Bobby "2 Note" Deniro

as Dorothy Parker said about Katherine Hepburn one night, all he goes all the way from A to B 

Charlie's not buying his sell out 

Risky Business

how's it hangin'

so one has lived for how long, just surviving, hanging on, tightrope walking. 


one hits a rough slide that even he can't get out of.


but should he build on what was before? 


risk, take off, in maybe even riskier behavior since the "easier" way didn't go thru? 


the "easier" route didn't pan out, so go back to the "risky" route? since it's panned out more in the past? 


even if that means going back to a life he really doesn't want
which will be very hard in some ways. 
but seemingly necessary. 


letting go not much from now.


steps forward, steps backward.  

Ridi, Pagliaccio

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you're "successful", have "means", read: have  money, you make people laugh, you're witty, urbane, a ladies' man


you're poor, without "means', 'unsucessful', you make people laugh, you're a clown, a joke, a loser 

Living Large in the Village

one lives here? 

used to be that it was an affordable place for up and coming, unknown artists to live, in a starving artist lifestyle,  where they could  express their art. now it's completely non affordable   for all but only the most famous and/or wealthy artists to live an extravagant  lifestyle and sell out more of their celebrity cache  so they can afford it all.   

Old/New Egypt/America

non violent action 

ancient world/new techniques/good results: Egypt  changes their regime in less than a month thru peaceful means, advanced communications and stealth and action


new world/old techniques/awful results: the U.S. bombs the shit out of  the Arab world/Libya etc, how many innocents killed? weaponized  Arab insurgencies against us, much popular discontent, years of war, humongous costs in lives and funds


yet we're supposedly the "greater" nation, right (wing)? 

Where to FInd Good Astronomy Info

Mars magnified

DO NOT listen to your friends, rumors, internet rumours saying that the Mars will look as big as the moon etc. that's all living example of how, even though we have the World wide web on our phones now, so much misunderstanding, rumour, word of mouth can still travel amongst us. misinformation. 


good sources: Wikipedia's good for explaining phenomenon like the Equinoxes, and listing ones like the phases of the Moon. the World Almanac is good for listing most of the highlights of the year. e.g. they list the several eclipses (around 6) per year around the world. so next time you hear a religious nut saying there are a freakish 6 eclipses that year, you know it's bs. 


 my favorite astronomy website is http://earthsky.org/, an excellent one for telling you what's going on in the skies. note the far right, TONIGHT, where they tell you what's going on every night of the year. so next time you hear or even read that rumour (the Mars one is maybe the biggest, rumour that is), check the site. 

Saint Patrick's day = Mardi Gras?

Irish genius 

walking in midtown Manhattan today observing the observers, the 2 holidays seem to becoming more similar in practice: 

• practitioners  dressed in beads and other idiotic apparel (beads seem to becoming more popular for St Pats)
• holiday for amateurs, phonies, drinking, yelling, fighting etc
•  carousing along a main street (5th ave in NYC) 
• loud music 
• some good food (even though corn beef/cabbage used to be white trash Irish food)

Dead Wood

me and my friends  used to have a saying at parties, which i think i got partially from my brother and his friends: the dead wood floats down the river fastest. in other words let the phonies, pretenders etc leave first, those that matter often stay with you, spend the real time etc.


 this can be applied to a lot of friends, relationships etc. 

Daylight Savings Negatives, Positives

not sure how much i like daylight savings because as we know I'm a bit of an astronomical purist, and messing with the clock messes with the system. for instance high noon isn't at 12 during DST, half the year: it's 1:00 since we move the clock ahead. that's even on the highest noon day, the SUmmer solstice.

but i have to admit it is kind of cool on nights (yes, "those Summer Nights") where the sun lasts til after 8 during times like the Solstice. kicks ass.

the Charlie (Sheen) Limbo

art of darkness

i think there's a theory  called  the Peter principle that says that even the most accomplished can fall to their level of inadequacy. for instance, Hitler was brilliant as a politician, but when he tried to take on military leadership, he ultimately failed in a huge way. 


me and a friend noticed that  as far as names go, the phenomenon may be even truer amongst Charlies. it seems  to pop up a lot: 'Charlie in the box' from Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, Charlie x from Star trek, Charlie Chaplin at times (marrying teenagers, trials, expulsion from the US), Charles Barkley at times (spitting on fans, never winning title, saying he'd play for the Klan etc), Charlie Batch (failed NFL qb.) and of course, the once, present and probably future Charles the Infamous, Sheen. 


like i said, they seem to limbo on down to a spectacular  level of infamy. Chaplin was maybe one of the greatest artists of all time. Sheen was the highest paid actor on tv.  but they just tend to do poorly decided  actions that make you say, "what a Charlie!" 

Mardi Gras=Halloween?

Carnival

i think a lot of us remember when Halloween was a kid holiday, adults didn't do much for it even when it fell on the weekends. eventually it "blossomed"  into a holiday of an adult nite equivalent to Vegas in psychological terms, where "what happens that night, stays in the past",  you go as you aren't, you could dress sluttier as a woman etc. 


i figure that Mardi gras/Fat tu/ Carnival could develop into something like that as well. days, or a night, for adults  to let loose, party like hell,  wear masks, beads whatever. kind of another "amateur night' in mid week like New years.  it's still more local in New Orleans, Rio, but seems to be growing. i remember a few years ago there didn't seem to be anything going on for it in NYC. now there's a list of events. 


also it's several days. you can party on fri, sat, fat tues. again i'm surprised that bars, beer companies etc haven't taken advantage of this more. or neighborhoods like Little Brazils. 

Hangover Cures

the sacred

believe it or not i don't drink much at all. but certain situations "force' me into taking action. one was when i was bumped up to first class on a flight from L.A. to NY and even the stewardess (yeah i still call them that) was blown away by how much i drank. then last nite was another: open bar. just seeing those bottles of Jameson and Johnny walker were irresistible. 


so since i'm not used to it and my stomach was pretty empty (there was food there, but believe it or not i didn't touch it: lots of friends, chicks, had much to do--people come first believe it or not). so this a.m i woke up feeling rough. but as usual i've done my research, and know some good cures. 


first 2 aspirin for the siren piercing my head. i don't like pills much but this pain was rough. aspirin's usually as hard as i go. at least over the counter (wink). 


next lots of water of course. have to re hydrate. 


next: lots of B complex and protein. a good multi vitamin is great: and i mean a good one, with at least 100 percent rda of  B1, 2, 6, 12. Trader Joe's has good ones, and believe it or not K mart, and they're not really expensive. 


then go with protein for food: eggs, yogurt, cheese etc. plenty of them.  the dairy usually has B or brings it out, like yogurt. and it's like the protein and Bs build you back up again. to be a man of men like me haha. 


again as you know i wouldn't tell you this if i didn't try it out, several times, myself. 

FUndamentalist Hypocrisy (redundant?)

good but not the only book

i love how fundamentalists can use the strictest Biblical beliefs in being against homosexuality,  evolution, and in favor of proselytizing,  yet can use the loosest Biblical interpretations in "proving" that the Bible predicted numerous scientific advances, that a people can slaughter another,  that the "end times" are here

End of Winter?

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this is  another "contrary to popular belief. "


on average the coldest days are in Dec, Jan, Feb. in the North hemisphere. starting at the begin. of March they gradually raise up. the coldest days  of the year are  usually around mid Jan. so you can say that Winter ends at the end of Feb, about 6 weeks after the shortest day (Solstice), March is  little by little the  begin. of Spring. 


yes i know there are usually cold days in March, snow can happen in April etc. but again we're talking averages and slow change. and remember there can be very warm days in Jan, etc. 


seems everyone, including most of the media,  thinks that  Spring suddenly begins on the Equinox. but again it's just that: the time that the Equator lines up directly with the Sun. it's not all the sudden a time of flowers, warm weather, animals etc. again it's all a gradual, average  process.