Who needs winter temperatures anyway?
Posted: February 21, 2012 Filed under: My attempts at humor, My take on pop culture and me., Skateboarding | Tags: climate change, Global warming, warm winter, winter 2 Comments »
In the past few months it is as if nature decided not to have winter in the NYC area. I’m sure this is the paradise before hell. Maybe in summer it will be over 100 degrees from May to September. I don’t think anyone can question climate change, either man made or the end of an ice age. Whatever happened to the weather, something has gone quirky. It would take a more scientific mind than I have to explain climate change, and I’m sure there are a ton of negative consequences from the temperature rising in this part of the world. However, for this blog entry I’m going to talk about the positives of this warm winter, it’s been great.
First and foremost I’ve been able to skate most weekends this winter. The skaters at NYC parks are really friendly and welcoming. They tolerate older and mediocre skaters like myself. The only thing I don’t like about NYC skating is the mentality that NYC is the best, and all the comparisons to California. California most likely will always be the epicenter of the skate industry because it’s more part of the culture there, and they do not have winters or the brutal humidity in the summer. I don’t think NYC needs to compare itself to other locations, but this lack of winter this year is definitely helping the skate scene here. The parks are packed when I go there, and I notice a lot of people are progressing. On facebook one of my friends said that people are getting better when usually for winter people have to slow down and take a break from skating. I’m sure this year is a fluke, but if for some reason it’s not, and there are 5 or so warm winters like this in a row, I’m sure more skaters from NYC will go pro. The energy and progression at the parks will produce good skaters.
As far as my own skating, I think I’m staying at the same level. That is better than getting worse, which I would get if I took a month or more off because of cold weather. This 3-day weekend, I skated Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. My first day was a flushing meadows and I skated the unisphere with my friend. I didn’t skate for almost two weeks prior, and it was a rough session. I kept missing kickflips. My friend and I had a few games of s.k.a.t.e. that took way too long because neither of us were skating that well, and couldn’t land much. I think I skated less than a few hours. On Sunday after a night out, I went to the Astoria skate park by myself. It took me awhile to warm up, but I had a good session. I’m glad I could ollie down the 3 stairs without too much bailing. It’s such a small drop and not far so my trouble with it is a mental block. I’ll never throw myself down large drops, but I need to not be afraid of things I’m capable off. I also spent some time doing railslides on a low curb. I got a few, and I think I am in more control of that trick. Then on Monday, I simply went to my local park, Forest Park. I saw some good skating, and stayed there about 3 hours. I worked on some things, and it was not too crowded. So I figured out a few lines. By far, the third day in a row of skating I skated my best, and I think the sport is something that the more regularly done, the better people get. If I could skate a few hours every day, I’m sure I could progress even though I’m older. And skating once a week or so during the whole winter is a lot better than skating nothing for the season.
My second point and I guess my last point in why the warm weather has been good is the economy. People here are acting like they all have spring fever. I went out a couple of times this weekend in the middle of queens, and the bars have been packed, and people are walking in the streets in sweatshirts, dresses, and not too worried about wearing coats. I live near a bunch of malls, and people are out shopping. Maybe this winter will end the recession because normally people take it easy during the winter. Now people are out and about.
February is over in 9 days, and usually in March the temperature starts to warm. I’m willing to bet we will not even have a cold dip in the temperature at all. It’ll go down as the year that we skipped winter.
My defense of sports
Posted: February 2, 2012 Filed under: My take on pop culture and me. 2 Comments »Three weeks, or four weeks tops into my gym fitness come back and I’m feeling quite sure of myself. I also just wrote a short story about baseball this past week. And on Sunday the Superbowl will be played. So in this entry, which will be brief since it’s past midnight on a work night, I will defend sports.
As a child I tried soccer, then baseball, before I fell in love with skateboarding in middle school and high school. Skateboarding albeit a unique one is a sport in my opinion because it takes athletic ability, one progresses at it, and there is a judgment of what is good or not.
When I focused on skating when I was younger after school each day I would spend hours at a time trying to learn. Before I was old enough to drive, a lot of times I would be outside practicing and would come home only when it was time for dinner. Today there is a change in society were kids after school simply want computer time or to play with gadgets. It’s sad that a lot of kids are inactive.
This is a digression, but a lot of people say that childhood obesity is a product of unhealthy food choices. I’m sure that is part of it, but I’d be willing to bet that lack of activity has more to do with the nationwide problem.
I think kids should be motivated to play sports, and for that they need to be inspired by something. They need to see on television or better in person something that makes them wonder how did that person do that. Every kid needs to see something athletic that gives him or her this reaction; how is that possible? I want to be able to do that, and I’m going to practice until I can do that. For kids to be inspired there needs to be professional sports, and a goal to attain or dream about.
A lot of people see professional sports as a childish dream that does not mesh with the adult world. I think the skill displayed in any sport at that level makes as much impact on society as artists, musicians, and maybe even writers. This brings the question of what is more of value, intellectual pursuits, or sports. Of course we need artists, musicians, and writers, but I think athletes can be put in cultural significance as well. Each of these disciplines takes incredibly hard work, but sports do not get the credit for making one think, but all athletes can think through situations in a very quick manner.
I never watched much football until I started watching some games with my roommate about eight years ago. When you watch a full game you see the strategy involved by the plays, and also the coordination it takes. My favorite play that you see regularly in football is when a receiver catches a ball near the sideline, and manages to keep his feet inbounds while running a full pace. I can’t imagine to focus on catching a ball, and to know precisely where your feet are. Millions of kids want to be able to do that, and if they practice toward it I think that’s okay.
In high school I ran track only for two years, my junior and senior year. Even though in my adult years, my exercise routines are sporadic, I know how to get in shape from running. I think the more kids fall in love with sports, and are given the opportunity and support to practice, society will be healthier because healthy kids more than likely became healthy adults.
Headphones ruin memories, an Opinion with no research at all.
Posted: January 21, 2012 Filed under: Lifestyle choices, My attempts at humor, My take on pop culture and me. Leave a comment »I’m 34 going on 84 with this entry. I have not used my blog to simply say my opinions, and I’ll try to start with this one. The topic at hand is Ipods, or the fact that everyone walking around wears headphones listening to their own little soundtrack. Right now I have headphones and I’m listening to Pandora as I type while my roommate watches television in the same room. But I do not walk around with headphones on in public!
Safety first. To me when I’m walking through NYC I like that I can hear cars at intersections, or if someone is walking around me. I know that NYC is supposedly safer than Disney World these days, but being aware of one surroundings is important. If there is a danger, or a collision about to be made, having the sense of hearing can give one a heads up. I used to run on the streets with headphones, so that is all I will say about safety.
My main beef with headphones is that people think it gives them the right not to be bothered, and not to be approached. A few years ago in Forest Hills, a more well to do part of Queens, I saw a sight that pissed me off. This kind of attractive women in her twenties took off her headphones, got ugly, and said to an elderly immigrant woman, ‘Do you not see that I have headphones on? That means I’m don’t want to talk to anyone, *(&^%.” I realized that this elderly woman was simply asking for directions. I thought the younger woman really reacted like a spoiled child, and anyone lost should be able to ask directions. Wearing headphones does not simply erase being decent to other people. The street map in Queens and the city can be confusing, and I’m glad that when I ask directions, people respond with an answer. The people I’ve asked for directions might give me the directions, think they know and give wrong directions, or say they don’t know. But I’ve very rarely been chewed out for asking directions. And I’m not a meek old lady with an accent. So headphones or no headphones, that woman was out of line.
But I think a lot of people in this city wear headphones for that exact reason, so they can avoid conversations with strangers. It’s kind of weird concept. That on your commute to your job, or from point A to B, you can close off encounters and background noise by just having your own soundtrack. I’m a fan of music, but either at home on my computer, or in a bar where the musical experience is shared with the people in the establishment. I like that I can be aware on my commutes. If someone asks me directions, and I can point them toward the right way, I feel good, not pressed upon.
Lastly, I’m not the first to point this off in the skate world. But if you’re skating with people I think it’s rude to wear headphones, it’s nulls the shared experience. On a larger scale of that, I think wearing headphones in any group situation or around people is rude. I think memorable events for everyone involves a group of characters. To tell a good personal story, you need to remember what other people said, what the surroundings were, and the string of events. If people have their headphones on all the time, they are cutting of several perceptual senses, and therefore have less interesting things happen to them. That’s a stretch, but is an idea. I think to be part of something you need to be there, and not in a personal soundtrack la la land.
My telling you what to watch on youtube.
Posted: February 8, 2011 Filed under: My reviews, My take on pop culture and me., Skateboarding Leave a comment »Youtube is the greatest website ever. Where else can you go to view video clips of all recorded history? Everything is limited to less than ten minutes. Anything over ten minutes may not be worth watching anyway. When I first started my blog I did a history of my music video watching. That detailed the videos I grew up with. On this blog entry, I’m simply going to link youtube videos that I’ve watched lately. These are music videos and skate videos.
Enjoy!
Music
Wiz Khalifa, Black and Yellow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UePtoxDhJSw
I became aware of this rap sensation a little late, but this past week as the super bowl approached this was in heavy rotation. The tune is catchy, represents Pittsburg, and my roommate recognized parts of the city in the video. It’s original, and has over 30 million views on youtube. The Green Bay Packers might have won the super bowl put Pittsburg has a lot more street cred these days.
Depeche Mode, Everything Counts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t-gK-9EIq4
This song I heard a few months ago on my Pandora station, and came out in 1983. Depeche Mode still tours and has had many hits. This early song is a little different from their patented sound the developed a few years later. Most times when I turn on youtube I’ll put this song on, it’s a good one. If I ever get good enough to film myself skating I might put this on my skate film.
Bananarama, Cruel Summer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGYNvx9lqDQ
I’ve always liked this song. It’s fun, it’s the 1980’s, and I have no shame. But they were very much a one hit wonder, do not youtube other Bananarama songs.
Shakira, She Wolf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=booKP974B0k
My sister debated with me that this does not have artistic merit. I think it very much has artistic merit and goes beyond art. Yes she is hot, but this is a catchy fun song too.
Tupac, Changes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL5sdu3pNrU
This song was completed after Tupac died, and they did a good job with the mix. It’s a good song.
Siouxsie and the Banshees, Passenger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nAON-MwUPY
I only heard this tonight for the first time, but I’m sure I’ll return to this song. This group also did ‘Kiss them for me’ and ‘Peek a boo.’ The songs that come up by this group are endless and their career must have been longer than I thought. That is a great thing about youtube, if you like a song, it will refer you to other songs by that same group.
The Pixies, The Happening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3jNZFcwdg0
When I saw the Pixies on their reunion tour in 2006 or 2007 that was the only concert I’ve been to that I knew all the songs they played. I first heard them in 1991 and that really opened my eyes to lifestyles outside the norm. For years the Pixies were my favorite band, and I still like them a lot. Thanks to you tube I can listen to all the songs on their 5 albums, all of their B-sides, and concert footage.
The Gza, Living in the World Today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wfxkB9qHIw
I skateboarded in the 90’s and therefore by association listened to Wu-Tang. However back then I did not purchase Liquid Swords by Gza when it came out in 1995. It’s tooted as one of the best hip hop albums of all time. A few years ago I purchased the CD but did not listen to it much. In the past few months I’ve been listening to this track on youtube all the time, it is real captivating.
Culture Club, Karma Chameleon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmcA9LIIXWw
This is a great song from the 80’s.
Stereolab, Margerine Melodie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMuVDibaGOk&feature=related
Stereolab was the most talented group of musicians I ever saw in concert. I saw them about 5 times and according to their website they are taking a break from recording and touring. I first time I saw them was in Oberlin in 1996 or so. The last time I saw them was in 2008, and for each time I saw them I had a musical experience. I did not do drugs during those concerts but felt euphoria from the sounds. It’s hard to explain but I hope to see them again at some point. In the mean time they are well represented on youtube.
Samhain, Arch Angel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnJzYJG_IyY
I heard this song as the ending song to a skate video. The video was Zero’s Misled Youth and that came out in 1999 or so. I liked it a lot from then, but never purchased the CD. I tried once and it was a rare find. Regular CD stores did not carry it. So I was thrilled a few months ago when I found this on youtube, it’s a good song.
I could put more music videos on here, but I think that is a good example of my wide ranging musical tastes. Now on to a few skate on youtube I’ve viewed multiple times.
Ronnie Creager in Blind’s What if
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHGQ1sMeQq0
When I was a kid in 1993 I watched Ronnie Creager’s foundation part hundreds of times. He kept his skills. This part from 2005 has a song from the Dandy Warhol’s and is fun to watch. Creager also does some top notch technical tricks. The switch tailslide to 270 switch heelflip at the end is super hard. But he makes it look effortless.
Mike Carroll in Lakai’s Fully Flared
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzotUAppWPM
Like any self respecting skater I own a copy of Fully Flared on DVD, and watch it on my big screen television. My television is not big screened but bigger than my computer. Mike Carroll is the best and this part from 2007 is super good.
Lizard King in Baker has a Deathwish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jdBIYESJ7E
Although I should be appalled at this company’s influence over the kids I find them entertaining. The make shirts that say ‘skate all day, and drink all night.’ That’s a bad message and most people have to work when they grow up, yet I watch this one on youtube.
Youtube has competitors. If you want longer videos you go to google and limit to videos.
Here is a skate video I like in it’s entirety.
DVS Dudes, dudes, dudes.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6736294021497535992#
I think it’s the fun soundtrack and the shorter parts. I wear DVS shoes and I think they are not as serious as other shoe companies.
That is all the youtube and google video that I’m posting now. This entry has gotten a little burdensome and I can’t imagine people will bother to look through the links. If you’ve gotten to this point in the text I hope you enjoyed some of the tunes. Also on a good note perhaps posting so many musicians and skaters will make this entry searchable. Who knows.
Rethinking Facebook Antics 200
Posted: August 21, 2010 Filed under: My take on pop culture and me. | Tags: facebook Leave a comment »
Tonight, while my pre made ravioli was boiling, I felt compelled to take a picture of my bruised foot and post it on facebook. Since Tuesday when I turned my ankle skating I’ve been updating my facebook feed to let everyone know my new ordeal. Shortly after I posted my foot on facebook I showed my roommate (who deleted his facebook account recently) and he said nobody needs to see that. He is right and I’m trying to figure out when I turned into a compulsive poster on facebook.
I’m really not sure how many years I’ve had a facebook account. I think I got mine in 2007 or thereabouts. Originally it was great to reconnect with people from my past. Half of my high school uses the site as does college friends, grad school friends, work, and skaters I knew are on there. I’m going to spew some negative thoughts about facebook, but I will not delete my account because of these connections I made from it. I think in the pre online medium, people just did not know what happened to people compared to today’s resources. The connections may be thin, but any of these people I could email to see how they’ve been. That’s the positive.
On the negative for a long time I’ve felt compelled to post on facebook daily. I think anyone creative likes the medium to have an audience, or feedback. A comment seems like a simply fun thing, but for writers of years ago could submit tons of pieces and never get any feedback for their attempts. As an aspiring writer it is very hard to get people to read your work. But with facebook, anyone can take the time to read a sentence or sometimes less. So you can take someone like me without too much writing credits, and facebook gives that person an audience. You friend people you know, so anytime you get a comment you feel special. So I guess it’s good that facebook has given me a creative outlet, but I don’t know if it has developed my writing skills. Since I started using facebook heavily and this blog, I haven’t sent out any submissions at all. What I have done is posted things everyday and in some cases may have tarnished people’s viewpoints of myself.
When I check facebook, out of the 200 plus friends I see regular posts from the same twenty or so people. So the majority of my facebook friends do not post as emphatically as I do. I noticed from the people that post regularly, they have an angel, or some purpose for posting. One person owns a gallery, one is an active poet/writer, one owns a small business, and so forth. Basically they need an audience for their livelihood, to create a need for the product they sell. I’m aspiring to be a writer, but that’s not completely my deal with facebook. I work, and skate on my off time, but I do not have an image to uphold to pay the bills.
The other type of compulsive poster is some career librarians. This has been great because they link articles, and I get an array of professional opinion. I hardly ever post about work, because I think it’s dicey. My work involves people, either customers or staff, and I can’t even really talk about it without including other people in my stories or rants. I think if I did a librarian blog I could get an audience much quicker than my current disjointed blog. I won’t do a work blog or posts, but it’s great to have colleagues on facebook that are not afraid to.
In other ways I’ve made a fool of myself on facebook. I mostly post recaps of my skateboarding days. But with that who is my audience? Most of my skateboarding friends on facebook do not use the site that much, and my facebook friends that do may not care too much about it. So it’s kind of futile exercise that gives me undue stress of how people will perceive my posts.
On Tuesday I posted something like ‘less is more. I do not have to post updates everyday.’ Then I hurt my ankle, got bored and posted a plethora of nonsense since then. I think I should take it easy and not be too hard on myself. However with all writing, the writer must consider his or her audience. My facebook friends or ‘audience’ are people from a lot of different parts of my life. I’ve lived in a quite a few places, had different stages of my life, and have been through a lot. So out of the five or more groups I can place my friend set I don’t think there is a single thing or topic that everyone can relate to. Maybe I should not try, but accept facebook as a site I can reconnect with people. Not a place that my writing will be discovered or some selfish purpose, but simply keeping in touch with people. The best way to reconnect with people would be to email them, not clutter up their facebook wall with updates.
In other news, this is about the anniversary of this blog. It’s been a good start, and I hope to write more in the upcoming year.
Music videos and me growing up. Completed with youtube clips.
Posted: August 28, 2009 Filed under: My take on pop culture and me. | Tags: 120 minutes, 1990's, BET, MTV, Music trends, Music videos, Rap City Leave a comment »A couple of days ago I typed in Stereolab on youtube and was pleasantly surprised that several of their videos came up. I have long known that youtube is great to see a plethora of skateboard video parts. Music videos are more mainstream which means that they would have more of a chance being on there then the skate clips I cherish. But I never really searched for music videos until I typed in Stereolab. Soon I found the Chris Brown song, Forever, which I liked so much last year, so I watched and listened to that. Now if I have extra time at the internet café, or when I get the internet in my apartment (hopefully soon), I am going to search for music videos. Today’s blog will be a throw back to all the music videos I watched and their deep meaning. I think anyone under forty has nostalgia for these when MTV actually showed videos.
I’ll briefly talk of videos from when I was a young kid, because during my teenage years music meant much more. I had the Thriller album of course, and saw the video at a friend’s house because we didn’t have cable at that point. I think it kind of confused me but I liked the development of the story in it. Also somehow I saw 99 Luft Balloons by Nina as a kid and being kind of enthralled by it, the song is great by itself, and the video had undertones of an eastern European cold war. At least I got that from it back then.
A little bit later in 1987, I must have been ten, I saw the Welcome to the Jungle video by Guns N’ Roses and it fascinated me. I think it showed a dark lifestyle that was so different from my comforts. The next day I begged my mom to buy me Appetite for Destruction. A week later she did and listened to it first, and then let me have it. I must have played that cassette a thousand times. Around that time, perhaps a little bit later, I saw the One video by Metallica. Maybe I liked the dark side, but that video and sound fascinated me. Along the metal lines I remember seeing a Slayer video and it having a strange effect on me. Pre 1990, their were also a lot of fun videos by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Chris Isaac, Beastie Boys, The Beach Boys, Run D.M.C. Jodi Watley, Bon Jovi, Motley Crew, Ton Loc, and I’m sure much others. At this point watching these were more like a way to spend a rainy day, but probably from 1990 to 1995 I tuned in for certain programs and enjoyed seeing and hearing new music coming out.
I’m trying to remember the timeframe, but it was probably late middle school and early high school. I got in a routine of watching MTV late at night or sometimes when I got back from school. The programs I watched included Headbanger’s Ball, 120 minutes, and YO! MTV Raps. By high school I also tuned in to Rap City on BET. Probably the strongest music experience of that time was not a video, but when I heard the cassette of Doolittle by the Pixies. But a lot of the times I got introduced to music by the videos I saw on cable. I think today teenagers learn of new music from the internet or the radio. When I was a teenager the internet did not exist, so the music video genre thrived. I have not watched MTV in years, but I can’t say I blame them for adapting to the times to adjust to reality shows and whatever else. On Headbanger’s Ball I remember the abstract Alice and Chains videos, Nirvana, Anthrax, and I’m sure others. I mostly watched that in middle school. But Nirvana reminds of bands like Pearl Jam, The Beastie Boys, Oasis, Tribe Called Quest, Dr. Dre, The Cranberries, The Smashing Pumpkins and so many popular bands from the early nineties got introduced to the world through music videos. Another MTV program 120 Minutes was something special for a couple of years. I don’t know how long it was on the air but it was once a week and it was a two hour programs. Through this program I videos by these artists: Siouxie and the Banshees, Mazey Star, Janes Addiction, The Breeders, Sonic Youth, Lush, Cocteau Twins, The Cure, Radiohead, Cracker, and I’m sure a lot more. This program really intrigued me because I loved seeing new videos and hearing new sounds. I feel that the alternative music (not necessarily grunge music) was really something in the early nineties and people should revisit that period. YO MTV Raps introduced me to rap beyond Run D.M.C. and The Beastie Boys. I think my freshman year or so I started watching Rap City on BET as well. 1990-1995 was an interesting time for rap and hip hop just as it was for alternative music. Probably the game changer was It’s a G-Thing by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. It was mainstream but I think gauged everyone’s interest. It’s a fun song and fun video. Other the next couple of years’ cable introduced me to Cyprus Hill, Pharcyde, Wu-tang, Outcast, and Nas. The Nas album that I got soon after I enjoyed for years and it was a theme of a short story I wrote in late 2006. Basically having access to these programs made my knowledge of music much more than someone that did not tune in.
Shortly after high school I continued to watch these music videos, but it did not seem as eye opening as when I was younger. But in 1997 in the middle of the night during a psychotic episode I saw the Bittersweet Symphony video by the Verve, and was truly stunned. I turned the volume up which worried my sister. But it was such a unique sound and the video is simply Richard Ashcroft looking druggy gaunt walking fast down the street. When I saw it I immediately related to the sorrow and urgency of his mission. Soon after I bought the album and it was the soundtrack of that year. After that until 2003 or so I kept up with music to some degree but mostly through recommendations from friends, online reviews, downloads, and the old fashion way called the radio. So the music video had a definite shelf life of about a decade 1988 to 1998, and it may never mean as much for future generations. That’s okay, popular culture has to change, progress, and not remain stale.
And now for your viewing pleasure, here a couple of music videos I enjoyed courtesy of Youtube:
Welcome to the Jungle by GNR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYRC4H64EFk
One by Metallica
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzgGTTtR0kc
We’ve got the Jazz by A Tribe Called Quest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_-4GFV7uTE
Today by Smashing Pumpkings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIwUxq0BMSE
It Ain’t Hard to Tell by Nas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-_IFAt8ka0
Bittersweet Symphonty by The Verve
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3lTQljbKLw
