happy birthday baby.

i started blogging almost exactly three years ago.

i had what i thought was a great website, but nobody was reading it.

alot of the more interesting pages that i was seeing on the web were blogs written by cam girls like nay, chelle, mindy, and frosty.

even though i had way more happening on my web page, unless i had a blog that sorta looked like a blog, i wasnt going to be taken seriously. it was weird and i didnt want to start one.

my first blog post in july of 2001 was a thumbnail of what was on my main page, as were the next half dozen.

by august i still wasnt that into blogging. just write? how simple. what about design and technique and creativity and photography and photoshopary and big full screenery? who wants to just read words on a friggin page?

Thursday, August 02, 2001

i know i havent updated my blog recently.

i have a love/hate relationship with my blog.

except not a lot of love.

oh well.

hi.

Friday, August 03, 2001

hi blog. i still dont like you.

last night karisa danced with hef and his ten girlfriends.

she said he danced a lot. she was impressed.

tonight we’re going to the Cubs/Dodgers game.

kerry wood versus chan ho park.

i think we have front row tickets.

who would have thought after reading that lame start that i would not only like my blog, but love it? certainly not me.

but then a very strange thing happened in september of 2001.

hank the angry

drunken

dwarf

died.

it was then i knew that i had to take control of my own life. short as it was, life wasnt going to just roll with me, i had to roll with it, and if blogs were what the kids wanted to read, and if i wanted to get read, then a blog i needed.

since then its been nothing but money bitches and problemz.

my biggest problem is that i love my phone number and the phone wont stop ringing. a normal person would just change it but i refuse to give in to people i dont even know.

the other problem is all the email i get. damn you blogger!

and then of course there is the addiction. terrible addiction. like a bottomless pit of hawaiian punch with a perfectly cold ladle. every time you walk past that pit a deep sip from the ladle is irresistable.

since i started my blog, it’s true, i had a secret Open Diary blog. it was easy to be kept secret because Google didnt spider it. if i was Blogger i think it would be real nice to offer the No-Spider feature on “private” blogs.

some of my favorite bloggers continually write cryptically so as to avoid the all-too-accurate bots at Google, and how liberating the writing would get for those authors who have things to say but wont say it because of the nature of the beast.

over the years i have met lots of people because of blogger, i have found myself in ridiculously fun places because of blogger,

and its kept this brotha off the streets.

for those reasons i remain loyal. i know about the other software deals out there. some of my best friends use them. even the instapundit bailed after mooching free bandwidth from blogspot as he became famous.

but i have always believed that people give reward the wrong people when they jump ship for the newest sparkley thingamabob when the old thingamabob works just fine.

take it from me, a man who rides the bus in la

and then blogs about it.

happy birthday blogger.com

my favorite web-based publishing solution of all time.

congrats ev, jason, jason, jason, eric, biz, kimmy, graham & steve

at the sunset junction street and art fair, my favorite gathering of the year.

its located about ten steps from my front door and yet on saturday i sorta milled around and contemplated entrance and then chose to go home and have phone sex with a college girl instead.

what are you wearing, she asked.

flippers and a snorkling mask, i said all sexy-like.

anything else? she giggled.

a diamond pinky ring, tommy pajama bottoms, and a dirty smile.

juilette lewis very well could have been the nasty talking girl on the other end of the line the other night.

she and her band the Licks took the stage on sunset blvd sunday and made sure the sabbath was kept holy.

it was full throttle punk rock. the kind that pj harvey and that chick from the yeah yeah yeahs have been trying to bring back.

big. yeller. different.

she dressed great, she sang great. the songs were unique and raw and emotional and rocking.

she blew everyones minds who were just there to see the movie actress make a fool of her self. but it was we who were made the fools of for we were the fakers the hipsters, we were the ones who money could buy. not her.

she crawled around the ground but not for show. cuz she was horny. she licked at the guitar players guitar not to tip the hat of david lee roth but because she should have licked that guitar.

she bent her back and stuck her ass out cuz she has a nice ass and a curvy back.

she danced around and whipped her hair with her arms out like the polyphonic spree on speed cuz it was a weekend in hollywood and we were alive but she was fucking on fire.

made me forget all about the fact that the night before karisa was partying with the donnas blocks away from the xbi and she was too drunk to call me even though my number is the easiest in the book.

tonight i will put up a photo essay.

now i will get an angus burger and pick up some pornography that the phone sexer sent me via federal express.

im on vacation and the days melt like chocolate.

kitty bukkake was there + as was mc brown + licks mp3s are here

via DU questions the president’s medals

half of which might not even be his

and the lack of two medals might be further proof that the dubya didn’t fulfill his duty in the national guard.

Kerry:

Silver Star (Verified via DD214)

Bronze Star (Should have Bronze Combat “V” Device, Verified via DD214)

Purple Heart (Should have two Gold Star devices for subsequent awards, Verified via DD214)

Combat Action Ribbon (Verified via DD214)

Presidential Unit Citation (Verified via DD215, worn above left pocket per Navy regs)

Navy Unit Commendation (Verified via DD215)

National Defense Service Medal (Verified via DD214)

Vietnam Service Medal(Verified via DD214, w/four bronze star devices verified via DD215)

Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (Verified via DD215)

Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation (Verified via DD215)

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (Verified via DD215)

Dubya:

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (verified via photograph only)

Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon

kos + democratic underground + buzzmachine + kerry & bush’s military records side-by-side

raymi explains blogging

on video

hi tony, what are you going to do with me?

im not gonna go to work thats for damn sure.

i know but are we going to go to some far off isle or swimming or camping or exploring or touristing?

uh

are we going to go to canada where because of the terrorists the price of weed has dropped significantly because they have a hard time sneaking it across the border and therefore theres far too much supply and not enough demand

uh

are we going to go to new york city and blog about the rnc convention, and see first hand if indeed our president is a retard, im sure you could get credentials, youre tony pierce, this is the busblog!

uh

are we going to go to chicago and watch the cubs on their march to their first world series championship since 1908

cubs are out of town

are we going to go to where the cubs are?

uh

are we going to go to a movie every day during your vacation and review them all?

uh

are we going to get laid on venice beach by a new tourist chick each day?

we?

are you going to start a novel?

uh

are you going to campaign to get your link higher on the google search for the word tony?

oh hells yeah.

are you going to have guest bloggers fill in for you while you rest your sore hands?

my hands arent sore.

are you going to shoot pool with flagrant at yankee doodles on the promenade?

hahaha!

are you going to go to vegas and live a week of sin followed by salvation?

uh.

please dont tell me that youre just going to sit around your house with a bottle of rum and watch tv and waste your vacation reading all the blogs on the innernet

i plan on having more than one bottle of rum

i hate you.

i will be hanging out with karisa today at sunset junction, like last year.

i love you.

you should.

when tsar played sunset junction + when sonic youth played sunset junction + mc brown’s pics from 2002

a man was fired from his job after heckling bush at a rally

what its like to work at mcdonalds

john kerry releases a video clip reminding people that this isnt the first time george bush hid behind a fringe veterans group to tarnish his opponent’s unimpeachable miltary record.

lightening struck the hell out of vegas

a pretty damn good post from someone who then didnt post again for a few weeks

king benny has mixed feelings about the busblog, but mostly good i think

tim blair met the instapundit

flagrant wrote an incredibly happy and optimistic post. i hope it wasnt written by a ghost writer.

raymi linked to me

linda had a really good week of posts, mostly about being a prison guard

25 bush flip flops

sk smith was obviously confused by my poor writing, i meant, write about things that are scary (aka embarrasing, secret-ish, revealing, risky, frank) when you cant think of anything to write.

google ipo’ed at 100 and has already begun its climb.

the busblog turned three years old.

teera met napolean dynomite

texas man released after spending 42 years in jail for a crime he didnt do. he was released when it was discovered that his fingers were cracked in the doors of a cell in order to make him confess. he escaped several times and his wife was given six years after trying to sneak a saw into a prison in order to help him break out.

matt welch is no longer an assclown?

the beverly connection amc theatres closed. i saw 8 mile there and jeepers creepers. they should have turned it into a $2 theatre now that the new beverly is full price again. i blame the archlight for the competition and thus closure of this theatre more than the grove. and that weird strip mall is amazingly ghetto from being right across the street from one of the classiest malls in america.

gorilla mask mysteriously disappeared

that i dont get along with. it’s true. i try to make sure that the antagonism are based on purely professional reasons and not personal or political, and you know what, its not hard to do.

its so easy to hate someone for being sloppy and consistantly ill informed and slothful with ideas and vision and lazy and unappreciative of the opportunity to work for the xbi at this time when everything is changing and we are at the forefront etc etc.

and i watch myself as i talk to them. as does my crew. the other day one of them said dude you can totally tell how much you and col sanders dont get along. you barely talk to her. its all business. no fun. youre the funnest guy at work and she and sgt bilko get no love.

and its true and i will try to work on it i swear yoda. fine, i will fix it.

the other day chris matthews had someone on his program, as a guest, whom he didnt treat politely or properly.

michelle malkin, the well spoken fox news contract pundit and right wing author of In Defense of Internment: The Case for “Racial Profiling” in World War II and the War on Terror was on a segment with da mayor, former sf kingpin willie brown.

willie wondered aloud why kerry is being questioned about his triple purple heart showing at the vietnam war:

“He volunteered twice. He volunteered twice in Vietnam. He literally got shot. There’s no question about any of those things. So what else is there to discuss? How much he got shot, how deep, how much shrapnel?”

to which malkin, who actually read the controversial swift boat veteran book, apparently, unfit for command, said that yes, there were some people who questioned exactly how much the democratic nominee for president got shot, how deep it was, how much shrapnel is in his body, and who was responisble for those wounds.

MALKIN: Well, yes. Why don’t people ask him more specific questions about the shrapnel in his leg. They are legitimate questions about whether or not it was a self-inflicted wound.

MATTHEWS: What do you mean by self-inflicted? Are you saying he shot himself on purpose? Is that what you’re saying?

MALKIN: Did you read the book…

MATTHEWS: I’m asking a simple question. Are you saying that he shot himself on purpose.

it’s true matthews was asking the fetching though creepy malkin whether she believed that kerry had shot himself to get out of the war, an explosive accusation if ever there was one, on par to questions of bush’s accused vietnam war attrocities (missing manditory physicals to avoid detection of illegal substances, attempting to transfer to an inactive unit to avoid any actual combat, deserting the national guard, and destroying and/or hiding records that would show a three-month unexcused absence (thus desertion and not awol) from the guard.)

the problem is matthews wasnt asking the right simple question to the right simple person.

michelle malkin was referencing amazon’s #1 best selling book this week and quoting its wildest accusation. she has all the right in the world to reference this book, and since matthews began his program with a swift boat vet questioning kerry’s injuries why isn’t malkin allowed to *gasp* actually discuss what was written and is being bought?

MATTHEWS: I’m asking a simple question. Are you saying that he shot himself on purpose.

MALKIN: I’m saying some of these soldiers…

MATTHEWS: And I’m asking a question.

MALKIN: And I’m answering it.

MATTHEWS: Did he shoot himself on purpose?

MALKIN: Some of the soldiers have made allegations that these were self-inflicted wounds.

MATTHEWS: No one has ever accused him of shooting himself on purpose.

MALKIN: That these were self-inflicted wounds.

MATTHEWS: Your saying there are he shot himself on purpose, that’s a criminal act.

MALKIN: I’m saying that I’ve read the book and some of the…

my belief is that Chris Matthews has been watching too much Fox News. a good interviewer, first of all is prepared. malkin caught matthews napping. he had obviously not read the book and was embarrased.

there were several ways that he could have dealt with this situation. he could have said that because one of the authors was an outright racist and kook, the book’s validity is in doubt, and since no one who ever actually served with kerry had input on the book, it’s 30 year-old heresay written for the sole purpose of either financial gain or political preference.

kerry has been in office twenty years. he and his band of brothers re-unite for many kerry campaigns, why does this book come out now? all good reasons to question and thus ignore this book at this time.

particularily because it’s generally poor form to spit on vietnam vets in 2004, of any political party.

which is why i havent bothered myself with that book.

another way to respond to such a situation is to ask malkin if she agrees with the claim.

the way you would do it is say, “thats interesting, the vets who weren’t in his boat or under his command write that they believe that he shot himself to get out of the war. maybe i will read this book now. but since you read it, do you believe them? are their claims believable in context of the full book?”

for that would expose malkin into acknowledging whether she read the entire book or just the juicy bits, which isnt criminal but, well, tacky.

instead, matthews melts down o’reilly style and gets beaten again by the sassy lassy, which has to be an unfortunate experience for the agressive hardballer.

MATTHEWS: I want an answer yes or no, Michelle.

MALKIN: Some of the veterans say…

MATTHEWS: No. No one has ever accused him of shooting himself on purpose.

MALKIN: Yes. Some of them say that.

MATTHEWS: Tell me where that…

MALKIN: “Self-inflicted wounds” in February, 1969.

MATTHEWS: This is not a show for this kind of talk. Are you accusing him of shooting himself on purpose to avoid combat or to get credit?

MALKIN: I’m saying that’s what some of these…

MATTHEWS: Give me a name.

MALKIN: Patrick Runyan and William Zeldonaz.

she not only gave a name, she gave two. and because she read the book and he didnt, he doesnt know who those two are and how they were misquoted.

so not only does has she successfully dodged the rapid fire questioning where she refuses to be forced into either align herself with the criticsm

nor does she need to take defensive tact of “hey we’re talking about their book, not mine. ask them about why they say these things. i wasn’t in that war, who am i to judge? i just brought it up because Da Mayor is saying that no one is questioning his wounds. the point is, someone is questioning the wounds and they’re selling a crapload of books by saying it, and maybe you two should have read it by now.”

unfortunately matthews would have stopped her at the first hey.

heres the rest of the exchange:

MATTHEWS: They said Patrick Runyan…

MALKIN: These people have…

MATTHEWS: And they said he shot himself on purpose to avoid combat or take credit for a wound?

MALKIN: These people have cast a lot of doubt on whether or not…

MATTHEWS: That’s cast a lot of doubt. That’s complete nonsense.

MALKIN: Did you read the section in the book…

MATTHEWS: I want a statement from you on this program, say to me right, that you believe he shot himself to get credit for a purpose of heart.

MALKIN: I’m not sure. I’m saying…

MATTHEWS: Why did you say?

MALKIN: I’m talking about what’s in the book.

MATTHEWS: What is in the book. Is there…is there a direct accusation in any book you’ve ever read in your life that says John Kerry ever shot himself on purpose to get credit for a purple heart? On purpose?

MALKIN: On.

MATTHEWS: On purpose? Yes or no, Michelle.

MALKIN: In the February 1969 — in the February 1969 event.

MATTHEWS: Did he say on it purpose.

MALKIN: There are doubts about whether or not it was intense rifle fire or not. And I wish you would ask these questions of John Kerry instead of me.

MATTHEWS: I have never heard anyone say he shot himself on purpose.

I haven’t heard you say it.

MALKIN: Have you tried to ask… have you tried ask John Kerry these questions?

MATTHEWS: If he shot himself on purpose. No. I have not asked him that.

MALKIN: Don’t you wonder?

MATTHEWS: No, I don’t. It’s never occurred to me.

Look, thank you Mayor Brown. We’ll stay with Michelle Malkin.

my advice to chris matthews is to quit trying to be bill o’reilly, who nobody likes and nobody respects. hes a blowhard who isnt interested in being anything other than a clown.

if matthews wants to be a clown then fine. tv clowns make a lot of money.

but the truth is you can have quick-paced, spirited, politely delivered intellectual debates on tv where columnists (like matthews and malkin) discuss the likelihoods of such claims and the believablilty of sources and comparisons of counter-claims. people will actually watch such things. yes there could be a siskel and ebert of politics if only there were two people who could take themselves out of the partisan attatchments to ideas.

you can say that the other night chris matthews blew it and michelle malkin defended herself very well while at the same time calling bush a retard. its ok.

it’s also ok for matthews to actually act as a host and allow a talking head from a competing network to pose an allegation about a presidential nominee. its ok for matthews to admit that he hasnt read every number one best seller. its ok for matthews to seperate the message from the messenger.

its ok for matthews to not fall for the limbaugh trap of oafish bombacity. is that a word?

i disagree with pretty much everything the asian hottie from the right has ever said on tv, but she was wronged the other night on msnbc and matthews should own up to it and check himself instead of pretending to “stand up” to anything.

media matters editorialized against the wrong person + full transcript of the show + clip from the show + malkin’s blog entry about the show + hardball’s blog

feel free to wish her well

in california and never have a drink on a perfect night on the rooftop bar of the wyndham bel age and be fine.

but i dont recommend it.

just like you wouldnt recommend for me not to hang out with karisa for more than six weeks. its just plain foolish.

towering above the sunset strip right behind the viper room where san vicente begins in west hollywood, the bel age is classy and hip and clean and attentive. so much so that if a party is to end at 10pm you can bet that a very handsomely dressed young man will politely ask you to leave the pool area.

apparently the guests expect to sleep in their rooms.

the 360 degree views are perfect, as are most sights when youre drinking with karisa.

tonights occasion was a party for mr luke ford, former adult film industry gossip expert slash news hound.

luke has just released two books, one of interviews with hollywood producers, and the other, a memoir of turning away from porn journalism to orthodox judaism. guess which one i want to read first.

the crowd was diverse educated funny engaging polite. both karisa and i were amazed at how much people wanted to talk to us, when for the first time in a long time i found myself seriously interested in talking to the author about his new book.

the LA Press Club turnout was so good, and karisa and i were so late, that we didnt have a chance to really do much talking with mr ford per se but perhaps since he’s now knocked out a few IMs maybe he’s ready to get interviewed via it.

its two am. karisa and i woulda stayed at the kickass hotel if they woulda kept the bar open but i was also starving so we went to the labrea sunset bk lounge and ate in the parkinglot of the powerhouse on highland, hollywoods last great dive bar which reportedly is going through a slow death that karisa and i wanted to investigate first hand.

the powerhouse has been one of karisas favorites for quite a while. its a real place thats been around for 50 years and feels like it. now all the pictures are down the posters are down the “decorations” are down but the springs in the cushions of the booths will still poke you in the ass if you dont sit on them right.

and the jukebox will always flow with a nugget to surprise you with as the clientele skews from hollywood hip to post punk to emo to tourist. its a good mix typically offerring enough to watch but theres always the tvs.

miss montreal and i met there one night after not dating for a while and i would like to think that it was the powerhouse that brought us back together before fate struck us asunder.

we had heard that the walls had been torn down and that yuppie scum redevelopment that has turned a good thing on the third street promenade into a tolerable but bad thing at hollywood n highland into a scary thing as it pops up on sunset and vine across the street from the archlight in the form of a borders/baja fresh/hollywood condo/bed bath and beyond monstrosity that says lots of things except hollywood.

artificial christmas trees are logical and fine and practical but theyre just not right.

and neither is slowly gutting a hollywood mainstay and turning it into just another bar for the tourists to get the wrong impression of america. yes i know there are more Applebies than Powerhouses but just because theres a Gap on one side of the street doesnt mean that every corner has to be a sellout too.

mickey kaus talked me out of putting ads on this blog until i was getting enough hits that it would be worth it. i appreciated his insight there.

saw my wife moxie looking gorgeous as always.

we met a real live novelist who gets to write from 10am to 4pm.

fascinating.

ben sullivan had a cowboy hat on.

people were making out.

then a whole bunch of hotel guests jumped into the hottub, and then the pool.

karisa and i agreed that the Walkmen are pretty good.

what the hell is that all about?

cathy seipp + amy alkon + emmanuelle

: if you show up hungover, all day will be loud explosions, helicopter blades, jet engines, and honking horns.

and no time to blog.

i did make it back to wilshire to meet up with danielle to have lunch. as you can see from the photograph, when the elevator took us down to the garage she collapsed in a sloppy heap.

she says i should caption the pictures that i post.

i tell her that during the times that im not being terribly lazy, im extremely busy.

tonight karisa and i are going to the la press club to celebrate the release of luke ford’s new book at some fancy hotel in swanky somewhereswood hills.

she asked me through IM if she thought we were supposed to dress up.

i told her any party needed a touch of punk rock, and after a day of feeling like an old fucking man tonight i feel like rocking

in comfortable shoes.

i havent seen karisa in maybe a month. its ridiculous.

the california lottery is $59 million and i thought about that today. and how i told her a long time ago that if i won the lottery i would give her a million. and thats still the case.

the rest i would blow on tsar.

only thing better than taking a shower after a hard day of crawling in dirt, being shot at from three different sides, almost dying on the bus ride home, and being hungover during the entirety of it?

taking a shower and knowing that karisa will be at the door when you’re done.

busblog recognizes the blogosphere’s post of the week