December 30, 2004
Well this past week has been a tad depressing to say the least. Stuck at home with the flu, I have been tossing and turning in my bed in some sort of feverish haze while images of the devastating tsunami in Asia flicker across the television. Every time I wake up, the death toll has risen by like 20,000 people.
Here is a list of organizations accepting donations. We gave to UNICEF only because I was not happy with the way the Red Cross originally handled the money that came in from 9-11 donations. Also, I worry with any charity that the money we contribute will go towards supporting the infrastructure of their organization as opposed to helping the people that need it. If anyone has any suggestions concerning a good place to send donations, I'm all ears.
In more sad news, Jerry Orbach, of Law & Order fame, died yesterday.
So we all know the Greenpoint/Williamsburg waterfront is undergoing crazy amounts of development, and while there are milllions of reasons to not be cool with what is going on, my number one complaint is... the L train is too fucking crowded for me to fit my own sorry ass on it in the morning, never mind an extra few thousand people trying to cram on with me. It feels like I'm commuting from Tokyo some mornings here and I'm not gonna take it anymore. Two groups trying to do something to stop the rampant overdevelopment: the North Brooklyn Alliance and Stop our Supersizing.
On that note, have a wonderful, healthy, and happy new year!
December 21, 2004
December 19, 2004
I've had a lot of time on my hands recently to read books. Lots of waiting in hospitals and traveling on buses, planes and assorted methods of transportation. And so here's a quick roundup on the ones I remember reading this month:
Anthony Keidis' autobiography Scar Tissue, was just OK really...believe it or not the details on every sexual partner he had, and every drug he injested became monotonous at times. But it was still readable and fun in parts.
I also read Papa John, John Phillips autobiography that was published in 1986. A coworker was cleaning her attic and found it up there and of course passed it on to me knowing my obsession with rock/groupie/pornstar books. By reading this "music legend's journey through sex, drugs and rock n' roll" you get the feeling the guy is a real tool.
How to Make Love Like a Porn Star by Jenna Jameson was a similar fun easy-to-read, time waster. Great photos, but I was very self concious having the naked lady shots out on the subway. Skeevy dudes were trying to look over my shoulder any time the book was open.
Random Family was definitely interesting and well written, if a little dry in places. It's a true life journalistic look at members of a loosely bound family and their struggle to survive in poor urban circumstances (ie. The Bronx). Very much in the vain of There are no Children Here or The Corner (which was remade into an HBO miniseries that rocked, BTW). But I think those two previous books were slighty better.
Then I hit up So You Wanna be a Rock & Roll Star which is by the drummer from that band Semisonic - remember that song Closing Time? The annoying one you couldn't escape a few years back? Yeah, that's him. So the book was a look behind the music industry kind of thing, and it was a pleasant read. I think the guys in this band may actually have been going for the title of "most boring people in rock". Which goes to prove the old theory that Harvard diplomas and drug fueled orgies just don't mix.
Finally, I just finished up Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software, which I would file under "educational". Although the writer, Steven Johnson is thought of as the same type of cultural commentator as Malcolm Gladwell, I don't think he is able to spin the theory stuff into as nice a little package as Gladwell does. There are parts of the book that are dense and sound too much like reading someone's dissertation. Actually the parts about the ants were the most fascinating to me. Did you know they set up little ant garbage dumps and morgues set aside from the rest of their nests? They do indeed. Yay ants!
December 18, 2004
My father died at 5am on Friday December 10th. And while obviously not unexpected, it was a devastating blow. Any other hurt or sadness I have felt before pales in comparison to this one. But every day it gets a tiny bit easier to accept, so I'm just kinda waiting the pain out, y'know?
The outpouring of support we had via phone, email, friends showing up at the wake and funeral, cards, flowers, etc was amazing. We're still feeling the love. Thanks guys.
Right now I have to be careful about what songs I listen to, as random song lyrics have caused me to burst out crying. The whole time my dad has been sick I have had Float On and Do You Realize? on constant rotation 'cos they make me feel hopeful and bittersweet without making the tears well up.
We got back to Brooklyn yesterday. I sat around and hugged my cat all night. The cat was not thrilled by this turn of events. But he put up with it.
December 3, 2004
I stopped by the Union Square Green Market on my way home today and picked up half a loaf of pumpkin bread. My favorite part of this time of year is the abundance of pumpkin bread. Who knew you could buy just half a loaf? I browsed in the holiday market too, but did not find anything new or interesting there.
I love to eat lunch alone. Really. I make up excuses all the time to coworkers about why I cannot go for lunch with them. Nine times out of ten, I tell them I have to go to the bank. Those people must think I'm a fucking Rockefeller with all the faux-banking I do. What I'm really up to is reading. I like to just sit and read by myself. This week I was sitting in the croissant shop with my New Yorker laughing out loud at the new David Sedaris piece. Thinking, God I must look like a freak. But it was better then when I start crying when reading. Yes, I do this too.
So we are off to Camden, NJ tomorrow. America's new most dangerous city. But I will not be there to bust a cap in someone, yo. Nope, I will be there taking in the spectacle and granduer that is the Pixies. I will also be drinking with twelve others in a Hojos off the highway. You can't beat that for a Saturday night.
My mom doesn't know what pinball is. We found this out the other night when Jim was telling her pinball stories (I missed that part, thankfully). I walked into the room and Jim goes, "Noreen, your mom doesn't know what pinball is!" And she was sitting there looking very confused shaking her head. So we kept trying to describe what it was to her and one of our descriptors was "You find it in a bar." And she looks up and goes "Is it shaped like a diamond!?" And then got upset when Jim and I started laughing. But for real - what in a bar is shaped like a diamond?! I still can't figure it out.
More subservient programing with subservient stickman.
Bid on a plane ride and lunch with 1/3 of Nirvana.
December 2, 2004
We rented the documentary How To Draw a Bunny about Ray Johnson while in Boston. I was reading about his New York Correspondence School a few years back and became momentarily obsessed with the idea of sending out blank books with my name and address in the back and having people draw or collage in them and then send them back to me. I think I may have announced my intentions to many uninterested parties that winter. This is a great illustration of my deep inner laziness. In this case, I read about someone who created this great art that he sent to friends and I think wow, maybe I could get people to send great stuff to me. Not, wow, I should send all my friends stuff in the mail - no - THEY will send stuff to me! I was not planning on making anyone anything...Besides making the book of course, which I had imagined as a bunch of paper that I stapled together. It all sounds like a good idea again. Don't be surprised if you hear from me via the US Postal Service.
Anyway, the film was good - rent it.
Speaking of art, or "Ahhht" as we say back in Boston - this article was fun. Actually, the title was the best part.
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