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Download PokerStars Friday, May 30, 2003
Last 5 Books I Saw People Reading on the Subway... 1. The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl 2. The Fifth Angel by David Wiltse 3. The Beach House by James Patterson 4. Field of Thirteen by Dick Francis 5. Three Fates by Nora Roberts | Permalink | 11 May Questions1. Of the creative arts you have participated in (painting, writing, photography, film making, performance art, running a global webpage), which art form do you find the most interesting to work with? - Stephen Adkins, Seattle, WA 2. What ever happened to your donut diet? I heard you almost fell off the wagon in Las Vegas. - Katarina Biaggi, San Diego, CA 3. What is your favorite Jerry Engel story? - Mike Bien, Athens, GA 4. Describe the philosophical implications of "The Matrix" in 25 words or less. - Dave Siamnoff, Tampa, FL 5. Do you always pee standing up? - Gil, Brooklyn, NY 6. If you were a character on "The Creek", what would your name be and who would you hang out with the most and why? - Derek, NYC 7. What are your thoughts on Martin Heidegger? How has he influenced your writing in the last year? You have been talking about Dasein quite often. Please explain. - Jen Biaggi, San Francisco, CA. 8. Will Funny Cide win the Triple Crown? Is the fix in for the Belmont race? - Sal Biaggi, San Francisco, CA and Derek, NYC 9. Which cartoon character do you most identify with? - Armando Huerta, Athens, Greece 10. What U.S. President do you admire the most and why? - Edgar, Thunder Bay, Canada 11. What files on your computer would you be most embarrassed about if they were opened by someone else? - Dave Simanoff, Tampa, FL And now my answers: 1. Of the creative arts you have participated in (painting, writing, photography, film making, performance art, running a global webpage), which art form do you find the most interesting to work with? - Stephen Adkins, Seattle, WA Writing is my passion. But I’ve wanted to make movies and direct for at least two decades. I fell into writing because I needed to write a screenplay to get into film school. And since I was broke and had no money or film equipment, the only way for me to express myself was to write. And it took a hold of me. I think all of the mentioned art forms have all affected me. Each is a different vehicle that I am able to use to express myself. As my interests and confidence grew over the last few years, I was able to explore diverse mediums to find out which ones I like, and eventually I was able to incorporate things I learned in one area, and utilize it in a different art form. For example, when I first started painting in 2001, I would spend hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (my art school) looking at paintings and studying artists. It did not occur to me that I should have been doing this as a writer, reading specific authors, studying their life works, and figuring out what distinguishes them from the rest. I read a lot, but never studied writers. When I jumped back into writing full time, I brought with me a new outlook… that it was as important for me to read, as it is to write. And my reading appetite increased tenfold. I was reading one, and as many as two and three books a week, spending hours in libraries and bookstores reading contemporary authors and rereading classics. I really shut off the TV and jumped into literature and in doing so, I emerged on the other end with a defined mission. Not only would I write with more dedication, but also I was writing for a purpose (one that I will not share right now…) and had clearly defined goals and objectives that I was looking to achieve. The websites have greatly influenced my writing. Never before have I had this much exposure as a writer, knowing that my words are read all over the world, by people I have never met. The exposure has given me more confidence to believe in myself and my goals, that there is indeed an audience out there that is appreciative of my work. The Tao and Truckin’ enabled me to make huge leaps forward closer towards getting my life’s work read and spread. I guess that I used to dream about living an exciting life, traveling the world, and meeting great people, and having written books and having a magazine. And maybe today my life isn’t as perfect as the dreams I used to conjure up, but I am reminded by close friends that my current life is what many other’s people’s dreams are made of… I am a writer living in the greatest city in the world, having my ramblings and monthly blog-zine read world-wide, and I’ve had a kick ass time getting to where I am. 2. What ever happened to your donut diet? I heard you almost fell off the wagon in Las Vegas. - Katarina Biaggi, San Diego, CA I have been donut free for 303 DAYS!! I’ve been tempted many times with donuts over the last year, and resisted admirably I might add. It was difficult in Las Vegas, because there was a 24 hours Crispy Crème shop in the food court at the Excalibur. I almost fell several times walking by and seeing the workers bring out freshly baked donuts!! But I don’t regret one moment. The discipline helped me shed 10-20 pounds by my 30th birthday. 3. What is your favorite Jerry Engel story? - Mike Bien, Athens, GA I have a couple cool gambling stories. I’ll share with you a wacky story about our spontaneous trip from Atlanta to Biloxi, Mississippi to indulge in the new riverboat casinos. We drove six plus hours and got to the casino at three in the morning, gambled until dawn then drove back to Emory and Atlanta just in time to watch a Phi Delt playoff softball game. But one of my favorite stories is more of a time period, an era of great memories, for the month or so after graduation when we were out of school and it was smack in the middle of the NHL and NBA playoffs. Flashback to 1994, the NY Rangers had not won a Stanley Cup since 1940. The Knicks were in the finals for the first time since the early 1970s. I was stuck in Atlanta, but fortunately with Jerry who rooted for the Knicks, Rangers (and Yankees… three of my favorite NY teams). I would wake up at 3 or 4 in the afternoon, wait to get a ride to Jerry’s place and we’d start watching whatever playoff game was on that day with his roommates (Singer & Schanzer) and other random fraternity brothers (Beano, Smitty, Dunn, Ader, Mophy, and the one and only, Teddy B… frat guy). One night it was the Rangers, then the Knicks, back and forth, all for the month of May and early June. An amazing run. But our highlights came late night after the games, when we’d sit around and play cards until the wee hours, and Schanzer’s three legged cat, Smooth, would hobble out into the living room and check out the action. Sometimes there would be two poker games going in their small apartment… when the girls who lived across the hall waned to play after they got addicted to playing guts games like 4 Barrel, where the payouts are high and the risk factor is huge. Man, we’d have a full house of poker with everyone partying like banshees. This was going every night for a month! Teddy B got too wasted one night and gambled away a series of gift certificates to Blockbuster, a birthday present from his girlfriend, who became furious with Teddy B when she found out. And Danny Dutch Dunn lost so much money that summer, that he had to play with I.O.U.s, his signature scribbled on yellow Post-Its which became known as “Dutch Bucks”. After most of us had accumulated a bunch of notes, we’d use them in the game because they had become an accepted form of currency within our fraternity. Even better than cash in some instances. I cashed all my Dutch Bucks in for a weekend of golf at the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst (a top notch course) and a ticket to the Allman Brothers Band, so I did very well. I made enough money playing cards that I didn’t have to work that summer before I eventually moved to NYC and started my life, post college. Great times, classic memories for sure. 4. Q. Describe the philosophical implications of "The Matrix" in 25 words or less. – Dave Siamnoff, Tampa, FL There is no spoon. 5. Do you always pee standing up? – Gil, Brooklyn, NY 99.6% of the time. Sometimes when I’m taking a long shit, I’ll take a piss in between movements… so I’m technically sitting down. Man, I’ve pissed all over the world. I took a leak on a glacier in Iceland. I pissed in an alley in Mexico. I peed on a bullet train to Tokyo. I whizzed on somebody’s front lawn in Savannah, GA. I used to urinate off the porch of my fraternity house. I love pissing at the Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta, they use a troff system. Very economical. I even pissed in subway stations, in between cars, and once in the back seat of a taxi. I’ve pissed all over myself, all over toilet seats, and I’m told that I piss a lot of people off. At the end of freshman year in college, I let loose my stream of unconscious piss onto one guy who passed out in the shower. He was an asshole, and we all took turns pissing all over him. 6. If you were a character on "The Creek", what would your name be and who would you hang out with the most and why? – Derek, NYC I would love to be on Dawson’s Creek! I wrote a few episodes that didn’t get a warm reception by the WB network. My name would be Phil McCracken and I’d play a washed up reality TV star. Alas my arrival would shake up the entire creek! First of all, I would drown Pacey’s ass in the creek for stealing Joey away from Dawson. Then I’d frame Dawson for the murder, but instead he dies in a freak accident when he gets shanked in the shower in jail while awaiting his trial. Finally, I get to be with Joey (Katie Holmes), who decides to finally ditch small town life in the Creek and explore new avenues and possibilities, like living on a houseboat in Amsterdam and dropping acid every Wednesday night at 8 PM, or spending her summers selling veggie burritos on Phish tour. 7. What are your thoughts on Martin Heidegger? How has he influenced your writing in the last year? You have been talking about Dasein quite often. Please explain. - Jen Biaggi, San Francisco, CA Great question! I have been reading a heavy diet of Existentialism... and eventually I picked up Being and Time by Heidegger. I don't think he's specifically influenced my writing, but some of his teachings have been filtered into the my understanding of everyday life, so there is an indirect influence on what I write. Here's what I learned. According to Heidegger's writings: human being, as opposed to human beings, is comprised of four components: concern, being-toward-death, existence, and moods. Dasein is the act of "being there" in essence. Without being something, there is no existence. Dasein requires choices and resulting actions to define the self. These choices allow for an almost unlimited combination of the components of being. Each choice represents a pivotal point in the individuals life… every choice, even the seemingly minor ones, contribute to the larger definition of self. Choices occur in relation to a timeline, universal and personal. These points in time became the topic of Heidegger's Being and Time . As with Kierkegaard and Sartre, Heidegger believed the existence of a physical body preceded the essence of self. At some point in the development process, a being becomes aware that it exists. This pivotal point in time is when essence begins to form; the individual decides to acknowledge and embrace an essence at this moment. Because man in the only known being in which essence and existence do not appear simultaneously, man is a unique creature on this planet. All things man creates have essence, or definition, before they exist. In other words, an individual thinks about a creation and its purpose before the creation exists. Dasien Sorge was Heidegger's term for concern and caring about the self and its existence. When confronted with the world and other beings, the individual feels anxiety and dread. The world appears complex and unsafe… which it is. As a result, the human being, Dasien, must care for itself as no one else can or will. Taking care of the self is a sign that the individual recognizes dangers in the universe. Recognizing threats demonstrates an understanding of the physical self. It is reasonable to conclude that concern with the physical self precedes the awareness of concern for the emotional self. While a child might instinctively want human contact, it only understands the need for food and other basic physical needs. Dasein, can be expressed in several fashions. The five modes of Dasein described by Heidegger are: authenticity, inauthenticity, everydayness, averageness, and publicness. Authentic being represents a choice of self and achievement. All other modes represent a failing to embrace the individuality available to all people. Inauthenticity results from business, preoccupation, excitement, and other external forces. An inauthentic being is working to fit the definitions of others. Averageness takes hold when the individual no longer attempts to achieve and accepts a loss of differentiation. Everydayness represents a person no longer changing or making choices, but the individual might still be different from others. Many with achievement become everyday when they no longer attempt to excel. Publicness is the complete loss of self for a public image. The individual conforms to preconceptions and opinions. Unlike the celebrity with one achievement, this individual repeats the same achievement over and over, thereby withdrawing from independence. An example would be an artist with one style of expression, repeated with minor variations to please others. By avoiding the new, the different, the individual ceases to create and define a self. The only proof that an individual understands existence is the understanding and acceptance of death. While a child can understand the physical need for food, the known consequences of not eating are limited to hunger and illness. Death is a complex concept, beyond the grasp of an immature existence. The moment one accepts death is the point when essence is brought into focus. Knowing that life is finite reinforces the importance of all further decisions. Poor choices result in the "Existential Guilt" of failure. For the existentialist, the worst of natural sins is a failure to define the self using free will. Guilt cannot be avoided, however, because all individuals fail to take some action, to make some choices. Though life is filled with dread that the universe is not safe and guilt that life is every complete, the human being has a desire to exist and define the self. The pursuit of authenticity is constant, for the existentialist. While it cannot be perfected, as we coexist with other beings, individuals must work to define themselves. Individuals make decisions knowing that others might try to change the universe around them. Business is unavoidable, as is a public role in the society. Only the most dedicated existential being can rise above these challenges to define the self, without regard to others. Whew. That was a mouthful! German existentialists are fucking heady! 8. Will Funny Cide win the Triple Crown? Is the fix in for the Belmont race? – Sal Biaggi, San Francisco, CA and Derek, NYC You know what? Yes, he’ll win. I think if the odds are 2 or 3 to 1, put down $1000. You’ll at least double your money. It’s a safe bet. But then again, the boxers and jockeys that made the most money back in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s usually were the guys that didn’t win championships (wink, wink… they took dives for the $$$). So you’ll never know. Is Funny Cide the best horse? Yes. But if the goombas and shylocks have their way, expect a 10-1 or a 12-1 shot to win the race. 9. Which cartoon character do you most identify with? - Armando Huerta, Athens, Greece Homer J. Simpson because he is Americana at it’s finest and worst all rolled up into one dynamic, balding, donut eating, beer guzzling fat guy with a job that he has no business having, and wife with blue hair and three TV raised, smart mouthed kids. Oh and he loves picking on his neighbor, Ned Flanders, the left handed Jesus freak. 10. What U.S. President do you admire the most and why? - Edgar, Thunder Bay, Canada JFK. He was a coke head that got mad pussy and he kept us out of World War 3. He freaked out the Military-Industrial-Complex so much that they conspired to have him whacked. He would have kept us out of Vietnam and pushed through Civil and Woman’s Rights laws and legislation a lot more swifter. He was our last true President with vision. And if there’s one lesson to be learned from the 1960s, it’s that most of the men with vision were brutally killed and assassinated. And that’s why there’s been a serious lack of ingenious politicians in the mix these days. 11. What files on your computer would you be most embarrassed about if they were opened by someone else? – Dave Simanoff, Tampa, FL Definitely excerpts of my journal which are not for sensitive eyes. I pull no punches and write things in my life as they are. And I’m sure that would probably piss people off more so than embarrass me. But I’d blush if all those pictures of the Katie Holmes I downloaded from the net were found by a third party! | Permalink | Pauly's Pub BBC Week 8 UpdateThru 5.26.03 @11:34 am Team of the Week: Buttamaker's Boilermakers Week 8 Results 1 Buttamaker's Boilermakers 433 2 Big Sal's Goodfellas 340 3 Holla Atmeyoes 324 4 Rib Boy's Latrells 303 5 Beantown Baby GO SOX 302 6 Furcal's Phisheads 296 7 Subway Rats 274 8 Moe's Tavern 262 Overall Standings 1 Holla Atmeyoes (Gil) 2503 (Last Week 1) 2 Rib Boy's Latrells (Derek) 2434 (2) 3 Buttamaker's Boilermakers (Armen) 2362 (6) 4 Big Sal's Goodfellas (Sal) 2279 (5) 5 Subway Rats (Spider) 2261 (3) 6 Moe's Tavern (Pauly 2) 2241 (4) 7 Furcal's Phisheads (Pauly 1) 2211 (7) 8 Beantown Baby GO SOX (Singer) 2139 (8) The Skinny: Holla Atmeyoes and Rib Boy's Latrells are still 1 and 2, but Buttamaker's Boilermakers are making a huge charge winning Team of the Week once again. Last week they were 6th, two weeks ago, near last place. They are the hottest team in BBC the last month. Big Sal moved up into the top 5. Subway Rats and Moe's Tavern slipped after terrible weeks and half of Furcal's Phisheads got busted for smoking ciggies at the Trey Anastasio Band show and spent the week in lockup. | Permalink | Thursday, May 29, 2003
Jonathon Schanzer will be on CNBC tonight at 6:30 PM EST to talk about the prospects of a Hamas-Fatah ceasefire - and the (limited) potential of the roadmap. Check it out if you can. | Permalink | Re: Happy Birthday, Tao of Pauly Here's what Dave Simanoff blogged on his site: "My former college roommate launched his weblog one year ago today, and since then he's been entertaining and inspiring people around the world -- including me -- with his stories and observations. Congratulations on the milestone, Pauly! I'm very proud of you and the Tao, and I'm happy I played a small role in nudging you onto the Internet." Thanks, Skippy! | Permalink | Question of the Month: CrayonsThe Question: What Crayola Crayon best describes your personality? Here's the results! The most popular answer was Grateful Red, which was selected twice as many times as any other crayon! Which is funny because I made it up! It doesn't exist. I added it to the list after Skippy felt that Indian Red was not very PC. And I think that the TAO of Pauly readers are major stoners and potheads. Why? Because of the popularity of Grateful Red and other colors with the word BURNT in it!! Most Popular: 1. Grateful Red 2. Burnt Orange 3. Bittersweet And now some notable quotes: "Burnt Orange. . . because that's how I feel right now this morning!" - Derek "Bittersweet... a simple summation of my paradoxes." - Boogie "Goldenrod.... my last name is Weiner .... seems suitable." - Modeski! "Bittersweet and Magenta... Its a toss up! If I had to choose one: Magenta, but Bittersweet just sounded so "soulfully deep" for a crayon." - Charna "There's no doubt I'm a tan of some sort. Maybe the "tan" sort. It's just like life. In another perspective, "tan" may not describe my personality. Colour- psychology indicates dangerous motives behind almost all of the 64, i.e both Red and Green are symbolizing murder. In that sense, I'm a crossfade between red and green. Throw in some apricot, copper and turquoise blue and I think you'd have a match. Or not." - Sigge "Salmon. It was the monikker of my group in rehab, it is the fish of the northwest and the first people (Native American tribes of the northwest coast: WA, ALASKA, & BC,) and, is a large part of northwest claim to fame, if we have one... the salmon plays a very special roll in my life and in the lives of the northwest native populations from Spokane to Alaska." - Stephen Adkins | Permalink | Everest Half-Century Celebrated! Rallies are being held to mark the anniversary and elebrations are taking place across Nepal to mark the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and the late Tenzing Norgay. Here's what Stephen Adkins wrote: "Yes 50 years ago Thursday, May 29th, Ed Hillary spoke those timeless words "Well, we knocked the bastard off." The climbing fraternity are flocking to Kathmandu, Nepal like a fat kid on a ho-ho. Celebrations have been taking place for the past couple of weeks now, and will end in a fever pitch on the 29th. Records have been broken... first black summiter, most assents by one person, a sherpa who's name escapes me with 13 and the youngest assent at 19 by young Roskelly from my hometown, Spokane, Washington. (Go Tribe!) Wish I were in Nepal to see the festivities and meet some of the legendary names to summit Chomolungma in Tibetan, Sagarmantha in Nepali, and Everest in English to me though she will always be, CHOMOLUNGMA, GODDESS MOTHER OF THE WORLD." | Permalink | Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Intensify the Hunt is an article written by Jonathan Schanzer and appears in today's Baltimore Sun. Here's a bit: "THE BOMB attacks in Riyadh and Casablanca, the warnings in East Africa and Europe and the heightened threat level at home are sober indications that al-Qaida still has global reach despite the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan and the war on terrorism. This should not come as a shock. Al-Qaida continues to be a threat because it has always had a fluid and decentralized operational structure. In other words, al-Qaida may be on the run, but it never stopped running." Jonathan Schanzer, an expert on militant Islam and a Soref fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, is working on a study, Al-Qaida's Affiliates: Exploiting Areas of Weak Central Authority in the Arab World. | Permalink | Trey Anastasio Band! 5.27.03 Hammerstien Ballroom, NYC Set 1: Mozambique, Money Love & Change, Sweet and Dandy (Toots & Maytals tune), ? Undermind ?, Sweet Dreams Melinda, The Way I Feel, Sultan's of Swing Set 2: Night Speaks to a Woman (30 Mins!), Gotta Jibboo, Plasma, Ether Sunday, Sand ** Encore: Cincinnati ** w/ Warren Haynes Mike Gordon appeared with Trey on Monday night for the Zepplin cover of Black Dog. I'm getting pumped for Phish summer tour!! | Permalink | Man Named MONEYMAKER Wins 2003 World Series of Poker... and $2.5 Million First Prize!! Early Saturday morning, Moneymaker won the WSoP with a full house, 5s over 4s. Here's a bit: It was only fitting that an accountant named Moneymaker would put down $40 and ultimately walk away with $2.5 million and the title of champion Saturday in the 34th annual World Series of Poker. Known to his friends as "Money," Chris Moneymaker, 27, also became the first person to win the prestigious tournament by qualifying on the Internet. "I got lucky along the way," Moneymaker said. "I bluffed a lot during this tournament, but somehow I got away with it." Players and experts said Moneymaker's win will revolutionize poker, solidifying the merger of the Internet and big-name casinos and boosting the game's popularity. "This is the sonic boom of poker," said Nolan Dalla, media director for the World Series of Poker. "This means anyone in their home can become a poker player." | Permalink | Here's an e-mail I'll send out to everybody later today... The Tao of Pauly celebrated one year in cyber world. I wrote up a special blog for the occasion. Visit the Tao to check it out! The Tao is now read on six continents and in over twenty countries! I was excited when I got my first Canadian visitor. You can only imagine what it felt to read the kind words of encouragement and to know that the Tao is read from Argentina to the Yukon Territory, from Norway to Norwalk, CT, from Japan to Texas, from Munich Germany to East LA, from South Africa to South Florida, from Israel to Indiana, from New Zealand to the Brooklyn, from Hong Kong to Hackensack... and all points in between. The last twelve months has been one of the most challenging of my life. Broke, uninspired, and desperate, I went back to work on Wall Street only to find myself writing more and better than I ever had in my free time. I rediscovered my voice, and let it go. I find my confidence and I ran with it. I started up the Tao of Pauly, then Truckin'. The ideas flowed. In September I got hired at JP Morgan (once considered my "dream job"). I turned 30 and I entered Project Greenlight and completed Charlie's Goldfish in seven days. In November, I wrote a novel in 10 days. Yikes. I didn't sleep. Jack Tripper Stole My Dog was my first finished manuscript, which I'm currently polishing off for submission to a publishing entities. Then Phish got back together. I met a Norwegian blogger named Sigge and he invited me to write for his online newspaper. I got fired from my job at JP Morgan and had the time to go see as many shows as I could. Ben and J. Lo got hitched, the Iraq War captivated our senses for a couple of weeks, and Senor's getting married. That's a lot to handle. So I went to Vegas. Twice in the same month. First it was March Madness. Crazy insane. Asian folklore says two full moons in one month is a sign of lucky and prosperity. I hoped my second trip would be just that and it was. I caught the fever (No, not SARS... ), but the poker bug. And only the thrill of writing captivated my senses as much as playing casino poker. I started playing tournaments and even tried to win a seat at the World Series of Poker. I almost sat head to head with the big boys. I've been dining at the kiddie table with the ADD kids and the Olsen twins. It's now time for me to step up and go for it. One year later, I'm caught up in a dilemma. I'm seriously thinking about hitting the World Poker Tour and playing poker in Europe this fall. Barcelona, Austria, Paris, Holland, and England are all hosting big tournaments in a three month stretch. Will I be there? I dunno. My thoughts are already there... if that's any indication of my future. But you'll know what I'll be doing, just read the TAO everyday to find out the answers to the tough questions. Will Pauly get a job? Will he get his novel published? Will he play poker in Europe? Will he ever improve his luck with the ladies? What will the next batch of 11 Questions be? Will he blog that awful e-mail I sent him? Will he win the football pool this year and finally beat out Cali Jen? My gratitude extends onward to Dave Simanoff, who pointed me to the way into bloggerdom. Without his encouragement none of this would be possible. The Tao spawned multiple blogger pages and sites (Truckin', The McGrupp Library, E-Story, Pauly's Pub). The web log has enabled me to be heard around the world and sculpt my voice into exactly the manner in which I want to represent myself. I can say what I want, when I want... and most importantly... anytime I want. True freedom of expression. And I'll relish the artistic freedom for as long as it's possible. Special thanks to the daily readers! I am lucky to have loyal fans. Thanks for inspiring me. Stay tuned, another year of blogging coming up. Blogfully yours, McG | Permalink | The Tao of Pauly Stats...Number of blogs: 1561 Average blogs per day: 4.27 Blogs of Note First Blog: 5.25.02... first blog! 500th Blog: 9.12.02... Je pense? 1000th Blog: 1.9.03... Legalize? 1500th Blog: 5.4.03... Hunter! Monthly Breakdown... May 2002 (7 days): 39 blogs (5.6 per day) June: 139 blogs (4.6 per day) July: 128 blogs (4.1 per day) August: 134 blogs (4.3 per day) September: 149 blogs (5 per day) October: 140 blogs (4.5 per day) November: 135 blogs (4.5 per day) December: 165 blogs (5.3 per day) January 2003: 164 blogs (5.3 per day) February: 147 blogs (5.25 per day) March: 149 blogs (4.8 per day) April: 123 blogs (4.1 per day) May (25 days): 71 blogs (2.84 per day) | Permalink | Sunday, May 25, 2003
Happy Birthday, Tao of Pauly!!Happy Birthday to me... Happy Birthday, dearest Tao of Pauly... Happy Birthday to me!! It's true, the Tao of Pauly started one year ago today! Read the Tao's First Blog! Here's a bit: "Finally, a long awaited site has arrived on the web where you can take a sincere peek into my sublime madness, a cosmic glimpse into the vile insanity, or a hesitant taste of my reluctant cyber rants and ramblings..." | Permalink | Friday, May 23, 2003
Last 5 Books I Saw People Reading on the Subway... 1. Widow's Walk by Robert B. Parker 2. Watermelon by Marian Keyes 3. The Murder Book by Jonathon Kellerman 4. High Maintenance by Jennifer Belle 5. What I Saw at the Fair by Ann Birstein | Permalink | Dave Simanoff wrote this article: Modular Company Banks On Growth and appeared in the Tampa Tribune this week. | Permalink | Thursday, May 22, 2003
Re: The Bet... More Comments Cali Jen said: "If you have to shave your legs, then I will tape it and post the video on the internet!! I'm positive your world wide fans would love to see you at one of your finer moments!" Kristen wrote: "1. Pauly my love, I think it's worse if you shave one leg vs. shaving both, I think if she finishes in the top 20 you shave both, and top ten you shave one, and wear shorts! 2. Cali Jen, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think you're going to Hawaii whether she wins all or not, and if you do, it'll be Senor or one of Pauly's other fans paying for it. (Not me tho, I am still saving up to get him his how to gamble book!) Love to alll!!!! =) KK" Just to let you know... Annika is currently in 73rd place. She finished at +1. Tomorrow we'll find out if she made the cut! | Permalink | Re: The Bet Jerry Engel wrote me: "Dude - you are in trouble - she is even after 14!! I don't like your bet, but your legs will be spared." Senor added: "I think she is gonna make the cut my friend... -1 through 8 holes last I checked... uh oh!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck, by the way I'm totally rooting for you!!!! | Permalink | Annika Update... Annika is currently tied for 17th place thru 13 holes! We're in shaved leg territory here...! She birdied the fourth hole she played today and she's playing very well. Check out: Annika's hole-by-hole results | Permalink | The Bet... For you non-golf fans, this weekend is a special tournament. The world's best female golfer Annika Sorenstam was invited to participate with the boys in the Colonial golf tournament in Texas. This has been a media-hyped event, and it's been getting a fair amount of press coverage. This has been the first time in almost 60 years that a woman has played with the men. What is the bet? Cali Jen felt very strongly about Annika's choice to play with the men. She thinks she'll make the cut. I disagree with her. I think Annika will miss the cut. So we decided to put our money where our mouths are. The problem was trying to figuring out what exactly will be the bet. Cali Jen wanted me to give her 5-1 odds! No way. Then she wanted me to either wear a dress for one night in NYC or shave my legs. I would never agree to either bet. For me, this is not about sexes. It's about pure money. I didn't think she'll make the cut... not because she's a women or the level of her play, but because I don't think she can handle the pressure. This is not a sexist decision. It's a financial one. We settled on 2.5 to 1 odds. Here's the deal... If Annika Misses the cut: Pauly wins $100 If Annika Makes the cut: Cali Jen wins $250 If Annika finishes in the Top 20: I will shave one leg If Annika finishes in the Top 10: I will shave both legs If Annika wins the entire tournamnet: I will take Cali Jen to Hawaii For every stroke she misses the cut, I will get $10. Example, if Annika misses the cut by 8 strokes, then I will win $180. How is Annika doing? Check out: Annika's hole-by-hole results Here's the link for the Leaderboard. Here's a funny article about the tournament: Dear Golfers: Advice for Annika | Permalink | Wednesday, May 21, 2003
"None of us are angels. That's what makes us so damn interesting!" - Armando Huerta to me in a recent e-mail. | Permalink | At Poker's World Series, 838 Jokers, One King is an article written by Jodi Wilgoren and appeared in yesterday's NY Times. Here's a bit: "LAS VEGAS, May 20 — And so it goes in the World Series of Poker, where gambling legends who autograph books and photographs during the breaks can be taken down by unknowns, like Robert Varkonyi of Brooklyn, who walked away with last year's $2 million first prize. That 2002 upset, combined with the enormous growth of online gaming and the prime-time television broadcast of high-stakes tournaments, brought a record 839 players to Binion's Horseshoe Hotel and Casino this week for the 34th annual event known as the Big One. That is a 33 percent jump from last year's record 631 players, making the total purse $7,802,700: $2.5 million for the winner, $1.3 million for the runner-up and $15,000 each for those who place 55th through 63rd." Thanks to Boogie for pointing out the article! Thanks for looking out... and that's why Boogie is like the coolest chick on the planet, and I love her so! | Permalink | Tuesday, May 20, 2003
Bronx Man Gets Ticket for Sitting on a Milk Crate! It's funny because it's true. The cops are ticket happy these days, needing to make up fast revenue and quick cash for a financially scrapped city. Here's a bit: "A lot of New Yorkers have outrageous stories about how the city is milking them dry with ridiculous fines - but Jesse Taveras has them all beat. The 19-year-old Bronx man got a summons Sunday - for simply sitting on a milk crate on the Grand Concourse. "I don't believe this," Taveras said he told the cop who handed him the ticket, citing him for "unauthorized use of a milk crate." ...a 1988 law calls for fines of up to $100 for stealing milk crates - but doesn't address the legality of sitting on them. The summons from hell came days after the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association charged that beat cops are under pressure to write tickets and meet illegal quotas to help pump money into city coffers. City officials strongly deny those charges." | Permalink | World Series of Poker Day 1 Results... The 34th WSoP tournament started yesterday and the finals are on Friday. A record 839 players forked over the $10,000 buy-in entry fee, to bring the total prize money to (another new record): $7,802,700. Yes. Almost $8 Million!!! Yikes! The winner will walk away with almost $2.6 Million!! 388 players remain. Last year's champion Robert Varkoyni from Brooklyn lost in the first day. He's already out of the tournament. He won $2 Million last year. For the poker newbies out there, I'm listing a couple of helpful links: 1. Poker Glossary 2. Rankings of Hands 3. Rules to Texas Hold 'em 4. World Series of Poker info 5. The blog about... My Last Trip to Vegas! | Permalink | Who wants to buy me this book? Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker Here's a brief synopsis from Publishers Weekly: "It's the fantasy of many a red-blooded American male, and increasingly, many a female: to stare down a grizzled "rounder" (or professional) in the final hand to win the million-dollar prize of the world's biggest poker tournament. Harper's magazine sent poet and novelist McManus (Going to the Sun, etc.) to cover the 2000 event in Las Vegas. Playing in his first tournament, he was more successful than anyone could have dared hope. For a writer, this is the equivalent of drawing a straight flush-no small part of the appeal here is watching McManus as he skillfully converts a chance into a sure thing. Moreover, coinciding with the tournament that year was the salacious trial of the murderer of Ted Binion, legendarily profligate scion to the family that created the event. He probes the trial at length, but the theme-scummy people are capable of scummy behavior-is hardly as interesting, and the book always perks up when McManus returns to the green felt, where "flop" and "river" can combine to end the author's streak at any moment. Of course, opponents and spectators alike were well aware of McManus's identity as erudite literatus and tourney neophyte-which at once made him prey and permitted him to play possum. While refusing to downplay his No Limit Hold'em chops (earned by practicing with a computer program), McManus modestly charts his delirium as he prevailed in one nervy confrontation after another. The drama of high-stakes poker is inherently compelling-here is a rare opportunity to read an account by someone who can really write." | Permalink | Last 5 Books I Saw People Reading on the Subway... 1. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller 2. The Cottage by Danielle Steel 3. Shutter Island: A Novel by Dennis Lehane 4. Hiding from the Light by Barbara Erskine 5. Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market by Eric Schlosser | Permalink | Congrats to Stephen Adkins... On May 17th, Mr. Adkins celebrated 3 years of sobriety! So I guess it's his birthday... Happy belated B-day, NOONAN! I've known photographer Stephen Adkins since 1997 after we met at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle and quickly became friends. He's led an amazing, interesting, strange and diverse life and I realize that it's been a long and difficult road on his journey through life as a sober person. I admire his dedication and will to live the straight life. Good job, and keep up the stellar work! | Permalink | What is the best Truckin' story I wrote?My blog-zine Truckin' is approaching it's 1 YEAR anniversary (in a few weeks). I am in the process of selecting a couple of short stories for possible future publication. I want to allow my friends, family, and readers to vote and select one Truckin' story that they think is the best, and I will submit the story that y'all choose (in addition to one or two of my favorites). The story with the most votes will be selected as a READER'S CHOICE. I will re-blog/re-publish the story for next month's issue! And send it out for publication. How can you help? E-mail me the name of the story (before June 2nd) that is your favorite, something that you would like to see in print. You have two options to read or reread the 50 stories I wrote in the last year. 1. Visit the Truckin' site and click on the links to PREVIOUS ISSUES. OR 2. Visit the McGrupp Library, where I list quick links to ALL 50 stories! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I understand that this is kind of a lot to ask since most of you are super busy. But if you have a couple of free moments, I'd really appreciate your help and objective opinion in selecting the best story I wrote last year. In case you are having some troubles with picking a great story, I will leave you with a quick list of 15 or so stories that I enjoyed writing. You do not have to pick from that list, but it's a great place to start. Again thanks for your time, effort, support, friendship, and most of all... your inspiration. Be sweet, McG 19 May 2003 My favorite Truckin' stories... Nagoya (August 2002) A Caged Bird Sings on the Subway (September 2002) Jake's Beer (October 2002) Tela & Cheese Sandwich (October 2002) Flutterbys (November 2002) Jack Tripper Stole My Dog (December 2002)... NaNoWriMo novel excerpt #2 The Man in the Clown Suit: Part 1 (January 2003) Phish Reunion Concert: A NYE Review (January 2003) Feb Subway Story: Fallen Angel (February 2003) The Girl Next Door (February 2003) Shooting Pool (March 2003) Strong Island Unbound (March 2003) Baby, $2,000, and the Dork Brothers (April 2003) Vegas, Two Canadian Hockey Players, and a Kansas Blonde (April 2003) Baby's Steak Knife and Winky's Salad (May 2003) Crispy Lineta (May 2003) | Permalink | Pauly's Pub Baseball PoolWeek 7 Update thru 5.19.03 @ 9:54 am EST Team of the Week: Buttamaker's Boilermakers Week 7 Results: 1 Buttamaker's Boilermakers 359 2 Subway Rats 334 3 Big Sal's Goodfellas 318 4 Rib Boy's Latrells 298 5 Holla Atmeyoes 296 6 Moe's Tavern 296 7 Furcal's Phisheads 229 8 Beantown Baby GO SOX 201 Overall First Half Standings: 1 Holla Atmeyoes 2179 2 Rib Boy's Latrells 2131 3 Subway Rats 1987 4 Moe's Tavern 1979 5 Big Sal's Goodfellas 1939 6 Buttamaker's Boilermakers 1929 7 Furcal's Phisheads 1915 8 Beantown Baby GO SOX 1837 The Skinny: Wow! Buttamaker's Boilermakers is on a hot streak! With it's second consecutive Team of the Week, they leaped from last place to sixth! The Subway Rats jumped to third place after an excellent week. Holla Atmeyoes and Rib Boy's Latrells are still one and two. And Furcal's Phisheads burned out for the week, sinking to 7th place. | Permalink | Monday, May 19, 2003
Dave Simanoff sent me this link: Times Bomb Here's a bit from the Newsweek article: "This is the story of two men’s rise. Howell Raines, the swaggering, smooth-talking Southerner, had transformed the culture of the staid New York Times since stepping into the paper’s top editorial position in September 2001—elevating the chosen few, pushing his staff with an unrelenting ferocity and, in his first three months on the job, leading the paper to an unprecedented seven Pulitzer Prizes, six of them for the paper’s coverage of the September 11 attacks. Jayson Blair, an awkward, overbearing, chain-smoking cub reporter, seemed to intuitively understand this, and was gaming his way to the upper echelon of Times reporters—his personal life unraveling even as he was handed ever more prominent and pressure-packed assignments by supervisors who warned him sternly about his problems while continuing to cheer him on. " | Permalink | Re: Ducks Picture that I took Armando wrote me this: "They have ducks in the park next to the Parliament close to my house. Cute birds that I've always liked looking at but for some reason the ones at this pond are CONSTANTLY engaging in threesomes. It's uncanny. Every time we walk by there are a 2 or 3 groups going crazy on the edge of the pond. Must be a Greek thing." | Permalink | Sunday, May 18, 2003
Sigge recently posted a cool picture that I took in Prospect Park on Thursday. Check it out. Oh, and I missed National Day of Norway! Happy Norway Day, Sigge. Here's what Sigge blogged: "As none of you know:) the 17th of May is the National Day of Norway, like the 4th of July in America. People run around shouting "Horay", wave our flag like the nazis did in the 40s, and wear national costumes named bunad. Since I don't know when, it's been a tradition for Norwegian youths to get as blasted as possible the night before..." One more thing... Sigge also posted a funny picture of himself!! Check it out. | Permalink | Smoking Nazis? The Smoking Police? I went to see a concert last night at Irving Plaza... the band playing was Soulive, a local NYC groovy, funky, shakin-your-ass band that I have been seeing since late 1999. Anyway, there were a series a incidents last night, where security was being too overbearing trying to prevent people from smoking ciggies and other things. Two of Haley's friends got thrown out for smoking! Well, aside from the smoking drama, the show was great. I like the layout and sound system at Irving Plaza, and I've seen nearly 50 shows there (a guesstimate, probbaly more like 60 or 70 shows). It used to be one of my favorite places to see a concert. But even before the smoking ban, and during pre 9.11 NYC, I had several run ins with Irving Plaza security. I know it's not the easiest job in the world, but for the most part the guys that work there are assholes, which makes seeing shows there a lot less fun these days! Why spend the money to go see a band when I know I'll be harassed? That's why I'm not so thrilled to be seeing 2 Dark Star Orchestra shows there in early June. But the music is what pulls me there, so I'll suck it up and deal with the Nazis. | Permalink | Saturday, May 17, 2003
Truckin' Mini-review Jerry Engel wrote this about the May Issue for Truckin': "Best Truckin' yet!! Partly becuase of the writing and partly because of the very appealing all Vegas/Poker related stories. I felt like I was in Vegas for a while...hoping to win at poker and get a hummer from from one of the assorted sex-pot nymphos in your stories. Although, I do have to say, that the elegant, intellectual visage created by Haley stole my heart. Pass on the props to her for a very nice addition to Truckin'." Have you read this month's issue? | Permalink | Truckin' May 2003 (Vol 2., Issue 5)Welcome to my monthly blog-zine and the "Vegas Reprise" edition of Truckin'! This month's issue includes six stories from me and three of them, Betty's New Shoes, Crispy Lineta, and The World Series of Poker, were inspired from my second trip to Sin City in less than a month. You can read about my attempt to get into the World Series of Poker. This month marks the debut of Haley Slovin and her first story: Ingrid. I also wrote some new fiction. Baby's Steak Knife and Winky's Salad brings back characters from a story I wrote last month. In addition to the subway story: May Flowers, I also reviewed five more flicks for this month's Indie Film Review. Sit back, relax, and enjoy! Be Sweet, McG 1. Subway Story: May Flowers by Tenzin McGrupp She closed her eyes after she bent her head and smelled each one, taking the time to individually check out every flower. I was enamored by her technique. Somehow she got intoxicated by the sweet aroma of each sniff, enthusiastically drifting off into her dreamland, like a Lower East Side junkie getting his morning fix plunging a spike into his weathered vein... More 2. Baby's Steak Knife and Winky's Salad by Tenzin McGrupp There was a couple of seconds after she stabbed me and before the blood started squirting out where Baby and I calmly stared at each other. Our glances lovingly locked onto one another and we had a tranquil moment. Our symbiotic original connection only lasted for a second maybe two, but it was one of those eternal seconds that seem to last forever and you never want to end... More 3. Crispy Lineta by Tenzin McGrupp The first time I saw Crispy Lineta was in Spring of 1993. It was 2 AM and he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts. Crispy was being dragged out of the Casino Magic in Biloxi, Mississippi by three oversized security guards with uneven buzz cuts that wore mirrored sunglasses... More 4. Betty's New Shoes by Tenzin McGrupp She rambled on for a page about a weird dream she had where she lost a pet tarantula in her Aunt Margaret’s bedroom. She was desperately looking for the hairy arachnid, which surprised her since she didn’t have a pet spider and hated creepy things like bugs, tape worms, cockroaches and fashionably challenged guys that wore white pants after Labor Day... More 5. Ingrid by Haley Slovin Ingrid was always ten minutes early. She was scheduled to meet him exactly at Noon. She waited in front of the diner until 12:15 before she took a deep breath and went inside... More 6. The World Series of Poker by Tenzin McGrupp The World Series of Poker is not for amateurs. I found out the hard way. But if you’re a dreamer and a disciplined gambler, you shouldn’t miss out. The game is No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em. All you need is $10,000 and a pair of balls... More 7. Indie Film Review by Tenzin McGrupp I wrote up reviews of the films: 13 Conversations About One Thing (2001), Todo Sobre Mi Madre (1999), Timecode (2000), Roger Dodger (2002), and Seceretay (2002)... More | Permalink | Happy 40th Page!!Page McConnell, the keyboard & piano player from Phish turns 40 today! Send him b-day greeting: Here! Top 5 Page Moments! 1. Boogie's Glowstick! Crashes on Page's piano during Harry Hood at the Nassau show in October 1999. 2. Meeting Page and his wife backstage at a show in Tuscon, Arizona with Heather in September 1999. 3. Seeing Page cross the street by himself in downtown Osaka a couple of hours before the last Phish show in Japan 2000. 4. Walking into an after-show party at a bar in Osaka and turning around to find Page standing right behind me. 5. Page's New Shirt: the scene in the Phish movie Bittersweet Motel where Trey sings a song called "Page's New Shirt" in the dressing room before one of their European gigs. | Permalink | Friday, May 16, 2003
Thought provoking article: Wake up! Gnosticism and Buddhism in The Matrix is written by Frances Flannery-Dailey and Rachel Wagner. Here's a bit: "Whether we view the film from a Gnostic Christian or Buddhist perspective, the overwhelming message seems to be, "Wake up!" The point is made explicit in the final song of the film, Wake Up!, by, appropriately, Rage Against the Machine. Gnosticism, Buddhism and the film all agree that ignorance enslaves us in an illusory material world and that liberation comes through enlightenment with the aid of a teacher or guide figure. However, when we ask the question, "To what do we awaken?", the film appears to diverge sharply from Gnosticism and Buddhism. Both of these traditions maintain that when humans awaken, they leave behind the material world. The Gnostic ascends at death to the pleroma, the divine plane of spiritual, non-material existence, and the enlightened one in Buddhism achieves nirvana, a state which cannot be described in language, but which is utterly non-material. By contrast, the "desert of the real," is a wholly material, technological world, in which robots grow humans for energy, Neo can learn martial arts in seconds through a socket inserted into the back of his brain, and technology battles technology (Nebuchadnezzar vs. A.I., electromagnetic pulse vs. sentinels). Moreover, the battle against the matrix is itself made possible through technology - cell phones, computers, software training programs. "Waking up" in the film is leaving behind the matrix and awakening to a dismal cyber-world, which is the real material world." Thanks to Cali Jen for pointing out the link. | Permalink | Wanna smoke pot and drive? Move to Canada, eh! Lighter Penalties for Minors in Pot Bill is an article from The Globe and Mail. Here's a token bit: "Smoking pot while driving would not be a crime and penalties for minors would be lower than for adults, according to draft legislation decriminalizing the possession of marijuana. As currently envisioned, the act would make possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana (the equivalent of about 20 joints) a non-criminal offence punishable by a fine of $150 for adults. Minors, however, would be charged only $100, although police would notify their parents of the offence." | Permalink | "The cool thing about being famous is traveling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff." - Britney Spears | Permalink | Thursday, May 15, 2003
Last 5 Books I Saw People Reading on the Subway... 1. House of Mirth by Edith Wharton 2. Friends and Lovers by Eric Jerome Dickey 3. On the Road by Jack Kerouac 4. A New Song by Jan Karon 5. Getting Over It by Anna Maxed | Permalink | I went to Brooklyn today and met up with Gil. We took a hike through Prospect Park and let Mr. Dickhead tag along while we took pictures. I saw ducks, birds, and more ducks. I think I saw a swan? Or maybe not. There was a film crew shooting a movie somewhere in the park. I could not see the set, but we saw the craft services truck and some other equipment vans. | Permalink | "We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people." - Arthur Schopenhauer | Permalink | Wednesday, May 14, 2003
Dawson's Creek Finale It's true. It's over. No more Dawson's Creek! Last night I had the pleasure of attending a Goodbye to the Creek party. It was the series final episode, a 2 hour flash foward, five years into the future. Dawson is living in L.A. and is the head of his own production company responsible for the hot TV show "The Creek" loosely based on his life growing up. The gang reunites for Dawson's mom's wedding. Pacey owns his own restaraunt in Capeside (the fictional town where Dawson and the gang live) and is sleeping with a married woman. Jen returns home as a single mom with a dark secret. And Joey (Katie Holmes) is an editor in New York City and is still caught in between her love for both her boyfriends, Pacey & Dawson... a typical love triangle... caught up in between her soulmate (Dawson, the boy nextdoor) and the brooding rebel (Pacey). Fans of the Creek have been forewarned that "somebody will die on the final episode". Before the show began, I called the Vegas Hotline to find out the odds of who will be killed off... here's what Mirage had to say: Which Dawson's Creek member will die on the final episode? The odds: Pacey 3 to 1 Dawson 5 to 1 Jen 8 to 1 Joey 12 to 1 The smart money was on Pacey. I figured since it's called Dawson's Creek that they wouldn't kill Dawson off. I felt that Joey and Dawson were meant for each other, so Katie Holmes' character wouldn't be axed. The logical choice was Pacey. Alas I was wrong. Jen died of a weak heart! She just had a baby and before she died she asked Jack (the token gay friend) to raise the child. She also told Joey to finally decide on one of the boys (a dying request from Jen). All roads led to Dawson... but in the end, she picked Pacey! I was upset and disppointed. Dawson punked out. He could have had Joey so many times over the last few years and he blew it. I would have been wicked pissed if I was Dawson. I would have drowned Pacey's ass in the Creek if he stole Katie Holmes away from me. Well... Dawson took the sentimental high road and told Joey something to the equivalent like: they are eternal soulmates, and at some point they'll be together, but not necessarily at that time. What a fuckin' loser! I lost a lot of respect for the geek. It just goes to show you that nice guys always do finish in second place and that girls always fall for the guy that dumps all over them. A sad night indeed for Dawson and myself. The run is over. And now I'll have to find something else to do on Wednesday nights at 8 PM (7 PM CST). | Permalink | Skippy sent me this heady link: Dude, Is This the High Court? Here's a bit: "An activist seeking the overturn of Canada's marijuana law smoked hashish and cannabis on Tuesday before arguing his own case in the Supreme Court, dressed completely in hemp products." | Permalink | Pauly's Pub BBC Week 6 UpdateThru 5.12.03 @ 11:54 AM EST Team of the Week: Buttamaker's Boilermakers Week 6 Results: 1 Buttamaker's Boilermakers 338 2 Holla Atmeyoes 274 3 Subway Rats 248 4 Rib Boy's Latrells 240 5 Moe's Tavern 239 6 Beantown Baby GO SOX 228 7 Furcal's Phisheads 226 8 Big Sal's Goodfellas 205 Overall First Half Standings: 1 Holla Atmeyoes (Gil Shapir) 1883 (1) 2 Rib Boy's Latrells (Derek McGuire) 1833 (2) 3 Furcal's Phisheads (Pauly) 1686 (3) 4 Moe's Tavern (Tenzin McGrupp) 1683 (4) 5 Subway Rats (Spider McNamara) 1653 (7) 6 Beantown Baby GO SOX (Brad Singer) 1636 (6) 7 Big Sal's Goodfellas (Sal Biaggi) 1621 (5) 8 Buttamaker's Boilermakers (Armen Tanzairian) 1570 (8) The Skinny: Holla Atmeyoes still leads the pack with Rib Boy's Latrells in second, and Furcal's Phisheads & Moe's Tavern rounding out the Top 4. Subway Rats had a solid week, moving up from 7th place. Buttamaker's Boilermakers great week kept them still in the game... | Permalink | Sigge wrote this recently to me: "The war is never over. You can only choose between one kind of war, and another kind of war. Basic Hinduism. Genius." | Permalink | Tuesday, May 13, 2003
Jon Schanzer will be appearing on the Fox News Channel with Brit Hume approximately at 6:15 PM EST this evening. If you're around check it out. I think he'll be talking about the recent suicide bombings in Riydah, Saudi Arabia that killed at least 20 Americans. | Permalink | Monday, May 12, 2003
Dave Simanoff wrote two articles which appeared in this weekend's Tampa Tribune. Check them out: 1. Business Students Offer Discount Help 2. Developers Drive For Notice In SoHo | Permalink | Saturday, May 10, 2003
Thailand's Deadly Crackdown is an article written by Richard S. Ehrlich from AlterNet.org. Here's a bit: "Balloon vendors were warned against allowing kids to buy the nitrous oxide gas used to fill balloons at night fairs and parties. "It is easy to identify [nitrous oxide] addicts. Despite their age, they usually carry a balloon," said the Food and Drug Administration's deputy general-secretary, Wiroj Sumyai." Thanks to Cali Jen for pointing out the link. | Permalink | Re: Jack Tripper Stole My Dog... a Jerry Review! Jerry Engel wrote me this in a recent e-mail. He just finished JTSMD and here's what he had to say: "Oh, I finally finished JTSMD - I ripped through the final 1/3 last night and it really came together. A surprisingly "happy-type" ending. Overall I thought it was a really good effort with a lot of promising style and creativity. My one suggestion is that I did not know where the story was going while I was reading all of the fascinating, intriging, disgusting, revolting and bizarre stories and characterization. Maybe if there was some more thread/main story theme to carry through the middle of the novel. I really enjoyed the last third of the book - it seemed more fast-paced and easier to read, not as choppy. The only other thing, would be to let you readers use theri memory to remeber the characters past, background - there were times when you continually repeated (background information)... when we had already read that once or twice with detail. By continually repeating, it seems that you did not trust us to care enough to remember, which as a reader feels insulting. But hey now, I thought the book was very good and had some of the best stories/antedotes I have ever read. That one about the guy doing all those chicks the night before his wedding. I could go on but I have to get back to work. I would love to read another novel by McGrupp. Peace, JE" Wow... thanks Jerry for your kind review and some great suggestions!! The new novel has been shelved. I wrote up a first draft, but now I am putting it away until the end of the summer. Right now, I will be working on the re-write (3rd Draft) of JTSMD in order to clean it up to send out copies to literary agents and publishing companies that allow "unsolicited manuscripts" (works from writers without agents). Again thanks for your support! Here are some other reviews and related past blogs about Jack Tripper Stole My Dog: 1. Cali Jen's review 2. Stephen Adkin's review 3. Derek's Response to Cali Jen's review 4. Jessica's Response to Cali Jen's review 5. Katarina Biaggi's review 6. My Mom's BAD REVIEW! | Permalink | "You know what luck is? Luck is believing you're lucky...to hold front position in this rat-race you've got to believe you're lucky." - Stanley Kowalski, A Streetcar Named Desire | Permalink | Gil sent me this link: Sex in the Sub-City: New York, State of Decline is from the Free Williamsburg which is written by Russ Josephs. Here's a bit: "What the fuck is up with New York nowadays? It's gone from the most fun-loving, freewheeling town to the lamest, most tight-ass place in the country. There are militia men everywhere, rifles at the ready, which is fine, except they're not going to be able to do shit in case of another attack. What are bullets going to do against bombs or airplanes? And with all of this tension, all the stress we're under, the pitiful economy (more on this later), how does the mayor decide to reward us? By eliminating smoking in bars." | Permalink | Friday, May 09, 2003
Last 5 Books I Saw People Reading on the Subway... 1. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan 2. The Holy Bible 3. Midnight Runner by Jack Higgins 4. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel 5. Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung | Permalink | Speaking of Hunter... Down in Athens, Georgia... from Flagpole.com, Beano suggested this link to me: Love And Arson in the Shadow of the Rockies, Checking in on Hunter S. Thompson, America's Legendary Gonzo Journalist | Permalink | Hunter Thompson and Dawson's Creek Of course I'm watching the Creek as we speak, and Joey (Katie Holmes) made a Hunter reference. She is supposed to read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I find that hysterical. I'd like to dose Katie and take her to Vegas! Instead she watched the film version (with Johnny Depp as Hunter). She was quote as saying: "I thought this was supposed to be about the American Dream?" I think she missed the boat. | Permalink | I drank again at the Cedar Tavern for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon, working on the new novel in between beverages. The new issue of Truckin' will be out today. I wrote six stories for this issue, for a total of 50 stories in the last year! Man oh man! Some of them are pieces of my best work to date. | Permalink | Thursday, May 08, 2003
Trey's in Playboy! Actually it's just an interview. No naked Trey. Read up! He had some interesting things to say about Phish and other stuff. Thanks to Katarina for pointing the link out! Here's my favorite part: "Clearly, we've all done our share of drugs. I'm in a band, and there are plenty of drugs around. But the greatest answer is that one quote from Bob Marley: "All dem drugs just slow you down." They do. And at the same time, road life is what it is. I'm not going to say that stuff doesn't go on, because it does. With psychedelic drugs, they're just a gas -- it's a big joke. I never had any real problems with mushrooms, or acid, or smoking pot. But then when you get into...the other stuff, it can get a hold on people real quick, and it's a freaky thing to see. And God, no, I would never say that it fuels creativity. The only part that's separate about that is that life is life, and all experience fuels creativity. Scuba diving or falling in love or scraping your knee -- reading probably fuels creativity more than anything I've ever experienced. But if there's one fucking thing, and one thing only, that fuels creativity, its discipline. There's no substitution for sitting down and working your ass off." - Trey Anastasio | Permalink | The Emory Wheel Check out the Emory Wheel... the offical student newspaper of Emory University. Our favorite blogger and Tampa Tribune business reporter Dave "Mad Dawg" Simanoff was once the Editor of the Wheel. | Permalink | Pauly's Pub Baseball PoolWeek 5 Update thru 5.6.03 @ 8:23 AM Team of the Week: Rib Boy's Latrells Week 5 Results: 1 Rib Boy's Latrells 314 2 Holla Atmeyoes 291 3 Big Sal's Goodfellas 280 4 Beantown Baby GO SOX 278 5 Subway Rats 263 6 Buttamaker's Boilermakers 261 7 Furcal's Phisheads 256 8 Moe's Tavern 186 Overall First Half Results: 1 Holla Atmeyoes (Gil) 1609 (Last Week 1) 2 Rib Boy's Latrells (Derek) 1593 (2) 3 Furcal's Phisheads (Pauly) 1460 (4) 4 Moe's Tavern (Tenzin) 1444 (3) 5 Big Sal's Goodfella (Sal Biaggi) 1416 (6) 6 Beantown Baby GO SOX (Brad) 1408 (7) 7 Subway Rats (Spider) 1405 (5) 8 Buttamaker's Boilermakers (Tanzairian) 1232 (8) | Permalink | Wednesday, May 07, 2003
"A dollar won is twice as sweet as a dollar earned." - Paul Newman, The Color of Money | Permalink | Re: 11 Q's Famous Phis Edition Sigge wrote: "I think Nick seems like a really nice guy. In addition to your statement above, you could add that Nick comes from Nicolaus, hence a direct line to St. Nicholas (Santa). But letting someone puke in the back seat of your car is stupid. I think Nick has an issue when it comes to friends, he need better ones, instead of letting them take advantage of him. "Too kind" is a suiting description, I'd say." Haley wrote: "Very cool! I like the Sure Thing obscure film reference!" They are both talking about this... 3. If you had a child what would you name it? - Senor Jerry McGuire or Lizzie McGuire. Just kidding. I know those are the names of a cheesy Tom Cruise movie and a kid’s TV show on the Disney channel. I always liked Ophelia or Sunshine McGuire for a girl’s name, and Garcia McGuire if it’s a boy. And I always liked Nick. Nick McGuire's a cool guy. Nick's your buddy. Nick will let you get drunk and puke in the back seat of his car. Nick! | Permalink | Good News Update! Sigge recently sent me this e-mail: " I've written a short article pointing towards my latest article on Wikipedia.org, featuring a short introduction to the works and thoughts of Norwegian writer and philosopher Peter Wessel Zapffe." | Permalink | Ashton Kutcher Parties with the Bush "Toker" Twins Here's a bit: "He tells Rolling Stone: "So we're hanging out ... The Bushes were underage drinking at my house. When I checked outside, one of the Secret Service guys asked me if they'd be spending the night. I said no. And then I go upstairs to see another friend and I can smell the green wafting out under his door. I open the door, and there he is smoking out the Bush twins on his hookah." | Permalink | Tuesday, May 06, 2003
Last 5 Books I Saw People Reading on the Subway... 1. The Medieval Papacy by Geoffrey Barraclough 2. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess 3. Tuesday's with Morrie by Mitch Albom 4. The Day After Tomorrow by Allan Folsom 5. Becoming Divine: Toward a Feminist Philosophy of Religion by Grace Jantzen | Permalink | Download a free Kwait Brothers Band MP3 called: Hillside - (RIght Click and Save As to Download) | Permalink | Andrew "Fish" Fishman recently joined forces in a business venture called: Seventh House, Inc.. Here's what they're all about: "Seventh House is a team of audience experience architects that provides intelligence and services that drive our client's communications strategy, messaging, the delivery of the message, and the data capture needed to measure the success of the strategy. Our processes focus on understanding and addressing the target audience's needs. However, we consider ourselves directly accountable for the success of our client's communications program as measured by their business plan." | Permalink | Re: Aron Ralston Dave Simanoff sent me this article: Idaho paper apologizes for "Who Needs 2 Arms?" headline | Permalink | Cinco De Mayo... Well yesterday was the 5th of May and I had a perfect excuse to drink early in the morning... only drawing a few looks of contempt and scorn from the unamused uppercrust that frown upon drinking during daylight hours. It wasn't just a national Mexican holiday, but for me, it was a celebration of life and joy and freedom. Who do I know can walk into any bar on a Monday morning and start pounding guilt free? During days like yesterday... I love being a writer! I started early! I arrived at the Cedar Tavern before 10 AM and I already had half a bag on slurping Screwdrivers before Haley and her friends showed up before noon to drink Mimosa's. I didn't have to drink alone on Cinco de Mayo! After wandering around in a buzzed stupor in Union Sqaure, I rallied to meet up with some old chums at Regis, ex-teammates from our hockey days almost 15 years ago. Drank some more on the West Side before I stumbled home. I should have been working on Truckin' but I'll do that today. New issue is due out this Friday. | Permalink | Derek sent me this link: Top 10 Party Animals.... the list includes: Babe Ruth, John Daly, and John McEnroe. Hey while you are on ESPN.com why don't you check out my new favorite baseball player... Jung Bong! Who said that Potheads Can't Play Baseball? | Permalink | Monday, May 05, 2003
Saturday Night with KBB... Caught the Kwait Brothers Band the other night at Kenny's Castaways. There was a rare special appearance from Gitler! As well as Charna who showed up with two friends. And Senor was in rare form for sure, showing random people pictures of his new wife to be! The KBB went on an hour later than scheduled and they got half the time they were promised! It was a short, quick set, and I felt slightly bad because they drove all the way from Philly to get kinda screwed by Kenny's management. Just another logistical headache in the tough music industry relayed to me by manager Modeski! But I told the KBB that it's all about quality, not quantity. The show was great! The boys opened up with my favorite KBB song... Deering Banjo! The other highlight was a break out of the Johnny Cash song Big River. I also got to chat with both brothers who were excited to see... me! I found out that Rich and Rob and the rest of the band loved my article that I posted to The Good News! I was pretty happy about that. Chatted with the keyboard player Jay and he offered to buy me drinks! Cool guys for sure. They play in NYC again on June 14th at the Elbow Room. | Permalink | Sunday, May 04, 2003
Aron Ralston..."An Aspen man is alive, but only after doing the unthinkable to save his own life -- amputating his arm with a pocketknife. Aron Ralston, 27, was trapped in a remote slot canyon in Utah for five days. He was solo canyoneering on Saturday afternoon in Blue John Canyon, adjacent to the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park in Utah, when a 800-pound boulder fell on him, pinning his right arm, according to the sheriff's offices in Emery and Wayne counties in Utah. Ralston, who had only planned for a one-day hike, was unable to move and was trapped. After three days, he ran out of water. On the fifth day -- Thursday morning -- Ralston realized that his survival required drastic action and that no one was going save him but himself, so he amputated his arm below the elbow using his pocketknife. He than applied a tourniquet and administered first aid from a kit that he had in his backpack.Then, with one arm, he rigged anchors and fixed a rope to rappel about 75 feet to the floor of Blue John Canyon where he then continued hiking downstream into Horseshoe Canyon, rescuers said..." - from the Denver Channel I'm sure you've heard the news about the guy who amputated his arm after he got it stuck climbing in Colorado... well I had the good fortune to cross paths with Aron almost three years ago while following Phish in Japan. I'd see him at different shows from time to time. He's a great guy with a great smile... and I hope to see him back on Phish tour very soon. Latest word is that he's recovering, but still in critical condition. His story is slowly gaining momentum as it makes it's way across the globe. Zobo sent me this e-mail: "I am not sure how many of you saw this article, but Aron was over in Japan with us three years ago. Interesting story of how he survived a hiking accident... Climber Aputates Arm, Hikes to Safety. Dan from San Fran wrote this: Subject: RE: Colorado Climber is part of Japhamily I myself am in shock. Aron is one of the kindest persons I have met in all my musical touring days. I tape traded with him regularly for several years before finally meeting face to face in Japan, where he credited me as responsible for at least half of his tape collection. Afterwards we kept in touch and always had a great time together when we met up at shows. One memorable occasion was String Cheese in Vegas at the Alladin. The show was on my birthday and Aron joined me and some other friends at our seats during setbreak for a celebration with a cake that we smuggled into the show. I just heard from Erik that he is still in serious condition, but is expected to recover nicely. I wouldn't expect anything less from Aron. He was always the kind of guy to push the limits in everything he did. He graduated top of his class, excelled at work, and pushed himself in all aspects of his personal entertainment and spiritual quests. I am certain that he is pushing himself even now to recover and get back to exploring the world he loves and being with the people he loves. My thoughts and prayers go out to you Aron. I love you, buddy! Dan If you would like to get in touch with Aron... here's some info sent to me from Chris: St. Mary's Hosital 2635 N. 7th st. Grand Junction, Colorado 81501 ATTENTION: ICU C/O Aron Ralston Don't send anything with dirt. Cut Flowers only. No phone calls. Here's some other articles about his amazing story: 1. The Denver Channel 2. Aspen Daily News Here's a bit: "It's official: Aron Ralston is a badass. With his eyes set on becoming the first person to climb all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks alone in the dead of winter, the gutsy 27-year-old was bound for mountaineering fame before he lopped off his own arm. But now the waiting is over. Ralston is a legend." | Permalink | Pauly's Pub BBCWeek 4 Update thru 4.30.01 @ 11:56 pm EST Team of the Week: Holla Atmeyoes Week 4 Results: 1 Holla Atmeyoes 367 2 Moe's Tavern 366 3 Big Sal's Goodfellas 331 4 Furcal's Phisheads 320 5 Rib Boy's Latrells 308 6 Subway Rats 295 7 Buttamaker's Boilermakers 231 8 Beantown Baby GO SOX 226 Overall Standings: 1. Holla Atmeyoes 1318 (Last Week 2) 2. Rib Boy's Latrells 1279 (1) 3. Moe's Tavern 1258 (4) 4. Furcal's Phisheads 1204 (5) 5. Subway Rats 1142 (6) 6. Big Sal's Goodfellas 1136 (7) 7. Beantown Baby GO SOX 1130 (3) 8. Buttamaker's Boilermakers 971 (8) I apologize for the delay in the update this week! Salukis, McG | Permalink | Hunter S. Thompson Got Married this week to his 30 year old assistant. Check out the article from the Aspen Daily News. Meanwhile... The Royal Wedding is an article written by Hunter S. Thompson. The Good Doctor got hitched this week... Here's a bit: "My own Marriage was the subject of extreme excitement and big news around here last week. It dwarfed everything else, including the NBA playoffs, the Kentucky Derby, Kevin Millwood's no-hitter, Naked Bowling, and the feverish search for Saddam Hussein in Iraq. A bold headline in the Aspen Daily News said "Congratulations to Woody Creek's Royal Couple," flanked by photos of me and Anita scowling and smiling out at the Reader. Surprise surprise, eh? It was done with fine style and secrecy in order to avoid the craziness and drunken violence that local lawmen feared would inevitably have followed the ceremony. I know nothing about planning even the simplest wedding, nothing at all, and neither does sweet Anita, who is now my Wife. So we did it the Bhuddist way. We drove straight to the County Courthouse on a stormy Thursday morning and were happily married by noon. Sheriff Bob performed the ceremony, his wife took pictures, and a black priest from Sicily handled the video camera. It was fun..." | Permalink | Saturday, May 03, 2003
The Kwait Brothers Band will be performing tonight at Kenny's Castaways in the Village at 10:30 PM. I'll be there... will you? | Permalink | Re: Pauly in the Library of Congress Jerry Engel writes: "Congrats on the certification - but as you know, and all your friends know - you have been certifiable for a long time!!! LOL! Seriously, that is good news - keep the good work coming!" Senor wrote: "Right on my brother!!!!!!!!!! You are on your way!!!!!!!!" Cali Jen wrote: "This month the Library of Congress... next month Barnes & Nobles!" | Permalink | Friday, May 02, 2003
11 Questions: Senor Special EditionThis is an unique edition of the 11 Q’s... the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the most recent news of Senor’s engagement and his return to America. The questions have been submitted by you! And the answers are mine but I verified the correct information with Senor, himself. Now sit back, enjoy, and be entertained! 1. Is Senor really getting married and having a kid or is this just another one of your TAO of Pauly April Fools Prank or an episode of Punk’d? 2. Who is Senor’s wife to be and how did they meet? When do we get to meet her? 3. When is the wedding? 4. When is the baby due? Have they picked out any names yet? 5. Where is Senor currently living? Where will he be living? Is he going back to Thailand? 6. What will Senor be doing now that he’s back? 7. What was Senor doing in Asia the last year? 8. How do I get in touch with Senor? It seems that the TAO and Truckin’ have been my only contact with him the last year. 9. Are all his Truckin’ stories true? 10. What religion will the child be raised in? What was Senor’s friends and parents reactions 11. What was your reaction to the news? And now the answers... 1. Is Senor really getting married and having a kid or is this just another one of your TAO of Pauly April Fools Prank or an episode of Punk’d? I wish it were! But it’s true. I don’t have the international infrastructure to pull off a serious prank of this magnitude. His fiancée is pregnant and they will be getting married this fall. 2. Who is Senor’s wife to be and how did they meet? When do we get to meet her? Senor is engaged to a woman named Angkana. Ang, as she is called by her close friends, was born in Thailand and lived there her entire life. She has a BBA in Business Computers and speaks fluent English. She was (and currently is) working the front desk at the hotel Senor visited during his stint on the resort island of Koh Samui. Originally he had a crush on a different girl working the front desk. She invited him out to go dancing with her and her friends. One of those friends was Ang, and the rest is history. Currently, Senor is hard at work trying to get Ang a visa to come to America sometime in August. 3. When is the wedding? There will be a small private ceremony (just Senor’s family) sometime this autumn at a time and place TBA. 4. When is the baby due? Have they picked out any names yet? The baby is due in November and they are currently looking for names. Senor admitted, "We are open for suggestions for names starting with P or L…" Paul is a good name! Paul’s a great name! Cali Jen suggested: Layla, Lelani, Lucious, Louden and Prada. 5. Where is Senor currently living? Where will he be living? Is he going back to Thailand? Senor is in a state of flux. He is shuffling back and forth between his parents house in Providence and his brothers’ places in the NYC area. At some point after Ang arrives, he will move to Providence, Rhode Island. 6. What will Senor be doing now that he’s back? He is applying to Hotel Management School in Rhode Island, looking to get a Master’s Degree. He is currently looking for work in the hotel and travel industry. He is also busy working on Ang’s immigration. 7. What was Senor doing in Asia the last year? Senor was living in Koh Samui with Ang for a while at their mountain hideaway. He opened up his own businesses aboard. In Samui, he invested in a place called Jada’s Restaurant and he opened up a language school that taught English to the locals. In Cambodia, he invested in a beauty salon. Senor was busy learning new things. He studied the Tao (the original TAO, not my blogsite!) and other related ancient arts such as Reiki, Chi Kung, and Yoga. Senor traveled a good deal. He visited India (on New Year’s Eve), the Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bali, Vietnam, Cambodia and Kashmir. 8. How do I get in touch with Senor? It seems that the TAO and Truckin’ have been my only contact with him the last year. As editor of Truckin’ I thank you for your support. Senor does not have a cell phone, nor a computer and consistent internet access. But if you want to contact him drop him an e-mail at: zuiteness@yahoo.com 9. Are all his Truckin’ stories true? Senor is a diligent writer. He sent me at least one story a month and often he sent me two. I can only speak for myself as the editor and attest to this much: I publish what Senor sends me. I frequently edit portions of his work (usually for grammar, spelling and rhythmic purposes) but I do not ask myself, "Is it real or not?" There is a quote on the right hand side of the top of the Truckin’ homepage. It’s from William Faulkner and he said, "The best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism." That’s the motto for Truckin’ and it is what it is, and what shall be. 10. What religion will the child be raised in? What was Senor’s friends and parents reactions? The child will be raised in a Jewish household, but that will not be the ultimate factor in his child’s spiritual development. Senor’s parents and brothers were thrilled. They couldn’t be happier for him and Ang! And initially all his friends were surprised, then overjoyed. We all know that Senor will be a great father, and Ang will be an amazing mother to their child. He’s been teasing his father saying that his kid will become a Phishead!! But in reality, since we are Merry Pranksters, our kids will automatically become Space Wranglers! Again some of you still think it’s a Tao of Pauly prank, but it’s real. As Boogie wrote me within 24 hours of hearing the news, "You’re gonna be Uncle Pauly and I’ll be Aunt Boogie!!" She was super excited. And every else as well! So much in fact that I had to come up with this special edition of 11 Q’s to help answer your "dying to know" questions. 11. What was your reaction to the news? Before Senor left for Southeast Asia he told me that nothing would give him more pleasure than to return home with a beautiful wife! And that he always wanted to have a baby that was part Asian. I confess that I had inside information on this matter. So I was not surprised. Here’s the story. I was ready to take a trip to go see Senor and visit Nepal and Southeast Asia for eight weeks. It was early March, it was cold as witch’s tit, I just lost my job at JP Morgan and my new novel was not flowing out of me like the first one. I was stagnant. I felt similar to a sleeve of stale crackers. I needed to shake up my world and hit the road. I got all my finances in order and had a 48 hour hold on a cheap ass ticket to Bangkok ($770 roundtrip!) that I got through United Airlines. I sent Senor an e-mail asking him to call me or e-mail ASAP to let me know if it was cool for me to come to Thailand on April 9th (the day after March Madness would end) and then after he approved my travel plans, I’d buy the ticket and we’d go to Nepal, Cambodia and Samui. The next day I got an e-mail, which was followed up by a phone call saying that I have to postpone my trip because Senor was getting married and having a kid! My jaunt to paradise got cancelled. With the upcoming Iraq War and the SARS outbreak (remember this was about 2 months ago when this went down) it was not the right time for me to travel to Asia anyway. The cosmos dictated my fate. I was destined to have a good time so I quickly booked a trip to Las Vegas, which kicked ass! Senor said he’d meet me there because he had to eventually come home to America to get the logistical red tape and immigration head ache taken care of in order to secure Ang a visa. Plus he desperately wanted to talk with his friends and family and tell them the good news in person. I really didn’t know if he was truly coming to Las Vegas (which I teased in the Tao) until I saw him walk up to me at the Excalibur! Everyday I think about what Boogie wrote me: "You’re going to be Uncle Pauly". That makes me smile. I’m excited. Ang’s a great woman who loves Senor dearly and she’ll be a supportive wife and caring mother. She ends all her e-mails to Senor with "Love Ang and Little Senor". (Let’s all take a moment to pause and let out a collective "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!") Isn’t that fucking adorable? How could I not be happy? I always knew that there would be a day when Senor settled down and got married. Sure that date in my mind was towards the end of this decade, but the time frame has been accelerated and it’ll be much sooner than we all figured. Selfishly, I am a little sad that one of my good friends is taking a different road and path that I have been wandering down. I am supportive of Senor but I don’t have that special person to do psychedelics with me in the mornings or drop everything to go to a casino in the middle of the night. As his responsibilities grow (as a husband and as a father), I know there will be less and less time for him to keep an eye out for me and keep me out of trouble. But that is why the time we spent together has achieved a boundless value. The inherent meaning of our shared experiences, memories and hijinks are now untouchable. Will we surpass our finest moments? Probably not. And that’s cool. Sure there’s plenty of time left this summer for us to get ourselves in trouble. And by no means is this the end of our madness. Things will just be a little different in the future. Instead of shedding a tear and worrying about what I will be losing, I stand tall and smile with pride knowing that Senor and I had a remarkable jog through this world. And he is about to begin a marathon, one that he’ll be running the rest of his life. Dave Sheer is getting married and having a kid, but Senor… Senor will live forever. High, your dreams so clear Raise another glass to the dreams so near Congrats again to the lovely couple! Here are the other batches of 11 Questions that I've posted: 1. The Original 11 Qs 2. 11 Qs: Norway Edition 3. 11 Qs: March Madness Edition 4. 11 Qs: Texas Edition 5. 11 Qs: Famous Phi Edition | Permalink | Congrats to Senor!!!I seen him squirming in the saddle all wet and warm The rumors are true. Senor is getting married to his girlfriend Ang and they are expecting a child in November! Can you say Uncle Pauly? Best of luck to Senor, Ang and their little wrangler. | Permalink | Yankees... I just got home. I went to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1. The crowd was filled with many Japanese baseball fans. The Mariners are in town and with their star player Ichiro Suzuki playing, the Japanese media has been hyping up these games between Japan's top two players: Ichiro and the Yankees rookie Hideki Matsui. It was my first Yankees game this season. Derek's boss gave him tickets at the last minute and I met him at the Stadium. We had decent seats on the left field line (for $35) and a free pass to the Pinstripe Pub to eat dinner and have drinks before the game. I pigged out. I ate chicken fingers, cheese fries and 2 hot dogs over the course of the game. Beers cost $6.75 (Budweiser) if you wait in line and $7.50 (Miller Lite) if the vendors come to you. Behind strong pitching from Mike Mussina and solo homeruns from Soriano and Posada, the Yankees prevailed. | Permalink | Thursday, May 01, 2003
The Last 5 Books I Saw People Reading on Airplanes... 1. The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks 2. The Crisis of Islam by Bernard Lewis 3. Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 4. Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillian 5. Krakatoa by Simon Winchester | Permalink | Ty Had Twins!!Ty Lockhart, a friend from Seattle, has great news!! He and his fiancee Christy just had twins! Hey Jude and the Mighty Quinn! Right on...! He recently sent me an e-mail... "Hola all, hopefully this message is good for now, I have been super busy, with my 26 day old twin boys!!! Jude Jason Lockhart was born at 6:51pm weighing in at 6lbs and 14 oz!!! His little brother, Quinn, came 11 minutes later @ 7:02, weighing in at 6lbs and 2oz!!!! Thirteen total pounds of baby, not to mention placentas, waters, fluid sac's and all that other fun stuff!!!!! We induced labor at 39 weeks! My super strong lady carried our boys like a champ, the induction did not take the first time, so we returned several days later to try again, this time there was no stopping us! At midnight on April Fools' Day, her first water broke and we were going home that day with kids!!!!!! From the start of the induction to the delivery was 24 hours!!!!!! The only terrible thing, other than her being strapped down in bed, with over 10 different belts, monitors and tubes coming out of her, was the painfully cold demeanor of the nurse anesthetist, not an anesthesiologist, she had to stab Christy three times!!! Once she missed and hit a vein! She actually poked herself with her own needle, yikes!!! Anyways the end result was an hour of pushing out shot Jude like a bullet from a gun, as soon as he came out and she made her last ungodly noise of pushing almost 7 pounds out of her hoohaw, she looked over at me and screamed, "Get the camera, take pictures!!" so I nervously bumped some guy on my way to the table, and managed 2 rolls of black and white which are not yet on my computer, but they are great!!!! Anyways we have a picture for ya now and many more to follow! Sorry it took so long, the picture of them together is about one day old and there is a 3D image of Jude kissing Quinn's head in the womb, at about 30 weeks! And a great shot of my beautifully pregnant fiance! Ty's FAQ'S Q. Is Christy breastfeeding? A. Yes, we supplement with some to little formula, and she is pumping so I am very involved in the feedings! Q. Is Ty Breastfeeding? A. No, Christy won't even let me watch her pump it out! Q. Are your twins Identical? A. No, they are fraternal with different blood types, meaning two seperate eggs and an 80% chance of twins next pregnancy!!!! YIKES Additional comments: Christy picked the name Jude and he looks like me, I picked Quinn's name and he looks like Christy! That is about it for now! Thanks for your nterest, friendships and love! PEACE, THE LOCKHARTS!!!!! Congrats again to Ty, Christy, Jude and Quinn. If you want to send Ty best wishes (and or donations) send him an e-mail: Here! | Permalink | HOME
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