Tag Archives: Hot Chip

As It Is When It Was

It’s a gray day yet again, this time it’s a Thursday gray day. Not so bad. Just always on the edge of a storm today. Last night, pretty quiet. Finally got this week’s New Yorker. That’s what sows down my catching up I think. Well, that and not reading it when I have the opportunity. I have been slowly reading a book about the Beatles. It’s a good read so far. I’ve read dozens so far and they always end the same. The band can’t stand each other and they break up. Sorry about the lack of spoiler alert.

I did attempt to go to bed earlier. I was getting ready for bed around 10:45 when Bill texted me that he was on the bus home. I had no idea that he was coming over last night. I texted him back that I was going to bed. He usually texts me when he gets on the bus at the terminal, but apparently this time he texted while he was on the bus in Hoboken. He was in the apartment about 10 minutes later just as I was closing my eyes. I got out of bed and gave him a kiss, chatted for a minute, then tried to go to sleep. Not that easy since he was soon in bed next to me and soon after that was snoring. Still, it was good to hear the sound of concrete being jack hammered, which is the sound he sometimes makes as he drifts off.

I woke up around 6:00, Bill still sleeping. I asked him if he was going to work and he was going in later. Soon I was out the door walking up to Washington Street, listening to Hot Chip on the iPod. Got to the office, most everyone was going to be out of the office at a seminar across town. That made things pressure free and I was able to take my time starting up the office. It took me about 15 minutes instead of 10, that’s what I call coasting. Ran a few errands, dropped off In The Valley of Elah at the Post Office.

Eventually I strolled up to 57th street to get my Thursday lunch, Penne with chicken and pesto. It’s just a nice reward that I give myself for getting through most of the week, and the garlic breath keeps people at a distance. There’s a slight undercurrent of melancholy in the office this week. DNA Inc, shares office space with TechnoBio and TechnoBio is leaving at the end of the month, relocating the office to Washington DC. Some are going, some aren’t but the New York office with be closed regardless. Nice people, hate to see them go.

Some have left already and we’ve said good bye over the past couple of weeks, now it’s the core group and it’s cleaning out of offices and throwing stuff out. They’ll still be paying half the rent according to the lease, but no one will be there. That’s the nature of the economic beast.

Potholes In My Lawn

Listening to De la Soul’s classic debut, 3 Feet High and Rising. This record was everywhere almost 20 years ago, now it’s incredibly difficult to get. I was at the Virgin Mega Store on Union Square a few weeks ago, and saw it, but didn’t get it. A few days ago I was in the Virgin Mega Store in Times Square, where they didn’t have it. So today, since I had off, I decided to head into the city and get something for my niece’s birthday at Farfetched and stopped off at the Union Square store again. They had it, but for $27.99. I know I saw it last for about $14.99, and sure enough, after digging through the rack I found one copy at $14.99. Double cd set too. The bonus disc is b-sides and remixes that I used to have in 12” form when I used to DJ.

I also picked up the latest Hot Chip cd, a band that Juan turned me onto which I really liked. Their cd was on sale for $10.00, including a version with a live dvd attached. Not a bad deal all around, though in hindsight I used to buy a lot more for the same price. And the cd’s I bought were both imports from Germany and Holland.

Last night I saw Chaz for a few minutes. Hes flying off to Milan on Tuesday. He won a contest. He’s always entering contests. He gave me a burned copy of Funplex by the B-52’s as well as the remix single of Funplex with remixes by Scissor Sisters, Peaches, and Cansei de Ser Sexy. So far it’s all good. I neglected to mention that at work yesterday I found out they have let go one of the 3 Stooges.

Moe is being let go at the end of the month. I guess he’s leaving with a nice package. I don’t think it has anything to do with the financial markets being shit lately. I think it was his attitude. He was a really off putting cynic. He was the one sitting next to me at the holiday luncheon, not eating just grumbling and drinking black coffee. He was also a fast talker. See ya Moe.

And yesterday on the way to work I gave a cab driver the finger as I walked in front of his car. I felt it was warranted but lacked imagination. You see, as I was waiting for the light to change so I could cross Park Avenue, one cab was partway through a right turn when the light changed. Immediately behind him was another cab, about to follow, going through a red light. I cross in front of him as he crept to a full stop and gave him the finger.

He probably didn’t even know why, since the habit lately for most drivers is to do whatever it is they want to do. So many cars going through red lights to turn. I can see if you can make a right on red, but you can’t in most of Manhattan. There is worse shit than that going on, but it’s a pet peeve and felt I should have given him two fingers instead of one, leaving him to wonder what it meant as I walked away.

Last night I watched Lost and it was, well, just ok. It featured mainly my least favorite character, Michael. I don’t know if it’s the character I don’t like, or the actor Harold Perrineau. First time I saw Harold Perrineau was in the movie Smoke, where he played a creep, so perhaps his performance colors everything I see him in.

Thought he was annoying in Oz as well. It’s sort of like when my brother Frank sees Bob Balaban in something and always remembers him as the guy who gave Jon Voight a blow job in Midnight Cowboy. I guess I would rather have seen Harold Perrineau give head than be a creep to Forrest Whitaker.

I did make a stop at Farfetched where I talked to Susan and manned the register as she was ill and needed to run to the drug store. It was fun talking to her, caught up on a lot of things. Also bought a nice crystal box with a slot for a photograph on top for my niece, Meghan, at a discount yet! Yoinks!