I'm gonna play the bones. I don't think the world is ready.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Put Down The Drum
I talked and he put down his drum
We talked about the new album
I tried to hide that I'd been staring
All while the lights were glaring
I was admiring from afar
From the back of a dingy bar
I talked and he put down his drum
We talked about the new album
After the show I walked by
Thought to but didn't give the eye
I talked and he put down his drum
We talked about the new album
God I want to so badly
Inspire one verse madly
I talked and he put down his drum
We talked about the new album
Get on the train home
Up the stairs alone
I talked and he put down his drum
We talked about the new album
Florida Static
Florida static and I'm on the highway
Maybe I'll see you broken down on the side
I'll stop to help with your emergency
And ask if you want to take a ride
I just want to be of use
I'll withstand all sorts of abuse
Just give me a task
And I'll never ask
Exactly what you have in mind
I've had it with this Florida static
Something should come in clear
Can't waste any more time
Why won't you meet me when I'm here?
Maybe I'll see you broken down on the side
I'll stop to help with your emergency
And ask if you want to take a ride
I just want to be of use
I'll withstand all sorts of abuse
Just give me a task
And I'll never ask
Exactly what you have in mind
I've had it with this Florida static
Something should come in clear
Can't waste any more time
Why won't you meet me when I'm here?
I just want to be of use
I'll withstand all sorts of abuse
Just give me a task
And I'll never ask
Exactly what you have in mind
In my head this state is orange
And not because of the fruit
Harmless light and skinny trees
Non-commital, won't wear a suit
I just want to be of use
I'll withstand all sorts of abuse
Just give me a task
And I'll never ask
Exactly what you have in mind
Saturday, November 3, 2012
During and After a Disaster...
do NOT watch 24.
Due to Hurricane Sandy I was stuck upstate until yesterday morning. During my days as a refugee I had been watching 24 nonstop. I went to go for a run at my sister's house, where she lives almost on a completely private road. A strange car pulled up her driveway and I ran into the woods to hide, peeking around a tree trunk.
It was the mailman.
Yesterday I took a morning bus into the city and I went right to work from the bus. After work I had to make a two hour trek home in complete darkness with my bags. It was terrifying. All of lower Manhattan was without power, and you couldn't see anyone's faces. Because all of my relevant subways are under water, I had to walk from 34th to 14th street, catch a bus for a few more blocks downtown, then walk over the Williamsburg bridge, and then through Brooklyn to get home. No cab services available, all busy. I had a "bridge buddy" I met on the bus, but I couldn't help but think that any minute on the lightless bridge I would find myself the victim of a sneak attack while he was pretending to call someone on his cell phone. This did not happen, but every step over the water was unsettling.
I wish I never came back. This single trek was NOT worth "getting back to work."*
*My sentiment would be different if I had a Jack Bauer in my life. Then I would say, just as my 3 year old niece told me a couple of days ago, "Bring it on!"
Due to Hurricane Sandy I was stuck upstate until yesterday morning. During my days as a refugee I had been watching 24 nonstop. I went to go for a run at my sister's house, where she lives almost on a completely private road. A strange car pulled up her driveway and I ran into the woods to hide, peeking around a tree trunk.
It was the mailman.
Yesterday I took a morning bus into the city and I went right to work from the bus. After work I had to make a two hour trek home in complete darkness with my bags. It was terrifying. All of lower Manhattan was without power, and you couldn't see anyone's faces. Because all of my relevant subways are under water, I had to walk from 34th to 14th street, catch a bus for a few more blocks downtown, then walk over the Williamsburg bridge, and then through Brooklyn to get home. No cab services available, all busy. I had a "bridge buddy" I met on the bus, but I couldn't help but think that any minute on the lightless bridge I would find myself the victim of a sneak attack while he was pretending to call someone on his cell phone. This did not happen, but every step over the water was unsettling.
I wish I never came back. This single trek was NOT worth "getting back to work."*
*My sentiment would be different if I had a Jack Bauer in my life. Then I would say, just as my 3 year old niece told me a couple of days ago, "Bring it on!"
Monday, June 25, 2012
Weary Pines!
Not sure who still hangs around here what with the tumbling tumble weeds, but you should all check out Weary Pines. I joined them as a drummer a few weeks ago and it's already the most fun I've ever had. Great music, too! Like us on Facebook! Check out our tumblr!
We've got some awesome shows lined up for you all so you best make an appearance.
Monday, June 4, 2012
I'm a drummer for Weary Pines and we have a show on June 10 at Trash Bar! And another on June 25 at Pete's Candy Store!
Sssshhheck it out:
http://wearypines.bandcamp.com/
Sssshhheck it out:
http://wearypines.bandcamp.com/
Monday, April 30, 2012
An Open Letter to Time Warner Cable
Dear (Representative Whose Contact Information I Was Given),
After a long time without having cable, I decided to upgrade my service to include a cable package when I was contacted by one of your representatives about a month ago. On the phone I asked a million questions, verifying that the deal I was being offered was not too good to be true. I was offered to add cable for $20 more a month, plus to have one DVR and one regular cable box for free for two years. All I had to do was pay the $25 box fee and no installation fee. After verifying again that this was no gimmick, I accepted and planned for a date to have my cable installed.
That date was this past Saturday, April 28, between 8am and 11am. I waited around all morning and no one showed up. At 11:15am I called your company. The representative on the phone informed me that she was sorry that they had not come yet, and that I should be getting a free month of cable. She also went on to tell me that the original work order did not have all of the necessary information for the technicians to install my cable. For instance, no one had asked me what kind of televisions I have. She put the correct information in the system and after thirty minutes on the phone, she was finally able to work everything out and told me someone would be at my house by 3pm.
Within 10 minutes of getting off of the phone, I received a "magic voicemail" saying that TWC had called me and that no one had answered, and so they figured that no one was home. (On a side note: this has happened to my mother in the Albany area and other friends in Brooklyn). I called back the number less than 3 minutes later, only to get an automated message about rescheduling my appointment. I had never received ANY missed calls and only one voicemail! I would blame this on my cellphone service, but I had already received a few phone calls that morning and had conducted a 30 minute phone conversation with one of your representatives just minutes before. How was it possible that I received this voicemail, and, how does it make any sense that the cable technicians could be so far away from my house already? The logical plan would let me call back the actual technicians who were probably only 5 minutes away from my house so that they could come back.
So, frustrated and eager to get all of this over with - I have now been held hostage in my own home for fear of missing your arrival - I called your company back. This time, I spoke with a woman who informed me that, yet again, there was incorrect information in my system. She said that my phone number was not in your computers, which is a complete lie seeing how I did receive that magic voicemail. I spent another half hour on the phone with her while she (again) worked everything out. She said someone would be at my house by 7pm and that someone would call me soon to verify that I was home and to make sure they had the correct phone number.
After two hours with no "verification phone call," yet again my pained fingers dialed your company's phone number. This time, I spoke with a very apologetic gentleman. Much to my dismay, he told me that no notes had been written in your system AT ALL documenting my previous calls or problems or even the upgrade itself. All of the ladies before him said that they had written notes that stated my new appointment time, the deal I was supposed to be getting, and that I should be getting a free month of cable. He could not find any of this information. Honestly, he was a really nice guy, but the news he shared was very distressing. Because I did not want to take my frustration out on him, I asked to speak with a supervisor.
He put me through to the supervisor's line, where the woman speaking was NOT warm at all. She was very confrontational and kept trying to twist what I was saying by blaming me for "not being home" and "not answering the phone" which is complete horse manure, seeing how I had been home and on the phone with your company for most of the day. I do NOT need another gruff and insulting maternal figure in my life, Time Warner, I already have too many. After explaining this entire situation, she went into my account to see. She DID find my upgrade, but saw that it had me down as getting a second internet connection installed on top of the one I already have. If I had not called and she didn't check this, she even admitted that I would have gotten a bill for this extra internet connection and that I would have had to call you (AGAIN) and get it fixed, and then wait to get a refund. It seems that every time I call there is a surprise around every corner. She finally was able to promise me that a technician would come to my house by 7pm.
I waited around, and a technician did finally come to my house. He seemed nice enough, but I would not really know since he did not speak to me and actually was on his tasteless BlueTooth the whole time. Everything else seemed fine, though, and he left. The next day I found that every few minutes on BOTH of my televisions, the audio would cut out for 3-5 seconds. I called you back, and waited on hold for ten minutes listening to static crackling of some kind disjointed sound not even worth the title of elevator music. Then, the system hung up on me. Because I am a glutton for punishment and because I like to hear television characters speak complete sentences, I called back and was put on hold for another 7 minutes. I finally spoke with someone. I was able to fix one television by rebooting, but the other one still has audio problems. Because I would rather not put myself through the time-consuming agony of dealing with your customer service a trillionth time, I would rather just guess what Detective Goren is saying for the 3-5 seconds every 2 minutes while he fiercely and movery attractively interrogates a criminal. Really, it's not so bad. It makes the show much more interactive and engaging than it already is.
All I ask is that you do something to rectify this situation, to make it right. I think one free month of cable is the LEAST you can do, so I look forward to hearing your response and explanation.
Best,
AK/ZB
After a long time without having cable, I decided to upgrade my service to include a cable package when I was contacted by one of your representatives about a month ago. On the phone I asked a million questions, verifying that the deal I was being offered was not too good to be true. I was offered to add cable for $20 more a month, plus to have one DVR and one regular cable box for free for two years. All I had to do was pay the $25 box fee and no installation fee. After verifying again that this was no gimmick, I accepted and planned for a date to have my cable installed.
That date was this past Saturday, April 28, between 8am and 11am. I waited around all morning and no one showed up. At 11:15am I called your company. The representative on the phone informed me that she was sorry that they had not come yet, and that I should be getting a free month of cable. She also went on to tell me that the original work order did not have all of the necessary information for the technicians to install my cable. For instance, no one had asked me what kind of televisions I have. She put the correct information in the system and after thirty minutes on the phone, she was finally able to work everything out and told me someone would be at my house by 3pm.
Within 10 minutes of getting off of the phone, I received a "magic voicemail" saying that TWC had called me and that no one had answered, and so they figured that no one was home. (On a side note: this has happened to my mother in the Albany area and other friends in Brooklyn). I called back the number less than 3 minutes later, only to get an automated message about rescheduling my appointment. I had never received ANY missed calls and only one voicemail! I would blame this on my cellphone service, but I had already received a few phone calls that morning and had conducted a 30 minute phone conversation with one of your representatives just minutes before. How was it possible that I received this voicemail, and, how does it make any sense that the cable technicians could be so far away from my house already? The logical plan would let me call back the actual technicians who were probably only 5 minutes away from my house so that they could come back.
So, frustrated and eager to get all of this over with - I have now been held hostage in my own home for fear of missing your arrival - I called your company back. This time, I spoke with a woman who informed me that, yet again, there was incorrect information in my system. She said that my phone number was not in your computers, which is a complete lie seeing how I did receive that magic voicemail. I spent another half hour on the phone with her while she (again) worked everything out. She said someone would be at my house by 7pm and that someone would call me soon to verify that I was home and to make sure they had the correct phone number.
After two hours with no "verification phone call," yet again my pained fingers dialed your company's phone number. This time, I spoke with a very apologetic gentleman. Much to my dismay, he told me that no notes had been written in your system AT ALL documenting my previous calls or problems or even the upgrade itself. All of the ladies before him said that they had written notes that stated my new appointment time, the deal I was supposed to be getting, and that I should be getting a free month of cable. He could not find any of this information. Honestly, he was a really nice guy, but the news he shared was very distressing. Because I did not want to take my frustration out on him, I asked to speak with a supervisor.
He put me through to the supervisor's line, where the woman speaking was NOT warm at all. She was very confrontational and kept trying to twist what I was saying by blaming me for "not being home" and "not answering the phone" which is complete horse manure, seeing how I had been home and on the phone with your company for most of the day. I do NOT need another gruff and insulting maternal figure in my life, Time Warner, I already have too many. After explaining this entire situation, she went into my account to see. She DID find my upgrade, but saw that it had me down as getting a second internet connection installed on top of the one I already have. If I had not called and she didn't check this, she even admitted that I would have gotten a bill for this extra internet connection and that I would have had to call you (AGAIN) and get it fixed, and then wait to get a refund. It seems that every time I call there is a surprise around every corner. She finally was able to promise me that a technician would come to my house by 7pm.
I waited around, and a technician did finally come to my house. He seemed nice enough, but I would not really know since he did not speak to me and actually was on his tasteless BlueTooth the whole time. Everything else seemed fine, though, and he left. The next day I found that every few minutes on BOTH of my televisions, the audio would cut out for 3-5 seconds. I called you back, and waited on hold for ten minutes listening to static crackling of some kind disjointed sound not even worth the title of elevator music. Then, the system hung up on me. Because I am a glutton for punishment and because I like to hear television characters speak complete sentences, I called back and was put on hold for another 7 minutes. I finally spoke with someone. I was able to fix one television by rebooting, but the other one still has audio problems. Because I would rather not put myself through the time-consuming agony of dealing with your customer service a trillionth time, I would rather just guess what Detective Goren is saying for the 3-5 seconds every 2 minutes while he fiercely and movery attractively interrogates a criminal. Really, it's not so bad. It makes the show much more interactive and engaging than it already is.
All I ask is that you do something to rectify this situation, to make it right. I think one free month of cable is the LEAST you can do, so I look forward to hearing your response and explanation.
Best,
AK/ZB
Saturday, April 28, 2012
I've Transitioned.
I've mostly been posting on http://lockthatdoor.wordpress.com. My life is consumed by academia! While I still have intense feelings about bands and various sketchy male actors, during these past two semesters I've had to focus all of my writing energy on school-related things.
Rest assured that at some point I'll explain my most current obsession: Kiefer Sutherland. In my head, he's like my version of a very attractive, less wholesome, more rock star Chuck Norris.
More on that later. For now, I must go write a paper about how the sports industry is used to distract and politically train Americans.
Rest assured that at some point I'll explain my most current obsession: Kiefer Sutherland. In my head, he's like my version of a very attractive, less wholesome, more rock star Chuck Norris.
More on that later. For now, I must go write a paper about how the sports industry is used to distract and politically train Americans.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Reflecting on Las Vegas
I loved it. And it was there I discovered the glory of dueling pianos. It's everything I love about life in one place.
1) Wide variety of Music (from Elvis to Elton to Eminem)
2) Singing and Audience Participation
3) Goofiness
4) Charismatic and Crazy Talented Performers
This post is taken largely from emails I wrote to my brother-in-law and one of the dueling piano players I saw in Vegas.
The more I think about it and talk with others, the more I know that dueling pianos/piano players is an excellent subject for a documentary film. Before I saw the show in Vegas I had of course heard of dueling pianos, but the shows really struck me. Since then I've been to a couple more, including one in NYC, and my interest has been growing exponentially. There's so much great stuff to cover in a film, from the origin of the form, to how the "bits" were developed, the state of the shows/community today, and - most importantly - the players themselves. The players are by far the most interesting aspect. The skill, confidence, talent, patience, and intuition required is immeasurable. I feel like anyone who has ever performed as a dueling piano player must have a pretty intriguing story/personal philosophy/outlook on life. That's just my inclination, at least. I'll be quiet about it now until I do more research.
Since I've just really started thinking about the dueling piano project, I am honestly not sure when it will actually happen. But do I have the same feeling about this project as when I realized I needed to do a Connie project. Obviously, this one won't happen until the Connie project is done with or well under way or if I am in a position where I can make some kind of "short" to be later developed. Pre-production and research take a long time, anyway, so it's good to have it on my and others' radars now.
1) Wide variety of Music (from Elvis to Elton to Eminem)
2) Singing and Audience Participation
3) Goofiness
4) Charismatic and Crazy Talented Performers
This post is taken largely from emails I wrote to my brother-in-law and one of the dueling piano players I saw in Vegas.
The more I think about it and talk with others, the more I know that dueling pianos/piano players is an excellent subject for a documentary film. Before I saw the show in Vegas I had of course heard of dueling pianos, but the shows really struck me. Since then I've been to a couple more, including one in NYC, and my interest has been growing exponentially. There's so much great stuff to cover in a film, from the origin of the form, to how the "bits" were developed, the state of the shows/community today, and - most importantly - the players themselves. The players are by far the most interesting aspect. The skill, confidence, talent, patience, and intuition required is immeasurable. I feel like anyone who has ever performed as a dueling piano player must have a pretty intriguing story/personal philosophy/outlook on life. That's just my inclination, at least. I'll be quiet about it now until I do more research.
Since I've just really started thinking about the dueling piano project, I am honestly not sure when it will actually happen. But do I have the same feeling about this project as when I realized I needed to do a Connie project. Obviously, this one won't happen until the Connie project is done with or well under way or if I am in a position where I can make some kind of "short" to be later developed. Pre-production and research take a long time, anyway, so it's good to have it on my and others' radars now.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
It's finally here!
My first hand-coded html page of a website. Hopefully I get more advanced at some point...but for now, let's just celebrate:
Also, check out my video self-portrait that was my final project for a class this semester, also housed at www.connieconversedoc.com:
Thursday, December 1, 2011
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