This morning

I step out of my apartment and I smelled strawberry potpourri. I thought it might be coming from a nearby open window or something.. But as I walked toward the bus stop the smell never ceased. The whole town of Rutherford, New Jersey smelled like strawberry potpourri. Uhhh. I found it slightly unsettling .

It doesn't take a genius

Remember kids, you can pretend to be serious; you can't pretend to be witty. Or, to put it another way, if you've got nothing nice to say about someone KEEP YOUR FUCKING MOUTH SHUT. As Jen says "just sayin".

Retro commercial (singing pills)

we're not candy...

WTF?

It's snowing in Las Vegas! What to the fuck???


click me

Hussar

I saw this movie last night

It was very good and will definitely make you think. Plus Meryl Streep plays a bitter nun in what is one of her best performances in years. See it and let's discuss..

Lyrics I like

Atomic Garden by Bad Religion

everybody wants to dance in a playpen
but nobody wants to play in my garden
I see the hippies on an angry line
guess they don't get my meaning
I'm enchanted by the birds in my blossoms
I'm enamored by young lovers on the weekend
I like the Fourth of July
when bombs start flashing
and I wish I had a shiny red top
a bugle with a big brass bell would cheer me up
or maybe something bigger that could really go pop!
so I could make the gardening stop
come out to play
come out to play
and we'll pretend it's Christmas Day
in my atomic garden
all my scientists are working on a deadline
so my psychologist is working day and night time
they say they know what's best for me
but they don't know what they're doing HA HA
and I'm glad I'm not Gorbachev
'cause I'd wiggle all night
like jelly in a pot
at least he's got a garden with a fertile plot
and a party that will never stop
I hope there's nothing wrong out there
I'm watching from my room inside my room

.. captures the paranoia of the cold war pretty well dontcha think?


and as a bonus..

The Answer also by Bad Religion

long ago in a dusty village
full of hunger, pain and strife
a man came forth with a vision of truth
and the way to a better life
he was convinced he had the answer
and he compelled people to follow along
but the hunger never vanished
and the man was banished
and the village dried up and died
at a time when wise men peered
through brass tubes toward the sky
the heavens changed in predictable ways
and one man was able to find
that he had found the answer
and he was quick to write his revelation
but as they were scrutinized
in his colleagues eyes
he soon became a mockery
don't tell me about the answer
'cause then another one will come along soon
i don't believe you have the answer
i've got ideas too
but if you've got enough naivete
and you've got conviction
then the answer is perfect for you
an urban sprall sits choking on its discharge
overwhelmed by industry
searching for a modern day savior from another place
inclined toward charity
everyone's begging for an answer
without regard to validity
the searching never ends
it goes on and on and on for eternity

Dec 18 1997

Chris Farley is found dead, wearing only pajama bottoms, and surrounded by empty food containers and pornography. Farley's act often consisted of imitating other very fat celebrities, including Newt Gingrich, Mama Cass, and Tom Arnold.

The Shaggs

I promise that you have NEVER heard anything like The Shaggs. Unless you happened to have seen the Velvet Underground one night when they were all out of their minds on heroin and Nico sang ALL of the songs.

A photo that changed the world

South of the DMZ 1966

Contrary to the constraints that were put upon the press in subsequent conflicts, and even to the embedded program used in the recent Iraqi war, correspondents and photographers in Vietnam could, as Walter Cronkite wrote in LIFE, “accompany troops to wherever they could hitch a ride, and there was no censorship . . . That system—or lack of one—kept the American public well informed of our soldiers’ problems, their setbacks and their heroism.” Reaching Out is a quintessential example of the powerful imagery that came out of Vietnam. “The color photographs of tormented Vietnamese villagers and wounded American conscripts that Larry Burrows took and LIFE published, starting in 1962, certainly fortified the outcry against the American presence in Vietnam,” Susan Sontag wrote in her essay “Looking at War,” in the December 9, 2002, New Yorker. “Burrows was the first important photographer to do a whole war in color—another gain in verisimilitude and shock.” Burrows was killed when the helicopter he was riding in was shot down over Laos in 1971.

a band i wish would get back together...

Afghan Whigs

douchebag of the week

Jon Bon Jovi

A shame

Redemption Song by Bob Marley almost universally accepted as one of the most powerful english language songs written in the pop era. Why did they have to mar it's reputation by naming a lame ass reality show hosted by a has been pro wrestler after it?



Why??????

I hate hipsters

last night

This is the inside of the restaurant I went to last night with my sis. It was our annual big Christmas dinner. It was a little Italian place called AMA in NYC where SOHO meets the West Village. The meal was delicious and the conversation was flowing like the wine, but the best part was before dinner. I was outside waiting for my family when an older African American fellow strolled up to me and asked "Do you like jazz?" "How could he tell?" I thought. must've been the fedora-esque hat I was wearing. "Sure" I replied. He went on for about 20 mins about how Art Blakely taught him how to play the drums when he arrived in New York back in the 40's..



He gave me a cd of his band before complaining about how the current jazz clubs in the city suck. That's one of the amazing things about this city. You never know what stories the people here can share. Like the old lady who sells used books on the corner of 19th st and 7th ave. She saw me looking at her books carefully. "I can tell you really love books by the way you treat them when you are looking at them" She went on to recall how she used to hang out with Anais Nin back in the day.



Unfortunately, she never got to meet Henry Miller.

Witkin

my music this morning...

A size 10 to the noggin'

I know I posted a video, but I like this picture too much not to post it..

3 random pics that sum up my weekend

Fri:




Sat:



Sun:

Hey man, nice shot

Iraqi journalist throws shoes at Bush...

Abe Lincoln

if the word "fuck" bothers you, you probably shouldn't watch this

Dear black people

Classic movie

I know it hasn't reached classic status, but this is one of my favorite 80s movies..

RIP

Goodbye Bettie Page

Christmas time is here..

of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest!

Grape soda in the white house.

click here for K Fed's new single.

All you punk ass honkies better raise up!!!!!

My friend

sent me a link to this video this morning. Next time I see him, I'm punching him in the teeth.

A movie I haven't seen, but suspect is TOTALLY FUCKING AWESOME!

A photo that changed the world

Kent State 1970

When President Richard Nixon said he was sending troops to Cambodia, the nation’s colleges erupted in protest. At Kent State some threw rocks. The Ohio National Guard, called in to quell the turmoil, suddenly turned and fired, killing four; two were simply walking to class. This photo captured a pivotal moment: American soldiers had just killed American kids. Student photographer John Filo won the Pulitzer; the event was also memorialized in a Neil Young song and a TV movie. The girl, Mary Ann Vecchio, turned out not to be a Kent State student, but a 14-year-old runaway. She was sent back to her family in Florida.

Goya

and his original inspiration by Peter Paul Rubens

my music this morning...

Uneasy listening for sure

douchebag of the week

Rod Blagojevich.. Way to get busted, asshole.

Out today on DVD

Witkin

Lyrics I like

Radiohead - Talk Show Host

I want to, I want to be someone else or I'll explode
Floating upon the surface for
The birds, the birds, the birds

You want me, well fucking well come and find me
I'll be waiting with a gun and a pack of sandwiches
And nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing

You want me, well, come on and break the door down
You want me, fucking come on and break the door down
I'm ready,
I'm ready,
I'm ready,
I'm ready
I'm ready

A movie I haven't seen , but suspect is shitty

Leprechaun 2 - Back to tha Hood...

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

This is a book I DID have as a kid. And it was my favorite.

A book I wish I had as kid

Hair like yours..

3 random pics that sum up my weekend

Fri:



This is Keri Russell.. and no, I didn't spend my Fri watching Felicity reruns.


Sat:



Release the Kracken!

Sun:



Sorry, Gloria has to run.. Michaels closes in half an hour.

?

I have trouble sleeping. My friend suggested an organic sleep aid called Calms Forte. So I picked up a bottle this morning..

I know the picture isn't easy to read, but on the bottom left corner it says "non -drowsy formula" and in Spanish "formula que no causa fatiga". Ummmm.. Isn't a sleep aid SUPPOSED to cause drowsiness???

Just thought I'd post..

A pic of the Cobra logo form GI Joe. Every child of the 80s liked GI Joe at least a little.

Goodie bag

Out side of Penn Station on my walk to work today were folks from Rite Aid handing out free goodie bags. It had Hangover Defense in it. Ohhhh I know this will come in handy at some point over the weekend..

Speaking of games..

Does anyone else remember Aggravation? This is the only board game I remember playing regularly as a child..

I was..

pretty good at this game as a kid..

Surreal

I know it's a classic painting to the point of being cliche. But I still like it. I've always thought that the image in the bottom center of the picture looks like a platypus.

I hate..

bumper stickers stickers of Calvin pissing on things...