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November 30 - Awesomely bad coffee! You'd think that someone who made a living running a cafe for almost 2 years would know how to make a decent cup of coffee. The cup on my desk right now may just be the foulest creation ever. I prefer my coffee very strong and very black, the kind of morning jolt that's so potent it could almost be spread on toast rather than sipped. But this cup has managed to overwhelm even me. Just take a gander:     And gimme a break... It's not even 8am. I know that I look like hell first thing in the morning, and that I need a shave... But at least I'm wide awake. |November 29 - My response to spam.
Of course, I had to respond... Think I could sell this plan to naive dumbasses?
Hey, they can't all be gems. I've also decided to take part in a little experiment. Certainly you've received
a million emails about starting your own "business", no money down, blah blah blah. Well, I'm gonna sign up for every
single one of 'em to see how they work. Then periodically, I'll report back to all of you as to how my "businesses" are doing. Personally
I think that every internet sales road leads to Herbalife, but we'll see. Anyone else out there ever And in non-scam news... Famous James radio is proud to announce the addition of Fates Warning, Dirty Blonde, Dee Snider's Widowmaker, London Quireboys, and Sacramento's own Barking At Flies. I've also rotated some of the other "essential" songs, so even Dokken, Tesla, Scorpions and Van Halen are "new". It's the stuff I'd be playing if you were over at my house. (Actually, I'd probably be playing it anyways...) I rotate the entire playlist every week, and add at least 7 new songs every day - you could listen constantly and I'd still be more varied than whatever crap is playing in the cubicle next to you... Now go listen and spread the word so my station will be successful or else I'll devote all of my time and resources to internet "marketing" instead. |November 27 - Adventures in Stupidity! One catch - the charcoal I had was old and refused to cooperate with my repeated requests to "Light, dammit." So after getting just one or two coals to start burning, after repeated attempts to set fire to other spots of my perfectly arranged, geometric um... "pile", it just wasn't happening. I'd have made a lousy caveman. Anyhow, out of frustration, I just dumped the entire contents of the bag onto the small flame I had managed to start. That's when the flame caught. It quickly spread, and even ran into the bag that was still in my hands. It completely engulfed the grill, and filled my patio with smoke. The temperature (according to the cooking thermometer on the grill) rose to over 700 degrees. Luckily, I'm a pretty laid-back kind of guy, so I managed to avoid panic. Even though I've got to say, I was thinking about grabbing the garden hose and extinguishing the whole thing. The worst part? When I got the fire back under control (the air vents on the grill are a wonderful invention, and can easily shut out even the most stupidly-created flames), I went in to get my meat. Unfortunately, it had gone bad. I lost a couple of really nice cuts of steak. Not wanting to waste an entire bag of charcoal too, I threw a ton of frozen chicken breasts onto the fire. On the good side, I won't have to cook for a few days now. Or shave my arms... |November 26 - Too much ain't enough! Anyone catch that VH1 show last night, "The 40 Most Awesomely Bad Metal Songs Ever"? Pretty funny, with the exception of including some songs that just don't belong. I don't think you can really compare Insane Clown Posse, Marilyn Manson, and Cinderella on the same level, even if it's to bash on them. Plus, I really think that I should be on that panel next time they want to rip on 80s metal. Someone tell me - who do I need to sleep with to get on that show? Of course, I could just wait and hold out for the inevitable "50 Most Ridiculously Pimped Out Bling Blingin' Rap Videos Of The Last Two Weeks". Between that and my stint on the retro-inspired followup to the timeless decade-remeniscing classic, "I Love The Future", I'll probably be quite busy. I also don't know if it's cool to mention this or not... But Famous James radio is pretty much an all-inclusive, comprehensive list of every song bashed on that show. As Autograph would say, in the midst of an off-time, cliched drumstand leap, 'Turn Up The Radio'. Hey, I wasn't cool before it wasn't cool to be not cool. |November 23 - Didn't know it was a problem. My good friends have my (US) mailing address and phone number. It's unlisted and unpublished, and I'm on the do not call list. If you don't have it but need it, send an email to the address listed above. That's the only way you'll get it. Hell, I didn't even leave a real forwarding address with the post office, my old apartment manager, or my former place of employment. So let's recap - james at famousjames dot com, famusjames at aol dot com, famousjames via Yahoo IM. Anything else, it ain't me. Good feedback on the basketball riot in yesterday's daily comments... I tried to throw in my 2 cents, but ended up blabbing on and on, making my response WAY too long to post there. So I posted it on the forums instead. Feel free to take extended discussion there, as daily comments only allow 1000 characters. Famous James radio's playlist will be updated again tomorrow. Lots of old, a few new, and a guarantee that it's all approved by me personally. It'll probably evolve from glam to pop to heavy to obscure and back again, depending on my mood and how much time I feel like investing on any given day. I love getting feedback on it, so let me know what you think. And spread the word! |November 21 - Long overdue... Also added Grim Reaper, WASP, Faster Pussycat, Lillian Axe, House Of Lords, and Sanctuary to Famous James radio. But I'm not even close to being done yet - keep checking (gratuitous RATT reference ahead...) back for more. And as long as it's on my mind, I want to offer commentary on the flagrant stupidity displayed by, and in my opinion, directly attributable to the NBA. Before I address the root cause of the entire situation, let me first state that buying a ticket to a sporting event does NOT give you the right to fuck with the athletes. You want to shove Ron Artest around? Practice your free throws and make a team. But unless you're wearing a team-issued jersey and collect a paycheck from the organization, sit down and shut up. Quit ruining sports for the rest of us who can keep our composures and hold our liquor, both figuratively and literally. Second, athletes should NEVER engage fans. Period. I don't wanna hear that crap about being "disrespected". Quit pretending that life is a P Diddy video and grow a thicker skin, you whiny freakin' crybabies. Now, for the real reason things like this happen... GREED. The line between athletes and spectators has been shrinking as teamowners sell seats right on top of the court. Why do they do this? 'Cause meatheads will pay $600 for those seats. And they seem to believe that as long as they're so close to the game, they must be part of it as well. Overpriced seats + emotion + alcohol - (security + common sense) / the general public = riot. Simple equation, really. But that's not the only part where greed comes into play. Daily operational security for events like these is practically nonexistent. The second a "fan" starts being disruptive and obnoxious, s/he should be bounced, immediately. But security was completely overwhelmed and unable to prevent matters from escalating. Why? Because these same bozos who sell premium seating also make decisions about arena services, and place obscene profitability ahead of ensuring that staffing is adequate. Believe me, any organization that can afford to pay athletes $100 million dollars can afford to hire another $7/hour security guard for 3 hours. Why else do you think the pretzels are $4 apiece? The solution? Personal accountability. If the fans are acting up, it's security's job to bounce them, and it's the team owners who are responsible for making sure that security is sufficient. If the fans get past security, it's the player's job to leave the field and walk away from the game. If you walk onto a court and get smacked by a player, you got what you deserve. |November 20 - A few announcements... But that's just fine, because this is Saturday. On Saturday nights from 8-midnight Pacific time, you should be listening to Chicks Who Rock anyways. You can listen online to Staci's show, and you really should. Speaking thereof, Staci just sent this email to the Chicks Who Rock Yahoo group:
So get over there, light up those phones, and send in some email. Today is also Florida/Florida State gameday, so don't be surprised if there's no update tomorrow... |November 19 - This'll make a nice headstone! But to show how relatively cool I am... I even ranked ahead of Tesla! Today's additions to Famous James radio (Yes, I'm gonna plug it nonstop, except on Saturdays, where I direct you over to Chicks Who Rock instead) include Armored Saint, Judas Priest, Enuff Z'Nuff, and Demolition 23. Demolition 23 was a side project for Michael Monroe and Sam Yaffa while Hanoi Rocks was on hiatus - good stuff, very punky yet melodic. I also added one of my favorite bands from Sacramento, Anatomic. If you mixed the first Bon Jovi record, the first Poison record, and the first Motley Crue record, you'll have a good idea of their sound. Anyhow, I try to add/change at least 10 songs every day, so the average listener (who spends almost 45 minutes listening now! Wow!) should always hear at least a few "new" tracks every day. Email me if there's something you want me to add. Or head over to The Forums to discuss further! |November 18 - Good with the bad... Also had to deal with a little bit of nonsense... Let me preface by saying that I hate banks. If mayonnaise jars paid interest, I'd be content to never set foot in a bank again. I've switched financial institutions more often than Warrant's switched drummers. Anyhow, let's skip to the part where I wonder exactly why an account opened in California can't be managed in a different state, even if the bank is national and, um, American. Last time I checked, California used the same currency as the rest of the union. Also needed some weed killer and edging solution. Side note - I couldn't help but chuckle when I noticed several burned out lights on the store's outdoor logo, leading me to conclude that the home improvement store in question is named "Ho pot". No wonder the line inside was so long... So I buy (among other things) a gallon of liquid plant death, and put it in my car. Somewhere along the way, the bottle tipped over, spilling it's contents across my car's interior. It took an entire roll of paper towels to sop it up, and I had to leave the car mats outside in the driveway to dry out, air out, and detoxify. Last thing I need is to leave them in the garage to spawn a giant cloud of poison... So if the weekend's a bit warmer than usual, it was probably a result of my ecological disaster. You can thank me later. |November 17 - Too Much Metal For One Website!
So now you know. Tune in and rock. She also included this little image in her email...  Am I the only one who thinks that would be a GREAT logo for Famous James radio, which has just added tracks from Michael Monroe, D'Molls, Sleeze Beez, and GORKY PARK? C'mon, who the hell else would dig up Gorky Park these days? |November 16 - Slow start, but in the right direction. I'll probably leave the current playlist up for another day or two, then replace a bunch of stuff. I've got literally hundreds of songs ready to go, I just need to know which ones are well received. If you tune in, make sure you click the "thumbs up/down" button for songs you like/dislike. But I love doing this already, so I could definitely see it developing into something really cool for all of us. Do me a favor - if you dig the station, tell a friend. If you hate it, tell an enemy. And definitely tune in from places with DSL/broadband connections if you can, 'cause I set it to stream with cd quality sound. Most dialup connections might be a little too slow for the huge size of each file. But if you prefer, let me know and I can decrease the quality to accomodate slower connections (and also store more songs as well...) |November 15 - New feature at FJ.com! SO what's on FJ radio? Tesla. Motley Crue. Dokken. Skid Row. A TON of assorted hair bands. Crave something a little deeper than hair bands? I've also added Iron Maiden, Crimson Glory, Van Halen, and Saxon. Want something a little more obscure, but just as melodic and catchy? Try songs from Velocity, Roxx Gang, and Shy Tiger. There are plenty of rare gems and little surprises mixed in, and there's still more coming... I've got hours of stuff programmed already, so your short-attention spanned self should be more than accomodated. And even if you're as lazy as I am when you're in front of the computer working on a project, at least you'll never have to get up to change cds again. I'll handle it for you. Hear something you dig? Let me know and I'll be sure to keep it when I rotate the playlist around. Hear something that sucks? Too bad. It's my friggin' station, and I like all of the songs I put up. But they'll all get rotated around, so tune in frequently to stay on top of all of the newest, oldest, best, worst, and all around hairiest metal this side of VH1 Classic. And the best part? Just like a good Sunset Strip club, the first 25 of you are getting in for free. If you're one of the first 25 people at any given time to tune in, you don't have to register, pay, or anything. Just click and listen. The rest of you are out on the curb until you pay the cover charge (or look really hot). New songs will be added and the playlist will be rotated regularly. If there's something you want to hear, check out my cd collection, then email me with your requests. Sound fair? Also, if you're in a melodic/metallic band and you want to be included, let me know! |November 14 - The spice of life So after stuffing myself with pizza, I headed to a fitness/bodybuilding competition. (All I could hear was "one of these things is not like the other... one of these things does not belong...") One of my good friends was competing, and since I hadn't seen her for years, I figured I'd check it out. Let's just say that I couldn't help but notice my rapidly-deteriorating body and regret my earlier greasy transgression. But just a little... Also started doing some back-work on the site... I've almost filled my disk storage capacity, so I need to delete some old files. Hopefully I'll be able to save space by giving the old pages a consistent look and deleting the files that made them all different. We'll see if it works. If it doesn't, there's always the option of buying more disk space and selling fruit at busy intersections to pay for it. Stupid Project Number 1 (mentioned earlier this week) should be up and running by the end of this week... Stay tuned (literally) for an obvious, yet potentially very cool, development from your buddies here at FJ.com. |November 13 - The more things change... There's nothing worth watching. So here I am, on a Friday night, watching the National Geographic channel because there's a special on alligators and the Florida Everglades. Everybody say it with me... James is excitement. And to top it all off... I burned the popcorn. |November 12 - Arafat-ball! Anyhow, I was watching as the Al Aqsa martyr brigade, the militants who've brought you teenage suicide bombers, entered the scene dressed in "mischief gear" LIVE and ARMED. Then, Hamas, the militant group whose only purpose in existing is to see the destruction of Israel, also entered the picture carrying swords and machine guns. For those who aren't obsessive about current events, let's just say that Al Aqsa and Hamas don't really get along very well, and neither presence is generally perceived as "calming". Add an overwhelmed and unarmed Palestinian security force and you've got a perfect storm of anarchy. So here I am, coffee cup in hand, fresh from watching a rather boring Florida State football game the night before, eagerly anticipating watching The Decline of Mideastern Civilization II (The Martyr Years). And here's the worst part... I was kinda hoping for some chaos. The players have taken the field, all we need now is the casket... Looks like security has won the opening tipoff, but wait, a group of militants has stormed the vehicle! What an interception! It'll be a long road back for security if they intend to get this body into the ground by sundown! They've seized control again - They... could... go... all... the... way! Hey... political correctness has never been my strength... |November 11 - Slowly returning to normal.... Been working on two other projects that should hopefully pan out within the next few weeks... I'll just say - one of them should come as no surprise. The other one? That could turn a few heads. Updates should be much more numerous for the short term, but potentially a bit sporadic while some kinks are worked out. The kinks specifically - finding out what happened to several cases of wine and a few boxes of my cd collection. So if you see me online, chances are I'm hunting for replacement copies of stuff you've probably long since forgotten. | |
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