Watching a classic movie like the Breakfast Club on a Tuesday afternoon at 3pm is definitely one of the perks of this new lifestyle. I dont think I ever really appreciated just how awesome that scene at the end where the five of them are sitting around and emoting with one another is. A few questions about the movie though:
1) We randomly were shown this in high school yearly during our mandatory "Life Skills" classes. Is that more a statement on the teachers at the time and their lack of preparedness with a curriculum or just the sheer power of the movie?
2) Is Molly Ringwald actually hot?
3) Is Judd Nelson still alive?
4) How many makeovers a la Ally Sheedy, administered by the popular girl, have occurred in real life? I feel there have to have been at least a few documented instances.
5) Do "the kids today" still relate to this movie? And is this movie actually just yesterday's High School Musical 2? And how depressing is that thought?
6) Are each one of us really a brain? and an athelete? and a basket case? and a princess? and a criminal?
7) How awesome is the dance scene at the end of the movie? (and question #2 may have just been answered by Molly Ringwald's awesome dancing)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Controllerism
Now that I'm no longer one of those "corporate sellout banker gordon gekko wannabe" and have instantly gained all the hipster credibility in the world, Wednesday night I naturally headed out to the Delancey in the Lower East Side, to attend the Warper Party.
I will provide the disclaimer, even with all my hipster credibility, I wasn't exactly invited to this event that is described as a "for us/buy us event to create a community amongst electronic musicians and forward thinking artists in the NY metro area and beyond". Rather, I was shown a website, FreeNYC, by another severance kid, and this event was listed for Wednesday night. A few of us headed over, not knowing what to expect. Needless to say, we were not disappointed.
The first act we saw was basically a singer and guitarist, both dressed as though they were out of Mad Max, who called themselves Prez Powers. The music was okay, but they had two guys, who were wearing hoodies and masks from V for Vendetta, breakdancing as they played, who were both massively entertaining. One of the people in our group was visiting from Wisconsin, and there were definitely those moments where he looked at the rest of us with one of those "is this how you spend your average Wednesday evening????" looks.
What came next absolutely blew my mind. As a big fan of both rock and electronic music, I realized long ago that the two types of artists you really see hero worship towards are DJ's and Guitarists (perhaps a little biased here). I can't count the number of times you hear the word "god" associated with "guitar", and if you've ever seen a big-name DJ perform, the way they control the room is nearly messianic. I have always wondered if any group or band could somehow combine both of these roles. I may have just seen someone who fulfilled this challenge, but even more amazingly, he does it all by himself.
His name was Moldover, and he began the performance with a guitar swung around his back and the most ridiculous electronic contraption in front of him. The music with this insane machine seemed so complicated, yet pleasing, that a few of us were convinced that there was no way it was real and he was just pulling an Ashlee Simpson. He would then alternate, leaving a track playing, and switching over to guitar. His abilities on the guitar were equal to the electronic music creation, as he definitely was shredding in the mode of an Eddie Van Halen.
I went home thinking it all might've been a figment of my drunken imagination, but after some solid internet'ing, it turns out he actually was a student of guitar from childhood and a grad of the Berkelee School of Music. The electronic contraption he had is one of a number of crazy contraptions he makes, and this whole genre is called "controllerism". Basically, rather than DJ'ing with just turntables and basic mixers, he modifies keyboards and other electronics to allow for much greater control in live remixing. I still really don't know how the fuck any of this actually works, but am definitely going to further research this potential land mine of success.
He also invented something called the Octamasher, which is some sort of collaborative mixing device that allows a whole group of people to simultaneously create music. One thing I absolutely find hilarious about electronic music, if you watch the video below...where else could you find this AMAZING mix of people (Wayne, I'm hoping you're reading this):
And of course, if he becomes popular, I only really liked his older stuff.
Under the Sea
After not leaving my couch on Monday and just watching Mad Men, playing FIFA, and trying to learn "Against All Odds" on the piano, I decided I should get out and get back to exploring the world on Tuesday.
I met up with three other fellow severance kids, and first stopped by a new place called Bagouette on 25th and Lexington. If you're in the Curry Hill area, definitely try out their amazing Spicy Pork Banh Mi sandwich. Yes, I did find out about it in Time Out NY. I dont think I've bought a copy of it since I first moved to the city, but with a cover like "750 cheap things to do in NY" I couldn't resist.
The star of the afternoon, however, was technological and not gastronomical. We went to the Lincoln Square Cinema to watch Under the Sea: 3D on IMAX. As a lover of technology (I did, after all, get really friggin' excited by Bolt Bus wifi) these are two technologies I was totally wrong on. I think it was 2003 that I became convinced all theaters would become IMAX-format after they begin releasing some "normal" movies on them. Of course, this didn't happen. When I was 14, I watched a 3D movie at Universal Studios and could not believe how advanced the experience actually was, with birds seeming to be literally inches away from me. Of course, that was 1994, and we're not exactly living Back to the Future 2 right now.
I was excited to find this movie as I always loved field trips to the Science Museum as a kid and the IMAX movies that accompanied them. I strongly recommend Under the Sea: 3D to anyone who has the opportunity to go. It's only 40 minutes, and at $16.50 a ticket, not exactly recession friendly, but the movie was unreal. The undersea scenes are just beautiful* (there really is no other word for them) and the music and production makes each cent spent extremely worthwhile. Jim Carry is the narrator, and is extremely normal (not pee on the set Jim Carrey). The visual experience is unparalleled, but I'm not gonna deny, when the closing third of the movie gets into environmental damage and its effects on species, I was definitely transported back to being an idealistic eight year old wanting to save the ocean.
*I will address the general discomfort of guys using the word "beautiful" with regard to describing natural beauty. I will never forget a moped excursion with three male friends in Corfu (a Greek Island) during my semester abroad. We had taken our mopeds out to a cliff and were watching a spectacular sunset over the ocean. As a testament to the sunset's raw beauty, here you had four meatheadish 20yr old Americans abroad waiting to go drinking at the hostel, but there was at least a minute of pure silence as everyone reflected on the scene in front of us. Of course, rather than anyone saying the scene was either "beautiful" or "awe-inspiring", a chorus of "that is fucking sweet" or "goddamn, that is a sick sunset" were the only words uttered.
Corporate Atrophy
I would recommend for everyone, if you're not already, go out and befriend a doctor. After the first two weeks of freedom, between capoeira, more gym-time, and bollywood dancing, I had been hitting the activity bottle pretty hard. I had noticed a recurring pain in my right leg. I was naturally convinced that amputation was the only solution and my life was over. Amazingly, over g-chat, a friend of mine who's a resident in NY seemed to diagnose exactly the problem.
The chat is included below for your viewing pleasure, but basically I have become yet another tragic victim of ITBS (Illotibial Band Syndrome). It is a condition mainly experienced by people running their first marathon, as it is experienced after a "sudden increase in level of activity" and accompanying lack of proper stretching. As a heterosexual, red-blooded American male, naturally I dont stretch properly and after reading a good deal about it, it all made sense. It was a very common condition that can easily be treated with standard running injury treatment (resting, iceing, and stretching).
What I also realized was a major contributor was what I like to call "Corporate Atrophy". Bollywood and Capoeira aside, my body had become accustomed to sitting in a chair for probably 60% of my waking hours. At this point, not only was I way more active, rather than just walking around NYC two days a week, it had become seven and my legs had atrophied to a point to be unable to handle this.
My only word of advice to my newly minted fellow severance kids, ease your entry into this newfound freedom. Relax, sit in a chair a little longer, stretch a little more. Judging by the market this week, that freedom will last a long, long time and you don't want it to be painful.
12:15am me: i think i have a pinch nerve
a little worried
in my right leg
can you diagnose me
Jaymarc: huh, y u think that
12:16 AM
me: dude, my right leg, is kinda bad, i'm trying to deny it
Jaymarc: is it numb
me: there's some tingling and pain, started around my knee, now goes down the outside of my shin
and where my ankle meets the foot kinda
Jaymarc: does it start in the back, is it shooting? get worse with sneezing, or taking a shit?
me: there are long portions it doesnt hurt at all then randomly, like when sitting on the bus, part of my front ankle would feel really tight
Jaymarc: does it hurt afater you walk a while
12:18 AM
me: it started in my hip like two weeks ago, thats the problem, i walk so constantly
Jaymarc: have you been running alot recently
12:19 AM
me: yeah, been running a ton, capoeira
Jaymarc: sounds like IB band syndrome
me: whats that? I'm not shitting, IBS?
12:20 AM
Jaymarc: i mean IT band Syndrome
....and just like that, diagnosis complete. After further checking it out with a doctor and a physical therapist, it is in fact the case. Luckliy this early diagnosis allowed me to still go snowboarding.
The chat is included below for your viewing pleasure, but basically I have become yet another tragic victim of ITBS (Illotibial Band Syndrome). It is a condition mainly experienced by people running their first marathon, as it is experienced after a "sudden increase in level of activity" and accompanying lack of proper stretching. As a heterosexual, red-blooded American male, naturally I dont stretch properly and after reading a good deal about it, it all made sense. It was a very common condition that can easily be treated with standard running injury treatment (resting, iceing, and stretching).
What I also realized was a major contributor was what I like to call "Corporate Atrophy". Bollywood and Capoeira aside, my body had become accustomed to sitting in a chair for probably 60% of my waking hours. At this point, not only was I way more active, rather than just walking around NYC two days a week, it had become seven and my legs had atrophied to a point to be unable to handle this.
My only word of advice to my newly minted fellow severance kids, ease your entry into this newfound freedom. Relax, sit in a chair a little longer, stretch a little more. Judging by the market this week, that freedom will last a long, long time and you don't want it to be painful.
12:15am me: i think i have a pinch nerve
a little worried
in my right leg
can you diagnose me
Jaymarc: huh, y u think that
12:16 AM
me: dude, my right leg, is kinda bad, i'm trying to deny it
Jaymarc: is it numb
me: there's some tingling and pain, started around my knee, now goes down the outside of my shin
and where my ankle meets the foot kinda
Jaymarc: does it start in the back, is it shooting? get worse with sneezing, or taking a shit?
me: there are long portions it doesnt hurt at all then randomly, like when sitting on the bus, part of my front ankle would feel really tight
Jaymarc: does it hurt afater you walk a while
12:18 AM
me: it started in my hip like two weeks ago, thats the problem, i walk so constantly
Jaymarc: have you been running alot recently
12:19 AM
me: yeah, been running a ton, capoeira
Jaymarc: sounds like IB band syndrome
me: whats that? I'm not shitting, IBS?
12:20 AM
Jaymarc: i mean IT band Syndrome
....and just like that, diagnosis complete. After further checking it out with a doctor and a physical therapist, it is in fact the case. Luckliy this early diagnosis allowed me to still go snowboarding.
Days go by...
It has been a little while since my 'stache post graced the airwaves. My week has been an eventful one, made all the more busy as a whole new influx of fellow laid-off friends have made stepped up my daytime activity'ing. A flurry of posting to follow. Enjoy.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
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