Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Our Possible Future President is Sexier than Your Possible Future President
You are not a proper New Yorker if you cannot say "stand clear of the closing doors" in less than five syllables. Listen for it if you ever happen to be in the city on one of the trains where the stops are announced by a human being instead of a machine. I have no idea how they do it.
Today I bought a corner bookcase from a Housing Works thrift store. Which would have been a pretty decent deal if I didn't have to drop $45 on getting it delivered. But housing works helps homeless people with AIDS, so at least it was for a good cause. And there's no assembly required.
After I left the aforementioned Upper West Side thrift store, I went to a cupcake bakery down the street. Awhile back, cupcakes became trendy, which I think is the fault of the Times style section. They even have a cupcake bakery in Eau Claire. The concept makes sense though when you think about it. Cupcakes are a lot like donuts, only cuter and more festive. Plus, they are kind of a pain in the ass to make compared to, say, cookies or cake or dessert bars, so why not get them from the bakery?
I also decided that I'm going to help out with Harlem Live, which is an online newspaper run by high schoolers. They had an ad up for people to help edit their stories and maybe come in and mentor kids. So I'm going in on Friday to talk to them more about that.
But to change the subject completely, Barack Obama recently was interviewed for Us Weekly:
Today I bought a corner bookcase from a Housing Works thrift store. Which would have been a pretty decent deal if I didn't have to drop $45 on getting it delivered. But housing works helps homeless people with AIDS, so at least it was for a good cause. And there's no assembly required.
After I left the aforementioned Upper West Side thrift store, I went to a cupcake bakery down the street. Awhile back, cupcakes became trendy, which I think is the fault of the Times style section. They even have a cupcake bakery in Eau Claire. The concept makes sense though when you think about it. Cupcakes are a lot like donuts, only cuter and more festive. Plus, they are kind of a pain in the ass to make compared to, say, cookies or cake or dessert bars, so why not get them from the bakery?
I also decided that I'm going to help out with Harlem Live, which is an online newspaper run by high schoolers. They had an ad up for people to help edit their stories and maybe come in and mentor kids. So I'm going in on Friday to talk to them more about that.
But to change the subject completely, Barack Obama recently was interviewed for Us Weekly:
US:
So, boxers or briefs? Bill Clinton said he wore boxers in a 1992 interview with MTV.
OBAMA:
I don't answer those humiliating questions. But whichever one it is, I look good in 'em!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
She's a slave (to her own psychosis)
Because my mail gets forwarded, I'm probably a little slow on the uptake. But I just read this month's Rolling Stone cover story, The Tragedy of Britney Spears. After chasing the Britney circus around for six weeks, the closest the reporter can get to an interview with Ms. Spears is duping her inner circle into thinking she's going to pay them $2 million until the very last possible second. What results is basically a summary of Britney's lurid downward spiral. With pictures.
Now back in the day I had much less tolerance for Britney Spears then most people. But that doesn't make the unfolding craziness any easier to watch. It's disturbing on a level that's hard to articulate. Even moreso than the Michael Jackson craziness.
I think there is a certain generation that grew up with Britney Spears, and to watch her become such a freakshow is to watch something in our collective psyche get kicked and corrupted and broken. In large part, I think it goes hand in hand with the Bush administration and the toxicity of American culture in general. I think the reason that Britney became so adored — and so hated — is that all her life she was micromanaged and molded into what other people wanted her to be:
I would continue this rant, but I would probably start to sound like a crazy person. Someday maybe I'll write a book about how Britney Spears is the embodiment of all that is wrong with America. But in the meantime, just read the article (if you have time on your hands; it's a long one). Really it's no wonder the woman is having a breakdown:
Now back in the day I had much less tolerance for Britney Spears then most people. But that doesn't make the unfolding craziness any easier to watch. It's disturbing on a level that's hard to articulate. Even moreso than the Michael Jackson craziness.
I think there is a certain generation that grew up with Britney Spears, and to watch her become such a freakshow is to watch something in our collective psyche get kicked and corrupted and broken. In large part, I think it goes hand in hand with the Bush administration and the toxicity of American culture in general. I think the reason that Britney became so adored — and so hated — is that all her life she was micromanaged and molded into what other people wanted her to be:
"These middle-aged guys were so intense about her not being sexual that they pushed her the other way," says the friend. "They'd tell her to put on a bra or that her lip gloss was too dark. They were literally picking out her panties for her."
I would continue this rant, but I would probably start to sound like a crazy person. Someday maybe I'll write a book about how Britney Spears is the embodiment of all that is wrong with America. But in the meantime, just read the article (if you have time on your hands; it's a long one). Really it's no wonder the woman is having a breakdown:
If Britney was really who we believed her to be — a puppet, a grinning blonde without a cool thought in her head, a teasing coquette clueless to her own sexual power — none of this would have happened. She is not book-smart, granted. But she is intelligent enough to understand what the world wanted of her: that she was created as a virgin to be deflowered before us, for our amusement and titillation. She is not ashamed of her new persona — she wants us to know what we did to her.
Snow: More bad-ass than New York City
Slug (of the hip-hop group Atmosphere) did an interview with Spin, I think it was, a few years back about what he liked about living in Minneapolis. One of the things he mentioned was that thugs don't like the cold. I think the East Coast thuggery would probably agree (well, unless there are gangstas in Maine ...) We had about an inch and a half of snow accumulate today, and it was amazing how much everything slowed down. Everyone was driving so slowly and carefully, and there was noticeably less honking. In Wisconsin, people would still be speeding on the highway. Or, to paraphrase Aunt Sarah, [New Yorkers] JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!
I was reading a story today about some families of 9/11 victims who are suing to get the (pulverized) remains out of a landfill. Do you know what this landfill is called? FRESH KILLS. I kid you not. If I were the judge in the case, my utterly unqualified non-legally-based opinion would be that it's impractical to sift (again) through all that garbage, I'd at least see what I could do about getting the landfill renamed.
Also, here's some YouTube goodness for the day.
I was reading a story today about some families of 9/11 victims who are suing to get the (pulverized) remains out of a landfill. Do you know what this landfill is called? FRESH KILLS. I kid you not. If I were the judge in the case, my utterly unqualified non-legally-based opinion would be that it's impractical to sift (again) through all that garbage, I'd at least see what I could do about getting the landfill renamed.
Also, here's some YouTube goodness for the day.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Reading the News so You Don't Have To: College Journalism Edition
—At The Spectator, there are a lot of late-night deadline conversations about who would cover the story if the entire staff died in some kind of horrible calamity (as a freelancer, the greatest compliment you can receive is being known as the one to whom this responsibility would fall). Well at NIU the staff of the campus paper lost one of their own in the recent shooting.
—There is a student paper in Colorado fighting to stop the administration from brokering a "partnership" with the Gannett-owned local paper. Two reasons this would be a bad decision:
-The powers that be insist that any deal will ensure that it remains a student-run paper. But the move comes after uproar last semester over a four-word editorial in the paper that read, simply, "Taser this ... fuck Bush." Think what you want about the editorial (no way would I personally have printed it if it were up to me), but the timing on the administration's part is suspect.
-Even though college and local papers are not direct competitors, the competition on the beats that overlap still helps. Truly, in my experience working at both papers at once the relationship was often mutually beneficial. It made finding sources easier in both jobs. There were times when I would get permission to reprint our work in both papers — probably an easier proposition than at most papers because all I had to do was pop my head into the editor's office (five feet from my desk) and ask permission (an upside of independent papers). But there were plenty of city and general interest-related issues when I knew I was going up against another paper and that made the writing better. Gannett as I understand it tends to streamline things and share content as much as it can — which is arguably helpful for small papers with few resources in large, spread-out geographical areas like northern Wisconsin, but not so good when it threatens to squelch the competition in a smaller market.
— "You probably don't REMEMBER me, Mr. Woodward ..."
(About the schism between the Washington Post and its online counterpart.)
While I'm in link-happy mode, I forgot to mention in my post on Century 21 that when I was in line for the cashier the man in front of me, buying only a small bag of socks, insisted that he didn't need a bag. The cashier was completely flabbergasted, calling him back after he walked away to make sure he didn't want one and even remarking to me when I stepped up how crazy it was that someone would turn that down. But recently I read an article on how people in Ireland have been taxed 15 cents a plastic bag since 2002, and the move has been so successful that using them has become socially unacceptable (the guy in question looked like he could have been european).
Speaking of plastic bags, check this out. The part about the bags = the story of my life. And read the rest of the site, a lot of it is dead-on.
—There is a student paper in Colorado fighting to stop the administration from brokering a "partnership" with the Gannett-owned local paper. Two reasons this would be a bad decision:
-The powers that be insist that any deal will ensure that it remains a student-run paper. But the move comes after uproar last semester over a four-word editorial in the paper that read, simply, "Taser this ... fuck Bush." Think what you want about the editorial (no way would I personally have printed it if it were up to me), but the timing on the administration's part is suspect.
-Even though college and local papers are not direct competitors, the competition on the beats that overlap still helps. Truly, in my experience working at both papers at once the relationship was often mutually beneficial. It made finding sources easier in both jobs. There were times when I would get permission to reprint our work in both papers — probably an easier proposition than at most papers because all I had to do was pop my head into the editor's office (five feet from my desk) and ask permission (an upside of independent papers). But there were plenty of city and general interest-related issues when I knew I was going up against another paper and that made the writing better. Gannett as I understand it tends to streamline things and share content as much as it can — which is arguably helpful for small papers with few resources in large, spread-out geographical areas like northern Wisconsin, but not so good when it threatens to squelch the competition in a smaller market.
— "You probably don't REMEMBER me, Mr. Woodward ..."
(About the schism between the Washington Post and its online counterpart.)
While I'm in link-happy mode, I forgot to mention in my post on Century 21 that when I was in line for the cashier the man in front of me, buying only a small bag of socks, insisted that he didn't need a bag. The cashier was completely flabbergasted, calling him back after he walked away to make sure he didn't want one and even remarking to me when I stepped up how crazy it was that someone would turn that down. But recently I read an article on how people in Ireland have been taxed 15 cents a plastic bag since 2002, and the move has been so successful that using them has become socially unacceptable (the guy in question looked like he could have been european).
Speaking of plastic bags, check this out. The part about the bags = the story of my life. And read the rest of the site, a lot of it is dead-on.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Ugh.
If you are ever at a New York deli, never, ever eat anything containing breaded chicken or (especially) slices thereof. Because I promise you it is not chicken. More like greasy chicken-flavored rubber that will fill you with loathing upon consumption. I have had this experience in at least 3 or 4 delis that were otherwise at least tolerable.
Moving on ... I love how Wisconsin is, yet again, a battleground state. It trips the hell out of me to see Appleton and Oshkosh and Madison datelined in the New York Times, and even more so, to see my alma mater get a mention. (On that note, this fine publication is also doggedly following the campaign season in Blugold country).
I know that the primary system is designed for the maximium benefit of special-interest groups, and it does drag on for an excruciatingly long period of time. But it does have the side effect of forcing politicians to go to electoral pip-squeak states like Iowa and New Hampshire and Nevada and at least pretend to listen to their concerns. And since there was no coronation after Super Tuesday, the pandering continues. As Lauren Fox of Shorewood, Wis., puts it, "having zoomed from ignored to adored in one day, we might as well put on tons of sparkly eye shadow and enjoy ourselves, because no one will remember our name in the morning."
Of course, being that it's Wisconsin they'll be back to pander some more before the general election. I already miss living in a purple state, at least for now. But I've always had a love-hate attitude toward politics. It's the ultimate reality show, in that it has pretty much the same ratio of reality to utter ridiculousness as most reality shows. But follow it too closely and you'll start to lose brain cells and possibly your lunch.
But to end on a positive note, I the best story I edited today (well, besides the Wisconsin one, which was from the same series) was about the caucuses in small-town Maine. I think Jennifer Finney Boylan has a brilliant take on the Democratic race:
Moving on ... I love how Wisconsin is, yet again, a battleground state. It trips the hell out of me to see Appleton and Oshkosh and Madison datelined in the New York Times, and even more so, to see my alma mater get a mention. (On that note, this fine publication is also doggedly following the campaign season in Blugold country).
I know that the primary system is designed for the maximium benefit of special-interest groups, and it does drag on for an excruciatingly long period of time. But it does have the side effect of forcing politicians to go to electoral pip-squeak states like Iowa and New Hampshire and Nevada and at least pretend to listen to their concerns. And since there was no coronation after Super Tuesday, the pandering continues. As Lauren Fox of Shorewood, Wis., puts it, "having zoomed from ignored to adored in one day, we might as well put on tons of sparkly eye shadow and enjoy ourselves, because no one will remember our name in the morning."
Of course, being that it's Wisconsin they'll be back to pander some more before the general election. I already miss living in a purple state, at least for now. But I've always had a love-hate attitude toward politics. It's the ultimate reality show, in that it has pretty much the same ratio of reality to utter ridiculousness as most reality shows. But follow it too closely and you'll start to lose brain cells and possibly your lunch.
But to end on a positive note, I the best story I edited today (well, besides the Wisconsin one, which was from the same series) was about the caucuses in small-town Maine. I think Jennifer Finney Boylan has a brilliant take on the Democratic race:
Toward the end of the event, though, someone asked, So what was it like, to grow up as the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton?
Well, she said, one day, when she was 6 and living in the governor’s mansion in Arkansas, Chelsea decided she’d like to have a coconut. So the Clintons went out and got one. When they got it home, though, the first family faced the traditional problem when it comes to coconuts: how do you open one up?
Chelsea allowed as how her father and she had gone outside, and thrown the coconut again and again onto the hard asphalt of the governor’s mansion’s driveway, hoping to make a dent. But the coconut, alas, refused to yield.
Finally, Hillary came outside with a hammer.
The point being, Chelsea said, that her mother knows how to solve problems.
In the 2004 election, voters repeatedly said that they’d rather have a beer with George W. Bush than with John Kerry. This election, it seems as if the question for Democrats is this: Whom would you call if you really, really needed to open a coconut? Hillary Clinton, with the Hammer of Experience? Or Barack Obama, with the Machetes of Bipartisanship and Change?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Mi casa es ... mi casa
Welcome to my first New York apartment.
"An art deco gem," wrote the broker who showed me this place. "The envy of its neighborhood."
I live on the 3rd floor of this art deco gem. Or something like that.
The curtains are a work in progress. I temporarily gave up on them when I got sick of hitting wall studs.
My kitchen is tiny, but it does have brand-new appliances.
Why is my kitchen tiny? Because it's part of the living room!
This is where the magic happens. By 'magic,' I mean the writing of this blog.
Sadly, that is all the photos I have because Blogger doesn't like verticals and I'm too lazy to take more. When/if I get it finished, I'll post more pics or maybe a video.
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