11.04.2005

No such thing as a free...paper?

So when you pay thirty-five cents to get a newspaper out of a box, what is keeping you from takin all the papers sitting there? More importantly, what do newspaper publishers count on preventing you from stealing their revenue-makers? Does a newspaper have such a steeply diminishing marginal utility that two are just not worth it? Is the cost of carrying around so much paper not worth it? (but there's arbitrage, you could resell). Or are they banking on the goodness of the hearts of the upper-middle class professionals who mostly buy papers? Hmm.

11.02.2005

Girl, you bad, and that's good.

Or, A few notes about bikes.

- Never buy a bike off of craigslist from a hipster who endorses fixed-gears because he won't care when your derailleur breaks every other day or be sympathetic to the fact that you live at the top of a gigantic hill.

- Note to pedestrians: you are predictable when you walk in a straight line at a steady pace. I can deal with predictability. What I can't deal with:
  • If you jaywalk at a break in cars without checking for bikes and then screech to a deer-in-the-headlights halt, you make it more difficult for me to figure out whether to swerve ahead or behind you.
  • If I get on the sidewalk to avoid potholes and come up behind you walking obliviously with your headset, I'm not wagering on you weaving to and fro. The brakes on the hipster's bike are not so good, so in all likelihood I'll swerve in this case, also, and if I happen to catch my rear wheel on the Jersey barrier causing me to tumble over the top of my handlebars, crushing my own dear iPod, I will mourn it for three months.
- Recent (nonrandomly sampled entirely anecodotal) evidence suggests bikers are more social than either car drivers or pedestrians. If true, we can attribute this phenomenon to the lack of a physical barrier between two bikers and the avoidance of urban filtering devices like mp3 player or phone while riding. I definitely see more of my pedestrian friends from my bike than see me, approx. a half dozen in the past week.
  • I submit as further evidence exhibit (or character witness?) A the dude who pulled up next to me at a red light after I had coasted through the previous, asking, "So you decided to stop for this one, huh?" I will add that he was wearing aviators and aggressively all-black Eurotrash business cazh and may have felt emasculated by not risking it himself.
  • Exhibit B: Guy who politely suggested it's getting too cold to ride, while shivering in shorts and a hoodie, to which I responded I have to ride for another month since I forgot to pick up my metrocheks, but that I do find it somewhat disgusting that car exhaust feels good because it's warm.
- Speaking of too cold, my limited experience holds that a windbreaker and gloves offer reasonable protection. For the lower body, knee-high boots and a knee-length skirt are the best combo. Long skirt obviously won't work. Pants are good for the left leg but have to be rolled up on the right, leaving it bare. Boots provide skin-skimming coverage for those not willing to invest in overengineered yellow leggings.

- It is far easier to bike in heels than it is to walk in heels. I swear. I mean, I only have to push with the ball of my foot, which is not at all affected by what is on the back. I would maybe wish for heels without slick soles so that I could stand up to pedal, but I'm wearing a skirt, so the point is kind of moot. The hammering on my joints and damage to my spine saved are well worth it.

All that being said, it makes me smile when my lady security officer, says, "Ooh, look at you bikin' in heels, you a bad girl." Clarification at my astonished expression, "And that's good."

11.01.2005

"What is well known is that I am a rock star..."

"You are not worthy etc. In fact you are worthy. And so am I. We deserve each other." Pete Townshend has a blog. I don't buy into that whole celebrity taste-making machine as a rule* but I am happy to discover this musician agrees with my love for "anything by Wilco."

As long as we're on rock stars and blogging phenomena I don't get into, I'm gonna go all out with an internet quiz.
lou reed
You're Lou Reed.
God, you are cool, can I touch you so the magic will rub off?
You are perceptive, witty, and badass. You wear cool shades, even at night, and probably wear black more than most people. You don't give a fuck what other people think, but you are also very sensitive in the way that you pick up on things that others don't. Sometimes you come off as an asshole, but that's what makes you cool. You are a poet, and you embody New York City. You will still be hip when you are old, and artists love you.
Which rad old school 70's glam icon are you? (with pics)
brought to you by Quizilla

That I am Lou Reed pleases me to no end.

*Exceptions to rule: I wear a fragrance developed by Sarah Jessica Parker because I've never smelled anything else so pleasant and I might have to buy Jarvis Cocker's collection of poetry because, well, I'd fuck him. And it's his lyrics that make me want to. Non-ultra non-exception to rule: this parody of indie rock criticism is hi-larious.