HARLEY

Harley, a Black Labrador Retriever, is almost four years old. She is best pals with Lori, who works as a manager at the Berkeley Amoeba Music store.  The two start every day by going up to Lake Chabot for an invigorating morning walk/run. "My other dog Cody passed away and someone who worked at Amoeba put me in touch with someone whose dog had just had a litter. All seven of the litter were girls," recalled Lori. "Organic dairy farmers out in Cloverdale  -- so we went out there and saw her at 4 weeks and then at again at 7 weeks old when we picked her up." Lori notes that Harley has a good "dog friend" in a fellow AmoebaDog. "I share an office with Naomi and Harley and Liebchen (scroll down to see her profile) get along really well together," she smiled. 

KAHLESS

Kahless (rhymes with Payless) is an Australian Cattle Dog and is the best friend of Paul Vasquez, who works in the world music section of Amoeba Music Hollywood. Recently Paul recalled that fateful day three years ago when he and Kahless first crossed paths. "It was one afternoon in April 2004; I was looking for a dog at the animal shelter in Pomona. I looked at plenty of animals, but none of them really caught my eye. On the way out, I saw a picture on a bulletin board of a dog with beautiful eyes and super crazy spots. I looked to my left, and there he was in his little cell. I went to him and knelt down to see his reaction. No barking, no weirdness, just eye contact and a wagging tail. All of a sudden he put one of his paws through the bars onto my knee. That was it. I chose him and he chose me. We've been best friends ever since."

This short European television commercial with music by the Outthere Brothers (which, be forewarned, just may be offensive to some sensitive ears) was made to advertise a course in learning English as a second language.

      

I love Oakland, CA and I have always enjoyed taking random pictures around and about "the Town," as it is fondly known by locals. These photos, the first in a two-part series (shot over the past few months),  were all taken within about a mile radius of downtown Oakland. Thematically disconnected, they are merely various images that appealed to my personal sensibilities, such as the above shot in Chinatown Oakland one Sunday morning when it is a-bustle with folks grabbing dim sum from the numerous eateries dotted throughout the area (Well worth a visit if you've never been. Meanwhile, just down the street on Broadway, at Jack London Sq, is the farmer's market, although the Saturday-only farmers market over near Grand Lake Theater is a much more fun market, in my opinion). The above shot is about the only one of a person I took, as I gravitate more towards inanimate objects. Plus, I don't like to invade peoples' personal space. And if I ever do take pics of people, I always ask their permission first -- as with the gentleman above.

The shot below is by Lake Merritt, and while art-cars might be a common sight around the Bay Area, it is only when you travel outside to other states/places you realize that it is not quite so commonplace to see such intricately decorated vehicles. I have spent many hours just stopping to admire and study the countless art-cars I have seen around Oakland and Berkeley. They're amazing. I love the detail and the creative use of various found and recycled objects (including lots of toys) that people put into decorating these cars and I admire their makers for not wanting to adhere to the strict, bland uniformity of merely leaving their cars exactly as they rolled off the assembly line. These are truly unique vehicles. The picture below with the koala bear is the roof of this particular art car while the second last picture is of the hood of this same auto, which is just so creatively and lovingly decorated with keys, beads, and cocktail drink stirrers -- all cemented into a perfect form and design. 

As recently reported by the BBC, the remaining members of the Sex Pistols (John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon, Steve Jones, and Paul Cook) will reunite for a concert in London, England on November 8th this year to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of their punk rock classic and modern music history-changing 1977 album Never Mind The Bollocks....Here's the Sex Pistols. This will not be the first time the band has reformed since its abrupt break up in January 1978 in San Francisco at the end of their one and only US tour, or since Sid Vicious died of a drug overdose in 1979.

Eleven years ago the Sex Pistols reformed for the 1996 Filthy Lucre Tour, which included dates in the States, Europe, Australia, Japan, and other countries. They also reformed and performed in 2002, which coincidentally was the year of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. The makers of "God Save The Queen" performed that year at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London. And most recently, the Sex Pistols performed in 2003 when they did a brief 3-week tour of the US which they fondly titled the Piss Off Tour.

There are numerous books and chapters in books written about the Pistols. In terms of video footage, the best full-length piece is The Filth and the Fury, the Julien Temple 2000 documentary which you should find on DVD at Amoeba Music. It's really amazingly engaging and educational and well worth owning. Of the countless controversial interviews that the Sex Pistols, and in particular the brilliant John Lydon, have conducted, two are included below. These are the infamous British Thames TV interview with Bill Grundy back in Januray 1976 (that includes a very young Siouxse Sioux), and the more recent John Lydon interview from last year with Jimmy Kimmel in which he tells it like it is in reaction to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lydon and,the other two surviving members promptly turned the offer down, vocally dismissing it as an "obscene gesture." Check out both video clips. They're great!

Another great band that I learned of thanks to Amoeba Music is the super- talented San Francisco group Deerhoof, who, in my opinion, defy categorization.  Deerhoof has just posted an entire album free for downloading on the Kill Rock Stars website. Now available by clicking on this link, the thirteen songs come with this suggestion from the band members: "I don't know how long we can keep these up here, I might recommend downloading now and asking questions later."  So in other words, Deerhoof fans-- get busy ye'all. Also on that same Deerhoof ChooChooChooChooBeepBeep page of the Kill Rock Stars website are some great photos, videos, and lots of recommended reading, including the band's firsthand experience opening for Radiohead (who are diehard fans of Deerhoof) on their tour and at the Berkeley Greek Theater show (see excerpt of video footage below).