i also have an opinion

2006-08-11T18:00:00.000-04:00

Dear Non-Existent Readers,

I have a new blog for all of you to not read, http://kneecapped.blogspot.com. Please enjoy not reading my new blog.

Best,

Rick

My list of top comics

2006-07-30T12:30:00.000-04:00

There's a lot of talk out there about the Great Dane Cook. Dane Cook is very neato, and almost as funny as the other comedians in my top five:

1) Yakov Smirnoff: One joke routine, one schmoke routine. I could listen to communism and vodka jokes all day.

2) Dame Edna: Is it a man, is it a woman? Does it matter? No, it’s hilarious. And her voice is definitely not annoying, it sounds like angels singing.

3) Sinbad: His transformation from stand-up to actor tops Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, and Robin Williams combined. Have you seen Necessary Roughness? His performance is a tour de force.

4) Carrot Top, the God of Prop Comics: There is an absolute correlation between the demise of "Call ATT" and Carrot Top's dismissal as their spokesman and it ain't the rise of cheap cell phones.

5) The only comic who can be rightly compared to the above? The aforementioned Dane Cook. He has a ways to go before reaching their pinnacle of mildly amusing comedy, but just look how fucking cool he is, I'm so happy for him.

Voting Rights Schmoting Rights

2006-07-28T12:26:00.000-04:00

The following 33 U.S. Representatives voted against renewing the Voting Rights Act, which is surprising because I always thought voting rights were the backbone of a democracy, silly me. To begin with it's a joke that this law hasn't been made permanent, but I'd really just settle for enforcement. Shockingly, after doing some research I noticed the following 33 "nayers" are all Republican. Must be a coincidence. Here they are America:

Alabama: Rep. Jo Bonner (R-1), Rep. Terry Everett (R-2).
Arizona: Rep. Trent Franks (R-2), Rep. John Shadegg (R-3).
California: California: Rep. John Campbell (R-48), Rep. John Doolittle (R-4), Rep. Wally Herger (R-2), Rep. Gary Miller (R-42), Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-46), Rep. Ed Royce (R-40).
Colorado: Rep. Joel Hefley (R-5), Rep. Thomas Tancredo (R-6).
Georgia (a whopping 6 out of 13 Georgia representatives): Rep. Nathan Deal (R-10), Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-11), Rep. John Linder (R-7), Rep. Charles Norwood (R-9), Rep. Tom Price (R-6), Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-8) (This video of Lynn with Stephen Colbert is genius. Get to know this guy, he's probably our next president)
Indiana: Rep. Dan Burton (R-5).
Iowa: Rep. Steve King (R-5).
Louisiana: Rep. Richard Baker (R-6)
Maryland: Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-6).

(He's my personal favorite. First off, his name is Roscoe. If there was ever a name that embodies inept hillbillies, Roscoe would be a first ballot hall of famer. Former profession? Scientist. I'd be willing to bet he’s not a Darwinian.)
New Jersey: Rep. Scott Garrett (R-5).
North Carolina: Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-5), Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-10)
South Carolina: Rep. J. Gresham Barrett (R-3)
Tennessee: Rep. John Duncan, Jr. (R-2).
Texas: Rep. Joe Barton (R-6), Rep. Mike Conaway (R-11), Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-5), Rep. Sam Johnson (R-3), Rep. Ron Paul (R-14), Rep. William Thornberry (R-13).

There you have it folks, your 2006 conservative base!

2005-11-16T00:14:00.000-05:00

Poster

The Chicken Stand Throw Down Band Rocks (or should I say bluegrasses?) The Sidewalk Cafe, 11/11/05 in NYC - Photos

2005-11-11T23:34:00.000-05:00

The Chicken Stand Throwdown Band - Throwin' down at the Sidewalk Cafe, NYC - Photos

What can I say about The Chicken Stand Throwdown Band? Oh yeah, I can say they are a damn fine little band. Mixing their eclectic musical arrangements, beautiful harmonies, and clever cover songs, The Chicken Stand throwdown band plays a set that both you and your parents can enjoy. The three singers all have amazing voices, harmonizing with perfection even mixing in a little beat box. Their opening cover of "Rye Whiskey" perfectly demonstrated both their vocal and musical skill. "Rye Whiskey" can only be topped by their ambitious cover of Outcast's "Hey Ya." The cover seamlessly merges the hip-hop classic with the blue grass, folksy sound of Chicken Stand. If you're in the New York City area, you should go watch them play. They're usually at inexpensive venues like The Sidewalk Cafe or The Baggot Inn.

The Whiskey Heart Attacks - Three Men, One Guitar - Photos

2005-11-11T23:33:00.000-05:00

The Whiskey Heart Attacks - Live at the Sidewalk Cafe, NYC - Photos

Three singers, one guitar, and a ton of character. What do these qualities add up to? If you guessed the quirky band, The Whiskey Heart Attacks you're dead on correct. This band performed on 11/11/05 at the Sidewalk Cafe and amazingly, with their limited musical accompaniment, had the crowd laughing with their mix of humor and strange harmonies. I didn't know what to expect when they first took the stage, but as soon as one their singers (standing on the right) who sounds similar to Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes, started crooning I was into to it. Check em out at a local pub near you.

The Candid Shot of I Also Have An Opinion You've All Been Waiting For

2005-11-07T20:23:00.000-05:00

Hey where's Lastnightsparty.com? I swore they'd be here tonight. I mean we wore our matching button downs!

I Also Have An Opinion Catches The Bird in LES

2005-11-07T20:20:00.000-05:00

Hipsters yuk it up in the LES

Risk Taking Couple Takes Their Act to the Lower East Side

2005-11-07T20:19:00.000-05:00

Young couple puts life in danger in LES hotspot.

25 Years of Mrs. Pacman

2005-11-07T20:18:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Pacman - Celebrating 25 Years of swindling hipsters for their Pabst money, not that their parents won't compensate for it in their next rent check.

Cool Danish Music Videos at Ducking.dk

2005-11-04T17:31:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd share this with you, it's an interesting music video and pretty good song (I love the beat) by Danish rap group Malk de Koijn . To watch the video click here and then click "Showreel" and finally on the video in the bottom left hand corner. It has a picture of a cartoon man wearing a red shirt w/ black tie. Then sit back and enjoy.

When you're finished with that video, take a look at the Carpark North video in the top left corner (kid flexing). Or you can find it on the Carpark North Website . Click on media and then on the video for "Human".

WARNING: Once you've been immersed in the world of Danish music you may never return

Disgusting Food Tortures Hungover Man

2005-11-03T21:38:00.000-05:00

This picture almost made me vomit this morning.

I heard the buzz over my cliff hanger post where I mention a photo that almost made me vomit this morning, so I feel compelled to relieve you of the tension. I didn't remember taking this picture and so when I saw it this morning with a nauseous stomach I remembered the Taco Bell that I consumed late last night, almost leading to release. I have to say the meal was extremely satisfying when I was eating it. I had been craving me some Taco Bell for months (I think it was because of the ad barrage during the MLB playoffs) so it was a savored meal. Fast food, and Taco Bell in general, is pretty disgusting, but you can't argue with the taste of a hard shell Taco Supreme.

New and Improved Photos of The Go! Team

2005-11-03T21:34:00.001-05:00

I was able to salvage a few photos of The Go! Team and here they are! Please try to ignore the red eye on the one photo. Scroll down to see more photos of The Go! Team if you haven't already.

The Grates - Webster Hall - New York City - New Photos

2005-11-03T21:33:00.002-05:00

OK I admit I'm going a little photo crazy, but that's what thepublic is demanding. Did I mention that a really liked this band? Here's their website http://www.thegrates.com/

Airborne Redux - Photos!

2005-11-03T21:32:00.000-05:00

Salvaging a photo of Airborne

OK, so I've found the energy to talk about Airborne. They were cool, both the lead MC and the DJ would work together on the drum machine and turntables to produce some great beats. The problem however was that neither one was a vocal talent. Don't get me wrong, they have some skills, but they need a knock out MC to take them over the top. Still it was impresive to see these two artists produce the sound that they did.

I Also Have An Opinion in the FLESH.

2005-11-03T21:31:00.000-05:00

Here's your favorite blogger at The Go! Team show in desperate need of a razor. And yes, I'm 27 and still can't grow sideburns.

Here's AB

2005-11-03T21:30:00.000-05:00

Yes, that's a pen up AB's nose.

Here's the best man at my wedding getting craz-ahy at The Go! Team show. He has a closet ink huffing problem.

Photo-Extravaganza!

2005-11-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

Scroll down for photos of last night's Go! Team show at Webster Hall. This a new segment titled "I'm Bad At Photography." I hope to make this a monthly segment. If anyone has any good band suggestions I'm open to them. They just need to be playing in NYC.

More photos to come later today, including a photo that almost made me snarf vomit out my nose when I saw it this morning.

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:14:00.002-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

This photo here, this is a bad photo. As you scroll down the photos will get marginally better. I kind of posted these in reverse order so the weakest photos are the first you see. Enjoy.

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:14:00.001-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photos

If you can't tell, those tiny people are the Go! Team.

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:14:00.000-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

If you squint really really hard, you may be able to make out this photo of the Go! Team.

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:13:00.001-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

Another gem, Annie Libowitz better watch her fucking back.

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:13:00.000-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

I guess this is a good place to comment on the lead singer. She was good, had a ton of engery and basically had to carry the whole performance herself (more on this in my review later today or tomorrow). She's pretty nice on the eyes also. Too bad I don't really have any photographic evidence of this despite the fact I took about 65 pictures.

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:12:00.001-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

I'm actually pleased with this shot. Let me know what you think.

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:12:00.000-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

I wish I knew what her name is so I can caption it, but I haven't figured it out yet. I've listened to their album about 50 times in the last month and still know absolutely nothing about them.

Here's the official Go! Team site http://www.thegoteam.co.uk/flash/GoKids.html

They also made the "Short List" for the Nationwide Mercury Prize in the UK. Here's their site http://www.nationwidemercurys.com/

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:11:00.001-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

I like the happy feeling of this photo.

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:11:00.000-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

I don't know why I posted this red glob. Just pretend it's "artistic".

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:10:00.002-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

I'd like to thank my wife, Jodi, for lending me her camera for the show. It's a good camera and takes nice photos but in the wrong hands, mine for instance, photos tend to blur. I blame this on the HUGE delay between the point where you click and the point were the camera finally takes the photo. I had some great shots ruined because of this. I also caught a fish the other day that was 45 inches long.

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:10:00.001-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

This is my favorite.

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:10:00.000-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

She looks like she's being erased from existence a la Back to the Future.

Go! Team Photos - Webster Hall w/ Airborn & The Grates

2005-11-03T09:09:00.000-05:00

The Go! Team - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

Airborn - Webster Hall - 11/2/05

2005-11-03T09:08:00.001-05:00

Airborn - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

He DJs. He MCs. He's one half of Airborne.

Airborn - Webster Hall - 11/2/05

2005-11-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

Airborn - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photo

Here is the alt-hip-hop act Airborne (I misspelled Airborne throughout this whole blog when I was posting the photos. Please forgive me for the missing "e"). I don't have energy to get into explaning this group right now. I loved the beats and the concept, but the MCing was a little sub par. They should link up with Motion Man and then they'd be in business.

Who's Motion Man you ask? http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=11529562&Mytoken=88664E0C-12F3-54A2-CF6B6C63A567E8C962016783

The Grates - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photos!

2005-11-03T09:07:00.001-05:00

The Grates - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photos

Here's a new feature I'm going to start running because I've been putting off an eye exam for months and it's called (drum roll)

This week's sign that I need glasses

Last night at the Go! Team show the opening band, The Grates, were on stage. I watched the whole set, looking at all the band members intently. Could have sworn the drummer was a male. When I looked at my pictures this morning I saw that the male drummer was wearing a dress and I thought they were ripping off Fishman, the drummer for Phish. Then I realized that the drummer is clearly a woman. She doesn’t look like a man at all. In fact, here's a link to a website with a band photo that is actually good and not a fuzzy mess like mine http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/aust/3374/ . See? Clearly a woman. I apologize for even thinking it but it leads us back to the title of this segment, I need glasses, and badly. Anyways, she's a damn fine drummer.

The Grates - Webster Hall - 11/2/05 - Photos!

2005-11-03T09:07:00.000-05:00

The Grates - Webster Hall 11/2/05 - Photo

The first band to hit the stage at the NYC Go! Team show was the "power trio" The Grates. The New York show was the last stop on the American tour and you could tell because this band was tight. The energetic female singer was fun to watch on stage, performing a variety of "dance" moves and still putting everything into her vocals. The drummer was solid, greats crisp beats (See the post above for more.) The guitarist and background vocalist (the same person, was that clear?) did the job. I'd like to hear a studio album. Maybe when I do I can review it for you and try and come up with better adjectives than "solid" and "did the job"? I have to say I enjoyed them as much as The Go! Team (more on this in the concert review).

The Grates, Airborn, and The Go! Team - Webster Hall, NYC Concert

2005-11-03T00:54:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the Go! Team show. I'm a little "confused" but the show was fun. Photos of the show will appear tomorrow! Stay mutha fuckin in tuned!

The Go! Team at Webster Hall, NYC - 11/2/05

2005-11-02T10:49:00.000-05:00

I'm checking out The Go! Team tonight at Webster Hall. Definitely looking forward to seeing how their album Thunder, Lighting, Strike will translate to the stage. The recording quality of the vocals on the album are so poor you can barely hear them at times (although I think it adds to their sound) at the live show the sound should be clean and I'm wondering if it will change the effect. But with six members and tons of great sampling and DJ work I'm expecting an energy packed set.

I'll be back later to post pictures and review the show.

Later.

Gorillaz - New Video - Dirty Harry feat. Bootie Brown

2005-10-28T16:38:00.000-04:00

The new Gorillaz video for "Dirty Harry" has become available on Rollingstone.com. I'm a big fan of the new Gorillaz album Demon Days despite the fact that Dan The Automator was not involved in the production. Instead the DJ responsible for the controversial "smash-up" The Grey Album, Danger Mouse, handled the production an took the group to a sadder and more politically conscience level, the best track being "Dirty Harry." The video however was somewhat disappointing. You can't argue with the animation genius of Jamie Hewlett, but the concept of this video is a strange cross between Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and M*A*S*H. It had an interesting blend of live action and animation and the appearance of Bootie Brown of Pharcyde fame was a blast from the past, but the video was missing the bright colors and jaw dropping visuals of their previous efforts. I would still recommend checking out the video and definitely buy the album if you haven't already. Also, if their live act comes to your town get tickets immediately and prepare yourself for one of the best live show you'll ever see.

Charlie D and Albie E didn't like to answer mail either...

2005-10-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

I've got to stop commenting on the Yahoo! News wire. For one thing, far too many people post blogs about their thoughts on these stories and because it doesn't really make for an interesting post but I saw this article( http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/10/27/Einstein-Darwin051027.html?ref=rss) ) about how people (such as Einstein and Darwin) answered their mail in similar ways that we answer our emails. That is to say (for those that didn't read the article) we answer some immediately, we put some off, and we ignore the rest. I happen to be a horrible offender of the second category, putting it off, and have probably lost or definitely weakened some friendships because of it. Now these guys had excuses not to answer so much mail. It takes a long time to write and people wrote differently back then with nice penmanship with well formed sentences and a poetic flair. They also were probably busy with their world changing science.

Just by reading this post you can obviously see how far we have fallen witht he written word and I would never even write this much in an email. Most of my email consists of this:

"Yo Person X, What's up? Things are good here. Saw so and so last week they're pretty good. Hope you're doing well. I'll see you at the wedding. Later, Rick"

Not exactly Shakespeare and probably not Darwin either. So, I don’t really have a good excuse for not answering my email.

Disclaimer: I have never read a letter written by Darwin or Albert E so I'm assuming they had nice penmanship and a poetic flair to their words. There is a good chance that I'm full of shit.

A few things on a Thursday night

2005-10-27T21:57:00.000-04:00

Sitting in tonight watching some TV and surfing the web. Crazy story on the Yahoo! news wire right now http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051027/ap_on_re_us/brf_woman_hanged. Extremely sad and somewhat embarrassing for the whole town, or at least those who saw the woman and did nothing. It also speaks to the higher standard we all hold people who decorate for Halloween, but shouldn't we all agree from now on to just check to make sure it's fake before walking down the block to grab your venti latte? Thanks that's better.

It seems more and more everyday that we're becoming increasing disconnected with each other. I mean hell I'm writing my opinions on cyber space for you all to read, but I also don't really want to meet you and have you show up at my doorstep someday. No offense but that would be kind of creepy. Let's just take this relationship slow and keep it between the written word and the servers. That's not to say we can't do more to help each other out either by holding a door for a woman pushing a stroller or contacting a police officer when a drunken homeless man is passed IN THE STREET out in front of Penn Station while pedestrian after pedestrian walks by (true story).

I Also Have An Opinion - Part 1

2005-10-27T17:07:00.000-04:00

So first let me welcome you to the very first posting of my very first blog. Congratulations, I can't believe you've found it. But it's not enough that you found the blog, that was the easy part, the hard part is keeping you here. With a vast world of cynical postings, snarky celebrity bashing, and incredible amounts of porn at your finger tips you have chosen me. For this I promise not only to be the MOST cynical, the MOST snarky, and the MOST pornographic, but to also be your friend.

Why a blog and why today, Thursday 10/27/05, to start one? Here’s why, on the subway today a smelly homeless man said to me "a man is not a man unless a man has a blog" and I am a man damn it! The other side of that coin is “a blog is not a blog unless a blog has you, the informed reader.” In all seriousness I started my blog today because I have an opinion too and I’m not happy sharing it with only my friends and family. I’m an important man with big ideas that need to reach the masses. I’m a college graduate with a 3.0 GPA and I should be using this knowledge to affect the world. But since I’m not on the “A-list” just because I “have no money” or “fame” my opinions just annoy those around me and not the country as a whole. That is until now.

So to quickly summarize this blog's christening 1) Cynicism lives in this space, snarkiness pays the mortgage, they're building equity together. 2) Blogs make you a man I am now a man. 3) This doesn’t happen without you, so give yourself a pat on the back and please come back for more.

RT

www.myspace.com/riz_tiz