i'm also quite pleased with my new spring purchases. see discussions of gym bags and cheap 'n' cute target stuff on the 'binge. as tracy morgan so hilariously said, "laydeeeeeeeeeeeez!"

manohla dargis watches movies while washing dishes? huh? where does she put the laptop, on the stove?

also, it is just me or does the new wilco album suck balls? AGAIN. just wondering.

i have a weekend packed with birthdays and visitors, so expect a good dose of party pics (hooray!) next week. i have to go now, it's time to write a new review on yelp.

saturday we woke up early, before 8, because we're early risers in our old age and in our sun-filled apartment. i set up the router so both our 'puters could be internet-connected while carl paced around pulling things out of boxes and asking me if we needed it. eventually i was able to tear him away to savoia for a nice lunch, the best of two mushroom salads i'd have this weekend. then we strolled up to court street and bought a $500 vacuum cleaner because we are basically running a zoo over here. everyone loves the miele! probably the most adult purchase of my life so far: a vacuum. they are right, the 30s really ARE the best years of your life! right, so then, after vacuuming and farting around (in some cases literally) and trying to decide what stuff will go on the walls and what will be sacrficed to the gods of ebay, we ordered mediocre indian and popped in ray, which yes i am just getting around to watching. my word, people, this is not a good movie! i'd been told that it was, and i must say i was grossly misinformed (i'm looking at you, dad). now, it has its moments (i especially liked the "blind boy learns to do stuff on his own" scene in spite of myself), but this thing is the kind of completely overwrought, fake-ass melodrama i can't believe people don't see right through. the songs are good, but there's hardly a scene that smacks of realness, at least up through an hour and a half in, at which point i sighed for the nth time to carl and he told me that "it's not even close." two and a half hours of stupid soapy bullshit! amazing. i couldn't even bring myself to watch the final hour, and so we turned it off.

sunday i went and had brunch with steve in park slope, then we went and saw "zodiac" despite the lovely weather. i had high hopes for david fincher's latest movie, but it was just okay. i mean, it was watchable, but not very compelling or creepy, two qualities i value highly in a suspense movie. and it didn't even have any of his directorial pizazz. shame.

i've been on a showgoing tear lately, relatively speaking. saw the thermals rock bowery ballroom last weekend, but strangely did not reach concert nirvana. much preferred their sweaty performance in the tiny basement of fontana's during cmj. bowery ballroom seems a little too comfy for such a raw band, methinks.

meanwhile i am in love with at least two songs by the fratellis, the latest british buzz band, i guess. craigslist a-holes are demanding upwards of a hundred bucks a ticket for their mercury lounge show. now i like this band; their energy and awesomeness remind me of the strokes in their day. but do people really pay that? so retarded i can't stand it. i think i'll stay home and play "chelsea dagger" and save my $250. uh, unless anyone has a reasonably priced ticket or three for me?

::: The Fratellis, "Chelsea Dagger" :::

i am also searching for partners for the following shows: john vanderslice at mercury lounge; aqueduct (come ON, people!); and maybe dr. dog and o'death (do dr. dog suck as i've been told?).

if you're wandering aimlessly around barnes and noble looking for something to read, a new book by john sellers might be just the thing. called perfect from now on, it's a memoir of sorts about his love of indie rock. from the excerpt i read, i bet lots of fans of the genre will see themselves in the book. he also has a major obsession with gbv, which means guaranteed pita mention.

in the classified-ad department: are you a graphic designer who's looking for a cool space to work out of in brooklyn? carl is looking for studiomates, people who want to be in a creative environment and also play darts sometimes. cheap rent. email me for details.

i'm in! moving went incredibly smoothly: people showed up, worked fast and furiously (the fire line plan really worked), and contrary to predictions, i did not cry. (there was a slight snafu when we got locked out of the u-haul thanks to them only giving us one key, for the ignition, that didn't work in the door locks. it took threats of litigation but they agreed to send us a locksmith that we didn't have to pay for. this incident came right at the end, just when we were remarking how easy the move was.) the couch was hoisted without incident, along with the mattress, box spring, and bookshelf/bench. i am soooo grateful to all the folks who helped: steve, brandon, brian, myrna, and building resident "ganks," who carried half of a tv. and of course carl, who had to help. the rest of them did not, and could easily have found excuses to beg off. it was five flights up, after all. myrna even offered, good peep that she is. so anyway they all rule.

and here is video of my couch being hoisted up the side of the building via pulley.

hello from a vast wasteland of boxes! many of you know this by now, but i am moving this saturday. yes, again. yes, i have only been in my park slope hobbit hole for five months. i never really loved that apartment anyway, though, and this is much, much better: carl and i are moving in together. to a glorious one-bedroom apartment in cobble hill towers (actually his current building), a grand red-brick-and-ironwork 1870s housing project that was historically preserved in the 1970s. it's going to be great. but in the meantime it's hell. here's a bit of what we've been up to:

- running around procuring boxes. i bought a schnoz-load of u-haul boxes from a nice couple for $20. a fine price to pay for not having to run around the neighborhood digging in people's recycling. and/or paying a high price for freakin' boxes.
- trying to convince people to help us move. "hey, wanna do some hard labor? only five flights up!"
- scheduling couch-hoisters. insanely, my couch has to be hoisted up the outside of the building, via pulley, thanks to those charming spiral staircases. i don't know if i'll be fascinated and taking pictures or hiding around the corner and praying they don't drop it.
- selling furniture and cds. i've said it before and i'll probably say it again: how many ass ponys cd's does one human need?? (answer: two, for now.)
- dismantling apartment fixtures and worrying about how to wrap stuff up before we pile it into the uhaul and hooo boy, it is tiring. almost makes one not want to blog! amazing.

so, anyone wanna do some heavy lifting? possibly in the rain? come on, there'll be bagels! actually we have a pretty solid group (though we could always use more hands), and it warms my heart that these folks are helping us move up five flights. some of them even volunteered, amazingly enough. i wish i could have paid the ridiculous sums quoted me by professional movers, but carl convinced me that that money would be better spent on, say, a really good vacuum. we are going to be cohabitating not only with each other, see, but with three cats. his sweet two and my evil one. should be interesting. perhaps even documented here, if i can find the strength to update again before, oh, april.

anyway, i'm really excited about all this. and my brother steve is moving into the hobbit hole. one door closes, another one opens. guess it's true! i'm glad at least that i'll still be able to enjoy summer barbecues and my spring bulbs (if they bloom) in my awesome backyard. well, steve's backyard.

quick music bits: the new arcade fire is amazing. is everyone else saying this too? it's a bit subtler than the last one but i can't stop listening. that springsteeny song about joe simpson is the bomb. why didn't they play that on SNL? why did they smash the guitar on SNL? i guess we'll never know. meanwhile, the new modest mouse is not thrilling me at all. i've listened to it twice now and it's totally forgettable. perhaps it's time for ol' isaac to hang up the megaphone.

::: Aqueduct, "Living a Lie" ::: off their (well, his) new album, "or give me death," an album that doesn't quit.

::: Aqueduct, "As You Wish" :::

::: Aqueduct, "Growing up with G n' R" ::: i think i posted this before. it's from wayyy back in '05. still rules.

awesome, right? anyone wanna go see him at the mercury lounge with me? also you can stream the whole album, out now on barsuk, if you still need convincing.