December 23, 2009
Uncasville, CT & the capital of the world, NY — Dan and I were rummaging through his kitchen for snacks. The ride from North Branford to Mohegan Sun was about an hour. I opened the cupboard above the refrigerator and found a treasure trove of booze. “Dan, Jesus Christ, you guys preparing for the apocalypse or something?” I said, eyes wide open. “How are you goin’ to get better if you don’t take your medicine?” Dan said, smiling.
Valet parking at Mohegan Sun was $1. Dan really didn’t want to pay but I splurged. The casino was immaculate and empty (just the way I like it). We walked around, won some money and ate some pizza at Geno’s Fast Break (Mr. Auriemma used to cruise around Storrs in a yellow Testarossa, thoughts VoDoO cHiLd?).
The next morning I booked it home to Pleasant Valley to rendezvous with my family. We had a date with the New York Knicks. We crammed five warm bodies into my brother’s five seat Toyota Corolla, parked next door to MSG and dined at McDonald’s across the street (6:47 p.m.). We thought the game started at 7 p.m. We inhaled our food and bolted to the Garden only to find out the game started at 7:30.
We weren’t sitting next to Spike, but our seats were pretty good this year. One day, sigh.
Nothing makes my heart beat faster than seeing the Knicks live. I must have been a good boy this year because my Knickerbockers spanked the Chicago Bulls 88-81. It was beautiful. Harrington and Lee were beasts.
Like we’ve done so for the last 8-10 years, my cousins, brother and I posed for a pic in front of the court. No one thought of bringing a digital camera. My Polaroid made due.
- east coast paper boy
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Tags: basketball, connecticut, ct, gambling, geno ariemma, knickerbockers, knicks, leach, mcdonalds, mohegan sun, nba, new york, new york knicks, north branford, ny, pleasant valley, polaroid, polaroid spectra, spike lee, testarossa, the capital of the world, the greatest basketball team on the planet, the mecca, tradition, VoDoO cHiLd
December 19, 2009
Pleasant Valley, NY – I’m watching Denzel Washington fill the shoes of Walter Matthau in the 2009 remake of “The Taking of Pelham 123.” Washington is hanging in there. He’s sporting different facial hair and some artsy glasses. Other than that, his mannerisms, and the role, is very similar to “Inside Man,” “Deja Vu” and “Out of Time.” I guess that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
So far, director Tony Scott is doing a descent job. The circular camera movement is starting to make me dizzy though. James Gandolfini, Mr. Tony Soparano himself, is a far better mayor than Lee Wallace. There’s just something about that mug.
The film is set in a New York City subway car. The Impossible Project is running a contest also set in New York, but above ground.
Tomorrow the project will select a bunch of Polaroids to be presented “on the billboard in Times Square as well as on this site.” Pretty cool, huh? I’m no expert at photography but I figure, what the heck, let me submit a couple. Here are the Polaroid’s up for consideration:
- east coast paper boy
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Tags: billboard, contest, denzel washington, james gandolfini, new york, new york city, ny, pleasant valley, polaroids, subway, the impossible project, the taking of pelham 123, tony scott, walter matthau
December 16, 2009
Pleasant Valley, NY — I’m watching “The Carter.” Lil Wayne is sitting on a coach. He’s wearing a flat brim fitted, big sunglasses and diamond grills. The camera gets a close up of a blunt burning in his hand. Wayne is in Amsterdam. A song starts. Lyrics from this unreleased track flash across the bottom of the screen “My bullets come with wings and your cerebellum can fly.”
My brother and I have never been the type of kids who wait for Christmas to open gifts. I know we’re not alone. This year my brother gave me the Nerf N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35. The gun is intense. Mom isn’t a fan. She wasn’t a fan when I was 11 and she definitely isn’t one now. I would love to bring it to graduation.
I bought this rare Polaroid Sx-70 with blue shutter button. Now that I have more time on my hands, I’ve been tinkering around with it. The little guy needs some modifications to boost the quality but I got two shots out of it for now. They’re the last two in the gallery:
- east coast paper boy
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Tags: new york, polaroid, polaroid spectra, ny, nerf gun, polaroid Sun 660, lil wayne, pleasant valley, polaroid sx70, christmas time, gifts, the carter documentary
