Shoveling out NY City

yeah im helping with that right now so im pretty tired and can't write much. Im doing it up in Wash heights. 


something i noticed: I live in Harlem and one of the stereotypes of blacks that's true: LOTS of barbershops. guess what: with Dominicans up in the Heights, just as true: LOADS of them! 

Good PArts about Snow

the song "Informer". just kidding, though i do like this song


this is mainly activities that us adults can still do. if there are more u can think of let me know

but ever green

• sledding
• using it to water plants (supposedly it has good minerals for them)
• eating falling snow flakes
• throwing snowballs at loved ones
• looking at the crystals, an the beauty of the virgin snow ("pure as the newly fallen snow")
• xercise thru shoveling
• doing donuts ("spinney spinneys" as a friend of mine wud call them) with a durable car
• ice skating, hockey, ice fishing, skiing, snow mobile and other winter sports  
• Winter scenes: woods, icicles, supposedly the Medieval Cloisters in upper Manhattan
• throwing bird seed on the white blanket: they really love it
• seeing the  snow fall
• good waters, minerals etc for our greenery, plants etc

the Birth of a Religion

as we all should know, the Christians took most of the traditions celebrated before them by Scandinavian pagans, Roman pagans etc and Incorporated (double meaning intended) into Christmas. most traditions were pre Christan: the tree, gifts, feast etc.

this time of year was the beginning of my entry towards Paganism in many ways. years ago  i started to wonder why a holiday like Christmas is celebrated like it is. why the tree, fire, incense etc.

i started to look into the origins of the holiday and others. i found that most holidays, especially American christian ones, have their roots (as far as the practices, celebrations) in pagan traditions.

Paganism started to make more sens to me, including practices like seeing the evergreen as a great symbol of the strong Earth (and the Solstice as the time of the  turn around of the SUn to stronger light), which led to stronger belief in the power of the Earth, environment etc. it meshed well with the facts of the strengths  of nature, the bounty of Earth etc.

and that's how much of it began for me. not with the birth of a a human savior, but in my mind,  great gods like the Earth and Sun, and ancestors that have given us all so much.

What Happens During Eclipses

I was at Columbia university the other night, one of the best places to see the eclipse in NY City.  i discovered that the AAA (not the car stuff, Amateur Astronomy association) gathered there that night to see it.

now i don't care how smarty pants ivy league Columbia is, you know how many of them there didn't know what the hell goes on during an eclipse? a lot. didn't know anything.

basically: an eclipse is like a shadow cast from Sun to other body. you ever hang in the shade? well that building, tree etc is eclipsing the Sun. by the way, notice that the shade isn't pitch black? similar principal to why the Moon isn't pitch black during the eclipse: there's still Sun shine around, just not as direct. same deal in space (you ever see a photo of a total solar eclipse? even though it's total, you still have to wear special glasses because of the overwhelming sunlight).

anyway in a lunar eclipse the Earth appears to cover the Sun and cast a shadow over the Moon. we see that shadow over the Moon. since the Earth is much bigger than the Moon, it's more likely to see a lunar eclipse than a solar, and over a greater area (like the whole moon)

in a solar eclipse, since the Moon is smaller, it casts a much smaller shadow over the earth, hence a smaller area gets a solar eclipse, and for a much shorter time, and there are more likely to be partial ones etc. from Earth, the Moon covers the Sun. during a lunar eclipse, from the Moon, the Earth covers the Sun.

so again that's what happens: a body covers another body in front of the Sun, and casts shadows.

Happy Winter Solstice

no it's not the first day of Winter. for those in NY this year especially, notice that on average the coldest days of the year start around the begin. of Dec. 


the Solstice is when the southern tropic, Capricorn, lines up directly with the Sun. so more day light in the Southern hemisphere, it's Summer etc. 


up here, since the Sun is lined up with the South, the Sun appears to us further south, less Sun, Winter. longer nights.


 that's what happens every year. 


on a spiritual note, a time of darkness yet introspection, spirituality. maybe a time to remember the spirits who have passed and give thanks. the spirits that have given, continue to give. 


also a time to look forward to the days getting longer from now til Summer Solstice. 

Eclipse near Solstice Tonight: Northernmost for Centuries

http://earthsky.org/tonight/total-lunar-eclipse-for-the-americas-on-night-of-december-2021

"On Every Block in NY" part 2

so what is on almost every block? well you're asking the right guy because i've been advertising around uptown at least (Upper west and east sides) lately, block by block. 

both neighborhoods: lots of nail /beauty salons, lots of dry cleaning. more laundromats in upper west. 

of course in all of NYCi think, bodegas pretty much every block. convenience, some food, soda, lotto etc. 

one interesting fold: on the Up. W side you'd think that there were as many animals as people (maybe it's a close count), there are so many pet stores: food, accessories, vets etc. huge amount of businesses. 

most likely restaurant, as expected maybe: pizza,  both areas. 

Rats Run 'ROund and 'ROund the Wheel of Fotune

is there any film that De niro won't do where he gets to play a cop or a gangster?


is there any film in the world,  especially comedies, that Will Farrell won't do?


is there any commercial that Peyton manning won't do? 
and is there any idiot that won't say that he's the best,  in spite of TOm Brady's 3 Super bowl  victories and Montana's 4 including 3 mvps? 


is there anyone else besides me that sees this as so obvious that you can't believe the blindness of everyone else??!! 


hope i didn't offend real rats or blind folk

"On Every Block in NY City" part 1

what's next to be nailed?

one time a friend had some profundity wannabe that i have a feeling he got form some jerk comedian, that held that  on every block in NYC is a gun store, an Off Track Betting, and some other vice related place i think, maybe a pawnshop but i wasn't paying attention by then. 


of course it was bullshit then (90s i think) and bullshit now: NY has always had strong gun laws believe it or not (supposedly our guns in crime come from states with weaker laws). 


and OTB wasn't hugely prevalent then, and it's i think completely gone recently. for better or worse. something that became a bit of an institution;  almost bitter sweet that it's bust now. as i've written before: in NYC, there's no such thing as too big to fail.


seems to have  come in continuation of  the NYC  war on vice: strip joints moved and closed, cigarettes taxes thru the roof, now the betting parlors. 

When You're Right (wing), You're Right! part 2

"no more body armor!"

when the left supports big business,  they're doing it with  bailouts,  socialism, etc. when the right wing supports corporations with tax breaks, trickle down economics etc,  it's good business, trickle down economics, "the business of this country is business" (Coolidge) 


when the  right invades nations under false pretenses, war profiteers, kills tens of thousands of innocents, and rips a nation apart, they're  spreading democracy, keeping the world safer ("the purpose of the war is peace"--GW Bush), keying in on American interests  


the right attacks a supposed enemy without direct provocation, under false pretenses, with overwhelming force. if one of us attacks someone we don't like without provocations, under false pretenses, with overwhelming force, we're  arrested. 


when anyone wants to mess with the military and keep excellent personnel out, they are seen as anti American, hurtful, not supporting our troops, putting them in harms way.  when the right excludes excellent gay personnel  from the military, they're etc. when the right keeps gays out of the military, they're   keeping morale high, not messing with the military, going with the wishes of our troops

WHy DO YOu Write Holiday Cards?

burn before sending 

 so that  u get them back? you write them only so that you get some sent to you that year?  i do season's greetings to catch up with folks i've lost touch with over the year, folks that have been good to me, etc. not to hang up cards at my home  (many of which are just cards and  not personal messages, updates etc). well i guess it's typical of the holidays: those who end up with the most materials win eh?


of course i hate cards in general. paying some stranger to write some stupid, unfunny, non genuine words with a lame piece of 'art', and substituting this for sentiment to the people you care of the most. and paying for it. 


 but are holiday cards the worst? sending them out of politeness is nice, but  obligatorily, to get return? 

Real 10 10 (10?) Today

December, supposed to be tenth month (dec like decade), tenth day. tenth year isn['t my deal either, 2010 a.d., anno Domini, year of our lord (their lord, christian).

day to use decimals, be with perfect 10s or at least read the mag (wink), watch 10, play 10s in lottery etc.

THoughts in the Crapper

the edge of tech

you love how now the toilet paper is encased in a big plastic round deal which makes me think that there's a wheel and a hamster inside it every time i reach in. it would be more efficient if they were there instead of having to reach 270 degrees in


where do you aim as a man when you piss? for the urinal, do you try to wear down the cake? for the toilet, do you do a rim shot, below the rim, or try to make lots of noises and splashes like ur in a kiddie pool? 


you're at a urinal with an automated flusher and a little red eye is watching you to see when you're done. you ever want to get in a  staring contest with it to see if it blinks and rushes you along before you're done? like a contest with the Hal 9000. 


in Cal especially we used to have these no water oil toilets. i kept thinking that we were supplying the vinegar in some gross golden shower dressing.


why do so many bring writing utensils that work to the toilets, yet there are never any at Dmv, the bank etc? 


you're  ever sitting  at an auto flush toilet and it does it's flourish before you're done, like it's saying "move it along! no loitering"

Loser Lamentations: Cold Cuts

 finally tossed out. on to the street.  happened.  cut off


 3rd time during the holidays. tis the season. money matters. "success" matters. the "successful" matter. smarts? no. talent? no. family? no. friend? no. 


Benefit cards. food stamps. cutting lines. stink. his world. 


poverty,  never surrender,;  despair, creation


New York City.  unusually cold.  below freezing.  wind and chill. of course bitter. walking the streets. up town. darker less visible. lots of pet stores, etc. they matter. 


north. west. victories? triumphs? matters? 

My Wild Irish Name

why do those who know my name turn into the Lucky Charms Leprechaun? 

Adult Men WITH Hats

why does tv want us to follow grown men wearing baseball hats--oops