Park This!

As novel as I find Ford's new Active Park Assist thingamabob, I can't help thinking how much ado about nothing it really is. If you can't parallel park, you don't deserve a license--it's a part of the freaking test you take to get one!

Soon, you may not even have to drive.

I think the energy could have been better spent, I don't know...working on better emissions or--and I'm talking crazy here--getting people to use their freaking turn signals. I don't know when using them went out of style, but not being a mind reader, I need an indication of where the driver is going--and nothing says "I'm making a left/right" like a turn signal.

Top 8 Songs: Week Ending July 25, 2009

1. "This Fine Social Scene," Zero 7 (from The Garden)
2. "50 Lashes," Floating Action (from Floating Action)
3. "I Am Not A Robot," Marina and the Diamonds (from The Crown Jewels EP)
4. "Fresh Blood," Eels (from Hombre Lobo)
5. "Summertime," Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (from Everybody's Boppin')
6. "Hit the Spot," Leslie Mendelson (from Swan Feathers)
7. "Ballad of the Sad Young Men," Rickie Lee Jones (from Pop Pop)
8. "Happier than the Morning Sun," Stevie Wonder (from Music of My Mind)

Notes from Insomnia: July 24, 2009--5:26 AM (EST)

It's all so simple, really:

Like, "Duh!"

Notes from Insomnia: July 22, 2009--2:26 AM (EST)

You know you're in love when you're in a park at 4:00 a.m., looking for dog poop with only the light of a dying cell phone to guide you. (And yes, said dog poop was found.)

Notes from Insomnia: July 21, 2008--4:23 AM (EST)

Dumpster Pool Party. File under "Only in New York..." (Read the story here.)

Speed Shrinking

If you've ever had a therapist, been in therapy, known people who've become addicted to therapy, or ever needed therapy, you have to check out Susan Shapiro's new novel, Speed Shrinking.

Speed Shrinking follows self-help expert Julia Goodman, whose books on quitting booze, pot, cigarettes, and diet soda have made her something of a household name. Goodman credits her success to her no-bullshit therapist Dr. Ness. But when the good doctor moves to the other side of the country at the same time her husband is called to L.A. to work on a television pilot, the one-two losses sends her seeking comfort in the figurative arms of her most formidable nemesis: junk food.

The emotional spiral--and attendant weight gain--couldn't have come at a worse time for Goodman; her latest book Food Crazy is being released, and she's slated to appear on the Today Show. Most people would find a new shrink, but Julia, never known to take the path most taken, takes things a little further--by test-shrinking eight therapists in eight days in an attempt to get back to her pre-binge svelteness.

If it sounds crazy, that's because it is. But it's also funny, well-written, and a brilliant debut novel from essayist, mentor, and nonfiction author Susan Shapiro. No one renders the addictive nature of the therapist-patient tango like Shapiro. You'll become as addicted to reading it as I did!

Speed Shrinking will be released on August 4 and available via Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powell's Books, Abe Books, and a slew of other booksellers. Make sure to check SusanShapiro.net for information on readings and in-store appearances.

Top 8 Songs: Week Ending July 18, 2009

1. "Where Time Stands Still," Mary Chapin Carpenter (from Stones in the Road)*
2. "I Am Not A Robot," Marina and the Diamonds (from The Crown Jewels EP)
3. "Cold," Maxwell (from BLACKsummers'night)
4. "Jack-Ass," Beck (from Odelay)
5. "Yvette in English," Joni Mitchell (from Turbulent Indigo)
6. "Sad Sad World," Sheryl Crow (from Everyday Is a Winding Road EP: Digital Single)
7. "Just Friends," Amy Winehouse (from Back to Black)
8. "Forgiveness," Macy Gray (from The Id)


* For EM, whom I one day hope finds peace of mind.

NYT: Vets’ Mental Health Diagnoses Rising

I want to be sarcastic about the findings of the study by researchers at the San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco, but doing so does nothing to improve the lives of these veterans who've been through several tours of duty. Better to share it and keep the memory of their sacrifices alive.

(Note: US Casualties of the Iraq War: 4,323.)

Notes from Insomnia: July 16, 2009--2:26 AM (EST)

Warning: This video may not be suitable for children or the faint of heart, as it depicts the behind-the-scenes fiasco that was Michael Jackson's 1984 Pepsi commercial.

Hate: the Podcast

Recently stumbled across a little gem of a podcast called Hatecast, by the Onion's Amelie Gillette. Good times--good, hateful times.

Notes from Insomnia: July 12, 2008--4:57 AM (EST)

Official version





...and the version that hooked me on the song in the first place

Top 8 Songs: Week Ending July 11, 2009

1. "I Am Not A Robot," Marina and the Diamonds (from The Crown Jewels EP)
2. "Ariel," Diane Birch (from Bible Belt)
3. "Phoenix Rise," Maxwell (from BLACKsummers'night)
4. "Just Friends," Amy Winehouse (from Back to Black)
5. "Magic View," Diane Birch (from Bible Belt)
6. "Hit the Spot," Leslie Mendelson (from Swan Feathers)
7. "Say Say Say," Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson (from Pipes of Peace)
8. "Cold," Maxwell (from BLACKsummers'night)

Moments in Music History: Elizabeth Cotten

Elizabeth Cotten on Rainbow Quest with Pete Seeger

Also check out her Wiki entry

The Strange Case of Troy Davis

I just came across the story of a man named Troy Davis. According to Amnesty International:

"Troy Davis faces execution for the murder of Police Officer Mark MacPhail in Georgia, despite a strong claim of innocence. Seven out of nine witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony, no murder weapon was found and no physical evidence links Davis to the crime..."

My first instinct is to join the campaign, but I like to check a thing out from all angles before doing so. That said, something doesn't seem right. But don't take my word/s for it--check it out yourself. Or the Wikipedia version.

Sign of the (New York) Times

I knew this moment would eventually come: The New York Times is considering a $5 monthly subscription fee. When you consider how comprehensive their coverage is and how much it costs them to produce said coverage, it makes sense. I initially wanted to kvetch about it, but...as a beneficiary of their good graces, it's kind of hard to.

And when you think about it, really? Five dollars a month is cheaper than the cost of a weekly subscription. Salon.com offers a premium version of their goods ($3/month), so why not the NYT? It's a matter of time before all newspapers go digital--which could save a hell of a lot of trees in the long run. My only concern with that is that people without net access will be left in the lurch.

Publish Post

Chocolate Is Deadly for More than Dogs

I know it sounds like a joke, but a man fell to his death into a vat of chocolate. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself.

Profiles in Overachievement: Zac Sunderland

Zac on Intrepid with Neil Kahn's Ashuma in the background
(photo courtesy Neil Kahn).

Zac Sunderland is both inspiring and frightening. The 17-year-old sailor is nearing the end of his one-man trip around the world via boat. Dude's even got his own YouTube Page--and he's not even voting age! (Then again, it's probably best he take something like this on now before being of age to be shipped overseas...) Bravo!

Top 8 Songs: Week Ending July 4, 2009

1. "Magic View," Diane Birch (from Bible Belt)
2. "Sulphur to Sugarcane," Elvis Costello (from Secret, Profane and Sugarcane)
3. "Please Mr. Please," Olivia Newton-John (from Have You Never Been Mellow?)
4. "Knives Out," Radiohead (from Amnesiac)
5. "Ariel," Diane Birch (from Bible Belt)
6. "Hidden Shame," Elvis Costello (from Secret, Profane and Sugarcane)
7. "America," Neil Diamond (from The Jazz Singer Original Songs From The Motion Picture)
8. "One Day in Your Life," Michael Jackson (from 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best of Michael Jackson)

Going South: A Brooklynite in Savannah

(Reprinted from the June 2009 issue of the First City Network News.)

Being new to town, people often ask, “Why in the world would you leave New York City for Savannah?”

I get it: New York is something of a big deal to a lot of people. It’s one of the top cities in the world--a hub of art, commerce, and culture that stands a symbol of class and sophistication. To me, though, it’s the place this late-thirtysomething gay black Brooklynite was born and raised. And for as much as I love it, I needed more than it could give me.

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

I moved to here because I wanted a slower pace, better quality of life, the great weather, and the comparatively lower cost of living. I was tired of packed subway cars, the relentless tempo of city life, the bone-chilling winters, and paying too much for a tiny apartment--none of which made my life any better.

When first I came here in January of 2007, I was mesmerized the town’s beauty, its urban sophistication and small-town intimacy (people actually say “hello” to you, as opposed to avoiding direct eye contact), the seemingly harmonic mix of class, culture, creativity, and tolerance. I was ready to move then, but injuries I sustained in a car accident resulted in spinal surgery. But Savannah never left my mind. During my recuperation, I kept up on it via the Savannah Morning News, Connect Savannah, and, of course, the First City Network Web site. Once I was healed and completed physical therapy, I made a beeline for Savannah.

River Street

Three months later, I’m more in love with the place than I was when I first visited. I enjoy the desegregated mix of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and straight people that populate places like Blaine’s, Chuck’s, and Club One. It’s also nice to see the LGBT community come together for things like movie viewings, Saturday Socials, family friendly oyster roasts, and other fundraisers.

Forsyth Park

That’s not to say it’s all been one big picnic. The term “fast food” is used very loosely down here. I’ve had the F-bomb hurled at me a few times on the street. More than a few fellow gay men have come on to me for being “chocolate stud” (their words) or spoken to me in Ebonics--something I think is not only condescending but downright insulting. (One guy even used the N-word!) I’m also not looking forward to the summer heat--which I hear is brutal--but I signed on for this the day I signed the lease for my apartment.

I’ve lived in a couple of major cities (San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles) and I see now that in each of them I tried to recreate the small-town feeling I had growing up in Brooklyn. It may be premature, but I’m really looking forward to laying down roots here. With every day that passes, I grow more convinced that coming to Savannah was the best move I could have made.