10 Things to Think About on a Friday

This month has been absolutely nutty! Crazy! Insane! More insane than I've known what to do with at times. Ultimate frisbee games, Giants games, the start of Cross Country season, Outside Lands, Rock the Bells, and more birthday parties than I could shake a stick at. Looking at my calendar, I realize that I haven't spent a full evening at home without going out or working late since the 7th. That's a stretch. And now, as soon as Friday ends, it's Lake bound for this kid to close out the season Labor Day style. But before that happens, here's 10 things you can entertain yourself with as the weekend draws near.

1) So McCain has picked his running mate....former beauty queen, and currently under investigation. But hey, she's who he needs to "shake things up in Washington." When are old white guys like McCain going to learn that WE DON'T TRUST THEM ANYMORE?!
2) At 14, you get a successful heart transplant, and then at 18 you decide to kill someone and cut THEIR heart out. Nice, real nice.
3) Apple has announced working on plans to tether the iPhone to a personal computer. Too bad I already have it, it's called NetShare.
4) I used to know a few dead baby jokes that revolved around microwaves. I thought they were just jokes.
5) Michael Jackson turns 50 today. He'll spend his birthday eating cake and watching cartoons with his kids...and, according to him, "the best is yet to come." Does he remember Thriller?
6) A little odd, but for once, it looks like Bush may have learned from a past mistake and done something better this time...
7) Is it wrong for me to have actual hope for the future of our government after just one speech?
8) Ever wonder why you can't kill the fly? Here's why...
9) Scientists say we should no longer use q-tips to clean our ear wax out....somehow, I don't think I'm going to be foregoing ear wax removal anytime soon.
10) While it is important to recognize the change we need in Washington this November, my Dad is already urging me to look at the changes we need in Washington many years from now...Libertarianism.

That's it for me folks. Be good to each other.

Have You Seen Me Lately? (3 weeks in re/preview)

So yes, there has been a complete slow down in posting, and, more unfortunate for some, a complete stop to the quote of the day. I assure you, this is not due to lack of interest, lack of good quotes, or anything to do with me quitting. None of these things could be further from the truth. In fact, it's due to a schedule that has had me completely inundated with professional and personal work, non-stop, for the last few weeks. Furthermore, last Tuesday I had to take my laptop in for repairs and I've still not gotten it back, making the handling of my personal blog nearly impossible. Rather than talk about the various events, I'm gonna give a rundown on what my life has been like over the past few weeks, and what it looks like going forward. Next time you're ready to tell someone that you "don't have enough time for that," or you're "too tired," think back to this.....it can be done.

It all started Friday, the 15th. Wake up at 8 am to drive 3 hours to a lake house with the Pops. I'm there all day Friday, wake up Saturday at 6 am and drive 3 hours back to go to Rock the Bells at Shoreline. Rock the Bells is an all day affair. Sunday I do an open house. On Monday the 18th, I work from 8 to 5 and then go from 7:30 to 9:30 at a meeting for the parents of freshmen athletes where I coach. Tuesday the work schedule is the same, and I follow it up with ultimate frisbee at 6 and drop off my busted computer at 8:45.

Wednesday, first day of XC practice, I work from 8 to 3, coach from 3 to 6 and then drive up for the Giants game. When the Giants game ends around 10, I head out to the 7 Mile to join Coach and E for some drinks. I get home around 1:30am. Next day, I do the work thing and coaching thing the same as Wednesday, but after practice I drive back to work and show clients properties from 6:30 to 9. Now it's Friday and I work, coach and then drive immediately to Outside Lands to see Radiohead.

On Saturday, it's off to work from 8 to 9, then up to a consultation at 10 am in the city. Yes, I'm getting some more ink, and yes, I'm extremely amped about it. I hit a quick breakfast with Za and McButter before meeting Topher over at the stadium for the Giants game. At the end of the game, I drive home, nap for three hours and then get ready and head back into the city for the dual birthday nights of Bri and DPro. I spend the first half of my night (about 10ish to just before 12) with Pro, and the rest of the night with Bri. I eat crepes at 3 am before walking back to my car and driving home.

Sunday, I do an Open House before heading up to Margaret's bday party. Monday, I'm at work and cross country again before heading up, once more, to the Giants game. Tonight, I pull the same as last Tuesday (with the championship game for my ultimate team), tomorrow it's the same with client property showings starting at 6:30, Thursday it's work, running and a club trip before hitting up Colibri for hostess Sarah's going away party. Friday, after work, it's off to the lake.

Any chance we can change the world to a 26 hour day? I could use a few more...

Rocking the Bells

{for all music related posts, see .Evolving.Music}
For Saturday I managed to score two press passes, a photo pass and backstage VIP lounge access for myself and Gavroche to Rock the Bells at Shoreline. It's one thing to go to a concert with some of the best hip-hop artists of the last two decades. It's another thing to go for free, and still yet one more thing to be given all access and permission to take pictures from 6 inches in front of the stage.

The line-up was incredible: Murs, Blackalicious, Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, Raekwon and Ghostface, Rakim, De La Soul, Method Man and Redman, The Pharcyde, Mos Def, Nas, Q-Tip and A Tribe Called Quest.

The day consisted of us showing up at 10:30, being issued press/photo passes and our VIP wristbands, being shuttled over to the backstage area at Shoreline and then starting the show. During the show, the step by step was as follows from around 11:30 to 10pm:

1) For the first three songs of every set, I go to the photo pit in front of the stage. Gavroche goes to the wings or VIP lounge.
2) Meet at the lounge to get a drink or meet on the lawn to toke, watch the end of the set.
3) Go to the lounge to get a drink.
4) Next act comes on, repeat from step 1.

All I'll say is that it was unreal being that close to the stage and being allowed to take pictures. For a music lover, and especially a lover of hip-hop, the clarity of sound and lyrics from that close was something I've never gotten in live hip-hop before. It was fantastic, amazing, and what I hope is only the beginning of a long tradition of me obtaining press passes to cover shows I would probably go to anyways. Here's me with my press credentials and one of my favorite pictures of the day, Method Man crowd diving.

For a breakdown and review of each artist, click here.
For all photographs from Rock the Bells, click here.

China (Hoax), IOC (Joke), NBC (Dolts), Olympics (Dope)

I don't know what got me so steamed all of a sudden over the Olympics, but I find myself surprisingly bent out of shape. I look forward to the Olympics whenever they come around, Summer or Winter, because the idea of 4-6 years of training for a once every 4 year event is intriguing, the competition is always tight and usually surprising, and the abundance and diversity of sports featuring countries from everywhere is something that I couldn't get enough of even if I was mainlining it. I should be in the lap of luxury right now, right? How could I complain? Well, I'm enjoying a lot about these Olympic games, but a good portion of it exemplifies the double-speak and lack of accountability perpetuating itself throughout the world.

I see all too often in people an inability to be honest with themselves. Sometimes that extends to being dishonest with others as well. China, in the hosting of these Olympic games, in my opinion, has continued an elaborate dishonesty with themselves and by extension the world. The worst part about this is that they refuse to take any responsibility for the circumstances surrounding them, many of which they themselves have created.

When China was awarded these games, it was with the recognition that there were things that needed to be changed. Human rights violations, wrongful imprisonments, censorship and silencing of the press and protests, suffocating control over minority provinces and Tibet and saturating environmental pollution. It was the agreement between China and the IOC that these issues would be addressed for the Olympics, that change had started rippling through the People's Republic, that these Olympics could be the coming out party to show the world a different face than some of the past memories, including the all-too familiar Tienanmen Square incident.

Well. They lied. And failed. Before the games even began, they were dealing with the results of years of oppression of Tibet. The Torch relay, usually a celebrated and heralded event in other countries, became a lightning rod for violent and non-violent protests around the world against the action of the government.It became so bad that they canceled or hid the torch on its way in order to protect the ability to film positive images to post on the news in China. They blame the Dalai Lama for inciting violence (ya, cause that's what a guy who believes in peace and ethics worldwide really wants for his people).

Fast forward to the end of the Torch relay and the beginning of the Olympics. The Opening Ceremony was absolutely fantastic. I was awestruck by the size and precision of the performances, the unbelievable synchronicity of the performers. The venue of the Bird's Nest is something incredible to behold, and finally, unlike many other Opening Ceremonies I've watched, it didn't put me to sleep or have overly weird stuffed animal characters.

But then, it's revealed that some of the firework footage is CGI and done in advance, patched into the real display in order to present a more perfect, unified vision to the viewers. A very cute little girl sang a rousing rendition of "Sing a Song of Praise to the Motherland." Well, some little girl sang it. Again, to present a more perfect version of a Chinese girl, they had one girl Milli Vanilli to the crowd, while the talented singer performed elsewhere (or was it pre-recorded even?) I don't think it matters. The point is, rather than produce a fireworks display that didn't look perfect, rather than present a fantastic singer with not quite right teeth, they try to pull a deception on a massive scale.

What about the city itself? The massive residences and bustling street storefronts aren't the vision of China that the government wants tourists to see. So what do they do? Well, they build a wall. In front of businesses who didn't move for the "fair" compensation they were offered. Don't like something? Have someone sing over it. Don't like the air? CGI it. Don't like the stores? Build a wall in front of them. Are we seeing a pattern here? To a good degree, the tendency of China is to attempt to show one façade to the world, regardless of what's behind the wall.

But it can't be all bad. The Chinese promised that the media would be completely free to report as they saw fit during the games. Open internet for international journalists. That didn't happen. Of course, they say it's for national security that they shut down sites like Amnesty International to reporters. Could the government possibly allow protests to happen? Sure! Well, kinda. They established protest zones for anyone who wants to protest. But they're far away from any of the sports venues, and, more importantly, you need to submit a protest request, and none of those requests have been granted. Surprise? And when a protest does get under way, it's shut down immediately, and sometimes, violently...

What has the IOC done about all this? Absolutely nothing. Now, they aren't responsible for making sure China doesn't build walls in front of stores, and it's certainly not the care of the IOC if they want to cover up a singer with a different face. But human rights and freedom of the press were definitive requirements for the awarding of the games. As the Committee who awarded the games and oversees it, it becomes the responsibility to enforce the rules. Unfortunately, the IOC is a bit impotent. The games have been awarded, and they're happening, and to try to discipline or do anything now would mar the games and take the concentration off the athletes. They're also afraid of "offending" the hosts. Maybe it's just me, but if the hosts violate the rules under which they became the hosts, they should not only be offended, but they should be made to rectify the problems. By allowing this to happen, not only does the IOC weaken itself in the eyes of future cities, but they allow China to whitewash the issues it said it was going to fix. It again allows the pursuit of a perfect representation to the outside world, when no such pursuit should be allowed.

What's funny to me is that China turns around and acts downright offended that people could even question these things. I read one report where a Chinese official said that Amnesty International, because they spoke out again on rights violations in China, needed to take off their "colored glasses" and see that China can change. But as we've seen in the attempts to silence dissident voices and opinions in front of the eyes of the world with all the things I've mentioned above, it hasn't. That isn't to say it can't, but it hasn't.

So if you haven't changed, how can you act shocked when the rest of the world calls you out on it? If it looks like shit and it smells like shit, it's a good guess that it's shit. If you want the world to see you as changed, do something about it! Open up your press and internet access, allow your citizens to speak out without being detained. Rather than being obsessed with showing the world how perfect you are, be real about how human we all are. It's not like every country doesn't have something to be ashamed of in the past 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, etc. years. Russia and Georgia are at it, genocide is happening in numerous places throughout the world as you read this and America is currently in everyone else's shit when it shouldn't be. We're all fucked up! Stop trying to prove how perfect you are...we simply don't believe it! Say, "yeah, we're working on reform, but we're not quite there yet."

Visual, international perspective aside, you're the host country...you need to at least compete fairly. The disputes over the ages of some of China's women's team members is well documented at this point. You need to be 16 in the year of the Olympics, and three or four of the girls on the team looked about 13, 14 at best. There had been documentation issues with these girls before, but for the Games, their passports were presented and they're clear for competition. But are we to believe that a country that spent millions faking a fireworks display for tv, and relegated a 7 year old girl to a cellar while a prettier girl lip synched, and goes to great lengths to cover up all the other things I've been ranting about here would have any problem faking a passport for some potential gold medal winners for the honor of the Republic?

This would be a great time for the IOC to jump in, right? Seek some definitive end to the controversy for everyone's satisfaction? Once again, they're nowhere to be found. No doubt another need to not offend the host nation. Once again, the IOC has allowed itself to become the butt of the joke continued by a series of China's hoaxes. So, that's where quite a bit of my frustration comes from.

On the other hand, a vast deal of my aggravation is derived from the coverage given these games by NBC. For starters, NBC stands for Nothing But Costas. Bob Costas, the most idiotic and ridiculous announcer I've had the misery of listening to has his stamp on every Olympics I can remember, and I have no idea why NBC makes him the key anchor man. He stutters, confuses himself and makes inane comments that only he could find funny. The other night I heard him transfer between calling it night and day (confused because it's daytime in Beijing and nighttime where Bob is from), and then making a joke about it, to himself, ending with, "it doesn't matter really, back to the pool." Does he listen to himself?

Tonight, Cris Collinsworth made a bit of a stretch when he asserted that Michael Phelps and the US relay teams were in some ways similar to Brett Favre and the Packers. That right there was some iffy commentary. But Costas, always seeking audience enjoyment, says that he hopes that doesn't mean that Phelps could get traded to another country. Then he laughs. Mr. Costas....you're not that funny, and you're not even that witty....do us a favor and retire.

But Costas isn't the only NBC employee who demonstrates an extreme lack of intelligence. The people over there, in their infinite wisdom, I mean, infinite search for higher ratings, aren't even broadcasting live coverage of the Olympics. At least not to people in the PST zone. These are live games of sport and chance. They need to be shown live. What better way to bring the feeling of Beijing, the atmosphere of the Olympics and the pace of the games to the viewers than to give live coverage? The folks over on the East Coast get the live feed. Yet NBC feels that the Olympics are no more than another show like American Idol or America's Next Top Model where the people on the West Coast don't care if it's live or tape delayed, so they tape delay it with the "Live" symbol up in the corner. Sure, every once in a while they show the "live" time, which further reminds us in California that it isn't really live at all, just canned trash with Bob Costas presiding.

Surely though, there are other viewing options for the Olympics, right? I'd say the answer is kind of. NBC controls the bulk of the Olympic broadcasting, including the "main" events like Michael Phelps in the pool, May/Walsh in beach volleyball, gymnastics and they edit that down and save it all for prime time. The overboard patriotism and editing of the events to cut down to medal winners and American athletes is pathetic. There are a vast number of amazing athletes at the Games, but on NBC, the only channel in the country that EVERYONE can get, it's only the big American names that get shown. Through cable affiliates that not everyone gets (MSNBC, Oxygen, Universal HD, CNBC and USA), they let go of the lesser known sports and anything that doesn't happen to feature an American (although, I've been watching these channels and the majority of the events still feature American athletes). And some of these channels are live. Watching a women's softball game last night I realized that it was raining, yet the pre-packaged NBC beach volleyball showed no rain, because it had been taped before the softball game and shown at the same time.

Furthermore, of those channels that are allowed to broadcast the games live, only two of them are in HD (Universal, USA). The rest, if you want live Olympic action, is going to need to be swallowed in regular format, which definitely takes away some of the grandeur of the Olympics and certainly some of the joy in watching sports. If you're going to purchase a monopoly over 2 weeks of over 15 sporting events, you need to swallow your pride and farm some of them out to other outlets (for a fee of course), promote truly live broadcasting of the events, and give a more complete view of the games than only what you think will gain viewership in America. Unfortunately, NBC lords their complete coverage control over us. Thankfully for me, I have cable and can change the channels, which, at least for HD, opens up two more options for watching. This brings me to my final point....regardless of the fake public face China has put on, regardless of the impotence of the IOC, regardless of the ridiculous farce that is NBC's coverage, the Olympics, in and of themselves, are dope.

Sure, Michael Phelps is an incredible story. If he succeeds in his quest for 8 golds and becomes the first ever to do it in a single Games, he'll truly place himself among the ranks of greatest athlete of all time. Not to mention that most of his golds have come on World Record swims. But we know all that....it's been hammered into our collective American consciousness since two weeks before the Games started. We know May/Walsh are great...at 104 consecutive matches won, how can they not be? But in seeking out alternate Olympic viewing options, I've come across some fantastic events.....here's some of the sports I've checked out and enjoyed that weren't being shown on NBC's "Must See TV":

- Men's Badminton Doubles. The Badminton court is pretty small (I had never seen an official one before), and when you put four men on it, it looks like a couple of giants playing on a tennis court. But don't be fooled, the movement, quickness and agility of these guys is pretty astounding. It looks like four monkeys playing with a cotton ball, but it was pretty exciting.

- Women's Softball. I've only seen the US women, but at least it's a female sport other than swimming or gymnastics. Not to mention that our team has absolutely pounded every team I've seen it play.

- Boxing. I'm still not sure how the Olympic boxing works. Because it's the only sport on between 5pm and NBC coverage at 7 or 8pm, I've watched quite a few matches ranging from 106 lbs boxers to 230 lbs boxers. I've seen Cuba, France, Algeria, Uzbekistan, US and a few others take to the rings, and yet I still don't know how they score the event. You're wearing headgear, so knockouts and beating the living shit out of your opponent isn't really encouraged like it is in the multi-million dollar fights staged in professional boxing, and despite all my watching, I have no idea how you go about scoring a point.

- Women's Field Hockey. This looks like a cross between soccer, hockey and lacrosse. I hadn't seen a game before, so it was fun watching the US tangle with Germany last night. I'm clueless as to how it's even remotely possible or comfortable to run around hunched over with a small stick in your hand, but these women do it quickly and efficiently. With the ball and the turf the way they are, the action is fast paced and enjoyable to watch.

- Women's Badminton Singles. I saw Germany take on China in the quarterfinal event. These women can move and watching the footwork is amazing. The control they have over themselves and the shuttlecock are astounding to watch as they work with lob shots, cut shots, drop shots and smashes. Seeing this truly made me want to go out and try Badminton. What was even cooler about this match was that the German contestant was actually a Chinese expatriate. She had grown up in China and moved to Europe at a young age, becoming a German citizen. People over in China take Badminton very seriously, and here was one of their own in a quarter final showdown against someone who had chosen a different route. The crowd was rowdy, the competition intense, and when it was over and China had won, there wasn't any need for a dispute over birth certificates.

- Fencing. I watched women's team fencing last night between the US and the Ukraine, and that was exciting. These ladies, like the badminton players, exhibit spectacular speed, agility and footwork. The fast moves required to score a hit on the opponent are almost too fast to even see, and indeed they have electronic sensors to help the judges score the match. I had not seen fencing at the world level before, and this match was a great introduction...not to mention the enjoyment from scoring a hit...it's like a touchdown every time.

With these Olympics not yet half over, I'm looking forward to much more in the way of interesting and unique sports from channels other than NBC as coverage continues. I'll press on in search of random and crazy sporting events that Nothing But Costas and the US Patriotism machine won't give me.

China's promise of change...a hoax. IOC's lack of enforcement...a joke. NBC broadcasters and specifically Bob Costas...a bunch of dolts. The Olympics.....still dope.

Happy Birthday Hessica!

That's right...the roomie turns the big, um, I think it's 2-4 today. Having known her for a few years, I think it's safe to say that she's simultaneously one of the most delightful and most infuriating people I've ever met. We think this is because we're too alike. Living together, I can say that she's cleaner than I am and cooks much better macaroni and cheese. But what can one really say about the girl we originally knew as "The Boarder?"

In her years on this Earth, she's succeeded in being a pretty decent human being, she hasn't killed anyone (that I know of), and she puts up with me on a daily basis, and hell, anyone who can do that deserves a ton of credit. We can't celebrate with her, as she's off on a business trip for the government, but we can raise our glasses just the same. Here is Hessica in one of her 23 year old days, before she turned into an overly sensitive blog censor.

Apples to Lakes

Friday night, myself, Hessica, Za, McButter, Bini, Nah and T head up to get some good lake action in. We get up there around 11 or so, have a few cocktails and head to sleep. Good thing to, because Saturday is long and action packed.

We wake up early. As in, earlier than I wake up at the lake. Everyone wants to get out to wakeboard so we head out, watch P take a ski run, watch Hessica demonstrate her skills, and then, in a feat usually not accomplished at the lake, everyone in the boat tries (well, everyone except me that is). There is much success on the boat. Of course, I'm not left completely out of the fun. As the boat is turning, the rope line for the wakeboarder somehow manages to come up to the side of my head, grab the earpiece of my sunglasses and then, miraculously, without decapitating me, pull the sunglasses off and over my head and straight into the water. Goodbye sunglasses.

We get back to the house and have some lunch. This is the time when P usually naps because everyone in the house passes out...but not this crew. Shortly after lunch we're ready for a swim/tubing run and head out to the cove with rum and cokes, coronas and js in hand. At the swim cove, a truly extraordinary site takes place as I not only swim, but join Nah, Bini and Za in diving off the end of the boat to try to catch frisbees. T, with her supreme water proof camera, gets some awesome shots of the dives. After this, we put them in the tube and P whips people around at about 20 mph, giving T what she calls one of the "scariest moments of my life."

Back at the house, it's cocktail time and we start playing dominoes while helping prep the jalapeno poppers. Dinner is steak and poppers, which works excellently with the Cobb salad we had for lunch. Then, it's danger time as I break out a bottle of tequila I had brought just for the trip. I get a lot of shit when I don't provide limes with the tequila shots, but soon they see what I already knew...this tequila doesn't need any limes!

After dinner, it's onto the booze cruise which is one of the longer and more enjoyable booze cruises I've been on. We meander in the lake for what seems like hours, passing around the tequila bottle and staring at stars. Once we're back, we get embroiled in a game of Apples to Apples which lasts until everyone is just too drunk to do anything but pass out.

Next day, it's a morning boat run again and then cleaning and packing to leave. Once everyone is gone though, Nah, Bini and I decide that it's not quite time for reality yet, and from 3 to about 8pm we sit on the back deck smoking and playing dominoes and enjoying the heat. I've never been the last to leave the lake house before, but it was melancholy and sad. Closing the blinds and turning off all the lights, I was no longer filled with the leaving feeling I usually have...that the lake carries on. But, fantastic weekend? I think so. And yes, for those that know that T can't drive, that is a picture of her driving the boat.

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

I don't know about the rest of you, but this week flew. I started with the Giants game on Monday, followed up with a frisbee game on Tuesday, a major listing appointment (yes, I do work for a living) on Wednesday, and a club/Colibri run on Thursday with the craziness previously detailed. Now, as I count down the moments to the Lake House, and watch the Friday clock tick relentlessly towards the weekend, I give you 10 things to think about before you start your weekend of glory, whatever form that glory may take.

1) Most everyone has seen the Batmobile (a.k.a. The Tumbler) from Batman Begins/Dark Knight. But how many of you would actually go out and spend 50-70k to not only make one, but make the batsuit to go with it?

2) If you have an iPhone, here's 12 spiffy things you may not have known you can do with it.

3) Raise your hand if you think Reggie Bush is a very lucky guy...

4) I don't know that getting hit over the head with a pipe and dying is the best way to end an evening...

5) The media usually gets up in arms over celebrity parents doing things they shouldn't with their kids. I guess if you're Matthew McConaughy, you can take your baby wherever the hell you want.

6) It's official, and what do you think? Brett Favre is a Jet.

7) How sweet will it be when your entire music and photo collection is available on your iPhone, no matter how much memory you have?

8) How excellent would finding a cure to HIV be?

9) Who is stupid enough to buy a $1,000 iPhone App that does nothing? Apparently 8 people.

10) For any of you who ever met my roommate Andy from SC, you'll find this both fitting and funny...

Cheers and enjoy those weekends!

Send Off

Not one of my more standard Thursdays, but a memorable one, so here we go....I leave work about 4:45 to check out the BBQ at the park across the street. Corona and burger in hand, I make some small talk and chat with this Title Rep who I've known for a few months. From there, I meet Lo at my place and we head up to the city so I can introduce him to the LoveShack. It's Thursday night, so despite the fact that Hessica is a troll and has gone off to Marin for some sort of nonsense, Lo and I head Colibri.

The bartender Adrian is finally back after about two weeks of not seeing him, and he keeps us tasting and testing throughout our margaritas and guacamole. We get to try Mezcal, a jalapeno margarita and Lo gets a taste of the Herencia. They've got a Cointreau event going on so we get free hats as well as samples of their margarita. We also get a picture taken with our free spiffy hats on, which I'm looking for somewhere in the reaches of the internet right now.

From there it's back to the apartment where we decide we're going to get into some Beirut. After Lo demolishes me in the first game (final score 4-0), I beat him twice in a row and am well on my way to my third straight victory when I get a call from the BBQ title rep inviting me over. I think this sounds like a fantastic idea and jump in my car, only to find upon arriving that not only are there some circumstances I was unaware of that would have saved me a trip, but that she's 34 and living at home with her parents. I am sufficiently freaked out by all of this, and despite her telling me to wait in her room while she gets something out of her car, I'm at the front door before she gets back inside.

Given that the lake house is looming, E tells me to come up to the I so he can send me off properly. I park around 11:30 and as I walk up, there's 4 guys standing outside. They offer me free admission if I give one of them a dollar. I ask why I would do that when I can get in for free. They tell me there's no way I can get in for free so I ask them if they want to bet. I quickly have four guys telling me they'll bet 10 bucks each that I can't get in. I say, "alright, 40 bucks, you all in?" They all agree and I walk up to the door, Lonnie the bouncer sees me and let's me in and E's right inside. Not surprisingly, all 4 of these jackasses refuse to pay up, but hell, it was more about proving I could than actually taking their money. E's in fine form, and after some general carousing and merriment, including a sip of brandy, most rare for me, it's already 2 and the bar is closed. I wonder how I got here on a Thursday night.

Jack in the Box open 24 hours a day? Bet your ass that's saved my stomach more than once from curling up on itself and devouring me whole the next morning. A sourdough jack, bacon cheddar potato wedges and a steak sirloin breakfast burrito put me to bed nicely. And E has properly sent me off.

Forever will....

Dr. Dre Knows Vodka

{for all music related posts, see .Evolving.Music}

From the N.W.A. days to his tone setting 1992 gangsta rap album The Chronic and its follow-up, 1999's The Chronic 2001, Dr. Dre has been innovative, imaginative and a savvy entrepreneur when it comes to his music, production and artist discovery. He even had the good sense to abandon the Death Row ship before it sank. But 7 years is a long time between first and second albums, and he's trumped that now as it's been 9 years since the second.

According to Dre, however, the long rumored final solo project he's been working on for years, entitled Detox, is just around the corner. And in conjunction with Detox, Dre has teamed up with some liquor specialists to release a cognac, as well as sparkling flavored and regular flavored vodka. This type of collaboration is an interesting mixmatch of music and alcohol product, and embodies some of the themes we've been examining and discussing here at Evolving Music in terms of the new methods artists are using to cross-promote and increase revenue.

For more on the good Doctor's booze plans, click here.

Thoughts from a Giants Game, Solo.

About 6 o'clock, I've decided to head to the Giants game solo. I've had a general amount of enough of other people for the day, and the thought of enjoying the ballpark and the anonymity of the crowd for a few hours is more than I can ignore.

Some people shy away from eating in a restaurant alone. Others have dropped jaws at the thought that I not only do enjoy, but frequently do go to movies alone. The idea of going to a baseball game? How many would think about it?

Truth is, I sometimes don't want to be around anyone else. And in certain settings, ones where the experience and the surroundings lend to a series of events that can only really happen in the randomness of one person, I prefer it. Some of the most enjoyable moments for me have been ones where I can easily and quietly sink into an entire ocean of people around me, with no interaction and no need for recognition. Feeling a mass around me, and not needing to worry about who I'm with that is either following or leading me. Picking a route and becoming a pebble moving upstream that even in the most minute way forces the water to swell and react around it.

I had the opportunity for a few nice pictures this evening. Through both the arena of the game and the amphitheatre of the headphones, I had a few moments worth sharing...

- I came in through the Dugout store entrance. I had been looking at hats, but had also previously been in an alleyway partaking in a 5 minute break of sorts. I open my bag for the checker who asks with her partner looking on, "No bottles or cans tonight?" "No," I reply, "just warm clothing."

"And pot." she says. I maintain eye contact and reply,
"That's on me, not in my bag."
Even through the music, I can hear them laughing when I'm up the ramp and clearing the turn.

- Standing by the water and enjoying a beverage, I was dancing a little bit. The usher person came over and said, "you're too young to be drinking, let me see your ID." I'm still feeling good about that one.

- It's very easy to fake sitting down on a toilet in order to hang your backpack off the door, remove the flask you brought in and mix a drink. Simply pick the next bathroom down the walk to actually urinate, as the whole stall/urinal thing in the same bathroom would probably draw more than a few weird stares.

- At one moment, while waiting for the above-mentioned stall in order to spice up my roke a little, I stopped and looked around. Regardless of how I had come to be there and how rational the reasons were, I thought, "I'm standing in the middle of a men's bathroom at a baseball game by myself, waiting for a stall and listening to Barbara Streisand show tunes." 'Don't Rain on My Parade' no less...

- If there is a more beautiful view from a ballpark than the view from the promenade in San Francisco's stadium, I need to see it.


- And for some things...if you share them with someone else, anyone else, they just won't mean the same.

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

This is not such a hard Friday. Certainly not as hard as I imagined when I was tequila tasting last night. But the weekend is here, we can all rejoice, and you can stave off boredom and the pre-5 pm Friday anxiety with 10 things to think about...

1) You either want to play football or you don't. But making $20 Mil for NOT playing football isn't such a bad deal either...Personally, I hope Favre plays for another team this season.

2) Georgia the #1 team in the country? I'll believe it when they actually play and beat a quality opponent. The SEC is overrated.

3) I love a good copyright argument. This dispute over the Storm Trooper outfits and profits is a decent one...

4) When you're 2'8" tall, and your ex is 5'5", maybe legal recourse is your best bet when she leaks your sex tape.

5) When you're rolling with 2 ounces of pot through Texas, updated registration stickers are probably a good idea.

6) Ah, the message of God and religion...why do the people carrying the message usually have the hardest time following it? Like this preacher who stuffed his wife in a freezer.

7) $10 worth of copper...worth staying for 12 hours underneath a trash bin?

8) So you get on a bus with a "Rambo" style hunting knife, and in the middle of your neighboring passenger's slumber, you stab him repeatedly and then cut his head off. This isn't considered pre-meditated?

9) Come buy the new house I'm listing....

10) If you could be Brett Favre or Steve Young, which would you be?

July's Film Study (13)

It's the middle of summer, and traditionally that means big budget blockbuster action movies. This July was no exception as I watched a bunch of action, and some other very good Summer movies. If you haven't seen The Dark Knight in IMAX yet, you haven't seen The Dark Knight.

4: The Beast with a Billion Backs
6: Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, Hancock
7: Sin City
13: Watching You, (this was a collection of short Lesbian films from around the world)
14: Boogie Nights, Batman Begins
16: The Dark Knight (IMAX)
19: Live Free or Die Hard
21: The Dark Knight (Regular)
28: The Golden Compass
29: Out of Sight
31: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back