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Saturday, February
15, 2003 at 19:21:37 (EST) |
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Post-Non-March
Just a quick note before I got out to Lundy's with J and his parents
(and M as well). The rally was one big disorganized beautiful mess.
The cops thought they knew what they were in for, but they were so
wrong. I've never seen so many people in one place. Well, several
nearby places. I will give a more detailed report later, but despite
the annoyances, I am very glad I showed up. Why didn't you?
Posted By Jimmy Legs
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Friday, February
14, 2003 at 11:59:23 (EST) |
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Fuck Bush on Valentine's Day!
So today is Valentine's Day, and tomorrow is the big peace
rally thing. B and I will be going to both, so to speak. Tonight it's
all fun stuff, but tomorrow it will be grim, grim, grim. Because B
is a union member of CUNY, so we may meet up with their group,
as they have an actual marching permit. I believe many of the smaller
groups that are planning to coalesce at 49th Street are marching over
there. The denial of a marching permit for the main rally is, more
than anything else, one bad PR move for the city. Regardless of their
concerns about public safety, their dismissive attitude speaks volumes
about what they think about the average citizen's opinion. It also
seems pretty clear that the Bush administration has already been to
town to make sure Bloomberg plays ball by continuing to suppress the
voice of dissension.
What's good about this country anymore? When your government basically
tells the populace, "You're on your own, buy some plastic sheets,"
what good are they? When the government tells its people, "We're
gunning for evil people who want to take away your rights and your
life," and then systematically takes away these rights themselves,
how do we distinguish from leadership and oppression? When the government
says "We will do what we have to do to protect you, even if
it means dragging you off to a secret tribunal," don't they
begin to sound like American parodies of Soviet-era secret police
tactics? And when we ask the government why they are allowed to
break the rules, dictate morality, and in many instances do exactly
the sort of thing that they claim of the 'Evildoers', they respond,
"We're the government. We make the rules, and we've made them
so they don't apply to our actions. Only yours."
Why are we supposed to be this great bastion of liberty and self-determination?
Everybody's just so sure we're superior, but whatever it was that
previously existed to create that impression has been dismantled
and recycled as the new Patriotism, in which Americans declare loyalty
to their country, and the country doesn't have to give anything
in return, except further threats. They say, "You think your
rights are being eviscerated now? Just wait 'til we really get going!"
Posted By Jimmy Legs
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Thursday, February
13, 2003 at 20:03:39 (EST) |
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If he publishes it enough times, he just
might believe it
Ugh. That old roommate of mine I'm always bitching about is milking
his lame 'true love' story, this time at the New
York Press. He has pretty much plastered this story all over
every website he has access to, and since he used to work at the Press,
I guess he figured he'd spin out just one more version. Nobody else
minds, though, and it smacks of super sour grapes that I keep harping
on the guy. But what a load of shit! He's so charmed by his Meet Cute
that he won't stop talking about it. Everybody who falls in love thinks
their story is miraculous. Well, they're not. I mean, even my love
story totally floors his, but you don't see me posting about it (well,
maybe if I'm short of stuff that pisses me off I'll write it, but
that doesn't seem likely anytime soon). I'm sure the Press only published
it because they love to goose New Yorkers with tales about how much
New York sucks.
I also find it amusing that his newest article discusses how much
he loathes the City, how gloomy and disappointing it turned out
to be. Earlier last year, he had written a piece for the Press
about his new apartment in Queens, how much he loved it. The last
line is "I'm never leaving Woodside." Again, I probably
shouldn't take him to task for his many final declarations, but
he's just so smug about it all. I can't wait to read his next article,
probably within the year: "Divorce, Texas Style."
Posted By Jimmy Legs
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Thursday, February
13, 2003 at 11:24:21 (EST) |
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Showdown at the C-Town
I meant to bring this up earlier, but ... does anybody know anything
about the shooting that happened at the Clinton Hill C-Town over the
weekend? One employee shot another and killed him dead. I was over
there the other day buying cat food and I didn't even think of it.
But now I'm trying to figure out who was involved. If you've ever
been to that particular store, you know it has its share of characters,
the most colorful of which are the guys who bag groceries. I don't
know if these guys even really work for C-Town in an official capacity.
They just hang around and pack stuff when they feel like it. The customer
is encouraged to tip. I usually just give the guy whatever change
I get from the transaction, which means sometimes the guy who gets
me when I'm buying $4.12 worth of 'Friskies' cat food gets a bigger
reward than when I'm buying $34.85 in heavy cans and Cheez-Its.
There's one guy there in particular who has a way of letting his
presence be known. He's a bit older than most of the other guys,
and he never, ever stops talking. You may have seen him delivering
groceries to people's homes, taking a shopping cart down the street,
completely oblivious to motor vehicles and their honking horns.
"Awright, awright, right here, right here, on 4, that's right,
over here, honey, no waiting, awright awright," goes his chant
as he tries to lure people over to his register. Once a line has
formed, he continues to blab about whatever slips across his mental
transom. If anybody remotely female is within his radius, he attempts
a poor version of Barry White's seduction techniques, which although
mildly offensive, seems pretty harmless. Most women just ignore
him or tell him to shut up. He often tells me how much he likes
the Beatles, usually topped off with his own rendition of "I
Want to Hold your Hand," when he's feeling up to it.
But that's only when he's in a good mood. Most of the time, he's
pissed off about something, or someone. If he's mad at another guy
in the store, he shouts at him from wherever he is. Sometimes he
appears to be yelling at the entirety of C-Town, but mostly it's
directed towards somebody who made some affront. This is how he's
been the last few times I was in there.
So since the shooting happened, I haven't seen the guy. It will
be really bizarre if he turns out to be the guy who shot the other
guy (the shooter is said to be in his 40's, the victim was in his
20's). But most of the guys who work there are pretty young. I can
only think of a couple of guys there who might be in their 40's.
I don't think I've ever known anybody who killed anybody.
Well, back in Ohio my band played a number of shows with a band
with the lovely name of "Granny's Hole." The bass player
of the band was known for the tattoo that read "Insane"
on the back of his neck, and his Prince Albert penis-piercing, which
he always put on public display during performances. One night at
an after hours party, he kicked some guy to death, because he was
annoying him. He went on the lam for a while, but finally turned
himself in. I think that's it for my personal brushes with killers.
I don't know about manslaughterers, I might know a few of them.
Posted By Jimmy Legs
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I
still can't figure out what the 'C' is for |
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Wednesday, February
12, 2003 at 11:38:53 (EST) |
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Hey New Yorkers! Safen Up!
On my rare trips to the office downtown, I have occasionally passed
a store on Ann Street that never fails to make me look twice. I
think it's called "Safer America" or someting like that. I used
to think it was a sporting goods store, as there is a rubber raft
tacked up on the wall. But it's also full of mannequins wearing
full-body hazmat suits and gas masks. This store sells New Yorkers
all the items we need to survive a chemical terrorist attack, the
suits, the masks, that little hatchet thing we need to fight off
the big crazy dogs they will no doubt send for us. These little
overpriced kits will be the fallout shelters of the 21st Century.
Meanwhile, they've apparently told us to cover our windows with
plastic to stave off gas attacks. M pointed out that the terrorists
are probably not saying "Plastic? Damn! We never thought they'd
think to put plastic on their windows! Curses, foiled again." I
smell some governtmental panacea goin' on.
Posted By Jimmy Legs
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I'll
be damned, here's their website |
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Tuesday, February
11, 2003 at 20:44:58 (EST) |
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NASA: "They blowed up real good"
I was just reading Hendrik Hertzberg's piece in the New Yorker's "Talk
of the Town" section, concerning the latest space shuttle disaster.
He makes some awfully valid points. Like why do we even have a space
shuttle? How is it 2003 and we are still exploring space with the
same tools we were using in 1984 (to the tune of a half-billion dollars
per launch)? I know it's not that simple and whatnot, but something's
weird about the whole thing. Why do we even have a space program?
And the real question is, how could we have had a space shuttle program
around for so many years but still not have the bugs worked out of
the system?
In eulogizing the dead astronauts, everybody is quick to point
out that they were brave folks, people who knew the terrible risks
of space travel. Yeah, I'm sure they were aware of the dangers,
but I don't think they were thinking about blowing up while trying
to land. They were thinking of losing their helmet while outside
the spacecraft, dealing with instrument malfunctions, maybe even
dealing with on-baord computers that grow paranoid and try to kill
everybody. Regardless, their focus was on what might happen in
space. Not stuff that was going on within the earth's atmosphere.
I don't think I ever heard an astronaut say "Sure, I know flying
the space shuttle could be risky. Why, despite the oddity of working
in a weightless environment, I'm more scared that the whole thing
might just blow up on routine reentry."
But that's what it does, because they can't build something that
works right. As Hertzberg rightly points out, can't they do all
this stuff with robots now? Who among us even knew they still used
astronauts, or still used space shuttles? The Space Race isn't exactly
in the same place it was in the 60's. Nobody cares anymore. We apparently
prefer "Joe Millionaire" to shuttle antics, and I'm not
so sure we're wrong. They really ought to reconsider the whole shebang,
redistribute the money to research that is actually beneficial to
humans. I don't think it would dampen the country's spirit to retire
this tired program; nobody's paying attention anyway. Well, they
weren't paying attention until NASA started spending a half-billlion
dollars to kill some people.
Wow, I just realized how sitting in a office with nothing to do
is the true driving force behind Blogging.
Posted By Jimmy Legs
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Tuesday, February
11, 2003 at 20:08:27 (EST) |
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Help I'm a Prisoner in a Liberal Arts College
B talked me into coming to visit her at Brooklyn College, a place
to which I'd sworn never to return. Last time, the trains conked out
in the middle of the trip and we were forced to flee on foot, only
to find already-overcrowded buses awaiting us. Also there's something
demeaning about being in a a place full of students when you yourself
have studied naught for many years but a well-picked booger.
So here I am, in B's office, which is one of several small offices
within one larger office, which is itself one of many on this floor.
We had dinner at the Sugar Bowl (or Sugar 'Bow', as it reads on
the side of the building). Now I've been talked into sticking around
while she teaches her class until 9:15. Then, finally, I will get
some booze! How Pavlovian. We'll probably go to Moe's,
as there is something post-academic about the place.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to get reservations for Locanda
Vini & Olii for Valentine's Day, but as usual, they are
all booked up. Grr. I always forget this restaurant is like one
block from our house. It's a great Italian bistro, smack dab in
the middle of the neighborhood. So I always assume nobody knows
it's there, but alas, every Valentine's Day, the place becomes unavailable.
Then I forget about it entirely until next Valentine's. The great
cycle of life continues.
Posted By Jimmy Legs
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Monday, February
10, 2003 at 11:20:42 (EST) |
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Annoying ghosts of a past life
For some reason, we've been receiving an inordinate amount of calls
for our former roommate, the ass-butt who dumped
us with his simpleton girlfriend and never spoke to us again. I just
got another call, this time from Merril-Lynch. I recall he maintained
some kind of stock portfolio through this company, but they still
think he lives here? The place he hasn't lived in for almost a year?
The guy doesn't even live in New York anymore (he was too lame to
stay in the Tri-state area). Maybe I should try to give them his email
address or something, but I don't wanna be that nice. I'm proud to
say I don't have any other kind of contact info about him. I just
don't get why all of a sudden these companies need to get ahold of
him.
Say ... maybe it's tax-related. He was still here this time last
year, so he would have spoken to the interested parties. But this
year he's skeddadled and left no forwarding address. I hope he gets
screwed on something. It's kind of refreshing to have an nemesis,
somebody you can just think ill of no matter the season. Sean
used to fulfill this function for me, but I now have a target that
pretty much deserves my wrath. I'll give him such a frowning!
Posted By Jimmy Legs
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See
how clean and decisive military action in Iraq can be |
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