'TIS WHAT IT 'TIS
Wednesday was mad. Lots of delirious ramblings and a catch 22. Long discussions on blues and too intense reds. Damn cameras. All because it's a "wiki" some said. Ian found it amusing that I wanted to go to CPK...just for their bread and butter. "That's a prison meal." I decided I could throw in some garbanzo beans too. Yep yep. Then there was Awesometown, where most of us rolled around on the floor like monkeys and piggies. "Pig pile!!" First Presto and Filip, then Johnny Love and Lisa. I tumbled to a knee...some girl tumbled all the way down. Shenanigans. There was lots of silliness and I dig it. I also like to play ball.
Mokey won't stop drinking. He drinks over a big bowl a day. So Thursday I took fat cat to the vet. Diabetes they say. "Again?" I ask. Yes, apparently. Fatty has relapsed into his diabetic nature. Oh good times, a pill twice a day!! Way to go fatty!! No more slim jims for you!
Yesterday was finally warm and I spent all day driving, minus the 40 minutes I spent eating with Creeksta and Mike. Yummy cafe's are delicious!! Driving all day...is not so delicious.
JJ has a big bruise on his arm. From snowboarding. Tis' the season. Creeksta has a little sunburn on his nose. Nice.
Saturday is the return of BLOW UP LA!! This one's seriously going to get nuts...GRAY KID, 8-BIT, GUNS & BOMBS...we're gonna get explosive. Let the games begin.

CAT BOOBY TRAPS
So this is the deal...I'm sick again. But not as worse as before...just a wee bit of a sniffle stuffy cough hiccups kind of cold. Which makes you drowsy. And walk around in silly stupors when sober as vinegar spritzer. The weirdest part is I think my cats get a kick out of my foggy brain days as they like to team up and create booby traps all over my apartment. These consist of rolled up throw carpets creating a mound effect in the middle of the floor, a few dried up leaves carried into the main room and sprinkled about that really sort of freaks you out when you hear a crunchy crackle under foot, and the ever so popular stretched out bedskirt which allows for a tangled foot or toe and then face down plop on the floor (or in a best case scenario wobble to the bed). Thanks cats.
So, lots of sleep and bbq's were the gist of my weekend, besides the Hang the DJ's at Echo on Saturday, which was super rad as usual. But this week..oh boy!! It's Awesometown week which means freak out time..plus it's the return of BLOW UP LA on Saturday and holy crap...we have performances by both The Gray Kid and 8Bit not to mention a slew of DJ's. And double hooray, because by tomorrow I'm going to be super ready for some dance mania drunktastic action.
Today however, has been mostly tea sipping and work and although it's been lacking in adventurous travels, oh boy the sightings::: James did a bit of the Electric slide at work which was entertaining, mostly because I still have no idea how to do it and don't really want to, but it's pretty great to see. Then later, I went to get more tea at the shop and saw the greatest crew of oldsters hangin' out with their coffee mugs for 2 o'clock tea time. The best part was they all had matching mugs with their own photos on it. Wow...now that's commitment. And thirdly, the bulky dressed gentleman who stooped outside my window for a few minutes looking for I don't know what but only coming up with a pebble.
Plus, today the new February Paper Magazine issue came out which is sort of fantastic. Our lovely Silver Lake crew was in the 'Neighborhood' section and it's great because we all look clearly hungover and dazed. Thank god for the pillow Ben and I got to sit on for an hour. And the vitamin water. Thanks Paper Mag...we love you and your fluffy pillows.

THE GRAY KID
Is Amazing. Check more out here: The Gray Kid

FAT CATS!

Everyone knows Mokey, my cat, is a fatty. The poor bugger's been at least 15lbs ever since he was a kitten...and now he's pushing 22. I like to proclaim that it's purely muscle mass, he's just a big boy...but it's typical for someone to see Mokey and just stare, saying "whoa, that cat is huge. That cat is seriously huge." However, it seems someone, other than Garfield, may have him beat. Oh you pesty kitties...plump lil' felines just hungry for a nibble. This is hilarious from the AP News...dang those pet doors!

"Tiffany Noreuil, an animal care technician at the Oregon Humane Society, holds temporarily-named feline Goliath, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007, in Portland, Ore. Goliath, a 20-pound stray whose girth got him stuck in a pet door while trying to plunder some dog food, is back with his owner. His name isn't really Goliath, but it's close. It's Hercules, says owner Geoff Ernest, who was reunited with his tubby tabby Thursday at the society. Gresham, Ore., resident Jadwiga Drozdek found the feline stuck in the dog door of her home a few days ago, helped free him and gave him a plate of food on her patio."
(AP Photo/The Oregonian, Benjamin Brink)

SPIN ME ROUND' ROUND'

So...the other day I was randomly flipping through the January issue of Spin Magazine...the Best of 2006 issue...and came across coverage from CMJ in New York. And oh boy...I was looking and said oh hey, there's my friend Banana...and there's Mark. And even Creeksta. And wait, that's me. Ohh boy! Yep..good ole' Shadowscene workin' hard in the front row at the NY2LON party with Oh No! Oh My! Fun fun fun...Thanks, Spin...for sending me round n' round.

LAZY DAZY
I had quite the lazy weekend...with an extra bonus holiday thrown in for kicks...which really just threw me off a bit on what day it was and what the heck I was suppose to be doing. But I did get to run around with friends, play darts on Friday, drink 4 too many brews on Saturday, sleep late on Sunday, drink lots of coffee on Monday and watch a ton of great films. I also lounged under mounds of blankets no matter where I went considering it's colder in LA than in Boston or New York...what the heck is that all about?! Seriously freezing out here! So I embraced the lazy weekend and did just about zero work and basked in a thousand laughs. The closing of my weekend was a recap of Napoleon Dynamite which I haven't seen since it came out. And of course there was Clerks 2 which was just amazing. And the inevitable annual screening of Dazed and Confused...at least twice a year for good measure. I've also decided after my round of lackadaisical behavior and brainless movie watching, we should all own a pair of moon boots...most definitely. Those things are amazing. Let's get 'em! And speaking of shoes...check out Kelly:

MONKEYS & SQUIRRELS
I somehow lost yesterday, I don't really know where it went...but I think I skipped a day, or else two just blended into one. First off, Dirty Dave's bday bash at Awesometown on Wednesday was unbelievable! I've never seen so many people wearing BK hats all at the same time...the madness! Plus, there were tons of guys in the ladies room and ladies in the boys room and who the heck knows what else was going on. There were oversized hats, stacks of hats, belted hats, a kissing frenzy and even a birthday tearing off of the shirt. Oh what a slap happy time! Then...last night was the skater park party at Safari Sams. Lots of young'ns tearing it up on their boards, guys pulling tricks with a beer in one hand, spaceships, the 8-Bit robots, the Wylde Bunch covering freakin' Bobby Brown and tales of squirrels and monkeys. No seriously...one of the best conversations I've ever had with Julie was last night where she attempted to tell me about how Squirrel was trying to hump Monkey all day. All over the apartment, romp, romp, romp. Squirrel, being a bunny, and Monkey being a cat really made this quite interesting to listen to and try to interpret all at once. But trying to visualize the scenario was even worse. A bunny...squirrel..monkey...cat? Whatever will happen next?

WEDNESDAY RAMBLINGS
Bigley bought Odouls for the band last night, Trouble Jr. didn't find it funny. Until he realized there was real beer as well. The Deadly Syndrome were amazing, of course, and a horse is a horse. They wore Emily ski masks and it was pretty damn insane. Especially tongues in eyeholes. There were beer waterfalls and hugs galore. Does anyone say galore anymore? I wish I ate a quesadilla, but my bed hit me first. This morning, I ate apples and cinnamon and still needed a breakfast fix. So I dipped into the pretzels. James sings Fat Bottomed Girls in the morning so we listen to it at work. It's amazing. It's pure genius in fact. Kick drums in the early afternoon. I keep dreaming of bumper stickers. Someone tell me what this means. I think I need another cup of coffee...to make my rockin' world go 'round...with Joan Jett and goldfish crackers.

QUAKER--TIME

OATMEAL LOVIN'
Yesterday was lots of work...lots. And by 11:30pm I called it quits and was about to pass out on that amazing blue couch of mine when Bigley and Mancuso stopped by telling me to get out of my "bot cave". So...I did. And off we walked, across the street, to the cafe for some midnight snackage. Oatmeal for me. With yummy brown sugar and raisins and some bronzed banana thing. This has been my random midnight snackaroo since I was a tot. Except then it was just a bit of sugar on the top and last night I had all the fixin's. But apparently...not as many as this guy...check out this crazy poem by Stephen Dobyns:

Oatmeal Deluxe

This morning, because the snow swirled deep
around my house, I made oatmeal for breakfast.
At first it was runny so I added more oatmeal,
then it grew too thick so I added water.
Soon I had a lot of oatmeal. The radio
was playing Spanish music and I became
passionate: soon I had four pots of oatmeal.
I put them aside and started a new batch.
Soon I had eight pots. When the oatmeal cooled,
I began to roll it with my hands, making
small shapes: pigs and souvenir ashtrays. Then
I made a foot, then another, then a leg. Soon
I'd made a woman out of oatmeal with freckles
and a cute nose and hair made from brown sugar
and naked except for a necklace of raisins.
She was five feet long and when she grew harder
I could move her arms and legs without them
falling off. But I didn't touch her much -
she lay on the table - sometimes I'd touch her
with a spoon, sometimes I'd lick her in places
it wouldn't show. She looks like you, although
your hair is darker, but the smile is like yours,
and the eyes, although hers are closed. You say:
But what has this to do with me? And I should say:
I want to make more women out of Cream of Wheat.
But enough of such fantasy. You ask me
why I don't love you, why you can't
live with me. What can I tell you? If I
can make a woman out of oatmeal, my friend,
what trouble could I make for you, a woman?


Thanks, Stephen!! But I think I'll stick to my little cup of oats.

PIRATE PLEASURES
Another weekend come and gone...and what a fuzzy blur it was. Too many antics to remember and lots of naps on the blue couch in between sets of said 'antics.' Friday night I went to the Short Stop for the PUMA New Year kick-off party where Lazaro Casanova had his first DJ set in Los Angeles and teamed up with Flosstradamus and Franki Chan. The best was wandering around in the early portion of the night with Travis after our shots of Goldschlager which I haven't had in a looong time. It seemed everything was amusing to us for a few hours until our minds were too faded to make sense of anything at all.
And then...Saturday...amazing!!! I went to the Wiltern to shoot the My Morning Jacket show. It was super fantastic, talk about putting on a show. I had no idea how great they were. Plus I had my favorite run-ins with Luke, Mark and Airin. It seems it's a guaranteed bonus that they are at the Wiltern for any rad show. From there, it was off to the long awaited Pirate Party for Anne Lee and Dirty Dave. I don't think there was a single person there with less than five drinks in them...considering the girl who passed out in a booth and one who hurled three times on the carpet. Apparently the 4 month old venue wasn't too proud. I wonder how they felt about the frosting drippings from the cake. Or the wax that spilled everywhere from lovely Birch dancing with a candle on his head. Not to mention someone sitting on their "antique chest." And the running around of over 300 people in costume with toy parrots and eye patches, plastic swords and bandanas. Holy calamity! Oh well...you can't have a pirate bar and not expect shenanigans to get a wee bit rowdy. Aaargh!
(Photo courtesy of Rony)

AMAZING MYSPACE
Ok, so seriously...I've heard more than once from various people about getting those weird messages on myspace, or plugs for adult sites, or invitations to private viewings of photos, or the classic late night 'I really want to get to know you' email. My original favorite was "hey baby, you look hott, wanna smoke a fatty with me?" at about 4 in the morning. But better yet is leaving a treasure like this as a comment..not a private message. And so, here is the greatest comment ever left for me today from the magnificent Rob Gnarley...Thanks Gnarley. You're the best! I haven't stopped laughing since...

Jan 5 2007 2:27P

WHATS GOING ON HOT PANTS? WHY DONT YOU DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND CHECK OUT MY TUNES? LEMME KNOW IF YOURE FEELIN' ROB'S VIBE, I MAY GET DARK BUT MY MUSIC IS IRE. IT'S ALWAYS 420 ON MY WATCH SO YOU KNOW IT'S GONNA BE A PARTY WHEN I COME THROUGH HOLLYWEIRD ON TOUR. LET'S GET A ROOM AT THE RIOT HOUSE AND GET WEIRD HONEY. I'LL THROW YOU AND ALL YOUR SKINNY NERDY ON PURPOSE FRIENDS ON THE LIST AND YOU CAN WATCH ME POUND CHICKS AND BEERS LIKE METALLICA DID ON THE JUSTICE TOUR IN 89! I'M KINDA LIKE HETFIELD BUT INSTEAD OF A WHITE EXPLORER I CARRY A WHITE BEER BONG! SHIT YEAH BABY! HELL BRING THAT LITTLE CAMERA OF YOURS ALONG AND LETS MAKE A MOVIE! YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING! LET'S GIVE YOU SOMETHING WORTHWHILE TO UPLOAD TO THE NET! MAKE US SOME MONEY AND START A LITTLE ROCK N ROLL NEST BABY! HIT ROB GNARLEY BACK AND LEMME KNOW WHEN YOU WANNA GET THIS PARTY INTO FIFTH GEAR!

NEW YEARS BOOZE SCHMOOZE
Um...whoa...yes. It's now 2007. And the antics of 2006 have ended..or well, simply moved on into the New Year. This was definitely one of my craziest New Years Eves...spent at Little Radio and cruising around in a fully stocked limo all evening. The greatest was the endless amounts of champagne bottles. I'm not even sure how many we eventually polished off, but I do know for the second half of the evening I was passing them out and carrying one around like my own personal 40oz.
The limo ride was ridiculous, especially after Anne managed to uncork the first bottle of champagne and it sprayed the entire interior, complete to filling up someones heel full of foam and fuzzy bubbly, and to then drip-drip off the ceiling until we realized we should maybe clean that up. Ooooh bubbly! Then, off to Little Radio for the AutoLux, Dead Meadows and Bloodcat Love show. Little Radio was packed with only a little room available for a shuffle. I spent a lot of time in the side rooms, snacking on apples and cheese, lounging on bean bag chairs, and then racing around like a rocket. We all had full intention to head down to the Brother Reade show, but all of a sudden it was 4am, and we were passing out, crawling around, collapsing in the limo. And eventually, we all staggered home. Mmmm. We love you Little Radio...and all the pals that made 2006 an absolutely amazing year!!
See all the New Years photos on Shadowscene.com!!