Pandemic!!

NY Times, please stop making me feel conflicted about swine flu.

Take Away Shows

Just got reacquainted to La Blogotheque's Take Away Shows and I'm really enjoying the music and the visuals.

Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity

A pic from an installation at the Gagosian. A work entitled "Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity" by Yayoi Kusuma. Apparently, there is a little room in the back which holds the piece and an attendant locks you in for 30 seconds. Not much more detail given. I might check this out next weekend.

Pillars of Salt, Pillars of Sand

Group of kids in music class from a public school in Staten Island.

Some people will inevitably see these kids as shills for Apple's cross-marketing campaign with Coldplay. Others will hear a catchy tune and wave their bodies from side to side like the kids in this class. I more latter than former with a healthy dose of swine flu paranoia -- a few schools have been shut down in NY in response to kids getting the virus.

I want to sing this song in Karaoke with the appropriate Chris Martin single-open-hand-in-air-pulsing-to-the-beat motions.

The Subtext

The subtext of this picture is:

Barack: [smile]
Michelle: Shut the fuck up and grab a shovel.

Click on the pic for a closer look.

Top Chef & Friends

Here's a candid pic of Raekwon the Chef. Notice the ziploc bags and baking soda. I think he's about to cook up some crack cocaine and a customer is following him because he wants to get a fresh batch. The cereals are for snacks. Snaps on snacks, son!

Yesterday, after work, I stopped by the Barnes & Noble at the north end of union square. I was looking for a particular book on marathon training a friend had recommended to me.

While there, I noticed that Jhumpa Lahiri was giving a reading from her new collection of short stories. She has a bookworm's posture and reads with a mildly despondent voice. She read a passage from the back end of the book. I think she has remarkable accuracy in describing the immigrant or first-generation experience. It'll be interesting to see if that accuracy metabolizes into more personal commentary later in her career.

Anyway, I tipped out of there after a brief time because too many people were sneezing and coughing around me. I don't want to tempt the pork flu. I stopped by a magazine shop nearby and bought a megamillion lottery ticket, quickpick.

The Bengali cashier took my dollar and wished me, "Good luck."

"Thanks, man," I replied as I began wondering how long I would wait before claiming the winning ticket.

I haven't written on this blog in a while. It's nice to stretch the old writing legs. My prime blog posting time is during work and work's been busy.

Last weekend, I went to the Poconos in Pennsylvania for a bachelor party weekend. Four of us rented a car and camped at a state park and then played paintball all day at this ridiculous paintballing compound. Vietnam vets and rabid kids with a taste for blood. Both of these groups had ridiculous automatic guns in common.

When I first popped out from behind a bunker, after a night of fitful sleep and a day of eating poorly, only to have multiple paintballs slap into my bellyfat, leg, and across my visor, only then, did I think we should have planned something more relaxing. After that experience, it was pretty fun. Adrenaline does a good job of muffling pain.

Rob starting to put together the tent we rented from EMS. We asked for the biggest tent they have, and they did not disappoint.

One beverage option. I didn't drink too much of this though.

Another beverage option. I had this in lieu of morning coffee.
Carl made Velveeta mac & cheese from a box for breakfast. He made a good comment that there's something about camping that makes people want to eat crappy stuff that they normally would not eat in real life. The night before I saw him put away an entire package of hot dogs. I thought I smelled nitrates on him the next day.

All in all, it was a fun trip. Lots of conversations about klan members, the movie roadhouse with patrick swayze, past girlfriends, black magic, and staring at campfires.

Set Your Piggies Free

The internet waves have been good today. Surf's up.

Derrida

This is a really interesting video of Jacques Derrida deconstructing the word or concept of "love" on the fly. He slaps the word "love" around. Yes, Monsieur Derrida. Language is arbitrary, meaning indeterminate.

I think he's posturing a bit when it seems as if he's never thought of love in general terms. He wasn't a deconstructionist out of the womb. He knows what she's asking. But he makes up for it with his "who" vs. "what" distinction.

Monster Quest

This post contains two paintings from badpaintingsofbarackobama.com. From the few I saw, I thought these were the most thought provoking ones.

Last night, a friend described a show on the history channel called monster quest. It explores modern day monsters from bigfoot to stalin's ape boy. He recently saw an episode about a giant prehistoric creature lurking in Lake Champlain. This monster is nicknamed Champ and it is described as a dinosaur-like animal, 15-25 feet long. He told me some cute facts about the lake. Apparently, the lake has a really deep spot and from underwater recordings, scientists on the show determined that Champ may have the ability to employ soundwaves to navigate the lake.

In a diminutive voice, my friend asked me what I'd do if I saw such a thing. I told him I'd "throw a saddle on that bitch and ride her to Washington D.C." I was surprised that I instinctively chose Washington D.C. Maybe it was because, in my head, I imagined parading through towns, streets lined with cheering crowds hailing me as a modern day dragon slayer and eventually presenting the dinosaur to Michelle and Barack.

Back to Drawing Board

The Hey Ya cover is pretty good.