your tax dollars at work

Not a dream, not an imaginary story!

that looks like some shit a couple of 12 year olds would come up with and draw on their tee-shirts with Magic Markers after a Ghostbusters bender.

SCAT

attn ivan e bobo

title of the week

sage advice

courtesy bobo:

trouble

customer:
Um...yes....I was wanting to inquire...whether you had a section, ah, for computer system operating books...um?


This just can't end well.

more alan moore

complete comic from his excellent series 1963.

Creator interviews
More proof the Internet is a hotbed of obsessives with too much time on their hands.

some of the very entertaining fake ads ads Moore wrote for the series.

news post

Since the part of the state where lots of my friends live is aflame, here are some informative linx.

complete list of evacuations and road closures

LAC interactive map of fires

Dango's flickr, with firefighting action shots

some random stranger's Flickr Fire Set

Stay not on fire, Southland friends!

When Dinosaurs Attack!

more trading card goodness from the banner dudes.

These were after my time, but I'm happy to see Topps was still fighting the good fight against taste and restraint into the 80's.

holiday banner

via these cats

I bought packs of those stickers from the gas station mini-mart in my misspent youth, and now they decorate my blog- the glory of the internet made flesh.

gin review: Boomsma Genever

the official line:

Boomsma Geneva is one of Boomsma’s oldest products. Since centuries geneva is the most popular drink in Holland. This pure geneva is distilled according to a secret family-recipe since 1883. It is a double distilled Geneva made from a blend of 100 % pure grainalcohol and grainwine. This Geneva is made without using any artificial additives. Light and elegant in taste with a subtle flavour of juniper berries, coriander and a hint of citrus. Best served well chilled or on the rocks.

Dutch gin seems to have developed in parallel with the British variety, while maintaining its own identity.

I dig it.
It holds its own in a G&T, light and fruity but with a strong finish. It's very fresh tasting and smells intriguing. Like gin, but slightly different.

At 16 bucks it's priced competitively with midrange gins like Beefeater, and I'll be adding it to my regular rotation. A top drawer beverage.

gin review: Boodles British Gin

A solid gin lacking any standout attribute.
Very smooth & light, a pleasant drink but not one that lingers on your palate or in your memory.
I'd say it's comparable to an everyday gin like Gordon's.
Considering it's nearly ten dollars per bottle more expensive, that's not a ringing endorsement.

not afk yet

why LA is America's greatest city

I expect to see lively comments on this article upon my return, so LA natives start your engines!

Anniversary

Traditional Gifts: Bronze or Pottery
Modern Gifts: Linens or Lace

8 years married means we've been together ten years.
!!
In a just and equitable society, this would qualify the wife for a hazardous service bonus. Instead, she gets Friday Night Ram-Podge

We're off to scenic Morro Bay to celebrate with dinner on the water, a sandy stroll past the rock & a relaxing evening at one of the local seaside fleabags.

Oh and breakfast at Dorn's, where they make their own corned beef hash.

AFK until Thursday...

more Bearforce 1

maybe I should be the guy in pink for Halloween....

be careful out there

yikes!

This tale sums up both the allure and potential danger of iFriends better than anything else I've found.

game names of the day

courtesy vgng:

Sensual Frisbee Tycoon

&

Giant Manlove 1942

/edit
went back for more and got
Mavis Beacon Teaches Pony Uncensored

0.0

crafts

I'm unilaterally declaring CRAFT NIGHT at Megan's.

The theme is Mod Podge, nature's miracle substance.

Here is a graphic to stoke your artistic fires:

When: duh!
Where: Megan's
What: Mod Podge

PODGE & dinner will be provided, everything else is BYOC (Bring Your Own Crafts).

Let's get it rolling next Friday.

lolcats vs Bladerunner

clicky

heeee!

name generator

this time for video games.

My first result was Rogue Hang Glider Smackdown, which is top drawer.

I can almost taste the gameplay!

/edit
went back for more and got Sid Meier's Funk Conquest, which qualifies as brilliant.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOBO

I celebrate your nativity even though you're too lame to have a party.


Bobo at 40, Artists Conception
if the artist was Devra, it would look much better

Gin

I picked up a bottle of Boodles British Gin during today's sojourning.
Watch this space for impending reviews.

So far, I like the bottle a lot.

Devra Content

the Little Bee turned an idle musing at the recent Shins concert into this high quality graphic, uploaded it to cafepress and turned it into a shirt.


Artist's note:

I'm super proud, because I did the whole thing on illustrator without stupid live trace. From scratch.

10,000 Baxs using 10,000 copies of Illustrator could labor for 50,000 years and end up with this:

I guess that's why Devra is a talented artist, and I just have a blog.


This has been another edition of Why the Internet is Awesome.

book title of the day

ran across this one at a thrift store and was sorely tempted to pick it up.
Fortunately, the wife used up all our impulse buy mojo on a white leather jacket from Nordstroms, circa 1973.

It doesn't amaze me that someone would list it on amazon, but it does amaze me that they'd bother to scan and upload a picture of the cover.
Thank you, anonymous book scout!

second best cover blurb of all time

from Bad Wisdom by Bill Drummond & Mark Manning (aka Zodiac Mindwarp).

A monumentally sane project carried through, blood and hair, by madmen.
- Iain Sinclair

Not quite At Swim-Two Birds, but closer than I thought I'd ever get.

mysteries

How did this



father this?


the mind boggles.

review

Wife on the Shins:

"They were really good!"


in depth update:

"Their harmonies are much prettier in the real world."

Also she reports that Simon picked up two vintage western shirts that look "really cute".

This has been a Baxblog concert update.

recovery

Ok, I'm over the epic collapse of the Padres and I've come to terms with the implosion of the Chargers. Back to blogging.

It's been the wife's Birthday Week, a tradition of her brothers that has gradually spread through the rest of the family. His efforts to promote Birthday Month didn't get traction, but Birthday Week is firmly entrenched.

The celebratory caravan stopped last night at Koberl.
I like the location a lot- I liked it when it was JP Andrews, I liked it when it was Charlie's, I liked it when it was Blue. Ok, so I didn't like it when it was Madision's. That was the fault of the a-hole manager and the 400 televisions they glued to all the walls, not the building.

Quickie review:
The food was excellent and the wine was stellar.
The bar was less impressive- my Bombay Sapphire & Tonic was flat and didn't taste much like Sapphire. I sent it back. The replacement's tonic was only 3/4ths dead but still didn't taste like Sapphire. I don't expect a bar to measure up to the high mixed drink standards I set at home, but tonic needs to be fizzy and you shouldn't try to pass lesser gin off as Sapphire, because some people will notice.
C'mon now.

The wife ordered a cappucino with the dessert course, and it literally tasted like lukewarm, stale Folger's with milk foam on top.
I've had better coffee at a truck stop in Wasco.
Much better.
And it only cost me a buck.

How is it even possible to make weak, watery espresso?
It tasted like something from a rest home cafeteria.

note to self:
stick to the wine list


The Fiend devoured more than her share of the desserts and it was like someone hit the Fast Forward button. Nobody could keep up with her the rest of the night.

Sorry Burl! =(

Tonight the caravan rolls down to Santa Barbara for a concert by The Shins.
Watch this space for a relay of the wife's review.

sports break

Trevor Hoffman and Norv Turner will both be drinking my hot urine in the afterlife.


That is all.

snippets

You haven't seen Grease until you seen it with my niece sitting on your lap providing a running commentary.

New 'final' version of Bladerunner is coming out soon. I'm not so interested in whatever story tweaks or revelations arise, but I am excited to get a high quality digitally remastered copy. The 'directors cut' that's been out forever is graphically substandard. Also the extras should be epic- the bonus discs on the super duper deluxe Alien from the box set were incredible.

Ridley Scott is a guy like Frances Ford Coppola...they both made astonishing movies until they gave up fighting The Man over artistic decisions and just started cranking the handle.

lolchtulhu
taking lolcats to the timeless frozen void beyond space!


The post on the show is about half done.
I had to enjoy Grease last night & have been buried under an avalanche of books today.
I'll get it done eventually.