I Don't Know...
how many concerts I've been to, maybe a couple hundred.
Spoiler alert for anyone planning on going.
Tonight, I finally found what I was looking for at Roger Waters' (of Pink Floyd) concert extravaganza The Wall. I've seen my share of gimmicks before; jugglers, lasers, trapeze artists, a stock black guy, exotic dancers...you know the shtick.









But never had I seen a large, inflatable hog featuring anti-imperialistic/corporate graffiti floating amongst a large stadium audience via wire, taunting us, while Nazi-esque imagery dwarfed the the entire scene. I nearly spilled my $9 Bud Light on my Banana Republic jeans when I saw George Dubya and Chairman Mao wearing the trademarked white iPod headphones in a mock Apple commercial a few moments later.

I wondered if the image might also suggest that our world leaders listen to the same music, or "march to the same beat" as it were. Does that suggest that our nations share similar materialistic commonalities and that we are destined to have a super happy fun time dance-a-thon together? Are we not all one people, united in corporations? I hope so too, Roger Waters, I hope so too.

Anyway, I saw it as a hopeful message.

There was also nudity.

4.20/5.00
Preshow Album - Bob Dylan - Bringin' it All Back Home..also pop culture snippets leading up to the show before the lights dimmed. Lots of Monty Python...Always Look on the Bright Side of Life was the first song played loudly. I didn't see anybody else whistling.

Setbreak - Paul Simon and his African band's Homeless from Graceland. It was slowed down and mixed with weird chanting sounds, which continued through the majority of setbreak, before going back into Homeless until being interrupted by an English voice that politely advised everyone '5 minutes to showtime' repeatedly.

Customer Service
user The Youngest has entered room> 'Need to cancel account'
analyst Edwin has entered room

Edwin
Hello The Youngest, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Edwin. Please give me one moment to review your information.

Edwin
It is a pleasure to have you on chat! I hope you haven't waited so long to be assisted. How's your day so far?

The Youngest
great

Edwin
I'm glad to know you're day went great so far.

Edwin
I'm sorry to hear about cancelling your account. May I ask the reason for this, The Youngest?

The Youngest
moving

Edwin
I understand that you want to cancel due to moving.

Edwin
I'm sorry to hear about you cancelling your account. It will be such a loss to COMCAST. If you decide to reactivate your services with us in the near future, we will be glad to welcome you back and provide you our best services.

Edwin
Let us resolve this concern now, our cancellation department will need to talk to you over the phone for security purposes. You will be asked for account information and other pertinent information for assurance that we are cancelling the correct account and avoid errors. Please call us on this toll free number, 1-800-266-2278 during Business hours, thats from 8:00am to 5:00pm. It has been a pleasure resolving your issue.


The Youngest
Please cancel my account as of 10/12 or I will refuse payment on my credit card. Thank you.

Edwin
I will have that noted to have the account cancelled on 10/12. Please complete this by calling the Cancellation department.

The Youngest
I don't have a phone

Edwin
I appreciate your patience while on hold, I am still working/checking on your query. Please give me another two minutes for this, would that be okay?

The Youngest
Yup

Edwin
Thank you for waiting.

Edwin
I see here that we have an option to visit the local office since here in chat support, we don't do cancellation The Youngest . I suggest to visit the nearest local office here:

Edwin
Comcast Lake Zurich
Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-1pm.
880 Donata Court
Lake Zurich, IL 60047
866-594-1234

The Youngest
Where is Lake Zurich?

Edwin
You can also visit here:

Edwin
Comcast Waukegan
Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-1pm

1585 Waukegan Road
Waukegan, IL 60085
866-594-1234

The Youngest
Will they send someone out to me?

Edwin
We send out someone if there will be a cable box. HOwever, since you have only basic cable and no cable box, everything should be fine and we will not send anyone.

Edwin
Just visit them to confirm your cancellation on 10/12

The Youngest
I'm not sure if that will be possible

Edwin
The Youngest, however, we suggest to contact us back the day before you want your services to be cancelled. As I checked here, only the local office will cancel the account for you.

The Youngest
This seems very difficult.

Edwin
I am sorry to hear that, The Youngest. However, our best option is to visit any local office to confirm your cancellation request.

The Youngest
OK, I will just cancel my credit card that I've been using for payment. That seems easier.

Edwin
I appreciate that, The Youngest.

Edwin
I am glad I was able to assist your issue/s or concern/s. It has been my pleasure serving you today and I truly appreciate your understanding and cooperation. Do you have other concerns for me today? I will be glad to assist you further.

The Youngest
I guess not

I Love Football

The Rolling Stones

I got sick of them after hearing the same 10 songs on the radio and television time and time again, but Phish convinced me to give some of their original albums a listen after they covered Exile on Main St. during last year's Halloween concert.

I had never heard this song up until about two weeks ago. I've probably heard a snippet of the miserable Stone's song Jumpin' Jack Flash playing on a classic rock station well over 500 times, though...probably thousands of times.

That fact is a humbling reminder that tv and radio are completely fucking worthless at presenting us with worthwhile entertainment (mostly--they did give us Britney Spears and Deadwood).

I blame Rupert Murdoch and George Bush Junior. Anyway, listen to the last song from side 1 of Beggar's Banquet, Jigsaw Puzzle below.

Interesting side note - The Rolling Stone's album Beggar's Banquet (featuring radio staples Sympathy for the Devil and Street Fighting Man) was originally mastered incorrectly. For over 30 years people were listening to a slightly slower version of the album than what was actually recorded. The remastered version of the 40 minute album is a full 30 seconds faster than the original release.

Weekend Ghetto Framing

These were sitting unseen in poster tubes for far too long. Thank you Walmart and Hobby Lobby. I "framed" all three for about $60.

Experimenting with Cannabinoids

Take my word for it, this only looks dangerous and illegal.
(product used as an incense)

I recently discovered that there are legal, recently discovered chemicals that mimic the effects of pot. The bonus is that they're cheap as hell and they don't show up on drug tests. People have been making blends using common herbs as a base. They then infuse the legal, unregulated herbs with legal, unregulated cannabinoids. A weak version called K2 is sold in head shops but there's a small group of people making and selling much more potent blends of their own online. When I found out, it was too intriguing not to try. Especially considering the fact that states are quickly moving to make JWH-018 illegal...but with every law that's passed, a new version of these cannabinoids seems to pop up.

I am the mad scientist. I am the human guinea pig. I am really baked.











Via Wikipedia:
John W. Huffman (The discoverer of the aptly named JWH-018) has opined that it has no medical use, stating,

"It's like LSD, the only thing it is good for is getting you high."

Based on that brilliant scientist's advice, I picked up a gram each of the following legal chemicals.
JWH-018
JWH-073
JWH-250

Before that, I bought a few pre-made blends and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I did a little research and realized that people were marking up the price at least 100% over cost (which is still really cheap compared to pot or K2). That's why I picked up my own supplies and decided to try making a few hybrid blends using a cheap, weak ounce that I bought.










This dude has a much stronger oz than the cheaper, weaker one I got from a different guy. It's a mere $70/oz. It's potent and will get any pothead ripped after a few hits (placed on an incense burner). By comparison, most people would expect to pay $50-$60 for just an 1/8th of an oz of premium weed...if you know any stoners who are interested in trying, you can order a sample-gram for $5 from his website.











Best of all, these cannabinoids won't show up on drug tests since they contain no THC.

This makes things easier.

What a wonderful world.

It's not all fun and games, though. After I received my first shipment of the pure chemical, JWH-018, I tried taking small samples orally (via incense). I was disappointed not to be feeling anything, so I loaded a large pinch into my water pipe. It dissolved in the flame almost immediately and I only got one large hit (passively, via incense).

I was instantly stoned and started sending Mezzo an IM, something along the lines of "Holy shit, I'm super-baked off of synthetic weed!(incense)"

By the time I wrote the comma in that sentence, I realized things were getting more and more intense. The high did not plateau. It kept going up and up. I became uncomfortable. My motor functions slipped. My mind was struggling to get around the drug. I was gripped by it, incapacitated. It probably took 20 minutes before I could finish the one sentence I was trying to type out to my brother.















Since it felt unlikely that I could stay upright in my chair, I decided to crawl into bed...when I tried to stand, though, I realized that I could not. My balance was fucked. I leaned against my wall and sort of lunged into my bed...which was about a foot away from me.

Suddenly I was consumed by what I can only describe as raw, pure, unadulturated paranoia. My thinking was so irrationally fearful that, even in the back of my twisted mind, I convinced myself that it was really nothing to worry about.

After another 10 minutes of struggling past 'the spins' and my inability to focus beyond The Fear, I finally managed to set my alarm clock and passed out thinking things like:

What do I even do for a living?

Will I know what to do if I show up to work tomorrow morning?

How the fuck do I get to work?

What if this doesn't wear off by morning?

God, I hope I don't puke.

What if I'm like this forever.

I don't think I would be able to call in sick if I needed to.

Fuck!

Later I realized that I took about as much in that one hit as is recommended to be used in half an ounce of blend. I woke up about 4 hours later totally sober...and relieved that the shit I bought really does work.

The Box! The Box!

The Box