Bill Cunningham, my guilty pleasure

Yes, I admit it.  I am addicted to Bill Cunningham.  When I look at the Times on line, if there's an On The Street  photo essay by Bill, it's the first thing I go to.  (Then maybe Mark Bittman, then onto all the news that fits and makes one ill.)

In 2002 Bill wrote this piece for the Times, Bill on Bill (archived without the photos, damn).  When you read this little bio, you think the same thing that you think when you listen to him narrate his photo essays: What a nice man!

Dear 2010, so far you totally rock

It's true.  We're in love with you.   We even love your name.

Let's see, how did it begin?  Oh, yeah, just a couple of hours after a gaggle of friends left our place we were up @ Provini when Midnight opened the door and you came in, all whoopee and kissing.  Then we slid down the hill to Bar Toto and there was more whoopee and kissing.   Then we went sideways to Gingers for a while where it was orange light and thumpa thumpa thumpa.  Then we went deep to Sunny's and wasn't that fun!  What a crush!  Not sure how we made it home - must have bought a vowel or two along the way.

Then, a little cruelly maybe, it was up pretty early so we could clear our heads, find our orange invites, and make our way to the inauguration! Mayor Mike, our man and Public Advocate Bill De Blasio, and Comptroller John Liu.  That was glorious, sitting out there in the crowd in front of City Hall, the mix of folks who'd invested their time or money in pushing their ideas and wants through the political process. Racially & economically mixed, with the common thread of having opted in rather than having opted out. And hey, it was a little folksy - students from the newcomer's high school in Queens introduced the speakers & office holders & told jokes.  Small town New York.   (And this is the twin school that our neighbor Brooke Hauser wrote about in the Times.  Remember? This Thing Called Prom.)  Yada yada.  It was great fun, but cold and when it was over thousands of people who had been holding their pee suddenly needed a place to go, totally overwhelming the local coffee shops.

Then home, dear Twentyten, where we did up a couple of sausages and had them on the last of the home made batards of ratty old 2009.   Jeez, that old year looks dreary already, doesn't it?  Dinner was with pesto Laurita put up during the summer on what was probably the best smelling day of Oh Nine. Then we hauled out a fresh ham we'd been hoarding, already slathered with the adobo sauce we'd mixed up earlier in the day, and got that into the oven. Couldn't go to sleep until it was out, and then almost couldn't sleep when it was out 'cause the air was so thick with pork.  But we managed, dear Twentyten, we managed.

Yes. But...

Since Juju posted about the Time Mag Decade from Hell, I've been wanting to say, Yes, I know the world's gong to Hell in a hand-basket, but I'm still living a good life.  A blessed life.  And I've started making a list of how & why and maybe I'll post some of it.  But, for now, meaning no disrespect to others less fortunate and less happy, One, Two, Three:

Mr. Drury

ju ju getting a brown fat transplant A S A P !

OH YEAH! it will go so well w/our beautiful brown skin tones...
the linky goodness on brown fat vs white fat via Boing Boing.
(& as far as the labels go, image, as in Self Image; Navel Gazing as in ju ju can't see his navel any more: nicknames as in Pillsbury Dough Boy; power of positive thinking as in Brown Fat will save me from exercising; Pudding as in maybe ju ju eats too much pudding; uh schnockered as in da more schnockered ju ju gets the better idea brown fat transplant is; unsettling modern realities as in well, once ju ju has to buy any pants with a waistline larger than 46 he be beside himself...)

William Jefferson to the rescue!

via the New Yorker online,
ol'dawg Willy C. saves the day.

and ain't that a truly fearsome duo pictured in the post below,
Dante and Ju Ju be striking the fear of Dawg into one and all.
AND just where in the hell is that lazy-ass chango tonto muckerfrikker?

so THAT'S the secret...

not saying that most of yourstruly's paramours have had decidedly simian characteristics (& just what would you expect would attract a big ol'ape fellah like me anyways...)
"hey, my leetle monkee-gal, howzabout a steak dinner?"

p.s. - ain't that the truth...

the will to live...

ahhhhhhh...
Sophie Tucker lives
that picture reminds me so of my late, lamented cattledoggy, Cam...

People's President

"Despite the chaos, even the most dubious observers admitted that something “sublime” had occurred [...] There was no doubt that a new era of American democracy had begun. “It was the People’s day, and the People’s President, and the People would rule,” wrote Margaret Smith."

Nice account of the "The trashing of the White House that was Andrew Jackson's inauguration", at The Smart Set.

Sunrise

Rhizome.org, Yes Men?

Tick tick tick

Each if us, in our own lives, will have to accept the responsibility...

Juju reminds us where it started. Harpers, Bam Bam, the effective use of history. Includes Obama's announcement speech, lo those many months ago.

Where to spend Nov 4... The Gate?

Well, the gate hasn't announced anything yet, but it was my favorite spot for watching the debates this year. It's the last of the bars we wound up in during the last presidential, too. Unless it was next to last. Or the one before that. It really hurts to remember. In any case, it's a fine, partisan venue.

Where to spend Nov 4... Barbes?

Maybe Barbes?

ELECTION NIGHT
We'll be showing election results all night on our big screen in the back room.
We assume it should be a joyful party, although we wrong last time. Very wrong.

Where to spend Nov. 4... Galapagos?

Maybe, Galapagos?

> Tuesday, November 4th, 6pm $10

Obama Fabulous Galapagos Art Space
Election Party!

So what are we doing for election night?

So far - besides projecting the results live - we're deciding between a 14 piece orchestra and an over the top really really fun "Yes we Can-Can!" Can can night. Or both. And then of course we'll have our Brooklyn-famous Presidential kissing booth and since it will be such a fun night we'll have a 'doctor' here signing "absentee explanation notes" for those who will undoubtedly arrive late to work the next day. And - just to add an extra dose of fabulous splendor to the night - we think Santa will make a special appearance.

the weekend approacheth...

& like most of the rest o' yaz, me lookin' forward to it..

first off, a coupla things from the local fishwrap:
whoa. differences btwn page layout in the paper and some lazy ass web editor has the answers provided first in the page linked below
Test your economic meltdown IQ;
and be sure to visit D. Asmussen's Bad Reporter today.

via the wonder that is the clusterflock,
Crunking we can believe in.
and if ye were not already aware of this,
here's the NYT's endorsement of the democratic candidate
alongside recent column by M. Dowd, Moved by a Crescent.
lastly, for the moment at least, the Top 25 Censored Stories for 2009

greetings from the left coast...

and, likely, from the lefty-est part of that left coast, btw...

passed along to me from dear pals JaneyKakes & Phillipe:

Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 12:23:38 PM
Subject: Obama spots by Bob and Noni

Noni and I wrote and directed two independent pro-Obama spots, which you can view using the links below. Turn your sound up, and if the links don't work try copying them into your browser one at a time. The spots are called Prayer and Game, and they're 30 seconds each.
This grew out of a grassroots effort of a bunch of women sitting down in someone's living room, who gave themselves the informal name of Mamas for Obama. No need to call us, just spread the word by forwarding these links. This is a viral campaign.

Bob & Noni

Mamas for Obama video numero uno, Prayer

Mamas for Obama video numero dos, Game

Oh, and there's a group raising money to air some of these spots (including one or both of ours) in local cable markets in swing states. You can give any amount by going to this web site:
mamas for obama

Ne te quaesiveris extra

There is nothing like a Harold Bloom op-ed piece, there is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert, and there is no similarity between a Grateful Dead concert and a Harold Bloom op-ed piece - is there? Certainly I know which one I'd rather be involved in if I were, uh, schnockered. Anyway, HB's piece in the Times today makes me want to go back and re-read Emerson's Self Reliance. While listening to all 6 sides of Europe '72.

(Ne te quaesiveris extra... unless you have to.)

Si se puede

What better thing to do right now while we're down in the mud than remember why so many folks supported Barack Obama from so early on? (Yes, you've seen it. It made the rounds 8 months ago. See it again. Show it to Mom, Dad, Uncle Pete and Little Junior. Surf's up.)

tired o' seein' mine own last post here...

so...

Sarah Palin songwriting contest by local weekly, East Bay Express, who, by happy coincidence, is publishing a story this week about item previously mentioned hereabouts, Have Steam, Will Travel;

Esquire magazine endorses Barack Obama;
economists favoring Obama candidacy;
and coming soon to your local PBS station, The Choice 2008...

here a wee bit of dialogue from workplace e-bulletin board:

I'm no fan of either candidate, just for the record. But I am tired of hearing what a moron, old geezer, or whatever Senator McCain is - yet there seems to be no critical examination of Senator Obama, at least not in this forum. Obama is not squeaky clean and faultless either. His past associations with questionable characters are a concern. The fact that he has little national political experience is also a concern. The fact that he has no executive experience and is the most liberal democrat in the senate is a concern. I have no illusion who will win the election, but I would urge everyone to at least critically examine who Senator Obama really is before they cast their vote.
http://www.barackobamaassociates.info/

****
juju's response-

there's likely something most of us have experienced in our lives, choices we've made, alliances we have formed, that we'd prefer to keep from closer scrutiny, but ultimately we all hope to be judged by our conduct and ethical bearing overall. Yes, absolutely, one can only make an informed choice by looking as closely as possible at the character, bearing and background of the two candidates we've to choose from, and while I do indulge in the occasional slinging of verbal invective at the GOP candidate (and, yes, in my not so humble opinion, deservedly so) I am aware that the democratic candidate is not without flaws. Nonetheless, I feel (and speak for myself only here) entirely confident that in terms of the choice we have to make in less than a month, the person I want to see as president is Barack Obama. I believe the GOP ticket is a disaster in the making, and after the last eight years, a disaster I would prefer not to have to live through.


and for wading through that, here is your reward, from Jezebel,
Donna Bazile is NOT going to the back of the bus...

Barack Lincoln

S & I were happy to see cousin Kevin in one piece after his recent travels through S.E. Asia, filming with Henry Rollins and being airlifted into Myanmar. (Not sure if traveling with Henry was any easier than Kev's other Burmese trip filming in opium territory under armed guard.) Since back, he's directed this Obama music video, for a song written by crazy talented Ron English and friends. (Take a look at Ron's Songs in English site)