My Letter to E-ZPass New York

E-ZPass New York:

Please advise that your website offers different information regarding the activation of the Staten Island Resident discount (SIR).  I feel like I’ve time-warped back to the last time I went through this with you in 2008.  The last time I had E-ZPass, I fought for 6 months sending you every document you could possibly ask for, multiple times, via fax and snail mail and my discount was never applied.  Somehow it’s already starting again now on a 3 day old account. 

At first I was told just to send in a copy of my driver’s license OR my car registration.  Then I was told you needed a copy of my driver’s license AND my car registration.  Now I’m being told that you need a copies of my driver’s license, car registration and a utility bill.  But even that doesn’t seem to be enough.  I feel like I’m playing Super Mario Bros and there’s a key hidden somewhere but none of the cheatbooks tell me where I have to go to find it.  And when I call your offices, no one to wants to give me information, instead they tell me to do everything online.  I wish I had a job where I could get paid to tell people to leave me alone and go on a website. 

Literively

You know how people say things like “I’m literally laughing my ass off” or “my mind is literally blown,” and you’re like “really? You laughed so hard that your gluteus maximus actually detached from your body and your intangible thought waves exploded?”?

Well, I almost just committed that wretched face-slap on the English language.

I’m usually pretty good at not abusing the word “literally” but I have my blonde moments here and there (no offense, blondes) and I almost fell into the trap. Except my intangible thought waves caught me just in time, working not quite literally faster than the speed of light. Suddenly, instead of misusing “literally” I said the word “literively,” which upon examination appears to be a cross between “figuratively” and “literally.” It’s genius! How many times do you drive yourself crazy finding the right words to express something that’s more extreme than figurative but less so than literal? Enter “literively.”

I thought I split the atom with this one, I really did. But through the magical reference world of google.com, I found out that some other folks have already claimed the term.  My head figuratively exploded and I was literally mad, but I have to say this; while I might not have been first, I still figured it out on my own and I’m going to do everything in my power to spread the use of the word “literively” like WILD FIRE.

Webster’s, call me.

Let’s Play ‘Either/Or’: Would You Prefer Either Kissing Someone of the Same Sex or Kissing Your First Cousin?

That’s a disturbing set of maps, wouldn’t you say?  Are we proud of these maps?  After I saw this photo, I visited the National Conference of State Legislature’s website (NCSL.ORG) because quite honestly, I didn’t believe that so many of the states that call same-sex marriage a threat to the institution of marriage actually think incest is more appropriate.  A list of the incestually highlighted states is as follows (note: the bolded states do not allow same-sex marriage):

Merry Holidays

Lately we’ve become obsessed with being politically correct during the holiday season - which is funny because no one ever seems to care about being politically correct any other time of year.  But that political correctness, the one that tells us “Christmas” is a taboo word and everyone should be wished a “Happy Holiday,” is turning into blatant ignorance and no one seems to realize it.

Suddenly Nativity mangers are “insulting” and Menorahs are “inappropriate.”  When did that happen?  The whole point of this politically correct obsession was to ensure holidays weren’t being overlooked.   We wanted to respect that different people celebrate different things, that’s why we resorted to “Happy Holidays” over “Merry Christmas.”  That’s fantastic!  I won’t stop wishing people a Merry Christmas but I’ll certainly be a little more aware of who I say it to.  Some of my Jewish friends actually do celebrate Christmas in the commercial sense.  So Merry Christmas to them.  And Happy belated Chanukah.

While I’m not religious by any means; I celebrate Christmas by tradition, not religion, the difference between me and most others that celebrate Christmas is that I at least admit that my Christmas celebration is completely void of all religious backing.  Call me a hypocrite if you’d like, that’s your call.  But that’s not the issue at hand.  When I see a manger, I don’t get insulted.  That would be ridiculous because I understand that’s where Christmas came from and that’s how some people celebrate.  When I see a Menorah, I don’t get insulted because I’m not Jewish.  That would be just as ridiculous because Chanukah is just as much of a holiday and that’s how people celebrate.

101 in 1001 Project: the Journal

I will continually be updating this very post as more progress on my 101 in 1001 list is made.  Join me!!

December 22, 2009 – Day 68

I honestly don’t even know what day of my list I’m on.  It’s either 68 or 69…. or 70… but I quite honestly don’t feel like doing the math right now.  I’ve been really bad with this list lately, but I almost expected that to happen.  I have to confess something – I actually don’t have a physical copy of the list to refer to at all times which is a really big issue.  If I took it with me wherever I went I’d be able to keep track a little more.  So, new years resolution maybe?  ‘Tis the season!

I just spent some time online donating 3,500 grains of rice to freerice.com getting my total to 21,000.  A far, FAR cry from my goal of 250,000.  I’ll get there eventually.

Just last week I committed myself to (#33) my AIDS Walk team from last year.  We’re called the Cure Score (thecurescore.com) and we’re back again this year, officially.  Visit our website and feel free to donate.  We really need sponsors and we need them now.  Thanks in advance.

PROJECT Lunch Box is still in the negative stages of development but I promise it will build quickly as soon as I get the budget for it.  There’s really not much to the effort, it’s just about the money.  So once I get it and convince some people to donate a bit of their time, we’ll be good to go.  So if you’re interested, keep an ear and eye out because once I start this, it’ll happen soon after.

In any event, I just wanted to check in after almost a month.  Happy Christmas (and Happy Chanukah, even though I’m a few days late).  Happy and healthy 2010 as well.  Till next year….  (and the next decade… AHH!!)  peace & love.

You Decide: Best of the Decade 2000-2009

Vote on what you think was the:
Best Super Bowl of the 2000’s
Best Movie of the 2000’s
Best New TV Show of the 2000’s
AND
Best Album of the 2000’s.

My Letter to Staten Island State Senator Andrew Lanza

On Wednesday, Staten Island State Senator Andrew Lanza’s vote on the NYS same-sex marriage bill went from a “yes” to an “undecided” to a cowardly “no.”  Here is my letter to him.

Jack Johnson: En Concert

As if anyone needed a reason to like Jack Johnson any more, he comes out with 19 track live album that is an absolute delight; a utopia, of sorts, for even his most passing of fans.  This surfer-dude has always appealed to a wide spectrum of music listeners as he’s seemingly not cut from the “typical” singer-songwriter mold.

Johnson takes us on the road with him during his 2008 Sleep Through the Static tour, adding performances from such cities as Paris, Spain, San Diego, Honolulu, San Francisco and Morrison, CO.  He also includes a few tunes from that year’s stint at Bonnaroo in Manchester TN – one of those tunes including “Constellations” featuring Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder.

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Painkiller Hotel: Black Roses

It’s hard to believe Black Roses is Painkiller Hotel’s debut album.  These Chicago-based rockers – Eddie Prez, Adam Harker, Klaus Luchs, and Nate Green - have such a defined and seasoned sound, you’d think they were a decade into their recording career.  The band has gotten a lot of attention for having strong, hooky, radio-friendly songs on this record and that attention couldn’t be more properly placed.   

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Phlog the Photo Blog: Scenic.

I used to keep all of my “good” photos on myphotoalbum.com until they backed me into a corner, forcing me to pay at least $10 to retrieve my account because I hadn’t ordered prints in a while.  I refused to pay so I lost access to that photo album which made me none too pleased. 

This forced me to go thru the photos I have saved on my hard drive and repost only my favorite ones to a new album on Shutterfly.  At the end of the day I realized I take A LOT of pictures.  And I’m not done loading photos to the new site, I’ve only added the scenic New York shots – beaches, parks and some city images. 

I still have an entire California album I have to sort thru and then some live music shots I’d like to add. 

To make a long story short(er), I’ve decided to take some of my absolute favorite photos and post them on this here photo blog.

Sister Hazel: Release

The guys in Sister Hazel are veterans on a scene of new blooded musicians seemingly hiding around every corner.  With over 2 million albums sold and 6 studio releases already under their belt, their 7th album, Release (released this summer), is sure to appeal to the most diehard of Hazelnuts as Release would be the first album in which the writing credits, for one song or another, belong to every member of the band.

Lead singer, and founder of charity organization Lyrics for Life, Ken Block, says that he and his fellow band members - Drew Copeland, Ryan Newell, Jett Beres, Mark  Trojanowski - are also closer now than ever before and this disc is the culmination of that bond.  “Everybody has had personal tragedies” says Block on their official myspace.  ”We have had inner turmoil [but] we always had similar goals.  It all made us closer.  We’ve all been able to lean on each other and our friendship has gotten deeper and deeper.”

The vibe of this set of tracks is slightly quieter than their last few studio albums.  They almost find themselves in a comfortable pocket for most of the album, but in the midst of a 15 year career, that’s only expected.  And while some people find that to be a negative feature, I think it speaks to their growth as a group which can’t be argued with. 

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Party At The Bitter End As Told By YOU.

Last night folks gathered at the Bitter End for a birthday celebration for one of its frequent performers.  Ernie Halter’s New York City style birthday party included performances from the man himself and label mate, Andrew Hoover, but the party kicked off with a few tunes from friend and fellow singer-songwriter Melissa Polinar.

Polinar, a Texas native with a slew of covers and soulful originals on YouTube, has been writing and performing professionally for about 3 years.  You can find her album intro…. on iTunes and CD Baby but she hopes to spend some time in the studio recording new tracks soon.  Among the tunes she played last night were “Try” and “Meant to Be,” both originals you can find on her YouTube channel.

Polinar first-timer, Annie Kim, instantly became a fan, saying ”her voice and music are so clean, refreshing and sweet to the ear and heart. What a lovely way to start or end the day.”

After Polinar led the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to Halter, Connecticut-bred Andrew Hoover took the stage.  Just one night before his Chances, Stances & Romances album release party in his hometown, he performed some of the greats from the album like “Secrets,” “Lie to Me,” “Come On” and “Saturday” (video below).  Hoover also graced us with a new song he recently wrote, “Premonition.”

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Matt York’s.

Matt York has been a busy little bee since the release of his debut album Under the Streetlights in 2005.  He’s spent the last 3 years playing over 700 shows across North America, Australia and Japan and without much downtime found the time to write and record what would be his sophomore release, Mine, in late 2008.

York ironically opens Mine with a song that isn’t in fact his – “Death Came A Knockin’” – one of those traditionals that he can do oh so soulfully, much like his version of “Wade in the Water” with RRM label mate Andrew Hoover.  Halfway thru the video below you’ll actually hear York inject Mine’s opening track.

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Brandi Carlile: Give Up the Ghost

Brandi Carlile’s third release, Give Up the Ghost, is hauntingly gorgeous and sure to dig deep, revealing that dark side of yourself you often don’t want to feel.  Staying true to her alt-country/folk rock sound, with a voice so heavy it can make you cry on its own, Carlile’s latest set of  tracks will have you wanting to feel what you often don’t.  She’ll be your confidant for 40 some odd minutes, bringing the dolor right out of you but it’ll be more beautiful than painful.  And you’ll thank her for it.

“Pride and Joy” is merely one of the tracks that will have you feeling eerily comfortable.  With a relatable set of words, and a loud, wistful vocal performance, you might even find yourself in the fetal position recounting your life’s past efforts, wondering where it all went wrong.

“Dreams” is a real foot-tapper that raises the bar on folksy country-rock while “That Year” has the quintessential singer/songwriter chick sound, comparable to contemporary Regina Spektor.

“Caroline” is the least sad of all the tunes, a song inspired by Carlile’s niece with jaunty piano accompaniment and backing vox by one, Elton John.  Carlile’s voice even rids itself of the usual melancholy timbre enough to inspire images and sounds of a kid’s television show theme song – but in a good way, like looking back on fond old memories of a time-warped version of yourself.  It’s already forced a smile on my face and I haven’t even had my morning coffee yet.

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Love and Theft: World Wide Open

I’m definitely no authority on the likes of country music or any of its subgenres, however, Love and Theft’s new album World Wide Open has enough of a pop/rock sound that I think I can get away with convincing you of its glory.

A trio of singer/songwriters from Nashville, Love and Theft got their big intro to the world after touring with Taylor Swift in 2008 and much like Swift, this band is not your typical country act.  In fact in a recent interview with the LNT members – Brian Bandas, Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson - on theboot.com, their surprising influences were revealed.  The band was asked by a fan via twitter who they would tour with if given the chance, to which they each answered, respectively; the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and the Beatles.  Notice, not one country artist.  And when Yahoo! Music asked the band who their biggest musical influence was, they responded with Eric Clapton – other influences including Prince, Kings of Leon, Jackson Browne, U2 and the Allman Brothers.  And while their band name is not a straight derivative from Bob Dylan’s 2001 release Love and Theft (Dylan and LNT both took the name from a book), the band does admit they admire Dylan a great deal.  Liles even adds that they would love to an episode of CMT’s ‘Crossroads’ with him.

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