Another chance to turn it all around.

Let’s talk television for a minute. This is my new...

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:51:46 -0400

Let’s talk television for a minute.

This is my new favorite thing. I cannot stop watching it. It is fascinating, intense, dangerous, filled with great characters, and completely real.

While not working, I’ve pretty much run the course of television. One morning last week, I decided to watch an episode of “Deadliest Catch” while I had my regular breakfast of coffee and an english muffin with spicy peanut butter. I could not believe what I was watching (in all of the best ways that that implies), and started looking for it whenever I was in front of the television. Much to my luck, the fourth season just ended, so Discovery has been running it 24/7 more or less. (Also, it has THREE MILLION viewers a week and is one of the most successful shows on cable.) I’ve now seen most of the fourth season (some episodes twice!), a “Behind the Scenes” episode, and have the first season coming up on Netflix. If you want to get a good idea of how things go down, read this NYT article, which captures the spirit of the show perfectly (aside from a few minor factual errors, like how the weight of the crab pots is actually more towards 900 pounds, not 800).

This show is overwhelming. There have been episodes that I have been unable to remain in one place for because they’re so incredible. Things I’ve seen on the show - in one season, no less! - include: fishermen getting hit in the head by giant hooks, fishermen falling overboard, fishermen getting frostbite from freezing temperatures, leaks in engine rooms, fishermen beating the crap out of eachother while sliding around on a frozen deck, fishermen wrestling with giantmotherfuckingfish, captains who refuse to leave the wheel while they cough up blood, 50 foot waves, countless near death accidents and more wildly dangerous things that won’t do me any good to explain. These dudes are so manly it hurts!

My favorite - above - is Capt. Jonathan Hillstrand, of the Time Bandit. There are a lot of great anecdotes about him in the NYT article linked above, but one of my favorites that they don’t mention is when a wounded bird flew onboard and he took care of it to the extent that he gave it gave it its own box, named it, let it bunk in his room - all the while trying to maintain his manly image by pretending to not really care about it. Also, he saved a dude from another F/V (fishing vessel - I’m even up on the lingo) who fell overboard, and once the rescued guy was on his boat and wrapped in a blanket, they just kind of hugged, out of camraderie, gratefulness and relief. There are few things as heartwarming as watching two dudes hugging who risk their lives daily.

There are times when I thought to myself, “Oh, it’s going to get boring watching dudes just bring up huge metal crates full of crab,” but, you know, it never does.

MoveOn is giving away free Obama buttons

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:21:16 -0400

MoveOn is giving away free Obama buttons: Just enter your address, and they’ll send one to you. Pretty neat.

Jarvis Cocker, “Don’t Let Him Waste Your...

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:31:00 -0400

Jarvis Cocker, “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time”

Fitting for the topic of tumblrsation lately. Also, he was incredible at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Monday. Spastically and nerdily sexy. Mrowr.

It's like this:

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:48:27 -0400

Yes, sometimes women date shitty guys. And guess what? Sometimes guys date shitty women. This isn’t a war of women vs men, it’s about shitty people vs. decent people. If you want dates, you should be out there asking people on them. Because I can guarantee you that the obnoxious people of the world are asking more people on dates than the awesome ones.

Word of the Day: PAIN

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:50:00 -0400

This is one of those days where I never should have left my bed. Last night, while walking out of the Jarvis Cocker show, my shoe caught the edge of one of those metal grates that leads to basements, and I fell and busted the hell out of my knee (the one I busted while running up a subway step a couple months ago, so if I didn’t have a fucked up kneecap before, I probably do now). So, I’ve been hobbling around on that. Then, today, I smacked my hand against the edge of my desk chair, then I stubbed my toe against our coffee table. Not to mention that my shoulders and neck are in pain from the sunburns I got at Siren Fest on Saturday.

Back to laying in bed and watching Deadliest Catch I go.

"I mean look, Rolling Stone said, ‘Oldman is so skilled he makes virtue look exciting,’..."

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:19:11 -0400

“I mean look, Rolling Stone said, ‘Oldman is so skilled he makes virtue look exciting,’ ” Oldman said in an interview with The Associated Press, quoting the magazine’s review of “The Dark Knight” from memory. “You know what? That’s the best review I’ve ever had. … I’ll put that on my tombstone. ‘Makes virtue look exciting.’”

- Gary Oldman, on playing Gordon

BTW, the Dark Knight broke pretty much every opening weekend revenue record ever. Best Opening Day, Best Midnight Screening, Best Opening Weekend… Last week I predicted it would break the list of Top 10 Highest Grossing films, but I might have to up the ante…

I have seen The Dark Knight, and it is good. Very good. If I was forced to sum it up in one...

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:16:00 -0400

I have seen The Dark Knight, and it is good. Very good.

If I was forced to sum it up in one sentence, it would be this one: My heart was in my throat the entire time.

Trailer for Bill Maher’s documentary on religion, called...

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:04:00 -0400

Trailer for Bill Maher’s documentary on religion, called Religulous.

Cannot.fucking.wait. October 8th is too far away.

Reasons to Avoid McCarren Park Pool

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:54:00 -0400

At the Death Cab for Cutie concert, some friends and I were attacked by an out of control tent.
Today, they found a decomposing body there! (I smell the inspiration for an upcoming CSI: NY episode.)

I’ve stumbled upon the best Hall & Oates picture...

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:02:49 -0400

I’ve stumbled upon the best Hall & Oates picture ever!

The music video for the Notwist’s “Where In This...

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:23:06 -0400

The music video for the Notwist’s “Where In This World” is kind of perfect. (I just wish I could see it in better quality.)

"Over the course of four years and as many albums, The Hold Steady have been given the knee-jerk..."

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:18:24 -0400

“Over the course of four years and as many albums, The Hold Steady have been given the knee-jerk title of America’s Best Bar Band, and, stylistically speaking, Stay Positive, the group’s latest release on Vagrant, will do little to change that.”

- Aquarium Drunkard

Well, there’s an hour I don’t have to waste trying to see if this album is going to make me like them. Saved by the blogs!

Because Today I Booked A Ticket For Seattle. I'll Be There From Aug. 28 - Sept. 6th. Can You Say BUMBERSHOOT?

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:22:00 -0400

I have a strange relationship with my hometown. It doesn’t really connect to my childhood/growing up, although I suppose if I were to really examine things, the last time I was in Seattle for longer than a summer break was one of the most angry times of my life. Before that time, I don’t know that I had that many problems with Seattle. At the same time, living somewhere else made me see that there are things about it that are a problem for me, or would be if I was still there.

A lot of it is outlined in this Seattle Times article about the “Seattle Freeze.” It mostly talks about outsiders being the biggest victims of the isolation of Seattlites, but it influences the way natives are, too, it’s just not as noticable because it happens in an opposite way. People who move to Seattle from somewhere else lose social lives, confidence, that sense of connectedness. People who move from Seattle to somewhere else have all of that to gain.

I did gain all of those things when I left - and when you have them, in abundance, it’s hard to want to return to the infamous Seattle isolation. And I suppose that’s part of the issue now. It created this dichotomy in my life: Seattle Taylor and New York Taylor. In a way, I suppose I’ve spent much of my time trying to reconcile the two. Or, more accurately, burying as much of the old me as I can without losing it completely.

That article describes a cafe full of people on iPods and computers, and says that in Seattle, “A lot of what people call socializing is really just public isolation,” and it’s so true! Meanwhile, the last time I was at the cafe with wi-fi nearest me, I met up with a friend and we ended up discussing Obama vs. Hilary with an older gentleman with white hair and glasses. (Of course, conversely, it had to close because rent was too high.) People complain about talking during shows in New York, but people also move around, dance, clap their hands, scream, yell - display some kind of reaction to what they’re seeing. When I saw the Fleet Foxes last week, Robin Pecknold seemed completely overwhelmed by the positive audience response - and I’m sure it’s because Seattle crowds can be so tepid.

There are plenty of things I can’t deny. Because you have to work so darn hard for friendships there, they’re pretty long lasting. Most of my close friendships have not suffered from six years of absence. My love for Seattle sports teams and Seattle music is obviously in tact - I get outrageously happy whenever I see people wearing Mariners or Seahawks jerseys in NYC, and I still get excited when Seattle bands pass through town. It also explains a lot about the way that I get to know people, the way that I form connections - reserved, calm, collected, but a near over-sharer if you simply ask. I still get really excited about new people. I still find something alluring about the strong, silent type (only now the New Yorker in me is determined to crack them).

So many people I know talk about their hometowns with fondness or disdain, and I suppose I fall somewhere in between the two. But even though I often frame things as New York City vs. Seattle, it’s not really a battle. It’s not really about what’s better. There will never be a replacement for driving on the viaduct late at night with my windows open, for walking through the Pike Place Market, for going to Kerry Park late at night and seeing the city all lit up, for walking down Broadway, for a burger from Dick’s, for nachos at Bimbo’s (even if they changed their name, fuckers). Just like there will never be a replacement for walking through Prospect Park, for hearing jazz wafting down the street at the strangest times of day, for making friends on the subway, for fighting with assholes at Yankee Stadium, for the access to culture here that’s unparallelled anywhere else. Seattle has my past. New York City has my present. So, I guess you could say, for my birthday this year, I’m taking a time machine.

Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman end romance

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:00:17 -0400

Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman end romance : Maybe she really was fucking Matt Damon! (I know, I know - couldn’t help myself.)

Frank Sinatra, “That’s Life” You’re...

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:28:51 -0400

Frank Sinatra, “That’s Life”

You’re ridin’ high in April, shot down in May

Basically my theme song lately.

Yo

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:20:35 -0400

When’s the next tumblr meetup? There needs to be one I can actually go to.

Dear Two Gallants, Come back to the East Coast. I miss you.

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:54:15 -0400

Dear Two Gallants,

Come back to the East Coast. I miss you.

Anna, Mita & I at Battery Park this weekend.

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:41:14 -0400

Anna, Mita & I at Battery Park this weekend.

Fleet Foxes performing “Mykonos” at Bowery Ballroom...

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:05:00 -0400

Fleet Foxes performing “Mykonos” at Bowery Ballroom on July 9th.

You might try going to the YouTube page and viewing it in high quality. It makes a pretty big difference.

Someone posted one of my other videos and said the sound quality was bad, but I think it’s pretty good.

Reminder that Life is AWESOME

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:42:41 -0400

Things I’m doing within the next week:

Seeing Billy Joel @ Shea Stadium (gratis!)
Seeing Deerhoof play Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” (one of my favorite pieces of music) at Prospect Park (gratis!)
Seeing The Dark Knight on IMAX
Going to Siren Fest (gratis!) where I’ll see Broken Social Scene, Helio Sequence, Beach House, The Dodos and maybe some of those other bands
Going to see Apes & Androids (time for them to prove it to me) and A Place to Bury Strangers

Oh, New York.