Lastly (for today) two short items:

WOMAN HIT BY FALLING HS STOOL

The headline to this story made me laugh, “Chicken Little, it’s raining turds!” Actually, a bizarre story involving a pregnant woman and some stupid behavior.

Also, in the news locally (New York) this week, a Bronx woman died of a heart attack while trying to break up a school yard fight between her daughter and another girl. It’s a sad story to be sure but what makes it strange is that this 57 year old woman was mother of 18 children! Think about that for a second, 18!

They could have a baseball game at the family reunion and have two complete teams with just her kids! Everyone has a hobby, I guess we know what her husband’s was. After 18 kids though, this lady should have made it to 150!

I rented a few DVDs this week, one was Love Liza with Philip Seymour Hoffman which I took a chance on since I had watched PT Anderson’s great Magnolia again the other day. I was thinking how Magnolia would make a good double feature with American Beauty - if they still had double features. Movies come and go so fast now, it amazes me. The other flick was Adaptation, the film with Nicolas Cage and Meryll Streep which was done by Spike Jonez and Charles Kaufman (who had done Being John Malkovich together).

Adaptation was pretty bad - more artifice than art. The story is all over the place. I guess he (Kaufman) was trying to show the “writer’s process” but wound up being more self-indulgent than anything else. Nicolas Cage is well on his way to baldness - think his uncle Francis Ford Coppola. Meryl Streep is always a pleasure and still very watchable - she’s someone who brings a lot to the table in every gig she takes. Overall, she couldn’t carry the piece alone with the script structured the way it was. Brian Cox (the first Hannibal Lechter) was also in it - he’s always fun to watch (X2, Rushmore and the original Red Dragon).

A night later I was flipping and saw Jackass on MTV. I hadn’t realized Spike Jonez was part of that crew. I am ashamed to admit it but, I love watching Jackass mainly because it can elicit some true belly laughs (and considering my ever-expanding girth those are some big laughs indeed!).

Love Liza had Kathy Bates in it (as well as the aforementioned PSH). Kathy Bates is another actress who’s quite talented. It had a good cast but again the story just didn’t hold up. Don’t believe the blurbs! Movie just plodded along at a snail’s pace with scenes connected by long montages of landscapes as perceived by PSH character who has a unique way of altering his perceptions (on the heels of his wife’s suicide). I’m not ruining anything for you if you decide to see it. I thought the cinematography wasn’t that good. It was evidenced it the opening sequence of the film and didn’t get any better.

I was doing the CostCo thing again last week when I came upon Miller’s Crossing on dvd which is a favorite of mine. Infinitely better than either of the other films and if you haven’t seen it worth checking out.

Today was a good day/bad day.

I’ve been mainly staying around the house not having the car, I’m starting to see floor and can walk in the garage (although not completely yet). Today I had a few errands to run so, I wound up going out - and there’s the good move/bad move.

Kitty had to go for her haircut. It’s sad she was around the bed waiting for me to get up so she could have her morning treat of a fresh can of wet food - it’s part of kitty’s daily ritual to make a nuisance of herself prior to getting fed (just in case you didn’t know she was waiting for her food). She jumped up on the bed and was in the process of giving me the “kitty massage” when I got up and bundled her in my arms. I made my way over to her carrier and when she heard the unmistakable noise of the door to the carrier being open she made the most sorrowful meow she could muster - please don’t put me in there!

So we took the short trip to the vet and left her in their care. Having shaved her many times they are used to her not being a happy camper when she’s being shaved.

I returned home and went about collecting myself and trying to figure out what I would be able to get done today. I was cleaned up and contemplating the day when the phone rang and it was the vet letting me know kitty was ready. Since it was nice out, I was thinking about taking the trip down for Dim Sum and I thought about Harry since I hadn’t spoken with him in awhile. As fate would have it, Harry called leaving a message and we made plans to meet for lunch.

So, Harry calling and making plans to be out was the good news - being home during the day and being out in the burbs means there aren’t many people to see during the day as most everyone is at work. I stopped off to pick up a few items at the local supermarket, got back in the car and was behind two other vehicles (a car and an SUV) waiting to pull out of the parking lot.

There was about three or four feet of space between me and the SUV when all of a sudden the reverse lights came on and the driver floored it plowing into the front of the car - scared the living shit out of me, No explanation for it, no nothing - by the time I was able to hit the horn it was already too late. Of course, the SUV had a tow hood on it which acted like a battering ram. I got out of the car shocked, I couldn’t believe what had happened (remember, I haven’t had the car for almost a week now and I only got it back the day on Tuesday).

This young woman gets out of her SUV (trying to shush the two kids in the back), saying “Oh, I didn’t see you.” (No shit Sherlock) I was apoplectic - I was shaking from it, it was really caught me off guard (the impact that is), nevermind the fact that a pedestrian had walked across between the cars a few minutes before while I was waiting for her to pull out - I called the police and filed an accident report.

The cop was an ass (too much to be bothered by?) and I was belligerent towards the woman at first when she started by blowing the whole thing off (she was very non plussed by it). It turns out she had forgotten something and one of the kids was looking like he’d be late to school, she just threw the truck in reverse and decided to back up into the parking lot - for all I know she was probably on her cell phone too which made an appearance shortly after we were wrangling through things.

My next car, I’m getting a lazy boy to sit in while I drive, have a wide screen tv with a phone and a microwave this way I can just put my entire fucking living room on wheels - it’ll be bigger than a hummer and if anyone gets in my way I’ll just roll over them (maybe get tires on the thing like they have on the things on the Extreme Vehicles shows on the Discovery Channel). What ever happened to getting in your car and driving?

Anyway, kitty looks like a cross between a poodle (with her hair uncut around the bottoms of her legs and around the face) and a little lioness. She got the treat of her wet food the moment she set foot back in the house and I wound up having a really nice lunch with Harry so, SUV wielding soccer moms notwithstanding it was still a pretty good day.

Today is finally nice out! Now I can finish the yard work I keep putting off. I hit some of the yard with the wheed whacker (intentional misspelling there) before the cord on the thing ran out leaving me with a lawn that has receiving a partial haircut.

I had to go into the backyard and was really bummed looking at how it had fallen into disrepair - so much to do so little time.

The big news last week was two I landed two big projects. I always worry about work - although I enjoy not working those nasty bills just keep appearing in my mailbox. Work also seems to be an excuse I often use to escape from doing other things in life which will help me get ahead or significantly change my life.

Still, somehow I managed to get work. I don’t have to put in face time at an office or suck up to anyone so, the jobs rank as pretty good by my standards. Knowing me I’ll be up late a bunch of nights (3 or 4 in the morning) with the TV on as I mow my way through them (two catalogs). There’s a little design work involved as well which is an added plus and it’ll get me through the summer for the most part.

That doesn’t mean I’m still not looking. Like my friend once said to me, “You should always be looking.” A statement which I’ve taken to heart over the years.

Today I got the car back. After three weeks of intermittent failures and getting mysteriously stuck several times - I never realized how much I missed my car until it wasn’t working.

It went into the dealership on Friday and finally came back today. First waiting for the part then. waiting for the mechanic who decided to take a long weekend but, at least it’s done.

Some people get up in the morning to take care of business, other people get up just to be in the way

Norman Solomon Back in the late 80's, early 90's I wound up living in a Y for a few years. It was located up in Westchester (Tarrytown) and wasn’t a terrific place to live but it wasn’t bad either (certainly not as colorful as the SRO I lived in Manhattan for several years in the mid 80's).

Places like that can be interesting if only for the mix of people they bring together (which is an understatement to say the least). There were a few alchies (I may have botched the spelling there), a couple of petty crooks and some hard working if poor people (of which I was one).

I made friends with a few of the guys there, mainly the ones who seemed normal, sane and had a good relationship with the people who ran the Y (usually by working for the facility, which I did as well).

There was Norman (Solomon) an overweight and loud man, Norman was known for his knowledge on almost everything under the sun and would offer his opinion on it to you whether you wanted him to or not. Norman, who was rumored to have recorded an album in the mid 70's (Side A - Norman Talkin’... Side B - More Norman Talkin’ with the bonus cut, Norman and Carlton talkin’ about women). Warm days Norman could be found on the front steps of the building, clad in an obscenely tight bicyclists garb of spandex pants and a equally tight checkered spandex shirt which emphasized his girth.

Norman would usually be in the company of Carlton who always wore a jeans jacket, jeans and a baseball cap and was Norman’s opposite being short and slight of build. They would spend the afternoon shooting the breeze and chatting with whomever made their way into the building.

There was Artie, tall, rangy and good-natured - with his loud infectious laugh, known both for having one of the nicest rooms in the facility and his ability to sneak ladies in for overnight visits into the otherwise male only dorm.

Brad was boisterous and friendly. He ran the front desk (as well as living in the facility) and was really good working with the kids during the day camp the Y sponsored during the summer months. Brad seemed straight as an arrow but it belied the skeleton he carried around in his closet. Notwithstanding, he was always a good guy to me.

Lastly, there was Kevin. a line worker at the local auto plant. Short, but solidly built (from his years working the arresting gear on an aircraft carrier), Kevin knew just about everyone in town by name. The smile he walked around with was permanently affixed to his face. He set goals for himself and set about achieving those goals: he wrote, tried to mount production of a play locally, ran religiously and was always trying new, different things (whether it be conditioning the callus of his knuckles by repeatedly pounding them into buckets of various grades of buckshot or trying all kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs just to name a few).

Kevin and I were about the same age and wound up becoming friends, hanging out and having breakfast every once in a while or catching a movie. Kevin was a good entry into town life since he seemed to know everyone and they most of the towns people found him quite charming. The Y being situated next to a volunteer firehouse, I wondered why Kevin who seemed to know everyone at the firehouse never joined the brigade. It seemed like something he would do.

Also, I would tell Kevin he should think about running for some kind of village office but at every juncture Kevin would downplay the idea and there was a very simple reason why he did. It was the same reason that although he was subject to annual layoffs from the GM factory he never considered taking a job somewhere else.

It was as simple as his color.

As gregarious a person as he was, Kevin didn’t feel there would be a place for him among the all-white boys club of the firehouse - even though he knew everyone there and was on a first name basis with them. The same thing went for running for village office (although he was good friends with the village’s current mayor). It was the same thing with the job, GM even with the frequent layoffs at least had a benefits package that offered a certain amount of security and Kevin wasn’t sure with a high school education he would be able to find the same kind of opportunity outside of GM - especially being black.

As Kevin described it he had a goal (which he did in fact achieve) which was to make it to the age of 35 without winding up dead or in jail. When I think about it now it makes me really, really sad. Not that Kevin made his goal for which I am infinitely happy but, that our society is such, it made it really clear to him there was only so much he could expect.

All the guys I mentioned above were adult black men. Two out of the five of them are dead.

The two who’re dead died at young ages (somewhere between 45 and 55). It just came to mind because I was reading this story. I don’t profess to be an enlightened soul or above the pettiness which can embrace all of us to our detriment but, when I read stuff like this I realize most people out there (myself included) have no idea of what it is like to be black in America and to have to deal with this crap on a daily basis.

A few years back, I grew my hair long and it seemed in retrospect I was pulled over more, ticketed more and had more run ins with the police than I had ever had before in my life or since. It made me mad but, I could always cut my hair. Even though, I would normally be a “law and order” guy and give the benefit of a doubt to the cop, there’s just no way you can read or hear of something like this and not think it’s wrong. Especially coming on the heels of police lobbing flash/bang grenades into people’s houses. It just makes me think about how much in this country has to change.

I hate f**kin Roger Clemens.

When I was a Yankee fan, he pitched for the Red Sox so, you could not like him even though you respected him...

...through the years he’s become more of a punk.

When he hit Mike Piazza a few years back, it was obvious he had been head hunting. Piazza had managed to crush the ball the few times he faced Roger and well, let’s face it Roger didn’t appreciate getting bitch slapped like that by Piazza. Consequently, Roger figured bustin’ Piazza upside the helmet (and cracking it in the process) would make the catcher think twice before digging in when facing the Rocket. It was ironic listening to the Yankee apologists justifying Clemens poor sportsmanship on the heels of cries of outrage after Clemens had hit their own fair haired lad (Jeter) while Clemens was pitching for the Blue Jays.

Today was a lot of fun, from the opening of the game when the Red Sox protested making Roger remove his "300 win" emblem glove, to the Red Sox hitters working the count (and Clemens) getting hit after hit with a two strike count. Instead of looking like the invincible Rocket, he looked like a 40 year old brat. It was a performance reminiscent of Clemens playoff appearance against the A’s while he was with the Red Sox in which he got tossed for arguing calls with the home plate umpire.

Seeing Jeter look blankly out of the Yankee dugout as the mighty Bronx Bombers went down to their fifth straight loss was almost as delectable.

Part of being a Met fan the last few years has meant suffering the crowing and insults of Yankee fans. Nevermind I didn’t like a bunch of the teams moves, nevermind I saw some of my favorite players shown the door, I’d be stuck having to defend my team just because some Yankee fan needed an excuse to feel good about themselves that day.

Well guys, you got Weaver, and you got Wells, and you got Mussina, and you got Clemens, and you got Giambi, and you got Matsui, and you got Contreras, and you got Karsay, and you got Mondesi, and you got White, and you got just about every player money could buy outspending every other team in baseball...

...and now you got swept by Texas at home this season (a first) and you got swept in a four game series with Toronto (a first) and you got about 12 losses out of the last 13 home games, and since you beat the Mets in 2000 in the World Series you know what else you got...

...nothin!

You lost to Arizona, last year Anaheim beat you and if the season finished today you wouldn’t even win the wild card. So, maybe I can finally get through a baseball season watching my team play, enjoying it and not having to listen to your (Yankee fans) crap! Me and the fans of all those other teams who’re sick of listening to Yankee fans are enjoying every minute of this.

This certainly feels like one of those Al Goldstein moments.

So, I woke up this morning feeling pretty good having spent much of Sunday making a dent in él gigantico mess. I made a big dent in the foyer, cleaned up a lot of the basement and moved stuff around in the garage. It reminded me of helping Roberta move into her new place which was much smaller than her old place. You really had to look carefully to figure out how to make everything fit. Cleaning up around here is very similar in that you clear an area, and then move more stuff into the area to sort and put away (I’m embarassed it’s that messy). Interspersed in all of this are projects I have to finish. There are always a lot of odds and ends to do around here, wiring, plumbing, painting - it never stops just when I finish fixing one thing three other things break.

I rented this dvd a few weeks ago, it was an anime movie called Spirited Away. I picked it up because there was nothing else I really wanted to see and I thought it looked interesting.

Well, turned out it was great! Story about a little girl and her family in the middle of a move to a new home and the strange adventure she gets sidetracked into. I highly recommend it for people with kids (10 and under) but, I have to admit as an adult I enjoyed it a great deal. The drawing was great and the characters were really unique. Just a wonderful, well thought out film and good entertainment.

While I’m at it, and I seem to have a spurt of energy. I just thought I would post some of the things I currently have sitting on the shelf and pick up for reading in my library, I thought it would be interesting.

So, what am I reading?

Currently on my “shelf:”

1. The Evolution of Useful Things by Henry Petroski

2. The current issue of National Geographic

3. The current issue of USA Today’s Sports Weekly

4. War in a Time of Peace by David Halberstam

5. The Blue Guide for New York City

6. 52 New York Weekends by Michael Schumen

7. ...and a whole slew of comics (two weeks worth) including: Amazing Spider Man #53 (possibly the best book out there), Nightwing #81 (a monthly favorite), Daredevil #47 (I can’t figure out why I keep buying this, something about the combo of art and writing), Soldier X #11 (good writing), Black Panther #59 (giving the book a chance - so far it’s been entertaining), Batgirl Year One #6 (just a marvelous, terrific book, the one worth getting if you don’t buy comics), Beware The Creeper #2 (checking it out), Superman Metropolis #4 (a mistake buy), Global Frequency #4 and #6 (I came late to it and am trying to catch up but, has the same kind of buzz I got when I discovered Planetary), Hunter The Age of Magic #23 (soon to be cancelled), Batman Gotham Knight #41 (soon to be dropped), Batman Legends of the Dark Knight #167 (a good story compensating for passable art), (Dial H for) Hero #4 (moving up the charts with a bullet), JSA #48 (a favorite), Gotham Central #5, #6 and #7 (I don’t know how it’s doing but, it’s one of the best books out there), Birds of Prey #55 (a marginal read), Batgirl #40 (another marginal read), Green Arrow #26 (going downhill very, very fast), Arkham Asylum Living Hell #1 (checking it out), Lucifer #38 (a personal favorite if not popular), Adventures of Superman #616 (consistently well done book), Incredible Hulk #54 (experiencing a renaissance of sorts), Green Lantern #164 (soon to be dropped), Robin #114 (a good, consistently well done book)

Also this past week, the car went to a specialist (read as the dealership). The local general practioner (read as the local garage) was unable to find anything wrong with it last week.

This whole car thing has gone on for the last three weeks and it becomes a little benumbing after awhile. First I replaced the battery myself, then to the local garage and now to the dealership (with the annual inspection thrown in for good measure).

So, here we are on the holiday weekend and the car went in this morning and they seem to have found the problem! Get this - a crankshaft sensor! The computer doesn’t know the car is running, working with computers all the time and having suffered through my own indiginities with them, I shouldn’t be surprised the car has been visited with the same kind of torture.

The flip side is there’s lots of yard work to do and I still have a garage full of junk I was in the process of organizing (literally hard to walk in) so, I am forced to confront the nightmarish mess of my own creation.

Today the Mets are at 21-25 and starting a 3 game series in Atlanta.

I went to my first Mets game at Shea stadium since September 11th on Thursday afternoon. Stricter security measures were enacted after the 11th and they only served to keep me away from the ballpark. My understanding was that patrons were no longer allowed to bring in anything from the outside in with them.

I think baseball tickets are exorbitantly high-priced here in New York. All the years I went to Yankee games (when I was a Yankee fan), I made it a much more affordable proposition by bringing chicken from the Popeye’s over on River Avenue and a bag of chips and other munchies. I continued the habit after I changed my allegiances to the Mets.

A few years back I had a Mets Saturday plan and often we would pack a lunch and tote in various snacks with us to the ballpark. The snacks were always better than whatever you could get at the stadium and way cheaper too - sorry, I just don’t think paying $4 for a undercooked hotdog on a gummy roll is any kind of deal. The stricter security at the stadium combined with a bunch of off-season moves I didn’t like were enough incentive to keep me away.

This year, the Mets actually implemented a tiered pricing structure for games depending on the which visiting team the Mets are playing. This isn’t such a smart move if you are next to last in your division as you are almost guaranteeing higher priced game tickets won’t move once the team is out of contention.

Well, I was working and busy the first part of the year and feeling a little flush so, I decided to indulge and get tickets to a few games. The first tickets I got were for this past Thursday. Years past, the first game of the season I would normally go to would be one sometime in April. Invariably, I would wind up freezing my butt off. This year, I thought I’d avoid the chill by getting tickets for my first game of the season in May.

Yesterday, I think the high topped out at around 54° (that’s being generous), there was a steady breeze making it feel about ten degrees colder than the high and there were intermittent rain showers. When it wasn’t raining, there was this crappy mist thing going on - which was actually worse as the seats we were in which were shielded from the rain were no escape from the mist which seemed to get everywhere.

On the good side, the Mets won! All these big contract veterans Steve Phillips bought in are injured and they’re playing rookies and bench players. It’s lots more fun to watch these guys play. They play hard and you can see by their play they are really jazzed about being in the big leagues. As a fan, I’d rather watch these guys play (win or lose) than a bunch of veterans who take it for granted.

The other thing is, they aren’t a bad team! Maybe I’m too much of a fan but, I like this team better than the one the Mets left spring training with and I think they actually might have a chance to make things interesting. The next week (with the series in Atlanta, one in Philly and one at home against Atlanta) will tell the tale.

So, they do have more extensive security at the ballpark now but, it’s just a matter of figuring out what you can bring in and what you can’t. It looks like if you package things the right way you can still bring in your own food.

More proof Steve Phillips is making Mets fans crazy.

If their record wasn’t 19-25 this wouldn’t be as funny.

I read the news today, oh boy...

Today the terror alert level was raised to Orange.

Do people have discussions about this?

“Hey Dave, did you hear? The terror alert level has been raised to Code Orange!”

“Wow, thanks Steve! I’ll have to remember my gas mask tomorrow!”

What does this stupid crap mean anyway?! Do I do anything different? No.

Do you do anything different? Probably not.

So, what is the point. Is it some kind of justification in the public’s mind for all the spending that’s going on in the name of “national security?”

This may sound slightly blasphemous to some but, would stuff like this even had made a difference on September 11?

“Hmmmmmmm... maybe I should tell someone about these arab looking men without luggage, purchasing one way plane tickets (with cash no less!) to Los Angeles here in Bangor, Maine. We are at Code Orange, the government wants me to be more vigilant.

Am I the only person that thinks all that’s required is a modicum of common sense? In the words of Ben Grimm...Sheeeessshhhhh!

Not too long ago, Margaret had posted something on her blog written by (if I remember correctly) a Pakistani writer regarding America’s obsession with therapy and analysis. I went back but, the link isn’t there anymore.

The gist was that the United States as a nation was full of people trying to justify their feelings. If there is one lesson to learn from September 11th, I think it’s this: We are a nation of self centered, self indulgent people with a very narrow world view, f**k with us at your peril.

I can’t help but think given all the events since September 11th, if these clowns responsible had been able to look two years down the road they might have thought twice about doing it. I mean think of it. Since they’ve done it we’ve used the event as justification to invade Afghanistan and then Iraq.

Do you feel any safer now than you did on the night of September 10th, 2001?

Why should Steve Phillips be put out of Mets fans misery?

The Mets have the second highest payroll in baseball with $117 million dollars being spent on player salaries.

This includes:
Mo Vaughn $17,166,667
Mike Piazza $15,571,429
Jeromy Burnitz $12,166,667
John Franco $3,833,333
Rey Sanchez $1,300,000
Scott Strickland $950,000
Grant Roberts $310,000

So, it winds up Steve Phillips is paying $51,298,096 to players currently on the disabled list. Some might say its not Phillips fault but, caveat emptor! If you spend a lot of money on older players and you overpay for them, having them wind up on the disabled list is the risk you take. Also, this doesn’t include the $4,875,000 the Mets are paying Roger Cedeno or the money they’re paying to David Cone who is currently on the disabled list as well.

Maybe after the Mets fire Steve Phillips he can become the CEO of a Telcom.

I just looked in on this site and found this which seems more relevant than ever. Man, do I miss Calvin and Hobbes.

Wow! I look up and three days has passed!

The horror of automobile ownership continues... the car went in to the shop the other day. Cars have a way of letting you know when you’ve been neglectful and the one I have now is no different. I bought this car new, it was the first new car I ever had in my entire life. Prior to this I had a series of used cars so, I was no stranger to the world of the roadside breakdown. Luckily, I haven’t been a resident of that world for the last few years - I guess I’ve been spoiled.

Anyway, I got stuck alongside of an entrance ramp to a local parkway on Wednesday. I was trying to race into the city and the car decided we wouldn’t be doing much of anything that day. It had acted up on Tuesday as well so, I wasn’t totally surprised when it happened but, I sure wasn’t happy about it either.

Cars are funny in that you always hope whatever is wrong will be something cheap and easy to fix and you work your way up to more serious problems as you rule things out in increasing levels of severity (much like modern medicine I think). I had taken the car in for inspection last week and was surprised when it came back to me without the hidden expense (something that would prevent it from passing but also costing a few hundred dollars). I had replaced the battery the week before as the car had been acting funny for the last few weeks since the weather started getting warmer. I thought maybe I could get off easy but, that was not to be the case.

So, I’m stuck on this entrance ramp and treated to people whizzing past me, beeping their horns and coming dangerously close to hitting the car. I could live without that excitement. I rolled the car back down the ramp in neutral and wound up in the middle of an intersection. Fortunately I was helped in pushing it off to the side by three good samaritans who just stopped and helped me get it over onto the shoulder (just when your faith in people is at its lowest, something nice happens).

I even got it started and managed to get home without a tow so, I considered myself very lucky. The car went back to the shop (locally). I had reservations about their ability to correct the problem but again, you always hope you’ll get off light.

Well, it came back to me without anything really getting fixed but, it did cost around $90 so, I guess we’re locked into going back to the dealership. I’m glad I rented a car to go up to Boston, it would’ve sucked big time to get stuck up in Massachusetts somewhere.

Saw X2 Friday which was really, really good. Even better than the first probably and managed to stay true to the source material. I think it ran a little long because I started to nod off near the end. Of course, during Daredevil I flat out feel asleep.

This was a good news/bad news kind of week.

The good news was that two people I know who had been out of work for long periods of time got jobs. Tom (a friend from Grey) looks like he finally got a job as a retoucher at night (yayyyyy Tom!) and Roberta is working now as a tailor at a midtown hotel (yyyyaaaaaaaayyyyy Roberta!). Also, my friend Mark is beating me to the altar!

The bad news was that two people had lost their fathers in the last few weeks - my friends Sarah and Louis’ wife Angie so, my heart went out to them. I don’t deal well with people passing, I don’t know what to say to people that will help them and I feel a lot of things you could say wind up sounding empty and clichéd - I’ve lost people and I still get upset thinking about how much I miss them long after they’ve passed. It’s hard to say goodbye to someone you love and particularly hard when it’s your parent.

Last night I saw Comedian the highly touted documentary featuring Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld might’ve been a show about nothing but, a documentary about nothing doesn’t really cut it. Don’t waste your time. You’d think with appearances by so many comics (Jay Leno, Chris Rock, Bill Cosby, Colin Quinn, Garry Shandling, Robert Klein, Ray Romano) it would be really funny or interesting, it’s anything but. Actually, you’d probably be more entertained watching paint dry. It’s self indulgent, plodding and painfully long. As much as I love language and find wordplay interesting, two hours of comics sitting in darkened clubs over a variety of meals talking to each other about the trials and tribulations of performing and creating material is just boooorrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngggggggggg. Nothing revealing about anyone is said, nothing controversial. The movie has the intensity of an infomercial. Imagine: “ooooooooo, look at me, I’m a comic, life is sooo tough, I have to sit around all day trying to think of funny things to say and people are sooooo mean they don’t laugh all the time.”

Please!

The car goes to the auto hospital tomorrow. The horror.

My friend Jack sent me this link which gives new meaning to the old saw about speaking with a “forked tongue.” It doesn’t strike me as shocking, doesn’t strike me as cool, just stupid - which means my age is showing I guess. I had thought about getting a tattoo well before they became so “mainstream.” There’s nothing unique or special about tattoos anymore if anything, they’ve become quite pedestrian and commonplace. I just wonder if all these young, pretty people had given any kind of thought to how that tattoo will look on an old sagging body – not much I’d venture.

Ah... another Monday.

While the rest of the world trudges back to work, I (numbered among the gloriously unemployed) have a week looming large ahead of me.

I've been doing the hermit thing mostly as of late. It's very easy for me to stay in and around the house if only not to spend any money (to use the Godfather reference, I've gone "to the mattresses").

The hermit thing is good because, after awhile I'm forced to get around to doing all the things I put off doing if only due to sheer boredom. There are just so many days you can spend watching the litany of court shows and Springer type shows until you've had your fill and want to do something else. Same thing goes for whiling away the hours surfing the net.

It's like coming out of a coma or something - especially when I look around and see the disaster area the house is. I keep seeing images of people's houses out in the midwest after they've been hit by a tornado and think to myself, "Wow! Our place looks like that and we didn't even get hit by a tornado!"

So, when Monday comes around, I have to sit down and figure out what exactly it is I'll accomplish for the week. Last time around when I was home for any stratch of time I made out this big list which covered four areas, I think it was something like "house," "office," "career" and "personal." The list was so long it was overwhelming (and paralyzing). Now I just try to get a few things done each week to get me closer to whatever ephemeral goal I have in my life.

It works lots better.

Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe... catch a driver or let him go.

I got a ticket yesterday.

I hate getting tickets (as if anyone enjoys the experience).

I’ve had a good run though as I can’t remember the last time I got any kind of traffic ticket (parking tickets are another matter). I was going down a local parkway that ends with an intersection with a traffic light leading into a highway. I got caught behind another motorist who decided to stop at a yellow light. I was behind him.

When I looked to my left, there was an unattended police motorcycle standing on the grassy square. The owner of the motorcycle - a portly leather clad office (looking for all the world as if he could be one of the Village People) was on one of those phone boxes along the side of the road.

He walked up to my car and looking in could see I wasn’t wearing my seat belt. I had thought about putting it on but, as the officer was already walking up to the car and could see in it seemed pointless to do the seatbelt dance - it’s not as if he wouldn’t have known.

Sure enough he gave me a ticket.

Now I’d like someone to explain this to me though... it’s a $40 ticket. Okay. But, there’s a $30 surcharge! What the f**k! Just call it a $70 ticket! That’s what it is. It’s not like you can not pay the surcharge. They’ve been doing this for years and I still don’t really understand it. I mean if you get a ticket, you pay what you pay, you don’t have any choice in the matter. Is this just another way of dancing around the fact that it’s really, really expensive to get any kind of ticket. The parking tickets in the city are $100 now!

Anyhow, I was surprised to find Roberta had gotten a ticket for the very same thing while in her neighborhood and only a block from her house (in Williamsburg) so, maybe there’s some edict for the police to generate more money for the city by writing more tickets. If so, buckle up! You have been warned!

I had spoken a few weeks ago about counting change. My final count was... (drumroll please) one thousand, three hundred and twenty one dollars! It wound up paying for the trip to Boston and there being money left over (to pay for the airfare for the Key West trip). I hated the fact that the jars I keep the coins in were now empty. There was always something reassuring about those jars being filled with change. Emergency money if you will. So, I start right in again trying to fill them up.

It seems like things might be turning around with the economy, although I do have noted a few people talking about moving away from New York recently because of how expensive it is here. Our across the street neighbor just put his house up for sale within the last week or so. I got a chance to speak with him yesterday. He was working for an internet company as an “online editor” awhile back and he seemed to change jobs as the industry took a hit.

He and his wife’s story is probably like many people in I believe he was working at a company where they were throwing around money like it was going out of style at a time everything with a dotcom attached to its name was an investment bankers wet dream. Lots of mad money in stock options and salary enabling him and his wife to get a house and have a kid - she stopped working shortly after they moved in and got pregnant not too long after.

Well, when the internet bubble burst, he cut his hair (when they first moved in he wore a pony tail), changed his mode of dress and started putting in much longer hours.

Where are they moving? North Dakota, where her family is from and things are lots cheaper (although those winters, bbrrrrrrrr!). The house they purchased for between $200 and $250k is on the market for $35 0! This is after being in it for only a few years!

Of course, the Metro North fare went up 25%, the subway just went to $2, everyone is talking about budget shortfalls in New York city and in Albany and the tax increase that will go along with it.

I wa s n’t a big fan of Bloomberg’s try at reinstating the commuter tax. A lot of my city resident friends will probably argue that I use city services but, the truth no one confronts is the difference in property taxes between the city and the burbs with city p roperty owners getting off pretty light. Even with the increase! I have friends who’ve been looking to purchase a home (and move from the new mecca of youth - Williamsburg).

Well, they looked at one home up in Westchester (priced at $600k) where the y early school taxes were $11k (and that was on the low end for a lot of the communities up here) - meanwhile they also looked at a brownstone in the city with an asking price of $800k and somehow even though the property was almost 25% more, the yearly tax es are $1,600!

If the tax rate in the city was really comparable to what it is in the burbs it would put the yearly tax rate at more like $13,750. That’s a difference of $12,150 per year for just one property.

Seems to me for all the crying about the incre dible tax burden on city dwellers there some strange arithmetic going on here. Before they start looking to place a levy on people living beyond the city’s boundaries, I really think they should be looking to assessing property at it’s true value and makn g property owners pony up their share.

And for what its worth I guarantee you they don’t have the level of services city residents enjoy. It’s not surprising though considering there was some news awhile back about building inspectors taking bribe money to lower assessed values of property.

Besides most of the people I know living in the city, rent.

The one thing I don’t understand though is why the federal government is less than forth coming with money for the city - you’d think by now it would be apparent to the people running this nation that when New York city experiences a boom in its economy, the rest of the country seems to do well too.

...and lastly for today...


Last weekend I was in Boston where I got a chance to see the first show on the Lost In America Tour of This American Life. This is the second time I’ve seen a live performance of the show - the first time in Town Hall a few years back.

This time around, we got to see Sarah Vowell and David Sedaris again (and fortunately Boston was the only city on the tour where David Sedaris performed - if you don’t know who David Sedaris is, click on the link to listen to one of the best Christmas stories I have ever heard!), there was also a piece by the publisher of Found magazine.



Ira Glass previewed something he was working on with Chris Ware (of Jimmy Corrigan fame) which was beautiful and haunting. If you haven’t heard of This American Life, you can listen to past shows via Real Audio FOR FREE! I’ve had a lot of days at work that have been made all the better listening to this show! If you don’t know where to begin, here’s one of my favorites.

Also today, did the bulk shopping thing at CostCo. Only the United States could spawn such a store. There really is something slightly surreal about watching all these slow moving (in many cases - obese) people wandering through the aisles like cattle. I half expected a few of the people to “Mooooo” as I walked past (mind you I was one of them today).

Accompanying me on my descent into the orgy of consumerism were Paul and Roberta who had never met one and other. Paul got to take advantage of deals and we got to use his truck as a cargo vehicle. We quickly lost Paul as he got lost among the “bargains.” The next time I saw him an hour or so later the cart he had been wheeling which was empty when I saw him was now overflowing with all manner of bulk items. He had literally built a tower of goods in his cart! The two things we had forgotten to tell him were: 1. They only take cash or debit cards and 2. They don't give you bags of any kind!

Roberta had wisely brought a list with her which I helped her make her way through.

I was the impulse shopper. The end result of my trip? 2-pack of toothpaste, bulk packages of drier sheets (2), bulk fantastic, bulk windex, bulk package of Ivory soap, bulk clorox cleaner, bulk package of Kleenex, bulk bottle of antibacterial hand soap, bulk package of shop (read mechanics) hand soap (GoJo), a case of motor oil, (are we seeing a pattern yet?), bulk packages of batteries (various sizes), two big bags of potato chips, bulk package of Franks Hot Sauce (3-pack), a case of the Mocha Frappacinos.

Mainly dry goods and cleaning supplies. Paul was a little more adventurous and picked up meat there. Roberta picked up meat in the past but, I have to say I’ve walked by their meat case and it didn’t look too hot (if you know what I mean). I have a tendency to be real particular when it comes to perishables (dairy, fruits, fish and meats) and I think I’m better off going to a butcher or local store where I can see how fresh something is and have them cut it to my liking.

I also have to say I saw something on the news recently that confirmed my wariness of buying meat stuff in these places.

Anyway, if you haven’t been, it’s definitely worth going even if it’s only once just for the experience.

Today I think I found the one neighborhood in Manhattan that hasn’t caught the Starbucks virus... Delancy from the Bowery over to the bridge. These days it's getting so you can’t walk a block without seeing a Starbucks so it's now the exception rather than the rule when you don’t see one.

I keep thinking how the Seattle coffee craze will eventually burn itself out, in 2020 people will be looking back on Starbucks with a sense of nostalgia and there will no doubt be fewer of them about.

Although I am admittedly addicted to their espresso brownies as the main course of my daily breakfast (ooooo... nutritious!). Also, I do take home the Chai tea in the container as a drink of choice.

Yo! Yo! Yo! Word up! I was also trying to update my repertoire of slang when I came across this site. Unfortunately it wasn’t as extensive as I would have liked and I think it’s a little dated.

Been trying to limit the amount of time I spend aimlessly surfing on the computer and really accomplish some things around here. I am working on a few longer winded entries (again crashing a few times - so, I’ve begun working on longer entries offline) which I'll post when they’re done. Just a few “shorties” for today though...

...I’m still at a loss to explain why I found an ad for these guys when I was looking through the display ads at the back of MacWorld. I was trying to find a decent printer for a business card project I was finishing up for someone and wanted to get a couple of sample packs. If someone can explain to me how a display ad for them in MacWorld is target marketing I’m all ears.



Also, I heard a very interesting segment on the Leonard Lopate show on WNYC today with the author of Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser. Schlosser’s books are worth seeking out, he focuses on the marginalization of the American worker its something I find myself concerned with as I see the changes taking place around us daily. You can read an excerpt of his latest book, Reefer Madness on WNYC’s website. Of course, you can also listen to the show via Real Audio by clicking on the link to the Lopate show archives above.