Hot Chow!

LOL RFI

2009-10-24T00:24:00.000-07:00

Sooooo.... I'm posting! OMG!!! It's been so long, and really, i just wanna throw up some songs that i love so they're not lost... and when i say love, i mean really like right now.

This song is from Radio France Internationale, and I like it because it comes on all the time and I thought it said "on amie comme Haiti". But it says "on aime comme on ete aime" which to my third-grade understanding, means "we love like we've loved before" instead of "we love like Haiti." What can I say, I'm good at languages?

On invente pas un sentiment
Des baisers donnent l'alphabet
L'amour nous griffe, ouvre ces plaies
L'amour nous soigne, l'amour nous fait

On aime comme on a été aimé

C'est cela qui nous fait courir
De reproduire et faire grandir
Ce qui nous a été donné sans jamais pouvoir en parler

On aime comme on a été aimé

C'est dans les mains de nos parents
C'est dans le coeur de nos amants
Regard aimé, regard aimant
C'est le plus clair de notre temps
Le plus obscur de nos tourment
On apprend pas un sentiment
Même si on veut faire autrement

On aime comme on a été aimé

On dit les chiens n'font pas des chats
Et que l'on est que c'qu'on connait
Qu'on désire ce qu'on ne connait pas, un autre chien, un autre chat

On aime comme on a été aimé

Toutes ces secondes de tendresse
Dérobées à nos portes pièces
Toutes les claques, les maladresses
Pour que ça dure, pour que ça cesse

On aime comme on a été aimé

C'est dans les mains de nos parents
C'est dans les coeurs de nos amants
C'est dans les yeux de nos enfants
C'est le plus clair de notre temps
Le plus obscure de nos tourment
On invente pas un sentiment
Même si on veut faire autrement

On aime comme on a été aimé

Et j'aime comme tu m'as aimé

This next song I also got from RFI too- it's Television by Baaba Maaal. I like it because it's atmospheric and somewhat enigmatic. "lL'homme dans la television...."; dunno, the nostalgia of it suits me.

As well, I got this one via RFI. do like!
also: the opening is a total rip-off/tribute to siouxsie and the banshee's "passenger". (yeah, it's an iggy pop song, but i know it through siouxsie).

Loin du bonheur et des îles
Ou la misère prend ses aises.

Près du hall où l'oppressé
Se console avec des “Si”

Plus de chemins, plus de repères, que des raccourcis
Pour la plus part piégés, piégés, piégés

Quand se nourrir est un film
Et nourrir les tiens ton rôle

La rue te donne quelques scènes
Tirées de mauvais scénarios.

Pour le coup elle peut te fournir tous les plans possibles
Mais pour demain qui sait, qui sait, qui sait

REFRAIN
J'veux du soleil woy woy woy woy
J'veux du soleil du pays woy woy woy woy
J'veux du soleil woy woy woy woy
Sur le bitume t'enchéris

(x2)
Rien de neuf dans ma rue
Juste une année l'aléas,pas d'avenir
Que que que qu'est ce qu'elle y connait RIEN
Qu'est ce qu'elle y connait RIEN
Qu'est ce qu'elle y connait RIEN RIEN RIEN

Quand on a rien d'autre à faire,
On la pratique par défaut
Y a que ce qu'ont pas touche le fond
Qui en parlent comme d'un trophée.

Ni de première, deuxième, place ici
Plus tu y es plus tu perds, tu perds, tu perds.
Quand elle est tout ce que l'on a
On rêve d'autre part.
Quand elle a tout ce que l'on est même éloigné d'elle on l'aime

Elle nous grandit, nous en dit long sur ce qui est à venir.
Tout pour mieux la quitter,quitter, quitter

REFRAIN

Funny Story

2009-03-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

So at a recent Justin Bond performance--but not recent enough!-- s/he told us a hilarious story about being backstage at Carnegie Hall during the McGarrigle Christmas Hour, which I was at with my love. I could never tell it as JB does (plenty of laffs on his blog), but Dust and I thought it was MARIO.

So backstage at Carnegie Hall, Our Lady J turns to Justin and asks her: "Hey Justin, can you do my backfat?" And Justin says "Sure" and comes over and helps J with her dress. Emmylou Harris was also in the same dressing room, and says: "Excuse me, what did you just say?" to which J says, "You know, do my backfat. If you push it to the front it makes cleavage. You know, we all have backfat." The profundity of this statement was not lost on Emmylous, as she repeats, solemnly, "We all have backfat." As Justin tells it, as they were heading onstage, he hears her say again, in a whisper: "We all have backfat."

Here's a Venn diagram that I made in Paint of the amount of people in this world who may think this was funny:

I slipped and then you pulled. You pulled me up.

2009-03-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

My friend Beth texts me today at 7:30: I slipped and then you pulled. You pulled me up.

thanks b! i needed that

And another

2009-03-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Oh wait, I found another one. This one says OH HAI in Georgian, which has been scrubbed from the internet. The granddaddy of free language sites does not have a Georgian entry, nor does this crazy cat who's trying to decide which language he wants to learn, trying them all on for size as he goes....

Wait, is this it?
Hello (gamarjoba) გამარჯობა
That's what this kitty said!

For the cat ladies

2009-03-04T06:40:00.001-08:00

Since the cat ladies have me on RSS or something, here's a little something for them. This krazy kitty was found in the Museum of History and Ethnography in Tblisi, Georgia. I hear s/he speaks Georgian and scary kitty voice. I'm unable to discern sex or gender identity from the photo, but the whiskers skew male.

Ha!

2009-02-27T07:06:00.000-08:00

from my brother neebo.

you keep it all in

2008-12-18T06:19:00.001-08:00

this is what i'm telling myself to do today.
i put the lyrics down below....

by the Beautiful South

You know your problem
You keep it all in
You know your problem
You keep it all in

Thats right
The conversation we had last night
When all I wanted to do was
Knife you in the heart
I kept it all in

You know your problem
You keep it all in
You know your problem
You keep it all in

Midnight, a husband getting ready to fight
A daughter sleeps alone with the light
Turned on, she hears but
Keeps it all in

Just like that murder in 73
Just like that robbery in 62
With all there things that have happened to me
I kept it all in
Why do you keep on telling me now

You know your problem
You keep it all in
You know your problem
You keep it all in

Thats sweet
That conversation we had last week
When you gagged and bound me up to my seat
Youre right, I do
I keep it all in

it's fun to discover why people are legends

2008-12-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

oh yes, as caro reminds me, it IS fun to discover why people are legends. sure, i've seen cabaret before... and loved it, but c'mon, being in a movie can't be that hard, and cheating is rife. but when i was with my bedridden bf (who's just had a part of his digestive tract removed) watching cable where he was dogsitting the other night, we stumbled onto LIZA WITH A Z. I can't even tell you how great she is in this. I always thought she was just famous because of her mom, but man, she's a show-woman. I called it as a Bob Fosse production in about two minutes, which is a joy. Watch this medley from Cabaret and just breathe in the Liza. with a Z.

I'm sorry I ignored you

2008-11-25T13:14:00.001-08:00

I just posted a comment on a blog I really like following, because I like the author's style and the pictures he finds/photoshops. Anyhow, in the off-chance he stops by here, I'd be embarrassed if there was nothing new for him to see. Not to say that the other two of you don't matter, but you're already friends with me and you recognize, or should have recognized, by now, my shortcomings.

Either way, it's okay. Like Lotus Weinstock was quoted via John Cameron Mitchel via Justin Bond via the movie Shortbus, "I used to want to change the world; now I just want to leave the room with a little bit of dignity." That's so true. I was sitting in a meeting this morning, the kind where conversations spiral off into trails of what the original idea was about, and I realized, hey, you gotta loosen up about some things. Like this meeting. Big deal. It's over in thirty minutes, take a deep breath and there you go.

A few weeks ago I was with my paramour and my great friend Caitya and the bf and I got into an argument about how he wanted to hold my hand or have his arm around me, and we were probably in a part of town (gah, I live in NY) where I didn't feel comfortable because I didn't want to get punched and I can be cowardly (not my best trait). In any case, bf turns to my friend and tells her he doesn't understand why I react like this sometimes, and she says right back, "Oh, it makes total sense. He's really uptight." HA! Good to be reminded of these things from time to time, my friends. Being in this relationship (my first!) has been full of first-time experiences for me, including seeing myself in the mirror of another person in a negative light. When I get upset when I ask him to get wine to go with our Chili on a cold November night, he shows up with a
rosé, and I respond by becoming withdrawn and upset: THAT IS ME BEING AN ASSHOLE. And I don't want to act like this, but I don't control my feelings like I want to. It's a challenge to check myself before I wreck myself, as Chowderhead Caro has told me is one of the biggest challenges in her LTR.

Anyway, I already mentioned her name, but you should check out Justin Bond's blog, particularly if you liked him in Shortbus or have ever seen him perform. I love this guy. He puts on these amazingly positive shows and I definitely am always impressed by his accompanist, Our Lady J.

I'll leave you with a very uplifting song we recently saw him perform at Joe's Pub: Tomorrow is the 22nd Century.

And now for a word from Betty White

2008-10-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

You can vote however you like

2008-10-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

Oh, to still be wide-eyed and bushy-tailed about our democracy....

My mother, to this day, will never tell anyone how she's voted. "Secret ballot" is her only reply... I think she has our back next Tuesday though... she's a smart lady.

discretion, anyone?

2008-09-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

man, i'm so annoyed right now. last night i went to Bburg to take care of one of my favorite little dogs, Goya, at Luna and Vava's place. all was going pretty well- my friend Caitlin had come over and we had shawerma sandwiches from Oasis and relaxed on the roof. the boy was running late, so she had to leave without saying hi to him, so i laid out on the couch and waited... when he came it was nice to see him, he made a sandwich, we talked. he had shaved off his beard, and i'm finally, after four months, getting used to periodically seeing him with no beard. at first i felt like a four year old girl whose father has shaved his mustache and who freaks the fuck out, not able to understand who that strange man is, mommy!

anyhow, i was getting ready for bed, in my skivvies, and i hear a knock at the door. fuck, i'm thinking, is this damn music that the boy put on too loud? the girl on the other side starts talking and D recognizes her voice, so opens the door to a very drunk, very pretty girl who comes right in and starts to jabber on about this and that. she seemed nice enough, and my effusive boyfriend was saying how he "loved her" and how she was "his favorite" blah blah blah. Anyhow, after sending her many cues and clues that I was indeed on my way to bed (kissing the boy, brushing my teeth, laying down on the couch again) I stood up and told her I was going to bed and that it was nice to meet her. About fifteen minutes later my love came into Vava's bed with me after bidding his friend goodbye. Next thing I fucking know, there's someone at the slider door that leads to the roof, and it's Drunkles, telling us that she grabbed the wrong bag. Turns out she had grabbed my work tote instead of hers, so no big deal, the net effect to me is that she delayed my sleep by another five minutes.

Anyhow, this morning I walked Goyita around the block and marvelously, it was slightly cool, delightful northeastern fall weather. I thought to myself, good thing I brought that sweatshirt with me, this velour zip-up my brother gave me for Christmas. When Goya and I get back to the place my sweatshirt- and clean socks- are nowhere to be found... and I start to think that my little late-night visitor might have relieved me of my jacket... and I sent the boy, who was "friends" with her anyhow, upstairs to find out. Lo and behold, he wakes up her roommate and she hands him my sweatshirt. Needless to say, I was PISSED. I guess the girl had already rubbed me the wrong way by delaying my sleep and then not taking any of my clues and then, after I became more assertive with her, still vacillating more, but the way she disappeared my sweatshirt for me really got my goat early this morning.
.....................
I was of course annoyed with the boy for being so friendly to this girl who annoyed me so much, and for my friends for their (perceived) "open door" policy with this person. I talked to Vava and she mentioned that this person "bothered" them a lot and was "always cracked out," so I began to feel better about my impression of what had gone on, when previously I just felt ornery and crotchety. Apparently she lies, so I feel way better about my disliking her, because, due to my Catholic guilt and my mother telling me that no, in fact I did not hate anyone, I felt horrible about disliking a friend of Luna and Vava's, and was passively angry at the bf for liking her so much and being so eager to hang out with her while I wanted to go to bed.

I feel a lot better about the whole thing now.

Country House

2008-08-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

I'm going out to Northern Jerze tomorrow with the bf and some friends, to visit Muffin and eat some great food. A typical overnight "in the country" includes arrival, hitting up the supermarket and liquor store (in Jersey, you guys, you can buy beer, wine and liquor in the same store! Can you imagine?), and then going to the compound. If it's nice and hasn't rained, we could play some tennis on the clay court (all those lessons as a preteen paid off... I'm like second seed in the Route 80 tourney!), or take a dip in the pond and take out the canoe. I usually like to sing show tunes whilst canoeing, but my partner in that crime, Tracy Marie, is out in LA being a nanny for a famous Brat Packer. Maybe my boyfree will take her place. At 6pm a bell is rung and all present must make their way to the terrace for a mandatory martini. Brother B makes a marternative of mojitos for those of us who like our drinks sickly sweet. After that Muffin and others make a large feast, which I proceed to eat most of. Then we continue drinking, and make a bonfire to release some more CO2 into the air (hey, I don't have an SUV, so gotta do my part the old fashioned way) and everything like that! Exciting times....

Here's a song that makes me excited, both about my weekend and remembering the days when I used to listen to lots of Bluuuuuurrrrrr:

Oh it's been so long

2008-08-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a lazy bastard, what do you want from me? Lots has been going on, I'll recap below.

-I has a boyfriend. He's a nice guy from the Deep South who's keeping me on my toes. He looks a little bit like Dick Tracy:

It's been fun as hell because he likes some of the same things I like, such as food and walking around aimlessly. He's also very social. Another thing we have in common is that we both like to see Broadway musicals, which is a gas, because most of my friends here think they're stupid, while I tend to think they form one of the most versatile and entertaining genres out there.

-We went to see Gypsy with the one and only Patti Lupone, a national treasure and Corky's mom. Couldn't take our eyes off her. My one complaint is the staging of "Gotta get a gimmick," which I like to see at full blast with lots of energy. This production cast Electra as a very old, possibly drug addled putain who barely keeps up, while I would have preferred more of a titty-shaking blowout.

-Last weekend we also saw Boeing Boeing, which was hilarious. I thought Christine Baranski was great as the sassy French maid, and the woman who plays the American lover, Kathryn Hahn, was brilliant, with her blocky poses and over the top delivery. I heard some queens during the intermission hissing about some 'over-acting' but hey fellas, this is a farce, I'm pretty sure they're intending to be campy and over-the-top. In any case, the story follows a wealthy American in Paris who has three fiancees, all who are flight attendants whose comings and going can be managed by the airline's time schedules. With the other two being German and Italian, the European stereotypes and accents are out of control, and the comedy is made more fun to watch because it's so physical: lots of jumping, falling, throwing things, etc.

-I have also seen this summer's two stoner movies, The Wackness and Pineapple Express. They were both funny but very different. The Wackness is bittersweet and somewhat sentimental, with hilarious 90s references like the pump-up Reeboks and beepers. It also has Olivia Thirlby, who is very pretty and gives a great performance.

Josh Peck and Olivia Thirlby

The movie gets its title when Thirlby's character tells Peck: "You know what your problem is? You focus on the wackness, while I focus on the dopeness." I have found this saying to be very useful....

Pineapple Express is from the guys who did Superbad, and has some similar cringeworthy performances, which elicited many laughs. I recommend them both for mindless summer entertainment- they're not going to blow any minds.

-Not blowing any minds either is the new production of Brideshead Revisited. ZZZZZZZ. Don't go to a late show! Too bad they had to make the homosexual character into a complete fop, but it was beautiful to look at.... when I could keep my eyes open. Funny, I assumed that most of the people in the audience were Batman rejects, but only four people out of a full theater walked out!

-Mamma Mia was a lot of fun; most people will probably hate it, but to them I say: Go watch the Olympics or something. Wait, are we allowed to write that word if we don't own the copyright? Joemygod wrote about a silly dispute the Olympic people insisted on having with a Bear club who also use that word (the horror!). Basically, this guy is not allowed to utter the word "Olympic" because some organization owns it, even though:

I was born on a small logging town on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State at Olympic Memorial Hospital. My family and I enjoyed spending vacations at Olympic National Park, where our favorite spot was the Olympic Hot Springs. I was able to finish high school one year early due to credits earned through Olympic Community College in Bremerton. I then attended college in Olympia, the capital of Washington State since 1889, where I belonged to a club that spent weekends hiking in the Olympic Mountains. I earned my way through college by working at the Olympic Boat Center, knowing more about boats than cars due to my upbringing in this Olympic environment. Upon graduation, I moved to the community of Bellingham, where I lived on Olympic Drive, until I moved near Seattle, where I enjoy having guests stay at its premier hotel, the Olympic Four Seasons.

I'm not even sure if it's legal to complain about the damn Olympics... give me a song and dance any day, friends.

-In other news, Happy Birthday to 220-CARO! I hope you're enjoying the loveliness of Portland, Maine!

-With two weeks left in the summer, make sure you get all those things on your lists completed, even if you have to make like Bossy and do it in a rush.

Let me hear you say oooooh oooh oooooh oooh

2008-06-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes these songs just pop into your head, and if you're anything like me, it takes about 145 listens on youtube, or until IT cuts me off, to get it out of there. You gotta remember this one, it's from the year 2000. I remember being in the living room of SPREAD THE LOVE and dancing to this jam with my girls Serious and Kittens. It's the same living room where a big group of us watch that year's election get stolen. And the same place we experienced tons of silliness, like using a typewriter to record the goings-on and conversations, which was mario.

I think I'll tell more about SPREAD THE LOVE when I get a chance. For right now, let me hear you say oooh oooh oooh oooh.

Murga p'aqui, murga p'alla

2008-05-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

I was over at Vane and Sandi's on Saturday after a *lovely* brunch date, lounging on the roof. Our original plan to sunbathe was derailed by uncooperative weather (we could use a trema on that now, couldn't we?) but Vane adapted to the situation by making some margaritas and putting on some of her fabulous music collection. "La murga" by Hector Colon and Willie Colon came on, which I hadn't heard in a while. Hearing it this weekend finally gave me the impetus to look up the word 'murga' and find out more about the style. But first, "La murga de Panama," without Hector Lavoe but with Colon singing himself. Look at all those trombones! No wonder I like salsa like this so much.

I had first heard of la murga while in Buenos Aires in 2001. I saw some young men beating drums and practicing this jumpy dance in the parks in the Constitucion neighborhood, where our little apartment was. Walking around was my favorite activity, and I covered tons of ground there, which was good because I couldn't eat enough of the queso y cebolla empanadas and churrasco . Once I asked a well-dressed older man what the guys were doing, because it was so peculiar, and he told me something to the effect of 'being unproductive and not working.' It was beautiful to watch these guys practice their jumps and leaps, somewhat reminiscent of capoeira. Indeed, sources say that it evolved from African slaves, much like capoeira in Brasil. It was then developed by lower class Spanish and Italian immigrants, much like the tango (originally danced between men, btw), and then, like tango, was coopted (trema anyone?) by the upper classes.

In subsequent conversations-- one with a taxi driver after seeing another group of guys practicing in a poorer neighborhood near Ezeiza-- I learned that la murga was being used by groups of young people who were resisting the neoliberal policies begun by the military dictatorship in the late 70's and continued to that day that made cans of soda cost $2 while teachers made $200 a month. [I was in Bs.As. in early 2001, months before the economy tanked and during the pegamiento, when the peso was pegged to the dollar. In those days, Buenos Aires was one of the world's most expensive cities.)

In some of the videos on youtube of murgueros you can see the banners of HIJOS, a group of children of the desaparecidos, and some take place during the Thursday protests of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, whose children, grandchildren, and relatives were disappeared by the military dictatorship. In any case, la murga has been used in those sorts of public protest, and according to the interwebs, is practiced both in Uruguay and Argentina as a sort of popular street performance during Carnaval. I never saw any murga with the elaborate costumes you'll see in the clip below, but the drumming and kicking is exactly as I remember them. Makes me want to dance! I wonder if there is a murga group in the NY area? [This clip is long, but the first few minutes give you a great idea of the dance]

The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States

2008-05-09T08:05:00.000-07:00

I try to do well by the environment. It's the only one we have! My roommates are impressive recyclers and I'm with them, and I am a big fan of reducing and reusing as well. Usually in the form of arts n crafts or regifting, but really, I care.

As far as conserving natural resources in this country, we have a typical capitalist accumulation point of view, in which we consider our resources to be unlimited and only there for our use. The problem with this point of view is that many of our resources are finite; they're not constantly regenerating. In addition to looking for renewable resources, like wind or sun, we need to do a much better job of conserving what we have.

Which brings me to Micheal Jackson. Why couldn't we have done a better job conserving this natural resource? Why was he allowed to fall into such a state? Why didn't our government intervene to save such a powerhouse of a resource? Just look at this guy, with his pink hat and beautiful voice. Wha happen?

Here's the full song if you want to listen to it on a loop like I'm doing this rainy morning, sans pink hat, avec good drumming:

Oh, Ellen...

2008-05-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an exciting day for this large parrot- I met a woman who I loved watching perform during the 90s, when I was in High School and definitely watching myself a lot of Saturday Night Live. Funny, because recently there was a Chris Farley Celebration Show on the tv when I came home one night and at the end I saw her and shrieked: "Ellen Cleghorne! She was my favorite!" You may not remember her, but I loved watching Zoraida the NBC Page who would harass the guests and Afrocentric Queen Sheniqua, with her big hair wraps.

My friend Sandi invited to be on a panel to offer criticism to undergrad NYU Performance majors, but I had to be late due to extenuating lunch circumstances with some out-of-town friends... which booted me off the panel, but I managed to sneak in and enjoy the performances. First, the students were great, and let's just say I wasn't expecting it to be that good. They all had their theory down and did a good job explaining themselves. Secondly, after the performance was over I was chatting with Ellen and this hot shit lesbian named Karen who was also on the panel, and I told her that she looked like Ellen Cleghorne from SNL. "That is me" she said, and of course I said "No, it's not" and proceeded to argue with her for a few minutes about it, until Karen reminded me that her name was Ellen and she did look like her.

In any case, I calmed down and tried to be cool, which meant I had to forgo telling her she was my favorite, but as Whitney says, it's not right but it's okay. We ended up going to dinner and having a lovely time. That woman is still a riot and it was so much fun to hang out with someone who I had admired for so long, especially during a time when I really was developing my own sense of humor.

This clip sucks, but it's the only one I could really find on youtube. Stop it after :32. Who you gettin loud with?

Life is full of tough decisions.....

2008-04-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

Internet showdown:
Shakira vs. Julieta Venegas
It's a tough call, but everyone comes down on one side of this, I'm sure.

Did you know?

2008-04-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

That I haven't been on a plane since 2006? That is crazy talk to me. I'm used to going all over the place, as when I lived in Chicago I went to visit my friend in St. Petersburg FLA twice a year and went to see my family every two months or so. Since moving back to the mass of humanity on the East Coast, now I take a wicked bus/train combo that takes about seven hours (incidentally about the same amount of time it took to fly from Chicago to PVD and then drive home) but can be done at the drop of a hat, at any time of day, with no planning. Plus, it costs like $45 roundtrip. On weekends when I'm broke in New York, it's a great idea to get out of here, because I don't think I've ever spent a weekend here when I've spent that little. So I often do go visit my brothers and parents and dog, but do so these days without air travel.

Oh wait! Here's that dog!

Astute readers will remember that I did indeed leave the country last year, on a lovely trip to Nova Scotia with Caitlin, but we drove.

This is all to say, I need to go somewhere. Both the Federal and NY governments are telling me they're giving me some money back in taxes, and with the Thief-in-Chiefs promise to stimulate the economy, I am going to be able to afford to leave the country on a plane this year! Now I'm entertaining ideas... I'd love to go to see friends in Honduras and Guatemala, which is always a great trip (and Nicaragua is right there...); but I also owe Crystals a trip to Buenos Aires, as well as Tariki a trip to Kingston. The one problem is that I've been to all these places before... which really isn't a problem at all! I can go visit new things in all of these places. I do feel particularly pulled to Latin America right now... and it could be listening to this song on repeat, which I discovered through my girl Julieta Venegas. It's "Sin Documentos" by Los Rodriguez.

Here's Julieta's live version:

Ai ai ai Viva Mexico cabrones!

Thanks

2008-04-10T13:43:00.001-07:00

Thanks to everyone who sent on birthday wishes via email, comments, mail, and coming to my party. I really appreciate everyone's wishes and I had a great time seeing and hearing from everyone. You made me feel really loved.

In other news, the weather here in New York has gotten so nice! It's 70 degrees out right now and very sunny. It makes one's mood elevate. Today I went with my new favorite person and another coworker. It was so nice to be outside and people watch along Broadway.

Time to go for a run along the Hudson. Maybe, because it's later in the day, some of the red-tailed hawks will be out. Last time I ran up there I saw some common mergansers, which are beautiful and quite different from the more common mallard ducks. (Now that I'm writing this, I need to say my (luddite conservationist) brother Joao would not like me saying this, as I'm not an expert, so we really can't be sure.)

IKR!

2008-04-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

IKR = I know right!?

Use liberally. Let's get this ingrained in everyone's mind. 4realtho!

Expect Nothing

2008-04-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

This is a poem that Stella originally turned me onto in High School, and as it turns out, I think of it often.

Expect Nothing
Alice Walker

Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given out
Take only enough
Stop short of urge to plead
Then purge away the need.

Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your soul.

Discover the reason why
So tiny human midget
Exists at all
So scared unwise
But expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.

Sapo Verde

2008-04-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

Oh hai. Today's mah birthday! I'm entering my mid-late twenties, and I'm thrilled. My life just gets easier as I get older. We kicked off the day with a call at the stroke of midnight with my friend Adela calling from Lima to wish me a happy birthday. Good timing Adela! We had a great chat about her travels in the Southern Cone and in Peru, and her future plans to farm in Northern California. Talking about farming made me miss my days on my friend Anne's farm, which was transitioning to organic at the time. While I don't have the greenest thumb, I learned a lot from Anne and ate very, very well. Muffin sent me to bed with a hug, and I slept rilly rilly well.

I'm looking forward to hanging out tonight with a bunch of friends and having a great time. PS- my crush called me last night...

Here's the Stevie Wonder version of Happy Birthday for you. When I worked in public housing in Chicago, whenever we had a birthday party we always sang this right after singing the "other" version. Clap it out.

Oil Companies

2008-04-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

You may or may not be interested in my point of view on oil companies and their CEOs reaping record profits while people on the ground are paying record prices. My first reaction is: Where do these people learn to be so avaricious? My second reaction is best said by the Queen of Hearts: OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

Attitude Adjustments

2008-04-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

This video is of the well-organized Zapatista movement taking over a military base in Chiapas, a state in Southern Mexico bordering on Guatemala. Lately I've been feeling down about power structures and social movements, and thinking that it just doesn't matter what the people think, that those in power and those who are entrenched by the spoils of their avarice will always have the upper hand, as they own not only the means of production but also the military and the police. I've worked with and been a part of social justice movements in the past, and it has proven to be an amazing education not only about politics and history, but also about what's important to me in my own life. For me, Freire's idea of praxis is about living your values. If you don't like multinational control over other countries, you don't buy their products. If you don't like how Wal-Mart has ruined small businesses in rural areas, you don't shop there. If you don't like Coke's politics, you don't buy Coke or Sprite or whatever the hell else they buy and bottle and sell under their labels. I try not to be too self-righteous as I find that repellent in others, but I do try to live the way that I see myself as positively impacting my world and the people around me. In my cyclical way of living and thinking, I'm beginning to get back to seeing grassroots movements as being absolutely critical nodes of resistance to corporate control over the most minute facets of our lives. Could just be the Foucault I've been reading lately, who says that power relations move upwards, and that confronting them in our personal lives is the best way to attack them in the larger structures that seem to control and limit us everyday. Check out this video of indigenous and rural people organized under the Zapatista movement taking over a military base. The only guns I see are held by the (scared shitless) soldiers that are overcome by these men, women, and children. Great scenes at 1:50, 2:40. and 3:20.

New developments

2008-04-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Hi there. So work has been very busy, but calming down, thankfully. I'm very excited about the sunshine and the warmer weather, and those close to me will tell any of you that my mood has improved greatly. If my father lived with me I'm sure I would hear him say "You need an attitude adjustment" more than a few times. My little brother Nemo came to town last weekend on his way from San Francisco de la Montana to the great state of Massachusetts. It was great to see him. We have this wonderful mutual friend named Kitty Kat who is such a doll and comes from a big family as well. Kitty's family is so nice and generous and kind; they always invite me to family functions, making sure that I feel like I have a family in this big mean city.

Before having dinner with them on Saturday night, we had stopped by Stella's in Inwood to have some appetizers, including a lovely aged gouda that we practically fought over. Stella and Kitty are perfect examples of how awesome it is that my three brothers and I share friends. Because we've had stable friendships for so long, and everyone has known one another for all of this time, it's such a beautiful thing that we get along and like each other's friends so much. In brother Nemo's case, some of his friends used to stay with us for what seemed months at a time, so those friends really got integrated into the family scene. I love that when Nemo comes to NY he wants to see all my friends, and I'm equally interested in seeing and enjoying time with his friends. I guess as Bjork would say, all is full of love.

In addition, on Friday I went to Serious Bidness's Sausage Fest, which was loverly. She herself has some great friends, and I had a lovely time ripping apart the rice krispy treat statuette and having tequila and sodas. Happy birthday dollface!

Date/ Crush Update

2008-04-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Hello dear readers! Thanks for bearing with me as I ignored you for so so long. Anyhow, a short update on how the date went: it didn't! Turns out I've crushed on a very complicated creature, who just got out of a bad relationship. I'll keep you kittens updated as things progress, but for now, we'll continue talking on Monday nights, and I'll continue to crush on him. But, when it comes down to it, I can't project my wants and desires onto someone else, because that's not fair. That would take away all his agency in the situation and make him into an object. And that's not how we do things, or want to do things, over here in hotchowlandia.

2008-03-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

Kittens told me last night that my piece of shit blog sucks, so I’m going to go ahead and open up for everyone on the damn internet for her sake, so I don’t bore the fuck out of her any longer.

I have a mad crush right now, and I’ll tell you as much as my adolescent mind will allow before I feel like I’ll “jinx” it. He’s a cute guy I met three weeks ago where I volunteer, and after spending twenty minutes talking with him last week, I asked him out for a drink. Man, this guy is attractive to me. He’s from Mexico, tall and slender, shaved head and nice eyebrows, a break from my normal attraction to tall and beefy guys. He told me he was shy, which made my cold heart flutter, and that he loves animals. Basically he gets a rise out of me every time I see or talk to him, which could be a function of my libido waking up from its hibernation, or a sign that I really dig this guy.

So now we come to the part where I confess to you that I hate dating, due to my wild insecurities and past inability to succeed in said realm. It’s just not fun for me to go out with new guys I’m interested in, because I just don’t feel natural, don’t know the games, don’t know how to act, in a way. I put incredible amounts of pressure on myself to portray myself in the best light and try to figure out what the other person is thinking, what they want, why they’re here, if they’re really attracted to me, if I shouldn’t have just said that, should I get another beer? And if I get a good vibe, I show too much interest up front and scare ‘em away. Basically, I want to skip all that and wake up next to someone who wants to hear all about what I’m thinking and when he doesn’t just covers my mouth with his.

In any case, I’m looking forward to seeing this guy Sunday night—although the anticipation is kinda killing me. I’m trying to keep in mind at every turn that this guy (or any guy) isn’t going to be the answer to all my problems, isn’t going to “fix” the things that I’m working on. Putting that kind of pressure on him is unreasonable. My hope is just to enjoy myself and get to know him better.

Anyone know anywhere good for a not-fancy but not-divey date?

Stuck in my head: One last love song

2008-02-20T13:06:00.000-08:00

Walking around work I starting humming, then singing this song. It was like I was back in the piano bar, with people coming up and tipping me and everything. I'm taking this show on the road. On the youtube there are some clips from the show I saw of the Beautiful South a few years back at the Park West in Chitown, but this one has far better sound. Enjoy!

Meal ticket: Last.fm edition

2008-02-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

I've been listening to last.fm lately, and while I'm sure I'm one of the last to jump on board, it's been a lovely ride through the annals of French pop. I started the journey in typical fashion, ie not knowing what to do, so I typed in Mano Negra and starting listening to all the 'similar artists', which gave me access to some old friends I met at RFI and new groups I had never heard of.

Here's a picture of Julieta Venegas and Caetano Veloso for you, which I lifted from Julieta's myspace page. In the caption she writes: Caetano, es lo maximo!!!! She was so excited to meet him, natch. She could hardly be cuter, good people.

So here's a video of her being wicked cute. GREAT group dance happening here. Let me know if you want to get together and learn it for the upcoming talent show! This song is not her newest but it's lovely and was filmed in Argentina.

Also in the video is Anita Tijoux, from the Chilean hip hop group Makiza, who were so good back in the fin de siècle. I'm going to make it easy for you to remember:

oh wait, you haven't had enough?

2008-02-13T07:07:00.000-08:00

Here's the other one... kirsty MacColl is the greatest. You earned it, baby.

2008-02-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

Here's the video I was looking for. Billy Bragg sings "A New England" to adoring fans. He's wearing an ACT-UP! t-shirt in this video from 1991. The Wikipedia says he's an outspoken opponent of fascism, racism, homophobia, and sexism. He still looks good, btw.

2008-02-05T08:56:00.000-08:00

So I went a searching on the webs for a video of "A New England" by, say, Kirsty MacColl or Billy Bragg, and I came up with P-Unit's "Tea Partay", weirdly rapping about the motherland. (Nothing like a tea party on the Cape, let me tell you.) What I learned from this video is that Cape Cod keeps it reals. Word. When I finally got to the end I realized that this is a Smirnoff commercial. Please drink responsibly.

Upside Down...

2008-01-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

Here's Diana Ross and special friend singing and dancing! to "Upside Down". It's a live video with lots of excitement. If you avoid strobe lights, do yourself a favor and avoid this video. Diana looks unbelievable and is obvs having a wonderful time. And the special guest! How cute! I had forgotten what he was working with at the time. I like how he snatches the mike from Diana. I also like how we share the leg lift as part of our dance routine.

Tie Me Up!

2008-01-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of Rossy De Palma at Paris Fashion Week.

You may not know her from Almodovar movies such as Law of Desire, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and Kika. Kika is not included in the recent VIVA PEDRO boxed set, but it's a psychodrama like only Ally Almodovar can do. Plus, it has Victoria Abril, who's always great, especially in ATAME, which IS NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD. WTF? [Rossy de Palma gets her name from Rosa, her first name, and her hometown, Palma de Mallorca. It's also said that she has the "face of a Picasso" in Spain. She's worked for years as a model and actress, and now she lives in France.]

My favorite Almodovar movie, Atame is a great film about this guy Ricky (Antonio Banderas) who gets released from the mental institute, falls in love with a B-movie actress (Victoria Abril) and holds her hostage in her apartment. Every time he leaves her alone, he ties her up. Towards the end, as they get to know one another, she begins to ask him to tie her up when he leaves, volunteering herself. This is her:

Her sister, the seriously hilarious Loles Leon, oh wait...
this is her:

There are some really great moments in this film. One I especially like is when Victoria asks Loles what she should wear to some party (uh, it's been a minute) and Loles responds, "algo sexi, pero sin complicaciones"... you know, something sexy, but without complications. Clearly, my dear.

Another great moment is in the final scene, when [somewhat of a spoiler but I'm not tellin you much], after much drama and excitement, Banderas, Abril, and Leon drive away in their little European shitbox singing "Resistire", ["I will survive"] by the Duo Dinamico. It's a precious scene, especially for a movie about Stockholm Syndrome. [Antonino's looking fresh faced and foxy, no?]

hey girl i'm in houston

2007-12-13T18:23:00.001-08:00

Sometimes this blog is just one more thing that I don't get around to doing- like paying my phone bill and going for a run. But I'm ditching that attitude and I'm just going to let it come when it comes and stop being so...judgmental of myself?

This blog originally started out about condiments- I had started it in a fit of silly ecstasy and glee in the summer, went to Canadia, and wasn't to post again for a few months or so... I then found the condiment theme to be restricting, so I changed it up. This has always been a problem of mine in some way, like my eternal struggle that I should have one journal for writing about my thoughts and feelings, and anything else-- to-do-lists, writings about other stuff-- would have its own space. I posted on and off, and enjoy it. But it can't be one more thing that hangs over my head. C'est pas grave, right?

In any case, I began this blog partly because I became fascinated with the blogs I was reading at the time, and an interest in the medium. As I clicked on links through many people's lives and musings, I started to think about the ways that I was witnessing communities of people communicating and forming. A lot of the guys I read were like no one else I knew; a look into a world hidden to me, but right there for everyone to read on the internet.

Blogs had been on my radar since I had first seen my long-time friend KP's, who started his in 2000 (that's right, betches) and documented his transition. During the 2004 presidential race I remember hearing from K8's mom about the influence blogs were having. There's a guy who studies blogging where I work. He says that there is usually a time when people get their bearings and observe, and then a period when they get into a stride, post a lot, comment, and communities form. In our one conversation about this topic he told me this and showed me some interesting articles.

I like that I can put videos and songs on here, so that's what I do. I usually post the songs I listen to fifteen times in a row at my job. The internet is fun. There's all sorts of people doing all sorts of things for different reasons on this piece, and it's good to be one of them. I post so infrequently and I would have to assume that it's my friends and my friends alone who [would ever think this was interesting enough to] read this, and that's fine with me.

Here's this one girl who loves the internets too, with some holiday cheer for ya.

Our Town

2007-11-27T07:26:00.001-08:00

What a nice Thanksgiving. I relaxed at my parents' for almost a week and it was so nice and slow. To illustrate: On Saturday night, I called my friends Anne and Alex to see when they wanted me to come over. Turns out, as Alex explained to me, Anne was tired and they were heading to bed. It was 6:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time. I had already eaten dinner and my friends were in bed.

I took out the car and drove around in the utter dark. Not having spent a night out of the city since August made me appreciate how bucolic my hometown is. It never really gets dark in NY, which highlighted how dark it really got out there. No streetlights, and the headlights on my Dad's car hardly put a dent in the dense dark. While driving I heard a set of Iris Dement on a radio station from Rhode Island, and it was beautiful. Had heard her name a bunch but never heard her warble before. And what a pretty warble it is.

She also has a nice version of "Let the Mystery Be"

Credit where it's due...

2007-11-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give everyone a look at my lovely friend Kate Sears's beautiful pictures of mashed potatoes in today's Dining In section of the NYTimes. We've been friends for over 10 years and, in addition to being a riot, she's a talented photographer with a great eye. If you've never been on a photo shoot, please know that those wine glasses probably took about 45 minutes to get in exactly the right spot. Those mashed potatoes were probably really good, but I'm certain no one on the shoot ate them. I sure would have tried them had I been there. Once I got to go on a shoot with Kate for a company that makes these amazing stuffed cookies, where I singlehandedly invented the quadruple stuffed Oreo. That shit was goooooooood. Enjoy the preview of good things to come... and some tools to get you there. Or your Mom.

Well what had happened was....

2007-11-14T09:39:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all, here at the farm, busting ass in the fields, and wanted to leave you something from Chicago. I've only ever heard this song in Chicago, as it's constantly on the radio, and it was a crowd-pleaser at my last job (not far from the Church where this video was recorded). In the summer it is not uncommon to see grown women jam out to this song in their cars, singing and clapping. Work it out!

Jesus Can Work It Out- Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer, Chicago, IL.

Rinse and Repeat

2007-11-09T07:38:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Thanks for coming back even though I haven't posted in a while... sometimes things get out of hand for a minute, but here I am! Thanks to all who yelled/commented/glared at me to remind me that I didn't post. Really motivating.

So, last weekend I hosted my friend Kael and his "ex" Natasha at the Petit Palais in Bed-Stuy. It was awesome to see him, and we did the math and figured out that we've been friends for over 20 years (check out his blog for proof and pictures.) The happy non-couple came into town because the lovely Natasha was performing in "LARD: like grease, but thicker" with Big Moves, an amazing group of plus-sized dancers, singers and actresses. I had a great time at the show, which told the story of a medium-sized girl who moves to a new school and just isn't skinny enough to hang with the skinny Dietrons, but isn't meaty enough to fit in with the Fatties. It was really cool to see these girls do their thing, as they moved really well and there were some excellent voices amongst them. Also, they eat burgers, fries, and mac n cheese on stage, which is some great direction if I've ever seen it. Natasha is a blond beauty with lots of sass and a great sense of style, and she brought me some delicious cookies. I appreciated the inclusive attitude of these girls, and many were queer. In fact, there was a marriage proposal at curtain call, and nary a dry eye in the crowd. Let's just say I'm a BIG fan, and yep, that's a fat joke.

So Kael is super popular and kept on running into people he knew here, and judiciously only speaking to some of them, as we were on a mission to buy me some shoes. Omg, shoes! Let's get 'em! As a result, the three of us were channeling Kelly all day long on my search, which is always fun, betch. So at some point during the show Kael asked me if I wanted to see Margaret Cho's show later on that night, because he and another friend who was in town are friends with one of the guys in her Sensuous Woman revue, comedian Ian Harvie. Kael knew Ian from Portland, Maine, where he lives, and he invited us to come to the late show that night. At this point I was jazzed because Margaret Cho is fucking Mario Hilario.

The Sensuous Woman was amazing, practically flawless. It was super queer-oriented and in true burlesque style, the performers seemed to love the hooting and hollering coming from our section. I mean, that show had everything: gay rappers, lots of stripping, the indescribable and incomparable burlesque of the littlest stripper I've ever seen, Selene Luna, a transcomedian, and omg, Kelly! Kelly really broke it down for us, performing "Shoes" and "Let me borrow that top." Actually, Diana Yanez (who's my new favorite) joined her for a Spanish version of Shoes which brought the house down. But really, "MY PUSS" is something you all have to watch right now, you'll die. Just remember: "my puss won the fifa world cup; your puss makes me sneeze and throw up."

It was great to meet Kelly and compliment her on her rack, especially because I had been saying "Let's get 'em!" all fucking day. Thanks to Kael and Naughty Natasha for coming through town, and to Ian Harvie and Margaret Cho for the tickets. If you get a chance, definitely check out the show, betch.

Slippery People

2007-10-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I watched "Stop Making Sense" again. I love this movie, how it starts with David Byrne and a boombox, and the band makes their way onstage one at a time. I was reminded how much I love the lineup here, with the mighty Bernie Worrell (co-founder of P-Funk), and especially the backup singers, Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. For me, these ladies really make the song, and its not just because we have very similar dance styles. It's also the high ponytails. I like the dancing at 2:00, and they really break it down with the David at around 2:50.

Good for a laugh

2007-10-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know my friend Lulu know she's a veritable laugh riot. She's just so creative, and like your hero, she likes to mix the high and the low to great effect. More of the low, though. Here is a stooopid survey that showed up to (another) social networking site I belong to, but her responses made this rainy morning shine with a little sumpthin sumpthin. I still owe you Beth, totally my fault. Ruv roo!

1) how well are you aquainted with your own colan? ever stick shit up there?
Well, I have always loved pee and poo, but i have intimacy issues, so me and my colon are in counseling.

2) if you were having a masterbatory phone booth fantasy; would it be a glass encased american style phone booth or one of those classy brittish ones?

I think British people have funked up teeth. So obviously, American.

3 )when having relations with persons of the same species do you prefer a. cumming first b.cumming at the same time or c. cumming after your partner?

All of the above
4) when wiping your own ass have you ever got a glob of poo on your hand?

Obviously!

5) earnest or pee wee?

Pee Wee!! HE does creepy things in movie theaters!

6) who do you think would win in a fight malcome x or martin luther king jr?

Well, since I look like Halley Barry and I have a cousin named LArry, I would say X dugh!
7) do you pop baloons primarily on purpose or by axident?

I gotta Axe my moms. But usually by axident

8) have you ever smoked crack? be honest.
yes, I don't trust anyone who hasn't.

9) if you had to listen to one song 24-7 for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
Burn One Down by Ben Harper, also known as Let's get Physical by Olivia Newton john.

10) do you like your nipples to be pinched during coitus?
YEs, of course, what teh hell is coitus?

11) have you ever watched a pro wrestling event on pay per view? (answereing yes does not nescecerily make you white trash)

King of the Ring, Summer SLam and various other events, back when it was WWF.

12) have you ever had sex with me before( me in this case. not the person who originally compose the survey) and if so please describe in vivid detail how it was, if you came, would you do it again, would you recomend me to others, have you since kept me in your thoughts whilst masterbating, if i have a big dick{tight vagina if the person that sent this to you is female} etc.

YEs on all counts... IF I had, otherwise I just have disturbing thoughts.....

13) what is your favorite anything?

14) do you have aids?

Nope, just bandaides. I am stuck on them, cause they are stuck on me.

15) have you ever killed a living creature?

Bugs.... Lots of them... Ok fine.... Crabs....

16) have you ever killed a human being?
no

17) whats the differance?

the skeletal system. Insects, have a hard shell on the outside, there are other various biological differences that I feel are innappropriate to discuss in this forum.

18) have you ever written for a good time call so and so on a public wall?
Yes, sorry to all the little sluts i set up in the Captain Kidd Bathroom.

19) nuber 19 is a statement!
Yes it is! Go Luke!

20) what do you see when you look in the miror?
My body is a Temple.. Well that's what I wish I saw, I usually see Bloody mary.

I'm learning this dance

2007-10-03T10:53:00.001-07:00

First of all, the Beth interview is coming, people, she's coming! Its all my fault, so don't even try to blame her, but its going to be so good. What's your spirit animal?

Anyhow, in order to placate my fellow Beth-lovers, I'm giving you two awesome videos. The first one is a song I heard on the radio and was convinced it was Leslie Feist, so I listened to all the potential suspects on amazon yet was unable to find out what song it was. That's because Feist released this song under her alter-ego Regina Spektor! Wait, that's not fair, Regina Spektor is her own person, as you can see from this video. Her vocal control is really remarkable, and I like the sound. She got her start on the LES as part of the "anti-folk" scene. Whatever the fuck that means! Sounds pretentious...

Second matter of business: I'm learning this dance and I'm looking for about 48 other nubile danseurs and danseuses to join me in recreating this ipod Nano commercial/music video. Its so awesome; I love group dances like this. My favorite part are the clap-turns. Don't be surprised if you see me practicing that move. So obviously I'm going to be the guy in the yellow that picks her up, so who's going to be Feist? Tracy? What's that I heard you say?

By the way, I am completely of the opinion that letting your song be on an ipod commercial is not selling out. Anymore. As came up in conversation with my (awesome) roommate, judging musicians to have 'sold out' is an argument that has been over for at least seven years. Its very last century, guys. Of course they just want their money while they can still get it, and c'mon, who wants a day job?

Come on, come on

2007-09-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

I've been signing The Locomotion for three days now. I have no idea how it got into my head, but it has formed a colony and is refusing to leave, bad weather and angry natives be damned. This song is wonderful, and this video of Kylie Minogue prancing about with her dancer friends is precious. I remember when this song first came into my purview as an eight year old, and I was instantly obsessed with it. I used to beg my babysitter to call the radio station (AGAIN) and request it (AGAIN). Did you even know that Carole King wrote this song? I left two singing voicemails yesterday to unsuspecting targets of this gem. Ask Caro: I have a lovely singing voice.

Tomorrow: an interview with my friend Beth!

Intensity

2007-09-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

So the President of Iran is at Columbia giving a speech, so I sauntered over during lunch time to check it out, mostly to see the "free speech zones". Coming down Broadway, I could see a group of anti-Zionist Hasidim and a group of Zionist Jews engaging in a full-out shouting match. The Hasidim, holding signs declaiming the spread of "atheist" Zionism, were being taunted by American Jews waving Israeli and American flags. On my first stop by the kerfuffle, an older man in a Polo shirt was screaming "I saw him eat pork!" and "His mother was impregnated by Hitler!" at an older Hasidic guy. I checked out the on-campus viewing, which was huge and calm, and listened to the end of Ahmadinejad's speech and the beginning of the Q&A. On my way back to work, I stopped by again to see if the whole thing had resulted in fisticuffs, which, unfortunately dear readers, seemed imminent. On the way back the protesters from Yeshiva University had found the group, who identified themselves as "The Defenders of the City". An upset middle-aged woman started screaming, "They are worse than the Arabs!" and started jabbing her American flag into select recipients. Columbia students who I had seen inside came out and unfurled their banners in front of the Hasidim, trying to block anyone's view of their signs. A group of high school girls started yelling at one of them, saying "Where are we supposed to go?" At this point it seemed pretty likely that violence would ensue. But then, the Hasidim started chanting something, the other people started singing something else, and the police swooped in and separated everyone. Pretty intense for a lunch break.

Le weekend

2007-09-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on my second big cup of coffee this morning, somewhat inexplicably, because I set the bar for energy expenditure quite low this weekend.

Here's what had happened:
On Friday I learned that my workday does not end on the fifth day of the week at 5pm, as it does on the other days. At my new job, part of the workweek is required attendance at a happy hour, organized by the lovely (but forceful), Cam. This week we went to the midtown three-ring circus that is Ginger Man, which had many beers on tap and was clogged with people. As it turns out, we had a great group of coworkers, some who had sisters and friends meet us there and throw back a frenzied few. Of particular note was a conversation I had with two sophisticates from Connecticut and two spammers. We really didn't let them off easy on that one: you're all welcome. We did, however, reward their candor with drinks.

Later that night I had a lovely dinner in Long Island City to celebrate Caitlin finally finishing college. Her brother had made some delicious Eggplant Parmesan, and very nicely done goat cheese discs for our spinach salad. We brought some champagne and toasted our girl finally finishing her thesis. We hit up Water Taxi Beach, a beach bar with a great view of Madhattan. Caitlin and I busted out our salsa skillz honed at the Bed-Stuy Y's awesome salsa class.

On Saturday I was able to sleep in, which was glorious. I thought I had fully left all vestiges of youth behind by springing out of bed at 8am on Saturdays and Sundays, but this weekend and last I was pleasantly suprised by the amount of time my body allowed me to languish in bed, greedily rolling over and taking more, more, more, more. After following up on my idea to do nothing, I watched some "Life of Birds" and eventually went to get some food in the hood. We went to Imhotep's Vegetarian, on Nostrand in Crown Heights. Caitlin got the rest of the delicious barbeque "duck" with some curried chickpeas, greens (looked like calaloo), and pumpkin, all of which I sampled and passed muster. I settled on a veggie burger and fries (why do people even ask me if I want fries? I cannot ever say no), which took a minute but came out very well. Imhotep's restaurant is in the back of their well-stocked health food store, and everything is prepared with care and is 100% vegan, if that matters to you.

After that we headed over to my ESL coteacher's beautiful apartment in one of those big doorman buildings on Eastern Parkway. Lauren's a doll, very smart and cute, and in addition to supplying lotsa booze and delicious little dips [hummus, tapenade, a mint sauce for the salmon cakes] for our grazing pleasure, she had a bevy of intelligent, charming homos in attendance. Everyone had already gotten their Masters and were working on PhDs, and could hold cogent conversations in many topics, so it was a wonderful party. Lauren was a great hostess and certainly got quite a nice group to come out. I was sad to leave all the gays with so much friendship potential, but I definitely gushed to a cute little couple on my way out "it was so nice to meet you, I really need some new gay friends..." That's me: cool, calm, collected.

After that we trucked over to Williamsburg to see the keyboarder from Antibalas, Ticklah, give a show at his cd release party. It was at BPM, and when we rolled up there was a crush of twentysomethings getting some air after the first set. To get in, you go down a set of concrete steps into a basement, then climb back up into a tight space that led to a concert area that looked like it was a recording studio. Although a veritable fire trap, the place was packed and it was a great crowd. Also of note: $4 bottled beer. Everyone was dancing, or making reasonable effort, and c'mon, that's all we're asking for. It was a nice counterpoint to the other shows I've been to in NY so far, which place much more of an emphasis on self-conscious posturing and posing than enjoying oneself. [Anyone else have this experience in NYC?] This crowd was much better than that, and had gotten over themselves sufficiently to get down. The music was pretty funky roots reggae, I'm not going to say it was awesome, but it was a solid live set. I was particularly impressed with TWO trombone players who were excellent, as well as the two vocalists who held their own. Being both in Williamsburg and at a reggae show, it was only a matter of time before some boldfaced self-righteousness entered the fray, which was delivered as if on cue by the male vocalist who exhorted us "not to eat the pork." I was cracking up at this point, finding it funny that the next song was all about, chorus and all, avoiding pork.

In all, a very entertaining weekend.

Good morning good people

2007-09-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

So the other day I got an email from a large, big box store, letting me know that they would sell box sets for 40% off. Now, I try my best to shop locally, as I grew up in a small town and always enjoyed the diversity of all the shops and small businesses. In addition, I try to live under the tenets of "reduce, reuse, recycle" and like to buy stuff second-hand when possible, especially to avoid the grips of the blue and yellow hall of horrors some know as Ikea. So when I wanted to buy the great collection that is VIVA PEDRO, I turned to TLA Releasing, who I knew from my prior Netflix obsession as a distributor of great international movies, many with a gay focus. VIVA PEDRO is a collection of 8 of Almodovar's films, including the awesome Law of Desire and Matador, featuring the young Antonio Banderas in some very spicy roles. The interplay of Banderas and the delightful Carmen Maura tops off the excellent ensemble acting present in all of Almodovar's films. My favorite line from La ley del deseo has to be when Maura's [who plays a Male-to-Female transwoman] character chides her brother for sneaking off to the bathroom by himself while they're out partying: "Que pasa, yo tambien soy toxicomana!" [What's up? I'm an addict too!] FYI, Almodovarlandia is the best source for everything Pedro-related, including a Constitution.

I ordered this gem from TLA, but never received it due to being charged twice and then having the entire order canceled. So the sale at Borders was the perfect chance to get it.

Alas, your hero was unable to localize a copy on the island of Manhattan, so was faced with multiple questions. Do I abandon ship and go home empty handed? Should I buy the Tyler Perry boxed set? And then I saw David Attenborough's LIFE OF BIRDS, the avian follow-up to LIFE OF MAMMALS, which got a lot of play last winter in Chicago. Needless to say, its awesome. Sir Attenborough has an amazing, Jeff-Corwin like ability to get right up close to these birds without startling them, and his knowledge is extensive. I was a little down on the computer generated animation at first, but they used it well. Highly recommended.

Click here to see a video of Jeff Corwin himself getting bitten/attacked by an elephant, and community fave Anderson Cooper helps a brother out.

Felicidad!

2007-09-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

Having a good day? I sure am. I spent the morning in an HR training, in which not only did I have to break the ice by throwing a bean bag and repeating peoples' names, but I also got to participate in an awesome scavenger hunt. My partner was very serious and was angling for first, which resulted in him running through the halls. Unfortunately, we did not win the t-shirts given as prizes.

I spent my commute listening to Boney M, an old friend I met back when I spent the summer in Madrid during college. This song, from a German tv show, has a video medley of their hits and then a "live" performance, replete with fog. If you're just looking for the main event, skip ahead to about the 2 minute mark. Don't miss the guy's dance moves. See? Your day's better already.

I didn't spend it all...

2007-09-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

Nah, I was thinking about spending all my ducats after joyfully receiving them on Friday, but I held back, remembering all the debts I have. I had a lovely weekend, got lots of sleep, and went to a party with great food on Saturday night. Shrimp, homemade whole grain pizza, a notable onion dip, and some very good homemade hummus. John is a great host, and I'm glad that he has brought his hospitality to the fair shores of Astoria from Chicago. John throws great food-oriented parties every so often, such as the annual Crab Sauce party, which could only ever disappoint if you were to miss it. In honor of him, I'm posting a photo of a cat that looks like his taking a nap. Can anyone identify this cat?

I'm not going to get arrested today!

2007-09-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

I finally got paid at my new job! Imagine my surprise (and consternation) at being told on my fifth day of work that I would a) be paid once a month and b) I'd have to wait six weeks to actually see the first check. While I almost laid hands upon the woman who broke that news, I controlled myself with the help of another new coworker. After calming down and wiping the rage from the corners of the mouth, we talked to the head nurse, who hooked it up so we got paid after the fourth week. I'm as happy as a clam about this recent turn of events. Friends, you no longer have to miracle me at the bar, take my limp excuses about not having any cash, or worry about me asking to borrow $300. Now its my turn to buy a round; hit me up!

Things Change, Don't Cry

2007-09-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

Brace yourselves. I know you all like the "wet food" focus, and who doesn't?, but I'm being limited. I want to be able to tell you just WHAT is going on over here in Rickmenistan. I'm changing this to a lifestyle blog, as I JUST got my Masters in the Lifestyle Arts. Use it before you lose it!

Salad Dressing of the Week

2007-09-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

I love vegetables. AND fruits, do not be mistaken, but from my days working on Anya's organic farm, I'm pretty much obsessed with fresh produce. Not to sound like I'm talking down from my foodie pedestal, but I am a man who would rather go without tomatoes than buy some woody, mealy piece of shit from the supermarket. But give me a homegrown tomato, like the two beauties that Anya presented me with as I left the Cape on Sunday, and I'm a very happy chappy.

All this to say: I had a great lunch. One of the delicious, beautiful beefsteak tomatoes that Anya regaled me with adorned the salad I had brought in, and what added so much was slathering it with Annie's Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette. This salad dressing, while competing in a class full of champions (Ken's, Marie's, Hidden Valley Ranch [ha!]), really just does such a good job of reminding me that I FUCKING LOVE LETTUCE.

First of all, it has a delightful amount of chunks, a great burnt-sienna hue, and is viscous in a way that is most becoming to salad out of a bag. Those of you who know me already am aware that tang and moisture are very important in any foodstuff, and Annie's does not let me down on either account. I highly recommend you branch out from just buying her awesome Mac n Cheese and try Annie's dressing. Besides, she's from the great state of Vermont, which makes some of my favorite cheese.

Hot Chow!

2007-07-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

A most recent discovery in my epicurean pursuits of summer, HOT CHOW is one of my favorite new condiments. Imagine a chunky mustard, tangy and not too sweet, filled with morsels of carrot and onion. No, not like a chutney, as the mustard and vinegar tastes keep it wholly within the mustard category. The secret ingredients, friends, is the mango and papaya that adds some juiciness often looked for but not often found in mustard, unless you've slathered on the French's a little too thick. That's probably my favorite thing about Hot Chow; it adds an elusive moisture to your sandwich you might only get by, well, overdoing it with some acidic yellow mustard or (sick!) mayo . But slather on the Hot Chow, its delicious!

I recommend Matouk's brand, coming to us from Trinidad, and available all over Crown Heights and other Caribbean areas of New York.

Shown: Matouk's Hot Chow, 9 oz. $3.99 for the 13.4 fl. oz. jar at the produce market on Nostrand and Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights. Available in Crown Heights, Bed-Stuy, and other Caribbean businesses and hoods in NY. I bet they have it at the West Indian Market on Broadway and Winona in Andersonville, Chicago. And John R Wong in Kingston must have it.

Ingredients: Water, distilled vinegar, papaya, carrots, onions, mangoes, sugar, coraillie, mustard, modified corn starch, salt, hot peppers, spices, colour FD&C yellow #5. Anyone know what coraillie is? Bitter melon?

Tastes like: Chunky tropical mustard. Use it on that turkey sandwich, you'll love it.

Notes: Caroline, you're gonna love this. Go get some and let me know!