I wonder what happened to that jacket?

No Buffy the Musical, No Dawsons Creek

Feel free to suggest viewing material -- but be warned this isnt a democratic process.

There are two types of films I am going to show

Movies you acted in , made, or had a hand in producing --- and -- movies I want to show.

The first list is short and out of my control. So feel free to submit your junior highschool rendition of Hair. Just remember to have it transferred to DVD from video. The second list is long, in my head, and amorphous. The list below is not all inclusive but it should give you a feel and if it doesn't, too bad.

Goonies, Jaws, One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest, Maltese Falcoln, Chinatown, African Queen, Midnight Cowboy, Annie Hall, Butch Cassidy. The Third Man, Do the Right Thing, French Connection, Warriors, Rear Window, North By Northwest, Oh Brother Where Art Though, Dr Strangelove, Philadelpia Story, All Quiet on the Western Front, Giant, The Apartment. A Fish Called Wanda, The Search for the Holy Grail, Say Anything, E.T, Trainspotting.

As for suggestions of what is acceptable let me quote Justice Potter Stewart, "I cant describe it, but I know it when I see it."

Itsmeed

I had asked Ed to measure the eyebolt diameter because I wanted to get the right size wire to hang the screen in a more stable fashion. The eyebolts, which supported the metal retractable housing, were really small but I couldn’t remember if they were 3/8” or 3/16” so I asked for help in sizing.

“ itsmeed, I have some bad news. Call me.”

I’m informed that the setup in my room was tenuous at best and during the effort to measure the holes diameter the whole thing came crashing down. The metal housing cracked and the screen unrolled and became permanently unretractable. Arriving home from work to full of engineering wisdom I tried putting it back together. In order to salvage the screen I decided to cut off the top bar with a razor blade and try to hang it from the lighter rod on the bottom. While it will leaves the screen in a position where its easier to get damaged, harder to role up and store, it is also much lighter, and much easier to work with.

So that still leaves me with my original quandry of how to get that screen in the optimal location. Last night after work, I drew up the following plans based on the concept of using a bunch of 2x4s to create a frame which cantilevered off the deck and rested against the neighbors building ( 412). I went to the hardware store and found out that in order to get anything longer than 8ft long pieces I would need to go to a lumber yard. Other than the fact that uncut lengths are unavailable within walking distance, there are a number of other issues involved including the total cost of the assembly, and how to stabilize the back post ( wires, heavy base… etc.)

In the mean time, I bought a concrete masonry bit to drill against 410’s back wall. Unlike 412s wall, this is a location I have ready access to. The hole was drilled about 9 ft up. A lot of dust came in when I drilled, and when i placed the screw it never really locked it just kept turning. Somehow, I found a sweet spot but I think a more permanent solution is needed. The equipment was all put on the new rack at the far side of the deck. (I got this new rack to hold all the associated nonsense, otherwise it would be a mess of chairs, step stools, with electronics and wires coming out of it).

In the end the whole thing worked out looked great and I am less interested in building my Hangman’s noose apparatus than before. The image does fill the entire screen but the picture was great and I think a 4 foot wide image is good enough, given the size of the deck . The ambient light is minimal in this location and the noise from the yaffa can be drowned out.

Outdoor Trial of Projector

It is a little bit of a hassle since it takes about 40 minutes to set the whole thing up and take the whole thing down, but since time might be tickin down at 410, I am going to try and watch as much as can outside. This includes dinner BBQs and post dinner movies.

Stay tuned

Walking the Plank...

The ideal place to project is on the neighbors wall as shown. Ambient noise and light from the neighbors ( Yaffa) are at a minimum for this location and the setup of the projector leaves more room to roam around the patio during a viewing. How the heck I am going to get this screen up there is driving me crazy. It seems to me that a combination of Extension ladders and masonry drill bits are all things which might be beyond reach.

Here is a coworkers suggestion. Not quite sure who those people are supposed to be.

The new plan is to get something working by this weekend so I can do a test run.

Why do I have to be Mr. Pink?

The projector, dvd player, speakers, and screen are set up and work. The hitch is that they are set up in my room not on the porch. Next step is figuring out how to project it outdoors. Time is running out on the outdoor viewing possibilities. The inaugural movie was Pelham One Two Three. The pace is fast, Mathau is Mathau, and the dialog is awesome. What really is remarkable is how the film holds up for its nyc feel or at least how it feels in my mind. Lots of great shots of NYC in the 70's.

I was worried that movie wouldn't be a great projector movie because of the plethora of subway scenes. I read online that a major problem with projectors is showing detail during dark shots. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised.


Rico: Wait a minute I just figured out how they are going to get away
Lt Z. Hows that rico.
Rico: They are going to fly the train to Cuba

Notes from the Midwest

Seriously ... seriously...seriously... the woman with the boots.. the great grandmother...s he was born in 1919 a few months after the WWI paris peace conference. One might naturally wonder --What is she doing with a shovel full of dirt?



Anyway I dont have a good answer for what she is doing in the picture. I think she is planting trees and getting rid of tent caterpillars. Here are some full grown trees she help plant a couple years back.

What is a tent caterpillar? There is a rumor they defoliate trees. I just think its a myth to get her active.Below is a picture of her a few years back before my uncles put her to work on the farm. (1935)

In other news this is what an irish dance competition looks like from the vantage point of the younger brother.

And this is what it looks like when the Big Sis wins.

Next Relay Please

Dnc Place Team             Division      Leg1    Leg2     Time
=== ===== =============    =========     ====     ====     ==
   1 Hellgate              Co-Ed Open*   46:01    50:53    6:10:49
  77 Bringing up the Rear  Co-Ed Open*   1:11:22  57:21    8:14:50
 117 Dashing Dude & Co.    Men's Open    1:13:26  1:19:51  10:26:17

I ran leg 2 for team BUTR. The time was pretty good considering i had a cold, got no sleep , and it was mostly rolling hills over hiking trails. It started in the Blue Mountain Reservation near Peeksill and ended with a nice jaunt over the croton river dam. The whole thing was over seven miles and my knees didnt hurt at all. I was very happy about that. I am sore all over today, mostly in my calves and quad. Some selected glamour shots are shown below..

"I’ve learned one thing in listening to all the debates and reading about all these people running for office, and the one fact I’ve learned, I can’t get out of my mind, is that Rudy Giuliani has been married more times than Mitt Romney’s been hunting."

-- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), quoted by the New York Times.

Avenue A - Circa 1991

I got here from an article in the times

Love the b&w memorial day pics.

I was turning 15 that year of the riots. I grew up around the corner from the park and by that summer I was long accustomed to madness. Growing up around here in the late 80’s/ early 90’s was, I think, more dangerous than implied by the article-- but there definitely was something magical about it.

We used to blame our problems on the rich suburbanites driving into the city to but drugs, now we blame them for building $1200 psf condos.

Kurwiki Closing

I normally dont post this type of stuff because both my particular neighborhood, and the city as a whole is constantly changing. Obviously, I think its for the worse (I recognize I might be biased). My mom made a comment at Eds birthday party that she doesnt know any criminals, drugdealers, and lowlifes anymore. She said she misses not having those connections. --- So.... I realize through the strange law of genetics that I might also be deluded.

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/06/01/carnage_east_village_meatshop_kurowyckys_shuttering.php

These guys have been around forever and I have gradeschool memories of my clothes stinking of meat because I was waiting in the store for my mom to get some sausages. I sympathize with the following user comment on curbed. I would simply say to him that If I did that for every percieved "injustice" in neighborhood authenticity I would run out of crap -- including regularly crapping on my own mouth at least once a day.

Oh well gee, isn't this shocking. You know, I could actually vomit right now I am so angry. What the fuck man, what the fucking fuck is happening to this
city??? It's disgusting, it's like some kind of rent rape or some shit. Everyone
loves this place, this place represents so much about the neighborhood. I want
to personally crap in the mouth of this Landlord.