Thank you UT, I owe you one.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1165273949125486092006-12-04T15:07:00.000-08:002006-12-04T15:17:18.886-08:00

This is Josef.This is from Thanksgiving. Being a good sport, Josef allowed his niece to tie a bunch of scrunchies into his hair. Make it work!Here's a picture of Josef belting out a very special version of Heart's "Alone." He rocked the karaoke world.This will help you to picture this key karaoke moment in time.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1163572770915009512006-11-14T22:33:00.000-08:002006-11-14T22:39:30.930-08:00

I went to my local HEB here in Austin on Saturday and discovered that it was a holiday madhouse. An Xmas youth choir was singing, Elvis was slinking around, and Santa was "Ho-Hoing" somewhere out of sight.What caught my eye, however, was these two beautiful purchase options. The first is the infamous Tur-Duc-Hen. If you've never had this culinary science experiment you just haven't lived. It's

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1163442807332649272006-11-13T10:05:00.000-08:002006-11-13T10:46:48.973-08:00

Many people, when they want a little cultish, quasi-religious music in their lives immediately turn to the Polyphonic Spree. Yes, I am in Texas and would love to support the locals (though, really, they are from Dallas so who gives a shit?), but I find their choir robes annoying...even if they have moved on to military garb, as I've read they recently did. There is something annoying and

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1163263816634357202006-11-11T08:35:00.000-08:002006-11-11T08:56:22.410-08:00

I saw this in the window of a random shop on my way to Poison Girl in Houston the other night. It made me think of the (NSFW) porno version of Re-Animator that I read about a while ago. But less about the gore and more about the cheesiness of boobie novelties.When I was really young and living in Pueblo, Colorado, we used to get a charge out of going to Spencers (was it ever subversive, or was

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1162954549361286912006-11-07T18:53:00.000-08:002006-11-07T18:55:49.376-08:00

Found this on a wall where I sit to wait for my bus. I love lightening bolts almost as much as I love stars. Perhaps those sharp edges get me all worked up.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1162410797709990282006-11-01T11:46:00.000-08:002006-11-01T11:53:17.720-08:00

Saw this on my way from the Menil Museum in Houston. It was an almost fitting endnote to the Klee retrospective there. After complaining that I was writing too many grafitti posts, I returned to Texas and found that my favorite Austin poster grafitti artists are either dormant or moved along. Very depressing...my ride to school is much less sanguine without it.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1161493260528752132006-10-21T21:57:00.000-07:002006-10-21T22:01:00.543-07:00

This huge katydid is from the Houston Natural History Museum. HUGE!We saw the little preying mantis stick buggy thing on Bull Creek trail in Austin. He was just giving us directions. I'd never seen a brown preying mantis before.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1161367410117800282006-10-20T10:57:00.000-07:002006-10-20T11:03:30.130-07:00

Ever wonder what people in India are paying attention to in the news? newsmap is a Flash-based interface that takes Google News aggregator information and represents it as an image map. You can choose your country of interest (or all) and the news stories of interest show up with size of the box representing amount of news around it.The site's been around since 2004, so it's nothing new, but

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1161133920792135822006-10-17T17:56:00.000-07:002006-10-18T09:10:58.013-07:00

So for those of you who have real jobs, you may not know this. I may be performing a public service right now. Here goes: Spike TV has been showing old episodes of The Equalizer in the mornings. You may be saying to yourself, "Boy, he's making the most of his time at school." Actually, I was using it as background to writing a paper on a personal information management software tool. Anyway,

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1160761619486078742006-10-13T10:44:00.000-07:002006-10-13T10:51:25.426-07:00

For some reason my friend Josef, who is in India right now on business, is spending lots of time watching my favorite song from the Muppet Show. While this confuses me, I am eternally grateful for the chance to link to this beautiful song.Menomenah.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1160261930431001642006-10-07T15:49:00.000-07:002006-10-07T15:58:50.446-07:00

I snapped a picture of this street art in the warehouse district of New Orleans in early September. It was the first time we had been back since Katrina, and we had an excellent time doing things that we don't normally do in the Crescent City.First, no, we didn't go driving around the 9th Ward to take a look. There is that part of me that wanted to--to be a witness to what happened as a result of

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1160200782409225452006-10-06T22:52:00.000-07:002006-10-06T22:59:42.423-07:00

So, I was flipping around the channels on a Saturday night, stuck in the house with my wife who had nasal surgery a week ago and is still on the mend, when I discover a show with one of the best titles ever: Mummy Autopsy. It was all about scientists figuring out how (mostly) ancient peoples managed to die and be mummified. One of the scientists helping the MIs (Mummy Investigators, how

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1160170111647252252006-10-06T14:23:00.000-07:002006-10-06T14:28:31.646-07:00

Contrary to what you might surmise from my eating habits documented in my previous post, I do have to often wear belts. I love this belt buckle. It was given to me by my friend Julie in 2000. Unfortunately, I don't wear it often for a couple of reasons. First, is that Meg White of the White Stripes was photographed wearing one very similar to it soon after it was given to me. I didn't want anyone

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1160169584094598462006-10-06T14:15:00.000-07:002006-10-06T14:19:44.106-07:00

Would you eat this? I can barely look at it. Still, this is what I ate last week--a pile of meat with mustard drizzle. My only excuse, beyond the pathetic "I live alone" argument--is that my classes are at such weird times that I don't really have a chance to be hungry enough to eat. Thus, at the last second I am scrambling to find something simple that will allow me to get through class before I

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1160111844610143852006-10-05T22:03:00.000-07:002006-10-05T22:23:32.280-07:00

I haven't blogged about Project Runway at all this season. Don't confuse this with any loss of interest on my part. This season was rife with characters from day one. Unfortunately, my favorite vampire, Malan (above), was cut on the second show. Luckily, we had the insanity that is Jeffrey and the hick gaudy chic that was Kayne to keep the show flavorful to the end. But who is going to win next

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1160110083647808162006-10-05T21:42:00.000-07:002006-10-05T21:48:03.660-07:00

The Howard Stern show has been in a kind of flashback mode for the past couple of days. First Pat Cooper was on, who really doesn't do much for me, but a nice blast from the past. Today, though, the show featured Suzanne Muldowney a.k.a. the Underdog woman. She called in to talk about a documentary on her life called My Life as an Underdog, which looks absolutely bizarre. The phone call was a

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1159999393862926162006-10-04T14:47:00.000-07:002006-10-04T15:04:32.213-07:00

The Smoking Gun has a copy of the current iteration of Iggy & the Stooges' concert rider, and let me tell you it should come with its own drummer to provide rim shots...hilarious! A sampling of the classic moments: Referring to bass hero Mike Watt as an "internet Pepys or Boswell, except without the gout or the syphyllis."On the request for an English speaking monitor tech: "...in Santiago de

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1159890605119535582006-10-03T08:35:00.000-07:002006-10-03T08:54:11.846-07:00

So I have always hated the fact that I have to buy ringtones of songs that I already own. This is really true when the ringtone just isn't right. You know what I mean, you preview it on the mobile phone website and either the volume is off or the clip was so lazily made that it doesn't even get the best part of the song. A while back I had searched for ways to make your own ringtones and came up

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1159797348660423522006-10-02T06:43:00.000-07:002006-10-02T06:55:48.676-07:00

These are my favorite keywords that have brought people to my blog recently:celebrityskin, green bud sf, othar turner blog, and the dreaded hipster beard.My favorite by far, however, is mosquito wristband sores. I only wish the picture that I took lived up to such a beautiful search query.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1159759915927467702006-10-01T20:25:00.000-07:002006-10-01T20:42:21.026-07:00

Anyone who knows me really well...and that is a select group, a tortured select group...knows that I had a revelation when I moved to Houston. It was there that I ate my first piece of Tres Leches cake. There is nothing like good Tres Leches. For my birthday last year Sara gave me the best present...she made me her version of Tres Leches, and I loved it. In fact, she left me 3/4 of the cake when

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1159759452234712572006-10-01T20:17:00.000-07:002006-10-01T20:25:06.920-07:00

Another mysteriously dead body on my walking route. This time it had a partner about 10 feet away. It was just laying on the path to the library at my school. Sticky blood trickle on the ground and no one cared. It was right by a classroom and the professor actually glared at me as I stopped to check out the body. I guess death is an unwanted diversion.This one may have an explanation, though.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1158957714846648962006-09-22T13:22:00.000-07:002006-09-22T13:43:04.186-07:00

For those in our world that refuse to grow up, there are two new hobby purchases (read: toys) that will make that regression worthwhile. These two micro R/C toys will turn a living room into your own yes flyzone. Of the two, the Micro Mosquito remotecopter looks the coolest--kind of like the toy attack copter level in GTASA that I failed at over and over. And if either one gets boring, you can

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1158861117077304642006-09-21T10:44:00.000-07:002006-09-21T10:52:40.406-07:00

Let me state my bias up front: I am all for deep fried things. I have tried Twinkies, Oreos, and pickles along with the usual oil crisped products. When I read the caption of this photo from the LA Times, I threw up a little in my mouth. Let's brush aside the fact that the image is just awesome (looks like the sandwich is being eaten by the chicken) and analyze what is really going on here. This

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1158857565463312852006-09-21T09:34:00.000-07:002006-09-21T09:52:45.476-07:00

In my never ending search for the first nanotech flea circus I came across these feisty critters. The idea is awesome...bringing battle bots into your home, teaching robot aggression to your kids at an early age. But the execution of these R/C Beetle Battlers are more high concept than delivery. Too slow, not enough smackdown. But it's a start.If you've got IE you can watch them in all their slo

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1158635636192248462006-09-18T20:09:00.000-07:002006-09-18T20:17:58.910-07:00

This may look like CBGBs lite, but it is actually from my favorite San Francisco haunt, the 500 Club. Why? Well, as I posted before (top photo), there are nice things to look at while you piss. Also, not many hipster beards per capita and drinks so strong that you drink more and visit this beautiful plumbing facility often. Oh, and I saw Zach Galifianakis with his hipster beard ignoring people

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1158164056144924992006-09-13T09:03:00.000-07:002006-09-13T09:14:16.173-07:00

The Mission is filled with all different kinds of graffiti. Sometime late in spring or early summer one stenciler started putting sappy, I can only imagine ironic, slogans on the sidewalks. At saturation point other rankled people--or maybe the same artist if they were cheeky enough--started responding to them. First, someone stenciled a pile of shit with the phrase "Shut Up Honky" next to a lot

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1158163388964567132006-09-13T09:00:00.000-07:002006-09-13T09:03:08.976-07:00

One of the amazing fringe benefits of living with my very generous friends Michael and Mary this summer was that I was able to spend time in their garden. This bloom surprised me one afternoon.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1157991060548057792006-09-11T09:05:00.000-07:002006-09-11T09:11:00.636-07:00

Meeemories. This was from Halloween 2000 when we had our last over the top party at 164 Lexington. My roommates and I (with honorary house letch Jason Consoli a.k.a. Tommy Lee) dressed as Motley Crue for our '80s metal party. I think we single handedly drove out the poor family living above us with that party.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1157592324122213162006-09-06T18:22:00.000-07:002006-09-06T18:25:24.123-07:00

No, none of my friends was crying at my departure back to Tejas. Instead, we were pub crawling when we noticed this statue in a beauty salon on Mission or Valencia. I think Mission. What you can't see in the picture is that the saint has open sores all over his legs. It was actually very disturbing in person. It just makes it all the more classic that he's positioned next to a Coke machine. God,

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1157591793804730442006-09-06T18:12:00.000-07:002006-09-06T18:16:33.816-07:00

So, they've renovated the Houston bus station. No, it isn't any cleaner or nicer. There's security at the entrance to the waiting room (and I wait, I wait, I wait), which is slightly unnerving. But more frightening is the fellow you can see between the two fellows in the foreground, wandering back to his seat. He was in full hospital gown--including wristband and cotton ball where he got his meds

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1156194772269776942006-08-21T13:45:00.000-07:002006-08-21T14:28:21.706-07:00

These beautiful pieces were in adjoining doorways near Upper Playground in San Francisco. Pretty bunny!My alter ego.Only five days of great weather before I head back to Houston planet.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1155177529072791202006-08-09T19:33:00.000-07:002006-08-09T19:41:24.840-07:00

So I'm walking out of the 24th/Mission BART station today and some guy comes toward me with the dealer stroll--you know the one, where he's walking toward you purposefully but not looking at you, all the while mumbling his offerings so you can just hear them? This is SF, so I'm betting on the usual "sticky green bud" or "'shrooms." But this guy has broadened his horizons: "Viagra, Levitra." The

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1154064781067018772006-07-27T22:30:00.000-07:002006-07-27T22:33:01.086-07:00

There are often vicious battles waged on the sidewalks of the Mission, and I guess this little fella is a counterbalance to all the hate and venom being spewed. Makes you want to step on him, doesn't it?

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1153891197019018292006-07-25T22:19:00.000-07:002006-07-25T22:19:57.033-07:00

I'll cough up a fireball on you, motherfucker!

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11837593.post-1153625659741393312006-07-22T20:26:00.000-07:002006-07-22T20:36:42.943-07:00

Remember that scene in Garden State? You know the one I mean. That was all I could think about as I walked into the tropical wonderland of this bathroom in Lake Tahoe. The funny part is that it is a Swiss fondue restaurant, which makes this decor choice all the more absurd.

Commonplacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254093720366341856noreply@blogger.com0