Life

For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. -Nelson Mandela

I woke up in such a great mood today. I don’t know what the hell happened.-Mike Damone

Fear And Loathing In The Penthouse Poker Game

February 12, 2018

I finally got the call. A friend of mine, who runs several legitimate businesses, but tends to spend his off time in the shadows had told me about a private, big baller home game held weekly in the penthouse suite of a Los Angeles area, deluxe, high-rise apartment.

Awesome Totally Awesome Zen Hipster Douche

How To Be Zen Without Being a Douchebag

August 16, 2018

We live in a loud, obnoxious, ugly, and yes sometimes orange “Trumped-up” world. We all want a little more peace… a little calmer.

Tinder Tales

February 12, 2018

Todd sits nervously in his chair, reading the Italian menu sitting in his sweaty palms. He’s berating himself internally for choosing this place, he doesn’t know how to read or speak Italian.

Biker Shorts: The Athleisure Trend That Needs to Stop

November 28, 2018

It’s not news that biker shorts have been a thing this year. While it was nothing short of an atrocity from the get-go, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

How To Tell If Your Child Will Grow Up To Be A Serial Killer

April 8, 2018

Let's face it, no parent ever wants to admit it: their child grew up to be a serial killer. But, hey, it happens. A very small percentage of the population become serial killers, those are the facts. So, fess up, parents. Is your child exhibiting signs? Here's an unscientific guide by which to tell.

Awesome Totally Awesome The Comedy Store

Break on Through to the Other Side: Trying to Make it as a Comedian in Los Angeles

August 1, 2018

Comedy becomes an unreliable drug, one that sends you shooting to the moon or crashing into the fiery depths of hell.

English Professor Looks Forward to Telling People He's Not into Sports

March 5, 2018

Thirty-eight year-old Chad Swampf, an English professor in the suburbs of Chicago, finds himself getting very excited this time of the year as the upcoming NCAA College Basketball Tournament as well as the beginning of Major League Baseball season provides him with several opportunities to inform complete strangers that he is not into sports at all.

Awesome Totally Awesome Replaced My Bumper

I Replaced My Bumper: A Tale of Avoiding Trendy Plastic Surgery

September 6, 2018

My formative teen years did not involve the ever-present smartphone of today, but the media still found ways of consistently feeding me the image of “the perfect body.”

Alfonso Rawls EverybodySkates Awesome Totally Awesome

SHINE: ATA’s INTERVIEW WITH SKATEBOARDING ICON ALPHONSO “ALF” RAWLS ON SKATING, HIS STREETWEAR COMPANY #EVERYBODY SKATES, AND HIS ART

May 10, 2018

Our latest Shine subject is Alfonso "ALF" Rawls. ALF is a skateboarding legend and really good soul who can still rip everything with freaky styley style.

Santa Clarita Diet: Joel Hammond - The Loyalty We Should All Aspire To

April 9, 2018

On any given day, I do quite a bit of thinking about the type of guy I want to end up with, mostly because my taste in men leaves something to be desired.

Fear And Loathing In The Penthouse Poker Game

February 12, 2018

Santa Clarita Diet: Abby’s Guide to Surviving Her Flesh Eating Mom

March 23, 2018

Season 2 of Santa Clarita Diet has finally arrived. When we last left the not-so-heroic heroes of our story, they had basically messed up everything. To be fair, poor Sheila did randomly turn into a zombie with no explanation as to why (can we get to that part of the story, please?), which is enough to make any family a little crazy.

How To Be Zen Without Being a Douchebag

August 16, 2018

We live in a loud, obnoxious, ugly, and yes sometimes orange “Trumped-up” world. We all want a little more peace… a little calmer.

How to Pretend to Be Doing Something With Your Life

September 25, 2018

Life is hard. There are a million choices we could make in our lives that will impact us in ways we can never even imagine.

Why Are We Ignoring a Blatant Cry For Help?

September 11, 2018

We want to believe that we are morally “good”, but when the shit actually hits the metaphorical—or literal—fan, sometimes we fail.

SOMETHING PROFOUND

1 Comment

January 11, 2018

It's the reason why people sit through funerals, attend weddings, wait expectantly outside delivery rooms—that unnamable presence that accompanies death and birth and the consummation of love. They're all hoping for a glimpse at the infinite. They're all looking for something profound.

Joking in Paradise - Being a Stand-Up Comedian in Hawaii

January 22, 2018

When people ask me where I started doing stand up comedy and I say "Hawaii," it’s always met with assumptive skepticism. They never relay it with actual words, but their raised brows and frowns gives me all the signal I need. I agree, it is an insane idea to perceive. How does one go to paradise and ultimately decide that telling jokes is a feasible way of life? It's part perception, duration, and realization.

Spotlight on @Ymani Barbee

1 Comment

April 9, 2018

Ymani Barbee has been a huge part of ATA since day one. Aside from being one of our featured bad ass and beautiful models throughout the site, pretty much all of the article headline images in ATA were brilliantly created by Ymani, in spite of ATA’s sometimes indecipherable vision.

Awesome Totally Awesome - Where Is My Mind

Where is My Mind; Or ****, I Ate The Whole Brownie

August 21, 2018

I was in a small spaceship, galaxies away from home when I realized I had lost my mind.

Music A Potent Activator - Healing Through the Power of Music

January 28, 2018

The pale grey, pink sky was fading in the rearview mirror as I drove along the canyon road that leads home after a joyful time at the coast. Bob Marleyʼs “Waiting In Vain” came on and immediately Iʼm reminded of a special memory with my Dad, who passed a couple years ago.

I’ll Always Have Paris: Falling in and out of obsession with all things Paris Hilton

February 12, 2018

“I hope you don’t look up to her,” my mother scoffed from our kitchen. I don’t remember what my hero had done now to solicit that comment, but I responded with a halfhearted “I don’t.

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HOPPILY EVER AFTER: The Evolution of Craft Beer From Hipster Beards To Fruity Beers

September 19, 2018

Who doesn't like a nice, cold beer on a hot day or even a cold day, for that matter? There are only two types of people who don't like beer; weirdos and toddlers.

Fucking Eh

February 1, 2018

I had just arrived in Paris after spending the past five weeks in Angola managing some offshore drilling rigs. Shitty job. After laying down the rules, I got some pushback from the locals. Not a surprise. Typical work politics down there.

Santa Clarita Diet Season 1 Recap: The Undead Revival of Drew Barrymore(‘s Career)

March 23, 2018

When it comes to potential marital crises, none of your petty problems will ever compare to those of Sheila and Joel Hammond, the main characters of the Netflix original series Santa Clarita Diet.

Tinder Tales

February 12, 2018

Todd sits nervously in his chair, reading the Italian menu sitting in his sweaty palms. He’s berating himself internally for choosing this place, he doesn’t know how to read or speak Italian.

Also This: My Awkward Encounter With a Hollywood Producer

March 23, 2018

Awesome Totally Awesome - Stacy Kohut FOURLIFE

Stacy Kohut Interview: Four Wheels + For Life = FOURLIFE

July 16, 2018

I try to get 5 or 6 runs in the morning, then 5 or 6 runs after lunch. Its important to me to feel like I've put in the work, 'punched in' for the shift, when I ride. Makes the day have some more importance and meaning. A purpose if you will.

Chicago: It's My Kind of Town

February 12, 2018

I’m a Chicago sports fan. Not the most hardcore admittedly, but I do hold a deep appreciation for its teams. The people that can spew out genuine stories about the fanaticism that lives inside the confines of America’s greatest city.

I am Light

June 1, 2018

I am light. I am the light of my soul. I am beautiful. I am bountiful. I am bright. I am. I am. Say this out loud. Does it sound like bullshit to that inner voice?

Awesome Totally Awesome - Pee Smelling Murderer

How I Became a Pee Smelling Murderer With a Job Offer From an Aspiring Pimp

October 19, 2018

I had just graduated from college and was waiting for a life-changing job offer. In fact, any job offer would have been nice.

Face Tattoos: Why?

1 Comment

July 13, 2018

With out dating myself, my formidable years were spent in a time and place where there was a semi-negative connotation linked to tattoos. In the decades that I’ve been on this rock circling the sun, I’ve seen the acceptance of having tattoos, then exposed tattoos in the work place, then full blown sleeves as one’s first tattoo, and now the general welcoming of face tattoos.

Diet OR Exercise

October 25, 2018

I had just hopped off the treadmill and was trying to decide where I was going to go to get a big, fat, juicy cheeseburger when I overheard a trainer at the gym talking about what it takes to stay in shape.

Rock Dad

January 9, 2018

In today’s music world, it seems my teenage kids are hooked on every two-bit, no-name hip hop or rap artist who can mumble “Skirt, Skirt” (which is a rapper mimicking the sound of an expensive sports car screeching its tires on the asphalt) behind some poorly programmed bass and drum track.

Awesome Totally Awesome - Freaks & Weirdos Boutique

Awesome Dropping

Awesome Totally Awesome Overwatch Worst Players

Top 5 Terrible Players in Overwatch

August 13, 2018

However, there’s always going to be those who pay no mind to what is needed to achieve victory but rather prioritize their own fulfillment of self-gratification. As done to death as this topic may be, here is my list of the top five worst players in Overwatch (in no particular order).

Awesome Totally Awesome - Blizzard of Ozz

Recording Blizzard of Ozz & Diary of a Madman

October 4, 2018

It's a long way back in time now, but the man who helped Ozzy Osbourne record two of the greatest albums in metal history still has a pretty good memory of how they were made back in the early 1980s.

Angry Chair: Layne Staley's Insight into Rehab

August 17, 2018

When you look at Alice in Chains' finest album, Dirt, there is a chain of songs, all in a row, dealing with heroin and being an addict. All the lyrics for those tracks were written by Layne Staley.

The Mark

July 6, 2018

Mark’s eyes widen, and he gets out of bed, opens the closet, then pulls down on the coat hanger in the back. The clothing rack drops into the floor and the back wall of the closet opens.

ATA's Review of Adidas' 747 Warehouse St. Experience

March 8, 2018

Adidas 747 was an epic event. Spanning several blocks surrounding and within the old American Apparel manufacturing building in downtown LA, Adidas went all out to represent during this year’s NBA all-star game.

Awesome Totally Awesome - LookBook Winter 2018

Cop Our Merch: ATA DTK Freaks & Weirdos Boutique Lookbook Volume 1

November 16, 2018

Awesome Totally Awesome - Freaks & Weirdos Boutique Lookbook Volume 1 Winter 2018

Making "Killers": How Iron Maiden Got the "Maiden Sound"

August 16, 2018

Most Iron Maiden fans rave about the Killers album, while others think it's overrated. But everyone agrees it's the record that gave birth to Iron Maiden's unique sound.

Malcolm Gladwell Sued by Shaq, Wallace, Jordan and Drummond

March 2, 2018

SHAQUILLE O’NEAL, BEN WALLACE, DEANDRE JORDAN, AND ANDRE DRUMMOND filed a joint lawsuit in Federal District Court against author Malcolm Gladwell

Gojira: Converting Rock Dads and New Fans

June 6, 2018

No doubt many metal fans — especially those over 40 years of age —had heard or listened to Gojira until they opened up for Metallica in the summer of 2017. For a hardcore, French, speed-metal band like Gojira to slot onto Metallica’s WorldWired Tour was a huge coup

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