Monday, June 30, 2008

Unemployed Man on a Monday



What I meant to say, about Jason Webley, is that he is playing at Neumo's on Thursday. I left out where exactly he is playing when I said it on the video.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Adventures of Unemployed Man



Hmmm. Perhaps next time, I should raise the camera up so I don't show quite so much thigh...

Mint Juleps

Friday, June 20, 2008

Soooooooo pissed at Netflix right now

Netflix, a service I love, has really pissed me off today. They have announced that they are getting rid of the profiles and separate queues.

Seems like a little thing, but you know, I pay for this service. Why should I continue to pay for the service when they have taken away the one thing that makes them superior to their competitor?

If it wasn't for the profile system on Netflix, I'd be awash in my wife's period piece romance movies, or watching 4 or 5 Cirque du Soleil DVDs in a row (I like Cirque du Soleil, but I need to break up watching their DVDs with something else!).

To add insult to injury, when they get rid of the profiles, they aren't going to merge or save the queues in any way. If you want, they'll e-mail you your queue list, and you can add it back manually.

I have 500 movies in my queue. I don't want to add them manually. Fuck you, Netflix.

I'm so mad, I'm thinking about canceling our account and switching to Blockbuster. And that's saying something, because I really, really hate Blockbuster.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Kickass song (and video): "Idle Hands" by The Gutter Twins

Saw this on Boing Boing and loved it - a new video from The Gutter Twins, a project of Mark Lanegan (formerly of Screaming Trees, who I very much like) and Greg Dulli (formerly of the Afghan Whigs). Kickass song, and a pretty cool video too.


Friday, June 06, 2008

Documentaries! and other stuff I like

There are a couple of documentaries coming out about things that interest me, and I'm excited to see them.

First off, Gonzo - a documentary about Hunter S. Thompson, one of my heroes. Documentary features Johnny Depp, Jimmy Carter (!), and more. Supposedly releasing on July 4, 2008. If it shows in Seattle, Wiwille and I are going dressed as Hunter. Trailer can be found here.

Second, Achievers - a documentary about fans of the film The Big Lebowski, and about the Lebowskifest. This apparently will screen for the first time at the upcoming Lebowskifest in Louisville, Kentucky in July. Trailer below, embedded from YouTube.

If you've never seen the brilliance that is The Big Lebowski, you must immediately go to the nearest video store and rent it and watch it - seriously, right now, quit reading this. I'm not sure I can talk to anyone who hasn't seen this movie.



Aside from documentaries, the Steampunk band Abney Park got interviewed recently. Not a bad little interview. They also got lauded by Coverville for their cover of the Radiohead song Creep. Coverville is a cool podcast that talks about and plays various artist's covers of famous songs. It's actually quite a well-done podcast. I probably never would have known about it had they not played Abney Park.

Monday, June 02, 2008

The Blues just got a little bit bluer

I am a big fan of Blues music. Years ago, I realized that the best blues musicians were very old, and likely wouldn't be around much longer. Muddy Waters and many others were already retired or dead, but three stood out in my mind, and I vowed that I would see those three perform live before they died or quit.

The first was John Lee Hooker, who really defined my love for blues music. I got to see him perform in 1995. He died six years later.

Second was B.B. King, arguably the biggest name in blues. I got to see him perform just a couple of years ago, with young whippersnapper (by blues standards) Kenny Wayne Shepherd opening. It was an amazing show. King is still alive and performing, so I hope actually to be able to see him perform live again.

Last but not least was Bo Diddley, rabble-rouser and self-proclaimed founder of rock 'n' roll. I got to see him perform live in 2000, as part of the opening celebration for the Experience Music Project. I saw a lot of great musicians perform that day, but it stands out mostly for getting to see this guy play.

But Bo Diddley died today. Which is sad, but part of life, and makes me a little bit happier that my trifecta of old blues musicians I wanted to see in concert before they died was a goal I was actually able to accomplish.