SPRIIIIIIING BREAK! YEAH! (PT. 1)

A few weeks ago I went on a little spring break trip to visit my family in Los Angeles. A few things happened, followed by a few more, and so on. Here's a multiple-part photo journal of events that mattered to me while I was there. Enjoy!





After years passing this sign millions of times (at least) since the age of 6, I finally decided to indulge my curiosity and visit the mysterious highway exit known as Zzyzx Rd. Originally known as a government outpost Soda Springs, CA was rechristened Zzyzx in 1934. Zzyzx was founded by a crackpot evangelist who split his time between hosting a radio show in L.A. and managing his health spa and hotel in Zzyzx. Its strange name was claimed to be a real word, which he used to properly name his spa so that it would be "the last word in health".








Kelso Dunes as seen from Zzyzx.




After the federal government dubiously "reclaimed" the land on the technicalities of mining claim laws, the Cal State university system took the land over in 1976 and manages it to this day. CSU nows operates a Mojave Desert research center in the converted health spa and hotel facilities that the original owner built. Soda springs still exists on the grounds of Zzyzx, and is actually the last existing habitat for the endangered Mohave Tui Chub, the only fish currently native to San Bernardino County.



After taking my sweet time at Zzyzx, I decided to extend the usual, tedious trip between L.A. and Vegas into an extended field trip. Next stop: Vasquez Rocks.





While most recognize this place from scenes in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey and a plethora of other films of varying quality, the Vasquez Rocks were initially known for being a favorite hideout for the notorious Tiburcio Vasquez. As a kid, the Vasquez Rocks were a favorite boy scout hiking spot of mine, to the point that I was pretty well-versed in the history of their infamous namesake.



Despite growing up in within the educated Spanish ruling class, at age 17 Vasquez descended into a outlaw lifestyle which included ample amounts of robbery, theft, prison breaks, and womanizing. Since he was usually on the run, he found the canyons around the Vasquez Rocks to be an ideal hiding place.



Siltstone conglomerate in the foreground. CA Hwy 14 and the San Gabriel Mts in the background.

The Limnic Eruption: The Deadliest Dutch Oven You'll Ever Encounter.

Since hearing about it on the Probably Science podcast last night, I've been obsessing over Cameroon's Lake Nyos and its infamous 1986 limnic eruption. This is seriously the most fucked up thing ever. What's a limnic eruption? Think about the annoying carbon dioxide-induced explosion that happens anytime you open a bottle of seltzer, then multiply that times five billion on the scale of size and deadliness. In the case of Lake Nyos, 1,800 people unexpectedly died due to the vast amount of carbon dioxide fog released into the atmosphere within a 12 mile radius of the lake's limnic eruption!

Oh yeah, let's not forget about the 300-foot-tall fountain of carbon-infused water that shot up into the sky, and subsequently caused an 80-foot-high tsunami to decimate the lake's shoreline!

(Lake Nyos tsunami aftermath, 1986)

Now, don't get too worked up about this. Your friendly, local, massive body of water isn't going to turn on you anytime soon. Limnic eruptions are extremely rare due to the environmental factors required to induce them. Since Lake Nyos is located in a tectonically active region, the lake's benthic zone (the lowest stratified depth zone in a body of water) is gradually fed small amounts of dissolved carbon and gasses through seeps and springs that exist around and below the lake. Since this gaseous layer is so dense, it never mixes with the top layer, and the layer's stagnation allows for vast amounts of these gasses to accumulate over time. Once this highly volatile layer is finally ignited by some type of disturbance - a landslide in the case of Lake Nyos - a limnic eruption occurs, releasing all those accumulated noxious gasses in one fell, and extremely destructive, swoop.

For an abridged, yet still significantly more detail-heavy version of the catastrophic and forensic details behind the 1986 Lake Nyos disaster, be sure to check out this article - The Strangest Disaster of the 20th Century.

For an even more detailed (and melodramatic) chronology of the events which occurred at Lake Nyos in 1986, you have to check out the BBC documentary below. As a bonus, this documentary treats us to some more pants-shitting details about another potentially disastrous lake, Lake Kivu, whose ingenious residents extract natural methane from its lowest depths for energy use. Oh, it's also located right next to an active volcano which can potentially ignite that methane and cause a natural disaster that would completely shit all over the Lake Nyos disaster. Holy shit, and good night!

No... none... falling out!

This ridiculous guitar reminds me, all weekend long was thinking about how sick the 2nd Adolescents album would have been if the 1st album lineup had stayed together to record in in, what '83 or so?






Rikk Agnew's songs as exhibited on the "All By Myself" LP and early D.I. were clearly written for a potential 2nd Adolescents LP. The majority of those songs were more melodic and epic sounding- total 'Kids Of The Blackhole' vibe. The imagination picks up on album full of similar, classic heavy hitters when listening to the harmonies and vocals as they were done by the Adolescents.








On Tony Adolescent's side of the fence, he sang for The Abandoned. Since I don't know much of their history besides their music, their vibe was more "Nardcore" meets the Adolescents. Pretty raging stuff, but never quite gets there. Regardless, Tony's vocals still go for it.


Will do a little more investigating to see what happened to this period of the band, and whether this potential 2nd Adolescents LP was ever on the verge of happening. Seems like it would've been better than the first album, in theory.





BONUS!



Steve Soto and Frank Agnew playing rythm and doing harmonies on the 1st Legal Weapon LP, circa '82. Great album, though the next 2 would be the best. Still, the harmonies!

Additionally, here's Rikk and Frank Agnew playing with Der Stab, probably around '81. Joe Wood, second lead singer of TSOL, on bass.

Works Project Administration posters '36-'43

Get ready to meet the ultimate time-killing aid- 907 WPA projects- 47 pages to sift through. Mostly beautiful, screen-printed posters commissioned by the the Federal Art Project (FAP)!

"About this Collection
The Work Projects Administration (WPA) Poster Collection consists of 907 posters produced from 1936 to 1943 by various branches of the WPA. Of the 2,000 WPA posters known to exist, the Library of Congress's collection of more than 900 is the largest. The posters were designed to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia, with the strongest representation from California, Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The results of one of the first U.S. Government programs to support the arts, the posters were added to the Library's holdings in the 1940s."

Here is only a small fraction of my favorites I've gone through and chosen amongst all the 907 in the collection.

To see the rest after my picks, visit the Library of Congress WPA Posters page.



























(I feel so conflicted with the exchange between these two!)

I GOT MY ATTITUDE!

Well, I had a good holiday con mi familia, los Regalados de Casi. Castillo, Jalisco. Upon being back for 2 weeks, I’ve been battling a nasty, consistent little bout with both laryngitis and sinus infections. In addition to that, been battling the ghost of Christmas ruin. Bah, humbug.

What isn’t “bah, humbug” is this Bad Brains show I found on the Kill Your Pet Puppy webzine. Dude’s audio is usually full albums sides or full, uncut sets. Can’t complain because his are usually straight vinyl rips or rips of first generation cassettes he got in trades back in the day. Considering that, I took it upon myself to splice up this Bad Brains set from CBGB, circa Dec. 26, 1981.

Honestly, I kind of think this set shreds more than the DVD-showcased CBGB set from the next year. This has 10 songs which all sound great due to a soundboard recording. Almost all of them shred, and unfortunately there’s a reggae song that rears it head which is amongst one of their worst. It definitely conjures up a Jethro Tull vibe in parts.

However, also notable is the chaotic vibe of this particular set. Every song sounds like its on the verge of falling apart with each deviation from the standard, established notes in the song. Plus a cover of “12XU” to start the whole damn thing out with!?

The fun of discovering each song’s deviations while splicing it apart completely helps me overlook the fact that later on I did find this set already spliced in its entirety on another blog. This one probably sounds the best, though.

CLICK ON THE FLYER OR DON’T DIE!
(Flyer links to buried treasure)


Bad Brains- Live, CBGB, 1981/26/12
01) 12XU
02) Don't Need It
03) Supertouch/Shitfit
04) Big Takeover
05) Riot Squad
06) I
07) The King Of Glory
08) F.V.K.
09) We Will Not
10) At The Movies


In addition, here’s the most raging picture of Harley and John Joseph posing with Isabella Rosellini’s oscars. You see, they were friends with a young NYHC girl who later pursued fame as an actress. Her best known role was in The Silence of the Lambs, as the “rubs the lotion on the skin hostage”.

As the story goes, due to this girl’s entertainment lawyer parents representing Isabella Rossellini, the legendary NYHC skinhead crew, including the Cro-Mags in question, find themselves partaking in celebrity condo-sitting duties. Subsequent punx hijinx ensue. The night's festivities find the crew playing catch with a Pomeranian, trying on women’s lingerie, and taking Polaroids of each other posing with Isabella's prized Oscars. According to JJ, the photos were hidden throughout the house for an intended eventual discovery, perhaps by a maid or Isabella Rosselini herself. Apparently two of those photos were discovered-



Perhaps the Bloodclot live set and demo/compilation song will be up next.

WE WILL BURY YOU!

Previously, Alice Bag was only familiar to me as the banshee-like front woman behind L.A.'s legendary punk band the Bags, and for her role in obscure L.A. supergroup Castration Squad:




However, only recently have I been aware of her rather engaging presence on the web via her comprehensive Women In L.A. Punk interview page. After catching up with her life via her website, blog, and twitter I'm convinced her insights deserve a place amongst any of the more well known punk luminaries who have kept their minds sharp throughout the years(MacKaye or Rollins, for example). With that said, I'm absolutely giddy with excitement for the release of her autobiography:


Excerpts and other insights surrounding the book reside at yet another blog she maintains: Chica Violenta

Now onto the real reason for this post, which is this song, which was recently posted on her Soundcloud page:

Soledad by alicebag
Soledad, by Luna Nova. Vocals by Alicia Velasquez (Alice Bag) and Teresa Covarrubias. Guitar by Gabriel. We recorded this song in Gabriel's apartment right after we wrote it, mostly so that we wouldn't forget our parts. The recording was never meant for public consumption but if you listen beyond the hiss there's a lovely song there.

The song speaks for itself. Enjoy!

This VOID's for you!

With beers that pay homage to your favorite 80's hardcore punk acts, never before have I wished so badly to live in suburban Georgia.

The Burnt Hickory Brewery in Kennesaw, GA has cornered the beer market for 80's hardcore-themed beer drinkers.

Here are just a few of the gems to be found amongst their collection of limited-run brews-



"You'll find your mental state lapsing in a VOID while you drink this!"



And of course, this:



... must beget this:



Really reaching into the depths of obscurity here:



My "trivial 80's hardcore quote" boner is a poppin' for a taste of this brew:



While I'm not a big Mudhoney fan- in fact, their Dicks cover is pitifully overrated, and I can really only identify "Touch Me, I'm Sick" as their one great song- this brew looks tasty:



Can't go wrong with this bit of advertising, just don't let Old Man Ginn catch wind of it:



I really hope there are a few old-timer burnout types somewhere in NJ drinking this and still losing their shit to the likes of "HUMONGOUSFUNGUSAMONGUS":



And of course, we can't have a micro-brewed beer from Georgia without a Civil War homage of some sort:


And with this, I'm convinced that the brewmaster is truly after my heart:

Otto, he loves to blotto.

Viewed best while mentally replaying the beat to Masta Ace's "Sittin On Chrome".

Junk Food Helps The Brain Grow!

Are Jack In The Box's infamously delicious tacos vegetarian?

As high school students venturing into our first year of vegetarianism, we were accustomed to the cheap and greasy thrills that could be found in this deal of the century: two tacos for 99 cents! The experience was highly accommodating to our limited net worth. Naturally, the vegetarian lifestyle brought us to question not only our reliance on an altogether harmful factory farming industry, but also our alliance to the harmfully satisfying nourishment provided by these motherfucking tacos! We were prepared to test the will of our palettes by making a few necessary sacrifices for our lifestyle, but god damn, couldn't we just keep our fucking tacos on board with us!?

The substance that constituted for meat these in these affordable, yet tasty delicacies was tan, gooey, and resembled the post-treatment waste residue you might find curing in a sewage treatment plant. Aesthetics phased us not; the cornucopia of flavors emanating from these artery-clogging treats negated this one unfortunate visual gaffe. Irony had its way and soon this visual gaffe was now the key to bringing our most beloved tacos back from exile. This bilious goo bore no resemblance to any sort of meat with origins in a land-based life form! Its origins must surely lie in that wretched, soy-based faux-meat processing plant in Hades. Seriously though, if all the best bands are affiliated with Satan, why couldn't one of the best meals be affiliated with Seitan!?

Well, we were gonna clear this up once and for all! Sure enough, we were going to consult an expert on this one! Our next visit to a nearby Jack In The Box drive-thru prompted us to voice our obviously well-reasoned inquiry at one of the staff's resident nutritionists, otherwise known as the cashier. With no pause for thought, an answer shot back informing us of their bean-based origins. Okay! Sounds good, point taken, and thanks for the extra hot sauce packets!

Wait a minute! That motherfucking nutritionist was a nothing but a god damned Jack In The Box employee! What the fuck do they know? Well, shit. Surely there must be some literature available that could inform us otherwise?

Aha! Why hadn't we thought to look at the damn nutritional brochure made available per request!?

Well, there it was, finally in plain view of our faces. Simple documentation had finally sealed the deal: We could no longer continue to swallow the processed assholes of our unfortunate factory farming casualties, for it did not serve the greater good, and consequently negated the principles behind our vegetarian ideals.


As I was consuming some delicious 99 cent (sans ham, double egg) Breakfast Jacks this morning this coupon presented itself:


(For those curious, this will be going to my father, who happens to be a guru of bargain consciousness.)


Coincidentally, I happened to have just read an appalling account of the various legislative measures being put forth by the so-called "Birther" movement. It can be found here:
Birther debate alive across U.S.


I started to think. What does this all mean? Why has this coupon presented itself after reading an account of one of the most repulsive, and backwards non-issues facing the minds of the public today? Why have I conjured up this specific memory in relation to these two otherwise unrelated things?

C'mon now!

Can a motherfucker ever stop thinking about how good those god damned tacos are!?

The Four Plugs - "Biking Girl"

I never dug too deep into U.K. DIY beyond some of the more well known bands, so it's always a treat to discover yet another one-off single that happens to randomly fall into my lap via the internet. The a-side of this single was already up on youtube. It's a more scathing, robotic sounding affair which honestly doesn't do much for me. The b-side- a more wistful, minimalist affair- is MY JAM. As such, I've uploaded it for others to enjoy.