Archive for April, 2010

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Hold On Hold On

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Well it’s a Friday today and it’s a gorgeous day. Last night wasn’t so bad either. When I was home alone I meant. It was all good, watching TV, comedies on NBC Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office and 30 Rock.

And actually I think Community was the funniest last night. Parks and Recreation was so so as usual. The Office would be in second place I think and 30 Rock in third place. Sometimes they just try too hard.

Not enough Jack Donaghy and way too much Tracy Jordan. I think the opening photo during the credits of Tracy Morgan is too much. He is truly the weak link on the show. Then again he is the luckiest guy in show business since he generally sucks. I sometimes wonder if Tracy Morgan has something on Tina Fey hence his being on the show, because it certainly can’t be talent.

After all that I wound up watching some clips of director Kevin Smith talking about spending a week out in Paisley Park with Prince. Got the link from Harpy and watched all four installments. I thought it was hilarious.

The news came on after that and as usual I watch until the weather report is finished then I change the channel generally if I am home alone and I was up to a point.

Bill came home from wherever it was he was at. He was in a pretty good mood, happy to be home. He loves the fact that I’ve shaved the goatee. I hate not having a goatee. I think I look like a lesbian without it.

I mentioned to Bill that I was planning to grow the goatee back but wary that it might come back with white hair. Bill was quite exuberant when he came through the door and his exuberance carried over in the manner of him chanting ‘White hair white hair’.

It was all fun and games then. I faux protested and threatened to drop the H bomb on him, ‘H’ meaning hair. He’s thinning on top and the sides are speckled with gray hairs. It went on like this for a few minutes, Bill would say something and then I would refute whatever it was that he said.

Apparently he was hurt by each successful refutation, so much so that he snapped at me saying that he was trying to work on his laptop, when only a minute before he was joining in on the fun.

It’s similar to some words we had a few months ago, where were were having a heated discussion about something and Bill lost it, saying that he can’t argue with me since I am always right. Or words to that effect.

I just happen to use reason when I argue something. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be much use for reason on the other side sometimes. So whatever boisterousness that was happening quickly deflated leaving me with hurt feelings and resentment.

Sometimes one vibe is better than two vibes and I was having a much better time when Bill wasn’t home last night.

Yes he drives me crazy and last night he drove me crazy again. I spent time and energy avoiding him whenever possible. He went to sleep as usual and I couldn’t have cared less.

I’m still resentful and maintained no contact with him today. He did apologize this morning as he was leaving for work but to half asleep me it made no difference. Even if I was fully awake this morning it would have made no difference.

The time for the apology would have been last night. And last night, or rather yesterday, the reason for my ambivalence about most things was because I took a Xanax in the afternoon, so I was definitely in quite a mellow mood last night.

He’s driving to Atlantic City tonight and I am relieved.

I think I had some good guitar playing going on today by the river. Ran into a Facebook friend, Juan Melli with whom I share mutual friends. Never met him before in the flesh.

Nice guy, took the picture below. He’s also a bicycling enthusiast so perhaps a ride will be underway this summer. Juan asked for a song so I played All My Loving which is committed to memory and Instant Karma.

He rode off after a little while and I played Sweet Little Sixteen and Maybe I’m Amazed among others.

Picked up Hot Chip- One Life Stand and MGMT Congratulations from the bibliothèque today as well as The Rutles DVD- Can’t Buy Me Lunch, the sequel to All You Need is Cash.

An evening alone is what I am looking forward to.

photo by Juan Melli

photo by Juan Melli

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Posted in STFU | 2 Comments »

Hold Me Tight

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

A beautiful day today. A bit blustery though. An ambivalent day for me as well. Just feeling meh. No word from the interview yesterday but I wasn’t expecting that.

In the back of my mind there was the hope of them calling me up and saying, ‘You! John Ozed! It is you that we want! It is you that we need! So much so that we want you to write for us! We’ve seen your blog but we don’t care!’

Of course the phone didn’t ring. It did notify me that I had some texts coming in. I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and head out with the guitar and play by Pier A.

After tying up my newspapers (which broke open of the third floor leaving me to sit on the floor and retie them up) I wandered over to the Guitar Bar where I found that Jim Mastro was en route to England to do a short tour with Ian Hunter.

No matter though when he gets back I would like to ask him to show me how to play a song or two. I just can’t figure some songs out, despite YouTube, despite watching Stine play it. I think having Jim or one of his associates show me how to play would do the trick.

I wandered over to Pier A where there weren’t too many people out. There were some on the grass and of course there were clusters of cigarette smokers outside the Wylie building. I practiced my repertoire, All My Loving, Instant Karma, Don’t Play That Song.

Tariq showed up but didn’t take his guitar out. He was just hanging, encouraging me to keep playing. I tried Visions of Johanna, Panic by the Smiths, Gangsters and Do Nothing by the Specials, and my tour de force, Hercules by Elton John.

Also trying to figure out and commit to memory, (Love is Like a) Heatwave by Martha and the Vandellas.

I’m trying to get 10 to 15 songs that I know inside out that I can perhaps play for tourists in Central Park. That’s for the warmer weather and also depends on whether or not I have a job.

Once the sun went behind the Wylie building it got a lot cooler out so I just packed up and walked to a bench that was a it sunnier and sat there, staring at the Carnival Miracle luxury liner cruising down the Hudson while I smoked a cigar.

Went to the supermarket, bought juice and picked up Bill’s laundry and dry cleaning. So while the day has been mired in the humdrum I’ve been keeping myself busy. Last night I picked up a CD from the bibliothèque, Big Star .#1 Record / Radio City.

I’ve heard it in bits and pieces over the years but never got my own copy. So the bibliothèque came through and toady I returned that and took out the latest Madness release, The Liberty of Norton Folgate. Both are good CD’s.

I also ordered the latest release from MGMT and Hot Chip as well as a boxed collection of Big Star (which was Alex Chilton’s former group). Promises to be another quiet night, not much going on. Comedy on NBC which is something to look forward to.

That’s about it on this end, how are things on your end? I know besides Harpy and Annemarie responding it’s unlikely anyone else will.

Friggin’ lurkers.

ambivalance

ambivalance


a sunny ambivalance

a sunny ambivalance


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Posted in I Love Music | 5 Comments »

Hold On Tight

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

It’s been a busy day somewhat for me today. Not as busy as yesterday and not as much fun either. Today was an interview. Didn’t get too worked up about it and was able to prepare for it at a casual pace. Got my resumes, my references and my photo ID together.

Dropped off a suit on Monday to get pressed and patched up as well as a shirt that needed a patch. Well the patch on the shirt was a bad idea, not because of the tear in the shirt, but rather because it’s a French cuff shirt and the cuff was frayed somewhat.

A letdown of sorts but luckily for me I have a few other shirts to wear. I had hoped to print out a few copies of my resume and references on Bill’s computer but it wasn’t working at all. This turns out to be the reason why Bill punched his computer a few weeks ago.

It was completely not working today. I had a Plan B lined up though. After getting suited up and polishing my shoes I headed up to Washington Street and walked to a store called The Office. Computer access and printing can be done there.

I re-did the references on Google Documents so all I would have to do was log in at The Office. I was assigned the third computer on the right and since there were 5 computers on the right I picked the one in the middle which made sense.

Logged into Google and into Documents and tried to print out a few copies. Nothing came out, not even the window for printing. It was about 1:50 and my interview was at 3:00. I walked up to the counter where I couldn’t find any help.

Finally the guy who assigned the computer to me came in after loading the parking meter with quarters. He had me log onto the computer at the counter which I did and explained to him I only needed 5 copies. What color? What paper stock? Black & white and plain paper.

Tried to use the copier in the store to make some copies of my resume as well. Now you need to purchase a card to use the copier and my dollar bill kept getting rejected. They made the copies behind the counter and altogether it cost me $1.40, but cost me more in aggravation.

I mentioned my experience with The Office with Rand who invited me to come over and do the stuff at his apartment but it was too late. Rand knew all about the way the Office is set up.

I did give myself enough time to be early for the interview and was soon on a Path train to the World Trade Center station at 2:25. Luckily for me the office where I was interviewing was a block away from the station.

The security desk in the street lobby gave me my pass as well as his story about how is ankle was all fucked up. All the security guys have fucked up ankles from working in the lobby of the former AT&T building.

I waited upstairs and Joan eventually came out. It was a good interview with Joan. Nice woman, told me about her father’s passing a few months ago. He had Alzheimer’s. After about 20 minutes with Joan I was introduced to Elaine.

The three of us sat in the interview room and I think I answered all the questions correctly, telling them the truth and what they wanted to hear, which turned out to be the truth. I think the interview went well. Maybe even a home run.

Of course they have other people they have to meet. I shook their hands and told them I hope to hear from them.

Walked around downtown for a little while, bought a La Flor Dominicana cigar at Barclay Rex and talked to a couple of other cigar smokers.

Then a short walk back to the Path train. I think the whole afternoon went well.

Game face.

Game face.


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Hold Your Head Up

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Back from a lovely day spent with Juan in Manhattan. Specifically the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was in town on a school thing, bus transportation arranged by his school.

I got a call from Juan as he was headed up north on the Turnpike. Most everyone on the bus were enthralled with the Lincoln Tunnel helix and the view but Juan grew up around here and for him it was nothing resembling awe inspiring.

He called and I decided to get it together and forgo my daily routine. Got my stuff ready and headed into the city via bus. Walked over to Grand Central, one step ahead of the rain, literally. Lucked out and hopped on a 5 express train to 86th Street.

Missed most of the rain while traveling underground and walked over to 5th Avenue and walked to the museum with Juan waiting in the lobby.

Paid $2.00 to get in. Not as snooty as has been in the past. The suggested donation is $20.00 but you can basically pay what you wish. With all the school trips and tourists I’m sure my $2.00 donation was offset somewhat by the full price paid by others.

The Met is a cool museum. For the longest time I didn’t much care for it, but I think it depended on who I went with. I’ve been there with Bill and with Pedro and both were good times, but Juan made for a perfect companion today. Also had a moment at the Met 30 years ago, but it’s quite tawdry and I won’t get into here.

We wandered around through Egyptian and Byzantine winds, past the Sub Continent and some of the deities worshiped therein.

Juan and I wound up in the Picasso exhibition which just opened a few weeks ago I think. It was crazy crowded and I remarked that if I were to come back to see this exhibit, it would likely be early when the museum just opened.

Went out for a break in Central Park which was breezy and sunny. Lot’s of catching up with Juan as a jazz cigarette wafted through the open air.

We walked back in had some lunch after that in the Met’s cafeteria. A bit pricey but had a nice salad and a Viennese Iced Coffee. More art to check out, religious figures and myths.

We decided to head out after that, Juan wanting to visit Urban Outfitters. He looked one up on his Blackberry and we opted to walk down to 60th Street and Third Avenue. He found a nice shirt and I found some nice things too.

Alas Juan is working and could afford things, I can only gaze. It’s not too bad as I do have enough clothes anyhow.

We walked down to the Path train after that, me stopping in a newsstand to see if the new Mojo or Uncut magazines were on the stands yet, Juan stopping into H&M.

I waited outside and chatted with Bill on the phone who had a surreal experience at work. Bill was helping out another attorney earlier in the day and the attorney mentioned that he knew another William Vila back in the day.

Bill asked how, and the attorney mentioned it was when he lived in Spanish Harlem in the 1950′s, where Bill’s father used to live. With a few more questions from Bill, it turned out that Bill’s father had done the attorney’s wedding invitations in the 1950′s.

Bill also asked what did William Vila look like and the attorney basically described his father. He also said that judging by the looks of Bill, his father did a fine job. I can’t help but agree with that.

Now, the sun is setting, Juan is here hanging out before he heads back to Union City to see his folks. That’s about it, I’m tried from all that walking.

I had a great time with Juan today. I miss him being around all the time, but then again, he has a life.

4.27.10 Metropolitan Museum of Art 005
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The Smokers

The Smokers


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4.27.10 Metropolitan Museum of Art 038

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Posted in Wonderful World Beautiful People | 2 Comments »

Hold Back Time

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Another Monday it seems. More rain. Gray gray day. Not much reason to go out except for bread and now that that’s done I have no reason to go out again.

Watched the Pacific again which was probably the most intense it’s been so far. And Treme was good too, just not as good as The Pacific. Thanks to the melatonin, no laying in bed thinking about how grenades work.

Bill had rehearsal for a play and didn’t get home until late. I stayed up until he came home and then went to bed. By the time Bill went to bed I was fast asleep. I love me my melatonin.

Haven’t seen or heard from anyone today except a phone call with Bill earlier and emails from my sister. Some Facebook postings and comments as well.

Sent out some resumes once again, hoping for the best and disregarding some requirements. I mean, really, anyone can be a brain surgeon, right? Why not me? Dropped off a suit at the dry cleaners also for some mending and pressing.

For the first time in weeks I have nothing out of the bibliothèque.

Nothing I ordered has come in, and once again an item I asked for, the DVD of Black Dynamite has been deemed too recent to order via BCCLS.org. It’s been a while since I first asked for it, and here we are weeks later being told it’s still too new. I don’t mind, I can wait.

I’ve waited this long and a few more weeks won’t kill me.

I watched the Graduate the other night. It wasn’t as good as I remembered. It had it’s moments but overall it couldn’t be called timeless. I wasn’t the generation it was aimed for so maybe that’s why I missed the boat.

But I used to enjoy watching it a number of years ago. Now, it was just something to watch while killing time.

MGMT were on Saturday Night Live the other night, and I thought they were better than expected. Any song that references Brian Eno is alright by me. Gabourey Sidibe was the guest host and she was funnier than I expected as well.

Still the rain falls.

Laundry is done and hanging in the kitchen and the rest room. Also grilled up some chicken so it’s penne, pesto and chicken tonight for me. I’m looking forward to that.

That’s the type of day it’s been. Shopping for bread, doing laundry, grilling chicken and watching the rain fall down. It’s supposed to let up on Wednesday so I am hoping Wednesday will be a good day.

Not expecting too much besides that. Right now watching Analyze That which is the sequel to Analyze This. The first one was so so and this one is even less so.

I do recall having dinner with Miriam, Suzanne Savage and some colleagues at Arista Records 12 years (?) ago at a restaurant named Gabriel’s on west 59th Street. At the next table was Harold Ramis, Billy Crystal and Robert DeNiro in conversation regarding Analyze This.

It was a big thrill then, much better than the picture that was made.

Clean Shaven Me!

Clean Shaven Me!

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Posted in Mood Mambo | No Comments »

It’s Up to You

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

Another lazy day, this time with drizzle!

Wrestling with the prospect of writing and deciding not to, and then eventually finding myself at the keyboard, writing. It’s a nasty habit and you would be ill advised to involve yourself with ink stained wretches like myself.

There’s really no excuse for it. It could have started and usually does, when I don’t have something to read, so instead I just make something else to read. For my own enjoyment. It used to be I’d write something and then squirrel it away never to be seen again.

There are a few notebooks, sometimes fueled by chemicals, alcohol or whatever might have been handy. But that was then and I named names as well as substances and locations.

I don’t do that anymore, names are changed, locations are described in a vague manner and rarely are substances ingested.

I have gone out once today. Too damp, too cold for me. Just mainly staying in. No reason to go out you see.

And I only went out to get some coffee at Dunkin Donuts. They have a sale on pounds of coffee and they’re way cheaper than Empire Coffee. I do like Empire Coffee but rarely go there anymore. I like to support the local businesses but when something is on sale you just can’t let it slip by.

And maybe there’s a smidgen of resentment since I wasn’t hired to work there when they had a help wanted sign in their window. And it’s just a smidgen anyhow.

Bill came home this morning as expected, after driving to and from Atlantic City. I did take a melatonin tablet last night which aided with sleep and definitely doesn’t lend itself to getting up early. Bill was watching Lawn Hors d’œuvre and I shuffled on past on my way to the shower.

What actually got me out of bed was the realization that I would have to head out to buy some coffee. I knew that yesterday but forgot all about it until this morning. So after a reheated cup from what was left in the pot from yesterday I felt steeled enough to go outside.

And it was raining and I had no umbrella and wasn’t about to climb four flights of steps again. It wasn’t raining too hard, just a steady drizzle. After buying the newspaper I came home and it’s where I’ve been all day, and perhaps will be here until tomorrow.

It’s certainly cheaper to stay home and do nothing rather than go out and spending money. The Pacific & Treme are on tonight and so I will more than likely watch both.

Right now I am watching John Jacob Niles and Odetta in a Folk Music Arm Wrestling series from 1959. My money would have been on Odetta, but John Jacob Niles had proven himself to be quite the formidable opponent.

Times were certainly different then. Or perhaps the era was different and the times remain the same.
Or they’re a changing. It’s up to you.

Napping Bill

Napping Bill


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