Monthly Archives: April 2008

Kid Charlemagne

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Another wet day, this time, Friday. And what a day it’s been. More on that later of course. Last night, watched Scrubs again and again and again, Daily Show which was good, Colbert Report which was really good. Also featured REM who were surprisingly very good. I used to love them way back when. When you’d be able to have a drink with them after seeing them thisclose in the back room. The first time I saw REM I hated them though, now that I think of it. They were opening up for Gang of Four at the Ritz on 11th street. They were announced as ‘from Athens, GA…REM!’

No one knew who they were, but I thought they sucked. I just wasn’t into that jungle jangle music just then. A year later yeah, but that night I was more into the jagged guitars and funky rhythms of Gang of Four. I remember leaving my spot near the stage to wander around the club muttering that if they weren’t from Athens they wouldn’t be on stage that night. A year later REM was playing McSwells. I had never been there before, didn’t know Steve Fallon or anyone else. I had tickets to see Peter Gabriel at the Palladium that night and went with an old school pal, Kevin Wagner. We also worked together for a book company.

Peter Gabriel was touring for the Shock the Monkey album and put on an excellent show. Played close to 2 hours if I recall correctly. His last song, one of the most moving songs ever, Biko was amazing and went on for about 20 minutes, lot’s of call and response, pseudo African singing from the audience. I sang along with one eye on my watch. The show ended and Kevin and I ran over to my parked car and drove over to McSwells where there was a mob at the door. Steve Fallon was only letting certain people in and took a look at me and probably thought I looked like my brother Frank (who was inside already). Needless to say, Steve didn’t let me in.

Kevin and I drove back to Bergen County where we had a late dinner at the Saddle Brook Diner. Someone we both went to school with 2 years earlier stopped by our table but didn’t recognize me and I didn’t introduce myself. Kevin was a good guy. He and his sweetheart Ann, got married and moved to Florida. Kevin and I last communicated in 2000. He wasn’t going to our high school reunion. I went and regretted going.

Last night my brother Frank had a seizure during a visit to his neurologist. If there was a place to have a seizure, a neurologist’s office has to be one of the best places. Frank’s in Englewood Hospital and so far the doctors are saying it seemed to be from a scarring from last year’s stroke rather than another stroke. He may be home again tomorrow, Saturday, though right now he has a slight fever. We’ve all been hoping that Frank is making progress, so a seizure is a set back. We don’t really know the outcome of this event yet.

The video I posted a week or so ago of Jill Bolte Taylor talking about her stroke was inspirational, then again she is a brain scientist and had a lot of information and professionals and colleagues around her. Frank doesn’t have those resources, neither do a lot of people. I’m not begrudging Jill Bolte Taylor at all, like I said, she’s an inspiration. Hopefully Frank can get back to where he was pre-stroke. It took Jill Bolte Taylor about 10 years, so I guess Frank would be able to do it in 12.

Eat Yerself Fitter

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Goosebumps. Right now, listening to Martin Luther King’s last speech in Memphis. It was 40 years ago tomorrow that Martin Luther King was slain in Memphis at the Lorraine Motel. Brian Williams on NBC did his bit, solemnly intoning how it was 40 years ago when the media was still relatively independent of big business and right wing agendas. Now the media is owned by big multinational corporations and Muppets like Brian Williams just tow the line in the guise of looking impartial. I have no idea what it was like in Lodi NJ 40 years ago. I don’t think there were riots.

As far as I knew there weren’t any black people in the part of Lodi that I grew up in, or people of any color beside white back then. I couldn’t even tell you the reaction to Martin Luther King’s assassination was at my family’s house, or at school. I was in kindergarten then anyhow, being beaten by Sister Mary Octavian most days for unknown reasons. I did have some racist teachers that told me some racist things about black people back then. But I wisely ignored most of that as well as the lessons they taught.

Today was a weird day. This one woman, Phyllis, that I occasionally help out submitted an expense report that was submitted and paid a few weeks before. Somehow it slipped by me, but not past Greg Stevens who came in feeling ill and really grouchy. Not a pretty sight. So there was some running around, looking for previous expense reports. Found them, Phyllis had submitted them before. She didn’t know and neither did I. Still it didn’t make me look too good. As I walked to get my lunch, I kept repeating to myself, “I didn’t do anything wrong”, and I didn’t. Nothing happened, the expense report had to be rewritten and resubmitted and that was no big deal.

The big deal was later on when I had to deal with the guy who is becoming the number 1 torn in my side, Tom Chin. Carla, the former receptionist phoned and told me she never got her tax forms. I put her on hold and asked Tom Chin if we could make a copy of her W2 form. ‘She doesn’t get a W2 form, she gets a 1099!’ Ok, can we make a copy of the 1099 then? ‘This is the second time she called about her 1099. What happened last time? I gave it to you!’ He didn’t give it to me, it was actually done by our bookkeeper.

But there is no talking to Tom Chin once he gets on a tear. I learned that a few months ago. I tried to explain what happened then, but he just talks over me. I think it actually makes him feel important. But he was so annoying and frustrating that I wanted to punch him in the face. I didn’t do that, of course, nor did I tell him to go fuck off and walk out the door. Instead I made arrangements to meet Carla and hand her the damn 1099 form.

Had a nice walk down to 34th street, having a Padron and listening to the new B-52’s record which is growing on me. One more day to get through this week. Tom Chin will be out, though he didn’t tell me and I doubt if Greg Stevens will be in and hopefully Phyllis will be out as well. It would make it almost a 3 day weekend. Oh and the space that I was trying to rent out and get a nice cash bonus for it was rented and I ain’t getting any cash bonus. I don’t mind. I mean I wouldn’t mind the cash, but it’s one less headache. One less thousand dollar headache.

Mercury Rev- Holes