last week nate had a friend in town from chicago. so we tried to show her some fun new york bars. on tuesday we started off at black and white to dance to some oldies, and ended up at happy endings. towards the end of the evening, nate really hit a wall.


on friday, karen had an art opening at her store in carroll gardens. the stuff was really good. old printed cartoons and clip art screenprinted on glossy, brightly colored canvases. the schillers even made a purchase. here's karen in front of some of the pieces.


at the show, jacque served up some hangovers. but she saved most of them for herself.


this place does it all. they should use neon lights. and for an extra $5, they'll gift wrap.


fire when ready. matthew low had a game night on saturday, and remember the shocker game? well really, who could forget. anyway, this is similar, except these are remote control tanks, and whoever gets shot, gets shocked. pretty brilliant. it's like the original atari game, combat, but more sadistic.


thanks for the party, matt. and i hope we all get to see pictures soon. no excuses. not with that pretty new camera of yours.

Labels: my week

So, once you roll out of bed go ahead and make your way over to Prospect Park for Lily's Super-Dope Birthday Brunch'n'Picnic in the Park SpringFest 2007! We'll be in the picnic area by the 9th street/prospect park west entrance. There will be bocce, food, booze, and cake, but bring whatever else you like. There may also be a dramatic re-enactment of Spiderman 3 by Nathan Manske acted out via interpretive dance and frequent somerassaults. BYOProtective padding.

What: Total Picnic Awesomeness
When: this Sunday, May 6th, 1ish.
Where: Prospect Park picnic area, by 9th Street & Prospect Park West
How: F train to 7th Avenue & 9th St., or the 2/3 to Grand Army Plaza
Who: meeeeee!
Why: meeeeee! and the nice weather and bocce and cake and booze, dur!

Call if you need directions, motivation, or you know, just to talk. sometimes we just need to talk it out. Lily's cell: 917-502-9460.

Let's do this,
Lily

Seriously, OMFG, why have I never heard of this site before. For some of you this may creep you out, for others like Nate he's probably used to the webcam action. Basically, this site connects two random people via video chat, you have 5 minutes to chat and that's it, poof you're done. I won't even go into the three Italian dudes I met (wink wink). Check out 5 Minute Friend.

Labels: friends, ichat, webcam

In their own words:

"You meet a band. You take them outside, in the streets, and ask them to play there, shoot the movie in one unique shot, whatever happens. Those are the Take-Away Shows, the weekly Video podcast from french weblog La Blogothèque."

Labels: blogotheque, music, podcasts, videos

and i thought dating in new york was hard.

Labels: wtf

The A.V. Club has a nice round up of Kurt Vonnegut quotes.

Labels: literature, r.i.p., vonnegut

if you're on acid.

Labels: botanical gardens, nyc

it's official. our prayers have been answered. spring has sprung. winter really seemed to linger this year, and i bitched a whole lot. but now that i think about it, it really wasn't any worse than previous springs. april always sucks. i think it seemed worse this year because i was outside for five hours a day, three or four days per week, and it was consistently cold. well, actually, we did break records for the coldest april in new york. so maybe the bitching was warranted. but anyway, now that spring is here, yes, you ARE beautiful. and so is everyone without those big bulky coats...


this week, our favorite band from austin, texas, ghostland observatory, blew through town. we gathered up the GLO posse, and went and watched the boys strut their stuff to a sold-out bowery ballroom. their fans are never afraid to show their love:


once the warm weather finally arrived on thursday, i strolled about aimlessly, and took pictures of my hood. i have a crush on my bridge. she's gorgeous. and i think i love her.


as jacquie posted previously, we went to the brooklyn botanical gardens on saturday. we try and do that at least once a year, and it's sort of becoming a tradition. this year we beat the crowd as the official cherry blossom festival is this upcoming weekend. preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty!


while we were chilling out under the not-quite-blossoming cherry trees, we were admiring this kid's bag of grass.


on saturday, we braved the misshapes crowd to see the GLO again. believe it or not, jacquie bobbled a drink or seven. nate thought she could use a blow job to help dry off.


"that's rock 'n roll"


the sun is shining, the flowers are out in full force, blue skies, birds, bees, love is in the air...happy spring!

Labels: Ghostland Observatory, my week

speaking of sunshine... and super furry animals...

Labels: animals, knut, videos

:: hello sunshine :: super furry animals

Labels: botanical gardens, nyc

today was a gorgeous day for walking a dog and visiting a few cats. after dropping off the bike at the mobile mutts office, i happened to meet tom otterness. mr. otterness is a sculptor, and his pieces can be found throughout new york, as well as the world. his most recognizable pieces (at least to me) may be from the 14th street L and ACE subway station. his studio is in a huge warehouse right next door to the mobile mutts office. i've noticed it before when the gates are up, and i've recognized his style. but today, he was sitting at a table eating chinese food, so i decided to stop and say hi. inside the warehouse/studio there are countless sculptures in various stages of completion. huge molds in flat white are scattered about wrapped in clear plastic, and some pieces nearing completion sit shining dully in their more familiar bronze, waiting to be re-located to some unknown location. some of the pieces are twenty-feet tall, and some are no larger than a football.

mr. otterness was very kind and easy to talk to, so we spoke for a few minutes. i found out that he hails from wichita, and moved to new york when he was 18. for thirty-something years he has lived on stanton street in the LES in a rent-stabalized apartment, and joked that he is trying to stay there longer than the landlord can stay alive. he moved his studio next door to the mobile mutts office in carroll gardens six months ago from dumbo. i also met his dog, shoop, and gave gave the little australian shephard some dog treats. it was a nice little surprise on this beautiful sunday afternoon.

Labels: art, brooklyn, nyc, tom otterness

Tom's friend John's uncle James Whitney 's (whew!) Lapis will screen at the Whitney on May 23rd.

Labels: art, film, music, the whitney, videos

even with the observatory...
we're still never gonna be able to see this meteor shower from the dancefloor at misshapes.

Labels: Ghostland Observatory, nyc, planet earth, texas

a) Who's going tonight?
b) I have a spare ticket if anyone needs one...$25

Labels: concerts, hot chip, music, nyc

It's a bird...
It's a plane...
It's...it's...Democrats as Superheroes!
United against the real evil-doers (coughBUSHADMINISTRATIONcough) and fighting for truth, justice, and obviously, the American way.

Labels: humor, politics, superheroes, videos

no surprise to anyone here,
but ghostland killed it last night at bowery. i'm far too hungover to actually compose any further thoughts about it - so here's a pictorial narrative instead:



















don't miss them at misshapes saturday. next time they're in town they'll be selling out webster. just sayin.

Labels: bowery ballroom, concerts, friends of LDT, Ghostland Observatory, music, nyc

fast food: ads vs. reality
guess that's why food stylists get the big bucks
?

(link from boing boing

Labels: advertising, fast food

yesterday really sucked for america. some psycho got jealous, and killed 33 people at virginia tech. i'm very sorry for the victims and their families for this senseless, cowardly act. and thanks a lot, cho. you fuck. america is not only hated throughout the world because of our war, but now other countries are going to be laughing at us, thinking we're killing ourselves. soon we're going to have metal detectors in all of our schools, grocery stores, and probably my kitchen. not that any of that matters, when thirty-three lives were taken. what a damn shame.


wheeeeeeeee! moving on. how many french bulldogs and boston terriers can you fit in an elevator? probably more than four. but this is all i'm allowed to walk at a time.


dear mother nature. i know we've all been pissing you off lately, with global warming and all. but please, hear this prayer. on behalf of all new yorkers, we're all trying our best to become green, and do our part to prevent anymore pollution and melting of the ice caps. so if we're really really good, you think we could have some spring now? please? and look at these eyes. how can you refuse? please?


tom had a birthday this week. seriously. do we look like we're joking?


here's the birthday boy. and just to clarify, his hat says, "i don't wanna grow up!". yeah. honest.


the team here at 'let's do this'. most of us anyway.


here's the happy couple enjoying some birthday fondu. happy birthday, tom!


saturday night, nate and i sat on a curb and took the pepsi/coke challenge, and we decided they both taste great. like vodka.


then later that night, we ended up at the crackers-united loft party. we gotta get ourselves one of these cameras. thanks for the photo, crackers. and great party!

Labels: my week

alright midnight cowboys,
i've been (im)patiently waiting to post this ever since nate and i saw the poster at sunshine last month:


disco dolls in: HOT SKIN
the midnight movie @ sunshine
april 20 / 21

3D glasses included. bring your own salty nuts.
you'll be blown away?
um, glued to your seat?
did somebody say grindhouse?
ok fine, the best joke is already in the poster.

for more hard facts, read between the imdb plot keywords: 3 dimensional / hardcore / sex

Labels: 3D, hot skin, movies, porn, sunshine theater

- a woman at the MoMA store

get your panties out of a bunch lady,
i was just looking for this:

...an exuberant romp through the popular field of dreams known as cinema with Slavoj Zizek, the irrepressible Slovenian psychoanalyst and philosopher. Zizek not only presents clips from films by Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, and the Marx Brothers, to name a few, but makes his points by inserting himself into some of the films. Originally a three-part Channel 4/More 4 documentary, Fiennes's exhilarating exegesis on the constant interplay between the unconscious mind and the movies is about "the ultimate pervert art. It doesn't give you what you desire—it tells you how to desire" (Zizek).


sophie fiennes's the pervert's guide to cinema
@ MoMA
april 18–23, 2007
screening info here

what can i say, i like my philosophy in popcorn size bites.
(preferably with some peanut M&Ms.)

Labels: exuberant romp, movies, pervert's guide to cinema, philosophy, slavoj zizek

in like a lion.

out like a whiney bitch.

Labels: nyc, weather

also TONIGHT:

kaiser chiefs
@ virgin megastore union square, 5:30 pm
:: ruby :: from new album yours truly, angry mob


dangerous muse
@ hiro ballroom, 11 pm (rsvp here)
:: the rejection ::

Labels: dangerous muse, free, kaiser chiefs, music, nyc

Blonde Redhead to play at the Apple Store in Soho tonight at 8:00. they rock. takers?

---

download :: 23 :: from new album, uh, 23
and check out this pretty new viddy

Labels: blonde redhead, free, music, videos

A bunch of stuff I've been meaning to post about:

Colour by numbers. Guess I should've been a bit faster on the draw.

A cool magazine.


Ira!

Color, revisited.

When I was in kindergarten, we celebrated hobo day.

Feel your way.

We like the smart boys. And girls.

From my favorite show - Discover!

Labels: art, beautiful decay, books, design, hobo, ira glass, magazine, micro museum, music, npr, performance, phylotaxis, science, sound seeker, this american life

we begin last monday, which was passover. i attended my very first seder. it was pretty casual and informal, but i learned a thing or two about judaism. having worked for an orthodox jewish family for over two years, and living in a hassidic jewish neighborhood, you would think that i'd know a little bit about them. but i don't. all i know is the exact moment that shabbos begins every friday because of the air raid horns announcing sundown. but after tasting the sadness, happiness, bitterness, sweetness, and an amazing amount of wine and manischewitz, and taking turns reciting the poems and explanations, i came away realizing that as a general religion, they are very open and accepting of most everyone, even those of alternative lifestyles. i know there are extremists in every religion, but i now feel like these people are onto something. it was quite a learning experience, and i'm glad to have done it. i look forward to attending one next year. here is a seder plate:


we move on to wednesday, where birthday boy andrew borin, along with his friend shannon, spun at botanica. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!! more on his actual party in a moment.


on thursday, after shooting a commercial all day, nate was shocked at how much redbull they put in his vodka at gym. no, not the gym. just gym, a gay bar in chelsea. it's actually the same spot where we watched the ball go through tony romo's hands on that cold, cold, january night. hmm. too many jokes in this one. my words should be chosen more carefully, methinks...nah.


after leaving nate at gym, i went to meet up with one of my favorite jews in the whole world: jacquie. i joined her at the friction party at mercury, thrown by our fellow bloggers, crackers-united. hey! i got my jersey juice taken from me! oh well, it was almost gone. and that's what i get for acting like i was in one of nate's commercials.


on saturday, we move on to la palapa where we began the celebration of andrew's birthday, which entailed lunch and drinks, followed by a scavenger hunt and drinking, and then a movie, and then more drinking. and to continue with the theme of passover, here are two more of my favorite jews in the whole world: sarah lewitinn, and andrew borin. here sarah shows that jews can get rough when need be. SHALOM!


one of the items for the hunt that needed to be photographed was bodyshots at mars bar. here shannon illustrates perfect form. i think her quote afterwards was something like, "ew! all i could taste was hair and whiskey!!"


a photo of a hell's angel was also on the scavenger hunt list. so we found one, and when asked if he would be in a photo for our hunt, the hell's angel replied, "no stupid shit." we weren't sure if he was calling us stupid shit, or if he meant no shenanigans, either way we chose to not take any chances, and just took a pic of a killer bike.


too much birthday party for one hand...well, for one week, really. happy passover, and happy birthday, andrew.

Labels: my week