hows your edge?

Google Analytics WOWs Me ...

2009-06-16T15:03:00.002-04:00

Riddle me this: Why is the search term "Chris Morgado" so popular this month that it made the top 10 search terms?

Anyone? Anyone? In the last year and a half, 83 visitors have googled this fellow, and come a knocking at HYE. Wild. Also, why is there a sudden spike in "Chris Morgado" traffic lately? What'd he do now?

Ewww .. What's That?

2009-06-11T12:48:00.003-04:00

Check this pic, looks pretty gross, right?

Well, you are wrong. This is perhaps my finest concept ever.

THE SOY MILK ICE CUBE!

I toss them into my iced lattes. Espresso + soy milk ice cubes + soy milk. That way, the espresso NEVER gets watered down.

GENIUS!

Good things come to those who wait ...

2009-05-23T18:29:00.002-04:00

Do you know Big Bob? If you don't, you are missing out on a genuinely awesome human being. This dude is tops in my book. The first time I met him, was after a Bane show in 1998. It was Summer, and the upstairs of the Palladium was hotter than hell. This was back when it still had the ridiculous stairs built into the front of the stage. So foolish. He had been up front all night long, and was used as a runway for many stage dives. FOR THE WHOLE GIG. Didn't matter, he moshed and sang along to every song. He was feeling it. He also needed a place to stay. He ended up at our house, and I loaned him my bed. He had a long day of driving the next day and needed his rest. We didn't oblige him. We stayed up all night playing poker and ended up running down the stairs at sunrise to play football. We did so much hooting and yelling in the hallway of our house that the girls downstairs came out and yelled at us. LOL, good times.

Like I said, best dude. At some point, some years ago, we set up some sort of trade. At this point, I can't even recall what it was for. That's how far back it stretches. It's the second longest trade I have going. The other one has been going since 1998. Yeah, 1998. 11 years.

But yesterday, I received a package. From Big Bob.

Like I said, dude is the best. Peace, dude.

Tickets to Ride (to Fenway Stadium) ...

2009-05-23T18:20:00.002-04:00

My wife gets some pretty cool perks. Last time, she got tickets to Fenway, we sat in the EMC Level. I get misty just thinking about how amazing those seats were. These seats were nothing to snob off. In face, they were the second best seats I've ever occupied. Check my blurry pics for yourself.

Yeah, we were close. WAY better than HDTV, that's for sure. Also, we were right behind the Jays on deck circle and happened to be sitting next to two drunk yellers. They probably threw out hundreds of terrible one liners. But every now and then, they hit a gem.

"Barajas, you suck. Varitek is a better catcher than you."

"Hey, Millar, cowboy up, you douchebag."

They had a few more gems that really escape me now. Out of hundreds of one liners, they probably had 5. Not worth it, really.

All in all, we had a great time. The Sox won too. Thanks Auntie Ann!

Making Gator Bait and Mental Proud ...

2009-04-16T11:26:00.002-04:00

The other day Justin Thunderlizard hooked me up with a Gator Bait shirt. He couldn't sell it because it had a small dryer burn on the shoulder. It was pretty apparent on that bright white shirt. I thought the shirt was cool and wanted to sport it. I too was having a hard time looking past that burn. So I went ahead with a little craft project. Turns out I also had a dope Mental tee that went through the wash with a pen. The pen exploded. Sadness ensued. So check the pics. This was maybe 2 hours of work. And most of that work was waiting.

Pretty sweet, right? I was very pleased with the Gator Bait tee. The Mental tee was lime green initially so the difference isn't super apparent. Also, I think that GIANT X on the Gator Bait tee flecked and washed off onto the both tees. An interesting side effect.

Good luck finding either of these on eBay. If I can make them, so can you.

Justin Thunder Lizard is NOT a rip off ...

2009-03-28T09:28:00.002-04:00

Justin Thunder Lizard posted some pics of a few new shirts they had in stock. I ordered two shirts from Thunder-Lizard and received so much more. Great dude.

He threw in a bunch of extras because he knows I love shirts. He even threw in the Mindset "acetate" (is that what it is? I'm never sure) for the pocket print of their tshirt. Very cool.

Support Thunder Lizard. This crew is doing it right.

Since You've Been Gone ...

2009-03-14T09:12:00.004-04:00

Actually, it's more accurate to say "since I've been gone." I'm sure you all missed me. I was off in Albuquerque for the week. Here's my week in pictures.

Leaving Providence. Lovely weather, of course.

Sadly, I did not stay at this hotel. Yes, I said HOTEL. I stayed next door. This is sticking out the side of the Radisson Hotel and Waterpark. Yes, Hotel AND Waterpark. Wild.

ABQ has a dry, non salty climate so all those old cars stick around. I saw many amazing classics ...

And then some cars that just BLEW my mind.

I had the opportunity to eat at some awesome restaurants this go around. I arrived a little early on my first day and got to walk all over the Central St area. Annapurna's World Vegetarian Cafe was my obvious highlight. I was hoping to hit up 20 Carrots for a PB + Banana shake, but they were closed. Here's my meal from Annapurna's.

While enjoying my meal, I kept amused by reading I Drink Milk Fanzine #3. These kids do it right. Review coming soon. Peep that pic with Casali. All the way from Wilkes-Barre to Hungary and back.

ABQ has a lot of houses that all look the same. This one isn't one of them. It's located on Monte Vista, and I believe I caught it featured in a segment on the Travel Channel. Needless to say, it was a little over the top.

My last full day in ABQ was Friday the 13th. I'm not a superstitious fellow so I wasn't worried at all. However, my morning free buffet was ruined by a leaky cranberry juice cup. I filled my drink and walked away from the cart without realizing the cup was severely cracked. Here's the terrible, terrible outcome.

One last shot. I've never seen this before. And despite hating Dr. Pepper, I would have gladly used my free Guns N Roses coupon on this beverage. Anyone ever had one?

So that was my trip. Other highlights not pictured: gelatin free skittle, many iced lattes, Rudy's BBQ (I heard someone accurately describe it as "vegetarian hell." Very accurate. My co-worker at "brisquet, ribs, sausage AND chicken." It was either 1 full pound of meat, or 1lb 4oz. I can't recall if he got a quarter pound of chicken or half a pound. Either way, it was a ridiculous amount of food. Ridiculous), long days spent in windowless warehouse sized rooms, longer evenings and other fun stuff.

This will probably be my last trip to ABQ. See ya, dudes. I'll miss your ayurvedic meals.

Support the Bands + Trade Item ...

2009-03-05T21:42:00.002-05:00

I hit up Anchor's Up last week to see The Effort, Alert, Mindset (and Give). Good show. Supported some bands!

I also traded a Bane test press to a friend in London for these bad boys.

There is obviously WAY more to the story, but I'll let you figure that out.

My next pick up should probably be a photography class or a class where they teach you how to NOT take a blurry picture. That'd be nice.

Sorry, I Was Busy. I Was In Hell.

2009-02-22T18:20:00.002-05:00

No seriously.

Expect more updates soon. Peace.

Some Merch Up on Ebay ...

2009-01-28T21:05:00.004-05:00

I have a few items up on Ebay. You should buy them.

Check the listing here.

I Love Burritos ...

2009-01-09T21:01:00.002-05:00

Some people like to get dressed up and go to fancy dinners. Or order expensive wines and fancy cheeses. Others like big slabs of steaks or sandwiches with au jus. Me? I'd rather eat a burrito. I'm no burrito snob either. I'll eat one from a hole in the wall, moe's, chipotle, ... As long as it's vegan, I'm eating it. I prefer the kind you can lift. Not really big on burritos with mole sauce, but I'll still eat 'em.

This was my dinner tonight. It was friggin amazing. Paired with a coke zero, some broiled cauliflower and a spicy cabbage salad. So friggin good. You're into it, admit it!

Holiday 2008 = Good Times!

2009-01-04T21:16:00.002-05:00

Holiday 2008 is now officially over. After almost 4 weeks of not being at the office (one week in Cambridge, one week in Albuquerque and two weeks of vacation). Tomorrow, I go back to work. I'm not afraid!

The tree came down today, but check out how nicely it was decorated! (Ignore the nerd books in the background. Shout outs to Big Bob)

I received that amazing tree ornament from my aunt during a $5 limit yankee swap. Very nice!

Shout outs to Larry Ransom for the inspiration. Some of these cards are over 2 years old. I even busted out the iTunes gift card today. Oh sudoku, here I come.

There you have it. 2008 was chill. Now for 2009. And the wife is already planning the next vacation. It should involve sun and fun. I'm down.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:10:00.002-05:00

2008 was an excellent year. It brought a lot of good times to my house and my life. Let me run down a few highlights for you.

The Bar Harbor Vacation
The stairwell getting painted
Jaw Surgery aka finally getting rid of the braces and over bite
Lots of Bane shows
True Colors
My older brother getting married
Madlib & J-Rocc
First time visiting New Mexico and Albuquerque
...
Plenty of good times.

After a long night of saying goodbye to 2008 (obviously, the little guy partied too hard.), it's time to welcome 2009.

2009 has the potential of being the biggest year in my life (so far). I'll turn 30, share a 5th wedding anniversary with my lovely wife, be a home owner for 3 years, ... The list goes on and on. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to 2009. Honestly, it's going to be good.

So stick around, it's only going to get better from here on out.

It's been a long time ...

2008-12-23T19:07:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time, hasn't it? Sorry, my bad. I was off in Albuquerque for a while and have been hella busy with work. And then when I'm not working, I basically just needed time to sit back and relax. Now I have a few days off and have been busy watching the worst movies known to man. Truth. Terrible, terrible movies. Movies that make people cringe when you say the title.

Just yesterday, I watched a movie called Death Race. Yes, the 2008 thriller with Jason Statham. Part "Fast And Furious," part "Waterworld," part "Days Of Thunder." Ok, well maybe not that last part. Yeah, so a real winner. Plus this happened to be the unrated version so the scene where 14K buys it was definitely extra gruesome. Overall, a pretty terrible movie. Plus, the week before, I happened to catch National Treasure 2 and something probably equally as terrible.

But today, today I topped all of them with the worst possible movie ever. It is called In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale and also starred Jason Statham. You can probably see a theme here; I catch most movies with this guy, even if they are notoriously terrible (Transporter 1 was probably the least offensive to the soul as far as action movies go. The Lock Stock and brit movies remain untarnished, cinema gold stuff). This movie down right stunk. I wouldn't be surprised if it was direct to DVD.

Strangely enough, the trailer doesn't look too terrible. Then you realize they just cut scenes from the Lord Of The Rings and replaced hobbits with bald brits. I won't even try to explain the plot; it's just not worth it. Plus, the acting. Ooofffff, so frigging bad. I can only assume the script was written during the writers strike. The word putrid comes to mind. Feel free to LOL at these comments left on IMDB.

Ok, now it's time to get back to my terrible movie marathon. What'll it be? Tokyo Drift or something equally as terrible.

Some Shirts For Trades ...

2008-11-30T16:55:00.005-05:00

I have some shirts for trades. Get into it people. Probably 12 shirts, so make sure to click the "more" link.

Check my trade list.

Click here for more details ...

I have some shirts for trades. Get into it people.

Guns Up Outlive Longsleeve, size L

Negative FX boot, Joe Boxer Tee, size L

Mouthpiece Hood, Murina tag, size XL

Betrayed tee, size M

Betrayed Tee, size M

How's Your Edge? West Coast 06, size Girls L

LA Lemon / Like It Or Not, LIMITED size M

Snapcase Hungry Charlie's Tee, 97! Delta XL

Bold long sleeve with REV STAR on back, RARE, Anvil XL (fits like L)

Bold hood with Matt on back, Tultex (OLD) L

Bold with Matt on back, black shirt, white ink, RARE & OLD, Signal XL

Cold World record release tee, M

Bane Holding This Moment, Pretty Rare, no tag but measures as L

There you have it. Hit me up with trades. Check my trade list. I want shirts.

Ain't That the Truth?!

2008-11-29T11:24:00.002-05:00

Here's a quick one!

So true, so true ...

International PWNing - Ouch

2008-11-03T14:41:00.005-05:00

LOL. Skip to 4:10 for some PWNing.

Now that's funny.

Here's the back story. This was shot (by Voy from the UK) at Fluff Fest somewhere in the Prague. There's probably a million or two kids there. Or maybe some thousands. Lots of people, probably the biggest fest in Europe for hardcore punk. Pretty cool.

But I don't agree. And this picture from over the weekend of me stage diving for Bane probably would prove different.

I'll have to fight Bedard the next time I see him.

A Few Items For Trade (bold, bane, turning point) ...

2008-10-24T14:10:00.002-04:00

I want to trade a few tees. I'm not selling them. I have many angles (including tags) but will just post the front with size.

Bold: Fits like large (signal xl).

Bold: Fits like tiny, tiny tiny medium (no tag, possibly not OG, no idea, but old ass tee)

Cold World: Fits like short large (tag is large but it's not very long)

Bane: Large

Bane: Fits like large (no tag)

To see more angles, check this link, More Angles

Turning Point: Fits like Large (anvil XL) - shirt not as yellowed as it appears. Bad lighting in my dining room.

To see more angles, check this link, More Angles

I'm looking for a few In My Eyes, Bane, Bold, Chain Of Strength, Schism, Wishingwell, Youth Of Today, ... tees. Let me know what you've got. Check my want list for more insight.

Peace

EMPAC - Open Late with Madlib ...

2008-10-08T11:30:00.003-04:00

Over the weekend, I had the honor of attending the opening of my brother's building. He's a project manager at the EMPAC building on the Rensselaer campus in Troy, New York. He's been busting his ass for the last few years and double that for the last few months. It was real cool to finally see the fruits of his labor.

We rolled up for a late lunch at El Mariachi's. So good. This time around, my mouth wasn't just recently unwired so I HOUSED some chips and salsa. Toss on the fajitas and an orange jarrito - I'm good to go!

GB, what up?

We then had hours to kill before the 11pm event we were attending. It involved walking around Troy. A LOT. We then hit up the EMPAC building in order to see the Open Late With Madlib gig. Here's the only unblurry picture I really captured.

Blurry One

It was a weirdish event. Everyone keeps asking me if it was a rave. It was not. It was a juxtaposition between hip hop and visual art. The room had this giant 360 degree projection screen. For smaller events, it would be resting on the floor. This event was too large so they used the upper projectors and had it lifted 30 feet off the floor.

This is where the art part comes in. The Vidvox dudes were projecting weird ill video. They were live mixing it and doing all sorts of funky stuff. The bubbly MS Paint stuff was cool. When they started showing footage of the building construction, people started to get nauseous. That was a semi downer.

Construction Footage

Regardless, the show was ill. J-Rocc and Madlib set it off. They had kids fist pumping during their "warm-up" period. It was probably all the WU they kept spinning. Juiceboxx got the crowd going crazy too. Koushik was in the house, mostly laughing on stage. Sadly, he didn't get to spin.

Overall, it was a great night. And my brother didn't freak out too much. I rode around Troy with Madlib and even got a chance to ask him about the Lord Quas dunks. Apparently he was given a few pairs, but that's all that ever came of them. He done good. Props!

ps. If you want to see some less fuzzy pics of the vidvox work, check this link.

A Few Items Of Interest ...

2008-10-01T08:52:00.002-04:00

I have a few items up on ebay which may be of interest to some of you. Mostly LPs from the early 2000s, but some older ones too. Check it.

If you see anything you like, let me know. Maybe we can work out some crucial trades!

Lunch Time Perfection - A Tutorial

2008-09-26T20:30:00.002-04:00

I received a lot of positive feedback from my "Walk With Me" blog post so here is another installment. Instead of walking, we're eating. And instead of idly standing by and watching, you can participate. Follow these easy steps to the best in brown bag lunching.

Start with your basic ingredients. This is really all you need to have the top of the tops.

The first step is pretty freaking easy. Just slap two slices of bread on your napkin or plate. Go with wheat. Don't skimp here. Don't even fool around with wonderbread.

Then slap some peanut butter on BOTH pieces. I like Teddie brand. Unsalted, crunchy or smooth is fine by me. My recommendation is to spread a lot of peanut butter on one and just a little bit on the other piece. It's important to have peanut butter on both slices in order to seal the next ingredient in place. You don't want these bad boys sliding around.

Now peel that banana.

And cut in half.

Then cut those halves lengthwise. Now you've got quarters.

Then place the banana quarters on one slice of bread. Make sure to squeeze them all on there. Spoon them in nice and tight.

Press those slices together...

... And you've got yourself a freaking sandwich!

Add that Cherry Coke Zero, and go to town. One of my favorite lunches. Get into it.

Let's Go For A Walk ...

2008-09-23T21:42:00.002-04:00

The last time I tried this, my co-worker rolled up in his brand new BMW M3. So let's try this again. We're walking, we're walking.

It's still summer at my work. Otherwise, that fountain in the background would be shut down and drained. Summer rules! Never mind those fall flowers they just installed. Still summer, folks!

The weather was kind of sucky today so I had to hustle my way down the street. I play that game sometimes, "Can I walk there and back before it rains?" I haven't lost yet, knock on wood!

In case of fire, hang out near this red poll.

In the background, you can see my mall. It's aight. I hang there a lot. Plenty of walking at lunch right through the heart of it. Nice floral arrangement in the foreground too.

At this point during my walk, someone usually stops to ask for directions to either a) the lahey clinic or b ) the marriott. No directions given this time. Also note the sign about fire lanes and handicap parking. There are definitely no fire lanes marked on the street, and there are definitely no road side handicap parking spots. Why is that sign there? No friggin clue.

Almost there. If I walk alone, I cut through that triangle thing. If I'm walking with co-workers, I'll hit up the crosswalks. They aren't so quick with heads on swivels and usually make comments about getting run over. No one needs that.

Stopping at the red light so I don't get run over. Those are my sneakers. I'm bored while waiting for that red light. Must get across the street, must not get run over.

Oh shit. I'm there! You thought I was going to D'Angelo, didn't you? Hahah.

One amusing story. While I was in the Starbucks, the barista manager kept waving my cup around and saying "how much? How much?" I had no friggin idea what she was talking about. Then I realized she was talking to two regulars sitting at the table behind the bar. Apparently they have been trying to track down a cup like that for months without luck. Not for sale. Sorry dudes.

Good walk. Now I'm chilling. Peace.

Spotted ...

2008-09-23T11:52:00.002-04:00

Highs

Lows

Peace.

Apologies ...

2008-08-26T07:45:00.002-04:00

I need to apologize for neglecting all my people. I have updates to post, but I've been hella busy. For the last month, I've been working Saturdays and at least 50 hour weeks. And then for the last week and a half, I've been driving into Cambridge every morning for 7am (leaving my house around 6am) and then leaving at 7pm and arriving home for 8pm -- long days certainly. So I apologize, I apologize.

Here's a story from my morning that I found heart warming. Yeah, I'm turning mushy in my old age.

I've been driving into Cambridge early in order to beat traffic. Most mornings, I arrive before 7am. But testing doesn't begin until 8:30. So that gives me some time to walk around Cambridge. Some mornings, I sit on a bench and people watch. This morning, I walked down to the Cambridge Bike Store and back. Lots of fixed gear bikes up in there, including the Obey X Fuji fixed gear. Looked weird in person.

After that, I walked back to the Clear Conscience Cafe (part of the Harvest Market) which had just opened. They guy behind the counter and I were discussing my hard plastic Starbucks cup. He was angered by Starbucks practices, but like me, was truly amazed by the cup. Great cup. In his amazement, he ended up pouring me a hot americano even though I specified iced.

At this point, an older Cambridge native was in line behind me. He had a pretty long beard, was pushing 60 years old and looked like he spent a lot of time reading novels by Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. The counter guy apologized for pouring me the wrong drink and was going to pour it out for himself. The older gent behind me asked what it was. Realizing it was exactly what he was going to order, he told the guy to pour it out for him. The counter guy said it was on the house. I then ordered 2 vegan scones. One for me, one for the older gent.

Needless to say, the older guy was truly amazed. He was a little confused, but I gladly and willingly offered him a scone. So he got a free americano and a scone. He commented on how everyone was so generous today. I told him to pay it forward and at that exact moment, I think his eyes got misty. It was like his faith in human kind was restored.

He then went on to tell me how he was going to visit his daughter today, and he was sure it was going to be a great day. It started off so nicely that I have to agree with him. Today is a good day. Life is good. Enjoy it. Peace.

Cosmic Balance

2008-08-11T21:32:00.002-04:00

Today was, without a doubt, a shitty day. The weather sucked, my alarm going off at 5:15am sucked, my one day weekend sucked, ... lots of things sucked. Highest on the sucking meter was working from 8:30am until nearly 8pm. That's just not cool. Especially when I leave my driveway at 7:20am and pull back in at 8:30pm. Just not cool. Things just felt off all day long. And I don't know why.

Then I come home to find an empty house. Actually, two sleeping dogs and a noisy bird. But I also come home to a package from a friend. Earlier in the week, he told me to watch my mailbox as he was sending me something. He also didn't mention what was in the package. Just said to keep an eye out. Well, today, it arrived.

That's right. Homeboy sent me a Bane tshirt. And not just any Bane tshirt. The first WHITE Bane tshirt the band ever made. And shockingly, this one is STILL white, despite being 9 years old. This shirt is fucking cool, in my book. I'm planning on enjoying the hell out of it. The note was pretty amusing too.

Mr. Murphy
Hope this finds you well. Consider this a gift. No, it's not Anthrax or a trip back in time to the Anthrax, nor a show featuring Scott Ian's Anthrax. I know you'll appreciate it. But as the ol Godfather saying goes, "one day, you may be called on to repay this favor." HAHA, seriously man, enjoy!
Stay True"

So there you have it. A cool free shirt, and an uplifting note. My chi and all that shit is now realigned.