|
|
|
the bright aisles of c-town
|
|
| |
Monday, May 31, 2004
Hello Nurse should go far and if they don't then it will be a great injustice, and Jess Flees New York.
Hey, you didn't hear it from me! You heard it from this guy.
I know it's a Tuesday the day after a three day weekend, but you've had 3 days to sleep in. Come see Hello Nurse tonight at Arlene's Grocery. Great sound at this joint, and we go on at 9;30pm.
Also, for those of you possibly not on Jess's e-mail link or not frequent visitors to his blog, he is leaving town this week.So, come out Tuesday night to the show or contact him Wednesday about dinner. If he says no about dinner, well, that's your fault for sucking.Anyway, be sure to pay your respects to the man this week - it's not going to be the same around here without his scrawny hawaiian butt keeping us up just one more hour.
9:23 PM
Friday, May 28, 2004
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE - CONVENTION SCHEDULE -
New York, NY
From Rants & Raves on newyork.craigslist.org
6:00 PM Opening Prayer led by the Reverend Jerry Fallwell
6:30 PM Pledge of Allegiance
6:35 PM Burning of Bill of Rights (excluding 2nd amendment)
6:45 PM Salute to the Coalition of the Willing
6:46 PM Seminar #1 Getting your kid a military deferment
7:30 PM First Presidential Beer Bong
7:35 PM Serve Freedom Fries
7:40 PM EPA Address #1: Mercury, it's what's for dinner.
8:00 PM Vote on which country to invade next
8:10 PM Call EMTs to revive Rush Limbaugh
8:15 PM John Ashcroft Lecture: The Homos are after your children
8:30 PM Round table discussion on reproductive rights (MEN only)
8:50 PM Seminar #2 Corporations: The government of the future
9:00 PM Condi Rice sings "Can't Help Lovin' that Man"
9:05 PM Second Presidential Beer Bong
9:10 PM EPA Address #2 Trees: The real cause of forest fires
9:30 PM Break for secret meetings
10:00 PM Second prayer led by Cal Thomas
10:15 PM Lecture by Karl Rove: Doublespeak made easy
10:30 PM Rumsfeld demonstration of how to squint and talk macho
10:35 PM Bush demonstration of trademark "deer in headlights" stare
10:40 PM John Ashcroft demonstrates new mandatory kevlar chastity belt
10:45 PM Clarence Thomas reads list of black republicans
10:46 PM Third Presidential Beer Bong
10:50 PM Seminar #3 Education: a drain on our nation's economy.
11:10 PM Hilary Clinton Pinata
11:20 PM Second Lecture by John Ashcroft: Evolutionists: The dangerous new cult
11:30 PM Call EMTs to revive Rush Limbaugh again.
11:35 PM Blame Clinton
11:40 PM Laura serves milk and cookies
11:50 PM Closing Prayer led by Jesus Himself
12: 00AM Nomination of George W. Bush as Holy Supreme Planetary Overlord
11:36 AM
Kurt Vonnegut is a very old man, but he still makes sense
Here is an article written by Kurt Vonnegut. A-Ross IM'd it to me, and I think it's pretty interesting. Basically Kurt rambles in a Dennis Miller-style rant until he gets to the end and finally refers to the title of the article, Cold Turkey. Here's a quick snippet of Kurt explaining the dichotomy of liberals and conservatives.
Which one are you in this country? It’s practically a law of life that you have to be one or the other? If you aren’t one or the other, you might as well be a doughnut.
If some of you still haven’t decided, I’ll make it easy for you.
If you want to take my guns away from me, and you’re all for murdering fetuses, and love it when homosexuals marry each other, and want to give them kitchen appliances at their showers, and you’re for the poor, you’re a liberal.
If you are against those perversions and for the rich, you’re a conservative.
What could be simpler?
I found the article amusing. Check it out if you have 5 minutes.
CRITICAL MASS TONIGHT. Get on your bike and ride!
8:59 AM
Thursday, May 27, 2004
the Rat Whacker and Home Bondage Equipment
Read this article about the Rat Whacker! This guy lives up by Columbia and he has become a local folk hero by whittling homemade bats and clubbing rats for distance.
Quick question: Why in the hell is my blog linked to this site about Home Bondage Equipment? I'm not even into bondage! Well, for all you bondage afficianados out there, I'm sorry I don't have any info on ball-gags or ceiling harness mounting hardware to offer.
9:42 AM
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
What's a violet? and Critical Mass yo' Ass
What's a violet?
I'm registered for the Westchester Summer League so I can get my ultimate fix over the summer. Previously I have played for such teams as lime, orange, and tiel. I was kind of hoping for team pink this year, but I ended up on violet. Violet is a decent color, and I'm happy to wear it. My only question is, how is violet different from purple? In my mind they are the same color.
Then I remembered that violet is the mascot for NYU. First of all, how can a mascot be a color - or at least, a color without an adjective modifier? Åt hockey games we would cheer, "What's a violet?" and NYU would cheer back, "We don't care who owns New York - we're up 8-1!" Then we would score one more goal all game and I would throw a dead fish on the ice. There was this one kid from Columbia who threw a bag of live feeder fish on the ice and it exploded. They were flopping around dying and the referee just looked into the bleachers with disgust. He didn't even give Columbia a penalty, he just looked into the guy's eyes as if to say, "Peter Gibbons, you are a very bad man."
Critical Mass yo' Ass
Friday night is Critical Mass. I'm taking my beautiful fixed gear second love of my life out on the streets for her first long ride. I'm going to tune her up tonight and take Austin on a tour of the neighborhood. I can't to ride all over the city with her on Friday night.
If you're interested in coming I may have one extra bike available for you to use. Critical Mass is this Friday at 7pm at the north end of Union Square park. At the bottom is a write-up about this month's event. The after party at 158th and Courtlandt is 5 blocks from PS 1, the school where I taught second grade last year. I wasn't planning on going up there originally because of how long it would take to bike back to Brooklyn Heights, but I am curious about what's shakin' in the South Bronx community garden scene. Please let me know if you might be interested in this.
The following flash game is definitey worth 20-30 minutes of your time. It's about Bush economic policy, and it features such characters as Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ronald Reagan in a bikini, Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, and a fat middle-aged He-Man. It's absurd, part video game, and will teach you everything you wanted to know about economic policy but were afraid to ask your grandfather.
http://www.emogame.com/bushgame.html
Here's the Critical Mass information:
CRITICAL MASS FOR MORE GARDENS
followed by huge support celebration PARTY
Friday May 28th
7pm sharp at Union Square Park North
Get out your bike or skates and strap a plant to your head because this
Critical Mass is in support of community gardens. You may have heard that
Bette Midler saved all the community gardens but the truth is had it not
been for communities, and people like you standing up for their gardens, and
groups like Times-Up and More Gardens doing outreach and direct action she
may not have even been aware of the issue. This Critical Mass will be
heading up to the scenic south Bronx where the community gardens are now in
serious threat of destruction.
This ride and following after party will take place in three different
community gardens - 158th St and Courtland Ave - that have received their
forty-five day eviction notice. The groups and the community are providing
music (Luminescent Orchestrii) and food, but please feel free to bring food
to share.
Both Times Up environmental group and More Gardens coalition have teamed up
before in saving and promoting new community gardens. With your help
anything is possible. We adding extra campaigns and community garden
clean-ups focussing on the Bronx in the next couple of months.
This ride will end with a huge support celebration party at the Sunshine and
Courtland community gardens 158th St and Courtland Ave, South Bronx
If you would like to get more involved or help with the party call Times Up
at 212 802 8222
4:52 PM
Monday, May 24, 2004
Franz Ferdinand
Austin is the man! He helped us get our network working in our aparment, so finally all of us can be on the internet at once. I networked my Mac and my PC and I'm finally starting to transfer all of my mp3s over so I can utilize my iPod to its full capacity.
Last night I also fired up the old P2P software and downloaded some music. I finally downloaded the Franz Ferdinand album which people have been raving about for a while now. I must say I really dig it. I highly recommend the album, which is self titled. It's a bit Strokesy [a warning for all you hateful scenesters] but you won't be eighth-noted to death.
I saw a movie tonight with Kalin, my little brother. We were the only ones in a deserted theater in Bushwick watching Breaking All The Rules, the new Jamie Fox movie. With all the blockbusters out there - Kill Bill 2, Shrek 2, Troy - he wanted to see Jamie Fox. The movie was less of a comedy and more of a date movie, so Kalin quickly lost interest and took to exploring the theater building. I ate too much candy and got a suger headache. What a fun night it was!
Does anyone have any cool Memorial Day Weekend plans?
9:43 PM
Friday, May 21, 2004
show is on
come on by.
5:42 PM
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
party friday night
Rock on the roof this Friday night.
Hello Nurse along with 3 other bands are playing on my roof this Friday night. Kegs, BBQ, rock - it's going to be awesome.
Come Friday at 8. Figure it out and get yo' ass here!
10:36 PM
Monday, May 17, 2004
Congrats Columbia Seniors
You effers are graduating tomorrow. Good job guys and girls. You made it through college pushing the limits of fun to the verge of hospitalization, and now you have damaged livers and B+ grade point averages to show for it. I commend you.
Jess: I'm really going to miss you. You better make it back to the East Coast once or twice in the next few years.
Austin: Welcome to the concrete jungle of Bushwick. We will have some good times before you're gone.
Lightshow: I'm elated that you're moving to Brooklyn. Welcome!!! More fun times to come, so I'm not going to say anything mushy to you.
Dave: Tell your brother I might be in Michigan this week due to a funeral. Sucks.
Sai: You rock girl! I wish you the best.
Eric: Even though the first few times we met all you said was, "Goy, your girlfriend is hot!" in an annoying voice, I've found a place in my heart for you. You are a funny kid.
Bill Blinn: You really should have come out more this year. Or, at least the very few times when I was up on campus! I've seen Amanda play golf more times that I've seen you out! Still think you're great, though.
Rachel: Peace girl! Hope you're doing well.
Mike Liu: Keep kickin' ass.
Tao: Are you a Senior? I keep thinking you're a senior but I'm pretty sure you're a junior. Either way man, you're a great guy. Have a fly summer.
I'm sure I forgot a bunch of you. My mind is elsewhere today (see comment for Dave), but I wanted to give you all one last shout out before you go on your merry ways. And if any of you are in town next weekend, I'm having a party on Friday night and my roommate is having a party on Saturday night. It's a roof party extravaganza this weekend. We'll have kegs - you should come. I hope I'll be back by then... more to come on that. I'm not really comfortable blogging about it, but if you know me feel free to chat me up.
hugs.
9:24 PM
Friday, May 14, 2004
Bike Collection Grows
I bought another bike yesterday, in the unlikeliest of situations. I got to talking with a middle aged latino drunk guy on the downtown 2 train yesterday. He was very nice and we talked about his graffiti art. Some of his tattoos were designed by his son, and they were pretty cool. He wanted to sell me his bike for $10. I told him that I already had two bikes. I assumed it was stolen, but his friends across the aisle told me it wasn't. For some reason I believed them, because they were not pushy and they were laughing with him, not at him.
When he got off at 14th street with me, I ended up telling him I would buy it. I went to the candy stand and bought a twix to change a twenty, I paid him $10, and then I rode the bike to band practice in Dumbo all the way from 6th ave and 14th street. The bike rides great! It's an old-school single speed cruiser with coaster brakes. I'm going to shine it up, tune it up, and think of something special to do with it.
**************************
One more time for the people in the cheap seats:
HELLO NURSE
Saturday, May 15th, 9:30 PM
Otto's Shrunken Head, 538 E 14th St (bet Ave A and B)
Things to bear in mind:
1. Tiki rhymes with freaky, so bring quarters for Erotic Photo Hunt.
2. The M-14 bus drops you off right in front of Otto's, say no to the L train.
3. Song samples, indispensible wit, and unflattering photos available on our web-site: for music - click on http://www.hellonurse.com/listen.
8:57 AM
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Should I watch this video?
I'm sitting here at work in a post-lunch daze, and I'm contemplating watching the video of the beheading of Nicholas Berg. I have already downloaded the wmv, but I have not yet had the guts to double click it.
I feel this is an event of historical significance, and there is some morbid curiosity inside me that led me to download the video. But now I think to myself, did I download and watch videos of the US bombing Baghdad? Did I seek out photo galleries of the pictures of the humiliated Iraqi captives? I did not. What makes the Nick Berg video any different than those other videos except the nationalities of the aggressor and victim are switched? I feel very sorry for Berg and his family, but I also feel sympathetic to the hundreds of innocent Iraqis that have been killed in this war as well.
All this death is sickening. Militant fundamentalists think they have God on their side. US military thinks it has American Exceptionalism and superior morality on its side. Either way people are dying - whether by an impersonal smart bomb or a bloody knife.
The hate involved in the rationale for killing on both sides of the war is just too much for me. I have been ignoring a lot of what is going on in this war because it turns my stomach so bad. I consider myself a patriot, and I fully support our troops, but I truly think war is such a serious matter - and this war definitely was not thoroughly deliberated by our leaders beforehand. This is not tariff policy - this is dead bodies and widows and fatherless children! I doubt that Bush loses enough sleep over the death, bloodshed, and hate he has stirred up. The pictures of Iraqi prisoners being humiliated has fueled opposition around the world, and we have taken 3 steps backward. I am truly fearful of another terrorist attack.
I don't know why I downloaded that video in the first place. I saw Faces of Death when I was 13 - do I really need to watch a beheading? The description in the NY Times was enough for me. Fuck this war.
[delete]
11:41 AM
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
James Brown did drugs.
No wonder he felt so good! Check out this i it's hiknterview. He is so messed up, it's hilarious.
Click here for video in WMV format.
In other news, I rode my fixed gear bike to Jackie's last night, and I didn't touch my brake the entire way. I'm taking it to the bike store tonight to get it checked out, because the back wheel needs some alignment. I need a longer seat post, too. Otherwise, this thing is a dream!
12:27 PM
Monday, May 10, 2004
Dan and I help a blind person and her dog get the hell out of the middle of the road.
Also, if you are on the Upper West Side check out the front of West Side Market on 110th and Broadway. It's like the back of a high school yearbook. People on the UWS are attached to their markets!
4:08 PM
Driving Tour, New Song, Sloan Concert, Fixed Gear
Wow, what a weekend. I'm totally exhausted and late to work, but I feel like I could not have packed for fun into a weekend.
Saturday morning I woke up early, borrowed Steve's car (thanks Steve!) and picked up my little brother in Brownsville. We were going on a driving tour of New York, so I asked him, "So, where do you want to go?"
He answered emphatically, "New Jersey!"
New Jersey it is! Unfortunately, the driving tour ended up being more of a tour of congested intersections and mild bouts of CSparls road rage. I took him to Koronet Pizza, up through Washington Heights, across the George and into lovely Fort Lee. We got out of the car and walked to a cliffside park that overlooks the bridge and Manhattan. "Isn't this beautiful!" I remarked as I deeply inhaled the fresh ocean air.
"Can we go?" Kalin was not interested in the view, nor was he particularly influenced by my hearty deep breathing and declarations of how perfect the weather was.
Ok, back in the car we go and book it back to Brooklyn. I drove like a madman to get him home in time for me to continue to band practice. I think he enjoyed the trip, but I think his first impression of New Jersey wasn't what he was expecting.
Band practice was fun and productive. And for your listening please, please check out a new track called Animalypics. Please don't ask me about the working song title, because I really don't have a clue.
We also received our first review - 4 stars! Please read the review Here. It's not particularly well written, but the guy loves us - so I won't hold anything against him. :)
Saturday night I met up with Bill, Jackie, Eliel, and some of Jackie's friends to see Sloan, a canadian rock band I grew up on. I love these guys, and they sure put on a great show. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see The Kicks because Bill and I anticipated a late start time. We were on rock time, but apparently The Kicks and Sloan were on Eastern Standart Time, so Bill and I walked into Bowery just in time for Sloan's set.
Sunday was even better than Saturday, because I finally took action and completed a project I had been day dreaming about for the past two weeks. I got on the Q train and traveled to the Kings Highway stop in Bay Ridge. Bay Ridge was like another country. Everything about the landscape suggested New York City - crowded commercial avenues like Queens with quiet residential streets and people everywhere. The difference between Bay Ridge and almost everywhere else in the city is that everyone on the street was either Jewish (lots of Hasidics and Orthodox) or Russian/Eastern European. I couldn't read any of the store awnings, and for once this had nothing to do with my illiteracy in Spanish. It was like being in eastern Europe but I only had to get on a train for 20 minutes. If you want a bizarre afternoon, go check out Bay Ridge!
The reason I went to Bay Ridge was to pick up a Bianchi road bike I found on LootUSA.com. I met this guy named Daniel, an immigrant from Uzbekistan who came to the US twelve years ago. Daniel went to John Jay College of Justice, and now works at a lawfirm in Midtown. He was a very friendly guy, and we got to know each other as we wandered around Bay Ridge trying to find a bike shop that has the correct adapter to fill racing intertubes from an air compressor. To make a long story short: We found a bike shop, the old man who owned it was a paranoid madman, I paid Daniel $100 for the SWEET bike, and I rode it home from Bay Ridge all the way to Brooklyn Heights.
I met Jackie for a quick snack in Dumbo, and I went to Recycle-a-Bike to buy parts for the fixed gear conversion process. The guy at the store was extremely helpful, and he hooked me up with a used flip-flop wheel (flip-flop wheels can be used for both fixed-gear and single speed riding) for $55, a new chain for $12, and some shorter crank bolts for $3. I went to another bike shop for some tools and extras - a chain tool, tube patch kit, tire levers, and an adapter so I can fill my racing tubes at gas station air machines.
I got home all ready to tear off all the gears and convert my new Bianchi to a fixed gear. I felt hesitant at first, because the Bianchi is a beautiful road bike and I didn't want to wreck it. Right as I'm about to take it apart, ARoss called.
ARoss and I found a pristine baseball field in Bushwick and we played frisbee. Then we went to Life Cafe for dinner. The guy who waited our table is actually hanging out a lot with Kari. Small world! Ok, back to bike building.
It only took a couple hours, and after a quick rollerblade to the gas station to fill the new tires with air I was ready to assemble! (Hilarious image - me rollerblading with bike tires in each hand and intertubes draped around my neck.) I removed all the gearing mechanisms and wires, I removed on the gears on the pedals, and replaced the back wheel with the flip-flop wheel set to fixed, and I measured out the correct length on the new chain. I screwed everything up tight, and oh my goodness, is the bike ready to ride already? I just assumed I would take it out on the street, it would fall apart, and the rest of the night I would be trying to fix my mistakes and regretting ever destroying the beautiful road bike in the first place.
Exactly the opposite! I got on the bike and it was rock solid. I road up to Andy's, he came down, and we road around Williamsburg all night. All of the people I read who say that riding fixed is a pure joy - they are so right. It was like learning to ride all over again, giving your bike completely new capabilities. The bike feels so rock solid, and slowing down using your legs is so much fun! I pedal through corners and accelerate around curves. I feel so in control and it's an exhilarating rush all over again - just like when I was 10.
I stayed up until 2:30am riding and fixing up my bike. I can't wait to get out of work, go home, and ride the bike on it's maiden voyage to Jackie's place. I am so happy I went fixed!
And here's my new baby:
8:36 AM
Friday, May 07, 2004
stooopid
Some of the most stooopidest links ever.
My Cellular Bananular Phone - It's no baloney!
Jesus Christ Action Figure
Thanks Mike for the links.
Also, for those of you who haven't heard, Teach For America offered me a job next year working for the Admissions team. I will be employed! Yay!
12:21 PM
Thursday, May 06, 2004
the landscape of advertising
Advertising has become so commonplace in our daily landscape that it is often ignored. I'm sure I don't notice 90% of the ads I pass on a daily basis, and I actually pay attention to it. In fact, I enjoy dissecting ads to their bare focus-group-produced bones. Every subtle element of an ad is agonized over by creative directors, down to font size, degree tilt of italics, and uniformity of skin tone.
While print advertising and tv/radio advertising are vastly different industries, you cannot avoid either. In fact, you would to drive far from the city to avoid a billboard or poster. And you better get used to NPR if you don't want to deal with commercials. God bless Tivo and the future salary I might receive in 10 years that will enable me to one day purchase this gem of technology. Still, I find myself giddy when a new well produced ad comes on TV. When those cars flip on the Mitsubishi ad, I rushed to seewhathappens.com. Superbowl commercials used to get me amped. And, well, I hate to admit it but the Ultratrance and Ultradance girls on the subway ways sure get my attention. (I think the Ultradance girl is hotter, but the Ultratrance girl had a better picture.) My eyes are a slave to the landscape of advertising.
Do I have a choice to view this advertising? NO. I have no choice but to observe advertising. Don't I have a stake in the environment in which I live? We have adopted laws to ensure some standard of air quality. (Whether or not our government chooses to enforce these laws is another question.) We have adopted laws to ensure standards of noise levels. But it seems advertising knows no bounds when it comes to completely saturating our landscapes.
Major League Baseball has decided to start selling ads on first, second, and third base. Read about it here. Is nothing sacred? Granted, it doesn't make a big difference to me whether or not first base at Comerica Park has a Spiderman II logo on it -- it is Comerica Park after all and not Tigers Statium anymore. But some people find this sacreligious. Jockeys racing in the Kentucky Derby are now wearing ads on their jersies. What's next, commercial advertising in public schools?? Actually, that's already widespread.
Advertising is everywhere. Our landscape is so plastered with ads that saturation is making advertising less likely to be noticed. How many times have you walked through Times Square? - Can you remember one ad distinctively? Ok yeah, that 200 foot supermodel is pretty smokin'. But can you remember two or three ads? With all that sensory overload the advertising becomes ineffective.
So, what's next? If we are overloaded by advertising to the point where print ads and commercials become ineffective, what will be marketing's new frontier? It's scary to think of the future of our landscape when ad agencies find the next best invasive way to bombard our senses with terse, catchy messages of capitalist grandeur.
Just 48 more miles until South Of The Border!
7:38 AM
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
NBOTB
Dan Karlin has a new blog on the block. Check out Metacognition and Morality, his blog ranting about the perils of religion and the thrill of urban hitchhiking.
But you know, he's just one of those posers trying to get a gmail account.
2:25 PM
Monday, May 03, 2004
Fixed Gear Madness
I've caught the fixed gear bug, and I won't be cured until I make one. I spent the whole weekend tuning up my blue schwinn traveler, but I will be selling that to Bill soon as I make myself a new fixed gear bike. I can't wait!
What is a fixed gear bike? - A bike where the pedal gear is directly chained to the rear wheel so the pedals and wheel move as one. You can't coast, there is only one speed, and you can slow down by applying rear pressure on the pedals. You only need a brake on the front wheel.
Why would anyone want to ride a fixed gear bike? - With a fixed gear bike you feel closer to the road. It's a killer workout. The bike never breaks down. The chain won't slip. There is less to worry about in terms of shifting & braking. Speed control is entirely through your legs, so your body gets a great feel for swerving through traffic and riding through the city. Plus, the bike is so incredibly simple that some people find a minimalist/zen type of attraction to fixed gear bikes.
I think their beautiful machines. Please go to fixedgeargallery.com and take a look for yourself. Hundreds of simple, beautiful machines.
Also, if you want to learn more about fixed gear bikes, Sheldon Brown's site has all the info you could ever ask for.
ARoss bought a bike on Thursday. Bill wants to get one soon. Who is next to catch the biking bug? I have a really small BMX if you want one!
8:17 PM
|
|
| |
The following searches have brought people to this site:
rottweiler bondage gear
homemade film on blowing up a deer with fireworks
corrections facilities near yankee stadium
goy.sex.com
pictures of christian black men working together
|
|
|
