Author: brian

so i’ve noticed the past couple years that during the weeks between thanksgiving and christmas a sort of apathy sets in toward work. i fight it as best as i can — i’m not one to shirk responsibility or do things half-assed — but there’s a general dragging feeling. i compare it to the last semester of college when senioritis sets in. you can see the finish line and motivating yourself to get things done is just that much more difficult. yesterday on twitter i dubbed this phenomenon ‘holiday-monia’.

the funny thing is, there’s not an equal freedom on the other side once you’re in your professional life. once we all take off on our holiday breaks, only a couple weeks of vacation, all the same problems and projects are going to be here waiting not that many days later. if anything we should be more motivated to get shit done and start the year fresh without having to worry about things. but ever day that passes and brings us closer, it’s harder and harder to get anyone to do something. the prevailing attitude is, ‘it can wait until after break’.

if only there were a grown-up version of santa with mad business-world skills, who instead of bringing us adults a pile of presents, could drop into our offices and finish all our strategic positioning, or production schedules, or proofreading, or research presentations, and leave them on our desks tied up in a nice bow, ready to go when we come back after new years. that’s something i’d like to believe in.

we live in a weird time now, where whenever we see or hear something incredible, even in a singular experience like a live event, there is an expectation that someone was there to capture that and put it on the internet. even if we weren’t personally equipped or fast enough to capture it ourselves, the assumption is that someone was, and if we do enough google searches, we’ll be able to track down proof of that amazing moment and relive it as often we want, or show the evidence to everyone that missed it of how enviable our experience was.

i can think of several times where this held true, and i was able to share moments of incredible live music shows. for example, the encore of daft punk’s alive tour where they lit up like tron figures. i was able to find a totally decent recording of the whole show shortly after the decemberists played at the hollywood bowl accompanied by the LA philharmonic (which is still floating around if you try hard). the mountain goats tour where john got sick and had the whole audience sing ‘no children’ for him instead was one of those magical moments you want to revisit every once in a while to remember that people are inherently good (even if by proxy, as this was recorded in san fran and not LA). the internet is amazing for this reason.

but then every once in a while, you turn to the internet to prove those cool moments really happened, and it lets you down. it took me weeks to find a clip of a colin meloy solo b-side i’d heard at a live show, and i started to wonder if my memory was even right about loving this song so much (though i did find it eventually). there are cover songs or funny moments or removing of clothes (ah, kaki king) that are only around in memory form, which isn’t bad, but a lot harder to effectively convey to someone else who missed it.

which is why i’m so excited that even though their album isn’t coming out until next year, and the one particular new song i loved from their recent live show was nowhere to be found for a fairly long time, frightened rabbit stopped by the bbc to record a couple of their new songs. the one i particularly enjoyed was called ‘nothing like you‘, and prefixmag.com provided the mp3, and now i can happily throw it on repeat and wait anxiously for the album to arrive. [contented sigh]… thanks, internet.

it’s the moooost wonderful tiiiiime, of the yeeeeeaar.

and not just because i finally got to shave off my moustache. a moustache that earned, at final tally, around $850 dollars to fund prostate cancer research, i might add, making it one very charitable month of facial hair growth. no, it’s a wonderful time of year because there is is much fun to be had.

not only are there a smattering of birthdays, common to any month, but on top of that, an added layer of holiday parties. my calendar is already full through the end of the year on essentially ever friday and saturday night. some thursdays and sundays to boot. i’d better get back to going to the gym, is all i’m saying, because i forecast a large uptick in eating, drinking, merrymaking, etcetera to commence in the next few days and not stop until somewhere around martin luther king jr day. though why stop there, the man is a legend worth celebrating! and then the next week is my birthday… whew, i’m exhausted just thinking about it. february might have to be a time for hibernation.

returning to the topic though, with all the parties and what have you. it couldn’t come at a better time, because it has suddenly become crazy-ass cold as far as los angeles goes. our heater is blaring. i’m using blankets i haven’t touched for most of the year. it makes you want to… find shelter with friends and drink yourself warm! which is exactly what we’ll be doing. it’s a wonderful time indeed. the perfect transition from warm late-summer afternoons of football and beer pong and barbeques (it was a good try trojans, no hard feelings), to early nights and staying indoors with a pint and some buddies.

(plus, to be honest, cooler weather is an excuse to stay indoors even on non-party occasions, which is great for me considering this is prime video game season and there is just so much to play at home, why even bother leaving the house? the most hanging out with people i’ve done in the last several weeks with anyone who wasn’t my girlfriend/roommate/wife-to-be was via headset while shooting other nerds in modern warfare 2. now that’s a fun way to spend an overcast LA autumn afternoon.)

anything else? well there are a couple new articles at under culture if that interests you. we should be doing another podcast and beginning to work on our year-end list in the next couple weeks, so look forward to that. be our fan on facebook if you’re not already and you are indeed some type of fan. or become one in name only for now, and let us win you over with our future updates. either way, really.

movember continues at bristling speed, and so far it’s been a pretty big success. my mo’ is in good shape, as you can see below. and more importantly, i’ve raised over $500 to fight prostate cancer!

out of everyone at my company i’m second place in fundraising, lagging behind only the very top dog at our office, who is sort of cheating since he’s had a moustache and beard for like 30 years and probably knows a bunch of rich people. i’d like to think my mo’ has much more moxie, because it was raised on the streets with only its wits and a gang of great friends to watch its back.

thanks so much to everyone who’s donated so far, and remember, it’s not too late to donate if you haven’t yet!

if by some miracle i get to $1000, i get a sweet moustache mug and a certificate that i’m in the movember platinum club. i’m pretty sure once that happens, it’s just a matter of time until my moustache gets rich and famous and throws fancy parties for all its friends. all it would take is 50 people to give $10, or 25 people to give $20. i know that together we can do this.

life with a moustache, i must say, is totally sweet. for one thing, i haven’t been carded for anything all month, i guess because i look wiser. beer, cigarettes, even all the guns i bought yesterday. i didn’t have to show an ID or anything, they just gave ’em right to me. they probably just assumed i would use them to fight injustice, and of course they’re right.

the best part about having a moustache though is all the adventures you can go on with it. i know it’s been a few weeks since i updated everyone on my ‘stache status, but only because i’ve been enjoying all the opportunities a rad ‘stache affords a man. luckily, i do have some pictures to share:

first was the obvious stop, joining a biker gang. me and my mo’ (and of course a few other badass dudes) just having a sweet time cruising around being manly. and thanks to nature’s wind-guard, not a single bug in my teeth. nothing makes you feel more free than the breeze streaming through your lip-hair. turns out there’s also a leather requirement for permanent membership though, and me and my mo’ are trying to raise money, not spend it on dead cow hides, so that didn’t last long.

instead, i got a gig as a mall security guard on a segway scooter, using the intimidating effects of my ‘stache to keep the peace. but after all that scooting i put on a few pounds from donuts and not enough walking, so i had to quit for health reasons (and also because i was scaring little kids with my fierce snarl).

next i tried my hand at firefighting. that was a uniform i looked manly in. all the ladies loved me, and of course i turned them all down because there’s only one woman that can handle this ‘stache, and i’m already planning to marry her. however, my one weakness is that i’m allergic to cats, and so getting them out of trees all day was causing a buildup of grossness in my snotcatcher. so, again, time to move on.

my latest adventure was becoming an olde timey wrestler. if i won the big match, i was going to donate all the money to prostate cancer research and be a hero to all but unfortunately my opponent, the Soulless Patch, pulled an illegal Goatee of Doom in the final round and stole the title from me. humiliated, i was forced into early retirement.

now i’m thinking of shaving and leaving my wild moustache days behind me, but not until i raise more money to fight cancer. come on friends, there are only five days left, help me get over $1000! forward this link to your friends and family, and together we can change the face of mens’ health, before i change my face back to its old hairless self.

so our football team is falling apart, so what. that doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of things to be happy about. besides, it’s a young team. wait til next year.

lots of things are good though. i’m done with my month of daily movie-watching, with lots of posts on under culture, and it was a pretty easy task. i saw a lot of good movies and quite a few that were just okay, and i’m pretty sure all the treadmill was pretty effective.

unfortunately, i just wanted to spend more time with books and games and whatnot and put the brakes on netflix for the past week, which coincided with getting a cold, so i haven’t done either in about a week. ah well. i’ll get back on the workout horse soon and try to keep my weekly movie average at least up to 3 or 4.

and though the game itself was a bust, it was exciting that for homecoming this year mike and dan actually did come home to participate. we had a fun weekend of bowling, burritos, hanging around my apartment, trying to sneak an ID-less dan into a club and settling for a birthday party as a consolation prize, and all manner of hijinks.

lastly, my moustache is coming along as well as can be expected, but i need to take more photos before making a new update worthwhile, so look forward to that soon, or just donate now for encouragement.

i made a commitment and i’m sticking to it. not only am i growing this moustache; it’s my duty to keep my supporters informed as to its progress.

still haven’t donated? not only is there plenty of time left, but after seeing these pictures, my courage will surely inspire you to give generously. or puke.

either way, just visit my movember page and give whatever amount you can afford. even as little as a dollar, five dollars, will help build my total donation toward prostate cancer research. in fact, if every person i emailed gives only 2 dollars, that would be an undisclosed amount of people, multiplied by two! that’s a lot of money!

and to those of you who already donated, i wish i had a better ‘stache for you to be proud of, but take heart. it’s early yet, and your support has really meant a lot to me and my blossoming lip curtain.

take a look at this first timeline to see the initial growth spurt (click for full size):

day two was just the beginning of the non-shaving journey, and as you can see, is almost unnoticeable. that gives you an idea of the total lack of raw facial hair talent i’m working with here.

day five, i haven’t shaved at all just to see with i’m working with. like any great artist, it all begins with a good canvas. only my canvas is a pitiful bunch of chin whiskers and my art is a nasty ‘stache-terpiece.

day nine, i have now shaved twice and am trying my best not to be ashamed of my progress so far. though what i currently have can technically be called a moustache in that it is hair, and it is covering my upper lip (but not the full chin, making it a goatee, and therefore ineligible), it’s more like training wheels for what might someday be a mo’ to be proud of.

a few further learnings:

this photo was taken right before shaving the first time, a full week in. see those areas in red? those are the evidence that if this were beard-tober instead of movember, i would have to just give up and start raising money for little girl charities.

even after a full 7 days without shaving, you could literally count the individual hairs between the goatee region and the place where sideburns should be. gone are any dreams of gnarly mutton chops. full chin straps: out of the question. even a five o’ clock shadow, no matter the time of day or week, remains a fantasy.

but all is not lost. i remain dedicated to doing what i can and continuing to fight for men’s health despite my own shortcomings. so take one last look at this photo. it’s the beginning of something beautiful.

a majestic mo’ it may never be. i may have weird bald spots that keep my lip hair from connecting to my chin hair, making even a simple handlebar an uphill battle. i may never win any moustache-related contests other than ‘best effort by a guy who could still pass as a teenager’. but these tiny hairs have a big heart, and that’s what counts.

well, that, and raising money for men’s health. so please consider donating if you haven’t already! and if you’re curious about how much good it does, take a look at the video below from REAL DOCTORS, who may not have moustaches themselves yet (assuming this was recorded pre-movember), but have huge brains to make up the difference.

thanks again!

if you know me at all, you probably know that i’ve never had facial hair. not once, in my entire life. i think the longest i’ve ever gone without shaving is 3 days, tops, and then only in extreme circumstances like camping or music festivals.

well this year, it’s time to put an end to that, and do it with purpose. see, i’ve signed up to participate in movember! i’m growing a moustache this month for charity. it’s like a walk-a-thon for any other charity, only this one’s specifically for men’s health (the prostate cancer foundation), and all i have to do is grow a mo’.

i’m going to document my progress with photos and lots of moustache jokes (keep an eye on the twitter updates for those), and will get to that soon. of course, since it’s only now day three, my progress is only beginning, so i don’t have much to show yet. but by this time next week: look out!

if you’d like to donate to my stache and help fund prostate cancer reasearch, please, visit my mospace page, and check back here soon for more updates.

the days have been full lately. not only have i been working hard on a big project, but i’ve started a little experiment for myself.

see, i hadn’t been to the gym in ages, just returned from a particularly indulgent weekend in san francisco, and to boot, jessica has been spending a lot of her time, especially on weeknights, hitting the books.

so i came up with a plan to make better use of solo time and hopefully help out with a few things i’d been slacking on: exercise and netflix. so starting 8 days ago, i’ve committed to getting on the treadmill every day and watching a movie every night. so far, it’s going really well. i don’t really dread either, i’ve seen some great movies, and i think the activity is helping my fitness in whatever small way you can notice after only a week. i called it the ‘mile and a movie’ project, even though i’m running a little more than that. it just had a nice ring to it.

i wrote up some more detailed thoughts, mostly about the movies, in two posts over at under culture if you’d like some netflix recommendations, though the list also includes two great current movies too, zombieland and paranormal activity.

the only problem so far is finding time to watch these movies as well as write about them, not to mention trying to stay on top of my reading list all the while, but i suppose you can’t have it all. if it takes me slightly longer to finish a book but i’m super sexy a month from now from all the running, i think i could handle that.

mini-vacations seem like the way to go. it’s hard to carve out a 7-10 day chunk and organize travel to some far-off destination. it’s expensive and stressful to visit foreign shores, as rewarding and mind-expanding as that may be. but taking a few extra bonus weekend days and driving up to san francisco to hang out with college buddies i don’t see often enough — that’s easy, affordable, and wonderful.

possibly to our discredit, we didn’t even do much on this trip, but even so it was still great. we did go to a respectable birthday dinner for mike on thursday night at least, at beretta, which i would say is delicious but maybe not the best choice for very large parties.

friday was almost gloriously low-key though. we got lunch, we came home to play ping pong and beer pong (oh man, hungarian rules… a full contact form where you can run after your own missed balls that was goddamn fun if draining and at times dangerous, and which oddly i can find no reference to on the internet, at least under that name.) burgermeister for dinner, chilling with some kegbot in the evening.

saturday was just plain great though. lazy afternoon resting up for the night of SC football game and then huge dance party. mike, ted and kyla had reserved the basement of the li po, which they then preceded to destroy with their killer music. i drank quite a bit, i’ll admit, but that meant i had a great time dancing the night away before some less fortunate repercussions kicked in, or the eventual passing out with my clothes on back at mike’s.

the drive home was a bit unfortunate, and monday was not my friend, but overall, lovely times. i think my mission, since i can never seem to effectively use the vacation time allowed because of time or budgetary restraints, should be to take more long weekends for pure relaxation and enjoyment.

the economy sucks and i still have a job, so i feel bad ever complaining about money. but hey, i could sure use more.

mainly because i’ve been at a weird state of equilibrium for a couple years where i have all my bills paid and some money to have fun with, but also lots of debt. and it seems like i don’t have quite enough to do what i really should be doing — like paying down that debt or, say, saving more for that wedding we’ll probably want to have at some point — unless i seriously cut out on the having fun part.

or even when i’m good and don’t spend too much, right when it looks like i’m making some headway, boom, it’s time for an expensive car repair, or doctor trip, or other necessity. or i’m faced with being financially ‘responsible’ or skipping things like vacations or holiday trips which is like robbing myself of a real life, which doesn’t make sense either. who wants to be a debt-free 30-year-old with no fun memories from their 20’s? at the end of the day, certainly not me, which is why i’m always on the border of broke. oops!

anyway, if anyone has a bag of 10 thousand dollars they don’t need, it would sure make a big difference. though either way, i’m going to san fran this weekend to see the buddies for some birthdays, music, football, dj sets, and other assorted fun and excuses to drink. i’m sure it’ll be expensive but undoubtedly worth it; i’ll gladly spend the money while there, come back and feel guilty about it, and then move on exactly as before.