We've been hearing the new Kaiser Chiefs song "Ruby" on Sirius Satellite radio for a few weeks now. On first listen we thought it was pretty good, but maybe a little too gimmicky. So I hemmed and hawed about getting the full album "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" [iTunes link] until earlier this week.

I shouldn't have waited! If you liked the previous Kaiser Chiefs album "Employment" you will love this new one. While saying that the band has "grown" would be a stretch, the music fills a very Kaiser Chiefs sized hole in my heart perfectly. I've listened to this album front to back during this whole crappy week we've been having, and it's been a total saving grace.

Strap on your ear goggles:

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info: [mix] change side_a is a celebration of change. Man, we hate change. I mean... it means you have to... change. And that's hard work, but sometimes changing is the only way to stay the same. side_b coming soon.
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Tracklist -
1: Some Serious Shit (quote) - Back to the Future
2: Free Stress Test - Professor Murder
3: Life is Shit - Dead Milkmen
4: I'm Staying (quote) - Big Lebowski
5: Allentown - Billy Joel
6: I want Jah Back - The Kleptones
7: Daydream - Lupe Fiasco
8: Wanted for Murder (quote) - Anchorman

Listen to previous mixtapes in the archive.

We've gotten a few emails asking what we've thought of our beloved Lost now that everybody's favorite dramatic workhorse Heros is on another season stretching (although hard-earned) hiatus. Which brings us this new trend in television series: The "Mini-Season."

We're not big fans. Although television shows have been known to break a season into two parts in the past, we believe it's only recently that "the power that be" (read: 5 Jew Bankers) have had the audacity to split our favorite show's season into 3 parts.

In fact, we would point to the last "break" that Lost took as the main reason it squandered so much of it's momentum, not just on-screen, but in our collective consciousness. The last couple episodes of Lost have been really good, but they are totally playing catch-up. This week's "Par Avion" was really awesome, *spoiler* and they totally got us with that Jack running miss-direction at the end... */spoiler* at least for a second. Equally as exciting was the preview for next week's episode "The Man from Tallahassee." It's a John Locke centered episode, and it looks like Locke is ready to go on a kill-crazy rampage!

Another interesting thing about next week's episode, and this should be of particular interest to Matt-o over at Ablebody. The wikipedia page for the episode has actor Nestor Carbonell listed as playing Richard Alpert. Also known as Baba Ram Dass, the REAL Dr. Richard Alpert was best buds with Timothy Leary. Both of whom were fired from Harvard in 1963 for conducting tests on their synthetic version of psilocybin, the stuff that makes certain mushrooms "magic."

Richard Alpert's book on spirituality: Be Here Now

In art school my best friend and roommate grew mushrooms in our closet in a meticulously cleaned styrofoam cooler. Despite the fact that my buddy was one of the messiest dudes I've ever known, his cooler full of mushroom spores was totally spotless, and painfully cared for. We used to draw pictures of him sitting atop his great trash heep holding only a sparkling clean cooler. Also, he used Lysol to disinfect the cooler (spores are finicky about bacteria) so anytime somebody cleans a bathroom I start tripping.
Just kidding... OR AM I?!?

Anyway, Back to Dr. Alpert... What significance does Richard Alpert's name have to the mythology of Lost? I hope we find out!

Every saturday morning I get up and preform in the kid's show at Dad's Garage. Uncle Grampa's Hoo-Dilly Storytime.

Each week the gang (made up of Phinneas J. Monkey, Larry Lederhosen, Lil' Tamo the Robot, and Fritz the Butler) at the Hoo-Dilly House improvise a never before told story to the kids. 4 stories are placed on the "Wheel of Stories." A kid from the audience is chosen to spin the wheel, and whatever we land on, that's the story we tell... For the most part... The stories are either completely made up, or are weird takes on classic fairy-tales. We also like to do "sequels" to the classics.

Here are some of my favorites stories that we've offered up to the kids:
Little Red Robin Hood
Hansel and Gretel 2: Return to Witch Mountain.
Snakes on a Time Machine
RumpleDuckling (mash-up)
Three Little Pigs 2: Through the Portal of Time!
The Weasel Brothers vs. The Haunted Library

Each week we like to add a story to the wheel that seems highly inappropriate. If we ever land on these stories, Larry will simply cheat, and push the wheel to something less ridiculous. It's mostly an opportunity to put our favorite movies on the board.

Some favorites:
Airport 76
Full Metal Jacket
Babel II: Look Who's Babbling Now!
8 Mile 2: 16 miles

The show was the brain child of Lucky Yates, he wanted to do an "ole timey" kid's show. One that wasn't burdened with delivering a message, or trying to teach the kid's how to count, or generally being worth anything other than laughing at. We've succeeded!

I am a puppet in the show, a robot puppet... big surprise. I used to do improv all the time, and I have to tell you, improvising as a puppet is where it's at. You can get away with saying just about anything if you are sitting behind a puppet. Incidentally, I don't think I've ever made a kid laugh once. Most of my jokes are dry and sarcastic jabs about dorky science or movie references. Although, I do get some laughs out of the parents. So I've come to embrace this as my role in the show, Parent Amuser.

And that's my favorite thing about this kid's show. It's pretty much not a kid's show at all. Nobody dumbs down their material just for the kids, and the kids don't need or want that anyway. Sure they laugh when Phinneas talks in his funny-stupid monkey voice, but they also laugh with their parents when Tamo talks about going to the Decatur "Root" Beer Festival.

Uncle Grampa's Hoo-Dilly Storytime @ Dad's Garage - Saturdays 11:30am [get tix]