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