Free Beer, Saddam's Laywer zings foxnews, and Eddy Curry

I was thrilled to catch NPR's coverage of free beer, an open-source concept applied to beer.

Was watching foxnews last night when they announced saddam's execution. greta van straten interviewed saddam's lawer, and asked about Saddam's guilt(i'm paraphrasing here):
"what about the 150 people saddam killed in 1982, did he ever talk to you about that? and what about the 5000 he gassed in 1988, did he ever talk to you about that?"
to which saddam's laywer zingned back about America's guilt,
"And in 2006, 750,000 killed in Iraq."
to which Greta quickly changed the subject. Wow.

And finally, and probably least importantly, last night's loss in Phoenix. Stephon was off, but he took 17 shots, curry only took 11. I didn't see the game, but if they are collapsing down on curry and he can't get into his groove on the post, then outside shooters MUST make their jumpers, if we are to have any chance. Make the jump shots, defense stays honest, then get the ball back down to curry. but it is phoenix, they're a great team. nash, bell, stoudemire, matrix, that guy from the hawks whose name ecapes me, they have endless amounts of offense. knicks need to continue to improve on both ends of the court.

Knicks beat another top team, this time in triple overtime

As my lovely girlfriend robin said, it was a beautiful game.
Jeffries took Lee's starting job tonight but it didn't matter, lee still got his double double, his 6th straight.
WE BEAT THE PISTONS. the best team in the east. we just lost to the sixers, the worst team in the east. what is going on here? well, out of the last 5 games, it seems like most of them have gone into extra sessions, or brawls, the team has had recent suspensions, and injuries.
but we fight hard, we play together.
steph was great 41 points. clutch free throws, clutch drives to the basket, he made his lay ups tonight, played like the mvp of the game, was better than hamilton but fouled out in the first OT.
curry 30+ points AGAIN.
Jamal finally found his shot in the third OT, 26 points.
Frye had over 20, including some clutch shots in the overtime.

So, we just have to learn to win against the crappier teams. We need Q back, but we don't need francis nor robinson to win. in fact, its beginning to be clear to me that we win more without francis and nate playing for us. its nothing against them, we just have better chemistry when they don't play.

Q better start to like marbury or he should sit too.

Knicks win third strait at home, break Chicago's 5-game winning streak 103-92

Well it feels great to see my Knicks play so well together. We have to keep this lineup when everyone comes back from suspension and injury.
Tonight Steph had his career averages of 19 and 8, Frye and Lee BOTH had double doubles, and Crawford with the big 30 point outing against nemesis Ben Gordon. Curry showed up Ben Wallace with 20 and 6.
What does this mean for the New York Knicks? It means that both Nate and Francis are not needed on this Knicks team. It means that since we've got a great young fundamental player like Mardy Collins, that he can fill in for Steph or Jamal when they need to rest. It means that Quentin and Jeffries need to earn their minutes because although they both play great defense, three victories in a row speaks louder than statistics, the players who are playing now deserve to continue to get the minutes. This is the only three-game win streak this season for the Knicks, why try to mess with a good thing when everyone comes back?
Steph will be 30 in Febuary (as will Francis) BUT he is playing great ball with the extra minutes. Balkman is so versatile he's been able to guard some of the NBA's quickest guards and most powerful forwards.
bottom line is when the chemistry is a big problem -as it has been over the past two years- once you find something that works you stick with it.
Great chemistry tonight with 9 players available to play.
David Lee is becoming a leader for this team. With all these double-doubles, Lee seems prime to be a future all-star.
Eddy Curry really does deserve to be an all-star candidate THIS YEAR.
I'm happy for Steph's recent success.
Jeffries is the only guy I think deserves any minutes when he comes back, everyone else's minutes should be reduced (francis, nate, quentin), and they can earn their minutes back should the knicks start loosing again. Quentin is a great team player, a great shooter and defender but he doesn't like Marbury and doesn't play well with Steph, plus he has chronic back problems that force him to occasionally miss games. If it isn't broken Isiah, please don't fix it.
Nets lost tonight, which is a good thing for the Knicks and their playoff aspirations! Kristic got injured, which is bad for them, but good for us.
Fire Isola!

Live Music Archive

I stumbled upon this incredible site from a link on the bardo pond website, hummingbird mountain.
There seems to be many, many live shows of interest available for FREE download. They even have shows in various formats, ogg vorbis (my format of choice) or vbr mp3, flac, its crazy.
This is what the Internet founding fathers (who must be all of 40 years old by now) had in mind. Okay, perhaps not but I'm sure they wouldn't object.
Share the love!
The larger Internet archive has audio books and several other forms of media from all over the place.

New shows for the new year

If I see frank "kkk" isola at any of these shows I'm going to beat his ass.

Man Man Jan 5th Bowery $14
The Dears Jan 19th Webster Hall $20
Camera Obscura Jan 24th Warsaw $15.50
Deerhoof Jan 26th Irving Plaza $16
Trans Am Feb 24th (two shows) Knitting Factory $13
Acid Mother's Temple April 24th Knitting $13

George Karl calls Isiah a Jackass? An open letter to George Karl

Well you bald prick George Karl, at least Isiah has two championship rings (three including college at Indiana University) that he earned, what have you earned for yourself beside your subscription to hairclub for men and an annual pass to the Denver Nuggets all-you-can-eat 24-hour buffet? that's right, nothing, you fucking Larry Brown asshole-licking tub of shit.

You couldn't win with Shawn Kemp,Gary Payton, Nate Mcmillan and Ricky Pierce, all in their prime, you can't coach worth a lick and soon you'll be fired from your position with the Nuggets just like all the other positions you've unsuccessfully occupied in your career.

Here is a prediciton for your lousy team, should you make it as an 8th seed in the Western conference: your sorry ass team gets knocked out of the first round of the playoffs just after Marcus Camby goes down with another season ending injury. Carmelo, due to HIS OWN ACTIONS, will not be chosen for MVP, and you'll be searching the classifieds once again trying to convince someone that you once knew Dean Smith.

You swear on the lives of your children that you didn't leave your 4 starters in during a 20 point blowout to run up the score? Do you not think your children will someday be smart enough to deduce how much of an asshole you are by reading your quotes?

Let's see. Both the Knicks and the Nuggets were both fined $500k each. Know what this tells me Mr. Karl? Perhaps David Stern does think that you ran up the score by leaving your starters in. If Isiah ordered the hard foul, it doesn't mean he started the riot. Nate and J.R. Smith started the riot.


***Addendum 12/19/06***
The above comments were made prior to the Allen Iverson trade. I still don't think any George Karl lead team can amount to shit, but they probably can make it to the second round now due to sheer talent. Karl, go polish that bald yet empty head of yours you tub o lard!

Marbury leads Knicks to overtime victory over Jazz

I knew that Steph and Jamal would have a big night tonight against the Jazz because, lets face it, they are the only two active guards for tonight's game.

I was at the garden tonight wearing all my knicks colors and looking for those punks Frank Isola and Mike "the Larry Brown puppet" Lupica but those cowards were nowhere in site. They were probably so dissapointed the Knicks won tonight because it doesn't further their agenda of controling the team through their newspapers to ultimately have Isiah Thomas fired.

What I did see was an 8-man team go into a war with one of the top teams in the NBA and come out on top.

David Lee, you are a true Knicks warrior and you have the fighting spirit of Knicks great Charles Oakley. It is a shame any night where you don't get 40 minutes to display all of your skill and hustle (please learn how to shoot free throws and throw decent passes, btw).

In 45 minutes, Lee was 8-12 from the floor, had 17 points and 20 rebounds in addion to two steals and three assists. Congrats, hopefully Isiah will realize you need MORE minutes reguardless of how deep this team already is, you can't please everybody.

Congrats to Channing Frye for putting up a double double and coming up with the defensive stop of the game, blocking Carlos Boozer on the low post! 10points, 10rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Also congrats to Jamal Crawford for shooting his way out of the slump and coming up big in the final quarter and overtime with 18 points.

But mostly congrats to Stephon Marbury, who put the Knicks on his back tonight and let it ride with a big game, 29 points, 8 assists, and the game winning, buzzer-beating, drive-the-length-of-the-floor lay-up. Though they had to review the tape and the garden sat and anxiously awaited the decision, Marbury ran strait to the locker-room after the winning basket.

I also want to mention Renaldo Balkmen's tremendous defensive hustle throughout the game, getting blocks, getting deflections, what a great energy pickup for the Knicks! 15 rebounds for balkman tonight, also 7 points and two blocks.

Eddy Curry was a no show tonight, but he did a good job on Boozer when he covered him.

Kelvin Kato had 4 blocks! I like the players that played tonight. We just need Q and Jared Jeffries back. I like Mardy Collins too, he's a true Knick warrior and when he gets more playing time after we trade Nate and Francis people will see that he is a fundamentally sound player, particularly on the defensive end, where the Knicks need help on the perimeter.

Go to hell to all the Jazz fans (also known as the NY Beat writers) in attendance tonight at the Garden.

Fire Mike Breen from MSG Network!

Hey you uncle tom traitor Mike Breen, get the hell off my Knicks games, you anti-Knick, you watered-down ABC colorless commentator. Get somebody with some passion to call the games, I've been to insurance seminars with more emphatic speakers.
I'm sick of hearing you side against the home team during games that you call, saying bruce bowen doesn't take cheap shots at players and when a Knicks player does it on orders from the coach, you condemn him and are so disgusted.
Now you're siding with George Karl and Carmelo Anthony after the brawl. Who are you? Go call games for the Denver Nuggets, you swine.
Why don't you just resign your position if you hate the Knicks so much? NO-ONE like you, you politically correct asswipe, get the hell out off of MSG!
Let Gus Johnson and Clyde Fraiser call all the games, and when one of those two needs a nite off, let Kenny Smith call some games, but treacherous Mike Breen has got to go, because I can't stand his point of view, always siding against the Knicks when they're fucking paying him to call the games.
By the way Breen, you're fucking boring on top of all your anti-knicks sentiment.

Knicks versus Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony shows his true colors

Carmelo Anthony, with all his millions of dollars, couldn't buy class tonight at Madison Square Garden.

Carmelo Anthony, you fight like a bitch. Let me clarify that, you coward, Carmelo Anthony. You don't call yourself a man, Carmelo Anthony, and then punch somebody in the face, who isn't looking, doesn't have their hands up ready to fight, and the run away as fast as you can. Let me clarify that Carmelo, you, are a pussy. But how can I expect you to act civilized, you are an animal, Carmelo Anthony, and if you ever set foot in NYC if I'm around, I'll happily punch you in the back of the head when you're not looking, your over-paid son of a bitch. You have lost any credibility you've ever had as being a professional or a New Yorker and I now consider you as honorable a player as Latrell Sprewell after his "feed my family" comment.

The foul by Mardy Collins was a hard one, and the garden crowd over reacted with an "ooohhh." They're thirsty for blood, they're thirsty for anything, the knicks never win so they want to see a fist fight. But if you are a professional basketball player, J.R. Smith, you take the hit and take your free-throws and move on. You could do that or you could show your true colors as a common thug who happens to get 90 million dollars from Nike, as Carmelo Anthony did tonight. It seems early criticisms of anthony after he entered the NBA unfortunately were right. And ESPN, probably at the behest of commish David Stern, is selling this sucker punch as a half-punch, half-slap! I'm not buying it! That was clearly a closed fisted punch, and should be viewed as such when its time to dish out punishment. Anthony's publicists have tried to change his ghetto image with $1.5 million donations to kids and what have you, but in the heat of the battle Carmelo, we've got evidence of your character deficiency.

Class is not what happened tonight. Tonight was for the animals, it was for the cowards. And I say I applaud Mardy for fouling J.R. hard because he shouldn't be doing reverse dunks while up 30 at the end of the game. He should be on the bench, so should Carmelo, and this is an indictment on the coach of Denver, that looser George Carl. You disrespect us in our home, George Karl, we foul you hard. However your players react after that is your fault, because you shouldn't be playing them anyway when your team is up by that much with so little time left in the game.

That bald cocksucker George Carl is Larry Brown's best friend. He probably left the starters in the game to humiliate the Knicks as revenge for NY's humiliation of Larry Brown this summer. Too bad he has lost his star Carmelo to suspension just to appease his mentor.

Kudos to Mardy Collins and Jared Jeffries, you are true Knick warriors and I will cheer for you next time at the garden.

No love for Nate, because although he was fighting for the knicks, this is not the first time, not even this season, that he has escalated a situation on the court. He is proving to be an instigator, because he always talks and doesn't back down like a pit bull about to tear you a new asshole. Nate, you are out of control.

PETA are a bunch of assholes

I have been a strict vegetarian for about nine full years, but never during this time did I identify or sympathize with the group PETA.

I have witnessed PETA attacks on New Yorkers who wear fur, and although fur isn't something I'd ever wear, I always thought this extreme kind of violence to be the wrong way to get a point of view across. They seem to me extremists. They are not nice, animal-loving people, but human-hating people. The people that eat meat need awareness and information, not preaching, and in this country you have the right to eat meat if you so choose. Throughout the nine years of vegetarianism, during meals, I've been made fun of and persecuted by people that eat meat but I still don't think this kind of movement is the right approach to a solution.

I have never advocated my own dietary habits, because to me it is a matter of choice, and just because I chose a certain path doesn't mean that I think everyone else should choose that same direction in life.

I know if everyone was vegetarian it would be better for the world in terms of animal cruelty, energy, water supply, health, but should that Utopian society occur where everyone abandons cars and rides fixed gears everywhere -including to the local vegan-only restaurants, it should come by the free will of the people, not by absolutist doctrine enforced by some holier than thou hipsters trying to change the way people live. I predict that in the future this kind of evolved society will come eventually. Its just too bad that PETA is impeding progress by giving vegetarians negative publicity. They think they're raging against the machine but in reality they're polarizing prospective vegetarians.

Scroll down to the bottom of this link to see what PETA recently had to say to the players of the NBA.

go Veggie

Knicks beat Johnsonless Hawks

No Joe Johnson that is. A win is a win, right?

Well I have to make this remark reguarding tonights mintues allocation:

David Lee's minutes better not, at all, decline because Jeffries is back.

Magic Johnson was at the game tonight and during an interview he referred to Lee as a Knicks hero. That's high praise from one of the best players EVER. Also, the other night Rick Kamla was concerned Jeffries would steal Lee's minutes as well.

Tonight Lee got 21 minutes, but its tough to say his minutes reduced because the game was a blow out.

David Lee is double-double guy, and he can do some things that Jeffries can not. They should both play, along with Quentin, Curry and Stephon. Isiah, mess with everyone else's minutes (Crawford, Frye, Francis, Nate, Balkman) but please, give your main players the minutes they deserve: Lee, Stephon, Quentin, Jeffries, Curry.


Lee's numbers in recent games are loaded with double-doubles and are as impressive as Curry's as of late.

New York looses to Boston 97-90 after Knicks continued to miss free throw opportunities

I was at Madison Square Garden tonight for what should have been the fourth home victory of the season, had it not been for an overall poor shooting effort from the New York Knicks.

Jared Jeffries was back and came off the bench to take all of Renaldo Balkman's minutes, but it wasn't enough to get past the lowly Celtics, who seem to have the Knicks' number this season at Madison Square Garden with a 2-0 record.

Contrary to popular belief, this one was not Marbury's fault. Hey Isiah, why did you call that time out at the end? You Isiah, messed up the Knicks' momentum down the stretch.

Eddy Curry is now a force in the Eastern Conference, and what is the league doing in response? Hack-A-Baby-Shaq. And its working. Thing is Eddy Curry, for his career, isn't that bad of a free throw shooter.

Perhaps the Knicks never practice free throws, because tonight the entire team missed free throw opportunities. In fact, only one player for the Knicks shot better than 67% from the free throw line, Nate Robinson (2-2). The Knicks were 17-32 from the line.

And yet Nate was no hero tonight either with his silly fight with Telfair. No one had it going besides Curry, the booing idiots of MSG can blame Stephon Marbury all they want, but the entire team sucked in terms of shooting percentage at 38.9% from the floor. Curry was 50% from the floor but, like I said, every time he touched it in the fourth, Doc Rivers' players seemed ready to foul him and send him to the line.

Curry finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks. David Lee had another double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds while Stephon added 15 points and three assists.

Inland Empire -FINALLY!

I saw the film at IFC Center on Wednesday! I was quite excited as I had been waiting for this new Lynch film for years. Actor Justin Theroux was there and did a short Q&A session with the audience during our 6:10pm show. The question I wanted to ask but was too afraid to was "is there anything you can tell us that might help interpret the movie?"
I mostly love David Lynch's work. Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, and Blue Velvet. This one is different in that it doesn't have that trademark Lynch look to it (digital video versus film), but it still feels very much like lynch.
Impressions- I remember many darkened doorways, corridors, lots of shadows, at times I was reminded of 8mm, it seemed at times like I was watching Blair Witch Project. There were several lines which were repeated throughout the movie, that had a lasting effect.
Laura Dern, what a remarkable performance. Schitzo, to say the least. She played at least three roles during this movie.
The rabbit head family, I needed my girlfriends input as to their significance.
In fact, I learned much about the film afterwards, when three of us went for a beer to help digest everything.
Though I had trouble following the narrative I think we pieced it all together and I would like to perhaps give it a second shot and see if it all comes together.
there is a lot of tension throughout the movie, there are many instances where you can not tell if what you're seeing is real to the story or part of the movie or a dream or nightmare, and its just kind of eerie/scary at times although the film has some light hearted moments that come unexpectedly.
I would reccomend Inland Empire to Lynch fans only.
Although he lost me a bit on this one I would watch any and every Lynch film I come across.
things theroux said after the movie:
the actors never really know how things are going to look when the movie is finally assembled. they just show up, lynch goes over a few things, they shoot it lightheartedly.
The experience was more up close and personal because of the DV format Lynch was actually holding/walking the camera for some scenes as opposed to the film process which was more disconnected.
apparently lynch is oblivious to pop culture to the point that theroux has to explain to lynch who people like Jim Carry are.
some asshole in the audience asked theroux to compare his experience with Inland Empire with Miami Vice, to which Theroux replied "i hated miami vice"
Apparently there was enough footage for 3 films, and Theroux said many seens they shot didn't make the movie. The way it transitions into other scenes it could have gone on infinitely, but eventually it had to be taken down into a finite movie form.

Coney Island's Astroland will close next summer

 The park was sold to new developers that intend to creat a year-round resort.  The landmark cyclone rollercoaster was saved from the redevelopment plans and is on contract with the city, hopefully never to be touched by redevelopers.
I hope Village Voice's Syren Music Festival continues on...

Article on Renaldo Balkman proves NY Beat Writers are Asses

Leave it Si.com to illustrate just how incompetent those ny knick beat writers have become. This is how you write a Knicks article not spewing negativity, you hacks. Sitting courtside eating hotdogs everyday (I bet you anything those 'beat writers' write off all that junk food in addition to the courtside seats as company expenses) only to later blast the franchise like a blind conformist idiot isn't what I call beat writing, but hey, some editors seem to think it worthy of their newspaper's names (see NY Post, NY Daily News in particular).

Isiah Thomas Must be Fired

I just came from church so let me try not to be so profane about this.

Isiah Thomas is trying to save his own neck again by putting the blame on someone else. He did it with Larry Brown, he did it with Lenny Wilkins. He has reassembled this roster several times over to no avail. Not one of the teams Isiah has built has had any chemistry, and although he has an eye for drafting good players, he has no vision of a cohesive basketball team.

Now Isiah is trying to blame Stephon Marbury for his failures. Before the season started, Isiah and Mark Aguirre asked Stephon to change game to be more of a ball distributor for the Knicks. Stephon, having so much faith in stupid Isiah, has agreed to anything and everything the CBA bankruptor Isiah has said. The knicks, now 5-10 (although .500 on the road where Isiah can't make the home team turn against Marbury) look as bad as last years 23 win team.

I don't know if I've said this here or not but now I believe we must fire Isiah. Fire him before makes any more moves that make Frank Layden look like a basketball genius. Fire Isiah before he bankrupts MSG, before he give away unprotected lottery picks for lard-asses devoid of competitive spirit, fire Isiah before the richest team in the league looses what has been the most loyal fan base of any team in the NBA over the past 30 years. Let Isiah go, let Isiah commentate on that shite network ABC/Disney/ESPN, because after shaming the knicks with his presence these past 4 or 5 years, he'll never work in the NBA again as anything more than a draft scout.

I should have known he wouldn't have worked for the Knicks, he was traded here from detroit in the final days of his basketball career only to refuse to play for them. what was Isiah's quote regarding similar Antonio Davis signing?
"This ain't charity".

But it would only be divine benevolence for Isiah to resign his positions with the Knicks and never come back.


Who should the knicks hire if and when Isiah Thomas makes his exodus from New York? Why not have Kiki as GM? He is a former Knick who has also assembled an athletic roster in Dever only a few years ago. I think either Herb Williams or Mike Fratello would be fine replacements for Isiah the coach as well.


Fire Isiah!

Knicks' season already seems lost according to NY Writers

So there is a mess at the Garden again this year and this time it is Isiah's job that is on the line so who is left to blame now that Lenny Wilkins, Don Chaney, Larry Brown and Scott Layden are all free of responsibility? That's right, Marbury.
No wait, that can't be right!
Why has everything Knicks related I've heard or seen this season seem to be about Stephon and how him and Francis are the cancers of the knicks?
Look at it this way, either Isiah goes or he paints another picture to the media about why it is someone else's fault and that person goes. Which do you think Isiah is going to choose?
These days everyone loves Nate. And I'm a fan of Nate's, but he IS NOT A POINT GUARD, assholes! He averages 1 assist per game. Just one. Now you're going to dump Marbury so that Nate can start? that is trading one problem for another. oh and by the way, I still hold Nate responsible for Channing Frye's injury last season, and who knows if that injury has had any effect on this season's production from Frye.
So, its a mess. You have Stephon, Francis, Nate, Jamal, Quentin and in two weeks Jared Jeffries, all asking -if not demanding- for minutes on the perimeter. Now, you need Jeffries on the perimeter because he can ignite a fast-break style offense so consider him the only one you MUST play. Nate, Jamal and Q all have come off the bench during their Knicks tenure so what does this mean? Either Stephon or Francis has to go to accommodate Jeffries' return. Which is it going to be? Only Isiah and that guy from canada know at this point.
Here is another possible solution:
Sit Curry
Start Frye, Lee, Jeffries, Marbury and Francis. See what that team can do on the floor together. you'll have Curry, James, Richardson, Crawford and Robinson coming off the bench with Balkman, Kato, Collins and Rose as reserves.
You have to isolate the problem. To me, the problem starts with perimeter defense. you get jeffries back, and the knicks give up fewer outside shots. if the problem is marbury or curry, you tinker with the lineup, one player per game, until something works, ie, the knicks win for once.

No one can tolerate another 23 win season. no one can tolerate chicago getting a high pick in the draft again. if the season is lost and those two things end up happening, I'm going to a hypnotherapist to have all traces of my knicks fans roots eternal-sunshined out of my mind.

Blame Isiah. All he can do is draft good players.

All systems, no go.

It seems for some reason that every online system is not working today.
Don't know if it is some virus floating around or what.
But I can't log into anything.
I'm surprised blogger let me log in, actually.
Weird.
Hackers.

new blogger? knicks thus far.

So this is the new blogger.com interface? seems a little different so far, but not much. the font has changed and now their linking my gmail account to this account, seems like some kind of identity attempt in my opinion.

all i can say about this season so far is that they're trying to make Marbury the scape goat for loosing. During training camp they asked him to change his game so they can start winning but so far its just meant taking less shots for the sake of being a distributor on a loosing team. I'm still rooting for steph, hope the new system works out for him and isiah doesn't trade him just to save his ass -you know common thought around the league is that if you trade steph your team automatically gets better.

i don't know if there is a cancer in their locker room or if they're just learning a new system. i would hope only 10 games into the season that the team is still unified during this initial adversity, but no one knows, not owner James Dolan or myself.

Who is doing Mitsubishi's car commercials?

A few years ago it was Spoon's "We've Been Had" that was featured in a Mitsubishi tv commercial, tonight I could swear I heard The Fall's Mark E Smith
"I was walking down the street"
During a new Mitsubishi Outlander commercial during the knicks game on MSG Network.
Holy shit. How can this be? Nobody seems to care anymore, all indie rock bands do car commercials in the early 21st century, but The Fall? The holiest of mid 90's indie rock bands, in my eyes?

It could have been a song called "IBIS-AFRO MAN", but its uncertain if this was indeed the fall or simply a copy cat. You know, sometimes car commercials sound like the strokes but they're not always actually the strokes...

Well if it was them I still love the fall anyway.

(the fall play brooklyn's studio B tonight after what seems to have been a very short set at hiro ballroom the other night for CMJ)

New York Knicks Sign Kelvin Cato

The 6'11", 275lb center Kelvin Cato was signed today just after the New York Knicks announced the waiving of Elton Brown, Million Clark, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, and Paul Miller.

Cato has been known to be an effective shot blocker over the years. He spent last season on the Pistons and two previous season with the Magic.

It is assumed that this pickup is insurance in case Jerome James never recovers from his planar fasciitis. Starting center Eddy Curry, although effective at time offensively, has shown very little this preseason in terms of rebounding and shot blocking.

The roster now stands at the maximum of 15.

Knicks forward Jared Jeffries out with Broken Wrist

The New York Knicks' newly acquired starting small forward probably won't suit up for the Knicks season opener on November 1st against the Memphis Grizzlies. Jared Jeffries injured his wrist during a dismemberment of the pathetic New Jersey Nets in a preseason game just a few days ago. Jeffries is expected to be the defensive glue for the team this year and my only guess is this means increased minutes (possibly starting minutes) for swingman Quentin Richardson, who has been rumored to have had a great training camp earlier this month. Rookie small forward Renaldo Balkmen, depending on how he fairs during the remainder of the preseason, could also see some of Jeffries' minutes at the three or four spot this season. Jalen Rose does not seem thus far to be in Isiah's master plan, particularly since Isiah intends to go young this year.

Knicks guard Steve Francis is also injured, though his injury appears to be less serious.

The Knicks play on Tuesday at home against the Boston Celtics and again against the Celtics on Saturday in Boston.

knicks win preseason game against Nets, 111-97

Watched it on MSG TV last night. Mind you this is admittedly becoming a blog primarily about the Knicks, its becoming clear. I don't mind this however, if you don't mind either.

Well they won by about 20 points last night, even though they were without a set rotation. It seems like everybody on the team got 15-21 minutes last night, which leads me to the first issue: determining a lineup. This is going to be tough for Isiah to figure out, because, you could argue that at least 10 guys on this squad deserve solid minutes, and if he divides all minutes evenly, that means guys like Marbury and Francis are going to get 20-25 minutes a game which would be career lows for each former all-star. I have no solution to this problem. The second unit last night is truly an energizer team. Its like all 5 collectively could be called the microwaves plural, while vinnie johnson of Isiah's Pistons was singularly "the microwave." With James out (the one guy who has not earned deserved minutes since coming to the New York Knicks) look at this 5 coming off the bench

Nate Robinson - A dynamo, learning to distribute the ball in addition to his natural abilities.
Jamal Crawford - Didn't fill up the stat sheet last but you KNOW he can play from the second half of last year. I'm worried that the success of Crawford and Francis is mutually exclusive.
David Lee - Makes things happen on both ends of the floor, an intangibles guy, feisty competitor. won't back down from Nowitzsky or any one else.
Quentin Richardson - Already showing signs of redemption, rumored to have had the best training camp of all the knicks. Shot seems to be falling except the three ball (so far).
Renaldo Balkman - Another intangibles guy. Lee, Balkman and Jeffries are going to help win ball games. Scored 11p and pulled 7r in just 15 minutes. Lee plus Balkman equals a great combination and they showed signs of cohesiveness and compatibility.

As for Mardy Collins, he had a very nice block during the game and also a great ally-oop to Clark, a small 2 guard that should make someone's roster during the regular season.

Paul Miller didn't find his rhythm in very limited minutes, but I know from seeing the summer team that he can play pick and roll with Stephon (remember Steph and Doleac's brief interaction?) if he is kept on the Knicks past preseason. With Jerome James indefinitely questionable, I'd say either Miller or Elton Brown have the best chance of taking that 15th and last roster spot for a guaranteed contract. Unfortunately I doubt Tskitishvili is a player in Isiah's mold.


This Knicks team, which is trying to emulate certain aspects of various offesnive and defensive systems encountered by Isiah over time, coasted to 111 points without relying very much on its starters. This is an athletic team, a team that will turn the ball over but can and will force turnovers and cause fast breaks and layups. Every player on the Knicks scored last night.

Fourty wins seems very possible. Worst case, 30 wins and Isiah gets fired mid-season.

Linux brought my laptop back from the grave

Years ago in school I became intrigued with linux during an operating systems class I took during undergrad. Red hat was the distribution of choice back then, in fact that was the only distribution I knew of at that time. The desktop was Gnome, and there was this slow browser linux used called Firefox by Mozilla. We'd go into those computer labs, open up a terminal, login, type some commands to our virtual machines and that was it. Whatever I typed in I didn't learn much about. But my professors and friends were confident that this was a superior operating system and that it was more powerful, more robust, more secure, etc. I took their word for it and continued to use windows.

Over the years I had the urge to get back into linux to learn for myself this time and so I started looking for a distro to try. Red hat was no longer the most popular Linux OS. Apparently they went corporate and left their loyal fans instead with a community distro called Fedora Core, which I downloaded but have yet to install. I'm sure its nice.

Now there are all these live CDs where you can run the distro without even having to install it onto your hard drive. I think one of the first I tried was Ubuntu, which was impressive because so little of the hardware went undetected, I didn't really have to configure too much. Then I went .iso-crazy, I also tried Mandriva, Damn Small Linux (to see where a 80MB OS got me), Knoppix, Kanotix, I even installed SuSE but that didn't go as well as Knoppix or Kanotix.

I'm pretty sure I like KDE over GNOME but both are really fine replacements over Windows. There is definitely a learning curve to the linux experience though, and there are still times when I don't know what these people are talking about on these forums, but I usually end up getting it in the end. The forums are an awesome feature incidentally, both Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS have tremendous resources in their forums. Overall I'm sure it is easier to learn to use Linux now than when everything was through a terminal. Now there is a GUI for every task, everything is already detected, so I really expect Linux to have a bright future in the computer world.

My experiment let me to dual booting for a while with Ubuntu Breezy Badger and a bootleg copy of Windows XP on my home PC which is very modestly a AMD Duron 1GHz with 650MB of ram and a 20GB hard drive and a 52X cd-r drive. Not much but enough to do basic computer stuff, and that's all I really needed. I began to use Windows less and less, preferring Unbuntu for its look and feel. Then it got ugly fast. I wanted more space for Linux and less for Windows so I used the unbuntu partitioner that comes with the installation disk. You know what, there was an error during the re-partition. I lost my windows partition and all the unbacked data on it. This saddened me a bit, but not as much as you'd think. Computer catastrophes have happened to me so many times with PC's that I've come to adopt an easy-come easy-go attitude about computer files and mp3's. I try not to think of personal stuff like photos and such, whats gone is gone :(

I used to have a laptop. It died in 2004. My dell inspiron 8100 was a costly machine when I bought it back in 2001, so when it died about three years later, suffice to say I was a bit disappointed. I got dell on the horn and after walking me through a few test they declared my hard drive had fried. They wanted around $400 for a new one -I'm sure they figure since the computer has been out for 3 years, they can ask any price they'd like for the replacement because it is proprietary and I've got no choice to accept their terms. I said no and gave up on the machine. I didn't throw it out though, it just sat there at the bottom of my closet for over two years until my brother asked me for the laptop case to use with his new macbook. But wait, now that I have all these LiveCD isos burned, perhaps I can resuscitate my laptop and just run the disk from ram! It worked. It got even better when I tried to install on the hard drive, it seems dell just wanted another $400 off me because linux is up and running on my laptop without any major problems so far. I doubt if I even have any hard drive problem.

I now run PCLinuxOS on both my laptop and my desktop. Its a great OS, maybe it could be a little faster, but I really think this has got to be one of the most user friendly linux distros out there. My favorite so far. Perhaps in a few months I'll be ready for something like Slackware or Gentoo but for now PCLinuxOS is the way to go. Besides, with Ubuntu, I was using Automatix to install all the extras that Ubuntu leaves out, and I'm not sure how much I trust Automatix. It seems like a great script but you never know. PCLinuxOS comes pre-configured to play mp3's and other codecs, it's really ready to go right off the bat, even more than Ubuntu. Perhaps on the dvd and win32 codecs have to be added. That's not much.

Anyway, cheers to linux for all their flavors and distros (it's a slight addiction to keep trying more of them) and cheers to linux for saving of my old dell laptop. I'll be damned if I'm going fork over any more money to Ol' Bill G. just so I can run Adaware, Spybot and Trend House Call Virus Scan every single day.

Flin Flon at Cake Shop

Last night's show was a good time, no doubt. I feared we wouldn't get it but we just made it, $8 to see this band play in what seems to me a different lower east side than say the one of three years ago. Cake Shop is a small little record shop on Ludlow, they have some kind of coffee bar to the left when you first walk in, and a used vinyl shop in the back. If you hang a left after the coffee bar, you'll find some stairs down to the venue, which is pretty narrowly enclosed. Downstairs there's a bar to the left again, this time its not coffee, and the stage -an unraised little diddy with white christmas lights atop the low celings- is after the bar.

I am a big fan of Mark Robinson from two of the great indie bands of the 90's: Unrest and Air Miami, so without actually hearing and Flin Flon before hand, I knew when I found out last minute about their show that I wanted to go hear them play.

Flin Flon is a three piece band, I thought I read online that they're from Boston, but I heard them say they're from Maryland. The chick bass player is feature in the music heavily, the bass lines are of an Air Miami liking, perhaps even more prominent and catchy. The drummer was great, provided some top-notch indie rock licks. Yet Robinson, inspite his calm stare out to the cake shop crowd, did not overly impress. The music was a bit repetitive (not unlike recent The Fall records) although very catchy and danceable, but I do wish it had been Air Miami or Unrest show. Overall I'm glad I went to see them play and I will buy their album to support teen beat records. They need some Flin Flon mp3's on their flippin' website!

Knicks news

Former Knicks 2-guard Allan Houston may be joining the ESPN staff as a studio analyst. Houston spent last season as a sideline analyst for MSG Network's televised Knicks games. Kenny Smith will call 20 more Knicks games for the New York Knicks this upcoming season. Patrick Ewing calls out Eddy Curry as not having the desire to be a great player, which is what I was screaming all last year on this here blog. Its not a heart problem that he has, but he's got not heart. Hopefully Curry will prove us wrong this year and prove knicks boss Isiah Thomas right (Isiah predicted he would be an allstar team candidate for the Knicks in his "quick" system).


>>>newsday.com

On MSG's Boomer Esiason Show, Patrick Ewing said he should have finished his playing career where it started.

"It was both our faults, the Knicks and my own,'' Ewing said. "I should have ended my career with the Knicks.''

Ewing, who has resigned as an assistant to Jeff Van Gundy in Houston, said he would consider another job, but there is nothing going on right now. Ewing said he still roots for the Knicks, but he questions Eddy Curry's desire.

"Does he have the drive?'' Ewing said. "Does he want to be greater than myself?''

The show re-airs on MSG on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

*

For the second straight year, TNT's Kenny Smith will work about 20 games on MSG, filling in for Clyde Frazier.

Knicks Summer School 2006: Steve Francis Studies under legend John Lucas

can't wait to see the new francis team up with the new marbury.
so many doubters, so many critics look to see this Knicks team fail. They just want to kick them while their down, criticize their contracts. Thomas, Curry, Marbury, Francis, all of the Knicks should take that personally and try to be better than the Nets and Chicago this year.
I saw the few moments that Steve and Marbury were on the floor together and it seemed like a great combination for the Knicks, particularly when they were running. I just hope that Francis and Jared Jeffries can make up for the rebounds that Frye and Curry may not get. Rebounding was not a problem for the Knicks last year, incidentally. The Knicks main problem was defense. The Knicks looked confused for most of the season on the defensive end of the floor. Larry Brown could have had something to do with that aspect of their loosing.
"Steve is as gifted an athlete as LeBron (James) or Kobe (Bryant), any of them," Lucas said. "Every year he doesn't make the All-Star Game is an embarrassment. We're trying to get him to slow down and see the game. I've really challenged him in front of his peers. He never answered back. He did the work. Normally, it would have been, 'I don't have to hear this (stuff) from Luke.' Now, he's just worked hard to put it all together."

Steve Nash's take on Shaq and Zo's idiotic comments

"I know if I played one-on-one with Steph, he'd beat me probably every single time," Nash said Friday. "So in many ways, he's right."

Shaq jealous of Marbury's shoe sales

In a seemingly random criticism on Stephon Marbury, podunk wannabe cop Shaquille O'Neal has recently rehashed comments made by Stephon Marbury over two years ago, claiming Marbury needs to "let his game do the talking," referring to Marbury affirmation that he is the best point guard in the NBA. In an outlandish statement, Shaquille O'Neal, who in 2004 refused an invitation to play for his country's bronze-winning USA basketball team because "Larry Brown is not Phil Jackson," said Marbury and the Knicks would have benefited from another year WITH Next Town Brown. Why, you might ask, would Shaq, who recently won his fourth title during his ongoing illustrious career, concern himself with struggling NY's starting point guard? Well, the ONLY thing I can think of is he is envious of the fact that Starbury's new shoes actually sell. Stephon Marbury recently released the Starbury One, a urban city-geared basketball shoe that sells for $15 and has been a daily national sellout since its release nearly two weeks ago. People are lining up for this shoe hours before their local Steve and Barry's opens up. On the contrary, Shaq's monstrosity of a shoe retails for $40 dollars and is the frequently the arse of jokes on basketball courts as far as the eye can see. Players won't wear the shoe for $40, let alone buy it for that much. The Starbury release coincides with O'Neal's recent anti-starbury banter, perhaps because no one would be caught dead wearing a pair of crap shoes sold at your local Kmart, as he might now realize.
Judge for yourself, the starburys are wearable whereas the shaqs are just plain hideous.
There are no plans to release a Shaq pseudo Micheal Corleone gangster shoe at this moment, nor are there plans for a Shaquille O'Neal Highway Patrol State Police shoe.

Death from Above 1979 has Broken Up

Well, that's what their website reads. They were a great band, I wasn't foturnate enough to have seen their live show, but I enjoyed listening to their recordings for the past couple of years. They were too young to split up.

the beautiful music is too ugly for the beautiful people.

How he did it.

It was at about the time that Kerouac wrote The Subterraneans that he was approached by Ginsberg and others to formally explicate exactly how he wrote it, how he did Spontaneous Prose. Among the writings he set down specifically about his Spontaneous Prose method, the most concise would be Belief and Technique for Modern Prose, a list of thirty "essentials."

* 1. Scribbled secret notebooks, and wild typewritten pages, for your own joy
* 2. Submissive to everything, open, listening
* 3. Try never get drunk outside yr [sic] own house
* 4. Be in love with yr [sic] life
* 5. Something that you feel will find its own form
* 6. Be crazy dumbsaint of the mind
* 7. Blow as deep as you want to blow
* 8. Write what you want bottomless from bottom of the mind
* 9. The unspeakable visions of the individual
* 10. No time for poetry but exactly what is
* 11. Visionary tics shivering in the chest
* 12. In tranced fixation dreaming upon object before you
* 13. Remove literary, grammatical and syntactical inhibition
* 14. Like Proust be an old teahead of time
* 15. Telling the true story of the world in interior monolog
* 16. The jewel center of interest is the eye within the eye
* 17. Write in recollection and amazement for yourself
* 18. Work from pithy middle eye out, swimming in language sea
* 19. Accept loss forever
* 20. Believe in the holy contour of life
* 21. Struggle to sketch the flow that already exists intact in mind
* 22. Dont think of words when you stop but to see picture better
* 23. Keep track of every day the date emblazoned in yr morning
* 24. No fear or shame in the dignity of yr experience, language & knowledge
* 25. Write for the world to read and see yr exact pictures of it
* 26. Bookmovie is the movie in words, the visual American form
* 27. In praise of Character in the Bleak inhuman Loneliness
* 28. Composing wild, undisciplined, pure, coming in from under, crazier the better
* 29. You're a Genius all the time
* 30. Writer-Director of Earthly movies Sponsored & Angeled in Heaven

White Lexus SUV

Every gum-chewing, fast-talking, jewelry-iced-out prick real estate agent seems to have one. Nothings says 'I care more about making money for myself more than the welfare of a fellow human being' more than said white Lexus SUV. Its like a uniform. Just an observation.

"what, you don't want the house at that price?" says the businessman who reaches to quell the ringtone.
"wait, I have another call, hold on," as the prick flips open the verizon cell phone.
"ah-huh, yes... hold on,"
"its another buyer. They want to take a look at the house after you leave today."

Fucking salespeople.

Jared Jeffries IS a Knick

Apparently the Wizards will not match New York's offer, and once again Isiah has got die hard knicks fans like myself hoping for a better Knicks squad come this November.

What does it mean if/when Jeffries does join? It means that David Lee probably won't get a chance to start this season. It also means that Renaldo won't start this season, as those two will probably come off the bench at the 3 and 4 positions. More quantifiably, however, it means that either Quentin Richardson's days as a Knick are over OR Jalen Rose's NY days are over. I'd bet Q, Jalen and Mo Taylor are all gone by the trade deadline in February, however, with a full 15 guaranteed contracts, this roster needs some trimming now, and if they can't move any of their expensive guards they will surely try to move one of their small forwards.

At the back of my mind I consider two possibilities with regard to this very expensive signing:

1) Is Isiah still trying to stockpile assets to trade for the aging Kevin Garnett in February?
2) Is Channing Frye's health due to several recent injuries now a question mark?

These are two possible explanations in Isiah's latest seemingly nonsensical move, and there will always be those of the camp that believe that he is a managerial idiot and also those that try to see him as some kind of basketball mastermind.

If indeed NY signed Jeffries to be part of the "quick offense" that is supposed to be a run-and-gun style, why would they acquire someone who has the reputation of being a weak finisher around the rim? I know he can play defense, but what else can he bring to the table that Renaldo or Lee can not? I hope he doesn't go trading either of those two players because of this signing, even if it means landing Garnett in the long run. We'll have to just wait and see what more can happen during the off-season for this Knicks organization that is trying to recover from the most embarrassing season in the history of their storied franchise.

This Heat is Madness

Back to back 110+ degree days and the lights indoors are flickering at night on the verge of folding in a power surge, struggling to feed all the window AC's that run all night now. There is no escape from this heat should a blackout come. Queens has laid victim to this several times this year. Not much worse than being stuck in this heat with no place to go. I've still got my hair, though I've not stopped thinking about shaving it all off just to be done with it.

Big shout out to my girl Robin who's birthday is today! XOoXxOxO baby!

Outsourcing America

Have you had to call customer service on any of your accounts lately? Do you ever notice the slight accent the smug little people on the other end of the line are trying to conceal? Next time they start that bs chit-chat about how are you today, ect., ask them how the weather is where they are, then ask them where they are located. Guaranteed 90% of the time they'll say they can't tell you! American jobs are being outsourced at astronomical rates. It is sad that our government leaders bow down to big business and allow this to happen. Spineless little weasels won't stand up to these corporations because they are bribed in one way or another.
Read this if you're interested (try the library instead of buying it online).

Knicks Sign Jared Jeffries

Do it Isiah! It could have been a 5 year deal worth as much as 30mil.
I know Washington said they'd match any offer thrown at Jeffries this summer, but hopefully we can have this guy on our squad. He's 6'11", plays 4 positions and would fit well in the "Quick" offense Isiah is trying to implement this upcoming season. Back when Brown was still head coach, he also wanted Jeffries, so I'm all for this acquisition, who gives a rat's ass if we're already over the cap!
If we didn't resign Jackie Butler to leave some room to sign Jeffries, I'm all for it.
I know I shouldn't celebrate until the 7-day to match period is over, but still, 23 wins last year, I'm all for new coaches, new players and new hope.
Jeffries doesn't put up big numbers but can be a factor on both ends of the floor, he can even run point sometimes. If we're to run and gun, the more bigs we have that can handle the ball and get the ball up the court, the better off we are.

when it comes to hip hop call me old school

I know i'm not the only one

Slick Rick
Public Enemy
Eric B and Rakim
EPMD
De La Soul
Ice-T (perhaps the only west coast rapper I ever dug)
Black Moon
Pete Rock and CL Smooth
Gangstarr
Pharcyde
Krs-1 / bdp
Smif N Wesson
Camp Lo
Tribe
Naz' Illmatic album is still the best
Mobb Deep's The Infamous



this music spoke to me, I memorized it by rewinding the tape, writing it down, playing it back. It was either venting my frustration or elevating my consciousness. NYC was its cultural center. It still is if you like the new stuff that is coming out, but I don't. I can't.
my point of refrence for where it all went wrong is after wu-tang had split up to do their solo albums. Right after liquid swords, ol' dirty bastard's album, right after those albums there was NOTHING. Jay-z, eminem, 50 cent and the lot of new crap is sheer shite to me, there is nothing there, like trying to grab water or sand, there's nothing there to hang on to. Sean Paul? Ka-ka. Glamourous nonsense with bling ice rocking SUV shit-for-brains. It breeds contemptous sleepwalkers on cellphones, glamourous but ignorant, selfish and oblivious. Granted, these are all my opinions, someone else would probably call it profoundly moving music but not I. Perhaps the kids in the suburbs with the cornrolls can dig it (that is mostly who is buying it).

About as new school as i ever got was Black Star (Kwali and Mos Def) and that was bloody 7 years ago!
Their lack of a second effort makes me think they were a fluke, besides there were at least two covers on that album: slick rick, BDP. Kind of weak of them not to come out with anything after that. Were they tapped out? I was depending on them to save hip-hop. They knew it was a good album and I guess they didn't want to tarnish their rep. with something substandard.
pharoahe monch was good. Soundboming I and II were good too. But what happened? Here is what happened to Rawkus.

New Yo La Tengo Album

Okay, so they're not what the used to be, and they don't mean the same thing to me that they used to, but for a good period of the 90's, Yo La Tengo was my favorite indie rock band on the planet. I share Jersey roots with this band and they are die-hard knicks fans, like myself. We just don't give a fuck about the New Jersey Nets, never have. Their new album is entitled "I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass." To the uninitiated, this is what Kurt Thomas said to Stephon Marbury in the locker room once after another embarrasing Knicks loss a few seasons ago. The knicks traded Thomas at the end of that season (to the Suns in exchange for Quentin Richardson and the draft rights to Nate Robinson), making the title of the album even more interesting. Hopefully the title of the album is indicative of the style of indie rock played on it -that is, a departure from the excessive ballades YLT has resorted to during the past three albums. I have seen this band so many times over the years, they're much much better live when they rock out, I even once heard someone scream out before one of their sets, "No slow shit!" as they were taking stage (The Onion Show at North Six a few years ago). I thought it insulting at the time, yet true. They proceeded to rock hard with lots of covers that put a smile on my face throughout the evening.
They're playing two blocks from me in september right here in good ol' Jersey City. I have no idea what Jersey City will look like by then (gentrification is reaching my stop on the PATH these days) but last year Feist and Bright Eyes played here so it only makes sense that a band as big as YLT plays here this year. And I thought they were Hoboken snobs... How wrong I was.
Asbury Park and Boston both look interesting as well...

>>>
from the Matador Newsletter:

http://www.ticketweb.com: doesn't look so hot, does it? Au contraire, spartan
though Ticketweb's site may be, it is also the sole online outlet for the
biggest metropolitan area show of Yo La Tengo's career, taking place this
September 29 at Jersey City's Loews Theatre in historic Journal Square. Tickets
are on sale now, much as they are for the other confirmed autumn dates below:

9/25 - Asbury Park - Stone Pony
9/26 - DC - 9:30
9/28 - Boston - Avalon
9/29 - Jersey - Loews Theatre
10/4 - Ann Arbor - Michigan Theater
10/5 - Chicago - Vic Theater
10/14 - Vancouver - Richards on Richards
10/15 - Seattle - Showbox
10/16 - Portland - Crystal Ballroom
10/19 - SF - Fillmore
10/20 - SF - Fillmore
10/21 - SF - Fillmore
10/23 - LA - Henry Fonda Theater

HaHaHa

the brits have a way with words, don't they? I was about to do this myself tomorrow, put linux on a budget compaq...
think much has changed in 4 years? Probably not, but since I paid close to $2k (over that if you consider interest) for a "top of the line" dell that only lasted me 3.5 years before the hard drive died ($400 they asked to send me a replacement) I have a different outlook on laptops: they are dispensable. they are to be replaced every three years or less -in my case I already plan to have a different one down the road not long after the 1 year manufacturer's warranty expires...

Al Harrington traded

Realgm is reporting that he has been traded back to the pacers. How boring. I kind of wanted him to go to the Knicks, but after looking at his rebounding and shot blocking numbers, I'd rather take my chances with David Lee and Renaldo Balkmen for much less salary. They also don't require the ball to be effective, something Harrington can't do. But this is a good pickup for Indiana after loosing Peja for nothing, Harrington can put up 20 and 8 for them along side Jermaine O'Neal, but its kind of like Steve Nash, why do teams let a player go only to reaquire them years later? Makes little sense other than to say that "they're under new management."

So that's it for NY this offseason, huh? Perhaps we'll sign that center from the summer league team, I forget his name. He's white, a 6'10" jump shooter with limited , yet functional game. I thought we'd acquire Jared Jeffries but the pansies at the Washington Wizards insist they'll match any offers from other teams, so, oh well.

McCarren Park Pool, Brooklyn

They've got it going on this summer, rivaling Prospect Park's Bandshell and Central Park's Summerstage as the premier summer NYC outdoor venue. Okay, so I haven't gone to McCarren yet and I don't know how it sounds/feels there but you can bet on ol' chainbreaker going to one of the events listed here before its all said and done...

shows at McCarren

about McCarren

ps- I heard sunday shows are free.

New York Knicks - Vegas Summer League and Beyond

I watched every knicks summer league game on MSG and here's what I've concluded:
We have two really great young small forwards in Renaldo Balkman and David Lee. Neither needs the ball much to be effective. Who is going to start? Hopefully one of these two, its a toss up but I'd hope Lee starts next season, but you've still got Jalen Rose and Quentin Richardson to consider. Lee was right there when NY won six in a row and Steph was playing his best ball of the season beating teams like the Suns and Washington. Despite their athleticism, neither Renaldo nor Lee can shoot, but both can handle the ball and drive to the basket if necessary. They are both horrible free throw shooters. Balkman is a slasher. He's got heart like John Starks and will be a fan favorite at the garden. Lee was trying to develop a mid range jumper on the baseline where he's already got a few moves like the jump hook off the spin.
Nate is developing as a point guard, a role he really needs to learn because he is too short to be guarding twos and having twos guard him. He actually was much less flashy this year than in last year's summer league, perhaps indication that either Brown had got through to him or that Isiah is getting through to him (Isiah ran the practices and Mark Agguire ran the games). Nate and Lee made the all Vegas 2nd team. Nate was first team last year.
6'10" Center Paul Miller looked a lot like Michel Doleac out there hitting long range jumpers, if Butler can't be resigned perhaps we should look at signing him. Doleac and Steph worked well together on the pick and roll for the Knicks, perhaps Miller can play two man with Steph or Francis.
Mardy Collins showed he has a jumper to work with if he can be a bit more consistent with it he would make Quentin Richardson extraneous to the Knicks. I think this is why Isiah drafted him at 29. Q Rich did nothing but struggle last season, particularly playing in the Garden. An interesting stat would be to see his numbers on away games versus playing at home. I'd bet there is a dramatic drop for the home games in his numbers all around. He just can't shoot in the worlds most famous arena, some people can't handle the pressure in the spotlight. In his defense he was a good defender and usually guarded the opposing teams top scorer, but lets face it: we acquired him to SHOOT the ball, and if he's only good for us on the defensive end, then perhaps Collins can replace him down the road. Who knows, since Isiah's new offense is supposed to be a full court run-and-gun style like Q's old team the Phoenix Suns, perhaps Q will play better next year. I've even heard Isiah is saying he wants to be the phoenix suns of the eastern conference.
Dave Hanners looked really uncomfortable sitting on that Knicks bench now that LB is gone. Hey, why isn't Herb Williams running the games? Seems Isiah dissed him yet again.
Jackie Butler has signed with the Spurs and the Knicks have yet to match the offer to their restricted free agent center from the CBA. I think Butler has limited upside but the guy was only 20 years old last year and it sucks that Isiah may not be able to keep the talent that he discovered should he get better in the years to come. Popovich is desperate for a center since Nazr and Nesterovich bolted, and he probably asked LB for the skinny on Butler before signing him to that 9mil contract. I think we should keep him, but if we can sign Jared Jeffries, forget Butler! We've got 14 guaranteed spots on the roster as it stands now, only Jeffries or Butler can be added at this point, not both.
Jared Jeffries. LB wanted him to come to the knicks last year. Not much when you look at his stats, but this guy has started in the NBA at almost every position besides point guard! he's 6'11" and 240, could play some 4 for NY if the knicks are lucky enough to unload Malik Rose and Mo Taylor's contracts somehow. He may flourish in the offense Isiah is looking to implement, since he could initiate the fast break after getting a rebound and looking to push up the ball either with pass or a dribble.
Speaking of Isiah's offense I've heard several times that it is a combination of Tex Winters' Triangle offense, the shuffle cut and the UCLA high post. "a full court offense that starts when the defense get the rebound." I'm not sure how it works but all I know is there were tons of Layup opportunities for the summer team, as they cruised to a 4-1 record. I'm guessing that since Isiah wants to run, he's going to be pressing in the backcourt on defense, can you picture Eddy Curry or Jerome James out there running around trying to trap guards? Neither can I. Someone needs to seriously watch those two this summer and make sure they don't eat their way to the bench again this year. Isiah said both Brad Miller and Jermaine O'Neal became all stars under his offense, so we'll see what becomes of Eddy Curry and Jerome James in this new system.
Francis and Marbury in the same backcourt? Isiah says it will work. So does Charlie Rosen of Fox Sports.

Duck Folan? what about Stern?

SelltheKnicks.com has organized a draft-day protest against owner James Dolan they hope will grab the attention of David Stern, if they're allowed into Madison Square Garden.
The protestors will gather at the ESPN Zone wearing shirts that say "Duck Folan" and "Sell the Knicks" and then march to MSG where they plan on attending the draft. Since Dolan owns MSG, there's a good chance they'll be banned from entering the building. Just another day at the office for the Knicks.
>>>
I wish that it would make a difference, but how do you change your team's owner? We're powerless, David Stern is a money whore whose bottom line attidude could give a rat's ass that the knicks won 23 games last year, just as long as the dwayne wade jersey sales profits still deposit directly into his personal bank account, which must be the size of switzerland by now.

Oh the humidity!

It has been some time since I blogged. I've been in Florida on and off for the past month helping my parents sell their house. I haven't rode or worked out very much, though I have bought quite a few used bikes for what I consider to be good prices, including a KHS Flight 100 (reynolds) for my gf, and two japanese bikes - Shogun Selectra (tange)and Fuji s12-s (chromemollybendium) and one french bike - peugeot u08 (i assume its cro-mo). The downtown orlando scence is as bleak as I remember it with the exception that there are all new faces, younger faces, that inhabit this swamp. Bar b cue and ibar are still the best bets in town but damn, where did everybody go. its like orlando the next generation down here. I've seen one fixed gear bike this whole time and it was being walked near thorton park. My gf robin came down to visit me and we had fun all over central florida but now its back to working on the house so that i can get back up north where I belong. my brother billy will be here on monday for a weeks long vacation...
some upcoming nyc events just to refresh my memory:
Wed 6/21
7:00 PM
Morningwood, Rock Kills Kid
Warsaw 16+ $15
Thu 6/22
7:30 PM
Alejandro Escovedo, Marah
Irving Plaza
Sun 6/25
3:00 PM
Feist, Buck 65, Jason Collett
Central Park Summerstage All Ages free
Thu 6/29
6:00 PM
The Fiery Furnaces, Man Man, Standing Nudes
Bowery Presents @ Webster Hall (Man Man!)
Fri 6/30
6:30 PM
The Futureheads, French Kicks
Bowery Presents @ Webster Hall 16+
Fri 6/30
6:30 PM
TV on the Radio, Matt Pond PA, Voxtrot
Prospect Park Bandshell (Celebrate Brooklyn) All Ages
Fri 6/30
8:00 PM
The Walkmen
Warsaw 16+ tba
Sun 7/02
3:00 PM
Seu Jorge, Jose Gonzalez, Alex Cuba Band
Central Park Summerstage All Ages free (should be quite relaxing)
Tue 7/04
3:30 PM
Belle & Sebastian
Battery Park(tickets required - see ticket link for info) All Ages free (good luck fending off frail nyc hipsters for tickets for this one)
---

Thu 7/06
9:00 PM
Six Organs of Admittance, Immaculate Machine
Mercury Lounge 21+ $12
Thu 7/06
6:00 PM
Broken Social Scene, Hidden Cameras
Prospect Park Bandshell (Celebrate Brooklyn) All Ages $30
Fri 7/07
8:00 PM
Camera Obscura, Georgie James
Bowery Ballroom 18+ $15.50
Sun 7/09
7:30 PM
Cursive
Mercury Lounge 18+ $15 (this will sell out)
Thu 7/13
8:00 PM
The Weakerthans, The New Amsterdams, Greg Graffin
Bowery Ballroom 18+ $14
Thu 7/13
7:30 PM
Yo La Tengo, Samara Lubelski
Prospect Park Bandshell (Celebrate Brooklyn)(Yo La Tengo performs The Sounds of Silence) All Ages free (:))
Sat 7/15
12:00 PM
Scissor Sisters, Serena Maneesh, She Wants Revenge, Stars, Art Brut, Tapes 'n Tapes, The Stills, The Cribs, Celebration, Dirty on Purpose, Man Man, The Rogers Sisters, Deadboy & The Elephantmen
Village Voice Siren Festival @ Coney Island All Ages free
Wed 7/19
8:00 PM
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, The Big Sleep
Bowery Ballroom 18+ $14
Thu 7/27
7:00 PM
The Hold Steady
Castle Clinton All Ages free
Fri 7/28
6:30 PM
Brand New
Bowery Presents @ Webster Hall 16+ $18a/$20d
Fri 7/28
8:00 PM
Editors, Lake Trout, The Big Sleep
Irving Plaza 16+ $23a/$25d
Sat 7/29
9:00 PM
The Dirtbombs
Maxwell's 18+ $13
Tell A Friend

Sat 7/29
5:00 PM
Bloc Party, Secret Machines, Mew
McCarren Park Pool(on sale 5/20 at noon) All Ages $35

Thu 8/03

The New Pornographers, Calexico, The Frames
Central Park Summerstage All Ages $30 (considering last year's show at prospect park, will neko case actually show up this year?)
Fri 8/11
5:00 PM
Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blood on the Wall
McCarren Park Pool All Ages $35 (should be great)
Sat 8/12
5:00 PM
Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Awesome Color
McCarren Park Pool All Ages $35

Sun 8/13
2:00 PM
Deerhoof, Beirut, Apollo Sunshine, The Harlem Shakes
McCarren Park Pool(JELLYNYC presents) All Ages free
Thu 8/17
5:00 PM
Iron and Wine
McCarren Park Pool All Ages $32.50
Thu 8/24
5:00 PM
Neko Case, Joanna Newsom, Martha Wainwright
McCarren Park Pool All Ages $32.50
Fri 8/25
7:00 PM
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, DC Snipers
South Street Seaport All Ages free
Sun 8/27
2:00 PM
The Walkmen, Dr. Dog, Elvis Perkins, Human Television
McCarren Park Pool(JELLYNYC presents) All Ages free
Tue 9/26
6:45 PM
The Raconteurs (w/ Jack White & Brendan Benson)
Roseland Ballroom All Ages $37
Wed 9/27
8:00 PM
Ladytron, CSS
Bowery Presents @ Webster Hall 18+ $25
Tell A Friend

Thu 9/28
8:00 PM
Ladytron, CSS
Bowery Presents @ Webster Hall 18+ $25
Tell A Friend

Thu 9/28

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Central Park Rumsey Playfield All Ages $32.50 Buy Tickets
Tell A Friend

Wed 10/04
8:00 PM
Built To Spill, Camper Van Beethoven, Helvetia
Irving Plaza(++date changed from 5/3++) 16+ $22 Buy Tickets
Tell A Friend

Thu 10/05
8:00 PM
Built To Spill, Camper Van Beethoven, Helvetia
Irving Plaza(++date changed from 5/4++) 16+ $22 Buy Tickets
Tell A Friend

Thu 10/05
9:00 PM
Wolf Eyes
Knitting Factory(Main Space) All Ages $12a/$12d
Tell A Friend

Free Shows Galore this Summer

This summer in the NYC we've got

super furry animals
eels
feist
tv on the radio
matt pond pa
seu jorge
jose gonzalez
belle and sebastian
mates of state
yo la tengo
she wants revenge
the hold steady
ted leo + Rx

Plus Siren, Summerstage and lots of stuff at Prospect Park... Who needs those pricey Chicago festivals this summer, right? Okay, I do.

there's more too, see for yourself

Report: President Isiah Thomas Has No Exit Strategy For Knicks

from the good people at the onion.

Stop being a Knicks fan? Is THAT Dolan's goal?

excerpt from page 2

If you're a New York Knicks fan, bless you, you're being held hostage by James Dolan. He deserved to be fired long ago, but you cannot fire him. You cannot vote him out of office. Your only way out is to quit watching Knicks games in person and on TV and hope enough of your fellow fans quit watching to drive this clown out of business.

Is Dolan hellsent?

Man Man @ Sarah Lawrence College

Even better than I thought they'd be live, and it was fucking free! Great energy, they seemed to almost play in order of Six Demon Bag, occasionally playing stuff from their first album The Man in a Blue Turban with a Face. I was close enough to be picked up by their microphones had I not just sat there stunned silent.
The Sarah Lawrence campus is gorgeous this time of year, those kids should consider themselves lucky to go to such a fine school; a school whose activities director obviously has good taste in music!
They had this weird pen all taped off where the kids can drink, I heard them refer to it as the "beer garden" but it just seemed kind of odd. They had good beer, actually my beer of choice, Guinness, but they seemed to be checking student ID's from a list, so I didn't even try to get into the beer garden pen since I don't pay tuition. I'll just hold off until my next visit to the real beer garden in queens. They also had snow cones. I saw a chrome fixie that was stripped of stickers, it could have passed for a bianchi pista except it was lugged so it must have been something else. it had bullhorns and a front brake. seems like a nice area for some stress-free riding.
There was security everywhere, I felt like some kind of intruder at times. It really did feel like I was the only one there that was not a student, but I know that must not be the case.
"you should always run with a loaded gun in your mouth"
indeed.
Yankees game traffic on the way home was a biotch.

Man, Man Man

I'm really diggin on this Man Man disc Six Demon Bag they're playing Sarah Lawrance College up in Bronxville on May 13, I may try to go that one!

New shows that have not yet /may not ever sell out

Sat 5/06
8:00 PM
The Fever, Detachment Kit, Skeleton Breath
Bowery Ballroom 18+ $13a/$15d

Tue 5/09
8:00 PM
Pinback, Pleaseeasaur
Northsix 18+ $16a/$18d

Wed 5/10
9:00 PM
Pinback, Pleaseeasaur
Irving Plaza 16+ $16a/$18d

Wed 5/10
7:30 PM
Nada Surf (acoustic), Dangaru, True Love, Wanderbund
Mercury Lounge 21+ $10a/$12d

Fri 5/12
7:00 PM
Mogwai, Torche
Bowery Presents @ Webster Hall 18+ $20a/$23d

Sat 5/13
7:00 PM
Mogwai, Torche
Bowery Presents @ Webster Hall 18+ $20a/$23d

Sat 5/13
8:00 PM
Pretty Girls Make Graves, Giant Drag, The Joggers
Irving Plaza 16+ $15.75a/$17d

tue 5/16
9:00 PM
His Name is Alive, Nomo
Mercury Lounge 21+ $12

Wed 5/17
8:00 PM
His Name is Alive, Nomo
Maxwell's All Ages $10

Thu 5/18
7:30 PM
Architecture in Helsinki
Avalon 16+ $16.75

tool 5/19, 5/20

Sun 5/21
7:00 PM
The National, Baby Dayliner, Doveman
Bowery Presents @ Webster Hall 18+ $17a/$20d

Mon 5/22
8:00 PM
Gnarls Barkley
Bowery Presents @ Webster Hall 18+ $25a/$30d Buy Tickets

Wed 5/24
8:00 PM
Mark Kozelek, Robert Skoro
Bowery Ballroom 21+ $17a/$20d Buy Tickets
(robert skoro kicks ass)

Wed 5/24
7:30 PM
The Walkmen, Mazarin, Nethers
Bowery Presents @ Webster Hall 18+ $20

thu 6/01
11:30 PM
The Fall, The Talk
Knitting Factory(Main Space) All Ages $20a/$22d

Fri 6/02
6:30 PM
Bouncing Souls, Blanks 77, The Harletts
Knitting Factory(Main Space) All Ages $15a/$17d

Fri 6/02
9:30 PM
The Stills, Rogue Wave
Maxwell's 18+ $15

Fri 6/02
8:30 PM
Mary Timony, Tralala, Human Television, Tiny Amps
Mercury Lounge 21+ $10

Fri 6/02
7:00 PM
Super Furry Animals
South Street Seaport All Ages free

Fri 6/02
9:00 PM
The Fall
Southpaw 18+ $20

Sat 6/03
6:30 PM
Wolfmother, Deadboy & The Elephantmen
Bowery Presents @ Webster Hall 18+ $20

Sat 6/03
6:30 PM
Bouncing Souls, Paint it Black, Arsons
Knitting Factory(Main Space) All Ages $15a/$17d

Sat 6/03
8:00 PM
Ours
Maxwell's All Ages $15

Sat 6/03
6:45 PM
Snow Patrol, Augustana, The Duke Spirit
Roseland Ballroom All Ages $26

Sun 6/04
6:30 PM
Bouncing Souls, Sticks & Stones, Ruder than You
Knitting Factory(Main Space) All Ages $15a/$17d

Mon 6/05
6:30 PM
Bouncing Souls, The Slackers, Smoke or Fire
Knitting Factory(Main Space) All Ages $15a/$17d

thu 6/08
9:00 PM
Bardo Pond
Mercury Lounge 21+ $10a/$12d

Fri 6/09
8:00 PM
Cat Power
Town Hall All Ages $22

Sat 6/10
8:00 PM
Cat Power
Town Hall All Ages $22

Sun 6/11
8:00 PM
Stiff Little Fingers
Irving Plaza 16+ $20

Sun 6/11
8:00 PM
!!!
Northsix 18+ $15

Tue 6/13
Sonic Youth
CBGB Not Specified tba

tue 6/13
Radiohead
Madison Square Garden(MSG Theater - on sale 5/5) All Ages tba

Wed 6/14
Radiohead
Madison Square Garden(MSG Theater - on sale 5/5) All Ages tba

Wed 6/14
6:45 PM
Arctic Monkeys, We Are Scientists
Roseland Ballroom All Ages $25

Sat 6/17
8:00 PM
The Slackers, Les Sans Culottes, Slavic Soul Party
The Hook 18+ $12

Sun 6/18
8:00 PM
Band of Horses, Mt. Egypt, The Can't See
Warsaw 16+ $13a/$15d

Wed 6/21
7:30 PM
David Bazan (Pedro The Lion)
Maxwell's All Ages $10

Sat 6/24
8:00 PM
Liars, Alan Vega, The Apes
Warsaw 16+ $15

Mon 6/26
7:00 PM
Liars
Avalon 16+ $15

Fri 6/30
8:00 PM
The Walkmen
Warsaw 16+ tba

Tue 7/04
3:30 PM
Belle & Sebastian
Battery Park(tickets required - more info soon) All Ages free

Thu 7/06
6:00 PM
Broken Social Scene
Prospect Park Bandshell (Celebrate Brooklyn) All Ages $30

Wed 7/19
8:00 PM
Diplo
Avalon 16+ $20

Thu 7/27
7:00 PM
The Hold Steady
Castle Clinton All Ages free

Thu 8/03
The New Pornographers, Calexico, The Frames
Central Park Summerstage All Ages $30

Fri 8/25
7:00 PM
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
South Street Seaport All Ages free

Thu 9/28
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Central Park Rumsey Playfield All Ages $32.50

Wed 10/04-10/06
8:00 PM
Built To Spill, Camper Van Beethoven, Helvetia
Irving Plaza(++date changed from 5/3++) 16+ $22

Shudder to Think New York Knicks Could Ever Go Under the Cap

The Future: After all that, I still haven't mentioned how Allan Houston, Jalen Rose, Maurice Taylor, Shandon Anderson, and Jerome Williams will count $60 million dollars against the cap combined next season. Why is that not a bad thing? Because all of it can disappear after next season. That's right, the New York Knicks have a chance to save $60 million dollars to get their payroll down to around $70 million. That is still over the cap, but its a much more manageable figure.
-taken from nbadraft.net

>>>

Its damn scary to note that anytime Isiah has an expiring contract he trades it for another crappy old veteran with $50 million still left on their contract. With that many players in their final year, GMs around the league are lining up to rip off the Knicks yet again. Isiah must go, then fire Brown, then trade Curry. This is the only hope for the Knicks to ever return to the playoffs. Isiah has proven worse than any Layden could ever have managed. His record speaks for itself, its time to hold him accountable for this team he created.

Article on Van Gaalen

Here's an interesting article on Chad Van Gaalen from Nerve.com.
I saw him play at Mercury Lounge back in February, but was unable to score his album Infiniheart until today, when I saw it in the used bin at Other Music. Their used bin may not be as big as J&R's, Park Ave CD's or AKA's, but it is nevertheless a high quality used bin, just a bit pricy. Today I splurged on some new music. Other acquisitions from Other include the new Man Man, Six Demon Bag and two more used bin finds:
Matt Pond PA Several Hours Later
Jose Gonzalez Veneer
Yes, NYC record store used bins are good! But I had to get the hell out of there before I spent more, I saw all kinds of stuff I wanted (some new, some used), and its just best to avoid such places during times of limited funds.

Jersey City: Only the Strong Survive

Reading someone's rant about jersey city-who may not even live here- was refreshing in that it made me realized just how far I've come into a blissful ignorance about all that is wrong with this area, constantly reminding myself that it is going to get better.

SOFT CURRY OFFERS KNICKS LITTLE HOPE

I would agree with Mr. Willis on most counts but I add here that Channing Frye, Jackie Butler and David Lee are the most important young knicks, not Curry and Robinson. Curry, like Isiah Thomas, has proven nothing since coming to New York, and it may be time to move on past both of them. The man doesn't have a heart problem, the problem is he's got no heart!

I was at last night's game, the final game of the season at MSG, and let me tell you, it was embarrassing watching some scrub euro center dunk all over Curry and he even went so far as to stare him down after it! I felt like getting on the court myself after watching that horse manure transpire. One thing I'm not too keen on is week, goofy, skilless euro-league centers and to see sorry-ass Primoz Brezec and Jake Voskuhl act all tough in the Garden made me sick to my stomach. To use Charles Barkley's line from inside the NBA, "Patrick Ewing must be rolling over in his grave."

note: One might question my calling Jake Voskuhl a euro scrub as a misnomer. That was no mistake, I have no respect for his game and see no difference between him or any other of the other softie crap centers in the league that made it into the NBA after having good college/euro careers. He's another Christian Lattener, Rasho Nesterovic, Cherokee Parks, Michael Doeleak, Martynas Andriuskevicius, Zarko Cabarkapa, ect. 5'9" Nate Robinson will have better career rebounding totals than him when its all said and done.

signed,

a clearly frustrated, angry, but nevertheless loyal Knicks fan