his guitar is now silent, but the world gently weeps...

~ posted by laurie @ 4:22 pm et | thursday, november 29, 2001

wondering what to get me for christmas?

~ posted by laurie @ 9:20 pm et | sunday, november 18, 2001

my kid brother, david, turns 20 tomorrow, and in 20 years, i have never been so proud of him as i was last night, when i went to see him in his first real acting gig, as clifford (the lead), in warren leight's side man. and he was good. not just good, but spectacular.

david's always been a good kid. smart, good looking enough that if he wasn't my brother i'd have a crush on him, funny, easy-going, athletic. despite all that, i've always been a bit worried about him. he comes up wih these crazy ideas sometimes, and his attention span is too similar to mine, in that he gets really excited about something at first, in short-lived bursts that fizzle out soon after. after last night, i am no longer worried. the kid seems to have found his niche.

and i couldn't be more proud.

~ posted by laurie @ 3:41 pm et | monday, november 12, 2001

in case you live in a cave and haven't heard the news, there was a plane crash at 9:18 this morning in far rockaway, queens ny. the plane went down only 3 minutes after it took off from jfk, en route to the domincan republic.

many like me, who were listening to the radio, perhaps getting ready to go to work, immediately thought the crash was caused by either a terrorist hijacking or a bomb on board the plane. and we froze. and we thought... "oh, no...not again..." some of us (ok, maybe it was just me) started crying because that thought terrified us and reminded us of what we went through a morning just like this one only 2 months ago. some of us turned off the radio because we couldn't take hearing that there was nothing new to report after 30 minutes. some of us decided to be brave and go to work. some of us stood at the entrance to the subway, right next to the newsstand, where the newsstand man had his radio on, listening intently for an update of some sort, hoping to hear that everything was fine and that we had nothing to worry about. that news never came, so some of us took a deep breath and got onto the subway anyway, bent on carrying out our day as if nothing had happened.

it's 12 hours later, and so far we have no idea what really happened. we can only speculate. the ntsb says that the crash is likely to be the result of "catastrophic mechanical failure." and somehow, now, after having lived through sept 11, i find that 255 people losing their lives in a crash caused by "catastrophic mechanical failure" is a relief!

you mean that's it? it was merely mechanical failure that caused that plane's engine to drop to the ground after an explosion, with the plane nose diving into the earth within seconds after, taking down 12 apartment houses with it? whew... that's a relief. i was afraid it was something more serious...

two months ago, "catastrophic mechanical failure" would have scared the hell out of me. today it's a relief.

funny how things change, isn't it? it's still extremely sad that 255 people have died (probably more, as there are still people missing on the ground), but the circumstances aren't as terrifying as they could be. at least not as long as we're still speculating on what actually happened.

~ posted by laurie @ 6:07 pm et | friday, november 09, 2001

someone has finally put a name to the debilitating disease that i, and others like me, suffer from:
apple tourette's syndrome is no joke!

"if you’re reading this more than likely you’re what i call a “machead”. a machead is someone that has a higher interest level in apple than the average joe or jane. someone that really likes his or her macintosh…a lot.

generally speaking we are more intelligent than the average person, more creative and more intense. macheads cannot be divided politically. you have your conservatives like rush limbaugh and don imus that love their macs and you also have your liberals like tom cruise and susan sarandon that also love their macs.

we cannot be defined by any other ideal other than our love for apple and the mac. so, while on the internet we seek out mac-centric web sites to get any apple news, rumors, or interesting opinion columns by other macheads. face it; some part of every day is dedicated to your mac." [ read more...]

~ posted by laurie @ 4:19 pm et |

it's amazing how much cleaner an apartment can get when someone else is doing the cleaning.

we have engaged the services of a new cleaning person. he's an actor, looking to make a few extra bucks every couple of weeks. he seemed pleasant enough over the phone and provided stellar references, so we gave him a shot. he started today and the place is parkling clean, so i think well keep him around for a while :)

my man's band, the cavemen, rocked the parkside lounge last night. despite their drummer falling ill and needing to skip the gig and stay in bed (get well soon don!), they still gave it their all and kicked ass for a room full people. special thanks to kenji (trancesenders drummer) for filling in with no notice. he was so good, he sounded like he'd actually rehearsed with them :) el jezel and the trancesenders (both good friends of the cavemen) rounded out the triple bill and also kicked major ass. a good time was had by all, and the parkside sold lots of drinks, which means they'll keep letting us come back to play!

~ posted by laurie @ 2:53 pm et | wednesday, november 07, 2001

yes, i am alive and well and still living in brooklyn. i'll start posting daily entries again soon and i'll even turn the cam back on for a few hours at a time. i've just been busy, between work and freelance web work and becoming an aunt and microwaving my mail before opening it to avoid anthrax, and trying to remember to make an appointment for a flu shot and casting wasted ballots for a democratic mayor wanna-be who blew what should have been a sure thing and trying not to break down into tears every time i cross the brooklyn bridge and look over my shoulder to where those two tall towers used to be. yeah... i've been a little preoccupied. forgive me?

~ posted by laurie @ 7:44 pm et |