Willo O'Brien

I was looking for this Hunter S. Thompson quote some time back and finally found it again (turns out I must have seen it first as the signature on my friend’s email. So he just sent me an email & I was like – hey! there it is! :)

“The USA is going to pieces rapidly. This once proud nation of hoodlums and whores and the American Way has finally run amok and is effectively Out of control, and will not recover. The infrastructure is too far gone. The looting, cheating, stealing and failure have stripped this country of its assets, its pride, its success and its security. The National Treasury is empty, the Stock Market will never recover, our troops in Iraq will never come home. You will not find a job, ever again. Your children will drink dirty water for the rest of their lives. You will lose your home and all your personal savings. You will never be able to retire or even stop working, and you will be a serf, a terminally indentured servant to one of the vast anonymous and eternally war-like global corporations that will rule the world for their own reasons and profit.”

– Hunter S. Thompson, 2004

This quote sums up the fears I have about bringing children into this world… I mean, I know it’s the extreme Hunter S. Thompson talking, but I think he’s onto something here.

We’ll see!

Ok, I’ll apologize in advance that this will be short. I have to try to get a few more hours of work in today before heading out for some of the most mouth watering, fresh and delicious sushi in the city!!

OK – so yesterday I: worked all day, ran some errands, went & worked out w/ Rebecca, quickly came back here to get ready, met up with Rick, Rebecca and her friends Moses & Ethan for some yummy Thai food, and then hit the Trans Am show at GAMH.

The openers (we missed Movies) Les Georges Leningrad were horrible train wrecks of a band. They sorta had some cool beats, and the freak show of it was mildly entertaining (lead singer chick with white face, wig & old hat and scars painted on her arms & face – and drummer dude with bat mask, some sort of batman outfit of sorts and blood and scars and stuff all over him), but the lead vox chic’s voice is RETCHID and we were all just wincing every minute in a countdown till they got OFF the stage.

Thankfully they did, and shortly after that we got to see Trans Am. They don’t have a lot of vocals, which honestly I knew I was going to miss a little, but it wasn’t that bad! They’re great musicians, and the bass player (uh, also does keyboards and vocals and even switched over to bass!) has an extremely entertaining face to watch – and they really sounded great. It can seem gratuitously jammy to the laymen, but this is their deal & they’ve been doing it for years. It’s just fascinating to watch rock that doesn’t have a lead singer as most bands do. I actually often thought the awesome guitar sounds were vocals, which is a cool effect (and or wishful thinking on my part). They do break out the vocals here & there – either of the 3 guys adding to a song here & there. Which is cool. I love bands who mix it up & everyone does a little bit of everything.

The coolest thing was watching the kick ass drummer. I had seen this photo, and fire or not, I was really looking forward to seeing the drummer after reading Jake’s review. He totally ripped it UP on the drums. Plus he wasn’t wearing any pants. (oh alright, he took off his pants, but was still wearing small shorts). BeeDub was at the show & he said I knew I’d love the drummer, and then added that he also thought I might like him cuz he’s such a “beefcake”. hahhaa Who says that? :p But yes, the man was very ripped. I actually really liked his streak of blond hair, too. Anyway – he f*in rocked the drums… and there was one beat sequence he was doing that I would love to emulate someday (aah, the eventual someday). And I wish I’d pointed the song out to BeeDub so he coulda told me what track it was and found it later to practice. Oh well. Anyway – the drummer ruled!

Oh & they also did this awesome mic effect that made the singer’s voice all robotic. That’s the answer to my voice problems! I don’t have to be worried about having a great voice – I can just sing like a robot!! AWESOME! I’ll even through in a little Goldchain’s / Nina Oppenheim inspired Robot Dance :D aww yaaa

After the show Moses, Rick & I headed over to The Hemlock for a few more drinks. (By this time I had quite a few and was having a great time!) We all chatted over a few more beers and even got to see the Trans Am dudes stroll in around 1:30am! I high fived the drummer and he talked to us for about 2 minutes about how lame it is that our bars close at 2am. No kidding! :p Then on the way out I gave props to the bass player. I’ll bet BeeDub wishes he woulda stayed to chat it up with them!

Anyway – such a great night!

:::

This morning was relaxing and now I’m home working. As always too much to do in very little time. Tonite we’re takin it easy – probably sushi & a movie. woohoo!

(hahaa, it turns out it wasn’t short! jeeshk – now I really have to work!)

Special K Red Berries cereal is *really* good. The strawberries really do taste like real strawberries! It’s delicious! I recommend slicing up a banana on top and eating while watching morning cartoons with someone you love.

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I think my feet would get too hot in Uggs, and they’re really not my style – but I kinda think the pink ones are cool.

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Sprouts are a fantastic addition to any sandwich. (namely, mine) Oh, and I switched it up & bought some Monterey Jack. A nice change from the cheddar, but honestly cheddar just RULES.

I love fonts! I got a whole bunch the other day & went to town activating them in Suitcase. I have used Suitcase before, but I really should read through a manual – or atleast I’d love chatting with someone who knows how to use it really effectively.

I ended up activating a number of fonts before going into the preferences and turning OFF the “override system fonts” option. And now every once and awhile I get this error message:

But I don’t know what to do about it – Do you?

UPDATE: My friend tipped my off that it was probably a duplicates issue and my computer didn’t know which one to use… so I went into Suitcase & under Tools / Manage Duplicates I was able to clear up the Helvetica’s I didn’t want the system to be seeing & so hopefully now it’s all fixed.

This week’s been insane! oy! Lots of work, but it’s feelin good and I’m hittin all my deadlines (for the most part). I take on too much! But oh well.. it’s a positive problem and I love being busy!

SO today is Friday and that’s good because then tomorrow is Saturday. Saturday is my favorite day of the week. Even if I have to work, it just has such a nice ring to it.

Are you guys getting slammed w/ these undeliverable emails as much as I am? Is there any way to stop it? I mean, not just me getting the emails, but to have the spammers stop using my domain? It’s always some stupid email like rslkdf@willotoons.com that they’ve sent it from. Check it out this is what I woke up to in my inbox this morning – All in a row!!

Sucks eh?

Also can the lady with the horrible voice stop practicing her singing so close to her window? (I hope they don’t say that about me if I start taking singing lessons some day) but this lady is really not that good. Time to turn my music on…

Happy Friday everybody!

Soundtrack while my Mom was here:

AIR, Talkie Walkie (which she loved)

Mr. Airplane Man, C’mon DJ

The Beta Band (which she also liked)

The Casual Dots

Sondre Lerche (which I only put in thinking she’d like and she didn’t)

Sleater-Kinney (preparing for the show, but it didn’t stay in long cuz it was a little too hard for her, I think)

The Evening

Franz Ferdinand

Ambulance, Ltd.

Right now I’m loving all of the above named bands and a few more:

Rilo Kiley

Brassy

Replicator (that Conan just gave me, it’s good!)

Metric (still! I can’t stop singing “Old World Underground, Where are you now?” Probably because the poster is hanging on my wall now and I subconciously see it everytime I go into the kitchen)

I’ve also been trying to listen to Trans Am to get ready for Friday’s show – but I’m not sure what to think of it yet. I have a feeling they’ll be a band I need to see live to “get”. The CD is all over the place, but I’ve heard they’re great live, so we shall see!

:::::: Mountain Goats Review:

We went to a show lastnight at BoTH – Mountain Goats w/ openers: Frog Eyes – and – Destroyer.

Frog Eyes was totally entertaining. When we first came in we were both like “oh no”… but after stepping up closer & watching him I got into it. This guy is just going for it up there… he is spastic and his voice is a total instrument as he sings, then goes really high pitched, then yells, then oohs & aahs… all the while freaking out on his guitar and girating around. Now I have respect for this cuz this guy has really found his expression. I mean, he’s not just playin it safe or goin main stream – he’s feelin it and acting on it and freakin out in his very own way. Good on ya, man! Rick said he reminded him of a mix between Jack Black and the lead singer of Les Savy Fav.

Destroyer came on & it was all the same people from Frog Eyes except a new lead singer and the Frog Eyes spastic lead was now the backup vox/guitar guy. Still the most entertaining member in the band. Rebecca, Dave and a bunch of their friends were there and agreed he was great to watch – gnawing on his tongue and all sweaty (his shirt was soaked in sweat everywhere but on one nipple, hmm – we made up reason why that nipple somehow was immune to sweat :). Destroyer played some very pretty songs – I really liked them, however think they’d be a band I’d rather listen to on a CD at home. They sorta played one song too many (however the crowd was totally diggin em, so I suppose it was justified). I tried to close my eyes several times to get a feel for what that would be like.. but overall it just didn’t rock my socks off. But they’ve got talent, and the spastic man, so woohoo.

Mountain Goats was next up – I ran into Jeff & Leslie Veen and Merlin (I finally met Merlin!) who were very excited to see the MG go on, so excited Jeff was *threatening* to stage dive or start a pit. HA. (the man is like 6’5″, so that’s why this is scary and funny all at the same time.) I love running into him though – he’s the nicest guy.

I didn’t know what to expect from the Mountain Goats. I just hadn’t listened to them enough to have gotten a feel for what he was really all about. I actually only had 3 songs at the end of a British Sea Power disc someone burned me – and I JUST got “We Shall All Be Healed”, a few weeks ago. But I knew I wanted to check them out live.

Oddly enough I have to admit that I think somewhere in the back of my head I kept relating them to The Goats, who were this rap band I listened to in college. hahaa. John Darnielle (Mountain Goats front/main man) is *so* not rappin up there.

Instead, he had an acoustic guitar and sat on a stool, and was accompanied by a bass player.. the combo was fantastic. He was funny between songs and just has a demeanor you want to like. I didn’t think he was too nasaly (which some people say), I felt the songs were well written and his playing, facial expressions, everything were great.

It was a packed house (sold out, I’m pretty sure) so it was really stuffy in there and near the end we decided to go to the back to cool off. This is actually skirting on this whole post I planned to write about how the glamour of going to shows seems so fun and rockstar lifestyle. But one of the evil side effects is that you’re with a bunch of people who haven’t showered for a good 12+ hours, and they’ve just eaten dinner. Which means you’re sandwiched in with these people who let these god damn SBD’s go and it’s GROSS! Please don’t fart around me people… I’m trying to enjoy the show!!

ps sorry no linkage love on the above. use your google powers!

Here’s me & my pretty Momma enjoying my new patio set:

me taking a pic of my mom taking a pic!

And check out this cool caterpillar living on the fennel plant in the backyard!

I got home around 7:45 tonite, prepared to be here for Conan who was stopping by to take some old things I had offered up (that were just takin up space in my garage): My old (and broken) AIWA stereo, a throw rug and my old laundry basket with broken handles. He was stoked on the free stuff & I was stoked on getting rid of it. WIN/WIN! woohoo!!

He even gave me a CD of his band, Replicator. RAD. They’re playing with Lower 48 (that my friend Grady plays a mean bass in) on Sunday at the Edinburg Castle, so I’m gonna try to hit it. The Moggs are playing there, too, who I’ve heard a lot about – so should be a good show.

Sunday nights can be tough for shows, depending on what the weekend has in store, but it sounds like a fun show and I wanna get out & support those guys – so I hope to make it. And I’m psyched to listen to his CD a few times to get a bit more familiar w/ the tracks.

So shortly after I got home I decided to pick up my book. I’m reading The Fountainhead right now, except I hardly have time to read. Well tonite it sucked me in! I made dinner and thought I’d read just a little more while I ate – and then a little later I dogeared it & put it down – but all of a sudden it’s 11:15 already! wowie!

I love getting lost in a good book. This one I’m hardly 160 pages into (it’s thick) but so far it’s good. I’m interested in seeing where it’s going.

I can’t believe tomorrow is already Wednesday. I have so much going on this week that there really is no time to just be reading my book for a couple hours! But it was nice.

OK, now back to work.

Today my landlords had to switch off our electricity again (they’ve been installing some new light fixtures) and so I headed out to work in a cafe. It was the FIRST TIME!!! Can you believe it?! I mean, I’ve gone & brainstormed in a cafe, done some sketches for an illustration or a website – and we worked a little in Austin – but this was the first time here in SF, out at a cafe with my *laptop*. :) Exciting!

After a quick morning here at home, organizing the last lonely pile that never got sorted through before my Mother came, I was ready to head out the door. I met up with my friend (and fellow Flash Goddess) Adrienne down at her local hangout The Grove, in the Marina.

I used to love The Grove. It’s cozy and they have yummy food (albeit overpriced) and a nice atmosphere. But, I guess I haven’t really been there much in the last couple years though, cuz they’ve changed it around. And I can safely say I haven’t been there during the day where you walk in to find atleast 7 people in there working away on their laptops. haha! Guess that’s the place to be if you work for yourself in the Marina, eh?

When I had asked Adrienne if she wanted to meet up today she’d asked if I was going stir crazy at home. No way. I love working at home! And today’s virgin cafe experience just drove it home all the more. I mean, sure it was cool to have someone to talk to every once and awhile, but I couldn’t help but notice the luxuries I was missing.

First off, everyone is sitting on hard wooden benches. They have pillows on them, but still – they’re not my comfy Aeron chair! And the table I was at was kinda rickety, so when I got to typing fast the table would sway back & forth. Not even a napkin lodged under the foot helped, I think it was the actual screws from the post into the table top. But with only a few tables available and being all set up, I just rolled with it.

Then there’s the annoying music (mental note, bring headphones next time!). In a cafe you’re at the mercy of whatever they have playing… ’nuff said. Not to mention the various people, conversations, children, etc. One today that was especially annoying, was the hour + long uber corporatey, interviewey, over-used-business-lingoey, shmooze fest. Ug. I wouldn’t even work in that office environment for money let alone have to be subjected to it’s blabber against my will! I was so glad when they left.

I definitely missed the comforts and conveniences of my little home. I missed my 5 CD player, spinning my favorite tunes on my kickin stereo. I missed my kitty coming up & saying hello every once & awhile (and/or the comforts of being able to take a 5 minute snuggle break when he’s looking irrisistably snuggleable. :) And lastly, I missed my big 19″ flat screen monitor that I hook up to my powerbook to have a duel screen monitor. It’s sweeeet.

Instead of my tasty homemade melted cheese sandwich creations, I had an overpriced BLT with “gourmet chips” (and a tasty pickle which honestly earned the worth of 1/2 of the entire $8 meal, since it just about topped the rest!). And in the afternoon I split a big cookie with Adrienne.

Total cost of the day: $10.50

Oh & driving all the way to the Marina (way across town from my place) AND having to move my car once, since I don’t have the right neighborhood parking sticker you can only park for 2 hours in one place at a time.

All in all, not worth going back to that specific cafe, as mostly it’s just out of my way. But with all that said I am still stoked I’m mobile.

p.s. Today was also the first time my laptop rode in the new comforts of my awesome new Booq laptop bag! It’s PERFECT!

Oh my gawd… I can’t believe it but I just got a letter from the DPT saying I overpayed something and they’re giving me a refund of $25. It’s a miracle! For all that I’ve payed them (which is I’m sure how I lost track, I was getting a lot of tickets there for awhile and disgruntly paying them or disputing them) now they’re paying me! wooohoo!!

It’s a damn good thing, too, cuz I just got two more last week!