23 Mar 2005
Mix of Snow and Ice… and Blue Raspberry?
The weather is best described as “slushy” today, and saying that makes me crave a Slurpee® from 7-Eleven. Unfortunately, the afore-mentioned weather cancels out all cravings for said frozen beverage.
22 Mar 2005
My Fabulous Amazon Watch List
Their recommendations have always amused me. Now with their Watch List feature, apparently Amazon.com has decided that I am gay.
21 Mar 2005
Virginity, Sort Of
I read an interesting article regarding virginity on MTV.com today:
Study: Teens Who Pledge Virginity Try To Bend The Rules
Poll finds they’re more likely to have tried anal, oral sex.
Teens who take abstinence pledges are almost as likely to be infected with sexually transmitted diseases as kids who don’t, according to a new study that found pledgers tend to substitute other risky behavior for regular intercourse. [Read more.]
I could have told you that just from my own observations, though.
A friend of mine, who shall remain unnamed, was adamant about saving herself until marriage, for religious reasons. One day in class, she approached me and asked, “If I have anal sex, am I still a virgin?” Of course, she’d already done it. And I heard many other similar stories in high school and college.
However, I still wouldn’t argue that saving one’s virginity is a bad idea. Any kind of sexual activity might spread disease, but only traditional sex will get you pregnant. And I remember plenty of people (of both sexes) from high school who were very happy with the additional oral sex encountered while dating dedicated virgins.
21 Mar 2005
Yahoo Owns My Soul and I Like It
It was announced yesterday that Yahoo acquired Flickr. Naturally I’m a little concerned because acquisitions often lead to huge changes, and I like Flickr the way it is. However, I currently use Yahoo for a great many tasks (except, you know, searching the web), and I use it because it has proven to be the most customizable, most reliable tool for those tasks. So I’m glad that my photos will come under the same banner.
19 Mar 2005
This Is How We Hear Things in the OC, Bitch!
Speaking of “The OC,” I found a web site that tells you every song used in every episode. Now I can be totally sure that Onelinedrawing has never been used. I mean, not that I’d really care if they were, because some great bands have been used (Jem, Death Cab for Cutie, Belle and Sebastian), but I just think it’s important that I heard about them from my friend Traci instead of a television show.
18 Mar 2005
Visitor by Onelinedrawing
I’m listening to “Visitor” by Onelinedrawing, and I’m proud to say it’s a modern rock/folk/indie/emo album I can highly recommend that has not been played on “The OC” (well… not that I know of). Onelinedrawing is the solo project of Jonah from the now-broken-up Far. It’s a little like Death Cab for Cutie or Iron & Wine, but not completely. It’s definitely worth a listen.
If you’re interested, you should harken to some samples at iTunes or Amazon. Yeah, I said harken. You got a problem? Huh? Huh? That’s what I thought.
Ahem.
For you neo-retro-electronica-lovers, track four (“Smile”) has classic Casio-inspired beats. And for you late-seventies-sci-fi-fans, it has guest “vocals” from R2-D2.
18 Mar 2005
Progress/Congress Joke
My friend Rob wrote a great article today about Congress and their immediate attention to the single most important controversy on American soil: steroid use in baseball.
The soldiers in Iraq, the budget crisis, the intelligence failures, social security, those are really back-burner issues compared to whether Sosa juiced up.
It’s funny and poignant. Check it out.
16 Mar 2005
Life Imitates Star Trek
Dude… They invented a phaser. It fires “directed energy” up to two kilometers away, and it can be non-lethal (as Kirk would say, “set phasers on stun”) or lethal (as Kirk would say, “set phasers to kill”). Do Gene Roddenberry’s relatives get royalties for this?
14 Mar 2005
Carte Blanche
Ash had to do an off-site event for work yesterday near our apartment, so I decided to walk with her to her work and to the event. She had to get a bunch of stuff from her workplace and pile it into one of those grocery carts that old people use, to take to the event. As we walked from her workplace to the event, by way of Starbucks, we took turns acting like old people. It was fun—bad karma, I’m sure, but fun nonetheless.
13 Mar 2005
Pretty Park, Funny Show
We were blessed with sunny skies and a tolerable temperature yesterday, so Rob and I walked from my apartment (at 2nd and 79th), through the park (past the boathouse and the fountain) where I took some photos, to 5th Avenue to do some shopping, and then to Times Square to have dinner and see Altar Boyz. It was a lot of walking.
The show was excellent. I highly recommend it. It’s about a Catholic boy band. It’s very funny.
The park was also excellent. I highly recommend it. It’s about trees and stuff. It’s very pretty.
10 Mar 2005
A New Trailer
My first thoughts about the new Star Wars Episode III trailer:
1. They should have chosen better actors to play Amidala and Anakin. Normally Natalie Portman isn’t bad, but I think the problem is that we know she’s Natalie Portman. They should have chosen someone not so famous. And as for Hayden Christensen… he reminds me a little bit of Keanu Reeves. A little too much intensity without much believability.
2. At the end of the trailer, they shouldn’t have used the same music that’s at the end of “Star Tours.” Bad, bad move.
Still, I’m really psyched to see the movie. Ever since I saw the original movies, I wanted to know “what happened before that?” And it’s wonderful to finally see it happen.
10 Mar 2005
Vague Conversation
“Where do you work?” she asked me, as we lunched with our mutual friend.
“There,” I replied, indicating the huge office building across the street.
She looked quizzically at the quaint dry cleaners at street level, trying to determine why I would work there.
“Not the cleaners. Behind that.”
9 Mar 2005
Short Updates
Last night’s commute home was horrible. After losing the Avenue Q lottery, I ended up on a bus that got stuck in the ice three times (once in the middle of an intersection, blocking all traffic for ten minutes). It took about two hours to get home. It was better than walking, though; people outside were grabbing onto the sides of buildings, trees, poles, etc. to keep from being blown over by the wind.
Today I decided to add my photos of The Gates to the Gates Memory project (introduced here). Hopefully they don’t mind dissension in the ranks.
I finally decided to contribute to Jason Kottke’s web site today. I’m intrigued by his idea of being supported by his readers, like public television, and I want to see where this goes. More importantly, though, I want a shot at winning a free gift.
8 Mar 2005
What a Pretty Snowstorm… Ack! My Eyes!
Sure enough, although it was, at its height, 63 degrees yesterday afternoon, today it’s snowing profusely.
It’s a very pretty snowstorm though, provided you’re looking at it through a window instead of standing in it. No snowstorm is pretty when you’re standing in it. It’s difficult to notice beauty when you’re being pelted in the eyes with it.
7 Mar 2005
Spring? No, Still Winter
It’s currently 63 degrees outside, which is phenomenally warm for winter in New York.
I was able to sit outside at Starbucks today and enjoy the nice weather, and I’m really glad I did since this is apparently the warmest high temperature we’re going to get—by about 20 degrees—for the rest of the month. It’ll go back to being in the 40’s (with lows in the 20’s) by tomorrow.
Oh well. It was nice to have a preview of spring to remind me that it can actually be pleasant here.
7 Mar 2005
Times Square Centennial Film Festival
Chelsey and I happened to stop by the Loews State movie theater (inside the Virgin Megastore in Times Square) last night, and we discovered that it has an ongoing Times Square Centennial Film Festival on Monday nights.
Tonight they’re showing Fame and Midnight Cowboy. And as an added bonus, you can “come in costume or in drag and get free admission!” How sweet is that?
7 Mar 2005
Floating Buckets
There’s a very large building across the street, two blocks up, with scaffolding all over its facade. Quite often when I glance out the window, I see a large bucket floating upward in front of the building. I can’t see any wires or cables from here, so it just seems to levitate. I like it.
7 Mar 2005
Still Just What the Doctor Ordered
To be honest, I’m pretty sure Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper tastes exactly like normal Dr. Pepper. Actually, I think I taste a hint of the cherry flavor. But really it tastes overwhelmingly similar to Dr. Pepper. I’m not impressed, but also not surprised.
5 Mar 2005
Stewardesses
I was just thinking: Since “stewardesses” is the longest word that can be typed (using the standard touch-type method) using only the left hand, there should really be more stewardess-themed porn sites on the internet.
5 Mar 2005
Dismantling the Gates
My cousin Danielle went to see The Gates a couple weeks ago, and she later confided, “I’m glad I saw them because they’re such a big deal, but to be honest I really don’t get it!”
I’m glad she said that because she’s my cousin and it’s good for me to get along with her. See, I decided I only get along with people who don’t get them. Those people who say, “Oh, they’re beautiful, this art is so amazing,” are not people I can communicate with very well. They’re like people who’ve never seen Star Wars; we have little common ground.
I think only real New Yorkers think they’re beautiful. And that’s prob’ly because it’s been a long time since they’ve seen, for instance, a bright orange sunset, which—on the scale of beauty of bright orange things—is a lot higher than bright orange fabric on bright orange steel.
Oh, sorry, I meant saffron, not orange.
4 Mar 2005
La Frustración
While walking down Third Avenue, I picked up a menu from a Mexican restaurant called Samalita’s of California. I was all excited. Could it really be just like the Mexican restaurants back home?
First thing I always look for is the chicken quesadilla because it’s my favorite. They had two quesadillas on the menu:
Quesadillas
Corn Tortillas with Monterey Jack Cheese
Original Cheese - $4.75
Picadillo or Chorizo con Papas - $5.25
What the fuck? They don’t have a chicken quesadilla or a beef quesadilla, but they have a chorizo con papas quesadilla? Who orders that? And as if that’s not bad enough, they put both quesadillas on corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas.
Mexican food is so simple. It constantly amazes me when I see the great lengths to which Mexican restaurants in New York will go to screw it up.
4 Mar 2005
Bandages?
I originally thought the chorus of “Bandages” by Hot Hot Heat was, “blame the jews, blame the jews, blame the jews.” Perhaps I was just paranoid.
Ashleigh’s version was better, though. Apparently she thought he said, “Band of juice, band of juice, band of juice,” which makes even less sense (but, I admit, sounds more like “bandages”).
What did you think he was saying?
4 Mar 2005
Toilet
Quite often I’m inspired to write an entry while I’m in the restroom. (You can search the site for the word “toilet” to see what I mean.)
Today, however, I wasn’t.
4 Mar 2005
Avenue Q Lottery Sounds Like a Spam Name
There’s one thing they say about lotteries: If you never enter, you’ll definitely never win.
I’m sure there are actually many more things that they say about lotteries, now that I reread that first sentence. Still, it sounds better that way, so I’m leaving it alone.
I need to start walking down to Avenue Q (er… 45th Street) every evening after work to enter the student rush ticket lottery. I want to see it again, and Ashleigh wants to see it for the first time. However, I keep putting it off because it’s annoying to walk down there, enter the lottery, stand around for half an hour waiting, and then lose. But really, if I never enter, I’ll never win.
This month might be a good time to try anyway, since April and May will bring spring break crowds to the city. I think it’ll be best to go on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, and preferably when it’s raining, snowing, or at least really cold. Of course, if I have to walk down there against the wind, enter the lottery, stand in the freezing rain for half an hour, and then lose… it’ll really suck to be me.
3 Mar 2005
E.T. P.
I’ve got eight winning Diet Pepsi bottle caps so far, but the cafeteria downstairs has run out of Diet Pepsi. Now I’m stuck drinking Diet Mountain Dew because a) I won’t drink regular Pepsi, and 2) Mountain Dew also has the iTunes promotion. I’m not a big fan of the Dew, though. If you’re going to have a caffeinated soda, it needs to taste like cola, and it needs to not look like extra-terrestrial urine.
2 Mar 2005
Cali-food-ia
This past weekend I was back in California for my grandpa’s eightieth birthday party, and I managed to visit many of the restaurants I miss. I ate at Del Taco, In-N-Out, El Torito Grill, Cafe Pascal, Claim Jumper, BJ’s, and Harbor House. If you’re in California, I highly recommend that you enjoy these places while you have access to them. I haven’t found better tacos, grilled cheese sandwiches, tortillas, quiche or crepes, potato cheddar soup, dessert, or milkshakes since I moved to New York.
2 Mar 2005
Driving? Directions
For those of us without a car, the “Driving Directions” feature on MapQuest or Yahoo is ineffective. Thank goodness someone came up with HopStop, which lets you find subway/bus/walking directions.