Life of Bean

Feminine Fluidity

2009-09-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

I am the water in my father's tea.
Warming his heart with a drink of me.

I am the water dripping off olive leaves,
In my mother's garden, silver signs of peace.

I am a cool towel on my baby brother's brow
Wiping away worry, the only way I know how.

I'm light like warm air, my head up in the clouds.
But I am also rain water soaking into the ground.

Tickling tree roots, sleeping through the dawn.
Waking up slowly like dewdrops on the lawn.

I float down a river and rush into the emerald sea.
I dance to my own song, suspended in the breeze.

When I'm sad it hurts, I cry, quiet 'til I freeze.

I crack with pain and anger until I fall into your glass.

Your sweet embrace. My loving cup, I'll drink you to the last.

What do you do in times of desperation?

2009-09-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

When I'm feeling overwhelmed,
like life has spun so fast that my body clenches and every vein, muscle and tendon can't relax,
I keep breathing.
I hug a friend.
I pour a glass of wine
and remind myself I can only change what is mine.
I remember happier times of more control.
Inhale,
exhale
relax, I say,
you're doing fine.

This Saturday, September 19th, you are invited to experience a night of
campfires, hobo-tech, 5¢ cabarets, big-band jazz, cheap whiskey, accordion
orchestras, tent-cities, desperate moments, fire-eating, kisses from
strangers, aerial acts, glimpses of nudity, bathtub gin, a breathtaking
sunrise and a dozen dj's in an all night celebration of the grit, beauty
and desperation of an all-too-familiar past.

Welcome to:
Nineteen Thirty Three

9pm through 9am
Saturday, September 19th
Starting at: 260 Meserole St., Bushwick Brooklyn

Daniel Kahneman

2009-09-09T09:24:00.001-07:00

Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel laureate and an Israeli psychologist, wrote about what got him into the fascinating field of psychology. When German Nazis occupied France in 1940s, Kahneman and his family lived in Paris. During the wartime, Jews were required to wear the Star of David and had to obey a 6p.m. curfew. “I had gone to play with a Christian friend and had stayed too late. I turned my brown sweater inside out to walk the few blocks home. As I was walking down an empty street, I saw a German soldier approaching. He was wearing the black uniform that I had been told to fear more than others – the one worn by specially recruited SS soldiers. As I came closer to him, trying to walk fast, I noticed that he was looking at me intently. Then he beckoned me over, picked me up, and hugged me. I was terrified that he would notice the star inside my sweater. He was speaking to me with great emotion, in German. When he put me down, he opened his wallet, showed me a picture of a boy, and gave me some money. I went home more certain than ever that my mother was right: people were endlessly complicated and interesting.” (Kahneman, D. 2003. Maps of bounded rationality: A perspective on intuitive judgment and choice)

Paulo Coelho On What It Means To Be A Writer

2009-08-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

This is what I learned about what being a writer meant in the early 1960s:

A writer always wears glasses and never combs his hair. Half the time he feels angry about everything and the other half depressed. He says very 'deep' things. He always has amazing ideas for the plot of his next novel, and hates the one he has just published. A writer has a duty and an obligation never to be understood by his own generation.. A writer understands about things with alarming names, like semiotics, epistemology, neoconcretism. When trying to seduce a woman, a writer says: 'I'm a writer', and scribbles a poem on a napkin. It always works. When invited to say what he is reading at the moment, a writer always mentions a book no one has ever heard of.

-Paulo Coelho

2009-08-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

Ashley Casselman
4:34
good
me too
he is the embodiment of everything i was looking for
he's not perfect, but he meets the hell out of the criteria

Adolf Hipster

2009-08-14T14:45:00.001-07:00

Lies About Lying

2009-08-06T13:34:00.001-07:00

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant –
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth’s superb surprise
As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind –
— Emily Dickinson (#1129)

NYTimes article: http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/seven-lies-about-lying-part-1/

Songs of Love

2009-07-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

The Songs of Love Foundation is a non-profit organization that creates free personalized songs for ailing children. Professional songwriters from all over the country (and the world) write, perform and produce more than 250 original songs every month. Our songwriters perform songs in any style ranging from hip-hop to heavy metal, pop to classical, with lyrics based on the interests of each child and the loving people in that child’s life. Children of all ages (up to and including 21) who are currently battling a serious illness are eligible to receive a song, free of charge.

Every child is unique and so is every "song of love" composition. In 13 years, the Songs of Love Foundation has written songs for more than 19,000 children in hospitals throughout the country and the world. The songs alleviate pain and trauma during painful and scary hospital treatments. Song recipients play their "songs of love" in all kinds of situations and settings such as car trips to the hospital, show and tell at school, for family and friends, and even for the doctors and nurses.

There are many ways to help this unique and innovative children’s charity. Through its vehicle donation program, CARS (Children Are Receiving Cars), folks across the country can donate their car, boat, or other vehicle in order to help further the organization’s mission of music. Donated vehicles are fully tax-deductible as allowed by law.

For more information on donating your car, boat or other automobile, you can visit www.songsoflove.org/cardonation or call toll-free, 1-888-909-SONG (7664).

Each child’s “song of love” costs the charity approximately $250 to create, though the Songs of Love Foundation also accepts cash donations in any amount. The $250 covers the cost to produce the song, as well as all administrative and office tasks involved in delivering each song to the child it was written for.

To make a cash donation, you can visit www.songsoflove.org/donation or call toll-free, 1-800-960-SONG (7664).

To request a song, you can visit http://www.songsoflove.org/profilesheet.html or call 1-800-960-SONG (7664) to request a profile sheet in the mail.

My AI Report on the Forbes HP

2009-06-30T05:23:00.000-07:00

Rejection

2009-06-25T13:00:00.001-07:00

Rejection is a warm feeling in your ears, a tight feeling in your throat and a wet feeling in your eyes.

Troilus & Cressida

2009-06-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

Upon my back, to defend my belly; upon my wit, to defend my wiles; upon my secrecy to defend my honesty; my mask, to defend my beauty.

Shakespeare, Troilus & Cressida

Etymology Lesson

2009-06-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

callipygian: a person well endowed with a shapely or attractive rear end

from:

kallos (grk): beauty
+
pyge (grk): buttocks

What Is Something You Would Change About Me?

2009-06-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

If you love someone unconditionally then its nearly impossible to answer this question.

If you love someone, but are unsure of how conditional his love is for you, this question must not be asked aloud.

If you don't love someone, then this question takes too long to answer.

An E-mail from Debbie to me and Mozart's breeder

2009-06-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

On 6/11/09 4:34 PM, "Debbie Myers" wrote:

We buried Mozart today. In March of 2001, we came to Addison to pick him up. He has been loved to pieces and experienced all the joys that this life has to offer; family, doggy friends, travel and even a year living at James Madison University where he was the the unofficial campus mascot. Today, he was remembered by many and through Facebook, many have shared in the sorrow of his loss. His passing has been difficult for me because I have spent many years caring for him since he struggled with allergies, brittle bones and finally lymphoma. I have been angry at vets and the steroids they used to treat him because he would jump over a rock when chasing a deer and would hobble home. The pain of his loss is more than I felt when my Dad died, he is irreplaceable and I'm not sure just how life can exist without him. He raised my kids with me through their teenage years and rolled with the punches. Electric fences couldn't stop him and I found myself daily chasing him while he chased a deer through the woods to the Potomac River when we lived in Maryland and finally down Scudder Lane here on Cape Cod, only to wind up seeing the sun rise on the beaches of Barnstable Harbor. A vet came today and we layed on a blanket while he quietly passed. He is buried in my backyard and tonight I will plant white lilies which are called "Gentle Shepherd" because I know now that he will be there to shepherd all who he loved in heavan. I will also plant a Camelia bush there to remind me of all his joys in the South while he partied through many evenings at James Madison. I am in so much pain right now. I prayed to anyone as he passed and that included any angels, dogs that I have loved and God himself that they would embrace him as I had to let go. Thank you for the chance I have had to learn compassion for others, for what it feels like to take care of someone who is sick for a long period of time and for the caregiver who are left without purpose when their loved one passes. I have learned that no one can give me answers to why my 'why's' sound like whines. I have learned that the day I turned into your driveway and saw all the furballs starring at me through your Bay window was a choice I alone made and somehow when I looked at their faces in the dark on that cold March night, I knew what was in store for me. I knew I would love like I never loved before. I knew I would learn about unconditional love." No experience and that includes all my moments in church, my long years of teaching, my human family that I love without measure could ever bring me to my knees like today when I begged for someone, anyone to embrace my little friend as he passed through the shadows of this life and surround him with the magnitude of love that I no longer could express here and now. Life is so short and I hope that soon I will be a good enough person to warrant passing on to the place where I know he is; in Divine Love's embrace, nestled under his wing and in the meantime, I pray for moments when I will feel his cool lick on my cheek and his protective impulse while I continue to walk the paths that we ventured together.

Ode to Muzzy

2009-06-10T12:03:00.001-07:00

Ode to Mozart

Beneath these flowers and greens lies Mozart,
Our magnificent Newfoundland friend.
A life full of love but a life too short,
But like each Cape summer, all beauty does end.

You roared like a lion but cuddled like a lamb.
You jumped for joy rides, and danced on two legs,
Waltzing across the room, your paw in my hand.
A cherished prince, for love you never begged.

Like a stallion, you'd make all the girls run.
You'd let it all hang out and lay in the grass.
They'd stroke your silky fur in the shining sun.
King of the palace, with a sage's class.

Your salty kisses, drool copters and goo,
Muzzy, we miss, and will forever love you.

Color Spectrum

2009-05-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Act 5 A Mid Summer Night's Dream

2009-05-27T11:04:00.001-07:00

SCENE I. Athens. The palace of THESEUS.

Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, Lords and Attendants

HIPPOLYTA

'Tis strange my Theseus, that these
lovers speak of.

THESEUS

More strange than true: I never may believe
These antique fables, nor these fairy toys.
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover and the poet
Are of imagination all compact:
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold,
That is, the madman: the lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt:
The poet's eye, in fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
Such tricks hath strong imagination,
That if it would but apprehend some joy,
It comprehends some bringer of that joy;
Or in the night, imagining some fear,
How easy is a bush supposed a bear!

HIPPOLYTA

But all the story of the night told over,
And all their minds transfigured so together,
More witnesseth than fancy's images
And grows to something of great constancy;
But, howsoever, strange and admirable.

Venetia Phair RIP

2009-05-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

Venetia Phair, nee Burney, who as an 11-year-old girl in
1930 named the newly discovered planet Pluto, died at age
90. "In the year 4,000 A.D., when Pluto is hollowed out and
millions of people are living inside," said an amateur
astronomer, "the name of Venetia Burney may be the only
thing that Great Britain is remembered for."

I love my mom.

2009-05-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

That article was wonderful, I am beaming with joy because you can't imagine how powerful these ideas are and how much good you are doing for everyone who tries to embrace these ideas. Really well written and so timely because that Serchuk article describing the economies evidence of "green shoots" emerging is huge this week and little do these people realize how much more gratifying simple plant growing can be vs. growing our wallets. Think about our worth… on one side, we think about our jobs, size of our wallets and education. But on the other side, our worth is what we give back to our friends and families, hopefully strangers in need and our environment. You are a huge part of this reorientation. I am so proud of you.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/05/state-of-the-city-opinions-new-york-urban-gardening.html

2009-05-03T18:35:00.001-07:00

"I got this idea of doing a really serious big work-it would be precisely like a novel, with a single difference: Every word of it would be true from beginning to end."

-Capote

New Orleans Quotations and a mini-lesson in traditions + acoustioptics

2009-04-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

Life looks like how you paint it and is whatever inspires you.

DDBB sounds like what a French military style funeral would sound like after 4 po-boys and a case of bourbon. A rich, creamy donut that makes you want to get down and dance to the funk.

I felt exposed; adversely affected; by the shoulders that surrounded me.

I’m not so rested, but I’m battle tested.

A Ripped Love Letter Found on the Street

2009-04-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

you write to me
w’s everything?
Sherman. I hope your
s through. Its been two
high fever and diaheria
loving in here without you
Please come & make my day. How’s your job? I hope you don’t think of me as a selfish person for all this. I know and you know I am now selfish. I am doing this because I am in big trouble and you are the only one who can help me out. I love you & I need you more than anyone or anything right now. I promise you if you come everything would be perfect and wonderful. I want to stay in Bangladesh forever and live my life here with you. You and I have enough wealth to survive. So, why not? Please, Sherman, come and see how beautiful things will be.
Sherman, I am begging you and will beg more if you want me to. I don’t know if my writing means anything to you or not. But believe me if you tell me to kill myself in order for you to come I will. I will at least get to see you before death.
We don’t need to buy anything for our wedding from U.S. except for the jewelry and some makeup product and all other stuff will be from here. I been to few weddings in here & realized how less $we need for a wedding but can be a perfect wedding with less money compare to U.S. I don’t know how can I explain more to you. I hope my feelings & my words means as much it means to me and as much as it makes

Me happy. Wow
You want to see
Every might I pra
To have a great life.
So, stay well & happi
Me. Just be happy
If you want make me happy in this life maybe you can make me happy after life.
Love always & forever
Your unlucky &cheap girl
N.Y

P.S. If possible try to send me some money about $300 to $400 dollars at this account #
This account is located in Mithapur the same address as I wrote. My address with send the money as my father does from a travel agency or something. You know that people who does exporting & importing or money business. I still didn’t get any letter from you but I still write to you & I will. I hope you will do the same instead of waiting for me to write or receive my letter.

The name of the Bank is

2009-04-09T10:13:00.001-07:00

registering a sense of time through light and shadow.

A Mother's Energy

2009-04-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

"You are, after all, genetically, half your mother and half your father. (Actually, you are slightly more your mother, since the genes in your mitochondria, the energy power centers of your cells, are inherited exclusively from your mother.)"
-Ray Kurzweil in his book, "Transcend"

We've Spun Our Story

2009-03-31T08:38:00.000-07:00

I want to write a song for you
But you’re the only one
who likes to hear me sing.
And my fingers strum all wrong.
You're the great songwriter
So how about a poem?

We've spun our story
Around so many seasons
Finding clear blue pools
In evergreen forests
Snowed-in in the sunshine
We've spun our story

We're not a patchwork quilt
Or a crocheted craft
There are holes in our art
Cause sometimes I spin
Too fast and there's a large tear
Where you dropped the thread

We've spun our story
We've cried, loved, and bled.
No, I don't see an end
Our story's still spinning.
Sew slow and stitch tight.
Only time will tell my friend.

Les Claypool 3/28/09

2009-03-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

"Isn't it awfully nice
To live in a world
Where everything's exactly how it seems?

We live in a world
Where all you have to do
Is sit around and dream

About the things that make ya happy
The things that make ya smile
Lay back, relax
Apathy's back in style"

32409

2009-03-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

How do fonts inspire us to write differently?

32409

2009-03-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

You can look at a problem both ways;
but the crossing sign won't flash forever.

32409

2009-03-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

Time.
We spend it all so differently.
But its how we spend it that matters.
The ultimate capitalist gain,
and the holy bohemian pleasure.

An E-mail from Dean Kamen

2009-03-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

My five favorite transportation technologies…in order of speed and range:

1.) iBot
2.) Segway
3.) Tesla
4.) Enstrom Helicopter
5.) Hawker Premier

Dean

A+C

2009-03-18T12:44:00.001-07:00

2009-03-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

The mind is its own place,
and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell,
a hell of heaven.
William Blake

Albino Dolphin

2009-03-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

A pink bottlenose dolphin was spotted swimming in Lake Calcasieu in Louisiana. It is believed to be the only of its kind.

PHISH RETURNS! PHISH RETURNS! PHISH RETURNS!

2009-03-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

Wading in the Velvet Sea

Each musical note hangs in the air-

Technicolor reds, greens, and blues in neon flair.

The notes become tunes that soak into my head,

Then seep down until my feet hang like lead.

We all sway like seaweed, from left to right,

as the sets of waves engulf the night.

I feel a surge of passion and look around,

to see mile long glow chains snake through the crowd.

I am alone in a sea of 70,000 drifting phans

Who like me, are wasting their time for the love of the band.

A building passion, the glow lights are thrown.

Everybody's dancing at a place I once called home.

Boy, 13, allegedly killed his brother to take over their drug ring

2009-03-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

If drug users only knew what the poor are subjected to, they would never touch the stuff. I hope I live to see the day when no more suffering occurs because of evil rotten drug lords. That would mean everyone stops taking drugs or it becomes legal to grow your own and then it would be free.
Love Deb

Jordan Mendes was found shot, stabbed 27 times and dumped into a pit, police say. The boys inherited the Cape Cod, Mass., business from their father, who is in prison.

High Flight

2009-02-26T12:31:00.001-08:00

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, J

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker Head Goes on the Auction Block

2009-02-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

It is expected to sell for $2,000-$3,000. Featured at the end of "Moonwalker," the head lights up in addition to moving. The auction will take place April 29 from Shaan Kokin/Julien's Auctions.

Aimless Love

2009-02-25T08:01:00.001-08:00

This morning as I walked along the lakeshore,
I fell in love with a wren

and later in the day with a mouse
the cat had dropped under the dining room table.

In the shadows of an autumn evening,
I fell for a seamstress
still at her machine in the tailor’s window,
and later for a bowl of broth,
steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.

This is the best kind of love, I thought,
without recompense, without gifts,
or unkind words, without suspicion,
or silence on the telephone.

The love of the chestnut,
the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.

No lust, no slam of the door –
the love of the miniature orange tree,
the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,
the highway that cuts across Florida.

No waiting, no huffiness, or rancor –
just a twinge every now and then

for the wren who had built her nest
on a low branch overhanging the water
and for the dead mouse,
still dressed in its light brown suit.

But my heart is always propped up
in a field on its tripod,
ready for the next arrow.

After I carried the mouse by the tail
to a pile of leaves in the woods,
I found myself standing at the bathroom sink
gazing down affectionately at the soap,

so patient and soluble,
so at home in its pale green soap dish.
I could feel myself falling again
as I felt its turning in my wet hands
and caught the scent of lavender and stone.

Billy Collins

Etymology Lesson

2009-02-24T21:14:00.000-08:00

Ecstasy: to stand naked before from the Greek word ekstasis, meaning: standing outside oneself

Passion: strong and barely controllable emotion from the Latin word pati, meaning: to suffer

Painting as reproduced in: Henry Geldzahler and Robert Rosenblum, Andy Warhol: Portraits, Munich 1993, p. 91.

2009-02-24T21:05:00.000-08:00

Dieter Mersch

Movements of Avant-garde Art:

›Aisthesis‹, ›Ekstasis‹, and ›Askesis‹.

»withdrawal of art from art« (Joseph Beuys)

»It must turn against that which constitutes its own concept,« says Theodor W. Adorno in his Ästhetische Theorie, »and in so doing it will become uncertain right down to the very fibers of its being. It is not, however, to be dismissed as an abstract negation. By attacking that which the entire tradition considered to be guaranteed, the bedrock on which it stood, it transforms itself qualitatively; it turns into another.«

LOVE PUT ME IN A STRAIGHT JACKET (2005)

2009-02-24T11:18:00.001-08:00

I string love along with

Clever eyes and moist lips.

He reaches out to hold me as

I dodge his grasp with swinging hips.

Feather caresses and sexy glimpses

He stares and inside, I smile.

Our eyes meet, love thinks he knows.

So I let his feeling fester for a while.

The attachment grows, sick and twisted.

As one side is stronger, it starts to bend.

I feel his embrace hold longer and I know

That this is the beginning of the end.

My smile slopes with weight

As my lungs close up with panic.

He keeps coming back for more.

Love put me in a straight jacket.

Lost in the maze of a circular design,

Of finding salvation and then I run,

Love’s orbit in my life spins me away.

Death to Love by my atavistic gun.

11.06.05

2009-02-17T22:13:00.001-08:00

What is this sensation?
Temptation?
There’s nothing that compares…
I feel it in me, the heat.
When you smile, does that make it worthwhile?
God you were the best I ever had.

Best of Rob Sheffield Quotes

2009-02-17T21:35:00.000-08:00

“Jagger didn’t slow for a second, prancing around the stage and swiveling panther hips as if Lucifer was his Pilates instructor.”

Don't Smile When I Ping You

2009-02-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

Hide your smile
When I ping you
Cause he'll know
You never smile
For him like that

Hide your smile
The one that twirls your curls
around your little finger
with the fancy diamond on

Hide your smile
The one that shrieks
When I touch you
Cause he'll never touch you
Like that

Hide your smile
At the dinner table
Order the lobster
Just save some
Room for later

Hide your smile
When I ping you
Cause he'll know
You never smile
For him like that

For The Southern Hoes

2009-02-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

left the moonshine down south
and drank all the natty
now I'm a big city girl
may I call you sugar daddy?

see I've got nice manners
big hats, high heels but
none of that matters
If I can't be your candy

I loved a boy once
With pretty blue eyes
Sandy white hair
And a mouth full of lies

He rode a big truck
With a brain full of hay
Whispering sweet nothings
Like let's marry someday

So I felt in his pocket
Reaching for the jewels
But you can't buy my love
With pennies and bubblegum

Left the moonshine down south
and I drank all the natty
now I'm a big city girl
may I call you sugar daddy?

I found a studio palace
And bought a cashmere bed
Satin sheets with diamonds
Just can't pay the rent

Who cares if I'm 17
And your 45
I saw your Ferrari
I'm old enough to drive

Left the moonshine down south
and I drank all the natty
now I'm a big city girl
may I call you sugar daddy?

“Rules for a Congressman in Washington”

2009-02-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

During the third session of the 76th Congress, on March 18 1940, Rep. Luther Patrick of Alabama outlined before his fellow members of the House of Representatives 10 simple “Rules for a Congressman in Washington” to succeed.

1. Entertain with a smile constituents, their wives, their sons, sons’ wives, etc. Go with them to the White House; show good reason why you are unable to personally have them meet the President; take daughters to meet midshipmen at Annapolis.
2. Explain what bill is up for debate; point for discussion; how it will be passed; how you will vote and why.
3. Attend to the balcony and point out leading members of Congress.
4. Respond to worthy causes; make after-dinner speeches, before-dinner speeches; learn to eat anything, anywhere, any night—work all day, dictate all night, and be fresh as a rain-washed daisy for next day’s duties.
5. Be a cultured gentleman, a teller of ribald stories, a profound philosopher, preserve a store of “Confucius say” gags; be a ladies’ man, a man’s man, a he-man, a diplomat, a Democrat with a Republican slant, a Republican with a Democrat viewpoint, and admirer of the Roosevelt way, a hater of the New Deal, a new dealer, an old dealer, and a quick dealer.
6. Learn how to attend six to eight major functions, rushing home and back during each term on one round-trip travel pay.
7. Have the dope on hot spots in town.
8. Learn to be an expert guide. Keep car in tip-top shape.
9. Know names and dates related to all points of interest, and be able to explain and supply information regarding public buildings and statuary about Washington.
10. Be an authority on history, travel, psychology, philosophy, education, economics, civics, finance, export trade, Government printing, international relations, neckties, and fishing tackle.

Good

2008-12-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Hope is the new change
60 is the new 40
Barack is the new Denzel
Bigfoot is the new black
Mark Cuban is the new Martha Stewart
Natural vanilla is the new orange
Pomegranate is the new pink
Twitter is the new Blackberry
Mike Huckabee is the new Ryan Seacrest
Transparency is the new accountability
Amish is the new cool
Unprotected sex is the new marriage

Brandy's Litter

2008-11-17T18:17:00.000-08:00

A Spoon Full of....

2008-04-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

Well, pig urine may not help the medicine go down as they say, but according to Agroplast, a Denmark based company that boasts creative technological advancements for a cleaner and efficient environment, it could be the next big ingredient in creating plastic cutlery.

Agroplast specializes in transforming animal manure into a valuable product, eliminating the potential environmental problems. Their closed loop system processes urea, an organic compound made carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen for a wide range of uses.

Agroplast uses urea in the following ways:
-to manufacture plastic (as an alternative to fossil products)
-animal fertilizer/compost
-to de-ice roads and airplanes
-flavor enhancer in cigarettes (!! you're smoking pig urine!!)
-as an ingredient in hair conditioners, lotions and raw glue material
-AgroBlue/AdGreen diesel engine exhaust cleaner

EPA's CLIMATE PROTECTION AWARD WINNERS 1998-2007

2008-03-24T06:40:00.001-07:00

2007

Corporate Award Winners
Entergy Corporation
HSBC Holdings, plc
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation & Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Red Dot Corporation
Staples, Inc.
The Yalumba Wine Company

Team & NGO Award Winners
Arkema Climate Protection Team
Climate Protection Campaign
Improved Mobile Air Conditioning Servicing Emissions Reduction Team
Joint Strike Fighter Emissions Test Development Team
Natural Resources Council of Maine

Individual Award Winners
Reverend Sally Bingham
Robert Parkhurst
Robert Redford
Auden Schendler
Ron Sims
Dadi Zhou

2006

Corporate, Government & Military Awards
Arizona Public Service Company
Baxter Healthcare Corporation
DENSO Corporation (Japan)
IBM Corporation
Johnson & Johnson
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The United States Air Force
Yokota Tohoku (Japan)

Individuals
Susan J. Brown, California Energy Commission
Gregory J. Nickels, City of Seattle, Washington
Barry G. Rabe, University of Michigan

Organizations/Teams
Mobile Air Conditioning Society Worldwide
Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (Australia)

2005

Corporate and Governmental Awards
American Electric Power
City of Boulder, Colorado
The California Energy Commission
Cinergy Corp.
Connecticut Governor's Steering Committee
Johnson Controls
3M
McDonald's, Coca-Cola, & Unilever Refrigerants Naturally Partnership (UK and USA)
Rhode Island Greenhouse Gas Stakeholders
City of Syracuse, New York
United Technologies Corporation
York International

Individuals
Mr. Sandeep Ganesh, Winrock International (India)
Ms. Sonia Hamel, Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development
Dr. Hideki Nishida, Hitachi Displays (Japan)

Organizations/Teams
Improved Mobile Air Conditioning Organizing Team
Tufts Climate Initiative

2004

Corporate and Governmental Awards
Interface, Inc.
Turbocor, Inc. (Canada)
China Certification Center for Energy Conservation Products (China)
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
City of San Diego, California
City and County of San Francisco, California
European Commission Fluorinated GasTeam (Belgium)

Individuals
Mayor David B. Cohen of Newton, Massachusetts
Harry Kauffman, HK Energy Consulting Inc.
Julia Martinez, Instituto Nacional de Ecología (Mexico)

Organizations/Teams
Electrical Inverter Air Conditioning System Team (Japan)
SF6 Emission Reduction Partnership for theMagnesium Industry and The International Magnesium Association

2003

Corporate and Governmental Awards
Center for Power Efficiency and Environmental Protection (India)
Chicago Department of Environment
China National Institute of Standardization (China)
City of Chula Vista, California
Emerald Homes
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
City of Seattle, Washington

Individuals
Mayor Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson of Salt Lake City, Utah
Dr. Seunghun Joh, Korea Environment Institute (South Korea)
David Konkle, Ann Arbor Energy Office

Association and Organization Awards
Green House Network
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives
The Society of Automotive Engineers
Interior Climate Control Standards Committee

2002

Corporate & Governmental Awards
Air Products and Chemicals
City of Portland, Oregon
C2D, US Army CECOM RD&E Center
CONSOL Energy
DuPont
Hitachi (Japan) and Hitachi America
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection /DSRT Office of Innovative Technology
Ontario Power Generation’s Energy Efficiency Program (Canada)
Shaklee Corporation
Verizon Communications

Association, Partnership, and Team Awards
CO2 Hot Water Supply Unit
Design Team (Japan)
International SEMATECH’s PFC Emission
Reduction Working Group
Land and Water Fund of the Rockies
Voluntary Aluminum Industrial Partnership for PFC Reductions

Individuals
Dr. Fabio R. Borri, ST Microelectronics (Italy)
Dr. Luis Abdón Cifuentes, Pontifica Universidad Catolica (Chile)
Yoshinobu Hayakawa, NEC Corporation (Japan)
Rev. Richard L. Killmer, National Council of the Churches of Christ
Robert L. Markle, U.S. Coast Guard
Robert T. Wickham, Delegate, UN International Maritime Organization

2001

No awards were given in 2001 due to a scheduling change.

2000

Corporate & Governmental Awards
Alcan Aluminum Sebree Ingot Plant
Architectural Services Department, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
The AT&T Employee Telework Program
Honda Motor Company
ICE Klea (UK)
Intel Corporation
International Fuel Cells
Novellus Systems
Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council and Oregon Office of Energy
Visteon Corporation

Individuals
Ms. Sherri W. Goodman, U.S. Department of Defense
Dr. Jerry Mahlman, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Mayor Marc H. Morial, New Orleans
Ms. Tia Nelson, The Nature Conservancy
Mr. Nobuo Odubo, Nissan Motor Company
Dr. Robert T. Watson, The World Bank

Association Awards
American Portland Cement Alliance
The Real Estate Roundtable
University of Colorado Environmental Center

1999

Corporate & Military Awards
Annapolis Detachment of the Carderock Division, U.S. Navy
Applied Materials
Motorola
Nissan (Japan)
ST Microelectronics (Switzerland)
Texas Industries

Individuals
Rosina M. Bierbaum, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Dr. Mack McFarland, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Eugene L. Smithart, The Trane Company

Association Awards
The Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association

1998

Corporate & Military Awards
British Petroleum (UK)
Centro Nacional de Referencia em Biomassa (Brazil)
Compaq Computer Corporation
Enron
IBM Corporation
McDonald’s Corporation
NOAA Aeronomy Laboratory Climate Team
Royal Philips Electronics (Netherlands)
Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Australia)
Toyota Motor Corporation(Japan)
The Trane Company
Trigen Energy Corporation
DD 963/CG 47 Stern Flap R&D Team, NSWCCD, U.S. Navy
The Walt Disney Company
Whirlpool Corporation

Individuals
Bert Bolin, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Sweden)
John Browne, British Petroleum (UK)

Association Awards
China Energy Efficiency Project (China)
World Semiconductor Council (Global)

It's Only Fair

2008-03-13T12:10:00.001-07:00

Fair Trade Coffee has created quite the buzz recently. A number of small privately owned coffee shops have sprung up boasting fair trade only brews while Starbucks also leads the march with an entire line of shade grown and fair trade beans for your skinny latte. It’s clear that coffee, the largest food import in the U.S. comes at a high price for both the consumer and the coffee farmers.

Coffee and I have been best friends for many years now. He comforts me in the morning, warms my soul during the winter months and cools me down with ice and milk in the summer. One morning I woke up and realized that like millions of other Americans and pretty much everyone in Manhattan, I was addicted to coffee. I decided to kick the daily coffee habit and switch to tea. I recently noticed that while there was a good deal of fair trade coffee buzz, people we’re blindly buying tea from mass producers who may be severely underpaying their workers while they toil for long hours in the sun.

According to the Rainforest Alliance, India, China, Kenya Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil and other countries export large volumes of the dried and shredded leaf. Globally, about six million acres are planted in tea, most often in large plantations. The Rainforest Alliance certifies tea farms by making sure the farms take certain measures to protect the environment by practicing sustainable farming practices. One of the main concerns of tea crops is that they often take over as a monoculture replacing a biodiversity rich environment. Another similar company that certifies fair trade and organic products is Equal Exchange, the oldest and largest for profit Fair Trade Company in the US.

The primary reason the Fair Trade regulations were set up is to ensure that tea and coffee farmers receive a fair price and a decent living wage. According to globalexchange.org, Guatemalan coffee pickers receive a minimum wage of less than three dollars a day only after reaching a one hundred pound quota. To fill these quotas, a report by ABC-affiliate KGO television in San Francisco recorded children as young as 6 years old working in the fields. The Fair Trade trend has caught on. According to today’s Wall Street Journal, nearly sixty-five million pounds of fair-trade coffee were imported into the U.S. in 2006; up 45% from the year before.

In terms of tea farms, the best tea company I found was PG Tips. On their website, here, http://www.pgtips.co.uk/sustainability/, they claim that by 2010 all of their farms will be certified by the Rainforest Alliance. Their biggest farm, located in Kenya, is the Rainforest Alliance’s first sustainable tea farm. To combat Kenya’s present state of violence Unilever, PG Tip’s owner, has donated one million dollars as food relief for those suffering in Kenya.

Thirsty?

2008-02-06T12:30:00.001-08:00

Buy a Nalgene

•More than 25.5 billion plastic water bottles are sold each year in the US.•

•More than 17 million barrels of oil (not including fuel for transportation) were used in plastic bottle production.

•Bottling water produced more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.

•It takes approximately 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water.

•The total amount of energy used to produce, transport, refrigerate, and dispose of a plastic bottle of water may be as high as the equivalent of filling a 1 liter bottle one-quarter full of oil.

Source: Waste Management World, The Pacific Institute

If you don't like Nalgenes then check out these cool waterbottles from the http://www.lazyenvironmentalist.com/pages/recycling/index.php

Be Mine: Be Green

2008-02-06T06:34:00.001-08:00

Happy Green Valentine's Day!

This year instead of eating at high class restaurants, showering her in expensive pesticide ridden roses, and adorning her in superficial, overvalued rocks brought to you by African slave labor....

Be creative. Be unique. Be in love.

Dinner: Going out to dinner is expensive, time consuming, and can be a bit stifling in comparison to a romantic evening at home cooking dinner together over one or a few bottles of organic red wine.

For one of the best websites for a complete green and sustainable meal, check out Sustainable Table.Com

For organic products Whole Foods and Trader Joe's are great places to start shopping. And for dessert, check out this yummy looking recipe:

Vegan Amaretto-spiked chocolate mousse

1/2 cup organic chocolate soy milk
9 or 10 ounce bag of semisweet vegan chocolate chips (Try Tropical Source or Sunspire Brand all-natural brands, NOT carob chips)
12 ounces silken tofu
1/4 cup Amaretto or almond-flavored liquor
1/4 teaspoon natural pure almond extract
Pour the chocolate milk into a small pot and bring to a simmer. Remove the milk from heat and let cool a bit while you melt down the chocolate chips. You can melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or if you don't own a double-boiler, you can cobble one together using a tiny saucepan set under a larger mixing bowl. Fill the tiny saucepan with an inch or two of water and bring barely to a simmer. Place the big mixing bowl with the chocolate chips on top of the tiny saucepan and let the heat come up and gently warm the chips while you stir occasionally until completely melted. Remove from heat.
Add the soy milk and silken tofu to the melted chocolate chips. Process with a hand or regular blender until completely smooth. Stir in the Amaretto and almond extract. Taste and adjust for flavor, adding a bit more extract if needed.
Chill in the big bowl (or in individual bowls) for at least 1 1/2 hours, the longer the better. The pudding will set up nicely as it cools.
Makes 6 decadent servings.

Flowers: According to the Sierra Club, seventy percent of flowers sold in the United States are imported. How do you think they get the flowers to stay so fresh? "In a 1995 report, Bittersweet Harvests for Global Supermarkets, the World Resources Institute found that rose and carnation producers in Ecuador use an average of six fungicides, four insecticides, and several herbicides. The situation is worse in Colombia, where flower-plantation workers near Bogotá are exposed to 127 types of pesticides. Nearly two-thirds of the Colombian workers suffer from headaches, nausea, rashes, asthma, and other symptoms of pesticide-related illnesses. (Such severe health effects are unlikely to plague consumers, though pesticide residues may aggravate existing allergies or chemical sensitivities.) In addition to the human toll, flower farms--20 percent of which are owned by Los Angeles–based Dole Food--have polluted and depleted Bogotá’s streams and groundwater."

Best Bet: Opt for locally grown organic flowers which can be found at your local supermarket or organic florist. Also, potted plants are always a better present than cut flowers, they last longer! The benefits of having potted plants around include increased happiness and better air quality.

Gift: First of all, if you have a boyfriend who is cool enough to buy you vintage jewelry hang on to him. Not only is it environmentally friendly but the coolest jewelry I own is definitely from my mom and grandma or from vintage boutiques.
This jewelry made out of sea glass is beautiful for the beach bum in your life

If you don't feel like hunting for vintage jewelry, how about some cheap and very romantic gift ideas: poetry, art (paint him or her a picture!), a coupon book (get creative here), massage gift certificates, a planned trip together like a hike in the park or a bike ride along the Potomac river...

Simply walking into a Kay Jeweler's or scoping out the new Tiffany's catalog is boring.

Be sure to share that bath water & why not use romantic candles instead of electric lights!

Polar Bears

2008-01-31T07:34:00.001-08:00

“Drink Responsibly” by GreenBean

2008-01-30T12:55:00.001-08:00

With global warming affecting all corners of the Earth (tsunamis, Katrina, SoCal Fires, Polar Bears, and Coral Reefs), it’s scarcely alarming that its ever present threat has already taken its toll on the wine industry. We all know how to drink responsibly in regards to safe driving and behavioral practices. How about taking it a step further and indulging in a sip of environmental responsibility?

The global warming impact is taking its toll on several wine regions. As average temperatures increase wine growing conditions change, often for the worse. But what is the wine industry doing to combat these damages? Dr. Gregory Jones, a professor and research climatologist from the Geography Department at Southern Oregon University, has been working on this issue regarding the carbon footprints of vineyard operations. In a recent study Dr. Jones found the growing season temperatures to have increased by an average of 2 degrees Celsius, or 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit over the past fifty years. This temperature change may benefit cooler regions allowing for different varieties of wine from England, Northern France, New England, and Northern California. However, this temperature change may have a very negative impact on warmer regions like California’s Napa and Sonoma valleys, Southern France, parts of South America, and South Africa.

While there is certainly no solution to global warming at this time, we can certainly do our best to choose organic wines that at least have a foot in the right direction when it comes to green practices.

So how does one determine the best “green” viticulture practice such as traditional, organic, biodynamic, etc? When asked about the best practices in the wine industry Dr. Jones answered, “My feeling is that most mid-size to small scale operations are "nearly" organic by nature, while larger operations are less organic. I also feel that practicing organic, sustainable production is "easier" on the environment as a whole, but because there are no universal definitions/standards of what organic means it’s very hard to define. However, do they do "enough" to combat climate change? I would say that being organic is a big effort at both on site and up/down stream carbon use, however its not likely a significant climate impact reducing mechanism but more like getting closer to neutral.” Perhaps in 2008, even Bacchus would’ve considered organic wine.

As environmentalism becomes trendy and “going green” is no longer a hippy’s pastime, several industries are taking necessary steps to become more eco-friendly. In his article for Wine Businesses Monthly, Dr. Gregory states, “Of all of the environmental factors, climate arguably exerts the most profound effect on the ability of a region or site to produce quality grapes and therefore wine.” So in order to continue enjoying your favorite white wine from the Napa Valley region, I’ve compiled several resources for enjoying organically grown wine.

There are several wine companies devoted to environmental stewardship. According to The Organic Wine Company, organic wines are free of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers and other synthetic chemicals. Essential preservatives, such as sulfur dioxide or sulfites are kept to a minimum. Biodynamic farming keeps the Earth in mind and uses only herbal-based compost starters and field sprays. If you visit their website, theorganicwinecompany.com, they offer a full refund if you are not completely satisfied with your wine selection.

The Hardy Wine Company of Australia, a division of Constellation Brands, operates vineyards, wineries, packing and distribution facilities all ensure compliance with environmental legislation. The staff receives training in environmental responsibility and attends regular environmental reviews. Australia is well known for their environmentally responsible wine practices. This past August, Adelaide hosted the 4th Australian Wine Industry Environment Conference.

In the U.S., LIVE, a non profit organization standing for low input viticulture and enology educates and certifies vineyards on sustainable and green viticulture practices. LIVE aims to apply winemaking practices which to not depend on chemical fertilizers, which encourage natural maintenance of the land, and which promote sustainable farming practices. Visit http://www.liveinc.org/ for a list of vineyards that have earned this green certification.

Choosing organic wine that comes from vineyards which support green practices is one small and pleasurable way to combat our impact on the environment. I implore you dear oenophiliac, before you imbibe, please drink responsibly.

Biographical Information on Mr. Jones: www.sou.edu/Geography/JONES/jones.htm

Picture #2 Of the Day

2007-12-07T07:15:00.001-08:00

Picture of the Day

2007-12-07T06:57:00.000-08:00

Al Gore... Better be Walking to Bali

2007-12-06T11:51:00.001-08:00

Not Enough Parking for Private Jets Going to UN Climate Conference

By Noel Sheppard | November 23, 2007 - 16:32 ET

As climate alarmists from all over the world head to Bali to talk about the sacrifices regular folks have to make to save the planet from global warming, it seems certain media will ignore all the private jets clogging the tiny airport.

As if it’s not enough that the United Nations Climate Change Conference is being held at what NewsBusters reported as "a truly beautiful tropical island paradise," the management of the nearby airport has issued a warning to attendees that they are going to have to park their private jets somewhere else.

I kid you not.

As reported by Bali Discovery Tours on November 3 (emphasis added):

Justin's New Baby

2007-12-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

Look at the new addition to J-Bun's Hudson St home!

YOU ARE F@GS
--Michael L. Fowler

What will his name be?
What made you order a hedgehog? I think it's a great idea.
-Dylan Donahue

we are naming it Fow Fow after our favorite person "always cheerful" Fowler
-Nols

My vote is for Chronic the headiesthog

Where's Clive Owen Now?

2007-12-06T08:35:00.001-08:00

Call me a dirty hippy if you will but if I wasn't at the office right now I'd be balling. With tissues, not dollars.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, there is only ONE female Yangtze turtle left on Planet Earth. An 80 year old female who's been living inside the Changsha zoo with all the other turtles is now being kept under tight security within bulletproof glass and constant surveillance. Luckily, scientists have found the last surviving 100 year old male living at a zoo in the city of Suzhou.

In China turtles represent longevity but can these two turtles stand the test to China's rampant development, pollution run off, and uncontrolled hunting that is endangering all wild species?

According to the Sydney Morning Herald the situation in China is grim.
-Almost 40 per cent of all mammal species in China are endangered
- 70 per cent of all non-flowering plant species and 86 per cent of flowering species are considered threatened.
And according to the New York Times, China has already lost half of its wetlands.

Pour some out for the Yangtze, unless Clive Owen comes running to the rescue.

Green Becomes Cool on Wall St.

2007-12-06T07:27:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal's Jilian Mincer covered the trend of green investing which has been sprouting up all over the Financial District. A wave of green advisers champion this effort by encouraging investors to diversify their portfolios by including a number of rapid growth green technology stocks and green mutual funds.

Up and coming Smith and Barney financial adviser Kati Macchiverna says,

"Compared to average market returns, say you were invested in an index that performed pretty close to how the market performs over the course of the year, the returns on that would be much greater than if you were invested in socially responsible funds. They generally have returns closer to that of bonds (3-4%) opposed to market indexed funds (8-9%).

I would really be interested in finding out more about the green mutual funds, and other green indexes, the thing about those, like the article said, is that they tend to be pretty risky. There is so much new technology out there and people jump on these ideas and over indulge (take ethanol). When I finally get started it would be cool to have a bit of a specialization in green funds, I'm going to start checking that out."

Al Gore is one phenomenon, but If Leo makes a movie about the topic, the Patrick Batemans downtown must follow suit because after all, where does he get his glorious organic aftershave balm?

The capitalist financiers are the second to final group the hippies must conquer before dominating the earth with flowers and organic patchouli. Right wing oil thirsty Washingtonians are up next.

--GreenBean

The Rest of the World Has Turned Green... and the U.S.of A. is still Blushing

2007-12-04T09:08:00.001-08:00

The Kyoto protocol, headed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a diplomatic effort to join countries all over the world in the fight against global warming. It's objective aims at reducing greenhouse gases which contribute to this frightful environmental threat. As you can see from this map, we are the only country that has outright disagreed with the effort, while Kazakhstan is still lagging.
The key for this map is as follows:

green - signed and ratified
yellow - signed, ratification pending
red - signed, ratification declined
gray - no position

The treaty states, "The objective of the Kyoto Protocol is to achieve "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system."

This past November, 2007, the Kyoto protocol required 36 countries to reduce greenhouse gases to levels specified in the treaty. This is ACTIVE progress towards a better Earth... will someone please tell me why America is not only annoyingly inactive in this effort, but actually counteractive with their refusal to join the Kyoto protocol. If the Bush re-election wasn't enough to make you jump ship, now may be the time to get in line for a long term visa.

According to a press release from the United Nations Environment Programme :"The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement under which industrialized countries will reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to the year 1990 (but note that, compared to the emissions levels that would be expected by 2010 without the Protocol, this limitation represents a 29% cut). The goal is to lower overall emissions of six greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFCs, and PFCs - calculated as an average over the five-year period of 2008-12. National limitations range from 8% reductions for the European Union and some others to 7% for the US, 6% for Japan, 0% for Russia, and permitted increases of 8% for Australia and 10% for Iceland."

--GreenBean

--all quotes excerpted from WikiPedia

WEEN: 23 Years of Entertainment for the Weirdoes

2007-12-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

Its 4:00 p.m. and I’ve just spent the entire day driving around New York City in my friend’s car. We’re lost, end up in Queens, and then stuck in traffic on the FDR for 30 minutes in the wrong direction. I finally make it home, shower, dress myself, and head back out the door for a night of rocking out. I show up with my friend Justin to an apartment on 34^th and 2^nd..Avenue. I walk in to find about twelve dudes sipping Bud Light watching football. There’s a TKE poster on the wall. I’m amused but never surprised by the ratio of boys to girls at concerts. With the exception of JT or the NYSNC concert I swear I didn’t attend in the sixth grade, every audience usually boasts a 3:1 male to female ratio. The crew we rolled with to the show was 12:2.

December first marks one of the first real winter nights in N.Y.C. It’s fucking freezing outside as we race to find cabs to take us to Terminal 5, the new music venue located at 56^th street and 11^th avenue. We scalped tickets for $60 a piece and underwent a pretty serious security check. The bathrooms and coat checks were a mess. The VIP area was simply the stage right side with benches and tables on the 2^nd floor. Other than that, the venue is incredible; its beauty marked by huge white chandeliers and a modern minimalist motif. There are three floors with at least two bars on each floor and plenty of small tables, chairs, and sofas where those who partied to hard took power naps. Added bonus: the bartenders are all hot.

Ween’s been around for as long as I have been alive. They are a funky, chameleon like rock band who have adapted a century’s worth of music into their own unique style. They pull different elements together from swing music to metal to create their wildly eclectic and anarchic style. Their rainbow of vibes draws a very free-spirited and wide-ranging crowd. From older couples, balding retired frat boys, preppy financiers from Jersey, dirty hippies from Philly, and hipsters-emo-punk rockers from on and off the island, Ween entertains us all. From funky to freaky the band put on a rock star performance interspersing old favorites with hits from their latest album.

We found the non-VIP VIP spot, located a foot above the entire standing audience on the first floor right in front of the back bar. With a clear view in front of us, dancing room, and booze behind us, we decided we were never moving.

They went on around 8:30 p.m. and by 9:00 p.m. they had already pulled out five of their most popular songs. “Bananas and blow” got all the hippies dancing. “Mutilated Lips” was pure poetry. “Spiral meningitis” did not get me down. “Roses are Free” made me hungry for not only lasagna, but for Dean Ween’s hot electric guitar skills. “Push the little daises” is a classic and had everyone jumping from the floor to the ceiling listening to the creepy voice of Gene Ween. “Our own bare hands” was my favorite new song they played which is off their C.D. titled “La Cucaracha” released this past October.

As Justin and I ducked into the crowd to light up a bat we were warned by the friendly chubby bald men to our left, “Hey watch out, this place has crazy midget security guards.” Midget security guards?! The people who run this venue are genius! No stoner would ever expect a midget to come karate kicking the bowl out of your hand from two feet below you!

And now for the climax. Claude Coleman Jr.’s drum solo was out of this world. The first half was unbelievable and then he simply dropped his sticks and started banging the drums and cymbals with his own bare hands. I wish we could somehow figure out how to upload videos because then you will have some idea of how much the drummer was rocking out. He was unbelievable. He’s been with the band all along and this rockstar even teaches drums, guitar, bass and vocals at New York City’s Paul Green School of Rock. As everyone poured out of the venue into the street, the police ushered us out of the venue and onto 11th Avenue where for only 10$ you could join the 400 person NO2 balloon party.

My favorite quote of the night: I asked Dylan if I could borrow his lighter, and said “Is that cool?” To which he replied with squinty eyes and a wide smile, “Everything’s cooooool.”

Also side note, this random Brazilian dude in the bathroom line with me was wearing a really hot shirt by designer Robert Graham. Check them out here

---NINJA COURTNEY

New Years' Eve Dance Party

2007-11-29T08:27:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love dancing to the beats of livetronica band, The New Deal?

Well get ready to dance dance dance to a new wave of musical progression as The New Deal morphs into The Join, an adventure featuring Darren and Jamie of The New Deal and several other artists from both the jam band and the electronica scene. Their first tour was with David Murphy of STS9 up the California coast line. Now they are touring with my favorite sexy rockstars of the Duo, who are about to begin playing a five day festival in Runaway Bay, Jamaica... oo lala. Catch them back in the city for New Years-- at the Highline Ballroom. If only Benevento was single, I'd throw myself on stage for a midnight kiss. Tickets are only 45$ which beats any stupid 200$ "open bar" lounge party you're planning to attend. Buy them here

oh and p.s. the new deal's "intro" on gone gone gone made it onto csi: miami!

Yes, I like that face you're making. --Ninja Courtney

Green Dream Jobs

2007-11-29T07:19:00.001-08:00

Do you cry over wasted paper? Do you want to kick the sleazy sales guy in the face for constantly using Styrofoam cups? Capitalism not really your thing? Check out this awesome website for Green Dream Jobs!

--GreenBean

Graduating Green

2007-11-29T06:38:00.001-08:00

Terra Mater, Alma Mater.

How Green Is Your University?

Everyone loves lists this time of year... and recently the Sierra Club ranked the top ten greenest universities.

1. Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
2. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
3. Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, North Carolina
4. University of California system (10 schools)
5. Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
6. Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
7. Berea College, Berea, Kentucky
8. Pennsylvania State University (24 locations)
9. Tufts University, Medford, MA
10. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg, PA

See the original article here

-GreenBean

Recycle Your Cork!

2007-11-26T07:28:00.001-08:00

According to the Audubon Magazine, “Corks are 100 percent natural, recyclable, and biodegradable.” Wine and Champagne cork recycling is a common practice in both Australia and Europe, but the U.S. lags behind. A company called Yemm & Hart, located in Missouri, recycles these corks and furthermore they are working to develop new materials from the corks.

Mail your wine corks to:

Wine Cork Recycling
Yemm & Hart Ltd
610 South Chamber Dr
Fredericktown MO 63645

Sources: http://audubonmagazine.org/features0701/habitat.html

---GreenBean

Devendra Banhart Returns in Full Folk Swing

2007-11-25T22:30:00.000-08:00

Ninja: Ruby Thursday

I pressed play and listened to Devendra Banhart’s latest album, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, today. It was not the first time; I bought the album soon after it came out and it stayed on permanent rotation for days afterward, ringing in my head even when it wasn’t coming out of a stereo. It is one of my favorite albums of the year- and of Banhart's- a musical masterpiece in many ways, including in its 16 tracks many different styles and directions of music, taking slow ups and downs with casual, eclectic grace.

Frequently called psychedelic folk or freak folk (which Banhart opines to be a ‘tacky’ description), Banhart’s music calls to the 60s in a way many artists strive for and rarely achieve. This album, in light of his growing repertoire, has harnessed a lightness of sound that feels like it comes from a place of harmony, and is balanced enough to prove his songs better and better as the CD goes through rotation two, three, and then countless times.

I first experienced track number 6, Seahorse, on youtube.com. The video itself is definitely recognizable as a work of Banhart’s unique artistry, and the song an intriguing ballad on which Banhart softly howls at the end: “Well I’m scared of ever being born again/If it’s in this form again/well I wanna know how why where & when & then/I wanna see you be the bright night sky/I wanna see you come back as the light.” Lauren Dukoff, Banhart’s frequent photographer, plays the flute on the song, and it is on a list of songs to be featured in an upcoming film starring Gael Garcia Bernal, of The Motorcycle Diaries and The Science of Sleep.

Banhart’s lyrics are poetry, and when he says that, to him, folk music is “music that is collaborating out of the moment,” it definitely stands as an indication of many of the songs on Smokey. The more you listen, the more you can hear different sounds coming out of the depths of Banhart’s songs, remnants of the moments in which the songs were recorded.

Of the 16 tracks, none are to be missed. Each has to be seen as an individual force– some of his drawings start out as songs, and some of his songs end up as drawings, Banhart says– and the CD as a whole is a story, maybe not a fairy tale, but definitely one with a completely satisfying ending.

Video for Seahorse:

Of Interest: MTV Cribs has a video featuring Banhart as he shows off his house in Topanga Canyon, CA, where Smokey was recorded; the same house was once called home by both Jim Morrison and Neil Young. Showing off different forms of artistic expression, from brightly colored, abstract sketches on plain paper to kernels of corn adorned with googly eyes, Banhart proves interesting to watch as well as listen to, which might be why he has been making a name for himself in both musical and social tabloids. The last minute, where Banhart briefly synpopsizes the death of artist Malachi Ritscher, is not to be missed. link to video

What City Do you Belong In?

2007-11-08T07:54:00.001-08:00

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern.
A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.
A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything.
No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

Beautiful Photography I love by Giovanni Mattera

2007-11-08T07:45:00.001-08:00

mi ricordo di

---greenbean

To Fax or Not to Fax?

2007-11-08T07:02:00.000-08:00

if 1% of all paper faxes sent in the US were instead electronically sent, we'd save 73.5 million trees

check out other great ways to green your office environment at greenisuniversal.com

---greenbean

Icelandic Yogurt-- 5 Active Cultures

2007-11-07T11:14:00.001-08:00

all natural siggi'sskyr icelandic style strained low fat yogurt in "pear & mint" is amazing. the only ingredients are skim milk, pear, raw organic agave nectar, organic mint extract, live active cultures (Five total- S. Thermophilus, L. Delbrueckiee Susp. Bulgaricus, L. Acidohphilus, B. Longum, and B. Infantis), and vegetable rennet.

The cool mint flavor was strong and reminded me of delicious mint chocolate chip ice cream. If you run a quick google search on this yogurt you'll find addicts abound searching NYC everywhere for these tasty cups.
To sink your spoon into this pure deliciousness hit up these fine grocers:
In Manhattan: Murray's Cheese, The Bouley Bakery, Dean & Deluca, Eli's, Integral Yoga Natural Foods, Saxelby Cheesemongers, Zabar's, Westerly Natural Market, and my home base the Zeytuna Market
In Brooklyn: Stinky's Cheese, Lassen & Hennigs, Blue Apron, and Marlow & Sons

According to aboutyogurt.com "Researchers around the world are studying the potential attributes of live and active culture yogurt in preventing gastrointestinal infections, boosting the body's immune system, fighting certain types of cancer and preventing osteoporosis... Additionally, the live and active cultures found in yogurt break down lactose in milk. This allows lactose intolerant individuals who commonly experience gastrointestinal discomfort when they consume milk products to eat yogurt and receive the nutrients contained in the milk product without the side effects of abdominal cramping, bloating and diarrhea."
(Brandy! That's great news for you! No more uncontrollable pooping!)

and sidenotes:
According to some woman's random blog...yogurt with lots of active cultures is great for the vagina! It helps prevent bad bugs from growing down there.
lastly, yogurt covered pretzels, while delicious, are not nutritious and include no active cultures.

---GreenBean

Green Investing

2007-11-07T08:01:00.001-08:00

“GREEN INVESTING” SPECIAL FEATURE DEBUTS ON

INVESTOPEDIA.COM

Where capitalism meets the forest...

From Forbes News Reports:

New York, NY (Tuesday, November 6, 2007) – Today Investopedia.com (www.investopedia.com), the leading Web site for investor education, debuts a special feature about “Green Investing.” The in-depth package includes a combination of more than 50 articles, commentary, terms and frequently asked questions, providing valuable information and insight about “investment activities that focus on companies or projects that are committed to the conservation of natural resources.” The special feature is available at:

http://www.investopedia.com/features/green-investing.aspx.

Highlights include:

· Articles, such as “What Does It Mean To Be Green?,” “The Biofuels Debate,” and “Evaluating Green Equity Investments”

· Commentary, offering perspective on topics like “Five Green Mutual Funds You Need To Know” and “Finding Profit in Hybrid Cars,” among others

· Most popular questions, ranging from “What are green investments?” to “What is a clean tech stock?” to “What is the carbon trade?,” plus more

· Terms to know, including “Green Tech,” “Energy Improvement Mortgage,” and “Sinful Stocks,” to name just a few

For this, and a wealth of invaluable investor and financial information, including Investopedia.com’s special feature on “Subprime Mortgages,” visit:

www.investopedia.com

Wake up and smell the capitalism mixed with shade grown coffee.

--Green

Dove's Inner Beauty

2007-11-07T06:23:00.001-08:00

Dove's New 'Onslaught' advertisement is quickly gaining notoriety on the web and in the ad world. It is a part of their "Campaign for Real Beauty," which focuses on making societal changes in the way we define hotness. It's worthy of a hat tip for continuing the fight against Barbie store boxed beauty in size zero fashion trends and it's ending resembles a hallmark card; furthermore, the photography is stunning.
-- click here to see the video & original article in Advertising Age- 'Onslaught'. The article points out a few hypocrisies surrounding the campaign- namely that Dove has a slew of products targeted towards "outer beauty" and the ad agency, Ogilvy Toronto also has Barbie as one of their premiere clients.
Get over it. Not everyone is going to be 100% pure in their agendas to better the world when there's a profit to be turned or bills to pay. The bottom line is their spending money on good deeds. It would be like chiding McDonalds for launching their salad and low-carb menu. A step in the right direction is always a good move. Their focus is admirable and I applaud Dove; furthermore the commercial is rad and I like how their soap smells.

--Green

Only Greg Perez

2007-11-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

The balls to walk

2007-11-06T14:17:00.001-08:00

I’m truly enjoying the blogging going on over at Slate’s new all-female blog “The XX Factor.” The corniness of the name aside, the writers are raising excellent points across the board. A recent post about Paula Radcliffe by Emily Bazelon has sparked response from her fellow contributor June Thomas about what it means to be a strong woman and how that relates to both Radcliffe and Hillary Clinton.

Bazelon describes the “imperfect Hillary parallel” wherein Clinton breaks “the country's biggest gender barriers,” but in doing so “has to be utterly singleminded, and try to mask her female identity in certain key ways” in order to prove she can fulfill the role of President, a role that in our eyes, necessitates being a man. To clarify, it is not that the American people are so simple as to think that only a man can become an excellent President. Some people would argue that there is value in traits commonly associated with women (compassion, understanding etc.) and think that they might be readily applied to the position. Rather, the real obstacle, as Bazelon points out, is the idea that a man would not be expected to fulfill his other roles (husband, father) as readily while in office as a woman might. The women who impress the public, such as Radcliffe and Clinton often in some way sacrifice their woman-ness for their passions.

People are awed by a woman who has children and is back running on the track before the doctor can cut the umbilical cord. And why shouldn't they be, a woman such as Radcliffe has commit quite a feat. It’s not that I think we shouldn’t applaud Radcliffe for her dedication to her sport, but like Thomas, I still feel uncomfortable with the reason she is an emblem of success. Something about the idea of beating out the femaleness (Ok, no more “nesses,” I promise) out of a mother feels wrong and I believe it's at least partially missing the point of feminism. How can we make room for a myriad of types of women, without marginalizing anyone's choices? I’d like to know how other women answer these questions. How do you reconcile your passions with something like a biological clock?

-gleam

Rupie's face

2007-11-06T09:48:00.001-08:00

Hahahaha. That is all.
-gleam

Have we been waxed by a Brazilian?

2007-11-06T08:35:00.001-08:00

Bloomberg reported today that model Gisele Bunchen is requesting to be paid in any currency other than our dear greenbacks. This story is obviously the conjuring of a Brazilian reporter doing his best to make deadline on a slow news day. Unfortunately for us, its existence is as much of an indicator of the utter lack of global confidence in the dollar as the fabricated story itself.

-gleam

Click to Give

2007-11-06T06:43:00.001-08:00

All you have to do is click on this text... select each new tab and hit the "click to give" box-- and instantly, you are donating to save the world. GOOD FOR YOU!

Safe Sex, Not so Safe Fashion?

2007-11-05T13:36:00.001-08:00

Brazilian Greenpeace activist turned fashion designer, Adriana Bertini has spent the past ten years creating dresses, skirts, and suits made entirely from quality test rejected condoms.

Props to Adriana for using condoms that would otherwise end up in a land fill and simultaneously raising AIDS awareness.

On whether or not she'd actually wear the dresses:
Katita says,"id love to say i would....but i dont think i could wear a condom dress"

Meet up for drinks with other Environmentally Bent Buddies...

2007-11-05T13:01:00.001-08:00

The 2nd Tuesday of every month say Cheers! with others in the green community of NYC

Events:

Tuesday November 13, 2007 at "THE PARK"! 118 West 10th Ave at 18th street. see website for more info: www.theparknyc.com, a favorite venue of green drinkers! Come on down for a great evening of mingling and networking in the Atrium and Red Room
Tuesday Dec 11th for our BIG GREEN HOLIDAY PARTY at BLVD! 199 Bowery Street at Spring. See website http://www.blvdnyc.com/ We found a fab space big enough to hold everyone with many smaller rooms to mingle and mill about. We will have a Silent Auction and give away free Raffle prizes and organic appetizers. Great music and networking with your favorite Green Community in NYC.
Tuesday January 8th, 2008 at EyeBeam from 6-10pm
Tuesday February 12, 2008 from 6-10pm at "Greenroom", 205 Mulberry Street between Spring and Kenmare in Soho, NYC tel: 212.334.0288 see website : www.greenroomsoho.org

See greendrinks.org for official details
Greendrinks works with the venue to be sure the event is as green as possible from cups, napkins, signs, all from post-consumer content, to being a carbon-neutral event ( like last year). The food is donated from local organic restaurants, and the venue is cleaned with non-toxic cleaning products before and after the event.

Bartiromo proves all PR is good PR

2007-11-05T12:27:00.001-08:00

Bill Carter of the Times writes today of the rapid ascent of Maria Bartiromo's career in the midst of the controversy surrounding her little jet ride with Citigroup CEO Charles Prince.

Though I'm currently feeling tender towards her as a woman who has risen to the top of a previously male-dominated career, as well as being a target of gawker's snarky wiles (and who isn't eventually) I'd also like to let her know that I am fickle and will revoke all prior tenderness should she make the slightest misstep, as I have been known to do for Hillary, Lohan, J. Reno and people with French botanically-inclined names...

-gleam

Turn down the thermostat and turn up the heat!

2007-11-05T12:13:00.001-08:00

Green Sexy Toys

A few fearless ways to feel a bit more eco-friendly in bed

Ever thought about the toxins in your sex toys? Check the ingredients on your next anal beads purchase. Most sex toys are made with phthalates, a substance used to soften hard plastics like toxin releasing PVCs and provide that jelly feeling you may crave.. Recently there's been quite a stir over the toxicity and health risks of phthalates as they are currently banned by the EU in the manufacturing of children's toys and even more important minute levels of some phthalates have been linked to sperm damage in men. Tony Levine, founder of Big Teaze Toys, says he's made his products -- including the cutely discreet, soft-plastic vibra "I rub my duckie"--is phthalate-free from the start. "While working at Mattel as a toy designer, I was made very aware of the concerns of using only safe materials for children's products," he says. "This training has stuck with me ... We take great pride in using only the materials which meet strict toxicity safety standards for both the U.S. and the E.U."

Herbs to Spark the Passion: ginseng, kava kava root, damiana leaves, kelp, tribulus, ginko biloba, rhodiola rosea, and of course horny goat weed

Double click your mouse for other fabulously safe toys:

1. The rabbit, made famous on Sex&theCity -all new and made with eco-safe materials
2. A whole slew of safe products on SmittenKitten.com
3. Organic lube

(from treehugger.com and various other news sources)

Muzzy Makes CNN's Top Ten!

2007-11-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

Today's CNN article puts the Newfie at #7

No. 7. Newfoundland saves Napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte owed his life to a nameless Newfoundland. As Bonaparte fled the island of Elba in 1815, where he was exiled, choppy seas pitched him overboard. A fisherman's dog jumped in after the drowning despot and kept him afloat. Napoleon lived to experience his own defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

Ten dogs that changed the world

Newfies, known for jumping out of helicopters and rescuing drowning fishermen, are excellent swimmers. They come equipped with webbed feet and water resistant coats.

Famed photographer, Bruce Weber, published a book dedicated to the Newfoundland, called Gentle Giants

Lord Byron adored his pet Newfoundland dog, Boatswain. The monument to his beloved pet's memory still stands in the garden of Byron's ancestral home, Newstead Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, England. Click here to read his memorial

"A man is not a good man to me because he will feed me if I should be starving, or warm me if I should be freezing, or pull me out of a ditch if I should ever fall into one. I can find you a Newfoundland dog that will do as much." Henry David Thoreau

Do Not Eat. THROW AWAY!

2007-11-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what those little packets of beaded crap are always doing in your delivery package? They look small and cheap and bad for the environment... because they are. After a quick trip to howstuffworks.com

What are these little stupid bagged beads?

Silica gel is synthetically produced from silicon dioxide in the form of stupid little beads.The reason manufacturers use these beads is because they are a desiccant, which means it absorbs and holds water vapor.In fact, according to howstuffworks.com, silica gel is a particularly efficient desiccant because they can absorb up to forty percent of their own weight.

Silica gel can be regenerated and reused. Heating the silica gel (in the microwave) will dry off the absorbed moisture. Using these beads to dry flowers for arrangements is one good use.

Recycling Oeniophilas

2007-11-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

How to Green Your Sex Life

2007-10-31T12:52:00.000-07:00

How to Green Your Sex Life

Upcoming Show: Dr. Dog

2007-10-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

Hailing from Philadelphia, this barely kindergarten aged band, is now on tour for their 2nd album, We All Belong, available here

11/9/07
only $14
Dr. Dog @ the Bowery Ballroom, located at 6 Delancey St.

Save on the bogus ticket master charges & buy yours at the Mercury Lounge Box Office located at 217 E. Houston St. (corner Ave A & Houston); offices open from 10-7pm Monday-Saturday

Review to follow the mayhem which will surely ensue...

Dr. Dog's Official Website
Dr.Dog's Myspace page

-Ninja Courtney

Clare & The Reasons - Brooklyn, NY

2007-10-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

Ninja: Jonathan Daniel

When one first presses play on The Movie, the debut release from Clare & The Reasons, his/her first reaction might be to compare Clare Muldaur’s voice to that of any of the great jazz singers from the Golden Age of music. One might also be tempted to compare the band’s instrumentation to that of Sufjan Stevens’ work. It is also possible that this person would even compare the musical arrangements (excuse me if I overstep my bounds) to that of a Mozart composition, or the tone choices and chord changes to the new Wilco album. However, if this person happened to be you, you would be wrong.

Now, I don’t mean to say that Clare & The Reasons don’t take inspiration from every crevice, corner, and vast open space of music history, or even that they don’t possess similarities to any of these artists - in fact, I think quite the contrary. What I am aiming to say is that it is nearly impossible to pin their music down into one specific genre: they combine as many influences as they can without turning each song into a complete mess (see: TV on the Radio’s Return to Cookie Mountain).

I first heard Clare sing at a performance - of let’s call it experimental classical music - put on by her husband, Olivier Manchon (Olivier also plays violin for The Reasons while at the same time specializing in the recorder and glockenspiel, and occasionally sitting behind the piano or wielding an acoustic guitar or musical saw to accompany his wife). That night, I was intrigued by both her voice and Olivier’s arrangements, but unfortunately did not have a chance to hear them play again until just recently when they graced the small stage of Rockwood Music Hall on New York’s Lower East Side.

I recognized most of The Reasons from Olivier’s performance, and was pleased to note the upright bass, cello, violin, viola, grand piano, electric guitar, and acoustic guitar strategically placed on the stage so that the musicians could play every band’s favorite game – “let’s see how many people we can fit on this small-ass stage”. Once Clare and her five Reasons had taken their places, the audience drew immediately quiet – they were ready to listen. For the following hour, the only sound in the small room was that of the band’s intricately woven instrumental melodies, with Clare laying down her voice as the maraschino cherry sitting atop a hot brownie sundae.

As usual I had no cash so I couldn’t purchase the album that night, and despite my attempts at bartering an empty glass of whisky and an ice cube for a copy, I went home empty handed. Nevertheless, I was determined to have the necessary $12 on me the upcoming Saturday, when they played at SoundFix in “Williamscool”, Brooklyn. I was so determined that I chose not to drink that night, and instead attended the show alone in the half-record store/half-bar venue.

Again, the moment it was clear they were ready to begin, a hush fell over the (this time much larger) crowd and those who failed to silence themselves were shushed before the first measure had been completed. I knew then that, beyond my own infatuation, this band had something special. No matter the venue - whether large or small, light or dark, crowded or empty (although so far always crowded), Clare & The Reasons commanded the attention of every single soul seated or standing in the room. Those who had heard them before quietly appreciated the fact that each musician is equally as talented in person as they are on the recordings, and those who were experiencing them for the first time slowly but surely realized the same.

Now, you may say that I give them too much adulation, and perhaps I do, but it has been a very long time since I have enjoyed a band this much, and so consistently to boot. Not only do they combine influences taken from nearly every genre of music, and not only do they possess the talent to do this, but they also make beautiful, catchy music that will not fail to put a smile on your face. Let’s call it classical jazz with a twist of rock n’ roll.

Highlights of seeing them live are similar to those of the album, including the more upbeat songs Pluto and Rodi, but also the slower ballads Love Can Be A Crime and Alphabet City. On the album are a couple of hidden gems that I am yet to hear them play live, a particular favorite of mine being Go Back. Played live are a couple others not featured on the album, the most memorable holding the title Why, Why Why, an old fashioned love song sung as a duet by Clare and the bass player, Alan Sherwood, which proves that the individuals in the band take themselves far less seriously than they do their music.

So go take a listen to them. I think you'll like what they do.

Halloween Plans

2007-10-30T06:11:00.001-07:00

National Lampoon's New Rock/Mockumentary

2007-10-30T06:06:00.001-07:00

National Lampoon's New Rock/Mockumentary

2007-10-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

Lap-top Liberation In Rainbows

2007-10-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

10.25.2007 by Miguel Castro

FROM

TO

As the music industry tries to salvage itself by suing pre-teens and attempting to establish a death grip over the Mp3 format, Radiohead has greased things up for major record labels.

How?

Because they don’t belong to one.

Authenticity has kept Radiohead one click left of being regarded as a full blown rock band. But somewhere between sad-bastard howls and landscape melodies, there lies intelligent design. And now, with the release of In Rainbows, a once a divisive and experimental hit-or-miss with audiences has become an aural enterprise that we can all stand behind.

Why?

Because they’ll let you pay whatever you want for their new album.

Rather than simply sticking with what works, Thom Yorke and his band of electronic troubadours have continued to push their own envelope. Since 1993 they have used each album as a step in their own evolution. Radiohead has been able to succeed where many have failed: A positive correlation between an increase in uniquity and popularity.

Their new album is no exception. The sonic evolution from Hail to the Thief (2003) to the 2007 release In Rainbows sounds as natural as the transition of monkey to man. Hundreds of subtle changes and adaptations over the past four years have brought this quiet storm into full bodied British thunder. But what’s more is that they have positioned themselves to become the revolutionaries of modern music.

When EMI’s contract with Radiohead expired in 2003, it made them the most popular free agent in the industry. For a group of guys who know how to rock a lap-top, this allowed them an opportunity to tout their big experimental balls.

On September 30th, John Greenwood announced the new album on the band’s blog. Set for release on October 10th, Radiohead cut out the middle-man, created a web page called InRainbows.com and launched their album from Greenwood’s kitchen – allowing fans to download the whole album for whatever price they want.

Greenwood told Rolling Stone Magazine,

"We’re feeling a bit dazed from it all…It’s so mad that you can sit in your kitchen and launch this insanity…but [the album] seems to have gotten
everywhere."

Sound crazy?

It’s not.

The band stands to make more money than they ever would have under a contract, regardless of how much each fan chooses to pay for the album. More importantly, it establishes Radiohead as the peoples champion, the Anti-Metallica. We finally have a true contender in the fight for musical liberation.

Is the album good? I wouldn’t know. I don’t really listen to Radiohead.

But now I have good reason to.

Peter Bjorn and John

2007-10-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

See me and Julio down by the school yard...

http://joespub.com/caltool/nicemedia/audio/Peter%20Bjorn%20and%20John%20-%20Me%20and%20Julio%20Down%20by%20the%20Schoolyard.mp3

Kings of Leon at Charlottesville Pavilion 9.26.2007

2007-10-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Listen to “Because of the Times” Because of the Sound

The Charlottesville Pavilion is a great place for bands to jam and especially tonight. The warm September night sets the stage for an enjoyable, carefree evening where work, soured relationships, and tomorrow’s midterm seem unnecessary. Leading up to the Pavilion entrance is a brick promenade lined with antique looking stores, restaurants and outdoor seating that mimic a European plaza. The Pavilion has stadium seating with lawn seating in the back. The music of the opening act, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, fills the air and permeates the nearby neighborhoods. I’m seated outside a local bar waiting for Kings of Leon to take the stage; that’s our cue to close out our tabs and open new ones within the Pavilion parameters.

I had started to seriously question the future of rock and roll until I heard Kings of Leon. The southern bred quartet reminds listeners not to confuse Nickelback for true rock and roll. My affinity for rock and roll started with Tracy Chapman and Jackson Brown vinyl. I’d sit next to the record player flipping sides until I fell asleep and awoke to the sound of the needle ticking.

My first introduction to my generation’s music was an Ace of Base tape and the rewind function of walkman. Next came “Jagged Little Pill” in CD form and with the ability to skip there was no need to listen to all the songs. Technology didn’t make music better, just more convenient. The beauty of the record player is that there isn’t a shuffle, repeat, fast forward or rewind function. I’d listen to the whole album tell a story.

The smell and feel of vinyl is lost on a culture obsessed with singles, diets and packaging everything in plastic. However, Kings of Leon’s latest album, “Because of the Times,” is a refreshing divergence from the whining punk-rock anthem of an over-privileged audience and seemingly self-loathing musicians. They are reminiscent of the 1970’s when bands didn’t make music to cater to the largest market segment, but rather focused on originality and making music for the sake of music.

Think men in tights (actually more like testicular strangulating blue jeans) singing nonsensical lyrics similar of Moody Blues with the rock and roll sound of the Rolling Stones. Kings of Leon are appreciated by an audience whose affection for rock and roll has taken its toll much like water prunes the skin after a long hot shower. These are the people I enjoy being around most. The younger folk crowd the front of the stage hoping that one of the performers will throw a piece of equipment, which they frequently do. I have a white John Pearse guitar pic that a fellow concertgoer I’d been eye fucking all evening caught for me.

Their sound is rooted in lead vocalist, Caleb Followill’s, ability to narrate the guitar riffs. Rather than using his Steven Tyler-esque histrionics to dominate, there is a balance between the music and vocals, in a dialogue that doesn’t require a response. The lyrical story unfolds with tempo changes, backup vocalists and electronic/acoustic variations. “On Call” and “True Love Way” illustrate the bands ability to fuse slow baseline development with bursts of rock punctuated by their southern twang.

“Ragoo” breaks from the bluesy tunes and tambourine calamity of the 2005 album “Aha Shake Heartbreak.” On their website, http://www.kingsofleon.com/home, drummer Nathan Followill describes their growth. "We weren't scared to try anything. I think that's the difference between this album and the last. We weren't timid at all. Every song showed us something we had inside of ourselves that we didn't know existed, which enabled us to be even bolder on the next song," said Followill.

“Because of the Times” is a testament to the versatile musicianship of Kings of Leon. They break from the structure of pop music (two lines, chorus, two lines) in favor of patterns, rhythms, and silences that create mystery in songs like “Knocked up.” The quieter moments allow listener appreciation for the individual contributions from the rhythm guitar, bass and drums.

The band entertained for two hours without much improvisation and none of the performers, all of whom are related (2 brothers and 2 cousins), interrupts the music with conversation. The audience doesn’t seem to mind. They sing along with “Knocked Up,” cheer when “Milk” begins, and chant for “Ragoo.” “Ragoo” is the only song they don’t play from “Because of the Times;” they didn’t play it in Washington D.C. the week before nor in Baltimore the following week. A few songs from the previous album, “Aha Shake Heartbreak” make the cut and the audience is satiated.

Kings of Leon represents the difference between good because it’s popular and being popular because it’s great. Perhaps I can look forward to my children discovering this hidden treasure in my itunes collection.

Kevin Smallwood is my Favorite

2007-10-17T09:02:00.001-07:00

http://streaming.smad.jmu.edu/smad303/Mitchell%20Submit%20Final.mov

Joan Osborne at the Summerstage (NY, NY) 9.29.07

2007-10-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

Ninja: Jonathan Daniel

As I walked into Central Park, I was immediately confronted by a crazy man sitting on a bench asking to perform “unbelievable magic” for me.
“Now you see me,” he said before throwing a white towel over his face and screaming “But I disappeared right in front of your fucking eyes!”
I continued walking.
It didn’t take long before I could hear an announcer from the Rumsey Playfield introduce “the Grammy nominated Joan Osborne”, and a mother walking by me pushing a stroller ask her husband, “Who’s Joan Osborne?” To be honest, despite the twelve years since her first major label album release, and eight releases since, my only memories of her music include a couple of Dead shows and flipping through the radio presets in my mother’s car, catching part of “One of Us” on Z100.
I couldn’t afford admission into the show (ah, the life of a twenty-something New Yorker), so I found a perch outside the venue against an old oak tree (or spruce, or pine, or whatever it was) close enough to hear the music, as was a common practice of mine this summer. That’s a big perk of Rumsey Playfield (more commonly known as the Summerstage) – even if you can’t get into the actual venue, you can still hear the concert from a good distance away. And, on a beautiful day like this one, it’s that much more enjoyable.
It was a cloudless, almost-autumn day as her voice beautifully belted over an almost country-ballad version of the old Marvin Gaye hit “How Sweet It Is” to open up her set. Though she’s been compared to such musicians as Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlin, her voice is also reminiscent of an old Southern Gospel singer, and it fits well over the warm tone of an electric guitar and powerful, driving bass.
Though they only had about an hour to play, the band switched it up quite a bit between straight ahead rock, blues, and country. They were tight and followed each other well – each member getting their own chance to shine at one point or another. Joan’s (may I call you Joan?) powerful yet smooth voice is reminiscent of so many old soul and jazz singers, and it shined on every song, regardless of the genre. She certainly stands center stage here.
Of her ten-song set, the most recognizable were “How Sweet It Is” and her nineties near-chart-topping hit “One of Us” (it reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100), the latter of which she chose to play one song prior to the closer. When the guitarist strummed that oh, so nostalgic melody, it brought me immediately back to fifth grade. The tune, though, was slightly altered from the MTV version, taking on a less poppy, more subdued (and, if I do say so myself, much more enjoyable) sound. I’m sure the audience was singing along inside.
To close her set, in true Rock AND Roll fashion, the last song was an upbeat, fast paced rocker designed to let the fans leave happy. After that old classic build up and crash down ending, the band left the stage for only one or two minutes before coming back to play an encore. I walked away from the Rumsey Playfield, toward Sheep’s Meadow to toss a Frisbee, singing along with Joan to “Proud Mary”, that classic Creedence tune. Cliché, yes, but nevertheless, I was refreshed.

Epigenetics?

2007-10-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

http://epigenome.eu/

Arcade Fire at Randall's Island 10.6.07

2007-10-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

Man Man at Webster Hall 10/2/07

2007-10-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

Viewer: Ninja Courtney Myers

Tonight I prepare myself for a band someone on Wikipedia describes as “playfully existential.” I prepare with my best friend and a bottle of red wine. Our tickets say eight p.m. but we arrive at the venue at eight thirty knowing that no self-respecting band would actually start at show time. This is New York after all; the city that founded fashionably late entrances. We stroll up to the door only be to told by the doormen that Man Man isn’t going on until 10:30 p.m., leaving us ample time for a pitcher of beer at the nearby Pour House.
Four Kona Golds and a joint of haze at our favorite friend turned high school chemistry teacher’s apartment- later, we walk back to Webster Hall. Located in the East Village, Webster Hall is an antique venue of black and white slate, broken mirrors, and porcelain fixtures. With dark red carpets and fake candles lighting the stairway, it may as well be a spooky fun house for kids on Halloween.

After the opening band, which we didn’t see or hear, a cracked out comedian entered stage left. Right before he was booed off the stage, he yelled at one of the lingering musicians, “I will promise to go on a diet if you will promise to get off the stage!” A skinny Trey look a like roadie looked up from the cables he was unplugging or untangling and gazed at him for a moment then returned to testing out the equipment for twenty minutes. The crowd dipped in energy until Lou Reed’s “Here it Comes” poured out of the speakers.
After the CD skipped a few times, the lights dimmed. Enter Man Man. Five guys named Honus Honus (Ryan Kattner), Pow Pow (Christopher Powell), Alejandro “Cougar” Borg (Russell Higbee), Sergei Sogay (Chris Sharr), Chang Wang and Chesnut. The drums and keyboard faced each other with the other three members behind playing guitars, flutes, and various other percussion instruments. The five guys who make up Man Man are all independently talented artists who each bring their own flavor and style to the table.
Honus Honus banged away at his piano honky tonk style yelling at the top of lungs with a voice very similar to the vocals of their friends of Modest Mouse. Meanwhile the rest of the band rotated through an eclectic menu of different instruments—some looked homemade while others were variations of non-traditional guitars. Russell has a quiet yet dominating presence. You can tell while he doesn’t need the limelight, it definitely finds him. Every other song I saw him playing a different instrument. Russell’s girlfriend, from Brooklyn, watched over the screaming fans from her side stage perch.
Each member’s own idiosyncrasies come through in their stage costumes. For example, not only do they all dress up in funky space suity shirts, polka dots, flannel and face paint, Pow Pow even decorated his drum set with a chocolate Easter bunny. During the set Chris busted out a flute as naturally as a business man pulls out his blackberry. Man Man’s cacophony performance blended a bleeding heart saxophone player, a screaming vocalist, a rip roaring drum set, and a keyboard buffet. Their musical feast climaxed with, Man Man’s lyrics, “this ship will sail and this heart will die…nothing is everything you’ll seem to hide.” They all have these completely independent ways of thinking and their collaboration masterful.
Man Man’s eclectic style mirrored their crowd which was composed of all sorts of folk ranging from library nerds to Jersey lax wearing dudes from west Essex. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, especially the huge fat shirtless hairy guy in pink booty shorts. Moving through the crowd was easy with no six foot tall frat boys blocking the way. Everyone seemed very relaxed and very grateful to be there.

Webster Hall’s colorful history began in 1886. The East Village concert hall hosted benefit costume balls where beautiful bohemians would flock and dance into the early morning. It then became a speakeasy during the frustrating times of prohibition and has since been remodeled several times into its present day form as a night club and popular music venue.
My main concern was about the dance floor because it was much more like a trampoline than an actual hardwood surface. As the crowd jumped up and down the floor’s flexibility made me nervous. I felt like the floor was going to collapse. I was not alone in this fear.
Other noteworthy acts that have played here are The Hives, Sonic Youth, The Bravery, Spoon, John Butler Trio, Explosions in the Sky, The Flaming Lips, Dispatch, and Infected Mushroom. Webster Hall designated the upstairs as the VIP area, which we were not allowed access to, even after I told them that I had ninja skills. The only other downside to the venue? The five dollar bottle of water from the bar.
Man Man has two albums under their belt. They are all in their 30s and have a promising future in the indie rock music biz. Their 2004 release, “The Man in a Blue Turban with a Face,” featured the Nike commercial single “10 lb Mustache.” Their 2006 release, “Six Demon Bag,” supposedly about Honus’s ex-girlfriend cheating on him with his best friend and getting pregnant and then discovering he is not the father. Honus now has a new girlfriend who lives in Brooklyn.
Both albums have both been successful, but it is their lives shows which have brought Man Man particular notoriety. And not just for their outrageously spirited performances but also because they never take a moment’s rest. Their entire show is unbroken, without set breaks, and is one intense party.
Next up for Man Man? Supposedly they have a cover of the theme song for Weed’s Tiny Little Boxes coming out this season…