THUNK ! ! !

When myself and two co-workers climbed into one of their cars to go to lunch the other day, the Beastie Boys' "Brass Monkey" was playing on the radio. I asked them if they knew what a Brass Monkey was, and both of them said, "no". I went on and told them the deal.
I then proceeded to ask if they had ever heard the phrase, "It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey". They hadn't. Not wanting to disappoint, as I like to share trivial knowledge with anyone who will listen while getting through the workday; I laid it on them...
Apparently back in the days of the tall sailing ships that carried cannon, they used to store cannon balls on these indented blocks of brass (called a brass monkey) on the deck. If it were to get cold enough, this piece of metal would contract enough that the balls would become dislodged; thus, cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. This lead to asking if they knew what a powder monkey was, and guess again, they didn't. I only know what that is from reading James Clavel novels.
Once we were back in the office, I had to appease my curiosity and see if the story I just laid on these people was true and not bullshit. A quick search in google and I found myself on Wickipedia and it turns out that my story was a bit of folk etymology, and not really true at all. Yes, I confessed to the offense and even sent them the link. There's even a blurb about powder monkeys at the bottom of the entry.

In case you didn't know, a Beasties' brass monkey is a 40oz that you've replaced the first slugs of with some OJ. That's what I remember it to be, anyway.

Minimalism at its best (and not quite best)

Notice I didn't say (and worse), that's beacuse I am on the fence with my first example. Almost a year ago, I heard about a film written, directed, (partially) filmed, edited by and acted in by Vincent Gallo called "The Brown Bunny". There was a huge contoversy when it first surfaced due a scene where real live oral sex being performed on Vincent by none other than the doomed blonde cutie from KIDS, Chloe Sevigny. Needless to say, I put it in my Netflix queue months ago, forgot about it, and it unexpectdly just showed up this weekend while I was out of town.

Great acting. Cool Story. Only this particular pelicula was primarily an hour of Vincent's character driving his van west and nothing else happening other than the highway rolling by. I understand that the movie centers around a road trip, but the whole thing only lasted 90 minutes and two thirds is tuneless, diaglogless film. The movie ended up being very climactic (I won't tell you how or why in case you still want to see it), but I had to find something to read for the middle of the movie. I think the credits listed 7 crew, 6 cast, and 5 songs which added up together make up the entire number of lines exchanged in the movie. For some strange reason, I didn't hate it, but it was way to minimalistic.

On the other hand; I'm all but in love with Regina Spektor right now. Born in Moscow and now living in NYC, she's a musician who I've just discovered for the first time. With Regina singing, playing the piano, and not much else making up the minimal arangements on the album I got, this is complex simplicity at its best. Besides her playing the keys and singing, there is a song or two with some strings, two more with preccussion (maybe the same two), and one that I would call some sort of punk. This is hardly the variety of music I listen to often so it's hard for me to discribe, but I can't get enough of it lately. Super passionate, intelligent, and witty (or quirky?); this is some great music. Bear with me if you already heard of her (beacuse you're better than me anyway) and this is old news to you; check out her site and have a look and a listen. If you want to start where I did, pick up Sioviet Kitsch.

Long Time, No Blog.

I'm not even sure how I feel about the current pervasive use of that word, much less the word itself. Anyway...

It's been a while since I've had an opportunity to get on here. Last time I posted, the shuttle was still in orbit, Gas was $2.39 for low test, and I was about to leave for New York. Spent time up in the adirondacks (probably more about that later), a couple of days on the beach in Ocean Grove, NJ and a couple more in Manhattan with the half days in-between spent at my folks' home in East Fishkill. Speaking of petrol, today I spent the most I ever have on a tank of gas, $55.00. I'm not complaing (yet), there's a lot more important and drastic things going on in the world other than our commutes getting more expensive. But, I do think it is time to re-consider my mode of transport.

Well, this weekend is promising to be eventful. I'll be playing tomorrow night at 111 Minna, come on by if you're in SF. After that, it's off to LA on Sunday morning for the Line of Site premier party. That's a little show my friend has put together for MusicPlusTV; more to come on that later. It'll be off the chin-strap; an all day, all night bbq/pool party with lots of talent including DJs, MC's, girls in bikinis, live musicians and whatever else congeals at 4-4-4-4. What'll really be fun though, is catching the 6:50am flight out of Burbank on Tuesday morning in order to get back for an oh-so-fun day of month-end revenue accounting. Oh, and did I mention that the auditors are there for Sarbanes Oxley 404 compliance testing, and they get to hover over our shoulders and observe every action of every process? Shit, and you thought playing records and partying in SF & LA were going to be the best parts of my coming week. Think again.

Have you ever wanted an etch-a-scketch? I always have, but it took standing in the checkout line at Topps in Ticonderoga and spotting one on the rack for me to realize that for the last 15 or so years of my life...I could've just gone out and bought one if I wanted one so bad. So, I bought the little one at the register. P.O.P. marketing at it's best. The first piece was a city skyline which I wanted to photograph, but I dropped the damn sandbox (which erases it) before I could snap a pic. Below you will find what followed. I hope everyone has a happy and safe Labor day weekend (and best wishes go out to all of those going through hell this week).