Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Speaking of the Weather...

Winter Weather Shits on Chicago
Well, the first official bullshit of the winter season has begun. I was one of the many unfortunate souls to have a flight connect through Chicago, and let me tell you: Never Again.The absolute worst city ever to have as a major airline hub during the winter season is Chicago. Every year they have an enormous amount of delays and cancellations, I don't know why they even bother being open.

I have officially retired from ever traveling through Chicago. At any time of the year, just as a boycott for their bad weather. The weather here in NYC is perfectly fine, strangely nice for this time of year. We had a small delay for my flight to Chicago and then after waiting an extra hour and a half, we finally boarded. Only then did I recieve a call from American to tell me that my connecting flight to Seattle was cancelled. Unless I wanted to be stranded in Chicago until friday, I had to quickly call over a stewardess and book it off the plane. Coming back to the apartment that I had left at 9am, thinking I was on my way home, did not make me happy.

Let's find some good in this. I'm not stranded in Chicago. That's about all the good there is, unless the plane I was on crashes, and that wouldn't really be good either, since it was full of people. This post will probably be one of the most bitter and angry that I will ever post, because this will be the first Christmas EVER that I've not been home. And even though we don't do too many crazy things for Christmas, the principle of it really ticks me off.

I guess I just don't understand people who claim to like the snow and winter. Really? It's cold, wet and fucks up your travel plans? Oh because it's pretty? Yeah, no, it's not pretty. It's frozen rain that turns the roads to ice sheets and blinds drivers and pilots alike. Again, making travel impossible. So, I think the world could really do without winter actually. Bring on that global warming.

Add to your Playlist:
Tom Waits "Rosie"
Piebald "Put Your Slippers on Instead"

Chocolate Success Despite the Weather


There was a wonderful show at the Knitting Factory sunday night, which too many people missed, probably due to the weather. More than anything I pity those who didn't come, you missed one hell of a show. I was even on stage for a second...I think. Really by then I'd had a few drinks, so I might just have imagined that part.

Schocholautte had some great merchandise on sale too, I got a t-shirt, and a tank top, and I'm just waiting on the buttons. Because I love buttons. I kinda wanted the hotpants, but thought they just aren't practical enough. The music was great, as always and we got tons of pictures. Plus it was a special night because it's one of the last shows to play at the Manhattan Knitting Factory before they close their doors (they're opening a new place in Brooklyn where the Luna Lounge is now).

Kudos to all the cool kids who braved the cold and came out. I think the highlight of the evening for me would have to be the busting out of the banjo for Orange County. Not only is that my favorite song, but I pretty much want them to use a banjo for everything. Because it's awesome. So double-the-yay from this fan. And the guys are super nice, can't find a more polite group of rock stars if you ask me. Check out their myspace and get to know their music. It's addicting. Like chocolate.

Add to your playlist:
Of Montreal "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger" (miss Haley Jane gave me some new music!)
Marvin Pontiac "Power"

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Show Tomorrow Night!

Reminder!! Schocholautte is playing their biggest show to date at The Knitting Factory tomorrow night! Tickets are a paltry $8, a five year old could buy one with his allowance, come on! The show starts around 8pm and doors open at 730pm. They are headlining, so a couple bands are playing before them. Devi from Jersey and Monica Nelson hailing from the Portland music scene. There will be some never before seen merchandise, CDs to buy, chocolate to eat and lots lots lots of pants-removing. It's all ages so bring your cool hipster 20-year-old friends. And bring the good haircuts. No one wants to be the one person with the bad haircut.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Zooborns


My friend (who sends me a lot of cool links) sent me this one, about baby zoo animals. It might be the cutest website on the planet, I know a few people who will actually DIE when they see it. I'm not sure if it's scientifically founded that people can die from being exposed to over-cuteness, but this website certainly tries its hardest to be the #1 cause of death amongst baby-animal lovers.

On a related note, this brings up the question of which is cuter, baby animals or human babies. I know people who are on both sides, some like the baby babies, some like the zoo babies. Me? I would have to be on the side of the zoo babies, if not purely for the fact that human babies look an awful lot like aliens when they're first born, and contrary to what everyone says, yes they do all look the same for the first few weeks; like a wrinkled peanut that's sprouted and cries unnaturally loud. And poops. I guess it's really less like a peanut when you think about it, but still not totally human looking.

Baby animals (non-human animals that is, I also agree that humans ARE animals) are absolutely cuter. For one, they are exotic, in terms of the fact that they are of another species, and humans inherently find the exotic attractive. Or they are scared of it. But really, who is scared of a baby koala? Girls are definitely more apt to be overblown by a cute-attack, but I'm not a geneticist, I don't know what all that's about. I don't even know if that falls under the category of genetics, but it sounds good. Maybe it's a hormone thing. Is there such a thing as a hormonocist? I digress.

Check out the website, it's another good way to waste time actually, I should add that to the list I made earlier below. And visit your local zoo, these guys live in cages for their whole lives, the least we could do is give a little money to the institution that takes care of them.

Add to your Playlist:
Apples in Stereo "Tidal Wave"
Supreme Beings of Leisure "Strangelove Addiction"

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Antagonist Art Movement Movie


There's this thing. And this thing is called The Antagonist Art Movement. I came to know this thing by way of seeing my friends Schocholautte play at Niagara Bar one thursday every month where they hold the art shows. I initially had no idea they were making a movie, but lo and behold they have, and Schocholautte plays the music for the movie, so for that reason alone you need to check it out. Perhaps buy the DVD, or come see the shows, or just come see any Schocholautte show. Like this sunday at the Knitting Factory....

Monday, December 15, 2008

Good Time Wasters

In this week of finals, I've found that I know so many good ways to procrastinate and waste my time that it's becoming ridiculous. I can no longer do work at home very well, because I either fall asleep, or watch the tv, or chat with my roommates, or all of the above all at once. Could happen. Well, I often sit in a cafe because of that reason, and still I find things to take up my time (damn fucking internet).

I have a few favorite websites, specifically used to waste time I could be spending on homework. Myspace and Facebook are of course on the list, but in terms of sites that actually feel like you are accomplishing something while not, I tend to lean towards useless trivia.

TriviaFanatic and FunBrain are by far the best. The former is just an endless series of questions that keeps going until you get three wrong in a row. And then you start over. But it keeps score, so you have to keep trying to beat your score, and so it continues into eternity. The latter is similar (and it's totally made for kids) but it quizzes you on the capitals of world countries. This one is especially dangerous because you feel like you are learning really useful knowledge that not many people know.

By the time an hour has passed, you now know the capital city of Bolivia, Thailand and Zimbabwe, which are oh so useful on that chemistry assignment you should be doing. I definitely need to know the capital of Zimbabwe for all important aspects of my life. Not really, but boy does that website make you feel that way.

Lastly, this stupid blog is a new time waster that is slowly catching on. I should be writing a paper as I'm typing this, but damnit, I haven't posted in a few days, and like heroin, I just need this now. Luckily, my paper is due tomorrow, and knowing me, I always finish my papers, no matter how down to the line it gets. So at least I know that I'll feel a little bit less stressed come tomorrow morning. But for now, I think I'll try my darndest to work without interruption. Or hope that the internet just stops working. That would certainly make my life easier.

Add to Your Playlist:
Starlight Mints "Black Cat"
The Archies "Sugar Sugar"

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Bush Almost Gets a Shoe to the Face


I'm right there with that reporter, let's get Bush out of office asap. Someone should really make shoes with his face on the sole. Now those, I would buy, just so I can step on his face everywhere I go. People will TRY to step on gum.

Add to Your Playlist:
Le Tigre "New Kicks"
Donovan "Universal Soldier"

Friday, December 12, 2008

Contortionist-Awesomeness

The Contortionist
The Contortionist


OH man. Really.

Schocholautte @ The Knitting Factory

Schocholautte at the Knitting Factory December 21, 2008 with Monica Nelson and Devi.

Official announcement for the show. Nothing is official until Michael P. makes a flyer. I realize the image is tiny. Click on it. It gets bigger. So there ya go.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Delayed Photos





Just some pictures that I took of Michael P. singing some Misfits. And the shirtless guy is someone else. He sang The Stooges. Kinda wished he'd left his shirt on. But the picture is cool, so I included it. Just for shits. Its a week late. Oh well.

Add to your Playlist:
The Misfits "Where Eagles Dare"
The Stooges "Search and Destroy"

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Jesus was Born on June 17

Mini-Post, I found this cool animation about when Jesus was born and what that great Bethlehem Star might have been. Kinda cool if you ask me. I like logical explanations for things from the bible. I should keep a collection.

Watch the Video!!

HUGE SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT!!


Alrighty, excitement excitement! My good friends Schocholautte will be playing their last show of 2008 at none other than The Knitting Factory! December 21st (that's a Sunday) at 730pm the show starts with Monica Nelson and a Jersey band called Devi. The show is all ages so for everyone who has never been able to see Schocholautte in action at places like Niagara, now is the time to step on this!!

The show costs like $8 and Schocholautte plays last, which means they will probably keep rocking ALL night. I'm definitely going to be there and I think you all should too. These guys know how to sweat, as is seen by that picture up there. Michael will probably break a guitar string. Captain K will probably wear a funny shirt. Artie will rock, that's what he does. There will be chocolate and other surprises that can only be seen at a show like this.

If you don't know what they sound like, follow any one of those links and listen to some of their stuff. They'll definitely have some EPs for sale. I'm going to give out free hugs to anyone that shows up. This is one of the best chances to see an upcoming band rock you out of your pants. Legit, they've played shows where people have removed their pants. I've seen it.



Add to your Playlist:
White Stripes "You're Pretty Good Lookin' (For a Girl)"
Steel Train "Kill Monsters in the Rain"

Saturday, December 6, 2008

A Couple of Sweet Things

I had a really normal day, not too exciting. But I found out two awesome things today that I must share. So I've had Netflix for a little while, a few months. And they have movies that you can watch online for free (or well, as part of your monthly payment) and it didn't used to work on my computer because they were still dealing with making it work on MAC's because the whole world is backwards when it comes to MACs. Anyways, I went to the Netflix website today, for no apparent reason really, and I found out that they got it to work! So I'm stoked for now having an amazing number of movies at my fingertips! With the free movies I don't even know why people would spend the money to get more than 1 DVD at a time. I pay like $10, get unlimited monthly DVDs one at a time, and unlimited movies online. Seriously awesome.

Thing #2, I found a cool website where you can make your own nutrition bars and pick your own ingredients and even give the bar its own name. They're a little expensive (they are custom made after all) but someday when I have money to throw around on nutrition bars, I'm totally going to make my own. It's a great idea though, and they have customized shakes too. And most of the stuff is organic, and vegan and healthy for you. I say this as I'm sitting here munching on a Jolly Rancher. Go me.

Completely unrelated to that, I'm sitting here in my basement room, lounging on the couch and ignoring the outside world. I gave myself today. Because I have to really start bearing down for finals and everything. I have rehearsal tomorrow which I am just soooo looking forward to. I registered for my spring classes. They're going to be pretty amazing I think. I'm taking German of course, either 1 or 2 drawing classes, I haven't decided if I want to stick with both or if I want to bother. And I'm registered for an 18th Century British Gothic Literature class (right?) which is the second best thing I could find after the seminar on the Enlightenment filled up immediately (bastards). I'm still going to try and go in on the first day of that class and try to get into it. I want it damn it. Or maybe I'll steal it from someone who gets cancelled in January. It's going to be my last undergraduate semester ever. And I will take the classes I want.

Add to Your Playlist:
Guns N' Roses "Welcome to the Jungle"
Belle & Sebastian "Piazza New York Catcher"

Thursday, December 4, 2008

SHOW TONIGHT!


I realize that no one reads this blog really yet, but I still have the urge to promote music on here. In keeping, tonight there will be an amazing show at Niagara Bar. Tonight, the infamous Schocholautte brings to you all of their sweat, tears and glory.

I was suddenly inspired to write this post because Sheryl Crow was playing in the cafe I'm sitting at and Schocholautte does a pretty mean cover. Perhaps I can con them into playing it tonight. It's possible, stranger things have happened.

On a separate note, last night I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Michael P. grace the stage at Studio B during their annual Indie Rock Karaoke night. He was Aquaman, which was fabulous in and of itself. To make it better, he sang "Where Eagles Dare" by the Misfits. There were lots of people who did pretty good versions of their songs, many who murdered them (I feel bad for Steely Dan, the Ramones, and especially the Stooges...). I still think Michael did absolutely fine, it was fun seeing him run around on stage in an Aquaman costume with Ted Leo as his backup vocals. And I'm pretty sure he was one of the few people that knew all the words to his song without a lyric page. I've vowed to try it next year.

They play at 11, after some other bands who I don't really care about. For those who don't know, Niagara Bar is on Ave. A and 7th Street, down in the East Village. I'm going to eat at Benny's Burritos beforehand with some friends, I suggest you do something similar.

Schocholautte Myspace

Add to Your Playlist:
Schocholautte "Mercedes Benz"
Schocholautte "Oh My Dear"

Sunday, November 30, 2008

College is Awesome and Life Rocks

Being back in Boston for thanksgiving brought back all sorts of memories that I had sort of forgotten. Most especially I remembered how much being in college changed my life, and more specifically, how much Emerson changed my life. Although I had been to 2 schools before Emerson, something about the transition across the country and being around seriously creative people had such a huge effect on who I became, it's not even funny. I met some of the greatest, most interesting people I know while living in Boston, and not all of them were students at Emerson now that I think about it. They know who they are.

I started off my college career at my backup backup school. Some people don't know that USC was actually my first choice, but unfortunately, that's a pretty darn hard school to get into, and on the whole, I had good grades but I was a more or less average student. In the long run I'm thankful because at a school of 30,000 students, I feel one tends to become lost. At Emerson, I was one of 4,000. I saw the same faces everyday and I had the same professors for more than one class. I felt that I was really a part of the student body. And I love living in a metropolitan area. I had tried a college town school (Western Washington University) and don't get me wrong, the school is great, but not for me. Even now I go to Hunter, which essentially has the same plan as Emerson; three tall buildings at a single intersection. That's basically it. And it's awesome.

I left Seattle without much of an idea of what was going to happen in Boston. I knew nobody. I'd only visited once, and that was after I had decided it was Emerson or nothing. It was sheer dumb luck that I was accepted, I hadn't applied for transfer anywhere else. I'm not sure what I would have done had I not gotten in. That might be the single greatest thing that changed my life in terms of my future. I don't even know what kind of shit job I might have right now. I would never have met the people in Boston I know and love. I wouldn't be in New York, making the most of this city.

I'm a west coaster at heart, and I will always return to Seattle. It's where I feel most comfortable and where I will spend the rest of my days. But Boston is where I really found myself, and I realize that it's almost necessary to leave what you know in order to find out who you are. That includes all parts of my life. I understand more about what I enjoy doing, what my political leanings are, how I love and lust, how I dress, how I interact with people and everything under the sun. I can stand up for myself better, I walk down the street in the middle of the night without thinking twice because I know I can defend myself. I talk to strangers on the subway because I know I have something to offer a conversation. I do things I never thought I was capable of because I'm stronger than ever.

I love Seattle for what it will always be in me. I love Boston for what it gave me. I love New York City for what it is showing me.

Add to Your Playlist:
"All For You" by Sister Hazel
"Catch My Disease" by Ben Lee

Monday, November 24, 2008

Pig Tattoos!


I got this from a friend, and it's pretty much awesome. I would totally tattoo my pigs if I had any. As long as it doesn't hurt them, rock on.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Siamangs



Last night I was sitting at home, watching cool videos with one of my roomies Johanna. I had just been reading the latest National Geographic and there was a little ditty about the Siamang, so we youtubed some videos of them singing. If you've never heard of a Siamang, you're in for a treat. These crazy apes (apes, not monkey, apes) are probably the most vocal animal I have ever heard. Back at home we could hear them at the zoo from like 2 miles away. I think these guys must have been where they got Tarzan's howl. The quick and dirty wikipedia summary of a Siamang is this:

They hail from Southeast Asia where they are the largest of the Gibbon family (their arm span can reach 5 feet, compared to their mere 3 foot stature). They can live to be 30 in captivity and form life-long monogamous bonds which usually produce only a few babies. Their real stand-out feature is the enormous "gular sac" which helps to resonate their intense calls or "songs."

My own personal bias is that they are the most adorable of the gibbons and are really amazing to watch and listen to. There are plenty of zoos in the U.S. that have Siamang populations, including Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, the Memphis Zoo and the Honolulu Zoo (and really that's only naming a few). There are probably plenty internationally as well, I don't know so much about that. They are an endangered species due to both being hunted and caught for pets, and because their habitat is being destroyed. Go see them at your local zoo, listen to their song, they're gorgeous creatures!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Photo of the Week and Schocholautte Update


So Schocholautte had another amazing show last night at their favorite haunt, Niagara Bar, down in the East Village. They play there once a month as part of the Antagonist Art Movement, which is thursday nights. The crowd was big, loud and rowdy, though sadly, Lorenzo did not end up on James's shoulders this time, however, it is possible that I just had too many drinks and missed it. My friend Rikki was awesome and brought 6 of her friends, plus there were groupies and other fans galore, it was definitely one of the better shows! Hit up their myspace!

Also, once a week I'm going to put up a picture, probably taken from my phone and give a little story with it. Today, its an image of where I woke up this morning. Niagara Bar is down in the East Village, and yet this morning I woke up on a couch in the Upper East Side. I think that I made my way there via a diner called Sidewalk and another bar on Macdougal street that I never got the name of. But I do remember playing FuĂźball. And kicking ass. I have only recently arrived home because I went and got bagels (if you'll remember, that is something I always do after a night of drinking) and the guys at the bagel shop love seeing me come in hung over, or in this case, still un poco bebido. They always tell me I look tired, which is usually the case.

Schocholautte Myspace
Antagonist Art Movement

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Mid-Week Art Fun



"Balloons for AmyGoodGorilla"
Haley Jane Samuelson
Photograph


With this weekly piece of art blog, I think that I'll start with a good friend of mine and my absolute favorite photographer ever. Haley Jane, a recent MFA graduate from Parsons The New School for Design, lives and works in NYC but she's really from all over the place, like Colorado, the Netherlands, Pluto, you know, weird places. We met more than a year ago via a craigslist calling for artsy people. I kind of showed up and just never left.

Every picture I've seen (and I've seen lots) radiate with vibrant colors and scenarios that are all too real in their dream-like state. Some things appear as if born from nightmares, some lead the viewer into complete other dimensions and realities, where Ducks and Bunnies live together, drink whiskey and murder people. The image above is one of my favorite of the older photos and I still get chills when I look at it.

I admire her work to no end, especially knowing how much time she really devotes to it, spending hours and hours sitting in front of the computer, getting every little detail correct and making Photoshop prove its worth in this world. I'm not here to critique or analyze or anything, I'm just telling you what I like and that you should go find out more for yourself. Check out the rest of her work on her website. Email her, hire her.

Haley Jane Samuelson Photography

Monday, November 17, 2008

The Theory of Bea

So, my last name is pretty weird. It's impossible to spell if you have only heard it, and it's impossible to pronounce it if you've only seen it written. I've had a few people in my past who have done it correctly, but for the most part that's been sheer luck because they mostly assumed it was pronounced strange and just guessed right. Anyways, my point is, I have a few theories on the origin of my last name and I thought I might share them. I'm sure other members of my family have ideas about where it originates, but we'll go with mine. First off my last name is spelled B-E-A and pronounced BAY. Some people in my family think it's pronounced BAY-UH, so even we don't agree amongst ourselves. Now, my first theory (and this one is a long shot) is that it's from Turkish origin. I have no idea if I have any sort of Turkish in my background, and I really highly doubt it, but nonetheless, it is possible that my name is somehow derived from the Turkish equivalent of Mister. Bey (bronounced BAY) in Turkish is a title given to men and it very simply means "lord." Ok, now that I have that crazy theory out of the way, theory number 2: it's German and I am somehow related to a German cardinal who lived from the end of the 19th century through the mid-20th century. The only Bea I've ever found that has a wikipedia article (or any article for that matter) is Augustin Bea. He was born in Riedböhringen in 1881 and died in 1968. Our family connection would have to go back further than when he was born but it's not a common name, so its all too possible. Granted just because his last name is Bea also, does not mean that it comes from a German origin, which leads me to my third theory which I think has the most probability. It's an Irish name. There is a Catholic high school back at home by the name of O'Dea, and it is pronounced OH DAY. After I realized this I thought about all the words that look one way in Irish but are pronounced another way (take Siobahn for example). There was also a Saint Bega of Celtic origin which is sometimes cited as Saint Bey or Bee. I kinda like the idea of being descended from a saint.

I think I'm going against the grain in my family, they all think it's definitely form German origin, and by golly, they might absolutely be right, which would be great because I just want to know. But I like throwing my wild theories out there. Anything is possible in this day and age. For your consideration, here are some articles, think about this...then question your own last name.

Augustin Bea
Mister Bey
Irish Language History
Saint Bega
Bea Death Records

Monthly Book Review


Three Apples Fell From Heaven by Micheline Aharonian Marcom

Three Apples Fell From Heaven is a fictional account of the lives of characters living through the Armenian Genocide during the years 1915-1917. The title, based upon a derivative of the folk tale ending “...and they lived happily ever after” is repeated throughout chapters in the story, creating a beautifully interwoven subtext of hope and strength in a book that highlights much of the cruelty of humanity. The reader gets to know individuals such as Dickran, an infant whose mother must abandon him in the desert during their forced march to certain death. There is Anaguil, a teenage Armenian who, along with her younger sister, is safely housed among friends, but must now live her life in the guise of a Muslim. A young poet, named Sargis is kept in the attic by his mother, who can not allow her youngest son to be taken away to his death, but in turn he is driven mad by isolation. This is just a handful of the souls whose lives touch these pages. The lack of a chronological order between chapters lends itself to a swirling mix of names and circumstances which ensnares the reader and in effect brings them into the world of the story. This is a fictional story set in the real-life atrocity that was the Armenian Genocide. The recognized first day of the massacres is April 24, 1914 when hundreds of community leaders were arrested and executed in Constantinople. The Turkish Government, known as the Young Turks, is responsible for systematically trying to remove all Armenians from the Ottoman Empire by using deportation, starvation, massacre and other such cruel acts. The first round of genocide concluded in 1918 but started again in 1920 and finally ended in 1923 after the estimated death toll had reached one and a half million Armenians. This is from the only two million who were estimated to be living in the Ottoman Empire at that time. The world was also in the throes of WWI and though many countries, including Great Britain, France and the United States, condemned the actions of the Turkish government, no serious steps were taken to stop the massacres, nor was the governement made to pay restitution to the Armenians afterwards. To this day Turkey still does not recognize that a genocide occured.Three Apples Fell From Heaven was an absolute gem to read and worth reading over and over again. It is almost certainly necessary to read it twice because the reader can lose him or her self in the beautiful language and often glaze over the horrid details of the story. By no means does this detract from the message however. If anything, the picturesque language brings the reader back again and again, to re-remember the individuals enclosed within the bindings and the stories are no less heart-wrenching the second, third or fifteenth time through. I have read the book twice and I intend to read it again in hopes of finding new pieces of insight that I missed before, which is all too possible with the way all of the characters lives are intertwined, if only just.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Tats

I love tattoos. I'll just let that out there right now. Most people who know me know that tattoos are one of my favorite things of all time. Hell, I'm planning on writing my dissertation someday about tattoos. I've watched dozens of friends and family get tattoos over the years (my proudest moment: my mother) and each time I've been there, I get such an awesome sensation that this underground culture is finally finding its way back into the mainstream after so many years as a taboo form of self-expression. Yes it was once very much accepted, royalty had tattoos for christs-sake. Personally, I plan on finishing sleeves, my back, feet and ankles, hips, chest and possibly various other places that I haven't thought of yet. My mom can no longer groan when I tell her what I want since she has come to the dark side. Dad still grumbles, but secretly he likes them all. I love art, and what better way to stay in touch with art than to wear it? The skin is such a maleable, accepting canvas. I enjoy having people on the street walk up to me and ask about the woman on my shoulder or the shapes on my forearm. I've had some of the most enlightening conversations of my life with people who were only asking about my tattoos. We trade stories. Tattoos cross culture boundaries too, since every continent on the planet (besides Antarctica of course) has a history of the people tattooing themselves. This is no joke. Look it up. China, New Zealand, all over Africa, South America, Europe, India, the list goes on and on. I feel that not only am I contributing to my own personal beauty, but I'm participating in a long tradition of body adornment, something that started thousands of years ago and can still be seen on mummies. It really comes down to the human need for adorning themselves to show off status, beauty, strength or any number of reasons, depending on the culture. The next time you see someone with an interesting tattoo, I highly reccommend that you ask about it. You might be surprised with their answer.

Read more in this article below:

NY Times Tattoo Comeback!

Learning to Dance

So I just had the most fabulous evening. I went dancing, but not just your typical dancing. I went to a club where everyone (and I really do mean everyone except for myself) was hispanic. However, this really isn't the point of the story, because in fact, it didn't really matter. Yes, I got a few stares, people doing double takes like "who brought the guera?" but after a bit, I stopped caring, and everyone else did too. The real cool part was that I learned something amazing about another culture. I learned a few new dances: Merengue, Bachata, Cumbia, Salsa and even a little Reggaeton (which isn't really a dance, more grinding in a very sexual way to some awesome music but whatever). I caught on to the Bachata which, needless to say, made me feel right at home after a while, and you could tell that when I got on the dance floor and people looked at me and saw that I knew what I was doing, they just kind of smiled and thought, "sweet..." My friends from Brooklyn Bagel....(Roberto and Eusebio) taught me lots of cool stuff, I got sweaty and tired and my feet hurt. I had margaritas and tried to understand the words of the songs but they were all in Spanish so really that didn't come to frutition. I'm pretty sure it cost an arm and a leg to not only get into the club but to purchase the drinks and everything, but neither Roberto nor Eusebio would allow me to buy things so I'll never know really how much it cost. One of my favorite parts of the evening was when we first came in to the club. They pat you down. And when I mean pat you down, they did a better job than the airport. I had a woman all up in my boob area, checking the cuffs of my jeans and feeling in my pockets. The "dancing" music didn't even start until exactly 11PM. No one would go out on the dance floor until the real music began, but when they did dance, it was so great to watch. Everyone knew the songs, the proper steps and all the variations in between. Lucky me because I got to dance with two gentlemen, both of whom knew how to dance very well (contrary to what they each thought) and I had an absolute blast. Perhaps because I grew up doing so many things that left me as the minority (all-asian basketball team, all of middle school...etc) I didn't feel out of place in any way. And lastly, it was such a great workout. The merengue kicked my ass, but I got it down...sort of.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Clemenza and Tessio

Tonight was the second night of this show I've been working on, and it went more or less like yesterday. Some cues were off, some lines were mixed up, some of the lights and sounds took a little longer to gather than I had thought, but in the end, people laughed and were telling us how much they loved the show. The fact that many of them had multiple drinks and were fairly knocked by the end probably had nothing to do with it. We're halfway through the run, its only four shows long so by the time I really get down all the light and sound cues, it will be over. No matter I guess, this week will give me a lot more time to work on my next show, plus homework, my job, trying to work things out with my theatre company members, working on some Schocholautte stuff (go to their myspace www.myspace.com/schocholautte and check them out!) and basically trying to organize my life again. I really need to clean my room and do laundry first and foremost. But I also need to get back on applying to grad schools, studying for that damn GRE that I need to take before grad school can actually happen, and the billions of other things I have put on my own list of things to get done. Tomorrow will be spent probably hung over and studying furiously for my midterm on monday, which in reality I should have been studying for long before this, but since cram sessions are totally "in" and "hip", I figure, why stray from the flock?

Clemenza and Tessio Tickets!

Bagels Galore

In the spirit of the name of this blog, I figure it's only right to write something about bagels and coffee. Currently I'm sitting in my local bagel shop, which just so happens to be my favorite bagel shop in all of New York. It's saturday, so I'm actually lucky that I even got a seat, their line is out the door, even though it's pouring rain outside. The rain is the reason I'm even sitting here in the first place. I was supposed to have a soccer game this morning, but due to the "inclement" weather, it was cancelled. In retrospect, this gives me a wonderful opportunity to work on homework and regular work and things I was going to squeeze into tomorrow. But I really would have liked to play today. But I sucked it up and went for a bagel (oh the sadness). I walked the 15 minutes in the absolute downpour, my feet are soaked, my sweatshirt is soggy, and the bottoms of my pants are now another color. But the reason I go through such trials to get to this place is because they really do have the best bagels in NYC, and as an avid bagel eater since young childhood, I think I know a thing or two about bagels. Not only that, I worked at the best bagel shop in Seattle years ago, and these are definitely comparable. It's called Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee Company, though ironically their 3 locations are in Queens, Queens, and Manhattan. My local store is the one near the Astoria/Ditmars stop, I've never actually been to the others ones. I don't think they ever had a location in Brooklyn, so where the name came from is beyond me. The people who work here are fabulous, I'm in here so often that they know I drink my coffee black, they know that I can't have regular cream cheese because I'm a vegan, and they always have a smile for me, even when you can tell they've been having an absolutely wretched morning. I'm the kind of person who can't do my work in my apartment because I'll just get distracted and ignore it, so I'm always sitting here for hours on end, working, studying or stuff. And they never mind, on the contrary they always seem to wonder why I leave. I bring everyone I know here. After a night of serious libation: bagels. After a one night stand: bagels. After a soccer game: bagels. I undoubtedly eat too many carbs, but I figure, you only live once right? This is the bagel Mecca, come in and if it's not too busy you can even ask them to teach you a word or two in Spanish, they'll happily oblige.

Below you will find an article that I just happened to pass on the world wide web. Gives some cool info about the bagel.

http://www.slate.com/id/2204140/?GT1=38001

First Posting, Music to look out for!

So really, on a first post, something should be spectacular. And what better way to start than by helping to promote new music? I have a few friends, they have a band. And no shit, the band is good. Like really good. The kind of music that makes you want to sing along, dance, laugh, cry, and all that good stuff. So, without further ado, their website (for the time being) is as follows: www.myspace.com/schocholautte . Yes it sounds like the french word for chocolate. We all just had a big meeting this evening about future plans and I thought this was a good way to start making those plans a reality. Check out their myspace, friend them, come to shows, keep in touch. They hand out free candy sometimes too, but only if you show up.

That's Michael P. below!
Oh My Dear