The FEMA Rap
I take it all back...
FEMA's obviously got their act together (click the audio button).
via Zeldman
Want to Talk to Brian Wilson?
Brian Wilson and his wife came up with a
unique way to help Hurricane Katrina victims. If you donate more than $100 to the charity of their choice, Brian Wilson will call you up to say hello and answer a question you may have. That's pretty cool, I say.
1 Discovery Channel Mystery Down, Millions To Go

If you haven't heard by now,
some Japanese dudes filmed the legendary "giant squid" alive and in its natural environment. That's a first. Pretty damn amazing. Now if only they can find a living "megalodon" while they're down there so they can stop making specials about how it may still exist but somehow, there's just
no trace of it.
(Thanks to Vet Pharmacist for the link!)
Friday Means Honky Dance Time!
And folks said I'd never get anything useful outta going back to school.
This was what a professor opened class with yesterday. And it was awesome.
This Weekend In Athens
Solid Gold...
FRI: The big show of the night is a rare appearance by
The Gerbils at the
Caledonia. Though they might not hit every note perfectly sometimes, they're always great. I wish they'd play more (and issue more material), but so it goes. And for those wondering, "Will
he be there? Will
he play?" The answer I am told is "yes", Scott Spillane will indeed be there and if able, he will play (otherwise it really wouldn't be a Gerbils show - duh).
Also of interest that night might be
The Moaners who are in town and playing at
Tasty World. Or
I Am the World Trade Center at the
40 Watt. Or our old pal
Redneck GReece who plays his usual show tonight (the first of two this weekend) at
Jot 'Em Down. Mmm-mmm good.
But before all that, you should all tune your radios to
WUGA (91.7) this afternoon at 4PM to hear
Bob Hay & The Jolly Beggars perform on "It's Friday". It's usually structured as an hour-long show that features interview mixed with live performance. And they seem like the kinda band that's gonna sound really good. (Also, as a heads up, they'll be playing Ashford Manor Monday evening.)
SAT: There's actually a ton of stuff all day long...For the early-risers and those who like to jog/run/walk (that's probably less than 1% of you, I'm guessing),
Nuci's Space is having their annual
"Space Race" in the morning, with continued music, games, and family-oriented whatnot at The Tate Center through mid-afternoon, I'm assuming.
There's also
The North Georgia Folk Festival at
Sandy Creek Park all day. I don't know much about it, but
Flagpole sure does. Anyway, sounds interesting. More
here.
Or, you can swing by Georgia Square Mall where they're hosting a Hurricane Katrina Relief Benefit (I always have to put "Relief" in their now ever since [Je Suis France drummer] Jeff Griggs said, "You're going to give all our money to the Hurricane that destroyed New Orleans?" at the JSF show). Here's the line-up for that:
Ben Burgess 12-12:45
Polemic- 1-1:45
Burn the Dying City- 2-2:45
Cigarello- 3-3:45
Flood City Shoot Out- 4-4:45
Nate Nelson- 5-5:30
Guff- 5:45-6:15
Unusual Suspects- 6:30-7:15
The Leavers- 7:30-8:15
(I'm much too lazy to do all these links, but you've got Google access, right?)
When nighttime falls, and you wanna head out to the clubs...
Tasty World is hosting "Solid Gold Saturday Night". Rather than describe it myself, I'll let Jon from
The Bearfoot Hookers do it: "It's gonna be us,
The Chasers, and the elusive and legendary
Redneck GReece Deluxe. If you ever liked country music in any way, shape or form, God will surely smite you for missing this night. ... We've got a couple of guests coming to sit in with us and I suspect by the end of the night, most of all three bands will probably be on stage playing God knows what, but it'll be three chords and the truth for sure." He also mentioned this might become a semi-regular event. Thanks, Jon.
There's also
Hayride at the
Caledonia (with new super-drummer Dave Gerow),
Lake City at the
40 Watt, and
Erik Hinds rocking the Slayer covers on his self-made instrument over the
Healing Arts Centre at 8PM.
SUN: Nuci's Space's 5th Anniversary weekend continues - this time actually at the Space. DJ Kurtwood (Kurt Wood) will be playing tunes, and it says "featuring local music". It doesn't say who, but
this page has the
Hope For Agoldensummer logo, so maybe them? Who knows? Anyway, it starts at 6:30 PM. And once again, a very happy birthday to
Nuci's Space!
Also, fans of
My Morning Jacket will want to stop by
Five Star Day Cafe that evening as well because at 6PM, there will be a listening party for their new album there. I'm not sure how it'll sound, but I could use some Soul Chicken Pasta, that's for sure. Thanks to Ian for the heads up!
Afternoon Video Break
Some friends sent us over some video...Karate Media found the newest feel good hit: "It's
a loving tale of a father and son..."
Hillary sent us
this "rawk prom" short film from ifilm.
Finally,
Robo Dave says, "you should post
this. if you go to their media page, on the left side of the page there is a 'you gotta see this s__t' caption. some asian guy with long hair made a qotsa video for 'everybody knows your insane' song with him naked jumpin round in the snow and dancin round like a big queer metal head douche bag. its [effing] funny."
To be honest, I haven't had time to watch any of these yet. I'm sure they're at least funny. As for whether or not they're safe for work, well... consider the source. Ye be warned.
Roadkill Rage!
I'm cursed, Dayjobbers. I'm sure y'all remember when a few weeks ago I was driving to work and the car in front of me flipped dog entrails onto my windshield (I'd link to the post, but I'm very lazy and I know no one cares enough to re-read it). So I'm driving home from work last night on 316, and I'm just getting into Oconee County when a squirrel runs out under my car. Thump! I don't like running over animals, as it makes me feel all queasy and guilty inside, so I was still kind of grossed out when I remembered I needed to stop by the mall to pick up a birthday present for a co-worker before I went home. So I went to the mall, and I parked next to a lady who was loading her 2 kids into her car and had her passenger door wide open and jutting into the parking space I was pulling into. I avoided the door and smiled at her as I got out and walked toward the mall. However, as I'm walking away, I hear her shouting at me..."Hey....hey...hey lady...hey you, white lady, hold up!" I turn around and the woman is waving at me to come back to my car - I was still in a bad mood after my bout of squirrel killing and preferred to be left alone, but I started to walk back to my car and responded "Yes, ma'am?" The woman scrunched up her face like something smelled funny and said "Girl, I didn't mean to holler at ya but I turned around after I shut my door and saw that you got something funky stuck on your tire you might wanna clean up." And sure enough, when I examine my left front tire, there appears to be something a few inches long, a little bloody and very furry stuck to one of the divets in my hubcap, which I'm assuming (although I didn't examine it too closely), was probably part of that dead squirrel's tail. I waited until the lady left and proceeded to remove the gore with a leftover Chick-fil-A straw I found in my glove compartment, and wiped my hubcap off with some wet wipes I keep handy for when my niece and nephew eat ice cream or other sticky shit in my car. I never assumed I would use wet wipes for this purpose. I guess I'm going to need to put together a roadkill cleanup kit to keep in my car from now on with the way my luck is looking. I swear, if this happens to me one more time I'm just trading my Toyota in for a tank or something. GROSS!
Wiping Entrails Across The Floors
If you liked the
Slogan Generator that we posted the other day, then you just might like the
poem generator too. All you have to do is give it the first line, such as this:
the day jobs visitors
I feel how it burns under my skin
wipes its entrails across the floors.
and I stood to go, for he was hollerin'It's a great way to annoy your friends too. Just send 'em random poems. Or there is
this site that generates poems from URLs that you feed it. The internets really is a fun place to hang.
Gas Up
Just a reminder to the poor, lazy, and forgetful (most of us here, I'd imagine): the gas tax returns on Saturday, so fill up now. As much as I had gas panics, doing this will save you about 20 cents a gallon. Word.
UPDATE: That should read "I
hate gas panics"... but for comedy's sake, I'm leaving it as is.
Tonight In Athens
Wow, there's a helluva lot going on...
First off,
Pylon's headlining at
Nuci's Space tonight. They're helping kick off a big week for Nuci's - Fifth Anniversary week. Lots more info on all this
here and
here. Happy Birthday to the Space!
Also, as if you didn't know, background-music-on-the-OC-and-in-the-Gap stars
Of Montreal make the
40 Watt a dancing mecca tonight. They're always fun (except when some tiny dancer keeps bumping into you over and over and doesn't seem to care like what happened last time to me... but that's another story). Anyway, it's rarely a let-down. Well-deserved notoriety.
There's some great math-y stuff next door at the
Caledonia where
Cinemechanica will be playing. And the always-enjoyable
Col. Knowledge and the Lickity-Splits over at
Tasty World. Be nice to Col. Knowledge bassist Aaron if he seems out of breath at the show, cause he'll be hiking it from Little Kings where his other band
Vicariously Through Cats (who I hear from several folks are great) will be playing a benefit of some sort there with
The Visitations and others.
So go, choose...
Mangum Rumors
There's some Jeff Mangum rumors floatin' around...
Hillary's comments revealed
this. Then, someone posted
this in our comments.
So he's in town... and he's recording... anyone know more?
Bunny!
Italians do
the strangest things.
(Thanks to Hillary for the link!)
Tonight In Athens
63 Crayons and a few others play the
40 Watt tonight for a Hurricane Katrina relief benefit. I haven't seen 'em since Popfest, but then their singer reminded me of the Talking Heads guy. And they were really good.
Also, for fans of The State or all those VH1 shows,
Michael Ian Black will be at Georgia Hall (in the Tate Student Center) tonight at 7:30.
Streaming Audio
Sick of all the albums you own? Here is yet another site that
streams albums. It's the shizzle, so far.
Time-Wasters
Here is a new review of an old album (though it has been reissued). Pitchfork
discusses Neutral Milk Hotel. And to completely waste the next 10 minutes of your life, here is a cool
slogan generator site. It is very easy to get carried away with this one.
"Sharing the Desktop Publisher of your Life."
"Mama's got the Magic of Desktop Publisher."
"Nobody Does It Like Desktop Publisher."
"The Coolest Desktop Publisher on Ice."
What are your slogans?
Everybody Hates Chris on Google Video
The Google blog reports that you can watch the
entire first episode of Chris Rock's new series, Everybody Hates Chris, on Google Video. They say:
There's no viewer to download, and the bigger video window (which expands automatically to your browser size) is now compatible with Mac and Linux as well as Windows. You can skip around in the video and start watching it instantly, even beyond what's been buffered. And you can watch a 10-second snippet of playable videos right on the results page - making it easier to decide whether you want to commit to the whole thing.
Pets In Uniform

I'm just gonna go ahead and say, for the record, that
these are disturbing images. And yet, I laugh.
(via Memepool.)
Tonight...
...In Athens: The always wonderful
Liz Durrett opens things up at the
40 Watt tonight for semi-newbie act
Ham 1. More on the latter
here. Also,
the hip-hop show I mentioned yesterday is actually taking place tonight. Sorry. Again, hope no one counts on us for every detail. Or you know, even the big ones.
...On TV:
"No Direction Home" continues. Same time, same channel.
UPDATE: Ham 1 link added.
Armed Dolphins Released By Katrina
The effects of hurricane Katrina keep on hitting us... Now, we have to worry about
dolphins armed w/ toxic dart guns.
Particularly interesting is
this comment on a Slashdot post about the topic:
"
What could be the porpoise of arming these creatures? Before we starting carping on the ineptitude of our navy, I think we should more carefully exsalmon the situation - they may not be solely at fault. Perhaps Katrina is just a red herring here, and these killer dolphins have been floundering around for months. Maybe some deranged fool let them loose just for the halibut. Whoever is responsible should have their head on a pike."
Guide To Commenting
Lifehacker has
a nice guide to commenting on blogs that you all should read.
We all break some of these rules from time to time... However, there's one TDJ commenter in particular that breaks the "Stay on topic" and "Don’t post when you’re angry, upset, drunk or emotional" rules on a regular basis, but I won't call him out here (**cough** Robo-Dave **cough**).
Anyways, these are nice rules to keep in mind... although, I'd like to add one:
Always use proper grammar and spelling: Otherwise "
Head" will get all over your ass.
Guthrie's Is Back! (Kinda)
Thanks to
Jimmy for dropping
the magnificent news of the magically-reappearing Danielsville
Guthrie's location. Ours is not to question why. If this news doesn't make your week, I don't know what will.
Now, the only question left is: "Does anyone know how to get there?"
(PS If anyone posts a comment in a post that's more than 3 days old, you might wanna also drop a reference to said comment in the current comments cause most likely, no one will see it otherwise as we have very short attention spans. Thanks!)
Tonight On Your TV

Tonight starts the first of the two-part Martin Scorcese documentary,
No Direction Home, about the beginning of
Bob Dylan's musical career. It airs
on PBS (channel 8 for many of you) tonight and tomorrow night both at 9PM (Part 1 tonight, Part 2 tomorrow night). Basically, it's supposed to tell the story of how he went from unknown to folk hero to "Judas!". Early reviews are all great. We'll see.
Tonight In Athens
The Kulture Lounge kicks off a new weekly hip-hop series. Tonight's features local rappers
Ishues and
Big Earl (note: I did not find a webpage for this particular "Big Earl", but I did find one for
this one). I don't know much about this, but Athens doesn't have much rap and these guys seem to be the best at it from 'round here (other than Lil' Flip and
Fairmount Fair, of course!).
Monday Morning Sound-Off
Yo, G's. Tell us how your weekend went. What'd you do/see/hear/eat that was worth mouthing off about? Granted, that's not much of a standard around here, but do your best. After all, we all wanna live well.
The Washington Post Links to TDJ
Earlier,
Mail Clerk posted a link to the WAPO story about Lennon... Well, now
we're a part of the story... sort of. Check the screen shot:

Lennon The Druggie, Not Lennon The Revolutionary
The Washington Post has a
brief but funny story about how the FBI discarded their very serious theories about John Lennon's revolutionary tendencies because of his
other tendencies. "Man, I'd like to hijack that convention and all, but what I really want is some Krystal."
(via Wonkette.)
Tales from the REAL O.C. - Reach out and Touch Someone
This isn't technically a story from the O.C., but I received a rather odd phone call from my father last night. Since he's over half deaf, he hates talking on the phone and usually only calls me if someone died or something is horribly wrong with my mother. This is our conversation:
Legal Bitch: "Hey Dad." Dad: (over awful howling noise in background) "Hey honey, listen I have a problem." LB: "What the hell is that noise?" Dad: "It's the dog." LB: "What's the matter with him?" Dad: "I think he might have nut cancer...there's a big tumor looking bump on his nutsac that feels hard and I when I try to get a good feel on it he starts howling and snapping at me." LB: "Well, Dad, wouldn't you cry and snap at somebody if they grabbed your nuts...wait a sec, are you grabbing the dog's nuts right now?" Dad: "Well yeah-look, I called because I need you to Google doggie nut cancer for me and see if you can find a picture or something, I can't hold the phone and his nuts and work the mouse at the same time, and you know we're still on dial-up so it'll take forever to download." LB: "Dad, if you're really concerned about the dog I suggest you take it to a vet and let them look at his nuts. I don't think either of us are qualified to diagnose canine testicular cancer over the phone." Dad: "So you not gonna look it up for me?" LB: "No, I'm not looking it up. Take him to the vet and they'll take care of it." Dad: "I'm just worried about his nuts-I can't have my boy out of action, you know what I mean." LB: "Dad, first off, that's gross, and second, that dog is 12 years old and hideously ugly, and all he does is sit outside in his doghouse and chew holes in our waterhose. I don't think he's been concerned with female dogs in a long time, and I feel very awkward talking about this with you. Is my mother there?" Dad: "No, she said the dog howling was giving her a headache so she went next door to your brother's." LB: "Wise woman." Dad: "What?" LB: "Nevermind. Look I gotta go, I have plans this evening." Dad: "What kind of plans do you have at almost 9:00 at night on a Thursday, young lady?" LB: "Dad, I'm 29 now, it's not the 1950s anymore, and I haven't lived in your house for almost 12 years, so I don't think it's really your business what I do at night, is it?" Dad: "Just asking, smartass. Look, I need to tell you one more thing before you go...I was talking with my buddy down at the bail bondsman place and I found another gun to buy for you." LB: "Dad, I didn't accept the first 3 pistols you tried to offer me, and what the hell are you doing hanging out at the bail bondsman place? Has something else happened recently that you need to tell me about?" Dad: "It's a .45 automatic Glock 30. It still has the power of the bigger Glock model but has a 13 round magazine, and is smaller and lighter, since I know you're concerned with recoil." LB: "Dad, while I'm glad you were thoughtful enough to try and pick out the Honda Civic model of the Glock line for me, I've told you repeatedly I do not want a weapon-I might end up shooting myself by accident or my roommate, and I need him for rent money. And also because I think having a gun makes a person, especially one from our family, overly paranoid and really scary to other people." Dad: "You've been around guns your whole life, where'd you get that idea?" LB: "Nevermind. Look, I really gotta go, but please, just let go of the dog's nuts and leave him alone for the night, don't buy me a gun, and I'll check in on you and mom this weekend sometime." Dad: (dog is still howling) "Well thanks a lot for nothing, smartass." LB: "Sweet Jesus help me, goodnight Daddy. Be nice to my mom, please." Dad: "What?"
I hung up in frustration and reminded myself that I have caller id for a reason. My father is a nutjob (no pun intended).
Free Nightmares Courtesy Of CNN
I'm sure there's a good adjective to describe
this article, but it's probably closest to that sound you make when you shiver.
Squalls Go Digital

Leave it to me in my "extensive" search for some Squalls songs on CD to not actually check their website. Thanks to Bob for bringing
this great collection of Squalls mp3's to my attention. And lucky for me (and y'all), there's a new live show up for download as well.
As a sidenote to band members: First band I hear play a decent cover of "Na NaNaNa" gets a high-five from me and maybe a round of drinks too, depending on how good it is. (The Jolly Beggars don't count cause there's like 18 of them and it's kinda like cheating... but you'd all still get high-fives all-around.)
Young, Wasted Alex Chilton Goodness
Another goodie from the comments yesterday,
Karate Media posted
this link for video of a young Alex Chilton appearing (then as part of The Box Tops) on the Mike Douglas show. And for giving credit where credit's due, thanks to Jay for sending it out previously.
He-Man VS 4-Non Blondes
For those who don't read the comments, Robo dropped
this little gem yesterday. Thanks, RD!
This Weekend In Athens
Okay, it's impossible to get bored tonight...
FRI: TDJ-fave
Nutria takes the stage at the
Caledonia. It's no secret by now that we think these guys rule, and not just because of their foul-mouthed (yet very talented) bassist. They've got a pop sensibility like no other. I've said it before, and I'll say it again:
download "Anita" from their site and you won't be sorry. Also, word has it that
Murder Beach will be there as well. That's two great pop bands. Hard to beat.
Of course, there's also the
Pavement Cover Posse over at
Little Kings. There's nothin' wrong with Pavement covers - they're fun and easy to do. Last time they played, I had a blast.
UPDATE: the PCP is asking for folks to come join 'em on stage tonight. They've even provided
the set list/chords for tonight. They say, "The more people who come and play, the more fun it'll be for everybody. We'll bring some extra instruments and percussion, hopefully enough for everybody, but feel free to bring your own stuff (also, a bass amp would be awesome)."
For more atmospheric stuff, try the
40 Watt where
Maserati and
Iron Hero are playing. Both of those bands make me feel like I'm wearing headphones even though I'm not. So, that's cool. More
here and
here.
If you're just out walking around, or on the porch of Room 13, or you're hungry for what I hear is good food, then you can see
Count and
Electa Villain play at
Farm 255. Or of course, there's always the other great Friday food n' music option:
Redneck GReece at
Jot 'Em Down.
Finally, thanks to Dan for bringing this bit of info about the
Roadhouse show tonight featuring
the Dictatortots:
"The fifth annual Tau Omega Tau Toga Party will be held Friday, September
23, 2005 at the Roadhouse on Lumpkin Street in Athens.
As always, the Dictatortots will perform a variety of feats of
musicianship, terrorism, nudity and alcoholism.
Admission is only a dollar. However, as the Dictatortots are still
paying off debts related to their recent album,
Dung Shui, they will be
accepting tips as well. A pricing schedule is attached.
Price sheet for 2005 TOT toga party
----------------------------------------------
Attendance:
----------------
Attended show: $1
Enjoyed show: $5
Changed life: $25
Requests:
------------
Songs we know: $1
Songs we don't know: $5
Songs we hate: $10
Repeat surcharge: $5 extra
Stop playing song: $5
Prostitution:
--------------------------
Make out with Bo Bender: $1
Make out with other 'tot: $10
Wrong gender surcharge: $20
Ugly tax: $10
See Tru's nuts: $5"
So that sounds like fun too. TOGA!
SAT: So it looks like everyone packed everything into Friday. That being said, you can see
The Posies (remember them?) play at two different times. They're doing an in-store performance at
School Kids Records at 5PM and they're playing
Tasty World at night. I haven't heard them in a long time. More
here.
SUN: From Hillary: "This Sunday, 5-8 at old Cofers on Cedar Shoals: Free food by Bruno Rubio of Caliente Cab, music, and photos and famous folk art to auction for NOLA relief..."
This sounds awesome. More
here.
The Best Way to Honor an Ex-President...
If you want to remember a former commander-in-chief like Bill Clinton, don't give him a stamp or put his picture on some currency,
name a condom after him (and the intern who gave him a b.j.). Leave it to the Chinese to think of a scheme like this - they are an ingenious people. If you don't feel like clicking the link, I'll give you the best part right here:
The Clinton condoms will go on sale in southern China for 29.8 Yuan ($3.72) for a box of 12, while the Lewinsky model will be priced at 18.8 Yuan ($2.35) for the same quantity.
"The Clinton condom will be the top of our line," he said. "The Lewinsky condom is not quite as good."
Much Ado About Pooping

Vet Pharmacist and I recently caught a bit of the
Dual Action Cleanse infomercial on TV. You've never seen people more excited about their own bowels (well except maybe Robo ... or
Dooce ... but other than that). And make sure you check out
this guy - who's like their main spokesperson or something.
UPDATE: I just want it to be known that at one point,
we were tops in "pooping".
Two Political Movies
* Musician/novelist/Independent candidate for Texas Governor, Kinky Friedman, has launched his first campaign commercial on his Web site.
It's worth a look.
*
A look behind the process of creating Dubya's speeches.
Tonight In Athens

Wow, lots going on... there are actually two great shows at the
40 Watt tonight. First, at 8PM (attention early show advocates!)
Jonathan Byrd makes a trip into town to play with
Dromedary. I like Dromedary solo, but this show's even better. Definitely worth catching.
Then, at 10PM
The Chasers open for
Shooter Jennings (Waylon's son). Don't know about the latter, but The Chasers are always fun and I've heard they have some new songs. Of course, the guest musicianship of one Philip McArdle (Star Room Boys) should make anyone want to go to the show. Too bad "Nothing But McArdle" doesn't have the same ring to it.
Across town at
Tasty World you can all the hard-math action you could want with
Coulier and
We Versus The Shark gracing the stage. I think this show is somehow tied to the Hurricane Katrina Benefit going on at the same time upstairs featuring the
Ginger Envelope and others.
And if you wanna just stay home, turn on
WUOG (90.5) around 8 to hear
Venice Is Sinking play on "Live in the Lobby". They're always great.
Straight Out Of Compton
How well do you know your
gangsta rap? Be careful not to answer wrong though!
Pool The Lee Majors Way

As I appeared to be taking quite a
punishment at the pool tables this weekend, I had to explain something to Legal Bitch. You see, the thing is: I learned from the best instructional video of all time:
Pool The Lee Majors Way.
Yes, the star of
The Six Million Dollar Man and
The Fall Guy knows more than just well-crafted acting skills. He knows pool. And he can teach it. However, his methods are more about getting the most out of your game than actual "skill" per se. If you also watched these videos, you'd learn lessons like:
Lesson 6: It is more important to make a loud sound than a skillful shot. No one wants to pot the ball like a wimp. But if you miss, at least it'll sound impressive.
Lesson 18: Get the most length you can out of your pool game. After all, you paid for it. So you don't have to sink one every time. Or even every tenth time. Enjoy it.
Lesson 22: If you accidentally make an outstanding shot, at least act like you meant to. Likely, no one will know the difference.
Lesson 57: Allow your opponent to take the lead. This will give them a false sense of confidence as they don't realize that slowly but surely, they are stacking physics and statistics in your favor. The more of your balls that are on the table, the greater the likelihood that
you will sink one. Do this repeatedly to ensure a come from behind victory.
Lesson 93: Many people mess up on the final, crucial step. There is nothing wrong with the victory one achieves when your opponent scratches on the 8 ball. A "W" is a "W", my friend.
Lesson 117: Whistling is distracting.
Lesson 119: Keep putting that blue chalky stuff on the end of your cue, even if you don't know what it does. The pros all do it. It looks good. You might even want to put some of the other kind of chalky stuff on your hands too.
Lesson 254: Drink. A lot of piss poor skill has been passed off on alcohol consumption in the past. And it still can be.
I guess if none of that works, you can always just make up some fake instructional video that no one's gonna believe. That is, till they see it in action.
Man, I suck at pool.
Deep Thoughts
Here are some funny
posters for sports fans.
Athens Audio
It's a month later now, but still good as new if you download it. Here is the
Tall Dwarfs set from the
Orange Twin Conservation Community show from August 6, 2005 (the one with Olivia Tremor Control and GOAT).
Michael Ian Black At UGA
Mr. Black is nowhere to be found in this picture, but he is in this movie and the picture is funny.
One week from today (that is, on September 28th) at 7 PM, Michael Ian Black (aka "Johnny Bluejeans") will be appearing at the Tate Center in Georgia Hall. I think it's free for students and $2 for non-students, and you can get tix at the Tate Center sales counter. That is all I know, and I'm posting it now cause I'll likely forget later. So if you wanna go, get your tix now.
The Gloves Are Off
Mayor Ray Nagin is now
taking shots at FEMA, Planned Parenthood has come up with an innovative way to
fight back against protestors, and no doubt, everyone wants to kick Hurricane Rita's ass. (Not to mention, they are running out of
hurricane names this season.) The gloves are off, my friends, the gloves are off.
Manufactured Music
Can't find a band you like around town, why not
create your own?
(By the way, my band totally kicks your band's butt.)
Raiding Lifehacker
From time to time I just like to do a sweep of Lifehacker to see what cool stuff I can find. This time I found:=
Web-based IMing (to trick the powers that be).
=How to
have a strange mechanical voice call your friends.
=A widget that tells you
where the cheap gas is (Mac only).
and even=
How to be an extrovert.
Amazing the things you can simply steal off other sites.UPDATE: Last link fixed. But while I was working on fixing it, I found out
how to stream your home iTunes from work.
Rock Tourism in Athens
I'm a day late posting this article, but this is a site known for slackers so what do you expect? CNN discusses
Athens music history and its attempt (or lack thereof) at preservation.
I've Never Been More Proud of my Nephew

He wasn't actually flipping the bird. He'd gone to the doctor and got his middle finger pricked. He was only showing off his badge of honor. But it's just something about this photo... it's the posture, the defiant bird-flip, the tongue... the whole thing. Makes my heart swell with pride.
Aye Aye
Did you know that today is
International Talk Like A Pirate Day? Yeah, I didn't know either. I also didn't know that I could say this on Pirate Day and get away with it: “Well, me hearties, let’s see what crawled out of the bung hole."
Who knew today would be this much fun?
Attention Everyday Warriors
Well y'all, the rumor's true: you can get your official
jhpii gear for free at
his website. You can choose from bottle openers, coozies, coffee mugs, or the best, the "Everyday Warrior" t-shirt (the t's are American Apparel - no BS - jhp ain't skimpin!). Check 'em out
here.
And for those unfamiliar with this living legend, here's
our first story about him and
a follow-up. Rock!
(Thanks to Hillary for the heads up!)
Mendoza Line Preview

Thanks to Pedro for passing on a link to
preview a track from the new Mendoza Line record,
Full of Light and Full of Fire. I think that's one of the few bands that all the TDJer's agree on. They're good.
Monday Morning Sound-Off
What up, y'all? It's early Monday morning... not yet time to look forward, but the memories of last week might still linger. Let us know all 'bout it in the comments. Anyone "tie one on", "get crunked up", or "ham-jam"? Drop a line.
Group Project?
Here are some more tangible steps you can take to help out the hurricane evacuees. Pass on to your friends!
- There is a small yahoogroup set up where folks are posting exactly what items are needed for families transitioning into Athens housing. Specific addresses are listed, whereby you can go directly to the families-in-need and drop off donated items such as sheets, clothes, furniture, etc. Also, if you have a truck and can help take one or two people to the Salvation Army to pick up items, you will be a treasure over there. If you can spare anything, please do.
- With the above in mind, I have taken it upon myself to sort of "adopt" a family. They came from the Eaonton shelter and are now transitioning into Athens housing. I went over there last night to find out what they needed and well, they need everything. They are starting from scratch, so let's help 'em! Do you have ANY extra furniture? The kids have been sleeping on the floor, but their mom got them an air mattress last night. I think a real mattress would be huge, but many other items would be helpful too. Bedding, cleaning supplies, food, toys, etc. There are about 7 living in the house, including 3-4 kids.
If you are going to the Caledonia tonight for the "townie tailgate", feel free to bring any small item(s) you can spare and I'll take them off your hands to deliver to this family. Or, you can deliver it, especially furniture, directly to them at 224 Weir Circle. (This is off S. Newton, which is off Broad St., near Taco Stand/Vision Video.) If you do end up dropping stuff off at their new home, please let me know (in the comments) so that I can keep tabs on what they do and don't need so efforts aren't repeated. There are other families that I have addresses for, but I am hoping that all of us can start with this family.
Gold-Rush Era Diseases

There's a new Cheat Commandos short on Homestarrunner, and it's about
making positive Peer-2-Teen Choices!
'Do's for Disaster Relief
City Salon & Spa is offering "free" haircuts this Sunday afternoon. Here's the deal:"Please join us
Sunday September 18th as we raise money for the victims of hurricane Katrina. We will be offering special rates on haircuts and blowouts. All proceeds go to the Red Cross to aide the victims of the recent hurricane.
Twenty dollar donations will receive a
"free" haircut.
Fifteen dollar donations will receive a
"free" blow dry and style.
So come on out
Sunday 9/18 from
noon til 6pm. No appointments necessary. First come, first serve.
There will be a raffle for FABULOUS salon AND spa services. We'll also be offering refreshments and tasty grill treats. So come joing us for a day of beauty and charity.
552-1515 \ Located Next To Panera On Atl. Hwy."
I get mine early because I know peeps (so yes, even guys can do this - they'd probably even prefer it cause we're quicker turn-around), but I'm sure there'll be plenty o' space Sunday afternoon and it's a great cause. Be there or be un-styled.
This Weekend In Athens
FRI: The "Second Annual Townie Tailgate" takes place tonight at
The Caledonia. You can pretty much see the whole deal above, so I won't repeat. But it's gonna be good and I'm gonna be there and I'm gonna get crunk. Good stuff. More
here and
here.
Of course, there's also
Redneck at
Jot 'Em Down. 6:30. Bring cash.
SAT: Astra and
Col. Knowledge & The Lickity-Splits both play
the Caledonia. That's a huge spectrum of music to cover, but both are really good. I've yet to see a Col. Knowledge show where they don't end up drenched in sweat - yeah, they're workin' for it.
For a more pure-rock evening, there's
Bloodkin and "Kings of Garage Trash" (featuring
Dexter Romweber) at the
Georgia Theatre.
Also,
Grand Fury plays a reunion show at
Tasty World. Is it allowed to be a reunion if it's within a year? Guess so. But they were good then, and I'm sure they'll be good now.
My Dad Says You Can Beat the Devil Out of People...
People will hold a convention for anything these days. It's nice to know that the Roman Catholics do it for
exorcism. I like how the article gives us a basic recipe for an exorcism:
The official Roman Catholic exorcism starts with prayers, a blessing and sprinkling of holy water, the laying on of hands on the possessed, and the making of the sign of the cross.
It ends with an “imperative formula” in which the devil is ordered to leave the possessed.
The formula begins: “I order you, Satan...” It goes on to denounce Satan as “prince of the world” and “enemy of human salvation.” It ends: “Go back, Satan.”This exorcism course is 4 months long. I didn't realize you needed that much study to beat the devil - I mean, everyone has seen
The Exorcist, right? I thought you just read some of the bible, sprinkle some holy water, and hope for the best. And hey, you can do the course via videoconference now as well! Way to hit the 21st century, Pope Benedict!
I Gotta Pee Pee
There's nothing more humiliating than when you're in the middle of trying to look professional, and
you're just about to pee your pants.
p.s. as usual,
Wonkette has a funny take on this
They Say it's Your Birthday...
Today we celebrate the birth of several folks - TDJ correspondent Mailclerk, TDJ blogger Hillary, and Computer Support's fiancee Tit Offensive. Give them some love in the comments. Happy Birthday to all!
Tonight In Athens

The
Campbell sisters (of
Hope For Agoldensummer fame) will be playing a show at Little King's at about 9PM-ish. There's a hippie meeting beforehand though, so you know that's gonna run long. Anyway, should be a great show, and they say it'll be all love (relationship-oriented) songs.
For something noisier, there's
Garbage Island at the
Lunch Paper.
Grab Your Incense
If anyone is looking to take a vacation, this particular
eBay auction might be up your alley.
Milledgeville Asylum

Even though Milledgeville was once the site of
the world's largest insane asylum, I can't seem to find much on it now. It's now known as
Central State Hospital and has a museum dedicated to its strange history, but sadly no website dedicated to that museum. Anyone got any Milledgeville stories or more good links?
Is This A Trap?
I was browsing the
Eugene, OR Craigslist, and came across
this job offer...
This has to be a trap, right? They're gonna pelt applicants w/ bottles of patchouli.
...But Football Season Comes Again
A final note on the death of Hunter S. Thompson.
(via the always awesome IDontLikeYouInThatWay.)
Nerd Alert!
Apparently,
CS's boredom is news (and so is our self-love).
And in response,
101: As for the "Blogs We Like" links, I don't think they were ever 'ordered', other than
The Tit Offensive because it's Sarah's really awesome site (and she's CS's fiance and my friend/former roomie and because she had cancer and you have to be nice to people who have or have had that). However, if you wanna put like a giant banner linking to us somewhere on your front page, we can totally arrange a #2 slot for you (no jokes about that sentence, Robo). Think about it.
In any case, thanks for the shout-out, y'all!
Tonight In Athens
Pushbutton, one of two new projects featuring former Annaray frontman Chris Uhde (the other is known as "Flight 19"), plays it's third show (I think) at the
Caledonia tonight. Reports from the other shows have been overwhelmingly positive - so much so that I'm hoping they play on a weekend sometime or maybe an early show (hint, hint). Until then, the working stiffs like me will just have to take folks' word for it. But if you're looking for good music tonight, that's probably the place to be.
Downtown Design
For those who have been interested in the ongoing debate about the state of Downtown Athens, you might consider attending this
meeting tonight with Mayor Davison. "A community-wide public workshop on downtown Athens design guidelines will take place on Tuesday, September 13 at 7:00 p.m. in the Athena Ballroom at the Classic Center."
Spurrier Cries
Here's a selection of waaaaaaaa's from Spurrier after Saturday's game:
"I thought they got away with some holds early, they finally started calling it later."
"I don't usually like to talk about it, but we played a lot of freshman."
"We had a touchdown called back on a motion penalty, our receiver had his toes moving. I guess the official felt like he had to call it."
"That and a missed extra point here, a missed field goal there, you lose the game."
"My momma didn't breast feed me."
Wendy's Grill Skiz'ill
From Hillary:"All instructional work videos should be like
this ... And they should all have singing beef patties with earrings."
Can We Laugh Now?
Which one is "The Skipper"?Okay, it's about damn time we got some funny outta all this. Above is my favorite picture so far of this whole thing. What do you suppose they're looking for? Possible caption:
Six officials search for a lost 'goat. One has an idea. Another sees a pretty bird.
Y'all know last week was s'posed to be gay Mardi Gras, right? Feel free to make up your own.
The Other Half Of Azure Ray
Whether or not you caught Maria Taylor's show last night,
here's some news on her collaborator of many years,
Orenda Fink. No Georgia dates yet, but I'm absolutely sure one'll turn up. Eventually.
Blogging From A High Rise In New Orleans
Thanks to the unidentified person who sent us
this link. Like they said, "If you can access the web cam it is pretty creepy too."
Tonight In Athens
For some "face-melting grindcore", there's
Ceramic Duck at
Tasty World (they're actually pretty good, I'm just not so sure about that description). Earlier,
Don Chambers'll be on
WUOG's (90.5's) "Live in the Lobby" at or around 8PM-ish.
Was Katrina Mad at Lesbians?
What can I say here, other than, does this idiot actually
believe this or does he just say it to get contributions? (Thanks to
Printmaker for the link.)
The Tom Collins

Here is a lengthy
review of the new album by
The Tom Collins,
Daylight Tonight. They will be playing a cd release show at the Caledonia on October 7. I'm sure it will kick ass, as usual. The album will officially be released on October 4 and distributed by
Terminus Records. It blows my mind that these guys haven't been picked up by a record label yet. Be sure to catch the show or check out the new album.
My Bad
AMdC made the mistake of asking me to do an interview for them with
Je Suis France (in preparation for this Friday's event at the Caledonia). Usually, when you do an interview, at least one of the two parties is supposed to be somewhat responsible and professional.
Oh well.
When RoboDave Meets GrubNotes
Ever wonder what would happen if
Hillary couldn't do the
GrubNotes column for a week and instead had RoboDave write it? Think it might be a bit like
this.
(NSFW. Thanks to Chris for the link!)
Tonight In Athens
Maria Taylor finally drops back by Athens for a solo set tonight at the
Caledonia opening for
Parker & Lily. Her album
11:11 largely follows the Azure Ray track towards 'pop folk', and has some really great songs on it. Definitely worth a listen. And as a bonus, tonight's show is early. So, that's awesome. More
here.
Monday Morning Sound-Off
Hey y'all, what's been up in your worlds this past week? Drop us all the news in the comments. Especially if something's been extra-specially great.
And On This Note
You guys have a great weekend. We'll leave you with this priceless piece of
video that ran across the news last night. Vice President Cheney gets a dose of "Go f*** yourself" commentary.
Uga VI In The House
From Hillary:"On Friday night, Uga VI will attend the first public screening of
“Damn Good Dog,” a dogumentary filmed and produced by Athens-based
Nowhere Productions. On Saturday evening, he’ll watch his Georgia Bulldogs make short work of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.
The screening will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Masters Hall at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, and will be open to the public. The party starts at 7 p.m., with a cash bar and free popcorn available. Uga VI, owner Sonny Seiler and “Damn Good Dog” Director and Producer Erica McCarthy will host a question and answer session after the movie. Tickets are $5 and available at the door.
Damn Good Dog is the story of Uga, the Georgia Bulldogs’ official mascot, and the Seiler family of Savannah, who have maintained the famed line of English bulldogs as family pets since 1956..."
Party On, NOLA
Just a little bit of positive thought before the weekend... there's already talk that
Mardi Gras 2006 will go on.
Links and Such
Well, I hope to find something funny for you guys as the day goes on, but for now, I have more Katrina-related links.
- Quite simply the most astonishing video with a victim I have seen yet. If this doesn't make you want to make sure it never happens again, I don't know what will.
- An article on New Orleans by famed author Anne Rice.
- An interesting map that shows which areas were declared "disaster areas" pre-Katrina. It really doesn't make much sense when it's all laid out.
- We've all heard bits and pieces of the interview with Mayor Nagin where he said a few choice words. Here's the whole thing. About halfway through is the stuff I had mostly not heard yet. At the end, you can hear the Mayor and the interviewer crying.
- Here is a text interview with Mayor Nagin which I had not read yet. He talks about his meeting with the President and the LA Governor on Air Force one. Interesting to see who he says needed the 24 hours to make a decision.
- A very well done photojournal started before the hurricane hit and carried on during all the chaos.
If I get any more links today, I'll just add them to this blog instead of adding new blogs about the same topic. Thanks to
Jason Meaux, a firefighter who volunteered in New Orleans, for providing much of these links.
This Weekend In Athens
Showcase your momma...
FRI: Fundamental Records hosts a showcase of sorts tonight at the
40 Watt featuring
Jack Logan & The Monday Night Recorders,
Love Tractor,
Workhorses of the Entertainment/Recreational Industry and others. Certainly a good group of folks, none of whom play very often. I'm just happy to see WERI finally releasing something. More
here and
here.
There's also
Five-Eight rocking out the
Caledonia and/or
Redneck GReece country-ing out (why can't that be a verb?)
Jot 'Em Down BBQ. Since both of those things have been going on forever, you probably already know if they interest you or not.
SAT: Holy crap, one of the best line-ups in a long time (or at least since last weekend) is at the
40 Watt.
Ceiling Fan,
Nutria, and
The Stand-Ins rock the place out. I mean it, if you like rock n' roll,
real rock n' roll, then this is the place to be. Even if you never go out to see music, I can't think of too many people who would leave this show disappointed. It's that good. More
here.
Or, if you're in the mood for something a little louder, faster, and angrier,
Music Hates You makes a rare public apppearance down at the
Caledonia. They're in a rare category... I don't wanna say "none more loud" cause maybe that's not true, but they're up there.
Of course,