Friday, November 26, 2004 at 13:49:17 (EST)
Food on plate / Gravitate / The Earth's own weight Thanksgiving is over and we're back at work. I'm actually really annoyed at my job today. They're giving me real stuff to do, the bastards! I thought it would just a couple of things for the whole day but they are making major renovations here. What loser comes up with significant work on the day after Thanksgiving? Why isn't everybody taking the day off? I would take the day off if I didn't work from home. But more importantly, Thanksgiving was great fun. I'm most thankful that Juli & Will hosted so I didn't have to do very much but show up and eat. That kicks ass when I can get away with that. I did bring appetizers: artichoke dip and tea eggs. The latter are hard boiled eggs that have had their shells cracked (but not removed) and are soaked in a bath of black tea, ginger, anise, orange peels, and other spices. I kind of had to rush the recipe so the flavor was a little faint but they looked nice. Other notable food items were the duck and tuna finger food that Ritchie and Kate brought. Will used his grandmother's recipe for the stuffing: instead of baking in a casserole or in the bird, prepare the stuffing in small patties and bake individually. This way nobody fights over the crunchy end pieces. Will and Juli made pies too, Juli going so far as to make her pumpkin pie with real pumpkins as opposed to the canned stuff. I don't think I've ever had the real thing in life, it's much lighter and more complex than the usual stuff. I'm sold! I was checking with some other folks via cell phone to see if they wanted to meet up at the Alibi later. Every single person I talked to was playing Trivial Pursuit and none of them were at the same party. Is this another Thanksgiving tradition of which I am unaware? Our group played Hangman, whose increasing difficulty should have been a clue that we were all wasted. How many bottles of wine did we tear through? I feared we wouldn't have enough to last through the actual meal, but we did. Then it was espresso and whiskey and our best efforts to fight grogginess. I got my second wind and headed out to the bar. The Alibi is closed. Owen tells me there's a bad leak inside and he can't get it under control, so the bar can't stay open. This is a major letdown for me. Josh shows up and we plot our next move. I know that Rope isn't open, and almost no business is open on Dekalb. We have no choice but to head to Freddy's, or, barring that, Mooney's Pub (because Josh had recently confirmed that they are open every day 8 am to 4 am). But Freddy's was going strong so we set about getting really drunk. People keep telling me how T-Day is the biggest drinking day outside of, say, St Patrick's Day. At first I assumed this was because so many people spend time with their insane families over this holiday. That maybe part of it, but last night I realized the other reason: with so much chow in my gut, I could drink all night with few consequences! Sure by the time I left I was a stumblin' fool, but hey, who knows how much I actually drank? I think it was a lot. Anyway the real proof: I woke up this morning, not exactly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but I felt fine. I was totally asking for a hangover but thanks to the wall of food in my system I successfully avoided the punishment I so richly deserved. It's a Thanksgiving Miracle! Sadly, I'm putting that miracle to use by doing my stupid day job. How quickly fades the luster of joy! My Thanksgiving in Photographs Posted By Jimmy Legs | Non-PermaLink
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	Thursday, November 25, 2004 at 11:47:51 (EST)
Woke up down Okay, so we just went the Alibi last night as well. Go figure. And we'll do it again tonight! The Garfield balloon in the Macy's parade was partially deflated (the left arm was a big mess). But the announcers refused to acknowledge it, I guess because they had so many Garfield-related products to tell the audience about before they could notice anything amiss. I guess it's way too late to criticize the parade. But right now they've got Bare Naked Ladies singing a rocked-up version of "Jingle Bells". There must have been a time when the fellas of BNL thought their name was pretty clever. Well, now you're playing on a float in the Macy's parade. Anyway, everybody know there is only one good rock version of "Jingle Bells" and it's the one from the movie Trancers. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. I love that song. And have a Happy etc, etc .... Posted By Jimmy Legs | Non-PermaLink
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	Wednesday, November 24, 2004 at 16:24:00 (EST)
In the air tonight So all of us who are still in the city are asking: What's going on tonight? Truth be told, I sort of forgot there would be a Wednesday night today, as though the day would immediately shift to Thursday so we can get on with the holiday. Of course, this is evidence that I'm not hosting festivities at my pad this year. Instead I'll be mooching off my friends who conveniently live down the street. Thursday night, after the traditional work is done, there will be a continuation of our newer tradition: going to the bar! I know, that's my answer to everything, but there is something pleasant about hanging out at the Alibi on major holidays. Everyone else who shows up shares the camaraderie of sticking around, plus the more relaxed atmosphere usually means they let us smoke inside. Anyway, that's what some of us will be doing on Thanksgiving night, so come on down if you're in the hood and not feeling too bloated. But still the question burns ... what to do tonight? Posted By Jimmy Legs | Non-PermaLink
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	Tuesday, November 23, 2004 at 13:13:58 (EST)
Better than the real thing U2's biggest fan? So the U2 show was indeed a free show, but tons of people had gotten e-tickets online before showing up. It took me a while to figure out what was going on, there were 2 huge lines of people, all of whom were to get priority due to the ticket-having. I immediately wanted to hop back on the Raleigh Twenty and skeddadle, but I hung around to locate some people. Ben called me and told me to come into the park adjacent to Fulton Ferry Park. For some reason there is a city park right next to a state park, so we hung out there while trying to decide what to do. Ben left first, in need of sustenance. Buzz had to go back to work, having been wandering around since 1:30. So Ron and I stuck it out, as we are both telecommuters and therefore unrestrained by rules of the workaday world. The show took forever to start but by the time it did we had secured entrance to the Fulton Ferry Park. Despite the lines of people, it looks like everybody got in, with some room to spare. The band sounded good, but the sound guy was either or a moron or being directed by morons (MTV). All you could hear from the drums was the bass and a little of the snare. The overall sound kept kind of washing in and out, the Edge's guitar suddenly flaring up only to disappear a minute later. But when they got it right, the band sounded great, seeming not at all tired from their trek all the way across Manhattan on a flatbed truck. Most of the new songs seemed to be rather slow, quiet and a little melancholic. Kind of odd considering the jovial nature of the event. But they did bring out some old tunes as well. But by then I was totally freezing, so we took off before they finished. See what I'm babbling about. Posted By Jimmy Legs | Non-PermaLink
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	Monday, November 22, 2004 at 13:37:39 (EST)
The Brooklynites Hey U2 is playing a free show at Fulton Ferry park in Dumbo at around 3 today. I'm not much of a fan but I love an excuse to skip out of work in the middle of the day. If anybody from my office asks, I'm out having my back waxed. Posted By Jimmy Legs | Non-PermaLink
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	Monday, November 22, 2004 at 12:19:50 (EST)
Noise annoys The party the other night was a blast, and we sent Jenny and her studiomates off right: we made a lot of noise. At first there were concerns about the bands' volume, the neighbors were complaining from the get-go. But our party hosts wisely decided to let the loudness reign. After all, they're all moving out at the end of the month, what's the worst that could happen? Well, I guess somebody could have called the cops and they might have shut the show down. But nobody did (although it is cool to picture cops dragging away a belligerent Zack in chains, or Buzz in a stand-off, hurling cymbals behind a drum barricade). But none of the happened, of course. We played our set, Multipass played their set (by the way, they totally kick ass, we gotta get more gigs with them), and everything was cool. My band has got to learn a couple new cover songs. It's getting hard to refuse to play "Jungle Love" every time, but it was supposed to be a one-time thing but it keeps haunting us. Mason from Multipass did manage to do a cool freestyle to "Low Rider" while I was futzing around with my guitar. That'll do. More photos of the event here Posted By Jimmy Legs | Non-PermaLink
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