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the bright aisles of c-town
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Friday, April 30, 2004
Visiting PS1, building a sound proof wall, and Critical Mass - all in 36 hours!
Yesterday I went on a site visit back to the school where I taught last year. It was great to visit my kids and some of the teachers I became friends with. I sat at the lunch table with my kids from last year and caused a terrible lunchroom disturbance. It was great to chat with them and see their smiles. I passed out my address, phone number, and e-mail address - so let the prank calls begin!
In the late afternoon and evening I chilled with ARoss. Well, we didn't exactly chill - we got a lot done! First, I went with him to a local bike store where he proceeded to buy the ugliest Schwinn mountain bike he could find. It is brand new and not too expensive, so I guess it was a good purchase. The brakes are super tight, though, and I almost bit the dust when I took it for a spin.
We went back to his place and worked on building a sound proof wall in the live room at Serious Business. Andy and Trav's friend Todd was the foreman of the project, and we had to build a frame for an 18-foot wall. Building this wall included building a mini-scaffold out of 2X4's. Once the frame was built ARoss and I spent an hour loading it full of sound deadening insulation. I left after all the insulation was stuffed (Mmmm, lungfulls of fiberglass!), and they are adding 1 layer of sound deadening particle board and 3 layers of sheetrock - with all seems staggered. They have already built a floating floor, so the room is almost ready for round-the-clock rock. And maybe the neighbors will sleep a few hours more per week.
Tonight I'm meeting up with Jon, Bill,, and Kyle for Critical Mass. I can't wait! I guess I better finish up my work for the day so I can make it there on time.
8:27 AM
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Big Winner!
Last night I cleaned house at poker. I won 10, yes count 'em, 10 smackeroos. People from my floor came over and they were fine gentlemen. The night ended with the juggling of bowling pins and card tricks.
Here are some links, 'cause I'm busy and don't have time to write anecdotes or analyze articles this afternoon.
http://www.johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com/
NYTimes OpEd on Marijuana Policy
9:38 AM
Friday, April 23, 2004
Images of the War in Iraq
Kari showed me this website and I think it's very powerful. The site contains images that the White House publicity coordinators probably don't want you to see. These images are not graphic, but they are certainly powerful.
www.thememoryhole.org
9:40 PM
RightIsWrong
I had a great night tonight, and before I crash I thought I would post from Dan Karlin's computer. (Dan is out with some chick right now, so he can't tell me to stop!)
At AmCaf we played Games Morons Play. First, we raced to see who could drink a pint of beer the fastest using only a spoon (my moronic idea). Nick won, I came in second. Next, we played a version of paper football with a glass pepper shaker. If you could get your pepper shaker to straddle the line on the opposite side of the table the other team had to snort pepper. Drew and I played Dan and Sam. We each ended up snorting about three times each. It was a nasty feeling, and we all ended up in the bathroom snorting and snarfing water to get rid of the pepper burn. Then we went to college walk and did a soccer free-kick line and let some girl kick soccer balls at us. She kept missing. Later we went and played frisbee golf on Columbia's campus. We invaded a business school party. We took some straw hats that had been abandoned (I guess the theme of the party was western?), and we drank their beer. Then, we chanted "Rich Get Richer" over and over again to mock them. They didn't like that. Yeah, it was a stupid silly immature night - it was fantastic.
I just registered for gmail! So, while all of you suckers are waiting to get an account, us bloggers get to test out the beta version. My email address is rightiswrong@gmail.com. Send me an email to see if it works. I could have chosen cts11 or something generic like sparling@gmail.comc. But, I figured with turds@verizon.net under my belt I might as well try something new. And since the right is so wrong, I thought I might try to write something clever. But I'm totally drunk, so oh well.
Goodnight to all, and I hope work isn't too painful tomorrow.
12:44 AM
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Little Bro
I met my new little brother for the first time last night. It was a nervous and exciting encounter meeting with the social worker, Kalin (KAY-lin), and his mother. Here's how it went:
When I first walked into the Big Brother Big Sister of New York office there were kids everywhere eating pizza and getting ready to go. I noticed one kid with huge eyes looking around the room. I signed in and then looked for a seat in the waiting room among the kids scarfing down pizza. All of the pizza kids cleared out and it was just me and the wide-eyed kid. He turns to me and says, "Are you Christian?" I say, "Are you Kalin?" Just like that the social worker comes down and whisks me upstairs before I barely get a chance to shake his hand.
Upstairs I am introduced to Kalin's mother, Ms. Jackson. Ms. Jackson was excited to meet me since she and Kalin had been on the waiting list for so long. We told each other a little bit about ourselves and then the social worker, Amy, went down to bring Kalin up.
Kalin came into the room and we officially introduced ourselves. Kalin didn't seem as nervous as his mother, and he was extremely polite the entire time. We played a quick game of Two Truths and a Lie, where each person says 2 truths and 1 lie and the rest have to guess the lie. Kalin stumped all of us by saying, "1. I like to read. 2. I like to do homework. 3. I like basketball." He already said he liked to read, and the letter I received from Amy about Kalin mentioned that he likes basketball. So, I guessed that the affinity for homework was a lie. Turns out he doesn't like basketball afterall! I guess the tastes of 12 year olds change by the month.
For two truths and a lie I said, "1. I have a dog named Max. 2. I once rollerbladed all the way around Manhattan. 3. I once read a 400 page book in one day." (I wanted to include reading because Kalin said he liked reading.) He guessed my lie right away. Thanks to Jess for helping #2 be true. Thanks to 4 years of college for helping #3 be true often!
After the game of lies Amy asked Kalin and I to take a walk around the block to get to know each other. We walked around the block and I asked him about his siblings, his friends, school, what he likes to do for fun, etc. We returned to the BBBS office and Amy took us each into the hall separately to ask if everything went ok and if we would like to continue the match. Of course!
Next we went over the rules and signed lots of paperwork. Kalin and I then set goals for our relationship. Here are our goals.
Big Brother's Personal Goals: Develop a new friendship with Kalin and his family, help in the growth and maturity of my little brother
Little Brother's Personal Goals: To learn new things, and do things that I never did before
Match Relationship Goals: To be positive, to do things and to help someone that didn't do something like this before (This is Kalin's writing. I convinced him that at least once throughout the year we should do some volunteer work to help someone else, and he like the idea.)
So that was pretty much it. We're going to meet this Saturday for our first adventure today. We might check out the Museum of Television and Radio.
Right now I'm off to a Teach For America event at NYU and then Columbia to convince people to accept our offer and dive into teaching. Of course, the ultimate team, Dan Karlin, Drew & Nick Faehnle will be meeting me later at AmCaf. Can't wait.
1:41 PM
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Yankees? Red Sox?
Among my friends and coworkers there exists a polarization that runs deeper than Democrat/Republican. It's something Jews and Catholics agree on. It's something that close friends fight over furiously. What kind of fan are you - Yankees or Red Sox?
I have become a Red Sox fan over the years for three reasons. 1. Most of my friends who are baseball addicts are Red Sox fans. A-Ross, Eric Leslie, Matt Davis (whose first love is the Braves), Jaime Bermudez - they are all fanatics. 2. Jackie is from Massachusetts and is therefore a Red Sox fan. I go to games with her and we cheer timidly. 3. How can you not hate the Yankees? The Yankees suck.
#3 isn't much of a reason, more of a lifestyle choice. You're either with them or against them. Maybe one day I'll buy a bunch of gold chains and become friends with a large drove of assholes and I'll harass women and children and feel like the world is entitled to me. Until then, I will not be a Yankees fan.
I just took a peek at the standings. Boston is 7-5 after taking 3 of 4 from the Yankees, with a win percentage of .583. The Yankees are close behind at 6-7 with a win percentage of .462.
And PLEASE don't forget about another team with a win percentage of .615. The Tigers, yes, the TIGERS are 8-5. Now THAT is something to be proud of. Go Detroit!
9:38 PM
A Day to Celebrate
It's not quite 4:30pm on April 20th. Somewhere someone is doing something illegal. Happy Holiday.
Also, Happy Birthday Dad! Your gift is in the mail (literally), and I'll call you this evening. Have a happy 51st!
1:24 PM
Monday, April 19, 2004
Woodward on 60 Minutes
Check out Mike Wallace's interview of Bob Woodward from last night's episode of 60 minutes. 60 minutes clips
Here is a link from CounterConvention.org for downloadable anti-Bush posters. Poster Link
A-Ross has the Elect a Madman poster and I've always been envious of it. Now I can make my own!
Also, I would like to add my opinion of Real Player. Real Player is a worthless piece of junk.
9:09 AM
Friday, April 16, 2004
moving in the morning
Jackie's movers are showing up tomorrow at 8am. Yippee. Couldn't they at least show up around 10? Well, it will be nice to have all of her stuff moved before 1pm. Then we have the whole day to get the place in order. I'm looking forward to the move, but I'm not looking forward to moving furniture up five floors. Oh right - movers!
Next week is NY Unplugged: TV Turnoff Week. Would anyone like to join me in a week of abstaining from the warm glowing box? I don't even know if I watch enough TV to need to fast for a week. A free hour to turn on the TV is so rare, that I don't know if abstaining is going to serve any purpose. Although, I guess any time spent NOT in front of the TV is time well spent. But seriously, it's lonely standing around the water cooler when you haven't been keeping up with the shows.
Tonight some bands are playing in a loft across the street. It's nice because I can heard their songs clearly, but they aren't so loud too keep me up. Of course, I could fall asleep right now with a jackhammer in the next room - so tired. Both of the bands I've heard tonight have been uninteresting and, frankly, not very skilled at their instruments. I can't wait for this neighborhood to get a dose of Hello Nurse and friends. Ok, my head is getting too big. Time to go rest it.
9:33 PM
Thursday, April 15, 2004
 Mailing my taxes at the crowded Cadman Plaza Post Office in Brooklyn. powered by audblog
4:08 PM
High Roller
I won 650 last night playing poker at my place. Yeah, you heard me right, 650!
Right now I've been on the phone with my roommate trying to email tax software to my computer at work. Apparently e-File worked for my Federal return but did NOT work for my State return. I think it was an HTML error, which means that the problem is the software's fault and not my fault. So now I have to rush around trying to get all the paperwork together to mail it in. What would April 15th be like if it didn't involve some crazy tax madness?
I got a free burrito from Chipotle today. They were doing some promotion where if you buy a burrito before April 15th, fill out some sill BurritoEZ-Form (fake burrito tax form), and bring the receipt on the 15th from your previous purchase they will give you a free burrito. Everyone in my chute at work did it. It was burrito-madness at work.
So, in conclusion. Tax Madness + Burrito Madness + Packing Madness (Jackie is packing tonight) + Kwame winning The Apprentice (that's my guess) + $6.50 = Today. You didn't think it was six hundred fifty did you? I don't have rich friends, and I surely wouldn't take that much money.
10:51 AM
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Cats and Dogs
Is this rain ever going to let up? Talk about ruining an already crappy day! May better have some glorious flowers.
Today Mike Garcia, singer for Hello Nurse, had ACL surgery. He's back home in Long Island recovering and developing a new Percocet addiction. For the next two weeks he's going to be sitting around watching The Chapelle Show, eating home cooking, and surfing the internet. I'm jealous! But seriously, I hope you are back on your feet soon Mike.
If anyone out there in cyberspace (of the 25 or so hits this blog gets everyday) isn't doing anything this Saturday, Jackie and I could sure use some help moving. She is moving from the Upper East Side to Brooklyn Heights. We are going to get a huge truck, so we should be able to do it in one trip. The biggest problem we're going to have it squeezing all of her furniture up five narrow flights at our new place. It's going to be extremely tiring. So, we'll take any and all help we can get. You will of course be compensated for any efforts you can spare. I'm really sad that the Columbia Ultimate team is going to be at a tournament, because those guys are horses.
Any takers?
Oh, and check out this link if you like bossing chickens around. (Broadband Recommended)
Also, I did my taxes last night. I owe the state around $90 and the feds owe me over $900. So, minus the cost of software and e-filing fees, I'm up $800! Oh wait, let me restate that: My credit card and student loans are up $800. I highly recommend e-file. No paper! Also, I used TaxCut2003 to prepare my taxes, and i would say it was fairly easy. Taxes suck - 2 days left!
8:52 PM
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Spring cleaning!
I spent the majority of today cleaning and doing home improvements. I added hooks to hang bicycles from the ceiling. I mounted some 2X4 beams to support some tender floor boards in my room. I changed the bag on my shopvac and did some vaccuuming. I even installed a light above my dartboard - maybe now I'll actually play darts every once in a while. Now I'm about to scoop up Eloise and take her back to Jackie's after cat sitting all week.
Oh, check this out. Like the Grey Album and the Double Black Album (Jay-Z's Black Album mixed with Metallica's Black Album, which I have yet to listen to), Dan just sent me this one: Jay-Zeezer, a mix of Jay-Z's Black Album and Weezer's Blue Album. I can't wait to listen to this stuff. I can't imagine what it sounds like.
3:41 PM
Friday, April 09, 2004
New Post Using Frequency
Mike sent me a link today for a program called Frequency. Frequency is a small program specifically designed as an interface for blog posting. From what I can tell, it looks pretty convenient to use. I never had any difficulty posting through a web browser, but this interface is a touch more like a work processor than the blogger.com interface where I basically have to type pure HTML code to get anything to show links, images, bold, italic, etc.After using Frequency for awhile I will try to write up a review.
Last night was the first alone night I've had in a while. Both Jackie and Kari are out of town for the weekend, so I thought it appropriate that I ordered two large pizzas and watched Scarface. I had never seen Scarface before, and I will likely watch it many times in the future. So violent, so long, so much machismo, so Oliver Stone.
And finally, what's with all this William Hung nonsense? He was on the Today Show this morning for the second time in two weeks. They were all making fun of him behind his back, but nonetheless the kid was performing out in the street with hundreds of people cheering him on. Also, his background dancers were D-licious.Jay Leno also had him on a week or so ago. Jay was commenting on how William was riding out the end of his 14th minute. If you ask me, he should have never been granted his first 30 seconds on American Idol.Then again, he recorded an album in less that a week and is making all of the media rounds - and I have band practice early on a Saturday morning.
3:55 PM
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
4 1/2 hours of talking about myself
Today I had three separate hour and a half interviews for a Teach For America position as a Recruitment Director. Oh, and I also had another hour and a half interview on Monday. That brings the grand totaly to 6 hours of sitting in a room and talking about myself. My throat is scratchy, my pits are sweaty, and I feel very relieved that the process is over. I feel confident about my performance at each interview, but there are so many outstanding people applying for these positions that it's tought to evaluate my chances of getting the job. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
The realtor called Jackie yesterday to let her know that everything is fine and we can move into our new apartment! (I was still holding out for some disappointing news about my credit history, but apparently it's ok. Whew.) So, I've got some good news going for me to keep me positive until I find out about this RD position.
Hello Nurse mixed a new track last night. Thanks to Joe and Ed for staying late to get it done. It's called Ordinary Me - check it out at hellonurse.com/listen.
I can't wait for tonight! I'm heading up to the Columbia area to play disc golf at midnight, and all the old fogies are going to be there: Drew, Salty, Yang, Dan Karlin, Sam. I'm going to throw some discs into bad places and sleep on Dan's couch. What a glorious way to celebrate a long and mentally grueling day of interviewing.
12:51 PM
Monday, April 05, 2004
From Washington Heights to Brooklyn Heights - moving up in the world
Jackie and I went apartment hunting on Saturday, and we ended up scoring a 1BR in Brooklyn Heights, arguably one of the nicest neighborhoods in New York City. We are 1 block from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, which is a scenic waterfront park with views of the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan. It is a beautiful neighborhood all around. We scored a 1BR for $1500, the top of our price range, but the proximity to trains and the promenade, not to mention all the shops & restaurants Brooklyn Heights has to offer, make it worth the price. It's also 5 minutes from Grimaldi's and 10 minutes to the Dumbo researsal space.
Here is a map: Booyah We Live Here!
Thanks to everyone who came to the Hello Nurse show at the Continental on Friday. The guy at the door says we had a draw of 68, but we think he's being shady and skimming. We think we had more than that. Either way, 68 is too many names to mention so I thank you all for coming.
3:57 PM
Friday, April 02, 2004
Umm, Uhh, What I Meant To Say Was.....
If you're like me, then you take great joy in watching members of the White House administration look like total fools when they get busted for being lying a-holes.
Here is a clip of Donald Rumsfeld on Face the Nation on CBS. Don tries to convince the host of the show that he never claimed that Iraq was an "immediate threat." Then, another guest on the show whips off two quotes in a row where Rummy explicitly states that Iraq is an immediate threat. I'm not sure who that other guest is, but he was prepared and ready to NAIL Rumsfeld on National TV. I giggled with delight. Rumsfeld can barely respond with a coherent answer, although in fairness this clip doesn't continue long enough to listen to his response.
In other news, I got a haircut and I am wearing a pink and black striped sweater to work. I'm on a mission to make girls colors more masculine. Just like homosexuals have reclaimed queer, I want to start a movement to reclaim pink, teal, turquoise, aquamarine, violet, thistle, purple, orchid, magenta, salmon, lavender, fuchsia, chartreuse, and the often ignored azure. So let's go gentlemen! Don't leave me hanging as the only fruit walking through midtown in a papaya shirt with rose socks. Besides, don't you know the 80's are in again?
If you want to see this pink sweater, you're just going to have to come to the Continental tonight at 11pm to see Hello Nurse.
7:40 AM
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Reviving My Mac
So, Mac's are never supposed to give troubles like PCs are, right? Well, the harddrive on my mac bit the dust a few weeks ago. I tried reviving it multiple times using multiple methods, but that thing is toast. Thanks be to the glory that is Mike Szumlinski for not only trying to help me revive the dead drive but for also sending me a new replacement harddrive that just happened to be collecting dust on his shelf. Mike, I've said it before and I'll say it again - you rock! His band now deserves a plug. Please check out LoriRocks.com and bask in their Pixies-meets-Columbus-OH goodness.
My Mac is now back up and running. Oh how I missed her fast processors and gigantic monitor. Luckily, I backed up all my documents and pictures on a CD a week before the crash. Whew! I have encountered a few problems, however. First, I had to do all kinds of crazy file conversions to convert all my e-mail contacts from the Opera .adr format to something suitable the Panther Mail program. I don't even remember what I did, but it involved using comma separated values files in Excel, and lots of deleting of stray characters. I can't wait to tackle that problem again!
Second, iTunes is specifically designed to NOT allow file transfer from an iPod back into iTunes. Many of my mp3's are on my iPod, and I did not want to have to go through the ID3 tag update process and copying them all from my PC back over to my Mac. I've barely started on that project, and I don't want to have to go back to square one. Luckily, lots of smart people have programmed software to get by that little dilemma. I downloaded a program called PodWorks which serves as a utility to allow iPod-to-iTunes file transfer. I'm transfering everything right now, and my iTunes library is back to normal.
My next project, besides Frankensteining a contacts list of email contacts.... [oh wait....i just remembered that i stored my contacts list as a text file on my ipod.... if this works i'm going to jump for joy around this messy loft!] .... is to get Kari's wireless router working so we can finally be on the internet at the same time. Also, this will enable me to be both on the internet AND transfering files from my PC. I have so many damn MP3s left to transfer. Not to mention getting soulseek back up and running. My oh my I can't wait to download some new music.
Speaking of which, let me rip this Von Bondies disc to I can give it back to Ed. I highly recommend the Von Bondies, and not just because they're from Detroit. And if you use iTunes, I highly recommend Indie Pop Rocks! on the Alt/Modern Rock radio station. I think it's also on SOMA Satellite radio if you are rich and have that.
8:28 PM
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