Election 2008

I know it's been a while since I've posted and it will probably be a while before I post again. Even with all the free time I have these days with my lack of work, that time is not necessarily "free" and I do fill my days with important (and not-so-important) stuff.

I did find time to go vote last Thursday though. Depending on which state you live in, you can take advantage of early (or absentee) voting but the time-lines do vary. Here in NC last Thursday marked the first day of early voting and I was there first thing in the morning to do my civic duty (and no, that's not to "bang the booty" for you CB4 fans out there!). I was still greeted with a line to wait in...something that I think is an excellent thing. People seem to be more passionate about voting this year than any and that's a great thing. This is one of the most important elections any of us will ever be involved in. and "involved" is the key word. Make sure you are involved and make sure your voice is heard.

Now I won't divulge who I voted for, though my friends can easily figure this one out. Let's just say I might as well live on the west coast...that has nothing to do with living in a certain state, but if you know your geography you can figure that one out as well. But that's not important. I don't care which side of the aisle you agree with, get out and vote! Do it now if you can...the lines on election day are going to be tremendous this year and you could save yourself a lot of time. you could also save yourself from getting to busy on election day to make it by the polls, or being "too tired" after a hard day at work to bother...excuses I hear every election. And please, don't stop with this year...you should vote every chance you get. I did miss the miss the primaries this year (but will try not to in the future), but as a US citizen I feel it is important for me to get out there and vote com election time.

Once last thing...as an independent thinker in most aspects of my life, I applaud those out there who want to make their voices heard in a different way. The only problem with this is that in our current system your voices are rarely heard and many think you are throwing away a vote. By all means, if you want to vote Libertarian or any other way (usually a write-in in most states), go right ahead. Maybe if enough people do, one day things will change and we will have more than two viable parties. Me personally? I feel this election is too important to make a statement vote. Though I have in the past and probably will again in the future do just that, I just couldn't bring myself to do that this year. But whatever you do, I can't stress strongly enough to get out an vote. And really think about what each candidate can do for you. Too often people vote without being informed, so arm yourself with knowledge and really take to heart who's fighting for you. And just remember this...just because a candidate says they won't raise taxed does not mean they will follow through on this promise. There was once a guy who's main campaign promise was "No new taxes" and we all know how that turned out don't we? We can only hope that whoever is our next president makes our lives better (kept promises or not) because right now we're in the worst shape we've been in a very long time.

Time for me to go cut some grass...I've been waiting for it to warm up a bit and the dew to dry. This should be fun!

This post is likely to be all over the place...

...but such is the way my brain works.

First, I suppose I was slightly misinformed, or maybe just ignorant, when it came to my last post. I guess you could say I wasn't spot on about where the funds that are raised go (in some cases anyway). Still, I'm no fan of the way school fundraisers are executed, but think it's admirable that they (at least in some cases) go towards the PTO and doing things in appreciation of the teachers. I think teachers deserve all they can get and I applaud anything that helps them out.

Now that that's out of the way, I'm glad football season is finally here and the preseason is over! the Panthers looked pretty damn good yesterday, actually reminding me of the 2003 team that went to the Super Bowl...especially 2 minute drill at the end of the game. Here's hoping that they continue to play that well...and hopefully improve on what they did yesterday. In other football news, my fantasy football team is off to a limp start, but that's not really news since it's par for the course.

I'm also glad summer's almost over ("almost" being the key word here), mainly so I can get a break from cutting grass and all the other chores that come along with hot weather. But it's not over yet...even though it's September, I've lived in the south long enough (um, all my life...) to know that we've probably got a few more weeks of 90 degree weather. Yes, the temps will drop occasionally, but we're not out of the woods yet. That doesn't mean I'm looking forward to winter at all. I love the fall and the spring, but absolutely hate cold weather. I'd actually rather endure the humidity and sweat my ass off than to deal with cold weather. If I ever move away from here (which is highly unlikely), you can be guaranteed that it will be farther south and not to the north.

Maybe my memory's clouded, or maybe it's just perspective, but summers seem to have changed quite a bit since I was a kid. I'm not just talking global warming either. It's the little things...like fire ants. I don't remember having problems with fire ants in this part of the country when I was a kid. I do remember running into them when we'd head to the beach in the bad Carolina, but here in the good Carolina? Nope. We had ants for sure, but not fire ants. Now I have to dust new fire ant hills every single day. It seems with each one I get under control three more pop up. And what about fireflies? I still see them, but they're getting more and more rare every year. I'm sure if I went out in the country or in the woods I'd see more of them, but even in more populated areas I remember fireflies being in abundance when I was a kid. Are these things a result of global warming? Are we eventually going to have armadillos living in NC? Now that would be cool actually...but I digress. Once again, it could just be that my memory sucks...I already know my short term memory is bad, I'd hate to think my long term memory is going as well since I've always had a knack for pulling memories from many, many years ago. Memories that would make a good post for another day...

You know what really grinds my gears?!

School fundraisers! That's what grinds my gears!

Kids have been in school for three days now and almost all of them already have fundraisers going. I understand the need for fundraisers, but this soon? And every school at the same time? You get some guy come in, show the kids all the neat prizes they'll win if they sell 80 items and then expect them to compete with every other school out there who's done the same thing. How much over-priced wrapping paper do you expect one person to buy? And the kids can't even sell the stuff anymore. I remember when I was a kid, going door to door was somewhat acceptable, but now they specifically tell kids not to. It's a good thing for kids, but then the burden is put on the parents to sell 20 items so their kid can ride a limo to Ci-Ci's pizza, or 40 items so they can have a $8 remote control UFO, or 80 items so they can get an annoying bird that repeats what you say. Add to that having two or more kids, all of whom want this crap and are going to be disappointed when they get the level one prize that you could have bought them at the dollar store.


To the school system:

I understand that funds are limited. The state does not provide you with enough money to teach our kids. Every year the supply list grows and grows and includes such things as Ziplock bags, hand sanitizers ("Killing our kids immunity systems for over 10 years now!!", but that's a whole other rant) and cotton balls. I understand families buying their own paper, pencils, book bags, etc., but cotton balls?! The state can't supply these for our kids? Furthermore, why do you do the same lame fundraisers year after year? Isn't it time for some new ideas? Or at least co-ordinate with all the other schools in your school system so you're not all selling at the same time? And why so many, so soon after the others? It seems we get one done, then it's fall festival, then another send home brochure, then a pizza night...it's endless. Let's do less, yet higher quality fundraisers and try to raise more money at once.

To the state:

Yes, I realize that the cost of sending my kid to your school is substantially less than sending them to private school and for that I thank you...sort of. Truth be told though, if I could afford it they wouldn't even be in state funded schools (though private schools are just as guilty with the fundraisers). However, a couple of years ago our state started an Education Lottery that has generated millions upon millions upon millions upon millions (you get the idea) of dollars, yet every year we have more and more fundraisers, more school supplies to buy. Where is all this money going? And even beyond that, there's tax dollars that are supposed to be going into our schools. What gives North Carolina (and I'm sure I speak for other states as well)?

I understand, I really do...and I don't mind buying a bag of cotton balls for 98 cents to send with my kids to school. I also don't mind showing my parents and select other family members (most of them have kids or grand kids too) the fundraisers knowing they'll at least buy something, but I'm never going to bombard my co-workers (who, when I'm working, also have kids selling the same crap...or at least grand kids, nieces, nephews, neighbors, etc. who are) with pleas of helping my child's school out. I just wish there was a little more method to all this madness, that's all.

By the Way...

In case you're unsure of Rule #34, the fine folks at Urban Dictionary come to the rescue.

24 Days

Three weeks, 3 days...that's how long it's been since my last post. I know I'm slack about this blog at an alarmingly increasing frequency, but until it pays the bills...

The reason I did decide to post today was because I found this searching for Mythbusters images (don't ask why...I'm just a nerd like that) and thought it was pretty damn funny and worth preserving somewhere.

I feel exactly the same way...

More later? For now you can peruse these pictures from my latest beer fest adventure. No captions yet, but do you really need them?

If Stormtroopers were Spartans

Things are starting to settle back in...

As a few of you already know, me and my wife have made amends and are now living together again, happier than ever. We've come to a good understanding of what each of us need out of our relationship, the things that make us happy, the things that bother us and the things it's going to take to make this work long term. We both admit to our past mistakes and vow to not only make up for them, but to keep them in mind and make sure we don't repeat history. I little bit of understanding goes a long way. I've still been quite absent from the Internet both in this home and my other stomping grounds, but I do intend to continue on...though maybe not in the magnitude as in the past. It's a good thing really...this Internet thing kind of sucks the life out of you at times. Maybe a break is all I need and I'll be back to my regular shenanigans, or maybe not (after all, it seems a break was all I needed to realize what was truly important to me in life and to come full circle with the marriage). At the moment I have a lot of stuff to get accomplished and will show up here (and there for those of you who know where "there" is...for those who don't, it's not hard to find out if you just look for the clues) from time to time, but it's still going to take a while. And once school becomes a factor, my time here will be less and less. Growing up is not as bad as it sounds, but eventually my lively hood will come from the Internet in one way or another so my absence will be temporary and sporadic until that day. Thanks to all of you who have supported me, not only in the reconciliation, but in the time leading up to it.

Koopa Troopa Revolution!!!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Star Wars vs. Rush Hour

I have seen the Star Wars movies (duh. They practically rule my life). I have not seen any of the Rush Hour movies. I like Jackie Chan, I do not care for Chris Tucker. Still, this is funny.

I promise...I will return!

Once again, time for a little apology. I still don't know how many readers I have...a few, but not too many. I know of one constant and a few that come here from time to time. I'm sure there are others who never comment and that's fine. What I do here is rather slack blogging. I find things, usually through other blogs, "linkdump"-type sites and occasionally by just typing in certain key phrases in youtube and pass them along. I have not forgotten about my band history, but it may be a little while before I pick up on that again. Also I sort of want to get away from the direction I've taken this thing in...but I've been saying that for a while. My life is a whirlwind right now and I've been a busy guy. Soon though, things will get back to "normal" for me and I shall return...hopefully with a renewed vigor...to amuse and make you think. I would like to do more of the latter, as well as write more daily observations. Though for the past few months I've been pretty much a shut in. All this should change in the near future. As a matter of fact I have an outing planned thisSaturday and hopefully will have some pictures and stories to go along with it. Look for me to pick up the pace on posting next week...maybe not much, but at least a little. The T-Shirt of the Day may return, or may not. It really didn't add too much to the blog. I would like to continue showcasing my collection, but it may be on a less frequent basis (or the betterscenario would be to move it to it's very own blog and keep it daily and possibly post more than one a day). I do tend to ramble when I write...ifyou can't tell already, but I need to focus more on original content. I know I sound like a broken record in this regard, but I honestly feel like my lfe is getting ready to lend itself to such. Just hang tight and your regularly scheduled programming shall return...

Update on why my blog sucks
lately...

I've been terribly busy, or
at least occupied. While unemployed I'm watching my girls for the
summer and between that, trying to get ready for a yard sale and also
reconciling with my wife, I just haven't had the time to devote to this
blog lately. I do plan on picking up the pace again soon, but for the
time being that will mean less posting of the strange things I find and
no T-Shirt of the Day posts...I may still post one from time to time,
but not on a regular basis for now. I am going to continue to post a
video from time to time when I find something I like, but even that may
not be everyday. Some days you may see more of me on here than others,
but for the next couple of weeks anyway I will be mostly absent.

With that said, I do want to share this with you...

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height="344">

Beef and Cheese

This is just plain weird. Oh, and I realize I've been slacking on my duties here the past couple of days but I will try to play catch up soon...

Fett Dance

Happy 4th of July

I'll probably be taking a break tomorrow and over the weekend. Here's some dumbasses with fireworks in honor of the holiday. Do not try this at home...but if you do, be sure to catch it on video and put it on YouTube so people like me can laugh at your stupidity!

T-Shirt of the Day

Sorry, this one's a little wrinkly, but I didn't have an iron handy! This one was a birthday gift from my kids and wife and features Milton Waddams (played by the incomparable Stephen Root) from Office Space, the awesomely funny Mike Judge comedy. I think it was bought at Target, but I'm sure you can find them elsewhere on the Internet if you were so inclined.

Wu Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck

I have abandoned the daily music posts, but I will still post a video I like from time to time. This is one of those times....

Christopher Walken's Three Little Pigs

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (backwards and backwards reversed to forwards?!?!)





And here's how she did it...



Visit Tara Busch's blog here!

Game & Watch

I had some of these when I was a kid and played them for what seemed like hours. These days I would probably get frustrated withe them pretty quickly. Still it's a nice walk down memory lane!

Another Interesting Wikipedia Find

List of problems solved by MacGyver

Unusual Book Find

This is an interesting post from an online bookseller, turned blogger to chronicle interesting stories that may come up in his usually "mundane enterprise". Caution, one NSFW picture, but the blog itself is good, harmless fun.

T-Shirt of the Day

Today I'm featuring yet another beer shirt bought at The World Beer Festival. Thomas Creek Brewery is an excellent brewery in Greenville, SC. I wish I could say I was actually drinking a Thomas Creek beer in the first picture, but I had some the night before and earlier in the day when me and my buddies Lee and Richard were at the beach...that's a PBR I'm holding and there's nothing wrong with that! If you find Thomas Creek beer, I suggest you pick some up...especially their Deep Water Dopplebock or the Class Five IPA. Tasty stuff indeed!

Front of shirt:



Back of shirt:

Wikipedia to the Rescue

Where else would you learn about stuff like this?

What are some of your favorite Wikipedia entries? I'll be on the lookout for more oddities myself...

Amuse Me

My friend, Jessica O's tumblr page. If you like what I post here, definitely check out what she has to offer. I've linked to it over there on the side as well.

Another Great Hellboy Video

This is an animated prologue to the upcoming Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Speaking of Christians...

I didn't intend to bag on them today, but that last post reminded me of a blog post by my good friend Gwendolyn on MySpace. I don't think she wrote it, but just passed it along (and if she did write it then kudos to her!). I think it is now my turn to share it as well...

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian

10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.

2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.

We've Heard that God Hates Many Things...

...but now he hates Goths. Or so this website would lead you to believe. I thought the "Christian God" was supposed to be a loving god? Just one of the many, many problems I have with Christianity and many of it's followers.

Forget Batman, Hellboy is the Movie I'm Most Looking Forward to this Summer!

The first movie was awesome and this one looks to be even better. I can't freakin wait! And here's an Inside the Actor's Studio spot for us ubergeeks.

Some Funny Videos for the Geek Set

LoadingReadyRun makes some pretty funny shorts...those who are not geeks or nerdslike me should proceed with caution.

Mating Habits of the Shrew

It's only about 5 minutes long...please give it a minute. You'll be glad you did.


Link: sevenload.com

T-Shirt of the Day

Finally took another picture of me actually wearing the shirt (though you can't see my face). This is my Jimi Hendrix Experience, Axis: Bold As Love shirt. As much as I wish this was vintage, I got it on clearance at Target for less than $3.50. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a sucker for a really cool, cheap T-Shirt!

Play Guitar Hero III Online

Just in case you want to accelerate your Carpal Tunnel...

T-Shirt of the Day

Still not finding too many post-worthy things lately and I've been too busy with my girls to write the next chapter in my band bio. At least I still have the T-Shirt of the Day to fall back on when all else fails (except last Friday, but I blame band practice on that).

I love the show Aqua Teen Hunger Force on [adult swim]...it's one of my favorite shows. It's definitely not for everyone as it usually makes little to no sense. But if off the wall, tasteless comedy is your thing I highly recommend it. Actually most of [adult swim]'s nightly line-up is worth watching (except Saturdays when they go anime).

I have three ATHF shirts and it's hard for me to pick a favorite. This one may have the slight edge though as it's sort of a take-off on The Ramones classic logo. You'll see the others eventually. How many shirts have I featured so far? I don't really know, but I do know I have at least 100 more to choose from at the moment!

Dave Attell to Play John Oate's Mustache?

I don't think I've read any news more weird than this in a while. More weird details in the article. I really, really hope this project becomes a reality!

I've been lazy...

And I've been busy the past few days catching up on some reading and other things that are going on in my life. I'm not posting any music today and might get around to the T-Shirt post later on tonight, but if not I will try to make up for it tomorrow. I'm thinking about abandoning the daily music posts anyway...I'll still post things from time to time, but I don't feel it's necessary every day. I really want to try to start concentrating on more original posts, but it may take a few days for me to get back in the groove.

T-Shirt of the Day

Another beer T-Shirt today. Magic Hat makes what's probably my favorite beer, #9. Their other varieties are really good as well, but I just can't get enough of the #9. I usually don't care too much for "fruity" beers, but #9 is brewed with the essence of apricots and it makes for a really good tasting beer. They have little quotes/saying under the bottle caps, which is also a nice extra touch...and if you get the right bottle you can win this T-Shirt! I've won two, though I gave the second cap to my good friend Lee so he could get a free shirt as well. Oh, and one other thing... Magic Hat almost always has the best booths at the beer festivals that Lee turned me onto last year. They give the best swag...condoms, buttons, stickers, and matchboxes as well! Give Magic Hat a try if you're not a fan already!

Front:



Back:

New York Shitty

Ever needed a reason not to go to NYC? Well this website gives you plenty of them...

Punk Rock Thursday

Black Flag are legends....

Revenge



TV Party



White Minorty

Classic Rock Wednesday

It's hard to beat Alice Cooper. There are many people who want to be like him but he's a true original both musically and theatrically.


Elected



Under My Wheels



School's Out

T-Shirt of the Day

This one is the first T-Shirt that my current band, Los Accidentes (or The Accidents to the local and the loyal) ever had made (besides the few heat transfer shirts I made earlier). My friend Russell Ellis made these for us and did a knock out job for a D.I.Y. project. I don't know if he's still working in screen printing T's, but he did work for Contagious Graphics when he did still live here. Artwork by guitarist Eric Huskins. I think I actually still have three of these that I kept for myself, but they've been about worn out! I think these were made in 1997, but I could be off by a year either way.

Speaking of, I will try to get another installment of my punk rock history later in the week.

Church of the Jedi

Arrested Development, The Movie?

This is the best news I've heard all week...hell, it may be the best news I've heard all year!

Anarchy in Bedrock

I found this through a bulletin post on myspace and thought I would pass it along. As a side note, before SJA me and my friend Matt created a fake band called The Dead Flinstones. I guess maybe could have taken the idea to further levels with great results as evidenced by this way cool video (even if I've never been a big fan of Green Jello...er, Jelly)!

T-Shirt of the Day

It's been a slow posting day, but I've had a lot going on (and really haven't found anything post-worthy...yet). I did want to make sure I got the T-Shirt post in as well as my earlier music post.

I have about a dozen Simpsons-themed T-Shirts, but this one is probably my favorite. You'll be seeing others down the road for sure. Itchy & Scratchy, in case you've been living under a rock, is the cartoon within a cartoon from The Simpsons. They used to make regular appearance, like The Brown Hornet from Fat Albert, but lately their appearances are becoming more and more scarce. Maybe the writers have run out of ideas for Itchy & Scratchy or maybe they're just trying to make the appearances they do make these days more special. Whatever the case, I miss seeing them in every episode as in the past. Still, this is a kick ass T-Shirt and it's been in my collection for years.

Heavy Metal Tuesday

The true masters, Iron Maiden!

Wasted Years



Number of the Beast



Hallowed be Thy Name

Do You Remember This Show?


Then you're an old fart like me!

What Did He Say????

In case you ever wondered just what the hell Joe Cocker's singing about...this one has subtitles!

*Apparently this video was made as birthday gift for someone named April as evidenced by the ending.

This Makes Me Happy

Heavy Load are a UK punk band with a twist...all of the members have developmental disabilities . I just love stuff like this, and not because I think it's funny or weird, but because it shows just how much life people with these disabilities have and how they just want to be like you and me. I can't wait to see the whole film, but here's a little sneak preview brought to you by the always cool Boing Boing & Verizon (more links on their site).

T-Shirt of the Day

Today's selection is another awesome piece of work from TorsoPants. Being a fan of both the theory of Communism (it's execution has always been flawed) and also the iconography, I loved this shirt when I saw it and had to have it. It's Vladimir Lenin's head atop John Lennon's body from the famous picture of him wearing his "New York City" T-Shit. Check out the fine folks at TorsoPants and see if they have something you like. The best thing about TorsoPants (besides their varied selection of dry humor T-Shirts) is that you can "customize" you T-Shirt by choosing the color and style of the T-Shirt you want! Get some Pants for your Torso today!

Potluck Monday

Today I'm going to feature one band and that band is DEVO. DEVO doesn't really fit into any of my other daily categories (though some would argue they're punk rock...and I sort of agree) and they're one of my favorites. Just look at the title of this blog...

Jock Homo



Through Being Cool



Secret Agent Man

R.I.P. George Carlin

I don't have much to say that you haven't already read, but he will be
greatly missed. A true inspiration and a man worth looking up to. I
guess with the life he lived we were lucky to have him this long. You
can find many of his full length stand-up specials online if you want
to watch them but I'll just pay tribute with a short clip. Thank you
Mr. Carlin for many years of laughter that you've already given us and
the many laughs we will have in the future thanks to your timeless comedy
and poignant social commentary.

George Carlin on Death

Open Source Beer Project

"Flying Dog's Open Source Beer Project will allow beer drinkers and homebrewers to create and recommend changes and modifications to the beer recipe."

As someone who's fairly new to homebrewing I don't know that I'll have much advice to offer, but I really like and am glad to see Flying Dog revisit this fantastic idea!

Toy Blog!

This site is sure to become one of my daily visits. I don't even buy toys that often anymore and have sold off a good bit of my collection, but I'll always love them. Check out TOYSREVIL!

T-Shirt of the Day

I think this may be the first friday that I've actually posted a T-Shirt...I'm too lazy to go back and check though! Anyway, this one comes from my favorite rock club on the face of the earth...The World Famous Milestone. This place is a dirty little hole in the wall, but it's the first club I went to back when I was 16 and I'm still going today (though not as often as I'd like thanks to the rising cost of gas and being old and somewhat responsible). So many good bands, so many good friends, so many good times...older than GBGB's, this place defines punk rock to me. The people who run this place today are some of the coolest guys on earth as well. You'll be reading more about this place in the future as I (eventually) get to it in my band history. Check them out if you're ever in Charlotte and let me know you're coming! The PBR will be on me!

Hip-Hop Friday

Tribe Called Quest

Oh My God



Award Tour



Check the Rhime

Fly Guy

I thought this was really neat. It's not really a game...more of an interactive animation. I found it to be rather relaxing, partially due to the very calming music. Just explore and have fun. Interact with many of the items/creatures you encounter, though some will send you back to the beginning, it's no big deal as it's not that big of "world" anyway. Especially be on the look out for the spaceship and the robot (sort of disguised, but you'll find it) in space, those were my favorites.

T-Shirt(s) of the Day

OK...since I didn't post one yesterday I promised to post two today and here they are.

First up is a shirt from one of my favorite beer companies, Flying Dog Brewery. I bought this T-Shirt last year at Brewgrass Beer Festival in Asheville, NC. All of the Flying Dog beers have labels designed by longtime Hunter S. Thompson collaborator Ralph Steadman. I've been a longtime fan of both HST and of Steadman's artwork, and the mixture of good beer and good art is very appealing to me. Gonzo Imperial Porter is a 9% ABV beer and it's one of the better high gravity beers I've tried. When I saw this shirt I had to get it. You get three pictures on this one so you can see the detail a little better. And you can tell I've worn it quite a bit in the past year as the screen print is already cracking. Definitely one of my favorite shirts!






Next up is a T-Shirt recently purchased for me by my very good friend The Chick. She bought it during a recent trip she made to Wilmington, NC and I have no idea of what store it came from. I do however really like this shirt since it pretty much sums up the way I feel about our current Commander in Chief. She knows me very well and I am forever grateful for her friendship and for the awesome T-Shirt. Thanks!

I'm Voting Republican

Even more Star Wars...Snowboarding!


Gnar Wars by Mike Benson from Mike Benson on Vimeo.

More Star Wars Dancing

Sorry I Missed Your Party

A fun blog with pictures of peoples parties found on flickr, complete with amusing commentary by the writer. Some pictures are definitely NSFW.

Punk Rock Thursday

Today we have Dead Kennedys in the studio. From the YouTube posts: "From the In God We Trust Inc original session that was lost when the reel deteriorated. The final versions that made the albums were all different second versions, but the originals are preserved here."

Hyperactive Child



Religious Vomit



Rawhide



We've Got a Bigger Problem Now



If you want to see the rest of the tracks, follow the URL link (or click on the video to go straight to the YouTube page) and you should be able to find the rest, unless you're an idiot.

Classic Rock Wednesday (belated)

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Have You Ever Seen the Rain?



Looking Out My Backdoor



Travelin' Band

I've got the ailing computer blues...

Due to my laptop acting all screwy, Classic Rock Wednesday and T-Shirt of the Day will be postponed. I'm starting to get the bugs worked out with the help of my dad, but my computer is still not 100%. I will try to make up for it tomorrow with a double post of T-Shirts and a two-for-one music day. I'm sure the one or two readers I have are heartbroken...

I'm not even sure what to title this post...

It is art...but it's very strange. I rather like it.

100 Greatest Movie Posters

Let the arguments begin...

T-Shirt of the Day

Today's post is for my good friend Lee! My beloved UNC Tar Heels. Not much to say on this one...you either love them or hate them. You know where I fall, so you can probably guess what Lee thinks about them.

My Musical History

Today I realized that I've pretty much abandoned writing "original" content for this blog, other than my T-Shirt of the Day posts and even that is limited writing. I even changed my bio to reflect that realization. But I think I'm going to try to start writing a little bit more, while still keeping the random stuff that I find during the day (videos, links and such). One thing I want to start documenting, while my memory is still somewhat intact, is my history playing in punk rock bands. I don't know that I will post a new installment everyday, but I will try to keep up with it on a somewhat regular basis. I have many stories to tell...some are quite funny (to me and my friends anyway), while others are a little embarrassing. It won't all be chronological...my memory is not that great at this point in my life already, so a lot of it will just come as I do think about it. I will try to at least get started in a semi-chronological order and then the time-line will all fall apart. So what better place to start than the beginning...

I got my first guitar when I was in 9th grade. I never took lessons, and I really never applied myself enough to learn on my own. I would dick around with it from time to time, but other than real basic stuff (mostly bastardized versions of songs I liked), I really couldn't play that well at all. In 10th grade, one night I had my best friend over to spend the night. Sometime during the night we decided we were starting a band...a band that couldn't play. We loved punk rock and figured you really didn't need to know how to play if you were playing punk rock anyway! Our first order of business...coming up with a name (which was caught on tape...the tape that would become the first unofficial "release" by our band). Matt said that whatever we called the band, it had to be "something 'stylin''", to which I immediately shouted out "Johnny Appleseeds!", thus the Stylin' Johnny Appleseeds (or SJA as we would eventually abbreviate it) were born. We banged out "song" after "song" on the guitar and my brother's drum set, while screaming whatever "lyrics" came to mind. Mind you, this was all recorded on a small jambox...or whatever you want to call it, so the sound quality as well as the quality of the playing was bad. Very bad. Still it was fun and once we were done we made two hand-drawn covers...one for his copy and one for my copy. The title of the cassette? The Four of Us are Dying", even though there were only two of us in the band at this point.

The following Monday we told our friend Gregg about it. He actually played drums and was very good at it...a much better musician than either of us were or ever will be. We told him how much fun it was and that we were ready to record again, only this time we wanted him to play with us. We didn't stop there though...we also asked our friend Brad to play guitar because he could play very well also. At first we played mostly covers...none of the "songs" from our debut were ever played again as there really was no structure to build off of. This also left me in bad position because I couldn't play the same things Brad did. He tried to teach me a little, and I could sort of keep up if I just played one note, but it sounded terrible. When we realized we needed a bass player, I jumped at the chance to play what I was attempting to play on guitar on the instrument that it really needed to be played on. We borrowed a bass and a bass amp and I started picking it up much more quickly than I ever did on the guitar. I had found my instrument and eventually bought my own bass and bass amp, I still wasn't great, but I was learning and would eventually become much, much better (as a side note, I did eventually learn to play guitar, but I have always been a better bassist than guitarist).

If we hadn't decided to try out for our high school's talent show, it may have all ended shortly thereafter, but luckily for us the practicing paid off and the band became "real". We didn't win the talent show, though we really weren't that terrible at pulling off a half-assed version of Jane's Addiction's Mountain Song. A mishap with the snare drum, some lackluster vocals and a feedback laden ending probably hampered us from getting a trophy, not to mention the "edgy" (at the time) song choice, but it provided just enough spark to keep us going. Original material soon followed, and as basic as it was, we started garnering a few "fans" with our simple, single-track recordings...we even created our own "record" label (we never released any records though) called Flamin' Head Records. The SJA name stuck, the fun was still there and I was learning to actually play an instrument. We finally had a real band! It was punk rock and we loved it, even if we were part of a handful of people in our small town school who even knew what punk rock was. We weren't as good as our idols, but we didn't let that stop of from staging our own "shows" (attended mainly by a few friends) in Gregg's basement. We named our little basement venue "The Ankle Club" after Gregg's dad's ankle injury at the time (don't ask why, even I can't remember what exactly prompted us to name it after that particular detail).

This continued throughout high school along with several "side-projects" that we created to be our opening acts. The Oswald Factory, The Rat Snots and Guns for the Fuhrer were all "make it up as we go along" versions of SJA...the same four members, rotating to different instruments for no other reason than to torment the few friends that did show up to watch us play. Occasionally we would have "guest" members of the band and we always recorded it either on video or audio tape and usually both. One "show" even had us doing an elaborate set up with about five TV's and a few VCR's to make it a "multimedia experience". We had big ambitions and big heart to go along with them.

We finally broke down and borrowed a four-track recorder to make our first real tape and the band took off even more from there. That's a story for another post though as this one's grown long enough as it is. Up next? We graduate, move out of the basement and we help setup a successful show in our new practice space. Damn. I just realized I may have to do a little digging to get all the details I want to include. Luckily I have a box full of stuff (the Flamin' Head Archives), so I shouldn't have to dig too deep!

Destro - Get Money

Found through one of my favorite websites, Topless Robot.

Heavy Metal Tuesday

Getting caught up on some stuff around the house so I've been a slacker today when it comes to the blog. I'll post more later on when I am finished with that. For now I bring you the best in Doom/Stoner Metal, Sleep...

Dragonaut



The Druid (live)



And I won't put it here, but if you're interseted in seeing that entire show, go here.

Is this going to be the best Wii game ever?

Sure, it's also coming out for the Nintendo DS, PS3 and Xbox 360, but those versions will pale in comparison to weilding the WiiMote as a Lightsaber! I can't wait for September to get here....this and the CG Clone Wars (I don't care what the haters say, it looks awesome!)? Star Wars is far from over with...

T-Shirt of the Day

OK...I was going to try to get one posted over the weekend and it didn't happen, but I'm back in action today. Today's T-Shirt is from a local brewer here in North Carolina. Anyone who knows me, knows I love AC/DC and I also love beer. This T-Shirt combines both of those into one kick ass design, complete with the "Highway To Ale" tagline! Catawba Valley Brewing Company had these for sale at the Hickory Hops Beer Festival a few months ago. I'm looking forward to the next beer fest that they will hopefully be at as their beer is very good, but hard to find. I think it's about time for a trip to Asheville, NC or Greenville, SC to taste their sweet nectar again (also available in Knoxville, TN)!

Potluck Monday

I think on Mondays, instead of featuring one type of music, I'll give you three videos of my choice. Sometimes they may be of the same band, but usually I'll try to mix it up a bit. Anyway, here's today's choices...

The Ramones - Rock'n'Roll High School



The Flaming Lips - Seven Nation Army (White Stripes cover)



Van Halen - Unchained (live)

Star Wars Thriller

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Who are these guys?

If you know please help the writer of this blog out (click on link to see the guys in question). Be sure to let me know as well!

Steampunk

Steampunk is a "term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date."

Many fine examples can be found here at Steampunk Workshop. There are plenty of other sites out there that showcase this unique and very cool form of artwork (most with a lot of the same stuff you'll find there. If you're looking for something even more out of the ordinary (and even more geeky), there's always Steampunk Star Wars.

Drank: The Anti-Energy Drink

You always too wired up? Are you a rapper from Houston with a lifetime supply of cough syrup with Codeine in it? Maybe you have problems falling asleep at night or just need to come down from all those Red Bulls you pound during the day...

Slow Your Roll....

Hip Hop Fridays

Busy again today, but thought I'd at least get this in. T-Shirt post may be coming later...if not I'll get one up this weekend along with some other stuff...

Public Enemy. It doesn't get any better than this.

Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos



Fight the Power

Kindertrauma

Your happy childhood ends here.

This website is devoted to reminding you of the things that scared the crap out of you as a kid. Now they can scare the crap out of you as adult as well...

T-Shirt of the Day

An oldie today, though I still have it and wear it from time to time. I
got this one on Screeching Weasel's Wiggle tour way back in 1993...I
think. It may have been early '94...my memory sucks these days, but I
do know it was around that time. To the best of my knowledge it's the
only time they've been to Charlotte as well, though we'd have loved it
if they had come back. A fun show by one of the best punk bands of the
late 80's/early 90's. This picture is over a year old (as evidenced by
my hair and ring) but you'll just have to deal with it. I'm still being
slack about taking new pictures.



Oh, sorry for the lack of posts today...haven't found much to pass
along, plus I've been busy. Stay tuned though, I'm sure there will be
some late night posting!

Punk Rock Thursdays?

Guess so. We'll start off with one of the best...Circle Jerks!

Beverly Hills/Wasted



Wild in the Streets



I Wanna Destroy You (With Debbie Gibson on background vocals!)

The Wii Lives!

Okay, so Worst Buy was supposed to be sending me a shipping label via email. I have yet to receive this, so I fully expect it to arrive in the mail in another week or so. I started thinking maybe I would open it up and take a look, but before I did that I plugged it back up and what do you know? The sucker's working again. Now, before you say I should have unplugged it and plugged it back in, I did that. The manual says to unplug for two minutes, then try again. I did that and took it one further by leaving it unplugged for 12 hours and still nothing on Monday. I guess maybe it just needed a few more days. I'm still worried that this is going to happen again, but for now I'm just happy I can get my Wii on again!

And while we're talking about Wii, here's a 9 year old that kills Through the Fire and Flames by DragonForce on Guitar Hero III. I can't even begin to keep up on easy and this kid makes it look easy on expert. Damn kids...


9 Year Old Beats Hardest Guitar Hero Level - Watch more free videos

Through the fire and Flames, 8-bit style!

If you're a geek like me, love metal, and love 80's video games, you're sure to like this. It's DragonForce in 8-bit. You can find all kinds of good 8-bit metal songs on You Tube if you want...

T-Shirt of the Day

Today's
T-shirt is from a local band. Not only do they rock, but they're good
friends as well. I hear they may have broken up, or at least taken a
break...whatever the case they're missed already. I'm sure all four
guys will show up in other bands soon (or will hopefully regroup). The
band is Space Age Polymers Company (orSAPCo ). I'm
including a video that I took of them on my camera a couple of years
ago at the World Famous Milestone for your
viewing/listening pleasure...



Gotta love the feedback!

Classic Rock Wednesdays?

You won't find any Eagles here, but I will start you off with the masterful Jeff Lynn and Electric Light Orchestra.

Turn To Stone



Mr. Blue Sky



On The Run

Big Dick's Used Condom Lot

Pencil Face

Urban Prankster

Urban Prankster covers pranks, hacks, participatory art, flash mobs, and other creative endeavors that take place in public places in cities across the world.

Danzig's Hips Don't Lie

T-Shirt of the Day

Today's selection is my buddy Gregg's fault. He emailed me the link to it, and knowing my weekness when it comes to both T-Shirts and Star Wars, I ended up buying it. Guitar Solo. You can get this booger at Busted Tees. Many other good shirts there as well, with new shirts and a "12 Shirts for $12 Each" sale every week.

You Tube

I post a lot of videos from You Tube, but there's plenty more good stuff out there. I actually have two You Tube profiles filled with favorites. I started the second because I had reached my limit of 500 favorites on the first. Apparently many of them have been deleted though and I now have more free space on the original (which I've been adding to again as well). Check them both out and you'll find plenty of randomness, oddities, music, and a lot of stuff you might remember from your childhood. Also be sure to check out some of my "subscriptions" for even more goodies...I especially recommend knobbynah, as his taste in the good , the bad and the ugly is very similar to mine (plus Isaac's a good friend I've never met).

Heavy Metal Tuesdays?

Since I posted DragonForce last Tuesday I thought maybe I could try to make a feature out of it. Maybe I should devote other days to other genres of music as well...hmmm...

Anyway, here's some Motorhead for your Tuesday!


Killed By Death



Iron Fist



R.A.M.O.N.E.S.

9 Telltale Signs You're Probably an Asshole

From theMishMash.com

The Shat wants to do whatever Common People do...

T-Shirt of the Day

Today's T-shirt actually came from Old Navy. I really don't like that place, but have found myself there from time to time. I'm always looking for a bargain on cool t-shirts, so I always check out their clearance racks when I do end up there. I think I paid $2.50 for this one maybe? It's an artists pallet with all sorts of art supplies arranged in "diagram" form. I like it, and it reflects my (somewhat) artist leanings. Still using "stock" photos (this one's from the Brewgrass festival in Asheville last September) but I'll have some good stuff coming up soon....

Wii update

So I box it up and head to the big box...it's not quite local, so the trip there and back is probably costing me $25 or more in my gas guzzler. I wouldn't have even bothered, but my brochure on the replacement plan says you can file a claim online, call a number or take it into the store. I opt for taking it myself because I want this resolved quickly. I get there, and of course stand in line for a while only to find out that I've got to call the number, get them to send me a label and then I have to send it off and wait for my "gift card". Great. Now I wasted half a day, a quarter of a tank of gas and now I'll probably have to wait another month before I can even get a new Wii. Thanks a lot Nintendo for building an obviously crappy system and to Worst Buy for just sucking in general.

The good thing is, the game that's stuck in the system is the one that came with it so I don't have to worry about trying to get back another $50 investment in a game. The bad thing is I've already downloaded crap for the virtual console and I'm probably SOL on that once it's all said and done. I think I will write a nasty letter to Nintendo and see if they won't send me a Wii points card so I can at least get back the stuff I already had. I'm not holding my breath though.

And to top it all off, it's probably just an internal fuse but opening the system would void any warranties I have. And even if it was a fuse it would probably be one that only Nintendo makes. Even though I'm down with technology, I freakin' hate it sometimes.

Minutemen - History Lesson Pt. II

Acoustic from the movie We Jam Econo. Highly recommended documentary of the greatest band ever. Ever.

The Death of a Wii

I am so totally pissed right now. I come back from the beach, pick my daughter up and after we eat she wants to play the Wii. I only bought it a month ago but it's been a constant source of fun for me and my girls (and parents and brothers). I go to turn the thing on and nothing. No lights, no nothing. I asked my dad if we had any power outages over the weekend and he did say that the power went out three times Saturday. I'm guessing it was a power surge that did it in.

Normally I don't buy the "extended warranties" they offer at places like the big box stores, but this time I did. Now granted Nintendo already offers a one year warranty, but I haven't checked to see what all it covers...I do know that the blue and yellow place does cover replacement on power surges. Good news. Bad news...now I have to box the thing back up, take it to the store, stand in line and then probably be told that it will be a few days before anything can be done. Better than sending it off to Nintendo? Yes, but still frustrating, especially since I bought it to help keep the kids entertained this summer when I have them (and this is the first week they're out of school). Then I have to wonder...even though I have an SD card in the Wii, I'm betting that most of the stuff I've created and downloaded is on the Wii's hard drive.

I can guarantee you one thing...next one I get will stay unplugged when not in use. This old house has a tendency to have power issues even on the calmest of days. I'm just really going to be pissed if I have to re-download the virtual console games and internet application...and pay for them again.

Vacation is over.

This past weekend I went to the North Myrtle Beach with my buddies Lee and Richard. A good time was had by all, even if the trip was too short. The good thing about where we live in NC is that we're only a few hours away from the beach, which makes a short weekend trip possible. The bad part of that is that short weekend trips just leave you ready to make a week of it. But still, it's nice to get out of town for a few days, drink and get sunburned with good friends and lots of laughs.

We arrived around 3 in the afternoon Friday and immediately set out to drinking. We had stopped at Southern Spirits on the way down and loaded up on plenty of good brews. Little did we know that what we bought that day would barely last us through the night. Our livers are still recovering. After a few beers and a dip in the pool, we took the golf cart out and got more beers, and food before setting out to the beach for a very drunken walk. Races occurred, a shoulder was injured...even though Lee hurt it trying to knock us over when we raced down the beach, Rich and I got to hear about it all weekend long.

I admit, I passed out around 9 Friday night about 20 minutes into Dazed and Confused. I was tired and drunk. I was also the one who got up at 3:30 am and stayed awake most of the rest of the next day (save for a "planned" two hour nap that turned into a four hour one). We spent lots of time on the beach Saturday morning, ate lunch then hit the pool for a while (all while enjoying fine beverages) before the naps occurred. After nappy time, we went out to eat but I guess we were all spent because we didn't hit up any bars afterwards. I did stay up until 2 in the morning drinking on the balcony and stealing internet from the hotel across the street.

There's really not much else to report. We didn't get into any trouble (though it was flirted with) and we didn't make too much noise or party too hard. Basically just a relaxing/drunken weekend of fun. I will leave you with a few random pictures...

I can't wait until the next time!

Briarman

This is my friend Roger, sort of playing a character. There's a lot of the real Roger mixed in with "Briarman" though...

Vacation

To my one reader out there (who already knows about my vacation), I won't be posting again until monday. Too much going on today and I leave for the beach tomorrow. New t-shirts and random crap on monday!

Breaking the rules a little...

Today instead of showcasing one of my t-shirts, I'm going to give you a link to another blog that's all about the most important article of clothing. Just ran across this one today, so don't think I'm ripping it off (though I had to figure the idea was out there). I'm sure there are others and I will link to those in the future.

Funky Duds

Wagon Christ - Receiver

Noit heavy metal despite what the name may lead you to believe. Sort of dance/dub/experimental. I just dig the groovy animation. Plus the song's not bad either with it's 70's exploitation movie vibe.

One of the Greatest Cartoons Ever!

The Three Little Bops

The Bat Poet

Happy Nightmares

Is Vinyl Making a Comeback?

I sure notice a lot more vinyl records at the "record" stores these days...some things being produced again that haven't been on vinyl in years even. The only bad thing is the cost of vinyl has risen significantly, and always being an "on the go" type person I (regrettably) rarely crank up my turntable anymore and usually opt for the CD. I love vinyl and always will, which leads me to wonder why I don't at least buy more used records from time to time.

At least some people are still buying records....

T-Shirt of the Day

Slow day today without many finds and I'll be tied up the rest of the day, so time to get this one out of the way...

I can't remember if I got this one from Target or Kohl's...either way I think I only paid about $3 for it and it's an awesome shirt. I have an undying love for nearly everything Jim Henson created, and Sesame Street is no exception (despite the turn it's taken since his death). This is actually one of my favorite pictures of me and I don't know why. No links on this one...good luck finding it if you want one. It's been a few years since I got this one. (photo by Steve Munsell at the The World Famous Milestone)



Oh yeah...so far I've been using photos from my myspace profile. That should change shortly as I have many shirts I need to get pictures of myself in. Look out world, here comes MikeHellander...

The jacket is a whole different story and is now covered in patches. Everything from Iron Maiden to Soviet Military to Nirvana.

DragonForce

I describe them as Helloween on speed. My buddy Duane says he'd rather listen to Iron Maiden, and while I can't disagree I just love me some DragonForce! If you beat Guitar Hero III you get to play Through the Fire and Flames during the credits (or you can unlock it with cheats)...it kicked my ass on easy. I dread meeting up with it in medium (and I don't even want to think about hard or expert). This post isn't for everyone...Heavy Metal geeks only!

Through the Fire and Flames



Operation Ground and Pound (who says the Keytar can't rock?)

Secret Fun Spot

Here's an old favorite I had forgotten about...I guess it's not so secret anymore.

Secret Fun Spot

Clogged Arteries, Here I Come!

Is it bad that I think both of these fine dishes sound delightfully tasty. Healthy? No. But damn if they don't look good...

Luther Burger and Hamdog

T-Shirt of the Day

Today's selection comes from a great site called Torso Pants (they're "pants" for your torso...think about it). I love the shirts they have over there...many of them take a twisted sense of humor to even get which is all the better in my book! This one is my Prince of Dorkness t-shirt and it pretty much sums me up. I know I'm a total dork and I love heavy metal, so it really just fits me to a "T" (get it?!)

This isn't the last you'll see of Torso Pants either...

R.I.P. Bo Diddley

Rock pioneer Bo Diddley, who died Monday at the age of 79, leaves behind a sound that helped build a musical genre. Born in Mississippi and raised in Chicago, Diddley played guitar on street corners before being discovered by Chess Records.

Master of the Internet

For the most part I'll be taking weekends off. Too much to do. But every now and then I will bring you a random gem on the weekends (t-shirt posts will remain on weekdays for now).

T-Shirt of the Day

Today's shirt is one of my many Star Wars themed T-shirts. This one was actually purchased at Walmart a couple of years ago. Yeah, every now and then I'll pick up a shirt, and more at the evil Walmart. I actually have a tolerate/hate relationship with the place and don't think it's quite as evil as others, but that's another conversation for another day when I feel like making a serious post. Anyway...the Stormtrooper helmet and cross bones just...fits. I think they used to sell these on the Star Wars store website, but I only see the female, babydoll version on there now. If you're looking for a similar, just as cool (and one I want to add to my collection) shirt, then Wicked Vintage Tees has one with Boba Fett's helmet and the crossbones. Highly recommended.

In today's photo I just got finished playing a show in the very hot World Famous Milestone. Probably one of our better shows and one that left me plenty sweaty!

Weng Weng Rap

Don't know who Weng Weng is? You betta recognize...

It's Friday!

Have some fun...

Canned Bacon!!!

It's about damn time...

A new direction?

Okay, I think I'm taking this blog in a new direction (as evidenced by my
posts from today). Everyday I'm going to try to find the things that
make me smile, think and reflect. I have a feeling this is going to be
all over the place, but that's sort of the way I am anyway.

One feature I plan to keep regular (and maybe even branch off into a blog
of it's own) is my T-shirt of the day. Everyday I plan to showcase one
of my favorite Tee's (and I have many). I'll give a short description
of why I like it and, in most cases, links to where you can buy them
yourselves if you so desire. Some photos will be staged, others will be
candids, but they'll all give you more insight into what a total geek I am,
and the fact that I'm not afraid to show it.

First up is Dude-Vinci



I actually found this image on Google image search a while back. I love the Big Lebowski and The Dude is one of my heroes, his philosophy on life much the same as mine (though I only wish I could be as laid back as he is). I like the juxtaposition of The Dude in Da Vinci's rendition of "Man". I figured it must be a t-shirt design, but never really checked into it until a couple of months ago. Turns out a company called Wicked Vintage Tees not only made that shirt, but many other cool ones as well. I'll be showcasing at least one more of their designs in the future, and probably more since they have so many shirts I'd love to have.

By the way, that's my buddy Lee with me and we're pimping the Limited Edition "MikeHell's Sweet Action" condoms at the Hickory Hops beer festival.

Check them out!

This gives me hope in humanity...

Cat Found!

Do you have Adultitis?

I seem to be in denial at the moment, but you may want to see if you suffer from this
debilitating disease and see what you need to do about saving yourself
pronto!

Another video blog. Weezer - Pork and Beans. I really love this video for no other reason than it's fun. And I'm an internet dork.

I am totally geeking out over the new Indiana Jones movie. Everything I hoped for and more. Sure, some of it was outlandish, but it is and Indiana Jones movie after all. If you've ever read any of the comics or books, you'll know this is far from the most out there plot they could have went with and it fits...it really fits in with the other movies very well. Plus, I can't believe he said it...well, actually I can and I had a dorkgasm when it happened. I wont' spoil it, but fans of both Indiana Jones and Star Wars will know exactly what I'm talking about when it comes.

Now I just need to go watch it in an actual movie theater. Mikey hearts the interwebs.

I said I was setting up this blog so I could get away from blogging (I still kind of hate those words, but have grown to begrudgingly accept them) at Myspace so much. Or at least keep certain things over here different from my persona on that site. However I find that the two worlds often do bleed together and that many of my real life friends keep up with me more through the internet than they do in real life...which is fine by me. I'm not fan of the telephone that's for sure.

So I realize today that while my Myspace "friends" weren't left with a cliffhanger, any readers I have here (besides the one I know I have), don't have any resolution. Well, neither do I, but here...you can at least catch up:

Originally posted on Myspace, May 5 2008

What once looked like it was going to be a good thing turned out to be not all it seemed. And believe it or not, I'm happy with the outcome. I get a much needed break and a chance to start fresh, doing something I enjoy...hopefully.

I have been meaning to write this blog for a while, but between being super busy getting things ready to move out for the old company, and the emotional rollercoaster it put me through, I just waited until today...my first day of freedom.

When the new company came in to "save the day" we were all pretty optimistic about it, but when they gave us our "employment packages", none of us were very happy with what they had to offer. They raised our pay slightly...basically enough to cover the difference in their more expensive, yet not nearly as good, insurance. Bad thing was, they wanted to make us all salaried and they already had built in overtime which made our pay significantly less in the big picture. Plus they wanted us to sign a no-compete contract. Now whether or not I would want to stay in the gutter industry (more likely not), I did want that option to remain open. That no-compete contract would prevent that (even though I've been told that they don't always hold up...it was the principle of it all). I even told the guy who was handling all this that I had a feeling that they were going to use us to get the place running, to keep our customers and then replace us down the road with people they could pay less since he had already told us that we made more than they typically paid. He said they weren't that kind of company and wouldn't do that, but I told him he could say that all day, but in the end they could do whatever they wanted and we'd be stuck. This was especially a big deal to Bull (older guy I worked with) since he'd been doing this for over 20 years, his main options are in the gutter industry right now. There were a couple of other things we had issues with and in the end they weren't willing to budge, so we told them, "Thanks, but no thanks". The good thing is the company we did work for was behind us 100% and said they'd support whatever decision we made and wouldn't penalize us for not taking the jobs, severance-wise or unemployment benefits-wise.

I really do have a positive outlook on all of this. I think in the end I'll be much happier and hopefully be doing something I enjoy. Time will tell though, but for now I plan on taking a few weeks off to get some things done I've been planning on but have never gotten around to. Plus mentally I need a break. I won't wait too long to get serious about looking for a job (especially with the job market the way it is) and if something comes my way in the meantime that I just can't refuse I'll definitely jump all over it.

So...what to do now? I think I'll go take a nap! Thank you unemployment!

Good News???

(copied/pasted from an email I sent to friends, just to save time. More thorough updates as I know more...)

Things are starting to happen. Things that may keep us employed. One of the largest gutter suppliers in the country is interested in beginning to operate in Charlotte to fill the void that RDE is going to leave. If they were to do it and listen to our advice, I really think we could keep our customer base and even expand on that by bringing in some of our occasional customers on a more full time basis. There's nothing definite yet, but they were scheduled to come by and talk Monday...now the head of the company is on his way here tomorrow to look at the place, the potential and to look at us. We've been told to be prepared to interview tomorrow. Interesting. If they do go through with it I could see them hiring a few more people as they do a lot of their own manufacturing. How much, if any of that they would do out of Charlotte, we don't know, but I still imagine they'd want to add at least one more person in the warehouse anyway. I'm sure there will be a transitional period, and it's likely that RDE would co-exist with them for about a month or so until they get all their stuff in place. Also one of our customers put in a good word for Bull over at one of our competitors and they called his house today. He says if it works out that this deal ends up going through, he'd rather stay with us, but at least he has another option out there. Out of all of us, I was worried most for him.

The fast tracking of the whole thing has me really optimistic though. I think they see the upside of the Charlotte market and they have the means to be a major thorn in the sides of our competitors. I wouldn't be surprised if they brought in someone else to help oversee the whole thing, so we would likely have to change our work habits a little, but that wouldn't be a bad thing. It could be something big and we could be looking at a better situation than we've already been in.

Another Video Blog.

I will get back to writing soon...at the moment I don't feel like I have anymore to say, but these videos makes me happy.

Back many, many years ago Elvis Costello appeared on Saturday Night Live. He wanted to play Radio Radio, but the producers said no due to the "controversial" nature of the song. I could explain the whole thing, but you could you just go read for yourself at Wikipedia and I can save a whole lot of time.

I once found the original broadcast version on Youtube, but it has since disappeared, but luckily I found this which made me very happy. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Beastie Boys with Elvis Costello and one of his best songs...





Also, Weird Al has been known to pay tribute to the performance live as well (you can also read about that on the Wikipedia page) and I have found video of that to share with you too (give it about a minute and a half):

A video by The Clash....just because I can.

I think from time to time I will post videos in here. Some music related, others just oddities I find. I have over 500 favorites over at You Tube, so I've got plenty to pull from. For now I bring you Guns of Brixton by The Clash...

And the walls come crumbling down....

We knew something was up. There was too much talk, too many strange things going on around work. Today we found out what we suspected was imminent.

To give you a little back story, the place I work in has three employees. There are three branches, one in Charlotte and two in Georgia. The other locations have more employees than we do. We have the largest gross profit of the three locations...and we do it with three people. Not only that, but most of our customers hate...I mean absolutely hate going to the competitors and only do when they have to. Between the three of us, we make deliveries, pull orders, run a sales counter, answer phones, make calls on delinquent accounts and help customers load their orders and with anything else they need. Customer service is what we pride ourselves in and the customers have let us know time and time again how much they appreciate the quickness and accuracy with which we pull their orders, as well as all the other ways we help them out.

But too many people had been asking questions. One of the big-wigs from our parent company called a couple of weeks ago just to ask who our biggest competitors were. The realtor who procured the building for us has started visiting us again after not having seen him in a while. The delivery drivers that shuttle materials between locations have been questioning the goings on around their facilities as well. Our ordering powers had been diminished in the past few months and the orders we sent to be called in for us (or delivered from the main office location out of GA) have been trimmed significantly, sometimes leaving us in a bind when a customer put in a large order. It's hard to keep people happy when you don't have the stock they need...but we tried and bent over backwards to make things work for them. Then this week our general manager and another of the head honchos came to visit. They were doing some quarterly physical counts, or so they said. This has never happened in the three years I've been here. Then the clincher...yesterday after they had both left a locksmith came by looking for our general manager and said he was there to re-key a lock (a screw up on his part as he wasn't supposed to come until today). After a short phone call to the GM in which I heard him say, "Oh yeah, it does say wednesday on here", then he went outside to finish the conversation before getting in his van and leaving. Now we knew something was up.

The answer came today. They're shutting us down. Not all three locations mind you, but just us. They say with the economy the way it is, with building in a downturn, it just wasn't profitable anymore. But wait, don't we have the largest gross profit? Don't we sell more of the high dollar items than the other locations? Isn't Charlotte one of the fastest growing cities in the country with the smallest downturn in building? All true, but it's about more than that...

It all comes down to the fact that we lease our building and they own the other two. They didn't want to commit to a new lease agreement with an uncertain economy. I think the other locations aren't far behind, but since they own the buildings, they're going to give them a little more time. And the re-keying? We thought it was because they were either firing one of us or shutting the place down immediately, but there's another reason for it that's really not worth getting into...just didn't want to leave that subject open.

The news isn't all bad though. They are going to give us a severance package, continue our insurance for a period of time and also help us try to find new jobs if we wish to have their assistance. I feel worst for one of the guys I work with...he's been with the company for over twenty years. He's seen the place change ownership several times and every time he's worried for his job security. He's told me and the other guy we work with that he loves working with us and wouldn't want to work with anyone else. He's 57. He's not in the best of health. In other words, he's not what employers are looking for. I have faith that in the end he'll land on his feet. Some of our customers have known him for years and one way or another someone is going to give him a job. He's a great worker and has a heart of gold, but still with the job market the way it is, I can understand why he's extremely pessimistic about his future.

As for me, I'm trying to be optimistic about the whole situation. We are going to be employed at least until the end of the month, possibly as long as the end of June, but that's the definite cut-off date. They're trying sell our company to one of our competitors and said that could mean that we'd get to keep our jobs, but I'm not stupid and know that more than likely we'd still be let go. Then the severance package...we don't know yet what we're getting (we'll find out in the next couple of days), but I'm sure they're going to take care of us very well. There's also our ESOP that we should see a little money from as well. And when all else fails and the severance ends, we can file for unemployment. I definitely won't mind taking a short vacation before starting the job hunt, but I won't sit around too long (I know it may take a while for me to find something). I've been thinking for a while that I needed a change of venue even though I loved working there, with the guys I worked with and even some of the customers. I'm planning on taking a class this summer and I think this change will be a good thing for me in the long run...if I can find a job before all my funds are exhausted. I know I can, but I am still a little worried about finding one that pays what I need. Still, I'm looking forward to the challenge of doing something new.

That doesn't mean I'm not going to miss the place, the people I worked with, the customers and the freedom that this job has offered me over the past few years. It's a sad day, but one with a ray of hope attached to it. I just keep telling myself it could be a lot worse...

Odd things are happening at work. I will know more tomorrow, but seems change is right around the corner. Hopefully the changes will be beneficial to me and not a detriment to my already unstable being. If it's for the better, it's good timing too, as I need to make some changes with myself...some of them permanently, some may be temporary, but I need to get my life back on track. I do plan on going back to school and that may delay some of the changes I need/want to make.

On a lighter note, I re-watched a movie that I saw in theaters last year last night. It's called Great World of Sound and is set and filmed right here in our lovely (I know that's debatable) nearby city of Charlotte. It's about a record company that's not quite on the up-and-up, but I won't give away any more than that. The actors are pretty much unknowns, the pacing is kind of slow at times, but I really, really dig this movie. It also has many cameos from local musicians, which is a good chance for me to to say, "Hey, I know that person!". Rent it if you can find it.

Speaking of knowing people in movies, I recently bought a copy of a movie called Bandwagon. It's another NC product and was filmed in Raleigh about 12 years ago. It had a very limited theater run (and I did catch it the one week it played in Charlotte) and has never been released on DVD (at least here in America...seems there is a DVD version out of Thailand for some reason). About 5 minutes into the movie, there's yours truly bobbing his head to a crappy metal band (they were crappy on purpose) while a fight breaks out in front of me. I got to see myself on the big screen and finally after all these years I have a copy I can show my friends. It's another good yet slow paced movie about the music business. The only person in it that I've ever really seen in anything since is a guy named KevinCorrigan who went on to play the younger brother on Grounded for Life and had a small roll inSuperbad last summer. He was actually the best part of Grounded For Life and the main reason I watched it when it came on.

Hopefully I'll get to see my mom on screen this year in a movie called All About Steve starring Sandra Bullock. She won a trip to CA to be an extra in the movie from an online contest. While on set she and my dad got to meet Sandra herself, as well as Thomas Hayden Church, Bradley Cooper, Kerri Kenney and Ken Jeong (a doctor and comedian who graduated from Duke University (boo Duke, but hey, it is a North Carolina connection). We're hoping her scene doesn't get cut and that you'll actually be able to see her if the scene is in the final version of the movie. I'm not crazy about Sandra Bullock movies, but this one looks like it could be okay, besides I'll have to give it a shot just to see if mom is a movie star like me...

If you go to a website and a pop-up window opens (most of mine get blocked, ocassionally one breaks through) that has a "Stupid Test: How Stupid are You?" and you take the quiz...you've already answered the question.

I started this blog several years ago, but it didn't last long. I recently deleted all those posts since they were outdated and I wasn't happy with the writing. Also many of the links were dead. So goodbye old blog, hello new....

I occasionally write blogs on myspace as well, and decided maybe it was time for me to find a second outlet...one that encourages me to write more often. Over at myspace I goof around a little too much to get serious about keeping up with my blog. I'm hoping this revamping of my old stomping grounds will get me a little more inspired. Don't expect much, but it could grow into something beautiful.

To expand a little on my little bio-blurb thingy over there on the right, I'm 34 years old and married with two beautiful girls, a 10 year old step-daughter (who I treat as my own) and a 6 year old. Those three girls are the loves of my life!



I play bass in a long running local punk band, Los Accidentes. All the members of the band are pretty well grounded here in our CLT area, so don't expect to see us hitting your town anytime soon. A few out of town shows may be in order down the road, but they won't be far...NC, SC and possibly GA but that's about it. Mostly we'll be staying within the confines of Charlotte and mostly at our home, The World Famous Milestone.

I love music, movies (especially sci-fi, horror, comedy and superhero movies...I guess those are sci-fi as well), art, toys and the geeky side of life!

Well, that's me in nutshell...if you want to see the stranger side of me check the link above to my myspace page. Just remember MikeHell is sort of a character...an extension of myself, but an exaggerated one. I have some crazy friends and I get some weird comments posted on my page from time to time...proceed at your own caution especially if you're easily offended.