If you think these are good qualifications to be VP...

You probably thought Bush would do well with our economy

- Palin has never visited Russ (although claims she can see it) and until last year, never travelled outside North America. Her reasoning "I'm not one of those who maybe came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college and their parents give them a passport and give them a backpack and say go off and travel the world. No, I've worked all my life. In fact, I usually had two jobs all my life until I had kids. I was not a part of, I guess, that culture." Great. That's who you really want to be VP. Let's forget about picking the best, let's just pick whoever!

- Palin has never met a foreign leader until her trip this week to NYC. You think this one week trip is good enough?

- When asked how Alaska's closeness to Russia enhanced her foreign policy experience, Palin said, "Well, it certainly does because our ... our next-door neighbors are foreign countries." Alaska shares a border with Canada. Wow, that's some foreign policy insight. That our next-door neighbors are foreign countries. Alaska shares a border with Canada? I believe that was also a question on 'Are you smarter than a 5th grader?'

You've royally screwed up this country and a lot of the world's economy. Don't you think you've done enough?

So Much Crap, Where's My Shovel?

There is so much crap coming out of the McCain/Republican spin machine that I don't even know where to start or coherently group them. So, I'll just go with the list idea.

- McCain was voted the worst senator in 2007 by the children's defense fund. Their ratings were based on 11 key votes in the senate that had to do with education, children's insurance, and other children related topics.

- McCain vote No 3x since 2001 to fund the Head Start program - Even though in a recent interview he said he would be glad to fully fund it.

- McCain consistently voted to limit the amount of children that can participate in health care plans. Most recently, he support Bush's veto of the expansion that would give most children health insurance.

If you're a parent, is this the kind of person you want up in the White House? Can you really say he cares about you and your family?

- McCain has voted 19 times against raising the minimum wage. After 19 times, he did vote in the most recent bill to raise the minimum wage. That bill of course, was full of funding for the war.

- McCain is a big proponent of privatizing Social Security. Can you imagine what would social security looks like if it was privatized and people invested in wall street? Think that's a good idea now?

- McCain said at the beginning of the campaign that he does not and will not have a dirty mud slinging campaign. Obviously, that was before he got behind in the numbers. Way to keep your word.

- The McCain campaign has a new Ad out on Obama's connection with the former Fannie Mae chief Franklin Raines. Quite the nasty ad. Sadly,

The Washington Post reported -- with the kind of blind sourcing that suggests the source was Raines -- that Raines had "taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters."

Raines said in the statement through the campaign, "I am not an advisor to Barack Obama, nor have I provided his campaign with advice on housing or economic matters."

Just another flat out lie from this campaign. Don't get me started on that ad about Obama wanting to teach sex ed to children crap. Aren't you all tired of this by now?

- Palin has been getting a crash course in foreign policy. This for a woman that has only left North American just once!. This for a woman that claims she has foreign policy credentials because she can see Russia from Alaska. This for a woman that is inches away from becoming the president of the US.

- BTW, where are all those cries of we don't need someone who needs on the job training?

- John McCain's presidential campaign has shielded the first-term Alaska governor for weeks from spontaneous questions from voters and reporters. Is this really the kind of VP you're looking for? Face it, if you're excited by her candidacy, you're not excited by substance, but just superficial crap.

- During the meeting Palin had at the UN, The GOP campaign, applying more restrictive rules on access than even President Bush uses in the White House, banned reporters from the start of the meetings, so as not to risk a question being asked of Palin. Photos of her and diplomats were available though. Isn't that nice?

- Let's talk about this 'Maverick' thing that many of you and McCain are so keen on. From several reports and from McCain himself, they will all tell you that McCain prefers to make decisions quickly and stand by those decisions. You know, make decisions by instinct or by the gut. In case you've forgotten, the current president also makes decisions the same way. See how well that works?

Making decisions quickly and by instinct is very important for a jet fighter pilot and perhaps is fine in the Senate where damages really isn't that big. However, it is not a good attribute for the presidency. When the president make rash decision, and then sticks by them, well, you get what has been going on the last 8 years. 2 wars and an economic recession. Is this what you all want to continue? This making decisions by the gut crap. This is NOT a good thing people.

What the Fuck is wrong with you people?

Once again, what the fuck?

Unless you're trapped under a rock, you may have heard there is a major financial crisis going on in the world. What started in the US with the mortage crisis soon spread to every part of the financial world. Soon, companies that has been around for hundreds of years fell vicitim to this crisis.

Oh, but it didn't stop there. What happened in the US is spreading all around the world. The world is in one of the worse financial situations since WWII. There are millions that have lost so much from their retirement account. So many that have lost their savings.

Let me tell you how this happened. For as long as I remember, the Republican (most of them anyway) have waved the flag of free market. A free market where there were no rules, no checks and regulations. They believed the market will take care of itself.

At the forfront of this was John McCain. For the last 25 years, he has been carrying the flag of less/no regulation for the financial institutions. It was a bill that he sponsored that allowed the banks and investments firms to begin projects that would eventually lead to the housing crisis.

Today, I saw McCain on the campaign trail saying that he will put in regulations for the financial section to prevent these type of things from happening. Really? You want people to believe that you'll be working to put in regulations that you have been working to get rid the last 25 years you've been in congress?

Listen, I expected McCain to change his voice on this. Of course he would. He's running for the presidency. No, my WHAT the Fuck goes to all of you who are thinking of voting for McCain. What the fuck are you people thinking?

Don't you people ever think about things before you decide on something? You hear the Republicans talk about change. Do you not remember who's been in the White House and had the majority in Congress for the last 8 years? So what are they saying exactly when they say change? Are they admitting that they've been fucking up the last 8 years and that we need something different? Are they saying they need to get themselves out of office?

Oh, but the Democrates will tax the really rich. I could become really rich one day and I don't want to be taxed. I hear that a lot as a reason not to vote for Obama. Because he's talking about taxing the super rich and capital gains. First of all, if you're thinking is that you will become really rich one day, you're probably not going to be. I don't think you can fathom how much money some people in this country has.

You think you have a good salary making $100K/Year? You think you might be part of this super rich group? Try making at least 10x more than let's talk. Capital gains taxes? Are you a day trader or something? Do you have a lot of stocks that you move around that's not part of your 401K? No, I didn't think so. That capital gain tax has nothing to do you with.

As recent as just a few days ago, McCain is still saying the financial fundamentals of the country is great, and that its best days are ahead of us. Yes, if you're uber rich, this little crisis probably doesn't bother you too much. Unfortauntly, for the other 99% of the population, this is really fucked up.

Not only is it fucked up in the US, the effects are fucking up around the world.

This is the direct result of McCain's economic ideals, that the markets doesn't need any restrictions. He opened all the doors so wall street can collapse under its own greed. This is what he wanted and fought for the last 25 years. This is the result of his thinking and the extent of economic knowledge. 'Let's just let the market take care of itself' is NOT an economic plan.

Can you really vote for someone that's caused so much damage and hardship to so many millions of people around the world?

Seriously, what the fuck people? Look into these things before you just agree you want to vote for McCain.

I'll predict it now. If McCain wins, we will be even further in debt. There will be a global recession. We will be in another war. Oh, but rest assure. The top 1% who makes millions and millions of dollar a year will get their tax cut from McCain. Cause you know, they're the ones that really need it.

Here we go again


The investigation into Sarah Palin's abuse of power case ran into resistant as the Republicans naturally want to end it or delay it past the election. Even Republicans who supported the "Troopergate" investigation now wants it delays.


Can you really tell me with a straight face that they're NOT doing this solely for political reasons? Screw the law, the law can wait, let's see if she becomes the VP first. What kind of irresponsible behavior is that?


This all from the party that's ran this country for the better part of the last 8 years. What have they done you ask? Oh you of such short memory. We're in 2 wars. Our reputation around the world has been dragged through the mud. We had one of the worst repsonses to a natural diseaster EVER. Our country went from a surplus in buget to the biggest deficit EVER (with most of our money owe to people who doesn't like us). Our financial system is in its worse shape in the last century. Companies that has lasted hundreds of years couldn't survive 8 years of this Republican administration in charge.


So half of you out there are considering voting for ANOTHER VP that wildly abuses their power in the office. Wow. You guys really don't learn do you.

Ultimate Down Under

Last night was my first night of Ultimate Spring League here in Australia. I'm glad that I've been able to find ultimate here. Also, for the first time, I have a friend that went to play as well. I don't think since uni have I know people outside the sport go play with me. So yay for that.

One problem that I can already see is that it's played at fields around suburbs so it's going to be quite difficult to get there without a car. No train lines for me. I may have to learn how to use the bus lines. Bus line and Ferry line. Finally frontier.

I've played around with the idea of a car. They have the ones you can rent for a few hours at a time. There's one that's parked right in front of my apts. I'm still not sure about driving on the wrong side so I'll have to see about that.

Anyway, back to the Aussie ultimate. A lot of it was the same. We started late. The calling card of ultimate. There were a lot of differences though. Overall, I think the level of game play was not as high as it was in Atlanta. It could be that this was the first night or that this was not the big summer league which would bring in more of the good people. I guess this might be good. I looked pretty good out there and I haven't played in a few months.

One very big notable difference was that after the game, each team did cheers for each other. The league in Colorado I was in did that, but I haven't seen it anywhere else. The sportsmenship was very high with both teams huddling up and saying good stuff and cheers for each other. Took me a bit by suprise, but it was totally cool.

I'm going to have to figure out this transportation issue, but other than that, I think this is going to be fun playing ultimate here.

Finally Caved

It's 4am and I can't sleep so I decided to create a facebook page. Yes, I know. I've been fighting it for a while. Well, when you can't sleep you do some stuff you might regret later.

So if you're on there. Let send me an invite.

Why Waste Time When Someone's Already Done It Better?

I've been trying to figure out a way to verbalize this and to find examples of this. I've seen it, I've heard it. Just haven't had the time to find it. Well, thanks to Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, I think they's said it all.

Watch this when you have a bit of time.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=184082

See how fast the tune changes for the Republicans when they run into these issues that they so quickly cast judgement on before.

Can someone tell me what a VP even does?.. that was then. I accept your nomination for VP of the US.. That's now!

Pregger Teens? Blame the Parents, they're pinheads.. that was then. Respect their choice.. That's now!

Whinny female politicans? They should get out of politics if they can't handle the criticism. It's a step backwards for women when they can take a little heat.. That was then. There is a deep rooted sexism going on in the media and this country... That's now!

This government is broken and we need someone to fix it!.. That's now! Umm.. Republicans have had the white house and congress for most of the last 8 years.

How can you not see this well coordinated spin machine? I heard a person they interviewed after Palin's speech, she said 'I really liked her speech. She used small easy to understand words.' What the fuck is wrong with you?! How is that a reason to vote for someone? Why in the world do you want someone like you to be president? You're obviously not that great. Why would you want someone not that great in the White House?

What the hell is this obession with wanting someone 'just like you' or that 'can relate to you' to be the president? This goes to both parties. There are NO political people at this stage of government that's ANYTHING like you or can really relate to you. Unless you have millions of dollars in the bank, several mansions, or a private jet you can put on ebay (can't believe Palin said that in her speech and people cheered). What the fuck are you thinking? Oh, yea, that reminds me of the time I put my private jet on ebay to sell... oh wait. No, that was a used porn dvd. Nevermind.

They're not like you. We need someone that's better than us to run the government. Better is not a bad word, neither is Elite. I believe elite means something like the best. Don't you want the best to be running the government?

Listen. Don't think I just LOVE the Democrate's choice Biden either cause I don't. I've got some serious issues with him. I bet you didn't know this. Biden is on my shit list. That's right. He's one of the people that created and passed the RAVE act. Oh. Biden, you didn't think I'd remember did ya. You think I'd forget with all our brains damaged and no fluid in our spines. Nooooo... I remember. War on drugs my ass.

Still though. It's better than the alternative.

People. Please pay attention. Do your own research. Look at both sides and the real issues. Not just the talking points. Make a good decision Please.

Just Cause I'm Not Living in the Country Anymore.. Doesn't Mean I Can't Bitch

On American Politics.

Funny enough, I get more news here than when I was living in the US.

So, the McCain and the Republicans nominated Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska to be the running mate with John McCain.

Seriously? This is your pick? And you can say with a straight face that this was chosen because she's the best person for the job and not purely for political reason?

Can you say you didn't pick her because she's a woman? The pro-Hillary and scared conservative suburban mom population that you're targeting?

Can you say you didn't pick her because she's insanely conservative? The Christian right that you're so desperately trying to get out and vote? The horribly misguided Anti-Choice population that you want to excite?

Can you say you didn't pick her because she's so pro-big oil and pro-NRA? The population that gives you all your money?

I don't think you say deny any of that.

McCain accused Obama of putting politics before the country first, but I think this choice in a VP truly shows which party could give a rats ass about the country as long as they win.

How about some facts about Palin.

_Palin sought pork-barrel projects for her city and state, contrary to her reformist image. In her earlier career as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Palin hired a lobbyist to help the tiny town secure at least 14 earmarks, worth $27 million between 2000-2003. McCain has touted Palin as a force in his long battle against earmarks. Really?

_Her husband once belonged to a fringe political group in Alaska with some members supporting secession from the United States. I believe there was a war that determined this is not legal.

_A private attorney has been authorized to spend $95,000 to defend her against accusations of abuse of power. The state legislature is investigating whether she had Alaska's public safety commissioner fired after he refused to dismiss a state trooper who had divorced Palin's sister. Yea, that's who we want in the oval office. Someone who will get someone fired for breaking up with her sister.

_She has acknowledged smoking marijuana in the past. Well. I don't give a rat's ass about this.

_Under her leadership this year, Alaska asked for almost $300 per person in requests for pet projects from Stevens, one of McCain's top adversaries. That's more than any other state received, per person, from Congress. Yea, you're really 'outside the system'.

_Bristol Palin's boyfriend, Levi Johnston, plans to join the family of the Republican vice presidential candidate at the GOP convention. Talk about the text book example of a shotgun wedding. Way to go on your Abstinence only education! See how well that works!!!!!!

_This is probably the most angering one. Palin opposed the U.S. government's listing of a variety of animals as endangered, including the polar bear and the beluga whale, both of which inhabit areas also rich in oil and natural gas. There is just no excuse for this. You want to hunt, go hunt a human. Leave these animals alone just cause you want to get rich off the oil that's in that space.

How well versed do you think Palin is on foreign affairs? Sticking up for Palin, a commentator on Fox News says that she governs Alaska which is really close to Russia. She must know how to deal with them. WTF? How are you still a channel?

"If you can take on Ted Stevens and that crowd in Alaska, you can handle the Russians," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, told ABC News this week. Do you even know where Russia is? Have you read anything in the news lately about Russia? They're going to overtake China as the scariest country in the world. They're no joke. They're the real thing.

You want to vote for someone like that? Someone that may have a good chance of becoming the most powerful person in the world? If you do, all these jokes I hear about Americans are probably all your fault.

The Apt, the Apt, the Apt is on fire...

Here's a funny story.

I was doing laundry Saturday morning.

The laundry room is right next door to mine. I was going in and out all morning. I went out one more time to see if I left anything in one of the machines and as soon I went in the laundry room, I hear a click.

Shit.

I've been in and out all morning and the door's never closed on me. What the hell? I just locked myself out. To add to the problem, I just put something on the stove, so I've got something cooking. If I don't get back in there soon, I'm going to burn the place down.

I've lived here for a week, and I'm going to burn the place down. Great.

I wasn't sure what to do. I knocked on one of my neighbor's door. This old dude in a robe came to answer the door. I told him the situation. This is what he said as a solution in all seriousness. Is your balcony door unlocked? Good. Go up to the apt above and jump from the balcony into my apt. You can hang from the bottom of the balcony and then swing yourself onto yours. Just don't let go.

I'm like what? Are you insane? I'm 8 floors up! I'm not Jackie Chan.

He said fine, looking a bit disappointed.

I remember my realtor works on sat sometimes so I gave her a call. Luckily, she was there. She said to come by the office and grab the key. I was a bit relieved as I'm only about a mile away from her office.

Then I remembered. Since I'm doing laundry, I'm barefoot and in my pajamas and a white t shirt. For those of you that knows me, my usual outfit.

I didn't really have a choice, and time was of the essence with food on the stove. I just started sprinting up to the office. The office is on this section of the road that has tons of cafes. It's brunch time, and everyone's out eating on the patio. Brunch is very big here.

So everyone's enjoying their leisurely meal when up comes a half dressed guy sprinting pass them. I bet there was some good conversations that got started from that. You guys can probably all imagine what that scene looked like.

Good news is that I got the key and ran back and the place hasn't burned down yet. The smoke detector hasn't even gone off yet (I know the smoke detector is very sensitive cause I've set it off a couple of times already).

I'm going to go make a copy of my key and hide it somewhere. I'll tape it behind something along with a gun, passports, and some cash and be all James Bond like.

That was just what happened before noon.

Next time, what I was doing till 4am later that night. Just as a teaser, there were 4 bars, some crazy lady, and a random warehouse party involved.

Till next time!

My First Domestic Flight in Australia

It's very difficult to do updates when you don't have Internet at home. Doing it at work and while you're sober is just not the same.

Well, here we go:

- I went to Melbourne this last weekend for work. I don't know, I think I may should've chosen that city instead. It's all nice and nature-y there. The vibe seems a bit better too.

- I had the best cab driver EVER. He was chatting away. Telling me where he was driving. All the local places, and some of the places we were driving by. Seriously the nicest drive ever.

- Went to a very cool bar without a name. There are many alleyway bars in Melbourne (unlike Sydney that only has super large bars). It was pretty sweet with the way it was set up and a live DJ. Then went to another bar named 'cookie'. It's pretty sweet. Even sweeter was our waitress. OMG. Seriously. We should clone her.

- Had probably one of the most fun flights ever on my way back to Sydney. Even though I was in the last row in the corner seat, it was still so much fun. What made it fun was the flight crew that sat next to me. They were hilarious. This was the crew that's working the flight back so they weren't working during my flight. Oh, it was just so much fun I can't even tell ya. They got me a bunch of food and beer to take home too.

- Beer and wine are free on flights here. Score.

- You can bring liquids on the planes. You don't have to take off your shoes either. Once again, score.

- All flights comes with food of some type, and not just the bag of pretzels. I got a cupcake, and these cheese and crackers. On my flight back, thanks to the crew I was sitting with, I got a steak sandwich and like a 6 pack of beer for the way home.

- I'm taking United on my way back to the states next week. Everyone here has grimaced when I told them that. I don't think it could be THAT bad. Besides, I have 16 drink tickets. I'll just make sure I sit on the lsle next to the bathroom.

- I saw all these things about Bali. I think I have to go while I'm here. Sadly, it's not one of those go by yourself kinda things. So... guess I better get a move on things.

Cheers mates,

More Observations from Sydney

- One good thing about so many Asians around here is that there are a ton of arcades here. One bad thing is that there are so many Asians here. I can't play any games without getting my ass whooped.

- There were some crazy DDR action on Friday night. Who's doing a movie on this? It's sure to be better than most of the other movies made from video games'. Furdell, this one is for you. I saw a dude playing Crazy Taxi. I left to get something to eat, do some errands, maybe took a short nap. When I came back, he was still picking up passengers. Same game.

- I had yum cha (dim sum) today. I was there by myself and people gave me the strangest look being that this is supposed to be a big group of people kinda thing. Despite that, the food was super good.

- I just had the best cream puffs that were freshly made in front of me.

- I had a Russian cabbie today. He explained to me how the Georgians are the real terrorists in this conflict and that all this western propaganda is all evil. I thought this was really interesting to hear the other side's view on this. Made me glad I made my trip. The variety of people here is just amazing.

- They can say Shit on TV. Yet the world didn't end. How amazing.

- I think it's funny to say Rubbish instead of Trash.

- On the Bizaro front, there's a Delilah-ish show here that's hosted by a dude. Same type of stories and music though.

- So far, when I try to talk with an Aussie accent, no one has been able to understand me.

- While walking along the beach this Sat, I saw some whales. Yay whales. They were very cool and were just hanging out next to the surfers. I think they were judging the sufers or trying to decide if they should eat one of them.

- While on said beach, they had some loud dance music playing. Nothing beats beats on the beach. Nothing.

- I finally figured out how to text back to the states. That's right bitches. The texting is back!

- I'm set up to go to a Trance event at a dome in October. It's going to be sweet. Party goes from 10pm - 6am. Let's see how I do. In case you're wondering if what the event is: Godskitchen 'Angels in White'

Maybe I'm more awesome than I thought.

To all you nay sayers out there.

Who move to a new country and in less than 2 weeks:

- Became a regular at a bar. You know what that means? People know my name there. I know the bartender's and the manager's business, and I get served drinks even after last call. That's right. suck it.

- Went out with a girl. Had a nice dinner and drinks. Less than 2 weeks. Suck it.

- Went out with random people that I randomly met.

I'll update you with more of my awesomeness later.

Decisions Decisions

Ok folks, I need some help in making a decision on where to live. Here're the two scenarios I'm working with.

Choice 1:

Standard 1 bedroom apt.
Wonderful view of the Harbour bridge and the city
Fully furnished

Choice 2:

Share the apt with 2 girls
1 bathroom
A tiny room in an apt. Like really small/Can barely fit a double bed and that's it
Area for an office
Unfurnished room, so will have to buy bed
It's $520 cheaper a month + only 1/3 utilities
Have good friends that live across the hall. 2 guys and a girl. It's almost like a 'Friends' scenario.
They all go out and hang out together

Being that I'm in the city all by myself, and that my coworkers are pretty much non-existent. I can instantly have 5 friends. Very tempting. The room is so tiny though. Although I would save quite a bit per month.

Here's the other thing. The girls will be making a few more interviews and will decide by Friday. If I want that 1 bedroom, I'll have to act fast. The rental market here is ridiculous. The renters have said it's a quick turnaround so if I apply tomorrow, I should be able to move in by friday if all goes well. This is before the girls make the decision.

What should I do?

One World.... One Pup

Does anyone else think the slogan of one world, one dream of the Olympic games is a bit ominous coming from China? Do you know what their one dream is? Yea, you should be concerned.

I'm currently watching my favorite Olympic sport. Woman's beach volleyball. Seriously, best spectator sport ever. In case you were wondering or have noticed that their bikinis has gotten smaller, it's not just a fashion statement. I heard this on the TV today. There was a rule change recently that said their bottoms could only be so big. I don't know who made that rule, but it's a fantastic rule.

Between every point, they play a short sample of a song. They just played 'Push it' by Salt n' Pepper. Sweetness.

Currently, Greece is playing Austria. Goodness, it's just all kinds of awesome.

During the formal timeout, 12 Chinese girls in bikinis ran out and help coordinate the wave. These even coordinators know how to throw a party.

Ring of fire? Wha? How's that an appropriate song to be playing?

Yay for butt patting!

Ha... they announcer gives instructions on how to cheer. That's funny.

Awww... it's over. Yay to the Austrians for a big upset over the Greeks.

----------------------
It's been interesting watching the Olympics from Australia. I've been able to see a lot of sports that doesn't normally get shown in the US because Americans aren't in them. For example, I watched Badminton today. That's not too bad.

They also showed the women's weight lifting in the 49kg class. Now there wasn't any Aussies in this. I think they wanted to show because the women didn't look like body builders at all. They looked like quite attractive women. Attactive women that can lift more than double their body weight. It was quite the sight.

Whoa. They're showing field hockey now. Cool.

I'm not sure how it is in the US, but it's non stop Olympics here.

I sure hope they show table tennis. I would sure love to watch some Olympic table tennis.

Aussies/Kiwi - 2 Team Pup - 0

Once again I have failed in keeping up with the locals. This is quite sad as I thought I did quite well tonight. Nonetheless, I had to retire early.

Just to give you a condense version of the happenings today.

- Got a number. This time from a girl. That's right, no more dude numbers. This is going to be sweet.

- Starting to be a semi-regular at a bar. Oh, it's so on.
- Got a bunch of numbers from a bunch of older ladies. Don't know what that's about, but it just happened.

- Saw a bunch of rave kids in full rave gear on the train. I asked where they were going. I had no idea where they said they were going, but I doubt I could keep up. Good god I'm old. Getting old sucks.

- There was a drug bust of Ecstasy worth half a BILLION dollars here in AU. I'm a bit sad about that.

- I saw a bunch of punk ass kids on the train today. They thought they were hot shit. They were barely cold diarrhea. Seriously. The old crew of Tony, Ski, and Nikki would've killed these fools without blinking an eye, and they thought they would try to be tough with me? Shit. They don't know how I roll.

- Have I mentioned rave chicks in full rave gear is just totally hot? Well they are.

Why Am I?

What am I so drunk you ask? Yea. Note to self. Don't try to outdrink a Kiwi, a Brit, and an group of aussies.

I was sitting in my hotel room all by me self tonight. I was thinking. I need to get out there. Meet some people and shit.

Where do I feel most comfortable even without my crew. A local dive bar of course.

So I went out and hit a few local bars. The first few didn't really click with me. Then I went to the 'Fortune of War'. Supposively the oldest bar in Sydney. Right away I struck it up with the bartender talking about Rugby. She was quite a cutie which really helped out things.

Then I talked to this german guy. He was pretty cool and I got his number. Weird I know. I have no issues getting dude's numbers. I need a crew.

After he left, this Kiwi and his girl came in. He was all kind of crazy. So funny. We started buying each other drinks.

Then this group of Aussie girls came in. It was great fun as we started doing Jager bombs. You know how everything goes down hill after Jager. These gals had been drinking before they came here. Within 30min, had more to drink than me in the couple of hours I've been at the bar, and were perfectly fine with drinking more.

Of course, the Kiwi was helping everyone out with drinking more and more. It was a grand ol' time.

At the end, they said they were ready to start drinking and headed to a bar called 'Three wise monkeys'. I can only imagine what that's all about. I was pretty hammered so I wasn't able to join them.

What a bummer. These were my kind of people.

Oh well, guess I need to work on my tolerance.

More Observations from down under

- Cigarettes are the most amazing things in the world. What other product can you put a label that reads 'This product will KILL you' and people still buy it. How is this product legal?

- I just came back from an arcade in the middle of the city. With all the Asians here, you can imagine the competition. There were 8 Tekken 6 machines linked together. The level of play was pretty ridiculous. Of course, I had to give it a shot. That was probably the shortest game I've ever played.

- I watched these 2 girls play (and beat) house of the dead 4. They looked kinda like cartoon characters with the way they looked. If there's a zombie uprising down under, I'm hanging out with them.

- There are a lot of Japanese and Korean girls here that look like cartoon characters here.

- You can openly walk around and drink in most parts of the city.

- You haven't heard hot/sexy until you hear an aussie girl say 'panties'.

- I have watched so much Rugby in the last few days. Did you know there are different versions of Rugby? I didn't either. Apparently, it's like the NFL and AFL in the US. In one of the versions, teams can score over 100 pts. Odd.

- They may not have a Halloween here, but they have a pirate day celebration.

Live.. From Down Under... It's Pup!!!!

Now that I'm on the other side of the world, here's a few things that I've observed.

Food is insanely expensive here. Like double the price of the US. You know how you can get a roasted chicken from the grocery store for about $6 in your grocery store? Yea, it's A$14 dollars here. You know what the exchange rate is? 1:1

Actually, everything is expensive here.

I've been watching a lot of Rugby. Still not 100% sure what's going on, but I think I'm getting the hang of things soon and it looks fun.

There are Aussie versions of 2 of my favorite shows. So you think you can dance Australia and Project Runway Australia. Sweet.

A new video game here costs A$85. That's just insane.

I was awake at 4am today due to jet lag. I started walking around looking for apartments at 8am. I walked by several clubs that were just starting to close. I later talked to a friend here who said she had an early night at the club last night. She left at 5am.

Driving from the right side is weird. Not getting hit by a car is a bit of a challenge for me right now.

I need to learn the metric system and to tell the temperature in Celsius. It's screwing with me when I look at stuff.

8 thin slices of hard Salomi costs A$6. Other cold cuts are equally expensive.

Going out tonight. Should have more interesting things to report tomorrow.

I'm leaving... on a jet plane...

In about 12 hours, I'll be on a plane heading to the other side of the world. Don't know anyone there. Got no one to drunk text/dial. Quite a bit of a new start, but unlike all the other times where it's just a different state, this is somewhere far far away.

Even as often as I do this, there is always that fear. It's not like I'm doing this with someone. It's just me and Pup. He's probably just going to find a pub, but me, I've actually got to go out and set myself up with a crew. Find new people to be with.

We'll see how successful we are. We could be back after the year is over or there's always that chance..

Don't know if I'll come back again....

Learn your geography Mr. McCain.

So many people like McCain because somehow he seems he may be better at foreign affairs than Obama. Why? Cause he's old? Cause he was locked in a cage for years? No, those are not good reasons that he would be better at foreign affairs.

In March of this year, during a visit to Jordan, McCain said SEVERAL times that IRAN was training and financing Al Qaeda. Yea, to most of you that sounds reasonable. Unless you have been keeping up with the world and knew that Iran is a Shiite country. Al Qaeda is a Sunni insurgent group. They would NEVER get together being that they HATE each other.

Can you imagine if Obama had misspoke like that? But no, it was McCain, and people just let it go.

Last week, McCain repeatedly referred to Czechoslovakia. A country that hasn't existed since 1993. What's he going to say next? We need to stop the spread of the Persian empire?

This morning, in an interview with Good Morning America, asked by Diane Sawyer whether the "the situation in Afghanistan in precarious and urgent," McCain responded: "I think it's serious. . . . It's a serious situation, but there's a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border."

That's right. He's gonna focused on the Iraq/Pakistan border. Sir, you don't deserve to run a country if you don't know that Iraq and Pakistan doesn't share a border. BTW, I have some beach front property in Nevada I'd like to talk to you about.

McCain knows very little about the economy and of world affairs. This is a serious election, and we need a serious person to run things. We don't need someone who only cares about wars.

If you are even remotely thinking of voting for McCain, please do reconsider. After all, I think we've had enough of your great 'decision making ability' these last 8 years.

Decisions Decisions

Batman comes out this Friday. That is a must see of course. I love the Bat. I understand his anger. I understand his wanting to personally clean up the scum that's plaguing his city. I understand his need to be scarier then the things that go bump in the night.

That part is interesting, but I don't think that's what really fascinates me about Batman though. I'm fascinated by his enemies. Parts of me can really relate to them, or at least I think I have parts of them in me.

Scarecrow - Who doesn't like someone who wants to spread fear? He does it for fun and for research. I can respect that. I really like the idea of being able to spread fear and have people paralyzed within their own minds. All those thugs, low-lives, molesters, murders out there causing fear on people. Wouldn't it be great to have them trapped in their own minds with a nice dose of gas so they can experience what they do to others? How interesting would it be to become fear itself?

The Joker - Who doesn't love this villain? And no, the one in my head is not the happy or goofy Joker that's been portrayed in the 60s TV show or by Jack in the first Batman movie. The Joker I know is a sociopathic sadistic murder who does things with little reason or care. He is interested in causing chaos and that's about it. I can appreciate that. I understand even the Joker does things for reasons. People always have some agenda. What if one day there was a person that didn't have an agenda? A person that just wants to cause death and destruction for the fun of it.

Of course, Mamma Mia also comes out this Friday. As the guys will tell you, I've been wanting to see Mamma Mia for years now. Every time we're in Vegas they hear me bitching about not going to see Mamma Mia. I know it's not much of a decision for most people. The Batman crowd and the Mamma Mia crowd doesn't really mix, but then again, most people aren't Pup.

Decisions Decisions.

Epic.

I think that's the best word to describe the Wimbledon finals match I watched this Sunday between Federer and Nadal. It was an amazing match with every point being so impressively played.

I've always watched tennis. I was on our high school tennis team and have always liked watching the game. I can't remember the last time I didn't watch the Wimbledon finals. This one this past weekend was different though. It was just another finals like so many years before.

There was so much back story to the match. There is such great competition between Federer and Nadal. There was so much building up to it. I would say 3 years in the making. And unlike so many sporting events that gets so much hype, this time, it was worth every bit the hype.

There are such stark contrast between the 2 players. There are obvious things like age, right vs. left handed, one wears a vest, the other wears pirate shorts. One plays with an elitist surgical precision in style. The other plays with a raging beast roaring through each point. Never have I seen a match with this high caliber of skill and intensity. These were Titans playing the game this last sunday. The match was everything a fan could wish for. It went to 5 sets, with a final set score of 9 -7.

This will surely be one for the history books. I'm just glad I was able to witness it.

Bravo to both players.

What the fuck is wrong with you people?

Once again, here's another installment.

What is with the culture in this country of whenever something goes wrong, we always look for someone or something to blame? No one ever looks at themselves as the cause for problems. Let me tell you something. Most of the time, it's YOUR fault something has happened. I'm not saying others may not have caused something bad, but the majority of the time, yea, it's you.


Let's take this insanely high oil prices that's going on right now. When you ask anyone why this is happening, I bet some of the answers you get will be related to global world demand, not enough supplies, or commodity traders driving the price up.


Why is it that very few of you will say that it's becasue of our fault in the decisions that we've made in last few decades? The technology for electrical cars has been around for decades, though not a sophicated as it's needed today, it was there. I mean come on, Henry Ford's wife's car was all electric. Yes, they had something back then. Yes, the oil companies have kept those technology from coming out. Yes, the government has not pushed for this, but all that is because you didn't care. You made conservation and alternative fuels four letter words. You never noticed the problem or cared much because oil was cheap. It's your damn fault.

I suggest watching the documentary 'Who killed the electrical car'. It has very interesting information about the electrical car and why we're in the spot we are today.

Let's say that's not your fault. You weren't around back then. Ok, so how about this. If you bought an automobile in the last 5 years, and you spent more than $25K, if your car does not get more than 35 mpg, then yes, you're part of the problem. Let's not talk about the people that has to buy specific cars or trucks for work or businesses, that doesn't count. That is also probably just 5% of car sales.

Most of you do not need the car that you have. Do you really need to upgrade to a giant SUV because you have 1 child? Some of you buy SUV cause you think they're cool and large, or a sport car because you want to go fast (even though you're stuck in traffic most of the time like the rest of us. Great use of that engine buddy). Don't you people EVER compain about how much gas prices are. It is your fault. You and your stupid decision making skills.

You kept demand bigger cars instead of more fuel efficient cars. I mean seriously people, the Hummer? Really? Y'all thought that was a good idea? Who the hell are you invading driving that thing? When you're driving it around town getting 10 mpg, it makes you look like a douch with a small penis.

Here's another something you need to consider. Sure, we all drive faster than the speed limit, but so many of you drive much faster than you should. You think it's a damn NASCAR race out there. You race to the red light, you swerve around on the highway, you seem to have an uncontrollably heavy right foot. All this burns more gas than is necessary. All this is your fault.


Take a look at yourselves, are you guilty of these behaviors? Do you rather bitch and find someone to blame rather than change your own behavior? I think most of you rather bitch than change your own behavior. That's the problem. That's why we are where we are today.

Now, instead of wanting to make a change in your own life, you're looking elsewhere like offshore drilling and drilling in Alaska to get your fix of bad behavior. You dumb fucks. This is not going to help lower the gas prices anytime soon. It will take at least 10 years for any oil comes out of those places. Instead, you could change your behavior the next time you get in your car, and that will have an immediate impact on the demand for oil. That is what will drive the price down.

Before you bitch about the gas prices, look in the mirror. It's probably your fault. You're probably part of the problem. The sooner you realize this, the sooner we can find a real solution.

TOP 5IVE FOR JULY!!!

A short list this time. Enjoy!

1. WAR "All Day Music"--Honestly, I'm a noob when it comes to War, but "Music" is a good place to start. This disc has flavors of hip-hop, jazz, funk and dare I say, gospel. "There Must Be a Reason Why" is especially enchanting. Here the lead vocalist chants one-liners: "Jesus!" "Lost My Soul!" "Reason!" A choir responds to each of his cries, ("Jesus gave his life to give/Not for you;" "Lost my soul in '68/Where were you?;" "There must be a reason why/I don't know") while the music builds and eventually collapses around a broken black man screaming in agony. In a later song the shattered man finds himself "Slippin' into Darkness," searching for redemption. The title track is a mellow soundtrack for any scene featuring a group of brothers throwing down dominoes, talking trash and taking in the fragrance of the potent marijuana leaf in a city park. Classic.

2. The Beatles "Let It Be"--So it goes like this: "Sgt Peppers" is great for its shock value screaming "We take drugs!!!" "Magical Mystery Tour" echoess that sentiment with a twist; "You should too!!!" The "White Album" is.... And a few albums later we get to "Let It Be," the one that says, "Fuck how it started, this is how it ends, you boys take it from here." My earliest memory of hearing the title track finds me watching Sesame Street, learning all about the "Letter 'B'." Stylistically, the album is everywhere. "Two of Us" fits right in with today's college radio. "The Long and Winding Road" is reminiscent of the soft rock heard on B98.5. I can picture any jam band extending "I've Got a Feeling" to the 20 minute mark. Such a great album, such a shame it had to end, boys. jai guru deva om.

3. Belle and Sebastian "Tigermilk"--No! I did not go out and buy this album after hearing "Expectations" in Juno. I have not seen Juno, and I have no idea what all this Juno crap is about. But apparently it has a kick-ass soundtrack! I am not sure how I fell in with Belle and Sebastian, but here is a bit of irony Alanis Morissette style. During my teenage years I would stay up at night watching 120 Minutes and Alternative Nation. I must have watched at least 2000 videos but I never saw a B&S video. Here is the glitch. I have a distinct impression of a Bettie Serveert video from those sessions, but two years ago I'm shopping at Wax 'n Facts when I pull out a record that reads "Belle and Sebastian--Tigermilk." I think about the Bettie Serveert video, try to connect the two and eventually I buy the record. Was I disappointed? No. The songs are situational. "She's Losing It" breaks the silence of a maladjusted young girl confronting homosexuality. In "We Rule the School" a milquetoast boy has visions of using graffiti to assert his aggression. "I Don't Love Anyone" gives voice to a teenager's frustration with relationships. It's all good. Then there is Juno...? I'll have to watch the movie, I guess.

4. Boards of Canada "In A Beautiful Place Out in the Country" (4 track ep)--The title is a reference to the Waco compound of the Branch Davidians. The track "Amo Bishop Roden" gives it away; if not by the title, then perhaps you recognize Amo Bishop Roden's voice in the loop. Boards of Canada are known for incorporating number theory within their music and from what I have discovered there is a group of BoC fans actively working to decode the music. But there are no complex equations involved with "In A Beautiful Place...." Moreover, I am guessing that back masking the ep has revealed nothing. What we are left with is straightforward ambient music inspired by BoC's research of the infamous cult. So there are no tricks on this one, right? Not quite. BoC uses samples of chattering children to entice the listener to "Come out and join a religious community in a beautiful place out in the country." They almost had me, too. Darn kids. But I aint doing it. I won't move to Waco. Nope. Nice try, guys.

5. Stereolab "Margerine Eclipse"--I had a difficult time beginning the review for this album. But after cueing it up in my disc player, the brainstorming began immediately. The reason for the mental block is this: Laetitia Sadier's vocals are in French, English or both within the same song. I've read the lyric sheets and have a firm understanding of the message, but when I listen to the music I don't always think back to the translations. Instead, I reach for my polyester bellbottoms! "Margerine Eclipse" was released in 2004 making it the youngest of the albums reviewed in this list. It's also the first album by the 'groop' released in the wake of Mary Hansen's (backing vocalist) premature death ("Feel and Triple" is attribute to Mary and the album is dedicated to her). Stereolab have not faltered creatively since Mary's passing, and I'm not bold enough to say they have improved. However ... "The Man With 100 Cells" maintains Laetitia's petitions for social reform; "Refusing what you are given/You want things to be the old way/Resisting the revolutions/Changes are coming anyway." "Margerine Melodie" provides a perspicuous examination of the monotony of capitalism. "Dear Marge" blames religious bureaucracies for social distress and chaos. These songs and others among the groop's canon represent the norm. But there are a few songs that leave me baffled, and it's not because I'm lost in translation. "...Sudden stars" may as well be a pop song expressing heartache over a lost love, and "Cosmic Country Noir" goes as far as third-eye magic. This seems like a new creative direction for the band. Perhaps I would have saw it coming if only I knew French. Maybe I lost something along the way. Must learn French!

The World Premiere

From Drunken Pup Productions:

Zombie Vacation



To watch this, please click on the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5E95D7D8DA9F933F

Enjoy!

Zombie Vacation

Theatrical Release: July 2, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $0

Synopsis: Who would ever think that zombies need a vacation? Well as it turns out in the latest film release from Drunken Pup Studios, zombies like all of us enjoy some R&R. In this film we watch unsuspecting vacationers become infected. But after the zombies takes over their human hosts, the real party begins!!! The drunk zombies dancing the dance of terror at beach resorts. These zombies enjoy beers, stumble on their own feet, soak in the sun, bump into one another, take body shots, and of course, eat some flesh. Just like any regular vacation.
- T

Early reviews of Zombie Vacation

ZV is a fun ride that’ll make you laugh and leave you rethinking about your summer vacation – Random movie dude

Watch this movie bitches! – Pup

Good easy plot to follow even though I’m stone out of my mind. Thanks for thinking about the audience - Jeff

A notch above any movie made for less than $20 – Thrifty movie dude

Well paced, fun, and desperately cheesy, it’s like a vacation for your mind – Amanda Hugnkiss

What’s brilliant about this movie is that it doesn’t mess with any philosophical trapping, sociological subtext, but instead could be used as an afternoon special to warn kids about what happens when you drink too much for days at a time – Mr. Frog’s reviews

Zombies and vacation? What could anyone else ask for? – Low expectation dude

This movie was pretty good. Ok, now where’s my 40 oz for saying that? – Ray Ray

This movie has a definite place in my heart due to the witty script and dialogue of the actors. They make it sound like everything was improvised and thought out at a bar – Burma Times

Seriously, watch this movie or I’ll stab you - Pup

Home

I've been searching for a home for a while now. I've tried looking everywhere I can. I've lived in many places. Next month, I'll be moving to the other side of the world.

As I do with each new place I've moved to, I'll find a nice area that I want to be, a nice place to stay. I'll think about how I'm going to be using each room, how I will furnish and decorate each area. I'll think about how to entertain, throw parties and hopefully accomodate my vistors that stays over. I have no doubt I'll find another great place.

Everywhere I go, it's always just going to be a great place. I have no doubt of that.

Until you’re here though, it’ll never be a home.

Public Announcment

Adults and especially parents. Take note. Please DO NOT take an inappropriately young child to a movie they shouldn't be seeing.

If you want to take a child to the movie, take them to see 'Wall-E'. DO NOT take them to see 'Wanted' where people keeps getting shot in the head. Also, if your child is screaming because they are scared of all the heads being blown off, do not just sit there. Take your child away. Don't just sit there and tell them to shut up.

It is NOT ok for the children to be watching these movies. That's why they're R. Even if you don't care for the MPAA, you should at least have some damn common sense. What kind of movie did you think 'Wanted' would be like that would be appropriate for children? I remember when I went to see 'The history of violence' and there were several kids in the theater. I really wanted to ask those parents. What the hell do you think this movie is about and what do you think your children can get out of this?

Parents should be fined for crap like that.

If you can't afford or find a babysitter, don't go out. You made a choice when you had that child. You don't get to go out and see adult movies wherenever you want to. That's the price of your decision. Be a damn grown up and take responsibility for your actions.

Just released

Post-production photo / First movie poster

Coming Soon...

Coming Soon.....

To a computer screen near you.

Get ready to laugh. Get ready to scream!

Get ready for.....

Zombie Vacation

The most terrifying summer blockbuster of the year!

Red Snapper…. Very Deliciousssss..

During college, a friend of mine and I used to drive down to Biloxi, Mississippi and New Orleans once every couple of months. It’s not that far and perfect for a weekend trip. We had a whole routine to go with these trips. It was my days where I really like gambling. It was fun and exciting. It’s a bit different now, but I still enjoy the trips.

Since I’m about to leave for a while, we decided to make one more trip for old time sakes as we haven’t done this in about 4 years. It was fun going on a road trip. In recent years, I’ve mostly only flown around the country. Haven’t really driven anywhere far. This trip brought back some good memories.

One of our traditions is to get corn nuts when we stopped for gas. I almost never get corn nuts otherwise, but they sure are good. I remember back in elementary school, all the cool kids had bags of corn nuts. Being all broke, I always had to bum some off my friends. Eventually, Brook would just bring me an extra bag. I’d save it and eat it all week so it’d seem like I always have corn nuts. Oh, I miss Brook. Ok, that’s neither here nor there. Moving on.

The one thing we most look forward to on this drives is when we would get to Mobile, Alabama. For there awaits Dreamland BBQ. This is one of my favorite joints in the country. They’ve opened Dreamland here in Atlanta, but it’s just not the same. The ones here are just too clean and doesn’t have that shack feel to it like the one in Mobile has. We generally time our trip so we get there around dinner time. Dreamland never disappoints and it didn’t disappoint this time.

This is the best slap of meat you'll ever have. It's ok to drool. It doesn't mind if you make sweet love to it or call it a dirty dirty slab o' meat.

We were thinking back to the old days while we were at Dreamland. We used to order 1 and ½ racks of ribs for the 2 of us to share. Once we ordered a rack each and finished it all. This time we ordered ½ rack and didn’t come close to finishing. We were hungry too. Being old sure sucks or maybe that's a good thing.

From Dreamland it was about an hour to our destination. I think the gambling story is almost always the same. You go down a lot when you first get there, then you slowly try to work yourself back. All the while convincing yourself you’ve drank enough to make up for your losses. Ha. Ever had a $200 Jack and Coke? Yea, I have.

The only game that I really play anymore is Craps. It’s a good game. The action is fast, and there’s a lot of random yelling and you get to throw things. The random yelling really does it for me. Basically, when the dice is thrown, any number of things will be heard yelled around the table. The better the table is doing, the more yelling there will be. The later in the night, the more random the things that are yelled.

There has been a variety of things that's been yelled in previous trips. Everything from former Ameican Idols to Smurfs. For this trip, we decided on varieties of fishes. For example, if we wanted to roll a 4, we would yell out Swordfish. Come on Swordfish or What’s on the menu tonight? Swordfish!

It was quite comical for us, but I’m pretty sure other people thought we were a bit off. Of course no one really cares as long as you’re rolling numbers. I’m pretty sure if you rolled a good number, you can yell ‘I’m going to stab your mama in the eye’ and people wouldn’t care.

We had Swordfish, Large Mouth Bass, Tuna (yellow fin or fatty ok), Chilean Sea Bass, Trout, and Halibut. Pretty early into the game, we were getting too drunk to remember the fishes and the numbers. We decided on Red Snapper as the catch all for the point number. Red Snapper… very delicious!! Was our cry.

For those of you that knows where that’s from… You’re probably old.

I could tell you about the really drunk mom and her 2 daughters that came and saved the table while being amazing fun, or how my friend made this dude $7000 dollars in 6 rolls, but you have to be there for those.

Good times was had by all.

Our issue this Sunday.

These were the 4 words that excited me every Sunday. These four words meant that it was the beginning of Meet the Press.

For the last few years, I’ve had a very set Sunday routine. There was very little that would take me away from this routine. This was something I did, and one of the few things that I truly looked forward to every week.

On Sunday mornings, I would get up and clean around the house. Once 10am came around, I would watch Meet the Press and read the Sunday paper and cut some coupons. Afterwards, I would either go grab lunch or go to the grocery store. This might not seem that big of a deal, but this was my Sunday routine and I simply loved my Sunday routine.

I have often said that everyone in the US should have to watch Meet the Press. Unlike all the loud mouth talk radio and cable news ass clowns, Tim Russert brought the values of what a true journalist should be like. He had by far the best political show on television. I built my Sunday around Meet the Press.

Tim asked tough questions, but never in a combative way. He gave his guests a chance to explain their position and their thoughts so that they can let the public know beyond just the sound bits that other news channels seems to be obsessed with. Tim asked the questions that an everyday person would want to ask. He was not interested in making friends with the politicians, he was interesting in making the politicians accountable.

Tim asked important questions, questions of substance, not frivolous questions of the week that other news channels would ask. Along those lines, Tim made the show about the guest and the issues. He was interested in getting as much information as could from politicans. Holding them accountable for what they've said and done. He did not make his show as a way of self promotion as so many talk show hosts seems to do.

I watched Meet the Press because of Tim Russert. Tim Russert was Meet the Press as I know it.

I received a text from a friend on Friday. It seemed so surreal to me. I didn’t want to believe what I read. I was hoping it would be some other Tim Russert. I ran to a television as quickly as I can where I saw the news. It was still unbelievable to me. I could not believe what I was seeing.

I know I’ve never met him. Besides inviting him into my home every Sunday for an hour, I have no real links to Tim, but he was someone that I knew I could trust. Someone that I thought was on my side and would ask the questions to the politicians that I would ask. I could just be over blowing this, but I know how I felt when I saw the news and how I feel as I type this. The feeling is numbing. I’m still in disbelief.

I’m going to miss watching Meet the Press with Tim Russert. More than I can say here. We lost a really good one. If you’ve never watched Meet the Press with Tim Russert, I’m sorry for you. You’ve never watched how it should be done. Tim Russert was the standard.

I'm going to miss my Sunday. Sundays will never be the same.

Go Bills.

My current favorite song

This might just hit a bit close to home.

Especially after the Cher thing a bit ago and my insistence on going to see Mama Mia when it comes out.





If you can't laugh at yourself.... well.. other people surely will so go ahead and do it first :)

Worse Uncle Ever.

Yup, that's me. Worse uncle ever. I totally forgot my niece's 3 yr birthday yesterday. I was even in the area, and I was at Toys R Us on Sunday. I had no real reason to go to Toys R Us either. For some reason, I thought I had to go, but I couldn't remember why.

Instead, I went to an ultimate practice yesterday and hurt myself pretty bad landing on someone's foot. Now I can't really walk or put any weight on my leg so I'm probably not going to be able to play a game today.

Serves me right.

Completely absurd

I don’t claim to understand people that much, and the more I see how people behave, the less I feel I understand. Here are some things I find completely absurd.

After seeing the disaster of the last 8 years, how can anyone even slightly consider voting republican and for McCain. Can you not learn? Do you not understand that the last 8 years have been disastrous? Do you not understand McCain is just going to be more of the same.

What is McCain’s big credential for being president? That he’s a war veteran? What does that have to do with being a president? A war veteran would be good to have for a general yes, for a president, no. You know why? Although it seems like it, war is NOT suppose to be main activity this country is involved in. Being that’s the only thing he knows (he admits he knows nothing of the economy), don’t you think all he’s going to do is be focused on wars? Is that what you want? More wars?

Here’s something else I don’t understand. People keep saying how great McCain is for being a POW. You know what, being a POW is not a good thing. They break you when you’re POW, physically and mentally. People are broken after being a POW and you don’t come back from that. No one leaves unscathed. Is that really a positive trait you’re looking for in a president? Someone that has every reason to be broken and may very well have been. Perhaps he may not show it now, but who knows when he will and what he will do?

Another thing I don’t understand is your obsession with experience. You know what? No ONE has the experience of being a president except for 43 guys. The presidency is a very unique position. There are very few ways to prepare for it. Everyone will have on the job training. Unless you’ve been the president of another country, you’ll need on the job training. There’s just no way around it.

By the way, in case you didn’t know. Past experience in one job has almost 0 predictive powers to how the person will do in a future job. Look it up, it’s true. I know what I’m talking about. It’s kinda what I do for a living. A better predictor is the person’s learning agility, and his/her willingness to be open to things. Many people say McCain’s unwielding beliefs are a strong point for him, I say that’s a fatal flaw. Think back to the current president’s unwielding beliefs and where that’s taken us.

This leads to another thing that I don’t understand. McCain insists that talking to our enemies is naïve and against our national interest and security. Really? Not talking is the way to go? Would threatening them with war be a better way to go in your eyes? This is middle school bully behavior. Is that what you’re going to teach the kids? Don’t talk about your problems with each other, just fight. Great example for the kids McCain.

We really need to stop this arrogance that we’re better than everyone else. We need to join the nations of the world instead of thinking we’re above them. These last 8 years has seriously hurt us, and compared to the world, we’re dropping like a rock in most categories. For example, the US has one of the lower education rates for industrialized nations. We don’t have enough well educated and skilled people to do all the jobs. The US has one of the highest costs for health care and a very high rate of infant mortality when compared to some other countries. The US is second to last in happiness for all industrialized nations. I won’t even start with the economy.

McCain will not care or know what to do about any of those things that I just mentioned. The only thing he will do is to continue a war that will make us drop further on every list out there. That is the only thing McCain knows how to do and that’s is NOT who we need as president.

Wouldn't it?

The amount of people taking mass transit is up almost 30%. People are carpooling and thinking of alternative ways of transportation other than to just take their car.

People are rethinking their large unnecessary SUVs and thinking instead at hybrid cars. Finally people realize that hummers are just plain ridiculous.

Wouldn't it be nice if it didn't take 4 dollar gas to make people realize this?

Wouldn't it be nice if people didn't go back to their wasteful ways if the price of gas ever comes down?

Yea, I wouldn't bet on it either.

Memorial Day Cookout Menu

Smoked Pulled pork with North Carolina Vinegar-based sauce
Smoked Baby back ribs
Grilled basil shrimp wrapped with bacon
Devil eggs
Golden, Crispy Gnocchi with Summer Shell Beans
Baked Apples
Baked Beans
Potato Salad
Coleslaw
Ice Cream cookies
A bottle of Vodka
A bottle of Apple Puckers
Numerous beers

Good times was had by all judging by the roulette game coming out and Karaoke

Rave on

Last weekend, after probably about a 2 year hiatus, there was a rave on the calendar. I was pretty hesitant about the whole thing. For one, earlier that day, I had my spring league end of season tournament. I’m usually exhausted and extremely drunk after that’s over. So this might not be the best timing.

I sucked it up. I wanted to see if the kids would come back. The venue was good enough. It was in this big trade center. Not as ghetto or scary as the old days in abandoned buildings or parking structure, but it was good enough. Certainly much better than the posh clubs that anyone ever goes to nowadays.

That’s just not how I roll. I don’t do the posh and dress code crap that these clubs enforce (unless you have an extra $20 for them).

I got back from ultimate and took a nap (ala Furdell style) before going out. I was quite tired from the tournament, but I was determined to suck it up. We left around 11pm which seems quite late, but still hours earlier then when we used to do.

We drove up to the place and I got a bit concerned. There were very few cars there. This was the venue that I went to see Tiesto last summer, and we had to park so far away and the lines were insane. Tonight, we parked right in front and got right in.

Not sure if we were going to be the only people there or what, but we went ahead and went in. Once we got in, we were greeted with some winged girls. Good sign so far.

We walked by the first room, I think it was playing some hard house. The second room had some happy hardcore going and the main room started with some good trance. I like the set up. It was spacious, the music was pretty good.

There were not many people there as the parking lot indicated, but the ones that were there, the majority were dressed properly (candy kid wise). What I was very happy to see and impressed with the dancing. Most of the kids knew how to dance. Not this jumping up and down crap you see at the clubs. I was even more happy to see that the people that really knew how to dance looked a little bit older. It was a good scene of older ravers and the younger kids.

It’s been so long since these events happened last that it’s expected that there wouldn’t be that many people there. Especially the younger kids. It was good to see that there was still a good amount of people there. After a while more people did come in. It never got crowded, but I think that’s pretty good. Hope the revival will continue.

Although I’ve got to admit, I was feeling pretty old with how tired I was getting by about 3am. So sad.

Shout out!

To B for helping me fix my computer after my dumb ass downloaded a virus that didn't allow me to use web browsers anymore.

Yay B!

The World Needs...

In Myanmar, over 10,000 people are dead. Millions are now in danger because of some paranoid old men's lust for control and ego.

An earthquake shook China Monday afternoon destroying cities all through the country. At last count, 12,000 people are dead and they have just begun digging out the bodies from various cities. There are still cities and villages that no one can get to yet. The causalities will surely rise.

Due to high energy costs and even higher food prices, famine is spreading across the world. Countries that were just breaking out of the cycle of famine are in danger of falling back in due to issues that they had no control over.

Rhinos are pretty much extinct now because ignorant and stupid people think their horns carry magical properties or some crap like that.

More and more wars and violence is spreading across the world. Everywhere you see, there is violence. Everywhere you go, there is death.

Weather all around the world is getting more erratic and dangerous. Areas that are not used to natural disasters are getting hit and hit hard.

There are so many people out there that just doesn't care. I understand everyone has their own problems and hardships. But the more people care only about themselves, their own situations, and nothing about the world and people as a whole, the less chance this world will have to get better.

What the world needs is a hero.

Jon Stewart Live!

I was probably more excited then I was leading on about this, but this Saturday night I got to see Jon Stewart live! Not doing the Daily show, but stand up. This was just awesomeness.

This is not the censored Jon Stewart you see on the Daily show. In case you forgot, he was a comedian before the show. This live show was probably 10x funnier when he was allowed to just say what was on his mind instead of having to be censored for TV and those pesky commercials.

There was a lot of cursing, talking about subjects that would just be horrifying for tv (even basic cable). Jon (look at me, we’re on a first name basis now), did a lot of political jokes, but what was interesting was hearing him do other type of jokes too. You got your poop jokes, sex jokes, you basic observation jokes. It was great to see him talk about other topics (even though secretly I wanted more political jokes).

This is the one thing that Jon said during the show that I couldn’t agree with more. During the show, Jon said this. There are 2 kinds of people in this country. It’s not red or blue, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. There is only busy and crazy. Sadly, crazy runs this country because busy has shit to do.

It’s so true. Crazy people are the only people with time to do all this crazy shit. The rational people out there with the good ideas are generally too busy doing things. Oh, say.. a job? You think you can get out of your job to go ‘protest’ at an abortion clinic? You think your boss will let you out to protest a war regardless of his/her point of view? No, busy people have shit to do.

That just leaves the crazies to come up with stupid ass ideas and crazy ass ways to show it. Take the rash of school violence in this country. Is anyone rational coming up with a good idea? No, you got the crazies coming up with ‘solutions’. You got the crazies on the right thinking if everyone had a gun, that would make things better. That’s completely insane. Then you got the left thinking we should ban guns all together and just hug more. Though I hate guns and think we should get rid of guns, this is just not a gonna happen so stop wasting time.

Crazies never come up with good ideas. Just crazy ones.

Jon suggested this, and it’s unbelievable that no one tries this. What we need to convey to the high school kids is that high school ends. All of us went through high school. The feelings and experiences they are going through is not new. As special as these kids think they are, they’re not. They’re going through what all generations of high school kids feel.

What the kids need to know is that the things that people get made fun of in high school usually becomes their strengths later in life. Those things that may have made them popular will probably become a weaknesses later in their life. Things have a way of working out.

Take these kids to a 20yr high school reunion. You’ll see. See that fat balding guy with the comb over working at Wal-mart? Yea, football quarterback.

I know it’s not funny here, but it is when Jon tells it.

Anyway, it was a great night. There were times I was laughing so hard I almost pee-ed on myself.

If Jon is coming to a city near you, go see him! You won’t regret it.

You CANNOT be serious

This whole thing going on in Myanmar is beyond upsetting. I know there is a lot of outrage all over the world, but there should be much more. I know this is extreme, but all you war hawks over there in Washington. Prove we don’t just go into wars for oil. Prove we give a fuck about something other than ourselves. Get rid of this military Jinta that’s letting thousands of its people die.

The official death toll remains at nearly 23,000, with 42,119 people missing. Experts fear it could be as high as 100,000. If you’ve been keeping up, the government first said the number of deaths was around 300. Seriously? 300? Are you that totally inept?

With the lack of action from the government, millions of people are now at risk of getting sick and dying from the lack of clean water, food, or a dry place to stay. Nearly a week after the storm, survivors are now having to contend with rotting corpses of people and animals as they wait for food, clean water and medicine. Supplies that are on the boarder, but are not allowed to get into the country. People, it is time to say go fuck yourself to that totally worthless excuse of a government, we’re coming in to save your people because it’s apparent you’re completely incompetent.

So we get this news today. “Western aid experts in Bangkok will have to wait at least four more days to get into Myanmar to help cyclone victims because the Myanmar embassy in the Thai capital took a local holiday on Friday.”

Are you serious?!! A holiday? Right now? Really? The Fuck is wrong with you?

Suffering from extreme paranoia, the Jinta is refusing any foreign worker in to help. These are people who have the knowledge of disaster relief. Just having the food and supplies there is not enough. You need people who know how to get this out to people. This is not a political thing. These are people here to help save your people because you’re utterly useless.

As a sign of how little this government cares about it’s people, the junta urged citizens on Friday to do their patriotic duty and vote for an army-drafted constitution in a televised message that made mo mention of the millions living in cyclone-affected areas where the balloting had been postponed.

So in this time of great need for the government to step up, they’re number one concern is not their people, but it’s to keep themselves in power.

The latest news coming from the wires are that the government has confiscated all the aid that has been sent over. The UN has no choice but to stop sending aid. This is just fucking-tastic.

This is a time when people in the world need to step up. This type of behavior should not and cannot be tolerated! It’s time for the world to open up a collective can of whoop ass. We’re not doing this just to change a government cause we don’t like them, but when you put millions of people’s lives in danger, the people of the world needs to have a say.

UN. Time to step up. Allow countries to go in. Time is of absolute essence right now. The Jinta had their chance and they’ve proven their worthlessness. No one will fault you for this as the world will be behind you. Protect the people of Myanmar from their worthless government. This is what you’re suppose to do. Allow other countries to help the people. There’s no more time to ask for permission. It’s time to act.

WHAT the Fuck is wrong with you people?!

Check your watches, it's that time again.

Let me start out by giving you some numbers.

25,000 - Number of deaths per DAY due to conditions linked to hunger.
720 - Number of children who die every HOUR from conditions linked to hunger.
100 Million - Number of people worldwide driven into poverty over the last year because of rising food prices.

$1000 - The cost of a metric ton of rice on the world market. Two months ago it was $460.
$755 million - Projected shortfall in the United Nation's World Food Program budget this year because of the recent rise in prices.

$1 - Nearly half of sub-Saharan Africa's population of 700 million people have to live on less than this per day.

You want to have a real war on terror? This is the real fucking terror.

There is nothing. Absolutely NOTHING that kills at this rate. If we're so into helping people (the new reason for Iraq since that whole WMD thing didn't work out), maybe helping starving people might be a better way to go. For a change, the world would be supportive of us and the people would actually greet us with cheers.

You know what a real shame is? We can't help on a government level cause we're broke. We can't help anyone because the war has bankrupted this country and we're trillions of dollars in debt. All for what? What do we really have to show for all this? You got rid of Saddam? Big fucking whoop. What do you want a cookie?

If you don't care about the helping people thing, think about this. If you and your family are starving, and some dude comes up to you and say 'know what, I'll make sure your family has plenty of food and some money if you strap on this explosive belt for me and run into that market'. Guess what, chances are, they're probably going to do it. These types of situations are the perfect breeding and recruitment grounds for terrorists.

All you fuckers out there who are fighting for 'God'. You know what would make your lord look really good? Probably not killing people. Try helping the millions of people that are starving. You've been fighting for thousands of years now. You're still living in a cave. So this whole fighting and kill plan might not be working out so well. How about we try a new strategy? Try the 'helping people' route to show the glory of your God. Seriously, give it a shot. If you don't like it, you can always go back to the killing.

Am I?

Am I the only straight Pup that likes Cher? Yea.. I think so.

If you've read this blog for any period of time you know that I go to Vegas a few times a year. That said, me and the college roommate just finished planning our annual trip. Upon looking around some Vegas sites, I see that Cher is playing at Caesar's palace!

Cher!

OMG, how fun would that be?!

Sadly, like Mamma Mia before, there's pretty much no way I'm going to get these guys to see Cher. Can you imagine? 4 guys going to see Cher? Ha!

I would almost pay to see those guy go see Cher and say 'FABULOUS!!!'

Things you probably should know about.

Time for another installment of things you should be seriously concerned with but probably are not. That’s right people, there are more things happening around you then what you see in front of you right now. This might sound like a republican fear tactic. Only difference, these are actually true and not made up. Also, I don’t want your vote. This is just so I can say I told you so later. :P

Here we go.
The Weather. People, the weather is fucked up. It’s almost May. It’s still snowing in parts of the country. There are tornadoes in places that have never had them before. Earthquakes are happening in places that hasn’t felt them for hundreds of years. Coincidence?

This is not something that’s trivial. I’ll give you a hint at what number 2 is, and that’s the food shortage that’s currently affecting the world. Blame ethanol all you want, but that’s not why the world is hungry. The weather pattern around the world is also chaotic and causing desertification and floods that’s seriously hurting the world’s food production. The weather’s becoming more erratic and unpredictable. Sure, for us humans, it’s not that big of a deal, we’ll just go into our homes. For nature, it’s not so much good.

For all you dumbasses out there that still thinks all this weather is normal and just how it is, why don’t you go jump off the end of this flat planet.

The world food shortage crisis. Even you probably have noticed by now that your grocery bills are a bit higher than usual. Eggs are up 30% in the last few months, milk about the same rate. I heard one financial person suggesting that stocking up on food is a better use of your money than putting it in a bank with this sharp inflation in food prices. He does have a point. 3.5% interest in a bank (if you’re lucky) vs. 30% raise in food price.

In the US, it hurts the pocketbooks, but we still have plenty of food to go around. We’re not starving. For just a second here, think about the people outside the US. I know it’s a stretch. Think about all the people around the world that were already struggling to find food. How do you think they’re doing now that there is a food storage around the world?

Countries have stopped food aid, many countries have stopped the export of food to make sure that their own people are taken care of. For many countries that depend on other countries to import food, this is quite an issue. If there is a record breaking heat wave this summer around the world like I suspect there will be, there will be mass riots around the world because of food. Angry starving people in hot weather never lead to anything good.

Bees. Yes, I’m still on the bees thing. We still have not yet figured out why they’re all dying. There is research showing that it could be a disease that’s been spreading, but no one’s figured out a cure, so the bees just keeps dying.

Without bees, there’s no pollination, and without pollination, not only will there be no fruits and vegetables, but what the hell am I going to put on my biscuits? I love my honey with my biscuits. Ok, so that’s not as important, but no more fruits and veggies. Let’s add that to the food crisis already happening.

Not only that, but there are a lot of flowers and plants that relies heavily on the bees to help them pollinate. You know what happens to places that doesn’t have bees? It’s call the middle east people. Hope you love your sand.