Bonus!

Shoppers at Home Depot in MA got something special with their purchases. Via NY Times

I always feed the birds with no pants on, don't you?

Today I looked out the window to find that my across-the-way neighbor was tossing birdseed out the window. Naked. Yes, naked. So I took pictures. I figured that if one is that comfortable with one's naked self, that one won't mind if pictures of said naked self are posted on the internet. Click on the photo for a close-up (you know you want to).

Finally, something good at the McCarren Pool.

From Billboard:
Some of the most popular bands in indie rock will perform this summer at the newly revitalized McCarren Park Pool in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, N.Y. The space opened in 1936 with a pool large enough for 6,000 swimmers but has been closed since 1984; last summer, promoter Ron Delsner Presents announced plans to eventually stage concerts at the venue.

The series will begin July 29 with Bloc Party and Secret Machines, followed the next day by a free performance from Of Montreal. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Sonic Youth will team up for an Aug. 11-12 stand, while Deerhoof will perform free on Aug. 13. The lineup is rounded out by Iron & Wine (Aug. 17) and an Aug. 24 triple bill with Neko Case, Joanna Newsom and Martha Wainwright.

-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

You can purchase tickets through Ticketmaster, but they're pretty damn expensive. I say we all go to the free Of Montreal show, huh?

Go green and you'll feel better.

I just signed up to have Green Power through ConEd. It's almost the same price and it's hydro and wind power instead of coal and nuclear power. How great is that?! For you New Yorkers, go here to find out about providers available. I went with ConEd Solutions Green Power, which is just one of the many companies you can choose from.

Boy, that could have been really embarrassing.

On Memorial Day my dad's band played a friend's party in Pawtucket, RI. He was telling me about the party and mentioned that some rock guy from a famous band was there, but he couldn't remember his name or his band's name. The only thing he could tell me was that this guy's claim to fame was that he says that he took Britney Spears' virginity. I immediately said, "You mean Fred Durst?". Yeah, that's it. The Durstbag himself was there, admiring Jeff's guitar and looking all jerky (my assumption anyway). He wanted to sit in with them but backed out. Probably because he doesn't know how to do anything but scream and jump around like a monkey.

The Fatales at Mercury Lounge

The Fatales at Mercury Lounge, May 23, 2006, originally uploaded by Nerdalie.

The guys put on a great show last night, for those that were lucky enough to get in. Even though the bastard sound guy cut their set short, it was still a rousing experience.

My newest blog obsession.

You'll either find him really annoying, or (like me) feel the need to watch every single day from now on.

Apple fanatics include James Woods.

*Sarah, you must watch this just to see our ex-coworker Adam escort the SNL ladies into the store.

I can't believe I read the whole post. See if you can too.

Coffee Talk with Lisa Whelchel, aka Blair from Facts of Life

Do you have hours you can't fill?

Try this.

Something new.

Thanks to Matty (and James for pointing it out), we watched the Adidas Adicolor short films last night. The pink film was my favorite, partly because of the song. It's by a guy/band called Greg Weeks. I think you'll like it too.

A response to Corinne.

Back at ya!

This will be the longest 4 months of my life.

The last few minutes of the season finale of The Office were exactly what I was hoping for.

Who doesn't like t-shirts?

Do you know Threadless? It's a t-shirt company that sells designs that submitted by you and voted on by you. Christina turned me on to them and I'm very pleased with my recent purchase.

Look at him go!

I apologize if this takes a while to load. The little man is Hayden, Rachel's awesome kid. Ryan and I visited Rachel and family this weekend and we spent Saturday afternoon at Storm King. I'll put up some more pics soon.

My best match was Igor Stravinsky.

Try this.

Our weekend trip to North Adams, MA.

This weekend Ryan and I took a trip to North Adams, MA in the Berkshires. Our goal was to visit MassMoCA and spend time in the little towns in the area. They're very quaint, and there wasn't too much to do, other than eat ice cream and buy cheap books in bookstores, which was perfect. MassMoCA was great.





North Adams is cool. It's really industrial still, and definitely a blue-collar town. We at lunch at Jack's Hot Dog Stand, which is less of a stand and more of a lunch-counter. The food was dirt cheap and really good (if you like greasy hamburgers and cheese fries). Then we got ice cream and walked along the Hoosic River.





The river flows right by MassMoCA, and looks like a canal really. I'm assuming that it was diverted in North Adams for industry use.

We headed to Williamstown for dinner. Williams College makes up most of the town. We strolled on campus a bit before dinner, in search of the campus cemetary. There are marshes on campus, and we saw loads of red-winged blackbirds. I had never seen so many in my life. I'm guessing they're not that rare, but I was still impressed. I tried (and mostly failed) to photograph them.





We headed back to our home for the weekend, The Porches Inn, and watched a movie on our king-size bed.



The next day we headed to Lenox, MA, recommended by Ryan's bandmate Craig. It was very pretty and again, quaint with good ice cream. We sat in a park and got some sun, then headed back to NY. Our last goal for this trip was eating at one of the many 1950s diners off of the Taconic State Parkway. We stopped at the Chief Martindale Diner in Craryville, NY, which was perfect. It's been kept up and looks like it hasn't changed since it was plopped down there. I highly recommend that you stop there if you're in the area.

I'm proud to know these people.

There's a new trend in Providence, which I've been aware of for a while. Watch this video and maybe you'll be inspired (or appalled). Fyi, this is where Christina and I got our first tattoos.
Link via Gawker.

Update:
Unfortunately the video has been taken down. This photo represents the recent trend in RI. If you are interested, please go to Federal Hill Tattoo and Mike Brousseau will give you one.



Photo courtesey of Misha Art.

I probably shouldn't joke about this.

But if you are a fan of Arrested Development, isn't this just a little funny?

Related article at NY Times

Poor thing.

Every day at this time I hear a dog howling somewhere in my building. I have no idea where it is, but I'm betting it's a basset hound. Who else could howl like this? Um, or it's a wolf.