A lifetime ago, I was in a few bands. I have an Ernie and the Berts sticker on my “punk rock venue” door in the garage, but my AiXeLsyD & Gasoline Dion sticker supply has long since been exhausted. I figured why not clean up the old logos and upload them to my TeePublic & RedBubble shops? I may get myself some stickers, pins, & a hoodie or something. I didn’t draw the Ernie and the Berts logos, so I don’t want to upload & sell those.
Everything at TeePublic seems to be on sale as of this posting for up to 35% for the next 2 days. The new stuff is in my AIXeLsyD13 album there, but everything is on sale. It’s in the AiXeLsyD13 collection at RedBubble too. They both have rotating sales often, and I have been pleased with the stickers & clothing I bought from each. I wear my amp maze collage hoodie all the damn time. The designs & merch differ slightly across the two platforms, so I encourage you to poke around at both.
I love Thanksgiving. It’s coming soon. This is some Turkey Day attire that you can relax in. Wear it under a nice cozy flannel. It appears to be on sale at both my TeePublic and RedBubble shops currently. You should take advantage of that if you’re so inclined.
You can get this design on an apron, a coffee mug, a tote bag, a hoodie, a blanket, a pillow… or all kinds of stuff really. You can change the clothing color with a bunch of options & styles at each site too. Poke around & see if you can find something you like!
Also, you can print this out & try to solve it for free. Or do it on your phone/tablet/whatever. You can post it on social media & tag me@AiXeLsyD13.
Of course, I have a buch of other Thanksgiving themed mazes too:
Hey, this pumpkin maze works for Halloween and Thanksgiving if you ask me. And, you can get two versions of it on all kinds of stuff too:
You can get the full color orange one on stuff at TeePublic and at RedBubble. You can also get the black & white one on stuff at TeePublic. I thought that might look cool on an orange T-shit.
Every once in a while, I just throw this into the æther just to see if it gets any response. One time, I got to pop up on stage and sing “I Turned Into a Martian” while Jerry Only played bass, sang, & Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein played guitar, & Goat (a.k.a. Eric Acre, a.k.a. “Chupacabra”) played drums. I’d love to find a video of it if it’s out there.
We take for granted that everything is recorded these days, but back then it wasn’t. Misfits bootleg videos were a hot trade commodity at one point online. I’m pretty sure this show was recorded, because Crowbar had closed-circuit TV’s that were displaying the show as it happened. It may have been deleted or not recorded, it may have hit a personal private collection. Someone else may have been in-house recording. Not sure if Doug Evil was there?
Thanks to Misfits Central & Concert Archives, I now have a specific date: Sunday, November 5, 2000. It was at the now-defunct Crowbar in State College, PA.
An-Die & I road-tripped to State College several times with several different groups to see the Misfits in several iterations in addition to seeing them a bunch in Pittsburgh… so my memories may be conflated. I know Russ from TVCasualty.com was there!
I’m pretty sure Murphy’s Law & Impotent Sea Snakes also played. I only remember this because Goat was pulling double duty, and our friend Laurel was apparently hit in the face with an… adult toy… during the ISS set.
I remember An-Die telling me that I had stage presence, and obviously Jerry Only has a huge stage presence, and it did not jive. Ha ha. I’m sure I looked weird, but holy shit it was fun. (I always feel weird signing without a guitar in my hands anyway.)
Another fun fact, this was after I had broken my nose, and i was wearing a bandage covering most of my face. I know I have photos of that somewhere but I cannot find any.
The Misfits – 11/05/2000 lineup @ Crowbar in State College PA | Jerry Only, Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein, Eric Goat/Chupacabra Acre, & some random a-hole.
Oh yeah, I broke my nose stage diving at American Music Café. Who’s set was it? I think it was Third Place, Tybalt, or maybe even Ten Pounds Lighter/Secrets Lie Within. I just remember someone fake kicking me that ended up not being a fake kick, a weird celery crunching noise, and my nose being mostly under one eye. I ought to try to chronicle old show stories some day.
I was the Fiend Club “Chapter Head” for a minute in the late 90’s early 00’s, so I got to see the band when they were in & around town. I think Jerry & Rocky sort-of kind-of knew who I was, but I always tried to not be a pain in the ass & ask for stuff or to get on the Turbo Die or anything. It was a fun time in life.
If you have the video, or have info that could help me track it down, I’d really appreciate it! Feel free to help by sharing this in fan forums & what-not online. We Are 138!
I learned through Google (with help from Gemini) that the male Carolina Wren will start to make several nests in suitable spots before courting a mate. He started putting in some materials a few days ago, but this is the first time I have seen him on camera since. (I put in the peanuts in the meantime.)
Apparently, if he successfully woos a female, he then lets her pick the most suitable of his locations, and they will continue to build the nest together. These alternate locations can be used to mark his territory, confuse predators, and act as a quick location to start from again should they decide to move.
Mine look a bit different from the final product, but I was able to test them out and provide some feedback. They have a built in solar panel in the roof, which keeps them mostly charged after the initial charging. I have had to give ’em a boost over the winter.
The feeder has been busy from the onset as I put it out to replace a traditional feeder that I have had for years. As for the nest… A woodpecker tried to make the entrance wider, and some black-capped chickadees have popped in & dipped right out. Other than that, the nest has not seen much activity until recently. Perhaps spring is the best time.
I did notice mine have the Birdfy 2 camera, and the ones pictured at Walmart’s website seem to have a different camera or at least camera housing. I do think the seed tray is a better design than my Birdfy Lite Feeder, as the seeds don’t tend to stay in the tray, get wet, & clump together.
I don’t think that works with the Walmart exclusive products, but in the links above I tacked on “?=ref/AiXeLsyD13” anyway just to see what happens. I have asked for a coupon code through GoAffPro, but have not heard back yet. So, maybe someday?
If you’re interested in the feeders, it’s a good product whether you use my link to buy or not!
You can check out my YouTube playlist mostly from my feeders(& some from the house cameras), and some other blog posts I have made about Birdfy products below.
If you have any questions about bird feeders, cameras, feed, birds, or Birdfy products, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments, via my contact form, or social media. (I’m AiXeLsyD13 pretty much everywhere.)
Not sure how it’s spam, when two of the three messages don’t even contain links. 🤷🤣 I was sharing free mazes for Thanksgiving.
Someone has to be reporting them as spam, as there’s no way that was kicked up by bots. Is it that hard to keep on scrolling?
How else do I get the damn word out? I did ask ChatGPT. Apparently sharing free stuff backfired. 😆 (I also got suspended for 50 days from Reddit r/mazes for sharing links to my maze books or merch. If that’s not my target audience, then who the hell is?)
Really here, your dude is just trying to make an extra dime on a creative outlet.
Help me out if you’re so inclined and share a link to my stuff if you have no fear of the Karenators!
I done been flagged!I didn’t violate this.Oh well, the ladies on there that love my cooking and recipe posts will be sad..
I guess I will have to stick to Nextdoor for its intended purpose: Soliciting child labor for professional services at pennies on the dollar, and asking what that loud noise was.
I recently published my first maze book (via Amazon KDP), have sold a few copies, and thought some people here may want to support a local artist. I’m already working on book № 2!
The first book is packed with easy-to-solve mazes, and I think it would be enjoyable for kids as well as adults.
I had my youngest drop a copy in one of those free little library boxes nearby over last weekend. Hopefully someone out there locally picked it up & is enjoying it already!
I also put together some designs to be printed on merchandise, and I’m trying two different shops online right now. I’ll be uploading more themed designs as soon as I complete work on my 2nd maze book.
I have sold a few T-shirts, and bought some stickers and a magnet for myself. Between the two shops you can get everything from coffee mugs and pillows to shower curtains or clocks featuring my designs.
Check out my first #maze book! this was a test run, I plan to do more. can you spare $6 to help fund some art? If not, it’s cool… maybe just share the link? https://wp.me/pwqzc-3ba I am super excited to get this out there. How do you share a damn link on here?
So, recently turning 40 has me reflecting on life in general (which is pretty damn great) & on my accomplishments as a “musician” even though I’m not actively gigging right now.
I’m pretty self-deprecating of my musical talents, but I am proud of the major part of the aural art that I helped create. I compiled and uploaded a few of my favorites after using Audacity to clip out some silence and mp3Gain to try to get all the volume levels somewhat similar.
If you’ll indulge me I’d like to give my thoughts & memories on each of these songs that I was proud to be a part of with AiXeLsyD, Gasoline Dion, & Ernie and the Berts. If I have any of the stories, names, etc. wrong, please correct me in the comments. Being that these are punk rock(ish) bands, you may find the content explicit and/or objectionable. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
🎸
Gasoline Dion – “Shameless Plug”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | Tommy came up with this cool shuffling progression and I played a super easy solo over it. I believe we kept the first take of the solo even though at the time I thought I could do better. It’s not perfect, but it’s fun. It was cool to open shows with this then rip into something completely different. It was called “Tommy’s Jam” until an inside joke on a local message board inspired the new name.
AiXeLsyD – “Wait”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | Probably the first song that I wrote that I liked, and probably the first original that we worked on in the band. We dug on this & recorded it a million times. It morphed a bit, but was basically the same simple jam. Ben doubling the vocals an octave lower and the guitar part at the end really fills it out.
Gasoline Dion – “Pickle Farm”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | Tommy had recorded this song solo, and it contributed to the itch that I needed to scratch when we formed Gasoline Dion. I really liked the melody. I think he stole the lyrics from Space Ghost or Brak. This song to me is about not being a square peg that’s forced into a round hole. I liked singing background vocals & playing guitar.
Ernie and the Berts – “Toybox”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | Erin wanted to start a band to play rocked-out Willy Wonka covers. That never happened. This did. It was the first original that stuck, and an early recording became the soundtrack to a friend’s video project. Dave learned to play drums in/for this band. This is a nice simple driving groove and is the perfect vehicle for the introduction of Erin’s gnarly gravelly voice.
AiXeLsyD – “Hopeless & Heartless”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | I wrote this on the outside of seeing someone with a broken heart. I thought it was pretty catchy. The “whoa-oh’s” are overkill but oddly necessary in my humble opinion. I think An-Die, Ben, & I are all singing on multiple tracks here.
Gasoline Dion – “Cold”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | This riff was a leftover AiXeLsyD riff that almost became part of two songs but never really went anywhere. Mike had some leftover Who’s.Keeping.Score? lyrics that Dave & I re-arranged. Dave & I work really well on arranging musical parts & lyrics. I really really dig Tommy & I singing together on this one.
Ernie and the Berts – “Fred Rogers”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | Erin supposed that a local hero may not really be a hero on this one. Maybe he read that weird urban legend. I really like the guitar part here, although it’s missing some kind of effect in my head. Wah? Phaser? Not sure. Erin let me just go goofy with background vocals here. I felt like Danzig or that Not-Danzig guy in the Cult. I love how this song builds into chaos.
AiXeLsyD – “Stand Up”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | This is where it all pulled together, and it was the last proper thing we recorded. Ha ha. An-Die wrote the riff & lyrics, I arranged them. Ben came up with the guitar noodling& octaves riff. I think I came up with the stupid guitar part for the verse. I really dig my guitar solo here,even though I went too long. (Oddly, this sounds a lot like “Anything, Anything (I’ll Give You)” by Dramarama as played by Buckcherry.)
Gasoline Dion – “Political Songs (With Deep Meaning)”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | I was listening to a lot of the Unseen, I think. I don’t really write political stuff that often. This was taking the piss out of that genre. Dave sounded better on it with vocals. I scream “feet” in the background and give the creepy laugh at the end. We lost the original lyrics, so Dave used what he remembered and made the rest up on the fly. I don’t really think any one ever tried to intemperate a deeper meaning. If they did, they didn’t tell us.
Ernie and the Berts – “Don’t Fuck With Ernie”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | It was hard to tell if Erin was serious or joking a lot of the time. He had a deadpan delivery, and it was hilarious. To deliver this ridiculousness so seriously is hilarious to me. I think I sort of came up with this riff over top of his bass line.
AiXeLsyD – “Dave Ugly’s Girlfriend”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | It’s “Dave Ugly’s Girlfriend”, not “Dave’s Ugly Girlfriend.” People always seemed to get that wrong. Dave Ugly played bass & sang for one of our favorite local bands, Useless Torment. I don’t tell the story as well as An-Die, but Dave was apparently saying he loved him, and An-Die was playing the “even if…” game, and arrived at this. I remember being “mad” when Sum 41 came out as a punk band rapping. I think Boner played guitar on this one and Ben played Drums?
Gasoline Dion – “Bitch Pants Opera”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | I don’t know if we could do this one today. People seem so easily offended. It’s just a joke. We don’t really care if you wear girl pants. We’re not insinuating or implying anything. We look ridiculous too. Another Dave vocals song, I am screaming the high parts. All of us are in the beginning. I think the breakdown was inspired by hardcore /screamo kids in skinny jeans doing the windmill and Peelander-Z’s “S.T.E.A.K.”
Ernie and the Berts – “Ikea”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | Dave suggested I try a little more dynamics with space and clean. Dave is usually right. You can do a lot with the same 3 chords over & over. This was a slice of Erin’s life, full of his observations. We almost got permission to go in & shoot a video there. Somebody must have really listened to the lyrics. He had “nicer” ones prepared just in case we needed to sell out.
AiXeLsyD – “Love, Hopes, Dreams, & Smiles”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] |I think An-Die hated this one. I liked the noodling& the melody. The lyrics are super dumb & trite. The song was made infinitely cooler when Ben put in that volume swell in the final mix. That was never there, then we started doing it live after he did that to the recording. This could probably be punched-up a little bit more.
Gasoline Dion – “Two of a Kind”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | Tommy sings like an angel. I have no idea what in the hell he’s talking about here. I think Dave & Mike made this honky-tonk-ish. I played a little solo under Tommy’s vocals at the end because nobody ever told me not to. The end sounds like the Misfits’ “NY Ranger.”
Ernie and the Berts – “I Don’t Wanna”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | Erin stole this one from a band called Suck-Your-Brains-A-Go-Go. I don’t know if they ever recorded it. I should ask the man who wrote it some time. We made it ours. I think Bengt punched-up some of the guitar & added a bit of harmonies during the recording process.
Gasoline Dion – “Shameless Plug (Reprise)”
[SoundCloud/YouTube] | Same thing as the first track, second solo take by me with a wah pedal this time. Dave is also on guitar making crazy noises and soloing in between all of my notes. Ha ha. If you don’t “get” the speaking part, watch the Josie and the Pussycats movie some time.
I’d love to know what you think, or to read/see/hear your own memories about these bands or in any bands or projects in which you have participated. Did I miss a song or two that you may have remembered or liked? Comments (or likes or whatever is deemed social-media-appropriate) on the songs on SoundCloud or YouTube would be awesome and greatly appreciated, too.
I think you should be able to download a zip of the collection on Google Drive or SendSpace if you’re so inclined. If you can’t get it there, let me know and I can email it to you.
Yesterday, I got two surprises in our mailbox… One being that half of it was our neighbor’s mail, and the other being the promised letter & coupons from Mrs. Barber at Tyson Foods! OK, the mail mix-up wasn’t that big of a surprise… that happens at least 4 times a week. It’s always good to get mail that’s not bills or junk mail though, and this made my day…
Seems a little stiff compared to my earlier exchanges, but form letters are a necessary evil with a company as large as Tyson I guess.
Also enclosed were five coupons for free Tyson Foods items! Two coupons for one free bag of Tyson Frozen Breaded Product or Any’tizers Product, one for any one package of Tyson Individually Frozen Chicken Product, one for any one package of Tyson Wright Brand, and one for any one package of Wright Brand Product… which makes some awesome bacon.
This is much much more than I expected, or could have hoped for! Really, it all started out as goofing around, not a complaint by any means. It’s certainly better than the paltry pile of coupons that I received from Pillsbury when asking about funding further “how many pizza rolls can really fit in the microwave at once” research. I let the ball drop on that one… perhaps I better write to them and ask again, using Tyson and Taco Bell as references of good coupon giving.
I’ll have to write back to Willie to say thanks. This really was quite generous, and will certainly help in stretching the food budget in the coming weeks!
So, my apologies to Mrs. Barber, apparently Willie is also a girl’s name down south. Ha ha. You guys need to read my letter to Tyson about the soggy not smelly tiger-tender, and you’ll know what this is all about. Here’s some follow-up…
from ERiC AiXeLsyD <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
to “Barber, Willie” <Willie.Barber@tyson.com>
date Sat, Oct 2, 2010
subject Re: Tyson Honey Battered Breast Tenders
mailed-by gmail.com
Buenos Dias Mr. Barber!
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my missive. I’m glad that it entertained and proved interesting! The information from your Food Safety & Quality Assurance Manager is enlightening. I guess if I had thought about it, I may have arrived to the same conclusion… as my wife did. Perhaps she should look into Quality Assurance as a career?
Sadly there was no golden ticket type prize for the tiger-tender, but certainly some complimentary coupons would brighten my day. Your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated! My address is:
ERiC AiXelsyD
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Pittsburgh, PA XXXXX
I still need to look into sending Duquesne Light a bill for my prematurely perished perishables, perhaps cluing them in to your generosity will tip the scales in my favor? Maybe I should send them the tiger-tender and see if they like soggy formerly-frozen foodstuffs in their freezers.
I’m flattered that you had previously read my ramblings on the web, and honored that you remembered my name! Now I’m curious as to how I came to be on your radar. I tend to be goofy at times, and serious at others. Life’s all about balance… why not enjoy the balance when it swings to the absurd? Your kind of reply is my favorite. You may not be surprised ad how many of these types of emails fail in providing a response. Some people are apparently just too uptight!
I enjoy many of your fine products, and now will even more… and I’ll recommend more to my friends & family!
A good day to you sir, -ERiC AiXeLsyD
PS – Think there’s any headway at all to be made with Arby’s & the distribution of their Bronco Berry Sauce?
And, she wrote back…
from Barber, Willie <Willie.Barber@tyson.com>
to ERiC AiXeLsyD <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
date Mon, Oct 4, 2010
subject RE: Tyson Honey Battered Breast Tenders
mailed-by tyson.com
Happy Monday Morning!
As I recall, I chanced upon your name/blog while researching one of our customers—maybe McDonald’s, Burger King, or Subway? Thanks for the address–the coupons will be mailed tomorrow.
By the way, I am a Mrs. not a Mr. It’s a Southern thing! AskWillie
Willie Barber
So, she’s read one of my various diatribes on Subway or my disdain for a nearby McDonald’s. Quite amusing! I don’t think I’ve messed with Buger King for a long time.
It is sad that she hasn’t addressed the Bronco Berry sauce issue, but I’m sure she can’t or won’t for corporate reasons.
I wrote back once more:
from ERiC AiXeLsyD <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
to “Barber, Willie” <Willie.Barber@tyson.com>
date Mon, Oct 4, 2010
subject Re: Tyson Honey Battered Breast Tenders
mailed-by gmail.com
My Apologies, Mrs. Barber(!),
I guess I should have done my own research! Ha ha.
I also have an ongoing thing with Subway about their seafood subs and cross-contamination. I have a severe shellfish allergy, and find them quite irresponsible as far as posting warnings, using the same knife to cut all their subs, and in replying to their customers. Perhaps you ought to go over there and teach them how to run things! They never did answer my question about having an in-house subway instead of a cafeteria or kitchen in their corporate offices. No sense of humor or customer satisfaction, there!
Thanks again for the coupons, my wife & I both appreciate the gesture!
Tyson’s Newest #1 Fan, -ERiC
…and no reply as of yet, not that I really need one in this instance. This was just some shameless plugging. I’m just waiting for my awesome coupons.
Also… if you follow the Ask Willie link, is that the coolest job description, or what?
World (and Lunar) Domination 
