Wednesday, December 23, 2009

They All Got A Sales Pitch, I Ain't Buyin', They Tryin' To Convince Me That I Ain't Tryin'

Pretty quiet at work today. People are mostly out for the holidays. Went for some Christmas pints with Jonas yesterday which was quite festive. Leaving tomorrow afternoon for the holiday odyssey to eastern Europe. First stop Budapest for a few nights then Vienna and Prague for a few nights each. Christmas in Budapest and New Years in Prague, should be pretty European. I will have to remember to bring my Puma F1 racing shoes - just kidding.
Not going home for Christmas will feel pretty odd but Kia and I will make the best of it. A train trip through Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic will probably help.
Music:



Shout out to Albert on the track - update the blog Shalbs. He sent it to me in August but I effectively ignored it until yesterday. If you want to see the music video (and hear the edited track, click here).
Back to it. Happy holidays everyone.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

I Paint Flows With The Feathers From The Wings Of Angels

Another monster track off of the Priestisms album.



Short post, trying to get out of work. Got back from Spain on Sunday. Kia and I saw a ton of the southern part of the country. I think our last count was like 13 cities in 10 days. It was pretty epic. We went to Tanger for the day which was definitely pretty high on the highlight list. There are about 4000 photos which need to be gone through and uploaded. I am trying to figure out if I should upgrade my Picasaweb storage of just pony up for the Flickr pro thing. I don't really want random photo nerds commenting on my photos but maybe I can avoid that by not tagging them. Anyway, need a better solution for the online storage thing because I am fast running out of my free space in Picasa. Anyhow, hope things are good with everyone and that their run up to the holidays is going smoothly. Kia and I will be in Europe for the holidays this year - the first time in the 10 years since we left AK that we won't be back for Xmas or New Years. We will make the most of it though. Back to work.
Grind hard.

Monday, November 30, 2009

I Make Hitler Wear a Yamika, KKK Celebrate Kwanza, Should I Proceed Further?

YouTubin' you to death.
Just caught this track off of Priestisms The LP which is a crazy album. KP is definitely one of the craziest MCs out there. There is an interview with him which was featured in Harpers back in 1998 I think where he talks about his theories on space, ETs and all sorts of stuff. If you can get your hands on it, read that junk, if not, I might know a guy.... Oh yeah and anyone who models their own t-shirt on Moose Limited is awesome in my book.



Oh and I like the fact that Nas is basically angry as shit. His latest album is getting some decent spins on the Ipod.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Warm It Up Chris, I'm About To, Warm It Up Chris, That's What I Was Born To Do

Shuttling with Smarbs. He is giving me a hard time about not blogging so I am going to do a micro post and show him. I made cameos on both Dougherty and Sara's blogs over the last couple days which basically makes me as big an online phenomenon as the Kanye West "Imma let you finish" jokes. Smarbs has the Marc Ecko Gmail skin which is his way of expressing his streetness, that and the fact that he is toying with MNM for his new baby's initials. We are chatting inboxes and social media. Yeah, we are nerds.
Hopping off the shuttle. Keep it grimey.

Monday, November 16, 2009

As You Step Up To Bat, Man, I Play The Riddler

Shuttling from MV to SF right now. Spent the evening with Pat, Dave, Ryan and Dan watching a terrible football game. The Cleveland Browns are basically terrible and the Baltimore Ravens are only slightly better. Got to drink a couple beers and eat some fried food though so it worked out alright.
For those of you not paying close attention to my travel schedule I am in California right now. I came in for a conference and to do a little work. Its been nice to catch up with people while I've been in town. Played a little poker with some knuckleheads from work on Friday and caught up with some friends from the city over the weekend. Even went down to the south bay to visit Matt, Brigitta and Violet which was awesome. Parenthood looks good on Matt and Brigitta. Its kind of weird being in SF but staying at a hotel in Union Square which is a part of town I don't know much about. They are setting up the Christmas tree in Union Square and they have a skating rink set up. Its not Thanksgiving yet and most of the big stores have their Christmas decorations up.
Haven't blogged in a while but you know how that goes. Things are clipping along in Dublin. They managed to keep me pretty busy for the most part and Kia and I are pretty settled in. Its hard to believe that we have been out there for six months already. We aren't headed back to AK this year for the Christmas holiday for the first time since we moved away from AK back in 1999 which is pretty crazy to think about. Kia has some designs on a trip to Prague, Budapest and Vienna for the week around Christmas and New Year. I guess that could work.
Less than a week left in SF at this point and the schedule is booking up pretty quickly. Speaking of SF, just got into the city, going to hop off the shuttle.
Grind hard.

Monday, September 21, 2009

...And Find a Newport, And I Don't Mean No Loosies, Or Desi Arnaz

Been listening to this track over and over the last day or so. Hipster hop at its best:



Shout out to DP on the hook up on this track.
Wale doing his thing too:



Time to bust out the skinny jeans, cardigan and desert boots.
Things are good. Haven't blogged in a while. Lots of things I want to say but I will keep it to the time sensitive stuff. The wifey is in AK for another week or so. She has been out for a couple weeks having a good time in Anchorage and doing a road trip with her grandparents who are up visiting. They went into Canada (aka Alaska jr.) and hit up Kennicott which sounds like a fair amount of fun to me.
Nelson is in town this week. Went to dinner at Gruel which was pretty tasty.
The Giants are still numerically in the race for the NL wildcard though their chances are looking pretty slim at this point. I have to admit, I am pretty damned satisfied with their play this year even if they miss the playoffs. To be in it in September far outpaced my expectations considering their complete utter lack of a batting line up. Still holding out hope that they make the playoffs.
9ers are playing some decent ball too. If they can get their passing game in order they have a decent shot at winning the division as far as I am concerned. Oh and Michael Crabtree is officially a dumb ass for not signing. I understand him wanting to get paid but the team seems to be moving on without him pretty effectively. Honestly though, I would love to see him suit up and pull down some passes. One of the stories I read outlined the fact that Crabtree's agent is effectively a draft agent saying that if Crabtree doesn't pull very top dollar his agent is at a disadvantage going into the next draft because he is essentially only as good as his last post-draft contract. I think they are both shooting themselves in the foot at this point though.
Anyway, things are good, a little bored without the wifey but she is headed back soon so I imagine I can survive. Lots of photos to post at this point, still haven't posted the AK photos, the Belgium or the Switzerland photos, so I will get up on that.
Grind hard.

Friday, August 07, 2009

Hit Like Barry, Score Like Jerry

Haven't been posting much lately. Work has been extra grindy lately. Been playing a mess of ps3 lately. Even went back and restarted both Resistance and GTAIV which has been pretty fun. Haven't started playing Fallout 3 yet but I will.
Because my ipod crashed and my hard drives with all of my music are safely tucked away in a box in AK I have been listening to what little music I had on my laptop HD. Needless to say, shuffle on my ipod has been exposing me to stuff outside of the norm. This is the long and useless way I am trying to explain that I have been listening to San Quinn. A couple West Coastin' anthems for you:

I think I saw Dougherty and his dogs in the background on that one.

OK I will point this out up front, the hook on this track is a little questionable. I have to admit though, I have watched this particular video like 5 times in the last couple days.
Things are kosher though. Work is busy but that seems par for the course. The Giants are playing decent baseball despite their utter lack of a batting line-up. I do like the fact that Pablo Sandoval's nickname is freaking Kung-Fu Panda. At the beginning of the Giants season I said that if the Giants can stay at .500 going into the all-star break and scoop two decent bats in trades they could make the playoffs. Well, they are better than .500.... Hell, as of today they own the third best record in the NL (60/48). Go Giants!
Alright all for now, grind hard.

Monday, July 27, 2009

"Because, Man, Somewhere In These Memories Is The Evidence"

Just caught the Tron trailer that they unveiled at Comic-Con last week (it turns out they released this trailer last year at Comic-Con but the put a date on it this time around and they are releasing it in 3D). I would put money on the fact that my brother is going to be all over this.
Here is the old school trailer just for reference:



Pretty cool. Can't go wrong with some Jeff Bridges and some futuristic craziness. Check out min 0:44 for some Lebowski-esque goodness.
Here is the new Tron trailer. Embedding disabled - boo.
Um, yes.
Back from Belgium. Trip was a blast. Lots of Belgian ales tasty food and good sites. Went for an epic bike ride through the Belgian countryside into the Netherlands and along the Belgian coastline. Pictures to come.
Back to work, grind hard.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Now Your Leg Is Missing, Blood Will Glisten, Then Your Soul Will Seep Into The Solar System

I admit it, I slept on the Mr. Lif album when I first got it. The Sun was a clear winner but I wasn't really following the rest of the album. I repent for my errant ways.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Radio Raheem, You Hear Me Doctor? Always Do The Right Thing

Holy DJ Jimmy Jam, this track is a monster.

Van Damme. C Rayz Walz is way mo' betta rapper than the Minnesotans, but I will take what I can get.
Sunny in Dublin, back to work.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

You Get Suplexed Up In My Two Story Duplex

Tuesday done. Feeling more and more settled in Dublin which unfortunately means working a bit later because I don't have as much bs stuff to do like get paperwork filled out for the Irish government. Most of that appears to be done now, maybe all of it, I guess we will see if the Irish INS comes a knockin'.
My dad pointed out that it is Bloomsday. Yeah, I didn't know what that meant either. Now I guess I have to read Ulysses, or try.
Lots of things going on. Work is busy which I have to admit I am enjoying at this point. Kia is pretty settled in. She came into work for lunch today which was nice. Trying to plan out some travel at this point now that we are actually allowed to be in this country longer than our initial passport stamps allowed. Lots of things to see.
Been listening to the relatively new Brooklyn Academy album and its pretty damned good. The same guys were in a group called Word A' Mouth back in the 90s and I had been on the lookout for more stuff from them for a while mainly because of this song from the original Lyricist Lounge album:

Uh, yeah thats nuts.
Here is a track from the new(ish) album:

Dope, Killah Priest too, monster track.
Other happenings include taking mewing to task on a 90s dance/r&b referencing contest. I will post on this more later. Son is getting served though.
Grind hard.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Never Thought I'd Be On A Boat, Its A Big Blue Watery Road

Haven't posted in a while, lots has been going on and I haven't felt a ton of motivation to post. Oh well. Kia and I have settled in to our apartement in Dublin as of last Friday. Its about a 10 min walk from the office and the apartment is quite nice so we are pretty happy about that. Settling into the work stuff. Its always a bit of an adjustment moving between offices and getting to know the new personalities but kind of exciting at the same time.
Had a great time back in Alaska while we were there for the week or so doing the move. The trip up to AK was pretty awesome. Met some pretty interesting people on the ferry, lots of people headed to Alaska to work for the summer, tour guides, fishermen, drug dealers, techno djs, etc.
My ipod crashed the other day and I reformat it but its meant that I have been forced to listen to my newer music (what was sitting on my laptop) and I was listening to this song on the way home.



Pretty sick.
For the 1% of you who haven't seen the "I'm On A Boat" video its linked at the bottom. Kia says you can't fully enjoy this video without seeing the Akon video before it so I linked that one first.



Yes, for those of you paying attention this is the second time I have linked this video.



Credit goes to Claire and Paul for sharing the video when we visited in Portland. Its official though, T-Pain is a monster.
OK, that's all for now.
Grind hard.

**Update, I just posted this post and had to delete it from Pat's food blog. Doh, such a n00b.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Words Seem To Zing On Down To Beijing

Wu-Tang Forever was super slept on and people were hating on it when it came out. Like RZA has said, people weren't ready for that album, it was before its time and the slang was way above people's heads. If you haven't heard this album, or heard it lately, spin it again.


Yup, monster.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I Watch For The Po-Po And Train At The Dojo

Headed down to Mountain View. Sleep schedule is severely screwed up at this point. I fell asleep at 4pm yesterday, got up at 10pm ate some food and went back to bed around 2am, up again at about 5am. Its going to be a dodgy day.
Surprising how easily it was to slide back into things in SF yesterday and I have to admit the ease of doing little things (ordering pizza from Pizza Orgasmica at 11pm yesterday for instance) is comforting. That said, I am not really looking forward to the next couple weeks of commuting down south. Perhaps the move to Dublin is my way of avoiding the commute without having to live in Mountain View.
Should be a relatively calm couple weeks at work getting myself ready for the big move. Luckily (for me) Kia is going to be handling a ton of the move logistics over the next couple weeks. It turns out that we are managing two moves basically sending half of our stuff and our car to AK and half to Dublin. Yikes.
OK, going to slog through my email backlog.
Keep it grimey.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

I'm A Traveling Man, Moving Through Places, Space and Time

Hopping my flight back to the US in 6 hours which means I need to get out of the office and go scoop up the rest of my bags, get my self together and get the hell out of Dodge.
Tokyo has been fantastic and the last few weeks have been completely bonkers in the best kind of way. Work was completely nuts up until the week before last and then Kia and I jumped a flight to Okinawa for a week which was the completely relaxing and refreshing.
The last 3-4 weeks have been pretty weak in terms of blog posting. I have gotten pretty bad about normal updates and have reverted to just posting YouTube clips (nothing wrong with this by the way).
Here is a quick run down of whats been going on. I will probably blog more about some of these.

Trip to Nagano and Yudanaka to see snow monkeys and onsen.
Trip to Kobe and Kiyoto to see historic sights and visit relatives.
Trip to Okinawa to sit on the beach and... sit on the beach.
Baseball game (Giants vs. Tigers - that's Yomiure Giants and Hanshin Tigers) which ended in a draw... "There's no draws in baseball!"
Figuring out a new role - Going to Dublin, doing roughly the same thing as I do now :)
Figuring out move logistics associated with that - actually Kia did most of this - thanks wifey!
Checking out some cherry blossoms - sakura ichiban!

OK, that list isn't that long, but it was a lot to do. Also, I am quite sure that I am forgetting a number of things. Doh.
Anyway, back in SF in roughly 18 hours. Be there for a couple weeks and then headed out for AK then Dublin.
Leaving Tokyo is extremely tough. I have had an awesome time and I have so much more that I would like to do here. That's as sappy as I am going to get on the blog. If you want to see me blubber, buy me a beer :)
Grind hard.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Disciplined, Every Action Was A Fraction Of Strength That Made Me Truncate The Length One-Tenth

Ghostface, Killah Priest, RZA and GZA plus a sample from Shogun Assassin? Forget about it.



FYI - Liquid Swords, one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. Do the knowledge.

PS. Yes Liz, I realize I need to post more pictures and updates from Japan. Patience is a virtue.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Khaled We Did It, Biggie Of My City

OK, I can't stop myself. The Akon post just has go get posted.
If you listen to the haters, the auto-tone stuff is way played out, in true Alaskan fashion I am just hitting my stride on this trend a good year or two after it was actually popular or new (though new is relative, Frampton anyone?).
Here it goes:



Sorry, but Rick Ross is a g. My boy Travis caught me at the airport in AK and told me my beard reminded him of Rick Ross, my response: "I'm a bawss." That video would have been better without DJ Khaled swaggering around, dude is awkward.
Round two:



Don't even try to hate on Weezy or Jeezy. I don't care, I am going to bat on that one.
Round three:



OK, this one shouldn't be too controversial. Obie is legit.
That is all.

*Update - Yes, I made a mistake with the lyrics on the Rick Ross song, clearly it was "Khaled we did it," not "Cali we did it,". Anyway, Rick Ross is still a g even if he is from Florida.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

...With Bronze Medals, Sean Is A Don Rebel, Sippin' Chandon With A Blonde Devil

OK, a couple monster tracks from Black Milk. Yeah, you got the Japan picture update last time so stop griping.
Elzhi killing it:



Listening to a lot of Black Milk at this point. Actually, I am also listening to a lot of Akon too so take that for what its worth.



Guilty Simpson has grown on me a lot over the last year or so. Sean Price, I mean, what can I say? Monster.
Things are good in Tokyo. I have a ton of photos that I need to spend some time organizing and Kia is out taking more photos all the time. She is getting good with my camera... maybe I should get a new one....
Speaking of spending money I don't have, I found out yesterday that you can buy not only old Nintendo games but also old Sega Genesis, Turbo Grafix and Neo Geo games on the Wii online store. Van Damme, anybody down to play some Bonk or maybe some Altered Beast? For those of you who grew up on PS1 that would be like Crash Bandicoot or something. God, seriously?
OK, grind hard.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Who Fuses The Music With No Illusions?

So I haven't updated my blog since my sister guilted me about not posting photos from Japan. Thanks Liz. Well, it worked. Here are a few.
Actually, I have been playing with my gorillapod lately which has been a ton of fun and has allowed me to take photos at night. Thanks to Hessam for the tip.

From Shibuya_Ebisu_Night 2009


From Shibuya_Ebisu_Night 2009


From Shinjuku 2009


From Ginza_Tokyo Tower 2009


From Ginza_Tokyo Tower 2009


From Ginza_Tokyo Tower 2009


From Ginza_Tokyo Tower 2009


From Ginza_Tokyo Tower 2009

OK, that's it for now. If you are jonesing for some more hit the picasaweb album and take a look. Things in Tokyo are good. Kia is keeping herself entertained. She recently discovered Tokyu Hands which is a "creative life store". I would say that sums us up at this point. Trying to figure out next steps after Tokyo. Anyone want to halfsies on a beach front bar in Kauai? No? Fine. Jerks.
Grind hard.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Divide And Conquer, On The Low We Grow Stronger

Another track from Indiefeed's hip hop channel. This one is pretty nuts.


Mr. Lif makes me want to get Crunky.

Speaking of which has anyone seen the Lil' Jon mashup with the Nickelodeon kids show? I refuse to link it here and I won't reveal my source (its not who you would think surprisingly) and, I don't recommend watching it if you are offended by, well, anything. But damn, that junk is hilarious.
OK, one more video.



Is it me or is ODB the host for this show? Oh, and I am just putting this out there, despite the fact that there is time travel involved I am about 90% sure that some of these guys stole my dance moves from the recent Wurmcock (Wurm/Hitchcock - don't look at me like that) wedding.
Oh, Tokyo, yeah things are good. Kia is getting along well and we have been adventuring a bit on the weekends. Work has been busy but pretty fun. Its less than two months more in Tokyo and there are still tons of things to do at work and outside of work. Surprising how quickly the trip is coming to an end.
OK, grind hard.

Friday, February 06, 2009

I Got A Big Gun, I'm Like Little Dice, City Of God Duke

Did a quick search for "Verbal Kent" on YouTube because I heard this track on Indiefeed's Hip Hop channel:



Pretty sick. Speaking of Indiefeed I just caught a track from Josh Boots that was posted last year on their podcast. For those not in the know Josh is from Anchorage and is a member of Arctic Flow. AK stand up!
Caught this track on YouTube too. Pretty damned grimey.



Sean P. kills it.
There has been a lot of news lately about marijuana smoking in the Sumo world. Sumo might be the only sport where weed can be considered performance enhancing....
Grind hard.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

I Dip Through, In That Six Trey Like Sick 'Em Dre

Listening to the new Eminem/Dre/50 Cent track. Its pretty legite.
Haven't posted much since the wifey arrived. Tough noogies. Things are good though. Kia is settling in. The apartment is a bit of a squeeze but its working out. This last weekend was Kia's first in Tokyo. We went to look at an apartment (it was whatever) in Roppongi and walked from Roppongi back to Shibuya. On Sunday we went to Yoyogi park and checked out the temple that I didn't get to see last time I went to the park because the entrance to it closes at 4pm and I am a lazy bastard. The temple was nice though.
Got back from eating ramen a little bit ago. The place was a little grimey but the food was magical. I am kind of convinced that I can't tell the difference between good and great ramen though. It all tastes great to me at this point. Its a nice problem to have.
Messed around a bit with the ol' camera tonight. Ken Rockwell had some tips to help deal with the washed out aspects of the photos that I have been taking. We will see if it helps or not.
Anyway, things are good. Work is busy but I am having fun.
Its Kia's sister Josi's birthday today - Happy birthday Josi! It was also a bean throwing holiday today called Setsubun. Do the knowledge. Apparently there are demons or "oni" that you are featured in celebrations. "Demons out! Luck in!" is the phrase you shout as you throw beans around the house. Kia and I didn't participate this year. The oni aspect reminded me of the Momotaro book that I had as a kid. Damn, that book was cool.
OK, bed time. Keep it grimey

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

We Are Not The Same, I Am A Martian

Been on a Weezy kick lately. There are a couple tracks on the new Game album that I am pretty into too but this one is probably my favorite:

Link to the video here. Thanks for disabling embedding Island Records - asses.
Work is going well. There was a kick-off meeting here in Japan today which was a lot of fun and really informative. They even had translators there on a closed circuit system for the Japanese-impaired folks like me.
The wifey rolls into town tomorrow and I am going to go scoop her from the airport. I am pretty damned excited about her getting here finally.
Going to pack it in. Get some reading done before I go to bed. I hope things are gravy with everyone. To everyone in China:
新年快乐
Grind hard.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

I See Your Whole Crew Yellow Like Mustard Packs

Off to bed. Up way too late again and I have an 8:30am meeting.
Just a quick update. Watched the inauguration speech this evening and I was really impressed. Obama is an amazing speaker and if he can back up his speeches its going to be a good eight years.
Went to the sumo tournament on Sunday. Check the pictures here if you are so inclined. It turns out that this guy is my new hero.



Man, he puts some exclamation points on those wins. Even if you aren't interested check out the way he picks up the other wrestler at 2:00 in.



This one is a few years old and shows him beating the Yokozuna at the time and subsequently getting hit in the face with some seat pads.
Now, Asashoryu is the Yokozuna (one of two) and right now he is undefeated in the New Year tournament.
Grind hard.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

...The Last Breath Of Christopher Wallace On That Faithful Night

So, I have said it before and I will say it again, Canada is USA junior. That said, this track is pretty bonkers.



So apparently dude's actual name is Aubrey - really man, Aubrey? and according to Wikipedia Drake was on Degrassi: The Next Generation - but check the acting technique....


Damn, that just messed me up.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

On Your MySpace, You Kicked Me Out Your Top 4

Kidz In The Hall ft. Lilly Allen:



Do the knowledge.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

If Your Cup's Already Full Then Its Bound To Overflow

Almost back up to the city again so I will make this one quick.
Started listening to Matisyahu again over the Christmas break. I gave it enough of a rest in between the last obsessive ipod play cycle but I have a feeling I will go through about a month of intensive listening and get burnt again. Well, too bad for me but fear not faithful reader I am going to share:

I am of the opinion that he is better live than in the studio and based on the Hawaiian reggae band that I went to see in AK I am beginning to think that this is true with all reggae music. Further, I realized that I missed my calling as a reggae back up singer - you know the guy who just shouts "blap, budabapap!" That should have been me.
OK last night in the bay area, headed back to Tokyo tomorrow. Its been nice to be back and see everyone but I have to admit I am really pumped to be getting back to Japan. I think the fact that Kia will be headed out in a couple weeks is helping with that.
Grind hard.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

I'm A Monster, I'm A Killer, I Know I'm Wrong

Headed up to SF on the shuttle now.  Actually just getting into the city as I type this.  In the bay area until Thursday around noon when I head back to Tokyo.  Things have been good.  The holidays in Alaska were a blast but cold as shit.  The house is still standing though apparently our cat is terrorizing the other animals in the house at this point (we took him up to stay in AK in anticipation of Kia coming to Tokyo at the end of January).  Anyway, the house in AK was nice and it was cool to be able to stay there over the holidays with my brother and his family.  
Trying to take care of a few things in the bay area before I head back to Tokyo.  Namely, I am trying to get my visa taken care of which has been a bit of a headache but the consulate has been really nice about it.  They are expediting the processing time and are supposed to get it back to me by the time I get on my plane Thursday.  We'll see.  
Alright, about to hop off the shuttle.


There's a little tidbit from the newish Kanye album. I know people are hating on the autotone but they can suck it.
Grind hard.