.and if so, is there?.

Guess where in New York?

Answer: The courtyards of St. John the Divine

(the prettiest place I've ever been in the city and hate myself for not going before)

.and just maybe she's wrong.

Governors Island is
no longer
that semi-hidden secret place that you
go to
when you want to get away from the city.

I went yesterday
to the Food Truck Festival
thinking it would be
the sort of thing where you could try
a little of this
a little of that
of New York's (mostly) awesome food trucks.

But no.
After waiting forever to get on the ferry,
a friend and I waiting in line for a food truck
any food truck
(we sort of weren't sure which)
and after moving two spots in 20 minutes
we bailed
and went to Picnic Point
and chowed on the two
staples there
Blue Marble Ice Cream
and
the über-fantastic
Fauzia's Multi-Ethnic Heavenly Delights
(if you're on Governors Island or in the Bronx, totally check them out).

And then waiting in line to
get off the island.

It was more waiting then eating.
But if you're talking with a friend
it's not so bad.
Still, no more sorta empty Governors Island to
play in
anymore.

.and maybe I'm right.

Saw a kid today on the train
who looked
just like
Rick Astley.
(FYI: this link has over 25 million hits)

Not like, Rick Astley now
but Rick Astley plus total 80s gear on.
Pants, tee, blazer, shoes and
messy semi-mullet.

And not hipster 80s
like, teenager out of time machine 80s.
Weird Science 80s.

I loved him and
cursed
the fact that my camera battery had
just died.

If you're reading this Rick Astley kid
call me.
Your portrait artist is waiting.

.but maybe she's wrong.

Since I've been so
awful
about posting, here's a collection of my
Facebook status updates since August 8th (my last post):

• August 8th: Just gave a guy at the green market a bag of kitty litter 'cause he made fun of me.
• August 10th: Steven Slayer is my hero
• August 11th: Angry Egyptian cheese panda. Cheeeeese panda. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olLp8Cssh_M
• August 13th:  Now a employed member of society (bless this well oiled capitalist machine)
• August 16th: Anyone who's a student want to go splitsy on Adobe's Creative Design Suite CS5 with me? - you can use one serial number for up to two computers. Getting a new laptop and am really sick of my crappy hacked version of CS. Plllleeeaaassseeee?
• August 19th:  Another PS related status: So, I'm using CS3 at my job and when I use the pen tool I can't see the curved path I'm creating which makes using the pen tool, well, really hard. Help.
• August 23:  Dorkfest: First status update from my brand new laptop. His name is Sir Winesap Newton.

So really, sans the job, you
haven't been missing much.

Well, that and getting so
angry at a stranger
I gave them kitty litter.
Sometimes you have to do things
that feel good
to save your soul.

.and you'll never be alone.

Ravel's Boléro is  
stuck
in my head.

(she says after listening to M.I.A. and the Glee soundtrack)

Weird, right?

.and they're always be something there for you.

I always thought Anthony Weiner (Dem Congressman from Brooklyn)
was, eh, okay.
But now!
Now he's my hero!

.maybe mother told you true.

How come the funniest
job postings
are for things I'm utterly
not qualified.

Like this one.

Or the Time Out web developer job
that was written entirely in code.

Curse you geeks!

.and oh...

It's not my fault,
you made me yell at you.
I was on the phone with
my mother
and you started harassing me
in your ugly low-rider.
I don't care if it was the Bronx
and I was wearing a skirt,
a girl is trying to listen to her
mother.

That's why I had to yell at you.
That's why I had to scream,
"You can fuck off now"
in the middle of the street.
Near children.

I hate you.

.and maybe you're right.

Two "political" tidbits for today:

1. If you're not from New York, or maybe if you are and you're just confused, This American Life had a whole segment dedicated to the madness in #410 - Social Contract. Sometimes in the midst of the wonky eye and the lack of leadership, you forget how nice and charming David Paterson is. But that doesn't matter, because he's gone in November.
2. I'm sure if this was a Republican senator I'd be frustrated, but since it's Al Franken, it's cute and funny. He's pretty good actually.
   

.maybe I'm wrong.

I took the new
orange line M
and I still don't understand it.

No likey.

Explain this.

.yes, for those who think it still exists.

Play Me, I'm Yours
is a fantastic public arts project
that puts pianos
in public spaces.



Luckily,
Seward Park across the street from me
is home to one
and I saw this after a trip to grab
an iced latte
(my expensive addiction)

.for kids that think it still exists.

I was going to talk about the
oil spill and how it makes me
sick and looking at large
bodies of water
and thinking about them ebbing and flowing
of oil instead of water
almost made me vomit into the Hudson

but

I'd rather share the story of a
small Chinese boy (3ish)
at the corner of Eldridge (a street filled with....lets just say, mysteries) and East Broadway,
with his father watching,
taking a dump on the sidewalk.
Pants down,
butt out,
little pooplettes on the sidewalk
like a Chihuahua had just passed.
Seriously Dad?
Seriously Chinatown?
Seriously kid?
You're a bit too old to not
be able to hold it in.

And any restaurant should be understanding.
In Mandarin
or English
or whatever.
Most people, I think,
internationally,
have sympathy for a pained-gotta-go kid.

I just want to know if Dad had a poop bag ready
and picked it up.
But that oil-induced sickness
was coming back
and I decided to go home.

.and oh..take me off your mailing list.

.where I'd happily drown.

Iz
been
in
dis
city
threeee
yearz.

Yeesh.

.but you're still the one pool.

(from Aman*Duh flickr)

I think this is a most
appropriate
image to mark my 3 years living
in New York City.

Ha!

.jesus, where do I start?

I don't know
what the rest of the world is
talking about
when they say that Americans
don't like soccer because
every bar
I saw was showing most of
the World Cup games
if not just the USA ones.
(okay, so I live in the microcosm known as New York City)

My friends and I had
no problem just walking a
few blocks near my apartment
and finding
several bars
showing the USA v. England game.

We picked Bunny Chow.
It was okay.
My doorman hates me
because I'm supporting England.

And what the fuck Green?!?!
What was that fuck-up in the first half.
You could have won the game.
I don't hate you because
I know you're beating yourself up.
It's okay.
I still love you guys.

.like a death of the heart.

Ohhhhh, it's all coming together now.
I think I understand....EVERYTHING.....

.that you hear through your wall.

Tiny's is back!
(see 5/22 blog post)
Same sandwiches and all,
exactly
what I need,
more food with a ridiculous
amount of calories.

Mmmm....calories.

.like a death in the hall.

Things I didn't know,
and am ashamed I didn't know,
Greenland is in North America
not Europe.

Although, some of the answers to the
How many countries are in North America?
on Yahoo Answers
is
so
fucking
sad.

.but we're fresh out of shout.

Music/Pop-Culture I Know I Shouldn't Like but I Do Edition.

1. I don't really like Tom Cruise and I have honestly have no opinion of Robert Pattinson (not good, not bad, not eh....just, no opinion whatsoever) but I thought the final scene with Les Grossman was fucking hilarious in Tropic Thunder and the ads for the MTV Movie Awards (gosh, I might have to miss it again this year) are pretty funny. Not laugh-out-loud funny but funny. Actually, now that I think about it, the ads for the Movie Awards/spoofs are usually the best part by far - most of them involving Ben Stiller. I love Ben Stiller. Call me, we'll hang out. Have a beer. Talk. It'll be great Ben.

2. As usual, it takes me about two months to warm up to any Lady Gaga song. I mean, it's gotten to the point where I hear them and actively ignore them knowing that I will be two months behind everyone else. Alejandro? I think nothing of your now (actually I think you're a bit too 90s Madonna and Ace of Base, but that'll change), but you will be on my iPod by August. So, with that being said, I'm just know getting addicted to Telephone (no, not the video, the video is unbearable and I will not go into the whole, what do I think of Lady Gaga thing). But my big question is the line that Beyonce (in her usual taking the singing way out of context) sings, "And I am sick and tired of my phone ringing/Sometimes I feel like I live in Grand Central Station." Wait, what does that mean?!? Are phones constantly ringing in Grand Central? I've never noticed that. The next line is, "Tonight I'm not taking no calls cause I'll be dancing." Does it have to do with that? I don't understand it! Does it have something to do with the double negative and you will be taking phone calls because you feel like Grand Central? Do you feel like a large train station that goes to Westchester? What is it Beyonce. Tell me your secrets gypsy woman!

3. I like Lily Allen. I don't care what Perez Hilton says. I think Not Fair is funny and so is the video.

4. Brett Michaels is repulsive and we should ignore him.

5. I have two new songs to add to my goody-gum-drops favorite list and neither of them are recent; I am so off the bandwagon the dust has already settled and other fallen members have started their own functioning community. The first is Mapaputsi's Kleva Kasilam (click for video). It's a music genre called kwaito, which is like South African trip-hop (Does anyone use that phrase anymore? They should, it works as a description of some types of music). I did not know of this; I learned something new. So there you go. The second is Crustation's Purple from 1998 (?) (again, click for video - I'm linking videos because both songs were incredibly hard to find for download or find out information about the artists - generally I think most music videos are counteractive in a song's enjoyment) which has a hook that has gotten stuck in my head several times since I first heard it.

6. Last but not least I'm going to make a statement that I mentioned awhile back to some friends but will make public on this blog. I'm not saying this in any ironic sense or to be funny (well, sort of, because I realize how ridiculous it makes me sound), I'm being dead serious when I say: I think Toto's Africa is one of the best songs ever. There, I said it. Come on, doesn't it sound like it seriously would take waaaay more than hundred men to drag him away from you? When David Paich and Bobby Kimball sing it, I believe it. This takes a lot for me to say because let's face it, Toto sucks. Toto is generic 70s/80s rock music that's always playing in a bar with wood paneling and a bar tender named Jim with a handlebar mustache. Nick Andopolis (look at this clip from the show, love this clip from the show) from Freaks and Geeks loves Toto. I do not. But I think Nick and I would agree on the awesomeness of Africa.

7. That's all. Okay, bye.