Suburban Wonderland

Happy Birthday

2009-01-08T06:01:00.000-08:00

Today the King would have been 74.

Fire, again..

2009-01-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

Here's another, better article about the fire in my old neighborhood....

Boston 4-alarm fire destroys restaurants

By Jessica Fargen
Tuesday, January 6, 2009

One hundred Boston firefighters braved the freezing cold overnight to battle a fast-moving fire that caused $5 million in damage to six restaurants and a dry cleaning business near Fenway Park [map] and caused the evacuation of 130 people, according to the Boston Fire Department.

“It’s almost all the good restaurants in the neighborhood right here, all lined up. It’s just a shame, really,” said Peter Wick, 25, who lamented the loss of El Pelon, where his favorite menu item was the steak burrito. “It’s a little shocking. I hope they find out what happened.”

The fire broke out at 1:57 a.m. at Thornton’s Fenway Grill on Peterborough Street and quickly became a four-alarm inferno. Flames spread to Sorento’s Italian Gourmet, Umi Japanese Restaurant, Greek Isles, Rod-Dee Thai Cuisine II, El Pelon Taqueria and a dry cleaning business. The string of one-story businesses on the block from 84 to 98 Peterborough Street were completely, or nearly completely destroyed, MacDonald said.

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One hundred thirty people in 98 units, mostly elderly and disabled people, were evacuated from a five-story apartment building next door after heavy smoke filled the units, said Boston Fire spokesman Steve MacDonald. Residents were welcomed into the nearby William McKinley Preparatory High School, which was opened as a shelter.

Residents are only being allowed back inside their apartments to pick up medication and belongings because of concern over elevated levels of carbon monoxide inside, said John Hardiman, acting director of emergency management for the city. American Red Cross volunteers assisted residents this morning and a mobile shelter trailer will be arriving shortly, said Red Cross spokesman Patrick Baldwin.

People who rely on the eateries to make a living said they were just happy nobody was killed.

Tori MacMillon, 24, paused as she walked up Peterborough Street before 9 a.m. today and saw the charred shell of Thornton’s, where she started two weeks ago as a waitress. “As long as everybody’s OK. That’s all I’m worried about,” she said.

Added Jeff Zamiri, owner of Sorento’s: “Material things can be fixed. I’m just thankful nobody was hurt,” he said as he surveyed the damage.

The fire completely gutted Thornton’s, even burning away the sign, but Christmas garland could still be seen winded around a pillar in front. Holiday lights still hung from the awning at Umi and the bright blue Greek Isles sign was almost untouched. The inside of the restaurants appear to be a scorched mess.

Fire trucks remained on scene this morning and at one point firefighters doused the buildings with water after smoke started billowing from the roof.

MacDonald said 100 Boston firefighters battled the blaze, and two were injured when they slipped on ice.

MacDonald said the fire chief ordered firefighters to fight the blaze from the outside of the buildings once it was determined that no one was inside.

“The fire got up in the ceiling and traveled horizontally throughout the building, above the ceiling and below the roof,” MacDonald said, adding that roof air conditioning units were a hazard.

Part of Peterborough Street remained closed this morning.

Fire

2009-01-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

I used to live about a 20 second walk from here and used to frequent these places quite often. I hope they are all able to re-build..
The article states that the fire was on Kilmarnock Street, but really It's Peterborough Street ...

Fire destroys 7 shops in Fenway
January 6, 2009

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)
By Andrew Ryan and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff, and Michele Richinick, Globe Correspondent

A four-alarm fire tore through a block of shops early this morning near Fenway Park, destroying six restaurants and a dry cleaner as it caused an estimated $5 million in damage.

Firefighters continued pouring water on the rubble seven hours after the blaze started just before 2 a.m. on Kilmarnock Street. It took more than 100 firefighters to battle the blaze, which also forced the evacuation of a block of brick apartment buildings that housed 130 people, some of whom were in wheelchairs.

No one was hurt in the blaze, but two firefighters slipped on ice while working to extinguish the flames, said Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department.

"When firefighters arrived, they had heavy fire showing from the restaurant on the corner," Thornton's Fenway Grille, MacDonald said. "The fire spread, got in the ceiling, spread horizontal, and pretty much destroyed all seven stores."

All the businesses were closed when the fire started. When it was determined that no one was inside the block-long brick building, firefighters left the building because it appeared that the roof might give way. Crews continued fighting the flames from outside the building, dousing the fire with ladder pipes and tower units, MacDonald said.
Officials evacuated the apartment building because they detected high levels of carbon monoxide from the wafting smoke, MacDonald said. The residents were taken to William McKinley Preparatory High School on Peterborough Street, which also served as a shelter for firefighters seeking refuge from the 20-degree weather. The McKinley school was not damaged by the fire, but it will be closed today. All staff are required to report to the McKinley Middle School on St. Mary Street, according to the Boston Schools Department.

The restaurants destroyed by the blaze also included Greek Isles Restaurant, Rod-Dee Thai Cuisine II Fenway, El Pelon Taqueria, Umi Japanese Restaurant, Bon Cleaners, and Sorento's Italian Gourmet. The fire also inflicted minor damage on a two-story garage behind the row of shops, MacDonald said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters are expected to be on scene all day pouring water on hotspots.

Shaheen...

2009-01-06T09:41:00.005-08:00

Alfred Shaheen, garment industry pioneer, dies at 86

Shaheen revolutionized the garment industry in postwar Hawaii by designing, printing and producing aloha shirts and other ready-to-wear items under one roof.

By Claire Noland , January 4, 2009

Alfred Shaheen, a textile manufacturer who revolutionized the garment industry in postwar Hawaii by designing, printing and producing aloha shirts and other ready-to-wear items under one roof, has died. He was 86.

Shaheen died Dec. 22 of complications from diabetes in Torrance, where he had lived for the last five years, his daughter Camille Shaheen-Tunberg said.

After World War II, many servicemen and servicewomen returned to the United States from Asia and the Pacific islands with aloha shirts that had been made in Hawaii since the 1930s. Tourists began flocking to Hawaii in the 1950s as faster airplanes allowed for easier travel and the former U.S. territory became a state in 1959.

The tropical-print shirts for men and sundresses for women became standard and sometimes tacky souvenirs for travelers, but Shaheen raised the garments to the level of high fashion with artistic prints, high-grade materials and quality construction.

Even Elvis Presley wore a Shaheen-designed red aloha shirt featured on the album cover for the "Blue Hawaii" soundtrack in 1961.

Born into a family established in the textile business, Shaheen maintained high standards by controlling the process from start to finish at the factory he built in Honolulu.

He hired professional artists and silk-screened their designs on silk, rayon and cotton fabrics he imported to Hawaii. Then his seamstresses cut and pieced together garments that were sold at his own shops and other retail outlets in Hawaii or exported to the mainland and around the world.

"He was a genius," Dale Hope, art director for the Honolulu-based Kahala shirt maker and author of "The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands," told The Times. "He knew more about the inner workings of all of the elements of printing, the garment business and wholesaling and retailing and distribution. He was really a bright, sharp and smart man."

Linda Arthur, a professor of textiles and clothing at Washington State University who has written extensively about the Hawaiian fashion industry, said that "before Shaheen came along, there was no Hawaii garment industry. There were mom and pop stores but no real modern industry."

Shaheen was born Jan. 31, 1922, in New Jersey, where his father and grandfather owned textile mills and clothing stores. He moved to Compton with his family when his father decided to relocate. The elder Shaheen would travel to Guam to buy silk for the family's custom women's wear line, and after falling in love with Hawaii on stopovers, he moved the family again, this time to Honolulu in 1938.

Shaheen returned to California the next year to attend Whittier College, where he studied math and engineering and starred on the football team. After graduating in 1943, he joined the U.S. Army Air Forces and became a fighter pilot in Europe during World War II.

His cousin, another soldier, had been engaged to a woman named Amelia Ash in Olean, N.Y., but he died in the war. After the war, Shaheen wanted to meet the woman his cousin had told him about, so he went to meet her and wound up marrying her and bringing her back to Honolulu.

His parents operated a custom dress shop there, making bridal gowns and prom dresses from formal fabrics such as silks, chiffons and lace. But Shaheen wanted to branch out into ready-to-wear fashion.

He struck out on his own in 1948, opening Shaheen's of Honolulu with four seamstresses his mother had trained. In those days of relative isolation, clothing manufacturers in Hawaii had to store a year's worth of fabric to guard against the vagaries of shipping delays, strikes and other unforeseen factors. And they had to settle for whatever fabric the textile mill sent them.

Using equipment he built himself, Shaheen started a silk-screen printing plant in a rented Quonset hut in 1952. He put artists on salary to design patterns inspired by Polynesian and Asian cultures. Soon the company was printing more than 60,000 yards of fabric per month. Some of that fabric was used to make garments, and some was distributed in bolts to other businesses.

In 1956, to meet increasing demand, Shaheen expanded to a new, state-of-the-art factory that sprawled over 23,000 square feet. The company's focus remained on good design.

"I wanted a certain look that was different from everyone else's," Shaheen said in an interview for Hope's book. "I would not do hash prints or chop suey prints. I avoided bright or garish colors."

Most of the patterns featured three to five colors that laborers applied to silk screens by hand, saturating the fabric. Artists in the Shaheen studio had more than 1,000 dye colors to choose from, including innovative metallic shades, and they consulted rare books, libraries and museum collections. Sometimes Shaheen sent the designers on field trips to Tahiti and other exotic locales to soak up the culture for future work.

By 1959, according to company history, Shaheen employed 400 workers and grossed more than $4 million annually, dominating the local industry. The Hawaii garment industry overall had grown to roughly $15 million in sales from less than $1 million in 1947, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.

Shaheen sold men's shirts and shorts and women's dresses and sarongs in his own seven-store chain as well as to other retailers in the islands, on the mainland and across the world. Bullock's and the Broadway (both since closed) and other upscale department stores on the mainland carried the clothing, and some stores had special "East Meets West" boutiques dedicated to Shaheen's fashions.

Shaheen retired in 1988 and shut down the factory. He maintained homes in Honolulu and Los Angeles before relocating permanently to Torrance.

In addition to his daughter Camille, of Venice, he is survived by three other daughters, Susan Mulkern of Oahu, Cynthia Rose of Maui and Marianne Kishiyama of Culver City; a son, Alfred Shaheen II of La Cañada Flintridge; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a sister, Joyce Bowman. His first marriage ended in divorce, as did a second.

Although the company is defunct, vintage Shaheen shirts can sell for $1,000 or more, said David Bailey of Bailey's Antiques and Aloha Shirts in Honolulu, a well-known emporium that stocks about 15,000 aloha shirts.

As Arthur, the textile professor explained, a Shaheen garment "is like a piece of moving art."

Didn't even curl my hair!

2009-01-03T16:21:00.000-08:00

I'm just going to say, if you get mildly electrocuted, your body doesn't actually shake at all. And also it hurts after, not really all that much during. The movies lie!

Mom, I am fine.

Here's to 2009... it's electrifying already!

The way to my heart...

2008-12-23T07:18:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure I have written about these geese before. These geese are lawn decorations that you can dress up in different outfits. Um, I need these BBQ-ing geese on my lawn. BBQ-ING GEESE! They could become friends with the flamingos out there.

gah.

Turn it up

2008-12-12T15:29:00.000-08:00

My house came with a 70+ year old oil boiler. It was prone to breaking down, and did quite often resulting in me developing the habit of running around all the time, touching all the radiators in my house to see if he was still working. He. His name was Orville and he was my "bastard in the basement." All he did was not work and cost me money. heh.

Well, this year I kicked him out and got a brand new gas boiler. It's now nice and toasty in my little bungalow... which last winter was something I never experienced. Orville broke down over eight times last winter, and so I had to get rid of him.

When he was working, Orville was so loud that you could feel it sputtering and rumbling in the living room. The new boiler is very quiet, which is new to me.. I'm used to being able to tell if the heat is on by sound.

It's odd having a reliable heating system. Now what am I going to bitch about all winter?

Another article...

2008-12-12T05:58:00.000-08:00

Click the article and you'll be able to read it.

Sad news.

2008-12-12T05:52:00.000-08:00

1950s pinup model Bettie Page dies in LA at 85
By BOB THOMAS

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bettie Page, the 1950s secretary-turned-model whose controverisal photographs in skimpy attire or none at all helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution, died Thursday. She was 85.

Page suffered a heart attack last week in Los Angeles and never regained consciousness, her agent Mark Roesler said. Before the heart attack, Page had been hospitalized for three weeks with pneumonia.

"She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality," Roesler said. "She is the embodiment of beauty."

Page, who was also known as Betty, attracted national attention with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure in bikinis and see-through lingerie that were quickly tacked up on walls in military barracks, garages and elsewhere, where they remained for years.

Her photos included a centerfold in the January 1955 issue of then-fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasochistic poses.

The latter helped contribute to her mysterious disappearance from the public eye, which lasted decades and included years during which she battled mental illness and became a born-again Christian.

After resurfacing in the 1990s, she occasionally granted interviews but refused to allow her picture to be taken.
"I don't want to be photographed in my old age," she told an interviewer in 1998. "I feel the same way with old movie stars. ... It makes me sad. We want to remember them when they were young."

The 21st century indeed had people remembering her just as she was. She became the subject of songs, biographies, Web sites, comic books, movies and documentaries. A new generation of fans bought thousands of copies of her photos, and some feminists hailed her as a pioneer of women's liberation.

Gretchen Mol portrayed her in 2005's "The Notorious Bettie Page" and Paige Richards had the role in 2004's "Bettie Page: Dark Angel." Page herself took part in the 1998 documentary "Betty Page: Pinup Queen."

Her career began one day in October 1950 when she took a respite from her job as a secretary in a New York office for a walk along the beach at Coney Island. An amateur photographer named Jerry Tibbs admired the 27-year-old's firm, curvy body and asked her to pose.

Looking back on the career that followed, she told Playboy in 1998, "I never thought it was shameful. I felt normal. It's just that it was much better than pounding a typewriter eight hours a day, which gets monotonous."

Nudity didn't bother her, she said, explaining: "God approves of nudity. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they were naked as jaybirds."

In 1951, Page fell under the influence of a photographer and his sister who specialized in S&M. They cut her hair into the dark bangs that became her signature and posed her in spiked heels and little else. She was photographed with a whip in her hand, and in one session she was spread-eagled between two trees, her feet dangling.
"I thought my arms and legs would come out of their sockets," she said later.

Moralists denounced the photos as perversion, and Sen. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, Page's home state, launched a congressional investigation.

Page quickly retreated from public view, later saying she was hounded by federal agents who waved her nude photos in her face. She also said she believed that, at age 34, her days as "the girl with the perfect figure" were nearly over.

She moved to Florida in 1957 and married a much younger man, as an early marriage to her high school sweetheart had ended in divorce. Her second marriage also failed, as did a third, and she suffered a nervous breakdown.

In 1959, she was lying on a sea wall in Key West when she saw a church with a white neon cross on top. She walked inside and became a born-again Christian.

After attending Bible school, she wanted to serve as a missionary but was turned down because she had been divorced. Instead, she worked full-time for evangelist Billy Graham's ministry.

A move to Southern California in 1979 brought more troubles.
She was arrested after an altercation with her landlady, and doctors who examined her determined she had acute schizophrenia. She spent 20 months in a state mental hospital in San Bernardino.

A fight with another landlord resulted in her arrest, but she was found not guilty because of insanity. She was placed under state supervision for eight years.

"She had a very turbulent life," Todd Mueller, a family friend and autograph seller, told The Associated Press on Thursday. "She had a temper to her."

Mueller said he first met Page after tracking her down in the 1990s and persuaded her to do an autograph signing event.
He said she was a hit and sold about 3,000 autographs, usually for $200 to $300 each.

"Eleanor Roosevelt, we got $40 to $50. ... Bettie Page outsells them all," he told The AP last week.

Born April 22, 1923, in Nashville, Tenn., Page said she grew up in a family so poor "we were lucky to get an orange in our Christmas stockings."

The family included three boys and three girls, and Page said her father molested all of the girls.

After the Pages moved to Houston, her father decided to return to Tennessee and stole a police car for the trip. He was sent to prison, and for a time Betty lived in an orphanage.

In her teens she acted in high school plays, going on to study drama in New York and win a screen test from 20th Century Fox before her modeling career took off.

Associated Press writer Raquel Maria Dillon in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Oh Dear.

2008-12-07T07:07:00.000-08:00

Pinup Bettie Page Hospitalized After Heart Attack

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Bettie Page, a 1950s pinup known for her raven-haired bangs and saucy come-hither looks, was hospitalized in intensive care after suffering a heart attack, her agent said Friday.

''She's critically ill,'' Mark Roesler of CMG Worldwide told The Associated Press.

He said the 85-year-old had been hospitalized for the last three weeks with pneumonia and was about to be released when she had the heart attack Tuesday. Page was transferred to another hospital in Los Angeles and remained in intensive care Friday.

A family friend, Todd Mueller, said Page was in a coma. When asked to confirm, Roesler said, ''I would not deny that,'' but he would not comment further on her condition.

Page, a secretary turned model, is credited with helping set the stage for the sexual revolution of the rebellious 1960s. She attracted national attention with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure that were tacked up on walls across the country.

Her photos included a centerfold in the January 1955 issue of then-fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasochistic poses.

Page later spent decades away from the public eye, and during that time battled mental illness and became a born-again Christian.

After resurfacing in the 1990s, she occasionally granted interviews but refused to allow her picture to be taken.

Mueller credits his business dealings with Page for bringing her out of seclusion. He said he first met her in 1989 when he offered her ''a bunch of money'' to show up at autograph signings.

''I probably sold 3,000 of her autographs, usually for $200 to $300,'' he said. ''Eleanor Roosevelt, we got $40-$50. ... Bettie Page outsells them all.''

It's Alive!

2008-12-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

The super secret project I've been working on for months and months is live. Right now. Live. It's all very exciting.
It's here..... www.RetroactiveNortheast.com

I still have an entire notebook of links I need to add to the site, so I'll slowly do that in the coming weeks. Some sections are a bit thin.... sorry Pennsylvania!

it should be noted that my friend Chris built the thing from my crazy design files and did all the fancy-pants coding. I could not have done this without her immense help.

We're only in it for the money

2008-12-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

I got a love letter from the guuuuvment today...

I got audited by the fucking IRS.

whhhhoooooo!
So basically, I can dispute it and then they'll probably crawl right up my ass even further, or I can just shut up and pay what they say I owe.

The funny thing is, I'm being audited for the one year that I had H&R Block do my taxes. Damn them.

Soon.

2008-11-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

December Fifth.

That is the day that my super secret project will be done.

Really.

And on December 6th my friend is throwing a tiny launch party at Lucky's Lounge. Whhooooo!

Right on.

2008-11-11T09:23:00.002-08:00

I saw this last night on television, and luckily someone had the good thought to "youtube clip it" within 24 hours, so that hopefully it can spread like wildfire all over the interwebs. Hooray for technology!

Super secret project and a really good blog....

2008-11-11T08:06:00.000-08:00

Soooo, my super secret project is taking a whole hell of a lot longer to finish up than I anticipated, but it will be up soon... and it will be worth it. (at least, I hope so!)

There is not enough time in a day for me to do all the things I want to do.

In other news, I found this blog the other day... and It's really great....
http://www.my50syear.blogspot.com

Black Dahlia

2008-11-01T11:21:00.000-07:00

I'm not really a fan of Halloween so usually I just go to whatever party I'm invited to as a 1950s housewife..meaning I just show up in something I'd normally wear.

But this year I decided to actually put a tiny bit of effort into my costume...

And another thing....

2008-10-31T07:50:00.000-07:00

Whoever stole my damn pumpkin off my doorstep...
I hope you drop it on yer foot and break a toe or two... you shmuck.

Today is Halloween

2008-10-31T07:45:00.000-07:00

I don't really like halloween all that much, but I LOVE zombies.......

DIE YOU ZOMBIE BASTARDS! at CinemaSalem on Saturday night, November 1st.

This event gets bigger and crazier by the minute... Here's what's in store:

SEE! the film in the company of hundreds of (Real, Live (?!?!?)) ZOMBIES from the Salem Zombie Walk!

HEAR! the World's Greatest surf-instro Misfits cover band The Crimson Ghosts, will play a blazing LIVE SET at 10pm before the movie!

SEE! an honest to god FREAK SHOW!!! Seriously, there'll people hammering nails into their heads, walking on a bed of nails, swallowing live insects and who knows what else...

DROOL! The Crimson Ghosts will be accompanied by gorgeously grotesque greenskinned zombiegirl go-go dancers inspired by none-other-than the magnificent Maldonato Triplets! Oh, BEHAVE!

MEET! Co-writer/co-producer Haig Demarjian along with assorted Cast and Crew MYSTERY GUESTS... bring your DYZB! memorabilia and get autographs for your collection!!!

BUY! What's that you say? You don't OWN any rare and collectable DYZB! memorabilia? Don't worry-- that Undead Legend of Comics, Hack "King" Derby, has created an ALL-NEW collectable poster for this SPECIAL event-- only available for sale AT the event!

WIN! Did we mention that there'll be a "Best Zombie" COSTUME CONTEST with CASH PRIZES??!!??!

PAY! $10 admission/ $8 if you're dressed like a Zombie

Sadly, I can't go to this event... Instead, I'll be watching Henry Rollins rant and rave for hours on Saturday evening. But, go go go, if you can... the movie is great!

Wow.

2008-10-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated this blog in a LOOOONG time.

Time for excuses......
I'm neglecting this blog because I've been working on a giant secret project that is almost ready to be revealed.

to tide you over, here is what has happened in the last month or so....
• my house is finally getting a new heating system • dolemite is still an asshole • i'm re-modeling my spare bedroom • a hutch is being built for my kitchen to hide dolemite's litter box... so you could say that his bathroom is getting re-modeled • Myk and Allison got married • my car overheated on the way to Myk's wedding • i've got costochondritis, which means the cartilage around my sternum is strained... it hurts! a lot! • i can survive for 3 months on my apocalypse food ration • spent many sundays at the SOWA open market • pumpkin on my doorstep because it's october • i'm way behind on my laundry •

After my super-secret project is all ready to go, I'll be able to get back to rambling about nothing on this blog.

People of the world....

2008-09-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

"Chapstick" is a brand name.

Bag Lunch does not make/sell "Chapstick."

Bag Lunch is lip balm company that makes and sells lip balm... NOT Chapstick.

Thank-you.

Eric...

2008-09-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

"Austin Police Say Hit-and-Run Driver Hit Motorcycle”
Fatal Motorcycle Wreck
The motorcycle crashed to the frontage road below the expressway.
Related Links
www.TwoTiminFour. com

A North Austin motorcycle collision on U.S. Hwy 183 killed the rider and left his motorcycle on the frontage road -- a mile away from where his body was found.

Police say Eric Laufer, 25, died at the scene. Laufer was the lead vocalist for Two Timin' Four, an Austin rockabilly/root music band. The motorcycle was traveling northbound at the time of the crash. It happened around 4 a.m. Thursday, just east of Burnet Road on U.S. 183.

Investigators are now looking for the vehicle they say struck the motorcycle and then left the scene.

The victim was wearing a helmet and other protective gear.

Before they were "Four"...

Nervous Breakdown. (also i swear a lot in this post... hi Mom!)

2008-08-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

My iPod bought the fucking farm. I did everything i could to try and fix it myself. Nothing worked. It's fucking done.

This would normally be horrible and a bother. But this is made especially horrible by the fact that I'm throwing my big end of Summer BBQ tomorrow and now i have a giant Music Problem. You really can't throw a party without music. Really. Try it... your party will crash and burn.

So I need to get this thing fixed.

There are no available "Genius Bar" appointments until Monday. Great. I use my Ipod roughly 4 hours a day. I NEED this thing. Even if i wasn't having a BBQ tomorrow, I would still be freaking out... but probably not as much. Sure, i have a record player, but I can't be flipping records all afternoon while grilling burgers and dogs.

Luckily, my friend Myk is going to come by early tomorrow, load my BBQ playlist onto his iPod and save the fucking day.

Alright, now I gotta go buy a mattress... tax free holiday. whooo.

Time-Warp Wives

2008-08-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

This half-hour documentary played on channel 4 in England a few days ago. Luckily, someone posted it on youtube, in three parts...

Night out on the town...

2008-08-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

You know that dance that suburban moms do when they have a few too many wine coolers and they are listening to some band play all their favorite covers?

My friend Chris named the dance. It's called "The Minivan."

Save Mister Rogers

2008-08-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

Apparently, PBS has decided to remove "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" from it's daily syndicate offerings, beginning in September. Jerks.

Visit
http://savemisterrogers.com
for more information regarding this HORRIBLE decision.

Here's a great article I found while rooting around...

(Mental Floss) -- Here are 15 things everyone should know about Fred Rogers:

1. Even Koko the Gorilla loved him. Most people have heard of Koko, the Stanford-educated gorilla who could speak about 1000 words in American Sign Language, and understand about 2000 in English.

What most people don't know, however, is that Koko was an avid Mister Rogers' Neighborhood fan. As Esquire reported, when Fred Rogers took a trip out to meet Koko for his show, not only did she immediately wrap her arms around him and embrace him, she did what she'd always seen him do onscreen: she proceeded to take his shoes off!

2. He made thieves think twice. According to a TV Guide piece on him, Fred Rogers drove a plain old Impala for years. One day, however, the car was stolen from the street near the TV station. When Rogers filed a police report, the story was picked up by every newspaper, radio and media outlet around town.

Amazingly, within 48 hours the car was left in the exact spot where it was taken from, with an apology on the dashboard. It read, "If we'd known it was yours, we never would have taken it." Mental Floss: Memorable commencement speakers

3. He watched his figure to the pound. In covering Rogers' daily routine (waking up at 5 a.m.; praying for a few hours for all of his friends and family; studying; writing, making calls and reaching out to every fan who took the time to write him; going for a morning swim; getting on a scale; then really starting his day), writer Tom Junod explained that Mr. Rogers weighed in at exactly 143 pounds every day for the last 30 years of his life.

He didn't smoke, didn't drink, didn't eat the flesh of any animals, and was extremely disciplined in his daily routine. And while I'm not sure if any of that was because he'd mostly grown up a chubby, single child, Junod points out that Rogers found beauty in the number 143.

According to the piece, Rogers came "to see that number as a gift... because, as he says, "the number 143 means 'I love you.' It takes one letter to say 'I' and four letters to say 'love' and three letters to say 'you.' One hundred and forty-three."

4. He saved both public television and the VCR. Strange but true. When the government wanted to cut public television funds in 1969, the relatively unknown Mister Rogers went to Washington.

Almost straight out of a Frank Capra film, his 5-6 minute testimony on how TV had the potential to give kids hope and create more productive citizens was so simple but passionate that even the most gruff politicians were charmed. While the budget should have been cut, the funding instead jumped from $9 to $22 million.

Rogers also spoke to Congress, and swayed senators into voting to allow VCR's to record television shows from the home. It was a cantankerous debate at the time, but his argument was that recording a program like his allowed working parents to sit down with their children and watch shows as a family. Mental Floss: Forgotten kids shows sure to give you nightmares

5. He might have been the most tolerant American ever. Mister Rogers seems to have been almost exactly the same off-screen as he was onscreen. As an ordained Presbyterian minister, and a man of tremendous faith, Mister Rogers preached tolerance first.

Whenever he was asked to castigate non-Christians or gays for their differing beliefs, he would instead face them and say, with sincerity, "God loves you just the way you are." Often this provoked ire from fundamentalists.

6. He was genuinely curious about others. Mister Rogers was known as one of the toughest interviews because he'd often befriend reporters, asking them tons of questions, taking pictures of them, compiling an album for them at the end of their time together, and calling them after to check in on them and hear about their families. He wasn't concerned with himself, and genuinely loved hearing the life stories of others.

And it wasn't just with reporters. Once, on a fancy trip up to a PBS exec's house, he heard the limo driver was going to wait outside for 2 hours, so he insisted the driver come in and join them (which flustered the host).

On the way back, Rogers sat up front, and when he learned that they were passing the driver's home on the way, he asked if they could stop in to meet his family. According to the driver, it was one of the best nights of his life the house supposedly lit up when Rogers arrived, and he played jazz piano and bantered with them late into the night. Further, like with the reporters, Rogers sent him notes and kept in touch with the driver for the rest of his life.

7. He was color-blind. Literally. He couldn't see the color blue. Of course, he was also figuratively color-blind, as you probably guessed. As were his parents, who took in a black foster child when Rogers was growing up. Mental Floss: Praise for the blind genius who invented cruise control

8. He could make a subway car full of strangers sing. Once while rushing to a New York meeting, there were no cabs available, so Rogers and one of his colleagues hopped on the subway. Esquire reported that the car was filled with people, and they assumed they wouldn't be noticed.

But when the crowd spotted Rogers, they all simultaneously burst into song, chanting "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood." The result made Rogers smile wide.

9. He got into TV because he hated TV. The first time he turned one on, he saw people angrily throwing pies in each other's faces. He immediately vowed to use the medium for better than that. Over the years he covered topics as varied as why kids shouldn't be scared of a haircut, or the bathroom drain (because you won't fit!), to divorce and war.

10. He was an Ivy League dropout. Rogers moved from Dartmouth to Rollins College to pursue his studies in music.

11. He composed all the songs on the show, and over 200 tunes.

12. He was a perfectionist, and disliked ad libbing. He felt he owed it to children to make sure every word on his show was thought out.

13. Michael Keaton got his start on the show as an assistant. He helped puppeteer and operate the trolley.

14. Several characters on the show are named for his family. Queen Sara is named after Rogers' wife, and the postman Mr. McFeely is named for his maternal grandfather who always talked to him like an adult, and reminded young Fred that he made every day special just by being himself. Sound familiar? It was the same way Mister Rogers closed every show.

15. The sweaters. Every one of the cardigans he wore on the show had been hand-knit by his mother.

It's funny, 'cuz it's true...

2008-07-29T07:11:00.001-07:00

So excited for this to begin again on Sunday...

2008-07-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

Franks

2008-07-14T11:58:00.000-07:00

Relatives on my Father's side, eating hot dogs before a night out.

All the Trimmings....

2008-07-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

This is the last untouched trim in my house...

It was the only "wood-colored" wood left in my entire home. And soon, it will look like this...

I'm one coat into this project, and I think 2 more coats will do it. High gloss paint is so annoying to use, but so worth it when all is said and done.

Rumble

2008-07-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

Spent Saturday here...

It was so hot and humid that we spent most of the time in the pavilion, eating ice cream and listening to bands.

Swanky

2008-06-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite photographs of my Grandparents. it was taken at Kelly's Lobster House in Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1951 (or 1952.. my mother isn't quite sure.) My grandfather, Thaddeus, is in the upper left and my grandmother, Anastasia, is the gal with the cigarette in the upper right. The photo was taken by one of those roving photographers that restaurants used to often employ. This photo is framed in a tiny cardboard folder with the establishment's logo on the front.

My mother had thought she lost this photo and we searched for years for it. It just recently turned up. This is what happens to pack-rats. They lose things and then they magically reappear, years later.

Pearly Whites

2008-06-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

This guy went to the vet yesterday because it appears that his ears are going bald. It turned out to not be a problem and nothing to worry about, BUT the vet mentioned that he needs his teeth cleaned. Ok. No problem.

The I get the quote...

FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS.

Almost half a grand so my cat can have sparkling chompers?

You don't knock...

2008-06-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my Father installed my side-of-house-oh-look-now-you-can-get-to-the-backyard door. He did this for me for free, because he is awesome. (Hi, Dad!)

He did the whole thing in two days, which i think is pretty amazing. Admittedly, I know nothing about door installation, so I'm not sure if this is an amazing feat, or 2 days is the usual for doors. Whatever, I'm impressed.

This blog post is full of "Dad is great" type stuff for two reasons....
1. He just installed a door in my house, for free. A door that is greatly increasing my quality of life... I'm lazy and now it's much easier to get to my backyard.
2. Sunday is Father's Day.

Onward to photos!...

Here is my Father sitting in the door hole. (I don't know what I find that funny.)

On Saturday, my Father lost his sunglasses and promptly flipped out. Here he is wearing mine so he could continue working outside.. Luckily, we found his shortly thereafter.

Tools...

Taking a break.

He's really just showing off one of his tattoos here, but you know, I might as well post it. After all, HE PUT A DOOR IN MY HOUSE, IN 90 DEGREE WEATHER. That's amazing.

Happy Father's Day, a bit early, Dad.

(when ya wanna get going on the diner construction, eh? I KID, I KID!)

YES. yes. YES YES YES.

2008-06-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

His new game...

2008-06-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

The cat I live with is an asshole.

I say "the cat I live with" as opposed to "my pet cat" because he doesn't seem to think he is a pet, and referring to him as a "pet" would lead you, dear reader, to believe that the cat knows his place in this household. "Pet" indicates that I have jurisdiction over him in some way. I don't. He does whatever he damn well pleases and gets away with it because he is adorable. The bastard.

Annnnnywaaaay....

For the past week, every time I walk into the bathroom, he jumps roughly 4 feet into the air and attaches himself to the bathroom doorframe. He hangs there like a monkey halfway up a tree. While he hangs there, on the doorframe, he gives me the "What is your problem?' face, EVERY SINGLE TIME.

The door frame is clawed to hell now. Wonderful.

So, I decide I'm going to photograph this recent act of cat defiance, but have been unsuccessful thus far. It seems that he is on to me, and won't repeat his jerk carnival for the camera. If I am able to get a photo of it, I'll post it... but don't hold yer breath.

He's the Michigan J. Frog of cats.

Sales Gal

2008-05-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

...at The South End Open Market, pretending I'm a "people person."

Side Door

2008-05-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, while I was selling Bag Lunch balms at the South End Open Market, my father came down for the weekend and started prepping the side of my house for the new door that he's going to install.

He's going to order the door for me sometime this week and come down to Suburbia and install it. The odd thing is that I don't get to pick it out, He said that he knows what sort of door I want and that he'll just order it.

When I asked him about it, he just said "What? You're just going to paint the damn thing pink anyway right?"

Oh, he knows me too well.

Busy Bee.

2008-05-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

Since I'm so busy getting bag lunch ready for this year's Open Market season, I've had nothing to write about on this blog. I've been pouring and labeling lip balm every day for the past 2-3 weeks and nothing amusing or amazing happens when I'm doing that... so no blog posts.

Opening weekend is this weekend, so after that, I can return to my regular life and you know... actually do something outside of my house.

In the meantime, check out one of my favorite blogs...
www.retrorenovation.com

Spring has sprung

2008-05-07T11:28:00.001-07:00

The tulips in my front gardens have bloomed.

This is sheer luck for them though, as I have no green thumb and don't actually do any gardening whatsoever. My mother drives to my house every few weeks in the spring and summer months and tends to my gardens because she enjoys that sort of thing.

I agreed to let her do this under the stipulation that she can not get angry at me when these plants die under my watch. Because they will. I am horrible.

Here we go...

2008-05-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

With the warmer weather approaching, I have a long list of house projects i want to get through this summer:

1. Install backyard access door.
Currently, the only way to get to my backyard is out through the front door and then walking the entire length of my house via my driveway. It's really a hassle if you're sitting on my deck and need to run into the house for something... you'll need to walk down my driveway and squeeze by my car to get to the front door. How irritating.

2. Stain deck.
The deck wood has "settled" and now can be stained. I want to get this done before it gets really hot out.

3. Continue with the diner construction in the basement.
Currently, the walls have been painted and that's about it. I've told myself that the backyard access door is more important and that I'm not going to work on the diner at all until that door is in. There is a LOT to do for this, and once the door is in, I'll dive into this.

4. Paint the exterior trim under all the windows.
I will probably not actually do this. I want to, but it seems like it's going to be a giant pain.

Back to the Eastern Seaboard

2008-04-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Vegas. Here are a few photos...

Bright Light City

2008-04-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning, I'm going on vacation with my friends Myk and Allison. I'm going to the annual Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender. Four days of music, car shows, burlesque, and vintage clothing vendors.

I'm even closing Bag Lunch while I'm away. In the 5 years I've owned Bag Lunch, I've never closed shop for any amount of time. It's odd. I won't be checking Bag Lunch emails or processing orders or anything. Whenever I go away for the weekend or anything like that, I generally still run Bag Lunch from wherever I am. But not this time...I'm going to be 100% on vacation.

Also, although "Swingers" is one of my favorite movies, I'm going to refrain from quoting any part of that movie while I'm there. I'm no hack.

Needle in the groove

2008-04-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

The record player I ordered a few days ago arrived today. It's very exciting because i haven't been able to listen to any of my records for roughly two years.

You see... two years ago i was living with a fellow with a record player, so i never replaced the one I broke in college... then WE broke up and obviously he took his player with him. For some reason I was ok with being record player-less for the entire time I've lived in my house. Gah!

Well no more! I'll be spending the evening catching up with all my old vinyl friends.

The future is NOW.

2008-04-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Everything about this is awesome....

Sadly, this is not yet available in Massachusetts.

The elusive picnic basket

2008-04-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

I would like a picnic basket just like this:

You would think it would be easy to find a simple picnic basket. It's not. It's in fact, very difficult.

A lot of picnic baskets that I've seen look like tiny wicker suitcases. I don't want to walk around looking like I'm in some sort of prairie mob, about to close a deal.

Also, a lot of picnic baskets come with a bunch of forks and plates and other tools for eating. Don't need these. Every time I've ever been on a picnic, I've simply removed my sandwich from it's plastic baggie and eaten it. I'm classy like that. If you need to lug a bunch of plates and forks and glasses out for your picnic, why don't you just save yourself the trouble and stay in your kitchen.

All I want is a picnic basket with no bells or whistles, that doesn't come with a bunch of useless crap, and opens from the top in two pieces like the picture above..

Apparently, I've asked for too much.

status: busy

2008-03-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated this blog in quite a while. Sooo, here's what I've been up to:

got Ink pushed into my skin • stung IN THE NECK by a hornet • organized every closet in my house • got even more ink pushed into my skin • drove to Northampton for lunch with a friend • went to a diner with my Father • drove around the back roads of Amherst • poured some lip balm • settled my open market schedule for the summer • went to a party where seven dogs were in attendance • painted the basement • started packing for vegas • watched the most fucked movie I've ever seen • new Auto Club album • ice cream with Myk • ate a hamburger within a grilled cheese sandwich • taxes are done • more lunches with other friends • new sneakers • live music

Avalanche!

2008-03-14T06:29:00.000-07:00

I have a closet in my kitchen that has become a Fibber McGee and Molly situation. Over the past year I have simply just packed that closet with random junk. It's bad. Opening the door reveals a solid wall of STUFF.

But... Yesterday I cleaned it out! I found all sorts of things that I had been looking for... a fiber optic christmas tree, some painting that I'm going to re-purpose for the diner I'm building, and all sorts of plastic crap bought at flea markets among other things.

I organized the entire closet with new shelving and everything has it's own nook. It's now an obsessive compulsive's dream closet.

What an exciting life I lead. sigh.

Yes, it is true.

2008-03-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

This comic came from nataliedee.com.

Down for the count.

2008-03-10T08:37:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, 2 friends and I went to visit Paul, so he could push some ink into our skin.

Curly decides he wants to go second. So Jay goes first and gets a tattoo on the back of his neck. Quick and painless, like an old ink veteran.

Next, Paul draws up the stencil for our first-timer, slaps it on his arm and then Curly plunks down in the chair, ready for his first tattoo ever.

Paul gets two lines done and notices Curly starting to fidget and get clammy.

Paul asks how he's doing, and Curly says " I think I'm gonna..." and before he can finish his sentence it's LIGHTS OUT!

Curly passed out cold.

He's only out for maybe a minute. All of a sudden, Curly's eyes shoot open, he forgets where he is and what's going on, and starts flailing his arms around, mumbling "I gotta get out of here! I gotta get out of here," while trying to jump out of the chair. He's flailing his arms around so wildly that Paul thinks he's going to punch him. Paul is blocking his head so Curly doesn't deck him, Jay is laughing and I'm running around looking for orange juice. (Orange juice is really good to drink during tattoo sessions as it's high sugar content is great for replenishing energy that you use up when your body fights the tattoo pain. Also, it's delicious.)

Paul keeps saying, "Curly. Curly. Don't try to get up, you'll just fall over. Curly. Curly." Finally, Paul just grabs him by the shoulders and pushes him into the seat so he doesn't start running around and injure himself.

Curly then realizes where he is, settles down, and apologizes. Paul assures him that it happens sometimes, and not to worry. Paul gets him some cool towels for his neck and face, and some orange juice to drink.

Half an hour later, Paul starts again on Curly's arm and it was no problem. He's already talking about getting another one. hehehe

I call this...."Blurry cat in sweater"

2008-03-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

This photograph of Dolemite in his party sweater isn't blurry because he couldn't sit still. It's blurry because I was laughing too hard and thus couldn't hold the camera steady.

He's actually really good at posing in his sweater. This is due largely to the fact that when he's wearing it, he thinks his legs don't work. As soon as that sweater is on him, he just stands there, motionless, or flops onto his back. It's weird.

High School Hellcats

2008-03-06T06:56:00.000-08:00

"Cry Baby" is one of my favorite movies. I've heard rumors of this musical for years and now it's finally happening. It's on Broadway starting March 15th. I'm so excited.

Timber!

2008-03-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

Since about January first, I have been meaning to take down my Christmas tree. And This weekend, I actually did.

In my defense, my Christmas tree is not actually very Christmas-themed. It's pink and decorated with candy, so having it up that long isn't really that bad... it's not really very "Holiday-ish.". It's not green with Santa heads and reindeer or anything... because, you know, THAT would be tacky.

So now it's sitting in a box on my porch. I haven't taken it down to the basement yet because I don't want to rush it. Baby steps, man, baby steps.

Rather disappointing news...

2008-02-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

Reposted from the interwebs...

"After much thought and consideration, The Road Agents have decided to end the annual Hot Rod Rumble on a permanent basis. We know this news will be a disappointment to many. We will miss it just as much as you, however as some of you may or may not know, many of us in the club have other projects and/or businesses that are taking priority. The show was a huge responsibility and a lot of hard work to put on every year, but as much as we enjoyed doing it, our personal lives were suffering. This combined with the fact that the Elks Lodge has gone bankrupt and we will no longer be able to use the grounds for the show, has brought us to the decision to call it quits. (Finding a new location is not the big issue here.) I am sure you will all understand.

We would like to whole-heartedly thank everyone who has supported us for the past nine years (8 shows) and made the show not only memorable, but also made the rest of the country stand up and take a second look at the East Coast and the cool rods and customs we drive. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Lastly, I would like to emphasize that the end of the Rumble does not mean the end of the Road Agents Car Club! We look forward to finally getting out there and hitting up and supporting other shows this summer. We also have a few things up our sleeves for the future that we will post on our web site, so keep an eye out for them!

Again, a HUGE Thanks to everyone who has supported the show, especially those who have been with us since day one! It’s been a blast!

Luke Karosi"

Simply Smashing!

2008-02-25T09:18:00.000-08:00

On Friday, snow fell from the sky.

As I was pulling into my driveway after driving home from work, I hit a patch of ice and skidded into my garden retaining wall. The wall shattered and stones flew into the air cartoon style, then scattered all over the sidewalk. (If you look at the cartoony drawing of my house at the top of this page, you can see the wall I'm talking about.)

I'm not sure if there is any damage to my car, because I drive a crappy Seabring and I don't care. It still runs, and I'm not all that concerned with it's cosmetics. It's a Seabring. It was ugly when it was new. Dents could only IMPROVE the car...maybe give it some character.

Anyway, I attempted to rebuild the broken stone wall on Saturday, but there was too much snow around to really see what I was doing. Plus, the stones are very heavy, and have you seen my arms? Wimpy!

Obsessive collage

2008-02-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

I heard about this book today and it seems really really neat...

Apparently it has been...
"painstakingly assembled from 40,000 fragments of text snipped from women's magazines."

Rawle is a writer and collage artist who used publications from the 1960s -- plus scissors and glue -- to create his text.

Look....

This looks great.

Backdoor Dan

2008-02-19T10:08:00.000-08:00

Last night at three in the morning I was woken up by the sound of rustling and clanking and other noises that, in my semi-awake, groggy state, sounded like my home was being broken into.

I did what any paranoid person would do... I grabbed the phone off my night stand, hid under my bedcovers and listened very purposely in order to try and determine what was happening. I came to the conclusion that I wasn't being burgled and that the noise was happening somewhere outside.

I should add that I fully blame my burglar paranoia on McGruff the Crime Dog. His "Take a Bite Outta Crime" campaign that saturated my brain when I was a kiddo has traumatized me. I'm constantly checking to make sure doors are locked and that windows are secure. It's awful.

Anyway....

I crawled out from my blankety hideout, ambled into my kitchen and looked out the window. What I saw was probably the dumbest thing my jerk neighbors have done, thus far...

My jerk neighbor was installing a new exterior door to his house, at THREE IN THE MORNING.

THREE. IN. THE. MORNING.

I'm not generally bothered my noise all that much, having previously lived in Allston where ruckus thrives like rats, but cutting through the WALL OF A BUILDING at that hour is inconsiderate. And dumb.

But mostly inconsiderate.

This makes me oh so happy....

2008-02-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

One piece at a time

2008-02-15T09:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday as I was driving home from work, I lost a hubcap.

Actually, I didn't lose it. I know where it is. It's on the side of the road on Route 16.

My hubcap decided to liberate itself when I accidently drove over (or in this case, INTO) a giant pothole that I'm going to assume was deep enough that if you peered in, you would be able to see the earth's core.

I drove back that way this morning to see if I could find my runaway hubcap, but alas, it was gone.

Your time has come

2008-02-14T06:37:00.000-08:00

I've been in denial all winter, but the time has finally come to replace my heating system. The boiler has simply become too unreliable. I have had to get the damn thing serviced twice in the last week.

One night last week I came home and Dolemite was standing in the kitchen all puffed up because he was cold. Poor cat. I can generally gage how long the heat has not been working by the "puffed up-ness" of his coat. It would seem that the heat had not been working all day. I hardly notice anymore. I think my blood has thickened and I"ve become impervious to the cold.

Once my current tank of oil is gone, Orville (the boiler) will be put to pasture.

I'll be switching over the house from oil to gas, as gas requires less service and I already have a gas line in for my clothes dryer and stove.

"They" say that everything breaks the first two years you are in a new house. This coming June marks two years, so hopefully this will be the last thing that will go. I hope so, because I can't even think of anything else that COULD break in my house, unless a tree falls on my roof or something.

I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Someburger loves me....

2008-02-12T13:52:00.000-08:00

I got this email this morning....

Be still, my beating taste buds.

Nice package

2008-02-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

I love love love this packaging....

The daughter of the king.

2008-02-01T06:53:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday, Lisa Marie Presley.

Nothing to see here...move along...

2008-01-31T07:28:00.000-08:00

Last night, the doorbell rang...

random guy: Hi. Is your Mom or Dad home?

me: Eh, No. (I haven't actually lived with my parents in nine years.)

random guy: Oh. Are you the home owner?

me: Yep.

random guy: Do you live alone?

me: No. (I always say this when asked by strangers. No one needs to know whether or not I live alone.)

random guy: Well, we're washing carpets for homeowners.

me: I have no carpets in here. (I lie!)

random guy: No throw rugs? nothing?

me: No. Nothing . (oooh! I lie again!)

random guy: Uh, ok. Uh, Sorry I thought you were younger than me.

He then shuffled down my front steps and scurried to the next house.

what?

Darkness.

2008-01-24T07:54:00.000-08:00

Health Ledger passed away this week, which bothers me more than it should. I'm not a big fan of his or anything, so I really don't know why this has bothered me as it has. I must say though, that I've been geekily excited for his "Joker" this coming Summer, and now it will be a bit odd to watch I think.

Now...
Bettie Page is deathly ill.

She has been moved from a hospital to a nursing home and is currently unable to speak. She is suffering/recovering from pneumonia and a kidney infection. She is 84 years old. According to her brother, it's not looking good.

More crap I need...

2008-01-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

Even though this isn't ceramic*, I need this for my house....

A cheeseburger drink coaster set! I have collected a lot of fake food over the years, and most of it has no purpose whatsoever. This cheeseburger is actually functional!

*I collect ceramic cheeseburgers. I don't know why. I just do.

Such is life

2008-01-21T12:52:00.000-08:00

This weekend I came to the conclusion that whenever someone says "Life's too Short...," it will be followed by the speaker either blowing a large sum of money on some stupid shit, or doing something that is most likely not a good idea.

Table for six

2008-01-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

I'm slowly collecting the furniture for the diner that I'm building in my basement, and this past weekend I bought a diner booth from a soda shop out in Western Mass that is moving locations.

It's gigantic and seats six! It's also yellow, which means I'm going to re-upholster it, because yellow is a horrid color.

Now that I have all the elements for this project, I can adjust my floor plans and get to work!

Finally!

2008-01-11T07:55:00.000-08:00

The jerks next door have finally moved their old mattress from the side of my house.

This probably had something to do with the fact that yesterday I opened my window and yelled...
"PLEASE REMOVE YOUR MATTRESS FROM MY PROPERTY. IT IS VERY INCONSIDERATE OF YOU TO PLACE YOUR GARBAGE AGAINST MY HOUSE!" in their general direction.

Peanut butter and banana sandwich

2008-01-08T09:07:00.000-08:00

Elvis was born on this day, back in 1935.

Those Jerks...

2008-01-04T10:55:00.001-08:00

It is a well known fact that I have rude, bastardy neighbors to the left of my house.

They refuse to speak to me, do not wave back when I wave at them and also ignore me when I say hello. They are awful people.

Actually, they don't ignore me... they roll their eyes in my general direction all the time. So I guess they acknowledge my existence, and hate it.

So I continue to be nice to them, and they continue to abhor my very existence. Which is fine I guess, but sort of disappointing, because all my other neighbors are swell and it'd be nice if they were too.

So the other day, they decided it would be ok to lean a mattress against my house. A wet, soggy mattress.

WHO DOES THAT!?

They can be rude to me all they want... but I draw the fucking line with them LEANING THEIR GARBAGE AGAINST MY HOUSE.

Oh well, hopefully one day they will move. Or die. Whatever.

Sprucing up the joint....

2008-01-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

Whoooo!

Look up there... it's a new masthead! My lovely little house, cartoonified.

Dirt Nap

2008-01-03T09:08:00.000-08:00

I had to call my health care provider this morning to update some information and was put on hold.

Their "on hold" song choice was "You Can't always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones, which is not a bad song, but it was the song played during the opening FUNERAL scene in "The Big Chill."

I really don't want to be thinking about funerals and death while on hold with my doctor. I'm in perfect health, although it still mildly creeped me out.

New Year's Eve in Suburbia

2008-01-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

Threw a New Year's Eve party again this year. The good thing about throwing parties is that at the end of the night, you're already home!

Harris and his beverage...

Something must have been funny to the left...

Chris, on his way to get another drink...

Dolemite, wearing his party sweater...

Myk, passed out...

what?

2007-12-30T11:26:00.000-08:00

On friday I took my Father to get a tattoo, which came out really well. It's beautiful. But this isn't about the tattoo, it's about the loons that wander in and out of the shop all day. The shop is in an odd little part of town and there are always guys with varying degrees of sketchiness roaming around.

I'm sitting there chatting with Paul and then I notice some guy shuffling around.
His shirt read "WILL WORK FOR RABIES."

I don't have any idea what that means.

Meat!

2007-12-21T07:03:00.000-08:00

I love these paintings....

visit http://www.mikegeno.com to see more. He paints other things too, but these meat portraits are really really neat.

Really good movie, really bad poster...

2007-12-20T07:01:00.000-08:00

"No Country for Old Men" was a really really good movie. I've mentioned before that I love a good movie poster. Too bad the poster for this fantastic movie is so horrid....

It's so obvious. See, it's a chase/pursuit film. The poster stinks. There's no need for the looming face of "Anton Chigurh" to appear anywhere on the poster. We get it. That guy is chasing that other guy. Jesus. I think it would be more powerful if he wasn't revealed until you saw the movie. When "Seven" first came out in theaters, no one revealed the killer in any ad or review prior to the movie's release and it was a really neat element to the film. "Anton Chigurh" is such a powerful and creepy character that it would have been great to bring that little element of surprise to him as well.

Here, I fixed it...

You still get the idea that it's a pursuit film, but the "so-obvious-it's-not-at-all-symbolic" element is removed.

Why so serious?

2007-12-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

I love this one-sheet for "The Dark Knight."

It's so creepy and stark. The design of everything related to this movie is fantastic. I love a good movie poster.

Did I mention how excited I am for this movie? Geek!

The Winter is winning...

2007-12-17T13:08:00.000-08:00

...and I am losing.

The street I live on is a slight hill, and my neighbor's drainpipe flows down the sidewalk in front of my house. With all the rain on Sunday in addition to this drainpipe business, the sidewalk in front of my house became a skating rink of sheer, shiny ice.

As i was scattering salt around on Monday morning before I left for work, I lost my footing and slid down the sidewalk on my back. Wheee! Then as I was getting up, I fell on my stomach and ended up sliding even further down the sidewalk. I finally gave up and crawled the sidewalk length to finish salting the death-trap. I ran out of salt with only half my sidewalk salted. I didn't want anyone else to bite it in front of my house, so I ran inside, made a few signs that said "CAUTION! BLACK ICE ON SIDEWALK!" and taped them to the bottom of my front step railing. I figured, I'll just run to the store, pick up a bag of salt, drive back, throw it on the sidewalk and be on my way to work.

Of course, the supermarket was out of salt, so I had to get cat litter. Eh, better than nothing.

I drive back to my house, and hop out of my car to spread some litter on the rest of the icy sidewalk.

I FALL AGAIN!

This time I cracked my head on something, maybe my bottom stair, I don't know. Ouch! I think I got knocked out for a few seconds, but I'm not sure. Next thing I know, I'm lying on the sidewalk on my back. I think I'm dead. Seriously. The back of my head felt a bit wet. I thought, "This is it. I've cracked my head open and I'm dead. My cat is going to starve to death, and I'm dead."

For some reason, I think that if I can scream something out loud, I'll be able to tell if I'm dead or not. So I scream "Cocksucker!!"

Seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, not so much. I should have probably screamed something tamer, like "Birthday Cake!" or something. I don't know, odd ideas pop into your head when you think you're dead.

It turns out that my neighbor heard me, which in my head meant that I wasn't dead. Because he heard me and he's not dead.

He asks if I'm ok, as I'm lying in what I think is a pool of my own blood. I whimper "yeah" and slowly get up, fully expecting to see a big crimson puddle on the ice.

No blood in sight.

It turns out that the warmth from my body was melting the ice beneath me, and I mistook the melting ice for the wetness of blood. How gross.

I have fallen on ice more times in the last three days than I have in, I don't know, SEVEN YEARS.

Wipe-Out!

2007-12-15T09:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had my first Three Stooges moment of this year's ice and snow season.

It happened as I was getting out of my car at the supermarket. I opened the door and stepped out. My feet instantly went out from under me like those fawns that are first learning how to walk. My knees went smashing into the icy cement, and now my kneecaps look like two shiny purple plums. Also, for some reason I tried to break my fall with the TOP of my left hand. I ended up splitting my knuckle open on the ground. AH!

The funny thing is, I was going to the supermarket to pick up some rock salt for my own icy driveway.

As I was checking out, I asked the cashier if she had any papertowels or something so I could clean up my knuckle a bit. She asked what happened and I told her. The manager was called over and craziness enveloped me... "Where did it happen? Did you hurt your neck? Don't Sue. Are you sure you're ok? Please don't sue. Show me where in the parking lot you were. Don't sue. Please don't sue."

Obviously, I'm not suing. The thought never even entered my mind. I simply wanted to clean up my hand so I didn't bleed all over my steering wheel!

Snow me.

2007-12-14T11:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first substantial snowfall of the Winter. When I got home from work I had to shovel my driveway before I could park. Normally when it snows, I try and gun it up and over the snowbank into my driveway. There was just too much snow for that to work. I tried anyway, but stopped once I smelled the burning rubber of my tires spinning pointlessly in the snow.

The sidewalk in front of my house is home to a fire hydrant, so the first thing I do when shoveling is dig out around the hydrant and make a path from it to the street. Safety first!

Anyway, I'm digging around out there and my jerk neighbor comes outside and starts up his snowblower. He then notices me shoveling, stops his snowblower and goes back inside. What the hell. I didn't ask him to snowblow my sidewalk or anything, and I don't expect him to. Is he really that spineless that he feels guilty for not offering help and therefore has to hide inside his damn house until I'm out of site?

All my other neighbors were helping each other dig cars out, salting sidewalks, taking turns sledding down the street and generally having a good time, despite the winter mess. It was great.

I finished shoveling and went inside my house. As soon as my front door slammed shut, that tool came back outside, started up his snowblower and started his driveway.

What a jerk.

POW! KA-BANG!

2007-12-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

I'm so geekishly excited for this movie. I love the darkness of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies. Much much better than the cartoony nosedive the other Batman movies took.

Also, the viral marketing campaign for this movie is insane... clown cakes with cell phones in them, Gotham newspapers handed out in airports, skywriters, odd phone calls, not to mention several websites for Gotham City businesses.

Books and more books...

2007-12-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

This weekend I went to the New England Mobile Book Fair with Myk and Allison. I hadn't been there before, and it was overwhelming. The place is huge and choking with books. A lot of the shelves have books BEHIND other books. Everything is discounted, which is great for cheapskates like myself. They have current titles there as well as lots of great out of print stuff. I saw a neat Robert Crumb collection sitting in the stacks, but I didn't adopt it because I already had a half dozen books in my arms.

It's not really all that organized, which means you have to hunt around to find things, but that just makes it all the more interesting. I could have spent several hours there, but forced myself to leave lest I bought too much.

I really can't express how amazing this place is. It really just needs to be visited to understand.

Hatch Show Print

2007-12-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Last night I saw Jim Sherraden speak about the history of Hatch Show Print. I've been a fan of the work they do over there in Nashville since college, so it was fantastic to finally meet the man who helped bring Hatch Show Print back to life.

I really really think that what Jim is doing is important, not only for design, but history in general. He's not allowing any new typefaces to be brought into the shop. So, jobs that are printed there now use the same type blocks that were used back in the early 1900s. Those letter sets in the trays have so much history behind them...posters for political campaigns, traveling variety shows, pharmacy ads, posters for musical acts coming to town...it's amazing.

After the lecture, there are print re-strikes for sale. I am the proud owner of these two prints...

Great, two more prints to add to my pile of things I need to have framed!

Here's a nice video about Hatch Show Print, snatched from youtube...

Here is a short little Video of Jim working in the shop. Again snagged this off youtube...

Extra! Extra!

2007-12-03T11:34:00.000-08:00

An article was recently published about Bag Lunch. Visit the Bag Lunch Press blog to read it...
http://baglunchpress.blogspot.com

65 years ago today...

2007-11-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

November 28, 1942 was the day of the Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston.

I've never seen this sidewalk plaque located on Piedmont, but I'm going to make a point of hunting it down next time I'm in the general area...

A good book regarding this tragedy is "Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy and it's Aftermath," by John C. Esposito. Uh, It might be the ONLY book about Cocoanut Grove, but it's quite good none-the-less.

The bastard in the basement.

2007-11-26T06:13:00.000-08:00

I love owning my house but, there is one aspect of home-owning that I hate. I hate dealing with my heating system. I have a boiler in my basement that is at least 75 years old. It's the bane of my existence during cold weather.

I'm constantly running down to the basement to check on it, swearing under my breath as I approach the monster. I'm constantly touching radiators to make sure they are warm. I question the reading on my thermostat. The father in "The Christmas Story's" battle with his boiler is no longer funny to me. Now I relate and sympathize. AHHH!

Also, the bastard in my basement is covered in a thick layer of asbestos, so removing it in order to replace it will be an expensive hassle.

Luckily, my friend is dating a swell guy who deals with this crap for a living, so he fixes and tunes up everything for me for free. Otherwise, I'd already be out several hundred dollars this year. (Actually not free, I pay him in dinners.)

I'm going to switch to natural gas in the next few years, and I hope the damn boiler lasts until then.

Damn it.

Sack o' fun

2007-11-23T13:41:00.000-08:00

I wish they still made this product. It's so weird...

I can actually hear you now.

2007-11-19T14:04:00.000-08:00

Went to a show this weekend, which is nothing of note because I go to a lot of shows. But this was different... I could hear the vocals! It was amazing!

Normally at shows, the drums get mic-ed and end up too high in the mix, thus drowning out everything else that's on stage. It's maddening.

Jim Heath wrote an article called "How Sound Men are Ruining Rock 'n Roll", about the drum problem at shows, it's quite good and explains the drum problem better than I can...
http://www.reverendhortonheat.com/rev_updates/07_01_19.php

The sound guys at Toad's Place this weekend did a really great job. It was one of the best shows I've ever been to, in terms of sound quality. I feel like I should send them a muffin basket or something... it was that impressive.

(Oddly, this show I went to this weekend with the fantastic sound quality, was Jim's band, The Reverend Horton Heat.)

It's a White Oleander

2007-11-13T16:05:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, I took my sister to get a tattoo from "my" tattoo artist...

Oil oil everywhere, and not a drop to spare.

2007-11-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

I filled up my heating oil tank for the first time this year. Heating oil is so expensive that I nearly vomited when I opened the bill.
Last year I made it through the entire Winter on a little over one tank, and I'm hoping to do that again this year.

Heating oil burns about one gallon an hour, which adds up to about $3.17 an hour right now. The small space heater that heats up my living room quite nicely runs at about 13 cents an hour. Soooo, I'll be keeping my boiler temperature quite low and running the space heater a bit more. What can I say? I'm cheap!

So if you plan on stopping by for a visit, bring a sweater! And a hat! A scarf would probably be a good idea as well!

cherry!

2007-11-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

I normally don't post too much bag lunch related stuff on this blog, but this is worth mentioning...

Bag Lunch has donated some limited edition balms to help a great gal out with her medical bills. Visit the link below to buy one...

http://cherrybrat.livejournal.com/231554.html

Go buy one! Medical bills are expensive!

What are you supposed to be?

2007-11-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Halloween. Here is a list of all the "Trick or Treaters" that came to my door...

three princesses

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Not sure which one. It was the one who wears the orange eye mask. Michalangelo I think.

ninja

kid in a full chicken suit

little kid in just regular clothes with one of those tiny fake handlebar moustaches glued to his face. It should be noted that his 3 college age brothers and his Father came to the door with candy bags as well. They weren't dressed up, but they out-numbered me so I gave them candy too. Jerks.

Three kids in regular street clothes. Looked like they would pummel me so they got candy, even though they weren't dressed up. Again, jerks.

dalmation

Some sort of fairy

little boy dressed as a lady

kid with regular clothes on, but wearing a skull mask

Some kid's mother dressed as a giant fat naked lady. Disturbing.

vampire

the killer from the "Scream" movies

two snotty high school girls that were "too cold to dress up." I gave them candy, but I hope they get cavities.

a kid in regular clothes, holding a fake head

sugar plum fairy

flapper

some sort of broken whore doll. I would never call a little kid a whore. This girl was a senior in high school, and was dressed like a whorish doll. Gross.

zorro

a medieval something

wizard of some sort

the tiniest superman I've ever seen

darth vader

This is only my second year in Suburbia, so I feel compelled to give out good candy. I don't want to be the new neighbor who is known for giving out like, "maryJanes" or Canadian mints. So I handed out big handfuls of gummy things and blow-pops.

Also, I feel like Halloween is sort of similar to when the mob shows up to your deli and makes you pay for 'protection." I feel like if I give these little jerks candy, they won't steal shit off my lawn or whatever, and won't look the other way if my house is burning down. Maybe. I don't know.

An Important Reminder...

2007-10-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

DIE YOU ZOMBIE BASTARDS! will be screened at Cinema Salem in the Witch City of Salem, Massachusetts. The fine folks at CinemaSalem and the Salem Fright Festival would like to see this become a Salem tradition on Halloween -- closing out the night with DYZB! These terrific people feel like our movie could become a "Rocky Horror"-type phenomenon, which would be very cool. So PLEASE come out for this historic FIRST ANNUAL event, raise your fists and yell "DIE YOU ZOMBIE BASTARDS!"

It shows at 10:30pm on HALLOWEEN NIGHT -- TONITE! (October 31st)

http://www.cinemasalem.com

Also, Cinema Salem has a policy where if you were actually IN the movie being screened, you get in for FREE. If you were onscreen in DYZB!, let them know for FREE ADMISSION.

Hooray!

2007-10-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

As of today, I am out of credit card debt. I have zeroed everything out. It's very exciting.

Now all I gotta do is pay off my house. In 28.5 years.

Dolemite's Birthday Present...

2007-10-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

You've come a long way, baby.

2007-10-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

Today is Dolemite the Cat's birthday. He is 4 years old, which translates to "still a jerk" in people years.

Technically, his birthday might not actually be today. The shelter where we adopted him from couldn't pin-point his actual birthdate, but did say he was probably born between October 20th and October 30th. So we decided he was born on October 24th. It doesn't really matter... he can't read a calendar anyway.

I can still remember the day we adopted the jerk...

We (me and the boyfriend at the time, who is now no longer the boyfriend) had just moved from a mouse-infested apartment in Boston to another apartment in the building next door. I wanted a cat to protect me from rodents in the new apartment. I NEEDED a cat to protect me from rodents. I was so tramatized from the mouse apartment that everytime something glinted in the corner of my eye, I assumed it was a mouse and promptly freaked out.

The boyfriend did not want a cat. I whined and begged for weeks.

A few weeks later, on New Year's Eve, we attended a party hosted by one of his co-workers. He is a chef, so the party food was elaborate. The host, knowing that I don't drink, prepared a highly carbonated non-alcoholic fancy shmancy fruity lemon thing that I think also involved ginger. It really was quite beautiful, although I really don't like carbonation. It makes me gag. It's too fizzy. Wah!

I sat there holding the giant glass of good intention in my hand, trying to think of a way to dump it in a plant or something. I didn't want to be rude, but I could not drink this thing. I do not have a sophisticated palate. There was too much going on with that beverage. I like plain things. Like warm apple juice.

So I sat there surrounded by tiny sausages wrapped in puff pastry blankets and spare ribs marinated in imported sauces I had never heard of, while bitter over-worked chefs argued the merits of Kobe Beef. I sat trying to hatch a plan to get rid of the lemony, zingy beverage.

Then, the boyfriend solved the problem for me by saying,
"If you drink that, we can get a cat."

Gulp.

Two days later, we are at the Animal Rescue League in Boston looking at felines when we spot him... a tiny grey and white mangy looking kitten hovering in the corner of a tiny cage. We ask to see him in one of the "get to know you" stalls to see if we get along. We had to wear rubber gloves because the kitten had just arrived about 3 hours ago and had been flea-dipped.

The Rescue worker tells us that he was rescued from a dumpster in the back of a Burger King, and he was all alone. No siblings. Nothing. A tiny kitten all alone in a big fast food dumpster. Cue the dramatic music.

We carry the little trembling furball into the stall and the woman tells us to watch out because a rabbit was just in there with it's future adoptive parents.

The little grey kitten jumps out of my purple-gloved hands, runs under a chair and begins eating rabbit droppings.

Obviously, we had to adopt him.

And then there was none...

2007-10-23T06:59:00.001-07:00

Joey Bishop passed away a few days ago. (October 17, 2007)

Now there are no living members of the Rat Pack.

Lead Sled

2007-10-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from the Fallout taken with the same camera that we used to take those neat-o vintage-feel photos at Coney Island about a month ago. I really love the way these look.

Like a Rocket

2007-10-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

I love the interior of this car...

The Gamma Rays

2007-10-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

The Gamma Rays played at the Fallout...

Johnny Custom's Bass...

...He was filling in for the day.