Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Hear that?

Quiet. Relatively speaking, no off-key warbles.

No American Idol.

Summer truly has started. Yippee!

Labels: ,

MBP17

When Apple announced their 15“ MacBook Pros with the much-ballyhooed Intel Core Duo processors, I was reticent. It was the next big step for Apple Macintosh. Exciting but all the pieces were not in place IMO, at least not for me to run out and get one. There wasn’t an assured way of running Windows XP (rumored at the time) and the new hardware was supported by lackluster components (ie. single layer SuperDrive).

At that moment, the Intel chip was only in available iMac and 15” notebook flavor. I’m not a size queen, 15“ is fine but when you’ve grown accustomed to 17”, you don’t want to go back.

Get your minds out of the gutter.


Not to mention, being the first iteration of the MacBook Pros, it was plagued by anomalous problems, processor whine, overheating etc. You probably know all of this, so what is it I’m getting at?

April 24, 2006, Apple finally announced the notebook for me, the MacBook Pro 17.



Sweet, sweet specs.

Apple introduced BootCamp, making WinXP on a Macintosh, a sanctioned, albeit use at your own risk, reality.

Yes, all things aligned yet I hemmed and hawed for a week, before placing my order the 1st of May with MacMall. While a registered reseller for Apple products, MacMall didn’t have a great supply of MBP17s when they finally shipped. I personally believe Apple shorted them. MacMall ships WITHOUT charging taxes in most states and also offers a $150 rebate on the base model. Can’t have a reseller taking all the business you know.

Waiting three LONG weeks, I nearly cancelled my order. I’d had an AppleCare agreement and an additional GB of RAM with no machine to go with, for that long. In that time, Apple also announced the MacBook, readily in stock. I admired one of them, the black one, at the Apple Store last Wednesday and nearly got one. Whew. Thank goodness I didn’t. Arriving back at the office, I did my now customary backorder check with MacMall, to discover that the order was in process for shipping.

Last week, I finally got it.

So glad I didn’t cancel.

Giving the new boy a shakedown, migrated my user and applications, dealing with the repercussions (with assistance from MacBoyX) and installed Win XP Professional via Boot Camp. The system is solid, but I have to admit, I’m continually caught with an uneasiness about it, as if I’ve missed something. It’s Windows XP that has me neurotic.

I’ll keep everyone apprised of my progress or descent into madness.

Monday, May 29, 2006

You know, sometimes when you cage the beast…

…the beast gets angry.
- Logan, X-Men 3: the Last Stand



I loved every second of Famke's/Jean Grey's/Phoenix's screen time. I tried not to squeal too loudly when she was onscreen. I enjoyed it. It was a fun ride and heart-wrenching.
Phoenix is my favorite comic book character.
Without spoiling the movie for anyone, it had lots of twists/turns/surprises. Think Scream 3.
If you're a fan and know the original comic stories, you will enjoy it. You'll ignore some of the little, niddling things. There are some gaping dead ends, but I was satisfied with the overall movie.
Go see it and let's discuss.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Voltes V

The bots just keep on coming.

Everyone, please meet Voltes V.




I didn't expect this bad-ass, piece of die-cast to show up on my doorstep so quickly.
HLJ expedited the shipment.
Can't complain.
It's a gorgeous piece.
The original version of the Voltes V toy would be a valued addition to anyone's collection.

But this re-imagining and re-engineered piece has been highly anticipated by collectors/fans.

With great demand, comes great opportunity. The price gouging is pretty incredible, swirling around this piece. My Voltes V came from the other side of the globe and still I paid less (with shipping and no tax) than what I'd hope to get it here locally.

Well, long short, I have it and feeling pretty good about it.

PS: Sorry about another boring bot post. Fret not, I'll be returning to my usual self and reports of my club outings in NY.

Memorial Day weekend looks to be pretty thin, party-wise, but I've got a nose for finding something. Stay tuned. :)

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Revenge of Loot!

Returned from Miami (brief recap to come) to a stream of incoming items.

I’ve been more mindful of what I’ve been picking up in robot collectibles.

Each considered piece, I weigh the coolness (engineering, design), uniqueness and nostalgia/personal connection, which ultimately factor into my need-to-have. Most items fulfill one or two requisites, but fall dismally short on the third. If it ain’t blowing up my skirt, it ranks as a pass.

Perfectly fine by me.

I’d canceled several, expensive, pre-release items. Initially, I jumped at them, pre-ordering at their first listing. I reneged before they shipped. They were merely rehashes/repaints of pieces I’d had in my collection. Cool as they are, they were superfluous iterations. I was also getting (back) in to the habit of getting two of the same item, one to keep MIB, Mint in box, and one to handle (play with of course!). I’d nipped that in the bud.

Sigh. It’s the collector’s dilemma. But damned if I’m not feeling so bad after I’ve calculated my total savings.

Whew.

Here’s the loot! It’s not much, but it makes me happy.




And what’s a week without new anime…



Yah… I know… it’s a lame ass post.
Give me a few… I’ll hit the gym and maybe I’ll feel more talky later.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Checking Out…



…and checking in to a hotel for few days in SoBe, starting tomorrow morning.

Get me some rays and some cocktails. Recharge the body.

MMMm… it's gonna be so good.

Posts? Don't know. Maybe.

Monday, May 15, 2006

test

testes

What a weekend!

Nothing like an activity packed weekend to keep your mind occupied.

Friday
Well, it wasn't off-the-wall crazy. BF and I had a few friends over the apartment to hang out and play poker. Mostly BF's doing. He figures it's a good opportunity for our friends to chill and drink margaritas while he's cooking up sausage and peppers and pesto pasta salad for a birthday party on Saturday (more on that later).

Plus, it's always a good time to play Texas Hold 'Em.

Small pot, $5 to buy in. Mostly fun times, albeit, we were blighted by beginner's luck. Friend R was winning eventhough he didn't know what the hell he was doing AND I helped him by calling one of his hands. Never again. I'd like to play a high stakes game, but on second thought, I'd like for everyone to stay friends. Second round, played better. I ended up being one of the last two players, It got boring and I was playing stupidly. The chip stacks looked even, I suggested we split the pot. Good for me as we played one more hand, for fun, and I would have lost. Heh.

So, yeah, while BF cooked and cleaned, I entertained.

Saturday
Birthday Party up in Pleasantville

Here's the birthday girl.



It was her first birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Fun but as I am invariably the designated driver, not that fun. Most family parties, well, the BFs family parties go on too long. My family? No, we don't party.

Drive home was uneventful and blissfully fast.

No, I wasn't speeding.


Much.

We’d left much later than I’d hoped. I’d wanted to get home and relax a bit, may be sneak in a nap (heaven forbid) before running back into the city.

Saturday night's activity, celebrating, formerly of Oh Really, Brad's birthday.

(Insert pause here because my DSL is sucking HARD tonight and I have to switch to my offline blogging application.)

Now, where was I… so, late to get home, only enough time to clean up, shower and head back out again.

Shrug.

Got to do, what I got to do.

After making requisite meet-up arrangements with Brad and Eddie aka RoboPapi, Robocub’s other half, I zipped in to the city. Stopping by the Robo’s for a bit, I waited for Brad. Once, he arrived, we headed off (sans RoboCub) to the Roxy with a quick stop over at GYM bar for a cocktail.



As seen in HX Homo Musts Section…
Queer as Home
City of Babylon @ Roxy, 515 W 18th St
If you miss your QAF, check out Roxy. The Chelsea megaclub transforms into the larger-than-life hotspot as the annual City of Babylon tour comes to New York, in association with Midori. DJ Manny Lehman is in command - we can't speak as to the backroom facilities.
They done up the Roxy, reminiscent of the club, Babylon, from Queer as Folk. Shrug. It was cute but whatever. RKM Future Boys or as some may remember them, Rubio & Kidd, decorated the Roxy with inflated, cityscape balloons. They performed on stage with their painted bodyart (yawn) and gargoyle-like wings. Fancy. All this, against the musical back drop of David Grey’s “Babylon” into Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” Cue confetti shooting, shiny, bejeweled guitar props to seal the deal. Oy. You’d have to be really high to appreciate it.

It’d been a while since I’d seen RKM perform, I think I’m good for another few years. Thanks.

The crowd was very thin at first but it did fill up fast, party ends at 6:00AM, have to get your groove on fast. Plenty of cute boys/men hanging around, beside my present company of Brad and Eddie. Plenty of stalkers too. Why do they all have to be “ew”? Le Sigh.

The music was a mixed bag all night. Manny warmed up the crowd, playing some obligatory Top 40/Pop remixes like Pink’s “Stupid Girls.” It was pretty lame. He even dipped back (maybe too far back) in the Pop archives and whipped out Madonna’s “Beautiful Stranger.” Double Groan. But more than once, he musically spiraled into a dead end, reduced to nothing but pots and pans. Twirling music as I call it. If I were a SIM character, I’d have had a big question mark over my head.

However when Manny was on, he was on. Rocking out some incredible body moving beats, I couldn’t identify them, didn’t care to. Groovy. I hadn’t sweat like that in a long time.

At about 5:50, the music cut, “Let no man put Asunder” played. That’s Victor’s swan song. Guess it’s Manny’s too. We made for the coat check and we were out the door.

All-in-all, Brad had a blast as did Eddie and I celebrating his birthday.

Can’t wait to do it again.

Well, not celebrate his birthday although I would, but I can’t wait a whole year. I meant go out again… with the boys. Not that I need a reason to go out, but I think you understood that.

Anyway…

AutoLove and I carried Brad and Eddie safely to their homes before turning ourselves homeward. Shower and in bed by 7AM.

Sunday
I hadn’t planned on coming back into the city, but I surprised myself and everyone else, showing up to Brad’s birthday brunch at Maraca's. It was my first brunch with the boys. Margaritas and mimosas were had as well as birthday tequila shots and cake, all with sombreros and disco lights. Lots of fun and great seeing everybody.

After that, I hightailed it home (again), back to bed. Content on a nice, fun-filled, friend-filled weekend.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Moody

I've been surly. Work sucks. I feel like my life sucks. No, not because work sucks, it's a complete and separate thought. Oh, nevermind…

To compensate and elevate my mood…



I'd saved two boxes in the freezer.
I've finished one sleeve in two days. It's not much but it's sinful to me.
Maybe becoming a fatty will learn me from being so emotional.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Entertaining the Aussies (Pt. 2)

Saturday
Draped over the armrest, my legs hung over the edge of the couch. Still wearing the clothes from the night before, I slept burning the alcohol out of my system. I'd been asleep for 5.5 hours before the BF roused me at 9:30AM. Blissfully, I wasn't hung over, just very, very tired.

Today would be an Aussie-free day. We were heading out to our friend's house in PA for an overnight trip.

Long short, fatigued shopping is not fun. Late afternoon/early evening, Iwas fighting to breath. My airway was closing up as a severe allergy attack knocked me on my ass. Such fun. Doped up on Benadryl, Saturday night idled by uneventfully for me.

Sunday
More shopping not by me, but everyone else. My mind wasn't in it.

On the way home, I gently broke to the BF that I was going to Cielo for Junior Vasquez with the Australians. I was left to see to their entertainment as O had work obligations on Monday.

Arriving home, refueling and resting a bit, I was back on the road again, heading into the city. There would be no repeat of Saturday morning's motion sick train ride home. Junior's Master Class was an early party, starting at 8:00PM, ending at 2:00AM. Perfect. I'd set my own curfew of 4AM leaving me plenty of time to rest as I had to be at work by 12PM on Monday.

M and R, the Australians, had been bouncing around the bars. Coordinating with them, they met up with me in front of the Eagle with an (ahem) old friend (they said), and we were off.


We arrived at Cielo around 9:30PM and breezed in. The music was thumping in the entry alcove but there was a distinct lack of ambient, crowd noise. I didn't think we were too early but there was a comfortable crowd inside. Junior was at the decks, throwing down some beats. Fun. M and R were surprised at Cielo's size. The club itself is really small and very intimate but they quickly warmed to the music and the space.

Junior played a similar blend of music as last week. Lots of vocals, but his mixing wasn't on in the early part of the night. He was doing his cut mixes which were abrupt and off-putting. By about 12, he got a groove going and the crowd was seriously dancing.

Some of the tracks played at the height of his set (not trainspotted by me):

For Real - Like I Do (bobby slate)- I was incredibly excited to hear this again.
Solange feat Beyonce - Naive
Hold Your Head Up High
Lovely Day
Mary J. Blige - Be Without You
Unbreak My Heart
Rihanna - SOS
Ashanti - Only U
I'm Every Woman '06
Love Break

M and R were completely floored and had a blast. Friend Frank even popped up, dragging me aside to meet his date. It was cool to run into him as opposed to getting caught up in his rampant, chaotic energy.

Junior brought down the party, teasing "Last Dance" several times before ending around 2:30AM. Everyone was ejected from the club.

Surprisingly, M and R didn't seem ready to go home yet. There were moments when I didn't think they would make it through Junior's party but here we were being led by Friend Frank over to APT. Funny enough, the door person yelled at Frank to keep his entourage together as we entered in dribs and drabs. Seems he's quite the regular there now.

If Cielo was an intimate and warm space, APT was double that. A bit of a shock for me as I'd never been to APT. Designed like someone's apartment, It was cool with a little too dense an ambience for a club, but I guess it's more of a lounge. The music was groovy, less vocal and more afterhours with dark, chunky beats. Much more flow in the music than in Junior's cut up set.

The Australians settled in for more cocktails and Friend Frank bounced around. I hung out, checking out the downstairs dance room a few times. Nice beats down there to and way crowded. Don't these people work?

However after an hour, I stuck to my guns and set off for home. It was 3:30 and I arrived home, neatly at 3:45. Sweet. Shower and sleep.

Next day, I got a text from O at 8:51Pm, M and R were finally going to sleep. Goodness gracious. Glad they made a good time on their own.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Entertaining the Aussies (Pt. 1)

O's friends from Australia, M and R, were on holiday in the states. They'd traipsed around California, SF, LA, Palm Springs for Coachella and DC, finally arriving in NY by train on Friday.

O had enlisted my input on recommendations for clubby things to do around NY for the duo, informing me that their musical tastes were similar to mine. I tallied a list of events that I'd like to hear. Regrettably, NY club land was dead on most fronts IMO, with untried and untested (by me) DJs playing in the large rooms.

The only thing I could recommend was Junior Vasquez's Master Class at Cielo on Sunday night. I had thought about going myself. Well, I'd already switched work arrival times with co-worker, so it was a strong possiblty and with the Aussies, I had an even greater reason to go.

Still that was a few days off.

Friday evening, O and I showed them around the town, an Aussie-NYer homo bar crawl.

It was my first time meeting M and R. They are absolultely sweet guys, outgoing and fun-loving. They are a trip. We started in Elmo where O and I had dinner, in preparation for the evening's drinking. Two drinks, then we moved on into the East Village.

First stop, The Slide.

They had a Black Out Party. Everyone wore a neon light bracelet, announcing their predilection for Top (RED), Bottom (BLUE), Versatile (GREEN), No Comment (YELLOW, how appropriate) or Pink (BLOWBUDDY). I wore a __________ bracelet.* Cute, but the crowd was spartan.

To some of the guys wearing RED bracelets, PLEASE! who are you kidding?!?

Two drinks, we moved on.

Next, The Cock.

We paid a grossly over-priced cover charge of $10 for what?!? We didn't venture out of the main bar area but was there more? Did I miss something? I'd never been to the original Cock, but I'd heard stories. I'd expected so much more. Guess the reputation is greater than the venue.

The dancers were cute, some nice butts swaying on the bar.

One drink, we moved on.

Next, Eastern Bloc

Former WonderBar space, I hadn't been here in years. Good memories… turned sour. Anyway, love what they've done with the space. It was never a huge space, but they've stuffed enough amibience in it, without creating a claustrophobic feel. Crowded with cool EV cats. The dancer was cute but had no ASSets.

One last drink. I called it a night.

Walking over to the subway was a chore. The train ride home was a lot worse. I hadn't been that drunk and on the subway in a while and the train was giving me a major case of the queasies. I barely made it home. Ok… maybe I threw up a little in my mouth. I just redoubled my focus, getting home to brush my teeth and collapse on the couch in the clothes I was wearing.

*You didn't think I'd tell you that easily did you? But I'm sure you've got your assumptions.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Disturbingly Funny


Click to Play!


Um… you might want to lower the volume a little.

Addendum:
Hat tip: Mr. Glass
I'd seen his post, can't forget the photography. Only now did co-workers and I get around to seeing Don Hertzfeldt's film "Rejected." Let it be known, that evilbuddha does give credit where it's due and I generally don't go chasing links with the portent of "My anus is bleeding." Natch!

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Loot!

Mailman/UPS dude has been bringing special gifts. Everything seems to come at the same time.
When it rains, it pours.

Here's a rundown of loot for the week.




I don't know what is with my sudden fixation with PVC figures. But it's got to stop.


and some anime to round out the haul.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Bassline Revival



Thanks to a heads up from a fellow blogger, well, ex-blogger, I found out about this party. Otherwise, I'd have been none the wiser. It'd been a while since Junior had played NY. Scratch that. He played the Hammam party at Pacha, the afterhours to the Black Party. It didn't register on my radar as I didn't have the desire nor the where-with-all to go.

Last I'd seen him was President's Day weekend at Cielo which was a less than auspicious night, party-wise and personally, etc. etc…

But I digress. Moving on…

Friday
Aforementioned (ex)blogger and I were potentially going to accompany one another but he begged off the day of. Perfectly fine. We'll catch up again soon enough.

I was intent on going regardless and going alone. I could have called friend Frank but I just didn't feel like wasting all the excess energy involved with running here, there, hither and to. He is surrounded by erratic and unstable forces.

The downside was that I didn't have a party buddy, a fallback guy. Those who go out understand what I mean. A friend can be a tether, something to focus on. It's been a long time since I'd last gone out alone like that. (Oh that's a lie.)

Bassline was the name of the party which was also the name of an underground club Junior had been involved with before his Sound Factory days.

The club is called The Standard at 150 Varick Street between Vandam and Spring Sts. For those familiar, it's the old BuddhaBar space in TriBeCa. It's a very cute space. You entered the club and are directed downstairs to a bar and sitting area. Wak through that space and back up through a different set of stairs, you come into the center of a pleasantly sized room, very much the Discotheque feel. The room's AC was over-compensating at first, but as it filled up, it couldn't maintain the cool in the room.

The crowd was the usual cast of characters from clubbing and Juniorites. Some handsome gym bunnies, twinkish boys and, oh, a porn star, Colton Ford. Unexpectedly ran into M, whom I became friends with through friend Frank… oops. Heh. He hadn't spoken to FF in a while so I'm okay for not asking him to come with me.

Music spun his usual blend of diva vocal house, mixing in some new tracks like Rihana's S.O.S., you know the one with the "Tainted Love" back beat. That sounded awesome and rocked the house. One stellar musical moment for me, Junior dropped "Like I Do" by For Real.

A bit of history, back when I was a wee clubber, growing into my club shoes, I'd heard Junior spin at the sorely missed Palladium. The party was called Arena. He'd played "Like I Do" then and I spent the next week, tracking down this track. This was well before you could easily research the lyrics via the web. I remember reciting the vocals to Steve Travolta, who'd been spinning at my gym, the DBG on 16th Street, trying to figure it out.

"don't run away from love when love hits… something… something"

Eventually found it, I stopped obsessing and all was well with the world.

Well, when he dropped "Like I Do" at BassLine, he layered it on top of a dark, dirty bass line, unidentifiable until the lyrics hit. A classic moment. Throw in more screaming divas and tracks like "Movin' up" and you've got a Junior night. A respectable evening, not spectacular but enjoyable.

Regrettably, I was reminded why I'd guaranteed myself some disappointment when I went out with certain expectations, expectations not of Junior, not of his music nor of the club.

Long short, club love come, club love go.

I should be smart enough to know this, but I fall for it now and again.

Le sigh.