JANUARY 2005 | DECEMBER 2004 | NOVEMBER 2004

It is the month of December, 2004 and today I learned:

December 30, 2004
That you should never start a page called "LEARNED" if you cannot keep up with it. That darkrooms bring me great joy. That I love the smell of developer. That afternoons off from work bring the spirit back to life. That sometimes it is better to know what you want and not be able to have it than to have all that you want and not know what it's like to crave.

December 29, 2004
That Freeman's restaurant is cozy and delicious. That you cannot take photographs there.

December 26, 2004
That even though Ben Folds Five used to sing about the sadness of the day after Christmas, I do not feel sad.

December 25, 2004
That the generosity of my brothers gains me entrance to the i-cult. That Christmas in our house should be retitled, "The Great Art Book Exchange."

December 24, 2004
That when you've been looking forward to going skiing for weeks and weeks and then it rains, it is AWFULLY DISAPPOINTING. That friends of old are so different than friends of new.

December 18, 2004
That it always takes longer to get places than I expect. It's not very fashionable to be late to something you scheduled. Disappointed in SELF. *curses*

December 14, 2004
That good music I've been listening for for energizing includes, but is not limited to: Ted Leo (Shakin' the Sheets), Le Tigre, U2 (How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb)...and The Streets' A Grand Don't Come for Free is growing on me too...albeit slowly.

December 13, 2004
That learning took a 6 day hiatus. That websites can make you rich. That MY website does not make me rich. That gingerbread houses are excellent. That it's finally starting to feel like winter. That YOU CANNOT TURN OFF YOUR ALARM IN THE MORNING AND GO BACK TO BED AND PROMISE YOU'LL WAKE UP AGAIN IN 10 MINUTES BECAUSE YOU WON'T, NO, ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT WAKE UP IN 10 MINTUES. That the coffee men in the carts have speedy hands. That I should keep all of my doodlings and drawings. That Ted Leo can rock my socks off. That Bowery officially takes the cake for favorite music listening venue in NYC. That not all 22 year olds' salaries are created equal. That Friendster has returned. That I will never, ever get enough sleep on a work night.

December 7, 2004
That those $3.00 umbrellas they sell everywhere are worth less than $3.00. That if you've never tried the roast duck, brie, and fig hot pressed sandwich at Fabiane's, the cafe & pastry shop at the corner of N.5th & Bedford in Billyburg, then you're missing out, BIG TIME.

December 6, 2004
That getting absolutely plastered at company holiday parties is completely acceptable. In fact, it's recommended.

December 5, 2004
That if there were an 8th day in every week, that day would be spent reading the entirety of the Sunday New York Times. Despite the paper's faults, interspersed within the articles are bits of profundity that always make it a great read. This week's Book Review was especially entertaining. A little bit of a dissection, biased of course:

Book Review:
1. The Truman Show: An article reviewing the works of Truman Capote, accompanied by great photographs. In Cold Blood was one of my favorite novels in middle school, though it's assured that I didn't "get it" entirely. The article discusses Capote's rise and tragic downfall, one which instantly drew parallels (in my mind) to F. Scott Fitzgerald's life. The two share a disproportionate amount of notoriety relative to the amount of writing they actually did, both saw career and personal declines after their most successful pieces (In Cold Blood and The Great Gatsby, respectively), both were consumed with an obsession with wealth, socializing, and celebrity, and both succumbed to alcoholism fairly early on in their lives. The author here, Daniel Mendelsohn, accuses Capote of being juvenile for his entire life, living within a small world of self-obsession. Interesting. Read it if you have the chance.

2. King Dave: A review of Dave Eggers's newest novel, How We Are Hungry, by A.O. Scott, who speculates on how much of Eggers's legacy and philanthropy makes him successful rather than his actual writing. Or, in my interpretation, "THIS BOOK SUCKS, BUT LET'S THANK EGGERS FOR THE OTHER THINGS HE'S DONE." Let's not call this counter-culture or the culture of irony or the culture of nothingness...which, if I am not mistaken...would be nihilism.

3. Metaphors Everywhere: review of Yann Martel's newest collection of stories tall tales, The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios that confirms A.O. Scott's point (see 2.) about Eggers's legacy when author Sophie Harrison uses the phrase in description of the book, "one long and three short stories, all with McSweeney's-ish titles." Yes, good job. Let's make McSweeney's an adjective. That aside, I liked Martel's The Life of Pi and will probably read this new collection.

Magazine:
1. House Proud: Questions with Richard Gephardt. This wouldn't be that funny except for the part where Gephardt says, "I like Josh Groban. I like Tony Bennett. I like Nelly. He's from St. Louis. He's a very good rapper. I like Eminem. I have his album." THEN, it gets better when the NYT says, "Some of his lyrics are a little hard to take" AND THEN Gephardt replies, "Oh, I don't listen to the lyrics. I just like the music. I like the beat." Dance to that beat Mr. Gephardt, please dance.

2. Reimagined Math: interesting photos by Hiroshi Sigumoto of plaster castings originally used to teach math.

Arts:
1. The Photographer Who Masked His Subjects: an article about the photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard whose works are at the International Center for Photography from now until February 27th.

2. Death and Prices: questions how the value of art changes when an artist dies, particularly in regard to this year's deaths of three photographic greats, Richard Avendon, Henry Cartier-Bresson, and Helmut Newton.

OK, could go on, but that's more than enough.

December 4, 2004
A lot of galleries show ... um ... shitttty stuff ... but, a few I've visited in the last few days really stand out and are definitely worth a visit. I tried not to express a bias towards photos. It's equal opportunity here at www.youngna.com.

These are recommended:

1. Matthew Cusick's The Map Paintings -- collage paintings made of maps....AMAZING. (Kent Gallery, 541 W. 25th)
2. Gene Davis' 1960's Stripe Paintings & David Lefkowitz's awesome watercolor paintings of structures on corrugated cardboard (Charles Cowles Gallery, 537 W. 24th)
3. Todd Hebert's Neighbors -- lithos, paintings, soooo good (Bellwether Gallery, 134 10th Ave)
4. Timothy Greenfield-Sanders' Porn-star Portraits - jarring, stunning (Mary Boone Gallery, 541 W. 24th ); New Yorker Review

December 3, 2004
That Pop Burger has good mojitos. That there is an amazing smell from the baking at the Little Pie Company on W. 14th. That December sunsets at 4p.m. can make you high. That a trip to the galleries in Chelsea should be mandatory at least once a month.

December 2, 2004
That if you are reading a book in Union Square during lunch and splash some soup on a page, a man who is way too old to be concerned with your soup might come up to you in PERFECT STRIDE and say as though he were waiting for it to happen, "usually I use a bookmark to save my page."

And, you say, AS POLITELY AS IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, "yes, well this page is special and I want to remember it forEVER."
And he says, "What is The Corrections? Who is Jonathan Franzen?"
And, you say, "He writes for the New Yorker magazine.
And, he says, "The New Yorker? Like, didn't that go out of print 20 years ago?"

And, then you hand him your ACTUAL bookmark, which is a subscription card for 46 ISSUES FOR 46 DOLLARS! of the New Yorker and very, very quickly get up and walk away.

THE LESSON OF THE STORY IS: DO NOT EVER, EVER SPILL SOUP ON YOUR BOOK.

December 1, 2004
December creeps up on you REAL fast. That the day after the tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center is a very good day to go see the lights.