potentiate the din

CSS

2006-07-21T00:42:00.000-04:00

Meh. Liked the way they looked. Singer was a dynamo. New wave meets wall of sound meets 2001. Wanted to like it more.

touch em all

2006-07-21T00:40:00.000-04:00

Can you think of anything more annoying than the voice that Sportscenter/Baseball Tonight uses? ("This is Sportscenter"..."Touch 'Em All is brought to you by LAWNrangers.")

Neither can I.

Hello Darkness My Old Friend

2006-07-07T22:30:00.000-04:00

Watching TV tonight, I learned something about rumrunners. I salute them as True Patriots.

I had some Bacardi Select w/ ginger ale while watching Superman Returns the other day. (Note to self: I entered the theater when the sky was dark and stormy, where i drank a dark and stormy.) Superman was probably more important to me as a kid than was Popeye. (I fashion bangslocks into curlicues and dream of flying a la Superman more than twice a year; I never dream about tumid forearms.) I really loved that damn movie, which is probably why i never really laughed that hard at Christopher Reeve jokes (may he rest in peace, and may stem-cell research blossom in America.) I recently watched it again on cable for the first time in ages. It was better than the current version, which fizzles at about the 75-minute mark. Perhaps I'll articulate why at some other point.

"It used to be medicine and for me?, it still is." - Phyllis Diller as told to Chelsea Handler. The phrasing? Exquisite.

shhh

2005-11-16T18:52:00.000-05:00

It's sort of exquisitely quiet in the apartment now. A machine hum that comes from the hvac system of the bar downstairs, and faint rain-street splashes from cars. Then the machine hum stops, the engines and rain-street splashes amplify, and a high-pitched, barely audible, shhhhhreeeh emerges in my head.

I need to start wearing earplugs.

exile in dataville

2005-11-16T17:23:00.000-05:00

not exactly an original thought, but side 2 of Exile on Main Street really is excellent.

seriously, the quartet of "torn and frayed," "sweet black angel," "loving cup," and keef's "happy."

so good.

work

2005-04-28T19:21:00.001-04:00

Insofar as I'm ever in the position to control me and my coworkers' workplace niceties, priority one is a water cooler. Not for sociability's sake, but for hydration's sake.

That shit's important.

jett

2005-04-08T00:24:00.000-04:00

saw a joan jett show tonight. homegirl is confused. it is not 1985.

ain't no tug mcgraw or george roy hill

2005-03-10T18:25:00.000-05:00

The free museum was nice, but accounts payable of the bush family's favorite publishing concern can go pickle their pricks in whatever jersey swamp brine they operate out of (thanks Deadwood, for the lexicon. The most richly textured language on tv. It's palpable. Relish it). Maybe you spent my $500 on that JD Powers purchase? Jerks.

boilerplate

2005-03-04T19:26:00.000-05:00

"Thank you for your interest but we have decided to go in a different direction to fill our staffing needs."

Setting aside for the moment the fact that this signifies rejection, I hate this cliche because it gives me nothing to work with. Okay, fine: you prefer someone else to me. How about taking a sentence to tell me what the problem was? You already took the time to interview me; tack on an extra minute and say that I did X or didn't do Y or seemed too ZZZ or not Z enough. At least I can use that, jackass.

literacy

2005-03-02T00:40:00.000-05:00

if new york were really civilized, all apartments would come with built-in bookshelves, with a small collection of pocket books to get you on your way.

2005-03-02T00:26:00.000-05:00

i've been working with this fashionable dude whose musical tastes are not without their problems (disc two of elton's greatest hits [i.e., everything after he started being craptacular], our lady peace, and other abominations) but he seems to be picking up on some good stuff too. we listened to good bands from the same ipod that had a clay aiken on it. he says, "this is a great song" rather all too often, but he is curious and opinionated and makes me rethink my monosyllablic impressionism as a way to communicate. it may be an intrinsic part of me, but it's no way to get a j-o-b.

ryan

2005-02-21T20:48:00.000-05:00

if i were a shoveler
and seacrest was my lady
i would brain him any day
i would brain him daily.
make him have no babies.

american idol

2005-02-21T20:16:00.001-05:00

what kind of dad would i be if i didn't vote for my kid?

Barry Larkin

2005-02-21T16:40:00.000-05:00

Barry Larkin retired last week, and it made me nostalgic. He was part of my favorite team when baseball was my favorite thing. While I never loved him as much as I loved Eric Davis, he was definitely up there. Hard-working, dependable, quietly productive, and loyal. My kind of guy. I have a feeling he'll become a respected manager or front-office cat in his "retirement."

I don't really have favorites anymore.

no. chandon

2005-02-15T18:24:00.000-05:00

Queens-bound G Train, 9:15am. Three middle-aged ladies, all seem to be coworkers.

Lady 1: murmur murmur "The Gates"
Lady 2: "I don't know much about them. That's Cristal, right? The champagne?"
Lady 3: "No. Crystal. The glass."
Lady 1: "No. It's Christo and Jean-Claude. The artists. Thank God for Bloomberg."

to the mouse in my kitchen

2005-02-15T00:06:00.000-05:00

Dear Mouse:
That must have been one of your kin that we caught on Friday. My condolences. I thought the capture would be the end of our winter war. It gave me hope. It made me think I finally accomplished something, that a new day had dawned.

But no; there's still one of you in there. I can hear your tentative scurry (yes, there is such a thing), but cannot pinpoint where in or near the stove you've set up shop. Even 550 degrees doesn't scare you. Grief doesn't seem to bring you down either, since you've lost three familiy members this winter. (They didn't suffer; the sweet taste of peanut butter and cheddar was the last thing they felt.)

So I salute your valor and self control, clever little mouse. But I will bring you down. And soon.

Yours in battle,
Pops

I Need a White Suit

2005-02-13T23:14:00.000-05:00

Kanye looked great in his. Jack White is Johnny Depp. Tim McGraw' can't sing. But I do love that song. Maybe I should have started watching earlier. But Arrested Development was more than worth it.

The pizza dough I made today was so silky when I finished kneading it....It was like a well maintained thigh....I knew it was gonna be a career pinnacle and it was....Too bad the missus was mad at me and wasn't able to eat it...

Cover Letter

2005-02-13T23:03:00.000-05:00

Dear Sir or Madam:
Now I know you lead a busy life, and I appreciate that you've even taken the time to read this far (do you even read this or go straight to the resume?). But now I'd like to challenge you: use your goddamned imagination, and look beyond your initial assessment of me as a stoner who can't get any other job and think about it takes to keep things popping in the live music business.

I've kept track of hundreds of bands (and the different deals, hospitality requirements, tailored promotional and sound needs that accompanied each one) every month while working on future dates, dealing with last-minute cancellations, compiling spreadsheets that are better than what accounting can come up with, evaluating submissions, writing copy, and proofreading promotional materials. And that just scratches the surface. I can still get to the office at nine after spending the night watching some band while I drink free drink after free drink. If that's not a functional alcoholic, I don't know what is.

So what is it that will prevent me from from being able to answer phones or slang sandwiches?

Sweat stains develop under your dress shirt,
Mau