F J O R D

Home Renovations, Remodeling, Etc

2007-05-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

Last week was, as my friend Ben from Maine says, a corker!

I was away for five days in the BVI on an edit/sales meeting with my company and when I returned, I came to my new home! Jen and I are the owners of a 1 BR coop in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Right now, as the pictures above illustrate, we have lots of boxes and little furniture. But alas dear reader, orders are being delivered from Room & Board, West Elm, and the Door Store. We are painting, replacing the base molding, and giving the place a general spruce up. It’s in excellent shape already; just needs to feel like home. I will have fortnightly updates here…

Yikes

2007-04-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

I've not only traveled at least two weekdays over the last four weeks, I am in the mix of coop business and preparing to go away yet again for an entire week... will post soon.

Warner Herzog, Filmmaker

2007-03-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

Warner Herzog has been called many things, most of which are derived not from viewing his films exactly, but how he makes his movies. Eccentric, mad visionary, twisted genius; names like that. It just so happens that he makes films about those types of 'mad' characters, particularly the ones that star the reportedly volatile Klaus Kinski like Aguirre, Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo. (The great Irish band The Frames have a song called "Fitzcarraldo" that was inspired by the movie.) There's even a documentary about the two men's love/hate relationship. While he's been held in high esteem for years by film geeks, it wasn't until 2005's superb Grizzly Man did Herzog emerge from the art house, albeit a latent one. I was introduced to Herzog's work while a undergrad thanks to the Rutgers Film Co-op's weekly screenings of films that were not being shown anywhere other than New York and LA. Recently I was trying to figure out when exactly would we see the US release of Rescue Dawn when I discovered that one of his old films, 1987's Corba Verde (starring a wild-eyed Kinski) is being released in NYC today. BTW- if anyone knows the deal with Rescue Dawn drop me a line. Also see the April 2007 Esquire column "What I Learned" that features Herzog.

Coltrane's "Equinox"

2007-03-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

The vernal equinox was yesterday. 12 hours of day-12 hours of night. Days are just getting longer from here, friends! I like to listen to John Coltrane’s “Equinox” (from Coltrane’s Sound ) on March 20-21 and on the autumnal equinox as well. Because Trane has recorded so many records that people consider landmark recordings, records like Coltrane’s Sound often get overlooked. It’s a shame. Another example that instantly pops to mind is Crescent, a superb date that is not ignored, but overshadowed by critics of its day because it was released in the same year as A Love Supreme, 1964. Anyway I digress: “Equinox” is a great tune—as surmised by the intricate breakdown it received from Lewis Porter in his book John Coltrane: His Life and Music—as are the other tracks on the record. I have never walked along Central Park West in the last decade without thinking of Trane’s song of the same name. And he’s got McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones on the dates, so ¾ of the classic quartet is in place for the sessions. Enjoy.

Yer Blues

2007-03-20T05:42:00.001-07:00

PBS again rewards me. Last week I was watching Frontline and it was excellent as usual. Then afterwards comes The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. I’ve only seen segments of the concert and this is one of the best on the program (the Stones killed and it’d be silly to put ‘em up here because everyone knows they killed that show.) The segment here is John Lennon’s band The Dirty Mac (the name’s reportedly a play on Fleetwood Mac, who were huge in 1968) consisting of Keith Richards on bass, Jimi Hendrix Experience member Mitch Mitchell on drums, Eric Clapton on guitar (Cream had just disbanded), and Lennon. “Yer Blues” is the tune. The show was filmed in December of 1968.

Jim Harrison, Amercian Artist

2007-03-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

I discovered Jim Harrison while working in the advertising department of a magazine where he was a contributing poet. It wasn’t until I received a copy of The Beast God Forgot To Invent that I recognized a true American artist. His prose is often called muscular or masculine—this description does nothing for one reading a review of his work. Simply put, he’s in the top tier of American writers working today. His novellas and books are often set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula among the sturdy, hard-living folk who inhabit this region from all levels of society. Harrison’s work is infused with a love of nature and his own kinship with animals and the outdoors. I feel like to go on about an artist is like trying to explain comedy; check out his collection of poetry, novels, and the food columns that he wrote for Esquire, etc… at Amazon.

This American Life

2007-03-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

“That’s our show, unexpected stories that happen to be true.” That’s how host Ira Glass describes longtime NPR weekend staple This American Life. After 12 years of radio shows from WBEZ-Chicago Public Radio, the show comes to Showtime this month (3/22 at 10:30 EST). I am looking forward to it, judging from the material that the show has covered in its lifetime and from the trailer. It’s going to be interesting to see how these types of stories transition to film. I often go to the Web site and listen to past shows, and have had several people gathered around my Mac, listening intently to the “First Day” episode Squirrel Cop; it’s available streaming from the Showtime Web site.

Ban 'Em! SF to ban plastic grocery bags

2007-03-14T06:49:00.000-07:00

San Francisco is a vanguard city in myriad ways. And the latest from this environmentally minded city makes me ecstatic in the hopes that the rest of the country will follow suit: a proposed ban on plastic grocery bags. Not only do these petroleum-based bags use up precious resources, they also cannot be recycled. They end up in the landfill to outlive our children’s children. According to the article, the bags have already been outlawed in South Africa, Taiwan and Bangladesh. Ireland imposes a plastic-bag tax. Will it lead to people bringing their own reusable cloth bags, or to the use of recyclable paper bags? That remains to be seen, but man, what a great idea to reduce the use of these eyesores.

Play the Matrix

2007-03-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

New York is consistently a good read. I discovered this by accident, sort of. Several years ago a friend of mine was complaining that she had asked her mother for a subscription to The New Yorker and her mom got her New York instead. I found by reading it each week that there’s a stable of good music and film critics on staff, they’ve executed a great redesign over the last two years, the front of book and regular columns are solid- particularly Kurt Andersen’s Imperial City column, and the crosswords are a Tuesday- or Wednesday-level NY Times degree of difficultly. My only complaint is the hit-or-miss features (my bias is based on my interest level). Funny- as a NYer now, I turn right to the Approval Matrix. And I do my own online as well- see how you score. The Web site is constantly updated a la Gawker with media news and its restaurant-industry blog Grub Street is interesting as well.

Does Customer Feedback Determine Web Spending?

2007-03-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

In the March 2007 Wired, the piece on online recommendation systems is really eye opening. As an online consumer, I look at these, read them closely, and sometimes make spending decisions on them, to an extent. Check out the chart within the link called Four Ways to Manipulate the Mob. It's so evident that these online-rating systems are hacked aggressively by those who want to give online businesses cred. Another, scarier method is the "Sybil Attack"-online identities that these grifters create (named after the infamous psychology patient with more than a dozen distinct personalities), writing a bogus favorable review, which boosts their rating, then auctioning off ten of thousands of dollars in merchandise that's never sent.

il laboratorio del gelato

2007-03-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

I have been raving about il laboratorio del gelato for a long time, ever since I wandered past the Orchard Street location a few years back and peered into the "laboratory." At that point I had never been to Italy, and friends would always rave about the Italians' superior-tasting gelato. That summer day on Orchard a friend and I sampled several of the available flavors and were floored with the ingenuity, freshness, and incredible taste of its creations: Flavors like wasabi, black sesame, black mission fig, and cheddar cheese, ingredients that one would think were not suited for gelato became delicious treats. I’ve been to Italy since dear reader, and have had gelato up and down the country's south-central coast, and they’ve got nothing on this place. I haven't been down to the Lower East Side locale in a bit, but just found out several flavors are available at Whole Foods at Union Square. Sweet!

Celebrate Ornette Coleman

2007-03-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

Today is Ornette Coleman's 77th birthday. For those of you who may not be acquainted with his music, when he showed up in NYC after recording an intriguing first record-according to the now-legendary story-during a six-week run (was originally slated to be two weeks but was extended b/c of the huge crowds) at the Five Spot, everyone showed up. Miles, Sonny Rollins, Diz, Monk, Coltrane, you name it- and all of the jazz critics of the day. His style was so unorthodox, so different that they all had to come out and see him. I provided an explanation of his melange of sound he called harmolodics here, but no matter what it says, it's best to listen. Today NYC's Columbia U radio honors him by playing his music for 24 hours straight- the WKCR birthday broadcast. I am streaming the broadcast right now thru iTunes. Give it a listen.

Blind Tiger is Back

2007-03-08T06:04:00.000-08:00

When I lived in NJ the Blind Tiger Ale House on Hudson St was always the last stop for a nightcap for two reasons.
1. It was directly across from the Christopher St PATH station.
2. They had a great selection of craft beers. I had already moved to NYC when they relocated to Bleeker St. I recently passed by and saw that they had lost their liquor license. Bah! According to NY Mag's Grub Street they got it back! Stop by and welcome them back into the neighborhood.Here's the skinny.

Bob Dylan + The Band "The Last Waltz"

2007-03-05T06:17:00.001-08:00

Yup, Scorsese again. Dylan as usual kills it. As does the Band...love the song selection. A joy to watch in the morning before I start my day in the office.

Ted Leo's new CD out March 20th

2007-03-02T13:28:00.001-08:00

On the subway this morning as I drip-dried among the straphangers, "Hearts of Oak" by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists came on my iPod. Love that song. The lyrics stand as a great post 9-11 message from a person of my generation. I also love Ted b/c he's from NJ, is a hardcore vegan, writes a lot of good music, has strong political views and is not afraid to express them, and is an excellent live performer. I saw him at Maxwell's and was blown away. Looking forward to the new record on his new label coming out March 20th. Catch him on his current tour.

Forest's been great for years

2007-02-26T15:36:00.000-08:00

Forest Whitaker deserved it. I've been a fan of his since Fast Times but really was blown away (!) by his performance in Bird. The dude learned to play alto-if you watch the film, look at his fingering; plus great direction by Clint Eastwood, he's a jazz head like me. Then came the 90s, first with Smoke and then Ghost Dog. Great films-both really hold up. You knew something would happen, i.e. he'd get recognized for a great body of work and it did. Bravo...
Same goes for Martin Scorsese-look at what he's done over his career. Good night to see them both win but too long...

The genius of Dead Man

2007-02-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

I really love the opening sequence to Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man. The movie, for those of you who do not know of it, is brilliant. The music you hear in the opening sequence is by Neil Young, who scored the entire film.

Subway Blues

2007-02-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

Subway Blogger inspired me - You know who you are, rude straphanger! Why do you feel the need to take up two seats on the subway? Ok some people are bigger than others and just can't help that they need more than the alloted space on those little seats. But the rest of you - seriously. cool it. Some dude sat next to me today and basically sat on my freaking lap. Yeah, I had to move over so my butt is on that hard crack betweeen the seats-that's real comfortable. so i get up and he gives me a look . whatever turn up the iPod man. Look around the train today. you deserve as seat as well. take it and be comfortable...

2007-01-25T10:44:00.000-08:00

Been having a real hard time posting. let's blame it on work. The real story is that I stopped working at home: No computing at home means no work at home- I was signing on and checking work email, etc. It lasted for a while but...

Several shots from the last several months

2006-09-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

These two are of Harbor Springs, Michigan. An amazing little town just south of the Upper Peninsula. The harbor pictured is one of the world's deepest inland harbors, over 200 feet. August 2005.
Santa Cruz Harbor, March 2006. That's a sea otter in the middle of the frame. They're common here.
A panoramic from several shots I took and then joined together using Autostitch
A lighthouse on the California coast, March 2006.

Can't concentrate this morning so I'd figured, post a few pics then go back to work. These shots are of the North Sound of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. May 2006.

Firefighters Memorial

2006-09-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Our company boat is down at North Cove Marina which is right at Ground Zero. I've been down there countless times in the last two years and always walk past the hole when the towers once stood. I've kind of gotten used to it. That all changed yesterday, the day after the five-year mark of the attacks. Tributes were everywhere-pictures, flowers, handwritten notes, you name it. To me the FDNY Memorial was most powerful. There were many rubbings from the memorial that included all the names of the firefighters lost with notes from children, wives, fathers and mothers, husbands, etc. It was very moving and I wished I had photographed it but I was almost in a daze as I looked at it. It felt as if I were among ghosts. Above are a few pics I found online.

South Central Italy

2006-08-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day 2005 I was in Sorrento, Italy on business, checking out a new boat from Apreamare. Took some extra time to see that area of the country and feast on the superb cuisine... here's some pics from Pompeii, etc..

What's Playing?

2006-08-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

It's a truly rare Friday evening off from my duties as a father. Was thinking of catching a movie but seriously there's nothing out that interests me. Saw Little Miss Sunshine last week and enjoyed it. That movie Half-Nelson sounds good but not the type of movie that I want to see in the theater. So I was thinking of the Film Forum or a number of other theaters that show new prints of older films. BAM is now in the midst of a Sam Peckinpah festival, the director of Straw Dogs and many other violent films-- my favorite by him may be Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid. It also has an excellent score/soundtrack by Bob Dylan. He's got a bit part in it as well.

The $100 laptop

2006-08-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

Sometimes there's a real inspiring, innovative feature that I'll find in my daily troll of the day's events. Never mind the day's distractions of Jon Benet and the lengths business travelers will have to go thru to brush their teeth, shave, etc. in some Marriot in Dallas.
It's all about the $100 laptop; Yves Behar, who runs San Francisco's Fuse Project, embarked on designing this for children of the Third World. Note the power crank, the bright colors that kids will love. Wired ran a feature about this last month-- it breaks down the details and features of the laptop, such as it's rabbit-ears attennas that'll give it as 1/2 mile 802.11 wireless range, built-in handle, heavy-duty rubberized casing, a touchpad that supports both drawing and typing, and impressive built-in software. Very cool.

It's Hot!

2006-08-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

At 3pm in NYC it's 97 degrees with a heat index of 108. Yikes! I'd rather have three weeks of rain than a heat wave. For some reason the older I get the more the heat really bothers me.
Truth is I really don't know what to do besides drink a lot of water and stay outta the sun. Coping with a heat wave for me is doing almost everything indoors and I love being outside.
Once when I was about 14 I got heat exhaustion and fainted in the bank by my parents house-I had been riding my bike without water on a terribly hot day. I woke up and the EMTs helped me out. They gave me a drug test. wow

We Jam Econo

2006-07-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

I love this guy. I still listen to the Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime all the time. A friend of mine Jason S. used to tell me how great this band is like nearly 20 years ago when we worked together at a marina in suburban NJ. Well Watt is still at it touring with Iggy Pop and the Stooges and playing with myriad folks all over. A great guy, always with something interesting to say. I watched some of the live performances from We Jam Econo and they are awesome. Cannot wait to see documentary that Web site describes as : "The acclaimed feature-length documentary on the too-brief life of one of the most revered, intriguing, and inspired American bands ever. At the heart of their story is the immeasurable personal and musical bond between bassist Mike Watt and singer and guiatrist D. Boon. Childhood friends, their unbridled creativity and political views were the foundation of this groundbreaking band which refused to be categorized as Punk. The film weaves together personal tales from Watt and drummer George Hurley with archival interview footage of the band and rare live performances. New interviews with over 50 musicians, artists, journalists, and friends help tell the Minutemen story, from their humble beginnings in the harbor town of San Pedro, California, to the tragic 1985 death of D. Boon in a highway accident in the Arizona desert. "

No AC Blues

2006-07-11T06:52:00.000-07:00

There's no A/C in my office building, for the second day in a row. This is my only salvation. I love sweating while I type. Anyway I saw an old friend this weekend and her new baby. It seems many peeps I know either have/are having children or trying to get preggers. But how many people these days actually plan and succeed in getting pregnant? Sure they will tell you that their kids were planned; be wary of this (maybe I am a cynic). But how come when people are truly, obviously planning to have children they can never get pregnant. That is sad to me, the amounts of $$ spent and heartache and difficulties couples face when they're not successful in conceiving. My point could be adoption, or how kids are so great; i dunno. It's too hot to think clearly.

Smart Cars Coming to US!

2006-06-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

I was chatting about these cars with a family friend last weekend who just returned from Italy. It seems our wishes are coming true. It'll get screwed up and delayed, but let's hope that it's happening.

What's Your Secret Wound?

2006-06-27T06:13:00.000-07:00

I have been reminded over the past several days that people really like to be miserable. One incident sticks in my mind, because I was personally involved. It was Thursday afternoon, as I was getting off the crowded 4 train. As I walked off someone was shoving me from behind. After the third shove I turned around and saw this little woman, Crackberry in hand, and when I made eye contact she yelled (I say yelled as I had my headphones on loud and heard her clearly) "What the f**k are you looking at? Walk!" Wow. All I could do was laugh and think immediately that this is an angry person. And yes, I wanted to go right back at her, but I just didn't. I like to think it was foresight-likely it was the fact that as I turned forward directly in front of me was a man with his two small children and I was reminded of my own son. And how if he witnessed this woman's behavior he'd likely be scared. So I let it go. She clearly wanted a confrontation, and I didn't give in.
Something else happened this weekend and like so many incidents, it was dust in 15 minutes. But again I was reminded that misery loves company, and that the spaghetti Western maestro Sergio Leone title says it best when describing human nature: there's good, bad, and ugly. And all of us have the capacity to be all three. I certainly have. I write this because this morning on the way to work I was reading Italo Calvino and he said "We all have a secret wound which we are fighting to avenge." So true brother.

The High Line

2006-06-22T06:11:00.000-07:00

Man it's hard to find shade in NYC! Unfortunately, green oases are few and far between: Sure we have a gem (well...) of a parks system, but we're in dire need of more green space. A good start would be to retain green spaces for mixed use or simply as parks. A truly amazing and unknown example in Manhattan is the High Line. A former commerical elevated track, it was put out of serivce as trucks became the dominant form of delivering goods. One and 1/2 miles long, it runs from from 34th Street to Gansevoort Street on the West Side of Manhattan. The following is from a April 2006 NY times article: "Twenty years [after being shut down], it had devolved into wildness, a flower-strewn stretch of prairie perched above the newly fashionable streets of the meatpacking district, West Chelsea and Clinton. It was just that wildness that made a certain segment of New York fall madly in love with it, particularly when they learned that Mayor Giuliani and various Chelsea landlords wanted it razed." But it didn't happen-instead a movement called Friends of the High Line was formed to protect and restore it to a mixed-use space for all to enjoy. Check out some the renderings by the architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro under Preliminiary Designs-pretty incredible. The group's benefit was last nite; they've already broken ground on this project, so I cannot wait to see the results. Here's a map of the High line route

Fearless Freaks!

2006-06-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

yeah all you hipsters out there may be crying old hat but I am, dear reader, a single father with a career that has me traveling extensively. My point? A few days ago I finally watched the 2005 Flaming Lips documentary The Fearless Freaks on Sundance. I really like music docs as it is and this one-with credit due to filmmaker Bradley Beesley-allows band members to really open up and share their creative, sometimes wacked, personal lives. The level of intimacy achieved in the film is rare in rock. I thoroughly enjoyed its pacing, the stories, the portraits of the band and the interesting people/family members of each. And of course, the music. In addition, it has a real, heartfelt, lovely happy ending. My friend's band Lord Sterling have a record called Today's Song For Tomorrow, and that's just what Wayne Coyne and the Lips are doing: they're making music, as someone says in the movie, for "two years from now." Stay tuned for a funny story courtsey of Jason Silverio of when his friend and bassist Jim B. was on stage with the Lips in one of the bunny costumes. I forget the details.

Free Culture

2006-06-21T06:17:00.000-07:00

I am a proponent of free culture, and NYC has an incredible amount all summer long, particularly live music. Gotta love the live outdoor afternoon/evening shows. Saturday Kieran and I went to Central Park Summerstage and last night my friend Jen and I saw Sun Volt at the summer-long River-to-River Festival. We watched it from North Cove Marina harbor, where my company keeps its boat. In case you don't know, Sun Volt was formed by Jay Farrar after Uncle Tupelo broke up, and his music today still retains heavy Alt-Country overtones. It's a good sound, solid song composition, etc.
I mention this because one of the other members of Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy, started what I believe to be one of the finest bands in America over the last several years, Wilco. Tweedy and Co. just blow away Sun Volt in every way man. I think Wilco is today's version of The Band. Just love 'em. If you haven't already go out and get Wilco's latest double-live CD Kicking Television. Oh yeah, the Sam Jones documentary I am Trying To Break Your Heart is excellent as well.

Bimini mid-June 2006

2006-06-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

I was in Bimini, in the Bahamas, the weekend of June 9-11. Had a fun time covering an event for work. Met up with Rick M., someone I went to K-12 school together (!) and probably last seen at graduation or some drunken nite in Seaside Park, NJ. Stayed at the Bimini Sands Resort on South Bimini. Rick's got a 34' Fountain and we averaged about 50 mph the way over from FL, hauling ass across the Gulf Stream and the dreaded Bermuda Triangle. That's me in the back left, Rick's in front, and ace pilot and Miami resident Chris waving. The way home was a little dicey-with the first named storm of the season making a mess in the Yucatan area, we had 2-4 footers in the Gulf Stream. On the Fl side, just outta of the Stream, we had steady 5-6 footers, solid, like sets.

Father's Day 2006

2006-06-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

A great Father's Day weekend for fun, a bittersweet (read:awful) one for sports. My son and I had an excellent time this weekend. Saturday was just a perfect day. After breakfast we headed out to a small park and ran around a bit. Went home and had lunch and awiated my friend's arrival- Jen is so sweet- met my boy for the first time and brought him a Spider-Man kickball. Went over to the Great Lawn and kicked the ball around, threw (unsuccessfully) a boomerang--it never came back to us, and just ran around. Headed home after about two hours, stopping at Pintiale's for a few slices-superb pizza, BTW-and put the boy in for a nap as we relaxed.
Then the sports: USA v. Italy 1-1 tie- MAN! The refs were just awful! We won that game. Yankess go up 9-2 on the Nationals and lose 11-9. Ok, fast-forward to Sunday and Phil Mickelson who I really like blows it on the last hole, losing the US Open, as do the Yankees when Wang's bid at a CG win fades real fast when Zimmerman hits a two-run bomb shot in the bottom of the ninth- walk-off!

Oh well, sports were bad but spending time with Jen and Kieran was lovely. BTW, I saw Mel Brooks in CVS when I was buying water and asprin. We also went to see Cars, which was pretty good- not close to Incredibles, Finding Nemo though. It's hard to top those...

Loving Brooklyn

2006-06-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

Gotta kick off this blog with a shout-out to Brooklyn. Brooklyn! What a nite, albeit a short one, I had yesterday evening. A rooftop party on PPW. Drank and ate and took in the 360-degree views. And the weather could not have been better-70 degrees, low humidity, a light breeze. Went across the street for a bit and caught a few songs from Maceo Parker, former James Brown sax player. As the crowd bum rush began nearing the end of the set, we (thought) we were wise and took off. Alas, we missed a one-song, seven-minute performance by his purpleness, Prince. I like the weekday nites that are filled with fun, and you're still home by 11 pm, ready for the next day of work.