I DON'T CARE, I LIKE IT!

All the way live...

My second contribution to the fashion blogosphere (you're damn right it is a word) has gone live.  Check it out here:

http://www.vstyleblog.com/san_diego/2010/03/local-flavor-king-kouture-in-solana-beach.html

Dig it peeps...

My legend grows...

I will be contributing to a few different blogs in the coming weeks, the first of which has gone live.

I will be a featured contributor on V-Style for Men, a Men's Fashion Blog run by a local San Diego wardrobe stylist named Vanessa Valiente. She has given me some great opportunities to contribute to a lot of awesome things she has going on. Naturally I will keep all of you updated.

Here is my first in a series of postings on V-Style for Men:

http://www.vstyleblog.com/men/2010/03/scott-wickens-first-law-of-fashion.html

Enjoy.

DJ AM

Today, March 30th, would be the late DJ AM's birthday.  Sadly he is no longer with us but his talent and music live on.  He was insanely talented and single-handedly changed DJ'ing and ushered in the mash up era.  I had the pleasure of seeing him live on many occasions and every time was an absolute blast.  Some of the best times I have ever had are with my friends in Vegas when AM was rocking it.  His live mixes are available everywhere online but in his memory I'll post a link that lists a ton of them for download, all free.  So throw an AM mix on, boogie, and have some fun.  That is what he was all about...

http://www.freshbasilcrew.com/2009/09/headlines/dj-am-mixes-collection/

Incredible...

This is absolutely amazing. Some young kids perform Scarface for their school play. What bullshit, I got stuck with Bye Bye Birdie.

Have a good time, unwind , we're here to blow your mind...

As you may or may not know I spent the weekend in Austin, Texas for a bachelor party.  Yes, it was a fucking epic time, of which I am still days away from recovering from.  I'll blog more about it later but this is a quick music hit for now.  SXSW also happened to be going on this past weekend and weekend and while it is tragic that I was unable to experience any good shows the town still provided endless music experiences that were first rate.  It is in this vein that I bring you some of Austin's best music.....Ghostland Observatory.  This band hails from Austin and I have been listening to them since around 2007 when I happened to randomly catch a live recorded performance of theirs at the Austin City Limits festival that was showing on an HD music channel.  I was absolutely blown away.  I immediately found their major label debut Paparazzi Lightening and the rest is history.  This band absolutely hammers, the enormity of sound that is produced from just two people is astounding.  It's just one genius on keyboards and beats and one singer. That's it.  I suppose dance rock or electro punk would be apt monikers if you had to place a pseudo-intellectual label on it but in reality they are all over the map with beats, guitars, drums, funky ass dancing, the works.  I heard their music at a few different places over the weekend and it reminded me of how awesome they are and how huge they are in Austin.. I highly recommend both their albums Paparazzi Lightening and their newer release Robotique Majestique, which coincidentally is one of the best album names ever.  Here is a taste...and I highly recommend going to your favorite online video website and watching some live performances.

A cool idea to support...

My friend Lauren over at Some Wine with Cheese is working on another cool experiment. It is called Pay It Forward Tuesday, wherein everyone is encouraged to do one small act of kindness on Tuesdays. We definitely need more kindness in the world.

Check out the details here: http://www.somewhinewithcheese.com/2010/03/new-experiment.html

Do it....

The hardest working man in drugs...er..show business

This video is fucking gold.  Rest In Peace Godfather of Soul, you are dearly missed.  I am thankful I got to witness your glory and pageantry live in concert before your unsurprising yet untimely death from drugs.  Fare the well Grandmaster of Funk, fare the well.

Slainte!

An Irish toast to all of you fair readers, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience, and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint!

May the face of every good news and the back of every bad news be towards us.

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been,
The foresight to know where you are going,
And the insight to know when you have gone too far

May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up.

'Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!'

Spreading some Awesomeness....

For this edition of spreading some awesomeness I give you my favorite stand up comedian and his web series. Enjoy Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis featuring Ben Stiller.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Ben Stiller from Between Two Ferns

Great video...

Here is an awesome video of Ben Folds on Chatroulette.  He is great.

If you don't know what Chatroulette is, keep it that way.  It is a despicable invention designed to make Baby Jesus cry.  Basically it randomly links you with a person to video chat.  I have never been on it myself but have hear horror stories of large fat men with their pants off, and WORSE.

Just enjoy Ben Folds and call it a day, eh?

The Station

The Station

By: Rober J. Hastings

Tucked away in our subconscious minds is an idyllic vision in which we see ourselves
on a long journey that spans an entire continent. We're traveling by train and, from the
windows, we drink in the passing scenes of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at
crossings, of cattle grazing in distant pastures, of smoke pouring from power plants, of row
upon row upon row of cotton and corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of city skylines and
village halls.  But uppermost in our conscious minds is our final destination--for at a certain hour and on a
given day, our train will finally pull into the Station with bells ringing, flags waving, and bands
playing. And once that day comes, so many wonderful dreams will come true. So restlessly, we
pace the aisles and count the miles, peering ahead, waiting, waiting, waiting for the Station.

    "Yes, when we reach the Station, that will be it!" we promise ourselves. "When we're
eighteen. . . win that promotion. . . put the last kid through college. . . buy that 450SL
Mercedes-Benz. . . have a nest egg for retirement!"

    From that day on we will all live happily ever after.

    Sooner or later, however, we must realize there is no Station in this life, no one earthly
place to arrive at once and for all. The journey is the joy. The Station is an illusion--it
constantly outdistances us. Yesterday's a memory, tomorrow's a dream. Yesterday belongs to a
history, tomorrow belongs to God. Yesterday's a fading sunset, tomorrow's a faint sunrise. Only
today is there light enough to love and live.

    So, gently close the door on yesterday and throw the key away. It isn't the burdens of today
that drive men mad, but rather regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and
fear are twin thieves who would rob us of today.

    "Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24, "This is
the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

     So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, swim more rivers, climb more
mountains, kiss more babies, count more stars. Laugh more and cry less. Go barefoot oftener.
Eat more ice cream. Ride more merry-go-rounds. Watch more sunsets. Life must be lived as we
go along. The Station will come soon enough.

Dear NBC...

Dear NBC programming executives,

I demand answers.  How can the hours of 8-10 pm on Thursdays be so awesome and full of so much win when literally every other hour of every other day of the week on your network is so preposterously awful?  How can said vortex of suck inexplicably reverse itself so wholly and completely for such a brief period of time?  Do you have some sort of complex device utilizing quantum physics, bio mechanics, and black magic to achieve such a feat?  Could this device be used for better purposes like curing diseases or addressing world food and water shortages?  Please respond to me directly.  Thank you for your time.

P.S. - While I greatly appreciate the adorable overload of Allison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Rashida Jones, and Elizabeth Banks during your Thursday night awesomeness I recognize these as blatant efforts to get me to forget about ConanGate.  I won't be fooled by your tricks.

very cool

Check out the interesting work of sculptor and installation artist Adam Parker Smith. 

http://adamparkersmith.com/home.html

Um...exscuse me sir?

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Happy Birthday Chuck Norris....

Chuck Norris celebrates many years of kicking ass today when he turns 70 years old.  Correction, 70 years old turns Chuck Norris today.

Interestingly, I refuse to believe that Corey Haim dying on the same day that is Chuck Norris's birthday is a coincidence.

In order to commemorate such an auspicious day I give you the top 10 facts about Chuck Norris:

01 Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.

02 Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.

03 Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting infers the probability of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.

04 If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death.

05 Chuck Norris sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Chuck roundhouse kicked the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn't stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month.

06 When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

07 Chuck Norris built a time machine and went back in time to stop the JFK assassination. As Oswald shot, Chuck Norris met all three bullets with his beard, deflecting them. JFK's head exploded out of sheer amazement.

08 Chuck Norris has already been to Mars; that's why there are no signs of life there.

09 They once made a Chuck Norris toilet paper, but it wouldn't take shit from anybody.

10 A blind man once stepped on Chuck Norris' shoe. Chuck replied, "Don't you know who I am? I'm Chuck Norris!" The mere mention of his name cured this man blindness. Sadly the first, last, and only thing this man ever saw, was a fatal roundhouse delivered by Chuck Norris.

Spreading some Awesomeness....

I am stating something this week which hopefully will be a regular occurrence, I shall call it....Spreading Some Awesomeness, wherein I will spread some awesomeness.  I believe the children are our future and in the name of said belief I shall share awesomeness because it is awesome and it is not awesome to bogart the awesome and not share it.  I suppose it is pretty self-explanatory.  Here is the inaugural spreading....

I follow a film maker and comedian on Twitter named James Gunn and he recently put together a new list of The 16 Rules of Fight Club. Since there is so much win here I thought I would re-post. Again, while I would love to be able to associate myself with this level of genius, I did not come up with these, I am simply spreading the awesomeness...

here is a link to his website: http://www.jamesgunn.com/2010/03/09/the-16-rules-of-fight-club/

1st Rule of Fight Club? Don’t talk about ‘potpourri’.

2nd Rule of Fight Club: Don’t put a cigarette in your penis and pretend like it’s smoking.

3rd Rule of Fight Club: Always know where Fight Club is held, so you don’t need to stop and ask for directions to Fight Club.

4th Rule of Fight Club: The safe word is “Bernadette Peters.”

5th Rule of Fight Club: Don’t put peanuts in any of the pot luck items. Sal is deathly allergic.

6th Rule of Fight Club: Turn off your cell phone.

7th Rule of Fight Club: No one wearing any Ed Hardy apparel will be allowed to enter Fight Club.

8th Rule of Fight Club: You have to admit, it’s still fucking hilarious when Philip does jazz hands in the middle of a fight.

9th Rule of Fight Club: No, the Lord’s Prayer at the end of Fight Club is not necessary, but please be respectful of others who pray during this time.

10th Rule of Fight Club: Just wearing a Ramones T-shirt doesn’t make you hip.

11th Rule of Fight Club: Anyone sending me a Facebook invitation to play Farmville will be immediately ejected from Fight Club.

12th Rule of Fight Club: Don’t flush the paper towels. We’ve had a lot of plumbing problems from idiots doing this.

13th Rule of Fight Club: No air saxophone in Fight Club.

14th Rule of Fight Club: Don’t do a “retarded voice” in Fight Club. It may be funny to you, but Kenny’s brother has Down syndrome and he’s, understandably, sensitive.

15th Rule of Fight Club: This is supposed to be fun! Smile, you guys!

16th Rule of Fight Club: IN FIGHT CLUB, THERE ARE NO RULES (besides the preceding 15 rules. Especially that retarded thing: seriously not cool.)

If you are having a bad day...

In an attempt to utilize perhaps the most generic phrase in recorded history I shall start this post with the phrase...we all have bad days.  As they are unavoidable, it is really how we handle those bad days that defines us as people in a lot of ways.  Some people have a delicious cocktail or beer (both excellent cures) others meditate (also an excellent cure) but a lot of times at work or out and about we can't throw down a stiff cocktail or take 15 minutes in lotus position.  ( a minor digression here...seriously, how the fuck do people sit like that, even for a few seconds?  I think even indian style is an uncomfortable seated position...)  Anyway, so now I present to you my patented Bad Day Cure....Please follow these steps to the letter, its pretty simple.  All you need is Pandora, an excellent free internet radio station.  If you don't have it already go get it immediately.  They also have it for mobile phones as well.  It allows you to create your own stations based on artists you like and then it plays songs and artists similar to that.  It is freakin genius...

So here we go:

1.  take a deep breath
2.  Open up Pandora
3.  Create a new station starting with the artist Al Green.
4.  Sit back and listen for 20 minutes

I guarantee you will feel better after this. 

In case you are a complete retard and aren't aware of the sweet sounds of Mr.Green's soul music, here is a sample.  Preach on brother, preach on:

Cole Trickle...

Its a good day to be alive.

For those of you that know me you know that I am, at times, prone to some hyperbole, this is not one of those cases. I don't say that to be dramatic but after a pretty serious car accident in the rain on the freeway on Saturday afternoon, I really am glad to be alive.

I was driving back down to San Diego from Newport Beach on Saturday afternoon and it was raining pretty hard but nothing I hadn't been through before. I was just past the Birmingham exit on the 5 in Encinitas and in the fast lane going around 50 or so, nothing too fast when all of a sudden out of nowhere I was spinning. It was one of the most frightening things I have ever experienced in my life. I was spinning and skidding across three lanes of the freeway and ended up stopped facing the wrong way. A guy in a silver pick up then hit me head on. It was exactly how most people describe it, a blur and then slow mo. Crazy, it could have been bad, very, very bad.

It was a miraculous situation, thankfully, no one was hurt. Behind our two cars, two other cars had spun out and crashed, minor damage and no injuries there either. The damage to my car was not very significant given the severity of what occurred before we hit, I even drove it home. The other guy's car was quite messed up and un-driveable however.

here is a picture of my car (click for larger):

As you can see there is some damage but not much considering the accident.

I remember standing on the side of the freeway looking at my car facing the wrong way, smashed up on another car, with cars driving by on the freeway and just thinking to myself "What.  The.  Fuck?"  Very surreal.  Needless to say I went home and had some wine.  My guardian angels were looking out for me on Saturday.

A few days post and I am feeling better after a few days of reeling mentally and struggling to stop playing it all over in my head.  I guess this is why you have car insurance.  Plus I have a sweet sparkly purple Hyundai rental car.  Oh yeah, that was not a typo, it is indeed purple.  Like Grimace purple, grape jolly rancher purple.  Awesome?  Hell yeah.  However, I have no game talking to girls at the coffee shop after they saw me get out of a purple Hyundai.  I guess it is a small price to pay temporarily.  Especially considering I DIDN'T DIE.

Be safe out there fair readers....