get a haircut: check
get a real job: check
clean your act up: in progress...
don't be such a slob: to do

i got a new haircut, and in the true spirit of vanity and narcissism, i'll post a picture of it, here, on my website.

actually, new is a relative term. the haircut itself is a couple weeks old, but as with most things on the website, the moms wants to know what's up with me, so i better show her. :)

this, the first day of summer, is my mother's 50th birfday. the big 5-0. half a century. older than dirt. 350 in dog years.

i kid, though. my moms is a rockstar. and far to young to have two kids as posthipster as my sister (siiiister...) and me.

happy bday mom!

i've been out and about town quite a bit over the last week. nothing of particular note, a show here, a movie there, a birthday party or six - but hey, the moms wants to know what's up with me, so, here it is.

did i say a movie? i meant four. i checked out the day after tomorrow, shrek 2, super size me, and harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban. all were entertaining in their own ways.

yes, that does include the day after tomorrow. but, for some reason i can't seem to say the title of the movie correctly. it always comes out as "beyond the day after tomorrow" or "the day after good and evil". i guess i've got ubisoft on the brain. anyway, in spite of the awful political subtext, the cliche plot and characters, and tepid acting - well, actually probably because of those things - i had enjoyed myself thoroughly. now don't get me wrong, i liked independence day. truly. and i think jake gyllenhaal could be pretty cool too. but if they meant for that to be a serious film, then the awesome special effects are not the most compelling disaster to be associated with this movie. as i said though, i had a great time. maybe because my ticket was free and i was in a good mood. maybe because we stood around for half an hour afterwards and clowned on the movie. who knows? does it matter?

i saw harry potter at the imax here in seattle. i love that, for what amounts to kids' movies, the harry potter series has not refrained from showing scary stuff or treating kids like, you know, people. i also love that the imax screen is, you know, six stories tall. i've now set into motion a plan that will insure that i get an imax into my living room. oh yes, it will be mine.

out of all the movies, the one that stuck with me the most was super size me. i won't go into the details of this documentary - this isn't a movie review site, sheesh - but suffice to say, i'm trying to eat a little better now.

i did spend time outside of the theatre. i took a walk back to the showbox last night to check out franz ferdinand. hence, the title of this post. good show. high energy. they're just on the brink though. they're right in between being enamored with their up-and-coming status and turning into full on cocky-rock-stars. you know, pointing at the crowd and whatnot. regardless, i found it difficult to resist bobbing my head. i may have inadvertently shaken a hip or two as well.

birthdays, birthdays, birthdays. let's see. there's chris (aka capt. inspiration), erin, rob, the other rob, sean just had his, and let's not forget that bum on the way to work. happy birthday all! and thanks for good times.

oh, almost forgot. i also had the pleasure on monday of witnessing the mariners hand it to the astros of houston, 5-0. once again, for free (i love work perks). i took capt. inspiration along for the ride, lest any foul evil-doers of de-inspiration should rear their ugly heads. it worked out for the best. far more entertaining than the game though was the beer man. pictures forthcoming.

xfest was yesterday. that's basically a technical conference for game developers, but i can neither share - nor do you want to hear - any more info about that.

anyway, afterwards came the typical shmoozing party, held this year at gameworks for a change of pace. but once you get enough game developers into a room, secluded as it were from any sizeable population of females, and start pumping drinks into them, a strange thing happens ... they get the urge to go out.

so, i and 5 or so of my non-english speaking new best friends decided we should meet up with some other peeps at this place called cowgirls, inc.

what followed was a night of debauchery that will not soon be equaled - at least, not by me. first of all, this place, cowgirls, is downright skanky. in fact, i'd go so far as to claim that it is the pulsating center from which all other things skankified are born and subsequently ejaculated out into the universe at large. yeah, it's kinda like that.

to put it another way: the waitresses wear chaps and a smaller cousin of hot pants (that i'm not sure have been given a name as yet by dignified society) ... and not a whole lot else. the only things that cut through the dense fog of second hand smoke are the flashlights of the security guards and the Kid Rock that blasts at decibels that could only be accurately described in hyperbole. hell, there's even an electric bull. and it was ladies' night.

now, you take an environment such as this, then you add a liberal dosage of my good friend jack daniels (say 10 or 11 drinks), a good few beers, and a shot or 3 of some lemony stuff (which could have been alcohol or dish soap - i'm not sure which). sprinkle in a dash of complete strangers that only seem to know the english words for "cheers" and "girls". then top it all off with a performance act delivered shot of jagermeister from one of the helpful staff. and, well, let's just say the delectable dessert that pops out is the kind of night that you don't want to tell a lot of people about. so, i figured i'd put it on my website.

my ears are still ringing. my lungs feel like twin ashtrays. my liver gave up and skipped town at some point during the night. meaning my body is no longer able to catalyze alcohol, and as near as i can tell, i'm still drunk.

in other words, i had a great time.

holy crap!

i may be the the last to know about these guys, but ZERO7 rocked my world last night when i went to go see them at the showbox.

this review is taken from a show they did in boston, but it applies just as well to the seattle show (minus references to red sox and baseball caps).

anyway, the show mixed some great music, with even better sound quality, and a triumvirate of sex godess vocalists in a way that was so hott that it could only be spelled with two 't's.

as the review above states, their recorded music can't quite compare with the live set - truly unexpected for music of this pedigree - but that shouldn't stop me from attempting to share the love.

check 'em out.