My Favorite Bear

Recently, there was a story about a bear that decided to chill out and have a swim in someone's backyard pool.
I've ruminated about this in previous posts but now that my friend made some stickers of the bear cold chilling next to the pool, i felt like i had to once again post my happy feeling about a bear taking a dip just for the hell of a it.
That bear seems soo content and happy and to me, says SUMMER.
Oh sure, it was probably a bit scary for the family to see a big ol' bear hanging out in their pool but happily, nobody was hurt in the incident.
Plus the bear was merely tranquilized and released peacefully back into the wild, which is good.

I also wanted to note the bear as the debut of adding photos to this blog for the first time!

So from here on out...images to accompany text. Four years in the making. What a concept.

Exciting, isn't it?
I can tell you're quaking in your boots.

Your Karma Stinks

Summer time and the Ants are marching.

We've had a recent infestation of ants and i must say, those little bastards won't give up. They just keep coming and coming. They're like bothersome humans taking it too far. Even when they're crushed to death by my enormous fingers of doom, they still keep coming.
They must really hate our president, huh?
Actually, they just hate our freedom. The ants are sick of having to do all the legwork and they say NO MORE!
More ant information than you'll ever need
Also, it is noteworthy to note that i've noted that bananas really emit quite an odor. Almost as odoriferous as your karma, man.
Keeping bananas in a ziploc bag doesn't really help either, i've found.

I don't like the fact that i'm forced to eat bananas so soon after i purchase them.
It's bullshit. I should be able to freeze them if i want, and save them for later.
Why can't someone come up with a way for me to do this? I want answers. I want action.

Cats lack sweet tooth
Somehow, i don't totally buy this. At least, not for my cat. She loves fruity drinks, as well as sugary soda like Mountain Dew and Pepsi, though she has a real hankering for fruit-flavored cocktails. Damn her and her sweet tooth (that she doesn't have!).

People in the Midwest are telling me how miserable they are with the recent heatwave.
Meanwhile, here in the Bay Area, we were shivering last night because it was so darn cold. I mean, it got to about 50 degrees!!!
heh heh. I love where i live.

The Best of Breasts
Great photos by photog Jordan Matter. I love the idea that women are in everyday situations in the city and just so happen to be topless. The woman staring intently at her laptop in Starbucks is especially good.

Play music with people in real time from all over world
created by the same guy who created WinAmp.
However, i'm not impressed with the samples thus far, though a lot have been added since Sunday, so i'm sure they'll improve.

Scharffen Berger bought by Hersey
I love this place, especially since i got to take a tour of the facility in Berkeley for my birthday.
So i'm somewhat bummed that Scharffen Berger is now owned by Hersey.
Willy Wonka wouldn't approve.

speaking of delicious chocolate ...
Nothing's worse than getting a Maltmus Maximus and having no crunchy malt to sink your teeth into. What's the point if all i'm getting is some decent chocolate?
I want more dammit.
I weep, much like Jesus did in past tense.

I watched Run Lola Run a couple nights ago. i still dig that movie.
Not to be confused with Run Leia Run, however.

Fat Man Walking across America to lose weight to regain his life.
I wish i could see the Fat Man Walking. But it's too late. He's already in Arizona.
What happens when the fat man loses enough weight to no longer be considered a fat man? What will he be then? A formerly fan man walking? A stocky man walking?

Payola still exists in record industry
Big surprise.
This would definitely explain the oversaturation of fools like Celine Dion and the untalented J-Lo, at least somewhat. The general populous still likes bad music, for the most part.

Bloc Party Remixes for your family
By M83 (overhyped band of late), Four Tet and Mogwai. Listen to your ears.

Check the new DJ Shadow mix
catch it while it's still around. God knows he hasn't done a whole helluva lot in the last 10 years since Endtroducing, other than a couple albums and re-releasing a Deluxe Edition of the same album. Ho Hum.

Live Sufjan Stevens boot, Parts I & Part II
The sound quality is pretty poor, but a decent sense of what he and his band sound like live.
.....
Question for God:
If I'm wearing headphones and listening to loud music when i fart, does it make a noise?
thanks god, in advance, for your impending answer.
.....
So i've been listening to various David Sedaris box set of books on cd the last couple weeks on my commute to and from work, change of pace, you see.
well, he reads all of his own stories. have you ever heard his voice? very high pitched and whiny, funny but....it gets tiresome...but that's not my point.
Have you ever read any of his books? short humorous stories usually. the one i've been listening to is Me Talk Pretty One Day, the one book i hadn't actually read, and my god, every single story is about his experiences in paris...every stinking one.
Three stories alone are about his troubles taking a french class. pretty tiresome, i think, at least to hear them all at once.
Anyway...what really got me was the fact that one story i was listening to on the Me talk collection was a live recording and it sounded really familiar....as it turns out, the SAME EXACT STORY is now titled something different and included in his new book Dress your family in Corduroy and Denim. A bit lazy, i think.

.....
People who drive on the sidewalk should be lauded for their safety.

I'm like a fire that's still burning. Don't you see?

Satisfactory Factory Outlet a Factor

I Made This
Plastikman, The Early Years

.....
I finally saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory yesterday and i LOVED it. I especially recommend you see it on the gigantor IMAX screen if you can. It was overwhelmingly awesome.
I can't imagine what some of these fools are saying about Johnny Depp's performance reminding them of Michael Jackson. He wasn't even remotely close to MJ and frankly, reflects lazy reporting by reviewers.
I'll definitely see it again.

New Boards Of Canada album to be released on my Birthday!
October 18 is the day.
It's like fate or something. My obsession comes full circle.

M.I.A. returns to US on headlining tour
I can't wait to see her new matching outfits, though one can only hope she learns some new dance moves.

World bids adieu to Myron Floren, world's greatest accordion player.
Lawrence Welk's pal kicks it.

The Believer's Music Issue
Always a pleasant mixture of fine, unusual music writing, interviews and the like.
Also comes with a highly sought-after CD.

In SF, (nearly) nobody listens to techno
except me. and apparently, so does the SF Weekly music editor.

Remix NIN
go ahead, make Trent's day just a little bit easier for him, won't you?

Top 10 Web Fads
I always liked Nahir "I Kiss You!!!"
some of the other ones, i'm not so sure.

Old school Pixies and Breeders Video
Just like Mom used to make. Except Mom was a bigger fan of the Breeders, naturally.

More classical versions of Aphex Twin tunes
Unlike what Mom used to make, like or enjoy.

iPod DJ Mixer
And the world will forever be changed.
On the other hand, i think they need to work on it more. where's the pitch control? This seems like more novelty than anything else.

Pop on up and Play
Not necessarily viewable at work, depending on the open-mindedness of your boss and coworkers, that is.

Data-Mining our entire lives via cellphones
It's just around the corner.
And i can't wait.
That is, as long as i'm the only one that can access such information.
Which likely won't be the case.

Mo' Maps, Mo' Problems
Microsoft jumps into the mapping fray. Too bad.

Is Your Printer Spying On you?
Could be. Scary.

How about a Styrofoam Hummer?
Better than the real thing.

Been Caught Huffing
Hilarious.
.....

These are the people in your neighborhood
SFPD Mission Community Newsletters
SFPD Northern Community Newsletters
These newsletters are so interesting -- weekly rundowns of events, arrests and other happenings going on in the neighborhood.
Where else would you find out that there are Stupid Pet Tricks trials for a future Dave Letterman show on Union Street this past Saturday? Or story after illuminating story about cops arresting folks doing various bad things?
awesome!

Need more? Check out SF Crime Maps
You have to wade through a few items before you can get stats but it's quite interesting to see what has happened of late in your 'hood. My block is relatively crime-free for the last year, save for a few random acts of vandalism. but you'll have that.

QUOTE

Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent.

- Sophia Loren

Cannon Fodder For Fools

Bush picks conservative Roberts for Supreme Court
I guess i can't say i'm that surprised but i was hoping he'd lean a bit more toward the center, dammit.
ugh.
Here's more

I've always known that all the watches, hard drives and various other machinery i've laid waste to with my intense mental cruelty would turn around for me some day.
now there's proof.
Mind May Affect Machines
now i just need a way to revive all the machinery yo.

Reality TV hits tattoo parlors
Now we can all watch drunk people getting stupid tattoos they'll regret later.
I can't wait to see when a girl gets a rose tattooed on her breast. won't that be something.

British music habits
The subhed says it all: "Did you know ... that one in four of us wants to be a pop star, that 22 per cent of Scots have taken drugs to enhance their listening pleasure, or that 20 per cent of 45-54-year olds have at one time been a mod?"

Crystal Meth is bad bad bad for you
and i don't mean Bad in a Michael Jackson way.
The forces of nature are hard at work trying to dissuade me from ever doing Meth...not that there's a worry...but i just got through listening to an audio work read by David Sedaris from "Me Talk Pretty One Day" on my way to work this morning in which he regales listeners with many of the misguided things he did while addicted to Meth.
and now i get this link sent to me.
scary shit, yo.
even better, the song that JUST came on my iTunes as i was writing the last sentence?
"Crystal Night" by Kelley Stoltz
it's all coming together.
meth vs. tim.
tim wins.

Dave Grohl: 'Kurt thought i sucked'
Oh well, at least you got the Foo Fighters.
they're sorta good sometimes.

Mean Mr. Monolake
actually, his name is Robert Henke and man, this guy can be difficult to speak with sometimes. let me explain. when he was playing in San francisco early last year, i went up to him after the performance and told him how much i liked his recent album, particularly one track and his response?
"oh, i hate that track now." and then walked away.
oh. ok.
since it was a track on his own album, i thought maybe i had heard him wrong.
but no. my hearing was not wrong.
never mind that i was paying you a compliment.
i don't expect artists to get all worked up and lap up every compliment they receive but, um, give me a break Mr. Henke.
you fcuker.
anyway, the link above has a decent song.
it's best to just shut the fuck up and not talk to musicians you dig.
it's usually a disappointment.

aphex twin link for america

We really need more tolerance like this in Washington.
If they nuke us, bomb Mecca
Or more tolerance in our T-ball coaches too (sidenote - this is officially the first time i've ever linked to two fox news stories. please kill me soon).

Seattle man dies after sex with horse
ummmm, yep.
this is pretty damn gross.

One of my favorite photos of me
Thanks, once again, to Mr. While Seated for making this all possible (this photo is also available on right side of this blog under "About Me").

Elementary My Dear

The Simnuke Project, commemorating 60 years since the first Atomic explosion.
The nuclear option - video
Photos
And more photos
And here is NPR's take

.....
My new favorite band for the next minute(NOT safe for work)

The last person killed at Pamplona
all the gory details.

Cooter doesn't want you to see the new Dukes flick
i won't see it but not because of the language...more like it's going to likely suck.
And who the hell is Cooter anyway? Cooter was a two-bit character on 'Dukes', he got less airtime than Boss Hogg!

Corpse falls into traffic
Watch out or you'll hit that dead man!

Bush loses some luster
Awww, buck up W. Too bad people didn't realize this before the election.

Add podcasts to your iTunes general library

Happy News!
All the news that's fun to print. Happy happy, joy joy.

Open source beer
Make your own beer for fun, profit and sexual favors.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is the hot new indie band of the moment. But i'm not sold based on the three mp3s available on their site.
Click on tracks under the heading "music"
That last track sounds suspiciously like early Talking Heads.

Bello is the hot new font
i love fonts. This is a fine font.

Illustrations to write home about
I love illustrations. These are fine illustrations.

Who wouldn't want some Haunted Pussy?

The hottest new rapper, yo
and if that ain't enough, there's plenty more!

White Stripes live at Glastonbury
Jack White rocking it.

Do a Test run of Ableton Live 5

Free album from Marumari
they remind me of a poor man's Boards of Canada. or drunken ones.

I Lost My Back in a Shipping Incident

Now here's some helpful advice ...
The Vice guide to picking up chicks
They managed to offend pretty much everyone in this. Hilarious.

Who are better at the BJ - gays or girls?
The ultimate test. Or is it the penultimate test?

Yet another mom puts kids in the trunk
This is like a growing trend or something.

Parkinson's treatment leads to compulsive gambling
Um, yeah, you read that right.

Your brain = iPod
Musical hallucinations? no way!

Waste more time on the web
Everyone else is!

Chocolypse Now
An, um, alternative take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Stuff On My Cat is back!
YES!

Socialite fanatics unite
Even more gossip!

DFA remixes Chems
This version is WAY better than the original.

Soft drinks 'should carry health warnings'
Like this is a surprise.

Free downloads of new EP by Detroit's His Name Is Alive
i always liked HNIA and their swirly music madness.

Between Something and Nothing

Nobody wants to get to the bottom of this more than the President of the United States.
Riiiiight.
Keep on squirming, Scott.

Karl Rove is feeling the heat

Hillary compares Bush to Alfred E. Neuman, GOP whines
come on, W. does look like Alfred E. Neuman.

This cartoon says it all about W., in fact.

maybe he'll have to inflate his face for art.
this is so weird yet fascinating. i can't look away.

Deep Dish remix of Coldplay's "Clocks"
this post also has a couple tracks from the new Deep Dish and i can assure you, the two tracks he posts are pretty much the best ones on the disappointing album.
this song rocks all night at the disco party

Little House's Doc Baker dies
bummer. 19th century medicine didn't work out so well.

i can see how this would get old
i'd love to see her client list.

One of the few things i actually miss about the Midwest is the overabundance of mindblowingly kickass roller coasters.
This one at Cedar Point, holy shit, i need to go on it.

... speaking of holy shit, A Drug to Eradicate Diarrhea
and it's not as funny as it sounds. imagine. a drug company that actually makes a drug that will help people in third world countries first.
yeah, i can't imagine it either.

and finally, this is more like No Shit ...
Drivers on cells 4 times more likely to crash
Get off your damn cellphones, you fools.

Alone Again

once in a while, the daily horoscope absolutely nails it.

If anyone loves being with others, it's you. You enjoy being with loved ones so much that you really aren't fond of being alone unless it's absolutely necessary. Oddly enough, at the moment, there's no one you'd rather spend time with than yourself. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. We all feel the urge to retreat from the world from time to time. Be considerate, though. Let one good friend know you're okay, so they can pass the word along

.

More on London
The missing ... in London
This will break your heart, especially the photos.

Eyewitness accounts
As Britain copes, a massive hunt for London bombers
.....

tom cruise is nuts, the website
clearly, it's official now.

Fonz catch phrases

download 'Plan 9 From Outer Space'

more emoticons than you'd ever want

women accused of scamming aspiring writers

health screenings for teflon to start

The Power of Rove
Seriously scary story about George W. Bush's "architect." Long but worth the read. Know your enemy.

I Love Stats, these from Harper's Magazine

Sex talk baby

Digital downloading increases threefold

AOL's impressive Live8 coverage instantly increases its cred
never thought i'd see that.

.....
best of craigslist, of late, is quite funny.
RAVE! Sleeping With Roommates
hilarious.
can't wait for the tragic part 2.
heh, guys are dumb
heh, some girls are lazy, and somehow sort of hot in the process.
weird.
describing your faults up front. not a bad concept.
and finally, Available - one grumpy-ass cat.
i've had a similarily horrific experience (not with any of MY cats, of course).
.....

This Godless Communism is a early '60s ranting against the evils of communism in comic book form.
Includes introduction by J. Edgar Hoover! (thanks to Boing Boing for this)

450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths in Turkey

London Calling

First, i gotta give it up to our London friends.
That so sucks what has happened.
I can't even begin to feel the anguish, pain and overall shitty ass feeling it must be to have someone who perished and/or was injured in the four timed blasts in London that happened yesterday.

Funny, it was eerily similar to how i was woken up the morning of sept. 11, 2001. i received an awfully early phone call before 7 a.m. on a weekday morning.
as my friend matt said earlier this evening, "when you get a call that early , it's never good."
unless it's one of your drunken friends that always stay up to all hours and routinely call you at all hours.
fortunately, i lost most of those types of friends back in the day.
mainly because it's too hard to keep up with those kinds of fuckers.
you know.

i don't know, i feel like we should be more freaked out about what happened.
just feels like it's hitting too close to home.
then again, we cannot freak out.
we cannot let this shit get to us.

i, for one, will not let this slow me down in the slightest in relation to anything that i do.

fuck that.
i sound like a jingoistic politician, but i assure, this has nothing to do with politics.
it's about personal pride and maintaining a level of stability.
An oft-repeated phrase these days is "I cannot and will not live in fear."
And i must concur.

I won't fucking live in fear.

I am happy that more people did not die than the number that is currently circulating (37 dead, more than 700 injured).
Still, it saddens me that 37 random people that did nothing to warrant this sort of death had to die for such bullshit.

we humans, we are so sad in so many ways. so competitive and in need of acceptance by our fellow man that we are driven to such lowly acts.

it's all fucked.

everything.
fucked.

still, we must survive.
we all have the instinct, the will, to survive.

so we must continue.

i ain't trying to be mr. pep talk man about life and shit.
i'm not exactly in the corner of ALL humanity as a whole.
i don't necessarily think life is a god-given right and therefore don't believe we should take anything for granted.

so yeah, reality is i know i'm going to get another early morning phone call that will fill me with dread, sadness and maybe even anger.

i know other cities will be hit.
but fuck the bullshit.

fuck being afraid.

fuck it all.

word up to London.

fuck the bullshit.

.....

Updated London bombings coverage

what to do with those old shitty non usable cellphones in your drawers

Airline report of number of pets that die each year(PDF)
lower than was expected but still unacceptable.
doesn't make me very eager to bring along my pet with me anywhere.

Watch TV on your pc

TiVo cheap for next month

aphex twin covered by classical musicians
this is great
aphex twin has officially entered the world of acceptance among musicians.

today's podcast link

world's ugliest dog
no shit, this dog, not pretty.

downloadable live 8 video
some good stuff on here.
and some really bad stuff on here.
bjork = good
a-ha = bad
pink floyd = good
duran duran = bad
elton john = boring
elton john+a wasted pete doherty = interesting
coldplay = ok
coldplay + richard ashcroft sans shoes = interesting
madonna = ok
madonna + obviously-freaked-out-African-girl = interesting

so i'm saying, worth checking out.
some of it.

New Sufjan Stevens song on NPR
turns out his name is pronounced "Soo-fan"
silent J.
who knew?

crazy world, yo.
i gotta bail.

Ice Cream Destroys Cake

WORD O THA DAY
"BOISTERS" - a combination of boisterous and blistering, as in "this show is like, boisters, yo."
or maybe not.

Go Steelers! even in death
i know this sounds morbid but i want photos.
And thankfully, i we have them.
Click on Slideshow about halfway down into the story.

Lil Kim is headed to prison for a year
They'll have a lot of fun with her tiny ass in jail.

The Unmitigated Rage of Kenny Rogers
A real tough guy. what an ass.

Swimming with crocodiles for a stiff drink
These guys REALLY want to party.

Bush crashes his bike into Scottish cop
This is like the third time, i believe, Bush has crashed his bike.
Get some brakes and mirrors for the fucker.
and who knew there was a 'presidential bike'? awesome.

Meanwhile, he's got other shit to worry about.
Political factors for Bush as he picks a nominee

Maybe ol' W. could learn something from this.
Driving San Francisco Sane
This is a great story about driving in SF, with a lot of helpful hints, as well as an explanation of why the city streets are the way they are.
And don't forget to read the sidebar regarding the SF streets history.

Scary pedophile documents his demons on blog
quite messed up, to say the least.
and if you're feeling daring, check out his blog in question, Fifth Nail Blog.
Fascinatingly sick.

get your podcast on
everybody's doing it.

Bad Trip for Online Drug Peddlers
My favorite quote:

Most are far too psychedelically powerful for recreational drug users. Instead they are championed by psychonauts -- drug hobbyists and experimenters, usually young men -- who experiment alone or in small groups, sharing information and "trip reports" online.

That site, Erowid, has some highly educational trip reports. And more.
Or so i've heard.

New M.I.A. video, "Bucky Done Gun"
Can't forget about my cute little M.I.A.

How to buy the right pillow
this is serious business, right here.

That Bisexuality story i posted yesterday, refuted.

wi-fi ain't free bitches
though i have to wonder what the dude was doing sitting outside the guy's house.
but come on, people ride wireless networks all the time.
and are often bisexual.

Don't Blame Me, I'm a Robot

Here are brand new once-in-a-lifetime articles by Me Me Me:

Sufjan Stevens review
Ryan Elliott DJ Spotlight
.....
the art of music blogging
Semantics in Music
Live 8 London reviewed
(thanks to Coolfer for above links)
.....
Check out Live 8 Highlights
The rambling duet by Elton John and Pete Doherty of a Marc Bolan track was pretty funny. Doherty looked out of his mind, as usual.
Coldplay is worth checking out for the duet with Richard Ashcroft on "Bitter Sweet Symphony," and the U2 thing is sort of interesting, opening with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with McCartney.
Actually, the most worthwhile band to watch is the Pink Floyd reunion. They sounded really good, surprisingly.

no big surprise, Live 8 bootleg DVDs were already up on eBay
.....

Bloggers Fight for 'Shield' Law
As someone who graduated from Journalism school and has worked professionally as a staff writer for several print publications, I am unsure about how best we classify bloggers as "journalists" per se, and more importantly, how much protection they deserve versus supposedly "professional" journalists.
But i feel i have to stand on the side of protections first for "professionals," not to say that bloggers shouldn't be protected.
It's that bloggers don't have to play by the same rules as a pro journo does so they don't have to adhere to the same standards to corroborate what's being written.
Then again, i think we should be able to say whatever the hell we want.
We do have a little thing called the 1st Amendment, after all, so we all have the right to free speech.

.....
Q&A with W on upcoming Supreme Court nominee
Cool off rhetoric on court, Bush says
yeah, well, we'll see who you nominate first, Bushie.
Here's a rundown of 10 potential nominees.
.....
Straight, Gay or Lying? Bisexuality Revisited
Interesting story, though i think the study they use as their principle source is fairly bogus and certainly premature in coming to a definitive answer.
.....
New wireless broadband 'whispers' below the radar
whisper while you work.

Coming Soon, the iTunes Mobile Phone