On the 14th Friday of October in the year 2011, two unkept jets setters dressed to the nines – still sporting their aviator sunglasses and bowties undone – approached the press bench at New York Comic Con. Their names? Jackson Publick & Doc Hammer of Adult Swim’s The Venture Bros. animated television series that, in 2010, ended it’s fourth season.
Since its 2003 premier, the show has grown to be a fan favorite which includes a sleuth coplayers at conventions, fan art and much more that with its expanded popularity, has many people wondering when the next season will debut and why it’s taking so long. With the shows approval for two more seasons, the writers have explained they’re hard on scripting and developing the arcs of seasons five and six but they’re also considering the pursuit towards screenwriting and directing. The project that is consuming their attention and creative juices? Bone Up!, a fictional feature film that would star Liam Neeson. Here is their explanation of the plot:

I know what you’re probably thinking – this would be amazing to watch. The remainder of our hour long gathering was spent answering questions which included comics, tv shows and musicals.
- When asked whether or not Venture Bros. would ever create a musical one-off episode, a la ‘Once More With Feeling‘, they said “No” immediately then quickly found themselves admitting that they end up making episodes they don’t want to, but do because they work.
- Jackson Publick watches Entourage. Doc Hammer watches America’s Next Top Model.
- After being asked about a Venture Bros. comics, Publick answered that they’re currently “not interested,” due to the time it takes write and produce the show and they’re hesitant to release the property.

And finally, like me, both are college drop-outs.

A look back at the highlights of the 1990′s cult classic television series – The Swamp Thing linked here

(via iFanboy by austin)

[The X-Men Family Tree via ifanboy posted by austin]

A Geek’s Guide to Surviving Broken Bits & the Winter Blues.

Does a broken bone or heart have you on the disabled list? Does the winter have you down? Here are a list of tips and tricks to surviving the season.

(via iFanboy)

The 10 Best Drinking Buddies In Comics. via iFANBOY

The Greenpoint Gazette – the voice of Greenpoint – is a neighborhood newspaper in Brooklyn, NYC

via Greenpoint Gazette:Holiday Spirit: The Gift of Booze.

The Greenpoint Gazette – the voice of Greenpoint – is a neighborhood newspaper in Brooklyn, NYC

via Greenpoint Gazette:Greenpoint Gazette Bar Review.

The Greenpoint Gazette – the voice of Greenpoint – is a neighborhood newspaper in Brooklyn, NYC

via Greenpoint Gazette:Gazette Guide to Inebriated Hibernation!.

Here is a link to another bar review written for The Greenpoint Gazette.

do it.

The Greenpoint Gazette – the voice of Greenpoint – is a neighborhood newspaper in Brooklyn, NYC

via Greenpoint Gazette:Bar Review: The Old Rooster.

…confirming that Brooklyn doesn’t like nerds, and wants to make it difficult for them to attend New York Comic Con. Be prepared geeks… your travels this weekend shall not be an easy task.

For the third installment of ‘bathroom advertisements’ we take a look at:

DUMP.FM that was found by Ethan in a bathroom somewhere in the Lower East Side…

To date, this might be the most perplexing website I’ve ever encountered. Based on the URL I was hoping to find a site that was made up of poop humor, but I found something that was far from it (kinda). When you first enter the site you are brought to a chat room that bombards your brain with a series of crazy photos and .gifs using little-to-no actual text. Confounded, it took me about five minutes to pull my eyes away from the screen as I watched image after image, individuals responding with the next crazy thing they found on the internet, pop onto my screen. It’s The Burger King having sex with Katamari King… Oh, now it is a grab from Tekken 4…

Will someone please explain what is going on?

And then I found it – the ‘About’ page located at the bottom of the site. I was brought to a page that included their mission statement, bios and contact info. Their group image looked like a pop-punk band photo with the front man adorned with a kafiya scarf, forearm tattoos and black hair with a bleech streak in the middle. Their mission statement:

DUMP.FM is a new and exciting tool for the internet; allowing pictures to be used for realtime com.munication and collaboration. Users can send image URLs (which display instantly in the chat), upload locally from their hard drive or post pics right from their webcam. Every image gets stored in your DUMP.FM log, similarly, a log is kept of the entire collaboration.

Having read that, I went onto do some further research to see who these crazy dudes of DUMP.FM really are. One has created a site, called Internet Archeology cataloging and archiving art, images and graphics found within earlier internet systems, another helped develop the MIT Exhibit and the rest somehow participate in digital art or development of internet communication and networking – smart dudes nonetheless. While silly as it all may seem, I decided that I had stumbled upon something brilliant.

This is actually a .gif, but I don't know how to upload those into wordpress. It's really funny to see the real thing.

The site also offers the participants a series of tools that allow them to edit and adjust images and create .gif images which helps for quick and hilarious image responses.

The best part of this site, especially for newcomers to this internet magic is the Hall Of Fame page that is made up of the best images, that are ‘liked’ by those in the chat room. A long page of .gifs that ensue nothing but copious amounts of laughter and tears of amusement. A cool concept, funny content and overall bizarre, I think I will occasionally go back to this site to marvel at its weird wonder.

These were all taken within a 1-block radius, at the park disturbingly close to my house. For my part, I was working and just saw the sky turn real ugly green, and saw people running around in crazy winds and rain. Austin and I also saw the neighboring building’s rain gutters go completely nuts, waterfalling all over the place. I didn’t even actually hear the word “tornado” until Sam said it to me around 11pm.

There are some real good photos over at Gridskipper, Brownstoner and NY1.

On September 7th, 2010 at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, located at 317 Clermont & Lafayette, Boris and Sunn O))) performed their duo album Altar, put on by All Tomorrow’s Parties – and oh my lord, I’ve never felt closer to the Elder Gods. But, before I tell you about all the ways their performance made time feel all wibbly-wobbly, I shall tell you of all the awesome that happened preceding.

A portion of this night’s success relied on the fact that Ethan and I, at times very big forgetful slackers, managed to find tickets to the show through various last minute sources. This could be luck, or possibly a sign from Ulthar giving us great fortune. Furthermore, California pal and Vermont native Cooper McBean arrived with his sister Megan as Ethan and I were walking in the doors of the venue where Sleep had played the night before. Embraces and high-fives a plenty were followed by the purchasing of beers (well, not before we had to buy drink tickets). The Masonic temple itself is large with two levels. The bottom for the stage, standing room, sound booth, beer and merch while the upper part had several rows of seating.

For the first band, Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter, the hall’s lights remained relatively raised, allowing for those still trickling in to find their positions, friends, or the end of the beer ticket line. The band took to the stage, two smoke machines pushed the altered air onto the crowd and they began to play. While they aren’t as stoney as most metal bands that I prefer, Jesse Sykes has a voice that works in beautiful harmony with her guitar, and with the music being played by the band behind her. Skinny, lanky, with long black hair – she belted out, and carried sweetly, a range of notes that transformed the venue into a temple to the Elder Gods. Their set was awesome, even when they transitioned to the ending portion in which they experimented with the genre of folk.

After Jesse Skyes, BXI played. That was, at the very least, an interesting experience. To give you a background, BXI is made up of the members of Boris with Ian Astbury, of The Cult, as their lead man. This act was a mix of emotions that consisted of seeing the musical talents of Boris playing without robes (see next paragraph), but also having to endure an aged metal dude in a leather jacket and yoga pants. Granted, Ian’s voice still carries and sounds ripping. It’s rather distracting to see the line-up of Boris support a fleeting – but still awesome – character from the past. During the set I did question, out of amusement, the mathematical equation as to how this band came into existence. Nonetheless, it was still along the lines of ‘fucking radical’. (see fig. 4).

fig. 4

A couple of cigarettes, and a piss, later it was time for the grand finale. Quickly the lot of us jumped in and out of the beer line(s) and sought higher ground on the upper deck to embrace the trembles that were about to fall upon us. The lights darkened, the smoke machines created a worm-like creature that stretched over a portion of the balcony, and they took to the stage in a whimsical fashion (robes-n-all). What was once cheering quickly turned into silence as the congregation of listeners anticipated the first series of strummed notes to vibrate through their bodies. The band(s) slowly swayed back and forth with their instrumental weapons in hand. From the balcony it looked as if an ocean of black shirts was about to slam onto the stage, drowning those who wore their summer-time plaid shirts like sailors lost at sea, while we atop were the tidal-wave crashing down with angst. The snare hits became more consistent and it continued to build, everyone now feeling it in their bones. The first song finished and I somehow felt altered, more so then what two beers could do to me normally.

[editorial note: when placing your bag in your friend's car before the last act goes on stage, remember to grab the camera. This sorry excuse of a human totally forgot it. Lack of pictures begins – now]

Sadly, during the second song the power cut out. Some of the already amazed crowd quickly fled for the doors to smoke and chatter about the immediate satisfaction of seeing this duo play only two songs, while the rest of us waited in agonized anticipation, wondering whether the power would return.

Hark! Nodens would, with his mighty power, allow for us puny humans to continue with the show, and the power returned . Once again, the band(s) members took the stage and proceeded from whence they had ended.

I was now sitting in a recently vacated chair and was mesmerized by their new presence on the altar laid before me, even though I could not see them through the darkness of the hall (because they had cut the lights out of concern over the power supply). Note after note began to vibrate through my body. Their power was now making my brain move within my skull. My organs, not literally, changed position around my stomach. The sensation of breathing sound. And my consciousness ascending upon a Lovecraftian realm in which pure thought, fantasy and fear became one.

The experience itself consisted of drifting between visual and mental awareness, especially during “The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)” (that features the vocals of Jesse Sykes).

And just as soon as it started, my mind and eyes felt the lights go up.

The show was over…

The experience alone of seeing these two amazing bands perform this album in its entirety was the best live performance I’ve ever had both physically and mentally.

While exiting the show, my comrades and I remained in silence only to make the occasional comment of “holy shit that was amazing”, or “my body is still vibrating.”

Now that I have been to several ‘big time’ events about the city which include some of my favored bands, this still remains to be the best thing to have happened in New York since I’ve been here, and possibly the year.

My praise to you, oh, Elder Gods. May our sacrifices be plentiful.

Blood for the blood God.

The Greenpoint Gazette – the voice of Greenpoint – is a neighborhood newspaper in Brooklyn, NYC via Greenpoint Gazette:The Subway Bar: Drinks.

Last night Ethan and I went to Hotsy Totsy’s Dr. Who burlesque show. As an avid Dr. Who fan (I carry around a sonic screwdriver in my bag everyday) and have very little experience with proper burlesque shows, I was not sure what to expect – more-so, how they would combine the two.

This show, as advertised here, was recommened by a friend of ours, Mykle Hoban, that instructed us to attend. The venue was in the basement of The Delancy located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Small, dark and limited seating, Ethan and I got a beer and found the most comfortable standing area.
A woman danced half naked to warm up the crowd and then the host, Cherry Pitz, started. With a big red wig and a high pitched voice she was interrupted by The Doctor, who resembled Tennant, and gave the audience a wonderful introduction as to who and what The Doctor is. The highlights of this were the references he threw to those there for the The Doctor. Yes, he even said “Wibbly wobbly”. Another amusing part was when The Doctor (as the 10th) used the 11th Doctor’s sonic screwdriver – this error in continuity was noted with a scream here-and-there from audience members.
He ran off the stage with his gorgeous red-haired companion and the show continued. The first dancer performed, Cherry returned to the stage to present the next dance and The Doctor is found back on stage. This would be the format for the rest of the show with the narrative that a alien poop monster (my kinda monster, right?) that had escaped from space prison.
The dancers were lovely, of course. The high lights of the burlesque dancers:
1) The second dancer walked up to the stage naked and covered in chains, tape over her mouth and nipples, with what sounded like Sunn O))) playing. Once on stage she used a slow twisting dance to remove the chains from her body. When she was unbound from the shackles she removed the tape and spit out blood. It was so awesome and brutal. Ethan and I did not see this one coming. (Note: if pictures or videos were allowed, there would be one here)

2) During the intermission I met The Doctor, discovered several other attendees had also brought their sonic screwdrivers and once I returned to the basement I watched as one of the performers was dancing to a remix of the Dr. Who theme song. She later danced to “Human Fly” by The Cramps – which has forever been a fantasy of mine to watch (TMI?).

3) We got to see The Doctor’s companion get naked. AND – the only thing that can stop the alien poop monster was Cherry Pitz’s boobs – naked dancing followed.

All in all, it was a great experience. In a nutshell, it was a burlesque show intended to introduce Dr. Who fans to burlesque, and burlesque lovers to Dr. Who. I would even consider going to another event preformed by this group of gals.

Hey! Back off you little shit bird!!

hearts and shit,
Hiram, Ethan and VitaminC4

So I realized pretty quickly I guess that I’m not really a person who enjoys going to – at least not a person who seeks out – shows and/or other culturally relevant stimuli. I’m pretty much the web guy, but of course the web guy cannot long endure with only 1 journalist/reporter. So perhaps this pair of posts will nicely book-end our careers as culture bloggers for the greater Santa Cruz area, and will usher in a new era without restriction or remorse, an era where we just bullshit about whatever grabs our gander. Because we do have a pretty fucking nice-looking site if I do say so myself. Anything that goes up here will be rad, especially since we’re both at crossroads in our lives (more to come on that later).

<3 Ethan James

Here we are again. More or less stagnant and unable to keep up with the fast paced world of today. I write this from the mobile VitaminC4 station currently located in somewhere in western Texas wondering if anyone will read this. I hope so, or maybe i don’t, I’m not sure yet I will have to consult with Ethan.

As for the future of this little piece of the internet we carved out for ourselves, who knows. When I return to Santa Cruz I will be (f)unemployed so maybe that will lead to more time to rant about anything we see fit. Once again there is only one way to find out, so check in with us from time to time just for good measure.

Hi Ethan! I miss you!!

buttons and hearts,
Hiram Coffee