Gmoney Luv

our lady of intoxication altar

2008-09-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

We all seem to worship a god of our choice whether it's power, sex, money, drugs or possibly the invitation to party with the big JC for eternity.

Come on, do you really want to be in heaven until the end of time with a bunch of redneck, conservative christians????

I have chosen a new God, or Goddess per the local artist Spooky Mama Creations and I am proud to present the Our Lady of Intoxication Alter.

God Bless You PBR, the American Beer of true Patriots. (No, it's not the Professional Bull Riders Association if you happen to Google the PBR)

You can find Spooky Mama's creations and several other local artists at the
I Heart Rumage show at Chop Suey in Seattle, every 1st Sunday of the month. Oh Yeah, the bar is open during the entire event. So Enjoy!

happy labor day

2008-09-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

Here's to a nice and relaxing holiday!

Let's hope for a warm and dry September-but I can already feel the beginnings of Autumn.

road trippin

2008-07-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

I decided to take a quick trip to Coeur d' Alene ID to enjoy the summer while it lasts.

My older sister and brother in-law lived in the area in the early 80's and I went to visit them as a young lad. It's been at least 25 years since I've been back to the area. I don't remember much of the town except for the large lake and that was the main reason why I wanted to go back.

I found a quiet spot along the beach and it was nice to take in the sun and catch up on some reading.

I don't mind traveling alone and I generally enjoy the solitude but I did get an odd reaction from the young, married couple with kids that managed the motel that I rented by myself for two nights.

I felt like blurting out to them in my defense, No, I don't have a dead hooker in the trunk of my car!

sea foam on the brain

2008-07-13T10:11:00.001-07:00

I just can't get enough of the whacked out looking sea foam from the Oregon beaches.

No, an oil tanker didn't crash into rocks.

I just enjoy using the editing tools on Iphoto to make some pics look surreal.

Oregon Coast-July 4th weekend

2008-07-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

So when I signed up for this free blogger account roughly a year and a half ago, no-one ever told me that this blogging stuff takes time and energy and dedication. It's been about 3 months since my last post and during this time of inactivity,DaisyMaeRobin has deleted me from her link list.

Sure, we can hang out as friends in real life-but in bloggerworld, you are apparently only as good as your last post.

Here's a very excited Lucky as we begin our trip to Manzanita for the 4 day holiday weekend!

Driving across the Astoria-Megler bridge with Kelly at the helm as we leave our home state and enter Oregon. This is a really cool and long ass bridge that spans the mouth of the Columbia river.

Manzanita is a really beautiful and laid back town but the weather was unfortunately not in our favor. It was overcast and rained for the majority of the weekend but I guess we should all be used to this living in the Pac NW.

The focus is a bit soft on this one but I was determined to capture these purplish leaves through the kitchen window.

This nature stuff sure is perty. Did I already mention it rained alot?

Bryan and Erica chillin in our tree house in the woods. Thanks Ann for lending us your home for the weekend (and why don't you have your own blog yet?)

We spent a lot of time indoors relaxing, listening to music and playing Chinese Checkers-and drinking till our livers were sore.

Here's Shane & Kelly locked in a heated battle.

After raining all day on Saturday, we finally had a chance to take a long walk on the be-atch before we headed back home. We still didn't see the sun but the view is still loverly.

This weird looking sea foam is one of my favorite pics. Not sure why I like it so much but I really dig it. Click on the pic to enlarge it so that you can really enjoy the rainbow colored pollution bubbles.

We had an excellent trip and the 4 days seemed to fly by. We then jumped on I5 along with the other several thousand cars and returned back to reality.

Duude, the colors

2008-03-30T20:09:00.001-07:00

As most bloggers already know, one of the keys to an interesting post are eye catching pics. Thanks to the free on-line version of Photoshop Express there's really no excuse for badly exposed or poorly shot pics. This is a much stripped down version of Photoshop but it allows the amateur photog some basic photo editing tools like color correction, cropping etc. You can then upload and share your mini masterpieces or embarrassing little moments with the rest of humanity. Here are a couple of examples of how adjusting the tint can add a surreal quality to your pics.

I snapped this series in Pensacola Fl shortly after the area took a direct hit from Hurricane Ivan in 2004. I found this abandoned pickup on a closed stretch of beach and to this day I can't figure out what the Hell, "GCC Locals Only" means. I'm guessing it's some sort of hillbilly talk for, "We don't take kindly to strangers." If you've never been to Pensacola, you're not missing much. It's on the panhandle of the state and it's very conservative and rednecky but you can buy a home for literally Half the Asking Price of the Seattle market.

Easter-Catholic Style

2008-03-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

It looks like the Catholic Church down the street from me just installed a new cross. I have to admire the minemalistic vibe but let's be honest and admit we all prefer the old school Christ in agony on the cross that daisymayrobin just blogged about.

Hey Mary, What are you holding in your hands? Is that a doll, No I think it's our future savior.

My hood

2008-03-18T00:32:00.000-07:00

Here's the view from my balcony in Interbay looking at lovely Magnolia. Some might call this little known hood, the bastard child of Ballard. Enough with the trash talk! Whole Foods is apparently being built here so we have that going for us-plus a driving range and P-Patch.

The Interbay rail station. I don't normally hear the trains unless it's Summer and I have my windows open. The white noise is soothing (from a distance) if I'm drifting off to sleep on my living room couch.

Could they build those houses any closer to the tracks!

Creepy Q "Cafe" which is located conveniently next to Quest church. I can't figure this place out because it's always empty when I drive by and they're often closed during the week. I'm sure it's a front for some extremist Christian group and I'll bet they have secret meetings in the basement. Christian Soccer Moms like coffee too-but in a Pro JC environment.

Beer Porn

2008-03-17T11:25:00.001-07:00

Happy St. Patty's Day to all!

I guess I should feel more of a kinship to this holiday because my mom's side of the family is Irish and I lived in Chicago where they dye the Chicago River green each year. I've always sort of thought of this day as amature night but it's a good excuse to get lit after work on a Monday night.

SODO

2008-02-25T11:51:00.001-08:00

Seattle is generally pretty easy on the eyes with plenty of parks and fancy new condos but a true city needs to have it's share of gritty industrial areas.
I'm really drawn towards SODO because it kinda remains me of when I was living in a raw loft space in Chicago when I was just out of film school. It was a huge open space that was perfect for production work but it was COLD as hell in the Winter.Here are some pics I took this weekend as I enjoyed the late afternoon sun.

Man Bag 08'

2008-02-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

Two of my lady blogger friends are slightly obsessed with purses and boyz can like man bags or murses too.

I always thought bike messenger bags were cool but quite frankly I think that most bike messengers are A-holes so I have always resisted the ultra-trendy bags until I came accross the Hip-Hop Bag by Ogio. I'm all about the "hip-hop", yeah right.

This bag has so many damn pockets that I wished I had more things to carry on my daily routine. I can store my Mac-book, Ipod Nano and Celly (maybe a boxed lunch or afternoon snack) but this crazy ass bag has several extra pouches including one for airline tickets. I think I'll go to Seatac this weekend with my new bag and just walk around the numerous terminals and pretend that I have a flight to catch. YES, I have a lot of spare time on my hands.

The sweetest thing about that world wide web craze is that you can search for a specific item and find it at a really reasonable price and thanks to The Nerds I found this super cheap.

Gmoney's Book Club

2008-02-14T15:17:00.000-08:00

V-day is the day that people traditionally express their love for their spouse, partner or F*CK-buddy, but not everyone is tied down to just one person. In celebration of non-monogymous relationships, I am proud to share with you, The Art of Mackin. The "how to" book for wannabe playas or pimps.

Here are some selected exerpts:

How to tell if a woman is a chickenhead (low-budget or hoochie)
* Her weave doesn't match her real hair.
* If she has gold teeth.
* If she has acrylics on her toenails.

Here is how you can tell you're in the home of a chickenhead:
* If her mother tries to send you to the store for beer.
* If she washes her panties in the bathroom sink.

According to the author, there are 5 types of pimps:
1: The Gorilla Pimp
2: The Sweet Mackin Pimp (I'd fall into that category)
3: The Rigid Pimp (Not sure what that means)
4: The Professional Pimp (Aren't they all? )
5: The Overly Flashy Pimp

This book contains a wealth of material for the beginning pimp and proudly sits on my bathroom shelf next to my Ebola stuffed animal that is magnified 1,000,000 times the actual size, giantmicrobes.com

Thanks to my dear friend Jody that gave this book to me as a birthday gift a few years ago.

Winter in Seattle

2008-01-04T15:49:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite places in Seattle is Golden Gardens park and I always feel like I'm on vacation when I visit there even though it's only a short distance from my apartment.

Here are some pics I snapped this morning after two days of non-stop rain. As you can tell, I really like taking pics of nude winter trees so please indulge me while I share.

Let's crop the same pic a bit and play with the colors.

My regular readers may remember this group of trees that I blogged about in May.
And this is how they look in January. The winter version is not quite as pretty but still nice.

I saw lots of brightly colored plants and sea life that washed up on the beach.

This especially creepy looking "life form" looks like it may have had eyes at one point...

Product

2008-01-01T20:27:00.001-08:00

One of my friends (that doesn't blog) recently declared that blogging is self-indulgent and gratuitous. My reaction was, YES, and isn't that kind of the point of it all.

Endorsement of the month: Osis Fiber Gum:
Here is some good stuff to put in your hair if you want to get laid or just look good when steppin out. I got this at BabaLouise in Ballard for $14.95.

the throne of kings

2007-12-02T21:00:00.001-08:00

Here is a fact.: When a man needs to visit the facilities to take a leak, he needs to feel comfortable. Mulleadys in Magnolia has one of the best pissers in Seattle.
The ginormous urinal in the gentlemen’s restroom was salvaged from the old Seattle Orpheum Theatre of the early 1920s. It's truly a treat when you have to make a deposit after several beers.

forest friends log

2007-11-25T16:49:00.000-08:00

The forest friends log from The Swiss Colony has been a holiday favorite in my family for many years now. It's a perfectly delicious 8" chocolate cake with swirls of butter creme filling.
Picture an upscale Ho-Ho on Roids.

Hmmm Tasty!

The only downside to this delightful treat is that you have to get over the, "deer in the headlights" look from the little forest friends as they sit trapped behind the cellophane wrapper, staring at you, as they await their demise.

I can almost hear them begging me not to eat them but the temptation is too great to resist.

bring it

2007-11-22T14:44:00.001-08:00

Happy Turkey Day to all!

Who'd have thunk it'd be dry and sunny on Thanksgiving in Seattle?

Since I moved to the NW 10 years ago I've always wanted to buy one of these living x-mas trees and last weekend I finally broke down and bought one.

It's almost sickening how early the Holidaze start every year and I'm guilty of buying this little Charlie Brown tree nearly a week before Thanksgiving. I couldn't resist it with it's adorable red bow and I plan to re-pot it so that it can continue growing on my balcony.

Business Time

2007-11-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

It's about time the first season of Flight of the Conchords was released on dvd. If you haven't seen it yet then I highly suggest that you RUN to your nearest video store and rent both discs immediately or just buy the set because you'll surely watch it more than once. If you're a cheap bastard, you can download it via bittorent or why don't you just rip it to your hard drive and then you can burn it to a dvd. Mass produce it and sell the damn thing on craigslist for $5 a pop. Until then, please enjoy this clip.

The Beer Belly

2007-11-04T17:45:00.001-08:00

If you're looking for the perfect gift for that special alcoholic in your life, look no further friends, than the Beerbelly. Here's your chance to sneak your favorite "beverage" of choice into sportin' events and monster truck shows, without the hassle of having to pay those inflated, stadium prices.

Yeah, like no-one is going to figure out that you have a fake gut full of booze when you're sucking on a damn rubber hose that mysteriously appears from underneath your shirt. I also don't quite believe that the dude in the ad is the typical buyer for this product. Sure he looks like your typical douche, ex-frat boy but I think the ideal demographic for the product looks something more like this guy. (sorry to anonymous buddy, I'm sure you're a sweetheart of a guy but a few squat thrusts probably wouldn't hurt)

Oh and ladies, I hope you're not feeling left out because you can own your very own Wine Rack. She's totally hot and check out her Sweet Rack-FULL OF WINE. Now that's my dream girl.

Happy Halloweeny!

2007-10-31T09:42:00.001-07:00

It's always a bit awkward when any holiday falls during the middle of the week. Do you celebrate it the previous weekend or the following weekend? Everyone loves pumpkins, right? Here are some pics that I snapped during our trip to Long Beach WA.

Fall Leaves

2007-10-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

I took advantage of our sun break this afternoon to snap some pics near my home in Magnolia. This evening's nasty rain will most likely bring all the leaves to the ground.

Orcas Island & Oly Penninsula Trip

2007-09-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

I took a trip up to Orcas Island, which is the largest of the San Juan Islands to enjoy our early Autumn weather and it was the perfect time to travel. The Summer crowds were long gone and most of the beaches were deserted and I was able to enjoy the natural beauty in peace.
The rippling water was so incredibly relaxing and hypnotic and time seemed to stand still as I sat on the beach and starred at the sea After spending two perfectly dry and sunny days on Orcas, I awoke to my first overcast morn and took a final drive around the island before taking the ferry back to Anacortes. Some may find the below pic to be dreary and sad but I thought it was incredibly beautiful in its starkness and loved exploring this foggy land.I drove through Deception Pass into Whidbey Island and found yet another almost deserted beach to chill on in the late afternoon sun.
The next day I took another ferry ride which dropped me onto the Olympic Peninsula and I drove west on Hwy 101 to Neah Bay. I didn't realize the Makah Reservation was a dry area and I found myself in a very scary fisherman's motel at night with no wi-fi, cable tv, books or any alcohol.

Oh Dearest Lord in Heaven, please help me during this very dark time!

On the last day of my trip, I awoke at the ass-crack of dawn and took a quick drive to Flattery Point which is most northwestern point in the lower U.S. I took the mile long hike along Flattery Trail to look-out area and relaxed on the wooden observation deck and enjoyed the view.

Have a Hoot-arific day

2007-09-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

One of the nice things about being unemployed is that you can catch up with friends over lunch. My friend Jody and I decided to be kooky and we met up at Hooters on Lake Union. This was my first trip ever to the land of orange shorty-shorts and nylons and I was pretty damn curious to experience this bit of "culture" first hand.

The atmosphere wasn't quite as surreal as I was hoping it would be and it turned out to be your typical sports bar with burgers, fries, wings and flat screen tv's everywhere. The best part of the experience was the view of course. Hey wait a minute, I meant the lovely view of the lake but the Hooters gals were babelicious-in that overly made-up kind of way.

The mid-day crowd was pretty Dude-heavy as one would expect. You had your table of blue collar construction workers next to your table of IT geeks. The table next to us seemed to be retirees that were visiting from out of town. My guess is they were from Spokane or some other part of Eastern WA. These gents each bought a calendar of the Hooter gals and I'm sure that kept them occupied for the long drive back home.

The gals were all very nice and perky and cute but they refused to give me a lap dance when they brought my food. Wait, this isn't that kind of place! What if I throw in an extra $5?
I kid, I kid.

Gmoney likes G. Force

2007-09-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

My hairstylist just turned me on to G. Force extreme hold gel $13.95 from Osis that is made by some German company called Schwarzkopf Professional That has to be the most boring name ever for a hair product company.

The Germans prove once again that they are the beacons for modern design and slick marketing. I don't even really care if this stuff is any good because I'm such a whore for good packaging. I'm picturing the product developers all with flat tops and running around their pristine lab in white coats and wearing little, round specs.

The best part is that the product is colored Red. Enough with the wackiness, you crazy Germans. I've never put red shit in my hair before but I guess this takes me one step closer to being a Metro.

TV on the Radio: Wolf like me

2007-09-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

Not much is happening in blogger-land but my contract at that mighty software company is ending this week and I'll be briefly back in the land of unemployment until I find a new gig. I'm not exactly sad to be leaving because this hasn't been the most positive work experience and I need some time to decompress from it.

I'm thinking of taking some quick trips around the NW and I'm planning a drive to Walla Walla wine country and I've always wanted to take a float plane up to Victoria BC.

In the meantime, please turn up your speakers and enjoy this EXPLOSIVE-rocker from Brooklyn's TV On The Radio on David Letterman.

Production Stills

2007-08-27T11:30:00.001-07:00

Here are some production stills from the short film, Still Life that I'm currently editing. I promise to shut-up about the project until it's finished. Photos by Carl Nelson

Co-Producer/Lead Actor Will Chase and Executive Producer/Writer Chris Baily
I go up for the high angle, hand held shot.
Lead Actress Erin gets into make-up
My DP (Director of Photography) James Yi and I (the director) discuss a shot.

Sunday

2007-08-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

This is exactly how I've felt on many a Sunday while nursing a hangover from a night spent drinking with friends.

This sketch is one of the props from my short film that I'm currently editing. It's been a slow process so far because I'm learning Final Cut Pro as I go but it's been fun. If all goes well, it'll be completely finished in a couple of months.

Pork Fest

2007-08-13T16:27:00.001-07:00

Don't you just love the name Pork Fest? I could repeat it one hundred times in a row and it just never gets old for me.

Yesterday my buddy Andy G and his three roommates and I went over to his landlord/neighbor's annual BBQ at his home in Sunset Hill. It's become quite the neighborhood event over the last several years and the host buys an entire pig and slow roasts it overnight to delicious perfection. There was a ton of food and booze and at least 100 people were chowing down on ribs and pulled pork all afternoon in the huge backyard. It's so popular that they actually printed up Pork Fest tye-dyed t-shirts (ex- hippies). I somehow managed to avoid lapsing into a swine induced coma after the pig out.

Out of curiosity, I Googled 'Pork Fest' and it returned a whopping 668,000 references and that goes to show how much people love a good hunk of sizzling pork drenched in BBQ sauce. With all this porking going on, I was a bit surprised to not find a single, weird porn site amgonst the thousands of hits. Talk about a disappointment!

alki and beyond

2007-08-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

I've always thought the Ginormous cargo cranes at the Port of Seattle looked pretty cool and I took a little drive over there on this perfect Summer day to get a closer look. As I drove up to the fenced-off, restricted area, the security patrol perked up very quickly as I was the only car in the area. They seemed to be wondering, Why is that strange little man taking photos of our cranes on a Saturday afternoon? I snapped a few quick pics and scurried the Hell outta there real fast. The last thing that I need is to wind up on the news for snapping pics of a highly sensitive area. (No officer, I swear these are really just for my blog-I have absolutely no ties to any extremist groups) That didn't work out quite the way I planned so I drove to Alki beach to check out what was going on over there. It's been about a year since I've been to Alki and I'd almost forgotten how damn scenic the beach is. I was expecting to see a bunch of Asian kids racing around in tricked out Hondas and chromed out Escalades going THUMP THUMP THUMP but luckily it wasn't quite cruising hour. There was some sort of sponsored Volleyball event that I avoided and I relaxed on one of the benches to take in the sun. On my way home I found this park with a perfect view of our lovely city.

520 Swamp

2007-07-24T13:08:00.001-07:00

I take the 520 bridge Eastbound every morn to work and lately I've been noticing all the lily pads that are in Lake Washington just under the bridge and I thought that would make for some great photos. Here are some pics that I snapped in the bowels of the bridge near UW.

The sad but funny part of the story is that I spotted a fallen tree that jutted into the water a bit and I thought that would give me the perfect shot. Without thinking, I quickly stepped onto it and slipped on the wet surface and fell, which totally jacked my knee. My first concern was to not get my camera wet and then my cell phone started ringing, as I sat on the log drenched in water-not exactly the best timing! I limped back to my car and made it home in one piece.

Today I'm taking the day off because I can barely put any weight on my right knee and I probably have a minor sprain. The irony is that I was playing hooky from work yesterday when I fell so I had to take a real sick day to recouperate. Luckily I have the comfort of cable t.v and I've been watching, Ice Road Truckers all morning on The History Channel. Lesson learned, but I hope my 5 or 6 readers appreciate the lengths that I take to deliver high quality pics.

rebirth

2007-07-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

I bought these frames circa 1999 at Market Optical and at the time it felt like I spent way too much money on them but they have been great frames for me over the years especially during this whole Nerd-Sheik look that seems to be so popular here.

According to DaisyMaeRobin's Cost Per Use Shopping Model, these frames have already paid for themselves many times over and I decided to extend their lifespan a bit longer. I recently lost my beloved vintage framed sunglasses and my eyes have become very light sensitive living here in the sunlight deprived NW.

New frames and prescription lenses would have run me about 300 beans so I decided to go the consumer friendly route which is to buy new dark lenses from my favorite place for glasses Eyes on Fremont. I'm happy because I saved some $$$ and I get to wear these old frames of mine again.

hair snizzle

2007-07-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

It's been about 3 months since I chopped my hair and Summer is upon us and I always feel so Fresh n Clean after a haircut so I decided to try out Ballard's very own BabaLouise. It's perfectly located on 65th NW and very near to a coupla bars that I have logged way too much time in. The place was very mellow and has a super cool Tikki theme that I totally dug. My stylist Donna gave me a great High n Tight or Para-Military look that I really like and at a very reasonable price of $23. I left feeling refreshed and ready for a post work week cocktail.

Oh and NO I didn't dye my hair with some freakish orange tint. I wanted to emphasize the textures in my hair and the blinds behind me are representative of beams of light showing off my new cut. This also reminds me of a bad Christian sunset pic. (note to self-maybe you shouldn't have smoked so much of that herb tonight)

I'm a big fan of "product" and I've been using it in my hair since I got my first brush-cut way back in the mid 80's. Back then I bought some really nasty, thick shit and I thought that I was really post-punk rock even though I grew up in the Chicago suburbs. I also went through a phase of using alcohol soaked Gels that left my hair limp and dry and that ain't coo.'

Well product has come a long way since then and I have graduated to the good stuff now. Crew makes a really good line of hair stuff and I really like the forming cream which is not too thick like a pomade but gives you a great deal of hold. It gives the look that I love so much which is: I just got outtta bed but I'm pretending to be a Metro-Sexual.

Interbay P-Patch

2007-07-01T16:12:00.001-07:00

I am a sensative man and I like taking pictures of pretty flowers. I took these today at the Interbay P-Patch. This red flower (whose name I don't know) reminds me of a poppy plant and that got me a bit excited. It would be so cool to have the chance one day to be able to run completely nude through a field of opium plants. Duuuuuude. But knowing my luck I would probably fall down and skin a knee or injure something much more sensative.

Taco Loco

2007-06-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Dearest Mexican Food,

I love you so much that I could eat you every meal of the day. From your tasty breakfast burritos to your mid-day carne asada tacos to your delicious dinner-time sizzling fajitas. I want you in my mouth all day long!

OK that's a bit much but do you get the idea that I really like Mexican food?

There is a little known taco cart that lies just in the shadow of the Ballard bridge and right before Leary Way. Look out for it because it's really easy to drive past but it's well worth the visit. I'd suggest getting the food to go because eating in the stone parking lot is a bit harsh but it's perfect if you just want to stop for a quick bite of heaven.

memories of the solstice parade

2007-06-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was Seattle's annual hippie fair which is better known as the Solstice Parade. It's been several years since I've been, so my stoner buddy Andy G and I made the trek to Fremont in search of nude, painted hippie-chicks. We drove around for a good twenty minutes looking for parking and finally found a spot about 15 blocks from downtown Fremont. It was really overcast but the rain seemed far off so we made the long walk downhill to the parade route.

When we finally arrived, the parade was already well underway and it was really difficult to get a good vantage point. After about half an hour of people watching, we decided we had seen enough and we began the very long walk back up Fremont Ave. Luckily we happened upon the Buckaroo Tavern and stopped for a couple of beers and we had a great view from inside the bar of people exiting the parade.

My friend Elisa forwarded me this pic of this middle-aged, nudist freak from the parade. My favorite part is the guy's black loafers and brown socks. I'll bet this guy is an accountant by day and you know that he looks forward to the parade every year so that he can show off his bony ass to the world. I really like the look of laughter and horror from the women in the crowd.

organic soap

2007-06-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

I know how much my lady blogger friends enjoy new product suggestions so here is my big shout-out to the organic soap from the Ballard Market. I love the smell of lavender and my favorite is the purple lavender soap and Damn this stuff smells good. When I want to RUFF things up a bit, I go for the oatmeal soap. The chunks of oatmeal are soothing and give a mini-massage effect in the shower. I also kind of like the fact that the soap isn't packaged at all and I just plop it into my shopping basket completely nude with the rest of my food. However I am careful not to put the soap next to any fresh fruits or veggies for fear that the soap will somehow contaminate the other food. I also picked up this lavender, foaming soap which is pretty good but you have to really pump the handle several times to get a good amount of foam and I don't suggest that you use it with the other lavender soap because that's just a bit too much lavender, even for me.

wednesday

2007-06-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

I am a 39 year old single man that is not currently dating anyone and today is Wednesday evening, June 6th. I left my temp job today at roughly 5:30 pm and I arrived home in Ballard at 7:15. The door to door drive was no longer than 13 miles and it took me a long-ass, fucking time to get home. I didn't see any accidents or abandoned vehicles that would have made traffic slow down. No, that's just the way it is on westbound 520 in rush hour.

I have an excessive amount of mail that has collected around my apt recently and I had to get rid of it. I pay a lot of my bills online (it's a lot faster and you don't need stamps) so I have a bunch of credit card offers and junk mail that I don't want and I don't feel comfortable just ripping them up. A few years ago, someone got my debit card number and paid off their delinquent account with my card. Luckily it was very easy for my credit card company to trace the charge back to the dipshit that used my stolen card number to pay off their past due phone bill.

I decided that I should probably buy a paper shredder to rid myself of the abundance of unwanted paper so I checked my trusty source, craigslist. In the past year I have found some amazing deals such as a barely used Imac for video editing, 50% off two almost new Ikea bar stools and 70% off of a very stylie, retro looking entertainment center.

I found an ad on CL from a guy that also works at the same software giant as I do and I met him at lunch time to make the purchase. He just happened to have 4 brand new paper shredders sitting in the trunk of his car for 60% off retail and he appeared to be the Redmond version of Goodfellas. I really didn't want to know any of the details so I didn't ask any questions and 24 dollars later and a quick hand shake and I was on my merry way with a brand new paper shredder in an un-opened box.

Now it's evening and I've had a few rum and crans and I've calmed down from my commute from Hell. One of the nice things about drinking rum is that it turns mundane tasks (such as paper shredding) into a fun little game. Note to self: Watch your fingers while shreddin' up a storm. And this is how I spent my Wednesday evening.

Still Life

2007-06-02T23:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I made my directorial debut on a 20 minute, indie, short film. The film is based on a one act play from a local play write and the story is about a brooding painter on the verge of success who hires a nude, female model to pose for him. During the session, the two come to realize they actually knew each other as kids in grade school and they both witnessed the death of the girl's Grandfather several years ago. They each had crushes on each other and now they coincidentally reunite and a budding romance emerges between the two.

I haven't been on a real film set in about 10 years and it felt great to finally be back in the director's helm again. We shot the film in a really cool artist space in Ballard and we were very lucky to have the space donated by local artist Virginia Howlett (click on the link to take a 360 degree view around the space by using your mouse)

The day started at 8am and we shot all day and finally wrapped on time at 8pm. I can't even begin to describe how sore my legs are from standing all day and I really need to get some sleep because we're finishing filming tomorrow but I'm still so excited from the shoot today that I can't quite fall asleep.

I will be posting some of the production stills shortly when I get them from the on-set photog. Now we begin the fun and challenging task of post production. I can't wait to finish this bad boy and then the plan is to submit it to several short film fests.

bottoms up

2007-05-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

I've had a pretty nasty cough the last few weeks and when I realized it wasn't going away by itself, I decided to make an appt. to get it checked out. My main reason for delaying the visit was because I was waiting for my new health insurance to kick in with my temp gig. Of course my regular doc didn't accept my new insurance so I had to scout around for a new one which is a hassle because I've had the same guy for a few years and I didn't really want to switch to someone new. I found a Sports Medicine doc, which is a bit odd but he's also a general M.D. He is also one of the official docs that gives physicals to all new Mariners players when they join the team. He had a couple of signed jerseys and quite a few pictures of various players from over the years hanging in the office. For a moment, I thought that was really cool until I remembered that I don't really give a crap about baseball and think that it's a rather boring sport. The Dr. was very nice and professional but I couldn't stop fixating on the fact that he was a middle-aged man that still parted his hair right down the middle. I kept thinking that I bet this guy has had the same hairstyle since high school and he just never let go of it.

It turns out that I have a sinus infection with a side dish of bronchitis. The total for the meds was $130 plus $30 for the co-pay which seemed a bit steep to me. Damn, how do old people pay for their meds? Maybe I could start a charter bus service to transport retirees over the border to Canada to go on med runs. (I'm not talking about the green meds that you smoke either)

I'm sure everyone remembers the repugnant "cherry" flavored cough syrup as a kid and this shit still exists and it's as nasty as ever! I took a big slug of it this morning and my gag reflex kicked in immediately. Even after chasing it with cold water, the nasty taste lingered in my mouth for several seconds. Not a good way to start the morning....

ban on white kids with dreadz

2007-05-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

What's the deal with white kids that have dreadlocks? OK, so they like to smoke the reef (God knows I do) and deep down inside they feel a deep kinship with Bob Marley. Yeah I get it, but you're not a Rastafarian and you probably grew up in the suburbs so enough already. Is this some sort of fashion statement? I've seen 4 white people with dreads within the last week and it takes all my energy to not wring their pseudo, hippy-ass vegan necks. I almost have more respect for fake gangster kids that think they grew up in East LA when in fact they probably grew up in Renton (no offense Daisy Mae) I'm going to start and carry around some damn electric clippers, so beware!

pissed off turtle

2007-05-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Youtube is filled with tons of worthless videos of ridiculously cute pets but this vid is the exception. I just had to share this really silly video of a pissed off turtle battling a house cat. I've never seen a turtle this active or ready to rumble. Enjoy.

Chocolate Love

2007-05-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

Sometime between 8pm Monday night and 8am Tuesday morn, my celly disappeared into some unknown vortex. I wasn't even drunk that night and I was sure that it was either in my car or at home but the damn little thing never appeared and I called it a loss after searching for a couple of days. Luckily I purchased the optional insurance which I highly recommend and it only cost me 50 bones to get a replacement sent Next Day. I guess that's a reasonable price vs. having to fork over $300 for a new unit.

For the record, I'm not one of those annoying cell phone types that you hear yammering away on the bus or in a crowded restaurant and I rarely talk while driving (my biggest pet peeve) I have to say that I did miss my little buddy because it's my only phone and it's way too embarrassing having to make calls from a phone booth. Do phone booths even exist anymore?

So now I have the fun task of trying to get back all my lost phone numbers again. This time I'll be sure to back up every one's number. That'll learn me!

miss me?

2007-05-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

WOW, a month has passed since my last posting. Thanks DaisyMaeRobin for reminding (threatening) me to add a new post. I guess the majority of my energies have been focused on my new contract job at that mighty software co just outside of Seattle. I'm working in the HR dept and let me tell you that it's BABE HEAVEN! I don't know who's doing the hiring over in HR (I crack myself up) but they sure are doing a fine job. I should also mention that they're all super talented and work their hot, soccer-mommy asses off. The shitty part is the 45 minute to an hour commute each way but I manage to distract myself from the rising temperature gauge on my car by blasting really loud music.

My body clock is now back on day-job mode so I got up early on Sunday and grabbed a double-tall mocha with whip and a maple-nut scone at the Java Bean. My favorite alterna-barista girrrl with the nerd glasses was working and I tried not to stare too much at her while she made my drink. (OK-Creepo-Suave)

I decided to take a drive over to Golden Gardens and and went for a walk along the beach. What a great way to start the day and it was way too early before all the families invaded. I snapped some pics of these lovely trees near the beach.

The Long BLondes

2007-03-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

Each week I seem to become obsessed with a new indie pop song and this week's winner is the UK band, The Long Blondes. This band pic totally cracks me up and I love the guy with the tight, yellow pants-What a great look. Here's the song, Giddy Stratospheres from their full-length, debut album, Someone to Drive You Home. This is super catchy-ass music and it's sure to put you in a good mood.

The Can Can

2007-03-26T00:03:00.000-07:00

My pal Jo-Jo turned the big 35 and a bunch of her peeps celebrated by checking out the new Can Can Cabaret for an evening of "burlesque and comedy." The bar is located in the space that housed the now defunct Patti Summers Lounge. I'm not in the least bit sad to see Patti Summers go under because the drinks were overpriced and the bar service was terribly slow. The one thing it had going for it was the kitsch factor as Patti Summer and her husband ran the place (into the ground) for over 20 years. The interior of the Can Can has a theme of old Paris with rich colors and muted lighting. I was relieved that the new owners put some thought into the design vs. the drab, stark walls of the old P.S.

We had a couple of reserved tables in front of the stage and a packed house patiently waited for the "entertainment" to begin. I have to say that I was pretty disappointed in the "burlesque" show. I'm sorry, but two dudes and a completely clothed gal does not meet my definition of a quality burlesque show. It was basically two hours of these guys in face paint prancing around the stage and their cute female counterpart would occasionally dance with them. I should give the guys some credit because they did show some athletic ability by hanging upside from the rafters but that still didn't make up for the abundance of clothing.

In the past month, I have shot two burlesque shows at Chop Suey for a video project and that was quality burlesque. Four to five semi-nude, hipster chicks with tattoos shaking their arses is how I define this sacred art and I will accept nothing less!

So maybe we caught a bad night, but it really wasn't worth 10 bucks. I can't comment on the food because we didn't eat and the romantic lighting made it nearly impossible to read the menu. I would however recommend the place for an after work drink.

Is it Spring yet?

2007-03-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

Rejoice one and all, the first day of Spring is this week!!!! After living in Seattle for the past 10 years, I've come to expect very long periods of dark days and grey, overcast skies. Sure we all know it rains a lot here but this Winter has been particularly harsh with the wind and rain storms of biblical proportions.
Sometimes when I'm feeling like Mr. Sensitive Guy, I take pretty pictures so that women will think I'm in touch with my feelings. These are some photos that I took last Summer at the Ballard P-Patch. Remember Summer? So here's to a dry and sunny Spring. Lord knows we all deserve it.

Peter Bjorn and John

2007-03-11T00:56:00.000-08:00

This is one of the catchiest indie-pop songs that I've heard in a very long time. Say hello to the Swedish group, Peter Bjorn and John. They take the literal approach to band names and named the group after it's three members. My worst fear is that this song, Young Folks, will wind up in the next VW tv spot. (Why do ad agencies have to hire people with good taste in music?) To fully enjoy the experience, I suggest that you go jump in your Jetta for a long drive while rocking out on your Ipod.

pillow talk

2007-02-24T12:58:00.000-08:00

I'm not much of a decorator even though I've watched hundreds of hours of that damn HGTV. I seem to get a real perverse thrill watching other people slave over home improvement projects as I lounge on my couch on Saturday morning. I like modern design and clean lines and I'm a big fan of mid-century, lounge furniture. The look that I am trying to cultivate in my living room would be that of a Cocktail Lounge/Den of Depravity I seem to lean toward vinyl furniture which is perfect for cleaning up dinner time spills but it's not the most comfortable fabric to lounge on. In an attempt to soften the look, I found these two great, retro inspired pillows from West Elm and I just couldn't pass them up. The best part is they were 60% OFF and I sure do love a bargain. West Elm has some really good furniture at fairly reasonable prices and maybe someday, Seattle will get it's own store. My next big challenge is to fill up the stark white walls with some art and photos and then maybe I'll have a long overdue apartment warming party.

fun briefs

2007-02-18T20:06:00.000-08:00

Everyone enjoys fun undies, right? My good friend Jody got me these lovely, customized briefs for my birthday a few months back at B-Bam Custom Tees on Capital Hill. They'll screen print just about any damn thing you want on a tee, hoody, golf shirt etc. You get to play the Design Star and it's much more "indie" and unique vs walking around in some lame, mass-produced, faux vintage tee from Urban Outfitters.

I'm not planning on ever wearing the briefs because that somehow seems disrespectful and the letters would probably fade after several washings. Although it would be pretty damn funny to see the look on my future gal-pal's face as I whip off my pants to reveal the briefs with my name emblazoned on the ass. I think I'll frame them as a pseudo-art piece for my bedroom. I doubt that any other dudes have framed undies on their wall so I've got that going for me!

If it's broke, just give it a whack

2007-02-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

I'm so very happy that my digital camera is working again! It's been down since Christmas and I've been bummed and a bit jealous that I couldn't add any original pics to my posts. For some reason the lens wouldn't retract and I couldn't take any pics and Cannon told me that I could send it back with $100 and wait several weeks for a repair or I could upgrade for $150 and get a refurb of a newer model. Geez, I spent 400 smackers on this thing 2 years ago and I really didn't want to have to fork over any more cash. Today, I gave the lens a slight whack on a hard service and that did the trick! The lens is working and we're fully operational again. However I do feel kinda dumb for not trying this seemingly obvious solution earlier, but I'm not complaining.

My first order of business was to take a bunch of pics of the hundreds of peanut shells that are strewn all over my apartment bld to feed the local squirrel population. My downstairs neighbor is a semi-retired gent and a bit of a recluse and not at all friendly. Every time I see him outside, I always say hello but he never gives me the courtesy of a response.

I should also note that this is the same guy that sleeps with his bedroom window wide open in the middle of the winter. I believe this is because he also owns several indoor/outdoor cats. When I come home late at night, I can look directly down from my front door to see him in bed snoozing away. He always looks peaceful but it feels creepy to me that I can see this geezer in bed.

Every once in a while I can hear him raking the peanuts shells very early in the morning. He doesn't actually throw away the old shells, NO, he just makes some half-assed attempt at dispersing them slightly in the same 6' X 6' area of dirt. Maybe he's dreaming that all the shells will one day decompose.

Here's a link to the original post that tells the tale of the unwelcome peanuts along with some action photos.
Critter Food

ballard spanking

2007-02-11T12:14:00.000-08:00

Last night I was hanging out with my stoner buddy Andy G at the Sunset Tavern to check out the early grunge band Swallow. Swallow has been around since 1987 and they are one of Sub Pop's very early artists but they never quite rode the gravy train of money and hype. Andy G and I were in a festive mood and we were slightly baked and ready to enjoy some good garage, power-pop. As we were walking down Ballard Ave, we were approached by two very drunk, hipster chicks. They yelled that we needed to be spanked and we were more than happy to oblige. "Stick yer ASS out further, " she said to me and then proceeded to give me one Hell of a hard slap on my arse. It stung a bit but I kind of liked it. Normally I would have to pay good money for that kind of service, but last night I got it for free. Yee-haw!

creepy robotic pets

2007-02-04T11:32:00.000-08:00

It seems that Robo pets are all the rage in Japan now. I love this kitschy commercial for the robotic cat but I keep waiting for it to hurl a hair ball.

You can also buy your very own robotic baby seal, PARO. I guess it's supposed to be cute but it's annoying whining makes me want to club it's adorable little head. Don't hate me.

myspace milestone reached

2007-02-01T20:09:00.000-08:00

It's a slow day in blogland so I don't have much to offer aside from my, myspace page, titled Gerarific hit 1,000 page views this week. I've grown kind of bored with myspace but I have met some good film-maker contacts, but I mainly get friend requests from webcam girls or from other bootyliscious gals trying to promote their "website". They apparently see that I'm in my advanced 30's and single and that must equal desperate. I have met a few, cool single girls on myspace but I have to say that most women are immediately on the defensive when they get a myspace friend request from a dude because the majority of the requests come with pictures of the guy with his freakin shirt off.

Will Ferrell Skewers Bush

2007-01-27T12:54:00.000-08:00

I'm a huge fan of old skool SNL such as John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Gilda Radner and even Chevy Chase. They are the classic Saturday Night Live, "Not Ready for Prime-time Players." Let's face it that most of the other seasons over the years really sucked ass. Sure, they had some shining stars such as Chris Farley but I pretty much wrote the show off in the mid 80's when brat-packer, Anthony Michael Hall joined the cast. However, one of my favorite, SNL alums is Will Ferrell. I loved him in Zoolander and Old School. Here's a clip of Will doing Dubya's take on Global Warming from his ranch in Texas. It's quite brilliant!

Jetpacks Rule

2007-01-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

Am I the only one that think jetpacks kick ass? Maybe I watched one too many Buck Rogers episodes or saw too many James Bond movies as a kid, but I totally want one. When I was a kid, I always thought jetpacks would be apart of every day life in my adult hood. I just don't understand why we can't buy a consumer jet pack for everyday use. Imagine a world in which you could jet pack to work while passing over the congested traffic below. What a lovely view you would have of Mount Ranier as you blast to your destination. My dream of owning a jetpack is closer than you think. The wacky folks at Future Horizons will sell you the plans to build your very own jetpack of your dreams. In fact, they'll sell you plans to build your own Time Travel Machine, Lightsaber, UFO and other Sci-Fi toys. Here's a clip of "Rocket Man" as he demos a jetpack. This video sends shivers of delight down my spine.

Awesome Face Plant

2007-01-23T16:36:00.000-08:00

This poor woman takes a nose dive into mutha earth while doing a segment on grape crushing for the local news. Laughing at someone that has fallen in public is one of my most guilty, yet most satisfying pleasures. The best part is the freakish, other-worldly sounds that she emits when she hits the turf. I didn't really need to see someone crush grapes with their bare feet and this will make me think twice before I enjoy my next glass of vino. Enjoy!

dip shit hall of fame

2007-01-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

For the hell of it, I decided to search "binge drinking" on You Tube and I came across this vid of a kid that drank an ENTIRE BOTTLE OF VODKA in about two minutes. I'm amazed he didn't wind up in the ER to get his stomach pumped. Thank God I survived my twenties. I have a niece that is a sophomore in college and I pray to the big JC that she's not this stoopid.

richard simmons exploding steamer

2007-01-18T21:09:00.000-08:00

One of Dave's favorite guests, Richard Simmons, stops by the Late Show to peddle his new vegetable steamer. Richard gets particularly peeved when Dave interrupts his sales pitch and hilarity ensues. Is it just me, or do Richard's shorts seem to be getting shorter and shorter. Soon he'll be wearing nothing but a banana hammock. (That image could scar people for life)

nerdcore for life

2007-01-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

Last summer I was one of the camera people for the documentary, Nerdcore for Life. Nerdcore is hip-hop that is performed by geeks and computer nerds. They rap about computer games, programming and other dorky shit. Nerdcore is a small but growing niche in the ever expanding world of hip-hop. Several of the rappers in the film live here in the NW and one of the featured groups, Optimus Rhyme is frequently played on KEXP. The film's trailer has generated quite a bit of buzz on the web and hopefully the film's director, Dan Lamoureux will get it into several film festivals. Here's the trailer.

I heart Neko Case

2007-01-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

I'm not a huge fan of the alt country but I really love Neko Case. She's easy on the eyes and sings like an angel. Here's a clip of her performing, Hold On Hold On. Most alt country fans should be very familiar with her record label, Bloodshot Records. If you dig those bands then you should enjoy the documentary about the record label, "Bloodied but Unbowed! Bloodshot Records Life in the Trenches. "

My other annoying neighbor

2007-01-08T06:46:00.000-08:00

I would like to preface this post by apologizing for whining so much about my neighbors. I desperately need my beauty rest and if I don't get a good 12-15 hours of sleep every night, then I am a complete wreck. My other neighbor leaves for work every day at the Un-Godly hour of 6AM and I am woken up by his Jeep on Roids. I don't know what kinda bad-ass engine this guy is running but it's freakin LOUD as HELL. He has to warm er up for a good 10 minutes each morning and he's parked just a few feet from my bedroom window. If you ever catch me with unsightly bags under my eyes, then you'll know why.

Critter Food

2007-01-08T02:48:00.000-08:00

My apartment building has been over-run by those pesky rodents, commonly known as squirrels. Curious Fact: Did you know that Porcupines are also rodents because they have "gnawing teeth." My downstairs neighbor has taken it upon himself to leave a large pile of peanuts on a daily basis for the little rats. Peanuts everywhere. I find partially eaten peanut husks in front of my door. You can't walk down the stairs without crunching through dozens of half eaten shells. I have actually found a few peanuts INSIDE MY APARTMENT that had blown through my open, sliding door.