Willo O'Brien

I grew up in Steamboat with a kid named Tai Robinson… and last summer, I had run into his Dad who started telling me about the huge movement him & Tai started for getting vehicles converted to using hydrogen and biodiesel fuels. Here’s his site: Intergalactic Hydrogen.

They’re doing some amazing things and really getting the word out! Check out this piece about Tai in the news:

Green Hummer for Schwarzenegger? – awesome huh!?

Here’s some more somewhat related links:

GreenerCars.com

TDI Club – VW’s have engines that run on biodiesel (vegetable oil)!

The official Hummer H2 salute – did you know that Hummers get something like ONLY 6-11mpg?!?! AK!!!!

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I’m trying to sell my car right now and have really been wanting to get something environmentally responsible. However, anything will be more so than what I have now – and forever I’ve wanted another Subaru. Especially now – one of those new Subaru Impreza WRX… but I really wish they were hybrids or something.

Anyway – I have waaaaay more to say about all this but don’t have time now. bye.

Ok, so by now you all know how I’ve started an affair with a rich… delicious… creamy… drink. Baileys Irish Cream! YUMM!

And so now it’s only fair that I tell you I have been two timing Baileys every once and awhile. (shhh, don’t tell!) It’s actually something I picked up on my New Years Eve BevMo trip. As you may recall, Rick had a bunch of suggestions for me – and one of them has become my new steady – all in the comfort of my own home!

It’s name: Amarula Cream.

It’s sweeter than Baileys – more fruity vs. coffee-ey – but with that same delicious rich & creamy texture. It’s yummm. Amarula on Ice, darling? Why yes please!

It’s actually really neat to read their site. To learn about how much they help the people of Africa with this product – and how it’s made.

The main ingredient is from Marula trees. Often called the Elephant tree, among the African people, because of how elephants are so attracted to it’s sweet berries.

And now for the educational portion of this post… here’s some interesting facts about Elephants!

• The elephant is the largest land mammal left on earth. An elephant consumes up to 300 to 500 pounds of vegetation per day. Elephants only digest about 40% of what they eat, and therefore, they need to spend two-thirds of every day eating.
• They never stop growing throughout their lifetime and thus size is a good indicator of age – the larger the elephant, the older he or she is. Soft spongy pads on the soles of their feet absorb noise, allowing these massive beasts to move through the bush with very little commotion.

Facts are from AfricaElephants.com

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Appropriately, The New Pornographers song, “Slow Decent Into Alcoholism” is playing on my computer right now! ha! I thought I had lost this CD when I had all those CD’s stolen from my car, but turns out I burned it onto my computer – woohoo!!

I’m cultivating quite the MP3 collection w/o even trying! This whole MP3 thing seems to be the “wave of the future”. Yup, you heard it here first people.

OK – now that I’ve had my tasty glass of Amarula on ice, I’m off to get ready for dinner & a movie. BYE!

Wow, neat – check it out! Google doubles as a calculator & does measurement conversions. Read about it in Trina’s post and on Google’s site.

What’s half a cup in teaspoons?

Awesome!

Hey Ya, Charlie Brown!

While I’m at it – here’s a photo of my cutie kitty lounging in the sun. Isn’t he looking extra fuzzy? :)

A’ight. So first I met up w/ Jem & Rick for some *tasty* sushi. This place (of which I’m not telling you cuz it’s a secret) is my new favorite – the sushi is sooo amazing. We put down some Sapporo’s and some melt in your mouth delicious sushi, and then headed over to the show.

On the way over, I gave Jem her housewarming present… It’s this awesome metal breakfast in bed tray. But this one’s special cuz it has circus clowns and seals on it… which is really just a sign for Jem that her instincts are spot on: She needs to join the circus. I also gave her The Delgados & The Husbands. The Husbands are great, if you’re wondering… I hope we get a chance to see them live sometime soon. Aww SNAP!! ( ha ) On the the website they’ve got it listed right there: March 4th at The Bottom of The Hill with Comets on Fire… wahoo!! Ask & you shall receive!

Alright – so The Gold Chains show was cool. The opener Da Tawny Hoof (no, it’s Da Hawney Troof) can go suck it IMO. Shit, that sucked. That’s like seeing those big huge canvases of all BLUE and wondering who the fuck decided that was art. The worst was how someone got the brilliant idea that two gay dancers in barely any clothing was actually at aaall interesting to any of us (well besides the other gay boys in the audience of course). Now, I’ve got *nothing* against that – but that’s just not what I paid for. Those boys have a career in gay strip clubs in their future – and sadly they’re getting this experience at the ripe age of 17 or something ridiculous. Does your mama know you’re up on stage in your tighty whities shakin your junk everywhere? eeww! See my Gravy Train writeup for more, since lucky for me it happened to be that same guy that totally ruined the Gravy Train show for me. Make it stop!

Willpower went on after that though, which was way better. Rick contests it’s total boyband material and I say it’s totally 80’s – and then he says it’s like New Kids on the Block – and I actually heard myself arguing that New Kids really aren’t a clear depiction of the 80’s… (granted they did wear a lot of neon though, didn’t they?) But I’m just sayin – Willpower is cooool 80’s. Not that painful New Kids shit that we’re all trying to forget. (aren’t we?) But somethin about Will (from Imperial Teen) is so sexy – and his lyrics are sexy. And his cute little choreographed dances are so fun. Anyway – it was just way better than that crappy Troof shite.

ALRIGHT!!!! So then Gold Chains goes on – woohoo!! They kick out some serious beats. It’s rad that he’s got Sue Cie along w/ him now at all his shows, too (err… was it ever just him? I don’t even know actually). If you’re not familiar w/ him – watch this video made by Ruben.

So ya, he kicked it w/ the crowd, jumpin off stage & singing in the audience a bit – Sue Cie did her robot dancing moves with her cute little knee highs – and we all had a good time.

I ran into Graham there, too & check this shit out: Rogue Wave is opening for Super Furry Animals at the Fillmore!! WOOHOO!! SUCH cool news. I already have my tickets. The Super Furries show last year w/ Grandaddy was one of my favorites… So I’m looking forward to seein’ them again. And it’s now way more exciting to know the Rogue kids are gonna be there & be on fire cuz they get to play for such a great crowd. NICE!

p.s. Here’s Graham’s butt, sporting the SG tribute “manties” after his leather pants got ripped off by one of the hot Suicide Girls after the show. (read here for more info) How rockstar is that? :) Graham’s a cutie – and available ladies!! How can you resist that ass?

Oh & meatyrific Ajax was there lastnight too.. good to see the jaxx in person. I think you can even find him in one of our photos from the night.

Happy Friday ya’ll!

Ok – this is gonna be quick, otherwise I wont get to it at all.

The Decoration – good… a few songs I especially liked. They kinda have that modest mouse/built to spill melded w/ a little deathcab sound to em. but some more progressive bass/drums action (those songs I liked better)

Built Like Alaska – good… really good if you like Grandaddy and don’t mind that this band sounds a *lot* like them. And SUPERB if you can appreciate a kick ass mustache. But this wasn’t just any mustache – he told me the certain name they call it… but I forget now – do you know?? Turns out that very guy is the brother to a guy in Grandaddy… and apparently thats a whole “central valley sound” – and that’s the reason why it might sound similar.

Here’s where I’ll bitch about The Thrills. I wanted to like them – but I almost officially don’t now because they sound too much like Grandaddy!! They’re from Europe!! And just because they came over here to visit for one summer, they can’t use that “central valley sound” excuse if you ask me. I dont know – maybe I’m just being all protective for Grandaddy… I mean, they do “that sound” really well :) And yes, they just blew up before anyone else so that’s who I’m comparing others too. However, no doubt if I had Built Like Alaska’s CD and listened to it for awhile, I’d hear their uniqueness… but I guess I’m not sure I need to listen to 5 other bands that sound similar… ya know?

alright – I’ll move on..

Nik Freitas – so good. I can’t wait to get this CD. Nik has a GREAT voice – and he had 2 other guys (the bass & guitar dudes) doing some harmony vocals along with him. I really really enjoyed his set (and no, I dont think it was just the tequila shots talking!).

TONITE: Sushi w/ Rick & Jem & then we hit Gold Chains at The HiZZ. wahoo!

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P.S. I know I have to seriously update my calendar on the left – so much has been announced in the last 2 weeks between Noise-Pop and everyone waking up from their holiday slumber. There’s some kick ass shows coming up!! I’ll update it over the weekend.

“Among the hundreds of acts that will be in Austin, TX, for this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and Festival, scheduled for March 17-21, are… ”

Alkaline Trio, The B-52’s, The Church, The Crystal Method, The Decemberists, Junior Senior, Modest Mouse, N.E.R.D., NOFX, Liz Phair, Pretty Girls Make Graves, The Sleepy Jackson, The Stills, The Thrills, The Delgados, The Fiery Furnaces, The Hives, Radio 4, Starsailor, TV on the Radio and The Walkmen

!!!!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT LINEUP!?? And that’s just listing the ones I’m really excited about – there’s a TON more! AND keynotes from Wayne Coyne & Ani DiFranco! NICE! awww yaaaaaaa. That’s RIGHT! We’re goin to SXSW!!!! WAHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Rick & I bought the music pass, so we’re in to see every single band!!! We’ll be spending the whole week in Austin… first to enjoy the ubergeek festival of film and interactivity (aka parties and socializing with tons of other internet spazzers – yay!!!) and then the rest of the week is all about the music!!!

I’ve never been to Austin – but I’m pretty excited. I’ve heard it’s beautiful – and certainly a town that’s way into music.

Rick has a friend there we might stay with – but we also might get a hotel downtown for part of the week too. Anything to save on costs, as a week there will be expensive. I’d love to have some type of house situation so we could try to make breakfast/coffee at a house first here & there instead of constantly eating out.

And I officially need to get a laptop now!!!

Anyway – I’m excited. Are you going?!

p.s. I am also SO going to Coachella! It looks like it’s right next to Joshua Tree Nat’l Park – I’ve never been there!

I wanted to write lastnight – but after 2 Bombay Gimlets & 2 celebratory Tequila shots w/ my new friend Annie (we had emailed via the SF Indie list, but finally met lastnight) I thought it would be best if I just went straight to bed :)

So I had a bunch of thoughts swirling around in my head lastnight – and didn’t post at all yesterday. I think I might have a bunch to say here… (fyi, turns out it’s not all that much. there was more lastnight, that’s what I get for not writing it down!)

First of all – sorry that I don’t have a better Quicktime detection dealio goin on. I realized on an older computer lastnight that every time you visit my site, if you don’t have the latest QT plugin, you get prompted to download it – and if you don’t want it or are on a computer that requires some grumpy techy in your office to install it for you, then you’re stuck having to hit Cancel and miss all the fun.

Are you missing all the fun?

So anyway – I’ve taken the first video off the homepage and it’s just linked to the avo page.

NOW… If anyone has any tips for doing better QT detection, etc. Lemme know. Otherwise, I’ll just have to research that more later. I also could make them Flash files too – I’ll try that next time.

Alright – so I went to a show lastnight!!! I’m gonna post that review seperately. But lemme tell you I’m quite excited because I’m not limping as bad! Either that or I’m just getting *good* at limping :) But I definitely have a bit more movement – and it’s not as terribly sensitive. I just still can’t extend it the whole way, which makes full swing walking a bit difficult – but it’s awesome that it’s getting better!!

Rick & I are going to San Diego next weekend, and I’m excited cuz I’d like us to hit the San Diego Zoo while we’re there. But I was thinking it would suck if I was still gimping around – and Rick suggested if that was the case we’d just get me a wheelchair. I told him I’d only do that if I could wear a tshirt that says “Still Fully Functional” and see how many surprised looks we get throughout the day.

My cat’s driving me crazy this morning with this whole mouse under the couch game. For all the hours he sleeps during the day, it’s a little sad that this morning I’m finding myself saying to him “Can’t you just go to sleep already!??!”

It’s a beautiful day here today.

Alright. I gotta start getting some work done around here.

Tell me you were just hoping I’d do video cutting up the second half :)

Well here ya go.

xoxo from your internet spazz

I hate it when I hear the “you’ve got mail” sound byte – and it turns out it’s just a fresh piece of spam in the spam folder. hmph!