Amazing talent in every little nook.
Current mood: inspired

I used to fancy myself a writer when I was a kid.  Then at some point I though I could maybe become a musician.  Right now I fancy myself a fun maker, that's been going the longest really, but this weekend its really sunk in for me just how much talent there is around me and how gifted people can really be.  I don't really have much to say other than to share some people that I've recently found to be a bit of a muse I guess.  This will probably read like a big plug list, but no one put me up to it, I just wanted to point out some talented people for anyone else that wants to look.

Kid Koala - I'm generally not a huge fan of DJ sets, I have to be in the right mood, but this guy blew me away.  I went with some friends to see DJ Shadow and the Cut Chemist's Hard Sell this weekend and he opened for them.  I've never seen anyone play turntables like an instrument.  When I say that I don't mean, just scratching, but he did things I thought to be purely amazing.  For starters, he DJs without headphones...so he's mixing the same time we're hearing.  Anyways, here's his site...and the link after is one of the coolest bits of tabling I've ever seen.

His site.
Kid Koala - Moon River

Next up, RK Post - I don't really know the guy, I've been exchanging emails with him on myspace, but his concept work is beautiful, in that dark and sinister way I tend to like.

RK Post website

Pure Cirkus - While some of their stuff kind of freaks me out, these guys are great.  The definitely seem to have a genuine love for their performance art.  If you're in the area when they're performing, I recommend seeing them.

Their website...

Aspen - Sure, he's a friend of mine, but friendship bias aside he does some great works.  I hope someone finds what he does amazing so he can move on to a creative job one day, but in the mean time it's inspiring to see how excited he is to constantly create from his heart.

A sampling from his flickr

Nivbed - I've lost touch with the magnificent Niv, but since working with him at Troika I've been smitten by his artwork.  I swear the developers of Okami tapped in to his mind without knowing it.  His art can be downright haunting to surreally breathtaking.  Do yourself a favor and see it.

Niv's Livejournal

Finally, Vivian Tam.  This woman fascinates me, daily.  Sure I married her, so I get to be fascinated by her daily, but I've never met anyone so subtly talented and modest about it.  Recently she's started working on a career change to be an acrobat, something she's wanted to do since she was a little girl.  She's been training in aerial tissu for a couple years and has taken to it like it was meant for her.

Her myspace. - Ignore the upcoming show promotion and watch her demo video.  It's really great.

Currently listening : Live From the Short Attention Span Audio Theater CD + DVD By Kid Koala Release date: 28 March, 2005

1:34 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Opera, seafood and drinks!
Category: Life

Ahh, the weekend...I feel like telling you about mine.

Friday night we went to go watch Pagliacci, my first opera.  After that was over we went downtown to the Noc Noc to watch our new found friends Pure Cirkus perform (their website).  The paradox of classic opera and firebreathing freak circus was tons of fun.

Saturday, Vivian spent half the day practicing with the Aerialistas, the aerial troupe she's in.  I sat at home, semi-unmotivated and bored.  By the time she got home it was nearing dinner and I was mostly asleep, so I retreated in to the office to be a hermit.  After an hour or so of watching the Iron Chefs America, I got inspired.  I really really wanted this appetizer we get at Rain Sushi sometimes....and then that lead me to want the soup I get there too...  Problem is, I was still feeling anti-social so I thought, "well...damn, maybe I'll make it myself."

Off I went, first I hit HT Market to pick up some ingredients for a japanese soup base (katsuo-bushi dashi to be exact).  Then I decided the closest place to get fresh fish would be Whole Foods, so I headed over there and picked up a half pound of lump dungeoness crab meat, an onion, a bundle of green onion, and a small but very fresh piece of albacore tuna.  As I headed home I thought, "Vivian loves champagne, I'm not big on it...but mixed drinks...hmmm..."

That thought in mind, I hit up my blackberry to find the closest mixed drink to a Peach Bellini without needing to go back to the store to get fruit.  Aha!  Perfect, an Apricot Cocktail.  I snagged a bottle of Apricot Brandy and a bottle of champagne and home I headed.

Now, when I got home, I realized I missed 2 important ingredients.  A jalapeno or other green hot pepper and flying fish roe.  Oh well, I wasn't going out again, I was hungry!  I stepped through the door and immediately set on my creation.

I slapped a pot of water on the stove tossed in the dashi mix and cranked that baby to high.  While that was getting ready to boil I julienned some white onion.  I'm terrible with onions, so I cried, it's just what happens.  As the water came to a boil, I tasted it.  The soup base was nothing like what I had planned...time to get creative.

A few shots of light soy sauce, some chili oil, a few pieces of seasoned seaweed and a pinch of salt and we were in the ball park, but not there yet.  It dawned on me when I'd had this soup at Rain, it was a little creamy tasting, but still completely broth...why...Oh!  They must have boiled the king crab shells with the soup!  I didn't have that luxury so I did the next best thing, tossed in a small handfull of lump dungeoness and let it simmer for a bit while I added the green onion and white onion.  Perfection!  I put a handfull of lump crab meat in each of the bowls to ladel the soup over just before serving and moved on to my next task...Usuzukuri.

I was already missing 2 ingredients and I knew the subtle flavors would be a challenge.  Subtle flavors are so critical but hard to achieve.  I pulled out my sushi knife and went to work...the tuna was fresh, but not the finest quality so I cut thin...very thin.  While I was cutting I let some juliennes of white onion soak in a bowl of ponzu sauce.  Thin slices of tuna laid out I poured over the ponzu and onions, arranging the onions to create a nice presentation on top.

By god, I think I've done it.  The final test, my wife.  She was in heaven, maybe my next challenge can be ramen.  I'll have to rent Tam Po Po to get ready for that one.

Currently listening : Mundaya By Tim Deluxe Release date: 03 February, 2004

2:15 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Cookie powered superherodom
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

There I was, stumbling out of bed, sleep haze still covering my eyes. I slowly meandered to the kitchen and opened the cupboards...all of them...I like a clear picture of my situation at all times. As I opened the last cupboard it hit me...a bag of chocolate chip cookies. Square in the face.

How did it come to this? My cupboards were so crammed with chocolate chip cookie bags they were falling violently into my face. Resigned to my dietary fate, I opened the bag, the smell of success wafted out.

Roughly 100 chocolate chip cookies later, I was ready to face the day. I strapped on my superhero costume, something of my own creation, I really don't know what it looks like, but suffice it to say it has room to store cookies in case I run low. You see, to be a successful superhero one must maintain proper fuel, for me, chocolate chip cookies are proper fuel.

Currently listening : Less Talk More Action By Tim Deluxe Release date: 02 December, 2003

11:54 AM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

GameStop/EB, what the fuck?

I know Gabe and Tycho write about this all the time on Penny Arcade, and well, I always kind of laughed and said to myself, "yeah, those guys can be a little irritating."  Today was different though.  Today drove me up a fucking wall.

I headed over to GameStop at lunch to pick up my pre-order of Assassin's Creed.  Only being able to pick up launch day games via pre-order strikes a angry nerve with me as well, but that's mostly just impatience.  Anyways...

As I stood there waiting for the moron behind the counter to figure out how to work the cash register (I admit, I gave him a tricky task...trade in a game, pay for the two copies I preordered with 2 different credit cards, and let me go about my fucking business), he says "Hey, any games you want to pre-order today?"  To which I reply, "No, not today."  At that point I brace myself for the common response of "Oh, but X game is coming out next week!"

Sure enough, he gave me that line, but with so much more.

"You don't want to get in on Mass Effect?"

"Well, no, I'm on the fence about it, and Uncharted's demo was cool enough I might snag that first, but no pre-order today, thanks."

Here's where his chest puffs up.  Who knows, I live in Seattle, he could be a MGS tester laid off because the game ships, but he comes back with.

"I've played the game, it's awesome, game of the year, you're really missing out on this one."

"Sorry, I haven't enjoyed the last two Bioware games at all, so I'm going to pass."

This is where he looks at me like I'm insane.  Now, sure, the general consensus on KoTOR and Jade Empire tends to be "WONDERFUL!"  But I just couldn't get in to either game.  KoTOR's introduction was long and drawn out before anything entertaining to a non-Star Wars fanatic happened, and Jade Empire's made-up-nearly-Chinese dialect annoyed the shit out of me.  So no, I don't want to plunk down $60 on Mass Effect until Bioware has proven to me that it's a game that I'd enjoy.  Another thing that annoys me about Bioware games is the fact that they tend to be really wordy.  I like reading books, but I prefer to interact with games, not be the captive observer.  According to plenty of previews, Mass Effect has over 20,000 lines of recorded dialogue.  That immediately screams to me, not my game.

I've been buying my games at Best Buy more and more lately.  Sparky the wonder salesman just nudged me a bit closer in that direction.

Currently playing : The Witcher Release date: 30 October, 2007

4:30 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

I like the circus.
Current mood: cheerful

Yesterday was a long day with a huge payoff.  I woke up at 6:30 am (this is pretty much unheard of for me unless surf is going off, and since we live in Seattle, the surf is no longer "going off.").  I struggled through the shower and gave my wife a kiss before I headed to work.  I arrived at work around 7:30 am, much to the surprise of some of my early bird co-workers.  Through the day I battled headaches, grogginess, upset stomach, all kinds of ailments for being a pansy and not liking to wake up early.

By 4:30 I hit the door running, bolted to my car, sped home through the express lanes and picked up Vivian.  From our apartment we drove up to Bellingham.  To sum up the drive in one word, painful.  I lived in Los Angeles for 7 years, my daily commute was roughly an hour 1 way to drive 18 miles.  We drove 80 miles in a little less than two hours, but given my mental state from waking up so early, oh man was it a trial.  Well, that and the KFC we were eating on the way.

Once we got to Bellingham though, everything was worth it.  The Mt. Baker theater is amazing.  If you've never seen it and you live in the Seattle area, you have to go.  If you've ever been to the Pantageous or the Downtown Jewelry Market in LA, picture both of those places combined, but with a prettier show area.  I'll post some pictures later or on my flickr, but trust me, the venue was beautiful, especially for a place that's 80 years old.

The show itself was nothing short of amazing.  My wife being the circus freak she is has filled my head with all kinds of circus acts to the point that I'm not amazed as much anymore when I see some things, but this show live rivaled my only other experience of this caliber (Varekai), in fact I'd go as far as to say it was a better show than Varekai.  Cirque du Soleil shows tend to inspire wonder and drama, but sometimes that drama can get old and a little depressing, Birdhouse Factory was to circus what Stomp! is to dance I think.  Watching it last night I remembered that giddy joy I had as a little kid watching Barnum and Bailey's Circus, seeing people fly through the air off of the trampoline and perform a story at the same time was just inspiring.

After all the stress from waking up early and dealing with a work deadline, the 80 mile drive last night was so worth it.

Currently listening : Preemptive Strike By DJ Shadow Release date: 13 January, 1998

10:56 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

The start of a long week...

...and holy god it's cold. I sat at the crosswalk waiting to head over to our office building this morning with one thought in my mind. "Would I look too conspicuous if I just broke in to a sprint to get to that door that leads to warmth?" I've been in Seattle nearly 2 years now, but it seems like only in the last month or so it's really sunk in.

The daily grind is much less stressful than it was in LA, I'll give it that, but the weekend and evening release also seems less climactic. There are lots of interesting places around Seattle, but there's no huge mecca of life, at least that we've found so far.

For example, I got totally confused on where we were supposed to be for a friend's birthday this Saturday night and we missed everything, but I figured, it's 7:30, we can find somewhere fun to be in crowds of people, so we left and went to Belltown, it's supposed to be one of the nightlife hubs. Well, nothing was happening at 8, by 9 it was still pretty quiet, we wandered to find where some people MIGHT be and came up dry. The city's just so small. In Pasadena we would have just popped down to old town and walked around, or headed to the Grove in LA, or even Olivera street, there's got to be something to do before 11pm on a weekend night other than sit at home trying to stay warm.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't know Seattle as well as I know Southern California, or at least I don't claim to, but it definately seems if you don't know people in LA, you can still have fun. In Seattle, it really seems like you need to find a group to go have fun with...like a party in an MMO, HA!

Currently listening : V Is for Vagina By Puscifer Release date: 30 October, 2007

11:17 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

I’m a sick man
Category: Blogging

I'm at the doctor's office blogging on myspace about being sick and blogging from my phone. Awesome!

12:12 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

My morning walk to work.

Today was a interesting walk to work.  I got out of my car, walked over to the corner of Denny and Queen Anne and waited for the light to change.  As I stood there an array of people walked up beside me, I'll refer to a couple of them now as Super White Hip Hop Guy, Scary Eyed Lady, and Crazy Dude That Looks Absolutely Normal.

I stood there waiting for the light to change as my morning was shaped.  Hip Hop Guy bobbed his head and adjusted his really brightly colored jacket, while Scary Eyed Lady either was apalled by the hip hop or could smell Crazy Dude (he looked normal, but smelled pretty bad), she let out a gasp of exasperation.  Shortly after the gasp went off, Crazy Dude That Looks Absolutely Normal seemingly procured a brownie from thin air, his smell was suddenly covered by chocolatey goodness, which was also abruptly wiped away by his comment.

"Mrglphlhm blaaa, bitch, brglupdiduma"

Astutely stated Crazy Dude.

The light changed and we started across the street.  That's when I heard a shriek from behind me.  As I turned to see what it was, Scary Eyed Chick went bolting past me, brownie crumbs falling off her ass as Crazy Dude That Looked Normal said this:

"Paaa!!! Goblabdiumugru, want some?"

This man is a master of the english language.

Well, as we got across the street and I started in to the maze of buildings to get to my office, I looked behind me again, just curious if Crazy Dude That Looked Normal had done anything new to entertain me this morning.  Much to my pleasure, he was doing the gun fingers to Super White Hip Hop Guy, as he walked by.  It dawned on me that Super White Hip Hop Guy had been walking next to Scary Eyed Woman the entire time and didn't do a damn thing while Crazy Dude that Looked Normal copped a brownie crusted feel.  Good times.

Currently listening : Walls By Apparat Release date: 05 June, 2007

11:31 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Seattle’s really not that cool
Current mood: complacent

It dawned on my while I was driving to work this morning that, I miss LA.  I miss Oregon, but whenever I leave Seattle, I don't miss Seattle.  The only place I've ever lived, that when I go on vaction and don't want to go back is Seattle.  When we go to Vancouver I love my time there, when I go to LA I generally have a good time, same with Porland and other parts of Oregon, but when I'm in Seattle I'm constantly thinking, man, "I wish there was a Rosco's," or all kinds of other random things that Seattle is missing, but when I go to LA I don't think to myself, man, I wish this place had something Seattle has.

Don't get me wrong, Seattle's a pretty city, but to live in Seattle after living in such a vibrant city as LA, it gets really boring and small and empty.  Just something I thought this morning on the way to work.

Currently listening : DJ Shadow - Live! In Tune & On Time (Keepcase) Release date: 15 June, 2004

4:35 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Ode to a new drink.
Current mood: chipper
Category: Food and Restaurants

Pimm's No. 1, oh how I love thee.  Your subtle smell of spice and citrus, your taste when mixed with lemonade, I drank you so fast tonight that I barely caught your name, you devilish drink.

Yeah, so, Pimm's No. 1.  Great stuff!  Thanks Wei!  Now I'm on a quest to find it in Seattle or a bar that can make a good Pimm's Cup, so I don't use up all of our bottle.

11:03 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment