happy birthday!!!!

a big, huge, loud, and exciting happy birthday to one of my bestest friends the infamous BuzyGurl!!!! had a blast monday night! well before i passed out because i skipped dinner, but no excuses!!! looking forward to a few more birthday events!

aaaaalso! yesterday marked the birth of my new nephew! name still to be determined but the beautiful baby boy joined us last night after 24 hours of labor!

the single most amazing musical experience of my young life

last night i attended a concert at the roseland ballroom, featuring the roots, gym class heroes, and estelle. wow. double wow. and a good old-fashioned wow wow wow.

opening act estelle and her crew did an awesome job of warming up a crowd that had waited out on the nyc cold and rain for as long as 2 hours. her performance far exceeded the expectations i had for her based on listening to her body of work. possessing an absolutely electric personality and charming feminine wit, estelle entertained the crowd, discussing topics ranging from the current presidential elections to relationships. once she had the crowd on her side, estelle blew us away with sultry, soulful voice and lively stage presence. she's converted me. i'm a fan.

next up, gym class heroes. once they took the stage, a multitude of teenyboppers and adult (i use the word loosely) groupies descended into a state of delirium and foolishness. lead singer travis mccoy entranced the crowd with his storytelling and threw it into a frenzy with an energetic and inspired performance. gym class heroes played a good mix of their hits, old and new, even adding in a rendition of prince's 'when doves cry'. great energy. awesome band. impressive guitarist. thoroughly enjoyed their set. mad they didn't perform 'don't tell me it's over' or 'fly with me'.

now i must say. after gym class heroes set i thought i had just seen a really good, well-tuned, band give a top-notch performance. then the roots came out. and made gym class heroes look like a garage band. i would talk more about this but my jaw still hasn't returned to a closed position and it's difficult to type with one's chin on the keyboard. seriously. i will not describe this performance. if you haven't seen the roots you need to. and if don't think you do. fuck yourself. it's that serious. oh, and fuck all those people who left after gym class heroes left the stage. and an even bigger fuck to all those people who stayed and look uninspired. you are asswipes.

highlights -
travis interjecting a verse from 'catch me if you can' during estelle's performance of her single '1980'.
two guys fighting over a drumstick thrown of the stage by gym class' roadie. ultimately ended in a rock, paper, scissors standoff.
estelle's crew's hilarious appearance onstage alongside gym class.
estelle singing the hook to the roots' 'you got me' (watch out erykah and jill).
special appearances made by q-tip and mos def.
the roots.
the fuckin roots.
the motherfuckin legendary roots crew.

wow.

best rainy day lunch ever

you absolutely can not have a better meal on a rainy day then grilled cheese and tomato soup. and you can not find a better place in the city to get that combo than say cheese! located at 649 9th Avenue, between 45th and 46th streets, this tiny storefront is home to one of the best lunches i've ever had. check it out, you'll be happy you did.

i just finished off a mama's special myself and am now completely content for the rest of the afternoon. ahh, the 'itis sets in...

does she realize?

beautiful manhattan day. beautiful girl. decent outfit. and then this on her feet. yes, those are indeed champion socks. but, she did have a guy on her arm, so who am i to hate?

john marshall, thats who dammit!

manhattan love affair

while working today and walking the streets of manhattan (yes i'm a streetwalker. so what? wanna fight about it?), 58th and 5th to be specific, when i passed a small movie theater and thought that i might want to go there sometime because it didn't look like too many people went there. suddenly, i was hit with a pretty profound thought. why would i go to a movie theater in manhattan instead of catching a flick in my homeborough, the bronx?

surrounded by tourists and well-to-do manhattanites bustling in and out of central park, the plaza hotel, the apple store, bergdorf goodman, louis vuitton, and fao schwarz i became strikingly aware of one single fact - manhattan is full of money. major money. ridiculous amounts of money. another thought immediately followed, racing into my brain - if i never spent another BuzyGuy dollar in manhattan, it would not be missed.

i never really thought of my choices as a consumer as having much of an impact on anything other than my life, but with the financial crisis hitting new york as hard as anywhere in the world i guess my mind is just a little more tuned in economically. manhattan doesn't need my money. but the bronx does. dos caminos will do without my overpriced $48.63 per person dinner date. but the mexican place that just opened up down the block from my apartment might not be there for much longer if i don't finally check it out like i've been meaning to. if we don't spend our money in the local spots in our neighborhoods, who is going to? why do we have this love affair with manhattan? why do we pour our hard earned dollars back into the money pit that is the city instead of support local business in our beighborhoods?

now don't get me wrong. manhattan is a beautiful place. it is non-stop, vivacious, and totally eclectic. it brings in huge sums of money for the city and the country. it is home to countless memories of mine and manhattan-located companies have paid my bills for several years now. but i don't live there. the majority of my friends do not live there. so why is it that when we look for a place to hang, we inevitably end up in manhattan? maybe we've watched one too many episodes of friends or sex and the city, but it seems we instinctly congregate under the bright lights of manhattan like moths to a flame.

so i'm making a stand. i'm calling for us all to end this messy love affair with manhattan! sure it'll be strange at first, but in due time you'll adjust. and manhattan's not going anywhere. i swear. you can still visit. really. and i know the "other" boroughs aren't always as polished or refined, but a sure way to get improved and diverse options is to pump some money into these local neighboods. plus, since you aren't getting a "high-class product" (who needs that shit?) you also won't be subject to a high-class price tag. we might not ever see any of that $700 billion bailout, but you'll sure see some cash in your bank account soon if you stop frequenting manhattan. stay local, explore small (or even not so small) businesses and eateries in your area. open your eyes to the options that are so very close to you. and if you're a tourist, please come visit manhattan. but take the time during your visit to check out at least one place in the outer boroughs. you will be pleasantly surprised.

btw...did you know that central park is only the fifth largest park in the five boroughs? the four largest are located in the bronx, queens, and staten island. so why does everyone act like central park is the place to be? yea it has history, but history is waiting to be created elsewhere...