You Don't Need a Weatherman...
I was lucky to spot the first snow of the year, yesterday at 9pm in Park Slope. This is the earliest I've ever seen snow. good times.
mike sold out at - 21:54
Cock Fest
According to the reliable source, Andy Price, Oklahoma is holding a referendum to ban cockfighting, the pastime where groups of people fight two roosters for the purpose of gambling. Among the golden material in the above-linked article is that the sport was banned in the early 20th century, but overturned by this judicial ruling on the grounds that "chickens are not animals".
mike sold out at - 15:42
10.29.2002
Songs of Love
Is there something wrong with me if I can't get the song "Fuck Her Gently" by Tenacious D out of my head? I suppose it's better than having "Cherry Pie" by Warrant in my head, which was the case several days last week.
mike sold out at - 12:17
10.24.2002
While this article was on a somewhat right-wing website, I think it's one of the best pieces written about the media hype around this sniper business.
mike sold out at - 12:23
10.23.2002
Be my Friend
A book you should never read in public is one I witnessed the guy next to me on the subway reading today, "How to Make Friends and Get Ahead." I think this book is up there with "Osama, I Hardly Knew Ye" and "How to Kill the Young Jewish Guy Next to Me on the Subway" as books one should never be caught reading in public, particularly while sitting next to me on the subway.
mike sold out at - 20:39
10.22.2002
Hold On Loosely
Now I knew that the Van Zandt family (Donny, Johnny, and Ronnie) were all quite musically talented, having fronted for both Lynyrd Skynyrd and 38 Special, but I did not know that investigatory talent existed in the family. In a Washington Post article about the sniper:
"It is usually one-way. Whether it is Kaczynski, the Son of Sam or Zodiac, it is them writing to us without giving us the opportunity to dialogue with them," former FBI profiler Clinton Van Zandt said. "In this case, however, there is a chance to dialogue."
Van Zandt said the rare opportunity could help the investigation.
mike sold out at - 09:42
10.15.2002
Check It Out!
So I have this habit of compulsively stuffing my reciepts and cancelled checks into an old can, which I decided to clean out today. I found checks to my former housemates with the following phrases in the memo lines:
to Margo Snel1ings, $30, "For Aural Pleasure"
to Chris Andin*, $28.42, "He's got tha power!"
to Margo Snel1ings, $30.79, "For going down the yellow river..."
to Chris Andin*, $19.20, "For doing it and doing it well"
and my favorite:
to Chris Andin*, $20.45, "For a night of.. high-fives "
And congradulations to Alissa on finding a new home. Maybe your memo on the deposit check should be "For my new crack house!".... swish.
mike sold out at - 21:12
10.14.2002
Victory Is Mine!
On Friday, I kicked some utility ass! Not only did I get Keyspan to drop $52 from my bill this month (reason: they hadn't read the meter since June 2001), I got MCI to finally credit this $63 check to my account they cashed in July, and got $75 off my bill to boot. Now I just have to make sure that they follow through with this...
Newsflash: Florida = Virginia!
The great Commonwealth of Virginia "looks a lot like Florida," according to a middle-aged female tourist sitting behind me on the Metro. She then went on to qualify her comments by saying, "well, it looks like Florida, but without all the palm trees."
mike sold out at - 16:36
10.09.2002
Making Friends
Be you woman, be you man, the following scenario is not cool:
I was standing on a crowded subway on the way home, my hand resting casually on a pole for balance, when a woman alighted on the subway. She pushed her way through the crowd to find a place next to me. Unfortunately, that place was a little too close for comfort. In fact, it was way too close for comfort, as the only thing balancing her was her entire weight leaning against the pole I was resting my hand on, with her boob squarely pressed against my hand. I know Liz was pleased to have some friendly elbow to boob action a few months ago, but this was too much.
mike sold out at - 23:36
10.08.2002
I Need Work... And Other Stories
In talking with a coworker today, he showed me a cover letter for a position here that begins:
People have been planning and managing projects since the dawn of time.
Warning: If you are unemployed, do not begin a cover letter with this line! It will just lead the reader to throw your resume in the trash, which was the untimely demise of this particular person's piece of correspondence.
In other news, I saw a movie with a female palestinian ninja in it.
Finally, I have resurrected the "big object principle", a theorum of Jared Obstfeld and Phil, whereby if one carries a large object (e.g. an inflatable bat or box of files) around with themselves in the workplace, everyone assumes you are busy and no one questions you.
mike sold out at - 16:20
10.07.2002
An Ode to Mammalian Love and Snoop-Dogg
Before I get to the main topics for today, let me say that the lesson of this weekend was "don't ride your bike down Broadway". This activity is meant only for a certain type of person.
My astute roommates alerted me to the existence of a book of Love Poems at the Virgin Megastore. This would not be of note unless the first poem was the lyrics to "Hot-Blooded" by Foreigner.
Writing grants related to substance abuse and the like, I get to read some substance abuse treatment industry newsletters. One I read today included the following article, excerpted below. Note that at no point do they condemn the use of blunts, and in fact, it seems like an advertisement for the product:
Commercial Blunt Wraps Sold in New York and Philadelphia
A new commercial product for marijuana users-- flavored blunt wraps-- is being marketed in stores in some U.S. cities, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
According to the ONDCP’s Pulse Check, these tubes are made from flavored tobacco leaves that are more moist, fresher, slower burning, and viewed as less messy than the traditional homemade blunts-- gutted cigars. The buyer fills the wraps with marijuana.
In New York, rolled commercial wraps, packaged in cellophane and similar to a small cigar, come in chocolate, cognac, and other flavors, Pulse Check reports. The wraps are commercially available for $1 each in stores.... The wraps come in several flavors, including vanilla, chocolate, and honey, and are known on the street as “snoop dogs” or “snoops” after the person who first promoted the product.
mike sold out at - 14:13
10.04.2002
I Have Located My Mothership
And it is on the Upper West Side, at 116th and Broadway.
For those of you who have spent any significant time with me, you will appreciate this.
It is a restaurant called "Cafe Swish".
Any further intelligence about this place would be appreciated.
Background for those who do not know why this is funny: I often say the word "Swish" as an interjection, meaning something along the lines of "Good one, dude." It can be used sarcastically or non-sarcastically.
mike sold out at - 17:18
10.03.2002
Isn't it ironic?
Well no rain on my wedding day, which isn't technically ironic, but...
While picking cookie dough off the shelf at the grocery store, the song "Unskinny Bop" by Poison came on. I barely kept myself from laughing really loud in the middle of the dairy aisle. And of course I bought the cookie dough anyways.
Also some excellent pictures to follow as soon as I can find a way to scan them in an unincriminating locale...
mike sold out at - 21:08
10.02.2002
Hitting The Big Time
So apparently because Alissa's friend Kate has linked to my page b/c of the fabu picture of G.W. Bush our functionally-illiterate President (that's right, I said fabu). Apparently, she has lots of friends or something, because over 40 people have looked at this page since Tuesday, including one person who found my page by searching Google for the "opposite word of Androcentrism" (see August 20).
mike sold out at - 15:01
10.01.2002
Things That Make You Go "Hmm" (Part 2)
They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
P.S. Thanks to photo editor & coworker Laura Fleisher for her continued investigatory work.
