Disaster Relief

Murph has a good post on disaster relief and actual sources where you can get information on what is really happening in the affected areas.

Update: The links have been fixed. Murph also writes about the stupidity and the insensitivity of some people at suggesting that New Orleans was asking for it and should not receive the tax dollars it so desperately needs.

A Little Bit Scary

I don't know if this is old news or not, but i thought i'd post anyway. The database, www.zabasearch.com can search your name, address, phone, and birthday. The informantion was data-mined and placed at zabasearch.com (an easily searchable database).
To remove your information e-mail robert at rzakari@zabasearch.com or call him (626) 564-2900 EXT. 205.
On a slightly creepy note, i found the address i've been looking for a long time. Internet stalking has gotten a little bit easier. Thank G-d i'm not some whack job...

Used Books

Old or borrowed books tell all kinds of stories. As much as i love that new book smell and crisp sound of a new page turning, there is something about a pre-read book that is a bit more enchanting. Not only does one discover the story inside but you get to react to the underlined passages, the bent corners, or the little stains on the cover.
J. gave/lent me a book right before he disappeared - a favorite of his, that would later become a favorite of mine. It took me ages to finish the book - not because of the novel itself but because completing it would have meant finalizing the end of my relationship with J. There was a specific passage that i completely adored - a description of light in Grand Central Station. I still don't know if i liked the description because J. underlined it and wrote, "Exactly!" next to it or if i genuinely just loved the passage. My theory is a little bit of both. The underlined section pleased me on two levels - on a purely aesthetic level of a beautiful turn of phrase and on another level of sharing an insight into J. thoughts and being to agree with him. Imagining him enjoying the sentence was almost as nice as reading it for its own pleasure.
I've bought many books over the years (like that Kundera book in the photo). I love thinking of who could have owned them and why did they sell them back. Sometimes the comments you find make you laugh or at least make you wonder if the person actually paid attention to the book they were reading. Most of the time a little line here or there make you smile, a kind of sharing of secrets of sorts.

betka

betka, originally uploaded by approachingchaos.

This photo was taken last weekend. My sister came come for a couple of days and decided to get sick on us. The face she's making totally reminds me of her mischivious litecheko (face) when she was little.
Now, i'm sick (thanks sis) and she's off to burning man. Where i hope she has lots of fun and doesn't do too many drugs (jk).

If Weather Was Reported By My Friends

New Orleans is fucked. (im message received this morning)

Succinct and to the point (albeit a bit crude). I have never been to New Orleans, i hope it is not completely, um, destroyed.

Murph's review of Aimee Mann's The Forgotten Arm made me go out and get the record a few months back. I haven't bought a cd (for myself) in more than year. So it was quite a weird sensation to buy three CDs all at once. Only now am i coming around to listening to them. I finally put them on my Nomad.

I have to say, like Murph, i like the individual songs more than the whole record. I finally listened to all the songs in a row, without even skipping one, on a long ride from a friend's place. Also, like Murph, i was struck how much i heard the word "baby' on this record. Maybe i was extra sensitive to it since i've been trying to kick the habit of calling people who are dear to me "baby." Most of the time Mann's delivery of baby works, especially if you treat the songs as characters and not Mann singing about her own life. Which is how i usually treat love songs done by musicians. (I don't know if it's only me but i hate it when a female singer sings a song obviously meant for a male singer and vice-versa. I don't know why, it sort of throws me off.)

I loved Mann since i heard her rendition of "Save Me" from the Magnolia album. I listened to it over and over. I was going through a rough patch - my first serious romantic break up (and for a person who tears at the end each school year, endings don't come easily for me) - Mann's voice and poetry sort of dug deep into me. Besides quiet moody music has always appealed to me. On this record, "The King of the Jailhouse," "Video," and "That's How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart" are my favorites.

Lyrics from "Video"

Tell me why I feel so bad, honey
TV's flat and nothing is funny
I get sad and stuck in a cone of silence
Like a big balloon with nothing for ballast
Labeled like a bottle for Alice
Drink me down or
I'll drown in a sea of giants

Anyone who works Alice in Wonderland reference is my hero. I haven't really taken the time to figure the "narrative" of the record yet. The cover art of the album made think 40's type romance and that was enough for me.

So overall i have to thank Murph (and with who's assessment i whole heartedly agree) for the review and Aimee Mann for providing a lovely soundtrack to my life. Excuse me while i go be moody now.

Hiatus

I know there hasn't been a decent post on this blog for months. But things have gotten a bit hectic around here. I find myself pulled in ten different direction every. single. moment. For example, i'm out with a friend enjoying a nice glass of cider and instead enjoying her presence i'll start thinking about the million things are left undone, partially undone, or completely ignored. Same with blogging, i have a bunch of posts in the draft phase. But they all look and sound like an ADD kid on speed wrote them. Most are incoherent and not worthy of posting. I'm trying to quiet my mind down, but it's not really working. So i don't know how this really works but there won't be posting for a while. Not that it's very dissapointing, since like two people read my crap. But just the same, that's the news for now. I hope to recover my sanity soon. But i'm not holding my breath.

Shoe Blogging

I did a little gift shopping today. I happend to spot this pair while at Banana Republic. Gorgeous. No? Anyway, the price is a little bit out of my range but maybe i'll actually decide to splurge and get them anyway. Sigh. (I hope Gineger & Candy approve.)

A Couple Of Ducks

mirror image ducks,

They were close. I had no choice, i had to take photos.

Big Freakin Surprise

From the Article:
An Iranian-backed network of insurgents in Iraq is responsible for a new type of lethal roadside bomb, part of plans by Tehran to influence its neighbor that began even before the U.S. invasion,Time magazine reported on Sunday.

Yup, the American invasion in Iraq is real cause of terrorism. I'll just keep repeating that in hopes of actually believing it.

Christopher Walken For President

Words can't describe my love for this somewhat creepy talented actor. Seriously, i would vote for him. (hey, he almost played a President in a movie that must count for something...)

via Ace (who notes Walken's stances on various positions. Such as:
On the Highway and Energy Bills. "Can I confess something? I tell you this as an artist, I think you'll understand. Sometimes when I'm driving... on the road at night... I see two headlights coming toward me. Fast. I have this sudden impulse to turn the wheel quickly, head-on into the oncoming car. I can anticipate the explosion. The sound of shattering glass. The... flames rising out of the flowing gasoline.")

Hot Pineapple Butt

More importantly i'd like you to direct your attention to the ice cream choices offered behind me. Here's a curious one:

My friend W. writes:

I wish to point out a very special flavor featured at Hayward's Ice Cream, as displayed in picture X. I'd love to know what this tasted like.
~W

Me too, my friend. Me too.

Been Making Afilkomen Jokes For Years

As a dirty minded Jew i've been making off-color jokes about afeikomen for years. Now there's this site selling underwear and other apparel to let others know what's on my (hip/dirty) Jewish mind.




Old Classic: Passover Pickup Lines - Wanna look for my afeikomen?

Just Right

She sat down next to him on the swing in her nightgown, not slim the way girls get when they are not loved at seventeen, not fat the way women get when they are not loved at fifty, but absolutely right, a roundness, a firmness, the way women are at any age when there is no question.
- from Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

One of my favorite books of all time. Reminds me that i should go dandelion gathering soon. There are almost all gone.

Which One Is Romeo, Again?

Boston, being a small town big on traditions has a little controversy on its hands about same sex couples. And i'm not talking about the Supreme Court decision of last year. Nope, this time it concern the swans.
Here in Boston we have Boston Commons (think Central Park only ten times smaller) and we have Swan Boats (even as a child i found this activity extremely disappointing). Basically a boat made to look like a swan goes up and down the little puddle lake in the park. There are also real swans on the lake, that appear every spring and leave in the fall. Particularly there is one swan couple that has been dubbed Romeo & Juliet - as most people know swans are those rare creatures who mate for life, so the same couple came back every year.
Turns out the one dubbed Romeo is actually a girl and the one dubbed Juliet is also a girl. It's like in Shakespearre's times where men played women, only in reverse. It's a same-sex female couple. It seems that the lovers finally laid eggs, problem is they never hatched due to the fact they were never fertilized by a male. So here we have a case of two mommies of the swan variety. Guess even the animals want Massachusetts to legalize same sex marriages!

Nerves

I have to give a simple presentation on True Romance in a couple of hours. I really love this movie. Hopefully i'll be like a ninja in class.

Alabama: Did I do my part okay?
Clarence: Bamaloo you were perfect.
Alabama: Like a ninja?
Clarence Worley: Like a ninja.

Jesus Is Magic

I saw the trailer to this film a few months ago. I meant to link to this film earlier but completely forgot. Then i saw it on Lindsayism and decided other might like it too. Because "I love you more than Jews love money!"

Birthday Blogging

It's Yaron's Birthday. Yaron is not only articulate, wity, and smart but it always seems to me that Yaron can be counted on a funny quip or an interesting link that i wouldn't have found elsewhere. He's never afraid to write/tell the truth, which is much appreciated. There are other worthy qualities to note (like he plays the base in The Wifebeaters) but all that is icing on the cake. So here's to a happy birthday and many more!

Where In The World?

I find that i'm crap at world geography. However, there is always good ol' internet to help me solve the problem or waste a few more minutes instead of studying. Enjoy the Geography Game.

If I'm Not Making Whoopie

Whoopie, originally uploaded by approachingchaos.

I'm definetely eating it. Nothing like whoopie pie ice cream after a lazy summer day in the backwoods of New Hampshire, or in other words New Hampshire.

Now You Know: Flipping the Bird

This month's Esquire has been less than stellar. However, in the Answer Fella section a reader asks about the origins of flipping the bird at someone. I never really thought about the gesture, but obviously something that means "Fuck Off" has to be somehow phallic. Answer Fella reveals:

Whatever the version —in Britain, it's given with the palm facing inward and the middle and index fingers extended; in Arab lands, the middle finger is bent while the others are kept straight—this gesture always has been understood as obscenely phallic. British anthropologist and author Desmond Morris, a bold man unafraid of saying testicle , tells AF, "When you extend that [middle] finger, the thumb and forefinger become one testicle, the third and fourth fingers become the other testicle, and the middle finger becomes the erect penis. The [gesture] you have in America is the Roman one. The only explanation for it being so popular in America is that it came over with Italian immigrants."

In the Russian tradition one gives a "figa" Usually used when when someone asks for something and you want to say "no way buddy" in a stronger sort of way, by putting your thumb between two fingers. I never understood as a child why this was inappropriate. But as i grew up, it sort made more sense why my mother was horrified when she saw me do it. Man, i miss my innocent days.

NYT Profiles Tony Leung

I love Tony Leung Chiu Wai (his full name). I find him an extremely effective actor, especially as his turn as the pining cop in Chunking Express (one of my favorite romantic films ever) and the starring role In the Mood for Love and later in 2046 (opening this weekend i the US). He has this everyday dignity about him and his pretty hot for portraying the introspective blokes. So read the article and see 2046.

I like the way Maggie Cheung describes him (i actually seen the actual interview it's taken from, yes i am film geek, i watch the DVD extras):

"Tony's very laid back and quiet, while I'm boom-boom-boom, let's go!" she says. "And he can relax me a little. He's a very sensitive guy, and that's important, especially when you do a lot of improvising. You don't want to have this macho guy who's just there looking great and standing on your foot."

Come Back

I've been blissfully in a bubble away from any world news for a few days. This made me sad: Netanyahu Steps Down, also seeing the headline Israel Society Torn Over Withdrawal Plan also made me pause today.

I've said many times before, I am all for the two state solution if only i knew that the Palestinians would keep their end of the deal. Instead teaching hteir kids that Israel is theirs and they will not stop they fight until it is Palestenian control.

A (Mini) Movie Review Of Sorts

Going to see Top Gun, except now it's called, like, "Stealth."
- my friend J. on the new Jamie Fox movie.

Quick Hits

- I miss my car terribly. I'm taking auto-mechanics class of sorts and it makes me miss my car even more. These headaches and back pain don't help. (I got an lawyer, thanks for the advice.)

- While watching the first scene of the movie Intimacy i remarked to my friend that this must be set in Britain(we weren't sure what nationality the film was at first), because the white/blue cap milk carton is from TESCO. To which my friend replied that maybe it's the British accents that give the location away. Oops. I guess i know my priorities.

- I recently watched more tv than i have in the last six months combined due to the empty apartment, low self control, and being depressed about my accident. My observations: Jon Stewart has put on a few pounds and MTV shows are still vapid but surprisingly addictive.

- My sister is on her way to Hungry. I miss her and hope this trip will conclude the summer portion of not seeing her ever.

- I dislike my classes very much. The kind of classes i'm taking make banging my head against the wall appealing. My political sci. professor keeps saying his not partisan, except all those times he calls the Republican message "simple" and tries to bash Bush every chance he gets. The classmates aren't better - general blanket statements abound.

- I very sad about my little honda. Many memorable rides were had in that car. It's a little bit like having my left arm caught off (i'm a righty if anyone cares).

- Last night during an innocent ice cream eating outing with a friend, i was confronted with some teenage asshole peeing right next to us in plain sight in the middle of a parking lot. Located in the center of town at 10:30 pm. Not standing near a wall and trying to be discreet, right there in the middle of the freakin parking lot. While his buddies hooted and hollered trying to get our attention, fucking wankers. There goes that perfect suburb image.

- I have not been once to the ocean this summer. A problem i will remedy this weekend.

- I found out someone calls me Fonz as a nickname. No one has the right to do that. Just saying.