Testing A Shout Out

I'm fiddling with a few things.... First I haven't uploaded many of my own photos, though I know Nancy and Steve frequently do. So, to paraphrase Greg Brown, it's a picture of a picture taken and printed my good friend Annie Murdock. The original happily hangs in my apartment.

Secondly, I just installed Adium on my iMac to consolidate my IM clients (MSN, Jabber, iChat & Yahoo), and so far I'm very impressed, though I've yet to chat with anyone.

Thirdly, I just installed Skype too, which seems a bit redundant to IM, or vice versa, but you've got to use it to know... which is all to say, does anyone else here use skype? Norm & Judy have it on their Macs but I don't think they've set up accounts.

So for the geeks, what else do you use? I know there's some Flickr folks, Delicious anyone? Who's gearing up for Web2.0? I'd love to pick your brain.

The Delicate Forests of Yuken Teruya

At the close of the summer, Jason, Joe and I went to PS1 to the Greater New York exhibit (as well as soak up the WarmUp party in courtyard, and chill in James Turrell's room). The sprawling exhibit had several gems peppered about, but the stand out was Yuken Teruya's diaramic trees, set in and cut from shopping bags. Ranging from Krispy Kreme to LVMH, the trees are exquisitly executed, while retaining serveral layers of meaning surrounding packaging, luxury, trash and so on. One of my favorite features is how the hole left from the cutting of the tree allows a spotlight for the tree inside. Here is another good example (pdf).

I was pleased as punch to see that Teruya has a solo show at Bienvenu (529 W. 20th Street) through Oct. 15. To paraphrase, let's go to the woods and marvel deliberately.

What's in a name, or an area code? 917press explained

My faithful friend, inspiration and reader Steve gave me a generous shout out, but inquires to the origin of this blog's name.

917 is an overlay area code assigned to New York City. Back in the day, all of New York City was 212. NYC always had a high concentration of phones, so when dialing, by definition on a rotary, 212 was the quickest area code to dial, as compared to 800. As numbers kept accumulating, the outer boroughs (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and ShaoLin) were exiled to 718 (a much longer dial, no?). Since Manhattan has so many letters, I now often refer to it as the 212. Then, as mobile phones emerged, they were given the area code 917. There is now 212, 718, 646, 347, and 917 in the Five.

As some of you know, I resisted the mobile lifestyle until 2003 when I moved to the Heights (Brooklyn that is)and gave up having a landline. In fact I used a rotary phone, and really felt the pain of 718. Nonetheless, when, in 1999, I moved up to the Heights (in this case Washington) my landline number had a 917 exchange, which always led to assumptions that this was my mobile number. No no, no no no... though I lived in Manhattan, I was denied the 212. This kind of slight would happen again in a few months when Manhattan, north of 135th Street, blacked out in July. Above 125 gets no love, and yes, I've gone through two blackouts in New York.

So anyway, I started feeling a bit disconnected from Manhattan, though present all over, well at least throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan. So later that summer, I embraced my nomadic area code when I made a chapbook of poetry published by 917press. Thus is the tale.

More on the history of area codes. And here's the mess we have now ever since they abandoned area codes having either a one or zero in the middle.

Giant Squid!

The news is all over the interweb: scientists, for the first time, captured (on film) a giant squid. National Geographic has a great little gallery, which hopfully will become a giant gallery.

The article describes, "The photo sequence, taken off Japan's Ogasawara Islands in September 2004, shows the squid homing in on the baited line and enveloping it in "a ball of tentacles."

Now if I could only find that giant lemon to go with the giant stick of butter...

The Alpha and Omega of Star Wars: Charlie Ross

In 1977, I was adopted in April... and in few short months my parents would take me to my first movie: Star Wars. Last night at the TKTS booth, my parents bought my last Star Wars ticket: Charlie Ross' One-Man Star Wars Trilogy.

It was good fun, worth its discounted price and on par with downtown fare. Though there is a bit of feeling you're watching your nephew/cousin perform in the den, he does some things amazingly well (R2D2's whistles) and some subtly inserted commentary on the prequel trilogy.

It's amazing how much of the movie you project as you watch him, and you forget for a moment how bad Lucas' dialog is since Ross makes them so much fun. I was sad some great lines didn't make it ("I sense a great disturbance in the Force"," and "These aren't the droids you're looking for") But it made for a great hour of nostalgia. Bonuses were getting my picture taken with a storm trooper and the many life-size cardboard cut outs in the lobby... (mmm... Carrie Fisher as Leia)

It runs through December, full price tickets are $40, but TKTS had them for $23 including the service charge.

Teleflip: Texting computer>mobile

I had a big tech geeking weekend with my folks last week (and they're here in NYC this weekend too!). I set up an airport express for Wi-Fi, network printing and music streaming for them, helped my dad do some movie editing in iMovieHD (astoundingly easy!), and got my mom up to speed for some online commerce and her own gmail account. We even talked about text messaging (which Judy is pretty good at).

But one question was left unaswered: How can one send text messages from a computer?

Well today lifehacker had this cheatsheet, which seemed ok, if you knew what carrier the phone number is on--but how likely is that? Too headachy, so I dug a little deeper and found Teleflip.

I tested it out on myself and works as promised and free. But I'm still not sure how legit/kosher it is. I found variations of this article, but not much in mainstream press. I'm a little concerned of the potential for abuse, but if it works as promised... it's awesome. Just send an email to: phonenumber@teleflip.com

Just imagine, towards the end of the work day, you're at your computer, you're about to meet someone, but you can't get through (maybe they're on the train, maybe in a meeting, maybe sitting in church) so you send an text message... "running late" , "I'm wearing the bunny suit", "pick up some milk" Done. And with a full keyboard.

But why haven't more people heard of it? Anyone else know? So far so good.

Reading Off The Syllabus

Each semester I attempt to maintain some personal reading with my course reading. I've had mixed luck in the past, but one home run was reading the Infinite Jest while in my Public Finance class. Both ultimately came down to the understanding the pursuit of happiness, whether its public goods & market failure or addiction & the junior tennis circuit.

I'm taking a class in Public Finance in Developing Countries now, and had the fortune of landing Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins from my book swap just before classes began. Confessions of an EHM is an anecdotal autobiography (with a several endnotes) on how he, as an forecasting economist for MAIN (think Bechtel, Carlyle & Halliburton) inflated estimates to convince developing countries and the World Bank to enter in huge debt agreements. A twist of how the pitch was always based on how great the endeavor would be for the county, and keeping on the low down how much more insured is the profit of his firm. While his style is over the top and didactic, its evident he really is trying to clear his conscious.

Contrast this with public finance theory, where between the lines there are implications of the winners and losers, but the text reads in a scientific neutral. The last two things to come to mind are:

1) how developing countries, whom have relied heavily on taxes on international trade, have been advised to reduce rates in order to spur growth and reap higher revenues. But now research shows that revenues have not increased for developing nations. They fail to mention how corporations are enjoying paying less in tax;

2) Venezuala keeps popping up in the news. Mostly Victor Chavez, and how he's painted as a socialist dictor threatening their stability. Pat Robertson called for his assassination. He survived a coup in December 2002. But what we don't get a sense of is a) how popular and charismatic he is, and b) how oil wealth was bypassing the country before his rise to power, and how contracts we rewritten to put more mineral wealth into the national treasury. Why is the news down on Chavez? Because he has not let Big Oil do as they please . The Documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is a great perspective on how distorted our view of Venezuala is (and can I get a shout for my man Gil Scott Heron and my favorite cut!?!).

I'm moving on to Dominique LaPorte's History of Shit A look at human waste disposal from a Marxist perspective. I'll keep you posted on how it all comes out.

Weapons of Mass Amusement

Another Google bomb has detonated. My good pal Dave H. sent me a push to google "Failure." Hilarity ensues. I think this has been around, along with "weapons of mass destruction" a couple years ago.

The Cognitive Science of Vik Muniz

Some of you may have seen my Friendster profile. Under “Who do you want to meet” I list: ex-smokers, fencers, janet cardiff, cooking stars, vik muniz.

I can now scratch Vik off the list, though I wouldn't mind meeting him again. Last night he gave a talk at the Chelsea Barnes & Noble to push his latest book “Reflex, a Vik Muniz Primer”

Though the talk started off with a slow story of how the book came to be, he eventually got into a groove with a Keynote (like Powerpoint, but better) presentation that went from early work to some current work not yet presented.

A couple points were very fascinating. The first, which explains how he approaches his work is his interest in how our minds are really only able to handle seeing one thing at a time, especially for various optical illusions, such as the old and young woman. Thus he recreates images out of string, syrup, diamonds, sugar, toy, junk, and then photographs them with large format. Then, like recent Chuck Close work, one can shift from seeing the larger picture, to the elemental.

He also likes to play with perspective… on hand doing homage to earth artists like Robert Smithson, to working with Intel to etch pictures of castles on a single grain of sand.

The other point I loved was a discussion of the nature of education. How we are so focused on Math and Language arts. On one hand they have been the bedrock of our culture, and so by learning you free yourself from a tyranny, such as, by learning to read, you’re freed from the tyranny of those who write. But as an artist, he is troubled by how we short our visual literacy, especially now, when visual media has taken over the written word, and branding is more powerful than copy.

I had a great night last night.

9/11 Four Years Later

I just spent some time on the Promenade, spilled a toast, and thought about the anniversary. They put up lights on 9/11 every year now.

The Quakers had a special meeting, opening the house at 9 for a potentially 3-hour session for those interested. I sat for 2 hours, and two threads came up in testimony that I was particularly interested in.

The first thread had to do with humility. Mostly dealing with a humbling experience, a retreat from arrogance, and the feeling of smallness. Yet as the testimonies were laced in despair, I couldn't to help to think that if we aren't so powerful as we think, as we gain an appreciation for the powers of nature, or moments beyond our comprehension, there should also be a enhancement of beauty. Just as there is more powerful and ineffable forces in our lives, that which we take for granted ought to be more fragile, and thus more cherished and wondered at.

The second thread had to do with ghosts. My term, not others. But it ties in with the first thread insofar as, in the modern era there are more ghost like experience around us, and yet I tend to believe less in them. But besides feeling the presence of the dearly departed, we have artifacts, letters, pictures, movies, recordings and so on. The departed continue to haunt us, but we call it memorial, remembrance, reflection.

This morning for me, the ghost was the Times publishing this letter from Spalding Gray, whom I was deeply fascinated with prior to coming to New York, and deeply sad at his suicide.

They print:

Spalding Gray, the actor and monologuist, died in 2004. The following letter, which he wrote in the aftermath of 9/11, will appear in "Life Interrupted," a published version of the monologue he was working on at the time of his death.

For 34 years I lived with you and came to love you. I came to you because I loved theater and found theater everywhere I looked. I fled New England and came to Manhattan, that island off the coast of America, where human nature was king and everyone exuded character and had big attitude. You gave me a sense of humor because you are so absurd.

When we were kids, my mom hung a poster over our bed. It had a picture of a bumblebee, and under the picture the caption read:

"According to all aerodynamic laws, the bumblebee cannot fly because its body weight is not in the right proportion to its wingspan. But ignoring these laws, the bee flies anyway."

That is still New York City for me.

There are points I could preach on from today, but I'll pass. It is enough to feel heaviness and regret to know that we didn't respond correctly as a country, and it took a far greater catastrophe to put this into perspective.

Fashion Tips From Jason Duvall Jones

Recent posts have been a bit glum, so I was wildly excited to get this lesson via e-mail from Jason Jones. The kid can toss off snappy phrases like a champion newspaper delivery boy. I particularly like hearing LeTigre wearing LeTigre. I miss you man, come back to the city...

Well. After scouring the fall fashion magazines I have come up with my digest of what I'm hoping to procure for autumn in short order. To most fashion is superfluous and insignificant. They are wrong. It is an expression of oneself. It says who you are, where you've been and how you got there without ever really saying a word that is unless you'd like it to.

I'm a snappy dresser and not very trendy. After having worked in fashion in one way or another for ten+ years so I'd say I'm expert at this sort of thing. Hopefully it will help you in not looking like shit around the countless upcoming birthdays or holidays and spoiling photo ops with family and friends.

Enormous weekender bags: It's a good idea to get one of these guys. It's great for travel or laundry and it looks good just lying around or at the gym. One place you shouldn't look like a schlub is the airport (except when you're flying first class) and (if you must do your own), the laundromat. The best one I saw was from Barneys Private Label. Durable cotton canvas, sturdy, came in white, black, green and white but the best color was orange. It ran about $275 which I think is a lot but it looked great and was the perfect size. Other versions I liked were; Cole Haan, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Tods, T. Anthony, Jil Sander, Kenneth Cole and Jack Spade. Don't pay more than $200. Check LL Bean, and Banana Republic. Just make sure it's lightweight, not too loud, has handy compartments and closes properly with snaps or zippers. Leather is nice but doesn't give nearly as much as nylon or canvas but lasts longer and looks better as it ages. Maybe do both.

Aviators: Whenever we're at war aviators (and flight jackets) come back and why not? They're stylish and you must protect your eyes (and cargo pockets are good particularly on a jacket). I lose eyewear a lot but that doesn't deter me from coveting those which fall into the 3 digit price range (Persol, Cutler & Gross, Giorgio Armani). The best ones I've seen this season are from Ray-Ban. Mirrored or just polarized green, blue or red they get it right each time and they're durable and iconoclastic and reasonably priced at around $85-110. Even ugly people look choice in them. Perry Ellis also has a very nice pair for a bit cheaper and Mossimo has a fab pair for $20 (the fab part). Or better yet take the bread you would have spent on the Armani occhiali and buy like 8 pair of cheapo ones at the gas station. Wearing them at night says I'm rich and high.

Polo shirts: Now I've consulted with some of my fashion forward friends on this. I'm torn about whether wearing a bright solid or striped polo shirt is appropriate if you're not in fact playing polo. I saw Le Tigre wearing in fact Le Tigre and I thought, fuck that is so white! The answer is yes apparently. I'm told that the way it's worn is what counts. Growing up in Piedmont, California, in the early '80's, 'tweens (myself included) used to wear a different polo shirt everyday, sometimes two at a time. Wearing two is stupid. The new modern way to wear them is almost like a fashion magazine spread: with a tie as a belt. I object to this style because it looks like you're trying too hard which is never the look I want to rock but I can't deny that in the right manner the look is dope. Also I just bought an orange ribbon belt from Old Navy which looks hot and is cheap as hell and looks preppylicious with a polo.

My fashion sages also say one look to sport is luxe meaning cashmere or light Italian merinos with or without buttons. I was also told to steer clear of big labels or insignia (too common unless you're on the Cape) go for layering with a jean jacket and/or blazer and try long sleeves. Neutral colors that fit or Paul Smith- like stripes will create that sophistication that will set you apart from the pack.

The best brands are still Polo Ralph Lauren and Lacoste especially and run about $75- 100. Ralph has the new trendy oversized polo player emblem now. Avoid these. Getting them in off colors like taupe, grey and pink are good but I'd go for black, white and red too. The type I want this season are from Fred Perry, Marc Jacobs and J Crew which has a dizzying array of striped versions and there is always a good sale both in stores and online for around $20. Cheerio!

Tennis shoes: A good pair of tennis shoes are key this season and only a few classics will fit the bill. Black or white are evidently the only real options with a preference for white. Very Pharell. Adidas' Stan Smiths, Rod Layers or Sambas look choice with nearly every outfit this fall and always look stylish and sexy and are reasonably priced around $60 -80. I cannot resist a guy in Sambas yet I often must. K-Swiss and Puma also make a very simple no frills sports shoe that is tres sportif. I also think Vans rock. I'm going with three pairs of sneakers because this is pretty much all that I wear. I bought a pair of Golas for $40 marked down from 85 at a summer closeout. I want a pair of white Converse lowtop Chuck Taylors ($40) and some Jack Purcells ($45) I think any more than $100 for a pair of tennis shoes is excessive. John Varvatos cannot change the fact that part of the shoe is made from rubber.

Cordovan and brogues: A good pair of Italian leather shoes will never fail you but, if you can afford it, get a pair of cordovans, which are very basic dress shoes which resemble bucks. The trend for this season is to wear them shiny without socks and with shorts, a look that few, if any straight man should attempt since you'll only drive 'mos wild with desire and turn chicks off. But it is a good look with the right shoe. I was in Chicago about 7 years ago and bought a pair of them from Johnston & Murphy ($210) and wore them everywhere and they got me noticed (and laid) and it made my life better albeit it briefly. Shoes can change your life so let them and invest in them wisely and often. Great shoes can transform a mediocre outfit. Women know this.

To Boot by Adam Derrick, Jil Sander, and Giorgio Armani do a beautiful job with leather soled brogues and cordovans. JM Weston, John Lobb and Fratelli Rossetti are also fabulous but can run from $350 to 1000. Just remember: Shoes say a great deal about you and how you live your life and that's important when you don't feel like talking about it. I'm holding out for some vintage Ferragamo wingtips and I want suede loafers. I left my beloved Banana Republic ones at a rooftop Halloween party in Bushwick (no, it wasn't crack). I don't recall what I wore home but I took a cab so I just walked upstairs in socks. Cashmere socks from Monique from Ilux.

I would kill for a pair of Dolce & Gabbana jeans. Recently I had a discussion with my Mom about the rationale of spending $300 and up for a pair of jeans. My Mom was unclear what the point of that was. All I could say in response to her was that jeans were like underwear. Fit and intimacy. You want your jeans to be special and fit you just the way you like them. Levi 501s are just as fine and at $40 a much better value not mention the Gap. My favorite jeans cost me $30 and were from H&M. I also like Wranglers but people are catching on and they too are becoming expensive (they sell them at Barneys now). If you must spend major I would go for Loomstate, Rogan, Earnest Sewn, AG Adriano Goldschmidt or of course, Diesel. Personally if I were to go there I'd pick Helmut Lang and have them dry cleaned. Just be sure to try them on and remember they are now no longer just casualwear.

Topcoats: I always dread seeing Samuel Jackson at the Oscars because he, like Steven Seagal and the dreadful Robin Williams wear these cheesy topcoats. Why? Why? I think they always make you look like you're just getting back from a western wedding on the Ponderosa.

I think there are some gorgeous versions of the topcoat with 2 and 3 buttons (AX, Brooks Brothers, Prada) but for many men this is hard to pull off without looking too overdressed or Neo from the Matrix. I think tweed, glenplaid or herringbone versions are cozy like you just threw it on whereas microfibers or fabrics with sheen look too studied. Or just forgo it altogether and get a real Mackintosh. Asprey, Burberry and Jack Spade make great ones but I would hit Club Monaco ($248) or J Crew ($178) and get something in an interesting color if possible. Make sure it hits mid thigh with zip and/or buttons.

Parkas are big this season too but the real fur hoods from Michael Kors are just too expensive and Prada's duffel coat will be tired by February. Prada Sport does a nice resort line worth checking out however. The lines to watch are Spiewak, Ben Sherman, SeanJohn, Stussy, A Bathing Ape, and Theory. I love parkas and I think the best come from the Army/Navy store and can vary wildly in price from about 60 to 250 in price.

Get yourself a jean jacket. Gap, Banana, J Crew, Levis, Diesel, Yamamoto, Margiela, Calvin Klein, Abercrombie, American Eagle -everyone has them and you should get one. I think spending more than $100 on one is silly unless it's vintage but they're getting up there in price. This season I want a corduroy version from APC ($140). Fat chance.

Underpinnings; 2 (ixst)'s thick squarecut tanks. Calvin Klein ($18) still makes the best but I'm really digging these sexy looks from these guys.

This season suggests that you buy a crewneck , V neck and turtleneck sweater. Cashmere, man or at least merino wool. Forget ribbed. The turtleneck ought to have some stretch to it and fit snugly as should the crewneck. Spend what you want because you'll wear it a lot and quality counts. My pick for this year is from agnes b. or Dries Van Noten. I should be so lucky.

The V can fit a little loser but don't do the t-shirt under the V- neck because that look is really over. A button down with a loose tie is way better. Ties always look appropriate and, I'm beginning to see, in just about every configuration.

Well that's it. Now forget everything I just said because that is what fashion is all about. You can screw stuff up and add your own personal imprint and style but it's much more effective to work your own look when you know a few simple guidelines. When you look good you feel good and when you feel good you exude confidence and sex appeal and chicks and guys love this so bring it.

And Kanye West Hates George W. Bush [Updated]

During Book Swap on Sunday, we played the clip of Mike Meyers and Kanye West, where, visibly shaken, West blurts, "George Bush doesn’t care about black people." God bless those who speak their minds, and God bless live television. NBC later deleated the clip... so God bless the interweb.

I'll admit it, I really missed the Kanye boat, but after this weekend, I've been checking out his jams, and I'm hooked. Yeah, there's some misogyny, but there's Mos Def, Talib Kweli, a huge Gil Scott-Heron sample and more. I got the new album off of iTunes, I'm glad to toss him some support, and I'm amped that the cuts are sharp.

[Update: Here's Soundcheck's podcast on Kanye]

Judicial photo ops are still phoney

Who didn't wake up Sunday and think "you've got to be sh*tting me!"? I had resigned myself to accepting that John Roberts would ace his confirmation hearing. He's got real credentials, but no really offensive, Borkian track record. Let's face it, more conservative than Sandra Day O'Conner, he's no Scalia.

But Chief Justice? No, I'm sorry, Bush does not have the political capital to push that one through. The answer that he does not have much of a federal track record is fine for confirmation, but you better be damned if you think that's good for the highest judicial position in the country. And keep in mind that he could hold that position for 40-some years.

It is imperative that Bush's stamp on the Chief Justice is only 5-10 years of a John Paul Stevens service... since Scalia and Thomas won't make it through... or better not.

So what could dampen my opposition the most? Well how about seeing John Robert mourn Rehnquist's death by serving as a pall bearer. Nothing says you're qualified to replace them, than to bury them. No...stop... you're really pulling at my heartstrings....clearly Roberts is the heir...he must be so devestated... in fact, he is doing us a favor... puh-leaze.

Amazing how the Spin Machine can whip this one up in a few hours.... if only they could devote some of that energy towards something useful, like FEMA, or alternative energy. What other parlor tricks does the lap dog do?

Thinking about security

This thought came at Friends Meeting today... so called conservative politicos really push a doctrine based on rugged individualism.

Part of that doctrine is people can only acheive their potential if things like regulations got out of the way. Free market is preferable to controlled economy, taxes slow economic growth, and having to worry about externalities (pollution, migrant labor etc) threatens growth. If they're not with us, they're against us; thus we proceed with the coalition of the willing.

The other side of that coin is that factors that threaten our prosperity are being dragged down by people who don't make the quality of choices we make... so they tell us that social security will collapse if we don't have individual retirement accounts; universal health care doesn't control for moral hazzard; the bankrupt or unplanned pregnant, got themselves into their situation, don't look to the goverment for hand out, they need to learn personal responcibility... and so on. This the government the US voted for in November.

But Hobbes had a phrase to describe this life of rugged individualism: nasty, brutish and short. It happens all the time, in the form of chronic disease, poverty, bankruptcy. It was sadly magnified in New Orleans when the most vulnerable were abandoned to the city.

We're witnessing the outcome of the kind of government elected in November... and even back to the GOP revolution in '94. We're starving the beast of government programs... like FEMA, by spending gross amounts for a trumped up war, we're cutting domestic programs... like FEMA, and we're cutting taxes in the face of exploding deficits.

So if a philosophy of individualism has left us exposed, what's the alternative? The alternative is philosphy of mutual need... of social security, universal health care, real international coalitions for conflicts that don't involve oil. We need each other to deal successfully with personal and natural disaster. We can't fear free riders and moral hazzard from providing our communities with real aid, and real protection.

As much as we're going to hear about the swelling of contributions, what New Orleans needed to avoid catastrophe was government aid, the aid the Bush administration has been ignoring since 2001 at least. This goes for our health care, this goes for our social security, and this has to do with homeland security. Charity cannot fully do what government can, and in this case, ought to have done.

This means Democrats have a greater responsibility to expose the Orwellian joke of GOP politics... terrorism is not about Iraq, it is not about about the patriot act; individual health accounts will not save health care, private accounts will not save social security. Voters needs to get real and get skeptical of what they're told. I'm not voting for GOP individualism, I'm voting for liberal communities, and acknowledge that the smartest thing we can do to prevent disaster is spread risk: the tool for that is government. we have every right to expect that from our government and they failed.