Dead Channel

My Adventures at Best Buy

2008-06-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

I know its been a long time since I've posted... but this recent experience was so great that I just HAD to share.

I was just at Best Buy where I had previously bought and returned a 1000 dollar JVC HD Digital Camcorder. The Manager that originally sold it to me asked how it was doing. I told him that I brought it back because JVC has a proprietary format that isnt compatible with Final Cut or other Apple video editing software for that matter. iMovie wouldn't even recognize the camera.

He asked if I was sure. I said "oh yes im very sure. Even though You told me that it worked with Final Cut and its advertised as being OSX compatible... there are a lot of people on the internet that are rather irritated with this issue. I spent days trying to make this Camera work with my brand new machine. Because I really liked the camera"

I told him that I had to download some 4th party developer plugin hack to reincode the footage into a MOV file in quicktime pro. Which lowered the quality, Just to get it to work. And that project of converting 4 hours of footage took hours upon hours upon hours. So I returned the lovely camera. Because I really didn't feel like dealing with it. Even though I thought that It performed beautifully in the field.

You wanna know what his response was?

Best Buy Video Camera Dept Manager: "Well that's the problem with Macs. They just arent compatible with high end Camera equipment"

My Jaw dropped. and I then proceeded to tell him "Well I dont know what you're talking about... but I have a few High End cameras, and they all work perfectly with my Mac. Why do you think that they make pretty much all the movies you watch these days on a Mac?"

He then got irritated and his customer started laughing. Yes I said all this stuff in front of the customer he was working with. And then his customer just walked away laughing.

He then ignored me for the remainder of my browsing.

haha. Best Buy sucks.

Anonymous Protest Against Scientology

2008-03-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

So today my wife and I decided to head down to Hollywood and observe the protest of Scientology by the group Anonymous. We didnt partake in any way. We just observed and took photos.

It was really interesting. Everyone was really nice. But it was very surreal.

Oh lots of things have happened!!!

2008-03-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

Well, its been a moment or two since I posted here...

Lots of things have been going on!.

Mainly... I got freakin married!!! how great is that... I'll talk more about that later!!!

However... I wasnt aware that she had 3 personalities that all are capable of visually personifying themselves!!!

yay life is fantastic.

2008-01-18T08:52:00.000-08:00

oh yes its been quite a while since i posted here.

thats simply because life has been rather insane.

my business partner filed bankruptcy. therefore rendering the last 8 months of hard work that i've been doing virtually pointless. yay. i've been down in thousand oaks with my girl a lot. thats been really nice.

um what else... im totally behind on Joymode's Jukebox Sampler 4. That should be coming along soon.

oh and also due to the whole bankruptcy thing... my cell phone is currently off.

oh all of lifes wonders are here for me to enjoy.

i think im going insane.

on a happy note, I joined GOLDS GYM. Breanne and I are going this morning. Last night we went for a nice dinner at the Macaroni Grill. and then watched National Treasure. I was thoroughly entertained.

Today I would like to take her to the ocean. We shall see.

Also... I think we might move to New York. Manhattan to be more precise.

I'm also rediscovering A Perfect Circle. This band was marvelous. I much prefer APC to Tool.

This post is pointless.

my little sister

2007-11-03T00:13:00.000-07:00

is totally happy and married. im drunk

deathe metal and manteca.

2007-10-30T21:34:00.001-07:00

my life rocks

boxed wine

2007-10-24T22:58:00.001-07:00

and modesto news. what an exciting night.

the delicate sound of thunder...

2007-10-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

im waiting for my dad in palo alto. hes got a dr. appointment this morning. i havent hung out around here in a while. so i decided to take a walk. but then it started raining. and i decided that i should find some place dry and a paper to read.

i feel out of place... all i have is an ipod and a blackjack... everyone else has an iphone.

4 months ago i was still cool.

at least my boots are cooler than anyone elses.

i have to go to san jose after this. and then dublin. i'm taking the weekend off. first one in i dont know how long. of course by saturday afternoon i'll be wishing i was on the road. and by monday morning i'll be dreading the first.

still i find enjoyment in not having to answer to an employer. i make my own schedual... even if that schedual tends to border on 7 - 10-12 hour days.

i still have yet to finish transcribing my great northern interview. im hoping that i find time for that this weekend.

news flash: im happy... for the most part.

i missed the pink floyd show this weekend. kinda bummed about that. im planning on getting tickets for the bridge school show next weekend. well see if i can swing that one.

i also missed metric @ the download festival this month due to my sisters wedding in vegas. not to mention trentemoller, justice and digitalism... all within days of each other. thats it. no more weddings little sisters. no more missing shows on account of you all deciding that youre madly in love :)

i just got a text (literally right now) from a friend that i was supposed to go to panama with. i cant make it. im to busy with work. i seem to remember this being the slow time of the year...

my dads dr. just told him to buy a book called the "mind that changes itself". its really interesting. it deals with the concept that pain is a learned reaction from the time that we are born. from the first time we, as children slip and fall, and our parents freak out. based on this concept... understanding it... you can retrain your mind to block pain. apparently it works. im looking forward to reading it.

my fingers are cramping up from punching little buttons on this blackjack. so with that... i say adeiu.

its cold this morning...

2007-10-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

new boots!

2007-10-14T14:30:00.001-07:00

leaving las vegas

2007-10-09T16:35:00.001-07:00

desolation. im not ready to go back to reality.

everyone should have a peter lik

2007-10-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

mmm lunch!

2007-10-08T14:13:00.001-07:00

vegas baby

2007-10-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

the dessert outside of vegas

2007-10-07T13:29:00.001-07:00

nonfat pumpkin spice latte

2007-10-01T10:16:00.001-07:00

these are the little slices of heaven that make a life on the road enjoyable...

ladytron sound test and drum tuning

2007-09-29T20:05:00.001-07:00

look its a digital me

2007-09-25T10:34:00.001-07:00

Random?

2007-09-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

summer 2007

2007-09-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

i like taking the backroads

2007-09-21T18:27:00.001-07:00

the smooth highways get boring for me. i always find myself looking for more interesting paths than the ones that everyone else chooses to go down. aka the easy street... ive always preferred the road less traveled.

sometimes i get irritated that life isnt as easy as id like it to be. but when i think about it a bit, i realize that my life is far more interesting than the average persons...

i can also drive from san francisco to los angeles without going near a highway.

looks like were in for the first storm of autumn. i cant wait. i love the way the air smells. thick with moisture. before i know it, the hills will be green. i cant wait. :)

veins of petrol

2007-09-20T21:34:00.001-07:00

this picture isnt as good as the other one i took, but my phones storage was full. .. traffic in oakland at 9pm. highway 580. sometimes it feels like a movie...

digital sandwiches

2007-09-18T14:36:00.001-07:00

walked into safeway this afternoon, saw something pretty interesting... you can now punch in your sandwich order, pay, walk up to the counter and pick your sandwich up.

my dad and i were the first to use the system... so iguess theres a few little bugs here and there, but overall its a pretty awesome deal.

welcome to the future mr. gibson. would you like to make that a meal deal?

Stories from the archives.

2007-09-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

August 21, 2005 - Sunday

from the archives.
Current mood: calm

This was written sometime last year.

5 30 am

the glow of a computer screen. the ticking of a clock. And the sound of a laser printer spitting out readouts of hacker methods. in dutch.

9.24 am

*ring*

Hello?

hey man, what happened to you last night?

um.

Hello?

Yea Im here. sorry I didnt realise who it...

thats ok man. You looked pretty out of it last night. was everything ok?

Yea. it was just one of those nights. hey man I forgot to plug my phone in last night. the battery is gonna die. can I call you a little later?

Yea. no problem man. Actually I just wanted to see if you were spinnin at Vu's tonight?

I think so. depends on how I feel. Ill let you know.

ok man. have a good one.

you too.

peace.

Last night... what happened last night?
All I remember is something about an Iron gate. He thought to himself. as he plugged his motorola in to the wall jack.

This darn thing never wants to charge. sigh. I wonder if I have any coffee.

he pulled his curtain open and looked outside.

Yep, still overcast and cold. Im never going to get over this cold if it never warms up.
he thought.

what day is it...

saturday.

right.

His room was pretty plain. an impressive computer system, a turntable and a stack of records that he had collected over the years. a few posters on the wall. mostly of bands that were such an influence to him as a teenager, but really just didnt relate to anymore. and a few piles of clothes. I need to clean this place up.

He stood up and walked to his door and tripped over his overnight bag. kicking it open. The book Neuromancer by william gibson fell to the floor. he picked it up, and opened his door and walked down the stairs, into the kitchen.

Coffee. go

Multivitamin. go.

Stretch. go.

I need to clean this place up...

clean this place up.

that thought seemed to last for about 5 minutes, because before he knew it, his coffee was done. He opened his cupboard and pulled out a coffee cup. on the side of the cup it said "The Red Hut : Lake Tahoe"

he thought briefly about that weekend in tahoe with an old girlfriend, where he bought the cup as a souvenier.

Whatever.

He poured his coffee, added some cream, walked back up to his room, and put some music on...

He checked his Email.

what happened Last night..

I dont know what to do. she told him. I am incapable of feeling anything at this point in my life. Im just to unshure about my feelings to make a decision that I will have to live with forever...

Right. thanks. He hung up the phone...

The rest of the night was a blur.

what happened? where did it all go down.

this is typical. so typical. I didnt want to love her. he thought to himself. She made me. She made me love her! I didnt want to fall in love. For this very reason!

His phone Beeped. he snapped back to his computer screen, and grabbed his phone.

1 new text message.

From : Sally - Are you spinnin at Vu's tonight?

I suppose. He didnt reply to her.

He turned the news on. there was a reporter standing in front of a little country home. she was sexy. she was talking about the shooting of some cop last night way far on the outskirts of town, next to where his old band, The Imitators used to play 5 dollar shows in a little coffee shop called janes.

he changed the station to another news station.
20 Killed in Iraq.

Click. next.
"The FBI just trashed her room. and somebody kicked her cat. darn thing scratched his leg. and he had to shoot it dead. left it lyin in a puddle of blood at the foot of sun greens bed." The independant movie channel. Neil Young was singing.

another one from the archives...

2007-09-16T14:15:00.001-07:00

I need some slashes to go along with those long eyelashes. AKA My weekend with an android.
Current mood: cheerful

September 5, 2005 - Monday

So I just got back from a lovely weekend in modesto. Yea you heard that right. A lovely weekend in MODESTO!

I went up there to see my cousins band, The Zebras From Zimbabwe play.

They didnt play.

But that was ok.

Another band played.

D.A.R.Y.L.

A kick ass little electro clash band... And thats amazing for me to say, because I am rarely impressed with electro bands.. In an age where anyone with a computer can legaly or illegally download their own copy of Fruityloops and Acidmusic...and make shitty electro music, its refreshing to see that there are some people left out there that really know how to do it right.

These guys seriously rocked this party. I'd be willing to say that there were about 75-100 people cramed into that little 150 degree garage. with countless others outside, just trying to get a glimpse and a listen at the modernist rectroactive marvel that is D.A.R.Y.L.

I had the pleasure of spending the evening with the talented, beautiful, sexy and very charismatic mastermind behind this lovely little band. The Charming young lady who goes by the name, Beca. the hard work and time that she has put into her band should be applauded, especially because D.A.R.Y.L. is pretty much the only electro band in modesto's practically nonexistent electro scene. Just the same, that doesnt stop this girl and her two sidekicks from packing it into her Ford Econoline van, and playing whatever shows they can get thier little synthetic hands on.

I guess it was about a 45 minute set. Im not sure. I was busy trying to keep people from slamming into the equipment for most of the set. I have decided that Im too nice to be a bouncer... I cant be mean and yell at people. Although I know exactly how it is to have your equipment slammed into while you're playing a show. Im sure that they would have played all night long had it not been for the cops that showed up with helicopters and all! but well get to that later.

I was also blown away by the crowd that showed up to support. friends and fans alike. they all showed up to help pay for a new PA system for the opening band, The Femmebots. a modern post punk indy girl band, who is definitley heading in the right direction. with a little practice and determination we should all be hearing from these guys really soon.

The only thing annoying about the evening:

Not the cops that showed up at the party. but the morons that kept yelling at them from behind cracked doors and windows.. The cops are just doing thier jobs.responding to noise complaints. they were respectfully holding thier places outside the door asking for the owner of the house. i wish that some people could understand that they legally cannot bust into a house without a warrant (which 99f the time they DONT have) or unless they are invited in by the homeowner. the thing that i found to be rediculously hilarious, was the drunk people that all ushered themselves outback, and all insisted on making SHHHH noises... so that everyone would be quiet and the cops would perhaps think that everyone magicaly disapeared. heh.

drunk people make me laugh.

all in all it was a lovely night though. I didnt get to bed till 8 in the morning on sunday.

Sunday I didnt really do one worthwhile thing. I think i watched about 5 movies back to back. and i was depressed at how obnoxiously horrible and uninteresting movies are these days.

I drove home today. and it was a lovely drive. I once again rediscovered the beauty and perfection of Depeche Mode's Black Celebration album, as I played it on my shiny new Ipod that I bought last week.

and regarding that Ipod... Worth every dime that I spent on it.

I have to go back to work tommorow. but thats ok. Im ready now. I just needed a couple days to blow off some steam. I like my job, and If I get to take a break from it every now and again, I will keep liking it

So yea. check out D.A.R.Y.L.'S music page. Add them to your friendlist.

the valley needs more acts like these guys. Or maybe these guys just need to tour, and hit up fresno while theyre at it. which shouldnt be a problem, because Im working on making sure that they have in invite to come play soon.

Im serious. I fell in love with this little band. I havent seen that much energy and excitement at a house party in a long time. and it was all because of a little robot band called D.A.R.Y.L.

:)

PS: add these kids too. The Femme Botz

Old Diamonds

2007-09-16T14:12:00.001-07:00

I'm deleting my old myspace blog. I found some old gems there though that i dont want to be forgotten about...

POPSMEAR + CLUB TYRANNY + MEATBALL MAGIC IN GET OUT

Good times
A guide to hanging out on a thin budget

By Shawn Gadberry

Heather Marquez busts a move on the dance floor at Meatball Magic at the Red Langer. Photo: Vance Kim.

The holidays are over and, with the exception of the change you've scrounged out from under your car seat and the Christmas card money you got from Aunt Martha, you're broke. Get Out! has compiled a list of free or inexpensive things to do around town while your wallet recovers from the holidays.

Clubs

Don't let a lack of cash keep you home at night. Fresno has had a growing number of night events happening at various venues, with no cover charge. Meatball Magic, Club Tyranny and Popsmear are all bi-monthly happenings that offer an alternative to the typical top 40 most clubs play.

Meatball Magic at the Red Lantern, first and third Friday of the month, 4618 E. Belmont Ave.

Word has definitely gotten out about Meatball Magic, which will be celebrating its first anniversary in February. The bi-monthly event was started by three friends who were tired of having "nothing to do" here in town.

"We realized that the only dance clubs in town cater to the top 40, R&B, hip-hop and house crowd," says DJ Miss Coco. "People who were into more of a big city indie, underground, electro-thing really had no place to go, except an occasional live show or two."

The three, who had no previous DJing experience, started Meatball Magic.

"That first night was incredible. People just came out of the woodwork. It's like they'd been waiting for us their whole lives and suddenly they materialized there, ready to dance and have a good time," Miss Coco says.

Miss Coco, along with co-DJs Heinz and Cuddles, spin a mix of electroclash, '80s dance and ironic pop. They also try to get in requests.

"Anyone who hasn't been there before can expect good music, big cheap drinks and, basically, the most fun you can legally have in Fresno," Miss Coco says.

Club Tyranny at The Lucky 13 Bar, first and third Wednesdays, 4113 W. Swift Ave. at Ashlan Avenue and Highway 99, next to Diamond Billards.

Club Tyranny was started by Tom Johnson, who goes by the name Deviant, and his DJ friend, Butcher Knievel.

"I got the idea for Club Tyranny while spending time in San Francisco. I liked the harder edge feel of the S.F. industrial clubs. I've always longed for that feel here in Fresno," Johnson says. "It's our opinion that the punk and industrial scenes are a perfect match for each other."

Johnson says that The Lucky 13 Bar offers a pub-like feel that makes for a very friendly environment, but it's the music that brings the people in.

"Although we stick to punk, psychobilly, garage trash, gothic, industrial and ebm, primarily, we do pay attention to requests and throw in music like The Dandy Warhols and New Order," Johnson says.

Popsmear, various venues, second and fourth Wednesday of the month. Details: myspace.com, search popsmear.

"We want to do something in Fresno that is not being done. We want a good alternative night in Fresno," says Popsmear co-founder Dave "Joymode" Pelletier.

Pelletier and co-founder Matt "Destructomatic" Davis had been DJs for years, but noticed that Fresno was lacking a place for alternative music. The duo started Popsmear as an after party for Nine Inch Nails last September at Citron, and have been going ever since. They play indie, electro, modern rock, new wave -- anything that's a bit on the edge. Currently, they are using On The Rocks as their venue, but there is no set home for it.

"We're just trying to do a fun thing in town," Pelletier says. "I'm constantly scouring the Internet for bands to play. A lot of the bands I play haven't even been signed yet."

Night life in Fresno is fun, friendly and free.

"The nice thing is, with Meatball Magic, Club Tyranny and Popsmear, between the three of us, there's always something to do in Fresno," Pelletier says.

Japanese Human Art

2007-09-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

i left my heart...

2007-09-09T12:51:00.001-07:00

even better than the real thing.

2007-08-23T10:56:00.001-07:00

downtown oakland on a thusday mornin. soooo exciting

im using too many covers

2007-08-23T07:01:00.001-07:00

im warm man so i dont care...

They cant fool the white kids forever.

2007-08-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hip Hop sales collapsing

Thank god.

ashes falling from the sky

2007-08-19T10:20:00.001-07:00

ive been in bakersfield all weekend and because of all the fires in surrounding areas, ash has been falling from the sky. there has been amazing sunsets though. and he temperature has been fairly pleasant because of it all. however i dtill cant help but think of a song from year zero...

as opposed to impractical?

2007-08-15T18:00:00.001-07:00

asians love pizza @ blondies in berkeley

2007-08-15T13:14:00.001-07:00

and i love asians

Attack of the clones.

2007-08-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

iClone?

you decide.

this is a taste of my life...

2007-08-11T10:01:00.001-07:00

...over the course of the last 3 months. oddly enough, im pretty much ok with that. i do need to find a place soon though. sleeping on couches is getting old.

breakfast

2007-08-11T09:38:00.001-07:00

you should have seen it with all the fixins.

trying to make this work

2007-08-11T08:20:00.001-07:00

doesnt seem to be...

mobile blog go!

2007-08-11T08:07:00.001-07:00

God Given

2007-08-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm heading to Modesto to do an Inspection at a Best Buy.

How am I going to get all this work done by the end of the month?

Too much work is better than not enough.

Thats what I keep saying.