Excellent wavelength.

Most bands are musicians. You go to their concert, they play live music. Yay.

Great bands are performers. You go to their concert, and it's not only a live version of the album, but fun and games, as well.

Julius Airwave are seriously great performers. On saturday, at their Freebird show, I was hit in the face by:

2 sizes of balloons
3 sizes of confetti
bubbles
a toy para-trooper

Plus, they gave the crowd glow-sticks in a completely non-rave sort of way.

The entire floor of Freebird was white when the show ended. No wonder their next show isn't until the summer, they'll be spending the next two months cleaning.

At least soon you'll be able to get your Julius fix on disc. More on the album soon.

Todoist. All filler, no killer!

Thurs: AIGA Jax hosts mid-week binge drinking Cocktails & Creatives in the Southside. After work until we get thrown in the paddy wagon @ Buffalo Wild Wings.
Thurs: Free shots, cheap drinks, free Julius tix, and the friendlist DJ in town. Paul Zimmerman spins POP! @ Eclipse, midnight-ish.
Sat: St. Paul's hosts a community garage sale. I'll be praying for a cheap bicycle. 8 a.m. until?
Sat: Community Picnic in Memorial Park with proceeds benefiting St. Johns Riverkeeper. Lunch by Mossfire Grill, Burrito Gallery, Biscotti's, Sweet Pete's Catering and Casbah. $10 donation, lunch @ 1.
Sat: Riverside Avondale Preservation hosts a self-guided tour of ten historic homes. $15 admission, Saturday @ 10-5, Sunday @ 12-5.
Sat: Jacksonville's indie-rock darlings Julius Airwave play Freebird Live in celebration of their new release "The City The Forest" (drops May 8). Support by ShangraLa, Sensei, and Plain Jane Automobile. Cover $7-$10, Show @ 9.
Sun: Beer, sunshine, and good people pegging each other with an oversized rubber ball. Kickball in the Memorial Park at 2.

Cafe: Nola quick service for you!

Always excited to give a Downtown eatery a second chance, today I tried Cafe Nola in MOCA. My first experience was awful, but they've since changed management (Nola is now run by MOCA, not Chives), so I decided to let bygones be bygones, and give them another shot.

The food is pretty good. The warm rolls brought out were divine, but the fruity butter that accompanied them was overwhelming. Really great bread doesn't need a lot of flavor piled on top, and the fruit distracted from the warm doughy-ness.

My grilled asparagus and goat cheese salad was similar. Perfectly cooked asparagus and yummy goat cheese was matched with an under-whelming blueberry vinaigrette.

Unfortunately, I didn't get finish my salad, as once again, it took nearly an hour to be served, and work beckoned. I took my check and more than half of my meal to-go.

It wasn't a bad meal by any stretch of the imagination. The setting is lovely, and the food was alright (although $10 for an okay salad does pinch).

However, I cannot possibly imagine ever recommending Cafe Nola as a lunch spot for anyone who actually takes a lunch hour. This restaurant is exclusively for business owners and people with days off during the week.

New favorite place to eat the week before payday: Big Pete's.

Walking around Downtown last weekend in an effort to lead a healthier lifestyle (read: fit into pants I've recently out-grown), an interesting awning caught my eye: "2 slices & drink $2.97."

Holy crap!

Today, catalyzed by a sad checking account and 7 days until payday, I decided to check out Big Pete's Pizzeria on Julia. Before entering, I basically decided this was about to be the most awesome or the most gut-wrenching lunch I've ever had.

Well, second most gut-wrenching. I don't think anything could top that day somebody accidentally fed me chicken. (shudder)

I digress.

A couple co-workers and I chipped in a whopping $2.50 each for a large cheese pizza. Surprisingly, it was not bad!

Greasy? yes.
Doughy? yes.
Hot? yes.
Better than frozen pizza? depends on the brand.

So, will Big Pete's de-throne Al's as the best pie in town? Nope. Will they help me fit back into my "thin" pants? Hell no.

Will Big Pete's fill an empty stomach for the mere cost of digging through the change collected at the bottom of your purse?

Hells yes.

Don't close Pandora's box.

Pandora is a pretty killer site. It's an online streaming music station that "learns" what you like based on the ratings you gives songs.

Big effing deal, right? There's a huge variety of pre-programmed music stations in the world, anyway.

The nice thing about Pandora is that it eventually becomes far more customized to your tastes than a pre-programmed station ever could be. You don't have to sit through a queue of bands with uninspired lyrics and hackneyed riffs just to hear one decent song. (Not that I've ever had that experience with broadcast radio in Jacksonville)

However, recent laws have threatened Pandora and similar Internet radio. The Copyright Royalty Board recently decided to triple the licensing fees for Internet radio sites like Pandora. The new royalty rates are irrationally high, more than four times what satellite radio pays, and broadcast radio doesn't pay these at all.

Left unchanged, these new royalties will kill every Internet radio site, including Pandora. In response, Internet radio sites formed the SaveNetRadio Coalition, a group that includes listeners, artists, labels and webcasters.

If you give a damn, I suggest Signing the petition to have the new decision revised. Just enter your address info, and it'll automatically e-mail a copy of the letter (you can use their canned letter, or write your own) to all your reps.

Todoist: Sit on your ass and be entertained. That's the American way.

Thur: POP! goes your sobriety at Eclipse as DJ Paul Zimmerman spins. First 100 through the door get a free shot of liquor, $2 drink specials all night. $2 cover.
Thur: Last chance to see the original South Korean horror movie The Host at San Marco Theatre before Hollywood turns out another B-Class remake a la Dark Water. Show @ 9.
Fri: SMT pretends to be an art house by showing the 2006 Oscar Nominated Short Film Program, both live action and animated (they make it a two-for-one double feature, if your ass doesn't fall asleep). Runs for the next 2 weeks.
Fri-Sat: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, a scary flick for people who love horror movies, plays at midnight at SMT. Just please go to the bathroom beforehand. We don't want anybody peeing themselves (with delight!)
Fri-Sat: Much Ado About Books embraces nerd-dom and celebrates books, with proceeds benefiting the Jax Public Library. Free Festival Admission, $40/Keynote Luncheon.
Sat: Modern music, classical instruments, presented by three hot Korean sisters. Seriously. Ahn Trio @ Church of the Good Shepherd @ 8. Tix run $25/general admission, $5/students.

Happier than a Pig in Shit.

Have you had one-too-many "chit chats" about the sexual harrassment policy with HR? When women slap you across the face and walk away mumbling profanities, are you excited that you get a great shot of her ass?

At Pigs Anonymous, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Created by and for players in the advertising industry, PA has all the support you'll need: Videos, an advice column, and a quiz to judge your progress.

If you know a pig who is unaware he has a problem, you can report him, and he'll receive a friendly e-mail inviting him to join the program.

It's true, scary things do happen on Friday the 13th.

This is for my peach-state visitors. Much love.

Ferris, the 13th.

Todoist: Politics+Design+Tombstones. Who could ask for anything more?

Thur: Check out baby-faced presidential hopeful John Edwards speak at FCCJ South. Or, stand outside with a protest sign! Whatever floats your boat. Speaking engagement @ 7:00 in the Wilson Center.
Fri: AIGA Jax hosts a speaking engagement withRafael Esquer of Alfalfa (NYC) at the Radisson on Salisbury. Reception @ 6, Speaking Engagement @ 7. Cover runs $5/members, $15/non-members.
Fri-Sun: The annual Jacksonville Jazz Festival is hosted downtown, including a performance by Chuck Mangione! (Music featured in Simpson clip above) Tickets run $10/general admission, $150/VIP. JJF for schedule.
Fri-Sun: After watching reruns of Six Feet Under on Bravo, the mood should be perfect for a cemetery tour! Tours of Historic Evergreen Cemetery run all weekend. Tickets run $12/adult, $4/children. Proceeds benefit Wolfson Children's Hospital.
Sat: AIGA Jax presents the annual Portfolio Review at the Radisson on Salisbury. A day to laugh, cry, and watch young hearts get crushed and splattered onto their life's work. Portfolio Reviews run 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and the alcoholic drowning of sorrows commences immediately afterwards. Check Jax AIGA for registration fees.
Sat: What's greener than the Chicago River during St. Patrick's Day? A bunch of people talking about global climate change and how to remedy it. JCNI hosts a conversation with local experts about Global warming followed by reception. Riverside Prrebyterian Church @ 2:00.
Sun: As the Beastie Boys said: "Let's kick it!" Kickball in the Memorial Park at 2.

Relax!

Temporary hiatus to get my head together. But Frankie says, "Relax!" Thursday will bring a Todoist so good it might just make your head explode. Just ask this guy:

Wank on, wank off.

Designers are Wankers is a new networking site for creatives.

Part MySpace, part Flickr, the site allows you to create a profile and join the community named Plebsville, and start making friends. You can also browse randomly, or make connections with friends of friends.

There's space to upload your portfolio, be it illustration, graphic design, film, fine art, whatev. Instead of Myspace's Name/Age/Location way of viewing multiple profiles at-a-glance, Designers are Wankers previews profiles by Name, Industry (Artist, Design, etc), and status (Pro, Student, Stiff).

Because MySpace is so To Catch a Predator.

Suicide by stapler.

Sometimes, work sucks.

Not all the time. I mean, we get bagels on Fridays. So that's pretty killer. Honestly, bagels on Friday is really the only thing preventing me from flinging myself off the Main Street Bridge most days.

Ok, so I have unhealthy love obsession with carbs. Deal.

But I digress. Some days, work sucks so much you'd rather kill yourself than talk to another.one.of.your.horrible.coworkers.

And that's why Adult Swim created Kill Yourself in 5 minutes!

You have 5 minutes until your meeting, thus 5 minutes to kill yourself. Use the stapler. Hit on your homophobic coworker until he beats you up, and more!

Because if you can't live (or die) vicariously through video games, what's it all about?

via Jax Confidential

Todoist: High Voltage!

Thur: Danger! Danger! Electric Six plays at Jackrabbits. $10 cover. Doors @ 8. [JR]
Thur: German painter Judith Rosenau opens at Burrito Gallery. Show @ 6:30. [BG]
Fri: Movin' 100.7 and Crowne Plaza sponsors "First Friday Deck Party on the River." Food and beverage specials, live entertainment, prize drawings, great weather and a good view. No cover. 5-8 p.m. @ Crowne Plaza. [DVI]
Sun: Celebrate Easter with brunch and kickball in the park. [KBC]

Alanis, you complete me.

I'll admit it. I have a warm spot in my heart for Alanis Morissette. I came of age during "You Oughtta Know" and "Hand in my Pocket." I even loved the big-haired Star Searched Alanis of the 80s.

Which is why her cover of "My Humps" makes me fall in love with her all over again. This may be the song I have played at my funeral. Why? Because now I can die happy.

Børk ze chocolad!

It's Monday. Everybody could use a little chocolate moose.