In 2006 I was still working on getting out of debt and keeping all my expenses as close to the bone as possible, but I’d always wanted to check out San Diego Comic-Con, 2006 was the 50th anniversary of the Barry Allen Flash character first drawn by Carmine Infantino in 1956, and Infantino was making an appearance. As a San Diego resident I was able to make the trip a lot less expensive than anyone having to secure lodging, but splurging on collectibles and reading material was still pretty much out of the question.
Wandering around Comic Con can be an incredible experience in itself, but just seeing Infantino sitting at his table in Artists’ Alley was overwhelming to me: here was someone whose work I’d admired — no, loved — literally as long as I can remember, before I even had the language to express such emotions. The first time I saw him, there were other fans at his table and I didn’t want to bother him just to babble out some words of admiration, since I didn’t expect to be able to afford a sketch and I wouldn’t be able to wait around for his table to clear. Buying the reduced-admission Sunday-only ticket had already pushed my budget, and if I wanted to buy anything else at all commissioning a sketch from anyone — let alone one of the most legendary and admired comic book artists of the 20th century — was pretty much out of the question.
The rest of the day wandering around, I didn’t see anything else I wanted to buy. Or to put it more specifically, everything I saw that I wanted to buy I thought “Do I want this more than an original sketch?” and the answer was uniformly no. Fortunately, on the final pass through the hall I saw Carmine’s table was clear of other admirers and I decided I just couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by to meet the man and have him draw the Flash for me. He offered both head sketches and full body sketches and he asked me which I wanted–the head sketches were cheaper, but I said that I had to go for the full-body sketch. I got the feeling Carmine would have just as soon done the head sketch even though it’d be less money because it’d be less work for him, but he shook his head as if to say “It’s your money, kid” and started penciling while chatting with me.
Seeing this image take form under his pencil was one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had; the flowing lines of his best design work were still evident even at 81. When he was finished penciling he picked up a pen and delineated the image in such a way that brought it into focus while still maintaining the freedom and expression of the pencil work. When he turned it around and showed the finished work to me it was not an echo of an atrophied talent or a memory of what used to be–it was a Carmine Infantino Flash, and I loved it. I thanked him profusely, paid him my $100 and carefully secured my treasure for the trip home.
Since then it’s been on my wall in a place of prominence. It makes me happy whenever I see it, even yesterday when I was sad that the man passed away. I’ve been meaning to do a high-res scan for archival purposes for quite some time but this finally prompted me to get it done: even though it’s a black and white sketch, I scanned in color at 600dpi to preserve as much of the detail and fine pencil work as possible. The below jpg isn’t quite the full glory of the uncompressed TIFF file, but it’s pretty close when viewed at full size on a good screen.
I updated the blog navigation links up top, as I finally realized the stopgap measure I put in place years ago really didn’t make any sense and quick, obvious links for ‘music’ and ‘writing’ are about 1000 times more helpful for anyone actually trying to find something for whatever reason. Still a little kludgy but I still don’t care enough to do anything about it (like a ground-up redesign, which I’d highly recommend were I advising a client with a site like this) because 1. I’m not getting paid to do so and 2. it’s no fun for me. One of those things needs to not be the case for me to be spurred to action.
Everything should be good but drop me a line if something looks broken, I’ll probably get around to fixing it in another three or four years.
I finally got around to updating the main music page of this website with current, accurate information, so for the first time this year it’s not hideously out of date. At some point I should also get around to adding links to relevant blog posts, music videos, and so forth, but for now at least I’ll settle for ‘accurate and updated’ and aim for ‘expansive’ later. (All that stuff can be found by paging back through this blog anyway, if you’re curious.)
As it turns out, maintaining a website seems to be one of those things I do a lot better when I’m getting paid for it so please don’t be too terribly surprised if I fail to keep the music page 100% current with my musical activities in the future, but I’ll try to do better. If at some point in the future the information therein seems particularly aged and suspect, a quick check of this blog should catch you up to speed with anything not yet covered there.
Just for the sake of completeness, below are my twitter posts from the time between my last manual twitter dump post here and the point where I installed the plugin that takes care of it automatically, the name of which escapes me at the moment. Apologies for any formatting wackiness, but I’m literally just dumping this here and moving on.
.@1800flowers I really don’t think there’s anything you can do for me at this point. I certainly will never use your service again. Fri May 18 15:39:54 +0000 2012
The Consumerist picked up my story about @1800flowers and their terrible service. Don’t screw a writer, kids. http://t.co/lUe6kQgq Fri May 18 15:26:23 +0000 2012
.@1800flowers Too little and far too late http://t.co/lUe6kQgq Fri May 18 15:19:37 +0000 2012
1-800-FLOWERS ruins Mothers’ Day, has no excuse — check ALL 1-800-FLOWERS orders! They might not deliver or tell you! http://t.co/Or7HI3eY Fri May 18 01:23:56 +0000 2012
Awesome, just found out @1800flowers didn’t deliver my Mothers Day flowers. Thanks for ruining Mothers Day and not telling me, @1800flowers Fri May 18 00:02:21 +0000 2012
@sugarfreak Yeah, exactly–meaningless nice words that dissolve into a mist as soon as any thought is applied to them. Well-intentioned tho. Thu May 17 22:42:37 +0000 2012
@sugarfreak …that “If we all just work together everyone in the local scene can succeed”. Which is a nice thing to think, but naive & off Thu May 17 22:38:44 +0000 2012
@sugarfreak Actually most all “yay-rah let’s go local scene” stuff reminds me of back in B-ton someone saying to me completely sincerely… Thu May 17 22:37:11 +0000 2012
@sugarfreak Well that’s factually true and verifiable Thu May 17 22:30:49 +0000 2012
@sugarfreak It just strikes me as a silly thing to feel let alone say, incredibly vague to the point of meaninglesness Thu May 17 22:26:37 +0000 2012
I feel just a tiny bit bad that “I have faith in the local music scene” is almost surely the funniest thing I’ll hear all day Thu May 17 22:22:32 +0000 2012
Phrases that should never again be used in any copy: “dream come true”, “digitally remastered”, “sure to please”, “impossible to overstate” Thu May 17 19:54:27 +0000 2012
Musics festivals are great for what they are, but a poor substitute for a real gig with an audience drawn by a specific artist’s work. Thu May 17 18:13:24 +0000 2012
Tegan and Sara are opening for the Black Keys? Isn’t their audience a little jockish for that? Tegan and Sara, I mean. Thu May 17 15:18:49 +0000 2012
That’s why in mass media men always love sports, women love shopping, the old are conservative and the young are liberal. Wed May 16 22:58:12 +0000 2012
Mass media are inherently incapable of relating to audiences on any demographic level more refined than “Men”, “Women”, “Old”, or “Young”. Wed May 16 22:56:04 +0000 2012
Wait, the dude starring in the film Battleship has the last name Kitsch? Was ‘Shmaltz’ too on-the-nose? Wed May 16 22:17:59 +0000 2012
First time you see Lisa Lampanelli do her schtick: “Hey, some pretty ballsy stuff — wonder how deep this goes?” 2nd time: “Oh. Never mind” Wed May 16 21:28:01 +0000 2012
The soundtrack to Rock Of Ages should be subtitled “Songs You Never Stopped Being Tired Of–Now Sung By Actors!” Wed May 16 19:29:24 +0000 2012
Having listened to two Slash albums already I don’t think I have it in me for this one, sorry Top Hat Cartoon Figure Man Wed May 16 17:09:04 +0000 2012
Looks like come the fall I’ll be keeping up my rigorous schedule of not watching any shows on CBS Wed May 16 17:07:24 +0000 2012
I’ll never understand people who support things that are terrible just because they come from the same general vicinity Wed May 16 16:23:13 +0000 2012
RT @robcorddry: I like boobies with freckles on them. And I mean that in the most disrespectful way. Tue May 15 23:29:04 +0000 2012
@karmiclife Not necessarily if you’re doing it as a job that pays actual money, but that applies to a miniscule percentage these days. Tue May 15 22:02:40 +0000 2012
Playing in a band can undeniably be fun, but ask yourself: is it due to what you’re actually doing or what you’re pretending to do? Tue May 15 21:24:37 +0000 2012
People of the future will undoubtedly be perplexed by the placement of Kristen Stewart in movies Tue May 15 19:14:57 +0000 2012
8PM on a Monday evening is the wrong time to ask your significant other to do home improvement stuff just FYI Tue May 15 16:09:20 +0000 2012
If you’re trying to sell someone on your band’s potential & quality there’s little less convincing than “And [x] writes really good lyrics” Mon May 14 16:34:46 +0000 2012
It’s sad Marvel doesn’t compensate creators for use of characters they created and that that policy hasn’t changed since Disney got involved Mon May 14 16:23:10 +0000 2012
I started a tumblr blog http://t.co/1ay3SAnZ Mon May 14 16:04:25 +0000 2012
I get such a visceral reaction of disgust whenever I read about any musician designing a fashion line for some reason Mon May 14 15:55:14 +0000 2012
This is axiomatic, and a lesson all aspiring self-publishers should take to heart after working really really really hard on their writing Fri May 11 22:37:04 +0000 2012
After a week on the Free Kindle Books Amazon RSS feed I can safely say one thing all Free Kindle Books have in common is terrible covers. Fri May 11 22:35:08 +0000 2012
Never been a big Erik Larsen fan but I have to give it up, he came up with a fitting conclusion to Alan Moore’s unfinished SUPREME run Fri May 11 22:08:58 +0000 2012
Whether Nirvana, disco, or downloading, all faded musicians who blame external forces for their declines overlook their own shitty music. Fri May 11 21:48:11 +0000 2012
Wow, Possum Dixon out of nowhere–there’s a band name I haven’t heard or thought about once in at least 12+ years Fri May 11 20:42:24 +0000 2012
Glad to see the upcoming Superman vs. The Elite DCU animated movie will have the classic costume and not the new 52 armor look disaster Fri May 11 19:14:08 +0000 2012
Those new True Blood teaser poster images convince me there is no way to make any human not look goofystupid with fangs Fri May 11 19:03:37 +0000 2012
The problem with “Avengers Assemble” as a catchphrase is that it’s not a battlecry. At best it’s a call to pose dramatically Fri May 11 16:59:36 +0000 2012
Here’s the thing about concerts: people want to feel like something’s actually happening. Fri May 11 16:31:05 +0000 2012
The awful band name alone was enough to put me off them though, you just knew a major label 90s band with that name had to be terrible Thu May 10 23:13:14 +0000 2012
Granted I’ve never listened to a full Toadies album but the only person who ever told me he was a fan of theirs was a huge dumb asshole Thu May 10 23:09:06 +0000 2012
I instinctively mistrust the opinions of anyone who claims to be a huge fan of any band/musician less than three albums deep. Thu May 10 22:30:25 +0000 2012
Hipster cashier douche at Chipotle managed to call me ‘bro’ three times in as many sentences. Must be some training manual @ChipotleTweets Wed May 09 22:10:55 +0000 2012
It seems like Cheap Trick should be a whole lot better than they are at this point, instead of a decent band with a handful of catchy tunes Wed May 09 19:19:37 +0000 2012
@aarynb whew! I suspect tho anyone who would think to ask the question probably knows the answer and just doesn’t care anymore. Wed May 09 18:59:08 +0000 2012
Has it seriously taken until now for June Foray to be nominated for a voice acting Emmy? There’s something seriously wrong there Wed May 09 18:27:51 +0000 2012
Infographics: making people crazy paranoid about perfectly normal everyday things since sometime a few years ago I guess Wed May 09 17:28:10 +0000 2012
@aarynb You have to ask? Wed May 09 16:27:24 +0000 2012
Art Spiegelman on Maurice Sendak http://t.co/jfXPreDz Tue May 08 18:19:34 +0000 2012
Was anyone really clamoring for the Afghan Whigs to return? They weren’t all that prominent in their day and no one has mentioned them since Tue May 08 17:01:29 +0000 2012
Well Google Drive hit with a dull thud, I guess “Like Dropbox but less useful” works about as well as “Like Facebook but without people” Tue May 08 15:25:53 +0000 2012
RT @JenKirkman: Photo: Dear The World! The latest and newest Pod F. Tompkast is here! Episode 17!… http://t.co/JcmK1ypI Tue May 08 15:25:30 +0000 2012
Why would anyone use “The people watching is almost as much fun as the band” as a promotional blurb for their band? Unless you’re in ICP? Mon May 07 23:36:38 +0000 2012
Never been a huge Beastie Boys fan but lest we forget they introduced a whole lot of people to SLAYER, including me. Fri May 04 21:04:20 +0000 2012
Started reading SPIN’s list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Saw #100 was Skrillex. Stopped reading. Thu May 03 23:45:17 +0000 2012
Beefheart book I ordered is tiny type on Bible paper and it’s still like 1000 pages. Maybe should’ve waited for an ebook edition after all. Thu May 03 22:37:36 +0000 2012
Wonder if Kickstarter’s success will lead to an uptick in preorders for entertainment products when people realize that’s all they’re doing Thu May 03 22:01:18 +0000 2012
It’s the kind of mind that thinks ‘single left click on’ is a clearer direction than simply ‘click’ that becomes a problem client. Thu May 03 21:33:08 +0000 2012
RT @sddialedin: Town & Country Resort pipes the worst smooth jazz on their patio. They don’t want to offend anyone so they offend ev … Thu May 03 21:11:13 +0000 2012
RT @Arr: The used CD ecosystem is steadily moving toward a point where it’s 100% used copies of Monster by REM Wed May 02 17:25:35 +0000 2012
This guy (& you know it’s a guy) is way too proud of buying a Prius by a factor of at least 3 stickers http://t.co/BsNBruxF Wed May 02 00:54:24 +0000 2012
@91X They may have ‘a ton’ of albums (five is a ton?) but they only have two good ones Tue May 01 23:38:13 +0000 2012
The only reason anyone thinks Jessica Simpson was pregnant for a REALLY LONG TIME is because they pay WAY TOO MUCH attention to gossip BS Tue May 01 22:27:58 +0000 2012
Do you have a band? Do your band members have jobs? Then don’t beg your fans to pay for your recording/record release costs. Tue May 01 22:15:39 +0000 2012
Wait, they announce the Webby winners 3 weeks before the awards ceremony? I know no one cares about Webbys but way to hammer the point home Tue May 01 21:54:41 +0000 2012
This whole hulu thing just shows how adept old media are at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory & how little choice they want for you. Tue May 01 18:06:37 +0000 2012
This Greg Ginn Coachella performance is at least sort of fascinatingly awful. Fri Apr 27 02:06:23 +0000 2012
This Siouxsie – Finale video is reminding me uncomfortably of Madonna. Fri Apr 27 00:20:07 +0000 2012
Space race-era songwriters really got lucky with the fact that ‘stars’ and ‘Mars’ are perfect rhymes Thu Apr 26 23:51:42 +0000 2012
Whatever happened to Astro City coming back as a monthly book? Thu Apr 26 06:09:02 +0000 2012
Brubaker’s Captain America was solid as usual with Alan Davis art an extra treat, but I’ll be glad when Hawkeye’s back in his costume again Thu Apr 26 05:36:24 +0000 2012
Conversely Secret Avengers had something like 2 flashbacks, 3 or 4 plot points where things actually happened and character moments besides Thu Apr 26 05:28:28 +0000 2012
That whole issue of New Avengers should have been a 3 page flashback at most. Weak, repetitive and uninspired. Thu Apr 26 05:20:53 +0000 2012
I guess since I won’t ever do either it’ll be for others to decide Wed Apr 25 23:22:14 +0000 2012
I can’t decide which would be worse: paying to see a cover band or paying to see a group with an original member replaced by a hologram. Wed Apr 25 23:22:04 +0000 2012
Guy who crushes hands during handshakes: we already know you have painful feelings of inadequacy, no need to take them out on metacarpals Wed Apr 25 22:50:55 +0000 2012
RT @GailSimone: If I ever had secret plans I never wanted anyone to find, I would hide them all over Google Plus. Wed Apr 25 17:49:11 +0000 2012
Were they trying to appeal to neohippies? 80′s Sonic Youth fans? Dyslexics? Wed Apr 25 17:23:16 +0000 2012
Those Ron Paul ‘revolution’ signs with LOVE spelled backwards as EVOL were the best, trying to parse the iconography’s a great mental game Wed Apr 25 17:22:26 +0000 2012
Booster Gold might actually be the superhero concept that thrives in the medium of TV, moreso than in print–as long as it’s kept sharp. Wed Apr 25 16:42:02 +0000 2012
@metapunker @tipsheet Doesn’t mean Beck’s version is derived from it in any way though. There are far easier ways to copy the Beatles Tue Apr 24 22:55:09 +0000 2012
@metapunker @tipsheet “Corinna Corinna” dates back to the 1920s, so it was just slightly before “Blackbird” Tue Apr 24 16:55:05 +0000 2012
Getting a fresh environment to record in is almost the same thing as getting a new instrument to play. Mon Apr 23 23:01:53 +0000 2012
I loved Nirvana & Pixies in the 90s but I don’t think there’s enough depth there to merit listening to the same 40 or so songs over and over Sat Apr 21 00:56:31 +0000 2012
The At the Drive-In Coachella set seems good but a little bloodless? Guess I can’t be too shocked that it doesn’t come off totally cohesive. Fri Apr 20 02:22:41 +0000 2012
No point to ‘musician profiles’ that just ask a bunch of random BS like favorite TV show or food. Talk about music or don’t waste my time. Thu Apr 19 23:05:12 +0000 2012
Considering Google shows an ad for “Savory Spam Crescents” when I empty my spam folder I’m unimpressed by their personalization algorithms Thu Apr 19 21:20:34 +0000 2012
Also that band would be a huge clusterfuck no matter how you want to staff it, musical quality doesn’t work additively Thu Apr 19 21:12:00 +0000 2012
If there’s anything more mundane and unimaginative than commenting about the ‘band in heaven’ after a musician dies I hope I never hear it Thu Apr 19 21:11:05 +0000 2012
RT @bhockeyjesus: If you’re a life coach, fuck off. Thu Apr 19 18:07:23 +0000 2012
RT @Steven_Hyden: I’m nostalgic for January 2012, a simpler time when people argued online about Tune-Yards. (Tune-Yards!) Thu Apr 19 16:37:39 +0000 2012
Begging your audience to vote for you in anything called “the Webbys” is undignified Thu Apr 19 16:20:43 +0000 2012
I wish I liked Lee Ranaldo’s new solo album more. Wed Apr 18 21:21:00 +0000 2012
I’ve officially graduated from Best Show Gems to Best Show proper Wed Apr 18 20:56:18 +0000 2012
Does the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame actually do anything for anyone, like charities or funding aged musicians? If not, it’s totally useless. Wed Apr 18 16:55:26 +0000 2012
Surely all will be shocked to discover this ad dates from the early 70s http://t.co/JFRGemA8 Tue Apr 17 19:08:53 +0000 2012
RT @_markrichardson: labels and publicists: every album, when heard via online stream, sounds like shit. that is always my first impression Tue Apr 17 15:44:14 +0000 2012
Listening to Teenanger’s Frights, Paisley Underground Dream Syndicate thing going on, unsure a 9 song 22 minute record’s a proper album tho Mon Apr 16 23:06:51 +0000 2012
@SDTroubadour M. Ward is sold out already Mon Apr 16 18:13:28 +0000 2012
@rdmarvel fans I doubt, real fans care who makes the music Sat Apr 14 17:42:00 +0000 2012
Playing cover songs is on the same level as writing fan fiction only somewhat less creative and somehow much sadder Sat Apr 14 15:49:53 +0000 2012
OH leaving last night’s Tim Minchin concert: “Does your face hurt from smiling too”? Fri Apr 13 15:58:26 +0000 2012
The worst thing to happen to social media is people whose job title includes the words ‘social media’ Thu Apr 12 23:21:25 +0000 2012
RT @chriscantore: frances bean cobain : “i have never been approached by Dave Grohl in more than a platonic way. twitter should ban my … Thu Apr 12 22:15:47 +0000 2012
I wonder if the 3 Stooges movie would seem like less of a slapped-together piece of crap if anyone in it had actually been in a movie before Thu Apr 12 21:55:57 +0000 2012
Presonus offering a free version of Studio One seems like a smart way to get people to try out the DAW without piracy http://t.co/5GTPt6rS Thu Apr 12 17:45:12 +0000 2012
You know, no matter how elaborate and entertaining your shtick is, it’s a still a shtick and therefore guaranteed to get wearisome quickly. Thu Apr 12 16:48:21 +0000 2012
Gmail, does anyone on Earth like that awful ‘Consider including’ feature? Comes off more like a Microsoft-style nag message than useful Thu Apr 12 15:44:59 +0000 2012
Any article titled ‘The 25/10/xxx Greatest xxxxx’ should honestly just be called ‘Look, I made a list’. Lazy structure leads to incoherence. Thu Apr 12 14:10:24 +0000 2012
Let’s all cross our fingers & hope Rick Santorum just goes away forever now, realizing how deeply he is not wanted or needed by this country Tue Apr 10 18:56:12 +0000 2012
For future storytellers’ reference: the moment they changed the rules was the moment I lost all interest in the outcome of The Hunger Games Mon Apr 09 23:32:00 +0000 2012
@americancomco I like to call people ‘who’ rather than ‘what’, but it’s hard to top George Carlin for either quality & quantity Mon Apr 09 22:30:45 +0000 2012
After Dragon Tattoo & Hunger Games it’ll be a long time ’til I get talked into another 2.5 hr movie based on a book I didn’t read Mon Apr 09 21:50:43 +0000 2012
The noun is ‘trustee’, not ‘trusty’ Mon Apr 09 20:49:41 +0000 2012
If “one of [@fantagraphics]‘ most-requested items is Love & Rockets t-shirts” why aren’t they made? Comics too hugely profitable to bother? Fri Apr 06 17:14:58 +0000 2012
Based on what I’m hearing in this Best Show Gems clip I doubt I could make it through a whole Ryan Adams album, unfair tho the review may be Thu Apr 05 22:37:59 +0000 2012
Watching ‘The Wall’ is a rite of passage, when one learns that despite everyone telling you something’s amazing it can still be a turgid POS Wed Apr 04 23:16:30 +0000 2012
The final installment of my track breakdown series along with a postscript wrap-up. http://t.co/asXP1e9Q Wed Apr 04 20:48:45 +0000 2012
@erica_holloway @engadget That looks nothing at all like Geordi’s glasses Wed Apr 04 20:37:43 +0000 2012
The better-looking the musician, the smaller the chance they’ll ever actually get around to making more music Wed Apr 04 18:45:04 +0000 2012
“Identity, Passion Explored Over Tumultuous Decades in [play]” ugh this is why people don’t go to the theater, who was asking for that Wed Apr 04 15:55:45 +0000 2012
‘Indie rock’ is well past joining ‘hair metal’ in the ‘things that are hilariously specific & incredibly generic at the same time’ category Wed Apr 04 15:48:50 +0000 2012
So transparent a gimmick insults me for watching, so the show joins Weeds & Dexter in the “I remember liking that” cable drama graveyard. Tue Apr 03 18:51:41 +0000 2012
The writing on Californication this season was so bad, I think that idiotic ‘cliffhanger’ finale ending was enough to stop me coming back. Tue Apr 03 18:42:25 +0000 2012
Proud to have provided onomatopoeia for this strip and thus contributed to the cartoon arts in some small way. http://t.co/WUzdF386 Tue Apr 03 16:10:40 +0000 2012
Arizona is the Florida of the West Coast. Mon Apr 02 21:08:05 +0000 2012
Jack White is trying way too hard with all the wacky gimmick releases. Just make good music and quit with all the collector scum fanservice. Mon Apr 02 18:13:51 +0000 2012
@jesshopp Because she’s still in Congress and therefore has a platform for her batshit blathering until rightfully ousted Fri Mar 30 19:42:18 +0000 2012
Look all’s I’m saying is I’d be about 12x more likely to want to go see your band if you played some crazy-looking guitars or something. Fri Mar 30 18:19:22 +0000 2012
Geez, the release of the Avengers movie is still over a month away? I’m kind of tired of hearing about it already. Fri Mar 30 17:43:17 +0000 2012
Wow, some of the art in Avengers 24.1 is really wonky, and not in a good way. Thu Mar 29 05:27:16 +0000 2012
If Dave Mustaine’s not careful he’s going to end up like Ted Nugent: better known as a redneck asshole who can’t shut up than as a musician Thu Mar 29 01:19:17 +0000 2012
Obsessively appending honorifics to your name is like saying “I never did get over the feeling of inadequacy that set in during adolescence” Wed Mar 28 21:24:19 +0000 2012
I wonder how much time I’ve spent going through practice tapes in my life. If there was a badge I’d be mayor of Practicetapeville for sure Wed Mar 28 20:36:43 +0000 2012
Wait a second, there aren’t any people with the last name Malph Wed Mar 28 19:45:52 +0000 2012
Musicians who call trolls “13 year old kids in their moms’ basements” are dumb. Newsflash: it’s the exact same people who go to your shows. Wed Mar 28 18:51:39 +0000 2012
@Julia_Wertz Glad my mastery of onomatopoeia could come in handy for once! Wed Mar 28 18:47:37 +0000 2012
@Julia_Wertz errnt Wed Mar 28 18:42:42 +0000 2012
In this century “mass media” will become a euphemism for “bland generic product fit only for bland generic people without curation skills” Wed Mar 28 17:17:42 +0000 2012
Hardly surprising people abandon network programming after years of “We can’t provide the shows you love, not enough dumbfucks like them” Wed Mar 28 17:15:21 +0000 2012
I picture Al Jourgensen laying yet another political speech over yet another 180BPM rhythm and thinking “THIS one is gonna BLOW SOME MINDS” Wed Mar 28 15:21:41 +0000 2012
Millions and millions of iPods, iPhones, and iPads sold–and iTunes is still an awful, bloated, unpleasant-to-use POS that smells like 1998 Wed Mar 28 02:10:20 +0000 2012
Al Jourgensen, you’ve done enough Ministry songs with terrible political samples awkwardly stuck in, you can stop now. Also PS Bush is gone Wed Mar 28 01:06:08 +0000 2012
If you take current events as an indicator of “the way the world is going” you are officially old and waiting to die. Wed Mar 28 00:00:40 +0000 2012
RT @michelleisawolf: Alicia Silverstone feeds her son by spitting into his mouth. Good luck future girlfriend Tue Mar 27 19:47:11 +0000 2012
Soundgarden aside it’d be difficult to assemble a more shittastic collection of awful bands than the Avengers sndtrk http://t.co/vxMCzNpF Tue Mar 27 18:44:21 +0000 2012
When your image goes from “charitable crusaders” to “cultish drug-addled plagiarists” in <1 month, it must be internet http://t.co/jaAYistS Mon Mar 26 21:36:32 +0000 2012
Cliche to stop using: “it’s hard to overstate”. Because it’s not. Sun Mar 25 17:36:55 +0000 2012
@kelidailey Anyone who thought they actually wrote those recipes is incredibly naive Fri Mar 23 15:08:16 +0000 2012
The penultimate entry in my YOU HAD TO LEAVE YOUR MARK track breakdown series is the title song. One more to go… http://t.co/FDXtvxkm Thu Mar 22 23:21:07 +0000 2012
Commented on: Hated in the Nation: The 30 Biggest Punching Bags in Pop History | SPIN: http://t.co/96aZOkjc Thu Mar 22 15:17:39 +0000 2012
In the 20-year history of South By Southwest has anything ever happened there that anyone who wasn’t actually there would care about? Mon Mar 19 21:46:43 +0000 2012
I keep seeing people talking about playing Journey and thinking “Wonder if they updated the graphics for the Separate Ways concert sequence” Mon Mar 19 16:51:30 +0000 2012
RT @michelleisawolf: “don’t you know you can’t make ‘invisible children’ in public?” – if jason russell was arrested by someone from law … Fri Mar 16 21:46:14 +0000 2012
Man iBooks is laggy as hell since the last update, very annoying. Switching to Stanza for now. Fri Mar 16 00:47:28 +0000 2012
“The Last Time You Ever See Me” – track breakdown #10 of 12 from YOU HAD TO LEAVE YOUR MARK: http://t.co/loHaDdnv Tue Mar 13 18:57:04 +0000 2012
Wow, if you’re at all a musician & you have an iOS device get Moog Filtatron. Insanely fun and useful, just 8 bucks. http://t.co/s8K8py56 Sat Mar 10 16:07:32 +0000 2012
I kinda feel like the central conceit of Misfits series 3 was “Man, I really painted myself into a corner with this premise.” Fri Mar 09 18:14:19 +0000 2012
“If you are given a choice, you believe you have acted freely. This is one of the darkest of all psychological secrets” http://t.co/CT5C8TGG Wed Mar 07 23:26:54 +0000 2012
“Pristine Isolation” – track breakdown #9 of 12 from YOU HAD TO LEAVE YOUR MARK http://t.co/lFXPgmyO Wed Mar 07 00:27:54 +0000 2012
Actual quote: “REVOLUTION…celebrates the mechanical watch as the primary tool for self expression.” Um yeah you’re using it wrong Mon Mar 05 18:52:55 +0000 2012
I guess this graphic on http://t.co/zh5vIJlL is “interactive” in the sense that they made it and someone else looks at it–low bar to hit Thu Feb 23 23:52:52 +0000 2012
No one ever cares about EPs except people who already know they like the artist. Just make that stuff part of an album or don’t release it Thu Feb 23 17:53:25 +0000 2012
Finally unsubscribed from CNN news alerts because I’m tired of non-news about desperate lunatics who have no chance of ever getting elected Tue Feb 21 22:36:52 +0000 2012
Unless you were born Susan Janet Ballion, calling yourself “Siouxsie” is fucking lame. You’re not Siouxsie, you’re just another Susie. Fri Feb 17 19:43:00 +0000 2012
Micromanagement, the wonders of bespoke custom tracks, and righting the errors of the past in this track breakdown. http://t.co/BJD0CVTC Wed Feb 15 20:48:56 +0000 2012
@casbahsandiego One reason such promotions are a bad idea. Another is they reward latecomers and not early adopters, blah blah blah Wed Feb 15 19:16:10 +0000 2012
@casbahsandiego Because when you hint that a certain # like will be rewarded, people will unlike so they have a chance at being that # Wed Feb 15 19:15:13 +0000 2012
Just felt a little too proud of myself for having no idea what either Zumba or Pinterest are. Tue Feb 14 22:08:52 +0000 2012
I totally forgot the Jeff Healey Band was in Roadhouse Mon Feb 13 21:41:06 +0000 2012
RT @scottheisel: So @ChrisBrown won a Grammy? That’s great! Here’s the detailed police report from when he brutally assaulted Rihanna: h … Mon Feb 13 18:20:13 +0000 2012
Been awhile since I’ve seen a music video and thought “That actually looks cool as hell” @josepharthur “over the sun” http://t.co/N5QCcl4x Fri Feb 10 20:11:38 +0000 2012
Herbie Flowers’ creamy bass recording technique, having fun with making music, and shaping spontaneous improvisation: http://t.co/KyiAyO4h Thu Feb 09 20:13:13 +0000 2012
It’s stretching the truth past the breaking point to describe Paul Shortino as “legendary” if you’re ever actually listened to Rough Cutt Thu Feb 09 18:30:37 +0000 2012
DI stands for Direct Input, not Direct Injection. Because it’s an input. Direct Injection sounds stupid and has nothing to do with audio. Thu Feb 09 17:28:11 +0000 2012
@Devilpig666 We just used binder clips. Wed Feb 08 17:19:45 +0000 2012
Difficult to imagine anything more boring than listening to a Paul McCartney album of standards Tue Feb 07 19:51:08 +0000 2012
If this Lamb of God thing doesn’t work out Randy Blythe would make an amazing workout instructor Tue Feb 07 01:35:28 +0000 2012
Never ceases to amaze me how few people are capable of reading and comprehending the meaning of “Two cars per green light” Tue Feb 07 00:58:11 +0000 2012
5th and (probably last) music video from You Had To Leave Your Mark album now available at: http://t.co/9hdL24ep Mon Feb 06 20:31:53 +0000 2012
At this point they’re probably looking to M.I.A. for tips on outrageousness Mon Feb 06 18:44:18 +0000 2012
It’s embarrassing watching Motley Crue trying to spin playing a Vegas residency into something badass and not incredibly predictable & lame Mon Feb 06 18:41:14 +0000 2012
Nice piece by Gingerhaze: http://t.co/3ptWSYLz Fri Feb 03 19:02:27 +0000 2012
6 months into the DC New 52 it still blows my mind to see The Flash higher in the sales charts than Uncanny X-Men Fri Feb 03 18:56:17 +0000 2012
Granted it’s Ringo and all, but Mr. Starkey couldn’t possibly have put any less effort into titling or designing the cover of his new album Thu Feb 02 20:34:26 +0000 2012
Half finished with my YHTLYM track breakdown series! Trick to writing is not thinking about how much work they are. http://t.co/9I6OCdQp Thu Feb 02 00:08:02 +0000 2012
The prettier someone is, the more dubious I am their music is going to be of value to me Wed Feb 01 18:37:14 +0000 2012
Covers are boring, remixes are boring, get back to me when you write and record new material but otherwise just don’t bother Wed Feb 01 18:26:40 +0000 2012
“Each MyBook Thunderbolt Duo had two 3TB drives, giving a total capacity of 24TB” YESSSSSSSS NOW MAKE IT PHONE-SIZED http://t.co/7K1Dn5Yk Fri Jan 27 00:02:50 +0000 2012
Wow, Lisa Loeb and Jill Sobule — what a double bill of 90s female singer-songwriters I barely remember and whose hits I couldn’t name! Thu Jan 26 20:21:26 +0000 2012
Titling your album “Thriller” isn’t really funny or clever enough Thu Jan 26 17:56:48 +0000 2012
Dave Sim has to be the all time poster boy for confirmation bias. Thu Jan 26 02:39:27 +0000 2012
Actual humor applied to situations in which people say things (“That thing that is being said is actually humorous”) seems in short supply. Wed Jan 25 23:58:20 +0000 2012
These “Shit People Say” videos are mostly terrifically unfunny because they rely on the laughs produced by recognition/confirmation. Wed Jan 25 23:57:23 +0000 2012
How the song “Naivete” was made, from initial tracking to final mixdown: http://t.co/SanwNh4w Wed Jan 25 00:17:27 +0000 2012
Late-period Cerebus: it’s like if the Stones albums from the 90s were just Mick reading from the Torah while Keith jammed old jazz tunes. Mon Jan 23 18:59:02 +0000 2012
Finally getting around to finishing Cerebus after all this time. These last several years’ worth of issues are a real slog. Sun Jan 22 18:28:31 +0000 2012
Behind the scenes of the making of the song “Maybe Great Discoveries”, featuring Jeanette Moradi. http://t.co/wh3FvJ3E Thu Jan 19 19:20:05 +0000 2012
I certainly don’t support SOPA but I’m not a big fan of bandwagons either. Wed Jan 18 19:03:45 +0000 2012
Protip: a ‘blackout’ isn’t really too effective if you can just hit ‘stop’ before the page fully loads and still access all the information. Wed Jan 18 16:47:52 +0000 2012
New video for “Naivete”, I really pushed my iMovie skills to the limit making this one! http://t.co/s3qeWdBC Tue Jan 17 21:05:25 +0000 2012
Really been enjoying catching up on Misfits (still a season behind) but have to admit s02e05 was pretty shit writing. Tue Jan 17 16:45:19 +0000 2012
Naming a band “Cortez & the Killers” is not only unoriginal but a total nonstarter as long as the band called the Killers exists. Sat Jan 14 00:52:24 +0000 2012
Every detail of this album cover is awesome. http://t.co/g09ux2hj Fri Jan 13 17:17:47 +0000 2012
Currently reading The Complete Torpedo 1936 v1. Man Jordi Bernet is just so good Wed Jan 11 07:13:10 +0000 2012
Most of the crap that’s gone missing over the years I don’t miss at all or I can replace, but man I wish I still had my issues of Motorbooty Wed Jan 11 00:13:05 +0000 2012
New music from My Dad Is Dead’s Mark Edwards, I listened to exactly 1.5 songs before buying the album @bandcamp: http://t.co/yY2fKqlz Tue Jan 10 17:53:09 +0000 2012
Every time I see this book I think “That actually seems like a really bad idea” http://t.co/Vz6gu3dD Tue Jan 10 04:36:56 +0000 2012
In other news, Kim Novak is apparently both still alive and completely unaware of the culture of the last thirty years or so Mon Jan 09 23:54:55 +0000 2012
Awesome Facebook, thanks for changing my updates to default to ‘Only Me’ without any kind of notification. That makes perfect sense Fri Jan 06 19:32:23 +0000 2012
How I made “An Accident Of Birth” from basic rhythms to final mixdown, + thoughts on computer recording & DAW choice. http://t.co/l7kDptbE Thu Jan 05 18:01:19 +0000 2012
Nappy Roots have an album whose title is a URL and whose cover is a QR code. Nappy Roots, you suck at creativity Tue Jan 03 22:24:58 +0000 2012
New video for the new year or something like that blah blah blah. http://t.co/uj00s7WO Tue Jan 03 17:02:53 +0000 2012
Pick any year 1982-now and you can truthfully say “Love and Rockets’ Los Bros Hernandez created the most stunning comic released in [year]” Fri Dec 30 19:09:35 +0000 2011
@RachelLaing sounds about right Fri Dec 30 03:50:13 +0000 2011
Hitch is going to be taking over Justice League for Jim Lee, isn’t he Fri Dec 30 03:49:48 +0000 2011
A lot of fondly remembered ‘classic’ albums only contain two good songs, it’s just that laziness meant you’d generally play the whole side Thu Dec 29 19:55:06 +0000 2011
RT @sharpcircle: looks like the ocean marektting guy has previous… @oceanmarketting http://t.co/7MpBvanD Tue Dec 27 17:50:46 +0000 2011
How not to handle customer service and marketing on the Internet: http://t.co/0BB1TILj boycott @OceanMarketting, what a dickwad Tue Dec 27 07:51:00 +0000 2011
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a boring, shitty film but the score is great. Still, a stylishly shot, well scored turd remains a turd. Tue Dec 27 05:10:17 +0000 2011
On the road to Hana in Maui just listening to a bunch of Best Show Gems Tue Dec 20 21:47:42 +0000 2011
Photos: JEFF The Brotherhood at Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu HI Dec. 16 2011 http://t.co/sn40BJ72 Sat Dec 17 23:55:13 +0000 2011
@GuitarPlayerNow wow, “free digital editions” that don’t work on iPads, it’s actually difficult to think of anything so useless. Fri Dec 16 07:54:39 +0000 2011
“The Blackout Party” is a bad band name because tons of venues have club nights with that name. Might as well call yourselves “Ladies Nite” Mon Dec 12 22:02:03 +0000 2011
You Had To Leave Your Mark video #2 includes a brief appearance by San Diego Occupiers and their escorts. http://t.co/TuAsdIMJ Mon Dec 12 17:45:13 +0000 2011
Legitimately loving the Loutallica Rockpalast set over here Sat Dec 10 02:12:56 +0000 2011
RT @robdelaney: Red Hot Chili Peppers inducted into Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame today. WHAT THE FUCK OBAMA! Sat Dec 10 01:28:29 +0000 2011
“I don’t give a shit about culture in any way…I believe in extreme solitude. I lie in the dark and brood.” http://t.co/9n1FgFGb Fri Dec 09 21:32:33 +0000 2011
@SpeedsterSite Well we already got 200+issues so it’s not really the same thing Thu Dec 08 19:52:25 +0000 2011
An in-depth breakdown of the recording of “Spray Vandalism” from basic tracking to final mixdown: http://t.co/fUrDRZWd Thu Dec 08 17:38:00 +0000 2011
The SD Union-Tribune’s new owner has made the paper and himself the joke of the nation already. Congratulations! http://t.co/RSbJCYt8 Wed Dec 07 21:52:30 +0000 2011
@SDCityBeat Well at least even they’re not delusional enough to include any claims about the relative quality of the newspaper itself. Wed Dec 07 00:15:54 +0000 2011
Oh @PayPal you must know how much everyone hates you. A non-awful company would try to turn public perception around with good PR, but no. Tue Dec 06 17:36:08 +0000 2011
The 1st music video from my new album is now available — bump it up to 720p HD! (Or use a script that does it for you.) http://t.co/uCq6gkjN Mon Dec 05 17:04:50 +0000 2011
The Oatmeal book is just the same six ideas repeated ad nauseum. Sat Dec 03 19:21:30 +0000 2011
The backlash against wacky pop tarts is in the air so you might as well quit now with the watered-down Minaj/Monae act you were working on Fri Dec 02 21:46:11 +0000 2011
“CLMT Nightwalk” YOU HAD TO LEAVE YOUR MARK track breakdown #1: http://t.co/sYaGBew9 Thu Dec 01 19:43:34 +0000 2011
My new album was just released: YOU HAD TO LEAVE YOUR MARK available now! http://t.co/yfHQCejB Mon Nov 28 20:20:24 +0000 2011
@A_BONUS_HAM see, that keeps it interesting to look at Sat Nov 26 17:05:27 +0000 2011
PS girls/women count as “dudes” for the purposes of the aforementioned calculations Sat Nov 26 17:04:36 +0000 2011
If your band picture is just gonna be 4-6 dudes wearing black then really don’t even bother, nothing is more boring & less rock Sat Nov 26 17:01:41 +0000 2011
I can understand the appeal but still, artificially “aged”-looking guitars are pretty fucking lame Sat Nov 26 16:24:19 +0000 2011
I seriously do not get how anyone listens to Dream Theater without ever once thinking “You know, this music really sounds like shit” Thu Nov 24 19:23:24 +0000 2011
OK, masters are uploaded, files have been double- & triple-checked, distro fees are paid: You Had To Leave Your Mark is almost out. Tue Nov 22 23:48:37 +0000 2011
This is why half of you are running around with phones that are still currently running every single app ever run on that phone. Tue Nov 22 19:28:51 +0000 2011
The one really head-knockingly dumb engineering mistake in iOS is that you can’t quit an application from inside the application itself. Tue Nov 22 19:27:16 +0000 2011
Still doing that dumbfuck “it really whips the llama’s ass” intro, winamp? You’re a relic of 1999 & all but aren’t you embarrassed by that? Tue Nov 22 17:45:22 +0000 2011
By the way, Einstein never said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” Mon Nov 21 19:39:19 +0000 2011
Scott lobdell, redheads don’t call other redheads “Red” Sun Nov 20 18:04:42 +0000 2011
Afton contact you about playing shows? Read this before wasting your time, money, and effort http://t.co/eiZGpPGL Sun Nov 20 17:03:44 +0000 2011
@SheriRachelle it’s a ripoff, not a legit booking agency in any way. You waste your time, money, and energy with them http://t.co/eiZGpPGL Sun Nov 20 17:02:18 +0000 2011
Oof, the Frank Robbins-written issues of The Flash are just awful. Tone deaf and totally missing the mark, not even super-speed stories. Sun Nov 20 17:00:19 +0000 2011
Wow, @jonwurster may actually love rock docs more than I do, I didn’t think that was possible Fri Nov 18 22:25:24 +0000 2011
RT @jonwurster: I speak of rock docs here today. http://t.co/ERVnSAuJ Fri Nov 18 22:18:07 +0000 2011
Did Maya Rudolph really claim “I have yet to see the similarities between my [Up All Night] character and Oprah”? Has she seen the show? Fri Nov 18 00:02:57 +0000 2011
There’s definitely something deeply creepy about any man who wants people he didn’t personally foster to call him “Papa” Thu Nov 17 23:51:10 +0000 2011
It seems like it was a really short trip from “I can’t believe that’s not on DVD yet” to “I can’t believe that’s only available on DVD” Thu Nov 17 23:49:43 +0000 2011
I will not support any project with Nick Oliveri. If you see Kyuss Lives you pay a guy who held his girlfriend hostage with a loaded rifle. Wed Nov 16 23:31:35 +0000 2011
“This thing has just punched me right in the face”. Kind of like Nick Oliveri did to his girlfriend? Why no mention? http://t.co/lRNmeARM Wed Nov 16 23:17:55 +0000 2011
@SheriRachelle But they don’t have to get scammed by a shady pay-to-play booking agency on the way up if they avoid Afton Wed Nov 16 22:21:55 +0000 2011
Ugh, well I guess I’ll be dropping Avenging Spider-Man as of #3. Sorry Zeb Wells, I enjoy your Spider-Man but can’t abide Greg Land’s “art” Wed Nov 16 20:24:40 +0000 2011
Fear Itself 7.1-7.3 summarized: “Hey, forget about everything you read in Fear Itself, turns out the story really had no impact at all” Wed Nov 16 18:51:53 +0000 2011
Here’s hoping “Madmen are more often than not geniuses” is the dumbest thing I read today (quote from a letter printed in Rolling Stone) Wed Nov 16 03:25:29 +0000 2011
If male we all know you’re balding; if female we all know you desperately crave attention Tue Nov 15 22:54:13 +0000 2011
Despite what you may think and no matter who you are, you look awful in that fedora unless you are well north of 65 years of age. Tue Nov 15 22:53:23 +0000 2011
Bendis brought some really good ideas into the Avengers comics, it’s just that he keeps doing the same three ideas over and over and over Tue Nov 15 22:24:10 +0000 2011
Itunes really is surprisingly terrible at managing podcasts Tue Nov 15 00:17:07 +0000 2011
Frank Miller’s Holy Terror has some nice sprawling Infantinoesque layouts showing off his design sense, but everything else is just awful Mon Nov 14 23:53:49 +0000 2011
Here’s an annoying dumbfuck phrase spawned of networks’ insatiable appetite for meaningless promotional opportunities: “midseason finale” Mon Nov 14 22:32:06 +0000 2011
Oof, Marvel’s Point One book has some real cringers. Obvious, clunky writing all around but one Nova line is so tone deaf it’s painful. Sun Nov 13 18:38:58 +0000 2011
The history of comics is largely that of creators bringing fresh new ideas into the medium and then repeating them ad nauseum Sun Nov 13 17:32:31 +0000 2011
This ‘iPad 2 Portable Genius’ book that was released <7 months ago is already ridiculously out of date. Print not the way to go here, maybe? Sun Nov 13 16:28:00 +0000 2011
Why would anyone want both the physical and the digital copies of any currently-published comic other than the novelty factor anyway? Thu Nov 10 18:57:24 +0000 2011
Fine, I guess I’ll be the first person that I know of to say I’d be totally fine with a Kim-free Sonic Youth in the future Thu Nov 10 18:01:50 +0000 2011
Do today’s journalism programs offer instruction in writing pop culture listicles? After all, it’s what all their luckiest graduates will do Tue Nov 08 21:32:12 +0000 2011
Good lord, everything is just annoying today Tue Nov 08 19:06:58 +0000 2011
It’s well past time to cool it already with the “Really?” people Mon Nov 07 18:28:55 +0000 2011
Just amazing to see these outtakes of the iconic Aladdin Sane cover photo. http://t.co/y4Enrnkd Wed Nov 02 22:05:43 +0000 2011
Aw man, despite everything I can’t believe ear X-tacy in Louisville closed. Tue Nov 01 22:00:53 +0000 2011
If DC had done the New 52 relaunch last year you just know Magog would have been one of the books Tue Nov 01 19:29:53 +0000 2011
The sucky new Google Reader interface: because you’ve always wanted to peer at your news down a tunnel Tue Nov 01 17:37:26 +0000 2011
The sucky new Google Reader interface: it’s like using a computer a ten-year old filled up with terrible toolbars Tue Nov 01 17:34:12 +0000 2011
The sucky new Google Reader interface: “stare at a giant header bar with no real estate saved for actual reading” is an accurate assessment Tue Nov 01 17:29:45 +0000 2011
I feel like the internet collectively saw the “What music was on Steve Jobs’ ipod” piece and agreed “OK, now we’ve taken this thing too far” Fri Oct 28 21:31:51 +0000 2011
It comes across that Chris Roberson has genuine love for the characters he writes but I’m starting to think maybe he’s just not that good. Wed Oct 26 17:35:11 +0000 2011
The more I learn about Logic the gladder I am I use a different DAW. Dodgy sound engine alters the character of the final render? No thanks Tue Oct 25 05:09:29 +0000 2011
“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel” Gibson, Neuromancer. So bright blue then? http://t.co/JL5951Y1 Mon Oct 24 23:13:04 +0000 2011
Tough to defend an SEO company too dumb to have website URL listed on its facebook profile. Must be using the underpants gnome profit model. Mon Oct 24 22:30:49 +0000 2011
Scott Kolins’ My Greatest Adventure art is looking sharp–it’s best when he avoids the toned & loose stuff & sticks to clean, sharp lines Sun Oct 23 01:30:13 +0000 2011
Cold War #1: Byrne’s art is back to looking decent but the story is completely boring, utterly stock Bond tropes with no variation or twist Sat Oct 22 16:24:35 +0000 2011
Good lord…Neal…maybe you could….cool it with…the ellipses…because it makes everyone sound indecisive and about 65 Sat Oct 22 16:01:38 +0000 2011
Neal Adams’ art is so good it almost makes one forgive the incoherence of his scripting. Amateur mistake: everyone has same speech pattern Sat Oct 22 15:55:59 +0000 2011
I want all that time back I used to have to spend waiting for audio edits to render Thu Oct 20 19:42:18 +0000 2011
Wait, Jessica Lange is on that American Horror Story show? What the heck happened there? That’s like finding out Streep is doing Saw XIII Thu Oct 20 19:33:23 +0000 2011
Every time Nick Cannon pops up on Up All Night I think “Oh right, Nick Cannon is on this show for some reason” & I wonder what the reason is Thu Oct 20 16:44:39 +0000 2011
Spotted in Point Loma, the equivalent of a dude having a bumper sticker saying I LIKE BREASTS, SPORTS, & VIDEO GAMES http://t.co/M65IZ9Wq Wed Oct 19 21:33:01 +0000 2011
@karmiclife Sounds like a brilliant/terrible slasher film about a killer mountain: SHRIEK PEAK. It kills skiers because skiers killed its pa Wed Oct 19 17:32:04 +0000 2011
It’s “sneak peek” not “sneak peak” people Wed Oct 19 17:25:00 +0000 2011
Sounds like someone sent this record to mastering before Dave Navarro was finished laying down the guitar tracks Wed Oct 19 01:04:03 +0000 2011
This new Jane’s Addiction album isn’t as bad as the Onion AV Club review claimed, but nor is it any good. Wed Oct 19 00:32:20 +0000 2011
@rdmarvel That kinda seems like overthinking it with the best of intentions. Tue Oct 18 17:00:40 +0000 2011
An open letter to @bitcartel Software regarding ComicBookLover http://t.co/sRbmA1Rh Tue Oct 18 16:20:50 +0000 2011
Oh man the song titles alone on this new Jane’s Addiction album are the worst. “Words Right Out Of My Mouth” is a Meat Loaf tune, Perry Tue Oct 18 15:24:50 +0000 2011
@INTAKEca @chimairamark But if you were getting something signed it’d be the original, yes? Mon Oct 17 22:38:25 +0000 2011
DC should publish one monthly book derived from the principles of Mort Weisinger’s editorship based on the fact his sales were twice as high Mon Oct 17 21:12:18 +0000 2011
Album #2. Twelve tracks, fifty-one minutes of new music, coming soon. http://t.co/IEHkZnHI Mon Oct 17 16:39:34 +0000 2011
I’d think anyone who ever liked the Stone Roses would know better than to bother getting excited about any reunion. The moment’s long gone. Fri Oct 14 23:38:26 +0000 2011
Remember when multiple Oscar-winning leads were lined up for the Three Stooges film, not washed up TV actors who haven’t worked in years? Fri Oct 14 21:57:02 +0000 2011
Tix for Deadmau5 at Petco Park are $65 apiece & that’s supposed to be a bargain??? Wow, good luck with that. Maybe in the ~$25 range Fri Oct 14 20:42:15 +0000 2011
Travel Alaska’s slogan should be “Totally not a godforsaken wasteland, really we swear” Fri Oct 14 17:08:30 +0000 2011
Hey people, you do know exactly zero vampires exist, right? Because based on the number of awful books/films you buy I’m starting to wonder. Thu Oct 13 23:30:17 +0000 2011
Posting lame questions without taking any position comes off as obvious “I’d better engage my social network to leverage my brand” douchery Thu Oct 13 21:04:55 +0000 2011
Huh. Ann Nocenti writing Green Arrow actually makes a surprising amount of sense Thu Oct 13 20:53:30 +0000 2011
I can’t trust any art with an obvious agenda Thu Oct 13 15:56:44 +0000 2011
Protip: If you’re doing an interview and you say “That’s awesome” or “Wow, that’s cool” don’t put it in when you transcribe for publication Tue Oct 11 22:28:03 +0000 2011
@artfagcity Think someone’s confused “artist” with “politician” there Tue Oct 11 20:57:21 +0000 2011
Just saw there’s a book titled “FarmVille For Dummies”. Well, yeah. Tue Oct 11 19:14:31 +0000 2011
I’ve got a feeling a lot of people going to be rewatching Pirates Of Silicon Valley this weekend Fri Oct 07 17:53:07 +0000 2011
I’d like to have dinner with Seth MacFarlane and every time he speaks, interrupt him & say “That reminds me of the time I [80s reference]” Fri Oct 07 04:42:43 +0000 2011
This post by Lamb Of God vocalist Randy Blythe about the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure walk is hilarious & touching http://t.co/myC8N7jq Thu Oct 06 22:46:26 +0000 2011
Oh Pt Loma CVS, why is there always a long wait as your registers due to incompetent untrained cashiers? Awful store, unfortunately close Thu Oct 06 20:18:00 +0000 2011
Everything Bank of America says and does demonstrates how badly they just don’t get it Thu Oct 06 17:14:59 +0000 2011
Wow, there is seriously a new Magazine album! No Barry Adamson but with Noko replacing the legendary McGeoch it’s like a Luxuria hybrid too Thu Oct 06 16:08:51 +0000 2011
Thanks, Steve. Thu Oct 06 01:58:07 +0000 2011
Hey iTunes, thanks again for dropping unasked-for icons for yourself & Quicktime on my desktop every single update. #whypeoplehateapple Wed Oct 05 19:43:40 +0000 2011
Good lord the new Jane’s Addiction album cover is cringe-inducingly awful. Granted it’s all been downhill for awhile, but still embarrassing Wed Oct 05 17:44:20 +0000 2011
Bunch of people seem to be giving away Blink-182 tickets. Not all that many people really seem to be all that interested in them. Wed Oct 05 17:28:05 +0000 2011
Apple iPhone 4S: it’s like the “deluxe 2CD edition” of an album you already bought last year Wed Oct 05 16:17:43 +0000 2011
I seriously thought they stopped making Zunes like three years ago Tue Oct 04 23:16:43 +0000 2011
Funniest thing about Horrible Bosses is Aniston dyed her hair so her audience ‘gets’ her character is different from her typical romcom role Tue Oct 04 21:29:24 +0000 2011
Maybe it’s time for internet culture to stop encouraging people to disappear up their own asses Tue Oct 04 15:50:22 +0000 2011
Mixing: if nothing is loud everything can be loud, but if everything is loud nothing can be loud. Tue Oct 04 15:15:03 +0000 2011
Are you kidding me, Rob Liefeld and Ivan Brunetti were born on the exactly the same date? Some major cosmic irony there somewhere Mon Oct 03 18:24:00 +0000 2011
Outside of school, who wants other people tuning in to what you’re listening to at any given time? Newsflash: you are not that interesting Mon Oct 03 18:06:22 +0000 2011
Holy shit there’s a Kevin Coyne anthology box set, four discs Sun Oct 02 15:03:44 +0000 2011
Haha, did some asshole actually try to blame the UK riots on gangsta rap? Good lord, how backwards and wrong can you get Sat Oct 01 17:53:25 +0000 2011
‘Grisly’ and ‘grizzly’ are two different words, people, but yes they do both apply to your godawful scraggly beard Sat Oct 01 17:50:04 +0000 2011
Yes, Bank of America’s website is completely unusable today, a business day. This is the service they want to charge people even more for? Fri Sep 30 21:20:54 +0000 2011
You gotta admit “No, wait, it LOOKS like a movie about baseball but it’s REALLY about math” is not the most appealing sales pitch Fri Sep 30 18:46:50 +0000 2011
I’ll be watching my mail to see if Bank of America plans to charge me $5/month to use my debit and I’ll be taking my money elsewhere if so Fri Sep 30 18:01:26 +0000 2011
Photos: @josepharthur at Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, California September 23 2011 http://t.co/6cU4EAH3 Fri Sep 30 16:06:15 +0000 2011
The Scion looks like someone thought “You know what classic car design needs to be brought back? The Model T” Fri Sep 30 15:16:59 +0000 2011
Don’t think I’ve heard Josh Damigo music but the description “cheesy, sentimental, heart-on-your-sleeve acoustic drivel” sounds unappealing Thu Sep 29 22:38:58 +0000 2011
“Customers frequently buy The Jesus Lizard – Club DVD with Fantomas – Director’s Cut Live” Do they really Amazon, or was it just 1 guy once? Thu Sep 29 22:07:17 +0000 2011
Wow twitter’s web interface is amazingly awful. All we need is a box in which to type and hit ‘return’, so they make it a slow laggy popup Thu Sep 29 21:50:59 +0000 2011
If you’ve read one tour diary piece you’ve read one too many tour diary pieces Thu Sep 29 21:47:56 +0000 2011
Live At The Paramount reminds us Nirvana was a good band and Kurt shouldn’t have done himself in, but that’s about it. Scale it back people Thu Sep 29 21:33:52 +0000 2011
Steve Albini: “what passes for Journalism these days is repeating things that other people link to you on Twitter” http://t.co/7eOJqQEr Thu Sep 29 21:27:55 +0000 2011
Holy shit, Wyatt Cenac’s Comedy Central standup special is hilarious. Literally made me lose it more than a few times Thu Sep 29 02:23:48 +0000 2011
Not sure Noel Gallagher calling Lady Gaga ‘Madonna-lite’ is so much a slam as an accurate description, the same way Oasis is ‘Beatles-lite’ Wed Sep 28 22:35:07 +0000 2011
Kind of over named ‘bands’ of 1/2 people. Everyone already has names, referring to yourself as some made-up brand is redundant/pretentious Wed Sep 28 21:14:10 +0000 2011
Let us not forget that Nevermind led to more mainstream clod-rock (Bush, Stone Temple Pilots, Candlebox, Silverchair etc) than opened doors Tue Sep 27 22:11:09 +0000 2011
If I had to pick the last thing I’d ever want alongside text while reading I think “a stream of other people’s facebook posts” might take #1 Tue Sep 27 20:42:45 +0000 2011
It’s weird how the same ad looks so much more interesting in the pages of Tape Op as opposed to Guitar Player Tue Sep 27 18:14:50 +0000 2011
More relevant than ever: Alan Moore & Don Simpson’s In Pictopia http://t.co/tHafZaWN Mon Sep 26 22:37:19 +0000 2011
I don’t trust art made by people who are too prettied-up Mon Sep 26 15:58:28 +0000 2011
RT @ronmarz: This @jimiyo is a scoundrel who ripped off my buddy @f_francavilla . Let people know about it! Don’t buy from @teefury! Mon Sep 26 15:53:46 +0000 2011
…but Danny Chase is & always has been a completely shit character. Wolfman’s lame attempt to redeem him just emphasizes the awfulness more Mon Sep 26 15:52:55 +0000 2011
New Teen Titans: Games was a great retro blast and really the unbilled capper of DC’s recent Retroactive books as a classic team reunion… Mon Sep 26 15:51:14 +0000 2011
So Guitar Player magazines are $7 an issue on Zinio even if I have a print subscription? I don’t think so. Deleting this app posthaste Mon Sep 26 15:19:09 +0000 2011
One crossing guard letting people across at end of walkway. Airport not closed Fri Sep 23 16:30:31 +0000 2011
At San Diego airport and nothing is flying, not letting anyone in. Suspicious package apparently. Bomb squad is here Fri Sep 23 16:27:42 +0000 2011
@Atreus physical media is so 2006, havent burned a DVD for myself since getting Oplay Fri Sep 23 14:40:43 +0000 2011
“Unfortunately, all Walden has to offer us are not ‘Secrets Of The Pros’ in any way.” http://t.co/wUOrCU4z Thu Sep 22 22:43:46 +0000 2011
Why did anyone think they were going to get anything other than that from a Judd Winick/Guillem March Catwoman comic? IT’S WHAT THEY DO Thu Sep 22 19:59:00 +0000 2011
@tankboy It’s how they put people off their guards and get them to underestimate their negotiating savvy. Thu Sep 22 17:59:06 +0000 2011
Esquire is the mag for dudes who 1. have a crush on Justin Timberlake, 2. didn’t get attention from their fathers 3. can’t dress themselves Thu Sep 22 17:57:41 +0000 2011
NBC’s new late-thirty/early-fortysomething comedies Up All Night and Free Agents reviewed: http://t.co/mZYOVEBa Thu Sep 22 16:41:48 +0000 2011
Everyone knows the American Family Association are really extremist right-wing lunatics and not kindly grandmas, right? Okay, just checking Thu Sep 22 15:48:59 +0000 2011
No one really wants to be a writer who’s not a reader, people just want attention and mistakenly think writers get it http://t.co/F8cJM9gh Thu Sep 22 15:33:42 +0000 2011
Okay people enough already with “Really?” in your scripts. It’s tired and crazy overused and not even remotely clever Thu Sep 22 04:56:59 +0000 2011
On man please let the long-unfinished Gerber/Nowlan Man-Thing graphic novel get finished and released http://t.co/ZG3fev0M Wed Sep 21 21:08:28 +0000 2011
The Grateful Dead sold $3.2 million worth of CDs in four days and they’re about to do it again: http://t.co/F8bAbTmO Wed Sep 21 19:01:51 +0000 2011
“The lead’s Don Draper impression is so shameless he should really send Jon Hamm half his paycheck for this show…” http://t.co/s5ptM1mq Wed Sep 21 16:09:14 +0000 2011
After watching one episode of The Playboy Club I never want to hear the word “bunny”again Wed Sep 21 03:59:00 +0000 2011
@SpeedsterSite @geoffjohns ….because he’s a cop? Doesn’t seem like a mystery there Tue Sep 20 22:50:49 +0000 2011
Fall TV 2011 pilot episodes: 2 Broke Girls & Whitney reviewed http://t.co/I9anVybB Tue Sep 20 17:17:51 +0000 2011
RT @AlbertBrooks: So sorry to miss Two and a Half Men last night. Of course I missed the other 8 seasons too. Tue Sep 20 17:12:50 +0000 2011
Still can’t figure out why they’re wasting George Perez inks on Green Arrow but Giffen/Jurgens writing is 50x more appealing than Krul Mon Sep 19 17:26:55 +0000 2011
Picturing the “Christ, what an asshole” looks that would ensue if anyone in real life actually went around talking like a pirate Mon Sep 19 17:15:27 +0000 2011
Thinking someday I’ll read an article including the phrase “A series of bad decisions sent everything horribly wrong for Netflix in 2011″ Mon Sep 19 16:49:04 +0000 2011
I’m pretty tired of Bendis-scripted Avengers comics where characters talk to the ‘camera’ like they’re on The Office. More show, less tell! Sat Sep 17 15:57:20 +0000 2011
You know, even today way too many albums aim to sound slick and commercial and ones that sound genuinely homemade & personal are far too few Fri Sep 16 19:39:48 +0000 2011
#theFlash reboot that wasn’t: http://t.co/oCbO51Rc Thu Sep 15 21:32:47 +0000 2011
The use of the Iron Maiden font on the UK cover of Tony Iommi’s new book is the dumbest thing, “well done there” to whatever hack made that Thu Sep 15 18:01:03 +0000 2011
Does anyone really want another Ghostbusters movie other than Dan Aykroyd? I have affection for the original but there’s no franchise there. Thu Sep 15 16:58:23 +0000 2011
Doesn’t really seem like there’s a Republican Party anymore, there’s Tea Party ova heah and “traditional” Republicans ova thar & no unity Thu Sep 15 16:17:16 +0000 2011
Whoa, new issue of Optic Nerve out of nowhere. A favorite that comes out so infrequently each 32-pg book recalls a different stage of life Wed Sep 14 20:38:15 +0000 2011
Fair warning, 1991 The Year Punk Broke was a disappointing, boring piece of crap even at the time Wed Sep 14 15:31:37 +0000 2011
The recent Xombi series totally fell between the cracks but it’s a gem from beginning to end–get the collection when it comes out for sure! Wed Sep 14 05:56:43 +0000 2011
Twitter dump from March-Sept 2011: http://t.co/T6RP8w9 So um, go there if you’re not on twitter I guess Tue Sep 13 22:42:02 +0000 2011
In my effort to cut down on the cultural/mental white noise coming at me through my various screens, I’ve removed the twitter and tumblr apps from my phone and iPad, which was a relatively quick and easy solution. Of course I could still access these services via the browser, but having that one extra step is enough to cause one to think: “Eh, is this really necessary?” Everyone knows that no one is interested in seeing a Ghostbusters 3 without Bill Murray, so no. I’m sure someone will step up to state that bold opinion in my absence, and thus culture lurches onward without my contribution.
Trimming the RSS feeds in my Google Reader is a somewhat more involved process, however. I still want/need some of that material but either Reader lacks mass feed-management functionality or I lack knowledge of such so I’ve been taking it on a case-by-case basis, evaluating each feed on its own merits before deciding whether to consign it to the void or clutch it to my chest. I’ve probably deleted upwards of two dozen at this point, and I’m beginning to notice patterns in which RSS feeds get removed with impunity:
Low-content music blogs, defined as 90%+ of the content lacking original writing and consisting basically of recycled/rewritten pres releases. Not everything has to be an in-depth review, but whenever some current blog darling ‘drops’ a new track my feed fills with a bunch of identical posts that add (at best) one or two sentences to justify themselves. That serves no real purpose other than to add to the level of chatter and help create the illusion that Something Important Is Happening when it isn’t.
Music blogs that seem to only cover music that’s being covered ad nauseum by other music blogs. I get the impression this is a byproduct of traffic-chasing on the part of the type of competitive blogger that quantifies their success by the number of hits their site gets and gears everything around that, ignoring the fact that hits and audience involvement are two completely separate things. I got a ton of easy hits back in the day by writing early reviews of just-released albums by popular bands with vocal fanbases, but I was never naive enough to think many of those hits translated into longterm readers, if any.
Same as the above two items but for comics.
“Outraged” “personalities” that spend most of their time working themselves into a froth that other people dare to have different opinions than they do and express them on the internet. Left, right, liberal, conservative, American, anti-American, religious, anti-religious, whatever. People who define themselves personally by the opinions they hold are mostly sad and limited whatever their opinions happen to be, because when other disagree with those opinions — which is all they are — it’s taken as a personal attack because that person is doubting the veracity of something upon which they have literally constructed their personality. There is never any debate, and any discussion rapidly descends into circular ad hominem/strawman insults. It’s a tiresome shell game played either for personal gain or cheap attention or both, and I’m not interested.
The flip side of the above item is ‘troll’ blogs that seem to exist only to get a reaction, desperately prodding for validation by saying whatever gets them the most attention. These generally only got in there by accident in the first place.
Relentless promoters. I get it, you put out a book/have a band/opened a restaurant/whatever, and it’s exciting to you, and you want to make sure people know about it. But if it’s all you ever talk about, for a reader it’s the equivalent of reading a mail-order catalog, and probably a not very well written one. These people all got hidden from my Facebook stream long ago, and if it was someone who was once a real-life friend or acquaintance I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt as possibly having been slightly less internet-savvy at the time and stop in on their page every now and again to see if they changed their ways and learned to reengage with humanity as a person and not a spambot. So far I haven’t had to learn how to unhide people from my stream.
Stuff I added because it seemed like it might get good eventually. The more attention someone seems to get on the internet the less likely they seem to be to actually improve, so I can wait until they get there to come back. I’ll probably like it more that way, not having exposed myself to their frustrating formative work.
As the process continues I’ll be interested to see if I actually miss any deleted feeds to the degree of adding them back in. I’ll let you know if so, but I wouldn’t hold your breath: the more feeds vanish, the more static seems to recede.
Recently I’m feeling like my phase of expanded connectivity than began with obtaining an iphone/ipad may be transitioning to a contraction phase. A lot of this stuff is feeling like busy work or even ‘busy play’, in one ear and out the other and ultimately meaningless other than as a way to pass time. I’m not and never have been into promoting myself as a brand or whatever, and it feels like a game a lot of people are WAY INTO, which is fine–I’ll leave them to it. Too many teapot tempests for my taste, and I don’t even like tea in the first place.
This will mean pruning a lot of RSS feeds, disinvolving myself from online-only matters, and a lot less social networking (twitter, tumblr, etc). But really, I’ve only ever seen any value to any of that as idea generation in the first place — and if I’ve generated any useful ideas then my time at this point would be far better spent refining and developing, not sifting. Twitter, tumblr, etc. all involve a lot of sifting, and I have enough sand in my shoes for now.
Of course, I may feel totally different about this all next week and decide OH GOD I NEED TUMBLR IN MY LIFE — but having never felt that before I somewhat doubt it. Whatever ends up happening, I’m going to bring it all back to http://aaronpoehler.com so you can find me here (or my current contact information, anyway) if you need to.
