the best week ever

That sounds so VH1 but its true.

It has been the best week ever. 

I am pretty broke for being on a holiday but I'm happier than I've been in a long time. 

I've also learned that yeah, I am pretty spoiled and that maybe I don't have it so bad after all.

I'm also learning that free stuff is not worth putting up with other people's lame bullshit to keep the access.

Fuck fashion week.

Why it's taken me a trip abroad to realize this is beyond me too. 

I also learned that I can be broke and live off of a budget and still be completely happy.

All my impulse habits in new york, like buying starbucks daily, getting pret-a-manger for lunch cause you don't feel like making a sandwich is just plain wasteless, unneeded, and necessarily wont make my day go past better. 

This sounds lame, but I've actually survived without au bon pain, le pain quotidien, and starbucks all week and I've been fine. 

I'm happier without it. 

I feel a sense of calmness and not stressed out of what other people think of me - and that it probably dosen't really matter what the general network of people in Los Angeles generally think of me.

Because It's not like i keep in contact with them too regularly or go to LA anyway.

I haven't set foot in the city of angels in two years, which means I am due back for a visit.. but even I'm rethinking that.

I mean, is Rancid a good enough reason to have to set foot in LA?

If London were cheaper to get to, I would rather much prefer going to London for rancid because the people i would go with are the best people in the world.

The best part is theres no gossiping, no OMG you know "insert name here" is going out with "that guy in some band" and that he/she got wasted at some bar, and they're going "insert place here" for "insert reason here" and then I'll know who they are talking about because other people I know have told me similar things about them too. The retarded conversations don't exist here, which I am forever grateful for.

And you would think opposite sides of the country? wtf? but they are more connected. It's gotten worse over time. I still can't over that japan episode, cause I am thinking about it now. 

I had dinner with my friend and her South African friend, and it was the most pleasant night I have had in a LONG time. 

Finally meeting the man, the myth, lol, was the highlight. Who would think that paddleboating in a lake would use so much energy? its tougher than cycling up an incline. Goth bars are fun when you look like youve been playing tennis.

I haven't been doing much but I've been having more fun than any holiday ever.

I think my next goal is taking a slice of insight from the man, tne myth, lol, - learn to be less spoiled and that I really do have friends that I could travel to Thailand with. 

It also helps that one of my best friends is Thai.

So maybe one day, soon in the future, I can tell the man and the former myth about my trip to bangkok and malaysia. Singapore too I guess.

I do want to see more of the world, and I can.

Maybe never australia because It's so damn far and expensive, or maybe one day.

Carnival Time

Yesterday I went to my first Notting Hill Carnival. We got there quite late on and thought we'd missed it all but a little walking proved we were mistaken.



There was a lot of people, a lot of noise, a lot of interesting smells, a lot of floats and a LOT of bass. They have some serious sound systems there. I'd read and heard about Jamaican sound systems but experiencing it first hand was great. As a side note that Sound system culture is often cited as the beginning of Hip Hop (and as a result Jungle, Garage, Grime etc), when it was brought to New York by Jamaican immigrants (most notably DJ Kool Herc)

We saw the guy below performing just before we left. Everyone there was really into it and seemed to know the words. It was cool, really positive, religious rap, but if you took the religion away you just had a positive message. The bass was booming but my phone doesn't pick that up at all!



Glad I resisted laziness and went.

traveling

I've been away from home so much the past 6 weeks or so It's not even funny.

I've been to enough of central america for now, so maybe I will want to see Guatamala and Roatan, Honduras one day soon.

In a couple weeks, I think I am due back into L.A. for rancid... but that is not definite yet.

I want my 3-4 days of rancid, and I will be bloody happy. 

I wonder what I'll do for winter holiday but whatever I do Peter will outdo me.

about rancid

What can I say about Rancid.
Once is clearly not enough.
So I have decided If I decide to see them three or four days in a row, I will see them in Hollywood, CA.

It’s not exactly my first choice but it is the most economical one.
I want to come back to London in January when the fares are like 500 USD.
To go in NOV. and JAN. would be a bit excessive and much of an overkill.
I haven’t set foot for more than several hours since 2006.
I guess I am due back soon.

Seeing Rancid in tropical London would be pretty rad.
But the problem is I don’t have the access there like LA.
Cause once you cross the pond, everything is different.
LA/NYC the worlds are more intertwined.

I really want to see Rancid in SF. Again that’s not economical either. Since I don’t know anyone in the city of San Francisco/. Hotels there are quite expensive.

I get away with charging plane tickets to LA like its nothing.
So that is part of the reason. And other reasons too.

Anyway, so yes I did see Rancid at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, PA Sunday night. After two days of Radiohead, it was a nice change in pace. Rancid played all the right songs and made me happy for an hour. The openers they had were okay. They had Big D and the Kids table and some other band.

That song, LAX always makes me laugh.
The worst part is that one verse about high fiving the bouncers cause I’m on the guest list applies to me to shows in NYC most of the time especially irving plaza.
I guess to see rancid in LA, its something I always dreamed of since I was little.
To see rancid in LA and SF… but after seeing them at CBGB cured that desire to being content to seeing them in New York.
The 4 day bb Kings stint in New York was great back in 2006. I went to three out of the four dates- because when rancid is playing two blocks from your house you don’t miss it. It’s a crime.

They had the slackers open one day and h20 open another day. That was fun.
You’d see all the agnostic front dudes too enjoying rancid.
Cause that the east coast New york pride right there.
I had some partial los Angelino pride when I was younger but that’s gone.
I loved how Lars sang OP IVYs Knowledge at the show.
They did the usual songs Maxwell murder, time bomb, roots radicals, basically everything from out come the wolves, nihilism, salvation, red hot moon (holla video shoot), Hoover street, anthem, who would’ve thought, and blood clot, oh yeah I do 360.
Lars didn’t do a billy bragg cover like last time L
I’m probably going to miss out on a lot this week which is not making me happy.
Rancid is having h20, theo and the skyscrapers, westbound train, sick of it all, and madball open.
I have LA.
I have LA.
I will fulfill my old dream of seeing Rancid in LA- even though it is not as relevant as it was before 2003.
But right now, I’m on a plane to el Salvador and the song Hoover Street is comforting right now.
Hopefully there won’t be a glass pipe murder.
I can’t help thinking about that time many years ago I was going from sunset// Alvarado to wilshire / Alvarado on an LA city bus (yeah I know, who rides the LA city bus) and slept and missed my stop. As you go further south on Alvarado street, it turns into Hoover. I got off and saw a group of people wearing el Salvador shirts on hoover street.
That was one of those, OMG its like the rancid song nerd moments.

I mean sometimes every now and then I walk up broadway from my apt around the time people get home from work- 5-6 PM..
And around 52nd st, everyone in suits is rushing to get home.
So it’s watching a 1000 people go home from work.
As a kid, I’d always get a kick out of seeing rancid at roseland cause rancid is on 52nd and broadway. Yeah nerd moment, I know.

Last time I came to London and I was at Leicester square, I was looking for some punks on the subway and from chalk farm road it felt like a long way to go to get there.

I’ve also seen several Puerto Ricans on 6th street.
Never ran into lars down on 6th street, but I thought if that happened in real life that would be funny.
Tahira and Vicky always tell me that you never know where lars ends up.
My mate barrie once saw lars eat at Red bamboo- this vegan resturant on w 4th street.
If they ever come to new york I should take them to red bamboo. They’ll eat there once I go- “lars ate there once and barrie saw it”

They’re rancid nerds like that, I think.

What you know about that?

It's official, the best pub in the country has been decided and it's in the manor!

It's none other than New Cross' very own Montague Arms! Don't believe me? Read it for yourself, straight from tuesday's 'londonpaper'.





I'm not sure I'd say its the best pub in the country, I'm even not sure its the best pub in the SE, but it's decent place. Accept for hitting my head on the low ceilings every time I visit it, I've had nothing but good nights there.

I even remember the first time I ever went there, which is rare. It was for the second ever Ubernators gig. We played three songs and I'd spend the the week prior to that gig rush writing 'Tell it like it is' so we had more than two songs to play. I've seen video footage of the gig and we were awful but it was fun.

Other memorable times at the Montague include seeing Naked Babes with PTM, which might have been the same night I met my friend Ruby. Most of the other memories of the Montague include R because she has big love for that place. I don't remember a lot of things these days but I do remember Peter really not liking one of the bands that night. I think it was Hot club de Paris. I think he was half joking.

So good on the Montague. I always feel welcome and comfortable when I go there and even though I'm not that fond of the embalmed animal heads and what not it gives the place a unique feel. Hold tight MA.

El salvador

I'm in el salvador.
Don't ask but I'm singing hoover street in my head,
Now I'm the el salvadorian immigrant....

Oh That's Stryderman

I was watching 'Flava' today, I reckon that's probably the best music channel.
It's got more grime than Base, and less shit than Channel U

anywas, Stryderman by Tinchy Stryder came on.
Here it is if you're interested
Yeah, It's a really good song, with a really catchy chorus.
I like it, I like it a lot.

I've never been the biggest fan of Tinchy Stryder,
I think is voice is too soft for a grime artist, it's not raw enough.
But his bars are strong.

and I did like
Mainstream Money, Breakaway, and Underground (his first release)

And then I was thinking, I probably wouldn't recognise him if I saw him 'on road'
Then I thought that I'd like him to get big,
cos if Lethal Bizzle got big, he deserves to.

Oh, and every good post needs something 'Godfather of Grime'