id go but me and karisa are gonna eat free sushi

and drink.

but if we didnt have plans id go cuz the orpheum is super close to work and its a super cool olde timey theatre.

anyways heres the news from Soundboard:

Fresh off their Saturday appearance at the VH1 Honors tribute at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, the Who will be playing a show in Los Angeles in the not-so-distant future. Yes, thanks to Reuters, word is out that the group will be playing at the Orpheum on Wednesday to promote the video game Rock Band, whose soundtrack includes the group’s classic screamer “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

It’s a private party, so unless you have serious juice with Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey or the gaming company EA, you’re out of luck. But that’s where Will Call has your back. The group will also be playing the Nokia Theatre on Nov. 8 and 9. Run do not walk to get your tickets Monday.

read the rest here yo

running shoes. most expensive running shoes ive ever bought. $60.

i used to buy converses. still have some. but now converse is owned by Nike and i like the Nike designs and they make good shoes, im just not crazy about the fact that they have factories in some of the most worst countries for human rights WHILE charging the most money for said shoes.

i am a huge fan of open markets and competition and capitalism, but if youre going to have a $150 shoe, why cant you make that shoe in Detroit or Denver or Downtown LA? and if im Tiger Woods, do i really wanna be a part of that?

i know my Pumas arent made in Detroit, nor are any of my sneakers. i just dont want to encourage what seems to be the exploitation of third world countries to make the highest priced shoes ever AND make rich athletes even richer. am i insane to see it that way?

meanwhile its nice that Nike’s wealth and marketing experience is helping Converse get the boost they so deserve. i like seeing the One Star brand in Target on jeans and dress shirts, but it seriously makes me cringe if i think about it for more than a minute.

i know there are aspects of American Apparel that make some cringe, but i know where those clothes are made. theyre made by Americans. they are made in America. theyre made in one of the cruddiest parts of downtown LA, but their workers are given a liveable wage and their clothes dont cost double or triple the price to pay off the multi-millionaires who sponsor them.

michael moore had a movie out after “Roger & Me” called “The Big One”. in it he talked with one of the dudes from Nike, like maybe the president of Nike or something. Moore said that there were people in Flint, Michigan who would love to make Nike shoes. the Nike dude still didnt care, he didnt want his shoes made in the USA.

how much more money would a pair of $150 Air Jordans cost if they were made in Flint? how much more would a pair of $50 converses cost if they were made in downtown LA? all i have to say is, i would love to buy Cons again, Nike, and now you know my terms: make them here and i will pay.

pat is jeff whalen of tsar’s brother. he was the editor of the Daily Nexus when i was inspired to join up. and thus i owe him everything in regards to writing.

aside from that pat is just an overall great guy and smooth criminal.

his taste in music is without peer. his views on life are flawless.

and his choices in clothing and haircuts make us all smile. thats pat above, to the right.

jeff told me that pat was in town a few weeks ago. last year we had a boys night in, where we collected a bunch of former nexites at my small apartment and talked into the morning.

it was such a fun thing that jeff suggested a repeat. some of the boys couldnt make it, some new ones filled in for them. amazing conversations were had by all.

there was food, drink, cigarettes being smoked. photos were reviewed. stories were retold. the younger whalen ended up sleeping on the floor and pat took my bed as i chose the couch. as it should be.

some call me the blogfather, which is nice, but there are a few who i look up to and pat is definitely one of that small group. a man who no doubt has inspired the busblog in many subtle ways.

it was great to listen to guns n roses with him again.

i was one of the fortunate ones that gets to stay. one of the ones who wont be around going forward is our publisher David Hiller. i havent been around all that long and i am the last person who would know what sort of publisher he was, but i will say this – he knew my name on the beginning of my very first day. he took this picture with me at the end of my first day. any time he saw me in the halls he’d say, “hi tony, how are the blogs? one of these days you will have to help me out on mine.” thats pretty impressive to me, especially since we have hundreds and hundreds of people who work here, many of whom have been here for ages.

Los Angeles Times Publisher David Hiller resigned today after a 21-month tenure that included the departure of two Times editors and plans for the sharpest staff and production cuts in the newspaper’s history amid a continuing slide in advertising revenue.

Tribune Co. — which owns The Times and other media assets, including the Chicago Tribune and KTLA-TV Channel 5, and the Chicago Cubs baseball team — named no successor to Hiller.

Hiller was the third Times publisher named since the newspaper was acquired in 2000 by Chicago-based Tribune. He succeeded Jeffrey M. Johnson, who lost his job after publicly resisting cost-cutting measures ordered by the parent company in October 2006. One month later, Hiller asked Editor Dean Baquet, who had joined with Johnson in opposing the cutbacks, to resign.

Baquet was replaced by James O’Shea, a longtime editor at the Chicago Tribune. O’Shea departed in January, also while protesting cuts ordered by corporate management.

read the whole story here.

meanwhile here’s some video i shot of mr hiller singing before at the dodgers / cubs game earlier this year.

or condi is a “few” hundred grand. “not a lot”.

whats interesting about working at the LA Times is we have people in interesting places. for example one of our bloggers writing Countdown to Crawford is in Washington D.C. and goes to the white house all the time and travels with the president. so when he wants to follow up on something like this video that broke this weekend, he simply asks the press secretary. Here’s some of what he wrote today in regards to Stephen Payne, a GOP fundraiser who seems to be getting the Bush library a ton of cash in return for access to a member or two of the cabinet:

At the White House today, Press Secretary Dana Perino said there was “categorically no link” between official White House business and library fund-raising.

“We would not advocate … such behavior,” she said, and stated that Payne has never worked for the White House.

and yet he’s clearly working for the library, or is that clear? nothing is clear these days, like, how is it possible that this got caught on video and theres not a huge hub-bub about it.

maybe tomorrow, i guess.

actually they wanted to protest outside the scientology center on sunset
but the cops pushed them back a few blocks, so it looked like they were pissed at medical care

as ive said before, im not crazy about anonymous protesting this small group when there’s way bigger churches who are literally f’ing children, but you gotta hand it to anonymous, they have great outfits, so heres some pics

it was bring your kids to the protest:

it was also bring tom cruise to the protest:

it was also the first time i ever got rickrolled by a tshirt:

i said so.
she said im a fraction yr age
i said so.
she said i have a child
i said so.
she said ive been reading u forever
i said so.
she said i dont comment cuz im shy
i said so.
she said you remind me a little of buk
i said use his full name.
she said i bought both tsar albums and youre right
i said so.
she said sometimes i dream of you
i said so.
she said what do you do at night when youre alone
i said sew.
she said i bought both yr books and theyre brilliant
i said so.
she said i need a vaction and im thinking of LA
i said so.
she said what do you want me to say?
i said tell me im hot.
she said i teach my little girl not to lie.
i said so.

so talented, so sweet, so beautiful. last year when i went to TO in october i really wanted to meet her so bad. and when i found out she was really going to the matt good show i stuck close to her all night. busblog fans yelled hi from afar and said arent you tony pierce and i said sometimes but this is krista oceanaria, isnt she so much hotter in real life?

i was so nervous to meet her that within minutes i lost my voice. so i had to look in her eyes and try to esp her but those blue saucers are bedeviling. we sat next to each other at the rock show and afterwards we went backstage drank and i took this pic of she and her canadian idol. is it me or do both of them seem soooo happy to be taking that picture?

krista is also pretty fantastic behind the camera, which is an achievement because shes not working with the most expensive equipment, she tells me. shes also a budding artist whos work, i hear, is in the mail and headed to my office. cant wait!

an extremely interesting thing about krista is shes adopted. proof that we should think about adoption instead of breeding all the time since theres clearly some beautiful angels out there who need loving homes. im not saying people shouldnt have children of their own, but we should Also consider taking care of our communities.

im very glad that krista is around. and i think the world of her blog.

happy birthday krista!

whats amazing about the commemorative fake money isnt that its in incredibly poor taste

or the omg kewlness that 9 + 11 = 20 which is why its $20 (as seen in the tv ad)

or that doublespeak has reached a new level in that this thing is “Government authorized non-circulating Liberian legal tender” – which means what?

but that viacom actually let them advertise this tasteless crud on their air

a pox on all who are part of the creation, manufacturing, advertising and delivering of this nonsense.

or something

aham23: 5 or 3? which way did you go man?

those were girls clothes. i bought a churro, some bootleg dvds, a sparkley belt for the cougar, and a bike rack for my trunk.

adrienne: list me off three things in this world you are sure of.

my mother loves me, there is a God, the busblog will never end.

Ciavarro: Will I or won’t I pass out during the ceremony on September 6?

if i knew for certain that you would, i would consider making the hike up there. but i doubt it. italian men might be sensitive, but making the most important decision of your (schween’s) life is nothing to pass out over.

Sharp (Azreal Darkskies): What comic books did you grow up reading? Are you as excited for Dark Knight as I am?

Mad, Cracked, and Crazy – none of the superhero ones. I was the superhero, i didnt need comics. Jazzed about the Dark Knight? No. Christian Bale isnt my type of Batman. I didn’t mind the last one Batman Begins or whatever, but Michael Keaton was troubled and to me those are the best comic book heroes. Bale is too much a pretty boy. A poor man’s Tom Cruise.

xtx: Would you make lust to a Real Doll? (don’t lie….)

I’ve had enough real women who act like the Real Doll that i can honestly say no. I wouldnt mind having one lounging around the house to freak out guests, but i would not have relations with her.

tina: when weed doesnt work, f or be f’ed?

i can honestly say i have no f’ing idea what on earth you are talking about.

Steven Allen Adams: Should Jesse Jackson be honest and admit what we already know: that he’s jealous of Barack Obama?

it would be beautiful since many people didnt like Jesse even before the incident, and it would add a new dimension to his personality that some might not have seen: humility.

lily: how’s it like living in LA? do you encounter folks like masuimi max or henry rollins?

i love LA with all my heart. its not for everyone. but if you like running into stars then this is pretty much the only place that i can imagine you can do it and not even realize it. never heard of masuimi, but i just Google Imaged her ass and wowza. i had actually interviewed Rollins many many moons ago and drove him around Hollywood before he opened for Gwar. Great guy. super intense. very smart. but yes, if you live in hollywood or santa monica or malibu you will see stars all the time. (theyre just like us)

John: Is hell eternal?

if Heaven is, then Hell has to be. which is why i try to be as good as i can be. because id rather have eternal Paradise instead of eternal Damnation. a bad day on Earth is bad enough, let alone a bad year. i dont wanna know what eternal bad is all about.

pitt: wtf is with the jays and no offense? and this bs about firing our beer vendor for selling to a guy 3 years past the age of majority? did you know perry farrell is a play on the word “peripheral”?

canada has an odd relationship with booze. even more odd than we have in the states. you should be able to buy anywhere. and if you sell to someone OVER the age you should not be f’ed with. its too subjective to say that “oh he looked under 25”. and no i didnt know that about perry which means you win the prize. send me your address and i will have it in the mail to you shortly.

Krista: best question? Name your dream president and vice president. (worst question ever)

busblog/oceanaria 2016

4rilla: Thoughts on the Harden/Gaudin deal? How do you feel about the winning division of the All Star game having home field in the World Series? I know you like Shep and Kobe, have you seen this?

Harden might be injury prone. i dont care. its the thought that counts. and the Cubs are doing all the right things. im not sure why they didnt get CC instead but whatevs. we got the second best dude out there which is a ton better than what StL got (nada). i do like Shep, but not Kobe. im Team Shaq. for lyfe. and im not crazy about that poster. looks like he put the obama filter on it.

top photo of my backyard via cowicide, bottom photo of my vp by oceanaria