The Click Heard Round the World

It's my sister's birthday -- buy one of her bags!

Happy birthday, to my lovely, crazy dope sister Cori.  You're not just my favorite sister, you are my ONLY sister.

Love you!

(And if anyone wants to get a really hip, handmade handbag or clutch for yourself or a loved one, Cori designs these lovely Mean Bags.  Tell her that her big brother sent you.)

Dammit, someone stole my Brompton bike!

Me on my Brompton folding bike in February 2003, right after purchasing in London, UK. 

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. My Brompton folding bike got stolen tonight. 

It was locked to a "No Parking" sign on Broadway and 13th Street.  Sometime between 7:30 and 9:30pm, someone took it from in front of the big Union Square multiplex.  Hundreds of people probably passed whoever it was who jimmied the lock and walked away with my bike.  But as has been proven beyond a doubt, bike thieves act with impunity at any hour of the day.

I loved that little bike.  It has been with me in four countries, and around all five boroughs of New York City. 

I'm pretty upset. But then again, five years is a pretty good run for a fairly high-end bike in New York.  I've had several other bikes taken in the past, and probably will lose others in the future.  At the end of the day, it's just a thing.

Now the only question is: what kind of bike do I want to get next?

Angelic Accordians at Green-Wood Cemetery

This Saturday I went to a lovely installation / performance art piece called "Angels and Accordians" in the magnificent Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.  My dancer/jewelry designer/vintage hound friend Laura was performing as one of the angels, so I knew it was going to be fun.  It was a nearly perfect Fall day to be viewing an art installation in a cemetery.

More of my pics here. There's also a video of the 2005 show, which doesn't really do it justice.  There's nothing to compare with quietly meandering from grave to grave, happening upon a sleeping minstral or an angel whispering secrets into a statue's ear.

Serenity is mothballed: the definitive word from Joss Whedon on "Firefly"

So this is the official word from Joss Whedon, the creator of short-lived, much-beloved scifi series "Firefly":

Hi boys and odd, smooth, compellingly bumpy non-boys. I'm in Liverpool, on Alexis' lap... sorry, laptop, checking in and seeing all sorts of nonsense about a sequel to something... There's no sequel, no secret project regarding Serenity or somesuch and I'm not even sure how anyone thought there was talk there. I've seen Nathan and Tim (and Summer and Alan) recently because they're my friends because I'm so, yeah, awesome. So let's put that to bed and smother it with a pillow.

I guess they CAN take the sky from me. Sigh.  There's always Washtown, I guess.

Gift Assistant fraud update

Ben Popken at Gothamist did some additional sleuthing on my e-commerce woes with the Gift Assistant . Ben even managed to track down the cell phones of the proprietors of the business, who he said would refund me the $130 if I called. 

Well it's been three weeks since I've called and no luck.  Back to Citibank Fraud Protection Unit for me...

September 11: five years ago, only yesterday

After a very long day I headed out at around midnight with my roommate to check out what was going on at Ground Zero, which is only a couple of blocks from my house.  It was a circus of humanity, a riot of emotions and colors and noise that looked like it was going to go on all night.

We will never forget.

How to build a tiki bar (1999 Atomic photo-essay)

The killer tiki website Humu Kon Tiki has scanned and re-posted one of the most entertaining and informative articles in the retro-style magazine Atomic, edited by my old friend Leslie Rosenberg.  Entitled "Build a Real Tiki Bar" the article ran in the Fall 1999 issue.  Balancing helpful advice on how to construct one of these vaguely polynesian, 50s-era bars with a generous dose of tongue-in-cheek humor, it's a very worthwhile read. 

And it features my buddy Frankyboy looking completely dorky / cool.

Remembering the "Greatest Bar on Earth"

As the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attack approaches, I am feeling nostalgic and sad about the loss of the "Greatest Bar on Earth" on the 107th Floor of Tower I of the World Trade Center.  It was my most direct connection to the WTC, my regular Saturday night hangout for awhile.

I < heart > Beirut / Israel

Cindy spotted this bumper sticker interchange on the corner of 23rd St and 2nd Avenue, Manhattan.