A L'amitié et à la Liberté!

If ever the time comes and you get asked to help paint a Volvo named Henry, you don't take that chance for granted.

First the roof, which will later have a poem written by the talented Kacie.


Then maybe a little bit of swirl.


Passenger One.


Passenger Two.


A future lilypad for Kermit.


Laying down the yellow.


So cheesy, in a good way.


Always the Bruin, painting or not.


All the while, we came up with the perfect slogan for Henry, A L'amitié et à la Liberté!, perfect in so many ways possible.

Got Plans Sunday?

If not, come out to this and buy a book- it goes to an amazing cause!

See Saw Baseball

I recommend you watch the full, 8-minute video, but if you can't I've added the shorter version as well. The commentary is great in the long version.

LONG


Go here for the SHORT version.

Thirsty Thursdays

In response to Ace's posts about riding abouts in L.A., we've countered with Thirsty Thursdays. Milder than mild, it's a 12-14 mile ride, which includes stops at Yardhouse, random construction sites, and Alberto's Mexican Food.

What's especially sad is that our ride was about 1/16th of what Ace normally would. I'd post one of those cool, snazzy maps he puts on his blog, but honestly is it even worth it? Besides, I don't even know how to do one of those anyway.

Along the way, Malicious Melvin got stuck in train tracks, got hit with a beer can, and managed to scrape his knee pretty bad- all the while riding with a seatpost about a foot too low.

Pre-ride, Bryan's patented double trackstand. Watch out, Tom.


"I think I dropped something."
"No, you just ran over something."


Couple seconds after the fall, it looked liked a leaky faucet...


It was so bad, Joemm could hardly stand to watch. He countered with some 211.


Our best attempt to look tough- but I realize that the toughest thing in this picture is that bulldozer.


The lineup.


Malicious, taking a look at his sand covered, infected scrapeage.


The Miner with his new way on keeping the chain taught throughout.


And finally, it's really not a Malicious Murderous Melvin post unless he's being fed. I'm trying to dig up an old picture of him- stay tuned for that.

Ahh! Real Monsters!

But what's really scary is this. Creeps...


Yet not nearly as funny as this.


"But did you know you could perhaps kill somebody?"

"Yes, but I wanted to do hoodrat stuff with my friend."

Not enough Latarian Milton? Yeah, me neither.

The American Mustache Institute

Protecting the rights of, and fighting discrimination against, mustached Americans by promoting the growth, care, and culture of the mustache.

Yes, it exists. And yes, that is their slogan. Why I bring this to attention is that the AMI is fully backing Jason Giambi in his bid to be the "Final Man" added to the AL All Star Game next week.

From their website:

Yes, it does not take a mathematician to know that Giambi + Mustache = All-Star. It's science.

They even had a video-



And here's the 'stache in contention...


And here's a few Yanks if they had 'staches. Personally, I'd love it if A-Rod (second from right) would let it grow.

I'm In Japan

Vicariously with and through TJ, of course! Teej so kindly drew a picture of me, and is taking it around his tour of Japan. I hope to see some amazing pictures soon.

My Face Is Red

...from all the sun I took in from a Luau in the mountains. Needless to say I'm pretty much hating life with this sunburn all over my body, so while I recuperate why don't you check out my friend Marc's blog- Royal Thrown.

If you click here, you'll see what it's like firsthand to be on the receiving end of a drunk driving crash, as told by the words (and pictures) of Mr. Marc himself.

Hope all of you had a great weekend! If you're burnt like me (and Jen With One N, Bryan, Amelia, Andie, and Alena), put some aloe on. Putting it in the fridge before you use it helps.

I'll get back to normal posting duties soon. Expect a HUGE June Lake post; vomit stories, hippie umbrella men, and all!

Happy 232nd Birthday America!

I'm in June Lake/Mammoth, but I couldn't leave without a scheduled blog for sweet, sweet America.So I thought it would be fitting to post the following video (that Cara so kindly suggested to me a few weeks ago).



And sharing America's birthday is Koko, the signing gorilla...



And Rube Goldberg, who's name has likened to these gadgets...



And these too...



Ok, now we're getting a little off topic, so enjoy the last clip. Happy Birthday, America. Wish for a competent president and lower gas prices. Please.

Instead, Let's Furnish With These

Ditch those boring flat panel HDTV's and stainless steel refrigerators, and look into buying these awesome retro applainces. They're made with new parts and are completely brand new, so you don't have to worry about scouring the web for parts.

TV's made by Telstar/Predicta, and refrigerators by Big Chill.

Sights To Behold

On Sunday I was lucky enough to score some garden box seats to the Hollywood Bowl to see one of my favorites, Devendra Banhart. He opened for the legendary Gilberto Gil, who also just happens to be Brasil's Minister of Culture. So, being that it was in close proximity to Jen With One N's birthday (which is TODAY!), naturally I took my favorite Jen (With One N).

Introduce a co-worker to their future spouse, and watch those favors come all the way home. Thanks, Liz- but don't let up, you still owe me, big time :)


Absolutely amazing seats. Only problem is that you're sitting with snotty L.A. people who couldn't understand why we went to see Devendra Banhart, or why he was even on the bill.


She was nearby.


Our humble picnic, trumped by the six course meals some of the other boxes had around us.


Luckily, we shared our box with other DB fans. They were gracious enough to share their brownies with us. Yeah, dude. Brownies.


Jen bought me this sweet pin from the Bowl Store. Score! Wait, wasn't this day for her birthday?


Let's have a face painting party.






There wasn't much room in that tiny box, so we decided to dance in the aisles, like everyone else was.




You have to love wine with a question mark on the label.


Even The Cheese and Nick showed up!


Check out the sweet concert poster for the evening.


Gilberto had the Bowl in his country's colors.


You know, for a man who turned 66 a couple days before the show, I've got to say that he's still got a few sexy moves left in him.


In the finale, Gilberto invited Devendra and Rodrigo Amarante back on stage to sing, much to the delight of myself and my friends.




It's like the line into Bryan's pants!


On our way out, this puppeteer had everyone dying. With the people selling the bootleg shirts and glowsticks, seeing this guy was a relief.


And as I mentioned earlier, today marks Jen With One N's 21st birthday! So if you're reading this and you forgot to wish her one, do it! Now! Or she'll kill you! With kindness!

Californians! Remember!

Today marks the start of Vehicle Codes §23123 and §23124, better known as the hands free cell phones, or else law. So dust off those douchebag cordless bluetooth devices and save yourself a ticket!

What's weird is that texting isn't implicated- yet. For whatever reason, this is the biggest shocker, isn't it more dangerous to text-n-drive? Bryan?. From the DMV site,

Q: Does the new “hands-free” law allow drivers 18 and over to text message while driving?
A: The law does not specifically prohibit that, but an officer can pull over and issue a citation to a driver of any age if, in the officer’s opinion, the driver was distracted and not operating the vehicle safely. Sending text messages while driving is unsafe at any speed and is strongly discouraged.