I am tired so I upload the new podcast without doing any editing or adding Kevin's intro or anything like that. Sorry. NSFW from the get go thanks to some colorful language. We talked about random stuff, mostly a theological discussion between Danny and Gringo that I never thought I would hear in this lifetime. I then rudely interrupt the conversation for some reason and then we talk about some other stuff. Here it is. Enjoy.

I haven't done one of these in a long time, mostly because I don't listen to music through iTunes. But I find myself sitting here listening to it on shuffle, so I might as well share.

Los Straitjackets - University Blvd
Ramones - Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World
Anberlin - Stationary Stationery
Beastie Boys - 3 Minute Rule
Mad Season - Lifeless Dead
Alice in Chains - Over Now
Makers - Texture of a Girl
Larry & the Blue Notes - Night of the Sadist
Nomads - Ain't Yet Dead
Rich Mullins - Jesus

Starts off with a great instrumental surf song. Interesting how things segue between Mad Season, featring vocals by Layne Staley, and Alice in Chains, featuring vocals by Layne Staley. The Larry & the Blue Notes tune is from the "Back From the Grave" comps put out by Crypt Records that showcases some awesome 60's punk rock. This random 10 goes out on a quiet acoustic demo by the formidable Rich Mullins.

A while back, we saw a Brian Regan special on Comedy Central. In one of his bits, he told about his son offering the comedian a new joke "for your career."

He eagerly asked his son for the joke.

"Why don't dinosaurs talk?"

Amused, he asked for the answer.

"Because they're all dead."

Similarly, Aidan, just shy of 3 years old, has begun the art of devising his own jokes. One of his latest goes like this:

"Why did the monkey cross the road? Answer: By riding on the chicken!"

He doesn't really answer the why question, instead choosing to explain the how. But from a 3 year old, it is mighty funny.

It's kind of hard to talk about this book in depth without revealing a lot of plot to people who haven't read it, are reading it, or are waiting to see what happens when the final movie is released sometime down the road. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is, of course, the end of the series, and takes Harry and his friends to the point of final confrontation with his enemy, Lord Voldemort.

The answers are given to all questions that were raised at the end of the last book, almost every single character is given a moment of significance, and there's plenty of big-time action. Now that the characters have grown older, this is the most mature book, including use of character relationships, language, and (the most talked about) death. I was and wasn't surprised at which characters Rowling chose to harm or kill off, but am okay with the decisions she made.

If you haven't read about Rowling's musings on what happened to the characters after thisbook, I'm sure you can find it online easily enough, and I think it's very satisfying. Rowling's mind has created a very comprehensive world of magic, including its rules and histories, and it has definitely entertained me over the years. I was happy with the the story ended and look forward to seeing it on the big screen. I'm sort of sad that this is the end of the series, but feel like the story was well-planned and came to a good conclusion.

August is the month of birthdays. It sucks to be my August birthday friends because I simply can't afford buying all of them gifts, since I'm counting at least 10 birthdays off the top of my head. And don't even get started with anniversaries!

All that to say:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CYNDI!

I heard Kevin & Bean talking about Friends and Helpers with Flea this morning and I thought it would be cool to spread the word. What is it all about?

It's time to start the back to school program! Our goal is to provide children grades K-12 from LA and OC shelters with backpacks full of school supplies; we'll also be sending backpacks to students in New Orleans. We need everything including backpacks, school supplies, art supplies and teacher supplies (pencils, pens, paper, notebooks, folders, crayons, erasers, rulers, you name it). New clothes are welcome too.

My friend Janelle is a teacher in South Central L.A. and many of her kids can't even afford school supplies, which is a school requirement. F&H accepts any and all donations of school supplies and you can go straight to their Target wish list from their site. Even 5 bucks worth of paper goes a really long way.

Podcast is coming tonight, I swear.

VHS tapes may be long obsolete, but this is still the coolest movie premise I have seen in a very long time. Watch the trailer on YouTube...

...or download a high quality version here.

I just saw They Might Be Giants doing their song "Clap Your Hands" from their album "No!" on Blue's Clues.

Weird. But so awesome.