The Tenth Day of GOOD

So this Jay-Z track is '08, but it's December '08, and I don't care because it's dope. And the second is from the hardest twins in the rap game, Virginia's own The Clipse. I wanted a picture of them until I realized their album cover was a KAWS original piece. Enjoy

Jay-Z ft. Santogold
"Brooklyn Go Hard", Notorious Soundtrack



Clipse
"Kinda Like a Big Deal", Til the Casket Drops

Sorry, more ranting

Media...leave Tiger alone. He screwed up, he tarnished his sqeakey clean image, and he will probably lose millions in endorsements...which is all deserved if he cheated and lied. But leave him alone. ESPN, especially, he has been your bread and butter; and even replaced Jordan (another cheater) and now your lambasting him 24 hours a day. I know it's your "responsibility" to cover these stories, but you have Rick Reiley's pompous ass on their giving Tiger advice...c'mon guys, lets give it a rest.

Tiger, keep ignoring the media, I appreciate the self control. It has to be hard to avoid all the frenzy for someone in your position. Just keep your dick in your pants and prove to your family that your not an asshole.

The Other Woman in My Life

Barefoot Contessa, An Original Gangsta


I'm a food network dork, and Barefoot does it best. No one on food tv knows how to entertain and enjoy company around a dinner table better than Ina Garten. She is an interesting woman, with a more interesting path of success, on her way to Food Network stardom. Barefoot was once a researcher for the Pentagon, and she later opened a store, "Barefoot Contessa", in East Hampton, New York, before becoming a star on the Food Network.

Check her out weekdays on the Food Network at 1PM and learn some down home cooking and great entertaining tips.
If I can find the USB cord to my wife's camera i will add some pics from my thanksgiving along with some other recipes that I have learned from the Food Network and my chef friends. Go to FoodNetwork.com and look up recipes and use the cool feature "Recipe Box" to save your favorite recipes.

Because I like to Complain

The Worst of '09


Just ask my wife, I'm good at it, complaining that is. So the other side of the coin of 31 days of good...is of course the bad. I could make a laundry list of horrible music but I'm gonna keep it simple and stick to the "popular" bands that sell millions on itunes that I would like to deem bad, maybe even horrible.

U2, enough said...another aging, bloated rock band...thanks for the charity Bono, maybe you should focus on The Global Fund and not another crappy record.

Green Day, there even worse than U2. What happened to the band that sang about pleasuring yourself? I don't care about your politics, your views on Bush, health care, the war, etc. You can't be punk when you live in a mansion in the Hollywood hills.

The Black Eyed Peas, thank you for another commercial pop anthem that got stuck in our heads and annoyed my coworkers.

Anything that came out from bands like Nickelback, Rob Thomas, and any other ass-pop-rock band. I don't want to look if any of these bands released anything in '09, but I'm sure at least Nickelback did.

And of course, none of these will be available for download and I'm not even going to take the time to get any more pictures. Don't enjoy.

Day 9...Back to your regularly scheduled program

Three more for ya folks, I couldn't make a decision so there's 3. Billy and Andrew helped me with these, because up until a few weeks ago I didn't know these first two bands existed, and I had almost forgotten about the third band...Jeff Tweedy and the Wilco crew. Enjoy

Sea Wolf
"Wicked Blood", White Water, White Bloom



Telekinesis
"Coast of Carolina", Self Titled



Wilco
"Country Disappeared", Wilco (The Album)

Dick Cherry....and some good 'ol rock-n-roll

Here are some of my friend Lee's paintings, you may have seen some of his work on The Orphan Factory EP post a few days back. Under the name Dick Cherry, Lee does some great work reminiscent of classic punk rock/garage band posters. Check out his site, he has a gallery and some awesome merch.

Here are some examples of Dick's work







Tommy Peacock and the Gas was an amazing L.A. band and one of the better live shows I've ever seen. I'm not sure if they are even still together but I hadn't seen that much energy to come out of a front-man ever. Google them, hopefully they are still playing music.

Check out more art at Dick Cherry

Day 8...guilty pleasures...POP music

Everyone has guilty pleasures, sometimes I feel like mine are guiltier or even more embarrassing than most i.e. Justin Timberlake; but these are my guilty pleasures '09.
Put them on your ipod and listen on high volume or use them at your next dance party. I won't even tell you how I discovered La Roux, and everyone has gotten down to a lil Shakira at some point in time.

La Roux
"Bulletproof", Self Titled



Shakira
"She Wolf", She Wolf

And on the 7th Day...

I saw The Killers a couple months back and was bummed that M83 wasn't touring as their opening act on the West Coast leg of the tour, but was pleasantly surprised by the L.A. band Mariachi El Bronx. They had a cool blend of folk, rock, and of course mariachi horns and outfits.

Mariachi El Bronx
"Cell Mates", Self Titled


The second song is from a cool band that Billy from CONCRETE OPINIONS told me about. Mellow, kind of like a girl version of M83, reminiscent of Zero 7 and

School of Seven Bells
"Prince of Peace", Alpinisms

"With a Little Help From My Friends"

Between my days in L.A., San Diego, and even in good 'ol Chico I have been lucky to come across and befriend some amazingly talented musicians. For such a small town Chico has a decent music scene, and in college I met my good friend Spencer Nezey who is half of Jupiter Rising, and I worked with some great artists at a corporate coffee chain in Los Angeles, one of them being The Orphan Factory. I feel lucky to have encountered all these creative minds in my day and I wanted to share them with you. Below are some links to their respective sites. Enjoy.

Jupiter Rising
The Orphan Factory
The Secret Stolen
Brilliant Red Lights
The Daylights
John Wesley
IL Twice

Sorry for all the links being Myspace, but the last thing it's good for is music, that's if you still have your account in "Digital Detroit". Most of these artists have music available on itunes also.

"Return of the Man"

Has anyone else noticed that men have reemerged recently? And I mean aesthetically, fashionably, and even behaviorally. And also, was anyone else tired of the facade that the majority of 18-35 year olds in the last decade have been putting on?

This is for all you chest shaving, spikey haired, American Eagle, roid freak-douche bags. This is not directed at my reader, this is for "them"... the guys who go to the bars looking to "grind" and drink jager, and those of you who will get a laugh from this because you know someone that fits the description.

Well if you have been tired or just plain noticed some unsettling behavior from fellow men, it's time to call attention. and to some I might seem like I'm complaining, but I'm critical and would like to make complaining a profession if I could.

First things first, take off that Ed Hardy shirt. they are fucking horrible looking, and just because it cost 45 dollars and you see assholes on MTV wearing them doesn't make them fashionable. That goes for Affliction shirts, shirts from the over-priced MMA gym you go to and anything that resembles a giant tattoo. Tattoo art is pretty self explanatory, meaning it should be reserved for tattoos. So take your Ed Hardy shirt that matches your tribal arm band tat and give it to your extension wearing girlfriend to wear to bed. oh also, get a shirt that fits; I'm tired of seeing how hard you work on your triceps.

To continue with fashion, lets just make our way down the rest of the body. Next, is the denim. True Religion jeans were never that cool, unless you were a Persian dude living in L.A. five years ago driving an M3 and living in a studio apartment. Distressed denim is just silly and gaudy, and so are jeans that dont look like a pair of jeans. i.e. studs, pocket flaps, tears, fading etc. Just buy a pair of levis. They've been around forever for a reason. A well fitting (not baggy-are you in prison?), simple pair of jeans should be the cornerstone of a mans wardrobe.

Next are the shoes, if your default pair of shoes is a pair of chunky, white Etnies or DC's, your in trouble. just because they make your feet look big doesn't mean your gonna fool the ladies with that big feet big...myth. classic canvas sneakers like vans or chucks are all a man needs, and throw in a pair of vintage nikes or some boots every once in awhile.

Grooming-pick up an issue of GQ or Details and take some cues from the guys that do it right. Get rid of the hair gel, the spikey look, and the over zealous eyebrow care. you should not spend more time on your eyebrows than your lady... plain and simple. Remember 1999?- all the boy bands you and your friends made fun of? They plucked their eye brows, spiked their hair, shaved their chests and arms, and had double hooped earrings, WHY do you in 2009? Thanks Nick Lachey, where did you get your pooka shells?

I know your girlfriend likes the fact that you've embraced your inner "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" but you have to draw a line buddy. "Queer Eye" broke some cultural taboos and brought the gay man into the American home, but come on, grow some balls.

I'm a mans man. I have chest hair, I wear denim shirts and flannels, I like rock-n-roll and hip-hop, I have a wife. And I like beer. This leads me to my last and final gripe. Just because I'm calling for a return to masculinity doesn't mean we have to return to macho douche bags. I wish you could see the guys I see on campus and in my town. Returning masculinity also means returning to being gentleman. What did your mothers do to you MR Douche? Why don't you respect women? Why do you treat them like you do? Are you trying to be on the next Real World? Go to etiquette school or something, learn some fucking manners, and start respecting yourself and women. Please

and just in case you didn't know whom this is directed towards, this will give you a better idea.