Posts Tagged ‘Earl’

With a Girl Like You

Friday, July 10th, 2009

And it’s been quite a nice day spent with my sister Annemarie and her son Earl. Earl is now 6’1”. Almost as tall as me, and as tall as Bill. A not so angry inch on this end.

I met up with them last night. They stopped here in Hoboken where we had pizza at Grimaldi’s. They can’t get pizza like that in Arcata. It was a quick stop before they headed up to Garfield to my brother Frank’s house.

I stayed in Hoboken, eventually going out for a stroll, walking off the pizza I helped inhale. Nice night smoking a cigar, listening to some of the London Calling album up to Lost in The Supermarket before switching over to the first side of Talking Heads: 77.

Bill came home a little after that, watched Lawn hors d’œuvre Criminal Relent up to a point when Bill switched into stage manager mode and hit pause on the digital cable box for about 50 minutes. He un-paused it when the news came on and his phone call was finished. The news was nothing in particular, mostly bad.

Then the Simpsons came on and Bill was off to bed, me joining him a little while later. He was off in the morning and kissed me goodbye as I lay in bed.

No work today. Annemarie called a little while later, checking to see if I was awake and also to see if anything was planned for the day.

At that moment I didn’t have any plans but after a cup of coffee I had an idea. A trip to the city and visiting some art galleries. Always fun to do and also easy on the wallet.

Anne and Earl rode down to Hoboken and found a spot on my block and we walked over to the Path, riding to 14th Street and walking up Fifth Avenue.

I had hoped to go to the Not Fade Away Gallery to check out the New York City 1970′s photos of Allen Tannenbaum. Despite getting there after 12:00 on a Friday when they were supposed to be open, they weren’t. It was just a little bit disappointing but other galleries lay ahead.

We walked down 20th street and wound up having lunch at the Rocking Horse Cafe which was good as usual. Then it was off to the galleries, first stop was a Stephen Shore exhibition.

In the 1960′s, Stephen Shore was a young man in his 20′s and took a lot of classic photos of Andy Warhol and the Factory crowd. I had seen some of the pictures in books but it was great to see them blown up in a gallery.

Then it was a hodgepodge of gallery hopping mainly from 22nd street to 24th and 25th Streets. Earl had gotten a phone call from a friend back in Arcata about completing his college registration today so I made a call to Bill and the three of us hopped in a taxi and rode up to midtown where we met up with Bill.

Bill was kind enough to bring his laptop down to the street where Earl worked the wireless connection and my cellphone and spoke to Susan, the administrative help at Humboldt State.

The process didn’t go as planned and Bill needed to get back to his office so we meandered down Broadway, saw a big chess game in Herald Square and hopped on a Path train back to Hoboken.

We came back here where I set Earl up on Bill’s Mac and I played DJ while Annemarie read some magazines and eventually catnapped. After Earl completed his registration, they were going to get some food in Hoboken before heading back to Garfield so I joined them for dinner at the Karma Cafe.

After that a quick visit to Julio & Stine’s apartment where they were able to finally meet Alexander who clearly loved being the center of attention. Still an adorable lad, running around trying to communicate.

I sat in the next room and read to Alexander while Annemarie and Earl caught up with Julio & Stine. A perfect finish to a perfect day. Simply a nice, nice, nice day with some of my favorite people.

And now, the pics

en route to the Path

en route to the Path


Earl & Me. Missing from picture, Cornbread.

Earl & Me. Missing from picture, Cornbread.


Andy

Andy


Edie Sedgewick

Edie Sedgewick


7.10.09 Anne & Earl NYC 010
Gallery hopping

Gallery hopping


7.10.09 Anne & Earl NYC 015
7.10.09 Anne & Earl NYC 017
Cedric Smith

Cedric Smith


7.10.09 Anne & Earl NYC 020
Cedric Smith

Cedric Smith


Cedric Smith

Cedric Smith


7.10.09 Anne & Earl NYC 028
actually photographed this once before in a previous entry

actually photographed this once before in a previous entry


this one as well...

this one as well...


7.10.09 Anne & Earl NYC 029
7.10.09 Anne & Earl NYC 030
7.10.09 Anne & Earl NYC 031
Tough Titty

Tough Titty


Anne, Bill & the college registrant

Anne, Bill & the college registrant


my homage to Mapplethorpe

my homage to Mapplethorpe


7.10.09 Anne & Earl NYC 045
Us 2

Us 2


big chess match in Herald Square

big chess match in Herald Square


a mom and her son

a mom and her son


7.10.09 Anne & Earl NYC 004
he usually smiles.

he usually smiles.

Here Comes The Moon

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Today is Thursday. Been overcast most of the day until I headed out and then it was quite sunny. I slept until 9:00 and that was great. I was so tired yesterday after skipping lunch and the dinner I had last night barely kept me awake.

Still I got myself together and wrote. I was thinking about having a cigar and checking out the music at Church Square Park down the street, but Rand called and asked if I wanted to join him and Lisa on a walk over to the 13th Street pier.

Apparently they too were having live music. That sounded more enjoyable, what with the company I would be keeping and the fact that it sounded like some turgid blues were being played at Church Square Park.

I met up with Rand & Lisa outside their building and the three of us having a few laughs courtesy of Lisa, ably reprising her role as Lady Gigglepuss. It actually would have been ideal if our friend Lois would join us, but she was in for the night, which was too bad since this was right up her alley.

It was a beautiful night on the pier and a good way to enjoy a cigar and have some beers.

It’s actually a private pier, but someone finagled it for the night. Four musicians playing separate sets on acoustic guitars. I don’t know if calling them ‘folk’ would have fit, more like ‘emo’. It wasn’t bad though Rand and I had a few laughs comparing one of the musicians to Yusef Islam nee, Cat Stevens.

Saw some familiar faces from Hoboken, but none more familiar than Alice Genese. It’s always a pleasure to see Alice. Last time I saw her, she was giving me a ride home a few years ago from Chaz’ holiday party, when she told me she thought my former roommate William and I were a couple.

Oh no, I quickly dissuaded her of that thought. Too damn skinny for my appetite!

I had a few Heinekens with Alice, Rand and Lisa had Vodka Tonics. The music was ok but it was more about the atmosphere, being out on the pier on a beautiful summer night.

Came home, Bill was watching a marathon of Entourage and wishing he had an agent like Ari Gold. He soon went to bed and I stayed up later than usual since I didn’t have to get up early.

Like I said, it was a gorgeous day, enjoyed a cigar as I walked across town to the office. Vivek was in doling out Kinematic T Shirts and I duly collected my share. Also did some things that needed to be done, things that no one else would think of doing.

Apparently I’m only in for 3 days a week, which is better than nothing and I could always use the Kinematic T Shirts

It seemed like a bus dropped off a lot of good looking men as I walked around midtown. Almost got whiplash turning my head so fast.

I did track Annemarie’s flight from San Francisco and it was on time, so now I wait for her and her son Earl to arrive so we could get some pizza at Grimaldi’s in Hoboken.

I’m looking forward to seeing them since it’s been a couple of years since we last spent time together. And I’m hungry.

The Lady Gigglepuss

The Lady Gigglepuss


7.8.09 005
7.8.09 007

So Fresh, So Clean

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

Jeez I’m tired. Skipped lunch and that’s probably why. I don’t skip lunch and it was because I thought I would be out of the office by 2:00 that I didn’t eat.

The reason for that was Greg Stevens. He’s still having Blackberry problems, carrying over from the other day. I couldn’t do much but provide physical support, which meant sitting in Greg’s office while he talked with his actual IT guy in Los Angeles, AT&T customer service, Blackberry customer service and some other service, all on a conference call.

Greg considers me his IT guy in Manhattan which is nice but would make people like Rand and even Bill chortle at the thought of me being in Information Technology. Sure I know a little bit more than Greg which is a good thing, keeps my foot still in the door.

The intern came in today. She was telling me that Abby called her mother to complain that the intern wasn’t taking Abby’s calls. The intern is Asian Indian as well and she got the job since they’re all part of a sub-continental network of sorts.

Apparently Abby has taken to showing up at around 6:00 and actually asked where I was last time he was in. Numb nuts doesn’t know that I don’t work with him anymore. Still, he is welcome to ask, but it doesn’t mean he’ll get me to do anything for him.

Whom am I kidding? If I could help him I’m sure I would, but he’s the type to take my kindness for weakness.

I also found out from the intern that she heard I’ll be working 3 days a week. Well today is day 3. I did get an email from Vivek and I told him that I’ve worked 29 hours so far, and that includes the 2 days I worked last week.

He said that he would give me a Cafe Press T-shirt for my collection tomorrow so I will just have to go in with my sweet kissable taint, hopefully for just a few minutes and then off to the bait shop.

Today on my way home I stopped by the Chasm residence. Good to see Casey and the missus. Casey has a great opportunity tomorrow and I off course wished him well. He’d make a great spokesperson for his invention.

It was good to sit still and hang out with them for a little while. Probably much like Juan felt last night when he stopped by for a spell. A nice visit with friends, not too long.

So tomorrow I’ll sleep late and get to the office around noon which isn’t that bad. And I’ll probably get some work done while I’m there since Vivek as you know from reading these entries is notoriously late.

Annemarie and Earl fly in tomorrow and I already told Julio I need the beach gear since there is a good chance that I’ll be headed to Sandy Hook on Sunday. I’m sure I’ll have to keep on him about that. It will be good to sit on the beach and look at the ocean.

I’m probably going to head out with Rand & Lisa check out some music on the pier at 13th street in Hoboken tonight. He called and I didn’t have anything else to do anyway, so why the hell not?

Wishing Well

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

It’s yet another rainy day. Woke up and it was pouring out. Last night it rained too. Rain rain rain. It’s tiresome. I hope it’s not like this when Annemarie and Earl come over from Arcata next month.

It’s always like this in Arcata and I think that coming east is an escape from that crappy weather for Annemarie and Earl. At the moment it has stopped raining but more is expected.

Last night was yet another mellow evening. Instead of the usual viewing fare, I watched The Public Enemy starring James Cagney and Jean Harlow.

It’s a classic, pre-code movie from 1931, the story of Tommy Powers rise to power in the world of criminal enterprise. I had never seen it before from start to finish and it was a good movie.

Just a little unbelievable was a scene where Cagney and his accomplice are running from a policeman who just shoots at them over and over while blowing his police whistle.

The chase goes around a corner where off camera the policeman is shot and Cagney and company run off.

It’s also the movie where Cagney smashes a grapefruit in a moll’s face. The moll by the way is not Jean Harlow but Mae Clarke. That is the classic scene.

As I watched the movie, there was a scene where Cagney and his buddy pay a visit to Putty Nose, someone who had done them wrong years before.

They want revenge and catch up with Putty Nose outside his home. They drag him in and Putty Nose realizes whats going on and tries to reason with them.

As I watched I wondered if that was where a line that was sampled by Coldcut on the remix for Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid in Full. ‘Back in the club, why you kids used to laugh at this song’.

Sure enough a minute later Putty Nose comes up with the line launching into the song and getting killed right before the chorus. I was surprised that I figured out where the line was from a moment before it was said.

Perhaps Tommy Powers mother was a little too loving, always willing to turn away when Tommy was up to no good, or when Tommy was getting the strap from his policeman father.

After that I watched some of Bill Maher from last week. I’m pretty sure that they use canned laughter a lot on the show since some of the jokes are just not funny at all.

And I’m not that fond of Bill Maher either, he’s too smarmy and way too fond of himself. PJ O’Rourke is another one I don’t get. He also laughs the hardest at his own jokes.

I’m sure he might have been funny back in the day when he was working at National Lampoon, but nowadays he’s merely a lampoon of himself.

The weather forecast is more rain. It’s supposed to be nice on Sunday, so no major bicycle ride on Saturday. Then again the weather forecast is wrong half the time but even that makes me wary. I suppose I will have to just wait and see.

Nothing to report on the work front. Nothing has changed. Still no info.

Tonight promises to be another quiet night. Which is better than pandemonium I guess. Bill just gave me the brush off, so maybe it won’t be so quiet after all.

I’ve Just Seen a Face

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Well it’s Friday. I’m off. A weird day overall. Last night and tonight the forecast was 100% hummus. And no pita for a good time. Just a strange, off day.

Last night was quiet, Bill attending a wake in the Bronx and me doing nothing much beyond writing. Watched more of the recorded Daily Show Colbert Report. Not much Scrubs these days. After watching most, if not all of the episodes over and over, I’ve opted for other things to watch.

Sometimes even playing music instead of the TV being on. When Bill is here I try to introduce new things for him to hear during commercial breaks. Then I ask him what he thinks of it and he generally likes it. Then again I am specific on what I play.

Certainly not the Fall, but rather along the lines of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. No Butthole Surfers, instead The Bird and the Bee. This is all new stuff Bill.

Last night my nephew Earl graduated from high school. A major accomplishment. Not that his graduation was in doubt- it wasn’t, but high school graduation is a major turning point in a young persons life.

And then there are the parties going on for a week or so afterwards. I graduated from high school in 1980 and it was certainly a different time for social mores at least.

After my graduation ceremony, I joined my family for cocktails at the VFW before heading off to another VFW in Fort Lee where another classmate was having a party. Smoking and drinking throughout the night and no one said otherwise to 17 year old me.

Definitely not the same for Earl and his graduating class, I’m sure. Sobriety is the theme for their night and good for them.

And congratulations to Earl!

Today was spent doing laundry and getting some things from the supermarket. That was about it. Now it’s not so hummus but earlier was just dense. Several t-shirts later, a nice breeze finally wafts through the screen.

I’m heading out in a while, off to meet up with Bill to see the Taking of Pelham 1-2-3. It’s a remake and the original is one of Bill’s favorite movies of all time. He tried to get cast in this go round but the director Tony Scott didn’t get Bill’s head shot.

Bill’s pal Fred and his lady friend Lila are joining us and we’re supposed to meet in front of the theater on 23rd street at 7:45, two hours from now.

I’m watching the second disc of The Buddha of Suburbia and not paying much attention to it. I did watch Black Narcissus earlier and I’m pretty sure I had seen that before. Just killing time I suppose.

I was able to get some tickets to a Rock Show in July. Geology is such a fascinating field. I’m taking Bill and Earl. For Bill’s birthday on June 29 and Earl’s graduation last night.

Pity the seats aren’t together. Someone will be on top, and someone will be close to the ground. Annemarie’s joining us as well so perhaps the 4 of us can swap tickets and seats if need be. That will have to be worked out on July 17.

Funny thing, instead of frantically trying to get the tickets when they went on pre-sale at 10:00 this morning, I didn’t get around to it until 10:20.

I’m satisfied, but then again I haven’t gotten the bill yet.

Eight Miles High

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

Well today has been a lovely Sunday. Bright and sunny with only a few minutes of drizzle then it all went back to being sunny and gay. Well it’s always gay for me and maybe for some of you too.

Sorry about the late posting last night. Firefox has been misbehaving lately. Each time I would try to upload pics to the blog the Firefox browser would crash.

Over and over again.

Then I went out to meet up with Rand and Lois to discuss plans for their short film that might be shot over a weekend in a few weeks. I am game for it and told Lois that I would be willing to do just about anything she might want me to do.

It was a good meeting with laughs liberally applied. I’m not getting into any further for now. Don’t want to give anything away or offend any gentleman’s sensibilities though Clive Davis should be worried.

Some musical instruments were played with, a piano, a ukulele, a eastern European harp of some sort and a double necked bass & guitar as well as Lois’ Fender Squire which I liked. Lois asked if we were up for some drinks and Rand said yes and I said no. Then I thought about it and said why not?

It was off to DC’s Tavern on Eighth Street all the way in the back of Hoboken. Everyone’s friend Pat Longo DJ’s there sometimes and I can’t say I’ve ever made it to his spinning sessions. Finally making it there I wondered where does Pat Longo set up his turntables and whatnot.

It’s not that large a space and a lot smaller than I had imagined. It seems like DJ’s Tavern would really like to be a roadhouse. Streamers advertising Pabst Blue Ribbon were hanging underneath beer trays for Pabst as well as other beers.

I expected to see some Rhinegold, Ballentine’s and Schaffer beer trays hanging but didn’t see any from my angle. Cute bartender though, shaved head and inked which isn’t normally my style but any port in a storm. Alas, there was no storm though.

It was a good evening with more laughs with Rand and Lois who I’ve known since 1983. I definitely look forward to the filming of their filmic world. After a few pints of Guinness and some cocktails for Lois we headed out, I was able to light up a San Luis Rey Rothchilde for the walk home, with even more laughing with old friends.

When I got home I checked the blog and was surprised that what I had written a few hours previous wasn’t posted. I was able to figure out what happened wrong on that front and re-posted. Then I watched some rebroadcasts of Lost from the first season.

Posted the pictures this morning on Internet Explorer. As I am doing right now.

With the Guinness and walking around Manhattan in the afternoon with Bill I decided to head to bed with Bill sleeping quietly under his sleep apnea mask. He was up and about around 7:00 which was just wrong in my book. I finally got out of bed myself around 9:00 after Bill had headed off to collect his mother.

I made some coffee, showered and was soon out and about picking up newspapers and other weekend morning items. Saw Julio with Alexander from a distance as they were waiting for Stine and her family from Denmark. I was off to the supermarket so a wave would have to suffice.

It was a nice morning and I wound up playing selections from Woody Allen’s movies, which were mainly songs from the Big Band era. Bill and I watched a little bit of Peter Marshall on PBS hosting a pledge time Big Band special.

I knew most of the songs last night and with Bill’s Shazam application for his iPhone we were able to identify and tell the difference between Chick Webb and Harry James.

My sister Annemarie had burned the Woody Allen stuff a few years ago but they couldn’t be identified through Gracenote on iTunes since I think Annemarie had her son Earl do the CD burning. Too complicated for her and some fun for Earl since he threw everything out of order and it took me a couple of years to figure out what’s what.

It was too nice to stay in today so I walked over to the Hudson River and sat by the soccer pitch and read the New Yorker and enjoyed another San Luis Rey Rothchilde.

I’m still trying to get my brothers and sister on board for what could be Paul McCartney being the first concert at the new Mets stadium in Flushing in July. Right now it’s only a rumor, but it’s a fab rumor.

a brief approaching storm from the west of Hoboken

a brief approaching storm from the west of Hoboken