Tuesday, June 19, 2007

On the Road Again

I'm gonna be on tour with the Mystechs starting tomorrow.

*wheeee*

For the next 12 days I'll be here or on the way here on driving away from here:

6/20 Chicago, IL
6/21 Toledo, OH
6/22 Buffalo, NY
6/23 Stratford, CT
6/24 Trenton, NJ
6/25 New York, NY
6/26 Takoma Park, MD
6/27 Greenville, NC
6/28 Spartanburg, SC
6/29 Marietta, GA
6/30 Murfreesboro, TN
(Well, I won't be there ... long story ... just means the show will kick your ass that much harder!)
7/1 Cincinnati, OH

It's a metal album. I will be running around in high (not tall) boots. There will be guitar solos. And we are touring with the Rick Johnson Rock and Roll Machine (who can jump very high and has cool glasses)
Come out and see the show! Buy me drinks! Get a hug!

http://www.myspace.com/mystechs

Monday, June 18, 2007

If My Heart Could Beat It Would Break My Chest

These are random offerings:

This saleman sings opera.

These links are ganked from Ze Frank: one, two, three

JW sent me this cartoon about big dreams.


Last Friday I went to a Buffy Sing Along. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a television show that actually translates pretty well to the big screen. And certain emotions and implications writ large on the big screen resonate in a way that clicks differently than on the telly.

*spoiler*

When Buffy sings her big number at the end and you find out that she was in heaven before her friends decided to bring her back to life, the pain of that experience comes across on the big screen in such an exquisite way. It's devastating. Even when you are sitting there in a theater surrounded by hardcore Buffy fans singing their guts out and playing kazoos.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Dance a littler closer to me

People ask me what I am looking for in a man - some kind of checklist.

Long, long ago I wanted to be with someone who was smart, cute, and a really good dancer. When it was clear that the really good dancer part would be hard ... I revamped the list. In fact every time I date someone I find that I revamp the list based on what I learn about him or what I learn about me while being with him.

There's so much revamping that has happened over time that I no longer really have a list. I mean, I suppose it's there somewhere, but I find a mystery to the chemistry between people that serves to undermine the use of lists.

I'm hoping that I'll know it when I see it. I'm hoping that is a matter of kissing enough frogs. I'm hoping that it is a matter of time and not a matter of luck.

FS is getting married in two weeks and this is what she says about her fiance:

"turns out that I actually really just enjoy his company more than most people's"

That sounds like a great reason to be with someone.

The Wash Barrier

I did five loads of laundry today. Yesterday, I did two. I can only hope that this means that I am caught up, laundry wise. Although, I have a feeling that there is a sick here and a washcloth other there, each disappointed to have missed out on the fun. The fact that I have so much to launder is remarkable. I have no idea where it all came from. Yesterday, it was clothes. Today, it was linens, blankets, comforter, and sleeping bag.

And I vaccuumed. Yay! Someone throw me a parade.

As I trucked back and forth (and back and forth) to the laundromat I pondered the fact that many many people in greater NYC area pay other people to wash, dry, and fold their laundry for them. In fact, all four of the laundromats that I have used in the Nabe, offer laundry service.

It's tempting. It would be convenient. No lugging your clothes several blocks on foot. I put mine into a wheeled piece of luggage and shoulder bag. It always looks as if I am leaving New York for good when it's time to do my laundry.

With laundry service there would be no waiting around for your clothes to wash and dry. No need to wait for a free a washer or dryer. Dryers are almost always at a premium. No scrounging for quarters. No odd conversations with odd people.

Pay by the pound, drop off your clothes, pick them up the next day. Almost as good as living at home again.

You could spend that time doing something meaningful like write a symphony or read to the blind.

But I can't bring myself to do it. Seems strange to ask another person to wash my dirty drawers. Personal responsibility - I dirtied them, shouldn't I be cleaning them?

Maid service is another matter altogether ... if I could afford it, I would totally go for that. =)

via The South , Ok Go and the Youtube Universe

The South told me that it was the greatest music video ever. And after watching it I would have to say that the OK Go video for the song: "Here it goes again" is pretty damn delightful. And if you haven't seen it yet, allow me to offer you this link.

In additional hilarity someone created this video response.

This is one video for which I would really like to the special DVD featurette.

Friday, June 15, 2007

What I suspect after working 7 months as an assistant

The only assistants that are having any fun are magician's assistants.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

eating heart

I got it into my head that I wanted to eat heart. Not my own or the heart of anyone I know but heart nonetheless. I settled on the hearts of chickens. At the local grocer you can buy a pound of chicken hearts for $1.89. So I did that and went online to find me a recipe. Chicken hearts are not the most popular of meats to cook, so there weren't that many recipes to choose from. I did find a stir fry recipe.

So, chicken hearts look a bit like liver. They also look vaguely like a section of a part of the male anatomy. And so staring down at them in the wok as you brown them is weird. It's not just the shape, but as they are "browned" they turn a familiar color as well. A color that this picture doesn't reflect.

eating hearts

Kind of like a scene from "The Cook, the Thief His Wife and Her Lover," a movie that I saw while in college. It was so disturbing that I watched most of it through my fingers and had trouble sleeping for many days after.

The chicken hearts still have some blood in them which will run out as you cook them and make a kind of blood gravy that smells like chicken. It makes it hard to determine if they are getting successfully browned. They looked cooked but there's still blood seeping out.

I stir fried them with onions, garlic, and mushrooms and served them over brown rice. They tasted vaguely, ever so vaguely, like liver and had this curious chewy texture. Which I guess would happen with a muscle like the heart.

I am trying to decide what is missing from this dish for me and whether I want to cook heart again. Off the top of my head, I think it needs a little sweet, maybe a little fruit. Maybe. Beside that I am not sure. Maybe hearts are to be held and not to be eaten.

stencil madonna

Is it street art or vandalism?

stencil madonna 1

stencil madonna 2

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Green tubs roll on overhead tracks to the checkout counter

Have you ever been to B&H Photo Video?
I was there for the first time today. The battery for my camera died and I have been trying to get to the shop to buy a replacement since a little after Valentine's Day.

After many evenings of leaving work and rushing to the store only to find it closed (they close at 7pm), I made a point of going over on my lunch hour. The place is magical. It's an exercise in guided chaos and traffic control. Wow.

The folks that work went to great lengths to find me a less expensive alternative to the battery that I was trying to replace. The man behind the counter knew what camera I had just from my description of it, "I know that camera well," he said. And in the end they probably saved me over $30 dollars. When does that happen?

One of the young men working on the main floor even wanted to ask me on a date. (!)

I am no camera buff but if I was (or if ever I become one) this is probably the place where I would get my gear fix.

quotable enviable life strategies

“You been thinkin’ I’ve been bored. Self indulgent, self destroyed.
I’ve been busy, Baby, I keep busy. Quittin’ every job in New York City”.

-Tim Fite