so i am gonna ask you for direction here

recently there was a little scandal involving Prez-elect Obama’s speechwriter. on his Facebook someone found a picture of him “groping” a cardboard cutout of the next Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. i put groping in quotes because im not exactly sure if you can grope cardboard.

Dee Dee Myers, who in the past worked as the Press Secretary for President Bill Clinton seems quite sure that you can grope cardboard. and finds a lot wrong – if not disturbing with the photo of Obama’s speechwriter and the cutout image. an excerpt from her piece in Vanity Fair:

What’s bugging me is his intention. He isn’t putting his hand on her “chest,” as most of the articles and conversations about the picture have euphemistically referred to it. Rather, his hand—cupped just so—is clearly intended to signal that he’s groping her breast. And why? Surely, not to signal he finds her attractive. Au contraire. It’s an act of deliberate humiliation. Of disempowerment. Of denigration.

And it disgusts me.

Oh, I know: If Hillary can get over it, why can’t I? Her spokesman, Phillipe Reinnes, tried to make light of the incident. “Senator Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon’s obvious interest in the State Department, and is currently reviewing his application,” he told the Washington Post in an E-mail. Obviously, she has no interest in making a federal case out of this particular incident, particularly as both the Clinton and Obama camps work on letting bygones be bygones. She has to pick her battles, and for her this ain’t a hill worth dying on.

But there is a larger issue at stake. At what point does sexist behavior get taken seriously? At what point do people get punished in ways that suggest this kind of behavior, this kind of thinking, is unacceptable? At what point do we insist there will be consequences? Clearly, that didn’t happen during the recent presidential campaign, when Hillary was—as I guess she is now—fair game. The press, the pundits, and the public could say things about her (“She’s a shrew!”) and to her (“Iron my shirt!) that were over-the-top sexist—yet got almost no reaction.

So my questions to the female readers of this blog are these: am i crazy that when i saw the photo of the speechwriter and the cutout, i didnt think anything of it? is Dee Dee putting too much energy into this? is she the crazy one? or is “groping” a cardboard cutout of a public figure an incredibly sexist thing, that as Ms. Meyers suggests should be punished?

im very confused in this matter because as you can see from the photos above, real and fake groping appears to be rampant in the world, especially when theres a camera around and people are feeling free.

top photo by hessiebell, middle photo by Kerplunk Whoops, bottom photo by thatswherebatslive all via flickr

while she excused herself to powder her nose the dude next to me clinked my glass as we both watched her walk into the ladies room.

im going to jail tomorrow, he said.

oh yeah?

got popped with a beer between my legs this summer while driving and the bastids want $600.

judge said pay $600 or go to jail? iasked.

yep. i can do three days easy.

ever been in before?

yep, for two months.

ah, so yeah i guess three days will be nothing.

well, he said, its still gonna suck but heres my plan.

i ordered another baileys and a cosmo for my date.

he said, you can show up any time before 10pm and it will count as one day. but im gonna show up wasted and pop a few sleeping pills before i turn myself in. then im gonna sleep all day on the second day. then they let you out around 5pm on the third day, so really, thats the only hard one. that third day.

but its really just a half day, i said.

well, its a full day, i’ll probably wake up at 8am, eat the green sandwich, and bide my time till 5.

i debated whether one should buy a fella a beer after he tells you hes going to jail for dui, but i was at a bar, and he was drinking, and its Christmastime. so i said why not and got him a shot.

my date was taking her sweet time so i said, lemme ask you a question, why not raise $600 somehow?

he said, id have to pee in a cup for a month. no way would i pass that. and if i failed theyd throw me in jail anyways.

my date tapped my shoulder. she didnt want her cosmo. she wanted to get my fireplace going, it turned out. so i downed my baileys and offered her girlie drink to my bro

who gladly accepted.

and sends us a shout out!

i like this song for so many reasons. its happy its sad its depressing its sweet.

i like that the animals help out the lil fella.

and i love it when girls sing this song, for some reason, i dont know why.

thanks sass for stepping up to the challenge, i know its a hard song.

theres a guy who stole a tow truck being chased by the cops

theres a screen shot of a map cuz there was a small earthquake

and as soon as they catch this dude, theres live video of a brush fire in ventura

but what they are failing to show you, which only the busblog is delivering, is SNOW in LA

yes at the show last night, hell froze over. there was snow in the parking lot of the AC/DC concert.

youre welcome.

musta been the hells bells.

coulda been the six cannons during the finale of “for those about to rock”

may have been the mexican dudes shouting in my ear throughout the show in their broke english. i didnt wanna say “WHAT?” because they would only shout louder but i had to, they both had tye-dyed AC/DC shirts and were singing along so cutely.

“she’s got the yak, shes got the yak”

my amigos had snuck down from the cheap seats and saw that i had a perfect line of sight and since i was in seat 1, right next to the aisle, one guy stood in front of me (the stage was 45 degrees to our left) and the other guy stood behind me, in a way, with one foot in the aisle.

not exactly the personal space i had counted on, but hell i was lucky even to be there, if i could help these dudes rock out, then fine.

later one of the guys, i think his name was Douglas, asked if he could borrow my ticket so he could run up and get us both a beer.

mais oui, mi amigos.

they asked me if i was gonna see Metalica next week right there at the forum and i said no but i would download the torrent. i dont think it translated well.

one of the funniest moments was the first time i peed. AC/DC opened with their latest single something about a Train. then they played the old chestnut “hell aint a bad place to be”, which segued real nice-like into “back in black”. when we heard the opening measures of another new song “Big Jack” all the dudes made a dash to the men’s room to recycle as it were. first a visit to the mens room, then a quick stop off at the beer stand.

in the mens room everyone laughed and said “new songs suck!” but when we could hear the muffled chant of “dirty deeds done dirt cheap” the fellas were all, “shake it, men, theyre back to playing the good songs!”

last time i peed was after the long trek back to my car after the show. so many people had come to the forum that they had us parked over at Hollywood Park. two dudes were parked next to my car and they were relieving themselves so i figured id follow the trend. one of the joys of being a man is to be one with nature for a quick second.

what was the crowd like? sorta older. definately into the jams. saw a few young kids. noticed lots and lots of AC/DC shirts and more than a few Iron Maiden ones, which made me happy.

longtime busblog reader Chris C. says he saw Slash there, I saw the dude from Anthrax.

only weird moment was when they broke into Let There Be Rock and all i could think of is the new Rock Band commercial, which (hopefully) has given that song a new life.

Angus looked older, they all looked older, but the guy who worried me the most was Brian. he can still belt them out, but for how long? Thats gotta be suicide for a guy’s voice.

photo of Angus Young by Joey Maloney used with permission – see his whole set here

because God loves me

i didnt have a ticket and hardly anyone was selling. but i had $180 so i figured id be ok

one dude was all, i can get you in for $150 and i almost took him up on it

but this other dude took the ticket from the scalpers hand while i was thinking

so i kept walking closer to the forum and this chick i kid you not was saying to her man

“i cant believe people would drive through all that traffic, pay $20 to park way over at Hollywood Park

“and not have a ticket. i mean, omg, why would you risk it?”

i saw this black dude and he said, i have 1 ticket and it’s great, it’s third row loge. right near the floor. $200.

i said i have 140 maybe 160. he said gimme 160.

and i did and he gave me one of those paper tickets the ones you print out of your printer. it said it was row c, seat 1, and i said God please let this be the real thing, and suddenly i really wanted to go to the show.

and the lady in front of me was asked by the ticket taker “are you sure you havent been in here yet?” cuz her ticket was having probs getting scanned.

and the dude next to me, he was having probs with his ticket getting scanned, they had to type in every number.

so i said one more final prayer.

and when it was my time, the scan didnt work at first, but she tried it again and the gun said GO and i said thank you Lord

and soon i had a $9 PBR and we were all singing along to Hells Bells

and i said, this is the song i want them to play at my wake.

and when it was all over, i turned on the ACDC station on Sirius and cranked it with both windows open all through the parking lot, up Crenshaw, across the 105 freeway, around that crazy 126 story loop in the sky to the 110

and past staples and past down town and onto the Hollywood Freeway and to my house.

AC/DC was there the day i hit puberty, and there they were the day my dream job went chapter 11.

hell aint a bad place to be.

me: ok, happy birthday bree – what are you gonna do to celebrate tonight?
bree: Im going to see Fall Out Boy at the Troubadour! (hopefully)
me: whoah is this a secret show just for you?
bree: hahah i wish. no. just a small show, though. if they sang happy bday, thatd be pretty cool, though.
me: doesnt being the owner of those amazing shoes provide free entrance to any FOB show?
bree: it should, right?
me: speaking of that video, how long did it take you to make that thing?
bree: oh like half a day. if i honestly thought THAT many people would see it, i might have spent a little more time. and maybe would not have LICKED the shoes.
ok, well, thats a lie.
me: did the shoes fit perfectly or are they a little big?
bree: they fit perfectly 🙂

me: this year you got to travel the country during the Warp Tour – what band surprised you the most with their awesomeness that you didnt expect?
bree: I really loved Automatic Loveletter as a band that I didn’t really know about before warped
me: did you fall for my all japanese ska band of teen girls Oreskaband?
bree: oh they were so cute. but they also made the line for girls showers a little longer. so for awhile i would hit the showers while they played haha
me: speaking of… was it hard being a vegetarian on the road?
bree: ohmygosh, warped is the best tour ever for vegetarians/vegans, i dont even eat that healthy on my own. ta-da catering is like, the best thing about warped tour. haha
me: was it free / cheap?
bree: Buzznet hooked it up for me.

me: Buzznet was where you and I met. Back when you started you had a very different job than what you have now. Can you explain what a normal day is for you over there these days?
bree: A normal day. Hmm. Theres always so much going on. Usually I spend the mornings looking for content to feature, then i write some stories, QA some stuff, maybe write the newsletter, go to some meetings, try to activate the community
all while fielding various buzznets questions for the n00bs here
because im like, buzznet 411 apparently
im pimping this page right now:
me: ok that gallery is interesting, cuz theres quite a few bands ive never heard of
is that cuz im old, or becuase many of those bands suck?
bree: neither. theyre just not youre scene 😉 haha. i would probably only vouch for All Time Low and The Academy Is… though
me: isnt ATL the ones who have the tshirt that says ‘Sup Buzznet?
bree: Yep
me: do they actually rock?
bree: Totally. And they’re hilarious. We took them to Disneyland once. It was fun

me: ok good, so thats one band that rocks, and youre not gonna pretend that TAI rocks so heres my question… these kids grew up on classic and alternative rock, they have tattoos, yet they play such bs wimpy ass music. why? is it because hot girls like you allow it? wheres the next Motorhead, wheres the next Janes Addiction? Wheres the next guitar hero?
bree: ive never liked a band that really had any cred, so im not the right person to ask. haha. im a sucker for wimpy, nasal-voiced poppunk
me: so you Are to blame!
bree: probably.

me: ok not long ago you broke hearts everywhere by getting a bf, but the good news is he lives in Santa Barbara, and you enjoy taking the train to go up there
did the metrolink crash, and the Amtrak running out of gas scare you out of taking the train for your rendezvouses?
bree: no, not really. even though it was kinda freaky that THAT week i took the train on a thurs instead of the friday. Machines dont scare me. People do. creepy ass people on the metro

me: ok final question. this one for the ladies, indirectly. when we worked together it was hard not to notice that you loved makeup and all things girlie
so what makeup and hair products are you into these days?
bree: im pretty simple when it comes to hair products – i use redkin rewind and aveda thickening powder. sometimes this blue tigi goop – i dont know the name of it
bree: as for makeup, im a girl on a budget so its mostly drugstore stuff EXCEPT for Clinique… foundation, liquid eyeliner and bronzer. i have about 45 varieties of chapstick and lotion
thats probably my biggest girly thing

me: ok real quick, gimme 5 cds that came out this year that you loved
bree: the hush sound – goodbye blues, panic at the disco – pretty odd, The Matches… i dont remember the title. go ahead and tack FOB’s upcoming release and Britney’s ‘circus’
me: nice. any love for the Ting Tings?
bree: I had flings with several of their songs. but i dont listen to the cd in its entirety
me: ok fair enough. anything youd like to say to the busblog readers? any shout outs?
bree: shout out to all my favorite girls on buzznet. they make my job so cool
and thanks for interviewing me! that was fun!
me: any time!

check out bree every day on Buzznet at breesays.buzznet.com

the sun was reflecting beautifully off the buildings:

while the lovers looked on, i struggled for survival and assumed my normal pose:

the thing that kills me about doing these hikes is– i used to be point guard of the basketball team, safety in football, and lead-off hitting shortstop in baseball. i was fast, if not the fastest.

years of sitting on my ass blogging has done nothing for my lungs and legs. its incredible how quickly one can get out of shape. karisa however was running up the hills like no problem. impressive, but also aggravating.

driving through hollywood so as to charge my iphone,
i drove past the party i was already late for
and saw the most interesting sight:
hundreds of santa clauses spilling out of jumbos clown room.

jumbos is a small bar that has a great jukebox and a few strippers

its not really a strip club, but it gives the dive bar a little something special.

courtney love danced there before she was famous.

i did a u-turn and parked illegally so i could take some pictures of the extraordinary sight.

got outta the car and took pictures of some of the santas, elves, and sexy santas.

there was a punk rock santa who had a mohawk made of candy canes, but the best santa was this hot babe santa who after she posed with her friend for me asked:

“have you ever been ho’ed before?”

i said, “i feel like i have, but something tells me i havent.”

her friend giggled, and she said, “would you like to get ho’ed”?

i said, reluctantly, for some reason, “why yes, yes i would.”

the young woman dressed as santa pulled out a thing of lipstick and applied it to her lips, slowly, and then dabbed her nose with the lipstick.

then she got close to me, put her arms around my head

and eskimo kissed me.

you, know, rubbed noses with me.

it was ridiculously exciting.

then she gave me the softest kiss on the lips.

me, a stranger in a cubs hat.

i said merry christmas and walked to my car with the goofiest smile.

and a red nose that i gladly explained to all who asked at the party.

yesterday after we ate sushi on vine.

the video that karisa is referring to would be this one, where it seems to me that i was close to dying, which is true.

what happened was i didnt respect the mountain. i made it up the first hill and i was feeling good and i thought there were 2-3 more, turned out there were 4-5 and the last one was a doozy. i also thought that my reward would be that i could sit down like i did last time

but karisa didnt think that would be my reward. she thought my reward would be a high five and thats it.

still, the next time she climbs that mountain i will take a picture of her because im gonna put a couch up there, for anyone who makes it up there deserves to lay down for a few minutes or years.