Red, Gold, Blue Orange, and Lots of White

I am on the road this week. This time up north to one of my favorite cities.

It is freaking HOT!!! Dude... humid too... At least I can breathe. And that is a good thing. My eyes are back to their original color.

Accidentally took too much pain meds in 12 hours. This isn't the fun kind of pain meds like Vicodin where you get a cool buzz and shit... This was a nerve pain blocker I take and because I left at 4 AM and because I took the previous dose only 7 hours earlier instead of 12, I was fuct up.

At least the meeting wasn't until this afternoon which gave me time to drink it off with water. Holy crap dude... I usually take it at 6 and 6 or 7 and 7 or 8 and 8 but 9 and then 4...oops!!

So like, I wanted a mild dinner and so I looked up Jared Burger (Subway...eat fresh!) on the Google nearest to my hotel. I found one a mere 3 blocks away so I walked... forgetting it was 150 out and I forgot shorts and comfortable non-dress shoes. Anyhow... I wandered through downtown and found my place to eat.

I walk in and no one is in this place except of course the worker. And it was "likes to talk guy" behind the counter. You know, the single serving friend on a plane that does not shut the hell up. Only it wasn't a dude, it was a chick and she was on the phone. I never made eye contact but I guess she was like late 40's. In the span of 3 minutes after she got off the phone, I heard about her fuct up son with his illegitimate kid, her the grandma working for $10 bucks an hour (which is quite modest for Subway if you ask me), the success and how nice the other grandmother is and about her own mother still caring for her mother who is like 95... I was like, holy shit... 95 for the matriarch, 70 maybe for the great grandma, 45 for her and 20 for her son and like 3 for the daughter because she is upright and speaking... so I gathered from the long assed one sided conversation I was not having...

I wanted to cut her off but the story kept getting better as she was running her mouth. I was waiting for her to say that she was related to Johnny Knoxville from Jackass... and that her brother was a crack dealer in the state pen or something because shit, you did not know what was coming out of that lady next... Damn... and then she gave me a discount...

It was freaking cool I guess. Reminded me of my own mom...

My turkey sandwich with lettuce... I am the world's pickiest eater, period.

Steve's 600th Post Extravaganza

Yay... I have been doing this blog thing nearly 4 years now. Well... over 3 1/2. Started over me bitching about some headaches.

I just trimmed all the plants in the front yard and the back yard and made my big pile in the street like everyone else does down the street on the weekends. Left hand and arm is shaking like crazy while I am typing this. What the hell? I don't know what it is to this day why I have been hurting and in pain so much. All started after that wicked concussion I had in 2002 but every doctor says it is unrelated. I guess they are right with all those MRI's and spinal tap. What 3 MRI's... 2 Cat Scans.

Some days I would like to forget pain and for parts of the day, I can. It could be when I am out driving the Porsche, playing with Elijah or just simply going for a walk.

Hmmm... I'll change the subject... all of you regulars I see on my statcounter that visit each week know about this stuff anyway. I had some dude come from Iran the other day. I am banned in China but not Iran. Righteous!

When I was in college I had to take choir to get my degree. It was kind of interesting. I wasn't singer at all. I couldn't do much with it. And I was shy about it. So getting up and belting it out wasn't easy for me. But I needed to do it to complete my degree in music. So I grew the balls and went for my tryout. There were two choirs. The good one with all the opera types and the one where they put the rest of the crap. I, of course, went for the rest the of the crap. And of course, I made it. I sat with the bass singers when I was probably a baritone at best. Lowest note I can hit on a good day was a #g (g sharp) when I was really required to get to the d below that. But fuck it...

So my first year was a great experience. We did the Ave Maria for the holidays. But was cool is was that we did it as a historical thing. We started way back in Gregorian Chant... all the way through to like Mozart style stuff. And we also got to perform with Dave Brubeck which was quite cool. I had such a great time that year, hiding in the back of the choir, I said fuck it, and reloaded for my senior for a second tour.

This year our small little school with like a 100 students took on something big and pulled it off. Beethoven's 9th. We rocked the house. I was so lucky to be part of something like that. I could not believe the hours we put in to pull that off. We merged the two choirs and had the full symphony at the school. It involved all but like 5 or 6 students in the school and if I hadn't of signed up, I would have never have done it. I would have been one of those out casts. All the German diction we had to do. I had taken a lot of German so it was easy but man... Singing Beethoven's greatest piece of music... if not the greatest piece of music ever was just awesome. We performed it I think 3 times that year. It was a blast.

Manners

Doesn't anyone have any manners anymore?

I fired up the Porsche tonight to enjoy the warm, smokey air through what is left of my hair. I drove around looking for a place simple to get something to eat and a beer. It was a rough week. I worked hard. I wanted a freaking beer.

So after driving by a few places and waiting for the commuter trains at the light, I decided to head back near the house and get a crepe.

So I park in front, head inside and right to the counter to order. This older guy is behind me and I only notice because I can feel his glare on me. So I turn around and give him the "what hell are you looking at?" look. Something about him just irked me. I ordered my crepe and beer and they filled the pint there and gave me a number to wait for my food. So I go turn around and the dude is right there. Nice big restaurant... plenty of places to stand and he is right there... there was no one else except for a table in way back with like 6 people and the workers. Plenty of places to stand.

Well... I walk on and go to the recycle bin they have and look for today's paper and proceeded to sit down and the dude comes my way like I took his chair. Just glaring at me. Still wondering what his problem was. He sat in the table behind me. I could still feel his presence.

So I am sitting at the corner of the restaurant with my beer, today's paper and a number. And like, there was 6 or 7 open tables around me (plus the one with the dude). In the center of this cluster was a hexagon table that could seat six. This group came and wanted to sit there. I have my paper up... my beer... I see the group coming. Plenty of room, no biggy. Suddenly this lady grabs my paper and with a whiny annoying voice she goes... "EXCUSE ME!! BUT IS ANYONE SITTING HERE"

I just stared like a deaf person and raised paper back up. I felt like being a dick for some reason. But again she grabs my paper.... "EXCUSE ME... I ASKED IF ANYONE WAS SITTING HERE!" This time she is rattling the chair across from me. My mind worked quickly... I fold my paper down and sit up... take a sip of my beer and do a 180 degree gaze from left to right, silently counting all the unoccupied chairs from all the other empty tables around me...including those that were more convenient for her to grab. This all happens in 3 seconds. Quickly... but probably an eternity for her... and I go... "Um... are you sure you want this one?"

She just grabs it and goes... I pull my paper up and I can hear her go... "That was rude!" to her friends. I smile and sigh real loud as my food came to the table.

I was just thinking, have you ever experienced Goat Trauma?

California: Scorched Earth Society

845 Fires have or are still burning in No Cal.

The valley is a gray cesspool of smoke right now. It sucks. I can't freaking breathe. I feel like a nerd hiding in the basement with an inhaler.

Stupid lightning. We never get lightning in California. Apparently they recorded 5000 strikes up and down the state.

Here is the state wide fire map:

http://www.news10.net/news/pdf/StatewideFireMap_062308.pdf

Here is Mike Ness singing our theme song:

R.I.P. George Carlin

Warning: The most bad words you'll ever hear in ten minutes

The original can be heard here. I have a story from my warped childhood when I lived in the suburbia south of San Francisco in one of the box houses:



I was 6 or maybe 7. My brother used to record stupid comedy stuff and play them back to us with his mini Panasonic ghetto blaster. One of the recordings he played back was George Carlin's 7 Bad Words You Can't Say on Television. The funny thing about... it was recorded off the radio so it was all bleeps for the bad words. And we'd hear these bleeps and laugh and laugh.

My brother had a paper route so he always seemed to have an extra couple of bucks for stuff. So he had gone out and bought the album with the routine on it, totally uncut. I remember the album cover and everything. This bearded man on a chair with what appears to be his middle finger up his nose. Any how, later on... I heard all those bad words... My parents had no idea.

So my brother tapes this thing and I went around the neighborhood the next day. I remember getting all my friends...like 7 or 8 of them down to our house on their Huffys. My parents were cheap and got me a purple Montegomery Wards bike with a banana seat so I looked like a fruitcake riding down the street.

I remember collecting all the kids. We all sat on our bikes while my brother sat on the bumper of my mom's 1974 Malibu Grocery Getter. I remember listening to all those bad words, not knowing what any of them meant to the point we were all repeating to each other at the park 15 minutes later. For days... We did this... Shit, piss, f---...... on and on and on.

28 years later... it's amazing the profound effect someone's comedy had on your life. Someone says, "Steve what are the 7 bad words you can't say on TV" and I will rattle them off without thinking about it.

So I guess this means no more HBO specials?

A Not So Accurate Reflection Of My Musical Tastes

I think it is interesting what our iPods can say about ourselves. I found this little application that can pull lists off your iPod and create little text files for whatever. I tried creating a list of all 4490 songs now on my iPod (which is for sale at the bargain price of $2500, I figure I can take $500 of that and buy a new iPod touch and be totally in the black $2000 and you would not only have an iPod with every Led Zepplin, U2, Green Day, Beatles, Social D, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, Dave Matthews, etc. song on it, but you would have it for under 50 cents on the dollar. Fucking cool if you ask me. If you are serious, I will strip the DRM off every song in one weekend for a $2000 profit.) I digress... must be the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder the psychologists are warning me about.... When I tried creating the list of 4490 songs, it crashed my Mac. Shitty G4 processor. I need a new Mac.

Anyhow... this list is misleading. One... I listen to a lot of albums so I don't target one song. And when I am gone on planes I shuffle a lot which makes me wonder where all of my Elvis and Buddy Holly music is because that never seems to come up here. No idea when Ben Fold's version of Tiny Dancer is on here but I posted the video at the bottom for your enjoyment.

Two... My favorite Bad Religion song is "I want to conquer the world". I must fast forward the end of the song a lot because it has only been played 7 full times. I put it on when I am pissed a lot. Surprised none of my other punk stuff is prevalent either. Where is MxPX? The Ramones? The Clash? Samiam (which is now up to 100 songs)? Jawbreaker? At least Greg Graffin appears first. I must love that song.

Three...where is Johnny Cash?????

Here is the list...


Songs in Playlist Top 25 Most Played

1. Don't Be Afraid to Run
Track Length: 4:12
Sung by: Greg Graffin

2. Tiny Dancer (Newport Ri 7/6/02 Newport Music Festival)
Track Length: 5:23
Sung by: Ben Folds

3. Jesus Of Suburbia / City Of The Damned / I Don't Care / Dearly Beloved / Tales Of Another Broken Home
Track Length: 9:08
Sung by: Green Day

4. Sing
Track Length: 3:49
Sung by: Travis

5. House of Gold
Track Length: 2:46
Sung by: Mike Ness

6. Red Dirt Girl
Track Length: 4:16
Sung by: Emmylou Harris

7. Incomplete
Track Length: 2:29
Sung by: Bad Religion

8. Fix You
Track Length: 4:54
Sung by: Coldplay

9. Six More Miles
Track Length: 2:40
Sung by: Mike Ness

10. Reach for the Sky
Track Length: 3:31
Sung by: Social Distortion

11. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
Track Length: 4:20
Sung by: Green Day

12. Are We The Waiting
Track Length: 2:42
Sung by: Green Day

13. Miracle Drug
Track Length: 3:59
Sung by: U2

14. The Saints Are Coming
Track Length: 3:22
Sung by: U2 & Green Day

15. Letterbomb
Track Length: 4:06
Sung by: Green Day

16. Original Of The Species
Track Length: 4:41
Sung by: U2

17. American Idiot
Track Length: 2:54
Sung by: Green Day

18. Holiday
Track Length: 3:52
Sung by: Green Day

19. All These Things That I've Done
Track Length: 5:01
Sung by: The Killers

20. Don't Think Twice
Track Length: 3:47
Sung by: Mike Ness

21. Rockin' The Suburbs
Track Length: 4:58
Sung by: Ben Folds

22. When She Begins
Track Length: 5:03
Sung by: Social Distortion

23. The Scientist
Track Length: 5:09
Sung by: Coldplay

24. Somebody Told Me
Track Length: 3:17
Sung by: The Killers

25. Cheating At Solitaire
Track Length: 3:53
Sung by: Mike Ness

I lied... No Ben Folds:



Greg Graffin has looked like a middle aged man the last 20 years...LOL!!

The Dalton Brothers

In 1987 a unknown country band joined the part of the U2 tour and became well loved opener for U2.

Thanks to the loss of digital control over mechanical and copyrights on the internets...

You now can enjoy the Dalton Brothers live songs:



Nothing like seeing Bono Alton Dalton swig a bottle of So Co.

Wasn't this supposed to be the pretentious years?

Fly High, Fly Free, But Don't Fly Southwest!!!

Samiam circa 1994...

I titled another post the same as one I wrote a while back. I guess I will just confuse Google...

Whatever.

The lead singer of the band Samiam wrote the title of this post on a t-shirt I got back in '96. For some reason I never forget it... when I am delayed on the runway an hour and a half in Houston and just when I thought I was freaking out, I miss my connecting flight in Vegas so I have to wait another one an hour later... the very last one... which could have been full...

See that sky flying by...

Once, Twice, Three Times a Seizure...

At 12 yesterday... I get a call from daycare... Elijah has a high fever. And we all know what happens when Elijah has a high fever... and we all remember the first time.

So at 12:10... I am at day care and he is having a seizure. Eyes rolled back... stiff... burning up... shaking. (If you want to see one is like go here...)

We're pros at this now but dude... c'mon! Enough already.

The daycare ladies were very concerned and visibly shaken with this as I would expect. I walked in... like it was no biggie... been there, done that... got the t-shirt. I sat until with Elijah for around 5 minutes while we waited for the ambulance, trying to cool him off, and bring him back to awareness. It took a bit but he came back.

The firemen were totally cool. DW showed up at the same time. She's a teacher at a school around the corner and as she was leaving school she saw the fire truck racing by knowing it was for Elijah. The ambulance came and I hopped in with Elijah and we rode in the "big truck" 15 minutes to our hospital. No sirens... Elijah was awake and fine but really scared obviously with all of the stickers and shit they connect up to you to get vital signs.

We got into the emergency room around 1 pm, where we spent the remainder of the day and evening visiting with the sick and hurt people that rushed by. The hospital is under construction so they had to remove like 12 beds into the hallway, so Elijah got the spot in the hall with a lot of traffic.

The shit they did to the poor guy. IV's... Blood draws... the catheter attempt to get urine (YEEEOUCH!!!... I did not watch!!) Hours and hours of observation by the staff went by. We got to visit with lots of nurses and people there for treatments. Some were pretty sad situations to witness, like the 90 year old man with heart trouble or the kid with food poisoning (must have been tomatos!!). Oh and Lawryde... there was this dude there with his elderly mother who looked just like Hunter S Thompson who kept reading and writing shit in his book. He was kind of an asshole too which I thought was cool.

I hate to say it... But I love people watching. I don't stare at sick people, that is wrong. I more or less stare and observe the patient's families walking in and out. When they bring flowers... or when they express laughter or consult with each other. Like outside in the waiting area... Oh my God... there must have been this Middle Eastern patriarch that was sick or something because dude... there were like at least 100 family members there... all really well dressed. You wonder what the sick or injured person is like to have that much of a family come to a hospital.

I am digressing...

Elijah is fine... No idea what caused the temp spike. Febrile seizures are "normal" even though they happen in 2-5% of the kids in the US. Why is 2 to 5 out of 100 considered normal? 2-5 out of 100 is like the number of three point shots made in Shaquille O'neal attempted so far in his career. If you hit 2-5 out of 100 shots on goal with your hockey team, your coach is gonna get pissed at you if you don't pass!!! (Can you image having a hockey rink in your basement?) 2-5 out of 100 is not normal.... But when I use "the Google", other sites on "internets" are telling me it is normal... Like wikipedia... which could be edited by any sick individual who wants to spread disinformation about something. (Snipe... Bring It On)

Anyhow... I have to make a run after lunch back to the doctor with Elijah so we know for sure he is just fine and not just acting like a 2 year old for the hell of it. Daddy... and Mommy for that matter were in pain sitting there holding Elijah all afternoon and evening. Mommy got some of Daddy's pain medicine when she got home. I hurt so bad I fell down last night.

Daycare people are so nice... they called to check on him last night to make sure he was okay. I took him in to get his shoes this morning so they could all see him alive and well.

Everybody Get Dangerous

Shit this song is awesome...

Buy the album if you haven't yet... It's freaking cool!!

New Weezer Album

Holy Crap!! Where did this come from? I am a fan and I pretty much buy what comes out from them and sing their songs and shit.

I did that split second click on iTunes this morning to send my 12 bucks to Apple for the album which downloaded in 2 minutes.

What a collection of songs, I am speechless. Best album since their best (and possibly the best) album of all-time, Pinkerton.

What is cool about it is they broke the mold a little bit and switched instruments and Rivers isn't singing every song. Which is odd that such a pretentious little control freak he historically seems to be has let go. The album flat out rocks with cool 3 minute songs and a couple long ballads.

I have listened through it a few times but I keep getting hung up on the first song Troublemaker and it's lyrics, riffs, vocal style, backing vocals... the whole enchilada:



Cool shit... Buy it!!!

Big Two Eyes and Scruffy

How To Wear Yourself Out...

Above is a slide show of my current trip to Carmel so far.

I got down here yesterday. Almost all of the pictures except for the Spy Glass Clock are from yesterday.

Carmel, to me, is probably what heaven is going to look like if I get there. Pleasant weather. A candy store with 40 types or so of Licorice and a German restaurant that serves sauerbraten. I ate in excess last night at that place... let me tell you.

The beach is full of kids having fun, adults being laid back and a lot of dogs running around. I think I spotted a couple of dudes tucked away in a cove having their "first kiss". It seemed to me that they were hiding for a reason.

I walked all the way up and down the Carmel Beach sneaking as close to Pebble Beach Golf Course's 9th fairway as I could. I got way up near the out of bounce line and took photos. Probably the closest I will ever get with cost running up around $500 to play there. I am amazed at how blue the water is.

When walking back, I had some mild entertainment watching some kids. This girl, probably on a dare since the water is probably in the 50's, ran in to it with her bikini. It was kind of interesting.

I met a lady practicing yoga. She was meditating a bit and was alert enough to shout hi and wave at me. I thought about how peaceful it was for her.

I am thinking about heading down the beach again this afternoon. It seemed so peaceful and I briefly experienced no pain for that two hour walk. Something amazing to me and that blue water seemed so serene lapping back and forth on the coast.

Today, I went through 17 mile drive. I am not in pain as much today but I cannot get moving easily. My legs are dead. I am not sore, just very fatigued. Like I have walked 10 miles or so when I haven't.

My first stop was at Pebble Beach Golf Course. I like to live vicariously through those that can actually afford to play there. Pebble Beach is located within 17 Mile Drive. 17 Mile Drive is a public road that costs $9.25 to drive through. Pebble Beach is like a mini city. It has clothing shops and food for the tourists in a small area in the Lodge and around it. You also can walk out and take pics of the 18th hole which I did. There is a couple of banks, a grocery store... a gas station... There is a 9-hole which only costs $20 bucks which I may play tomorrow to say I played Pebble Beach.

I drove a little further to the Ghost Tree and the end of Carmel Bay. There were these rocks passed the "Do not cross this fence or you will die" markers. This two kids were out there. And this boy climbed passed me... he is like 11 or something. His sister is like, "Don't go out there! It's not safe" in this lovely British accent. He is all, that man is out here. She is all... "But he's a grown up!" I finally go... Yes, I am a very stupid grown up. Do not do as I do. I ask the little girl where she is from. She is from Nottingham England, like Robinhood. I reminded her that Robinhood was make believe and that she was real. She didn't get it. Asked if I had ever been to England. I told her where I had been, finishing with Liverpool. She asked if I was for Liverpool or another team. I was kind of shocked that she asked. I told her Americans followed Soccer like the Brits followed Baseball.

Anyhow... I drove along the beach stopping at various places and had lunch at the Spyglass Golf Course Grill. This is another course, after playing it on Xbox I would love to play. Looks so challenging and hard. I stared down the 9th fairway. It is amazing how steep it is. I took a few more shots and headed out around back to Carmel.

Such a fun place. I had a drink in a bar formerly owned by Clint Eastwood. He was mayor here in the 80's. What a job! This town is full of old people who have probably been retired here for 20 years. What an amazing place to retire. The young people working the coffee shops have the life. It is totally laid back without pressure. A bit more traffic than I like but I like it a lot down here.

Steve Reaches The Beaches

Carmel Beach
Pebble Beach

All with in view of my hotel.

Had a beer at Eastwood's bar...

What a day! 59 degrees... Sunny skies... clear blue ocean!