Category Archives: So how’s band camp?

I Remember Then

Today I find myself at the Israeli Consulate. Well not really, but it might as well be. No Zionists here, just Shlomo and I don’t think he cares much for Zion or much of anything except for cigars. I got a desperate phone call this morning from Shlomo, begging me to come to the store. He can’t pay me, but I will get a few cigars out of the deal, plus a discount on future purchases. He has a lot of running around today and tonight and since Israel is unavailable and I am very close by, I got the call.

It hasn’t been that bad, in fact Shlomo has been in and out all day. At one point I was running errands for him., a trip to the copy shop, a trip to the post office and a trip to the bank. Shlomo does all the heavy lifting and I am merely the gopher. I don’t mind. A few minutes here and there outdoors is fine by me. Not too much time, since it has gotten quite cold outside. Now I am solo, Shlomo running around in his Dreidel mobile and I am safely inside listening to old school reggae.

Last night as Bill was looking for an envelope I threw in a Harry Potter movie, the Goblet of Fire. Bill never saw it before and he liked it. There was nothing else on and he wanted to watch something and so it fell to me to find something fitting to watch. It did the job, he was happy and he searched through the apartment. He’s been looking for a while and I don’t know where it is and I know I didn’t throw it out since I never throw out anything of Bill’s, no matter how questionable it is.

As Andrew Feldman said all those years ago, ‘it’s always the last place you looked’.

Tonight is the 12.12.12 concert at Madison Square Garden and the internets are abuzz with the word that Paul McCartney will be performing with Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl from Nirvana. Why not? Kurt was a left handed guitarist as is Macca so maybe Paul will be on one of Kurt’s old guitars. Some people were upset for some reason, I just think things have just gotten that much more interesting. I was going to watch it anyway, and just in case, Bill set the recording up on the DVR.

Still not used to it being dark out at 5PM. You’d think after all these years I would be, but I’m not. A few interesting things at Maxwell’s for Yo La Tengo’s Hanukkah stint. The Raybeats opened up the other night with Emo Phillips, followed by the Sun Ra Arkestra and then last night the Feelies opened up. I finally finished the Yo La Tengo book. So many errors, didn’t the publisher ever do any fact checking? I was more embarrassed than anything with regards to the book. But then again the author has one on me.

And on Facebook, I hope I did not insult Hugo, former drummer for Gang of Four. I admit I was snarky but couldn’t resist taking the piss. He responded in kind, calling me a pillock, which I deserved. I saw Joe Pantoliano on the street walking past the cigar shop. He said hello and I said he has to stop by sometime. He remarked that he doesn’t smoke anymore, but still a photo op would be nice. He doesn’t have to smoke the cigar, just hold one, maybe shake hands with Shlomo or Israel or Brandon.



Let It Be Me

I Remember- Deadmau5

Well today has been an interesting day. Bill made it home safely this morning. Once again, since he wasn’t home I did not sleep so well. I am usually awake by the time he gets home but this morning I was sleeping quite well. I didn’t exactly wake up refreshed but I wasn’t dragging ass either. Bill made coffee and brought home some bagels so that was good. I showered and proceeded to start my day. I decided to make some eggs for breakfast and in between the refrigerator and the stove, gravity played a trick on my and snatched an egg from out of my hands.

It was an auspicious start to the day but nothing too terrible. A sweep and a clean and I still had other eggs to fry. Once that was done the day lay ahead. My sister in law Elaine contacted me the other night. She and her daughter Corinne were planning on coming to Hoboken to do some shopping, throw some cash into the local economy. I was ready for them, though they were running a bit later than they hoped. Corinne went to see the Dave Matthews band last night so that was a factor.

They got to Hoboken a little later than planned but that was alright. Hoboken had a plan, you spend $20.00 at a local merchant, and you can park for free in one of the garages. I told Elaine that as Corinne was driving and met them soon after by Church Square Park. They had Corinne’s friend Felicia with them and Felicia remembered me, but I drew a blank. Elaine specifically wanted to go to Guitar Bar so that was our first destination. A few Snark tuners that I recommended and some other odds and ends and Elaine’s purchase made the parking free.

Then we went to City Hall were an Arts and Crafts thing was going on. Some nice things but I only bought a button and a card. Felicia and Elaine bought some items and soon we were back on the chilly Washington Street. We walked by the smoke shop were Israel looked fairly busy, which was good. Hunger came to us all at once so we wound up eating at Qdoba, a Mexican restaurant. My former favorite Mexican restaurant has been closed for weeks, possibly from the storm, possibly from the food being bland after new management took over earlier this year.

We walked around some more before walking back to the parking garage. I got a ride from Corinne and we drove to the gate where we showed the receipt to the attendant. She said she was going to keep the receipt and I told her she couldn’t do that, since the items on the receipt might have to be returned. She said the receipt would go to City hall and that didn’t make a difference at all. Cars were honking behind us, so Corinne wound up paying the $8.00 charge.

I came home after they dropped me off and I went online to the Hoboken Facebook page and complained, saying it was bogus. They replied that the attendant had it wrong, the receipt gets stamped and they were informing the attendants to let them know. Of course this was information that was useless since at this point, Elaine, Corinne and Felicia were headed back to Bergen County. It was the only drag really today. Bill is driving once again to Atlantic City, I am staying home.

Last night I watched Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. It wasn’t bad, there was a certain charm to it. It’s not a great picture but it was enjoyable. I also watched My Week with Marilyn the other day and that was very good. Michelle Williams was excellent.

Corinne and Felicia


A Super Hero bar crawl…




Waiting For Your Taxi