I was stoked to see Silversun Pickups on Conan last night and I was treated to something I’ve never noticed before. Silversun’s lead singer, Brian Aubert, seemed to try multi-tasking by playing guitar, singing and looking at the camera and the audience. Their drummer, Chris Guanlao, also throws down a fun look by swinging his hair around and simulating how he would look if losing his lunch.

Either way, they fukin rock and I’ve gotten past Thom Yorke’s odd look. As long as they make good music, they could look like a complete troll and I’d dig ‘em. This one just threw me because I met Brian in Austin for SXSW and he looks completely normal.



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Watched this entire show live online. It didn’t disappoint at all. Being an old band dork, it was like watching my old band in band practice, 86 the awesomeness of the Foo Fighters!

Not sure how well this works, but here’s the video …

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I’ve NEVER thought Diddy, Puff Daddy, Sean Combs, or whatever this lizard who changes his identity to fit the situation, is someone who is racist…or as the great Ali G would say, “Racialist”.

I have watched every “Making the Band”, every “Making His Band” and every “P. Diddy’s Star Maker”. I love the music industry and if it involves a thriving musician or wanna-be star, I’m going to tune in, because it’s something I always wanted to do but all of these opportunities didn’t arrive until after my wishes.

This leads me to what I’ve witnessed with Sean Combs and his shows on the MTV network channels. At first, his “Making the Band” shows were constantly about the black man or black woman making it into his band. I won’t say that he doesn’t allow white people, but I will say it’s majority black people. I’ll also follow that up with the fact that the black people he picks are amazing in what they do. Matter of fact, most of the black people he picks are some of my favorite ones on the shows. HOWEVER, you have to admit that the overall group of people serve to be very few white people that even get the chance. He often gives it the term “swagger” to apply to the people he’s looking for. At first glance, you think “oh, that’s a certain dance or vibe they give off during their performance”, but the problem is, it’s something that white folk just don’t have much of. So that means it’s like Brett Michaels saying he was looking for band members that have a certain “SWAY” and it applies to something that you’ll only see in white people.

Now I also know and understand that anyone has the right to pick anyone for their musical projects. It don’t matter if they’re black or white (I’m going into a MJ song here) but when it all boils down, it does matter what the leader is looking for. I think Puff Daddy, or Sean Combs, or P Diddy, or Diddy … whatever the fuck his name is now, I think he wanted ‘his people’ to be on his tour. I don’t blame him for wanting ‘his people’ on his tour since they can communicate easier with each other or whatever it is he feels will make it easier, but I have to make it known that it’s not just white people who are being “racialist”, … black people are being just as “racialist” than anyone else.

Tonight I watched the season finale of “Making His Band”, which was P.Diddy’s reality show that was searching for band members to tour with him for his upcoming cd. There were groups within the band who were trying out and most of the groups had a white person involved, but most were all black. The only group that didn’t have a black person in it was the guitarist group, which did have 2 white dudes and 1 black dude, but the group coaches actually cut the black dude before Diddy got involved. So in the end, the guitarist group only had two people, both who were white. And being a guitarist myself, I can tell you that both of them were absolutely AWESOME at their parts in Diddy’s band. Matter of fact, I would go as far as saying they were better at their part than some of the other players Diddy picked for his band.

So what has me up in arms with the term “Racialist” ??? Well, when he called out the guitarist group, Diddy says he doesn’t want either one of them and specifically says “It don’t have nothing to do with the color of your skin”. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you fuckin kidding me??? If it ‘don’t have nothing to do with the color of their skin’ then why the fuck would you say that in the first place? Why not just say, “I wasn’t feeling either of you with the way my music sounds?” then leave it at that? It’s because he wants a black guitar player. P. Diddy is a racists piece of shit. I understand that he is in a great place in life and can basically try to undo all of the hurt and pain that his people were caused 100’s of years ago, but dude, the people here now, had nothing to do with all that shit. Get over it and pick people based on their talents, not the color of their skin!

I’ll end my rant with the fact I look forward to Diddy’s new album. I think he’s treading into new waters and I like that. He’s not doing the typical rap crap that worked in the past, but he’s doing shit that no one has ever heard of before. Granted, it’s mostly black people that he has leading his way, but he does have the token white guy on keys who he picked originally. Part of me thinks he will never make it to the actual tour, but we’ll see. Hopefully Diddy will get over himself and take the people who are good and not the people that are just good and his color. What I’ll be even more excited to see is if he hires a black guitar player and that guitar player is absolute dog shit. If that happens, then my rant will officially be rectified. Hopefully I’m wrong, but I can’t help but think he just doesn’t really care much for white people.

Stay hard white people. Stay hard black people. Stay hard all people….Diddy is just being Diddy. Hopefully his music will make up for it all. Other than that, maybe we can get John Mayer or someone to make a “making his band” show and only pick white people. Then see if the black folk get up in arms about that type of decision.

I’m just sayin!

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Felt the need for a little rant about my favorite sport and some things being said by one of my favorite people in the sport. I watched some of the old fights before Dana White took over the UFC, when it was a bit of an outlaw type sport and loved it. It was tough to really keep up with it because it was impossible to see unless you were there or was lucky enough to know where to find it on television.

Once TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) hit, I was so into the “new” UFC, I wished I was younger and tougher to even give it a shot, but like most common sense dudes, you decide to enjoy watching other dudes beat the fuck out of each other. Since season 1 of TUF exploded the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, mostly the UFC, into one of the hottest sports in the world, I fit into that perfect customer of Dana White and even other leagues that try to compete with them. I watch as many fights as I can because I love the competition. It’s much more entertaining to me than people hitting a golf ball or tennis ball, hell, even baseball. I put it right up there with football and maybe even with basketball.

Anyhow, I’m FAR from some meathead douche bag that walks around with my chest bowed out like some people are claiming the common MMA fan to be. I’m a father of almost 4 kids and happily married. Have a business I love and I’m pushing 40 years old. Sure, these fights are full of testosterone, but it’s a guys guy sport, what do you expect?

I have a lot of favorites in the sport, but surprisingly one of my top favorites is the color commentator who does most UFC fights, Joe Rogan. I think he’s a funny fucker and he not only knows the sport of MMA, but he also trains in it. Then throw in the fact he does stand up comedy and he has that voice that sounds like he’s screaming in your face and I just think he’s one of the great faces of the sport.

I follow Joe Rogan on Twitter and noticed today he said he’s getting messages about this post on his blog about shirts the UFC fans wear and how they pose in pictures with their favorite fighters. Now, if you don’t follow Joe, this will probably come across much more harsh than it might for me because Joe is just a harsh, opinionated dude that has lots of comedic value to most of what he says.

Here’s my beef with what he’s saying. While he’s basically saying unless you wear Tapout clothing, it sucks, he’s turning the public opinion of that type of clothing against ALL companies that make it. I completely agree some of the shirts are WAYYYY over the top with gold and silver and shit that blinds you, but if someone thinks it looks cool and wants to wear it, more power to them. I don’t look at them like douche bag shirts, I look at them like the sport of MMA jersey’s. A lot of these are put out by different training camps as a way to help fund their fighters and their gyms. Others are there to help fund the leagues they fight in. It’s just a way for the fan to be part of this awesome sport. I think as one of the more familiar faces of a great sport, you should really consider not putting such a bad label on something that helps the sport continue to grow. Reading what he wrote made me want to throw the few shirts I do own away because the last thing I want to be seen as is some meathead douche bag. I definitely will re-consider ever buying something like that again if that’s how people view those that wear them.

Then let’s move on to his comments about how people like to get a photo with their favorite fighters. REALLY??? These are the same people that keep your favorite job going, Joe! Why would you rub so many of your own fans so wrong because of how they choose to enjoy the sport that we all love? If some kid wants to hold a football while getting a photo with his favorite running back in the NFL, you going to call him names? Just because the kid doesn’t play ball means he can’t hold the football in the picture? That’s such a ridiculous beef to have towards fans, I’m shocked he even said it. Maybe he has a beef towards a specific type of fan, but guess what, that type of shit generalizes the entire sport and the entire group of fans that continue to spread the word and empty their pockets to watch it.

I went to the fights here in Dallas this past weekend and was lucky enough to score floor tickets (which is another rant all together). The one cool part of being on the floor is the chance to meet fighters and others that are part of the sport. Maybe even get photos or autographs from your favorites. The one person that wanted no part of the whole scene was Joe Rogan. We tried to call him over to the peasant section but he was either too baked to deal with people or he just honestly wants no part of it. For someone that loves his job as much as he does, it seems weird to me that he wouldn’t want to interact with people that help keep the sport going financially.

I’ll end my rant with this…I’m not angry at Joe for what he said, I just think he is hurting the UFC fan by labeling them with these type of things. It is a free country and you can say whatever the hell you want, but why shit on your own fans? People aren’t calling him a fag for trying to bring back the fanny pack! Anyhow, Joe … keep being funny, but don’t hurt your sport financially!

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fried_egg_sandwich

Kind of a pointless post, but I’ve perfected the fried egg sandwich and I thought I’d share it.

If you are the type of person who prefers a non-runny egg yolk, then it might not be for you, however, it’s really tasty and my mouth is watering thinking about it right now.

Ingredients Needed:

  1. Two Eggs (I prefer the organic)
  2. Two slices of your favorite bread
  3. One slice of cheese (I use American)
  4. Lawry’s seasoned salt
  5. fresh ground pepper
  6. Mayonnaise w/ Olive Oil

First step is to get the eggs cooking. Make sure you have a skillet that fits two eggs at once. I prefer to spray the skillet with the fake butter spray, then turn the stove on about halfway. I usually give it a couple minutes to heat up first so when the egg is poured on, it starts to cook the fluids quick and it doesn’t run all over the place. Also be sure to be careful to not break the yolk. Once both eggs are on the skillet, make sure to contain the egg whites into the size of your sliced bread to prevent it hanging too far off the bread.

Now that the eggs are cooking, put a light dash of Lawry’s seasoned salt and fresh ground pepper over the top so it works into the egg white. The amount is really up to your taste. Salt is salt and I go light, but heavy on the pepper to give it a spicy taste.

Next move on to preparing the bread. You can lightly toast the bread for a crunchy taste, but I like the soft bread for soaking, which I’ll mention later. Put a light amount of olive oil mayo on each slice of bread (not too much, you just want a light taste).

By now, the eggs should be ready to flip. Carefully flip each egg so to not break the yolk. I usually use two spatulas because breaking the yolk ruins it. Once you get the eggs flipped, put another dash of Lawry’s and some more pepper, then take your slice of cheese (use pepper jack for a spicy treat), break it half, and then put each half on each egg.

Allow the cheese to start melting and that’s usually a sign it’s time to pull the eggs off the skillet. Take the first egg off and carefully place it on one half of the bottom slice of bread with the cheese facing up. Take the second egg and carefully place it on the other half of the bread, cheese facing down. You should have one yolk on each side of the bread and the cheese will hold the eggs together.

Put the top slice of bread on top and allow it to cool for a couple of minutes. Then heaven starts. Now be careful when you’re biting into the yolk as it will be warm and runny. I prefer to let the excess yolk land on my plate which I will use the last few bites of bread to soak up.

For the perfect drink, I would recommend a chilled glass of either white or chocolate skim milk.

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Nationwide Construction Loans = SUCKS!

June 24, 2009

They have this fancy website and lead you to believe they can help you get a construction loan in any state. We’re about to build a home and just trying to find someone to help us through the construction piece of it.
I call our local credit union and they refer us to [...]

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Dell Vostro 220s Slim Tower Will Not Connect To Network (Fix!)

May 22, 2009

My company is a huge believer in Dell products and our entire office is decked out in almost everything Dell related. They’re so much easier to work with and customizing a PC to what you need is just a genius thing. I rarely have a gripe about anything of theirs but recently we [...]

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How To Save A Shirt Collar

March 4, 2009

One of the worst parts of a pull over, polo style shirt is the collar. The shirt itself may last for years, but the collar’s days are numbered. It will ultimately be the fate of your favorite shirt.
The easiest part of the shirt, is everything except the collar. It just [...]

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Nicasio Design SUCKS! – Interesting Approach

February 18, 2009

Felix Figuereo, from Nicasio Design & Development, has one of the more interesting approaches in earning business. I was looking for someone who could help turn a web design into a wordpress theme. I found the Nicasio Design site and thought their design portfolio looked crisp and clean. I inquired, he (Felix), [...]

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WTF! 86 Cents For Gas ? ?

February 4, 2009

Last night I had to pull over and fill up with gas. No, not the gas I have right now, but gas to make my sports utility vehicle (SUV) run. I usually get gas at Tom Thumb because each dollar goes towards my American Airlines reward miles, which I usually like to use [...]

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