Hello endysis. My name is Darrin, and I am the latest addition to your lime-colored haven of self-discosure and rampant name-calling.

Since only a couple of you know who I am, I suppose I'll tell you how I fell into this mess: One day, fearless leader Eric picked up a newspaper and read a music review he didn't like. He said, "Hey, I'm Eric. I can do better." As a result, he walked up to my desk and dropped off an application to become review his own music. Hi sample was a review of Explosions in the Sky, the other four applicants reviewed The Strokes' "Room on Fire." Eric won by default.

Consequently, two pretentious pricks based a friendship on talking shit and an unhealthy love for alliteration. I began reading endysis, and now, two years later, I now get to share my skewed view of this world with Eric's friends, a girl who loves sandwiches, krumpers, and a diagram of a cloud mysteriously labeled "the internet."

I hope you all don't mind my being here. I promise to stay (moderately) quiet.

Ahh, so nice to be back in the northwest. a week and a half ago i ventured out driving with my 2 uncles driving down to tucson az. i went down ther for my g-mas 90th birthday/family reuniun. it was a fun week filled with eating lots of food, drinking my relatives booze and finding out some funny ass stories about my dad that cemented my beliefes of him being a pothead in his younger years. i was stoked on being in 80 degree weather for a week but seeing nothing but sand and cactuses all day was killing me. my parents who were gonig to fly but the flights were canceled ended up driving down. whats cool about that is that we stopped through Vegas on our way back. ive never been to vegas so it was pretty cool. 1st and foremost cool thing is that you can drink in public, awesome. we stayed at the new york new york which has a rollercoster going around the entire hotel on the roof. we spent the night doing nothing but walking up and down the strip, ate some food, drank some drinks and watching some free shows. end of the night tally for me...$20 down and gambling, $40 down on booze. now if i was in ashland $40 on booze would mean a heavy night of drinking. however when you pay $14 on a shot of whiskey and a bottle of bud light, your money doesn't last long so i guess im stoked i didn't spend more. the 14 hour drive back was saved by books on tape. my mom bought the cronicles of narnia on tape, awesome. capt. picard even read one book, but i haven't got to that one yet. we got up to prince caspian which is book #4 i believe, rad books. it was a long and fun filled week but i am so stoked to be back in non polution warning, traffic jam free, tree filled mountian town called ashland.

KNAC reports: Melodicrock is reporting VH1 has begun taping a new reality show tentatively titled Supergroup this week in Las Vegas. The premise of the show is to lock several musicians in a house for 10 days and get them to write and record some new original music. The line-up is: Scott Ian (Anthrax, guitar), Ted Nugent (guitar), Evan Seinfeld (Biohazard, bass), Sebastian Bach (eKID ROW, vocals) and Jason Bonham (Bonham, UFO, Foreigner, drums).

Also:
Some Mike Patton news
This Article really puts the quiver in my flapjacket.

Things that have happened on today's date:
1531 Earthquake in Lisbon Portugal, kills 20,000
1797 Bank of England issues 1st £1-note
1848 Marx & Engels publish "The Communist Manifesto"
1848 2nd French Republic forms
1863 Lincoln signs National Currency Act
1870 1st NYC subway line opens (pneumatic powered)
1887 George Lohmann took 1st 8-wicket haul in Test Crickets, 8-35 at SCG
1907 Royal Oil & Shell merge to form British Petroleum (BP)
1907 US Congress raised their own salaries to $7500
1915 Malancourt, Argonnen - 1st (German) flame-thrower
1916 Mutual signs Charlie Chaplin to a film contract
1918 Stands at Hong Kong Jockey Club collapse & burn, killing 604
1919 Congress established Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona
1923 Italian nationalist & fascists merge (blue-shirts & black-shirts)
1924 Trial against Hitler in Munich begins
1925 Jihad-Saint war against Turkish government
1935 New York Yankees release Babe Ruth, he signs with Boston Braves
1936 Hitler introduces Ferdinand Porsche's "Volkswagen"
1941 Cowboys' Amateur Association of America organized (California)
1946 2 killed & 10 wounded in race riot in Columbia TN
1955 1st aviator to bail out at supersonic speed - G F Smith
1962 US Supreme court disallows race separation on public transportation
1970 Beatles release "Hey Jude"
1975 1st televised kidney transplant (Today Show)
1976 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1977 1st flight of Space Shuttle (atop a Boeing 747)
1979 Last total eclipse of Sun in 20th century for continental US
1981 Boston & Minnesota play most penalty-filled NHL game-406 minute total
1983 Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 37 weeks
1984 Reverend Jesse Jackson acknowledges that he called NYC, "Hymietown"
1987 1st release of Beatles compact discs
1987 NBA's Michael Jordan's 58 points is a Chicago Bull record
1989 California court throws out most of Margo Adams's $12 million breach-of- contract suit against Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs
1989 Lowest barometric pressure in Netherlands (95.5 hPa)
1993 2nd tallest building in world, NYC World Trade Center bombed, 7 die
1998 Oprah Winfrey beats Texas cattlemen in beef trial

Trailer

My flapjacket is quivering.

UPDATE:":":":":":
The movie NIGHT WATCH in 2 1/2 minutes! Thanks Myspace!

Inspired by the above image of Dimebag Darell (formerly Diamond Darell), posted by Sledg, I found some more:

(OMG VINNIE PAUL == KEVIN SMITH!)

After a few years of media-heavy blogging, the image directory is swollen with random pictures from the way back. With well over 1,000 images in there, I thought I'd share a few of my favourites:

Sand art / testing video.google.com embeds...

i wish i knew why i find these so funny... especially the first one...

uuuuuuuuuuugghh!

this time two months from yesterday i will be sufficiently intoxicated in celebration of completing my senior presentation.

this time three months from today i will be sufficiently intoxicated in celebration of completing college.

all this is dependent on me finishing all 18 credits that i have this semester and writing that damn thesis. stupid thesis... but i did actually start it, and i have part of my intro chapter done, and by friday i will also have my methods and background chapters done. how do i know these will be done, in spite of the fact that i haven't started either of them? because they are due friday at noon, so obviously they will get completed somehow. duh.

i also have a 4-5 page literary analysis paper due for my literature about war class on monday. it's on the book 'the killer angels' about the civil war. now i remember in high school i never really ended up using the thesis sentence that conley would require us to turn in a week prior to the due date, and i never actually finished the reading material in its entirety, and i generally didn't even give the paper a second thought until about 9:30pm the night before it was due. i managed to get mostly A's then. but i'm not so sure i still know how to do that. not gonna lie, i'm a little concerned that i've gotten so wrapped up in writing research papers i've lost my BSing ability to produce these sort of papers. i guess we'll see next monday at 9am whether or not i've still got skills.

in completely unrelated-to-school news, i met someone. well, i suppose that's sort of a lie. i've known him for awhile, through people. but as of late we've been spending more and more time together, and i'm finding i really like it. a lot. and for the first time in a long time there isn't this sort of nagging, i'm trying to get back at him feeling to it. i think i might legitimately, genuinely like this guy. i'm not gonna jinx it. i'm trying real hard not to fuck this one up. here's hoping it might actually go somewhere...

alright, i'm technically at work right now, so perhaps i should do some work-related things. maybe.


always.....

I've been listening to alot of stuff lately, with a few specific ones really puttin the honey on my gumdrops. I realised that a few of these are not currently available or are out of print. So here is a list of stuff to keep your eyes peeled for.

Currently Not Available:

Mr. Beast - Mogwai
- This comes out on March 7th I believe, and this is already one of my favorites of theirs. Buy it, bitches.

El Producto - The Avelanches
-From what I've researched, this was an Australia-only Tour Ep that came out before SINCE I LEFT YOU. There is an mc on every song that kind of throws off a french-beastie-boy-type vibe. I guess that makes ssense, since they were touring with the Beasties when this was released. The Mc is just alright but there are some great beats. This is Out of print, so you will have to scour the net for this bitch.

To-be-titled Gnarls Barkley Album
-Group comprised of Hot-Producer-on-a-roll, Danger Mouse, and Cee-Lo. I only have about 6 songs from this but I enjoy them a good amount. A few of the tunes fall into the "not-for-me" catagory, but the others arepretty rad. My favorite is their cover of "Gone Daddy Gone" by the Violent Femmes. I read somewhere that the album is supposed to "drop" around Coachella time(April 29,30), during which, they will be performing at Coachella.

Chosen Lords- AFX
-AFX is one of Aphex Twin's many alias'. This is a Cd compilation of selected tracks from AFX's recent ANALORD LP series. Of course this shit is cool man. I think this comes out in mid-april.

Readily Available:

12 Songs - Neil Diamond
-If you want to confuse people, blast this shit.

Lonely Mountain - Mugison
-This guy is from Iceland. He has an album that just came out on Mike Patton's record label and he has another one on the way. This one is before those and is dudical as well.

Elephant Eyelash - WHY?
- Who are these ANTICON guys anyway? I'll admit it took me awhile to get into this one, as Why's voice is kind of obnoxious. But after a few "spins" I just cant get enough. I think this type of music should cause the invention of yet another sub-subculture called HIPpieSTER! Oh that already exists? Damn!

Akuma No Uta - Boris
-These guys are more rock'nroll than anyone. ANYONE! They have a new album coming out pretty soon called Pink. They just released an album with Merzbow a few months ago. They are probably the only band to be releasing albums on both Hydrahead and Southern Lord at the same time! BAAAADAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. I know someone that already has their new album, but they wont give it to me (nudge nudge). A quick note - The cover of this album is a recreation of the cover of Nick Drake's Bryter Lyter album. Except this one has a double-necked guitar as opposed to an accoustic guitar.





Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go "not get" TOOL while fucking bitches from a distance.

Ps. I got my hands on a few leaked tracks from the long-upcoming Guns N Roses album Chinese Democracy. They sound like Guns N Roses doing Guns N Roses.

After the band's first 'real' debut, I kind of forgot about the band. I also keep forgetting that Zach Hill is the drummer. I found a neato bootleg on bandsvideos that has a savage-as-fuck drumsolo by Mr. Hill. Download it here (15mb).

The original Team Sleep demos also had a track featuring Mike Patton. While it's not all that great, it still manages to be somewhat evertaining. Check it here (7.5mb).

That's all.

 
What a crazy few weeks it has been. I'm yet again getting completely sodomized by my classes. The majority of my classes are based around group work, but thankfully I have some pretty radass group-members, which has been a rare occurrence in my past experiences. I did pretty swell on one midterm but not-so-hot on another. Stress.

Sadly, I wasn't able to make it back to the valley on Valentine's Day. Ms. Kim and I were, however, able to get together the weekend before hand. Too much fun. I kind of feel like a teenager again, if that makes any sense.

I attended a simply wonderful concert last night with a simply wonderful crew. Twas KBVR's 40th anniversary and my good friend Darrin pulled together a pretty rocking lineup with Swords (formerly the Swords Project) as the headliner. Daniel and Andrew arrive at 6:15. Show starts at 7:30. We drink many bottles of beer, fill up a flask and walk our asses across campus. Opening was Matinee (which I wasn't so sure about) with Stars of Track and Field following. I managed to get on 'the list' which got me into 'the green room' which got me 'a free sandwich,' which made the night so much more wonderful. Spectacular job, Darrin.

I've been writing a two-person advice column since the beginning of the term. We field questions from the readers and give 'advice.' We made some slight quip about cancer while telling someone that smoking does indeed make them look cool (as ice!). We've been getting more and more letters from readers who don't really like our sense of humor, which is oddly validating. I've managed to get a fair amount of positive feedback as well. I'm not really sure that I like my name being attached to it, but damn if it isn't fun to write. Good shit.

The Mixtape Collective is coming along in short bursts, every few days. I spent a good chunk of time working on an image-uploading system for user profiles. Our interface is really slick. Not flashy, but super functional. We're pretty proud of it. We need to finish the messaging system and the implement some sort of feedback system and I think we can open it to the first stages of beta-ness. No actual mixtape functionality yet, but the user-interaction level is almost complete. Neat.

The final four episodes of Arrested Development (unless someone picks the show up?) aired two weeks ago, back to back. I'm a big fan of the show and let me tell you, that was a viking-funeral ending. At least we got three seasons of one of the best show I've seen on TV. Bravo.

Anyway, Ms. Kim is making a quick trip up here tomorrow. I'm not gonna' lie -- I'm fucking excited.

More later. I love you all.

//edit -- I'm a sucker for mysterious shit like this.

so i havent posted in a while... i have a good excuse i swear. i really want to go to cochella, whos going and when or are tickets going to be on sale? o and who all is going?

Tool Rumors; Festival Appearances
As expected, rumors about Tool's upcoming album are flying around the internet. On April 25th, the band is expected to release 'Elephtheria'. Track listing for the album could include:

1. "Greed Lies"
2. "Psychiatrical"
3. "The Distant"
4. "LK"
5. "Venomous Souls"
6. "Karma"
7. "Lost City"
8. "24th Hour"
9. "Area Unlocale"

Nothing has been confirmed by the band or their label, Volcano Records. What has been confirmed are the dates for Tool's upcoming promo tour which include,

April 29th - 30th in Indio, CA @ Coachella Festival
June 2nd - 4th in Nurburgring, Germany @ Rock am Ring
June 3rd - 5th in Ibbenbuhren, Germany @ Pinkpop Festival
June 16th - 18th in Interlaken, Switzerland @ Greenfield Festival
June 29th - July 2nd in Roskilde, Denmark @ Roskilde Festival
July 4th - 8th in Kristiansand, Norway @ Quart Festival
August 25th - 27th in Reading, UK @ Reading Festival

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.

School is destroying my soul. Things have gotten so incredibly out of hand in terms of my workload, I don't even know how to cope. Only the fourth week and I'm already fighting to keep my head above water. At least I don't have mono, right?

Besides school, not too much has been going on in my life. My douchebag roommate forgot to pay the gas bill, so for three days this week we didn't have any hot water. It was dreadful. A cold shower so frigid that it physically hurts -- that's a shitty way to start your day. I refused to shave during the days with no hot water, it was the longest I've gone in a long time -- I looked homeless. Kind of.

Speaking of homeless people -- the bums are back in our garage. I heard some noise the other day and went to investigate. They were smoking pot out of a crumpled-up beer can. Just like we used to do in highschool. Oh, silly bums, don't you know that inhaling aluminum gives you Alzheimer's? I don't want to call the cops on them, but they don't really seem to listen to any reason. At least they aren't peeing in there -- at least I don't think they are.

Ms. Kim came up for a lightning visit last weekend. It was good getting to spend some time with her. We've been apart for so long that it's almost like starting over. Passion is for teenagers and immigrants -- I kind of feel like a teenager again. It's nice. Really nice. Just what my wooden heart needed.

I can't stop listening to The Dismemberment Plan. I've had the whole album, Emergency & I, stuck in my head for the last month. The new album by The Advantage, Elf Titled is really badassed too.

I'm in the computer lab and a guy just walked by with full-sleeve tribal tattoos -- porn-star style.

the Mixtape Collective is coming along swimmingly. It looks gorgeous. Corey is a fucking PHP god, I'm in awe of his skill. Soon we'll be open for initial beta testing -- y'all are invited.

Much love. Enjoy the weekend.

Alright so as some as you know i bought my car and after a few months of having it it started over heating and giving me shit. so i spent the last two days fucking around with it putting in a radiator from and integra. its bigger than the stock one so i had to do some costom fabrication to make it fit and to get the hoses to work. i think i finally got it fixed but i am over it. i am selling that bitch on the street corner the second i get the body work done and am buying a reliable beater. something that i can leave unlocked without worrying about something getting jacked or if the car next to me dented my door with theirs. so if anybody wants to buy my baby, hit me up.

PS the X Games blew this year, judging fucking sucked, they made the skiing slopestyle in a best trick, and the anouncers were total bonewagons.

Update:::::::::::::::::::::::
From Filmrot.com:

Finally, proof that Werner Herzog is a higher being ...

I was watching The Culture Show on BBC One last night with my back to the television until I heard that Mark Kermode was going to be interviewing Werner Herzog, one of my favourite directors. Famous for portraying extreme characters, who often lose their minds as they attempt the impossible, or are killed by the very thing they seek solace in, Herzog's films are always powerful and provocative. Grizzly Man is no exception and Kermode and Herzog stood nearby a canyon road to begin their interview about this film when there was a loud bang and Herzog clutched at his abdomen - someone had taken a pot shot at him with an air rifle and struck him!

Pandemonium ensued and they retired to a hotel and continued the interview where Herzog revealed his wound, a small hole in his abdomen which had bled over his t-shirt and boxer shorts. Herzog said it was nothing, it was part of being a filmmaker - 'a good soldier of cinema'. Well, if that is the case, then Herzog would have taken this next incident in his stride and apparently he did just that ...

From IMDB:

Herzog Helped Phoenix from Car Wreckage

Oscar-nominee Joaquin Phoenix was rescued from his car wreck last week by German cult director Werner Herzog. The 31-year-old Walk The Line star overturned his car on a canyon road above Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood after his brakes failed and he collided with another vehicle. Phoenix was saved because he was wearing his seat-belt, but has revealed he was helped from the wreckage by the 63-year-old, who has a home nearby. The actor says, "I remember this knocking on the passenger window. There was this German voice saying, 'Just relax.' There's the airbag, I can't see and I'm saying, 'I'm fine. I am relaxed. Finally, I rolled down the window and this head pops inside. And he said, 'No, you're not.' And suddenly I said to myself, 'That's Werner Herzog' There's something so calming and beautiful about Werner Herzog's voice. I felt completely fine and safe. I climbed out. I got out of the car and I said, 'Thank you,' and he was gone." From IMDB:

To WISPY
To Jeryl
ToErc
(Part 2)
To Rabbo
To DK (A Hunky Guy to keep you Busy while You have MONO)

i've been working for the army every day. missed the first week the semester to be on orders. at least i'm getting paid, right? well yesterday i woke up feeling.... bleh. i mean bleh. my throat was swollen beyond belief. not sore, just swollen. like, my whole neck feels like it's three feet around. and my whole body hurt. it hurts to breath, sit, talk, walk, pretty much it hurts to live. didn't feel any better today so i decided to go to the doctor. and the results are in. ready? oh yes, i have mono, everyone. what???? i've never had mono in my life. nor have i had strep, or lice, or any of those other things people often get. the silly doctor seems to think i can just take two to six weeks off to rest up. bull-ony. i'm hoping that she (and the test results) were wrong. i'm going for a second opinion next week. for now, i get to stay in bed (yeah right). oh, and did i mention no alcohol for six weeks? jesus, is she trying to kill me????

so that's it for me. multiple people have suggested that this is just the god's way of giving me some extra time to work on my thesis. oh yeah, i guess i should start that thing....


always.....

I know that I've been slacking on my updates, but I've been quite busy.

But not enough to watch the latest Bob Odenkirk flick, courtesy of Sundance. It even stars his son, Charles "Chuck" Odenkirk.

Neat.