You're Avante Garde Indie. You listen to abstract music like free-jazz and Krautrock. You drink too much coffee and you scare the fuck out of the rest of us. We're afraid to call you pretentious because we know that we all just don't get it. There are few of you out there, and most of you will probably die soon. You Know Yer Indie. Let's Sub-Categorize. brought to you by Quizilla
This will have to last through Monday... 1. What did you do in 2003 that you'd never done before? Contributed $$$ to a political campaign. 2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Don't generally make specific resolutions other than to be true to myself. I am resolving to quit (or more likely, drastically cut down on) drinking. It's been 17 days... 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Not that I recall, though Frandie announced they're expecting early next year! :-) 4. Did anyone close to you die? No. Knock…
It's been a long time since I've walked out on a movie. It has to be really, really bad for me to call it a loss and give in. Dragnet (the Tom Hanks/Dan Akroyd version) was pretty damn terrible but I stuck it out to the disappointing end. Same for American Beauty. Not so The Cat in the Hat. We caught a matinee on Saturday and lasted 40 minutes before giving up. It didn't help that it was India's first movie and we found out she's not a movie baby. That didn't happen until we were 30 minutes into the…
Add Tito Puente's to my short list of favorite restaurants; top of the list on City Island. Went last night for Salomé's birthday and I am still full! We both had these monster seafood dishes - lobster, snow crab, scallops, clams, mussels, oh my!; her's with pasta, mine with mofongo, both in an amazing red sauce - along with a filling appetizer of lobster empanadas, coconut shrimp, maduros and tostones. Yum! Their mojitos are really good, too; nice and smooth, less hardcore than Esperanto's. It's on the pricey side and I'd never go anywhere near it on the weekends, but…
It's an old joke that people have kids so they can have an excuse to play with toys again. While certainly not the only reason - they can have a nice affect on your taxes, too! - it's definitely in the Top 10, and Isaac's 3rd birthday proved to be a veritable bonanza. After getting a bunch of Crayola art supplies, including a cool desk/easel, from us on Friday, we threw him a party at Chuck E. Cheese on Sunday with a bunch of his cousins and friends, and we...I mean HE, made out like a bandit! He got more…
Omar just called: LA beats Union Square (2001 redux?) while Nuyorican beats Urbana, ensuring NYC’s streak of Finals appearances since 1996 (at least) continues. They also landed someone named Jive Poet, ranked 7th overall, in the indie finals. (Celena Glenn was Urbana’s top individual @ 21, Ta’i Freedom Ford for Union Square @ 45.)
Had the winners of both of those wrong (Urbana & Los Feliz) in my predictions. We’ll see how the other two turn out. I picked Austin and Chicago-Wicker Park, though an Omaha upset would be a special kind of cool.
It’s weird, being home this year. Last year I really missed it and it was the beginning of the end for the Virginia experiment. This year, I’m rather ambivalent about it. I would have liked to see some people I haven’t seen in quite a while and taken part in the general festivities but at the same time, I have little interest in the competition itself beyond rooting for various friends to do well. That said, I’m a bit nonplussed about Union Square’s results. To be honest, it’s exactly what I expected based on their matchups in the first round. From what I’ve heard, they came out on fire the first night with Trent Lott, Homeland, Rakim and Other Thesis, surely not wanting to lose to the LA team that knocked us out in the 2001 NPS Semi-Finals. According to Ed, LA did it right this year in the semis, coming strong and winning with solid work. I wonder if not making the Finals means the veterans will slam yet again next season or finally step aside and give other people the opportunity to experience Nationals from the stage as opposed to the shadows. One can hope…
It's raining again here in NYC. Serious, thunder and lightning, shake the building kind of rain. Got my ass soaked heading up to the Bowery earlier. Everything but my crotch and my hair got wet! Two hours later and I'm still not completely dry. Anyway, I have a favor to ask all you random people that read this thing. I'm working on a new show idea, a monthly format with poets & musicians plus a lot of audience interaction. Think a combination of Pardon the Interruption, Politically Incorrect, Who's Line Is It Anyway and Arsenio Hall. Something like that. It…