the death of cool...

i hit the streets today to check out gallery showing of friend of mine you can get to know here. Him and i go back, he once drove the getaway car. Its a long story and none of your business. He's been exploring his creative side for the last few years and has found himself at the School of Visual Arts studying photography, but if you had gone here already you would know that...

i've helped him out a few times with photo shoots, whether it was lashing this guy's legs to a board and hanging him upside down, or celebrating a creepy birthday with a lovely young lady. This time i offered up my first aid skills...
So i hit the streets to check out the reception...

i made my way to the west side and i realized how the meat packing district hasn't changed all that much. Plenty of meat, its just now it is packed into dresses one size too small and pants that are on the verge of falling down...

i approached my destination and avoided the pillars of youthful disdain hanging on by the scaffolding that shrouded the entrance, smoking cigarettes like they came up with the idea. It was then i knew that i was in for it...

Hipster faggots, i hate 'em—even if i shouldn't say things like that. I mean; the last thing i want to do is offend homosexuals by pairing them with hipsters, they already have enough people condemning them...

as the elevator strained to open its doors, a stringy haired sort dressed in half-couture/half-couture made to look like thrift store, exited with two terriers and two dogs in open topped shoes, showing the tattoos on top of each. By the time i made it to the 15th floor i had reconciled that she'd probably went through a lot of unnecessary pain only to someday wonder is that gangrene setting in or if she really did think it would be cool to permanently scar her feet...

there was a time when getting a tattoo was considered subversive, taboo, a sign of rebellion—even cool. But when you decide to go through the trouble of paying someone to tattoo your feet, well, that's just plain silly...

Upon arriving at the Visual Arts Gallery, i wandered through the packed space, heated from all the hot air of ambivalence and scanned through each project room, looking for my friends, only to find retread and the overdone. The live-still-life of woman sitting in bed was especially lacking originality. Continuing through a pool of the desperately coiffed and the unfortunately dressed, i found my intended targets. i congratulated him on his work—i had seen some early mock-ups, but seeing the final product, i was again reminded with the way his mind works. His filter is unique...

i chatted with his wife, the Lovely Miss Anne (who would no longer be called Miss, i suppose), who i have known longer than him by quite a stretch. One of the few people i could and would be willing to rob a bank with. We talked about their honeymoon and then my lot of recent times, and the need to drink and frolic amongst our crew, then i bid them farewell. You see, it occurred to me that i couldn't take it any longer...

i hoped that along with the new decade would come a rebirth of cool. Something fresh and brand new, in music, film, art, science—anything. i stood there and realized, that at least for the moment, my hopes would be dashed. There will be no rebirth of cool from this generation. Only a rebirth of drab...

It was comforting to see a Stormtrooper there. i guess that's what's passing for art these days...

It also seems there was a Shane Macgowan look-a-like there, as well. After all that pestering for him to belt out a verse of Cracklin' Rosie, it turns out it wasn't Shane at all...

Oh, well—there's always youtube...

—check out the Mentor Show at the Visual Arts Gallery. 601 W 26th, 15th Floor, through April 3rd...

and no, its not those Mentors...

a picture is worth 1,000 words vol2...

i only see...

i only see in infra-red...

see me, feel me, touch me, and while your at it...

Is it so far fetched that this Tiger Woods scandal is a sham?...

Is it possible that rather than a sex scandal we are dealing with something else?...

What do you think is more acceptable, cheating on your wife or abusing pain meds?...

How about gambling? A bunch of years back Michael Jordan retired from basketball. He was in his prime in the middle of a contentious conference finals versus the New York Knicks when a story came out that he spent the time between games in that series losing a ton of cash in Atlantic City. He then won his third NBA Finals a few weeks later. Not long after that his father was found murdered an apparent victim of a car jacking—only problem is that the two kids, who are still doing time, forgot to jack the car and left it there with James Jordan's body still in it. Charles Barkley was on record telling stories of Michael's wagering excess on the golf course. And there he was talking about how he had nothing to prove. Nothing to prove?! Bill Russell is still trying to find someone to prove something to him and his 11 championship rings and 5 Finals MVP's. Jordan for all his airness, never came close to that even after coming back a year and half later and winning three more titles! It was always my belief that NBA Commissioner David Stern, rather then suspend the man who single handily revitalized and transcended the game of professional basketball, chose to give Jordan a reprieve—"Sit out, Mike, call it retirement—no big deal. Come back in a year or so, it'll be great. We'll get balloons and everything"...

The murder of James Jordan was always a screwy to me. The crime scene was a mess, there were no leads and then all of a sudden to kids were in custody. In a flash they were tried and convicted and now doing the better part of their lives in the slam. The "crime scene" in Windemere, Fla is a little screwy as well...

The town police are clamoring to talk to Woods, who basically, through his lawyer, tells Matlock and Barney to fuck off. Then he shows up and they give a ticket. A fucking ticket. "All done Mr. Woods!"...

Woods had knee surgery in the middle of 2008. Came back in 2009 and had a decent run early in the schedule before bottoming out and looking more than mortal by the end of the year. Some would say he came back to fast from the surgery, that the knee might not be properly healed. Look, Tiger has had four knees surgeries on the same knee. He had torn ligaments and a double stress fracture in his leg and played through it for 10 months...

Isn't there anyone else who thinks this guy has been abusing pain meds for the past two years? That maybe, just maybe, he spent the lions share at the Pine Grove Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ being treated for his addiction to pain meds?...

Funny thing, Arizona is a hotbed for off season golf, the Scottsdale/Phoenix area in particular, much like Florida. Is so hard to believe that in between detox and group Tiger has been shagging 400 footers on the Biltmore Estate?...

I don't doubt the rest of this story, that he's been cheating on his wife and this and that. Acting erratically with these ladies and his wife, but if the dude has been high as a Limbaugh for the past two years could you really blame him. When he crashed into that hydrant outside of his driveway, do you really think he knew what day it is? If Tiger has been abusing pain meds for a long stretch than he might as well have been Tommy...

Tiger, can you hear me?...

I bring it all up because its been about 4 and a half months since the incident and the exposure of his "indiscretions." Less than a month since he stood up in front of a gaggle of wafer-brained reporters hand picked by Ari Fleischer, who just reeks of integrity coming off his last gig, stating that he had no idea if or when he would come back to professional golf, announced today that he would return to the Masters—IN THREE WEEKS!!...

So, I get it, you're all broken up, and your family is a mess. Check. You are going to try and repair the damage you inflicted on your wife and babies. Check. "Alright boys, let's hit the links!"...

Watch him rock it out in Augusta, like nothing happened...

Conspiracy theory? Sure. I'm crazy? Probably. Am i wrong? Doubt it...

Shit, Don't get me started on the Ben Roethlisberger, Rooney Family/ESPN cover up—part deux...

i got your madness right here...

Beware the ides of March? Forget it, unless you're name is Julius or Caesar you'll probably make it through the day. It just so happens that one of the most infamous dates in history turns out to be selection Monday. Millions of people will spend most of the day wagering their hard earned money on sheets of paper. March Madness has been in its pace laps but tomorrow the green flag flies on the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament...

St. Patty's Day, New Years Eve and Thanksgiving Eve are often identified as "amateur nights," mostly because folks who normally don't go out, always seem to find themselves gallivanting to an eventual ditch off the Belt Pkwy after abusing themselves with alcohol and any number of controlled and uncontrolled substances (and uncontrolled tolerances). While today is not one of those days it does reek of that amateur scent. All of a sudden everyone is a college basketball expert, or filling out their brackets by uniform color, or who has the best legs or any other manner of choosing the winner of each game leading to the penultimate on April 5th Championship Game. To be fair, i would say well over half of these people do have some knowledge of the game and the majority of the participants, but even then most of those people probably only watched 20-40% of all the college basketball available to them, leaving a minuscule number of well-informed men and women who have watched over 50% and more. While i wouldn't call myself an expert, per say, i have been unemployed for a year and have had the benefit of watching a lot of college basketball. More than most, in fact, unless you work for ESPN, Fox Sports or any other cable or media sports outlet, chances are i've caught a couple of more games then you. That said, i'm here with some guidelines and helpful hints to help you through the jungle that is your bracket...

If you watch or listen to any of the pundits and talking heads out there, you will hear a ton of talk about parity. In other words, overall throughout division basketball there weren't many good teams, let alone great teams. I have 5 by my count—Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse and West Virginia, so let's start there...

Kansas—What can i tell you about Kansas? Not much, every time i attempted to watch a Jayhawk game i found myself bored to death as they opened up a can of 20 point whoop ass on their opponents. That, in itself tells you more than you need to know. While they are not flashy they are well coached, experienced and can beat their own schools football team in a fight. All that said, in a round robin with the other 4 teams i named above, they have the best chance of going winless. They were never really tested in their conference, which always gets a lot of good publicity, but always leaves me flat—Missouri?!—Really?! Facing the talent of Kentucky, the workmanlike precision of Duke, the one-of-a-kind 2-3 match-up zone of Syracuse or the monumental scrap of West Virginia i think the Jayhawks will be out of their comfort zone, but by all means add them into your final eight, and if you think they can take Georgetown, then put them in your final four...

Kentucky—John Wall and Demarcus Cousins, say it with me—Wall and Cousins. They are the number 1 and 2 pick in the 2010 NBA draft. They are only freshman. Sure, Patrick Patterson is the team's best returning player, and he is lottery pick talent as well, if not for the emergence of Wall and Cousins taking his touches away. And yeah, Coach John Calipari is a great tourney coach, but there's something missing. The Wildcats could very well win the tournament in a walk, they are that good. Depending on which bracket i refer to (i've filled out 5), I have them anywhere from in the final to losing versus West Virginia in the Elite 8. The talent is in place, but is the heart, because Wall and Cousins may already be in love with the idea of their NBA careers...

Duke—Those who know me are well aware that i am a huge fan of the Blue Devils. They won the first college game i ever watched in 1986, which directly led to me rooting for them. Those who know me also are well aware that i haven't pick Duke to get to the Final Four let alone the final game since 2004. This year i have them winning in every one of my brackets. The Blue Devils are a machine. The shoot well, handle well, defend and rebound well. In the past Duke has brought teams to the tournament with 2 or 3 good-to-great back-court and wing players players but no depth to speak of, hence their early exits the last few years. This year, along with two all-americans and a third who will be one next year, the Devils bring size. Four strapping young brick houses to clog the middle, rebound, block shots and cause havoc in the paint for anyone who dares to enter. If you are going to beat Duke you have to shoot well from deep and even then, you'd better shoot over 45% from the three point line. The only thing that can derail Duke, in my opinion is fatigue, as coach Mike Krzyzeski rarely goes past 7 on his bench, but watch for neophyte Andre Dawkins to get some time if he gets hot early in the tourney. A gift seeding in the South instead of the West does wonders for their constitution, as does the Friday Sunday schedule—guaranteeing some heavy rest for an exhausted Senior Jon Scheyer and company. Put them in your Final Four...

Syracuse—No one plays the 2-3 zone like the Orangmen—no one. It can't be duplicated at practice and watching it on film does not do it justice. It is an x-factor. Beyond that, the Orange are a lean mean big east machine with, as Bobby Knight says, seven starters. They might wear down if the game s get tight, but an early exit from the Big East Tournament gave them some extra rest. There is a good combo of experience, talent and desire. They are battle tested and dangerous. Put Syracuse anywhere from the Elite 8 to Champion...

West Virginia—There is nothing special about this team, the Mountaineers just keep winning. They do have length and and a nasty 1-3-1 zone to deal with. They have shooters, and scorers but more than anything they have workers. They force their tempo but can thrive in yours and they have been playing in cliffhangers all year only strengthening their nerves of steel. Coach Bob Huggins came home to his Alma Mater and instead of enforcing his will, took head to his seniors, who had success before his arrival the result is a shot at the Final Four, they should be in your Elite 8 and could take Kentucky out, or walk to Indianapolis if Kentucky falls off earlier...

as for the rest? Looking to fill out the rest of your Elite 8 or some first round surprises? Both...

Siena—You want to make a splash? Put Siena in your Elite 8. Purdue was a very good team before their best player went down to injury, now they are a team in crisis. The Boilermakers received a gift 4 seed and they will pay for it via the Siena Saints, who are no strangers to winning games in the tournament. Siena could also roll over Texas A & M, if Utah State doesn't beat them first in a battle of the Aggies. i don't think much of the Big 12 conference, to which Texas A & M belongs, but while Siena isn't a lock, i do believe they are smart money for a Cinderella...

Baylor—Of the Big 12 teams i do like, (that would include Kansas and uh...Kansas), Baylor is interesting. The program has improved year by year and they have a truckload of height and length and they shoot well, which make them a dangerous squad to have to face. i know Villanova is in there sights, but i haven't been overly impressed with 'Nova in big games, the Baylor Bears might just beat them to the Elite 8...

Butler, UTEP, and Murray St—All three of these Mid-Majors could make it to the Sweet 16 if not the Elite 8, the problem is, they'd all have to play each other to get there. Flip a coin or read some tea leaves. i have them rated Murray St., then UTEP then Butler, but that could change by tomorrow night...

Xavier—A lock for the Sweet 16, and could make a run for the Elite 8 is Pittsburgh falters...

Temple—Another perennial member of the Sweet 16. After a stretch where the program went through a face lift, the Owls are back and will give Kentucky all they want...

Notre Dame, New Mexico and Washington—All interesting teams who should win a game, picking them to win two is up to you. Depending on my which bracket I consult, we're talking sweet sixteen for New Mexico and Notre Dame and the Elite 8 for Mew Mexico...

Louisville—Only because if there is one team that can beat Duke before the Final Four in the South region it will be Rick Pitino's Cardinals. He's been waiting almost 20 years to excise the ghost of Christian Laetner, and wipe that ridiculous expression off the face of Thomas Hill...

Don't believe the hype...

Kansas St.—They had their chance to impress the country in the Big 12 Final Saturday night on a neutral court—epic fail. They could still settle into to the Elite 8 simply because their end of the West region looks like the Suffolk County High School Playoffs...

Villanova—The Wildcats are good, and at one point this year i thought they were the real deal. Those days are gone. An Elite 8 finish isn't out of the question, but be wary...

Cornell—i'll have the Big Red over to build my super-collider, but almost beating Kansas, losing to Seton Hall and barely beating St. John's doesn't really exciting. You know who else almost beat Kansas? Kansas St. and you know how I feel about them. They face Temple in the first round, and i just don't see it...

You want more help, then take a flier on Richmond into the Sweet Sixteen and get enough pigs in the blanket for me at your party—and make sure you get the good mustard...

an open letter to the Rev Donald J. Harrington C.M...

note: Rev Harrington is the President of St John's University, Jamaica, Queens, NY.

Dear Reverend Harrington,

i apologize for my tardiness in writing you back. i have indeed received your bi-annual request for my money since my graduation from your fine institution in 1996. You might remember me, i gave you the gas face upon receiving my diploma. You even sent me a picture of it. Nothing? Maybe you remember shutting down the production of the student newspaper, in which i was part of, due to our refusal, as an Editorial Board (on which i sat), to run an add for a "student government" anti-choice group, called "Students For Life". Nothing still? Do you even remember the group, because they don't even exist anymore, and i'm not so sure they ever did...

Maybe you remember me when i used to attend basketball games. i purchased season tickets for several years and sat courtside at Alumni Hall and behind the home basket at Madison Square Garden, i don't attend anymore. i really don't expect you to remember me or any of the hundred of thousands of students you have glad-handed on the way out the door, our cash in your back pocket—but brother, you sure are an elephant when it comes to home addresses...

i know its been years since someone called you brother, the seminary i imagine, but since you know where i live, i figure we can talk as friends. And simply put, if you want my money, and anyone else's for that matter, you need start listening to alumni like myself. I know you have cash flow problems, even though you've raised tuition to ivy-like heights, you have done a lot of redecorating since i left. A cafeteria, a soccer field, a baseball field, a chapel, an athletic facility, a new student facility and you even gussied up Alumni Hall. That most have cost a mint. No wonder you have your hand out. I also hear you have some academic issues of late as well, in fact, your own students wrote it up...

So i have some advice. If you want your University's matriculation to improve both in numbers and quality of person, and your coffers to bulge there are two things you can do. You can either fix your basketball program, or you can resign...

Not going to resign? i understand, if i were you i'd keep my gig too, its pretty rough out there right now. So let's focus on your other choice, fixing a once storied program that celebrated the greatness of the City's game...

Due to personal issues, i was forced to stay local for my choice of institution. Ultimately, i chose between St. John's and Queens College, a school less than 2 miles away from SJU's Jamaica campus, and ultimately the choice came down to having access to a NCAA Division 1 basketball program. Finishing my freshman year i had just been christened sports editor of The TORCH, the Official Student Newspaper of your University, the evening that the legendary Lou Carnesseca retired from coaching the Redmen and you and your staff hired his long time assistant Brian Mahoney. i was there for the Felipe Lopez years and, though a graduate at the time, the absolute excitement of the Ron Artest/Erick Barkley years through a surprise NIT Championship with the remarkable Marcus Hatten, but this is not about the past. Most of us know by now why Fran Frischilla was dismissed, and we all know about that night in Pittsburgh and Mike Jarvis' disdain for the NYC PSAL and CHSAA leagues, all factors in the current downturn of the Johnnies' mens basketball program...

For the sake of protecting the social and ethical face of the University you hired Norm Roberts to clean up the program. A first step in healing the local wounds left wide open by the former regime. No one could argue with you for this decision and it has worked to this point. There are enough schools in Division 1 basketball that have no issue in turning a blind eye to shenanigans in return for a buck. You showed restraint in the Vincentian tradition and whether we like it or not, you did the right thing. Now the program is at a crossroads. Roberts, for all of his charm and can-do attitude, cannot coach the game of basketball. Its not that his style doesn't work or that his players do or do not like him, its that he is technically deficient. And it is time to relieve him of his duties as head coach of St. John's Basketball...

i don't want you to fire him, Roberts is a good soldier and a better man, and he deserves a job, and since he has three years left on his contract, you might as well keep him in the Athletic Department where i think he could be put to good use. But if you want my money in the form of an Alumni grant or if you are looking to increase the notoriety of the University, fostering a higher profile for admissions and earning potential then take my advice, and remove Roberts from head coach and hire someone who can facilitate the remaking of the University's basketball program...

i know, you don't want to spend a lot of money, that's understood, as i said before, times are rough, but is it much of a stretch to hire a guy like Mark Jackson? An alumnus of the University as well as an icon from the program's 1980's heyday, Jackson is currently being paid by Disney to analyze the game at the pro level. I'm sure he could be lured to coach at his old stomping grounds, especially if Carnesseca were to knock on his door. While i'm not completely sold on Jackson's ability to coach individuals to a team concept, he certainly would grab the front page of every New York City newspaper and certainly open some eyes, in city high schools, and more importantly New York City kitchen tables...

If you want to go cheaper, that's fine, there are any number of Division 1 benches to file through, Chris Collins or Steve Wojciechowski from the Duke bench bring scrap, basketball know-how and integrity to any job. How about a kid named Richard Pitino down on the Florida Gator bench. You might know his father, you turned him down when he reportedly came calling a few years back...

Cheaper still? How about Danny Hurley, son of the legendary Bob Hurley, coach of St. Anthony's in New Jersey. Danny is currently putting together a resume at St. Benedicts High School. He might be a little green but so was Roberts when you hired him, but in this case you know you are getting a basketball guy, a kid who knows the game, the city and the conference...

i'm a realist, i understand that in a conference that still fancies itself a football power, its difficult to maneuver through BCS propaganda and find your place amongst those schools who benefit from College Football money, maybe there is way to navigate your way through, say, by joining forces with perennial basketball powers with like minded ideals such Georgetown, Marquette and Villanova among others...

i know this; there is a lot of chatter coming down from I-95 that University of Connecticut Head Coach Jim Calhoun may be stepping down from his position at the end of the year. There has been a contract extension on his desk for some time now, and he has yet to sign. Even if he does sign, the performance of his current Huskie squad is a strong indication that his days as a viable voice on the bench maybe be over. Either way this leaves an open door for this University to step through and take back the influence it once held over City basketball. It was Calhoun among others like Jamie Dixon in Pittsburgh and Jay Wright of Villanova that pilfered and in some cases plundered recruits from our backyard, when we folded up and licked our wounds...

Run a program with integrity, by all means, i have no issue with that. Just don't let it run itself into the ground, never to be heard of again...

If you want people like me back, that's how you get us, and that's how St. John's can be an integral part in the future of this City and beyond. We are St. John's, now give us a listen...

sincerely,

the constellation...

midnight movies vol 2...

social tea...

sandwiched by impending and prior,

rocks, hard places—you get it,

everyday is hard on death row, its true,

even if i didn't say that shit.

i read it somewhere, or heard it, can't remember, its been awhile.

waiting for the good foot, dropping for a nickel—dime—something,

lordy knows, the view from the breadline is stark,

bleak is not strong enough a word.

its not the lifestyle,

i've lived on three cookies and a cup of popcorn—soda on fridays,

adam smith ain't built a wing i can't dwell in,

shit...i can make fire.

its what i keep hearing.

i heard that was you,

talking about this and that,

doesn't matter,

its nonsense. you're good at that, real good.

nah, you say, 'it couldn't have been me!'

but i know better—i know you,

full of vinegar, rage, full of cloak and dagger,

it had to be,

it could be no one else—only a fool would say that.

so?

eat the rich and burn their carcasses but it'll never come to that, you think?

they'll pay someone to make their fire.

it won't be me.

i'll be where the wild things go, proennecke—like.

stumbled and broken, then you can erase my ass,

i'm on that first trail to serenity,

the trail's full, bitch, and i'ma leave it as i found it.

see, i'm long past the point where i've lost my shit.