2106 Payne Avenue

A few bits of bathroom graffiti from Rudy's Bar. Their cheap beer and cheaper atmosphere paired with free hot dogs is Reason # 1,383,072 why it is cool to hang around Port Authority.


"Venti Mocha frappuchino sucks my cock. Holy fuckin(g) Sh(it)." Indeed it does. Somehow.



That explains the notebook... and the limp.

U.S. President George W. Bush writes a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Security Council meeting at the 2005 World Summit and 60th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

Photo: Rick Wilking/Reuters

Parker and Stone sure to have the zaniest Broadway show ever.

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there was respect for Weiner." amNewYork (9/16/05)

Feeds you need (follow link then add feeds):
BBC's Day in Pictures
Google Weblog
Google Blog
ExplodingDog

plus:
your local (or favorite) metroblogging site
customize a google news feed (an example: latest news on mozzarella)

and for the top site I wish had a feed:
http://wwtdd.com

Too bad the google 'Paris Hilton isnt a hoe' no longer works.

But at least you can still type 'failure' and click 'I'm feeling lucky.' Go do it now.

ISFDB is the IMDB of the written fiction world.

Thanks to Matt for pointing out the real time cell phone maps.

And shouldn't they just call this rehab?

If anybody doubts Diddy (unlike R. Kelly he didn't want the pee to get between him and his fans) still has street cred just read this.

'Blogosphere' is no longer the most irritating word in the world. The new winner is 'Blogocracy.'

While in the past I've said I love seeing pseudo-celebs this week topped it all with meeting some really famous people like Bono and many others.

However, my week long celeb-sightings were nothing compared to walking by Tara Reid looking like a strung out, skank walking with another total prostitute that I couldn't quite place. While sure that would have been amusing it got better as we passed by one another and Tara exclaims, "I was so fucked up." No shit, we've seen the show and read the gossip. Too bad her show was cancelled (absolutely brilliant title).


Urban children's clothing store.


Jeff <3's Nancy Grace 4Ever

Mississippi night club after Katrina.
Credit: Scott Horsley, NPR

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/15/nz_badminton_kerfuffle/


and in unrelated news, what an odd week.

Finally, somebody is as equally fed up with the ribbon/bracelet craze as I am but has more ambition. One of these days I really ought to follow through with an idea of mine and see if it is my free ticket to wealth and never working again.

I Support Whatever's Trendy

Though the idea is right on it misses the real point and merely becomes another tacky shirt worn by middle-school kids and men with mustaches (don't ask why - that is just what I picture). These ought to be printed as magnets (packaged with industrial adhesive) with a warning that reads, "DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE STEAL OTHER 'CAUSE' MAGNETS FROM AUTOMOBILES AND INSTALL THIS MAGNET WITH INDUSTRIAL ADHESIVE. WE ONLY SUPPORT PLACING THIS ON YOUR OWN VEHICLE WITH INDUSTRIAL ADHESIVE.*"


"*wink, wink, nod, nod, say no more."

More Times Square with a reflection of the famous Cup Noodles ad tower.

Part of the constantly changing scenery of Times Square.

Sketch-town part of 9th Ave. near the Port Authority

Sheep Meadow on Labor Day. Frederick Law Olmstead you are a good, good man.

The tail end of The New York Roller Dancing Club on Labor Day in Central Park.

Lovers rowing about on Hernshead Lake in Central Park.

The circle-esque Union Square as uncrowded as you'll ever see it.

A drunk hobo with a farmer's tan on the train.

St. John (I believe) keeping watch over Morningside Park and Harlem beyond.

The old...

and new at Columbia U.

We dun have some famous peoples un here.

Rockefeller Center, U.S.A. (in case you forgot).

St. Patrick's Cathedral in the afternoon shadows.

You can quit holding your breath and order a Katrina Relief Bracelet. Yes, that's right. Buy 'em now. Beat the rush while some people are still busy dying and others are concerned with finding their loved ones and a place to live. Be the trendiest fuckwad on your block.

I sent one email to the customer service department of Katrina Relief Bracelet Co. or whatever they claim to be asking what "portion of the proceeds" is being donated to the Red Cross or Salvation Army.

I also contacted the Red Cross and Salvation Army to find out if they know about this organization. My guess is they don't since the fuckers don't even link to either organizations website. Also, there isn't any corporate info or even an address listed. I'm assuming a real company would have a postal address and even dumb fuck scammers would think to list a fake address. Who knows.

Additionally, I submitted a complaint to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, a partnership between the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center.

Since I think there is about 0% chance that this is real (personal dislike for the fucking stupid bracelet craze aside) I really hope these people are caught and punished. I think it would be suitable to lock them in a low ceiling room, slowly filling with putrid water at a rate roughly equivalent to the time it would take to starve or become dehydrated. It would be a long uncomfortable race to the death by either drowning or dehydration.

In case you have been living under a rock, like most people, Gmail now has open registration so there is no excuse to not get a Gmail account. You do need to sign up with a phone number so if you have a problem with that you can still register via invite from an account holder. I have plenty of invites since they refill them every time I give any away. Ask for one here.

Occasionally, while pushing Gmail, people say they don't want to use Gmail because the context based ads are an invasion of privacy. First, read the Gmail privacy policy. Second, if you use Windows, IE, many P2P programs (and of course, these links are top Google results for the thousands upon thousands of other examples) and much more your security and personal information are always at a greater risk than that of Google's context-based advertising.

While it would be nice if the advertising was not necessary, the truth is that supplying people with over 2.5 gb (and growing) of storage costs money. Additionally, Gmail offers an amazing interface (I don't know what I'd do without tabbed conversations anymore) and actually works hard to prevent spam. In the year that I've had Gmail (while reading this I just learned it has been exactly one year since I opened my Gmail account, how odd) I have NEVER received unsolicited email, EVER. The few times I have received spam (through friends unwittingly signing up for services that troll their contacts) it has been flagged automatically and with one click I opted to never receive it again (and it has worked). Now that is the kind of privacy I'm concerned with.

On an additional note of email security, the number one way to prevent spam is to create an additional email address for required registration to websites and other such things you know have no actual reason to have your email address. The best way to do this is simply add 'junk' to the end of your current address, abandonnazimermenjunk@gmail.com for example. Each time you register for a site that 'requires' an email address you use your 'junk' address, login, click your confirmation link and logout. In no time at all you'll see how many of those unscrupulous sites sell your address to just about anybody, but now you'll never need to deal with the junk in your real inbox again.

Another series of objections to switching is based, not on problems with Gmail, but the difficulty of switching, notifying others and such. First, you can import your address book from any program or email provider. Most can be imported directly but a few (Juno for example) require a small work around. Also, if you make the switch you can easily forward your email from other programs or use the 'vacation' option to send an email to notify each sender of your new address change.

Additionally, a new feature in Gmail allows users to send mail from multiple addresses from your main Gmail account. For example, if you primarily use your personal email address WldPrtySlt696969@gmail.com but also have a school or work address (something boring like yourname@school.edu or yourname@work.com), but hate checking multiple accounts for pesky communication from your professors or boss you can now send mail from ANY address you own from your main Gmail account. Yes, that means you never need to log into yourname@school.edu or yourname@work.com ever again. Your main account, WldPrtySlt696969@gmail.com, can be used to send and receive mail from any other account. This feature is especially great for students who will eventually lose their .edu address and want to make a smooth transition. Depending on your current email provider (whether POP3, web-based or internal-server) the steps for setting this up are different but if you need any help I'd be happy to assist.

Open an account (or ask me for an invite at crumbr@gmail.com). Give it a try. Shoot out some emails (even pointless shit to me like 'testing' and 'testing 1, 2' to see how 'conversations' work), play with the settings, integrate with Firefox, nearly endless configuration. If you aren't 150% satisfied I'll give you a 500% refund! But seriously, I'm so convinced you'll love Gmail you'll never look back. I have nothing to gain by writing this and getting anybody to switch. I'm doing this because I was sick and tired of several pathetic email providers after losing my .edu account and I'm convinced your e-life will be made easier after the switch.

EDIT: Though I've thought of piles of other advantages, I thought one deserves special mention. Jed Brown's Firefox extension WebMailCompose changes all 'mailto:' links to open in a new Gmail tab rather than Outlook. Brilliant!