ohhhhhh!

in response to "aieee"

Circuit Bending

Hilariously odd people creating weird new sounds and taking it very seriously...

Hassids and a Movie

So as many of you know, I live in Williamsburg Brooklyn. If you haven't been here before, the sort of people that live here, generally fall in one of the 4H's: Hipster, Hispanic, Hoodlum, or Hassid. The area I live in is predominantly Hassidic. Now Hassidics I've come to observe are very private and extremely peculiar. The other day I was walking out of my apartment to go play music with some friends when two young Hassid girls, about 15yrs old stopped me on the sidewalk. They asked me if I could help them with their oven. They had very thick accents and I was very surprised they were speaking to me so I asked them to repeat. They said that they needed help with their oven on the fourth floor and emphasized that it was okay because they had an elevator. I was of course curious and they and their little brothers seemed harmless enough. So I took the elevator up and they took the stairs and met me on the fourth floor. They led me into their spotless apartment that looked un-lived in and directed me to the stove. Two of the gas burners were on high with nothing on the stovetop. The eldest girl motioned to the stove and asked me to simply turn off the 2 burners. I did as they asked, they thanked me and I left. I know they can't use electricity on the Sabbath I think but this was like a Wednesday so I don't know what it was all about. It of course had something to do with their religion. Whatever it was, they felt it so important that they follow this rule that they left their apartment unattended with gas burners on high putting all their belongings at risk of burning down and let a complete stranger, a gentile no less into their apartment.


On another note I saw the movie, Black Book, last night. The film, directed by Paul Verhoeven, who directed Robocop and Showgirls, was nothing at all like those movies, but rather was a World War II Resistance thriller/drama about a Jewish singer who fights both for survival and against the Nazis by seduction, cunning wit, and spy tactics. The movie had one of the most dense plots I'd seen in a while and I was intensely engaged from start to finish. Dutch-born Verhoeven also directed one of my favorite movies as a kid, Total Recall. This was his first return to the Dutch screen in over 20 years. With movie ticket prices in NYC so high, about $11-12 on average, I tend to pick and choose what movies I see in theaters rather sparingly with a bit of scrutiny. I found Black Book to be a very worthwhile 2hour escape from reality and money well spent.

Alanis covers Fergie!

This is absolutely amazing. You gotta watch this shit!

Bringin it back!

B cubed (Brooklyn Bladers Brigade) also known as R.A.D (Rollerblading Association of Dreams)are bringing rollerblading back and bringin it back strong.

RAD B3 is now accepting applications to join. 1 article of neon clothing required.

Hello. I am your cousin.

Last night I attended a very peculiar concert. My friend, who grew up on the Upper west side, had a cousin who was performing at a venue in the village. Her very very Jewish and slightly crazy family required that she attend. The music was upbeat Argentinian, Columbian, and Venezuelan type stuff that one might witness drunken tourists dancing to hotel poolside. Instead of hotel poolside they were playing on the stage at a basement bar of a diner type establishment. And instead of drunken dancers there were middle aged to elderly Jewish folk sitting politely at tables facing the stage, sipping their one cocktail or glass of wine that would probably be a bit too much for one evening. Between sets, I was sitting next to my friend when a small man of about 70 approached us. He grabbed her hand with both of his and did not let go for the entire length of conversation to follow. He said in a Russian/New Jersey Jewish accent. "Hello. I am your cousin. You have never met me." She responds slightly apprehensively but cheerful, "Hi, really you're my cousin? how come we havent met before?" He says "well, I came from Europe. While in Europe I wore your cousin Phil's Barmitzva suit." At this point I started laughing pretty hard, but tried as best as I could to restrain myself. The conversation continued and he further explained his connection to her and her family. I had a smile on my face for the rest of the evening and repeated aloud multiple times in my very best pseudo Russian New Jersey little Jewish old man accent, "Hello. I am your cousin. While in Europe, I wore your cousin Phil's Barmitzva suit."

Hoola Hoop Camouflage

Thought Bubble - "They'll never find me in this bowl of Cheerios"
Arrow - "ANGRY MOB OF HOOLA HOOPS"

Inspiration: A friend who is coming in town for the weekend said that she was going to hunt me down. I responded with "you can try but you may not succeed as I will be dressed in camouflage to blend in seamlessly with my surroundings like a tiny tan hoola hoop in a bowl of cheerios." I don't know where it came from... just popped into my head randomly. I found it so hilarious that I decided to translate it to cartoon after I got home last night from a few beers and pizza at Capone's.

W E T P E T S

I greatly enjoy this commercial and it's inspired me to consider a career in writing rap jingles for pet store commercials. I think this could be a terrific new career direction...it would certainly be immensely lucrative but most of all rewarding.

Good Friday

My last post was sort of on the negative side, so today I will share with you 10 good things in no particular order from my life this week:


1. MUD COFFEE. best coffee I've found in NYC thus far. You can find it in the big orange trucks at Astor Place and Union Sq. www.mudnyc.com

2. CARLEN ALTMAN. very funny comedian I saw perform last night. Her humor is refereshingly real and quirky. jokes are current and relavent. comes off very naturally and has cool shoes.
carlenaltman.blogspot.com

3. THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION - indie pop rock band from Houston. could quite possibly be the love child of Conor Oberst and Jenny Lewis. you cant not love them. you just cant.
myspace.com/thewesterncivilization

4. BEMBE - latin bar/club in williamsburg on S. 6th and Berry. atmosphere, music, drinks, location... all SUPERB! go there. tonight!! www.bembe.us

5. LAUNDRY BOARDING - hadnt done laundry in a little too long and the basket got a bit too heavy and cumbersome to carry 4 blocks to the laundry mat so i set it on the front of my skateboard, held on to the handles like reins, and rode that baby all the way there. only fell on my ass twice.

6. BOTTLE OPENER CARABINER - i lost my keys at a party in redhook, so i was looking to replace my carabiner and found this... the coolest invention ever: a carabiner/bottle opener/corkscrew! but i cant find it in the US. damnit
http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/lifestyle-home/bar-booze/carabiner-corkscrew/index.html

7. NYU MARKET SUSHI BAR - looks like your typical market but they have really fresh sushi for really cheap! it's on University & Waverly. at Washington Sq.

8. TRL - Gym Class Heroes was on trl this week. hearing myself on tv never seems to get old.

9. HOVERBOARD


10. WET CHICKENS