I read in either AM NY or Metro (leaning towards to the AM) that at a recent advance screening of Star Wars Episode III, Steven Spielberg cried during the finale of the movie. well. perhaps this final sequel of the Star Wars epic may have some good things going for it, unlike the last two, Phantom Menace and Attack of The Clones, which weren't all that glowingly received by the critics. hopefully Anakin's transformation to Darth Vader'll be worth my $10.      Mike wrote me the following yesterday ~ le quote:

as it is, when i open ye olde site on mineth machine using safari, all
of the journal content is no longer in the middle. i get 2 boxes of
text, one upper left, one upper middle. both about 6 lines long and
about 42 characters long, give or take. the one in the middle appears
to start w/ the end of 2004 and go backwards?, and the one in the left
starts current and goes backwards. thought you should know. also,
loadtime was dramaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatically increased.

same issue on firefox, though much shorter loadtime (almost instantaneous).

don't get the text at all on ie. just says i lack the plugin to view text/html

endquote. argh. I checked at work, and from the Window 2000/IE desktop there, my site rendered fine, even in its non-virtuosity. but on that same desktop using Firefox (and using Firefox for the first real time, I think) I was able to confirm the scrambled code that Mike observed. and I'll take his word for the similar Safari confusion. I don't wanna make my site IE-only, which I guess it has become, all of a sudden. I'll leave it up for now, the journal window of the front page'll eventually have to be rewritten, cuz this vtable-with-data-binding doesn't seem to be cross-browser-compatible, right now at least.      last night I took a half-hour sabbatical from usual little-to-no-tv-watching stance and caught the lastest (2nd?) episode of the revived Family Guy. my God it was hilarious. the bit with Peter as a Wonder Twin "playing the waiting game" made me laugh out loud, in a fit of "that's so wrong but so funny"-ness. his joke had me chuckling for a good moment after it ended. the parts with the high school students were very laughable too. the show hasn't missed an insane beat, I'm happy to say.      after tweaking the hell out of the MSDN virtual code that I found yesterday and making it HTML-ready, I put it to use on this Happy Mother's Day, as the means of serving/displaying the glut of pseudo-content on this site (ie, my 7 months of journal entries) on demand. but in the HTML conversion, it seems like I lost the virtual magic I was going for, because instead of loading only when they're scrolled to, the other below-the-visible-window entries are loading in full. dang. back to the drawing board, and to see if I try this virtual stuff another way. at least it gave me an opportunity to organize my journal, which displays well enough, if non-dynamically, on the front page, though all the actual html data behind the entries has been moved to another folder.      I've been thinking and theorizing about the efficiency of this site. on the front page there's 7 months of journal entries available, but you can only see the last few days worth of them. so I got to wondering, what if all the journal content that below the horizon of the visible window appeared only when you scrolled to it? that is, scrolling down would call the content, which really isn't there, but immediately appears there upon request. if this theorized ability were possible, it would drastically reduce the pageload/loading time of my site. instead of loading all 180+ kilobytes of data, only a fraction of that would be needed at any time, since only that fraction would be visible.

     well, my digital dream is quite possible, and has been for some time. googling the terms "onscroll" and "load" brought me to the MSDN section of, of all places, Microsoft's online realm. I specifically landed on a page there by a Lead Program Manager who's nicknamed himself "the DHTML Dude." through the magic of what's know as virtual listing, data binding (displaying infro from another page within a parent page) and client-side coding, the DHTML Dude explained, huge amounts of data could be viewed a more manageable and way-faster manner. the key word is "virtual," keeping the data elsewhere until it's requested/scrolled to, and the trick is making that "onscroll" transition to the virtual data seamless, transparent and instantaneous.

     but I shouldn't say "trick", cuz the Dude showed the precise code to make virtual listing work. seeeing the formerly theorized being achieved, I downloaded a couple of his demonstrations, ones that used some lists written in XML. which is a markup language I don't use, but as of today I'm learning the ins and outs of. necessity is the mother of invention, as they say. so inspired by the feasibility of my goal, my current task is seeing how I can get my HTML content (which is full of CSS and styles) to work with the Dude's XML-specific code, which doesn't seem to support the styling of lists. I'm working hard on that right now, towards a leaner, meaner, virtually data bound version of my website, to quote the quite-awesome DHTML Dude.      today was a day of many musical adventures. way early in the morning before work, around 6 am or maybe even a few minutes before, I decided to invest myself in the mix cd of requests I'm putting together for a co-worker. some days ago I helped her find an online snippet of a Rod Stewart song that she enjoyed, and so I found myself buying his cover of These Foolish Things (no, not the Jewel version) offa iTunes before I had my breakfast.

     and before either of my eggs slipped their mortal shell, I was on to my second download. this next song was an unplanned one: I had my radio tuned, as it always is, to WNYC, so that I can absorb some of NPR's Morning Edition. maybe once during the hour or so that I listen before I head out the door by 7, they'll bridge a coupla news segments with a song. they usually skew towards oldies, and today was no exception. this morning's musical choice was a warm ray of springtime sunshine, brought to life by a string of lyrical "shoo-shoo-shoo's" that preceded the song's titular word, "Sugartown". I mentally jotted down just enough of Sugartown's other lyrics to enable a googling of its singer, who I learned was Nancy Sinatra. it was very well received when I played it at work; my co-worker, who sponsored my first Stewart download, asked it I could play it again, which I happily did.

     I followed up the morning's downloads with another pair of iTunes purchases around noon, towards both my co-worker's mix, and my own education of current radio tracks. I shelled out the big bucks, all $2 of them, for r&b crooner John Legend's Let's Get Lifted Again, and Just A Moment, by Nas. if my co-worker, a mother with children my age, is into these songs, then they must have something good going for them, and by finally hearing them I can maybe atone for not doing so earlier.      the train ride from West 96th Street down to Brooklyn (following maybe the last staff development of this school year) was as good an excuse as any to starting reading my next book, Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness. I chose it because a) I'm not gonna re-re-read The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer just yet, and b) I couldn't find my other possible next-read, H.G. Well's The Invisible Man. I only managed to get no more than a few pages into Heart Of Darkness, because that powerful cocktail of sitting-in-a-conference-room-for-7-hours + less than 8 hours of sleep last night (this has quickly become the strived-for sleep alotment for optimal next-day performance) caught up to me, all of a sudden. and the persuasive rocking of the train, surely that was factor too.      I read through the end of Notes From The Underground today. the first section of it proved to be quite heady stuff, with its rants and diatribes against society and the author's own failings. it built up a structure of pessimism that founded the following character interactions very well. their sniping interplay, and the Dostoevsky's dark-eyed, insular world view and personality, are what fascinated me the most about this work. it's not often that I come across a literary figure who goes through such pains to assail his own character, and paint himself as a twisted little shrew of a man. but it was truth about himself that he was seeking, and despite his bookish mind he chose not to escape his worn-down, erratic and venomous self, but to acknowledge it.      I guess that art-related after-work conversation kickstarted something and provided some of the inspiration I needed, becuz I finally found some time and started employing my scanner in a creative way tonight. I digitized some by-hand creations of mine, that where expressly drawn to be scanned and tweaked on my computer. tonight's work may never be seen by the masses, not anytime soon probably, but at least I'm taking a step in the right direction.      sometime in the afternoon, in the calm that follows the manageable storm of my workday, I reflected with a co-worker about the version of "writer's block" that afflicts people who paint, draw, sketch and design. I think she said that she had at last broken though a bout of stagnation, while I, myself, I'm still trapped in artistic limbo. I told her that I had bought a new scanner, with the high hopes of using it to transform my paper line art. but since getting it last Wednesday, I've done nothing more than scan in a few family photos. hmmm. wonder when my spark of inspiration will come, perhaps it's still gestating.      well, 2046 proved to be just too popular a movie last night, as tickets were sold out by the time Kim and I got there. she and I and Steve still wanted to make a go at another movie, and after reviewing our options, I recommended 3-Iron, a new (at least to American shores) foreign film that I just read about in the latest ish of TimeOutNY, that was playing downtown at the Sunshine Theatre. it was one of the most subtle, delicate, and emotionally satisfying movies in my cinematic memory. occasionally funny, it had a quiet affect to it that grew more sublime as the flim progressed. and though 3-Iron had music and the secondary characters spoke throughout, the actions and interactions of the two main characters likened them to those of the silent films of old, for me (the last movie that I saw that was in a similar vein, was Little Voice). for those reasons and more, 3-Iron has a magic to it that I hope the wider movie-going populace experiences, as it's one of those smaller films that inertially moves you to a happier place.

     and now for something completely different (well, genre-wise anyway). if the new Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy movie (which I haven't seen) has done anything, it's produced the most hilarious music video I've seen in a while. it features Sam Rockwell (aka, "who's that actor? I've seen him before somewhere, he's cool") as the "un-dumb" but actually clueless rock star/party animal president of the universe. he's all about "democracy and stuff like that." the music video to this movie-related song is a must-download of inane greatness. so damn catchy, I've hit the rewind button way too many times today.      gonna make an attempt at seeing 2046 this evening with Kim and Steve and whoever may join us. Kim suggested we get there, to the Regal Cinema theatre, an hour ahead of time, to increase whatever chances we have of actually getting tickets to this high-demand film (which is one of the bigger attractions of the great but woefully short TriBeCa Film Festival).      my org's having one of its semi-usual post-work socials nearby my site, a mere stone's throw actually, at some bar on West 4th or 3rd. whether or not I go remains to be seen.      continued watching Rain Man (been doing so on the installment plan this week), up through to the casino scene, when I decided to switch discs and put on In The Mood For Love, to reacquaint myself with Wong Kar-Wai's evocative masterpiece before seeing his latest creation, 2046, this Saturday. I watched In The Mood For Love all the way through, and the film was even more beautiful and romantic and thought-provoking, this second time seeing it.      I took a trip during my lunch break today, to buy a scanner. this was no ordinary, walk down the street though, it was in reality a two-trains-to-get-there ("there" being the Staples near 8th and Broadway), three-trains-to-get-back-to-the-Village voyage. I ended up being on-the-go for a good 50 minutes of my hour-long break, but I was victorious in my mission, securing the $30 HP Scanjet 4600 that's now at home, and working quite well.      this morning I was told something that very much made my day, something that has instanteously become one of my favorite anecdotes. place and setting was work, a bit before 7:45 am, during that amniotic period that precedes the official start of our workday (that is, 8:00 am). I'm alternatively milling about my desk and making small talk with the other teacher/member of our classroom "team," as she likes to call us. a few minutes later one of the therapists comes into our classroom to check her email, cuz the therapy room's laptop can't go online for some reason. so she's sitting there for a moment, not long, and then says something to the effect of, "Roger, I want to tell you about this dream I had, that you were in." I captively listened as she took a minute or two to relate what she said was a very vivid and memorable dream of hers; unlike numerous ethereal ones that you forget quickly after them, she told us, she clearly recalled many details of this particular one. so in this dream of hers, I was in a band (which in reality I'm not, but it's clear as day to me why I was in her dream) and I was somewhere, maybe in a club, hanging out with Pharrell of N.E.R.D./Neptunes, and the one-and-only P. Diddy. I was already giddy with excitement from the whole me-in-someone's-else's-dream, me-as-a-musician-in-someone's-else's-dream things, so I literally had to laugh out when I heard those 2 musical celebrity names, and the fact that I would be hobnobbing with them (sidenote: Pharrell, I still got love for him, even following his overexposure. Diddy, well, I admired what he did through the B.I.G. days, though now I just watch Puff from afar for the spectacle that he is). and the reason why I was enjoying their company, my dreaming co-worker said, was because I had a demo tape I wanted to pass on, presumably to them. which simply broadened the ear-to-ear smile that was already gracing my face, during her dream-retelling. I somehow managed to sporadically suspend my stunned listening pleasure to enunciate my amazement about the this-and-thats of her music-inclined dream about me. and when she finished, I, still in a stupor caused by the dream's coolness, told her that I'm definitely telling others about it. and as for the overall musical theme of my co-worker's dream, it was provoked by, and further confirms, my status as the "music guy" at work. the label itself is a self-imposed one, to be sure, but I think it adequately describes one impression, one facet of my identity that has come shining through, what with all my at-work ipodding for the room's enjoyment, and the repeated question of "who's this?" when I play a song that catches someone's attention. it's worked me into someone's subconscious, which, to me, is just so amazing and entertaining to think about.      more movie stuff: Kim re-asked me if I'm still in for catching the latest Won Kar Wai film, 2046 (which is a continuation of sorts to In The Mood For Love, an engaging and dreamy work that I wrote about before), when it screens this Saturday, as part of the TriBeCa Film Festival. "definitely" I told her.      started watching one of my all-time favorite movies, Rain Man, tonight, right up through to the diner/toothpick scene (I choose the movie from my small pile of recently purchased, unopened (and some not yet seen) DVDs. the pile also includes Raging Bull, Harold And Maude, The Excorcist: Director's Cut, Beetlejuice, Army Of Darkness, Lost In Translation, and 1 or 2 more that escape me right now). anyway, I've seen Rain Man before, but always on TV, so I'm getting the complete Ray and Charlie Babbitt experience now. and as she told me in an email, Rain Man is also high on Dana's list of great movies. her favorite part is, quote, "the fish sticks part - "you want eight fish sticks? You want eight fish sticks!? Here Ray, here's your eight fish sticks!" Gotta go to Kmart. Gotta got to Kmart." to which there is only reply: "yeah."      googled and found some fairly cool and interactive html code, that'll eventually make its way into a very dynamic page on this site. I'm working on it now, more as it develops.      quote:

"Street vendors lined Lexington Avenue on Saturday, pulling open their black garbage bags full of $25 Louis Vuitton knockoffs to overeager tourists. One among the many sold two $5 pencils to a spectacle-wearing, well-spoken Indian whose eye for a New York bargain is six years in the making. The deal done, the vendor warned him: 'One pencil will write only the truth, the other only lies, and it will be nearly impossible to tell one from the other.'"

     endquote. yesterday's edition of the Metro newspaper reprinted this intro to a short story by the renowned (and in some places reviled) author Salmon Rushdie, the short story being his contribution to the currently-running Festival of International Literature (it's sponsored by PEN, and Rushdie is also the President of its American Center). it's the fantastic element of the last line, the promise and the curse of such a writing implement, that most captivated me. perhaps one day I'll be able to read the story in full, and discover where Rushdie's lines, so full of magical potent, lead.      "I have miles to go before I sleep" ~ Robert Frost      heading downtown tonight to see The Hong Kong. been waiting a while (since September) to see them again, so this gig is amongst my most eagerly awaited. George is in for the show, and Mike and James are doing their damnedest to come along too.      this afternoon me, Mike, Dana, Margalit, Jess and a slew of her friends are gonna see the new Neil LaBute play, This Is How It Goes, starring Ben Stiller, Amanda Peet and Jeffrey Wright. it'll be my first LaBute anything, having not caught any of his movies or other theatre works, so it'll be good to finally see something his caustic and controversial mind has produced.      email of the day:
y'ello y'all. on April 23rd Out Hud will be playing a show at the Bowery Ballroom.

um, Out Hud, who? a reputable mp3 blogger had this to say of them:
"I firmly stand by my claim that Out Hud is the best show you'll see live... everyone is chomping at the bit for a more substantial dose of what their [2nd full-length release] is about... it's awesome. buy their albums, but more importantly, SEE THEM LIVE. if you've got someone special in your life, the music'll make you want to rub yourself all over them. if you don't have someone special in your life, chances are you'll find yourself rubbing yourself all over someone who will rapidly become pretty special."

a ringing endorsement if you ask me, though it only took a highly pleasurable song like "It's For You" to sway me to their side. Out Hud's sonic mission is getting the masses to dance with their downtown sound, a beautiful struggle in which they succeed. a popular music website called their sonic creations "delirious dance-pop, smart and innovative... [with] sexy sing-song vocals." Matt Perpetua, the preeminent mp3 pusher of fluxblog fame, said "It's For You" is the best dance pop song of the year so far.

I stumbled upon those accolades, though, AFTER hearing and realizing Out Hud's essential grooving sounds for myself. thru a coupla iTunes purchases ("One Life to Leave (A Requiem for a Requiem Verison)" is another enjoyable groove off a prior EP) and tracks from mp3 blogs, I convinced myself that I must go see them live. thus the 2 tickets that I bought, late last month. it was $15 a pop, and there's actually 2 other bands on the night's bill, so the fiver-a-band breakdown is financially nice.

check out Out Hud online beforehand, and if your next week Saturday schedule permits, take my other ticket or hit up this link, for the show. should be a cool time.

rockitdontstopit.

-- Rog

PS. Out Hud's almost 2 bands in 1, as 3 of its members are in the band !!! (chk-chk-chk).      blessed be the latest no-work-today/three-day weekend. I'm not even sure why we have the day off; I asked a co-worker who wasn't entirely sure herself; she kinda figured that a day for staff development got rescheduled and freed up, perhaps. whatever, I dunno. the day off is especially welcome, cuz I've been a bit more drained this week than I usually am. I sat out the usual Thursday night fraternizing, if only cuz I didn't think I had the stamina to stay vertical for even a few more hours. unlike the Monday night of the Sonic Youth show, a night when George and I spent a good 5 hours on our feet, taking in the rock. now that was price worth paying then, but last night my muscles were nowhere near as prolific.      today's moment of Zen: listening to my students discuss "My Dad The Rock Star," a cartoon starring Gene Simmons of KISS. I haven't seen it, but I'd watch it once just for the thin-veiled rock jokes that're surely hidden within its dialogue. and if I were a writer on the show, I definitely make sure they riffed on Ozzy and have the Gene/father figure bite the head off a chocolate bat during one episode. that's a no-brainer.      ok, I'm getting a little worried here. yesterday morning, around noon there was a water main break at the intersection of Carmine and Bleecker, which is where I work. Carmine, between Our Lady of Pompeii and the Italian restaurant across the street was flooded. can't-cross-the-street-flooded. people were stranded on either block. dirty brown water was gushing like a vortex down the nearest sewer. it was a scene, people were queuing on the corners just to watch the aquatic spectacle. I saw a camera phone or two being held in the air, to record the event. it even had an effect on my school, as my students had to end their lunch a bit early, and leave the downstairs cafeteria in case any errant pipewater found its way down there.

     us teachers discussed the possibility of school being cancelled today, should the water break on through to our educational side. thankfully that didn't occur. in store for today was structural damage of a different nature. the first clue that there was something strange in the neighborhood came when I noticed, again during my lunchtime break, that traffic in every direction near my school had come to a standstill. the crosswalks were all full of immobilized vehicles. I only had to walk and look a little further down 6th Avenue to see what the problem was. it involved a two-story building, a commercial space with some heavy construction going on, and its roof, which looked dangerously close to collapsing. the local fire department was assembling by the building, which now featured a large hole in its upper facade through which us pedestrians could clearly see the nearly caved-in roof. a fire truck had extended its cherry-picker arm to assess the damage, high in the air. on the street, frustrated drivers continued to idle and people and the occasional camera witnessed and digitized the event. later on in the day I joked with a co-worker that between yesterday and today, it seems that our little slice of the Village is going to hell in a handbasket. I wondered, what's going to be the next one-day mini-disaster.      tonight I'll finally merge my years of being awed by Sonic Youth with my first time seeing them. the show's gonna be a way different trip than most of gigs I've seen in the past, if sheer longevity is a factor. SY's been a band since 1981, and husband and wife Thurston and Kim've been rocking since '78/79. but staying power aside, it's the brilliance and concussive, trashed and transformative power of their songs played live, that I'm bracing myself for. I have no idea what Sonic Youth's setlist will be tonight, probably a mix of the new and the old, but one thing's for sure: it's gonna be a wild time.      ah, procrastination. you allowed me to wait until yesterday to get my taxes done. better yet, you had me go way the hell up into Queens to do so, providing me the wonderful opportunity to waste most of my Sunday traveling, for what ended up being a 15 minute sit-down with my tax preparer. at least it was pretty painless, and he convinced me that I'll be getting a tidy little refundary sum of money back this year from the IRS. yeah, we'll see.

     oh, and Odie's housewarming party last night: wall-to-wall coolness. I actually managed to sustain a few moments of mingling with people I didn't know, in addition to hanging with George, Dena, Mike, Dana and Jess. those mingly conversations centered mostly on Army of Darkness (a guy named Mike that I met hadn't seen it), and I was gently instructed to see the first 2 Evil Dead movies, which I myself haven't. I think that conversation somehow stemmed from one about the Office, both the new Americanized/Steve Carrell-starring version, and the origin, British one, cuz someone saw the DVD of the latter one sitting by Odie's living room tv.

     and I think one of the songs on the mix I made and brought instigated a short-lived bout of dancing from 2 ladies at the party. the rest of the tracks, well, they were barely audible above the din of the crowd, cuz the audio source was a small and not-so-powerful clock radio. I'll have to give the mix a louder spin at some other social event if I can. that was the only asterisk to a right-on time in my home borough, thanks to my fellow Brooklynite Odie.      tonight is that joyous occasion where I actually get to spend a Saturday night in Brooklyn. this so rarely happens, way more often than not the gravitional pull of Manhattan and friends on the island draw me there-ward. but Odie's "better late than never" house-warming party in Park Slope'll remind us all of the very-quite-niceness of places outside, and the fact that there is life outside of, Manhattan. in the immortal words of Nu Shooz, I can't wait. a list of last night's highlights:

bought Lost In Translation (I'm the last person on earth to not see it) and
     Army of Darkness, for $9.99 each at Tower

saw Allan Cumming and Katie Holmes on West 34th, posing for paparazzi shots
     outside the FiFi awards (frangance industry's self-accolades)

met up w/ Kim, whom I haven't seen in ages, to try & see Donnie Darko: Director's Cut

wandered with Kim & found possibly the last place in NY to sell a slice of pizza for $1

missed Donnie Darko due to it being sold out

learned lesson: get to box office as early as possible, to convert passes to tix

hopped L train with Kim to go to KEXP Listener's Party that Jess was going to

got to Cellar with Kim, where KEXP party was at, discovered Jess was not there

walked to Union Square to Kim; chatted and laughed there while glimpsing
     skater girls and boys out of the corner of my eyes

parted ways with Kim, had a much better time than just seeing the movie we missed

     to Frank the Bunny: hopefully me and Kim'll see ya on the big screen tonight (ala the free screening of Donnie Darko: Director's Cut).

     and to the dude driving down Bleecker, pumping Rock You Like A Hurricane by The Scorpions from your car's stereo: you're awesome.      in response to the Vatican choosing this Friday for the Pope's funeral, my school and other Catholic schools will be closed for the day, so that their constituents can observe the ceremonies, and pay their last respects.      started reading Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground this morning, on the morning train commute. it's a little obtuse, the beginning at least, but perhaps I should as much from a 19th century intellectual such as the one I'm reading. an email I sent out this afternoon. quote:

     "I was sent this today:

[You] and one guest are cordially invited to a special screening of
Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut
Thursday, April 7, 2005 at 08:00 PM
Loews 34th Street // 312 W. 34th St. // New York, NY 10001

yup, the latest installment of a free flick for one of you, if you wanna join me. the get-there time would probably be closer to 7, to possibly wrangle a spot on the possible line (one of them first-come, first served dealies).

hit me back if you have any interest. -- Rog"

     I got 2 responses, I'm awaiting confirmation from one of them.      as I and much of the world learned yesterday, Pope John Paul II has passed away.

     I wrote the following to a few friends this early evening: "it might be best [for me] to get as much rest as possible before work tomorrow. it could be quite a day, given that I work at a Catholic school... and obviously the impact of the Pope's passing is going to have a strong effect on the people and staff there. even I have felt his absence, in my own way. and I'm foreseeing the possibility of discussing this with my students, and [I wonder] what I'll see in the eyes of the principal, who is a nun, when I greet her in the morning."      my Long Island family's coming over today (my aunt, and cousins both older and younger), which means I gotta transform myself into "entertainer" mode, which I've been looking forward to. though any elaboration on the awesomeness of Sin City will, like my Cowboy mouth comments, will come in the near future.      I'm about to head out to go catch a 6pm, opening day screening of Sin City with Todd and Matthew. insert months and months of anticipation here.

     gonna have to leave any lengthier reflections on last night's Cowboy Mouth show til later, but right now I will say this: that was a pretty damn good show.      last night I finished reading 1984 (excluding the Appendix and Afterword, which I completed today). it's such a devastating, disturbing, eye-opening work of fiction, and the most terrifying book I've ever read. not terrifying in the horror-movie, cheap scare kind of way, but frightening in the sense that the suffocating, brutal regime (I almost called it a society, but it's certainly not one) portrayed in Orwell's book seemed so pervasive, so all-encompassing, and so real. 1984 has torn a hole in my consciousness of the way things are, and the way things might be. and Orwell's text-within-the-text analysis of man, socioeconomics, government, progress and war is sheer brilliance. it was so engrossing, as engrossing as the external plot; if that were an actual book, I would read it cover to cover.

     I don't know what I'm gonna read next, guess I'll make that choice and start a new book tomorrow. as for tonight, the plan is to meet up at Coppersmiths for drinks, and then hoof it back down to BB King's for the Cowboy Mouth show. we should get there in time catch the opening act, The Legendary J.C.'s, too. "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever."

     those damning and cautionary words constitute my absolute favorite line from 1984. I finally came across that sentence today, as I move toward the waning pages of the book. and I say "finally" because I've known and internalized that quote years before reading them in the actual context of Orwell's genius literary work (it was half a decade or so ago in college that I stumbled upon a quotation of the line; I was so spontaneously moved by the power of the words that I immediately had to scribble them down on a scrap of paper, to re-transcribe and memorize them later).

     and today, that line, under the force of gravity created by all the other words that preceded it, exhausts and crushes me with more emotion and finality, than my first out-of-context confrontation with its words. that sentence so perfectly crystallizes one of Orwell's sentiments within the book, and I'm anxious to see how that is resolved with the forthright heart of the main character, a heart that dares not be crushed beneath the iron bootheel of eternal inhumanity.      you know, I've made some mistakes in my life. I once removed the "DO NOT REMOVE" safety tag from an extention cord. I've done kareoke without drinking enough beforehand. one time I decided not to step on a pigeon when I had a perfect chance (that feathered rat totally wouldn't've seen it coming). yes, I have sinned. but my latest, greatest error in judgment, what's been killing me as of late, is my recent decision to order only one box of Samoa Girl Scout cookies, from a co-worker. why oh why did I get 2 boxes of chocolate chip, when instead I could've doubled or maybe even tripled my order of the heaven-sent Samoas? those coconut-topped confections have instantly become my favorite cookie. as soon as I noticed how deliciously superior they are to the other cookies I bought, I became very conservative in my eating them, budgeting their intake to only a few a day. and now I'm on my last one, alas. I think tomorrow I'll give in to temptation, and when I partake of my final Samoa, I'll remind my future self to order multiple boxes of those ambrosial delights.      yesterday, just before leaving George's sometime after midnight, Mike handed him and me our tickets for the Cowboy Mouth show this Thursday (Dana and someone else'll be joining us as well). George made some inquiry about the seating arrangement for the show, and Mike said something to the effect of, "Don't worry about seats. This is the kind of band where the lead singer will come over to you and taunt you if you're sitting down. Trust me, everyone will be standing up." ha, good. if Cowboy Mouth's the tear-the-roof-off-this-place kind of band I've read them to be, then they'll be best enjoyed in an upright, vertical position.      nothing short of a Lee Goldsteinism can capture the epiphanous discovery I made today (though it's something obvious to, and long-used by, serious page designers), that the cascading style sheet is a beautiful, time-saving, code-shortening thing. toying around with a css file to enhance my front page links, it "dawned" on me that similar, dynamic improvements could be done for my journal entries' dates and titles. now I can stamp the same settings for that daily info in 1 line of code, instead of the 3 lines it used to take me. multiply that by 180 or so entries, and we're talking a leaner, meaner site, underneath. "style-sheet.css" -- I like it alawt.      yes, as the ever-lovin' sources from the last entry said, I've snazzified my site in the most elementary of ways, by linking out to the sites of a few recently-mentioned bands. hey, it's a start.

     in an hour or so I'll be MTAing up to George's for a chill night of DVDs with him and Mike, who just called me, mid this sentence. 9 pm's when it's all going down, Upper West Side style.      now that I'm on vay-kay, will I use the time to work on some coding tweeks for this site? sources say...      Mike sent me and others the following yesterday:

"Subject: Concert Alert!
yo,
my all time favorite live band, Cowboy Mouth, is playing at BB King's next thursday. I'm going, definitely, no questions. Who wants to join me? Tix are $18 advance. I'm going to go to get them at the box office, so hopefully fewer charges. I'd like to go tomorrow, so let me know who wants in and how many and let's make it happen. jam can vouch for their excellence. rog, you have no choice but to attend. the rest of you would be fools to miss it. so let me know asap. -- mwm"

to which I replied, to him et al:

"Subject: Cowboy Mouth, and more bands to catch in April

well, seeing as how I have no choice but to attend, ha ha, you're obliged to pick me up a ticket then, Mike. I'll hit ya back monetarily at the next opportunity.

as for April, it could be a helluva month for live music. consult your calendars...

April 19th: The Hong Kong, a beloved NY band of mine (see my Oct. 1st/very first website entry of last year for my declaration of love for them) will be playing the next VICIOUS monthy party (http://jenyk.com/VICIOUS.htm) at Rothko. when tickets are available, I'll be snapping up a couple, as The HK are a can't-miss band. 3 others'll be playing that night too (The Harlem Shakes, for one).
check out a few HK songs here ("Maserati" is full of buzzing downtown gorgeousness):
http://www.etherdrag.com/thehongkong/audio.html
and definitely devote some broadband energy into downloading a pastiche vid of recent live songs:
http://www.etherdrag.com/thehongkong/movies/hktrailer.mov

April 27th: I'm thisclose (notice the lack of space between those words) to getting tix to see Morningwood, another NY band. gotta love their name, and with songs called "One Track Mind" and "Take Off Your Clothes," the moniker's probably justified. I'm liking the lil bit I've heard of them so far (sample lyrics: "nuhnuhnuhnew york girls, c'mon you know you're hot"), and according to their site's press page, the lead singer's a pretty raucous and electic lady. the band's opening for the Kaiser Chiefs tomorrow, so they've definitely got street cred. when they play this 4/27 show, they're actually opening for The Raveonettes, that Danish group of good repute, also worth checking out. so come for Morningwood, stay for Raveonettes, vice-versa, whatevs.
read more about MW here: http://www.morningwoodrocks.com/bio_press.php

I gots me a few more music show things on the April horizon, more about them as they materialize.

also, The Album Leaf are playing Northsix on April 1st. I'll let George field that one, cuz he proposed going to it, and his better knowledge of the band supercedes my non-existant knowledge of them.

your sonic voyeur du jour,
-- Rog"      I'd like to say that I've earned at least this half-day of pre-vacation work I have today, seeing as how I've been up since about 1:45 am this morning, and from that time til 6 am, I did actual job-related work. it was something that I could've possibly gotten away with not doing, but when I woke up at a quarter to 2, my mind set upon the realization that it would be great if I could get this project, one that had been on my mind for a week or so, done before the Spring vacation (which is tomorrow through April 3rd). so I lurched from bed, flipped on and hunkered down in front of the computer, and over the next four hours turned my ethereal idea into reality. sometime before I set off for my morning commute (which was painless compared to yesterday's fire-delayed one) I emailed the fruits of my labor, a Word document, to myself, so that I could reproduce them at work. there I ran into a coupla hitches that aimed to derail my early morning productivity. the first computer I tried to print my document on jammed quite nastily, issuing a torn and smudged half of a page. then I tried the next computer. I wasn't aware of this problem before, but all of a sudden Word, the program itself, refused to run or open any Word documents, citing some arcane operational error. very disheartening. in time I returned to the first computer, fumbled with a few more unconstructive attempts at printing before I opened up the printer, took out a removeable section, and discovered the culprit: the half piece of paper that was still in the printer, from my original misprint. I extracted it, and all printing systems were go after that; my document printed with ease. Murphy's Law had devolved into Murphy's Bill, thankfully.

     and because it was a half-day, my responsibilities limited due to the shortened day, I had the time today to transform another thought-of-a-project into a tangible form, and issue to those whom it was intended for, in the nick of pre-vacation time. literally a minute, if not seconds, before some of them left for their own vacation. I was very much going "whew" in my head; the harried minutes leading up to document hand-over were worth it. my productivity was meant to sponsor productivity in others, over the break, and if today's work does that, I'll be satisfied.

     the work day, post-dismissal, ended with two unexpected surprises, though only one of which I'm at liberty to discuss here. I was writing down something when the lights went out in the classroom, and it took me a few seconds to register that the Happy Birthday song being sung by my co-workers was intended for me. well, for me and another co-worker with a March birthday, actually. not that I didn't enjoy it, all the same. two Fridays ago, on the day before my actual birthday, everyone originally serenaded me with the song, so the re-celebration of my birthday today was certainly unexpected, but just as nice and welcome. when it came time to blow out the candles on the chocolate cake in our honor, my co-worker and I humorously decided that we had to do it at the same time. with wishes in mind we did, and served our fellow well-wishers and ourselves. I'm lucky to work with what is a wonderful group of people, overall. as I ease myself into the next 11 days of vacation, I'll definitely keep their kind gestures, and positive influence, in mind.      I endured a commute from hell this morning, along with what must be thousands of other New Yorkers -- it was literally a trial by fire, I can safely say. my particular version of the morning ordeal began innocently enough. I got on my usual 2 train a little after 7 am. things, and the train, were rolling along nicely for the first part of my ride. then we came to Sterling Street. instead of the doors opening, closing, then us chugging along to the next stop, the train paused there. I've unfortunately grown accustomed to trains stopping for a minute or more at certain stations (to my chagrin, the 1/9 does this every morning at Chambers Street) so it was no big deal at first. but as 5, then 10, then fifteen minutes passed, suddenly it became clear that this was no ordinary stoppage. the train's conductor did make announcements in the meantime, but at first they were elusively uninformative. "we are are experiencing delays at this time" or something superficial to that effect, was what we were told, early on into the interruption. by degrees he let on that they had "a situation up ahead." in time the situation became an "emergency" one, and eventually the conductor relented and told us that a fire had halted service to Atlantic Avenue, both uptown and downtown along its related lines. apparently one person, if not more, had to be carried off out of some other train or station, because of the smoke and fire conditions. my own train was going nowhere, my morning commute had come to a standstill.

     prior to being enlightened to the true severity of the train problem, in those intermediary minutes of cluelessness, I responded like a number of steadfast fellow commuters, by just sitting there. sitting there and holding onto the faint hope that time would solve our transportational dilemma. just wait it out. I began reading, looking occasionally from the book's pages to notice people trickling off the train, more fed up with the train's inertia than me. but as the time neared 8 am, with me on a motionless train for the better part of an hour, I decided that if I wanted to get to work sometime in the morning, however late, I'd best find some alternate route. so I got off the train, and entered the station, still not really knowing how I would manage to get to Manhattan. I quickly gathered, or more like overheard that this business-attired man, as he asked the token booth clerk directions to the next nearest non-affected train station, was in the same bind. I didn't at all catch the actual directions he received, but when I saw him head off towards the upstairs exit to the street, I figured that if I tailed him, I'd be moving in the right direction. so I did. when he stopped to ask a passerby outside for further directions to the Botanic Gardens Station (where we stranded 2/3/4/5 riders could catch the unafflicted B and Q), I stopped too. properly re-directed, he, and I, continued. I would only need to follow my erstwhile "guide" for a block or two, because we joined a transient queue of people who could only be headed for the same destination. after 10 minutes or so of walking, I reached the station, which was full of a sea of people. when the first train, a Q, came, I internally mirrored the spoken sentiment of a women near me: "I'm not gonna even try and get on." yeah, I thought I'd avoid the maddening, massive crush to get on this train, and try the next one. when the following one, a B train, rolled in, it looked nearly as packed as the last one. but this time, when the train's doors opened in front of me, no one got off, and no one on the platform dared get on. no one, except me.

     I inhaled my way onto this B train, amazed that I actually fit, and cautious not to invoke the ire of the rest of the sardine-like passengers. I waited an interminable minute for the train's doors to close, to see if any extruding part of me would get pinched by them as they closed (I was pretty much flush against the doors) -- thankfully I was saved by a few centimeters of actual space in front of them. the train heaved into movement, and soon was hurtling down the tracks as normal trains do. the next station was a trying one, as the influx of people was oppressive. us hurdled masses were far more hurdled than than we cared to be, any personal space was a luxury we had to do without. we kept up the sardine thing for a few stations, after which I eventually enjoyed some breathing room, and an actual section of handrail to grab onto. I guess I spent 20 or 30 minutes on that B train, which took me right to West 4th Street. when I finally walked into OLP, the time was 9 o'clock. I thought I was going to lose so much of my morning, but in reality I was merely an hour late. underground and in the trains, though, the time seemed to pass far more slowly, I felt. anyway, the cavalcade of "good mornings" I received was enough to snap me out of whatever daze my stop-and-go commute had put me in, though the ordeal has left me with the lasting reminder that I, like so many other city-dwellers, am at the mercy of the MTA. a shut-down in transit service can possibly shut down my day.      I finished re-re-reading A Clockwork Orange tonight (this being my third time reading it, I believe). I'm tempted to call the book brain candy, because of its thoroughly tactile, visceral, excitable language and voice. but I'm equally awed by the underpinning layers of meaning and social commentary that found the text's plot, and they're far more pronounced and profound and meaningful for me, this time around, some years after the last time I read the book. the passage of time, the other books on personhood and existence I've recently read, and this point where I am in life (a transitional one, to be sure) -- these things colored my present reading of A Clockwork Orange, and at their nexus is where I map out this particular encounter with the book. I don't know where and what condition I'll find myself the next time I read it, but those factors will, either subtlely or overtly, strengthen the poignancy of Burgess' masterwork, and I look forward to that.      two days ago I made a throw-away joke-of-a-subject-line that referenced the pseudo-technology behind everybody's favorite time-traveling vehicle, the gull-winged DeLorean from Back To The Future, for Friday's journal entry. well, today comes the sad news that John DeLorean, the renegade executive and designer behind the car that bore his name, has passed away, following complications from a stroke. this is a bittersweet moment, as the man will be missed, but at the very least, he and his unforgettable creation will live on in our cinematic and collective memory.      despite the annoying head cold and sore throat I'm currently nursing, I'm gonna make my way over to Dive 75 tonight, as will Jess, Dan, and George, for a double-birthday get-together/drink-together for Dan Rohtbart's lady Betsy and a friend of hers. they picked a swell spot for the occasion, though Dive 75 is hardly a "dive" by any stretch of the imagination. it's way too nice and clean a joint for such a moniker. and it's on the Upper West Side, to boot. now Manitoba's and Siberia, the latter being located in the shadow of Port Authority, those are dives. very dirty, very rock-n-roll. tatooed barkeeps and the like. though tonight's tavern'll be far more on the classier side. there ain't no big problem in that, really.      in lieu of doing the teacherly thing, I headed up by Columbia Universityland for one of our seasonal staff trainings today. unfortunately I left both of the books I'm reading right now (A Clockwork Orange, and Freedom, by a modern philosopher named Osho) at home on my bed, forgetting to stuff them into my messenger bag in the morning -- I felt quite lost and out of sorts during my train rides up and downtown. not that I mind listening to music when I'm on the subway, but it's just that I'm very attached to reading as I'm on-the-go, and I'm so very absorbed by my current reads that I actually look forward to the commute, so that I can pick up where I left off. also time/my commute seems to pass faster when I've got my head in the literary clouds. so I had to improvise and make due with doing a crossword puzzle, which I usually enjoy, when I'm stationary, though. oh well. not the biggest problem in the world, and I suppose there's a silver lining, it being that I have that much more of the 2 books to enjoy later on. "whenever i wake up
trying to take a shape of
turning to the whole wide world I made up
the lights are golden..."

     -- dreamy lyrics by Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), for, of all things, a Spike Jonze-directed Adidas commercial. I watched the video online once, it's cool, but I was far more enraptured by Karen's singing. so I stripped the vid's audio into an mp3, dropped it onto the Pod, and put it on repeat. joy.      yesterday morning, a film crew positioned outside the Christopher Street 1/9 Station, where I exit for work, forced me to stray from my usual path down the east side of Seventh Avenue. I literally had to cross the street, walk a bit, then return to my regular side of the street, all to make up what typically is a 2 second, 10-foot-or-so transition to the other side of the street. semi-bothersome. and I didn't even get to attach a name to the transgessing production. at the time all I knew was that it involved a stunt coordinator, whose title I saw labeled on the side of a trailer across the street, in the afternoon, and that extras or some other group of people were using a nearby church/school for some reason. well, the mystery was solved this evening, by complete happenstance: scrolling threw a news site, I saw that a movie called Just My Luck was filming in my section of the Village, and the star was no other than that teen queen herself, Lindsay Lohan. she's just the latest in a long list of stars and movies to shoot in my neck of the Manhattan woods. Law And Order, Hack (cancelled but featuring the excellent David Morse), and a slew of other city-set shows and flicks have all invaded my area. if I'm not mistaken, Ralph Lauren has a townhouse across the street from my school. I've had a handful of celebrity sightings by my job: Sandra Bernhard, Ricki Lake, James Gandolfini playing with his son at a local park (even in real-life dad-mode, he was kinda scary and intimidating)... so as far as stars in the Village are concerned, Lindsay Lohan pretty much had to take a number.      I recently got my [digital] hands on 2 more VHS or Beta tracks, ones from Le Funk, their previous 2002 release. the song titles really show how much they wore their influences on their sleeves back then. Disco Paradise is cool, but Solid Gold is my runaway favorite of the pair -- it's 8 minutes of laser-cut, grooving precision.      I've stumbled upon some more mellow gold this evening, this time from the hypnotically rhythmic Brazilian Girls, and their song Me Gustas Cuando Callas. lovely, tomorrow's morning music, definitely.      it's too bad I didn't make the morning trek to Manhattan today, to see Urbs, Dave and Lee off. their presence, along with all my other friendly-types, made this a weekend to remember. I certainly noted and also felt the sentiment infused in the toast Urbs made at my birthday dinner last night, and a similar interjection he made sometime around 2 am at Dana's place, when he looked around at all of us together, some 4 years after college, and said something to the effect of, "this is what I hoped and imagined our times would be like." he crystallized and vocalized the spontaneous, on-going comraderie that the group have sustained -- it's a beautiful thing. I'm glad we can get together from time to time like we've able to do the past 2 days, and just be the great group of friends we are.

     "everything is perfect" -- so go the soft-spoken, idyllic, gentle-guitar-accompanied lyrics of Perfect, a song that I discovered (and purchased) today, a song that would've fit in, well, perfectly, with the relaxed atmosphere of last night. the song's by Rogue Wave, who first strummed me into sweet submission with with their equally sublime Be Kind & Remind, last year. file both songs under "listen and make your soul feel good."      yeah, I suppose I'm 26 years old as of today, or something like that. well, I'm pretty sure about the number of years I've elapsed, but not that I necessarily feel that age. every year, for the past coupla years after college, the importance of the integer has registered less and less. though 25 had a nice ring to it, if anything I liked turning that age. it was a very representative number, I felt, and I enjoyed being at the midpoint between my 20s and 30s. which I still basically am, a few hours into being 26 now, yet I'm mostly pretty whatever about the number itself. at least I can milk a nice little birthday celebration out of it, tonight. I made dinner reservations for a group of us (me, Mike, Urbs, Dave, Jon, Dana, Lee, Margalit and Nate) at Walker's, in TriBeCa. think we'll try and go out for drinks afterwards, in the area or elsewhere. wherever we wind up, it's bound to be a night of many hilarious consequences. just planning it this afternoon was amusing in and of itself, with a musical moment on the phone with Dana that I'll have to properly transcribe later. so enjoyment-wise, it's all uphill from here, tonight.

     and as for Mike and Alex's engagement party last night, it was chockful of good times and great moments, which I'll have to individualize later. perhaps post-weekend, cuz between my birthday dinner and Sunday, there's still much fun to be had this weekend.      what a day it's been, and what a night it'll be.

     first, this afternoon at work we feted a co-worker who's been recently spotlighted and awarded for her tireless, consummate commitment to the students whose lives she's touched and enriched through the years. the celebration was a suprise one: we all yelled "congratulations!" when she walked through the door. she was certainly taken aback, and between the cake, the many kind words of appreciation and commendation, and the hugs from the kids, I could tell how much the moment meant to her, and how good it made her feel.

     and, tonight, tonight. we're merely hours away from the super-anticipated engagement party that fiancés Mike and Alex are throwing at the Fat Black Pussycat. color me excited. according to the Evite, a good 60 people will be attending the occasion, including folks like Urbs, Dave, Jon, and Lee (Lee!) from neighborly New Englandy states. Mike's renting a room at the Cat from 10:30 to 4 am, so tonight will actually extend into the wee hours of my 26th birthday, on Saturday. so I'll get to celebrate another year of life with many of my favorite people on the planet. to paraphrase the Kaiser Chiefs, I predict a riot of fun.      well, I've got 2 passes for a free screening of Martin Scorsese's penultimate movie, Gangs Of New York, tonight (it's part of a March Fan Favorites thing that Loews is doing, as they commemorate Irish culture in cinema this month). I haven't seen G.O.N.Y., so I was almost ready to go see it by my loneself, as no one among the small group of people I emailed could make it out. but earlier in the day I decided to skip the flick, stay in, and save up my energy for tomorrow night...      after having watched the video for it at The Fat Black Pussycat last week, I decided that Start Me Up, by the Rolling Stones, is a song I should definitely have in my collection. so this morning, pre-work, I bought it offa Itunes, and by the time I was walking to the train station, Mick was pleading his classic case to me.

     and I'm still reeling from VHS or Beta's recent live heavenly onslaught.      VHS or Beta just completely floored me again, last night at the Bowery Ballroom. live, on stage, Craig Pfunder and his boys embodied the word incredible -- they had me, and a wave of other people, in the throes of aural ecstasy. I've seen them twice already, and like fine wine, those guys just keep on getting better and better as time passes.

     the icing on the cake last night was that I finally saw VoB with a group of people, as it's been my desire for months upon months to show the band's utter sonic genius to my friends, en masse (my last 2 times seeing the band was with George and Todd, respectively). last night it was me, Jess, Odie, and James...

     ...more about the night, to come.      this very night, at the Bowery Ballroom, I shall be re-worshipping at the guitar-strewn altar of VHS or Beta. opening acts Ambulance LTD and Robbers On High Street will go on before my beloved Kentuckian band. oh, as I just wrote last night in an email, I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it.      yesterday was quite a day. I woke up at 6 am, since I wanted to get uptown to Mike's new place a little after 8 (factor in the usual hour-long Brooklyn-to-Manhattan train voyage). Mike rented a van and I accompanied him up to Westport, Connecticut, to get a couch from Alex's house there. with what seemed like less then a horizontal inch of clearance we were somehow able to move it through the doorway, across a snow-covered front yard that we shoveled a path through, and into the van, in the morning. 2 butterfly chairs were also taken from Alex's house. then we drove to Queens, retrieved and Tetrissed a table and 4 chairs into the van as well. when we got back to Manhattan in the afternoon, the real fun began: hauling the various furniture items up to Mike's 2nd floor apartment. that couch was a killer -- I had to take numerous breaks as Mike and I lugged, pushed, twisted and turned up the staircases. in addition to my muscle tissues going comatose every few minutes, a stairpost nicked my hand during the vertical couch transport, leaving a nice, bloody little scratch. my minor version of a battle wound.

     at 4 pm, post-moving, I hopped the train back to Brooklyn, got home at 5, freshened up a bit, was back out the door a bit after 6, and returned to Mike's by 7:30. I was invited over for dinner, which was actually a meal for five, since Mike's visiting parents were there too. between dinner (a savory, over-night marinated brisquet, and equally delicious mashed potatoes) and the living room/dining room conversations (Salvador Dali, Pennsylvanian hunters and student-criminals were amongst our amusing topics of discussion), I had a very welcome and enjoyable evening. it was an excellent, relaxing end to a day of much physical exertion -- spent and sated, I happily snoozed much of the train ride back home.

     as for today, I finished reading The Da Vinci Code. a good read, rather engaging at times. I'll admit that a number of pager-turner, what's-gonna-happen-next moments had me going for a bit. it was fun to decipher a code or two before the main characters. and now I await the movie adaption, which may see Tom Hanks portraying Langdon. and as for my next read, it's gonna be one of my all-time faves, A Clockwork Orange, which I re-bought a few days ago. tonight I'll reacquint myself with the misdoings and self-invented language of Alex and his droogs. and after A Clockwork Orange I'll finally read a book that I also bought the same day this week, one that's been on my "still haven't but gotta read" list for too long: 1984. following my religiously-themed recent readings, I guess I'm moving into a dystopian phase now.

     and also, a little over a hour ago, as I was writing this entry, Zack called me. we chatted for a good 50 minutes about all things iPod, specifically the one he's going to buy tomorrow. which is incredible news, news that truly excites me. Zack asked which model should he get, so I, the person Zack calls his "tech guru," advised his to go the way of the highest end pod, the 15,000 song-holding 60 gig version. $100 extra bucks'll get ya twice the capacity of the 30 gig model, I reasoned, I think it's worth it. so did he. so Friday, at Mike and Alex's engagement party, I'll get to see Zack, who I haven't seen inna month, and his shiny new iToy.      today I'm Connecticut-bound, to help Mike transport some furniture between there and his new apartment. there will also be a voyage in Queens, to attain some table and chair furnishings, he says.

     and tonight we may meet up with Jess for a birthday party for friends of hers, near her apartment.

     also, I forgot to mention in yesterday's entry that Mike and I had a nice time over at The Fat Black Pussycat, Thursday night (sans George, who was doing some high-school reunioning elsewhere). beforehand we sated our hunger pangs at a nearby pizza joint, where we both had to acquiesce to lasagna-topped slices that were just too large to finish. midhand, at the Cat, I managed 2 victories at darts, by getting my bullseyes early on, then throwing wildly and erratically as usual, then finishing with a come-from-behind win. the second game ended when, after I had closed all my numbers, I asked Mike what do I need to do now, to win; he replied, hit 15 three times before he does. and on my very next turn I did so. for once, and perhaps never again, my aim was true.      after a pretty nice half-day of work this morning I A-then-L trained it over to Union Square, and picked up 4 movies (that many in one day is some sorta record for me) at the Virgin Megastore. they have a respectable "2 for $25" sale going on, which I happily fell victim to. I picked up The Exorcist (the version with added footage like the super-creepy "spider-walk" staircase sequence, and those split-second, near-subliminal scary faces that I remember being so horrifying cool); The Iron Giant (for the youngins, and my inner youngin); and both Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers, and The Return Of The King. for far too long I've lived with the unspeakable sin of not having seen the last installment of the Rings trilogy, so tonight that tragedy shall be undone. and I'm gonna rewatch the Two Towers first, before King, for a combined 6 hours of movie-watching this evening. a good quarter of my day devoted to DVD watching -- I'll buy that for a dollar. or $25, as it were.      the song of the moment is definitely Destination Diamonds, by Diamond Nights. it rocks, it rolls. stripped-down electric pleasure, by way of the guitar. I originally downloaded the track on Sunday from their site, and I've been giving it repeat listens each day for the past coupla days. it's too bad that their next show is on the 11th, the same night as Mike and Alex's engagement party (and the day before my birthday). otherwise I'd go catch the sonic goodness of Diamond Nights live.      I spent the better part of an hour engaged in a stimulating and great conversation on church and religion today, at work this afternoon, just after dismissal. it was a grounded, personal, and dare I say intellectual chat, during which I was able to reference both of the books I'm current reading, one on Kabbalah, and the other, The Da Vinci Code. references aside, today was a rare and appreciated opportunity to discuss the role of spirituality, how it grounds life, how we have to grapple with it, and ultimately know it and possess it on our own terms. deep thoughts, I know, but ones ever present in the recesses of my mind.      lady luck was truly on my side as I kicked off my birth month today. I reported in for jury duty this morning, but by the end of afternoon I wasn't chosen as an actual juror. that's it. I'm done. I'll be missing no work, not even today because it's a snow day and school was cancelled. the timing is incredible. I'm pretty pleased. as for the actual hours I served in court, they provided me an interesting, if brief, look into our legal system. I've never had any one-on-one interactions with lawyers until today, so that was new and refreshingly different. what wasn't refreshing at all was the time I had to wait for my name and the names of 14 other potential jurors to finally be called, so they we could be interviewed by the lawyers. that happened sometime between 11 or 12 o'clock. from 8:45 am, when I arrived at the courthouse in Brooklyn, til then, I was mostly bored outta my mind. I listened to my iPod for a bit, and came as close to napping with my eyes open as possible during the rest of the endless waiting period. but I guess I shouldn't complain, considering that this is the way the process works, for now, and that I lucked out, only having to serve a single day. again, with no work missed. and I'm free from possible juror selection for the next 6 years, which is not too shabby. so jury duty, I hardly knew ye.

the February 2005 entries can be found here

the January 2005 entries can be found here

the December 2004 entries can be found here

the November 2004 entries can be found here

     wow. what a weekend thus far. incredible. the people I've seen, mostly Collegiate high school types, whom I haven't seen in ages... good times though. I'll do a better synopsis of this tomorrow soon, as I'm off to another All Hallow's Eve-themed party, this time on the Upper East Side (last night, Saturday, we were situated in Tribeca, and what a trip that was, in a few ways...).

     below's an IM of me musing with my cousin, on my custom indecision for the night's Halloween party:

me: ...though, I'm drawing a blank. whatevs, I'll just come as whatever
him: Dont you got work tomorrow
me: ah, a big nope to that
him: why?
him: WHY?
me: All Saints Day
him: WHAT!!!!!!!!!
me: wanna take the day off too?
me: tell your school, I'm sure they'd understand
him: I wish
him: Yeah [right]
me: religious expression and all
him: go ahead
me: and tell them for you?
him: no
...

me: well, I wonder when I'm gonna start getting ready
me: actually sometime around now'd be good
him: what are you gonna be
him: ?
me: I'm still not inspired. I wish I could be your favorite decade, but I'd do better representing the 90s
me: a shame, right?
him: yeah
him: What do you have?
me: plus I dont wanna steal your idea. your concept
him: Come as looking glass
me: what do I have? not much
him: you can turn around
me: huh, good one
me: with a note on my back
him: yup
him: lw
me: well, I should bounce and not put together this non-costume of mine
him: yeah
him: ok
him: peace
me: ya, ch-ch-check you out later. ciao
him: peace
him: out
me: lates

[post-party update]: I did manage to put together what vaguely resembled a costume, maybe. I was hit, or maybe just nudged, by a bolt of semi-inspiration, I      "are you Prince?"

-- some guy looking for a hand-out, to me, noting my attire, Friday night in Midtown. on Friday, October 29th, 2004, Roger Nembhard wrote:

allo allo. so I scored another pair of free tickets to a movie (recent free flicks included Silver City, and uh, Pauly Shore Is Dead. I actually saw only the former, not the latter).

this time the free movie is Finding Neverland, with Johnny Depp and that Winslet lady. Depp's playing J.M. Barrie, Piotr Pan's creator.

it's all going down next Wednesday, Nov. 3rd, post-Election Day, at 7:30 pm, at the 890 Broadway Lews Cineplex 570 Second Ave Loews Kips Bay Theatre.

to the first person to email me, goes the other ticket, and my semi-effervescent company, for a few hours. fellow-movie-co-attender-to-be, be prepared to arrive at least an hour early, as seating space is limited, and we'll be better off line-wise if we arrive accordingly.

cheers!

-- Rog From: Sherwyn Fullington <info@evite.com>
Reply-To: Sherwyn Fullington
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2004 11:55 AM
To: Roger Nembhard
Subject: Evite: Reminder for Pre-Halloween Birthday Bash

Hi Roger Nembhard,

We want to remind you that Pre-Halloween Birthday Bash is coming up on Fri. Oct. 29.

Your current reply is Yes.

View the invite for directions, maps, event info or to change your RSVP.

...

Enjoy!

The Evite Team

and

From: Dan Rohtbart <info@evite.com>
Reply-To: Dan Rohtbart
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2004 12:32 PM
To: Roger Nembhard
Subject: Evite: Reminder for Drinks

Hi Roger Nembhard,

We want to remind you that Drinks is coming up on Fri. Oct. 29.

Your current reply is Yes.

View the invite for directions, maps, event info or to change your RSVP.

...

Enjoy!

The Evite Team      no [revival of] Wednesday night drinks with the guys tonight, alas, there's errands and work afoot.

     one of today's saving graces was stumbling across a life-defining quote. one found in, of all places, a recently life-sustaining periodical... yes, I'm talking about AM New York. say what you will of the source, the quote itself, from yesterday's edition, holds water -- it's one that makes sense of this existence of mine, and complements it. it's by Anais Nin, and I've placed it at the top of this page.      I haven't yet said how friggin hilarious Shaun Of The Dead was, which me and Mike saw on Friday. we both suffered from respective fits of laughter during the movie. off-the-wall great. I personally can't remember when I've laughed so hard in a movie theatre. a coupla of the scenes that killed us was when Shaun and his mate Ed first encountered the zombies in and outside their home, and later on when they and their surviving friends masquaraded, not quite so convincingly, as zombies, to try and make their way through a crowd of the undead. all in all it was a thoroughly satisfying flick, and one that reminds me that the British have never let me down in the comedy arena. John Cleese and Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Rowan Atkinson, and lately Ali G -- my life has been made better for them.      I was about the get my lunch on in one of the parks across the street from school, when who should walk by by Kim. I holla'd and she responded, and we chatted for a few.... very cool, bumping into her.

     not quite exciting was seeing some random guy who looked like a cross between Brad Pitt and Russell Crowe. an interesting mix, not ugly nor extremely handsome, but manageable.

     both events are, dare I say it, blog-worthy. I also got Evited to a go-away birthday party for a fellow high-school compatriate, and it's 300 bucks a head for a room package up in the Catskills (it's be a weekend focusing on skiing and whatnot, that's also part of the package I guess). hmmm. that a spicy meata-ball-ah, still. quite some damage.     the younger, oft-quoted cousin didn't come over this weekend, but an older one, with his son in tow, did. much quality time was spent with him. our conversation got pretty deep; he brought up some existential, meaning-of-life thoughts that I had to really mull over.

    back to the other younger cousin. who is, incidentally, the only family that I think knows about this website. I was just on the phone with him (we've been chatting off and on for hours this weekend, as has become the custom, when I'm home) and I offered him the chance to guest-write a bit. he declined, but he urged me to include some of our usual tech-talk in my writing. specifically, how we'll be drawing the other into our respective gaming worlds. that is, he'll be making sure that I see plenty of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes when he gets it (his existence is intimately tied to that game), and I'll somehow introduce him to the upcoming Half-life 2 (had he come I could've done so yesterday or today, as I already have a 3.12GB, kinda-running demo of it). fun fun impending fun.      the straight and narrow, man, the straight and narrow.      ..."No homicides were reported in New York City during Game 7, the police said."

     yeah, unlike up in Boston, where, during the celebrations and rioting, the police there managed to accidentally kill a female student with apparently "non-lethal" weaponry.      well, the weekend's'almost here. I do believe there's a movie in my Friday future, with Mike.      saw a little history being made.      in a landslide victory (12 ballots to 3), donuts won the popular vote in the election held by my constituency of my classroom. those hole-y confections beat out the other candidate, cookies, as the students' (plus a few adults, like myself) favorite treat. yes, it was a outcome that would make Homer Simpson proud. what implications our election will have on the general presidential one, that remains to be seen. all I can say is, immediately following the election, a group calling itself the Cookie-Lovers For Truth sprung up, stating donuts' lack of service in the line of deliciousness. I'm keeping my eye on them.

     hey, someone in Rockville, Maryland's been visiting my site recently. hmmm. izzat you, Angy/Dave? don't know who else it could be. holla if it be you, holla regardless.      yup, as the last two entries alluded to, later on Saturday I threw down a little cash and bought my first iTunes song. No Cabaret!, the aforementioned VHS or Beta song/Song Of The Moment, was what I got. the whole process of getting it was pretty painless, and highly recommended for the 2 other humans on Earth not already getting tracks straight from Apple. the AAC encoding sped of the DLing, and I guess I appreciate the similar-quality-at-a-smaller-size thing that AAC has going on. but as the picture below [will indicate], I still wanted a regular, universal (read: non-DRM'ed) version of it. so through a certain program called Hymn, I was able to, ahem, make a copy, minus the protection. go me, though it wasn't particularly hard to do.

     but that ain't all. after work, I went out and actually BOUGHT the whole album, the actual factual disc, as I planned on doing over the weekend. I'm glad I did. I only saved 2 dollars over iTunes's price, but that's really beside the point. the point is, I'm in musical heaven right now, as I've been rambling about for the past few days. definitely burning some copies of this disc to share, definitely letting some of its tracks find their way on to my next mix CDs. bliss. and now with the whole version of Nightwaves in my possession (I had only the memory of the show's version, plus a minute-long snippet prior to tonight) I gotta restate how effin' stellar that song is is -- I just hit the play button again. unless another band comes along to usurp them, sonically the rest of my 2004 belongs to the Betas.      VHS or Beta, they're still blowing me away, a good 2 days after catching them live. my new favorite band, without a doubt. in retrospect, they definitely were the linchpin of the Thursday's Bowery Ballroom show, for me. the Concretes, the actual headliner of the show, played the beautiful, mostly delicate music I expected from them, having their album and all. aside from a cover of the Rolling Stones' Miss You (and the flowers that the lead singer threw into the crowd), I was pleased but not so surprised by their gig. but VHS or Beta, well...

     ...VHS or Beta I knew by name only, I had no preconceived notions of them, I had read or heard nothing about them. no reviews, no critiques, no nothing. whether or not that made them more utterly amazing for me, I don't know, I just know that they were (utterly ammazing). his exact wording escapes me now, but in the middle of the Betas' set & afterwards again, George intelligibly noted how well the band's differing guitars' sounds melded together. my own inability to stand still, my need to sway and move in some way, that was how I expressed my agreement.

     so now that I'm on XP (thank you, thank you), with iTunes installed as of today (George reminded to get the i-app as we talked tech, music, ladies and politics before and between bands that night), naturally I'm now inclined to throw a dollar or two Apple's way, and get another VHS or Beta song for the old Pod and me. I already made me a very respectable mp3 of the title track of their brand-new,-just-released-on-September-21st sophomore album, Night On Fire -- I recorded a real-time wav of a full streaming Real version of that song, a freebie from Astralwerks, their new label. I did that minutes before leaving for work, Friday morning. maybe Night On Fire was what helped me get through the day, cuz I literally got only 3 hours of sleep beforehand, having gotten home at 2 am. but it was totally worth it. I put that song on repeat for the whole train trip home. but with some weekend time on my hands now, I've found out the names of the other Beta songs I heard live the other night. the studio versions of Nightwaves and No Cabaret! are just as cool as their live counterparts -- I'm hooked, I'm gonna go buy the whole album, tomorrow. yes, another fleeting foray into the world of actually buying music. but my nouveau infatuation warrants it, it'd be nice to have something of a tangible, possibly permanent record of the VHS or Beta songs that're giving me so much joy right now. hell, I'll even pay for a highly encoded AAC of one of those 2 aforementioned tracks, to whet my pre-album appetite. this is, after the gratis duo of last-album songs that I've already attained (one came in seconds ago). ok, time to log off of 98 where I've been doing my typing, and get onto the XP partition, where iTunes lives. in some time I'll be 99 cents poorer, but more VHS or Beta richer. Subject: Sondre and VHS Or Beta

your boy Sondre, Jess, he is a winner. George and I partook of his performance last night, as an opener for The Concretes. Mike inquired about the show, and George wrote back, "[the] show was great. some very cool stuff in the opening acts. and some sox fans in the downstairs "bah" too."

maybe 2 thirds of Sondre's set was solo, then for the remainder it was him, backed up by Golden Republic. he and they are co-touring together. last night they really complemented one another, George and I agreed.

right after Lerche and company was this effing INCREDIBLE band named VHS Or Beta. it's hard for me to describe how awesome they are. they defintely converted me into a fan last night, Jess. they do this multitextured dance rock thing, a few of their songs were wordless noise grooves that got me and many others moving. man, I loved it. you'd never know they were actually from Kentucky (???) -- they need to move here, today, Jess, and play at least monthly gigs. I believe they're on tour, and are playing Maxwell's tonight. if I had my crap together, or knew how awesome they were beforehand, I'd hit up that show too. yes, they were that good/great.

well, the only other set gig in my future is a free one that Go To Town are doing, [1 day] after the election. it's been a moment since my last Jess gig, we should take advantage of that or another upcoming show... oh, and how were your online radio DJs? I'm sure that was fun fun fun.

-- Rog

PS. oh, one of the VHSers had some humorously complimentary words for Sondre, last night. he said, "I'm not into guys, but that Sondre is a good-looking guy. sorta like you know Prince was a good-looking guy, even if you're not into guys."... later on same VHSer instructed the crowd to, quote, "dance, you fuckheads." From: <info@ticketweb.com>
Reply-To: info@ticketweb.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 9:56 PM
To: rnembhard@hotmail.com
Subject: Order Confirmation

Event: The Concretes
plus VHS or Beta / Sondre Lerche / The Golden Republic / Inouk
Venue: Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey Street
New York, NY 10002

Seating: GENERAL ADMISSION
Time: Thursday, October 14 7:00 PM (6:00 PM doors)

     I'm going to see The Concretes tomorrow. and that's equally "yes!"-worthy.      I was listening to NPR yesterday or Sunday, and a writer being interviewed made the highly charged claim that there is no relationship between writing and talking, if I heard her correctly. I've butted heads with that concept, from time to time (like earlier this year). we certainly can compose words differently during the acts of speaking and writing. but strangely, I'm possibly seeing those two abilities of mine drawing closer, as of late, when I'm careful enough with my words. which, I'm not, alot of the time. still, the argument's a fascinating one.

     today I got an Evite from Sherwyn, inviting me to his upcoming pre-Halloween, birthday party. I haven't seen him in, wot, a year? yeah, it's been a while and a half, but I look forward to seeing him, et al.      man, I think it took the better part of today to recover from the fits of laughter, and several hours of conversation that I enjoyed on Sunday. following the very agreeable Saturday night in downtown Manhattan, between Sweet And Vicious and Room 18. and I do have an actual Saturday entry, I haven't missed a beat -- I just need to cut and edit it, cuz as a whole it's 2 to 3 pages long. more of a co-entry, but that'll be clearer when I throw it in here.      three day weekend -- thank you, Cristoforo Columbo (or Cristobal Colon). you may not have actually discovered the Americas, and you died without actually making it to the Indies, but hey, you're helping me sleep in on a Monday. cheers.

     gonna have to hit up the old Mapquest soon and find out how to get to Sweet And Vicious, where Amy S.'s birthday party is taking place. ain't never been there before, I wonder if it'll live up to it's name. at any rate, it's the perfect excuse to listen to a Lou Reed song by a third of the same name ("Vicious," though I'm inclined to think there might actually be a bar or club called "And" out there.) well, better get ready to go and be social, after what's been a slow, rare, non-going-out week. after all, my cousin expects there to be a beer in my hand sometime soon, and I can't disappoint him. so here's to a viciously sweet night.      thank God it's almost tomorrow. cuz today was kinda a middling day, amidst a week that's felt ever so slightly off. perhaps it's my current estrangement from the 8 hours and 15 minutes of sleep I (and every adult) should be getting nightly, says some study. and in my waking hours, my afternoon/evening sched's been somewhat askew too, but it's of my own doing, so I can't complain too much.

     last night I sat out a chance to socialize with Mike et al, who presumably caught his Red Sox game at the Riviera Cafe (which is 3 or so minutes from my job, and could've been conveniently close, had I not gone home and succumbed to lameness, which I did). then today I all but dropped some possible weekend plans (though I still see myself going to Amy S's party, so I'm not at a loss for activity). and I also scored a majorly great breakthrough on my latest project -- perhaps by the weekend I'll have the results that I want. we'll see.

     coming home from work tonight, I had an intermittently curious time on the train, thanks to my choice of reading, a passenger sitting next to me, and some self-imposed interplay between the two. and the other night I had a dream that featured a wicked music cameo, but I'll have to leave the write-up of that and the train thing til tomorrow or the weekend, cuz I'm feeling well knackered right about now.      so I was walking to the Christopher Street 2 station, post-work, and gazing about, it seemed like a good number of the lovely ladies of the Greenwich village area all decided to break out their scarves today, en masse. perhaps the scarf-to-neck ratio is just especially high around there, which is not to deny increased pockets of scarfdom else too. anyhoo, I just noticed the pseudo-phenomenon this evening. and it pleased the eye, is all. Student A: Sometimes I go into [the voting booth] with [my mom].
Student B: It is scary?
Student A: Yes.      following our in service/staff development today (in lieu of a regular school day), I attended the first meeting of the Quality Services Delivery Task Force commitee that I was asked to join. it went well. more about it in the future. me: I'm trying to remember for my website -- what were some of the better things we discussed today?
me: Paris Hilton being in Metroid Hunters, or was it Prime 2?
my cousin: Prime 2
me: ok. what else? Jay-Z's tour through the Czech republic... the non-necessity and disgustingness of food...
him: lw
me: what am I leaving out?
him: ofcoures me telling to to buy something and you dont
me: yes, thats always a staple of our convo's... alcohol too, dont forget that
him: oh yeah, How could I
me: ...forget? I dunno

...

him: you go ever week dont you
me: by the way, your hit finally appeared
me: to see a show? yeah, if I can help it
him: oh
him: lw
me: saw 2 shows, one on Thursday, one Tuesday
me: 2 point something gigs
him: gonna see an Eminem show if it comes by?
me: tickets would be pricey, though, for him
him: how much?
me: I'm looking to pay 20 bucks per show, at most, if I can help it
me: 40, 50 bucs, and it better be a world-ending type show
me: not that I've paid that much yet
him: lw
him: world-ending
him: ?
me: but I've spent far more in total, if you add up all the shows I've seen
me: or their value
him: on the final song the world blows up
me: world-ending = knock you outta your socks-good
me: but the earth-exploding thing would be nice, too
me: and just get the apocalypse over with, already
him: NO
me: enough wasting time
him: lw

lw = laughworthy (coined by my cousin, unless it actually exists)      another timely entry, albeit one very disconnected from my last bit of writing. there is a whole other facet to this journal's return, that I have yet to get to, and hopefully soon I will. meantime, a short, tech-minded update (cuz if I don't write about these things now, I may soon forget that I accomplished what I did, and when I did)...

     I had a fruitful Saturday afternoon of actually-not-so-lazy computing, this 2nd day of October (Rocktober? no, not yet...). as luck would have it, I tackled and conquered a coupla truly annoying Windows bugs that have been plaguing me for a year, if not longer. perhaps they all generally stemmed from the fact that I, horror of horrors, am still using Windows 98. for someone who's the polar opposite of a Luddite, I prah'lly can do better, yet I make the most out of a dire situation, and then some. like today.

     problem number was that my Program Files folder always opened up when I started my PC. I once licked this problem by moving or uninstalling some program, but this annoyance re-reared its ugly head, and for the life of me, I couldn't discover what new problem was messing things up, this time. I went Googling for an answer again, and once more I was steered to the msconfig's startup settings. slowly but surely I unchecked a few unnecessaries, and eventually emerged victorious, with no Program Folder popping up when I boot up. yay. that folder, when it unwantingly appeared, definitely marred the aesthetic and calm of my desktop, if it possesses those things. now, finalmente, I now there isn't something strange and erroneous going on with my startup process.

     another longtime, seriously bothersome dilemma I had through today was that I couldn't open Word documents by directly double-clicking them. no, I was forced to right-click and open them via a Word link I'd added to the context menu. this was the only obstacle in an otherwise good Word experience (if you wanna call using Word 97 "good"). I might add that I got my version of Word, and the entire Office 97 suite, to work on this machine without actually installing it, not from a CD anyway. it wouldn't even be on this machine, oif not for a lot of past Macguyvering, but that's another story for another time. back to this story's time, and its simple ending. again I searched my way into Microsoft support/Knowledge base thing, and I was semi-beside myself when I found the solution to my Word problem there. had to do with long file name support, and a missing quotation mark from the File Type menu minutia. should I thank Bill, some IT flunkie at Redmond, or the foreign server housing my solution? I guess they can share the copious wealth of my gratitude.

     with those problems vanquished, my PC and I breathed a collective sigh of relief. but without resting on my laurels I found a few more ways to improve my computing experience. both iPod-related. I got my iPod's Explorer icon to resemble it, or be any icon I choose, instead of the dreary, static harddrive icon it had until now. again, that helps out with my aesthetic proclivities. and it draws my Windows 98 machine one superficial step closer to its XP brethen, for whom such icon support might be native, possibly. and my other accomplishment, definitely the most far-reaching, practical and usable one, is that I can hook up my Pod to this computer via USB. which is something the Pod ain't naturally capable of -- Apple definitely doesn't want their beautiful player to work with my old software. that's why neither they nor Microsoft designed any Windows 98 USB drivers for the iPod. thankfully some random but generous person made such a driver, and shared it with the world. today I finally found it, and it works perfectly. now all sorts of fun can begin, and my various future projects will now have the gigabytes of space they may need.

     alright, enough basking, better upload this tech dirge, and get my mind on something else.