A while ago I read this book.  Now I’m reading this book which has led me to listen to this song on repeat (as I will so often do when I need something to really sink in).  And if you head on over to the Wikipedia page for that song and scroll down to Legacy, you’ll see some interesting facts on just how popular that song is.  Now what I would like to know is why the fuck does everyone on the planet have such a thick skull?  The ideas provoked here obviously resonate with anyone who has half a brain, yet nothing really seems to change.

It was a few years ago that I rejected the idea of religion and any superior being that so much of the world puts their faith into.  Though they are all founded on human morality, they have been polluted with meaningless rituals and lists of rights and wrongs.  Who is to decide what is moral?  We’re all human.  It doesn’t make sense that any one person or group of people know what is ethical.  Human nature and common sense should be able to dictate those things.

As of recent, I’ve decided that this also applies to governments because whatever we’re doing, it’s not working.  There’s too much greed and, in effect, violence for someone to look at the state of the world as a whole and say, “Yes, this is okay.  Let’s keep it up.”  No way.  I don’t accept that.  It’s like we’re fighting for peace.  How the fuck can you fight for peace?  I have an idea on how to achieve that goal:  Stop.  Fighting.

That being said, I know we live in a materialistic world and I am most definitely guilty of *needing* those shiny new toys.  That glowing apple icon?  Gets me every time.  Four inch patent leather mary janes?  Sold.  $100 haircuts so that my hair is one less source of stress in my life?  Done.  Luxury condos in Battery Park City?  Give me a few years, I’ll get there.  I am certainly not above desiring all of the pretty things of the world, and New York isn’t exactly the city of frugality.  It’s tough to not want everything.

However, college/living abroad/traveling/moving apartments every year has taught me that there is a lot of unnecessary crap in our lives.  After living in Italy for 4 months and taking home the only two suitcases that I had brought with me (though stuffed with plenty more than I came with), I realized that minimalism makes life a lot easier.  My pack rat days were over.  Only take what you need, leave the rest for someone else.

In the last 6 months or so, that zen mentality of mine got lost in a mess of cool new tech products, clothes, restaurants, bars, vacations; basically all things excessive and expensive.  I’ve wanted and needed the latest and greatest and wouldn’t be satisfied until I had it.  That is, until I took a spill off my bike a couple of weeks ago.

At first glance all seemed fine.  Minor scrapes to myself, the bike was okay, and though everything fell out of my bag, it all seemed like it took the crash well.  Then I got to work, took out my laptop, and realized the case was totally warped and the latch broken.  Uh oh.  After turning it on, the machine seemed to be working properly.  Within a couple of days, though, that was not the case: the DVD drive was eating discs, the camera wasn’t being recognized, and the trackpad button felt weird to the touch.  Upon inspection at the Apple store, I was informed that yes, those things collapsed from the impact and no, the fact that I bought the machine 6 months ago doesn’t matter because the warranty has been invalidated.  The price tag for repair?  $1200.

However, the hard drive, screen, keyboard, and trackpad are not busted.  Everything I need to do my job is fine.  And for that, for not having to replace a $2000+ machine, for not even having to actually get anything repaired, I woke back up.  I remembered that this is just a tool that allows me to do the things that I do.  I’m taking my ever-so-graceful spill as a big shove from the universe to get my head on straight.  Yes, it’s sad that I can no longer take stupid Photobooth snapshots when I’m procrastinating, and it’s sad that my new machine is now a used machine, but such is life.

I’m probably getting far too big a lesson out of this incident, but if you know me, you know how attached I am to my pretty aluminum baby.  My baby that was dropped on it’s head and now has some permanent brain damage and a couple of scars to show for it.  But I’ve relearned my lesson: that you have to appreciate what you have.  Otherwise nothing will ever be good enough and you’ll turn into a greedy little bastard.

This was the opening act for Yo La Tengo at the last McCarren Park Pool Party of the summer.  They were certainly entertaining to watch, but the sound coming out of the speakers wasn’t too good and it was hard to understand what exactly was going on.  But they definitely had some good drum beats.  The kind that make you want to do this.

Yesterday I went to the last McCarren Park Pool Party of the summer.  The first two bands were a little strange, but Yo La Tengo pretty much rocked my world (as a first time listener).  You can definitely tell a professional band from amateur by the quality of sound that comes out of the mikes.  And the sound that came out was a sweet, sweet melody (interspersed with lovely harmonies).  More photos from the show to come on Flickr.

Even though they told her five times, she could not remember the name of the band.  But she certainly won’t forget the pink drumset.

Last night I saw Nikka Costa at the Bowery Ballroom.  All I had was my phone to take pictures with, but as you can see, you don’t need a professional camera to capture this chick in action.

She’s like a modern day Janis Joplin, but with a little bit more definition to the frizzy hair and a less raspy voice.  But I’d say her style is most definitely retro with the big hoops, super wide pants, and huge gold belt.

It seems we have something in common as well: we both think that nipples are sexier than cleavage.  (No bra, white shirt.  You put the two together.  Nips everywhere.)

Her band was super tight and she had lots of horn instruments which usually make for a great show.  And a great show it most certainly was.

If she ever gets big, like Madison Square Garden big, I’ll be glad that I at least got to see her on a small stage.  It’s just not the same seeing a live performance in a room with a thousand people who all think they are the Most Hardcore Fan in the room.  Intimacy evaporates.

But I do hope she makes it off these small stages.  The girl’s got some crazy talent.

On Thursday evening, I had tickets to an advance screening of the movie at the AMC Times Square theater. I got there over an hour early since I imagined there would be a line. Boy, was I right. The theater (there was only one reserved for this purpose?!) hit capacity long before I got in and there were still hundreds of people behind me. The issue of overbooking the theater by hundreds of people is something to be discussed in itself, but it didn’t really bother me all that much. I was in good company and we decided it’s probably better to live sex and the city rather than watching it on the big screen. We ended up going for food and drinks at HK. Sexy, sexy.

Anyway, it got me thinking about the fact that there have been countless premieres and advance screenings and parties in honor of this movie. Excuse me, hit HBO show turned movie. The hype has gotten unreal. Even my friend that lives in Corona, California (pretty small town) sent me a text saying there was a huge premiere for it with ladies everywhere decked out in pink feather boas. The hype has become huge. Bigger than big, if you will (pun intended).

Last night I downloaded the soundtrack because I had previously visited the official website of the movie and loved the music playing on it, but couldn’t find the tracks. The song I had noticed more than the others was India.Arie’s version of The Heart of the Matter. When I saw the track list I was quite pleased that it was her as it’s such a lovely version of the song and I’ve always been a fan of the soulful singer. In fact, the whole album is quite sweet from the nostalgic collaboration of Al Green and Joss Stone on How Can You Mend a Broken Heart to The Bird and the Bee’s light and airy vocals on How Deep is Your Love to Run-D.M.C.’s version of Walk This Way to the touching love song Kissing by Bliss (I could go on - I’ve even come around to Fergie’s talk of Manolo’s). After listening to the album on repeat 3 or 4 times, I decided that I needed to go see how these songs played out while the fantastic four ran around NYC trying to figure out their lives. After all, my DVD’s aren’t worn out for nothing. These girls are my friends and I want to go see how the last 4 years of their lives have been.

This morning I got up and put the album on again while I got ready to head out. There were shows pretty much every hour so I figured I’d be able to find one that wasn’t sold out without buying a ticket online. Well that was most certainly a dumb ass decision. I showed up to the theater on 3rd ave in the East Village and every single show was sold out until 11:30pm. Again, I wasn’t all that flustered since I probably should have known better.

But it got me thinking about how the craze surrounding the flick has spun it into a huge blockbuster-sized film. Why is it so big? I mean, it was a hit TV show, but still, in essence, a TV show. And then I realized that it’s really quite simple. It’s because it was an extraordinary TV show that broke boundaries and the hype is reflecting that significance. It was always relatable, but without ever going over the top. You could understand what they felt and what they were going through. The situations weren’t out there, they always hit close to home.

Walking down St. Mark’s Place on my way to the theater I passed by St. Mark’s Comics which always reminds me of the episode Hot Child in the City (yes, I know the episode name off the top of my head) when Carrie goes to get her shoes fixed and finds a cute younger man has replaced the shoe repair shop with a comic book store. Every time I walk by there I crane my neck to see if there are any cute boys in there. You see the impact this show has on people?!

Since I haven’t seen the movie (though I have seriously tried), I don’t know what happens. But seeing as it’s become this huge thing, it seems like what is called for is a blockbuster-sized storyline. If it’s not, the masses may come away disappointed because the movie wasn’t earth-shattering. However, the show was never really that out there. It was life. Maybe extravagantly dressed life, but the fashion came second to the relationships.

The point I’m trying to make is that if the movie is some crazy tragic story, then it becomes unrelatable and thus loses the thread of greatness that weaved the show together so well. I’m not really sure what to expect other than seeing the girls parading down 5th ave decked out in some expensive labels, but I hope it stays true to it’s roots: a smart show (movie) with thoughtful points made on life and love.

And so, while I wait for the crowds to die down, I’ll be out in living my life in this fabulous city. In fact, I’m going to be late to meet friends because I’ve been sitting here typing instead of living. And on that note, I’m out.

At any given moment while walking down the streets of Amsterdam, there are probably about 10 bicycles flying at you at an alarming rate. At first it’s a little startling to realize that you have to be hyper aware because it’s not only cars and trams going in every direction on streets that look like sidewalks (cobblestones anyone?), but also major bike paths are added to the mix. Pedestrians on foot do NOT have the right of way.

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However, it’s pretty sweet to see every street littered not with trash (it’s a super clean city), but bikes! They are EVERYWHERE. Tied up to anything that can fit a bike lock around it. Piled on top of each other. Spilling out of buildings and into the street. And they all look pretty much exactly the same. Which is probably why 2 million are stolen each year over there.

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I had intended to rent a bike for a day or two, but became a little intimidated since they fly through intersections and crowds and usually manage to not hit anyone. (I did witness a couple of collisions, but they kind of just laughed and kept on their way. I swear, the Dutch are the most easygoing people ever.) If I ever decide to move over there, I’ll man up and kick that city’s ass on two wheels. If they can listen to their iPods, talk on cell phones, and navigate in heels WHILE ON A BIKE, why can’t I?

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We’ve finally had (almost) an entire week of sun and (semi) warmth. Today it’s 72 degrees outside, and though I may be sitting in an office, I still feel like I’m finally thawing out from the cold. Now if only I could get rid of this winter coat that I’ve accumulated from sitting in dark bars for the last few months…

But to do so, I need some summertime beats to get me moving. Fortunately I have my cousin to keep me clued into p.i.m.p. tunes and I’ve successfully added a decent amount of thug tracks onto my iTunes. If you need me at any point in the next few months, I can probably be found at some club shaking my tail feather on a wobbly table until around 4am. (The table makes me feel taller and the wobbliness is kind of like yoga — a test of strength, balance, and focus. It’s a win-win situation.)

Summer time in the city is the BEST time in the city for those who are hard enough to handle the ungodly humidity and perpetual rain. Hamptons Shmamptons. The party people stay here.

My cousin’s friend has been working on this show for a few months and has been relentlessly bugging us to go. Finally, last Friday we conceded and decided to spend the night doing something other than sitting in a bar.

Let me begin by saying that I was completely blown away by Fuerza Bruta. It is the most creative show that I have ever seen. There is no silly, campy, run-of-the-mill on- or off-Broadway normalcy. In fact, there aren’t even any decipherable words throughout the show.

What the show does consist of is an hour and 10 minutes of insane, feels-like-you’re-tripping-on-acid lights and music. The way in which it’s presented makes the audience part of the show as you are constantly moving around to make room for stages and scenes that are seemingly constructed in a matter of seconds and ripped down in about the same time.

What this show does, which is what I think makes it so unique, is put you into a mental and emotional state of discomfort. You’re never quite sure what is going to happen next or where it’s going to come from. It keeps you intensely alert, similar to how I felt while watching the movie Crank. Like my body might fall apart from all of the adrenaline. Fight or flight, baby.

Best part? Former N’Syncer J.C. Chasez was next to us for the majority of the show. Checking out my cousin. While the chick he was with wouldn’t take her hands off of him. My cousin loved it. I just wanted to ask him for Justin’s phone number.

Last night my cousin/roommate and her new boy friend (the space remains as of now) took a quick run to the grocery store to pick up drinks before we started up Superbad for the 80th time this month.  Upon returning home they found me screaming, twitching, and all around freaking out.  No, I don’t have tourettes or epilepsy or any other disease (that I know of anyway).  I had stumbled onto the Grammys at the commencement of Alicia Keys performance.

I’m currently on my 4th youtube viewing of it and it’s still not getting old.  Check out Alicia Keys performing at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards with surprise guest John Mayer.

No matter how cheesy her stuff gets, chances are I’ll still rock out to it.