I Love Playing Music: When nobody's looking

I like playing my guitar. I play it nearly every day. I find it very relaxing and cathartic. I pretty much taught myself via internet tabs, but have picked up a few things on my own, as well. Over the years, I've gotten pretty not too bad.

Something I'm not too good at, however, is singing. But that doesn't mean I don't like to do it. It's just that, because I'm so bad, I don't practice when other people can hear me.

Every now and then, I get a few hours alone at the house. So I rock out. Because no one can hear me and I can turn up my amp.

Depending on the amount of time I have, sometimes I even record a little bit. That's what I did tonight. I was really lazy, so I didn't bother to plug in. Also, it's just one take, recorded in sound recorder with a cheap microphone. You might need to turn the volume up some.

Enjoy. Or not. You're call.

Johnny B Goode by Me: (http://www.poonheads.com/mUpload/images/200804252205212.mp3)

~Ben

Undershirts

For a while now, depending on who you talk to, I've been known for wearing plain white t-shirts. In the hot, muggy, South Louisiana weather, keeping cool is vary important. That's where the simple white shirts come in handy

My plain white t-shirts aren't just plain white t-shirts, however. They are undershirts. Size large, hanes, crew neck, undershirts. And I never leave home without one.

Undershirts are not like regular t-shirts. Typically, they're made of a lighter weave, rather than the thick weave of a 'heavyweight'. This makes them ideal for wearing in hot weather. Nice and cool and breezy.

Something to keep in mind is that they are designed to be worn under other shirts. Undershirts... Get it? They come in two main styles: crew neck and V-neck. V-necks are, just as they sound, shaped like a V at the neck. They're designed to be worn under dress shirts when you don't want the collar to show and would rather your chest hair peak out at the top. I prefer the crew neck, myself, because they're more acceptable when worn without an overshirt.

Another thing is that the sleeves are a lot shorter than normal t-shirts. You don't want the sleeves of the undershirts sticking out from under the overshirt. You want them to be unseen as much as possible. Unfortunately, the sleeves are so short that when I'm not wearing an overshirt, my armpit hair sticks out when I lift my arms up. Not that I do that much. And even then, I get a nice breeze in my pits. Very refreshing.

Of course, I only wear an undershirt with no overshirt when it's really hot. Just the undershirt alone is typically inappropriate for a night on the town or work. Plus, since it's such a thin material, it's semi-transparent. Which means you can see my nipples. Which is not something I like to show off. My manly chest hair, however, is a different story.

From a practical standpoint, the utility of wearing an undershirt as an undershirt cannot be overlooked. It provides an extra layer to separate your body from your outer garment. Even though I wear antiperspirant deodorant, I, like most people, still sweat at the pits (and back and chest) when overheating. The undershirt will absorb a lot of the sweat, preventing it from soaking through to the outerwear, possibly ruining your good shirts and causing much embarrassment. Also, as a larger (read: chubby) guy, I'm a bit self conscious about certain unnatural folds and creases. An undershirt provides extra padding that equalizes the fatty bits, preventing jiggling and causing a more stream lined appearance.

Keep in mind that no amount of protection can completely prevent these problems. A little sweat may show through. A pot belly may still be apparent. The idea is that it subdues it. Disguises it. Makes it not so obvious. Nothing can help more than a healthy diet and a bit of excercise (or prescription strength antiperspirant if that sort of thing is a problem).

A lot of people wear A-shirts, or Muscle shirts, or wife-beaters as undershirts. This may be useful for the equalizer factor, but does nothing for the pit stains. Also, you look like redneck trailer trash when wearing them alone. I don't really see a point in that. Another variation is the long-sleeved variety. In the south, where temperatures rarely get below 50°F, long sleeves are impractical when a hoodie or light jacket would suffice. For these reasons, I will stick to my tees for the time being.

In conclusion, undershirts are an essential part of any man's wardrobe. It provides enough coverage so as not to be arrested for indecent exposure on a hot day and acts as a second layer of protection in between your outfit and your bare skin. I highly recommend Hanes 100% cotton crewneck, but it's really a matter of personal preference.

Until next time,

~Ben

I Love Music: From Across The Pond

As I've said many times before, I listen to Virgin Radio (a UK based radio station) at work, pretty much all day. This exposes me to a lot of music that many of my American compatriots are unaware of. And also, it makes me look cool cuz I can say, "I only like obscure British bands". That means a lot.

Anyway. In an effort to enlighten my fellow Americans, I present to you a small selection of artists currently airing on Virgin.

In no particular order:

Amy Macdonald - the first Virgin artist I really took a liking to. Soon after hearing her for the first time I was compelled to import her debut album, "This is the life". She's got a few singles out, but what follows is the song that really made me fall for this Scottish beauty.

Duffy - the non-crack addict's Amy Winehouse. Since Ms. Winehouse broke this style into the modern charts, there's been an influx of soulful British babes, singing their hearts out. Duffy has a rich voice backed by an upbeat poppy arrangement.

One Night Only - these guys are pretty new to my musical lexicon. They manage to use the same kitsch indie/britpop formula that has become bland and muddled in recent years and turn it into something above average and appealing to my ears.

The Kooks - are my current all-time favorite band. It's a good mix of that classic British-Invasion rock and modern sensibilities. But mostly that classic British-Invasion rock. I bought the first album and it was super bad-ass. I eagerly look forward to their next release.

And there you have it. Four of my favorite musical acts from across the pond. I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I have. I'll try to keep you posted on any new findings.

Until next time,

~Ben

Resources
Virgin Radio online: (http://www.virginradio.co.uk/)
Amy Macdonald on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Macdonald_%28singer%29)
Amy Macdonald on Amazon: (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st?rs=5174&page=1&rh=n%3A5174%2Cp_32%3AAmy+MacDonald%2Cp_n_binding_browse-bin%3A387645011&sort=-releasedate)
Duffy on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duffy_%28singer%29)
Duffy on Amazon: (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=music&field-artist=Duffy)
One Night Only on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Night_Only_%28band%29)
One Night Only on Amazon: (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=music&field-artist=One%20Night%20Only)
The Kooks on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kooks)
The Kooks on Amazon: (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=music&field-artist=Kooks)

Classic Wisdom: Lament of a Batsplosion

I've been slacking off again. Bad Ben! And what happens when I slack? I post a classic wisdom.

Man, we haven't successfully exploded anything in years. We tried to explode a chicken on new years. But that failed hard due to my inexperience. "Next time!" I say, "Next Time!".

Back in the day, we weren't so ambitious and our attempts were more fruitful. This Wisdom references this comic: (http://www.poonheads.com/comics/?id=8)

Lament of a Batsplosion

This is based on a true story.

One evening, the Poonheads got together and were hanging out, looking for stuff to do. We had a failed art project (a paper mache bat) and we had some fireworks, both complements of Pillboy... So we went outside and blew up the bat. Well... we tried to. It didn't blow up. Because we didn't secure the explosives well enough inside the bat, it actually flew towards us. So afterwards, we used the Batsplosion as a Batarang, and it got stuck in a tree.

The rest of the night was filled with many interesting memories including a suicidal squid, torturing Mark with Mello Yello and Donovan, and sliding down the stair case on a sleeping bag. Good times were had by all.

Anyways... I was quite happy with the way this comic turned out. Good art. Good punch line. And hey... Who can't love the Batsplosion? Ain't he cute?

In other news... I've been slacking off... I've gotten hooked on Anarchy Online, so my time has been consumed by that lately and not been where it should be -- Poonheads.com. I'm sorry. But, you'll be glad to know, I've cancelled my subscription and will be atteption to devote more of my time to Poonheads. ... When I'm not devoting it to more important things like sleeping and playing Halo. And who's idea was it to make Halo NOT x-box live compatible? I'm going to have to wait until NOVEMBER for Halo 2 to play with other people, huh... until then I'm going to get sniped to death by Drew... Damn you Drew... Damn you to a Sniper Rifle-less Hell!

Weekly Wisdom: Please Sweep your Patio!

~~Benabus

Ironically, I later got re-addicted to Anarchy Online and un-addicted to Halo. Recently, my AO account expired and I forgot to re-subscribe because I've been busy. That's okay, though. By the end of the year, they're supposed to switch to the Age of Conan graphics engine. I'll probably resubscribe then. So that I can become more unsocial than I am now.

~Ben


Resources:
Anarchy Online: (http://www.anarchy-online.com)