April 1, 2008
Well, I’m pretty much all moved in. My DVD collection is an issue that I’m going to resolve with albums. It will kill their re-sell value, but I just don’t care — I don’t really want to go on Amazon and sell all my DVDs anyway. I’ll keep my box sets as they are.
A few things I’ve learned since moving to New York:
- Many bars ‘buy back’ every third round, such as my favorite new place, The Quays.
- These are the bars you should frequent.
- Brunch is as awesome, and uniquely so, as TV tells you it is.
- The trains will occasionally just go express, leaving you to watch as they escape down the center track.
- Not everything you eat here is awesome. But most of it is.
More as I learn.
The open mics have been very cool so far — it’s fun to bring my music to a different audience every night, and hopefully I’ll be setting up more shows soon. If anyone has suggestions for a place I should fasttrack in my endeavor to hit all points, I’m open to suggestions!
February 20, 2008
Wow, what a week it’s been! I’ve got a lot to talk about — first off, I’ll mention some cool show-y stuff that happened!
The gig at Vox Pop was fun and fantastic — I really enjoyed being on such a diverse bill, at a really awesome establishment. Pittsburghers, think of the Quiet Storm, add the live music back in…. Oh, and add MEAT to the menu. Sweet-ass sandwiches, an aggressively lefty vibe, and menu puns! Can’t wait to play there again….
Niall Connolly went above and beyond any possible call he could have had, introducing me to Dan Donnelly at the Red Lion, who has been very supportive with stage time, and bringing me on the mic for his set breaks at the Reservoir and the Lucky 7 Tavern, both of which have given me April gigs — Stay tuned for more shows springing up on the page as they arrive! Also, thanks to the Jersey City Girls for showing up in full force to the Lucky 7 — you guys freakin’ rule!
Also, I got to have some Thai with Erin Dailey, who is every bit as cool and awesome as her blog implies. We had the plans for Tuesday, but she had to bump me because of a meeting she had with Barefoot Contessa. DROP!
February 4, 2008
Also key in my blog-reading (read: totally productive wasting of time) are the exploits of Erin Dailey, who, again, I found through TWoP — Erin’s Alias recaps were generously slathered with tales of drunkenness and debauchery, and it was of course intriguing to me to find out more about the character behind the articles. (Season 3 is awesome almost solely because of her, and the constant references to the vodka she drank to ignore the plot holes that were EVERYWHERE.)
The Redhead Papers, at redhead-papers.com, is an entertaining insight into an interesting life. Erin went to school for drama, but seems to have for the most part found her calling making a living as a writer and web genius. She’s doing something right — her career has given her a city life in NYC, which anyone can tell you is no small potatoes.
Her latest entry, about being driven to a commercial shoot by an uninstructed and unqualified driver, is funnier than I make it sound. Enjoy!
January 29, 2008
I love cooking for myself, and I get a huge kick out of it when it’s food I took for granted as a kid but miss as an adult. Tonight’s meal was a run-of-the-mill meatloaf (ground beef, tomato, onion, whole clove garlic, egg, breadcrumbs), mashed potatoes (I used Idaho because it’s all Pitaland had), and brussel sprouts, coated in a swiss gravy (rue, chicken stock, milk, shredded swiss cheese). Here I sit, stuffed like a turkey, secure in the knowledge that I can satisfy my appetite on, like, five dollars’ worth of groceries. It’s a glamorous life I lead, people.
If you want to do anything in the arts, and you haven’t taught yourself to cook, do it. Get a cookbook (I keep the Joy of Cooking around, it’s what my mother swore by), learn to read and follow the directions, and feel out a few recipes until you feel comfortable messing around with it. It’s insanely easy, and once you start doing it, you’ll be amazed at how much you can do without going to a restaurant. Also, you’ll eat healthier, as most chefs in your favorite restaurants will just toss a stick of butter on a pan without batting an eye (which tastes AMAZING, but will KILL you.)
Oh, and women dig it. Almost as much as they dig bald guys.
January 23, 2008
I am a big fan of time-wasting sites — anybody who has ever been stuck in a cubicle job can tell you that sometimes the only way to get through a day when no work is coming down the pike is to find a text-heavy site and dig right the hell in. During my first such job, I had found these compelling Big Brother S1 recaps on salon.com. I never felt a need to watch the show, because I got all the details I needed from these recaps, complete with a side of snark. Years later, I did a google search for Big Brother Recaps and got routed to Television Without Pity. There, I have been subjected to tons of such recaps, for many shows, both fictional and unscripted. Amazing site, populated by a cast of distinct and personable writers. A few of these writers’ blogs have become regular staples of my daily reading, and I’m going to try to point you guys to some of them. Todays is pamie.com.
Pamela Ribon gave great snark to the better part of the run of Gilmore Girls — an excerpt from the end of the pilot reads as follows:
Mr. Nutritious brings over the food, but breaks down and yells at Rory that she shouldn’t eat that. He says she doesn’t want to grow up to be her mother. Rory smiles. “Too late,” we all say together, as bluebirds fly in through my back window and circle my head with their sweet song. A rainbow sprouts from my Diet Coke. As we pan back outside the diner window, Lorelai is still asking Rory about CuteDean and Rory still isn’t talking. There’s so much cuteness in the air the entire room smells like the inside of the Gerber baby’s diaper. I find some sludge stuck to the bottom of my tongue. It’s sugar. And what’s this feeling in my stomach? Is it homegrown love and warmth? Why, I do believe it is.
…and so it went for about five seasons, that she continued to quip her way through these recaps. Particularly great is the season (I forget which one) that surrounded Ribon’s marriage, as she peppered every recap with tales of her wedding planning and such. It’s just great stuff, especially if you read it as a companion piece to the show.
Pam’s new occupation is that of show-runner — she is the head writer for ABC’s “Samantha Who?” Starring Christina Applegate, supported by Gilmore Girls’ Melissa McCarthy (which, that first conversation is something I’ve always been curious about,) as well as a whole bunch of other awesomes, the show was working, and hitting…. Then came the Fucking Writer’s Strike. I’m a supporter of the writers, so Pamela’s blog is compelling reading for me, as she chronicles her life on strike.
It could easily have devolved into a self-pity fest — I mean, imagine getting exactly where you’ve always wanted to be, just to have this shit happen — but instead, the newer entries are fresher than ever, full of wit and charm. She is not letting the strike wear her down, and it’s admirable. The second entry on her page at this writing has a great callback format that would make Carter-Hays envious. Go check her out.
