catherine's pita

friday, june 30, 2000
nice (if weird) headline on sonicnet's review of the new modest mouse, but one thing in it bothers me. why do they say that "you got over all that philosophical grappling when you threw away the acne lotions"? people are really supposed to stop thinking about the world and their place in it before they're out of their teens?

brand-new webzine-type thing called open letters, containing mostly (you guessed it) "letters," a conceit i suspect is designed to conceal the mcsweeney's-esqueness of it. but there's some good stuff here. for instance, today it has a "conversation" with a couple of florida kids in a death-metal band who like to smoke stuff. well, anything really. did you know skin can be smoked? and also (gentle readers, look away) pus. i kid you not.

thursday, june 29, 2000
a good primer on will self, my favorite writer at the moment (i'm reading "tough, tough toys for tough, tough boys"). did you know he was a heroin addict? bonus cool points for using the phrase "the great unwashed," a favorite of my dad's that i always loved. (perhaps it's a brit thing?) and then in this interview, he talks a lot about his writing. can't get enough of him? more links here.

newsday comes through with a nice thorough explanation of the tall ships phenomenon. [thanks ryan!]

wednesday, june 28, 2000
just discovered amplified to rock, run by an obviously cool girl who's letting me join the indie-rock copyediting squad. yippee, an excuse to be anal! today's infraction: pitchfork and the unnecessary comma. ryan schreiber writes:
"The New York City-based four-piece, Versus, are currently in the studio recording their forthcoming follow-up album to 1998's Two Cents Plus Tax."
and also
"764-HERO have completed their next full-length, according to a press release from the esteemed Seattle-based label, Up Records."
hey, guess what? there's more than one new york city-based four-piece, and more than one esteemed seattle-based label. no commas!

i remarked to a friend in san francisco that there really isn't any worthwhile water in this city. and while it's true that there aren't fantastic views around every corner like over there, i did discover a lovely hudson river spot last night and was taken aback by a) a full, glorious rainbow -- and if that doesn't fill you with wonder you're inhuman -- and b) an absolutely stunning sunset reflecting off the water. and jetskiers! the place is called frying pan, and it's on a pier, with a boat that was rescued from the bottom of the river dressed up (sort of) like a lounge. and there's dancing! (although i must say, the drinks aren't very good and the DJ refused to play "the real slim shady" for me. perhaps that was a good thing, though...)

i'm hoping a nice comprehensive story on the damn tall ships appears somewhere soon. what is the deal with them? i'm going to check them out on july 4 -- although i'm unsure whether the tall ships' arrival in the harbor is specifically for this opsail 2000 thing or whether the tall ships gallantly decided to take part in it or what. cause apparently there are also going to be military ships and pleasure boats, too. view some nice pictures of individual tall ships along with a little bit of info on each here. i just need to know why it is so exciting that they're coming. the grrrl in me also wants to go see joan jett and mary lou lord in the park for free. oh well, can't do everything....

somehow i don't think bazaar will be reporting on this, but it is very important fashion news nonetheless: you've heard of the wonderbra? clap your hands now for the wonder pant.

a friend recently asked if people in new york really do hate john rocker. and indeed, they do. i would *love* to be there for the booing he's going to get. being part of a roaring, stadium-wide sentiment is one of the best feelings ever.

so i met this really cool kid in san francisco who brings his video camera with him on the way to work in the morning. it sits on his dashboard and records as he expounds on...stuff while the california hills roll by in the background. eventually he's going to get lots more cameras all over the car and have poets and musicians ride with him. once he rescues his possibly-stolen domain name, it's going to be at commuting101.com, but for now it's here. click it. (i also don't mind telling you, he's a hottie.)

i also met a desktop staffer named will tuttle, who was reportedly dismayed not to be mentioned in my vacation list. anyway, i didn't get to hang out with tuttle nearly enough, certainly not enough to be calling him by his last name. mr. tuttle? anyway, um, he is a member of zbookclub, which you could join too, and which will certainly be reading something a lot cooler than this horrible book next time around, possibly some paul auster or will self, if i have anything to do with it.

tuesday, june 27, 2000
in lieu of a proper vacation roundup, i present a harper's index-type list:

21: number of postcards purchased
0: number of postcards thus far sent
2: number of guidebooks consulted for touristing adventures
1: number of times chastised by a fellow tourist for inconsiderate behavior
15: number of dollars offered to nightclub bouncer for admittance for two to open-bar private dot-com party (for people who went to ivy league schools, not for people who went to delaware)
4: number of other groups in the same situation who were foiled in their attempts to get in (me and eileen = cool)
45: number of minutes spent in total confusion trying to keep up with insane dance-aerobics instructor
7: number of days heart set a-pumping from climbing steep san francisco hills
4: number of museums found to be closed upon my arrival
2: number of museums i was actually able to visit the inside of
1: number of surf-culture exhibits seen
1: number of times attacked by low-flying birds
1: number of times attacked by horizontally flying acorns
2: number of conversations with enthusiastic lawn bowlers eager to explain their sport
2: number of scary drunk california rednecks (if such a thing exists) i thought about running from after they were angered by my illustrious hostess near the boardwalk of the beach alluded to in a.h.w.o.s.g. (mexican wallet-stealing scene)
1: number of failed potentially-transcendental camping trips
2: number of mind-blowing west-coast food phenomena i wish were in new york (i'm talking about the crepe craze and the fast-food cult in n out burger)
innumerable: amazing views, cool people, cups of coffee, dollars spent, fun had

the URL is realworldblows.com, but you know they love it. summaries, bios of cast members, chat rooms, and more for both real world and road rules. [via kempa]

monday, june 26, 2000
nyc: 99 degrees, hazy
san francisco: 68 degrees, mostly sunny
need i say more?

well i guess i will--though, again, there will be no juicy sausage links today because i have spent the day going through e-mail, catching up on my weblog reading, and, even, working! so. tomorrow, lovelies.

wednesday, june 21, 2000
dear readers, i can't bring you any links today b/c it is way too sunny. i'm sitting in the internet cafe of the yerba buena center for the arts enjoying a cup of coffee, in good spirits despite being a) alone and b) foiled in my attempts to visit the many art museums in the immediate vicinity. sf moma, closed on wednesdays. ansel adams photography center, museum of electronic art, museum of cartoon art, all closed till fall. whose fault is this? irreverent guide? avant guide? me?

right now, i'm going to find a bit of grass and read for a while, before setting up to meet the masterminds behind desktop. hey wait a minute, i just thought of something. desktop.com. there. now i feel better. toodles!

friday, june 16, 2000
"vacation, all i ever wanted..."

thursday, june 15, 2000
a friend who shall remain nameless got very upset when i emailed a link about how artisan entertainment did a nice little indie film wrong. "my company doesn't suck," he protested. his defense is too silly for words, so i won't mention it. suffice it to say that if they're going to buy a movie, they ought to make sure it becomes a real movie, not a cable-only offering, especially with stars like william h. macy, donald sutherland, neve campbell, and tracey ullman. and especially b/c we're talking about the same company that gave us "the blair witch project," i.e., they know how to market a movie. [thanky to us against them for the link]

wednesday, june 14, 2000
you know, i've been wondering:

jared had a nice little rant about self-righteous nondrinkers. i agree 95 percent. i went to a yankee game on sunday, and i was carrying a cardboard tray full of beers as i maneuvered my way through the corridor (full of people hiding from the rain) and i heard this girl say as i passed, loudly, "god, do they need beer that bad?" i ignored it, but it made me mad. (probably a damn mets fan...) i am not a bad person for drinking beer at a baseball game. i did not deserve that judgment. it was raining, and though we were protected thanks to our shitty seats, what else were we going to do? thinking of "rain" songs lasted about 10 minutes, and there were only a couple of slip 'n' sliders on the tarp to entertain us over the hour and a half we sat there. hence, drinking beer and eating peanuts.

but as for this...
"I also don't recall ever doing anything while drunk that I would not normally do when sober."
...we should all be so lucky!

you know what's very tempting? the urbanfetch mobile phone store. in just three hours, they will deliver to you a cell phone, all hooked up and ready to go. one of these days i am going to break down and buy one.

a wonderful reader i've been emailing wrote me with some recommendations for my upcoming trip to san francisco. if you have some too, please do tell me.

tuesday, june 13, 2000
find out how slutty you are. and start thinking about who the famous person you'd want to sleep with is. it's amazing how many women want bill clinton (and eminem!). [link via steal this blog]

no movie in the park last night. i can't decide what is worse, the ridiculous amount of rain we've received the last few months or the oppressive heat of this past weekend, which is sure to descend again and make all the have-not new yorkers wish they had summer homes so they could get the fuck out of dodge...summer in this city can really, really suck.

monday, june 12, 2000
third summer in new york, and i'm only now getting around to the bryant park film festival. free movies at sunset in the park, but i'm doing it in style, with a press ticket, which means free food and drinks, plus a seat on the balcony. yeah, it's "grease," but i'm sure the free drinks will help.

a fair critique of the june "family" issue of harper's bazaar, which, if you haven't been paying attention, i work for, arranging commas and words in the best possible fashion, ha ha.

friday, june 9, 2000
i recently remarked, not very insightfully i suppose, that one day you won't be able to tell the difference between what's advertising and what's not. or perhaps that day is here...it occurred to me again while reading this story about how moby has sold out, literally, with all 18 songs off "play" being licensed for films, ads, tv, etc. sell a couple of songs, fine, make some money, show the bastards the potential of the underground, but all 18?! the story even suggests that artists are starting to pitch their songs directly to advertisers before presenting them to the record company!

bob pollard cleans out basement, comes up with box set.

which reminds me: my friend pete, recently wed (hi kelly!), asked me a while ago to make him famous. and so: pete wrote a nice meaty article on sloan, who he caught up with before their last tour opening for gbv. (pull down sloan on the "features" menu.)

flaming lips christmas record! how very fun.

thursday, june 8, 2000
sorry for the no-update, kids, but today has been all about donatella versace and various other rich bitches. hopefully tomorrow i'll be back with vavoom.

wednesday, june 7, 2000
wow. salon fires 13, including their media critic and books editor.

sally timms of the mekons makes a tongue-in-cheek case for patronage of the rock, in the process illustrating the financial hardships of a working musician.

it's been a long day, don't ask for more than that. go read about microsoft or something. i'm sure it's very important.

oh how i wish i could get out of here and go buy the new belle & sebastian. wishful. fits in with their whole wispy, wistful aesthetic, huh. but this reminds me: a reader wrote me recently to ask "when has cmj ever written a negative review?" is this true? their sonic youth review, another of this year's disappointments (for me), sorta supports this hypothesis. i'll be on the lookout.

tuesday, june 6, 2000
uh, hello? jim carrey is apparently negotiating to star in a film that will take place entirely in a manhattan phone booth. hang up quick, jim!

as if you needed proof that jane magazine is dumber than dumb: in a poll, they asked readers who they would like to see as president, and among the choices were, get ready, kevin spacey, oprah winifrey, and the winner, courtney love. ?!

monday, june 5, 2000
feed magazine examines the phenomenon of yesterday's indie bands providing the soundtrack for today's car commercials. the answer to why? i'm not telling. dean wareham is wrong though: there *is* a place to find out what that song is you just heard, whatever it is. it's here.

in a story about the writing of "mission: impossible 2," salon reveals what david foster wallace already figured out: hollywood blockbusters are like porn movies. that is, it's all about the action.

finally, "uncle fucka" gets its due.

yet another lunatic tries to push a woman in front of an oncoming subway train. i guess i should start standing in the middle of the platform, huh?

awwwww, don't i feel loved. first fred says i am "a very cool chick" (but i don't update enough? what the hell is that? every weekday, here i am, trotting out the links, except when i'm not, heh heh), then tom makes me a runner-up in his "best links" blog category on his new links page, saying i am "pithy but always enthusiastic." i'm still not sure exactly what pithy means, but i think it's good. when i did that turn at the new york post the slot guy always wanted "something pithy" for the stand-alone photo heds. boy was it hard. i mean, not every celebrity has a name that can be easily punned off. anyway, it's nice of these guys to say nice things about me, especially cause a) i'm constantly stealing links and things from them (like the polling? fred's idea) and b) look how high my bullshit count is (again, see, the link comes from fred). i will try my hardest to live up to this praise, but this week at least, i'm actually doing work at work. imagine that.

this band name generator should provide a good 15-20 seconds of entertainment.

if you need a few more seconds killed, try out the star wars or the louis farrakhan african name generators. just call me shebelle.... or perhaps you would like da reggae name. yeah mon.

friday, june 2, 2000
belle and sebastian attacked by gorilla on britain's "top of the pops." are you kidding me? top of the pops??? [via fred, or maybe it was tom]

here's a great story about a single woman on a solo vacation in jamaica. funnier than anything you ever read in "jane," and she likes sleater-kinney, too.

another ironminds story articulates my friend vanessa's confusion about the big brother show. when i told her about it, she was like, "why?" this guy says, basically, why indeed?

okay, new poll. i want more than 17 of you to vote this time. every single one of you reading this must vote, or... or... well you'll just have to find out about the consequences, but rest assured, they will be grave. (pun intended!)

thursday, june 1, 2000
yay for common sense. salon admits their redesign was a mistake and reverts, basically, to the old one.

"magnolia" fans will appreciate this: fishstorm!