Tag Archives: Mac

Empty Landscape

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Well today is quite cold. Last night was when the temperature started to drop. I was safe and sound in the apartment. Watched O & RM, then the Daily Show which had Darryl Hall and John Oates on the show backed with T Bone Wolk on acoustic bass singing a song about Allen Colmes leaving Hannity & Colmes, sung to the tune of She’s Gone. Very funny, Jon Stewart looked genuinely thrilled to have them there.

They were followed by my ersatz doppleganger Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I don’t care what anyone says, I do not look like him. He’s a good actor, that’s a given, but he’s a lot rounder in the midsection than I am despite Vivek mentioning my gut the other day at work.

Yeah I’m a bit sensitive about that.

A few years ago when Bill and I started going out, we went to the Lure in the Meatpacking district, (before it became boutique central) for some sort of party. Lot’s of heavyset guys there, some were pretty fat I thought to myself, when Bill walks up and tells me all these guys reminded him of me.

My first thought- he’s saying that I was fat. That’s what I was thinking while mingling around the heavyweight set. I was horrified, and Bill was totally innocent since he had no idea what I was thinking. I still chuckle about that years later.

After the Daily Show I watched The Colbert Report, once again very funny. He has Michael Phelps on and it was a very funny interview.

I also watched the Office which was surprisingly downbeat. It had some funny moments but overall it was one of their odder episodes. 30 Rock was way funnier with Elaine Stritch playing Alec Baldwin’s mother.

After that I went to bed around 1:00AM. Woke up around 8:30, got bagels and whatnot. Saw Julio, Stine and Kal-El for a little while. They were getting ready to go out and I was getting hungry. Had a nice breakfast, read the news and did some laundry, all finished by 11:00.

Watched It Came From Beneath the Sea, a 1950’s sci-fi movie about a giant octopus that attacks San Francisco. I saw it a few times in my childhood. Never really heard a certain line from the movie until today when one male character says to another about how today’s woman (in the 1950’s) isn’t afraid and is quite courageous, and able to do a lot of things men can do. Of course this is said right before the octopus attacks the Golden Gate Bridge so it was quickly forgotten.

I decided to head into the city and check out some art galleries. I waited for the bus and I ran into Meghan Taylor Mastro with her daughter Ruby who has sprouted up quite a bit since I last saw her during the summer. Quick plans to meet up when Ann Louise Boyles comes to the area next week.

I decided on Chelsea since there’s a lot of galleries all within walking distance. I started out at the Cindy Sherman show but I wasn’t too impressed. I guess I have to be in the mood for her.

I was impressed by Eric Fischl’s sculpture show. That was very good and very powerful. A few more shows which were ranging from fun to okay. I do enjoy art when it makes me laugh or smile.

I called up Rita after leaving the Eric Fischl show remembering she liked him way back when. Just a quick word telling her to check out the show before it closes this Friday. If she’s into it, maybe I’ll leave work early on Friday and we can check it out.

After that I had a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero that I had extinguished before heading into the galleries. Walked over to the Path and started reading last week’s New Yorker.

Walking up Washington Street I noticed about 30 Santa’s heading downtown. Apparently it’s Dress As Santa day and lot’s of guys were in the pubs and bars dressed like Kris Kringle with their girlfriends dressed as Mrs. Claus or elves and reindeer.

It reminded me of dreams that I used to have when I was actually killed by Santa Claus. Basically the dream was with me playing in my parent’s driveway and looking up to see his sleigh landing on top of me much like the house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East in The Wizard of Oz. It was one of those dreams that I used to have frequently when I was growing up.

Other dreams featured a large box, designed as a book that my mother used to have photographs in. In that dream I was told never to open that book/box but of course I did, unleashing a river of blood that Jesus would surf on, never helping me as I drowned.

It was the same Jesus who’s picture hung on the wall above my parents bed next to a picture of his mother Mary, both with their sacred hearts out of their chests.

Then there was the Black Ghost, a shroud reminiscent of the ghost of Christmas Future from a Christmas Carol. The Black Ghost would appear down the block in front of the Crist’s house and summon me towards him despite my resistance.

Then we would go flying over Lodi. In retrospect, the Black Ghost treated me better than Jesus or Santa.

There was also the Red Devil (who looked like the bad guy/wolf from Underdog) who used to make hot dogs in my backyard and threatened me with eternal damnation.

The Black Ghost and Red Devil eventually faded away when I had a dream in which I overheard my sister Annemarie and my brother Brian discussing who was going to be the Black Ghost and who was going to be the Red Devil that night.

I took a few pics this afternoon, but being on Bill’s Mac I can’t upload them. I’ll try later in the week.

Right now, It’s A Wonderful Life is on in the other room. I can hear Old Man Gower wailing on George’s ear. Ouch! ‘Please Mr. Gower, I know you’re sad, it’s not your fault’ Smack! Smack! ‘Don’t hit my sore ear again!’

Rhythm is a Dancer

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Another day, another night, another opening, another show. Last night was quiet. Juan was running late and decided to take a raincheck on stopping by which was fine by me. I spent sometime with Julio & Stine and Superboy.

Hung out, Julio burned some DVD’s for me so I might send them to the left coast as a Christmas present though I was told no Christmas presents, this costs mere pennies so that means I won’t hear ‘Oh you spent too much money, you shouldn’t have’ from Annemarie. This year it’s going to be a cheap holiday gift giving season.

So it was a quiet night and I wasn’t in bed by 11:30, but more like 11:45 which isn’t that big of a deal. Slept really well. Once again my pillows have gone bad and I’ve been waking up with an achy neck.

Since Bill is in Stuyvesant Town I decided to add one of his pillows to mine and voila! It worked and I slept really well. Still some difficulty getting out of bed when the alarm goes off but it wasn’t that bad and I was up and mobile at 6:30 and out at 7:15.

No Casey bus today, but progress is being made. It’s more than likely that when I eventually do catch the bus that I used to see Casey on, he won’t be there. Nothing on him, just the way the cosmic joke is on me, rather than being included on the cosmic joke.

Work was busy, the new subtenants were annoying. There was a new guy and so their discussions around the trading desk were political and had a tinge of anti-Obama feeling to it.

The other day as they were watching CNBC, there was an article on the TV about how investors are sweeping in on India and taking advantage of the chaos following the attacks in Mumbai.

This is the disaster capitalism that Naomi Klein writes about. Something happens, the people are in shock. Public companies are privatized, unions dismantled and occasionally brutalities occur.

Scratch that ‘occasionally’, brutalities happen quite often. Murder, displacement, rampant unemployment, government crackdowns in democratic societies, people going ‘missing’ all in the name of free trade.

That is The Shock Doctrine, as put forth by Milton Friedman and his gang from the University of Chicago. I mentioned it as the news was reported and got a few strange looks as I spoke. I guess a tirade against unregulated capitalism doesn’t go down that well when you’re dealing with traders in a financial institution.

I’ve been reading this book for months now, I read it usually on my way home since it’s generally so upsetting and it angers up my blood. I have less than a third to read and Naomi Klein writes about what happened and continues to happen in Iraq.

I guess I should have paid more attention to the misdeeds of Paul Bremer and his ilk, but I hope that I am making up for lost time and my ignorance.

Like yesterday, I got really tired after lunch, a salad. Sort of crashing. Maybe it’s because of the drop in temperature as the day goes on, it could also be the errands that I have been doing usually in the morning. If I could take a midday nap I would but I can’t so I ate a banana, which helped.

This evening I went to Steven’s Institute of Technology to attend a lecture by Dr. Oliver Sacks, whom I have written about before. The gist of the lecture concerned music and it’s relation to the brain.

I heard about it through Rand and once again I am in his debt. Dr. Sacks is personable and mentioned a few times that the paperback has some rewrites as well as additional case stories which made me regret purchasing the hardcover when it came out. Won’t do that again.

I was hoping to get a chance to talk about my brother Frank and his aphasia. His aphasia seems to go away when he’s talking about music and he’s just as passionate about music as I am. But the opportunity never arose and I was hungry.

I did thank Rand for telling me about the lecture and now here I am mere moments later writing about it. Still tired and a bit hungry now so that’s it.

I have photos from last week to today, but since I’m on Bill’s Mac I can’t figure out how to upload them.