Standing on the steps of the Met, after viewing a tiny portion of its incredible holdings. Dar and I had a decision to make.  Like all tourists we wanted a chance to be able to see the city skyline from above.

We had two apparent options available to us, The Empire State building or Rockefeller Center.  Debating the merits of both over a street dog, consensus was reached, a cab hailed and we sped towards 30 Rock.

The Rockefeller Center is a tourist destination all on its own.  The famous skating rink that has been a staple of holiday movies and postcards, was to my surprise open and being enjoyed in October!

The rink at Rockefeller Center

Giggling in amazement at the scene below I took in the famous architecture, that I had seen on the screen so many times.  Here I was, running like a school boy, clicking pictures and pointing at everything around us. The art deco designs leaped from buildings like gods from a Greek tragedy. Warning anyone who looked upon them of the hubris of man.

Art Deco design at Rockefeller Center

The clarion call of barkers, offering tickets, woke me back to reality.  A deal made and tickets in hand we started our long trip to the “Top of the Rock“.   Now it must be said that the staff here are experts in crowd management. People streamed in from the street eager to get to the rooftop.  Hardly with out effort we were sorted into our designated lines and whisked into the elevator.  As we climbed a light show played on the roof of the car, but it paled in comparison to the show outside.

The City lay beneath us in 360 degree panorama, to the North Central Park, to the South The Empire State loomed above us.  Below the chaos of Time Square raged.  Every degree offered an unparalleled view, as we gazed from above.

Central Park From above

Empire State from above

After a short walk chatting about the incredible view, we came into the heart of darkness in the city, Tony Bourdain’s white whale.  Times Square.

To say that Times Square is overcrowded is like saying there are a few grains of sand on Copacabana Beach.  To me, it seemed like every tour bus and passenger train straight of Midwestern Hell had opened up and dumped its contents willy nilly about the street.  In my short time navigating the sidewalks of Manhattan I learned to get out of the way when taking a picture, or speed up when in a pack of locals.  Apparently the assembled hordes were not privy to the same instruction.

Specially designated police officers were tasked to keep tourists off of the street when gawking open mouthed and drooling skywards. It seemed as if the flashing lights and cacophonous noise had sucked every piece of street sense out of 99% of the rubes gathered.

Times Square

Flippin off the Bubba Gump Shrimp

Our legs weary and stomachs growling we fought our way through the throngs and into the Hard Rock Cafe a free meal thrown in by the Radio Station, counting down the scant hours till our first concert at Madison Square Garden.

Naked Cowboy

Next Up… The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert Series.

What is that bold and breaks the rules? Attention Grabbing Marketing!

Look at the title of my blog post!  It is in your face and makes you say ….what in the world?…  Well it took you about 3 seconds to read that post and that is about all the time you have to capture someones attention and stand out in a crowd.  Let’s look at some highly successful examples of this bold marketing as it related to Book Titles:

• Your Marketing Sucks!
• First Break All the Rules
• The 4 Hour Work Week
• The Millionaire Next Door
• All Marketers are Liars Tell Stories

The list of bold titles and attention grabbing statements makes these books stand out in a crowd.  It is the same thing for things like Twitter posts or internet headlines…they are all way over the top.  But it is that over-the-topness that makes the advertisers get the people to click through and hopefully read.

Look at the title of this book in the picture: “Your Marketing Sucks”.  What!?!?!  My Marketing sucks?  How dare you sir?  I object to that in-my-face statement!  And I am going to buy your book to see if you know anything about my marketing! …. “Thank you for your $$$”

We live in a society that moves at the speed of light and while everyone is moving at the speed of light sometimes the only way to get their attention is to stand naked in the middle of Time Square playing a guitar.

GET MY POINT!!!

Yes, she did.  My grandmother went to a nudist colony.  It’s a great ice breaker in a conversation.

I don’t know when she did or how old she was, but she just went to visit. Her and her friends did not take off their clothes lol.  She said it was disgusting and hilarious at the same time.  She told me about how when they went to park, there was a man who greeted them who was wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots and completely naked. She also mentioned an old man, about 80 or 90, who was naked.  Very very disturbing.

-Nay

Opinião.

Todo mundo tem direito à sua. A grande maioria, só peca ao exteriorizar a própria. E quando faz isso, invade o espaço de outro ser humano. E quando faz disso um hábito, cria uma sociedade hipócrita, mesquinha e estúpida.

Tem um cara diferente na esquina da Allen St. com a Courtney Place em Wellington. Um sem-teto e podemos dizer também sem roupa. Enrolado por um cobertor que mal cobre alguma coisa, ele fica sentado ali na busca de um trocado que lhe garanta passar o dia. Pois é, primeiro mundo tem disso.

Em N.Y., quem já foi e puder me ajudar (Broadway St. com a 42nd, segundo o Google Maps) tem um cidadão que fica completamente nú, coberto por um violão e usa um chapéu de cowboy, e fica “animando” as pessoas, como um souvenir ambulante. Tem até website.

Em terra de celebridades instantâneas, big brothers sem conteúdo e vulgaridades expostas e até mesmo procuradas pela maioria da população que se encaixa na descrição do primeiro parágrafo, está a Garota da Uniban. E com ela vem a necessidade de xingar, invejar, maltratar, agredir, denegrir, tudo por causa de uma vestimenta um pouco exagerada. Vêm também outros pensamentos mais íntimos do(a) hipócrita mór que iniciou tudo isso, amparado por três ou quatro imbecis, e apoiado por outras centenas de ignorantes.

Que pensamento seria esse? Algo que lidaria com a inveja e a cobiça talvez. A garota – pela descrição dos colegas – sempre demonstrou atributos físicos exuberantes e belos, ao contrário dos ‘normais abomináveis’ que frequentam a universidade.

E daí que a garota usou uma mini-saia? Nos meus tempos de faculdade haviam meninas de mini-saia e te garanto: uma delas inclusive tinha inteligência superior e suficiente pra fazer inveja em muita gente.

E daí que a garota se cuida? Alguém sabe da vida da moça? Sabe seus anseios, seus medos, sua luta do dia-a-dia?

E daí que a garota usou uma roupa ousada? E daí se ela quiser ser a próxima coelhinha da Playboy? Garanto que metade dos imbecis que vaiou, agrediu e xingou vai dar um jeito de ver as fotos.

Porquê?

Oras, porque aqui é o país da hipocrisia. Coitados de nós, minoria…

__________________________________________________________________

Opinion.

Everyone have the right of it. Altough, most go beyond by exteriorizing theirs. And when they do it, they invade another human being’s space. And when they do it everytime, they help creating a hypocrite, mean and stupid society.

There’s a different guy in the corner of Allen St. with Courtney Place at Wellington. Homeless and…clotheless. He spends his days with a poor blanket that hardly covers his body, sitting there asking for a change, so he can eat and drink something or, survive.

In New York, (Broadway St. with 42nd) there’s a naked guy, covered by a guitar and his cowboy hat. He spends the day singing for change as well, like a walking souvenir for pictures. He have a website as well (check link above).

In the land of instant celebrities, empty big brothers, and exposed and researched vulgarities (by those I’ve mentioned in the beginning), there’s the Uniban girl. Uniban is an university nearby Sao Paulo, Brazil.

With her, the need to curse, envy, mistreat, defame. Just because she went to the university dressing a mini skirt. Then, it comes as well, the most intimate thoughts of the hypocrate that started all of this, with help from three or four stupids, and support from hundreds more.

To be fair with you (outside Brazil) I’ll explain: there’s a girl that went to university dressing a mini skirt, beautiful as most of her friends said, and when she got at the campus, she was cursed, assaulted, and left the premises escorted by the police.

Resuming, I ask: Wich thought is that? Something that deals with envy and greed, maybe. As the description her colleagues gave, she’s gorgeous, different of those who assaulted her.

So, she used a mini skirt. When I was at the university, girls also dressed like this. And I stablished friendship with one of those girls, I can say that she was as smart as she was beautiful. And that was not bad at all.

So, she takes care of herself. Who knows her life? Who knows her fears, her struggle day by day?

So, what if she wants to be the next Playboy’s bunny? I’m pretty shure that half of those idiots that assaulted and cursed her, will find a way to buy the magazine, if so.

Why?

Well, because this is the hypocrisy country. Bad for us, minority…

The indefatigable Taxi Gourmet recently reviewed Muhammad Rahman’s Kwik Meal #1, midtown Manhattan’s most viral food cart. I should know, as I used to go there back in the day when it was still an upstart, and before there were even two of them, and word was just beginning to spread across the borough. It still has the best falafel sandwich I’ve ever tasted, bar none. Then again, after six years in Rome, that’s not such a difficult accolade to aquire. 

Taxi tells the tale, as it was told by me:

It was actually a poem by Taxi Gourmet reader Marc Alan Di Martino that moved me to consummate my curiosity about Kwik Meal’s food:

“I was a regular at Muhammad Rahman’s Kwik Meal #1 cart, as were we all at the Gotham [Book Mart]…And one day Mr. Rahman — who was aware that I wrote poetry — asked me to write him something that would make people stop and eat. I declined. He insisted. I wrote, and he paid me in falafel sandwiches.”

I wrote about this here. It was Macy Halford at the New Yorker who “discovered” my little couplets and wrote them up in the New Yorker’s Book Bench column. Midtown is a great place to get noticed, even if you’re not a naked cowboy.

Here’s the poem, a stab at heroic light verse:

Of pleasures gastronomical I sing
Incomparable treasures; everything
Cooked to perfection by the expert hands
Striving to meet the customers’ demands.
A sweet aroma scents the afternoon
Air like some harbinger of happy June
When people hunger for the tastiest
Sandwich in Midtown: they have the best.

The really great part of the story, and the reason I had to get in touch with Ms. Halford, was that the poem (admittedly no great shakes) was attributed to a certain Thane Dimatims. Such blunders often inspire innovations, and in this case it became the stuff of poetry,or rather a long narrative poem which will be published to great acclaim a century or so after I am dead. ”As it was, so it will be”, said the pope. Or was it Pope?

If you read my All About ME blog you already know that I am shoe maniac.  Click this link http://fifthavefab.wordpress.com/allaboutme/ to read. I have more shoes than clothes…INSANE. I will be rectifying that situation gradually. If I don’t do it soon, I will be walking the streets with just a silky robe while wearing a pair of marvelous stilleto shoes. Maybe even throw in one of those over sized spandex belts we all love around the silky robe because those belts always make the waist look smaller giving the illusion of a perfect coca-cola bottle shape figure. Hey, ya never know.

Everything a little out of the ordinary seems to become a fashion trend. If walking around in flannel and plaid pajama pants use to be a trend, then why can’t I strut the streets of NYC in my silky robe and stilettos outfit. Also, may I add NYC’s own Naked Cowboy who became famous for playing his guitar on the streets in the heart of Times Square. Oh yes… decked out in just his white Fruit of Looms underwear and cowboy hat.

That silk robe, over sized belt and 4 inch stiletto outfit doesn’t sound half bad now does it?…lol

Well, before I lose my marbles and end up next to the Naked Cowboy in a duet, I am preparing my “Places to Wardrobe Shop” list. Feel free to give me any suggestions.

However, drum roll please…

The classic black low- cut boot is my shoe purchase for the month. It misses my “4 inch” rule by 1/2 an inch but that’s fine. I do make exceptions because these shoes are equivalent to the little black dress that all the ladies must have in the closet. I can’t wait to slip me feet into these booties and strut the concrete pavements, as I’m imaging its my own personal runway.

Keep you updated on how my new babies fit when I get them.

Ta-ta for now

Ife

Fifth Ave D.I.V.A

_ _

Quick Hits.  Tab Dump.  Breakfast Links.  Brunch Links.  And now…Linkage analysis.  Items that deserve highlighting and that I would (1) read and (2) comment on comprehensively if I had more time.

• The media takes yet another tiny-bit-different look at professionalism on Facebook.  I think it fits into my description of the “white coat burden.“
• Students who signed the Wisconsin Covenant are doing well in school…but will the state be ready or able to fund their educational need?
• Or…they could have just talked to us students to figure out that the FAFSA is intimidating.
• If you don’t like the results, change the methods.  TV ratings version.  Fun fact — the creator of the Nielsen ratings system graduated from UW-Madison and captained the men’s tennis team while he was there.
• NY campaign finance laws are there to be manipulated…if you’re already elected.
• If you’re the Naked Cowboy, you actually have to follow those laws.

New York and I have had a good run. For more years than I’d care to admit, we’ve been really happy together.

I’ve had plenty of those Only-in-NY Moments. Take, for example, the homeless guy who peed in an empty bag of potato chips on the E train on my morning commute once. Or the Michael Jackson birthday party in Prospect Park. Stuff like that doesn’t happen anywhere else…and I guess there’s a sort of pride attached to it when you live here and you get to go to those things because you’ve made a conscious decision to be here.

I’ve had my fair share of celebrity sightings: Dianne Wiest, Gabriel Byrne (we live in the same ‘hood — he used to go to Cafe Scaramouche before it became Buttermilk Channel), Debra Messing, Uma Thurman, Steve Buscemi, Chase Crawford, Mario Cantone, and that tall guy from Law & Order SVU. Denny Doherty of the Mamas and the Papas starred in the musical that was performing at the theater where I worked my first summer in New York. And I interviewed the Naked Cowboy once…and had “Hi Lisa, it’s Naked…” on my voicemail for a really long time.

I’ve had some really good times here and I’ve met a lot of wonderful people and I’m so, so glad I did that big, scary thing and moved here by myself all those years ago.

And for a long time — whether because of work or school or my own personal dramas — I’ve sort of been gliding along here. I built myself a home. And for the first time since California circa 1994, I’ve felt like there’s this one place in the world where I belong. And, sure, I hate the uncertainty of freelancing and wish things had turned out differently post-J-school, but…for the most part, I’ve been fine. Sure, it’s a busy place that sucks a lot out of you…and I always looked forward to escaping to Alaska because it’s pretty much the exact opposite of New York in every way and I could actually slow down for a bit and breathe in new surroundings and see places that were untouched by virtually anything and come back feeling like I could face everything again.

No more Alaska though — this year I went to Arizona and New Mexico. The trip had about the same effect, I guess…but returning to New York in July was the first time I haven’t actually been excited about coming back. Usually I can’t wait to get back to my apartment and my life. But I didn’t feel that way this year. And, for the first time, I started noticing things that never bothered me before — it’s dirty; it’s crowded; it’s full of egomaniacs.

Then I went away again — and the same thing happened upon my return. I just don’t feel the same about being here anymore. And somewhere along the way in either Colorado or Illinois on my *next* trip, it hit me: I think I’m ready to leave New York. I’m happier when I’m not here.

And, granted, it’s not exactly reality when I’m away because I don’t have to spend eight, ten, twelve hours in front of a computer writing asset management stories or applying for jobs or pitching freelance ideas or working on the Great American Novel (…or copywriting)…so maybe it isn’t entirely fair to blame unhappiness directly on New York. But, at the same time, I’ve done some freelance work while I’ve been away…and I still think it’s safe to say I’m happier in other places. (A New York friend even observed that I look happier in the photos on Facebook that were taken in other cities…)

Last weekend was my first weekend back in a long time. And I made lasagna and empanadas (which turned out BEAUTIFUL because I watched one of the chefs at Xoco very, very carefully and tried to mimic what she did…). And I realized how happy cooking makes me. (That’s one bad thing about so much traveling — I haven’t really cooked much.) I don’t really have the budget or the appetite to cook every day…but on those days that I do, the act itself always makes me happy…which sort of begs the question of culinary school, but that’s a whole other can of worms I’m not really ready to open yet. (Plus, writing still makes me happier than anything. So, ideally, I’ll be able to forge out a living combining the two someday…)

For now, I’m expanding my job search…and we’ll see what happens. (It’s never a bad thing to have additional options, right?) If I get my dream job in New York, I’ll stay. I’ll put up with insane rent and try to make an agent fall in love with my book proposal and maybe someday I’ll be on The View telling the ladies what a rough spot it was in ‘08-’09 before my life really took off.

Or…maybe the reason nothing has worked out here is because I’m not meant to stay. Maybe I should really be somewhere else. (The problem is that my life is in so many places…I don’t know where to go. For a long time I’ve said that I think my wedding will be the only day in my life when everyone I love is actually in the same place. Although I guess the glass-is-half-full spin is that I could really go anywhere. And that got me thinking about how happy I was when I lived in England…and that it’s crazy that I haven’t been back in seven years…so I think a trip to London is imminent.)

The sort of depressing part is that job opportunities didn’t expand exponentially when I started looking across the country. There is a pretty darn good one in Dallas…and a sort of okay one in Denver…but other than that, I really haven’t seen anything. (So…maybe it’ll be culinary school after all, eh?)

Nevertheless, I spent the good part of a morning this week looking at apartments in Dallas and realized that for less than half of what I am paying now, I could get an apartment with an actual bedroom and a dishwasher and a washer/dryer and access to pools and fitness centers and all sorts of crazy stuff. And I could finally get a golden retriever! (I even looked at breeders in Texas and found one that traced the lineage of its puppies on its Web site and the father of a litter that was due last September was related somewhere along the line to a dog named Miss Racey Lacey. Gotta be some sort of sign, right?)

If I was still exceedingly happy in New York…or if I was even taking advantage of living here anymore, I wouldn’t be looking beyond its limits. But I think I’m ready for a change. And now all I have to do is figure out what that actually means.

 9:17 pm

I’m a Naked Cowboy not the Mayor of New York- NEW YORK -  Ever since that boy chimp little Georgie Bush left office, the whole freaking political system has gone haywire. This isn’t to say that W didn’t have anything to do with the current political turmoil pervading America, because he sure as hell did.  He and the rest of his pack of jackals robbed everybody blind, then lied about it, repeatedly.  Because of his blatant stupidity and inability to put a basic sentence together, every fruitcake with some money and a stupid idea on how to run the county has decided to become a politician.  Al Franken left television behind and is finallygoing to be able to do some good for thos ice-fishing fools up in Minnesota, with a few jokes thrown in for good measure.  Former pitching machine Curt Shilling has decided to hang up his bloody sock and fight for Teddy K’s seat, even if he has no political experience.   But a nude rodeo clown who plays guitar and sings crummy country and western songs for donations in Times Square?  Nah, he said screw it and quit before the cows left for pasture.

Times Square’s own whacked-out cultural icon, the Naked Cowboy, says he’s quitting the race for New York mayor and will be back free-balling for handouts in the park real soon.  Robert Burck, the bare-assed buckaroo, is a tourist attraction known for playing his guitar in the square while wearing only tighty whitey nut cutters, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat with a purple feather.  He joined the fun in July with the slogan, “Nobody has done more with less, and nobody has balls this big.”  The slogan has become an overnight sensation as it appears on campaign posters of the cowboy pointing to the two coconuts he has jammed in his underpants.  He also penned two catching jingles, “I can do Better Naked than Bloomberg can Wearing Pants” and “If You’re Balls aren’t this Big then You Shouldn’t be Mayor of Cowboy Town;” both hits on city radio stations (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090905/ap_on_re_us/us_naked_cowboy;_ylt=ApNaHIiL7SUfB_Hxae4dgDZvzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTJndjVoM2I3BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwOTA1L3VzX25ha2VkX2Nvd2JveQRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDbmFrZWRjb3dib3lk).

But, now he says he’s had enough of the bullshit that accompanies a political campain.  He explained that the last straw came when the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board fined him $250 for failing to file a required financial disclosure form before campainging, and another $250 for publicly smuggling berries in his pants.  Burck says the only way to be taken seriously is to appear in a suit and tie and he isn’t having any of that city slicker nonsense.  The poor guy hasn’t on had a pair of pants in 5 years and doesn’t plan on doing so in the near future.  He feels if you don’t like to look at his package in Times Square, you probably won’t want to see it in City Hall either.

Gor La Montagne, Zibloman
Qui est montagne, Zibloman,
C’est Gor la Montagne…

J’ai découvert ce classique de la Cote d’Ivoire via mon ami Mathieu ‘’Darkchild’’Cauchon qui est un passionné et amoureux de la culture africaine. Gor La Montagne est une grande star des années 90 qui vient Abidjan. Il est reconnu comme le créateur du zingblo; cette danse qui mélange déhanchement, pas de boxe et haltérophilie.  Un peu comme George Foreman, il a trouvé la sagesse dans la foi et le recueillement en devenant pasteur en France. Mais préparez-vous à un retour en force de l’homme au speedo vert, car un nouvel album serait en production.

Dans une entrevue accordée à Africahit.com, Gor nous livre ces sages paroles :

« Quand je passe dans les rues de Paris, les petits Blancs m’approchent pour faire des photos avec moi. Gor attire et séduit sur son passage. Je suis particulier. J’ai cultivé ma particularité, ma différence, avec une musculature bien travaillée. Gor, c’est spécial. Je suis un artiste à part. Abidjan «connaissait», «Paris connaît» maintenant. » (Désolé de te cité hors contexte Gor, mais c’est trop marrant).

Malgré tout Gor La Montagne traverse les époques en maintenant toujours un bon fan base. Je vous invite à vous joindre au groupe Facebook : Pour que Gor change de silipe.

Tout cela me permet de vous présenter une seconde démonstration de testostérone, le Ghetto Workout. C’est de cette manière qu’on s’entraine dans la rue.

Toronto à son propre Mr. Muscle, il se nomme Zanta et porte un chapeau de Père-Noel. C’est un random dude qui est tombé de très haut (25 pieds), il est donc inapte à travailler mais garde tout de même la forme. Il se promène au centre-ville de Toronto et se crinque des series de push-ups de manière spontané en criant YES YES YES et Merry Christmass. Personnage très connus des Torontois, Zanta adore rencontrer les gens et déranger les journalistes en direct.

Voici un documentaire qui vous permettra de mieux le connaitre !

Il me fait penser au Naked Cowboy de New York. Dans les deux cas, ces personnages proposent leurs candidatures pour devenir maire de leurs villes respectives !

Quem já passeou pelo Times Square já esbarrou com ele. Pode ser um dia lindo de sol ou um miserable day (expressão usada para dizer que está um frio da porra) que ele não falha. Uma figura de pele branca, usando apenas um chapéu e um violão, botas e sunga. O louco Naked Cowboy, que já virou atração turística da cidade e que sempre anima os que aguardam na fila do TKTS.

O estranho é que esse dublê de cantor, palhaço e animador, também é pastor e, seguindo a tradição, ficou ambicioso e agora quer ser prefeito da cidade mais importante do mundo. Ok, Clint Eastwood também já foi prefeito, mas da cidadezinha de Carmel-by-the-Sea, na Califórnia. Digamos que o orçamento das duas cidades é um pouco diferente.

Bem, não moro lá, mas fico imaginando como dever ser ter um pastor-cowboy peladão comandando os rumos da cidade. Será?

Though he is adamant that he is NOT running for mayor, guess who’s running for mayor!  Brad Pitt, that’s who.  If elected (who could say no?), the roster of the illustrious Mayoral-Celebrity complex will read as follows:

• (NEW!) Brad Pitt – New Orleans’ mayor and Movie Star
• Jerry Springer – Cincinnati mayor and Talk Show Host
• Michael Bloomberg – NYC mayor and Media Tycoon
• Naked Cowboy – NYC’s next mayor and Country Music Star
• Gavin Newsom – San Francisco mayor and star of The Dark Knight

http://condron.us                http://alphainventions.com

Hel-lo Dere! Starting off with a lil somethin’-somethin’ from our pals over at www.almanac.com…

*Fire Garlic is Our Friend*
~About this time, many gardeners are hanging fresh garlic up to dry, or as the Greeks used to call it, “the stinking rose.”     
Five unusual ways to use this incredibly versatile plant:
>Deter bugs in your garden. Plant garlic cloves as a barrier to control aphids. Push a clove into the soil of your houseplants.
>Oil of cloves provides temporary relief from toothaches.
>Rub crushed garlic on your skin to repel ticks. Some say it deters mosquitoes, too.
>Eat foods heavy in garlic to speed the recovery of a cold.
>Chew garlic for stamina and courage (or so the Greeks and Romans believed).
>For an “old stubborn pain in the back,” apply garlic and hog’s lard to the feet. –John Wesley (1703–91)  (Did he find this remedy in the Bible?
>Of course, eating garlic might keep more than insects and colds away!
To get rid of garlic breath, eat an apple or chew on a coffee bean.
~Then, there’s always the obligatory goofy quote I can find somewhere on it: “A nickel will get you on the subway,
but garlic will get you a seat.”–Yiddish proverb  (A nickel? OY…when was this?!)

*Say the Word and You’ll Be Free*
~Intaxication: Euphoria at getting an IRS refund, which lasts until you realize that it was your money to start with.

*Deeep Thoughts…on Sports*
(http://coolsig.com)
~Crew (Rowing) is the only sport in the world where an athlete is encouraged to sit on his butt and go backwards!
~Luge is the only sport where you can die during the event and still win.
~There’s a reason they call guys on the soccer field ‘players’.

*Your Big Music Notes*
~1984 Prince started a 24 week run at the top of the US album charts with ‘Purple Rain’, it went on to sell over 10 million copies.
~2002 Toby Keith was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Unleashed.’
~1974 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” Roberta Flack.
~1964 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “A Hard Day’s Night,” The Beatles.
~1958 The first ever Billboard Hot 100 chart appears. The number one song is Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool.”
~1954 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Sh-Boom,” The Crew-Cuts.
~1944 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Swinging on a Star,” Bing Crosby.

*Your Adult Beverage Moment*
(http://daysthatendiny.com)
~August 4, 2009
Pop a cork! Today’s the day that Dom Perignon (supposedly) invented Champagne in 1693!

*And They Walk Among Us*
~”Do you realize if it weren’t for Edison we’d be watching TV by candlelight?”-Al Boliska 

*Big Birthdays*
~1901 Trumpeter Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong is born in New Orleans. He wins a Grammy in 1965 as Best Male Vocal Performance for “Hello Dolly,” a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1972, and is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 as a forefather of rock music. Died 6th July 1971. 

~1944 Richard Jay Belzer, born in Bridgeport, CT

*Late Night Humor*
(Jimmy Fallon)
~Nancy Pelosi has accused insurance companies of deliberately trying to kill the healthcare bill. Pelosi was so angry she started arranging her face into a scowl.
~A man in Florida was arrested for attacking his roommate with a coconut, a porcelain bowl, and a wooden carving. The man was charged with assault and shoplifting from Pier 1.

~1927 Peace Bridge between US & Canada opened, here in Buffalo, NY.
(It looks so attractive and romantic in this old postcard photo. But you just wait and see what they come up with for the new bridge…sometime in the distant future, IF EVER!)

*Those Were the Days, My Friend*
(http://crazyfads.com)
~Fads of the ’90’s
Hypercolor (clothing that changed color with heat)
Eight ball leather jacket
Pogs
Psych!
Polly Pocket Toys
Hip-Hop Fashion
I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!
Mortal Kombat games
Claw vending machine
Hi-top fade
Tickle Me Elmo
SUV’s

*In Case You Give a Rat’s Rear End*
~30 days to Labor Day

*Smooth ‘n’ Jazzy Living Tip*
~”You can’t simply separate yourself from any old destructive habit without separating yourself to something else. You can’t turn away from the things of the world unless you turn to something stronger.”-Kenneth Copeland

*And Finally…*
 
 What…I Said…What in Tarnation is Going On Here?!
  ~“ ’Naked Cowboy’ Runs for NYC Mayor”–headline, Associated Press, July 22

Photo by Ian Britton

• Creepy yet amazing P.R. stunt. It would’ve scared me a little too much.
• What would you give? I’d wear jeans and white tshirts for 5 yrs to get a closet full of Loubutins.
• Simple yet amazing. Takes ‘key-ring‘ to a whole new level.
• I thought I loved patterns more than anyone.
• Amazing wedding idea.Memorable pictures.
• I love this picture blog about my country. Great pictures that capture the warmth of the Dominican people and some of their day-to day.
• Mom, what’s a VHS?
• Trujillo Cliff Notes
• As long as he promises he’ll bring back Carson Daily to  TRL as a thank you gift for making him famous.

I know, I’m lazy, but these were piling up and they were too amusing not too share.  Enjoy

The Naked Cowboy of Time Square is running for Mayor of New York City. Promotional products are a big part of his campaign finance. Donors to his campaign can select packages of branded merchandise to receive based on the amount of the donation. His slogan for the campaign is ”do more with less” and he even claims that he will not be buying a suit because he just doesn’t need it.  For me this just shows another way promotional products reinforce a cause.

The Naked Cowboy might be considered a quirky asset to New York City’s tourism industry. Now the Times Square traffic-stopper says he’d make a mighty fine mayor.

 Robert Burck, who performs in his underwear has made his candidacy official.

 He aims to give the buttoned-up, third-term hopeful, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a run for his money.

 Burck says: “Being naked is a whole lot more than having no clothes on: It’s about transparency in politics, it’s about telling the naked truth.” 

 Burck does a brisk business posing for pictures with tourists. 

His standard fashion statement is a cowboy hat, boots, white briefs and a guitar strapped to his bare chest.

 As for campaign funds, he says: “I have no expenses. I own 40 pairs of underwear, a car and a suitcase.”

No, no es una alegoría ni una metáfora, realmente un sujeto cuya única vestimenta son un sombrero y unos calzones briefs blancos, portando una guitarra, se ha postulado para la alcaldía de Nueva York.

En este esfuerzo de los Estados Unidos porque la ciudadanía participe en la toma de decisiones que atañen a todos, existe la posibilidad de que cualquier individuo se postule como opción para un puesto de elección popular, cosa muy diferente de lo que pasa aquí en México. El problema es que ésto ha provocado que las elecciones en los EU se conviertan en un circo de 3 pistas. Hace algunos años, cuando Schwarzenegger era candidato a gobernador por California, una actriz porno llamada Mary Carey, se postuló también para ésa plaza. Hoy, en NY, lo hace un sujeto en calzones…

¿Por qué un naked cowboy? El argumento radica en que NY necesita dejar de gastar en cosas inútiles, por éso el usa la menor cantidad de elementos, para ser congruente con su propuesta de “apretarse el cinturón”, porque de hecho, él ni cinturón usa.

No puedo dejar de aceptar que lo que vale bastante la pena de este cuate es su imagen gráfica, en especial el imagotipo que usa, que tiene forma de uña de guitarra y en donde se ha silueteado al candidato, con un fondo estilo Barack Obama. Se nota que el flamante presidente de los EU le dio un respiro a las campañas y a la publicidad de las mismas en las vecinas tierras del norte.

He aquí un video donde el Naked Cowboy se presenta ante ustedes jaja:

La crisi economica ha messo in crisi molti paesi a partire dagli stati uniti. C’è un uomo in particolare che per protestare nei confronti di questa situazione si è messo letteralmente in mutande.

A New York, precisamente a Time square, si trova Robert John Burck quarantenne dell’Ohio che, chitarra a tracolla, stivali di pelle e bicipiti in vista si esibisce in mutande per la gioia dei passanti. Che sia estate o inverno Robert, soprannominato Naked cowboy, si fa fotografare, scherza con i turisti e soprattutto si fa pagare con le classiche mance nelle mutande. La sua fama con il tempo è cresciuta tanto da avere un proprio sito internet attraverso il quale vendere i propri gadget, soprattutto mutande;

Ora però Robert ha deciso di puntare più in alto e cioè sfidare il sindaco di New York Michael Bloomberg alle prossime elezioni. Il logo della campagna è pronto, un plettro con la sua immagine e la bandiera americana; e lo slogan è decisamente esplicativo “Because nobody has done more with less” dove il “less” è ovviamente riferito alle mutande. Si accettano già donazioni in cambio di t-shirt o poster.

Le possibilità di vittoria sono decisamente nulle ma sicuramente il confronto è affascinante, l’America della tradizione che si batte a mani nude contro l’America degli squali di Wall Street colpevoli di aver messo in ginocchio il paese e se John Wayne fosse ancora vivo sarebbe sicuramente in piazza al fianco del Naked cowboy…

Got my vote!