i know i’ve mentioned the new prius before, but chris got his older model recently, and regardless of what you say about looks, i’m still jealous, especially seeing as it would be downright priceless in los angeles traffic. though the new priuses (priuie?) prii have so many gadgets, including the crazy bluetooth stuff and the remote control keys, push button starting (do the old ones have this?), and all the other stuff, check out the 2004 prius here), they give them a relatively hefty pricetag.

-i watched this video with tetris masters fucking shit up because i thought i was pretty okay, i mean, i got up into like the 120’s in lines, but dude, this shit is INSANE. i’m not kidding. nerdy or not, still insane. watch it. i’m not kidding around here.

-have you seen that saddam’s an outkast flash animation yet? kind of clever, but it made me laugh aloud, regardless of what i really thought (or wanted to think). it was bound to happen.

-some kid from princeton made a rap song making fun of other rap songs. i had to stop listening after all the terrible out of tune falsetto. i didn’t really find it all that funny, either (most of it was downright stupid and could be construed as offensive) but the discussion about it has been pretty tame over at mefi.

-remember that piece wired ran about all those superpowers and other weird sci-fi stuff? here’s a list of weird inventions that i snagged of mefi. go ahead and poo-poo it, like every other science thing i post.

-the stranger has an article on seattle bars where you can go get healed from SAD. there’s quite a few watering holes to visit, they hit on some really good ones. i really miss the college inn and the cha cha ain’t so bad either, but if you want cheap drinks, i’d recommend hitting up flowers for daily specials. sour night rules.

like everyone else, i’m stoked on the new ted leo and the rxs dvd that will be coming out in february. you can pre-order it from amazon now if you want. ted leo’s coming to town again too (relentless!) at the echo on january 30th.

-i’d pretty much forgotten about the bens until yesterday, when yewknee mentioned the ep which came out and you can buy it at attackbyplastic.com and i think maybe the songs are on itunes.

this morning i got to work and forgot all about the bens again, until i read me some burnt by the sun and actually got to listen to a live show in australia, in which there are a couple of bens’ songs, and a ton of each individual’s work as well. very nice.

-i gave my copy of kitchen confidential away for christmas (as well as my 2nd bought hardcover copy of a heartbreaking work of staggering genius) and need to pick up new copies of both so headed to powell’s to do so and found this pretty good interview with anthony bourdain about a cook’s tour.

-there’s a mike mills interview over at readymademag.com about how he got to where he is today. lots of interesting tid-bits, and in case you are still wondering, along with a million other things, he directed that vw commercial with elo’s “mr. blue sky” (you know that one with all the squares that eventually ends up on the bug). that commercial was the shit. via tmn.

-the best of year lists keep on rolling out, brian’s been keepin’ ‘em coming all week. and metacritic’s list of films has collected a ton, too. still need to see american splendor and capturing the friedmans.

-tomorrow night is the perpetual motion roadshow at flor y canto here in l.a. come out!

-i’m gonna go wash my hands. see ya.

this week marked the return of new episodes of home movies to adult swim. you probably missed it because it was on at 11 on sunday night. i did. anyway, that won’t matter soon, because the tivo will pick that shit up. all the suckas who can’t do shit about it can watch a clip of home movies over and over again.

-mark hamill’s comic book: the movie is out on dvd january 27th. there’s a bunch of stuff going on in LA about it, but i’m too lazy/not nerdy enough to do it. check out the happenings at toonzone, which include to screenings at the laemmle tomorrow.

-oh snap! the rocket is playing for the rockets, and vlad is an angel. i bet steinbrenner is fucking pissed. too bad i don’t have bragging rights over the yankees because the mariners are fucked, too. fucking bill bavasi letting vlad into our division. boo! argh. what a terrible fucking winter.

-youlookgoodinblack.com is selling framed prints of his pictures and donating the money to a worthy charity. take a look around and do something good with your money for once. christ.

-an old ad from wired in ‘97 talks about saving apple. jason zada breaks it down and explains why steve jobs was such a godsend for the company. i’ve never owned a mac until last year (thanks mom and dad!) but have always felt a little tug from them. besides, how much cooler does it make you to be in bed with apple than microsoft?

-this guy watched one too many star trek episodes. hey, i can be a borg, too! of course, not the trekkian sense, because of course, mann wants to fight The System. anyways, dude totally reminds me of that crazy-ass guy from project grizzly. hahaha, that movie was so fucking funny, especially when that huge log is dropped on the guy in the suit all ewoks style and shit.

i can’t stop laughing thinking about it. you can buy it but it’s damn expensive.

-ah, tv. how i love to bask in television’s warm glowing warming glow. new chappelle’s show starts this week, tomorrow to be exact. along with the comedy (did i tell you that “killing me softly” was hi-effing-larious™?) there’s gonna be some good music, too. slated for this season: DMX, cee-lo,
anthony hamilton, erykah badu, ludicris, timbaland & magoo,
lil jon with the eastside boyz, and common.

-damn it, i been trying all day to put my order in for cellar door over at barsuk (thanks catbirdseat) but either it’s down or i’m an idiot because i can’t find the freakin’ checkout button. i want that fuckin’ signed photo though and OH YEAH, thanks for that ASS that bought the last built to spill print i wanted for christmas, because now the fucker is sold out. i’m telling you, i’m breaking out the blackjack and coming door to door for that shit. WATCH YOUR BACK.

i didn’t watch any of the apprentice the other night, save for the few seconds i caught when we were checking if er was on, but those few seconds featured an early thirtysomething asian woman in business attire standing on a streetcorner complaining about how much her feet hurt. make your own punchline. or read shaviro’s review if you’re too lazy to make any hilarious jokes yourself.

-freaks and geeks, of which is of distant relation to newsradio (the creator, judd apatow played the goofy ball in the first season) is coming out on dvd in april. hardcore fans can visit the website and sign up for a mailing list that will let you order a limited edition collector’s version of the dvd. it’s supposed to contain all the episodes plus an eighty page yearbook filled with photos and fun stuff from the show, and a bunch of other extras. sign up at freaksandgeeks.com”. mike white also wrote a few episodes, as far as i can remember, it was a good show.

-if you haven’t heard yet, the newsradio dvd that was set to release in february has been delayed, which, for patient ones is a good thing. tvbarn.com report that due to a clerical error of some kind, no one at sony told paul simms, the creator, about it. the dvds were supposed to be pretty bare-boned, but now there’s a possibility of commentary, behind-the-scenes footage, bloopers, and other crazy stuff.

and now, you can keep an eye on all of it by reading the newsradio blog! you can also check out cover art at tvshowsondvd.com.

-singingfish.com is probably the best sound search engine i’ve seen for a while. check it out, that’s how i came about posting dcfc’s secret stars cover last week, i had no idea barsuk had it up at their site.

-the continuing coverage of CES over at gizmodo is great, make sure you stop by and drool over all the shit you can’t afford and don’t need.

-speaking of things we don’t need, i’m pretty dead-set on buying a tivo on friday, barring any unforseen circumstances. i came pretty close to putting together a computer that can handle mythtv and linux, but then decided it wasn’t worthy of my time or money when i can drop a 150 on a tivo and cancel my netflix account, which i can never make worth my money, to pay for tivo subcription fees.

-short weekend made a tiny bit longer by staying in bed for so long this morning. panicked when i realized my car could have been towed because they’re doing some shitty road work on our street outside. bought a fender rhodes this weekend, finally, and from the bassist of dios no less. good guy, good band, good piano. smiles all around. gonna try to keep the shit rolling this week, i expect everyone to email or comment a swift kick in the ass if i don’t. hell even if i do.

every town has a diner, where i’ll meet you and your friends, too. things are just a bit nicer over some coffee, you can tell me all about your day. i don’t know much about you, not that i want to. not that i want to. sometimes i can’t escape from my room, so excuse me, i’ll be just a little late.

every town has a corner, where i’ll see you and your friends, too. hanging out looking cool, saying the same things over and over again. sometimes we all feel stupid, we say the wrong things, you’re not the only one. sometimes we all get left behind in a race of style. it’s a dumb thing.

you will wait for me.

all right, seeing as i’m here and all and am thereby deciding that this is going to be pretty much an off week, i’ll offer a small peace offereing and let you all know that i re-recorded drums to one of my songs and have posted it in the music section, or you could just listen to it right here: general advices against.

things will get rolling again soon, swear to bejesus.

hey everyone, i’m not dead, either just busy or lazy, i can’t tell which yet. i’ll let you know as soon as i find out.

man, i used to dream about getting a nice ride or some posh electronics and random bling off of police auctions, but was always too lazy to follow it up by going to one of them things. now i can be lazy and still check out all the nice stolen goods at stealitback.com.

-always ahead of the pack, jet blue announced free wi-fi hot spots at jfk and long beach airports. now if they only started doing more west coast jaunts, 70 bucks each way to seattle sounds mighty nice to me.

-speaking of airlines, here’s a reality show on the other forward thinking airline starting tonight, southwest. a&e, the same bastards that stopped syndicated airs of newsradio, are showing airline tonight. i probably won’t watch it, but i will remember fondly the days and days i spent playing what some might consider the most boring super nintendo game ever, aerobiz.

-neil gave me a bonus present for christmas, which was a spongebob mouse pad. it’s all just precursor to the blockbuster event of the year, the sponge bob movie.

-i’d yawn, but i haven’t even seen matrix revolutions yet, so i don’t think i can justifiably scoff any plans for three more matrix movies.

-everyone’s got blogs now, and hardly anyone uses them right. i want an nba blog that just talks shit all day. somebody get on that, quick-like.

-death cab for cutie is going to be on the late late show with craig kilborn (CBS) on January 19. rumor is they’re also pretty close to signing with a major. thank god they’re finally gonna get PAID for that shit.

-i’m not a big radiohead fan. never was (save for a preternatural affection for “high and dry”). john vanderslice is, so he did an intro for diw magazine for an interview they’re running. fan or not, it was short and interesting.

-a while back glenn sent me instructions on how to throw a sick curveball (apparently his was zito-style). i can’t throw that shit, but maybe will start working on some knuckleball actions, because i got magic fingers. scientific american tells why knuckleballs flutter.

-so yeah, happy effin’ new year. we went to santa barbara this weekend and did some hiking, checked out the james joyce pub (513 State St), and the shack was shaking with the ulysses s. jasz band, who play just about every saturday 7:30-10:30 PM. if you’re ever in town, be sure to grab a pint and hoot and holler with all the other old people there.

trying to get back into the flow of things.