Tag Archives: Men In Black

01/11/2017 · 1:47 pm

The Joke Shop

Somehow, in 1987, I convinced my father to drive me to a joke shop in Paterson, New Jersey.

In the back, there’s a kiddie pool. JOKES, PEOPLE! JOKES!

The name of the place escapes me; it was unremarkable, something like “[X] Joke & Novelty”. Three years later, hunting for liquor and without proper ID, my friends and I were chased away from this very same area by a man swinging a chain over his head. Alongside Newark and Camden, Paterson is one of Jersey’s finest hellholes.

So getting my dad to drive me out there for gag items was quite the coup. I wanted a realistic fake faucet that could be attached to the forehead. I got much, much more. Continue reading →

Comments Off on The Joke Shop

Filed under Bad Influences, Faint Signals, Idiot's Delight, Nostalgic Obsessions

Tagged as 1980s, 1987, Billy Crystal, Camden, Christopher Guest, comedy, Epic Illustrated, Harry Shearer, Heavy Metal, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, laughter, Martin Short, Men In Black, New Jersey, New York, Newark, novelties, Paterson, Pennsylvania, Ridgewood, Saturday Night Live, Take The Money And Run, Vincent D'Onofrio, Woody Allen

06/17/2016 · 1:29 pm

Dig Your Own Hole

In 1997, electronica duo The Chemical Brothers released their second album, Dig Your Own Hole. It went on to be an extremely popular example of “big beat” music, and is included in numerous “Best Albums of All-Time” lists. I had a copy of the CD in my old car for so long the case turned into shardy shit.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on Dig Your Own Hole

Filed under Faint Signals, Late To The Party, Thousand Listen Club

Tagged as 1990s, 1996, 1997, alternative music, Beastie Boys, Beth Orton, big beat, Britain, Chemical Brothers, drugs, Ed Simons, electronica, George Carlin, Janis Ian, Kinko's, Kool Herc, Lothar and the Hand People, Media Play, Men In Black, Mike Myers, Mike the Pod, MTV, music, music video, Noel Gallagher, Oasis, Radio Shack, rave, Saturday Night Live, Tom Rowlands, Will Smith

03/21/2016 · 8:29 am

Why Black People Are Mad (By A White Person)

In the media, context means fame or misfortune.

In the media, context means fame, misfortune, or both.

By 2017, I will have resided in Atlanta, capitol and most populous city of Georgia, for fifteen years. Over 50% of our residents are black. It’s not a part of the country you’d live in if you dislike black people. And as a white person, I’ve been fortunate enough to interact with and observe black people on a daily basis, and compare it with how they are represented in the media and online.

I racked my white brain, the same kind of brain that built bridges and put men on the moon, to get a handle on the disparity I saw. I called upon my ancestry as an Italian immigrant to help me understand the terrible sins at the heart of it. I now know why anyone who identifies as black would be mad. Continue reading →