trademarking one of the most annoying phrases ever: "let's roll!"
Thursday, February 28, 2002
mark your calendars, kids. tonya harding and amy fischer are going to duke it out on national tv. there's a show with high ratings if i ever saw one. (thanks michele for that one)
so here i think i found a new and better way to steal—i mean listen to—songs off the internet. on audiogalaxy people are putting up whole albums and even box sets as zip files so now you don't have to download things song by song. of course after i look into the site, i find out as usual that it's not mac compatible. but i also learned that it is easier to hide viruses in these files so my computer savvy friends told me it's not worth trying. plus, as i'm writing this, brian informed me that this isn't such a new phenomenon and that the times is only just "announcing it to the man." and now i learn that many of these fileshare sites have these already, i just have to look for them. so basically, forget this whole entry.
my roommates and i finally took the plunge last night and ordered netflix. well, more like a quick dip, considering it's a free trial and all. but i really don't see a reason to go to blockbuster again. i mean, most often when we try to rent something from the new release section, it's out, and when we head downstairs to the dank, musty basement level where all the oldies but goodies are, they never have half the things we want to see. plus, i'll never have a late fee, if i don't get around to watching the dvd within five days, i dont' have to return it unwatched. any day now, our first flick should be arriving. never mind that "ghost world" was first in my cue.
another weekend come and gone. not all too much to report though saturday my mom and i had one of those mother-daughter days and got massages at the spa. not nearly as fun as when we went in arizona what with the 90 degree sunshine and all, but still not a bad way to spend a saturday. after being fully relaxed, i got my drink with michele at the quiet woman saturday night. sometimes i truly believe alcohol is the devil. but while listening to the cover band play their songs, i was reminded of my money making idea that quite possibly could go into full effect now that i've ordered my cd burner. i can't exactly give you more details because then, who's to say you, reader, wouldn't steal it for your own and come away a millionaire while i get nothing. you'll just have to wait to see my infomercial.
following ryan's lead, i checked to see what someone googled to get to my site: anal porn fun funny. um, ok?
Thursday, February 21, 2002
so a bunch of college newspapers seem to be up in arms about having usa today come to their campus for fear that they'll take advertising and readership away from their own papers. i completely disagree. college kids should be reading national news, and there's a bigger chance they will be if the paper is given to them free of charge. and yes, college papers are important and should be read, but please, people, you should not be getting all your news from it. not that i'm dissing my own college paper or anything, but students would be pretty out of the loop had they only read the review when i was there. there's more going on in the world than just a professor giving a lecture about some crazy scientific research or a town screaming about the felling of some old tree to build a restaurant that will close in a year's time anyway. but getting back to the article, i think my favorite part is that there is a college paper called the hustler and a local paper called the daily advertiser. at least they're honest in their motives.
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
after months of seeing a close up of andre the giant's face anywhere and everywhere across this great city, on people's clothes, in bars, on the street, i finally clicked on this link on will wheaton's (yes, that will wheaton) site and found out what it's all about. i'm probably one of the last people around to pick up on this project, but if i'm not, go check it out.
last night i got a little culture into my system by going with my dad to the philharmonic. it was a very belated birthday present for him since october but well worth the wait. not that i'm the biggest classical music fan but listening to a whole orchestra live can be really beautiful. the big piece last night was "pictures at an exhibition", which is basically about someone viewing all the different pictures at an exhibition (duh!) as heard through music. kind of like the composer's interpretation of what the paintings would sound like if they were music. then after he describes each painting, he goes back to the promenade to walk to the next one. it's really kind of neat when you read in the program what picture he is looking at and then hear the differences in the music. like all these flutes and happy music to symbolize children and weird french horn noises to symbolize someone's accent. really quite amazing.
how insane is this whole georgia crematorium thing? now they found two more vaults with what could be 100 more bodies! this is like something out of a made-for-cable horror flick.
olympic spoiler alert! not that there was any added pressure or anything, but jim shea made his grandpa proud today and took home the gold in the skeleton. i've been waiting the whole olympics to watch this crazy sport, and tonight i finally get my chance. of course now i (and all of you who kept reading) already know the outcome, which is a bit less fun but oh well, too bad.
Tuesday, February 19, 2002
although it's not official, perhaps i should run out and get my copy of "native speaker" today before they're all gone. new york is jumping on the chicago bandwagon and is going to try to get everyone in the city to read the same book at the same time. one huge reading group. who provides the thought-provoking questions?
here's a great little profile on biff henderson, but unlike ryan says, it isn't everything you want to know about him. it doesn't mention his cute little dog he always walks or the town he lives in now, and that unlike the one he grew up in, which was segregated, it was the first community to have desegregated busing to school. i should know, it's my hometown, and damn proud of it. while looking for a link for that last sentence, i found this, which talks all about the history of my school and how it was originally this really wealthy family's summer estate. what it doesn't mention, which i always remember learning, is that the family sold it to the town for one dollar as long as they promised to turn it into a place of learning. now was that just local folklore? i'd be devastated if it was.
Friday, February 15, 2002
here's a great little profile on biff henderson, but unlike ryan says, it isn't everything you want to know about him. it doesn't mention his cute little dog he always walks or the town he lives in now, and that unlike the one he grew up in, which was segregated, it was the first community to have desegregated busing to school. i should know, it's my hometown, and damn proud of it. while looking for a link for that last sentence, i found this, which talks all about the history of my school and how it was originally this really wealthy family's summer estate. what it doesn't mention, which i always remember learning, is that the family sold it to the town for one dollar as long as they promised to turn it into a place of learning. now was that just local folklore? i'd be devastated if it was.
so last night catherine was kind enough to give me her extra ticket to rufus wainwright at town hall. and excellent seats by the way. second row almost center. they were perfect except when he sat down by the piano on the other side of the stage. all i could see was the tippy top of his head. but his amusing banter, sweet voice and david cassidy stylings with his longish hair, sideburns and seventies style blazer with a rose in the pocket made up for it. i had never listened to any of his stuff before, but what i heard i liked. it was also a family production. his sister, martha, opened for him, he sang one of his dad's songs (he mentioned he's going to be on "alli mcbeal" but i thought he'd at least try to hype the soon-to-be-cancelled "undeclared") and he invited his mom onstage for his last song, sung in french. and by the way, if anyone's ever looking for a decent bar in midtown that's not overpriced and filled with suits, check out jimmy's corner. $4 beers and free party mix!
bob dylan took the prize for the number one album in the voice's pazz and jop poll. strokes went number 2. i was a little distraught to see wilco so far down the list at 156. and i didnt' even know the go-go's had a new album out. where have i been? missy elliot with the number one single? i much prefer blu cantrell or the soggy bottom boys. you can even see how the review's own bill werde voted.
i never understood why you're allowed to advertise beer or wine coolers on tv but not hard liquor. i don't think it was just my high school that had those posters that said 1 beer=1 shot=1 glass of wine, or something like that, showing that in whatever form you drink it, alcohol is still evil. silly teachers. anyway, that being said, how is beer (which i imagine more underrage people drink than say, expensive whiskey or some scotch aged to perfection) ok to advertise but not hard liquor? that all changed last month when nbc started running smirnoff ads but now they're catching some flack. in order to run the commercials, they need to run four months of spots about responsible drinking. is it not good enough to have "don't drink and drive" written in itty bitty white letters at the bottom of the screen like in any budweiser commercial? plus, they can't just run these commercials on any late-night spot. for instance, if britney is on snl, since that particular show would appeal to younger viewers, nbc wouldn't accept the spot.
i guess i need to suck it up and see "gosford park" now that it's nominated for best picture. it really just looks too much like "clue" from the ads, but it must have something. i'm still skipping "lord of the rings" despite the numerous categories it's in. and since all my co-workers have been raving about "sexy beast" and ben kingsley's performance, i finally borrowed the dvd that's been floating around the office and will see what all the fuss is about.
so i'm so annoyed i missed the pairs figure skating last night because i obviously missed some major controversy. i walked in as they were about to award the medals and i was watching the sweet-looking canadian girl crying and hearing the crowd in an uproar.
just wanted to congratulate brian and his group for winning the quarter finals of their a cappella competition. brian even won an award for his great arranging abilities of this song, because he's cool like that. hopefully they'll rock out lincoln center again this spring.
tonight i'm off to the 92nd street y to see a tribute to ken kesey. it was originally billed as a look back on "one flew over the cuckoo's nest" for it's anniversary, but since kesey went and kicked the bucket a few months ago, they changed things around a bit. now i get to hear tom wolfe wax poetic on his friend. i wonder if he'll wear a white suit.
i got my ryan adams tickets today for the march show in new york. it's really so great working so close to irving plaza so i can just go pick up tickets for shows there and at roseland. had i ordered them online, my $25 tickets would have cost me $32 each. can ticketmaster be anymore of a ripoff?
Wednesday, February 6, 2002
i'm stealing this one from ryan. the grateful dead are releasing an album of live bob dylan ten days before my birthday (insert shameless plug for presents here). the album even starts with one of my favorite dead covers of dylan, "when i paint my masterpiece."
i had no idea there was another type of computer keyboard in existence besides the "qwerty" one, but apparently you can change a few things in your preferences and type faster and more comfortably with the dvorak one. not sure i'd be willing to learn how to type all over again though but it would be kind of funny to change all the keys on my keyboard around and see what happens when one of my coworkers tries to use my computer.
Tuesday, February 5, 2002
what my life might be like if i still lived at home. this week's new york magazine is all about being single in new york city, but they have a little feature on dating in the suburbs. my favorite is the dilemma of what to do with your car when having a one night stand. kind of takes the spontaneity out of the situation. plus, many of the single men in westchester are living with their mothers. um, no thanks.
here's some disturbing news for all you dieters out there. turns out the delicious pirate's booty snack food is a lot higher in fat than their labels claim to be. i learned last week that they recently changed the nutritional information to five grams of fat per serving, forcing me to go back to dull pretzels as an afternoon snack. but now abc is saying it's even worse than that. just as long as they don't screw me over with tasti d lite, i guess i'll learn to survive.
tonight other members of the tribe and i are going to be rubbing elbows with some lower east side hipsters at the launch party for heeb magazine despite my hatred of the name of the publication. but how cool does their first cover look with that turntable spinning a big old matzo?
that guy in the levi's ad can really move is legs that way.
Monday, February 4, 2002
everyone loves a good anagram. now you can type in your name and see what it makes. it's a crazy long list and some of the things listed aren't even words but you can find one or two good ones in there. one of my co-workers is apparently "your anal cure."
they might be demolishing the place my grandma lived in recent years until she had to go into a nursing home. it's pretty sad, considering how beautiful the manor is and the history behind it. plus, there are some really neat old people who have made it their home. perhaps being on the national registery of historic places will save it from the bulldozer.
Friday, February 1, 2002
if you're looking for some laughter and happiness in these "now more than ever" times, go see amelie, which i did last night at the beautiful paris theatre. such a great, funny, happy, magical, feel-good film. i loved it so much that i didn't even mind that the tall man in front of me consistently blocked one word of the subtitles. glad we decided to see that over the heavier in the bedroom.
those silly mormons are all uptight about olympians getting free condoms.hey, mormons, they're bringing mad money to your little city, let them at least get their freak on.
Thursday, January 31, 2002
here's a quick look at some of the commercials for this year's superbowl. i'll admit i tried to go online last night and vote for my favorite britney pepsi ad but my computer wasn't behaving. also, my inside avertising source informed me that danny devito got paid $600,000 just for his voice in the lipton ad. how do i get a gig like that?
Wednesday, January 30, 2002
salon talks to todd solondz about his new movie "storytelling" and about the evil word "censor."
Tuesday, January 29, 2002
those bush kids are at it again. this time it's jeb's daughter having run-ins with the law. tsk, tsk.
nazi art at the jewish museum. but don't worry, the writer says it will be nothing like "sensation" and all that elephant dung.
this is for gail, who thought channel 4 news didn't do a very good job last night of explaining this story.
so i watched the real world-road rules challenge last night. i'm pretty sure i've been a faithful viewer of both shows for years, yet i didn't know who half the road rules people were, especially the chick who thought it smart to bring her baby along and then complain that she couldn't go to dinner because the kid was sleeping. and beth s. from los angeles is still as annoying as ever. no, maybe even more so because she now has about eight years of pent up bitterness inside her because she's gone nowhere with her life. my bets are on real world to win it because they already set up their alliance and even though they have less muscles, there's a little less backstabbing. it would actually be kind of cool for norman and becky to take home the prize because how great would it be for an almost 40-year-old to kick all those college kids' asses?
it's about time. ym got rid of their diet articles. they even went so far as to have a size 14 model in a regular upcoming fashion spread as opposed to only showing her in a story about "dressing for your body type." at least teenage girls can now wait a few more years till they start reading cosmo and the like before they feel the need to diet incessantly and become obsessed with every morsel of food they put in their mouths. not that this is going to completely stop vulnerable young girls from thinking thin=beautiful=success, but at least it will add a little less fuel to the fire.
everyone will be happy to learn that i finally finished one of the worst books i've read in a long time. i forced myself to finish it late friday night because i couldnt' stand it a minute longer. 500+ pages of pure suckiness in my opinion. that's why i treated myself to "the amazing adventures of kavelier and clay" at lunch today. all the kids keep raving about it, so hopefully no one is going to let me down.
if i remember correctly from my journalism classes in college, reporters should only quote people when they have something really interesting to say. otherwise, paraphrase. the guy who wrotethis news brief must have missed class that day.
for all you real world fans, here's a site dedicated to the houses from each season. pictures of all the rooms, where they were located, what they've been turned into now. i had no idea that the first season in new york was located on prince and broadway. not where i would have pictured it to be at all.
Thursday, January 24, 2002
it's always an interesting night when i go out with work peeps. after a lengthy stay at belmont that ended with a $500+ tab, the co-workers and i headed over to the fine establishment flashdancers, an "upscale gentleman's club." so upscale that one friend had to take off his hat so as not to look like a thug. hey, some magazines get sting to play for them, my magazine watches girls dance around a pole. this was my first experience of a real live strip club (male or female) and i must say it was not what i expected. yes, there were the perverted old men sitting at tables by themselves sipping their drinks and there were a few men who just stood right up next to the stages to get a closer look, but the dancing was a lot tamer than i would have thought and a lot less "flashdance" then what they show on all those hbo specials. and from what i saw, the lap dances were a lot tamer too. but then i was told there's a back room (the champagne room, perhaps?) where the wilder stuff goes on. at one point this chick (barbie corvette, i believe her name was. very original) came out in some wonder-woman-underoos-looking outfit and proceeded to do a gymnastics routine complete with those la girl ribbon and hula hoop things i had as a kid. a remarkable performance. anyway, just your average wednesday night when working for a laddie mag.
one brother tries to eliminate the free world as we know it, the other brother makes fashionable, casual clothes.
salon's recent feature "masterpiece" has been really good so far. plus, it's what of the few interesting things on the site i can read without forking over money for a premium membership. this one talks about truman capote's "in cold blood," one of the best true-crime books i've ever read (not that i've read many at all). i had a professer in college who always talked about it in regards to new journalism. the salon story goes into how it seems so ordinary now to read stories like this about ordinary people and extraordinary circumstances but that wasn't the case before capote and tom wolfe came on to the scene. anyway, check it out.
Tuesday, January 22, 2002
tired of boring rectangular mix cakes for your friends' birthdays? try some of these. i especially like the sleepover party with twinkies and the pool party ice cream cake. i'd be seriously impressed with anyone who could pull these off. note to roommates: you have three months and a week to create a masterpiece for my big 2-6.
celebrity sighting of the day: willie nelson standing across the street from foodworks complete with braids and cowboy hat.
Monday, January 21, 2002
it was a mostly stay at home and watch movies kind of weekend with the "big storm" and all. friday night we rented "wet hot american summer", a parody a la members of "the state" on all those camp flicks i love so much. very twisted and bizarre, but very funny. i still stand by the director's commentary bit being my favorite part of these new-fangled dvd things. i think i'm going to start renting movies i've already seen just to watch it with the director's words along with it. sunday afternoon was spent weeping to "ordinary people", which was as good as mom said. besides that, i drank sweet wine at von down on bleeker, then headed for some delicious risotto at the brand-new azul bistro and then for some more drinks at orchard bar. the worst part of my saturday night: having a rat run right in front of my feet as i walked down a snowy sidewalk. for anyone who really knows me, you know the trauma it has now inflicted on my person.
what has happened to the knicks this year? they're looking worse then my high school team and that's not saying much at all.
i can't believe that a huge brady fan like me never realized that mike brady's mug has been edited out of the openings on nick at nite. turns out he's not on any t-shirts, calendars and anything else brady these days either.it has to do with licensing and his demands and some such nonsense before he died. if you ask me, i think it's some sort of conspiracy. perhaps the world shouldn't have to believe that tv's all-american dad was really gay.
Thursday, January 17, 2002
i stand corrected. when i said lil bow wow was going to be in the partridge family before, what i really meant to say was lil romeo. ryan you can sleep at night again.
master p and lil bow wow are going to be in the new "partridge family". that should be interesting. thanks, brian for that one.
Tuesday, January 15, 2002
is everyone excited for real world 11 tonight? a full hour to start off the season. so far what i've seen is a house full of sluts plus your token angry black guy, two gay roommates and the not-so-innocent sweet-looking one. i guess why change the format when it's worked so well so far? let's just hope they're a hell of a lot more interesting then the last new york cast was.
update: michele informed me that the book i linked to yesterday from the museum shop is not an original idea. and i quote: "Just read your pita and all I have to say is that book was not her idea.As part of my SUPA English class in 12th grade we all went to the MOMA to stake out a picture. Mine was the one by Magritte with the apple over the man's face. And we had to record what people said.I then had to write a paper. I don't remember the point of the exercise, but I did that already!! Call Dr. Creiner." the only difference i guess, is one person's getting rich off the idea while the other is still teaching 12th grade english in the 'burbs.
Monday, January 14, 2002
saw "a beautiful mind" this weekend. by far, one of the best movies i've seen in a while. and russell crowe was amazing. i don't want to give anything away, so go see it now. and bring tissues. also added a little culture to my weekend by visiting the whitney, which we thought was going to be free with this whole nyt arts and leisure weekend. we apparently didn't read the fine print that the offer was only good on sunday from 11 to 1. we first tried the frick and got turned away with our coupon there too. i though they were supposed to be accomodating in this city, trying to get everyone to come visit and breathe new life into the arts. apparently someone didn't get the memo. but anyway, there's an amazing and thorough exhibit of jacob lawrence, an african american painter who i had never heard of before who documented a lot about his life in harlem. very interesting stuff. i could have done without some of the abstract art on the first floor. can someone please explain to me what a giant canvas painted red means? or a big gray one with a pipe coming out of it? while i was in the bookstore, i found this book, which was fun to peruse through but not worth my money. but some of the quotes in there, were my thoughts exactly.
someone at time out must really love me. last week they had a whole feature on the best places in the city to play pinball. for those of you who know me, you've probably heard me say a million times how they need to put more pinball machines in bars. darts, pool and trivia just don't cut it. this is especially pertinent information now that mr. brad jennings informed me that the new deer park down in newark no longer has pinball. oh, the horror! besides my days at delaware, i also spent many a summers playing hours of good old-fashioned pinball at the dive bar up near camp. there truly is no better game than pinbot. we're talking five plays for a measly quarter, folks. seriously, if i ever have the space and the money, i'm treating myself to a pinball machine of my own. and so ends my homage to pinball.
i'm interested in the new pbs show "the it factor", which is another reality series, but this time about unknown actors trying to make it big. one was actually a tony winner as a kid and now she's getting rejected for cookie commercials. according to the article, i didn't miss much in last week's season premiere so i'll be ok this sunday. if only it wasn't on against "sex and the city".
a "cosby show" reunion?. let's just hope it's much better than those atrocious "growing pains and "facts of life" ones i watched last year.
Thursday, January 10, 2002
i'm interested in checking out the new york times' arts and leisure weekend coming up. you can get two-for-one broadway and off-broadway tickets, free admission to lots of museums, see sneak previews of movies for cheap and a whole bunch of other things. anyone interested in joining me?
i don't agree with this headline. i am most defiinitely not embracing the new dell spokesman. i find him up there in the annoyance department with carrot top and david arquette in the 1-800-call-att commercials. and this guy is dreaming if he thinks he's now not going to be typecast as a surfer dude.
Wednesday, January 9, 2002
a random conversation this afternoon led me to this web site, about one of my favorite shows as a kid: "you can't do that on television". every day at four oclock my friend sarah and i would flip to nickelodeon and crack up at moose, lisa, alisdair, and the rest of them. the site above has all sorts of info. for instance, did you know that the show ran from 1979-1990? if only nick at nite would start running reruns of that, i'd be set.
now i feel bad. back in december, i made fun of this woman on the felafel for going all the way to the midwest, looking for the loot from "fargo," and now she's gone and killed herself.
Tuesday, January 8, 2002
kudos to ryan for linking to this dvd easter eggs page. i'm always so curious about them and haven't seen any on the few dvds i've rented so far. but now that i have my new lightning fast cable modem i can check this stuff out before i sit down to watch the movie right in the comfort of my own home. instead of having to wait till i get to the office.
at the moment, my office is listening to a homemade "best of" oasis cd and it's putting me in such a good mood. takes me back to those cannon days. catherine and i saw them in philly back in the day, but i don't remember much about it except they had a little stuffed walrus on stage with them and there were a whole lot of teenyboppers in attendance.
Friday, January 4, 2002
i just archived again, so if you care to read about my new year's eve and various other vacation fun, check out the november and december felafel to your left.
for the past two months or so i've been reading joeseph heller's "something happened" and i'm about ready to put it down. what's funny is that i'm now on page 289 and absolutely NOTHING has happeend. it is so painstakingly repetitive and long-winded that i don't understand how his editor didn't chop some of the excessively long dialogues to bits. what i also don't understand is that the majority of customer reviews on amazon give it stellar praise. i'm all for reading about the downfall of the american dream and about a middle-aged man having a mental breakdown, but puh-leaze, this is the slowest book i've read in a long time. can anyone else out there give me some insight as to why i shouldn't shove this on the back of my bookshelf somewhere?
