09.28.07
Posted in Weather, New York City at 08:51 am by Josh
Anywhere else you go in the country, if you carry an umbrella with you on a sunny day, most people look at you as though you’re either ridiculous, excessive, or just plain stupid. But in New York, there is a genuine look of subtle fear that creeps into the eyes of anyone who may not have seen a weather forecast within the last twenty-four hours.
“Is it supposed to rain?” they say, smiling and pretending not to care.
“Forty days and forty nights is what they’re saying.” I like to see the fear twitch around their pupils.
“Really?” Yes, really.
You can even see it in strangers on the street, the ones who pass by two quickly and are too unknown to make conversation. They look at the umbrella, concern hardening their faces as they casually look up at the sky as though God Himself is about to come back to say hello. And what do I do? I smile. I smile because ridiculous as I may look in the sunshine, I’m going to be dry when those clouds roll in.
I love New York.
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09.26.07
Posted in Funnies, Life at 08:59 am by Josh
An envelope forwarded from my old address in Connecticut was in my mailbox yesterday with a return address starting with “Jury Administration”. Apparently I’m supposed to report for jury duty on November 8th. Obviously, this is a problem. Included is a form where I check off a box that says, “I am not a resident of Connecticut” and I fill out my new address (somewhat fearful that they will tell the State of NY that I am now a resident here). I try to figure out how to put the form into the return envelope, thinking it’s just a fold-and-stuff. Without checking the little envelope window, I seal the envelope and flip it over to write a return address. Oops. I unseal the envelope, pull out the form and notice that there are vaguely dotted lines. Apparently I am supposed to severe one piece from another. I try this, but find that the form still doesn’t fit so that the address is in the envelope window. Bollucks. I pull the form out again, tear it in places I’m probably not supposed to, making sure that my declaration of non-CT residency is still in tact, and I stick it back in the envelope, forcing the address to appear in the plastic window. Then I tape the envelope shut so I look especially competant to the State of CT. I bring the envelope with me to work and triumphantly drop it in the mailbox and as the door is closing and I hear the envelope slide down and hit the metal bottom, I remember something very important: postage.
Something tells me the State of CT doesn’t really want me on jury duty after all. However, if you can’t find me in a month, I’m in jail for failure to appear. Please help.
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09.25.07
Posted in Pictures, Restaurants & Bars, Writing, Food, New York City, Life at 11:03 am by Josh
I had my first writing class last night at NYU. It was a worthwhile experience and I think that I’m actually going to learn more than I’d originally assumed. It’s not that I’m learning brain surgery or anything. It’s just that I’ve never taken a class and, consequently, my writing suffers from a lack of organization and structure. It’s like I’ve been buildling one of those towers out of marshmallows and toothpicks rather than a glistening city skyscraper. I know how to build; I just don’t know how to make it stable. However, I think that by the time these ten weeks are over I’m going to find myself much happier with my works of fiction. Hell, I think I’m even going to get Dark Island publishable (is that a word?).
After writing was an impromptu Thai event with Kara at galanga. (They insist on lowercase; I’m not that lazy.) It was excellent Thai, especially for the convenience of location. I had the drunken noodle which was the only dish on the menu which had three “spice cups” next to it. They weren’t lying. My nose started to run and I even had to cough twice. A little embarrassing, but it was easily washed down with the lychee martini which had a purple flower floating in it. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first, but I’ve decided that since it was pretty, it was okay. (I obviously have a weakness for pretty things.) Kara had a ginger chicken dish which was classified under “The Wok” so I don’t know if it was curry or just a sauce or what. There was no spice to her dish whatsoever, and though my palate was a bit tainted, I must say that it was a very refreshing dish; almost soothing. Of course, that might be an illusion since anything would have soothed the burn I felt. Anyway, the food was top notch and the price was reasonable. The space was acceptable, considering a Greenwich Village restaurant, but the service could have been much better. The waitress came to us and stood next to me but didn’t say a word. I eventually coerced her into stating her purpose, at which time I told her we were not ready. She came back twice before sending another waiter over to check on us (who we also turned away because we needed more time). Later, she came to ask if we were done and Kara told her we were still working on it. Not thirty seconds later, a hand came around my left side and snatched my plate away too quickly for me to say, “Hey, stop there!” Fortunately, I wasn’t going to eat anymore, but this is about principle, not hunger. Overall, I give it three stars for the general public, four for me because I was in good company and they have rocks in the bathroom sink.
Afterwards, we wandered through the West Village to the beautiful view of Jersey City at the piers on the west side. The breeze was amazing, the people were non-existant, and the water was damn near mesmerizing. We stayed until it got too cold and then to Starbucks for tea and a free marshmallow square which we didn’t want but had to take because hey, it was a free marshmallow square.
And this is all that I can show you, compliments of my cell phone. All in all, a fantastic night:
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09.24.07
Posted in Music, Books, Church, Restaurants & Bars, Announcements, Weather, Writing, Food, New York City, Life at 11:19 am by Josh
The weekend was packed and not quite long enough for my taste, but pleasurable nonetheless. Friday night, Luke came over and we talked about (what else?) theology. Later on, Matt joined us and, upon Luke’s departure, Matt and I proceeded to execute the longest jam we’ve ever done, which included an impromptu, half-time, acoustic rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock n Roll”. That jam will appear here within the next two weeks. (For those of you who like the long jams, I’ll post the whole thirty-five minute ordeal; for those who like Led Zeppelin, I’ll post a separate, isolated version of just the song.)
Saturday I went to a sangria party in Astoria with Kyleen. It rained which was irritating because it wasn’t in the forecast and it made the weather all sticky and gross, but the sangria was excellent, as was the company the guacamole, even if I think that skinning and mushing avocados is gross (it looks like slime).
Saturday night was my one of my favorites places, Barcade, for Meg’s 30th Birthday. Katie came with me which was unexpected and awesome and we sampled some fine beers and video games, circa 1980s. The zombie game was fun but I think I did best at the driving game, even though the physics were a bit off. I forgot you couldn’t run people off the road back then.
Sunday was an amazing outdoor Village Church service. We went to Washington Square Park and had a full service in the midst of many artists, tourists, college kids, believers, non-believers, and the like. The weather couldn’t have been better, nor the music, and we had a great time despite the fact that one of our communion goblets took a digger (which I will credit to Victoire even though it was the wind’s fault). Afterwards, I went to get cheeseburgers at Oliver’s with not one, but three ladies from TVC. Just me and the ladies from Queens. I think I’ll write a song. Or a poem. Or something.
And I’ve finally made some headway on my rewrite for Dark Island (only the first three chapters). I managed to tackle six pages last night which was a big boost in motivation.
Today I start a writing class at NYU and I’m hopeful that afterwards I’ll be taking a drink or two with another church friend. I also hope to finish Dante’s Divine Comedy. Don’t get me wrong; I love the poetry. But I’m ready for something with less meat. I think I’ll read The Godfather next.
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09.20.07
Posted in News, Funnies at 10:58 am by Josh
Hillary Clinton gets ONE point from me. (Love for Star Wars or not, I’m still not voting for her.)
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Posted in Rants, Political Commentary, Culture, Unsolicited Opinions at 10:55 am by Josh
It seems that Tennessee has banned lethal injections as their official method of execution. I was moved to blog about this after reading the sentence that says, “Harbison could be legally executed once the state adopted a legal method of execution.” Let me weigh in on this.
Picture a bunch of people, probably men, probably white, probably with very dated suits, sitting around a table in a room with few to no windows. They’ve all got coffees and briefcases with clipboards and legal pads, medical journals, history books, court records, and statute books. They’re all ready to discuss the best way to kill a condemned person.
I do not advocate the death penalty (haha to all you who thought I was a conservative Republican!). I have my reasons, namely that which tells me we are called to forgive the worst sinner. Lock the murderer up, but let him live. Leave death and judgement to God. That said, I’m not sure who’s worse: the man who takes the life of another in cold blood or the men who debate, in the name of justice, the best way to kill a man.
Let’s be cynical. If you’re going to kill a person, who cares what it feels like? As far as I know, death is painful, notwithstanding the supposed “peace” of natural death (that whole drifting off in your sleep thing). But those who suffer terminal illness, murder, or accidental falls into the Grand Canyon would likely, given the opportunity, report significant amounts of pain or discomfort in their different experiences. To instead speak of making unnatural death “humane” and then to debate the ins and outs of execution in a committee is, in my opinion, to be absolutely revolting and maybe slightly insane.
You know, some people think that my taste in movies and stories is disturbing because I’ve often explored those darker parts of humanity. I’d have to say, with the utmost confidence, that my dabblings in the supernatural and human psyche are nothing compared with the reality that there are people out there who are willing to sit down and discuss ending human lives in an organized and “logical” fashion.
The Random House Unabridged Dictionary (2006) defines cruel in a couple of ways: “Willfullly or knowingly causing pain or distress to others” and also “rigid; stern; strict; unrelentingly severe”. If you want to avoid “cruel and unusual punishment”, how about you just don’t kill people? That ought to save taxpayers a lot of money in these governmental legal proceedings.
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09.19.07
Posted in New York City, Life at 08:48 am by Josh
I totally forgot to mention my very first unassisted celebrity sighting: Sunday, Katie and I went to see Halloween and while we were walking down Broadway, I noticed a set of large, deep blue eyes draped with wild, blonde hair passing by on the left-hand side. Afterwards, I turned to Katie and said, “That was Heather Graham, wasn’t it?”
“Yep.”
So anti-climactic.
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09.18.07
Posted in Restaurants & Bars, Food at 10:55 am by Josh
Last night, The Neighbor returned (finally) and took me out to dinner as a way of thanking me for collecting some months’ worth of mail. Since we live in Harlem, options weren’t as cool as I’d have liked them to be. We ended up at a place called Native, though I’ve still to determine why they thought that would be a good name. Menupages classifies it as Moroccan, French, and new American. I classify it as someone opening a Moroccan restaurant and trying to hard to cater to the insatiable taste of Harlem dwellers. It felt very uncommitted, with dining setups small enough for Lower Manhattan, prices high enough for Lower Manhattan, and enough different kinds of food to leave a person wondering what they set out for in the first place. Seriously, what sort of menu offers penne and shrimp, Moroccan fried chicken, and chicken curry under the same heading? And ignore those two dollar signs on Menupages; the place was pricey. Two entrees and a single glass of wine took us to forty dollars. Overall, the place gets a thumbs down from me. Downtown restaurants belong downtown. You simply cannot provide the same ambiance when there are fire engines screeching outside the open door.
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09.17.07
Posted in Political Commentary, News, Funnies at 12:35 pm by Josh
Hillary’s health care plan according to CNN:
Under the plan, federal subsidies would be provided for those who are not able to afford insurance, and large businesses would be required to provide or help pay for their employees’ insurance.
Thanks, Senator. Real original. Never heard that one before…
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Posted in Movies, Music, Writing, Food, Life at 08:59 am by Josh
Katie’s new apartment was officially christened on Friday with a rather decadent party which saw my meatballs, Katie’s artichoke dip, Matty’s truffle, and Jessica’s something-or-other which I’ll have to show you a picture of because it looked almost as delicious as it tasted. It was semi-formal so we all looked quite nice, and when we went on the roof we looked so freakin’ high-class that we could have easily been mistaken for Hollywood coke-heads. Someone took pictures, I’ll have to let you know if I ever get my hands on them.
Dark Island was ravaged by my writing group on Saturday, culminating in the need to re-write the first three chapters. As it turns out, my writing skills are mediocre, at best. I’m hopeful that will change in the near future.
I saw The Hey on Saturday night which was kind of fun because the sound guy didn’t show up with the necessary microphones and it turned into a forty-minute drum/bass jam, compliments of Matt Gliva and Alex Who Plays The Drums. To top it off, the second band cancelled, so when the sound guy finally showed, The Hey still had time to play their full set. I do so love live music.
And Katie and I finally got around to Rob Zombie’s Halloween yesterday, though we were almost thwarted by a false advertisement on Movietickets.com. But quick thinking and mad navigational skills landed us in Times Square just in time to catch the half-hour of previews (wtf is that all about?). The movie wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. Zombie changed too many aspects of the original movie, making the Myers family a bunch of white-trash rednecks which was a neat idea, but didn’t really fit with the rest of Haddonfield. I’m also not sure how I felt about ten-year-olds cursing with quite the skill they did in the movie, nor am I fully comfortable with Lindsay knowing what Annie and Paul were going to do in an empty house. Laurie Strode wasn’t the same quality of goody-goody which was also kind of lame. Highlights, though, would have to include Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Loomis (did anyone else notice how perfectly McDowell mimicked Donald Pleasance’s voice?) and the inclusion of many key pieces of dialogue, like Loomis’ speech about evil and Laurie’s question about the Boogeyman, although the latter was poorly executed. And let’s not forget our favorite allusions: The Rabbit in Red strip club (as opposed to the hotel from the original), the two occurences of “Don’t Fear The Reaper” and the stealthily placed “Mr. Sandman”. All in all, “A” for effort, “C” for execution.
And now, back to work…
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