Urban Life Decay

Thank You for My Life - R.I.P. Hilly Kristal

2007-08-29T15:37:00.000-05:00

I'd like to dedicate a post to the recently deceased Hilly Cristal, founder of CBGB's. This man is responsible for so much of the person who I am now. I'm not going to go on about how if CBGB's wasn't around, who knows whether punk rock would have had the impact it did. I'm not one of the hundreds of experts that I'm sure will be contemplating that very concept within the near future, but I do know this.
That there have been few moments that I will forever remember and cherish in my life. In the top three of that illustrious list is a night in the summer of 2004 when I got to have the privilege of playing on the very stage that Lou Reed, Patty Smith, Blondie and The Ramones, just to name a few, have laid their footprint on.
I actually have been quite lucky in the musical highlights of my life. I've played The Knitting Factory and my I have played my drums in the illustrious Carnegie Hall. But none of those times even pale in comparison to the experience I had playing on stage at CBGB's. Nor did I take advantage either, anyone who was in attendance I'm sure will vouch for the fact that I made complete use of the stage and it's surrounding areas.

So to the deceased...
thank you for my life.

NY Times

The Revolution Will Be Advertised.

2007-08-23T21:27:00.000-05:00

What better way to utilize the image of social revolution than to hype up your new fall line?

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable, wehave to change it every six months"- Oscar Wilde

This is EXACTLY how I felt.

2007-08-22T16:52:00.001-05:00

Ahh nerds. I'm so glad there are others in the universe who share my thoughts and views.

courtesy of penny-arcade.com

Famous people I saw on the ferry today...

2007-08-20T08:43:00.000-05:00

I thought this would be a fun regular post. I didn't realize how many famous people commuted into the city from Staten Island on the ferry! I give you my oath that from now on I will log these sightings, and if any one else happens to take the ferry and has a brush with a celebrity post it in the replies.
(Hopefully one say i'll figure out how to take pictures of these people)

Stuart Scott, Newscaster for ESPN SportsCenter

Stefanie Eulinberg, drummer for Kid Rock

Ron Burgundy, Channel 4 News, San Diego

Phorget about Photoshop !

2007-08-13T13:36:00.000-05:00

After using this application, you won't even remember that Photoshop exists. This is the application that everyone is talking about. This is the future of digital design is here.

Privacy, Technology, Hypocricy

2007-08-09T10:53:00.000-05:00

I am an obsessive frequenter of Digg.com And though Digg now includes a wide array of topics; including sports, politics, celebrity gossip, etc.; it is still greatly populated by technology related stories.
I think those who frequent Digg.com can agree that the audience is more liberal than not. The top stories are constantly populated by political blunders and criticism. A frequent topic of which is President Bush and the NSA's continued efforts at the invasion of our privacy. Stories about wire tapping and bills that are slowly taking away the liberty and freedom that this country is supposed to stand for.
Another highly popular topic are Web 2.0 sites, (i.e. YouTube, Flikr, MySpace, Facebook, Blogging, etc...) There is a feeling of enthusiasm, optimism and interest in these sites. Whenever there is an update, new feature, or new player in the game, Digg is the place that covers it.

Am I the only one who sees a bit of hypocrisy in this?
We are complaining and mocking a government which imposes restrictions and infringes on our rights as citizens of a free state, yet we also willfully relinquish them simultaneously. Let me explain.
A few months ago, I remember stealing a New York Magazine from my school's library to check out the interesting cover story (it was an old issue, so don't make me out to be a bastard).

The article was called Say Everything, it was a brilliant story written by Emily Nussbaum; if you get the chance please read. She spoke about how the slowly but surely, the younger generations are becoming more and more prevalent and participatory in the new Web 2.0 sites. These sites prosper on user generated content. Different outlets to give users a voice on the internet present lots of updated and occasionally rich content. And what do the users present more and more as content? I think the cover of last year's time magazine person of the year put it very succinctly. Us !

Users post themselves on the internet, ALOT of themselves. Our thoughts, hopes and dreams in journals like xanga.com and livejournal.com; where we've been and what we've been doing on photo sites like flickr.com, photobucket.com and google images. We post ourselves on youtube, myspace, facebook, (and to a former extent friendster). Now we constantly update what we're doing with twitter.

The article speaks of how the younger the user, the more instances of themselves on the internet there are. That is because we are loosing our grip on privacy. Older generations can't understand why you would want to post pictures of yourself throwing up on your friend's girlfriend, yet younger generations see it as essential. It is shameless self promotion, press coverage to give yourself a fanbase and a pseudo-celebrity sense of life. (Don't these kids watch VH1? Celebrities are always fucked up, you don't want this!)

I understand how there is a fine line between giving up information willingly and the government taking it without our consent. But in the direction we're going, all they'll have to do is sign up for a facebook account. I wonder what they'll put under music ... I'll bet Cheney is really into Journey.

note: I am in no way defending the actions of this presidency, the republican party, NSA or Journey. I am simply commentating on recent trends that have become apparent to me.

NASA's about to kill us all !

2007-08-09T10:10:00.001-05:00

Is it the plot of the next James Bond movie? Or is this going to be for real?

As NASA continues baffle us with their financial allocation, (Do we really need a station on the the moon?), their newest effort has take a page straight from Hollywood.

Probably inspired by studying highly fact based plots of "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon", NASA has decided to build a nuke packing space craft to blast any life threatening asteroids ('A global killer' I believe is how Billy Bob Thorton PHD put it) out of harm's way.

Now is it just me or is it that no computer system is safe these days. All it takes is one guy who can infiltrate the network, reset a few things and BOOM, he can hold the world ransom for 100 billion dollars*, (or a pre-release of Starcraft 3, which is probably more likely).

It looks like 00 agent Daniel Craig is going to be in need very soon.
Either that or another rousing rendition of "Leavin' on a Jet Plane" by Ben Affleck ... who am I kidding, Shia Labeouf. In which case the asteroid might be a much prefered demise.

*Dr. Evil

(I'd like to apologize in advance to my friend Vito, who when he gets back and actually reads this, will make sure I can't use a keyboard for the rest of my life)

Halal King

2007-08-03T15:24:00.000-05:00

Since beginning to work at the Astor Center, it's been a quest of mine to seek out the best and cheapest food I can spend my lunch money on. After frequenting the pizza place on St. Marks and Le Basket, a hot deli, I was looking for something new. While on my short odysseys through out the NoHo/SoHo are I couldn't help but notice the abundance of Halal food trucks sprinkled about the streets. I gave a few a shot and found that the best one in my area had to be the guy on 4th st. and Broadway. I dedicated a twitter to him and my new found dream of having a Halal foods truck instead of a kitchen.

Today I also dedicated to him my day's lunch expenses. While standing on line, Joe Strummer was telling me about how the Clash City Rockers was moving the town, I was trading a few glances at the attractive 30 something standing adjacent to me (not pictured; she was either some kind of euro trash tourist or east village hipster, it's hard to distinguish these days but either way, we had something ...) I snapped off a few photos with my trusty digi cam to post.

You can't see it, but apparently my friend Sammy here was voted the number one Halal food plate in New York. Congrats buddy. And at $3.99, you'd have to be stupid or really xenophobic not to allow your taste buds to dance with this spell of deliciocity.

Sammy has, on Justin's shoulders of course, brought sexy back to the Halal foods industry. My desk has never looked so good. If you're ever in the area please don't torture yourself and not partake in this absolutely delectable potpourri of deliciousness.

What to eat with Cristal.

2007-08-01T11:06:00.000-05:00

Doing internet research for a budding wine establishment, I am emerged in a culture to which I have only experienced the most mainstream of constructs. Looking into the internet technology endeavours in terms of wine, I didn't as much as stumble, as fall into the huge enterprise known as Wine Library TV. It is hosted by the extremely eccentric Gary Vaynerchuck. He gives a very unique voice to the wine tasting community.
This is a clip from a palette training episode with a banger ending.

It's hard to be angry about society with quality comedy like this ...

2007-04-10T20:31:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of myextralife.com

In AD2101 War Was Beginning ...

2007-04-10T20:25:00.000-05:00

"The Hills of Los Angeles are Burning"

2007-04-01T00:27:00.001-05:00

Cahuenga Pass Fire
Originally uploaded by ☮flickrwhikr™.

Greg Graffin would be proud. I wonder if these kids even listen to Bad Religion...

Sweden's most underappreciated import.

2007-03-31T10:55:00.000-05:00

Aside from Ikea furniture, meatballs and blonde haired lasses, I know very little about out nordic mates. The few facts or superfluous information I may be able to regurgitate from Wayne Campbell's 5th grade report are really the only formal schooling I've had in this nation. But I do know that this is still fucking hilarious ...

"Infinity on MedLow"

2007-01-24T14:01:00.000-05:00

I got a leak of the new Fall Out Boy Album "Infinity On High" About a week ago. I downloaded it while I was at work and was excited to listen to it on my drive home. I was excited for a few reasons.
1. This was one of my most anticipated albums of 2007.
2. I wanted to see what Jay-Z and Babyface could do with a great pop-punk band at his disposal
3. After hearing the somewhat disappointing first single "This aiint a Scene It's an Arms Race", I convinced myself the first single is rarely a good depiction of the rest of the album.

On one of my growingly routine drives home from Westchester to Staten Island, I listened to the album about 3 times. Each time less fulfilling than the first. The first listen to a FOB album usually consists of an indecipherable collection of vowels put to a catchy melody. Slowly but surely the words become clear.
The album starts off with a clean guitar riff and arguably the most recognizable voice, that of Jay-Z, introducing the album. Which then gives way to an almost expected pop hardcore break down of thirty-second note double kick bashes and muted guitars. Patrick Stump then silences his bandmates with a the most stunning imitation of Beyonce pop-punk has ever seen. This diva-punk (as i now dub it) performance sends messages to acts like Cartel's Will Pugh that Stump's vocal runs are second to none. The Mariah Carey like vocals continue for the rest of the record as he belts out the line that will be the future away messages of our friend's little sisters.

Or will they ...

I'm sure they will, but from a lyrical aspect it seems Pete Wentz is a few cracks in his heart short of fans are used to. The album differs from the rest of their catalog sonically (which I will get to in a minute) as well as vocally. I give credit to FOB for taking their sound in a new direction. But it seems that heartbreak is what brings out Pete and the boys' lyrics to the forefront of the scene. The first single "This aiint a scene it's an arms race" While addressing their new found, and apparently unwelcome fame, lacks in the quotable lines that are rivaled only perhaps by the channel 9 news team in Anchorman. "I'm like a lawyer the way i'm always trying to get you off" while having a clever and elongated title is probably one of the most generic pop songs in pop punk history. The threateningly pretentious choir breakdown in "Hum Hallelujah" hopefully is not a sign of things to come. The darkness that many consoled and basked in is apparently starting to clear up. But I guess that what happens anytime your sophomore release goes platinum. Perhaps it will return along with a highly anticipated behind the music expose.

Sonically I find myself disappointed in the performance. While I am glad they are using their new found fame to experiment a bit with sound, the fact that most of the album is in what seems like half time makes me reach for "Take This To Your Grave" to reminds me these are the same guys. The staccato, dub like guitar parts make me yearn for the pounding of sixteenth note progressions that made me fall in love with this band. Though I am thoroughly impressed with the composition of "The (After) Life Of The Party".

All in all I say that this album is worth a listen or two, but lack the replay value of the prior albums. Give it a download, check out their show. They sill rock live, though I wish Peter would stop thinking his Bass neck is a picture of Morissey, stop licking it and play the damn thing. but then again he's not doing it for me. He's doing it for the 13 year old girls in front of me who are actually going to spend money on the cd's and shirts. But if anything guys "Thnks fr th Mmrs"

now press repeat.

Jap's Favorite Tracks: Thriller, The (After) Life of the Party, Fame < Infamy

Yule Shoot Your Eye Out

2006-12-03T18:44:00.000-05:00

Working in a the mecca of American consumption, a mall, forces you to become very aware of the arrival of the holiday season. (And I do use the word "mecca" very distinctly, because I am referring to the holiest of destinations where the entire population flocks to, with distance and weather being little to no factor.) Working in a mall, you don't sense the coming of the holiday season through slowly integrating songs played annually on the radio, the changing weather (the fact that a mall is always perfect shopping temperature and the fact that our environment is so fucked up that seasons mean about as much as what ever fuck color we're in on the Homeland Security Advisory System) or in the decorations that begin to pop up all over your hometown. Terms like "Black Friday" begin to get tossed around, everything gets either bigger or longer. The stock shipments, the return policies, the mall hours all have expanded to accommodate our mid-winter rituals. (Bears sleep, we shop, who's the smarter ones?)

This is by far, the most important season for our economy. A time that gives a context in which grown men, who have suits they never wear that are worth more than your life, are at an equal level to children, in the sense that it is anticipated all year by both the impatient, over-zealous ones who just don't know any better, as well as children. It is the quintessential example of what we are. A population who have taken something so utterly sacred, and have diluted it of any and/or all meaning. I am in no way a theist, nor do I support any form of organized religion, but I am still aware of this holiday's religious origins. We as a population love to take the most appealing aspects of different practices of subcultures and assimilate them in to our mainstream culture. But in doing so, we are loosing the meaning in the original form of these practices. So then what are we left with? A hollow, shallow, shell of something that has lost all meaning. But in an age of apathy and ignorance where things are rarely questioned, meaning is meaningless.

We are a society who exists on the three basic premises: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Some may interpret the later of the three parts as saying that it is no the job of the government or it people to please everyone. But I see it as a declaration of the never ending quest of insatiable materialism that runs our economy. It dawned on me the other day at work, that this idea is instilled in us from the minute we're born.

It all starts on our first experience of whatever mid-winter holiday our family celebrates. Much like a junky's first encounter with their drug of choice. "The first one's always free." As a child, you have no money, no means of income. So you are simply given your first taste of materialism. That action figure, or video game system, or new bicycle is just given to you, no strings attached. You're not old enough to question this, or develop any kind of skepticism about a catch or trick that may be played on you. There is, you're just unaware. The following years you begin to compile lists beginning the minute after you've just received your heart's desires. You begin to want and want, more and more. There's a newer version of that popular mp3 player, this one's got a nacho cheese dispenser! There's nothing wrong with the mp3 player you already posses, you don't even like cheese that much, it gives you gas, but fuck if there's that one time where you're caught with dry nachos or Johnny Acquaintance has it and you're stuck with your now lackluster hand held electronic that could feed an impoverished family for a month. You're now stuck in the rat race to get all this stuff that begins to loose it's appeal the minute you acquire it.

Have we really come to the point where we need a designated time to be altruistic? Where in some cases we are forced to give gifts that we don't even want to give? Yes. Proof? The invention by some brilliant marketing analyst of the gift card. The most impersonal way to spend your money on someone else. Just slightly more meaningful that just handing them money or giving them straight up cash, in the fact that you had to get up off your ass from watching YouTube and drag yourself to the mall to buy the little piece of plastic that just constricts where they can spend the money.
Note: on the brilliance of the giftcard.
You buy a $20 dollar gift card at Best Buy. Nothing will come out to exactly $20. Not only are you giving them business. You are forcing more. A DVD that will cost $18.50 with tax still leaves 1.50 on the card. Now this will either cause the gift card holder to buy something else that they will contribute that 1.50 to or just leave it on the card never to spend it. All the $0.20 and $0.15 balances that people leave on the cards add up to millions of dollars that are more or less just given to the company.

Take this however you want, but I hope you've left enlightened. Because I fear the most enlightenment people are receiving online are chain letters containing false (no matter how true the letter says it is) heartbreaking stories about a lost lover or family member that NEEDS to be fowarded to 10 more people or else some unfortunate events will happen to you.
Safe and Happy Holidays to everyone.
No War, No Draft, God Save the Queen, Seacrest Out.