Radio Free Tobias

Phil Dawson? Or the Incredible Hulk? You decide.

2008-11-17T23:58:00.011-05:00

Ever since Mark Price was traded to the Bullets, I have lacked a favorite player. I mean, Terrell Brandon and Kenny Lofton filled the role for awhile, they got traded, too. Then, the Browns got shipped off to the Dirty South (technically one of the middle colonies but who's keeping score?)

Anyway, LeBron James is an obvious candidate, but perhaps that's exactly what's wrong -- it's kind of like rooting for the Yankees. I mean I'll take the wins and the unbelievable performances, but the guy's dominated every level since 8th grade. The guy could dunk a Holstein. Boring.

That brings me to my point. Phil Dawson. The original (new) Brown. Rivals only Matt Stover for length of tenure with a former or current Browns franchise. Dawson is a steady, underrated, under-appreciated player who has never been known for his leg strength as much as his level-headedness, accuracy and consistency. In an industrial town like Cleveland, you'd figure those attributes would be worth a lot.

However, he's kicked field goals of 54, 52, and 56 yards in the past three games, stroking the last one just minutes ago with the game on the line. Surprising? Yes. Especailly considering that before three weeks ago, Dawson had only kicked 3 50+ field goals since 2004.

Could LeBron kick a 56 yard field goal? To wit: no!

Is Phil Dawson juiced? Maybe some sort of supplement? Where is this leg strength coming from? A deal with the devil? New workout routine?

Or has the ever-elusive key to the Browns being successful this whole time just been that Romeo needed to cut Dawson loose and sic him on the other team? Maybe he's just now running free and wild. He's listed as 205, but he's gotta be tipping the scales at 210, 212 at least. I think Romeo needs to start lining Dawson up 60, 70 yards.

Special teams, beware. You'll notice that Marcus Stroud almost blocked the 56 yarder, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Maybe he was afraid of losing a digit to Cleveland's leg cannon.

Just look at the photo -- Dawson's a maniac! Roid rage? Or just raw, unbridled masculinity? You be the judge.

Obama and the McCain smear touchstones

2008-10-15T21:51:00.003-04:00

I'm watching the presidential debate. I'm not going to do a point by point analysis of this thing, but I'm observing McCain doing a much better job. He's speaking in a more level tone with a softer tenor to his voice. I think he did a good job of making Obama miss the mark on some of his GOP talking point associations, particularly ACORN.

Obama took time to address a question about Ayers and then about ACORN stating he sat on an education board 10 years ago with Ayers, and served as a lawyer for ACORN in a 1995 suit against the State of Illinois.

Obama probably is keeping it brief in regards to "his association with Ayers" because I would imagine, in his estimation, speaking more and more about the topic, even in an effort to set the record straight, would lend more credence to the McCain campaign's claims than perhaps they deserve.

Obama didn't mention the extent of the other associations, however innocuous, the two share -- my understanding from reading Chicago newspaper articles is the two were notable Chicago liberals. I have also read Obama reviewed one of Ayers' books in the Tribune, but I haven't been able to substantiate this with a primary source.

Regardless, his whole thing smacks of a smear campaign with racist subtext and is such a non-issue it's almost absurd. McCain's comment that "he doesn't care about some washed-up terrorist" clashes right against Palin's rhetoric of "pallin' around with terrorist." Big surprise.

More importantly, he did not mention that his campaign gave ACORN $800,000 and then amended an FEC report to reflect why they did it. I don't know enough about ACORN at this point to know if the alleged voter fraud is endemic, but by not disclosing this obviously relevant piece of information, it erodes his credibility.

As an Obama supporter and an Ohio voter, I'm frustrated at his lack of response to the ACORN issue. My assumption is the politically expedient decision is for him to sweep it under the rug and hope swing voters don't notice.

One thing is for sure, Ohio voters are going to be hearing quite a bit about voter fraud.

Cordray says contribution, contract not related

2008-10-06T16:56:00.007-04:00

Look, Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray is really smart. Really smart.

So smart, in fact, that I bet he would realize that when a maximum $10,000 contribution shows up from an twentysomething individual donor whose stepdad happens to be Wachovia bonds salesman, maybe he should question it.

The Dayton Daily News really nailed this one -- in the article, Daily News reporter Laura A. Bischoff observes Wachovia gained about 37 percent of the state's investment portfolio's total bonds after Cordray took office.

I think a "common sense" test would shoot some holes in Cordray's claim that the money was unrelated to the assignment of increased contracts with Wachovia -- at the very least, the appearance of impropriety is pretty obvious here. This sounds like a dirty trick for it to be leaked to the media -- likely how the Daily News ended up with it -- so late in the election season.

Wonder what this will do for Michael Crites' campaign. Cordray has said he returned the contribution, although, as Crites pointed out, after he was caught "red-handed."

Cordray sends out more press releases than every other Ohio office combined (a slight, but not complete exageration), and while I don't know him, this would lead me to believe he's media-savvy. It's no secret that state-level Democrats' credibility has already taken a beating in many Ohioans' eyes. If I were him, I would be worried about how this will play.

If this takes hold, it could means curtains for Corday. (ooh! alliteration!)

Jack Thompson disbarred

2008-09-25T22:11:00.003-04:00

Some may know that I am interested in the American far-right.

Especially if you've read this article I wrote for my college paper -- quick sidebar, seems like such a long time ago, especially now that I write for such a classy rag.

Anyway, it appears Jack Thompson done got himself disbarred.

As Google would just so have it, he's sort of a causes célèbres for the video game crowd. As the internet is overwhelmingly populated by geeks, the story is making the rounds on video game websites. It's even giving a few geeks a reason to celebrate.

Read this PDF version of the ruling for a few laughs.

Democratic National Convention

2008-08-25T22:16:00.005-04:00

So I was planning on watching this on my apartment's rabbit ears TV... (it's a bit of dichotomy... you see, I have a rather fancy LCD HDTV -- whose manufacturer, coincidently, filed chapter 11 not too long ago -- but no cable)

But American political conventions always remind me a bit of the Triumph of the Will, except it's a "talkie" -- unfortunately.

This picture, courtesy of BBC, speaks for itself. May God, our merciful and just God, help us all.

Two BBC journalists shot dead in last 48 hours

2008-06-08T16:30:00.004-04:00

This is what makes me nervous when friends travel to dangerous places to cover stories.

Afghani BBC correspondent Abdul Samad Rohani was kidnapped on Saturday. His body was found earlier today, according to the BBC.

Likewise, Nasteh Dahir Farah, the vice-president of the National Union of Somali Journalists (a partner organization of Reporters Without Borders) was killed yesterday as he returned home from work. Farah also worked for the Associated Press. According to Reporters Without Borders, Somalia is the deadliest country for journalists.

Eighty-six journalists and 20 media assistants were killed in 2007, including eight in Somalia, according to Reporters Without Borders.

A public service announcement from Radio Free Tobias

2008-06-04T13:23:00.004-04:00

Just reminding everyone to keep it real.

Another WTF moment

2008-06-04T12:59:00.005-04:00

Ok, so I noticed this awhile ago but never actually took the initiative to blog about it.

I aspire for very few things in life, but a notable aspiration is that I will never be a big enough tool that I would willfully and knowingly purchase and/or wear a shirt like this. Even irony has its limits.

OMFG

2008-05-29T18:36:00.005-04:00

WTF!!! :(:(:(:(

Although it was kind of cool, I guess, that the Stone Temple Pilots chose to reunite in Columbus (err, um) let's just say I'm glad I was in Nelsonville for the Folk Music Festival the other weekend ago.

Some pictures from Columbus Underground

Here is what the crowd at Rock on the Range looked like.

Ok so not so bad. They could be protesting a China-ruled Tibet or like doing an art project or something.

Here it is on a more intimate scale.

Lots of dirty, dirty people. At least the Juggalos have a theatrical sense.

Anyway, maybe all the resididual white trash mojo the cleanup crew missed at Crew Stadium is the reason the soccer people were acting so artarded.

(a youtube video that showed Crew fans lobbing racial slurs at New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph was apparently taken down from Youtube for copyright violations...which they have plenty of...)

Slew of Scientologists stirs scribe...I give up

2008-05-20T18:31:00.009-04:00

I'm no artist when it comes to headlines ("It Takes Tuba", a story I wrote for the Columbus Alive comes to mind), so I really hate to judge... but it's something that I do.

Lyndsey Teter, whose name by the way makes me jealous in ways that are difficult to express (just check out the title of her blog,) wrote another cover story for The Other paper this week about the Anonymous nerds protesting Scientology as part of Project Chanology.

Judging from how she had a pretty good and potentially photogenic story about the Hell City Tattoo Convention tucked inside, it was probably fairly impromptu coverage.

The headline? Stalking the Scientologists. Hmm. *yawn* Seems forced. The alliteration reminds me of the two main headlines from Otterbein's student paper, the Tan & Cardinal (of which I am an alumni):

" Sounds of sirens send students seeking shelter" and "Sex slave in suburbia". Maybe I'm just jealous... I quit after four words in the title for this blog post. Seems so cheesy to me it's like nails on a chalkboard. Maybe it's just me.

I digress. Of course this hot news item was totally broken here at RFT first. Well not really, because my reporting was just pretty much Wikipedia-based (like TV news), but I tried. Sort of.

Teter's story missed out some of the real hardcore nerdiness that inspired this event, but she did a pretty good job, especially considering how convoluted the whole thing is.

The saga continues!

At least media coverage like this means the Wikipedia editors won't delete their article like they did back when Anonymous was still razzing Hal Turner.

Ps, sorry for all the external links, but it's something that bloggers are supposed to do. Two bits to anyone who actually clicks through to all of them.

Cavs disappoint

2008-05-20T18:20:00.004-04:00

:(

I have a lot of respect for sportswriters who are able to rebound from abject despair to actually pen a few hundred words about heartbreaking losses like Game 7. I haven't even been able to post anything until today, a couple days after the fact. (another strike for the immediacy of blogging... at least for me)

Terry Pluto has been writing about Cleveland sports since I can remember, and trust me, he bleeds Cleveland. He was able to muster something, even if it was in bullet point form.

Oh well. Back to the time-honored Cleveland sports tradition of praying for a miracle and waiting for next year.

Anonymous explained

2008-05-11T21:54:00.004-04:00

My buddy Stephen over at Stars Blink Out expounds on what Anonymous is better than I can.

Enjoy.

Cavs win! Cavs win!

2008-05-11T15:51:00.004-04:00

That's more like it!

A great overall team effort. I know it's a longshot, but this could mark the Cavs' new unit finally coalescing, just in time for the middle of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

I'm not impressed with the Celtics -- they don't have half the poise of the Pistons.

I still think the Cavs will win in six.

Anonymous protests Scientology center in Columbus

2008-05-11T15:22:00.009-04:00

Ok, I don't have any real information about this, but my friend Adam called to tell me there was a protest at the Columbus Scientology center at High Street yesterday (if you click on the link you'll notice its description has been doctored a little.)

Apparently it was members of Anonymous and they were all wearing Guy Fawkes masks. The above picture is from the Project Chanology entry in Wikipedia.

I couldn't get around to getting down there, but here are some Anonymous/Scientology Youtube videos from a few months ago for your perusal.

If you don't know what Anonymous is (and I'm not entirely sure... not nearly nerdy enough), it's basically a loose conglomeration of interent nerds who like to antagonize people. They're loosely responsible for Rick Rolling and a ton of stupid internet Memes. They're related to 4chan somehow and despite being a Wikipedia addict, I've never really invested the emotional energy to figure out how.

As with most Internet-only things, it's really convoluted. It's definitely an interesting story, but I can tell you it hasn't' gotten any local media coverage because the Dispatch and its readership has only faintly heard rumors about the Internet existing. Speaking as someone who has been frustrated by reporting technology issues for the Dispatch, the effort it would take to explain to the Dispatch's audience (old people) the subtle differences between /b, Anonymous, and 4chan would require a little more ink than the story deserves.

Not to mention it has nothing to do with sex maniacs sodomizing each others' children or girls bearing their breasts on Facebook or whatever.

Cavs need to bounce back

2008-05-10T10:46:00.006-04:00

(quick sidenote on the logo: Finding the old school Cavs logo is pretty hard -- it's buried a little bit on Google image search. Hopefully I can bump it up a little bit.)

After having an impressive series against Washington, during which LeBron definitely took his share of cheap fouls, LeBron's field goal percentage in the second round makes Bob Sura look like an efficient scorer.

The Cavs are a pretty good defensive team (Mike Brown is actually being called a defensive guru/wizard/expert by the media), but after getting absolutely obliterated by the Spurs in the Finals last year, they could learn a thing or two from the Celtics about defending the pick and roll.

That being said, coming in to the series I really expected the Cavs to win it in six. LeBron is too good not to adjust, and it honestly surprised me how badly they were beaten in Game 2 (shows how important it was to win Game 1 when they had the chance.)

The Celtics are good, but lack the poise of teams like the Spurs, the Pistons, etc.

LeBron apparently was working on his shot in practice yesterday.

Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer wrote that Lebron "ricocheted trick shots off the backboard and swished left-handed jumpers, trying anything as he battled in a fierce game of "P-I-G" against the Cavs' PR director.

This reminds me of a story Cody Butzer, a kid I went to Northwest High School in Canal Fulton with told me. (I included the link to the Wikipedia article so you can peruse their bullying statistics)

I'll give you the short version, but Cody, who was crazy (but sometimes kind of good-natured) and is apparently in jail right now, was a state wrestling champ. Here's a video of him hurting a guy in a MMA bought on Sports Time Ohio. Character note: notice how good-natured he is after the poor guy is carried off on a stretcher.

Northwest used to have another wrestling champ who lost his athletic eligibility after getting caught breaking into people's houses while committing other illegal activities and videotaping it (I can't find a written newspaper record of the event, but trust me, it's gone down in Canal Fulton lore.)

This guy, who shall remain nameless (no reason to tarnish his name in Google, but he is wrestling in D1 right now), transferred to St. Vincent St. Mary’s in Akron, where LeBron was starring at the basketball. Cody was still friends with this other guy, and went to a few parties where LeBron happened to be. Apparently LeBron would play HORSE with people, but would have to shoot left handed.

Seeing as how he is ambidextrous, he would win anyway.

I know that resembles a lame story where I detail my pathetically limited connection to someone famous, but hopefully, in Game 3, LeBron will look like he is back in high school.

Rudy G Leaves CD101

2008-05-10T10:22:00.004-04:00

I'm a little late to get on this. Blogs are great at reporting "NEW" news, except when they're not. Apparently Andyman over at CD101 fired Rudy Gerdeman right before Independent Playground was supposed to air, presumably leaving poor Tom to host the show himself.

According to Chris DeVille over at the Columbus Alive:

Gerdeman was unhappy with his job conditions at WWCD 101.1 FM, where he had worked for the past 13 years as a DJ and sound engineer.

"I haven’t got a raise in three years here. I’ve worked there for 13 years and I make $9.50 an hour," Gerdeman said in an interview Monday morning.

Gerdeman was also displeased with the promotion of Malloy, who he called a "meathead," to Vice President. Specifically, he was worried about Malloy's perceived negative attitude toward The Independent Playground, a twice-weekly late-night independent music showcase hosted by Gerdeman and Tom Butler.

So Gerdeman fished around for some other job opportunities, seeking to gain some leverage at CD101, and came up with an offer from WRWK in Toledo. But the plan backfired when CD101 didn't try to lure Gerdeman back. He said Davis asked him if he was sure he wanted to leave but never offered a raise or any other incentive to stay. So Gerdeman put in his two weeks' notice and got ready to move to Toledo.

"I was pissed off because they didn’t try to keep me here in Columbus," Gerdeman said.

To vent his frustration, Gerdeman logged into the MySpace account for his record label, She He It, and posted a bulletin that read "F--- off, CD101." Though Gerdeman removed the bulletin within 24 hours, someone printed out the message and showed it to Davis, who showed up at the station Sunday night and fired Gerdeman minutes before Independent Playground went on the air.

I'm pretty hesitant to REALLY criticize CD101 because, for one reason I only work/ed there like 20 hours a month and I don't know what really is going on there. To really illustrate how much of an outsider I am when it comes to their business doings, despite my ownership of no less than three!!!!! CD101 T-Shirts and the several lines on my résumé dedicated to CD101, I had no idea how little money the DJs actually made. I mean, I know that all of the people over there, with a few exceptions, have second jobs. But $9.50 an hour. That's not a whole lot more than I made there, and one could argue that Rudy's contributions over there (two-time award winning Independent Playground) made him valuable enough to try to keep around.

There is some big money floating around CD101, so I wonder what kind of overhead they have.

Of course, another reason is, as a commenter adroitly remarked on DeVille's blog post, I don't want to burn any bridges. I've probably peaked out in radio over there and who knows, I might want a reference or something someday.

I'm not going to rip into CD101 with any four letter expletives, but having at least somewhat of an insider's perspective, Rudy's side of the story (and his characterization of upper management) makes sense. He wasn't always super professional, but I'd think he's valuable enough to try to keep him around.

I think getting fired because of a Myspace bulletin to friends, a sort of hybrid of public and private communication, would certainly set an interesting legal precedent if ever brought to court (which I think Rudy could do if he cared enough.)

As much as it sucks, I know I probably self-censor a little bit because I am entering the job pool in Columbus media soon and don't want to end up on anyone's shit list. Yet another way the internet is weird.

Marc Dann goes up in flames

2008-05-02T13:43:00.003-04:00

Holy crap, as reported in the Dispatch. Allow the countdown for the press coneference announcing his resignation to begin. I think this will affect the Democratic party's credibility, possibly having implications for the presidential election.

Oh, and I interviewed Marc Dann one time for a paper I was working for. Just between you and me, he's a huge douche.

Also, a sweet shot of the Marc Dann Sunshine Express pre-accident for your viewing pleasure.

Get it? Flames?

Let's go to Outback tonight

2008-05-02T13:32:00.004-04:00

"Indie" music has become more marketable lately. Duh. Just watch Grey's Anatomy or the OC or whatever. It's the new "it's the new."

It's old news, but anyone with a television has been exposed to Of Montreal's "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games." It's a really catchy song whose title wouldn't fit on one column in the Billboard charts. So it's easier to remember it as the Outback Steakhouse song.

Outback special ordered up another piping hot commercial using the song for Mother's Day. I'm pretty sure there's a didgeridoo somewhere embedded in the mix. Although Pitchfork says it's never been Of Montreal playing the song.

As Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal says, think of it as a "cover." Not as the Outback Steakhouse song.

Girls Gone Wild pt. 2

2008-04-15T09:56:00.005-04:00

I complained about this story a couple of days ago. I figured it would go over pretty well. Combine teen girls with sex... one of the biggest emotional hot-buttons for people centers around protecting the chastity and good names of our young women. Lord knows they can't do it for themselves.

Dispatch reporter Charlie Boss was apparently on CNN to talk about her story.

Sadly, the mystery of Charlie's gender has been revealed to a national viewing audience. Le sigh.

The Dispatch and the Girls Gone Wild phenomenon

2008-04-13T10:52:00.008-04:00

I was reading through the Dispatch.com front page today when I chanced upon a story with the headline Teen girls' cell phone invitations bare all by Charlie Boss. Many of her stories (yes, a her -- I was totally surprised when I find out) tend to be about the texting, Myspace and general technological habits of teens.

Even as a member of the current high school class's generation (I guess), it was surprising to me that this kind of stuff is going on. I remember getting a cell phone right before I went to college in the summer of '04 and thinking I was hot shit. Then, when I was working at McDonalds' a couple summers ago (glamorous, right?), I decided to go see a movie with some of my co-workers, the majority of whom were 17-19. They were all text-messaging continuously throughout the movie. To each other. Continuously.

Anyway, point being, if it was a shock to me I can only imagine what effect it would have on parents.

The article quotes a Reynoldsburg detective named Brian Marvin (PS, never trust a man with two first names):

"I've seen everything from your basic striptease to sexual acts being performed" online, he said. "You name it, they will do it at their home under this perceived anonymity."

I'm sure scores of surfers will now comb through Myspace and Facebook on Google looking for "basic striptease" and "sexual act" and "teen" now. (Where are these underage teens with their online sexual acts??? they will ask themselves. I'm missing out!!!

The article also contains images of girls offering anal sex and oral sex (is that simultaneously?), texting naked photos of themselves to boys in the same classroom. Once again, the headline is Teen girls' cell-phone invitations bare all.

Of course, all the quoted students in the article are male. There is mention of a Westerville South "teen" sending pictures of his penis to his classmates. So wouldn't the headline "Teens' text messages bare all"?

The quoted "expert" sources in the article itself are always egalitarian, referring to the students as "teens" and not "teen girls." So why focus solely on girls taking their clothes off on picture messages? Don't guys do the same thing?

This kind of stuff just makes me feel like the increased sexualization of girls is something to be scared of, while if boys do the same thing it's not as big of a deal. Either the editor or the headline writer really dropped the ball on this one. Add something not really understood by the readers of the Dispatch (text-messaging) and "hot teen sex" and you have a recipe for a gender-inequality sandwich. (do sandwiches have recipes? I guess complicated ones might).

Editors note, the presence of the words "anal sex" "teen girls" "penis," et. all should result in some interesting Google hits. If you are one of those surfers, please refer to www.teengirlshavinganalandoralsexwithpenises.com.

The Blitz -----> The Rock + Linkin Park

2008-04-11T12:50:00.003-04:00

The Columbus rock radio station landscape has been kind of interesting lately. CD101, where I am semi-gainfully employed, seems to be doing pretty well, but it's not for lack of competition. Recently, 106.7 FM The (insert nickname here) launched, bringing a mix of the mainstream stuff that makes discerning listeners like me change the station. U2, Matchbox 20, 3 Doors Down, 311, and all those other numbered bands you just can't live without. (an interesting note: they got Vampire Weekend in-studio. Consider me slightly impressed)

Well, 99.7 The Blitz, known for playing bands like Linkin Park, Puddle of Mudd, and other nu-metal crap, just changed formats. They are now 99.7 The Rock. Expect to hear more much more watered-down, pallatable nu-metal, such as Nickelback. The Other paper ruefully commented last Thursday that this would mean the end of Linkin park for WBZX listeners.

But fear not. Today, while I was working out in the Otterbein gym, the ghetto blaster that is stuck on 99.7 was still playing Linkin Park.

Zachary Allen Starkey Multimedia Extravaganza

2008-04-11T12:07:00.003-04:00

Behold, the glory of the Internets: not only can you read the written word, but there are sights and sounds as well! Thus, a mult-media experience is born.

Well, the Columbus Blogosphere is buzzing with the announcement that Zachary Allen Starkey announced on the Done Waiting message board via a 2,000 word tract that he will no longer be playing in Columbus. If you want to see ZAS do whatever it is he does exactly, you'll have to make the two hour, fifteen minute trek up I-71 to Cleveland.

I don't make my way down to the campus area too often, but I made the trip down high street much more often back when I first came to college and it was more of a novel experience. ZAS flyers were freaking everywhere. Above, you will see a weird, androgynous picture of ZAS from his Myspace. Of course I had no clue who he was or what he did. I'm still not entirely sure, but he can consistently be found on the two-mile stretch of High Street near OSU's campus/the Short North.

If you're not the reading type, you can download the musical version someone anonymously posted and listen to it on your iPod in the car.

John Petric of the Other Paper picked this item up after ZAS's girlfriend came to his defense somewhere about two-thirds of the way through the thread.

And there you have it. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Who the hell cares? Yay Web 2.0!

Bullet Jones rolls out the "jambulance"

2008-03-26T22:03:00.005-04:00

This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard of. Well, that's not true at all, but...I can only shake my head and try to think of something funny to say. And it's not coming. Maybe this is why the Done Waiting people, usually quick with their acerbic wit, haven't really let go with the zingers yet.

I guess give Bullet Jones credit for trying...I think one of them dated the girl from my girlfriend's dorm who would always have her alarm clock go off for about three hours before somebody finally realized her door was unlocked, waded through a mountain of trash, and turned it off themselves. You know what kind of girl I'm taking about.

This just in...

2008-03-08T11:23:00.004-05:00

Is it November yet?

Tegan &... Hunter Burgan

2008-03-08T10:58:00.005-05:00

That's Hunter Burgan for those of you who aren't aware of any non-Davey Havoc AFI members (about 99.9% of the blog-reading population...ie: non Hot Topic employees). For everyone else, Burgan was born in Long Beach, is a vegan and loves old-school R&B, according to Wikipedia. Turns out this guy is teaming up with Tegan of ... Tegan & Sara.

What makes this collaboration interesting (other than it makes my high-school alter-ego rear its head long enough to experience slight disdain that AFI is still "punk enough" to merit being posted about on PunkNews.org) is that I saw both of their full-time projects at the Newport Music Hall, with a somewhat awkward split bills (Tegan & Sara with Communique and AFI -- waaaaaay after they played anything resembling hardcore -- with Sick of it all.)

The AFI/Sick of it all show was immortalized in a Radio Free Tobias concert review. I saw a really short fight! It was awesome! Plus, Lou Koller made a really sweet hardcore hype-man of sorts for AFI, talking with a strangely auctioneer-like cadence in between songs.