Tag Archives: The Wire

Again and Again and Again

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Well it’s Monday. The big news today was all about New York Governor, Eliot Spitzer being caught in a prostitution ring, based out of Cliffside Park. He was known as client #9 of call girls who charge in the range of $1000 to $5000. It’s fucked up, that he fucked up. I wouldn’t be so concerned but via 6 degrees of separation I’m somehow connected to this. Not in any big way, but in the most basic sense of the 6 degrees. Someone knows someone who runs the household up in Albany.

It would suck if she got fired because of Spitzer’s resignation which some people are calling for, whereas others are saying that it if Bill Clinton could get through the Lewinsky mess, then why can’t Spitzer? Before that things were pretty much copacetic. Damn daylight savings fucked me up this morning. Intercourse that extra hour of daylight. I don’t like waking up when it’s dark outside and it was plenty dark this morning at 6:00. Still I rallied and did the things I do when I am getting ready to go to work.

Made it on time to catch the bus, finished the New Yorker, finished Hotel California and the new Mojo and Uncut Magazines are not on the stands yet. Actually Uncut is but I buy the magazines in pairs so I just couldn’t buy one without the other. A small concession to being anal retentive perhaps? Made it across town this morning cutting through Grand Central listening to Echo and The Bunnymen. That was fun, good beat enabled me to swiftly walk through the crowds pouring out of Metro North trains.

Outside the Waldorf Astoria there were a few trucks for tonight’s broadcast of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I did enter a contest to attend but since I didn’t win, I don’t care about the Hall of Fame. I’m inclined to agree with David Bowie who turned down the nomination a few years ago. In 1997 I did see the Rascals rehearse for their induction. My boss- the producer, Arif Mardin produced them back in the day and I had to deliver some papers to the rehearsal space for Arif to sign. I was instructed not to hang out but Arif insisted that I hear one or two songs and who was I to disagree? That year the Hall of Fame ceremony was in Cleveland, OH. So I wasn’t going to attend anyhow.

Today I occasionally have to report to Tom Chin and things had been good lately, until this morning. Lydia the receptionist had asked him about something and for some reason he started yelling at her, threatening to yell at me through her. I heard my name mentioned and I stepped in to find Tom Chin yelling because of a simple question. He started yelling at me about something I had nothing to do with. I told him that in a voice slightly higher and authoritative than his. He backed down and I took Lydia aside and told her, from now on (until May when she leaves) she should talk to me before she has anything to do with Tom Chin.

I can more than likely head things off at the pass and keep the bad vibes from Tom Chin to a minimum. He did lighten up later in the day. It’s usually best that we keep contact to a minimum. It is tax time and he’s the Chief Financial Officer. Two weeks ago he was upset that I ordered notepads and pencils. He’s the King Knucklehead in the office. The Wire ended it’s run last night and I liked it a lot. It will require seeing it again. Sad endings with an occasional smile. No tears though, that’s for sure. No redemption for Baltimore. It goes on and then it goes around again.

Keep On Loving You

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Watching Revolution Rock: The Clash Live, something that was on PBS over the weekend. It was part if a pledge drive and of course that means it’s interrupted with pleas for donations. They have some hipsters on, hipsters from Long Island since this is PBS on the Guyland. But the thing that struck me were the personalities saying what their favorite Clash album is, how did they get into them, why do they like them.

It’s interesting for me, because in the late seventies it didn’t seem like many people my age were into The Clash or punk / new wave, and here, are my age group saying they loved London Calling. I know in my high school years I was cut off from a lot and didn’t have many friends outside of school. Didn’t really bloom socially until I started working. I thought it funny that these personalities don’t look like they’ve ever liked the Clash, except for maybe Rock The Casbah.

Then again, the way I look most of the time, professionally at least, I don’t look like a Clash fan. It’s a shame I never got it together to see the Clash, I always figured they would be around and our paths would cross one day. I got the short end of the stick on that one. I did meet Mick Jones which was a very big deal to me. And Paul Simonon was a better bass player than I realized.

Now it’s a day later. I slept well last night, difficult to wake up though. Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones didn’t do it. I kept on sleeping. Got up in time to remember I had a dental appointment at NYU Dental School. I wished I didn’t have to go but then again I wished I had good teeth. Or in my case, good gums. But I don’t and this is what I have to do. I had rescheduled an appointment from two weeks ago for today and on my calendar I thought it was for 1:15. In reality it was for 2:00. I wrote 1:15 as the time I had to leave the office, but instead thanks to my miscalculation I left at 12:30. Didn’t realize the wrong time until I got to the school.

I was ok with it though, I was reading Hotel California about how Jackson Browne was desired by a few in Warhol’s circle, after he ran from Nico crying, how David Crosby was a real jerk and he and Cass Eliott dabbled in heroin in Laurel Canyon. It’s fun it’s gossipy and the shit hasn’t even hit the fan yet. Joni and Neil have just moved on the scene, David Geffen pushing everyone around while squiring Laura Nyro, stuff like that.

Sometimes when I go to the dentist I just get really drowsy and feel like I could just fall asleep in a minute. Maybe it’s the stress, maybe it’s Lite FM. It happened once before a few years ago when I fell asleep while they were working on me for a few minutes, long enough to feel totally refreshed. I thought that was funny.

But today was not about going under the knife. This was more about measuring the space between the teeth and the gums and it doesn’t look good. Next week is a cleaning and from there it will all begin. I do think the price will be reasonable and will have a payment plan while I file the insurance paperwork myself. It was over in about an hour, pricking my gums with some pointy thing. Melissa Goodman was my dentist studying to be a periodontist. She was nice enough. I could probably beat up her father.

Walked to the Path train down 23rd street, past the student artists at the School of Visual Arts. I used to know a few graduates from there, or at least students. I occasionally wonder where they are now. I don’t see any of their artwork anywhere. Maybe they gave up and joined the workforce. My sister in law, Elaine had a successful angiogram which is definite good news.

That’s about it for now. Just taking it easy. Anything else, I will let you know., so deal with it, yo. Oh and Snoop got shot dead on the penultimate episode of the Wire, Marlo and his crew behind bars, and McNulty’s house of cards is crumbling despite the indictments from his shady dealings in the name of the law, which could all fall apart thanks to Kima telling the chief what McNulty has been up to.

Oh, one more thing. Bats are dying in record numbers in the northeast. Some type of fungus has been found on their noses as they hibernate for the winter. This is not good, not just for the bats. The ecosystem is fucked. Frogs, Bees all gone missing, and now Bats are dropping dead. This summer, we might be saying ‘Hello insect invasion’.