RED ALERT!!

summer hours have unexpectedly begun!!

that means that i am out of here at 1:00 on fridays suckas!

the long weekend starts now....

back from beyond the grave

i have spent the last two days in bed, horribly sick. i am going to blame this one on food poisoning because i don't know what else it could have been. maybe it was the flu, but do people get the flu in may? maybe.

anyways, wow, what a crappy couple of days it has been. i am at about 70% right now and i can't tell if being at work for the first time since tuesday is helping or hurting.

one thing that i re-learned over the last few days is that daytime television is just absolutely horrible. it really is unwatchable. i remember staying home from school and being excited about watching reruns of Family Ties or M*A*S*H. now it's just an endless string of terrible talk shows hosted by people that aren't all that interesting. jane pauley, for example.

there is one remaining bright spot left however. it's called The Price Is Right. i can't believe that this show is still on. it has to be one of the longest running shows ever, right? for this, i am glad. i got to watch that game where the little yodelling mountain climber goes up the mountain. it's my favorite. i also like ker-plunk, but that wasn't on. thank you bob barker. may you live to be 200 years old.

now, time to trudge through a thousand soul crushing work emails...

dreary week

what an incredibly blah week it's shaping up to be weather-wise here.

tonight i am going to a good (hopefully) film and then onto adam's birthday party at the fabulous el cantinero. it could become an interesting evening.

today i am wearing a brand new pair of shoes for the first time. i love that. it's one of those great moments in life i think.

also, right now i have this hankering to listen to the Replacements, but i don't have anything by them for some reason.

another music related something: i don't get why people like rilo kiley so much. they seem cheesy and boring to me. is it just because their singer is kind of cute? probably.

one more thing...i just started chuck klosterman's new book this morning. it's called 'killing yourself to live'. i'll let you know what i think when i finish it.

until then...

the results are in

yeah, so i saw it. and now it's all over. no more star warses? that makes me kind of sad, but that's the way the world goes around.

what did you's guys think of it?

i give it an 8. i don't want to talk to much about it seeing as how i don't want to ruin the little surprises, but here's what i liked about it:

yoda
r2d2
the emperor
light sabers
what happens to anikan at the end (vicious)


what i didn't like (same complaints as always):

way too much cgi
jedi's that die easier than stormtroopers
too much cheese
one scene at the end that made me wince (think frankenstein)

i will say that i am going to see it again. it must be noted that i am a big nerd though*, so keep that in mind.

*not as nerdy as the two "jedi's" who came fully dressed (with lightsabers) to the theater

2 hours 'til STAR WARS

well, i am headed to the theater in a bit. showtime is at 5:45!

i am pretty excited about this. it better be good because recently i rewatched the first two new ones and momma mia, were they awful.

except for the light saber bits.

god i love light sabers so much.

love,
anthony

ride that train


did you guys know that it's illegal to take pictures in the subway? yep. from what i understand, it's all because of homeland security.

isn't that retarded?

well, anyways, my friend took this movie of me riding the train home after work yesterday. it's pretty uneventful, but hey, maybe you're bored...

way out west

last night on pbs i saw another part of this series called 'soundtrack of the century'.

each episode is about a certain point in popular music with interviews and all of that stuff that goes along with it. anyways, last night's was mostly about that super kick ass california music from the late 60's/early 70's.

the byrds, the band, the grateful dead, gram parsons, joni mitchell, crosby still and nash, neil young, the eagles etc...

i can watch this kind of stuff endlessly.

hands down though, my favorite part was about bill withers. fuck. that guy is a giant badass. he's one of those people that you never really heard of, but you know his songs by heart. 'ain't no sunshine when she's gone' and 'lean on me' are two of them.

they showed him playing on some old tv show and he was just playing and sweating his ass off. it was fantastic.

the whole show really made me want to move to california and live in the desert and play the piano and sing songs (not that i need much more motivation).

sculpture is a giant pain in the ass.

happy creepy friday everyone



i totally remember seeing this film in the theater when i was a kid. even then, i remember thinking that it was pretty crappy.

click on the photo above for a full recap just in case you can't remember for yourselves.

ps.

just in case you don't know, you can go into Wendy's and get a free Frosty starting today until sunday.

i am on my way to get one right now...

UPDATE.......HOLD YOUR HORSES!
i just went and got a frosty and it was smaaaall. like four or five onces small. it's totally not worth it, so don't bother. i mean, i had one, but just don't make a special trip is all i'm saying.

to make up for it, see if you can beat my high score of 1,185 on THIS game.

the steel city

hi everybody!

did you miss me? well rest assured that i missed you.

i have been away for about 5 days on a little mini-vacation.

in PITTSBURGH y'all!

my pops was there last week, taking care of my awesome grandma Tressa because she just had an operation. i thought that i would join them. the more the merrier, right?

so after spending cinco de mayo drinking wayyyy too many tequila gimlets at the abbey (we couldn't get into any mexican places because they were soooo packed), i got up at 4am for my flight.

ugh.


here i am switching planes at washington dulles airport. give it up for small, small propeller planes!

i always like it when you have to actually walk out onto the runway to get on and off of your plane. there's something nice and old fashioned about that. though maybe old fashioned and air travel might not me the best combination...

once in pittsburgh, i got a cab from the airport to carnegie ($35!!!). carnegie (pronounced "car-NAY-gi") is the small township just outside of downtown pittsburgh. it's where all of my italian relatives live.

i was starving once i got there so i went to this little diner to grab breakfast. after i ordered, i realized that i only had three dollars in my pocket and they didn't accept credit cards. i had to beg the grumpy waitress to let me write a check. she finally let me and i was on my way. i haven't paid for a meal with a check for probably 7 years or something like that. again with the old fashioned thing...

of course it was great to see my dad and grandma again. she seemed to be doing really well considering that she had an operation just days before. she was up and running around and being as sassy as ever.


another person that i am always really happy to see is my cousin phil. he is a badass painter and has always been one of my huge influences and heroes. it was also a bit sad though, because his wife just died a few months ago and it was strange to not have her around. lots of changes are suddenly happening in carnegie these days like that. it stinks getting old.


later that afternoon, we were off to have some fish sandwiches.

for some reason, pittsburgh has THE greatest fish sandwiches ever. you have never seen anything like it. they are enormous and delicious and amazing. i had three of them in four days. amen.

another person that is always fun to see is joe (another cousin).


joe took my dad and i out to play some pool at the local VFW. as we were approaching the front door, joe mentions that it's a key club. i didn't know exactly what he was talking about, but it turns out that it's actually a key club. this means that you have to have a key to get in the door. crazy.

the best part is, the next night we went to another key club. this one was called the "white polish eagles" club. it was hilarious.


here's a photo of one of the sexy gaming machines that was inside. magical odds indeed.

oh, the best part about these clubs were the rules. my dad and i, being guests of joe's, weren't allowed to pay for anything at all. we weren't even supposed to take any money out of our pockets. also, if you kicked the pool table, for any reason, you would immediately be suspended for life. ain't no playing around in the key clubs, my friends.


wait, i take that all back. the REAL best part about these clubs was the fact that it cost $.35 for a beer. 35 cents!!! i swear to god. i had tons of the local iron city beer. it goes well with key clubs.


saturday was my grandma's 78th birthday. sunday was mother's day. i am glad that we were around to take tressa out to celebrate. this is us out on sunday. aww....


later on, my dad and i decided to go out to the driving range to hit some golf balls. i hadn't done that forever and it was totally fun and really beautiful outside.

after hitting a few buckets, we decided to make a trip into pittsburgh to ride the incline (more on that later).

for those of you that haven't been there, entering pittsburgh is a magical thing.


as you approach the city, you are driving through some serious tree covered hills and you never get a peek of the skyline at all.

then suddenly you come upon the fort pitt tunnel, which is basically just a small hole in the base of this giant, super steep hill. once in the tunnel, you are just zooming along with these yellow lights flashing by you until you finally see the daylight at the other end. when i was little, my sister and i would always try to hold our breath for the duration of the tunnel.

suddenly, you reach the end and BOOM! you are in the city. there are buildings and bridges and cars and boats everywhere. it's sort of like coming out of hyperspace and it's totally awesome.


here's a crappy animation that sort of shows what it's like.


so over my dad's shoulder is that incline that i was talking about. it's called the Duquesne Incline (pronounced "doo-cain"). this thing is amazing and super super old. when you ride it, you feel like you are going to die for sure. once you get to the top though, you are rewarded with the most kick ass view of the city that there is.


after the incline, we went back down into the city and walked out onto that point by the water. it was a lovely day.


the next day we went out driving around with tressa and happened upon one of my favorite places of all time. i got a root beer freeze. on the cup it was talking about how dairy queen is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the blizzard. that weirded me out because i totally remember when those things first came out. i am old.


the day before i left, my dad and joe and i went out to golf. i was so awful i couldn't believe it. on the second hole, i richoceted a ball off of the roof of a nearby house. it was really embarassing. i miss golfing and am jealous of everyone that gets to do it.


afterwards, i hit up the batting cages in preparation for my upcoming softball league. batting cages are great. i can't wait to go the one at coney island again.

then suddenly it was tuesday morning and i was on my way to the airport. damn. back to reality.


but not before i got to ride on a few more miniature airplanes.

so in summation, go visit pittsburgh. it's the best. if you need a tour guide, i will gladly volunteer my services in exchange for the small fee of one or two fish sandwiches.

operators are standing by...

the most incredibly awesome nerds in the galaxy


in honor of us getting closer to the opening of the new star wars, please enjoy this old bit from the conan o'brien show.

love,
anthony

margaritas, wedding present, and murder

in preparation for the big wedding present show on friday night, my friend adam and i went to have margaritas at one of my favorite places, el cantinero. we got there at 6pm and the place was already jammed with people dancing and drinking and eating the free happy hour food. it was like an instant party.

so after about 6 margaritas each, it was time for some fresh air. we took a leisurely stroll down to the bowery ballroom. along the way we came across the critical mass bike ride that was happening that night. there weren't that many of them at all. maybe about 50? anyways, adam tends to get belligerent when full of alcohol and started screaming at them...come to think of it, i don't remember whether he was sassing them or cheering them on. either way, i was sad to read this the next day. the city is being a real dick lately.

after another 15 blocks or so, we reached the ballroom. it was about 8 o'clock and by this time i was really hungry so i decided that we should try to find a pizza place before the show. walking past the bowery, we came upon a bunch of police tape and policemen who wouldn't let us pass on the sidewalk. even in the blurry state that i was in, i noticed that the police were pretty serious and kind of sad looking.

we walked on by to try to see what was going on, but all i saw was a bunch of policemen looking at the sidewalk and interviewing some guy.

after passing this scene, i realized that there wasn't a slice place that i knew of nearby so we decided to go back to ballroom and have another drink before the show. we definitely did not need that, but well...yeah.

anyways, i think that the opening band was called 'crystal skulls' or something stupid like that. i don't really remember much about them, but i don't remember hating them so they must've been alright.

then it was time for the wedding present to play. man, was i excited. i have been waiting a really long time to see these guys (or this guy). they played a really simple, no frills or fancy lights set and it kicked ass. my only gripe was that they only played two songs off of seamonsters, but i'll forgive them. also, they didn't play an encore (he said that they never do?).

who needs coachella when the wedding present is in town?

after that, i went back to brooklyn to meet up with my friend nancy and her friend dina at this bar in williamsburg. i spent most of my night helping them win pool games by using my 'mental NO' technique. just ask aaron melander about it's effectiveness. i think that he'll attest to it's jedi-like power.

the next day i went out for sushi and afterwards ended up in a deli while my friends were taking out money. i started reading the papers that were laying there and i saw this and then this.

goddamn.

it really freaked me out to realize that someone had been stabbed right outside of the bowery ballroom only a half hour before we were there. ugh.

******************************

ok, just to lighten the mood a bit, i got this email from elliot today describing last friday's wonder showzen:

"Last night's Wonder Showzen was crazy. The theme word of the day was
"patience". So they had a lot of skits based on people being boring to see
how patient the audience was. This went on for about 12 minutes. Then they
stopped the show and they apologized because it was boring. So they played
it in reverse for another 10 minutes to "take it back". Then they had about
three minutes left so they did a show based around the word "speed". They
did an entire new show in 3 minutes with everything slightly sped up and cut
down. It was an awesome concept piece."

i am sad that i missed it.