Getting old, does it suck???

Well I am back again, I just turned 39, yes it's true unfortunately and I started thinking about when we cross that line between being young and cool and when we just get old. I am not sure that this line is the same for every person. We all must get old, we have no choice in the matter really, time yields for no man or woman, I forgot who said that but they were so right. I think with age comes wisdom, and a general dislike for some things that you thought were ok in your younger years. I think a key indicator of when you have crossed that imaginary line is when music at high volumes isn't so great anymore. When going out on the dance floor for an hour leads to hip and lower back pain. When the four or five drinks and several shots you normally could drink and wake up the next day pain free have a much bigger effect. When the hangover lasts for two days instead of half of one. I don't feel too old, I have worked out most of my adult life and when I see pictures of other men my age I think I am stacking up pretty well. I don't have a paunch, have my hair still, not too many wrinkles if any and almost no Grey hair. I know it could be much worse. It just seems that as you age you have to work that much harder. You can't eat everything in site like you could in your twenties and early thirties. You can't drink until all hours (well you can but you will pay dearly for it). It is amusing to note however that sometimes younger women find you more attractive when your a bit older, this isn't always true however so don't get all excited older men. There doesn't seem to be this line that after you cross it age wise you are just old. It is a feeling you get inside, and the longer you feel young and act young the younger you are. I am going back to school now and am surrounded by kids that are mostly 21 and under. I relate to them pretty well, one of my classmates thought I was 27 and I told her I loved her for that. Sometimes you can't help but show your age physically but hey, with the age of plastic surgery, laser this and that, a gym membership and taking care of yourself you might just be able to stem the tide, look at Joan Rivers and Cher, not a wrinkle on either of their faces and Cher has a better body than some women half her age. How bad do you want it? Go and fight for that youth, you too can achieve it if you want it bad enough and or have a deep enough wallet. I don't think getting old sucks. You go through your life and build a wealth of experiences, you only grow more interesting hopefully and intelligent with age, that is at least if you learn the lessons life teaches you and are always trying to improve. Getting old doesn't suck, that is my opinion on the matter, maybe 40 will suck, I am not looking forward to it, but I have a year left and I will have my degree and maybe my forties will be my renaissance, that golden period where you save up enough to afford the American dream or some such thing. I always have admired the men and women that age with grace, we should all try to emulate them. Your only as old as you feel right? Isn't that the saying that gets people through the Grey hairs, arthritis, memory loss, senior moments and other ailments both big and small. Getting old, maybe it doesn't suck but I am sure that if given the antidote 9 out of 10 people would take it in a minute. Happy New Year to everyone, see you in 2009 where hopefully things will be better than they were in 2008. Hey at least Bush is out of office, how bad can things be from here on out. Peace and love.

General Rant could be about anything

Ok here I am again, Thanksgiving is around the corner, well it's here basically. My little nephew is staying with me for a while. I now realize why I have never had the inclination to have a spawn of my own. I love the little guy don't get me wrong, but spending even the smallest amount of time with him is an exhausting task. My best friend has four kids and I don't know how he survives it. He keeps asking me to come out and visit him, but whenever the thought of having his kids yelling, screaming and jumping on me or whatever else is around, I cringe and a deep sense of horror overtakes me. I just don't see the positive of having a kid. I like my freedom too much, kids have germs, they are carriers of God knows what kind of pestilence. They put their hands on everything and spread the germs all over, they destroy all that is holy in this world. I am obviously joking but I am also part serious as well, you decide how much. My little nephew is fond of taking off all his clothes and playing what he lovingly refers to as "penis guitar". I hope later in life he doesn't also feel this need, while cute, it is also deeply disturbing on many levels. Why do we feel the need to procreate? Isn't the world overpopulated as it is? Aren't there little babies all over the world in need of adoption? Go to China sometime, it's a business there. There's thousands of them waiting for you to take them in and show them a good life. We are selfish aren't we? We have to have our own spawn and pass on all of our genetic malfunctions to them. It is as if we need to see how fucked up they will turn out, so we pop them out one after another. I often see the fathers with the kids and they don't look especially happy to me. My own father wasn't around much, I always felt he looked at me as an annoyance, this might have something to do with why I find myself with no desire to procreate. Maybe I don't want to pass on my bad father gene to a new spawn of my own. So the question becomes why do we do it? Is it more a man or woman's urge to reproduce? Isn't this the genetic code all humans have? It is how we have survived this long isn't it? What would the toy industry do without a new batch of kids every year to sustain it. My nephew has enough toys to sustain a small village of kids. It's just insane, but this is America and we have plenty don't we? If I was a woman, there would be no way I would want to carry a child, imagine how it must be and feel to watch in horror as your stomach stretches almost to bursting in an Alien like movie nightmare, and to feel the baby creature kicking around in your belly. I am sure some women love this but to me, the thought is abhorrent. Not to mention how it ruins your body, although I will say, my sister is in great shape, she is one of the lucky ones that doesn't pile on the baby weight and keep it on after child birth. There is no end to the hulking lugubrious fatsos walking around in America today, we are by far the fattest nation in the world, take a trip to the mid west sometime and you shall see. Haven't you watched the biggest loser? Where hulking monstrosities of human beings come to compete in who can lose the most weight. Haven't we as a nation possibly reached the end of our rope? Are we in decline? Maybe our time is over and the rest of the world is laughing at us. Sure we can make a great plane and bomb the shit out of you if you fuck around with us, but are we the Greeks? Are we the home and birth of knowledge, the arts, the next Dionysus? I don't see it coming anytime soon. What I do see is Johnny Cracker in his trailer park with three kids with dirt under their fingernails. I do see the level of intelligence of our youth declining. I see all the glut of our society, the Mcdonald's fed kids with a beer belly at age 12, hopped up on violent video games and inhaling junk food at alarming rates. Maybe the experiment has gone awry? The great America we once envisioned has become something else, it has morphed into a nightmare of the corporation. The founding fathers never envisioned that the corporations would grow into the all powerful commodities they are now. We are all consumers whether we want to be or not. I can understand why people in the 60's wanted to drop out, but is it even possible to drop out in modern day America? There must be some communes left, but even then you have to buy something don't you? If you get a headache you need an aspirin unless you know the proper tree bark to consume which I am sure no one in this country does anymore. Mainly because we destroyed the American Indians culture that could have taught us this. Well this is food for thought isn't it? We must consume, we are using up more resources than the Earth has to give us, we are declining in the world in terms of education, infant mortality, creativeness, intelligence and we are fighting a war in two countries while people in our own raid food pantries amid the ever worsening financial crisis. Big corporations get bailed out of their debt, while the average "Joe the plumber" (Bad analogy I know) gets the shaft. We can hope that President Obama will change things but lets be realistic here, how much can one man do? I think we look to Obama as a messiah but he is just a man and beholden to the same power structure as past presidents. The military industrial complex, big business, the corporate elite etc. etc. To think otherwise is fantasy. Well are you sufficiently filled with dread? Doesn't this feel like that moment in Oliver Stones"The Doors" When all seems to be falling apart, Jim Morrison is watching the Vietnam war on T.V. and basically sees the writing on the wall? Pollution, global warming, war, drought, hunger, pestilence, disease,orphaned children, animal species going extinct? The polar bears drowning and on and on and exclaims "I think I'm having a nervous breakdown. Where does it end people? When will it end? If the signs are true then maybe the guy on the train with the sign that the end is near might not be wrong next time. Well I didn't intend for this to be a total bummer but hey you have to be real right? No need to sugarcoat it, we are fucked people and we don't really have anyone to blame but ourselves. It went down on our watch. Think about that when your eating your store bought free range turkey this Thanksgiving and try to give thanks for something positive going on in your life and this world while you still can. Peace to all and happy turkey day.

An update to the "Sign Guys" Plight and other interesting characters of the city

I want to first give anyone who might be reading my blog (if anyone is I don't know) an update about the sign guy of city hall park as I am calling him. I just saw him again the other day before the city got cold. He was still out there by city hall park with his sign and his story, I guess he hasn't found a job still. This is disheartening to think about, he seems like a nice guy and I would hire him if I had a job to offer which unfortunately I don't. I have to give him credit however for his passion, I guess going bankrupt will do that to a person, or at least being poor will.
On another note, New York city is filled with all kinds of people, there are characters the like of which you can't find in too many other places. Many of these characters for some reason are found in the subway's. I unfortunately got caught on the train the other day (a local mind you)with an angry black man. It was obvious he was either off his meds or never took any but he needed them. He was ranting and raving about history and something or other, it didn't really make any sense. I don't really mind if someone is ranting and raving if at least their argument makes sense. I often see the religious nuts as I refer to them, preaching on the train, it is always about Jesus which I find interesting. I never really see a Muslim guy going into his monologue, or a Hindu guy going nuts about his religion. It always is a Jesus guy. I guess Christianity somehow instills more passion in some. This man was very angry and people were getting scared of him, I wasn't personally but I wished he would have at least had some kind of decipherable message. I rarely see a Jewish guy going nuts like this but I have, Jews are usually too caught up in other pursuits and don't want to push their religious ideas on others oy we are just too busy and could care less if you join the tribe or not. Moving on, I used to briefly see an interesting character I fondly named "Pail head" for the obvious reason that he wore a big plastic bucket or pail on his head, I guess bucket head would have applied but pail head has a nice ring to it. The pail was one of those big plastic pails, completely covered with tin foil, maybe to keep the harmful messages or rays out? Who knows, but he was a character, he didn't talk or say much as I remember but then he simply vanished and was never seen again. I hope he got some help, he obviously needed it. The subway is a weird place, it is that place where we all have to come together, people of all sizes, shapes, races and ages. It can be so packed you can't move or you might be the only one in the car. I often like to ride on the back car of the trains and be by myself. I can't stand having someone sit next to me, well unless its a cute lady then I don't mind. The seats just aren't big enough, I have kind of broad shoulders and I just don't fit. If an ample woman sits next to me its tough. Sometimes you get into battles for seat room, you decide your in a shitty mood, which happens often to people here, you don't want to move so you keep your legs where they are and if the person wants to sit down well they have to fit. Its amazing how people will force themselves into a space that they know they won't fit into. I think they do this to make you move which is when the battle starts because I usually won't. I liken this to walking down a crowded city street and not moving out of anyone's way. Try it sometime see how many people you crash into. Women have an advantage here, they have the handbag or purse to use as a weapon. I do this from time to time if I am in a particularly shitty mood and just don't give a shit. Some people will move others don't look or like most tourists, walk around without looking. In New York you have to look down first, so you don't step in shit, you have to look left and right when crossing, because bikers, cars, trucks and god knows what else is coming at you, you have to look up because well their is some cool things you see when you do. You basically have to have eyes all around so no wonder tourists come here and are overwhelmed. Sorry I digressed again as I do. So if your not from the city ride the subway you will definitely see some interesting people, you might see a few characters and hopefully not pail head or some Jesus obsessed guy talking about judgment day or some such. I find it funny that all these people who think the end of the world is coming are always wrong, maybe one of them will get it right someday, but where will the satisfaction be? It will all be over and he won't get to gloat. I have never seen a Mormon on the train going on and on, or a Sikh. I think someone should do a study as to why. Well, I will give a re-cap on sign guy in a bit, I will try to write more, I am going back to school and have been slammed with work lately but things are winding down thank goodness. Soon it will be the Christmas season with commercial after commercial begging you to buy this and that and the other thing. Being Jewish I am absolved of this and I don't do Hanukkah gifts. My spell check said I misspelled Hanukkah, what kind of Jew am I? I will rant a little more soon, that is if anyone out there is even reading. Peace and hair grease to all and to all a good night.

Our historic election what can we make of it?

I don't like to speak about politics, we each have our own ideas and this country has been so torn asunder by the partisanship of our nation. However these are historic times and I think it is an interesting time to be alive. All the pundits have weighed in on why Senator and now president elect Obama won the election. I happened to vote for him also and everyone I know did. However to look at this election, one wonders why it was even as close as it was. Millions and millions of people voted for John Mccain. A man who is a bonfaide hero true but nonetheless dangerous because of his antiquated ideologies. Someone that picked a less than qualified running mate to be his vice president. I recently watched how CNN gave Sarah Palin a generous amount of airtime and I was angered by it. Does the republican party somehow think she will run again in 2012 for the presidency? I like many people don't understand why she was chosen. Was it simply because she is a female and mildly appealing to the republican base? I thought that choosing someone to lead our nation should be about choosing the most qualified applicant from among the vast pool of candidates. Is Sarah Palin the most qualified? Obviously not, it is also obvious that the republicans have lost their way, that is if they ever were on the track at all. Their party mantra has always been, smaller government and tax cuts, they were supposed to shrink government, but in fact they grew it by leaps and bounds. President Bush has not done one thing that I can point to that is positive. Republicans have been caught in scandal after scandal yet why do so many people continue to vote for them? It boggles the mind, especially mine. One wonders if the financial markets hadn't done so poorly, would President elect Obama even be where he is? If he had been unable to raise the record sums of money he did, would he have won? If he had accepted public financing could this all have been possible? It will never be known, but I for one am happy he won. I was watching CNN shortly after the election and one of the announcers said something to the effect of, that they would be watching Senator elect Obama, to make sure he was doing what he promised. I wonder where these people were for the last 8 years when the sitting president, broke every promise he had made, thought himself above the laws of this land. Where were these pundits? Haven't they been watching? I find it interesting that president elect Obama is trying to stay above the fray and not be partisan. Even though republicans have shut democrats out the past eight years. When they were in power they regarded our party as a mere annoyance. They didn't allow our voices to be heard in the halls of power. I remember when they made John Conyers the Democratic senator take his meetings in a basement office when he was investigating the republicans. I remember those partisan exchanges in the senate. I remember Senator Byrd saying wait, lets not rush into the Iraq war, lets think about this. All these queries falling on deaf ears. The agenda was already in place you see. We have a lot to be angry about. Don't you remember "Mission accomplished?" How many young men and women have died since in a senseless war? How many more will die. This wasn't my point however to talk about this, you wonder though, with all this and much more, the many scandals and waste, the deficit ballooning out of control, our stock market in shambles, our debts to China rising and rising. The 700 billion dollar bailout of companies who in many respects, shouldn't have been saved. The same man who worked under Paul Bremer in Iraq handing out our millions to contractors with no accountability, now working on handing out our tax dollars to the greedy wall streeters responsible for wrecking our economy. Yet so many are blind to all this. Americans have short memories. They forget so quickly or just aren't interested. I know this is a blanket statement, we should just move on now and forget what has happened. I am not one of those people. I always felt Bush should have been impeached long ago. I hope they continue to investigate him after he leaves the white house. Executive privelege should only go so far and not that far. They impeached president Clinton for so much less, a dalliance with a woman that was a mistake true, yet this president has done so much worse, so many lives he's destroyed and the lies keep mounting, yet no one seems to want to talk about that. Of course it is a great day, the first African American man has been elected to the white house. But we should be careful not to overlook the fact that we are a divided nation, haven't we been since the civil war ended really? The reality is, that our system of government is broken, we have allowed those corporations that we now villify to usurp power. They give to political parties and expect favors. In the dawn of the corporation in this country, this was illegal. Corporations were kept from the political process for a reason, so they couldn't exert control over our process. Don't forget this is a decision supposedly made by the people and for the people isn't it? Together both parties spent a billion dollars on this campaign. A staggering sum, one can logically assume that both parties took large sums of money from some corporate interest. If we don't in the future force politicians to accept public financing then how can we really say our process is free of outside influence? If we demanded that the networks give each candidate an equal amount of commercial time, there wouldn't be a need to raise these staggering sums of cash to buy air time. Our process could actually be free of outside influence. But you see, the corporations have become too powerful. If we are truly a free market economy then we should allow them to go under if they are broke. That is what a free market economy truly is. You mess up and you pay the price. Yes people get hurt from that, but that is why you take great care to not let this happen. You don't allow greed to motivate you for greater and greater gain. Instead we bail out these companies who now come begging for a handout when times are bad. They tried to label Obama a socialist but aren't we practicing socialist tendencies by nationalizing some of our banks and lending institutions? It is hypocritical. As I watch Sarah Palin on T.V. I realize that this country is morally and ethically bankrupt. That we can even hold this woman up as any type of example to anyone is a joke and an insult to our intelligence. The fact that this woman was even chosen to run a state is not only unbelievable but moreover an insult to the people of this nation. We should seek the best of the best in our higher offices and I hope President elect Obama will stick to this mantra. I think he will. We have suffered too long to take a step back. The job ahead will be hard, just as it was for President Clinton, trying to repair the damage done by the first Bush presidency and that of Reagan. Reagan who is held up as some kind of shining example but who really was a disgrace. Both these presidents bankrupted our nation as well and it took president Clinton 8 years to repair the damage, only to have President Bush come into office in 2000 and destroy his work. To spend and rob us blind through two wars and waste and gluttony. Yes I am angry and you should be too. So we look to the future and wonder if this country will ever wake up and actually see what is going on. Will they realize we are all consumers now under the corporate umbrella? When will they demand that we get these corporations out of our political process? Maybe Abraham Lincoln said it best at the end of the civil war when he wrote "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."
-- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864

Doesn't that say it all? Food for thought my friends, how can we ever be truly free again? Don't we all have to consume?

Lament of Kings (A Poem from my new chapbook)

Lament of Kings


They all once knew of this place
where a river passed through and by.
That mountain of memories,
where greatness came to be born
and legends to die.
Filled with the forgetful watchers of another day.
Kings of lands congregated around torch lit grace.
The river connects the lives of each east and west.
Days of old and new as one.
Each moment passing in time
to be catalogued by another.
The bearers of time frozen clear.
True to justice and fate,
un-beknownst of terror
clear of vision and voice.
We die true, clear of emotion
wanting nothing but more.
When we didn't attend to life in life.
Living in moments within this place,
with knowledge aforethought.
Infants in the world,
mindless before the dawn.
Knowledge gained in hard trials.
Forced moments free of sin.
We all seek to dwell in that moment,
clear of malice and thought.
The instant we first enter this earth and this life.
That second of clarity never again achieved.
The optic of existence pure.
Blinded to fate by hope.

What is it with Europeans' fascination with the N.Y. Squirrel?

Ok I know this may sound weird, but lately, I have noticed a strange trend here in New York City. Of course there are always tourists roaming around here, they are easy to spot, just look for the confused people walking around with their big New York tour books. I try to help them from time to time with directions since I know the city very well. On my way to classes I walk through City Hall park, where the big fountain is, this park has a small squirrel population, every day I see the Europeans or maybe they are from somewhere else, but they are always staring in utter fascination at the squirrels as if they had never seen one before. Now I have not ever been to Europe so maybe if I visited and saw some kind of rat like creature running around I had never seen it might be interesting to me I don't know. I wish I knew if there were squirrels in Europe because then I could understand this weird fascination. I have witnessed this multiple times and I have to think that there might not be many squirrels in Europe, or else they might think that in New York we have rats running around in the trees. This you can see for real if you enter Riverside park after dark when the rats come out in hordes, it is not a pretty site especially for the squeamish. New York has some of the largest rats i've ever seen, some being as long as two or three feet- I have seen them in chinatown and mistaken them for cats. Well for now I will just have to go up and ask one of these tourists if they ever saw a squirrel before and maybe I can answer this burning question.

On another front, in the past weeks I have seen a man standing along Broadway by City hall with a big sign saying something like "Mayor Bloomberg, I was hit by a taxi and due to my injuries I lost my job, can you help me find work?" I feel for the guy because personally I was also hit by a car, not a taxi thank god, they carry the lowest insurance of anyone and your lucky to get $10,000 if they hit you. So I can relate to this guys plight. However I think he's asking the wrong guy for help, because let me tell you Mayor Bloomberg doesn't give a rat's ass about this guy or the middle class in general and asking him for a job is like asking your parents for a 5,000 dollar loan to go buy pot, it ain't happening!!! Ok my example might be drastic but you get my drift. This guy however draws a big crowd of gawkers who stand there and watch him standing there in his suit and tie. I give the guy credit, he may yet score a job but with the market tanking and jobs scarce even here in the big city, the odds are not good.
A small footnote about the squirrel issue, I have talked to my mom who is a pretty smart lady, she rocks on Jeopardy and was even on the show once, she claims there are squirrels in Europe but I still am not buying it. I am guessing there are squirrels there so maybe the tourists fascination is simply that people love squirrels because they are cute and have cool tails, we can leave it at that. I will try to post back and give an update on the "Sign Guy" I hope he finds a job, it ain't easy standing on a street corner for hours on end ask any hooker or local drug dealer. I will try to write more often, that is if anyone is actually reading this which I have no proof of at this time. Peace and Love and Go Obama from NYC!

Why are so many people reproducing? And other issues of the day

I often wonder, on my forays outside, why are all these people reproducing? Don't they fucking get it? What are these kids going to have to grow up to? Unless they can create domed cities, these kids are going to be wearing SPF 50 every day just to go outside at the rate we are tearing this environment of ours to hell. What are they going to run their cars on? Hopefully something other than oil which is running out rather quickly. Oh and another thing, to all the New York parents, just because you have a kid in a stroller doesn't give you the right to take up the whole damn sidewalk, I basically have to dodge these things everywhere. Another issue, if your going to have a kid, can you at least raise the damn thing, I find it so amusing to see all these kids in the park near me with their nanny's raising them. Maybe they are better off, my parents didn't do such a great job with me, well they sort of did, at least my mom anyway. I never had a nanny though, I was a latch key kid, I think that term is not used much anymore, I had to come home from school and take care of my sister, which entailed making her a glass of chocolate milk and parking her ass in front of cartoons for three hours until mom and dad came home.
I digress sorry, back to the stroller moms. What is their deal? Do they really think they are more important becuase they have reproduced? Because they have decided to clog up this world with their spawn? Because they think they are special because oh your fallopian tubes work, and your husband can get it up long enough to impregnate your fat ass? Ok sorry if this is getting overly rude and negative but i'm sorry, you don't know the shit I have to go through and see everywhere I go. It's like there's some kind of race, how many kids can I have, and not even wait. Lets have a newborn and get pregnant 9 months to the day later, in fact, let me pop the kid out and two weeks later get pregnant again. My best friend has four kids now and he doesn't seem like a happy camper, so I ask what's the attraction?
Well maybe America should have the one child rule too, most parents don't even have the time to spend with the damn kids anyway, so why bother? That's my ruling.
New York mom's, please try to share the sidewalk, with your high tech strollers and people. Yes be proud your womb is functional by all means but let me have my room too, I don't need to see your drooling, mewling, crying baby taking up all my space.
An update on the bike path that runs along the hudson river. It is not impossible to ride on a weekend as I said. I have given up and now only ride during the week, this is possible because i'm unemployed and have not been able to find any type of work, even something that pays as little as 10 dollars an hour, Thanks President Bush, great job on the economy and everything else, can you manage to do one fucking thing right? I suppose he will leave office on time correctly so we can say he did one damn thing right at least. So I rode today on the path in the 94 degree heat, which was rough but I enjoy self torture so it worked out. It's nice seeing the tourists baking on the hot city streets. What else to say? I am sitting home blogging on a friday night. I guess I could go out but part of me doesn't want to blow all the cash at some bar, where I probably won't meet anyone interesting and i'll just come home drunk and bummed out. I can at least save the cash and be bummed out and save the hangover.
I wanted to also give you people another warning about walking around in the city. I can't stress this enough, you have to look both ways when you cross and then again. Cars and bikes come at all angles here. I have seen some people hit before and I have actually been hit by a car myself so watch out, this too can happen to you.
You must look up in the city but also down, if you don't look down your going to step in some unfortunate mess trust me. So you have to look down, up, left, right and in front of you, so your going to be pretty busy looking all over the place. Don't forget to check out the hot girls and guys if you see them too. Just don't let your spouse or significant other see, me and mine have a rule, I can look, she often looks too and comments on women and men. I just check the women. I can look I just can't hit on or touch, i'm working on the last two i'll wear her down haha.
Well, the city is in the grip of a heat wave, well everyone goes crazy but it's just 94 today, par for the course in summertime. I will write back with my next rant or rave soon and i'll give some more of my best of and also worst of lists coming soon. Peace to everyone and stay cool.

THE QUIET FRUIT (A POEM)

THE QUIET FRUIT

Crimson beckons from the fruit.

Creation.

This barren place we call the aqueduct.

Where the dreams and detritus of life have pooled.

Shattered and broken.

Tormented by possibility.

Shielded by a life full of want.

Dreams die and fly with time.

Life goes along by rhythm and rhyme.

The will has power over all.

Death in the end sublime.

The freeing force that comes to one and all.

Rich and poor all must fall.

In due time our imprint kept on the vellum of heavens wall.

Distinct and true we live and die.

Quiet and regret for those who don't try.

In those moments few, when choice is near.

When we rise and fall with deeds amid hope and fear.

Only at times end our minds dulled by age,

Is the souls vision truly clear.

The spirit left to rage.

Tourists in New York City and other things that go bump in the day and night

There's one weird and strange thing about people coming to New York City, most of them at some point, will stand in the middle of the sidewalk, mouths agape staring up at something or other and blocking up the whole sidewalk. It's either this reaction or they have the map out that is about four feet long and they are trying to determine where they are. This is fine, we all get lost, but can you step to the side of the sidewalk so your not smack dab in the middle of the damn street?!? I guess not.
I know people get lost, shit, i've been plenty of places and got lost but I don't stand in the damn middle of the sidewalk like some putz. Ok sorry for the negativity, of course we love tourists here, we need them like any major city and tourist destination does but c'mon tourists learn how to read a map or ask directions. Most New Yorkers are pretty helpful. What is another thing to avoid when coming here as a tourist? HMMM. Well I would say all the hawkers trying to sell you crap from stupid pictures, to rides in those annoying bicycle buggy things and anyone trying to sell you basically anything that is to good to be true. Ok tourists have fun, come to our city, with your badly dressed selves and your euro dollars, we love you. At the rate they are buying up our Real estate, we will have to rename New York some European name like Newyorkchya, or New York Land or some such horror. If Bush has our way we will be drilling up every off short spot, spilling oil into our oceans and Florida will be a giant oil slick before long. Thank god his reign of nightmare is almost over, now all we have to hope for is that the public isn't stupid enough to elect MCcain president. Anyone who spent six years as a P.O.W. might be a hero but that doesn't mean he's sane or a good leader and I doubt he's either.
Moving on, This message goes out to any and all joggers and walkers and mothers with baby carriages that frequent the bike path that runs along the Hudson River by the West Side Highway. I enjoy riding my bike there, like many other New Yorkers, unfortunately due to construction the 2 lanes meant for bikers, runners and bladers are also populated by walkers, mothers with baby carriages, dog walkers and God knows who else. this is fine but realize that there are people whizzing up and down this lane and stay to the right as the signs every 25 feet or so say! Is this that hard? Are you so self involved that you can't simply stay to the right. If your a lone jogger are you that important that you have to run right in the middle of the two lanes? Making others have to go around you and risk a head on collission with oncoming bikers? I have taken to passing as close to these people on my bike as I can to scare them back to the right which doesn't work. The other groups that are annoying are the packs of runners that number two or more. They think because they have the numbers that gives them the right to take up the whole lane, this is wrong, stay to the right, I am a biker and I will run you over, well not really but it's nice to make them think I might. Putting the fear of God into people isn't always a bad thing. To the walkers who think it's cool to walk against the traffic. You are even dumber I think than the runners who take up the whole lane. Not only can't you follow direction, you wander along the path on your cellphone oblivious to the bikes, runners and bladers who's progress you are impeding. Get off your cellphone and wake up, walk along a sidewalk somewhere else your not even appreciating the view. If you hear someone yelling at you as they whiz by "Your on the wrong side of the path you moron!" that would be me, deal with it! To the bikers who wear the full gear, as if they were participating in stage six of the Tour De France, get over yourself, your usually some middle aged guy who doesn't have the body for this outfit and your going about 10 mph which isn't making you look good. The other type that wears this is the guy who is probably whizzing down the path going about 45mph and almost hitting everyone in his way. These guys are nuts and have a major deficiency somewhere in their Dna make up. I fall somewhere in between, I keep a good pace, don't wear the tight ass gear and I always stay to the right because I am respectful of other people's right to be on the path. My advice to you if you like to bike ride, avoid this path on weekends unless your an early riser, everyone and their granny is down there right now and it's not an enjoyable ride. Unfortunately for us natives, Bloomberg our putz of a mayor excuse my use of the word but i'm not a fan of his, has instituted a bike rental policy for Downtown New York, while this is great for the tourists in New York it is bad for us locals who like our path not to be full of tourists driving slow and who have no idea how to ride in this kind of place.
Ok I guess you must have had enough of my rantings, well one last thing, what the hell is going on in Tribeca lately? Every rich yuppie or out of towner who owns an apartment on the top floor has decided to build a house on their rooftops, I cannot tell you how many hours on Sunday I had to listen to the loudest drilling noise you can imagine because another rich asswipe had to build a 2000 square foot house on his private rooftop to impress his girlfriend with the fake hooters. Enough already, is their an end to this? I think not my friends, as usual the little man, the poor man and the man just trying to make it in this world gets crapped on. Maybe one day I will have my revenge and not build a roof top house, instead i'll buy in the caribbean or the Hamptons and laugh at my neighbors as I pull up in my Toyota Corrolla as his manservant waxes his Benz. Well I am going to sign off until my next rant or rave, stay cool and remember when in New York, look up and look down too and don't stand in the middle of the sidewalk map in hand, you will look like the obvious lost tourist. Peace and love.

BEST OF NYC

BEST CHINESE FOOD AND BEST DUMPLINGS

Ok, I have decided to divulge a few secrets to those of you that don't know the city too well, I am going to divulge where, in my opinion the best chinese food place and the best dumplings in New York City are. There is a small restaurant in Chinatown, at the corner of Mott Street and Bayard Street, it has a simple sign on the front you won't forget, there's a big "69" on the front you can't miss it. Before you get mad and think I have directed you to some S&M dungeon I assure you I haven't. I am directing you to 69 Bayard Street in Chinatown. Home of the best dumplings I have ever had. They come six to a plate and the sauce is the secret. I don't know what they put in this sauce but its a dark sauce that totally makes the dumplings amazing. These are big dumplings too and they are very filling. It's a great appetizer. 69 Bayard is also known for having money as the wallpaper. I am not kidding, the walls and most of the ceiling are lined with mostly dollar bills put there by patrons over the years with little messages on them like "Rocco and Tina were here" or Brooklyn in da house etc. You will know your in 69 Bayard by the money wallpaper. 69 Is open 24 hours a day so don't worry if your wasted and its late, go on down. They also make an amazing chow fun (a broad noodle dish with your choice of pork, shrimp, vegetables etc.) Prices are reasonable, two people can eat like kings for under 20 bucks. It tends to get crowded friday and saturday nights but well worth the wait. This is not a fancy place by any means, but they give you good home cooked food and I never had a bad dish from them, try the sliced pork also, it's amazing.


BEST PIZZA (MANHATTAN)

This one is hard, because New York has so many amazing pizza joints, I am going to list my top two, New York is home to one of the biggest slices ever, "Koronet", home of the "wagon wheel pie" Located at 2848 Broadway between 110th and 111th streets. This slice is not for the faint of heart, it's truly massive and is like eating almost three slices it seems like. they also make regular size slices but if your a pizza afficionado go up and try one of the "jumbo slices" they are famous citywide. My other favorite is not far away, Sal and Carmines Pizza located at 2671 Broadway, Between 102nd street and 103rd streets. Sal and Carmine have been making pizza the right way for well over 40 years. They are a true institution, they use a blend of skim and whole milk mozzarella and have a thin crispy slice that just melts in your mouth.They are routinely chosen as one of the best slices in the city and there's a reasaon. They are true pro's at the art of making pizza. This is a no nonsense place, they make pizza and that's it, they also have a great sicilian slice, most pizza places make one better than the other but not Sal and Carmine's they make both kinds equally well. Go check them out for what is in my opinion the best slice in Manhattan in the five boroughs.

HOT SPOTS TO PEOPLEWATCH IN NYC

This is one of my favorite past times, I love to watch the hordes, and in the city there are always many. There are many spots to go especially on weekends to see people and watch them do what they do.

THE GREAT LAWN CENTRAL PARK

This is always a fun place to go watch people of both sexes sunbathing and just hanging out, weekends in the summer are usually crowded and yes there are some hotties of both sexes out there. But if your seeking cute girls to watch, I enjoy hanging out downtown in my hood by the Hudson River Park in Battery Park, there is one large lawn behind Stuyvesant High School where gorgeous gals lay out and yes some guys but i'm not really looking at them. This is a great spot to take a blanket, lay out, catch some rays and watch the gorgeous flesh roast in the sun. It's also great if you like biking or blading, you can bike or blade down the west side highway bike path free of lights and cars, until you hit stuyvesant high school then take a right. It's nice to sit by the water also and watch the boats go by on a lazy Saturday or Sunday. Bring your own drinks there's not many places to get drinks but there is a deli close by if your desperate, dog lovers beware, no dogs allowed on the lawns, so keep your doggies in check, the rangers will ticket you.

RIVERSIDE PARK UPPER WEST SIDE

This is one of my favorite parks besides Central Park, while Central park is way larger, Riverside Park has its own charm, you can also bike in here, there are public tennis courts at 120th street and Riverside Drive, there are also real red clay courts that you can play on cheaply located on 93rd street and Riverside Drive as well by the water, get ther early and expect to wait on weekends its crowded, however weekdays is much easier to get on a court here if you don't have a job or happen to be wealthy and don't need one. The 120th Street Courts are hard courts and you need either a permit to play or you have to go buy a day pass which is a pain in the ass. The Clay courts you can just pay 8 bucks I believe it is and just get on if there's a free court so its easier to play there. This park is very dog friendly and has several dog runs to let your doggy play. Not as many hot bodies but there are some laying out in the sun as well. If you want to really get lost in a park i'd advise Central Park which has areas you can get totally lost in and not even know your in the city anymore. Tourists a note of caution, do not I repeat do not walk through these parks after dark. There are several dangers, one being your in a big park in the dark with no one around duh you might get mugged and the other reason is, the rats come out at night, trust me.

BEST POOL HALLS (MANHATTAN)

1- SLATE

I am an old school shooter, I don't like these newer pool halls where its like your in a club, so I tend to like simple pool halls. If you want the club like atmosphere however, go to "SLATE"
54 West 21st street. Right off Sixth Avenue. This is a rocking, loud place, with a big bar upstairs, it's pricey, it's loud, but if you like to watch cute gals and guys shooting pool this is probably going to be your happy place. There are also many other bars and clubs in the vicinity so if you want to have a great night out and party afterwards this is your place, it's pricey however at least by my poor standards so bring some serious cash. If you want to shoot pool in a club atmosphere this is your spot. I suggest going downstairs if you want a little less noise. Upstairs is nuts. They also have snooker tables as well.

http://www.slate-ny.com/


2- CORNER BILLIARDS

110 EAST 11TH STREET

This is a great pool hall with great tables, also a bit pricey, it has a bar also and some cute girls so check it out, also located in a great spot in the East Village.

3- BROADWAY BILLIARD CAFE
10 East 21st Street Off Broadway.

This is a real pool hall, and my favorite of the three, its no nonsense, cheap compared to the others and its very near Slate, the tables are pretty well kept, this is more of a regular type pool hall for more serious shooters, its a bit quieter also which is good. Also located in a cool area with many bars and clubs nearby and its also near subway's. The R train is nearby at 23rd street and its not a far walk from the 4,5,6 trains and or 1 train as well.

I will report back with some other best of's New York Soon thanks for reading.

Some rants and raves on the city and stuff like that

I have to say that I don't understand the stupidity of some. Now I know your saying that hey New York is full of people, some of them have to be stupid, it's just the law of averages but why so many and why such a concentration here. I was down by the Hudson Today and these kids are running around, screaming, making a huge ruckus, disturbing everyones peace and nice day. Where are their parents? I don't know I guess people are more patient than I am.
Moving on, I was walking the other day on Broadway, I saw a hippie type dude, by that I mean he was a bit scraggly with the long hair and a bit out of it, but that's ok because there's a lot of people in New York like that. He had a cardboard sign that just read "Smile" he caught my eye as I was watching him and put his fingers around his mouth as if to say smile and I did. He woke me up from my generally scowling type face I have on. The power of one man to change anothers feeling with a simple sign. I love it, that's what New York is about.
What is pissing me off is this influx of out of towners and just non-native New Yorkers. I know this is the melting pot of the city but I don't have to like it. I don't have to like being priced out of my own neighborhood that I helped to colonize when no one wanted to even live here. I am speaking of Tribeca. Now because some yuppy wants to pay 2 million bucks for a loft or rent a two bedroom apartment for 4,900 dollars a month I have to move? Fuck that. Fuck them and their brooks brothers suits and their wall street mindset. I was down here when they had no idea what tribeca even was. I am proud of that. You wouldn't even recognize Soho anymore, if for instance you left New York in 1980 and now came back you would say "what the hell happened here?" The corporation of that is what happened. Ok my bitchfest is over on that note.
Have you ever seen a guy riding the subway with a big plastic pail on his head covered by aluminum foil? I have. I saw this guy a few times over the years and got to calling him "Pail head" original isn't it. I recently quit smoking cigarettes after 20 years! I have defeated Marlboro's attempts to kill me for the moment and i'm proud. Although I must say, 3 months in and I still want to smoke so the psychic bond is still there. I want a damn cigarette there's no doubt about it. So far I have resisted this temptation. The fact that a pack of Marlboro's is now going for $9.25 a pack at my local deli also helps. That is approaching the same expense as a crack habit, in fact you can probably be a crackhead for cheaper now than a cigarette addict. The world is becoming a sad place.
Another issue I am seeing so much of is the nanny issue. All these yuppies and big money people down here, are having kids at record levels. I see strollers everywhere, 95% of them on a weekday are cared for by a nanny, so we have a whole generation of kids being raised by strangers and they have parents who basically see them after 6pm and on weekends. What the hell does the future hold? Do you see one of these maladjusted tykes at the helm of our government someday with the red phone next to his or her desk? What if they have a bad day and remember mommy and daddy left them with zoraida the nanny most of their life and then threw her away like a used napkin. There going to be pissed and who do you think their going to take that out on, some poor unsuspecting third world nation I suppose. Ahh the world we live in.
Now I am going back to school, at my late advanced age. I have decided to put myself even more in debt with no guarantee of ever paying it back. But I am soldiering on in the hope that there actually might be jobs by the time I graduate hopefully next year sometime. If not I guess I can just go bankrupt or try to hide in Alaska and hope the people looking for my loan repayal find some other stiff to fuck with.
I digress, so I am surrounded by mostly kids ranging from 18-22 years old, and i'll tell you something. I am scared for the future of the world. These kids some of whom are very witty and smart, and others who are more adept at texting than anyone I have ever seen. Pay less attention than a dope addict short his fix and who are up talkers and use like more than anyone I have ever known or care to know. They are all not this way just a bunch of them. I can always spot the people who are out of towners, they are too nice and give too much of a shit what people think of them.
What else can I say today, do you see where my psyche is? I have mostly been alone without human contact or speech for many days. What this does to one is create a human being that has issues to say the least. I will be back more and more because I realize without these venting sessions I am close to the end of my rope and instead of going there i'll vent here and hopefully amuse a few people. Thank you for your attention to the nightmare which is my daily existence see you again soon.

Ash