At the End of the Road

November 19th, 2008. On that Wednesday the We're Friends! Podcast was shoved through the internet and into the ears of you people. Today is Monday, January 25th, 2010. For over a year we have recorded 45 episodes of the podcast and have made over 150 blog posts along with the episodes. We have had 11 guests on the podcast. We've reviewed around 62 songs. We've had 2 intro songs and 1 outro song. We've reviewed 14 different foods. We even recorded a few episodes while on opposite coasts.

Well, it has come to an end.

For a while now, Dash and I were planning on stopping this podcast, both of us feeling that there wasn't much we could do with the format we had created. It was fun definitely, but creatively we didn't think it was cutting it. So instead of continuing a podcast that neither of us had our hearts in, we decided to cut it before it became (more of) a joke.

Now, every episode is still available for download, our videos are still up, every blog post will continue to be there for you to read. Have you gone through the whole thing? There are some great gems in there. Check it out!

This podcast was a great fucking time, and all of you reading and listening made it happen.

A few special thanks:

Jeff aka VultureMoose
Cullen aka Big C-Man
Shannon and Evan
Our parents for putting up with us
Abigail, D'Arcy, Mike, Awesome, Matt, Tom, Nat, Robbie (and Ashley), Jeff, Facundo and Tabitha.

Thanks guys. Stay friends!

-James

PS JamesTwitter DashTwitter

"Laugh it up fuzzball."

Can we determine why we love the things we do? I don't mean people and relationships! What do you think this is, some sort of tumblr made by a 13 year-old girl about her dumb crush?! I'm talking about movies and books and music. What makes us obsess over certain media? WELL I HAVE NO IDEA. What I do know is that I love Star Wars, EPISODES 4, 5 AND 6. The story is simple, the music's epic, and it's a lot of fun. Today I'm gonna show you some other fun Star Wars stuff.

First, "5 Star Wars Status Updates":

There's four more, all hilarious. Also google other movies (LOTR for instance) to find other parodies.

Next, the Star Wars Weather Forecast:

This is a great website to have as your home page. When you start your browser in the morning and get greeted with what the weather is like out there. AND it compares the weather to a planet in the Star Wars universe OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. This is what I got today:


And finally, a 70-minute video review of "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace"

Ok, ok, I know. That's over an hour, I was skeptical too. "Do I really want to waste that much time listening to a fanboy trash a movie I already know sucks?" YES. Yes you do. One of the great things about the review for me was getting real reasons why Phantom blew, instead of the overall "ugghh" feeling I usually had. Also, the guy who made this is doing this really weird character the whole time, mispronouncing words, getting historical events wrong, doing a weird voice and talking about keeping people in his basement. Trust me, if you like Star Wars (and maybe even if you don't) you'll find this to be well worth your time. This is a picture of him asking some guy to describe Qui-Gon Jinn's personality:

Thanks for reading everyone, enjoy the bounty I have given forth! And remember, Boba Fett is the most bad-ass bounty hunter in the galaxy.



-James
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Now playing: Converge - Damages

Shoot for the STARS

I think that most people's goal regarding their career is pretty simple: get paid to do something you really enjoy. My dad has an engineering degree, but has worked most of his life has a cook or a chef. He loves creating delicious food, so he does it. Then you have people like my friends Evan and Shannon, who work jobs they're not crazy about, but with the money the jobs provide they teach, run a record label, play music, set up shows, etc. etc. In my opinion, you can do what you enjoy one of two ways. Either you find a way to do it that can actually pay you enough money to provide the life you want or you work somewhere else that provides the income that allows you in your free time to do what you enjoy.

For me, I guess what I would most enjoy doing is working in film or TV. Directing is the dream of course, but there are a bunch of positions I would not mind in the least doing. Anyway, when I got my first paid cameraman gig, I was elated. I met a guy named Tim when I worked with him and others on some short films for a production company these guys started called Sweet Victory. Tim also worked for a website called ZooToo, a site for pet news. Sounds silly, but it gets tons of hits. Anyway, he saw that I was competent regarding film stuff and offered me my first freelance job. It entailed me going to the oldest pet cemetery in America, meeting a reporter, and shooting interviews and b-roll. Later, I did another job for ZooToo, this one detailing the lives of three dogs in the Westminster Kennel Club competition. Unfortunately I can't embed the videos, but please CLICK CLICK

However, I can show you two shorts I did with Sweet Victory, first "THE BIRDBOY" and the second "Glen".





So uh, follow your dreams everyone?!

-James

Now playing: Arvo Pärt - Spiegel Im Spiegel

Wasting Time, Playing Games

How do you waste time on the internet? Do you have certain blogs you read, or perhaps a slew of webcomics? Maybe you like to go on omegle and meet new people? Or maybe you just look at porn, even when you're not in the mood? (That one's weird.) Or maybe, JUST MAYBE, you play free games online. Well if you do, you're in luck, I'm about to list some awesome websites for you.

First, Bookworm:


This game is pretty simple. You get a bunch of letters on tiles dumped randomly in columns, out of these letters you try to create words. Longer words get you more points. A green or gold letter tile is worth bonus points, and there are words that will get you more points as well. BUT WATCH THE FUCK OUT, SOME OF THE TILES ARE ON FIRE AND WILL BURN EVERYTHING IF YOU DON'T USE IT QUICK. If you dig Scrabble and other games of that ilk, you'll dig this.

Next, Winterbells and other games on Orisinal:


I don't remember when or how I found out about this game, and I don't recall ever becoming so frustrated by something so cute. Winterbells is a game where you play as a bunny. This bunny jumps up into the sky and hops on bells that fall slowly from the heavens. You must jump from bell to bell and try not to fall back onto the snowy ground. How ADORABLE. The first bell is worth ten points, and each subsequent bell you jump on increase by ten points exponentially, ie 1st bell = 10 points, 2nd = 20, 3rd = 30 which gives you a total of 60 points for the first three bells. Also, you can jump on a bird passing by which doubles your points! How DELIGHTFUL.

But listen here chum, as you go higher and higher into the obsidian nothingness of the sky, the bells grow farther and farther apart. And not only that, they also get smaller! Soon your jumping on nothing but what seems to be dinner bells that are so far apart your LITTLE BUNNY TOES BARELY REACH THE EDGE BEFORE YOU FALL TO YOUR...well not death, the bunny always lives. In any case, as you egt higher and higher, and the game gets harder and harder, the idea of falling (and thus haveing to start over) is a thought equal to great, searing pain. Take a look at LOL-Comics #101:


SEE?! This is what this game does to you. Anyway, along with Winterbells, this site houses 57 very simple and extremely cute games. Good stuff!

And finally, the thousands of games on Kongregate:


This website is pretty unique within the niche of game websites. It took the blueprint of a normal free online gaming website and added one very important feature. The entire website itself is a a game, sort of. Anyone can submit a game to the website, if it gets approved then the public gets to play it. BUT, if it gets really popular, the website can add Kongregate badges to the game. Meaning, not only can there be missions to beat, levels to finish, and checkpoints tor each in your game, but you can added other milestones to get points within the website itself.

Confused? Ok, it works like this: I have an account and by getting these badges, I gain points and my accounts level increases. At the moment I'm at level 13 with 1,303 points. Why does this matter? Well it's kind of psychological thing, these points can't be redeemed for much besides bragging rights, but it's more about the idea of trying to go farther and reach goals I guess. Like not doing anything else until you finish that next chapter of whatever book you're reading. No real need to do it, yet you feel compelled. Also, next to each game are chat rooms you can join and talk with people as you play. Sort of neat, but can be dumb too of course.

OH RIGHT, THE GAMES! There are tons of great games on Kongregate, and of all different kinds. Check out my favorites.

Have fun wasting your life away!

-James

Now playing: Mr. Bungle - The Air-Conditioned Nightmare

Interviews

On this most momentous of Mondays, the day of the week where oranges cats talk of how loathsome the day is before bating a loving dog into submission, we here at We're Friends! inc. would like to give unto you two delightful interviews. One of Dashiell interviewing Mr. Shafie and another of James interviewing Mr. Coombs. We hope you enjoy.

Dash interviewing James:

James interviewing Dash:



We hope you learn something about us, and about yourselves.

-Your Friends

NEW AND OLD

IT'S THE YEAR 20X DICKWEEDS, SO HOLD ON TIGHT OR YOU'LL GET THROWN INTO OBLIVION.

So here's some stuff that I'm experiencing in the new year:

The book Spirit and Flesh by Dr. James Ault. Ault is a sociology professor and documentary filmmaker, and this book is a companion piece to his movie Born Again. Both are about the time he spent in a fundamentalist baptist church, studying and learning about the people and practices within it. The perspective is as unbiased as he can be, since he's viewing the time in a sociological manner. It's a really neat book on a way of life that not a lot of people, myself included, know much about.

The 2010 demo by the hardcore band John Wilkes Youth:



I'm not well versed in the world of punk and hardcore, but I definitely like some of it. Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Paint it Black, Killing the Dream, Dead Kennedys, Misfits, Pulling Teeth, all great bands to me. So when I hear that two friends of mine are in a hardcore band, knowing full well that they are good at hardcore already, I am interested. The demo is fast, heavy, and aggressive, go download it! http://www.myspace.com/johnwilkesyouth

The television show Man V. Food:



Everybody should know I like food. With my love of blogs about it, morbid fascination with what people get for their last meal on death row, and interest in school lunches from around the world, I sure do like to talk about it too. Friend and former guest of the podcast, Mike "Awesome" showed me two episodes of this show and I was hooked. It has this dude Adam go around the nation and hit up the best "pig-out" spots. He eats a lot of unhealthy food and also takes on food challenges, like eating a 72oz steak in under an hour or eating six of the spiciest buffalo wings in the state without water. It's like binging vicariously!

And here's a list of the top 20 artists/acts that I listened to on my computer in 2009:

1 Neurosis - 409
2 Enslaved - 346
3 Queens of the Stone Age - 330
4 Coil - 305
5 Tomahawk - 278
6 Clint Mansell - 260
7 Andrew W.K. - 250
8 Ceremony - 243
9 Pendulum - 236
10 Rosetta - 231
11 Daft Punk - 228
12 Toroidh - 204
12 Nine Inch Nails - 204
14 Liars - 201
15 The Green Evening Requiem - 200
16 Arvo Pärt - 193
17 Gojira - 183
18 Jesu - 170
18 Converge - 170
20 The Beach Boys - 167

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Winter

Here in New Jersey, we recently had a small blizzard and the snow hasn't melted just yet. It's also Christmas Eve, and I got to thinking about this time of year, and what stuff reminds me of it. Lots of us have things we attach to winter, memories, books, food. Here's a few things for me that go really well with winter.

Blankets by Craig Thompson


Blankets is an autobiographical graphic novel that revolves around the author's life at two points, when he was in middle school and when he was nearing the end of high school. He writes/draws about his relationships with his family, specifically his brother and also of his first love. Almost all of the book takes place in winter, which makes curling up with this book in December yourself even more satisfying. It's a coming-of-age/love story, but it also delves into the idea of faith, specifically of a Christian sort. It's a sad, yet warm book and you should buy it.

Die Hard

The ultimate Christmas action movie. John McClane is an NYC cop in LA and now some goddamned terrorists have taken Nakatomi Plaza, the building his wife is in. He's gotta walk over broken glass in his bare feet, deal with incompetant cops on the outside, all the while trying to save his marriage. Here's the (fucking) short version:



At the Heart of Winter by Immortal

This is THE black metal band. They may not have created the genre, they may not be the best within the genre, but Immortal defines black metal. Grim, frostbitten, tr00 and kvlt, these guys love telling you about ice, snow and other cold things while wearing corpse paint and shin guards. When you listen to this album, you better put on a coat! Here's my favorite song of it:



Go sledding!

-James

Now playing: Pig Destroyer - Alexandria

6 Docs

All this goddamned podcast/blog seems to talk about is goddamned movies. David Lynch this, John Carpenter that, JEEZ! Well, let's not upset the status quo, in this joint post, we will be telling you lovely people about six of our favorite documentaries. Three will be from Dash, and three will be from James. Now these aren't necessarily our all time favorites (though they might be OOOOOHH), just ones we love a lot, enjoy:

James - Man on Wire

This is the story of one man (Philippe Petit) who in 1974 walked between the Twin Towers in New York City on a high-wire. This movie plays out like a heist or a thriller, with reenactments, riveting interviews and footage from the "crime". This had me on the edge of my seat and it totally deserved the academy award it won.



James - Word Wars

The story of four "professional" Scrabble players doing the circuit of Scrabble tournaments. All four are weird in different ways and all four want to win. This documentary is a bunch of fun and one of those movies that I pick out when I've got a few friends over who want to have a good time. Everyone picks who they want to win the big championship and gets to see all four players at their quirkiest.



James - The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

I saw this at the IFC Theater in NYC with the co-directors present for Q & A. They are Ellen Kuras (a well-known cinematographer) and Thavisouk Phrasavath. This documentary was filmed for over 23 years, detailing the life and struggle of one Laotian family from the time of the Vietnam war to the (nearly) present. Not only does this movie show the horrors of war, it also presents a story that is embedded in America's history: of immigrants trying to make it in the US.

Dash - Burden of Dreams

The story of Werner Herzog trying to make his film Fitzcarraldo. While making the film of a man moving a ship over a hill, Herzog attempts to actualize the event. In the process, everything goes wrong and actor/crazy-person Klaus Kinski does nothing to help it.

Dash - Instrument

Over eleven years of footage was shot of the band Fugazi. Some amazing concert footage and wonderful moments of fun and sincerity with all members of the band.

Dash - The Comedians of Comedy

Laugh until the very concept of laughing becomes foreign and you start laughing at the ridiculousness of laughing. The film is a great concert taping, but if you want the reeeeeal shit, find the six-part television series. TONS of great footage of what it's like to bring this type of comedy to other parts of North America.

-Your Friends!

PROTEST PROTEST

So, a few weeks ago, former guest Mike "Awesome" and I went to a counter-protest. The Westboro Baptist Church, a congregation of a few hundred that are most related, decided to do a small "tour" of the North East and protest things they do not particularly like. Stuff like same-sex marriage, not believing in God and being Jewish. Now, I believe every person has the right to protest whatever they like, but these guys...well, take a look at their placards:


They're not exactly tactful in their expression. So anyway, we were going to the Rutgers campus, where the Church was having their protest, and join a counter-protest. Awesome made a sign and brought it with him, of which you can see here:


His sign is pretty ridiculous, but it's part of a growing trend of protest signs that are humorous. Also, there are some signs that are completely serious, but some of us might find them hilarious anyway. I found a great article on Buzzfeed about "The 50 Best Protest Signs of 2009". Here's a few to start you off:




-James

Now playing: The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Caravan!

Michael Shannon

Two days ago, before I went off to work, I look at my email I had an invitation to a private premiere at the IFC Center on Friday! Oooh boy lucky me, well, I am a member of the IFC Center (Auteur level MMMMMM). But what was the premiere of? The film My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? which is a film both Dash and I have been looking forward to for a while. It's directed by Werner Herzog, produced by David Lynch and stars Michael Shannon, Chloë Sevigny, Willem Dafoe and even Udo Kier! This is exciting! Also, the invitation said that Herzog, Dafoe and Shannon were all going to be attending! OH MY GOD. Here's the trailer:



After I RSVP'd, I got another email stating that I was on the standby list because too many people had RSVP'd. Meaning I probably was not going to be able to go. :[

AH WELL. Anyway, the main lead in this movie is Michael Shannon. A person who I consider to be my favorite living actor. He hasn't been acting as long as say DeNiro, Spacey, Freeman or whomever else, but he has the ability and the skill to have a body of work that could possibly outshine them all.



Shannon has a manner about him that makes him distinctive in the movies he's in. You notice how he's unique, he's not a character actor like Mike Myers or Jim Carrey. However, he's not really with the other side either, you know, the actors who always seem to be playing a version of themselves like Christopher Walken or Al Pacino. He's in the middle, able to meld into any role, but still retain the aspects of himself that make him stand out.

I first noticed Shannon in the movie Bug, a surrealist movie based on a play (that he was in) about a woman who befriends a man (Shannon) and they both go sort of crazy. His performance was very off-putting and I became curious about this guy.

Then I saw the movie Shotgun Stories, here's the trailer:



This movie absolutely blew me away. I really really REALLY recommend all of you find it and watch it. Shannon is the lead in this and to say he has a presence is a great understatement. He barely raises his voice or changes his expression, yet it all shines through.

The movie that led to a lot of people noticing Michael Shannon and his skill was Sam Mendes' film Revolutionary Road. He played a mentally ill son whose mother was a neighbor to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, who played the lead couple. His performance was riveting and led him to an academy award nomination.



So every last one of you needs to check out this guy. Here's a list to get you started:

1. Shotgun Stories
2. Bug
3. Revolutionary Road
4. The Woodsman
5. Before the Devil knows You're Dead
5. The Missing Person

-James

Now playing: Okkervil River - Red

Idea Fairy.

Here's what REEEEEEEEEEally happens:



-Your Friends

"Friends"

I think that maybe we don't stress enough what our podcast is about. It's about a lot of things, food, movies, buttz, cats, beards, all sorts of fun stuff. But at its core, it's about friendship. Not only between Dash and myself, but being friends with you people out there too (if you;d like us to be your friends). We're like Andrew W.K., only not as joyful or as clothed in white. Anyhow, here's a video that sums up what being friends is all about much better than I can.



-James

Now playing: Cult of Luna - Dim

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today is a day where families and friends get together and share their gratitude for what they have. I'm definitely grateful for my family and friends and also the internet! With the internet, I can share all sorts of stuff with folks like you, like THINGS I'M THANKFUL FOR! See, it all ties together.

First, cats: A website called Average Cats created a site that parodies the very famous site I Can has Cheezburger and is created by the folks behind My Life is Average. Essentially it's a factual cat image macro site. Pictures of cats with captions on them detailing truth.




Second, books: Apathy and Other Small Victories was recommended to me by friend and former guest Robbie. It's one of the funniest books I've ever read, right up there with Hitchhiker's and Scott Pilgrim. About a dude who wants to care about nothing and hijinks. Please read it.


Third, being alive: Rom Houben was in a car crash and presumed to be in a vegetative state after the fact. 23 years later, they find that he was not, but had "locked-in syndrome" where the patient is "unable to speak or move but can think and reason". For 23 years he was alive, awake and aware, with no way of telling anyone. At least the character in "Johnny Got his Gun" had morse code! Let's all be thankful for being alive and actually living.



-James

Now playing: Faith No More - Zombie Eaters

QOTSA.

HEY GUYS. What is HAPPENING. So we dunno if you know this about us, but we (Dash and James) share a lot of similar interests. Like certain bands for instance. One of which is Queens of the Stone Age. And we decided to show you guys eight songs by them, four chosen by James and four by Dash. Take a listen and dig it.



"Auto Pilot" - R - This song shows that Nick, former bassist, has a great singing voice. It's groovetastic and takes its time. Also that harmonies are aweeeeesssome.

"Make It Wit Chu" - Era Vulgaris - Sexy ass sexiness. Makes you wanna dance with your person until all your clothes are off. So soft and smooth it's like you're getting a massage from the Stay-Puft marshmallow man. Great slow solo near the end. If this video doesn't get you in the mood you don't have any genitals.

"Go With the Flow" - Songs for the Deaf - One of their more famous tracks, but still incredibly killer. Fast, aggressive and one repeating keyboard note that will not stop. Makes you drive over the speed limit. Also the video is one of my favorites of all time.

"River in the Road" - Era Vulgaris - This shows how "serious" QOTSA can be. This song reminds of someone being paranoid and constantly running. The gutars are so trippy coming in and out all over the place. And Homme's singing is brilliant.

-James



"Mexicola" - Queens of the Stone Age - Starts with this super low, awesome bass. This song is the kind of slow, heavy, funky groove that I like most from the band. It makes me think of walking through the desert and tripping balls simply because the sun is so hot.

"In the Fade" - R - Mark Lanegan is the secret weapon of this band. This song has a pop bent that gets warped by his voice and also probably drugs.

"Burn The Witch" - Lullabies To Paralyze - Billy Gibbons!!!!!!!! I love the march quality to this song. Plus the boogie woogie.

"Mistfit Love" - Era Vulgaris - This song starts out kind of like the Michael Jackson song "Beat It" and then gets even more dangerous. It sounds like Josh Homme is using a rusty nail as a guitar pick. Homme often describes the band as "robot rock", this song is a great example of that.

-Dash

Enjoy!

-Your Friends

Movement!

Hey-o! How's everyone doing today? Well I hope. I would to show you a video I found on the internet. Now, this particular video isn't funny in any way. Nor does it show a person "epic failing." This video shows people (whose faces you never see) doing "things". All of which are random and to most people would seem trivial. This clip is full of kinetic energy and is very interesting to watch, and gratifying I think too. So take a look!

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See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

-James

Now playing: Mouth of the Architect - Harboring an Apparition

Movie Fun!

Movies are great. And what's better than watching a movie? Watching compilations of movies in one fun-packed video on the internet! Here's a few!

First is one that shows clips from movies where a character says the title of the movie they are in:



Second is one showcasing one of the greatest cliches of the horror movie genre, problems with cell phones:



Third is 40 inspirational speeches made into one super-motivational video, if you watch this and don't save the world after, you're a robot:



And a lil bonus:



-James

Now playing: Primus - Mama Didn't Raise No Fool

'Tis.

It's the Monday time when James and I DON'T post a podcast, and instead do a joint blog entry. Spike Lee, take note! Recently, movie studios have decided to try and make more money on shitty holiday movies by releasing them weeks or even months earlier than the real life event the film is about. SO, in an effort to capitalize on that, James and I are going to pitch three movies for the 2010 Halloween, Thanksgiving & "Holiday" season. Enjoy!

Halloween

Dash - The film is called "Spider.Web". This Halloween, find out what happens when the 'net spins you! A group of teenagers and the nine year-old computer genius that they're all babysitting go on a tour of Silicon Valley. Someone would make a joke about tits at this point...one of the dudes...or maybe a lady. Anyways, there are evil spiders living in the internet and every time one of the teenagers goes into someone's office to masturbate to sex blogs they are horrifically killed and consumed by them.

James - The movie is called "Jack O'Zombie". It's a few days after Halloween and a rotting Jack O'Lantern sits on a porch, all droopy-faced, until that night when a meteor hits nearby! A strange fog emanates from it and the hollowed out pumpkin comes to life! Now this ghoulish gourd has a hunger for brains to fill up its own empy head! Be on the look out! This stars 20 CGI clones of Megan Fox with Ron Perlman doing the voice of Jack.

Thanksgiving

Dash - This Thanksgiving, get "Stuff'd!!!!!!!". Dane Cook stars as a high-powered gun store owner who accidentally switches brains with a turkey. Abigail Breslin plays Cook's daughter, who finds the turkey and has to keep it hidden from their cuisine-crazy family...all of whom are played by the ghost of Peter Boyle.

James - Hey everyone, get ready to "Meat the Robinsons"! The Robinsons are a white, upper-class family in suburbia getting ready for Thanksgiving. They're Christian, they love family game night and have a dog named Pooky. Everything's going great until the week before Turkey day, a long lost cousin named Trianna drops in! She's a black, lesbiangayhomosexual, punk with an attitude. Not only that, she's a VEGAN. How can Thanksgiving happen without Turkey?! In the end, both the Robinsons and Trianna learn some valuable lessons. Also Trianna shows the Robinson kids porn. Trianna is played by Mo'Nique and The Robinsons are played by Martin Sheen as the dad, Diane Keaton as the mom, with Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen as the 12 year-old brothers.

Holidays

Dash - Her family wants them to get married on Christmas. His family wants them to get married during Hanukkah. They decide to enlist the help of their one black friend to convert to African-Americanism and get married on the third day of Kwanzaa. There will also be no less than eight talking dogs in this film and everyone must kill themselves immediately after leaving the theater. It's called "Fuck You". 49.7 million dollars projected opening weekend.

James - This holiday season, why don't you come on under the "Mistlenose"?! This movie is about Rhonda, a girl who lost her nose in a tragic Dungeons and Dragons accident and her only Christmas wish is to get a new one! Along on her quest are her friends Sammy and Tammy, twins who absolutely hate each other. They take a cross country road trip and pick up some hitchers who give out sage advice along the way. Rhonda is played by Miley Cyrus, the twins by Tia and Tamara Mowry, provided that they're not dead, and all of the hitchers by Morgan Freeman in different costumes.

Blood Fogs

(Hopefully that title will make sense in an almost droll way after you read on)

I am a chef's son. I am also the son of a vegetarian who is constantly creating new dishes to make her meals interesting. Food is important to me, I don't eat just for sustenance, I eat for pleasure and experience. I savor my food (most of the time) and love to try new things. I love watching cooking shows ("Kitchen Nightmares" [UK version] is probably my favorite) and enjoy cooking myself from time to time. So of course it makes sense that I like reading about food! And in this post I will share some of my favorite food blogs with you lovely people.

FIRST - THE FOOD PORNOGRAPHER



This blog is run by a...person from somewhere in the Australia/New Zealand area. I'm pretty sure the person is a lady, but they never show their face! Anyway, this blog is run by someone just like you and me, taking great photos of whatever they, or people near them, eat. It ranges from sushi take out, homemade past, family get-together meals to fast food. Whatever is eaten, it'll be documented. Along with the pictures comes a description of the meal and what they thought of it. Totally fun and neat if you're into pictures of food. To get started, maybe go to the page that has the owner of the blog's favorite posts.

SECOND - THIS IS WHY YOU'RE FAT



This blog is another food photos one, but with a specific intention: to showcase the absolute worst food for you possible. From a model of a stadium made entirely of snack foods to a parody/homage of an ice cream cone made from breakfast items, this blog is made for the glutton in us. What's interesting is that I would not eat probably 85% of the food in these posts, but it's still great to read about them. I guess I'm down with trying to get heart disease through the blog vicariously. Indulge with your eyes my friends!

THIRD - FANCY FAST FOOD

(This is the dish created in the video below)

I've come across this one fairly recently, and I have to say that the idea behind it is incredible. I'll let the blog's creator explain:

These photographs show extreme makeovers of actual fast food items purchased at popular fast food restaurants. No additional ingredients have been added except for an occasional simple garnish.

You can't even add water when re-preparing these dishes! And it's not just a before and after photo set you see, they give you the full recipe on how to create these faux-fancy dishes. Sometimes they turn out great, but as you will see in this video, sometimes they are terrible.



Till next time, eat your heart out!

-James

Now playing: Misfits - Static Age

Death Stuff

"Morbid Fascination" is a term that usually signifies that the bearer of it is a WEIRDO. However, I've come to find out that almost everyone is a little curious about death, why shouldn't we be? Death is the reason we live, essentially. If we were all immortal, we wouldn't probably spend decades just kind of rolling around, watching 30 Rock and eating ice cream. But death signfies an end, the absolute end. And then there's capital punishment. Putting prisoners to death because of their crimes. This part of the death umbrella is very interesting to me. Some call it barbaric, some call it a message. Either way, the death penalty is fascinating. Check these related things out:


First, an article called "Cameron Todd Willingham,Texas and the Death Penalty" written by David Grann, published in the New Yorker. It is sort of long, but an incredible about a man who might have been accidentally killed by the state. Family, fire and friendship all show up here. CLICK

Second, a list of death row inmates last meal requests. This is a double whammy (burger [zing!]) for me because I love reading about food. And to see how interesting and unique these meals can be is something else. Also, notice the multide of southern style requests. Makes sense when you look at which states allow the death penalty. CLICK.



And finally, the West Memphis Three. In 1993, three boys were sentenced to either life imprisonment or to die under circumstances that go beyond shady. Two films were made about them, and they are still in jail. Find about what happened to them and maybe you can see that justice isn't always blind. CLICK.

-James

Now playing: Emperor - I Am the Black Wizards

Buy James Stuff

You know, I was thinking to myself, "James, what you and Dash do (the podcast) is pretty selfless isn't it? Every other week, you give unto the world around an hour of thoughts, quips, opinions and discussion for absolutely no payment at all! Wow, you're quite a guy (and a catch!)."

So I though, "Why not tell people how they can repay you for all the hard work you've done!" And that's what I'm gonna do. People, this post is all about how you can rightfully give back to your lovely host, just buy me some of the stuff I'm about to talk about!

CHEFSTACK



It's an automatic pancake maker. It makes 200 pancakes in an hour. 20 pancakes every six minutes. The article I've linked to says "ChefStack is Like an ATM For Pancakes". Very apt. It's also $3,500. BUT WORTH IT. Buy it HERE.

SLEEPING GRIZZLY BEAR BEAN BAG


Oh my goodness. Ok, we all know how awesome bean bag chairs are, they're like waterbeds or Tom Sizemore movies. They're awesome, but you're not telling anybody you actually think that. But look at this one! IT'S A BIG OL' SLEEPY BEAR AAAWWWWWWW. And it won't wake up and eat you! Hopefully. It's on sale right now for $135 (it was $159).

ARTWORK BY DANIEL HOCHSTEIN


Mr. Hochstein is the father of one of my closest friends and is an incredible artist. The painting above is named "The King" and I've been lucky enough to see it up close. Those eyes are even more intense when face to face with them. He goes between realism and surrealism in his work, and I've been lucky enough to actually obtain a drawing of his.

SOME GOD DAMN SURGE.


This...this soft drink. This beverage. THIS NECTAR OF THE GODS. Was THE soda of my youth. I drank it so much. There was a mini-mart connected to a gas station near my house and I'd go there nearly every day to procure a can or bottle of this heavenly liquid. AND NOW?! It is GONE. Apparently it only exists in Norway, so I want you to go to Norway and find me some! Please?

That's it for now, feel free to just send money too!

-James

Now playing: OM - Flight of the Eagle