i love this shit
Current mood: cultured

I need to share the story about this drink, from "Imbibe!" by David Wondrich:

"Late one night in early 1855, one Richard Stark was tending bar at a sporting-life joint on Broadway at Howard Street in NY, when three men walked in. One of them, a yegg by the name of Richard McLaughlin--alias "Pargene"--stepped up to the bar and, as Stark later testified, "called for a whiskey skin." When the 17-yr-old bartender slid it over to him, Pargene dashed it in his face, saying, "You son of a bitch--if your master was here I would scald his eyes out, too!" A few days later, you see, Pargene had bumped into the bar's owner outside the Astor House and called him "a pretty son of a bitch." In return, the man had laughed at him, and, as the NY Daily Times later recounted, "tapping him by the side of the nose said, "I'm too sweet for you," and turned his back on him. The comment rankled. A couple months later, Pargene and a few other toughs managed to catch up with Stark's master at another Broadway bar, the Stanwix Hall... They didn't scald him with a Whiskey Skin, either--after some tussling, they ended up shooting him three times. Thus ended the life of William "Bill the Butcher" Poole...; his last words, "I die a true American."

Currently listening : Multi Kontra Culti vs. Irony By Gogol Bordello Release date: 2002-09-17

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me on tv
Current mood: amused
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Look for me on the Home and Gardens network this summer.  Of all the silly things, Tim and I got to play prospective homebuyers today for one of those "we fix up yer house before you sell it shows" and our job was to walk around and say: "oh this looks just fabulous I could totally put my yoga mat here."

They loved us when we were talking about the master bath looking like a Roman bath but got worried when we started dissing the baby blue walls in the workout room (which will undoubtably not be shown)..

11:21 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

I dreamed I was dead
Current mood: exanimate
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

Last night I dreamed that I was in a subway, waiting to meet J. I checked my cellphone, and it somehow signaled to me that I was, in fact, dead. This seemed to me a pretty neat trick for a cellphone. While adjusting to my irritating new status, the train with J. in it arrived but she didn't get off. I ran to get in the train but the door was blocked by a woman with an enormous shopping cart. Remembering that I was dead, it occurred to me that this type of thing shouldn't interfere with my plans, and then I was in the train--unsure whether I had just gone _through_ the woman and/or shopping cart--or exactly how it happened. I was also unsure whether J. would be able to see me when I sat down next to her. She could see me (perhaps like a ghost? not sure), so we chatted as I continued to try to work out this transition. It struck me as strange that she was so sad (because I was dead) yet here we were talking together. I noticed that she was avoiding looking at my arms (here's where it gets kinda 6th Sense-y) and when I checked it out, I noticed giant abrasions down my wrists. I realized then that I had no idea how I had died and couldn't remember the actual event but I was sure it wasn't suicide. Tried to defend myself saying there must be some other explanation other then what it looked like since I was, in fact, not at all happy about being dead and felt there was a lot of projects, responsibilities, and interests that made me wish this hadn't happened!

I always thought you weren't supposed to be able to dream about actually being dead, that you wake up before actually falling off the cliff or what-have-you. Though I think I once dreamed about actually being dead while I was in Junior High..

3:50 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

speaking of the old detroit crowd
Current mood: curious
Category: Music

Not really sure what I think of the Stooges' Weirdness yet. Will probably need to hear it a few more times. I think the Stooges' song of my dreams would be 20 minutes of "No Fun." Hard to imagine sustaining the energy of that track that long, but that sort of thing really sends me into raptures. People always focus on the Stooges' contribution to punk and hardcore, and I do salute and adore that aspect of their music (I think they were picking up on this thread in The Weirdness). But they also had this droning wall of sound stuff that fed into Can/Krautrock and then Stereolab which I also like. I'm definitely not pitting these types of music against each other. But since I like both, I think I would've liked to have seen both return in the Stooges new effort instead of them focusing purely on their acclaimed and obvious punk side.

Currently listening : Tago Mago By Can Release date: 19 May, 1998

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charms sweet angels
Current mood: guilty
Category: Music

Funny that someone old enough to be my mother can so remind me of my teen-dom. I feel really disloyal about the fact that her earnestness and proselytizing-style seem goofy instead of worship-inducing to me in now my mid-30s. I do still think the music rocks though..

Published on Monday, March 12, 2007 by the New York Times

Ain't it Strange?
Ruminations on Being Inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame
by Patti Smith

ON a cold morning in 1955, walking to Sunday school, I was drawn to the
voice of Little Richard wailing "Tutti Frutti" from the interior
of a local boy's makeshift clubhouse. So powerful was the connection
that I let go of my mother's hand.

Rock 'n' roll. It drew me from my path to a sea of
possibilities. It sheltered and shattered me, from the end of childhood
through a painful adolescence. I had my first altercation with my father
when the Rolling Stones made their debut on "The Ed Sullivan
Show." Rock 'n' roll was mine to defend. It strengthened my
hand and gave me a sense of tribe as I boarded a bus from South Jersey
to freedom in 1967.

Rock 'n' roll, at that time, was a fusion of intimacies.
Repression bloomed into rapture like raging weeds shooting through
cracks in the cement. Our music provided a sense of communal activism.
Our artists provoked our ascension into awareness as we ran amok in a
frenzied state of grace.

My late husband, Fred Sonic Smith, then of Detroit's MC5, was a part
of the brotherhood instrumental in forging a revolution: seeking to save
the world with love and the electric guitar. He created aural autonomy
yet did not have the constitution to survive all the complexities of
existence.

Before he died, in the winter of 1994, he counseled me to continue
working. He believed that one day I would be recognized for my efforts
and though I protested, he quietly asked me to accept what was bestowed
— gracefully — in his name.

Today I will join R.E.M., the Ronettes, Van Halen and Grandmaster Flash
and the Furious Five to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
On the eve of this event I asked myself many questions. Should an artist
working within the revolutionary landscape of rock accept laurels from
an institution? Should laurels be offered? Am I a worthy recipient?

I have wrestled with these questions and my conscience leads me back to
Fred and those like him — the maverick souls who may never be
afforded such honors. Thus in his name I will accept with gratitude.
Fred Sonic Smith was of the people, and I am none but him: one who has
loved rock 'n' roll and crawled from the ranks to the stage, to
salute history and plant seeds for the erratic magic landscape of the
new guard.

Because its members will be the guardians of our cultural voice. The
Internet is their CBGB. Their territory is global. They will dictate how
they want to create and disseminate their work. They will, in time, make
breathless changes in our political process. They have the technology to
unite and create a new party, to be vigilant in their choice of
candidates, unfettered by corporate pressure. Their potential power to
form and reform is unprecedented.

Human history abounds with idealistic movements that rise, then fall in
disarray. The children of light. The journey to the East. The summer of
love. The season of grunge. But just as we seem to repeat our follies,
we also abide.

Rock 'n' roll drew me from my mother's hand and led me to
experience. In the end it was my neighbors who put everything in
perspective. An approving nod from the old Italian woman who sells me
pasta. A high five from the postman. An embrace from the notary and his
wife. And a shout from the sanitation man driving down my street:
"Hey, Patti, Hall of Fame. One for us."

I just smiled, and I noticed I was proud. One for the neighborhood. My
parents. My band. One for Fred. And anybody else who wants to come
along.
Patti Smith is a poet and performer.

Currently listening : Wave By Patti Smith Group Release date: 18 June, 1996

7:30 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

What song is it that you want to hear?
Current mood: nerdy
Category: Pets and Animals

I've developed a crush on A.J.. If you can't see his videos on the MySpace link, check out his other pages: AJ or AJ2

The girls are both sick and so am I. Taking refuge in stupid pet tricks.

Currently listening : Lynyrd Skynyrd Free Bird the Movie By Lynyrd Skynyrd

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Dionne Quintuplets
Current mood: crazy
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Freaky story! Ack I can't believe I just heard this, plucked from Wikipaedia:
The Dionne Quintuplets (born on May 28, 1934) are the first quintuplets known to survive their infancy. The chances of having identical quintuplets are one in 57 million. They were born two months prematurely with the assistance of Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe and two midwives.

The five identical sisters are:

* Annette Lillianne Marie Dionne (Allard)
* Cécile Marie Emilda Dionne (Langlois)
* Emilie Marie Jeanne Dionne (died August 6, 1954 of an epileptic seizure)
* Marie Reina Alma Dionne (Houle) (died February 27, 1970 of a blood clot in the brain in Montreal, Canada)
* Yvonne Edouilda Marie Dionne (died June 23, 2001 of cancer)

Their birthplace on a farm in tiny Corbeil, Ontario, Canada was near the larger town of Callander. Language politics complicate the issue; Callander is an English town, but Corbeil, like the Dionnes, was largely Franco-Ontarian. Perhaps to resolve the issue, the Dionne Quintuplets Museum is currently located in the nearest city, North Bay.

Their father, Oliva, already poor with six other children, sought to use this unique situation to have daughters support themselves. He made a deal with the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition (a sort of World's Fair) to have the quintuplets live in a special facility on the fairgrounds. (At the time it was entirely usual for preemies in incubators to be displayed at fairs.[1]) Public outcry over this apparent exploitation of his children led to widespead condemnation of Oliva, and eventaully to government interference. The custody of the babies was withdrawn from their parents by the Ontario government of Mitchell Hepburn in 1935. The girls were made the wards of the province and they were put under the guidance of Dr. Dafoe and three other guardians. Ironically, the girls having been removed from their parents to prevent them from being made into an exhibit, the state proceeded to do just that. Ontario housed them in Quintland, a theme park located just across from the parents' home. The sisters could be viewed by visitors and tourists through a one-way mirror. Approximately 6,000 people per day visited the park to observe the cute celebrities at play. In 1934, the quintuplets brought in around $1 million, and they attracted in total about $51 million of tourist revenue to Ontario. The park became Ontario's biggest tourist attraction of the era.

At one point their mother, who wasn't allowed to touch them, stood in line with the other paying viewers. Only after a lawsuit was she able to get her children back. None of them grew up normally and they became severely touch-deprived.

The girls were also used to publicize commercial products such as corn syrup and Quaker Oats among thousands of other popular brands and starred in some Hollywood films:

* The Country Doctor (1936)
* Reunion (1936)
* Five of a Kind (1938)
* Quintupland (1938)

The quintuplets also performed various stage acts for audiences. In particular, their performance of "There'll Always Be an England" continues to irritate some French-Canadians. After a nine-year court fight between the government and their father, the quintuplets were returned to their family in 1943 to a government-built yellow brick, 20-room mansion that would house the entire Dionne family. All the luxuries in the house were furnished by the quintuplets. Dr. Dafoe died shortly thereafter of pneumonia. By then the girls were torn between wanting to please their estranged family and talking to Dr. Dafoe. He died alone in the hospital having not seen them since before the girls were brought home.

In 1965 the four surviving quints, Annette, Cecile, Marie, and Yvonne, published a book called We Were Five. This account, along with a biography by Pierre Berton, informed a TV movie about them, Million Dollar Babies (1994), produced by CBS and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and starring Roy Dupuis and Céline Bonnier. The next year, the surviving girls alleged they were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of their father, and that a member of clergy urged them to cope by wearing thick coats. In 1998, the Ontarian government gave the Dionnes a settlement of $4 million CAD.


Plus this site: Quints

7:08 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

World's First Silent Ringtone Available
Current mood: artistic
Category: still. for once. Art and Photography

My friend Tatiana just forwarded this delightful news. Tim and I have been going mad trying to hack the Justin Timberlane out of our new RAZRs to replace with something decent. Old rotary phone rings have been the chosen sound so far.

Conceptual artist Jonathon Keats has created the world's first
silent ringtone, a bootleg of John Cage's famous piano piece that
contains four minutes and 33 seconds of silence. Cage performed 4'33"
live before an audience in 1952. But, says Keats, Cage was limited by
the technologies available at the time. His silence wasn't perfect
because it wasn't digital -- nor could it be freely distributed via
sound files. So Keats wrote "My Cage," a 4:33 minute ringtone of pure,
unadulterated silence. You can get it for free from Start Mobile, a
ringtone distributor, and Keats urges people to remix and mashup his
ringtone as much as they wish.

From the ringtone ad:

A remastering, "My Cage" is also a remix, introducing serendipity
into the equation, delivering performances unpredictably, whenever
calls come unexpectedly. The silence may take place without the
listener being aware of it. Or the listener may hear a call - phantom
silence - when there's no one on the line. "My Cage" all-encompassing:
Even those who don't use it as a ringtone have the potential to
experience it, in the silence of an unanswered call. Note: To fully
enjoy this work, and to give callers the opportunity to enjoy the
complete silence as well, it is recommended that you turn off your
voicemail.cage

Currently listening : John Cage: In a Landscape By John Cage Release date: 10 January, 1995

3:20 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Hello? Kitty?
Current mood: lazy
Category: Pets and Animals

Wikipedia has done a shoddy job at cataloguing the Hello Kitty menagerie. I'm trying to figure out who all the different characters since all I could really remember are Hello Kitty, Keroppi (frog), Badtz Maru (bat), Chococat and some bunny I forget the name of. A dog too I think. Was there a duck? I seem to remember some kind of duck. Googling hasn't helped. San Rio's site is a navigational nightmare. And Wikipedia, while it seems to offer a definitive listing, doesn't have pictures and the descriptions (when they exist) are just inadequate. I'd love help in sorting this all out.
* Badtz-Maru
* Button Nose
* Charmmy Kitty
* Chi Chai Monchan
* Chibimaru
* Chococat
* Cinnamoroll
* Coro Coro Kuririn
* Dear Daniel
* Deery Lou
* Doki Doki Yummychums
* Frooliemew
* Hello Kitty
* Hoshinowaguma
* Keroppi
* Kuromi
* Kyupi
* Landry
* Little Twin Stars
* Marron Cream
* Masyumaro
* Monkichi
* My Melody
* Nyago
* Pandapple
* Patapatapeppy
* Patty&Jimmy
* Pekkle
* Picke Bicke
* Pink no Corisu
* Pinki Lili
* Pippo
* Pochacco
* Purin
* Pururun Kyupi
* Robowan
* Shinkansen
* Spottie Dottie
* Strawberry King
* Sugarbunnies
* Sweet Coron
* Tabo
* Tenorikuma
* Tuxedo Sam
* Unico (formerly)
* U*SA*HA*NA
* Zashikibuta

Currently listening : Let's Knife By Shonen Knife Release date: 26 January, 1993

5:56 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

First CBs now El Sombrero?
Current mood: scared
Category: Food and Restaurants

I suddenly fell into a panic about trans fat.

I read that New York has banned the use of trans fat in its restaurants, and was happily thinking "Yeah. Screw McDonalds" until it hit me last night in bed. What about El Sombrero on Ludlow St? What about Nha Trang and most of Chinatown? Indian Row on 6th St? Is "ghee" a trans fat? What do the Ukrainian restaurants fry pierogies in? I'm so out of it as far as NY is concerned, maybe those restaurants are gone now anyway, but I can't think there's only the Four Seasons left.

I send a plea to my remaining New Yorker friends.. do I have just cause for this freakout? Is the New York culture of my memories under hideous attack? Is there any hope?

Currently listening : More Songs About Buildings and Food By Talking Heads Release date: 25 October, 1990

6:23 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment