A large window with a view of nothing

Here comes another "weepy weepy, woah is me" blog entry. I've recently been tempted by the bells and whistles of another job position at my fair company and its causing me to have big life questioning/ self-worth bouts of panic. I just don't know if I could leave my current and cushy situation, despite the lack of real money-- they pay me in sacks of peanuts. I don't know anymore, kids. Lots of pros and cons to weigh and consider. Every aspect about me right now seems to be undergoing constant judgements of this nature though. I'm looking out my window with a view of nothing (worth looking at). This all probably makes zero sense. Sorry. Oops, gotta head out to a recording session. Back to reality.

TV is my friend

Okay, so I'm totally thrilled that season 3 of Arrested Development is in production and will start airing on September 19th but what's that you say? Charlize Theron will be joining the cast? I really don't have an opinion about her so I'm not sure how this is going to play out. Could be just another female hot-body on screen that Job (pronounced JOBE) attempts to screw. Now the first season cameos with Carl Weathers- that was some TV fun for all! Hmmm. Yeah. Just the thought of this show makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Did somebody say, magic?



Also in TV news, Carlos managed to get his hands on a DVD with every episode of the new Ricky Gervais HBO show, "Extras". The first 3 get off to a slow start and you'll find yourself getting totally engaged in every word Gervais says, hoping for some comic genius to spew out at any moment. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen until about the 4th episode. Then the magic starts. It's no Nathan Barley but definately one of the best TV shows to come out all year.

Geek Pie!!



I know way too many "Idiots". Fuck, I just might be one too. I'll beg you people again-- please watch Nathan Barley. You'll thank me, I swear.

I really wish Chris Morris weren't so damn reclusive. I don't normally gush over TV people and the like but he's absolutely brilliant.

VMA Shite

I didn't watch the 3 hour debacle in its entirety but what I did see was a bunch of pissed off awkward looking celebs standing around in a large auditorium. Ah, but no one can lighten up the room like my super-duper favorite, R.Kelly can! His contribution to the world of music is pure magic.

Now call me crazy and maybe I'm just seeing things but our own Disney-bred, Hillary Duff seems to have had her nose hacked at-- in addition to the massive horse veneers that have appeared recently. Oh, and I think she might want to get that yellow skin on her shoulders checked out. I hear they call that "jaundice' and it kills your liver.

Even MORE Wolf Parade

So I just caught wind of the fact that these Canadian boys aren't too thrilled with the Isaac Brock (of Modest Mouse) mix of their upcoming full length album. Apparently they've gone back into the studio several times to re-mix it and have also re-released the original EP with pre-SubPop funded recordings on it. Must get my hands on this. (Thanks Cory for the heads up.)

And I must say, every time I do a google image search for "wolf parade", some of the most amazing yet terrifying pictures surface...




( This costume is so mine for Halloween)





The title of this last masterpiece is (I shit you not) "Mighty Black Wolf-Chief". I love the internet.

I also spent the weekend tweaking my drum kit to sound "deader" (if that's a word). Lots of gaffer's tape involved. Finally cut the kick drum mic hole too. It sounds so lovely now and I actually want to leave work right now just so I can go home and play it.

The new cartoon pitch is coming up soon. Between picking up my guitar and selling stuff on eBay, I've been concentrating on the Kusai & Ben storyboard. More on that later.

New Comic

Hello to you. Please check out a new comic called, "Secret Weapon" in the Weekly section of the High and Low. It will fill your heart with pretty posies and your mind with goopy goo. I have no idea what that meant. Whatever. I give up. Goopy goo, goopy goo.



On a more sane note, I've managed to actually sell some things on eBay including that damn Thai Dulcimer I thought no one would ever want. Yay! Someone wants to make esoteric new age music!

Oslo!

Deerhoof

Listen to them. I can't be any more direct about this. They have a new EP out now called "Green Cosmos" and the new full length album called "The Runners Four" will be out Oct 11th. Or if you can find a leak of it, download it like now. The album floored me when I first heard it.

Walkmen made me deaf and I am not getting younger

Trekked into hipster-ville last night to catch the Sunset Junction After-Show down the street at Spaceland. The Walkmen were great though I still can't hear correctly. The ringing won't stop. What? It all got me to thinking that I gotta get out more in general. Me being a creature of strict robotic habit, I always do the same lame things. I don't go out of my firmly established comfort zone. Dammit, I'm wasting my 20's away like matches in a tornado in Kansas. A friend of mine told me about some new bars over in Echo Park worth checking out. Just might take them up on that. Boo hoo hoo waaaah waaahh for me. At least my stomach seems a bit better. Drank coffee this weekend for the first time in many weeks. Sweet sweet coffee.

Finally some info...

Pitchfork has a pretty detailed article today about everyone's favorite defunct band, The Unicorns.

I just couldn't do it...

I yanked my bike OFF of eBay today. Despite the fact that I rarely ride it, I am extremely attached to it. Enough so that it brought me to tears today thinking about how I'd regret not having later. Also, thanks Pieter for supporting me in this decision. I'll just have to go through my mound of junk at home and see what's sellable to cover the bass guitar price. Let's see, I've got lots of vinyl I don't listen to anymore...

I'm an idiot

I just bought myself the bass guitar I've been searching out for a long time, foolishly before my bike has been sold. It's a 1970's black Univox Hi-Flyer (Mosrite copy) short scale bass. Gorgeous. Ugh. I think this musical instrument buying thing is a serious illness that needs to be addressed before I become homeless and am living out of my tiny kick drum somewhere on the streets of east LA. Here's the eBay photo:

Waste of Time

Last night we went to the new location of the Tuesday night Comedy Death Ray show specifically to see David Cross. Yeah, we saw him but between the shitty new venue (and I mean dusty, cramped and fly ridden shitty with no booze allowed in the theater-- total shite compared to the M Bar!) and the equally stanky lack of talent before and after Cross-- it was total hell. Kinda like the feeling you get when you dutifully have to attend your 10 year-old sister's dance recital and promptly leave after the lights go down on their Wizard of Oz number. Only we couldn't leave because the ONE fucking exit was all the way on the other side of the audience and the pathway leads right in front of the stage that the completely unfunny hacks constantly occupied- no breaks in this show. Fuckers. We also found out that Cross is going to be there next week with a killer line-up as opposed to the scholck we had to wade through. If I weren't so bitter, I'd consider going again. Lame.

Selling Stuff

So the soul selling has commenced. I listed my beloved, though rarely ridden Bianchi track bike in the Recycler this week. My Thai Dulcimer remains on eBay until sold (which I'm thinking might be until the end of eternity- no one wants one of those). Everything must go. This is so depressing.

New Comic

Good evening, internet junkies. Behold, I bring you a new comic called "Ain't No Ladder Tall Enuff". You can see it in the Weekly section of the High and Low. Enjoy.




R.I.P. - Robert A. Moog, a man who brought the world so many beautiful tools for musicians.

Six Feet Under

The final episode was incredible. Please try to catch all 75 mimutes of it. The last 15 minutes made my lame ass bawl like an itty bitty baby.

L is not for Lauren

It's for loser. Ever have a day where no matter what you do, you're always one or two seconds behind where you should be? You know, the place in time where things actually happen. And I'm talking like split seconds behind. To the point where you know if you consciously do something about it (like walk faster) it actually makes it exponentially worse. That was me today. Weeeee.

On the brighter side, I got my new guitar today- the Danelectro. It's everything I hoped and need it to be. A lovely new comic will be served up later this weekend so stay tuned.

Darlin' don't you go and cut your hair

Yeah, I just did. And I really like it. It's not too dramatic therefore it's not too traumatic. No real length change, just layers. Went to the Rudy's Barbershop in my hood.

So Over This

Okay. Enough already. You win, stomach. I concede. But really though. Can't I at least eat a goddamn bland-as-hell spinach salad for lunch? Couldn't you have just given me that?? I'm not doing too well right now. It tastes like burning. Make it stop.

New Gorillaz Video

Noodle! It's all about Noodle! And I'm really thinking about getting her haircut too...



Click here to stream the video for Dare and watch Noodle shake her cartoon ass.

I left one out...

Here's yet another synth I totally drool for:

-- Roland Jupiter 6

More Wolf Parade

Click here to stream the CBC Radio session that Wolf Parade did in November of last year. Here's some more pictures of these too cool for school lads...





Ugh. This photo isn't good for my recent keyboard fixation. And the Rhodes in the background makes me want mine back no matter how fucked up the action and tines were. Sigh.

No Definitive Answer

Well, according to my blood profile, I'm a completely healthy strapping young lass. However, the state of my stomach still makes me feel otherwise. I've got constant butterflies in my stomach lately and that occasionally switches over to stabbing, burning pains. Those butterflies sure get mean. Must have razorblades on their wings. Ouch.

Enough about that shit though. Read my comics or something.

New Comic

Please visit the Weekly section of the site for a new comic called "Phantom Pain". Click here for this week's super happy fun-time with Kusai & Ben.



Gotta wake up early tomorrow to make the cartoons that really matter*. Nite nite.



* subjective use of the phrase

Rediscovery

I got an older Modest Mouse song stuck in my head tonight and just for shits and giggles, looked it up on iTunes because my only copy is on vinyl. Surprisingly, they had it. It's the 15 minute long song they did with another old favorite Up Records band, 764-Hero called "Whenever You See Fit", on the single of the same name. Now that's the Modest Mouse I know and love. Crappy lower-fi recording and more fucking soul. Wow, this song takes me back to my old studio apartment in Philadelphia that was in a building which has since burnt to the ground.

Oh yeah, that.

The stomach's been less of a problem lately because the prilosec's been doing its job though last night was a bit rough. I suppose it was the fruity ass drinks from the Tiki-Ti that set it off. Who knows. I'm still trying to identify the root of my recent stress. I'm always generally anxious but lately it's been attacking my insides and not allowing me to consume any coffee. Boo. Boo to the stress that makes me a neurotic robot.

Analogue Dreams

I'm back on my vintage analogue synth kick again since busting out my poor-man's answer to this otherwise bank breaking obsession earlier today. My Roland JX-3P has made me quite the happy camper as of late due to the fact that I'm tinkering more with the little miracle box that rests on top of it- the PG-200 Synth Programmer. Geek sounds galore to bop your head to. Lord knows I do. Since I have no shame in being a complete nerd, I shall list my top 5 dream keyboards in no particular order:

--- Roland Jupiter 4 Compuphonic Synthesizer

--- Moog Prodigy

--- Moog Opus III

--- Arp Explorer I

--- Sequential Circuits Prophet 5


(all images courtesy of vintagesynth.com)

Pre-Test

Even though I'm not in the market for a new car, I'm still getting really antsy about cashing in the Jetta (which is still practically brand new, what with a mere 8,000 miles on it...). So what do I go and do? Add some fuel to the fire of my new car urge, of course. My dumb (yet curious) ass went to the Audi dealership in Pasadena today to test drive the new and uber hot A3 2.0T. I absolutely love that car. Super tight sport suspension, fast as hell with the DSG (and dangerously swift shifting), sweet leather interior (especially with the nav and Bose system). Love the "open sky" moon roof too. Everything about the car felt as though it was truly worth the MSRP. Let's just say it's going to be a tough year and a half to wait and a tough decision between the R32 and this...

When It Rains, It Pours

Yay! This has my name written all over it. Volkswagen just unveiled the new R32 design in Frankfurt. Read on at GermanCarFans.com... Fast as hell. What do you think, Pieter? I can only hope this is coming out around February of 2007. Oh, and I'll take mine in blue please.

Damn!

I just got my hands on a leak of the upcoming full length album from Wolf Parade called Apologies To The Queen Mary (Thanks Cory). Now I know why Pitchfork was hesitant on giving the current EP of theirs such high marks despite its already gleaming status. The new album rips out the EP's still beating bulbous heart, shoves it into its own chest cavity and becomes a fiery duel-hearted beast of pleasure. Fuck. This album is amazing. Buy it when it comes out in September and make damn sure you see these guys live. I'm going to change my underpants now.




(photos courtesy of SubPop)

And they're hot.

How Appetizing

Check out the latest photos of Tara Reid in a bikini here. I'm going to print them out and keep them around for anyone I know who considers getting belly liposuction in the future. I'll also make sure that they're trying to get over the stomach flu and that their kids are present. The screaming of small children heightens the effect I'm going for.

I love to hate to love them

The Unicorns, despite their crumbled empire and since attempts to piss me off, though not personally (that's another story), have made their way back into constant rotation on my iPod and more importantly, my heart. And they did this soley based on their body of recorded work because it continues to knock me on my ass. Way to go, cannucks!

A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of a site full of Unicorns downloads from past sessions, live shows, etc. CLICK HERE. These are all worth having. Probably more than car insurance. Well, maybe not that but definately more than that piece of shit Coldplay album (or anything they've ever done, for that matter). Whoops, great. Now that I typed that awful "C" word, every douchebag that looks up that band is going to stumble across my blog and send me death threats for hating. Weeee.

Work

...is continuing it's recent flatline to heart attack pace with the former being more prevalent. As you can tell, I'm not even remotely busy right now. Unless you count "blogging" as a work related activity. I'm also seriously considering stabbing my eyes out with my shiny new letteropener.

Haha, speaking of letteropeners ("There you have it- a letteropener."), IFC recently showed the letterboxed version of the Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie as a one time deal. Unfortunately, I didn't catch it in time to TiVo it. Figures. Guess I'll have to fork over 80 gazillion dollars for a legit out-of-print DVD copy of it on eBay. Hmmm. First things first though. Must get 80 gazillion dollars.

Have I got a deal for you...

Anyone in the market for a beautiful Thai Hammered Dulcimer (or Khim, to be specific)?? I'm seriously selling mine on eBay if ya'll happen to be interested. Make sure you tell your enemies' friends too. Click here



Oh yeah, and I think I'll be selling my soul soon too. Nice and cheap. So be looking out for that as well. Times is tough. I'm obsessively listening to the Jam again. Oh boy.

New Comic

Ahoy hoy. There's a new comic called "Friendly Skies" up in the Weekly section of the site. Please check it out!



My stomach still hurts. Make it stop. Please. I'm begging you.

Danelectro

I just won me an ebay auction for one of those Danelectro U2 reissue guitars from the 90's. Unfortunately, they don't make them anymore- or any of their guitars for that matter. So you can't simply go to your local Sam Ash and buy your choice of color off the wall. It's going to be nice to have a lighter weight guitar around as opposed to my tank of a '78 Tele Deluxe original. No matter how much I love that Tele, it still leaves indentations in my arms and chest after I play it. Here's the auction pic of my way cheaper new addition...



I've been playing music at home again and am feeling a bit better about moving forward with it. That's why there's no new comic this morning, dear reader. Sorry. "The High and Low" was initially the moniker for my music endeavors and will eventually be attached to some sort of recording by me.

Holy Schniekeys!

Go to Pitchfork now to read a rare Silver Jews interview!

The Aristocrats

Well, this weekend has been 2 for 2. The Aristocrats had some pretty damn funny moments in the telling and interpretation of the old dirty joke. I say Sarah Silverman and the South Park clip take home the trophy though. Click here to see the South Park clip (NSFW) We even had a loud laughing Quentin Tarantino in our audience at the Arclight. LA makes movie-going fun! Wee!

Broken Flowers

Last night we went to span some time with Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers which opened to a sold out crowd at the Sunset 5 (crowd included Michael Rappaport, hehe). Much like his other films, his use of minimalism and "time pressure" (kinda like the long takes in Tarkovsky films) signature this film starring Bill Murray. I absolutely loved it. Painfully funny but really really sad and lonely at the same time. Music was perfect. Lots of east coast rural driving that made me long for a trip back home. This is definately better than last year's Coffee and Cigarettes. Go see this please!

Bubble Bobble (pt 2)

Now that I have it for Game Boy Advance, it's all coming back to me and this was (is) not an easy game. Cute as all hell but n'est pas facile.

In other random blog nerd news, some guy (Livejournaler) carried out his own version of punk'd on ex-Creed front douche Scott Stapp. Not sure if its real but it sure is entertaining. Read on...

Punch me in the gut please.

Just got my work laptop back from the IT guys. It's been almost 2 days. Not a long time, you might be saying but it felt like a goddamn eternity. I took up pacing around the office and annoying everyone around me with the Aristocrats joke. (Not that I don't annoy people all the time anyway.) Feels nice to be re-connected with the world though.

I've been having some seriously painful and almost debilitating stomach issues lately too. Being the hypocondriac that I am, I immediately jump to the worst of diagnoses for myself in my wind up tin-toy brain. Is it an ulcer? Do I have the cancer? Is this that awful stomach thing from 6 years ago that caused me to lose 10 pounds? Is this from stress? Where is this mystery stress coming from? Have I inherited my father's shitty stomach problems? And so on. On my sister the pharmacist's reccommendation, I put myself on some overpriced (but relatively effective so far) OTC gabbily gook pills. We'll see how this goes. I'm gonna miss my morning coffee trip to the Disney Commissary though.

New Comic

Hola peoples. Please visit the Weekly section of the site for a new comic called, "Fall Back".



Oh yeah- I know this is a couple days early but Happy Birthday Ryan!!

I'm going to bed now. Nite nite.