Wednesday, November 26, 2008

On This Day in History: Alice in Wonderland manuscript is sent as a Christmas present




On this day in 1862, Oxford mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson sends a handwritten manuscript called Alice's Adventures Under Ground to 10-year-old Alice Liddell.
The 30-year-old Dodgson, better known by his nom de plume Lewis Carroll, made up the story one day on a picnic with young Alice and her two sisters, the children of one of Dodgson's colleagues. Dodgson, the son of a country parson, had been brilliant at both mathematics and wordplay since childhood, when he enjoyed making up games. However, he suffered from a severe stammer, except when he spoke with children. He had many young friends who enjoyed his fantastic stories: The Liddell children thought his tale of a girl who falls down a rabbit hole was one of his best efforts, and Alice insisted he write it down.
During a visit to the Liddells, English novelist Henry Kingsley happened to notice the manuscript. After reading it, he suggested to Mrs. Liddell that it be published. Dodgson published the book at his own expense, under the name Lewis Carroll, in 1865. The story is one of the earliest children's books written simply to amuse children, not to teach them. The book's sequel, Through the Looking Glass, was published in 1871. Dodgson's other works, including a poetry collection called Phantasmagoria and Other Poems, and another children's book, Sylvia and Bruno, did not gain the same enduring popularity as the Alice books. Dodgson died in 1898.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

WTF is up with the new Lil Wayne Cover??

Seven Dichotomies in a Bar

Minus5 Lounge







Probable douche baggery aside I thought this club looked sort of cool in its uniqueness. My family is taking a vacation to Las Vegas and I want to try something new. Basically the club stays a chilly 23 degrees (-5 celsius) and EVERYTHING is made of ice.


From The Minus 5 Website

Everything's made of ice!

Everything inside minus5 is made of ice; the walls, the bar, the sculptures, the seats and even the glasses that you enjoy our famous vodka-based cocktails in. Our focus at minus5 is the art of ice. We have our own ice carver who changes the lounge and sculptures every 6-8 weeks, continually re-inventing the experience. Sculptures can reflect the season, location, wildlife, or even corporate logos and products for private functions. The possibilities are endless.


The minus5 Experience…

The minus5 ice guides are specially trained to the highest level to ensure that your visit to the Ice Lounge is safe and thoroughly enjoyable. Once commencing the tour, guests are kitted out in Eskimo-like ice gear which includes insulated jackets, gloves and sheepskin-lined boots. Ready to brave the cold in sub-Antarctic conditions, guests move into two chambers for briefings before arriving into the Ice lounge. Once inside the lounge, visitors are greeted with an icy wonderland of intricately hand-crafted ice sculptures and furniture.

Guests can explore the ice lounge and relax on ice couches covered in deer skin, and sip on a wide range of vodka cocktails using only the world’s premium vodkas, served in our custom-designed glasses made from NZ artesian water (guests are limited to 3 cocktails in any half hour period). Guests remain inside for 30 minutes during which a photographer, skilled in the art of “capturing the moment,” roams the lounge. It is one thing to experience something so cool; however it is something else to showcase that experience to friends and family. Printed photos await guests as they complete their tour and guests are given the opportunity to purchase anything from a minus5 pen to an Eskimo hat.

AV Clubs Worst Band Names of 2007

This list is hilarious! I found out about it from reading the profile of local band, Da Bears who made the list! I've often thought of compiling a list like this just from the band names that play at Soma...I have a few of their categories listed here.
Check out the rest on the AV Club website!!

JUST PLAIN BAD
The Color Fred
Job For A Cowboy
Da Bears
From San Diego, home of Da Chargers.
Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band
Mental Afro
"FunkHopRock 4 the Soul"
Shout Out Out Out Out
Dyslexic Speedreaders
"What happens when 2 Hollywood rappers team up with a cracker from Oakland?" Don't ask.
The Asbestos Tampons
Among their MySpace friends: Tasty Twat Records
Malice In Wonderland
I Sank Molly Brown
Poetic Justice League 4 America
The Hobbits Of The Shire
Uprise Of The Dope Fiendz
Kidz In The Hall
Poets & Pornstars

ANIMALS
Pistol Whipping Party Penguins
SuperHeavyGoatAss
Baboon Torture Division
Their site proudly boasts that it ranks "1 for Baboon Torture Porn on Google."
Those Fucking Unicorns
Unicorn Dream Attack
Sex Rat
Penguins With Shotguns
Tigers Can Bite You
Abbreviation: TCBY.

ANATOMY
Butt Stomach
Their MySpace page looks like it was designed by Homer Simpson.
Electric Vagina
Never mind the goofy name. "Electric Vagina is committed to grassroots marketing and building a fan base one person at a time," vows their bio.
Ballcock Assembly

ABORTION
Gay Witch Abortion
Comanche Abortion
Related:
Gay Baby
Headline on MySpace blog: "GAY BABY BUYING A TITAN 1 MISSILE BASE TO SURVIVE THE COMING ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE."

Related:
Dance Me Pregnant
Let's French
Whore Du Jour
They apparently took their name from an Imperial Teen song.
Roger's Porn Collection

RAPE
The Rape Ape
Statutory Grape
Raperies (Like Draperies)
Their entirety of their bio: "I'm putting the pieces together. I'm starting to add the dialogue. The storyboard is starting to take shape. And this can't end well. It just can't."
PROPER NAME/TITLE COMBINATION'S
The House That Gloria Vanderbilt
Lists "Baby Jesus" as an influence, and says they sound like "a snapping pussy." Their bio boldly proclaims, "the faggot has risen......fighting for the power of the queef...help us harness the escape of air from vaginas around the world......join the cult.be somebody."
Neil Diamond Phillips
"Part Neil Diamond, Part Lou Diamond Phillips, 100% Rock!" Sadly, the band doesn't sound like Lou Diamond Phillips singing Neil Diamond songs.
Harmonica Lewinsky
Does it make it better or worse that they're a Scottish blues band?
Goodbye Girl Friday
Chevy Metal
From their bio: "Basically, the idea behind Chevy Metal is that they play rock songs from the 70's, DIRT ROCK, as they say. Music that a meth dealer from 1973 would have listened to."

What does shoes hanging on a telephone wire mean?



I heard it meant that drugs were available nearby or on the corner. Which would mean you can buy drugs on any corner in Golden Hill/Sherman Heights...I don't think it means that anymore though. Just like the kid wearing a back pack at a house party isn't neccesarily selling cheap yet questionable weed anymore. I think shoes hanging on a telephone wire now just means somebody got screwed over...Morely Field San Diego: Cool Shoe Tree or Drug Buying Wholesale Depot?

On This Day in History: Whitney Debuts at #1 With Exhale

This was the third Houston single to top the charts on the day of its release.
Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1963. A cousin of singer Dionne Warwick and the daughter of a gospel singer, Houston grew up singing in a church choir and landed professional management by the time she was 15. She made numerous live appearances and provided guest vocals for several recordings. She also developed a modeling and acting career, appearing on magazine covers and on sitcoms like Silver Spoons. In 1985, she released her first album, Whitney Houston, which yielded several hit singles, including "You Give Good Love" and "Saving All My Love for You." Her next album, Whitney (1987), scored seven consecutive No. 1 singles. Whitney was also the first album by a female artist to debut at the top of the charts. In the early '90s, she developed her acting career, with starring roles in The Bodyguard (1992) and Waiting to Exhale (1995).


My Epilogue:
Whitney Houston as of late has taken somewhat of a departure from the success she enjoyed in the 80's and 90's. Problems have been linked the influence of both drugs (crack, etc) and men (Bobby Brown etc.). Recentely she has split from Brown and been seen with Ray J, brother of 90's pop diva Brandi.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Gas is getting crazy cheap!!


The Imperial Avenue Thrifty in Barrio Logan is charging $1.85 for one gallon of regular unleaded right now!! My coffee this morning in OB cost more than that and I didn't get nearly a gallon. Makes you want to drive up to San Francisco or drive around and sing to one of your favorite albums. Nice to get a little break in such a rough economic time. Check out where gas is cheap in your area.

San Diego Gas Prices

Art Dose: Blu's "Muto"


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
Blu's Muto Website
Blu is a street artist from Argentina. He's taken graffiti to a whole new level, creating animations on walls and sidewalks. His latest is Muto which is both a technical tour de force and an eye-opening creepy animation. Not only did he work in the less than ideal environment of the sidewalk, but it meant that he couldn't have more than one frame in existence at a time, with no possibility of reworking old frames or sketching out new ones. Once the frame was shot, the work was destroyed. Amazing.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Friday, November 21, 2008

ShockHound's Free Snow Patrol Tickets Available Friday 11/21



Fresh from playing four shows in Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh and London in only two days to celebrate the release of their new album, A Hundred Million Suns, multi-platinum Scottish/Irish rock heroes Snow Patrol are packing up their gear and heading to the US to play a handful of pre-Christmas shows. The band will be playing three of their west coast dates as part of our special Shock Sessions series — and admission to these shows will be absolutely FREE.
Yep, you read it correctly. Tickets for Snow Patrol's December 9 show at Tempe, AZ's Clubhouse, December 10 show at the Hard Rock Las Vegas, and December 13 gig at the San Diego House of Blues are all priced at the recession-friendly cost of zero dollars and zero cents. Tickets for all three Shock Session shows (Tempe and San Diego are All Ages; Vegas is 21+ only) go up for grabs on Friday, November 21 at 10 AM PST, and YOU CAN GET YOUR FREE PAIR RIGHT HERE, y'all! Don't sleep on this one, because these babies are gonna go quick..

"Ooh Girl"--An Honest R&B Song

This is HILARIOUS. Pay attention to the sultry voiced comments of the background guy.

I choose Business Ethics....

Japan Airlines (JAL) CEO Haruka Nishimatsu is bad ass. He slashed his own pay and all his corporate perks in this crazy economic/high fuel cost back lash were going through. He makes $90,000 a year, less than his own pilots and way fucking less than some US CEO's making upwards of $100-200 million dollars a year. Check out this CNN report, this guy is really awesome and is running a business the way it should be run. American CEO's, take note.....


(Anybody catch the Billy Madison quote in the heading, haha....)

Urban Dictionary

We all know what a cougar is by now:
Cougar: A 35+ year old female who is on the "hunt" for a much younger, energetic, willing-to-do-anything male.

But did you know what a manther is?
Manther: the male form of a "cougar", man + panther= manther. An older man who frequents bars, lounges and clubs, never a genuine gentleman, ranging from ten to fifty years older than his victim. Usually carries an unusually fat wallet, wears too much cologne, and dresses younger than his age. May over-frequent the tanning beds and gym, have trendy/dyed facial hair such as a soul patch or goatee, may use the terms "baby", "sugar tits", or other female defamation when trying to pursue his prey. If balding, may never take off his ball cap in order to hide his aging hairline. Manthers always seem to evade the question of their age, previous or current marriages, children, and most things regarding their past (unless it has to do with thier old frat/college football days). Manthers prey on their younger victims in order to gain popularity amongst their fellow mathers, as well as for a sexual high. Some manthers are extremely good looking, stylish and somewhat gentlemanly. Others are old, drunk dirt balls with a lot of money and a feeling of self-entitlement.

Whats Up With the Google image today?

I see my Google Homepage as my uber scaled back NY Times.com. It keeps me up on the most important information about the day. The seasons changing, holidays both federal AND fun (Valentines etc.), even the commemoration of people like "Peanuts" illustrator Charles Shulz. I also like how they don't make designs for the lame made up holidays (Patriot Day??). So today I check out the home page and see:


I looked up the artist and here is what I found. Looks like today is the day artist René Magritte was born. Thanks for the tip Google!!
René François Ghislain Magritte (21 November 1898 - 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well-known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images.
René Magritte Wikipedia



Pitchfork: Smashing Pumpkins' Anniversary Tour Is a Shitshow

Poor setlist choices, awful-sounding music, and confounding sartorial decisions mixed with heavy doses of audience mockery: These are the reports we've been getting about the Smashing Pumpkins' "20th Anniversary Tour", and guesses at Billy Corgan's motivations can only confuse and infuriate.
Corgan lashed out at his band's fans once again at a recent Chicago gig, and this outburst comes with a YouTube video [via Stereogum].
mean, we get it, guy! You released a mediocre album and were disappointed when people thought it was mediocre.

But Billy, let's be clear: You say in that video, "Last I checked we were in an alternative band. 'Alternative' means 'different than what everyone else is doing,' including those reunion bands that go out and just play the old songs."
Incorrect! "Alternative" means nothing in 2008, and the fact that you don't seem to realize that probably has a lot to do with your confusion over people's disappointment when you don't just play your good songs instead of meandering off into formless noise jams. You can do your own thing all you want, but it's rude, to say the least, to begrudge people their expectations when they pay hundreds of dollars to see you. And you can mock "those reunion bands" all you want, but your insistence on ruining people's nostalgic fondness for your band instead of playing to it doesn't change the fact that you're cashing in, just like they are.

Personally, I don't buy that this intentional audience befuddling is some kind of pure pursuit of an artistic muse. It seems like the flailing around of an artist who has declined and is unwilling to face that truth even when his own fans proclaim it so by their reactions to his art.

While Stereogum's hypothesis that Corgan's antics could be "some Tony Clifton crowd-antagonizing performance art BS" is certainly interesting, I don't buy that either. The man has been too sincerely whiny and self-indulgent in the past for all of this to be one big joke.

So what do we take from this: Billy Corgan is crazy? We knew that. This "20th Anniversary Tour" might not live up to the expectations of longtime Pumpkins fans? We could have guessed that. Do we "give [them] another chance," as Corgan requested in a disingenuous apology to "those of you we've disappointed"?
It seems to me that Corgan himself suggested the best thing to do when he said, "It doesn't go anywhere from here. You might as well head to your cars."

Smashing Pumpkins:

11-21 Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre ("Black Sunshine")
11-22 Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre ("White Crosses")
11-24 Kansas City, MO - Midland Theater
11-25 Kansas City, MO - Midland Theater
11-26 St. Louis, MO - Fox Theatre
11-29 Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl
11-30 San Diego, CA - RIMAC Arena
12-02 Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre ("Black Sunshine")
12-03 Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre ("White Crosses")

Sadly, might be time to sell those tickets on Craigslist....

Thursday, November 20, 2008

You Don't (Want To) Mess With The Zohan


There aren't enough laughs in this movie for you to spend money in ANY way to see this. But if you are somewhere where this is the only movie within about 2-3 miles and it is free and you have a large sack of weed and a friend then check the board game stash and if you don't find any cool games watch this. This slap stick "comedy" was co-written by Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, and Robert Smigel. Not sure what went wrong...

On This Day in History: The Essex is Sunk By a Sperm Whale


The American whaler Essex, which hailed from Nantucket, Massachusetts, is attacked by an 80-ton sperm whale 2,000 miles from the western coast of South America.
The 238-ton Essex was in pursuit of sperm whales, specifically the precious oil and bone that could be derived from them, when an enraged bull whale rammed the ship twice and capsized the vessel. The 20 crew members escaped in three open boats, but only five of the men survived the harrowing 83-day journey to the coastal waters of South America, where they were picked up by other ships. Most of the crew resorted to cannibalism during the long journey, and at one point men on one of the long boats drew straws to determine which of the men would be shot in order to provide sustenance for the others. Three other men who had been left on a desolate Pacific island were saved later.
The first capture of a sperm whale by an American vessel was in 1711, marking the birth of an important American industry that commanded a fleet of more than 700 ships by the mid 18th century. Herman Melville's classic novel Moby Dick (1851) was inspired in part by the story of the Essex.

The "Feed The Pig" Pig is so Creepy


Have you seen the commercials from the AICPA's new money saving campaign to promote Financial Literacy to "Generation X-Y" (24-35 yr olds)??

CREEP FACTOR IS HIGH

I wouldn't get near that thing much less give it my hard earned money. The effort is A+ no one I know knows how to save. Americans aren't geared for it. We have student loans, credit card debt and we've been taught to consume and indulge since we were born. We need some direction but this is heading the wrong way. How ironic. A savings campaign being a waste of money. A creepy waste of money....

BUT saving money is important. Especially since none of us will have social security when we are old. So...siiiiigh, check out Feed The Pig Website

Sun Diego Warehouse Sale - 2 DAYS

For those of you still wearing surf, skate, snow gear.....


Sun Diego Corporate Headquarters
2105 Rutherford Road
Carlsbad, CA. 92008

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Comedy Store- La Jolla


We went here last Thursday, my friend got free tickets for four to The Comedy store in La Jolla and we were looking for something new to do. I adore stand up but somehow have only been to a stand up comedy show ONCE in San Francisco and it was 50% awesome (one great comic, one horrendous). We four girls hotboxed the car and strolled in, the door guy noted we smelled like herb and laughed. Sweet. We told the box office guy we had reservations and he didn't even check his list, he just stamped our wrists. Sweet again. Thing is, when you leave the Thursday night show, they give you four tickets to come back next Thursday to avoid the $8 cover charge that I'm thinking you can EASILY get away with not paying any sort of way. We were led to our table in a dark room and approached by a cocktail waitress.


The only real fee was the two drink minimum and I was already planning on having three (doubles...). I had a friend (DD) who ordered water and they didn't even care she wasn't drinking. It's really seemed like just a formality to keep bums out. The show started off with a HUGE bang. I think we saw around 12-15 comics doing 5-10 sets each. We laughed through the first 7 non-stop, both the weed and booze helping us to loosen up. It was a great time. Then we had like 2 or 3 duds in a row. Nothing is more awkward than getting your courtesy laugh to sound real in a quiet room with a stand up comic struggling on stage. But then more funny people hit the stage and it was back on. Yea, but then two more crappy ones were rounding out the night, by that time it was like, 11 PM and there were only 13 people in the room. It had been time to leave a while before we finally got up but we were boozy and we love to laugh. And the comic pleaded with us not to leave... haha, Shoot for $12 that was one of the most fun things I've done in SD in awhile. We hung out with the comics after and joked around and then drove back home. Cheap, fun, NEW, night that I am heading back to on Thursday for sure. Call the reservation number on the ticket above and get your free tickets, time to try something new!!

STORE CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS

As if we needed more reasons to "long sigh" over the crappy economy and increasingly tough times upon us. This is just insane though....

Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide. A company spokeswoman said the company hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will let the
stores that will close this fiscal year know over the next month.

Bombay Company: (Freehold Mall store closed) The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores. The company's online storefront has discontinued operations.

Women's retailer Cache announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores this year.

Circuit City - Initial statements suggest that 150 of Circuit City's 1484 stores in the US and Canada may be shut down. In addition to the closings, Circuit City may be liquidating up to $350 million in inventory, likely at fire sale pricing.

CompUSA (CLOSED) clarifies details on store closings. Any extended
warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a
third-party provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks, and
rebates purchased prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any time during the final sale. For those who have a gadget currently in for service with CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the gadget will be returned to owners. http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9834177-7html

Dillard's to close more stores. Dillard's Inc. said it will continue to
focus on closing under performing stores, reducing expenses and improving
its merchandise in 2008. At the company's annual shareholder meeting, CEO
William Dillard II said the company will close another six under performing
stores this year.

Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores. The Walt Disney
Company announced it acquired about 220 Disney Stores from subsidiaries of The Children's Place Retail Stores. The exact number of stores acquired will depend on negotiations with landlords. Those subsidiaries of Children's
Place filed for bankruptcy protection in late March. Walt Disney, in the
news release, said it has also obtained the right to close about 98 Disney
Stores in the U.S. The press release didn't list those stores.

Eddie Bauer to close more stores. Eddie Bauer has already closed 27 shops
in the first quarter and plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the
end of the year.

Ethan Allen Interiors: The company announced plans to close 12 of 300+ stores in an effort to cut costs.

Foot Locker to close 140 stores. In the company press release and during
its conference call with analysts today, it did not specify where the future
store closures - all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not
be immediately reached for comment

Gap Inc. closing 85 stores. In addition to its namesake chain, Gap also
owns Old Navy and Banana Republic . The company said the closures - all planned for fiscal 2008 - will be weighted toward the Gap brand.

Home Depot store closings. (E. Brunswick, Rt 18 just put up their closing
sign) ATLANTA - Nearly 7+ months after its chief executive said there were
no plans to cut the number of its core retail stores, The Home Depot Inc.
announced Thursday that it is shuttering 15 of them amid a slumping U.S.
economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees. It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. Its shares rose almost 5 percent. The Atlanta-based company said the under performing U.S. stores being closed represents less than 1 percent of its existing stores. They will be shuttered within the next two months.

J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are scaling back.

KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the United
States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. To see the list of store
closings, go to the KB Toys Information web site, and click on Press
Information.

Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide. The
owner of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug , Catherine's Plus Sizes will
close about 150 under performing stores this year. The company hasn't
provided a list of specific store closures and can't say when it will offer
that info, spokeswoman Brooke Perry said today.

Goodbye Levitz - closed already. The furniture retailer, which is
going out of business. Levitz first announced it was going out of business
and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to
1910 when Richard Levitz opened his first furniture store in Lebanon , PA.
In the 1960's, the warehouse/showroom concept brought Levitz to the
forefront of the furniture industry. The local Levitz closures will follow
the shutdown of Bombay (see above).

Gift retailer Lillian Vernon, based in Virginia Beach, Va., said it will evaluate whether to sell itself.

Linens 'n' Things - Earlier this week, Linens 'N Things backed out of restructuring plans that included some store closures and decided to shut its remaining 371 stores in 48 states.

Macy's - 9 stores

Mervyns - Mervyns, the 59-year-old department store chain based in Hayward, is closing up shop. The ailing retailer, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July and planned to close 26 stores, said Friday it now plans to liquidate its remaining 149 locations and shutter the business after the holiday season.
"We are disappointed with this outcome but the company's declining liquidity position and the extremely challenging retail environment, together with the fact that we have exhausted all other possibilities, requires that we take this action," said John Goodman, Mervyns' chief executive, in a statement.

Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit bankruptcy
The video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and
Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental
chain closed last fall.

Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores after a review of strategic
alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. Seventy-four under performing demo stores closed last May.

Pep Boys - 33 stores

Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and
announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer will still
operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores have performed
poorly and also may close.

Shoe Pavilion Inc.,

Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations. New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse
appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the thousands,
and will now officially be dropping the ax on 4,000 employees and 125 retail
locations. Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter
Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of its work force (following the 5
000 layoffs last year) and 8% of company-owned brick-and-mortar stores,
while remaining mute on other rumors that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansas . Sprint Nextel shares are down $2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.

Steve & Barry's Earlier this month, Steve & Barry's LLC, once a growing force in low-priced fashion, filed for Chapter 11. Steve & Barry's, which has 276 stores in 39 states, tossed itself into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest victim of a steep downturn in the retail sector and tighter credit markets. Mall owners have delayed reimbursing the discount fashion chain for store-opening expenses, further constricting its cash flow, the company said

Talbot's, J. Jill closing stores. About a month ago, Talbot's announced
that it will be shuttering all 78 of its kids and men's stores. Now the
company says it will close another 22 under performing stores.. The 22
stores will be a mix of Talbot's women's and J. Jill , another chain it owns
The closures will occur this fiscal year, according to a company press
release.

Wickes is going out of business. Wickes Furniture is going out of business
and closing all of its stores, Wickes, a 37-year-old retailer that targets
middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month. They
have already closed the Minnesota stores.

Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 stores.

Zales, Piercing Pagoda closing stores. The owner of Zales and Piercing
Pagoda previously said it plans to close 82 stores by July 31. Today, it
announced that it is closing another 23 under performing stores. The company said it's not providing a list of specific store closures. Of the 105
locations planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are stores.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

JIMMY EAT WORLD: CLARITY x 10 TOUR





10 SHOWS CELEBRATING 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1999 CLASSIC

Jimmy Eat World will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its classic Clarity by playing the album in its entirety for 10 one-time-only shows beginning February 23 in New York City and concluding March 7 in the band's native Arizona.

Tickets go onsale to the public Saturday @ 10am except where indicated otherwise

All times reflect local venue time


Feb 23 Terminal 5 New York NY
Public Onsale (Saturday @ Noon)

Feb 24 930 Club Washington DC
Public Onsale

Feb 25 Trocadero Theater Philadelphia PA
Public Onsale

Feb 26 House of Blues Boston MA
Ticketing Details Coming Soon

Feb 28 Metro Chicago IL
Public Onsale

Mar 2 Ogden Theatre Denver CO
Public Onsale

Mar 4 The Fillmore San Francisco CA
Public Onsale (Sunday @ 10am)

Mar 5 Club Nokia Los Angeles CA
Public Onsale

Mar 6 House of Blues San Diego CA
Public Onsale


Mar 7 Marquee Theatre Tempe AZ
Public Onsale

Reuben's Accomplice will support Feb. 23-Mar. 4. No Knife will support Mar. 5-7.

Check Out: The Soda Bar

The Soda Bar used to be Chaser's but last week they had their grand opening to, from what I've heard, positive reviews. It's worth a visit for sure. The sound and stage were redone and booths were added. Check it out Wednesday for their movie night featuring:

Misdirected Priorities


A child dies of hunger every six seconds, and hunger now kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

The Mormon Church Spent $22 Million to prevent gay Americans from being able to marry

In Darfur, 15 cents will feed a person for one whole day.

Can someone do the math for me here?

Read More About the World Hunger Crisis

Pretentious Musings: Pirates hijack 3 more ships in ‘unprecedented’ wave

(CNN) — Pirates hijacked two more ships off the East African coast
Tuesday, and a third was seized Saturday but not reported until Tuesday, a
monitoring agency said.The most recent hijackings underscore a dramatic increase in piracy that has alarmed national governments and shipping companies around the world. The number of pirate hijackings has increased from five in 2006 to 39 so far this
year.
“This is completely unprecedented,” said Michael Howlett, assistant
director of the International Maritime Bureau in London, which tracks pirate
attacks.
“We’ve never seen a situation like this.”
On Tuesday morning, pirates hijacked a Thai fishing vessel and a Chinese
cargo ship carrying wheat in the waters off the Horn of Africa.
A third ship — a Chinese fishing vessel — was hijacked Saturday, but
word did not reach authorities until Tuesday, Howlett said.
The number of ships hijacked off East Africa increased from five in 2006
to 12 last year. There have been 39 hijackings this year, including the three
that were reported Tuesday morning.
Pirates hold 17 vessels and 339 crew members hostage, he said. They have
held and released another 22 ships with 439 crew members, Howlett said.
That number includes the Saudi-owned oil tanker, the Sirius Star. Pirates
hijacked it and now hold its 25 crew members and cargo of millions of dollars
of oil.
“One ship gets released and another ship is hijacked the next day,”
Howlett said.

A.The number of pirate hijackings has increased from five in 2006 to 39 so far this
year: DAMN. Who is on this?!
B. “This is completely unprecedented,” said Michael Howlett, assistant
director of the International Maritime Bureau in London, which tracks pirate
attacks: Yea no shit it's unprecedented. Somebody fire this guy...
C.“We’ve never seen a situation like this.”: Again, no shit.
D. "Pirates hijacked it and now hold its 25 crew members and cargo of millions of dollars of oil: Sounds like a kinky party...or an episode of Lost.
E. “One ship gets released and another ship is hijacked the next day,”
Howlett said.: This guy still isn't fired??
F. Wait that whole "pirate problem" isn't solved? Didn't pirates used to be witty, cunning and sorta hot??

Loveable and hot pirates NOT to be confused with....

Yosemite Sam, The First Hipster



The first guy to wear skinny jeans, boots, mustard yellow, and scarfs.
Posers....

(This joke was adapted from VH1's Best Week Ever)

Funny-ish Short

A giggle to start your Tuesday off..

Monday, November 17, 2008

Tonight at The Casbah

Friday, November 14, 2008

Christians Get Laid, Have Babies Like Wildfire


I grew up in a quazi Christian household. Going to church on Sundays was second to watching my dad's USC Trojans play on TV and me and my siblings didn't put up a fight because there were always Dunkin Donuts offered after church. I do remember that not having sex before marriage was something that my youth groups and pastors drilled in our heads. "Sex will be horrible if it is not under the contract of marriage!!" " You will lose a large piece of yourself everytime you have premarital sex, until your wedding night when you offer yourself up as a tattered incomplete person." It was freaky. Promise rings (where you promise the world, who doesn't care and is having sex, that you won't have premarital sex) were handed from Dad to daughter in a reverse creepy "Oedipus complex" manner. Yet pretty much by my junior year of high school the majority of the youth group at our church was having sex, especially at the youth group summer camps. WTF?? Haven't been able to explain that one yet, but I'm working on it. I went to a Christian college and there were hoards of girls still clinging tightly to those promise rings, opting to not even KISS thier boyfriends until their wedding day. Except they would have ANAL sex because they didn't consider that to count as sex...WTF again!?!? That's like smoking crack instead of marijuana because you think it's a gateway drug. My friend Amanda put it the best way, sex isn't just one thing. It dosen't only make sense within marriage and become a castastrophe everywhere else. Take even LOVE for instance: You can love your best friends much differently than you love your siblings, parents, mentor, boss, boyfriend, that asshole you can't get over....and you can have passionate relationship sex, fun one night stand sex, freaky deaky sex, immature jackhammer sex , sultry R&B bumpin and grindin, and otherwordly tantric "Sting Style" sex. To say sex is only going to be good once you have said the magical vows and removed that promise ring is scary as hell. Imagine thinking your whole entire life that sex was BAD and wrong.


That having sexual desires and thoughts made you perverted and morally weak. Then you get married and it's all washed away and it's supposed to be this beautiful thing. In like an hour youre supposed to change your whole pyschological view of sex. I'm almost positive that first night marriage sex is not only awkward, scary and very uncomfortable, but it is hugely disappointing and confusing. Might even be one of the reasons why Christian marriages have a 70% failure rating as compared to 50% of other marriages. Oh and since Christians are busy teaching their kids to just NOT have sex, they don't teach them how to prevent unwanted pregnancies and the spread of STD's. Real smart. This is why the Christian church has seen HUGE surges of pregnant teenagers (aka Bristol Pallin being lauded as a modern time hero for starting the path toward unwed teenage mother land). We can't keep using these outdated teachings and farces that NO ONE can relate to and therefore doesn't listen to. Our world is dynamic, it changes, we progress and so should the way we go about educating and guiding our youth. My sister sent me a pretty interesting article from the New Yorker about all this. See Below...

From The New Yorker:
"The vast majority of white evangelical adolescents—seventy-four per cent—say that they believe in abstaining from sex before marriage. (Only half of mainline Protestants, and a quarter of Jews, say that they believe in abstinence.) Moreover, among the major religious groups, evangelical virgins are the least likely to anticipate that sex will be pleasurable, and the most likely to believe that having sex will cause their partners to lose respect for them. (Jews most often cite pleasure as a reason to have sex, and say that an unplanned pregnancy would be an embarrassment.) But, according to Add Health data, evangelical teen-agers are more sexually active than Mormons, mainline Protestants, and Jews. On average, white evangelical Protestants make their “sexual début”—to use the festive term of social-science researchers—shortly after turning sixteen"
THE NEW YORKER ARTICLE "RED SEX, BLUE SEX"