"As seen on the New

"As seen on the New York subways" -copy on a podiatrist ad on the E train.

Ithaca is gorges tally: 3

Ithaca is gorges tally: 3

rip victor wouk

victor wouk, probably my personal favorite old harrisite, died last week. he was the first guy to build a full-scale hybrid gas-electric car. he hacked a buick back in 1971, replacing the big gas engine with 2 little motors, one gas and one electric.

i had the pleasure of hearing dr. wouk deliver a lecture in 1998, when I was in the new york academy of science's summer research training program. that very week, there was a story about hybrid vehicles on the cover of the times automobile section, and of course pleased him to no end... "they must have known I was coming to talk to you this week" he exclaimed as he handed out photocopies of the article. what a great feeling that must have been, to see the fruits of his labors full-born in the final years of his life. he certainly seemed triumphant.

I remember Wouk describing how he first started thinking of hybrid vehicles, when someone else asked him, as an electrical engineer, for advice on building a fully electric vehicle. After a few back-of-the-envelope calculations, he determined that the battery technology of the day would make such a creature completely infeasible beyond making a golf cart. I also remember him specifically asking if any of the students there were Harrisites, and slipping in a sly reference to the fact that he followed his brother first to Townsend and then Columbia, without actually mentioning who his brother was (I went up and asked him to confirm my suspicion afterwards).

Today I found myself on an empty train car. This is a weird experience to be sure. It wasn't late or anything, but rather in the afternoon, so i wasn't freaked out that someone was going to get on at the next stop and rape me. what do you do when faced with 4 minutes alone on a train car?

well i don't know about you, but i SANG. LOUDLY.

and then nobody got on the car at the next stop either, so i sang a different song.

really, does this surprise anyone?

And from Brian Wilson we

And from Brian Wilson we learn how woefully underused the bicycle bell is as an instrument.

whyyyyyy does your dog have a top knot?

The 7 train: where a

The 7 train: where a guy speaks in spanish to another guy who only speaks cantonese.

working for a large bank has finally corrupted me... i've moved from gnu emacs to xemacs.

I still know all of

I still know all of the lyrics to "do the bartman". Help.

I'd like to add an addendum to that last post, movies i really want to see but haven't:

• All the President's Men
• SOMETHING kurosawa.
• Solaris (original russian one)
• The Bicycle Thief
• Duck Soup. I've never actually seen any marx brothers movies, but "I don't know, why a duck" (which apparently is from Cocoanuts) is just the funniest thing ever.
• Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
• The Third Man
• Saving Private Ryan
• The Seventh Seal
• Nosferatu
• 8½

And other stuff.

as promised: (revised shortly after i posted it)

1. 1. Total number of movies owned? I've never really bought movies. there are so many things that i haven't seen, i rarely watch things more than twice (except when i'm just bored and i watch some movie on tv that i've seen before while i'm doing something else). i own about 5, there are 4 in the house and i can think of one in the garage. I have a few other tapes/dvds that aren't actual movies. Actual movies i have actually purchased myself: Metropolis, Life of Brian (i watch it every year on my birthday) and a used vhs of Clue that i bought from a rental store that was going out of business.
2. The last movie bought? I guess that was Life of Brian. i bought it 2 years ago as a graduation present for myself.
3. The last movie watched? Technically i guess this was Red Diaper Baby, which i watched late at night on sundance while making cookies.
4. Do I primarily buy, rent, Netflix or steal movies from friends? probably the biggest perk (after no rent) of living with my parents is that they have satellite tv and a tivo. if and when i move out i'll probably get netflix, but as is i don't have enough time to watch what i tivo. currently waiting for me are: Dogville; Swingers; sex, lies and videotape; some other stuff i've already forgotten about.
5. 5 movies that mean a lot to me:
   1. The Muppets Take Manhattan was the first movie i ever saw in a theater. it's a musical. i wrote a paper on it. i sang "saying goodbye" at the senior day awards ceremony at thhs. it's the fucking muppets. that movie means way more to me than anything owned by the disney corporation has any right to mean to anybody.
   2. Life of Brian is without a doubt in my mind the greatest comedy movie ever made.
   3. I originally had Citizen Ruth/Election here, but after thinking about it I'm going to change that to Being There.
   4. Radio Days. The funny parts of this movie are hysterical, and the ending is sentimental but heartbreakingly beautiful. but most wonderful is the flawed but loving portrait of the family. i think my favorite scene in this movie is when the father and uncle start randomly singing along with the girl to some carmen miranda song. sometimes i think of this movie as the jewish version of A Christmas Story, which is admittedly somewhat more laugh out loud funny.
   5. "means a lot to me" is a bit strong, but super honorable mention goes to Metropolis (1927 Fritz Lang movie, not the anime thing). i will never forget the first time i saw it (with NO soundtrack whatsoever, just total silence) and the moment when you first see maria walk through the double doors into the garden. holy crap.
   Honorable mentions (movies that wow me but don't really "mean a lot to me"): Network, Citizen Ruth, Election, Ghost World (though it has less and less impact on me every time), Rushmore, Edward Scissorhands, Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, Stop Making Sense, Dancer in the Dark, Twelve Monkeys, The Fisher King, Delicatessen, Donnie Darko, a whole bunch of Woody Allen movies but especially Hannah and Her Sisters, Manhattan, and Everybody Says I Love You, An American in Paris, Hedwig and The Angry Inch (with the first concluding musical sequence that might survive being compared to the one in An American in Paris), All That Jazz, A Hard Day's Night. more that just aren't coming to mind right this second.
6. Tag 5 people and have them fill this out on their ljs: meh.

stay tuned for some musings, but not a survey, on my favorite theatre.

Ithaca is gorges tally: 2

Ithaca is gorges tally: 2

i have since become incensed at a lack of a musical equivalent to this survey. here goes:

1. total number of albums (cds, tapes, vinyl, etc) owned?
~100. Plus a significant number of mp3s collected in college.

2. The last album I bought?
For myself, used copy of "Kick" by INXS. most recently i bought a used copy of "Sleepless in Seattle" for my mother. been meaning to buy a copy of the new star wars soundtrack however.

3. Last album and song you listened to?
The last album i listened to start to finish was "Pet Sounds" (The Beach Boys). Currently playing song: "Needy Girl" by Chromeo, which you can download free from their website, which is a ridiculous cacophony of popups and flash, so here's a direct link.

4. 5 songs/tracks/etc. that mean a lot to me?
I tried to do 10 favorites a few months ago, which was near impossible, so this should be fun.
- My absolute favorite song ever is "New World" by Björk (on Selmasongs). That song makes me melt.
- The first time I ever heard the Ella Fitzgerald version of "Someone to Watch Over Me" (gershwin) i cried.
- "Temptation" by New Order. wow.
- super-sentimental: "Saying Goodbye" from The Muppets Take Manhattan
- "Piano Phase" by Steve Reich. and suddenly my ears were open. one of those times i could actually feel my brain expanding.

5. yeesh, now pick a song that isn't so mushy
"Be My Baby" by The Ronettes. That is kinda mushy isn't it? "Once in a lifetime" by Talking Heads.

i was tempted to make this a category, but i'm not sure everyone else goes through this: 5 songs i'm currently obsessed with:
- "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" by Rufus Wainwright
- "What'll I do" by Irving Berlin. after much deliberation, I'm leaning towards the sinatra version on this as my favorite... although i haven't yet heard ella's take, and i'm sure she had one.
- "Can't Stand Losing You" by The Police. "i guess you'd call it suicide, but i'm too full to swallow my pride" hehehehe.
- "Perfect Kiss" by New Order. The video for this seems very plain, and the song didn't really get me at first. but i just kept watching it over and over. and now i'm obsessed.
- "Descent Into Mystery" which is a track from Danny Elfman's score for Batman. cheesy name, AWESOME sequence. i believe it's the part of the movie when batman is driving vicki into the batcave.

6. make an awkward comment about how other people should be as dorky as you are.
if laura and leslie don't do this, i will cry.

i will do the movie one, i promise.