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Around SBN: The Worst Team Ever Projected?

OFFTOP: 10/30/09

Hurley_tiny by Phil Hatzenbuehler on

While in college, I was an active seeker of music. It was easy to dedicate the time needed to research, listen, and be discerning in what I listened to. After college, however, my music stagnated for a while. I had a lot of music, just nothing new.

However, when I finally discovered how great podcasts are, I immediately subscribed to some music podcasts (KEXP's Song of the Day, and Music That Matters; NPR's All Songs Considered) and started rediscovering my hunger for new music.

Here's a list of artists I've discovered in 2009 that I really really enjoy:
  • Alaska in Winter - Fascinating indie electronic. Check out the song Close Your Eyes - We Are Blind. Heavenly.
  • Asteroid No. 4 - I actually started listening to one of their albums in 2007, but didn't really appreciate it (and their other albums) until this year.
  • Bon Iver - Spare, ever-so-delicate indie folk.
  • Choir of Young Believers - Folk + dream pop + indie pop = awesome.
  • Dead Man's Bones - Ryan Gosling's band. Dark indie folk. Surprisingly good for a celebrity band.
  • Dr. Dog - Bright indie pop that's sort of a throw-back to the Beatles and the Beach Boys.
  • Faunts - Incredible indie electronic. These guys fucking rock.
  • The Low Anthem - Indie folk that is occasionally quite rough around the edges, but is frequently beautiful.
  • Malajube - Bright indie pop from Montreal.
  • Patrick Watson - Crazy instruments and deep layering make for a very rich listening experience.
  • Sarah Siskind - Folk. She has one of the most incredible voices I've ever heard.
  • Sholi - Complex melding of dream pop and post-rock.
  • Vitality - Spare, strange. Sort of rap, but not really. The "rapper" kind of sounds like Dan Aykroyd.


Who have you discovered this year? Any new favorite artists? Any previous favorite artists who have disappointed you this year?

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Phoenix Phoenix Phoenix

1901 is a fantastic song.

http://sodomojo.com/

by .Taylor on Oct 30, 2009 10:54 AM PDT reply actions  

Yep

I love that whole album actually.

by OlSalty on Oct 30, 2009 12:27 PM PDT up reply actions  

I'm going to recommend:

Harlem Shakes
Matt & Kim
Passion Pit
for you then.

by PlaySportsinSeattle on Nov 3, 2009 7:05 PM PST up reply actions  

I'd say Sholi is more math rock than dream pop.

Their cover of Persian singer/actress Googoosh’s song ‘Hejrat’ is insanely good. That single got them a record deal, and while I liked their album OK, nothing quite reaches the high of that self-released, haphazardly recorded single.

by marc w on Oct 30, 2009 11:01 AM PDT reply actions  

You're right, that's a better genre to put them in.

I haven’t heard that single you’re talking about. Any suggestions as to where I could find it?

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions  

Hmm, well, it's available on Amazon

I found the physical thingamajig at Amoeba….

by marc w on Oct 30, 2009 3:12 PM PDT up reply actions  

And FYI

it’s kind of a grower. Give it a while; it’s sort of pleasant and middle-eastern for 2+ minutes, then it’s really cool math-rocky+middle eastern for another 3-4 minutes.

by marc w on Oct 30, 2009 3:13 PM PDT up reply actions  

That's one of the things about getting older

I chase down new music a lot less frequently than I used to. Which is why I also love podcasts – it has reignited my desire to find new stuff, too. Hanging around here has also been good for my new music finding.

I don’t have my iTunes in front of me, so off the top of my head this is a very non-exhaustive list of the bands I found this year:

 - The Thermals. I’m late to this party (The Body, The Blood, The Machine came out in 2006), but I love this band.
 - Bon Iver. Can’t say I listen to it a lot, but now that the days are short and the nights are long and the sky is grey, it works really well.
 - Dr. Dog. Phildo captures it. Great stuff.
 - Ida Maria. I dare you to listen to this song and not be totally swept away by the propulsive beat and energy. The rest of the album is a mix of slower stuff and more energetic songs, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s probably kinda throwaway – not sure I’ll be listening to it again in five years’ time – but for 2009 it’s pretty good stuff.
  - The Oh Sees (hat tip marc w!). It’s odd, it’s off-center, and I really really like it.

As far as previous artists who have disappointed me this year, the only one I can think of is Art Brut. I admit to a whole lot of affection for the first Art Brut record, but like a lot of bands with one style, that style has worn thin, and the latest Art Brut album is almost unlistenably tedious.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 11:02 AM PDT reply actions  

KEXP's song of the day is OK

it’s like KEXP – some days it’s brilliant, some not so much. I also listen to

NPR’s All Songs Considered
NPR’s Live Concerts
KCRW’s Today’s Top Tune (Morning Becomes Eclectic used to be good but I haven’t listened to it in a while so I’m not sure if it still is…)
MPR (Minneapolis Public Radio) Song Of The Day
KEXP Live Concerts and Music That Matters

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 11:11 AM PDT up reply actions  

I second pdb's selections.

One thing I really enjoy about NPR’s podcasts is Bob Boilen. The way he talks is so charmingly awkward.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 11:13 AM PDT up reply actions  

I think if I met Bob Boilen I would hate him

Some of the All Songs Considered podcasts that he does with Carrie Brownstein and…uh….the other guy that’s on those discussions makes Boilen seem like a music snob of the first order – there was one discussion in which he repeatedly refused to acknowledge how great Appetite For Destruction is just because it came from Guns N Roses, who were too mainstream for his liking. I HATE attitudes like that. That said, though, he generally has pretty good tastes, although lately he’s gone over to beardy solo singer-songwriter stuff a little more than I would like.

But then he puts out stuff like Bob Stanley’s Tiny Desk Concert and I am inclined to forgive his preciousness.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 11:17 AM PDT up reply actions  

Watch out; the Oh Sees have some wonderful stuff and some really bad stuff

They’re very, very productive, and like a lot of people/bands who release everything they do, well, it’s not all listenable.

by marc w on Oct 30, 2009 11:10 AM PDT up reply actions  

I sorta lump them in with Guided By Voices in that respect

I don’t expect to love, or even like, 100% of what they do, but that doesn’t stop me listening to it at least once to see.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 11:11 AM PDT up reply actions  

Add the Mountain Goats to that as well.

Occasionally brilliant, frequently terrible.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions  

Yes yes yes.

Also I have trouble with the guy’s voice.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Oct 30, 2009 11:35 AM PDT up reply actions  

Saw 'em at Siren.

It could’ve just been that particular day, but the lead singer was the only one that seemed to be into it, and it was in a sort of “pay attention to me!” way without quite the same desperation. The rest of the bad seemed to be in a “how did I get into this band?” daze and were going along with it at best.

That tempered my enthusiasm about them a fair bit. None of their songs really jumped out at me as something that I wanted to listen to again. At best they seemed like something I might put on in the car if someone else is riding and I didn’t want to put on my usual fare. Maybe a half step below that.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Oct 30, 2009 11:45 AM PDT up reply actions  

The Thermals. I’m late to this party (The Body, The Blood, The Machine came out in 2006), but I love this band.

They also have a new release, Now We Can See. A little more hi-fi, but the appeal is all the same. I may prefer TBTBTM and their freshman release More Parts Per Million, but it depends on how much noise you can tolerate.

Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.

by qrsouther on Nov 1, 2009 11:41 AM PST up reply actions  

I just saw the Low Anthem open for Blind Pilot a few days ago

When they pick it up, they pick it up. By the end it became a real fun set, and then 30 minutes into BP the one chick was plastered.

by Jeff Sullivan on Oct 30, 2009 11:04 AM PDT reply actions  

I almost went to go see them in Seattle a couple of weeks ago, but was exhausted from playing footbaLL.

It’s good to hear they were good live. Listening to their album, I would have thought it would have been more of a sitting show, then a standing show.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions  

It was

The first band (Mimicking Birds) was slow and boring and didn’t do much to generate any energy, and then The Low Anthem started out all slow too and it wasn’t what anyone wanted, but then they got going about halfway through and it was magnificent.

by Jeff Sullivan on Oct 30, 2009 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions  

In another musical note

I very rarely set out to listen to John Lennon, or the Beatles – I like them fine, but I don’t necessarily seek them out. That said, Imagine just came on my iPod and oh my god what a beautiful song. Simple, beautifully written, not at all overwrought – it’s been overanalyzed and probably overplayed in bad contexts and schmoopy fundraiser commercials and such, but divorced from that it’s a gorgeous piece of music.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 11:19 AM PDT reply actions  

The more I listen to the Beatles (and by extension the solo work from the members of the band)

the more respect I gain for John Lennon. The guy was a master, and he fucking hated McCartney’s later contributions to the band. I respect McCartney’s work within the Beatles, and his ability to write songs with Lennon, but I’m convinced that McCartney was the main reason the Beatles broke up. He was a world-class meddler, and a world-class douche to the rest of the band members (particularly George and Ringo).

I still love some of McCartney’s Beatles music, but I’m finding myself preferring Lennon’s songs for the most part. The guy was incredibly gifted.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 11:23 AM PDT up reply actions  

I don't really draw the same conclusions in regard to the Beatles break up.

Obviously neither of us was there, but in my reading on the subject I have felt John was more responsible for the break up. Paul respected and admired John Lennon and loved the idea of the Beatles more than anyone. While Paul wanted the Beatles to stay the same close knit group, Harrison and Lennon wanted it to be more free and loose. Since that was not Paul’s wish, they were nasty and insulting to Paul.

John Lennon is a tremendous musical talent, but by the same token he was argumentative, demanding, and selfish. He was a heavy drug abuser in the Beatles later years, and after meeting Yoko he destroyed every relationship with people that were close to him (including his with Paul). His disgust at Paul’s music seems pretty petty and unfair, and I am not sure you can blame that on Paul. Paul took his music seriously. After all, it was John (and George) who created factions in the band by aligning themselves with Allen Klein, who was more interested in making a fortune then the music as a whole.

Before he was murdered, John Lennon alluded several times to the fact that he was guilty about his treatment of Paul. John was an outstanding musical talent, but It is pretty evident to me that John was the catalyst that turned the Beatles into bickering spouses.

by Ballard Erik on Oct 31, 2009 2:39 PM PDT up reply actions  

After all, it was John (and George) who created factions in the band by aligning themselves with Allen Klein, who was more interested in making a fortune then the music as a whole.

You just grazed what really brought started the slippage of the Beatles as far as relationships went — Brian Epstein’s death. I maintain that had Brian’s death was a huge catalyst in the crumbling of the group; John and George wanting Klein, an already successful manager in his own right, and Paul wanting his father-in-law. That was huge. If the answer was not John’s relationship with Yoko, it very well could have been Brian Epstein’s death. Brian Epstein was the man.

Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.

by qrsouther on Nov 1, 2009 11:45 AM PST up reply actions  

Damn.
I maintain that had Brian’s death was a huge catalyst in the crumbling of the group

Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.

by qrsouther on Nov 1, 2009 11:46 AM PST up reply actions  

You asked for it! (they're clean, but all pretty dark)

Why did the monkey fall out of the tree?
Because it was dead.
=
On Christmas morning, Billy and Timmy wake up at the crack of dawn, run down the hall to drag their parents out of bed, and fly down the stairs to the pile of presents around the tree.

When the dust settles, Billy has a ton of great presents: a video game system, a big-ass Nerf gun that shoots 8 different kinds of projectiles, one of those electric slot car tracks where the cars climb up the wall ahd go through loops. But then he notices that Timmy only got one present—a little Matchbox car, which he’s pushing back and forth in the corner.

“Gee, Timmy,” Billy says, “I guess I sure got more presents than you this year.”

Timmy says, “Yeah, well at least I don’t have cancer.”
=
What’s the difference between Michael Jackson and a grocery bag?
One is plastic and dangerous to children. The other holds groceries.
=
What’s the difference between a dead hooker and a Corvette?
I don’t have a Corvette in my garage.
=
A woman goes to the doctor for a physical. After the exam, the doctor returns with her test results and says, “Well Mrs. Smith, I hope you’re ready to start buying diapers!”
“Wow!” says the woman, “Am I pregnant?”
“No,” the doctor replies, “you have bowel cancer.”

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 11:31 AM PDT up reply actions   1 recs

The Seahawks. :(

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 11:32 AM PDT up reply actions  

What screams and can't turn around in a hallway?

A baby with a spear in it.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 11:35 AM PDT up reply actions  

Yes, yes, yes.

I went through a phase in high school where I thought dead baby jokes were the best thing in the world. This one trumps all of mine, though.

A few others that I loved…

Q: What’s the difference between truckload of bowling balls and a truckload of dead babies?
A: You can’t unload the bowling balls with a pitchfork.

Q: What’s pink, red and silver, and bumps into walls?
A: A baby with forks in its eyes.

Q: How do you make a dead baby shingle a roof?
A: Slice it thin.

by FWombat on Oct 30, 2009 3:16 PM PDT up reply actions  

YES YES YES!!!

I was at Shea for the Felix-Slam!
Personal M's record: 5-4.

by EnglishMariner on Oct 30, 2009 3:51 PM PDT up reply actions  

How many Jewish mothers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

None. In old Jewish NY accent: “Don’t worry about me, go ahead and go out, I’ll sit in the dark by myself.”

by Jed MC on Oct 30, 2009 1:27 PM PDT up reply actions  

How many indie rockers does it take to change a lightbulb?

(disdainful eye roll) You don’t KNOW?

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 1:28 PM PDT up reply actions   1 recs

I have fallen in love with David Guetta this year.

He just spins and mixes and then he has guest vocalists sing over his work. I can put his stuff on in the middle of a crappy day and the next thing I know I am smiling and dancing.

by Sec 108 on Oct 30, 2009 11:28 AM PDT reply actions  

So, The Strokes' lead singer, Julian Casablancas, is releasing a solo album.

I expected it to be like The Strokes, but good goddamn, I love the song that’s on the latest NPR podcast. It started off a little rough, but really picked up steam. It’s fun as hell.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 11:49 AM PDT reply actions  

Things I found this year?

Not a whole lot actually.

Andrew Bird – Kind of well known? Multi-instrumentalist who composes songs that musically interesting and lyrically goofy. He has his ups and downs and seems to recycle his own material a bit. “Armchair Apocrypha” is probably the best album I’ve heard of his, followed by “The Mysterious Production of Eggs”. New album this year that didn’t really jump out at me.
A.K.A.C.O.D. – One of the various Morphine imitation projects that have sprung up with the former members since Sandman died. This one has the saxophonist. Can be harder, can be softer. Monique Ortiz, who is the bassist and the vocalist, can sing and play pretty well. The songs themselves are inconsistent. They released an album last year and about half of it was listenable and the other half I didn’t care about.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Oct 30, 2009 11:51 AM PDT reply actions  

Also....

I heard that Dead Man’s Bones song on the KEXP Podcast.

It took me about two lines from the children’s chorus before I wanted to throw my laptop out the window.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Oct 30, 2009 11:52 AM PDT up reply actions  

That's too bad.

It’s a fun album. I kind of like that it started out as a musical they were writing, then decided to record the album themselves. Also, they limited themselves to three takes for each song to keep it sounding raw and fresh.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 11:53 AM PDT up reply actions  

It could have just been the song.

I liked it at first but a bunch of kids shouting mid-song doesn’t jibe with me.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Oct 30, 2009 11:56 AM PDT up reply actions  

Huh... I really liked Andrew Bird's album this year...spacing on the name right now.

Seemed like a big step forward to me. Some great pop songs on it, and then that weird little modern classical ‘extras’ disc. Some cool stuff all around.

by marc w on Oct 30, 2009 11:58 AM PDT up reply actions  

Noble Beast.

It could just be that I only listened to it a couple of times.

An album not immediately jumping out to me is not necessarily a condemnation, most of my favorite albums don’t, but if I like something immediately I get tired of it pretty quickly.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Oct 30, 2009 12:00 PM PDT up reply actions  

I tried to get into Andrew Bird, but it didn't take.

I dunno. I just felt the whole time that I was listening that he was forcing an “I’m so tranquil and cooler than you” vibe.

by SethGrandpa on Oct 30, 2009 6:47 PM PDT up reply actions  

Rocking these days at casa de w:

Lightning Bolt’s new album, ‘Earthly Delights.’
King Khan and the Shrines ‘What is?’
Davila 666’s self-titled debut.
That new Atlas Sound EP, Logos.
Why?‘s EP/LP thing of extras, ’Eskimo Snow’ (doesn’t hold a candle to Alopecia, but what does)
Wau y los Arrrrghs ‘Canten en Espanol’ – garage rock from Valencia, Spain
Fanfarlo’s new LP ‘Reservoir’ (strings-laden indie pop from the UK, playing seattle soon)
Hey Marseilles lp ‘To Travels and Trunks’ (basically, Seattle’s version of Fanfarlo)
Cazumbi, vol. 2 (a collection of garage rock tracks from Africa in the 1960s)

and a stack of singles: Duchess and the Duke, Intelligence/Unnatural Helpers, some austrian garage band, Abe Vigoda, Boris.

by marc w on Oct 30, 2009 11:55 AM PDT reply actions  

Just heard "Hands" by Duchess and the Duke.

That song was awesome.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions  

Agreed.

I could give them another few listens to see if I want to follow them.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Oct 30, 2009 12:13 PM PDT up reply actions  

I missed the first one, so I'm glad I can see the second one.

Bill Simmons has a book signing near the Space Needle at 7 pm (Fanfarlo starts at 8 pm, but I hear the Crocodile always starts late), so maybe I can squeeze two things into one day. Might be too much excitement for one day though.

by PlaySportsinSeattle on Nov 2, 2009 8:52 PM PST up reply actions  

I didn't much see the Hey Marseilles similarity. I'll have to give it another listen perhaps.

Similar bands I like are: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
Ra Ra Riot.
Arcade Fire (not new or unheard of, but some of their songs are eerily similar).

by PlaySportsinSeattle on Nov 3, 2009 7:06 PM PST up reply actions  

Fascinating!

Your opinion is at least as valid as mine, and I thank you for your input. Now then… Hey Marseilles relies heavily on strings/trumpet/accordion, as does Fanfarlo. TPOBPAH rely upon a fuzzy/feedback-drenched guitar sound with no strings/horns/accordion. Wha?

Ra Ra Riot includes strings, but is in general much more straightforward alt/indie-pop. There’s nothing wrong with that, and their album’s pretty good, but does it really sound more like Hey Marseilles than Fanfarlo? Huh.

by marc w on Nov 3, 2009 10:49 PM PST up reply actions  

Serious question

How is Steel Panther different from the Darkness? I don’t know much about them but they seem similar.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 12:25 PM PDT up reply actions  

They sound quite alike (I loved The Darkness)

But Steel Panther lyrics are much more comical.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Oct 30, 2009 1:14 PM PDT up reply actions  

At first I thought Steel Panther was the band from that movie Rock Star

and couldn’t figure out why they were still around, then I remembered that was Steel Dragon.

I had a lovely Indian meal with Justin Hawkins in London in 2007. Not on purpose – my wife and I went to an Indian place in Archway, and the menus (and several signs on the wall) said “Red Rose – Favorite Indian Restaurant of the Darkness!”. Then 10 minutes later he and his ladyfriend at the time sat down at the table across the room from us. He was really cool, they ended up sitting with us (we were the only people in the place at the time) and he was a perfectly normal dude. Really quite funny.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 1:20 PM PDT up reply actions  

I just read he is in a new band called "Hot Leg"

So you can add Hot Leg to bands I’ve recently discovered.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Oct 30, 2009 1:38 PM PDT up reply actions  

David Bazan.....

I really like the first song on that album, and the rest is just sort of OK. But it’s a decent enough album, and hey, David Bazan!

by marc w on Oct 30, 2009 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions  

Bon Iver is pretty great

Also been listening to a lot of Blitzen Trapper and Phoenix lately.

by OlSalty on Oct 30, 2009 12:26 PM PDT reply actions  

Blitzen Trapper is a band that by all rights I really shouldn't like

but I can’t stop listening to Furr. Great album.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 12:32 PM PDT up reply actions  

Yeah I felt the same

They’re a lot like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in that they’re a bit generic and I know it should bother me but for some reason it doesn’t.

by OlSalty on Oct 30, 2009 12:40 PM PDT up reply actions  

Somewhat tangential but still an interesting question

This Beat Happening song just came up on my iPod. It’s the first Beat Happening song I ever heard, and it absolutely blew me away with its awesomeness, and even all these years later it still puts a big smile on my face every time I hear it. So:

What song was your introduction to some of your favorite bands?

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 12:35 PM PDT reply actions  

Some of my favorite bands I remember first hearing on the bus ride to school.

R.E.M.‘s “Stand” & Beastie Boy’s “Fight For Your Right to Party” are the two I remember now. I was in 3rd or 4th grade when I heard them. Do they even let school bus drivers play the radio any more?

by Jed MC on Oct 30, 2009 1:35 PM PDT up reply actions  

Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel

Fuck Armageddon..this is Hell – Bad Religion
I could go on but I realize all of those seminal songs for me were pre 1990.

by Sec 108 on Oct 30, 2009 1:54 PM PDT up reply actions  

Solsbury Hill is a gorgeous song.

And Chuck Biscuits isn’t dead after all. It was a rumor. Paul McCartney is chuckling quietly to himself somewhere.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions  

Carrying on from yesterday's conversation about phones

Here’s a rather sobering chart outlining the cost of ownership of one of those schmancy smartphones. My dumb phone cost me nothing to acquire and $50 a month. I feel pretty good about that decision now.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 12:49 PM PDT reply actions  

Agreed

Just got my fiancee a Blackberry Bold so she can get work-related email at all times, and she has started to sing the praises of all the other data-related things she can do with it (browsing, apps, etc.)

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Oct 30, 2009 1:06 PM PDT up reply actions  

Hooray for Sprint being dirt-cheap!

It’s a big reason I’ve yet to jump over to AT&T or Verizon. I’m on my second smartphone with unlimited data, and I’ve never paid more than $65 a month. I’m loath to give that up. Might have to if Sprint dies. :(

by Teej on Oct 30, 2009 12:58 PM PDT up reply actions  

Speaking of, anyone have a sense of whether Verizon really does have better coverage?

I’m not sure if it my crap phone, or Tmobile, but I seem to have a lot of dead spots inside of buildings … or say, waaaaaaaaaaaaay up in Brier…

by msb on Oct 30, 2009 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions  

My wife and I are only two data points

but I’m on Verizon and she’s on AT&T, and my coverage is far better than hers is. I have yet to go somewhere where I don’t get at least one bar of service, and she struggles for coverage when she’s not in a decent-sized city.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 1:50 PM PDT up reply actions  

In Bellingham for whatever reason ATT gets better coverage here.

Main reason why I went with them in the first place.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Oct 30, 2009 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions  

From my experience, yes.

I have Verizon and notice often that I get reception in places friends with other networks do not. Of course, this is a limited sample size.

by redwolf75 on Oct 30, 2009 3:49 PM PDT up reply actions  

All things come with a cost.

Radio Shack is a hideous bitch-goddess.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 1:04 PM PDT up reply actions  

From the Shit my Dad says Twitter
Fucking Radio Shack. It’s a wonder they even know how to use a bathroom and don’t just walk around all day with shit in their pants.

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Oct 30, 2009 1:07 PM PDT up reply actions  

I feel so meta

I have that twitter feed on my RSS reader, because I can’t be bothered to sign up for or fully understand Twitter.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 1:10 PM PDT up reply actions  

I misspoke slightly

I guess I understand Twitter fine. I just don’t see an application for it in my life.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions  

Exactly!

At this rate I’ll have a Twitter account when Twitter is the next GeoCities. I’m so cutting edge.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions  

was the shit

The 26th was the last day it was up and running.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions  

GeoCities was a fantastic idea when the Internet first became widely available

but now that anybody and everybody can and does have their own website, they have no real reason to exist.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 2:06 PM PDT up reply actions  

Who the hell talks for 900 minutes?

I have a shared plan at 550 a month and have over 3000 rollover minutes.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Oct 30, 2009 1:16 PM PDT up reply actions  

I have something like 7,000 rollover minutes right now

That’s what I get for having an absolute steal of a deal on an 1,100 minute plan that I have been on for 3 years by myself

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Oct 30, 2009 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions  

Correction!

I have 8,277 rollover minutes saved up. For the month, I have used 58 minutes. My fiancee has used 520 minutes. Women talk a lot

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Oct 30, 2009 1:29 PM PDT up reply actions  

Good god.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions  

Same here.

While I really want a smart phone, I just can’t justify paying that kind of money per month for the data plans right now.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Oct 30, 2009 1:26 PM PDT up reply actions  

I currently don't even come close to needing one

and can’t justify the expense with the “you’ll use it a ton when you have it” argument. My life ticks by just fine without one now, so I’ll wait a few years until data usage is as ubiquitous and cheap as voice usage is now.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 1:28 PM PDT up reply actions  

Yep. I'm not on the road enough that I would use it's capabilities enough.

They’re mini computers. Which is sweet, but I have a computer at home already.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Oct 30, 2009 1:31 PM PDT up reply actions  

I'm just old enough that I don't care to be that instantaneous with my life

I’m good with waiting an hour to tell the world what a special snowflake I am.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 2:09 PM PDT up reply actions  

see that's my thing though

It would be nice to be able to know the result of a match the minute it ends. That “would be nice” isn’t worth the $100 a month it would cost, when I can just as easily text my friend Mark and ask him for scores. Or in the off-season.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 2:22 PM PDT up reply actions  

Again, it often doesn't actually cost the $100 per month.

I certainly wouldn’t pay that much, but to people who use it, it might be worth it.

by Kirsten Schlewitz on Oct 30, 2009 2:30 PM PDT up reply actions  

Yeah, I'm not railing against its existence

I just can’t justify the expense of it in my daily life. It would cut into my beer budget, and that’s just not going to happen.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 2:32 PM PDT up reply actions  

Hooray hooray it's Derby Day!

Arsenal v. Tottenham tomorrow morning. Spurs haven’t beaten Arsenal yet in the league this millennium, but last year’s 4-4 clusterfucky trainwreck came close. Hopefully tomorrow’s won’t be as ugly, and will further solidify Arsenal’s place in the top 4.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 1:49 PM PDT reply actions  

Gonna have to DVR that one.

Getting up for a 7 a.m. game is one thing. But 4:45 a.m. on a Saturday isn’t happening.

by Teej on Oct 30, 2009 2:07 PM PDT up reply actions  

There was a time when I would get up and go to the pub for this match

but that time is not tomorrow morning. DVR for me too. Sadly, it’s on ESPN so we’ll probably get their crap commentators, but I hold out hope that they’ll use the English feed.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions  

I have a feeling it'll either be a scoring draw or an Arsenal blowout

depending on which Arsenal defense shows up.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 2:12 PM PDT up reply actions  

All you need to know about 2007-2009 Arsenal

is that even at 3-0, and even with how shambolic Spurs looked (hey look! Another long ball to Crouch! Maybe it’ll work this time….nope!) I was not ready to admit the game was out of Spurs’ reach until the whistle blew.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 9:39 AM PST up reply actions  

Fabregas' goal was ridiculous.

That’s some shit I used to do in FIFA video games back in the day. Just take one guy and run full-speed through the middle, dodge nine guys, and put it in the net.

by Teej on Oct 31, 2009 6:28 PM PDT up reply actions  

Is there a good site for soccer highlights?

The EPL site is definitely no MLB.tv, and ESPN Soccernet doesn’t have much. SkySports says I have to be in the U.K. or Ireland to view their stuff. I want to see some highlights! Maybe just use a proxy?

by Teej on Oct 31, 2009 6:38 PM PDT up reply actions  

Blocked, sexually explicit content says my work

WTF kind of game is that?

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions  

Removing rotten pumpkins from a stack of fresh pumpkins.

Not sexually explicit in the slightest.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 1:54 PM PDT up reply actions  

huh

maybe it’s something else hosted on that site that triggers it to be blocked. Strange.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions  

Dream Theater And 31 Knots

I finally gave DT a listen and loved what I heard. I think The Count of Tuscany is currently my favorite song. Found out about 31 Knots through a podcast.

by sarpar on Oct 30, 2009 2:01 PM PDT reply actions  

Dream Theater is pretty amazing.

It’s not really my type of music, but I’ve been exposed to it through Rock Band, and holy shit, they’re talented musicians.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Oct 30, 2009 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions  

So I'm catching up on some of the South Park episodes I missed over the past few weeks

and I’m wondering, how in the hell did it take them this long to make fun of pro wrestling?

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Oct 30, 2009 2:07 PM PDT reply actions  

Probably because second graders make fun of pro wrestling-- it's an easy target

I thought a better idea for a show would have seen them doing real wrasslin

by Poochie on Oct 30, 2009 2:12 PM PDT up reply actions  

I'm not a gigantic Pearl Jam fan

but a friend of mine saw Roger Daltrey a couple weeks ago at the Showbox, and Mr. Vedder joined Roger on stage for a few songs, including Betterman, which is kinda cool.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Oct 30, 2009 3:58 PM PDT reply actions  

Just to spawn some good discussion:

Favorite album intro song/songs? As in, the first track on an album that just gets you in the mood for the remainder of the album

Quick answer for me would be Battery on Master of Puppets. That song is goddamn fun, and the long acoustic intro followed by the epic sounding full band before the song really takes off just gets me fucking pumped

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Oct 30, 2009 4:30 PM PDT reply actions  

I feel we did this recently, but that just makes it easier for me to recycle:

“Dramamine” – Modest Mouse
“Diary” – Sunny Day Real Estate
“Tike” – Thirty Ought Six
“Stink” – Arab Strap
“Aaron and Maria” – American Analog Set

Lots of newer candidates for inclusion on a future list: “Missing You” – A Place to Bury Strangers, “I Must” – Scared of Chaka, “Enemy Destruct” – Thee Oh Sees, “Walking Alone at Night” – Vivian Girls, “1st Breath After Coma” – Explosions in the Sky. I don’t know; I think I’m missing a bunch of things, and sadly, that thought will plague me tonight.

by marc w on Oct 30, 2009 4:45 PM PDT up reply actions  

It must be nice to like Indie Music.

It’s hard to find new song/new artists when you like pop-rap. “Whatcha Say” by Jason Derulo is the first new song I’ve liked in months.

...and now I'm here

by CapSea on Oct 30, 2009 5:59 PM PDT reply actions  

New artists...

The Antlers – Hospice is the best album I’ve heard all year (review here). Fantastic sparse indie pop. Emotionally brutal, but such a spot on exploration of death. Coincidentally they just posted a Daytrotter Session (free tunes!) today (here).

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band – Kind of a hodge podge of a bunch of indie things I like. A dash of Tapes ’n Tapes, Modest Mouse, Tokyo Police Club, start and stop beats, and full on guitar shredding (review here). Saw them twice, both times were thoroughly good.

St. Vincent – I know I’m behind the game on this one. Her whole aura is so delicate and strewn with darkness. Actor is really good in an epically cavernous way. (I think that makes sense.)

Other good stuff from this year, but stuff I was expecting:

Now We Can See, The Thermals – Not as good as their old stuff, but only because their old stuff was f’ing amazing.

Sainthood, Tegan and Sara – See above reasoning, only to a greater degree of not quite as good. Solid but unspectacular.

Never Better, P.O.S. & Yes!, k-os - Hip-hop that white folks seem to enjoy.

Curse Your Branches, David Bazan – Christian singer-songwriter rock that rips a lot of Christian ideas to shreds. His best since Pedro the Lion’s Control.

The Original Cowboy, Against Me! – Just a rawer, better As The Eternal Cowboy, but I love AM! to death so I have to mention it.

*I’m sure I’m forgetting a lot, but that’s just off the top of my head.

by SethGrandpa on Oct 30, 2009 6:37 PM PDT reply actions  

Yep...already remember a new artist I forgot...

Serena Ryder – Fantastic folk/country/singer-songwriter chick. I normally can’t stand any music that could fall into that classification, so trust me when I say she’s legit. Her US “debut” album, It Is O.K., comes out next week. Check out this video of her playing “Little Bit of Red.” What a killer set of pipes.

by SethGrandpa on Oct 30, 2009 6:44 PM PDT up reply actions  

I haven't listened to Against Me! since I first heard Searching for a Former Clarity.

The definition of “selling out” and I don’t even like that phrase.

Never Better is great, though. Anyone seeing POS in Seattle this month? He puts on a wonderful live show.

by lailaihei on Nov 2, 2009 9:25 PM PST up reply actions  

Love the Blue Scholars.

They played at my high school on the last day if senior year for a fun assembly. It was like a hour long set. They signed one of my M’s hats.

by Kirk on Oct 31, 2009 1:14 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions  

I'd never heard of them before but after listening to a little bit of what they do I'm intrigued

It’s weird because I was like the whitest, nerdiest kid in the world in high school but I was way into Tribe and Dilated Peoples and such and still am to less of a degreer. They’ve definitely got a sound reminiscent of those two especially from what I’ve heard.

by OlSalty on Oct 31, 2009 1:58 AM PDT up reply actions  

Music.

If you’re in to electro pop you will like Lights. It’s a female singer who writes some damn cool synth lines and beats

Deas Viel is a band that I recently discovered who I thought I would hate and is actually really good. They’re sort of an indie pop band with some awesome female harmonies to go with their male singer.

For some heavier music Asking Alexandria is pretty cool as far as generic metalcore goes. They have some good breakdowns and cool song ideas.

Broadway is also an extremely good melodic hardcore/metalcore band with a crazy good singer. I highly recommend checking them out of you’re in to that genre.

by Kirk on Oct 31, 2009 1:12 AM PDT via mobile reply actions  

Has anyone else hear heard Mae's new EP?

It’s great. I forgot to add that to the above post. It’s called (A)fternoon. I recommend it if you can find it.

by Kirk on Oct 31, 2009 1:23 AM PDT via mobile reply actions  

Ahahahaha

Courtesy of CL

Wanted: Male Cross Dresser Looking For Sexy Female Costume (San Diego)

I am a cross dressing male looking for a sexy female costume for Halloween. Looking for something sexy and fun. Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Maid, Mile High, Cop, Prisoner, Ballerina etc. Open to anything just want it to be cute and fun. Always feel akward shopping in the store. If you have a sexy costume for a reasonable price let me know I can pick up.

by seattlebruin on Oct 31, 2009 3:10 AM PDT reply actions  

Oh Craigslist.

Never fail to amuse me.

2009 Safeco Field Record: 6-0 ; Overall Safeco Field Record: 10-4

by Fin on Nov 1, 2009 12:28 PM PST up reply actions  

It kind of sucks that we don't get to see Washburn pitch again for like 6 months

I feel like the whole FUCK YOU DOLPHIN!!!! thing will be too dated by then to be funny.

Oh well, that was the best South Park in years anyways.

by OlSalty on Oct 31, 2009 8:58 AM PDT reply actions  

I started listening to the The Bravery within the last few months.

Awesome post-punk revival/new wave band. One of their songs was used in MVP Baseball 2005, for anyone who still plays that game.

A Mariners fan in Seattle

by Coach Owens on Oct 31, 2009 6:20 PM PDT reply actions  

And what there's a Boondock Saints 2?

I loved the first one, no matter how “bad” it was, and this one got similar reviews. I probably won’t drop the cash to see it in theater tho.

by lailaihei on Oct 31, 2009 6:59 PM PDT reply actions  

Old school -

revisit Jim Carroll’s “Catholic Boy”. He just died at age 60 9/11/09. “People Who Died” is a classic.

CAN'T GET ANY WORSE THAN THAT. THANK YOU. GOOD NIGHT. by BuehrleMan

by winningugly on Nov 1, 2009 6:13 PM PST reply actions  

I can thankfully report that this wasn't the case.

I was at Shea for the Felix-Slam!
Personal M's record: 5-4.

by EnglishMariner on Nov 2, 2009 9:44 AM PST up reply actions  

No one that came to our door for candy was slutty in the slightest

which is good because a 6 yo slut is not something I want to see.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 9:47 AM PST up reply actions  

We only get 4-5 doorbell rings a year

(we live next to a pretty busy street) but every group that came to our door had parents with them.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 10:00 AM PST up reply actions  

Are house was all decked out with a fog machine, strobe lights, skeletons, tombstones.

So each kids response when they rang our doorbell was either “Your house is awesome” or “I wasn’t scared walking up”

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 2, 2009 10:05 AM PST up reply actions  

I go the alternate route because I'm lazy

We don’t really decorate the house at all but I hand out big fistfuls of candy to everyone that rings the bell. I heard a couple kids say “man that place is awesome they give out so much candy!” which was pretty funny.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 10:08 AM PST up reply actions  

Its all my wife.

I didn’t know I could be a grinch on halloween (without dressing up like one) but apparently I’m not festive enough.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 2, 2009 10:09 AM PST up reply actions  

I'm not usually much for costumes and whatnot

but if we lived in a neighborhood where we had tons of kids I’d decorate the house and dress up, just to scare the snot out of ’em.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 10:14 AM PST up reply actions  

She opens the door very slowly to see if they're older or not.

I heard someone scream and thought it was a little girl apparently it was a 8 year old boy.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 2, 2009 10:16 AM PST up reply actions  

I get doorbell rings non-stop for hours. It's crazy.

Went through four big bags of candy in an hour and a half, then just turned the lights off and watched movies in the basement.
Just tons and tons of kids coming in from god knows where.

by marc w on Nov 2, 2009 10:08 AM PST up reply actions  

I would actually really like that

but we’re two houses away from what is basically a state highway and there’s no school or anything that close to us, so most kids don’t come into our neighborhood unless they already live there. If we got more kids I’d probably go more nuts and decorate and stuff. Or at least dress up like Count Floyd.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 10:10 AM PST up reply actions  

That happen last year at my house.

And my sister in Law came by so I let her in and my friend looks at me and says “I didn’t know it was that type of party” (without realizing who she was)

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 2, 2009 10:15 AM PST up reply actions  

Yeah, there's always the slightly older kids who aren't dressed up at all.

This year we got some low-impact juggaloes who had ‘ICP’ hand-written on a normal shirt and maybe some black mark on their face too.
Still, my least favorite from years past are the parents who take their kids to the door, and then have their OWN candy bag and want you to give THEM candy as well. My god, people. Have a shred of dignity. Do you try and sit on the mall Santa’s lap too? (None this year, thankfully).

by marc w on Nov 2, 2009 10:15 AM PST up reply actions  

We had some of those adults last year

I told my wife this year that we should make chili and when they come to the door, give the kids candy and ladle a hot spoonful of chili into the parents’ bag.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 10:16 AM PST up reply actions  

We had a girl last year that came to the door and didn't get off her cell phone

Just held out her bag with one hand and kept talking on the phone. She was a little older, probably 9 or 10, but it was still irritating.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 10:15 AM PST up reply actions  

I remember the first time a old lady refused to give us candy.

We were dressed up and 17 – The lady said we were to old. And closed the door on us. I stood their until her husband came out and gave us candy.

3 Hours later we egged their house.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 2, 2009 10:19 AM PST up reply actions  

When I was 17 I dressed up in plain cloths claiming to be America's Youth.

One of the houses that I went to complained that I wasn’t very creative and I had to explain that I had very bad news for him.

by Robert on Nov 2, 2009 10:23 AM PST up reply actions   1 recs

My favorite

Was this 2 year old fireman that I held the bowl out for and he proceeded to take 30 seconds to pick the perfect candy (I normally give out handfuls). After he grab the one candy and smiled as he turned around to walk off I snuck a handful into his bag.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 2, 2009 10:46 AM PST up reply actions  

Alright, what did people dress up as this year?

my roommate and I dressed up in children’s skeleton costumes. It was hilarious

by seattlebruin on Nov 2, 2009 10:47 AM PST up reply actions  

Also, best costumes seen?

I saw a guy dressed up as Twitter, who had a big board around his neck with like fifty random Tweets. Also, another friend dressed up as the money you could be saving by switching to Geico, which was also awesome.

by seattlebruin on Nov 2, 2009 10:47 AM PST up reply actions  

I was dressed as a guy wearing a brown sweater

But then my fiancee (dressed as a witch) and my son (dressed as a skeleton) got pissed at me so I changed. I found an old black sweater that I’ve never worn with Jack Skellington’s face on it (the main guy from The Nightmare Before Christmas) in my closet and put that on. I just wasn’t feeling Halloween this year and had no parties to attend so I didn’t even bother

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 2, 2009 11:29 AM PST up reply actions  

I was going to dress up as Edward from Twilight (as I sort of look like him and it'd be easy)

but I decided bad things might happen to me if I drank too much beer and nodded off.

by redwolf75 on Nov 2, 2009 6:27 PM PST up reply actions  

Nightman from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Here’s a reference picture for people who haven’t seen the show:

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Nov 3, 2009 7:48 AM PST up reply actions  

So, John Sterling.

I’ve only just discovered this chap after watching the mlb.tv highlights of the world series. I cannot work out yet whether he is retarded or hilarious. I found myself watching youtube clips of his THHHHHHEEEEEE YANNKEES WIIIN and discovered that he actually does a ‘Tarzan shake’ whilst doing it.

I was at Shea for the Felix-Slam!
Personal M's record: 5-4.

by EnglishMariner on Nov 2, 2009 9:51 AM PST reply actions  

If anybody is planning on going to Vancouver for the olympics and needs a place to stay let me know

A friend has a condo she’s renting out in West Van. Caveat: It ain’t cheap. Drop me a line if you’re interested, email’s in my profile.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 11:00 AM PST reply actions  

Congratulations to the DBacks Clay Zavada

Who won the Mustached American of the Year award.

Awesome.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 2, 2009 12:16 PM PST reply actions  

There's ... there's video too.

Youtube.

I was at Shea for the Felix-Slam!
Personal M's record: 5-4.

by EnglishMariner on Nov 2, 2009 12:29 PM PST up reply actions  

I was watching some classic MLB this weekend, which I never do

and they were showing game 7 of the 1979 WS, Pittsburgh v. Baltimore. There was some mighty impressive facial hair, and hair in general, on display there, between Dave Parker, Kent Tekulve, Tim Foli, etc.

Quite possibly the funniest thing, though, was the scene in the 9th inning, when they cut away to the Pirates’ locker room to show the pitchers that had already left the game watching from the clubhouse. They were watching a 24" color TV with rabbit ears that was perched on top of a beat-up old refrigerator that was wedged into one corner of the clubhouse, while sitting on beat up old folding metal chairs. My, how the aesthetics of the clubhouse have changed over the years.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 1:29 PM PST up reply actions  

Left 4 Dead 2 Demo tomorrow.

Anyone want to play to hold over until modern warfare 2?

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 2, 2009 12:37 PM PST reply actions  

Most likely

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 2, 2009 12:59 PM PST up reply actions  

Saw some, but just heard about it today and it's all blocked at work

I’ll have to check it out later, but if it’s too awesome to wait (and will beneficial to other MW2 potential players!), please do post it here

by seattlebruin on Nov 2, 2009 5:01 PM PST up reply actions  

I'm pissed that I saw the leak because I wanted to find out on my own

But holy fuck 25 kills will be EPIC

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 2, 2009 10:39 PM PST up reply actions  

Four kill care packages aren't

or, nine kills for four care packages. Four times the fun!

by seattlebruin on Nov 3, 2009 9:11 AM PST up reply actions  

But the care packages land randomly

and can be picked up by the other team.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 3, 2009 9:13 AM PST up reply actions  

Be better than them

and don’t they only appear on your radar? The other teams getting them is purely a matter of luck, I think

by seattlebruin on Nov 3, 2009 9:43 AM PST up reply actions  

Wait WHAT?

it’s not just during S&D? Are you sure it’s not just in S&D for dead party members like other games? I refuse to believe that a game this deep and expansive would be so stupid to remove party chat from the game and open it up to chatting with everyone when most people clearly have no desire to do that.

by seattlebruin on Nov 3, 2009 10:58 AM PST up reply actions  

Can we either stop calling it swine flu

or start prescribing bacon as a cure? H1N1 IS JUST THE GODDAMN FLU AND IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PIGS

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 3:21 PM PST reply actions  

I went home a few hours early last Thursday

and, as per office policy, sent out an out of office appointment to let people know I was leaving. All I said in my email was “Paul D not feeling well, heading home”, didn’t quantify exactly what was wrong, and the next morning I had 14 emails in my inbox asking me if I had the swine flu. Three of them were rather curt in insisting that if I did, I should stay home until I’m completely healed. I wanted to go cough on those three people just out of spite.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 3:31 PM PST up reply actions  

My boss is a germaphobe.

I had a cold last week and got the same question – “Is it swine flu?”

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 2, 2009 3:52 PM PST up reply actions  

I have mild allergies year-round

I’m really getting sick of being in a meeting, sneezing, then having to deal with stares and having to say “it’s not the damn flu”.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 3:54 PM PST up reply actions  

I have bad lungs and always am coughing lightly and trying to clear my throat

I hate how often I get asked that, by any and everybody that sees me

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 2, 2009 4:49 PM PST up reply actions  

Whether or not bacon is the cure, I figure I can't be too careful.

nomnomnom

Also, you probably don’t have nearly as many people around you going “swine flu? that’s not kosher!”

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 2, 2009 3:42 PM PST up reply actions  

This is true.

and a good call on the preventive care!

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 3:44 PM PST up reply actions  

I call it Pig AIDS

and make fun of everybody that is sick by saying that they have it

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 2, 2009 4:47 PM PST up reply actions  

My sister had it and her plumbing isn't working, so she's staying at our parents' house.

My mom won’t let her drink out of anything but disposable cups.

Sometimes late at night I lie awake wondering when the fucking crazy will set in.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 4, 2009 11:17 PM PST up reply actions  

That plus the following should indicate it has already set in

My company has a fleet of cars that employees can use to get around our service area. I got one yesterday morning, and when I went to pick up the keys, the fleet manager handed me the keys and a couple disposable wet wipes, and said “we are now requiring that you use these in the cars to wipe down the steering wheel, we had someone who checked out a car on Friday come down with the swine flu yesterday”.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH FRIDAY WAS SIX DAYS AGO

by pdb on Nov 5, 2009 6:54 AM PST up reply actions  

Anybody with tickets to the SEA or PDX Elton John/Billy Joel show?

Sorry. Doesn’t sound like they’ll be delayed too long, though.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 2, 2009 4:02 PM PST reply actions  

I do!

From what I understand the promoters are gunning for a December reschedule.

by BrianL on Nov 2, 2009 4:03 PM PST up reply actions  

So Joe Morgan asserts that hitters have it easier now than against 4-man rotations.

Because you were facing better pitchers every night. Listening to this guy is agony, no wonder people hate him so much.

by Kermit. on Nov 2, 2009 7:30 PM PST reply actions  

The "phrase" FML has lost all meaning

No, losing your comb does not mean your life is fucked. Perhaps I just have a higher standard for catastrophe. Anyone else agree?

by Mariner John on Nov 2, 2009 11:02 PM PST reply actions  

yesyesyes

I’ve seen it used for all manner of trivial things lately, like work being boring one day or something like that.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 3, 2009 6:32 AM PST up reply actions  

The problem is that half of the entries on that site are obviously made up.

Today I was walking to the store to guy some groceries when I slipped on a cheeseburger and the Empire State Building fell on my dog. I live in Massachusetts. FML.

by Zygomorphic on Nov 3, 2009 9:44 AM PST up reply actions  

That much is clear.

The site itself wouldn’t be a problem if it didn’t spawn millions of people using FML for random minor misfortunes.

by Mariner John on Nov 3, 2009 10:11 AM PST up reply actions  

BUT I MISSED THE BUS THIS MORNING AND HAD TO WAIT NINE MINUTES FOR THE NEXT ONE

this is clearly the worst thing to happen in the history of modern transportation infrastructure, and it happened to ME.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 10:12 AM PST up reply actions  

King County Metro used to discipline bus drivers that arrived more than a minute or two early to a bus stop

I always figured they should do the same for lateness as well but that never happened. And I think they stopped that practice a while back.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 10:41 AM PST up reply actions  

dramatic effect

I rode my bike this morning. And when I do this I routinely beat the bus in to work.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 10:18 AM PST up reply actions  

I saw a Wal-Mart Christmas ad, a Home Depot one and a Lowe's one

but the HD and Lowe’s ones were tricky, because they were “normal” ads where they were following the shoppers through the store looking at great bargains and whatnot, and they had the people go through the aisle containing all the Christmas crap. Subtle!

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 8:26 AM PST up reply actions  

IT'S NOT DECEMBER YET

As far as I’m concerned, come December 1 companies can shove Christmas down our throats as rapidly and as loudly as they want. But it’s not even Thanksgiving yet.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 8:25 AM PST up reply actions  

If you work in a restaurant

Heed these. Every single one of them.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 8:47 AM PST reply actions  

I did not realize people were so offended by servers mentioning what their favorite was.

Not that I did it on a regular basis, but it’s not something that I ever gave heavy consideration to one way or the other. Perhaps because my mother usually prompts the server for it when she’s eating out in a new restaurant.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 3, 2009 9:05 AM PST up reply actions  

I don't get offended by it

I just find it completely irrelevant. I don’t know you, server – why do I care that your favorite is the ChocoVolcano with extra lava sauce? That tells me that there’s some sort of back-of-the-house contest to see who can sell the most of them, or it tells me that the ingredients are old and need to be used up – it doesn’t convince me.

I guess I’m just of the opinion that I don’t want a restaurant server to bond with me, any more than they want to be MY friend – I want professional service, I want opinions – but only if asked – and I want unobtrusiveness.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 9:11 AM PST up reply actions  

From experience, there's no background contest over selling the most of x.

Also, this is one of the other ones that I take issue with, but for example, if you don’t have a separate seating staff on hand, or a door whore, as a friend called them, and all hands are working on getting the orders out as promptly as possible, it’s difficult to run out and offer water or “an amuse-bouche”. In an ideal world, it should be done, but in many situations it’s simply not going to happen because the priority is serving everyone their food. Granted, most places these days do have a separate seating staff, but I’ve worked in a few where they were also required to be in the kitchen helping the process along.

The rest, I can buy. We didn’t gossip, we didn’t curse, we didn’t eat in view of the customers, and while others would occasionally, I never smoked when I was on the clock because it’s rather disgusting to deal with that.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 3, 2009 9:18 AM PST up reply actions  

I think a few of those are targeted at swankier-type restaurants

especially the amuse-bouche thing. Although I have been offered a free drink occasionally when I’m not seated in a reasonable time, if I roll up to a restaurant at 7 on a Friday without a reservation, I should really have no expectation of being seated in 15 minutes, so I don’t get upset if I’m not offered something.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 9:21 AM PST up reply actions  

Good, good.

Yeah, I was thinking in context of the Friday rush making things like that unfeasible.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 3, 2009 9:23 AM PST up reply actions  

The modern sense of entitlement really bugs me in cases like this

I just don’t understand why people who see a restaurant crowd spilling out into the street, or standing three-deep in the lobby/bar waiting for a table, get all bent out of shape when they ask for a table and then get told it’ll be 90 minutes. All those people standing around you aren’t just cardboard cutouts, they were there first. it’s not the restaurant’s fault you didn’t plan ahead and make a reservation.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 9:27 AM PST up reply actions  

GOD YES

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2009/10/29/22003127.aspx

by seattlebruin on Nov 3, 2009 11:48 AM PST reply actions  

Great scott!

I cannot wait to play it!

by marc w on Nov 3, 2009 1:39 PM PST up reply actions  

Anyone else here play Bioware games?

Kotaku was gushing over Dragon Age today.

by BrianL on Nov 3, 2009 11:58 AM PST reply actions  

Am I the only one who frowns upon piracy of good computer games?

If it’s a quality product, then the least you can do is reward the developer and purchase the game.

by redwolf75 on Nov 3, 2009 9:09 PM PST up reply actions  

Depends.

A friend of mine advocates the policy of he’ll buy the game provided that he enjoys it and wants to continue playing it after downloading it. He rewards the developer for sustaining his attention.

I’ve always bought regardless, but seeing as how it’s tricky to “rent” computer games and all that, he does have a point, in a weird way.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 8:20 AM PST up reply actions  

Some do, some don't, some can't keep up the pace.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 9:03 AM PST up reply actions  

Demos sadly are a dieing breed.

The last demo I played that gave me enough of an idea of whether or not I wanted to buy the game was the original Half Life demo.

by BrianL on Nov 4, 2009 9:07 AM PST up reply actions  

Did anyone actually buy the full Doom?

I think I bought the full version of Quake, but I skipped out on Doom even though I played the demo to death.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 9:11 AM PST up reply actions  

I am going to take advantage of those offers some day.

Further confirming the notion that I will never, ever, ever get anything accomplished so long as I own a computer with functioning internet.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 9:15 AM PST up reply actions  

It was actually a really good deal.

Every Doom game (including Doom III and its expansion), every Quake game, Wolfenstein (and it’s Spear of Destiny companion pack), Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Heretic, the Hexen series, and even the Commander Keen series.

by BrianL on Nov 4, 2009 9:17 AM PST up reply actions  

Commander Keen!

I played those games waaaay too much as a kid.

by lailaihei on Nov 4, 2009 9:18 AM PST up reply actions  

That's what I like about steam

I’d never ever buy a game or pack on there for the listed price, but they once in awhile roll out great deals that I’ll take a shot on.

by redwolf75 on Nov 4, 2009 10:33 AM PST up reply actions  

I use the same policy as your friend.

I download a game and play for a bit, if I like it, I’ll buy it and finish it.

Or, if you are a company or franchise that has continually proven you make good games, I’ll buy your new game without even thinking about it. For instance, I’m going to be buying Command and Conquer 4 the instant it hits the store shelves.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 4, 2009 8:59 AM PST up reply actions  

This is true.

My franchise loyalty has taken a beating over the years, though. I think that the only one I’m still loyal to is Civilization, and they still manage to have one major screw-up in every release.

I don’t know what others I would buy though. Mega Man games, 9 excluded, started sucking years ago, as did Final Fantasy. I’ve heard horrible things about contemporary Silent Hill games. I would with Fatal Frame but they aren’t releasing the fourth one in the states, the bastards. MGS, maybe on discount. And I heard they ruined the item system in RE5.

Looking back on it, it seems like video games have the sequel problem more than movies have a sequel/remake problem.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 9:07 AM PST up reply actions  

Yes, there's another one.

I still have some Blizzard loyalty, though I’ve never been into the Warcraft end of the franchise.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 9:11 AM PST up reply actions  

But...

Activision made the one great Mechwarrior game. And Pitfall! Shining example of what happened in games before they were actually playtested!

I don’t actually have any affinity for them. Probably closer to dislike, after Guitar Hero, and four hours of hanging out with friends while one of them was trying to get a perfect score on expert on Cheap Trick’s Surrender.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 9:20 AM PST up reply actions  

So what's his deal?

Aside from allegedly being a wanker and liking nothing but sequels?

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 9:26 AM PST up reply actions  

Well

He was once quoted as saying his goal at Activision was to “take the fun out of making videogames.”

I can’t find a link right now, but there was a conference he spoke at a few months back where he said some very, very stupid things about wanting to instill a perpetual sense of fear within all of his employees so they would be focused on meeting deadlines.

by BrianL on Nov 4, 2009 9:37 AM PST up reply actions  

I remember reading this. And thinking "Oh my god its my company"

He also compared running Activision like a box company.

Creatives need environments that allow them to be creative.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 9:41 AM PST up reply actions  

Here's the link!

link

Some choice quotes from Kotick

“We have a real culture of thrift. The goal that I had in bringing a lot of the packaged goods folks into Activision about 10 years ago was to take all the fun out of making video games.”
“I think we definitely have been able to instill the culture, the skepticism and pessimism and fear that you should have in an economy like we are in today. And so, while generally people talk about the recession, we are pretty good at keeping people focused on the deep depression.”

by BrianL on Nov 4, 2009 9:47 AM PST up reply actions  

I can understand the business reasons for having goals like this

but why, WHY, would you ever say this stuff in a conference where your quotes can easily make it back to your employees?

by BrianL on Nov 4, 2009 9:48 AM PST up reply actions  

I played Warcraft III and TFT often for about 5 years.

Of course, when I started I was in 7th grade and had no idea what the fuck I was doing and sucked for a long, long time.

by lailaihei on Nov 4, 2009 9:12 AM PST up reply actions  

As do I.

More often in anticipation of II, I think.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 9:21 AM PST up reply actions  

MW2 is another I will be buying.

Likely Dialbo III as well, if it comes out.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 4, 2009 9:23 AM PST up reply actions  

Its pretty much killing PC gaming.

That and the consoles being a more clear cut way of nickel and dimeing people.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 8:48 AM PST up reply actions  

Well, consoles are also easier for devs to work with.

There’s a unified system architecture in place meaning that they don’t have to design a game that’s compatible with hundreds of different GPUs and hundreds of different MOBO chipsets.

by BrianL on Nov 4, 2009 9:08 AM PST up reply actions  

But even console RTS has gotten better.

But I still prefer the keyboard method for RTS games.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 9:21 AM PST up reply actions  

I have this dream that when Project Natal releases

I’ll be able to play an RTS with a Minority Report like interface.

by BrianL on Nov 4, 2009 9:23 AM PST up reply actions  

It could work.

I want augmented reality RTS.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 9:28 AM PST up reply actions  

I still prefer the keyboard method to FPS games as well.

But then again, I’m still a PC gamer through and through. Always have been, always will be.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 4, 2009 9:25 AM PST up reply actions  

Used to be.

But it was always because of the online aspect of PC gaming. I was a day one purchaser of Xbox live and since then haven’t turned back.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 9:29 AM PST up reply actions  

I used to be a big console gamer as well. All the way up the beginning PS2/Gamecube generation of consoles..

But then I turned 18 and moved out on my own and gaming took a backseat to life. I couldn’t at the time really afford to be gaming alot.

I can afford to do so now, but it’s too far along in this generation of consoles to jump into it. When the next generation comes along though, I’ll likely reintroduce myself to console gaming.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 4, 2009 9:40 AM PST up reply actions  

I really don't think a new generation is going to come along for a while.

I’m starting to get the vibe that last generation was an aberration and we’re back to the 6-8 year lifespan.

by BrianL on Nov 4, 2009 9:44 AM PST up reply actions  

Well the PS2 had a 10 year life span.

It was just the xbox forcing its way in that kind of much things up.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 9:48 AM PST up reply actions  

There's no way you can have the control that keyboard-mouse gives you with a console controller.

No matter how good or fast you are with a controller, you’re not going to be getting more than like 50 actions per minute.

by lailaihei on Nov 4, 2009 3:43 PM PST up reply actions  

Completely agree with music.

It’s just a completely different medium.

by redwolf75 on Nov 4, 2009 10:38 AM PST up reply actions  

I'm also the same way with music.

I have zero problems pirating music. However, I also buy merchandise of bands I like, so I figure I’m still supporting the artists regardless.

And with movies, I used to pirate movies. Then I got tired of the shitty quality and pretty much completely stopped. With Netflix, there really isn’t much of a reason to do so anymore. Though if I can’t find an older movie on Netflix, I have no problem pirating it because it’s not going to make any difference if it’s an older movie.

TV shows I also have zero problem pirating. Because I don’t have a DVR and the way I figure it, it’s the same thing as having a DVR since I’m saving the content to a harddrive for later watching.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 4, 2009 10:51 AM PST up reply actions  

If they are large, established touring acts, yes.

If you pirate indie music you are a dick and a thief. Indie bands make very little money off of shows that doesn’t come from album or merch sales, and the majority of that money comes from album sales.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 4, 2009 6:11 PM PST up reply actions  

I definitely pirate from indie bands.

But most of them don’t even have distros in the US so idk what to do.

by lailaihei on Nov 4, 2009 6:35 PM PST up reply actions  

Sounds like a good idea.

I’ve done my fair share for independent music, though. I have like 150 CDs and 30 records.

by lailaihei on Nov 4, 2009 6:41 PM PST up reply actions  

Okay not to be a dick, but bands and musicians aren't charities.

It doesn’t matter how many albums you own, when you pirate an independent band’s music you are stealing and not in a morally ambiguous manner as you might be when pirating a major label band’s music.

It’s not as though there’s a big pool of money from which all indie bands (and labels, and record store owners, and distributors) take a cut. In a lot of cases this is how people pay the bills or put food on the table.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 4, 2009 6:46 PM PST up reply actions  

If you can't afford it don' steal it.

I’d like a lot of shit I can’t afford but I don’t steal it.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 4, 2009 7:08 PM PST up reply actions  

Pirating music is a victimless crime.

It’s not like stealing a physical item.
If there was no way to pirate music I wouldn’t own any music. The only reason I ever buy music is because I pirated it first.
Whether or not I download an album does not in any way harm the artist unless I otherwise would have bought it.

The bands I listen to have gotten more money from me with pirating than they would have if I could not have pirated their music.

by lailaihei on Nov 4, 2009 7:30 PM PST up reply actions  

Ignore the moral implications.

Tell me how pirating music brings less revenue to the artists that I pirate from.

by lailaihei on Nov 4, 2009 7:41 PM PST up reply actions  

Mainly it feeds into the belief that people are entitled to listen to whatever music they choose

under whatever terms they choose and can choose whether they wish to pay the artists for their production or not based on their own criteria.

But it is impossible for me to ignore the moral implications because a lack of morality has led to an environment where it is almost impossible for artists/labels/distributors to simply break even, which lessens opportunities greatly.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 4, 2009 7:45 PM PST up reply actions  

Well for I and many others

without piracy, I’m not a fan of music at all. I’ve spent hundreds of dollars supporting bands and artists that I never would have heard of had I not pirated their albums.

Technology cuts into the industry both ways. Instead of a few, select, artists being spoon fed to the general public by MTV, we live in an age where any band can gain popularity quickly through the power of word-of-mouth through social networking services, forums, and everything in between (last.fm).

by lailaihei on Nov 4, 2009 7:55 PM PST up reply actions  

"...Instead of a few, select, artists being spoon fed to the general public by MTV..."

That’s the point people miss. It used to possible to make a viable (not great, but viable) living playing music that wasn’t popular with the mainstream. It’s isn’t any more. Yeah, more people might hear you, but it doesn’t mean you’ll ever see any money from them.

You can try and justify it all you want, but it’s wrong.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 4, 2009 8:00 PM PST up reply actions  

Hmm, I don't really buy that.

Unless you can give me some statistics or something to back it. I know quite a few other people who are like me, that wouldn’t spend any music on underground artists if not for the internet and piracy.

All I know for sure is that I’ve spent more money on music because of piracy than I would have without.

by lailaihei on Nov 4, 2009 8:05 PM PST up reply actions  

"Hmm, I don't really buy that."

I think it is fair to say that I know a lot more about this than you do.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 4, 2009 8:06 PM PST up reply actions  

Alright, I'll take your word for it.

But it won’t stop me from pirating music.
Money hasn’t and won’t go out of my pocket towards the music that I love without piracy.

I still buy music, I go to shows, I buy merch… but without piracy none of that would happen.

by lailaihei on Nov 4, 2009 8:12 PM PST up reply actions  

Twenty years ago I would put merch

out on a table at our shows and would sell a good number that would help pay for many of the costs that go into having a band. Five years ago when I quit playing we were lucky if we sold one disc per show.

Why? Because people like you just go home, find the songs online and download them directly to your iPod.

by Sec 108 on Nov 5, 2009 7:53 AM PST up reply actions  

People like me...

wouldn’t have gone to your show if I couldn’t pirate your music first.
And I guess you missed that part where I said I still go to shows and buy merch.

Last.fm me!

by lailaihei on Nov 5, 2009 7:58 AM PST up reply actions  

Yes, but my cut from the door

of a show is minuscule. So your attendance does not really help me monetarily at all.

by Sec 108 on Nov 5, 2009 8:02 AM PST up reply actions  

I don't know how many times...

I’ve listened to a band, they were awesome, told my friends about them, brought them all to a show with me, and we all go to the merch table afterwards and buy a t-shirt or CD or something.

Of course it’s not the best case scenario, but expecting kids to purchase every second of music they listen to is unrealistic.

Piracy is a fact of life, and if you’re not going to accept that and embrace it, you’re not going to succeed as a musician on any scale.

Last.fm me!

by lailaihei on Nov 5, 2009 8:06 AM PST up reply actions  

I was wondering if you'd weigh in on this.

I’m really conflicted on this, but this is perhaps not the venue for a drawn-out discussion on it.
I should point out that some of the people I know who’ve pirated the most indie records are indie musicians – sort of an ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ’em’ deal.

by marc w on Nov 4, 2009 8:42 PM PST up reply actions  

It is, at this point, almost an inevitability.

My problem is more with people insisting that it’s a positive thing than anything else.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 4, 2009 8:44 PM PST up reply actions  

Well, it's undeniably true that there are tons of bizarrely unrepentent kids

who ask bands at shows for higher quality CD rips on-line, or laugh at their favorite band for having the gall to charge money for their record.

But then there’s the fact that getting a record posted on some indie site is 10x more distribution than most bands could dream of. Does a pathetically small amount of that distro turn into actual sales? Yes. But is it really fair to characterize the downloads as lost sales in this clear channeled world? I’d say no.
What’s imperative is that people who like a record pay for the record. We’ve gone from a world where very few people heard most indie releases (and thus didn’t buy them) to a world in which almost any indie release can be downloaded by a child and a 3 year old cell phone at no cost (and thus people don’t buy them). I keep hoping that some slight cultural shift will turn all of these newfound ears into new customers. That may be naive.

by marc w on Nov 4, 2009 10:35 PM PST up reply actions  

Yes, more people can hear indie bands than used to be able to.

That’s great, and ultimately the goal is to produce art that people like. But when our society condones and even endorses the belief that music isn’t really something you should have to pay for, I don’t hold out a lot of hope that the slight cultural shift you and I are hoping for.

What it comes down to, more than anything, is an artists right to control their work to the extent they see fit. Plenty of bands have used free downloads as an effective marketing tool, and that’s great. Plenty of other bands have realized that they are never going to make a penny off of their music unless they sell it to, oh, TGI Friday’s for example, because no one will buy their albums and their record labels don’t have the money to give them advances or promotion or touring support.

Like I said above, there was a time not too long ago that bands were able to devote themselves full-time to being in bands. At a certain point they didn’t need steady jobs, because record sales paid the bills. You could be in a fairly obscure but well like band and make enough money to pay the bills. You weren’t going to live an especially lavish lifestyle, but you could eat. That’s just not the case anymore.

And what ends up happening is that people just can’t keep going long enough. They get tired of having to find a new job every time they get back from a tour, or from practicing and playing shows late at night during the week and having to get up early for work the next day. And so they stop, and lots of great bands have their careers cut short (or never even form in the first place) because it’s really hard work, and at a certain point there just isn’t enough energy left.

Anyone that thinks that independent music is better off now than it was 15-20 years ago is nuts. The only “indie” labels left that are economically viable are super-indies like Sub Pop, in the Red and Matador. The rest are run as labors of love, or have been forced to scale back their operations considerably. You could argue that record labels are becoming irrelevant because recording is more accessible than it used to be, but quality recording is still really expensive, not to mention mastering, pressing, promotion and touring. People always point to the overnight, MySpace-spawned success stories, but those bands are almost always awful and/or kind of boring.

I guess my overall point is that I cannot envision many more SST, Dischord, K/Kill Rock Stars/YoYo type labels in the future, and that makes me sad. I also cannot envision a future where it is possible to make interesting music that is popular with a niche audience without having a day job, and that also makes me sad.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 4, 2009 11:05 PM PST up reply actions   3 recs

Yesyesyes

I’ve been guilty of some pirating in my life, absolutely — mostly in college, when I probably couldn’t have afforded those products anyway — but I never tried to tell myself that I wasn’t in the wrong. The sense of entitlement some people have blows my mind. You’re not owed a fucking thing in the world other than the rights given to you. Free music and video games aren’t God-given rights, last time I checked.

I admit, I will still sometimes pirate an album from a band I’ve never heard before, just to check it out. Without the option, I probably never would have heard that band. But the problem is, once I have it in my hand, it’s hard to drum up the excitement to go out and buy something I already have. So I’m kinda stuck with this shitty feeling. But with bands/groups I know I like, I’m first in line at the record store to buy the disc. My $15 probably isn’t going to be the difference when it comes time for OutKast to pay their bills, but Blue Scholars, for example, definitely depend on fans like to me to pay up. I know that’s not fair, but at least I know that OutKast is sleeping comfortable at night and I’ve given them money in the past. Lil Wayne just put out a remarkable mixtape that he was proud to distribute for free. The reason he could do that? His last album went about 70 times platinum. Different lives.

In order to keep a long comment semi-short-ish, I’ll just say: I’ve got a friend who is a musician in Seattle, and I think he’s good enough to do that full time. And I buy his music/go to his shows whenever I can. This is his most obvious talent, and it kills me to think that he can’t make a living doing what he’s best at and has to wait tables when he’s done in the studio.

by Teej on Nov 4, 2009 11:48 PM PST up reply actions  

Alright acblue, on your advice I cobbled together an email to my favorite Japanese band

and asked if they could send me their newest CD directly (with horrible Japanese, there’s like a 50% chance they can’t even understand it).

Anyway, there are a lot of people who take advantage of pirating to save money, and if you’re right (I’ll take your word here that you are), they are destroying a part of the industry.

However, I personally have contributed more to the bands I listen to because of pirating. Even thought I’m broke (read: nearly in credit card debt), I still preorder albums of the bands I love. But without piracy, I wouldn’t know about the bands I listen to. A lot of them have less than 10,000 listeners on last.fm and there’s really no way I could have connected to them otherwise.

And when I was in punk music more, I ordered straight from distros all the time from the smallest of ones that send hand-written letters with every order to somewhat bigger ones like No Idea.

I love music, but I’ve never made nearly enough money to fund everything I want to listen to, and frankly I’m going to use every resource I have to steal music.

by lailaihei on Nov 5, 2009 12:08 AM PST up reply actions  

Hmm. A couple things....

1) Regarding this: “What it comes down to, more than anything, is an artists right to control their work to the extent they see fit.” When did artists have this control, and how did torrenting/napster kill it? I suppose by hurting labels so much, piracy has impacted bands access to decent recording, but artists (even huge ones) fought against what they saw as a total loss of creative control to labels/radio/distro for decades. There’s no question that on-line piracy has impacted labels and bands, but it often seems like everything that impacts the music business is laid at the feet of pirate bay these days. Record sales have been falling for 15-20 years.

2) “You could be in a fairly obscure but well like band and make enough money to pay the bills.” I’m just not buying the idea that lots of niche bands could afford not to work in the heady days of the late 80s and that now it’s impossible. I’m not saying you’re wrong, because record sales were much higher then (even compared to the mid 90s), but plenty of hugely popular local bands like the Fastbacks kept jobs, and you’ve got several niche bands now without them. This is largely a lifestyle issue, at least to me, but what do I know. Sec 108, what say you?

3) “but those bands are almost always awful and/or kind of boring.” And yet…. Lightning Bolt makes a living and has played things like All Tomorrow’s Parties and been written up in papers in the UK, and a part of me just doesn’t see that as possible in the days before file sharing. I think people are willing to try things outside of their comfort zone, and radio has NEVER been good at exposing people to a wide variety of music.

This is more devil’s advocate-y than a real argument, as I think this is a fascinating issue without as much black and white as is often presented.

by marc w on Nov 5, 2009 9:04 AM PST up reply actions  

Jumping in way late here

but here’s my question for lailaihei. You have been very passionate in your rationale for theft (I’m honestly not judging you, I’m just calling it what it is). So let’s change the parameters a bit.

Say you’re going somewhere with a friend, and he picks you up in his new car. He lets you drive that car for five minutes, and you then realize it’s the car for you. Is it OK for you to go straight to the nearest car lot and steal the car you like, just because you like it and you don’t want to pay for it for whatever reason? No, it’s not.

How is music any different?

by pdb on Nov 5, 2009 9:12 AM PST up reply actions  

C'mon, that analogy doesn't quite work.

IP /= physical property, and while the whole “stealing music isn’t stealing because it’s not tangible” thing drives me up the wall, the “it’s exactly like car theft!” thing is sort of annoying too.

by marc w on Nov 5, 2009 9:21 AM PST up reply actions  

Stealing is stealing

Music is created by someone who has control of that music. To take that music without the permission of the person holding that control is stealing. Doesn’t matter if it’s physical property or not.

My issue is with the mindset. If it’s OK to steal music, what is it not OK to steal? People wrap themselves in all sorts of elaborate rationalizations about why they steal music, but at the end of the day it’s still theft.

One of my best friends is a musician and he pirates music all the damn time, and the fact that he can and does rationalize stealing something that he would be outraged if someone stole from him just blows my mind.

by pdb on Nov 5, 2009 9:25 AM PST up reply actions  

I have a serious question:

How do musicians get paid via subscription services like Zune?

by Dewey N on Nov 5, 2009 11:08 AM PST up reply actions  

I honestly don't know.

I think it’s handled through one of the clearing houses that does music clearances for bars and stuff (ASCAP or the like) but I really don’t know the mechanics of it.

by pdb on Nov 5, 2009 11:10 AM PST up reply actions  

Kind of.

You basically get paid based on how often your music is downloaded, up to a certain flat rate. That way the people running the service aren’t paying, say, Lady Gaga for every download.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 5, 2009 11:27 PM PST up reply actions  

Interesting.

I had been wondering about that. I suppose that they also actually get paid when you buy the songs via credits then?

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 6, 2009 9:07 AM PST up reply actions  

If I could steal a car and get away with it, I wouldn't.

I don’t want to take value away from companies, especially those that I like/use. I have never done any sort of stealing or piracy that resulted in a loss of revenue from any individual, group, or business.

Last.fm me!

by lailaihei on Nov 5, 2009 1:06 PM PST up reply actions  

Something like that.

I’m not exactly saying it’s “ok” but it’s what I do and while I feel a little bad about it, I know I’m not hurting anyone when someone tells me “hey you should check out x album” and then I go download it to see what it’s all about.

Last.fm me!

by lailaihei on Nov 5, 2009 1:17 PM PST up reply actions  

But labor is not infinitely renewable.

An enormous amount of work goes in to making that product and if everyone is just going to take it for free where is the incentive to continue making said product?

by OlSalty on Nov 5, 2009 2:53 PM PST up reply actions  

I know this is going away from the main point thus far but...

I don’t know a single music listener that knows how to, but chooses not to pirate music.

The music industry has lagged way the fuck behind the times and puts fucking ridiculous prices on albums (for the most part) which takes away the desire of many to purchase music.

Why do albums cost almost the same on iTunes that they do on CD?
I’d buy every single album I listen to if they were available for purchase and download online for something reasonable like $3 per album in a variety of bitrates and formats.

Some bands get it right (Bomb the Music Industry! for example), but most aren’t thinking and continue to release their music in the same traditional ways. Well guess what, it doesn’t work like that any more. People need a viable internet option.

Last.fm me!

by lailaihei on Nov 5, 2009 5:49 PM PST up reply actions  

They don't.

When was the last time you bought a new CD in a record store? They’re $18-19 now. iTunes is 99 cents a song or $10 for most albums.

by pdb on Nov 5, 2009 6:30 PM PST up reply actions  

Still a total ripoff.

When I bought music more regularly albums were $3-9 from legit indie distros that didn’t try to screw you at every corner.

Last.fm me!

by lailaihei on Nov 5, 2009 7:28 PM PST up reply actions  

I guess that's where we'll never agree

if you don’t think that paying $9 is fair for something that somebody took a lot of time and effort to create, I guess there’s no way we’ll ever see eye to eye on this.

by pdb on Nov 5, 2009 9:46 PM PST up reply actions  

I don't pirate music.

If I like something enough I’ll iTunes it.

by Mariner John on Nov 5, 2009 7:59 PM PST up reply actions  

How do you find music to like?

And iTunes sound quality is shit, there’s no way I would buy music from that service.

Last.fm me!

by lailaihei on Nov 5, 2009 8:41 PM PST up reply actions  

I don't know.

I don’t really explore that much but usually it’s word of mouth or reading reviews on web sites. I’m not really an audiophile so I can’t tell the difference between iTunes and whatever high quality service you use.

by Mariner John on Nov 5, 2009 9:52 PM PST up reply actions  

Whatever happened to sharing?

I used to let friends borrow cds to “check them out”

by Kirsten Schlewitz on Nov 6, 2009 8:33 AM PST up reply actions  

I always held a day job, but that was more a result of having

college loans to pay off. If I didn’t have debt at that time I would totally have worked part-time somewhere. I also would have toured way more than I did.

I do think the revenue stream to bands is smaller than ever right now and I am not sure that this a new trend or one even brought on by piracy. Bands could make really good money in the 50’s and I think every year the consumers willingness to spend gets less and less.

Why? Because people think writing songs and getting up on stage is easy.

by Sec 108 on Nov 5, 2009 10:25 AM PST up reply actions  

I think this is more the case.

there’s so much diversion these days that unless you’ve always been a music fanatic/performer, you’re not likely to value music higher than Xbox/role playing games/reality TV/whatever else.

by pdb on Nov 5, 2009 10:34 AM PST up reply actions  

Yeah, I think the fraction of personal income spent on music

nowadays may be a quarter or less of what it was a generation ago. It’s only income effects that make up for this – and they don’t make up for it entirely.

by marc w on Nov 5, 2009 10:42 AM PST up reply actions  

Good points. There are so many ways to fill time now.

My grandfather-in-law told me that when he was newly married and broke as fuck they would go park the car downtown and just watch people for entertainment. You would never see someone do that now.

by Sec 108 on Nov 5, 2009 1:33 PM PST up reply actions  

I used to go to The Promenade at Santa Monica and people watch when we were in college

part of that was that girls would drag me to go shopping and I had no interest in being at Forever 21, but that’s a different story. Turns out there’s a ceiling-height giant window overlooking the street and it’s an awesome place to just watch people walk by from

by seattlebruin on Nov 5, 2009 1:36 PM PST up reply actions  

Point by point.

1) If an artist chooses to sign a record deal that requires them to relinquish control of their work, they are at least making a choice. When you Google the name of our album, 80% (at last count) of the results point to torrent sites. We’ve sold dick, and as conceited as it might sound, I find it hard to believe that no one likes our stuff. The reviews have been mostly positive and we generally get excellent crowd response. But we have zero control over our record, because anyone that wants it can easily get it for free.

2) Yes, the Fastbacks kept jobs, but for the most part those jobs were related to outside interests (Lulu and filmmaking, Kurt and sound engineering, Kim and being the Queen of the Hipsters, which I say with the utmost respect.) They’re also all doing okay in their post-FBX life. I will concede that I was probably overstating my case; I suppose a more accurate way to put it would be that it was possible for bands to live above poverty level working low-stakes, often part-time jobs that generally wouldn’t support most adults.

3) Both of the guys in Lightning Bolt have day jobs (and in fact Gibson is an art the lead artist for Harmonix, which means he is in part responsible for Guitar Hero, which I think is hilarious.) And really, Lightning Bolt isn’t any weirder in context that Butthole Surfers or Captain Beefheart or pick-weird-band-from-whatever-era. There are always avant-garde heroes at the fringes of the mainstream.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 5, 2009 11:24 PM PST up reply actions  

I agree with you.

But somehow I thought you wrote that there weren’t any indie labels left. So I drafted a reply listing about 20 indie labels that manage to keep their heads above water. Then I re read your post and saw the “economically viable” part. I gotta read more carefully.

by royalcurve on Nov 5, 2009 11:04 AM PST up reply actions  

Yeah, and even there, that there's been a ton of consolidation in the industry

mirrors the consolidation in lots of other industries. Is that file sharing, is it clear channel, is it video games, what?

It’s hard to know, though it’s clear that basically nothing has gone in favor of indie labels – almost all the trends are against them. I will say that the whole licensing of indie songs for commercials probably helps, though it’s obviously concentrated around bands that sound like the Shins.

by marc w on Nov 5, 2009 11:17 AM PST up reply actions  

I think the biggest signifier of how much shit has changed in indie music and how quickly it has happened

is that five years ago Slim Moon was offered a fuck ton of money to leave Kill Rock Stars and take a position at Nonesuch, and he lost his job three years later.

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 5, 2009 11:31 PM PST up reply actions  

But isn't he at Nonesuch? Head of A&R?

I mean, KRS is still around, and still probably makes decent money from Elliot Smith/Sleater-Kinney/The Gossip/the Decemberists sales, plus the Thermals have done pretty well.
It’s always possible to fail even with a cash-cow (Lookout! records with Green Day’s early stuff), but I’m not seeing how KRS is an example of what’s become an impossible business model.
I know a lot of people were stunned when Touch and Go’s distro arm shut down a few months ago, but I don’t know anything about that, or what factors pushed them out. (Does KRS have a new distributor?)

by marc w on Nov 6, 2009 9:29 AM PST up reply actions  

Last I'd heard he'd lost his job.

He might have been rehired, I don’t know.

And yeah, KRS is still around, but compared to what it was even five years ago?

by Aaron Campeau on Nov 7, 2009 2:00 AM PST up reply actions  

The trick is to be a year or two behind the pc gaming cycle.

Thus you can buy fully patched games for a fraction of the price. This if course does not apply to MMOs (which I do not play).

by redwolf75 on Nov 4, 2009 10:40 AM PST up reply actions  

You can do that with either gaming cycle.

I do, certainly.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 10:46 AM PST up reply actions  

True, but PC games

seem to fall in price at a much more precipitous rate. I don’t know how many times I waited a month or two and a 50 dollar game became a 20 dollar game.

by redwolf75 on Nov 4, 2009 11:08 AM PST up reply actions  

I made a mistake and should have bought the special edition of this game.

It apparently comes with selected parts of the game’s soundtrack on a CD. Anyone else enjoying the music as much as I am?

by BrianL on Nov 4, 2009 9:40 AM PST up reply actions  

Shannon has the important off season dates

including the note that the “Hot Stove League Show fires up Wed. Nov 11 on 710 ESPN … the show will be running on Wednesdays from 6-8.”

by msb on Nov 3, 2009 12:46 PM PST reply actions  

It's completely irrelevant in the bigger European picture

but it’s still fun watching United get their asses handed to them by a supposedly inferior team.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 1:15 PM PST reply actions  

It's times like this when I wish the CL was still a straight knockout

I can’t be bothered to get too excited one way or the other because I know they’ll still go through to the last 16, but if this were their European season at stake it’d be awesome.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 1:30 PM PST up reply actions  

FUCK

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 1:33 PM PST up reply actions  

Although it should be noted that I would feel worse if this result actually mattered for anything

So don’t expect any last-minute fate-tempting comments once the last 16 starts.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 1:44 PM PST up reply actions  

It's two stages

First stage is a group phase, 8 groups of 4 teams that play home and away, three points for a win and one for a draw, just like the domestic leagues. The top 2 teams in each group go on to a 16-team knockout phase. It’s ridiculously overlong and pointless – it used to be the best, uh, I wanna say 32 teams in Europe playing two-legged knockout, but then they realized there was more money to be made with more games, so they padded the hell out of it.

The way UEFA seeds the groups, it’s almost impossible for the Uniteds/Arsenals/Chelseas to not get to the knockout stages (which is why it would be comical if Liverpool lose tomorrow because then they’d be on the verge of not qualifying for the last 16), and indeed Chelsea and United’s points today guaranteed that they’ll get there.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 1:53 PM PST up reply actions  

So how much of this is actually Benitez's fault?

Injuries to your two best players will hurt any team, but they also seem to have exposed a considerable lack of depth on the squad. I imagine Liverpool usually has the money to buy some help when problems arise, but that might be a problem now with Hicks and Gillett having financial problems.

I guess I’m just wondering if the 45 columns calling for his firing every day are warranted. I mean, isn’t this pretty much the same team that finished second last year?

by Teej on Nov 3, 2009 3:05 PM PST up reply actions  

Almost none, actually.

Unless the lack of depth can be attributed to/blamed on Benitez’ inability to spot and procure talent, and I don’t know enough about his transfer dealings to be able to judge that. It has been rumored that Hicks and Gillette are in such dire financial straits that they can’t actually afford to fire Benitez, because it would cost them something like £20 million in severance, but I really don’t think he’s in danger of being fired anyway, at least not until the end of the season. If they manage to survive the group stages and go deep in Europe that will quiet a lot of this talk.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 3:10 PM PST up reply actions  

Selling off Xabi Alonso wasn't the best idea in the world

Torres is less dangerous when he’s not being fed properly and Gerrard can’t run rampant if he has to sit deep and start all the plays.

by Graham MacAree on Nov 3, 2009 3:13 PM PST up reply actions  

That's pretty much the only thing I know about Benitez' dealings

is that he wasn’t smart to sell off Xabi without finding someone who can replace that role, and that Aquilani’s style of play is different enough to Xabi’s that he’s not really a replacement.

Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 3:21 PM PST up reply actions  

And they're all petty thieves apparently

One of my favorite ever chants was at the 2001 FA Cup final. As we were walking to the ground, a group of Arsenal fans started chanting, to the tune of “La Dona e Mobile”, “We’ve got Silvinho, you’ve got our stereo”. This just served to enrage the poor drunken Scousers, so we all kept doing it more or less throughout the buildup to the game. It was very entertaining.

by pdb on Nov 3, 2009 3:45 PM PST up reply actions  

Fun with numbers time!

So I’ve been tasked with figuring out how many sandbags will be needed to surround my shop in the (very likely) event of a flood. I have 108 feet to cover out front, and 135 feet to cover out back, as well as an additional 135 feet to cover the paint booth. The bags are 26 inches long, and will stand 8 inches high. Assuming I’m stacking them 3 high, I figure I’ll need ~340 bags. Anybody care to check that this is correct? I half-assed this math while continuing my usual work day stuff of spending hours on hold with insurance companies and handling other numbers and feel like I missed something simple and obvious and will end up up with nowhere near enough bags

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 3, 2009 3:34 PM PST reply actions  

I rounded up the distances a pretty healthy amount to compensate a bit

More importantly, though, is that the bags are only available by the pallet with a count of 100. So, unless I end up needing more than 400, I should be ok.

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 3, 2009 3:41 PM PST up reply actions  

Thankfully no.

I’m the panhandle of the building (we’re a long, narrow shop attached to a larger near-square building). So, one end is the other building and the other end has a simple man-door in the middle, which should be handled by roughly 12-15 bags

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 3, 2009 3:43 PM PST up reply actions  

Our portion was built as an addition to the other building

Meaning that there is a 6 inch concrete wall separating our workspaces, so their building could fill with water and have minimal effect on our side. And really, we’re just leasing the area so only care about protecting our computers and main office. Everything else is on the building owner who has flood insurance. We do own the paint booth though, so that one’s a big concern. It is separate from both buildings but definitely needs the most protection

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 3, 2009 3:54 PM PST up reply actions  

Like I said, I have a 6 inch concrete wall directly behind my desk here (covered with wood panels though)

We are completely sealed off from the other building though

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 3, 2009 4:08 PM PST up reply actions  

Didn't that used to be a dealership?

Also, lunch at Caveman needs to happen soon.

by Sec 108 on Nov 3, 2009 4:02 PM PST up reply actions  

Yes, it did

And FUCK YES to Caveman

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 3, 2009 4:06 PM PST up reply actions  

On Gordon Street? I once knew a girl who lived on Gordon Street.

A long time ago, when I was a young man. Not a day passes I don’t thing of her, and the promise I made which I will always keep. That one perfect day on Gordon Street.

"You can trust me, I'm an engineer"- seattlebruin

by Kermit. on Nov 3, 2009 8:11 PM PST up reply actions  

You need about 540 with those dimensions

135×2 + 108 = 388 total feet of coverage. 26 inches = 2.16666 feet. 388/2.1666 = 179 bags/row

179 × 3 rows = ~540 bags

by seattlebruin on Nov 3, 2009 3:42 PM PST up reply actions  

As I saw that post on the screen, I realized that I left off one of the 135 counts

I feel like a tard now, but sincere thanks

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 3, 2009 3:44 PM PST up reply actions  

Don't be such a vagina.

He’s said much worse.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Nov 3, 2009 3:53 PM PST up reply actions  

He went into details about he and I fell asleep while watching a movie together

While wearing our headsets. Assuming you don’t actually touch yourself while we play Xbox, then that was more truthful and therefore more awkward and uncomfortable

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 3, 2009 4:10 PM PST up reply actions  

Especially when both our significant others came home to find us with headsets on.

That was fun night. We should organize a LL Netflix movie part.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 3, 2009 4:26 PM PST up reply actions  

Mine was in bed and woke up confused because I wasn't there

Then she made fun of me for a while when she found out why I was not in bed

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 3, 2009 4:31 PM PST up reply actions  

It depends how often you have status updates or post links.

If you do it often, they’ll wonder why you stopped status updating only to figure out you de-friended them after friending them in the first place. If you never status update, just drop it after a month and they’ll never notice.

by PlaySportsinSeattle on Nov 3, 2009 7:10 PM PST up reply actions  

On topic of this

But has anyone gotten a friend request from someone – chatted up with you a couple of times and then deleted you from their facebook?

Its like a whole different way of getting used.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 8:52 AM PST up reply actions  

Sort of.

Friend of a friend bummed cigarettes off me at a bar once and we started talking about music. Her tastes were really different from mine, but she seemed to want suggestions anyway. She friended me, I gave her a list of bands I liked, she didn’t respond, a month or so later she was gone without us speaking again.

I think that was more getting dissed though.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 9:13 AM PST up reply actions  

Dissed/used

Either way I was confused.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 9:22 AM PST up reply actions  

This one's for the bowlers

All four bowlers on my team tonight shot above average… the averages are 147, 167, 190, and 192. We shot a game of 800 scratch where the top scratch game was a 216, winning all our points.

How are you guys doing in your local leagues?

Batted .393/.614/.464 for 2009 Diablos, #5 in OBP for PSSBL Rocky Division.

by Two Rs and Two Ls on Nov 3, 2009 9:54 PM PST reply actions  

My team is in second place in the league, and just 4 points out of first with a max of 23 per night

First position round is on the 11th, so we’re in good shape to possibly win the third and secure a spot for finals in April. Bowling at Skyway has inflated just about everybody’s averages (top 3: 235, 225, 216), including those on my team. Myself and one other guy are actually right on our normal averages of low-190’s, but the other 3 on my team are between 15 and 30 pins above what they normally average. We own high team scratch game with a 1080 (last Wednesday) and have a team average of 960. So, things are pretty much going great for us in this young season

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 3, 2009 10:23 PM PST up reply actions  

Oh, and nice shooting!

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 3, 2009 10:29 PM PST up reply actions  

I bowl casually once or twice per year...

My previous high was 137, then all of a sudden I got a 178 one game the last time I bowled; it was pretty cool.

by lailaihei on Nov 4, 2009 9:09 AM PST up reply actions  

Graham, pdb, others: have you tried Voyager Gin, which is apparently made in Woodinville?

Citrus nose, and a bit floral taste set this apart from the other Wash. small-batch distillery, Dry Fly. It’s much more akin to Rogue’s gin, though Rogue is more extreme in its fruitiness (there’s no tangerine in the Voyager).
I like it a lot, though that may just be mood. I haven’t tried it mixed yet. See what you think.
Apparently they also make a local absinthe with wormwood grown at the disteller’s home or something. Sounds intriguing.

by marc w on Nov 3, 2009 11:16 PM PST reply actions  

I have not, I'll have to check it out.

I don’t drink a lot of gin, because when I do I drink a LOT of gin – it goes down waaaaay too easy. But I’ll check this out.

by pdb on Nov 4, 2009 6:50 AM PST up reply actions  

Funny - I was just looking this up last weekend and found 2 bars in Bellingham that carry it.

But haven’t had time to check it out yet.

Or was that the Spokane one that was carried locally… Hold on.

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 8:54 AM PST up reply actions  

It was dry fly that was carried in the local bars.

But you’re saying Voyager is better?

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 8:56 AM PST up reply actions  

Yeah, that's my lean right now, although it's really going to depend on what kind of gin you like.

Bone dry, almost vodka-like? Dry Fly.
Aromatic, not overly dry, a bit spicier? Voyager.

It’s a personal taste thing. I had a bottle of Dry Fly because my friend took two sips and hated it so much he didn’t want to look at the bottle anymore. I like Voyager more, but I don’t think Dry Fly’s undrinkable. I’m sure someone’s going to have that reaction to Voyager, or, perhaps even more likely, Rogue (which is almost a liqueur or aperitif to me).

And yeah, Dry Fly looks like they’ve had a head start – they were the first in-state distiller, so they seem to be more widespread at the moment.

by marc w on Nov 4, 2009 9:11 AM PST up reply actions  

Not a huge dry fan.

Can I pick up Voyager at the liquor store?

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 9:30 AM PST up reply actions  

And some goes for Rouge gin.

Can I pick that up here?

NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 4, 2009 9:30 AM PST up reply actions  

Yeah, I found Voyager at a liquor store in the south sound. I'd never heard of it before.

Rogue is at many liquor stores – it’s a lot more established, being a sizable brewing/distilling operation. As I alluded to above, one of the botanicals it uses is tangerine, so it’s even further along the fruity/sweet/aromatic end of the spectrum. I like it OK, but you really have to know what you’re getting and be in the mood for it (same, I suppose, for the Dry Fly or 209s of the gin world).

by marc w on Nov 4, 2009 9:43 AM PST up reply actions  

So what do people

think about this proposal? I think it’s a really good idea — don’t know how many times I’ve been confused as to which city a person/article was referring to.

by redwolf75 on Nov 4, 2009 11:11 AM PST reply actions  

The only place in the world where I have met people who experience said confusion is in Portland

Nobody outside the Portland metro area thinks “Vancouver” refers to anything but the Canadian city.

by pdb on Nov 4, 2009 11:13 AM PST up reply actions  

VISA put my dad's debit card on hold one time

because he bought food in Portland, OR, then bought something at Home Depot in Bremerton, WA less than 4 hours later. Their rationale was that nobody could get across country in 4 hours.

The VISA representative had no idea there was a Portland, OR.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Nov 4, 2009 11:19 AM PST up reply actions  

When was this?

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 11:21 AM PST up reply actions  

There was a possibly apocryphal story during the runup to the Salt Lake City Olympics

that a telephone ticket operator refused to sell tickets to a resident of Albuquerque because the telephone rep refused to believe that there was a state called New Mexico, and thought the caller was calling the US ticket line and trying to scam their way into tickets.

by pdb on Nov 4, 2009 11:22 AM PST up reply actions  

I thought that was Atlanta?

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 4, 2009 11:28 AM PST up reply actions  

I have booked friday off of work in anticipation that the Philidelphia win tonight and force a game 7 [which would start friday 1am here].

I’ll find out when I wake up in the morning whether that was a good idea or not. Cmon Pedro!! I’ve never watched a good world series, never mind a game 7, so I am really hoping that my gamble pays off!

I was at Shea for the Felix-Slam!
Personal M's record: 5-4.

by EnglishMariner on Nov 4, 2009 11:38 AM PST reply actions  

I flew out to New York last week

turbulence kept flight staff from serving customers and kept the customers themselves from being able to stretch.

I emailed the airline and suggested that they could give a coupon or something to passengers on flights like that for something like free baggage checking on their next flight… something small, but a token of appreciation and understanding for the discomfort of the flight.

The airline got back to me and sent me a $50 travel voucher. I thought that was pretty cool.

Does anyone else have an airline customer service story? Or do you all fly Southwest?

Batted .393/.614/.464 for 2009 Diablos, #5 in OBP for PSSBL Rocky Division.

by Two Rs and Two Ls on Nov 4, 2009 12:00 PM PST reply actions  

Which airline was it?

angels fan in seattle

by Eyebrows on Nov 4, 2009 12:18 PM PST via mobile up reply actions  

'Twas Delta, actually.

Batted .393/.614/.464 for 2009 Diablos, #5 in OBP for PSSBL Rocky Division.

by Two Rs and Two Ls on Nov 4, 2009 12:32 PM PST up reply actions  

Delta gave me an $800 check and a free upgrade to business class

when my plane was delayed for 4 hours due to weather causing me to miss my connecting flight back to Germany from Atlanta. I couldn’t believe it. I think it was because I was very understanding of the situation while 99% percent of the other passengers went apeshit.

by coolguyrob on Nov 6, 2009 4:51 AM PST up reply actions  

An airline upgraded me to first class for probably the same reason, after double booking my seat.

When the other passenger holding the ticket to the same seat arrived to find me holding the chair, she pitched a fit. It actually fairly impressive, more of a tirade. There were other empty seats so I told the flight attendant if one was available I didn’t mind moving, so she put me in first class. The lady that ‘won’ the seat had the most amazing reaction.

by Kermit. on Nov 6, 2009 6:05 AM PST up reply actions  

On the subject of Yankees fans,

I cannot stand combination New York Yankees/ Dallas Cowboys fans. I have met many of this breed in Washington, none of whom were brought up anywhere near Texas or New York.

by redwolf75 on Nov 4, 2009 1:35 PM PST reply actions  

Thing is they're not that bad of a side

they just have zero depth and are struggling with injuries right now. Unfortunately, “right now” is actually a fairly critical point in the season – if they bomb out of the Champions League and into the League of Irrelevancy, er, Europa League (I know I rail on irrelevant cups a lot in this space but GOD WHAT A WASTE – it was fine when it was the UEFA Cup but…oh never mind), it will cost them £shitloads in lost revenue. Every team claims that they budget independently of CL success, and every team lies – it’s integral to their success and to their staying among the big boys.

If they also struggle in the Premiership and finish outside the top 4 this year, thus not qualifying for the CL in the first place, they will really struggle to get back into the top ranks of teams without that money.

by pdb on Nov 4, 2009 3:17 PM PST up reply actions  

It's going to be tough in the CL, but Liverpool's still a damn good team.

People love to overreact. Arsenal started fair-to-middling last year, and then turned it on. Hell, Tottenham were dead last in December last year, and ended up 8th. Liverpool looks funny right now because of some of the teams they’ve lost points to and because of a string of late, late goals.
To me, this is the soccer equivalent of BABIP skewing a hitter/pitcher’s results. Now if Torres is really injured, eh, that’s different. But Liverpool – as awkwardly as they’re playing – don’t suck, and they’ve had some rotten luck. It pains me to say it, because I’ve got designs on that last top 4 place, but it’ll be an uphill battle for anyone to knock them off in the end.

by marc w on Nov 4, 2009 3:42 PM PST up reply actions  

If they can make it through to the end of the year in the same shape they're in now they should be fine

it’s just getting through these next few weeks and also finding out what is going on with Torres. Arsenal drew five straight games in February last season and still ended up finishing fourth by a fairly comfortable margin, so unless Liverpool completely implode you might be right. A couple more losses, though, and who knows.

by pdb on Nov 4, 2009 3:46 PM PST up reply actions  

You'd really put bet on them finishing in the top four?

I mean, I know they’re good, but this is a pretty big hole, no? Then again, I guess there’s two-thirds of a season left.

by Teej on Nov 4, 2009 10:01 PM PST up reply actions  

Eh, I might. Depends on Torres.

As PDB says, the odds of Arsenal staying in the top 4 looked long at several points last season. We could probably dig up a comment of him conceding the spot to Villa or Everton at some point if we wanted to. On this day last year, Hull City had just fallen out of the top 4, but were sitting 6th. Tottenham were dead last, and Arsenal and Villa were tied on points. Tottenham finished 8th, Hull barely escaped relegation in 17th. There’s a looong way to go.

The fact is that they’ve got waaaay more talent than their rivals. I’d be ecstatic if Tottenham catch ‘em, but realistically, given the Modric injury and the loss to Arsenal, I wouldn’t bet on Spurs. Everton’s out. The bizarre magic of ‘08-09 doesn’t look like it’s being repeated at Fulham. It’s down to City, Spurs, Villa and Liverpool, and I wouldn’t bet against Liverpool in that situation (as much as I’d want to out of loyalty).

by marc w on Nov 4, 2009 10:48 PM PST up reply actions  

He conceded to the Villans

Everton didn’t take fifth til the last game, damn it.

by Kirsten Schlewitz on Nov 6, 2009 8:49 AM PST up reply actions  

Heh.
  1. BrockandSalk
    Mike Blowers is coming up in 10 minutes to help break down Game 6 of the World Series.
  1. d_a_cameron
      @BrockandSalk $10 if you work in a “No Doubt About It”.

by msb on Nov 4, 2009 2:01 PM PST reply actions  

Bahahahaha.

From Football Outsiders:

Roy Williams in 16 games since being traded to Cowboys: 33 catches, 447 yards, three touchdowns
Miles Austin in the last three games: 21 catches, 482 yards, five touchdowns.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Nov 4, 2009 2:51 PM PST reply actions  

Side question:

Do you say “measuring tape” or “tape measure”?

I say measuring tape.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Nov 4, 2009 5:07 PM PST up reply actions  

Additional side question:

Do you pronounce it “may-zhure” or “meh-zhure?”

I choose the latter

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 5, 2009 8:34 AM PST up reply actions  

Tap Measure

But depends on the context.

abender20 hates freedom.

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 5, 2009 8:50 AM PST up reply actions  

HOLY CRAP HAVE I GOT A DEAL FOR YOU GUYS!!!!

Due to an unfortunate scheduling conflict I will be unable to attend this weeks Seahawks game versus the Lions and am looking to sell my tickets. That’s right, what you guys have on your hands is an exclusive once in a lifetime opportunity to buy and sit in THE Seahawks season ticket seat of THE one and only Robert Westervelt. This is the type of privilege that will give you the chance to appear on national news after the inevitable happens. I’m selling two seats in section 338 for face value what I paid for 67 (130) for the pair which is well below the ticketmaster rate ($93).

Now I know some of you guys are going to be a little hesitant about going to a Hawks game after last weeks debacle but I guarantee victory. Actually I will do better than just guarantee a win, If the Seattle Seahawks lose to the Detroit Lions on November 8th 2009, I will allow whoever bought these tickets to cockpunch me once. Incredible value right here but I’m not stopping. With purchase also comes a personalized MS picture of the subject of your choosing that I will autograph. Don’t be like one of those losers on TV who always turn down deals of a life time. Operators are standing by just contact me by using the Email in my profile.

by Robert on Nov 4, 2009 6:25 PM PST reply actions  

The seats are amazing! Robert is magnificent!
With purchase also comes a personalized MS picture of the subject of your choosing that I will autograph.

Come on now. I’m friends with the guy and he’s never offered this kind of deal to me. Jump on it, people!

by royalcurve on Nov 4, 2009 8:18 PM PST up reply actions  

Oooh

I think I’ll put Lifull on. A nice pick-me-up after an all-nighter.

Fuck Anaheim.

by Eyeball Kid on Nov 5, 2009 12:12 AM PST up reply actions  

I'm actually listening to it for the first time... Going through their whole discography.

Before I only had twinkle and all their singles.

You wouldn’t happen to be into other poppy Japanese ska with female vocalists, would you? If your answer is yes then this could be an extensive subthread.

by lailaihei on Nov 5, 2009 12:14 AM PST up reply actions  

Don't get your hopes up, I'm far from an expert

I listen to quite a lot of j-pop but aside from that one muramasa (I can’t be arsed to cut and paste from NJStar) album and a little GO7188 there’s not much ska in there. I have been listening to Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra a lot lately though but they’re not female-fronted. Ringo Sheena does sing on one song, does that count?

Fuck Anaheim.

by Eyeball Kid on Nov 5, 2009 12:22 AM PST up reply actions  

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra is legendary.

My favorite album is probably Wild Peace (for newer stuff) or Skapara Toujou (for older stuff).

Hmmm as for J-Pop, the most popular things I listen to are probably Namie Amuro and Sweet Vacation. I like J-Pop /hip-hop too like Seamo, Kreva, Heartsdales, Halcali, Soul’d Out, etc…

The most similar ska punk band to ムラマサ☆ (i have Japanese type one button away so I just have to type “muramasahoshi”) I can think of is GOLLBETTY, but there are other similar bands, too. My favorite one is midnightPumpkin. I actually saw them live when I was in Japan this summer. Great show, they played a little over 2 hours and I think 22 songs.

My unhealthy love of Japanese music comes originally from trying to improve my listening skill, but then I just fell in love with it and probably listen to more Japanese music than domestic stuff…

Last.fm me!

by lailaihei on Nov 5, 2009 12:32 AM PST up reply actions  

I've never been a fan of the Namie Amuro/Utada Hikaru/Ayumi Hamasaki type stuff

and I’ve never really listened to much j-pop/hip-hop so feel free to recommend some the better stuff. I’m more into the standard pop stuff like Ikimonogakari, Chatmonchy, Do As Infinity, etc. and the singer/songwriter types like Shibata Jun and Hirahara Ayaka.

I keep meaning to sign up to Last.fm but never get round to it. I’ll do it when I get back later.

Fuck Anaheim.

by Eyeball Kid on Nov 5, 2009 12:49 AM PST up reply actions  

I'll put together some youtube links with some of my favorite songs in a minute...

Right now I’m baking something… pancake mix, vanilla extract, chocolate chips, and almonds in the oven on a cookie sheet. I’ve never baked anything by myself before but this seemed like a good idea.

Last.fm me!

by lailaihei on Nov 5, 2009 1:21 AM PST up reply actions  

What's the general opinion of preorder bonuses for video games?

I’m not a fan of them because I don’t feel that it’s fair to people who buy the game new later on down the road. I understand they do it to try to offer incentive for people to buy the game new instead of used, but if you don’t preorder it you don’t end up getting the “full experience” of the game. Especially if you get different preorder bonuses from different companies.

The example in mind right now is Mass Effect 2. If you preorder it at Game Stop, you get special armor and weapons. If you preorder it at Game Crazy, you get completely different armor and weapons. These items are exclusive to the company you preorder it from, so if you go through Game Stop you’ll never ever get to use the weapons and armor that the people who ordered it from Game Crazy do, and vice versa.

I guess I just like being able to see/use everything (locations, characters, items, etc.) in a game, and they’ve taken that away from me.

I will smash your face into a jelly.

by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Nov 5, 2009 8:33 AM PST reply actions  

I think its dumb.

COD 5 had a unlocked gun in multiplayer once you opened the box otherwise you would have to get to level 65 to get it.

The armor is either going to suck or you will probably be able to get it later on in the game.

abender20 hates freedom.

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 5, 2009 8:58 AM PST up reply actions  

UCLA basketball! Feel the passion!

62-61 over NAIA Concordia College. Two of the three scholarship guards on the roster did not play. There are THREE scholarship guards on the roster.

This is going to be a long year.

by seattlebruin on Nov 5, 2009 9:50 AM PST reply actions  

But they won!

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 5, 2009 9:52 AM PST up reply actions  

Please explain how UCLA is going to challenge for fifth in the conference

off the top of my head, Berkeley, Washington, Arizona State and Oregon State are all clearly superior to us, u$c is a maybe, UA is a maybe, and Stanford is a maybe. Off the top of my head, we’re only clearly better than Oregon and Wazzu. Yay…

by seattlebruin on Nov 5, 2009 9:56 AM PST up reply actions  

I don't think you can put UA in the "maybe" list

until a few games into the season. I think this season could be a total trainwreck for them, but their one preseason game so far tells me nothing – a 92-76 win over something called Augustana College. Which is apparently in South Dakota.

by pdb on Nov 5, 2009 9:58 AM PST up reply actions  

By the way if anybody hasn't read the book on which that movie is based

it’s really quite fascinating. More so because it’s supposedly true. One of Ronson’s other books, Them, is pretty damned interesting too.

by pdb on Nov 5, 2009 9:56 AM PST up reply actions  

Whee more terrible defense!

Unless they’re signing him to DH….

Bobby’s back, bitches!

http://twitter.com/ed_price/statuses/5458189778

angels fan in seattle

by Eyebrows on Nov 5, 2009 12:26 PM PST via mobile reply actions  

Any idea on the terms?

I was at Shea for the Felix-Slam!
Personal M's record: 5-4.

by EnglishMariner on Nov 5, 2009 1:03 PM PST up reply actions  

Wait I forgot twitter existed

sign Abreu for $19 M: $9 M per 2010,11, $1M buyout on $9M option for 2012

I was at Shea for the Felix-Slam!
Personal M's record: 5-4.

by EnglishMariner on Nov 5, 2009 1:03 PM PST up reply actions  

Does anybody know if it's possible

to temporarily stop Google Reader from updating feeds? I’m going on vacation and don’t want to come back to eighty bazillion unread items. I know I can just mark them all as read in batch when I get back but still, I’d just as soon be able to temporarily stop getting them.

by pdb on Nov 5, 2009 1:31 PM PST reply actions  

I see the Red Sox traded for Jeremy Hermida.

Jack Z must be disappointed.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 5, 2009 3:21 PM PST reply actions  

Or maybe not.

I didn’t realize that Hermida as that bad of a defender. I was always under the impression he was a good defensive corner outfielder who’s bat, while decentish, hadn’t quite lived up to the billing yet.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 5, 2009 3:35 PM PST up reply actions  

Ok

1. It’s Jim Street.
2. It says they are planning on talking. So what?

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 5, 2009 3:36 PM PST up reply actions  

Or what Graham said.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 5, 2009 3:37 PM PST up reply actions  

This weeks Sunny was fantastic.

And after watching that, and now sitting here watching Seinfeld, I’m starting to see some parallels between the two shows. Not so much in the “show about nothing” aspect, but in fact that it’s a group of people getting in wacky situations every week and very subtly destroying peoples lives. And there’s definite comparisons between Charlie and Kramer, George and Frank, and Eliane and Deandra.

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 5, 2009 8:25 PM PST reply actions  

Eh?

FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS! FUCK THE ANGELS!

by Goose on Nov 5, 2009 10:11 PM PST up reply actions  

I want charlies shirt by the way.

The Leprechaun battling the jackalope

abender20 hates freedom.

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 5, 2009 10:22 PM PST up reply actions  

I always have to watch them a 2nd time before I have a opinion.

Need time for it to sink in.

But win for use of “Baby Dick”

abender20 hates freedom.

by Scruffy Lefty on Nov 6, 2009 9:59 AM PST up reply actions  

The video at the end blew my mind.

“Plus . . . DICK TOWEL!”

And for the record, www.dicktowel.com is real and VERY VERY NSFW!

by Teej on Nov 6, 2009 10:14 AM PST up reply actions  

Hahahaha

Google is so awesome for this kind of random stuff

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 5, 2009 10:07 PM PST up reply actions  

I thought it looked terrible at first, then slowly started to gain some interest when I realized it wasn't all about fantasy football.

The only review I read said that it was funny in a dirty, assholish way, but nothing great. I recorded it tonight and will check it out. I’m definitely more interested than I was three weeks ago.

by Teej on Nov 5, 2009 11:44 PM PST up reply actions  

GIF TIME!

angels fan in seattle

by Eyebrows on Nov 6, 2009 7:54 AM PST reply actions   2 recs

Japanese commercials are incredible.

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/

by JY on Nov 6, 2009 9:09 AM PST up reply actions  

I love the end

Where he flies away by flapping the bananas

I want to poop at your house - Thingray

by tootthekazoo on Nov 6, 2009 9:10 AM PST up reply actions  

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