It's Not a Diary

Broken Social Scene : Forgiveness Rock Record

2010-04-19T11:13:00.006-04:00

Advanced listen courtesy of WFUV

Free download : World Sick by Broken Social Scene

2010-04-17T13:02:00.010-04:00

I'm pretty late to this party but...

Broken Social Scene has always been regarded as one of the biggest indie bands in the genre, yet I know very little about them. They seem to be the type of band other bands want to be associated with. Like if they sign on to do a compilation album others will be quick to join the project as well. Their talent and professionalism is inspiring to other artists and their fans buy up anything associated with them. At least that's the feeling I get.

I've heard a couple older tracks that have grabbed my attention, specifically Cause=Time, but never been compelled to follow through and purchase an album. This song however has changed that. Check out World Sick here. And if you like it enough, follow through here. The album is called Forgiveness Rock Record and its out May 4, 2010. Better late than never.

Shout Out Louds : Walls

2010-01-03T11:29:00.006-05:00

Pretty good, huh? Free download here. Album out February 23, 2010

WALK FM - lullaby radio

2009-12-12T00:04:00.005-05:00

There is no sleep like that of a child in the back seat of mom and dads car, on the way home Fudrucker's (I always felt naughty saying that) or any returning trip after sunset. Really quenching sleep. I also always loved how the combination of left, right, right, left turns that finished in your driveway always had the ability to wake you up. As if that familiar combination was a gentle alarm that only you knew meant "we're home."

I'm not some incredibly insightful visionary telling you something you don't already know. But I did realize this tonight. We might be wrong about the personalized alarm thing. It's not that the specific combo of turns subconsciously let's you know it's time to wake up. Rather it's the fact that the last 30 miles was pretty much straight highway driving and now that you are almost home there are four jarring turns that even the most soothing easy listening radio can't help you sleep through. Probably.

g-night.

A new blog post

2009-10-08T16:13:00.004-04:00

"Can" is a very flexible word. Among other things, it can mean a container, bathroom, butt, chest or to get fired.

Can I post a new blog? I sure can.

The Proposal

2009-08-13T11:34:00.009-04:00

It's about 8:45 and I am stopping in to the Capitol One bank off 25A on my drive to work. Not to deposit or withdraw anything, as I have very little money to speak of in my checking account. My savings account is a different story. I am here today as I have been the last couple weeks for my morning cup of coffee. I know this seems like a two-bit scheme, but the coffee is free to customers, which I am, and broke or not, I need a cup to get my day going.

Meanwhile, my girlfriend Christen is on her way to work enjoying a nice 4 dollar cup of Starbucks I'm sure. Why does she get to enjoy the luxury latte while I am behaving like the artful dodger? It's not that I am struggling like so many other young Long Islands. Chris and I do quite well, all things considered. She doesn't ever know how tight my funds are right now. It's something I've been keeping secret for the last 3 months. If she found out I'd have to explain that I developed a wicked drug addiction or some lie like that. After all, what fun would giving her a ring be if she knew it was coming.

The Meeting

Chris and I met about 4 years ago at the Long Island Press. I was the art director and she was a new sales girl. We met on an elevator ride up to our third floor office in Garden City. Not many words were exchanged other than "hi, my name is, nice to meet you and good luck," but I am pretty sure she was gawking at me through the side of her head the same way I was at her.

Chris being seated in the cubicle next to the photo copier, I made sure to need urgent copies about six times a day for the next week. One day, I was walking by her station while singing a Fall Out Boy song. This was before they had gone mega-pop so it was kind of indie at the time. Looking back on it, it was rather transparent what I was doing. I would walk around her singing and whistling, putting out this, I'm fun, love my job, love my life, vibe. Also a two-bit scheme, but it apparently worked. She recognized the song and said "You know Fall Out Boy." I sure do. I told her I had just seen them and had plans to catch this other band Honorary Title in a couple days. "You know Honorary Title?!"

Turns out Chris and I like a lot of the same music. More than like, we both love the same music. It's a big part of our personalities. Now, it's hard to say we like music more than most people because everyone likes music. How can I compare my feelings to other peoples? I do know that my heart is huge for music. I have a list of songs that can make me cry and I've had to give myself a limit of how much music I am allowed to purchase on iTunes per week. It is often a topic of charged conversation for us and we tend to annually spend more money on concerts than we do on gas. That's all I know.

About a week later I invited Christen to see Rilo Kiley with me at Webster Hall, to which she declined. Hm? Turns out she had learned of my reputation. I had dated 3 or 4 sales girls in the past, 2 of which still worked there. Chris didn't want to be the next on a list. I was guilty of fishing in a bucket and I admit that. But this sales girl was different. This girl was more than a pretty face. She felt like me. As far as I was concerned I had never met another girl in my life. I loved her from day one.

I was persistent. I asked Chris out about twice a week for four weeks but to no avail. Nothing I could do was going to change her mind about dating me. At least that's what she said. But looking back I realized this: she was in the final breaths of a very long term relationship that she never mentioned to me. Through all my attempts to spend time with her, not once did she use that as an excuse. She didn't want to completely stop my pursuit.

On my tenth invitation, finally she agreed to come over my place for dinner. I lived alone in a sufficient little apartment in Central Islip. I made chicken stir-fry chicken and had beer to offer. She ate very little and drank even less. I didn't eat much either but boy, did I drink. I was nervous and actually drank until I was red with beer burn.

We talked. Despite the heavy drinking Chris tells me I was pretty with it and didn't make as big of a fool of myself as I thought I might have. Conversation moved from the dinner table to the living room and we hung out and listened to music for about 3 hours. Being a week night Christen packed it in pretty early. I walked her out to her car mostly to be polite and partly because Central Islip isn't the safest part of Long Island.

I told Christen how grateful I was that she gave me a shot. Then she kissed me. My heart is pounding right now just thinking about it. She kissed me. I guess a relationship wasn't completely out of the question. I knew she had apprehensions. But I also knew she was going to love me back. So I asked her for 2 weeks. I said "Spend the next two weeks with me and I promise, I won't let you down."

I didn't.

The Realization

Three months into the relationship Christen moved in with me. It wasn't in an effort to make rent easier or that she was running away from some terrible home life. Quite the opposite. She comes from a large, wonderful family and a home full of love. Chris had gone away to college for four years and lived the dorm life. Soon after she had moved to Ireland for a couple months. So it wasn't Christen just trying to experience life on her own. It just felt right. The relationship was very natural. I loved being with her and she loved being with me.

I did learn something from moving in together so quickly. It is not wise in most cases. There needs to be a period of getting to really know someone. If the relationship is going to end, it makes the breakup that much messier. Once you move in together, you can't just change coarse. You can't just break up over any little thing or even any big thing. As a result you might find yourself stuck in a 9 month lease with what should have been a 9 week relationship. I don't regret moving in so soon. Personally, we have seen over the years an occasion or two where living together helped keep us on course, and we are better now for it.

Something happens in a relationship when you both decide you want to be together forever. For kids our age it alleviated the problems other relationships have like jealousy or not trusting each other or snooping through each others stuff. All snooping would do is ruin the surprises we had in store for each other. A secret correspondence with my favorite band to see when they were coming back to New York or a phone call to Christens sister about the plans in the works (Christen did grab my phone recently to use the navigation and found a call to her sister. When she asked why I was talking to her sister I had to think quick. The real reason was because I had just asked her parents for Christen's hand in marriage and I wanted to discuss it with each of her sibling too. What I told Christen was that I was worried about Chris because she had recently had a friend pass away and I wanted to see if her sister had any advice).

Chris and I have always known we would be together forever. We are perfect together. Sure through free will and outstanding circumstances either of us could change this beautiful path we are on. We are not contractually bound by law or fate, but as far as the book I am writing, Christen is in it until the end. I was however never one to get excited about marriage. I've always been of the mind set that we are living life and absolutely loving it. A wedding was just an expensive celebration of love. Chris and I celebrate our love every day. Why stop that to get married? I was also never a fan of children. Truth be told I had never even held a baby up until two years ago and I am still wary of it. They are very delicate I am not.

Something did change in me recently though. An enlightenment of sorts. I've always lived with the intention of finding as much joy and beauty in the world around me. We are only on this planet for a definitive amount of time. We need to fill those years with wonderful days. After that, your time is up. This was my philosophy. I was only partly right though.

This is what I realized.It is important to enjoy your time here, but more importantly, we need to raise the next generation to be the best possible people they can be. I am my father. As I get older I see it more and more. You hear it over and over again: like it or not, you will become your parents. Well I like it. When my parents pass, they will live on in me. And when I go, I will live on through my children. That's why you want to make them the best people they can be. It's an opportunity to improve yourself and in a way, I guess you are not only on this planet for a definitive amount of time

This realization changed my opinion of having babies, and of getting married. Part of a stable foundation for a child to grow on is being raise by a mother and father who love each other first. I can't think of a better partner to do this with than my love Christen. She is an outstanding person and will be an ideal mother. I want to marry Christen. Marriage is not only a celebration of love, it is a promise to each other. A promise to love when you love each other and love when you hate each other. A promise to tough out the hard times. It is a promise to god. And if that's not binding enough, it is a promise to the state of New York which requires lots of time, money, lawyers and heartache to break. It's kind of like moving in together.

The Parents

Christen was invited to go to Atlantic City with one of her girlfriends. She wasn't really interested in going because she is not much of a gambler. She told me she was going to decline but the night before the trip she changed her mind and decide to tag along for the girl time. I woke up the next morning about an hour before usual and just laid in bed thinking. I was going to ask her parents if they could sit down to dinner with me. Chris would be away and be completely unaware. I was nervous. But like an excited kind of nervous. I felt like I was glowing on the inside. Chris got up and got ready for work and I just laid there thinking about how my day was going to play out.

I got to work and I stared at my phone for about an hour. Now I was the real kind of nervous. Fortunately I got called into a meeting that didn't break for about two hours. When I got out I was prepared to go back to the stare at my phone game. But was interrupted by Christen showing up at my office. She was in the area and wanted to tell me about a conversation she had just had with her dad.

The weekend before was Easter. We spent the day at Christens parents home and her father told us about this great little house for sale in Ronkonkoma. The seller was a friend of his and he was looking to unload the place for super cheap. It was a two bedroom with a huge basement, detached two car garage on about half an acre. He suggested we drive over to check it out. After Chris and I left the party we did. The place was great but it needed some work. between taxes and a mortgage, we decided we wouldn't have enough to afford the renovation so we decided owning a home was not an option for us.

Christens dad had called Chris now a week later to apologize to her for sending us over there to look at the place. He felt since we weren't even engaged it was presumptuous of him to assume we want to buy a home together. We had discussed it with him but he wasn't sure how serious we were. He did however not want to see this opportunity slip away, and he offered to buy the home for her. I could just pay rent. Isn't that exciting news?

Chris took off and I was left to ponder this. It would be an investment opportunity for him and a way to leverage Chris into a home she could not otherwise afford. It was also a very generous proposition...for Christen. Half an hour after they have that conversation, I am going to call and ask him if I can merry into this deal? It looks opportunistic. And I though now I can't call him—I don't want him to get the wrong idea. But then I thought, I can't pass on this scenario. I have to go through with it. First of all because it is the right time, and secondly because it is too funny.

I looked back at my phone. I stood up, paced back and forth about two times, and then dialed Mr. B's number. It went to voicemail and I left him a message. "Hi, Mr. Barnych. I was wondering if you and your wife would be available tonight for me to come by. I have some important things i would like to discuss with you."

I then got called into another meeting—one that I was in no shape to contribute productively to. When i came out i had this message waiting for me on my office line. "Hey Jon. Mr. Barnych here. Yep we will be around tonight, We've got baseball practice until about seven but any time after that would be fine." it's one of those messages that I plan on saving for the rest of my life. That and the drunk wrong number message I got from Joe looking for Maria.

After work I shot over to Christen's parents house. On the way I had a florist put together a nice "thank you for you daughter" arrangement. When i got there I decided to leave my phone in my car so as not to be distracted. Aside from her parents, Christens youngest brother was the only other person home. He is incredible bright and observant. When he learned I was coming by for dinner he responded with " Now everyone's gonna be married." He had already eaten so Mr. and Mrs. Barnych and I sat down and had a nice homemade dinner.

Conversation was normal. I wasn't very nervous. They didn't seem to be either but Mrs. B did seem to have a little more wine than usual. When we were all done eating I asked the question. I told them how much I love their daughter and my intention was to ask her to merry me at the end of the summer. I had the date, location and method pretty much picked out. They approved my request and we hung out for another hour. I knew Greg was aware of what was going on so before I left I went up and had a talk with him. He said he knew what was up and I asked for his permission too. He agreed. I told him he needed to keep it a secret though. I was probably going to talk with each of his siblings about it but I wasn't positive. The family is large and like I said, full of love. I wasn't just marrying Christen, I was marrying the entire Barnych family. And the fact is, they all didn't accept me in the beginning. For what ever reason there was a bit of hazing before approval. Four years in I feel we are all on the same page.

I left at about 10:00 and expected to find a missed call from Christen. I figured she would have made it to AC by then and checked in. I called her and got her voice mail. Odd. I did however have a missed call from my buddy Justin. He was supposed to be my aliby. I had told Christen that I was doing sushi with him and then we were going out in Patchogue. The second part was true. I shot over to Patchogue where I met Justin and some friends at the Rusty Clam. When I found Jus I told him about my night. He knew I was going to the Barnychs but I didn't tell him what for. He said oh, shit. When I didn't answer his call, he called Christens cell and left a message "I know you guys are having dinner with your parents but give me a call when you are done." Oh shit.

What I'm thinking is this: Christen knows (thinks) marriage is still not on my agenda. She is going to hear that and not assume I am having dinner with her parents. She is going to think something worse. She is going to think that I told her I was with Justin and told my friends I was with her. Why would I lie. On top of that. If you look at my phone history there is a call to a florist. It's an iPhone and you can't erase individual numbers. If I clear the entire call log then it looks like I'm hiding something anyway. I am definitely cheating. Oh shit.

He must have been wrong about leaving that message or she didn't hear it or something because she never said a word to me. I did talk to her that night and she seemed normal. She definitely didn't hear that message.

The next day I woke up and called each of her three other brothers and sisters. Christen was on her way back to New York and I wanted to speak with them before she got in. I was calling to let them all know what her parents and youngest brother were already in on. I also wanted to make sure everyone was okay with this and if not we needed to figure out why not and what could be done to make everything alright. One by one I called, oldest to youngest. Everyone was great. They were all excited and each gave me their blessing.

Christen got home soon after the calls were over. When she got in I was so excited to see her. Something happens when you think about someone as your wife rather than just your girlfriend. As much as I loved Christen, it had doubled. And because it is a secret I couldn't share what I was feeling. I was feeling good though. I really felt the hardest part was out of the way. And then the texts started coming. Both Christens brother and sister sent me similar texts saying how excited they were and that I made their weekend.

Who was that text from?

The Proposal

I knew exactly where I wanted to propose to Christen. Last September, Chris and I spent a couple days in Austin, TX at the Austin City Limits music festival. It was everything we love about life; great music, warm weather, jumping nightlife, bars, restaurants, a weird, young arts scene and Longhorns. It was a perfect weekend, exhausting, but perfect. This was definitely the place for us to get engaged.

I contacted the band Mutemath to see if they could help me with the proposal. I figured I'd go a little over the top with a proposal. Being that they were one of the first bands Chris and I really got into together, and they were going to be at ACL, I though this would be perfect. They are an electro-pop rock band who put on an amazing show, not to mention we have talked about using one of their songs, noticed, as our wedding song. I dropped their publicist an email to see if they would be willing to propose to her onstage for me at the festival. The band got back to me immediately and said they were super excited to help out. Not only would they do it, but they said they wanted to meet us before hand to hang out and they would make a huge deal out of it on stage. I couldn't have asked for a better arrangement. Cool.

As the festival approached I was getting excited. I had picked out the ring in June and saved up enough to buy it by July. I had already gotten her family's permission back in March and it seemed everything was coming together. Then I got an email from Chris - Check out this line-up at Lollapalooza in Chicago. She was right. The Killers, Tool, Kings of Leon, The Decemberists, Silversun Pickups, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, The Airborne Toxic Event, Gaslight Anthem, Animal Collective and on and on. Well over a dozen bands we would both love to see. The ACL line-up was good too, but this festival was perfect for us. After really considering the pros an cons of each show (Mutemate not being mentioned) we decided to try out Chicago.

Lollapalooza Friday August 8th
After Chicago experienced a week of unseasonably cool weather, Friday was greeted with a warm front bringing with it relentless rain. The day started out pleasant with a cool misting. Chris and I grabbed a beer and walked through the mile long Grant Park. We walked by The Henry Clay People on our way to see Manchester Orchestra. We stopped and grabbed some lunch from the food village to bring with us. By the time we made it to see MO they were probably halfway into their set. We made a little picnic under a tree and enjoyed our sandwiches. The band really surprised me. The first act we really caught I put on my list of "albums to buy." It was a slightly rainy, but beautiful start to our weekend.

The Gaslight Anthem was on the stage on the exact opposite side of the park. Fortunately we had an hour to make the walk again. We caught the show and fell in love - me with the great sound and stage presence, Chris with the blue-eyed Irish boy on the microphone. Next up was Bon Iver, again on the opposite side of the park but at this point the mist had turned in to a steady rain and we were getting wet. Now typically in a situation like this Chris and I could just go with the flow and accept the dampness, but I was shooting the festival and had a camera to worry about. We had to abandon the festival mid Blood Bank to get some shelter and garbage bag rain coats. We stopped for a bite to eat and dried off in the bar bathroom.

At six o'clock The Decemberists took the stage. We made it back just in time. I had seen them before in Central Park before the new concept album The Hazards of Love was released. They were amazing there because of not only how great they sound on stage, but the audience interaction and how the lead singer speaks the way he writes, almost as if he is from Victorian times. This performance was different though. Because they were doing the Hazards of Love tour, which is a beautiful story from the first track through the last, they had to do each song in secession. There was no time in between songs to banter with the audience. It was a straight forward performance of the album and it was amazing. By far the highlight of the day.

The rain had let up at this point and we took a break in picnic form again, this time on garbage bags while Andrew Bird preformed. We drank a couple more tall boys and watched people slip in the mud. We were exhausted but only had Kings of Leon left for the day. Kings of Leon took the stage at 8:15 and played through till 10, the end of the day. Their sound is not only great on record, but even better live on stage. It was an excellent end to a long and fulfilling day.

Lollapalooza Saturday, August 9th
We got a late start to the day but once we got in, we didn't stop. 2:30 - Los Campisinos Young, fun and possible British. 3:30 - Gomez If David Grey was a hippie. 4:30 - Coheed and Cambria Hair! 5:30 - Glasvegas Scottish boys through and through. If only the rest of the band cared as much as the lead singer. 6:30 - Lykke Li Talented young thing. And she played the Kings of Leon cover of Knocked Up that I love. 7:30 - Animal Collective What are these boys on? The fast track.

The closing acts were a conflict for us. Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Tool. I was excited to see the Yeahs because of how fun and different their music is and what I've heard about them live—action packed. Tool on the other hand has had a place in my heart since I was a young teen. We decided to catch the first half hour of Yeahs and the last half hour of Tool. It was a mistake. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were amazing and we had to pull ourselves away to go hike to the other side of the park where Tool was. By the time we got there I knew I messed up. Tool was good but Tool is not who I am today. The past has past.

Lollapalooza Sunday, August 10th - Today is the day
As opposed to the first day of the festival being cold and rainy, yesterday and today turned out to be record breaking heat days, especially Sunday. Ra Ra Riot started the day for us. I love their fresh out of college sound an live they are great, especially the singer and the two girls on strings. They are my new Vampire Weekend. Good start to the day. Next we catch Bat for Lashes in the distance but really take it easy as The Airborne Toxic Event is next.

I really hope for the best from The Airborne Toxic Event because of what I have in store. On the flight to Chicago Chris had mentioned how she got to listen to the album and other than a couple really great tracks, she didn't see what I saw in the band. I really needed them to bring it. And they did. This was rock and roll. If a song didn't grab you on the recorded version, it sure did live. Every piece was engaging and exciting. We were on the edge of our Crocs the entire show. The hit single from the album, Sometime Around Midnight was good, but not even the highlight. When one member raged, so did the rest of the team. As emotional as the lead singer was, you could feel the entire band supporting him in those emotions. I loved the extended version of Innocence with lyrics over what is recorded as an instrumental intro. Amazing. They also cover the song from Silence of the Lambs. Yeah, that one.

After the performance I said to Chris, we have to go get an autograph. We went back to the press area and found the band. I told them how much we loved the show and how great it was to see a band that really brought it all together. I took our program and a sharpie out and asked for an autograph from the whole band. They were happy to oblige. While they signed the little book I called Christen over for a picture with TATE. I handed someone my camera and asked them to get a picture. While we were all getting ready to take the pic, the last person signed the program and handed it to me. I handed it to Chris and she read it. It said "For Christen, Will you marry Jon (we mean it)" By the time she had finished reading it I was down on my knee holding out the ring. I said to her "Christen, I love you with my entire heart, and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" Shocked, she just stood there shaking in silence until someone reminded her "You have to answer."

(Thanks again Airborne Toxic Event)

We ended the day with Cold War Kids, Passion Pit, Silversun Pickup (3 of my favorite bands right now) and finally The Killers. But there is not much I can say about any of them. We were there watching but all I can remember is looking at my wife.

500 Days of Summer

2009-06-12T20:16:00.006-04:00

"You lip-synch to your headphones every morning. It's okay. I like it. Takes a lot of self-confidence to look ridiculous."

I've already spent 90 minuets enjoying this film and it's not even out yet. Check it out.

Hi, I'm a Mac... and I'm a Mac.

2009-05-15T06:55:00.001-04:00

The commercials where Justin Long represents a Mac and the nerdy John Hodgman represents a PC are called the "Get a Mac" campaign.

I recently read something I thought was very interesting about PC. He is a truly intelligent man and has had long and successful career in print as an editor for the New York Times and contributes to pubs such as Wired. He is a voice actor and has been on radio programs such as This American Life and a TV actor on The Daily Show. I think I also read he teaches. The funny thing is, in this article, Hodgman confesses he is a mac user. PC is a mac user.

Now that got me laughing. As a Mac guy myself I said "Yessss, another point for us." Hopefully you appreciate the irony in it as well. It really is funny, right? No.

It's not funny at all and in no way is it ironic. After further consideration I remembered it's a Mac commercial. Both men are actors and both are getting paid by Apple.

I guess they do such a great job with that campaign and it has been around so long that we just assume Long really is Mac and Hodgman really is PC. Great marketing. And really great casting.

La Blogotheque

2009-05-10T12:11:00.008-04:00

I have to share this with everyone.

La Blogotheque is a small group who film musician performing live impromptu songs. They don't edit them down and clean them up. The don't overlay studio recorded versions of the songs. The just capture these artists creating art. They do it in natural atmospheres vulnerable to instances of the environment, and even possibly mistakes. This demonstrates the characteristics that make us love seeing live shows versus only listening to studio tracks.

I chose the following two videos because The Tallest Man on Earth is an exceptional artist, but more importantly these videos, which again are shot with one camera and without tricks, are in themselves beautiful expressions of art. For most people videography is an art that is often ignored. But here, it is so well done that I am sure everyone takes notice.

To set the scene this is an excerpt from the Blogotheque site
"One catch: after soundcheck the day before, Tallest Man’s guitars were locked inside the NYC music venue, Town Hall, where he’d be playing later that night with Bon Iver. Solution: we’d have to shoot somewhere with a decent supply of guitars that he might borrow. A fan of music of all kinds, Jeff, the awesome, museum-quality proprietor of the legendary Music Inn on West 4th Street in Greenwich Village was happy to oblige..."

Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Tallest man on earth - These Days (Nico Cover) - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Spring Fever

2009-04-29T08:13:00.004-04:00

I get excited this time of year because at night it is a great temperature to leave my windows open. Last night I fell asleep to the sounds of Northport. I woke up to overly crusty eyes, a stuffed nose and the taste of pollen in my mouth. Welcome back Hay Fever. Maybe I'll wait a couple weeks for open window season.

Black Friday for the Ice Cream Man

2009-04-27T08:57:00.006-04:00

This past weekend was the first nice warm weather coming out of winter, which meant the reemergence of the ice cream man. It was good to hear those songs again. I hope they made a killing. Last year Christen and I saw something funny—a WOW sticker on the back of an ice cream truck. At least it was upside down so it said MOM.

Song of Whenever #2

2009-04-25T18:42:00.011-04:00

Cursive just put out a new album. It's called Mama, I'm Swollen. I like it. It has three or four songs I really like and two I often find myself looking forward to hearing—From the Hip and Mama, I'm Satan. However, neither are the song of whenever. The song of whenever is the song that originally turned me onto Cursive. The Recluse. All of which can be found here on their myspace page. (At least as of April 25, 2009)

I wake alone in a woman's room I hardly know.
I wake alone and pretend that I am finally home.

The room is littered with her books and notebooks
I imagine what they say, like, "Shoo fly don't bother me."

I can hardly get myself out of the bed for fear of never lying in this bed again.
Oh Christ, I'm not that desperate. Oh no, oh God. I am.

Oh, that's him.

2009-04-20T22:09:00.010-04:00

Just found out M.Ward is the him in She and Him. That explains why both bands have a similar 50's sound. Is it 50's? I don't know. It's throw back and it's cool.

Ballperks

2009-04-19T13:17:00.008-04:00

Why do we always tear down our perfectly good stadiums to build even better stadiums? Sure it's nice to have a nice new clean venue and fill it with expensive high-tech tech. And I know attracting talented players is an issue, but what about the most important factor in the game—heart?

Big screen TVs and coffee tables at a stadium are nice but that's not the "Lounge that Ruth built." The memories of a roaring crowd and come-from-behind wins and no-hitters and perfect summer days are torn down and replaced with more expensive tickets. My buddy is at a Met's game right now. The 2 seats he has cost him $140. Seats that last year probably went for $45 each. If I am going to spend $140 on tickets, I'd prefer to see a tragedy on Broadway. At least there I am expecting to cry—not from a miserably disappointing game.

I've heard people say when you are there, Citi field could be any teams stadium. There is nothing about the place that says Mets, including an actual logo. I've heard the crowd is quiter. People are spending more time watching the 120" HD TVs than they are sitting in their seats. The same fans that were excited to be getting a new house are finding themselves missing the spirit their home once had.

When I think of a stadium like Fenway, I think there is no way the fans would let them tear down that stadium. It would have to be collapsing in on itself from old age before that would be considered. But that's also how I felt about Yankees Stadium. I personally didn't like the place—felt like a converted prison—but the fans did, and they just let them knock it down for promises of luxury perks. I think there are a lot of people who are soon going to realize what a tragedy this is.

Why is church always closed?

2009-04-12T21:06:00.011-04:00

Other than the specific hours of mass, it seems the doors of Long Island churches are always locked. If ever you want to stop in for a one-on-one session without the chanting crowd, you can't. That's not how I remember it. I feel like I was raised to think church doors were always ope. Anytime you needed the services of faith, stop on in. In Home Alone, doesn't Macaulay stop by during his off-peak hour of need?

In Newport, RI. there's an Episcopal church Chris has nicknamed heaven. Heaven is a small, quiet peaceful little building in the middle of nowhere country fields. Outside the building it has large trees, short stone walls and a couple random tombstones. Wind blows and leaves rustle. The sun speckles the ground between tree limbs and foliage. Outside it is perfect. Inside... it's locked.

The first time Chris brought me there we ran into this very old and very warm priest as he was leaving. He let us in so we could look around. While inside we made typical priest-young adult conversation. Like if and when we were going to get married. He also told us a story about a local marine who had died in battle and in homage the family had put up a beautiful shrine in the church that held 2 crossed marine swords. A couple days later some shithead went in the church and stole the swords. Since then, other than during mass, the doors have remained locked.

There's the difference—people can't be trusted anymore, even in a church. Happy Easter!

The Real Song of Whenever #1

2009-04-04T14:18:00.009-04:00

I've been having doubts about my last entry. Song of whenever, if it actually turns into something I maintain, should really be music I love and endorse. Crawl is not one of those songs. It might be good but I wouldn't know—it's not one of my songs. I think I was just excited to learn Max had a new project so I picked the first track I found by them. To be honest I haven't even listened to it since that night and I feel bad. Why would I encourage people to check out music I don't even listen to?

So I'm gonna make it up to you. From this point forward I promise to do my due diligence on song of whenever. And I am pretty sure I have picked you a winner. Here it is:

"Link Removed"

About 2 summers ago I learned about this very unique and excellent band Silversun Pickups with their sophomore album Carnavas. They are actually one of the highlights I mentioned in my ACL wrap-up. 2 years later I am ready for someting more from them. Not that the album I have has gotten old. I'd just love another honeymoon phase. I could pickup their debut album but I don't want to be disappointed. From what I've previewed on iTunes it's not bad, just not magical like Carnavas.

Silversun Pickups first mainstream single, Lazy Eye, you probably know. It really showcases the easier to digest sounds of the band and doesn't hit you over the head with the lead singers legitimately beautiful screams that are often dismissed at first glance as loud crap. It also has a very clean arrangement with an excellent and rather simple base line and drum beat. It is an exceptional pop song on an equally well written album. I like this album so much that I fear the next project won't be able to hold a candle to it.

Well, we're about to find out. A week from Tuesday, Silversun Pickups puts out their new album, Swoon. And the new single is showing amazing potential. It's called Panic Switch and it demonstrates a lot of the same qualities as Lazy Eye. I actually find myself turning it up a little more every 30 seconds. This song is full of great energy and it really gets me going. Panic Switch is the mechanical rabbit at the dog track and I am the excited greyhound.

Apparently I'm not the only one either. If at anytime you want to hear this track, turn on Alt Nation on satellite radio. They have it playing every third song. It's actually on right now. If you don't have paid radio you can find it here on their myspace. I hope you like it.

Song of the When I Get To It #1

2009-03-17T20:44:00.010-04:00

My great buddy Justin started doing this thing song of the day. He posts one song that he feels is appropriate for the day and a link to somewhere online like songza.com that followers can listen. I love it.

From what he's told me it sounds insightful and witty and something I'd like to be a part of. But I can't. It's a facebook group. I'm not a facebooker. I like to think I'm not because I'm above it. I grew out of MySpace before Facebook caught steam and now I don't have the extra time to waste thinking about myself. But let's be honest - maintaining a blog is just about as self-aggrandizing. So I guess I haven't joined in because I value my relationship too much. What's that you say? My girlfriend has a secret facebook life? Well look at that. Excuse me a sec while I set up my profile....

Ok. I'm not concerned. But I am inspired to start a song of the day subsidiary. It will be more of a "song of the when I get to it." But open to the public.

Today is March 17: St. Patrick's day.
Though a bar enthusiast, I am home right now (9:16PM) and pretty sober. I am wearing emerald green Mardi Gras beads but other than that, there's not much Paddy's day spirit around here. For Lent I gave up bars and it has been two things. Difficult and profitable. I have saved about $3,000 over the last 3 weeks just by coming straight home after work. Tonight I left the office with my friend and fellow bar dweller Ryan, both heading home in separate directions on what should be our most romantic night together; St. Patrick's Day. I'm sure he's somewhere feeling just as unIrish as I so today's song has nothing to do with the holiday. I am picking Crawl by Two Tongues.

Check out crawl on the right of this link

The lead singers of two very successful but, in my opinion, conflicting bands, have collaborated on a side project called Two Tongues; Max Bemis (along with Coby Linder) of Say Anything, and Chris Conley (along with Dave Soloway) of Saves the Day. Both great bands with their own separate sounds collaborate making this new venture. The name two tongues I believe comes from the way they both sing often with tongues fully extended. If you ever see them live you will know what I mean.

enjoy.

A Crash Course in Defensive Driving

2009-03-09T16:52:00.007-04:00

Recently I took a defensive driving class to knock a couple points off my license. There were only 3 of us in the class so our instructor condensed the 6 hours down to about 16 minutes. Among the mountains and mountains of new information i obtained was a ditto roughly describing how to properly adjust your mirrors. Apparently what we were taught back in drivers ed is now wrong. (It's one of those things that got changed but there was no press release. Also on that list are brushing up and down instead of back and forth and it is now safe to look into a microwave while it is running.)

This new method sets it so your side-view mirrors are almost completely straight out. With your rear-view you can see all cars behind and next to you. As a car leaves your rear-view you just begin picking it up in your side-view. As it leaves your side-view you can see the car next to you. You have eliminated the blind spot.

I love it. It's like a game. I watch cars as they approach from behind enter my rear-view, leave my rear-view, enter my side-view, leave my side-view and enter my peripheral vision. I am so distracted by this new game, I am surely now a worse driver. Fortunately, I now have room for a couple points on my license.

Happy New Year

2009-01-05T20:11:00.002-05:00

HateT&T

2009-01-03T16:27:00.005-05:00

You always hear about the guy who got a mouse in his McDonald's order. Sure one in every billion Chicken McNuggets is a mouse head, but what about the other 999,999,999 golden delicious nuggets? Same goes for Verizon. I have had Verizon since I was a tween and I've never had to complaint. You hear the stories about the guy who some how got screwed with a $10,000 bill once in a while, but that's what happens when you're the number one cell carrier in America. I love Verizon.

Over a year ago we moved to Northport where Verizon's service is crap. Even the East Northport Verizon store can't get a signal. The iPhone had just come out and being a designer and a mac guy, I had planned on buying one at some point. At the time it was still $600 so I was okay with waiting but since I needed to switch service anyhow, I got set up with the iPhone provider - AT&T.

The AT&T signal is sufficient in Northport and the little phone I bought was excellent. It was my 60th cell and by far the most durable. I am not exaggerating when I say my girlfriend washed and dried it with the laundry and it still worked. Christen had bought the same phone and one morning after a bender in Key West, we woke up find the screen of her phone looked like a decorative snow globe. Filled with water. You could shake it and it looked like a digit blizzard. But it still worked.

They were solid phones but the rough-houseing got the best of mine after about 6 months. It couldn't have come at a worse time. I was meeting a couple friends at one of the 10 bars in Bay Shore. Which one was unclear because I was going to be there about an hour before everyone else. They could simply call me to see where I was. I'd rather not go into the details of that night but I can say that with out notice my phone had given up on me.

I went to AT&T to get the insurance information on my phone. That's where I learned somehow I didn't have insurance. hm? I have always had insurance. I guess when I switched over to AT&T I had forgotten to set it up. That explains why Christen's bill was always slightly more than mine. Small oversight on my part but not the end of the world. It was time to upgrade to the super phone.

Before I bought the super robot phone, Christen got me a mac gift card for the iPhone price. It had come come down from $600 to $500 new (still overpriced) and $200 with an new AT&T contract. Emphasis on new. Because I was only 6 months into my contract, they wouldn't give me the phone for the $200s (the value of the gift card). If I wanted to set up the iPhone it would be the full $500 regardless of being an AT&T customer. Bull shit. The main reason I switched was for the iPhone down the line. Why didn't the guy I switched with mention this detail. He knew my intentions. Seriously? The $200 deal is for new customers only? People who are switching from a different company or being asked to start a new contract. At Verizon if ever I wanted to buy a new phone I could get it at the contract price and the two years would just start over from that point. Not with AT&T. It was either pay full price or wait until I was up for renewal. F this. I walked out.

Rather than dealing with the problem I just ignored it. I spent the end of the summer without a phone. I felt betrayed and it was to painful to deal with so I just didn't. After about 2 months I heard of the family plan. The family plan: For an additional $9.99 a month you could share minuets with another line. I went to the mac store and told them I wanted to turn my current line into a family plan and the new phone I wanted to add was the iPhone. No problem. That will be $200. Done. I got the phone for the contract price and all I'd be out was the 10 bucks until I can cancel my original line. I win.

This time I asked for insurance but, sadly, they don't do insurance on the iPhone. It is too expensive to insure so... no luck. Well to be safe I planned in getting a case and the screen cover... at some point. About 3 weeks later I am walking into the new Croxley Ales in Farmingdale to meet some friends. I went to stick my new super amazing robot phone in my inside jacket pocket... and missed. Four feet away it hit the sidewalk completely shattering. Piece of shit. In the iPhones defense it still worked flawlessly, I just had to deal with a plate of shattered splinters going into my finger.

When I got back to the Mac store my finger was bleeding. I figured there would be a way to replace the glass for a smaller fee than completely replace the phone. They said sure. $200. Okay, sounds fare. Let's do it. He took out the sim card, threw out the phone and opened a new iPhone package. When you have to fix or replace anything on the iPhone it's $200. They just give you a new one at the new contract price.

I guess when all was said and done I ended up paying $500 for the phone anyway. The first $200 plus the second $200 plus the $100 for the case and screen cover that I did purchased with my replacement. I don't really blame or hate AT&T. But they're no Verizon, that's for sure.

Oh, and there was a fried mouse in my phones box—spread the word.

She and Cutie

2008-12-30T11:38:00.003-05:00

The first couple of indie rock. She & Him's Zooey Deschanel is engaged to Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard.

‹‹‹
Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel performing together in August 2008
Can't wait to see what Baby Mozarts these two produce.
Photo: Timothy Norris/Getty Images

If Kerouac Wrote Music

2008-12-29T18:55:00.007-05:00

There was this band that kept poppin up on XM. The name was too long to remember so it took noticing them probably 10 times before I wrote it down. Margo and the Nuclear So and So's. When I went to buy the album I couldn't find it. Not even on iTunes. Turns out the band pressed it's first album of only a limited number and they ran out. Crazy. I really wanted the album because the 2 songs I had heard I thought I loved. I knew I liked them, but because it was so rarely I heard the songs I wasn't positive it was full blown love.

It was about 3 years ago and I had a trip to DC coming up that would require an early, early train ride from Penn. Turned out Margot was preforming the night before down at Mercury Lounge so I figured what the hoot, catch them and stay the night. That night I get to the venue with no ticket but at Mercury, if the band is an obscure act, typically you can buy tickets at the door. I was one of the first to arrive so I had plenty of time to spend at the bar. As I sit there, slowly people file in and the two other bands set up some merch. Also small acts, I don't remember who they were. Probably some little band MGMT or something.

Eventually, some little guy shows up and starts setting up Margot stuff. I go over hoping to buy my girlfriend a shirt or whatever. I ask the guy if he knew anything about an album. He tells me they would be re-releasing it soon and in the mean time he gave me their 4(?) song EP for free. I thanked him and explained how I thought I might love the band but I wasn't sure. He then thanked me and excused himself politely. He walked up to the stage and then onto the stage. He was the lead singer of Margot and the Nuclear So and So's.

What followed was the most magical performance I have ever witnessed. Have you ever watched a show that brought you to tears. An ensemble of almost a dozen people all beautifully banging away at there respective instruments (and sometimes toys). Not rock stars but young talented kids all acting out the same beautiful story in the same beautiful play. Not sobbing but definitely misty.

The bio I had in my head was this: By luck these guys all happened to live in the same mid-West town or surrounding area. They were kind of bums for the sake of following their music but none of them were really exceptionally talented enough to become famous on their own. Except for one; the driving visionary of the group. By his lead they were all given direction. The kept odd jobs and all lived together while they played and grew together. It was like the fight club house. They cut a small record which made it's way only to a couple places. One of which was XM. They bought a crappy van and drove to Mercury Lounge.

The visionary I assumed was the lead singer, who I also gave the story telling credit. Lyrics like Kerouac. When the act was over I went over to him on stage to express my gratitude and let him know I was pretty sure about my opinion now. He thanked me again and gave me his pick.

Since then I have seen these guys four or five times and I will see them as many more. No show has been as good as the first but all have been great. I blame the recession on booze and the road but I am sure you will agree—they are still impressive.

Everyone meet Margo. Margot, everyone.

Margot and the Nuclear So & So's - As Tall as cliffs - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Austin City Limits 2008

2008-10-27T13:57:00.010-04:00

It's been over a month since my girlfriend Christen and I had the privilege of attending Austin City Limits (ACL) in Austin Texas. The festival was three days—Friday September 26 through Sunday the 28th—and as best I can, I'd like to share this experience:

I was invited to attend a bachelor party in Vegas for a friend who I am loosely aquatinted. Not close enough to go to the wedding, but close enough to celebrate his marriage over drinks and a craps table. It was scheduled for late August. I was excited. I'd never been to Vegas and I enjoy giving money away by the thousands. I had saved up a good amount and I had already written a check for the airfare and hotel. We were good to go.

Christen didn't seem to mind like some girlfriends would in a young relationship. At least that's what she said. But as soon as everything was all set up for Vegas, she pulls this move. Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Jenny Lewis, Conor Oberst, Tegan and Sara, Silversun Pickups and Foo Fighters all performing late September. I love music, I think more so than the average plumber. Live music is a regular part of our agenda and over the past three years Christen and I have probably seen 100 different shows together, all of which have been here on the east coast.

A slight problem I've been having is I feel we are getting older but Bamboozle and Warped Tour have stayed the same age. This line up was Warped Tour for adults. Beck, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Gnarls Barkley, The Raconteurs, N.E.R.D., The Mars Volta, David Byrne, Against Me!, Iron & Wine. This show was perfect for me. It was however all the way down in Texas and to get there would mean flight and hotel. It would probably cost about as much as I had saved to get to Vegas and I simply couldn't afford both. I had to make a decision. An easy one. I got my money back for the flight and hotel and booked our new trip to the Mid-West. (Did Christen trick me?)

Every year, for the last 10 years or so, ACL puts together about 150 bands, from the big names to the up-and-comers, scheduled over three days between eight stages. It is held across a river from the beautiful, young and hip city of Austin in Zilker Park. Because there are so many bands you would think there is a good chance you will find yourself having to make some tough choices, but for the most part they line acts up so people with certain musical tastes can easily thread their itinerary together. One person could spend Sunday with Octopus Project, Flyleaf, Against Me! Silversun Pickups, Okkervil River, The Raconteurs, Band of Horses and Foo Fighters. Simultaneously someone else could have been watching Priscilla Ahn, Stars, Neko Case, Blues Traveler, Gnarls Barkley, Tegan and Sara and, of course, Foo Fighters.

As far as mileage on the body festivals like these can be tough, especially in a hot field in Texas, but the presenters have put together one of the best run, most considerate events I have ever attended. I've been a part of my share of dirt and heat festivals where I've left swearing off music for good. This on the other hand was well controlled. Between the handful of shaded lounge areas and free water stations and countless "bars" set up around the grounds, the heat wasn't an issue. They even have Mister stations: fans set up streaming a constant blast of cool mist. The food court offered what seemed like every type of cuisine found on this planet, just short of fresh sushi. There was a huge merch center and a little arts market. The parking and shuttle arrangement was perfect. I over heard the bus driver say there were over 300 buses relaying people all day long between town and the park. I have helped with hosting both a concert and an expo and knowing what goes into these production, these guys do it right.

Here are some of the highlights for me.

What Made Milwaukee Famous: Milwaukee is actually from Austin. Early this year I had heard their single Sultan and immediately deemed it 2008 song of the summer. The song has been played in my life hundreds of times and you would think it would be beaten down by now, but oddly enough, it's still going strong. I bought the album but didn't really love anything else on it. Live however I got a slightly different perspective of the band. The are all very good live musicians (and very good looking) and watching them play in anticipation of that one song, I really enjoyed everything else they were doing. Great start to the weekend.

Vampire Weekend: I love this band. i am actually going to put them on right now. The are very creative and original. It has a sound like something reminiscent of the 80's and lead singer Ezra Koenig looks like a television star from the same era. At the show they were spot on with all of there tracks and the three or four songs from the new album seem to be, believe it or not, even better. If you are interested in catching them Live they are about to do a couple nights at Terminal 5.

Jenny Lewis: As a huge Rilo Kiley fan you would think I am all over Jenny Lewis. But for some reason I have been slow to check out her solo work. I wasn't that into Rabbit Fur coat even though I haven't really given it a try yet and I wasn't really excited for her new Acid Tongue. I think allot of what I love about Rilo Kiley is the quirkiness and allot of that comes from the entire band, mostly Blake Sennett. Regardless, she was a main draw for me coming down to Austin. She has assembled a different band which is comprises male singer Jonathan rice. The band might actually be his band and Jenny just joined in. At least thats the feeling I get from how in sync they all are and how much love you feel on stage. We got up nice and close and they amazed us. What Jenny really brings to Rilo Kiley and now this new album is excellent story telling. Even Christen who has always kidded around about hating her because of how cute she is and how attracted to her I am can not deny Jenny's excellence. Come to think of it, I think I'm going to put Acid Tongue on.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band: I don't remember and I loved it.

Swell Season: An Irish bartender has suggested I checkout the movie Once. He said "if you love singer songwriters you will love this". It is a film about a young street musician with a guitar who hooks up with a young lady with a piano and they make an album. It is completely not a Hollywood film with allot of music. I thought I was watching the biography of Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan. From that movie spawned the band The Swell Season, Glen Hansard (also lead-singer of The Frames) and Marketa Irglova. I bough the album. As I listened closer it seemed to me everything great about them was stolen from Damien Rice. I kind of dismissed the album because of it's plagiarism until ACL. The sun had just set and the crowd was huge. So was their sound. It was brilliant. it was beautiful. Seeing them Live helped me identify them as really very different from Damien Rice, who I have also seen. One of the highlights of the performance was Hansard covering Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. It really displays how passionate and talented he is. Highlight of the weekend.

MGMT: These kids are too cool for the field. You could have sworn they were headlining. We couldn't get even close to close enough. Top image

Octopus Project: This was not a performance I had intended on catching but the base beat you could feel from three stages away just pulled me in. This was a large ensemble of young multi-instrumented musicians just whaling away. It had a very heave DJ feel that followed no typical structure. For me it was somewhere between Minus the Bear and Sigur Ros. I've been meaning to dig deeper into them. I'll let you know how it goes.

Against Me!: It was the first protest I've ever been apart of.

Silversun Pickups: They have been referred to as the new Smashing Pumpkins which accurately describes how different, weird, talented they are. But they really inspire a feeling unique to Silversun Pickups. This is what I looked forward to most. So much so that I left the band I was watching about 45 minuets before Silversun went on just to get up close. They were on one of the bigger stages and when I got there apparently I wasn't the only one really intent on seeing them. The girls in front of me were smoking a joint before the band came out which seemed like a good idea. They came out and the crown filled in. Not even one song in one of the girls started throwing up and they had to get her out of there. The now empty area filled only by a little puke puddle gave us great perspective through the crowd. It's not uncommon for people not familier with the band to think lead-singer Brian Aubert is a girl. Aubert sings in a very meek and interesting tone that is easy on the ears. He can then turn that into this screech that sounds like metal hitting metal of a car crash. Very impassioned and very beautiful.

Tegan and Sara: Just as Swell Season had caught us just as the sun went down, Tegan and Sara had the perfect ambiance. Despite playing at the same time as Band of Horses, which would typically attract the same type of fans, This stage was packed. The twins are from Canada and one if not both are gay. They sang and played beautifully and exchanged stories and liberal views with the crowd. I went into it liking their music and owning all their albums but seeing them as a new Ani Difranco—really geared toward girls. I was wrong. It was for me.

Foo Fighters: A fireworks display is always ended with the grand finale. That's what this was. A firework grand finale complete with the flashing lights and explosive drum solos. Hit after hit. New versions of old songs. Every song expanded to sometimes 15 minutes. Dave Grohl entertains even between songs with jokes and stories and insults. Drummer and sometimes singer Taylor Hawkins drove allot of the show with showy drum solos and dramatic song ending that would end, start again, and end again. It was a two hour exhibit of professionals. Even though we had been beaten down from three days of sun and dancing, we had to see Foo to the end.

New to me: Priscilla Ahn, Okkervil River, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

In addition to the show being just absolutely perfect, the city of Austin is great. An excellent night life. Bar after restaurant after museum after bar. Music thrives there. The entire experience was they greatest musical event I've been a part of and possible the best weekend of my life. Keep an eye on next years line up. If music is important to you and the acts look good, I couldn't recommend it more highly. And maybe I'll see you there.

Naturally

2008-10-23T00:27:00.013-04:00

I thought this was important to share. www.maxwellanddunnes.com/

If you poke around www.longislandpress.com long enough you will find this. But for those of you that might have otherwise missed it or if you found me through other means than the press site, this is Maxwell and Dunne's Natural Steakhouse.

I deliver this url for two reasons.

First: because what they are doing over there is an amazing thing; a completely natural steakhouse striving to be as earth and human friendly as possible. Natural is just like saying organic but because they feed the cows allot of corn toward the end of their lives (to really make them delicious), which is not something they would do in the wild on their own, they have to call it natural, not organic. It's a very noble and high risk business model but I know the two proprietors and they both live this life. They have educated themselves of the hazards and benefits of what goes into our foods mostly for their families and daughters. Being that they also feed thousands of Long Islanders, they felt a responsibility to share this consideration with their patrons. Being a steakhouse it might take a while to catch on but if people give it a shot... man is it good.

Second and mostly: I want to brag for Ryan. Ryan is an extremely talented designer who is in charge of both our print ads and our online development. He cranks out print ad after print ad—at times 30 a day—and he still finds time to work on projects like this. He has a team of other designers to help him along the way, but this site was almost 100% Ryan. And it is excellent. Especially if you know what I know—he built it in about 2 weeks.

He'd never say it himself so... I just thought I'd brag a little for him.

Karma Cash

2008-10-14T22:23:00.006-04:00

Sometimes I have to buy "props" for photo shoots. I do my best to find things among our staff I can borrow rather than going through the hassle of buying something and returning it. But when I can't find something, it's off to the store.

Last week we did a story on how parents are choosing to take their kids to soccer practice instead of church. The cover image we decide on was Jesus playing goalie in a soccer game and the ball is sailing by him. Because Halloween is right around the corner, finding a Jesus outfit wasn't a problem. As for the soccer equipment, I just ran around the corner to Woodbury Sports and picked up a ball and goalie gloves. Some men might have such equipment laying around the garage between their big metal tool rack and the vintage car they're restoring. You will find none of these things in my garage. In my garage the closest thing to sports equipment you will find is a hula-hoop.

I bought the items Tuesday, shot it at the park down the street Wednesday, and went to return the props Thursday. Thursday being Yom Kippur, Woodbury Sports was closed. At least that's what they thought. Lights were off and a sign stated Closed. The door however was unlocked. I yelled inside to see if maybe some employee had stopped by for a moment and they would lock up when they left. No answer.

As I drove back to the office I called the precinct to let them know the situation. The cop I spoke with said he would send somebody by to check it out and get in touch with the owners. He didn't ask anything about me including my name which I though was odd. I guess had I gone in and stolen anything I probably wouldn't be the type of person to call.

The following day I went away to the Bahamas (I'll tell you all about it as soon as I find a free moment). I didn't get back until last night and this morning I went to return the two items. When I bought them I told the woman cashing me out what I was using them for and that they would be returned. She said not a problem, I wouldn't even need a receipt because I was in the system now. Today, they let me make the return but because it had been more than 7 day I could only get store credit. I explained to the owner the relatively small deed I preformed the week before and he was relatively thankful. Enough so to give me my cash back. I did him a favor. He did me a favor.

Between the gloves and the ball it was about $100. That would have been $100 of store credit that would never get used... unless I break my hula-hoop.

Indie Gone Wrong

2008-09-13T13:51:00.014-04:00

I generally listen to Indie Pop and Rock so for me typical terrestrial radio doesn't cut it. Fortunately, we have xm satellite radio in our Jeep and with that, xmu, the indie station.

I had just gotten back from a long kinda painful traveling day (as you may soon read below) from North Carolina. I get into my car looking to xmu to help me wind down on my ride home. Sure enough, as I turn it on I find a live acoustic performance by a band I had never heard of, Breaking Laces. Sounds great. Like a young Ben Folds Five. A lot of piano and fun but well written lyrics. Even some of the white guy rapping over a pop song.

The song ends and the artists speak. They start talking about some completely inappropriate stuff. Vulgar. Imature. Offensive. Out of respect for you I wont repeat it but two themes were "butt-strep" and a game called "find the string." These guys are idiots.

I'm about to change the station when they dive into another song. Again, brilliant. I'll listen a bit longer. Song ends—back to idiots. These guys are good but crap I don't want to hear them speak. I've decided to put their personalities aside and buy the album when I get home. As long as the dumb shit doesn't get in the way of the music, who cares, right?

Then they announced the next song. Donkey Punch Gone Wrong. Ahh, forget it.

This is for my family

2008-09-13T12:39:00.006-04:00

Here is a link to images from our past NC trip.
If you click on the photo you can download fairly large versions of the images.
Or just play the slideshow.

› Love You

$100 per lesson

2008-09-13T10:43:00.011-04:00

I just got back from an awesome week at Nags Head with my family. With most vacations you get back saying "now I could use a vacation." But we spent the week with absolutely no agenda. No running around trying to keep a hectic schedule to ensure we get as much activity in as possible and make the best of the trip. We just pooped around between the beach, the pool, the house and the beach. It was truly relaxing.

Getting there was a bit tough. We were traveling on Saturday, September 6th at 8AM. The plan was to drive over to my buddy Jed's house at 5:45 and leave our car there. He would drop us at Islip. That morning though a hurricane had touched down in North Carolina. Hanna. It hit right where we were going, the Outer Banks. I was almost positive our flight would be canceled. Because of this I called Jed and told him to stay in bed. If we were going to be there delayed for any period of time or completely postponed I wanted to have a car to get us out of there. The flight was on schedule but our layover in Philly at 10am was canceled. They put us on a 2PM—nothing lost but a little time in NC. The day definitely could have been worse.

The week was great. By the time we got in Hanna had past and the subsequent weather was practically perfect. My sister has 2 boys; one about 16 months and one 4 and a half. It seemed this trip was different than any past trip we've taken. The focus was entirely on the boys. Most everything we did was for or about the boys. They even taught me a new hobby—Naps.

On my trip back all my R and R was put to the test. Getting home was a two hour drive from the beach house to the Norfolk (which I still have to slow down to pronounce) Airport in Virginia. This is a trip I was rather familiar with because One week earlier I had done it to get Chris and I there. And 3 days earlier I had done the drive twice to get Chris back to the airport so she could return to Long Island for class. Now with the forth time doing the drive, I didn't need directions.

My dad is a very responsible man. It is important to plan out your actions and prepare for the worst. Because I was going to be driving during rush hour on a Friday he had me leave the house about an hour earlier than I typically would. We didn't know what VA traffic would be like. Wise. I discovered, other than the route to Virginia beach, the highways seem rather manageable at 5PM on a Friday.

I enjoy flying. This flight in particular was going to be great. I was flying alone and would have 2 seats to my self. I had bought an extra seat for Christen just incase she decided to stay the entire week. Generally, I find the seats and accommodations comfortable and flying doesn't give me anxiety. I don't fear a crash because I know how reliable plans are and odds and statistics and whatever. I also say a quick little prayer before we take off along the lines of, "Please get me home safe. Unless you don't want to. That's up to you and I trust your opinion."

I got to the airport, returned my car, checked my bag and made it to the gate by about 6PM, two hours before departure. With my time I went hunting for something to read. I had found a magazine that I can't seem to find anywhere—GOOD. It is a magazine just about things that are good. Good for life, good for the environment, good for humanity. It's pretty good. Just as I sit, an announcement is made regarding my flight. "If you are flying flight 1234 to Philadelphia please report to your nearest US Air agent." My flight had been canceled but because I was there so early they were able to get me on an earlier flight.. that was boarding right then and there.

So I jump on the plane at about 6:15. Some guy sits next to me. I had paid for that extra seat but I understand, they were squeezing me on a different flight and because Christen wasn't present her ticket wasn't honored. Fortunately, as we taxi on out to the runway my seat partner sees two open seats and jumps up to sit by himself. I get my own spread after all.

The reason my other flight had been canceled was due to bad weather, which apparently was keeping us from taking off. We sat on the runway for about an hour and a half. The flight finally took off at 8:00. Everyone around me was getting pissed but I had a good (ha) magazine and my itinerary had me leaving at 8 anyway so I was right on time.

We make it to Philly but again the bad weather prevents us from landing. I was scheduled to have 30 minuets to make my way to the connecting flight to Islip. We circle around about 10 times before its clear to come in and I now had 10 minuets. I tightened up my sandals and sprint on over to F32. Make it just on-time.

I get on the plane and the woman walking behind me is bitching, loudly, on her cell phone. "You believe this shit. They better get me a Grey Goose and Tonic as soon as we take off. I'm getting free round trip tickets for this shit. I better sit next to some one who likes to talk or this is gonna be a long flight." I'm thinking if she sits next to me I am changing my prayer.

She doesn't. She sits right in front of me and the poor guy next to her took a beating. Squawk, squawk, squawk, squawk.....

As we took off she fell asleep and things were again turning up. I bought a cup of coffee. It was a dollar which seems silly for a 6oz styrofoam cup but my flight attendant was happy to give me free refills. I really enjoyed it along with a blueberry Nutri-grain Bar I had smuggled on board.

We land safely and I mosey on over to baggage claim. The belt alarm sounds and about 4 bags come out, none of which are mine. Then the belt stops. "If your bag is not here it did not make it on the flight with you"! This has happened to me before. Not a big deal. Obviously when I was put on a different flight my bag was not. It has my address on it and the airport destination. I am positive it will show up at some point this weekend. Whatever.

The trip was over. There were some challenges but for the most part every downside had an up. The lesson of the day was Shit Happens: deal with it or just stay home. Good lesson. I did everything right and things still went wrong. What are you gonna do. The best you can do is plan out your actions and prepare for the worst.

I get in my car which I had left in long-term parking and pull out to the ticket booth. I find the parking ticket in my wallet and hand it to the hispanic attendant. He laughs and says "It's a big one". The electronic display lights up. $98.00. No. "I though it was $4 per day." Apparently it's $14 per day. And I was there for 7 days. Crap. I ask if there was somewhere else I should have parked. He says "Extended Say Parking. That's 12.50 per day."

New lesson for the day. Don't leave your car at the airport.

Needle-dick

2008-09-02T22:04:00.002-04:00

My girlfriend has an ex boyfriend named Turbo. Seriously, thats what people call him, even his grandma. I believe he was a contender on American Gladiators. Anyway. They would communicate over mySpace and instant messenger.

One day she has a couple of her girlfriends over our place when she gets a message from him on mySpace. I was sitting at the computer surrounded by the three girls when i read the message aloud. It went something like

"Tell your needle dick boyfriend I said hello"

Not really a big deal. I was a little pissed off he would talk to her that way but other than that the insult flew by with no damage. Until christen said this.

"I didn't tell him that"

...

I know. Of course you didn't. You wouldn't tell him that because its not true. Right. unless... oh god.

First Blog

2008-09-01T11:20:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I realized something.
The name Arby's is the phonetic pronunciation of the initials for roast beef. R.B.
If you look it up they say it's an acronym for America's Roast Beef, Yes Sir.
But we know the truth.
I also realized if you eat too many Beef 'n Chedders you get pregnant.

The End.