watching expired appliances align

in this set of photos, i group three unrelated events.

in early july i traveled to philadelphia with a group of friends. we went to a museum in the afternoon and then headed across town to our prime destination - the new ballpark of the philadelphia phillies. after the game we had a few drinks at bob & barbara's. time for cheesesteaks at pat's arrived, and we ate like kings.

during july, i also headed to the bowery for a table thrown by the folks behind the black table. on a rooftop overlooking lower manhattan jamie, kaci and i enjoyed a few burgers and a few beers. we met some new people and had a fun night out.

the following day i stopped by coney island for the annual siren music festival. after spending an hour on the beach, i watched the thermals and then tv on the radio. i took a lot of photos of both bands but all of them ended up looking exactly the same (slightly out of focus and mostly boring). two of them are presented with this group of photos.

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back in june, a huge group of kaci & jamie's friends traveled from new york and washington to join them in ohio for their wedding celebration. the night before the big event, everyone gathered at the local skating rink. the facility was open for our group and we had the floor to ourselves. most of us hadn't been on roller skates in decades. and by looking at my skating skills, it definitely showed. and alex managed to break his leg. after the skating, everyone headed to the bar near the hotel and drank super bottles of beer. and there was karaoke. and a small group huddled near the golden tee machine. before anyone realized it, it was last call. the lights came on and beers were literally yanked from the hands of the patrons. after stumbling back to the hotel, i found myself in a late night poker game. before someone produced the poker chips, we tried to make due with cardboard as a replacement. that was an extremely silly idea. but fun!

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the night before chris and mary got married i joined a bunch of friends at a party in washington, dc. two of my friends from college, mike and kara, opened their home to everyone congregating from out of town. mike brewed beer which was incredibly tasty. at some point in the night watermellow slices soaked in vodka made an appearance. once the sugar was added to those dave & erik & mike & kaci and just about everyone there found themselves scraping the bottom of the bowl, daring the other to have one more. it was a lot of fun catching up with friends and did a perfect job setting up the mood for the rest of the weekend.

Posted by Marc at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

as spring turned into summer, i felt like a photo taking fool. i managed to let those months pass without actually posting any of the photos i took.

i joined sujan and dan at excelsior for ray's annual kentucky derby party. there were grilled meat products on the back deck and the horse race on the television. i enjoyed a great mint julep and watched as my chosen horses failed to place.

there was also a poker game where i bluffed and fronted and probably lost a few bucks. i think chris larry and chris m. managed to walk away with most of the chips.

in early june alex, anne, a few other people and i went to a mets game to watch the metropolitans take on the florida marlins. it was free ice cube tray night. when i got home i filled the trays with water and realized they're not very good for actually creating and storing ice. the mets lost. and continue to lose. it's been that kind of baseball season for them.

on a saturday in mid-june, mitch and i went to union square park for the second annual big apple barbecue bash. we had no idea we'd need to spend an hour waiting for a sampling of fine barbecued meats. the food was good, but from now on i'm going to avoid long lines for small portions. long lines are only intended for theme parks.

a few days later the neuticles headed to buttermilk, the bar in brooklyn, for another competion in dr. fact's night of fifty questions. i snapped a few photos in the low light and captured the members of the raelettes as they took home the prize money.

Posted by Marc at 11:43 PM | Permalink

in early may i visited my family to help celebrate my father's birthday. i couldn't let the occasion pass without taking a few photos. everyone had a good time, enjoyed a great meal and managed to have fun conversation both indoors and on the back patio and deck. okay, okay, a lot of the converstaion toward the end of the night veered toward health care options and retirement talk but it was still interesting.

Posted by Marc at 11:32 PM | Permalink

i just got in from an entire day spent playing urban bocce. here's a handful of the early photos:

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on the walk home from o'connor's i developed a theory about the "good me" and the "bad me." developed is a strong word. and not entirely accurate. or even precise. i loved that about tenth grade chemistry - that whole difference between accurate and precise. but i digress...my theory isn't a full blown theory. there's not much to back it up. right now the good me is winning. but only by a little bit. a tiny bit. and i know you think this rant will be all weird and oddly personal about the bad me. but the bad me isn't that bad. and the good me is just the part of me that buys paper products in bulk. that's how the idea came to me. the good me takes care of the bad me when the good me buys a lot of paper towels and sort of hides them in two or three locations around the apartment. i almost ran out of paper towels tonight, but then i realized a roll was hidden in some kitchen cabinet i rarely use. saved. the good me one. and the bad me said "hey, marc, check to see if there are any hidden boxes of tissues." sure enough, there were two boxes of tissues, purchased in bulk, hidden in the closet. thank you "good me." during the past week my allergies have been acting up and i've been using paper towels to blow my nose, inbetween taking minor doses of claritin. now i can use tissues. and the red skin underneath my nose appreciates that. i like the good me. i want to be more like that.

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a new interview with david simon, creator of THE WIRE.

Posted by Marc at 01:19 PM | Permalink

Last night The Neuticles tied for second at Dr. Fact's Night of Fifty Questions. We couldn't have been happier because this time there was a consolation prize for second place - Buttermilk t-shirts! We also decided that I should not be responsible for making the decisions for an entire round. When I make those decisions and try to overwhelm my teammates because we need to hand in the answer card, I always give the wrong answers.

No photobooth photos this month.

Posted by Marc at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

ONE HOUR PHOTO vs. OWNING MAHOWNY. i watched both of these films last week on hbo ondemand. robin williams vs. philip seymour hoffman. "owning mahowny" is a lot more interesting. it's based on the true story of a somewhat dumpy canadian banker in the early 80's who stole millions of dollars to feed his gambling habit. the film is as dark, grim and rough around the edges as "one hour photo" is sparkling, clean and fuji-colored.

Posted by Marc at 11:25 AM | Permalink

The 9th Dr. Fact's Night of Fifty Questions is going to be held tonight at Buttermilk. The Neuticles are ready to defend their crown. The last few competitions have been close and I don't expect tonight to be any different. Check out the new poster promoting the event:

Dr. Fact's Web of Intrigue

Posted by Marc at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

this is just a reminder that i also write a blog that's all about television. it's my dvr blog and i just updated it with the list of shows i'll be recording this week.

Posted by Marc at 01:55 AM | Permalink

The Morning News has just posted the new installment of THE LETTERS OF GARY BENCHLEY, ROCK STAR. It's called AT THE PAVILION and is the one thing you should read today if you're going to read anything on the internet. Obviously, I am overstating its goodness. But not by much.

Posted by Marc at 01:09 PM | Permalink

secret movie theatre in paris - HIDDEN IN THE CATACOMBS. very intriguing stuff. the place even had the fake sounds of dogs barking to keep intruders away! (link via boingboing)

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it's time to throw down some links and clean out my bloglines clipblog:

back in june gothamist linked to a few new photoblogs which reminds me that i should update the picture on the front page of balgavy.com and check out all the photoblogs i like. posting jamie's photos from the borrowed camera project would be a good idea, too.

splicing gone wild matt of a whole lotta nothing suggests the idea of the "ego feed" which would combine all of the various feeds he produces with photos and lists and such. i don't fully understand it and i guess that's why i saved it. reminder to self: look back into this two or three months from now.

a link to a review of sharp's kid glove shave gel check out the actual review and all the comments...since it was linked from boing boing and got tons of exposure there are dozens of thoughts on shaving. i have yet to really delve into these. this link also reminds me that this morning i was struck with the urge to shave. i won't be getting rid of my beard but i think i will be carving away a few of the hairs below my lower lip. it's going to look seriously stupid. it's the end of summer, and i'm allowed.

a post from today by jeff jarvis about protests and the convention and the police some interesting thoughts on the nature of protesting and wondering if there's a better way for a group to get their message across.

jon stewart and ted koppel part 2 another link from today, this time from lost remote. i guess jon and todd spoke with each other again and there was good discourse about the nature of media. i'm sorry i missed this. i even watched about 5 minutes of nightline last night, too.

there are one or two other clippings i've yet to really get into but they require some actual thought on my part. i'll have to save those for some other time.

Posted by Marc at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I just read the website for the new cable channel started by Al Gore went up recently. It's called INdTV.tv and they're currently looking for young people (ages 18-34) to become "digitial correspondents."

Terry Heaton's Pomo Blog delves into the concept a little more. Could be interesting.

The cable channel should also hold a contest to give away hundreds of video cameras to potential digital correspondents. I say that because I'm in the market for a new video camera.

Posted by Marc at 01:40 PM | Permalink

Forbes has a list of 60 Cheap Places to Live. I've yet to read this, but I'm sure it'll start off interesting and then get kind of boring. But I'm up for change. And I'm curious to know what's out there. (link via cheap stingy bastard)

UPDATE (30 seconds later): I just realized this piece is slightly interactive! Very Cool. And I am saying this without sarcasm, I swear. I am looking forward to finding out more about various types of communities (Porch-Swing, Happy Hootervilles, IQ Campuses, Steroid Cities, Bohemian Bargains, or Telecommuting Heavens).

Posted by Marc at 06:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)