Pumpkinhouse

Oh Friday, you came and you gave without taking...

2003-11-21T12:38:00.000-05:00

While I completely waste this Friday reading gossip blogs and scanning JDate, why don't you have an equally productive day reviewing some of the weekend's events:

On Stage
Live monster mayhem in Brooklyn tonight
Billy Bragg performs this weekend.
Greenwich Village Orchestra on Sunday
Sarah Vowell is reading William T. Vollmann tonight in Manhattan. (I know, I know. It's really William T. Vollmann's event, but I really like Sarah Vowell.)

Gems from Craigslist New York
Sock Sample Sale
Two hundred twenty-five bucks to do jumping jacks in Central Park
The Allen Iverson Ladies Night Out Celebrity Bash
Flirting contest
One hundred twenty bucks to see Ani DiFranco
Canine Adventure Day!
Huh? Nude happy hour? Oh, all male nude happy hour. Thanks, Craigslist, I really needed to read that one.

Other
Pick-up hockey at Chelsea Piers
The circus is in town.

Fix

2003-11-21T12:04:00.000-05:00

Why is there no coffee at work today? Just because no one's around does NOT mean daddy doesn't need his medicine.

Hip

2003-11-19T12:12:00.000-05:00

Ahahahahahhahahahahaahhaha!!! This is good. Props to Amazon for letting it remain up there. [found via Gawker.com]

Fighting Words

2003-11-17T14:51:00.000-05:00

In an article found online about this past weekend's amazing boxing match of Filipino Manny Pacquiao against Marco Antonio Barrera, reporter Salven L. Lagumbay writes, "For one shining moment for the country, Manny Pacquiao single-handedly saved whatever dignity is left of the Filipino people, shaming Mexico’s top warrior Marco Antonio Barrera with an 11th-round technical knockout win Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas."

I didn't realize that the Filipino people had hardly a shred of dignity. Jeez.

Related: A history of the Philippines.
Also: About boxing brain injuries.

BB Update

2003-11-17T13:02:00.000-05:00

The Brooklyn Brewery is laying off 30 of its 67 employees as a result of selling its distribution unit.

Prayer Bear

2003-11-13T12:36:00.000-05:00

My friend, who teaches Sunday school to first-graders, showed me a copy of this tape, Prayer Bear - Volume 3 - Time to Pray. According to the video, kids "will be singing and laughing as they learn that anytime is 'Time to Pray.'" This really only works, however, if you're on the Super Savior Cellular plan where you get 2,000 anytime minutes of prayer. Topping the plan are the unlimited nights and weekends to talk to the Lord.

Must... finish... book

2003-11-12T09:23:00.000-05:00

Though my little book club has already completed it's meeting on our latest tome, Midnight's Children, I still have 50 pages to go. And I'll be damned if I don't complete it before starting the next one, Shteyngart's The Russian Debutante's Handbook. Has anyone read it? Does it suck? No spoilers, please, I just want to know what I'm in for.

Pear Tree Corner

2003-11-11T15:01:00.000-05:00

The NYTimes reports that on Wednesday the NYC Parks Department, at the request of Kiehl's Pharmacy president Philip Clough, will plant a new pear tree on the corner of Third Avenue and 13th Street, where the old Peter Stuyvesant Pear Tree once stood. The original tree was killed in a horse-drawn wagon accident in 1867.

Lager, Pilsner and Weisse - Oh My!

2003-11-10T00:42:00.000-05:00

Yeah! Some friends and I went to the Brooklyn Brewery on Saturday. We took the tour which brought us into one large room where our guide, suffering from a bad hangover, nursed a beer and told us about the history of beer and the brewery. Beer, apparently, is good for you and is the reason we live in a civilized society.

Look-alike

2003-11-05T18:02:00.000-05:00

Is it just me or is Marlins catcher Ivan Rodriguez a young Luis Guzman? Just wondering.

Back

2003-11-04T13:05:00.000-05:00

I have returned to NYC from San Francisco where record-breaking temperatures made the uphill walks horrendous. The homeless situation in SF is out of control. While I was in California, half the state was ablaze, and the World Series proved disappointing. Flugtag was a hoot, and the Snackmaster and Stinky's Peep Show eluded me. San Franciscans take Halloween very seriously. I loved the Diane Arbus exhibit at the SFMOMA. In Stinson Beach a woman who is very much in tune with the universe gave me sage to burn and told me to keep my eyes open on November 8, 2003, which is the Harmonic Concordance. Oh, and I got a squashed penny at the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz.

But it sure is nice to be home.

Alma Mater

2003-10-21T12:44:00.000-04:00

There have been three suicides at NYU since September 12th.

Hole in Won

2003-10-17T19:56:00.000-04:00

This is freakin' great, though I'm a little late in my reporting: Australian golf star Jan Stephenson in an article in "Golf Magazine" starts off by saying, "This is probably going to get me in trouble," and continues with saying that Asians are "killing" the LPGA tour. She thinks there should be "a quota on Asian players" and that women golfers "have to promote sex, because sex sells."

I gotta run; there's some women's tennis on TV that I should be watching.

Crash

2003-10-17T11:37:00.000-04:00

Investigators are having a tough time figuring out why no one had control over the Staten Island Ferry before it crashed on Wednesday and killed 10 people. Related: Maritime accidents investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

2003-10-16T01:03:00.000-04:00

Time Formations

2003-10-15T23:58:00.000-04:00

Manhattan Timeformations is one of the coolest sites about New York ever. I mean ever. Thanks to Mike at Konradprojects for showing me this.

Cool in the BK

2003-10-14T13:05:00.000-04:00

Good Lord. The cooler-than-thou attitude continues and this time begins to pervade a little 3-bedroom space in South Williamsburg. [from the NYTimes via The Morning News]

Ooh, McSweeney’s notes that Sarah Vowell is doing a reading in Brooklyn tonight.

I am such a hypocrite. And damn proud.

Gourd!

2003-10-09T00:25:00.000-04:00

I bought a pumpkin tonight. How appropriate!

Poetry and Murder

2003-10-09T00:01:00.000-04:00

I just watched Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures and enjoyed it. From a film standpoint I liked watching reality become fantasy for the terrible twosome. But what really struck me about the story was its origins in a true crime. There just aren't enough obsessive, teenage, homoerotic, murderous movies out there.

'Tis indeed a miracle, one must feel
That two such heavenly creatures are real

Election!

2003-10-08T00:37:00.000-04:00

I have not been following this historic election too much in the news, but I plan to get more involved in these sorts of politics.

Overheard

2003-10-07T00:13:00.000-04:00

At my bus stop last week -- two young ladies explaining where they were for Rosh Hashanah:

Girl 1: I was home with my family. You went to Florida, right?
Girl 2: Yeah, [Significant Other] and I were in Tampa. Did you hear what happened to Lindsay over the weekend?
G1: No, what happened?
G2: Well, it seems Lindsay's family got a new dog. The dog turns out to be totally aggressive and bites Lindsay's face.
G1: Omigod!
G2: I know! And I saw Lindsay the other day -- it looks horrible. Of course, I told her it didn't look bad at all. But, oh man, you should see it! It's terrible.
G1: Omigod!
G2: I know. Terrible. Really terrible.