you know what really grinds my gears???

Last Wednesday I had lunch with Foil in the SoDo. During our lunch hour conversation, he brought to my attention that I don't rant enough on my blog. Apparently Foil thinks that I should be using this blog as an outlet to air my various grievances. In an effort to make this blog more interactive, I'd like to put out a call to all my homies for rant ideas. Oh, and something that would be even better? Guest blog rants. I'd love to hear what some of you readers have to complain about. Send me your material and I will post. So I will be calling my rant, and guest rant, segments "What Really Grinds My Gears"....a homage to Peter Griffin's segment on the Quahog news.
Last week was Pearl Jam week, so what better way to bring it all together than to rant about my favorite band of all time? Kim L., Chris, and I have discussed Eddie Vedder's hair at length over the past few tours. With that said.....you know what really grinds my gears? Eddie Vedder's hair. This guy's hair is on a downward spiral from the grunge rockin' hair hay days that were the 90's. While Stone Gossard's hair is getting better with age, EV's mop is in desperate need of intervention. Kim L., Chris, and I always joke that he needs some smoothing serum and a round brush. In actuality, I think he might need some Tousle Me Softly by Herbal Essences. Or better yet, some Frizz-Ease. It is going to be best to embrace those curls Eddie. I think I might even need to take some of my own advice and use more product. No one is perfect, including myself.

Case in point......what is going on here? This hair is just not working for me, or you for that matter. David Crosby called, he wants his hair back. I understand, I get it, you're aging, your hair is thinning, understood. Don't you have stylists that take care of this stuff for you though? Or are you too hard core to reach out for help? I'm sure John Frieda and Paul Mitchell would be happy to lend their expertise to you. Or another idea.....shave that shit. In the words of Wesley Willis..."cut that rat's nest off your skull.....go to the barber shop and tell them you're sick of looking like an asshole." You're friends with Sean Penn, his hair is awesome, what product does he use?

I don't even know what to say about the photo below. And where did it come from is the more important point? It looks like it was found in someone's trash can and scanned in. This is my least favorite EV hairdo of all time. I'm diggin' on the short look, but the blonde needs to go. Stat. Jill's hair looks great, siphon some product off her side of the sink, she probably won't mind. She's super hot, btw, great skin, pouty lips, kudos to you my friend, kudos.

I think this may be my favorite EV hair of all time. Definitely 90's, or close to it. Look at those cascading curls, I'm envious. That hair has product written all over it. As I see it, you have two options for hair survival. 1. Get out the clippers and embrace the 3-2. You're an attractive man, no need to hide your love away, or hide behind your hair. 2. Grow it out to at least shoulder length, and mousse that shit to high heaven.

Bad hair days aside, I still love you Eddie.

it's Pearl Jam week folks.....

On September 20th, Pearl Jam released their ninth studio album, "Backspacer". Despite the fact that I've been listening to, as well as blogging about, Kings of Leon the past few months, Pearl Jam remains my favorite band of all time. I've been listening to them religiously since the release of "Ten" back in 1991. Hard to believe that was 18 years ago! This week I am stoked because I get to see them three times....Monday, Tuesday at the Key Arena in Seattle, and Saturday at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Vancouver, WA. Yes, that is right folks, PJ is playing in The 'Couv!

The show on Tuesday night was absolutely awesome, while the show on Monday night seemed kinda bumpy. The setlist on Monday was just okay, while the Tuesday setlist was amazing. Admittedly, for myself, the bumpiness had quite a bit to do with the fact that they just released their new album on Sunday, and I only knew one song. Tuesday was also a monumental day for the band, it was their 50th show in Seattle.

Monday night setlist:

1. Long Road

2. Corduroy

3. Gonna See My Friend

4. Got Some

5. Hail Hail

6. Amongst The Waves

7. Daughter

8. Even Flow

9. Johnny Guitar

10. Unthought Known

11. World Wide Suicide

12. Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town

13. Off He Goes

14. Down

15. Save You

16. The Fixer

17. Life Wasted

18. Just Breathe

19. The End

20. Inside Job

21. Rearviewmirror

22. Given To Fly

23. Do The Evolution

24. Better Man

25. The Real Me (The Who cover)

26. Indifference

27. Alive

Tuesday Night setlist:

1. Sometimes

2. Why Go

3. All Night

4. The Fixer

5. Dissident

6. Johnny Guitar

7. Faithful

8. Lukin

9. Not For You

10. No Way

11. Unthought Known

12. Unemployable

13. Comatose

14. Insignificance

15. Present Tense

16. Got Some

17. Go

18. Just Breathe

19. The End

20. Black

21. In My Tree

22. Spin The Black Circle

23. Supersonic

24. Do The Evolution

25. The Real Me (The Who cover)

26. Porch

27. Yellow Ledbetter

Love, love, loved Tuesday night! The best part about the Monday show though? The poster. See below. It was my goal Monday night to get a poster for the show and luckily I was able to snag one right when I walked in the doors. It's of a sasquatch riding a wave. This one is getting framed for sure.

Tuesday night it was also my goal to get a show poster, and although I did accomplish said goal, the poster isn't as impressive as Monday's. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with this bad boy. I'm down with pirates, long beards, and typewriters, but put them all together with a strange color palate, and it didn't really come together as I had hoped. They can't all be winners, right?
Here's a shot taken by Kim L. She had kick ass seats for Tuesday's show, 4th or 5th row I think!

And another thing I'm foaming at the mouth about.....

Spike Jonze? Yes, please. And I think this soundtrack may very well kick ass.

Who wants to see this movie with me?

So looking forward to checking this movie out. I love Ellen Page. Plus her skate name in the movie is "Babe Ruthless"....how cool is that?

You know you are an adult when.........

......whisper quiet washing machines put a ginormous smile on your face! I could fall asleep with my head resting on this bad boy, it is that quiet. The washing machine at my last place was so incredibly loud (Whirlpool, I'm looking in your direction), it was torture compared to this little slice of Samsung high efficiency heaven. My last dryer had THE LOUDEST, MOST ANNOYING signal on earth. It could have woke up a hibernating bear, cross my heart. My new dryer's signal? Like angels singing on high, like baby lambs frolicking in a meadow, like a litter of kittens purring, you get the idea, it's freaking awesome.
In other news.....remember this post? From way back in December 2008? How I said I was going to be uber pro-active regarding my 2009 Halloween costume? Well, let's just say that 2009 is probably not going to be the the year that I make my debut as AC/DC's Angus Young. I just don't think I can get my $hit together in time to pull it off. Other ideas? The mythical Yeti (yeah, I know, probably just as much effort to put together as Angus....) or Coraline. I watched the movie Coraline the other night and fell in love with the movie. I loved Coraline's tomboy-ish character. Check out photo below.....that could totally be my Halloween costume. And I'm diggin' on the blue hair as well.

Anyone else have any Halloween ideas? What are YOU going to be this Halloween??

Oh, and one more thing! I can't get this song out of my head. Seriously.

The King They Want To See.......

Alright, alright, alright....... I know I have been totally off the grid for awhile. What can I say? I've been moving, unpacking, acquiring, etc. I promise I'll be better about posting now that the move is all done and I'm 90% settled in to the new digs. I'll post some pictures once I get closer to 100%.

A few weeks ago, Chris, Kim L., and I headed up to Vancouver BC to catch the Kings of Leon show at BC Place. While we were in Vancouver we did a little shopping. I didn't realize Vancouver was such an awesome city! Really beautiful. I'd love to head up there for a weekend to drench myself in all things 'Couv. At one point during our excursion, we found ourselves swarmed by paparazzi. Like 6 or 7 dudes with huge cameras with even more enormous lenses. In my mind I was thinking...."OMG, where is Rob Pats? I'm totally going to see Rob Pats!!!!" For all you freaks that don't know what I'm talking about, Rob Pats is short for Rob Pattinson, the dreamboat that plays Edward Cullen in the Twilight movies. I had heard they were starting to film the third Twilight movie, Eclipse, up in Vancouver BC. Don't worry, I actually don't refer to him as Rob Pats:) Just like I don't refer to Brad and Angelina as Brangelina. And I would have sooner died than referred to Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez as Bennifer, while they were together, of course. That love connection never made sense to me, btw. Anyway, who were the paparazzi's stalkin'? Some guy named Xavier Samuel. I had no idea who this guy was until he was basically trapped inside of a Blenz Coffee shop. Apparently he is part of the Eclipse cast, he plays the part of Riley, a young, fledgling vampire. See below.
Prior to our paparazzi experience, we hit up a store called Smoking Lily. A favorite of both Chris and Kim L. Chris has gotten numerous cool pieces of clothing there over the past few years, and this trip I finally got to check the store out. What did I leave with? Two super cute scarves and a really sweet hummingbird skull necklace by Erica Weiner (yes, it really is a hummingbird skull, cast in sterling silver). I think Erica Weiner is my new favorite jewelry designer. Her website has sooooo much cool stuff. Check out this "Remembrance" ring necklace, and "Gift" ring necklace. Both super cool. Also love this snake vertebrae necklace.

Next up? Kings of Leon show!!!!!! So. Totally. Amazing. I realize that you already know of my obsession with these lads. Can't even begin to tell you how much I listen to them. Right now I can't stop listening to the song "Fans"....see previous post below. Anyway, they played at BC Place, which is probably about the size of Seattle's Key Arena. I have only seen one other band at BC Place, and that was Pearl Jam. The KOL show was awesome, despite the cloud of pot smoke hovering over the gaggle of giggling 30-something females next to me. The only downer of the show was when one of said gaggle members sang the lyrics of "Sex On Fire" so loud that it drowned out Caleb's voice. Has a stranger ever sung "Sex On Fire" into your ear? Not pleasant. If I could have gotten away with smacking her in the mouth without getting charged with assault, I probably would have. Can't wait to see Kings of Leon again!!!
Speaking of Pearl Jam......Three PJ shows coming up! Monday and Tuesday, September 21 and 22 at Key Arena, then Saturday, September 26 at the Clark County Fairgrounds in the other 'Couv, that is Vancouver, WA. Other shows on deck? Snow Patrol on October 14th, and Sunny Day Real Estate on October 16th. Any other artists coming to Seattle that I need to check out??