Someone recently requested that I put my song “I Hate New York City” back up online, so here it is. Be warned: the recording is not that great. This was a popular favorite when I lived in NYC. Then I moved, and I can probably never play this one again. So, enjoy.

Robert Altman just died. He was 81 years old, but he still seemed pretty spry to me. He was one of those directors who was so prolific, it was easy to forget how many fantastic films he’d made. M.A.S.H, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts, 3 Women, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, California Split, The Long Goodbye … and those are just the all-time classics. I recently started going through his back catalog, and it contains more winners than I would have imagined. Sarah’s friend Mark from work with turned me on to Secret Honor, a screen version of a one-man show about Richard Nixon starring Philp Baker Hall. Really good. And who even knew he directed a science fiction movie starring Paul Newman, or a movie based on a hilarious series of articles from National Lampoon magazine? Sadly, Altman will never again make a movie that we never knew existed. It is a blue day for film geeks everywhere.

In writing the post below, I went to check out my friend Chris Cassidy’s website and stumbled across these amazing portraits of boxers he recently shot. Photography amazes me. How do good photographers capture the personalities of their subjects? When I take a picture, I can capture exactly two different looks: “Phony Smile” or “Eyes Closed.”

I don’t know if you’ve heard about this yet, but Michael Richards, a/k/a Kramer from Seinfeld, totally flipped out on a heckler and went on a racist tirade at a comedy club last Friday. It’s pretty freaking insane. The saddest part is that I can sense him trying to do this for shock value, in that way that funny comics are allowed to be racist because really, they’re poking fun at racists. Unfortunately, he forgot the cardinal rule of shocking humor: it should have an element of humor to it.

This reminds me of a really hilarious episode of This American Life from ‘97 that they recently repeated. It was called Fiasco! and it examined experiences that went beyond the level of mistake or screw-up into a very special realm from whence there was no return. The first story, about a college production of Peter Pan, should be listened to immediately.

I heard some people talking about the Michael Richards incident on the radio yesterday, and some guy said it was a real tragedy, because as a jew, Richards should be able to identify with other minorities. I swear to God, that was this guy’s reasoning. In this guy’s world, the only people who have any prejudices in America are white, Anglo-Saxon, heterosexual Christian males. Everyone else gets along.

(Thanks, Cass!)

Sarah was out of town this weekend, so I went to visit my friends Josh and Ginny in Flagstaff. Josh was my neighbor in the dorm freshmen and sophomore years of college, and my housemate junior and senior years. I haven’t seen him a lot since we graduated, but now that I’m out on the West Coast and I have a car, it’s much easier. Ginny was his girlfriend for almost the entire four years of college. She didn’t go to school with us, but she visited often and I feel as close to her as I do Josh. They are good people.

I had never been to Flagstaff, but it’s a pretty bitchin’ place. I’ve always imagined Arizona to be hot and deserty, but Flagstaff (or Flag, as the people who live there call it) is green and sometimes snowy. It felt to me like an Austin or a Chapel Hill in the making.

I drove for 7 1/2 hours to get there. I can’t remember when I’ve taken a drive like that on my own, if ever. It was very mindless. There isn’t a lot to see between LA and Flagstaff. I needed a new hooded sweatshirt, so I stopped at the Polo outlet on the way. The store was filled with non-English speaking tourists who were buying armloads of merchandise. The woman in front of me bought 10 short-sleeve yellow polo shirts (the style, and the brand). They were all exactly the same shirt. Something seemed very suspicious. I asked the nineteen-year-old girl behind the counter if people bought clothes from the Polo store and resold them. “Yes,” she said. She told me that sometimes people came in and bought $10,000 worth of merchandise. “Oh well,” I decided. “I guess it’s not your problem.” “Nope,” she agreed. I did not buy $10,000 worth of new clothes, but I did get a very comfortable new hoodie that I plan to wear until it is falling apart. (more…)

I have a new nephew. His name is Noah and he’s way cooler than your nephew. Unless your nephew is Ben, in which case I’m legally obligated to call it a draw.

Noah came into the world on Friday, 11/17 at 5:30 PM. He is 8 lbs. 7 ozs fat and 21 1/4 inch long. I asked my sister if he took after her or Mark (her baby daddy) more. She said, “He takes after Winston Churchill.” Here’s confirmation:

I’m watching David Letterman right now, which I haven’t done in many moons. I grew up with the impression that Letterman was the cutting-edge of comedy. It’s odd to watch the show and realize that what was once cutting-edge is now the norm, almost corny. Do the kids of today watch Letterman the way that I watched Carson, as an old guy who my parents might like but who didn’t really speak to me?

Another thought, which I read somewhere else before: it is interesting that the way to show appreciation for a good joke is no longer laughter, but applause. It’s not enough to think a joke is funny, you have to act as if it’s the BEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Woot? Here’s what it’s all about: every day, Woot sells one product at a ridiculously low price. Their products tend to be tech-oriented, like mp3 players and hard drives. I’ve gotten to the point that, if I need a tech product, I will wait for months until Woot has it, because their prices are so damn good. Just tonight, I picked up a set of iPod speakers for $19.99, which, for anyone who’s priced iPod speakers, is a damn good price. I’ve been 100% satisfied with everything I’ve bought, and I highly recommend it for everyone who has obsessive tendencies like me. Every night at 10 PM (1 PM EST … hahaha to all you bastards who are still living in NY), Woot posts their product of the day, and I am there with my credit card at the ready. So far, I’ve picked up a paper shredder, a cordless vacuum, a pair of wireless headphones, a cordless phone, a USB hub, and the aforementioned iPod speakers. A word of advice for anyone who gets hooked : make sure to check it out right when the products go on sale, or else you’ll miss out on the best deals.

Com$tock has the shocking story of the half-dog/half-cat hybrid that is guaranteed to be a prime stocking stuffer this Christmas.

The honors for the first Random Wikipedia Link of the Day go to A Different World. It’s interesting how The Cosby Show really killed the idea of the blaxploitation sitcom, only to have it resurrected a few years later by UPN and the WB. A Different World was set in an entirely black universe, yet it was on a major network and did well in the ratings, lasting for 6 seasons.

I can’t really comment on black-centric TV shows that first aired when I was young, like Sanford and Son, Good Times, and What’s Happening?, but I would assume that because there were very few viewing options in those days, the shows were just worked into the regular schedule. Now, we have black-centric shows on black-centric nights, totally marginalized to ensure that white people don’t watch them.

Sure, there are a few crossover sitcoms every now and again, like Everyone Hates Chris or The Bernie Mac Show, but these are only considered crossover because they’re centered around black stars who have a proven ability to attract white audiences. Could it be that, in our quest to target every walk of life to the appropriate demographic, we are undermining the very principles of integration? Discuss, my white friends. (Or if someone who isn’t white happens to stumble across this post — doubtful that it will be one of my black friends, as I don’t actually have any black friends — I would love to hear your opinion, too.)