Operation Swill uncovers NJ restaurants serving fraudulent liquor

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Thursday, May 23, 2013, in Trenton, N.J. : "Operation Swill" news conference reported how 29 bars and restaurants in New Jersey were accused of replacing premium brand liquor with cheap booze and selling sub-par liquor at premium prices.

Thirteen of the restaurants cited are TGI Fridays located in central and northern New Jersey.

See the map to see findings of the investigation.  Story via NPR and Los Angeles Daily News.

happy 2013

revelations of a music snob

regarding:

* new STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS record - i couldn't say it much better than Tiny Mixtape's Ed Comentale:

"Ultimately, Mirror Traffic doesn’t quite recapture the shaggy
grandeur of Wowee Zowee, and, perhaps to its detriment, it abandons the proggy
jam-band bliss of Real Emotional Trash."

it's still a pretty great freaking record, though. you just need to skip tracks 1 and 3.

* bass guitar - SPECTOR2112 is my new favourite youtube guy. if you look at the selection of stuff he plays, it's like he grew up with me...or at least down the street from me...except, he has the Rush, Frente and BN Ladies songs (so i guess that means he actually was up the street from JaHe! ahahahahahaaahahaha ). :(



* taylor swift - made the following observations in no particular order:
- LA crowds kinda suk, even at arena shows: the entire audience sang along to every song, loudly. but, hardly anyone applauded or hooted in between songs. in fact, some pauses in the show were downright silent. AlSto sez it's cos everyone was busy texting or otherwise doing something else to occupy their attention-deficited minds.
- fathers seated next to a person other than his daughter on one side are oblivious when their ample backsides begin to slide over to occupy part of the other person's seat for more than one song.
- i can recognise a justin bieber song in less than four notes.
- justin bieber can dance pretty well even when he's half-a$$ing it.
- t. swift's backup dancers dance better than justin bieber.
- her guitar players are the type of guys i don't like, meaning too much hairspray and too many Les Paul guitars for their age. and they can play so-so.

(click for more photos, but not of the guitar players!)

- t.s. puts on a decent show, she really does! and i'm talking about the entire production, not just her. the sets are beautiful, and she does the quick-change thing that would put most people, including Chinese opera singers, to shame.
- it's funny cos a bunch of people asked if she really couldn't sing or uses autotune live. i was watching her closely. there was a slight lag between the stage and video screen. i think there might be a little backing track action happening, but what do i know?
- even if one doesn't think one knows t.s.' repertoire, one does. it may also be because a lot of her songs sound the same...but still, they're tolerable and written well.
- t.s. prefers audio technica handheld mics and she holds it in her right hand. always. i think she plays Taylor guitars, too, but that is a little on the nose.

who knew one could score points with the kids (my friend ScoTe's daughter, EmTe) and some coworkers (who are parents) simultaneously?!!!??

a Noble Experiment, indeed...

in San Diego. many thanks to the incredible team of Pedro, Eric, Anthony, Erica and Hayley (sp?) for a truly memorable evening!

25 May 2011 - Photo from FLICKR: djvenus - at Noble Experiment

and, as it states on the back of the menu:

Certain gentlemen of other days

who made of drinking one of the pleasures of life

not one of its evils, and who,

whatever they drank, proved able to carry it,

keep their heads and remain gentlemen,

even in their cups.


Their example is commended

to their posterity.

i do stuff like this...

...refer to events in my life as before or after "x", i mean...

via the Laughing Squid via XKCD.

CES, Polaroid and tardiness

via SUBTRACTIVE:

"...Lady Gaga, the official creative director for Polaroid. Gaga arrived about 40 minutes fashionably late to her event at the camera company's booth. The pop star demonstrated a portable photo printer she said she designed herself, which she carries in her purse, and a pair of sunglasses with a camera built in to it."

maps.org afterparty in downtown l.a. was fun and hot (photos & video)

for AlSto's #39, we stayed home as AlSto received dozens of visitors, phone calls and FB good wishes. otherwise, since we went to PhiLe's studio to play cards and Rockband until late the previous night, we just watched Scarface on TV and not much else...

in the evening, we went to see friends and hear DJs at a party at the Temple of Visions art gallery in downtown L.A. MAPS.org (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) was in town for their CATALYSTS conference. some events were to raise money for their upcoming research project which will study therapeutic use of MDMA on Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who have chronic post-tramautic stress disorder (who have not responded to other treatment).

**NEWS: DR. ALEXANDER 'SASHA' SHULGIN NEEDS OUR HELP. PLEASE SEE THIS PAGE FOR INFO.**

what a serious people-watching bonanza: attendees included physicians, scholars, authors, artists and overall enthusiasts who wandered, danced, sat and slept (see a few photos here). we met pharmacist NICK BERRY (and contributed to his sharpie-decorated labcoat), a girl named Tammy/Tami and ___ , who i remember as 'Rock' for the namepatch on his blue speedsuit/jumpsuit...

on to the music. at the turntables (oops i mean CDJs!): Dela played a squelchy dub set first; EASTERN SUN's Brian Saitzyk (Ball of Waxx) was next with a set of chilled breaks, minimal dubstep and some beat music (i think he played a song by Take!!?); i think Imagika followed. the inside of the gallery was almost unbearably warm so we ran up the street with BriKa to Seven Grand bar, arriving there right before last call. when we got back, psychonauts filled the dancefloor and Moontribe's DJ BRIAN was in full effect. (sorry for the poor video quality! 'tis super short cos i was running out of battery!)

give the TSA something to look at...

thanks to my TiVO casts, i was turned on this evening to 4TH AMENDMENT WEAR, which uses metallic ink to make messages appear (actually, the Constitution's Fourth Amendment) under airport body scans. you can even purchase some of the garments on Etsy.

via Creativity Online

Cock Play, Not Fight....from National Geographic Magazine Contest

Photo and caption by Ario Wibisono

Cockfight - Suradita Village, West Java, Indonesia (2010). Children playing with their rooster. Actually it was not a real cockfight because the rooster didn't wear blades on their feet. Children likes to play this game because they almost never have toys in their life. From 2010 National Geographic Photo Contest - Galleries - National Geographic Magazine

aftermath.

did you know...?

The LEARN SOMETHING NEW site has many more things to learn each day, authenticated for the most part, in picture form.
Thx to @pleaseenjoy for always posting such interesting stuff for us to enjoy! :)

COOL! Painting "Fin Investigates a Rape" by Jeff Ramirez

Taken from "These Are Their Stories", a series conceived by Brandon Bird. Thx to JeRo for the link!

a chart of Crayola crayon colours, from 1903 to 2010.

from Stephen Von Worley via NPR

"only in Japan".

i have no idea who these people are.

-Thanks to Ji Lee @pleaseenjoy

who comes up with this stuff? closing ceremonies

beautiful (and a little creepy) stuff from LIFE MAGAZINE.

HI-larious!!! but NOT the College Avenue bridge.

OOPS I JUMPED THE GUN, AGAIN... NOTE THE DOUBLE-DECKER BUS IN THE BACKGROUND?! THIS IS NOT NOT NOT THE COLLEGE AVENUE BRIDGE!

dear architects: how much research goes into the testing/real-world application of designs?

this is a photo taken at the new College Avenue bridge in Appleton, WI:

ahahhahahhahahaa many thanks to FB and longtime friend SteKwo, and HIS friend JenFos for posting this!

see what playing frylock will get you?

T-Pain's 10lbs. and 197 karats. via pyroradio.com on the Twitter...

ANOTHER gem from JeSha...

From David Fullarton's "What i do at work when i'm supposed to be working" collection.

There's more! Check BEHANCE for photos and the SISYPHUS OFFICE EXHIBITION for more info.

there is an episode of Aqua Teen called "Sirens"...

and this isn't it.

instead, i present to you the PILLOW-FIGHTING SLAVE LEIAS.

Via Mike Fix on Facebook, originally via ELOKETH on Flickr.

fun food...n'est pas haute cuisine.

now i'm going to stick dried spaghetti into any food that i can boil. except spaghetti.
via Twitter via http://maraz-m-moroz.livejournal.com/255878.html