bg/ish: "I'm from the Old School. I believe this..."
There was a time when I expected to be filling this blog with posts about my beloved San Francisco 49ers. Had a catchy tag line and err'thang. Had a logo in the works. Go 'head wif yo bad self. Never happened. Just too depressing a situation. "Can't do it!"
Then, on September 2nd of this year, I posted the following on this blog...
"Speaking of these so-called "49ers", let's all give thanks for the final year of the Mike Nolan Era. Really, it was fun Mike, but thanks for coming. Don't get me wrong, I loved your resume, your defensive pedigree, and the suits were a class touch. However, it seems you're supposed to be winning football games and well when it comes to that you just don't seem to have any freakin' clue. Now go, good riddance."
Harsh words? Perhaps.
Then, on October 21 of this year, the 49ers sent Nolan packing, officially ending the Mike Nolan Era, whose demise I'd clearly predicted several weeks before. But this isn't about me. No, it's about what followed...
The Mike Singletary Era.
I choose to write about it now because, much like the lifespan of a monarch butterfly, it should be over in a matter of weeks. It may be inept and painful to watch, but hey, at least it hasn't been boring!
Already "coach" Singletary has benched the starting quarterback, sent a player (Vernon Davis) to the showers during a game, dropped trou at half-time during a "motivational" speech to his players, and managed the clock at the end of a game so poorly he makes Art Shell and Andy Reid jealous. Oh and he's also given us some utterly strange press conferences...
At any rate, I'm pretty much disgusted with the current state of this team, so this will probably be the last time I write about it until the Mike Singletary Era officially ends. Anybody have Bill Cowher's cell number?
Oh and as for this Vernon Davis clown...
dw.bg
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
bg/ish: Unboxing a Dell Mini 9
We here at tha Pub have always been prone to geeking out over the latest and greatest technology. Hell, ag was around when I installed my first 56k modem and marveled at how much faster I could download porn. Clearly we've come a long way since those days of archaic porn access. Now you can get it on your cell phone! But I digress...
The Dell Mini 9 is not much larger than say, an iPhone, and it's technical specs are nothing to be amazed at, (1.60 GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB hard drive) but hey it's small, so it must be cool, and easy and convenient. Well, not exactly.
I'm really not too impressed with this little devil. It looks great, screen is nice and crisp, and I'm sure it will serve it's purpose well (business trips), however the keyboard is a bit of a chore to adjust to, and as hard as I try I just can't see what's so great about a 9" display. Meh.
Another peeve I have is that I could only order it with Windows XP Home, when Professional would have been much preferred.
Oh well. At any rate, here are some pics of the little bugger, hand cramps be damned. (You'll have to imagine your own "new car smell")
We here at tha Pub have always been prone to geeking out over the latest and greatest technology. Hell, ag was around when I installed my first 56k modem and marveled at how much faster I could download porn. Clearly we've come a long way since those days of archaic porn access. Now you can get it on your cell phone! But I digress...
The Dell Mini 9 is not much larger than say, an iPhone, and it's technical specs are nothing to be amazed at, (1.60 GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB hard drive) but hey it's small, so it must be cool, and easy and convenient. Well, not exactly.
I'm really not too impressed with this little devil. It looks great, screen is nice and crisp, and I'm sure it will serve it's purpose well (business trips), however the keyboard is a bit of a chore to adjust to, and as hard as I try I just can't see what's so great about a 9" display. Meh.
Another peeve I have is that I could only order it with Windows XP Home, when Professional would have been much preferred.
Oh well. At any rate, here are some pics of the little bugger, hand cramps be damned. (You'll have to imagine your own "new car smell")
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Monday, November 03, 2008
bg/ish: Heavy Rain In The Forecast, Must Mean A.P.E. Is In Town...
Those of you who were familiar with the previous bg/ag publishing website might remember a crazy roadtrip ag and I took to San Francisco to cover the Alternative Press Expo, otherwise known as A.P.E. It was a trip that pushed the limits of human endurance and was dominated by a heavy downpour of rain. I don't think we could have planned that trip more poorly than we did, however, our deficient preparation and the ensuing results is what gave that trip it's character, and in the end it was a mild success.
Some years later, now calling San Francisco home, I found myself waiting in line to purchase a bagel, thumbing through one of the free Comic-Con magazines stacked in the corner of the shop, and stumbling upon an ad for A.P.E. 2008. I checked the forecast, and of course, heavy rain was on the horizon...
* * * * *
I made my way down to A.P.E. this past Sunday afternoon, feeling "the buzz" as soon as I had locked my bike up and started walking towards the entrance. I lingered around the entrance for a few minutes and the sun broke through the clouds long enough for me to snap a photo of the sign. A few minutes later, a guy walked out of the show, took off his badge, and hung it on a small post I happened to be loitering near. I watched him walk off, cross the street, and disappear down the block. Seizing the opportunity to save $10, I quickly grabbed the badge, put it around my neck, and decided to test the validity of my new found credentials. I breezed through security and hit the convention with a hop in my step and 10 extra buggs in my pocket.
I honestly did not know what to expect from A.P.E. this time around. Admittedly, part of me was skeptical and unsure if my foray to the show would amount to nothing more than a wasted Sunday afternoon. However, I must say, A.P.E. was brilliant.
I quickly realized that A.P.E. had become all the things I loved about the Comic-Con/WonderCon experience, without all the things I hate about those experiences, namely, big crowds and the hoopla perpetuated by the big companies. The size of the convention has maybe doubled since the fateful trip ag and I took, which amounted to about 3 hours of "rounds", at an easy pace, several times through all the exhibitors.
It's refreshing to see, even at the Independent level, so much talent and creativity gathered under one roof. It's also quite inspiring. Talking to people who have put so much hard work into their creative ideas and visions, it's hard not to feel "the vibe" and wonder to yourself, "What have I done lately?"
Overall, I'd call A.P.E. 2008 a wild success (at least for me), it certainly got me back into that "Con" mode for an afternoon and got me looking forward to WonderCon coming in February 2009. Oh and of course I ended up with a bit of swag, even on my limited budget.
Since A.P.E. is really all about the talent, I'll leave you with some links to some of the artists, writers and work that impressed me from the show.
Egg
The art of Jason Dryg
bacon.cheesecake
Ping's Zoo
The artwork of Brigette B.
Shannon Freshwater
2D Cloud
The Bill Holbrook Store
Zero Friends
The Bunny System
Tugboat Press
Thanks again to all the great exhibitors at A.P.E. 2008! As usual, bg loves you and hates you just the same.
dw.bg
UPDATE: LaughingSquid.com's APE 2008 Photoset on Flickr
Those of you who were familiar with the previous bg/ag publishing website might remember a crazy roadtrip ag and I took to San Francisco to cover the Alternative Press Expo, otherwise known as A.P.E. It was a trip that pushed the limits of human endurance and was dominated by a heavy downpour of rain. I don't think we could have planned that trip more poorly than we did, however, our deficient preparation and the ensuing results is what gave that trip it's character, and in the end it was a mild success.
Some years later, now calling San Francisco home, I found myself waiting in line to purchase a bagel, thumbing through one of the free Comic-Con magazines stacked in the corner of the shop, and stumbling upon an ad for A.P.E. 2008. I checked the forecast, and of course, heavy rain was on the horizon...
* * * * *
I made my way down to A.P.E. this past Sunday afternoon, feeling "the buzz" as soon as I had locked my bike up and started walking towards the entrance. I lingered around the entrance for a few minutes and the sun broke through the clouds long enough for me to snap a photo of the sign. A few minutes later, a guy walked out of the show, took off his badge, and hung it on a small post I happened to be loitering near. I watched him walk off, cross the street, and disappear down the block. Seizing the opportunity to save $10, I quickly grabbed the badge, put it around my neck, and decided to test the validity of my new found credentials. I breezed through security and hit the convention with a hop in my step and 10 extra buggs in my pocket.
I honestly did not know what to expect from A.P.E. this time around. Admittedly, part of me was skeptical and unsure if my foray to the show would amount to nothing more than a wasted Sunday afternoon. However, I must say, A.P.E. was brilliant.
I quickly realized that A.P.E. had become all the things I loved about the Comic-Con/WonderCon experience, without all the things I hate about those experiences, namely, big crowds and the hoopla perpetuated by the big companies. The size of the convention has maybe doubled since the fateful trip ag and I took, which amounted to about 3 hours of "rounds", at an easy pace, several times through all the exhibitors.
It's refreshing to see, even at the Independent level, so much talent and creativity gathered under one roof. It's also quite inspiring. Talking to people who have put so much hard work into their creative ideas and visions, it's hard not to feel "the vibe" and wonder to yourself, "What have I done lately?"
Overall, I'd call A.P.E. 2008 a wild success (at least for me), it certainly got me back into that "Con" mode for an afternoon and got me looking forward to WonderCon coming in February 2009. Oh and of course I ended up with a bit of swag, even on my limited budget.
Since A.P.E. is really all about the talent, I'll leave you with some links to some of the artists, writers and work that impressed me from the show.
Egg
The art of Jason Dryg
bacon.cheesecake
Ping's Zoo
The artwork of Brigette B.
Shannon Freshwater
2D Cloud
The Bill Holbrook Store
Zero Friends
The Bunny System
Tugboat Press
Thanks again to all the great exhibitors at A.P.E. 2008! As usual, bg loves you and hates you just the same.
dw.bg
UPDATE: LaughingSquid.com's APE 2008 Photoset on Flickr
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