dumplingboy

Obama for Three!!!

Shoulda known he was a lefty.

from ryan & natalie. check it.

here's to 3

3 years and going strong! You're the best. TB!

Derrick for VP!

RFK on MLK

oh eight

happy belated new year. resolution: have less of a gut on jan. 1 2009 than i did jan. 1 2008.

feeling clear and focused these days. 30 lit a small fire. just a small one though. feel like i know myself much better now and can be more realistic, honest, and direct about work, life, and love. should help me this year. feels like it's going to be a big year on many levels and i'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.

thanks to all for the awesome christmas gifts! think i actually got everything on the wishlist which is crazy because i generally feel like a douchebag when i publish those wishlists. i generally feel like a douchebag when i ask for anything really. but, a genuine thank you. gifts are really fun.

good luck joe.

I'm 30.

Turned 30 this past weekend. Got to spend it with some of my favorite people in the world at an amazing location. Also got to dine at Blue Hill for the first time after year's of dreaming about it thanks to Jen. Lived up to all my expectations and was an incredible treat. She also planted 30 douglas firs in my name at (?) national park which was also something I've always wanted to do. She's incredibly thoughtful, that one.

Although, as I enter this next decade, I have more big burning questions than ever before, I do feel more readily equipped to find the answers than ever before too. I'm starting to really get a sense of who I am and that's exciting. It also helps to have the sage advice of some good friends. Adam, I hope you don't mind that I'm sharing your email with the 0.2 people who read this blog:

from my friend adam who is awesome in just about every way:

what's in store? 

continued professional improvement.  30 somethings rule the world - or at least do all the work.

you'll also take over the family as most responsible most able bodied generation

then there's your own family.  breeding if that's the path you choose will become an ever increasingly present thought/discussion.

and finally saturday afternoon becomes the new thursday night.  unless you go hipster on us (really you are kind of on the fence) and then tuesday night becomes the new saturday afternoon.

enjoy it...stay happy, happy 30's,
a

I am lame but here's my wishlist

So what if it's been 4 months since my last post? Jen is staring me down now and making me post my wishlist so she and my family know what to get me for Christmas this year. I'm also turning 30 in 5 days and am feeling very needy so I oblige:

1. Fender Blender - I think Main Drag in Williamsburg has a used one for cheap. The good thing about Main Drag is that they let you try pedals before you buy 'em and you can even take them out of the store in exchange for your license or some other collateral for several hours as long as you bring it back the same day. Our studio's right down the road from Main Drag so let me check this one out first.

2. Scott Walker 4 and Scott Walker's Climate of Hunter - I've been a distant fan of Scott Walker the past couple years but have really been getting into him recently. I actually spent 4 or 5 hours over Thanksgiving break researching his discography and history and especially his relationship with Peter Walsh who's co-produced many of his albums. The more I listen the more listenable his unlistenable work becomes. I find it pretty stunning and at times really beautiful too.

3. A nice winter coat. All my coats are too thin. Mom gave me some birthday money to go get one. I had my eye on one at Odin but not sure if they still have it. Actually, I can't even remember what it looks like. I should go visit again. Hopefully it's not $1000. Chances are it is and that's just ridiculous. I should probably just go to Paragon. Maybe UNIQLO has something cheap.

4. Cook's knife set - Wusthof or Global. The Wusthof knives are prettier (especially the Japanese chef's knife) but twice as expensive as the Global knives which comes as a set of 3.

5. I kind of need sweaters and nice pants. But, I'm so picky about that stuff it's probably best to avoid. I'm a big fan of gift certificates though! I need new shoes too. Ugh.

6. Gatsby Hair Wax (Mat Finish, aka the black one) - I used some of my brother's or Thanksgiving break and liked it so much more than the junk I use. Less greasy and doesn't weigh my hair down as much. Apparently they sell the stuff at Sunrise Mart for much less than they sell that stuff at the salons. Check out the Gatsby website for the dancing Japanese chicken man, if for nothing else.

7. The new Braun Pulsonic razor - 9 out of 10 voted best electric shaver. Unmistakably Braun. Unmistakably not cheap too.

8. Xmal Deutschland - Feitsch and Tocsin and Viva.

9. Get a subscription to GOOD Magazine (for friends and family, not me or Jen since we already get GOOD) and choose Acumen Fund as the beneficiary of your subscription! The magazine is fantastic and your gift will also help keep me employed for an additional half hour or so.

10. Tibor Kalman Sky Umbrella

Oh and everything on my list from last year, scrap. I'm a changed man. Okay I'm tired now. I'll think of more later bear. By the way, just realized this is my 100th post!

*throws confetti*

wtf?

pathetic.

THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN HEAD AND HANDS MUST BE THE HEART!

last night david, jen, & i went to see metropolis at the film forum. a new restored 35mm print. was brilliant. amazing what a bit of eyeliner and mascara will do for a person.

two nights ago, went to see the swell season at the blender theater in gramercy with matty & jori. very strange to see the two performing live after having seen the movie. they'd just been two fictional characters in my mind until then. pretty fun set with the highlight being glen's solo performance of "the banana man."

on sunday, the three of us went to city island in the bronx. a strange little town that resembles a new england shipping town. one main strip lined with seafood restaurants with a southern point across the bay from the mansions of great neck. city island however is primarily a working-middle class town with a lot of people coming in from the bronx for a good meal. ate at johnny's reef restaurant and had baskets of fried shrimp, fried calamari, and fried soft shell crab. was so greasy and delicious. check it out. we'll definitely be back and highly recommend. afterwards got some yummy ice cream at lickety split down the road. then stopped in this little cemetery. pelham cemetery. made the long trek back home to park slope and ordered some pizza from two boots and jen made a yummy salad. david and i had a couple beers on the roof and capped off the evening with chaplin's city lights. was a perfect idyllic day.