back in office after a long week in vegas. new guy starts today which is awesome for our company. so much to review and share and do in so little time; in approx 44hrs I'll be on a plane to San Juan, PR to speak (and moderate) at the CHA internet marketing conference. crazy. I really don't know how I will get everything done before I hit the road again.

good news: my g/f is flying down for a few days while I'm in San Juan.

bad news: my g/f is moving to the other side of the country next week. boo!

so the Matt Cutts keynote was decent (@PubCon) for a standard Q&A (so it really wasn't a keynote). nothing really juicy but overall it was good to hear some of the questions to get a feel for what people are thinking. I'm in the CSS/Panel now in which half the panel didn't show up. that's disappointing.

I'm sitting here at PubCon 2007 listening to Craig Newmark's keynote.... which is more "history of craigslist" than keynote but it's nice to hear the story from the man himself. my feet are cold.

well, I'm back from South Africa and sunny Cape Town. being in the thick of work really has me yearning to be back in SoAfrica. the weather there was amazing considering it's going into winter over there. Sunday, my last day there, was strange as it was so warm and sunny as we visited the Green Point market in the morning. by the afternoon, it was windy and rainy as we departed for the airport. can't say how the weather has been since I left but I'm glad it was so nice during my short week there. And I'm digging my Soviet shoes and Aca Joe hat. back to it...

memorial day weekend hasn't been much of a weekend with my g/f out of town and a big project for work to complete. at least i was able to spend time at Capt'n Satan's place saturday night and hang with his kids for a little pokemon trading and whatnot. and i finally got to see The Proposition and The Descent. wow, Descent was genuinely scary. the parts of the movie shot in the narrow tunnels literally had me panicked. it's too bad movies like that get overlooked. i'm hoping we do a double feature with Dog Soldiers and The Descent (both by Neil Marshall). The Proposition was also really cool; Nick Cave's score was excellent. the washed out look and feel of the flick reminded me a lot of Dead Man. and also that both are westerns. ok, back to work.

hmm, haven't been around for a while. some crazy hazy changes with ole blogger.com - sigh. I have been pumping some goodness into this hotel property I've been telling everyone about: Lido Beach Resort in Sarasota, Florida. I was there last week/weekend and it was awesome as always. the last time I stayed at the hotel it was pretty much just all business (they do have some cool meeting space; we were in the Bamboo Room). but this time I actually got out to see some things and area attractions. Sarasota beach area around Lido Key definitely is a great destination for families with kids. my biz partner had his family down so we took in a few sites like Mote Aquarium and Sarasota Jungle Gardens.

Mote was really nice. the setup is really geared towards kids too. shark tank was cool since we were there during feeding time. petting the stingrays was my favorite thing. I also enjoyed watching the enormous manatees. sadly the Pelican Bird Sanctuary which is next to Mote was closed down due to lack of funding. I really wanted to visit that place too. Both nights I took the hotel shuttle to St Armand's Circle to take in the sights and stores and watch the people coming and going. the weather was gorgeous so the nights were very nice breezy next to the ocean. I'm hoping to make it back soon while the summer rates are low. they are running a summer special offer has rooms for ridiculously low rates compared to normal. if you want a great hotel in Sarasota, check out their summer hotel deal on their website. this hotel really is a hidden gem since i had never heard about it until i actually stayed there last year. now it's the only place i want to stay in Sarasota.

well, you're right; I'm not really doing much with my blog as of late. however, I did just update the current music links for December. that's something, right? also, I'm going to do a bit of shameless promotion for my blog schlacker, phixed, and his newest creation: Local Hotel Directory. it's a site he and another blog compadre, sdriver, created to promote hotels in their local market. the map feature is way cool. overall, it's a cool site that's just getting off the ground (it launched yesterday!). so check it out.

I should really post something here someday...

so strange... today I weighed in at the lowest weight of the year (165lb), which is also the lowest weight I've been in at least the last 5 years. maybe longer. sad.

why am I posting this? so I don't forget after my weight shoots back up a couple dimes.

my friend pAT (aka raydeen aka krazykat) sent me this Katamari article:

Video Game 'Katamari Damacy' Has Fans Knitting Hats And Baking Cakes

my response:
That was a good article. I'm actually surprised that Katamari is only at a quarter million sold. I would've thought it to be a greatest hit by now. there's so much fan fervor online I just assumed everyone has the game...

I understand being resistent to doing the sequel. but I'm actually hoping they continue the series even further. I think they made enough changes in the new game to make it different yet the same... 'course, some of the changes I'm not so keen on but whatever. I'd like to see in the next game that the prince/cousins actually visit other planets/satellites and roll up weird items on those. different terrains/different items. it would be cool to port the planets from WLK to the next installment, then roll on those. now I'm talking out my ass b/c there prolly won't be another sequel. ah well.

I discovered last night that I've only attained 3 comets so far. I have a LONG way to go! I did find yet another damn present in the flower level. I must have 25 presents so far. And I have only 950,000 roses left to collect. woohoo!

so this is why my Yahoo bulk mail has been filling up w/German emails lately! I was beginning to wonder...
Your E-mail Suddenly Filled with German Hate Messages? Here's Why

"robust" would be how I'd describe the past weekend that started w/me falling asleep at 9:30PM Friday and not waking until 12 hours later. call it needed b/c I needed it. so Saturday became the home improvement day I had been looking forward to and I did accomplish some things and felt damn good about it. as evening approached I started thinking about the PINE*am show I was headed to around the 10 O'clock hour. then it dawned on me that I had forgotten about the Japan Girl Nite tour!

JGN by Benton Label occurs around the same time as SXSW. I checked the site and sure enough I missed the damn thing (obviously, since SXSW is in March). I was seriously deflated since last years event was so incredibly cool and entertaining. this year the line-up of Japanese girl punk bands were new to the tour ('cept the headliner, Petty Booka) so it would've been an opportunity to catch these acts and buy merch otherwise difficult or impossible to get. yeah, I was not in a great mood upon realizing this major oversight. and I'm still not over it.

so anyways I pick myself up and head to Wicker Park to see the 3 Japanese girls known as PINE*am. I'm dreading the trip b/c according to the posted tourdates they are not performing in any typical club or venue; they playing in someone's fucking apartment! this was new to me and I'm not real cool w/the unknown factor shit. so I drive around looking for parking and realize it's not doing on a Saturday nite in the heart of Wicker Park teeming w/all sorts, coming and going. I'm really not a people person so naturally that insect of reservation buzzed around my ears and I began thinking about turning back and just saying, 'fuck it'.

fortunately rationality took hold and I parked the car farther than I wanted and hoofed down to six corners looking for the "apartment". turns out it's only a few doors down from the Double Door so I follow a couple up the stairs to the 2nd floor, where my identity was questioned (the couple in front of me had "recognized" faces). after paying my six dollar donation, the strange man in the chair opens the door and everything I imagined the place to be became a reality.

sure enough it was an apartment cum art space (RE: shithole). it was cleared out save for a few ratty old couches and walls covered with prints and photocopies and whatever else these kids call art. the kids inhabiting the joint were what I expected; self-important dirtball artist types in their ironic urbanware about half my age sucking on Newcastle, Camels and cloves. my kind of fun. rrrright.

luckily I arrived only a few minutes before PINE*am started so I didn't suffer thru too much awkwardness beforehand. watched the band finish soundchecking. then they fired it up to wild snotnosed cheers. the audio was hurting due to the live amps and lack of decent PA in the apartment. I felt sorry for their sound man who was trying to make the best of it. despite the poor conditions, PINE*am rocked it and most of the 100 or so that crowded the room really got into the music. that was nice to see. after edging my way up to the front I took a few photos to share here.



PINE*am gave about 40 minutes of electro-pop goodness, then packed up and tended to the merch table. of course I made it over there in a beeline and eventually Tsugumi, the lead singer/bassist, came over. it was humorous b/c she kinda understands English but not quite everything. so we played that game for a while as I picked up their earlier CDs, some stickers, buttons and a shirt. Tsugumi cut me a deal on the CDs so I figured I'd keep buying crap.



as the primary English speaker of the group, Chiz (who translated for Tsugumi during the performance) , came over to man the table I spent the time chatting w/Tsugumi, who as it turned out could hold a decent conversation in English. I asked her how they ended up playing in the apartment at which point their sound tech looked at me with a muddled expression; with short pauses between each word he said, "I... have... no... idea." I gave him a sympathy laugh and continued talking w/Tsugumi who seemed genuinely excited to just be there.

when I pointed out some guy's kanji tattoo of "Nihon" (Japan) she asked if I read kanji and spoke Japanese. during the ignasecond before my reply of "chotto" (a little), I realized that was a mistake. Tsugumi smiles then suddenly starts rattling off Japanese a mile a minute all thrilled to speak in her native tongue. I, on the hand, just watched, listened, nodded and smiled. ^_^

after getting a photo taken w/the girls, I thanked them and wished them luck on the rest of tour (quipping that I hope they get better venues the rest of the way). said "bye bye" and split... right behind the guy w/the Nihon kanji tattooed on his arm. turned out to be a rather enjoyable evening despite the adverse conditions. hell, if PINE*am could light up that 2nd floor shithole apt, they could do wonders in a small club with the right audience. hopefully they come back to chicago for a better gig.

after that I went home and snagged Latios on my first attempt then stayed up late to read HUSH vol 1. Sunday I was up and going early again to do more work around the home. caught the first matinee of Unleashed, which might be the best Jet Li movie I've seen (and I've seen a hella lot of them). but not b/c of Jet Li. cool flick so go see it. picked up lunch at Amitabul and soaked in the rest of evening organizing and such. so nice to not have Japanese homework to do on a Sunday night! ~sigh~

is this thing working now?

i love the original nick...

-----Original Message-----
From: Wednesdayadams92@aol.com
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 6:16 PM
To: stakk
Subject: I WANT A SHIRT!

i saw ur website and absolutly loved the t-shirt!!!! do have anymore that u r willing to give away? please e-mail me back as soon as u get this!!

thnx
~wednesday~

man, i've been killing the feature flicks so far this year... between yesterday and today i caught 3 films in the theater, including my first back to back viewing in years. years, i say! that was yesterday when i hooked up w/Kev & Sally for a viewing of Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids at the Renaissance in Highland Park. when we arrived i noticed that Bride & Prejudice had a showing only minutes after BiB was over so i suggested that we see that as well since we were there... and as i expected, my friends were game. sweet!

Zana Briski's Born Into Brothels was everything you've read about it (assuming you've read about it which you should) and 100% deserving of the Academy Award it won tonight for best documentary. well, i didn't see the other nominees but i'm still happy that BiB won b/c it is an extremely moving and poignant film. wasn't totally perfect (i thought some of the camera effects were pointless and just wasted screen time that could've been used more wisely) but otherwise it was a very good albeit tragic documentary.

in case you're not familiar with it, the movie documents children born to prostitutes in the Calcutta red light district. the filmmaker gave a group of children simple point & shoot cameras and began teaching them about photography. the kids would then hit the streets and their homes to capture their lives in static yet kinetic imagery. the children are wonderful but sadly trapped in these lives with little or no way out. the kids are cute, charming and quite touching w/each having their own unique personality and potential yet confined in this horrible place. definitely a worthy film to see... if nothing else it will sure as hell make you feel a lot better about your own life. Oscar or not, go see it.

Bride & Prejudice, which started about 10 minutes after we walked out of BiB, was the whole other side of the spectrum of living in India. omg, was it the polar opposite of the previous film, and possibly the best way to view this "westernized" Bollywood flick (directly after viewing the poverty and despair in Calcutta). i won't spend a lot of time on B&P other than to say that it too was totally entertaining but for completely different reasons, obviously. sure, Aishwarya Rai is a beautiful woman but her sister, Jaya (Namrata Shirodkar), was super hot. overall, it's a fun flick that also gets Naveen Andrews off the LOST island and back to speaking in his native British accent. not the best Bollywood film i've seen but still decent, humorous and a good viewing despite the wooden non-Indian actors.

after the movies, Sally had already prepared chicken curry which was the perfect way to top off the evening. it was especially nice to take in the day with them since they spent time in both areas of India where the movies were filmed. So besides picking up the tickets for movies despite my insistence on paying for at least one of the viewings, they also offered some insightful commentary from their experiences in India. as close to perfect of day as it gets.

this morning i popped up to catch Constantine over at Village 18, my regular mainstream movie haunt. Constantine wasn't nearly as bad as the reviews made it out to be and even as a slo-burn supernatural thriller adaptation of Ennis & Delano's Hellblazer comic; it kept pace rather well with nary a lull during its 2hr runtime. it won't go down as anything particularly memorable but i enjoyed it nonetheless.

3 movies down this weekend and the Oscars just wrapping up tonight, it's been quite the "movie" weekend without an official movie night. not bad. and hey, "Ryan" won best animated short. woohoo!

during my lunch break i went in for another 1.5hrs under the needle primarily to get the shading done. Tim still amazes me with the speed and intricacy of his work and yet he's so goddamn humble about it. anyways, here's a few snaps of today's session.

yep, my leg is back to that exquisite filleted feeling again. but at least it looks cool.