Saturday, January 31, 2004

This Just In....

Went over to bitterwaitress.com's website (link is on the right) and found this great entry and decided to share:

This may be an apocryphal story, but I read a version of a response to that loaded question "Do you know who I am?" which is really, as we all know, a demand for special treatment, whether we know who they are or not. And who cares who they are? Anyway, the story is about an airline ticket agent, who, after a customer threw that question at her, supposedly picked up a microphone and announced she had a customer at the counter who didn't know who he was, and could anyone help him figure it out?

You have got to read that site. Fabulous!
Am disgusted with the news coverage of WMD, economy et al. There was never any WMD in Iran. Actually they've been under my bed with my summer clothes the entire time the hunt was on for them. Now I'm wondering what I should do with them--maybe sell them on ebay?

Anyway--realized the other night that the only way to get very good news coverage about America (and I live here mind you, smack dab in NYC) is to watch the BBC. So I divide my news watching between BBC, The Daily Show and the International News Channel. Thank god for cable.

Found myself rooting for Dean during Iowa, especially after his "roar heard 'round the world." Frankly any politician who's not afraid to speak his mind has my vote. I'm so tired of mealymouthed cookie cutter politicians who utter the same pablum day after day. Why can't we (I mean America) elect someone who has a set of balls? Instead of a politician who has the same type of personality as a cold bowl of oatmeal? I'm upset that Dean is running out of money and may fall off into nothingness. My friend Stefanie (she co-wrote Surviving Saturn's Return ) did his chart and he's supposed to be going through some frighteningly bad Saturn transit right now and won't be able to recover his losses and win the democratic nomination. All I can say, and emphatically mind you is,"Waah!"

I don't understand why everyone here seems so complacent and no one's foaming at the mouth regarding Bush lying to America and the entire world not only about Iran, but about having foreknowledge about the terrorist attacks vis a vis 9/11, the dreaded oil connection and everything else. A pres who screws around gets crucified, but a pres who allows thousands of people to die is exempt from vilification? I don't get it.

What's the big deal about presidents having extracurricular activities anyway? This isn't a new trend--there was the teapot dome scandal and quite a few other cases of presidents having the nopantsitis disease.

CBS used to have this reputation as being the daredevil of news gathering. They would gleefully uncover coverups, slick machinations of governments and corporations and now they're as limp as old celery.

Enough of ranting...Am off to get into trouble.

Oh yeah--if there is anyone out there who could assist me in getting the stupid comment feature to work on my blog, please send me an email.

Friday, January 30, 2004

The cosmetic review that I participated in is published. Here's the URL of the site if you'd like to check it out http://www.advicesisters.net/whatworkscol3.html We reviewers are supposed to be anonymous--so I can't say exactly what was my stuff--I will say that this was too much fun and a great way to expand my writing chops.

The Advice Sisters Website http://www.advicesisters.net/ is chuck full of smart, relevant pieces that'll help you navigate your way through all sorts of situations. Give it a scan when you can.

Thursday, January 29, 2004

Just got my horoscope for the day....

Greetings PJ --

Here is your horoscope for Thursday, January 29:

Just when you think you've seen it all, the world trots out another wonder. There's a fine line between appreciating something and wanting to possess it. You'll be more attractive by remaining ambiguous.


I have to use the subway today--am now wondering what weird thing I'll bump into while on it

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Ack! or Oops!

I forgot to mention (sorry Kevin) that Loser's Lounge, that wild collective that stages wonderful hommages to artists and groups has created an Ode to James Bond. Sniff! Wasn't asked to be a Bond Girl. So for more information on Kevin and his brothers, please click on these websites http://www.loserslounge.com and/or http://www.frontlinearts.com/terhunebrothers

A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF JAMES BOND
Fri Feb 6th
Sat Feb 7th
Wed Feb 11th
Sat Feb 14th (early show)
Sat Feb 14th (late show)

All shows are at Fez, inside Time Cafe on Lafayette at Great Jones St in NYC.

Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah!

Kinda blah day today. Gee could you tell by the headline? Okay am just a tad sleepy/punchy/whatever. As usual, after a big snowstorm, a minor snowstorm or any type of snowstorm at all, our super goes into hiding and the tenants pretend they're employed by the Ministry of Silly Walks and leap like crazed psychotic deer over the snow and ice. Such a brisk way to start your morning.

Went down to SOHO to the Oscar Bond Salon, 42 Wooster Street www.oscarbondsalon.com to get my fine feminine feathers (getting a wee bit carried away with the alliteration) in English now...To get by hair blown dried for FREE! Yuppers, free. This is a tres chic salon that harbors a delicious secret, you can get your hair done--cut, blow dried, color for pennies by their apprentices. The apprentices are watched by their teachers, who hover about them like hungry hawks so you don't end up looking like the Bride of Frankenstein. Yoshihide was my stylist. He's nice friendly guy, just moved here from Japan and is learning all about American hair and American customer service. We spent a lot of time talking about cultural differences and behaviors. He's been here a few months and is still reeling with culture shock.

On my way over this morning, and oh the streets were empty, I realized that a savvy NY'er can get her hair done in all the top salons and pay, at the most $20.00 for services. I'm talking anything from a blowout (which would have cost me $85.00 at Oscar Bond) to color and highlights at Bumble+Bumble www.bumbleandbumble.com, which is...Let's just say expensive, but I pay $20.00.

I know where you can pick up a Perlina wallet for $1.99, a DKNY coat for $14.99, really chic prescription glasses (frame & lenses) for $39.99, a box of contact lenses for $14.00, in short I know how you can look like you've just stolen the wardrobe and the furnishings of the cast and set of SATC and pay maybe $100 for it all. The ironic thing is that I've been pitching this to editors for about a year now and no one's interested in it. Yet, everyone I know and friends of friends call or email me asking me where to get the really good shit. Go figure.

Am awaiting to hear from another mag if I'll be freelancing for them. I seem to spend a lot of my time waiting and hovering over the in box of my computer lately. I keep hearing that the economy is getting better and that ad sales are finally up, but when and where will it kick in here? When will publishing and New York City, for that matter get better. I know so many talented, educated and PUBLISHED writers who are dying for a gig. It seems that there's a hiring freeze going on everywhere or if you don't know the secret handshake, you're dead in the water.

Sometimes I'll send out my resume and wonder if a human really does read it, or is there some automated program that just deletes it when it gets into an inbox? Not to sound snotty, but there are some staff writers out there, who can't writing a decent opening line, who don't seem to understand what a transition is, or how to create a good piece. I read their work and am astounded by the fact that they've got a full time gig with bennies! This is highly ironic coming from me, the girl who slept during sentence diagramming and other grammatical delights in high school. But, it's true, pick up a free NY paper, I won't say the name and look at some of the pieces that are printed in that thin little broadsheet, and you'll cringe. Then pick up The New York Observer www.newyorkobserver.com and you'll swoon by the excellence of their prose.

Turning to music news--despite the foul weather the Toby Lightman showcase is on tonight, I'll write about it later. Also got the new Brides of Destruction CD and the soundtrack for the film Intermission y'know the one where Colin Farrell sings...Will be writing about them shortly. Throbbing Gristle will have a remix album out 3/23.

Met up with Ivan for lunch today. Lucky boy had gone to see Iron Maiden a few nights ago. He was chortling over the fact that Metal is supposed to be this heavy duty macho genre and there he is at the Hammerstein Ballroom,surrounded by long haired guys all wearing black tees, watching a guy prancing about on stage, singing in a quasi operatic voice about castles and demons and wearing costumes. Metal is such a funny fantasy land, you don't have to spend much on admission and it's way more fun than Disney ever dreamed it could be.

As usual the talk turned to guitars, and I asked him how his lonely little bass was doing. Okay, here's the deal, I periodically come down with Tina Weymouth-itis, this is where I start hungering for a bass. Mind you, I don't know how to play one, and my guitar teacher used to cringe when I walked thru the door, but I am in love with them. Sometimes this ahem, passion rears its ugly little head, and I have to scurry away from guitar shops lest something really bad occurs. Ivan has occasionally mentioned that he'd lend his to me, so I could see if I could actually do something with it instead of mooning about the bass, then he starts to play it and it stays home. Not to say this is a bad thing, it isn't, I just wanna try a bass. Once.

Ivan is now practicing with two bands and it looks like the last week in Feb will be when he performs with both of them. So the dates have been cleared off and I'm ready to rock n'roll. Now if he'd only tell me the names of the bands....

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Got a very nice email from a prospective editor today, so I braved the cold and hunted down the magazine. Only took four stores before I stumbled into a Barnes & Noble and found it. Gorgeous, glossy mag. Interesting stories and great photos. I now have to wait until Mon or so to find out if I'll be writing for them.

Am beginning to sympathize with the Luddites again. This usually occurs when I'm trying to do some technical thing. Any technical thing if I want to be accurate. Whenever a gizmo I'm dealing with isn't doing exactly what I want it to, I have visions of tossing it or them out of the apt. windows (the side street one to be accurate-it's got a great view of the sidewalk), and counting how many times it bounces up and down.

My latest annoyance is trying to figure out how to get a comment option working on this damn site. I went to, I think 3 or 4 of the ones that were recommended by Blogger and did exactly what the instructions said to do and nothing works. The last site I went to, Comment this! looked the easiest. I copied and pasted the code into the watchamacallit and now you can see a comment line, but you can't add one. Now time to bang head on monitor. I only wish I knew what the hell I was doing.

Got a bit ambitious in the kitchen tonight. Sometimes I'll create a pretty good meal and sometimes it's a lab experiment gone wrong. Tonight I threw together some leftover Beaujolais Nouveau, chicken stock, garlic and pork chops. Not too shabby, but I'm going to have to adjust the cooking time.

Am having the strangest time with my post on Craigslist.com. I put up a post a few days ago stating that I was looking for exceptional teens ( it's mentioned elsewhere in the blog) and have been getting flagged. So I email Craig and he puts it back up. Today it got flagged six times between the hours of 10 am to 11 am. It stayed up until 10 pm,then got flagged again. I hope whoever keeps doing this gets a really bad case of athlete's foot. And I mean a really bad one. The only positive to come out of this mess is that I'm getting to know Craig and he seems like a super guy.

More snow. Looks like most of the schools in the city have been closed. I've got an early appointment in SOHO and am wondering if I should go or just stay in bed.

All the falling snow reminds me of my second date with R. We were out wandering around in this heavy snow that made the city look like Alaska. Went bowling, wandered some more and ended up in this little bar in Alphabet City playing scrabble.

For the record I'd like to state that my former Boss at Del Rey Books is probably one of the most kindest, patient, compassionate, intelligent and fantastic people in publishing.

I've sent him emails occasionally asking him for advice regarding my book proposal. It's been (and still) is a confusing and hard road for me. Hey, I never thought I could sit still long enough to write one, let alone fiction. Steve has taken time to explain things and let me know what's right and wrong in doing one. I am in awe of him and will never be able to thank him enough for all his time and patience.

I'm still a little in awe of myself for pulling it off. Well, I haven't pulled it off yet, I just can't believe I wrote one. If it hadn't been for my wonderful and dear friend Stefanie, who believed in me, gave me encouragement, advice and listened to my fears, I don't think I could have done it.

Now the thing is to finish the proposal and send it out to agents. Yeah, I am aware that I wrote that I had done most of it, but I am still tinkering with the overview section. I wish there was a book fairy. Just like the tooth fairy, instead you'd put your manuscript under your pillow and you'd wake up with a contract instead of the quarter your mom gave you for the tooth. Oh sorry, I meant tooth fairy *grin*


Thinking about the weather, I'm supposed to go to a showcase tomorrow night at Fez for this singer, Toby Lightman tomorrow night. I wonder if it'll be cancelled. Toby's debut CD Little Things" will be released on March 30th. Her single Devils and Angels" charted after ONLY 5 days on radio. She's an MTV "Artist To Watch in 2004" and I'm anxious to hear her live. I'd also like the postman to stop hiding the CD and fork it over.

Kate may have an agent for her dog Flynn. Or as I call him the Famous Magical Mystical Flynn. He looks like a stuffed animal. Has extremely long legs and is more photogenic than Heidi Klum. Pretty soon I'll have to ask for his pawtograph.

The quitting smoking thing is not working well. I was doing pretty well and now it's out of hand again. Every day I hear on the news that smoking is worse for women, and I'm really upset at myself. I think I need to be put in a deprivation tank for a month to quit properly.

Monday, January 26, 2004

Okay, premenstrual women should definitely stay away from chocolate. It's not enough that I'm feeling like the Queen in Aliens, I've now also got this horrid desire to eat all the chocolate in the known and if I can figure it out, unknown universe.

There I am, sitting on the couch. It's 11 PM, The Daily Show is on...And Then...And then...And then...I realize that I must, absolutely, positively and without a doubt, go down to the corner shop and pick up a package of Little Debbies.

Bad move. I come home not only with the Little Debbies, but cupcakes, brownies and fudge cakes are following me into my kitchen. I don't know how much longer they'll be around.
It's murderously cold here. I found myself making whimpering noises as I was walking down 5th Avenue today. I just couldn't stop myself. I only did the bare minimum of what I had to do today and high-tailed it back home. Waiting on the subway platform, I looked around and saw a man who looked exactly like a garden gnome. Oh he was more than 2 feet high, but he could have been a stand in for the one on those TV ads.

When I came home and pulled off my gloves, my hands were bright red from the cold.

Where is the sun?

Sunday, January 25, 2004

Just finished my first ever cosmetic product review. It was a bit too much fun. I felt like a kid with too many crayons and not enough blank pages.

Am now on the hunt for exceptional/cool teens. I posted an ad in Craigslist.org, and within the next twenty minutes of posting, I of course got hit with porn. I think the subject line of the email was "she does animals." Oh joy.

Watched SATC tonight and got annoyed. Lately I've become annoyed with most of TV...Except the West Wing. Anyway, how can Carrie have lived in NYC for as long as she supposedly has and never had espresso, or for that matter have a coffee maker in her apt.? And didn't she buy the other apt on the same floor? It's when I start thinking of all the inconsistencies that I see I lose faith, sense of believability, what have you.

The first night I watched The Apprentice I berated myself for not going to the auditions. Mind you, all anyone has to do is mention the word math to me, and I break out into a cold sweat. But still, watching some of the contestants made me think I could have (possibly) been a good candidate. I think the only reason why they kept Sam on as long as they did, was to make sure the audience would hang on for three weeks. He reminded me of a gopher on speed.

Any show that I watched used to have a modicum of intelligence in the mix. As soon as they got very popular, intelligence hopped out of the window to be replaced by formulaic inanity.

What I find to be frightening and funny (only in the ironic sense of course), is that any time a British show is "imported" here it has to be dumbed down. And I mean dumbed down tremendously.

There was a game show that had a British woman as the host. She had glasses and red hair. No, I'm sorry I can't remember the name, can you help me out on this? (this is a rhetorical question). Anyways...Whilst the show was broadcast in Great Britain, the "Average Joe" was being asked complex history questions and they were expected, nay it was demanded of them to know the answer. When the show was trotted over here, I think the hardest question was if it was Minnie or Mickey Mouse that wore a bow on its head.

Here's another example--I watch Coupling on BBC America. It's very funny, quick witted and just enough over the top to keep you interested. One of the reasons why it's such a good show, now pay attention carefully, is that the actors don't look like actors. They look like real people. The show is brought over here, with the exact same scripts mind you, and it fails. I think part of the reason is that the actors looked like actors--just too perfect for real life. Each and every one of them were blow dried perfection. The characters have been around the block, they've experienced life and are a bit weary. However, if they look like they've never had a split end in their life, how can we believe that they have a sad love life?

It would be nice to think that one day the heads of networks will understand that the majority of the American public can chew gum and walk at the same time. That we deserve a show that doesn't bore a three year old. Then again, we've got people who think Bush is a great president.

Saturday, January 24, 2004

Had to run down to the Village today. I get off the subway and am walking down the platform when I see a homeless woman starting to pull her pants down. Apparently the fact that she's going to do whatever it is that she's going to do, where everyone can see her doesn't bother her one whit. Of course I and everyone else is giving her wide berth. The most ironic thing is she's wearing a pair of UGGS. Yeah, these are the boots that are going for over $300 on ebay and she's got a pair.

Only in New York City.

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Stupid, stupid, stupid

Oh I am annoyed. Can you tell by the heading? I had two amazingly stupid conversations today.

Number one--went to the post office to mail off some stuff, the counter guy writes "SAM" on the envelope, I look at it and quip, "Surface to Air Missile?" So he starts quizzing me on what does RAM, AAM and other initials mean. I'm going on and on about ICBM's etc., He looks at me and says, "How does a girl know these things? This is not girl stuff."
"EXCUSE ME!"
"Well, it's not girl stuff."
"Who said so? Look I wanted to go to the academy."
"You wanted to go to the academy?"
"What's wrong with that? I wanted to learn how to fly fast and blow up things. You gotta problem with that?"


I'm not even going to continue, but I think you get the idea.

next stupid convo...

had coffee with a fellow writer. Talking about our books, history etc., At one point fellow writer asks me if I've ever personally (okay this is an important word) personally thought about topic of book. I think and said nope. But I do think that there's a definite market for it. In fact, I added, I think it would attract many different types of readers.

Later on in the convo I'm told that I have spent the better part of the exchange "slamming the book," direct quote here. WHAT? Just because in my personal life I have never thought about the subject?? I sat there and said exactly that and said if I was "slamming the book" why would I even bother to say that there's a big market for it? Do people listen or what? I'm sorry I didn't lie and say that I think about it 24-7, but I don't and don't get mad at me because I don't. the writer has a contract which means that a house actually thinks it will attract an audience, I think it will attract an audience even if I'm not thinking about it.

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, is happening May 1 and 2. Oh do I want someone to send me there to cover it. The lineup is fantastic.

Have finished the overview and now working on the rest of the proposal. This calls for massive amounts of chocolate.

Our Critics Top Albums of 2003

I've had the worst time finding the top ten list from Rolling Stone.com this year. It was kinda important to me--I'm in there. Finally found it on a website from Bratislava! Anway, thought I'd throw the whole thing in here..so here it goes.

new thought 1/26---I just realized that this is soo long that I'm only keeping my comments. I don't mean to be egotisitical, but thought this was a better idea

Our Critics Top Albums of 2003

This year, the diverse blend of hip-hop, funk and soul -- not to mention comedy -- found on OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below dazzled sufficiently to top our annual critics' poll. Andre 3000 and Big Boi's sprawling two-CD set appeared on eight lists, just one more than Chutes Too Narrow, the second release by brainy indie rockers the Shins.
Despite the hype surrounding the two of the biggest "The" bands since the Beatles and the Stones, the Strokes and the White Stripes pulled in fewer votes for their respective 2003 releases (four) than did the latest offerings from grunge godfather Neil Young and long under-appreciated power-pop outfit Fountains of Wayne (both with five).

Other favorites ran the gamut from the late, great Johnny Cash, to prolific hip-hop phenom Missy Elliott to newcomers bearing the flags of yesteryear: southern rock (Kings of Leon), prog-rock (the Mars Volta) and folk rock (Damien Rice). Clay and Ruben may demand a recount.


PJ GACH
1. Rufus Wainwright, Want One (Dreamworks): Gershwinesque and poppy, Wainwright's epic about love proves we all ache the same way. "Pretty Things" reminds us about the lies we tell ourselves.
2. Ambulance Ltd., Ambulance Ltd (TVT): Pink Floyd meets a jam band. "Young Urban" merges the best of old and new school sensibilities.
3. Jamison Parker, Notes & Photographs (Interscope): Quick clever wordplay coupled with tight music make this debut EP too short a ride.
4. David Gahan, Paper Monsters (Reprise/Mute): Not all solo efforts are vanity pieces. Depeche Mode's Gahan has created an eerie, thoughtful release. "Bottle Living" is his bluesy memoir of addiction.
5. Overseer, Wreckage (Columbia): So what if Victoria's Secret co-opted "Slayed "for their ads, this CD needs to played on eleven. A great marriage of electro and hip-hop.
6. Perfecto Presents Paul Oakenfeld, Great Wall (Perfecto/Reprise): Once more Oakenfeld hijacks your body. It's a non-stop ever changing aural landscape that throws you into another dimension, complete with altitude changes and color.
7. Stellarstarr, Stellarstarr (RCA): A smashing debut; fierce playfulness tied to tight musicianship -- catchy pop driven tunes melded to garage's dark side.
8. Brookville, Wonderfully Nothing (Unfiltered): Ivy's Andy Chase's solo project is warm and lush. Indie, trip hop, Jazz, and ambience influences make this a CD to cuddle up to anytime.
9. Ataris, So Long, Astoria (Columbia): Call it Emo, Punk, Garage -- no matter what label you affix to this group, the songs are strong, tough and straight from the heart.
10. Iron Maiden, Dance of Death (Columbia): Metal just won't die, thank god! The boys prove once again, you can be smart and play loud.
Reissue: David Bowie, Aladdin Sane 30th Anniversary Edition (EMI): It's a classic, Bowie's a classic -- a zillion years later it still rocks and has the power to make you think and dance.

from www.rollingstone.com

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Odd thoughts rattling around my brain

Books, books, books...I can never seem to get enough of them. Almost four years ago I was an interim Editorial Assistant at Del Rey Books and took home between 15-21 books a day. That's right 15 to 21 FREE books a day. I still have books from there that I haven't read and yet I keep going out and buying more. It's as if I'm afraid of not having anything to read...Which when you think about it, it's silly...There are so many unread books in my house. I'm wondering if I'm stockpiling them sometimes.

This past weekend I went to visit Kate in Park Slope again. I'm getting pretty good at the commute. In her neighborhood is a used book store. I realize that a used book store doesn't seem like a big deal, but there aren't any in Manhattan. I've lived in quite a few states and there was always one or two in the town/city that I lived in. If there's any one drawback to living in NYC, it's that used book stores seem to be scarce. There is one, now that I think about it. But it's in the Financial District and they don't have a great selection. It's pretty hit or miss.

7th Avenue Books, Inc. on 300 7th Ave in Park Slope is a store not to be missed. They have everything. It's jammed floor to ceiling with books, tables overflowing with books, milk crates jammed with books. It's a junkies paradise. I told the owner that the store was pure evil as I forked over my credit card and he handed me a large shopping bag with books. I grabbed Terry Pratchet, a translation of Les Liaisons Dangerouses (I've only been looking for that for five years), And tons of other books; ranging from garbagey top sellers to "deep" books. I'm so glad the store isn't close to me, I'd be broke in a matter of days. Books! Bliss!

Vulnerable. I hate that word. I was thinking about writing something cute next to it, y'know like the definition, but that's been done. And what does it prove anyway except I'm a smartass (I think we've figured that one out by now).

Seriously, I'm terrified of being vulnerable. I'm great at hiding behind a laugh, a snarky funny comment, but letting myself be wide open, that gives me the shakes.

I think it's more than being vulnerable. It's the after effect of being vulnerable, the moment when you realize that you're open, nothing can protect you and you're teetering midway between two points. The points being bliss or hell.

There's nothing you can do once you open yourself up. Nope, after that fatal moment, it's the other person who can either slam you with poison darts or hold you.

The waiting for the following reaction is like sitting on glass.

Thing is, the followup can be in a nanosecond or it can be days, but the stretched too tight feeling, the beating yourself over the head feeling, the wondering if what was said was real or a lie is just plain agony.

Try distracting yourself, what a joke. I'll try not to think of various weird scenarios, and of course I come back to them. Just like when you tell someone not to think about the purple tap dancing elephant, you of course think about a purple tap dancing elephant.

Maybe that's why I am a fabulous dater. I can skate around anything emotional with out having to deal with it,. Bad first date? Solution-- no second date. Good first date, bad second date? Solution - don't date and make fun of poor misguided fool.

And then what happens when you meet someone who makes you laugh, who is a terrific kisser, is just an all around nice person? Hanging out with him is easy. There's none of that strange "this is a date" vibe, it just seems natural to hang out, laugh and enjoy oneself. What do you do? How about utter panic. Why? Oh for the sheer pleasure of it. Seriously, I feel like there's the sword of Damocles twirling over my head and I hate it. It's a time limit thing going on and there's not a thing I can do.

Do you try to cram a bunch of experiences in? Do you say fuck it and walk away? Do you bang your head against the monitor until there's blood on the screen?

This isn't a 25 minute sitcom where in between the commercial messages all's well that ends well. This is life and I may not be the first person to say it, and I'm not going to be the last, but sometimes it sucks.

Probably had one of the best rejection emails in my life today. In the email, the editor wrote, "Your clips were great, and I wish we could afford you..." Oh gosh, I'm just aglow. Okay, the market sucks and mag budgets are tight, half the time you don't even get a "thank you, but no thank you" letter/email/carrier pigeon. This email made my day.


Oh yeah...Music News

Aerosmith is doing a national tour with Cheap Trick. I kid you not, the 70's are officially back. Tour dates and other info can be found at www.cheaptrick.com

Listened to Hurry Up Offense's EP The labor Day EP
They're an irreverent, effervescent punk band that throws energy and good vibes through your speakers. They're along the lines of Green Day, but they're not derivative, they have their own sound, their own stance. Hearing them, you just want to dance. The singer may be moaning about a shitty event, but he sounds so damn happy (this sounds better than written, trust me) You need to have him singing more and more about his pain. This is so you can dance more and more. They'll be at the Luna Lounge in NYC 1/31 if you wanna catch their live show. Or check out their site to buy the CD or just look at them www.hurryupoffense.com

Saturday, January 17, 2004

Just got asked to join another blog "Memories I Had Forgotten," http://ihadforgotten.blogspot.com/ where you can scribble memories that have popped into your head. Old forgotten ones seem to pop in my head at the strangest times. Sitting in the subway, walking down a street, taking a shower--I guess it's when you're not preoccupied with the daily tasks your mind takes a quick journey down memory lane. Then it decides to startle you by reminding you of embarrassing moments et al. Like when I had my skirt tucked into my pantyhose all day in 8th grade and no one told me. Can we say, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGh"
Yup, I knew we could.

Had two very illuminating conversations about work yesterday. The first was about book proposals. I had been chatting with this woman who gas 9 count 'em 9 books out (that's enough to make me dizzy) about proposals and what you have to do etc., and in the space of twenty minutes she gave me great ideas, lots of wonderful insight and explained stuff to me that had me freaking out. She suggested that I should explain the book to my cat, then rewrite the overview section. Alison said that you've got to dumb it down, then gussy it up. So, a few deep breaths and back into the fray.

Other convo--met my rep at a creative agency I'm attached to, went over my prof site http://pjgach.tripod.com and made some revisions to make it more marketable.

The trick is to think of yourself as a product, not a person and market the crap out of yourself. Sounds easy, but execution can be another thing.

There's a blog I like reading, it's written by a Brit living in NYC "Wishful Thinking in New York" http://uknyc.blogspot.com/ . Some of his adventures are pretty funny--check out his SOHO House saga, or read his takes on some of the restaurants here. Reading his blog I realized that he goes to Doma in the West Village. Not only do I go there, but I have friends who practically live there. It's funny that he and I and other NYC blog writers could all be drinking coffee in the same place at the same time and be completely clueless that we're all under the same roof.

It's the joys of the Internet. You can "know" everyone and be a total stranger in reality.

Have to write up some cosmetic product reviews. Will be road testing some lipsticks from various brands. Good excuse to kiss someone.

It's another frigid day in NYC and I need to do stuff, but the jammies are too damn comfortable and my house is warm.

Been thinking, I like the idea of Winter. I like looking at snow from the inside. Going out and having to deal with it is another story.

Friday, January 16, 2004

Saw R. Wednesday night. We went over to the Angel Lounge on Houston. We sat, laughed, drank, shared a cheese plate and watched the snowflakes dance through the air. All in all a lovely night.

Thursday it was so cold that I couldn't even concentrate on work, spent most of my time in the living room trying to warm up. Silly me for having a home office in my bedroom. It felt like icicles were swinging from my ceiling. Ugh.

Do have more music news........

Pennywise are hitting the road again. They're kicking off a national tour starting 1/21 in Atlanta. Here are the rest of the dates:

Date City Venue

Wed 1/21 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
Thurs 1/22 Jacksonville, FL Plush
Fri 1/23 Boynton Beach, FL Ovation
Sat 1/24 St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Landing
Sun 1/25 Lake Buena Vista, FL House of Blues
Wed 1/28 Norfolk, VA The NorVa
Thurs 1/29 Hartford, CT Webster Theatre
Fri 1/30 Worcester, MA The Palladium
Sat 1/31 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
Wed 2/18 Washington, DC 930 Club
Thurs 2/19 Philadelphia, PA The Trocadero
Fri 2/20 Philadelphia, PA The Trocadero
Sat 2/21 Pittsburgh, PA Club Laga
Sun 2/22 Cleveland, OH Agora Theatre
Wed 2/25 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's
Thurs 2/26 Pontiac, MI Clutch Cargo's
Fri 2/27 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Sat 2/28 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
Sun 2/29 Minneapolis, MN The Quest

Dialated People's third CD Neighborhood Watch (Capitol Records) hits the stores April 6.
Track Listing:
Marathon
Neighborhood Watch
Tryin' to Breathe
Caffeine
Who's Who
Poisonous (featuring Devin The Dude)
Reach Us
Big Business
Love and War
1580 (Skit)
World on Wheels
Closed Session (feat. Defari, Phil Da Agony, Planet Asia)
This Way (feat. Kanye West)
DJ Babu in Deep Concentration

Danger Mouse (I love that name) new CD The Grey Album (Waxploitation) is out. They're combined the vocal content of Jay-Z's Black album added new beats and production using The Beatles White Album as the source material.

Aerosmith is headlining the Superbowl pre-game show, Feb 1 at the Relaint Stadium in Houston. Well that should be fun. Personally, I've been a bit cranky towards Steve Tyler ever since he stole my seat at a concert. He and his crew took over an entire row and I spent the rest of the evening standing. Oh joy.

Melissa Manchester (anyone remember "Don't Cry Out Loud) is releasing a new CD
When I Look Down That Road (Koch Record) March 9. Keb Mo and Beth Nielsen Chapman guest on the CD. She's also planning a tour after that. Hmmm...me? No comment.


Yes has a documentary premiering January 26th and to kick off that they're going to be performing a live acoustic show that will be then simulcast to all the theaters screening the doc that night.

YESSPEAK will be presented at the following locations on January 26th:

ATLANTA REGAL HOLLYWOOD 24
3265 N.E. Expressway Access - Chamblee, GA

BOSTON REGAL SOLOMON POND 15
591 Donald J. Lynch Blvd- Marlborough, MA

BUFFALO REGAL TRANSIT CENTER 18
6707 Transit Road - Williamsville, NY

CHICAGO REGAL LINCOLNSHIRE 20
300 Parkway Drive - Lincolnshire, IL

CLEVELAND REGAL SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER STADIUM 14
3492 Mayfield Road - Cleveland Heights, OH

DALLAS UA GALAXY STADIUM 10
11801 McCree Road - Dallas, TX

DENVER UA PAVILIONS 15
500 16th Street - Denver, CO

DETROIT UA COMMERCE STADIUM 14
3033 Springvale Drive - Walled Lake, MI

NEW HAVEN REGAL BRANFORD 12
325 E. Main Street - Branford, CT

HOUSTON EDWARDS HOUSTON MARQ*E 23
7620 Katy Freeway - Houston, TX

INDIANAPOLIS UA CIRCLE CENTER 9
49 W. Maryland Street - Indianapolis, IN

LAS VEGAS REGAL VILLAGE SQUARE 18
9400 W. Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas, NV

LOS ANGELES EDWARDS IRVINE SPECTRUM 21
65 Fortune Drive- Irvine, CA

MINNEAPOLIS REGAL BROOKLYN CENTER STADIUM 20
6420 Camden Avenue North - Minneapolis, MN

NEW YORK REGAL (formerly UA) UNION SQUARE STADIUM 14
850 Broadway - New York, NY

OKLAHOMA CITY REGAL CROSSROADS MALL STADIUM 16
1211 E. I-240 - Oklahoma City, OK

PHILADELPHIA UA RIVERVIEW PLAZA 17
1400 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd - Philadelphia, PA

PHOENIX UA PAVILIONS 11
9090 E. Indian Bend - Scottsdale, AZ

PORTLAND, OR REGAL LLOYD CENTER STADIUM 10 CINEMA
1510 NE Multnomah Street. - Portland, OR

SACRAMENTO REGAL NATOMAS MARKETPLACE 16
3561 Truxel Road - Sacramento, CA

SAN DIEGO EDWARDS MIRA MESA STADIUM 18
10733 Westview Parkway - San Diego, CA

SAN FRANCISCO UA EMERY BAY STADIUM 10
6330 Christie Ave - Emeryville, CA

SAN FRANCISCO REGAL HACIENDA CROSSINGS 20
5000 Dublin Blvd. - Dublin, CA

SEATTLE REGAL AUBURN STADIUM 17
1101 Super Mall Way - Auburn, WA

WEST PALM BEACH REGAL ROYAL PALM BEACH STADIUM 18
1003 State Road 7- Royal Palm Beach, FL

WASHINGTON D.C. REGAL BALLSTON COMMON STADIUM 12
671 N. Glebe Road - Arlington, VA

Alanis Morrisette's new release "So-Called Chaos" (Maverick Records)
hits the stores April 13. The first single and video is "Everything" Gee I vaguely remember her getting slimed when I was a kid

If you're in NYC on a Thursday night and looking for an Industry night, check out Mickey's Blue Room 171 Avenue C between 10th and 11th Streets. They've always have a very good Happy hour with drafts, well drinks, and selected bottles priced at $3 each. You'll find writers, musicians, music people and civilians hanging out and drinking on those Industry nights. Got a question about Industry night? email Dina at
dina@wildfirepublicity.com I can vouch for her, she's a great person.

Love Me Destroyer is touring with Digger, Stereotyperider, Lawrence Arms, and more! Here are the dates:

1/16/04• Denver, CO ­ Cervantes W/ Black Black Ocean, The Affairs, Red Cloud
1/22/04• Grand Junction, CO ­ Whiskey River
1/23/04• Phoenix, AZ ­ Nita¹s Hideaway W/ Stereotyperider
1/24/04• Albuquerque, NM ­ The Launchpad W/ Stereotyperider
1/27/04• Ft. Collins, CO ­ The Starlight W/ The Lawrence Arms, The Ghost
1/28/04• Lawrence, KS ­ The Bottleneck w/ Straight Outta Junior High
1/29/04• Wichita, KS ­ America¹s Pub w/ Straight Outta Junior High
1/30/04• Pearland, TX ­ Perry¹s Landmark W/ Digger
1/31/04• San Antonio, TX ­ TBA W/ Digger
2/1/04• Austin, TX - Emo¹s W/ Digger
2/3/04• El Paso, TX ­ Moontime Pizza W/ Digger
2/4/04• Tucson, AZ ­ Skrappy¹s W/ Digger, Stereotyperider
2/5/04• Las Vegas, NV ­ Double Down Saloon w/ Stereotyperider

Laymen Terms has a new EP coming out on Suburban Home Records on February 24th. You can check out their MP3 from their title track "3 Days In" on the Suburban Home Records website so that you may download it now for FREE

for the MP3 or more info on the bands that call Suburban Home Records their own, check out their website www.suburbanhomerecords.com

That's all for music news. My friend Michael is a fantastic photographer, I've been telling him that he ought to be shooting for Vogue etc., for a year now. Anyway, he's just been written up in Retail AD World about his work and has stuff in two mags. So he's celebrating with a biiig party at Lobby tonight. The last party of his that I went to, I ended up slightly snockered (the details are somewhere in this blog) this time I have promised myself that I will noy be crawling over any banquette tops like last time. You can check out michael's work at www.michaelcreagh.com or you can see his work at http://portfolios.models.com/Michael_Creagh/ or at www.lemonademag.com

Anyway, I'm praying that it will warm up a bit, I'd really like to go out at night instead of huddling in my apartment listening to the howling wind.

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Just a quick note while my bath water's running...Off to see R. tonight.

Heard that Ted Nugent injured himself with a chainsaw while filming his new reality show...Unbelievable...Next they'll be giving my cat his own show. Watch my cat try to steal all the pepperoni off the pizza...Watch my cat shed only on my black clothes...Watch my cat have a wild party while I'm out and about...Film at 11

Just got in the mail a really interesting CD. W Originals (Columbia) Yes wrestlers now have a CD where they're warbling a tune or two. Why? I don't know. You can find "performances" by Rey Mysterioso, Stacy Keibler, Kurt Angle, Stone Cold Steve Austin and a whole bunch more

Liz Phair a singer who's been known to bring many a man to his knees is on tour. Here are the latest dates

Liz Phair will appear on NBC's "American Dreams" on Sunday, March 14.

A performance on CBS-TV's "Late Show with David Letterman" April 1.
NEW LIZ PHAIR 2004 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES

2/26 - Los Angeles, CA - House of Blues (Sunset Strip)

2/28 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues

3/01 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield

3/02 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater

3/03 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre

3/05 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom

3/06 - Spokane, WA - Big Easy

3/07 - Boise, ID - Big Easy

3/11 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue

3/12 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theater

3/14 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues

3/15 - Grand Rapids, MI - Intersection

3/16 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant

3/18 - Houston, TX - Numbers

3/20 - Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa

3/22 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues

3/24 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues

3/26 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues

3/27 - Towson, MD - Recher Theater

3/28 - Boston, MA - Avalon

4/02 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory

4/03 - New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom

4/04 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

Official website: http://www.lizphair.com

You can catch the Dropkick Murphys Feb 5th at Roseland Ballroom in New York, NY.


Colin Farrell sings! Yup, the boy can be heard on the soundtrack of the Intermission, it's an Indie Irish Film. Soundtrack will hit the stores March 9th and he's singing "I Fought the Law"--other tunes by U2, Clannad, Thrills and Ron Sexsmith. Aw heck...here's the track listing:
Colin Farrell "I Fought The Law"
U2 "Out of Control"
The Thrills "One Horse Town"
Turin Brakes "Pain Killer"
Ron Sexsmith "These Days"
Relish "Get Down Move Over"
Fun Lovin' Criminals "Scooby Snacks"
Fonda 500 "Bumble A, Bumble B, Bumble C, Bumble D"
Magnetic Fields "I Don't Want To Get Over You"
Ron Sexsmith "Disappearing Act"
Clannad "Newgrange"
John Murphy "Two Buses/Intermission

have more but tub is overflowing....

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Later.....

Once again I've received one of those silly emails stating that I'm going to get gazillions of dollars from Africa. I used to delete them, then one day decided to send an email back to the idiots.. I simply wrote, "you've made me laugh, thanks!" Thinking that no more would come my way.

I read in the Woolamaloo Gazette http://www.woolamaloo.org.uk/ how the writer handled it. In England you can send the email to some Internet police and they did something about it. Here in the States you just delete them.

Here's the email in all of its idiocy.

Subj: Mr.Emannuel Kuta
Date: 1/13/2004 6:35:43 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: kuta1@fsmail.net
To: kuta1@fsmail.net
Sent from the Internet (Details)




From The Desk Of:
Mr. Emannuel Kuta
Union Bank Of Nigeria plc.
Victoria Island Branch Lagos.

Dear Sir/Madam,
first, I must solicit your confidence in this transaction, this is by virtue of it's nature as been utterly confidencial and top secret. Though I know that all will be well at the end of the day, I have decided to contact you due to the urgency of this transaction as I feel that you may have the ability to handle such transaction.

Let me start by introducing myself to you, I am Mr.Favour Adimabuah an Accountant with Union Bank Of Nigeria plc. Lagos. I came to know about you in my private search for a reliable and reputable person to handle this confidencial business transaction.

The preposition:

A foreigner, Late Engr. Dahlig Mitchell, An Oil Marchant/Contractor
with the Federal Government Of Nigera until his death in Korean Air flight 801, which Crashed in Guam on August 1997, banked with us here at Union Bank P.L.C Victoria Island Branch and had a closing balance of US$20.5M (Twenty Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) which the bank unquestionably expects it to be claimed by any available foreign next of kin of the late beneficiary or alternatively be donated to a discredited trust fund for Arms and Ammunition at a Military War College here in Nigeria.


Fervently, valuable effort were made by the union bank to get in touch with any of the Mitchell's family or relative but proved to no avail. it is because of the perceived possible of not being able to locate any of the late Engr. Dahlig Mitchell's next of kin (he had no wife and children) that the management under the influence of our chairman and Members Of The Boards Of Director, retired Major General Kalu Uke Kalu, that an arrangement be made for the funds to be declared Unclaimable and subsequently be donated to the Trust Fund for Arms and Ammunition to further Enhance the course of war in Africa and the World in General as stated in the our Financial Constitution that any unclaimed deposited fund after five years be converted.



In order to avert this negative development, I now seek your permission to have you stand as the Next-Of-Kin Of Engr . Dahlig Mitchell so that the funds US$ 20.5M (Twenty Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) would be released and payed into your Bank Account as the Beneficiary Next Of Kin. All Documents and proves to enable you get this Fund will be careful Worked out and more so we are, Assuring you a 100% Risk Free Involvment. your share stays while the rest will be for myself and my collegue for Investment Purpose in your Country.





If this Proposal is all right by you then kindly get back to me by e-mailing me via this this e-mail address, thanking you in anticipation of your cooperation.


Yours Faithfully,
Mr.Emannuel Kuta
(accountant union bank plc)

Freeserve AnyTime - HALF PRICE for the first 3 months - Save £7.50 a month
www.freeserve.com/anytime
______________________________________________________________
Please don't tell me anyone's fallen for this.

On a brighter note, I've actually done some work for the book proposal....After looking at the damn thing for so long, I'm beginning to believe that it's not that bad. I just have to relax and make sure I stay in one spot long enough to write the rest of it.




Some Music News

The Frames are opening for Damien Rice in their upcoming US tour, new CD out 2/24.
Dates for tour are below:

Tue 03/23/04 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
Fri 03/26/04 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern LG
Sat 03/27/04 San Francisco, CA The Warfield
Mon 03/29/04 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre
Tue 03/30/04 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
Thu 04/01/04 Spokane, WA Big Easy
Fri 04/02/04 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Sat 04/03/04 Boise, ID Big Easy
Tue 04/06/04 Minneapolis, MN Pantages Theatre
Wed 04/07/04 Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre
Fri 04/09/04 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre
Sat 04/10/04 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's
Sun 04/11/04 Pittsburgh, PA Byham Theatre
Thu 04/15/04 Upper Darby, PA Tower Theatre
Fri 04/16/04 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
Sat 04/17/04 Boston, MA Avalon
Mon 04/19/04 Portland, ME State Theatre
Tue 04/20/04 Winooski, VT Higher Ground
Wed 04/21/04 Montreal, QC Outremont Theatre
Fri 04/23/04 Toronto, ON Trinity St. Paul Centre
Sat 04/24/04 Cleveland, OH Odeon Concert Club
Sun 04/25/04 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
Tue 04/27/04 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
Wed 04/28/04 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall
Thu 04/29/04 Saint Louis, MO The Pageant

Blondie, yes Blondie is releasing their new CD The Curse of Blondie (Sancturary Records) April 6. Why the title The Curse of Blondie ???
“It’s been a standing joke for years,” says Debbie Harry, “Every time something weird would happen we would say, ‘It’s the Curse of Blondie.’ A lot of people take it seriously, but it’s silly. It’s sort of a Vincent Price, horror movie type title. I think it’s lucky.”


Judas Priest is in the studio as we speak working on a new release. All the original members are back www.judaspriest.com and they're planning a world tour. Have heard from friends that they'll be hitting the big European Metal fests this spring and summer. I know this is old news, but I like 'em.


BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION--Nikki Sixx (bass), Tracii Guns (guitar), London LeGrand (vocals) and Scot Coogan (drums)-- March 9 release of their debut album Here Come the Brides on Sanctuary Records. This should be interesting! produced by Steve Bruno and mixed by Steve Thompson, known for his production work with Metallica, Guns N' Roses and Korn. Drummer Kris Kohls, a member of Adema, plays on half of 'Here Come the Brides.' "Shut the F**k Up" has been used in a skateboard video shot by Drew Stone of Stone Films.
Quick rundown--Nikki Sixx--ex Motley Crue, Tracii Guns ex-L.A. Guns, Coogan--touring drummer for the boy band All4One, has played with Pete Yorn, Sinead O'Connor,Otep and others. LeGrand...a sharp new kid in town.


Sunday, January 11, 2004

Oh my god! There's someone on my street playing Scotland Forever on the bagpipes...live! I just ran over to the window and poked my head out and can't find the piper.

I love the bagpipes and I love that song. I had a cell phone that rang that tune.

Where the hell is the piper?????

Saturday, January 10, 2004

Finally got out of the house and did errands--mailed off some Christmas presents. This way I'm ahead of everyone and the presents will sit under the tree until next year.

Did not buy any shoes, but did pick up two books. I found another Laurie Colwin novel and picked up Shutterbabe by Deborah Kogan. I had heard that Shutterbabe is supposed to be a great read, and from the first page I'm hooked. Sadly finished Kitchen Confidential (okay so I've read it before), and am still working my way through the Ben Franklin biography. I started that one with zest and then the author has to go and call Ben Franklin a "kid" at one point and it turned me off. No, the book is lively and well written, but calling a young Ben Franklin a "kid" just doesn't seem to make good literary sense to me. I also have to finish the Egan book I'm reading. One of my big fears in life is that I'll run out of books to read.

ED2010 www.ed2010.com is a New York City based national (and free) organization for journalists. If you sign up for their newsletters you get job "whispers," news and they have all sorts of events. The reason why I'm mentioning them is that they've got a book club and for the new year they're reading Fear and Loathing by Hunter S. Thompson. I've never been to a book club meeting before, but I love HST and think I might join them for this round.

Speaking of the cool and interesting news you get from Ed2010, in my newsletter yesterday they had a link to gawker.com about a picture screw up that happened at Us Weekly. Look at page 72 and you'll see an (ahem) extra body part showing from a male model... "Top Model," a reality show hosted by Tyra Banks, has a photo of a male model on one knee. His raised leg is supposed to conceal the naughty bits, but....A picture is worth a thousand words http://www.gawker.com/archives/balls.jpg


Didn't work on proposal yesterday, will do it tonight. I've got the cover page and I think three lines written. That of course is accompanied by lots of scribbles and the word overview in italics. Ack! I've really got to work on it. There's something about writing a book proposal that sends me into utter panic.

Am off to Park Slope to have lunch with Katie. It's definitely an adventure for moi, as I am pretty clueless about anything and everything to do with Brooklyn. I've got the Manhattanite's view of the outer boroughs---anything that's not Manhattan is just an amorphous mass. I can count on one hand how many times I've been to Queens. I know there's stuff out there (I mean Brooklyn and Queens) and am curious about finding it all, but it's so far away and I might get lost and they don't have St. Bernard dogs to rescue you and, and, and um you get the picture right?

Friday, January 09, 2004

Freakin' Cold

Have spent the morning procrastinating. I must somehow get out the door and run errands, but as I sit here listening to the news and hearing the temp drop (in what seems like seconds) I don't want to go.

So, I'm in my jammies in the afternoon. Have to do errands, work on proposal blah blah blah...But I am warm here! The idea of bundling up and trundling around looking like the Michelin Man doesn't appeal to me at all.



Must push off somehow

Crass Consumerism

I don't know how it happened. And that scares me. Looking back I knew I was vaguely aware of them, I saw the pictures, they were everywhere. But they didn't really focus on my radar. Then I woke up one day and zing! I was obsessed. Sadly obsessed, I might add, because now I hunger for them.

What am I talking about? It's those damn UGGS boots. I am a self-confessed shoeaholic and have never counted how many I own...just the thought of sitting down and counting them runs chills down my spine. I mean, I'd have to count ALL of them. I have a shoe wardrobe for every season. When I switch out my clothes for each season it takes me two days. Many hours of the second day is just dealing with shoes. The spring/summer/vintage ones are packed up right now. Get the picture?

I recently figured out that I'm buying at least one pair of shoes a week. This is not good, I only have two feet. And then I have my favorites, the ones that I just have to wear, even if it means changing my clothes around my shoes. At home I live in my Hello Kitty slippers. They're velvety soft and have a plaid bow on kitty's head. Once I almost walked out of the house with them on. Since it's been so damn artically cold here, I'm living in my shearling boots. They're vintage (I think 80's) with a roll down cuff and oh, they make my toes warm and happy. Other shoes I just like to know that I own, oh the horror!

Getting back to the damn UGGS. I knew about them. I read about them, but I never lusted after them. I have no idea how the horrible thought that I couldn't live without them entered my brain.

I'm not huge trend follower by any means. Oh, I read all the fashion stuff and avidly watch the streets to pick up on trends, and have a schizophrenic wardrobe (vintage/preppy/funky/trendy/high end/basic) and do salivate over certain labels (Tocca! Tocca! Tocca!) but haven't been this bonkers over any particular item since college. If you see me running around town, I look pretty eclectic.

College was bad. I have no idea who thought up this stupid exercise, but suddenly a mass of girls (and yes, I was one of them) were desperately trying to one up each other with izods. That's right izods. Who had more izod belts, tops, jeans etc., we were a maddened crowd hunting for that stupid 'gator. I thought the frenzy had left me, but noooooooooooooooo!

Here I am an adult (nominally) who is now actually spending hours on ebay.com hunting for them. One day I watched an UGGS ebay acution start at $9.99 and by the third hour the price had climbed to over $300.

I was in the subway on my way to a friend's house, when a woman sat across from me on the train. She was wearing UGGS. They were the tall sand ones. I had to grip my seat so I wouldn't leap on her legs and pull them off.

A few days ago I'm walking to Bumble + Bumble to get my hair done and pass a shoe store. In the window are a pair of baby pink UGGS. I stared for too long, I think the salespeople inside got worried that I was stalking them.

It's not enough that I want one pair, somehow a weird wire in my brain had informed the rest of my body that I need three pair. One Black, One Sand and pink. They all have to be the high (tall) boot. This way the basics are covered.

Yeesh! What I really want to know is how did this happen? How did I pick up this weird lemming like desire to own them. Looking at the boot objectively, they're okay looking. Not really a wowzer pair, yet they softly call out to you the way the sirens teased Odysseus. And it's not fair, I tell you.

What is it about an object, any object that makes your mouth water, your heart quicken and all sane thoughts leave your head? Why do you stop being a rational person and become a slobbering fool whose only thought is UGGS or a birkin bag or juicy couture? I have friends who bow down to the Marc Jacobs store in the Village, I know people who are hunting for bags with Elvis on them...what happened to our brains? last summer it was the Siegerson Morrison flip flops (I suddenly have memories of Stef and I sitting on a stoop clutching each other as pairs walked by us in the heat). Now it's the UGGS.

Who does these things to us? I'm going to track that fool down and smack them with a three day old halibut fish. I really need to stop thinking about them. I know and understand they are an inanimate object and don't worry about me. I know that I will live a healthy and productive life without them. I just need a cure.

I think stuffing my ears with cotton before I go to sleep is the only way to deal with their wanton cries of "buy me! buy me!"

Wednesday, January 07, 2004

Ambulance Ltd., (TVT Records)

I have here, in my hot little hands an advance copy of the FULL LENGTH, yes! Full length CD that's coming out in the Spring. The clever folks at TVT Records are unleashing the CD around the time of chocolate bunnies.

Am I deliriously happy? Am I playing this over and over again? You betcha!

Too many times bands come out with a killer EP that just leaves you panting for more. The full length comes out after months of pining for it and it just bites the big one. Either they haven't put the tracks from the EP in the full length, or the full length is mediocre; as if they've exhausted their creative output and are just pushing buttons to get the hell out of the studio.

Not this time. Ambulance have not only hit their marks dead on, they've delivered a really strong cohesive release.

They've looked forward and back, utilizing the warm pyschedelia of the 60's, 90's jammy beats with a twist of the modern ironic sensibility that runs through our lives. They like to play with words and it shows. "You are a teenage runaway/you carry the people that you hate in a suitcase," from Michigan

Each of the 10 tracks on their new release carries musical and lyrical nuggets-- juicy warm guitars, multi-flavored orchestrations, drums that tickle your spine, phrases that you'll start repeating--this is an addictive release.

Quite rightly they're cutting a swath in New York; they don't sound like anyone else out now and the music scene is in dire need of fresh outlooks and visions, which they provide in abundance.

This is going to be an important release for the year 2004.

Should be hitting a store near you this spring.

Cehck out their website www.ambulancenyc.com

Sunday, January 04, 2004

I've been really sick. Was sitting down just about to write about the new Ambulance Ltd., release--I do have a copy and will pass on info soon, I promise when I was attacked by germs.

The next thing I know it's New Year's Day and I'm in the hospital. Oh joy. I was diagnosed with acute strep throat and given a shot in my butt.

So today is actually the first day that I've been able to sit up for more than five minutes.

I'm on an insane dosage of motrin which makes me feel higher than a kite. Didn't take it so I could write up my ballot and essay for the Village Voice critic poll and so I could at least write something here without you getting pissed off.

Hmm, will now take drugs and go back to sleep.