like bathing in the cool waters of a fragrant ocean

Right?

My blogging has an ebb and flow, and we are in the ebb part. I just haven’t had the desire to write lately. I have lots of ideas but no real inspiration… I’d rather be out and about lately. I’m glad you come here to read my blabbing though, dear reader. I just don’t have the blab in me at the moment.

You know how it goes, right?

are those steel drums?

Check out this guy.

The longest weekend in existence is almost over – and I’m capping it off with a second viewing of Indiana Jones in about an hour.

I picked up Stephen Malkmus’ first solo album, and I think his latest album (Real Emotional Trash) is definitely his weakest. I also picked up Earlimart’s album, and it is pretty unremarkable so far. Their concert was much better.

I got the raddest old race jacket today at a vintage shop – it is from the Frontier 500, a desert race that used to run from Las Vegas to Reno. It stopped running in the 80’s. 

My motorcycle is finally running like a dream – a result of adjusting my valve tappets by fractions of millimeters! The tolerances on these bikes are so miniscule that sometimes it can get very frustrating. But when it is running like this, it is all worth it.

Sunday night I went to a party in Hollywood, and hung out with a really fun group of people. One guy looked familiar, and later I realized it is the guy who did “Shoes.” You know… shoes. The shoes video. Betch, etc. Anyway, everyone was fun. Then we went and played some pool at a bar I’ve avoided for months.

Anyway, I promised my liver that I’d settle down. Good weekend, bad text messages, weird vibrations, beautiful girls, motorcycle winners and movie madness.

actually busy!

I’m actually busy at work right now. I’m saving saying anything about Indiana Jones for a little while.

King Boo on a dirtbike = Me being unbeatable at Mario Kart Wii!

Nothing will stand in my way!

Look – nothing can hold back my excitement for tonight. Because in 12 short hours I will be in line to see the most anticipated sequel of ALL TIME!

It’s not even funny how much me and Jaxon are into Indiana Jones. They are easily the most watched DVDs in my (shrinking) collection. And lately all movie discussion has been Indiana Jones. I remember when the movie was announced, there was a lot of anxiety on how the movie would pan out. But readers – I have complete faith in Steven Spielberg. If it were completely in the hands of a certain other filmmaker, then I would be doing the oh-crap dance.

But I’m not. I’m doing the excitement dance and I will be in the sold-out theatre at midnight with hundreds of other dorks like me (and Jaxon, Charley and Alex) and I will freaking cheer with excitement when the title comes up and we hear the music and I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it.

Tonight will be an amazing night.

murgle (Updated… so not as murgle)

This morning, my bike started making a horrible, horrible noise about 5 minutes from the office. I’m not exactly 100% sure what the problem is, but I’m sort of really, really tired of working in my bike. The exhaustion stems from this weekend when I tried to install my new racing carbs.

To put it lightly, the entire thing was a big fat fuck up. They wouldn’t fit on the rubber intakes, I messed up the cabling system, I have no idea if they are even jetted correctly, etc. I spent all Friday night and half of Saturday putting them on, and then taking them off and putting my old ones back on. Except I had to make a new cable system for my old carbs which took a while and was frustrating. However, because of the new cable system my throttle is much, much easier to use now. And I patched my exhaust so my bike sounds much better. Except for the horrible noise that just started today.

God damnit. Seriously. I enjoy working on my bikes, but not every damn night of every damn weekend. I’m about ready to give up and go buy a damn sedan. Kidding. But damnit.

So I’m going to wait to do my carbs until my Vespa is back on the road. I guess this puts my trip to SF on hold again? We’ll see what the problem is when I get it home tonight and wait 3 hours for the engine to cool down (you have to adjust the valve tappets when the engine is cold).

FREAKING INDIANA JONES TOMORROW, AT MIDNIGHT! I gots the tickets, I gots the excitement!

Mario Kart Wii is really fun.

UPDATE: I went out just out and checked my left cam cover on the points side (where the noise was coming from). I unscrewed it and a bolt had worked its way loose from the tappet connector, so the valve tappet was just sitting there flopping around wildly. I can’t adjust it here, but I did put it back on and guessed at where the adjustment should be. I’ll adjust this back at home and I should be set. I think a bad oil seal I have on that side must have leaked some oil onto an already loose bolt and it just worked its way off. Either than, or Russian sabotage.

I spend my money on sensible things

The magnet set is replacing a set I already had… but it GOT STOLEN!

Sock Monkey magnet thieves are the worst!

run wild

First things first – hooray for California for realizing that the “sacred ceremony of marriage” is for everyone.

Went to SMOG CUTTER again last night – wasn’t as buck wild crazy as the first time, but the first time is always the best, right? By the way, it is impossible to type SMOG CUTTER without using all caps. I’ve tried it.

Tonight I will be hanging out in the garage installing the racing carbs. This is fortuitous for two reasons. First off, it is hitting 90 degrees today, so it should be a perfect night. Second, this gives me a chance to patch my muffler and leave it overnight to set up and be all ready for the morning so I can start the bike up and see how those carbs do. I really hope I don’t need to rejet them.

Then it is off to Amoeba on Saturday to buy every album I’ve been missing for the last few months. I’ve really fallen behind. I still even haven’t picked up Pollard’s Superman Was a Rocker. (Download “Gratification to Concrete” right here)

And let’s wrap up this “news of the boring” with an update on my shoes. I need new ones.

Tony Millionaire interview

There is a good interview with Tony Millionaire from a radio show called “The Sound of Young America.” You can listen to it on the internet here.

Maakies is the best. I’m going to pick up the latest collection after work today.

Wednesday is the new Thursday

And I’m hungover… ok?

So I’ve got nothing. Here is a picture Jenny took of me working on my Vespa engine. That’s a chopstick in my mouth, not a GRODY CIGARETTE.

This is proof I’m not just faking it. Ok, I might be faking it.

Psychomania!!!

I found this clip via The New Cafe Racer Society. It is this motorcycle-hooligan movie, and it looks really awesome. The motorcycle gang is called “The Living Dead,” and that girl in the motorcycle gang who flips up her helmet is awesome!

Check out this clip… my favorite part is the guy who continues to go up the ladder once the motorcycle gang comes into the square and starts terrorizing everyone. Chasing women with baby carriages, stealing hot dog carts, crashing into thing. But the guy keeps going up the ladder, looking down at the motorcycle gang. What could possibly go wrong with a guy on top of a ladder? And what is he doing up there?

I need to get a hold of this movie!

3 random photos

My iPhone doesn’t automatically download my pictures into iPhoto anymore, because I found it annoying. Now it is a little surprise when I open iPhoto when my phone is plugged in because I get to find random photos mixed in with the ones I meant to download.

First off.. my Mikuni carbs are here! And they are really, really nice looking:

Look. just trust me on this, ok?

Then, there is this. I have NO IDEA where I took this picture. It must have been during the drunkest horse-racing night ever (Friday):

That man is eating a lil’ brontosaurus. This fits in well with the Buñuel post earlier.

Motorcycle jacket? Check. Helmet on the ground and helmet hair on the head? Check! Cheap Mexican beer in the hand? DOUBLE CHECK.

don’t explode

I just watched a trailer for “The Visioneers” with one of the only comedians I think is funny, Zach Galifianakis:

This is interesting because it goes along with a mixtape I was thinking about on the way home – songs that encourage abandoning the traditional career path. Two of my favorites on this mix I was thinking about is LCD Soundsystem’s “Watch the Tapes” and of course, The Clash’s “Career Opportunities.”

What do you think of the trailer? Sublime hilarity or ineffectual quirkiness?

Buñuel: Difficult and Rewarding?

I watched The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie last night, and I realized that the only other Buñuel film I’ve seen is his collaboration with Dali on Un chien andalou.

TDCOTB has a surreal meandering charm, and I wonder if Buñuel’s earlier Spanish films have a similar feel. I cancelled my Netflix for the time being, so I guess I’ll have to wait to check these out. I feel like TDCOTB is a lot like Godard’s films for me – at sometimes difficult but ultimately rewarding. However, The difference with TDCOTB and most of Godard is the absurdity of Buñuel’s film is also it’s charm.

Joe Strummer – Ramshackle Day Parade

Photo Credit

Ramshackle Day Parade is placed right in the middle of Joe Strummer’s final album Streetcore. I think it is one of the most amazing songs he ever wrote. It is a good segue into the second half of the album (the b-side, really) but what an amazing lead-in this would have been to “Burnin’ Streets” which is later in the album.

As usual, almost all the lyric sites have it wrong – those stupid cut and paste websites that find one wrong transcript of the song and then perpetuate it all over. Well, I’ve done my best to write down the lyrics to this song here – if you think I’ve made any mistakes please let me know.

I’m working on my ultimate Joe Strummer week series of posts in anticipation of “Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten” being released on DVD. I’ll be going over all of Joe Strummer’s solo releases, as well as all of the previous Joe Strummer / The Clash documentaries that are already released.

As usual, I can’t find this song anywhere online. So just ask me and I’ll email it to you. Lyrics after the jump.

Journey’s End!

These posters from Aerostitch are pretty cool – I always like those fatalist propaganda-esque safety posters. They are way cooler looking than a wordy diatribe.

From Aerostitch via The New Cafe Racer Society