May 2010

Concert Countdown!!!

Get ready to rock and roll!!! Put it in your calendar!! May 14. And don't forget your $6. Start your Friday night off right with a recorder and two guitar concert and then head out and party on.

Recent Fortune Cookie Fortunes

You will spend old age in comfort and material wealth.

You will be advanced socially, without any special effort.

Awwwww....

Went to a pre-concert dinner with a friend and her family.....got an email the next day......

"My mom thinks you would be a really good mom."

Books

The Believers - Zoe Heller - It was pretty good. She also wrote What Was She Thinking - Notes on a Scandal

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows -reading this now....it's a little confusing, too many names...but it's pretty good, I just have no idea what's going on.

Movies

Mad Men - Season 3 - It's a pretty great show.

Music

Give Up by The Postal Service - Really good

Quelqu'un M'a Dit by Carla Bruni - That Mrs. Sarkozy can sing.

Narnia Prince Caspian Soundtrack - I basically got this for the song The Call by Regina Spektor. But wouldn't you know it, Disney has locked CD so I can't put it on the computer to put on the ipod. Mad mad mad.

Broadway/Off Broadway

Fences - This is an August Wilson play starrring.....DENZEL! It was quite good. I was tired so sometimes I closed my eyes and pretended it was a radio program.

Asylum - This was written and performed by James Braly and performed at Dixon Place. I had heard a story of his on the Moth that I quite enjoyed.

Art

I've recently joined the Whitney Museum and MoMA. And through mom, I'm a member of a bunch of other museums. I think I'm done with broadway for a bit and will now shift to museums.

Marina Abramovic - The Artist is Present - MoMA - This is the one where you can sit at a table across from her. There is a retrospective upstairs that's really loud and naked. There are real live naked people. In one exhibit, there is a (naked) man and (naked) woman standing opposite each other in a doorway. If you want to get into the next room you have to pass through this doorway (or the other doorway on the other side of the exhibit) I made myself go though the naked doorway, boy did I have to get myself psyched up. Oh art.

2010 Whitney Biennial - Whitney Museum - It's a lot of stuff. I've been twice and sort of run through it. That's the beauty of being a member, you don't have to see it all in one shot. You can go back whenever you want.

Mid Month Special

April 2010

Man oh Man

I don't know. I just can't put together a zine lately. They seem to get shorter and lamer. I'll try harder. I'll blame it on lack of exercise, practicing for my concert and low grade depression.

Concert

Yeah, seriously. I'm doing a concert in NYC on May 14, 2010. $6. It's going to be awesome!

Conversation with Mom

Mom: Do you have those leggings that look like jeans?

Me: Umm, no.

Mom: I saw them on TV yesterday

Movies:

The Hangover - Pretty good. There were a couple moments when they go a little too far.

Project Runway Season 5 and 6 -Meh. Season 6 was pretty awful. Nothing really compelling.

Eclipse is coming out June 30, 2010!!!!

Marley and Me - good...sad. sad. sad.

Fame! - the original version. Good stuff.

Mad Men - Now I'm in Season 2. Good stuff.

Band Slam - Good enough. I had high hopes for this.

The Broadway

Lend Me A Tenor - Pretty good. It's something that my mom will enjoy. Like Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, but not. Tony Shaloub, Anthony LaPaglia and the young man from The Hangover.

Next To Normal - Really good. Who doesn't love a musical about someone with bipolar.

God of Carnage - Good stuff. It's pretty entertaining.

Red - Really good. Alfred Molina as the artist Mark Rothko. Truth be told, I fell asleep for a little bit (as I do at most shows), but the parts I saw were excellent. It's rather intense.

Music

Ingrid Michaelson - Found her on the Pandora from my Regina Spektor channel. She sounds like well, Regina Spektor, it's sort of pleasant and non-impactful.

Books

American Wife - Really good.

In Defense of Food -I stopped reading it, I got bored.

Blink - Read about half of it, I got bored.

Mid Month Special

Little Miss Matched.....Project Sock Design Contest -Season 2

Entry deadline April 15, 2010.

Check it out.

http://www.littlemissmatched.com/ProjectSock

Little Miss Matched is primarily known for selling packs of 3 non-matching but somehow related socks. No limit on the number of entries! Here is the first of what will be one of my many submissions.

March 2010

Hmmmm....

Didn't really start this until yesterday.......got a little depressed toward the end of the month and got behind schedule. So this month it's sketches that may or may not evolve into something more at a later date.

Taxes

Done! Refund!

Cholesterol

169. Wrong!

Media:

Movies:

Inglorious Basterds - Really Good. Super intense and violent. OMG.

Enlighten Up - Good enough. An exploration of yoga. Not super interesting.

Louis CK - Chewed Up - pretty funny.

The Graduate -Pretty Good - Watching a young Dustin Hoffman is pretty great.

Mad Men - Season One - Half way through, quite good.

New York I Love You - Good enough.

Books:

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - by David Wroblewski - Really good.

Olive Kitteridge - by Elizabeth Strout -Really good.

Push:A Novel - by Sapphire - really good. Rough. Don't know that I want to see the movie.

In Defense of Food - by Michael Pollan -just started this...

Drawn To Life - Walt Stanchfield -working my way through it.

The Broadway

A View From the Bridge - by Arthur Miller - Really good. That Liev Schreiber can act.

Next Fall - by Geoffrey Nauffts - Really good. Entertaining.

On the Internet

Facebook - I'm on the Facebook. Almost. Kinda sorta. The profile pictures of Robbie and Joe are drawings that I've done.

School of Visual Arts - Continuing Ed- Course Finder- Illustration and Cartooning - Under "Class Artwork" for Cartooning Basics are two examples of my stuff.

Mid Month Special

Went up to Rob and Robbie's country house for the weekend. Eat, Lounge, Sleep, Repeat. Look at Pete. Isn't he sweet?

February 2010

Annoying
There is a guy on the morning commute who drinks his Starbucks and then leaves his cup on the train. C'mon man! Perhaps I should be more zen and ask myself why it bothers me. Answer: Because he should take his garbage with him.

How Does That Work
When I read an article about an artist (actors, playwrights, writers, painters etc.) I always wonder, do they make their living off of it and how much money do they make? I mean, if they had a day job, wouldn't that be mentioned that in the article? Or maybe they don't because who wants to read an article about the hot new playwright who also works at the local cheese shop.

Annual Physical
Blood results aren't in yet....but I've gained 5 pounds since last year. Ugh. Gotta get unfat since a medical professional has said I should lose just a little. But I've only gained 10 pounds overall since 19998, not so bad.

Broadway Show
After reading the reviews for A View Under the Bridge, I decided I really wanted to see it. So I went to the box office and bought a ticket. Who knew it was so easy to do that? Seeing it on Feb. 21, review to follow.

Golden Ticket
Went to the employee-only cafeteria of the majority tenant at work. They don't accept cash, you have to have a special vendor card. A co-worker has a card. Not sure how, don't want to know. So we went, it was pretty great, but it felt a little wrong.

Recorder Inspiration
Went to a production of The Two Noble Kinsmen by The Guerilla Shakespeare Project. I think the best part was the guy who was rocking out on the recorder! He played a lot of Beatles and some Don McLean. Amazing! I've been practicing, practicing...

Movies
500 Days of Summer - Really good. I bought it.
Adam - Pretty good. I think I had Aspergers for a couple hours after watching the movie
Away We Go - Not so good. So friggin' boring. Ugh.
Funny People - Pretty good - dark and a little too long.
Glee - Bought the first season. Good stuff.
Julie & Julia - Really good. Though Amy Adam's voice sort of bothers me.
Leap Year - Not so good. It was cold out and it was the next thing playing.
Mysterious Skin - Pretty good. After watching 500 Days, I was curious about the other GJL films. Brutal. Not for kids.
Up - Really Good. I bought it. I cry every time.
Valentino - The Last Emperor -Pretty good.