another killer couch-side cloud show

Ha, "couch-side cloud show", try saying that five times fast!

quick blues fix...

This is Junior Wells from 1966. ...some serious harmonica.

Robert Fripp

Listen to this. This is Robert Fripp. The clip is supposedly from the show The Midnight Special, October 5th, 1979. According to youtube commentary he thanks Rick James because he was the host for that episode. Anyway, just listen

(clip passed on by brother Tim, thanks Timbo!)

pure silliness

I'm home sick today. I'm not good at sitting still so I'm cleaning my desk. Remember M.U.S.C.L.E. men? These were a phenomenal short lived toy trend from our younger years if you ask me. I had a lot of these funny little pieces of plastic, an army of tiny wrestling creatures. Anyway, why not break out the macro lens, one of my all-time favorite toys. I couldn't decide which shot I liked better. You be the judge. Like I said, this is nothing more than pure silliness.
Okay, back to my paper shuffling.

I read the paper

Every morning I get the paper on the way to the subway. I used to get the Times but eventually converted to one of the freebie papers in the city, namely the Metro. Ultimately I get it for the crossword puzzle, which is rather comical in itself since the Metro crossword is not much of a challenging cerebral exercise to begin with. I can see our old family friend Donald getting irate in my mind and remember fondly his astounding knowledge of the English language. I know technically you can spell amoeba without the "o", but really, who actually does.
Anyway, not the reason I'm writing myself into a silly rant. And yes, I know 1-down was "goop" and not "glop", and it's "n-y-e-t", I got it, I got it.

So, the same page that has the crossword and horoscope also has a little daily opinion piece called "Today's Debate". I rarely bother, but the speedy jostling from Queens Plaza to Lexington Avenue made writing an impossibility so my eyes wandered. It's typically a simple question, asked of three different individuals here in our area. Perhaps I rarely bother because inevitably someone says something that makes me want to scream. And so, today's debate:

Hmm, not a bad question I thought. Jack from Jersey thinks it goes against the spirit of the games. I can see where he is going with that. Matt the financier thinks it is disrespectful to the host country which is communist. Okay, yeah, I understand where he is coming from too. And then, ...

I do realize that they didn't necessarily say "activists in China", but I think it is safe to say, given the recent headlines, everyone read the question that way. And assuming so, um, excuse me? Are you serious?!? Free citizens shouldn't have to limit their free speech out of politeness?!?!?!? I don't even know where to begin with this! That is the dumbest goddamn thing I've heard all week. Are some people actually dumb enough that they do not realize that when you leave America you aren't then actually in America any more? Yeah, wow, take a minute, that is a lot to process. And perhaps those same freedoms and liberties don't apply?

Yeah, wake-up call Gina!

When you are in a communist country you are not a free citizen. And free speech, yeah, they're not so much for that. Thousands of years of history, and the laws that have come from that history, whether just or not, have nothing to do with American narrow-mindedness, or "politeness". Geesh! Trust me, I know, I lived there. It was wild not being able to keep the key to your own room, to be told when you could eat or shower, to be under such a mentally oppressive eye at times. But, in another country you play by their rules because, well, it's their goddamn country. Sure, I developed my own thoughts about what I was shown and what I actually saw, but who are we but visitors? "Polite" my ass. I guess travel and cultures and objectivity aren't popular conversation topics wherever this woman "studies". Oh, ...that's depressing.

Horoscope, Thursday, August 21

It's true. I've been on the Great Search '08 and it has led me to many places. Before getting on the morning train I had a conversation I was thrilled to finally have. Slightly awestruck in fact. Sometimes the horoscope hits a chord, sometimes not. Today was noteworthy. The Great Search '08 is over. I'm on my way back to the dirt.

first published photograph

It's true, a photograph of mine was used for the cover of the latest "Green Issue" of Hospitality Design Magazine. And I am thrilled. I'm pretty sure this is my first published photograph and that's pretty exciting. I was contacted by Evan Dennie based on a picture I had posted to flickr. We hit it off and I agreed to let her send around whatever photograph she liked best. When she emailed me that my photo not only made a magazine, but made the cover, I jumped all over the office like a lunatic. That was fun!

The copy showed up in the mail and I'm psyched to check it out. Honestly, I had never heard of this magazine before. It wasn't so easy to find in Midtown. We shall see.

Another one for the horticultural portfolio I'm starting to build. And it's starting to look good. Right on!

To see the original photo and other pics of the green wall check out my flickr account. Enjoy.

comfortable silence

Last night my love and I decided to go out for dinner. After post-work errands around Queens we were heading home and still had not come up with any idea of what to do for dinner. At that point, and at the helm of our fun new wheels, I decided to make the executive decision to take us out for an impromptu "date night". Fatty's Cafe in Astoria is a fave of ours not only for the food but also the owners and staff (now our good friends) and general ambiance makes us feel very comfortable. Our first dinner date was at Fatty's years ago and we always say we should eat there more often; it's true. Zig sent out a message about the new menu and the ability to now accept credit cards and that was pretty much all the excuse I needed. Even though we typically make some serious grub here in our little house I was feeling pretty uninspired and definitely not in the mood to do dishes. I proposed the idea, my love said "sure", and I hit the gas. We feasted on steak and frites and chicken mole after a yum salad and some empenadas. The Jamesons went to my head after such a long day of obsessing about work and the potential for change, and the buzz was perfectly welcome...

...and then we sat in silence. We listened to the sounds and the people, sometimes the specifics, sometimes just the energy of the chatter. Of course, by this point a day later I don't remember any of it, other than the fact that we were very entertained. Other couples were on dates, quick to make conversation. A deuce to my right had called a third to join them and they were all gabbing away over plates of food and cocktails. We caught each other eavesdropping and gave each other guilty smiles. My love and I can sit in silence and enjoy the passing of the world around us for what seems like hours. We have always related so well to each other, and we are both very fortunate and thankful to have this love. I don't even remember much awkward silence during those first few dates way back when. Returning to the moment, my love hit the nail on the head. "It's so great" she said, "it's like inviting friends to dinner but you don't have to pay for them." We laughed out loud. I thought about another whiskey but remembered the drive home in the new car.

I forget that some people cannot or do not enjoy silence like we do. I am a huge fan of good comfortable silence. There is something about being able to be totally comfortable with someone to the point of not always needing to speak. I do, I love it. I come from a long line of great story tellers, but to sound perfectly cliched, you do have to be a good listener to be a good story teller. My folks are both great eavesdroppers and great story tellers and I hope I've adopted their gift. I think I'm getting there. Stories and lore are some of the best things ever in my opinion. They tell us about our society, our human nature, our relation to the world around us, and all that that can entail. You can listen to others and some times be able to relate better to yourself as a result.

I was leaving the office and in the elevator is a little digital screen that sucks everyones attention to it, thus killing conversation. The relatively useless factoid of the moment that came on-screen said that laughter is still one of the most unclear and mysterious of human behaviors. I was alone and chuckled to myself. Out of affirmation? Out of denial? I got on the subway. My headphones I had purposefully left at home today. I sat in silence, looking, listening, wondering if there might be an answer in the eyes or words of those around me.

On the stereo: U2, Boy