Archive for October, 2008
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
In true precursor to packing for Las Vegas, I am slightly phased by a large glass of wine. Makes for a little bit sleepy, though.
It’s true that I’m going to this location because as opposed to certain trips for business, this one is all extracurricular.
My friends are getting married in Vegas! Well, it’s about time, since they’ve been engaged for I think the past two years — which is a moderately short engagement in my opinion — and were together long before that, so now in their typical think-outside-the-box fashion, their wedding in Vegas mandates that everyone be dressed as an animated character.
So I’m going as Eeyore:
Holy crap from ass, this costume is hot to wear.
It’s also damn near impossible to click a mouse button when you don’t have an index finger. Man, I can see why he was so depressed.
Happy Halloween, everyone! (And “Thanks for noticing me!”)
Tags: costume, eeyore, halloween, pooh, travel, vegas, wedding
Posted in Life As A Nico, Random | 19 Comments »
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008
I guess it shouldn’t surprise me how much blogs are used to vent negativity.
It’s like when you talk to your friends about their respective relationships, and they only tell you anecdotes about the what pisses them off because those are the socially acceptable vent-worthy things to talk about. It’s not like you want to hear about the positive anecdotes at the risk of it being vomit-inducing cute or including the prospect of getting waaaaay too much information to remain comfortable.
So firstly, props to the positive bloggers out there. You all know who you are, and time and time again I have characterized you as rays of goddamn sunshine. That’s what you are, and that’s why I read you so often.
But on the letting-off-steam note, I’ve found that some are more skilled at venting creatively than most. My case examples are Deutlich, Ex-Everything, and Adie. If I had a bladder problem, your blogs would exploit it. I mean, I sincerely hope your days are going swell, but when you hit a shit-storm, you can sure rip the universe a new one, and this often results in me wetting myself under stifled laughter. And when you can make a man unintentionally urinate, you know you’ve got him.
…er…
Anyway, I’d like to try my hand at venting simply because I’ve never attempted, and to introduce the unprecedented-because-this-is-out-of-character-for-Nico post:
The Nicopolitan Shit List (caveat lector)
(more…)
Tags: list, negative, rant, shit, vent
Posted in Life As A Nico | 20 Comments »
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
Wow, I haven’t posted anything all week.
This is a short one, but I just wanted to plug the music magazine industry and the video game industry are having one steamy affair lately, and like any good networker, a handful of friends, coworkers, and I are heading out to mingle at this event:
Is anyone else going?
If you’re going, meet me at the bar. I’ll be the drunk guy with the glasses and long black hair.
Tags: activision, bpm, call of duty, event, guitar, hero, hollywood, magazine, music, october, party, world at war, world tour
Posted in Gaming, Life As A Nico, Marketeering, Music Biz | 2 Comments »
Friday, October 17th, 2008
I have a friend in the industry who helped to re-launch the new Britney Spears site (check out how clean it looks now – www.britneyspears.com) but having a friend on her team has produced quite possibly the funniest email subject line I’ve ever gotten:
Tweet, tweet, y’all. :)
Tags: britney, follow, friends, spears, twitter
Posted in Internet, Life As A Nico, Random, Research & Development | 17 Comments »
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
Nico: Hey, Amanda.
Amanda: Hey, I just got your text message – so the flight is canceled?
Nico: Yeah, apparently the presentations aren’t ready yet. So don’t go to Seattle!
Amanda: Wow, this is really good timing because I just started the car!
Nico: Woah, that’s cutting it close, isn’t it?
Amanda: Yeah good thing you caught me before I left because I live an hour and a half out.
Nico: No kidding. We were already on the road, too – so it’s a good thing they caught us before we checked in to the airport.
Amanda: Well, that sucks.
Nico: Yes, it kinda sucks – but also, it’s pretty funny.
Amanda: I guess it is. So are you coming to Seattle at all?
Nico: Eventually, I think. I’ll keep you posted on that.
Amanda: Okay – I’m going to get out of the car now… and walk back into my house.
Nico: Sounds good. I’ll talk to you soon.
Amanda: Heh, bye.
Tags: abort, amanda, mission, seattle, snafu, travel
Posted in Life As A Nico, Random | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
- I’m thinking that in lieu of the wait for the Brooklyn Essays I should post my notes / outline. Hopefully my life will allow for me some reprieve from not having enough damn hours in the day to get to posting the next 3 (which I’ve been working on all in tandem). Or maybe I should write essays about specific events or aspects, as detailing an entire day has been a series of edits that make me run in circles. I agonize obsessively over nuances, beat minutia to a bloody pulp, and rearrange words and clauses like some pereptual game that is the mutant bastard orphan of a tryst involving Tetris and Jenga.No wonder I don’t ever return to creative writing. Fucking blocks.
- Over the weekend, I got to throw back a few with the relentlessly rad Ex and the hidden gem that is Phil, and the only thing I can think that is more fun that hanging with them is hanging out with them in a place where I can actually hear what they are saying.If I could hear them, I bet I wouldn’t be asking stupid questions like how Phil’s couch could give him the flu, or asking Ex what we’re talking about after I’ve already started to instinctively mirror her gestures.
Though there was some talk about taking over the bar I work at on weekends. The challenge then is I need to guarantee at least 20 patrons to have a legitimate takeover at the bar. Is that possible with just the 20somethings? Who are all the 20somethings in LA? And who would help me organize this kind of thing?
Twenty 20somethings. I bet it could be done. I wonder if I’m the right person to organize this kind of thing.
- How I discovered my next guitar:
Me: Hey man, what are you doing for lunch?
Coworker 1: I was just going to Subway.
Me: That’s not a bad idea. Want a ride?
Coworker 1: Ok. Cool.
We walk outside to the parking lot.
Coworker 2: Hey, where are you guys going for lunch?
Me: (rolls window down) Subway. Wanna come?
Coworker 2: Ok. Cool.
We drive in the direction of Subway.
Coworker 1: It’s weird, I’ve been craving a sandwich, like, all day.
Coworker 2: Me too! That’s why I joined you guys.
Me: It’s a sandwich kinda day.
Coworker 2: I was thinking Subway, or, you know, Mario’s [deli].
Coworker 1: What’s Mario’s?
Coworker 2: It’s in Glendale, a market that’s also a really good deli kinda place.
Coworker 1: Do they have meatball?
Me: Yeah, I’m sure you could tell them what you want on a sandwich. It’s a deli.
Coworker 2: Maybe we should go there.
Me: Well we’re almost passing Subway. Subway or Mario’s? Pick now! Can’t slow down! Agh!
Coworker 1&2: Uh….
Me: We passed Subway. Looks like Mario’s it is.
Coworker 2: Okay, I’m good with that.
Coworker 1: Yeah, me too.
We eat at Mario’s.
Me: What did you think?
Coworker 1: It was good, I should come back here.
Coworker 2: Yeah, I bet you can bike here since you live just one town over.
Coworker 1: That’s not a bad idea.
Me: Hm. We still have time on our lunch break – it’s only been 30 minutes.
Coworker 1: I’m fine just hanging out.
Me: (I light a cigarette) What’s down that way? (I point down the street)
Coworker 2: A liquor store? A restaurant?
Me: Let’s find out.
Coworker 1: Okay.
Me: Hey, a pawn shop! You guys wanna check it out?
Coworker 1: Yeah!
Coworker 2: Sure, why not?
In this pawn shop, I find a cheap guitar that is in great shape, and moreover it is even name brand. A pretty darn good deal. My acoustic is broken and I’ve been saving up for a new one altogether – but this used guitar is less than half the price of the new one for which I’ve been saving. So I’ve decided to get it, wondering the entire time why I didn’t think of going to a pawn shop in the first place. But I’m still trying to figure out what I should name it once I own it.
- OH SHIT I STILL HAVE TO PACK FOR SEATTLE.
Tags: 20, bar, brooklyn, drinks, essays, ex, guitar, mario, pawn, phil, sandwich, seattle, shop, something, subway, twenty
Posted in Life As A Nico, Musicianship, Random | 17 Comments »
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008
I’m probably going to be posting in short form for a while since I haven’t been finding a lot of time to write these damn New York essays – and on top of that, I have another trip coming up!
I’m going to be flying to Seattle for a day to meet with a client. Sounds fun, because I do like that city from what I remember from my last visit. I haven’t visited it as an adult, however.
That said, anyone know of any good bar I should hit while I’m there?
Tags: seattle, travel, washington
Posted in Life As A Nico | 7 Comments »
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008
When a friend of mine from another marketing company asked me what I thought of Fancast I thought it was just another Hulu.com. But being the curious type, of course I would take a look around. What I was trying to find was a reason to visit this new site over Hulu. I found a couple of reasons for why this might be a nice way to go about watching TV on the internet:
- The search function also yields results like actor bios and lists the content they’ve got on site (instead of linking out) for that particular search.
- Discovery Channel. Nice. And we all know how I feel about the Discovery Channel.
- Movie Trailers. Ok, now we’re getting somewhere!
- Blogs? Really? Okay, it’s always nice to get a second opinion, and even though I do already get a lot of this info from other bloggers who I read regularly anyway, this is a nice little flavor to have while you’re loading videos. Also, it looks like they are using the WordPress platform, and that puts me right at home.
- None of this signing in nonsense that Hulu makes you do if you regularly clear your cookies.
It’s not until I started actually watching an episode of something that I saw a familiar logo and I realized, “Oh, it’s not a competitor with Hulu – it’s a partner, so that means they’ve got Hulu stuff and some other crap.” I think it’s a good move on their part in catering to the “I’ll watch something when I have time for it” culture we live in now, but I also wonder how Hulu feels about this partnership.
If I were any site that syndicates content like Hulu, I’d probably realize very quickly that it’s in everyone’s best interests to get that content in as many places as possible. More views = more metrics = better ROI if you’re an ad buyer = more money if you’re Hulu. So, good for Fancast for helping to add volume to the echo chamber. And from the consumer side of things, it’s nice to just have everything in as many places as you can, especially in the case that one breaks down. And it’s not like re-purposing copyrighted video is going to stop people from re-purposing stuff, so why not take credit for putting it out there? Especially when that’s an opportunity to get people to take a look at an ad? And bragging rights for being forward-thinking?
For us consumers, it doesn’t matter how it gets to us, as long as we get to watch it. Right?
And as final test of functionality, does this new site let me embed videos? Let’s find out:
So, would I use this site over Hulu? If I had heard about it before Hulu, definitely. But for now, there isn’t all that much of a difference for my purposes. However, if I visit Fancast, and the video that I’m watching is then hosted by Hulu, don’t they both win?
I’m going to do it that way from now on and see how it works out.
That aside… does anyone want to see the movie (above) with me?
Tags: entertainment, fancast, hulu, Internet, movies, streaming, television, tv, video
Posted in Internet, Marketeering, Random, Research & Development | 5 Comments »
Friday, October 3rd, 2008
Audio [aw-dee-oh] n. – of, pertaining to, or employed in the transmission, reception, or reproduction of sound.
-mancy [man-see] suff. – a combining form meaning “divination,” of the kind specified by the initial element: necromancy. [Origin: ME -manci(e), -mancy(e) < OF -mancie < L -mantīa < Gk manteía divination. See mantic, -cy
]
I saw My Bloody Valentine last night and if I’ve ever been convinced that someone has magical powers it isn’t that tool David Blaine. Kevin Shields may very well be an audiomancer. To take a guitar and run it through enough guitar effects so that an entire venue and every molecule in it begins to shake violently — that is no ordinary feat.
To be honest, there really aren’t any words to describe this experience. Which is a shame, because description is the expressed duty that words have. And it’s not because I’ve loved this band for a long time and shit a brick when I found out they would be reuniting; not because I’ve learned so much about guitars from reading about and listening to this band; not because they are officially the loudest goddam thing I’ve ever heard in my entire concert life which consists of 200+ shows where a sizeable chunk of those are straight up noise…
It’s just… well, you had to be there.
If you Google the band, or Twitter search, all you’ll see about My Bloody Valentine (or alternatively, MBV) are about how loud they were and the ensuing euphoria that came from it.
Granted, a lot of people I know who simply can’t handle loud volumes would have just gotten their asses kicked from the show. People who can’t handle washes of noise wouldn’t have been able to handle the show closer. You kind of have to “get it”, but when you’re in it, I don’t think it’s really all that hard to “get it”.
Kevin Shields isn’t a god, because that’s a cliché. Godhood is reserved for people like Thurston Moore, the number 7 according to Black Francis, and apparently Clapton.
But he must have figured out that he is some sort of superhero, or has figured out some kind of divination via guitar.
It’s the only explanation.
Tags: civic auditorium, concert, kevin shields, loud, mbv, my bloody valentine, noise, santa monica, shoegazing, show
Posted in Life As A Nico, Music Biz | 3 Comments »
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
My favorite* band is playing tonight.
:)
*This is a hard thing to decide, but I’m pretty sure it’s accurate.
Tags: civic, loveless, my bloody valentine, santa monica, show
Posted in Life As A Nico, Music Biz | 1 Comment »
