My Friend went Dark

Had a good friend who lives nearby who went totally dark. Like Jack Bauer undercover dark. Or the guy from Wired that went off the grid. Not sure why. One day, his phone stopped working and Verizon told me the number had been disconnected. Then he stopped checking his facebook account. Haven't heard a peep via email either.

Hope he's alright and has a really good story to tell about all this.

Good News & Bad News

First, the good news:

On Friday, we were talking about hot sauce at lunch. My coworker Joel was like, hang on, I know someone who can get us free samples, and promptly sent him a text. No joke - his friend responded within a minute and said he was headed to the supply closet. Not only that, but he delivered a box with 6 huge bottles of various flavors of Frank's hot sauce in person over the weekend.

I'm super stoked about receiving one massive bottle of the tried-and-true Frank's, and one sweet chili, which looks amazing.

Here's the full package:



Now, the bad news:

Kramer managed to mangle his front left paw (the bad one) somehow yesterday. Not sure. Probably sprained it, or at least hoping that's all it is. Taking off work today at lunch to take him to the vet to have it checked out. Goodbye, sweet precious paid time off.

Hope the dog's ok!

High Up in the Clouds, Where I Work

Yesterday was Sept 11th. Big day in the city. Actually was surprised to see the two Batman beams in the sky Friday night - they've been saying ever since I moved here they would have to go due to costs.

Anywhoop, I saw someone throw this together - a time-lapse video of the day in the life of construction at Ground Zero. Kinda cool, I like time lapse. And also, I work there now!

So I thought I'd point out where we work. Here it is!


Also, that little squabble about the mosque? Right nearby. Everyday a new camera crew and people with strong opinions. On Friday, they had this mobile Police tower set up to help monitor the expected yahoos that would come out over the weekend.

Original video link here.

Am I a Drag Queen Service Provider? Now that you mention it...

From an exchange with my Aunt via text this morning:

Me: Hello! Just wanted to get a head count for dinner tonight. Any special requests?
Aunt: Cant come thanks
Me: Cool. Have Allyson give of (sic) a call later
Aunt: Who is tbis (sic)?

She thought I was from the Drag Queen service they had called last night and ultimately turned down. Thought I was going to take them out to dinner! Then panicked a bit when I knew her name!

Because that's how I roll - as a stalker type drag queen service provider.

ATP Blast

Just got back from a wild weekend of music, fresh air, and the best view of the stars i've seen in years.

what is ATP? All the Parties, a UK based party / event organizer. This was their third NY show, held this year 9/3~9/5. Very intimate shows, very Shining-esque hotel. Our place was a step above squalor.

But lots of good stuff otherwise!

Here's some quick highlights of this year's ATP:

friday night was intense all around; mudhoney was probably the act i wanted to see the most of those three (and totally lived up to my expectations), but having not listened to sleep much i was pleasantly surprised with their set just the same.

saturday: shellac was above and beyond what i expected; their drummer is amazing live and if it weren't for this website project i'd be at the bell house right now watching them! sonic youth was also really good but i started getting really exhausted during their set and sat down for part of it, closed my eyes, and went to sonic heaven. also talked to Wata of Boris for a brief minute, though it could better be described as a brown moment as I knew she was in a hurry and I was taking her time. bah!

sunday: raekwon made me feel really good inside. never been a big wu tang follower but damn, it sounded really good live. also, boris + sunn was the perfect transformation music for the end of m' twenties into m' thirties. that was the darkest religious ritual i've ever been a part of. think about every dark ritual you've ever seen and you're still nowhere close. yes, it was that dark. it was... DOOM

Prickly Pears No No No

I like fruits. I also like exotic fruits. They're pretty different, really. A coworker just offered me a wedge of prickly pear, and you know what? It was a mushy seed mess, with seeds of steel. I spat most of it back out.

I don't think I'll be eating anymore prickly pears anytime soon.

Instant Karma

Do you know what's awesome? That sweet drum fill that appears in the pre-chorus on Instant Karma. The whole song has this swing-shuffle beat and then the straight fill comes in and sounds so out of place, but yet it still works. I like that. Organized chaos.

Explained as thus:

A distinctive feature of the composition: drum fills and turnarounds were played in a different time signature than the rest of the song.

Did you know that this song was written, recorded and finished all in one day, and pressed up and released 10 days later? Now that's some lightning production. And that George Harrison and Yoko Ono were on it as well?

All about Instant Karma