And this too

Rogue Wave will be at the Troubadour on 12/20 ot 5. Any takers? I think Philly fellows, Mazarin are opening. That night should be well fucking jackson.

Woah, these guys certainly aren't lookers though.

Akron / Family

Don't make any plans for 1/31/06. Why? I freaking tell you why, buddy. I already made the plans for ya. You'll be accompanying myself and C-los to see Akron / Family at the Echo. Twist your arm, I know.

Si!!

B Team in effect

Look out people. We're rollin' into yer neck o' the woods in a black, windowless Dodge van. A "party on wheels", if you will. Only the elite chosen (like, um, 12 of us as of last night?) can claim themselves part of the B Team crew. Holla. We need some shirts. Who's down for silkscreen duty?

We took up some unsuccessful bike shopping yesterday too. I should never have sold my darling Bianchi in the first place. Here's my hand. Now smack it really hard.

Deerhoof

It's tonight, people. At the Echo. I only wish I hadn't drank so much last night. Today hurts. Like bad.

Ah, but what's this? iTunes playlist came through for me again... Loudon Wainwright III feels good on the ears right now.

shut up and go to bed?

ok.

Pennies from heaven!

So it's like that time of the year again, huh? Well, instead of getting caught up in the absolute shite of things falling all around me, I've decided to make a short list of things that are currently making me happy. Or, you guessed it, things I'm thankful for. Please note that I'm leaving PEOPLE off this list so no one emails me all shitty and feels slighted or something retarded.

[in no particular order]

-- the all new & improved Kusai & Ben script (for the pitch)
-- Marmoset & Akron / Family (it's a tie)
-- Oslo
-- playing drums
-- the bitchin' pedicure I got yesterday
-- Converse All Stars
-- Buffalo 66 (was on IFC again last night)
-- Burt's Bees Lip Balm
-- straight leg jeans
-- No more sore throat
-- Brown eyes
-- Man Man's Van Helsing Boombox

VW's and such

The windshield wiper from hell is being tarred and feathered this fine morning.

While waiting for the C-los to pick me up this morning I sat in a few of the new "toyota looking" Jetta GLI's -- you know, the sporty ones with extra bells and a few whistles. (*hand smacks forehead*) Why, Volkswagen? The only new redesigned model in yer fleet that's worth it ain't even out here yet. I really must have been humoring myself-- or just killing time before my ride. I don't like the new Jetta overall. The new Golf GTI, however, gets 2 thumbs up. This country has yet to see the likes of those though...

Ugh. This morning is going to require about 6 cups of hot green tea and a huge dose of Akron / Family with a splash of Nick Drake. Like stat. Let's do this.

You just might like it

Try this new band on for size. They're called Rumble Strips and they're of British persuasion. GO HERE for their new sweet little video for a song called "Motorcycle". Odd association but visually it starts out just like Man Man's 10lb Moustache video. Hmmmm. Brits copping the Yanks? Regardless, they're off to a great start...

Sounds like sexy!

My voice fucking rules right now. Slight laryngitis turns me into a way cooler person than I usually am (which is uber cool to begin with-- I mean, come on). Don't you just want to like hang out with me and stuff? If you close your eyes, it's kinda like hanging out with Scarlet Johansson. How many people can deliver that?

Ode to Green Tea

Sometimes you're bought
Sometimes you're free
(like at work and at certain Japanese restaurants)
Subtle
Soothing
and
Semi-caffinated
Makes me forget about
my love of coffee
Green Tea
Green Tea
On my 3rd cup
of sweet Green Tea


This lame-and-out-of-character-poem is courtesy of an early morning overdose of Vicks' Dayquil.

Falling Rocks Ahead

This day is crushing my soul.

Playing
drums
really
loud
would
be
nice
right
now.

Annoying

So what's going on, otherwise impenetrable immune system of mine??
What's this now?
2 colds in one month?
What happened to getting sick once every 3 years?
Oh, you're over that.
I see.
Okay then.
If it's hardball you want to play, then I say bring it.
Just know I've got an arsenal of vitamins and dayquil to whoop yer lame ass before you get the best of me.

You are this year's mp3

Finally. Here's that sweet new xbox 360 commercial I was talking about with the kids and the water balloons.(thanks Carlos) GO HERE and enjoy capitalism at its finest.

And who could forget about the NBA's hot new playa'? GO HERE for all the magic.

Speaking of-- has anyone seen "Jesus Is Magic" yet? I heart Sarah Silverman. Shhhhhh, don't tell anyone but... she's my girl crush.

New Comic

Hello friends. Please check the Weekly section of the High and Low for a long overdue new comic called, "Real Ghost".



I need to get some sleep. Nite nite.

The words just never left my mouth

Hmmm. It's Sunday. And I've been up since 7:45 am. Why? Well, I'm not quite sure I can even answer that and have it make the least bit of sense. Ok then. On to the next subject.

Went to a killer gallery opening last night in West Hollywood called "Flood the Gutters". Souther Salazar, one of the 3 artists showcased, had some of the most precious (and tempting) pieces I've seen in a long time. Check it out, yo.



Uh, best headline ever?? Go here. I just like reading it out loud (and proud).

Soul sucker

Man, I put myself in quite the spot last night. Going to a "normal" car dealership is such a soul sucking experience. I went to look at a used Land Rover Discovery at another crap car manufacturer's lot in Glendale and walked away with the saleman following me all the way to my car. Note to self: no matter how good the deal seems on the internet, ALWAYS stick to the higher end dealerships. Ugh, all the others are so damn slimy and want nothing more than to play hardball. Yuck. Just tell me the price and leave me the hell alone to make my decision, please. The truck was ok but the mileage was a little high. Whatever. Cars suck.

Goddamn you, xbox 360!

For you have the most wonderful commercial promoting your slick new ass! If anyone has any info on it, please please let me know. I'm dying to know who made it. Quick synopsis: It's urban guerilla filmmaking meets lovely and lyrical French New Wave cinematography (but shot in unsaturated color) romp around a foreign city where children are completely taking over with the best weapon ever-- water balloons. It's all set to an old recording of "The Teddy Bear's Picnic". At the end, there's just a simple card reading "Jump In - xbox 360". At first, I thought it was the new Chris Cunningham ad we'd heard about. Unfortunately, his is actually for Sony's PSP and is not nearly as good as the commercial in question. (CLICK HERE to see Cunningham's.) I'll definately post the mystery xbox 360 commercial as soon as I find it!

temptations of the automotive type

Ugh. Here I go again. I know, I know. Last weekend after test driving a Range Rover out of sheer curiousity, I got the bug in my head that I could actually swing for a later model Land Rover Discovery (2003-ish). I managed to manipulate my driving philosphy from the fast and Volkswagen persuasion into wanting a more commanding and safe role on the road. Uh oh. Then firestorm in my brain started. Numbers fly around my head like pesky gnats and I trick myself into thinking I could really afford it all right now even with the lease buyout on the Jetta. Maybe I did the math right. But probably I didn't. I suppose I'm falling into the typical girl stereotype where buying expensive things makes Jane and Sue and Rita just feel better. Hey, at least I'm acknowledging it! Owning up to it is an entirely different story though...

Screech

Today was an all out doozy. No denying that. Though the thing that set me right smack dab in the middle of Craaazyland proper (y'know, the place with all the spiders, snails and bees?) had nothing at all to do with work. No no. It was my drive HOME from work and the evil drivers side windshield wiper on my Jetta that did the job. A bit of history-- this thing has given me problems since day one of lease-ship. It's all cool and perfect when it makes its "upstroke" but on the way down it looks me right in the eye and straight up mocks my field of vision, scraping and screeching as it goes. In it's wake is a large area of spattered water-- the proverbial "shit" it takes each time I think I just might want to see out my windshield when it's raining. This evening I burst in the door at home after barely being able to park between my neighbors 40 trashcans per household and called the VW dealership for an appointment (I got a big routine maintenence coming up anyway). And for posterity's sake, I want to keep that old windshield wiper after the maintenence guys replace it and subject it to rounds and rounds of torture. Aw hell, who am I kidding? I just really want to burn it.

New Michel Gondry Video

I totally skimmed over the fact that it was for the White Stripes because who cares- it's a new Michel Gondry video! AND it's got Conan O'Brien in it! CLICK HERE Fucking gorgeous as per usual.

if I were a cheerleader...

...I'd do an extra special super (not too gay) cheer for the weather today. It's raining here in southern California and I'm loving every second of it.

It hit me like a ton of hot bricks yesterday that I never got a reminder call about my latest tattoo "zapping" appointment. It was supposed to be last Saturday. Whoops. This will only be the fourth sitting out of who knows how many so I'm just thinking in terms of baby steps here. I have to. Cause if you look at the large tattoo in question, you'd just think I never took care of it. Which is to say that it just looks a little faded. I can't get too bummed about it though. Not only was the financing on the whole procedure insane but I already have enough crap clogging the stressed out plumbing in my brain.

sigh (the good kind)

Playing drums makes me happy.

shooting for the bottom of the barrel

Last night's hour of new Arrested Development has me laughing all the way into this cruel cruel day. These episodes have it all-- from a rocket pack (and its crazy all-Japanese video instruction manual) to Godzilla. Can't forget Tobias' 4000 hair plugs either. Buster and GOB's characters are getting so spot on and perfect that I nearly lose the contents of my bladder on the couch every time they open their mouths. It's creepy though. You could really hear how scratchy Jason Bateman's voice has gotten. I can only assume that these eps were taped prior to his recent throat surgery. Scary stuff.

Red Devils

What's going on, lads? I know it's still kind of early in the season but 4th place standing? Huh? I really have to get the Fox Soccer Channel back on the Direct TV listing. Feeling a little bit out of the loop with my mates, Manchester United. Just the thought of Chelsea taking it all again makes my insides hurt (but not too bad, it's only a charming sport for chrissakes). Unfortunately, Chelsea's already in 1st. Boo.

Walk it off, hopefully they die

I think I just might harness up my dog tonight for a walk and take advantage of the rad Autumn weather that LA is experiencing. Maybe the figurative butterflies in my stomach I speak about so frequently will die in the cold. I mean, aren't they summer creatures anyway? Sheesh. Regardless, Oslo will be stoked to sniff out the neighborhood again.

So in the world of upcoming shows... anybody have any ideas? Deerhoof is on the 23rd @ the Echo. Unfortunately, the Animal Collective show falls on a shite night so I can't go to that. I'm thinking about Art Brut @ the Echo on the 18th.

Been feeling (ew, I'm talking about feelings) pretty shitty lately. That means some sweet Kusai & Ben comics coming. I'll let ya'll know when they've been posted.

Over and out.

Stop

I just hit the big red button on the Kusai & Ben project. No explosions. Just relief. Otherwise, I truly believe it would have killed me. Brain would likely have exploded. Book form from now on. And truncated sentences. Yay.

I still have crazy butterflies o' the tummy though. It's because I say too much much sometimes? Or say the wrong things at the wrong times? I don't know.

One thing I am sure of is that Chris Ware's new Acme Novelty Library book is blowing my mind. Inside the lovely hardcover binding lies many of my absolute favorite comics which he rarely feeds the public. It's his "Rusty Brown" comic strip. Fucking gorgeous and more depressing than a lost puppy in the snow at Chrismas time (**quick personality trait #2065-- anything involving a sad story with animals will invoke the sadness reflex). Thanks to the fact that I got my shit together and finally sold my Kusai & Ben mini-comic to Meltdown (yeah, ya'll can go and buy it now), I was able to negotiate a trade on this necessary "periodical".



One last thing. I'm not crazy. I swear. Times are tough, man. And I'm being bounced along in the rocketship while we dodge asteroids in the field ahead.

The Squid and the Whale

Aside from the fact that 5 female hippopatomi in heat were behind us chomping on random snacks, talking in conversation level voice and rocking the back of my seat the entire duration of the film (yeah, I know. I could have moved), this movie kicked me upside the head. In a good way. Like the way Eternal Sunshine did. Only the world that these characters live in is much more unwelcoming and cold. It's just a more head-on look at the absurdity of most all relationships. It was great.

Just like the lead character in Thumbsucker, I instantly had a mini-crush on the older brother character, Walt Berkman (played by Jesse Eisenberg). I guess I must have a thing for awkward boys with moppy hair. Oh movie crushes! But I digress...

The main idea? Divorce sucks. Especially if you have 2 kids who happen to be the only people around with any redeemable qualities. One is in their awkward phase of later adolesence and the other is mucking through pre-pubesence with a sinister penchant for smearing cum on lockers and library books at school.

Oh yeah, and there's a Baldwin (Billy) that pops up every now and then and says "my brother" a lot.

Bloomin' Autumn

I love it. The whole it not being summer anymore thing. It still gets pretty hot here in the valley of the Burbankians during the day but evening in Silver Lake is bliss. Things have slowly been returning to normal since returning from the other side of the planet.........
I got my car washed.
I'm working more on revising the storyboards and adding to them.
I'm doubting the whole show idea and story again.
I'm precariously balanced between self-depricating and confident.
I'm listening to Animal Collective, Islands and Man Man. Obsessively.
I've got the butterflies back in my stomach. And I'm obsessing about why. Why?
I'm making awesome new friends.
I'm hanging out with old ones.
I'm considering redesigning my website.
I'm shopping online again.
I'm having zombie dreams more often.

While I'm on the subject

Here's a Zombie infection simulator on how (quickly) it would affect the population. Click here to be enlightened.

Zombie Killing Practice!

An extra special link from me. Click here and try your hand at zombie elimination. And remember, AIM FOR THE HEAD. This is so addictive.

Aw, bloody hell

Okay cnn.com. Come on, are you really serious about this "headlining" news story? Click here to find out some completely useless information. My brain is a precious space and this info doesn't belong there-- let alone qualify as news.