Sunday, May 04, 2008


Not cracked, but a big ol' abscess. Necessitating a root canal. Which can't be done for two weeks. Continue avoiding me. In the meantime, I'm going old school and going to tie a rag around my head which, if clip art has taught us anything, will help or at least serve as a warning to others.




Which is odder:

A) the (very) young man in the Brockway Sheetz buying Combos and Mountain Dew with a pistol strapped to his hip

B) the elderly man screaming into his cell phone at Franklin's Garden Mart "She said the reason I couldn't grow a garden was because I am a Jew!. . . I think she's right"

C) The mentally disabled guy in a wheelchair who started trash talking me as I walked beside him, attacking my sexual orientation and asserting that he was going to "kick [my] ass!"

D) All of the above.





Zomo/Belsapadore has left the area, but not our hearts. With two albums of their infectious pop music released in albums in April 2008 our loss is the Garden State's gain. Without further Ado.

Zomo/Belsapadore's Top 10 List

1. Fresh From The Vines
David and Rebecca Vines are two of the coolest folks around this area. Not only do they have great vegetables and baked goods, but they're doing so much to make this community even more wonderful than it is. Belsapadore loves their vegetables so very much, especially their chard. They also bake great bread (I recommend their Garlic and Cheese Bread). Want their food? They're at the Meadville Market House every Saturday.

2. Queens of The Stone Age
Their music makes me want to rock and dance at the same time. It can get confusing. I highly recommend their whole catalog, but their latest, Era Vulgis, really does it for me these days.

3. Gypsy Dave and The Stumpjumpers
I was lucky enough to work with Gypsy Dave on his first album Liberty. I've thoroughly enjoyed watching Gypsy Dave and The Stumpjumpers evolve over the years. Their latest, As The Stars Gather Light, is fab.

4. The Office American version what? Do yourself a favor and watch the British version only. Not only will it save you time, but you'll feel better about yourself.

5. Lost I spend nearly as much time these days reading and theorizing about Lost as I do creating music. This is sad, but it feels so good. Who wants to time travel with me?

6. The Beatles' The White Album
Their best? I think so . Every song is great (even "Revolution 9") and the whole thing is one of the most interesting listens from front to back.

7. The Beach Boys circa 1965-1977
Often overlooked, their albums Smiley Smile, Wild Honey, Friends, Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland, and Love You blow my mind. This era really helped set the template for Belsapadore.

8. Libraries
Being a librarian, I can't help but not love them. Who wouldn't want to hang out in a building with cool old books, graphic novels, free internet, and video games (at least in my library we have video games!) Support your local library. We're much more than a bunch of boring old farts and stuffy old books. We're actually pretty cool these days.

9. Ho Hos and Swiss Premium Iced Tea
I try to eat healthy as much as possible but this snack always manages to sneak into my life. I will probably die from this combination, but I'm having fun in the meantime.

10. Happiness and positive thinking
Try to tell everyone you meet something positive every day. Tell them they look nice. Say thank you. Life is so much easier when everyone is nice and friendly.

Play Triangle of Drunk by Zomo
Purchase Triangle of Drunk at CDBaby
Play For The Muses by Zomo
Purchase For the Muses at CDBaby

Zomo performing "Harvey Wallbanger" Live



Venangoland praises those of us who are willing to fall flat on our faces again and again and again.


Oh Erie Times News, how I love you clueless local rap coverage. Today we feature an article on Erie hip-hop artist Hectic which includes the Timeless quote:

"I know who [my attacker] was, but I'm not telling anyone," he said. "He got me in my arm and hit my intestines and everything. . ."

Musta been one of those curly A-rab knives.




MySpace is sponsoring a free all ages Black Keys show Wednesday in Cleveland. Doors at Beachland Tavern (15711 Waterloo Rd, Cleveland, OH 44110, (216) 383-1124) open at 8 pm, and it's my day off, but it's first come first served seating, and I'm waaaayyyy too old for those kind of shenanigans. I'll just stay home and wrap my shawl a little tighter around my shoulders.





The answer of course is D - not because they are equally strange, but because the magnitude of strangeness is so severe that they can't be measured against each other.




Is (analog) photography dead?






The Silk Screen film festival rolls into Pittsburgh this weekend.






A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Shop on Etsy






How to build your own Iron Man suit — for real






An Alternative Approach to Marketing Rock Bands






You can no longer be cosmetically branded in Erie County.




Maybe it's time for me to think about a career change.



Peta2 is giving away a chicken suit:

Now we want you to make your own animal rights video, which can be as funny or as serious as you want. Use your imagination and your passion for helping animals to do anything from filming a classroom speech or a local protest to editing together some photos or doing a story of some sort. Oh, yeah, and Moby will be one of the guest judges to help pick the winner—did we mention that?!

To enter, e-mail peta2@peta2.com with the subject line "Video Contest" and just include the link to your video. Feel free to host it on YouTube, MySpace, or anywhere else, as long as we're able to check it out! Not only will the winner get their own chicken costume, they will also get their choice of any shirt from our merch store and a bunch of pins!

The video can be as creative or as simple as you want, but please make it less than three minutes long. The contest ends on May 27, and winners will be notified by June 9. Good luck, and remember that when you enter, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions.





Free and Legal Downloads

NIN is giving away copies of their new album The Slip for free.

The music is available in a variety of formats including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE. your link will include all options - all free. all downloads include a PDF with artwork and credits.

Over the Rhine Live at Canal Street Tavern on April 25, 2008

Mike Doughty Live at Somerville Theater on April 9, 2008

Carolina Chocolate Drops Live at Train Depot on March 29, 2008

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow. did you actually see/experience a, b, and c? people are so interesting and usually entertaining; even if that means downright strange!

Dittman said...

I did indeed, and then immediatly scribbled it all down in my notebook to used later!