Jul

14

No Values Voters.

Filed Under Humor | Leave a Comment

Amusing piece with some good lines. But I could have done with some more evil soundbites.


‘No Values Voters’ Looking To Support Most Evil Candidate

Jul

13

Album-a-year.

Filed Under Music | 2 Comments

I’m not entirely convinced this exercise is worth the effort, but in response to Steve Hyden’s self-described geeky list over at “The A.V. Club” (which was itself in response to a post over at Idolator, who in turn was inspired by BG, etc.), I’ve come up with my own list:

Like everyone else who’s gone through this exercise, I found certain years more filled with albums I love than others. On the one hand, sober assessment of Junta, for example, only renders that a good album in the predominantly mediocre year that was 1989. And, because I am no longer working at a radio station, the time lag has made the 2008 choices rather meager, giving the top spot to an album that, while great, is not even the best by that artist. Whereas Crooked Rain beat out some pretty stiff competition in Sunny Day Real Estate’s Diary, G. Love and Special Sauce’s self-titled debut, Nine Inch Nails’s The Downward Spiral, Weezer’s first-self-titled album (the blue one), Soul Coughing’s Ruby Vroom, Ween’s Chocolate and Cheese, the Soundtrack to Pulp Fiction, The Black Crowes’s Amorica, and that dog.’s that dog.. And I chose 2003’s OutKast selection over Jay-Z, The New Pornographers, Fountains of Wayne, Atmosphere, The Fiery Furnaces, Immortal Technique and Les Georges Leningrad.

Care to share your own selections?

Jul

13

Bumper stickers.

Filed Under Administrative | Leave a Comment

As a white person driving an older car, I’m always torn between a desire to court respect from others on the road by operating a clean, well-maintained, and generally un-marred-by-propaganda vehicle on the one hand, and a desire to indulge in delightful puns and trite political grandstanding on the other using only a little vinyl, a little adhesive, and a filthy green Saturn. Usually, the bumper stickers win. Which explains why I bothered to create another official Yodelling Llama sticker over at its CafePress store: Honor Students Orgasm Noisily. Crude, groan-worthy, and my sort of statement. Expect to see my gas-guzzling assets see a sharp decline in value shortly.

Jul

9

Cakey!

Filed Under Channel 101 | Leave a Comment

Having been a vocal advocate for “Cakey! The Cake from Outer Space” since aught-dickity-six, I was excited to see its long-awaited return a few months ago. And now I’m sad to see its conclusion. The “Cakey!” pilot still remains one of the greatest moments in Channel 101/102 history. And although its SuperDeluxe run represented somewhat of a downgrade, it still entertained. Quite a bit. Bravo!

Jul

9

Channel 101: NY Roundup (July 2008).

Filed Under Channel 101 | Leave a Comment

From a plotting perspective, “Defenders of Stan” #16 is a triumph, wrapping up everything into a pretty little package. Although somewhat disappointing from a chuckle-inducing standpoint, the episode was pretty satisfying overall. B+

A Hard Hat-heavy episode of “Mister Glasses” pleases with extended “nut and bolt” banter, Rob Lathan’s confused expressions, and pay-off after pay-off for the long-running catch-phrase gag set-up. Looking forward to the presumably forthcoming Sean episode. B+

The only newcomer to crack primetime, “The Outer Boroughs, failed to impress. Although competently produced, the program failed to elicit laughs, failed to entertain with its premise or pacing, and seems doomed to a second-month cancellation. C-

I gulped down a basket of fleas during the gore comedy of a single scene of the latest “Scissor Cop.” The rest I could have done without. I mean, since when is exaggerated 70s cop show performances and warehouse district shooting entertaining? C

“Magestic Dragon” #5 is sort of a confused mess. Moreso than usual, I mean. C-

“Trillions” dazzled in its second episode, with elaborate (if blatantly post-productioned) set pieces, gloriously hammy acting, and the potential for some great stories in the future. But for some reason it was cancelled. C’est la vie. B

“Walking Man Walk“…what the fuck? D

“Realmz of Kombat” is a silly romp, with a winning fighting video game aesthetic and a lot of masturbation jokes. B

Jul

6

Assortment.

Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment

More topics I suspect I won’t get around to writing about at length…

  1. Whether the Plymouth Prowler’s trailer, in hindsight, was kinda cool.
  2. The decline and fall of the domestic trash compactor in an age of composting and recycling.
  3. Whether the species diversity in an average acre in the Eastern as compared to Western United States–assuming it represents a higher figure–is a result of the influx of invasive species from Europe and elsewhere having more time to go feral or otherwise de-domesticate.
  4. The career path of Colin Farrell, and whether it can be rehabilitated with a superhero franchise (not affiliated with Daredevil).
  5. A studied essay on the overratedness of Vampire Weekend.
  6. Whether an a copper orange and copper green flip flop paint job on a Prowler–to replace the standard purple–would, in foresight, be kinda cool.

Jul

6

Tacoma fireworks.

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Resolved: Tacoma needs to retool its Independence Day celebration’s finale.

Nothing ruins a good fireworks display like excess distance. Tacoma’s fireworks emanate from across Commencement Bay. The idea I believe was to make the fireworks visible from along much of the Ruston Way waterfront. Judging only by that measure, the placement was a success. However, because Commencement Bay is a rather wide body of water, the fireworks lacked the ability to impress anyone along the Ruston Way waterfront. Perhaps the boaters got dazzled last Friday evening, but us lowly landlubbers were almost as impressed by the Des Moines and Port Orchard displays as we were with Tacoma’s. Ho hum.

Jul

6

Olympic.

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D, her friend R, and I burned a couple of dinosaurs yesterday to see the new Brendan Fraser movie–Hurricane Ridge: Heart o’ the Monster–up on the Olympic Peninsula. Pretty, pretty wildflowers (atop the aforementioned ridge). Pretty, pretty waterfall (near the Elwha River). Reaffirmed I am much more a forest fan, and am only secondarily interested in meadows and vistas. Ate well in Port Angeles and Sequim. Discussed the possibility of Hugh Hefner’s imminent demise, and his epidermis being peeled and worn by Clallam County Commissioner Hugh Hafner in an attempt to keep the bunny-related dream alive.

Jul

2

Baby…

Filed Under Music | 1 Comment

I have a sneaking suspicion that the “baby” backing vocals from The Rolling Stone’s “Happy” reappear, years later, in Beck’s “Debra,” just before “step into my Hyundai.”

Jul

1

Grocery item finder.

Filed Under Food & Drink | 5 Comments

After having difficulty finding fava beans, mint chutney, naan, seitan, and any number of other recipe ingredients, I thought of a fairly useful idea that I have yet to see executed: a grocery item finder. A web-based utility would search a database of grocery products and stores for the closest few locations to the user’s that sell a particular product. So you’d input your zip code and what you’re looking for (e.g. 98501 and fava beans), and it would inform you e.g. that Ralph’s Thriftway carries Progresso brand in canned form. It may also inform you that neither the Olympia Food Co-op nor the nearest Safeway, Fred Meyer, Albertsons, QFC, and Wal-Mart carry fava beans in any form. Perhaps the database could even be populated partially by users. Useful, no?


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