After a fantastic amount of false starts on a new blog entry I’ve decided to take this time to tell you about some things I’ve been into lately, some things I’m excited for, and make you an MP3 mix. Lets get to it shall we? Yes. We shall.

First up, I love McClure’s Pickles. Ryan brought a jar of these spicy pickles out from Brooklyn last Christmas and they are probably the most addicting thing ever. A small family operation run from Brooklyn and Detroit, they create amazing pickles with a fiery kick. Use the spicy pickle brine as a back shot to a shot of whiskey, to make an amazing pickle martini, or a kick ass sunday afternoon bloody mary (or if you are like me, use tequilla instead of vodka for a bloody maria). Their website has a place to order, as well as kick ass recipes for the pickles. Enjoy.

Another thing I’m loving right now, Noise Canceling Headphones. Do you work in an office with no doors or ceilings? I do and these baby’s are a godsend. No more having to crank up the volume to drown out all the conversations. Even with no music, when the noise canceling is on, you can’t hear shit. But noise canceling combined with some music at a decent volume, ahhh. Good if you fly on airplanes too.

One more thing I’m loving? Rick Froberg. Ever since working on the R.F.T.C. R.I.P. packaging I’ve been back to listening to healthy doses of everything John Reis has touched musically - Rocket From the Crypt, Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu, Sultans, Pitchfork and the Night Marchers. Along with that is all the amazing artwork (and music) that Froberg has contributed to some of those bands. I’ve been working up the nerve to ask him how much it would be to commission something. I love his black ink on paper drawings more than Pettibon.

So that brings me to things I’m excited for. First off are Dodgers games. Nothing beats a Spring day or Summer night at the ballpark with a cold beer and a hot dog. Give me a pennant this year at least guys? Please?. Second is soccer, I’m going to opening day of the LA Galaxy this year. I wish soccer games were as cheap as baseball games, I’d go a lot more. Last thing I’m excited for is movie season in the cemetery. Every year in Hollywood Cinespia puts on movies in the Hollywood Forever cemetery. You sit on a big lawn and watch movies projected on the side of the mosilium with a picnic and drinks. It’s amazing. I’ve seen Sunset Blvd, Maltese Falcon, Strangers On A Train, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Harold and Maude, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (Introduced by Pee Wee himself!), and countless other amazing movies. This season starts in May, I can’t wait.

So I guess the last thing is your mix. Download it Here . I tried to make a mix based around a spring/summer theme, and I’m pretty happy with it. This mix is pretty much a mix I would have made in 1999, with a few exceptions. It makes me happy to listen to and I hope you like it too.

London. Ah, what to say about London? I was going to do a day to day type of blog, but when you’re drinking 12-15 pints a day.. they all kind of blend together.. so i’m going to go with a list format. If only half of these make sense to you, that’s about right. Ryan, John and I made the best of not the best trip we could have taken. Here’s what I remember
• A hazy first day walk across the Thames.
• Giggling at every mention of “Cockfosters” or “St. John’s Wood”
• The worst fish & chips ever.
• 7 AM McDonalds Breakfast
• Lots of Museums
• Television (Tele) + Trashcan (Bin) = the Telebin
• Sad drunk after only night 2.
• Awkward night without a private room
• That’s what happens when people stop being polite and start to get frank. Frank World.
• Nowhere to watch the Arsenal game
• Q: When do places open around here? A: Breakfast Time
• Camden Town with Ryan where we saw bootleg photos of Banksy pieces printed on canvas with “no photos please” sign.
• POACHED!
• Gene = John’s new nickname
• “Here’s the Rosetta Stone. Here it is. Oh no, here’s the Rosetta Stone… Here it is”
• Touristy Abbey Road photos.
• Snowcones
• Female conversion rate for Europe +2 points
• Amstel. Not Amstel Light. Amstel
• Getting lost then finding the pub we were looking for.
• I snapped and beat up John for trying to ruin my vacation photo
• Great Hold Steady show at KoKo with Dexter.
• Ryan kissed the British girl i thought was cute so I went to the dark side.
• “That’s why you make out with chicks and I call my Grandma, drunk” - Ben Goetting
• The Tube runs every 2 min, which is awesome
• Vacation ads everywhere because nobody wants to be in London.
• Our second hostel was self proclaimed “England’s premier party hostel!” and the interior decorating looked like a low budget 90’s sci-fi shows vision of the future where nobody lives past 30. Lots of purple and sheet metal.
• Babe-rhood
• New terms for drunk - “Lashed” Sad - “Gutted” and puking - “Chundering”
• “It got messy” “I had a bit of a nap” - Dexter
• Realizing you spent 100 dollars on drinks.
• Making London kids jealous I’ve seen Jawbreaker
• Ryan and I freaking those same kids out by moshing to Andrew WK song.
• Gene gets action in Parliament = Gene Parliament
• Ryan taking a massive dump in the Floor 2 showers in revenge for an asshole hostel worker. (we were on floor 5)
• Slovenian girls surprising me by singing “Happy Birthday” Karaoke style on my birthday was absolutely amazing.
• Kissing a very cute Slovenian girl in the basement of the hostel was also amazing
• Terrible Indian food, Chinese food, burgers, etc. etc etc.
• Great burger from Haché, great breakfast from a gay restaurant that we didn’t realize was gay at first but weren’t about to leave.
• Realizing Europeans have the worst music taste, it’s all bad dance music and hits you haven’t heard in years. The whole bar freaked out for “Cotton Eye Joe” and that Chumbawumba song
• “I’m doing this for YOU. BEN. FOR YOU!”
• Ryan yelling at Brits at 4AM “Please to being quiet now” which angered them and escalated into “Suck Cromwell’s dick” which lead to threats and “Arsenal’s fags” pushing them over the edge. Hysterical laughter turned to fear pretty quick.
• Seeing how much we could pile on Gene’s face to stop him from snoring = more hysterical laughter. Thinking we might have smothered him = more fear.
• Cinemas = bagged popcorn, warm soda, and screens the size of a home entertainment center. for $30 dollars.
• Couldn’t play poker because of the dress code “No white sport trainers”
• “The One Burger” is not just a clever name
• RYMAN! The Stationer!
• Fun rooftop antics = amazing. Dropping new Arsenal scarf in someone’s puke = not amazing.
• Sick and totally over London on Ryan’s birthday.
• “I blew all over this mattress. Stick it up your Bumwaz!” written in sharpie on my mattress.
• Finding out my grandpa was in brain surgery =(
• A long long trip home.

That about sums it up.

And links to our photos:
Ryan’s Photo Set
My Photo Set