i always think it must be amazing to play new york city. that whole "make it here, make it anywhere" thing. unless of course you are a new york band. and then it is all artifice and hipster joylessness. which i suppose is what made that lcd soundsystem show somewhat revelatory. they were actually enjoying themselves. and that glc show was their very first gig in nyc. in fact, it was the first time many of them had ever been here. that excitement bled through into everything that night.

speaking of joyless hipster fucks, this weekend marks another siren fest. i'm not sure if i can be bothered. the sound on the main stage is always sooooo bad that it is barely worth it. maybe somebody kickass is playing the second stage. i should look into that. it has been somewhat of a tradition now. and i rarely pass up an opportunity to head out to coney island. nathans, soft serve, and the cyclone. oh, yeah.

i just returned from the winn discount down court street. drugstore slash ninety nine cent store slash local institution. whatever you need, they gots it tucked away somewhere. me, i needed an ironing board, as i have a job interview tomorrow and although i could just take stuff into the laundry, i like doing it myself. laundry, etc has always been therapeutic for me.

disturbingly, there is a ben and jerry's about to open on atlantic between court and clinton. talk about the total opposite of the winn discount. just another reflection of how much the neighborhoods are changing. i won't use the "g" word, as that is just overly simplistic knee-jerk liberal claptrap, but three or four local businesses have closed up shop nearby in the last few months and the chains just keep moving in. of course, american apparel and brooklyn industries and ben and jerry's aren't the corporate anti-christ, but it is a shame how much the character of the surrounding hoods has been altered just in the eighteen months that i've lived hereabouts. at least, we're not getting a seven-eleven. yet.

still, i've noticed a proliferation of guys with full-on sleeves wandering around the hood recently. inked all the way to the wrist. colorful, intricate, beautiful. but i always wonder. i mean, you have totally inked yourself out of almost all traditional employment. not that i consider that important in itself, of course, but i've never been one to limit my future so much by my present. aren't you limited to working for bands or bars or cafes or some retail, i suppose. excuse this if it sounds classist, but low-end service sector work, right? not that there is anything wrong with that. i'm all for dignity in work, whatever it is and i'm all for work, as opposed to career, that affords you the luxury to pursue your passion, whatever that is. but still i wonder.

of course, i do.