What's going on now

- Now contemplating buying: So, just as I predicted, they will begin selling single-day tickets to the SF Outside Lands Festival tomorrow. Here are the daily lineups.

I'm going to go Friday, 8/22, I think. Radiohead, Beck, Cold War Kids. Sounds like a plan. That's going to sell out hella quick, though, so you best get 'em tomorrow.

Sunday looks pretty good too, except for Jack Johnson. Wilco, Broken Social Scene, Andrew Bird.

- Now reading: Slash's "book", in the sense that a book is a collection of words bound between two covers.

Yeah, it's pretty bad. Here's a synopsis, if you don't want to take the time: I drank a half-gallon of Stoli and then played a show. Did some heroin. Kicked heroin in a few days. Started doing heroin again. Kicked heroin again. Axl is an asshole.

-Now listening to: Vampire Weekend.

I know, I know, overhyped, blah blah blah. It's really a shame, because this is just a shimmery, fun, bright summery pop album. It sucks that it got weighted down with all the hype and now the inevitable backlash is in full swing and I know they're a bunch of toffs who went to Columbia but FUCK can't we just enjoy something anymore? FUCK. It's just an album, it's not a cultural signifier.

- Now bemoaning: Barry Zito.

Today's Top 5

1. I'm going to Ireland

Just got tickets today. $858 (!!!) on Aer Lingus. Of course, that's like 58 Euros. But still, last time we went (in 2005) it was $470 roundtrip. Thanks for fucking up the economy along with everything else, W! You've done a great job here.

Anyway, in a few weeks Super Hot Irish Girlfriend and I will be winging our way back to her homeland. Hopefully the food has gotten better in the last 3 years. I keed! I keed! Not really.

2. Brunch yesterday at Le Zinc

S.H.I.G. and I had a delightful brunch yesterday at Le Zinc on 24th. There was like an hour wait for the outdoor tables so we just camped out inside. Sunday paper, coffee, omelette, bacon, all good. And $30 for two isn't bad at all.

3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Very funny. Worth seeing. In the Apatow oeuvre, I thought "Knocked up" and "Superbad" were funny, but I didn't like "The 40 Year Old Virgin" all that much. I haven't seen "Talladega Nights" and "Anchorman" because I have a visceral, deep-seated loathing for Will Ferrell. Anyway, I laughed a lot during this movie.

4. 30 Rock

If you're not watching this show, you're missing the funniest comedy on TV. It's more manic and inspired than "The Office," which would probably be the only serious competition. The jokes don't land 100% of the time, but when they do, they really, really do.

5. Saturday

How great was Saturday? It was absolutely beautiful here in SF, I went to Zeitgeist at 11 p.m. and it was still pretty nice out and best of all, not too crowded, and the Giants showed some pluck in coming back from 10-5 to make it 10-9 in the 9th. Yeah, I know they lost, but it still looked like a team that could come back from being down a few runs, which I didn't think they'd be able to do.

Then Zito pitched on Sunday and holy fuck, what are we going to do about that? It's like buying a Lamborghini and finding out that it has a Ford Escort engine in it. They better fucking figure something out soon.

Maybe they aren't as bad as we thought

You know how we said before the season started that the Giants are going to have to have some unbelievable pitching if they're going to win any games? Well, guess what. They've had it.

Last night's winner Jonathan Sanchez. He has a fairly pronounced Spanish accent. Who knew? I figured he was from San Diego or something. Pic shamelessly stolen from SFGate.

So in the last 3 games, the starting pitchers have given up ZERO runs. Last night, Sanchez struck out 10. Lincecum is 4-0 and has an ERA of 1.23. Good thing, too, since the offense only managed 7 runs in those 3 games.

ANYWAY, the G's are in 2nd place in the West and generally look a lot better than we thought they would. If they could just get some runs, they'd be a team. Still, those last 3 games sure were fun to watch. Granted, the Padres and Reds aren't exactly powerhouses, but still.

In other news, OMFG it's so nice out! I took a walk through the Mish this morning and everybody just looked happy, because it's not freezing cold with 50 mile an hour winds like it usually is in this Godforsaken city. Get off your fat ass and go outside, you pasty white bastard!

I'd avoid Zeitgeist, though, unless you have fond memories of a soccer riot or a Who concert in Cincinnati.

Tommy Lee, Friend of the Environment

Quick, name an environmentally-conscious celebrity. If you said Moby or Michael Stipe, you can suck it, because the correct answer is Tommy Lee.

It seems that Tommy Lee and, of all people, Ludacris, are in the midst of filming a new reality show entitled "Battleground Earth: Ludacris vs. Tommy Lee". Check it:

The hard-charging, hard-partying, carbon-laden world of tour bus-living musicians doesn't exactly scream green! Now, Planet Green challenges two icons to join the newest trend in music; "going green." Battleground Earth challenges hip hop superstar Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and rock god Tommy Lee to battle against the toxic forces destroying Mother Earth as they travel across the country on a 10-episode tour.

Viewers witness the two stars pushed to the limit as they attempt to keep their high-wattage acts on an eco-friendly course. Enlisting the help of their posses, celebrity guests, and anyone else willing to lend a hand, Ludacris and Tommy Lee dive right into the Battleground Earth competition with unexpected and sometime hilarious results. The contest doesn't let up as each of these stars are judged and scored on the green meter. This Rap n' Roll battle culminates in a green carpet benefit concert at Los Angele's legendary Greek Theater. The concert featuring Ludacris, Tommy Lee, and many of their famous musician friends will support the renewal of Griffith Park, which was devastated by recent wildfires.

Awesome, right? Makes perfect sense. Incidentally, my favorite part of this press release is the new possessive for LA: "Los Angele's."

ANYWAY, Tommy was in Berkeley last Thursday and stopped by the Ecology Center there to tool around in their biodiesel truck and to get his environment on. Luckily, I have well-placed informants who were there. Behold:

Tommy's Battleground Earth tour bus. Possibility of stinky hippie groupies inside?

Here we see UC Berkeley students loading biodegradable bags of cocaine onto the truck for Tommy.

Where's my carbon footprint at?

I am further informed that Luda was in SF at the same time, but sadly, he seems to have flown under the radar. This whole thing is just so full of win I can't wait.

Get used to this crap

If the O-man is the Dem nominee at the end of this whole tortured process, get used to more bullshit like this:

I'm sure Jesus would love this. Hey, aren't churches required to refrain from endorsing or attacking political candidates to keep their 501(c)(3) exemptions? As long as you're up, can you call the IRS for me?

So what does the "pastor" of this all-white church have to say?

"It is absolutely not a racist sign or a political sign," Byrd said. "It's only meant to encourage people to think about what they're doing. (Obama) said he's not (a Muslim), but that's why I asked the question. I would put the same sign up if he were a white man.

"God loves us all, but what if we get someone in the White House who happened to be Muslim? I'm just trying to open people's minds. I was never expecting anything like this."

Translation: God hates Muslims. Hopefully my sign will make you believe that Obama is a Muslim - and maybe even related to bin Laden, so you'll hate him too.

Today's Top 5

1. Your San Francisco Giants

Hey, guess what? They’re not in last place. Right this second, anyway, the Dodgers are. That’s not going to last, but still.

Maybe they’re not as bad as we thought, though. They won the series against the Cards, who aren’t exactly pushovers, and there’s some reason to be hopeful. John Bowker’s hitting .364 with 3 home runs, Tim Lincecum’s 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA, and even bad old Tyler Walker’s not looking too terrible these days. Playoffs? Not a chance. Fun to watch? Sometimes. Hey, I’ll take it.

2. Valley of the Moon pinot blanc

After freezing our asses off at Zeitgeist yesterday, we went to Andalu for dinner. The food was pretty meh, but this wine was really good.

Here we are on your way from Zeitgeist to Andalu. That's me, second from the left. We already had to eat all our dogs.

3. The shuffle I got on the way to work this morning

Sometimes you just get a really good shuffle. Here was mine:

“Stacks O’ Money” / Eagles of Death Metal / Peace Love Death Metal
“Don’t Buy the Realistic” / Spoon / Soft Effects (EP)
“Don’t Let Me Down” / The Beatles / 1967-1970
“Rise or Fall” / Black Rebel Motorcycle Club / Take Them On, On Your Own
“Golden Blunders” / The Posies / Dear 23
“Lovely, Just Like Her” / Irving / Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers
“Stay Home” / The Marked Men / Fix My Brain

Swear to God, the Marked Men. After I just saw them on Saturday. Pretty amazing coincidence, considering I have 2900 songs on my iPod.

4. BART

I take BART to work every day. Usually take Muni home. The contrast is startling. The BART trains arrive on – get this – schedule, and the trip from my stop to my work stop is about 5 minutes. BART just works. I wish it went everywhere in SF. In all fairness to Muni, BART doesn't have to contend with double-parked idiots blocking the tracks and that kind of thing, but I don't think I'd stir up a hornet's nest of controversy by suggesting that Muni has some room to improve.

5. It’s supposed to warm up later this week

God, I hope so.

The most fun you can have in a dangerously overcrowded club watching a band from Denton, Texas

After playing at Thee Parkside on Friday night, The Marked Men were doing a 5 pm show yesterday at The Knockout. Tom and I headed down there after doing some recording in our practice space.

Holy shit. When we got there, there were maybe 50 to 60 people in line on the sidewalk outside. I don't know if you know The Knockout, but it's definitely not a line-outside kind of place.

So we make it in and it is crowded. I mean like Japanese subway crowded. Like nowhere to move crowded. It's a good thing there wasn't a fire crowded.

Anyway, we grabbed some tall Tecate cans and checked out the bands. We saw The Young Offenders, who were pretty much a straight-up punk band and were really good, and then The Arrivals, who Tom said reminded him of Dinosaur Jr. if Dinosaur Jr. had been faster.

So it's crowded as fuck, like I said, and pretty hot in there despite the fact that it's about 20 degrees outside with 75 mph winds, and here come The Marked Men.

Photo credit: I found this photo on Flickr, in "GoatLegSF"'s photostream. Thanks, GoatLegSF. BTW, isn't it amazing that you can get online and find photos of a show you were at the next day, taken by someone you don't even know? The Internet freaks me out.

In a word, they rocked. OK, that's two words, but you get what I mean. Fantastic, energetic performance. Reallly good songs. And here's the kicker - the sound was great. If you go to enough shows at clubs, you know that the sounds ranges from adequate to borderline unlistenable. But at this show, you could hear everything perfectly.

Anyway, it was like being 16 again, crammed into a room watching a band just give it their all, drinking cheap beer and just loving it.

So the show ended around like 8:30 or something. I love these early shows. For an old guy like me, they're perfect. So Tom and I went down to the The Argus Lounge and then El Rio and then we were both pretty lit and had to call it a night.