Vegas is in my pants

Calling in sick to work used to mean I was in Vegas rolling around with a beautiful girl on dated, synthetic fiber comforters at the Flamingo. Poor girl wanted to dance, dance, dance and I countered with tales of adventure at the Star Trek Experience.

Our common ground held cheap drinks and nickel slots from which I would mimic the artificial coin drop sounds and Texas Tea oil well strikes to her amusement. I introduced her to her first 7.99 lobster and steak dinner at 3am, ensured the required viewing of the Bellagio waterworks, ended the night with kisses and laughter among the perfectly lit banks of Slingo.

Vegas is in my pants and I don't know what I mean by that. She swore that the Chop Suey Chinese Kitchen Fortune Cookie slot was her game. It loved her, it was going to make her feel all warm and happy inside. I feel the same about the godfather, the seven and seven, the crackwhore and Adios MF I consumed last night in under two hours, it wasn't love (will I even want it if I find it?), but warm and happy inside I was.

Calling in sick means we never saw Get Set Go or New Maximum Donkey at Mr T's Bowl, instead finding the Little Cave empty save for Sir Ian Dangerous, the other bartender Bobby and Chris P. Not sure if Ian does this on his nights at Saint and Sinners, but they were..flame throwing, flame spitting (I'm drawing a blank of the right term), and it was cool to watch the alcohol residue burn off the back wall, the ceiling panels and among the rows of bottles. Fire, cheap, stiff drinks and anytime late night dinner at Fred 62, it was a rainy Highland Park Monday night in my pants and how hot is that?

What does it mean after a strange four days of alcohol confessions that actually contain more than ever mentioned here, sober to 5am house party visits, couches and empty patio raindrop kisses against a brick wall, and I'm still exactly where I was Friday morning?

I'm calling in sick today, that's what it means.

Maybe of interest:

Underwater City People are playing the Lebowski Fest party on Friday.

Calling in sick means that I'm on my syrupy laptop on a peanut butter connection, so I can't watch the new Man in Gray video of "thirty-six"

Today is the day the electrician will show up, force my clocks to be reset and I will finally be able to bake a friggin' pie.

2 am

Falling off the sidewalk into the street was my least embarrassing moment of Friday night.

today is long and ok

For a change I drove through Downtown from the Pomona westbound Sixty onto the Santa Monica Ten this morning among the delivery trucks, motorcycle death wish riders and fellow losers at 6.15 am. Changeover to the Southward 110, somewhere between USC and The One-O-Five I was pleased to see the fog surging over the sound wall levee holding back the traffic from neighborhoods beneath.

Driving among the crowns of palm trees = good morning LA smiles.

Thanks Jane, thanks Ash - As for hanging in there, I'm doing ok.
Some days I write more, I cry more, I fuck more, I yell more,
I laugh more, I hate more, I lust more, but I'm always ok.

12 hrs from now Midway @ The Gig (print flyer for discount)
13 hrs from now Kiss or Kill Club at Little Pedro’s (free)
-- Makeout Bandits 9.30 -- Silver Needle 10.15 -- Get Set Go 11.00 -- OAOTs 12.30
16 hrs from now New Maximum Donkey at Mr. T's Bowl (free)

If you haven't heard already, The Adicts are playing the KorK night at the Key Club 3.3.06 if you can't figure out the hint in the new KorK video promo. This show coincides with the big British Invasion festival that weekend if you're punk like that. I'm not so much.

looker?

Monday night I saw this girl that looked familiar to me. I'm probably wrong but watching the new video for the NY band Looker today, I think it was one of the band members (first one that comes on screen).

Whatever, I like the song.



Looker @ myspace

D) or Long Stares and Big Hair

Monday night plans were to catch the Randies and Porterville at ye ole Viper Room, both bands playing great sets imo of course.

Pre show:

Pretty girl needed parking meter change. I thought the smile and thank you were a fair trade.

Chuckled as pretty girls danced in parking spaces to save the spot for their van.

Damone was given an early slot at the Viper that night since their HOB Anaheim show with Less than Jake fell apart.

The girls from Rocket were inside supporting one of the openers Shapes of Racecars. I liked this band – good, catchy rock.

Show:
I've talked a lot about the Randies before, so I'm just going to say that with a new drummer and especially the addition of Laurita (ex Angoras, Relish) they are a different beast worth checking out again. Porterville was a blast for me until some girl told me either you're dancing or bopping your head, you can't do both. I rolled my eyes at her and shruged as I stood trying not to die after jumping around for one song, my head bopping to a soon to implode heart. I'm old, cut me some slack.

D):
Johnny 99 (KorK co-founder and all around nice guy) walked us into Metal Skool up at the Key Club. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but wide awake and completely sober I was pretty much for anything including heavy metal at this point. My older brother got me into early Metallica so I can appreciate the metal bands of the 80s but as soon as the hair got bigger, the more of a joke these bands became to me. I was thinking the place would be full of greasy, jean jacket clad stoners because those were the kind of people I used bum cigarettes from behind wood shop or heavily made up guys in Tina Turner wigs and spandex. Those ere the guys who offer their services to me walking down the street.

The reality was that Metal Skool ( billed as "The best imitators of the best music in the history of music, 80s Metal!") was one the most entertaining shows I've seen in a long time [Cortney, you'd love it].

The Key Club was over capacity, some MLB players were hanging on the right, Drew Carey and Tommy Lee were on the left raiser and the band rocked a surprising clean cut crowd. The big hair belonged solely to the band, the girls were mostly hot and not too whorey (which might mean average hot to some of you), and only a few guys with bandanas covering their heads milled around.

Every Monday this band does a tongue in check celebration of 80s rock, with funny banter, stupid made up songs about screwing girls, great rock/metal covers, and they even had a five minute guitar solo over the crowd.
That rocks.

I would put it in the visit once or twice a year category, if you’re still stuck in the 80s and need to relive your glory years.
That’s sad.

B)

I haven’t gone out much this week, and responding to email and phone calls hasn’t been on top of my list of things to do. Some days are just like for me without even attempting to be anti-social. Let me quickly say sorry to my friends if I’ve been more lame than usual. It happens often.

There are some thoughts floating around in this head that I’m not going to talk about so let’s make some stuff up here for fun instead.

I could not help but watch DG as she flirted between street and sidewalk.

I feel like I should be apologizing for this, but some nights, the length of time since I’ve seen her, my state of mind….oh that damn swooning. So much for it being “verboten.”

Walking back into the room, I pass behind the two guys talking to her and I make zero attempt of stopping my eye contact. She holds my gaze the whole time between framed coated shoulders of her friends, probably thinking me a freak, but fine whatever it’s not that she doesn’t know already.

Later said a proper hello to her and came this close (use your imagination) of telling her how great she looked that night and it wasn’t going to be a simple compliment. Because I fancy myself bold at times I'll say such a thing to make the greatest impression until I realized half way through that I don't have anything to follow it up with. Years ago I once I stopped mid-sentence while talking to a group of friends (@ eight of us) at dinner, turning to the friend of a friend and remarking on how she had the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen then continued on with my sentence. It was a distraction that I needed to address and I pretty much floored it without waiting for a possible negative reaction.

Where was I? Oh yeah, so this close (use your imagination again) from saying:

Can I tell you something?
Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but I wanted to tell you that you look absolutely beautiful tonight.
Well, I mean you look beautiful everyday.
Um. Yeah, I think. I think I’m going to stop talking now.

But I didn’t and I won’t.

30 miles at 3 am,
I have this repeating in my mind on the drive home.
The next morning I'm slightly disappointed that it’s still there.

A)

A couple weeks ago I was sitting on a hallway bench staring at the wall.

Friends were on their way and the Honey Pot stopped by to chat for a few minutes wasting time until her equipment showed up. As she got up to wander around again, a boy and girl seated along the bar made introductions to her. Listening (not minding my own business) I remained seated on the bench studying a mosaic of a bullfighter in the midst of battle, sipping my Newcastle. I smiled to strangers passing through to use the bathrooms around the corner. I was bored out of my mind.

I wondered if my thoughts were being read and felt that tingle of someone watching me. I rubbed the upper lip in preparation, then looked around my little area for the source of my paranoia and probably by chance the girl and I made direct eye contact. Brief awkward acknowledgments with matching half smiles faded slower than our gazes turned from each other.

She reminded me of Whiskey Girl in looks and age which threw me off a bit when I first saw this girl a couple months ago at Kiss or Kill. Imagine she was a bored as I was and was watching the crowd as I would from her bar stool position.

Speaking of the WG, I never heard back from her which we all know means not interested and not a bit surprising. It was something I never, never, never do, but did this time body cringing, legs up against my chest reaching out to press Enter, my other hand hiding my eyes. The key was depressed, message sent and I waited for a reply.

Life is too short to not take a chance on a misguided hunch sometimes, even knowing that the answer would be no. To be honest I was worried it would be yes. What then? Yikes.

Anyway it was just to be coffee and nothing more and I just feel that it doesn't hurt to say no anymore than it does to ask in the first place. I should just friggin' talk to people when given the chance because my online self is not doing my offline life any good.

discuss

A) I don't like you anymore
B) I still like you
C) The Ringer is a cute movie
D) I'm going to rock you like a hurricane

Oh big surprise

Safari Sam's isn't ready yet, resulting in Kiss or Kill canceling tonight’s line-up.

There is an article in the OC Weekly that goes into some of the history of the original club in Huntington Beach and the problems they are still having in the new venue at a former strip club on Sunset Blvd.

I love the fact that the area is commonly referred to as "Hooker Alley" for the obvious reasons like hookers and alleys. With nightclubs coming in to replace strip clubs and affordable rents, maybe this area is the next up and coming LA neighborhood. First they clean up Hollywood, then Silverlake becomes too hip, Echo Park is now cool, so now the bleeding edge of the ultra hip will now proudly boast about living in the "H.A." or "HooAll", or my favorite one "Ho_Alley" (note underscore or whatever it's called).

Personally I hope they call it "Alley Oop"

goodnight, sleep tight

She didn't look too well a couple days ago, but she preferred the wild life over a warm bed, or a lap to lay her head down on. Disheveled was her middle name and I thought nothing more of it.

Stubborn.
Carmen was stubborn in her choices and it's not that I didn't try to please her; rubbing her neck with multiple fingers, holding her when she bothered to visit the house. Maybe my words weren't the nicest to her on some days, but I did my best with what little I had.

Last night Belle was trying to tell me something was up but we were never able to breakdown our communication barrier. I'm not fucking Dr. Doolittle and got tired of following her circles around the kitchen. A walk around the house offered little other than a lawn that needed watering and the nothing I wasn’t expecting to find.

I awoke before the alarm this morning sensing something.
A light? - A sound?

Behind a storage container In my closet against some of my old meaningful paintings I found her. She filled a space that was empty the afternoon before, choosing a quiet, dark place inside my room to close her eyes one last time.

nonsensical

Yes I made it to work by six this morning. In fact I was here at 5.30 so why not start writing stuff. Whatever stuff.

This is Bill the Gnome -->.
See? Whatever.

After the show [ this one at Highland Grounds] I was explaining to friends how much fun I had watching the music by Mike Schnee, the spoken word parts by Becky something and Krista something and the wonderful Rob Z as I stood against the wall. The tables were already full groups of friends and couples finishing their dinners and though alone I felt that this is was a perfect valentines outing. This is the type of deal I would do on Valentines with someone if there was a someone, but I think it came out sounding lonelier than I meant.

Random stuff because I’m not quite awake:

Like a picture of me on the right --- >
I hate pictures of me. This one didn't break the camera so I'll post it.

No food, no drinks, but a cigarette enjoyed a little too much while looking into brown eyes.

Thought I would make introductions and then realized how stupid that would be.

Related: I used to have a better sense of people, but since whiskey girl (an insignificant thing) I have doubted my spider senses. Possibility of being way off base: Quite real.

End random

I hope most of you survived your evening alone, with your love, with the Ex, or just among friends. It was a beautiful day in Los Angeles and what could’ve been better than that?

Nothing except a flash mob pillow fight!

V-Day 2006

Is it wrong to be single and happy on Valentine's Day?
I think not.

Just happy I'm not failing to meet someone's expectations this year.
So nice for a change.

You can hit losanjealous to print out larger versions of the pictures above as last minute V-Day cards.
I like the second one.

Sat or El Cid or something

Coughs, bad parking options and two hours of Arrested Development won over Kiss or Kill at the sterile Spaceland. A nice venue if you're seeing one or two bands, but horrible for socializing (kork is a scene for better or worse) with the only the smoking room as an escape from the bands. I get a little claustrophobic when it’s packed in there and since I no longer smoke it has little appeal for me. This might be just a rumor, but I heard that place will dry out your ovaries like beef jerky.

The rest that night helped enough on Saturday to catch Sounds of Asteroth and the Makeout Bandits at El Cid, a venue that still is primarily used since the 60s as a live flamenco dinner theatre Thursdays through Sundays. I love El Cid from its uneven switchback stairs, large multilevel patio, wooden floors, and for being twice as old as what is normally consider old in Los Angeles.

From the kmg site

El Cid was built in 1900 by D.W. Griffith. He modeled this venue after a 16th century Spanish Opera House. He filmed "Birth of a Nation", the first "talkie" movie here. This is a charming oasis in the city. There is a courtyard that makes you feel as though you're in New Orleans. El Cid serves topas as well as the finest Spanish food in the city. There is a beautiful stage, wooden dance floor and beautiful red booths

Yeah good times, saw people, didn’t drink enough.

Sunday I ate half of a large pizza for dinner and had the most crazy crackhead dreams because of it.

Na

Is there some cosmic clusterfuck someone forgot to tell me about?

Seems to be a crazy week for a lot of people I know and those I do via their blogs. So far there have been break-ups, letdowns, hit and runs, calls dropped, no replies, get a hints, and spontaneous combustion of automobiles. As for me, I’ve been a little bent about things if you haven’t noticed and thankful for the weekend showing up right about now. The more bent I am the mo’ drunky I’ll be this weekend and there’s nothing wrong with that.

It hasn’t been all gloomy this week, the following little moment cheered me up greatly:

Wednesday night Ashley came out to drink underneath the cool holiday lights she gave me for xmas and do the usual chatting about how conversations are like puddles, and other random drunk topics. Before debating the need for contrived story endings, a trip to Albertsons was required for the requisite cheap wine, and assorted things I was lacking in the kitchen. In the upper crust drunky aisle Ashley grabbed a merlot from Red Bicyclette base purely on the label, then we headed over to the spice aisle for some pepper. As I was reaching down for a can of pepper this girl zips in to pick up some for her own needs. Thinking her a little cute I turned to Ashley and made the she's cute face on the way out to checkout line, mouthing it at the same time.

From my view from the line I noticed pepper girl was walking away from her cart back into the spice aisle. The floor of the cart was already filled with at least seven large containers of salt.

"Look. What do you think she needs all that salt for?"

Ashley looks over just as the girl comes out with arms folded, overflowing with multiple canisters of pepper.

"I want to ask her if she needs it for a science project or something."

"Yeah I think you should," Ashley jokes.

"Yeah I could do it like a pick up line:
Hey there, I see that we both have a love of sodium in common."

Oh how we laughed and laughed about this for about 30 seconds.

I want

If you follow the Mac boards, you probably heard about the rumored Mac tablet that may or may not exist (along with the vPod with a full face 3.5 inch screen) and the patents Apple has filed for touch screen technology.

The Cult of Mac blog has linked to some work done at NYU today on the same type of technology. I would love to see this on a Mac but the cool factor on this is so f'ing cool that it only matters who comes out with it first.



-Not that I can afford to buy any of this.

Dear LJ

Things I'm not happy about today:

TWO frigging hours to get to work today.

Kiss or Kill moved to Spaceland for this Friday

Safari Sam's for not having their shit together yet so now I have to deal with impossible parking and a crappy venue.

My Ex. I've defended her over the years as some of you know. I'm proud of the more than civil relationship that I worked hard to maintain. She really can just go fuck off now. Really.

End LJ entry.

Required food reference in my post:
My No. 30 at Togos is going to be so yummy today. Really.

For your sweetheart this V-Day **

So after you insert a bullet into your wife, pull that butcher knife out of your mistress, and told your mom that you still love her even though she favored your older brother, come on down to Highland Grounds for music, comedy, and other pretentious crap by non-pretentious people
(and at least one super cute girl).

It's free [AFTER 9PM] so you'll have some cash leftover to pay all those lawyer fees.



** Not to be confused with Venereal Disease Day

T

It's not the act itself.
It's how she went about it that kills me.

Years since her words and selfish swings into me
reached
such a depth
requiring a pause, a breakdown, a reboot.

Today it was personal,
but it always has been hasn't it?

Sat 2.4.06

10 am: Disneyland yay!
11.10: Hey that's Kirstie Alley over there
She has lost a ton of weight!
12.30: You want how much for that slice of pizza?
12.50: Space Mountain is closed for how long?
4.00: Hey. Where's my sunglasses?
5.35: I'm sorry, there is no excuse for that haircut
6.00: I'm going to kill that stupid lady.
6.15: Coffee and food - all better now
10.30 I think my foot fell off somewhere

Kiss or Kill - Key Club tonight

I wish I could go tonight, but it's family time for me this weekend.
Have fun. I'll see everyone at Safari Sam's next Friday.

From the LA Weekly Picks for Friday 2.3.2006:

Bang Sugar Bang, Midway, The Randies, Silver Needle
at the Key Club
Kiss or Kill — that weekly L.A. multiband bash rammed with perky pop-punk and good-natured gossip — was initially a reaction to Sunset Strip’s cynical, artless booking policies. Now, on the first Friday of every month, KoK returns to the scene of the crime, kicking off with a gaggle of scene stalwarts. Ludicrously likable Saturday-morning-cartoon-made-real Midway are defined by Theresa Espineli’s baby-Blondie vocals and deliberately winceworthy, far-beyond-cheesy Casio keyboard subplots.Silver Needle bring earnest, sometimes furious rock drawn from a veritable iPod of influences. Bang Sugar Bang’s now-road-honed coed punk poems are delivered with fist in the air and tongue in cheek, while the Randies’ new lineup adds welcome whump to their deceptively tortured Go-Go’s–isms. Every night’s prom night at Kiss or Kill — don your glad rags and get lucky. (Paul Rogers)

8 pm The Randies -- Hyperion
9 pm Midway - Ralph Macchio (karate chop)
Best Karate Kid inspired song ever
10 pm Silver Needle -- Tourniquet
10.45 Get Set Go -- Kiss the Girl
11.30 Pu$$y-Cow -- Jello Biafra
(this and the song Me & Ice T are prob my favorites)
12.15 Bang Sugar Bang -- Machine Gun Song

Help sponser a divorce

[Update: Ebay listing has been taken down]

Joe Dana, singer of Pu$$y-Cow sent out a request to help his friend Brien fund an exit plan to his marriage.

In exchange for the highest bid on his Ebay page, he offers the following deal to all online gambling sites any company:

When I sign my divorce papers, I'll wear your companies logo, put up a banner behind me, anything you want, I'll even let your lawyer handle the paper work. Can any casino say they ever gave someone a "good" divorce? Well they can now.

What about my first date as a single guy? I'll drive your company logo on a car, I'll wear your logo on a hat, shirt, pants, bag. You can even pick the woman and the place. If you have company cars all decked out, I'll drive the thing for a year. Really, anything, try me.

Help me rebuild my life, from my room to my health. wait, I smell reality TV!

Full Ebay post here
(current bid: $11.61)

been trying to meet you

Thinking back to high school, I believe I would've done the same thing if I had the technology.
[Corey says this video has been around for a while
- whatever like I spend all my life online watching videos]
"Hey" by the Pixies as interpreted by two girls --
(Thanks to Tony Pierce for posting about the video first)

Slightly connected thought:

Back in 6th grade I was partnered up with this quiet nerdy kid on some project and since I was just as much of outsider (if not more so) I actually took the time to get to know him a bit.

We were talking about my Intellivision and sensing an interest in computers he pulled out his secret project that he had been working on in his free time.

So this kid in 1983 laid out a game he planned to develop as soon as technology would allow. You know, your typical multiplayer online role-playing game platform.

Now I wonder what game he created, if he IPO’d it on a company he founded, or did he just end up as another coke snorting programmer up in the Bay.

I’m not saying that all computer programmers are cokeheads btw.
Just the more productive ones I've met.