I have really enjoyed this song ever since it came out, which is strange because I dislike almost all the other songs on Penguin Prison's new self-titled album. I just find them too poppy or something. But this one is different.
Well, now there is a new video for it. I think it might be the first music video to air on MTV that was filmed at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in Lower Manhattan. To be honest, I never got the broader political implications of his lyrics, "Don't fuck with my money." I just thought he was singing to his landlord about rent or something.
Am I being cynical if I find irony in the use of Occupy Wall Street as a backdrop for a music marketing effort waged on a TV channel owned by Viacom, one of the largest media conglomerates in the world?
Then again, who cares, the video is entertaining. A nice distraction from the real world.
I was at the Alamo Drafthouse last night and they were showing their weird little videos before the movie starts, and this video came on! I was a little blown away because I used to watch this Nintendo sponsored cartoon all the time, but hadn't thought about it in years.
I laughed and pointed at the screen and said, "Oh my god I used to watch that show, and I totally forgot about that!"
The guy next to us, who I had never met before in my life, turned to me and said, "I was just about to say the same thing! I totally forgot about that!"
For those not in the know, Captain N: The Game Master was a Saturday morning cartoon show that aired from 1989 to 1991. It was about a kid who was sucked into his TV with his dog while playing Nintendo. The kid would run around with a Nintendo light gun, the kind you use in Duck Hunt, and fight bad guys with the help of Nintendo characters like Kid Icarus. The team would surf around on an old school Gameboy for transportation.
I think I loved the show because a) I loved Nintendo, b) the dude's name was Captain N, and c) one of the core values it transmitted was that playing video games might actually save your life on day (if you get sucked into a vortex). In short, it was a brilliant half-hour TV commercial for Nintendo.
There are way more details I didn't remember in the Wikipedia entry for Captain N. There are also a ton of Captain N videos on YouTube. This one is great!
...I still find the death of large book stores depressing. The Borders shown here was always emailing me 40 percent off coupons, and I was wondering how long that could be sustained. Not very long, apparently.
The annual Texas Relays in Austin, Texas is an opportunity for the best high school and college track and field athletes to compete, but it's also a time for the owners of pimped out automobiles to show off their sweet rides!
One interesting Los Angeles park where our fantastic hosts/tour guides took us was the La Brea Tar Pits. In pre-historic times, animals used to go drink from the water and get sucked into the tar.
The cries of the animals attracted more animals, and they would get stuck as well. That sucks for the animals, but it's great news for paleontologists today who can dig out the fossils.
It's also great news for tourists and locals who can enjoy a nice afternoon at the La Brea Tar Pits.
The Santa Monica Pier is an icon of Los Angeles and a staple of American pop culture. It's at the end of Route 66, and it's been in a bunch of movies and TV shows. Much like Venice Beach, visiting for the first time feels like you've been here before. Maybe that's why it's constantly packed with tourists (like us).
On the day we visited, the sun was elusive. It was a weekday so the beach wasn't packed. But it sure was nice to sit and watch the waves crash on the shore. Hadn't been to an ocean for a while and the white noise of the waves is always soothing.
We also rode the ferris wheel. It's normally five bucks, but they had a weekday special going on, so it only cost $3/person. The ride gives you great views of the surrounding area.
I posted a video of this place several months ago, but I never realized that Houston's international airport includes this larger than life statue of H. W. Bush. I love how he is flinging his jacket over his shoulder with such a carefree, jet setting finesse. Note how his tie is frozen in mid-flutter. This statue is called "Winds of Change."
You don't have to go far outside Austin before you start to see the "real" Texas depicted in popular culture. Here are some images from a drive on US Highway 31 in northeast Central Texas.
Downtown East 6th Street in Austin is nationally famous for its bars and live music, but head just a few blocks east of the Interstate, and you'll find a "neighborhood in transition". It's a great part of town to live. Sometimes this place is a hustling and a bustling with a mix of hipsters, sketchy dudes, and homeless people. But on this Sunday afternoon, it was eerily quiet.
I won't pretend to understand the subtle differences between the north and south sides of Chicago. But one thing I do know is this. In the working class, blue collar south side suburb of my grandfather, they don't eat that deep dish crap. They eat insanely delicious thin crust pizza, and they almost always get it the same way: sausage and cheese, sliced into squares.
We asked for half pepperoni on the pizza pictured above and they actually put the meat underneath the cheese! I have only ever seen that done in Quebec. So do yourself a favor and just stick to the sausage and cheese. Oh yeah, and put on some sleeves already!
I bought this meal because it was only 88 cents and the idea of a "Grilled Meat Patty Meal" made me laugh. Check out what it really looks like inside. When I showed this picture to S. she laughed and said, "That looks like shit next to vomit." And then I laughed out loud.
The patty kind of has the consistency of shit and the noodles are mushy like they were half-digested, but really the whole thing just tastes like a very salty simulated gravy.
S. showed me this internet meme and it's so feel good. I noticed it's inspired others to make their own versions, like these guys, but honestly it all pales in comparison.
I also love the trend of fan made music videos, like this one of Justice's Genesis (not actually a Thriller remix, in spite of the title). It takes a certain brilliance and determination to find two unrelated pieces of culture and smash 'em together so perfectly.
I was waiting for a connecting flight to Vancouver the other day at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. It's not exceptionally remarkable as far as large airports go. But hey, it has a bunch of Texas kitsch, and it's named after Dubya's daddy!
Cacti grow naturally in this part of the world, but I never thought of them as a target for vandals. This cactus, at P. Terry's Burger Stand in South Austin, has tags scratched all over it. Kind of reminds me how some teens would do this on trees or picnic tables in my hometown Nelson.
Every April, San Antonio hosts a ten day extravaganza of TexMex culture called Fiesta San Antonio. The night parade draws more than 500,000 people to the 2.6 mile route winding through downtown. I found it interesting that there's no central ticketing authority. Different sections along the route are sold by different groups. Some Boy Scout chapter was selling tickets to the folding chairs set up along the street in our section.
The "People's Parade" is a perfect example of everything awesome about San Antonio. Public drinking, unhealthy street foods, few white people, crazy Christian evangelists, and best of all, people who just don't give a fuck. It's great because it's all real.
The parade starts just before dusk and runs for hours and hours, until about 11:30 p.m. This video is highlights. I suggest you crack open a nice cold one, maximize the HD video, and sit back for 15 minutes to imagine yourself on the streets of downtown SA.
Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco. The original recipe (sweetened with Imperial Sugar) is much more delicious than Dr. Pepper in can (sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup). When made by a soda jerk who works the fizz just right, it's downright fantastic!
"Tax Day Tea Party" rallies were held across America today as part of a protest against the federal stimulus bill and the budget. Sometimes Austin feels a progressive bubble, but then you stumble across events like these and remember you're smack dab in the middle of Texas. I walked away wondering what Dee Snider thinks of them using We're Not Gonna Take It.
Sorry for the shaky video, but hopefully you get some sense of the event. I love the guy with the cigar towards the end of this one.
This was the view from the stage, kind of panoramic perspective.
Donn's Depot is an old bar near our home that we only recently discovered. From their website:
One of Austin's most unique nightspots is housed in an old Missouri-Pacific train depot. Real train cars serve as seating areas, and the ladies restroom is a real caboose! The building that houses Donn's Depot was transported, via train tracks, from McNeil, Texas, to its current location about 30 years ago.
Featuring live music six nights a week Donn's Depot is the venue of some of Austin's most talented musicians. With friendly waitstaff, a full service bar, moderate prices, two dance floors, and a just-for-fun blackjack table, Donn's Depot is a haven of culture and diversity. On any given night you will find an eclectic crowd ranging from students to retirees.
Great place! Cheap drinks, good times, and a mixed crowd. What more could you ask for?
Finding fancy coffee made by a smug barista is easy in Austin, Texas. Drive-thru Starbucks are everywhere. And independent coffee shops thrive in this small business incubator. But finding a cup of the simple working class brew that helped build America takes a level of determination.
We mustered that determination recently and drove twelve miles to the only Dunkin Donuts in Austin. (Those other results you'll find in Google Maps are not Dunkin Donuts anymore!) This is the scene outside, off Highway 183.
This Dunkin Donuts may also be the only one in America that serves kolaches, those delicious Czech treats that are all too often bastardized in Central Texas with sub-par ingredients. A hot dog is not a sausage!
Dunkin Donuts said last year it will open fifty stores across Austin by 2018. So far no action on that front.
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