We is Wire, and you is welcome!

They played mostly newer songs. Slightly disappointed in that but they still sound great. I made a new friend who just move here from Orlando but lost her in the crowd. Red-haired make-up artist, I hope to see you again!



Today I braved the crowds at Union Square (each year getting worse and worse) to go to Whole Foods for dinner ingredients, and also to get stuff for Angel's party tomorrow. I am making beef-tomato-zucchini-mushroom-red onion kabobs (beef currently marinating in rosemary-balsamic-extra virgin/truffle oils-black pepper) and a cucumber-sugar snap pea-radish salad.

Tonight I made a yummy, fresh dinner of pan-seared lamb shoulder with apple-mint chutney and warm peanut salad, courtesy of Padma Lakshmi. I'm Top Chef in our house!

Cock(tail) ring

Also I just copped this from Mixko Boutique in the UK. Diamonds are a girl's best friend but I prefer ceramic.

Speaking of ceramics, check these from Jonathan Adler:


I love the whale pitcher. They're one of my favorite sea creatures (especially belugas) and I want to get a collection started. So far I have wooden whales w/i whales and this one would be a great addition if only it would make an appearance at the sale this weekend:
Thursday, May 29th through Saturday, May 31st. Thu, Fri 9am—7pm; Sat 10am—6pm. 38-16 Skillman Ave at 38th St, Long Island City, Queens
The druggist jars are great as well, good for storing candy and other goodies.

Some Friday things

HOW CUTE IS THIS?? Organic cotton makeup/coin purse screenprinted with a purse design. Available from showpony at etsy. At 4x6 inches it's perfect for tucking away some lip balm and a compact for easy access in your giant tote.

I've been downloading podcasts again. Most recently, Radiolab, where I've learned about emergence and the science of love and attraction. Today I listened to The Splendid Table, where they discussed tamales served in a coffee can down south, teaching Peter Travers about wine, and great spots for picnicking (and getting picnic food) in New York City.

I need to find a way to do this - I had a radio show for about 5 years while I was in college and enjoyed it immensely. Mostly because of all the free music I had access to!


Also: WIRE!!! Tonight! My friend Richard hipped me to them back in college and I thought I'd never have a chance to see them live. Here is my chance. 7pm tonight FREE at the South Street Seaport.

I'm not Peter Fonda but...

This is a personality test I did a while ago. They've now added several more, including your well-being personality, electoral personality and travel personality (among others).

You can also connect to myDeco.com, which helps you decorate and decide on themes for your home. Right now I'm designing a bedroom in 3-D. It's all based on London but that doesn't mean you can't generate ideas!

So many things that are right with this video

Exercise is important

When did these get so cute??

I am in dire need of some new summer casual shoes. Which do you like best? Leather/canvas skimmers and seersucker sneakers available at the Tretorn online store or at Zappos. Keds available at their website.

Bike edit

We biked about 18.45 miles yesterday! Take a look.

I've been taking photos of our bikes everywhere we go - just starting this year. Kind of a visual diary of where we've been. Although, I'm thinking of getting a new one this year. My Royce Union has been great these past 2 years but the more biking we do the harder it is to keep up, on account of it being a bulldozer. I need a road bike, but it's gotta match the royal blue. Keep me posted if you hear anything - I'm 5'4" and need a coordinating bike.

Raise your hand if you loved Mr. Wizard

The New York Science Festival starts tomorrow and runs though Sunday. Here's a sampling of events:

Thursday, May 29
Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives: With Mark Oliver Everett
6:00 PM - 8:30 PM , The Paley Center for Media
Indie rock artist Mark Oliver Everett (“eels”) is joined by theoretical physicists Michio Kaku and Max Tegmark to explore his father’s astounding contribution to physics: a theory of parallel worlds. Presented in collaboration with the Paley Center for Media, the discussion follows the American premiere screening of Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives (to be broadcast this fall on NOVA).

Toil and Trouble... Stories of Experiments Gone Wrong
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM , The Moth at Symphony Space
Renowned researchers, writers, and artists, including Sam Shepard, Jim Gates, Nathan Englander, Lucy Hawking, and Michael Turner, take to the stage to tell uniquely personal stories about heroic failures, miscalculations and experiments — scientific and otherwise — gone wrong. Presented in partnership with New York's extraordinary storytelling collective, The Moth.

Friday, May 30
Cool Jobs
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM , NYU - Kimmel Center for University Life
This multi-media event for curious minds of all ages invites you to meet scientists with some of the coolest jobs in the world — from crime scene investigator and space explorer to oceanographer and Disney Imagineer.

Invisible Reality: The Wonderful Weirdness of the Quantum World
8:00 PM - 9:30 PM , NYU - Skirball Center
Join Alan Alda as he accompanies Brian Greene, Nobel Laureate William Phillips and other leading thinkers at the vanguard of quantum research on an accessible multimedia exploration of the astounding weirdness of the quantum world.

Saturday May 31
WSF Street Fair
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
The World Science Festival takes to the streets with a non-stop program of interactive exhibits, experiments, games, and shows that will entertain and inspire. Clustered on the blocks around Washington Square Park and the NYU campus, open-air stages will feature well-known musicians, authors and artists in performance. Fun for everyone from pre-teens to the curious kid in us all.

Music and the Brain
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM , Abyssinian Baptist Church
Please note change of date and time! The Abyssinian Gospel Choir joins neurologist/author Oliver Sacks and brain scientist Mark Jude Tramo in an exploration of the power of music, as the choir's performance provides a stimulating context for accounts of music’s biological foundations, and of patients whose lives were altered by the empowerment of music.

Too much stuff going on right now. There's also Sundance at BAM, many movies to see (the new Indiana Jones sequel, The Fall - thanks Deb, Reprise, Dark Knight, Get Smart), Angel's big ass party to summon the summer...

Here's where time management might be useful. Too bad I never took that course!

Epic Memorial Day Weekend

The weather cleared up just in time for Memorial Day weekend. We had brunch in the East Village at the Sunburnt Cow, which had unlimited mimosas or bloody marys included, all for $15. A great deal - too bad we couldn't say the same about the food.

On Sunday we biked over to DUMBO to check out the telectroscope. There was a huge line so we couldn't stand in front of it for long but it was still awesome to see London Bridge in the background. I wish I had a friend over there to wave at. Angelo - how far is Durham from London? We also had Patty and Chris over for Game 3 of the Western Conference. Made my (in)famous chicken wings and because of this, the Spurs won. I am not rooting for them though.

Today we biked across the Brooklyn Bridge which was overflowing with tourists. Walking in the bike lane. Then we biked all the way up 3rd Ave, had some delicious Turkish food and ended up at the Guggenheim to see the Cai Guo-Qiang exhibit, which I thought was pretty good. I loved the gunpowder paintings and the installation with the Black Rainbow, a show he did in Madrid using black firecrackers. On our way back we went through Central Park, where we spied some hula dancers on the grass. We took the Manhattan Bridge home, which was devoid of any amblers and now we are back, sweaty and stinky and waiting for our Chinese food.

Couldn't have asked for a better long weekend. The best part is, it's a short week.

Woohoo!

This damn cat

Chasing a paper napkin.

She scratches up the carpet and puts holes in the leather parts of our sofa. Takes shits in the wee hours of the mornings and spends about 10 minutes scratching and shuffling around in her litter box in order to cover it up. Loudly, I might add. In the mornings, bright and early, even on the weekends, she is up and about and wants to play.

She's a life ruiner but I love her.

Awesomest tourist attraction yet

It looks like something out of a Jules Verne novel. The "telectroscope" connects New York (at Fulton Ferry Landing in DUMBO) to London (at London Bridge) via fiber optic cables. Visitors at either end can stand in front of the screens and see each other in real time.

This will be up until June 15th. You best believe I will be making a trip!

I want it

Chloe at BG

Give it to me
I love it
Don't give it to her
You've gotta give it to me

I want it
I saw it first
I want it worse

I love it
Give it to me

I love it
I love it
Give it to me

So maybe I didn't see it first but I'm the one who wants it worse
I don't even know what I'm wantin' yet but I know I'm wantin' somethin'
I don't even know what I'm missin' yet but I know I'm missin' somethin'
And if this is my name does it have to be my life
'Cuz I'm not gonna sit around while your with your wife

I want it
Give it to me
I love it
Don't give it to her
You've gotta give it to me

Me, me, me
Me, me, me

Yeah I wouldn't know when to share and I'm suprised that I shoud dare
Well I'm the bitch and you got the itch I'm sorry said go fish
Yeah I'm the bitch and you got the itch I'm sorry said go fish

She didn't have it
He didn't have it

I will have my cake and I will eat it too just like you
You better watch out what you're wishing for
I will have my cake and I will eat it too just like you

Flicka flicka flicka
Here you are
Cata cata cata
Caterpillar girl
Flowing in
And filling up my hopeless heart
Oh never never go
Dust my lemon lies
With powder pink and sweet
The day I stop
Is the day you change
And fly away from me
You flicker
And you're beautiful
You glow inside my head
You hold me hynotized
I'm mesmerized
Your flames
The flames that kiss me dead

Where's an OTB spot when you need one

This past weekend we managed (out of sheer luck) to catch the Preakness Stakes on TV. As we were watching them lead all the horses out I picked Big Brown (the favorite) and Macho Again to win. And guess what - they did. Son of a shit!

I wish I could say I picked the little gray horse because I liked the way it moved or that I knew it had good bloodlines (because I didn't). But I've always been partial to grays.

Hoping to make it out to Belmont Park sometime this summer. I've never been to the racetrack. I've ridden and conditioned racehorses but I've never seen the end result.

21 Questions

Name: AJC
Age: 29
Neighborhood: Clinton Hill
Occupation: Professional Ass-wiper

Who's your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Spike Lee - see below!!

What's the best meal you've eaten in New York?
Blue Ribbon Grill, Xmas 2007. There was oysters, fondue, bone marrow with oxtail marmalade, duck breast, ice cream sundae.

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
I answer a lot of dumb questions and busy myself with minutiae.

Would you still live here on a $35,000 salary?
I've lived here on a $20,000 salary. How do you think I amassed so much credit card debt?!

What's the last thing you saw on Broadway?
Spring Awakening with Ryan. It was awesome.

Do you give money to panhandlers?
No.

What's your drink?
Darjeeling, jasmine-bergamot or Chinese rose petal tea in the morning, water throughout the day, and wine at night. Red during cold weather, white or rose in warm. Oh and a good scotch whiskey.

How often do you prepare your own meals?
Pretty much every day at least once.

What's your favorite medication?
Half a valium and a beer.

What's hanging above your sofa?
Thin air.

How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
$80

When's bedtime?
Now.

Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
I wish I knew what the old Times Square looked like but...whichever one had the least tourists.

What do you think of Donald Trump?
Needs to just get a buzz cut.

What do you hate most about living in New York?
The people.

Who is your mortal enemy?
Rush hour commuting.

When's the last time you drove a car?
Gee I don't know, ask Alex.

Who should be the next president?
The Brain.

Times, Post, or Daily News?
Times. Online.

Where do you go to be alone?
My head.

What makes someone a New Yorker?
When you stop caring about what other people think.

He got game

Photo from pulse2.com

40 acres and a mule is a term for compensation that was to be awarded to freed African American slaves after the Civil War— 40 acres of land to farm, and a mule with which to drag a plow so the land could be cultivated.

It started with The 25th Hour. I didn't like it when I saw it in the theater but it stuck with me. And that's what Spike Lee joints do: they stick with you. I've been slowly working my way through his roster, which includes Crooklyn (my personal favorite), Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Clockers and the Summer of Sam.

The movies take place in New York, except it isn't the New York of the movies. It's not glamorous. It's gritty and real and sometimes seems like a fantasy land. Not quite real and yet - there's Central Park. And Bed-Stuy. And Double Happiness (now closed) in Chinatown.

His studio is right here, right in Fort Greene but I have yet to spot the diminutive genius. Don't worry Spike, my eyes are peeled. Prepare to be accosted.

The ultimate score & other things

It is motherf-ng sample sale season. I scored this Helmut Lang dress at one last week that I went to with Angel. Originally $290, it was down to $73. How could I say no - I'd seen it elsewhere on sale for $145 but in a size large. There were other great finds as well, such as a pleated shirt dress in khaki with black inside the pleats, from Rag & Bone but a) it was $130 and b) I had to ask the dressing room attendant to help me yank it off over my head.

Picture borrowed from The Trendsetter Files.

At HK Flea I scored an old Sak's Fifth Avenue belt (wide & navy) for $15 as well as a Vera scarf for $2.

I also spied a great little Gucci purse that looked like a saddle bag but it was stained and they still wanted about $85 for it. I could've haggled it down but who wants a stained bag? I am definitely going back soon - there was a lot of great old estate jewelry I didn't get to sift through.

My favorite piece is a dichroic ring from Gilmor Glass that I bought at BK Flea. It's a giant glass cocktail ring cut like an uneven diamond. Gilmor Glass is located in upstate NY and they offer glassblowing classes (starting at $400 for a full day!). I am feeling these giant baubles right now, after many years of not wearing rings. I am also liking very simple stacking rings. IE:


Razor stacking rings from Teresa Kahres

Hammered stacking rings by Anne Kiel at SupermarketHQ

The weekend in pictures

Saturday

Apples & oranges: the start of our journey down 9th Ave and a metaphor for the entire weekend.


The Hallo Berlin cart at the 9th Ave International Food Fair - nice tits!


Our reflections at Port Authority.


Shiny junk at the end of the food fair - who buys this stuff??


At Hell's Kitchen Flea Market - I love the turquoise and the shadows of the three nesting tables on the ground.


Moveable type for old letterpresses at Hell's Kitchen Flea Market. Had I more time, I would've chosen a few to make into art for our walls.


Piles of shredded plastic at a construction site.


Gray's Papaya sign on 8th Avenue - very close to my first apartment in NYC.


At the doors of (I can't remember which) a savings & trust, Alex jumped in front of the camera just as I was taking the picture. I think this came out pretty good, for an accident.


Repetitive instructions at a Manhattan parking garage.


Sunday

The sun went into hiding and I came across these bright fuschia flowers.


Amidst the historical and ornate: modern, minimalist numbers.


Part of the SONYA Studio Stroll - Dread Scott at MoCADA. This depicts innocent victims killed by the police. In each of their outstretched hands are what the police thought were guns. Wooden batons smashed down onto a coffin throughout the exhibit, mimicking gunshots.


The home/studio of I. Leon Golomb. He and his wife have been living there for 27 years and collect many things, including hands and old rug beaters.


Bee's Jubilee at Gardell's Garden, Fort Greene. Great little spot made up of several shipping containers that have been gutted out and fitted together.