2009 Cigarettes! New Year's Eve!

Watch the trailer for 200 Cigarettes!!

Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard are engaged. NOOOOO!!!!!!

OMG I'm cringing and rolling my eyes, half smiling. The darlings of indie, engaged. Turns out over the Christmas break this one year old couple started down the road to tax breaks and once a month sex. You might know it as marriage. I used to be in LOVE with Ben Gibbard (32), I wanted to be the subject of one of his songs, a heartbreak one or a longing one, I didn't care. And if you read a couple blog posts down, you know I think Zooey Deschanel (28) is a weirdo lame-o with a good voice, cute face and the inability to act in any movie she's ever been in. This news break my heart....maybe it's a publicity stunt to save the waning indie scene and culture.....

Here's what Pitchfork had to say.... (Also, the picture Pitchfork used of Ben Gibbard for their article was taken by SD Local photog Natalie Kardos!!)
Cue the sound of thousands of blogger hearts breaking. USmagazine.com (via Rawkblog) reports that Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard and actress/She & Him singer Zooey Deschanel are engaged. Isn't that just the most indie-in-2008 thing ever? It almost seems a little too perfect, as if we made it up in some kind of fantasy indie rock love connection.

Emails to Death Cab's publicist and She & Him's publicist haven't been answered yet, but various other sources, including MTV.com and People.com, claim to have confirmed the engagement. Sorry, lonely dudes.

A Little Godly Math

This is pretty hilarious. Most religious people believe that the reason God created humans was because he was "bored" or wanted to hang with us. Wow, the Almighty experiences boredom and various other ridiculous human emotions? Odd.
Well, if that were the reason-boredom-he hasn't been all that entertained:

On a Bored God:

# 12-14 billion years ago god created the Universe
# 5 billion years ago he started with our Earth
# 3 million years ago he started with humankind
# 150,000 years ago he started with the current version of humankind
# 5,000 years ago he revealed himself to humankind (so they say)
# And for only 2,000 years he has been able to "enjoy" Christian people

On a timescale of the Universe (100 percent):

# the Earth has existed for 42 percent of the time
# Apeman existed since 0.025 percent of the time
# Humankind itself has existed for 0.00125 percent of the time
# The Christian faith has existed for 0.000042 percent of the time (rounded upwards)
# The time God has been able to enjoy Christian people is 0.000017 percent (rounded upwards).

Thus, god has, for 99,999982 percent of time (rounded downwards = 1,199,999,784,000 years), been bored, has done nothing. He has been waiting for us, only to leave us behind "alone" once again. Why? For eating an apple, that's why! I know time is nothing to God, but this is preposterous.

- Sogree, Tweakers Discussion Forum, Topic: Does god exist?, Translated from Dutch by Victor Gijsbers

Hal Turner Amero Video

This is about the ongoing debate about the Amero, the alleged coin that will be the currency of Canada, America, and Mexico when the American dollar is reduced to nothing. It makes a SHIT TON of sense if you know anything about the size of the American debt. I've read that Hal Turner is a neo-nazi White Supremacist. There are also news stories and other youtubes claiming to debunk these allegations. Never hurts to hear new information though. And for the most part, everything he is saying about the size of this countries debt and our near inability to pay it is true. Check it out, almost made me want to move all my money into a foreign bank. Until I realized. I really done haaaaaave any money....

Wal-Marts New Discount Wine

For all you wine lovers out there, this is noteworthy!!!!

Walmart announced that, sometime in 2009,it will begin offering customers a new discount item, Walmart's own brand of wine. The world's largest retail chain is teaming up with Ernest & Julio Gallo Winery of California to produce the spirits at an affordable price, in the $2 - $5 range.

Wine connoisseurs may not be inclined to put a bottle of Walmart brand into their shopping carts ,but "there is a market for inexpensive wine," said Kathy Micken, professor of marketing at the University of Arkansas. "But the right name is important." Customer surveys were conducted to determine the most attractive name for the Walmart wine brand.

The top surveyed names in order of popularity were:

10. Chateau Traileur Parc
9. White Trashfindel
8. Big Red Gulp
7. World Championship Riesling
6. NASCARbernet
5. Chef Boyardeaux
4. Peanut Noir
3. I Can't Believe it's not Vinegar
2. Grape Expectations
1. Nasti Spumante


The beauty of Walmart wine is that it can be served with either white meat (Possum) or red meat (Squirrel).

P.S. Don't bother writing back that this is a hoax.I know possum is not a white meat.

Barack Obama is Staying in my home town of Kailua

Ok, well to be honest I lived there for about five years and to a girl that moved every two years, that was a lifetime. You've all probably seen the pictures of President Elect 8 Minute Abs (If You Haven't). HOT. If this were Cosmo Mag I'd have to say: Those pics are YUMMY!!! But what I'm focusing on more is that he's stay in Kailua, the gorgeous beach town I went to high school in on the North East side of Oahu. It's complete paradise and I thank my lucky stars I walked out of a door facing rugged ancient volcanic mountains and crystal blue water daily. If you've decided not to bother visiting Hawaii because you live in San Diego and figure it's about the same, forget it. It isn't. Visit Hawaii and see for yourself!

Takk in Commercial for Prince of Persia

I know I'm late with this info but I don't have a TV, or at least if I'm watching TV it's on Hulu and there are little or no commercials. So sitting here in a Vegas hotel room I see this commercial for a video game (which I'm heavily against for all the usual reasons) and Takk is blasting away amid these creatures cutting each other up with samuri-esque machetes. Really? Ok, the jury is still out on bands selling their music to commercial entities. Hell they gotta make money too right? And they made the music, it IS theirs....and they get more exposure going main stream....but Band of Horses and Wal Mart? Sigur Ros and video games? Cat Power and De Beers? Hell again, I wouldn't work at Wal mart, play Prince of Persia or buy blood diamonds from De Beers. But would I for $600,000?? Wall dayam...maybe.....

Check out Great Restaurants at a Huge Discount!

You can also get the perfect gift for that person on your list you have no idea what to get. My friends have already used some of the discounts so it's totally legit! They have discounts in tons of cities so if you're traveling home score some to impress the family or your hometown friends! I got a coupon for Opaque, a restaurant in San Diego where everything is done completely in the dark!! Review to come!!

RESTAURANT.COM
Enter your zip code for local restaurants, look at the conditions at each place and buy away. Then when you check out, enter the code: GIVE and they give you 80% off. We got $25 gift certificates to the Pearl for $2!!!

NYE HOUSE PARTY

Don't overspend at a douch magnet downtown club, don't get dissapointed at a lackluster dive bar. Come house party, because no matter what, they are NEVER boring and you can bring your own booze stash!
More info San Diego House Parties

David Bowie Tribute Tonite at The Casbah

Best one in the city!! Only happens once a year on the birthday of David Bowie impersonator himself, Ziggy Shuffledust. One of my coworkers is a back up singer so we'll probably be out there throwing em back, join us!

Total Bummer: Probably no follow up to the lone Postal Service album...

I sensed they ( Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel) were over it. Just didn't want to believe it. If youre like me you adore the entire album all the way through. The things ends too soon if you ask me. Which is why a second album would have been incredible. More insane beats (listen to Dntels other stuff for more of that) gorgeous lyrics and vocals (More Death Cab and Rilo Kiley for that, the female voice is Jenny Lewis) and honestly just one of the best sounding albums of the last 10 Years. I remember getting Give Up from a friend my freshman year of college and listening to it exclusively for about 2-3 months making everyone I knew listen to it too. They played a show in LA and I didn't go because I couldn't find a ride, worst show mistake I've made in life. Sigh.....Here's what Pitchfork had to say;

From Pitchfork:
Some advice to all those going postal (sorry) while pining for a new Postal Service record: Give Up. Ben Gibbard laid out the cold hard truth in a recent interview with Rolling Stone's Rock & Roll Daily: "It's the record that never seems to want to come out. It's also just never been a priority...There never really was a plan to do a second album." Say it ain't so, bro!

Rumors of a sophomore offering from Gibbard and fellow Postal Servant Jimmy Tamborello have persisted since approximately 1912, but unless Ben's throwing us all for a loop here, the darn thing apparently doesn't even exist at this point. "The anticipation of the second record has been a far bigger deal for everybody except the two of us," he also said to Rock & Roll Daily. Rub it in why don't ya?

"I don't know about it being the indie-rock Chinese Democracy," Gibbard mused, "but now that Chinese Democracy has come out, I guess it just becomes the second Postal Service record that will never come out."

We do get one glimmer of hope, though: "We work from time to time together but we have other things that take up all of our time." Duuuude, what could possibly be more important than a new Postal Service record right now?

And what about Jimmy? Well, as he told Pitchfork in 2006, "I definitely want to do another [Postal Service record]." What's that they say about the road to hell again?

DCFC:

12-13 Tucson, AZ - Tucson Convention Center (KFMA's Unsilent Night)
12-14 Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre (KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas)
02-12 Nagoya, Japan - Club Quattro
02-14 Tokyo, Japan - Shinkiba Studio Coast
02-16 Osaka, Japan - Big Cat
03-07 Miami, FL - Bicentennial Park (Langerado Music Festival)

On This Day In History: Slavery is Abolished in America

Following its ratification by the requisite three-quarters of the states earlier in the month, the 13th Amendment is formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution, ensuring that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude... shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
Before the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and other leaders of the anti-slavery Republican Party sought not to abolish slavery but merely to stop its extension into new territories and states in the American West. This policy was unacceptable to most Southern politicians, who believed that the growth of free states would turn the U.S. power structure irrevocably against them. In November 1860, Lincoln's election as president signaled the secession of seven Southern states and the formation of the Confederate States of America. Shortly after his inauguration in 1861, the Civil War began. Four more Southern states joined the Confederacy, while four border slave states in the upper South remained in the Union.
Lincoln, though he privately detested slavery, responded cautiously to the call by abolitionists for emancipation of all American slaves after the outbreak of the Civil War. As the war dragged on, however, the Republican-dominated federal government began to realize the strategic advantages of emancipation: The liberation of slaves would weaken the Confederacy by depriving it of a major portion of its labor force, which would in turn strengthen the Union by producing an influx of manpower. With 11 Southern states seceded from the Union, there were few pro-slavery congressmen to stand in the way of such an action.
In 1862, Congress annulled the fugitive slave laws, prohibited slavery in the U.S. territories, and authorized Lincoln to employ freed slaves in the army. Following the major Union victory at the Battle of Antietam in September, Lincoln issued a warning of his intent to issue an emancipation proclamation for all states still in rebellion on New Year's Day.

That day--January 1, 1863--President Lincoln formally issued the Emancipation Proclamation, calling on the Union army to liberate all slaves in states still in rebellion as "an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity." These three million slaves were declared to be "then, thenceforward, and forever free." The proclamation exempted the border slave states that remained in the Union and all or parts of three Confederate states controlled by the Union army.
The Emancipation Proclamation transformed the Civil War from a war against secession into a war for "a new birth of freedom," as Lincoln stated in his Gettysburg Address in 1863. This ideological change discouraged the intervention of France or England on the Confederacy's behalf and enabled the Union to enlist the 180,000 African American soldiers and sailors who volunteered to fight between January 1, 1863, and the conclusion of the war.
As the Confederacy staggered toward defeat, Lincoln realized that the Emancipation Proclamation, a war measure, might have little constitutional authority once the war was over. The Republican Party subsequently introduced the 13th Amendment into Congress, and in April 1864 the necessary two-thirds of the overwhelmingly Republican Senate passed the amendment. However, the House of Representatives, featuring a higher proportion of Democrats, did not pass the amendment by a two-thirds majority until January 1865, three months before Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox.
On December 2, 1865, Alabama became the 27th state to ratify the 13th Amendment, thus giving it the requisite three-fourths majority of states' approval necessary to make it the law of the land. Alabama, a former Confederate state, was forced to ratify the amendment as a condition for re-admission into the Union. On December 18, the 13th Amendment was officially adopted into the Constitution--246 years after the first shipload of captive Africans landed at Jamestown, Virginia, and were bought as slaves.
Slavery's legacy and efforts to overcome it remained a central issue in U.S. politics for more than a century, particularly during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era and the African American civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s.

Don't Miss This Show!

The Walkmen and Beach House
Belly-Up Tavern, Friday December 19th
$22

That type of money might be hard to drop this time of year or this time of THIS year in particular. But its rare that I get excited about a show that's all the way up in Solana Beach.

A friend of mine introduced me to Beach House a few months ago when we were stoned in my basement at around 4 am. It's dreamy to say the least, but not in that overtly mushy gag-me now dreamy sort of fashion. Think tight melodies, interesting moody layers of pipe organs and a lead singer that brings to mind the softer side of Pat Benetar or the darker side of Fiona Apple.

The Walkmen always put on a great show and the Belly Up is a wonderful, perfectly-sized venue to see both of these bands.

Check out the video for Beach House's GILA below

No West Coast Stops on Moz Tour 2009!!!!!!!

The recent addition to the Lost Highway label ( think Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson) will be touring 2009 to promote his new album "Years of Refusal."

What ups with Morrissey only going as far as New Mexico?? WTF?!?! AND no Mexico, Central or South America shows?????

02-28 Boca Raton, FL - Mizner Park
03-01 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
03-03 Jacksonville, FL - Florida Theater
03-04 St Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing
03-06 Myrtle Beach SC - House of Blues
03-07 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
03-09 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
03-11 Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center
03-13 Richmond, VA - The National
03-14 Washington, DC - Warner Theater
03-16 Montclair, NJ - Wellmont Theater
03-17 Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Music Hall
03-19 Buffalo, NY - University of Buffalo Center for the Arts
03-21 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
03-22 Philadelphia, PA - Academy of Music
03-25 New York, NY - Webster Hall
03-26 New York, NY - Carnegie Hall
03-28 Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods
03-29 Boston, MA - House of Blues
03-31 Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theater
04-01 Columbus, OH - Palace Theater
04-03 Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
04-04 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
04-06 Minneapolis, MN - State Theater
04-07 Kansas City, MO - Midland Theater
04-08 St Louis, MO - Pageant Theater
04-10 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
04-11 Houston, TX - Jesse H Jones Hall
04-12 Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall
04-14 El Paso, TX - Chavez Theater
04-15 Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
04-28 Killarney, Ireland - INEC
04-29 Galway, Ireland - Leisureland
05-01 Omagh, Northern Ireland - Leisure Centre
05-02 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Waterfront
05-04 Stirling, Scotland - Albert Hall *
05-05 Dundee, Scotland - Caird Hall *
05-07 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands *
05-08 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands *
05-10 Liverpool, England - Empire *
05-11 London, England - Royal Albert Hall *
05-13 Great Yarmouth, England - Brittania Pier *
05-16 Cambridge, England - Corn Exchange *
05-19 Hull, England - Hull Arena *
05-20 Hartlepool, England - Borough Hall *
05-22 Manchester, England - Apollo *
05-23 Manchester, England - Apollo *
05-25 Salisbury, England - City Hall *
05-26 London, England - Troxy Ballroom *
05-28 London, England - Brixton Academy *
05-29 London, England - Brixton Academy *
05-30 London, England - Brixton Academy *
06-02 Paris, France - Grand Rex
06-03 Lille, France - Aeronef
06-05 Luxembourg - Rockhal Club
06-06 Rotterdam, Holland - Watt
06-08 Antwerp, Belgium - Elizabeth Hall
06-09 Offenbach, Germany - Capitol
06-11 Cologne, Germany - Palladium
06-12 Berlin, Germany - Columbiahalle
06-14 Bremen, Germany - Pier 2
06-20 Oslo, Norway - Senstrumscene
06-24 Stockholm, Sweden - Hovet
06-30 St. Petersburg, Russia - Maneshe
07-01 Moscow, Russia - B1 Club

Bronx Pizza FAQ's- Funny Stuff

I would never go into Bronx Pizza in Hillcrest high, way to stressful. You gotta know what you want pretty much the minute you roll in, which sucks because they have all sorts of delicious pizzas to look over and come to a decision on. It's a NY pizza joint and the dudes there still operate as if I took the 6 from Manhattan just to get a slice of their delicious goods. I ordered two pies last night for the girls and we were in heaven (we called in the order, picked it up, THEN got irie). We laughed over the frequently asked questions as we were looking up the website to the place. We had the Whitestone with pesto and the pepperoni pizza. They have delicious super thin pizza with fresh, incredibly flavorful ingredients, and a crunchy end crust. The pizza's were enormous and reasonably priced. They don't deliver but well, you can read what they DO do, below.

BRONX PIZZA FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who's from New York?
Matt, Anthony, Peter, Nick and Dennis are from New York. Smity's from Pittsburgh. Everyone else is from different places. We love it when people come in asking who's from the Bronx. We can't wait to hear your story about what neighborhood you're from.

Is this really New York pizza?
Not going to respond to that. Taste it!

What size pizzas do you have?
One size- 18 inch thin crust. If ya can't eat the whole thing, we sell it by the slice.

How much are the slices?
Cheese slices are 2.00. All the others with toppings are 2.50 (tax included). We charge 50 cents for extra toppings on slices that are already available, but please be considerate and limit requests for custom-order slices when the line is running down the sidewalk.

What kind of calzones do you have?
They come with mozzarella, ricotta & parmesan cheese. You name a filling and we'll put it in for you. 50 cents each until we run outta room.

Do you make Sicilian?
Hell no! It is enough work keeping the place going without having to deal with the hellish process of making Sicilian pizza. No wonder those Sicilians are all nuts.

Do you guys serve beer?
We have root beer.

Do you accept debit or credit cards?
No. We take cash and business checks with proper identification.

Do you deliver?
We will deliver it to the counter for ya. That's a NO! If we delivered, we would not be able to give our in-store customers the best possible service. Besides, our customers know where to come for the BEST pizza.

Is that feta cheese on the pizza?
No. And it isn't goat cheese either. It's ricotta cheese. You see, this is not a Greek joint with Greek dancing, and our goat died after he ran into the middle of Washington Street to avoid getting milked.

Is that pizza fresh?
Do you really think we'd sell you pizza we made yesterday? We make so many pizzas in one day that there are times when we can't keep the slice case full. Sometimes we put a pie in there and as quick as an ambulance goes by, the whole pizza is gone.

Who's the boxing fan?
That's Matt, the thin guy with light brown hair and plenty of tattoos. He acquired them (the pictures & tattoos) over the years and was actually a fighter long ago.

Can I park over at the laundromat?
You can only park there for the 30 seconds it takes the tow truck driver to hook up your car. Seriously, AVOID THIS LOT AND THE LOT BEHIND THE SHOP!

How long will it take for my pizza?
It usually takes 10-20 minutes. We are very busy on certain nights and getting more crowded; although, we've managed to stay in that time frame for the most part. Best to call it in! Sometimes we have one in the oven before you order it. That's the "Psychic Friends Pizza" a 2-5 minute wait.

Who designed your website?
Former employee Daniel Martinez. Daniel has no personality.

On This Day in History: U.S. approves end to internment of Japanese Americans

During World War II, U.S. Major General Henry C. Pratt issues Public Proclamation No. 21, declaring that, effective January 2, 1945, Japanese American "evacuees" from the West Coast could return to their homes.
On February 19, 1942, 10 weeks after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the removal of any or all people from military areas "as deemed necessary or desirable." The military in turn defined the entire West Coast, home to the majority of Americans of Japanese ancestry or citizenship, as a military area. By June, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to remote internment camps built by the U.S. military in scattered locations around the country. For the next two and a half years, many of these Japanese Americans endured extremely difficult living conditions and poor treatment by their military guards.
During the course of World War II, 10 Americans were convicted of spying for Japan, but not one of them was of Japanese ancestry. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill to recompense each surviving internee with a tax-free check for $20,000 and an apology from the U.S. government.

Child named Adolph Hilter Dosen't Get to Have His Cake and Eat it Too

EASTON, Pa. (WABC) -- Three-year-old Adolph Hitler Campbell is cute, cuddly and, for now, blissfully unaware of the shock value conveyed by his first and middle names. That may be changing, though.

The youngster was at the center of a recent dispute between his parents and a local supermarket that refused to spell out his name on a cake for his birthday party last weekend. A story in a local newspaper prompted an outpouring of angry online responses directed at Heath Campbell, 35, and his wife Deborah, 25.

"I think people need to take their heads out of the cloud they've been in and start focusing on the future and not on the past," Heath Campbell said Tuesday in an interview conducted on the other side of the Delaware River from where the family lives in Hunterdon County, N.J.

"There's a new president and he says it's time for a change; well, then it's time for a change," he continued. "They need to accept a name. A name's a name. The kid isn't going to grow up and do what (Hitler) did."


Read The Rest
Story Highlights:

-The Campbells' other two children also have unusual names: JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell turns 2 in a few months and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell will be 1 in April.
-They wanted a swastika on the cake too
-On Tuesday the father wore a pair of black boots he said were worn by a German soldier during World War II.
-Wal Mart finally made the infamous cake (of course, ANYTHING to make a buck)
-There were 12 kids at the birthday party. They were of mixed races.

Christmas Gift Shopping: Station Boutique

Located at 414 W. Cedar St. Station Boutique is doing things a little different. It's recession time and you have to go above and beyond to get people through your doors. From 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18 they will be offering free white Russians and crumpets plus a live DJ and 20-percent off everything in the store. NICE!! Geez, I ALWAYS want a cocktail when I'm shopping, take the edge off...Dress like a Russian and get mad props.

El Dorado Bar, a new downtown place to drink

I'm a bit sore I never went to legendary Hong Kong before it was turned into new downtown watering hole El Dorado. The stories I heard were as good as it gets for crusty bars. But this rustic meets modern bar (Think maybe Tractor Tavern?)is no Chee-Chee's. It's been open for weeks now and as a Bankers Hill girls with very few options in the Downtown/East Village/Cortez Hills area I'll at least give it a try once!

El Dorado Bar

On This Day In History: The First Airplane Flies

Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft. Orville piloted the gasoline-powered, propeller-driven biplane, which stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its inaugural flight.
Orville and Wilbur Wright grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and developed an interest in aviation after learning of the glider flights of the German engineer Otto Lilienthal in the 1890s. Unlike their older brothers, Orville and Wilbur did not attend college, but they possessed extraordinary technical ability and a sophisticated approach to solving problems in mechanical design. They built printing presses and in 1892 opened a bicycle sales and repair shop. Soon, they were building their own bicycles, and this experience, combined with profits from their various businesses, allowed them to pursue actively their dream of building the world's first airplane.

Read The Rest at History.com

Shoes Thrown at Bush Revealed to Have Message on Bottoms

Lee Camp at 236

I like how the bottom of these shoes make it appear the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush was wearing checkered Vans or something....

According to City-Data the 92101 is One Huge White Dude Sausage Fest

Males: 19,032 (69.2%)
Females: 8,462 (30.8%)

Read more stats at City-Data.com

Funny Backwards Ad's From the 30's

Times sure have changed! Wonder what ad's future generations will laugh at that we have now? Probably all the prescription drug medicines that are killing people left and right....

Pitchfork Reader Poll Results Are In

The Best Tracks of 2008 (100-51)

Coming Soon:

T: The Best Tracks of 2008 (50-1)
W: The Best Albums of 2008 (honorable mention)
Th: The Best Albums of 2008 (50-26)
F: The Best Albums of 2008 (25-1)

News will be posted as needed during our holiday break. Normal updates will resume January 5.

Click here to enter Pitchfork Media

ALSO:
Pitchfork Readers Poll Results
The Year in News
Best of Pitchfork.tv: Performances
Best of Pitchfork.tv: Features
Top Videos of 2008
The Worst Album Covers of 2008
The Year in Photos
Guest List: Best of 2008
The Year in Culture

Missed Connection: Have you been there?

Drunk girl at AT&T store saturday morning - m4w (Point Loma)

Reply to: pers-958372471@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-12-15, 12:54AM PST


You were there with your friend who lost her phone and you were still kinda drunk from the night before, which you don't remember. You went back later the same day and I meant to talk to you again. Anyway, if you happen to check this, hit me up.


Location: Point Loma
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

________________________________________________________________
Drunk on Saturday Morning trying to run errands with your friend? It's the holiday season, if you haven't woke up drunk or hungover lately, you either don't have a job (no Work Holiday Party) or you don't have friends (No Ugly Sweater Parties).

Yeeeeeess: Iraqi Journlaist Hurls Shows at Prez Bush

The reporter's arrest has drawn angry protests in Baghdad's Sadr City as the TV station he works for is also urging for his release. In Iraqi custom throwing a show or facing the bottom of your shoe toward someone is an insult. RIGHT ON. If I could throw all my shoes at P. Bush I toats would.

Betty Page Dies at 85

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Legendary pinup queen Bettie Page died of pneumonia at the age of 85 in a Los Angeles, California, hospital Thursday, a week after suffering a heart attack, according to her agent.
She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality," said agent Mark Roesler in a written statement. "She is the embodiment of beauty."

Page, said to be one of the most photographed people of the past century, became a recluse in recent decades. Yet, her images continued to be used around the world to market Bettie Page action figures, clothing lines and other merchandise.

The Web site, BettiePage.com, logs about 20 million hits a month, Roesler said. A TVGuide.com poll recently placed Bettie Page as the "ultimate sex goddess," outscoring others such as Marilyn Monroe.

Page was born to a poor family in Tennessee on April 22, 1923. While her birth certificate spelled her name "Betty," she changed the spelling later in life to "Bettie."

At a time when few women pursued a college education, Page earned a bachelor of arts degree in education from Peabody College in Tennessee in 1944, according to her official biography.

Her teaching career, however, was hampered by her looks, she said.

"I couldn't control my students, especially the boys," she is quoted as saying.

After her modeling career ended, Page returned to Peabody College to work on a master's degree, the bio said. Her southern drawl and a refusal to sleep with a Hollywood producer hampered her acting career, according to her bio.

"I didn't like his looks," Page said. "I wouldn't have gone to bed with him anyway. He was a creep. He drove off in his big car and scolded me, 'You'll be sorry.' I wasn't."

Page said she regretted not accepting studio boss Jack Warner's offer of another screen-test, but it came while she was trying to save her marriage to her first husband, Billy Neal.

Her modeling breakthrough began after she divorced Neal in 1947 when she met a police officer whose hobby was photography. He suggested the black bangs, which became her trademark, her bio said. Not long after, her images were everywhere, gracing magazine covers and locker pin-ups.

Page wore nothing but a Santa hat in Playboy's January 1955 centerfold. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said her appearance in his magazine's first year was a milestone.

"She became, in time, an American icon, her winning smile and effervescent personality apparent in every pose," Hefner said.

"A kinky connection was added by Irving Klaw's spanking, fetish and bondage photos, which became part of the Bettie Page mystique," Hefner said. "They were playful parodies that are now perceived as the early inspiration for Madonna's excursions into the realm of sexual perversion."

Perhaps the most memorable photos of Page were her bondage poses, which she said were all pretend.

"I never understood how anyone believed those poses were sexy," she later said. "To be tied up? I don't get it."

"She was a remarkable woman, truly someone that changed the social norms, not only here in this country, but also around the world," Roesler said. "While Jackie Robinson was changing the racial attitudes, Bettie Page was changing our attitudes on sex. She became a James Dean type of 'rebel' figure as she allowed people to be less inhibited and look at sex in a different way."

Saucy photos of Paige in skimpy clothing or none at all helped to lead the way for the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

Page suddenly disappeared from the scene in 1958. It was only decades later revealed that she re-emerged to explain that she underwent a religious conversion and moved to Florida.

Her life took a dark turn starting in 1978 after her third marriage failed, Roesler said.

Page went through "some mental instability, violent mood swings, and serious trouble with the law" and was eventually diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, according to her bio.

Page reappeared in public in December 2003 for Playboy's 50th anniversary party, where she made a grand entrance with Anna Nicole Smith.

It was the only time in the past 50 years that Page allowed her photograph to be taken, Roesler said.

A private funeral service is planned for Tuesday. Page will buried at Westwood Cemetery in Los Angeles, just a few feet away from Monroe.

Actor Cuts Throat on Stage in Knife Mix-Up

Time-World Magazine
By Adams Smith
Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008
Try this for an Agatha Christie plotline: performing on stage inside Vienna's Burgtheater, one of Europe's oldest and grandest, an actor takes a knife to his throat in his character's desperate attempt at suicide. As audience applause fills the opulent theater, blood pours from the actor's neck. But something's not right. Buckling and staggering his way off stage, the actor collapses to the floor. That's because the knife, and the harm that it's done, are both tragically real.

Unfortunately for Daniel Hoevels, a 30-year-old actor from Hamburg, those pages from a murder-mystery came to life last Saturday night during a performance at the Burgtheater of Mary Stuart, Friedrich Schiller's play about the wretched life of Mary Queen of Scots. Rushed to the nearby Lorenz Bohler hospital having sliced through skin and fat tissue but thankfully not his main artery, Hoevels was fortunate to survive. "Just a little deeper," said Wolfgang Lenz, a doctor who treated him, "and he would have been drowning in his own blood."

Read The Rest at Time World

Huge Vintage Sale, Great For Gifts!

On This Day in History: Frank Sinatra is Born

Singer and actor Frank Sinatra is born in Hoboken, New Jersey. The son of an Italian fireman, Sinatra formed a singing quartet in his teens. The group won a popular radio talent show in 1935 and began touring small nightclubs. In 1940, Sinatra joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and began topping the charts.
Sinatra soon became a popular screen actor, but after his vocal chords suffered damage in 1952 his career took a drastic downturn. His talent agency dropped him, and he had to plead for roles. For the paltry sum of $8,000, he agreed to play a supporting role in From Here to Eternity (1953)-for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He went on to receive an Oscar nomination for The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), for his portrayal of a drug addict. His career gained steam as he aged--his voice recovered and his songs became more popular than ever. His first marriage, to Nancy Barbato, produced three children, Nancy, Christina, and Frank Sinatra, Jr. He was later married to Ava Gardner, Mia Farrow, and Barbara Marx, widow of one of the Marx brothers. Sinatra died in 1998.

Missed Connection: How Cute-ish

United flight 395 from Chicago to San Diego- Seat 31B - m4w (bankers hill)

Reply to: pers-954859407@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-12-12, 1:43AM PST


we fell asleep holding hands. you were a cute young blonde on the way back from germany, with tattoo's- one of an old bf's name. i was a sleepy blonde in a blue sweater. im kicking myself for not asking for your number. email?


Location: bankers hill
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 954859407

Sezio vs. Adapta Tonite at Cream, last one!!

In my opinion tonight is the most stacked of the three. I must admit, I haven't seen Wes's work but he is both hilarious and top notch. Jorge does gorgeous whimsical work, I checked out some of his stuff at the Reinventing The Wheel Art Show in Barrio Logan. And then you got Joel P West , great catchy pop folk songs with good lyrics. Check out Sezio

3 Day Antique Sale in Little Italy, Great Holiday Gifts Await

ANTIQUES ON KETTNER

Located in the Heart of Little Italy Antique District

For three days only, this Friday, Saturday & Sunday, December 12, 13 & 14, Antiques On Kettner is offering an additional 10% discount on our already discounted Holiday Sale prices. Entire stock is included. All of our dealers carried over or increased their November Anniversary Sale discounts. The extra 10% makes for real bargains.


Address: 2400 Kettner Blvd, Suite 106 San Diego, 92101 Phone: (619) 234-3332 Hours: 10:00AM – 6:00PM (closed Tuesdays)

The Nirvana Baby All Grown Up

From CNN:
"Spencer Elden, the underwater infant pursuing a dollar bill on the cover of 1991's "Nevermind" is doing swimmingly these days, having graduated a year early from a Los Angeles-area high school.

Being the "Nirvana baby" -- as Elden calls himself -- has been profitable.

Now 17, Elden says he was paid $1,000 to re-enact the famous pool pose for photographers. Compare that to the original shoot which paid $200.

Stuff happens like random cool situations where I get paid $500 just to go hang out," Elden said. "People just call me up and they're like, 'Hey you're the Nirvana baby, right? Well just come and swim in my pool and we'll give you some money."

NOTE: Lucky Bastard. Although I bet the people who call him are like lame asses from Big Brother 2 and other kooks who throw a party where the biggest incentive to come is the Nirvana Baby is going to be swimming in the same pool as you. Actually. That sounds sorta cool....wonder if he does house parties....

Kiehl's Original Musk Blend No. 1

A very classy slightly older women came in my office today wearing this. It was musky, powdery and floral all at the same time. She said it was all the rave in the 60's and continues to be popular today. Picking out perfumes can be rough but when you find the scent you love you can wear it for years!




Perfume Know How

Eau de Parfum(EDP)
contains about 7-15% perfume concentrates. This is the most popular and common form of perfume. It provides a long-lasting fragrance and generally doesn't cost as much as extract perfume.

Eau de Toilette(EDT)
has around 1-6% perfume concentrates. This makes for a light scent that doesn't linger as long as the more intense versions. It was originally intended to be a refreshing body splash to help people wake up in the morning.


Eau de Cologne (EDC)
is sometimes used interchangeably with the term eau de toilette. However, the concoction began as the name of a light; fresh fragrance mixed with citrus oils and was made popular by Napoleon. Some perfumers today have a version of this called Eau Fraiche.

Fragrance Groupings
The basic breakdown of a womens perfume is in the type of scent that is the basic ingredient. There are different smells that a perfume is created from and that will be an asset or detriment to the wearer.
Floral
Oriental
Woody
Fresh
Fougere
The oils on your body can change the way certain scents smell on you so try them out!

Tip
The coffee beans at Sephora and other fragarance stores are to clear your nose palate, sniff the cup to refresh your senses are a long sniffing sesh.