John’s Crawlspace

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the current plague that is sweeping college parties and bars, known as “Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)” - Or something along those lines. If somehow you aren’t up to speed, you can feast your eyes and ears on that abomination right here. Anyway, the point of me bringing this up was that this run-of-the-mill Hot Topic-ass screamo/whatever band called “I Set My Friends On Fire” has recorded a “cover version” (?) of the song, and it made me laugh. It’d be funny to play it really loud at a party or something. You can check it out on their myspace page, it’s called “Crank dat Cavalry Boy”

I thought that this was a pretty interesting interview. Trent Reznor discusses being a member on OiNK, among other things. Who’d have thought?

So I guess this isn’t much of a Halloween post I suppose, but I didn’t really “get into it” this year with a costume or anything like that. In high school it was still acceptable (iffy?) to trick or treat (well, somewhat). In college, you had the Halloween parties and stuff to keep you in the spirit. But now that I’m out of school there really isn’t much for me to get involved in for Halloween. I am heading to a party tonight at my friends school, but it’s hard to get excited about it anymore… Which sort of sucks because I used to love Halloween. Last year around this time (when I was still in school), I remember planning for a Halloween party I was having, and putting a lot of time into getting a playlist together. I know it’s a little late, but if you find yourself in a similiar situation (or just want some festive music) here are some blog entries people have made with Halloween-ish music in ‘em: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and one more just for the hell of it. Oh, and here’s a festive Aesop Rock video for his track “Coffee”.

Anyway, if you want something “scary“, read this article - The House of Representatives has passed a “thought crime prevention bill”. So don’t even think about it.

I waited until the last minute to start throwing this post together, and now I need to start getting ready for my night, so that’s all I have time for now. Happy Halloween everybody. Oh yeah, and I know that not all cultures celebrate this holiday… But the US is the only country in the world that matters, right?

This news is coming completely out of the blue, and might surprise some of you. I’ve wanted to go abroad again for awhile now (I went to Spain for 2 weeks in 2005). A few weeks ago, it dawned on me that this might be a good time to do it, since I don’t currently have a job. I have been looking and applying for jobs, but once I get one, that pretty much guarantees I won’t be going anywhere - I don’t think most employers would be cool with a relatively new employee (or any employee for that matter) leaving the country for a month or so. Anyway, I was talking to a friend of mine who was planning to go to Ghana to do some volunteer/teaching work. I told her how I had been thinking of going somewhere as well, and she jokingly said I should come with her. I laughed it off at first - I can think of a lot of places I’d rather go than Ghana. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this might be just what I need right now: To go somewhere most people will never go and help other people with their problems. I don’t have delusions that I’d be making a huge impact or anything like that, but I think it has potential to be a great, eye-opening experience. A vacation is… Well, just a vacation. But to be torn from your comfort zone like this and be totally immersed in a new (and possibly uncomfortable) environment and culture could really be a life changing experience. I talked it over with my parents, and at first they weren’t too happy about it. An intern at my dad’s office is from Togo (which is just East of Ghana) and has an uncle in parliament over there. My dad talked to this guy and now seems much more comfortable with the idea. And honestly, the more I read about Ghana, the more excited I am to actually get over there. Anyway, I got my plane tickets and everything, and I’m leaving on November 11th. I’ll be there for 1 month… If you don’t have a calculator handy, that means I’ll be back December 11th. Which means I’ll be there during my birthday. I’m not too happy about that, but I guess it’s not a big deal. After 21, birthdays are almost a bit depressing anyway. It does kind of suck to think that my next birthday in the US will be when I turn 25 (ugh) but I’m just trying not to worry about it too much. Geez… Didn’t I start this site when I was like 16?

Getting back on topic here… If someone had told me a month ago that I’d be going to Africa, I probably would have laughed and made some jokes about AIDS. It wasn’t until I saw this video that I decided I absolutely had to go. Anyway, at the very least I hope to bring back some malaria and/or yellow fever to share with my friends and family. I guess I’ll just worry about getting a job when I get back. You’re only young once, right? I’m sure I’ll be posting more about this trip as my departure date gets closer.

This article actually made me laugh out loud, as soon as I saw the headline. That’s not to say that it isn’t true, in fact it’s very likely that it is true - although someone who is attractive to one person may be hideous to the next. Either way, it’s funny shit.

Now, if al Qaeda would just quit starting all these fires in California, everything would be fine… I heard they were the ones behind the evil, awful, horrible OiNK tracker too. Thank god the IFPI took care of that. Now that OiNK is gone, all I have left is this thing…

This past week has gone by pretty damn slow. I ran 10.5 miles on Monday (I usually run about half that distance) and I did something to my knee, so I haven’t been able to run or do much else as far as physical activity goes… So that sucks. I’m heading to Shippensburg this weekend for my first homecoming as an alumni, so that should be pretty fun. Have a good weekend everybody.

Wow. So it looks like OiNK (one of the biggest private torrent sites) has been shut down (press release here). That really sucks - I checked this site almost every single day for new music… It was pretty much my main source for quality rips of new albums and older/hard to find stuff. It does kind of baffle me how these sites can be shut down, since they aren’t actually hosting any illegal content (and therefore aren’t infringing on any copyrights) but maybe I just don’t know enough about copyright law to understand. So that sucks, but who knows, maybe someone will bring the site back? By the way, this is a terrible news article. They got OiNK’s URL wrong, and no one “paid” to download music - You had the option of making a small donation to help keep the site running, but no one forced you to, it was entirely possible to use the site without spending a dime. This article is a little better, but it still doesn’t get all the facts right. People don’t have to “prove that they have music to offer” in order to join the site, they just need to be invited by someone else.

Update: There’s a video regarding the site creator’s arrest here. By the way they raided his house you’d think he was a drug lord or something.

Anyway… Here is a higher quality (”scene”) rip of the new Serj Tankian album. Oh yeah, and make sure you download the new Britney Spears album… Shit is fire. I’ll make a bigger update soon, I just got home and I’m gonna try and get a few hours of sleep in before it gets bright out… Ugh.

Serj Tankian (best known as the frontman for System of a Down) has a solo album that’s coming out on October 23rd. I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet (I’m leaving town in a few minutes and won’t be getting back until tomorrow) but you can download an advance copy right here. I’m pretty sure this copy is edited, but hey, it’s better than nothing if you’re anticipating it, as I know some of you are. If you like it, make sure to buy it when it comes out.

This shouldn’t be news to most of you, but Radiohead have released their seventh album “In Rainbows” online. They have made headlines by allowing fans to pay whatever they want for the album - It is available completely free, or you can make a donation to the band, it’s completely up to you - This is clearly a big “f you” to the traditional music industry and record labels as a whole, if you ask me, and I think it’s pretty damn cool. Anyway, the record is amazing (but then again, it’s Radiohead, so that comes naturally) and you can grab it here.

This is awesome. Gotta run.

Coheed and Cambria’s album “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow” hits stores on October 23, 2007. You can download a “scene rip” of the album right here. This isn’t the edited version that has been floating around for the past day or two, this one just made it onto the web this afternoon. I’ve only had a chance to listen to the album in it’s entirety once, and I don’t know how I feel about it yet. I might just be growing out of this type of music, who knows… I used to be obsessed with these guys, and I still like the old stuff - I’ll have to give this a few more listens and see if it grows on me. Anyway, if you’re into Coheed, enjoy, and if not… Don’t download it?

On Wednesday night, some friends and I went to see my brother’s band (Still Motion) play at a small bar (god that site is ugly) that’s like 10 minutes from my house. I had a beer here while I was taking a shower beforehand, and then we went to dinner. I had a beer at dinner, too, but these were spaced out by about half an hour each, so I wasn’t too worried about it. We headed to the bar around 9, and they didn’t come on until around 10. I think I had 3 beers while I was there. We didn’t end up leaving until around 11 or so. Normally I never drive after having more than 1 beer. Too many of my friends have gotten DUIs, and while I know that 1 beer would never put me over the legal limit, I just don’t like to risk it… I’ve done a lot of stupid shit in my life (and gotten caught for a good amount of it at one point or another) but a DUI is one thing I have managed to avoid - simply by never putting myself in a situation where it could possibly happen. But for whatever reason, I felt like I was totally fine to drive (and I still feel like I was). Anyway, I was driving home, and I accidentally merged into this little piece of road that was one way (so potentially I could have been driving into oncoming traffic had there been other cars on the road). I’m sure there was probably a sign there, but I didn’t see it. I know I have accidentally done that in that same spot before, it is pretty confusing. Anyway, I got right back into the proper lane as soon as I could (about 5 seconds later) but a cop was already behind me. He pulled me over, and I did what I always do… Roll down my window, turn the car off, and place the keys on the dashboard. I think I kept my cool pretty well when he was talking to me, and I was very respectful. He takes my license back to the car, and comes back a few minutes later and asks me to step out of the car. At this point I started to worry. I had my sandles off (I like driving in my bare feet) so when I opened the car door and put my sandles onto the asphalt to step into them, he informed me that it was illegal to drive without “proper footwear”. One strike against me right there. He told me I’d be performing sobriety tests, and I realized that half of the “tests” I see cops making people do on TV are comprised of things I probably couldn’t do while completely sober. Anyway, he made me stand on one foot and count to 30. Simple enough. He then got on his radio and a few minutes later, 3 more cop cars showed up. At this point I thought I was gonna shit my pants. He told me that I performed the test fine, and that everything seemed okay, so why were these other cops coming? A female cop got out of her car with a small box, and I knew exactly what was coming next… Breathalyzer test. I had taken these a few times before, but probably not since I was 16 or 17. I took the breathalyzer test, and I only blew a .06 - With .08 being the legal limit… So they let me go. It seemed to me that they were really trying to get me though, why else would they need 4 cop cars? And why would they tell me that I seemed fine, and that I passed the first test, but then proceed to breathalyze me anyway? Either way, that was a close call, and I definitely don’t plan on driving after having even 1 beer anytime soon. It’s funny how the one single time that I do drive after having a few is the time that I have a close call. But hey, could have been worse, right?

God, I would hate to be in this hair salon… I bet it smells awful.

Did you know that there is a creature that can survive being frozen, boiled, exposed to open space & radiation, and more? Chances are you can find these little shits in your backyard. They’re called Tardigrades, but call them moss piglets instead… Because it sounds cooler.

In related news, an aspriring Mexican horror writer thought that his girlgriend was a moss piglet, and he boiled her flesh. Turns out she was a human, and that didn’t work out too well.

Some other interesting stuff… Ever heard of Casu Marzu? The name literally means “rotten cheese” in Sardinian. If that wasn’t bad enough, it is deliberately infested by the “cheese fly”, resulting in a moggot ridden loaf of holy hell that’s in an “advanced state of decomposition”. This cheese requires eyewear while being eaten, as the larvae (which are translucent) can jump 6 inches in the air, and they can “pass through the stomach undigested, sometimes surviving long enough to breed in the intestine, where they attempt to bore through the walls, causing vomiting and bloody diarrhea.” Oh yeah, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the cheese is illegal. I need to get me some of that shit. Read more… Check out the 6 most terrifying foods in the world.

Gonna cut this short once again because I’m supposed to meet up with people at 6 and I haven’t even started packing for the weekend yet… Heading to a friends house in Wildwood Crest, NJ. I was in Atlantic City this past Monday and the water was actually warm. I never thought I’d drink on the beach and swim in the ocean in October, but I suppose stranger things have happened. Hopefully this weekend the weather will be just as nice, but it’s starting to get cold. Anyway, have a good weekend everybody.

This is one of the coolest/strangest things I’ve read in a while. Michael Townsend, a man who is said to be the leader of a Rhode Island based artist’s cooperative, created a ’secret’ (hidden) apartment inside of a parking garage. The construction of this “apartment” began about 4 years ago, and a cinderblock wall helped to disguise it. Inside there was a sofa and a love seat, coffee/breakfast tables, a rug, paintings, and a tv with a video game system. Apparently, people would stay there for up to 3 weeks at a time. He was discovered last week by mall security. For more information (and a video) check this site out.

I have definitely gotten a kick out of poorly translated menus at Chinese places before… But I’ve never seen anything quite this just takes the cake… All of it. Every last crumb. And that’s just rude. You were taught better.

Okay, music. I uploaded Opeth’s upcoming “Roundhouse Tapes”, which is a live performance from the Camden Roundhouse in London on November 9th, 2006. I listened to it this afternoon and it sounds pretty damn good. Opeth isn’t my favorite band out there by any means, but I listen to them from time to time and definitely appreciate what they do. If you haven’t heard of them already, they’re a progressive metal band that can sometimes sound pretty damn epic. They can go from brutal death/black metal to quiet and melodic dreamy choruses without skipping a beat. Anyway, you can check that out here. It includes some annoying beep every minute or so since it’s a promo copy, but it’s not a big deal.

For whatever reason I felt like uploading this new Bob Dylan album. Titled simply “Dylan”, it doesn’t contain any new material, but it is a great retrospective of his recordings over the past four decades. If you aren’t familiar with his work, this would probably be a good introduction, but even if you’re a long-time fan, it is still a nice collection… Grab it here.

I also uploaded a higher quality copy of Ween’s “La Cucaracha”. I have listened to this album a few times now and I think it’s pretty good, but Ween definitely isn’t for everyone. Anyway, you can grab that here.

For those of you who read my last post and took time to chime in with meaningful comments, thank you. I really appreciate it. It does mean something to me that some of you who don’t normally comment at all would feel compelled to take a minute or two and write something encouraging. I haven’t posted since then because, to be honest, I’ve been trying to stay off the computer. It’s easier for me to keep my mind off of things when I’m not connected to the internet, because before I know it I’ll be on AIM or Facebook, neither of which are conducive to me getting over this breakup. I have been pretty damn bummed out, and although I’m definitely nowhere close to being completely over this, I do feel a little better than I did when I made that last post. I guess some days are better than others - Some days I can hardly justify getting out of bed. Not having a job has definitely made this whole thing so much harder for me, because, like I said before, I just have so much time on my hands, and the depression leads to me just sitting around and feeling sorry for myself. I still haven’t found a job, and it’s been pretty damn hard for me to stay motivated (I don’t think I’ve even applied for any jobs since the breakup) but hopefully that will change soon. I’m just trying to take things one day at a time… What else can I do? After all… Things could always be worse.

For example, in 1937, Jean Campbell was wrongfully accused of and arrested for stealing .13 British pounds, or roughly .25 cents. The money was eventually found. However, she remained “lost” in prison… For 70 years. She was just released, and she’s 85 years old now. That is pretty ridiculous.

I don’t know how many of you use Demonoid, but it is back up. It was down for a couple days, and while there was speculation as to why the site was down, no one really knew for sure. Apparently the site received a letter from the CRIA, and due to legal threats, they will now be blocking all Canadian traffic. Sucks for all you music pirates up north.

So apparently due to a budget crisis, the Michigan state government has been shut down. My initial reaction to this kind of news would be excitement. Looting? Rioting? Doesn’t seem likely, but you never know. Anyway, if you’re interested in reading what this shutdown actually entails, you can find out here.

That’s all I’m gonna post for now. I will try to start doing these more frequently again sometime soon. And please remember for your own sake that it is a mouth-based video game.