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OMD, Gen X, and Frank Frazetta

A few things tied together with a very thin thread …

First, I read A. O. Scott’s “Gen X Has a Midlife Crisis” in the New York Times this morning. Online initially and then, yes, switching over to my iPhone when I had to leave the house for work. (Scott says, “I see you rolling your eyes. That’s right, you: the one in the fake-vintage rock ’n’ roll T-shirt and thick-framed glasses reading this on an iPhone at the sidelines of your daughter’s soccer game.”)

Anyway, thick-framed glasses, check. iPhone, check. Daughter, not yet. The passage that stung (emphasis, mine)… Continue reading “OMD, Gen X, and Frank Frazetta”

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The NYT’s gratuitously detailed accounts of the recent Times Square scares

In reporting on the unfolding events in Times Square right now, the New York Times‘s City Room blog lapses into almost Onionesque territory when it mentions a vendor who reported a suspicious duffel bag earlier this morning: Mr. Elbaz, an immigrant from Egypt who lives in Jackson Heights, Queens, said he was relieved. It was … Continue reading The NYT’s gratuitously detailed accounts of the recent Times Square scares

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My commute: BIMO


View My Commute in a larger map

At some point in my life I read that the word posh was derived as an acronym for “port out, starboard home,” supposedly the preferred cabin arrangement of people traveling to and from the British colonies in the Far East. That appears to be hogwash, but I can’t help think of it as it relates to my bike commute into and out of Manhattan, for which I’ve coined the acronym BIMO: Brooklyn (Bridge) In, Manhattan (Bridge) Out. Continue reading “My commute: BIMO”

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New bike, new routine

bbridgecommute

I recently bought a new bike: a Breezer Villager. I had enjoyed riding around Brooklyn on my previous touring bike, but it wasn’t a good fit. The frame was too big (23″), it threw me into a hunched-up riding position, and the tires were so skinny that I always worried about bending the rims on the rough streets I biked along.

It was not a good fit, and consequently, I always found excuses to avoid commuting in to work from Brooklyn.

My Breezer Villager, however, is a dream. It’s built to commute right out of the box, with fenders, a dynamo-powered light set, a cushy suspension-pole seat, wide bump-absorbent tires with reflective sidewalls, and an internally geared seven-speed hub—which means there’s no front derailleur and that you can therefore fit a chainguard over the front chainring (so I don’t even need one of those pantleg straps). Continue reading “New bike, new routine”

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Documenting an art project

My friend Justin has been drawing insanely cool fictional portraits on the subway since he moved here a few years ago. Recently, he’s been working on a set called the Urban Tribal Series, which is strange, disturbing, and compelling. It’s sort of based on the concept of Japanese salarymen, but the suited men of Justin’s … Continue reading Documenting an art project

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Noah Kalina saved my laptop

On the way to San Francisco on Friday afternoon, I accidentally left my laptop at the security checkpoint at JFK. They were taking an unusually long time with my carry-ons, and my items didn’t come out of the machine in the same order they went in. (I think the Eileen’s cheesecake I was carrying had something to do with it; the screener, who looked a bit like Eileen herself, was sort of eyeing me with a bemused but knowing look as she ran my bakery box back and forth through the scanner.)

Anyway, as we were all waiting to board the plane, I saw photographer and viral-video star Noah Kalina walk up up to the gate. I was like, “Hey! That’s Noah Kalina! I’m going to tweet that we’re on the same flight and then go introduce myself.” (I’ve been a fan of his work since I started seeing his restaurant interior shots on Eater years ago, and I think he’s commented once or twice on my Flickr photos, and I know a lot of the same people he does, but I’ve never met him.)

I wanted to @message him in the tweet, and since I couldn’t remember if he was @noahkalina or @kalina, I figured I’d consult the web via my laptop instead of trying to blindly guess it on my phone (he’s @noahkalina).

So when I went to pull out my laptop and … “FUCK! I left my machine at security!”

Continue reading “Noah Kalina saved my laptop”

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RSS icon pillow

I love this RSS icon pillow that C. pointed me to on Etsy. It’s 12 inches square, which is a little small; I think a big 24-incher would be better, but until I dust off my rusty home-ec sewing skills, who am I to complain. On that note, it’s totally easy to make a square … Continue reading RSS icon pillow

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Chia Obama Now Shipping

Looks like the Chia Obama Chia Pets are shipping. I received an email this morning from drugstore.com that mine had gone out. Not more than an hour later, UPS showed up with my Determined Pose Chia Obama. It’s blurry, but the gold band in the second photo here says “Full growth in 1 to 2 … Continue reading Chia Obama Now Shipping

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On Seeing ‘MacBeth’ with Patrick Stewart

The production was pretty cool. With video projections and what not. The militaristic set—I think the Times described it as “equal parts abbatoir, hospital, and dungeon”—reminded me a lot of the Stargate planet Kelowna and the Stargate Atlantis civilization of the Genai—both militaristic people using technology and design reminiscent of the ’40s. Everything happened on … Continue reading On Seeing ‘MacBeth’ with Patrick Stewart

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Bands from Milwaukee

While in Milwaukee this weekend, C. and I somehow got on the subject of Milwaukee bands—and how we couldn’t think of any. I just hit up the Wikipedia Musical Groups from Wisconsin list. Here are the ones from Milwaukee that I’d heard of prior to scanning that list: The BoDeans: Officially from Waukesha, but played … Continue reading Bands from Milwaukee

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F1rst!

I can relate all too well with this tweet by Jason Kottke. Being first is always nice, but it is equally nice to get some sleep, to actually go out and do things IRL, and to not worry about ephemeral crap that no one will care about 24 hours from now—or indeed two hours from … Continue reading F1rst!