Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Cult of the Clouds

If you happen to reside in the fair City of Wind, or are traveling through Chicago tomorrow night, you should check out the show taking place at the Empty Bottle. Headlining are Cloud Cult, mC's favorite new environmentally friendly band. (Actually they're the ONLY environmentally friendly band we're aware of, but Cloud Cult is still our fave.) They power their recording studio via geothermal energy, distribute all of their production materials from recycled sources, and donate all of their concert proceeds to environmental charities. On top of that, their music is simultaneously rocking and beautiful.



Their live show is said to be of the highly enjoyable variety, and tickets only cost $8 (the new album is dubbed The Meaning of 8, but we're only speculating a connection). Hope to see you there.

-mC

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

I've got another one for the DSM-IV

This might be depressing.

I think I have a disorder that I have never heard of before. I have named this disorder “Loss of Shared Memories Syndrome” (LOSMS).When you lose your only sibling, you lose all of these memories that only you two knew about. It is a terrible feeling and I can’t think of anything worse. Jason was the only one who knew certain things about our family, and the only one I could talk to about certain things. LOSMS would be impossible to treat, however. No amount of medication could treat it. It would be like one of those scary personality disorders that takes years of psychotherapy to even be touched. And even then, the person is still gone.

Oh, I also have a rant I have been bottling up……

When people find out that my brother died, the non-timid ones will say “Do you mind if I ask how he passed?” I am really sick of the horrified expression on their faces when I tell them. For some reason their expressions really bother me. It IS horrifying, so why does that bother me so much? It’s confusing because I couldn’t even tell you how I would want them to react. It’s like there is this fucking universal expression for this situation, and I want to smack people that do it.

Some words of advice - if you are ever around anyone that lost someone very close to them, don’t say any of these things:
- He’s in a better place (where?!)
- At least he’s not in pain anymore (He wasn’t in pain, fucker!)
- It was his time (this is the WORST one. It was NOT his time)
- God wanted another angel (WHAT?!)
- There is a reason for everything (Ok, tell me the reason for this)

There are more but I’m done writing about that. Apparently I am still in the “angry phase”.

Speaking of the angry phase, that Kubler-Ross model of grief is crap. I remember learning it in Abnormal Pysch or some class and thinking ‘yes – that makes sense’. Whatever. It’s crap.

Sorry about my babbling, but I thought that the people who read this might want to hear my rant and learn about this new syndrome that I believe I have. I think this could be a real thing. Or maybe I’m just fucking depressed.



By the way, The Monster Squad will be coming out on DVD on July 24, 2007. Jason and I were obsessed with this movie.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs

Following is a transcription of an email exchange between myself and our friend, Schrowe, that I recently stumbled upon and thought some of you may enjoy. I sure do....


----Original Message----
From: Jason S
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 9:58 AM
To: Jason H
Subject: Cereal Lover


Being that I know you’re a Cereal Lover, I just had a Cereal Epiphany I think you should hear.


Honey Nut Cheerios are f*cking Awesome! I just had my first bowl in probably 15 years, and I’m startled by their All-American Goodness and perceived wholesomeness.


Just thought I’d give you a heads up. Along with Stander, these are definitely on my “What’s Hot in September” List.


Schrizz



From: Jason H
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:03 AM
To: Jason S
Subject: RE: Cereal Lover


Dude, I got a box o HNutCheerios in my cupboard (cupboard? I don’t think I’ve ever said cupboard before.). So yes, they are fucking awesome. Along with Cap’n Crunchberries, Fruity/Cocoa Pebbles, and (newly joining the list) Cocoa Lucky Charms, they are my faves.


Dude, seriously, cereal is so fucking good. GOD I want some fucking cereal now…


Hova



From: Jason S
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:11 AM
To: Jason H
Subject: RE: Cereal Lover


Cup-Board, that’s a weird one. Yet we pronounce it as Cu-Berd….. what are we, french?!


Yeah, Cereal is the shit…. You should get one of those teeny lil’ Sky Mall fridges to store milk in, and then have a file cabinet with all your cereals in (Alphabetized, of course).


Mine go, HNC, Cocoa Puffs, Peanut Butter Crunch. Was oddly never a fan of the Pebbles Genre (Fruity or Cocoa)….. poor Fred just wanted Barney to stop messing with his shit….remember when Fred said “Enough” then straight capped Barney…. I think in the next scene Fred was with Betty in a volcano heated hot-tub….. he knew Betty was by-far the hottest on the show….digress….


Explain these Cocoa Lucky Charms to me…… are the marshmallow’s all chocolate now?


J



From: Jason H
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:25 AM
To: Jason S
Subject: RE: Cereal Lover


No no no, duder, the non-marshmallow part is chocolate. The marshes are all the same. So instead of healthy wheat/oat/whatever-the-non-marshmallow-part-is, it’s chocolate. It’s almost too good.


There are some healthy cereals that are good too. That Smart Start shit is not bad. And I always kinda liked Life or Chex or whatever. Never really into Kix, though. And I used to dig Raisin Bran, but there was always too much bran and not enough raisin, despite the 2 scoops bullshit. Corn Flakes are gross; Frosted Mini-Wheats aren’t terrible.


Never had this one, though:


















I love google image searches…


J



From: Jason S
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:30 AM
To: Jason H
Subject: RE: Cereal Lover


Ahhhhhhhhhhhh blue balls.


I heard a trick to cure ‘em that I used a few times in High School. So when the balls get blue….. and now that you’re married you’ll never have to do this exercise, but there is a simple trick that cures it pretty fast.


You go up behind a parked car, bend at the knees, and try to pick up the back of the car….. basically you’re trying to initiate a hernia…. By doing this you get the blood flowing down there. And voila, blue balls no more.


I wrote a big article about this, in Nerd-linger Quarterly Magazine, the August Virgin-4-Life issue.



Schrizza



From: Jason H
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:41 AM
To: Jason S
Subject: RE: Cereal Lover


I had a subscription to Nerdlinger Quarterly. I was Editor-in-Chief for most of my freshman year.


Holla,

Hova


Wednesday, June 13, 2007

am i blogging right?

so my buddy jason basically hooked this up for me. props!
i really dig the mission statement and cool/fun/sad stories everyone is sharing.
its so great since it takes me from my obsessive itunes, turntable lab, and bleep.com purchases.
look ma! im not buying anything!
so to start ill talk about 3(of the 8) albums ive bought since monday.

1. fujiya and miyagi- transparent things
its so cute. im a sucker for anything "kings of convenience"ish or "erland oye"esque.
and they're singing about reeboks and heaven and broken bones and shit.
its pefect 7am music, snappy, but not intrusive.
heres their video, if its not directed by michel gondry someone owes him some $


2. porno for pyros-gods good urge
its amazing. and i really dont care for perry farrels voice, but its all so sweet. hes got neo-hippie DOWN.
i had the cassette when i was younger, and its always reminded me of june, so thankfully, i remembered to buy it again, rather than search for the tape. "kimberly austin" still makes me think of underage drinking. heres the video for "tahitian moon"


3.chromeo-fancy footwork
this stuff can make you feel like the hippest most with it 29 yr old ever, then again, it could embarass the hell out of you in front of your family. my 22 yr old nephew asked if it was "that guy that sings 'word up' " and my seven yr old nephew asked me to turn it down, then off.
i like it. the album is way cheesy. it even has a song dedicated to mamas boys.
if you know and like chromeos first album "shes in control" youll dig it.
theyll be in town july 15 with flosstradomus at metro, they are fully live too, that vocoder is too much.
oh and thanks to my new friend at gangstarobot.com for hooking me up with the album 2 weeks before release, and free!
title track video-


so relate with me when i see you about these wonderful albums, or at least the videos.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Ronson. Dig it.

So the Mark Ronson release, Version, finally drops stateside today. Everyone should show him much love and go purchase it. Or just steal it. Whatever.

Anyway, my favorite is his version (get it?) of Radiohead's "Just". I can't get enough of it. You just can't fake that funk. And the music video for it is equally enjoyable:



Actually, the Radiohead video for the song happens to be the greatest music video of all time, so here it is so you can enjoy that too:



More later....