All Narfed Up photography and words by Bryan Villarin

Cross-posted at Phantom Scream.com:

We’re finished with our first EP! We just have to title it and make CDs to get it out to the world. It came out really good and we’re all proud of it.

Bill got the mastered copy, cut up the songs, faded them in and out, then saved it as a short sample. You can hear it at our Myspace page.

On a quasi-side note, we got Michael Tadman (deviantART) to do artwork for us. His work is tight!

Now, off to my day job…happy Friday!

I was tagged by Goldie Katsu to expose eight random facts about myself. I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about these before.

1. As a kid, I loved “The Price Is Right.” More specifically, I was fascinated with the game “Plinko.” My grandpa (Dad’s side) liked making things from scratch, and I remember asking him to make a Plinko board for me. Pretty dumb, considering the size of the board on the actual game show.
2. I remember playing “Spies” with my cousin, Pauline. (I’ll always know her as PeeJay, short for Pauline Janet.) I had a set of short-range walkie-talkies and…yeah.
3. When I was living in San Gabriel, the 7-Eleven had a few video arcade games. At one point in their stay at the convenience store, the coin return slot cover was broken. We found out that we could push pennies up the coin return slot then play games at a 24-cent discount. We had a lot of gaming sessions there, even though we had a Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis at home.
4. I loved computer games like Lemonade Stand and The Oregon Trail.
5. I aspire to become a minimalist.
6. Despite some of my friends thinking I’m ahead of the technology curve, I’m quite behind. My computers are a Dell Optiplex GX260 (probably a couple years old) and a 4-year-old Dell Inspiron 1100. I’m still using a 3^rd Generation iPod. I don’t upgrade my cell phone unless it’s absolutely necessary. I bought the Tungsten E (using eBay) last year because it works fine — even though the latest version is the Tungsten E2. I was using a 2 Megapixel digital camera for a long time — until this January 2007. I don’t have a HDTV. I don’t have a DVR.
7. Although I love going to concerts, especially hard rock genres, I’m a mellow rocker. I’m not down with moshing.
8. I don’t party hard. I’m pretty dull. You know, hanging out.

I’m not formerly passing this along to anyone. If you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged.

For lunch today, I went to Corner Bakery in Pasadena (Hastings Ranch) with Alex and Mystery James.

One of the things we talked about was blogging. James started a new blog to write about his work experiences. But, he was upset because he didn’t receive any comments. Alex complained because he wanted to blog on his Myspace account, but nobody reads it.

Here’s my thoughts about that:

What’s the purpose of your blog?

You need some sort of “About” page about what you or your blog is all about. If people don’t know of its importance, they’re less likely to subscribe. That’s fine if you want to stay somewhat anonymous, but you need to give people a reason to read your content.

What are your strengths?

If people know why you rock, they’ll be more inclined to become longtime readers.

Make people think so they’ll feel obligated to say something.

If you’re not getting comments, your readers don’t feel compelled to add anything. Examine your writing. Are you making statements or open-ended questions?

Does your personality invite other people to voice themselves?

If you’re the type of person that immediately goes into debate-mode, you can’t expect people to want to jump into a discussion with you. Listen, acknowledge and work with them.

Read what you admire.

In regards to the subject of writing, I’m subscribed to Copyblogger. Their purpose is to provide “copywriting tips for online marketing success.” Lots of people learn from trial and error, but if someone else already messed up and learned from it, you don’t have to.

Why do I blog?

I just like writing about anything and everything. I’m not an expert in any single aspect. Chris Brogan saw bryanvillarin.com and described me as the “jack of all trades.” (via Twitter) People know me as a “computer guy,” card magician, and rock star. As much as I like comments, I’ll just write about whatever that interests me.

It’s time to examine yourself. Does your blog have a purpose? What are your strengths? Do you get people thinking? Do you let them speak?

My cousin, Leslie, graduated from UC Davis last December and is now trying to get into medical school. (One of the most driven people I’ve ever known.) My graduation gift to her was a copy of “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.”

Yesterday, seven months later, I saw her and her family and we had lunch. Out of nowhere, she says, “Bryan, I love Getting Things Done!” She took out her paper-based calendar and showed me how less cluttered it was. (See “Hard and Soft Landscapes: Calendar vs. Reminders“) She also says she’s going to read it again for things she might’ve missed the first time around.

My uncle notices that I’m fairly laid back, probably because I keep things together. My mom jokingly suggested that I have stock in the company because I’ve bought it for so many people. I’ve bought it for a few high school graduate friends, a coworker, my other cousin in Glendale. Out of all of them, Leslie was the only one to say that she liked it.

This is fascinating hearing this after what Brett Kelly and Ricky Spears wrote a couple weeks ago. Now, I’d probably email someone a few links about the GTD methodology and suggest that they buy the book.

These past three days were insane! Our band, Phantom Scream, had a show Friday evening. Afterwards, I must’ve been outside talking with friends for 30 minutes! When I finally left from No Future Cafe, I went home to shower and pack.

• Jordan’s sister took his PS2, so they asked me to bring mine. Little did we know that we would need an adapter for the TV. That was a waste.
• I installed Google Gears onto my laptop, but when I restarted Firefox, I didn’t see a tiny button in the top of Google Reader to download my feeds like I did on my desktop. So, I didn’t get a chance to catch up on feed reading on the drive there and back.

Saturday

We didn’t leave until 12:30am, but not before I got money from an ATM and we stopped at Carl’s Jr for dinner. Bill ordered our food at the drive-in window. Funny story about that:

Bill: I’ll have ten chicken sandwiches.
Me: Bill! What the freak? Hold on! Gimme a #16 with a Dr. Pepper.
Bill: Ok, I’ll have a #16 with a Dr. Pepper, 10 chicken sandwiches…
Teller: 16 small Dr. Peppers…
Bill: No, what!?!

We arrived in San Francisco around 7am. We went to the Golden Gate Bridge, walked around for a bit and took pictures. Then, we went to the Motel 6 in South San Francisco. Matt tried to get us checked in early, but that didn’t work. To kill time, we drove in search for McDonald’s (which Matt wanted). The GPS said there was one, but was it mistaken.

Instead, we ate breakfast at Crepes On Grand in South San Francisco. I had a hearty omelet, which was very tasty, and Jordan had a crepe. I had a taste and thought it was really good! Bill slept in the car and skipped breakfast.

We got back to Motel 6 around 9am and Jordan tried. They said they would call him if a room was ready early. So, we slept in the car until 10am, when we got the phone call. Sweet! Matt and Jordan were trying to talk us into going to batting practice at 11am. That’s nuts. We napped until 12:30pm before leaving for AT&T Park.

Our tickets were for standing-room only. I endured standing alongside Matt, while Bill and Jordan took open bleacher seats a couple rows in front of us. Lots of Dodger and Giant fans were either hi-fiving us or cursing us. It was hilarious. The game was awesome because the Dodgers won! Fortunately for Giants fans, I’m not one to rub it in their faces.

Back at the motel room, we were relaxing. Me and Matt ordered pizza for supper (late lunch, early dinner) because we opted out of lunch at the stadium. Bill and Jordan were hyped to go out, but we were exhausted. They went to some restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf for clam chowder. Afterwards, we later found out they went to five art galleries just because. However, Matt and I were sleeping around 8pm.

Sunday

We woke up around 10:30am, dressed, packed our things, and checked out. Then, we headed to the piers by the stadium for breakfast.

Jordan and I settled on Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe, while Matt and Bill got some clam chowder and fish & chips. After a somewhat hearty meal, we left for free parking a mile or two away from the stadium. We found a better free parking spot than yesterday.

Matt’s boss got us some free tickets on the third level behind home plate. At first, it was four, then just two. Since I was with Matt on Saturday, he hooked me up with the other one. Later in the game, Jordan and Bill were able to sneak down to some really good seats one level up, between home plate and first base, by asking departing Giants fans for their ticket stubs.

The view from our seats were spectacular! We had sun for the first few innings, but shade for the majority of the game. It was a refreshing difference from being sunburned on Saturday. The rough thing about the sun in San Francisco is that when it’s breezy, you think you’ll be fine.

After another Dodger victory, and couple more photos in front of the stadium, we drove home.

• Matt was possessed! He drove the majority of the time (there and back), totaling about 11 hours.
• The GPS navigation helped us see that an In-N-Out was imminent, because that’s what Bill was craving for (as opposed to Wendy’s). We knew far it was away, and if our hunger could hold for that long.
• Having comedians to listen to melts the hours away. We listened to [the late] Mitch Hedberg, Demetri Martin and Dane Cook.
• FM transmitters are lame. How much would it cost to include an auxiliary input jack in all cars? (The commercials for most cars call it an “MP3 jack.”)

My photoset of our weekend road trip to San Francisco

If you want a mellow place to hang out, you should drive out and see our band on Friday night! (Upcoming event link)

No Future Cafe
1500 E. Walnut St.
Pasadena, CA 91106

Cost: $4.00
Perks: Free coffee, hot chocolate or hot tea. All ages. Awesome environment. Great staff and volunteers from the local church.

8PM - Bella Fontaine (I can’t find their website)
9PM - Phantom Scream (my band)
10PM - A Midnight White

Will you take photos and upload them to Flickr? Please tag them with “Phantom Scream” and “No Future Cafe“.

If I convinced you to come and see us, please stop me, say hi, and take a picture with me! See you Friday night!

I tried ScribeFire because I saw it at the bottom of a few posts in Rev. Jon Swanson’s blog, Levite Chronicles. I’m dropping it because it doesn’t seem to code in XHTML. That’s all.

Jordan called me up a few minutes ago. “We have an extra ticket for this weekend’s baseball games - do you want to go?” Freddy bailed out last minute, and although he was willing to pay for the tickets he bought, Jordan’s been trying to find someone because four guys is better than three.

What ticket?

Technically, it’s two tickets. We’re going to games 2 and 3 (on Saturday, July 14th and Sunday, July 15th) between the S.F. Giants and the L.A. Dodgers.

After our show on Friday night, we’re driving up to San Francisco. (We as in Matt, Jordan, Bill, and me.) I’ve had no part in planning, but with what Jordan told me about the cost:

• tickets: $50 for the two games
• Motel 6 (near SFO): $25/night per person
• car rental: $25
• gasoline: $30
• food: $50/minimum (six meals)

For me, this is going to be insane because I’m working Friday, driving straight to Pasadena for our show, melting the faces of our fans, then leaving for San Francisco. Supposedly, Matt will be sleeping all day Friday so he can drive as much as possible through the night.

Goal for the baseball games: get our retirement money by catching Barry Bonds‘ 755^th or 756^th home runs. (That means he needs to hit 2 home runs on Friday, 2 home runs on Saturday, and 1 on Sunday to experience some craziness like never before.)

After the game on Saturday afternoon, as far as I know, we have nothing planned. I’m sure the guys will figure something out. Otherwise, if any of you up there want to hang out and give us an unforgettable road trip, here’s my cellphone number: (626) 485-5484. I’m on Verizon Wireless, so minutes and text/MMS messages are free if you have the same. Cheap Cost-effective activities are preferred - we’re not swimming in money (yet).

This is going to be a crazy weekend…

Last Thursday, Pete sent me a text message asking me if I wanted to make up for not being able to see “Transformers.” That was a rhetorical question, so he ordered a ticket for me online.

Shia LaBeouf was perfect for the movie, and so was Megan Fox. Um, yeah. Oh, and Tad Hamilton…er, I mean, Josh Duhamel was pretty good, too. Actually, I think the whole cast was picked very well.

Because of Megan Fox, there were some unnecessary sexual innuendos. Then again, Megan is a fox, but I digress.

Plot development wasn’t too great, but I won’t go any further to spoil that.

Other than that, you won’t be disappointed. The effects were awesome, and all the transformers emitted sheer power.

A few days ago, I was planning on seeing “Transformers” with some friends — but it was sold out. So, we saw “Ratatouille.”

It was awesome! Hilarious, clever, awesome animation (even cute at times), and a nice story line. If you like food, it might even inspire you to cook!

I give it 10/10. For reals. Everybody should love it!