Tag Archives: Padron

Add Some Music to Your Day

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Damn it is hot out. Just past noon and it’s over 90 degrees inside, which mean it’s hotter outside. I just got back from the library and took a longer way home since it’s shadier. Right now I’m watching Aliens which is great.

The character of Vasquez kicks ass. She’s the tough Marine chick. I hate to see her go, she and Gorman in the vent, surrounded by oncoming aliens, blowing themselves up and taking out a few aliens in the process.

Of course it’s Sigourney Weaver’s movie and she rocks. It’s a good movie to watch. Most everyone is sweating. I did my best to hold off on putting in the air conditioner but I gave in. Right now it’s humming nicely, cooling off the bedroom.

Last night was a lot of fun. Brian Wilson at Brighton Beach. It was a free show, I met Bill there. Not too crowded at the beginning, though at the end it was a different story. Bill and I wandered around, me taking pictures of various interesting people.

One guy had a nice looking dog, the guy was a dick though. He started to complain, asking if I was taking a picture of him. I told the fat fuck, why would I do that? I said that if he gave me $5.00 I’d take his pictures before walking off telling him that his dog had better manners. That was the only trifling thing of the night and gave Bill and I something to laugh about for a few minutes.

Brian Wilson and his band were excellent. I had to explain to Bill, Brian’s story. Deaf in one ear, abused by his father, excessive drug use, overindulgence, weight problems and of course various mental problems. Bill was surprised by all that. I also explained that yes, Brian is sitting behind a keyboard, but no, he isn’t playing it. Just something Brian can hide behind.

Bill had no idea of the Brian Wilson stories, but luckily Bill knew most of the songs since it was nothing but hits. I also told Bill how the Beach Boys were the big American band for a while, top ten hits, then The Beatles hit these shores and all of a sudden there was competition that Brian was inspired by and vice versa.

It was fun to sing along with the band and the crowd to Help Me, Rhonda and California Girls among others. I gave Bill a capsule story of Good Vibrations and how it took six months to record. Also told Bill that part of the Dewey Cox story is about Brian Wilson. Bill didn’t know that but figured it had something to do with the goat.

Brian did two new songs, from his upcoming album Lucky Old Sun, one was called Southern California which seemed to be about the late Carl and Dennis Wilson. That was touching. I don’t know the name of the other song, so I guess I’ll have to wait for it to come out next month.

Bill knew some of the words to the set list too. Nice crowd too excepting the fat fuck with the nice dog which was good for a laugh. The train ride home was air conditioned, I lined up a few Beach Boys songs that the band played on the ride back, so Bill could hear them again for the first time.

Bill got off the Q train at Union Square and I rode on to Herald Square where I’d have a better chance of getting a seat on the Path train. It was interesting to give Bill a kiss good night on the train. Sometimes people disapprove, sometimes they don’t care. You can never tell. It’s a political act, kissing your same sex partner in public.

You really put yourself out there. If the wrong crowd sees it, there could be trouble. From a simple kiss between 2 men. Sometimes I’m nervous, sometimes I don’t care. I was prepared for trouble but it never happened.

I’m glad I wrote last night’s blog before since I was exhausted by the time I came home at 11:15.

It’s a beautiful yet awfully hot day. No need to go out into the world until later when it might cool off somewhat.

I was reminded of when I was growing up off from school during the summer, and my mother would have chores for my brother Brian and I to do during the day, telling us to do them in the morning before it got too hot. But being the dumb kids we were, we wouldn’t even get started until the afternoon, sometimes an hour before mom was due home from work.

And I do have to give a special mention to my brother Frank who was the biggest Beach Boys fan in our house. I wouldn’t have the appreciation or the knowledge of the Beach Boys if I hadn’t heard them so much, thanks to him when I was growing up.

Here’s some pics. Stay cool.

Brighton Beach residents

Fans queued up

Bill mid laugh. One of the things I love best about Bill is his laugh.

Brian’s in there somewhere

The Love Train over the years






Brian Wilson 2006

courtesy of wikipedia

One other thing, last night’s show was sponsored by Verizon among others(Verizon- always willing to tell the govt about what you’ve been doing). They encouraged the audience to send text messages and they were posted on screens through out the area.

Someone posted,
“We love you Brian, Love the Mansons’

Oh my god I thought that was hilarious.
Hopefully Brian didn’t see it.

Uneasy Sunny Day Hotsy Totsy

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Well today it was in the 90’s again, temperature wise, not decade wise. Last night was back to routine of watching Keith Olbermann followed by the Daily Show and The Colbert Report. After that, it’s all a blur. Maybe it was a documentary on the Who. That seems likely. Then it was the news and then it was off to bed. Been sleeping ok, missing Bill sleeping next to me.

Pillows don’t make for good spooning. I toss and I turn and I miss his snoring. He’ll be back in a week or two since he’s looking after his mother until the housekeeper returns. This morning, was more of what you’ve read before, showering, shaving, breakfast and no power outage.

Just don’t like that new morning team and though Otis Livingston is phoine, there’s not enough of him to get me to stay until 7:00AM. So I headed out early and caught what I thought would be a less crowded bus. Two stops later, 25 people got on making it instantly crowded. I sat there and counted each head that got on the bus.

I was reading Stuff White People Like, a book I won from The Onion. Juan hipped me to the blog, Stuff White People Like a few months ago. I was reading it, a handsome guy, could have been a bear, sat next to me. He looked sort of like Andrew Sullivan, but didn’t have the cloven hoofs.

As I read I noticed this guy trying to see what it was I was reading. I started to show him when he asked. He laughed and was familiar with the blog. I told him I won it from the Onion and went about explaining how you can win things from the Onion. I get a few newsletters each week.

If something interests me I usually enter the contest. Just send an email, with the contest listed in the subject line and voila, you too can win. I was hoping to win tickets to see Ricky Gervais live in concert, and I was going to take Harpy, but no go. Sorry Harpy.

It was a good ride, nice chatting with he who’s name turned out to be Curtis. He had a claddagh ring on which made me think he might play for my team. We parted ways and I wished him a good day. I got to work about 15 minutes early. Listened to Nick Lowe on the way.

I was busy working with Tom Chin today. We’ve been getting along lately. I wouldn’t say we were buddies, but we’ve been getting along. I sent an email, reminding everyone that I would be out on Friday. Bill and I are going to a free concert at Brighton Beach tomorrow night. Brian Wilson.

That should be fun. I was surprised Bill readily agreed to go. It promises to be a sweltering evening and it will be the first time I see the ocean this year. I was a bit bitchy this morning to various customer service people on the phone as well as the guy who makes bagels and spent some time trying to flirt with girls from Japan who don’t speak too much English.

For some reason I was singing The Bitch Is Back by Elton beforehand, so maybe I set things in motion.

I had run a few errands and soon enough the day was over. Then I walked across town, smoking a Padron and listening to Ian Dury and The Blockheads, Do It Yourself, one of my desert island discs.

That will be the subject of a future blog, like it or not. And you all better get ready to respond. 10 discs and why you would bring them along to a desert island. Not yet though, I’m giving you advance notice.

I stopped by Bill’s office, he had somethings for me and I had somethings for him. Good to see him. He looked tired though. He doesn’t sleep well on a sofa bed designed by the Spanish Inquisition.

Got on the bus as it filled up and who do I see but Curtis. Deja vu of sorts. He pulled out a copy of High Times, a bit concerned that I would turn up my nose at it. I told him I’d probably be listed in there somewhere. So we have that in common.

Curtis is a lawyer, works downtown. We talked politics. We’re on the same page, in fact he was saying most of the things that I would be saying. JFK/Obama connection, taxes, education, health care, the slow death of the middle class and of course the war.

He’s married but that didn’t matter I wasn’t into him like that. He doesn’t like being a lawyer and fancies himself a writer. I told him I had a blog and that I too fancy myself a writer. I wound up giving him advice, courtesy of Louis Lapham who gave me some advice three years ago.

So I might have a new friend, or at least a bus buddy. Not like the bus buddies I had when I lived in Weehawken. They don’t play like that in Hoboken.

Ugh. McCrazy at an NAACP convention today. Previously the NAACP gave him an F grade. Voting against the MLK Federal Holiday seven times and definitely not supporting it in Arizona. Generally not a friend to black people. Ugh.

This jerk off pulls right over the crosswalk & forces pedestrians to walk into oncoming traffic.