Category Archives: Interesting Things as of Late

isn’t it all?

Windowsill

It’s Tuesday and it’s alright. I’m full of love. Not being factitious. Just this afternoon I was listening to Arcade Fire, Neon Bible and it reminded me of the trouble I had been in that night at Radio City last May, and I was overwhelmed by love for my brother Frank. I really hope he gets better, I’ll wait for it. I think the chat I had with my brother Brian last week was founded upon basic worries. I had the same worries for my parents when they were getting up in age. Let’s face it, I’m a worrier. Bill will tell you that. He’ll also tell you it’s part of being a Virgo, which doesn’t mean that much to me, but it works for him so we’ll just let it lie.

And of course I have love for Bill, and the trials and tribulations that he is presently going through. The hospital is ready to discharge his father, but his father is too far gone to go home, so it’s off to the Veteran’s Administration home in St. Albans. Apparently no one told the hospital. And this is all affecting his work. He can’t leave the apartment until the housekeeper shows up to take care of Bill’s mom. And the housekeeper doesn’t show up until 9:30, a half hour after he should be at his desk. Luckily Bill’s boss is going through something similar with his 90 year old mother. Bill is picking up the slack, working later. Tonight he should be at work until 8:15, then it’s home to collect his mother from his cousin, Elsie, to start the same thing all over again tomorrow.

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And I look at the picture I had from December at Bill’s company’s holiday party, the one where he is leaning against the wall, looking into the camera with a look that is childlike, yet masking emotional torment inside. At least that’s what I see, and I was the photographer on that one.

Last night I came home, had some dinner, watched Scrubs, A Daily Show and the Colbert Report, all very funny and all seen before. No surprises there. I then watched the last minutes of A Hard Day’s Night, no longer feeling sad when they fly away at the end. Mike Myers said that when he saw it as a kid he felt the same way. And I thought I was the only one.

Also did some reading on some ecological and political issues written by my nephew Earl. I was mighty impressed by his prose and even sent him a message on his MySpace page. He claimed genetics, since I write this blog everyday. That was a nice thing to say. If he keeps at it, he could be a very good writer, the kind that people will pay money to read, not just turning on a computer and reading something while the porn downloads. I also met up with Julio and Stine. She’s due in about 2 months, and she looks great. Not fat at all, just a basketball under her shirt. I had picked up a Keith Haring print for them at a really good price.

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I was thinking about what to get them for a long time and each time I thought of something I thought, They’re going to have a baby and won’t have time to read the New Yorker, won’t have time to go to the movies, won’t have time for anything really. So a nice print, with two adult figures, holding a child figure under a heart would do. I thought they could probably hang it in the baby’s room when they get a room for the baby. I was able to get a suit that I had ordered online and had delivered to Julio’s place of work since I wasn’t going to be home to sign for it. A nice two button, gray pinstriped (of course) suit that I plan to wear to my cousin Neil’s wedding next month. We hung out in their third floor apartment, talking politics.

Julio expressed surprise that I wasn’t rooting for Obama. I was surprised and it got me thinking. I wasn’t planning on voting today but I thought about it and decided to throw my lot in with Barack Obama. I’m all about changing things up so that was the direction I headed in. I slept in a little later, hitting the snooze button three times before rousing myself to action. Then I was at the polling place, casting my vote and heading to work, winding up sitting outside the Lincoln Tunnel for 45 minutes while I read about Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, and a friend of Barack Obama. So there you have it, my endorsement for the President of the United States, Barack Obama. So there!

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Ca Plane Pour Moi

It’s a Sunday and it was nice and sunny. Nice and sunny enough for me to head into the city. I wandered around 14th Street after riding the Path train. Not too crowded, a pleasant ride. Read the New Yorker. I got off the train and first walked over to Entertainment Outlet to see if they had a copy of My Left Foot. Such a dismal dusty store. You have to wash your hands after going through the racks of DVD’s they are that dusty and grimy. Of course they didn’t have it. Had every movie Jackie Chan made but no Daniel Day Lewis.

So I headed east on 14th Street. Went into Payless shoes since they’re about the only shoe stores that carry Airwalks, my sneaker of choice. They had a decent selection but nothing that made me want to buy a fresh pair of kicks. I then wandered over to the Virgin mega store to see if they had My Left Foot, but no. Everything else was on sale, a lot for $10.00. I almost bought Boogie Nights, such a good movie, watched it a week or so ago. But couldn’t be motivated to purchase that either.

I stopped by Farfetched to see Harpy. That was fun for a short while but even Harpy didn’t have the zest for life, the joie de vivre that I had hoped for. I left Farfetched and walked over to Broadway where I looked for a new Eagle Creek bag, since the one I have is still functional, but looking a little beaten up. Not impressed at their selection but looking back I think I should have bought the bag that was on sale. Perhaps I’ll go back this week.

Came home empty handed after wanting to buy things. Once I got back to Hoboken I stopped in the T Mobile store for a hands free headset, only to find the girl behind the counter just sold the last one. The gods of commerce must have had a good chuckle. I was able to got to Ben and Jerry’s and bought a pint of Chocolate Therapy which they had in stock.

Now I’m home, hanging out after a ravioli dinner. Last night I watched Pride starring Terence Howard and Bernie Mac. Classic Cinderella story, underdog beating the odds. Cliché after cliché, but with handsome young black men in Speedos, which made it all worthwhile. I love Speedos. Diana Ross’ son Evan Ross was in the movie, playing a stuttering Speedo clad swimmer. Unless you like watching young men in Speedos, you might want to avoid this movie. I plan to catch it again though.

Before I headed into the city I watched a documentary called before the Music Dies, all about the state of the music business. A few famous musicians mentioned Bob Dylan and how he wouldn’t get a contract today if he was starting out, the same for Jimi Hendrix. An interviewer asked some girls outside an Ashlee Simpson concert if they had ever heard of Bob Dylan. They giggled and laughed and said no, but that Ashlee Simpson is a great singer.

I agreed with much of what was said in the documentary, including Erykah Badu with her crazy wig. They did touch on a point that the record companies had it easy of the past decade or so, most people buying catalogs of artists they had previously on vinyl or cassette. I know this for a fact since I’ve done it. And they’re doing it again with mp3’s, The Beatles being the big fish coming down the stream soon enough this year. Will I buy their catalog again? After owning vinyl, tape, and cd’s? That would depend on whether or not there would be something different or extras and also whether or not I have the cash to buy something I already had over and over and over again.

Here’s some pics. Joie de vivre! Have a good week.

Last night’s dinner
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Sunlight reflected through green tumbler on a dirty floor
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Valentine’s rack
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Harpy makes a wish
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Where I live
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