Monday, January 31, 2011

I Can't Sleep in Silence

Literally, I can't. I have to sleep with a fan or my air purifier turned on. But on a more serious note I Can't Sleep in Silence by Huma is musical perfection. It just feels right in every possible way.



Sunday, January 30, 2011

Give A Dog A Bone

The first song I ever heard by the Editors was Munich and I have been in love ever since. I really dig their brand of dark indie guitar rock. Reminds me of the great synth goth of the 80s.




I would love to see this band in concert.

Allow me this tangent please, as you may or may not know I am so in love with The Little Prince, especially now that there is a pop-up version of this masterpiece. A new friend of mine has a tattoo on his shoulder from the illustrations of this book and if I were to get a tattoo, I would seriously consider this.

Here are a few examples:

Politically Correct?

I don't think so! I am a big believer in the saying "It's not comedy unless someone is offended." So, get ready to be offended (and laugh!). Please keep all knee- jerk liberal reactions to a minimum as this is all in good fun!




Ms. Peachez song Fry That Chicken is way better but I am unable to post it directly in my blog. Click the title below to watch the video.




Now this is unrelated but it's just a good song.

We Have Everything

We Have Everything- Young Galaxy

This song is out of this world.

Friday, January 28, 2011

More Than Human?


Transhumanism: What a concept! The real world is hard enough to navigate, let alone trying to navigate a world right out of a science fiction novel. In theory, this is quite plausible; with todays technology and all its advancements, how do you know when enough is enough?

Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities. Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations, as well as study the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies. They predict that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label "posthuman".



I don't know how I feel about this. My initial reaction is that this seems very dark, outrageous and an abuse of science. That could just be my ignorance talking. As creepy as this idea is to me, you can't deny the potential it could have in curing human ailments. I just worry that nothing will ever be enough for us.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

NYC Takes a Snow Day



We got pummeled with a one-two punch of Mother Nature last night and the evidence of the beating is all over the city, not to mention NJ. NJ transit was suspended when I woke up this morning at 7AM but to my dismay, was up and running by 9:30AM. So here I sit in the office. I know what you're thinking "Given your circumstances,you're a schmuck Colin." But I have been professional this far and I'm doing this out of principle I am saying "Look at me. You fired a good person and a hard worker." I mean pay no mind to the fact that I am blogging at work, that's irrelevant.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Under The Sheets: Letter of Resignation

I put in my resignation at work today. It was the right time and the right thing to do. I needed to reclaim a little control in this situation and hold on to the little dignity that I have left. I know moving back home is the right decision for now, I just hope it gets easier sooner than later.

This little Mashup by The Jane Doze is electrifying.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Just Because I Like It


(I realize I am a little boy crazy right now but Sufjan Steven's is super cute and a good artist to boot.)

These are just some music videos that I love right now. Plain and simple. Take a listen and enjoy!


(So peaceful and beautiful. This is good bubble bath music.)


(Everything about this is so delicious.)


(I am fiending to learn the banjo and this song fuels my passion just that much more.)

Sunday, January 23, 2011

New Museum New Humiliation


Today was...interesting? No. I don't think that fits, interesting is not the proper way to describe it but I'm at a loss. Oh well. I interviewed at New Museum located on Bowery (one of my favorite streets!). My head is still reeling about the way it all went down. So this cool, total hipster type girl greeted me and we took a seat at a table in the museum's cafe. We obliged each other in some small talk, share a few laughs and wait together until the manager arrived.


(<--This is why I love this neighborhood.)

He showed up and started the interview by telling me my resume is the best he has seen and I am so qualified. Too qualified. I've been in this situation before and I knew it wasn't going to end well. He proceeds to ask me why I applied for this position and I am thinking "Really? You brought me out to persecute me for being over qualified in 5 degree weather?". Then to add fuel to the fire, here is the mistake I made at the end of the interview. The biggest mistake I have ever made in any interview.

The manager asked if I had any questions and I said: "Yes. What database and software is used to manage the membership database? Is this mostly a data entry and membership maintenance position or will I be working membership events too?" He looked at me puzzled and said "This interview is for the visitor services position." and my face turned bright red and I apologized and went on to explain how I thought this was for the membership assistant opening. What ended up happening was I applied for two jobs at this museum and I'm so embarrassed that I have applied to so many jobs that I can't even remember what I am interviewing for anymore.We cordially said our goodbyes and he offered me free admission to view the exhibits on display. I'm pretty sure a free ticket is the only positive to come out of this situation! On the bright side, the position was only 2 days a week and I can't survive off that.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Man of Men


I've been a fan of The Smiths for a really long time, so I'm not sure why I feel compelled to blog about them right now. Actually this is more Steven Patrick Morrissey specific. I forgot how much I have a crush on the 1980s version of him. We have a lot in common, he's a Gemini, claimed to be asexual (that was my go to response in high school lol) and hello we both are deep and painfully profound. I'm kidding, kind of.



Here is one of my favorite things I have read about the man of men:

Encyclopædia Britannica argues that Morrissey's 1990s albums, including Your Arsenal (1992), Vauxhall and I (1994), Southpaw Grammar (1995) and Maladjusted (1997) "testified to a growing homoerotic obsession with criminals, skinheads, and boxers, a change paralleled by a shift in the singer's image from wilting wallflower to would-be thug sporting sideburns and gold bracelets."

I want to be a mix of a wilting wallflower and would be thug sporting sideburns and gold bracelets.

I should talk about the genius behind the music, the lyrics, the legacy but I'm too lazy. Sometimes you just want to look at a really beautiful man and hear some really good music.

Move Over Ke$ha


Little Eden aka Cutie Patootie is a drunk mess and the sole reason that booze have been outlawed in preschools. She has become the Lindsay Lohan of our youngest generation and caused an uproar amongst kids everywhere. Parents have lost control and the educational system is powerless in keeping kids clean. Toddlers are uprising and revolting against the new laws and speakeasys are popping up all over in playgrounds across the nation. Oshkoshbgosh!



But in all seriousness why would you subject your child to such silliness all in the name of fame (such as it is) and money?

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Meet Me in Sedona


Today's blog is not about the drama that is my job, a bomb which continues to detonate a little each day revealing another layer of bullshit. No, it's not about that, or the $2200 in back pay that they owe me. Today's blog is about Sedona, Arizona.

A dear friend of mine at work, Rebecca has introduced me to my new dream destination. Sedona has everything I want right now, a landscape unlike any I have ever experienced, with its beautiful desert vistas and giant red sandstone rock formations. I can only imagine the sense of awe you must get from viewing the sandstone formations during sunrise and sunset, it's got to be so sublime. Just from what Rebecca has recounted and from the little research I have done, I need to go. The open roads and open sky sound so inviting, a place filled with people that remind you to slow down and revel in something bigger than yourself.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Cuter Than Cute

This very well may be the cutest thing ever. Cuter than me, cuter than you, probably even cuter than your newborn baby. Aww shucks, I cannot stop gushing over this.

Down The Drain...














This picture from The Incredible Shrinking Woman says it all. I feel like my life is going down the drain or if I'm waxing optimistic maybe I'm climbing out of the gutter. Who knows? Either way my life is changing.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Just Say Julie!


Step in to my time machine, make yourself comfortable and please secure your seat belts. Today's adventure is going to take us back in time to a place that is wild, colorful and filled with big hair. Flashback commence! We are traveling back to the distant past, I mean way back in time basically ancient antiquity: 1987. The Goddess in Progress of this time is none other than Julie Brown! In my book, she is the quintessential queen of camp. I mean her first big break was a part in Lily Tomlin's The Incredible Shrinking Woman which just happens to be one of my favorite childhood movies.

Her videos are parodies of popular 1980s music combined with her valley girl personality. The songs "Cause I'm a Blonde" ("I don't have to work I just have to jiggle!") and "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" were given radio airplay across the world. The latter was a spoof on traditional 1950s songs about teen romance, à la "It's My Party", with cheerleaders' heads and pompoms being blown to pieces. Of course, it was funnier before school shootings became common place among the nightly news.

So if you want to have a laugh Just Say Julie!



Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Get Ready For Annihilation

Destroyer will do just that, destroy you. I'm talking complete and utter destruction, literally speaking "to make into nothing". Don't worry, under all the rubble of your shattered world Destroyer will reach out to you like a little song bird in the early morning. Dan Bejar will sing his song in your ear and lift you from the shambles so you can revel in awe of the new word he created through bleeps, bloops and whirs reminiscent of Binural beats or tones. Even though the world is a brighter place, you find yourself still not feeling quite right. You realize his words are a solid mass of undigestible lyrics in your belly, but you can't control yourself and gorge yourself on his poetry anyway. It's just too yummy to say no.

"Soon.
Listen, I've been drinking
as our house lies in ruin.
I don't know what I'm doing
alone in the dark
at the park or at the pier,
watching ships disappear in the rain.
The world's just bones.
The world is black stones dressed up in the rain
with no place to go but home-" -Bay of Pigs

Warning: This is a chewy piece of music, it's more like literature. I mean, it tackles the 1961 invasion of Cuba.


Now this is much more friendly to those who like something a little easier to digest.

Yum.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Are You Ready For More Awkwardness?


I know I sure am! Not only is there the Awkward Family Photos blog that I still adore there is also Awkward Family Pet Photos. I mean seriously, could I love these blogs anymore?

Monday, January 10, 2011

Colin's Infinite Playlist

In case you haven't noticed music is a big part of my life. If you're interested, these are a few of the songs that have snuck in through my ears and found a home in my heart. Here are a select few from my deliciously OVERSTUFFED iPod:

Oh, Maker - Janelle Monae; Hole in My Heart - Alphabeat; World News- Local Natives; Fire Piano - Sparklehorse; Slow - Twin Shadow; Evident Utensil - Chairlift; Love You - Maxwell; Careless Whisper - Wham!; Lay Lady Lay - Bob Dylan; Siren - Kenna; Swim - Surfer Blood; Red - Daniel Merriweather; Boyfriend - Alphabeat; Where The Streets have No Name - U2; I Would Die For You - Prince; Call Your Girlfriend - Robyn; Sex City - Van She; All I Want - Toad The Wet Sprocket; Ready 2 Wear - Felix Da Housecat; Comedown - Bush; Powder Blue - Elbow; The Rejection - Dangerous Muse; Blue Ridge Mountain - Fleet Foxes; Seven - Fever Ray; The Limit to Your Love - Feist; We're Alive - Paul Van Dyk; Amanda - Boston; Alive (feat. Ratatatat) - Kid Cudi; We Are The Sky - M83; Is There a Ghost - Band of Horses; Strawberry Swing - Coldplay, Grounds for Divorce - Elbow; Silvia - Miike Snow; Just Out of Reach - Patsy Cline; Africa - Toto; Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Radiohead; Sometimes - Miami Horror; Seaweed Song - Passion Pit; Invisible - FM Attack; Love Will Never Do Without You - Janet Jackson; Finding My Way Back - Jaheim; Blue Monday - New Order; The Metro - Berlin, You Give Me Something - James Morrison; Orange Moon - Erykah Badu; The Suburbs - Arcade Fire; Old Man - Neil Young; Painter Song - Norah Jones, I'll Never Smile Again - Frank Sinatra; Night by Night - Chromeo

If you know what's good for you and you want to learn the secrets of longevity, you will watch these videos and revel in every stroke of genius!






Sunday, January 9, 2011

Way To Kick Me When I'm Down!

So far 2011 has been a DOOZEY. I arrived back to NYC the Sunday evening after New Year's Eve and had high hopes for the future. Let me tell you, someone had others plans for me. I woke up that morning at about 1:30AM violently ill; yes, I'll save you the gory details but let's just say it was not pretty. This was just the appetizer to my main course of dismay, and trust me the Universe gave me a heaping portion of it.

I found out this past Wednesday that I will no longer be employed by the advertising agency. The reasoning is that the partners need someone with a business background and much more administrative experience than I can offer. So my position, operations coordinator, even though it was just offered to me is to be no more and will be upgraded to that of an executive assistant. I am so screwed. I have $175 to my name and not a pot to piss in. The agency fed me quite a bit of malarky and said they would gladly keep me on during the transition (which I've come to believe is 2 weeks while my replacement resigns from her current job) and mentioned just how highly they think of me and are willing to help me find a better job that I can "enjoy and grow in". So far not one person has offered any assistance other than my friends at the agency. Who have been wonderful, by the way.

Just so much has happened in the past week and everyone's true colors have been exposed. I won't list every detail because I literally am sick from talking about it. I just can't believe how underhanded and shady the agency is, especially when I thought everyone was so great. Boy, oh boy was I fooled. Looks like my NYC dreams have turned into a nightmare and I may be going home.

This is the summation of my feelings right now. "I hate you so much right now!!"