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Thursday, December 29, 2005
Hello Nurse at the Mercury Lounge!
At the beginning of 2005, Hello Nurse set a few goals to accomplish be the end of the year. First, we wanted to release our first full length, Tonight Tonight Tonight, by the summer. Well, we FINALLY finished that sob about a month ago, but we still need to get off our asses and figure out artwork. But the tracks are ready to go.
Second, we wanted to play a solid headlining spot at the Mercury Lounge, one of the best small rooms in the city. The sound at the Mercury Lounge is great, and they consistently book strong touring acts. Mercury Lounge is just one step below the bigger rooms in the city that we all drool over - Knitting Factory, Irving Plaza, and everyone's favorite, Bowery Ballroom.
We are excited that we have been able to meet this second goal in the nick of time! We're playing at the Mercury Lounge this Friday, December 30. This will be the best Hello Nurse has ever sounded. Here are the details. If you are in town, please please please consider swinging by.
Hello Nurse at
The Mercury Lounge
Friday, December 30, 2005 at 11 PM
217 E. Houston St.
corner Ave A & Houston
New York, NY 10002
hellonurse.com/shows
This will be an awesome show for New Year's Eve Eve. Hope to see some folks there!
11:35 AM
Friday, December 23, 2005
In New York for the Holidays
I'm in town for Christmas and New Years. If you have anything going on - or nothing going on - give me a call/e-mail. I'm going to be cooking Christmas dinner, so if any of you Jews out there are feeling lonely, come on over and we'll have a good meal.
2:40 PM
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Transit Strike Commute, Day 3
Wednesday evening's commute was absolutely wretched. It took me 3 hours to get home. I was in inch-by-inch traffic the entire way. You know how stressed you can get when you try to have inch-by-inch battles with someone trying to merge into your lane during rush hour? Image doing that for three straight hours - and knowing that you have to try to win every battle or else you'll be commuting for 4 hours.
I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but I actually cried when I drove down the last block approaching my house. I was so drained, so exhausted, so complete spent, that I just broke down. I really hope my coworkers realize how much I'm sacrificing to shuttle them to work. I mean, I would actually enjoy either biking or rollerblading to work through all this traffic. That is fun to me. But since others in the office don't have any other way of getting to work besides walking from Brooklyn, the shuttle service continues.
This morning's commute was a bit easier for me because I did not have to go to East Williamsburg. My only stops were in Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope. I am trying to leave work around 3:30 PM today if at all possible. I cannot handle another 3 hour commute.
Driving for 3 hours is no problem. But cut throat gridlock driving for 3 hours is absolutely miserable.
And now a quick rant about the TWU vs. MTA public relations battle. Both sides were giving their sound bytes to the media yesterday and playing the blame game.
HELLO! MTA, TWU - public perception DOES NOT MATTER. Everyone is already pissed. Businesses are losing money during the one time of year on which they depend to help them through the slow times later. New Yorkers are certainly persevering (like this guy right here!), but these sacrifices are taking their toll. PR doesn't matter. Spin doesn't matter. The only thing that matters are the Unions officials and the MTA officials sitting in a room and hammering it out. If it requires federal mediators, then so be it. But any time spent in front of a camera is time better spent at the negotiation table. These leaders need to start showing some leadership instead of acting like children.
Furthermore, where the eff is Governor Pataki? I hope his presidential run goes down in flames.
6:57 AM
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Transit Strike Commute, day 2
Last night's commute home was aggravating, so say the least. The traffic in Manhattan was terrible. I got within two blocks of the entrance to the Manhattan bridge, and then the police decided to close Bowery. Hello?? Don't you want people to get out of the city?
After meandering through Brooklyn to drop everyone off, I finally made it to band practice over 2 hours after I left work.
This morning was much of the same. This time, I made my coworkers cluster together at pick-up points, so I didn't have to drive to as many locations. This worked better, but it still took me over 2 1/2 hours from the time I left my house until we arrived at work.
Yesterday was an adventure, now it's just tedious. Five hours of cutthroat NYC driving a day is going to take it's toll on me, especially since I'm not getting much sleep. Plus, work is super stressful, so I'm just a wreck these days. Jackie saw me for all of 15 minutes last night before I passed out on the couch.
I've heard that train commuting via the LIRR and Metro North is a huge pain, and the train stations are mobbed in the evenings. I really wish I could be riding my bike back and forth from work. In fact, I would prefer that to the subway in general if I didn't get all sweaty during the ride.
I feel like handing my van keys to someone else and letting them drive. Unfortunately, none of my coworkers knows Brooklyn like this guy - and I'm discovering that I actually know Brooklyn very well. I guess that's what happens when you live in 3 neighborhoods in 2 years.
6:52 AM
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Transit Strike Commute
This morning marks the first morning commute of the Transit Workers Union strike, and it certainly was an adventure. I was looking forward to riding my bike to work, but since I have a minivan, I became the shuttle van for coworkers from Brooklyn. It ended up working out fine. Surprisingly, the longest part of the trip was getting from place to place in Brooklyn. Once we got on the Manhattan Bridge, everything was smooth sailing. The driving restrictions (must have 4 to a car) made the Manhattan roads easy to drive. I would compare the traffic to late nights on a weekday.
Commute Statistics
Neighborhoods of pickup locations: Fort Greene (origin), East Williamsburg, South Park Slope, Park Slope, and Brooklyn Heights
IPod playlist: all Christmas songs
Number of bodies in van: 8
Total time of commute: 2 hours
Number of timid drivers Christian cut off while driving like a mad cabby: too many to count
The best moment of the morning was coming down Furman St., a crazy hill that connects Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo. We could see the Brooklyn Bridge clearly from the hill, and there were hundreds of people crossing on foot. It was quite a sight.
The second best moment of the morning was getting on the Manhattan Bridge. I know of a seldom used entrance to the bridge that avoids all major feeder roads. I thought I was so slick pulling onto that unknown entrance. The cop waved us by because it was obvious the car was packed with plenty of people. We got on the bridge, and it was completely empty. We expected gridlock, but instead we cruised across. It was a great feeling.
Tonight, I get to drive everyone home. I don't mind the driving, but a 2 hour commute each way to drop people off is going to get old real quick.
By the way, even though this is inconvenient, I am in full support of the Transit Workers Union. Sometimes you gotta play hardball to get what you need.
the rest of this post is a rant, feel free to skip
Admittedly, I don't know the finer points of the negotiations, and I'm sure the TWU is trying to milk the MTA due to the recent surplus. To some degree, I'm up in the air with regard to the retirement age issue and the fact that MTA workers don't have to contribute to their own insurance. Nonetheless, in general, I'm pro-labor.
You really see people's true colors when they talk about the strike. When someone starts mouthing off about how the transit workers are lazy, incompetent, etc. and that they don't deserve a raise because a monkey could do their jobs, the argument often boilds down to race and/or class prejudice. When I hear people like this spewing, I really want to punch them in the teeth.
All this surplus MTA money should either go to fare reductions, infrastructure maintenance, or to the workers. MTA executives are some of the most notoriously crooked fuckers around. I can't stand all of the racist/classist jerks who complain about the strike. The workers provide a valuable service, and they should be able to support a family with their wages, just as teachers, police officers, city workers, garbagemen, etc. should be able to as well. Are some of them lazy, bad workers? Of course! These people exist in every profession. But that doesn't mean that there shouldn't be a modest degree of financial security for blue collar workers. Just like in South America, it's time for the working class to take a stand.
Ok, I'll save further ranting for later in the strike.
In the meantime, here are some fun MTA/transit images to keep you entertained. If you're a New Yorker you may be telecommuting today: enjoy your hours of paid internet surfing, and please try to get at least some work done. :)
Transit Workers Sleeping
MTA sign mash-ups
6:44 AM
Monday, December 19, 2005
The Chronic - WHAT! - cles of Narnia
Jackie and I watched SNL this weekend, and there was one skit that had me on the floor laughing.
Here is a link to the video: Chris Parnell & Andy Samberg - Lazy Sunday
And here's the mp3, if you like it. I especially like the verse about online maps.
Google maps in the best. True that - DOUBLE TRUE.
10:34 AM
Thursday, December 15, 2005
MTV filming Hello Nurse at Fat Baby tonight
Hello Nurse is playing at a great new venue on the Lower East Site - Fat Baby.
We're playing with The NSG, who come highly recommended to me by Ed and Mike. I'm looking forward to checking them out.
Most importantly, MTV cameras will be filming Ed tonight. Ed is being filmed frequently by MTV these days, and while we don't know any details of what's going on, it looks like a reality show in the works. Any publicity is good publicity, so we are encouraging Ed to mention Hello Nurse as often as he can get away with. Also, it will help if he doesn't act like a dick. He's a Mr. Charmy-pants, so I'm sure he'll come off as the brilliant chap he is.
So, if you come to Fat Baby tonight, please don't wear clothing with large logos.
Hello Nurse at Fat Baby
112 Rivington St.
bet Ludlow and Essex Sts.
New York, NY 10002
The NSG: 9:30p
Hello Nurse: 10:30p
Tel: 212-533-1888
site: fatbabynyc.com
And to give you amunition for heckling, here is Ed's MySpace Profile
 .
8:19 AM
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
I heart interactive transit maps
I have been recommending HopStop to friends and coworkers ever since I discovered it over a month ago. Basically, you tell hopstop your origin and destination and whether you would like to walk more or take more trains/buses, and the site will give you a map and directions using public transportation.
It's basically mapquest using subways and buses - BRILLIANT!
Today I found an even better site that is making me rediscover my love of computers.
This Interactive Transit Map by Greg Brail is a mashup of Google maps and the functionality of Hopstop. I like this one even better than Hopstop, though, because instead of having to type the address you can just click your origin and destination on the map.
[Click Origin]
[Click Destination]
BoOM - DIRECTIONS!
The directions are easy and not super specific at first, catering to New Yorkers who more or less know there way around but need help with "best route" advice. There is a link for more detailed directions which gives more detailed maps of the point of origin and destination, so you can figure out exactly where the subway stations are.
Brail's Interactive Transit Map is the best online map I have found yet, but I'll keep looking for more.
For paper maps, nothing beats maps by Opus Publishing. The maps show streets and subways together in a very easy to read format. Why the hell doesn't every New York map do this?
6:34 AM
Friday, December 09, 2005
Hello Nurse in a blizzard
Hello Nurse has a 4:30 PM matinee show at Peggy O'Neill's, which is a pub inside Keyspan Stadium at Coney Island. In Ed's words, "This should be a real fucking bonanza considering most bands kill for the 5 pm slot during a blizzard at the end of the earth on Coney Island. What, Outer Mongolia was booked?"
If anyone does show up, there is a big surprise that I'm not allowed to talk about. [nudge][wink]
The show is an all ages show featuring several bands: Inanimate Girl, Object, Aquacloset, Suckerpunch, Good Grief, Alexa, The Marianne Pillsburys, Status Quo No Show, and The Nerve. Hopefully at least a few of these bands will have a draw.
It might be a good day to check out the aquarium and then watch Hello Nurse ham it up. Here are the details.
Peggy O'Neill's (Keyspan Stadium)
Saturday, December 10, 2005 at 4:30 (Doors at 2pm)
1904 Surf Ave
at Keyspan Stadium
Coney Island, NY 11244
ALL AGES!
Tel: (718) 449-3200
site: www.peggyoneillsci.com
We actually have a show tonight up in Ramapo, NY. School was cancelled up there due to snow, and we're supposed to be playing an all ages benefit at the high school. Let's see if anyone shows up.
In other news, Jackie and I bought and decorated our first Christmas tree together last night. It is a thing of joy, and I can't wait to sit on the couch this weekend and nap next to it. I am so underslept.
7:21 AM
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
My blog has pop-ups
My blog has developed a serious case of e-acne. My blog now has a pop-up ad, and I don't know where it's coming from. Does anyone out there have an idea how I might go about finding the source of this pop-up?
I don't think it's coming from Blogger, but maybe I'm wrong.
10:23 AM
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
New York Links
http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2005/11/22/very_cool_most.php
I love Gothamist.
Jackie and I are flying back to Michigan for a Thanksgiving/Engagement Party. If you are in Detroit from Wednesday through Sunday, give me a ring and/or send an e-mail.
8:33 AM
Friday, November 18, 2005
Leo Creek rocks the Detroit Tree Lighting
Campus Martius Park in Detroit is hosting the Night of Lights tree lighting ceremony this evening in honor of the park's first anniversary. Leo Creek will be playing a set during the festivities. The whole event will be broadcast live on WXYZ, channel 7 in Detroit, from 7:30-9pm.
Click here for a PDF with all the details.
After rocking out on live TV, my old man will then be going to the Michigan/Ohio State game tomorrow at the Big House. I am SO jealous.
In Hello Nurse news, we will be playing 2 blocks from where I work tonight. This makes for an easy commute for me after the show. I will be taking people from work to happy hour at a bar inbetween the office and The Tank, so I can hop on one leg to all the places I need to be tonight.
If you're coming to the show, the suggested donation is $5. The Tank is a great place, worthy of the full $5. Also, Hello Nurse will be debuting a new song tonight, We Declare War.
The Rinse will be taking the stage after us, and they are mighty fun.
11:18 AM
Monday, November 14, 2005
FINALLY: Hello Nurse T-shirts!
American Apparel brand t-shirts. Super comfortable, made with fair wage labor. I'm not kidding when I say they're comfortable. We paid extra for the American Apparel shirts, and it was totally worth it. Plus, your money goes to someone who was paid a living wage to make the shirt.
Act now! Supplies Limited! Satisfaction Guaranteed! Earn money from home! Enlarge your penis! Lower your mortgage! Click shirt for image! You can't lose!
Click here for more slick marketing to convince you to buy this shirt.
9:58 PM
Friday, November 11, 2005
Junk the Food!
Every Friday our office manager sends us an e-mail asking us to throw away any food in the refrigerator that is out of date. If we don't label our leftovers properly, he throws it away. This is a good thing, because we have three floors of people sharing one refrigerator, and it's always jam packed. Here is today's e-mail. Ashish, if you still read this blog, this one's for you.
Sung to the tune of Bust A Move by Young MC
This here's a jam for all those fellas,
Who’ve got so much food that we all get jealous,
Using space in the fridge but you’re over zealous.
Making such a mess that I get rebelious
Ok, smarty, you to a Hardee’s
Such a big meal that you get back tardy
Bring some back in a plastic container.
Throw it in the fridge to save the remainder.
Next day at noon and it’s time to get munchin’
But you already forgot ‘bout yesterday’s luncheon.
You dine out again, bring some back in a bag.
Throw it in the fridge, hey what’s the drag?
Then the weekend’s coming, time to get running.
Get outtah here, and do lots of fun things.
But you still have leftovers, so don’t be rude!
So come on now, and junk the food!
(If you want it, baby you’ve got it) Just junk the food!
(If you want it, baby you’ve got it) Just junk the food!
(If you want it, baby you’ve got it) Just junk the food!
(If you want it, baby you’ve got it) Just junk the food!
You're on a mission,
in the kitchen
open the fridge
Looks like nuclear fission
Lookin' for your lunch in all the wrong places,
No fine food, just crowded spaces.
Feeling frustration, your inclination,
is to fast for the day and leave the situation.
But every dark tunnel has a light, I hope,
so don't hang yourself with a hunger rope.
It’s Friday evening, I’ve been peeving
Thinkin’ bout the food everyone’s been leaving
It’s getting’ late and it’s time to go-
But what do I see behind the fridge do’?
Things growin yellow.
Has a funny smell though
Getting soft and mushy like plate of jello
I get the trash can without a second to lose,
So what comes next, hey, junk the food.
(If you want it, baby you’ve got it) Just junk the food!
(If you want it, baby you’ve got it) Just junk the food!
(If you want it, baby you’ve got it) Just junk the food!
(If you want it, baby you’ve got it) Just junk the food!
12:17 PM
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
VOTE VOTE VOTE
Don't forget to vote today! Even though today is just a local election, there are several important ballot issues to consider. Voting is important in every election, even primaries. There's just no excuse to avoid voting - it's so easy!
If you live in New York City, the Gotham Gazette always publishes a helpful last minute voter guide. And if you're curious, here are my voting opinions.
Proposal 1: vote YES
This measure would create an Independent Budget Office, which will bring more transparency and accountability to the state's budget process. I'm all for transparency, and this measure will actually decrease the governor's authority in budget creation. Don't let New York become New Jersey - an independent budget office is the way to go!
Propsal 2: vote YES
This proposal is for the Transportation Bond Act. Cons: State has to borrow more money. Pros: More infrastructure, more jobs.
Personally, I think the MTA is one of the most grossly mismanaged organizations in the state. However, I think infrastructure additions are a positive way to increase the quality of life and create jobs for low- to middle-income workers.
Propsal 3: vote YES
This proposal will create an ethics code for administrative judges. These are the folks that settle disputes over parking violations, building codes, noise complaints, etc. There is some debate over whether the City Charter is the best place to address these concerns; however, there is very little debate as to whether an ethics code should exist: it should! Hopefully this will improve the fairness and efficiency of these court proceedings, which are some of the most excruciatingly annoying parts of local government.
Proposal 4: vote YES
In 1975 the city almost went bankrupt. The fiscal policies that keep that from happening again expire in 2008. This is basically an extension of financial controls that keep the budget balanced and limit the amount of short-term debt. It's not perfect, but it's not very controversial either.
Public Advocate: Norman Siegel
Betsy Gotbaum, the incumbent, is absolutely worthless. I still have no idea how Norman Siegel did not win the primary. Sheep are voting on name recognition I suppose, because Gotbaum has held the position for a while and has not made any positive change. About the only thing she is good for is keeping the seat warm.
I'm going to write in Norman Siegel, former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Comptroller: Bill Thompson
Bill Thompson is the incumbent democrat who also has the Working Families Party (WFP) line.
Mayor: Fernando Ferrer
I don't think there is much doubt that Bloomberg is going to walk away with this one. Nonetheless, the Democratic Party needs to remain strong in New York City, so Ferrer gets my vote.
Personally, I will not be disappointed when Bloomberg wins. There are certain things I hate, like the support of the West Side stadium and harassment of bicyclists. Nonetheless, Bloomberg had enough sack to make substantial changes to the school system, creating the Department of Education and gutting 110 Livingston Street, which will soon be luxury lofts. He took accountability for the schools, and even though some changes are controversial, he's doing about as good one can do with a dinosaur system serving over 1.1 million children.
Also, Bloomberg is one rich muthafucka. He doesn't owe anyone anything; he's is in no one's pocket. I appreciate that, especially considering the state of our Federal government - where everyone plays pocket hockey.
For all the smaller elections, I plan on reading up during lunch. When in doubt, I always vote WFP.
6:56 AM
Friday, November 04, 2005
Rock Snobbery
Slate has a great article today about Rock Snobs.
The Rock Snob
An anatomy of a delicate breed.
By Stephen Metcalf
I think some people think that I'm a rock snob, but I don't think I am. I do not know enough history, and I don't have the encyclopedic knowledge that many of my friends do.
I am, however, a HUGE pirate.
Ed (Hello Nurse guitarist) thinks that the new form of the Rock Snob is the indie rock blogger, and I happen to agree with him. With the advent of digital music collections, amassing a tremendous collection of music is as simple as sharing an external harddrive or even plugging your iPod into someone else's computer.
The new rock snob is not the person who knows the past, it's the person who tries to predict the future. Bloggers compete to be the most current, most in-the-know, most on top of the current gossip. They want to discover good bands before they break so they can claim they were partly responsible for the break.
Here are some excellent rock snob blogs that I check out from time to time:
Brooklyn Vegan
The Modern Age
Aeki Tuesday
I Rock I Roll
Unfortunately, most of these folks fall in the Pitchfork mold. For them, excellent music includes the following qualities:
1. Absolutely no catchy melodies or pop song structures
2. Musicians must be pretentious twats
3. Disonance always a plus
4. The use of sin waves in electronic music
5. Lyrics that make no sense
In short, rock critics and rock snobs are not generally the person you might consider a friend and ask for a band recommendation. A rock snob recommends music he/she knows you won't understand, and since this music is so complex, you have no way of forming an argument as to why, exactly, it sucks.
But it definitely sucks.
11:09 AM
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
The Beatles
I just watched the documentary about the Beatles' first trip to America.
Unbelievable.
8:14 PM
Monday, October 31, 2005
Deadline Night
Tonight is the first application deadline for Teach For America's 2006 corps. I have the pleasure of working the phones until midnight Pacific.... otherwise known as 3 AM Eastern.
By around midnight, we start getting calls from people who are frantically trying to submit before the deadline. People are tired, frustrated, and typically tech-unsavvy. I keep getting the same question over and over.
"I've tried to upload my document like 50 times, and it doesn't work!"
So my favorite response is, "After the twentieth time you tried, did you consider trying the tip listed in the directions at the top of the page?"
Invariably this works, they are super thankful, and I kiss their ass with, "Thank you so much for applying!"
(Also, I'm really not the passive aggressive asshole I described above. In fact, I am exceedingly pleasant. EXCEEDINGLY.)
All in all, these people are great. But damn, tech support at 2am really tests one's patience.
2:02 AM
Thursday, October 27, 2005
I know what I'm doing this Halloween
Teach For America's first application deadline is this Sunday at midnight (pacific). Therefore, I have been crazy busy lately, and I will continue to be hella busy until next week.
I just found this online, and I have NO DOUBT that I will be checking it out on Monday. If you don't know, Reggatta de Blanc by The Police is my #1 absolute favorite album of all time. Some band is preforming this album in its entirety on Halloween night. I will be there in full costume.
Jackie has once again come up with effing sweet costumes for us, so I'll wait and post pictures sometime next week.
In other news, Jackie and I saw OK GO last night at Irving Plaza. The band was fantastic, ARoss was in top form, and the crowd absolutely loved them. And of course, they did their little dance at the end of the show.
Haven't seen the dance? It is spectacular.
A Million Ways (quicktime)
11:06 AM
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Another Hello Nurse Interview
Our answers are so good - it's obvious this was an online interview where we were able to agonize over every meticulous word choice before submitting. Yeah Right!!
Love The Scene interviews Hello Nurse
Here is my favorite excerpt.
Us: (To Christian) Growing up in Detroit, what led you to choose rock over, say, rap?
Christian: As 1 of 3 white kids in my entire school growing up, let’s just say the cards were stacked heavily in favor of me becoming yet another Eminem wannabe. In eighth grade, one of the toughest of tough guys in my school gave me a dubbed cassette of Nirvana’s Nevermind. I played that tape over and over and over, I wore a flannel over my school uniform, and I stopped getting a buzz cut to let my mop grow. Before I knew it, I was like every other Kurt Cobain wannabe in the country!
Always the follower, I guess.
11:36 AM
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Attention New York Employers: Katrina Employment Exhibition
Does your company or a company you know offer services that would be applicable to a displaced victim of Hurricane Katrina living in New York? Please see the press release below.
A friend of mind at work, Flora Cervantes, has poured countless hours into this project, and I hope the event connects people in need with available services.
Please forward this information to anyone that might be interested.
National Student Partnerships
Katrina Employment Exhibition
National Student Partnerships (NSP) and Praxis Housing Initiatives invite your company, to the Katrina Employment Exhibition, to be held November 2 from 3:00 to 7:00pm at One Chase Manhattan Plaza.
The NSP-Praxis Katrina Employment Exhibition is designed to support families displaced by hurricane Katrina by connecting adults to job opportunities that will offer vital income and stability. The NSP-Praxis Katrina Employment Exhibition also offers New York businesses and individuals the chance to provide tangible assistance to those affected by the devastation in the Gulf Region.
Who – Approximately 100 Katrina evacuees who have been displaced to the New York area in addition to New York residents will be attending in search of employment opportunities.
What – The NSP-Praxis Employment Exhibition will feature qualified employers with current job openings looking to attract new talent. Employers with the following job opportunities are encouraged to attend: food service, cashier, office clerical, construction, sales, customer service, hospitals, hospitality, shipping/moving - teaching, non-profit health and human services, advertising, communications, TV/video, the arts and music.
Where - 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, New York, NY 10005; 28th floor
When – Wednesday, November 2 from 3:00 to 7:00pm
How to get involved – To reserve an employer station or for more information please contact Gardner Tripp at gtripp@nspnet.org or call 917.887.5430.
National Student Partnerships is a student led non-profit organization that links people in need with the resources and opportunities necessary to become self-sufficient. NSP operates a national network of resource centers staffed by student volunteers from area colleges and universities. Working one-on-one with low-income community members, NSP volunteers provide intensive on-site and referral services that enable clients to: locate employment; secure affordable housing, health care, childcare, and other services; and pursue long-term career and life goals. www.nspnet.org
Praxis Housing Initiatives is a New York City organization which supports homeless people by equipping them with skills to become independent and healthier in a place they call home. www.praxishousing.org
8:38 AM
Friday, October 14, 2005
Hello Nurse tonight at Scenic
I have so much blogging to catch up on, especially an account of the Teach For America 15 Year Alumni Summit I attended in DC last weekend. It was so inspiring, so hopefully I'll be able to write more about it this weekend.
But here is the urgent info:
Hello Nurse at Scenic
TONIGHT!!! at 9PM
25 Avenue B
(bet. 2nd and 3rd streets)
www.scenicnyc.com
Scenic serves Colt 45 and hamburgers. Did you hear that??
COLT 45 AND HAMBURGERS
Yes it's raining. It's been raining all week. But a $3 umbrella and come listen to some rock'n'roll.
FYI: Comedian David Cross sometimes tends the bar.
8:50 AM
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Google continues to impress me
Today I discovered Google's Personalized Home. Personalized Home is a way to configure the basic Google.com search page to include personalized information and RSS feeds.
For example, my Google search page now includes the 9 most recent e-mail messages in my inbox, the weather in New York City, and top headlines from the New York Times, Google News, ESPN, Slashdot, and Boing Boing. I also added the 5 most recent entries on the New York Craigslist Free section, as well as recent posts from some blogs I read: Gothamist and Brooklyn Vegan.
There is also a list of sites I have bookmarked - such as the Hello Nurse website, some cycling and left-wing news sites, MySpace, and Overheard in New York. For fun, I even included some random things that Google offered, such as Word of the Day, "How to" of the Day, and random stuff from Ask Yahoo.
Now all the information I click to in my morning routine is laid out on one page, which happens to be the most useful page on the internet: Google Search. This is fairly similar to Dashboard, but since I'm too lazy to install the new Tiger operating system on my Mac, I'll settle for Google's Personal Home. Plus, since I spend more time on my PC at work than on my Mac at home, this is a web-based tool I can access from anywhere.
To get started, just go to Google.com and click Personalized Home at the top. If you have g-mail, you can just use your g-mail login.
Sample image, not mine
9:44 AM
Monday, October 03, 2005
Teach For America in the New York Times
October 2, 2005
Top Graduates Line Up to Teach to the Poor
By TAMAR LEWIN
Lucas E. Nikkel, a Dartmouth graduate, wants to be a doctor, but for now he is teaching eighth-grade chemistry at a middle school in North Carolina, one of nearly 2,200 new members of Teach for America.
"I'm looking at medical school, and everybody says taking time off first is a good idea," he said. "I think I'm like a lot of people who know they want to do something meaningful before they start their careers."
For a surprisingly large number of bright young people, Teach for America - which sends recent college graduates into poor rural and urban schools for two years for the same pay and benefits as other beginning teachers at those schools - has become the next step after graduation. It is the postcollege do-good program with buzz, drawing those who want to contribute to improving society while keeping their options open, building an ever-more impressive résumé and delaying long-term career decisions.
This year, Teach for America drew applications from 12 percent of Yale's graduates, 11 percent of Dartmouth's and 8 percent of Harvard's and Princeton's. The group also recruits for diversity, and this year got applications from 12 percent of the graduates of Spelman College, a historically black women's college in Atlanta.
All told, a record 17,350 recent college graduates applied to Teach for America this year. After a drop last year, applications were up nearly 30 percent. Teach for America accepted about a third of this year's Ivy League applicants, and about a sixth of all applications.
Teaching does not pay much. It is not glamorous. And the qualifications of most young people going into the field are less than impressive. A report by the National Council on Teacher Quality last year said that the profession attracts "a disproportionately high number of candidates from the lower end of the distribution of academic ability."
But then there is Teach for America, whose members typically have top academic credentials - the average G.P.A. is 3.5 - experience with children and determination to get results.
Teach for America officials see their recruiting success as a sign of the post-9/11 generation's commitment to public service, and to improving the quality of education for low-income children. "The application numbers we're seeing reflect college students' belief that education disparities are our generation's civil rights issue," said Elissa Clapp, Teach for America's vice president for recruitment and selection.
Many corps members talk passionately about the importance of education, and the need to close the achievement gap between white and minority students. But part of Teach for America's allure is that it is only a two-year commitment and a way to put off big life decisions, like where to live and what career to choose, decisions that people in their 20's are delaying ever later in life.
"I don't think very many of my peers know what they want to do," said Nathan Francis, who graduated from Yale last spring, was accepted to Teach for America, but declined the offer because he was unsure that he could be a good teacher for disadvantaged students after nothing more than the group's summer training. "A lot of people who just graduated are looking for things to do, so it seems very appealing to have something to do that's worthwhile and short term and gives you two more years to think about your career."
In fact, Yael Kalban, who helped organize campus recruiting as a senior at Yale last year and now teaches second grade in the Bronx, said that even a two-year commitment was daunting to many of her classmates.
"We'd tell people we thought they'd be great, and they'd say they didn't know if they were ready to commit two years," she said. "So we would get alums to come in and say they'd done Teach for America, and now they were in medical school, law school or architecture school, and that those two years weren't that much, and had actually helped them get into those schools."
Although more than half the Teach for America alumni remain involved with education, often in administrative or policy positions, many of the applicants do not plan a long-term teaching career. In fact, many also interview for competitive jobs with investment banks and management consulting firms.
"This is a generation that thinks a lot about keeping their options open," said Monica Wilson, assistant director for employer relations at Dartmouth. "For students who want to look for an alternative to the corporate world, Teach for America offers a high-profile alternative. They put on a real strong marketing blitz, and they are very much a presence on campus."
Rachel Kreinces first heard of Teach for America as a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania. She had been thinking of going straight to law school, but after starting a writing program for middle school students in Philadelphia, she was intrigued by the prospect of teaching for two years.
After taking a five-week training program over the summer, Ms. Kreinces is teaching sixth-grade special education students at Public School 123 in Manhattan, arriving at 7:30 a.m., prepared to offer as many tutoring hours and after-school meetings and gimmicks as it takes to help them learn. Before school started, she bought gold envelopes and cut out round "I'm a champion" medals for each student.
"In training this summer, we watched videos of this incredible teacher," she said. "He had this 'Mission: Impossible' theme going, and his kids were clamoring for more homework, and we were all sitting there thinking, 'How can I be this kind of teacher?' And my idea was this Classroom of Champions. I want so much for these kids to do well."
Teach for America grew out of a senior thesis by Wendy Kopp, a Princeton student, proposing a national teacher corps. Ms. Kopp quickly got seed money from Exxon Mobil, then, with a small staff, began a grass-roots recruitment campaign that yielded 500 fledgling teachers, who were placed in six regions in 1990. Teach for America has grown rapidly, with backing from corporate partners, philanthropists interested in education reform and Americorps, which provides the teachers with $9,450 after two years, to repay education loans or to pay for future schooling. Since 2001, the group has benefited from the same surge of interest that has brought record numbers of applications to long-established groups like the Peace Corps.
Teach for America is a growing presence in many school districts, including New York City's, which has about 800 of the group's members this year, twice as many as last year. All told, Teach for America has about 3,700 teachers - 2,190 in their first year and 1,520 in their second - teaching in 22 areas, from Los Angeles and Baltimore to the Arkansas Delta and the Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux reservation in South Dakota. The group only operates in regions certified as high need by the federal government and willing to employ teachers who lack certification.
As much as anything, Teach for America is a triumph of marketing. The group, based in Manhattan, recruits on more than 500 campuses and spends about a quarter of its nearly $40 million budget on recruitment and selection. The bulk of its members come from 141 top schools where it hires students, at about $500 a semester, to help organize recruiting events and act as headhunters.
"It's very intensive recruiting, to meet the goals Teach for America sets for us," said Mike Kalin, who was a Harvard recruiter his junior and senior years, and teaches in the South Bronx. "Some of my friends might have thought I was a little too intense my first year. There were some individuals we really wanted to go after because we thought they'd be great. It helped that the class president, for the previous two years, had joined Teach for America."
It has also helped, on all campuses, that Teach for America now has a track record: An evaluation last year by Mathematica Policy Research found that Teach for America members produce slightly higher math achievement and no worse English results, than other teachers. And a June 2005 evaluation by Kane Parsons & Associates found that 63 percent of the principals in the schools where they work regarded Teach for America teachers as more effective than the overall faculty.
However, a study of Houston student achievement released this year by Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford and others found that although Teach for America teachers performed as well as other uncertified teachers, their results did not match those of certified teachers. Teach for America officials contend that the study was flawed.
While most parents do not know that their children are being taught by Teach for America members, some New York City principals say, they love having Teach for America members assigned to their schools.
These days, Mr. Kalin's intensity is being poured into his American history classes.
"I'm having trouble sleeping, but I'm really enjoying it," he said. "It's frantic but fun. Classroom management is the hardest thing for me. I've learned that the minute I turn my back, it's a volcano in the classroom, so I won't be turning my back anymore. There's three other T.F.A. teachers in my school, and we're getting through it together."
6:19 AM
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Hello Nurse in the New York Times!!
...well, sorta
Here is the article from page B4 of the Metro section.
Hello Nurse, Meet the Bulletproof Junkies
Published: September 29, 2005
How does an aspiring band get some attention in a celebrity-saturated town? Perhaps with an unusual name. Here are some of the bands playing in New York City in the coming week, as advertised in The Village Voice:
Architecture in Helsinki
The Big Wu
Bling Kong
Bulletproof Junkies
The Celebrity Pilots
Checkbook Biography
The Comas
The Crimea
The Dearly Beloved
Deerhoof
Drive-By Truckers
Ego Likeness
Evil Doers
The Flying Neutrinos
Garage a Trois
The Gaskets
Gonna Get Got
Gnome Dust
The Hard Tomorrows
Have Her Home by Ten
Heartless Bastards
Hector on Stilts
Hello Nurse
The Inevitable Breakups
Johnny Casino's Easy Action
Keygrip
Low Flying Jets
Makeout Room
Medications
The New Heathens
Nixon Agnew
No Redeeming Social Value
Other Passengers
Pariah
The Pillcrushers
Sin Destroyers
The Smyrk
Still Life Decay
Summer Lawns
Team Robespierre
The Urges
The Walk Ons
The Weary Boys
Wicked Little Dolls
Wide Right
Wormburner
7:45 AM
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Takin' the Day Off!
I'm at Hello Nurse, Inc. mixing all night tonight, and I'm super psyched that I took the day off tomorrow. I have a bunch of vacation days that I'm about to lose at the end of the month, so I figured I might as well use one.
Tomorrow is going to be awesome. I'm going to wake up early and play morning ultimate in Prospect Park. Then Jackie and I are going to the new MoMa. Afterwards, we take Eloise to the vet. Muwahahaha!
Best part, no work involved and it will be a Wednesday.
Damn, I really should have used my vacation days this year. I'm an IDIOT.
6:23 PM
Friday, September 23, 2005
Big John!
Yesterday I spent almost the entire day reading Big John's blog. I got very little work done, unfortunately.
Big John and I were very close throughout K-8. We went to different high schools but we kept in touch because we leaved near each other. When I went home to Michigan in college we would hang out. Big John was the friend I invited to attend my dad & Lynne's wedding a few years ago. After college, John and I both joined Teach For America, and he taught in New Orleans. At that time we lost touch with one another, and John is now in Japan teaching English through JET.
I have always regretted not keeping in better touch with John during the past few years. When I started reading his blog yesterday, I was glued! It's like reading a close friend's journal! I love John's blog in that it is a personal account, a glimpse of his life, and the pictures are great.
Big John: I'm happy to hear that you're having such awesome adventures in Japan. Keep up the frequent blog posts, and get your ass to Maine next August so we can do some celebrating!
Big John and Ben, friends from Detroit
Alex Chung wrote me an e-mail the other day in which he said, "It's funny how the blog world works: you know what people are up to without having to talk to them which saves a lot of time but also really weird."
This is so true! So many times when I call a friend and start telling a story I am interrupted - Yeah, I read it on your blog. This stinks, because I love telling stories. I guess this is probably why I keep a blog in the first place - to tell as many stories to as many people as possible.
In other news, check out these Hello Nurse t-shirt designs. My favorite is the one below. Chime in if you hvae a preference.
http://hellonurserock.com/tshirt/
10:58 AM
Monday, September 19, 2005
Please pass this information along!
Teach For America is looking for 1,000 Champions who will each donate $1,000 to improve public education in our country's urban and rural public schools. By choosing to Be One of a Thousand, you will play a critical role in growing Teach For America.
We are one of ten finalists - out of nearly 1,000 applicants - for the inaugural Amazon.com Nonprofit Innovation Award. The finalist that raises the most money between now and September 30, in donations of $1 to $1,000, will win the Award and a matching grant from Amazon.com of up to $1 million.
Be one of Teach For America's 1,000 Champions who will collectively donate $1 million, position us to win the $1 million matching grant, and help us be named the most innovative nonprofit in America!
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates of all academic majors who fight educational inequity by teaching in low-income communities and becoming lifelong leaders for change. This is a unique opportunity to grow our corps and to take a step closer to the day when all children in our nation have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
Donate Now
link location: http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe5216777065037b7c1c-fe181c787663067a721c75
Please copy this information in an e-mail to friends and colleagues who could also Be One of a Thousand.
Thank you for your support.
12:49 PM
Videos from Hello Nurse CMJ Show
Dollar Signs and Liars video
My Ally video
Ordinary Me video
Token Summer video
A HUGE thanks to Rachel (and Frankie) for shooting these videos and for being such awesome fans in general.
9:08 AM
Friday, September 16, 2005
Hello Nurse at the CMJ Music Marathon 2005
Saturday September 17th at 7:45 PM
CMJ 2005 Music Marathon
Continental - 25 Third Avenue at St. Marks
ALL AGES, and there will likely be some absurd $10 cover charge
The acronym CMJ stands for College Music Journal. Given that we never had the chance to join fraternities in our various educational paths, Hello Nurse has decided to start our own frat and hold rush week during CMJ. We will call our fraternity Eta Nu. Eta Nu is Greek for HN, and everybody knows that the ancient Greeks were big fans of meatheads with spikey hair drinking Bud Ice.
Won't you please join us at the Continental for keg stands, ice luges, and the the atomic situp?
Yours in brotherhood,
Hello Nurse
Eta Nu
Est. 2005
7:04 AM
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Accomplishing the little things
The past few weeks I've been concentrating on tying up loose ends I've been meaning to do forever. I went to the dentist. I got a new contact lens perscription for new fancy silicon lenses that allow more oxygen to reach my corneas. (On a side note, the doctor thought I might have glaucoma, and my first thought was that I might be able to scam some herbal medication... but it turns out that I just have thick corneas, which skews the eye pressure test.)
Anyway, back to the little tasks. I'm finally going to pick up junk I've been storing at Kari's place in my old loft in East Williamsburg. I worked on my guest list for the wedding, and Jackie and I even took a half-hour to figure out what our wedding song will be. (Wedding crap is over-the-top corny by design, but I must admit it's kind of fun.) We chose You and me song by the Wannadies. It's on the old Romeo & Juliet soundtrack, but I'm not sure how many of you out there have heard it. It's a gloriously cheesy indie-pop song sung in broken english by Scandanavians.
Over the weekend Jackie and I dog-sat for our neighbors downstairs. Sequoia is likely a Korean Jindo, but they're not 100% sure since they got her from the pound. She is an awesome dog, and we took her to all the dog-friendly cafes in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, she has the runs through the first day we had her, and she had a few accidents. Overall, it was great to spend a long weekend caring for the dog. It made us realize that we are probably better dog-sitters than dog-owners. So, I'll finally have to put my incessant browsing of the Craigslist pet forum to rest.
(Generic Korean Jindo - not Sequoia)
On Sunday, Hello Nurse did very rough recordings of our 6 newest songs. We're doing rough recordings so we can fool around with background vocal tracks, percussions tracks, mixing parts in and out, and possibly keyboard parts. This way we can figure out which three songs are best, and we can also determine exactly how we want to record them and layer the tracks. We feel that we're ready to start spending money on REAL recordings using the help of PROFESSIONALS with QUALITY gear. This way, we'll know exactly what we want when we walk through the door, and this will help cut down the total number of hours spent in such extravagant and EXPENSIVE recording studios.
And finally, in other Hello Nurse news, we were illegally evicted from our practice space the other day. Our landlord dressed up like a marshall, and tried to padlock the door saying that we did not show up for a court date and therefore we are being evicted. The last we heard, after a meeting the landlord earlier this month, is that our space is being demolished to make way for condos, and we need to move by November 1. We said ok, and we started to look around for a new space. We were never served with papers and had no idea about a court date. This whole thing is extremely illegal. We did move our gear out of the space and into Joe's office to be safe. Nonetheless, I'm sure that all of the bands sharing the space are going to get together and sue the crap out of that landlord. I hate court, but wow would it feel good to sue the shit out of some skeezy landlord. Heck, Joe did it - and he hasn't paid rent for years!
6:40 AM
Friday, September 09, 2005
I hate clowns!
Donate today! Every $20 helps.
Thanks to Joe C. for the graphic.
12:29 PM
Thursday, September 08, 2005
One Band, Two Band, Old Band, New Band
Leo Creek Jam Band
This is my dad's band. The finally have a website: leocreek.com
The website has mp3s of a live performance, video from that same performance, and a tall tale of the band's history that had me slapping my knee.
I dig the fish!
OK Go
Andy Ross, former guitarist for the A-Ross Experience and the mastermind behind Secret Dakota Ring, is now a member of the popular band OK Go. OK Go will be performing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight to promote their new album, Oh No. If you can muster the energy to sit through Blue Collar Comedy shenanigans, OK Go will come on at the end of the show. Git 'er done!
Andy, your hair is [lisp]spectacular[/lisp].
(2nd from left)
1:24 PM
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Hello Nurse Interview in SONYC
Damn, we give good interview.
SONYC is a great acronym, by the way: Sounds of New York City
8:16 AM
A feeling of uselessness - Can I do more?
Last week I had this burning sensation in me - What can I do to help? How can I be most effective?
Late Thursday night an idea popped into my head: I'll get a 15-passenger van, drive 1-way volunteers to the gulf coast along with supplies, and bring back people who have family in New York City. Once I had this basic plan, I couldn't sleep. I called up some friends who I thought might be down for a marathon 2,400 mile road trip in the span of the three-day weekend.
Drew agreed to join me in this madness. We spent the day on Friday trying to get our ducks in a row. We posted on craigslist asking for volunteers, small donations for gas, and most importantly, a vehicle. We found 2 or 3 volunteers looking for a ride, 2 people willing to give us money, and 2 people who wanted to donate supplies. The Daily News even contacted us for the details of our trip. But, we still didn't have a van.
Finding a van turned out to be most challenging. Drew called tons of rental companies. I contacted people who were selling vans on craiglist. Drew called a few churches. I even called the Columbia Athletic Department. We were back and forth with a half-dozen people. It turns out that two Joes without insurance have a tough time getting someone to lend them a vehicle, especially the day before labor day weekend.
At about 6pm we decided to contact the volunteers and tell them that our plan was off , that they should find another outlet for their generosity. We were bummed, and I'm sure a lot of people were feeling the same way last week:
How can I help? How can I give of my time? How can I be most effective?
At work we're trying to help our new teachers placed in the Greater New Orleans area find work elsewhere or help with disaster relief. So many alumni are calling us asking what they can do. There are still so many questions and so few answers.
The weather this weekend was beautiful. I enjoyed it as best I could. But in the back of my mind: "I wish I were driving through Louisiana with a van full of diapers and clothes."
6:48 AM
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Hurricane footage is blowing my mind
I've been so busy the past few days that I didn't have a chance to pay attention to the Hurricane Katrina coverage until yesterday afternoon - and what I continue to see is utterly unbelievable. I was glued to my TV last night watching CNN and MSNBC.
Frankly, I'm appalled that the networks weren't covering this disaster last night. Sitcom programming went on as scheduled. I actually took an hour to visit a small recording studio in my neighborhood to check it out, and the guys were oblivious to the disaster taking place in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast states. They didn't have cable, and the network station they were watching (CBS) was showing some stupid show where singers compete to be the next frontman of INXS. I walked in and exclaimed, "Can you believe what's happening down south??"
They had no idea.
While the damage isn't as widespread geographically as the tsunami, the destruction is equally devastating. Network television stations belong to the people, so why were they not serving the public good and covering the storm during prime time television?? I just don't get it.
[sarcasm]And how noble of our president to leave his vacation early to attend to matters relating to this catastrophe.[/sarcasm] But he still won't be leaving Crawford until tomorrow. He should have been in Washington well before the hurricane reached the shores, given the weather predictions.
My heart goes out to everyone affected by this disaster. As soon as my paycheck clears today I will be making a donation to the Red Cross. Please consider making a donation. Every $20 helps.
Donate to the Red Cross.
(It looks like their site is being flooded with traffic. Please be patient and try again later today if the site does not respond.)
6:47 AM
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
1400 Miles Later
In the words of Sufjan Stevens, Greetings from Michigan! Hello Nurse travelled to the Detroit metro area over the weekend for 2 shows - a house party in Livonia and a bar show in Ypsilanti. We logged 1,400 miles on the van, we ate nasty fast food, and fortunately, no punches were thrown.
I picked up Mike and Ed around 4:45am Friday morning, we loaded the van, and we were on the road by 6am. We arrived in Livonia by 5pm, and set up in the lovely home of our good friends Jill and Mike. Jill cooked us dinner, and she could not have been more hospitable. We rocked out in their basement, and met a ton of fun Michiganders who were impressed with the band.
On Saturday my family met up at my Aunt Sue and Uncle Jim's house in Saline, MI. We had a big lunch, and the band played wiffle ball in the back yard. On Saturday night my friends from high school showed up, and my Aunt Sue invited her entire subdivision to attend as well. The babysitters were making money on Saturday!
All in all it was a great trip, but I'm totally wiped.
Happy birthday to Joe Hundley, who celebrated his 30th last night at Punk Metal Karaoke.
6:32 AM
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Big News
I proposed to Jackie on Saturday! So now she has a ring on her finger, and all of a sudden I'm starting to feel like a grown-up. Ahhh!
Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions:
1. We were at a beautiful park on the Brooklyn waterfront between the
Brooklyn & Manhattan bridges.
2. She was very surprised. And she said yes.
3. No, I did not buy the ring on Craigslist.
4. No, it's not a shotgun engagement.
5. We haven't yet set a date, and apparently Christian knows NOTHING
about how long it takes to plan a wedding.
6. We're super excited!
Here are some pictures from a small engagement party we had last night at our favorite tiki bar, Otto's. Thanks to everyone who came by, and happy birthday to Matt as well.
10:19 AM
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