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Thursday, September 25, 2003
never mind that i just did a whole update and it then deleted. but i'll try an abridged version again. so it's been exactly a month since my last update and i figured it was time to come out of hibernation. the end of my summer was spent seeing a few good bands, watching a few yet very rainy us open matches, renting nothing special dvds and spending a week in hot and sunny mexico, snorkeling, parasailing, kayaking, tanning, exploring the ruins and drinking a whole lot of frozen strawberry margaritas. good times, good times.
this week new york magazine does the music issue with a nod at 16 bands changing the ny soundscape (ted leo) and rock stars next door. unfortunately, i've yet to see yo la tengo while walking down washington street.
also in the print world, it's about that time for best of lists and new york press starts us off with the best of manhattan 2003. such highlights include the best yoga fart (crunch) the best reason to get over rock star worship (i am trying to break your heart) and the best borough (the bronx). hoboken even gets a nod, albeit while making fun of the uber guido cadillac bar. yeah jersey!
speaking of wilco, i taped wilco on soundstage last friday night though admittedly i haven't pressed play on the vcr yet. give me time, people.
Monday, August 25, 2003
a perfect weather weekend finally! it only took till the week before labor day, but i won't complain. friday night was spent watching "thirteen at my favorite theater. excellent flick, if not a bit disturbing. definitely not how i remember being 13, but i thought evan rachel wood was excellent (even better than on "once and again," go figure). and to think that a teenager cowrote the screenplay is insane.
saturday was a drive to the beach. we were trying to find sandy hook, but somehow wound up in sea bright. but same ocean and same sun, right? then saturday night was last-minute tickets to the big giants/jets preseason game where jets quarterback penningtonfractured his wrist. the 14-year-old girl wearing shrek ears sitting in front of me was not happy and continued to voice her opinion to her giants-loving boyfriend, her parents and anyone else in section 328. we left at the end of the third quarter when the giants were kicking ass and somehow when we got home we learned they lost it in the end. good thing there were beers to be had,buck hunter to be played and then a party to go to. after recovering from a hangover sunday morning, my group and i had a delicious brunch at oddfellows and then a day lazing, reading and playing catch on the pier. sometimes i just love jersey. there, i said it.
pop matters compiles their list ofthe best songs from 1977 to 2003. lots of elvis costello, various punk bands, nirvana, rem and a few prince and michael jackson for good measure. if you decide to read all the entries, it could take a good while past your lunch hour
in more music news, pitchfork reviews the new gbv cd, which i've listened to a few times already but still can't get so into. hopefully they'll change my mind at irving plaza next weekend.
i'm sad to see pete sampras retire, but i'm very excited to see the us open get started.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
no worries, faithful readers, the felafel survived blackout 2003. but yes, i was among the hordes of jerseyites packed in an overheated line on the west side highway for more than three hours trying to make my way onto a ferry. total insanity: people fainting, people pushing, people making friends, cops chucking water to the crowd, ferries running out of gas, pregnant ladies getting to cut the line. once i finally landed on the other side of the river, i had another 2 miles to walk till i reached blacked out hoboken—approximately six hours after i left my office desk.
since my beach day friday was ruined by some "raw sewage problem," we decided to finally check out "seabiscuit". not the perfect movie i was expecting, but i did catch myself cheering for that fine horse and of course for the always cute tobey. worth seeing.
yesterday was picnicking and polyphonic spree in central park with delaware friends et al. i'd say they're a cross between a "godspell" production, the who's tommy and the flaming lips, but i loved them. fun, happy, bouncy music perfect for an outdoor show. the lead singer with his preaching and pointing and falling on the floor was a bit much at times, but i was totally digging the really young fresh-faced french horn player, the chorus shaking to the music and the long-haired dude on the right side of the stage playing some bizarre intstrument that required him waving his hands in the air near and far from this metal wand.
Monday, August 11, 2003
everyone can make fun of emo all they want, but i like dashboard confessional and apparently so does the times. and i will be buying the new album, even if i think the times goes a bit overboard saying it's a disc that "may become the year's most important rock record."
check out the new york magazine shockey interview causing such a stir. i know the media loves him and he gets the giants excited to watch the games, but i still think he's a cocky ass.
everyone's already seen jack white's wide open finger, why not check out ted leo's damaged larynx (last picture on his photo section).
everyone be sure to tune into pbs wednesday night to watch a walk through hoboken, all about my fair 1.3 square mile city. unfortunately the show ends before they mention the newest crop of cool inhabitants to the area but there are lots of fun little facts in there, like how the founders of the town, which was bought for $90,000, originally wanted to make hoboken a vacation hotspot for new yorkers.
here's a pretty crappy review of saturday's ween show at penn's landing but it was the first one i found. despite the fact that catherine said she wasted three hours of her life, i thought my first ween show was a hella cool time. perhaps all the imbibing and fun that was had before we ever left delaware had something to do with it. the new poultry-eating felafel had her first bobbie (hold the mayo and cranberry sauce) and of course the pulpy had us drinking at dead presidents and then the standard tap though i didn't drink the fancy pants. but the rain held off, we all got shozzy and had a few singalongs (buenos tardes, amigos...), cormipants was wearing shortie shorts, catherine blamed her late-night puking on the bad eggs at the "fine establishment" we visited, mugsy was smoking like he wanted cancer and we all took a crapload of fun drunken pictures. all right, that's all i got for now. it's time for ice cream.
Wednesday, August 6, 2003
slate discusses the flaws with the new chicago manual of style. the village voice also gives us word geeks something to ponder with their take on the new edition as well as the new webster's dictionary.
mel gibson's movie about the death of jesus is getting many jewish groups angry because of its seemingly anti-semitism with its depiction of the jews' role in christ's death. one scholar quoted in the story is saying this could be one of the great crises in christian-jewish relations. gibson has done several "friendly screenings" of the film but refuses to show it to certain jewish groups and scholars. frank rich weighs in on the subject as well.
on a lighter note, the times is now the third place in three days i've read about ween who i am finally going to see live for the first time this weekend. i'll save any opinion and criticism till after the concert.
jane doe has way better pictures of rhett than i do, including ones with girls in feather boas.
Sunday, August 3, 2003
i still cannot get over this story of a woman giving birth standing up on the boston subway. she refused help, just stared out the window and stunned passengers as the baby just fell to the floor. is there anything more crazy and disgusting than "After leaving the train and heading for the stairs up to the station's main lobby, witnesses said, the placenta fell to the platform. Judge turned around, grabbed the afterbirth, put it in her shoulder bag, and headed upstairs."? it turns out the new mom is being committed for further evaluation.
fountains of wayne get a front page spot in today's sunday styles section. i also keep hearing them in the buzz bin after every mtv show at the ten spot.
went bowling in brooklyn last week, where i could have sworn it was 1985 again. greasy food, arcade games, smelly shoes and big balls. my game was hardly up to snuff though. it might have been the numerous pitchers of rheingold
friday night was sweet, sexy, sweaty rhett at maxwell's who sang to his heart's content. despite love song after love song, he kept going on about punk rock because the yeah yeah yeahs were playing a later show that night. he did a mix of his solo stuff and some old 97s, and even sang his unborn child's favorite song thus far, which he said he "sings to the womb" all the time. plus a few new old 97s tunes that sounded good to me. yes, catherine, the giant was in attendance (we think his name is craig).
Sunday, July 27, 2003
i have to say that while many people are debating how good a job the 28-year-old jody kantor as editor of the times arts and leisure section, there were a whole bunch of articles worth reading in this sunday's section: the closer look at avenue q, the muppets inspired play that finally hit broadway, which i'm curious to see; an interview with joan osbourne, the newest member of the dead; yet another article about bob dylan's "masked and anonymous"; and a piece on the annoying directors in the latest project greenlight. plenty of worthwhile sunday reading, my friends.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
all right, kids, here you go... so big news of the day is two die in city hall shooting. i think my favorite part is that when the story first broke, the news reported that officials had no idea how a gun could get into the building because everyone has to go through metal detectors. though if people know those working there, they just get waved through. hmm, sounds like good security to me.
i was happy to learn from sunday's times that i'm not officially an adult until i hit 30, which means three more years to figure out what i really want to do in life. now there's just the pressure of where to throw the big bash.
the village voice has an interesting article about an anonymous hasidic jew who has his own blog and is getting his community more than a little upset with his openness. apparenlty there will soon be a blog site that will make it easy to broadcast political views, etc., completely in secret.
speaking of blogs, check out the new one by jane doe.
whatever you do, do not waste your money on "stolen summer," last year's project greenlight movie. horrible acting, horrible directing, horrible plot. i have no idea what made ben, matt and chris want to produce it in the first place. hopefully this year's "shaker heights" will turn out better.
i'm not sure that i've posted since i booked my trip to sunny mexico. the only downside to sipping all the daquiris i can drink on the mayan riviera in the beginning of september is the fact that i won't be rocking out with my friends to gbv in dc. i guess i can sacrifice a little.
i'm hoping to be able to pay off said trip, with my winnings from mohegan sun this coming weekend. come on, mama needs a new pair of shoes!
to read about all the other concerts i've been going to, you can check some of the recaps on catwoman.pitas.com.
for various pictures from some of those shows and various other summer activities, see below:
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
jeez, people, can't a girl have a life? update to follow...i promise.
Monday, June 30, 2003
i'm sitting here trying not to think about how much my sunburned shoulders hurt and hoping that the obscene amounts of aloe i've been slathering myself in will finally do the trick. in the meantime, why not recap the first sunny weekend of summer 2003?
first there was wilco at summerstage thursday. despite the 90+ heat it was a great time. but as cute as jeff tweedy is, i think my new crush might just be on john stirratt. there's just something about him... anyway, wilco was great as always but what's up with no "passenger side" or "california stars" or even "camera" for the crowd to sing along to?
saturday was the daytrip to camden for the dead, which i hadn't seen live since high school i think. i forgot how much fun drinking in the parking lot is and how friendly everyone around can be. it was a perfect night on the waterfront, so many cute little families, an hour and a half opening set by willie nelson and they even opened with "alabama getaway" just for gail. we then crossed the river to meet up with cormi and esteban, who had been rocking to wilco. there were two other girls there, but i think we scared them off because they vanished as soon as we got in the bar. we made it home safe and sound by the wee hours of the morn' and i proceeded to spend all day sunday burning to a crisp.
i was getting a little bored with all the negative reviews of liz phair's new album but then she made things interesting by writing this wacked out letter to the times. what does this all have to do with chicken little?
oh yeah, and a happy belated birthday to chewy, brian and kelly. woo.
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
what is mr. winkle? the world wants to know. i just know he's the cutest dog i've ever seen.
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
save your $10 and wait for dvd to watch the hulk. a bit slow, not the summer blockbuster i was expecting and way too many annoying talking kids in the theater. one day i'll learn my lesson and watch movies only in the comforts of my living room.
catherine's cotillion was a major success as always. lots of crinoline, drunken singing and dancing and a long line to get up on the roof, but well worth it since the rain finally had stopped. though the keg was kicked way too early so my peeps and i mosied on over to a local bar for one more before heading back to joisey.
sunday night was the big mets-yankees game at shea. i probably wrote about the ridiculousness of parking at shea last year, but i will repeat myself. parking at shea is ridiculous. not only did traffic stop several miles before even approaching the stadium, but once you get there you must park way past shea stadium, the us open complex and the world's fair area in a huge muddy field where they have the audacity to charge you 10 bucks. you can then wait on line for a shuttle bus or if you get there already in the fourth inning like some people, you trek your ass for a good mile until you see the stadium. but i guess the pain and suffering was worth it because the yankees kicked ass in extra innings.
u2 tops rolling stone's readers' list of best live acts. basically all the results are big arena acts. no gbv, no wilco, no white stripes. booooo rolling stone, booooo.
if i were a teenager today, no way would i watch sex and the city with my parents. it was bad enough watching very special episodes of 90210.
being a harry potter virgin, i cannot comprehend the fact that the book sold more copies in one day than last year's best-selling hardcover novel did all year. i guess i can't complain if it's giving kids a reason to love reading but i think i will continue to abstain.
in other book news, i finally finished "the crying of lot 49" and with the help of sparknotes i now sort of understand it. it may deserve a thorough reread before i can say i truly enjoyed it.
and a very happy birthday to chewy. send him a loaf of bread as a present and he'll be your best friend.
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
so everyone in new york city should get excited for this thursday. cold stone creamery finally opens in times square. true, the location bites, but the ice cream is worth it. they came in to the office today to give us a sneak preview. my concoction: cake batter ice cream, double peanut butter cups, m&ms and chocolate syrup. can't ask for a better lunch than that.
my best celebrity sighting ever: benjamin bratt shopping in j.crew with his wife and baby. first i spotted him peeking his head out of the dressing room, and then i saw him in all his hotness walking around the store. i'm still flushed.
two movies no one should ever waste their time with: "phone booth" (the only plus being it's only 80 minutes long) and "super troopers, which i can finally return to netflix after it was sitting in our living room for the past four months.
check out urge, a new magazine by a friend of a friend, and carla's point of view on virginity. also check out the male point of view while you're at it.
cat's got a snazzy new look to her pita. if you haven't read her ridiculously hilarious subway rules, do so now.
here's a review of the bonnaroo in tennessee this past week. too bad the northeast doesn't get their chance.
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
let's hear it for babies! i want to congratulate the bothums and welcome lauren elizabeth into the world.
i started reading this article in new york magazine yesterday and it just kept getting stranger and stranger. it's about the times reporter who bonnaroo.
there's nothing like a good list. vh1 comes out with the 100 greatest songs of the last 25 years. i have to say i'm crushed there is not a single new kids song on the list yet they have a backstreet boys entry. and what about "pump up the volume" by marrs? i loved it so much i recorded my 45 over and over again filling up a whole side of a cassette tape so i wouldn't have to hit rewind when it was over.
i got a little culture in my life last night with a trip to the ballet. romeo and juliet at the met, which is the most beautiful performance space i've ever seen. it wasn't as exciting as seeing "the nutcracker" as a little girl obsessed with ballet, but it was pretty amazing. and since i already knew the story, there was no stress of trying to interpret through dance what the heck was going on.
Saturday, June 7, 2003
what else to do on a rainy saturday when i should have been at field day fest with friends then update the pita.
the village voice on friendster
i found a fun bar in alphabet city last night that has a pretty big back patio (even though it's tented and it was finally warm yesterday), decent food (awesome fries), friendly clientele, cheap beers ($4 yuenglings!) and plenty of entertainment (i continuously lost at connect four and candy land).
i don't think i ever mentioned my new roommates ben and jerry. see below:
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