A Blog About Stuff I Like

23 - PIZZA

2009-01-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

If anyone read this blog - better yet, if I actively updated this blog and people read it, they would be delighted to learn of the best pizza place in the 7 cities. I went there, tonight. Its called "Pizza Box" and its located in Port Norfolk (Portsmouth VA). The address is;

Pizza Box
2616 Detroit St
Portsmouth, VA 23707
757-393-2688

They are open M-Sa until 10PM and are open for lunch on Saturdays.
It looks like this, but has a sign and the "closed" signs have been removed from the doors and windows. Its next to that fancy-smancy "Stove" place, which I have yet to try but have heard great things about.

View Larger Map
They have an intimidating amount of choices. I can vouch for the Spain pizza, which has black and green olives, prosciutto, and capers. I seriously can't say enough about this place!

Pros - best pizza within 200mi, vast menu, great staff, fun environment... I could go on

Cons - no highchairs, no fountain drinks, and its a bit on the small side (maybe 28 seats)

22-ANDREW AT THE BEACH (Preview)

2008-07-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

21 - Organizations That SHOULD Be Started

2008-07-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

Coalition AGAINST the Red Hat Society
These old bags must be stopped. Red and purple-clad party animals, loudly carrying on in public places. Think The Shriners, minus the nobility of a charitable cause, and without those cool Corvette go-karts. A demanding, self-righteous bunch, often closing down restaurants with their large numbers. Think First Wives Club X 100.

North Americans for the End of Ska-Punk
It was cool in the old days but now... come on. Everyone knows its "punk" for band geeks. Put down the brass and learn a real rock instrument, or better yet, stay home and stop trying to disguise your geekiness.

Humor Loving People AGAINST Jim Breuer
OK, This doesn't really need to happen since most of the world has forgotten about him anyway. Pot humor is way played out. The only way its funny still is when done in a new and innovative way. JB is not the one to bring about this change.

Just goes to show you, only Jim Breuer finds Jim Breuer funny.

That's it for now. Comment with your suggestions, not that anyone reads this.

20 - Before "emo" sucked

2008-07-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

1997 - the band was "Broken Hearts Are Blue".

Keep in mind in those days you didn't have to have some super clean production or a singer with a ProTool'd voice. Imperfections were embraced and sometimes what made a band unique.

"Emo" used to mean something. Before bands like panic at the disco made it indie rock for highschool wannabe thespians. Now I wouldnt be caught in public even saying the word. I will even play dumb if someone asks me if I have heard of it.

19 - Lessons Learned (pt 1)

2008-06-14T07:16:00.000-07:00

97% of humanity looks terrible with braided hair. Among the acceptable 3%, you will surely NOT find this hick that I saw wearing a Dale Earnhardt shirt. Here is a closeup I took without her permission at the beach one day.
Yes, this is an easy one because she was very ugly to begin with, but allow that to be further proof that not just anyone needs braids, as they very easily can turn the fairly ugly into the dreadfully ugly.

8TEEN - THE MOST IMPORTANT VIDEOS OF ALL TIME - RUSH EDITION

2008-05-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

Rush fans know a thing or two about feeling isolated.

SEVENTEEN - not the magazine

2008-05-23T05:14:00.000-07:00

Live music fans, you have come to the right place.
1. After nearly 20 years of listening, I still love this song.

2. Death Cab For Cutie - this is the first song I ever heard from them, because it's the first track on 2000's "We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes". It is probably still my favorite DCFC song.

3. Sam Beam (Iron & Wine)
This is one of the best songs ever. Please note the sniffles of the audience as the song progresses. Its really that good.

4. OK, cheer up.

5. Still down?

SIXTEEN - Almost Time To Go

2008-05-20T07:05:00.000-07:00

June 1st - Cruise to the Bahamas on Carnival's Victory. It will be a fun week. I work my last day at my current job on the 28th, then have a 4 day weekend, which concludes with the cruise.

Here are some highlights;

All you can eat sushi - please don't suck, and please don't only have California rolls.
Relaxation like I have not known since our last cruise a few years ago.
Sunday - Saturday
All you can eat everything
Beaches and stuff
Scenic stuff

While all those things are good, here is what I don't look forward to;

Not seeing Andrew for an entire week
People fatter than me that eat absurd amounts and gross me out
The Red Hat Ladies (they were on our last cruise)
Some MTV Spring Break-looking girl squirting me with a water canon, while her extra-muscular meathead boyfriend hoped I got mad so he could destroy me
Spring Breakers in general
Missing BSG. Oh my god, I didn't even realize that until now.
Getting stuffed day after day, feeling terrible every night.
People from the 48 states getting those stupid braids in their hair.
Not seeing Andrew for an entire week

Or, better yet

FIFTEEN

2008-04-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

Check this dude out!

FOURTEEN - WATCH THIS

2008-04-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

The Hellacopters have a new record out and I am not yet sure how I feel about it. Oh one hand, its more of the same, which isn't a bad thing. On the other, there are some hints of a new direction here and there. I will listen to it more this weekend. For now, check out these classics!

THIRTEEN - check it out

2008-04-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

What should I write about? My recent obsession with Battlestar Galactica? The fact that I can't stop listening to The Noisettes? Maybe in the coming days I will, but for now, check out this picture of my little man and I.

TWELVE - LISTEN/WATCH

2008-04-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am reluctantly in Forever21 with Emily and Andrew, just watching her look at stuff, pushing Andrew around in his stroller, trying not to lose my patience while trapped in a store I don't enjoy in the least bit. Typical mall clothing store songs, then all of a sudden I hear something I have never heard before. I can't stop thinking about this song. I get home and fail at googling for "Forever21 playlists" for about 3 hours. Finally I frantically email a friend who works there. Today she found out the makers of this captivating song - The Noisettes.

Go ahead, try to hate it at first.

ELEVEN - Who in the world?

2008-04-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

According to my clustrmaps.com map at the bottom of this blog, I have acquired some new readers over the weekend. While I happily welcome new eyes, please remember that I am a firm believer in comment moderation, so spammers need not bother. Here's how my world-wide readership looks at the time of this post.

TEN - Questions

2008-04-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

The Office has a spin-off set to premier following the superbowl in 09. This raises a bunch of questions, mainly will it be a faux documentary like The Office? If so, isn’t that a bit strange? The argument stems from some problems I have with the current Office, now in it’s fourth season. Here is my list of grievances;

- How many years does this documentary team plan on shooting the daily life of the office workers? After 4 seasons I would think season one of the doc would be airing by now, which probably isn’t the case since no one has been fired from Dunder-Mifflin as a result of the content. Right?

- Is it just me, or has this show gone from fairly realistic to completely off the wall? Let’s look at a few key characters;

o Michael Scott – at first he was a good Ricky Gervais (as David Brent) type, and it actually seemed like Steve Carell was acting slightly outside of his normal range of characters. As the series progressed, Michael Scott lost touch with the origins of the show and became just another typical Steve Carell character. He has moved from blissfully ignorant to WAYYY over-the-top, which the norm for a Carell character. Here is an example of how overboard the character has become. In Scott’s movie review of “Defending Your Life”, he questions how they actually filmed this movie in Judgment City, which is a holding area before heaven. The early Michael Scott would know how to separate movie magic from real life. Instead, they have turned him into a 5 year old child. Don’t get me started on him “declaring bankruptcy”. Pure silliness. And, that whole GPS thing… no way.

o Dwight Shrute – while one of the most entertaining characters in the show, he also seems to get farther from reality each season. Too many examples to list, as nearly every time he opens his mouth something outrageous comes out.

o Creed – give me a break, this guy takes it way overboard. On the show he is out there, but on "www.creedthoughts.gov.www\creedthoughts”, he crosses the line with nearly every word.

o Kelly – Like Homer Simpson, she seems to get stupider each season. She has now seemingly regressed to a pre-teen brat.

o Jim – Come on, no one is that perfect all the time. The man is flawless. He always does the right thing and is disgustingly charming at all times. He (along with Pam) seems the most realistic on the show, but you will be hard pressed to find anyone close to this in real life.

I defended this show during the first 2, and even some of the third seasons. I said things like “it’s not supposed to be like the UK version”, and “its equally funny, just in different ways”. Gervais always knew when to pull the plug. 2 seasons and that’s it. He then rewarded fans with a special when it was all over, providing the perfect amount of a great show. Leave it to NBC to run this thing into the ground and force the writers to run out of what made it funny, instead adding over the top zaniness. Regardless, yes I will probably watch it until the end, as it still is a funny show, just not funny in the way it set out to be.

Now as far as this spin-off goes, I think it will be more Joey than Frasier.

NINE - Be Dissapointed

2008-04-04T06:08:00.000-07:00

It seems the country is getting stupider by the day. I had a huge list of supporting statements, but chose not to print them. You know what I am talking about though. Luckily, the television networks that once promoted education have picked up on what we really need as a country, and happily deliver.

TLC - remember when they were called The Learning Channel? Once "a place for learning minds", now they aim to teach you how to dress yourselves and how to get the most money out of your house by painting walls and updating your kitchen. Fascinating. Last month they changed their slogan (for the 4th time) to "Life Surprises". Surprise, you can watch American Chopper, A Wedding Story, LA Ink, Miami Ink, While You Were Out, and What Not To Wear. Let the learning begin. If only they had a show about a bounty hunter, or a family of bounty hunters. I feel as an American that I could always learn more about this exciting (and growing!) trade.

A&E - Thank you. The channel I found to be too boring as a teen who wanted nothing to do with stuff old people would consider "the arts" made a series of good moves. They moved "Murder, She Wrote" (very artistic!) to The Biography Channel, an obvious choice, as the show is completely biographical show about the fictional Jessica Fletcher solving fictional crimes. They canceled some fancy-smancy show called "Breakfast With The Arts" and brought in a show about an ex-con, father of 12, Mad Max-inspired BOUNTY HUNTER! He was now "on the path to right". He is a man of strong values, (look out - sarcasm alert!) as exemplified by a life lesson he taught his son on why dating outside of his race was wrong and when it's OK to use the N-word. What else? More reality TV, like a show about Gene Simmons, "Growing Up Gotti", and "Criss Angel Mindfreak". Now that's what I consider "The Arts"!

Discovery Channel - Not too much to say about them. They started to stray from their educational roots with shows like Monster Garage and American Chopper (which they generously gave to TLC as well), but they did work to revive their tarnished reputation in 2006. MythBusters does feature the two hardest to watch hosts in the history of TV, but you can't say it's a bad show, nor can you not learn from it fairly often.

National Geographic Channel - now here is a channel I can depend on. They would never cave in and run a show about a bounty hunter.

EIGHT - DRINK THIS

2008-04-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

San Pellegrino Aranciata - GET INTO IT.
Google Image searching didn't yield any great shots of the bottle itself, but San Pellegrino's site did have some old pictures from advertising campaigns from decades ago.

I went looking for Orangina and happily stumbled upon San Pellegrino's version. This is the best tasting drink I have ever had. Get some today.

SEVEN - Andrew Photos LEAKED!!!

2008-04-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

I found some pics that Emily must have taken while I was at work today. They are probably going to appear on our blog about Andrew. Well, spoiler alert! Andrew was caught sleeping in our bed!

SIX - Clementine

2008-04-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

Clem looking cool after a bath.

FIVE - READ...

2008-04-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

The Hater

http://www.avclub.com/content/hater

read it daily

FOUR - The Total Drum Geek In Me...

2008-03-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

I know better than this. I wanted to have a blog about my cool interests so the readers (that I don't even have) will know me for the cool dude I am. "Man, he sure does have awesome interests" they would say. Since I love playing/talking/listening to/viewing drums, I decided to go to dwdrums.com and play around with their KitBuilder. I don't own any DW drums, but I recreated my setup using their site.
DRUMS - Conaway Custom in Ruby Red Acrylic (black hardware)
19 X 22 bass drum
10 X 13 tom
12 X 14 floor tom
9 X 12 tom (on right, above floor toms)
14 X 16 floor tom

SNARE DRUM
5 X 14 Grestch 100% Maple

CYMBALS - Paiste and Zildjian
15" Giant Beat Hi Hats
18" Giant Beat Multi-Purpose
24" Giant Beat Ride
20" A Custom Crash
22" A Swish Knocker

Aside getting played a few times a week when I am on my lunch break at work, these drums see little action. It's a shame, but hopefully soon they will be used more.

My other kit is a Ludwig, wrapped in Blue Oyster Pearl and from the year 1968. I use some of the same cymbals from my red kit, but sometimes opt for a 60's Zildjian New Beat Hi Hat instead of the Paiste set. Also, I typically use a Ludwig Superphonic snare purchased with the kit. All drums have keystone badges, signifying they are pre-1970s.
I also have a 6.5 X 14 amber/white swirl acrylic snare, and a Pearl aluminum snare that measures 6.5 X 13.
OK, the dorkfest is over for now.

THREE - Listen To This!

2008-03-30T18:42:00.001-07:00

Little Steven's Underground Garage

You can listen online, or on the radio if your area carries it. For those in my area, 106.9 does on Sunday night @ 10:00 PM. I have heard it bashed by those who know more about the genre than me... guys who would never actually use the term "Garage Rock" to describe it, but it works for me and most of the times he plays good stuff.
Go HERE and sign up. Yes, it's free.

TWO

2008-03-30T18:41:00.001-07:00

I got the newest album from The Raconteurs, and while I love it, I am still disappointed about a few things. The first record (“Broken Boy Soldiers”) was superb. It was nice to hear Jack White contributing to an actual band instead of him carrying the full load, to the sub par drumming delivered by his ex-wife (do they still claim to be brother and sister? Weird). I would like to have some snazzy segue here, something like “but enough about the White Stripes”, but that’s just it: While the first album was a significant departure from the WS, Consolers of the Lonely is not. It seems more often than not, Jack White is the prominent voice heard and he seems less of a contributor to this “super group” and more the director.

Tracks

Consoler of the Lonely – superb track! Rocks in all the right places and is on par with anything off the first record.
Salute Your Solution – also rocks, but sounds like it was intended to be a White Stripes song. Once Benson’s vocals enter, it slightly sets me at ease. I could really see this being on Icky Thump as a WS track featuring Greenhornes members. Still, not a bad song at all, just now what I would expect from this band.
You Don’t Understand Me – this falls more in line with what I would expect. While it doesn’t remind me of any particular track on Broken Boy Soldiers, it does retain the band’s style, while adding a nice soulful feel. I love what happens at 3:38.
Old Enough – another more traditional Raconteurs song. I love the strings. They, along with the organ, really give it a nice 1970s sound.
The Switch and the Spur – like nothing you would hear on the first record, but a great track just the same. It really has a WS feel to it, but Benson takes the lead vox. If he ever appears on a WS album, this might be what it sounds like. And then there’s Patrick Keeler, a superb drummer. As usual, he plays the perfect part for this song. The drumming at the end of the song has a great Mitch Mitchell feel to it, similar to Manic Depression.
Hold Up – a straight-ahead rocker. Can’t wait to see this one live (if they come to VA again). This is a side of The Raconteurs I absolutely love. Could Keeler get a more perfect drum sound? I would love to play that snare drum for a day.
Top Yourself – good bluesy track. Yet again, the drums sound top notch. It’s so nice to see Ludwig being used by so many great drummers again. Its like the 90’s never happened.
Many Shades of Black – this reminds me of something… Can’t think of it. Not my favorite track but it is growing on me. I have the feeling that seeing it live will cause me to love it. Nice big drum fills though.
Five on the Five – I find myself wanting to skip to this track after tracks 1 and 2. I saw them play this one on Austin City Limits a while back and have a live recording of it from their last tour. Such a fun song. 1:59 begins a drum part that sounds like a good version of what Matt Sorum went for in “You Could Be Mine”. Nice to see some good come out of what might be the worst GnR song of all time.
Attention – Still sad that track 9 is over… the bass line reminds me of a Mother’s Milk era RHCP riff, but then the band kicks in and swiftly dispels any doubt. This is one of those songs that I can tell I will love once I get sick of constantly playing tracks 1, 2, and 9. It has everything I love in a song, and either I keep turning the volume up as the album progresses, or the drum sound gets (somehow) better and better as this record plays. 1:43ish kicks off what could pass for a newer Queens of the Stone Age song. By the time the vocals kick in I feel even stronger about that. Yeah, this is a killer track! Can you tell I am writing as I listen?
Pull This Blanket Off – this one takes us back to White Stripes territory, not that it’s a bad thing. Love the attitude of the guitar. Piano reminds me of the Marshall Tucker Band a little.
Rich Kid Blues – RUSH-haters beware! Multiple RUSH moments early in this track. To start, vocals sound like “Take A Friend” with a little bit of “Rivendell” and “Making Memories”, all songs off the first 2 Rush records. Next hurdle, once it starts kicking in its VERY Styx-ish. Finally the beat gets a bit more soulful and the song takes a new direction. Traces of The Who come out here and there. I love two out of three of those bands, and don’t exactly hate Styx, so this is a very good song. Fairly new territory for the band too.
These Stones Will Shout – right off the bat it feels like a more traditional Raconteurs song. I like the song a lot but (at least while writing this) am more drawn to the songs that rock. WAIT A SECOND – 2:13 brings a rocking beat, followed by a riff straight off a newer Rush record! This is very Vapor Trails/Snakes And Arrows-worthy stuff, but in a good way. I can totally picture Geddy Lee finishing up the song for them… right as the drums kick in at 2:13, Jack or Brendon announces “Ladies and gentlemen… Geddy Lee”. That would be something. The gap between hipsters and musician geeks forever changed.
Carolina Drama – Whenever Jack White sings he brings his White Stripes style with him. I would say that’s just how he sounds, but I didn’t notice an overwhelming amount of it on the first record. While this is a good track, some of the vocals follow the same pattern as (gulp) Everlast’s “What Its Like”. Yeah, you could lay one track on top of the other and it would line up, vocally speaking. The flow of the vocals switch it up for a very climatic ending that kept me interested through the conclusion of the song.

I like The White Stripes. I could never commit 100% however, because I always longed to hear what the songs would have sounded like with the addition of multiple capable musicians handling them. With “Consolers of the Lonely”, I feel closer to knowing. I will be listening to this album for a long time. I hope a 3^rd will follow.

I hope this didn’t come off as an anti-Meg White tirade. She is in a very tough spot. I have read that she wishes to do more playing on the records but Jack has her drum in an intentionally childish way. I am positive she could be more capable, as its not possibly to have been playing for so many years without learning anything.

ONE

2008-03-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

After the wild success of the family-friendly “AndrewDandMe” blog, it’s time to start my own. Expected readership is less than 10/yr. I will use this to write about music, movies, food, drums, and everything else that interests me. A warning regarding my writings – I have some basic college English under my belt, but haven’t had any real linguistic revolutions since my early teens.

As standard in the blogging world, I will now link to a far superior blog instead of creating my own content. This is the Onion’s AV Club review of the classic movie,
“They Live”. The writer really hits on a huge question I had with this movie – Why was “Rowdy” RoddyPiper cast instead of Carpenter’s standard bread winner, Kurt Russell?

Click on the picture or here to read review