tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54343582011-04-21T14:56:27.689-07:00My Completely Random LifeA Rock and Roll Blogkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comBlogger741100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1087418169677770142004-06-16T13:20:00.000-07:002004-06-16T13:36:09.676-07:00EVERYBODY GOT WHAT THEY WANTED
So now that the Lakers have been vanquished in the NBA finals, everybody has come crawling out of the woodwork proclaiming the Pistons victory as an additional victory of "teamwork over individualism" as it says here in today's New Republic.
First of all, I thought TNR was a political rag. What's the matter, not enough on the campaign trail to chew over? Secondlykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1087333904677576962004-06-15T14:00:00.000-07:002004-06-15T14:11:44.676-07:00I'M BACK!
I been gone for a while. I was, uh, mowing the lawn. Yeah, that's the ticket!
Well, several months have passed and I'm still not a household name. I've been writing mostly incendiary band commentary for months now and I've boxed myself into a corner because I have nowhere to discuss my most personal thoughts.
For instance, it may be interesting for most people to know that I am, inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1070305497384421072003-12-01T10:42:00.000-08:002003-12-01T11:10:43.810-08:00DUDE, WHERE'S MY BLOG?
Well, it was a great party for a while, and for the half dozen folks that I estimate dialed into this dishrag, I salute you and I will now reveal why I have seemingly dropped off the face of cyber-earth here ------ I BEEN BUSY!
To that extent (my favorite, along with "nominal", phrase to sneak into my writing) I will now direct you to the sites that I have been busy at, khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1067643268397726632003-10-31T15:34:00.000-08:002003-10-31T15:40:23.520-08:00TEAM COVERAGE
No picture sums up the media reaction to the wild fires any better than the huge front page photo in Wednesday's LA Times. From an aerial perspective you see a threatened neighborhood, presumably evacuated, with a wall of flames bearing down on it. The houses are still standing and you can see on the street two vehicles - one a fire truck and the other a Channel 9 news van.
A khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1067375569990017162003-10-28T13:12:00.000-08:002003-10-28T13:39:22.573-08:00AT LONG LAST, A NEW POST
I've been away for a while and it's not that I've become so ashamed that I supported the losing side in the recall election, I've just been busy doing "other" stuff, mainly, at long last (I've been using that term alot lately), the official Desperation Squad web site. I'm very excited about it. With the help of old friend Mark Givens we got a huge site and a registeredkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1067371521191090222003-10-28T12:05:00.000-08:002003-10-28T12:05:20.693-08:00AT LONG LAST, THE TEASE-O-RAMA REVIEW
Here it is:
It's the big moment at Junior's bachelor party. The entertainment has arrived and the rumpus room, packed to the gills with testosterone-engorged alpha males, is eagerly awaiting a hired slut with store-bought boobs that they can throw their hard-earned money at, just so she will allow them to touch her "there" and perhaps, later in private and khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1066281645732583382003-10-15T22:20:00.000-07:002003-10-15T22:20:45.703-07:00OH, THAT LEGACY OF LOSING
See, this is why baseball has it all over any other sport, for this very reason. It's the absolute pain and agony of going game after game, year after year, getting all pumped up on some kind of uber-meth high because your team is going to win it all, and then crashing down hard when it doesn't, usually blamed on some blasted curse, but in reality it's just baseball, khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1066110468492395362003-10-13T22:47:00.000-07:002003-10-13T22:49:40.026-07:00MY OPINION IS MEANINGLESS
Not! Well, that's what I thought at first as I watched tonight's playoff game between the Red Sox and the Yankees on Fox. Suddenly they showed the results of one of those on-line polls that they do. This one was:
Who do you blame for the brawl?
The choices were:
Pedro Martinez
Don Zimmer
Manny Ramirez
Roger Clemons
Karim Garcia was not even listed as a choice, as khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1066108013381407562003-10-13T22:06:00.000-07:002003-10-13T22:10:38.913-07:00IT'S A FAMILY SCRAP
Ironic newspaper ad of the week:
On page A19 of Sunday's LA Times, Albertsons supermarket took out a huge full page ad which contained this banner headline, in big blue print:
A History of Serving You Better.
Below that are three pictures on each side of smiling Albertsons workers - the deli girl, the flower girl, the pharmacist, the butcher, the baker, the produce guy - khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1065998288688866292003-10-12T15:38:00.000-07:002003-10-12T15:38:08.470-07:00WHO THE HELL IS KARIM GARCIA?
No one else in the sports media is going to say it, it's up to your old fatihful Mr. P to set the record straight here and identify the primary culprit in yesterday's bashfest between the Yankees and the Red Sox, the one that culminated in what I will unabashedly admit has to be my all-time favorite non-Angels or Lakers sports moment:
Seeing the Gerbil, Don Zimmer,khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1065734358678767372003-10-09T14:19:00.000-07:002003-10-09T14:24:54.893-07:00SPEAKING OF TRASH T.V.
Then after that big old ramble about Wally, I turn to the obituary page in the N.Y. Times and find one of my media mentors, Neil Postman, has died. I never met Mr. Postman but after I went back to school I became reacquainted with him as his highly influential book, "Amusing Ourselves To Death" was required reading in not one but two classes that I took. Postman was a khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1065730165882434602003-10-09T13:09:00.000-07:002003-10-09T13:22:08.600-07:00HERE'S TO YOU, WAL-LY
My family once had a Siamese cat named Princess, who had the run of the house until circumstances dictated that we adopt a couple more felines, including a younger Siamese that chased and taunted Princess mercilessly. We ourselves perhaps paid too little attention to Princess at this time as well. It was a chaotic time in our family and, during a very hectic week, we khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1065555424053748552003-10-07T12:37:00.000-07:002003-10-07T12:37:03.806-07:00BOO HOO HOO PT. 3
Except this time it's me crying.
So I have once again done my civic duty and voted. To those of you just know joining the process, it's good to see you take time from watching Oprah and supporting union-busting stores like Wal-Mart to elect the biggest bully/hump in the history of democracy. Pardon me if I don't share your thrill at having the "Governator" as our official khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1064967466418828912003-09-30T17:17:00.000-07:002003-09-30T17:17:46.323-07:00ROCK AND ROLL THIS WEEKEND!
DESPERATION SQUAD W/THIRD GRADE TEACHER AT THE PRESS - FRIDAY OCT. 3 - 9:30 PM - 129 HARVARD, CLAREMONT - (909) 625-5808 - NO COVER - ALL AGES (UNDER 21 MUST BE BUYING FOOD OR SOME SUCH THING LIKE THAT)
SHOULDA BEEN THERE
Well, the first of our heralded "fourth Saturday of the month" shows in Pomona was one of the most bizarre Squad shows ever, and I'm not trying khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1064610325515757362003-09-26T14:05:00.000-07:002003-09-26T14:12:43.160-07:00MARY CAREY'S THE ONE!
Well, you just knew I was going to say that, and I'm sure you think it has something to do with her big boobs and all, but there's a little more to it than that. Vote for whoever you want - Arnold the Hump, Tom the Spoiler, Arianna the Shrill, Cruz the Traitor, Peter the Green (you know, if Camejo could just play guitar like the Fleetwood Mac founder, I think we'd have khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1063838790544882192003-09-17T15:46:00.000-07:002003-09-17T15:49:56.356-07:00BOO HOO HOO, PT. 2
"To have this canceled is like preparing for a huge party and having somebody say they don't want to have it."
Kristen L. Heffron - chief deputy, LA County registrar-recorder
"When voters get too confused, they are going to say forget it and walk away."
Jill LaVine - Sacramento registrar of voters
Source, NY Times - 917-03
Some of the silliest rhetoric concerning the recall khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1063823323085857242003-09-17T11:28:00.000-07:002003-09-17T11:28:42.910-07:00BOO HOO HOO
This is for all the moping whiners that are just "outraged" over the "liberal" 9th Circuit Appeals Court decision to delay the recall election. After all, in doing so the court is denying the will of the people and their right to conduct a fair and timely election. In other words, democracy as we know it is being thwarted.
Oh boo hoo hoo.
Democracy, huh? Look at the numbers. khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1063391207800861202003-09-12T11:26:00.000-07:002003-09-12T11:26:47.783-07:00SO LONG JOHNNY
First Warren Zevon, then Johnny Cash. It's been a sad week for those who cherish popular music.
Johnny Cash wasn't a rock musician, but he was certainly a Rock Star, in every justifiable sense of the word. And he was, despite numerous personal and professional travails in his life, a far better representative of the title than most who have at one point or another deigned to khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1063218856683495822003-09-10T11:34:00.000-07:002003-09-11T13:28:18.460-07:00RIAA IN THE NEWS
Guess you've probably already heard the news about how a 12-year old girl from the projects of New York is one of the first to agree to an out-of-court settlement with the RIAA. The NY tabloids had a field day with it. What did I say three months ago? The RIAA was shaking kids down for their lunch money? And clothes and school supplies too! Hope the suits in the glass khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1063138058604360052003-09-09T13:07:00.000-07:002003-09-09T13:07:38.653-07:00SO LONG, NORMAN
And if California slides into the ocean
Like the mystics and statistics say it will
I predict this motel will be standing
Until I pay my bill
Warren Zevon - "Desperadoes Under The Eaves"
Warren Zevon was, to me, a genius. He had the ability to wed poetry and melody that was absolutely astounding. For me, actually, it was more than that. Though I can claim hundreds of khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1062975696787892732003-09-07T16:01:00.000-07:002005-02-03T11:46:29.033-08:00GEORGE BUSH IS NOT A LIAR
Wow! Did I say that? Well, far be it from me to offer comfort to our somewhat beleagured president, but if you plug "Bush is a liar" into a Google search you come up with about 20,000 more "hits" than if you plug in "Bush is not a liar." (Diversion: does anybody ever look that far, to say #134, 567? Just wonderin')
So if Bush isn't a liar, what is he? To me he is a khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1062723958590654992003-09-04T18:05:00.000-07:002003-09-04T18:07:03.630-07:00MY BITTER VENDETTA AGAINST THE WHITE STRIPES CONTINUES
And it continues in a sort of stop the presses way.
The latest Rolling Stone is out and, hide the women and children, it has an honest to god rock star on the cover - that's been dead for over 30 years. But if you are compiling the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, who else are you going to put on the cover but Jimi Hendrix? khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1062533002084475572003-09-02T13:03:00.000-07:002003-09-02T13:14:03.306-07:00RIAA IN THE NEWS
I'm sure everyone is breathless waiting to find out what's new on the Internet piracy/RIAA front. Indeed, much has happened in just the last couple of weeks and all of it is noteworthy in one way or another.
Just today, on the traditional first day of college, two like-minded articles, one from Christian Science Monitor and a front-pager in the LA Times, address the issue of khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1062373907940266572003-08-31T16:51:00.000-07:002003-09-02T11:21:56.286-07:00CULTURE WARS R U.S.
I had this dream the other night. In the dream I was in Dan Quayle's seat at the 1988 Vice Presidential debate, and seated on the other side was Clarence Darrow, of Scopes Monkey Trial fame (actually, it was Spencer Tracy in the role of Clarence Darrow, that's how I knew it was him). So we're having this debate and at one point I make a point about the "culture wars" and khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1062102361449087802003-08-28T13:26:00.000-07:002003-08-28T13:26:01.516-07:00ROLLING STONE THROUGH THE YEARS
I've really caught this culture wars bug, and I'm going to keep harping on it, if only for the simple reason that I don't have much else to do these days and sometimes it's fun, like when I decided last week to pore over microfilm of old Rolling Stone magazines and compile a list of artists featured on the cover at various points in the paper's history. I was khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1062008237780067572003-08-27T11:17:00.000-07:002003-08-27T11:19:37.540-07:00A ROCK AND ROLL CIVICS LESSON
DESPERATION SQUAD AT 51 BUCKINGHAM W/A BUNCH OF OTHER BANDS - SATURDAY, AUGUST 30 - 9:00 PM - 301 W. SECOND ST, POMONA - (909) 629-3665 - $5 COVER - 21 & OVER
Did I leave anything out? I mean besides the other bands that are playing this show with us? That's because the (51) website is down and I don't have a car which means I haven't been able to get posters or khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1061924121935185602003-08-26T11:55:00.000-07:002003-08-26T11:57:39.966-07:00IT'S WHERE I GET ALL MY NEWS
The Sunday Paper costs three times as much as the daily paper, so you damn well better believe that I read every damn resource-hogging insert they throw in those suckers (except for the days when those crooks at the LA Times conveniently leave out an insert or two in their newstand editions; I'm convinced this a covert effort to get people to subscribe but I can't khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1061765017419354362003-08-24T15:43:00.000-07:002003-08-28T11:58:52.290-07:00ALMOST FAMOUS
The Truth Laid Bear is blog traffic monitoring system (among other things) that issues weekly rankings of the most viewed sites on a listing called the Ecosystem. So if you want to save yourself time by looking only at popular and established blogs, this is a good way to do it. Of course, to be ranked you have to sign up to be in the Ecosystem, and one method they have of khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1061402144927917252003-08-20T10:55:00.000-07:002003-08-21T12:59:42.056-07:00LAST DANCE AT THE OLD TOWN PUB
DESPERATION SQUAD AT THE OLD TOWN PUB W/ THE GROOVEY REDNECKS - FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 - 9:30 PM - 66 FAIR OAKS, PASADENA - (626) 577-6583 - 21 & OVER - $5 COVER
I've been working at the Pasadena Weekly off and on now for the last several months, which means on certain selected "special" mornings I get to hop on the 690 Express Bus. It's a real kick believe me, in khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1061326564324113362003-08-19T13:56:00.000-07:002003-08-19T14:54:33.333-07:00CULTURE WAR, PT. 2
So you question whether rock and roll is losing the culture war, do you? Well, you should take a look at the Monday LA Times Calendar section, if you want to see actual proof of this. On the cover is a big huge above the crease photo of R. Kelly and a review of his concert over the weekend. Turn the page and you see on page 3 a picture of Perry Farrell and the khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1061320617665751352003-08-19T12:16:00.000-07:002003-08-19T12:23:48.523-07:00CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Among the recent textual sparring between my friend Sue and I recently, I have been remiss in reporting that Sue has played a vital role in creating the D-Squad look. So I will rectify that now. Not only did Sue take the fabulous Qtopoia's photos, she is also the architect and administrator of the sassy Twin Panda outfit.
Here is how the Panda mask came to be. The khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1061228986866103392003-08-18T10:49:00.000-07:002003-08-18T11:25:58.533-07:00CULTURE WAR
Here is a quiz with no right or wrong answers:
Which band has had more cultural impact:
NWA or Jane's Addiction?
NWA or Nirvana?
Nirvana or New Kids on the Block?
Nirvana or Travis Tritt?
We'll get back to this in a bit, but before we do, let's look at some recent publications:
In their June 21 issue, Billboard magazine launched a new editorial column entitled "Taking Issue". Thekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1061152935757146962003-08-17T13:42:00.000-07:002003-08-17T13:42:15.726-07:00CALL ME A CRANK, BUT . . .
As promised, here is a recent comment sent to My Completely Random Life which, unfortunately, "broke" the machine, and precipitated a switch to a new, superior (and typically ignored) feedback generator. In the process the original comment had to be wiped from the board (UPDATE: actually it's not, it's still there ) but I saved it and will now reprint it, in its khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1060886732423174412003-08-14T11:45:00.000-07:002003-08-14T11:50:04.283-07:00WHAT ARE WE, CHOPPED LIVER?
Here is some fast-breaking news. Some magazine that no one has ever heard of has concocted some sort of list of the 50 worst rock and roll bands of all time. At the top of the list is Insane Clown Posse, which has to be the best news the band has had in quite some time, although their website expresses exasperation and disdain at the announcement. Hey, dudes, use khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1060804212655209362003-08-13T12:50:00.000-07:002003-08-13T12:54:57.020-07:00POPULISM OR DOORSTEP DEMOCRACY?
The California Recall election is being portrayed by its supporters as true democracy in action, a grass roots effort to reclaim some modicum of accountability of politicians to the "people." To its detractors, the recall effort is an example of democracy in reverse, a hijacking of what the people actually want.
Is any of this true, or is this just politics as khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1060625866468968082003-08-11T11:17:00.000-07:002003-08-11T11:17:46.466-07:00OF COURSE I HAVE AN OPINION ON THIS
I just don't have any time to post it on the web. This is a temporary problem, as soon enough I will be
A) no longer working so much and
2) benefitting from the start of school, which means that the library stays open longer.
This really sucks because there is so much going on in the media today that I ache to posit on. Plus, there's just little things (khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1059939907311023112003-08-03T12:45:00.000-07:002003-08-03T12:47:19.360-07:00TRAVELS WITH MR. P
Cell phones, cell phones, cell phones!
You'd think that the reason people travel is to get away from the drudgery of life - the chores, the responsibilities, all of your friends at home. What do you have to tell them when you get back if you've spent the entire time nattering away to them half way across the continent?
Airports are the worst. I can spend time anywhere, khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1059780403308550832003-08-01T16:26:00.000-07:002003-08-01T16:29:32.250-07:00SEARCHING FOR A NEW COMMENTS LOG
Live and learn.
After waiting weeks and weeks for an actual honest to god comment from someone out there in cyberspace who wanted to weigh in on all my biased rhetoric, I logged on and found an overwhelming six for one stinking piece. It proved to be an illusion. There was only one comment, and it was repeated over and over again, and I found that it was khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1059503204483753782003-07-29T11:26:00.000-07:002003-07-29T18:53:02.040-07:00MR. P AT LARGE
There has been far far too much going on in the news for me to stay silent about. One of the problems, however, is that it seems like everybody has to weigh in on current topics, and almost 100% of it winds up being as enlightening as a Dr. Gene Scott marathon. Why should anyone give a rats ass about my opinion? That said, here goes:
Kobe Bryant
I tried very hard, for days andkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1059258796391288212003-07-26T15:33:00.000-07:002003-07-29T18:52:46.210-07:00THE THIRD BIKE (AND OTHER COMPLETELY RANDOM STORIES)
I haven't been completely out of the loop, but I have been hanging out with the Brazilians lately, several of them were making out in the back of the van on the way home from Magic Mountain. Later, they convinced me to stop at McDonald's. I didn't want to, I had a 10:00 bus to catch later, but how can you say no to these people? Yet, by so khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1058904354061723362003-07-22T13:05:00.000-07:002003-07-22T13:08:00.990-07:00WHILE I WAS AWAY FROM MY DESK
So many subjects, so little time.
It's been a strange week. I was in Santa Monica last Thursday, just by coincidence, and I went down to the Promenade to see first hand how people were dealing with the Farmer's Market tragedy. I didn't want to, necessarily, but I realized that, hey, I work for the Pasadena Weekly, I would be shirking my duties if I didn't at leastkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1058471144813551052003-07-17T12:45:00.000-07:002003-07-17T12:46:12.170-07:00IT'S WHERE I GET ALL THE IMPORTANT NEWS
There is so much I want to write about, so much that I need to explain, yet I have no time. I'm always out in Hollywood, dealing with all the screwed up traffic that only gets worse when they shut down the whole street for two days, just so they can lay out a red carpet for that sham known as the ESPY Awards. Ooh, ooh --- rich athletes getting a nice pat khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1057699765155694752003-07-08T14:29:00.000-07:002003-07-08T14:34:17.130-07:00SAVING YOU THE TROUBLE OF DIGESTING MY SOUR GRAPES
I spent a half an hour writing something that was essentially me crying in my beer about the ignominy of having the Warped Tour come to town, my town, and not be invited to play, despite our somewhat baffling but sparsely reported success on the tour two years ago. For all intents and purposes, the Squad is once again, for about the third or khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1057190080158861112003-07-02T16:54:00.000-07:002003-07-02T16:54:40.176-07:00SHAKING DOWN KIDS FOR THEIR LUNCH MONEY
The advertisement on page A19 of the June 26 edition of the New York Times screamed this headline in big block letters:
NEXT TIME YOU OR YOUR KIDS 'SHARE' MUSIC ON THE INTERNET, YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO DOWNLOAD A LIST OF ATTORNEYS.
Well, I would certainly call that threatening, wouldn't you? It's the latest volley in a synchronized effort to head off the khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1057174190455379312003-07-02T12:29:00.000-07:002003-07-03T12:13:39.010-07:00JOIN THE ARMY, SEE THE NAVY
In future TV recruiting ads, wouldn't it be more responsible to put a shot of a burning Humvee or a crowd of agitated citizens? I mean all you get now in those commercials are shots of "pretend" conflict, with a promise to pay for school when it's all over. I have to imagine that quite a few of our troops stationed overseas are wondering just what the hell they got khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1057098036757359382003-07-01T15:20:00.000-07:002003-07-03T12:13:57.483-07:00IT'S NOT JUST THE SECOND HAND SMOKE EITHER. . .
. . . that bugs us non-smokers, although the day I breathed cigarette smoke inside my enclosed vehicle (it came through the air conditioner duct) I was dumbfounded. But, you know, it's also all about being in the damn supermarket line, and especially if it's Stater Bros, they take forever anyway, your reward for lower prices, I suppose, but you're khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1057000978102966112003-06-30T12:22:00.000-07:002003-09-20T13:54:10.656-07:00SO YOU WANT TO BE A ROCK AND ROLL STAR?
There are gigs and there are gigs, if you know where I'm coming from. Shoot, over the years we've played sold out shows with X and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (1986 at the Pomona Valley Auditorium), with the Dead Milkmen (1989 at the Roxy), with Social Distortion (1990 at Cal Poly Pomona, in front of 2,000 people), 35 dates on the 2001 Warped Tour, with the khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1056760220548331432003-06-27T17:30:00.000-07:002003-07-03T12:15:54.330-07:00BIG TIME ROCK AND ROLL TONIGHT
I got off to a strong start, but I've been malingering away from computers too much these days to be able to write anything. In fact, if you want to know the truth, I've been operating solely through the library system, as I have no working computer myself. Mine froze months ago and I was in too much of a academic frenzy to let it slow me down. Well hell, both khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-10566629979340352003-06-26T14:29:00.000-07:002003-07-03T12:17:45.300-07:00khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1056583273918325972003-06-25T16:21:00.000-07:002003-09-20T13:53:27.440-07:00MR. P AT LARGE
While I'm waiting for an hour to pass so that I can continue to send out mass emails to the D-Squad email list (which I'm doing because the Hotmail hyperlinks aren't working for everyone, which just goes to show you), I figure I'd muse about a subject or two, as I gear up for a long ramble on Elite Reputation Builders and the role they play in the music industry. So we're just khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1056137471499607842003-06-20T12:31:00.000-07:002003-06-20T12:31:11.503-07:00ROCKET BOY AND BRIDGET THE MIDGET
(note: the original text to this post was lost to inferior technology - this is merely a re-creation based on memory.)
The 16th annual Mondo Video A Go Go Fathers Day Open Mike is in the books and it looks like the D-Squad has a nice little two gig winning streak in LA going. It was an evening that oozed punk rock in most of its coherent forms, along with thekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1055971315167734182003-06-18T14:21:00.000-07:002003-09-20T13:52:35.346-07:00BLOGGER SUCKS
Well, I just spent two hours plus writing and linking a great story about our Mondo Video experience over the weekend and what should happen but, in the process of creating links and going back and forth, about half of it was wiped out in a single click of the mouse. This has happened before, but that was sort of my fault. This time it was just plain technology failure. I have khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1055451274868081712003-06-12T13:54:00.000-07:002003-07-03T12:19:54.976-07:00ROCK AND ROLL WEEKEND PT. 2
So what else is there to know about the shows this weekend? Well, for one, here are some maps:
51 Buckingham
Mondo Video A Go Go
Also, it should be noted that the cover charge for the Friday show is $5.
But here is where enterprising D-Squad fans, the ones that go beyond the soon to be deleted mass email, that actually do as I suggest, come to the blog and take a khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1055450690472800422003-06-12T13:44:00.000-07:002003-07-03T12:20:21.543-07:00ROCK AND ROLL WEEKEND
The band has two big shows this weekend. Here are the details, as provided by Panda Man in the last band mass email:
DESPERATION SQUAD AT 51 BUCKINGHAM W/ ROSEMARY'S BILLYGOAT, SHE'S DEAD, ADHD - FRIDAY JUNE 13 - 301 W. SECOND ST, POMONA - 21 & OVER - 9:00 PM
"Yes, Carson, I really did run for Mayor of Pomona."
It was ten years ago, we were in the final meter of D-Squadkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1055359515692676442003-06-11T12:25:00.000-07:002003-09-20T13:51:46.643-07:00ROCK AND ROLL IS NOT MILK
I wrote a post similar to this two days ago and it got wiped out in a single wrong click of the mouse. So, here we go again.
On Saturday night I went out to the Dragonfly in Hollywood, to see a band called the Marginal Prophets, a hip hop band from San Francisco. Their manager is a guy named Paul Brodhead, who I had only corresponded with via campus email. I missed khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1055196020724649502003-06-09T15:00:00.000-07:002003-06-09T15:00:20.770-07:00khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1055024040881370132003-06-07T15:14:00.000-07:002003-06-07T15:14:00.456-07:00IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?
What ever happened to live music? Is it even relevant anymore?
Last night I had a ride at my disposal, so I went for a cruise. I had all these gigantic promotional posters that Mike Odd of Rosemary's Billygoat gave me, so I went down to 51 Buckingham in Pomona to see if they wanted them. Although I am the Rock and Roll Mayor, by virtue of my unsuccessful candidacykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054938784658973822003-06-06T15:33:00.000-07:002003-06-06T15:33:04.333-07:00ROCK AND ROLL SONG LYRICS
Well, I've been bragging about "You Suck" - here is the first verse:
All that Groovin' at the Grove was a stab in the back
YOU SUCK!
It's a Bitter Pill to swallow puttin' up with that smack
YOU SUCK!
Just another lame half-ass attempt
YOU SUCK!
All I really want to say is just get bent
YOU SUCK!
I give you the best of me
You flat out rejected me
YOU SUCK!
SUCK SUCK khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054938584752398562003-06-06T15:29:00.000-07:002003-06-06T15:29:44.413-07:00NEW SHOWS ARRIVING EVERY DAY
Here is a thumbnail sketch of the current D-Squad show schedule:
Friday June 13 - 51 Buckingham, Pomona (W/Rosemary's Billygoat)
Sunday June 15 - Mondo Video a Go Go, Los Angeles
Friday June 27 - Liquid Den, Huntington Beach (W/The Controllers)
Go to web site links to find out factual information. Other hype will follow.khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054925542990940892003-06-06T11:52:00.000-07:002003-06-06T12:03:04.233-07:00IT'S A RANDOM RANDOM WORLD
Right. Just about everywhere I go I run into someone I know. At the Odd Art Show, it was the kids from Nick's Cafe Poetry Night. I hadn't seen them in about five years. "How completely random," one of them said. Later that night someone else comes up to me and asks if we had played yet and I said yes and then he says, "Yeah, I used to see you at school," and he khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054757256743855172003-06-04T13:07:00.000-07:002003-06-04T15:21:07.883-07:00IS THAT SMOKE I FEEL RISING UP BETWEEN MY LEGS?
In relaxing the media ownership limits, FCC Chairman Michael Powell said, "I'm proud of what we did." What the FCC did was essentially to open up the hen house to the foxes. How can you be proud of that? All the FCC is really doing is saving itself the headache of having to fend off lawsuit after lawsuit brought on by the best lawyers Big Media khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054674393308887572003-06-03T14:06:00.000-07:002003-06-03T14:07:05.100-07:00SURPRISE LINK OF THE DAY
This comes courtesy Yahoo News!
LINK OF THE DAYkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054671729074827192003-06-03T13:22:00.000-07:002003-06-03T14:00:42.040-07:00SPORTS SNORTS
(With apologies to Frazer Smith)
Although I'm a big Angels fan, I can't say I've been anywhere remotely close to a Mighty Ducks fan. In fact, I have never once seen them play at the Pond. In fact, I've only been to the Pond once in my life and that was for an Anaheim Bullfrogs roller hockey game. I was not impressed with the seating at the Pond, which is not surprising since I khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054667792094964712003-06-03T12:16:00.000-07:002003-06-03T12:21:59.476-07:00MY COMPLETELY RANDOM LIFE
Yesterday I drove to LAX to pick up some new students for school. Fortunately the flights were domestic. Don't know if you've ever waited for someone at the Tom Bradley International Terminal but I can assure you it is an exercise in drudgery, especially if you are waiting for someone you have never seen before. On the average it takes a passenger an hour to clear khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054576889492432292003-06-02T11:01:00.000-07:002003-09-20T13:50:20.033-07:00MY COMPLETELY RANDOM LIFE
I work for an ESL school, driving students on field trips. It's not a horrible job and you get to meet people from all over the world. Last Saturday I drove a group to Disneyland and met this kid from Taiwan (by way, apparently, of Pensacola, Florida) and on the way home I showed him one of the bitchen' posters I got for the D-Squad's upcoming gig at 51 Buckingham in khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054575175622441192003-06-02T10:32:00.000-07:002003-06-02T10:35:26.840-07:00IN OTHER NEWS
I am pleased to report that this blog has already been purchased in a mega-merger with the media conglomerate Mike Powell Sleeps With Broadcast Money Inc. Nothing will change although I may be forced to share office space and resources with numerous other blogs and websites and that my own views will be [this portion edited out by shareholders] because they promised me a Hummer. khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054574202807720672003-06-02T10:16:00.000-07:002003-06-02T10:22:31.843-07:00BLOGGER BLUES
I spent several hours composing my last message - a critical analysis of comic strips - and I went over to my buddy's house to show off and called up my site and what did I find? Something else, someone else's blog. At first I thought, "My god, less than a week and I've already been hacked!" It was quite demoralizing. So I logged on to my user site and it was still there but khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054419183548601412003-05-31T15:13:00.000-07:002003-05-31T16:02:24.116-07:00MR. P AT LARGE
A couple of years ago the LA Times started running this comic strip called Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley. I checked it out at first, it had quirky, edgy characters - a smart-ass cat, a dumb-ass dog - but I never really laughed. It reminded me of my old friend Hackett and how he used to challenge people to watch Gilligan's Island and point out one good honest-to-god laugh. Then you'dkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054333484219497652003-05-30T15:24:00.000-07:002003-05-30T16:11:31.073-07:00D-SQUAD RETURNS TO HOLLYWOOD
We had gathered over at Laura's house and the question was whether we should leave at 7:15 or 7:30. I said earlier is better, because you never know what's going to happen once you get on the road. The show started at "8:00 sharp" and I figured we should have it all loaded in by the time the doors open. And until we got off the freeway everything was peachy. When khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054331373244677502003-05-30T14:49:00.000-07:002003-05-30T14:49:46.293-07:00MY COMPLETELY RANDOM LIFE
I got called into work because one of the Japanese students needed to go to the post office and pick up some packages - four big old huge boxes. I helped her carry them into her apartment and while wandering around ran into my friend Jessica from work - hadn't seen her in two months. It will probably be the last time I see her too because she's moving away. Another khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054236517053456342003-05-29T12:28:00.000-07:002003-05-29T12:37:39.723-07:00ROCK AND ROLL TONIGHT
Tonight is the big Odd Art Show down at Qtopia's in Hollywood (Hollywood and Gower). It features Rosemary's Billygoat, Green Jello and Babyland as music headliners but also a fine array of arty, theatrical bands of various repute, including the illustrious Desperation Squad. We haven't played Hollywood since a lame-ass Goldfinger's show almost three years ago. I remember khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054231869182055852003-05-29T11:11:00.000-07:002003-05-29T11:12:07.326-07:00MY COMPLETELY RANDOM LIFE
This is how it works. Last night I was walking home from the library at school and I'm just about to cut through the construction area when a car beeps at me and it's a couple of friends from Pitzer who just graduated. "What are you doing here?" they asked me. Hell, I live here, I told them, this is what I do everyday. My friends don't live here, they live way out inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054172598709395322003-05-28T18:43:00.000-07:002003-05-29T12:47:02.653-07:00Last night I had to take the bus home. This isn't so bad but I was caught without a newspaper and I didn't feel like reading the copy of Hard Times by Studs Terkel I've been carrying around with me (not exactly the best book you would want to read right after graduating). Not that I didn't think it was appropriate, it's just that I get kind of queasy on the bus, you know? Not so bad with a khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434358.post-1054155196546979052003-05-28T13:53:00.000-07:002003-09-20T13:48:01.253-07:00Hello, my name is Mr. P and this is my blog. Welcome.
Here is my deal:
I just graduated from Pitzer College in Claremont, California, with a BA in Media Studies (with honors). I have also been, for the last 20 years (or thereabouts) in a band called Desperation Squad. Before that, I was associated with a punk rock group called Nixon's Revenge. Lately I have been known as Panda Man. Alas, khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386687706239228334noreply@blogger.com