Rollin' with the Top Down

Rollin' with the Top Down, originally uploaded by thegetupkid.

Today's nice weather spurred a drive around town in my friend Joel's convertible and a stop for some Bubble Tea at the Black Pearl off of Sunset. They have some new flavors and the orange creamsicle milk tea is fantastic. Let's hope this great weather continues; it was nicer today than it was during most of June.
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An Evening with My Morning Jacket

An Evening with My Morning Jacket, originally uploaded by thegetupkid.

Dreams came true tonight. I don't know how many times I've watched My Morning Jacket's Okonokos DVD and wished I could witness a show like that for myself, especially up in the front... and now it's happened.

Originally Emily and I had seats in the back of the orchestra section at the McCaw Hall in Seattle, but during Lay Low I decided to head toward the front, where the front of the orchestra section we were in, met the special reserved seats. I noticed a lack of security separating the two, so Emily and I walked right in and perched ourselves right in front of Jim James, one of the few men that Emily and I agree we want to bone. And tonight was no different.

Don't get me wrong, the rest of the band is talented too, but we couldn't keep our eyes off of Mr. James. His charisma onstage is uncanny, without much effort. And shit, that man can play guitar and make it look easy.

I'm pretty exhausted and closing my eyes as I'm writing this, so I'm going to go to sleep now. To summarize: An awesome, varied set with a long encore; no opening bands to sit through; we were in the front of the stage for awhile; beautiful and comfortable venue with a good view wherever; Jim was looking mighty fine; and I was there with Emily (the tix were a bday present). Plus we picked up some sweet merch, including a hand-numbered silkscreen poster. Goodnight!
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Brownes Condition

Brownes Condition, originally uploaded by thegetupkid.

Brownes Condition (ex TypicalAce) played its first show tonight with the new lineup, and lemme tell ya, it was awesome. Maybe one of the group's tightest performances I've ever seen over the years. And they still wouldn't play "Emeralds" after I requested it! And sorry for the shitastic photo, my camera doesn't handle darkness well.

The show was originally scheduled to take place at WhAAM! but I heard the headlining band The Holy Tailfeathers cancelled, so it was moved to the newly named "Vajay Street House" (a house of all girls on J Street, get it?). Connecticut Four also played, sans Meghan plus Joey O., and they were pretty awesome as well. Joe did a fine job filling in and supplied everyone with Keg of Virgil's Cream Soda. Lauren and I ended up leaving right after BC played since we gotta get up early for the Bellcon (Bellingham Comic Convention) tomorrow morning and then Kayser's bday celebration.

Oh, and I didn't mention the debates because I am going to bed soon and I don't feel like getting into it now. But I will mention that I can't wait to witness Joe Biden tearing apart Mrs. Palin next Thursday.

Goodnight.
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My Morning View From the Shower

My morning view from the shower, originally uploaded by thegetupkid.

My new place here in Bellingham on N. State St. has a pretty awesome view... from the shower. The rest of my place faces the alley, unfortunately. But I do enjoy seeing this in the morning. Although I'm sure it'll be pitch black in a few weeks now that Fall is upon us. So yeah, that's the view I have when I'm nekkid. I hope the neighbors don't see in..
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Michael Moore's "Slacker Uprising"

I haven't watched it yet, but here is Moore's new film, "Slacker Uprising," for your viewing pleasure. I saw Moore in Seattle at the Key Arena (with a surprise visit from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder) a few years ago. I wonder if that will be in the film at all...



You can sign up to download the movie free HERE.

Mega Man 9!

Mega Man 9!, originally uploaded by thegetupkid.

It's out today for the Wii! If you have any interest in classic gaming or the Mega Man series, you probably don't need me to tell you to download this ASAP. For those of you that haven't heard, Capcom decided to make a brand new Mega Man game for all of the current consoles' download services (wiiware, psn store, xbl marketplace) using 8-bit graphics and music. For someone who grew up anticipating every new Mega Man release and saved up $50 for each one of those games in cartridge format, I couldn't ask for anything more.

This game is HARD. Like, hair-pulling, controller-throwing hard. Chris and I have been playing for a couple hours, we've gotten game overs at every stage, and we've only managed to make it to one boss (Galaxy Man) and he kicked Chris's ass pretty quickly, with only the one life left. The music is also incredible, especially Tornado Man's stage. I love everything about this game so far.

The Wii version of MM9 incorporates an achievement system similar to Xbox Live's. Most of them are impossible, like beating an entire level without shooting, or beating the game 30 times. I personally love that the game is so tough and unforgiving. It actually requires patience and skill, unlike so many games these days. You can catch Mega Man 9 on the Playstation Network Store on Thursday and the Xbox Live Marketplace October 1.

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Gus Bus, Sedro-Woolley, WA

Gus Bus, Sedro-Woolley, WA, originally uploaded by thegetupkid.

The two-story bus you are looking at belongs to Dave Weaver (he's on the right, my younger brother Alex is the other one) and Thomas Ruble. It is the second bus to come from the Weaver factory, but the first with a VW bus second-story addition. The first custom bus belongs to Dave's older brother Benjamin, who took it down to Austin, TX, to live in while he studies to become a doctor of physics.

Both buses will be running on biodiesel as soon as the conversion kits come in the mail. Meanwhile, Dave has been collecting oil from local restaurants and storing it. Dave's bus still has a way to go inside. During our visit, Thomas was applying varnish to the wooden interior panels, and then over the next weeks or months, they'll work on the flooring and installation of the shower, toilet, kitchen, bunk beds and wood stove. They are even going to build a wooden deck on the roof, complete with a white picket fence.

I really admire these guys for their perseverance and hard work. Celeste (Ben & Dave's mother) was telling me today about how they had 5 people working on Ben's bus at once. And those were 12 hour days. Anyone else think they should turn this into a business?

Weaver Custom Buses... I think I want one. I'd never pay rent again.

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My Hamster Hugo

My Hamster Hugo, originally uploaded by thegetupkid.

I thought Hugo would be a good subject to start with. Especially since all I've been doing tonight is organizing the apartment I recently moved in to. I think he's liking the new place, especially since he's not shut in the bathroom all the time like he was at the old house. The only problem is that he's mostly nocturnal and woke me up the other night running on the wheel. Isn't he cute as hell though? This won't be the last you'll see of Hugo.

EDIT: As Lauren pointed out in the comments, I didn't give her credit for giving the hamster to me. So I hope this makes her happy ;) Anyway, last Christmas, Lauren went to her parents' place in Wisconsin so she asked me to hamster-sit. I hadn't spent a whole lot of time with Hugo before he was under my supervision, but I quickly fell in love with the little guy. He's never bit me, doesn't mind if I hold him and he's fun to watch when he's not sleeping (which is quite often). I used to have two guinea pigs when I was growing up and they were awesome and adorable, and so is Hugo. Lauren didn't ask for the hamster back as soon as she came home so I was secretly hoping she'd forget. After a few days she said something about him and I said I really liked having him at my place. I didn't directly ask to keep him but I think she knew I wanted him. So out of the kindness of her heart, I was able to adopt him. Thanks Lauren!
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