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the bright aisles of c-town
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Monday, November 29, 2004
Congrats to Alex Chung
Congratulations are in order for Alex Chung, as a short film he shot in the summer of 2003 has been selected for the Sundance Film Festival. I worked on Alex's film as a member of his crew, and you can read about my experiences in the C-town archives.
Day 1 - Driving the truck! (audio post)
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
(Note how I get bitchier the more I realize how hard it is to work on a film crew.)
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Thanksgiving was a great time. I spent all day Friday hanging out with my pops. We mixed chores with play for a fun afternoon. We stored his sailboat mast in the garage (chore). Then I took the motorcycle for a chilly spin (play). My dad has recently bought a new rifle (after coyotes ate the family cat), so we shot some garbage (play). We made soundproof panels out of foam and plywood for my dad's new converted-garage recording studio (chore). We listened to the Sutton's Bay Norsemen lose the state championship football game on the radio (play). Finally, we ate steaks and set up instruments to jam for a while (play). All in all, it was a great way to celebrate Buy Nothing Day.
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If you're in NYC and looking for something to do tonight, this looks interesting.
Robo Recital
Juilliard's first all-robot concert without human performers. LEMUR composer J. Brendan Adamson debuts LEMUR compositions and GuitarBot plays Bach at RoboRecital. ModBots join GuitarBot on Adamson's Study for GuitarBot, Disklavier, Automated Organ, and ModBots (2004). Other non-human musical performers include a Yamaha Disklavier (a
modern player piano) and a Mozart-playing automated pipe organ.
"RoboRecital" is a free music concert with no human performers; all music is performed by computer-controlled acoustic instruments. Although musical automata have a very long history, RoboRecital marks the first time that an all-robot cast performs at Juilliard.
Paul Hall at the Juilliard School
60 Lincoln Center Plaza, at 66nd Street, Manhattan
8p; $free
http://www.lemurbots.org
10:36 AM
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Buy Nothing Day - November 26, 2004
I don't know about you, but I absolutely despise the games retail corporations play with consumers. As consumers, our psychological landscape is constantly bombarded with advertising and the push to consume consume consume. As Americans, success in life is defined as the ability to consume as much as possible. Most people define success as a big house, a nice car or two, fine clothes, and a surplus of cash to blow on vacations, entertainment, and toys. Children especially are drilled with corporate advertising on TV and at school. Children across America are far better at brand-recognition than reading!
Consumer culture teaches us to BUY BUY BUY. We should be thinking about ways to curtail consumption, not increase it. But every year analysis of post-Thanksgiving shopping reveals that Americans have bought X-gazzilion more gadgets than last year.
If you feel that consumer culture is a bad thing, there is one small step you can take. Please celebrate Buy Nothing Day this Friday. It's very easy to do. Don't buy anything. Instead, spend some time with your family. Work on a hobby. Finish a half-finished book. Exercise. Polish off some leftovers. Write a letter to an old friend. Just don't go to Best Buy. Didn't you know that Best Buy hates you anyway? (Best Buy and Target also hate the Salvation Army.)
Check out the Buy Nothing Day Website for more information. I also recommend checking out the Buy Nothing Action Pyramid.
I think a lot of anti-consumerism activism is just gory theater with very little strategic planning behind it. Nonetheless, participating in Buy Nothing Day and talking to friends and family about this holiday opens an important dialog that Americans need to start paying attention to. Besides, do you really need an excuse to avoid the crowds, malls, and parking lot mayhem?
Here is a crazy anti-consumerism website.
9:00 AM
Friday, November 19, 2004
Stop the Anti-Bicycling Bill
From the Transportation Alternatives website.
A draconian anti-bicycling bill, Int. No. 497, was recently introduced to the New York City Council by Councilmember Madeline Provenzano.
If passed, Int. No. 497 would require every bicycling New Yorker over sixteen years old to obtain bicycle license tags from the NYC Department of Transportation. The bill stipulates that those who do not display such tags on their bicycles would be subject to up to 15 days imprisonment in addition to hefty fines and bicycle confiscation.
Practically speaking, Int. No. 497 would criminalize bicycling, create more incentives to drive, and erect yet another obstacle for those seeking to do their part to reduce congestion, clean our City's polluted air and stay healthy.
This bill is a malicious attack against people who ride bikes in New York City. It is aimed at stopping bike riding. Int. No. 497 must be stopped.
To take action against this bill, please visit the Transportation Alternatives website and submit a fax (via the website) to Councilmember Provenzano showing your disapproval of this measure. I have already submitted my fax, and I am hoping that many of you out there will do the same.
The city is trying to crack down on Critical Mass and bike riding in general. When did riding a bicycle become a BAD thing to do? Why is city government so interested in limiting bike riding in the city? Didn't Bloomberg encourage people to bike during the taxi strike? Now because some people used bicycling as a means of protesting during the RNC, all of a sudden biking is some kind of public safety issue?
There are so many other things that deserve our government's attention and funding besides bicycling. If anything, bicycling should be encouraged, not restricted.
Please visit the site and offer your support.
Once you're done, go to this site and download the sickest street-bicycling race videos on earth. The guys FLY through traffic. I thought I was aggressive, but it turns out I'm a wimp.
Support Critical Mass Here. Check out the link for ways you can support Critical Mass and let our local officials know that we support CM.
9:09 AM
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Matt Davis, you rock!!
If you know him, congratulate him. He passed the bar today.
9:22 AM
New Hampshire, HO!
I'm off to New Hampshire this afternoon on a business trip. I'm looking forward to driving, seeing the horizon, and eating gas station candy - things I haven't done in a while.
Hello Nurse recorded drum tracks over the weekend. All I can say is - I am awesome. Someone should download THIS and make an awesome remix.
Recording wasn't so thrilling this time around since we are rerecording old material. In general I was just trying to make sure that these performances were at least as good as the old performances. I kept trying of ways to make my parts better, but for the most part I was operating under the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. After playing these songs over 50 times in the past year, I think I pretty much know what the part is.
Joe's friend Sandor (SHAN-door) is helping us with the recording process. He has a good ear and lots of experience mixing, so we're definitely excited to get these songs recorded right in order to release a full length later this winter.
Ok, off to New Hampshire.
6:40 AM
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Hello Nurse tonight at Desmond's
Thursday, November 11
8:45 PM
HELLO NURSE
live @ Desmond's
433 Park Ave bet 29th & 30th
Desmond's is a great little pub nestled in the not-quite-Union Square / not-quite-Murray Hill purgatory of 30th & Park. We're playing with Hoy, who we first played with at The Lucky Cat in Williamsburg about a month ago. Hoy is a great band, and they are fun to hang out with. Tonight will likely be a fun show with two great bands in a crappy bar.
Last time we played Desmond's the sound guy was three sheets to the wind. After the first song Joe asked, "Can we have less drum vocals in the monitors please?" The guy nodded OK and then didn't do anything. Joe said again, "Could you turn down the drum vocals?" The guy just looked at Joe and gave the thumbs up, but didn't even touch the mixing board. Most of us would have given up at this point.
"Hey man, I can see from here you didn't do anything. Can I please see you go to the mixing board and turn down the drum vocals???"
It was hilarious, I couldn't contain myself. The dude stumbled over to the mixing board, and I couldn't hear myself in the monitors for the rest of the night.
Anyway, come on out tonight if you want to get a beer. We are also debuting a new song tonight. The song, like most songs written by American musicians within the past month, is about the presidential election. In honor of Bush's second term, we have disrespectfully titled the tune Target Practice. The FBI and Secret Service are more than welcome to attend our show as long as they pay the cover charge.
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I'm copying this from Bill's blog because I think it's hilarious. The website is called fuckthesouth.com, and here's an excerpt.
Let’s talk about those values for a fucking minute. You and your Southern values can bite my ass because the blue states got the values over you fucking Real Americans every day of the goddamn week. Which state do you think has the lowest divorce rate you marriage-hyping dickwads? Well? Can you guess? It’s fucking Massachusetts, the fucking center of the gay marriage universe. Yes, that’s right, the state you love to tie around the neck of anyone to the left of Strom Thurmond has the lowest divorce rate in the fucking nation. Think that’s just some aberration? How about this: 9 of the 10 lowest divorce rates are fucking blue states, asshole, and most are in the Northeast, where our values suck so bad. And where are the highest divorce rates? Care to fucking guess? 10 of the top 10 are fucking red-ass we're-so-fucking-moral states. And while Nevada is the worst, the Bible Belt is doing its fucking part.
7:20 AM
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Passed denial, now anger...
Blogger has been down all day, or else I probably would have written some nasty, nasty posts.
One thing that I've been coming to grips with today has been the direction of my anger. Before the election I could easily aim all of my disdain at a specific person or group of people. I disagreed with the Bush administration on a number of issues, and in general I just despised the moral character of all the players involved.
Now that the election is over, I can't blame these people. It is the American people who decided the outcome. I realize that I am at odds not just with the Bush administration, but with the majority of America. I love Democracy. I love the concept of America. But do I really love the teeming millions of hell-fearing, homophobic, misogynistic conservatives? I can't say I do. (I say hell-fearing because I believe people fear hell more than they praise heaven.)
Furthermore, I am ashamed that so many states voted to ban gay marriage by such overwhelming margins. I hope many of these laws are struck down by state supreme courts. There is a reason the general public should not be allowed to take a popular vote on issues of civil rights. It took Rowe vs. Wade and Brown vs. Board of Education to set this country straight and to guarantee civil rights to the minority in each case. I hope the courts will do the same here, but with the conservative majority appointing so many judges (not to mention senators and governors) I lack hope that homosexuals in America will be granted the civil rights they deserve because of the religion of the few. Why has the separation of church and state been so forgotten?
Anyway, it comes down to the fact that religion, Christianity and Catholicism in particular, are the true parties of America. Republican and Democrat are not the categories that truly divide this country. The true divisions are evangelical and secular, rich and poor, black and white. The homophobes came out in full force, and that's just disgusting to me. I truly despise anyone who uses legislation to restrict the rights of others because the behavior doesn't mesh with their religious beliefs. Christianity/Catholicism are NOT tolerant religions, and I don't care what bible quote you feed me that says they are. They are more devisive than politics by far.
This country was founded as a haven for free speech and freedom of religion. Now we are losing that freedom all over again. Gays can't marry because a certain religion thinks that homosexuality does not fit it's god's will. Women will soon be restricted from accessing a safe abortion, because a certain religion thinks that abortion does not fit it's god's will.
What the hell else is next?
The democrats need to find some way to convince the middle of the country that they will be better off with democratic policies. Otherwise, people will stick to the "Moral Issues" that should not be a part of government in the first place.
Ok, maybe tomorrow I will be filled with less anger.
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I wrote this earlier today.
Well, c'mon people. Another four years of Bush isn't THAT bad. Think about it, by the time the rollbacks of environmental protections really start to become noticeable, we'll all be dead! Do you really think the billions of dollars in our deficit is made of real money? This is just a number, and we will be able to borrow all that we need to keep our country strong - we are America, after all.
Rehnquist is just about gone, and Bush will be able to appoint a new judge! Finally we can do away with a woman's right to choose. It's about time evangelical Christians decided what is best for every woman in the country. And that stem cell research? Like that crap even works. I'm scared about cloning in general, so I'm glad Bush will prevent that from ever happening.
I feel so much safer now that Bush is president again, especially with regard to National Security. I can't believe that New York and Washington, D.C., the two sites of 9/11 attacks, both voted for Kerry? I'm glad that the rest of the country knows better what will keep us safe here in New York City.
And finally, it's about time we took over the middle east. Those towel heads and their Islam don't have the sound moral Christian values that us Americans have. No wonder they are such heathens. Iraq is just the first step toward democracy in the middle east and a stronger Israel. If we are going to continue our reliance on oil, we need to have puppet regimes in the middle east in order to exploit their oil reserves.
So you see?? Another four more years of bush isn't that bad after all.
7:03 PM
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
I voted!
A Multimedia Account of the Voting Process in New York City
Jackie and I walked to PS 8, the Robert Fulton School, on 37 Hicks Street early Tuesday morning to try to beat the crowds.
We were tired and groggy, but we were both excited to cast our vote.
 
Unfortunately, my expectations on the way to the poll were deflated when we saw the long line extending from the school at 6:10am.
Soon we realized that the line wasn't moving because the poll workers hadn't opened the door yet. As soon as the door opened the line moved quickly. Our fears dissipated, and we steadily approached the door to the school by about 6:25am.
Inside the school cafeteria voters lined up according to Election District. Since Jackie and I both had our voter registration cards with us, we avoided the long line to find out at which district booth to vote. We proceeded directly to the sign-in table for district 120.
I gave the poll worker my voter registration form, and he found my name on the list of eligible voters. He handed me a card that I then gave to the woman who supervised the voting booth itself.
I took out my voting cheat-sheet, an index card I wrote on last night to sort out who I was going to vote for in the state and judicial elections.
When the person in front of me finished voting, I proceeded into the voting booth and drew the curtains. This was my private moment with democracy, but I decided to record it to share with everyone.
In this audioblog you can hear my thought process in the voting booth. The clip starts with a greeting from the voting booth supervisor, followed by me entering the booth and figuring out how to work the levers. I compared the voting options with the cheat-sheet and turned the levers accordingly.
Listen to the culminating event of the voting process.
That was it! Jackie and I made it home before 7:00am. Just enough time to post this blog entry and get ready for work. And by the way, I voted for Kerry.
7:16 AM
3:41 AM
3:41 AM
3:38 AM
3:11 AM
Monday, November 01, 2004
Not just a presidential election
All US citizens reading this blog who are over 18 and eligible will be voting tomorrow. Let me repeat, all US citizens reading this blog who are over 18 and eligible will be voting tomorrow. I'm sure 99% of people have already made up their mind who to vote for in the presidential election. I will remind all New York City voters to consider voting for Kerry/Edwards on the Working Families Party (WFP) line.
What about all those other positions besides president and senator that are up for grabs?? The Gotham Gazette has put together a New York City Election Guide to help the last minute voter figure out what the rest of the ballot will be all about. Inform yourself today so that you don't spend 20 minutes in the booth trying to figure it out tomorrow. Dilly-dallying in the booth could motivate someone frustrated in line to leave. Please be as quick as your accuracy will allow.
My general rule of thumb has always been, when I have no other information at hand to inform my decision, to vote 1) Democrat or party of further left persuasion, 2) female, 3) minority. Tomorrow I will try to vote not necessarily according to gender and race, although I will most certainly be voting Democrat or further left according to party. I will be checking out the voter guide myself to figure out who gets my vote.
We've all been so concerned with the presidential race, I'm sure many of you out there, like me, haven't paid much attention to the other races going on.
Go Kerry, Go Edwards, Go Schumer, and Go everybody else I plan on figuring out tonight! Woohoo! I can't wait to see Democracy in action tomorrow. Expect an AudioBlog from the voting site.
11:27 AM
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Walking to the polls we thought that we would be in the clear since we woke up at 5:45am.