Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
How I spent my Summer Vacation...
Well, my weekend, anyway.
I must say I haven't looked forward to a weekend arrival as much as I did this past one. Not because I had awesome plans or anything (but I did), not that there weren't awesome weekends already this summer (there were), but I was just so tired and stressed from a project from work. I was just looking forward to sleeping in and not worrying about deadlines.
In no particular order...
Saturday:
The big event of the weekend was my friend Phil's wedding. Julia got a new dress and looked really good (lets see if she reads this...). It was a really nice ceremony, even though it was hot, and I was wearing a suit, and it was outside... But Phil and his Bride Ellen looked great and we had a really nice time at the reception. It was great to see old friends and catch up, and it was especially nice to sit down for dinner with Greg Pollard and his wife Becky. Its great to see Greg jazzed up on life; his 1 year old son, a new band, still Straight Edge and all that.
After dinner we hung out with old friends Alex Russin, Matt Hoodrack, Brian Cons and Lauren. I haven't seen Lauren since I lived in Manchester, as she used to live in MA. That was the random highlight of the night. It was nice to meet Matts GF Erica. She seems pretty cool. Matt also currently has a beard and was wearing Wallabees. It wasn't like a swamps of northern Florida beard, more like a well kempt short beard that you would expect someone who wears Wallabees to have. At least they weren't yellow (or this colorway). Ha.
Oh yeah, Brian Cons got a girls number and we watched the whole thing go down.
Double Oh yeah, I don't think the bartenders at that country club had ever made as many Shirley Temples as they did that night. We got made fun of for it.
Straight Edge drinks > Non-Straight Edge drinks. (In my eyes)
Friday was awesome. The Red Sox were in for a double header (they already had a 4 gamer against the White Sox (away) because Thursday was rained out. The Sox ended up ripping the, um, other Sox to shreds both games on Friday. This would set the precedent for the weekend (both Red Sox and otherwise).
The games looked like this
Game 1 - Red Sox 11 White Sox 3 (Beckett for the Win, Varitek- 1 HR)
Game 2 - Red Sox 10 White Sox 1 (Schilling for the Win, Papi - 2 HR, Youk - 1 HR)
Game 3 - Red Sox 14 White Sox 2 (Wakefield for the Win)
Game 4 - Red Sox 11 White Sox 1 (Tavarez for the Win, Drew, Papi, Kielty - 1 HR each)
:Totals: - Red Sox 46 White Sox 7
Yikes. Even Gagne couldn't ruin the run this weekend.
End results: 7.5 games ahead, 7-3 for the last 10 games. Things are starting to get back to normal. Newcomer Bobby Kielty was a big surprise with a few RBI's and a homer. Kinda softens the blow of the Pena trade. Manny had Sunday off, so coupled with Monday, he should be well rested and ready to take on the Crankees for Tues.
Continuation of Friday night... This was something of a sweet disaster. Knowing that I was about to see a band who were just about as good as The Clash play their final show in a disgusting basement to 3 interested people and 6 dirty punx was a bittersweet thing. This band was The Ratchets. On one hand, it was pretty cool to have a private show for me, Nick and Julie. On the other hand, it was just such a bummer that people weren't into this band. It was also a bummer that they were playing their hearts out in a filthy West Philadelphia punk squat basement instead of the filthy Hammersmith Palais. (Ok, I would settle for the First Unitarian too)
The band was incredible and I had fun hanging out (in a punk squat) with Nick and Julie.
Sunday was spent sleeping in, eating pancakes and going to the movies. I saw The Ten (awesome... full review coming this week) at The Ritz with Nick, Julia and Kara Bort. I ate popcorn and then we met up with Rita and went out to the Franklin Fountains for some ice cream.
Totally sweet weekend.
Less Dashboard, More Ringworm.
I must say I haven't looked forward to a weekend arrival as much as I did this past one. Not because I had awesome plans or anything (but I did), not that there weren't awesome weekends already this summer (there were), but I was just so tired and stressed from a project from work. I was just looking forward to sleeping in and not worrying about deadlines.
In no particular order...
Saturday:
The big event of the weekend was my friend Phil's wedding. Julia got a new dress and looked really good (lets see if she reads this...). It was a really nice ceremony, even though it was hot, and I was wearing a suit, and it was outside... But Phil and his Bride Ellen looked great and we had a really nice time at the reception. It was great to see old friends and catch up, and it was especially nice to sit down for dinner with Greg Pollard and his wife Becky. Its great to see Greg jazzed up on life; his 1 year old son, a new band, still Straight Edge and all that.
After dinner we hung out with old friends Alex Russin, Matt Hoodrack, Brian Cons and Lauren. I haven't seen Lauren since I lived in Manchester, as she used to live in MA. That was the random highlight of the night. It was nice to meet Matts GF Erica. She seems pretty cool. Matt also currently has a beard and was wearing Wallabees. It wasn't like a swamps of northern Florida beard, more like a well kempt short beard that you would expect someone who wears Wallabees to have. At least they weren't yellow (or this colorway). Ha.
Oh yeah, Brian Cons got a girls number and we watched the whole thing go down.
Double Oh yeah, I don't think the bartenders at that country club had ever made as many Shirley Temples as they did that night. We got made fun of for it.
Straight Edge drinks > Non-Straight Edge drinks. (In my eyes)
Friday was awesome. The Red Sox were in for a double header (they already had a 4 gamer against the White Sox (away) because Thursday was rained out. The Sox ended up ripping the, um, other Sox to shreds both games on Friday. This would set the precedent for the weekend (both Red Sox and otherwise).
The games looked like this
Game 1 - Red Sox 11 White Sox 3 (Beckett for the Win, Varitek- 1 HR)
Game 2 - Red Sox 10 White Sox 1 (Schilling for the Win, Papi - 2 HR, Youk - 1 HR)
Game 3 - Red Sox 14 White Sox 2 (Wakefield for the Win)
Game 4 - Red Sox 11 White Sox 1 (Tavarez for the Win, Drew, Papi, Kielty - 1 HR each)
:Totals: - Red Sox 46 White Sox 7
Yikes. Even Gagne couldn't ruin the run this weekend.
End results: 7.5 games ahead, 7-3 for the last 10 games. Things are starting to get back to normal. Newcomer Bobby Kielty was a big surprise with a few RBI's and a homer. Kinda softens the blow of the Pena trade. Manny had Sunday off, so coupled with Monday, he should be well rested and ready to take on the Crankees for Tues.
Continuation of Friday night... This was something of a sweet disaster. Knowing that I was about to see a band who were just about as good as The Clash play their final show in a disgusting basement to 3 interested people and 6 dirty punx was a bittersweet thing. This band was The Ratchets. On one hand, it was pretty cool to have a private show for me, Nick and Julie. On the other hand, it was just such a bummer that people weren't into this band. It was also a bummer that they were playing their hearts out in a filthy West Philadelphia punk squat basement instead of the filthy Hammersmith Palais. (Ok, I would settle for the First Unitarian too)
The band was incredible and I had fun hanging out (in a punk squat) with Nick and Julie.
Sunday was spent sleeping in, eating pancakes and going to the movies. I saw The Ten (awesome... full review coming this week) at The Ritz with Nick, Julia and Kara Bort. I ate popcorn and then we met up with Rita and went out to the Franklin Fountains for some ice cream.
Totally sweet weekend.
Less Dashboard, More Ringworm.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Quick update - Prep&Pauper featured in Daily Candy!
Extra! Extra! Prep & Pauper Front page news! (This is my friend Nicks tie company, get into it)
Check out todays Daily Candy for an article about P&P. And get used to hearing the name...
PS. I wore one this weekend to a wedding and got a few compliments on it. Boosh Nick. Boosh.
Check out todays Daily Candy for an article about P&P. And get used to hearing the name...
PS. I wore one this weekend to a wedding and got a few compliments on it. Boosh Nick. Boosh.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Stressful week coming to an end?
My week so far: (the bad)
- It has rained everyday so far
- Forgot I owned a rain coat until yesterday
- Tore a hole in a very expensive bicycle tire (and had to walk home in the rain w/no gear)
- Red Sox ended against the Angels with an L (2-2 for the series)
- I forgot my lunch in the refrigerator on Monday morning
- A big project that I've been doing at work was returned to me
- Red Sox lost last night (and the Yankees won) so we're still only 5 games ahead
- Eric Gange (you fucking suck, so much for fortifying the bullpen. Paps is all we need anyway)
- Missing out on BBQ/Tubing on the Delaware this weekend
- Not in Bethel NB Canada right now
My week (so far and beyond): (the good)
- The Ratchets are playing Phila on Friday
- Phil Leone's wedding on Saturday in Princeton
- Spending the early part of Saturday in Princeton
- Red Sox vs White Sox on TV Saturday
- Had a few good laughs with Jules this week
- Watched "This Is England"
- Whale bones (!)
- Went out for Ice Cream last night
- Saw a random girl wearing a Pagan Babies shirt at said ice cream parlor
- Cold water in my kitchen is fixed! (you don't know how much you take cold water for granted)
Light at the end of the stress tunnel? I hope so.
- It has rained everyday so far
- Forgot I owned a rain coat until yesterday
- Tore a hole in a very expensive bicycle tire (and had to walk home in the rain w/no gear)
- Red Sox ended against the Angels with an L (2-2 for the series)
- I forgot my lunch in the refrigerator on Monday morning
- A big project that I've been doing at work was returned to me
- Red Sox lost last night (and the Yankees won) so we're still only 5 games ahead
- Eric Gange (you fucking suck, so much for fortifying the bullpen. Paps is all we need anyway)
- Missing out on BBQ/Tubing on the Delaware this weekend
- Not in Bethel NB Canada right now
My week (so far and beyond): (the good)
- The Ratchets are playing Phila on Friday
- Phil Leone's wedding on Saturday in Princeton
- Spending the early part of Saturday in Princeton
- Red Sox vs White Sox on TV Saturday
- Had a few good laughs with Jules this week
- Watched "This Is England"
- Whale bones (!)
- Went out for Ice Cream last night
- Saw a random girl wearing a Pagan Babies shirt at said ice cream parlor
- Cold water in my kitchen is fixed! (you don't know how much you take cold water for granted)
Light at the end of the stress tunnel? I hope so.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Inspired by (3) people
Well, well, well, Blogspot. I never ever thought I would open one of these, but alas, here it is. Not that I'm anti-blog, I actually like reading some peoples stuff, I just never really found the need to have one of my own. Maybe I don't think anything that I do is blog-worthy? Maybe its my inability to follow through with stuff thats not really all that important? Maybe I'm embarrassed that I'm apathetic towards things that I shouldn't be apathetic towards? Or, maybe I'm just lazy? I dunno. We'll put this thing in water and see if it floats.
Um, so after a long weekend of awesomeness in Philadelphia, I came into work to a full in-box of (mostly) crap. Viagra and Cialis at amazing discounts (Google spell check recognizes Viagra but not Cialis? Someone's either a believer or getting paid off). Weight loss miracle pills! Online casino bonuses! A video from Alex of Mr. Belding singing some crappy 80's song. I also had a few people interested in record trades/sales (which I ignore until I need money for something)...
But finally! The light in the darkness! An email from old friend Jeff "The Doctor" Proctor (1)! I go way back with this dude. He is one of Litchs' greats. I grew up skating with this dude, causing trouble with this dude (can you say in school suspension for vandalism, lol) and just hanging the fugg out with this dude. So anyway, he lives out west now and designs stuff for some cool companies and it was nice to have an update from the ol' boy. His sister just got married so he was back in the Litch for a bit. Bummed out that I missed him, but theres always next time.
So, my weekend ruled. Philadelphia is a great place to live if you like seeing bands play live. I've been looking forward to this weekend for the past 4 months (there have been a ton of awesome shows in between that time, but I've had these tickets for a while).
Friday was set to be a great night. The Bouncing Souls playing Philadelphia, their old home away from home, and the recently reunited kings of Hardcore Pop, Lifetime, were playing with them. I was going with my best friends in the whole world and we were pumped. The only bummer about this show was that my boy Matt K(2) couldn't come along with us. He had to be responsible very early Saturday morning that that just didn't fit in with a late night of Hardcore Punk and hanging out.
My friend Matt K(2) is an awesome dude with a great heart. He grew up as a punk, and as every other punk out there knows, we HATE long hairs. (JK, love ya Roger.) It just comes with the territory I guess. But the thing is, last time I saw Matt, his hair was down to about his shoulders. I kinda scratched my head a bit and then asked him about it. He said he was growing his hair out for Locks Of Love, the non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.
I wanted to throw up (in a good way). It gave me the stomach snakes (everyone else calls this feeling "butterflies") to know that this dude was willing to wake up earlier than normal everyday, spend $ on hair products, and live life with long hair just to help some poor little kid who he will never meet feel a little better about themselves. That is the most unselfish thing I've ever heard of. Not to mention some (read: uptight, conservative) people will always prejudge a dude with long hair. Not that he is one to care what others think of him, but you know what I'm saying.
Cheers to you Matt.
Saturday and Sunday were spent at This Is Hardcore Fest 2007. TIH is a great show, now in its 2nd year, put on by Philadelphia's own Joe Hardcore (3). This is a 4 day festival that showcases some of the best and newest bands playing Hardcore Punk today. I have to say I was really pleased with the whole thing. Joe runs a tight ship so there was no half hour+ band set up times, no lolly gagging, nothing like that. The time slots were set and that was that. Other people booking shows and/or fests could learn a lot from how Joe runs his.
People travel from all around the globe to bask in the glory of TIH. Hardcore music has given me the ability to travel the country and meet hundreds of people and make some awesome lasting friendships. A fest like this is where the long distance friendships all come together. So glad I got to see Big Joe from Chicago, Red Sox Jess, DFJ, Scace, Aaron from CA, now MA and soon to by NYC, Jeff Dot, JD, B-Roll, Bryan, Joe Harder, Chucky Edge, Mike, Scooter, Alex and Kristian from LI, Lord Dom (bearing funny stories about Fred from MTL), Black Ryan, Sean Bombs, Michelle WB, and countless other friends from Maine, Mass, Conn, etc. and of course my local peeps Phil L, Alex Russin, Dan Mills, Klint, Georgie, Mark, Vin, Brooke and Tussy. (sorry if I missed anyone, my lunch break is short today)
I heard some great new bands and got to see some bands that I love to death. Paint It Black, Shipwreck, RJ's, Cold World, Blacklisted and Crime In Stereo were my favs going into the show, but I left with a new found love for Ceremony, Ambitions, Cheap Tragedies, Said Radio (who I knew would be great). Also, my favorite HC band from my youth, MOUTHPIECE, did a small set during Triple Threats set on Saturday. I came out of mosh retirement for that one. (ok, I still mosh, just not as much)
So, to review, I was inspired by the following to start a blog and talk about stuff:
1) Jeff Proctor - For being my friend for all these years
2) Matt K - For being a solid dude
3) Joe Hardcore - For being the backbone of the Phila Hardcore Punk scene
If you hate it, take it out on them. Come back for another entry in a few days (week?). If its not there, wait longer.
Ricky
Um, so after a long weekend of awesomeness in Philadelphia, I came into work to a full in-box of (mostly) crap. Viagra and Cialis at amazing discounts (Google spell check recognizes Viagra but not Cialis? Someone's either a believer or getting paid off). Weight loss miracle pills! Online casino bonuses! A video from Alex of Mr. Belding singing some crappy 80's song. I also had a few people interested in record trades/sales (which I ignore until I need money for something)...
But finally! The light in the darkness! An email from old friend Jeff "The Doctor" Proctor (1)! I go way back with this dude. He is one of Litchs' greats. I grew up skating with this dude, causing trouble with this dude (can you say in school suspension for vandalism, lol) and just hanging the fugg out with this dude. So anyway, he lives out west now and designs stuff for some cool companies and it was nice to have an update from the ol' boy. His sister just got married so he was back in the Litch for a bit. Bummed out that I missed him, but theres always next time.
So, my weekend ruled. Philadelphia is a great place to live if you like seeing bands play live. I've been looking forward to this weekend for the past 4 months (there have been a ton of awesome shows in between that time, but I've had these tickets for a while).
Friday was set to be a great night. The Bouncing Souls playing Philadelphia, their old home away from home, and the recently reunited kings of Hardcore Pop, Lifetime, were playing with them. I was going with my best friends in the whole world and we were pumped. The only bummer about this show was that my boy Matt K(2) couldn't come along with us. He had to be responsible very early Saturday morning that that just didn't fit in with a late night of Hardcore Punk and hanging out.
My friend Matt K(2) is an awesome dude with a great heart. He grew up as a punk, and as every other punk out there knows, we HATE long hairs. (JK, love ya Roger.) It just comes with the territory I guess. But the thing is, last time I saw Matt, his hair was down to about his shoulders. I kinda scratched my head a bit and then asked him about it. He said he was growing his hair out for Locks Of Love, the non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.
I wanted to throw up (in a good way). It gave me the stomach snakes (everyone else calls this feeling "butterflies") to know that this dude was willing to wake up earlier than normal everyday, spend $ on hair products, and live life with long hair just to help some poor little kid who he will never meet feel a little better about themselves. That is the most unselfish thing I've ever heard of. Not to mention some (read: uptight, conservative) people will always prejudge a dude with long hair. Not that he is one to care what others think of him, but you know what I'm saying.
Cheers to you Matt.
Saturday and Sunday were spent at This Is Hardcore Fest 2007. TIH is a great show, now in its 2nd year, put on by Philadelphia's own Joe Hardcore (3). This is a 4 day festival that showcases some of the best and newest bands playing Hardcore Punk today. I have to say I was really pleased with the whole thing. Joe runs a tight ship so there was no half hour+ band set up times, no lolly gagging, nothing like that. The time slots were set and that was that. Other people booking shows and/or fests could learn a lot from how Joe runs his.
People travel from all around the globe to bask in the glory of TIH. Hardcore music has given me the ability to travel the country and meet hundreds of people and make some awesome lasting friendships. A fest like this is where the long distance friendships all come together. So glad I got to see Big Joe from Chicago, Red Sox Jess, DFJ, Scace, Aaron from CA, now MA and soon to by NYC, Jeff Dot, JD, B-Roll, Bryan, Joe Harder, Chucky Edge, Mike, Scooter, Alex and Kristian from LI, Lord Dom (bearing funny stories about Fred from MTL), Black Ryan, Sean Bombs, Michelle WB, and countless other friends from Maine, Mass, Conn, etc. and of course my local peeps Phil L, Alex Russin, Dan Mills, Klint, Georgie, Mark, Vin, Brooke and Tussy. (sorry if I missed anyone, my lunch break is short today)
I heard some great new bands and got to see some bands that I love to death. Paint It Black, Shipwreck, RJ's, Cold World, Blacklisted and Crime In Stereo were my favs going into the show, but I left with a new found love for Ceremony, Ambitions, Cheap Tragedies, Said Radio (who I knew would be great). Also, my favorite HC band from my youth, MOUTHPIECE, did a small set during Triple Threats set on Saturday. I came out of mosh retirement for that one. (ok, I still mosh, just not as much)
So, to review, I was inspired by the following to start a blog and talk about stuff:
1) Jeff Proctor - For being my friend for all these years
2) Matt K - For being a solid dude
3) Joe Hardcore - For being the backbone of the Phila Hardcore Punk scene
If you hate it, take it out on them. Come back for another entry in a few days (week?). If its not there, wait longer.
Ricky
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