Hambone Styles

Cool Tree Link!

2007-03-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

From Todd:

http://www.neatorama.com/2007/03/21/10-most-magnificent-trees-in-the-world/

Eradicator!

2006-11-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

This was my halloween costume this year in case you were confused when you saw it! Thanks to Marc for finding this on YouTube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b--i65Jmew

Another Reason to Be Proud to Be from Wisconsin...

2006-08-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Is Named 'Drunkest City'

Thursday, August 24, 2006

(08-24) 11:45 PDT MILWAUKEE (AP) --

Milwaukee has been ranked by Forbes.com as "America's Drunkest City" on a list of 35 major metropolitan areas ranked for their drinking habits.

Forbes said Tuesday it used numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rank cities in five areas: state laws, number of drinkers, number of heavy drinkers, number of binge drinkers and alcoholism.

Minneapolis-St. Paul was ranked second overall; followed by Columbus, Ohio; Boston; Austin, Texas; Chicago; Cleveland; Pittsburgh and then Philadelphia and Providence, R.I., in a tie for ninth.

Rick DeMeyer, 28, said Wednesday as he was celebrating his birthday at G-Daddy's BBC he could understand Milwaukee's ranking.

"I have had people stay with me from London and Chicago, and they can't get over how much we drink," he said. "I guess we do."

But officials at Visit Milwaukee, the area's convention and visitors bureau, contend that the city has come a long way in ridding itself of its beer-guzzling image.

Milwaukeeans have plenty of other ways to entertain themselves without drinking alcohol, said Dave Fantle, a spokesman for the group. He noted a new convention center and baseball park had been built and the Milwaukee Art Museum expanded in recent years.

"We've gone from Brew City to new city," he said.

___

Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,

www.jsonline.com

A message from New Orleans

2006-08-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a message from my buddy Kev who lives in New Orleans...I thought this as a sad but interesting story. We need to keep helping them out (and others in the gulf), there is still so much distruction!

WHERE YAT?!

Who would have thought that being a fat piece of shit could pay

dividends? Well it's true.

As many of you know, I have been volunteering with Habitat for

Humanity, musicians village,helping build houses for the last week.

(I'm a doctor, not a engineer, damn it!) Yesterday we were

filling in dirt so water doesn't accumulate. (stagnant water =

mosquitoes, mosquitoes bad) Anyway, being the fat bastard that I

am, I got tired shoveling dirt. It was only in the low 90's with

80% humidity. So I leaned against the column of concrete blocks

that the house was going to sit on. Very sturdy; or so you would

think. The column started to lean. I may not know anything about

construction, but I would want my house to be able to tolerate

someone leaning on it. Even a fatass like me. Apparently they

only filled in the top block with concrete, not the entire column.

To make matters worse, this step was preformed by contractors, not

volunteers. Our krewe chief got an uneasy look as he checked the

other columns. All hollow! He went to the other off-site house

these contractors had worked on. Last week we had erected the

foundation, bracings, and the floor. He returned. All hollow.

These hollow blocks would have supported the weight of the house,

but one good wind likely would have toppled them. Why did this

happen, who knows. The contractors had hired subcontractors. They

may have saved a little money on concrete? It must have taken just

as long to block the column and fill only the top block as to fill

the entire column. Anyway, they're coming back to fix the problem,

and say they can do it without removing the work we had already

finished. Luckily these contractors were hired only for the off

site houses, not any of the 30 houses in the musicians village that

were dedicated last saturday.

Everywhere I go, people are always asking me, how is new orleans?

After spending the last week in the upper ninth ward (not as

devastated as the lower ninth ward) I can easily say we have a

long way to go. It may not be too bad by me or the quarters, but

most areas have a long way to go.

I know, right now you're saying, what can I do. Easy. Next week,

august 29, is the one year anniversary of the greatest man-made

catastrophe (non-military anyway). thank you army corps of

engineers. Visit www.strength.org for a list of restaurants

donating a portion of their proceeds to help rebuild the gulf

coast. Eat plenty, that extra weight just might save the day.

WORD!

Climbing Mount Shasta

2006-07-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

Last week John, Anne, Barry and I went up for a 5-day trip up to Mount Shasta, a 14,000 ft volcano up in northern California. Dean couldn't make it due to a silly water skiing accident so he missed out on all the pain.In short, we parked at a trailhead at Brewer Creek (there was no creek) around 7000ft and hiked/skiied 2.7 miles and up 3000ft (with 80lb packs) to base camp which was fondly known as the Hotlum Hilton. After setting up base camp we spent the next few days playing around on the Hotlum glacier, reviewing/learning mountaineering skills, hiking through the seracs, and of course doing some skiing. Saturday we got up at 3am and were on snow at 4:45am for our 4000ft summit attempt. We tore through it climbing through knee-deep snow and avoiding avs and rocks. Success took about 5 hours and it was amazing from the top. We skiied/glissaded down the mountain fast having a bunch of fun and setting off mini avalanches along the way.

It was an amazing experence. I know, I look dirty as shite.

Hambone Styles Picture of the Week! - 070106

2006-07-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

I'm getting excited about my trip to Germany this fall to see my little Godchild Luciana. So I was looking back at some photos of past Europe trips and found this nice B&W of a mountian lake in the Dolomites in northeastern Italy...

If you ever liked Super Mario Brothers you are going to love this...

2006-07-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/video/mariolive

2006-07-07T09:05:00.001-07:00

American Cities That Best Fit You:

70% San Francisco

65% Los Angeles

60% Honolulu

60% Philadelphia

55% Boston

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

Amazing

2006-06-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but I feel like the world needs to hear this line my buddy Big Chad heard from his farming cousin from Iowa:

"That girl is so hot I'd walk through a room of broken glass just to hear her fart through a walkie-talkie on the other side"

My first thought was, 'how the hell would you even think this up?'.

He has a second one that involves corn and poop. I'll spare you that one. Its not as good anyway.

Evil Breeding - save the pugs and bulldogs

2006-06-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

The look like their legs are put on backwards, they can't breathe, their eyes stick out, they couldn't catch another animal to save their life. They are almost like those goldfish that people breed just to have cancerous and bubbly eyes. Just mean. And then on top of that you put little silly clothes on them. I think we should save the suffering and let pugs and bulldogs go extinct.

Poor animals. Humans are so mean.

EDIT: To clarifiy, I don't have a problem with the dog being ugly but more dysfunctional and disabled as a breed and to live a suffering life with a bunch of body parts that were not in any way normal to evolution...

One more...

2006-06-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

You Were a Lynx

You are a great knower and keeper of secrets.

A bit psychic, you can bring out hidden truths.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

Regarding Surveys...

2006-06-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

I just came a across them. I know they are really bad and weird. Enjoy!

Another Random Survey

2006-06-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

You Are a Boxer Puppy

Energetic, playful and good with kids.

You've also got a wild spirit that can't be trained or tamed.

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

2006-06-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

You Belong in San Diego

Laid back and friendly, you were meant to live most of your life on the beach.

You usually think everything is "all good"... except when the weather dips under 60F.

You stay classy - especially when you're in Tijuana!

Where Does Your Inner Californian Belong?

Hello, my name is Melvin Tucker

2006-06-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

Melvin Tucker? Who the hell is that James? That looks like you...kind of. Well, that is a good question little person. Melvin Tucker is my little friend. My little friend who comes out when James has too many beers. Melvin tucker is a bit of a scientist, perhaps a mad scientist. A world renowned man of mystery, a bit of a nerd with extreme serious nature. When he talks to you his eyes get stern and formal as if talking the nuanceses of the space time continum.

Melvin does not appear to be a drunk person, however Melvin can get, strange. He may stare for long periods of time at things that do not deserve such attention. Melvin always has his hair combed fully across his head and the sides lightly brushed back. James never combs his hair.

Melvin can your friend he can be your nemesis he can do a keg stand, although usually when he arrives he is already mellow. The best thing about my friend Melvin is that you never know when he will show up. Sometimes you will only hear about him the next morning.

Such is the way of Melvin Tucker.

Hambonestyle Picture of the Week - 5/29/06

2006-06-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

Cool lookin' dragonfly in my mama's garden in Madison Wisconsin.

"fuck...here goes the rest of my life"

2006-05-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

Awesome quote from my sis (Weed) after the debacle of a weekend of her graduation. I'll have to put up some pics...but not now.

For the Doubters - The Chinese Cleaver

2006-05-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

Check out these articles on the Chinese Cleaver...every kitchen should have one. I thought you all would appreciate this and since you all know its my favorite kitchen tool and that I try to sell you one every time you come over. You all should have one, I can help you find one in Chinatown.

http://chinesefood.about.com/cs/cookingbasics/bb/buycleaver.htm
http://www.chinesefood-recipes.com/chinese_cooking_utensils/chinese_cleaver.php

Yes, I did to a search on Chinese Cleavers, I'm that lame.

James

Hambone Style Pictures of the Week - 5/22/06

2006-05-22T11:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some sweet pics from our latest adventure up in the Sierra Nevada range. We did a two-day 15mile trek along the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) from Sugar Bowl ski resort to Squaw Valley ski resort. We camped overnight on Saturday in the snow at about 8,500 ft. It was terribly exhausting but fun as hell and good practice for climing Mount Shasta (14,000ft) this summer.

The top picture is where we camped in a cloud on top of maybe 30ft of snow. We had to dig out the snow to flatten the space and give outselves some wind protection. We spent the next few hours eating cold pizza, melting snow for water, and having a glass of brandy for relief. Here in the picture Dean and I were melting snow with our tents as a back drop. The Trango my bro got me for Christmas is on the left. Thanks Matt.

The second picture is a shot of some black bear foot prints we saw alont the ridge. My guess is that the bear had recently come out of hibernation due the to warm weather and was out and about looking for food. Luckly he didn't find our food.

The third picture is a view from the ridge that we skied across. The snow was incredibly deep and we were really just sking across a huge cornice most of the time which at points was unsettling.

Hambone Style Picture of the Week - 5/12/06

2006-05-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

HMMMMM Coconuts! I don't like coconuts much but I like drinkin the sweet agua inside. This one happens to be of the Costa Rican variety...

HamboneStyle Picture of the Week! - 4/17/06

2006-04-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

Its back with a vengance. The picture of the week...lets see what I have in my portfolio to show y'all. I want to take a picture of a pidgeon really. Me shooting one. They are like aliens crawling in the walls of my apartment. Bastards.

So, the picture of the week! Is Luciana! This is my little god child who lives in Munich. Isn't she cute? She is the daughter of my friends Ane and Todd whom I met in Madison, WI. Ane is from Munich and they met in school, got married, moved to Germany, had a kid. The whole shebang. I try see her at least once a year either when they come here or I go there. This year I'm of to Germany to see her, and her new brother Shaun.

On a side note...I bought her that sweater she is wearing when I was in Ireland this year. I'm such a good Taufpate.

Bunny Suicides

2006-04-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

Bunny Suicides...kinda funny. Check it out:

http://www.popcornfor2.com/wysiwyg/bunnysuicides.htm

The Onion is just hilarious....

2006-03-31T09:31:00.000-08:00

This is the headline for the front page article this week with the US Senate focusing on immigration reform...

WWE: Illegal Mexican Wrestlers Taking Smackdowns American Wrestlers Don't Want

So funny.

also, another good article this week...'No Canoe Can Hold Me'

Hambone Style Picture of the Week - 3/27/2006

2006-03-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

Your moment of Zen! From my family trip to Costa Rica...

This is a little baby Leatherback Sea Turtle. They are an endagered animal native to the Tamarindo where we stayed. They come up to the beach to lay their eggs and then have to fight birds, raccoons, people, fish, crabs, and more to survive and eventually become big 2 meter sea turtles. This guy was just starting his journey. He was about 5cm long!

We named him Lance. Good luck buddy.

Funny Games

2006-03-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

Hey if you guys feel like taking some moments to play some short online games this site is great and some of the games are just rediculous (see Barb Jumping).

Enjoy!

http://gprime.net/game/

Happy Valentines Day

2006-02-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

Who wants to be my Valentine?

Hey all, I don't know if you celebrate Valentines day anywhere else in the world or if this is just some day American's made up so that companies can make more money. My Valentines day was uneventful all I did was work and then drive home from Tahoe. In fact I forgot it was Valentines day because I was calling all of my buddies to see what they were doing and I couldn't get in touch with any of the ones that had girlfriends or wives!

I guess they were getting jiggy with it!

Happy Birthday Weed!

2006-01-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

Yep its Weed's big 24. We all love her to death. She is what I call my 'F' sister which is extremely short for FAVORITE. She is also my ONLY sis. But even if I had more she would still be my 'F'-sister.

Weed is finishing her last year of school after 6 years (sorry no graduate degrees in there) but her defence she is in a nursing program that is 3 years long, one year longer than normal. She is really looking forward to graduating and exploring as you can imagine. Anyway she is the best and a best friend to me too.

Everyone always asks how she got the nickname Weed (her real name is Ruth Ann - both my Grandma's names). Well my Dad, brother, and I used to call her 'Sweety' when she was a baby, which ultimately became Weedy, which intern became Weed....how cute eh?

Anyway, Happy Birthday!

Hambone Style Picture of the Week - 01/23/2006

2006-01-23T11:14:00.000-08:00

This is just a very strange picture I too when I got home one night many years ago when I had first bought my camera. I took the picture using the 'nightmode' which is infrared.

I thought we could have some fun with picture of the week and see if any of you can guess what MOVIE that is on the TV....

Hambone Style Picture of the Week - 01/16/2006

2006-01-18T10:27:00.000-08:00

The Slinger

Hash Browns
Two Quarter Pound Cheeseburgers
Grilled Onions
Two Sunny-side eggs
Bowl of Chili

This delectable meal can be found in Chicago at the Diner Grill (Irving Park and Ashland) The Diner Grill is a 24-hour piece- of-heaven most frequented by me at 4am after the bars close and no-where else is open. Upon completing eating one of these you are awarded a cerficate of completion notifying you to prepare for 'Slingerirra'.

I have at least 8 of these certificates. Enjoy.

P.S. Also has a great jukebox including my favorite Diner Grill song...Black Betty.

Happy New Year!

2006-01-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you all had time to relax and celebrate an end to a great 2005 and look forward to a new 2006!

For me 2005 was an exciting year. I'm trying to think of everything I did but the highlights defended were:

Living my first full year in SF. This city has been great to me. I've enjoyed exploring in and around the area and have been lucky enough to have gone to Tahoe, Yosemite, the Lost Coast, Napa, Sonoma, Monterey, Half Moon Bay, Bodega Bay, Mount Shasta, as well as great places in the city too numerous to mention.

My trip to Alaska with my brother Matt, and my buddies Pete, Caton, Rory, John, Dean, and Jeff was a magical experience as well. We had such a blast and were really blown away the wild and untamed nature of the place. It is probably one of the most amazing places I will ever go.

Sailing was a big part of the year as well as crewed on our offshore racing boat a few times a month throughout the year. We ended up in 3rd place overall (out of maybe 12 boats) which is great considering it was our first year on our new fast boat.

Several good friends got married this year as well and I'd like to wish them a happy 2006 including Cristina and Joaquin, Meg and Dave, Megan and Dan, and my cousin Joe and his wife Trish. All these weddings were great times and I'm truly happy for each one of these great couples.

I think the #1 accomplishment was getting to spend a lot of quality time with my family this year. Especially with my parents. It was a tough decision to move out to San Francisco a year and a half ago and I was definitely concerned about not being able to see my family a lot as they are my best friends. I think I have been really lucky to have had several opportunities to work out of my parents house and literally just lounge around and shoot the shite about life and what-not with them. We really never did this a lot before but I think we are all somehow reaching some sort of an age or period in life whereby we are just being extremely open about life and our fears and our goals. Its been really great and I think it has really brought us all closer. Some of my fondest memories this year have been kayaking with my folks out in Point Reyes when they came to visit and the trip to Alaska with my bro. Now the year of 2006 is the year of Weed my sister.

The end of the year ended wonderfully for me with a trip to Ireland with a bunch of friends. We all scored some extremely cheap tickets and flew over to celebrate the birthdays of my good friends Julie, Chris, and Liz. Liz is from Dublin and was a gracious host and her folks treated us to a fine party at their house with over a 100 of Liz's closest friends. For for New Years day the lot of us celebrated on the roof of our apt in Dublin and watched as firecrackers lit up around the city and the bells of Christchurch rang to sips of Champagne....ahh good bye 2005

Big things coming in 2006?

2006 some of my goals for the year include: summiting Mt Shasta from the North Face, going on a trip with my sister, getting at least 20 ski days in, working out my living situation (i.e. buy a place/move to an apt by myself?), get involved more actively in a volunteer organization that I am passionate about (Sierra Club/Treasure Island Sailing Club/Homelessness?), and finally get my damn PADI (diving) certification

My wonderful sis finally graduates in 2006 with her nursing degree after 6 years! This has been a very stressful 6 years for her. She has worked so hard and had so many other big things going on including a very serious boyfriend that she just recently parted with. I am so proud of her and am looking forward so much to watch her get 'pinned' and graduation . She is such a good person and has been 'trapped' in Milwaukee and is just stretching her wings. I can't wait to see what she does in 2006. I'm so happy for her.

Costa Rica! Our families Christmas present to each other at the end of February! We have not been on a family trip all together since our trip to Scotland in 2000 for my sis and I's graduations (high school/college respectively). I'm stoked to go exploring and finally get that PADI license done once and for all.

I hope I get to see my dear Godchild Luciana this year. She lives in Germany with my friends (parents) and they are expecting another child here soon in February! I made a mini-goal to myself when she was born that I would get over and see her once a year and did for the first two years but now it has been a year and a half! :( I have to see her. She is so precious. I will post a picture of her so you can all see.

There is probably more in 2006 that I am missing but this will have to do for now. I want to wish you all the best and make this year special for yourself and a time of growth and reflection.

Special thanks to all of you who have read, responded, and encouraged me on this blog this year. Its been fun to keep up...even though I haven't been the best at it.

Peace to all.
James

Where in the world???

2006-01-10T05:21:00.000-08:00

Distinguished readers...I have been far-far away from computers now for some time. There has been much trauma in blog land. Much travels by James...Wisconsin, Chicago, Ireland, Tahoe....all so exhausting and so far from computers...will be back....(sigh)...just need to be in my own bed...zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hambone Style Picture of the Week - 01/09/2006

2006-01-09T13:13:00.000-08:00

Sinkyone Wilderness. Lost Coast Trail. Just a few hours north of San Francisco.

I camped out here on this beach last May. Just a spectacular place. Peaceful.

Crabbin in the Bay!

2005-12-17T11:05:00.000-08:00

December 17th, 2005....

Ray (roommate) and I hit up a charter to go do some Rock Cod fishin and some crabbin for Dungeness crabs during the season. It was a hell of a day for a number of reasons including:

-40 degree temp
-5am arrival in Emeryville
-Cold Rain
-High Swell (12ft!)
-2hrs of sleep (James)
-Sea sickness (half the boat, thankfully not us...barely)
-8 hours at sea

But the good news is that we caught our (and everyone who was puking off the side of the boat) limit of Rock Cod (10/pp) and our limit on Dungeness crab (6). We cooked everything up at Ray's folk's house and left them a few crabs in payment.

All-in-all we ate our fair share of crab over 48 hours, had some guests over to enjoy it with us too. Good times! Get ready for next year...

Link to Pics!

Happy Birthday to Me

2005-12-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

My folks are in town and I'm havin a blast!

High School Reunion....Si or No?

2005-11-23T08:15:00.000-08:00

So this upcoming weekend I have my 10 year highschool reunion! Everyone always says 'wow! I can't believe its already been ten years!' I say, whatever to that. To me it seems like an eternity ago. Don't get me wrong I didn't have a bad time in high school but college was much, much, MUCH more memorable. The people and the times. Many of my best friends from high school are still my good friends now and of course none of them are going. I'm not interested in going because I really am not a fan of the small talk and also, and this might sound strange, I really not that interested in how everyone else is. Well I shouldn't say that. I really am slightly curious but what I want is for my friend Suzy (who is amped on the whole reunion) to take pictures and report back. Is that bad? Its like I would prefer to read about it in People mag versus be there in person. Quite honestly I don't think I remember many people from my class by name. I have never been good at names so that is scary to have all these people that I don't really want to talk to and do not remember coming up to me and remembering me and me not knowing their name. Who knows, maybe I will go...its just at a bar in town. I think I just want to hang and go out with my brother though and take it easy. Good old Madison.

Sick! Ugggghhhh.

2005-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

So I did it. After over a year of good health and happiness I finally got a damn cold. I hate being sick. It feels like its never going to end and then it surprizes you when it does. I picked up this cold when I went to the the Badger football game about two weeks ago and it was my fault for sure becuase I was out in the cold rain without a jacket and without even sleeves! Think about that. Outside in a cold November rain with a t-shirt on. I'm rediculous. So of course I caught a cold just like mama would have said a few days later and I have yet to shake the damn thing. So what have been my WMD's against this axis of evil? We'll, I've been getting soup from the little Chinese place downstairs and throwing lots of hot garlic chili sauce in it and whoooo! that helps. Nyquil , holy snap! That stuff should be illegal. I've taken it the last two nights before going to bed and wow. I can't stay awake for 5 minutes after shooting it. Its like a time warp. Next thing I know its the next day. Good stuff. Also zinc. I believe it helps. Not sure why. Might be psycological but I think I have read that it can shorten the duration of the cold. Anyway...

I just want to be healthy for Thanksgiving holiday weekend is that too much too ask?

Hambone Style Picture of the Week - 11/21/2005

2005-11-21T09:36:00.000-08:00

Little things. Its always fun for me to take pictures of them. Bugs, flowers, pebbles, seashells, whatever. This week's pics are focused on little things in my mama's garden. These pics were taken by myself and or my pops who also likes taking pics of little things. My dad takes some great pics which I will feature some more on my site as I get them from him. I should have a lot of new stuff after Thanksgiving here...

Looking at little things so close up makes you really appreciate the delicate details in life, things that you may not always be able too look at, or things more importantly you may not think to look at.

Halloween Chaos...My Favorite

2005-11-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving. Bah humbug. Halloween is by far the best and my favorite holiday of the year. I get so excited about it each year, the merriment, the costumes, the chaos, the darkness. Each year on Halloween I love to do it up. Parties, music, friends whatever. My favorite thing about Halloween is I feel like you get to see all these new sides of people you never met before. What they are into, what constitutes a costume, what should be shown! And, Halloween costumes are great conversation pieces. When the majority of the city is walking around wearing ridiculous outfits you can just walk up and talk to anyone. Its almost like you get to be someone/something else for a day. And its just entertaining seeing a dragon, a pirate, the Tin man, and a naughty nurse all at the burrito shop together. Hilarious.

I always try to make a big deal about Halloween. Lets just think of a few of the most recent halloweens for example:

Halloween 2003
Location: New York City
Costume: Ritchie Tennenbaum (aka the Baumer) of the movie: The Royal Tennenbaums
The low-down: Widespread Panic Halloween at Madison square garden with a bunch of friends, people all over New York dressed up along with us. Played Pet Cemetery by the Ramoes at the Concert. People in bars dressed up. Lovely chaos.

Halloween 2004
Location: San Francisco
Costume: A 'Pea' with my girlfriend who was the princess (aka the Princess and the Pea)
The low-down: 150 person debacle of a party at friend Dave's house with DJ and all the friends. No Widespread Panic playing this year due to the band taking a year off.

Halloween 2005
Location: San Francisco/Las Vegas
Costume: Steve Zissou from the movie, the Life Aquatic
The low-down: Costume took a while to come along this year. I really wanted to be Steve Zissou because I love Wes Anderson films and I love Life Aquatic and I thought it would be a perfect outfit. The concern was that I thought there would be too many Steve-Z's because it was such a great movie and I thought everyone would want to be Steve Z. Which quite honestly is what I think every year, so oh well. Ideally I think that you should see less than 4 people with your costume. I think I probably counted about 10 through out the weekend which was a bit on the high side but I didn't care really...you only care when you are picking it out and then really you LOVE it when you see another guy with the same thing on and you take pictures with that person and so on. So really its all good.

So the costume picking went great, in fact it was quite easy. I had to be a bit crafty which is ok with me because I really don't get the time much to do CRAFTS. Crafts to me are things when you use a sissors, some, glue, maybe some sparkles or something, and some cloth. CRAFTS. So here I am after a long Friday night making my outfit which required:

HOW TO MAKE A TEAM ZISSOU:

A Team Zissou Hat: which was a red had (walgreens), black tape, and three dots (green, yellow, red)
Team Zissou Shirt: blue shirt, blue stripes (blue baseball grip), a Team Zissou patch (hand made, woo!)
Team Zissou Pants: Deck pants, blue stripes
Team Zissou Shoes: Addidas shoes
A glock (gun): worn on the hip (FAKE)
Team Zissou ID Badge: computer numchuck skills and a trip to the Life Aquatic website

Ta-da!

So. Saturday, costume is done, that night we through a party with a bunch of friends at the bar not too far from where we live and just whoop it up. Our friend Paul DJ'd the party and it was so fun getting all of our different friends together to celebrate the craziness. There were peeps in the bar who I don't think realized that there was going to be a party there so it was kinda fun watching them intermingle. My friends Rebecca and Liz whom I used to work with flew in from LA and New York also which was a blast and they have promised me that they are going to come up again next year although Liz says that we need more boys because there were too many girls per guy...which was just fine with me, but we'll see what we can do for you Liz. People were out in force that night all in costume, popping in and out of our place and moving on to others. I had such a great time and hung with some really fun peeps. And it still wasn't over because....

...Sunday morning we went to Vegas! I love Vegas. But for no more than two nights. Vegas is fun, but totally exhausting. There is just so much stimulation there, lights, sounds, the smells that you can just feel overwhelmed after a few nights. We went down there to catch arguably my favorite band, Widespread Panic. Nearly every year they play a Halloween show or two and every year they just tear it up. I have probably spent the last 4 Halloweens at a Panic show one day or another. I went down with my roommate Matt (the knight in the picture above) who is also a Panic fan and we hit up the Sunday night show and the Monday night show (true Halloween day). The added bonus of the weekend was that my good friend Wade and his new girlfriend April had just moved down there to teach just one-and-a-half weeks ago. It was great to see them and they are really enjoying their new life down there so far. The Sunday show was great. Trey Anistasio (from Phish) played with Panic them along Col. Bruce Hampton (bluesy guy and old Panic friend from Georgia). It was a sick show.

Monday we spent the day just toolin around Vegas, walking up and down the strip. I was really lucky that day, I didn't gamble much at all but while waiting for Matt to grab something from the room I through $20 into this slot machine and started spinning and the next thing I know I won $400! I was so shocked. And happy because that essentially paid for my trip.

That night we hung out and tore it up at the Halloween show with was with Dirty Dozen brass band. It was off the wall. And to make it all better Crystal Method (trance/techno) came out and ripped it up during the set break for about 30 minutes. During the second set Dirty Dozen played with Panic again and then they let down this screen to show this huge Las Vegas themed backdrop. It was too much. I can't even say it all here. Probably one of the top shows I have been to next to the New York Halloween shows...

What else can I say? Halloween is the best...check out the pics below...

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BYuWjZwzasjW

Corned Beef Baby!

2005-10-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty stoked I just made a big ol' corned beef for my roommates and I. My mama used to make corned beef for us on St. Patricks day here and we just used to gorge on it. Corned beef is basically a beef brisket which is a very tough piece of beef but if you slow cook it for a long time it gets very very tender. Corned means that it is soaked in brine (salt water). I got home late last night and threw it in the oven at 250F at 12am and let that sucker cook until just an hour or so ago. 14 hours. My roommate Matt and I just ate a big ol' sandwhich of fresh rye bread, swiss cheese (of course), dijon mustard, and piles of corned beef. Hmmm. I need a nap.

Hambone Style Picture(s) of the Week - 10/24/2005

2005-10-25T15:36:00.000-07:00

Yosemite, if you haven't been there you have to go. This picture was taken at Mirror Lake in Yosemite Valley at around 7am. My roommate Meg and I woke up early on a crisp February morning and decided to take a hike out hear as we couldn't sleep any later. Yosemite Valley didn't have any snow at the time but you could see it up at the higher elevations that shot up from the valley. This was my first time to Yosemite and it was just spectacular. I think that its even more incredible to go in the winter as it is so much quieter. The summer is trenched with crowds coming to see the majestic cliffs and giant sequoias that John Muir wrote about and Ansel Adams shot pictures of.

The reflections that you can see in the pictures were indescribable. Almost perfect. The water of this cool mountain lake was absolutely still. To the south we could look up the base of the infamous Half Dome peak. The most incredible thing about the Yosemite Valley is how it is framed on both sides by these incredible walls, some shooting up over 2000ft straight up. These walls are what attract rock climbers from all over. Its like a giant playground for them. I remember driving into the park on this icy night and looking up at these incredible glistening black walls sprinkled with the light of a nearly full moon. The wall was so high that it had the illusion that it was actually arching around over you such that you were in some sort of impenetrable fortress designed by nature.

A Happy place! By popular demand.

2005-10-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

Due to all of the e-trauma people received upon reading and thinking about sharks in the ocean due to my last blog I decided to take it upon myself to show you guys how and why you SHOULD go in the ocean, even if you are afraid of sharks, sea weed, jelly fishes, sea urchins, monitor lizards, or anything!

I took this picture while snorkeling in Maui, HI! Which is the other state that feels like its own country in the US. Pretty much right up there with Alaska as the best places in the states. Hopefully this will make you all comfortable that there are many beautiful creatures protecting you from nasty sharks! Look at this guy staring at my camera so curiously! I have seen big pacific leatherback sea turtles out sailing too along the Pacific west coast two in one day once and they are like 4ft long! See my blog I wrote on this. Got to love beatiful ENDANGERED sea turtles. Don't poke them or steal their eggs or this guy is going to come and bite your toes off.

Jaws!

2005-10-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

And people think its just the cold water thats scary about surfing of the San Francisco coast. The latest shark attack:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/19/MNGLFFATD58.DTL

I've never really been too scared of being bitten (or worse eaten) by a shark while surfing off the coast. I'm always shocked that there are not more attacks really. I mean we (humans) are so much slower than the seals that the sharks eat. We can't even see underwater to see them coming. I mean we are so easy. Then the researchers always say that well, the sharks just want to taste you but are not preying on you. They say that its because they like seals because they are so fatty but from all that I read in the US newspapers it sounds like we Americans are all obese so what-the-hell? Anyway I'm going to try not to think about it when I go surfing next...

Hambone Style Picture of the Week - 10/17/2005

2005-10-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start a 'picture of the week' on my blog. Why? Because I feel like I have so many damn pictures that don't get looked a enough and I want to share them along with any story if necessary. So without further ado, here is the debut picture.

This is a picture looking out at a volcano around Anchor Point Alaska down on the Kenai peninsla. The purple flowers are called Fireweed and apparently they are some of the first flowers to sprout after a fire. I was up there with a bunch of my friends for about 18 days in August doing some fishing, day-hiking, clamming, beer-drinking, and then a 7 night backpacking trip in Denali NP. This is only one of many Alaska pictures I'll probably have on my sight and I thought it was representative of the beauty of Alaska. Everyone should go there and experience the beauty for themselves.

Wisconsin Badgers 28, Minnesota 24

2005-10-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

Damn close game! I'm so happy we beat the damn Gophers and got the Paul Bunyan Axe yet again. Minnesota blows. We were pretty lucky at the end to squeak it out but hey a win is a WIN. And were #1 in the Big Ten now.

Where's James?

2005-10-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

This is funny. My new roommate Matt was cruising Jambase.com and found a picture of me at the Widespread Panic show at the Greek in Berkeley Hilarious. Its in the last picture all the way at the bottom looking out at the crowd. I'm in the bottom left corner wearing my Grandpa's old capand sun glasses...its like a 'Where's Waldo?' only with James.

http://www.jambase.com/headsup.asp?storyID=6975&pageNum=2

The Mighty Quin!

2005-10-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Meg started a blog of her own which is I think perfect for her as she always has a lot to say and we all are accoustomed to getting email 'blasts' from her. Check it out, its all about her trip to South America. I'm glad that she is doing well and is not getting into too much trouble making out with Latin Americans...

themightyquin.blogspot.com

Meg, if you want me to take down this post I can. I really like your journal though...

Happy Birthday Mama!

2005-10-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

Mom is off in Savanna Georgia with my pops and their friends Beth and Walt. Beth and my mom are best friends and they both have the same birthday. I'm sure they are causing chaos and uproar in GA.

Here are the birthday girls to the right.

Northwestern 51, Wisconsin 48

2005-10-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

Screw Northwestern. It looked like we played USC today. Our defense sucks. Thank God our offense can actually keep us in a game. We actually had a chance to win but Stocco threw and God damn interception at the beginning of what could have been a Brett Farve-esque drive. (sigh) Stressful.

Political Compass

2005-10-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

www.politicalcompass.org

I took this test that my friend Mireille sent. Here I guess I'm slightly Libratarian and slightly Communist. Go figure. They say other people in the same range as me are Ghandi and the Dali Lama so maybe I need to find a new line of work. My official score:

Economic Left/Right: -4.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.41

Already! A Meg update....

2005-10-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

An email from Meg on DAY 1 she made is safely to Ecuador!

Hey -

I am going to try working in word and then just cutting i tinto the email –
I had started my message 4 times before, and then it would go missing.
–hence the cryptic email that you actually received! This is crazy though –
I have gotten totally used to my ergonomic keyboard and am finding this one
very difficult!!

Anyway, I am here! Safe and sound! I had a bit of a heartattack when I saw
my bike box and it is all bashed in – and for those of you that know/care it
was right at my derailleur <(thank god I took it off at the last minute),
and then also the about a 8*8 inch hole at the top. I have the bike put
together for the most part though, so I THINK it is ok. I have to find a
screwdriver somewhere because in the heat of putting a new bike computer on,
it is facing backwards, and my screwdriver is the wrong size. Damn!

Quito is really pretty – a city surrounded by mountains, lots of parks, and
the parts I have been in are relatively clean. It does not seem nearly as
foreign as say, Bangkok, did at first. And it is nice to be able to at least
get by with my Spanish, though it is definately stunted.

I swung by the biking dutchmans shop today, to try to just get the lay of
the land a bit! He wasn’t there, but will be shortly, so I am going to head
back. Then I am going to the hardware store – have to take a couple buses,
so should be an adventure! Other than that I have just been wandering
around. Actually put my bike mostly together last night –went a lot smoother
than the disassembly. I haven’t taken it for a test ride yet though, so
we´ll see!

Ok. I was just checking in! catch you later!

Love
meg

Ecuador & Guatemala for Meg

2005-10-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

So Sunday morning (5am!) I took my roommate Meg to the airport and said goodbye for three months. Shes going down to South America, which has been something she has been wanting to do for a long time. She attempted to do Peace Corps but was denied due to some uncertainty about foods her stomach could handle. This was heartbreaking for her. She is a determined woman though and would not let those fools at the Peace Corps get her down. She decided to take a 3 month leave from work and go down south. She ultimately decided to go first to Ecuador and bike around and then go to Guatemala to volunteer.

It was strange to see her go off like as I think we all have some reservations about the trip more based on uncertainties than real fear. She’s woman, albeit not a small woman (she is about 5’10 and in excellent physical condition), and her plan--and I use ‘plan’ very loosely here--is to travel around Ecuador on on her bicycle for 6 or 7 weeks by herself. I asked her a bit about her plans and I think they were somewhat vague due to the fact that she is not quite sure how far she will be able to ride due to the altitude and the climbs in the Andes. I think she will be fine and have a great time, but it does make you think to no end about all of the things she could get into.

Frankly, one of my concerns is will she be able to get her bike back together, #1. Friday as I worked watched her wrestle this aluminum beast into the box it would travel in to get to Ecuador -- it was a site to behold. As some backround, Meg has been steadily building up her bike repair skills by going to the local bike shop and getting lessons and also getting some from me (I worked at a bike shop 4 years during high school/college). This is good, but she is handicapped by the fact that she is just not too mechanically inclined, some people just struggle with certain things, you know how it is. I’m awful with remembering names of anything. Anyway, to get to the point. 6 hours. 6 HOURS. This is how long it took her to get the bike (Jake, aka Jake the Snake) in to the box. In fact as I worked I listened to her grunt (loudly) sweat (profusely), and literally wrestle this thing the whole room where I work and she disassembled the beast became an inferno. I started sweating at my ‘desk’ as she worked due to all of the damn heat she was putting off her body. She did do it though and with only little help from me but I will be interested in seeing her put it back together…apparently there is some guy in the city she is flying into who can be of service in that department.

Anyway we all wish her luck. Saint Christopher protect. That’s what our family always says before we go on trips. It’s worked so far.

Sigur Ros

2005-10-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

Saturday night I went to Oakland to see Sigur Ros at the Paramount Theater. I couldn’t get any of my friends to commit to go with me to the incredibly sold out show so I decided to say f-them and look for a real fan who really wants to go. This guy Santiago called me about 1 MINUTE after I posted the ticket on Craig’s List and this was only about 3 hours before show time. Santiago and his partner John even gave me a ride to and from the show. Very nice of them. But man, people were blowing up CL for Sigur Ros tickets. Why? Here’s why:

The Paramount is a tiny and beautiful Art Deco theater built at the height of the great depression because labor was cheap then. Small concerts, ballet, and theater events are held there now. The place is over-the-top spectacular and beautiful. The design incorporates some Egyptian and Mayan influences that are really visible. It has got extremely high ceilings due to the fact that people smoked a lot then and that was what you had to do to ventilate it. The lighting was incredible too. Things were lit up in this way that I can’t describe, but it was very powerful looking. (Santiago’s partner John show me all of this, he seem to be a bit of an expert in this stuff).

Sigur Ros is from Iceland, and they don’t get over here much and when they do it sneaks up on you because they have such small shows, you have to be ready!

The third and most important reason is that Sigur Ros is amazing. That’s all I can say. I’m not sure if many people have ever heard them. They did have a song or two on the Vanilla Sky sound track which you may have heard. People that like them seem to like Radiohead, Bjork, 4AB, and other bands that explore sound.

It’s very hard to describe the feelings I get when you listen to them. The music they make stirs emotions in me. Makes me have fantastic day dreams. What is interesting is that I can’t understand anything that they say. And there are actually two reasons for that: 1) many of the songs they sing are made up of ‘gibberish’, not real words, but words that make a nice complement to the music, the album ( ) is all gibberish and I’m not sure about the others. 2) what songs are not in ‘gibberish’ are in Icelandic. So you can see my predicament. But really there is no predicament. I love it just the way it is -- even in my ignorance. I’ve read that it’s intended in many ways to be this way anyway. Lyrics being simply sounds. They use mostly string instruments, violins, upright bass (cello?), guitars, drums, electronic sounds, and all sorts of other strange noise making devices to make these incredibly beautiful sad, hopeful, resilient, joyous, triumphant melodies. Definitely one of the best shows I have ever been to.

On a side note, the show opened up with this phenomenal band called AminA. They were 4 young women maybe around my age but man they looked really young. Like under 18 young. But after reading up on them they were college grads so that must mean they are about the same ages as me. Maybe one can be my next wife. Anyway, these girls were extremely talented and from Iceland also. They all played a string instrument, these haunting melodies, and then other random instruments like water glasses, xylophones, bells, a wood saw, etc. They were great and they ended up playing almost the entire show with Sigur Ros. I guess they have toured around with them in the past.

All in all it was just an amazing show. I’d encourage you to check out some music from both bands. The new CD Takk (which means Thanks) by Sigur Ros is great. AminA has a 4 or 5 song EP out. The websites are below if you want to explore some cool new music.

http://www.aminamusik.com/

http://www.sigur-ros.is/

Wisconsin beats Indiana

2005-10-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

Badgers are still rollin’! We beat Indiana today to roll to 5-0 and 2-0 in the Big Ten. Calhoun had 101 yards and a TD. B Williams had 3 TD’s and bunches of receiving yards.

Go Big Red.

Sifl & Olly

2005-09-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

My buddy Brain and I used to watch this show Sifl and Olie all of the time in college. It was on MTV if I remember right and it basically a bunch of sock puppets saying completely rediculous things. They had songs and the like. I would love to find a DVD of some of the episodes. I know Brain used to have the tapes we recorded I'll have to check with him to see if they are still lying around somewhere. I'm not sure why I was thinking about this expect that I watched my roommate Meg's home movie when she was teaching in Japan and I wondered what had happened to all of my old movies. I used to tape all sorts of random stuff like Ren and Stimpy, South Park, Sifl and Olly...I wonder what else? Anyway, here is a link to the Sifl and Olly website in case any of you want to reminise like me.

http://www.sifl-n-olly.com/

My Sis, how can you not be obsessed with this girl?

2005-09-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

Everyone loves my sister and she knows it. She wants me to start a website about how people are obsessed with her (she jokes about this). So I decided to post this unflattering picture of her almost passed out at a Thanksgiving party. Note the big 'Zach Morris' phone. Her friend Jessica is quoted as saying on this night:
Did we ever end up going out that night after dinner? I think Ruth passed
out shortly after dessert.

What I'm Reading Now

2005-09-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

What I'm reading now (just for the record):

Brothers Karamazov, Fyordor Dostoevsky
The Jungle, Upton Sinclair

No comments yet. Well, maybe just that the Jungle is f'd up. At a high, HIGH, level, its about the immigration of a Lithuanian family to Chicago in the late 1800's (I think) who end up working in the stockyards. Its about the condition of democracy, workers rights, and the plight of early immigrants to America. All I can say is I can't believe what people used to go through. Its terribly sad and I feel a very underpublicized struggle. Its just one hardship after another, its unbelievable.

Art and Roommates

2005-09-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

I had dinner the other night (Friday actually) at my cousin (Johnny) and his girlfriend's (Mariana) place down the street. We had a blast hanging out and eating some Halibut (from my Alaska trip) and drinking some cheap wine and beer. They are fun people. Why are they important and what's the point? Well here's the deal, they both play around painting, sketching, and the like. They have some really fun stuff laying around their house that they created. And it got me thinking. Now, I used to do this when I lived by myself in Chicago and in school when you seem to have more time for things like this. Really, I think I would continue to do some stuff if I didn't have roommates, or at least if I had roommates with art. Not because I think my roommates would mind me doing art, but:

1) I don't have the space
2) Roommates can be distracting, no matter how much I love them
3) Roommates always have stuff going on that they want to do with you, which is also great, but it conflicts with this kind of thing.

I'm not a good artist by any means and in fact I really can only do charcoal things. I have experimented with Indian ink and I was a real failure. Water colors always seem to look OK just because its abstract and colorful but I'm not very good at that either. Charcoal I thought was fun because I liked making everything black and thick with charcoal and the rubbing it off with an eraser to create an image. I was pleased with some of the stuff that came out, although the more I look at it the more I see flaws. I've never had much training in it but I did take a class in college where I learned a few things. It was such a soothing thing do work with the charcoal. I would love to do it again, I just need to be proactive and make some time. We'll see how that goes. I'll just put it in the back of my head for now.

So, in thinking about my art I decided I wanted to look at it again. I have it all in my drawing bag in my room, sealed and drawing cobwebs. So I brought it out yesterday and decided to take pictures of it so that I could have it permanently saved in time on the internet should anything ever happen. Also I wanted to put one on my windows background to inspire me. Below I've posted a few of the pictures to snaz up my blog. Pictures are fun. The last one is of my brother. Enjoy.

Why San Francisco Rocks

2005-09-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

A ski jump down the street from me. So sweet.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/29/MNGO5EVSM24.DTL

Giant Squid

2005-09-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is pretty cool:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/28/MNGIQEUUK51.DTL

A gun... (Drake's Bay Offshore Race)

2005-09-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

GEORGE'S RECAP EMAIL:

Subject: A gun...
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 10:54:33 -0700

...finally!

Great race this weekend. We got out the Gate in first position and held on the whole way out to Drake's Bay. A little poor driving gave some time back to Bloom County between Duxburry Reef and the finish, so they were able to correct out to first and we took a second.

We were encouraged to tie up to a raft of big boats - Andrews 56 Cipangio, Surfer Girl, Emily Carr, etc. Good gluttony going on...one of the boats trolled on the way up and caught a big-ass salmon that they cut up and
shared. Another boat had about 20 pounds of beef cooking on their barbecue. We enjoyed some salmon, rice pilaf, green beans, rolls and corn salsa. Crashed early and woke up with the sunrise - very nice.

Sunday's race was postponed for one hour because there wasn't any wind. It pretty much stayed that way as we were slow going for quite awhile. About 1400 we decided to set a time-limit as we had only made 7 miles in 5 hours. We finally bailed at 1530 after just about everyone else bailed and enjoyed a nice motor sail back in to the Bay. We got back to Berkeley just after dark at about 2030.

Thanks alot to everyone who worked so hard this weekend and brought provisions...Matt, Mark, Leigh, and Jimmy. Great weekend!

Wisconsin Badgers 23, Michigan Wolverines 20

2005-09-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

Pretty much the greatest day of my life.

As quoted from Steve at the game:

"Quite possibly the biggest campus-wide party I've ever seen for a Badger
game! The bars, house parties and the stadium were rockin' all day and all
night. It was like Homecoming and Halloween combined, but all over town, not
just on State Street. Totally crazy!"

http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/badgers/

Grizzly Man

2005-09-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

If you all haven't seen this you should.

http://www.grizzlyman.com/

It really moved me. I did not know much about Timothy Treadwell although I had heard all of these stories about him. Most of which lead me to believe that he was just plain old nuts. After watching the movie I really moved by his passion and compassion for the wilderness. I really think he had the best intentions and didn't deserve to be described as a 'nuts'. As far as I could tell he's a really normal guy with normal problems. I respect him for trying to make a difference even though maybe people didn't agree with his methods.

Go check it out and make your own opinion.

Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtles

2005-09-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

I saw one of these sailing the other day when we were racing down to the coast. Pretty sweet. I guess they are endangered. I talked some people at Sea Turtle restoration project (http://www.seaturtles.org/) and I guess we were pretty lucky to see one. We didn't know what the hell it was at first. Got to love the ocean. So don't throw garbage in it.

Try a Picture?

2005-09-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

A picture from the top of Eilson pass in Denali. My first picture test. I'm good.

Hi

2005-09-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Here we go. My first attempt at posting something. I have no clue what I'm doing but I'm determined to try to do this.

James