Paraphernalia

I did what?!

I've come across the word "fugue" twice this week. Weird since I hadn't ever seen it before, at least I don't think I have. Is this sort of what happens to those people who take Ambien then drive or eat a jar of mayonnaise? It also sounds like what happens to me at the tail end of a night of boozing.

fugue (fyōōg)

- A pathological amnesiac condition during which one is apparently conscious of one's actions but has no recollection of them after returning to a normal state. This condition, usually resulting from severe mental stress, may persist for as long as several months.

Sunset NYC Style

That's whats called a "win-win" situation

Go to FreeRice.com
Pick the meaning of the word from the multiple choice.
For each correct answer, 20 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations Food Program.
The difficulty level adjusts automatically.
Increase your vocabulary and feed people who need food.
It's addictive.
Thanks Alison for the tip!

Listen please - let me tell something to your face

I'm tempted to start a "WTF" category for this one. I'm not even sure how to describe her to you. Lady Raptastic is a character unlike any other. I'm currently obsessed with her podcasts. They make me laugh out loud.

The podcasts are on her site, her myspace page, and iTunes. There are also videos on YouTube.

And don't forget to stop by Da Breakup Song site. You put in the person's name and then pick 2 things (like bad breath and talks too much) and your friend receives a link with their personalized break up song.

Here's a little video as an introduction. Hello!

The original spice girls

I liked Salt-N-Pepa back in the day. At least in the way a white, young, suburban, gay, Texas boy could. "Push It", "Whatta Man" and "Let's Talk About Sex" jump to mind. But I never owned any of their albums nor could I have picked them out of a line-up. Truth is I had not really given them any thought in years.

When I saw they had a reality show I thought, let me give this a chance and see what its all about; and I'm soooo happy I did.

Cheryl "Salt" Wray abruptly left the group, and supposedly the entire music industry around 2000. As I understand, she didn't even tell Pepa what was up or keep in touch with her. She said she was suffering from bulemia for years.

The show starts with Sandra "Pepa" Denton trying to reunite with Salt for the first time in years to heal some wounds and discuss bringing the act back together. Salt is a motherly type, more even headed and responsible. She's found God, but not in a particularly annoying way. Pepa is a party girl who proves you can take the girl out of the ghetto but you'll never get the ghetto out of the girl. She's late for everything and constantly primping. Pepa is easily caught up in her own little world in a very self centered way; yet when she's called on it, she's able to hear the criticism and snap back to "reality".

Spinderella makes an appearance in one episode where she vents her frustrations of feeling more like a hired hand than a 3rd member of the group. The girls basically confirm her side of the story. They make an appearance and then we don't see her again.

Salt-N-Pepa have a very unique relationship. You can tell they have been through some crazy times and have a bond as strong as blood. They are intelligent, engaging, compassionate people and still they make for good TV.

"We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail." G.W. Bush

I've noticed that my songs aren't playing anymore. I don't know why or when I'll be able to figure it out. So please accept this "word of the day" bonus post for the time being.

plat·i·tude

1. a flat, dull, or trite remark, esp. one uttered as if it were fresh or profound.
2. the quality or state of being flat, dull, or trite: the platitude of most political oratory.

As for the image : I googled "platitude", it showed up under images, and I found it apropos.

Stars in his eyes

I love the album "Overtones" by Just Jack. (2007)
He's sort of a mix between Lilly Allen and The Streets.
This song, I Talk Too Much, is one of my faves on the disc. It's very catchy.

Black is Back

Part Five : Rising from the Ashes

"No posing bitches!" warns the flier for tonights grand opening party for mr. black's new den of debaucherous dancing.

As my last installment in my week dedicated to This American Life I'm going to tell you an abbreviated story of the little night club that could.

Those of you seriously loyal readers might remember when I first posted about mr. black in march of 2006 shortly after they opened and months before they became THE place to be on friday nights in Manhattan. Or maybe you remember when I posted about how I took a picture that led to a legendary tradition that has resulted in at least 1 award for NYC Nightlife Personality of the Year.

Since we last checked in, there is good news, then bad news, then more good news.

Good news part 1 - mr. black recorded their dj sets and posted them as podcasts. (You can subscibe through iTunes like other podcasts, including TAL) Many of the sets are amazing. Sammy Jo is generally a good bet. The most recent DJ Sveta is possibly my new fave as is the DJ Vienna Sausage. But there are so many more I really can't list them. Great for working out or getting ready to go out. I wish every club did this!

Bad news - On January 1st of this year, I woke up very hungover and very early to head home to Austin for my brother's wedding. As I was leaving the apartment and slowly making my way to the airport, the night before spent partying at mr. black started to come back to me in flashes. "Oh my god I made out with a trannie!" "Oh my god I did a line of coke off the embankment in the lounge!" "Oh my god we hailed a stretch limo home!" (this was all good news, here comes the bad). So, was it any surprise that there was a sting/raid operation at mr. black about a month ago where they arrested every single employee and a few of the patrons and effectively shut down the club for good? Not really.

Good news part 2 - You can't keep a good bitch down. mr. stuart black, the owner, was tossed lemons and made some dirty lemonade. He said,"Oh yeah! well that place was too crowded anyway, over it." and went and found a new, 2 floor location that is having the grand opening tonight.

I'm so there.

Let there be Lights, Camera, Action!

Part Four

In 2007 (a.k.a. this year) Showtime joined in the fun and produced a This American Life series for t.v. There were 6 shows, I missed all of them because I had yet to discover the radio show. They aren't on demand. The DVD is not out yet, but is available to save on Netflix. You can purchase each of the episodes for $1.99 from like 6 different places. I've read great reviews so I'll be excited to see them when Netflix sees fit to send them. I also read that the show had been renewed so we can expect a 2nd season; which means that the 1st season will probably be on demand before the 2nd season starts. Woot. Woot.

One thing led to another, yadda, yadda, yadda...

Part 3 : Tangents

The homepage of "This American Life" has a blog entry by Ira Glass promoting his recent appearance on another Public Radio show called "The Sound of Young America".

Much like TAL, The Sound of Young America is a cool radio show on Public Radio that is also available as a podcast or streaming from the website. Unlike TAL, you can download the archived episodes for free. Another big difference is that while TAL has a human interest, storytelling, documentary feel, The Sound of Young America is an interview program.

The host, Jesse Thorn, a.k.a. "America's Radio Sweetheart", interviews people from the world of art and entertainment. Although, seems like most of them are entertainers. Lots of comics, actors, musicians, etc.

Ira likes (among others) the ones with Dave Foley, John Hodgman (the "PC" from the mac commercials and a regular contributer on The Daily Show) and the interview with Henry Rollins. I enjoyed the interview with Ira; it was an interesting look behind the scenes of This American Life. I also liked the interviews with  Steve Agee and Brian Posehn from The Sarah Silverman Program and They Might Be Giants.

In the interview with Ira he discusses the book he edited, "The New Kings of Nonfiction," which is a collection of some of the best magazine-style reportage of the last fifteen years or so. He mentions one of his fave articles in the book is, "Jonathan Lebed : Stock Manipulator, S.E.C. Nemesis -- and 15" one by Michael Lewis for the New York Times.  I have to agree, it's a very well written, interesting article that I recommend reading if you have a chance.