Mantis Style!

I am Pacman. I am an aggressive sort of personality, out to get what I can, when I can. I prefer to avoid confrontation, but sometimes when it's called for, I can be a powerful character. I tend to be afflicted with munchies constantly. What Video Game Character Are You?

posted by Tay @ 8:34 AM 0 comments

Jeez, what a way to wake up. The stupid radio is blasting in my ear, it's Vibe 98.5. They're doing their stupid "Lyrical Fitness" challenge, which used to be good back when they would feature old-school rap songs to test your mad skillz. Now they only do the top 40s and junk. Anyway, I knew the answer (Timberlake), so I called them up to see if I could win something cool. I did indeed win, and boy is it something cool.

4 passes to The Mint nightclub, free limo ride to the club, $50 to spend while in the club, and a "Vibe CD collection" featuring the new (shitty) Westside Connection album. I figure I can pawn the CDs for cash, and treat some of my friends to a kick-ass time.

Oh yeah, and I just got promoted at work. Full-time hours, and my weekends are free! So it would look as though everything is coming up rosy for me. Now I'll be able to afford cool things this summer, like that Powerbook, and get my tattoo finished.

Ryan, we need to jam sometime again. I wrote a new song while working suicide watch at the hospital, and I think it's pretty rad. It's a punkish ballad about a samurai that fights a robot. It stems half from a need to tip my hat to The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, and half from a need to rhyme with "laser-guided plasma rockets". As for you listening homework dear readers, the title track of the afformentioned album should do just fine.

posted by Tay @ 5:23 PM 0 comments

Wow, this new comic is even newer than that last one!

I think I'll hit you up with some hip-hop today. The Spooks are definitly on some other script. Backed up with incredible vocals, these guys put some real emotions behind their raps. Karma Hotel is probably the greatest example of their powerful wordplay, and is worth a listen.

posted by Tay @ 3:35 PM 0 comments

Hooray hooray! Ryan has picked up the gauntlet, and so our little firendly blog war has begun! Prepare to be bombarded with obscure music so great, you kick your mom in the face. Having said that, I shall get on with my submission for cool obscurity.

Some of you out there in internetland might be saying "Tay, your music is obscure, but some of this indie rock of yours is just kind of sissy. I mean, what the hell is Modest Mouse, a bunch of pre-pubecent boys singing songs about abstract concepts?" Fair enough. If you've ever walked into a vintage clothing store in Calgary lately, you've heard Modest Mouse. They are Modestly good, but don't have a lot of kick.

So I'm gonna suggest that you turn up some of The Blood Brothers, and watch as the paint strips itself from your walls. This is some abrasive shit right here, yet it is still unlike any heavy metal or grindcore punk I've ever heard. You're mom will love this band, that much is certain. Grab the track Ambulance vs. Ambulance, and get ready to be blown away.

Having engaged in blogging challenges ourselves, Ryan and I are putting forth a collective challenge to our readerships. It goes as such: you should blog. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or what have you. It just has to be fun. Because as much fun as me and Ryan have telling you about all the cool stuff we know, it stands to reason that everybody else out there knows about a bunch of other cool stuff too, stuff that we would like to know about. So blog! It doesn't cost anything, and there's plenty of sites out there that are willing to help you.

posted by Tay @ 11:03 PM 0 comments

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new comic.

Also, I would like to wish my iPod a happy 2,000th MP3. My recent reggae downloading blitz put me right over the top. The best part about all this is that my iPod still isn't half full.

On a related note, Yellowman is the greatest albino dancehall reggae DJ in the history of time. And that's not due to a lack of competition, strangely enough.

Want more great reggae? Try The Skatalites, The Heptones (Jewish ska?), and Capleton. Isn't it about time that you gave your Legend disc a rest anyway?

posted by Tay @ 4:42 PM 0 comments

Hell, I Can't Slow Down...
After my grandiose challenge to Ryan, I feel it would only be fair of me to also challenge Mike to something similar. Hey Mike, I challenge you to proofread your damn blog. Or at least jazz it up a little, with some pictures or something, or maybe just change some of the colours or what not.

In related news, I too will be jazzing this place up a bit. I've noticed that over the months I've been pretty slack on hypertexting important musical links, so the plan is to go and create a list of all the artists I've highlighted over the course of time, and link to their sites on a seperate page that will be under construction. I think that would be pretty awesome.

Let's talk about super powers. Every grade school kid has had the discussion: "what superpower would you have?", right? Coming of age now, I realize that such fantastic things such as super-strength and agility, teleportation and flying would not be very practical in the real world. There's no super-villains with which to pit them up against, which is really all that they're good for. No, thinking about it now, I would settle for light psychic reading, not unlike Mel Gibson had in the trashy What Women Want. Instantly, I could cut through the bullshit of conversations, and get to what's really going on. But of course, with great power comes great responsibilty, or something.

Speaking of super, the new American Express commercials are pretty funny.

What's on myPod
The sweet ska stylings of Common Rider. It's a shame that they broke up. Hell, they are great for some mild bemusement, if nothing else. On a side note, Mitch Clem's latest project, Barrett's Lament, is pretty neat.

posted by Tay @ 10:50 PM 0 comments

This Here's A Throwdown, A Showdown...
Hopefully everybody reading this has already checked out Ryan's One Hit Combo. Normally I find his reccomended listenings to be quite delightful, but his most recent post finds him suggesting Christina Aguilera as a decent musical act.

My point is not that she's not talented, she is. One glance at any of her live shows will tell you that the bitch can sing. My point is that it is not necessary for bloggers such as us to tell people about her. Humans already have television, radio, movies, and soft drinks to tell us to listen to Christina Aguilera. What they really need is for us to let them know about cool, obscure shit that they would otherwise miss out on.

And so I issue this challenge: Bring on the most obscure and cool music acts that you know of. Show the people that you are indier than thou. We'll go toe-to-toe, fronting our musical knowledge and helping people be cooler at the same time.

I know you have it in you. How do I know? Because just the other day I found those CDs of The Pillows that you burned for me last year. Do you remember that?

So what do you say Ryan? Do you challenge?

posted by Tay @ 11:35 PM 0 comments

We interupt this message for a brief commercial interlude...
First and foremost, we have a new comic. Where my lazers at?

I had meant to link to a couple of blogs recently, but I forgot. No time like the present to make up for it, I suppose. First off we have Fat Mike's blog, Random Happenings. This is a blog in which the written english language is slowly murdered to death, while Fat Mike complains about his girlfriends, and otherwise tells you about his day. Really, it's not that bad, check it out.

Second on the list of blogs to check out is Ryan's One-Hit Combo. If there is one thing Ryan knows, it's style and design, and this blog is something easy on the eyes. He thinks it's important that people know exactly what to watch, read, and listen to, and after reading his latest two posts I implore you to take his opinions seriously.

Third on the list of people who write things on the internet is JP Mike. Gaijen is the real-life story of a good friend of ours who left us for the land of the rising sun, to marry some hot girl and teach Japanese people english. I expect it to update sometime in June.

Well, that's it for the shameless plugging today, check back this weekend, when I inform you of my favorite Snapple flavours!

posted by Tay @ 6:05 PM 0 comments

Sweet Jesus-Buddha with guns!
Matt came back from E3 with a special present for me: A signed copy of the Penny Arcade Splinter Cell comic! How cool is that? Very cool. Also, the word is that the Nintendo DS will own you.

I transferred the wine from the primary fermatation chamber (read: garbage can) to the secondary fermentation chamber (read: jug) today. Everything seemed to go smoothly: the syphoning went without any problems, and the sediment stuck quite well to the bottom. One hitch: I broke the specific gravitometer. Woops. Well we don't need one for another 10 days, so we'll be fine for now.

Oh, and in case your wondering about what I'm getting in return for Matt, I ordered him the Scary Go Round 3-pack of comics. I know that it's his favorite comic on the net, so I know he'll love it.

posted by Tay @ 1:19 PM 0 comments

Is Big Brother Really a Bad Brother?
People should come with warning labels. Either that, or we should be able to access certain details about there lives before having to deal with them. Yes, it would violate one's right to privacy, but I for one would rather know whether or not one has a criminal record or gang affilliations before I strike up a conversation. It would just make things much more convinient for me. Of course, who knows what kind of crap would go in my file.

Tay is a digruntled physcological mess with sociopathic tendencies. He should be avoided at all costs.

So let's skip that idea.

Here's the one problem I can see about starting a wine hobby with three other people. I have almost already promised to give away all the bottles that would belong to me to other people. Let's face it: 30 litres just doesn't cut it. Of course, I'm not much of a drinker, but this could be the segway that Ive been looking for. I can see it now, haveing a glass with every meal, breakfast included. (Which wine goes best with Cap'n Crunch anyway?)

If this experiment does go well, it may be prudent for us to step up production, and start a second distillery, working in tandem to promote maximum output. I mean, it's not like this crap is expensive or anything, given the wine/dollar ratio. Even if we were to bump up the quality to premium standards, we're still talking about $5/bottle, max. The only problem I can see right now is acquiring enough empty bottles to fill with our (hopefully) delicious brew. Of course, if it turns out tasting like Kool-Aid mixed with vinegar, we can just grab some straws and sit around the barrel. Now THAT would be a party!

posted by Tay @ 5:50 AM 0 comments

It's like this blog just won one of those reality shows, and it got a total makeover or something. If you miss the old look of the site, head on over to my friend Fat Mike's blog, and he will hook you up. Try to overlook the spelling, punctuation, grammer, and spacing.

Matt should be back from E3 soon, and I could not be more jealous. No doubt he will drive us all crazy, regailing wild tales of the greatest expo of the year. He did send me a couple text messages, apperantly the Nintendo DS is the shit. I am more interested in if he got to meet Gabe and Tycho, and how Splinter Cell 3 is looking.

My "Faith in Humanity" level has taken several sever dives lately, in part because I renewed my XBox Live subscription. Man, but do I hate at least 95% of this planet.

I'm trying to write a new song, but I can't think of anything great that rhymes with "laser-guided missle launcher".

posted by Tay @ 1:26 AM 0 comments

Check Out My Styles!

Well, it would appear that the new Blogger update has indeed changed Mantis Style's mantis-style. Comics are now located to your right, as well as my handy new updated-daily wine log. More will be posted on Friday night.

posted by Tay @ 12:54 PM 0 comments

Yikes! It looks like blogger up and updated, with a new and more confusing format. It has yet to be seen if this will affect things over at Mantis Style.

In actual news, me, Phil and Fat Mike have started to make wine! Our Australian "Superbrother Shiraz" should be ready in a few months, give or take some weeks. In the meantime, I will be keeping a daily log of the temperature and specific gravity of the wine.

T= just under 20
G= 1.08

Expect for a full account of how the process goes. And if you know me, expect a bottle of your very own when we are finished! Hooray for alcohol!!!

posted by Tay @ 3:42 PM 0 comments

I'm at work now, which is the norm for these updates, and the weather is quite pleasent. Summer is here, as can be witnessed by the earlier sunrises. I was enjoying the most recent one while on the job, and looked to my left and realized: This building is not 50 feet away from a freakin' garbage dump! I'm hoping that the hot hot heat doesn't make for a stench of biblical proportions.

Wasted the day reading the archives of Savage Love, Dan Savages weekly column. After it dropped out of syndication from Calgary's second-best indie rag, I had lost touch, and forgotten how much of a treasure it can be. I laughed the whole way through.

What's on myPod
Back to the land of the rising sun for some hard-rock lovin', it's Asian Kung-Fu Genertation! These guys do a lot of work for the anime Naruto, which I would also highly reccomend.

When it comes to rock, the measure of whether it is any good or not falls into two catergories:
1) What you are rocking about, and
2) How well it is that you rock out.

If you're rocking out about your stupid girlfriend leaving you, you had better the hell rock out pretty damn hard, as the topic is old hat. If you are rocking out about something unique, such as ambulances that fight each other, you may feel free to rock out however you like.

But that's just my opinion. Later!

posted by Tay @ 6:22 AM

Okay, first and formost, I have to link you to the greatest idea nerds have ever had. So you say that you liked Pac-Man, but it has since become old hat? Try the new and improved Pac-Manhatten. I am currently reconsidering my vacation plans...

Oh crap, when did Modest Mouse become too popular? It was probably when I bought their new album, and there was 3 whole racks of it at the HMV. Dammit, But do I hate having to use my "sell out" tone of voice.

The new iTunes is out, with higher compression rates for your ripped albums. Does this mean I have to re-rip my entire library, just for the sake of a gig or two's worth of space saved? Maybe, but I'll worry about that once I can fill up 20 gigs. At the present moment, my iPod stands with 6.7 gigs of music.

What's on myPod
I've really been getting into Le Tigre lately. It's like going to an art show, and you totally don't get what the hell the picture is, but then you stare at it for a long time, and you're all like "Oh, it's a dog playing poker".Deceptacon has got to be my favorite track.

posted by Tay @ 12:44 PM

As hard as I try, I can't induce spontaneous combustion in myself or others. I just received my rejection letter from SAIT, which means that next year will likely be spent half-assedly studying old dead white people, and other useless and boring garbage.

My parents are dead-set on me getting a receipt (oops, I mean diploma) of some sort, and it's driving me crazy. I just don't think post-secondary education is right for me. I used to think that I wanted to do video production and the like. I work in a building, where the only people I see are involved in video production and the like. They are miserable people, often working thankless and unpaid overtime. They hate themselves, in ways I only wish I could hate.

My dreams for life do not involve me doing a boring and thankless task, regardless of the money. Yeah, it would be cool to live in a sweet house and have tons of cool things, but at the cost of my soul? No thanks. My dreams lead to scurvy. Maybe I could work in a record shop, turning up my nose at anybody asking for the latest Christina Aguilera release. Maybe I could kill human beings for vast sums of money. Maybe I could just be a security guard until I die. I mean, I haven't gotten bored of it yet, right?

What's on myPod
Buck O' Nine's Record Store. It pretty much sums this whole situation up.

posted by Tay @ 11:37 PM