tonypierce.com + busblog

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:40:00 +0000

happy mothers day!

my mom loves plants and flowers. and right now the jacarandas are blooming here in LA, so here you go mom! i love you!

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:00:00 +0000

say it aint so

Wikipedia is reporting that CBS2/KCAL weatherbabe Jackie Johnson is engaged.

My heart wont be officially broken until Soup Cans' Jackie Johnson Fashion Watch (from which the above photo comes from) confirms it.

Something tells me, however, that the forecast looks gray.

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Sun, 11 May 2008 06:17:00 +0000

loudest $200 you will ever give to charity

tickets on sale mothers day morning at 10am

concert wednesday at the historic wiltern

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:33:00 +0000

thanks to the miracle of blogging we are lucky to know general patrick j. pitt leader of the free world

often you will see us tease or kid or make fun of our good pal, but it's completely out of love, a brotherly love, if you will.

i know if i lived in toronto i would be bffs with pitt and fil and raymi and christie and all the others up there but something tells me that mr pitt and fil and i would cause an ungodly amount of terror on the great white north.

therefore i think it was wise that the good lord separated us, much like he scattered the jews who were building the tower of babel. too much rock in too concentrated of a square footage is bad-age.

which brings us to todays squarefootage of rock.

you may recall that last year around this time rear admiral pitt fund-raised a large amount of money for my african brothers and sisters so that they could have sports equipment out in the jungles of the deepest dark. the theory, as i understand it is, just because kids are poor doesnt mean that they shouldnt be allowed to play.

thus Right to Play is one of my favorite charities because it takes money from generous donors and distributes athletic equipment to the poor so that they might have a tad more joy in their lives.

then pitt runs some crazy marathon and comes home sweaty to his beautiful bride.

i dont understand that portion of it, but i assume its a canadian thing.

either way i gave till it hurt last year and survived somehow, so i gave again this year, and i invite you all to do the same. for the kids!

to help the kids in africa, click here and then click under the thermometer that says Give a Gift. never mind that the thermometer says 100%, thats a lie, 100% of the kids in africa do not have bowling balls. YET!

fotos by philogynist

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:01:00 +0000

yes this is the woman complaining how the way *i* dress

pot glass kettle house black much, raymster?

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:33:00 +0000

how is it 433am

how is biggie smalls still on.

how is the fire still blazin.

how are the windows still hanging. how is my hat still on.

how are these ladies just leaving.

i might be old but im not that old.

i might be lame but not tonight.

i might be over but not yet.

i might still be a long shot, and a good bet.

these girls came over and dissed prtty much everyone i knew. it was hilarious. you can do better tony. that girl is a ho. that girl is broken.

that girl probably did her father.

the whole time i was drinking baileys from the bottle to the glass to my lips to gods ears. hip hop the whole time. fire going the whole time. cigarettes wine water wheatthins with sundried tomato and basil, the whole time.

their club clothes on, their eyes hanging, their cherries glowing, their glasses emptying, their opinions blaring.

i laughed i questioned i learned i laughed.

compliments and insults compliments and short skirts.

the whole night went so fast mostly cuz it started at midnight, the right time, the bar emptied so fast the ride home went so nice.

i dont know what all the fakers in my life did tonight but i bet it wasnt one bit of what i did.

i dont know what the liars on the blogoshpere were up to but i bet it wasnt the one two.

and tonight when i finally get to say my prayers you know im gonna give thanks and thanks like i was tom hanks.

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Sat, 10 May 2008 06:49:00 +0000

water buffalo vs lions AND crocs

aka The Battle of Kruger, which will be on the National Geographic Channel on sunday

so tell your ma you love her and then watch WHEN ANIMALS ATTACK!

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:49:00 +0000

you asked, i answered

raymi blathers: did you ever get around to answering my question about why you dress like a dingus?

yes i did and it was awesome.

bloopy writes: i was gonna ask, "what's a dingus - is it related to being a lloyd?" but i just looked it up so instead i think i'll ask, "what do dinguses tend to wear in the wild?". . .

in the wild the dingus, like the raymi, is usually topless.

Phaedra wonders: if you could choose 1 person(living or not) to enjoy a puff and conversation with, who would that be?

this year im not doing any puffing. ive been offered to puff with quite a few excellent people, but instead i simply conversed with them. there may be a day when i puff And converse with someone again, and if i could choose 1 person alive or dead to do that with it would definitely be Artie Lange.

Pikatcho proposes: I want the XtremeMac Tuffwrap Plus for the Ipod Touch

It is true beauty to my eyes. But, I live in Canada, and apparently Mac accessories cannot be shipped to Canada (I tried it, and lost 50$).

But I want it ever so badly. And I don't really know anyone in the states. If I give you cost + shipping + $20 for you very own pocket, will you buy and ship it to me?

That would rock.

Bonus Question: Remember the podcasts with Matt Good? Remember those good old days? Have I missed any podcasts lately? There should be another.

I would, but eBay is more rockin than i. as for podcasting, you havent missed any. me and MG used to do quite a few of them but we never really liked the audio quality of them and as you know Matt has the ear of a jewel thief. also now that i work where i do, i probably shouldnt end up in such politically charged audio chats. i should probably leave that to the pros who i work with.

Will Campbell queries: As a Sirius subscriber I'm troubled by rumors (fueled by ambiguous language on the siriusmerger.com website) that I may have to lay down some cash post merger for new hardware because current Sirius radios won't get XM stuff and vice versa. As a satellite radio subscriber yourself, might you have any thoughts on this?

P.S. Bike To Work Week is next. Is there no better time to ride your bike to Spring Street?

first of all, is there any XM programming worthy of our Sirius equipment? i think not. secondly, i believe that the FCC has been petitioned by some powerful lobby or another to require that Sirius/XM promise not to raise prices if the merger goes through, allow third parties to create radios with the satelite receivers inside them, and allow subscribers to purchase the programming in several ways including a la cart. i would assume that that would include a la XM content too. either way i think we're better off with our Howard.

Steve Adams asks: Is there any chance of you trying your hand at internet radio again, or did you LAist show give you too many headaches? You should try it again.

i gave Internet radio a good try. it wasnt always easy. it wasnt always hard. but back then i was too busy to even schedule one or two hours of my day for it, and now im 10 times busier. plus i work for a media giant now, i should probably focus on blogs.

Patrick ponders: they are putting up suicide fences on the cold spring bridge (since you lived in IV i figured you have been over it on the way to solvang/santa ynez sometime). Thoughts?

i knew someone who drove up there for the sole purpose of killing themselves. even without the fences they changed their mind when they got there. something tells me that if someone wants to ace themselves there are other places to jump in santa barbara than that scenic locale, namely the courthouse, the cliffs in iv, storke tower, the roof of FT. for starters.

lilian wonders: what are the top music blogs out there right now?

Soundboard, of course, Pitchfork, Gorilla vs Bear, Brooklyn Vegan, my old kentucky blog, largehearted boy for starters

anti asserts: will you stil come visit my school and talk about Los Angeles Times stuff? We're in torrance. And can i still come take a tour of your work?

do you think you should do a revised 2008 version of "how to blog"?

What made you start using your twitter account more?

what band would you be embarrassed to admit you like?

yes, yes, no its perfect, because after i got my iPhone i was able to use SMS like a man and also because as you can see on the left i can display Twitter beautifully now, Wilson Phillips.

timmay!!!!! twestions: is kareem leaving the la times?

will obama end the war in iraq after he becomes president next year?
how long should we allow him to do so?

yes, no, we should demand that the president do the will of the people and if the people want the soldiers home the president should do like andre the giant and obey.

4rilla 4sks: Why are you going to movies with the cougar? You don't seem all to into her.

sometimes you take a few days off and youre all, you know that chick isnt so bad, maybe im being too judgmental or picky, maybe im just being a dick. so you go to the movies, dance a little and realize, nope, it aint you. you should trust your instincts more.

zona begs: can you get mr tickets to Letterman on my birthday?

no but i can get mrs tickets to Leno. ahahahaha. jk. zona youre the man, no question about it, sadly i have no contacts at Letterman. but it seems to me that if you sent in your ticket request and told them what you do as your career he'd probably hook you up. however if that falls through, i do have a buddy at The Daily Show who might be able to get you in over there, and its a great show.

photos via raymi le minx

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:15:00 +0000

hey its Friday - which means its time for Ask Tony

ax and i shall axswer

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:56:00 +0000

the donnas are having their 15 year anniversary tonight

at the viper room.
they call this their quinceañera.
scott sterling from metromix interviewed them for this weeks cover story.
if i had to marry anyone right now it would be the donnas.
last summer i saw the donnas at the viper room and it was pretty good. not fantastic.
not as fantastic as i was hoping it would be. not as fantastic as when karisa and i saw them at the roxy a few years ago. not as fantastic as it shoulda been.
not as fantastic as the three songs they did at LAX were.
so im a little gunshy about going tonight.
plus i dont have anyone fantastic to go with.
lets take that back i have some choices but i dont wanna go with em
cuz what if its not fantastic, then i hafta force my smile
and i cant leave early.
tried to explain to this canadian about how sometimes i feel trapped.
not emotionally trapped, physically trapped.
when things are good or when things are bad i just wanna bail out.
felt that way even last night at iron man.
wanted to leave halfway through because i felt like i knew what was gonna happen.
and was instantly bored.
maybe one reason i love sxsw so much is cuz you can see a band for 15 minutes and leave and see another band for 15 and bail and so on and so on.
i have the attention span of a
i want a banana.

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:45:00 +0000

dont really go to movies much

but everyones been going nuts over Iron Man and the cougar wanted to go and i felt good after work and there i was at the arclight with a hot lady and some extra cash in the etrade account thanks to ENER which went outta control today (thank you solar panels), so why not.

no it didnt live up to the hype that everyone else was saying. i have no idea why people are going 2-3 times, but i did like it, a lot. but maybe because iron man is named Tony and they kept saying Tony like a gazillion times. gwenyth paltrow, jeff bridges (who looks a lot like the trib co owner sam zell), the pimp from hustle & flow, everyone was yelling out Tony. it was like a Make Yr Own Adventure.

plus iron man lives in malibu and listens to ACDC, and well, lets just say it spoke to me.

afterwards we snuck into this club behind amoeba and danced a few songs and had a drink. which led to two. which led to an argument because i have a terrible problem - if i see that a woman doesnt like something, i will put my finger into that sore and i will push down on it.

some women dont like to be alone, some totally want to be alone, some women hate it when you point out hot ladies on the dancefloor. so lets say you dont like PDA, and im feeling nervous, i will make out with you just to see your reaction. lets say you love PDA, i probably wont touch you. when i was at the xbi they said that i would do this so that there would be a bullshit reason for women to reject me instead of a real reason like i was fat or fugly or drove a shitty car. but the xbi said the real reason i was being rejected was cuz i was being an asshole.

someone got called an asshole, someone else got driven home, and now someone is writing on his blog about iron man so that he can watch Lost, which everyone on Twitter is freaking out about.

what the xbi doesnt know and didnt know and obviously still doesnt know is even assholes get to go to heaven so i dont care if i get called that, i just dont wanna be called during my favorite tv show so the ringer is currently in the upright locked and fuck you position.

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:13:00 +0000

new weezer song "the greatest man that ever lived"

at first i was all eh, then i was like hmmm, then i was sorta wow, then i was all wtf, then i felt hungry, then i said this shit is still going on, then i was totally omg, now im feeling like i wanna hear it again.

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:47:00 +0000

exclusive interview with the daisy princess days before her vegas wedding

me: ashley youre getting married on saturday, is that true?

Ashley: true statement

me: how do you feel now that its just a few days away?

Ashley: excited, but a little nervous just in the way that i want everything to go well

me: what is the one thing youre most worried about at this point?

Ashley: hmm... people having a great time & things to look beautiful i guess!

me: how many daisies will be present?

Ashley: countless

me: who is your best maid?

Ashley: haha maid of honor! anne of course

me: what color dresses are your girls gonna wear?

Ashley: give you one guess

me: black, like your men?

Ashley: no one is wearing black!

me: who is in your princess court?

Ashley: haha where did you get these terms? besides anne, my bridesmaids are angie, clarice, and my sisters all in PINK duh

me: will you have a tiarra?

Ashley: no, flowers in my hair though

me: why no tiarra?

Ashley: i just felt it would be more me to have flowers. and i dont want to overpower my dress, b/c its a bit sparkley

me: sparkly shoes too?

Ashley: very fancy and HIGH L.A.M.B. heels for the ceremony, than cute flipflops for the reception which yes, do have sparkles

me: any other LAMB articles?

Ashley: nope, just the one. maybe L perfume though :)

me: band or a dj?

Ashley: dj, with little interaction so they're not all cheesy & they can't play typical dj songs like "YMCA"

me: "Shout"?

Ashley: nope. none of those DJ songs, you know the ones

me: what sort of food?

Ashley: salad, pasta, some meat stuff i havent paid much attention to, and instead of a cake, cupcakes! and a bar with 3 jars of pink candy

me: i think i saw some of that in your bridal shower, no?

Ashley: hmm no, there were some tiny jars with candies inside. maybe thats what youre thinking of

me: what songs do you want the dj to play for sure

Ashley: there are too many to list honestly. we made the list before we even got engaged. think alternative, rock dance songs. beck, beastie boys, chemical bros, and of course NO DOUBT & GWEN. so many more. i cant possibly list them

me: which beasties?

Ashley: intergalactic. i listed that just now b/c i knew you would like that

me: tsar?

Ashley: haha no. hahahaha. you are persistent when it comes to them

me: remind the peopel why youre a vegetarian

Ashley: haha seriously? because when i was 12, i started getting grossed out by meat, so i stopped eating it. and the idea of eating it now makes me sick. and i like animals

me: what happened at 12? what did you eat?

Ashley: i had an undercooked burger

me: nice

Ashley: not really. i still remember how it tasted :P

me: ok, so what wedding gift do you really wanna get?

Ashley: money

me: for what?

Ashley: so i can pay my mortgage next month with no problem

me: mortgage?

Ashley: yeah i live in a house now, where have you been?

me: i guess ive been out of the picture. when did you get a house?

Ashley: i guess your spies are slacking. we moved in almost 2 months ago

me: wow. congratulations

Ashley: thanks! thats why im cleaning so much. people are going to be over here for the first time this weekend

me: is it close to your work?

Ashley: a little bit closer. but i wouldnt want anything very close to my work b/c its in the ghetto

me: so money

Ashley: yeah having a house is so money. hahaha jk

me: so instead of the gift we discussed, would you prefer cash?

Ashley: no, personal gifts are really special. and i would feel really weird getting money from you

me: where are you going for your honeymoon?

Ashley: just taking a little honeymoon to disneyland. actually in july we should be going to mexico. so that will be sorta honeymoonie

me: sounds lovely

Ashley: definitely

me: where are you registered if people wanna give you a gift?

Ashley: well i doubt anyone who doesnt know me would do that! :) but target, pottery barn, and bed bath & beyond, target giftcards are made of awesome too

me: you have lots of fans on the busblog

Ashley: i dont think so! i see the lack of comments your stuff about me gets thats ok

me: theyre just shy. times have changed. people are tired saying right on tony or damn look at ashley

Ashley: i know, most people lurk

me: ok so if people wanna get you something at those places what do they do. i ask cuz ive never done anything like this before. just your full name?

Ashley: actually you can probably find me just by searching ASHLEY BEV in Nevada, or the wedding date, 5/10/08

me: does your new home have a hot tub?

Ashley: actually it has a jacuzzi tub in the master bath. but i havent used it b/c i dont like baths

me: will you soon be getting a dog?

Ashley: no, i love my cat, he is the best pet anyone could ever have, dogs are a little too much work anyway & barking is annoying, i like dogs though. my dad has 2. thats enuogh. i can visit them when i want

me: are you the last of your close friends to get hitched?

Ashley: no, im middle of the road, in my group of high school friends, there are 2 married, 2 not

me: one of the very first times i ever interviewed you on chat, in early 2001, i asked you how old you thought youd be when you would get married. do you remember what you answered?

Ashley: hmm. i bet i guessed 24 or 25

me: i think you said 25

Ashley: i was pretty close! i know you think im 25, but im actually 26

me: so what took you so long?

Ashley: well we were engaged when we were 25, so i wasnt too far off1

me: oh crap, you said 23, http://www.tonypierce.com/last.htm

Ashley: wow seriously??? that was only 4 years away at that point, geez what was i thinking? luckily i never did anything stupid like marry immature boys on the strip! ;)

me: did you meet a bunch there?

Ashley: just one who i would've retardedly done that with

me: !

Ashley: i seriously THANK GOD i didnt. seriously

me: speaking of, how did you meet your betrothed?

Ashley: my best friend used to date his best friend. they sometimes brought her over to my house before she drove & i would say "oooh he's cuuuute!"

me: which best friend?

Ashley: anne :)

me: fascinating

Ashley: they are our maid of honor & best man. they are still great friends, so everyone is ok

me: ok well we all wish you the best. and know your wedding will be beautiful

Ashley: thank you kindly

me: any tips you have for wouldbe brides for wedding planning, now that youre almost done?

Ashley: give yourself a lot of time, spread it all out.find vendors who you feel comfortable with & who you know you can depend on. have fun! :) and stay organized and dont be alarmed by slumps of procrastination where you dont feel like dealing with any of it, they pass

me: perfecto. well have fun ashley and if Chip n Dale accosts you at disneyland thats just some busblog spies saying congrats

Ashley: does this conclude this tittilating interview?

me: yep, other than me saying i love you, i always will, and i only wish the best for you. you were so important in my life, and for this blog. and if your dude does anything wrong to you, i'll break his neck.

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:35:00 +0000

dont fuck with the marching band

midget kid

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:02:00 +0000

you know whats secretly popular on youtube right now?

the jackson five doing "i'll be there" accapella

wanna know why?

because people secretly love love songs.

also because it reminds them of a time when midget kids could fucking sing,

mylie

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:37:00 +0000

because my life is super bizarre i was given a car to drive to coachella

i may have told you about it.

nizzan 350z.

and because the Lord loves me i was also hooked up with a bunch of cool folk from frisco, all web folk, who had a killer pad in La Quinta.

and because of the matt good + raymi + duane + oh canada + blogging community, i got to know ms suzie reynolds who flew to cali to rock out in the desert with me, as i wrote about the concert.

today the LA Times' auto blog Up To Speed, published my review of the 350Z.

at first i did all the things that i was trained to do: keep it about the car, write about the features, explain the benefits, be critical, dont write about myself. but my editor Joni said, "yo tony, hate to say it, but this is going to be a series About the people and how the cars fit into Their lifestyle. so tell us about the concert and the girl and your experience. write about you. you have a great life, one that people would drool over, so tell them how that car fit into it. anyone can write about cars in a vaccum, so tell us about this car in a different way."

so if you go here, you will see what i wrote, the way she wanted it. it was awkward doing it, but sorta easy once i got rolling.

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:14:00 +0000

today we celebrate the birthdays of two fine young ladies near and dear to the busblog

the first is ms danielle d'smelly (pictured, above left, with lowercase carmen). soon to be mrs. chad goomar.

smelly and the busblog go way back. at least three years ago to 2005 when she asked me a question during one of the Ask Tony deals. actually it was so long ago that im not even sure we were officially calling it that back then.

anyways smelly has always been one of my favorite bloggers because she really gets down to blogging all the time, about whatever, includes lots of pics, shows us what its like for a twentysomething to live with her parents, while going to school, while working hard, while watching puck, while waltzing around vancity, while pouring wine for old italians in church, while doing her damn thing, and now while she prepares to get hitched to an old man in a condo.

i first met danielle at a matt good show in bc and she was far prettier in real life than in her pics. she was also way more into matt than i ever expected and somehow i got my hands on an extra backstage pass and i was able to give it to her and we went up into his dressing room and partied with him and all was good in the hood.

i have nothing but high hopes for the chadwick/smelly union and im sure they will produce a litter of it-als that all of canada can be proud of.

the other birthday girl today is ms mae ko of detroit michigan.

i met our lovely lass two years ago when i traveled around america and canada in my little blue hoopty. and like pretty much everyone i met, she was a gazillion times hotter in her pics than in real life. which was devistating.

maeko also made her first appearance on the busblog in 2005 when i used this picture of her dancing in her room after i emailed her saying hi.

back in the day i had that sort of effect on the ladies.

no more, sadly.

sigh.

more tragedy, fellas, she is happily settled down a man who must be something special because he got her to move from san diego to the motor city and stay there. for years.

over the years she has tried to set me up with one of her hot asian supermodel friends after another but none of them compares 2 her, even though they try, oh do they try.

back when i ran LAist, maeko covered project runway for us and proved that one didnt have to live in LA to be a part of our fine city-based blog.

meeting her in detroit was a joy. we ate at this fancy restaurant, she was hilarious, but she had to run back to work superfast because she worked for a demonboss who is no longer in her life.

her blog is always stylishly designed and the insights are sweet. she rules.

happy birthday to both of todays lovely ladies. tauruses forever.

top photo by moi, pic of maeko via maeko.org

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:27:00 +0000

cougar came over last night with a pie

said she couldnt sleep cuz she was so upset about Eight Belles
the second place finisher of the Kentucky Derby who broke her front legs
minutes after the race and had to be killed on the spot
i didnt want the cougar to come over,
but i did want pie.
so i said what sorta pie are we gonna eat.
she said four and twenty blackbirds, got milk?

and i thought, see, thats almost exactly why i dont want you coming over
either what you have to say is super corny, or not at all sexy,
or just gross. the girls not supposed to be gross, the boy is.

her hair was frosted, her nails did, heels that clacked around my hard wood
sounds these walls hardly ever heard. smells. creeks.

legend has it that someone got murdered in this hollywood apartment
i tolder. meth heads or wiccians
or worse.
she said how do you know this.
i said the old lady who rented me this place a long time ago
esped it to me.
i had no job, i had bad credit, i had no money.
still she rented it to me because she liked my eyes, she said.

so me and the cougar in the middle of the night sat across from each other
ate the four and twenty blackbirds and drank wine.
everything was disgusting.
but i tried out of respect for Eight Belles, who was younger than the wine.

cougar tried to do stuff to me but i squirmed around half cuz i didnt wanna
half cuz only a few people really know how sensitive i am
and half cuz i couldnt stop thinking how she still hadnt been tested yet.

cougars got esp too and said why is getting tested so important to you
i said whys not getting tested so important to you?

so we slept all tangled and i dreamed.
i fucking hate dreams more than blackbird pie.
dreams are lies whispered to you at your most vulnerable.

i dreamed i was eating pie with Eight Belles.
and drinking tea. cougar tea.
and Eight Belles was saying, you know Peta wants that jockey to be suspended.
and i dont blame em.
i said but didnt you wanna run?
the philly said yea, fuck i WAS running.
i said then whattya bitchin about?
EB was all tony you know how some women dont like their hair pulled
and some women cant have it pulled enough?
horses are the same way.
everyone is so unique.
just cuz we might look similar.
just cuz we might even smell the same.
when it comes to something as serious as the kentucky derby
or as subtle as a sexual relationship
it wouldnt hurt if you did just the slightest bit of research
to find out what makes us babes different from each other.

and then she put down her tea
grew an alicorn out of her forehead
and flew off down sunset.

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:53:00 +0000

when i die i want there to be a coke machine on top of my grave

">

that says, here lies tony, he added to life.

and here he is in death adding to calories and cavities.

i love coke so much that not only will i show you this beautiful commercial for my favorite soft drink, but a link to the 3:30 minute version of it, and the thread in Digg.

/burp

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:59:00 +0000

as you know i love the life and work of mr charles bukowski

mostly because he kept it real and never sold out. also because he wasnt the most attractive man and he seemed to be able to pull the ladies no matter how fat and obnoxious he was nor how hideous he appeared. nor how poor he was.

and he did most of it through poetry.

in many ways i have found myself attracted to the underdog. probably because i see myself as that. im also gen x. im also black. im also a cub fan. therefore keeping it real is a constant thread.

with that said, i gotta say, i sorta love this pic of me in a dress shirt in a sushi joint on the wesssside with suzie and karisa.

fuck.

photo via suzie who has a pretty sweet photo essay about her adventure to LA on her blawwwg

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:01:00 +0000

ICU, los angeles

if you were ever unsure whether or not the LA Times is changing, and changing for the better in regards to embracing the web, look no further than a new feature we launched today called ICU.

on the 2nd floor of our building theyve been remodeling an area to house a half dozen video editing bays and even more offices for video journalists. one of them, katy newton, created a feature where she would contact a few people who submitted a Missed Connection ad in Craigslist. she video interviews them so we can see some of the people behind the ads.

one cool thing about just the first few vids katy made - you Want to see the people behind the ads! as the project continues we will see if the videos help the connections get matched up.

at the same time, katys husband, sean, has created a killer interactive map of LA that shows you where the single men and women are.

watch as this series expands and gets even better. for it will!

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:55:00 +0000

ever wanna take advantage of an internet presale but you dont have the secret password?

like, say, the Beck + Spoon + MGMT show at the Hollywood Bowl this Sept?

... well theres a new site (to me, at least) called Pre Sale Central that will give you the passwords you need so badly

you can thank me later -- in the PIT!

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:04:00 +0000

monday morning links of love and interest

- monster squad better get it together cuz fil took some pics of a band thats already stealing Wolfie's look

- did you know ken layne is writing for AOL? i didnt.

- did you know that Mass Live gave me props for my Prince coverage at Coachella? thanks kristen!

- people always ask me what they should do while in Orange County. usually i say drown yourself. now i can say, go on a Fish Taco Crawl, then drown yrself.

- things you will only find in a Floridian legislation session roundup. apparently the term is over over there and this is where some things stand via Tampa Bay Online:

Also Of Interest

Bestiality: Still legal in Florida

State Song: "Old Folks at Home," also known as "Swanee River," will be changed to leave out racially offensive lyrics. A second song, "Florida - Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky," submitted by a music teacher for a statewide contest, will become the state anthem.

Vehicle, um, decorations: Carry on with the popular pickup accoutrement: so-called Truck Nutz. The anatomically correct accessories, modeled after bull testicles, were outlawed by the Senate but had immunity in the House, so no $60 fine after all.

- who knew No Age had such a great blog?

- the grates are almost done recording. for some reason that makes me sad. i loved their blog while they were in the studio.

- mentos + diet coke + super slow motion + 2001 music = nerd porn

- myspace founder's hollywood hills home robbed. maybe he should let some of his "friends" keep an eye on the place next time?

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:35:00 +0000

a week ago today i was still in palm springs

last monday morning suzie and i were dancing to the impromptu tunes of Wallpaper, whose album T-Rex totally fooled me when i first got it, cuz i thought it was a T-Rex greatest hits. little did i know that they would provide a very cool post-coachella dance party in the parking lot.

yesterday i had the weirdest day. got a phone call from a woman. a real woman, not any of these "girls" that usually pop in and out of my life. apparently she was curious whether i really felt the way i did about suzie. i was all, baby, i dont know how i really feel about suzie. shes just rad and we had a special energy flowing between us that made me feel happy.

the woman was all, how do you know it was special.

i said, some babes make me feel nervous, and thats sorta exciting. some make me feel powerful and thats nice. some make me feel smart or dumb or ugly or handsome. suzie made me feel loving. and i dont know why. and it was interesting to explore that.

so the woman invited me over. she wanted to cook me dinner. i didnt want any dinner. especially at her house. a real house. some people go through life and think that if they look a certain way after a while or have achieved a certain amount of things or have established themselves then theyve got the perfect man trap. maybe it is the perfect man trap for some men, but im a weirdo, i respond way better to bizarre energies.

she said, how about i make you something and come over to your house.

i said, as long as you dont judge my apartment and offer to clean it or bitch about not having any wash cloths or vegetables in the fridge or

and she said dont worry, you'll like what im bringing over.

food was good, her outfit was good, but her energy was not so good. she had an agenda. she wanted something from me. who knows what. who knows if i even had what she wanted. all i wanted was to try to watch the cubs game on espn. then i wanted to watch the sharks game on Versus.

she was all, how can you be mr electronics and not know where Versus is on your cable? i was like, first off just cuz you have some decent av equipment doesnt mean you know where every channel is on the SATELITE system. fuck cable. plus you insulting me isnt hot and if you think im gonna do stuff to you off that youre high.

she was high, which was also annoying. everything about her was annoying. i know whaaaa hot babe comes over with food and a bottle of wine and its not good enough. but you know what, sometimes its not. sometimes a man just wants to be alone with his playoff triple overtime hockey and his memories of coachella and doesnt need some desperate quasicougar sniffing around cuz she wants to see ironman but will settle for oh i dont know Anything.

one thing i do know. no matter how many glasses of wine she dumped down my throat, she would never look like either of these babes dancing in the parking lot. and all i can say is i guess i know what i want and what i want doesnt treat me like their son.

noreply@blogger.com (tony) — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:45:00 +0000

tom waits announces summer tour with the best press conference ever

"say hello to your mother" should be on the tshirt, if you ask me.

my only problem is, id love to go to the phoenix show that kicks off the tour except its on a tuesday and im going to be taking a few days off (if its approved by my boss) in early june.

and it appears that there are very few weekend shows on the tour, meaning a man cant even fly out to a show unless he wants to go to houston.

and no one wants to fly to houston.

first leg of the tour via stereogum (who oddly has no mention of their parent company buzznet anywhere on their site):

06/17 - Phoenix, AZ @ Orpheum
06/18 - Phoenix, AZ @ Orpheum
06/20 - El Paso, TX @ Plaza
06/22 - Houston, TX @ Jones Hall
06/23 - Dallas, TX @ Palladium
06/25 - Tulsa, OK @ Brady Theatre
06/26 - St. Louis, MO @ Fox Theatre
06/28 - Columbus, OH @ Ohio Theatre
06/29 - Knoxville, TN @ Civic Theatre
07/01 - Jacksonville, FL @ Moran Theatre
07/02 - Mobile, AL @ Saenger Theatre
07/03 - Birmingham, AL @ Alabama Theatre
07/05 - Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre