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the bright aisles of c-town
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Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Articles on Music Downloading
Harvard Case Study on iTunes
I haven't begun to read this yet, but it looks to be extremely in-depth.
Files Sharing Doesn't Hurt Music Sales
Researchers at Harvard and Cal have come to the conclusion that file sharing does not significantly impact music sales. According to the article, "It takes about 5,000 downloads to displace sales of just one physical CD." The RIAA disputes the findings, of course.
If anyone finds any other articles on these matters, please add them to the comments below. Also, I'm looking forward to hearing what DownHillBattle has to report. I'm sure they will be discussing these findings on their site soon.
In other news, Hello Nurse received our first online press today from Pastepunk.com Here's the brief news item from their site.
HELLO NURSE rocks NYC... (Posted by Nick "Biff" Corrado on March 30, 2004)
mike garcia (ex-EXCITEBIKE, SIGNAL/STATIC) will make his debut as singer for NY band HELLO NURSE on Friday, April 2, 2004 at 11:00 PM at The Continental, 25 Third Avenue (between St. Marks Place & 9th St.) in the East Village section of Manhattan. Telephone# 212.529.6924
anything mike has ever been involved with has always been incredible, so i highly recommend you check them out.
http://hellonurse.com/listen/
Thank you Biff, whoever you are!
If you have a quick moment and you like watching people make fun of President Bush, then check out this flash movie about the Sloganator. Apparently the Sloganator was a tool on the Bush/Cheney website where you could write a slogan and see it appear on a Bush/Cheney poster. Sounds fun - if you are a Bush supporter. But how many Bush supporters actually used the sloganator? This flash movie is a slide show of posters made by people on the left side of the fence. It's pretty good. (Thanks to Edward Felton for this link.)
What I'm wondering is, what would a Bush supporter actually write in the Sloganator???
Here are some of my guesses.
Protecting our Christian Values
Keep Marriage Sacred
Let the Market Decide
Don't let your tax money go to the blacks
We Got Saddam!
Iraq Invasion - Preventing Global Terrorism
Drill Alaska Now!
Government Behind Closed Doors
Protectionism. Isolationism. Capitalism.
Middle East Peace - Keep Gas Prices Low
Ok, I'm not very good at this. Everything I wrote drips sarcasm. Can anyone write a slogan supporting Bush/Cheney??? I sure can't think of one.
10:14 AM
Monday, March 29, 2004
Rock'n'Roll and my new Little Brother
I spent yesterday rehearsing with Hello Nurse and mixing tunes in the afternoon. You can check out some of the work we've been doing here. We have a show this Friday at the Continental at 11pm. Come on out and see Mike Garcia in action!
In other great news, I received a call from Big Brother Big Sister today. I have a meeting with a 12 year old kid, his mom, and a social worker on April 16th to see if this is a good match. From my discussion on the phone with the social worker today, it appears that this will be a good match and I'll be able to start meeting with him soon. He lives in East New York, which is a few stops down the L-train from me. He lives with his mother and two younger siblings. His siblings have contact with their father, but he has never met his father so his mother is looking for a male role model. I will stop now, because I'm sure the kid will google search me and find this page.
"Why are you talking about me on the internet even though you haven't met me yet?"
Well, I'm excited to start this up. I've never had a sibling before. :)
1:03 PM
Saturday, March 27, 2004
Back in town
After a week in San Francisco and a week in Syracuse I'm finally back in town for good. So many stories to tell... but I'm not about to spend 3 hours bloggin everything.
Last night I met up with Jon Yang for Critical Mass. Critical Mass is an event that happens on the last Friday of every month where bicycle riders from around the city meet at Union Square and take over the streets to promote bike transit and fuel economy. The group is so gigantic (I would estimate over 250 last night) that the street and intersections of the route become essentially shut down to car traffic. Cars have to wait for 5-10 minutes for the entire Critical Mass group to ride by.
I missed the first hour and a half of the ride, but I ended up finding Jon on 7th ave near 10th street. We proceeded to bike through the West Village, down to Delancey and across the Williamsburg Bridge. Riding across the bridge was hilarious because we shut down bridge traffic for a good 15-20 minutes and the cars behind us were honking mad. Some were honking in support, but most were honking out of frustration.
We then rode through Brooklyn to the site of the party, which was only a few blocks from my place. The party was in the basement of a house - a dirty dirty basement. The basement had dirt floors, 7 foot clearance, cobwebs, and the smell of mildew was nauseating. Fortunately, the basement was also full of punk rock kids and punk rock bands! The bands played all night and I drank cheap malt liquor and bummed menthol cigarettes from people with strange piercings. It was everything a punk rock show should be - including head bumps on the ceiling from jumping around in the mosh pit.
Today Steve Duncan, Kari and I are heading to some abandoned insane assylum in Long Island to explore some tunnels. Nothing like some strange random weekend fun after a week of professionalism and paperwork!
8:10 AM
Sunday, March 14, 2004
Outta Heeeeeere
Jackie and I leave for San Francisco tomorrow. I can't wait! We'll be gone for five days of restaurants, day trips, visiting family and friends, and general relaxation. I've been reading the Not For Tourists guide to San Fran on the subway lately, and I've definitely noticed some dirty looks from people thinking I'm reading the New York NFT. Well, at least now I know the basics of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and how to get to and from the airport. I can also find leash guidelines at dog friendly parks, directions to the nude beach, and the addresses of the trendiest of velvet rope clubs -- but I'll probably just stick to recommendations from my aunt Julie and some friends in the area.
Last night Jackie and I went to a party at John Yang & Kyle's place. The had a Blackout Party where guests were advised to wear at least 80% black. It was a fantasticly pretentious (in a fun way) get-together, with designers galore and $300 haircolorings. John and Kyle always have their place looking amazing, and the gender ratio was the best I've seen at a small apartment party throw by two guys.
Right now Joe, Ed, Mike and I are in the studio laying down background vocals and perfecting other parts. As I say goodbye to internet access I say so long to this blog for a week. I'll post again next weekend during my brief return home before traveling to Syracuse.
Adios!
11:54 AM
Thursday, March 11, 2004
From the Studio [Joe's Office]
Joe and Ed are laying down bass and guitar tracks tonight. I'm hanging out with them and lending my musical expertise. Basically, I go to the deli and get Joe coffee and then stroke Ed's ego before he records solos. We have 2 brand new tracks, 1 with minor changes, and 1 with complete vocal changes. 4 songs + 2 songs recorded in December should make for a nice 6 song demo. Our goal is to have things done by the end of March in time for our show at the Continental on the 2nd of April.
Today I went to Selecton Training. At this training I basically learned how to interview Teach For America applicants. It was an intense day - 8:30-5pm with a half hour for lunch and two 5-minute bathroom breaks. I feel fairly prepared for my week in Syracuse coming up, just have some paperwork to do beforehand to prepare myself. A LOT of paperwork.
Tomorrow is my last day in the office for two weeks and I am so excited. Jackie and I will be heading to San Francisco on Monday. And all you fuckers who took my money playing poker at my place last night can kiss my jet-set butt.
7:57 PM
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Big Smile!
I received this email today. I have tons of work to do, and this cleared the dark unhappy storm clouds from above my desk. Thanks Susie!
Due to my hatred of productivity I spent this morning perusing the web and giving my homework the one finger salute. In short order I came upon your blog and then the web site for Hello Nurse. I listened to the 5 songs you have up and LOVE them. Now to the point...Do you have a CD? I didn't see a link to purchase one on the site.
Susie
8:51 AM
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Petition demanding that President Bush fire Secretary of Education Rod Paige
Secretary of Education Rod Paige recently compared America's largest teachers' union to a "terrorist organization." One article here.
Today I signed a petition asking for Mr. Paige's removal. On the petition I included,
As a former teacher and current employee of a non-profit that seeks to place recent college graduates as teachers in schools in low-income areas, I find the comments made by Rod Paige to be highly offensive.
Teachers' Unions are a necessary part of the education system. Any public official that makes such an analogy about teachers and terrorism, whether on or off the record, is unfit for his/her position. The fact that this statement comes from the Secretary of Education absolutely disgusts me.
I sincerely hope that either Mr. Paige resigns immediately or President Bush removes him from his position.
Click here to sign the petition.
What do you think? Should a slip of the tongue be forgiven? Or does such an offensive remark deserve serious consequences?
9:51 AM
crapitalism
Capitalism... You may say you hate it, but you love it!
(The previous link is a movie, so wear headphones or turn your volume down if you're at work.)
Viacom rich. [burp] Viacom need be more rich. Ugh. More cash make Viacom more rich. [grunt]
Eff you, Viacom.
Oh wait, eff you too Dish Network.
7:01 AM
Monday, March 08, 2004
Weekend Update
Wow, what a weekend! Unfortunately, Verizon STILL has not fixed our DSL so I haven't been able to email or blog since Friday afternoon.
Rock'n'Rollerskate
Jackie, Kari, and I headed over to OfficeOps (a community art/yoga/party loft nearby) around 9pm on Friday to Rock'n'Rollerskate. The admission was $5, and rollerskates were complimentary. We were early enough to get skates, but unfortunately the largest size they had left was a 9. I squeeeeezed my feet into them, and luckily the leather stretched enough. The skating circle was in a 2000 sq ft loft area with a band rocking out in the middle -- inside a steel cage! I hadn't worn rollerskates in many years, but it's just like rollerblading. I was all over the dance moves and skating backwards - Disco Stu style! We skated for about an hour and then Jess called. We left Rock'n'Rollerskate and met him back at our place.
Happy B-Day A-Ross
The four of us headed up to Andy Ross and Travis' place for a birthday/housewarming party. Jess and I rocked 40's, but we shouldn't have even bothered - there was plenty of beer. I ran into tons of old friends: Jake, Manny, Matt Poindexter, Cliff, Alex Chung, Peter Kohl, Eytan, Sam. It was like an Night Cafe ruinion. Jackie was exhausted to I walked her home and then came back to party late into the night.
Random Loft Party w/ Cuban Band
After a drunken bike ride home where both Jess and Kari rode on my little BMX, we chained up the bikes in front of my building and then crashed a party across the street. We caught the very end of a loft party with a Cuban band. The band was fantastic, but I was woozy and tired so I didn't last long. They tried to make us pay $10, but I told them I lived in the building and we couldn't sleep because the party was so loud. The guy felt guilty and let us stay for free. Yeah, that's right!
Bike Fixin'
Saturday morning Jackie and I made the rounds in my neighborhood to the bike store and paint store. We took her new bike to Nelson's Bike Shop for new tubes and a tune up. We then went to get some purple paint. Her bike is going to be one sweet ride. Can't wait to get it painted!
Dog Walkin'
Jackie and I went to the Brooklyn Animal Rescue Coalition (BARC) Shelter in Williamsburg to do some volunteer dog walking on Saturday afternoon. We signed waivers and took a dog named Chuckie on a walk. (You can see Chuckie here.) We walked him for about 45 minutes while he tried to mark every pole, corner, wall, garbage can, tree, and fire hydrant we passed. I definitely plan on stopping by that place more often to walk dogs.
Monster!
Jackie and I saw Monster Saturday night. The acting performances were outstanding, but I wouldn't plan on being in a good mood after the movie.
Recording, Indian Food, and lotsa Bike Riding
Sunday we spent the whole day in the studio recording songs for a new demo. I cut four drum tracks, and Mike put down the vocals for 4 tunes as well. We will spend a lot of time this week adding guitars, bass, background vocals, and mixing. Hopefully we'll have some samples online soon, because I know people are curious to hear Mike's voice. I guarantee you will be pleased - we sure are. For dinner we ate Indian food, and I ordered something way too hot. I was sweating, sniffling, and standing up in pain while I was eating. But I finished the whole thing because I was starving. After biking all the way to DUMBO and then all the way back to ARoss' place to deliver mics and then back home, I was spent.
Best News All Weekend
If you've been bored enough to read this far, you get the pleasure of hearing the best news of the weekend. I got a call from Sprint Friday evening. As you may recall, Sprint was charging me for calls I did not make all throughout the late summer and early fall. After many evenings spent on the phone with customer service that lead to no results, I eventually became so fed up that I stopped paying my bill and got a Verizon phone instead. I was expecting a bill well over $2,000, reflecting continued inaccurate billing by Sprint. So, I asked the lady on the phone what my balance was.
"$216.50"
What?? You mean you actually fixed my problem? You mean you actually did your job and erased all those calls to the Dominican Republic from my bill?? Apparently, Sprint fixed my problem back in late November and never bothered telling me. Well, even though they didn't tell me until now, I was elated. I do not have to hire a lawyer. I do not have to spent countless hours combing through past bills. I do not need to go through litigation. I do not need to ruin my credit. Yay!!!
Now I just need to find some sucker on Craigslist to take over this contract for me so I don't need to spend any money on the cancellation fee.
7:01 AM
Friday, March 05, 2004
It's Friday, I have a Job, and I got stuff to do
Ok, sorry for the poor Friday reference. Today is shaping up to be quite a busy day. First, I applied to become a Recruitment Director for Teach For America. Basically, I am applying for the same position that my current boss has. I stayed late at work last night to finish my Letter of Intent, Resume, and Writing Sample. I submitted everything this morning, so hopefully I will have an interview next week. [fingers crossed]
Tonight A-Ross is having a birthday party at his new loft. Jackie, Jess and I are going to head over there. Andy and Travis live in the middle of NOWHERE, but they have a nice recording studio - hopefully no one will spill anything tonight on their precious equipment. Check out pictures of the place at their site, SeriousBusinessProductions.
Beforehand, I may head over to Office Ops for Rock'n'Rollerskate. Office Ops is an event space a few blocks from my place, and tonight they are putting some bands in a steel cage while people rollerskate around them. I want to check it out, not only because it sounds like a blast, but so I can see about getting Hello Nurse a slot in a future Rock'n'Rollerskate event.
Bill wrote me yesterday with a proposal to host a screening of BUSTED: The Citizens' Guide to Surviving Police Encounters. Bill turned me on to the Drug Reform Coordination Network (stopthedrugwar.org), and we are thinking of having a screening of the BUSTED movie either on my roof or possibly at Office Ops later in the spring. The BUSTED screening would be a lot like the UNCOVERED screening, bringing together strangers for an evening of conversation, debate and likely some BBQing and Bush-bashing. Sounds like a great time to me!
What do you think? Any suggestions on how we should host a screening for BUSTED?
9:05 AM
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
 Audio of post-voting rant, powered by audblog
3:48 PM
Audio of voting process at the Bushwick Hylan Community Center powered by audblog
3:38 PM
VOTE
Happy Super Tuesday. Unlike last Tuesday, Grey Tuesday, today is Red White 'n' Blue Tuesday. I'm looking forward to leaving work at 5pm, heading home to Brooklyn and the Bushwick-Hylan Community Center where I will cast my vote in the Democratic primary. I'm going to try to AudioBlog the entire process, so check the blog later this evening for audio recordings of my voting experience.
When I came to work this morning, one of my coworkers forwarded around a political ideology quiz. Check it out here: www.politicalcompass.org. Here are my results.
Economic Left/Right: -6.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.82
So, I'm a left libertarian, which I already know. :)
According to the handy dandy chart included on the results page, I'm somewhere near Ghandi and Nelson Mandella in my political ideology. Some people at work are right libertarians, which I can accept more easily than left or right authoritarians. I just don't understand how people still believe that the Free Market will attain an equillibrium conducive to a healthy economy. From what I can see a free market will help the rich get richer, and that's about it. Oh wait, I'm wrong -- the free market is also destroying the environment.
I think Adam Smith might have different ideas about the invisible hand if he ever grew up in a low-income neighborhood or ever had to deal with NOT being an aristocratic white male in western culture. If you're a heterosexual middle-to-upper class white male with education, ambition, and good health, the invisible hand might as well be massaging your back (or elsewhere!). But if you're a homosexual, black, hispanic, a woman, or happen not to grow up in a low-income area, the invisible hand might as well be smacking you in the face (or elsewhere!). And if you're a plant, well, you're just screwed. I think it's just common sense that we can't trust the market (i.e. corporations) to find balance and order for the welfare of our country. Unfortunately, the elected officials making all the decisions have seen all the best that the market can offer, so why wouldn't they believe in the goodness of the invisible hand?
Ok, I've made up my mind. I'm voting for Kucinich. Edwards, I hope you make it far and keep Kerry somewhat honest for as long as possible, but you're no Kucinich.
In other news, I have a free haircut at Bumble and Bumble on Thursday just for waiting in line. Do you want a free haircut at Bumble and Bumble? (They usually run $100+!) Easy: Go to 415 W 13th Street between Ninth Ave and Washington St on Wednesday March 3rd from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. That's all you have to do!
7:24 AM
Monday, March 01, 2004
New Room, New Bike, New Hoods, New Roomie
room: Saturday was Clean-Up day at our shared band practice space in DUMBO. Members from multiple bands were directed to show up at noon on Saturday to begin the sweaty process of clearing out the entire room. Of course, at noon Joe and I were the only ones there. Ed showed up at his designated 2:30pm time, and no one else showed up until 4pm. Joe, Ed and I did the majority of the work.
Examples of nasty: We removed about 20 cynder blocks, 1 dead rat, around 10 old women's coats, several mounds of rat poop, speakers amps computers galore, 1 easy chair, 2 coffee tables, 1 drafting table, 4 car tires, 1 broken refrigerator, 2 trunks, at least 10 awful paintings, 3 nasty rugs, and many many bags of wet-stinky-gag-reflex-causing garbage.
Joe's brother Jim painted the walls white and then tried to claim his band deserved the best spot in the room. He may have put forth a decent effort to paint those walls, but did he clean up any dead rat carcasses? Did he screw mount 5 pieces of plywood to reinforce our walls? Did he remove ALL of the equipment and garbage into the hallway to clean the room? Did he sweep, vacuum, and mop the entire space? Did he deal with any of the garbage listed in the paragraph above? Ed Gross was very clear in making it known that Hello Nurse gets the best spot in the room, hands down.
bike: The best part of cleaning the room, besides coming in on Sunday to band practice in a sparkling clean non-dungeon-like room, was finding a bike in the back of the catacombs of the building where we practice. Joe and I were hiding some sheet metal (did I mention all the sheet metal above?) in a back hallway covered in grime and garbage when I noticed a bike in the back of the garbage area. Someone was obviously hiding it there, but it looked like it hadn't been touched in years. I brought the bike out and claimed it! It's an awesome old Schwinn Tiger (couldn't find pictures online, but I will take one and post it soon). It has a banana seat, big chopper-style handle bars, a front spring-loaded gear rack, a headlight (classic chrome!), a bowling handlebar ornament, and whitewall tires. All the bike needs is new tubes! I'm giving the bike to Jackie because 1) she needs a bike so she can come riding with me, and 2) it's perfect for her! It's easy to ride, a good size, no frills (back pedal to brake), and once we paint it purple it will be her dream ride.
hoods: After band practice on Sunday, Jackie and I borrowed Joe's car and went on a driving tour of Brooklyn. Specifically, we checked out the neighborhoods of Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Downtown Brooklyn, and Fort Greene. Jackie and I really liked the Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens area, and I think we're going to try to look for a place there eventually. Check out maps of neighborhoods.
roomie: This weekend my new roommate Kari moved in. Her ex-boyfriend Joe helped her move a bunch of stuff, with more furniture on the way next weekend. She brought a few crates of records which definitely caught my eye. When I left for work this morning she was already up working on fixing up her room. I think with her help we're going to make this loft an even nicer place to chill. Hopefully then we'll throw some good parties and invite guests over more than once every two months.
Tomorrow: more Hello Nurse recording sessions begin!
12:43 PM
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