October 25, 2005
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye
Hey, everyone. You may've guessed that something is awry, given the fact that neither Kev or I has written anything here in a couple of weeks. Indeed, greenideas is officially going to call it a day. I'm just too busy these days to give the blog the attention it deserves,
I've put so much into this project that I'd rather pull the plug now than let it die from non-posting, so this will be it--at least for the forseeable future. The archives will be around indefinitely, so if you need to check on what I said about the last Mountain Goats record or something, you can do that.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by, whether it every day or only once in a while. Thanks especially to the folks who've been with me since day one, by which I guess I just mean Kevin & Emily. You guys are why I started this thing, and why I kept it going for almost two years.
Special thanks also to Kevin, who came on board here when I needed an extra pair of hands.
So, maybe I'll see you guys again when things aren't so crazy. For now, thanks again, and don't forget to get the new Espers record.
Posted by matt at 09:16 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 07, 2005
Shows what you know
Hey all. So tonight is another round of trivia at Magnetic Field, which will again feature questions from yours truly about junk food and all things geeky. Say you read about it on greenideas and I'll give you all the answers to the questions I wrote. Kidding! ...Or am I?
Posted by matt at 11:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 06, 2005
See you in September
In France, they call it "rentree." Stateside, we just call it "September." It's the time to put away your Natucket Whites and get the eff back to work. Which is precisely what I'm doing, so I'll talk to you guys when I come up for air.
Posted by matt at 08:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 26, 2005
Who can it be now?
Say, just out of curiosity, who's looking at this site from Mt. Sinai?
Posted by matt at 02:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Theme week, shmeem week.
Okay, so I'll be the first to admit that two posts do not a theme week make--especially when they're both things I would've written anyway. Whatever. For some reason, I just couldn't channel my inner curmudgeon.
Still, these kids today are out of control and so forth.
Posted by matt at 09:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 24, 2005
Pop quiz, hotshot (Updated)
Hey, real quick: Tonight is the return of Dick Swizzle's Live Action Trivia! at Magnetic Field, which is fun enough in and of itself, but tonight is extra special since yours truly wrote the questions for the "Junk Food" and "So You Call Yourself a 'Geek'?" rounds.
Come out and see if you know as much as I do about snackcakes, video games, or the history of computer science.
"Snackcake" is one of the best words ever. Snack cake. Snackcake.
Update: You know what's more surprising than the fact that a bunch of people know who Cthulhu is? The fact that some of them can spell "Cthulhu." Mad props, spelling bees.
Also, yay to everyone who guessed (wrongly) that Charles Babbage's theoretical device that could perform any arithmetical operation was the Difference Engine. Even though that's the wrong answer, Babbage did invent the Difference Engine, and even went so far as to build one. However, as the name suggests, that device could only subtract. The answer, for those of you playing the home game, is the Analytical Engine... the Analytical Engine.
Lastly, contrary to what one girl loudly exclaimed, the sequel to Metal Gear for the Japan-only MSX computer gaming system is Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, and NOT "You will never ever get laid." So close.
Posted by matt at 11:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 19, 2005
Friday roundup
Yeah, I know I said I wouldn't be back until Monday, but there were a couple of things that needed mentioning. In the interests of time and mystery, they will be aphoristic.
Firstly, "Young" Jon Dixon is one of the best people ever. Looks, brains, everything.
Secondly, say what you will about Cindy Sheehan, but the one the she has that the Bush administration doesn't is an exit strategy.
Lastly, Soxaholix is both insightful and hi-larious today:
Yeah, well, to each his own. I'm not some sick ancient Greek man on boy lovin' maze building oracle consulting freak.
Bye!
Posted by matt at 09:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 18, 2005
Back, but not really
Hey there, luvvies. I'm officially no longer on vacation, but that means I've come back to a week and a half's worth of work to do, so I think the best plan is probably to agree to meet back here bright & early on Monday morning. Deal?
Also, I'm thinking about a theme week for next week.
Posted by matt at 10:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 10, 2005
Summertime, and the livin' is easy
Hey gang, so I'm officially on vacation this week and part of the next, so I'm not going to be sitting in front of a computer all day. As such, posting might be a little erratic. Just so you know.
Also, today is Maureen Dowd's first column back after her (too short) book leave, so not only do we have to suffer her columns again, but now there's going to be another book. With all that in mind, I'm just too depressed to write anything. The good times are definitely over.
Posted by matt at 10:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 05, 2005
Country Crock
Alrighty, gang. I'm sorry to have to bail on you twice in one week, but the whole office is spending today in the country at the boss's summer place, so I'm going to be somewhere green & lakey.
Have a great weekend, and I'll talk to you all on Monday.
Posted by matt at 06:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 02, 2005
Scarred for Life
Oh man, do I ever have an owie. Thanks ever so much to Adam Suerte of Studio Dep for doing such a phenomenal job on my brand new tattoo. For your reference, it's about 6"x3" on the right side of my back, and it looks like a puffy, red version of this.
I'll post a picture over on Hot Chocolate Boy once my back looks less like a really ornate open wound.
Seriously though, any NYers looking to get ink done should talk to Adam. The man is a genius.
Posted by matt at 10:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 01, 2005
Gone Fishin'
Hey, luvvies. I'm taking the day off (from work and blogging) today. Before the day is over, I'll have a brand new suit, and a brand new tattoo. I'll be almost literally a new man. The new me will be back with y'all tomorrow.
Posted by matt at 12:57 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 29, 2005
Okay I love you, bye bye (Updated)
Hey gang. So I'm gonna be in the exhibit hall all day, and it'll be long past the time any of you East coasters will be in front of your interweb machines by the time I get out, so I don't think I've got anything for you today.
Newt Gingrich is here today and I might be able to get a meeting with him (seriously on both counts) so if that goes down, obviously I'll let you know.
Other than that, your homework is to ponder how comfortable you are with the idea of Manny Ramirez getting traded to Minnesota, or wherever they end up wanting to send him. It's funny, I was just um, gently ribbing, someone the other day about being too sentimental about Bellhorn & Millar, but now I'm all Lifetime movie about a deal that could get the Sox a younger, cheaper, more competitive left fielder, while freeing up money for starting pitching. But then again, it's Manny, ferchrissakes.
In other news, I'm slumming today with the San Diego Union-Tribune. It feels so sordid.
Also, just a thought, but has anybody else wondered if there might be a link between the spike in Islamist terrorism in the UK and the IRA's purported foreswearing of violence? Media types were quick to equate the new terror attacks with The Troubles, so it would make sense for Gerry Adams to make the call to give up violence as a PR move to enhance IRA/Sinn Fein legitimacy in contrast to the Qaeda sympathizers. Like I said, just a thought.
Lastly, did you know that an RBI by Orlando Hudson ended the longest game of the season last night in the 18th inning? Me either, and that's 'cause it was an Angels/Blue Jays game. I'd almost rather watch soccer. Almost.
Looks like I had a couple of things after all. I think you can actually plot a graph of caffeine absorption vs. number of paragraphs in this post after I had some coffee (it was about 5 AM here when I started this thing).
Update: Okay, folks. I hope you're all sitting down for this (which I guess you are if you're looking at your computer, but whatever): it turns out that fmr. Speaker Newt Gingrich is one of the good guys now. For reals. There are details to quibble over, but he's got some really solid ideas on how to increase access and accountability for 21st century healthcare. Check out his Center for Health Transformation for more info.
Posted by matt at 08:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 19, 2005
Meh.
You all just don't even know how much I'd rather be writing on a weblog about music or politics or zombies or videogames than doing what it is I'll be doing today. Unfortunately, since you guys haven't started sending me unsolicited checks for large amounts of money, I need to do stupid things that will make me cranky, instead of fun things that will make me happy (like talking to you... awww).
Check back in the PM.
To keep you busy in the meantime, and to make sure that you don't sleep for a couple of nights, why don't you watch the new Chris Cunningham video?
Posted by matt at 09:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 15, 2005
Wrongitude
Being an anal-retentive jerk, I really like pointing out the mistakes of others. For instance: today's FT has a story about scientists cracking the genetic code for three disease inducing parasites. Accompanying the story (in the print editon--not online) is a picture of the Assassin Beetle, otherwise known as the Kissing Bug, which carries the organism that causes Chagas (one of the parasites mentioned in the article). The caption, however, says that the beetle itself is the parasite whose DNA was deciphered. Not so, intrepid reader. The article doesn't make that mistake, though.
Better yet, though, is that how the Pitchfork review of the new Son Volt record namechecks Gil Scott-Heron, but forgets that there was life before Prefuse, and spells it "Scott-Herren."
Is it possible that I wrote all of this because I didn't have anything else to say this morning? Mayhap I did, mayhap I didn't.
Maybe I just don't want to talk about last night...
Posted by matt at 09:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 05, 2005
What's more American than a three-day weekend?
I hope everyone had a good America day. I, like all of you, have too much to do in the aftermath of the 3-day weekend. Also I'm still pissed about Foulke (whose name is almost a homophone for what I was yelling during most of his time on the mound last night) having a predictably terrible 9th inning against Texas, so I don't feel too chatty, either.
To keep you busy (and, you know, smart) Jeffrey Sachs, author of The End of Poverty is blogging the G8 summit for the FT. I encourage you to check it out.
Posted by matt at 09:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 20, 2005
Expletive... Deleted?
Remember when we had ridiculous Oracle problems at the office last week? Well, they're back, and I'm once again uberfucked on a Monday morning. Check back later, as I have some really nasty things to say about today's NYT.
In the meantime, I'll be popping mints like... candy?
Posted by matt at 09:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 13, 2005
Bury me in Silicon
Yowza! Due to a massive Oracle-related issue at the office, I'm kind of swimming in work right now. Check beck later, though. I assure you that we have much to discuss.
Posted by matt at 11:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 03, 2005
Where Did That Come From?
See, here's (one of the many reasons) why I love Kevin. This is a text message I got from him (note the time):
From: Kevin
Quine is still my
hero. Love, kev
2:16 am 6/3/05
The Quine of whom he was speaking is, of course, the late Willard Van Orman Quine, professor of philosophy at Harvard University for the last half the 20th century. In case you were wondering (and of course you were), WVO Quine is indeed the father of Robert Quine, guitarist for Richard Hell & The Voidoids.
After Russell & Whitehead's Principia Mathematica, Quine's corpus contained some of the acmes of philosophical achievement in the last century. His most widely circulated ideas being those of ontological relativity, and the so-called "web of belief." The latter turning on the equally important notion of meaning holism that Quine uses to reject the notion of analytic truth (in the seminal "Two Dogmas of Empiricism")--this being one of the few instances in the history of philosophy where a reasonable quorum of philosophers think an argument actually settled an important question.
Quine will always be a bugbear for more traditionally-minded analytic philosophers. His critiques of that strand of thought, unlike those from France and continental Europe, are firmly rooted in the discipline's own vocabulary and methodology. It's so easy to blow off somebody who brings up some bullshit Wittgensteinian "critique" of whatever it is you're trying to establish. When your interlocutor throws "Two Dogmas" at you, however, there's genuine cause for concern.
At the same time, he was fully prepared to accept consequences of his arguments that contravened his worldview. Despite his relentless quest to rid the world of abstract objects, he nonetheless reluctantly admitted sets into his ontology since he could honestly see no way of having math without them.
All of this is to say, yeah Kev, Quine is still my hero, too.
PS Speaking of philosophy, I want to congratulate Robert Cummins on his new job at U of I Urbana/Champaign. Back in my academic days, I waged what could only be described as a small holy war to get Cummins's mounmentally underrated work (particularly his 1996 Representations, Targets, and Attitudes) more widely discussed.
Posted by matt at 09:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 02, 2005
Lowest of the Low
Yeah, this blows, but it's going to be necessary: for the time being, comments on all greenideas blogs will have to be approved by Kev or I before they go up on the site. We're getting all kinds of comment spam, and this is the best stop-gap measure I can think of (or have the time to implelement).
Kevin has speculated elsewhere on how spammers com into being, but i'd now like to offer an alternative account:
Some megalomaniacal foreign despot (possibly Doctor Doom) is recruiting the most wretched drunken pedophiles in Bangkok (a place where a mere one night will make a hard man humble), wresting the opium pipes from their nearly useless limbs, forcing them to read E-Mail for Assholes, and chaining them to 386s in some sort of office park/salt mine in Karachi. They then set upon the internet to hawk their genital enhancers and userous mortgages. At first, even they feel shame at what they're being forced to do, but the misery of their environs eventually erodes the final scraps of their humanity, and they pass the rest of their short lives ravaging innocent inboxes with Dionysian glee. Then their bodies are sold for use in Chicken McNuggets and tennis ball fuzz.
Either that, or wireless connectivity has developed to the point that they can now get Wi-Fi access in Hell, and l:ow c0$t v14gr4 is Lucifer's opening salvo in an all-out war on God's creation.
Bad News.
Posted by matt at 09:58 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 31, 2005
Tuesday=Monday?
Yikes! I've got a lot of very frantic calls and e-mails to return this morning, and I just spent a really long time in a pretty pointless meeting, so I'm hella swamped right now. Check back later today, okay?
New (smog)=frickin' awesome.
Posted by matt at 11:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 23, 2005
Lame Alert, Status: Orange
There's new stuff at hot chocolate boy. Fair warning though, it's uber-wussy. Rest assured, I'm still all about sports, hot chicks, and violence.
Posted by matt at 01:37 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 16, 2005
Put Your Shoes and Socks on, We're at Grandma's
Sorry for the incommunicado, gang. This trip has been way busier than the last couple.
Some important things about Orlando:
- Universal theme parks effing rule
- Orlando's Winter Park neighborhood is a much nicer place to retire than Boca.
- Limoncello, in Winter Park, has freaking fanstastic risotto, and if you tell your waiter you're from New York, the chef might put truffles in it!
Anyway, I'll be back in New York tomorrow afternoon/evening, and I promise that we're going to have tons to talk about.
P.S. They're covering the hell out of the conference I'm at on CNBC (there's a ton of money in cancer drugs, obvs).
Posted by matt at 07:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 13, 2005
It Is a Small World After All
"Matt Henry, you've just finished setting up your organization's booth at the American Geriatric Society's Annual Meeting. What are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to Disney World!"
So yeah, I totally went to Disney World, and you know what? It was awesome. Maybe not $100 awesome, but still pretty awesome. I managed to trade my sense of ironic detachment for genuine enthusiasm somewhere between row 41 of the "Minnie" parking lot and the monorail, and boy am I glad I did.
Without going into too many specifics, it was really fun. I couldn't have been more psyched to go on the Haunted Mansion ride (pictures TK, maybe), and the jungle riverboat was fun if only because I couldn't help but be reminded of the Riverquest Safariventure.
So, we have a lot to talk about, but it's going to have to wait. I'm really busy with the job that pays me, and also with the jobs that don't, so it's going to have to wait a bit. But let's talk soon, okay?
Posted by matt at 08:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 10, 2005
Implement Contingency Plan Alpha
Hey guys. I'm in lovely Orlando, Florida through next Tuesday, so expect the normal business trip posting weirdness. If you guys behave, then maybe I'll bring you all back those Mickey Mouse ears with your names on them. Actually, I'm thinking about maybe buying a digital camera while I'm down there so I can document how fun (or, alternately, boring) it is.
Also, I'm sad that Alan Sparhawk is crazy.
Also, the first hotel I'm staying in is called the Gaylord Palms. Heh, Gaylord... heh, palms.
Mp3s later today. Maybe some Edan, maybe some Okkervil River... who knows?
Posted by matt at 06:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 30, 2005
The Miracle of Life
Whaddya know? It turns out that when backed into a corner, I can develop some serviceable web chops. Anyway, Kev and I hope you all like the new site, and we beg for your patience while we get the rest of the content moved over and fix some lingering issues (like the fact that most posts in the archive are there in quadruplicate for some reason. Little things).
At any rate, if you're even a fraction as excited as I am to see the new digs, then you're having a very good day. Oh, and if you look off to the right there, you'll see that the greenideas archives are now fully searchable. How cool is that?
Molars and Hot Chocolate Boy will also be making the switch in due course.
Posted by matt at 03:21 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 27, 2005
Growing Pains (Updated)
You like us. You really like us. Kevin and I are thrilled that you guys are so enthusiastically stopping by to take in the content and downloadable goodness, but it looks like we're getting too big for our hosting here at Typepad. As such, we've decided to call it quits...
Just kidding. Actually, in the next week or so, we're going to be moving to our new home at greenideasblog.com. We'll let you know when it's all put together, but in the interim, please be patient while Kev & I hammer out the details.
Thanks for reading,. Keep on... tranglin'...?
Update: Holy crap this is hard! I'm going to need some serious soy protein for this.
Posted by matt at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 20, 2005
Good Ideas at greenideas
Okay, Kev may've had a point. At least for the time being, I will once again be doing double duty here at greenideas and at hot chocolate boy.
Posted by matt at 03:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 19, 2005
I (Heart) NY
How lovely it is to be back on the East Coast! Despite the massive amount of work that piled up during my week away, my lingering tiredness from being awake for 40 hours straight, and the lingering back pain from my treadmill accident knife fight, I am thrilled to be back in NYC and back with you guys.
If you've never been, and you're curious, San Francisco is pretty much exactly like it was portrayed in Manhunter 2: San Francisco.
Posted by matt at 10:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 14, 2005
Far Far Away
This is neither a travelogue or a Red Sox blog. That said, here was my afternoon today: Once I got through with work for the afternoon, I'd resolved to not hunker down in a sports bar to watch the Sox/Spanks game, but rather to go and see some San Francisco sights. Nonetheless, it turns out that Haight Ashbury is really boring, and Amoeba Records is just a really big record store. Around when I was realizing these things, the game was tied at 5-5, so the idea of hunkering down in a sports bar to watch the game was much more attractive than having a scoop of Cherry Garcia from the Ben & Jerry's at the intersection of Haight and Ashbury. I'm glad I did. I think the three Sox homers have effectively dispelled the mythos of Randy Johnson, and I think Bronson Arroyo is going to be a really good pitcher. Also, I think the Red Sox are good at baseball.
Two other thoughts on baseball today:
Thought #1: Gary Sheffield is a cock (but that Sox "fan" is an even bigger cock).
Thought #2: How 'bout them Nationals?
One other thought on Haight Ashbury: Which do you think is funnier, the fact that there's a Ben & Jerry's at the actual intersection of Haight and Ashbury or the fact that there's a Gap across the street from it?
Speaking of things that people think, I wonder what Kevin thinks about TO. I also wonder if Kevin is alive.
Posted by matt at 11:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 06, 2005
The Man Who Wasn't There
Between music wheeling/dealing responsibilities and my, you know, real job, I'm super busy this morning. I promise to have something for you later, though. Thanks for your patience. I love you like I love my own kidneys (and I really love my kidneys).
Posted by matt at 11:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 30, 2005
Arrgh!
Hi guys. Um, I'm actually insanely busy today. The Schiavo story isn't going anywhere, and now the pope is on a feeding tube. This all makes for a busy matt. I'll definitely have something for you today, but I can't give you a timetable.
In the interim, I encourage you to read Bill Bradley's editorial in today's NYT. It's several different kinds of awesome. Maybe it'd be fun to take a stroll through some of the sidebar links, if you haven't done so in a while. Rep for greenideas all over the interweb.
Anyway, let's talk soon.
Posted by matt at 09:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 25, 2005
Organization is Fun!
That oughtta do it for the week, but before I get out of here, I wanted to call your attention to the new archive category over there to the right. All review content (regardless of the medium) is going to live there from now on. So, if you just want to see what Kev and I have to say on a variety of things, most of which are records, you'd go there. And of course you want to see Kev's and my opinions. If there's one thing you should've learned by now reading greenideas, it's that he and I have impeccable taste in pretty much everything. Okay bye!
Posted by matt at 03:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 21, 2005
Homeward Bound
Okay, kids. I'm back in NYC. I didn't come back with a gorgeous tan or anything, but I think I did get at least enough sun that I now show up on film, so that's something. Miami ruled so effing hard, and I'm not as psyched as I should be to be back. Although, I'm very psyched to get back to you guys and to some kind of normal posting schedule.
Before I bring the Miami story arc to a close, I do want to extend a hearty "thank you" to the (roughly one or two) people who went very far out of their way to make the trip extra awesome. So, you know, thanks and kisses.
P.S. If you're ever in Miami, and you think of good food as art, for god's sake go eat at Wish.
Posted by matt at 10:04 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 14, 2005
Noooooooo! (Updated Again)
My worst fears have become grim reality. I realize that the NYT, FT, and WaPo are going to be difficult to come by down here, but I was holding out a sliver of hope that the paper in front of my room would be the Miami Herald. Instead (and I guess I knew deep down that it had to be thus), it was USA Today, the McPaper. It made my skin burn when I touched it.
Update: Yeah, I was cranky about the paper thing, but then I went outside and it didn't seem to matter anymore. Go figure.
Other Update: Also, the newsstand downstairs has the NYT and the FT. Rage subsiding.
Posted by matt at 08:24 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 13, 2005
Bienvenido a Miami
Hey, gang. greenideas matt here, reporting from Miami, FL (no, seriously). I'm here on my first ever honest-to-god business trip, staying in a $500/night resort hotel (It's where the Rat Pack held court when they were in Miami, which is a huge fucking deal to me, given the way I like to fetishize old school machismo.). You could totally kill me, couldn't you? Well I swear to god you're going to have to come down here to do it 'cause I'm never leaving.
On the real though, there's more to this post than simple boasting. I wanted to give you guys a heads-up that the posting schedule might be a tad wonky while I'm down here. I promise I'll be writing every day, but it probably won't be the normal morning-time routine. More likely, I'll be sitting in the hotel bar in the evening, drinking expensive whiskey (don't ask how much Knob Creek is here) and looking out at the bluest damn water i've ever seen in real life--kind of like I'm doing right now.
Anyway, kisses.
Posted by matt at 09:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 09, 2005
If Thy Nose Offends Thee
I've never considered running any "how-to" or "self-help" segments in this space, but I feel like there's a situation that needs to be addressed for the good of the republic: the overuse of cosmetic fragrance. On this, two points:
Point #1: If, after applying some of your cologne/perfume/after-shave, you can no longer smell it on yourself, (and I'll say this with the full force of typographical emphasis) it's not because you haven't put enough on! Simply take a damp washcloth and remove some of the excess fragrance (not my washcloth, fucker).
Point #2: It's been said (mostly by commercials for AXE body spray) that scent is the sense most closely tied to memory. Whatever that is supposed to mean, it most assuredly is not supposed to mean that the smell of your personal fragrance should linger in a room long after you've left it. If there is a you-shaped cloud of Eternity that stands in olfactory proxy for you when you've gone to annoy a whole other group of people, it's time for a drastic rethink of your hygiene regimen.
This advice is well in keeping with what Aristotle himself may have counseled with regard to the use of cosmetic fragrances. If he were alive today, and we were to ask him how to properly scent ourselves, he would surely say that moderation in all things is a virtue. Word that, Ari.
If it seems like I have some very personal axe to grind in this non-sequiter of a public service announcement, that's only because I do.
Posted by matt at 11:26 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 04, 2005
Williamsburg Bridgebuilding
Due to a growing string of positive experiences in the fiefdom of ironic facial hair, including the awesome time I had seeing Dentist/Dentista at Royal Oak last night, I'm going to go ahead and upgrade the status of Williamsburg from "Ahh! Get it off me! Is it still on me?!" to "Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." Congratulations, Williamsburg. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow for the BPB & Matt Sweeney show at Sound Fix.
Of course, the newfound goodwill towards the Slope's cousin to the North could evaporate in a heartbeat if the place turns into Lord of the Flies over the weekend with no L-train service starting tonight and continuing until Monday. Expect the worst. Sucks to your ass-mar.
Posted by matt at 10:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sea Change (See? Change!)
Hey gang, greenideas matt here. I was mulling this over last night, and it still seems like something worth pursuing even without the preponderance of hearty Scottish ale. When this blog was just a wee thing, I definitely worked towards a more journalistic tone that seemed to be a good fit with the more news-oriented content (also to make perfectly clear that this space is in no way a livejournal). That's becoming less and less the case, so it seemed like it might be time for a rethink. Going forward, we're going to drop the first-person plural thing (except where appropriate), and go full on first-person singular in all of our pronouns.
Maybe the change will be made a little clearer with the help of an example:
greenideas old-type: Seeing Katrina Vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, on "The Chris Matthews Show," sends our hearts aflutter.
greenideas new-type: Seeing Katrina Vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, on "The Chris Matthews Show," sends my heart aflutter.
(I'll admit that Ms. Vanden Heuvel wasn't my first choice for an example, but I'd feel really bad if I caused the first-ever case of death by blushing.)
Anyway, let's see how this works out. I already feel a little weird about not having my little shield of pronominal ambiguity, but that's something we I we can work on together.
This does mean that you guys will need to keep track of who writes what, which you can do by looking at the handy "Posted by" thingy at the end of each post. A couple rules of thumb, though:
- If it's about Canada, Kevin probably wrote it.
- If it's about Espers, that's me.
- If it's even a little bit about literature, that's all Kev.
- Football = Kevin. Baseball = Me.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you guys will be down with the new thing. Right. Cool. Let's do this thing!
Posted by matt at 10:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 21, 2005
Hail to the Chiefs
What's up, holiday? Like everybody else out there, greenideas is taking the day off. We're going to sequester ourselves in our cozy Park Slope walk-up and contemplate our favorite Commanders in Chief. We suggest you do the same (but, you know, in your own houses).
If you're looking for something holiday-appropriate to do, Bravo is showing a West Wing marathon all day starting at 11 and going until midnight. As we always do for these things, we're going to make red, white and blue nachos and drink Northeastern beers to celebrate how freaking awesome it is to be a New England liberal. Bartlet Kerry Clinton Bayh Somebody good in '08!
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February 14, 2005
My Bloody Valentine
(Apologies to Gothamist for using this image. That's what we get for not looking at you guys until we're about to leave work.)
Hey, gang. We hope you're all either having a good Valentine's Day or have managed to forget that today is anything other than Monday.
If you're looking for something to keep you busy while those awful people exchange overisized teddy-bears and chocolate body-paint, consider coming out to Magnetic Field for their Valentine's Day Dance Party. There will be flagrant violations of Cabaret laws and enough chalky heart-shaped things to fill the Gowanus.
Speaking of fun things to do this week, Katy Mae will be playing at Southpaw on Wednesday. For those of you who aren't familiar, KM are a trio of dapper young men who've undertaken to pry what's left of so-called "alt-country" from Ryan Adams's cold, dead fingers (after making sure that his fingers are, indeed, cold and dead). Due to our being really bad people, we haven't seen a Katy Mae show in a really long time, so we're definitely going to be there to take in all the hot rawk action. So should you be.
Posted by matt at 03:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 07, 2005
Love is in the Air
Okay, we're just going to come right out and say this: we're in love, and it feels great. After seeing Nation editor, Katrina vanden Heuvel, on "Chris Matthews" yesterday, we're totally bewitched, bothered, and bewildered. She was all wearing this super-sexy leather jacket in clear defiance of Sunday show dress code, and talking about Bush's plan to bankrupt the elderly. So hot. We even thought it was cute that she picked the Eagles to win yesterday (actually, we thought it was pretty cute when anybody picked the Eagles, but for different, more condescending reasons).
So, Katrina, if you're ever in Park Slope...
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February 04, 2005
Warm Fuzzies
I'm going to cast aside whatever misgivings I have about using this forum for such an obviously personal task, and give you this: an open letter to whoever steals my newspapers every day.
Dear Asshole:
What is your effing problem? Isn't it obvious that somebody paid for them? Both The New York Times and the Financial Times cost $1 each. If that's more than you're willing to spend, I'd suggest saving money by purchasing subscriptions to those fine publications. At least, that's what I'd suggest if there weren't "people" like you out there who clearly can't grasp fundamental concepts of property and, oh yeah, basic fucking human decency. Fucker.
Seriously, I'll kill you.
XOXO
Matt
Posted by matt at 10:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 19, 2005
Happy Birthday to Us!
As we mentioned before, Monday was greenideas' first birthday, and we're totally psyched! There were definitely a couple of rough patches there (like when greenideas matt was steeped in academic angst. Remember this? And this?), but all in all it's been a fantastic year.
While we've been doing this, we've seen the best thing to ever happen in the history of everything ever, as well as one of the worst. Of course, we've also heard so much great music. Remember when the Espers record was up on the music sidebar for freaking ever? We've been there for absolutely every step of the way in the explosion of interest in great folk music (from then to now). We've seen bad things happen to pop stars, over and over and over and over again. Hell, we've even been there for a genuine biblical plague!
In case you haven't been with us from the very beginning, which you haven't (unless you're greenideas Kevin, or e), maybe you'd like to take a look at our first ever post to see where it all began. We know it makes us a little misty.
Loquacious as we may be around here, even we can't possibly convey how much we've enjoyed writing this here weblog. And we heartily thank all of you for reading and commenting. Wet, sloppy Xs and big bear-Os to each and every one of you.
This won't be the last retrospective we do this week, so don't use up all of your nostalgia just yet.
Posted by matt at 10:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 07, 2005
Clash Hanging Out of the Titans
Yesterday marked an historic moment. greenideas Kevin was actually in New York, so the two proprieters of this here weblog actually got to hang out and talk face-to-face about the blog for the first time. We talked about where we've been and where we're headed, and also bored our friends by exchanging recommendations of records by bands that could easily have been made up on the spot. Kevin still doesn't believe me that there's a band called "Appendix Out."
At any rate, we're (that's the literal "we," Kev & I) pretty psyched about how things are with the blog right now, so don't expect too much messing around with our winning formula. However, you should most definitely expect exponential increases in the level of awesomeness on an almost daily basis.
Posted by matt at 10:05 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
January 05, 2005
A Little Help?
Can you guys do us a favor? Since the 109th Congress got started with a bang yesterday, we were maybe going to do something on this site, either a collection of links to other resources or an essay of our own, about (read: "against") the new plans to reform (read: "dismantle") social security and maybe about some other parts of the Republican legislative agenda.
Would anybody be interested in that? We get the feeling that only some, or very few of you care too much about the political content we occasionally put up here. Normally we'd just go ahead and do it anyway, but this is something we're planning on really putting some effort into, so we'd kind of like to know if anybody would actually want to see something like that.
If you guys could take a second to let us know, in comments or e-mail, that'd be swell. Thanks.
Posted by matt at 11:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 29, 2004
A Kinder, Gentler greenideas
Well, I guess it was only a matter of time, but my parents have finally found my blog. Showing a total disregard for all of the super-sneaky espionage skills I've learned from playing all four Metal Gear games (Snake's Revenge sooo doesn't count), I accidentally left a browser open with with this page up when I was home for the holidays. In light of this development, I'm going to have to alter the content of the blog to make it a little more parent-friendly.
In the past, we've been awfully hard on the Bush Administration. Well no more, gang. From now on, Kevin and I are going to use this space to applaud the dedicated group of public servants that currently occupies The White House. They're doing their best to secure a future for democracy in the Middle East, as well as fighting the good fight to create an ownership society in America. Whatever that means, I'm now totally behind it.
Also, I've been a real potty mouth lately. That doesn't reflect very well on me as an educated young man, and it's not fair to you, the readers. So, from now on I'm going to speak only in a manner which befits a gentleman.
I know you guys are as excited as I am about the new tack that greenideas is taking.
Anyway, I'm going to go put on some seasonally appropriate clothing and head off to Bible Study. See you there?
(NOTE: Pretty much the same thing happened to one of my personal heroes, Mr. Chris Onstad. This is how he handled it.)
Posted by matt at 08:54 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 25, 2004
greenideas Holiday Special: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Hey guys. greenideas Matt here, coming to you live from scenic Virginia Beach, VA. I wanted to wish everybody a happy Decemberween/Festivus/X-mas. Also, I wanted to brag about getting the best X-mas present ever! Behold the glory:
If you can't read the print on that, it's a draft of the script for one of my absolute favorite movies of all time, The Evil Dead, signed by none other than the man himself, Mr. Bruce Campbell. Holy crap, man. That's awesome.
Also, in honor of the holiday, I thought I'd make a little photoessay on my own humble beginnings. Skeletons will barrel screaming from the closet after the jump...
Okay, before we get started in earnest with this, I just have to show off some treasures I discovered when I was thumbing through my old baseball card collection (I don't know who that guy on the right is):
Look at those dashing young men. So full of promise! Also, there's Pedro.
This here is the gift thingy they gave out at my junior prom. It's a champagne flute with a candle in it! Darling! Also, as you can see by reading "Matthew's Ruler" (thanks, Mom), it stands about 7.5" high. The text on the flute says "An Evening of Elegance." Indeed it was:
Speaking of prom, this is a photo of a photo of me with my date. As you can see, she was a very charitable young lady:
(As a basis for comparison, there's a more recent photo on my about page. I like to think I'm aging gracefully.)
This is my third grade report card. It's actually a remarkable reflection of how very little I've changed since then. I'd still give myself an "S-" on being responsible for my personal property.
You've really got to love that "O" on "Is Courteous and Considerate," though.
This is the ticket for what I tell people was the first show I ever saw:
If you can't read it, it's Rollins Band with Therapy?.
This, however, is the ticket for my actual first show:
Ghost Rider rules so fucking hard: 
Lastly, and only because you all must've had your suspicions, I thought I'd just come out and show you this:
Seriously, it's a minor miracle that I've ever had a girlfriend.
Anyway, I'll be back in NYC tomorrow, but I imagine that things will still be a little slow around here until the new year. I'm sure Kev and I will find something to say in the next week or so, but it shouldn't be all that much. At the same time, I doubt that you guys will be reading too many blogs as you're probably all in and out of your offices for the holidays anyway. So, whaddya say we meet back here in the new year, deal?
Posted by matt at 11:32 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 03, 2004
In-between Days
Okay, so we've got this ridiculously exciting data entry project to get to tout de suite, so we're going to have to postpone adding the next couple of tracks to the Holiday Depression Mix until either this evening or maybe tomorrow. Also, we may or may not say something about Yushchenko's Rosacea (By the way, it's totally Rosacea). So, until then, we're gonna put on some TMBG (the official theme music to data entry) and, you know, tappity-tap.
Posted by matt at 09:36 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 30, 2004
When Things Get Nasty
Okay, so there was some unpleasantness this morning surrounding greenideas Kevin's old post-election posting. Choosing, as we normally do around here, to take the high road, we responded in a manner that was probably more gracious than was necessary.
However, in a personal e-mail to Kevin, we made some comments that were considerably less... considered. Anyway, Kev thought you guys should be able to read them. We should say, however, that they're a little inflammatory. As such, we stuck them after the jump...
For the record, if you haven't gone back to see the comments on the original post, the commenter's name was "faggot," which was very clever and totally hit us where we live. Anyway...
From: Matthew Henry [mailto:greenideas@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 10:44 AM
To: kmhyde@wm.edu
Subject: RE:...
yeah, faggot totally answered a lot of questions i had about who those googlers were. i want to e-mail him and learn more. "hey faggot, how much do you spend annually on wank lube? what about padded retardo helmets?" "say there, faggot, do you ever look around your broadband-equipped hovel and think 'my life is fucking *awwwesome*'"
i could murder him with my bare hands. it would be a mercy killing, and i would be awarded a congressional medal of honor for it. it would be a murder that the nation would rally behind cos it was like i was murdering who everyone was *thinking* about murdering. i'd be like the anti-peterson. i would be raised on the collective shoulders of a nation and angels would fart rainbows in approbation to usher in a new era of enlightenment. jesus would give me five. up high! down lo--too slow, jesus.
mh
So, yeah. Pixy Stix should not be considered part of a balanced breakfast.
Posted by matt at 03:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 24, 2004
What We're Thankful For
Hey gang, it's greenideas matt here. I'm getting all caught up in the spirit of Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd get a little sanguine on you and make a list of things that I'm really thankful for this year (presented in no particular order, and I should warn you that this is gonna get sappy towards the end).
1) The new wave of psych-folk that broke hard this year. Personally, I can't even imagine what this year would've been like if not for records by Espers, Cyann & Ben, Joanna Newsom, Suburned Hand of the Man and so many others. Just about every record in this little sub-genre I bought this year, particularly those by the artists just mentioned, grabbed ahold of me and absolutely refused to let go.
2) Calexico. I'm absolutely obsessed with thankful for Calexico right now. All records should have mariachi horns on them. All of them!
3) Guinness.
4) The Boston Red Sox. Oh my god. I honestly still can't believe it. I still get giddy every time I think about it. Honestly, I even got a little misty this weekend talking about Foulke's trembly toss/hand-off to Mientkiewicz.
5) Blogging. No, seriously. There have definitely been times this year when it's felt like a chore to do this, and plenty of times when I've totally neglected my blogging responsibilities. Nevertheless, I do feel really lucky to be able to do this, and I look forward to doing it for a long time. Also, I'm definitely thankful for Kevin for taking on some of the responsibilities around here. How about a big hand for Kevin. (yay!)
6) You guys. No, seriously. I can't believe so many of you come by here every day to see what Kev and I have to say. It really does mean a lot to me, and I know it does to Kevin, too. I also want to especially thank those few of you who've been on board since day one, and who told all of your friends about this goofy thing I started. It meant a lot to me then and it means a lot to me now. You know who you are, and you should know how I feel about you (especially someone who's got a birthday coming up...).
Okay, Christ. That's it. I'm about to lapse into a diabetic coma, so I'm gonna go ahead and shut up. Thanks again, though.
Posted by matt at 10:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 05, 2004
Big Doin's
A couple of questions:
1) Do you live in/around Brooklyn, NY?
2) What're you doing this Sunday, November 7th at around 6:30?
If the answers to these questions are (respectively): "Yes" and "I dunno. Not much, I guess," then you best make it out to Magnetic Field in picturesque Brookyn Heights. The caliber of acoustic music that will be on offer will be the stuff of legend. Future genrations will talk of it as having ushered in a new era of peace and prosperity. The situation will not be unlike the triumph of the Wyld Stallynz over whoever the bad guy was in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.
Rachael Cantu will knock you out with the overwhelming awesomeness of her songcraft and her honey-sweet voice. For reals.
Then, if you're ready, Lovers (nee Carolyn Berk) will amaze and astound you with a bevy of acoustic-psych tunes somewhat akin to what would happen if Mazzy Star reunited for the sole purpose of inhabiting Neutral Milk Hotel's wide-eyed dreamscapes.
The whole affair will be kicked-off in proper fashion by our very own greenideas matt, who would dearly appreciate it if people would come out and support two of his best ever friends.
All participants in Sunday's festivities also qualify as eye candy, for those of you who care about such things.
Posted by matt at 11:20 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 01, 2004
greenideas original programming
Annoying Nickelodeon Shows and their Pain-equivalent Home Surgery Procedures
Doug
According to Nickelodeon’s own description, Doug was ‘an average pre-teen with average problems’. Fair enough. Except, since the animation work was apparently done by people who suffered from a sort of waking fever dream brought on by the consumption of debilitating alkaloids, it looked like most of the time Doug’s main problem was a monster case of delirium tremens, such was his degree of shimmying and shaking. Doug, man, lay off the sauce, you’re only 11. As an added perk, the music for the show was not only virally catchy, but also mercilessly irritating: imagine awaking in the middle of the night with a seismic toothache and Joe Jackson’s “Steppin’ Out” stuck in your head. You’re sweating under the covers, and god knows where your pants are. Now add ‘stubborn gas pains’ to that scenario and you’ve got the Sound of Doug.
Home Surgery Pain-equivalent: Fix that aforementioned toothache with nothing but a pair of cuticle scissors and some ‘Castaway’-style moxie. Post-op recovery = bathing in hot Diet Coke.
Clarissa Explains It All
This was one of the many lame-a-tronic live action shows that Nickelodeon foisted on an unsuspecting ‘tween’ demographic in the early 90’s. Plot summary for every single episode: sassy teen navigates the many perils of having loving, but clueless parents and a toxically pubescent younger brother by confessing her thoughts and emotions to the camera. Clarissa was, in reality, about as sassy as a milk-stained lace doily. The only remotely exciting aspect of the show was the fact that her male best friend, Sam, had almost limitless access to her bedroom, thanks to a suspiciously convenient ladder, and Clarissa’s patent lack of defenestration skills. It would have been much more interesting if, instead of avoiding her doofus family, Clarissa had been motivated only by an unshakeable angst and rage that fueled her very core and made her shoot up smack in camera for attention and love. As it stood, this show did a dismal job of preparing kids for teenagerhood, at least those kids who lacked both a camcorder and attractive opposite-sex friends with extendable ladders.
Home Surgery Pain-equivalent: Using an anesthetic paste of expired Pamprin and mashed potatoes, remove and then varnish both kneecaps so you can use them as decorative coasters. Now dance like no other biped can!
You Can’t Do That On Television
Nothing in the world can quite approximate the feeling of arational dread that this meta-titled show could elicit. To wit: the main set was composed of a short wall or counter in the middle of a hermetically sealed geodesic dome, where the child stars would interact. Whenever anyone said ‘I don’t know’, they were ‘slimed’ with a green, muculent (poison!) substance. Any request for water was quenched by a pressurized blast of aqua to the head. The kids who starred on YCDTOTV had no idea that they were prisoners, held captive in some sort of Cartesian mindfuck. Considering that any profession of ignorance or thirst was met with extremely negative reinforcement, one would think that the kids would be conditioned over time into becoming arrogant know-it-alls who hydrated by drinking each other’s bitter, nervous sweat. The only visible adult on the show was an archetypal sexual predator who wore his hair parted, his lip mustached, and his torso swaddled in plaid. YCDTOTV was originally aired in Canada, and it’s as if the producers channeled the accreted toil and wintry misery of every inhabitant and poured it into this show.
Home Surgery Pain-equivalent: Drop 92 tabs of LSD and shave your head with a cheese-grater. Perform exploratory surgery on your abdomen with a can opener and a paper towel tube, while the entire strobe light inventory of six local Radio Shacks phases into and out of synchronization. Recoup by lying on your shag carpeting and listening to a warped vinyl of the Waitresses’ ‘Christmas Rapping’ on repeat.
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 24, 2004
The New Thing
Hey, gang. This is greenideas Matt here, with a couple of announcements that I hope you'll find as exciting as I do.
Announcement the first: It's rather impossible not to have noticed the moribund posting schedule around here these last few months. This is due to some pretty drastic changes in my work/life that have made it rather difficult to give the blog the attentio