(no subject)
Jan. 11th, 2008 02:36 pmDespite the fact that no one should listen to polls anymore (I mean, seriously, didn't we learn this in 2004? We really needed to be schooled on their serious failings by New Hampshire 2008?), this one made me laugh: Rudy might not even win New York. People seem surprised by this. I'm not. There is a huge misconception across the country that New Yorkers revere Rudy Giuliani. Actually, most of them loathe him. We liked him for about two weeks right after September 11th, and then before that there was that time he was in drag on SNL; people thought that was pretty funny. But yeah, we know firsthand that he's a bitter, petty megalomaniac. He can talk about 9/11 all he wants, but that doesn't change the fact that the firefighters hate him. A LOT. His kids hate him, too -- because he dumped their mom on television without telling her first. He's a real class act. Also, if he gets more than 10 or 11 black votes in the entire state, I would be STUNNED. (That's among black Republicans, of course, of which there are about 37.) I'm personally amused that he's running as the foreign policy candidate, when he has absolutely no actual experience in anything foreign policy-related except shouting about terrorism for the past 7 years. Hell, the guy couldn't even be bothered to show up for Iraq Study Group meetings. His main foreign policy adviser is apparently Norman Podhoretz, who is, seriously, still cranky about détente and the fact that Allen Ginsberg blew marijuana smoke in his face once in 1947. But, hey, if you want a president who will totally smote the terrorist squeegee men, Rudy's your guy. Otherwise, New York Republicans are gonna throw the vote to McCain, and Rudy's going to look like an even bigger schmuck than he usually does. Which takes some doing.
(no subject)
Nov. 13th, 2007 06:37 pmYesterday I was on 86th and Lex on my way to a doctor's appointment, and I made eye contact with someone who looked EXACTLY like Abe Vigoda. But I thought, "Isn't Abe Vigoda dead?" But no -- according to Wikipedia, Abe Vigoda is alive and well and living on the Upper East Side. I SAW ABE VIGODA! That's a good New York celeb siting to go out on.
(no subject)
Nov. 11th, 2007 12:32 pmYummy yummy pizza, delivered in biodiesel cars fueled with the leftover oil from their deep-fryers, right down the street from my new apartment -- that's what Madison means to me. Also, slushies in every convenience store. That's all I really want out of a city. New York utterly failed me in that regard.
(no subject)
Sep. 7th, 2007 02:47 pmAw, Madeleine L'Engle died. I was never as big a fan of hers as my sister was, but I loved Wrinkle in Time and got a kick out of the fact that she went to St. John the Divine, down the street from me. R.I.P.
Pied-à-terre?
Sep. 6th, 2007 07:07 pmThis article is cracking me up -- "Good heavens, you can have a lovely, livable apartment with less than 500 square feet?" Our apartment is about the same size as the one in this article. Our living room is half the size, but we have a big kitchen and small dining room to make up for it; our bathroom is literally 30 square feet (I just measured it - 4.25'x7') and therefore mathematically negligible in this calculation. And we have one of the best apartments in Columbia grad student housing that I've seen. Chrissy has a great apartment, with a huge living room, but the kitchen is about the size of our bathroom. (So is her bathroom.) And it's a share. Her old apartment was about half that size. Alex's apartment was totally bleak. Most of the ones I've seen on Riverside Drive are OK, but ours is nicer. The only other couples housing I've seen was, I kid you not, probably about 200 square feet. Bedroom -- 8'x10'. Living room with efficiency kitchen -- 8'x10'. Tiny bathroom. If they could make THAT apartment work, I don't think people with a hundred grand to throw around on renovations deserve New York Times articles about their resourcefulness.
Fun stuff I learned on blogs today!
Jun. 1st, 2007 02:57 pmThe new Surgeon General nominee founded a church that magically makes gay straight through the power of Jeebus H. Christ. That's who I want in charge of my health!
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post is back on message -- Al Gore is boring! And we'll add a drop of Kerry in there -- he's elitist, too! You can't expect "Iowa hog farmers" to know who Abraham Lincoln is. Duh, Mr. Vice-Egghead.
Dennis Kucinich will debate my former boyfriend Joe Biden on Fox News. The entire universe yawns, rolls over, and goes back to sleep.
Lou Dobbs sucks.
That fucking sicko who raped and tortured a Columbia journalism student has pled not guilty. I have possibly never been quite so repulsed by a human being as I am by this man. Do not click this link if you are easily triggered.
Apple is oh-so-sneaky -- You may be getting those songs DRM free, but your name is embedded in every track you download. I've gotten pretty fed up with the Orwell references on LJ this week, but I enjoy the irony of this particular piece of pseudo-big-brotherhood juxtaposed with the memory of Apple's iconic "1984" ad.
Everybody's favorite bipolar brother/creepy Jesus/asshole Beverly Hills high school student is going to be on Law & Order next season. This would be more exciting if I ever watched Law & Order. Doesn't he seem like more of a perp than a cop? Maybe I'm just biased because I saw Hideaway in the theater.
They're still pulling this "Just because I'm a pharmacist doesn't mean I actually have to dispense pharmaceuticals as prescribed by a medical professional" crap. Like I said a NUMBER of years ago now, if you're Amish, don't work for the electric company. If you're a practicing Muslim, maybe "Bacon-taste-tester" might not be the appropriate line of work for you. If you have a philosophical problem with the inherent duties of your job, try finding another one.
U.N.K.L.E. + Josh Homme = Luvvvv
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post is back on message -- Al Gore is boring! And we'll add a drop of Kerry in there -- he's elitist, too! You can't expect "Iowa hog farmers" to know who Abraham Lincoln is. Duh, Mr. Vice-Egghead.
Dennis Kucinich will debate my former boyfriend Joe Biden on Fox News. The entire universe yawns, rolls over, and goes back to sleep.
Lou Dobbs sucks.
That fucking sicko who raped and tortured a Columbia journalism student has pled not guilty. I have possibly never been quite so repulsed by a human being as I am by this man. Do not click this link if you are easily triggered.
Apple is oh-so-sneaky -- You may be getting those songs DRM free, but your name is embedded in every track you download. I've gotten pretty fed up with the Orwell references on LJ this week, but I enjoy the irony of this particular piece of pseudo-big-brotherhood juxtaposed with the memory of Apple's iconic "1984" ad.
Everybody's favorite bipolar brother/creepy Jesus/asshole Beverly Hills high school student is going to be on Law & Order next season. This would be more exciting if I ever watched Law & Order. Doesn't he seem like more of a perp than a cop? Maybe I'm just biased because I saw Hideaway in the theater.
They're still pulling this "Just because I'm a pharmacist doesn't mean I actually have to dispense pharmaceuticals as prescribed by a medical professional" crap. Like I said a NUMBER of years ago now, if you're Amish, don't work for the electric company. If you're a practicing Muslim, maybe "Bacon-taste-tester" might not be the appropriate line of work for you. If you have a philosophical problem with the inherent duties of your job, try finding another one.
U.N.K.L.E. + Josh Homme = Luvvvv
(no subject)
May. 21st, 2007 01:41 pmThe magazine store on Broadway is closing. So where will people be able to buy guitar strings in the neighborhood?
It was sort of a running joke at Kim's -- people would come in all the time asking if we had guitar strings, and then one day, the magazine store put out a big sign that said "We have guitar strings!!!" So apparently there was a grave dearth of guitar strings in Morningside Heights and Global Ink stepped up to fill the gap that Mr. Kim failed to fill. I remember when Mr. Kim was convinced that the store should sell cell phones, and I was like, "Maybe we should try selling guitar strings first?" That's what the clientele was clamoring for, not phones. (Ugh, I'm so glad he dropped that cell phone idea -- that would have been a total disaster.)
It was sort of a running joke at Kim's -- people would come in all the time asking if we had guitar strings, and then one day, the magazine store put out a big sign that said "We have guitar strings!!!" So apparently there was a grave dearth of guitar strings in Morningside Heights and Global Ink stepped up to fill the gap that Mr. Kim failed to fill. I remember when Mr. Kim was convinced that the store should sell cell phones, and I was like, "Maybe we should try selling guitar strings first?" That's what the clientele was clamoring for, not phones. (Ugh, I'm so glad he dropped that cell phone idea -- that would have been a total disaster.)
(no subject)
Nov. 10th, 2006 08:25 pmI went to Mondo today after work on my way to eat a lonely dinner at Banjara by myself. I briefly browsed through their used DVDs and came across my personal holy grail of used DVD box sets: The Complete Goofy, still in its collectible tin! For $19.99!
I spent $45 on a copy of this damn thing that WASN'T even still in the tin. I just put it up on eBay for a starting price of $35 and a buy-it-now of $65, and I don't doubt I'll get some good bids.
You'd think for all the touting of Kim's clerks as these DVD buffs, the DVD buyers would know what things are out of print and what aren't. (Apparently they need a TV-and-Animation-DVD geek like me around after all...) And the poor sap who sold it to the store for less than $10! Damn shame.
Also, the uptown store doesn't have a rental copy of it, so they should have actually sent it there. But that's just me being picky. All I know is, I found a cheap copy of an out-of-print DVD box set at a store that should know better. And that makes me happy.
I spent $45 on a copy of this damn thing that WASN'T even still in the tin. I just put it up on eBay for a starting price of $35 and a buy-it-now of $65, and I don't doubt I'll get some good bids.
You'd think for all the touting of Kim's clerks as these DVD buffs, the DVD buyers would know what things are out of print and what aren't. (Apparently they need a TV-and-Animation-DVD geek like me around after all...) And the poor sap who sold it to the store for less than $10! Damn shame.
Also, the uptown store doesn't have a rental copy of it, so they should have actually sent it there. But that's just me being picky. All I know is, I found a cheap copy of an out-of-print DVD box set at a store that should know better. And that makes me happy.
The end of window shopping
Oct. 22nd, 2006 05:19 pmTower Records recently filed for bankruptcy, again, and this time their stores are actually going out of business. I have a real soft spot for Tower Records. Unlike many music nerds, I did not learn about indie rock by going to some tiny store, flipping through vinyl and having some grungy clerk tell me about Television or XTC. I learned about music through a combination of a friend with a very hip older sister, subscriptions to Sassy and Spin, and a dad who would go with me to Tower and buy me a handful of CDs that I'd never heard before every time we went to Chicago. So the Tower Records on Clark is where I bulked up my knowledge along with my collection. Tower Records was also where I first bought a Sandman book. (There was also a comic book store downstairs where I bought my first Cerebus book, but that's neither here nor there.) When I lived in Chicago, trips outside of Hyde Park often revolved around going to Tower. I very specifically remember buying double albums by Tori and Trent on their first day of release my second year -- that took a bite out of my wallet! The last batch of CDs I ever bought at the Chicago Tower included an album by Mandalay that was in one of their listening stations, saying it was Madonna's new favorite album. It's a great, great record.
I never had the same connections with either of the Tower Records stores in New York, but in my first couple of years here the Tower by Lincoln Center was a fairly regular destination on my Upper West Side outings. So today, we decided to go down there and scout out their "Blowout Sale" to see if there were any remaining Battlestar Galactica DVDs to be had for cheap. MAN, was that place ever torn to shit. It was the dregs of popular culture to be had at that store today, though if you're looking for a copy of the Spielberg/Cruise War of the Worlds, you'd be in luck. And the prices weren't even that great! A blowout sale where almost everything is only 20% off? You could buy this stuff for cheaper any given day on Amazon!
But I realized, when Tower closes, and when Kim's inevitably closes (and it will soon, have no doubt), there will be hardly anywhere to buy DVDs in the city -- certainly nowhere with any decent selection. There are the Virgin megastores -- I haven't heard how they're doing. According to rumors floating around the Kim's staff, Blockbuster will soon be closing, so their paltry retail selection won't be available. Barnes and Noble sells DVDs at some of their stores, but their selection is small and expensive.
I buy the vast majority of my DVDs and books on Amazon. Their prices are the cheapest, and if you spend over $25, the shipping is free. (The free shipping may not work so well for people in more isolated areas, but in New York, it's actually faster than UPS.) So I realize I have personally contributed to the downfall of brick and mortar stores. I suddenly regret it. I will miss the ability to wander through a store, leisurely considering items and making impulse buys. Sure, I can (and often do -- beware late-night Ambien induced Amazon shopping, folks) accomplish the same thing online. But the depersonalization of it is suddenly very unsettling. As a matter of fact, I do almost all of my shopping online -- I hate trying on clothes in stores and would rather do it at home and then take back the things I don't like to the physical stores. I bought my new phone online. When I buy a new computer, I will likely do it online. I buy furniture and gadgets online. But I always did it with the understanding that if I wanted to go to a store and do it, I could. And soon, I won't be able to. I love shopping on the internet. I've never been a great window shopper. But I always reserved the right to window shop if I so desired. That's ending.
I never had the same connections with either of the Tower Records stores in New York, but in my first couple of years here the Tower by Lincoln Center was a fairly regular destination on my Upper West Side outings. So today, we decided to go down there and scout out their "Blowout Sale" to see if there were any remaining Battlestar Galactica DVDs to be had for cheap. MAN, was that place ever torn to shit. It was the dregs of popular culture to be had at that store today, though if you're looking for a copy of the Spielberg/Cruise War of the Worlds, you'd be in luck. And the prices weren't even that great! A blowout sale where almost everything is only 20% off? You could buy this stuff for cheaper any given day on Amazon!
But I realized, when Tower closes, and when Kim's inevitably closes (and it will soon, have no doubt), there will be hardly anywhere to buy DVDs in the city -- certainly nowhere with any decent selection. There are the Virgin megastores -- I haven't heard how they're doing. According to rumors floating around the Kim's staff, Blockbuster will soon be closing, so their paltry retail selection won't be available. Barnes and Noble sells DVDs at some of their stores, but their selection is small and expensive.
I buy the vast majority of my DVDs and books on Amazon. Their prices are the cheapest, and if you spend over $25, the shipping is free. (The free shipping may not work so well for people in more isolated areas, but in New York, it's actually faster than UPS.) So I realize I have personally contributed to the downfall of brick and mortar stores. I suddenly regret it. I will miss the ability to wander through a store, leisurely considering items and making impulse buys. Sure, I can (and often do -- beware late-night Ambien induced Amazon shopping, folks) accomplish the same thing online. But the depersonalization of it is suddenly very unsettling. As a matter of fact, I do almost all of my shopping online -- I hate trying on clothes in stores and would rather do it at home and then take back the things I don't like to the physical stores. I bought my new phone online. When I buy a new computer, I will likely do it online. I buy furniture and gadgets online. But I always did it with the understanding that if I wanted to go to a store and do it, I could. And soon, I won't be able to. I love shopping on the internet. I've never been a great window shopper. But I always reserved the right to window shop if I so desired. That's ending.
(no subject)
Aug. 3rd, 2006 12:59 pmI stayed up all night watching Bridezillas. Whee!
Apparently the first season is very different from the second and third seasons, so for someone who's used to what they show now, I guess these brides are extremely tame. But that's part of the humor of it -- these women totally got scammed. They were told they were going to be part of a series on powerful New York women planning high-end weddings, and it was all going to be super classy. And then it gets repackaged as BRIDEZILLAS! The most insufferable bride of all of them apparently sued. Which I guess isn't surprising. What IS surprising is that she sued for an utterly ludicrous $130 million. HA HA HA HA. This lady is hysterical. People who get the wrong leg amputated don't get $130 million. Well, given that she works at the Clinique counter at Macy's but spent $50K on a wedding (that still looked tacky as hell), I guess her concept of money is a little skewed.
Yeah, she was the source of my one real want-to-punch-her-in-the-mouth moment of the whole series. It's the week before the wedding, she's totally blown her budget, and they still haven't bought the wedding rings. So her husband-to-be suggests that they use some of the checks they've gotten as wedding gifts to pay for the rings. But this woman gets all incredulous that he would want to use "her" gifts to finance the wedding (aren't wedding gifts supposed to be for both of you, you dumb hag?), and that he should "do the right thing" and put the rings on his credit card. Does she not realize that credit cards aren't magical pieces of plastic and that the money she's so zealously hoarding now is going to end up paying just for the INTEREST on the fucking $2200 wedding rings she's insisting on buying? Yeah, that's the other thing, after the credit card thing, she starts ranting about how you're damn RIGHT the rings have to be platinum, and you best BELIEVE she wants stones that are flawless. *facepalm* Her husband looked like he was being led to the gallows through the entire wedding. But even he looked happier to be getting married than a bride from an earlier episode, who had given up any pretense of not being in it for the green card by the time the wedding day at ugly-ass Tavern on the Green rolled around -- she wouldn't let the groom TOUCH her, let alone kiss her. Like, she was literally recoiling and slapping his hand and scolding him. It was bizarre. The poor groom was so clueless.
The second season, though, was apparently a train wreck. The producers weren't happy with how well-behaved their first season brides had really been, all things considered, so they started actively fucking with stuff to try and get the brides to flip out -- sending people to spill drinks on their dresses and whatnot. Yeesh.
There was one bride who actually reminded me a little bit, both looks and personality-wise, of
bigeyedem.
bigeyedem has much nicer hair and boobs, and is just generally cooler. But it was still kinda bizarre.
And speaking of brides and grooms and whatnot, I think Segev and I are going to pick up our (NOT $2200!) wedding bands today. And I found out that a friend of mine who I didn't think was going to be able to come to the wedding actually IS coming now, so WOO!
Apparently the first season is very different from the second and third seasons, so for someone who's used to what they show now, I guess these brides are extremely tame. But that's part of the humor of it -- these women totally got scammed. They were told they were going to be part of a series on powerful New York women planning high-end weddings, and it was all going to be super classy. And then it gets repackaged as BRIDEZILLAS! The most insufferable bride of all of them apparently sued. Which I guess isn't surprising. What IS surprising is that she sued for an utterly ludicrous $130 million. HA HA HA HA. This lady is hysterical. People who get the wrong leg amputated don't get $130 million. Well, given that she works at the Clinique counter at Macy's but spent $50K on a wedding (that still looked tacky as hell), I guess her concept of money is a little skewed.
Yeah, she was the source of my one real want-to-punch-her-in-the-mouth moment of the whole series. It's the week before the wedding, she's totally blown her budget, and they still haven't bought the wedding rings. So her husband-to-be suggests that they use some of the checks they've gotten as wedding gifts to pay for the rings. But this woman gets all incredulous that he would want to use "her" gifts to finance the wedding (aren't wedding gifts supposed to be for both of you, you dumb hag?), and that he should "do the right thing" and put the rings on his credit card. Does she not realize that credit cards aren't magical pieces of plastic and that the money she's so zealously hoarding now is going to end up paying just for the INTEREST on the fucking $2200 wedding rings she's insisting on buying? Yeah, that's the other thing, after the credit card thing, she starts ranting about how you're damn RIGHT the rings have to be platinum, and you best BELIEVE she wants stones that are flawless. *facepalm* Her husband looked like he was being led to the gallows through the entire wedding. But even he looked happier to be getting married than a bride from an earlier episode, who had given up any pretense of not being in it for the green card by the time the wedding day at ugly-ass Tavern on the Green rolled around -- she wouldn't let the groom TOUCH her, let alone kiss her. Like, she was literally recoiling and slapping his hand and scolding him. It was bizarre. The poor groom was so clueless.
The second season, though, was apparently a train wreck. The producers weren't happy with how well-behaved their first season brides had really been, all things considered, so they started actively fucking with stuff to try and get the brides to flip out -- sending people to spill drinks on their dresses and whatnot. Yeesh.
There was one bride who actually reminded me a little bit, both looks and personality-wise, of
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
And speaking of brides and grooms and whatnot, I think Segev and I are going to pick up our (NOT $2200!) wedding bands today. And I found out that a friend of mine who I didn't think was going to be able to come to the wedding actually IS coming now, so WOO!
(no subject)
Jul. 1st, 2005 01:39 pmwoo hoo! david cross is opening a bar on orchard street. yeah, fuck you, pianos! and a tinkle DVD? so many ways to waste money!
(no subject)
Mar. 3rd, 2005 09:32 pmnew york hipsters left clutching desperately at their self-image as hilary duff hits motherfucker and misshapes. this does not bode well for her relationship with the guy from good charlotte. unless the guy from good charlotte digs morrissey, too, in which case i'm starting to question my own musical choices.
(no subject)
Feb. 20th, 2005 05:52 pmmore fun with crosswalk signs. the shocker always reminds me of ben, but not for any actual prurient reasons, i promise. it had to do with this t-shirt he got at summer camp...oh, i give up. there's no way to make this sound ungross.
if you don't know what the shocker is, than please ignore this whole post, because it is disgusting and wrong and entirely unappealing.
if you don't know what the shocker is, than please ignore this whole post, because it is disgusting and wrong and entirely unappealing.