I hoped everyone is having a great Halloween tonight. We're celebrating the second of the band family birthdays this month near Milwaukee, but you might see us out and about tomorrow night in Madison checking out the Max Ink Spooktacular with our friends in Axiom or checking out Mighty Short Bus at FreakFest. Be careful if you hit State Street, it's going to be police-crazy and my roommate's going to be out busting heads again this year. I'm gonna pump him for stories on Sunday and I'll let you know if anything insane happened.
Keep an eye out next week for a new Sunspot video and some more Sunspot Road Mania straight from the City of Angels as Wendy and I hit the TAXI Road Rally again. Enjoy the holiday and make sure to get plenty of spirits!
Find more about the band at sunspotmusic.com
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
David Tennant leaves Doctor Who
and I am a little crushed. There's a video on that link (with David speaking in his full Scottish brogue) where he explains himself. I was hoping he'd at least stay on until the 2010 season so that we could see what a full season with Steven Moffat would bring with him. This does give The Moff a chance to start fresh, but David Tennant has done such an awesome job the past three years that I really was hoping for more. After all, we just got some finality to the whole Rose storyline that's been brewing since 2005 and I would have loved to see him with River Song as a full-blown companion, but I knew they probably couldn't get Alex Kingston for a full series. He was awesome as The Doctor and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next (I'd love to see him come to America and bring his energy to our TV shows but they'd probably try and stick him in a romantic comedy as some Hugh Grant knockoff because they think we think all skinny British men are hopelessly befuddled.) He was probably my second favorite Doc after Tom Baker (well, maybe third favorite, Jon Pertwee did have some awesome stories and he was an exceptional dresser.) It's always hard to compete with the actors we loved as children (and in Milwaukee, we were watching 70's Doctor Who all the way until well into the 80's because of the series they sold to PBS - that's the only time I ever bugged my parents to donate to Channel 10, as well, or to participate in the auction, they had.) Anyway, thanks David Tennant for being a great Doctor and I just hope the next person they pick can take up the reins as well as he did (especially after following the marvelous Christopher Eccleston - he always hits them out of the park.)
Oh well, at least we're working on the November song of the month today and that will put me in a better mood.
Oh well, at least we're working on the November song of the month today and that will put me in a better mood.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Ghost Stories
Does anyone around here believe in ghosts? I mean actually believe that they've contacted or seen people that were dead. I doubt I've ever seen one, but I think my imagination has had a few close encounters. This last summer, I went to stay at the "Most Haunted Hotel in Great Britain" called The Schooner in Alnmouth. Since it's Halloween time, I thought I'd relay my notes from my journal about my stay there.
Thursday July 24th, 2008
3:30pm Arrive at Schooner Hotel
"The Most Haunted Hotel in Great Britain" is the claim and there were actually ghosts on the hotel sign. We checked in and the Indian receptionist didn't know how to swipe my card and tried to charge me 75 pounds instead of 60 (like the website said.) I argued a little but his lack of English-speaking skills (or my lack of Indian-speaking skills) made it difficult to negotiate. In either case, he told us to pay later. The new management had a "pay when you arrive" policy and when we got to our room, 217, you could see why. The hallway smelled of Indian food (the downstairs Indian restaurant was called "The Spice Galleon") and the room smelled much worse, plus the toilet took several tries to flush. We wanted to get out of the room as quickly as possible.
4:15pm Walk along the Alnmouth Estuary and Beach
The Northumbrian Coast is specactularly beautiful even on this cloudy day and we took a nice walk along it. I guess it used to be a major port back in the 1700's, but no longer, and it's exactly what you'd expect a sleepy English coastal village to look like. Exactly.
5:30pm Shop for gifts
We looked in the shops for any books with Schooner Hotel ghost stories, but the lady at the counter said she'd be more afraid of the accommodations!
7pm eat at The Saddle Hotel and Inn
Had the veggie lasagna and Chris had the turkey and ham pot pie, also had a couple of pints of Woodpeckers and Kronenbourg 1664, both fine beverages.
8:30pm Back to The Schooner
Hung out at the hotel bar and in the conservatory while we nursed our full belies. The bartender didn't have any ghost stories and all his friends were hanging out with him drinking and playing darts. The only other people there were an older couple in the conservatory having a drink. We saw a couple of ghost stories on the wall about a German spy executed in the basement in WWII and the other a haunted helmet from a pilot downed in the war (the RAF used to use the hotel as barracks.) The only spooky thing I saw was a door mysteriously shut all the way closed (I hoped it was an outside wind.)
9:30pm Head back to room
It was almost a labyrinth to get the room through several fire doors and the lights had been turned off so it was really dark (except for the flashlight on my cellphone, hooray for Judy!)
The first set of fire doors we stepped through we heard an eerie, low-pitched baby crying incessantly. It sounded human, but a little different, so we weren't quite sure what it was, but if freaked us out, it wouldn't stop and it was coming from Room 4.
Back up in the room, we were tired and got ready for bed. There was a documentary about the biological basis for homosexuality hosted by John Barrowman so we had to watch it! Chris fell asleep while I watched the news and left the reading lamp on (just in case!) There was a scratching at the window I heard throughout the night, but I just assumed that it was the tree outside the window blowing in the wind. The curtains were drawn and I didn't really want to investigate. We were the only people on this floor and for what it felt like, the only people still in the building. My sleep was okay and I woke up every once in awhile and looked around to check everything out, but my imagination was more powerful than anything I saw (which was nothing.)
Friday July 25th, 2008
8:30am Woke Up
Daylight and birds chirping. When Chris woke up she said she heard someone knock on the door three separate times in the night and just assumed that I was going to wake up and get the door. I didn't hear that and it's probably a good thing. I opened the curtains to realize that the tree wasn't nearly close enough to the window to make the scratching noise I heard. Weird, but certainly nothing unexplainable. So, we heard the scratching, knocking, and a supernatural baby - haunted enough for me (the scariest thing about the baby was no one was trying to comfort it!)
9am Breakfast
We did see a toddler at breakfast (another vegetarian version of the Full English, they're all exactly the same!) but she was too old for the crying, I think.
10:30am Checkout
Alnmouth was great, but the Schooner was a bit of a disappointment quality-wise (and no wonder the communication skills of the waiter and the checkout guy were rough, they'd only been in the UK for two weeks!) and we were ready to move on.
Well, anyway that's the best ghost story I got from this year. I took a lot of random pictures as well in hopes that I'd get something good on film, but as you can see the only good one I got was the Vanilla Ice Cream ghost from Scooby Doo
But it looks like the team from Most Haunted had more luck than we did. I've also heard that the whole thing is a fake promotional stunt, but at least it was fun. I wouldn't stay there again unless there's new management or the old one decides to clean the place up, but otherwise Alnmouth was a very cool town and very in the middle of nowhere, which was exactly what you need for a haunted house.
Does anyone else have any good personal ghost stories? If you've seen anything weird, we'd love to hear about it.
Thursday July 24th, 2008
3:30pm Arrive at Schooner Hotel
"The Most Haunted Hotel in Great Britain" is the claim and there were actually ghosts on the hotel sign. We checked in and the Indian receptionist didn't know how to swipe my card and tried to charge me 75 pounds instead of 60 (like the website said.) I argued a little but his lack of English-speaking skills (or my lack of Indian-speaking skills) made it difficult to negotiate. In either case, he told us to pay later. The new management had a "pay when you arrive" policy and when we got to our room, 217, you could see why. The hallway smelled of Indian food (the downstairs Indian restaurant was called "The Spice Galleon") and the room smelled much worse, plus the toilet took several tries to flush. We wanted to get out of the room as quickly as possible.
4:15pm Walk along the Alnmouth Estuary and Beach
The Northumbrian Coast is specactularly beautiful even on this cloudy day and we took a nice walk along it. I guess it used to be a major port back in the 1700's, but no longer, and it's exactly what you'd expect a sleepy English coastal village to look like. Exactly.
5:30pm Shop for gifts
We looked in the shops for any books with Schooner Hotel ghost stories, but the lady at the counter said she'd be more afraid of the accommodations!
7pm eat at The Saddle Hotel and Inn
Had the veggie lasagna and Chris had the turkey and ham pot pie, also had a couple of pints of Woodpeckers and Kronenbourg 1664, both fine beverages.
8:30pm Back to The Schooner
Hung out at the hotel bar and in the conservatory while we nursed our full belies. The bartender didn't have any ghost stories and all his friends were hanging out with him drinking and playing darts. The only other people there were an older couple in the conservatory having a drink. We saw a couple of ghost stories on the wall about a German spy executed in the basement in WWII and the other a haunted helmet from a pilot downed in the war (the RAF used to use the hotel as barracks.) The only spooky thing I saw was a door mysteriously shut all the way closed (I hoped it was an outside wind.)
9:30pm Head back to room
It was almost a labyrinth to get the room through several fire doors and the lights had been turned off so it was really dark (except for the flashlight on my cellphone, hooray for Judy!)
The first set of fire doors we stepped through we heard an eerie, low-pitched baby crying incessantly. It sounded human, but a little different, so we weren't quite sure what it was, but if freaked us out, it wouldn't stop and it was coming from Room 4.
Back up in the room, we were tired and got ready for bed. There was a documentary about the biological basis for homosexuality hosted by John Barrowman so we had to watch it! Chris fell asleep while I watched the news and left the reading lamp on (just in case!) There was a scratching at the window I heard throughout the night, but I just assumed that it was the tree outside the window blowing in the wind. The curtains were drawn and I didn't really want to investigate. We were the only people on this floor and for what it felt like, the only people still in the building. My sleep was okay and I woke up every once in awhile and looked around to check everything out, but my imagination was more powerful than anything I saw (which was nothing.)
Friday July 25th, 2008
8:30am Woke Up
Daylight and birds chirping. When Chris woke up she said she heard someone knock on the door three separate times in the night and just assumed that I was going to wake up and get the door. I didn't hear that and it's probably a good thing. I opened the curtains to realize that the tree wasn't nearly close enough to the window to make the scratching noise I heard. Weird, but certainly nothing unexplainable. So, we heard the scratching, knocking, and a supernatural baby - haunted enough for me (the scariest thing about the baby was no one was trying to comfort it!)
9am Breakfast
We did see a toddler at breakfast (another vegetarian version of the Full English, they're all exactly the same!) but she was too old for the crying, I think.
10:30am Checkout
Alnmouth was great, but the Schooner was a bit of a disappointment quality-wise (and no wonder the communication skills of the waiter and the checkout guy were rough, they'd only been in the UK for two weeks!) and we were ready to move on.
Well, anyway that's the best ghost story I got from this year. I took a lot of random pictures as well in hopes that I'd get something good on film, but as you can see the only good one I got was the Vanilla Ice Cream ghost from Scooby Doo
But it looks like the team from Most Haunted had more luck than we did. I've also heard that the whole thing is a fake promotional stunt, but at least it was fun. I wouldn't stay there again unless there's new management or the old one decides to clean the place up, but otherwise Alnmouth was a very cool town and very in the middle of nowhere, which was exactly what you need for a haunted house.
Does anyone else have any good personal ghost stories? If you've seen anything weird, we'd love to hear about it.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Where do you like to see bands?
Yeah, it's already snowing outside. And that makes me realize what heroes the great minds who invented indoor heating are.
But that got me to thinking of booking shows for the winter. It's the best time to be on the road and play closer to home because you don't have to drive so far. So, I was wondering with all the people in the Midwest, what's your favorite place that you like to see bands play? Is it a bar? A coffeeshop? We're looking for more places to perform in and hang out at around here and we'd love to find out where you'd like us to play? Is there a place that you love and think it would be great for a show, but they never usually have bands? It doesn't matter where, we'll give them a call and give it a shot, but we figure that if our friends like going there, then it means it's gotta be a cool place. So, we're looking for ideas of places to play in the winter months and if you have any, just let us know by email or commenting here.
So where are your favorite places, could be a store, shop, bar, live venue, or a little hole in the wall, it doesn't matter, we're looking for new places that you like to go to.
But that got me to thinking of booking shows for the winter. It's the best time to be on the road and play closer to home because you don't have to drive so far. So, I was wondering with all the people in the Midwest, what's your favorite place that you like to see bands play? Is it a bar? A coffeeshop? We're looking for more places to perform in and hang out at around here and we'd love to find out where you'd like us to play? Is there a place that you love and think it would be great for a show, but they never usually have bands? It doesn't matter where, we'll give them a call and give it a shot, but we figure that if our friends like going there, then it means it's gotta be a cool place. So, we're looking for ideas of places to play in the winter months and if you have any, just let us know by email or commenting here.
So where are your favorite places, could be a store, shop, bar, live venue, or a little hole in the wall, it doesn't matter, we're looking for new places that you like to go to.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Thrill the World 2008 Madison, WI Video
Here it is! Complete with countdown. It was a bit windy, but other than that a great day for some zombie dancin! Special thanks to Mike for videoing (I'll post the version from his camera later) and Dano from Axiom for taking pics (also more later)!
Location for Thriller
We're on Johnson Street, just a little ways down from the Stage Door entrance (121 johnson), in a side alleyway. Stop by and join us for the dance at 1:00 sharp!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thrill the World tomorrow!
Ah, Halloween... I love this time of year!
As some of you know or may have witnessed portions of when I may or may not have been intoxicated, I've been working hard to learn the Thriller zombie dance for many months now, along with my good friend Dan (aka Captain Caveman).
Well, tomorrow will be the moment of truth! October 25th at 1:00 PM Central time, people all over the world will be donning their best living dead attire and simultaneously performing the Thriller dance. You can find out more about the event at the Thrill The World web site. You can even watch the instructional videos there and learn the dance yourself!
If you'd like to see Dan and I perform the dance tomorrow, please stop by the Orpheum Theater (216 State St, Madison, WI) at around 12:30 PM. This will be the perfect setting for a zombie breakdown, as tomorrow the Stage Door will host Madison'w Horror Film Festival!
I'm not sure exactly where we will do the dance, hopefully in the lobby or one of the hallways.. if the plan changes and we go somewhere other than the Orpheum, I will post an update here. We'll perform the dance right at 1:00 PM, in unison with hundreds of other people all over the world, just after the official Thrill The World countdown!
As some of you know or may have witnessed portions of when I may or may not have been intoxicated, I've been working hard to learn the Thriller zombie dance for many months now, along with my good friend Dan (aka Captain Caveman).
Well, tomorrow will be the moment of truth! October 25th at 1:00 PM Central time, people all over the world will be donning their best living dead attire and simultaneously performing the Thriller dance. You can find out more about the event at the Thrill The World web site. You can even watch the instructional videos there and learn the dance yourself!
If you'd like to see Dan and I perform the dance tomorrow, please stop by the Orpheum Theater (216 State St, Madison, WI) at around 12:30 PM. This will be the perfect setting for a zombie breakdown, as tomorrow the Stage Door will host Madison'w Horror Film Festival!
I'm not sure exactly where we will do the dance, hopefully in the lobby or one of the hallways.. if the plan changes and we go somewhere other than the Orpheum, I will post an update here. We'll perform the dance right at 1:00 PM, in unison with hundreds of other people all over the world, just after the official Thrill The World countdown!
A Tribute to My Favorite Humans: Marc Singer
I know that we're commonly associated with a love of Scott Bakula, and yes it's true, we do love that man. But I didn't really get into him until later. Ben was the one who watched Quantum Leap religiously when it was originally on, at the time I thought it was kind of a ripoff of Voyagers (I was fairly far off, I know that now.) I didn't start watching all the episodes until it was on Skiffy every night in the early part of the Aughts.
But when I was a the gym this morning, Watchers 2 was on (you know the Dean Koontz book about the superintelligent dogs) and that led me to think about my original man-crush, Marc Singer, who played Mike Donovan on V.
This is probably the most iconic scene from the original mini-series (where I missed most of the first episode, because instead of watching it, we watched 1941 when it premiered on TV (yeah, I know - bad idea, but I was little and who would have thought that Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Steven Spielberg could go wrong in a WWII comedy?)) Marc Singer in the vent is the first thing I always think of when I hear his name.
And here he is in action discovering the true motives behind the Visitors' invasion.
I was initially drawn to the character because his name was Mike and so was mine. When you're six years old, you really don't need a lot of reasons to admire someone. Looking back, he fought evil aliens, he was a television journalist, and he could hold his own in a fistfight (which every 80's action star had to do at one time or the other as a test of their mettle.)
While being on V is probably good enough for a lifetime convention invite, when I discovered that Marc was also The Beastmaster, that was enough for me to make him a full fledged hero.
Not only did he fight Rip Torn and the Vore, he also got to see Tanya Roberts bathing in the lake, and that's back when that meant something, before she did ads for Tahiti Village. (If you listen to any AM talk radio, you've probably heard that ad and as a bonus, I can't believe I just linked to a site called Fantasy Hottie!)
Here's Marc fighting the Vore in one of the most terrifying moments of my childhood.
In addition to his superb work in those films, he was also the title character in Lancelot: Guardian of Time (with Babylon 5 fantasy hottie, Claudia Christian and one of my genre-favorites, John Saxon (can there be a tougher name than that? Here he is fighting Bolo in Enter The Dragon.)
Anyway, I just wanted to give it up for Marc Singer. With the new V series on the way, I hope that he gets the credit he deserves for making the original so great. He is one of my favorite humans.
You go, Marc! Great bulge!
But when I was a the gym this morning, Watchers 2 was on (you know the Dean Koontz book about the superintelligent dogs) and that led me to think about my original man-crush, Marc Singer, who played Mike Donovan on V.
This is probably the most iconic scene from the original mini-series (where I missed most of the first episode, because instead of watching it, we watched 1941 when it premiered on TV (yeah, I know - bad idea, but I was little and who would have thought that Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Steven Spielberg could go wrong in a WWII comedy?)) Marc Singer in the vent is the first thing I always think of when I hear his name.
And here he is in action discovering the true motives behind the Visitors' invasion.
I was initially drawn to the character because his name was Mike and so was mine. When you're six years old, you really don't need a lot of reasons to admire someone. Looking back, he fought evil aliens, he was a television journalist, and he could hold his own in a fistfight (which every 80's action star had to do at one time or the other as a test of their mettle.)
While being on V is probably good enough for a lifetime convention invite, when I discovered that Marc was also The Beastmaster, that was enough for me to make him a full fledged hero.
Not only did he fight Rip Torn and the Vore, he also got to see Tanya Roberts bathing in the lake, and that's back when that meant something, before she did ads for Tahiti Village. (If you listen to any AM talk radio, you've probably heard that ad and as a bonus, I can't believe I just linked to a site called Fantasy Hottie!)
Here's Marc fighting the Vore in one of the most terrifying moments of my childhood.
In addition to his superb work in those films, he was also the title character in Lancelot: Guardian of Time (with Babylon 5 fantasy hottie, Claudia Christian and one of my genre-favorites, John Saxon (can there be a tougher name than that? Here he is fighting Bolo in Enter The Dragon.)
Anyway, I just wanted to give it up for Marc Singer. With the new V series on the way, I hope that he gets the credit he deserves for making the original so great. He is one of my favorite humans.
You go, Marc! Great bulge!
A view from the top
of the city.
I met a custodian 6 years ago when I was helping out with Capitol Pageant and she offered to take me to the top of the capitol where the public is not allowed. So I was cleaning out my basement a couple of months ago to show my house and found her email. I figured my anniversary was a good time to call in a favor and surprisingly, she still said okay after all these years. Here are some neat pics.
This first one is taken right by the painting that normally you have to see from at least 100 feet away. I was close enough to touch it (but I didn't because it is from 1918). The girl in the lower right looks kinda freaked out.
The space I found most fascinating was the area in between the inner dome and outer dome. I just figured that the dome you see from the outside is just the outside of the dome you see on the inside. Not the case. Check it out.
This is above the painting at the top of the inner dome. Above us is the staircase (which holds up the painting) up to the windows just below the statue.
Another interesting thing to see is the view of the entire isthmus.
It really puts into perspective how small our town is.
The last is a picture I took of the gold statue's hand.
There is a trap door inside the windows there that you can look up the 15 foot woman's skirt!
I met a custodian 6 years ago when I was helping out with Capitol Pageant and she offered to take me to the top of the capitol where the public is not allowed. So I was cleaning out my basement a couple of months ago to show my house and found her email. I figured my anniversary was a good time to call in a favor and surprisingly, she still said okay after all these years. Here are some neat pics.
This first one is taken right by the painting that normally you have to see from at least 100 feet away. I was close enough to touch it (but I didn't because it is from 1918). The girl in the lower right looks kinda freaked out.
The space I found most fascinating was the area in between the inner dome and outer dome. I just figured that the dome you see from the outside is just the outside of the dome you see on the inside. Not the case. Check it out.
This is above the painting at the top of the inner dome. Above us is the staircase (which holds up the painting) up to the windows just below the statue.
Another interesting thing to see is the view of the entire isthmus.
It really puts into perspective how small our town is.
The last is a picture I took of the gold statue's hand.
There is a trap door inside the windows there that you can look up the 15 foot woman's skirt!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Real Mountains of Madness?
Are the Old Ones responsible for this Antarctic mountain range that should not be? Well, if not, at least they might find The Thing. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can read the whole Lovecraft story for free at this site. (And if you don't get The Thing, then here's that original story to read as well.) It's one of his best and creepiest works and it's awesome that all this is in the public domain now, so that you can read it for free (not that it's not worth money, but since Lovecraft wasn't much of a progenitor, you're not stealing from his kids or anything.
I love that they used to call it "weird fiction" back in the day. I should start calling our band "weird music", but first of all, no one would get what the Hell I was talking about and second of all, Metallica are already the masters of Lovecraft homages.
That got me to thinking about how HP uses the word "madness" all the time which also made me think about this game, "Taint of Madness", which at the time I heard the name, I didn't even realize was in the Cthulhu mythos, but it made a highly immature friend and I laugh for about 25 minutes when we saw it at the Chaosium booth at GenCon back in the day. You can probably guess why, we'd just discovered the taint (NSFW giggles are in store for those who click on that link) and to have a crazy one seemed to be funny at the time.
Anyway, that news article about Antarctica just started me thinking about Lovecraft and it was a good distraction from lamenting the quality of .WMV files, which I've been doing most of the morning.
If you're in the Whitewater area tonight, listen for us on WSUW at 5pm, we'll be playing on the air as well as talking with DJ Matt Alba about the new single release. We'll also be stopping by The Sweetspot Coffee Shoppe at around 7pm to perform an acoustic set as part of Cactus Joe's hosting event that happens there every Thursday.
So, if you know anyone in Whitewater tonight who might like our music, please let them know about this event. We really appreciate it.
I love that they used to call it "weird fiction" back in the day. I should start calling our band "weird music", but first of all, no one would get what the Hell I was talking about and second of all, Metallica are already the masters of Lovecraft homages.
That got me to thinking about how HP uses the word "madness" all the time which also made me think about this game, "Taint of Madness", which at the time I heard the name, I didn't even realize was in the Cthulhu mythos, but it made a highly immature friend and I laugh for about 25 minutes when we saw it at the Chaosium booth at GenCon back in the day. You can probably guess why, we'd just discovered the taint (NSFW giggles are in store for those who click on that link) and to have a crazy one seemed to be funny at the time.
Anyway, that news article about Antarctica just started me thinking about Lovecraft and it was a good distraction from lamenting the quality of .WMV files, which I've been doing most of the morning.
If you're in the Whitewater area tonight, listen for us on WSUW at 5pm, we'll be playing on the air as well as talking with DJ Matt Alba about the new single release. We'll also be stopping by The Sweetspot Coffee Shoppe at around 7pm to perform an acoustic set as part of Cactus Joe's hosting event that happens there every Thursday.
So, if you know anyone in Whitewater tonight who might like our music, please let them know about this event. We really appreciate it.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Something I never saw before on Craigslist
I'm selling my iPod (4th gen, white 20GB) and Verizon Treo 700P (good condition, I'll even throw in an SD Card for storage) - email me if you're interested in making an offer, I don't need them anymore so I might as well make a few bucks off of them - so I was looking through Craigslist and about to make a post. Well, of course my eyes wandered over to the "adult gigs" section and I guess I never paid attention before, but it was an eyeopener to see what people are advertising for in there.
First of all, if you're a 18-25 year old girl, there are countless opportunities to put yourself through school. (Like this Private company president seeking college aged girl that does not mind mixing business with pleasure. Chance of a lifetime!! at $10,000 a month!) But here's one of my favorites from the general section:
"I am looking for someone, trained in the art of massage, or just good at it, to give me a complete, full body massage, with a "happy ending". We can include a massage of you by me, with or without your happy ending. While priority will be given to just trades, compensation for your time for the massage given is negotiable. I am wm, 48, in Madison."
This guy is soliciting for a tugjob on the Internet, just out there in the open. And he wants to trade? What's he got to trade for a hander? Does somebody else actually want a massage in return? That's the kind of shit you pull when you're into a long relationship. "I'll scratch your back if you whack me off."
Or how about this beauty of someone posting response to another gig:
RE:In Desprite need of help Asap! Willing to travel anywhere!WARNING ((Jefferson/Fortatkinson/willing to trave)
This is a complete scam. She tries to come to your house with her pimp runs by the name of James and tries to hustle you. It felt like a robbery gone bad. Do not respond!
What? Who actually responded to this thing thinking that this "desprite" woman really needed help and instead of going to the police, posted in the "adult gigs" section of Craigslist. That's a brilliant plan.
This dude is interested in breastmilk and he tips well.
This one's my favorite:
Hi! So here's the thing... I absolutely love making out. I wish I could do it more often, but I live a busy life. So, I am willing to offer a nice girl (age and body type very open) $20 to make out with me for 5-10 mins. No wandering hands from me or anything. As long as you don't have mouth herpes or something like that, shoot me an email. I'm 22 and attractive/not fat. Thanks.
Can you ever be too busy to make out? He's 22 and he's never been to a house party?
But this one made me sad:
Seeking attractive caucasian female to snuggle with.
Prefer no piercings and tattoos
$100 per snuggle meetings. Length of a movie (2 hours)
Condiments and refreshments served to your delight.
I hope this guy finds someone real to snuggle with sometime soon, he's reposted twice now and still no snuggle bunny.
We're all weak, especially when it comes to sex. And we've all done stupid, ridiculous, or "desprite" stuff. And by "we've all", I mean "me". These posts just made me laugh because they were so ridiculous, but I also couldn't help thinking about what's missing from someone's life when there are a ton of posts by rich guys looking for trophy prostitutes. I'm not against prostitution (indeed, I think we should go Nevada-style and legalize and tax it) but it just made me think about ugly and cold loneliness is. And that's it, you can work your ass off all your life and make a ton of money, but you're too busy to have a wife or a girlfriend and that made me sad (especially the snuggle bunny hunter, which made me think of those cuddle parties that were all the rage a little while ago and maybe still are.) I know it's a business transaction where both people know what they're getting into and that's healthy that there's no illusions or little lies and that's good, but it still goes down a little hard (wow, pun unintended.) I just hope these people find what they're looking for and I hope it doesn't cost them too much.
First of all, if you're a 18-25 year old girl, there are countless opportunities to put yourself through school. (Like this Private company president seeking college aged girl that does not mind mixing business with pleasure. Chance of a lifetime!! at $10,000 a month!) But here's one of my favorites from the general section:
"I am looking for someone, trained in the art of massage, or just good at it, to give me a complete, full body massage, with a "happy ending". We can include a massage of you by me, with or without your happy ending. While priority will be given to just trades, compensation for your time for the massage given is negotiable. I am wm, 48, in Madison."
This guy is soliciting for a tugjob on the Internet, just out there in the open. And he wants to trade? What's he got to trade for a hander? Does somebody else actually want a massage in return? That's the kind of shit you pull when you're into a long relationship. "I'll scratch your back if you whack me off."
Or how about this beauty of someone posting response to another gig:
RE:In Desprite need of help Asap! Willing to travel anywhere!WARNING ((Jefferson/Fortatkinson/willing to trave)
This is a complete scam. She tries to come to your house with her pimp runs by the name of James and tries to hustle you. It felt like a robbery gone bad. Do not respond!
What? Who actually responded to this thing thinking that this "desprite" woman really needed help and instead of going to the police, posted in the "adult gigs" section of Craigslist. That's a brilliant plan.
This dude is interested in breastmilk and he tips well.
This one's my favorite:
Hi! So here's the thing... I absolutely love making out. I wish I could do it more often, but I live a busy life. So, I am willing to offer a nice girl (age and body type very open) $20 to make out with me for 5-10 mins. No wandering hands from me or anything. As long as you don't have mouth herpes or something like that, shoot me an email. I'm 22 and attractive/not fat. Thanks.
Can you ever be too busy to make out? He's 22 and he's never been to a house party?
But this one made me sad:
Seeking attractive caucasian female to snuggle with.
Prefer no piercings and tattoos
$100 per snuggle meetings. Length of a movie (2 hours)
Condiments and refreshments served to your delight.
I hope this guy finds someone real to snuggle with sometime soon, he's reposted twice now and still no snuggle bunny.
We're all weak, especially when it comes to sex. And we've all done stupid, ridiculous, or "desprite" stuff. And by "we've all", I mean "me". These posts just made me laugh because they were so ridiculous, but I also couldn't help thinking about what's missing from someone's life when there are a ton of posts by rich guys looking for trophy prostitutes. I'm not against prostitution (indeed, I think we should go Nevada-style and legalize and tax it) but it just made me think about ugly and cold loneliness is. And that's it, you can work your ass off all your life and make a ton of money, but you're too busy to have a wife or a girlfriend and that made me sad (especially the snuggle bunny hunter, which made me think of those cuddle parties that were all the rage a little while ago and maybe still are.) I know it's a business transaction where both people know what they're getting into and that's healthy that there's no illusions or little lies and that's good, but it still goes down a little hard (wow, pun unintended.) I just hope these people find what they're looking for and I hope it doesn't cost them too much.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Is Everything Really That Bad?
With polls like this (that say 75% of Americans are unhappy), no wonder we think that everything's going wrong all the time. But what I can't figure out is what exactly is going wrong? Gas prices are back down and that's what everyone was upset about earlier this year, less people are dying in Iraq, and comic book movies are finally getting the notice they deserve. I don't think that this means we shouldn't look for alternative fuels, stop invading other countries, or rest on the laurels of a shitfest like The Fantastic Four, but is everything really that bad?
Well, Dolemite died yesterday, so some things are that bad.
But I see the same attitudes reflected in my friends who are saying that everything's going to shit. Besides gas though and the prices that changed with that, where else have you been affected? What is going to shit for you? I'm just wondering, probably because I'm sitting down to work on a song and I'm looking for a little inspiration. But doesn't talking about it just make it worse, or do you guys see some kind of cathartic effect from it? I'm not sure. In the wintertime, everyone only talks about snow in Wisconsin. I know the weather is a safe topic and it's something that's easily relatable, but is how our lives are all going down the dumper a safe topic as well? I mean, if things suck, isn't the next question - What the hell are we going to do about it? I guess in a way, that's what the new song is about (which is available for download today!), always taking the hard way, always complaining and saying "shoulda". Anyway, I just thought that the poll was interesting this morning. What's going wrong with everyone personally? We're always going to find things with the government that we disagree with, but on a personal level, with our friends and family, is everything really that bad?
Well, Dolemite died yesterday, so some things are that bad.
But I see the same attitudes reflected in my friends who are saying that everything's going to shit. Besides gas though and the prices that changed with that, where else have you been affected? What is going to shit for you? I'm just wondering, probably because I'm sitting down to work on a song and I'm looking for a little inspiration. But doesn't talking about it just make it worse, or do you guys see some kind of cathartic effect from it? I'm not sure. In the wintertime, everyone only talks about snow in Wisconsin. I know the weather is a safe topic and it's something that's easily relatable, but is how our lives are all going down the dumper a safe topic as well? I mean, if things suck, isn't the next question - What the hell are we going to do about it? I guess in a way, that's what the new song is about (which is available for download today!), always taking the hard way, always complaining and saying "shoulda". Anyway, I just thought that the poll was interesting this morning. What's going wrong with everyone personally? We're always going to find things with the government that we disagree with, but on a personal level, with our friends and family, is everything really that bad?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Finally Real News - UFOs and Horror Movies
More British UFOs! Those guys love to release their UFO files, where's the American ones? The first presidential candidate that decides to be honest about the military's relationship with aliens is the one that I'll give my vote to. (I know about Dennis Kucinich story and that is ballsy of him, too bad he's not my cup of tea.) And here's some more great stuff about UFOs and American pilots being ordered to hunt them down over British skies during the Cold War.
Here's a heads up that puts me in a good mood as well, if you're going to be around town this weekend, definitely check out the Madison Horror Film Festival and check out some independent films (I might even submit my short, Taste The Flesh, for the pre-party at Inferno this Friday if I can find the video anywhere and convert it.) The organizer and mascot, Freakshow, is a longtime Sunspot friend and we definitely want to make sure that it's a great event. I know that he's worked his butt off (literally, if you've seen his weight!) to make this happen and I know it's going to be a great success. An independent genre festival in our town is really exciting. And I've seen some of the films that are being presented and there are some great movies in there. It's going to be a blast. You can get advanced tickets here.
Here's a heads up that puts me in a good mood as well, if you're going to be around town this weekend, definitely check out the Madison Horror Film Festival and check out some independent films (I might even submit my short, Taste The Flesh, for the pre-party at Inferno this Friday if I can find the video anywhere and convert it.) The organizer and mascot, Freakshow, is a longtime Sunspot friend and we definitely want to make sure that it's a great event. I know that he's worked his butt off (literally, if you've seen his weight!) to make this happen and I know it's going to be a great success. An independent genre festival in our town is really exciting. And I've seen some of the films that are being presented and there are some great movies in there. It's going to be a blast. You can get advanced tickets here.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Never ever again
Will I ever go to the gym during family swim. I know it's for kids to swim, but cannonballs into the hot tub? Come on. Watch your freakin children.
On a lighter note, the chlorine really helped wash away the filth generated by a weekend of rock. Rock n roll is a dirty job, but somebody has to do it!
On a lighter note, the chlorine really helped wash away the filth generated by a weekend of rock. Rock n roll is a dirty job, but somebody has to do it!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Wendy's DrummerCam: Saturday 10/4/08 @ The Terminal in Minneapolis, MN
Oops... I forgot to put the flash on. :(
Thankfully, though, our friend John caught the scene from the side! Woohoo!
Thankfully, though, our friend John caught the scene from the side! Woohoo!
Friday, October 17, 2008
"Path of Most Resistance"
Here's the video for the October single, "Path of Most Resistance", download a high-resolution copy right here.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Raving Rabbids 2
After solving the first Raving Rabbids game for the Wii, I thought the second one might be fun and I found it in the bargain bin at Target. Sweet.
I have to say the story in the first one was more compelling because you are locked in a jail and have to complete mini-games to climb your way out. In game 2 you just go on trips to different parts of the world that have been taken over by these alien rabbits in submarines. The mini-games are cooler in this one, but easier, even on the hardest difficulty. My favorite is the volleyball. If you have played the first one, you will recognize the guitar-heroish final board from each trip where you have to tap the remotes to the beat of one of the instruments/voice. And, the best part of the first game (plunger shooting) is now an unlockable in a video arcade in the mall you are in. The plunger shooting games are harder and more fun in this game too. Definitely worth the bargain buy.
I have to say the story in the first one was more compelling because you are locked in a jail and have to complete mini-games to climb your way out. In game 2 you just go on trips to different parts of the world that have been taken over by these alien rabbits in submarines. The mini-games are cooler in this one, but easier, even on the hardest difficulty. My favorite is the volleyball. If you have played the first one, you will recognize the guitar-heroish final board from each trip where you have to tap the remotes to the beat of one of the instruments/voice. And, the best part of the first game (plunger shooting) is now an unlockable in a video arcade in the mall you are in. The plunger shooting games are harder and more fun in this game too. Definitely worth the bargain buy.
Monday, October 13, 2008
House Concert This Thursday, October 16th
Help us celebrate our newest single, "Path of Most Resistance", at the Sunspot HQ. We'll debut the new video, we'll have some free beer and snacks, and we'll play a few acoustic songs for you. Performance is right at 7 but the beer flows at 6. All we ask is that you either bring a virgin or a donation.
Please send us an email at sunspot@sunspotmusic.com to RSVP so we can prepare supplies.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
No more drunk emails!
Google's started Mail Goggles for Gmail, so that you can deactivate your mail client during the times you're too drunk to be writing that hasty hazy love letter or telling off someone that you really shouldn't.
As someone prone to wasted e-mailing, I'm activating this immediately.
I only wish there was a text message version of this, where you could disable SMS after midnight on weekends.
As someone prone to wasted e-mailing, I'm activating this immediately.
I only wish there was a text message version of this, where you could disable SMS after midnight on weekends.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
What you've heard is true
The Sunspot Van is no more. It's lost in time like tears in the rain. It was hard to say goodbye, but it was time.
Anyway, that means we're looking for a new ride? Anyone have any ideas? We should have a Van Tip Line like the cops have for crimes. But what we can do is offer a reward to anyone that steers us in the right direction. Would you like a Sunspot Quadrology and Thank You Package? Maybe a thank you song dedicated to you at our next show? We'll think of something, but in the meantime, if anyone knows about a cool van or similar type of vehicle our there (we'll even entertain short bus options!) Please let us know at sunspot@sunspotmusic.com
Anyway, that means we're looking for a new ride? Anyone have any ideas? We should have a Van Tip Line like the cops have for crimes. But what we can do is offer a reward to anyone that steers us in the right direction. Would you like a Sunspot Quadrology and Thank You Package? Maybe a thank you song dedicated to you at our next show? We'll think of something, but in the meantime, if anyone knows about a cool van or similar type of vehicle our there (we'll even entertain short bus options!) Please let us know at sunspot@sunspotmusic.com
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
This weekend in La Crosse and Minneapolis
We have two exciting shows coming up this weekend.... Hope to see you there!
Tonight in La Crosse:
Tomorrow in Minneapolis:
Tonight in La Crosse:
Tomorrow in Minneapolis:
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Commodore 64 Fans Rejoice!
Behold the greatness of C64 games in Flash format. Holy crap, they've got Sammy Lightfoot. I've been waiting for a second shot at that game for damn near 25 years.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
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