Thursday, January 31, 2008

Adam and Jeremy Say: LOST TONIGHT! GET PSYCHED MAN!

Lost premiers TONIGHT! Oi! The entier Richmond Office is stoked, and apperently Pop Candy is stoked as well... head over to Pop Candy for all sotrs of Lost stuff... quizzes, updates, interviews, and strange billboards... like this one. Don't forget it's a two hour season premier of Lost tonight so tune in to ABC at 8PM, and if you need to get amped up (as if) then head over to the ABC website where it looks like it's all Lost all the time.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Adam and Jeremy Say:Fight Legalism

We had a discussion about secular vs. Christian music the other day. It's a bit thorough, but full of good philosophy. Enjoy.


Jeremy: have you recently had to defend your conviction that listening to secular music or even christian rock music is okay?

Adam: No, when I first got back into town, lots of folks who knew I was on a Christian radio station asked me questions about Christian bands, but over time that has stopped mainly because I wasn't being exposed to the bands people would want to talk about so eventually everyone just let it go. I can't think of anyone who has even mentioned it in the last year...have you had an experience like that?

Jeremy: a leader at our church is a "Christian music only" kinda guy, and so we were talking about why he thinks that the other day. it was really him talking the whole time, so its not like i had to defend why i think its okay to listen to rage against the machine. it was kinda frustrating, but I think God is telling me to let it go, because its not really a big deal. he doesnt expect the other leaders or even the youth to only listen to christian music, but you can tell that he frowns upon it. i dont think i have had to stick up for my music convictions in a long time, so it was kinda like deja vu.

Adam: When I was like a junior in high school, I went through this period where I was hanging out with these Christian Music only types... and I got all pumped about it and was destroying my secular CD's and what not. That lasted for maybe a year and one day I realized that 'hey I am a giant hypocrite...' here I am burning Sheryl Crow albums and smashing Beatles discs while I watch secular TV shows, and movies. Since then I have not thought to much about it...Following Christ is not some sort of ritualistic list of "Do Not's". in fact Following Christ is a very short list of "Do's"
1. Love the Lord God with all your heart mind and strength 2. Love your neighbor as yourself... to the point of dying for them.
Do not listen to Rage Against the Machine is not on there... though you could make a case that some of the things Rage stands for are opposed to God. So maybe your friend is right, maybe we should only listen to Carmen and Casting Crowns...


Jeremy: his main thing that he always repeats over and over is: "many things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial" catchy, i know, and there is definitely truth to that. my big thing is legalism. if you get so caught up in the do and don'ts of the christian faith then it becomes more of a religious act than it does a sincere passion for loving God.
sure it means well, but jesus taught more against the ways of the Pharisee than against the ways of the heathen. back in the day, i remember feeling guilty for not smashing my secular cds in the dorm room when some guys on the hall were doing it, but that just pissed me off that they would expect me to do something like that without really having the scripture to back it up. i do believe that everything we do is intended for the glorification of God, and so i try not to listen to any music that is intentionally against the characteristics of God. every now and then a sublime song will play, and i feel maybe that i should not listen to that, and rage is borderline also. but other than a "guilt" trip, ive never had a strong conviction that listening to secular music is wrong.
and of course it goes deeper than that, cause you have artists like dashboard, and bob dylan, and the rascal flatts(dont worry, im not a fan, but it plays into the discussion), where their lyrics dont really portray the black and white of the gospel, so we can't tell with certainty that they are christains just by listening to their music or even seeing them in concert. He says that bands like switchfoot and the like have a huge opportunity on a stage to share the gospel and if they dont do it, he almost considers them a fake. but ive heard christians artists from the stage say almost the exact opposite: "sure, we can sing about god, and we can even preach from a concert stage, but if we're not loving people we encounter its all just fake". and thats all that really matters. showing the love of christ. so that was the can of worms that we were discussing on sat. it wasnt even really about secular bands. it was about christian bands that have gone "mainstream" and have appeared to cover up their faith.


Adam: Well that irks me. One, Christian bands that crossover are put under huge pressure to tone down the Jesus references so that they will appeal to a larger audience. Two, when I type up a fact sheet and don't title it Jesus Loves you am I fake? Three, Christ is a personal relationship and so conveying a personal issue to a large audience is hard to do in detail. Four, not all of us are called to be preachers and evangelists; though all are called to witness, not all of us are called to do it in public. Five, Art is an expression of our creative natures... thus art is an expression of the Creator who created us... so it would be redundant to say that Art had to tell you that it was glorifying God since by its very nature it is glorifying God, and does not cease to do so just because an artist tries to bend it in an aniti-God manner... in fact, God is even more glorified because he has given the artist the free will to do with the talent that God created what ever he chooses.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Adam and Jeremy Say:The Return of Free Music? Really?

According to numerous reports from the uk, online music player Qtrax has a struck a deal with record companies offering free music downloads as of midnight last night.
According to other numerous reports, it's not actually true.

It appears Qtrax is still boasting about a large number of free, legal downloads from the website, but upon further investigation, here is a statement on their website once you get to the download screen: "We're thrilled with the massive response we've received. To ensure the best user experience, we're activating accounts in stages. In the meantime, enjoy all the functionalities of the Qtrax player like importing and playing your music and searching for artist-related content."
Apple can breath easy for the time being.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Adam Says: Richmond One of Americas Top 20 Most Romantic Cities

While reviewing my daily dose of PopCandy I ran across this list of most romantic cities in America according to Amazon.com... turns out Richmond has made the top 20!

Adam and Jeremy Say: Happy Birthday Lego



Lego turns 50 today, and if you are like Adam and Jeremy most of your childhood was spent locking these colorful blocks together... so go ahead and click on the link... let nostalgia consume you... we won't tell. Happy Birthday Lego.

Adam and Jeremy Say: Disturbing or Giant Waste of Time?

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Adam and Jeremy Say: The 2008 Music Rundown

Are you excited about the new year? You should be... maybe not excited about the charade that is presidential elections, or the inevitability of a Patriots Championship, but you should be excited about new music from The Kills, Panic at the Disco, R.E.M., Collin Meloy, David Bazan, Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, Zach de la Rocha, Franz Ferdinand, The Frey, The Killers, N.E.R.D., No Doubt, Oasis, the Raconteurs, The Marz Volta,The Streets, Supergrass, Thrice, U2, The Vines, Weezer, Wolfmother, and of course Guns N Roses (we realize that is the definition of irony.) At any rate you can read all about releases from these and more on this handy dandy web chart... honestly I have not found anything as complete as this anywhere else.

Adam and Jeremy say: Stick it to the Media


So I was watching a repeat of The Daily Show yesterday, and there was a fairly entertaining conversation between host, Jon Stewart, and a guest reporter from Newsweek Magazine(I forgot his name, but i think i like him).

Anyway, they were discussing the behaviors of the Media and whether or not the Media is simply reporting what happens during the elections, or are they going beyond that by focusing on controversial stories and thus affecting the way each candidate approaches their campaign. The guest went on to say that you wont have a news editor in the country that wont ask a writer/reporter "where's the conflict?" when reporting a story. Apparently all news stories are worthless unless there is some kind of conflict involved. It's not really surprising to know that the news people(I got tired of using the word "Media") will propagandize a story just to get people to watch, read, or listen. But I did find it interesting that two persons(Stewart and his guest) who actually do these things were talking about how it happens.

All to say, we all know that the media reports not just to deliver the news, but also to entertain and make money.

So don't get caught up in all the one-sided drama that the news is telling you. it's usually for the good of the people telling you, not you.


So, I did a little researching to help inform you the reader and I found the clip I was referring to.

See Below:(if you can't see the video, go here)

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Adam and Jeremy Say: Pirate Disco for Lisa Hannigan Proves that Shaky Cam Works for more than just over hyped monster movies.

You no doubt remember our wonder lust for the former Damien Rice side kick Lisa Hannigan... well an album is forth coming and here is an early demo version of her first video off said album :

My Pirate Disco (Lisa Hannigan) DDP

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Adam Says: Faith or Manipulation Strikes A Chord With Me.


It does not happen often (mainly because thinking makes my head hurt) but every once in a while I read or hear something that makes me say "Hey that's what I was thinking." To that point here is a thought provoking article from Relevant.com that made me say that very thing.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Adam and Jeremy Say: Cloverfailed

Even though there is no heat in the building the Richmond office is back up and running, and just in time to tell you all about my super fantastic fun adventure through a New York monster attack last night...

So the J.J. Abrams hype machine know as Cloverfield set a January box office record over the weekend... meaning many of you may already know what I am about to say, but for those who have yet to see it...


1. Shaky-cam makes me nauseous.

2. Monsters attacking NYC are so cliche.

3. However, shooting the whole thing from one persons perspective is a pretty cool take on it.

4. Keeping the audience blacked out on the details outside the group that the camera follows helped to build anxiety and a desire for closure.

5. While the movie was not great I would actually go see a sequel just to learn more about the monster.

6. 28 Weeks Later, and I Am Legend ruined any chance this film had of making me think it was great... both movies follow similar plot lines (people trying to survive monster attacks in large cities) and both movies were more engaging for me.

7. The love story did not help my interest in the characters... actually by the end of the movie I hoped that everyone would be dead so I wouldn't have to put up with their bad acting anymore.

8. We are all suckers for hype.


In list form those are my thoughts... in other movie news... I am actually really excited about Ironman.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Adam Says: So I have a theory about Photographs...

So last weekend Adam and Jeremy alum and friend K-dog went and got married... something about wanting to lose his virginity before he loses his hair... that's a rough interpretation but you get the gist of it. As is custom K-Dog's male friends decided that he should celebrate his singleness one more time before he says the big I DO... of course since K-Dog's friends are all Liberty Grads and Pastor's that meant doing something really crazy... like eating bar food, playing pool, and GASP drinking one or two beers (literally one or two beers... that's not some sort of coy turn of phrase... by the end of the night our waitress was so sick of refilling Diet Cokes that she may have tried to poison one of us.) I mean since both K-Dog and I are Liberty Alum we figured Jerry Falwell may not let us into heaven if we broke more than one rule from the Liberty Way. All of that to say that I took pictures... and some of them came out really good, but in the process I learned that no one takes a good picture when you use the pop up flash on your Nikon from less than three feet away... it's just not possible... let me illustrate...

Here is the Big Man himself caught in the act... oh it gets better...

Here is Pastor Jason after like three root beers... and people trust this man with their children's eternal souls... scoff!

K-Dog has an older brother, but for this picture we found this old lady on the side of the street fed her some raw lemons and let her stand in for said brother... what on earth... I will say this is my favorite bad photo of all time..

And then this happened... totally throwing off my theory... except for the fact that of these four photos this is the only person who actually consumed alcohol... all the others were completely sober... Dub was sober too... but that beer he is the only thing that differentiates this man's photo from the rest of the group... (I admit its not a great photo but in comparison...)

So there you have it... no pop up flashes... always shoot from distance greater than three feet... and make sure you subject has had one or two to loosen them up... if you want to see photos I have taken that are not bad check out my photo blog... well at least I think they are not bad.

Adam and Jeremy say: Kimya Dawson/Juno Invade Richmond Plan 9


Kimya Dawson, who's "heart-on-sleeve-hippie-indie-folk" made the soundtrack for Juno (GO SEE IT YOU LAZY BUMS) worth dropping fifteen dollars on, will be at the Plan 9 in Carrytown Friday January 25th. The entire Richmond office plans on being there and you should as well... if you haven't heard Kimya Dawson or the Moldy Peaches by now you have a problem and should correct that immediately... if you have then I expect to see you January 25th at Plan 9 (7PM.)

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Adam and Jeremy Say:Forget abou' it.


Jeremy: Have you questioned why our congress is spending time/money worrying about baseball players and steroids instead of the other zillion issues the country is dealing with?

Adam: It is the stupidest waste of money I can come up with... yesterday here in Richmond they announced that the R-Braves will be leaving at the end of the season... and I was like "great!" people don't go to the games so why would I care if the team was here or not... Nationally I just feel like Baseball is becoming soccer. More and more foreign players are coming in and playing... the season is super long... the games take forever and the scores are too low... except, unlike soccer, people don't care about the teams. Unless you live in a baseball city I don't think any of this steroid era mess in congress makes any sense to you.


Jeremy: Why aren't people starting to protest this? i mean at first i was annoyed just hearing about it on sportscenter, and now for our federal government to be using all these resources on the issue is just tickin' me off! who do i write a letter to asking them to forget about the whole thing and if MLB wants to do something about it, then to let them handle it. They are after all a private organization. I've never been a big fan of the game itself(i don't care if it is a supposed "national pastime"). its a dumb sport, and it needs to be demoted socially. and for our gosh darn government to be all worried about it, just takes the cake. It wouldn't even matter if this was football or Basketball we were talking about. The fed do not need to be involved! Seriously we need to protest this, so they can see that people really don't care about baseball like they used to, and that this whole thing is a big waste of time. I haven't heard one person(besides people in the media) complain about steroids in baseball, and when I try to bring it up around the office, no one cares. It's all a big show, and we need to just quit worrying about the dumb thing and worry about things that actually matter.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Adam and Jeremy Say: Zooey + M. Ward = Beautiful Beautiful Music

I can never get enough Zooey! To hear that she and indie darling M. Ward are working on an album together is just sublime. Quick head over to Pitchfork to get all the amazing details.

Adam and Jeremy Say: Women Shouldn't Vote Or Should They (warning: article contains humor and may offend humorless people)

Adam - I have decided that women should not have the right to vote.

Jeremy - That's crazy! What's your reasoning?

Adam - In past presidential elections the media reported that there was a significant portion of women voters who voted for the candidate they found more attractive... soccer mom types no doubt... then yesterday I was listening to NPR and they had these three women on who voted for Hillary in NH because she was a woman... I feel if women are going to vote for candidates based on such ancillary issues that they really should not have the right to vote... obviously I am over stating my case here... not all women are crazy like this and so making a broad ban on all women voters would be too much, but I really think this strikes a significant blow to the credibility of any candidate that wins an election like it was a beauty contest.

Jeremy - Hmm....did the media give what percentage this "significant portion" of women it actually was?

How about this; as men, are we going to not vote for Hillary just because she is a woman?

Adam - Well if by "we are not going to vote for Hillary just because she is a woman." You mean that we are not going to vote for Hillary because she is a cry baby socialist scum bag then yes I guess I could see your point.

Jeremy - So, I'm just saying, that men also might have some bias for not voting for a female candidate just because she is female. if we can prove that all men vote with such pure reasons, then we might have a case. I'm guessing that there are probably just as many men that agree with Hillary, but won't vote for her because she is a woman, as women who will vote for her just because she is a woman.

As far as the attractive thing, its a fact of life. Some people will get votes just because they look better. Where did I hear it said that Lincoln would never have won an election during the years of television? Nevermind where I heard it, but apparently, if people knew what he really looked like being tall, lanky, and ugly, he never would have been voted president.

Adam - Honestly I see your very rational point... but the very irrational part of me still thinks that something is out of whack here.

Jeremy - Well yeah, people are out of whack. Men and women. Sure women can be a little more whack than men, but....we still have to let them vote.

Adam - But cant you just see Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry sitting around a pub in Philly saying:

PH - "Well I know all men are equal, but where does that leave women?"

TJ - "Women? Women are crazy... we should never let them be equal to men."

PH - "Don't you think that may be bias?"

TJ - "Last night my wife backs the wagon right into the side of the garage... do you think I am going to let a woman who can't even park a wagon have any say in running this country?... shoot they shouldn't even vote."

PH - "Yeah could you imagine who they would elect to run this country?"

TJ - "I am guessing it would be a toss up between that pretty boy George Washington or that douche bag James Madison."

PH - "Madison is a total jerk but he dresses so stylishly..."

TJ - "Yeah and I hear Washington is really good in the sack."

PH - "No shit."

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Adam and Jeremy Say: World's Strongest Dad

Okay, so I'm not a huge fan of the song, and the lyrics don't really fit the video, but the video is awesome none the less.

A little background on this clip for those that don't know. Not long after these pictures were taken, the father had a severe heart attack. To sumarize, he survived, and his doctor said something interesting. He said, "Your son saved your life."
See, while his son was growing up confined to a wheel chair and only being able to speak through a computer by noding his head, one day after his dad took him on his first jog, his son was able to communicate to him, "I FEEL ALIVE".
Basically that inspired the father to start doing this more, and eventually he was able to complete triathalons with his son.
Back to the point of the story. If he has not been inspired by his son to do all that stuff, his body would have not have been healthy enough to survive the heart attack.
With that being said, enjoy the clip.

P.S. Sure we've all made fun of cripled people before, but maybe you can back up from that for a moment and really think about how we should treat people.

Adam Says: Skybus Hates Me and Really I Hate It.

So I have a new nickname for the year 2007; "2007 The Year of Bad Customer Service." You already know all about my issues with Larry at Blockbuster, but over the holiday I had an experience that can top even that. After Christmas me and the wife headed out to Ohio (its flat, cold and smells like poop) to visit family. We decided the cheapest option for our travel would be flying to Columbus by Skybus. When D-day came we checked in online at the Skybus website, we arrived at the airport an hour early we got our bags on the plane we stopped for breakfast we jumped on the plane and in less than two hours we were in Ohio (flat, cold and smells like poop.) We enjoyed our stay and then came the morning of our last day.

We woke up at the butt crack of dawn to head over to the Columbus airport so we could catch our 6AM flight. Since we were leaving from grandmas we didn't have access to a computer to check in so we headed to the airport without the online check in assuming that we could check in there. Once again we get there one hour early (5AM) alas when we get there we find out that Skybus has seven different flights leaving before 7AM and thus there is a super huge line waiting for us. Right away we were worried about making our flight so we talked to an airport official about our situation; you see Skybus policy is that they will not check in bags for a flight thirty minutes or less before the flight. The airport official tells us to stay in line. then we see a Skybus girl (I will call all Skybus employees Skybus girls because I don't think one of them was old enough to drink and they were all female) and we told her about our situation and once again we were told to stay in line, finally we spoke to a second airport official who was directing the line and they also told us to stay in line.

You may have guessed this but by the time we reached the Skybus girl at the counter she tells us she can check us in but she can't check our bag. Oddly enough we found this to be an issue. So we ask "What should we do with our bag?" seemed reasonable... answer: "leave it here." At which point through the red challenge flag... you want us to leave our bag here? Come on that's crazy talk, and because it was so early the UPS store had yet to open so we did not even have the option of sending the bag to ourselves... after a several moments of frantic "serious? is there anything else we can do?" exclamations me and the wife mutually decided that we needed to speak with a manager. Let me spell this out for you Shakespeare style.
Adam: I need to speak to a manager.
Skybus girl: (dumb founded stare, drool drips down chin) Okay (turns to right and hollars down to Skyburs girl at end of the counter waiting on other customers) Suzy can you talk to these people?
Skybus girl manager: Do you want me to talk to them about why they are missing their flight? (rolls eyes like we can't see and hear everything going on.)
Adam: Are you serious? don't roll your eyes like that! We can't help that your system sucks. (then we stand and wait... and wait... and wait until finally Skybus girl wipes the crust out of her eyes.)
Skybus girl: Yeah you are going to need to go down to her line to talk to her (after ten minutes of waiting. We quickly head over to Skybus girl managers line... now I know its not polite but we cut into the front of the line.)
Skybus girl manager: You are going to need to go to the back of the line.
Adam: What? (I turn around to the rest of the line and ask if it would be okay for us to cut in line... and of course when the six foot four bearded man with the crazed look in his eye makes such a forceful request everyone is okay with the idea ((I don't know what I would do if I was short.))
Skybus girl manager: How can I help you (like she just didn't slight us twice in the last fifteen minutes.)
Adam: Yeah we are going to Richmond and we need to get our bag on the flight.
SGM: Let me see your tickets; (scan tickets) I'm sorry I can't check you into this flight.
Adam: What?!!?
SGM: It's too late to check you into this flight.
Adam: Seriously I have been waiting here for the last fifteen minutes and forty five minutes before that I waited in your line it's not my fault your system is a complete mess... what am I supposed to do about that?
SGM: The website states that you should be here two hours ahead of time, but if you came up when you got here would could have pushed you through (tell me that is not the ultimate insult... at this point I am on the verge of going King Kong)
Adam: Urgh... can we get a refund or another flight?
SGM: No.
Adam: Can I speak to your manager?
SGM: No they will not be in until Wednesday.
Adam: Can I have their number?
SGM: No.
Adam: So what am I supposed to do?
SGM: I don't know, sorry.

Yeah then everything goes red and I do my best King Kong impression... its a little foggy now but my wife tells me she was not pleased by my behavior...

I won't bore you with the details but we finally get the ear of an airport employee who cares... Brian is supper nice and understand... alas Brian can't give us our money back, but he is willing to help in any other way he can. He then tells us that we should talk to the Skybus Grand Pu Ba; Brandie (yep she spells it just like a stripper;) and he will get hold of her for us. To say the least we were confused by the existence of another manager on the premises because Skybus Girl Manager told us there was none... but wait... there is actually another manager on site... we were lied too! Hm... so Brian gets this new Skybus Girl Grand Pu Ba on the phone and she says she will come down as soon as possible... the phrase "come down" automatically makes me think of a queen up in her ivory tower so this is not getting off on the right foot. Apparently she comes down at some point, but instead of meeting us in the lobby area with Brian she goes to Skybus ticket counter and "waits" for us... while Brian heads off to find Brandie my wife spies a frumpy squat little woman with long brown hair heading off to Chili's for breakfast with Skybus Girl Manager...

An hour later the pair come out and Brian informs us that Miss Frumpy 2007 is actually Brandie... based on my previous negotiating tactics the wife decides she should handle this one alone... fifteen minutes later she returns red in the face... Frumpy was zero help... apparently we are the only ones to miss our flight that morning and she can't help us... but we can send an email complaint to the Skybus website... great, thanks, have a nice life.

At this point we are out the Skybus airfare... which was not the ten dollar tickets mind you... plus the other carries in the airport don't fly direct to Richmond so its either $300 for a flight to BWI or Norfolk that lands at 3PM (It's currently 8AM) or $600 for a flight that will get in to Richmond at 2PM via Philly... not appealing options so we decide to rough it in a rental car and drive the 8 hours back to Richmond... not happy... out another $150... In conclusion yes I realize that we did not help the situation by only getting there an hour early, but honestly I do not think I have ever been treated so poorly in my entire life... and that includes Blockbuster Larry. Customer service is not hard and sometimes you cant help a customer but you can communicate the issue to the customer... "Oh I am so sorry you can't check your bag because homeland security requires half an hour lead time to make sure all baggage is safe for air travel, but we can put it on tomorrow mornings flight to Richmond." "Wow I am so sorry about this but we can't take your bag, if you want I can book you for tomorrow mornings flight to Richmond." " I understand this long line is a real hassle and I am sorry you missed your flight." Really "Sorry" is the very least they could say... needless to say Adam and Jeremy will not be flying Skybus and we do not endorse the use of this tyrannical airline... I hope you head our warning and stay away from this flying nightmare.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Adam and Jeremy Say: Man Lives In IKEA for Week.

This guy is living in an IKEA for the next week, and he is given us all the pleasure of watching him live the Sweedish dream His name is Mark Malkoff and this is not is first venture into viral stunts he is also the man who visited 171 Starbucks in one 24hour period. Well we could go on but it really dosen't seem that important... so check out the link if it iterests you, and if it dosen't well I have a story coming up that will blow your mind.

Adam and Jeremy Say: Stay Informed


If you haven't heard, the US Presidential Election is this year. To find out where the candidates stand on one of the Life and Death issues, swing on over to this website: http://www.ppaction.org/ppvotes/08_candidate_quotes.html
By the way, vote for Adam and Jeremy.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Adam and Jeremy Say: Not another list!

I think it's safe to say we are still amidst the season of Top 100 lists, and you know Adam and Jeremy love Top 100 lists.
You also know that Adam and Jeremy love food. Well, then what would be better than the Top 100 recipes of 2007 according to the experts at the Food Network.