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the bright aisles of c-town
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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
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The following searches have brought people to this site:
rottweiler bondage gear
homemade film on blowing up a deer with fireworks
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goy.sex.com
pictures of christian black men working together
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