Engaged!

I surprised Leslie at the beach in Newport with a Mastiff puppy who had an engraved tag around his neck that said "Will you marry me." I then got down on one knee and proposed. She said "Absolutely Yes."

Here is a picture of me, Hobbes, and Leslie.

Worst party at the gay bar ever

Seriously. The night started well. Leslie showed up to do laundry. Simon and Carrie popped in with a bottle of wine. Fun. Dustin and That Guy showed up after their final. Then things took a turn. Trailing Dustin and That Guy were about seven or eight first-year law students. Leslie and I spent the rest of the night praying and hoping that we were not as obnoxious and unbearable as this riff-raff when we were 1Ls. There were of course exceptions (and Chris should not be lumped in with these 1Ls of course) but a couple bad apples certainly spoiled this lot. The D-bag of the night award however goes to Brandon who actually tried to punch Tony when Tony was trying to prevent Brandon from driving drunk.

Let me break down where we stand:

Inner Circle:
Taylor
Leslie
Brian
Carrie
Simon

Welcome:
Dustin
That Guy
Nasim

Invited back:
Chris
Tony

On thin ice:
Bill

Not invited back:
Michelle
That other chick

Banned for life:
Brandon

8-1 over the Chiefs and the maddest goalie ever seen in a bronze league

Awesome game last night. A ton of goals and some tempers flairing. I made friends with the opposing goalie who may or may not still be planning to murder me. I see now why Sean Avery loves being the gadfly of hockey. To inspire a goalie to drop his gloves and attack me the second the final buzzer sounds is hilarious.

Goals:
Brian - 2
Me - 1
Jon - 1
Jon - 1
Joey - 1
Cody - 1
Jasper - 1

NHL Suspends Avery for SO Going There

How is this quote so offensive that Sean Avery gets suspended indefinitely?

“I’m really happy to be back in Calgary. I love Canada. . . . I just want to comment on how it’s become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds."

Suspended indefinitely for hurting Dion Phaneuf's feelings? Since when does hockey care about who's dating who? And the term sloppy seconds is not patently offensive either.

Maybe I've been hanging around Ethan too much but this really doesn't seem offensive at all to me. Tacky and annoying, definitely, but that's just who Sean Avery is.

The rivalry game - a few points

1. I am out of shape. Out of what shape you might ask? I'm not even out of the best shape I've ever been in; I'm out of the shape I was in just a few months ago. Damn. I need to skate more.

2. The ref said that both our teams could be in the silver league. I'm guessing he's averaging the sum talents on each team.

3. I didn't get a chance to fight Kyle because Cyrus and Peter are apparently non-stop ice-hogs on District 5. You're going down next time Kyle.

Top 5 Favorite Hockey Games I Have Attended

5. In an odd pick; my 5th favorite game/s that I have attended would have to be a tie between Game 3 Western Conference Finals in 2007 when the Red Wings beat the Ducks 5-0 and Oct 5, 2007 when the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Ducks 4-0. Some of my best memories from Ducks games come in these terrible blow-outs, where it is so bad that you give up wanting to win the game, and you are just happy yelling stupid things the whole time. Bustamante anyone?

4. Last nights game against the Canucks. It would be higher if we won; but it was pretty incredible anyways. 2-0 Ducks. 5-2 Canucks. 5-5 Tie. 6-5 Canucks. 6-6 Tie (Last minute goal by my favorite player, Corey Perry to secure the tie).

Corey Perry scored a goal and had 4 assists for a career night. If that wasn't epic enough; the shootout went 13 players deep on each team for a total of 26 shoot out attempts. It was like the night was never going to end. Not to mention the fact that I was able to take in the game with most all of my friends sitting around me in the box that Brian had won in an auction. You can't put a price tag on this sort of memory...unless you are Brian in which case there was a high price to pay.

3. January 2003. Mighty Ducks beat the Kings 6-5. This was before I was into hockey. I was invited to go to this game with Jason Ellis. Jason bet that the Kings would win the game, which added a little drama to the night. The game started with the Mighty Ducks going up 3-0 in the first period. The Kings fought back with 5 straight unanswered goals to go up 5-3. Jason was feeling pretty good until the Mighty Ducks game back with 3 goals of their own to win the game 6-5. Incredible.

2. March 2004. Mighty Ducks beat the Red Wings 8-6. This was when Brian was first starting to invite me to games. Detroit scored 3 goals in the first 10 minutes, and Brian told us that if they scored one more we would leave. Fortunately for us, the Mighty Ducks scored 5 straight goals to go up 5-3. But Detroit was not done, they scored 2 goals at the end of the second period to send the game into the 3rd tied at 5. They scored again at the beginning of the 3rd to take a one goal lead 6-5; but in an incredibly ending, the Mighty Ducks scored 3 more unanswered goals to win 8-6. It was the most goals ever, 14 total, in a game in Mighty Ducks history. And I was there.

1. June 2007. Ducks beat the Senators 6-2. We won the cup that night. It wasn't a roller coaster ride game like the last three, but it was so fun and so loud that I will never forget it. I enjoyed so many playoff games; but this one takes the cake.

Stick-time/pick-up

Brian and I are hockey fiends. We're also going to get in shape if we keep this up. We went to stick time last night which eventually turned into a pick-up four-on-four game with the guys that were there. We had our marathon eighty minute scrimmage on Sunday night until midnight and now we played another long game on Monday. And of course in between these events Brian ran 2.25 miles and I rode my bike for eighteen.

80 Minute Scrimmage

Annihilator vs. District 5

Last night we had a scrimmage against what used to be the other half of our team, which meant that our team was considerably smaller than normal. Playing eighty minutes of non-stop, no-icing hockey is one of the most tiring things I can think of. As a point of reference, we usually play three periods of fifteen minutes with a minute break in between each period. We also usually play with three lines of offense as opposed to the two (Me, Brian, Jon and Joey, Jon, Ethan) we will be having this season.

Some thoughts on the night:

Playing against people we know is great for the fact that we can mix it up a lot more and not have to worry about people taking it personally. (Except of course for those guys on the other team that actually were upset with Brian's Sean Avery impersonation throughout the night.)

I scored a goal off a perfect pass from Jon Ellis between Peter Humphreys' legs.

Brian fought Alex Humphreys in a gloves-dropped match-up at center ice.

Ethan was held scoreless though he did have a couple near misses and probably an assist or two.

District 5 brought in a ringer who actually plays for Cal State Long Beach. This didn't turn out to be as bad as expected because he decided not to score twenty goals but instead just tried to set up his teammates whenever possible.

Penalty shots are pretty fun. I'm not sure how I actually looked when I was taking mine, but I got it past the goalie and hit the crossbar.

Band

But seriously, let's do this.

http://store.theonion.com/i-think-we-should-start-talking-about-starting-a-band-p-207.html

Guys?

In Political News

I mailed in my voter registration today. From now on I officially belong to the No Party, at least that is what I wrote on the registration. Good-bye Republicans hello fellow No's (on a side note: what is the plural of No? nos? noes? noahs? no-ads?)

As a member of the No Party, I thought I would thank all those who made this possible.

George Bush, I don't hate you as much as everyone else, I actually think you're an okay guy. You made some bad decisions, and Iraq kind of screws you, but I wanted to thank you for teaching me what Neo-Conservative means, and why I don't want to be one, and why Republicans have become them.

John McCain, I also have you to thank. While you aren't George Bush, your neo-conservative rhetoric scares me and I won't support it. Thank you for being so clear in your views, it made my decision much easier.

Barack Obama, thank you for being so vague and self-righteous. Your speeches make me feel like I am watching an episode of Heroes, and you are Peter Petrelli out to save the world...only your super power is giving convincing speeches and smoking cigarettes (your lungs know what you did to them).

Joe Biden, thank you for joining John McCain in being the overly judgmental, condescending grandfathers I never had, but always dreamed of. You two make me feel so inadequate in so many ways; especially the ways you tell me about in your sentences starting with "look." Thank you for repeating yourself so often and so clearly...next time you should spell the words you are saying, I bet that will make it even more effective.

Sarah Palin, you hold a special place in my heart. I hope you become the next president so everyone will get really, really angry. I mean really angry, they will be pissed. Thank you for being the next great hope of the Republican voting base. It showed me that I don't want to be part of the Republican voting base.

If you want to know what the No Party stands for...well, nothing, we stand for nothing. That is all.

Busted!!

I, like many others, get little news updates on my Facebook feed when people add stuff. Well, this morning, I was minding my own business; looking at my facebook, when I saw this picture pop up as newly added. I thought I would take a look and see what it was all about. The caption said it all, "Taste of Newport."

Why busted? Well, just a day prior Brian told me what a single man who does whatever he wants he is...there is no way he is going to taste of Newport. In our many discussions over the next several days he failed to mention this at all. Hoping that it would pass without any of his friends knowing what a little girl he is. Gotcha bitch!!

Beer League Personas

Saw this posted somewhere else and thought it was perfect as the book closed on our complete 2nd season of hockey. This was written, I believe, by a Canadian and you can see by the definitions even their beer leagues are at a higher level. Regardless it was a funny read.

*The Ringer - Some teams wait until the playoffs to unveil this option. Others go with it right from the opening face-off. Either way, without a ringer, your team is done. The challenge for managers is convincing a good player to suit up for a bad side. This can be accomplished a number of ways, including promises of goal-scoring glory and awe-inspired teammates. Most effective, however, is let him play for free. It’s simple math, really. Everyone else pays an extra $50 and everyone else gets a shot at the “DD” Division title.
*The Young Guy - At first glance, he can easily be mistaken for a ringer, since the young guy still wears the shorts and socks of his junior or college team. But it’s time for the next phase of life now, and that means an office job. The young guy stays in shape for the first half of the year. Sadly, an increasingly sedentary existence and late night partying catches up to him by Christmas. 15 to 20 pounds later, he’s just another player, huffing and puffing with the rest. Welcome aboard, kid.
*The Old Guy - Forget the 50-and-over league; that’s not for him…even though his gloves reach up to his armpits, and he still uses a wood stick. To be fair, the old guy can be an effective player, especially if he’s a wily old guy — a hook here and a chop there, because that’s how they did it when professional athletes were real men. “Eddie Shore — now there was a hockey player! Lost an ear against the Maroons. Sewed it back on himself. Never missed a shift.”
*The Tardy Goalie - Hey, thanks for showing up. Only five minutes gone in the first. Not like you play a crucial position or anything. Take your time, dickhead.
*The Beginner - Required only for cheap laughs. On the one hand, you have to admire the beginner. It takes a lot of courage to buy all brand new equipment, and take up hockey in your 40’s. On the other hand, learn to take a pass, man. It’s right on your stick, for Christ’s sake. How does that knock you over? And now you’re friggin offside! Not to mention the Beginner shows up at every game, no matter what time or what day. Sunday night playoff game at 11PM - no worries, Mr Beginner will be there.
*The Complete Psycho - Also good for a few giggles . . . from afar. Most likely a cop or fireman. The complete psycho is capable of anything: running the goalie, challenging an entire bench, a tomahawk chop — all in the repertoire. Do not feed the complete psycho. He doesn’t want to be fed. He wants to hunt. And, look to him to carry on his act in the bar after the game.
*The Naked Guy - Bane of the dressing room. Most players have the courtesy to stretch their hamstrings while sporting, at the very least, a bit of underwear. Not the naked guy. He’ll carry on full conversations, and you had better maintain eye contact like your life depended on it….or come face to face with the swinging sausage.
*The Guy with the New Girlfriend - An excellent way to lower everyone else’s fees is to load up on a few of these. The guy with the new girlfriend will show up to three games, tops, so his payment will contribute to everyone else’s and it’s not like you’ll lose ice time by putting him on the roster. That said, beware that the guy with the new girlfriend might very well turn into the guy with the new wife…at which point he’ll never miss another game.
*The Organizer - This guy is absolutely brutal but since nobody else could be bothered to do all the paperwork and collect the money he gets to play. Is frustrating to play with because they can barely skate let alone take a pass but nobody gets mad at him cuz he’s a really nice guy. Is often heard in the dressing room saying ‘Sorry guys, that one was my fault’ and if he’s lucky somebody will chip in something like ‘No worries Donny, it’s a team effort.’ What everybody is really thinking is ‘Hey Donny, my grandmother is a better player than you and yes you are right, that was your fault.’ If you are lucky the Organizer is usually smart enough to take himself off the ice in critical situations.
*The Minor Hockey Allstar - Looks promising at a glance as they fool you with reasonably good skills but after you get zero passes you’ll get the picture. This guy topped out at ‘AA’ Midget and can be spotted by the huge blinders attached to his helmet. Play is characterized by energetic rushes down the wing, (no passing), then into the corner (still no pass), behind the net (hey dickhead I’ve been open for the past 5 minutes),then into the next corner (everybody has gone back to the bench to watch) followed by a blind give away pass to the high slot / break out pass for the other team. Cut this guy.
*The Johnny Try Hard - Great to have on your team but they suck to play against because they have somehow managed to keep themselves in ridiculously good shape. They were probably the star on their high school hockey team and won athlete of the year because they played hockey, volleyball and track all in the same year. Guaranteed they have a membership at the ‘Running Room’. Play is characterized by constant hustle which if caught off guard can embarrass the more talented yet fatter player.
*The Stanley Cup Champion - This player will raise their hands and cheer when they score. If this is an opposing player you must nip this behaviour in the bud by catching him off guard with a sickening open ice hit that causes him to blow snot bubbles. If this player is on your team quickly chastise him in front of the other team to let them know that this is not how the rest of your team rolls. Remind him how much of a loser he is by retrieving the puck from the net the next time he scores and presenting it to him in front of the other team.
*The Tough Guy - This guy maxed out at the house-league level, has never been in a fight and is characterized by antagonizing behaviour on the ice. In extreme cases he will ‘cheap shot’ another player. The fact that your beer league does not allow fighting has given this guy a false sense of courage. What this guy does not realize is that this will not prevent someone from knocking his teeth out if he cheap shots the wrong guy. There is a number of fun ways to handle this player which all end with him lying on the ice bleeding, looking for his teeth and crying.
*The Wrong Guy - Not to be confused with ‘The Complete Psycho’. This guy shows up, doesn’t say much and pretty much flies under the radar screen. The kid that gave him the cheap shot him will eventually look his name up on Hockey DB after his facial surgery and realize he had 355 PIMs in the East Coast 3 years ago.
*The Gary Roberts - Can be described as being way too intense. This guy is one of your better players but is unable to adjust to the lower level of play. At the best of times he will try to coach players on the fly and at the worst of times he will snap and call his entire team a bunch of house-leaguers. He believes the game should be played a certain way and despises ‘pond hockey’ style play with no back checking or positional assignments. Most likely is suffering from a complex of ‘unfinished business’ from his previous hockey career and is looking to capture some shred of glory via the rec-league championship. This guy is probably better off playing with his own kind in a senior-A league.

Meet My New Hero

Hello my name is Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, PhD; I am an economics professor at San Jose State University, and I am awesome.

Why might I be awesome? Well you should read some of my stuff.

I have a really good opinion about the current financial crisis that everyone should read and consider:

http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/53544.html

It is a long entry, but really sheds some light on why our country is heading down the wrong path with their bail-out plan, heading straight for a mixed socialized democracy. This will inevitably collapse at some point as all socialist countries do, but don't worry, life goes on. Plus this isn't what makes me extra awesome. If you were reading my article about our crisis and thought to yourself, hey I wonder who this guy is and if he has written anything else?

Well, google me, really, google my name: Jeffrey Rogers Hummel.

Ready for the awesome part, check out link number 6 or so on google. Go ahead, I'll wait. You'll know which one I am talking about when you see it.

Let me read you a few favorite quotes of mine:

"In the United States, regular users of opiates at the turn of the century numbered somewhere between 200,000 and 1 million, out of a population of 76 million, leading to a general recognition that excessive opiate use was peculiarly American. The majority of these users were white, middle or upper-class women, with an average age over forty."

"Throughout history, some very prominent and successful individuals have been regular opiate users. Dr. William Halsted, the father of American surgery and founder of Johns Hopkins Medical Center, was a morphine user all of his adult life, yet none but his closest friends knew. He died at the age of seventy, having performed some of his most brilliant operations while an addict. "

"In short, all of the supposed evils of heroin are either (1) total fabrications or (2) consequences of the anti-heroin laws themselves"

"The solution to the heroin problem is complete legalization"

I rule

Self-Titled Albums

Nearly every band has a self-titled album. In an attempt to keep these albums straight or because the albums became so successful, certain albums have gained other names. Here are the top four self-titled albums in order according to the unlikelihood people will refer to that album as self-titled instead of the de facto name.

1. Weezer (The Blue Album) - This is number one because of how many people know this album and how few would actually refer to it as their self-titled debut rather than as the Blue Album.

2. Metallica (The Black Album) - Note: Jay-Z actually had to name his album the Black Album, Metallica just put out a record with an all black cover. Jay-Z was trying to latch onto a "big" name like the Black Album but didn't have the balls or the acumen to put out an otherwise unnamed album and let his fans figure it out. Spinal Tap also deserves some credit here.

3. The Beatles (The White Album) - Technically unnamed and not self-titled, but still authoritatively referred to as the White Album.


4. Led Zeppelin (IV) - Unlike Led Zeppelin I, II, and III, Led Zeppelin IV wasn't actually called anything. It's this far down the list because people referred to it as a few different things other than IV including Zoso and Runes.

The Day I Came Up With Bustamante

I can remember it like yesterday. I was new to hockey, and my good friend Brian Kazarian had invited me to see the Ducks play against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It was not a good game. The Ducks were getting crushed, down 4 goals or so. Naturally, to avoid boredom and make the game more interesting, I began to annoyingly heckle everything and everyone. I would yell random penalties I believed should be called...like Hooking or Tripping.

One player caught my eye, he was especially terrible that day, and has been since, though the Ducks love to play him. I tried to read his jersey, as I was new to the sport and didn't know any player's names or numbers. It started with a B and ran on and on.

Being heavily influenced by a recent SNL skit involving Justin Timberlake and the recent CA gubernatorial candidate Cruz Bustamante, I quickly began referring to this terrible defenceman with the long last name as Bustamante.

I am such a quick witted genius.

The end.

Ethan's Top 10 Pinback Songs

Ethan's Top 10 Pinback Songs
1. Loro
2. Boo
3. Tres
4. Forced Motion
5. Sender
6. Grey Machine
7. Bouquet
8. Prog
9. Autumn of the Seraphs
10. Tripoli

Brian's Top 10 Pinback Songs
1. June
2. Loro
3. Boo
4. Your Sickness
5. Tres
6. Forced Motion
7. Grey Machine
8. Manchuria
9. Lyon
10. The Yellow Ones

Taylor's Top 10 Pinback Songs:
1. Manchuria
2. Off by 50
3. June
4. Loro
5. Lyon
6. Syracuse
7. Prog
8. Penelope
9. Tres
10. AFK

Analysis:
We all agree upon: Loro and Tres
Ethan and Brian agree upon: Loro, Boo, Tres, Forced Motion, Grey Machine
Ethan and Taylor agree upon: Loro, Tres, Prog
Taylor and Brian agree upon: Loro, Tres, June, Manchuria, Lyon
Only on Ethan's List: Sender, Bouquet, Autumn of the Seraphs, Tripoli
Only on Brian's List: Your Sickness, The Yellow Ones
Only on Taylor's List: Off by 50, Syracuse, Penelope, AFK

Songs off of Pinback: Tripoli, Loro, Lyon
Songs off of Blue Screen Life: Boo, Penelope, Prog, Your Sickness, Tres
Songs off of Summer in Abaddon: Sender, Syracuse, The Yellow Ones, AFK
Songs off of Autumn of the Seraphs: Bouquet, Off by 50
Songs off of Some Voices: Manchuria, June
Songs off of Offcell: Grey Machine
Songs off of Too Many Shadows: Forced Motion
Songs off of Autumn of the Seraphs (Bonus): Autumn of the Seraphs

Charles Foster Ofdensen

Everything being a lawyer should be is summed up in the person of Charles Foster Ofdensen, the manager, legal counsel, and CFO of the band Dethklok from the TV show Metalocalypse. The premise of the show, for those not watching, is that the band Dethklok has become so hugely successful that the world economy rises and falls with the bands exploits. The beauty of the attorney-client relationship between the biggest death metal band ever and a man that commands their army of Klokateers, manages the 7th largest economy in the world, and frequently uses Machiavellian tactics to keep them alive and their record sales up, is that he does it all with the same attitude and professionalism that most attorneys give to corporate clients, regardless of the fact that the band members are largely apathetic to the world around them. Ofdensen is a seemingly reasonable attorney, always wearing a gray, non-descript suit, who nonetheless orders violence against enemies of Dethklok and even orders the abduction and torture of those who illegally download Dethklok's songs. All law should be as subtly brutal as Charles Foster Ofdensen.

Top 10 Pinback songs revisited

Ethan,


While you were hiding from the Internet, Brian and I posted our Top Ten Pinback songs. We're still waiting for yours. To recap:


Brian's Top 10 Pinback Songs
1. June
2. Loro
3. Boo
4. Your Sickness
5. Tres
6. Forced Motion
7. Grey Machine
8. Manchuria
9. Lyon
10. The Yellow Ones

Taylor's Top 10 Pinback Songs:
1. Manchuria
2. Off by 50
3. June
4. Loro
5. Lyon
6. Syracuse
7. Prog
8. Penelope
9. Tres
10. AFK

Now you have the conundrum of deciding who you want to agree with more or if you want to be contrary to us both. Your move.

The Money Beets and Politics

I suggest that we write several original songs about politics. I think we should make radically liberal and radically conservative songs and either play them back to back, or check and see if Leslie is in the audience and then play the conservative ones.

And if anyone with money shows up, let's go with a communist tune, perhaps China's March of the Penguins or whatever their national anthem is...cause let's be honest, some form of taking money from the wealthy and giving me money is the only way I will get rich.

This just in: Santogold is overrated.

Santogold is overrated. If you haven't even heard of Santogold (a black Tegan or Sara who apparently got to make a record because soul singers are cool again because of Amy Winehouse), this means of course your current rating of "who?" or "huh?" still grossly overrates her talent. Song one on the album that my friend Corie left at my place has some novelty to it, but the album goes downhill fast.

Welcome Myself to the blog

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome myself to this blog. I had a slight false start, but I am here now. The Money Beets are now complete, besides the fact that Brian offers nothing musical, while Taylor and I are both horribly out of practice.

I vote that we are a cover band with a few original tunes mixed in. But we only cover songs we like, not a specific genre or band.

I would do heroin if it was legal...in which case I would take one for the team by becoming the most cliche member.

I would like to die to Loro by Pinback.

I will not be hiking Mt. Whitney, unless there is beer involved, in which case I will drink the beer then say no to hiking.

Thank you and you're welcome

Music to die to

Happy Monday morning. So when I was hiking Mount Whitney a couple weeks ago I brought my iPod to listen to music. Even though I felt fine the whole hike and made it to the top without any problems, I had the thought that if I were hiking Mount Everest or something actually hard and died on the mountain, what music would I want to be playing. I also wondered, if I had my iPod on random and was laying beside the trail half-frozen, what if some terrible song that I have on my iPod mostly as a joke, started playing and I had to sit there dying, listening to Since U Been Gone or something that Leslie has on my iPod that I don't even know about. You would hope that the last song would be something dramatic and deep (Goodbye Sky Harbor by Jimmy Eat World or the Birth and Death of the Day by Explosions in the Sky) or even ironically apropos (Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult or Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor). Really though if I were freezing to death on the top of a mountain I would want to listen to songs about sunshine and being alive (A Summer Song by Chad and Jeremy or Syracuse by Pinback).

In other news, I'm planning a hiking/camping trip back to Mount Whitney for next August. Who's in?

Things The Money Beets Won't Do.

The Money Beets have really matured over the last few months. And as our fan base has nearly tripled, I feel it appropriate to list the things The Money Beets just won't do. This way, as future shows occur, fans will know our limits.....

- We will never ever ever have Taylor sing. This is the first and in my mind, most important rule. A close second is having me ever ever play the guitar.

- Safe to say we will never introduce a harp into The Money Beets. Harps are soft, and we all know The Money Beets are "bad to the bone".

- We will never again refer to The Money Beets as "bad to the bone".

- We will never do two chicks at the same time, no matter how many millions we accumulate.

- We will never let Alex McBratney manage our careers.

- We will never play a show outside of some one's home. We play for the fans, and our fans are at home.

- We will never break a guitar or drum set after we play a show. That crap is expensive.

- We will not allow any fantasy sports banter with our fans between songs. We do however reserve the right to sing about fantasy sports.

- We will not allow anyone watching to not have an alcoholic beverage in their hand.

- We will not allow Brandon to any of our shows. Screw that guy.

- We will never sing songs with the words Love, Forever or Ladies in the title.

- We will never allow anyone outside of myself Taylor or Ethan to join The Money Beets.

-We will never charge.......too much at the door. Is $20 too much?

- We will never take song requests. We are the damn artists, now shut up and listen to us make magic with our fingers.

- We will never do heroin(this excludes Ethan).

- We will never sign autographs. Not because we don't want to but because no one will ask.

- We will not sell our t-shirts. If you actually want one it is yours.

- We will never use lines such as "this one's for the ladies" or "don't forget to tip your waitress"

- We will not do encores. When we are done, we are done. That's it. Game over. Thanks for playing.


Taylor feel free to add more.........

I'm out of touch with reality

About a year and a half ago I bought tickets to see Explosions in the Sky at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. After expressing my excitement at getting tickets to this show, a friend of mine responded that it really isn't that hard to get tickets to an EITS concert. This is one of the more distinct experiences I've had where how amazingly good a band is does not affect how the world views them and also reveals to me how out of touch I am with what the world really likes. In my mind, EITS is one of the best bands in the world right now. It amazes me that they don't sell out every show and become the Dethklok of reality. The point is that I am completely oblivious as to what the world thinks is good music.

Here are my top 3 bands that I apparently have an unworldly obsession for:

1. Explosions in the Sky: the world needs to get on board.

2. Belle and Sebastian: After thinking about my experiences with EITS, I tried to think of anyone other than myself that loves Belle and Sebastian. As far as I know, it's just Kyle Gladden (who introduced me to Belle and Sebastian) and Justin Bragg who love these guys. And I'm not just saying that I like any particular song or even an album; I have and love every album they've put out. Either the world's crazy or I'm crazy.

3. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Even Brian won't back me up on this one. I love these guys. My good friend Jeff from law school got me more into them. Take Them On, On Your Own is the album to listen to if you want to give them a chance.

Also, I climbed Mount Whitney yesterday.

Cantaloupe is a whore

Top five filler fruits in fruit salads:

1. Honeydew melon: Honeydew has no flavor unless slime is a flavor and I only think people put it in fruit salad because it's a different color than the other fruits.
2. Cantaloupe: This is the orange version of Honeydew.
3. Pears: Pears are like apples except worse in every possible way.
4. Apples: Chopped up apples in a fruit salad are such an afterthought. Plus, they're harder than the other fruits and they get brown and nasty looking.
5. Grapes: Totally annoying unless you cut them in half. On the other hand, if you cut them in half you're spending way too much time making a fricking fruit salad.

The ideal fruit salad is watermelon, pineapple, any and every kind of berry, and maybe some orange or peach if you're in a crazy mood.

Point of debate: bananas?

See also:

http://xkcd.com/388/


I actually prefer red apples to green ones.

Tonight's softball game

Yard.

That is all.

-T

Electric Six

I don't really know how to explain them. But wow. Reminds me a bit of The Darkness. This video is creepy.

This one is hilarious.

The Money Beets don't need to sound like this. But I want our music videos to be on par with this stuff. Oh yes, we are making music videos.

You too can create your own band...

- Go here to determine your band name: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
- Repeat to determine your album title
- Repeat 12 more times to get your song titles

Band Name: Killing Time(Death Metal?)

Album Name: Vladimir Gabulov

1. White-Coated Titi

2. Hartennes-et-Taux

3. Tim Cook

4. Global Broadcast Service

5. Mantasoa

6. Mogorogea River

7. Luke Schenn(nice I got a hockey player in there)

8. Bill Gray's

9. Abdul Ghafar(Afghan mujahideen fighter)

10. Federal Correctional Institute, Tallahassee

11. List of geological features on Ganymede

12. Mike Peters

I don't see how my band wouldn't make it with such hits as Abdul Ghafar(Afghan mujahideen fighter), Global Broadcast Service, and who could forget the classic Mike Peters.

Somebody is watching me and writing a blog about my life

Somebody is watching me and writing Stuff White People Like about my life.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like/

There are some exceptions: I don't like Barack Obama and I don't hate my parents. For the most part though this list is about me, which means of course that I am not a beautiful and unique snowflake. Apparently I am genetically predisposed to love indie music and Arrested Development.

Top Ten albums

For the sake of starting some conversation, here is my all-time, desert-island top ten albums of all time.

1. Clarity - Jimmy Eat World
2. Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins
3. The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place - Explosions in the Sky
4. The White Album - The Beatles
5. Kid A - Radiohead
6. OK Computer - Radiohead
7. Takk... - Sigur Ros
8. Funeral - The Arcade Fire
9. Led Zeppelin - IV
10. Pinkerton - Weezer

I'm throwing Pinkerton in there because (A) I love that album, (B) I want to mix things up, and (C) when I realize what great album I'm blatantly forgetting, I'll have a spot for it.

Albums not in my top ten and why:

Joshua Tree - U2: Overrated. Granted there are maybe five absolutely amazing songs on that album, I don't think it is as great as every college student who is finally getting into music thinks it is. Though if one album needs to be the best selling album of all time I would rather it be Joshua Tree than anything by Pink Floyd. There are a number of albums that contain one or two lights-out, awesome songs that are on albums that don't have the follow through. Examples: Fever to Tell - Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Y Control" is an amazing song. I love Karen O for this song; Turn on the Bright Lights - Interpol, "Stella Was a Diver and She's Always Down," and I'm not just saying this because Brian and Ethan always sing it to me, "Tay-LA! Tay-La-HA!" Awesome song but the album doesn't quite get there.

Sounds of Silence - Simon and Garfunkle: Outdated. This is a great album but the problem is that musicians have been standing on Simon and Garfunkle's shoulders for decades now and are making better music, regardless of the fact that certain artists are indebted to them for blah blah blah. I used to insist on putting Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys in my top ten list but similarly have decided that it was more of an innovative landmark album than an album that will stand the test of time. Note also that the White Album and nearly any album by Led Zeppelin are still relevant today.

Points for debate:
Did I pick the right Zeppelin album?
Does Radiohead deserve two spots in the top ten over other albums?

Brian's Top 10 Pinback Songs

1 - June

2 - Loro

3 - Boo

4 - Your Sickness

5 - Tres

6 - Forced Motion

7 - Grey Machine

8 - Manchuria

9 - Lyon

10 - The Yellow Ones

The Money Beets

The Money Beets are Taylor Foss (guitar, drums), Ethan Glazener (guitar, drums), Brian Kazarian (unknown).