Oh Deer! It's Hanukkah!

Wow, it’s already Hanukkah, and December just started!  Usually we jews have to battle with the rest of Christmahanukwanzika for gift giving, and national media attention.  This year, it seems we practically have to compete with Turkeys instead.  While I generally am not crazy about holidays, Hanukkah is special to me, as I was born on Hanukkah, and thus named after it.  ”Ori” means “My Light” (or “My Skin” / “My Leather” if you misspell it, with an Ay’in instead of an Alef– perfect for going to a fetish party?) in Hebrew.

No gifts this year, since I’m in Costa Rica.  No Jelly Donuts, no Potato Pancakes. But, I did get to speak to my parents with Skype, and I do have internet access, so I can find and share awesome songs like this with you!  So… Enjoy the holidays!

The Gangsta-Rap Hanukkah

Read the rest of this entry »

Apple thinks you are a tool

Apple is the king of marketing and creating hype.  Their technology has changed the world.  Their style has made technology simple, and pretty.  And now, they think that we are all fools. Me personally, I am waiting for the youtube itunes video of the person who came up with this latest scheme getting executed by firing squad.

Yesterday had all the tech sites wondering what Apple will announce today, as their home page announced with poor grammar that “Tomorrow is just another day.  That you’ll never forget.”  I gotta admit, with all that they’ve done, I too was curious what their announcement will  be.  What will they have people lining up around the block for this time?

Apparently, all the hype was to announce that the Beatles are now on iTunes.  Seriously?  That’s it?  That is worth shutting down the Apple home page for?

For those who were not aware of it Read the rest of this entry »

In 2007 I met Skizzy when I couchsurfed with him, instead of staying in Alabama where there was a tornado.  We adventured all over the place, from road trips, to crazy skydiving events.  We’ve been through a lot. When he started dating Alyx, I thought from the start she was brilliant.  She was (is) pretty, hardworking, polite… clearly has had good parenting.

Alyx found an embarassing old VHS tape of Scott dancing, and asked me to convert it to digital. I said that I would, and that I would post it when it was least expected. A year later, I gave Skizzy the VHS back. He said “Couldn’t convert it, eh?” I replied “It’s difficult to find a VHS player, let alone one that converts to digital.” – but I never said that I didn’t get it converted. Almost a year after returning the tape, here’s the video, posted online, after it’s been long forgotten:

If we’re not careful, all our analog memories shall fade.  It’s fairly simple to get your VHS tapes, 8mm films, slides, and photos converted to digital, so that you can humiliate yourself and your friends and family… er… so you can share and relive those precious memories.

Why not go find your own faded memories, and put them online, tagging all the participants  You’ll brighten not only their day, but also all that they are socially connected with.

More importantly though, always keep your word.  This was one of the more difficult things  I’ve had to do– to have this video, and actually wait until it was forgotten about.  But, damn, I feel GREAT posting this.  Many people got a smile today.  Check out some of these comments!  Leave your comment below, and make sure to like / share this.

Me with Adrianne Gonzalez and Kyler England of The Rescues - <3

Writing a book doesn’t have that much to do with writing a book.  It’s been more about organizing information, filtering through it, and learning about the publishing and self publishing industries.  So far, that’s the case.  I had a friend come into town, and she wanted to catch some live music on Friday.  I thought I’d be suave, and make happen what I had happen with my friend Joanna, while I was couchsurfing with John and Julia (whom I met at Burning Man)— we took out some ocean Kayaks, food, and booze, and saw Crosby Stills and Nash over at Humphreys.

Humphreys however had no one playing on Friday, which I found odd, ’cause they usually have quite the lineup .  I don’t mean to be spoiled… but watching a concert by Kayak is more fun than just going to a show.  I like things to be new and exciting, or at least unique. I don’t know any of the San Diego performance spaces, nor do I know who’s playing.  Sure… there’s Google for that, but Google can land you in an outletless coffee bar with no internet (such as Living Room in La Jolla). So, we just went for some good Mexican food.

The next night however I was as giddy as a little girl at a Justin Bieber concert!  I saw Kyler England post on Facebook that she’s recovering from a midnight milkshake, and that the band is on their way to San Diego for the last show of their tour

The band is “The Rescues”.  I’m a huge fan!  They are 4 members in size, and every single one of them Read the rest of this entry »

The human body gets rid of toxins by excreting them one way or another… but since we live in such polluted environments, option B gets used more and more often, which is hiding the waste in fat and other cells in the body. Do I believe all that? Well, yeah…. Do I care? hmmm…. probably. Though, not too much. I mean, we all sit around in front of our radiation emitting devices, holding them up to our heads, while eating the shittiest food we can. Trust me, I”m no angel, and I’m no healthy hippy! I know many of them.

Since I do know a bunch of them, I am at least aware of what I am ingesting, and my environment… So, when I got back from a 3 week road trip, where my diet consisted mostly of Taco Bell, coffee, and other things you can get near the freeway Read the rest of this entry »

One of my goals for this year was to get decent at the guitar… that didn’t happen, but… since I made the goal public, why not have some fun at my expense, while bringing a smile to a friend on his birthday?

I had the roach suit…. had a guitar…. I couldn’t sing or play the guitar… but that’s all right.

Despite being completely mortified, and having my brain yell at me at how people will laugh at me, how this is going on the internet – thus can’t be removed if it’s that awfu…. you know, standard brain stuff.  But, I was able to say “Shut up, I’m doing this!”

I keep telling people that if they are petrified of doing something… then that is something thaty must do!  Well.. I took my own medicine. Despite never singing and playing the guitar at once (or doing much of each separately), I recorded my 1st effort and here’s what I got: Read the rest of this entry »

My mom's on facebook- witty, and accurate

My parents ARE on Facebook… and on Twitter (though, they say that’s too much work).  Good thing I already tell ‘em most everything… this video totally says it all   Best hair-band video ever!

The Couchsurfing Radio Host- Couch Surfing Ori

[podcast]http://www.couchsurfingori.com/couchsurfing-radio/couchsurfing-couchcasts/CouchsurfingRadio-Couchcast-number-10-Hippyband-sxsw-pet-mountain-lions.mp3[/podcast]

All sorts of crazy, but you definitely want to catch the replay!  There’s a ton of awesome SXSW insider info on how to party for free, mingle with the stars, and all sorts of great reasons to go into town… with or without a badge.

My guest, Chase, talks about his pet mountain lion.

I tell jokes.

There’s a lot more– just listen, it’s fun!

[podcast]http://www.couchsurfingori.com/couchsurfing-radio/couchsurfing-couchcasts/CouchsurfingRadio-Couchcast-number-10-Hippyband-sxsw-pet-mountain-lions.mp3[/podcast]

I even include some music in this one– let me know what you think of it.

Many people have asked me for more “Day in the life” kind of stuff. I was at Kevin & Will’s to hang, and eat fried Deer and southern food. I’ll start with a video (shot on my webcam): Read the rest of this entry »

My last post was in the Christmas spirit…’ish… but I like to laugh at every holiday, not just Hanukkah, so.. Here’s a Christmas classic, performed by The Muppets: Ringing of the Bells.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

You know you know at least one Jew. Have you ever wondered what they do while you enjoy all that awesome family time in front of a tree, seeing what presents you got, and the reactions of your loved ones as they open all those presents you spent the last 3 months (or the last 3 days) fighting for parking, and the last remaining ____ (insert popular gift here)? Well… we jews eat chinese food on Christmas, and we go to the movies.  Those are the things that are always open!  This awesome music video depicts it perfectly!

It's not just Christmas babes that are hot!

Happy Hanukkah (I chose that spelling, ’cause that’s how Wikipedia spells it)!   It’s Day 2 of Hanukkah, and I know that there’s people out there who wish there was more music for this holiday to listen to.  I present, the Idelsohn Society’s 2009 Hanukkah Mix! Just makes you want to dance!  Oh yeah!

Idelsohn 2009 Hanukkah Mix by idelsohnsociety

No joke- I’m off to start my day off with a Jelly Doughnut!

I’m so thrilled! The muppets are still alive and well.  Since my thousands of fans on twitter/facebook know I’m a big goofball, they send me funny stuff quite often.  When I heard Boehemian Rhapsody was performed by the muppets, I thought, “Great.. someone took a bunch of old muppet clips and mashed ‘em up to Queen, yay.”  When I viewed it, I was blown away– it’s really them!  What a brilliant work of art!

If you’re a muppets fan like me, you’ll love this! (Keep reading after the video for the ultimate muppet-lover’s link) Read the rest of this entry »

These guys got skills! Caution: There’s some strong language if you’re one of the people concerned by that.  The talent and creativity rock though!  Major kudos.

Seriously!  This song is super catchy, traverses across many genres of music.  I love the snappy rhodes piano sound.  Smooth vocals… and it gets stuck in your head.  But, while that’s what originally caught my attention, I then saw the video!

Try to tell me this is not the best stop motion video ever!  Sorry Wallace and Grommit!

Her Morning Elegance / Oren Lavie

I swear! My favorite part is where DJ Hal cranks out a solo!  Awww yeah!  This is for all fans of sci-fi… heard this tune on the radio on 91.7FM in Austin, TX today.  They had a bit where every tune was Space related (in honor of the new Star Trek) – Thankfully, I was able to find it online, so I could share it with you (me singing it would not work so well… TRUST ME!).

If you like BloodHound Gang, you’ll dig these dudes– MC Lars. Read the rest of this entry »

Those who know me know that I support people following their dreams (as compared to making excuses for them).  And while I’m often seen hanging upside down, climbing stuff, jumping from stuff, or being goofy… there’s still a side of me that enjoys the more refined things. I recently took inventory of the dreams that I’ve forgotten about, and Piano playing was definitely on that list.  Read the rest of this entry »

Another amazing day. My 1st vote, a great session @ the gym, a great piano lesson, and then an amazing concert.  I also learned that my date knows MASSIVE quantities about me– compliments of my blog… What does this mean for a relationship?  So, if someone knows me, what directions can we go?  Is there a CouchSurferette coming?  Read on for all the details.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not mentioning her name yet, because I don’t know how she feels about being publicly exhibited (though, I certainly am not ashamed to show her off ), and I know she can read my blog when she feels like it… but she’s got skills!  I already wrote about that “Most interesting show on earth” that she took me to the other day… then there was going to the park on Sunday (I can’t remember the last time I just went to the park)… but tonight Read the rest of this entry »

Since I was bitching that there’s no Hannukah songs– check out this awesome spoof that Skizzy (Couch 24) sent me! Y’all heard of Soulja Boy, right (sort of hard not to, these days… it’s like the modern-day hip-hop Macarena)? Here’s Kosher Boy: Read the rest of this entry »

Hey everyone! Happy Hannukah!  Yeah… You’ve been hearing Christmas sale ads, and Christmas melodies since like… I don’t know.. June this year?  They didn’t even wait for Thanksgiving to start the sales-spam.  So.. here’s a cool little song for us jews.  I was actually going to make one myself!   I came up with some lyrics, but wasn’t good enough with that midi-controller I just got through barter.  When I get to Vegas, Couch 53 said he’ll give me a few days of Reason lessons… that should do it.  So.. in the meanwhile: Read the rest of this entry »

Brooklyn was a blast! I got to hang out with some very like-minded people! There were a lot of jokes, and a lot of music. Couch 60 was a recording studio, Xyayx Productions. Q of Xyayx not only teaches digital recording at Brooklyn College, but also has a huge community initiative: helping people achieve their dreams, and empower themselves. From getting your GED, to getting on your way to being a recording artist…. Q can do it. One of his students at the school is this kid, Texas. Texas is one of the few students that is invited to the house to work, and learn… an intern of sorts. He’s also a rapper, that can rap VERY fast! He wanted some photos from me, but could not afford the special rate I gave of $75. I wanted him to have my photos, but do not believe in a free lunch, so worked out a deal with him:

Read the rest of this entry »

At couch 60, the guys never stop! There’s always musicians or rappers coming through. They have “Vibe” sessions — where people just make lyrics up as they go… or music up as they go… Here’s one such session (I have a few more, but video takes a while to process, so… you’re going to have to wait):

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOX-kdKVlME#GU5U2spHI_4 640 480]