hows your edge?

R.W. Garcia - King Again

2010-01-29T17:31:00.004-05:00

A few years ago, we had a summer bbq at my house. It was before this big 108 gig down the street from my house. It isn't often that shows occur at this place so we figured we would go all out and invite people over. We had a great time. Some of the guests were in 108, and one of these guests was from Southern California.

We bought all sorts of food for this gig and ended up buying these new corn chips we had never seen before. They looked good, and the bag was gigantic. Perfect for a bbq. R. W. Garcia was looking good. The chips were awesome, and people were into them. The guy from 108 from southern California even claimed to KNOW Mr R.W. Garcia. Seemed impressive to me.

Flash forward to this winter, and we found a new gluten-free, organic bag of R. W. Garcia chips. Melissa has lately been cutting WAY back on her gluten so it seemed like a good product to try out. You know, something new and different.

We got home and immediately tore into the bag. That's how we do it around here. She ate two chips and nearly gagged. She then ripped into another brand of tortilla chips in order to "clean the taste out of her mouth." I told her, it couldn't be that bad, and then ate a chip. It was that bad. We must have gotten a bad batch, no idea. It just was not good. I had to eat some of the other chips in order to cleanse my mouth. It was rough.

It was so rough that I ended up contacting R.W. Garcia with my issues. I wrote up a quite lengthy note filled with my disappointment. That was the end ... or so I thought.

Flash forward to today. My wife told me this morning that the food processor she ordered last night in Amazon had already shipped. I was pretty impressed with that. By the time I got back from a haircut in the afternoon, a box was waiting on our doorstep. I just assumed it was the amazon box and went about my other chores.

After wrapping up my other work, I decided to pop open the box to set up the food processor for Melissa. It was then that I noticed it was addressed to ME and not to her. And the return address was NOT Amazon.

Here's the box. It's big. Notice the 20oz cola next to it for comparison.

I cut into the box with no idea at all what it could be. To my surprise, it was a package from R.W. Garcia. There was a nicely worded note from the Quality Assurance department with 3 bags of corn chips. And not just any bags, but the BIG Bag. So yes, I now have three 32 oz bags of tortilla chips at my house. That's 6lbs of tortilla chips. It should last me until at least next week. ;)

So shout outs to R.W. Garcia. This sort of customer service and care goes above and beyond what a normal company would do. Thanks for the love, know that you have won us back.

Mailbox Report. It's All Bane ...

2010-01-03T20:04:00.002-05:00

Quick note: this blog post is dedicated to Marcus over at Endless Quest. Good work finding your white whale.

Back to the action.

Unless you've been hiding in cave with Osama for the last 6 months, you know Bane released a new EP. Not only did they release a new EP, but it was released on 400 different labels all over the world. Here are all the EPs I've received so far.

Here's what you see. Left to Right, Top to Bottom.

Row 1

6131 Records - 3:58 Los Angeles - green vinyl
6131 Records - 3:58 Los Angeles - milky orange vinyl
6131 Records - 3:58 Los Angeles - milky milk vinyl

Hurry Up Records - 11:58 Dublin - tour press green vinyl
Hurry Up Records - 11:58 Dublin - tour press black vinyl

Row 2.

Triple B Records - 6:58 Boston - clear blue vinyl
Triple B Records - 6:58 Boston - clear red vinyl
Triple B Records - 6:58 Boston - black vinyl

Hurry Up Records - 11:58 Dublin - speckled orange vinyl
Hurry Up Records - 11:58 Dublin - orange vinyl
Hurry Up Records - 11:58 Dublin - black orange vinyl

That's some vinyl haul! Still waiting on the second round of vinyl from Hurry Up Records.

CDs were also released in Tokyo, South America and Australia. This is the 7:58 Tokyo cd package. It came with stickers, a pin, and a tee. I ordered 4 packages. I ended up with 4 tees and 2 cds. Funny story: my tees smell like gasoline. Real weird. Real, real weird.

Along with the X:58 EP, Bane also contributed to Stephen Fallis' zine, At Both Ends. This EP is a comp of 4 bands. Bane, Unrestrained, Grade & Between Earth And Sky. No idea who Between Earth And Sky is, but Unrestrained is this chill band. You may recognize one or two of these characters from the xStuck In The Pastx blog. Great blog, chill band.

Group shot of my 3 sets. Here are the individual pics too.

If I find out what the pressing info is, I'll make sure to share it.

Top 10 Vegan Restaurants '00-'09

2009-12-31T17:24:00.005-05:00

Preface: a few weeks back, my friend Sami asked me to do a top 10 list for his zine/site, Trumbull. As it was the end of the year, I was in a tad bit of deadline hell and whipped out a top 10 tshirt list with nary a comment. Just shirt after shirt. I was happy with it. It covered my bases.

Skip forward to this week. Sami and Owen began compiling all the lists and publishing them. After reading Mark Baumer's very detailed "Best 71 Movies ...," I felt shame. I had basically called in my list. It was good enough, but it certainly wasn't my best effort.

In order to right this wrong, I'm putting together a top 10 list that will be stupidly long, full of personal jokes and tender moments. I will go on ad nauseum about stuff no one cares about. BUT, no one will ever say I "called this one in."

My Top 10 Vegan Restaurants of the Last Decade

Please note. These restaurants are all ones I frequented in the last decade. And that order is determined by memories of times spent there. Food played a big part in the ranking as well, but memories beat food any day.

Runner Ups

Washington Square Park Vegan Indian Cart - Manhattan, New York, New York USA - get your veggie samosa to go!

Lula's Sweet Apothecary - Manhattan, New York, New York USA - a new comer on the dessert scene. I was sold on the shoppe before my first bite.

Hillside Quickie - Seattle, WA USA - great, greasy sandwiches. Sooo good.

Mighty O Donuts - Seattle, WA USA - my first vegan donut. I was stoked. I had given up on those crappy vegan donuts in a plastic bag. This place reminded why I loved donuts as a kid.

Ronald's Donuts - Las Vegas, NV USA - my second first vegan doughnut. Blew my mind. Literally. I did my part to polish off 3 dozen donuts in 3 days. A good friend then over nighted me some. It was probably the best thing I have ever received in the mail. And I once received an original Project X EP in the mail.

Help Yourself, Cafe, Island Joes Coffee - Key West, FL USA - Key West came strong on the vegan food tip. I enjoyed the best iced soy latte I've ever had before at Island Joes Coffee. Help Yourself helped me to a wonderful smoothie, and the library had a very nice bathroom.

10. Annapurna - Albuquerque, NM USA

In 2007 and 2008, my work kept sending me to Albuquerque, NM. We were doing work at Kirtland, and we had to spend weeks at a time there. The first couple of times I went, I never got a chance to hit up Annapurna. The first time, I just missed it. I ended up at 20 Carrots for a shake and Fei's Cafe (which felt like Quan Yin minus Master Ching Hai). Nothing too memorable, really. But on the third trip, I went earlier than the other guys and made sure to hit up Annapurna right away. It was worth it. The fresh bread was heavenly and I gorged myself on all the food. I spent a whole evening sitting there working on my laptop and just enjoying myself. Later in the week, I would have a chance to go back to pick up sandwiches for a co-worker and myself. The meat eating coworker proclaimed the sandwich to be one of the best he ever had. Now that's cool. Another funny note, my manager at the time had a nephew who was working there. I happened upon him and surprised him by knowing his name and who is uncle was. It was chill. Great restaurant.

9. The Big Sur Bakery - Big Sur, CA USA

During the summer of 2002, the wife and I spent two amazing weeks driving up and down PCH1 in California. We saw it all. Hearst Castle, The Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood, the works. We ate at a million wonderful spots and enjoyed all of it. The weirdest spot was probably the Inn of the Seven Rays. No one else was there, and it was decorated for a wedding. Very weird. One day while driving through beautiful mountains and dreading a potential dinner of french fries and salads, we found ourselves at The Big Sur Bakery. If you've never been through that area, let me tell you, there is nothing out there. Just road, trees and hippies. Not a bad thing but not the best thing for a starving vegan. Luckily, The Big Sur Bakery hooked us up. This was probably the first time I ever ate a wood fired pizza. And a pizza that didn't have red sauce. I went with a taco style pizza, black bean sauce. It was amazing. The crust was just crunchy enough, and the toppings were applied without over applying. It just worked. That restaurant found us, we didn't find it, that's for sure.

8b. Garden Grille Cafe - Providence, RI USA

Friends of ours moved to Pawtucket a few years back. We would visit on occasion and always had a blast. One night, we went out to this restaurant that was literally 3 blocks from their house. It was called The Garden Grille Cafe. The food immediately blew my mind. To this day, I still make my own version of the Crazy Weech (it's a shake with chocolate soy milk, bananas and peanut butter. Hmmm, so flipping good). The ingredients are always super fresh, there are a ton of vegan options and the food is just damn good. Sometimes a meal would be forgotten and we'd have to make a ruckus, but for the most part, every trip was enjoyable. We love hanging with our friends, and we loved going to The Garden Grille. One time we ran into Merrick there. And he ran into his ex-girlfriend's mother or some relationship like that. He spent most of the night entertaining our friends' baby, despite sitting at a totally different table. Of course, they have recently moved out of Pawtucket. I'm not sure what we'll do now.

8a. Udupi Bhavan - A few spots, Mass USA

I went to WPI in Worcester. I'm a computer nerd with a Master's degree. Learning about vegan indian food was perhaps the best part about being a grad student at WPI (just kidding, dad!). Many of the other grad students were Chinese, but one fellow, PUNIT, was from India. Not only that, but he was vegetarian to boot. When he discovered that I didn't eat meat either, we became life long friends. He turned us onto Udupi Bhavan. At this time, it was located in Ashland. We rode up one night not sure what to expect. We left with minds blown. It was amazing. I loved every bite. I especially loved the South Indian breads that I had never seen before (due to eating at mostly North Indian restaurants). Channa Batura? Yes please. And some vegetable samosas, thanks. One time, we took my family to eat there. My dad was so amazed by the batura that he took a picture of the waiter carrying it to our table. I don't think the waiter was keen on that. And one night, we saw Elijah from The Trust. His girl gave us the worst recipe for cheese cake we had ever made. Terrible recipe but great people. We followed them when they moved to the train station in Framingham too. It was bigger, but usually colder. Then one day, the door was shut, and it was closed. We thought forever. But it finally reopened in Shrewsbury, Mass. It was great. It doesn't hurt that right down the street are vegan cupcakes either ...

7b. Love & Haight - San Francisco, CA USA

I love sandwiches. I hit this spot up on the Bane / Strike Anywhere Dead Note tour of 2006. We stopped in San Francisco to scoop up our friend Kris Hallee. I probably hadn't spent that much time with him in 8+ years when he lived on John St. It was awesome. And we met up with my friend Plante too. She's great. Toss in some excellent sandwiches, and I'm sold. Of course, the lady behind the counter thought I was stealing drinks. In reality, I had grabbed the wrong juice and switched them out. Pomegranate and cranberry look pretty similar, but I wasn't in the mood for pomegranate. Great eats, followed by a day of checking out shops and getting a sweet tattoo. Overall, top notch day.

7a. Real Food Daily - Santa Monica, CA USA

I also hit up this joint on the Bane / Strike Anywhere tour. I'm pretty sure I had been there before with the wife, but she can't recall us eating there. Likely, I'm confusing our trip with another trip I took with friends the summer before. It happens. More than she would like, I bet. Anyway, this visit was especially great. I love hanging with friends, hitting the road, and seeing excellent shows. Great food and camaraderie never hurts. As we emptied the van, we then quickly filled the upstairs seating loft. Mostly just Bane heads, but Hallee was there. Stevie Fallis too. Just good times and good eats.

6. Eat & Two Veg - London, England

The wife and I hit up London in March of 2006 for some a little bit of vacation. I've always been enamored by the city. So we flew on over. It didn't hurt that I had two cousins from Australia living there at the time. We did the usual tourist stuff during the day, and met up with my family in the evening. I didn't want to get too fancy on them so we found this "american styled diner" where I was sure they'd be able to find something they could enjoy (they are both probably the opposite of vegan). And enjoy they did. Everyone had fabulous food and drink. I even splurged and picked up the whole bill (when I got back to America and saw the exchange rate, I nearly needed someone to pick me up off the floor). The food was excellent. But the real best was our waiter. He was this crazy American, and he was positive we had something in common. Whether it was some Worcester connection or a college connection, I can't recall. But he was POSITIVE that he knew me somehow. He didn't, but that's cool. It definitely made the meal more entertaining, that's for sure.

5. A Naestu Grosum - Reykjavik, Iceland

During a Valentine's Day getaway in 2005, the wife and I stumbled across this great restaurant. I was worried that vegan options in Iceland would be slim. I was 100% wrong. There are probably more vegan options in Reykjavik than there are in all of Connecticut and Rhode Island. The staff, actually, just the one lady who was hostess, manager, waitress and likely chef, served up some of the tastiest, most "rib sticking" food I have ever ate. In fact, this is the only place on earth where I have ever had seconds of spelt bread.

4. Some lovely hole in the wall - Le Rue Pic, near La Sacre Coeur Paris, France

Back in 2003, I was just graduating from WPI. I had no money, and wasn't having any luck finding a job. But one day, the wife came across an offer we couldn't pass up. It was a 7 day trip for two to Paris, France. Round trip flight, hotel and breakfast for 6 nights all for $1000. That's for TWO people. $500 each. How does that even work? I have no idea. Paris must have been having one hell of a recession. So being the adventurous sort, we went. And we ended up staying at this awesome little hotel on Rue Lepic. We had a balcony, and I would sit out there in the morning and again at night just watching the people. It was one of the happiest times of my life. Up the hill from our hotel was this nice little vegetarian restaurant. I think it was run by a husband and wife. We went twice. Both times, we arrived before they even opened. The wife and I are obviously blue plate special types, eating at 5 or 530. They ushered us in, and we sat and waited. The food was excellent, and the open air seating was excellent. I breathed it all in. It was an excellent feeling.

3. Lily Pad - Worcester, Mass USA

A feather in Worcester's vegan cap. This place was the bomb. After years and years of being assaulted by Quan Yin and MSG, this place opened up and a ray of sunshine hit Worcester. It was amazing. It was fantastic. The service was probably worse than Quan Yin, but the food ... the food was without compare. Remember those teriyaki strips? Damn. Soo good. This was the place to go to eat in Worcester. Every time you were in there, you'd run into someone you knew. Often times, you'd run into someone you lived with who happened to be dining their with a new girl. This happened on more than one occasion. When it closed, we all wore black for weeks. Even the rumors of them moving to Northampton couldn't cheer us up. Of course, they were just rumors.

2. Red Bamboo - Manhattan, New York, New York USA

Seriously. Nothing really needs to be said that you haven't read before about the excellent food. Many a Saturday was spent driving from Worcester to NYC. We'd eat at Red Bamboo for lunch, walk around the Lower East Side shops then hit up VP2 for dinner. Or the other way around. Many lunches went down here prior to shows at CBGBs too. Pre Final Mosh eats, pre Cro-Mags eats, Pre Mental / Bold eats ... This is another joint where you'd run into a million people you knew. Brandie Bailey, Rest In Peace.

1. Quan Yin - Worcester, Mass USA

Without a doubt, my first vegan dining experience. And I use the term "dining" lightly but in the most loving fashion. The food was super cheap, like super, super cheap, and tasty. But the service was ungodly. Normally it was just Joann running the whole show so I suppose it was understandable. One time she dumped a whole STYROFOAM cup of tea on my lap. She gave us free black bean pudding that trip. We had a joke that it didn't matter what entree you ordered, as they were all the same. After a few visits, I stopped ordering entrees. I would stick with the 21 with tofu & rice, steamed bun and a couple order of the "new" nuggets. This was the place to go and get food from. I attended a high school graduation party that was catered by Quan Yin. Best. Party. Food. Ever. Another time, I ate at a table squeezed into the corner in a chair pulled from behind the refrigerator because every other table and chair was filled by a party of 11. It was some girl's 16th birthday and she had brought her whole family to Quan Yin. Even Gran was enjoying the vegan eats. After a few years, I couldn't even order that. The MSG would kill me. And the ambiance? Wow. Master Ching Hai. She knows what's up. Sadly, Joann folded up the shop this year. After who knows how many years of being open. Crazy to think I ate at that restaurant for 12 years. Why can't Buddha Hut have steamed buns??

My New BFF or Why Twitter Rules ...

2009-11-04T20:48:00.002-05:00

A few days back, I noticed a vegan acquaintance (I can't recall if I have met this person in real life, otherwise I would call him "friend." But I know we have talked over various online platforms over the years) was bumming around Las Vegas. He's vegan, I'm vegan.

He mentioned one day that he was going to Ronalds. In fact, here's the message. Key words, "dear ronald's, please have lots of vegan donuts ready for me tomorrow and sunday." Now that's what I'm talking about.

When I saw that, I jokingly responded, "uh, hey, where are my donuts from Ronalds?"

3 days later:

Homeboy shipped a few to me OVERNIGHT. They tasted amazing. It really was one of the best days ever. Also worth noting, these donuts were free. He just shipped them to me. No donut fees, no shipping fees, just one vegan hooking up another vegan. What about that?

Scott, if you read this, I owe you man. Big.

ps. The Tino got a new blankie.

It's All About Networking ...

2009-09-18T10:07:00.003-04:00

This week has been pretty strange as far as networking goes. I've met some interesting people at work, as well as outside of work and have made some interesting new contacts because of that. But somehow, this week feels very different from previous weeks. It's probably because ALL of these new connects (or near connects) were completely unexpected.

Here are a few stories in chronological order. Also in potential order or significance.

(if you follow teetilldeath.com, feel free to skip to #2)

My wife and I have been hitting up the Acton-Boxborough Farmer's Market every Sunday. It's a nice little Sunday morning trip. We get a bunch of excellent, fresh vegetables, and sometimes we bring the dogs. It's a very dog friendly zone, and our favorite farmer seems to LOVE our big dog. Overall, it's just good times.

This weekend while walking over to the market, we stopped at an intersection waiting for a car to turn left. As it pulled up, the man in the front seat rolled the passenger side window down. At this point, I was expecting to give out directions to some local establishment. Instead, the man said, "wow, I haven't seen a Bold shirt since 1988." And then drove off with his wife and baby in the back seat.

I was so shocked, that I could only squeak out "yeah, man" while he drove off. For the next couple of days, I was haunted by this "missed connection." Hopefully, this weekend, I'll run into them again and get to chat about the core.
I've been selling a bunch of LPs on ebay lately (keep your eyes peeled for EPs soon). I've been making many, many, MANY trips to the post office, and despite spreading it over 3-4 offices, I think they are all starting to give me dirty looks when they see me.

In the last round of LPs, I noticed one of the buyers was from the same city I work in. I emailed this fellow and said if he wanted to save $4 and time, that he could meet me for an in person hand off. He was game, and we planned to meet the next day outside my work.

He called a few minutes before showing up, and I ran down to the street with LPs in hand. He had only purchased one LP, but since we were meeting in person, I threw in an extra LP that didn't sell. He pulled up, and we began to chat. He was psyched to get the LP BACK into his collection. Turns out he owned all these LPs when they were first released and sold them years back. Now he is trying to build his collection back up. I asked what else he was looking for. Again, there was some overlap with what I had and what he wanted. I told him I was more interested in shirts and that's where the connection was made.

"Oh, I gave my wife most of my tees when I grew out of them. She may still have them in her closet. Maybe we can trade shirts for LPs."

Yeap, that's my favorite conversation. It also turns out that this guy has been going to Boston shows for years (his first show was Youth Of Today and 7 Seconds at The Rat) and had played in a lot of great local bands. I'll leave his name out of this, but I am positive you've heard at least one of his bands before.

After our great conversation, he walked away saying he would check his wife's closet for tees and get back to me. I consider that a great connect.

After talking to a few friends about this great experience, one of them asked if it was "____ ______." And yes, yes it was. Turns out he was good friends with this guy and his wife. It's a small world, don't you know?
A few months ago, I bought a shirt on ebay from a seller who had a couple of great gems up. In my paypal payment to him, I sent along a note that asked if he had any other shirts he was planning to sell. I didn't receive a response, but the shirt came shortly. Great shirt, and I was quite happy with the whole thing.

Fast forward to yesterday. Out of the blue, the seller emailed me saying money was tight, and he wanted to sell a few more tees. And that's all because I took a few extra seconds to fire off a note with my payment. I'm now talking to him and working on getting a couple AMAZING OG tees. We'll see how it goes.

There you have it. It's funny what 4 seconds of personal touch can add to any interaction. Going forward, life looks good. I'll let you know how it goes with shirts and trades as it goes down.

Vinyl On Ebay ...

2009-09-11T14:17:00.003-04:00

These and more!

Check it

Summer 2009 - The Summer of Bane ...

2009-09-09T10:20:00.005-04:00

Summer 2009 is one for the record books. It was just a real good summer. In also seemed like it was all about Bane. In fact, it felt more exciting than Summer 1999 (as far as Bane goes).

1999:

June 7 1999 @ The Space Worcester Mass: Bane, Ten Yard Fight, The Swarm, Adamantium, Embrace Today ("The sooner more people get naked, the sooner we play again." Zach)

June 10 1999 @ Mcternan's Studio in DC: Bane backups for Give Blood

August 27 1999 @ Merrimack College North Andover Mass: Bane, Garrison, Errortype:11, Mid Carson July, Little Dipper

2009:

June 20, 2009 @ Blenders NYC: Sick Of It All, Bane, Capital, Inhuman

June 25, 2009 @ Some Studio Wakefield (fixed), Mass: Bane backups for the two new EPs

August 09, 2009 @ The Palladium downstairs Worcester, Mass: 10 For 10 Tour: Bane, Terror, This Is Hell, Poison The Well, ...

August 13, 2009 @ ICC Allston Mass: Bane, The Suicide File, Alpha & Omega, Foundation, Harms's Way, Convicted

August 15, 2009 @ Some Venue in Long Island, NY: Bane, This Is Hell

August 16, 2009 @ Starlight Ballroom, Philly PA: This Is Hardcore Fest: Bane, Blacklisted, Ceremony, Wisdom in Chains, Trapped Under Ice, Reach The Sky ...

Let me start with some pictures. Here are a few from the Blenders gig.

I know. You're thinking, WTF? Well, I was selling merch for most of the evening (except during Bane). That's ok, though. Blenders has the merch downstairs, and they very smartly have flatscreens all over the place showing the gig upstairs. That's good and bad. Good for merch dudes, partially bad for bands because people can chill downstairs while still "attending" the show. Good gig. Met Mario.

Ok, now here are some shots from the Bane merch table at This Is Hardcore. Noticing a trend here?

Quality merch. The kids ate it up. I felt bad for the kid I sold the XS longsleeve to with the hole in the shoulder. But his girl definitely wanted it, even after they returned it and re-bought it. That's a quality fan.

Big Bob taking a breather and Justin checking for that color vinyl. Good dudes.

Obviously the best hair cut of the weekend. Great look.

Get ready for some blurry pics of Reach The Sky and Bane now. Squint and shake your head while viewing them. That could clear them up some.

Brothers from different mothers?

And then it was over, and the crowds left. Quiet times. Of course, Bane was the last band out. Bedard and Co had to say goodbye to every single band and person in the venue, it seemed.

Finally, a good blackmail pic. So goofy.

Yeah, summer of 2009 was a good one. Hit up the beach a few times, did some camping, saw plenty of great shows, and an awesome time. No complaints here. It made me feel like a kid again (even on those weekends when I had to go to work).

Lets hope winter 2009/2010 can compete with winter 99/00.

All About Biking

2009-08-20T13:27:00.004-04:00

Lately, I've been very UP on cycling. I've been trying to ride as much as possible. You can imagine that's difficult when you have

a) dogs that need walking
b) a mortgage that needs paying
c) a house that needs upkeep
d) a job that needs to be kept

Yes, all these things can add up, but I've been squeezing in miles whenever I get a chance. And not just that, but I've started to religiously follow various biking blogs. Everything from NYC Bike Snob to Fat Cyclist all the way over to prolly. Each of those guys has an extreme view coming from completely different angles of the sport & culture (especially in prolly's case).

At the end of the day, it's all motivation to go out and ride. And that's what I've been doing. I introduced my commuter ride a over 12 months ago, and here you can see it in action.

Day #1:

Getting the job done (or getting to the job):

Here's a sweet view from my office. Check the conference room in the back of the following pic.

(did you notice the poorly attached saddle bag? Whoops, it's been fixed since then)

There's something wrong with the heating system in that room so I frequently have to put up with loud, open door meetings. Usually it isn't so bad. Sometimes, however, there'll be that one ungodly loud telecon speaker. Oooofffff, diss.

That picture was actually taken one Saturday when I had to come in. Yeah, not cool, but at least it gave me the opportunity to ride. When it all boils down, that's what it is about. Getting out and riding. So coming from a bike that was found in my friend's basement, I think we've come a pretty long way. And look forward to going even further.

Now get out and ride.

This Is How We Do It ....

2009-07-14T21:52:00.001-04:00

One morning, everything had come together for me. I had leftover espresso headed from the freezer (before shots shown below), plus soy milk. AND Melissa had made up some vegan pancake batter. I'm not a pancake making pro, but I think I did a damn fine job. Threw some blueberries in them too!

Life doesn't get much better than that!

Google Analytics WOWs Me ...

2009-06-16T15:03:00.002-04:00

Riddle me this: Why is the search term "Chris Morgado" so popular this month that it made the top 10 search terms?

Anyone? Anyone? In the last year and a half, 83 visitors have googled this fellow, and come a knocking at HYE. Wild. Also, why is there a sudden spike in "Chris Morgado" traffic lately? What'd he do now?

Ewww .. What's That?

2009-06-11T12:48:00.003-04:00

Check this pic, looks pretty gross, right?

Well, you are wrong. This is perhaps my finest concept ever.

THE SOY MILK ICE CUBE!

I toss them into my iced lattes. Espresso + soy milk ice cubes + soy milk. That way, the espresso NEVER gets watered down.

GENIUS!

Good things come to those who wait ...

2009-05-23T18:29:00.002-04:00

Do you know Big Bob? If you don't, you are missing out on a genuinely awesome human being. This dude is tops in my book. The first time I met him, was after a Bane show in 1998. It was Summer, and the upstairs of the Palladium was hotter than hell. This was back when it still had the ridiculous stairs built into the front of the stage. So foolish. He had been up front all night long, and was used as a runway for many stage dives. FOR THE WHOLE GIG. Didn't matter, he moshed and sang along to every song. He was feeling it. He also needed a place to stay. He ended up at our house, and I loaned him my bed. He had a long day of driving the next day and needed his rest. We didn't oblige him. We stayed up all night playing poker and ended up running down the stairs at sunrise to play football. We did so much hooting and yelling in the hallway of our house that the girls downstairs came out and yelled at us. LOL, good times.

Like I said, best dude. At some point, some years ago, we set up some sort of trade. At this point, I can't even recall what it was for. That's how far back it stretches. It's the second longest trade I have going. The other one has been going since 1998. Yeah, 1998. 11 years.

But yesterday, I received a package. From Big Bob.

Like I said, dude is the best. Peace, dude.

Tickets to Ride (to Fenway Stadium) ...

2009-05-23T18:20:00.002-04:00

My wife gets some pretty cool perks. Last time, she got tickets to Fenway, we sat in the EMC Level. I get misty just thinking about how amazing those seats were. These seats were nothing to snob off. In face, they were the second best seats I've ever occupied. Check my blurry pics for yourself.

Yeah, we were close. WAY better than HDTV, that's for sure. Also, we were right behind the Jays on deck circle and happened to be sitting next to two drunk yellers. They probably threw out hundreds of terrible one liners. But every now and then, they hit a gem.

"Barajas, you suck. Varitek is a better catcher than you."

"Hey, Millar, cowboy up, you douchebag."

They had a few more gems that really escape me now. Out of hundreds of one liners, they probably had 5. Not worth it, really.

All in all, we had a great time. The Sox won too. Thanks Auntie Ann!

Making Gator Bait and Mental Proud ...

2009-04-16T11:26:00.002-04:00

The other day Justin Thunderlizard hooked me up with a Gator Bait shirt. He couldn't sell it because it had a small dryer burn on the shoulder. It was pretty apparent on that bright white shirt. I thought the shirt was cool and wanted to sport it. I too was having a hard time looking past that burn. So I went ahead with a little craft project. Turns out I also had a dope Mental tee that went through the wash with a pen. The pen exploded. Sadness ensued. So check the pics. This was maybe 2 hours of work. And most of that work was waiting.

Pretty sweet, right? I was very pleased with the Gator Bait tee. The Mental tee was lime green initially so the difference isn't super apparent. Also, I think that GIANT X on the Gator Bait tee flecked and washed off onto the both tees. An interesting side effect.

Good luck finding either of these on eBay. If I can make them, so can you.

Justin Thunder Lizard is NOT a rip off ...

2009-03-28T09:28:00.002-04:00

Justin Thunder Lizard posted some pics of a few new shirts they had in stock. I ordered two shirts from Thunder-Lizard and received so much more. Great dude.

He threw in a bunch of extras because he knows I love shirts. He even threw in the Mindset "acetate" (is that what it is? I'm never sure) for the pocket print of their tshirt. Very cool.

Support Thunder Lizard. This crew is doing it right.

Since You've Been Gone ...

2009-03-14T09:12:00.004-04:00

Actually, it's more accurate to say "since I've been gone." I'm sure you all missed me. I was off in Albuquerque for the week. Here's my week in pictures.

Leaving Providence. Lovely weather, of course.

Sadly, I did not stay at this hotel. Yes, I said HOTEL. I stayed next door. This is sticking out the side of the Radisson Hotel and Waterpark. Yes, Hotel AND Waterpark. Wild.

ABQ has a dry, non salty climate so all those old cars stick around. I saw many amazing classics ...

And then some cars that just BLEW my mind.

I had the opportunity to eat at some awesome restaurants this go around. I arrived a little early on my first day and got to walk all over the Central St area. Annapurna's World Vegetarian Cafe was my obvious highlight. I was hoping to hit up 20 Carrots for a PB + Banana shake, but they were closed. Here's my meal from Annapurna's.

While enjoying my meal, I kept amused by reading I Drink Milk Fanzine #3. These kids do it right. Review coming soon. Peep that pic with Casali. All the way from Wilkes-Barre to Hungary and back.

ABQ has a lot of houses that all look the same. This one isn't one of them. It's located on Monte Vista, and I believe I caught it featured in a segment on the Travel Channel. Needless to say, it was a little over the top.

My last full day in ABQ was Friday the 13th. I'm not a superstitious fellow so I wasn't worried at all. However, my morning free buffet was ruined by a leaky cranberry juice cup. I filled my drink and walked away from the cart without realizing the cup was severely cracked. Here's the terrible, terrible outcome.

One last shot. I've never seen this before. And despite hating Dr. Pepper, I would have gladly used my free Guns N Roses coupon on this beverage. Anyone ever had one?

So that was my trip. Other highlights not pictured: gelatin free skittle, many iced lattes, Rudy's BBQ (I heard someone accurately describe it as "vegetarian hell." Very accurate. My co-worker at "brisquet, ribs, sausage AND chicken." It was either 1 full pound of meat, or 1lb 4oz. I can't recall if he got a quarter pound of chicken or half a pound. Either way, it was a ridiculous amount of food. Ridiculous), long days spent in windowless warehouse sized rooms, longer evenings and other fun stuff.

This will probably be my last trip to ABQ. See ya, dudes. I'll miss your ayurvedic meals.

Support the Bands + Trade Item ...

2009-03-05T21:42:00.002-05:00

I hit up Anchor's Up last week to see The Effort, Alert, Mindset (and Give). Good show. Supported some bands!

I also traded a Bane test press to a friend in London for these bad boys.

There is obviously WAY more to the story, but I'll let you figure that out.

My next pick up should probably be a photography class or a class where they teach you how to NOT take a blurry picture. That'd be nice.

Sorry, I Was Busy. I Was In Hell.

2009-02-22T18:20:00.002-05:00

No seriously.

Expect more updates soon. Peace.

Some Merch Up on Ebay ...

2009-01-28T21:05:00.004-05:00

I have a few items up on Ebay. You should buy them.

Check the listing here.

I Love Burritos ...

2009-01-09T21:01:00.002-05:00

Some people like to get dressed up and go to fancy dinners. Or order expensive wines and fancy cheeses. Others like big slabs of steaks or sandwiches with au jus. Me? I'd rather eat a burrito. I'm no burrito snob either. I'll eat one from a hole in the wall, moe's, chipotle, ... As long as it's vegan, I'm eating it. I prefer the kind you can lift. Not really big on burritos with mole sauce, but I'll still eat 'em.

This was my dinner tonight. It was friggin amazing. Paired with a coke zero, some broiled cauliflower and a spicy cabbage salad. So friggin good. You're into it, admit it!

Holiday 2008 = Good Times!

2009-01-04T21:16:00.002-05:00

Holiday 2008 is now officially over. After almost 4 weeks of not being at the office (one week in Cambridge, one week in Albuquerque and two weeks of vacation). Tomorrow, I go back to work. I'm not afraid!

The tree came down today, but check out how nicely it was decorated! (Ignore the nerd books in the background. Shout outs to Big Bob)

I received that amazing tree ornament from my aunt during a $5 limit yankee swap. Very nice!

Shout outs to Larry Ransom for the inspiration. Some of these cards are over 2 years old. I even busted out the iTunes gift card today. Oh sudoku, here I come.

There you have it. 2008 was chill. Now for 2009. And the wife is already planning the next vacation. It should involve sun and fun. I'm down.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:10:00.002-05:00

2008 was an excellent year. It brought a lot of good times to my house and my life. Let me run down a few highlights for you.

The Bar Harbor Vacation
The stairwell getting painted
Jaw Surgery aka finally getting rid of the braces and over bite
Lots of Bane shows
True Colors
My older brother getting married
Madlib & J-Rocc
First time visiting New Mexico and Albuquerque
...
Plenty of good times.

After a long night of saying goodbye to 2008 (obviously, the little guy partied too hard.), it's time to welcome 2009.

2009 has the potential of being the biggest year in my life (so far). I'll turn 30, share a 5th wedding anniversary with my lovely wife, be a home owner for 3 years, ... The list goes on and on. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to 2009. Honestly, it's going to be good.

So stick around, it's only going to get better from here on out.

It's been a long time ...

2008-12-23T19:07:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time, hasn't it? Sorry, my bad. I was off in Albuquerque for a while and have been hella busy with work. And then when I'm not working, I basically just needed time to sit back and relax. Now I have a few days off and have been busy watching the worst movies known to man. Truth. Terrible, terrible movies. Movies that make people cringe when you say the title.

Just yesterday, I watched a movie called Death Race. Yes, the 2008 thriller with Jason Statham. Part "Fast And Furious," part "Waterworld," part "Days Of Thunder." Ok, well maybe not that last part. Yeah, so a real winner. Plus this happened to be the unrated version so the scene where 14K buys it was definitely extra gruesome. Overall, a pretty terrible movie. Plus, the week before, I happened to catch National Treasure 2 and something probably equally as terrible.

But today, today I topped all of them with the worst possible movie ever. It is called In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale and also starred Jason Statham. You can probably see a theme here; I catch most movies with this guy, even if they are notoriously terrible (Transporter 1 was probably the least offensive to the soul as far as action movies go. The Lock Stock and brit movies remain untarnished, cinema gold stuff). This movie down right stunk. I wouldn't be surprised if it was direct to DVD.

Strangely enough, the trailer doesn't look too terrible. Then you realize they just cut scenes from the Lord Of The Rings and replaced hobbits with bald brits. I won't even try to explain the plot; it's just not worth it. Plus, the acting. Ooofffff, so frigging bad. I can only assume the script was written during the writers strike. The word putrid comes to mind. Feel free to LOL at these comments left on IMDB.

Ok, now it's time to get back to my terrible movie marathon. What'll it be? Tokyo Drift or something equally as terrible.

Some Shirts For Trades ...

2008-11-30T16:55:00.005-05:00

I have some shirts for trades. Get into it people. Probably 12 shirts, so make sure to click the "more" link.

Check my trade list.

Click here for more details ...

I have some shirts for trades. Get into it people.

Guns Up Outlive Longsleeve, size L

Negative FX boot, Joe Boxer Tee, size L

Mouthpiece Hood, Murina tag, size XL

Betrayed tee, size M

Betrayed Tee, size M

How's Your Edge? West Coast 06, size Girls L

LA Lemon / Like It Or Not, LIMITED size M

Snapcase Hungry Charlie's Tee, 97! Delta XL

Bold long sleeve with REV STAR on back, RARE, Anvil XL (fits like L)

Bold hood with Matt on back, Tultex (OLD) L

Bold with Matt on back, black shirt, white ink, RARE & OLD, Signal XL

Cold World record release tee, M

Bane Holding This Moment, Pretty Rare, no tag but measures as L

There you have it. Hit me up with trades. Check my trade list. I want shirts.

Ain't That the Truth?!

2008-11-29T11:24:00.002-05:00

Here's a quick one!

So true, so true ...