A man confesses he’s in love with his car, and has sex with it. OOOKKKKKAAAYYYYY. Link to crazy asshole here.

In light of Valentine’s Day 2012, this engagement package was a real bargain….. AT PIZZA HUT. For $10,010 you get a limo service, a ruby engagement ring, fireworks, photographs and video, and of course, Pizza Hut’s new $10 Dinner Box (medium one-topping pan pizza, 5 breadsticks with marinara sauce and 10 cinnamon sticks with icing. Don’t believe me? Check it out here. It’s for REALZ. (They couldn’t include the $10 Dinner box to keep the price at an even $10K, they had to charge the extra ten bucks. Wowza.)

Woman marries a building. And it’s a GAY MARRIAGE. Are you fucking psycho lady? Yeppers, read it here.

Crazy bitch eats ashes of dead husband. If you’re also thinking WTF? read more here. // Lots of good ones on this site by the way.

This one is actually a bit controversial. Apparently there are a large number of amputations each year from table saws, so advocates are pushing to make them safer. So Steve Gass created SawStop, which is a table saw equipped with sensors that detect when fingers (or other body parts) are near and stops the blade immediately. It really works. Yet 10 years have gone by and people are still lobbing off body parts by not using this technology. Why? It’s pretty fucking stupid. Read more here.

This one is cute I guess. 74-year old man arrested for prostitution. When you think your grandparents are chilling at home drinking coffee watching some tv, think again! I’m sure this happens more often than we like. Ah well, check it out here.

I think some of these are staged though by people so desperate to do something with their lives. I’m sure there are a million more, but I’ve seen these pop up recently.

…In this case anyway. You learn proper form, then once you’ve got that down, put the pedal to the medal and make it happen. Same thing is true with our bodies. But since we only have one body, seems like some extra care should be taken. It’s all about respect.

In light of a few people asking me recommendations about getting into a fitness routine, I thought I would post a little info. I love working out, specifically cross-training, so I’ve been able to learn about various forms of exercise and how to remain healthy while conditioning the body. If you’ve been working out then you already know about boundaries, and what is too much or too little. If you’re new to this, or are coming back from an extended period of no exercise, it’s really important to keep these things in mind to ward of injuries. It’s taken me years to build up to where I am, and I still have to work it and shape it, but nothing feels better than feeling amazing.

After YEARS of hurting myself, I finally found a balance. I do one hard day, then either nothing the next, or something very soft. I get a rough plan of what the week looks like, but then play it by ear. If I’m not feeling up to something I don’t do it, or if I feel like I can handle more, I switch things up. Some weeks I want to feel the adrenaline, other weeks I might want to do nothing but yoga and just zen out. Go with it. But NEVER do NOTHING for extended period of time. Unless you’re sick or injured, then get back in the game.

Spinning/Cycling
I’ve been doing this for over 15 years, and it’s one of the hardest cardiovascular workouts EVER. Even after doing it for so long, I still struggle in every class. The instructor is KEY here, and the way they deliver the routine and music is essential to a good ride. Unfortunately lately, I’ve experienced a number of things that have made me stay away, such as music too loud (70+ db), no proper warm up, no attention to form on the bike which can lead to pretty bad back injuries and overall just going too fast and too crazy. It’s just not necessary, especially for new people or people trying to loose a lot of weight. Take a few classes to learn proper form on the bike, then push it. Chill in the back, go slow. If the instructor says to crank it, don’t, and just get used to the feeling of being on the bike. You’ll know when it’s time to increase. Yes, the shoes make all the difference in the world. I spun without them for 10 years, then finally got them, but if you’re new, don’t worry about it. If you end up liking it and want to keep spinning, get the shoes; it will make a huge difference.

Aerobics
I stayed away from this for years because I thought it was silly that a room full of people would jump around like that, but then started going to classes because I was too bored on my own. Now, I love them! Adrenaline rush! And seeing results is soooo motivating. Start off slow, then work your way up. Start off with no weights or small weights, take breaks when you need to, and overall pay attention to your body over the instructor. If it’s a good instructor, they will guide you through a proper warm-up, make you sweat for a while, then give you a proper cool-down with stretching. Coming out of the gate guns blazing can be dangerous. Twisting and turning, bending and jumping, sometimes with weights has the potential to really injure you. Again, experiment with instructors, and when you’ve found one with a good curve (good warm-up, work out and cool-down) stick with them. It’s rare you find one with really amazing music the whole way through, so in this case you take what you can get.

Weights
Form is so important here. You learn proper form with very light weights, then S L O W L Y move up from there, week by week, month by month. If you keep a slow and steady pace, you will notice amazing results. Know what areas are really good for you (maybe squats, or shoulders) and work that, but then also remember to switch things up so you don’t hit a plateau and stop seeing results. With every new thing you try, learn the proper form then work your way up. Slow and steady wins the race.

Yoga
Believe it or not, you can really rip yourself a new one here too. Meaning, you can REALLY injure yourself here. There are so many different forms of yoga, but overall if you’re new, start at the bottom and work your way up. A lot of studios have “Intro to yoga” series. Start there. Learn how to breath, learn about all the new sensations yoga brings that other forms of exercises do not. If someone tells you to bend a certain way and your body says ‘aw hell no’, don’t do it. I’ve been doing yoga now for 8 years, and have days where I just have to do a chill class, like a restorative (gentle poses held for long times while breathing very deeply). I have days where I’m strong enough to pick myself up and float, then days where I can barely lift my foot. Again, respect the body. Bikram yoga (26 poses, really hot and sweaty) is a different bird, really. Different breathing, different mentality, but also very therapeutic. If you don’t push yourself. When I first started doing Bikram, I didn’t know any better, listened to the instructor too closely and tore my groin. Yep. Took a year and a half off then tried it again, from a different angle. I went slow. I enjoyed the heat. I stopped when I needed to, I didn’t go as far as the other people. It’s amazing!

I have some extra time on my hands in light of a recent strain from a class the other day. The instructor went too quickly into advanced movements with weights, at too fast a pace. I felt something in my lower back, and sure enough it got worse so I’m taking a few days off. What did I learn from this one? Not to go to her class again.

I’ve been working in the multimedia field since 2000. I started off out of college with a freelance gig, followed by a full time job. That first freelance gig was a direct result of me working hard at a job in college, so my boss of that job recommended me to her husband who owned a multimedia firm and needed a flash designer. I was hired. The back and forth went something like this for a number of years, while I gained great experience as both a freelance resource and full time employee, BOTH of which are invaluable. Starting off at a company with a 9-5 is a great entry into the industry though, where you can learn from others with more experience, hone your skills and start building your networks.

How do you get a gig? Call them up. Who is “them”? Before companies were really listed on Google, I went through the yellow pages under categories like “multimedia”, “design”, “recording” etc., made a list of the companies/studios and went through my list one by one asking them if they were in need of design assistance. Most said no, but the ones who said yes ended up paying my rent. It just takes one yes to get your foot in the door.

Save contacts and get in touch when things are slow to see if they still need help.

Get out and meet people. This beats sending out 100 resumes to the abyss. This kills my ego because out of every 100 resumes sent, 1 might respond. ONE. This is a swift kick in the jaw. This is when I sink into my cave and cry, thinking “I suck, nobody likes my work, I should change careers, I’m not good enough, whaaaaaaaaa….” Try to avoid this by getting all dolled up and going to different events to schmooz.

Keep track of your time. Whether you’re freelance or full time you’ll have to account for your time, so best to start now. I use www.toggle.com to keep track of my time to the second. A friend of mine told me about this site. It’s free but there are a number of other time management apps out there, most paid. Doesn’t matter, just use one and track your time to the minute. I used to use text edit. Have a basic contract you can send to clients. Look online for templates. Invoices; same as above. I use a basic Word template. Advice passed down from a colleague was to create a spread sheet to keep track of my invoices, with info such as the client name, the date and the amount. That way you know who has paid and who still owes you. This part is all incredibly boring and un-sexy shit, but you wouldn’t survive without it.

My current creative resources:
Mike Monday – He’s more geared towards the music producer, but he really helped me climb out a two-year creative block with both music and design.

Behance Network – Great blog for when you need a little help in the creative department, like rearranging your workspace, or tools to help you reach goals.

The 99 Percent – This is actually part of The Behance Network but has the really cool posts about creative thinking.

Everyone’s journey is different, but the initial period of freelancing is tricky for some because there are just things you have to learn as you go, usually by making mistakes. I’m very good at making mistakes. But as a result I’m highly competent in a lot of areas, sometimes much to my surprise. Some months are good, some are not. Sometimes I can’t go out to dinners with a group of friends, sometimes I can.

Recently a friend of mine badgered me into getting this book. It’s a personal finance book of sorts, titled “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi, so I was less than thrilled to run out and buy it. I actually laughed when I read the title. I did start to read the author’s blog however, www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com, which ended up enticing me to go get the book.

The blog is FREE, and book is less that $15.

Managing personal finances isn’t fun, but it’s a necessary evil in life. Depending on what your goals are depends on how detailed you get with your financial organizing. I was already doing ok, with a little bit of credit card debt and a couple of student loans, all in good standing, but the underlying stress of knowing that I hadn’t set up any kind of retirement fund haunted me. Also, all the money wasted on interest rates was driving me to try to get rid of as much debt as possible. You can drive yourself nuts with all the things you’re “supposed” to do to have your finances in “good” shape, but Ramit clearly lays out small steps you can take to improve your situation, no matter where you are. (seriously in debt vs wanting to invest)

Ramit is hip, smart, real and ridiculously sarcastic. It’s awesome and refreshing. He appeals to a younger, social-media-influenced audience, those of us trying to make our way through these rocky times of unemployment and fraud. Things are different now in 2012, and rules and advice that may have applied 5-20 years ago no longer apply. For people just out of college or getting ready to start a family, we need different and/or better advice to help us navigate our way through the b.s. and find something that works for us, on an individual basis. He advises on how to reduce debt, lower your interest rates, ask for a raise, find your dream job and in the long run set up a retirement/investment account, among other things. This advice can also be applied to other areas of your life. It sounds daunting, which is why I never sat down to actually set up a retirement fund, but his six-week program takes you one tiny step at a time, and now that I’m actually doing it I’m wishing I had this book years ago.

It’s so easy it’s STUPID.

This is all in a nut shell. I would suggest start reading bits and pieces on the blog, and when you realize how valuable Ramit is you will run out and by the book, close-lining people on the way to the book store. My results: in two months time, I got a lower interest rate on one of my credit cards, set up a high-interest online savings account and paid off my car loan (I will use that money to fund a retirement account). If I want, from there I can open an investment account and start investing. For now though I’m happy to get my retirement account up and running, and worry about the rest later. One step at a time. I now have an overall extremely clear picture of where my finances are and what I want to happen next. Until I see something I want and max out my credit cards again. It’s life. Just have fun.

There is some really great music on hushradio.com so try to check out the other shows as well. Great stuff, check it out!

Below are a few mixes recorded from various shows…..

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DEC 21, 2011
Deep, funky, groovin’ - Download here

DEC 28, 2011
Minimal, deep, funky - Download here

JAN 04, 2012
Starts off chill, winds into sexy minimal house then some old school classic house - Download here

JAN 11, 2012
Featured a very special mix from guest DJ and long-time friend Jackmaster Flash (Jack MF) from my hometown of Portland, Maine. He saw Afrikka Bambataa the same year I was born. His live mix is from a little party called Vision, which took place in the Old Port on Columbus Day weekend in 1998. I wore my blue wig. WHOA is right. Thank you Jackmaster for contributing to the show. Download here

That’s what I thought anyway, so I tested the theory by going to Istanbul to see a friend that I hadn’t seen in almost 10 years, and DJ with him.

This is the short, clean version. Only close friends and family know otherwise, which might not be good to post on the interweb.

11-hour flight to Frankfurt followed by a three-hour flight to Istanbul. Having never been, I absolutely could not sleep on the plane, so crossed time zones with little sleep. Arriving in Istanbul in the middle of rush hour Friday, my good friend Murad met me at the airport and we proceeded to figure out the best way into Asia, where he lives. Hopped in cab to the ferry terminal, hopped on a boat to Asia, then hopped in his father’s car who was kind enough to pick us up and bring us home. Freshened up at home then the three of us walked out into their amazing neighborhood, Bağdat Caddesi, and had a nice meal.

Yuksel (dad) walked home and Murad and I walked a few blocks to his good friends’ house, where they meet ritually every week. This doesn’t happen in the US, or at least not very often (meeting every week or more with the group of friends). I met the group of close friends, and we spent the evening getting to know each other. Everyone was really great, and I learned a bit of Turkish. Home and in bed by 5am, we both got around 6 hours of sleep, then back up again to start the day Saturday. Took another stroll down Bağdat Caddesi to buy a jacket and visit a Starbucks. I didn’t want to go in but then quickly realized that Starbucks in other countries with nice cultures are actually really good. I had my first Turkish coffee (kahve), which is essentially the same as a swift punch and kick to your head and stomach all at once, in a cute little Starbucks mug. Maybe not the best choice given my lack of sleep and jet lag. Again, too excited to notice.

Next, we planned on meeting up with the sister of one of my best friends from college, Anna, from the US. She and I had never met, but she had recently moved to Izmir to teach English, and so it was decided that we would meet for the first time in Turkey. Why not? She brought a co-worker and the group of us sat (at another Starbucks) and chatted for a while, then separated so Murad and I could go back and have dinner that Yuksel was preparing for us. We sat and had a nice dinner and chatted for a while before it was time to get ready for our gig.

We were picked up by a friend Cem (from the night before) and went to his apartment to have some pre-gig drinks. Nicely glazed, we hopped in a cab and crossed an amazing bridge from Asia to Europe. P r e t t y c o o l. The taxi dropped us in the middle of Taksim Square at midnight, where there were hundreds of other people. Taksim Square in Istanbul is the hot spot of the city, where most of the night life and clubs are located. We navigated our way to Club Mute, got in and settled, and set the night in motion with Kosheen as the headlining act. Late night there starts around 4am, so I was fueled by some Red Bull of course, to get me ready for my 5am set. Played till 6 then we packed up and headed out, to catch a brilliant sunrise as we crossed back over the bridge from Europe to Asia. Back at Cem’s apartment, we winded down, then Murad and I jumped in a cab and headed home to meet up with his girlfriend for brunch. Yep, that’s right, no sleep yet. We spent all of Sunday lying around in our PJs watching movies and ordering takeout, which was really perfect for me. Some might be thinking that I’m crazy for being all the way over there and not wanting to run around hopping from mosque to mosque, but the trip was about people, and I was with the people I wanted to be with. So PJs + takeout + chill was PERFECT.

I think I got a half-nights sleep before my eyes popped open at 4:30 am. We were out the door by 8am walking home, where we had a couple hours of downtime (which I used to wash my smokey club hair) before heading back out to the shopping district to buy a Galata Saray jersey. We then jumped in Yuksel’s car (dad) and they took me to do some site-seeing, which included a one-hour ferry ride around the Bosphorus. After that we were back in the car cruising up the Europe side of the Bosphorus, during the sunset, making our way to the Black Sea where we had an amazing meal at a wonderful fish (Balik) restaurant called Barinak. If you’re ever in the area, go there. LONG ride home in rush hour traffic, but it was time to pack then chill for a couple hours before heading to the airport at 2:30 am.

The ride home was the same, although I arrived in Frankfurt very crispy from no sleep, and accidentally tried to enter germany. Oops. Luckily I had enough brain cells to find my gate and stumble onto the plane with 300 other people.

Whirlwind indeed. I never expected to meet the amazing people I met, share the amazing adventures we shared, and be so taken care of. I felt very at home, and learned about their culture, which is really amazing. I literally walked into family, and I will never forget every second of that trip for my entire life. Murad and I will meet again, to of course rock some serious music at some parties. This I am sure of.

Downtempo, jazz and funk
Download here

Long term exposure to levels ranging from 80-85db or higher can cause hearing damage and/or loss. So, in light of a somewhat recent trip to an LA Target restroom I decided to take a spin around and see what kind of levels we subject our ears to on a daily basis.

What did I find? Shit is LOUD.

Women’s restroom at Target West Hollywood with hand dryer on: 90 ish db Seriously?

The Golden Goblet in downtown LA clocked in at 92 db. Pretty sure they were also playing mp3s, even worse at loud levels.

Clubs: Average of about 118 db (aka pretty f&*$ing loud)

Having a MRI: my guess is around 60 db, since they don’t let you bring an SPL into the MRI

American Eagle where they play really loud music (or at least the one I was at): 64-66 db

So how do we keep from going deaf by 40? I say everyone grabs a pair of these Hear Muffs and we’re good to go! I don’t think you’ll need something of this calibre but definitely something like THIS.

In light of Brooke Would’s recommendation (aka The Funky Kind), and one too many times of experiencing tinnitus, I reached out to Union Audiology in Van Nuys, CA and finally picked up a pair of custom plugs. For $150, they are special-molded to fit my ears and come with a 25db filter. Wow, they work! I could hear everyone speaking while music blared around me. Highly recommended!

If anyone else has any level clockings they want to share here, post away. Let’s compare and share.

A swift punch and kick to your head and stomach all at once, in a cute little Starbucks mug.