I just finished watching "Alex & Emma" starring Luke Wilson and Kate Hudson. I'm still drying the tears from my eyes, because I am a wuss who loves sad sad cry crap. I won't give away the ending...but I mean, it's probably obvious. The twists and turns were really good, though. The whole premise is that Alex is a writer working on his second novel, and a year or more later, he's still got nothing...except a large gambling debt and a Cuban mafia that wants the money. Kate Hudson answers his ad for a stenographer, and that's when the story starts, as does the novel.

I really enjoyed the way things were dicated, and then bits were scrapped and reworked. It was cool to show that the process of writing isn't all easy and straightforward. He writes himself into a dead-end a couple of times, and it is interesting to see him fix it, and how. Of course, there is a parallel between the novel and the true-life romace developing between Alex & Emma, and I know this isn't the first time this has been done, but I think it was done very well, and you could at least believe the chemistry, unlike many other movies where the two leads have no reason to like each other.

It was nice to see a good romantic comedy that I haven't already watched 20 times. Of course, I would be saying that about "A Life Less Ordinary," except the tape it was on ran out before it ended, because my brother is a jerk. I still need to see the end of that movie. Grrrr. I would, without a doubt, say that "Alex & Emma" is the best movie Rob Reiner has done since "When Harry Met Sally." Even though I haven't seen "North" starring Elijah Wood, something tells me I'm not missing a contender.

Saw "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" on X-mas Eve with Matt, and it was so fucking awesome. Words simply cannot do it justice. I am so glad I finally saw it, since most of the people I know saw it when it opened. Never before has a week seemed so long as that one week between it opening and my finally being free to see it. I cannot wait for the extended edition. Hell, I think I might wanna see it a couple more times in the theater, too. But first, I have to see "Elf." Any takers?

Meanwhile, I was at least not depressed today, although my plan to only nap this morning backfired bigtime. I fell asleep on the couch in the den (in the main house) watching tv about 10:30 I think..maybe 11am. I came to around 3:30pm, but my neck was a little cricked... so I went bacl to my house, in order to take a shower, etc... I ended up taking off the clothes I wore for 21 hours, and putting on my sleeping clothes (boxers), and decided to nap for an hour or so. When I awoke after turning off my alarm, it was 6:30 or something. I know I didn't get out of bed until about 7pm. I still had to shower and drink coffee before I had to meet Shannon at the Green Cactus at 8:30. It was a race against time, and i lost. Again. I mean, I was only 8 minutes late, but late nonetheless.

Speaking of sleep, I should try getting some now, as it is 6:45am and I have a dentist appointment at 11:30am. I finally get my real crowns for my teeth, as opposed to these Howdy Doody plastic teef I've had for 3 weeks. Guess I'm only sleeping for four hours. I really don't wanna take a nap afterwards. I feel like I've been sleeping too much lately. I mean, granted I work a twelve hours shift, but there should be more to life than sleeping during the day, waking up at 5pm to drink a cup of coffee and maybe eat while watching thirty minutes to an hour of television before working twelve hours, coming home at 7 something, watching thirty minutes to two hours of television (or being online for two hours), and then going to sleep around 9am. Man I hate working nights. I really don't recommend it. When it's nice and sunny, it's hard to go to sleep. So I must go to sleep now before the sun changes my mind.

xo,
J-Ro

song of the day:
"I'm Not Allowed" - Buffalo Tom
-or-
"Kickaround" - Tarkio

J-Ro Plays the Best of 2003 tonight at midnight on WUSB!

Hey peoples, it's time for another J-Ro mass-posting. I don't think everyone is on my mailing list because I am an idiot. Conversely, if you don't want me to write you telling you when I'm on the radio, or playing a show, let me know and I'll remove you. Email me at TheCrazyPablo@aol.com

But yeah, the end is near...so it's time to kick into high gear and play the best before the odometer resets and we begin a new year. How's that for mad flava? Yeah, I know I'm soooo white. But am I whiter than Special K (the white chick) in Breakin'? I thought not.

the important stuff....Sunday night, midnight, 90.1fm WUSB.. http://www.wusb.org

Also, happy merry KwaanzaHanuMasSolstice to those of you who practice.

If I haven't seen you in a while, I'm sorry. It just means you need to show up where I'm at more often.

love,
J-Ro

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SNOW SHIT ABOUT? IT JUST FINALLY FUCKING MELTED!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!

Now that that is out of my system...

Last night was Matt & Cassie's birthday bash at the Smithtown Masonic Temple. Fucking Supermatchboxx reunited for a one-time only deal just for my brother. It was fanfuckingtastic. It was like taking a trip back to 1996. It ruled balls. If you missed it, you are a dumbshit. The Repercussions rocked the house (I'm paid to say that, hee hee), the Devil Spades slashed the house's tires and Encrypt Manuscript provided some of that rock'n'roll dance thing in the fine tradition of Les Savy Fav and GoGoGo Airheart and that kinda stuff... and the Jell-O wrestling match was the stuff of legend. I'll say it again, if you missed it, you blew it. Having to go to work afterwards sucked. I couldn't get the entire night off.

Thursday night was the MTV party at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Open bar (ie, free drinks), decent food, (mostly)crappy music, good company, free drinks, drinking so much I couldn't feel my face, continuing to drink beyond that point, dancing to crappy music because I was so srunk I could not feel my face, making out while not being able to feel my face, telling my friend who was asking if I was getting on the bus to "fuck the bus" because it was too early to leave (12:30am), continuing to pound Jack & cokes and suck face, eventually getting a car service to take me back to long island, staying at the NOC for an hour and change until I was sober enough to drive home. Definitely one the best times I've ever had at a party.

Vending Machine In My Kitchen - A One Act Play In Two Parts

Ok, so this is one that I don't know if I should put here or at the House of Chicken & Waffles...it's a true story of late night absurdity that can only exist in my world...I think. It kind of blurs the line between creative writing and ranting...maybe I will post it to both later on.

I just wish that there was a place for this unrelated anecdote in there: At work, the men's bathroom was being cleaned, so the only option for the bursting guy is to use the women's restroom. So Sheryl, the cleaning lady, makes sure the room is empty before I go. I take care of my business and "drain the lizard," as they say (who "they" are, I know not). As I am washing my hands, Sue walks in halfway, then puts on the brakes to deliver the line "You're not a woman!" with an expression on her face to match the surprise in the tone of her voice. "I'm glad you agree" says I, drying my hands with a paper towel and exiting, unable to surpress a gleeful giggle that evolves into a maniacal fit of full-throttle chuckling as I enter the breakroom, much to the confusion of my co-workers.


Vending Machine In My Kitchen - A One Act Play In Two Parts

When we first come upon our protagonist J-Ro, he is driving home from work on his lunch break at 1:30AM, on a mission to consume a bowl of matzoh ball soup. In addition to his desire for soup, his colleague Bunny has made him hungry for spinach as a result of her own meal, even though he yearns not for sweet & sour anything...not even spinach. Driving home, J-Ro's lightbulb appears over his head as he remembers that he bought some leaf spinach in butter sauce on his reconnaissance mission to the supermarket...his first solo foray involving something other than simply snack foods, alcohol and a shrimp ring in nigh on three years. A comforting thought indeed, as the craving for that leafy green goodness was reaching a fever-pitch.

J-Ro pulls into his driveway, surrounded by massive hacked-off limbs of trees strewn about after mighty winds bent the boughs and branches in numerous directions which threatened the very flow of electricity and cable into the house from the curbside, not to mention the raingutters on the house itself. He enters the bungalow that is his new home, across the driveway from the main house, heading straight for the kitchen, to retrieve the spinachy goodness and free it from the clutches of the freezer holding it captive.

Entering the kitchen, he flips the lightswitch, quickly turning to his right and noticing the blinking "2" of the answering machine's LED display. "Ooh, a new message," he thinks to himself (message # one being from some guy with a funny accent, who had called for his brother, to commission a track from his now broken-up former band for a compilation CD). After pressing play and discovering naught but silence, his head turns back, when something foreign seems to appear out of nowhere. "What the fuck?!? Is that??" It's a small vending machine, the analog variety, with individual coin-slots that one twists manually. It simply says "Snacks & Chips" on the front panel above the pick-up tray. "Why the hell is there a vending machine in my kitchen? What have Matt and Cassie done this time? This is absolutely ridiculous!"

Our hapless hero, barely surprised at this turn of events and mysterious newfound kitchen accessory, shrugs and carries on with the intended mission -- the spinach retrieval. He opens the upper door, observing the now two-month old ice cream birthday cake that is the only other occupant of the infrequently-raided freezer and passing over it to obtain the Green Giant's Jolly vegetable contained therein. He shuts the door, turns, stares again at the oddity occupying his kitchen floor, scratches his head with his free hand, then quickly switching off the kitchen light and exiting his tiny home, heading for the main house, to cook his spinach and heat up a nice bowl of matzoh ball soup.

While the spinach is in the microwave getting hot, Matt & Cassie make their way from the upstairs, apparently on a field trip to the water closet...possibly to suss out burglars. Matt is the first to speak, as he rubs his eyes with his fists and blinks.

MATT: "What are you doing here"
J-RO: "Came home to get some matzoh ball soup. Also, Bunny got me hungry for spinach, so I went to get that out of my freezer. So, why the hell is there a vending machine in my kitchen? Where did it come from?"
MATT: "I don't know what you're talking about."
J-RO: "Bullshit! There's a huge box full of coffeepots in the basement that prove otherwise. Where the hell did you get a vending machine from, anyway?"
MATT: "I still don't know what the hell you're talking about."

CASSIE exits the bathroom and joins the conversation as it stays its course on the carousel, with neither side getting off the horses.

CASSIE: "I suggest you call the number on the back of the vending machine and ask them why there is a vending machine in your kitchen."
J-RO: "I don't think that would be a good idea. I definitely don't want whoever owns it to know I have it. That surely cannot be a good thing."
CASSIE: "If you have any further questions regarding this matter, you can consult our lawyer."
J-RO: "Did you say I should insult your lawyer?"
CASSIE: "CONsult our lawyer."
MATT: " You can insult him, too, if you like. I don't care, I'm going back to sleep. Goodnight, weirdo."
CASSIE: "Goodnight, Jon. Have a fun rest of the night at work."
J-RO: "Goodnight, Bonnie & Clyde."

exit MATT & CASSIE up the stairs. A heavily perplexed J-RO continues to prepare the spinach and matzoh ball soup, using two separate bowls. "What the fuck is up with the vending machine?????" The preapred meal is then taken into the den, where J-Ro resumes watching the final epsiode of Season five of "Friends" on DVD. Once the meal is over, he will go back to work and share his bizarre tale with his many co-workers, clearly doomed to an eternity of repeating this story to everyone he encounters, the vending machine his albatross, only funnier.

fade out

***********************************

http://chickenwaffles.blogspot.com/

Sergei just informed me that it had been several days since the previous pathetic update, so I'm gonna throw y'all a bone. Let me show you my mind at the moment. Warning: 'tis a silly, scary place. It's nearly 3am and I just ate 2 of those Thomas's blueberry waffle things while downing some Mike's hard lemonade that I found last week in my kitchen cupboard and promptly rejoiced and put in the fridge. I am listening to the Guided By Voices box set Hardcore UFOs. I apologize to Bob Pollard now that I have no Rolling Rocks to drink while listening to his music. I'm thinking now, as I am finishing off this bottle of MHL that I should grab another one from my fridge next door, but it is nearly 3am, so maybe I shouldn't, but then again, if I want to catch a matinee of "Elf" tomorrow (or today), I need to be able to wake up at a decent hour. Of course, drinking would probably help me sleep. I guess one is good enough for now.

I don't know about any of you other single folk out there, but I'm starting to get depressed by Friendster,Myspace, etc. because a lot of the cooler-looking people (going by profiles and favorites, obviously, not really with a clue of interactive personality) live far away or are in relationships or both (and I should point out that this is mostly regarding the 24+ population, as pretty much anyone in college should be listening to good music, as that's when you are exposed to the best stuff). But lately, I see these profiles, and I must admit that I haven't sent a whole lot of messages to anyone lately because early on I sent out a bunch and rarely got replies. I think it's because I wrote too much. Being brief is not my forté, I suppose. But scaring off women in the tri-state Metro area apparently is. I know I am just oh so intimidating. Ha ha. But seriously, the only other person on Myspace with "Careful" by Guy Madden as a favorite movie lives in NYC and is in a relationship.

Before anyone starts worrying about my frame of mind, let me just reassure you: I've given up the search, for the sake of my sanity, and am working on just being more outgoing in public and less the socially retarded kid in high school who would stand against the wall in the gym at the school dance while waiting for the one good song to be played so I could make a fool of myself, displaying dance moves that Elaine Bennis only wished she could have come up with. I've gotten better at this, i think. Well, maybe not the dancing part, although the "Peanuts" moves I've picked up over the last couple years definitely help.

I've actually been rather upbeat lately, according to various sources, so I guess that's a good thing. I think it might have something to do with a steady diet of bacon and other pork products. I had a wonderful shrimp burrito at the Green Cactus tonight with Shannon. I think if I kept kosher, I would be very unhappy and unfulfilled. Last night found me at the Hi-Lite Diner in Port Jeff with a bunch of crazy USB media kids, eating a turkey BLT on a croissant washed down with about 4 cups of coffee...that was after the two Brooklyner Weisses at the Velvet Lounge. It was definitely a good night. I haven't had an overwhelming number of those lately, so it was a welcome change.

I miss a great many friends of mine who I haven't seen or spoken to a lot in recent months, but the phone works two ways, and the interweb in more ways than that. I just can't keep up with everything in my life, so my only reaction is to do nothing most of the time. It's sad, really. The only thing sadder is when you check out someone's profile on Friendster when you're into them, and it all of a sudden says "In a Relationship" and you're just like "Woah, since when?" And then you remember that a whole 48 hours has passed since you've spoken to said person. Not that this has really happened to me lately. At least not with anybody I seriously was pursuing. Too far away, mostly, for me to deal with. Hell, I've made it out to Nassau County once in the last six months, nevermind taking a trip across the country or even upstate. Bah. I need to find someone close by. Oh, and it has to be someone who isn't really interested in me. If someone likes me, I automatically find a reason to make sure it is impossible for me to reciprocate. It is an interesting phenomenon, and I actually can make charts and graphs detailing this pattern. For my novel, maybe I will.

That reminds me, I haven't completed my poetry and shit book yet. I haven't moved into my house all the way yet. I haven't recorded a song in a year. I haven't played a show since when? I am singing along to Guided By Voices into my empty bottle of MHL and it sounds divine. I will remember this when i record again. I am working on lyrics right now, and had been working on some music until last week, which was the last time I picked up my guitar, I think. I am actually writing new lyrics to describe old heartbreaks. I suppose the art of crafting that into insightful and perhaps non-crappy words is worth something. Sometimes I think that my demeanor on "stage" as a nervous and bumbling moron clouds the seriousness of my intentions. I fear that I may be in the same category as The Frogs, and that nobody will give a shit about the stuff that I took time to carefully sculpt and chisel, but the shit that I just toss off-the-cuff will be wildly popular and everyone will think of me as a joke.

Okay, the NyQuil is starting to work bigtime. I guess I should really get next door and jump in bed before I kinda just hit this keyboard with my face. Wow, this post sucks. Sorry. Well, I'm sorry to all of you except Sergei. You can eat it, Admiral. "Oh, you haven't blogged since November 9th, what's up with that?" Ha ha ha. Oh yeah, btw, I finally updated House of Chicken & Waffles. I'm sure you are all thrilled.

Night night.

I'm on the radio tonight at midnight!   

Just wanted to let y'all know...
That's right, join me for my new new new timeslot (maybe I'll be in this one for more than two months this time) Sunday night/monday morning from midnight to 3am only on WUSB 90.1 FM. For the reception impaired, try http://www.wusb.org
yippeee

 
mood: jittery
music: spacemen 3 - forged prescriptions

PS I will blog some kind of update soon...

Oog-a-chaka

Hey kids, just a brief update to fill in some gaps. Lessee, what's happened lately? A quick rundown:

--The Repercussions EP, Don't Fear... was recorded and mixed. It sounds amazing. Apparently, the guy who recorded it is supposedly mastering it as I'm typing this. I hope so. I want to release something amazing-sounding. It already sounds awesome, but I want it to sound as awesome as possible. The first release on Example Such Cloth Hammer Engine (ESCHE) will blow your minds! Seriously. Catch them at Saints and Sinners this Thursday, with Jets Jaguar, The Clap and The Arsons. They are also playing Saints and Sinners next Wednesday, the 12th. I will be there for that one (no work). They rock, and I'm not just saying that because Matt's my brother and I'm putting out their EP.

--Sunday the 26th of October, Matt and I went to see Death Cab For Cutie and the Long Winters. When we got to the Bowery Ballroom, a slightly drunken Dawn greeted us merrily. We then said hello to an already inebriated Jackie and a slightly soused Sergei. Good times, indeed! The show was amazing. Both bands were great. THe Long Winters played a great mix of songs, mostly from the recent album, When I Pretend To Fall, but including a couple from their first, The Worst You Can Do Is Harm, including my favorite "Carparts," which they played right after I said "Carparts" in a quiet voice, not liking to be demanding. The guy next to me was like "Wow, you called it." Death Cab was totally intense...and for an encore, they played "Free Fallin'" with John Roderick and Sean Nelson from Long Winters on backing vocals and tambourines. Awesome!!!

--Made another mix cd for no particular reason. It's kinda thematic, and kinda down at times, but enjoyable nonetheless. The tracklisting looks like this:


Goddamn Right, It's A Beautiful Day

1. Iron & Wine "Such Great Heights"
2. Pink Floyd "If"
3. Loose Fur "Chinese Apple"
4. Elliott Smith "Waltz #2 (XO)"
5. Ballboy "Meet Me At The Shooting Range"
6. Idlewild "In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction"
7. Grandaddy "Yeah Is What We Had"
8. Maquiladora "Ritual Of Hearts"
9. Yo La Tengo "Don't Have To Be Sad"
10. Death Cab For Cutie "Title And Registration"
11. With Every Idle Hour "Untitled"
12. Dismemberment Plan "Time Bomb"
13. Eels "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues"
14. The Long Winters "Cinnamon"
15. True Love Always "Modesto"
16. John Vanderslice "Underneath The Leaves"
17. The Postal Service "Such Great Heghts"

------------------

---Bid au revoir and bon voyage to the lovely Dawn Wednesday night, as she was preparing to depart for Syracuse, in search of education and adventure in upstate New York. You will be missed, Dawnie. But I promise I'll visit at some point. I swear I need two weeks off to visit all my friends upstate for a reasonable amount of time. Got to see 3/4 of Come Down (Mark, Nicole & Tom), 1/2 of WEIH (Sergei & Sean) and one part ex-Bravado (Karen) + one Miss Jackie = one heck of a good time.

----Went to a costume party Thursday night at Bev & Ceci's house, because I was off of work. Drank enough to make up for a weekend of missed parties due to my stupid work schedule. I even drank enough to pass out for a little while. Go me! Woke up without a hangover, too. Good times.

--Friday night through Monday morning were spent working mostly. That always sucks. Especially when everyone is having parties and Pimpcore actually plays a show, and I couldn't go. Boo work!

--So, what am I doing tonight? I have no fucking idea. If you have ideas, call me. Or something. Whatever. Heh heh.

xo,
J-Ro

Well, I know that everyone else is doing it, but why can't I do it, too? Elliott Smith is dead of an apparent suicide. I think that it is a really deep loss for the "talented and not crappy" music community. I will admit that I was a little late to warm up to him, though not as late as I was to warm up to Jeff Buckley, to name another now dead icon whose music I was reluctant to appreciate. I had first heard of Elliott Smith as a member of Heatmiser, whose final record, Mic City Sons, I had gotten a promo copy of at Tower Records right before it was released in 1995 or 96, and I thought it was limp-wristed, wanna-be-grunge-but-not-manly-enough crap. I'm kind of stubborn that way, sometimes. So if any of you are confident that I might like it better now, go ahead and burn me a copy or something. Heatmiser had broken up after recording the record, prompting Virgin to release it via it's independent arm, Caroline. After that, Elliott had struck out solo full-time, having already released some solo material on the side during the Heatmiser years. I had heard from Lou Barlow's then-girlfriend, now-wife, Kathleen Billus, that he was kind of a Lou Barlow wannabe. Remembering the mediocrity of the Heatmiser record, I figured this was probably true. Then one day, Kathleen recanted these initial opinions and called Smith a genius. I still was not swayed. Even hearing the lovely songs in "Good WIll Hunting" couldn't get me to buy a Smith record, even when I was living in the Pacific Northwest, where he was obviously quite large at the time (I lived there from 96-99). I guess one day, something changed my mind. I'm not exactly sure what, but last year I broke down and bought a used copy of Figure 8 and immediately loved it. The song "Happiness" is on a mix cd I made earlier this year. "Waltz #2" is a recent favorite of mine, and I'm truly sorry I didn't get to appreciate him sooner and see him play live. The music world really did lose someone truly gifted and I wish that I could have given a shit when it mattered. Hopefully, we will meet in another lifetime, Elliott, and you and I will have made some better choices that go-round (for those of you unaware of my philosophies of endlessly repeating the same life in the same time period until you get it right, which is what I think causes deja vu, I think I wrote a blog about that once, but I can't be sure). Well, those are just a few of my thoughts about Elliott Smith. I hope you find some of that happiness you were longing for...

Also, while I'm posting, let me bid a fond farewell to Fred "Rerun" Berry, who died yesterday. He was too young, and now he will never be able to teach my brother how to dance for his wedding day. Poor Matt had his heart set on learning "the Rerun" for his evenutal nuptials. But now, back to working on a mix cd for Come Down. Yes, that's right, an entire band wants a J-Ro mix cd. Why, you might ask? Obviously, they are nutsy folk! For that, I love them. Nothing makes me feel more special than appreciation of my music nerdliness.

now playing: Ride "Leave Them All Behind EP"

So, yeah, I'm a little behind posting my mix cd tracklistings as of late. I made one for my friend Shannon a couple months ago, which I will post the tracks for soon. Meanwhile, here's one I started making for the trip to see Come Down at Sin-é with Dawn the night we were both supposed to make mix cds, but mine was not ready and she thought hers was too crappy. I ended up finishing it just in time for my trip to Syracuse to see Jismo and surprise him for his birthday the day after his birthday.

Space, Love & Geography: Metal, Maps & Pain

1. Slowdive "Alison"
2. Mogwai "Stanley Kubrick"
3. Brian Jonestown Massacre "Who?"
4. Treepeople "Big Mouth Strikes Again" (The Smiths)
5. Carlos "Heavy Metal Monday"
6. Les Savy Fav "Dishonest Don Pt. II"
7. Idlewild "You Held The World In Your Arms"
8. Medicine "Time Baby 2"
9. Dead Low Tide "Navy Buttons"
10. New Pornographers "From Blown Speakers"
11. Long Winters "Scent Of Lime"
12. imaginary baseball league "from arkansas, with love"
13. Mountain Goats "Going To Port Washington"
14. Destroyer "Sublimation Hour"
15. The Decemberists "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect"
16. +/- {Plus/Minus} "Trapped Under Ice Floes {Redux}"
17. Interpol "Leif Erikson"
18. Elefant "Annie"
19. Broadcast "Before We Begin"
20. The Postal Service "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight"
21. Migala "Arde"

***********

Here's the listing for a brand new mix cd I just finished at 4am, after finishing it at 8pm and then changing the tracks around again, unfortunately dropping the Dismemberment Plan...it was hard, but it had to be done.

It Was Easy When You Were Younger

1. Television Personalities "If I Could Write Poetry"
2. Ballboy "I Wonder If You're Drunk Enough To Sleep With Me Tonight"
3. The Stratford 4 "Tiger Girl"
4. The Raveonettes "Do You Believe Her"
5. Yo La Tengo "Deeper Into Movies"
6. Interpol "Untitled"
7. +/- {Plus/Minus} "Here We Are {Again}"
8. Grandaddy "The Warming Sun"
9. Pete Yorn "Ez"
10. Pedro The Lion "Indian Summer"
11. Damien Jurado "Inevitable"
12. Wolf Colonel "I Swear I Am"
13. Idlewild "I'm Happy To Be Here Tonight"
14. Canyon "Blankets And Shields"
15. The Long Winters "Stupid"
16. Rilo Kiley "The Execution Of All Things"
17. Tracy Shedd "Faint Pale Smiles"
18. Archers of Loaf "You And Me"
19. Karl Hendricks Trio "Somewhere A Weekend Of Sin"
20. Unwound "Fiction Friction"

*****************

So that's the kinda stuff I'm putting on mixes these days. I've got ideas for one or two more right now, with about 10 or so tracks already on deck in iTunes waiting for the call. Going to Manhattan today (pretty soon, actually) to do so café relaxin', people watchin' and writin' before doing a little record shoppin' and then meetin' up with my friend Molly, who is in town from upstate. We're gonna chill and then go see Beulah and John Vanderslice. She hasn't heard of either act, but you know they're so good she will love it. Anywho, that should be all for now. Gotsta get dressed and get the heck out of the hizzouse. Because, a lot like Not, I'm never on time...I'm always....sleeping!

now playing: Canyon - "Blankets & Shields"

Yo La Tengo

Autumn Sweaters and Nuclear War   
06:26am 11/10/2003
 
mood: tired
music: Yo La Tengo - Summer Sun

Saw Yo La Tengo tonight at the Warsaw with Bunny. Aislers Set and the Sun Ra Arkestra opened. The Arkestra was amazing!!

Yo La Tengo, as always, delighted me to no end, and if they were still playing, i would still be there grinning like an idiot and spazzing out, as is my wont. But all good things must end and this was no exception, although it did last until 1:40am.

their setlist went something like this:
Beach Party Tonight
Don't Have To Be Sad
From a Motel 6 (extra long and w/ many gtr freakouts!)
Nothing But You and Me
Autumn Sweater (MBV remix version)
Sugarcube
Decora
Tiny Birds
Little Eyes
False Alarm
I Heard You Looking (still the best 7 1/2 minutes you can spend engaged in something besides sex -- although if you combine the two, it's even better!)
Nuclear War (w/ the Sun Ra Arkestra!)
----
Tom Courtenay
something i didn't recognize

there were a couple other songs played that I wasn't familiar with or couldn't remember off the top of my head (I didn't write it all down tonight...I know you are shocked)

Show was damn fine. Something about YLT that just amazes me every time. So much noise for just 3 people...but it's a joyful noise. I went with Bunny from work and she bought me a couple beers. We tried one of the crazy Polish brews on tap at the Warsaw, but it was pretty much like Budweiser but with a name with an odd combination of vowels and consonants. Beer #2 was a bottle of Heineken..not my favorite, but I won't drink Bud...unless of course it is disguised with a crazy Polish name.

Since I had left the house having digested nothing but a bowl of Matzoh Ball soup and a large mug of coffee, I got a bit peckish, so between the Sun Ra Arkestra and Yo La Tengo sets, while Bunny bought the second round of brews, I got myself a plate of pierogies and kielbasa. As of 3am, I could still taste it. That was after the drive to Manhattan and the coffee avec doughnut.

Tonight I think I discovered an answer to the question as to why I'm single. Aside from having too many female friends (if a guy is hanging out with a woman, I think people tend to think that those two people are together), I think the way I spastically "dance" and play air everything (guitar, bass drums, even keyboards) puts me into a category perhaps even more frightening than Elaine Bennis' infamous "thumb dance" from Seinfeld.

I was thinking about this during "False Alarm" as I was not only making the feedback sounds of the bass in the beginning, but also playing an invisible organ, which, I think, perhaps crosses some kind of air instrument line. Of course, doing an Ira-style air-guitar freakout during "I Heard You Looking" (all 7 1/2 minutes) surely doesn't make women's loins all over Brooklyn quiver uncontrollably --- "Oh, look Janie, that guy over there is soo hot! He's spazzing out uncontrollably as if having a seizure in rhythm to the music! I find that SO sexy! I must have him. NOW! (Heads turn as crazy Janie pushes and claws people out of her way to reach J-Ro, who does a dance resembling a ragdoll's with limbs flailing to and fro, but ultimately, she just trips on the many orphaned beer bottles that populate the floor, landing face first in a big puddle of mystery liquid (most likely a mixture of all the leftover beer drained out of the aforementioned bottles, mixed with the half-cup of my first beer -- that crazy, Polish Bud-like -- that I somehow spilled on the couple in front of us. I swear it just jumped out of my hand) before even reaching her density, one George McFly). Man, that was funny. Maybe there is a point to me writing things after all. To make me laugh at how weird my brain is.

Oh, and after having listened to the whole thing finally, aftr purchasing it at tonight's show, let me say how much more I like Summer Sun than And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out. I still don't think anything will ever rival the trilogy of Painful, Electr-o-pura and I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One.

I didn't really see anyone I know at the show tonight, but Jeff from Aden stood behind me in the bathroom while waiting for a free receptacle (he astutely informed me and the dork in front of me who insisted that there were no free toilets that there are THREE in the men's room at the Warsaw, and henceforth pushed us in there), making it difficult for me to urinate. Kevin Barker (also of Aden fame) was merely standing in the barroom talking to some girls when I saw him.

I think that's it. Unless you want to hear about how the second time I went to the men's room, I had to go into the stall because of my stagefright, and then while i was in there, a lovely young lady who was behind Bunny on the line for the little girls' room opened the door and apologized for intruding, and then apologized again upon my exiting (since I was behind a door, I didn't really care -- e.g. the stagefright thing saving embarrassment).

Oh, and lest i forget the odd man in the donut shop who could have been Rob Rothenberg's long-lost brother (does he have one), who was playing Bjork on a walkman w/ speakers for an audience of four, and telling stories with his eyes closed in a loud, lower-east-side-accented voice about how that song (Army of Me was what I heard) was her first big hit in America, blah blah, and soon he ranted about how the weather in San Francisco at night and how it's warmer for the football fans than for the baseball fans, and he said something about Kansas and then the temperature differences between Manhattan and Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, it made it difficult for me to think of conversational topics. For some reason I was kinda awkward with that tonight.

After coffee, I walked Bunny to her building and then proceeded to walk in circles trying to find my car, until I finally walked the course I had driven to come to my parking space, and magically, my car appeared. I am such a lamester for not remembering where I parked. If everywhere could just have lots like Disney World -- I could park in Goofy lot 2 and then be fine. Just don't ask my brother about my remembering where I parked.

Okay, it's been a while between posts. I've tried to keep my bitching and whining to a minimum lately and keep this forum a little healthier and happier. Speaking of healthier...I finally saw the doctor and got antibiotics in hopes that this hearing problem is sinus-related and that it will go away much like the last sinus infection, except without popping my eardrum like an idiot again.

I want to thank Come Down for putting on an excellent show Friday night at the Knitting Factory Old Office. Also, I would like to entreat those in charge of booking the Knit to never again have them play the Old Office, unless they get a service elevator or an escalator. Some of us would like to keep our backs aligned properly. Come Down just has too much damn gear to play down there. Plus, they don't even fit on the stage. So they should only be playing the Main Stage from now on.

A big shout out to Suntan and Imaginary Baseball League for their fine performances and wonderful conversations. If you get a chance to see any of these three bands, do so. They are all super swell. I was in serious need of a bliss-out after a couple grueling days of work, and this was definitely the right place for me to be. Walking into Suntan's mesmerizing set put a smile on my face faster than anything that isn't boobies. Also, the new IBL shirt I bought last night is amazing. I love it and it shows off my gargantuan biceps beautifully, not to mention my boobies...er, I mean pecs.

There was a small after-party at the B-Side, but most of our friends went home before we got there because it took a while to load all the gear out and pack it up again. Damn you, freakin' Knitting Factory stairs! I got home at about 4:30am. Good times, indeed. Thanks for the drinks, Sergei, you beautiful bastage.

Tonight was +/- and Luna at the Northsix, and I'm so glad I decided to go, Official Third Wheel or not. The show was fantastic, and it was nice to be back at the Northsix after missing every good show there for the last six months.

Talking to James of +/- got me started on the idea of an EP only label. Seriously. I am going to do this. I can afford to now, and it will totally make me feel like a valuable member of society. I know I think there are too many schmendricks putting out CDs these days, but I believe in this. I will be putting out music by great bands. I can think of at least five bands I would love to release stuff by just off the top of my head. Most likely, the first thing I will put out will be The Repercussions debut EP, I hope. Obviously, since the idea is only one night old, I can't divulge too many details, but suffice to say, things will happen, and I will finally contribute more than just my good looks and wicked sense of humor to the local music scene and the world at large. I haven't been so excited in a really long time.

I really don't know what else to say, except that I'm totally looking forward to Thursday night's show at Saints and Sinnners, featuring the Repercussions and a rare Long Island appearance by The Four Volts (the artists formerly known as Bunsen Honeydew), who are a favorite of mine. If you get close enough, maybe Danny's fingers will spray blood on you.

Gooodnight kids, and safe travels to Come Down and IBL.

J-Ro's Syntax Eros

Happy Birthday to Jismo (not really him, but what better namesake to have than an experienced Highland Bagpiper from Austin, Texas?) and Jackie. You still aren't as old as me, technically, anyway. Here's the news surrounding this day to keep you happy.

-John Ritter, Johnny Cash, Wesley Willis, Warren Zevon..reaper's been busy the last couple weeks.
-Philippine twin boys conjoined at the top of their heads arrived in New York this week for a series of operations to attempt to separate them.
The boys do not share a brain, but do share some veins and arteries. They will be operated on several times in coming months. That's gotta suck for the parents. I kinda wish they had chosen to keep the kids together and make a reality show about being attached to your twin at the head. That has to make tossing and turning during the night a bitch...
-The Ozone hole is getting bigger, close to 11 million miles now.
-The RIAA sued a 12 year old and a 80 year old. Somehow, I would like to think that Madonna is not happy about this, but I bet anything that Metallica is gona write a song about how great it is. I think it would go something like this...

"Retribution Time Internet Thief"

You're stealing my money
It is wrong to steal
It's my mental property
Intellectual property

Copyright
Copyright
Take my songs
Lars won't get to eat tonight

You still have to buy it
Even though our new album is crap
Don't you dare even try it
We'll sue your 80 year old grandad
and your little girl, too
We did it to Napster
Now we'll do it to you...

Copyright
Copyright
Steal my thoughts
I'll upload you to never neverland...

---------------

Sorry, but I have no idea why the hell I'm even awake right now. I fell asleep around 5am, and by 8am I was awake. What the shit is that? Why does my body hate me so? I'm gonna give it one last try to see if I can't salvage a little sleep before it's too late.

Okay, we all knew Johnny Cash was gonna croak soon...but that still doesn't make it less sad. It's just not as scary as John Ritter dying at 54. I should point out that my dad is 54. A little freaked? You betcha! Looking for good times this weekend. Give me some, dammit!

I apologize to everybody for such a down post last time around. I shouldn't be so bummed out. Thanks to Darren for his almost instantaneous response to make sure I was okay. Thanks to Meg for hanging out with me that day, even though I'm sure I wasn't a laugh a minute. I watched LOTR: The Two Towers yesterday before work, so I'm fine now.

I hate the fact that I will get all melancholy and melodramatic like that for apparently no reason. I also hate the fact that I haven't hung out with most of my friends in a really long time. Argh. I'm tired. I wanted to write a testimonial for a friendster whom I only know from friendster and livejournal, but who lives in california, but is totally cool. I couldn't think of anything that didn't sound retarded.

Also, I think I'm going deafer in my right ear. I hope it's not another sinus infection. I think it just might be. I don't have time to go to the doctor..I still haven't gone to the dentist or the DMV yet.

How many f*@#ing things can go wrong in a night? Missed calls back and forth with Shauna, who called my house right after I left, and the radio station before I got there, but didn't answer the phone once I called her from the station and never called me back. About an hour into my show, the internet feed dies. I already had to fix the internet connection for the studio when I got in there, and so for it to just up and die pissed me off to no end. After 110 minutes of taping the show, the tape deck from hell wouldn't let me record the second part of my show. Meanwhile, after screaming obsceneties at a cassette deck for not doing the VERY THING IT IS DESIGNED TO DO, I tried several more times, fruitlessly, to fix the internet connection at the station. Effort in futility, folks.

Then, 3am rolls around, and no fat guy playing local music. You would think that a fat, disgusting sample of humanity at its finest, complete with an email address with "divaman" in it, who likes to complain about things like a new combination to get into the studio (because he might forget it...i mean, it's not like he would be able to write it down or anything), would at least show up for his shift. But no. So, once again, with nobody to follow me, I get even more upset than I already am. I have been having severe problems with loneliness and abandonment lately, partially due to my obscene work hours. Also, I was alone all weekend at work working those obscene hours. Much thanks to Charlie for joining me for a diner expedition on Saturday night...I really needed the company. I was really close to a meltdown with the work of more than two people thrown at me for 36 hours of a 72 hour period. So the whole being alone at the station at 3am after the weekend I had just really made it that much worse.

I do the radio show because I love sharing my musical tastes with others, and I really get a buzz off of people calling or telling me that they love my show. In many ways, i feel like the only thing I know how to do well is listen to and appreciate music. I can whip off related bands, or bands that sound similar to other bands, for you like nobody's business. It is my only skill...and unless you are Matt Pinfield, who is scary enough to convince people that they should hire him, it isn't very marketable. Also, I want to write a music column for someone, but I can't seem to schedule my time AT ALL. Having a job with the hours that I do, I find it impossible to maintain some semblance of a social life AND get things done. I tend to choose social life, because, frankly, there will still be things to do when I am 40 and no longer cool to my younger friends (he says, sort-of jokingly).

Not to lay it on too heavy here, but lately I've just felt really alone. Maybe it's because I'm turning 30 in exactly one week, and I don't have someone to share what I consider to be the happiest point of my life with. Maybe it's because everyone around me seems to be involved. It might even have to do with the recent string of events related to me possibly sharing things with someone, which invariably finds me alone again, naturally. It sounds stupid for me to say that I feel lonely, because I've never had so many friends before in my life, and I know a majority of them genuinely care about my well-being. Hell, the fact that anyone showed up and sat through my performance shows how much my friends care.

I once wrote a piece on how I felt that my feelings were only A or B, and that I was so uncomplicated, and that so many people around me were complex and deep, and I was all surface. I no longer believe this to be true. I've been having a lot of feelings about a lot of things this past year, and I'm starting to become anaethema to myself. I'm gonna try to cheer myself up by moving into the house next door before my birthday. Let's see if it actually happens. My mom is taking bets that I won't move in before my birthday. If you bet for me, I think the odds are something like 20 to 1. If you put your money on me, you could more than quadruple your money.

Next Tuesday, the 16th...my birthday. Cancel your other plans. Come over to my house and then off to Saints and Sinners for Karaoke. Or something like that. Mini golf or bowling, maybe?

Last minute reminder to all that I start my new time slot on 90.1 WUSB from midnight to 3am. Please listen online if you are out of range for the antenna signal. But yeah...I'll be on ever other week at this time. Woohoo!

First off..let me say RIP Warren Zevon. You will be missed, you beautiful bastard. Secondly, Sergei, you will love Choke. Seriously. That book is amazing. It's a total journey. Thirdly, some people are squirrel-handed. Gregor is a weird name.

In the last week, I have driven behind vehicles with such license plates as "DECEIVED," "SKIPNDIP" and, damn, why can't I remember the other ridiculous one I drove behind last night on my way to work? It wasn't "FISTINIT." I know that. I can't believe I forgot. I just remember that it made me so sick of vanity plates.

It's past my bedtime. Later, kids.

I want to thank everyone who made it out last night for my crappy set, and to apologize for being so crappy. If they ever let me take a stage again, I will definitely not have four drinks before going on (well, three BEFORE, one DURING). After all, I am no Sergei, heh heh. Speaking of Sergei...have you tried posting to your blog again lately? I miss your lunatic ramblings and assorted jibber jabber about getting the jibblies from people's fritters.

Last night again showed me how great my friends are, and I'm really grateful. I promise next time not to book me a show until I've practiced a whole lot. This was kind of a last-minute thing (like two weeks), and I lack the discipline that a live performer should carry around. Music has kind of been on my backburner for the last year or so, and oddly enough, it's only been in the last year that I've played any shows. I love the fact that I sabotage myself. I think it's one of my better qualities. No I don't.

I promise not to get all mushy (too late), but I really appreciate the support I've gotten from everyone, even though my playing last night was subpar. I think I understand a lot better why Pete Townshend had Roger Daltrey. It's much easier to just play guitar behind someone than to try and play guitar AND not fuck up the words you are trying to use to convey emotion. I had promised myself that I was going to try to sing more, and ramble incoherently and jam the words together less. I guess I kinda did that...but I really wish I remembered the words to the Grandaddy song, as that involved singing. Oh well. I passed out at like 2:30 and I woke up at 7am, which is when I usually go to sleep, so I'm all sorts of messed up right now.

Holy Self-Promotion, Batman!!


Wednesday 9/3/03

Saints & Sinners
presents
"FRAMED"

with featured local artists
Gaelen Harlacher - Digital Art
Matthias - Digital Art

Acoustic Performance by Jon Roren <---- (HEY! THAT'S ME!!!)

event starts at 8pm
21+ $5 / 18+ $7 w/valid id

I'm on Standby

It's kinda funny how I am off every other weekend, but never have plans on those weekends, but the weekends I have to work, everyone wants to make plans with me. Not that there is a dearth of things to do (well, only sort of, I guess...after all, it is Long Island), but sometimes I feel so dead that I don't wanna do exciting things. You all know how much I love going to shows and stuff, but lately, I haven't been so keen on going to see shows on my off-nights as much as I used to. I rarely get to just chill out with one or two of you guys or my friends who don't read this, and watch a movie or something. Or go bowling. It would be major fun to just have some people around to hang out and watch a marathon of Mr. Show on DVD or something (season three just came home with Matt last night), even Mystery Science Theater 3000 for those with longer attention spans. When I move next door, at least once a month, some of you bastards have to come over and watch DVDs with me. I mean it. Oh, and the weekend of the 12th and 13th, be available. Gonna have a little shindig for my 30th. The Mendoza Line and Elk City are playing Sin-é on the 13th (saturday night), so maybe some of us can go to that. So maybe Friday night should be my shindig. I might need help plannning it then. Or, maybe you should organize a surprise party for me on the 16th, when I will take off work for my birthday (well, I have to ask my supervisor still, but he better let me off). Just throwing ideas out there into the void...into the ether...net. ha ha ha.

Had a fun Borders & crApplebees night last night with Will, Meg, Praveen, Mike, Shannon, Lane and others. Learned a synonym for the Taint (see Episode #406) while at Borders (I was the eager reference dork sent on the mission to discover the meaning of the word perenium. Perhaps I should post that to the Come Down messageboard to resuscitate the dormant Word of the Day thread). I then proceeded to not order a coffee there. Sergei just told me I was sick with crazy in my blood and should get to a hospital right away, as it is not like me to not order a coffee at Borders.

Bought some new music for the first time in a while. Just the act of shopping for music felt good. Usually I go into Borders and get a coffee and read or write (or just chat, if I'm with a friend), but I haven't really looked at the cds in a while. Just haven't been in the mood. But last night, I caught glimpse of a Felt reissue (import on Cherry Red Records) and got excited, like the big pretentious indie record nerd I am, and noticed another Felt reissue cd (they had both the first and second reissue cds...score!), and then I found a new Damien Jurado ep on a spanish label that contains a 764-HERO cover. Then I saw the sign for "Buy 4, Get the 5th Free" and couldn't say no. So I dug through the rack containing reissues of Cocteau Twins, Fugazi, Pixies, etc...and decided to pick up the Pixies at the BBC. I rounded it all off with the new Grandaddy cd, Sumday. I'm listening to it now, for the second spin in a row. I fucking love Grandaddy. While there, I had seen a cd by a band called Stephen Hero and was immediately curious. After all, it is on my list of favorite books, even though Cerrone thinks it makes me capital-P Pretentious, since it is the early draft of James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man. Read them both yourself, and tell me Stephen Hero isn't more engaging and interesting. I triple dog dare ya. However, I wasn't ready to buy a $15.99 cd with no information whatsoever. A sure sign of old age setting upon me...but I came home and checked the website, and discovered it is the new project of former Kitchens of Distinction singer/bassist Patrick Fitzgerald. And I just loved KoD...so I downloaded some mp3s from his website, and will probably go buy the cd with my 10% off coupon. Go coupons!

Alright, i'm gonna make some last minute "Hey, ya wanna chill and watch a movie?" phone calls. Booyaka.

current mood: On Standby
current music: Grandaddy - Sumday CD

Gee, Looks like I am a pretentious Indie Asshole. Ha ha

Gee, Looks like I am a pretentious Indie Asshole. Ha ha. Go figure. Then again, the foolio who designed this quiz really likes Emo...but not as much as he likes record players. Oh, and I'm sorry, but why would anyone lump the Faint and Hot Hot Heat together or think that either of them suck? I dunno. They also lump GBV, Built to Spill and My Bloody Valentine in one category. I like all five, but I don't feel that the first two should get lumped in with the catch all "and anything 'dancy.'" Whatever. I guess I really am a pretentious indie rock asshole after all. Ha ha ha. So bite me.


you are a pretentious indie asshole. you piss off
everybody but other pretentious indie assholes.
you suck extremely hard and only listen to
stuff on pitchfork media. fuck you.


what type of lame scenester are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Sergei informs me that he has seen Eraserhead, although he missed the first 15 minutes. I think you need to watch those 15 minutes, Cap'n. Heh heh. It's all love, really. Okay, shower time.

Booyaka 2: Electric Boogaloo

My brother made some cool-ass Erasherhead stickers with this crazy sticker maker you can get from Michael's for ten bucks or something. I'm trying to figure out where to put the stickers I want. I fucking love Eraserhead, and I still can't believe Jack Nance is dead. I'm willing to wager that Sergei hasn't even seen Eraserhead. How about it Sergei? You know what I'm thinking? My birthday is in a few weeks, and I'm turning thirty. That's a big one. I would really love to get the DVD of Eraserhead, which is available only on David Lynch's website. I know that $39.95 (plus shipping and handling) is a lot of dough to plunk down, but it IS Eraserhead, fully cleaned and restored. I know that I come off as a pretentious dipwad for saying so, but I really think that it is one of my top 5 favorite films. Bottom line: if you love me, buy me Eraserhead on DVD. Thank you for your support.

Sleep time is now.

<3 J-Ro

I don't miss you half as much as you made me think i was

So, Sergei sure loves the word "dungarees." I think it's funny, because my mom has a habit of calling jeans dungarees, and I have sorta picked up on it, and every now and again, I will say "dungarees" and actually mean it. I bring this up only because Sergei was ribbing me for not having updated since AUGUST FOURTH! Where have I been? I don't know. What have I been doing? None of your beeswax. Actually, I've been avoiding sitting at the computer for long periods of time during the heatwaves (this room and the bathroom lack air conditioning), and mostly watching "Friends" on DVD in the coolness of the downstairs a/c. I have now finished all four available seasons of "Friends" on DVD. I don't care what anyone says; it is an amazing show. Simply amazing.

On the subject of Sergei, all his talk about sleeping echoes true in my world as well. I am great at staying awake and a viking at sleeping, but I am terrible at actually falling asleep or waking up. Even when I worked "normal" hours, I would stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning, and get up for work at 7am. But I could do that because the sun existed in that world. It was dark when I went to sleep and light when i woke up (mostly). Now it is light out when I go to work and light out when I come home from work. In the winter, I don't see sunlight at all. In the summer, I barely see the night. And no matter when you go to sleep, waking up at 5pm just feels wrong.

But, back to fun...Saw Come Down put on an amazing show at the Knitting Factory on Thursday night. They played their set before headliners Elefant, who were quite good, as well, although, I missed some of their set while wandering with Lisa to find food. That ended up being a fruitless search, by the by. I was so freakin' hungry. The one thing missing from the area surrounding the Knitting Factory is a late night eatery. One of you should open one up and tell me about it. I had such a great time, nonetheless. I drove in with my new friend Lisa, and got to introduce her to way too many people at once. But she handled it with grace and aplomb...and some wine.

All in all, a great time was had by many. Thanks again to Come Down for bringing the rock, and to my friends for rocking, too. Booyaka!

The Day I Splurged For a Lobster Dinner For Four

Right about now, those of you who haven't hung out with me in a while should be kicking yourselves...or crying to yourselves how none of your friends ever bought you a lobster dinner at a nice restaurant on the water in Port Jefferson, while some guy serenaded the patrons perched behind a keyboard playing sad, sad songs (because they say so much). Yep, that's right, I took my brother, and two lucky friends who shall remain anonymous (for their own safety) to Port Jeff for a lobster dinner Saturday night, on a whim. A kickoff to the new reality series "A Date With the Rorens." Maybe next time we should bring a camera crew, as a lot of fun was had, as well as good eatin'. We took several pictures of us playing with the lobster parts, riding a 25¢ mechanical horse, all of us packed in a phone booth, as well as Matt shedding a tear during a particularly sad song. Then there was the picture of me getting the bill...fun times indeed. There are some pictures of it on our Friendster profiles.

n.p. With Every Idle Hour - The Distance Between (BUY THIS!!!!)

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Like Morton salt, I am iodized and in a blue cylinder

Like Morton salt, I am iodized and in a blue cylinder. <--- Title that doesn't show up on here when you view it. 

I realize that I haven't blogged much on this here site as of late, probably causing countless tens of you to stop logging in, since I have appeared to abandoned this shrine to my own ego. Fear not, brave internet readers, I am alive and well. I've just been pre-occupied. So much for updating every now and again just any old thing. I really do need to learn to just post SOMETHING, no matter what it is. It's just that when things happen in my personal life, I tend to not write about it here, but in other forums, because I do like to keep secrets from some of you. Not that you won't find it all somehow anyway.

a smart person (John Lennon, Matt has informed me --- ed.) once said "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans." After the past week or so, I have no choice but to agree. I thought I had it all figured out when life threw me another curve. Pretty much right on cue, almost exactly a year later, a certain moth got real close to my flame, only to fly away at the last moment, out of the reach of my net...again. If I wanted to, I could set my watch to it. I guess some people just get off on the thrill of the chase, and get disinterested in really getting close to someone else. Maybe it's fear. Like how on the show "Ed," Carol was so afraid that because she could not possibly be the ideal Carol that Ed had imagined for two years of trying to be with her, that she would let him down and it would destroy her chance for happiness. So she just repeatedly turned him down. Then the minute he was happy with someone else, she fought tooth and nail to get him "back."

I really thought that the kiss might have changed things, but, as usual, it proved to just reinforce certain simple truths that cannot be changed. Maybe someday she will stop running. But not today. No matter. I see now, after the events of the past week, that the kiss was more symbolic of me crossing a bridge, literally and figuratively, and conquering some of my fears and my timidness. It's as if night turned into day and I now smell of confidence when once I smelled of the fear. Apparently, it really is tangible.

What happened, you ask, that has changed my tone and tune? Well, to be perfectly honest, but without revealing too much, I went to a going away party for my friend Darren and I did not go home alone. I've even seen her again since Sunday, and she even calls me. It was completely unexpected, but thus far a pleasant surprise. The air must have been rife with the smell of J-Ro's newfound self-confidence, because instant flirting with a member of the fairer sex usually involves music geekdom and goes nowhere, because most music geeks know nothing of romance. And god, I know, I'm one.

I can prove to you that I am a music geek, because I had a disappointing disagreement with Bryce tonight over Come Down. First off, Let me say that I think they are fucking amazing, and perhaps my favorite band from LI, ever. Possibly because I am quite familiar with their influences, and can appreciate what they take from their influences, and how they shape them into something original. Bryce, whom I happen to like a lot as a person, proved to me tonight that his musical knowledge, albeit the music knowledge of an 18 year old, is not up to the par I expected from him.

After witnessing the same set I did of Come Down, his only statement was that he felt that they took the long experimental parts of OK Computer and just mined that territory. I guess since they aren't influenced solely by The Smiths, Joy Division, Jawbreaker and Red House Painters, they somehow fall below his radar. Nevermind that two of the band members are assistant editors and writers for a top notch music magazine, and that all of the band members have impeccable taste in music, and a smattering of influences well beyond the scope of a reformed DIY punk kid just back from a year of college. I don't even necessarily think you have to be familiar with a majority of their influences to realize how amazing a band Come Down is. But your mind should at least be open to something different.

The thing I felt worst about tonight was that I was on my lunch break, so I really couldn't stick around and chat with anyone. I just hope that nobody thought I was being rude when I cut them short or disappeared rather abruptly. I really did sneak out the back door to leave. And I was really late getting back to work, much to the chagrin and disappointment of my supervisor.

But the main reason I wrote this was to just let you all know that everything is coming up J-Ro for the time being. It's just that what I have isn't what I thought I had, and maybe what I thought I had isn't really what I needed.

Thanks to With Every Idle Hour for a kickass set of mostly new tunes from a very kickass new record. I listened to it a few times tonight when I got back to work, and it even impressed several of my colleagues. I was glad I got to drop in on the excitement and witness the rock fury. \m/

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El Camino up and down my block

I blame Sergei for this, as I've now noticed that there is an El Camino that travels in the opposite direction of me every morning when I come home from work. It seems like there was a time between 1983 and 2001 where I hadn't seen a single El Camino (except the street El Camino Real in California), and now I've seen many. WTF?

Now that that is out of the way, some of you may be wondering where I've been or what I've been doing. Others may not, but are still reading this. Other others may yet be wondering why they are reading this at all, or who I am, or what the point of anything is, really? Well, I'm gonna tell ya... Also, I'm gonna steal some of Sergei's thunder as the great blogging movie reviewer mofo, as I've actually been to the theater twice in the last two weeks.

Let me start by saying that "Pirates of the Caribbean" was one kick-ass movie. I mean, I only went because Larissa was so excited, and we all wanted to see her before she left for Spain. Well, we wanted to see her reactions to the movie, anyway. She made a lot of noise, to be sure. But I could barely hear her over my own roars of laughter and squeals of delight. Johnny Depp plays the stark-raving mad Captain Jack Sparrow as if he were some sort of Hunter S. Thompson of the seven seas. A truly inspired performance, bolstered by almost as brilliant turns by Orlando Bloom and Geoffrey Rush. Keira Knightley gives the film a damsel-in-distress who can also kick butt while looking hot in a corset and frilly dresses. I usually don't dig action movies, but this film has some of the best sword-fighting since "Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Is Dead" or "The Princess Bride."

Nextly, a gaggle of us saw "28 Days Later," the Danny Boyle-directed sequel to Sandra Bullock's rehab vehicle. If you don't get the joke, it takes about a minute to sink in. If you've seen previous Boyle films, you know that this is gonna be twisted and sick. It's also a little long, but very compelling nonetheless. What I thought was most impressive was not the story itself, but the textures the DV-shot movie used to convey the story. Parts are grainy and brittle, some are smooth. The camerawork is brilliant and the editing is amazing. The soundtrack, too, is gripping. The fact that there is a film playing in multiplexes with Godspeed You Black Emperor! songs in it is something I find inspiring. And Matt didn't even complain about it. Also, the usual Boyle dark humor pops up in the most welcome and sick places.

Other recent outings have found me helping Beth move and then taking in a fine show by The New Pornographers, who have apparently added another show for August 22nd at the Bowery (I believe). They were simply on fire that night, but then again, when ISN'T Neko Case sizzling? I mean that in a talent kinda way. No, really. After the show, we walked across the Williamsburg Bridge back the the apartment in Brooklyn she was moving out of. One of the best walks in my life. I now want to walk across every bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn. I hear the Brooklyn Bridge is absolutely beautiful. One could argue that by crossing the bridge, it is true that I don't know when other people are kidding. But I disagree. Remember this, my friends, when something is said half-jokingly, half of it is true.

I started working on permanent status Monday night. Last night was my first night on my new crew. It's different, but I'm the senior Library dude, so I get to give the orders. Let's hope that I don't go mad from a moderate amount of power. Mwa ha ha. I work Thursday night, but hopefully I will make it to Saints N Sinnners for a bit. Friday night is Mitchfest 2k3se, featuring The Repercussions UK and The Potbelly Bandits. Saturday is The Siren Festival (3rd Annual), featuring Idlewild, Modest Mouse, Hot Hot Heat, Sahara Hotnights and more rock than you can shake a stick at. I think I still have two spaces left in my car.

I don't think I have anything else to say right now. buh bye.

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There's A Big Day Coming About A Mile Away...

It's weird how when I worked at Tower, I got so stressed out that I actually smoked so I could take more (read: ANY) breaks. Now that I work 12 hour shifts at MTVN, I find myself drinking more alcohol. Last night on my lunch break (with my supervisor, no less) at Chili's for two hours plus, I tried to keep up with Sean and Mike, but only had four beers to their six each. I'm kind of a lightweight still. But I only weigh 160 pounds and am not an alcoholic. Kipes - drinking contest: me, you and a dog named Boo. Anyhow, that was the fourth night in a row I had been drinking. In fact, Saturday night, I actually drank enough at Andre & Danielle's party to warrant calling in late to work. Props to Dre for letting me borrow his Sleater-Kinney shirt after I got sangria or whatever all over my pure-white Beta Band shirt.

I'm still not sure when I start my new shift at work. I heard the 24th, but Sean told me he sent an email to the department head about it, so he wouldn't tell me when. All I know is that on the 31st, I am going to be at Saints 'n' Sinnners (sic) from 9pm until 1am or thereabouts, to support my homewaffles. Dean (my soon-to-be-supervisor) will just have to deal.

I just realized I am posting this to my own blog. I was going to post this on Kipes' blog originally. Oh well. I am an idiot. This fact is confirmed by my not having put the air conditioner in my room yet because I thought I would move next door before it got hot. So I have slept in my parents' room, my brother's room and the livingroom the past few mornings, with another round of the livingroom couch to follow shortly, methinks. Also, I will probably have to wait a couple weeks to get my house finished, because Larissa, my home decorating center of the universe, with her loving and tender painterly strokes against my walls, will be in Barcelona for ten days starting Wednesday. When she gets back, I think I will make her watch "Barcelona" by Whit Stillman, because I have it on DVD and it is fascinating. I mean, not as fascinating as any film by Guy Madden, but then again, few things are. Stillman makes great dialogue movies, and I do love great dialogue. Madden is on the other side of the spectrum, where films are impressionistic in flavor and dialogue is infrequent, yet not missed.

Any of you who are interested in watching arty films with me drop me a line. I hate to watch those kinds of movies by myself. I'm not saying that I'm lonely, just that this is my last summer in my twenties and I'd like it to not suck. Although, why would I want to end the streak so close to the end? My thirties will be particularly rewarding, I believe. I think that my recently-acquired maturity and my newfound attitude in regards to brain vs. heart will payoff like a Superball lottery -- mostly, it will not be legal in many states, most of the winnings will be taxed, and what I do get to keep will be shared with a bunch of people missing most of their teeth. Something like that.

You all are wondering when my book will be done. I have no clue. I've written two paragraphs for it in the last three months, and it is going into Chapter One. Maybe I need a stenographer to type my incessant meanderings, as I seem to bring up a lot of the stories that will make up the core of my book. Oh wait, they just made a movie about that. Luke Wilson plays me. Kate Hudson plays every female archetype you've ever fantasized about, ever. I want to see it really badly, even though everyone says it's probably stupid, and Newsday panned it. Hey, who wants to go see a cheesy romantic comedy with me and watch as I drool over Kate Hudson until I realize she is married to a complete skeeveball and how gross that is, but then remember that it doesn't matter, because I watch "Charmed" just to see Rose McGowan, who used to be married to another skeeveball. Hey, I too cause religious controversy by wearing my "Jesus Christ. Period." shirt and by having a "Buddy Christ" on my dashboard, so where is my sexy, flame-haired vixen, huh? I demand my comeuppance. Naughty J-Ros need love, too. Okay, now I'm just being ridiculous, cousin Larry Appleton. Yeah, so this is why I haven't written much in my book lately. I hope you at least get some pleasure out of this crap, while it delays my book's publication and eventual worst-seller status.

Speaking of my book, I was discussing with my friend Shaggy (otherwise known to the world as Matthew A. "Two Sheds" Martin, formerly of Trumansburg, NY) how I had let my friend Will see a film he and Justin Goltermann had made in college. The artist formerly known as Evil Shaggy then mused about how he would like to make another film one day, but doubted Justin would be interested in making another film with him. I said that I, too, would be interested in a film project in the not-too-distant future, but if I were to make a film it would be based on my book, which as we all know, is nowhere near done. I then toyed with the idea of making a film based on the uncompleted book, while the book is still unfinished, because it's so crazy an idea it just might work. Mr. Two Sheds boldly proclaimed that it "just might work" since the book is based on my life and for the film all one would have to do is roll the camera and "Voila!" He may have used a different expression in the same vein, though I know for sure it was not "Eureka!" It certainly wasn't "Land ahoy, matey!" Nor was it "Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage!" But he was indeed keen on the idea, unlike the old people on the bus who kicked off the two brothers who ate a briefcase full of worms after singing the song about eating worms, to which they were all singing heartily themselves. Will, too, seemed to think that this film based on an unfinished book idea could hold water, much like a super-absorbent maxi pad they show on those television ads. Speaking of, why do they always use water that looks like it came from a toilet with a fresh supply of 2000 flushes? Are you women actually aliens, and bleed blue blood just like big black bugs, to paraphrase a Mr. T Experience album title? Okay, I totally have no idea what the hell my fingers are rambling on about now. I think I must sleep, perchance to dream, if but for a short while. Wake me when it's over. When what's over, you ask? I don't know, you tell me. As long as it's BEFORE you go-go. Because if you leave me hanging on like a yo-yo, I may just have to get all Bruce Banner on yo' ass.

Mork calling Orson, come in Orson...nanu nanu.

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"All You Need Is Love, All You Get Is Afraid"

I was listening to a live Robyn Hitchcock tape in the car on the way home from work, and that line, from "Aquarium," just stuck out and I had to mention it. It kind of encapsulates the way I feel today. I'm way too tired to go into details (not that I was gonna go into details anyway), but I feel like I've been making so much progress with the other areas of my life -- job, house, lots of great friends, working on my book, writing songs that actually don't suck, etc. -- yet it seems like there's no romance in the cards. It just isn't there. I know that part of it was that I was looking too hard for a while. Then, I was trying to fight my feelings, but then it turned into an REO Speedwagon song, which was responded to with a different REO Speedwagon tune, but not the one I'd hoped. Now I'm just kind of floating in some "Bohemian Rhapsody" lull, where "nothing really matters. Anyone can see. Nothing really matters to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee." If you're not quite following, don't worry. There's nothing really dramatic to report. Life's just a series of dreams, according to the former Robert Zimmerman. This makes perfect sense, of course, as I feel like my life lately has been devolving into a ridiculous sitcommy soap-opera, much like "SOAP," which, incidentally, is probably one of my favorite shows of all time now that I think about it. I mean, you got a defrocked priest with a demonically-possessed baby, a husband abducted by aliens and replaced with a replica, a gay son fighting with his brother's ventriloquist's dummy, a love story involving a mafia don's daughter, another son lured into a cult, and a South American revolutionary thrown in for shits and giggles.

Well, there really wasn't a point that I was driving at, but I didn't I reference the 70's and 80's (my prime boyhood years) quite nicely? I think I may have to pick up a new copy of Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon sometime soon. I'm sure the 8-track is pretty shot by now. Oh yeah, btw, Schatzi's cover of "Anyway You Want It" by Journey on their split cdep with Motion City Soundtrack is pretty killer. Definitely the best thing on the disc. Dawn might disagree, but I'm old, so I win.

It's 8:07am, time for bed.

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Road Rage and You

Shauna came down from the nether-regions of upstate New York this weekend, so after getting my haircut (it's pretty short, ladies), I picked her up at the KP train station. Dinner at John Harvard's, followed by some Family Guy DVD action. Went to Book Revue in Huntington, and that's when the adventure began...

I parked in that lot near Classy Coffee and as I pulled out of that lot, onto this narrow one way road with a stop sign and many parked cars, some jackass in a big white SUV, which was 50 yards away when I started, was trying to close in when I was doing a three-point turn. Then, this son-of-a-bitch starts tailing me something fierce, at a fucking STOP SIGN!! THere's still two cars ahead of me and traffic to merge with, so it wasn't like I was in his way, as we were at a standstill. So I jammed on my brakes real fucking hard and I gave him the finger and then after turning onto the street, he fucking sped around me, got in front, stopped at a green light to block me in, and started getting out of the car I honked my horn at the fucker and he yelled something about "pussy" and I called him a "goddamn fucking steroid case motherfucker" (which may not have been the best course of action, granted, but if you know me at all, you know the enormousness of my mouth and my propensity to say things to people who are significantly larger and more violent than myself, who could easily turn me into a wet, mushy prune). I managed to back up a tad before the next car came up behind me, and turned right. This blond, musclebound, no-necked, tiny-dick moron fucking turned right from the left lane to follow me! I turned left onto 25A (the chase made me forget all about the search for Billy Joel Rock) and he was on my ass, so then I turned left onto Stewart and then finally lost him after this 2 minute, 4 block psycho pursuit, that left me with a leg that trembled for a good five minutes or so afterwards.

Well, we did make it to Billy Joel Rock, and now that I know its exact coordinates, I won't let Erin down again. Then Shuana and I came back here to log onto Friendster and then she wrote the story of the chase on her LJ. Oh, and she gave me a code so I could get my own account. YAY!!!

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Okay, so I found this one courtesy of my Friendster-message pal (there are no pens involved, although words are our playpen via the internet) Carol, who is herself 26% geek, thusly only half as geeky as me. I want you all to take this test and let me know your results (Kipes, I'm looking in your direction, heh heh...Sergei, you too! Sean has GOTTA be at least 65% geek...at least). I guess this is vindication for those of you who had mistaken me for Drew Carey...

You are 54% geek

You are a geek. Good for you! Considering the endless complexity of the universe, as well as whatever discipline you happen to be most interested in, you'll never be bored as long as you have a good book store, a net connection, and thousands of dollars worth of expensive equipment. Assuming you're a technical geek, you'll be able to afford it, too. If you're not a technical geek, you're geek enough to mate with a technical geek and thereby get the needed dough. Dating tip: Don't date a geek of the same persuasion as you. You'll constantly try to out-geek the other.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

Well, I gotta get to bed soon...this geek is hitting up the Wilco/Sonic Youth show in Central Park today with Andriani and mon frere. See you there...or not. May Strom Thurmond enjoy his eternity in Hell, which follows his almost eternal stay in Congress. Cheerio!

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Okay. This is me staying awake so that I don't get up too early tomorrow and end up beat all night at work. I woke up at 11:30 or so this morning, after going to sleep at 4am. Not a bad night's sleep at all. A few minutes later, I called Larissa, who was supposed to be waking my ass up, and woke her ass up. I'll forgive her, though, because she was working until 1am last night. So, while waiting for her to come by, I made myself breakfast, but I kinda cooked the bacon a little too crispy, because I was looking for a Leonard Cohen cd in my room that was actually in this room. I came back to the kitchen and freaked because my bacon shrunk....

As Larissa entered the front door, I had just stuffed a strip of bacon in my mouth. Now that is classy! So, after washing the bacon and eggs down with some coffee in my "It's the BIG 60!" supersize ceramic mug, I took her on the brief tour of my parents' home, and then across the driveway to my humble abode in which I have yet to abide. She told me that she and Jenn have been dying to make their kitchen look like my parents' kitchen, what with the orange and brown 70's paneling and the snazzy onion clock. I totally believe her, too. As soon as she walks into my house, she says "Nice sloppy-ass painting job, J-Ro! Is this the look you were going for?" I felt like Bill Cosby's son in that routine from "Bill Cosby, Himself" where the boy has cut his own hair, apparently not very well, and the father asks "Why did you do this?" and the son says "I dunno." "Is that the look you wanted?" "Uh huh."

Of course, I wasn't intending it to look like crap, but I am not a very good house painter. Nor am I a Red House Painter, although I would love to have a voice like Mark Kozelek and have a penchant for womanizing and turning AC/DC songs into sad, weepy ballads. Instead, I am just a frustrated house painter...just like Hitler. I guess he had a Larissa in his life that just made him cross the line. Ha ha ha. He did. Her name was Winnifred Wagner, daughter of anti-Semitic composer Richard Wagner. You can learn all about it from the History Channel's documentary "Hitler's Women: Winnifred Wagner" which I caught a part of the other night on the History Channel International.

So, anyway, Larissa surveyed the livingroom, and lectured me on painter's tape vs. masking tape, and then while she taped the remaining things that needed to be taped (she works quickly and efficiently), i went back here to get some music, some paint brushes and other supplies. I then put on the perfect soundtrack to house painting...A 2 cd set called "Don't You Forget About Me" that contains 26 classic songs from 80's movie soundtracks that realizes the potential of the 80's Movie Painting Party I tried planning those months ago. Well, this party was just Larissa and I. But it was nice. It was pretty much the first time we hung out alone, so it was hard to figure out where to start the conversation. I'm so bad at asking questions. I wonder why that is. Sometimes I feel so unimaginative.

After a few hours of painting and shooting the breeze (a breeze would have been nice...it was sooo hot), Larissa went off to do Larissa stuff, and I took a shower, watched a little tv, and went to visit Charlie at Starbucks for a bit. Read a little bit from Mike Nelson's book Mind Over Matters, where Mystery Science Theater 3000's Michael J. Nelson goes in-depth on many a random topic for seemingly no reason at all. He uses big words in his pursuit of the trivial and the eccentric, and therefore, it is one of the best books I have ever read, because there is absolutely no point or purpose. Someday I hope I can write as amazing a book.

Got home from Starbucks, took a nap, realized I had a craving for a shrimp burrito from the Green Cactus, so I drove to Stony Brook and got one. So goood!! I highly recommend it to those of you shrimp and burrito lovers. Cone with me and have one next time. That'd be great. I had to battle myself to not go for coffee afterwards, though. But I figured I'd had enough. But I do love coffee.

Well, this whole post was pointless, I'm sure. At any rate, let me say that last night's Jonathan Richman show was great. That's all for now. Gonna go downstairs and find a movie to watch.

Not a lot to say this morning, as I still have to eat a little food before I head off to sleep, and then wake up early so I can go to Paul & Lindsay's engagement party in the rain (it's a nice day for a wet wedding), before going to work until 7am again. At least this week, I'm off Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday night I'm going to see Jonathan Richman at the Knitting Factory. That should be great, as it always is. Tuesday, Larissa should be coming over to help me paint the house (maybe I will get enough of it done to warrant moving in sometime in the next century). Kinda hungry.

Note to J. Lo if he is reading this (to the uninitiated, that would be a guy named James I worked with): I'm sorry about what happened. Also, I never got to tell you that it wasn't that I sold you out -- it was a process of elimination. I had to go to the supers to get those files you erased, and they pretty much figured it was your doing. I didn't go up to the Moustache and say "Yo, J. Lo erased my shit again!" This doesn't change your job status, I know. But I just wanted to make sure you knew that I wasn't running around trying to get you fired so I could steal your job, which I am, of course, going to apply for, and raise hell if I don't get it. Good luck with your future career, James. Hopefully, you will get some time on unemployment to reflect.

Alright, I'm out.

I just gotta say...this quiz was fucking high-larious. I highly recommend taking it, just for the answers you can choose from.


You are Juan Moreno!!


Which Completely Random Person Are You!!
brought to you by Quizilla

More to come.

Left work early this morning (2 something am) because I am still feeling like crap, which is appropos, I suppose, given the tour of doody I was enlisted for from the moment I woke up. I don't think the two cherry creme flavored Gas-X tablets will do me much good at this point, but they are yummy!

Could someone please tell me why I can't seem to view the pictures on Friendster anymore? Maybe it's time to stop using IE? Maybe I should get with the program and use Safari? I dunno. Jismo, you're the technical expert, you advise me...

Don't really feel like writing a lot. I think it's pretty much time for sleep, which is what this Brad Mehldau cd is doing for me. It sounds like George Winston with slight accompaniment. In other words, it bores me to tears. It would be good studying music, I suppose, in the way that the George Winston cd Helen bought me way back when was. But since graduating college and not having gone back, I haven't found much use for since. I think I sold that George Winston cd. Does that make me a bastard, since it was a gift? I dunno. Not like I've heard from her in the last 8 years, though I am sorry we lost touch. She'll always have a special place in my heart, despite the raping of the unibrow that one hellish night. I hope she is enjoying North Carolina. And I hope she tries to google me sometime. Wow, there is no way to make that not sound dirty. "Google me this, Batman!" Ha ha ha. I told you.

Oh well, now I don't feel like posting about Thursday night's events, except that there are now pictures circulating of Larissa making out with the Ludacris cake, and there are now collectable stickers of me in the midst of a silly dance. Also, I decided while at work again, after the party, that dressed in my shirt and tie, wearing black dockers and my Chucks, that I could easily have been a member of some late-70's/early 80's power-pop group, a la Cheap Trick or Katrina and the Waves, The Knack or some such. Especially with my current shaggy hair. Cassie & Shannon are going to perform a make-over on me Wednesday, and apparently, I am getting subtle blue highlights. I said that I was not Stinko Man 20x6, and was told that it would just be visible with the light in my hair...since I am never out in the sun, nobody will ever know. As long as I don't look like taht clown Silbowitz (hee hee), whose hair now matches the bedroom wall in the house I still haven't finished painting.

No house-painting got done today, as I was too busy sleeping the entire day, as a result of 6am horking from an evening of queasy-feeling stomach. I woke up at 7pm, in a zombie-like state with a stiff neck and my brother talking at me before I could even comprehend what he was saying, although I believe it was about Pearl Jam continuing to play "Bushleaguer" on the second leg of the US tour. Not that I don't care, but I wasn't quite ready to be bombarded with information of any sort. He could have told me that aliens had abducted our parents and replaced them with sacks of potatoes marked "His" and "Hers" and it would have met the same dull response.

Also, tonight, I was watching "Subterranean" on MTV2 ("120 Minutes" is no more, this is its new name, which I suppose, is overdue, since "120 Minutes" has been airing since before I was into alternative rock (which was like over 15 years ago or something, and I have the videocassettes to prove it -- how many of y'all remember "Post-Modern MTV" hosted by Kevin Seal?), and they were talking to Conor Oberst about the video for "Bowl Of Oranges" and talking about the girl who did it (it's animated fabric and stuff, with some live action mixed in), and they showed the video, and then after seeing her name on the bottom of the screen, I realized I knew her. It's such a weird thing when you see someone's name on TV whom you've known, even briefly, and shared moments of some sort with, and then practically forgotten, only to get jolted by the reality that they still are out there, working on life. It's a small world after all.

And that's all I have to say about that.

I was gonna post about Will's screening party for "Delma Dewey Dimsdale: The Making of a Misogynist" when I got home from work Friday morning, but I came home to discover that my brother shorted out the computer keyboard with an uncontrollable stream of spew that issued forth from his open mouth. I guess that just goes to show that making fun of Monkeypox and living on a steady diet of ramen will eventually catch up with you. As a result, we took a trip to the Apple store in the Walt Whitman Mall to buy a new one. Sixty-four dollars later, we have a white keyboard that is vomit-free...and better stay that way! The post-party wrap-up blog will have to wait until later.

Anyhow, Matt and I stayed (since he was too ill to go out, I decided to hang with him) in and bonded over DVDs of "UHF" and "Wayne's World." That was great fun. We were hoping that "Pain Cave" would be among the bonus features on the WW DVD, but it was not to be. I looked through my paper trail of videotapes from the early 90's, but could not find the MTV special it originated from. But I will find it. I know it is around somewhere. And when I do fiind it, I will make all of you watch it, as "Pain Cave" is one of the greatest lost anthems of our time (or any other). After all, has life gotten any better since hearing "Step inside my pain cave and I will bludgeon you/ you don't have to scream because your ears are bleeding/ that's perfectly normal when someone bludgeons you/ the bleeding part that I was just referring to..." In my humble opinion, that is the apex of all metal and/or pop music. If I can get another gig, I may just have to cover that bad boy. If you even vaguely remember "Pain Cave" email me at thecrazypablo@aol.com

end transmission

Argh! I lost a post this morning. I was talking about all manner of cool things that I don't feel like talking about now. Main point was that since Sergei let the cat out of the blog, the new Come Down tracks recorded by Brian McTear are full of atmospherockingy goodness. Thanks to the goddess who is my inside source for giving me that hook-up. So, no, Sergei, I am NOT jealous of you. Nyah nyah nyah! Pffffftthh!

But it was good to see the Sergei at Saints & Sinnners(that's not MY typo, just look at the club and ou shall see) Thursday night. I never get sick of him always pulling his "you got something on your shirt" trick EVERY SINGLE TIME. I also appreciate getting tips on decent beer from him, as he has yet to steer me wrong.

Well, I gotta eat and drink some coffee (I'm not going to be eating the coffee, but rather, something else) before work.

okay, love ya, bye bye