Monthly Archives: March 2008

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!

Overture

It’s Holy Week on the 4:30 Movie. The Robe, King of Kings, Demetrius and the Gladiators. Thats’ what used to be on back in the day. Channel 7 would show the religious movies whereas Channel 4 would show Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and Ghidra the Three Headed Monster, which starred Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra. Sometimes afterwards my friends and I would wonder aloud, ‘who would win, Jesus or Godzilla?’

We all agreed that Rodan would flap his wings and Mothra would spray silk to create a cocoon which both Godzilla and Rodan would eventually get out of, but Jesus would more than likely get trapped and killed by a giant sized caterpillar. Who knows? It was all about resurrection wasn’t it? Jeffrey Hunter was a good Jesus, but Robert Powell was the handsomest Jesus by far. He also played the father in Ken Russell’s Tommy, but he wasn’t so handsome due to the scar on his face, shot down in World War 2. I loved Tommy when it came out.

Actually defied the Catholic Church, or rather the Pastor of St. Francis de Sales church who came out during a sermon suggesting that parents forbid their children from seeing the movie due to the scene with Eric Clapton singing Eyesight to the Blind in a ceremony surrounded by Marilyn Monroe acolytes. The priest saw Marilyn as a substitute for Mary, Jesus’ mom. Brother Frank and his then girlfriend, now wife saw it and didn’t see any harm in me seeing it.

Of course the only reason I wanted to see it was for Elton John, playing the Pinball Wizard. I remember seeing it with my brother Brian and a friend of his, They were more than likely in an altered state, I rode back trying to will myself into being deaf, dumb and blind. It didn’t happen, well according to some, one out of three actually ‘took’. I was dumb after all. I watched the movie a while ago on cable and I really don’t like it as much as I used to. In fact I don’t like it at all. It really is a crap movie even with Elton John in it. It was more of a ‘what were they drinking’ rather than ‘what were they thinking’ situation.

I remember growing up, my brother Brian arguing with Kathy Plauchino that the band was called Tommy The Who. Brian insisted they were only The Who. I saw the Who live in 1979, my third rock concert. The first was Elton John in 1976, then Peter Frampton in 1977 then the Who. I couldn’t say I was happy to be there since I had gotten into a big fight with Brian who threatened to ‘out’ me to my family, calling me a pervert for having Honcho and Mandate magazines under my bed, instead of Penthouse and Playboy like under Brian’s bed.

It was a bucket of cold water in my face, causing me to hyperventilate. My brother Frank, late as ever eventually showed up to drive into the city, but I wasn’t into it at all. I really wasn’t into it and I think it showed. Frank ran into some friends at the show. They were going to a place called CBGB’s to see some new band called AC/DC. He wasn’t up for it and I certainly wasn’t either. I wasn’t even sure if I would be welcomed at home, if Brian had gone ahead with his devious plan to ruin my life. He hadn’t and I had a few more years in the closet, much to my relief.