Left at Filter

Happy Friday

2007-03-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

What happened to Filter Fun Time at Cactus? How about after reports are done but before we top yesterday events. Be sure to disconnect the cameras for today.

Day Three.

2007-03-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

A dearth of postings yesterday due to the fact that we were having way too much fun. Things got a little out of control, actually, but all is good—we were able to extinguish the small fire in the garage warehouse and talked the police out of pressing charges (good job, Ewan!).

It's quite possible, however, that the UPS guy will be having nightmares for years to come. Some people just aren't ready to party Filter-style.

So, apologies for not blogging much but after spending an afternoon doing lines on the boss's desk, installing spy cams in the girls' bathroom and mopping up pigeon blood we just didn't feel like sitting down and writing it up.

Synchronicity

2007-03-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

What's going on here? One of the above is today's forecast for Los Angeles, CA. The other? Austin, TX. Near-identical, down to the AM fog, sunny afternoon and wind speed. Weird.

Taco Flavored Kisses

2007-03-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today has been full of dispatches from Texas which has been keeping me extremely busy and rather flustered. So flustered, in fact, that as soon as I returned from Baja Fresh with a delicious quesadilla complete with guacamole, sour cream and chips for lunch, I promptly dropped the entire plateful on the floor behind my desk. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo before cleaning it up, but it looked a lot like this:

Day Two.

2007-03-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

After yesterday's rather macabre first post, I thought I'd start today with something a little more upbeat. Like a kitty.

But wouldn't "Homeless Guy Eats Pigeon" be the most popular YouTube video ever? Better that Bumfights?

I'm A Loner Dottie, A Rebel

2007-03-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

Guess who the Left Behind crew are going to be rubbing shoulders with at Wizard World this weekend?

Pee Wee Herman

He'll be there on Saturday, when most of us won't. Oh well.

Shake, Shake, Shake

2007-03-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

Moods were lightened considerably today when a wholly necessary meeting between the online department and editorial took place at Astro Burger. Cooling milkshakes were enjoyed by all as a welcome break from the office and the heat. It’s not margaritas and BBQ, but it’s a start. Tomorrow’s Left At Filter posts may be brought to you by the good people at Cactus Tacos.

Mmm... Pi.

2007-03-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's Pi Day.
To celebrate, these math geeks are "dropping" an animated pi from an animated crane. Or something lke that. The "official" Pi Day site doesn't seem to be too excited about it.

Moustache March is SO much cooler.

Half-Way Through Day 1

2007-03-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

After watching Jesus Camp one too many times, I can't help but say JC is clearly in the Filter House. The day is half over. We have yet to turn the AC on. There's a dead something that appears to be a pigeon in the parking lot. But Hey, the live feeds of sxsw start tomorrow so it's like we're practically there? Please send care packages to us. We like bagels, cookies, red vines, beer and scotch.

Day One.

2007-03-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

Dead bird found behind the dumpster here at the Filter World HQ. It looks as if it's been filleted; the edible parts removed, wings and feet left intact. Guess one of the local homeless may have had a little feast.

Oddly enough, there were no stray feathers around the carcass and it looked like it had been purposefully pushed through the bars or our fence. So, on the other hand, may be a message from the mob.

Left Again.

2007-03-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

My whole issue with going to SXSW has been this: since moving to CA, I just haven't wanted to pay to go. I'm a cheap bastard, and memories of driving down from Fort Worth, getting a comp media badge, and shacking with pals are still strong in my mind. Yesterday I learned that I could, indeed, go to SXSW on someone else's dime. At 6:30 this morning, I was looking for round trip flights. My dreams were squashed when I discovered I couldn't get a flight 8 days in advance for less than around $700—almost my entire budget for the trip.

So it looks like I'm left behind again.

We have a new crew in the pits with us this year, so I'm actually looking forward to filling the office with more of the fun, games and indulgences from last year. We've got a much larger group preparing to go geek at WizardWorld. And we may actually hold the First Annual FU SXSW Office Olympics. More to come.

The Return

2006-03-20T16:47:00.000-08:00

I fully expected to come to work today and feel like the only kid in school who did not go on a class trip to Europe. I figured the returning workmates would relate story after insipid story about how great band X was and how cute so and so was and how such and such was so drunk Saturday night that s/he hooked up with a UT coed before leaving a streak of vomit up and down a hotel corridor.

But I underestimated the graciousness of my coworkers who have actually been fairly low-key about the whole thing all day.
Which makes me wonder if I missed something so big they were all sworn to secrecy.

Nevertheless, they were all quite complimentary about this blog and our attempts to rally the troops who occupied the Hollywood HQ in their absence.

Thanks, guys!

Mark your calenders...

2006-03-20T11:08:00.000-08:00

Today on my drive in to work I heard something I could not wait to share with the rest of you guys....

Darryl & John will be making an appearance at UCLA on June 21st!!

Undoubtedly this will be a show that should not be missed.

www.hallandoates.com

Yeah, I Geeked Out.

2006-03-20T10:53:00.000-08:00

How To Rule the World

2006-03-18T09:13:00.000-08:00

A recent email sent to those Left Behind from He Who Was Left in Charge of Those Left Behind reminded us to properly clean and store dishes and utensils which are all too frequently abandoned in the office sink. Unclean items can attract insect visitors and though we may enjoy the rustic nostalgia induced by a chirping cricket every now and then, we certainly wouldn't want roaches tromping all over our kitchen.

One industrious bug torturer, however, has graduated from frying ants with a magnifying glass and developed a means of controlling roaches' movements using a simple back-of-the-roach-mounted aparatus and a micronputer. He says that, if made light enough, the whole thing could be operated by remote control instead of (as it is now) pre-programmed movements.

So, Left at Filterites, rebel and leave your dirty Tupperware, coffee mugs and peanut-butter-encrusted spoons in the sink. How else can I lure and capture an army of cockroaches who will do my bidding, enabling me to RULE THE WORLD? Fear not, I will be a benign and sympathetic global monarch and will forgive any unhygenic kitchen practices which assisted me in my ascent. In fact, I will go so far as to grant you positions in my cabinet and offer you enormous amounts of real estate. Who wants Australia?

Lighten up, it's just fashion!

2006-03-17T15:29:00.000-08:00

When the going gets tough, the tough turn to santino rice.

Dogs & Mailmen

2006-03-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

If his current rate of growth continues unabated, within 1 year Sart's Ridgeback Cash will be able to use the Capitol tower as a chew toy. A good-looking and generally well-behaved dog, Cash nevertheless is now big enough to frighten the pants off those who don't know he's just a friendly, slightly slobbery, gigantic pup who just needs some attention.

Cash, a frequent and welcome visitor to the Filter office, nuzzled up to the mailman, who was eager to get in out of the cold and rain but not so eager to make a new canine friend. Though the mailman seemed to have that inherent postal worker fear of dogs, Cash failed to scare him into putting down the damn toilet seat.
Sic 'em, Cash!

Capitol Records Tower may turn into Condos

2006-03-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

Once again, another money making venture at the expense of a landmark. So sad. Nothing is sacred.

LOS ANGELES - Rumors that the Capitol Records tower, which looks like a stack of records and is one of the world's most recognizable buildings, could be sold to a developer who might convert it into condos has sparked concern among city leaders and preservationists.

They say the building where Capitol Records helped produce and distribute music for Frank Sinatra, the Beatles and many other musicians, is too much of an icon to be turned into housing.
Preservationists said they like the idea that music continues to be made inside the 13-story office tower and that it should not become just a landmark of the past.

"If they leave, it'll take something away from Hollywood," said Erin Bennett, a hostess at Hollywood and Vine, a restaurant named after the famed intersection close to the building. "It'll be an old building that used to be something."

BBall, Burgers and News

2006-03-16T17:31:00.000-08:00

Astro Burger got a flat screen tv! Jiffie's checkin' out the March Madness action. Hey, Jiffie, what's the score?
Yes, there was a tasty mid-afternoon feast today. The weather has finally turned warm (for a day at least) so we had a nice leisurely walk down Gower to our local vegetarian and diet-friendly burger joint.

In other news:
Senate increases limit on debt to $9 trillion. Remember when the Republicans raised the debt limit contingent on getting a balanced budget? And President Clinton actually gave them one? Huh? Remember that?
Belarus Security Chief Alleges Coup Plot. Need I say more?
AIG earnings drop 72% in 4th-quarter. Ha! Losers!
Sony pushes PS3 release to fall. I may weep openly.

Hungry

2006-03-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

I wonder how long those chips have been preserving in Bryan's desk. Do they have the lifespan of a Twinkie? NoOt sure I want to find out. but they were delish.

Lunch time: i wanna put a cheeseburger in my tummy.

Found!

2006-03-16T12:48:00.000-08:00

Our intrepid office explorers Scrunch and PinkPet have made an important discovery: Bryan's potato chip stash.

Geekfest!

2006-03-16T12:03:00.000-08:00

I may not be in Austin, but I still have plans for the weekend. When not working to put together the next exciting issue of Filter, I plan on being at the big Wizard World comics convention, courtesy of a Filter writer whose day job is with Wizard magazine. Sure, it's not as big or, um, prestigious, as Comicon, but it's just a short LA subway ride away.
I'm particularly looking forward to the "TV Geeks Who Also Write Comics" panel with Damon Lindelof (Lost), Jeph Loeb (Smallville) and Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost again, but hey, we know their producers are all ubernerds). Of course,. to catch this I'll have to miss the Wayans Bros. panel. Oh, well, sacrifices must be made.

Torture Tapes - aka Leslie Has Odd Hobbies.

2006-03-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

So, it's pretty obvious that I like bad music. It's a really serious guilty pleasure of mine. I've been debating listening to that song "Da Drama" by Brian Austin Green all morning.

A couple friends of mine have been engaging in a practice we like to call the "Torture Tape". You know, a playlist of some of the most unlistenable songs of all time. Vol 1 of the Scrunchface Torture Tape features "Hurricane" by Mizar, "Clocks" by Coldplay, "Popozao" by Kevin Federline, "Life Is A Highway" by Tom Cochrane, The Macarena, and some 10 minute long live version of a Boredoms song.

I hope that the interoffice affinity for Mizar has helped inspire you to find the diamond in the rough, and really reap the entertainment value of bad music for all it has to offer. In a world of so much schlock, you might as well find out it's intended purpose, and for me, that's laughter. I hope this would inspire you guys to make your own torture tape, but if you need more inspiration, you should refer to this book that I'm reading right now.

Bad Music, Music People Love To Hate

Stevie Wonder, Dave Chappelle, and SoulCracker

2006-03-16T09:29:00.000-08:00

So, in a fit of instant karma, all of my excitement over seeing the legendary Stevie Wonder got kibboshed after standing in line for 3 hours with my Valentine, going through security, sitting in the cold and windy CBS stables during sundown and getting turned away by some douchebag named Brian. That dude was being a total weenie the whole time we were there. Valentine and I spent the time guessing what his name was...and we settled on Brad. So...when I saw his nametag and it said "Brian" (with an "I" not a "Y"), we actually weren't too far off. The ways one passes the time...I swear.

In any event, I'm supposed to call a 1-800 number between 11 and 3 PST on Friday, ask for a guy named Marvin, and say that Mr Douchebag Brad Brian turned me away and guarantee tickets for another Wednesday taping. Fantastic. When I asked if it was going to be for this season, Mr Douchebag Brad Brian said "I'm not sure". So, I put my name on the waitlist 2 seasons ago to watch Fantasia kill it, and I ended up with 3 hours dealing with housewives and Mr Douchebag Brad Brian. C'est La Vie.

After defrosting, Valentine and I ended up saving the night by dining at Farmer's Market (no cheeseburger, Beth, saving that one for you) and going to see Dave Chappelle's Block Party at the Grove. I also perused the sales rack at Anthropologie and went to check out the new magazines at Barnes & Noble. No joke, one of the staff's recommended music picks was the OST to London the Movie. Also recommended was Flickerstick. You might remember them from the best reality show of all time, Bands On The Run. The best story my ex boyfriend ever told me was when he drove to San Diego to see Soul Cracker--DURING THE BEASTIE YEARS. Oh man.

summin it up...

2006-03-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

today was pretty exciting!

we made two new friends....

beth told you about ivan (the ups dude) earlier. he was sweet, and joe if you are reading i think he and abbey would make a really cute couple.... i'm gonna hook that up. And Bryan he is sending me a copy of his demo.... just in case you have already wore your copy out. there will be a shiney new one on your desk come monday.... and another facinating revelation about ivan - his uncle starred in the wild bunch. unfortunately i have never seen this movie but will be stopping off at blockbuster tonight to grab a copy along with GODZILLA:)

and yes it is true ivan did thank god today for meeting me... but i get that alot...

the second was a friend sart brought home... his name was jason. I mistakenly called him james, he corrected me. i made up for it by telling him my parents were gonna name me jason if i was a boy... he seemed thrilled! he was nice too... and he supervised and offered some assistance in the taping project (see eric's pic).

otherwise it was quiet today... i hope for more excitment tomorrow when beth takes me for a baskin robins cone on larchmont... because she promised. she would not dance to irish music with me today... so i think she is trying to make up for it :)

Jiffie Wraps

2006-03-15T17:25:00.000-08:00

Jiffie demos how to wrap a guitar for shipping. Don't say this isn't educational.

On My List

2006-03-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

It's a poorly-kept secret that several Filter staffers are fans of '80s popmasters Hall and Oates. Scrunch herself has recently come to the defense of John Oates, mustachioed purveyor of hand claps, when I suggested he was the lesser member of the group. This news item is sure to be met with cheers in our office:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Philadelphia Mayor, John F. Street, Officially Declares March 18th, Daryl Hall and John Oates Day
Number-one selling duo in music history receive a proclamation from their hometown

Philadelphia, PA--March 15, 2006--Right before Daryl Hall and John Oates hit the stage for their gig at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA, they will be awarded an official proclamation from the City of Brotherly Love in recognition for their incredible accomplishments in music. The city is also recognizing their charitable contributions, such as their involvement in stopping starvation in Africa, as well as bringing awareness to Lyme Disease -- a malady that Hall currently suffers from.

I assume the full release will soon be made available on the Wolfson PR web site. Meanwhile, you can get updates on Hall's recovery from Lyme disease and be treated to annoying sound effects and music (Vader's theme, no less) which must be shut off every time you go to a new page.

Pollo Frio

2006-03-15T14:13:00.000-08:00

As part of today's Left at Filter showcase, I will be eating a cold breast of chicken at approximately 2:17 today. I'll begin by finishing yesterday's leftovers, which will be followed by a dramatic slicing and ingesting of a "fresh" piece, recently acquired at Costco. For an encore, I'll be imbibing a WHOLE CAN of Diet 7-Up in 45 minutes or less.

UPS, FILM School, and demo submission

2006-03-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

Earlier today, a new face of UPS dropped by. Who was this unfamiliar, tan little man in the brown shorts? He had dropped in and started talking to Marina, saying he just realized our office had changed addresses ("F" on attentiveness since we moved last July for godssake.. no wonder we have so many missing packages).

At first, I thought he was a field rep until I realized by assistance of my bionic ear (eavesdropping) that he wasn't here on FILTER business. Turns out he was here to see Bryan! Apparently, he gave Bryan a demo of his band awhile back (obviously before last summer) and at this point, he still hadn't heard back. Ahh, yes. Ye olde "Don't call us.. We'll call you" trick.

Then who knows how conversation goes from demos to NYC but at some point, the conversation turns from Bryan to NYC. Jiff mentioned she moved here from NY and then he pipes in with how he wants to go to film school in NYC but didn't know where it was. My question is this: Was he referring to NYC or the film school? We'll never know. He also asked a very intriguing question about NY. "Is it crowded over there?"

He openly thanked God for having met Marina, finished the note for Bryan and then left.

Like clockwork

2006-03-15T13:54:00.000-08:00

Mailman came in, used loo.

FMA

2006-03-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

Think this blog could be part of the Filter Media Alliance? Would this blog make us eligible for the blogger brunch? I predict blog of the year '07 accollades (accolades?) in our future.

Moz-o-rama

2006-03-15T12:32:00.000-08:00

Sart is blasting what we can assume is the Morrissey album. Moz just sang something along the lines of "There's nothing wrong with being different." This is a sentiment Sesame Street viewers everywhere can relate to, I'm sure.

Screw you guys...home

2006-03-15T11:29:00.000-08:00

Actually, not home. Idol. I'm seeing Stevie Wonder tonight, SO THERE.

Have you been to youhavebadtasteinmusic.com? That site's hilarious.

Day One

2006-03-15T11:21:00.000-08:00

It was as if there's been some type of disaster or nuclear holocaust and we, the five survivors, were so traumatized that we didn't know what else to do but come into the office. One by one we filed in to confront the vast emptiness that surrounds us.

Our comrades in publishing and media have all departed for Austin for the annual South by Southwest music conference. It's the biggest deal of its type of the year. It seems as if not just the offices of Filter Magazine have been emptied, but also those of our entire industry as record label reps, writers, photographers and of course every band in the world is converging in central Texas for one big hullabaloo.

Someone has to hold down the fort. As the die hard and diligent, though, we have the fortitude to take this head on and, in the Filter spirit of things, make the most of it.

Planned activities: dance off, broom hockey (if we can find 2 brooms), old school rap karaoke, scare the mailman. Friday may be "wear a lucha mask to work" day.

And I'm going to take all the CDs that come in the mail to Amoeba to fund a big ass party Friday night.

11:19 AM

2006-03-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

11:19 AM- Damn this new Hot Chip stuff is good.

Not as good as Mizar though. Click here to hear "Out Of Control". The title speaks for itself.