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Updated Daily (or whenever I feel like it...) Bookmark so you don't miss a thing! |
(special thanks to Candi from Spiritual Octane for the banner! |
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Featured Pages: 
The Staff: 
 You Linked Me!
Chris Barrus
These sites are the best that you will find on the internet. You should visit them frequently. Required Listening
80s Rock/Metal Mailing List
Go see the above bands in concert often. Buy multiple copies of their cds. Join the mailing lists. Patronize the above clubs and tip your bartender generously. Especially at the Roadhouse. And listen to Chicks Who Rock. Early Influences/Frequent Visits
Big Dark Cloud Dot Com
These folks could have sued me at one time or another during this site's development. Reward them for not prosecuting me for "sampling" their source codes while I was trying to learn how to write my own. Actual google.com searches that resulted in visits to this site:
Xannex
The Worst Of James
May 2001
Miss an update? Can't get enough of my insightful commentary? Have no fear. I save everything I put up. Even the stupid stuff I wish I'd have deleted long ago. Proof that I am truly beyond help:
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December 31 - Random Crap You've Come To Expect Eric Martin at The Boardwalk tonight. Still trying to decide whether or not I should go. On the one hand, it is a concert. But on the other, I've gotta work tomorrow. We'll see... Plus, Florida State takes on the Georgia Bulldogs tomorrow. All of this means... don't expect an update for another day or two. But to tide you over, you can see my idea for a Fox Network summer reality show. Hey, it's no worse than Joe Millionaire! Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 30 - Ads You'll Never See...    Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 29 - Back to reality Also looking at some pretty long work days this week. Always seems to work like that: Work, which is what I do only so I can pay for the things I really want to do when I'm not there, prevents me from ever enjoying them. My job isn't the kind where you can just turn it off. Just because the clock says it's time to go doesn't mean I ever get to go. And even if I do get to go, my schedule isn't coordinated with anyone else's. My entire life basically consists of waiting for a good stopping point. Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 28 - Umm... Maybe tomorrow. But My Cd Collection has been updated. I'm sure I'm still missing a few, but the last 30 or so I bought are in there. Maybe someday next week I'll re-do it. Naaaah..... Who am I kidding? And I'm STILL out of orange juice... Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 27 - Back to the sidelines... Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 25 - Fleas Navidad!   Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 24 - In Stores Soon...  And since I'm in such a festive mood, I've updated the My Wacky Customers page too. Yippee. Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 23 - Lucky you. But look at the bright side - that means the Hempered Chef and the Happy Hour Chef's contracts have been renewed as well... Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 22 - Yeah, that sounds like a good idea... Stops by the local metal record store and picks up: Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 16 - Karma... Retail's like that - the quality of the work generally takes a backseat to the mandatory hours required on site. I could post perfect numbers, but if I miss a shift, I'd be viewed as unreliable. Not to mention that someone else would have to cover. There has got to be a better way. Lord knows I put in the time when it's required, and very often, even when it's not. I shouldn't feel guilty about taking care of myself. But unfortunately, the "taking care of myself" part that I see would be viewed as "leaving me hanging" by the others who made it in. But at least the weather sucks. Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 14 - Def Leppard!  As if that couldn't already be cool enough, I was present while Staci Anderson from KXOA scored an interview with Def Leppard's Joe Elliott, which was taped by VH-1. Didn't get any pictures of that, but you can go to KXOA's page to hear the interview. But wait... It gets even more unbelievable... I was given a photo pass and loaned a station camera, and was allowed to shoot pictures from the photo pit. I took the liberty of updating my In Concert page with some of them here. You can see ALL of the rest of them on KXOA's Events Page. The pics there are HUGE, so go get a drink while they load. Or sign up for DSL or something. But definitely go check them out, 'cause some of them turned out really well. And if I do say so myself, not bad for an idiot who'd never used anything but a disposable camera for anything on this site before... Oh yeah, there was music too! I've seen Def Leppard a few times, so I already knew that they put on a helluva show. Even a cynical bastard like me can't really find very much fault with them. Though I'd have to honestly say that it's the older material I listen to most frequently, I really like the new stuff. I've gotta give credit where it's due - the 4 songs they played off of the new cd sounded incredible live. And the first four songs (5, if you count the instrumental) were off of High N Dry, so there was plenty of early work for a geezer like me. Even if I'd had seats at the back of the arena, this show would have rated 9 out of 10. 1 point was deducted because I couldn't find anything negative to say about it, and I hate that. Special thanks to all of the super-cool folks over at KXOA, Sacramento's Hard Rock for letting an 80s metal nerd like me have a dream night like that! Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 12 - Sweet! Cool graphics sent here aside... That band is pretty tight, and you should go give a listen to the stuff they've posted online. Even if they remove all of the links back to my little 'ol page, and I start hearing that the guitarist is talking smack about me, I'll still say that the music is worth checking out. So take a few minutes to go hear Spiritual Octane. Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 11 - Check this out...   That could make up for a lot of unpaid overtime at work this week. I'm almost in danger of being in a good mood. Better head to the mall and fix that... Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 9 - Another big surprise! Also got an email worth printing... Well, not really. Remember the update from a few days ago when I mentioned how people who bitch about not having enough money find that they have enough to smoke and use cell phones? Well, check this out:
I think we're all a little more stupid for having read your email. Please remember to wear a condom. Go put it on right now. It's truly a shame your father didn't, too. But then again, stupidity IS a genetically-influenced trait. OK, now that that's out of the way... I NEVER SAID that poor people shouldn't smoke or use cell phones. Live your life, just don't come crying to me about your miserable situation when you have some control over it. What I said was that by NOT smoking and by NOT paying for cell service one could have an extra $100 or so a month in cash. No one NEEDS to smoke, and very few folks NEED a cell phone. It's money foolishly spent that could alleviate conditions you might find difficult and uncomfortable. I don't know about you, but an extra $100 every month would work for me. Besides, if more poor people quit smoking and invested that $100, there would be less poor people. But I don't expect you to grasp that concept. You probably think that having a material item previously used only by the wealthy validates you. THINK. Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 8 - Big surprise... I just wonder if Slash is sitting somewhere laughing his ass off, or crying because GNR royalties are probably still his only source of income... Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 7 - Just like clockwork Watching the news, there was a special report on consumers paying off credit cards they'd run up 10 years ago during the holidays. Contained within were the obligatory complaints about their situation and how it wasn't their fault. They were bitching about the interest they'd accrued, how much they've had to suffer to pay off their credit card debts (which often exceeded $30,000), and how evil the credit card companies are. There were the same familiar statistics; how a debt of $18 will take 14 million years to pay off if only the minimum payments are made, how the fine print lines about giving up legs are overlooked, blah blah blah. Get over it. I'm not feeling sorry for someone dumb enough to think that they have to max out their credit cards over the holidays. Who really thinks that it's a good idea to owe thousands of dollars, and consciously signs the slips that sentence them to financial ruin? I truly feel for those down on their luck, who find themselves in the unfortunate position of having to (temporarily, I would hope) live off of their cards. I've been there. I still don't have a lot of money lying around, and certainly don't have much coming in anytime soon. But there's a reason I drive a 10 year old sedan, live in a small apartment in a crappy neighborhood, and only go to McDonalds on 1-cent Big Mac day. Hell, I still don't have a cd player in the car. It's called personal responsibility. I don't care what Mastercard thinks I can afford now, or how much credit they extend to me on my card. If I can't pay it off, I don't buy it. Simple as that. People dear to me understand this, and I really don't think my grandparents expect me to buy them imported alligator skin luggage for Christmas. Domestic will suit just fine... Another thing... Why do people who complain about never having enough money all seem to smoke and have cell phones? That's about $100/month right there. (Just wait - I'm gonna get email from people who have "discount" plans, who are missing the point completely) Why is this only seemingly obvious to me? And worse yet, why didn't I go into the money-lending business? But one thing's for sure... No one should have to take longer to pay for a pizza than they took to eat it. Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 6 - If it isn't one thing... Speaking of pains... My little idiot stalker sent another audio tape. You'd think that getting kicked off of my patio by the cops twice, thrown out of my work, and having at least two police officers visit her home to tell her to leave me alone would give her a hint. I mean, personally, I've given up chasing women after the first "No thanks" when I offer to buy them lunch, but I digress... I'm gonna have to find a way to post the tapes online. I think y'all might get a kick out of 'em. And since there's nothing that anyone can seem to do to stop 'em from being made and sent to my house, we might as well have a little fun, right? Not to mention, I just don't have much to say here lately. I could really use some material that doesn't involve fawning over some girl who doesn't dig me, more 80s metal, or a complaint about how stupid everyone else in the world is. Then again, that's pretty much the whole reason for the site's existence... Never mind. Forget I said anything. Maybe one of the chefs will write a column soon and break up the monotony! Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 5 - Why Stop Now?  But for those of you that really like it when I wallow in misery, I'll cover all of the bases here by saying: Work sucks, I'm bored, and girls still don't like me. Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 4 - Direct flight to Hell...  Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 3 - Sad But True... 
Even in video games, girls prefer the company of others to mine. Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 2 - I have a dream...
But as a service to my readers, I feel obligated to direct them to websites of relevance, in the interest of ending the terrible societal malady of REDISM... Please take the time to visit these sites and learn about some of the other contributions these fine people have made to our lives... Red And ProudRedheads United Sammy Hagar Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop December 1 - Happy Holidays! Well, I'm learning the value of minimalism. Unfortunately, that lesson didn't seem to apply to Thanksgiving. In addition to a 15lb turkey, there was cornbread stuffing with apple, onion, celery, sausage, maple syrup, cranberry juice, and red zinfandel. On the side were the mandatory mashed potatoes. But I use cream and butter instead of skim milk, so they were quite rich. Can't forget the green beans and carrots soaked in bacon broth, the zucchini and yellow squash steamed with parmesan cheese, or the corn/onion/pepper/black bean casserole. Or the pie(s). Guess that would have made more sense to do if I'd actually had anyone coming over... I've spent the last 4 years doing holiday cooking just for myself, and still haven't learned that I can't eat that much all by myself. But it's a hell of a lot of fun trying. And thank goodness my bread machine is broken! I'm gonna surprise a lot of longtime readers, too... I don't have any updates for My Wacky Customers. Not only that, but I actually went out shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. Figured it was the least I could do to keep America moving forward, with the economy looking less certain every day. I've been looking for a new entertainment center. I'd had my eye on one for the last few months, but haven't been able to work up the motivation to actually buy it. When I finally decided to do it, I couldn't find anyone in the store to help me. After 20 minutes of looking, I just left and went to their competitor. They had the same entertainment center, for about $20 cheaper. SCORE! But they were sold out. So I actually went to the mall. Looked at a few entertainment centers there, but decided that they just weren't right. But I couldn't let my fellow Americans down and sit idly by as the uncertainties of the day ruin our prosperity. So I bought a muffin and a cookie. That's right, I contributed $3.17 into the holiday season's till. No need to thank me. Just remember that I helped when your stock portfolios start bursting at the seams again. Email : : Post a Comment: : Gift Shop |
Special thanks to Candi from 
