it's better than looking up uvula

i picked up my dictionary today, because i heard the word migraine on the television and, for a second or two, it sounded like the strangest word i’d ever heard and seen spelled out. recent previous contenders have included: campaign and whiskey/whisky.

some people i know get these migraine things, and while i’ve never had one, i know i’m lucky not to have, just from hearing them describe the experience. anyway, i opened the dictionary, and up pops the following word -- first i come across. i think i may make this a habit, as i don’t know enough words, and i’m getting tired of a lot of the ones i already have.

mod*es*ty - 1: freedom from conceit or vanity 2: propriety in dress, speech, or conduct.

followed by modicum, and preceeded by modest [of course] and modern pentathelon, which is of course a composit contest in which all contestants compete in a 300-meter frestyle swim, a 4,000-meter cross-country run, a 5,000-meter 30-jumpequestrian steeplechase, epee fencing, and target shooting at 25-meters. duh.

taking stock

when someone’s bored on new year’s eve afternoon, they sit down in an empty apartment with some wine and their ibook and they go through the music they’ve bothered to put on so far. so far, not much...but someone could also choose to watch charlie rose [and marvel as always that he sat on a murder trial jury with the director of that show, and is friends with the audio guy] and see that the rolling stone big wigs have once again decided to do an issue on the 500 greatest songs in rock & roll. not being a subscriber to RS and not usually liking what other people like, i decided to go through itunes and try to pick a best of selection - maybe 12 songs or so.

shit, that’s hard. i failed. i started with yo la tengo going backwards and though i tried to restain myself, i quickly had half a cd. so i said fuck it, and “what matters most” playlist ended up with 200 songs. that seemed a good place to stop and export it. i’m posting it here mostly so i have it if my computer ever crashes, partly to see if blogger will let me put on something this long, and just a little bit because one of you might scroll through [this, by the way, is the half-assed, version of mr. steve’s posting of his 40 gig ipod library. but steve takes his music - thank god for anyone who likes his band - just a little more seriously than i have so far.

initial observations are that when i start listening to someone, i should not necessarily put their whole record on here [kathleen edwards is hot and has a gorgeous lucinda williams-ish voice, but i don’t imagine i’ll love all her stuff long term]. also, challenger sucks. furthermore, people are allowed to like low and bad religion and devorak, so shut up.

anything is borrowable. just ask. my taste is more or less refined.



B a d R e l i g i o n A m e r i c a n J e s u s
B a d R e l i g i o n M a n W i t h A M i s s i o n
B a d R e l i g i o n S k y s c r a p e r
B a d R e l i g i o n S t r a n g e r T h a n F i c t i o n
B a d R e l i g i o n H o o r a y F o r M e . . .
B a d R e l i g i o n 2 1 s t C e n t u r y ( D i g i t a l B o y )
B e l l e & S e b a s t i a n I F o u g h t i n a W a r
B e l l e & S e b a s t i a n T h e M o d e l
B e l l e & S e b a s t i a n D o n ' t L e a v e t h e L i g h t o n B a b y
B e l l e & S e b a s t i a n T h e S t a r s O f T r a c k A n d F i e l d
B e l l e & S e b a s t i a n S e e i n g O t h e r P e o p l e
B e l l e & S e b a s t i a n G e t M e A w a y F r o m H e r e , I ' m D y i n g
B e l l e & S e b a s t i a n E l e c t r i c R e n a i s s a n c e
B e l l e & S e b a s t i a n I C o u l d B e D r e a m i n g
B e t h O r t o n C e n t r a l R e s e r v a t i o n ( O r i g i n a l V e r s i o n )
B e t h O r t o n C e n t r a l R e s e r v a t i o n ( B e n W a t t R e m i x )
B e t h O r t o n D o n ' t N e e d A R e a s o n
B o n n i e ' P r i n c e ' B i l l y T h e W a y
B r u c e S p r i n g s t e e n A t l a n t i c C i t y
B r u c e S p r i n g s t e e n D a n c i n g I n T h e D a r k
B r u c e S p r i n g s t e e n S t r e e t s O f P h i l a d e l p h i a
B r u c e S p r i n g s t e e n T h e G h o s t O f T o m J o a d
B r u c e S p r i n g s t e e n T h e R i s i n g
B r u c e S p r i n g s t e e n B o r n I n T h e U . S . A .
B r u c e S p r i n g s t e e n B r i l l i a n t D i s g u i s e
B u f f a l o T o m S o d a j e r k
B u f f a l o T o m M y R e s p o n s i b i l i t y
B u f f a l o T o m A n y t h i n g T h a t W a y
C a t h e r i n e W h e e l F u t u r e B o y
C a t h e r i n e W h e e l P h a n t o m O f T h e A m e r i c a n M o t h e r
C a t h e r i n e W h e e l M a S o l i t u d a
C a t h e r i n e W h e e l O u t r o
C a t h e r i n e W h e e l C r a n k
C a t h e r i n e W h e e l P a i n
C a t h e r i n e W h e e l T h e N u d e
C a t h e r i n e W h e e l U r s a M a j o r S p a c e S t a t i o n
C a t h e r i n e W h e e l F r i p p
C a t h e r i n e W h e e l S h o w M e M a r y
C h a l l e n g e r D e s t r o y e r
C h a l l e n g e r M a g n e t o p h o n e
C h a l l e n g e r M a g n e t o p h o n e - 9 . . 2 8 . 0 4
C h a l l e n g e r C o n s t e l l a t i o n - 0 9 . 0 2 . 0 4
C h a l l e n g e r s i g n a l v s . n o i s e - 9 . 2 1 . 0 4
C h a l l e n g e r D e s t r o y e r - 0 9 . 1 4 . 0 4
D a r W i l l i a m s I o w a ( T r a v e l i n g I I I )
D a r W i l l i a m s T h e O c e a n
D e a t h C a b F o r C u t i e L i g h t n e s s
D e a t h C a b F o r C u t i e T h e S o u n d O f S e t t l i n g
D e a t h C a b F o r C u t i e W e L o o k e d L i k e G i a n t s
D v o r a k - S m e t a n a T h e M o l d a u ( B e d r i c h S m e t a n a )
F i s c h e r s p o o n e r T h e 1 5 t h
F i s c h e r s p o o n e r E m e r g e
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 B l u e T h u n d e r
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 T e l l M e
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 S n o w s t o r m
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 S t r a n g e
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 C e r e m o n y
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 W a y U p H i g h
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 S o r r y
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 M e l t A w a y
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 D o n ' t L e t O u r Y o u t h G o T o W a s t e
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 T e m p e r a t u r e ' s R i s i n g
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 O b l i v i o u s
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 I n s t r u m e n t a l
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 T u g b o a t
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 M a r a c a s S o n g
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 S o n g I n 3
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 O b l i v i o u s
G a l a x i e 5 0 0 W a l k i n g S o n g
I n t e r p o l U n t i t l e d
I n t e r p o l O b s t a c l e 1
I n t e r p o l N Y C
I n t e r p o l T h e N e w
J e f f r e y L e w i s S e a t t l e
J e f f r e y L e w i s T h e C h e l s e a H o t e l O r a l S e x S o n g
J e f f r e y L e w i s S p r i n g t i m e
J e f f r e y L e w i s S p r i n g t i m e
J o a n n a N e w s o m S p r o u t a n d t h e B e a n
J o a n n a N e w s o m S a d i e
J o a n n a N e w s o m P e a c h , P l u m , P e a r
J o a n n a N e w s o m C l a m , C r a b , C o c k l e , C o w r i e
J o h n n y C a s h R i n g O f F i r e
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s 1 2 B e l l e v u e
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s S i x O ' C l o c k N e w s
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s O n e M o r e S o n g T h e R a d i o W o n ' t L i k e
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s S i x O ' C l o c k N e w s
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s O n e M o r e S o n g T h e R a d i o W o n ' t L i k e
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s H o c k e y S k a t e s
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s T h e L o n e W o l f
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s 1 2 B e l l e v u e
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s M e r c u r y
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s W e s t b y
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s M a r i a
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s N a t i o n a l S t e e l
K a t h l e e n E d w a r d s S w e e t L i t t l e D u c k
L i t t l e R e d R o c k e t L i g h t I s E v e r y w h e r e
L i t t l e R e d R o c k e t M a y b e
L i t t l e R e d R o c k e t N e w C o u n t r y
L i t t l e R e d R o c k e t B a c k T o W h e r e I S t a r t e d
L i z P h a i r S h a n e
L i z P h a i r N a s h v i l l e
L i z P h a i r M a y Q u e e n
L o w B r i g h t
L o w T o m o r r o w O n e
L o w V e n u s
L o w J o a n O f A r c
L o w L o n g L o n g L o n g
L o w J o a n O f A r c ( 2 0 B e l o w M i x )
L o w T h o s e G i r l s ( S o n g F o r N i c o )
L o w O v e r T h e O c e a n
L o w L u s t
L o w S t a r s G o n e O u t
L o w S u n f l o w e r
L o w D i n o s a u r A c t
L o w L i k e A F o r e s t
L o w C l o s e r
L o w I n M e t a l
L o w T h a t ' s H o w Y o u S i n g A m a z i n g G r a c e
L o w C a n a d a
L o w T h e L a m b
L o w I n T h e D r u g s
L o w L i t t l e A r g u m e n t W i t h M y s e l f
L u c i n d a W i l l i a m s R i g h t I n T i m e
L u c i n d a W i l l i a m s D r u n k e n A n g e l
M i k e N e s s D o n ' t T h i n k T w i c e
M o d e s t M o u s e F l o a t O n
N e u t r a l M i l k H o t e l A B a b y F o r P r e e > F e r r i s W h e e l O n F i r e
N e u t r a l M i l k H o t e l S o n g A g a i n s t S e x
N e u t r a l M i l k H o t e l N a o m i
N e u t r a l M i l k H o t e l T w o - H e a d e d B o y P a r t 2
N e u t r a l M i l k H o t e l H o l l a n d , 1 9 4 5
N e u t r a l M i l k H o t e l T w o - H e a d e d B o y
P e d r o T h e L i o n S e c r e t O f T h e E a s y Y o k e
P e d r o T h e L i o n B a d D i a r y D a y s
R . E . M . D r i v e r 8
R . E . M . S o . C e n t r a l R a i n
R . E . M . R a d i o F r e e E u r o p e ( O r i g i n a l H i b - T o n e S i n g l e )
R . E . M . I A m S u p e r m a n
R . E . M . T h e F l o w e r s O f G u a t e m a l a
R . E . M . C u y a h o g a
R . E . M . T h e s e D a y s
R . E . M . C o u n t r y F e e d b a c k
R . E . M . L o w
R . E . M . T e x a r k a n a
R a d i o h e a d B u l l e t P r o o f . . . I W i s h I W a s
R a d i o h e a d B l a c k S t a r
R a d i o h e a d F a k e P l a s t i c T r e e s
S i g u r R Û s V i  r a r v e l t i l l o f t · r · s a
S i m o n & G a r f u n k e l B r i d g e O v e r T r o u b l e d W a t e r
S i m o n & G a r f u n k e l T h e B o x e r
S i m o n & G a r f u n k e l K a t h y ' s S o n g ( L i v e )
S i m o n & G a r f u n k e l H o m e w a r d B o u n d
S i m o n & G a r f u n k e l S p a r r o w ( L i v e )
S i m o n & G a r f u n k e l S c a r b o r o u g h F a i r / C a n t i c l e
S i m o n & G a r f u n k e l T h e S o u n d O f S i l e n c e
S i m o n & G a r f u n k e l I A m A R o c k
S i m o n & G a r f u n k e l A t T h e Z o o
S i m o n & G a r f u n k e l T h e O n l y L i v i n g B o y I n N e w Y o r k
S i m o n & G a r f u n k e l F o r E m i l y , W h e n e v e r I M a y F i n d H e r ( L i v e )
S u z a n n e V e g a I n L i v e r p o o l
S u z a n n e V e g a A s G i r l s G o
S u z a n n e V e g a F a t M a n A n d D a n c i n g G i r l
T h e C o a s t a l D r a g I n L o v e W i t h P a l m T r e e s
T h e D a r k n e s s T r a c k 0 3
T h e D a r k n e s s T r a c k 0 4
T h e D a r k n e s s T r a c k 1 0
T h e M o u n t a i n G o a t s T w o - H e a d e d B o y
T h e M o u n t a i n G o a t s G a m e S h o w s T o u c h O u r L i v e s
T h e M o u n t a i n G o a t s N o C h i l d r e n
T h e M o u n t a i n G o a t s I n t e r n a t i o n a l S m a l l A r m s T r a f f i c B l u e s
T h e M o u n t a i n G o a t s H a v e T o E x p l o d e
T h e M o u n t a i n G o a t s O l d C o l l e g e T r y
T h e M o u n t a i n G o a t s A l p h a R a t s N e s t
T h e M o u n t a i n G o a t s J a i p u r
T h e M o u n t a i n G o a t s E l i j a h
T h e M o u n t a i n G o a t s O n i o n s
T h e M o u n t a i n G o a t s T h e r e W i l l B e N o D i v o r c e
T h e P a s t e l s T h e V i a d u c t ( O n T h e R i g h t B a n k e O f T h e R i v e r M i x )
T h e P o s t a l S e r v i c e T h i s P l a c e I s A P r i s o n
T h e P o s t a l S e r v i c e C l a r k G a b l e
T h e P o s t a l S e r v i c e N o t h i n g B e t t e r
T h e S h i n s G o n e F o r G o o d
T h e S h i n s P i n k B u l l e t s
T h e S h i n s N e w S l a n g
T h e S h i n s C a r i n g I s C r e e p y
T o m W a i t s W h o A r e Y o u
T o m W a i t s A L i t t l e R a i n
T o m W a i t s I D o n ' t W a n n a G r o w U p
T o m W a i t s M a r t h a
T o m W a i t s T a k e I t W i t h M e
Y o L a T e n g o O u r W a y T o F a l l
Y o L a T e n g o T r i e d S o H a r d
Y o L a T e n g o H e r e C o m e s M y B a b y
Y o L a T e n g o W h a t C o m e s N e x t
Y o L a T e n g o D a m a g e
Y o L a T e n g o R e t u r n T o H o t C h i c k e n
Y o L a T e n g o M o b y O c t o p a d
Y o L a T e n g o S h a d o w s
Y o L a T e n g o S t o c k h o l m S y n d r o m e
Y o L a T e n g o A u t u m n S w e a t e r

Donations

fortunately more people read the site i found out about this on than my own, but for anyone stumbling across, i thought i'd throw this out there.

if you use amazon.com for anything and have a credit card on file with them, they have a page set up for easy, one-click donations to the relief efforts in southeast asia. all money goes directly to the american red cross for the purposes of helping out over there. they've pulled in over $4 million from that alone. only if you want...

Are We Stingy? Yes

$35 million is NOT alot of money. or enough.

This NYT editorial hits on both the cavilier, late to the game response from our president and the extent to which $15 million, or $35 million, or any amount that isn't many many times that is an embarrassment to us, and in an insult to those affected by events of the last week.

President Bush finally roused himself yesterday from his vacation in Crawford, Tex., to telephone his sympathy to the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, and to speak publicly about the devastation of Sunday's tsunamis in Asia. He also hurried to put as much distance as possible between himself and America's initial measly aid offer of $15 million, and he took issue with an earlier statement by the United Nations' emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, who had called the overall aid efforts by rich Western nations "stingy." "The person who made that statement was very misguided and ill informed," the president said.

We beg to differ. Mr. Egeland was right on target. We hope Secretary of State Colin Powell was privately embarrassed when, two days into a catastrophic disaster that hit 12 of the world's poorer countries and will cost billions of dollars to meliorate, he held a press conference to say that America, the world's richest nation, would contribute $15 million. That's less than half of what Republicans plan to spend on the Bush inaugural festivities.

The American aid figure for the current disaster is now $35 million, and we applaud Mr. Bush's turnaround. But $35 million remains a miserly drop in the bucket, and is in keeping with the pitiful amount of the United States budget that we allocate for nonmilitary foreign aid. According to a poll, most Americans believe the United States spends 24 percent of its budget on aid to poor countries; it actually spends well under a quarter of 1 percent.

Bush administration officials help create that perception gap. Fuming at the charge of stinginess, Mr. Powell pointed to disaster relief and said the United States "has given more aid in the last four years than any other nation or combination of nations in the world." But for development aid, America gave $16.2 billion in 2003; the European Union gave $37.1 billion. In 2002, those numbers were $13.2 billion for America, and $29.9 billion for Europe.

Making things worse, we often pledge more money than we actually deliver. Victims of the earthquake in Bam, Iran, a year ago are still living in tents because aid, including ours, has not materialized in the amounts pledged. And back in 2002, Mr. Bush announced his Millennium Challenge account to give African countries development assistance of up to $5 billion a year, but the account has yet to disperse a single dollar.

Mr. Bush said yesterday that the $35 million we've now pledged "is only the beginning" of the United States' recovery effort. Let's hope that is true, and that this time, our actions will match our promises.

a new york minute, sadly defined

when i came back to brooklyn on sunday, i made my way up that desolate, creepy stretch of smith street just before the train station. and there it was, a christmas tree thrown out on the street, december 26th. was there just too much joy, or not enough, to leave it up for even a little bit longer?

eerie photograph

here

if its christmas, it's calendar time

without fail, i get at least one wall calendar each year for the holidays. pulling a one-two sneak attack this year, my ireland calendar was followed by one of those square, tear off calendars. no sports facts or movie trivia here, though. instead, a poem a day. nice. 2005 begins with what's below.

it's a good start to a year that hasn't yet begun. i almost don't want to tear it off.

You Reading This, Be Ready

by William Stafford

Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shinging floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?
Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?
When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life--
What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?

random photo

rather sad.

i don't know which is more depressing - the bonus or the salary to begin with...

but i keep telling myself business school and i would not be a good fit...

i don't need a stupid car anyway...:

"The year-end bonus is a Wall Street tradition, and for a second consecutive year, the amounts are significant. Three major Wall Street firms - Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns - have reported record profits for the year and all are said to have given out handsome bonuses.
The totals in 2003 were already impressive: Lloyd S. Blankfein, the president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs made $20.1 million, of that only $600,000 was salary; and E. Stanley O'Neal, the chief executive of Merrill Lynch, received a bonus of $13.5 million and restricted stock worth $11.2 million on top of his $500,000 salary. At the other end of the compensation spectrum, an investment banking analyst right out of college would have made a $65,000 salary and a $35,000 bonus last year. An associate just out of business school might have made $85,000 in salary and a $115,000 bonus."

best NYT headline in awhile

Boldface Names: If Only They'd Had Feathers and a Beak

they must still be drunk over there on 43rd street. i don't even know what the article is about.

11:52 on december 24, and as i start this, i can hear strains of the end of that quintessential christmas story, um, "a christmas story" there we have at least one reason to be happy ted turner is alive -- that he built a network crazy enough to buy that movie and show it for 24 hours straight this time of year.

it's funny, little ralphie and his family have just finished up their christmas, and mine gets underway in less than ten minutes. that's half true, of course - like any agnostic, once catholic, stressed out family, we get all that stuff out of the way before the 25th. at this point, everything has been opened, admired or quickly stowed in a box which is itself put under the sofa, and i'm here typing with a plate full of food a beer, and what has so far revealed itself to be a glorious low box set i wrote about a few days ago: "a lifetime of temporary relief". it's too trite to say that the holidays lend themselves more to being described as a lifetime of temporary anxiety, but it's somewhat on the mark.i've already touched base, or tried to, with a number of people in various states and timezones -- some are maybe in the air now, showing how timezones are easily left behind, others are in warmer climes, wondering how a parent's gift of a toilet plunger should be properly acknowledged [with a firm handshake, kath, and a resolve that you'll never give such a thing as a gift yourself].

early check-in's with jen reveal that something must be in the air this year, an urge to get a whole lot of stuff out in the open and put an end to the predictable ups and downs and what the fuck did you just say for the n-th time? situations, but it rarely happens. it's strange, the time when the opportunity best presents itself turns out also to be the least appropriate to do so.

so instead, we'll focus on all the fun stuff this time around.

this was the year i decided to buckle down and buy my nephew a piano, nephew-sized red one. the kind with too few keys to do any serious sonata writing, but just enough to create some phil glass music, or at the very least annoy the hell out my parents and brother.

it's red lacquered, a foot tall, and one of the coolest gift-giving experiences i have ever had. jasper's an adorable kid, and since this piano held his undivided attention for a full 30-seconds, i count the idea a success. that he soon wanted to use it as a stool to climb up to the real piano in our living room hints at the fact that it will probably injure him somehow in the coming months, or that he is already wired with the musical talent that somehow skipped over me like it did, say, a clay aiken. if anyone else would like a piano, get one your damn self at zipper.

kerry may even be nice enough to put a bow on it for you.all this to say, happy holidays.

my favorite coffee place jumps the shark

for five years now, i've been coming to le petit cafe, across the street from my apartment - good coffee, enormous and cheap omelettes, and a place to sit and read or write for awhile.

i think i've posted here before how hardworking everyone here is, how tommy built this place up from basically a coffee and bagels hole in the wall, to an impressively elaborate space 3 times the size, with a heated garden, an movable tree fountain with articulated arm branches (?!?) and a killer menu. there's woodwork, gilt this and that, and for some reason a mural on the ceiling that recalls a certain chapel.

but now, for the holidays, a locomotive train that runs around the perimeter of the place, suspened from the ceiling and at the moment, passing over my head. there are sounds, lights, and other reminders that sometimes too much of a good thing is exactly that.

that, or i'm a cranky old man already.

This is pretty friggin' cool.

From the interior of the Suite Vollard building, no landscape is fixed. With the mere pressing of a button, residents of each of the 11 apartments can have 360º panoramic view of the city. Moro, a Curitiba-based construction company, built Suite Vollard. It is a concept-building, and the only revolving building in the world. Architects Bruno de Franco, also technical director with Moro, and Sérgio Silka designed the project, which required the know-how of a large number of professionals in multiple fields of expertise. The complex planning and test phase lasted more than one year. After achieving a perfect balance between mechanical systems that rotate the apartments and the architectonic design, the team chose vinyl window frames as the best technical solution for the facade.

in line for pizza last night

behind the most adorable girl i've seen in my neighborhood in quite some time.

jonathan franzen has a bit his last novel about how a newly
transplanted chef sees more attractive women on the streets of
brooklyn in 30 minutes than in 5 years in philadelphia. completely on
point.

[sidebar: although jen and jan are allowed to remain ny attractive despite move to philly, the town is otherwise a bit of a mullet / starter jacket convention.]

things to look forward to.

low, the deluth, mn band i am ridiculously obsessed with, has a new record coming out. i can't wait. over drinks with susan last night, i was informed of their impending break up, but i refuse to believe that with december hanging in the air. simply couldn't handle that right now. plus, they're playing at bowery in february. there was life before low, but i can hardly remember what that could've been like...

maybe spam isn't all bad

gmail does a great job of filtering from my in box what in recent years has become an absolute deluge of junk from advertisers. i've heard horror stories about people's hotmail accounts crashing due to the flood messages and work servers seizing up.

fortunately, most of the pleas to increase my male potency, refinance my debt the christian way, and claim my free ipod are automatically removed for me, though i always have the option to look through the hundreds of helpful offers. boy, am i glad i did so today.

because if i so choose, i will never be forced to go without the comfort and convenience of a portable toilet ever again. so many choices...

file under: off the mark

Stupid Idea.
Bryant Park is perfect as is, and has been since long before I had my new to the city intern lunches. I remember reading years ago someone's happy bewilderment at the fact those green chairs are there for all, and somehow never disappear. Thieves stay away, and anyway, where would they go with them?

People know the chairs belong there, and a skating rink doesn’t. If anything, they should do away with Fashion Week.

best fast food name ever

ThickBurger, from hardee's, making highway rest stops fun since 1960.

their site has more on this tasty beef and bacon masterpiece. it even has sound.

file under: annoying

you're in a crowded deli you don't want to be in and you grab a can of cream soda, because it's a crappy day outside and cream soda reminds you of being young and not having to have crappy days. you get to your desk and see that you picked the diet can.

may as well be crab juice.

It's Monday and it's raining.

I leave my office, w/o an umbrella, and in the course of walking 30 feet across the street to the deli, I encounter two different people selling umbrellas - 2 dollars. I did not see these people this morning, and if the rain has stopped, they will be gone when I go for coffee later today.

Where they come from, and where they disappear to, amounts to one of the enduring mysteries involved with living in this town. I have similar questions about pashmina sales people on 5th avenue and C.H.U.D's.

Do they all hang out when it's not raining? Can a hardworking umbrella person move up to a better corner or be permitted to sell the big umbrella with the sliding plastic covers that look like the cross between a milk bottle and a condom? These things occupy my drowsy evening hours.

people are idiots

re: the previous coffee post, three men just walked in here, lookedaround, checked the menu. 'it's about the same price as starbucks,'one says. then they turn and walk out. jesus.

i've discussed with more than a few people lately how wanting to write and making the time to write doesn't necessarily translate into much more accomplished than posts like this. i mean this is fun and all, it keeps me more or less out of trouble, and when it's cold out i tend to find new places to sit and drink coffee that i hadn't known of or bothered with previously.

today i stumbled upon a place called 'snice in the west villiage at 8th avenue and west 4th street. red neon across the street beckons to the corner bistro, and i realize i can just barely remember the last time i was there, too many years ago. off to the left there's a red and green empire state building, never too far off, and and rarely close enough to see that a houlihan's restaurant somehow ended up on the ground floor.

it occurs to me i have no freaking idea what 'snice means, but it's a good place - clean, simple and 1/50th as full as the most empty of the 15 starbucks i saw today. that in itself is reason to come back.

today's stolen quote i to think about....

Transfer: "Pascal said, 'Our nature lies in movement; complete calm is death.'" borrowed from Transfer