Gate Sale | johnozed

Jeez this bug that I have just won’t go away. Been feeling it since about last Monday and here it is almost a week later and after spending just a few hours outside I’m tired. Last night after I watched The Mayor of Sunset Strip, I watched Stardust starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfieffer. To quote Juan, I was whelmed.

Not over or under, but simply whelmed. Enough that I couldn’t be bothered to turn off the dvd. It was ok, but overall a disappointment. Hard to believe that was Sienna Miller, who looked so much like Edie Sedgwick in Factory Girl, in this she was far from it. My brother Frank liked the movie.

He just told me as I called to wish him a happy birthday. He seemed to have just an average day for his birthday which is how it goes sometimes. Plus since he works for the board of elections he had to work today, on a Sunday which didn’t make him happy at all.

After Stardust, came Saturday Night Live. That wasn’t as good as it had been the past episodes this season. And with Sarah Palin on the show I think I threw up in my mouth a little. I just don’t like her. At all. Josh Brolin was good but when he first came out for the monologue he looked like Butch Patrick. I don’t find him attractive though I know people that do.

Andy Samberg was a disappointment as well. His scene with Mark Wahlberg was a bit off. Wahlberg knew his lines, but Samberg seemed riveted to the cue cards. Or maybe he was acting as if he was terrified of Mark Wahlberg, who I though was one of the funniest spots on the show.

Kristen Wig. I like her but perhaps she is funnier in small doses. Like Lewis Black, who is funny for five minutes a month on the Daily Show, but not strong enough for an hour long special on HBO.

Adele was the musical guest and she was ok. She seemed like another singer from the Amy Winehouse/Duffy genre. It’s not bad but really not enough to distinguish from other female R&B stylists.

Amy Poeler has only a few more weeks before she leaves the show and gives birth. She’ll be missed, especially on Weekend Update where she was the funniest thing on that whole spot. I went to bed at 12:45, just couldn’t risk seeing Sarah Palin at the end of the show.

Woke up feeling ok, went out for foodstuffs and the paper. After breakfast I watched a documentary called Champion on Danny Trejo, an actor you’ve probably seen in some movies. He had a hard life, a junkie at 13, life in San Quentin followed. Now he has a successful career in movies and also counsels younger people encouraging them to stay of of jail and off drugs and booze.

Somehow that wound up in my Netflix queue. It wasn’t that bad a documentary but then again it wasn’t that good. I watched the BBC and a rally in North Carolina for Obama. The big news today was Colin Powell supporting Obama. Is Colin Powell still relevant? After the WMD’s fiasco at the UN, who really cares what Colin Powell has to say?

McCrazy of course mentioned that he has a former secretary of state backing him, Henry Kissinger. I suppose for some, having a war criminal back you is quite the feather in the cap. I don’t think Kissinger can leave the country lest he be arrested for the bombing of Cambodia and Laos all those years ago and tried in the Hague. But then again McCrazy has G. Gordon Liddy’s backing so maybe he wants the backing of the tarnished and tattered Nixon crew.

I walked around Hoboken and saw Rand and Lisa at their Gate Sale and then visited Fred and Lois at their sale. Then I walked downtown to the Neumann Leathers Building and stopped by Tim Daly’s studio where I talked with Sheilah Scully who just so happens to be Tim’s wife. Came home, made a nice penne, pesto and chicken dinner and now I’m tired.

I spent all day wondering who Joe Gideon was, and now that I just watched the ending of the Simpsons with a Fosse character in it I realized Joe Gideon was played by Robert Schneider in Bob Fosse’s loosely autobiographical All That Jazz. Now I can go to bed.

Well today was the day of the dolphin. No wait, the day of the gate sale. No porpoises involved. Last night was a quiet night. I even went out for a spell. Walked up to the Malibu Diner for a burger and coke, reading the dreadful Songs of John Lennon. It wasn’t what I was hoping for when I ordered it from the library, but it was something to read while I ate. After that I fired up a Padron and walked down Washington Street putting up fliers for the gate sale.

Stopped outside of McSwells, couldn’t go in since I was smoking a cigar. Saw Rand having dinner with his wife Lisa, and also saw Roda. Gave a flier to Rand to post in the wall where the cigarette machine used to be. Wandered further down the street, all the bars and restaurants were full.

Came home and watched Keith Olbermann mourning Tim Russert. I wasn’t that much of a fan of Russert, but condolences for his family. I’m sure he was a decent guy. Actually I’m not sure he was a decent guy, all the other broadcasters seemed to think so.

Watched a DVD, A Stephen Sondheim Celebration which should have been great but was merely so so. It was made in 1992 and doesn’t hold up these days. Can’t really put my finger on why that is.

Woke up early enough this morning, went out did some errands, came home ate breakfast went out to the bank. I had the foresight to get singles in case I had to make change. Saw Julio who was up since 5:00 due to Alexander being a baby. I wasn’t in too good a mood since I had a felling that the gate sale wasn’t going to go that well.

A little resentment towards no one in particular over the fact that I would be doing my part of the sale on my own, where Rand had Lisa, Lois had Fred and Jackie had Dave. I was solo. I made sure I had a big bottle just in case I had to piss, trucker style.

Eventually I came around once I started setting everything up, after moving items down four flights of stairs from the fifth floor. I was drenched in sweat once that was done. Hooked up the iPod and some speakers and waited for the sales to begin. I started out playing Rubber Soul, then Revolver, followed by Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour.

The first 90 minutes were the busiest. Sold a few items that I didn’t want or need anymore. Sold some records, some books by Beat writers and a few other items. Rand stopped by checking in to see if I was doing ok.

I was fine and he was on his way. An hour or so later Lisa arrived checking in. I ran up to pee, and then ran to the liquor store and bought a six pack. Lisa didn’t want one and soon she headed back. I sold a few empty cigar boxes which I usually throw away, actually I leave them by the trash and someone always scoops them up so I was happy to make some cash on that. I told the guy to come back in a few months and I should have some more boxes for him.

Rand came back after hearing I had some beer and we hung out and chatted, eventually needing to get some more beer. It was a good hang and I eventually made a profit of $40.00 US. Soon though the skies opened up and Rand made a beeline to his spot to help Lisa bring stuff in. I managed to salvage most of my things, a few books didn’t make the cut, winding up in the bin. I eventually needed to use the big bottle, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to make it upstairs in time.

Trashy novels that I got when I worked at People magazine that weren’t going to be missed. Came upstairs, made some dinner and now I’m really tired, more than likely from the beer and moving things up four flights of stairs. Here are some snaps of the day.

Here’s Alexander!