mad traditions

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-17)

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:22:40 -0800

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-17):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-12-20)

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:13:05 -0800

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-12-20):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Photo

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:45:14 -0800

Okay, this is like voodoo (if it works). Posting to my blog from my iPhone via my Twitter client....

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:36:18 -0800

Okay, this is like voodoo (if it works). Posting to my blog from my iPhone via my Twitter client. SORCERY!

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-12-13)

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:45:50 -0800

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-12-13):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Grilled cheese, culture, and Zach Braff

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:45:47 -0800

So as I mentioned, I just got back the other day from a rather spur-of-the-moment trip to Los Angeles. And because it feels dumb to tiptoe around the subject, and I respect most of you, I went down there to meet a girl. A girl I’ve been talking to online for quite a while, and who I had a really great time with. If you want more details, no offense, but you’re pretty much gonna have to be someone I know in real life.

The trip was great, though. Somewhere along the line it turned into “Let’s chase down some of the most amazing food we can find”, and oh my God did we ever. After one fruitless attempt, we managed to track down The Grilled Cheese Truck in Hollywood. This is one of those cool hip new food trucks that drives around Southern California and advertises pretty much solely via Twitter. Looking back, deciding to find that truck may have been the best decision I have ever made. Why? Because we both got the Cheesy Mac & Rib pictured here. Yes, that is a grilled cheese sandwich with macaroni & cheese, barbecued pork, and caramelized onions. I cried a little bit too.

A couple of nights later we made our way to Umami Urban, the newest Umami Burger location. Umami Burger was designed around the concept of umami, the “fifth taste” that our taste buds can perceive. It’s completely distinct from something being sweet, or salty, or bitter, and the end result is a burger unlike any I’ve ever had in my life. It was juicy, and meaty, with an indescribable mouthfeel. I really hope they expand up to SF sometime soon. Oh, and my date had a pumpkin pie martini with her burger. Yes, you read that right.

And somewhere in between all those were a few trips to In & Out (required for any LA trip), some amazing homemade lasagna and cheesecake, and several gallons of delicious iced Starbucks refreshments.

We also got us some serious muhfuggin culture. Spent a day at The Getty checking out how rich people lived in the 1700’s and climbing up and down some very poorly designed staircases. Also went to the LA County Museum Of Art and saw some very cool exhibits of Jeff Koons’ sculptures (including the one you’re probably familiar with) and Andy Warhol’s art (including, again, the one you’re probably familiar with).

And oddly enough, actually saw some honest to God celebrities. At one point we were walking down Sunset and passed by a vegan restaurant. We joked about a couple of people we saw inside, saying they looked like Gene Simmons and Yahoo Serious. On our way back, we passed the restaurant again and “Yahoo” was gone, but sitting at his table? Yeah, that was Hal Sparks. I sorta felt bad for him that he couldn’t enjoy cheese.

But we were on our way to the Grilled Cheese Truck, so we didn’t waste time feeling bad for him when we had our own dairy wonders awaiting us. The truck was parked in front of Meltdown Comics. We had been waiting in line for just a few minutes when hey, yeah, Zach Braff just walked into that comic book store.

What we realized was that the celebrities we were seeing were gradually getting nerdier and more feminine. So of course, Sarah Silverman or the like would be next.

We didn’t see Sarah, but when we went to the Farmers’ Market for lunch the next day and saw Andy Dick, my theory still felt valid.

So yeah. Fantastic trip. Also saw one really really good movie and one REALLY shitty one. If you’re reading this and you’re the person I went down there to visit (I realize this doesn’t apply to most of you): I had a great time. Thanks for it. Can’t wait to do it again.

Missed you, baby.

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:09:42 -0800

Hey there, blog. Remember me? I’m the guy who used to post stuff in you all the time, and then I decided to take a spur-of-the-moment 5-day trip to LA and I kind of sort of may have forgotten you existed for the duration of the trip. I’m sorry! Believe me, it’s not you. Even Twitter was neglected!

What?

No, of course Twitter doeesn’t mean as much to me as you do, but that’s not the point I’m trying - Hey, COME BACK HERE when I’m talking to you! We’re gonna have this discussion like a couple of grown DON’T YOU DARE SLAM THAT DOOR!

Fuck.

Vacation recap coming soon, folks.

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:03:08 -0800

redcloud:

shoesonwrong:

After the jump there is a valuable lesson. Sarcasm + Dungeons & Dragons + Sex = A place you don’t want to go. The people there are humorless and use the word “butthole.”

Read More

I thought the whole thing was quite humorful. :)

Um, yeah. It was all a, man what’s it called… joke! That’s it!

And last I checked, “butthole” is FUNNY.

formspring.me

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:22:50 -0800

So, kao is a p. cute girl right?

Okay, fess up, who asked this? Was it you, @knitterplease? Maybe you, redcloud? Because I’m stumped.

she’s okay i guess

Ask me anything!

Formspring

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:49:08 -0800

Just remembered that I wanted to sign up for one of these Formspring things, so I did. Basically you go here and fill in a question, then I answer it. It’s totally anonymous, so nobody will know if you’re the person who asked me about the redhead in high school*. Go for it, ask anything you like!

*batshit crazy

I made this. A couple years back The Decemberists had a contest...

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:20:22 -0800

I made this.

A couple years back The Decemberists had a contest where you could download a greenscreen version of them performing O Valencia! and put your own backgrounds in. I knew I really didn’t have a chance of winning, but I went for it anyway because it would be a way for me to get better at the Final Cut Studio apps. So I came up with an idea and banged out the video above. Some notes:

The source video was incredibly low quality, hence the pixelated results. I think it was maybe 320x240, if that.
Colin Meloy’s guitar reflected back the greenscreen in several shots, so I had to go in and essentially paint the guitar back in frame by frame.
The part that I’m the proudest of is the bit when Jenny Conlee plays the glockenspiel. Took FOREVER to get it looking the way I wanted, but I’m happy with it.

I don’t know what YouTube’s rules are for something like this (every part of the video came from something freely available on the Internet, and even the photos are ok’d for reuse via Creative Commons), so give it a look while you can. It’s not a mind-blower, but I made it, and I like it.

Sex Advice From A Dungeons and Dragons Player

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:18:36 -0800

kaonicks:

madtraditions:

kaonicks:

cathairtumbleweeds:

redcloud:

shoesonwrong:

How soon into the relationship should a player bring a twelve-sided die into the sack?
I am going to interpret your question literally and assume you are planning to fashion a string of anal beads out of the dice. A word of warning: they have slightly pointed edges that can cause discomfort. I would recommend starting with a d4 and working your way up. Usually, the third date is a good time to introduce this.

More.

This is clearly bullshit, not a real D&D player. D4’s are pointier. D20’s make much more pleasant anal beads.

I imagine.

As someone who plays D&D and have since the 8th grade this offends me greatly! Especially the “watch out sharp edges” “use a d4”. D4 are flipping caltrops. Do not stick caltrops in your ass.

…I second the d20 option.

d100’s, bitches.

Have to start small, starting with a d20 working up to d100. Unless you have a giant butthole.

Sex Advice From A Dungeons and Dragons Player

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:14:52 -0800

kaonicks:

cathairtumbleweeds:

redcloud:

shoesonwrong:

How soon into the relationship should a player bring a twelve-sided die into the sack?
I am going to interpret your question literally and assume you are planning to fashion a string of anal beads out of the dice. A word of warning: they have slightly pointed edges that can cause discomfort. I would recommend starting with a d4 and working your way up. Usually, the third date is a good time to introduce this.

More.

This is clearly bullshit, not a real D&D player. D4’s are pointier. D20’s make much more pleasant anal beads.

I imagine.

As someone who plays D&D and have since the 8th grade this offends me greatly! Especially the “watch out sharp edges” “use a d4”. D4 are flipping caltrops. Do not stick caltrops in your ass.

…I second the d20 option.

d100’s, bitches.

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-11-29)

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:53:45 -0800

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-11-29):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

This is the wroooooong video to watch after a few tequila shots....

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:08:41 -0800

This is the wroooooong video to watch after a few tequila shots. Jesus.