birthday wishlist.

my birthday is in 20 days.

Lola


Kombucha


Feelies reissues




Nick Hornby's new book


Our Noise


Music Listography


Roper Boots, like these






Hefner reissues




Swedish Princess Cake

Road Soda

i've been doing a lot of new things recently, due to my dire financial situation, and just because of life in general, & they are mostly good things! you know, we work with what we've got.

new things:

1. using my collection of vintage handkerchiefs to actually blow my nose because i don't want to spend money on kleenex. kind of old man-ish, but also kind of dainty!

2. wearing ripped up tights. i can't afford new ones, but they add a kind of nice subtle punky/grungy touch to my otherwise preppy outfits.


3. hanging out with lots of really really great & super cool people...

4. ...which kind of relates to the fact that i've only been going to shows that i can get on the guest list for. so i don't have to spend $$. it's pretty sweet knowing most of the people who you want to see play.

5. wearing this jean jacket i got like 10 years ago, when i was in middle school, at the Gap. i literally never wore it until a few weeks ago & now i can't stop, i totally love it!


6. eating subway sandwiches. i admit, i used to look down on subway, i thought i was just too good for them. but you get lots of vegetables, it's cheap, very easy, and it's really darn tasty. it's still sort of embarrassing though.

7. drinking coffee at work. i never used to, but um, free coffee? yes please. today i even made myself an iced one, with splenda & Silk soy creamer, oh my!

8. only being allowed ONE Diet Coke a day. this one is really sad actually. but i just can't afford drinking my usual, like, 4 a day. oh well, RESTRAINT is a good quality for me to practice.

9. not listening to much music. this is also not really a good thing. it's just too exhausting. i've been listening to um... Sex Clark Five & The Del Fuegos. um, yeah, what? weird. well anyhow, here's a video of Sex Clark Five's super terrific cover of a Clash song.


10. getting creative with decorations! i fashioned a table out of wood & books a while back, and now i've got some interesting things on my walls. i'm really into this little Stereolab 7" i got at work the other day that i put on my wall. i think it's so cute!


this isn't really new, but here's the view from my window, from where i am sitting right this second.

"woah, i'm in trouble boys/a Southern Alabama kid's in trouble"

Mobile, Alabama roots


whenever i am about to leave the South, i start going all sentimental & relishing all those great things about the most misunderstood & underrated section of the country.

these are some Southern foods i've been into lately: cheese grits, FRIED okra & pickles & green tomatoes, ranch dressing.
mmm, want some?


and my favorite Southern cities & towns are: Mobile, AL, Fairhope, AL, Memphis, TN, Nashville, TN, Chapel Hill, NC, Winston-Salem, NC, Oxford, MS, Gainsville, FL, Pensacola, FL, New Orleans, LA, Atlanta, GA, Savannah, GA, and OF COURSE, MOST OF ALL... Athens, GA. the loveliest place in all the world.
see, these great boys are from there

my favorite places in Athens are: the 40 Watt, the Grit, THE GRILL, Caledonia Lounge, Secret Squirrel, the Globe, Transmetropolitan, Schoolkids, WUXTRY, and all the hilly back roads just outside of downtown.

i made a "Best Of Athens" mixtape, but that's for another time. so here are my Top 40 Bands/Musicians From The South!! not in order:

1. r.e.m. (GA)
2. the dB's (NC)
3. buddy holly (TX)
4. roy orbison (TX)
5. everly brothers (KY)
6. pylon (GA)
7. b-52's (GA)
8. let's active (NC)
9. love tractor (GA)
10. the squalls (GA)
11. flat duo jets (GA)
12. the silos (FL)
13. vulgar boatmen (FL)
14. jay reatard (TN)
15. dolly parton (TN)
16. otis redding (GA)
17. 13th floor elevators (TX)
18. guadalcanal diary (GA)
19. vic chesnutt (GA)
20. whiskeytown (NC)
21. OLD 97's (TX)
22. steve earle (TX)
23. justin townes earle (TN)
24. pine hill haints (AL)
25. jim white (FL)
26. swimming pool q's (GA)
27. daniel johnston (TX)
28. james & bobby purify (FL)
29. congo rebellion (FL)
30. the right angles (AL)
31. big star (TN)
32. bonnie "prince" billy (KY)
33. neutral milk hotel (GA)
34. of montreal (GA)
35. olivia tremor control (GA)
36. circulatory system (GA)
37. oh-OK (GA)
38. elf power (GA)
39. music tapes (GA)
40. the box tops (TN)

the coolest Southern gal!

My Guide to Greenpoint: Part One!

i've been speaking out so much lately on behalf of Greenpoint, even boldly declaring it the BEST AREA OF BROOKLYN (oooh, controversial!), so i figured that this lovely, northernmost part of the borough deserved to be written about. maybe one day in the future i will start a blog solely dedicated to Greenpoint. ah, dreams!

i have moved 3 times since i've been in Brooklyn, recently settling in the best abode of all. my room was unfurnished so i had to get creative with books & cd's used as tables or shelves or something. i also put fun stuff on my walls to add a bit of personal FLAV-OR.



notice my adorable, super cool (hey now, don't make fun of me!) Welsh Corgi calendar, side by side with some inspirational Feelies & Buddy Holly pictures.



my very minimal wall.



i live near McGolrick Park which is bound by Nassau and Driggs Avenues. it must be named after some Polish person.



this is one of the many beautiful churches in Greenpoint, on Manhattan Ave., and you can see it from all different points in the area. it's called St. Anthony of Padua Church i believe.



peaking out...



so, now, onto some of my favorite places in Greenpoint!!

sometimes, after a day of not eating very much, i am really hungry and i'll go down to the deli on the corner of Sutton & Nassau and get a bagel with cream cheese for 1 whole dollar. and, when i am workin' in Greenpoint and not in the big city, while everyone else is having some type of meat-y lunch, i'll go down there and get a delicious cheese sandwich. piled high with sharp cheddar, lettuce and tomato, and lots of mustard on a big old roll, it only costs me $2.50!!!! amazing!

another of my favorite food places is Amarin, a Thai restaurant on Manhattan between Driggs & Nassau. sometimes when i am out of Diet Cokes and don't feel like leaving the house, i'll order delivery from them so that they can bring me one. i also get some tasty, surprisingly light and very spicy! pad thai with tofu out of the deal.

one of my favorite non-food places around here is Susan's Laundromat at Diamond & Driggs. before i moved to Brooklyn, i had never dropped off my laundry- i'd always suffered through the dredgery of doing it myself, miserable the whole time. but since i discovered this place, i have changed my ways. i just give them everything & it's only 10 bucks and they do such an amazing job. they are so sweet and neatly hang and fold everything, it is such a joy!

there aren't many "cool" "hip" hotspots in my area of Greenpoint (clearly, since i am talking about LAUNDROMATS in my Guide), but there is one good place called Bar Matchless, at Manhattan & Driggs, right by McCarren Park (we'll get to that later). i recently went there to see my friend's band Pow Wow! [www.myspace.com/powwownyc] play a show. it was also where i spent Election Night! alongside a bunch of happy, drunk hipsters! by the way, only a few blocks down from Matchless, on Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg, there was some major craziness on Election Night! there was a bit of drama eventually, but it looked pretty amazing for the most part. this picture is courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan [www.brooklynvegan.com] which is a great source for music news & happenings in BK.



the only non-positive thing one might be able to say about Greenpoint is the transportation situation. the L is a 15 or 20 minute walk, to either the Graham or Bedford stops. the G is a little closer, with locations on Nassau and Greenpoint Ave., but the G seems to be pretty universally disliked. there is a good place to use the bathroom right before the G stop on Nassau, if you were wondering. i've used it a few times on my way to far-off destinations like Park Slope. anyway.
cab drivers also have no idea how to get to Greenpoint (or Brooklyn in general). despite being located right off the BQE, the few times i've taken a cab in the past 3 months, i've had to direct my driver where to go. which, if you know anything about my sense of direction, is a scary thought.

so i end up walking A LOT. and there are a few certain walks that i make frequetly that i absolutely love. one is the walk from Greenpoint to the Bedford area of Williamsburg. i do this walk if i am going to the subway or Salvation Army or, most commonly, the Music Hall of Williamsburg. i walk past the lovely, lively McCarren Park, which is always swarming with families with small children, kids playing sports, people jogging, old people, young people, hip people, normal people. it's very fun.



then, on my way back home, when it's late at night and i've just been to a show, i love to go to Anna Maria Pizzeria on Bedford for an incredible slice of pizza. they stay open until like 5 am and the place is always packed with drunk people (funny if you are drunk too, highly annoying if you aren't) and the guys who work there are kind of wiseasses and try to sell you 5 slices instead of 1, but all that insanity is worth it, because that pizza is seriously amazing. i eat it as i walk back down Bedford towards Greenpoint, where even very late at night there are people around and it is 100% safe and i get to take in all the beautiful sights that look downright magical at night, like this school right by McCarren Park.



speaking of long walks, last weekend i was at a party in a different area of Greenpoint, down near the East River by Java and India Streets, and by 2 am, i was the only one ready to head home. so as to not send me on my way totally defenseless, D and J "borrowed" a big umbrella for me. what gentlemen. so i walked down bustling Manhattan Ave., in a light rain at 2 am, using this sweet umbrella as a sort of walking-stick. like a cane. like when Kramer was a pimp on Seinfeld.

lots 'o' things

1. FIRST OF ALL, MUSIC.

a. lately i've been listening to The Soft Boys, The Silos, R.E.M.'s Murmur, Jay Reatard, Sonic Youth, and one night recently Brian Eno's Another Green World was played by me & a special someone over & over again throughout the night. but more than anything else, i've been WAY into PAVEMENT lately. especially Wowee Zowee, which was the only one of their albums i hadn't played a ton over the years. but i've made up for it in the past few weeks, as that album is on constant repeat.
here is their video for "Rattled by the Rush":



b. Elliott Smith is the only person who could make Big Star's "Thirteen," the most achingly beautiful song ever, even more beautiful.
this is from Lucky Three, a film E.S. was in:



c. the day after my birthday, the magnificent Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour came to NYC. it was quite a spectacle. the crowd was rabid & the place was completely packed. i had the great honor of watching most of the show from backstage, while i rubbed elbows with some of the biggest indie rock icons of the past 2 decades. they are some of the coolest, most creative, sweetest, most genuine and talented people anywhere in the world. it was the best birthday present ever.



i was also left with an old, hole-y, AMAZING e6 t-shirt at the end of that long night (that actually never ended, because we never went to sleep). a few days later i also got an old, AMAZING Athens, Ga t-shirt from my friend for my birthday. how 'bout that.


2. This past weekend was CMJ in the city & lots of crazy/drunken/amazingly fun things went on.

a. on Thursday night, i went to see Mission of Burma.

b. on Friday during the day, Jay Reatard came to the Matador offices & played a few songs as everyone in the office stopped what they were doing and huddled around to watch. it was like a mini-concert in the middle of the workday. pretty amazing. Jay's Matador Singles '08 is one of my favorite albums of the year.
here he & his band do an awesome cover of an old Go-Betweens (!!) tune:



c. on Friday night, E came in to town. we made gin & tonics and went to Gowanus. we wanted to see Crystal Stilts, but arrived too late because apparently in New York City shows actually start on time. SHEESH. so we saw Ladybug Transistor who the man at the door referred to as "Ladybirds." from there, we headed to Manhattan. along the way, we ran into my subway pal from my hometown as well as a busker on the subway who, despite his designer glasses that i complimented him on and his fancy 12-string guitar that he let me play, asked us for a "donation" after he played us 2 beatles tunes. i hate when people sing to me. but this dude was pretty hysterical. we parted ways with our new friend and went to the Matador afterparty in the Lower East Side. drank some free Stellas, had enthusiastic interactions with people who usually never talk to me at work, admired the Halloween decorations, and got out of there around 3 am.

d. on Saturday night, M came over to Greenpoint and he and E and i had some beers & maybe a shot of vodka or two.



it was rainy, so E & i took a cab to Williamsburg for that night's show. Women played first. they were a delightful surprise. really really good stuff. they are from Canada i think.



the venue was supercool and there were crazy Alice In Wonderland videos being played on the walls and we drank Colt 45's and just had a blast. after a few pretty dreadful acts, it was once again time for JAY REATARD. it was SUCH a fun show. superfast songs, high energy from the band and the crowd, singing along and going crazy, those luscious long flowing curls of his.
this way FAR OUT photo was taken by E:



e. oh, but towards the end of Jay's set, a few members of the crowd were getting a bit unruly, and some dude slammed into me and knocked me down, as i was stood at the front of the stage. now i've got a GIGANTIC black and blue bruise on my thigh & what i think is a broken finger:



i'm pretty badass, i guess.


3. i've fallen in love with Brooklyn lately.

a. the other night, after the Mission of Burma show, all by my lonesome, kind of late at night, i took the long way home. i walked 20 minutes down Bedford back to Greenpoint. it was just elating. it was a beautiful night, people were out but it was quiet, the park was on the right, old Polish churches all around.

b. i was also eating a slice of broccoli pizza from a pizzeria right by the Bedford L stop on this walk home. it was one of the best slices i've ever had. i got another after the Jay Reatard show, with E, before we made the late night walk home for our second night of going to bed at 6 am.
tasty:






4. ELECTION DAY, SCARY!

a. also on our walk home from Williamsburg after Jay Reatard, we saw THIS:



it was pretty amazing. it looked so beautiful. perhaps all those Colt 45's were making me overly emotional, but it was really inspiring, kinda got me all misty-eyed. well not really, but almost.

b. my dad pointed me to this hilarious/lovely essay written by the one & only Larry David.
read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-david/waiting-for-nov-4th_b_137029.html

c. i've never been a big SNL fan, but i've been really enjoying all their election sketches. that Tina Fey sure is terrific. the dudes who play McCain and Obama are great too. they make me laugh out loud.

d. semi-related, i've also been reading The Onion a lot and it CRACKS ME UP. especially uproarious are news items entitled "First Openly Gay Racehorse To Compete Sunday" & "John McCain Accidentally Left On Campaign Bus Overnight" and "'I Am Under 18' Button Clicked For First Time In History of Internet." HI-LARIOUS!

the economy in me-land

NEW YORK CITY IS SO EXPENSIVE. you've been warned. but still, we choose to live here because it's just so darn terrific. i guess.

in the past week, i've had both good & bad experiences with the ways of money.

THE BAD:
1 diet coke at joe's pub in manhattan- $5.45
1 corona at joe's pub in manhattan- $8
1 gin and tonic at joe's pub in manhattan- $10
a round trip subway ride from brooklyn to manhattan- $5 (it adds up real quick!!!)
soy crips from natural food store in williamsburg- $4


THE GOOD:
coffee from a stand in manhattan near spring and hudson- 75 cents (and the guy is so nice too!!)
a bottle of wine from trader joe's wine shop in union square- $3.99
a whole slew of groceries, including hummus, crackers, a Luna bar, eye makeup remover cloths, cereal, whole wheat pasta, bananas, & a box of mac and cheese from trader joe's in union square- $16
12 pack of diet coke from natural food store in williamsburg- $2.99
1 fancy beer on tap at BARCADE (a bar with retro video games, sweet!)
in williamsburg- $5
CD's like pavement's wowee zowee, times new viking's rip it off, and the entire sonic youth back catalog- FREE! (if you work where i work)

& tickets to see robert forster & the feelies within one week of each other- priceless


& i make a whopping TEN DOLLARS a day at my internship. I'M RICH!

r.i.p.

one of the greatest establishments in mobile, alabama has closed indefinitely. even though people complained about the lackluster service and the waitresses had meth face, Picklefish is still beloved in this corner of the world and holds a very special place in my heart.



they had some of the best pizza i've ever tasted. they had a fantastic jukebox. i recall playing lots of Elvis Costello & Big Country & Tom Petty & Ramones on it. my (legendary) band in high school, The Right Angles, would go there after every gig we played. we would yell "The Right Angles are leaving the building!" when we left, every time, without fail. we found that very humorous. i'll never know how the Picklefish employees felt about it. i saw the Pine Hill Haints there once. they are an amazing band and their bass player plays the washtub. i have ended up there with friends many many late nights after a show or hanging out downtown having a few brews. also, the one and only time i've ever eaten a FRIED PICKLE was there. a fried pickle is the stuff of dreams.



come back soon please Picklefish!

xoxoxoxoxo.

SCRUNCHAROOS!

i just made the best dessert ever, the enigmatically named Scruncharoo. i don't know what "scruncharoo" is supposed to denote, but they are terribly tasty. i must have had them as a little kid, because eating them brought back memories. ah, the good old days.

they are especially good after a little you-know-what. or maybe you don't know what. it's just as well.



i also got my two favorite magazines in the mail today: Magnet and Cooking Light.

how i got 34 grams of fiber in a day

breakfast: kashi go lean cereal (a whopping 10 grams of fiber)

snacks during day: 3 wasa crackers (6 grams)

dinner: salad & a sweet potato (4+ grams)

post-dinner snack: popcorn (5 grams)

3 times throughout day: benefiber in water (9 grams)

WOW!