bakuto

Did I seriously see Amina on the Front Page last week? Damn, that's pretty cool. Although, is it me or did she used to have tattoos on her chin? I mean, I didn't imagine that, did I? She had less tattoos than before?

So a pipe burst for my dad's house... the hilarity of the situation, is that even though it's before the shut off valve, or even the meter, there was a law passed here in Columbus that if it's on your property, it's YOUR responsibility. How far in? The width of a fucking fingernail!!! So now HE has to shell out $2800 to have it fixed. Fun stuff living here in this city. Unless you live in the better areas, this city has NO problems reminding you of what they think about you on a regular basis. It's funny, I was over there earlier today and they had a bulldozer out there and everything.

To break up the monotony, I'll bust out with my songs that get me weird looks in the car when played at loud volumes... just because I can:


Yea... so I have a thing for Belinda Carlisle... deal with it.
This lovely gem...

Man, that one took me right back to Spring Break '97... as with THIS one:

Haha, admittedly, that song was my anthem for the longest time... actually, the video for that was one of the things that inspired me to dream of becoming a photographer... with the use of color and compsition, not to mention all the sexy. I long dreamed for the day in which I would create a world in which I'd get to look at that kind of imagery as the backdrop to life. Ah... the idealism of youth.
So I was in the car with my dad, taking him to see Iron Man and then THIS song comes on:

Definitely NOT the song you want to play loud... as a man... in the car... with your dad.

Speaking of music, I was waiting for a friend to come pick me up and this guy's phone was playing a song called Thrift Shop by an artist called Macklemore. Literally... I seriously sat there and physically weeped for the future of music as the popularity of this submission is most likely it's swan song. I won't even dignify this with a video. On your mark, set... terrible.

So I went to a wine tasting in which this huge guy (Reputation, NOT size) from Napa Valley named Cameron Hughes was there.



Some celebrity news:
Congrats to Cosmopolitan cover girl Nina Dobrev

She's come a long way from the 13 year old single mom at Degrassi High.

Also, apparently, Chris Hanson got fired. How do you think that went down? Do think his boss called him to the office under the pretense that he'd get a promotion or something? Then once he walked in to a dark room, his boss came out from behind the door with a file in his hand saying "Hmm... what do you think about this Chris? Why don't you go ahead and have a seat..." I don't know, that whole scenario was WAY more funny in my head.

The SuicideGirls Blackheart Burlesque is actually coming to not one, but two cities near me. Not really sure why they wouldn't come to MY city, considering that it's not only the biggest in the state, but it pretty much has the largest SG presence in the country, but I digress. It's actually kind of a steep price, but I'd spring for it... if I actually knew what I was getting into. If anyone wants to fill me in on what it actually is, I'm all ears... well, eyes.

So, despite missing out on a lot this summer, I thought it'd be great to indulge myself with THESE:

Fuck yea! Oddly, it's actually the same concert, with the same Dutch band New Politics opening for them, at the same venue almost three years later to the DAY, that I saw them before. And well, as we all know, I'm a complete sucker for all things deliciously ironic. Even if they WERE more than $40 apiece.

Speaking of things deliciously ironic... I was watching Deadly Women, when a woman in the 1950s, whose name escapes me currently, let's call her Mary. Anyhow, her husband leaves her and she wants the house, but she has to buy him out, but she can't get a loan from the bank because back then, a single unemployed housewife was a huge financial risk... so, she devised this plan, in which she'd steal this other completely random woman's identity (Let's call the victim Jane), so that Mary can use her work record in order to get the loan. Then... Jane actually confronts Mary not too long afterward... and shoots her in the face! Come to find out, Jane was having an affair with Mary's husband and wanted her out of the way so that they could be together... knowing NOTHING of either the fact that Mary had by chance taken her identity, nor the fact that the couple was getting divorced anyhow. She just killed her out of lover's rage that if she had waited for like a week, she'd have had exactly what she wanted, but nothing at all to do with the stolen identity, how the fuck is THAT for "chance encounters?"

I almost forgot, I actually beat my lawsuit... like fucking Rocky! Ok, perhaps not the best analogy for the situation, given it's nature... but definitely undeniable proof that it's not always a good idea to quote the Jigga, nonetheless. So anyways, I tried to come in under the whole "Prove it was me..." and wouldn't you fucking know it, his lawyer had a photo still from that corner as wouldn't my fucking luck would have it, as I was ramming his head through the back window, some cock knocker ran a red light. So, the lawyer went on
"Yep... yep, look at that, long hair, tattoos... is that not your Jag?"
"I don't see anything relating ME to this..."
"Are you kidding me??? You're wearing the same shirt!"
Admittedly a MAJOR oversight on my part. So I then began to try the whole "self defense" thing as he seemingly out of nowhere swung on me, but then as the law was read out, long story short, pretty much "self defense" does NOT protect you if someone swings and then you beat the shit out of them. It ONLY protects you enough for you to get away. So if you're swung on, and you knock them to the ground, that's as far as "self defense" helps you, anything you do to them after that is Assault and Battery. However, if when you knock them down, then run away, you're in the right still, as the victim. As this was read out to me, I almost shit a brick... there was no way I was walking away with this without farting whole notes... I saw my moving to South America going down the drain and everything, because heaven forbid he stick to just the original amount for the repairs of his truck. Now there's punitive damages, medical bullshit, mental trauma as now he has fucking anxiety or some shit about people, on and on. I was sweating so much that my hair started to fro out some. Lo and behold... his son that was in the truck (That wrote down my license plate number) actually came to my rescue. As per his account, once the first punch was thrown, in one "Jackie Chan-like maneuver" (HIS words, not mine) that's when his dad went through the back window. Which we already established was self defense, but what I was worried about was that second push with his face into his truck... which REALLY did the damages to his face. His son THEN went on to say "After my dad dropped to his knees, Mr 'Bakuto' started to turn and walk away when my dad tried to punch him again and that's when he pushed my dad's face into the side of the truck. He went back to his car after that." You know it's a glorious fucking day when the plaintiff's lawyer does a hard flip of his pen onto the table and yells "God-fucking-dammit!" Needless to say, that under the law, as stated, what I had done was "Self Defense" on both counts. Both times he assaulted me, I made an attempt to walk away after deflecting him... but after the first time, he tried to assault me again. So yes... fuck yea!

Also, this happened:

Best way to cash an 18 year old bottle of Japanese Whiskey... at 10:15AM after being up all night, putting down bottle after bottle with some musician friends. I then sent a few inappropriate messages to some people... actually, a LOT of people, trying to get it to just one. In my drunkenness, all I could say to those people that WEREN'T supposed to get said message... was "Be thankful I didn't go the Ben Rothlisberger route."

Some of this...

I was trying to get a decent photo of the tattooing under my arm for someone that was asking for it, but decided "Hey, why not use this as an opportunity to get over my 'phobia?'"

Last week I did something a little daring... I had a little bit of this:

A lotta bit of this:

And then went to the theatre and in 3D on an ungoldy huge screen, watched this:

You want to talk about TRIPPIN' BALLS??? It actually had to be explained to me that the waves, debris and shit jumping off the screen was in fact actually happening to everybody, not just me. Because I suppose my response was always "Nah man, you don't get it... it was like coming right AT me. At ME, man! Like right off the fucking screen!!! It was so crazy!!!" I attribute the fact that I must have forgotten the 3D glasses to the high level of alcohol in my bloodstream.

Some fun sky shots that I took:



Apparently, this was the closest the moon is going to be for... I don't know, the next 150 years or something:


Off topic, but I'm actually able to tie my hair back now


Also off topic, is this not the greatest ad ever?


Somehow, this next photo describes me... but in reverse

I swear... I think I look homeless whenever I grow a beard. Then when I have long hair... I look like a fucking terrorist. However, no... everyone always tells me how great I look with one and that I should grow one. I think they're all out to get me. This is from last year, YOU be the judge:


OK, so there is now this new $300 Windows phone that has a camera on it. I remember last year when the big thing with cameras was like 24 Megapixels... now, this PHONE has 41 Megapixels!!! Not to mention the capability of changing not only the ISO, but the Aperture and Shutter Speed as well. As though there weren't ENOUGH people out there that think they're "photographers" because they have iPhones? I mean, "Why pay thousands for a camera and equipment when you can just buy a phone for $300?" Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that phones have become so innovative, but seriously, it's a slap in the face of every actual photographer that takes his (or her) craft seriously. That's just my take on it.

Actually, I've been having these... I don't know, weird events of vertigo or something. Like when you stand up too fast... or when you're driving fast and hit a smooth dip. I could understand if they were in any of the aforementioned scenarios, but it happens when I'm walking, or seriously even when I'm just sitting. It just takes me over momentarily. It was kind of weird at first, but then it started happening again and again... now the time in between incidents gets smaller and smaller. As I type this, it's happened about 20 times throughout this blog. Annnnnnd again just now. As it has gone on and on, it's gone from weird to irritating to downright anger inducing. I have no idea what's causing it.

Well, that's about it... I'll leave you with this:
Guys

Oh oh... My closing advice... as I've learned this week, NEVER take or drink anything with a label that reads "Surgeon General Warning: Good Luck"