Dramatic Reading of a Breakup Letter

After countless weeks of solid programming until all hours of the night, I’m releasing Paper Free Billing to the world today.

Paper Free Billing is an online invoicing program geared for web developers, graphic designers, artists, photographers or just about anybody that’s in business. True, there are many other websites that do this, but I thought I could make a program that was clean, easy to use, and best of all - FREE!

That’s right, Paper Free Billing isn’t just paper free - it’s free to sign up and use. Send up to 3 invoices a month using the Basic Plan, and if you need to send more, it’s just $11 /month for unlimited invoices, and the capability to schedule recurring invoices.

So, check it out - Paper Free Billing

Please let me know what you think!

I’ve always noticed that my attitude wanes with the moon. Last night was no exception.

There was a full moon, and with it - the last lunar eclipse for 4 years. A Blood Moon.

Southern California was one of the best places to catch this event, but only if you were up at 3 - 4 AM Tuesday morning.  So, I set my alarm.

3 AM rolls around and I hop out of bed, and still half asleep I wander to the front door.

What the hell?  I don’t see anything!

What exactly was I expecting?  It’s a lunar eclipse!  It’s just totally dark!  I stumble back into bed.

I broke down and went to the movies by myself.

The draw of “The King of Kong” was just too great.  A movie about obsessive videogame rivalry, and what it takes to get to the top - and do it with honor, grace and love.  I couldn’t resist!

The King of Kong has taken the crown of the most entertaining documentary I’ve ever seen.  Scandal, deceit, espionage and OCD fueled Donkey Kong marathons, but most importantly, what it takes to be a real man… they’re all there, in a 90 minute triumph to retro gaming.

I recommend this film to anyone who grew up with Nintendo.  See it.  Behold the majesty… of THE KING OF KONG!

Awesome!

Tim Burton’s masterpiece “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” played last night as the Hollywood Forever cometary movie’s premiere attraction. The film shows every year.

Paul Rubens himself (Pee Wee) showed up before the film to share some tid-bits of nostalgia with the eager audience… the crowd went wild. A big part of me felt like shouting “SHOW US YER JUNK!” but I was quick to quiet that inner demon.

I’d forgotten how much fun this movie is, and seeing it again reaffirmed my enchantment.

Hows abouts you do some votin’ for my latest submission to Threadless T-shirts!

We say atoms are bound by weak attractors. Why not admit the truth: the Universe is held together by love.

Michio Von Kerr, physicist

Yes, it’s true… I love you, fellow internet patron.  For I have created the ULTIMATE RINGTONE, and have made it available to you, for your downloading pleasure - free of charge.

This isn’t that crappy lynx commercial sound bite either, this is from Orgazmo, one of my all-time favorite movies.

Download the Bow Chicka Wow Wow ringtone mp3 here.

Damn, this is so awesome… I can’t find out who did this, but I’d love to know what demented sock sniffer whipped up this masterpiece. (click the image for larger view!)

Originally found via My Confined Space

Just wanted to let you know I’ve been adding a bit of the ol’ nastiness to a couple shirts, hoodies and the like.

Click the shirt to check ‘em out!

I’m not ready to be back in civilized society. I miss the tranquility of our weekend getaway to Havasu Canyon. A magnificent gorge in the Grand Canyon, Arizona stylee.

We barreled down the highway from Southern California to Arizona for 8 hours in the new FJ. It’s nice to let the thing stretch a bit. We arrived at the small town of Peachtree Springs, and from there another 60 miles to the trailhead.

On our 60 mile wind through the forest leading to the trail, we almost hit a huge hulking deer. I’m pretty sure the thing had moss growing on it’s beard. It freaked us out pretty good, because he looked as though he felt like jumping in front of our speeding tank. Not too much further we encountered some bastard horses hanging out in the middle of the highway.

When we finally got there, it was completely dark, and we decided to post in the car for the night (me and two lucky ladies). After trying to tetris us all together in a comfortable configuration, it was obvious that Carol would have to sleep on the roof, of course. Not 5 minutes after we had settled down, Carol starts shrieking about a UFO she’s spotted in the sky - sure enough, there was a shimmering star waving wildly about… and then stopping, and then “wiggling” some more. Truly unbelievable. My brain sort of shut down because I wasn’t prepared to handle what I was seeing. I fell asleep soon after.

Then the wind starts, and Carol is rolling around on the roof like an uncontrollable beast. A mighty feat for a girl that probably weighs 90lbs wet. There’s a couple loud bangs, and I’m fearing the worst - suddenly she’s climbing down and making a terrific racket. She wants in because she can’t keep still in the wind. Now we’re all cramped in the back of the FJ, and I’m taco’d like you wouldn’t believe, and it’s anything less than sexy. Did I forget to mention that Carol dropped a deuce next to the car before we all climbed into bed? I was most proud of her.

We wake up as soon as it’s bright enough to see, and we’re off down the trail. A set of switchbacks lead us down into the abyss that is the Grand Canyon… it’s nice and overcast, but you can only imagine the dusty heat that will soon prevail. We make some good time, but Shalanna and I keep losing Carol behind us. She’s taking pictures at a feverish pace.

After an amazing 10 mile death hike through this desert gorge, flanked with giant cliffs on either side of us, we arrive at the Supai Indian reservation. I can only describe what I saw as utter disenchantment. Imagine a trailer park complete with broken toys littering each lawn, sweets wrappers and coke cans are strewn about the village as though a giant twister had lifted the guts of an Tennessee trailer park and dumped it here, in the middle of a beautiful canyon vista. Then we encounter a few of the natives… Practically all of them sporting ample bellies and candy-corn teeth, and walk with a lumbering grace only a rhino could hope to achieve. They are neither rude nor friendly. I could smell the distinct scent of animosity in the air. I feel unwelcome. I’m sure with good reason… being a white devil and all.

After passing through the town we register our gear with an Indian woman so fat it looks as though her eyes are in danger of permanently welding themselves shut. A twenty-something Supai dude is surfing youtube.com checking out Beyonce videos or something… it was surreal to me. I wasn’t expecting teepees or roasting Indian bathing beauties or old tribeswomen weaving baskets; but this was not what I had anticipated. We pay our dues, and we’re off for another 2 mile hike before reaching the campgrounds.

Not before stopping at the Cafe and General Store - all run by the native people. The lady at the cafe was a bit surly, but I think I found a place in my heart for her… she was missing an eye, after all. The grisled old man at the general store was less than friendly, and made sure to help all of the local people in the store before he would even talk to me. I ask for a pack of smokes and he hands me a 25-pack of Marlboro Reds… $7 bucks a pack isn’t bad when you’ve made the mistake of bringing your own. I tip him a dollar for being such a dick and treating me like a second rate person.

I left the girls at the cafe because they were taking way too long in a town I cared way too little for. I was starting to feel completely disenchanted, and needed to get down to the campsite and out of this shithole. I say “shithole” with the kindest respect for the hundreds of generations of Supai Indians that I’m sure kept better care of themselves than these people cared too. It was all to obvious they had given up all semblance of their cutural heritage by the way they treated the land.

Even dogs know better than to shit where they sleep. You throw trash in the stream, it mucks up the river. It shouldn’t take long to realize that those Doritto’s bags aren’t going to decompose like the deer carcass of yesteryear.

On my way out, I was accosted by a young Supai girl missing all but two visible teeth - she lunged for my sleeping bag and screamed “I WANT THIS!” I said “No way dude!” (seriously) and sped off down the trail. I had carried that bag for 10+ miles, and damned if I was going to give it away. A bit further down I ran into some surly teenage Supai dudes, actin’ way machismo and asking “where wuz I frum” more as a statement than a question. I answered “Compton” … he said “Happy Easter” in a sarcastic tone, and I informed him that I didn’t celebrate Easter. But seriously, thanks for assuming that all white people are Christian, or give two squirts of horse piss about chocolate egg laying bunnies.

I started to regret coming down and invading these people’s land. I didn’t have any intention of stomping through their village, or raping any of their women. I just wanted to camp in the Grand Canyon, and I hiked 10 miles to do so. I felt I should have earned a tiny bit of respect by doing so.

All of these feelings suddenly faded away as I exited the town. The sun had now become relentless, and the trail seemed to throw dirt into the air at the slightest whisper. An elderly Supai woman remarked in a pleasant tone that I was “an admirable young man” for hiking down. I had regained a nugget of faith, and sometimes that’s all you need.

After hiking a bit further, I reached what can only be described as paradise. A towering waterfall showered down turquoise water into a shimmering lagoon. The surrounding cliffs looked melty and evil after years of torture. Nature can be sexy as hell.

I ran down to the base and kicked off my shoes, shirt and pack and promptly waded into the water. This… this was paradise. It felt as if Walt Disney had suddenly become god, and decided to sculpt this small pocket of the world. It rested in stark contrast to the entire day’s hike. It was truly breathtaking. Also, the trash that had populated much of the village was now gone. Absolutely pristine.

After meeting back up with the girls, we kicked around a bit, and decided to head off to set up camp. I was happy to drop tent I had been carrying in a duffle bag - oh, big mistake by the way. I picked up my shirt, and out crawls the nastiest centipede I’d ever seen… I instantly realized that this was rugged terrain, and not heaven on earth. A smart little lesson, and I could almost hear god laughing.

The camp wasn’t any less beautiful - the emerald water from the falls had turned into a babbling brook. The camp wasn’t crowded at all, and we got a sweet pick near the stream. There were surprisingly few bugs hanging out near the water - an added bonus.

Pretty much feeling awesome, even after the strenuous death march down the canyon, and the bewildered sense of disenchantment with the native people. We had hi-fives all around. I was really impressed with both the girls.

As soon as the sun went down we all fell fast asleep. To be continued…

So, I’ve been working on a few ideas… basically I have a library of shirt designs that I haven’t done anything with in quite some time. My company “Addicted-2″ is long since defunct, and the designs are sitting gathering dust. Digital dust.

Anyways, I’ve setup a new website under cafepress.com, which makes it very easy for me to offer designs on a number of items, including - t-shirts, sweaters, hoodies, mugs, mousepads, beer steins, and various other odds and ends.

Please take a look, and let me know what you think!

South Pasadena is a city rich in history. A delicate path through time which I know absolutely nothing about. I do know it has some dank, crusty buildings though. I love the old Rialto theater; where they show Rocky Horror Picture show every Saturday. Friggin’ Borat playing with The Neverending Story?

My grandparents took me out to dinner tonight, to a place I’ve been eye-balling since I was a child.

Gus’s BBQ. It was okay.  The service sucked.

Otherwise, I’ve been making good use of my time here.  Many mountain biking trips into the foothills of Pasadena and La Canada.  It’s basically unspoiled terrain.

Check out this shirt I’m selling at Cafepress.com

It’s a design I’ve been working on for a bit… I’ve got another variation in the works.

Find the link - Born to be Mild