Brooklyn. September 2010.

I Did It All for the Snooki

I have no tv/media/comm. arts background, but I feel it's only a matter of time before MTV hits us with this reality show ala Flavor of Love/Rock of Love/I Love New York in which Snooki is on the quest for a tan gorilla, juice-head, guido. Just sayin'!

Happy Birthday John Lennon

Happy Birthday John!
With love from me to you.

Bakery Banter

Customer: Is your iced tea hot?

Bakery Banter

Customer: I'd like to speak to the manager please.
Me: Sure, is there a problem?
Customer: Yes. I bought this marble loaf yesterday and it's not marble loaf. It's revolting and I almost choked to death.

Brooklyn. September 2010.

Is there an app for this?

Is there an app for this?

14th Street Union Square

Nicely played MTA.

Bakery Banter

Customer: I'd like a cinnamon raisin bread please, but I want one with lots of cinnamon in it.
Me: Well ma'am I have no way to tell how much is inside the bread.
Customer: Well sometimes the bread doesn't have a lot of cinnamon in it and I'm bringing this to a friends.
Me: Ok well I have no way to tell which one has the most cinnamon.
Customer: Well let me see the bread. What about the one next to it? Show me the bottom of it.
Me: Would you like it sliced?
Customer: Yes please and there better be a lot of cinnamon in it.
Me: Once again ma'am, there is no way for me to tell what is inside the bread.

The Sugarcubes - "Birthday"

For myself. The best female vocals I have ever heard.

Brooklyn. July 2010.

The Impossible Project

The Impossible Project opened their first U.S. location in a 5th floor studio space in the SoHo section of New York City. Recently I was able to drop by and explore all of the awesome projects they are working on including the creation of new Polaroid cameras and film. I highly recommend any film lover to stop in and check out their awesome work. You can learn more at their website.

Masshole Love

photo: Patrick Ruth

Bakery Banter

Co-Worker: Marc, I just got off the phone with one of the charities. The synagogue is no longer taking the white bread at night because the homeless people are on a whole wheat diet.

Polaroids

Bakery Banter

Customer: Can I ask you for a favor?
Me: Sure
Customer: I have a bottle of fish oil that I opened, but I can't go home to refrigerate it, can you keep it here and I can pick it up tomorrow?
Me: Um... are you really going to come get it tomorrow?
Customer: Yes, I can be here when you open. I'm also going to get a lemonade.
Me: Well we can't really hold people's things here.
Customer: Oh are you sure?
Me: Yes, sorry.
Customer: Oh... well I don't really want the lemonade then.

Beat L.A.

This video seems to promote Kobe more so than the N.B.A., but fuck that shit. Andre 3000 covering the Beatles is still pretty legit. I'd be lying if I said I was a basketball fan, but I do have Mass pride so in true spirit, let's BEAT L.A.!!!

Bakery Banter

Co-worker: Would you like the receipt, sir?
Customer: What am I going to do with that, stick it up my ass?

New York City. May 2010.

Good Morning

I guess this is my dissertation, homie, this shit is basic, welcome to graduation!

Bakery Banter

Customer: Does that bread have olives in it? (points to a bread)
Me: This one? (reaffirming the bread)
Customer: Yes.
Me: Yes, the olive bread does have olives in it.

Wilco (the beer)

Enjoyed this slightly chocolate tasting ale this evening. Named after my favorite Wilco album, this is an excellent dark heavy beer (7.83% abv) that I wish was more widely available. Would be a perfect fit with a Wilco sandwich or at the Wilco curated festival.

Masshole Love

Finally feeling like summer. Loving ice cream and MA!

Bakery Banter

Customer: I want the bread that you guys used to sell to the restaurant Red Blazer.
Me: Sir, I have no idea what that would be.
Customer: Well can you go ask the manager?
Me: No he isn't here it is just the two of us.
Customer: Shit! Well give me the one with raisins.
Me: Sir, there are four kinds of bread with raisins.

Masshole Love

I was feeling reminiscent of Massachusetts after reading about people back home having the day off for Patriot's Day.

Bigger Than Jesus

Ringo Starr has rejected forgiveness from Catholic Church officials who once called him a Satanist.

Pope Benedict XVI sanctioned an article in the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano newspaper earlier this week, in which the Beatles were praised for their "beautiful" music and were absolved for their rock star decadence and experiments with drugs.

The front-page editorial also addressed John Lennon's controversial comments about the Beatles being "bigger than Jesus" at the height of their success.

The newspaper's editors wrote, "The Beatles said they were bigger than Jesus and put out mysterious messages that were possibly even Satanic... (but) what would pop music be like without the Beatles?"

But Starr is far from impressed with the paper's unwanted forgiveness - the drummer says, "Didn't the Vatican say we were Satanic or possibly Satanic? And they've still forgiven us?

"I think the Vatican, they've got more to talk about than the Beatles."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/dailydish/detail?entry_id=61480#ixzz0la3JeFWE

Bakery Banter

Customer: Those really don't look appetizing when you just lay them there like a mess.
Co-worker: Well I just put them on the scale to weigh them.
Customer: Yes, but you really should present them nicely so they look appealing.
Co-worker: But I'm just weighing them...
Customer: Yes, and now they don't look very good.

Miami. March 2010.

Is It Summer Yet?

Saw this back in stock over the weekend and then proceeded to have four pitchers on Saturday. This is totally making my week!

A Genius In Praise of Himself

[Grabs his laptop and opens to an image of the cover of Portishead's 1998 album "Roseland NYC Live," featuring a sea of string players.] Seeing this album cover did so much for me. This picture inspired me. I saw it years back, but on my first album I couldn't afford real strings. So after I won those Grammys, the first thing I did was run to Jon Brion, and then I ran and got a string section. Hip-hop never had strings that lush with drums that hard. But Portishead had that. And they sounded hip-hop, and people vibed to that. I said, "OK, what if we do that and I drop my poetry shit on top of it?" [Quoting "Anchorman"] "Drink it in San Diego, it goes down smooth."

- Kanye West, 2007

College Graduation in 60 Days.

"In February, the economy lost a net 36,000 jobs, which is leagues better than the 726,000 lost in February a year earlier but points in the wrong direction all the same. Were the economy to magically start generating jobs at a healthy clip - say 200,000 a month - it would still take 3 1/2 years to return to where we were, never mind the jobs we need for new entrants to the workforce."

Kiviat, Barbara. "How to Create a Job." time 29 Mar. 2010: 20. Print.

01886

Finally something positive from the place where I grew up. Congrats WATA.

Beijing. August 2009.

The Soviet Experiment

"The feasts were marked by huge consumption of food and alcohol, toasts, singing, and fistfights that helped alleviate the petty hostilities and tensions of village life."

Suny, Ronald. "The Imperial Legacy." The Soviet Experiment. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. 10. Print.

Hot Dry Noodles

Craving my favorite food from China so bad right now. Best breakfast of all time.

Bakery Banter

For those of you who don't know, this weekend marks the Jewish holiday of Purim. This holiday is all about Hamantaschen so 'Cleaned My Plate' has ranked the best in the city. Orwasher's Bakery came in tied for best overall and Moishe's Bake Shop ranked most disappointed. Fun fact for everyone; Orwasher's Bakery gets their Hamantaschen from Moishe's. They must just give us the best ones. Read the whole ranking here.

My Guitar Gently Weeps

Happy Birthday George!

It's All Happening: Miami

Spring Break 2010

"Look-See" by Sarah Filiault

My wonderful and talented friend.

49 out of 50

Yesterday may or may not have been the first time in the history of the United States that 49 out of 50 states had snow on the ground. The obvious one missing is Hawaii, despite the fact that some of the volcano peaks on the islands usually have some snow on the ground. This may or may not be a record, however no one has ever counted this statistic before. Let's hear it for climate change!!

(via the New York Daily News)

Bakery Banter

I've decided to chronicle exchanges between me and the customers. These are word for word. I couldn't make this shit up.

Customer: Do you have red twist ties for these cookies?
Me: No just white ones.
Customer: (stern look) Well that is retarded!

In response to a recent conversation with some great people.

Revival

It has been quite some time since I have used this blog, but I feel like starting things back up again. After spending time in China where there was so much restriction on what I could read and say, I really began to appreciate my freedom of speech and press. I feel as if I should really take advantage of the fact that I can say and read what I want without a fear of persecution. So here it goes. I will keep omgnyc as my main music blog for posting my current fascinations in music (i.e. new songs, albums, show reviews) and this one will be for the rest. I'll post old music that gets stuck in my head, photos I care about too much for facebook, quotes, things my talented friends are doing and other things of creation, inspiration, and innovation. Please enjoy.