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the bright aisles of c-town
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Saturday, January 29, 2005
Idiotarod!
Today I raced in the Idiotarod. If you didn't read my last post, it's pretty simple. It's like the Iditarod in Alaska except for a few minor changes.
1) Instead of a dog sled you use a shopping cart.
2) Instead of huskies you use idiots.
3) The race is in New York City instead of the great white north.
4) The race is only about 3 miles long with 2 mandatory rest stops at bars.
My team was called Trickle Down Syndrome (don't ask), and my teammates were Jon Yang, Drew Faehnle, and Jon's most awesome friends Liz and Taylor. Our costumes were based on secret service uniforms. Click on the team photo below for more photos from the race.
We built our cart to be a high performance machine. We used aluminum tubing to make a t-bar sticking out of the front, and we poked a wooden broom handle through the middle of the cart. We raced with two people up front who pushed and made sure the front bars didn't impale anyone. The two middle riders were responsible for pushing, lifting the cart over obstacles (curbs, potholes, snowbanks), and for braking. The navigator pushed the cart from behind and shouted directions. We ran the entire race - no walking for this badass team.
Overall the race was highly spirited, very competitive, and unbelievably wacky. Some team themes I saw:
Ghostbusters
Pirate ship (2)
another secret service theme won the race
Cobra (as in Cobra Commander, GI Joe)
the Short Bus (they pretended to be retarded throughout the entire race, and openly admitted that they were going to hell)
norsemen
guys in short-shorts and tennis shoes - they looked very cold
team Precision Accidents in matching black and pink sweatsuits
Basically, all the freaks that come out for critical mass were out for the Idiotarod.
At the end of the race fools were lighting bottle rockets and tossing them into the air. I got hit in the head with a flying tortilla, which didn't taste that bad after I picked it up off the snow (ewwww). Jon and I had a ketchup fight. Then we drank whiskey from squirt bottles and tossed our cart onto the growing sculpture pile. We brought some caution tape along for the ride, and eventually someone used it to decorate the pile of carts in Tomkins Square Park.
This audio clip is from the after-party at a local bar. The bar was packed full of racers, and it smelled like feet. We drank whiskey to warm our numb feet. The referees stood on the bar to anounce the winner, and we were the kind team to provide them with a bullhorn to speak over the volume of rowdy drunk racers.
The Idiotarod was a blast. I will absolutely be doing it again next year. Thanks so much to Jeff Stark, an organizer and the man behind the best mailing list I've ever joined, Nonsense NYC.
Here are some Idiotarod links.
http://www.precisionaccidents.com/ - the Idiotarod homepage
Photos of race, quicktime movie of the start
New York Post
WNYC
***********************
Pictures from Friday night at Arlene's
Thanks to everyone for comimg out - all 95 of you. We had a blast, and all of Joe's birthday wishes were fulfilled.
11:07 PM
Friday, January 28, 2005
Joe has a birthday, Bike Thieves, Idiots Towing Shopping Carts
Today is Joe Crespo's birthday! Happy birthday, Joe! To celebrate, we're doing what we do every weekend - rock'n'roll.
HELLO NURSE
appearing live @ Arlene's Grocery
95 Stanton St. bet. Ludlow and Orchard
Friday January 28, 8:30 PM
*All Ages*
If anyone out there has ever had a bike stolen, I feel your pain. The pain still burns me to the core. Mine was stolen on a dark stormy night. The thieves shouldn't have bothered. Apparently it's no problem to steal a bike even in broad daylight. Even during rush hour. Even with a hacksaw.
Check out this video - it's hilarious.
http://www.compfused.com/directlink/589/
In other news, Saturday at 2pm Jon Yang, Drew Faehnle and I are racing in the Idiotarod. This race is a variant on the Iditarod, only involving a shopping cart instead of a dogsled and idiots instead of huskies.
Here's the jist of it all:
The Iditarod is the famous long-distance race in which yelping dogs tow a sled across Alaska. Our Idiotarod is pretty much the same thing, except that instead of dogs, it's people, instead of sleds, it's shopping carts, and instead of Alaska it's New York City.
The event happens January 29, 2005. It will start in Brooklyn, run into Manhattan, and end approximately five miles later. Teams of five will race for a cash prize. And glory.
Absurd shopping cart race.
January 29, 2005
Race begins at Fulton Ferry Landing Pier, between Old Fulton and Water streets, Brooklyn
2pm; $5 per person
http://www.precisionaccidents.com
12:35 AM
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
A press release from the good people at downhillbattle.org:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Eyes on the Screen
"Eyes on the Prize", Civil Rights Documentary, To Be Released Over the Internet Despite Copyright Disputes
A day of public screenings of the legendary documentary, to be organized for February 8th, 2005
HYPERLINK: www.eyesonthescreen.org - According to some, it's illegal for makers of the civil rights documentary "Eyes on the Prize" to put it on DVD or show it in public? But at 8:00 PM on February during Black History Month, Downhill Battle (downhillbattle.org) is encouraging Americans to celebrate the struggle and triumph of the civil rights movement with screenings of “Eyes on the Prize” in homes and public places with the goal of having a screening in every major city in America. The campaign is called Eyes on the Screen.
"Eyes on the Prize" is the most comprehensive and revered civil rights documentary ever made. But the documentary has not been available for public viewing for the past 10 years because of unreasonable copyright laws that impose stifling restrictions on artists and filmmakers. In one instance, copyright holders believe they should receive licensing fees for the song “Happy Birthday,” which appears in footage of a group of people singing to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"To celebrate Black History Month, we believe that "Eyes on the Prize" should be seen by as many people as possible," says Tiffiniy Cheng of Downhill Battle. "The civil rights movement is just too important for this invaluable resource to be denied to the public. So, we're going to help distribute "Eyes on the Prize" to a mass audience and communities can have screenings."
"'Eyes on the Prize' is one of the most effective documentaries ever put together that dealt with civic engagement," says civil rights leader Lawrence Guyot. "This is analogous to stopping the circulation of all the books about Martin Luther King, stopping the circulation of all the books about Malcolm X, stopping the circulation of books about the founding of America… I would call upon everyone who has access to 'Eyes on the Prize' to openly violate any and all laws regarding its showing."
"Eyes on the Prize" is an award-winning 14-volume documentary made by the late Henry Hampton, tracking the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1965. Clayborne Carson, a Stanford University history professor, has said, "It is the principal film account of the most important American social justice movement of the 20th century" (Wired News, 12/22/04).
"Eyes on the Prize" was the first introduction to the history of the Civil Rights Movement for millions of people," says Nicholas Reville of Downhill Battle, "But our corporatized copyright system is keeping it locked away."
"The situation of "Eyes on the Prize" is a perfect example of why copyright law isn’t working for the public," says Cheng. "It’s ridiculous that this documentary is languishing in copyright purgatory, instead of being shown in classrooms."Eyes on the Screen" is a perfect example of how people can bring attention to bad copyright law and start turning the situation around."
1:20 PM
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Goodnight Goodnight
I am pooped. So tired. Got home from Maine at midnight and proceeded to stay up until 4am doing absolutely nothing worthwhile. I was wired from traveling. Now I'm exhausted and unraveling.
As a lullaby I am going to put this song on loop and listen to it 100 times.
New track by the outstanding Hot Hot Heat: Goodnight Goodnight.mp3
8:47 PM
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Stranded in Maine - Woohoo!!
I'm up in Maine visiting Jackie, and the snow is unbelievable. We went cross country skiing yesterday before the snow started coming down. Then throughout the afternoon and evening we watched it pile up....
up up up up and up
This morning it's still snowing! Jackie's parents bought snowshoes last night, and we can't wait to use them today. Of course, the 35+mph winds might make it a bit challenging.
My flight is cancelled for tonight. Oh darn, another day (at least) with Jackie.
This blizzard rocks.
7:56 AM
Friday, January 21, 2005
In Maine
I'm in Maine this weekend visiting Jackie. Forgive me if I don't answer the phone or respond to e-mail until early next week.
11:42 AM
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Sign it
Sign the petition.
If you're like me, you lost a little hope in MoveOn.org last November. Nonetheless, I guess we should still sign these petitions when they go around. I always do. I don't mind putting my e-mail address next to something I believe in.
7:04 PM
And I thought receiving college credit for Hello Nurse promotion was funny...
Hello Nurse had an intern last fall, Christina, and she was able to receive college credit for helping us out with marking and promotion. She did an awesome job! She helped us take around the mailing list at the end of shows. She did a ton of research to build up our database of radio stations, venues, and record labels. She even helped us build a tremendous presence on MySpace. The best part is, she received college credit.
At Teach For America, our regional assignment team evaluates applicant transcripts to determine in which regions and for which subjects an applicant is qualified to teach. Throughout the evaluation process, the team kept a list of all the interesting classes people have taken for college credit. Check 'em out.
Be a Master Student!
Preventing Hearing Loss
Fiery Furnace
Road Trip: “Are We There Yet?”
Shop til’ You Drop
Men, Women, and Monsters
Death
Strange Russian Writers
Electronic Democracy
Is Business a Sin?
God and Money
Focus on James Bond
Leisurely Lifestyle and Development
The Politics of Love
France in the ‘Hood
Health and Surviving College
Bread and Circuses
Honors Music Appreciation
America Protest Literature: From Tom Paine to Tupac
History of Germs
Social Insects
Cooking with Roger
Avoiding Armageddon
Coffee and News
Rebel With or Without a Cause
Wine Insights
If There is No God, All is Permitted
The Presidents of Harvard University
Vampire: Blood and Empire
Mold, Mildew, Mushroom
Psychology of Human Mating
Edgy Women
Math, Memoir, and Madness
Jihad and The End of the World
Extraordinary Bodies
Power-walking
The Dao of Sex
Russia, Russian, Russians
Sex, Blood, Kinship, and Nation
Light/Universe/Everything
8:34 AM
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Mount Snow!
I would like to give a huge thanks to Matt Davis, who e-mailed me last Thursday to suggest that we go skiing in Vermont over the weekend. I called around, and Lightshow agreed to come with us as well. We met up with Dan Karlin, who still works part time as a ski patroller on the mountain.
As you can see by the pictorial below, two of us had a rockin' time on the mountain. The third has a wrist-fracturin' time. Mike, I hope your wrist heals soon and the pain doesn't drive you crazy.
Also, Matt and I would like to thank the doctors and nurses at the hospital in Bennington, VT who cared for Mike so quickly. We expected to be there all night, but they released Mike even before the end of the Patriots game. We had plenty of time to go back to the hotel and hit 3 bars.
10:49 AM
Friday, January 14, 2005
Friday Only - Hello Nurse live at Luna
Ok suckers, this will teach you to skip the Bright Aisles on a Friday.
Friday only, download our set from Luna Lounge. The guy who did the recording did it right.
Download Songs Here <---- [Sorry, link removed.]
I thought this might hurt our bandwidth, but then I remembered that I get like 20 hits a day, so it doesn't matter.
1:01 AM
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
5:07 PM
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Even the French Know How To Rock
Unsolicited e-mail:
Hi,
I heard some of your materials on myspace and i wanna tell you how it is great.
I do a radio show called "Rockers Delight" on a french rock radio Frequence Mutine, and I wanna told you that if you desire our services to promote your music in France, we are allright. We want to play your music on our radio. Rockers Delight is here for you.
Here, a list of few artists that we like to play on Rockers Delight:
Maritime, Pedro the lion, the Get up kids, the weakerthans,bright eyes, thursday, alkaline trio, taking back sunday, limbeck, reubens accomplice, jimmy eat world, the format, hot rod circuit, death cab for cutie, saves the day, jackson united, watashi wa, promise ring, mega city four, the new amsterdams, weezer, the early november, matchbook romance, samiam, standstill, the unfinished sympathy, the smiths, hundred reasons, piebald, texas is the reason, sunny day real estate...
So you c! an send us demos, records or what you want at:
Fréquence Mutine - Rockers Delight
BP 13125
29231 BREST Cedex 3 France
rockersdelight@voila.fr
http://memorial666.free.fr/mutine/
9:21 PM
Hello Nurse takes a break from capitalism to offer a FREE SHOW
Hello Nurse Live at Luna Lounge - FREE
Wednesday, January 12, 2005 at 8:30 PM
171 Ludlow Street
bet. Houston and Stanton
Tel: 212-260-2323
Map and Directions
The Luna Lounge will soon be closing its doors, so come enjoy the free rock while it lasts. Hello Nurse will be playing with The Love Story. Apparently the parents of the singer from The Love Story are old friends with my parents. His name is Renn Cheadle, and I'm looking forward to checking out his band after our set.
7:10 AM
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Before and After Tsunami Photos
These photos blew me away.
http://www.goodolddogs3.com/bandaaceh1.html
http://www.goodolddogs3.com/bandaaceh2.html
http://www.goodolddogs3.com/bandaaceh3.html
http://www.goodolddogs3.com/bandaaceh4.html
http://www.goodolddogs3.com/bandaaceh5.html
http://www.goodolddogs3.com/bandaaceh6.html
2:08 PM
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Pessimism in Adulthood
I guess I still haven't grown out of my idealism. Working for Teach For America kind of sustains my naivette, since the people I interact with on a daily basis strongly believe that positive change is not only possible but likely if we continue to pour our efforts toward a worthy goal.
Maybe one day I'll grow up and become a crabby old man.
A close friend of mine sent me the following e-mail today. Even though my MO doesn't quite mesh with the point of view, I found the unabashed nihilism rather refreshing. After this past election, it's pretty easy to throw up my hands in disgust at humanity in America.
Subject: Have a Nice Day.
Short version: People are disappointing almost always.
Long version: (if you don't want to hear me bitch about something I
can't change please move along)
Apparently, "just because" (aka "pick your battles", "don't worry
about it", "why do you have to keep questioning everything", etc.) is
really a valid response that I have to accept from allegedly sentient
humans with whom I am forced to interact.
Remember when you were a kid and it used to make you homicidally angry
when adults would answer your genuine questions with "Just because"?
Either because they didn't know or they were incurious enough to have
never thought about it or they just plain didn't want to tell you?
Remember thinking that when you grew up you wouldn't have to take that
for an answer anymore?
Remember going to high school, where your teachers still kind of gave
you that answer but you could see the armor starting to crack?
Remember college, where you formed the illusion that other people are
thoughtful and interesting? Where "Just Because" was never an
acceptable answer except for religious or political extremists/zealots
(a separate and incurable problem)? Where social norms are questioned
and deconstructed and you have provide, like, reasons, for your
opinions instead of just going with the flow or regurgitating
half-truths from the corporate media?
Remember when you started working and your friends started turning
into "adults" and all of a sudden you realized "Just Because" never
went away, and the rest of the world simply doesn't think about things
like you do, preferring to walk around in a complacent, unquestioning
state?
Remember when you hung your head and got in line anyway because the
alternative to mindless conformity was sexless poverty?
I think I just had this epiphany. Being an adult is even worse than
being a kid.
The good news is we will probably all get blown up by suicide bombers
in Manhattan before we have to put up with it much longer.
Have a nice day.
************************
In other news, check out pictures from The Sparling Company Christmas party. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend since I missed my flight. It looks like everyone had a good time. Check out my pops rocking out! I can still stand to learn a thing or two from the old man.
3:36 PM
Sunday, January 02, 2005
I sure hope 2005 is better than 2004
By all accounts, 2004 was a poor year for humanity worldwide. Devistating hurricanes and a tsunami provided this year's unavoidable natural disasters. The re-election of George Bush provided this year's human disaster. (Genocide in Africa didn't help, either.) People are still dying in Iraq everyday. The Christian right is crusading against gays across the nation. US consumption is out of control and the dollar is losing value. Some eff'er stole my bike. If it weren't for the great friends and family in my life and continual hobbies that keep my interest, I would ask for a mulligan on 2004.
Personally, I will say that I had a satisfying year. I moved in with Jackie and Eloise. I have formed a tight relationship with my little brother, Kalin. Hello Nurse is going gangbusters. I enjoy my job at Teach For America. I really can't complain.
So, does anyone still make new year's resolutions? Most of the people I talked with yesterday are too cool for resolutions. My resolution is to travel more. I never travel - I need to see more of the world. Step 1: Acquire passport.
While Jackie is away in the carribean for a week, I'm taking over the apartment with a new hobby. I'm making art out of cereal marshmallows and glass sugar jars. I haven't quite figured out what I'm doing, but I've already bought enough Lucky Charms to keep me wired for days.
Happy New Year to all!
Check out this panorama of Times Square at midnight, NYE.
3:21 PM
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