More Terry Gross Fun Times

R.E.M.
TG: Now the new CD is 34, 35 minutes long which is short for a Cd but it works for me. I prefer listening to CD's to just (looks for the right word) songs you know by a different artist collected and scrambled together. But I often don't have enough time to make it through a whole CD in one sitting so this is a kind of very, a very uh nice amount to handle in one sitting. Why did you want to keep it that short? Because it is short for a CD.

The band went on to gamely try to explain to Gross the history of vinyl vs. CD.

TG: I'd like to ask each one of you about your music background which is so not the image like of the like the indie band performer. Like Mike, you were in marching band (Laughs) which must have really been fun. I love marches, uh ...

Philip Roth
She has asked him a question about death and cemeteries. He goes on for a bit. She then asks him, "So do you have a plot picked out? Do you know what kind of cemetery you'd like to be buried?"

PR: Which would be easiest for you visit my grave? (This elicits hearty laughter from Terry. I'm not sure if she knows he's making fun of her or not.) And I'll pick out a plot that is convenient and we can continue this interview series into eternity. (Lot of laughter from Terry which she ends with a "Ah yeah" before moving onto her next question which leads to a lot of soul searching for Terry.)

TG: But do you want to be buried? I mean (Roth tries to answer the question but she interrupts with this doozy) I have this sense that cemeteries in their own way are almost, um, outdated? Because people are so scattered all over the place geographically, friends and family all over the place, and they're not tied together in a physical community anymore and ... um ... uh ... and cemeteries, I don't know, they seem like ... you need to take care of the neighborhood, you know. You go in there and it's as if like you bought this home for somebody (laughs) in a neighborhood and it's like, "Is it a nice neighborhood? Is the neighborhood being kept up? What are the neighbors like? And it's just like this weird way sometimes of thinking of the dead.

PR: Well, I feel differently. (He went on to talk about visiting the graves of his family members and how it is a powerful thing for him.)

Moshing Up to the Moon?

Some music reviews ... It has been awhile.

R.E.M. - Accelerate, 2008
Okay so after this treatise (see comments) I've come to the realization that this album isn't that good. Not that I thought it ever was. But I still defend some aspects of it. The production is good. I don't find it embarrassing (although the opening lines from I'm Gonna DJ are pretty damn awful) or a sad attempt to recreate the past. I really like the first two songs. That Supernatural, Superserious song is already way overplayed. Overall, I'd say this LP has 2 good songs, 8 fairly mediocre ones, and 1 gawd awful one. It is a nice first step back. And they are at least trying to do fun B-sides again - a Beat Happening cover after years of just putting live versions of old songs on as B-sides.

Check out these lyrics from I'm Gonna DJ:

death is pretty final
i'm collecting vinyl
i'm gonna dj at the end of the world

cause if heaven does exist
with a kicking play list
i don't wanna miss it at the end of the world

hey steady steady
hey steady steady
i don't wanna go until i'm good and ready

and i'll spin my way right through it
create an easy way jack through it
as i mosh up to the moon
as you circle the room

Black Mountain - In the Future, 2008
Not as immediately rockin' as their debut but I still like it a lot. Maybe not as immediately retro as the first but that's okay with me. Even the 17 minute song is good if you're in the right mood. I caught them on Conan awhile back and was pleasantly freaked out by those female vocals.


The Liars Liars, 2007
I've enjoyed their last two weirder albums. I also really really like their debut album that's all jittery and shit. This is a good mix between the two. Plus they like kittens.


Radiohead - In Rainbows, 2007
Their best album since Ok Computer? Hell, maybe even better since there's no dumb robot song on this one. This is a really nice listen. Job well done boys.

Electrelane - No Shouts No Calls, 2007
Another stellar effort from a criminally underappreciated band. Sadly their last album.

M.I.A. - Kala, 2007
One of my favorites of the year. There are a couple songs that don't sway me but overall I really like this album. Love the Modern Lovers and Pixies references. Love love M.I.A. even if Mitch hates her songs every time they come on at Floyd.

A Date With John Waters, 2007
Maybe not quite as good as his Christmas mix but still quite good nonetheless. He needs to make at least one compilation a year. Good stuff.

The Sadies - In Concert, Volume One, 2006
The Sadies - New Seasons, 2007
Two CD's is a whole of live Sadies. Makes me want to see them live again. This is a hootenany. The 1994 Listmaker would not have believed that the 2008 Listmaker would think that this album would have been better with a little less guest starring action from Jon Spencer.

The most recent studio album is nice, as are all Sadies albums. But it doesn't set my world afire or nothing.

Echo and the Bunnymen - Songs to Learn and Sing
A best of I guess? I don't know - I'm too lazy to look it up. I borrowed this from my boss. I dig it. I only had one one of their albums when I was a kid, the one with Lips Like Sugar on it. I didn't love that album. This best of is pretty damn good though but I don't really feel the need to get more.

Pitty Pat
Hot Tub Eric insists that he didn't make this mix but that Phoebe did. Well then, Phoebe is carrying on the fine Plumley tradition of outstanding mixes. The title track is amazing and will undoubtedly be featured on an upcoming Listmaker. Jackson 5, Dexter Redding, Pookie Blow, this has got all the hits. Thanks Phoebe!

Listen to 5 Stairsteps and Cubie to get a taste.

Red Sticker Collection
Electric Light Orchestra - ELO'S Greatest Hits
Donovan wrote a bit in the fall about his love for ELO. Nothing to be ashamed of there. This is a fantastic best of and I'm wondering if I should delve deeper into the ELO catalog. This is a band that had its heyday a little bit before I was aware of stuff. And either hadn't heard a lot of their songs until recently or wasn't aware that some of their songs were by them.

Sure, I knew the huge hits but I don't think I even knew who sang the songs. I just knew them from their last hit, - 1983's Rock and Roll is King and being the band of the big haired dude from The Traveling Wilburys. The first time I really realized how much I dug this band was a few years ago when Mr. Blue Sky was in that ad. What was that ad for again?

My Bocce Team Might Have Lost in the Final 4 Today But My Honey Still Holds the High Score on the Bar's Ms. Pac Man!

Check it out!

Some Book Reviews

David McCullough - 1776, 2005
McCullough is no David Halberstam. I liked this book but it didn't blow me away the way all of Halberstam's stuff does. Maybe that is because this book is about an earlier era than the Halberstam stuff I've read. Or maybe it is because McCullough just has a drier writing style. Anyway, did you know that a bunch of cool stuff happened in SHR's hometown of Fort Lee? I didn't.

Cormac McCarthy - No Country For Old Men, 2005
This was the first McCarthy book I've read and I want to read more. I keep hearing that Blood Meridian is his best book. Anyone out there read any of his books? I felt like a tough guy reading this in the way that a good Jim Thompson or James Ellroy makes me feel. More on my review of the book and movie can be found here.

Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams - Game of Shadows, 2006
Wow that Barry Lamar is a prick, huh? And that IRS special agent Jeff Novitzky sure is a badass. And Victor Conte sure is a sleaze. This book was quite the page turner. If anyone has any doubt that Bonds is a lying cheat, read this book. I've got to agree with Curt Schilling on this one - if the stuff in this book was false, wouldn't Bonds sue for libel? The version of the book I read has an afterword written after the 2006 season. I look forward to going to Barnes and Noble sometime soon to sit my non steroids ass down, sip on some coffee, and read the 2007 update.

Paul Auster - The Book of Illusions, 2002
Auster is just plain good at what he does. Yet another interesting read from Mr. Auster. I've heard that many people find this to be Auster's best book. I've only read three so I'm not sure about that but this is pretty darn good. I did like the first half a bit more than the second but overall it is a very good read.

It is about a minor silent film star (Hector Mann) of the 20's who gets into a bit of trouble and disappears from Hollywood. No one can find a trace of him. He changes his name, settles down, and spends his life making experimental films that he plans on destroying upon his death.

The book takes place as he nears death and the protagonist (contacted by the Mann family because of a book he had written about Mann's lost films of the 20's) tries to interview him and see his movies before it is too late. Mitch and Jim saw the movie adaptation of this at BAM last year which they report back to be not very good. But the book is.

Michael Chabon - The Yiddish Policemen's Union, 2007
I love the premise of this book. As an alternate reality, the U.S. created a separate district carved out of Alaska for Jews who had survived the Holocaust. They created a thriving community up North. But 60 years have passed and the land is passing back to the U.S. Oh yeah, and there's a murder mystery, interesting characters, and a fascinating Chabon created Jew way of speaking - sort of Yiddish meets Woody Allen meets the Great White North or something like that - completely unique.

So why did I stop reading this a fourth of the way through? I feel guilty about it but I just couldn't get into the groove of it. I keep thinking I might start it again but getting through those 126 pages was hard enough, let alone sticking it out for another 290. Chris Larry and Jim both really liked this book. And maybe Chris Mooney as well. My dad and SHR both started it and stopped. I know the problem here is me, not the book. Why is it that the Jews and the Jewreans that I know didn't finish the book and the non-Jews amongst us greatly enjoyed it? Should I pick it up again and keep going?

Joshua Ferris - Then We Came to The End, 2007
The Noiseboy raved about this book over the winter in this post. He likened it to a cross between Mad Men and The Office. Sign me up. I liked this book but not nearly as much as he did. Maybe I just haven't worked in enough offices to sustain me for an entire book? There were definitely a lot of laugh out loud moments especially in the first half. The second half becomes a lot darker but still good. Read the Noiseboy's review, it is a good read.

Move Over Bacon, Here Comes Nick Jonas

If you hit F12 on a Mac, you can find all sorts of fun things - a calculator, a weather forecast, a calendar, a clock, etc, etc.

You can also leave a note for yourself. Apparently, when students in my class are supposed to be working on the school laptops, they also occasionally goof off. Some leave notes and then the next day or so when another student uses the laptop or maybe a student in another class uses it, there is a message waiting for them.

The other day, a student pointed out to me that people were leaving notes for each other. At first, I put on my teacher face and got annoyed, "You should be working not leaving notes for each other!" But when I saw the note, how was I supposed to remain angry?

Am I Really Seen as THE MAN Just Because I'm White? Don't I At Least Need to Wear a Suit and Dark Shades or Something?

This morning, I was minding my own business heading downstairs in our ever so slow elevator. We have two of them in our building. When we moved in a year ago, one of them was a lot faster than the other. Now - not so much. They are both super slow. And they are both super annoying. Often when you press the down button, both come up to you for no reason. Thus, when you are waiting downstairs for an elevator, there are often two just hanging out on the 9th floor.

Anyway, I got on the elevator and a woman gets on a few floors later. She says good morning and then starts complaining about how slow the elevators are these days. We discuss this for a moment and try to figure out why. She says, "I probably shouldn't say this because it might offend you --- but I think it is the Man. The Man is messing with us by slowing down the elevators!"

I respond, "The Man? Really. That's an interesting theory. I like that." We got off the elevator and started walking to the front door. Right as we got to the two stairs before the door, she tripped and lost her balance. She would have tumbled to the floor if she hadn't broken her fall by grabbing my shoulder.

She thanked me profusely and then said, "I fell because I was badmouthing The Man. I shouldn't have been doing that to you!"

That's right - don't fuck with The Man!

Speaking of The Man, this morning's events reminds me of the time in college when I worked at the college radio station. The program director found out that an aspiring DJ worked over the summer at the local Top 40 station. He asked her how that experience was and wanted to know what it was like to work for The Man? She replied, "Oh you mean Mike? How do you know him?"

He said, "No! The Man! The Man!"

Now she was a bit confused by this strange senior yelling at her and calling her summer boss, Mike, The Man. She said, "He's a nice guy to work for. I have to go now" and hightailed it out of the icky college radio station back to the warm embrace of Tom Cochrane, et al.

St. Marks: Another End to a Glorious Era

First this and now St. Mark's?

Say it ain't so but the last original tenant (well, not really original but you know what I mean) of 38 St. Mark's has gone and moved out. And with him, the other two tenants in Apt. 2 were booted by the landlord. Dave is still on the first floor so I'm sure there will be at least one more party in store but with Mooney moving out, it is definitely time for nostalgia.

A couple of weeks ago the final party was held. Around 12:30 or so, Mooney asked me what my favorite moment at St. Mark's was. I took that question and turned it into a way to pester others for movie purposes.

Enjoy.

Is Your Hair Fluffy?

Daughter of Bocce King and Bumblebee Girl both love The Jonas Brothers. In particular, they love Nick Jonas. They have created a collage of Nick and have written a letter to him that they plan on mailing this week. I'm sure that the thing that Nick Jonas most wants is a collage of pictures of himself. Then again, who knows?

Click on picture to enlarge. You'll be thankful that you did.

Tax Season

I know absolutely nothing about financial stuff. Nothing. Nada. I used to do my own taxes back when I was making 14 grand a year and it was easy. Once it got even a bit complicated with investments and loans and such, I needed help.

I had a funny Woody Allen type accountant on the Upper West Side do it for me for a few years. He'd crack corny joke after corny joke when I would call him each year. Good times.

After I met SHR, we had a guy at her old music company do it for us for a couple of years for a nice bottle of wine. Once she left that company, that sweet deal dried up.

Recently, we've been going to a great place in Park Slope as recommended to us by Chris and Mary. For some reason, this year, we didn't call to set up an appointment and we thought we wouldn't be able to get one in enough time. So a little over a week ago, we went to an H & R Block in our neighborhood.

Bad news.

Our "tax advisor" was a complete nightmare. From the very first moment. As he hunted and pecked his way through adding our information, SHR had to keep gently letting him know that he was typing in a lot of wrong information. Among some of his offenses:

- It took him close to 90 minutes to type in what should have maybe taken 20 minutes.

- He was utterly shocked that SHR had hyphenated her name when we got married and was worried that it might mess up the whole thing.

- Assured us at one point that a typo he made didn't matter because the IRS only looks at numbers not words.

- Could not understand that one of the fields he had filled out wasn't going through properly because he didn't have a hyphen even though it clearly stated to add a hyphen. SHR told him that she thought he needed a hyphen. He replied, "No I don't think so" before repeatedly trying to force it through another time after already failing 3 or 4 times before. Finally, he added the hyphen and miraculously it went through!

- Regarding our mortgage, he told us that it didn't matter how many months we actually owned our place as long as we had moved in by 12/31. We said, "Really?" And he assured us yes. He even made a big show multiplying on the paper and said, "Next year when you do your taxes, the person can look at my writing and know how to do it!" Wonderful!

So eventually he gave us our tally. According to him, we owed 5 grand.

What the fuck?

We told him that that didn't seem right. He didn't know what to say to us and kind of just pointed at the computer in a "That's what the computer says" kind of way. He could sense we were annoyed and about to bag it after two wasted hours. He called his manager over. She looked at the computer and at least could explain why we owed 5 grand using her words rather than shrugs. Granted, she was explaining the results from the numbers he had added.

We left and she told us to come back once we were ready to finish up.

We went home and immediately called for an appointment at the place in Park Slope. They had an opening later in the week.

I went on Thursday afternoon. It was absolutely packed. The phone was ringing off the hook with people trying to make last minute appointments. But there weren't any more available until after the 15th. The take-no-shit receptionist spent a lot of time yelling at rude customers over the phone. But she was super sweet to the respectful folks in the waiting area who were too scared to cross her after hearing her deal with people on the phone. There were none too subtle signs posted all over with sayings like "Just because you procrastinated doesn't mean we need to be pressured by you."

Within the first few minutes of meeting with an accountant, I was asked about the writing on our mortgage sheet. When I told him that someone at H & R Block had done it, he said, "He did it completely wrong. You only have owned for 9 months but he has you down as 12 months. Not to mention, the correct total is on this other form so he didn't even need to write anything down to figure it out."

The final tally at the real place? We are owed $2,300. A little bit better than owing 5 grand.

The manager at H & R Block has called twice in the past few days wondering when we are going to come back in to finish our taxes. What a joke.

An Oscar Is Heavier Than I Thought It Would Be

Fresh Air!

For the past 7 or 8 months, I've been listening to the NPR show Fresh Air, podcast style. The host, Terry Gross, drives me insane but she gets really great guests. She is such an incredibly bad and annoying interviewer. I wonder what an interview between her and Charlie Rose would be like.

Anyway, she is so in love with herself. She clearly thinks she is the best interviewer out there. Her phrasing, the way she says, "Fresh Air!" ... hell everything about her drives me nuts. Do you remember that lounge singer Nora Dunn used to play on Saturday Night Live? That is kind of how Gross does it.

But the guests are just so good.

Here are some of my favorite examples of some questions from recent podcasts. I listen to these on the way to and from work so obviously these aren't exact quotes. But the inanity of it all is still 100% intact.

Tom Petty
Q: So you grew up in Gainsville. Isn't there a satellite campus of the Univ. of Florida there?

A: Um, yeah. The university is there in Gainsville.

Later --
Q: When your house was burned down in 1987 by arson, you and your family were inside when it started. Did you react by instinct? Did you run out? What was that like? Did you think before you ran out? Did you just simply run?

A: Yeah, the house was on fire so we ran out.

Cristian Mungiu: Director of the Romanian film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Q: So because of the law that made both birth control and abortion illegal, it created a baby boom in Romania that began in 1966 and lasted for many years. You were born in 1968? Were you part of the Romanian baby boom?

A: Um, yeah. I was born 2 years after the baby boom started.

John Soluri: Writer of a book about the history of bananas.
He spent 30 minutes talking about how mass produced bananas aren't as good as they used to be because the old bananas have mostly died because of fungi and such. For 30 minutes he was talking about this, the history of the banana, and how today's bananas might die soon as well. 30 minutes he's talking about how today's bananas don't taste that great.

She then goes on to start describing some of the problems she has when she buys bananas these days at the supermarket and lists all of the things he just focused on. She asks, "So why do my bananas not taste good these days?" He is speechless.

Blake Nelson: Writer of Paranoid Park
Q: In an earlier book, you wrote from a girl's perspective. Let me read you this part. "He was on top of her. All she could think about was she should like him more but he was just this big weight grinding into her." How, I mean, um, how, you ... um, you are a guy! How did you write this part? How did you know about that feeling?

A: Um, you know. It's just life you know, I guess.

Stay tuned for the next Terry Gross installment sometime soon!

A Hipster Wonderland

Is how Mitch described the action.

Others simply refer to the event as the first ever Brooklyn Flea. We couldn't resist seeing the action in our neighborhood.
Hey, look it is Erik of Go Fish!
Someone needs to tell Balgavy that 40 degrees isn't the time to wear shorts.

Balgavy took his suburban dad (his words, not mine) look back home.

Mitch, SHR, and I played some Wii baseball and I have the movie to prove it.

Am I Supposed to Be Excited?

Just because the new R.E.M. record sounds like could have been B-sides from Life's Rich Pageant - Automatic For the People?

I guess so, right?

A Trip to the New York Botanical Garden

Hooray for orchids.


SHR took these photos of flowers. I think I made fun of her as she took them.

SHR wrote about the food as well.

SHR Spends a Day With the Buddha

I made a movie from the footage.