Pros and Cons of Common Cold Symptoms

Pros and Cons of Common Cold Symptoms

Stuffy and Running Nose

Pro: The realization that there is a fate worse than death and it is currently between my nostrils. Somehow the icy inevitable embrace doesn’t seem so terrible as compared to the never ending crustiness afflicting my precious, precious nostrils.

Con: How does this phenomenon of battling bodily failures occur? How can a draining and clogging process work so perfectly to annoy and destroy a perfectly functioning human nose and body? Answer: Since puberty my body has been actively trying to kill me or at the worst maim and embarrass the consciousness it holds.

Scratchy Throat

Pro: At worst it’s usually over in a few minutes and I get to experience life as a Middle American with my red throat (that’s the closest I have physically gotten to that particular lifestyle). The funhouse mirror Jason Thompson is an intriguing one as replace my signature quasi-hipster New York cred with simple pleasures like the hankering of joining a militia for those hypothetical situations where I defeat the full might of the US government with a shotgun and my hound dog Geech.

Con: To cover up my red throat, sometimes I sell out and don a scarf robbing the world of my stunning chest hair and 70’s porn star look. Without the exposed chest my parted hair just looks plain foolish. Sometimes the solution is as painful as the problem.

Itchy Eyes

Pro: I perpetually look like the major pothead I am mistaken for, but for some odd reason the cops never seem to mind my dazed look and red eyes and allow me to go along with my day. I must have all the luck!

Con: Realizing my glasses do very little to protect my eyes. Here I thought these instruments could provide me some defense against the elements, but lo and behold I am as helpless as the next person and probably more so because I have to take off my glasses to wipe my eyes, temporarily blinding me. Again, the human body disappoints.

Body Aches

Pro: The joys of experiencing what my body will feel like daily in at least 25 years (fingers crossed for 26). I’ve always been a sucker for spoilers and sneak previews and this is the best one! Hurrah for aging.

Con: Feeling like my body could break at any moment like many a children’s fable about the overstuffed mitten and such. I am not ready to have my pain immortalized in a story about how kids should probably take their cold medication consistently.

Play by Play: All You Can Eat Sushi Buffet

Play by play of an all you can eat sushi experience.

10:30 PM Day before: Walking around aimlessly when I start to feel hungry. Very hungry. Then a perverse thought occurs. Should I go to that new all you can eat sushi buffet close to me called Ragu? Is it as delicious as the sauce? Will it be a pathetic and soul crushing experience to gorge alone? The answer: most definitely yes.

10:35: I text a platonic friend and she’s down for a platonic all you can eat sushi buffet date in the most platonic sense possible. I joke that we should not eat anything until we meet up at three for the buffet. She laughs. I scold her. Prep time is the most essential part of the buffet experience. I cannot overstate this enough.

Night to morning (but let’s say like one in the afternoon): I have a night filled with strange erotic dreams confirming that Japanese food was a good choice. Note to self (based on my dream): don’t order anything with tentacles or from a vending machine.

2:13: My platonic friend says she’s taking a very platonic walk over to my house and then we’ll head to the buffet. I say great and begin my third vomiting purge of the day. This one is special though as it’s not for the buffet, but for me. I mean how else do I keep this lean mean figure? Jealous much? I thought so.

3:07: She has platonically arrived. We take a stroll over and realize that Ragu isn’t open till 4. I also learn that the place is not called Ragu but something else. Something not amusing so it will remain as Ragu for the purposes of this diary. I have principles.

3:07-3:50: We kill time by sitting around Madison Square Park observing a large number of three wheeled scooters. What a time to be alive. My friend is going on about needing a listening ear or something but I have checked out. My mind is on the meal. The glorious meal that will ruin me for the rest of the day and into tomorrow. Needless to say I’m excited.

4:04: We have arrived. The place is empty which is either nice or a warning that I’m about to embark on a wild food poisoning adventure. But then again adventure is my middle name (on a freemium cell-phone game. Or rather the “a” initial is. They don’g allow full middle names for characters).

4:08: We have ordered and the waiting begins. My friend goes to the bathroom and right on cue the appetizers arrive in the form of kani salad, edamame, seaweed salad, and various chicken dishes. Naturally the question arises of do I dig in or wait for her return? I notice that I’m already four edamame deep, so I do the honorable thing and start on my fifth one because this is a buffet. Manners and dignity went out the door when we entered.

4:15: The sashimi is here and it is lovely. Picture perfect. I attempt to take a quirky snapchat video but I mess up and only take a decent picture of the raw fish. I excuse myself to the bathroom for a quick cry and when I return the piece de resistance has landed; the master tray of all you can eat maki rolls. My eyes water. Is this what food heaven is like? The answer no: heaven is not real. My atheism returns and I’m able to dig in.

4:28: A non-platonic pair of people also known as a romantic boyfriend girlfriend duo have just arrived and are seated to the far left of us. As me and my friend scarf down our food we hear loud smacking noises. Lo and behold these people are going at it tongue over heels in a very graphic display of PDA. If anything, it nearly distracts me and my friend from our platonic mutual masturbation. But we’re not the type to get easily distracted. No sir. Not at all.

4:47: The hunger has been replaced with the stuffed. We’ve eaten everything but the last piece of chicken teriyaki which is doused in something closer to a paste than a sauce. My friend orders more as she is a champ. I gamely eat three more pieces of sashimi before my eyes roll to the back of my skull.

5:03: The feasting is over. The bill has come and playing the role (more like spicy tuna roll – am I right people) of the perfect gentleman I offer to pay the tip. My ploy falls flat and I end up paying half while marking down the exact time and date that chivalry in America died.

5:05: We leave the restaurant and part ways…forever know that our friendship has hit its logical peak. Everything would only be a steep downhill descent from here. I return to my house and enter the bathroom make peace with my new surroundings for the next hour or so. It was a glorious meal. In three weeks I will be ready to taste food again. It was worth it. 

More Unrequited Tinder Love!

After mindlessly swiping right, until of course you hit the dreaded 12 hour timeout, you’ve finally matched with the lucky profile who’s destined to become your future spouse. You send a message and bam, no response. You’ve been rejected proving love is dead and meaningless. Before you start looking for the best broken hearts tumblr page, you check the blinking light on your phone to see you’ve procured another match! You send another message and, after an obnoxiously lengthy dramatic pause, no response. Nothing causes more momentary anguish than unrequited Tinder love. Since I am known in many circles as a “Tinder God” (for the record these circles consist solely of me), I will share my “hilarious” failures on that app everyone still pretends not to be on. Enjoy the second segment of unrequited Tinder love.

Tinder 1

Message: Who is she? Is she some sort of aquatic creature guessing from that emoji?

Analysis: I didn’t use my old standby of two question marks thus she couldn’t see the urgency in my questions. I shall never make that mistake again.

Tinder 2

Message: Tourista!! Whats your favorite part of nyc?

Analysis: Somethings are never meant to be shared on Tinder. She was right to not respond.

Tinder 3

Message 1: Hi! Nice rooster mug. I see you enjoy the signs of the Chinese zodiac as well

One Day Later: Ahh I guess your more of an astrology person then.

Analysis: Or maybe sometimes a rooster is just a rooster. Take that Freud!

Tinder 4

Message 1: How is Ted Cruz beautiful?? Riddle me that Batman!

One Month Later: The riddler wins again!

Analysis: There is only one person who can tangle with the Riddler and win that is Batman. Since she didn’t respond I can only assume she isn’t Batman and understood she could never match wits with the Riddler. Good call on her end.

Tinder 5

Message: Can I be the George Michael to your Maeby?

One Day Later: Or perhaps the STEVE HOLT to your Maeby?

Analysis:

Tinder 6

Message: Netflix account? I’m sold. Also fuck saying hey. How bout: hello.

Analysis: Or how about neither! I’ll stick to illegally downloading things by writing watch x free online like a normal person!

Tinder 7

Message: A new ceo?? Are you now a part of the 1%? Whats it like form on yonder??

Analysis: Apparently the view is great!

I guess Bob Dylan was right when he sang there’s no success like failure and failure’s not success at all!

Ted Cruz the Anti-Semite and other thoughts

Ted Cruz is an anti-Semitic piece of shit and I loathe that smug piece of shit almost as much as Ben Carson hates opening his eyes at anything more than a squint. Watching Ted Cruz get rightly called out for his dog whistle New York values comments has been the very definition of satisfying. His whole demonization of liberal aka Jewish values is so played out and tired. If anything the rest of this nation is starting to acquire those New York and San Francisco values. Gay marriage is legal throughout the land and even the regressive states that are trying to roll back protections are being met with universal scorn. Hell, even the governors of these states are vetoing such homophobic legislation. It’s strange to think that as recent as the 2004 election 62% of the country opposed the basic human right of letting same-sex couples join the marriage party. Looks like despite Ted Cruz’s efforts the country is moving towards the New York values he so pathetically despises.

When Ted Cruz attempted to clarify his New York values comments he said that everybody knows that people in New York are socially liberal and obsessed with money and the media. Hmm, what group of people, mainly living in New York are usually stereotyped as obsessed with money and have a control of the media? I would have had a modicum of respect for the honorable fuck from Texas had he just come out and said “I was trying to appeal to people’s hatred of left wing, communist, Jewish, homosexual pornographers”, but I severely doubt he’s seen Annie Hall. This whole divide and conquer strategy has been a Republican stand by for years. Nixon had the silent majority, Bush senior used Willie Horton, and in the present we see it with Donald Trump saying we need to make America great again. White Christian male rage is one of the most dangerous things in this country and we see it in explicitly in the vile pseudo-KKK rallies of the Trump campaign and implicitly like in the New York values line from Ted Cruz. Vote for Donald Trump if you like your racists out and about and proud of it! Or conversely, choose Ted Cruz if you prefer the coded racism that’s been prevalent for the past 50 years in politics.

So the only options out there are voting for either Bernie or Hillary and I’m personally in the Sanders camp, but will willingly and happily vote for Secretary Clinton if she gets the nomination because she is a million times better than any of those Republican assholes. This whole Bernie or Bust mentality is pretty dumb and harmful and shows how the left can suck. Hillary Clinton is no Bernie Sanders, but then again who is? Bernie Sanders was the most liberal member in Congress, while Hillary was ranked at number eleven. I’d rather have the 11^th most liberal member of Congress in the White House than a guy with a 97% “liberty score” from conservative review or a guy who has no concrete political positions. If we can’t get the golden unicorn that is Bernie Sanders elected, getting a progressive in the vein of Barack Obama is not a bad consolation prize at all. That’s how politics works, you go with the best option available and you don’t sit out and pout because your favorite politician lost. That kind of nonsense leads to low voter turnout which always helps the Republican Party. Only in this election season could Hillary not be seen as a liberal. It will be at least better than having the anti-Semitic demagogue or the racist demagogue elected to office. But if you truly believe that there is no real difference between Clinton and those Republicans than sit this one out. We don’t need another uninformed voter. 

2016 Yankees Outlook

Last season the Yankees finished 87-75 and advanced to the AL Wild Card game. I had the privilege of attending said game, which despite an actually jazzed up Yankee Stadium, ended up being the worst game I’ve ever seen in person. Watching the fucking Houston Astros celebrate on hallowed ground was depressing to say the least. But it’s 2016 and a new Yankee season is upon us despite having to start the season against the same upstarts who kicked our asses last year. So let’s prep for another season of Evil Empire/Yankees baseball with my handy guide to the team.

Masahiro Tanaka will continue to lead the league in the area of best warm up song: 

After years of flirting with the idea, Mark Teixeira will finally let the Blue Fairy turn him into a real boy.

Johnny Barbato will live up to his namesake and become the drummer for the outdoor pool Reggae band on a Carnival Cruise.

Chase Headley will decide that maybe greasing his palms with olive oil before he throws the ball to first base isn’t the best move.

Jacoby Ellsbury will continue to play like an enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a 153 million dollar contract.

Joe Girardi look mildly annoyed to slightly agitated all season despite what’s happening on the field.

The double play combo of Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius will be referred to as Darlin Starlin and Fantorius Gregorius. Believe me, it’ll catch on.

Anytime Paul O’Neill brings up his support of Donald Trump in the booth, the other announcers will be given the opportunity to punch him in the face.

Alex Rodriguez will finally live out his dream of just being “one of the guys”. He’ll hate it.

Aroldis Chapman will have a good season with the Yankees, but no one will feel quite good cheering for him. Unless of course he wins in the playoffs then ALL IS FORGIVEN per the rulebook of being a fan.

To prevent another late season collapse, Brett Gardner will only give 105% for the first half rather than his normal 110%. It’ll make all the difference.

Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman will combine into a three headed three inning dominate relief pitcher. This will piss off Goose Gossage for breaking yet another unwritten rule.

Randy Levine and Len Tross will be the only people to enjoy Yankee Stadium being half empty because it will mean they have succeeded in their goal of keeping middle and lower class fans out of their one percenter paradise.

Every major sports publication’s predictions about the Yankees will be both wildly inaccurate and right on the nose. This paradox will cause a tear in the baseball universe allowing the Cubs to capture their first World Series since 1908.

My dream World Series matchup is for the Yankees to face the Cubs and just utterly destroy them in a four game sweep. That would be hilarious.

House of Cards Season 4 Review

House of Cards Season 4 Review – SPOILERS (but we know you wanna read it so who cares)

I must say I was impressed with this fourth season of House of Cards. It’s probably my favorite one since the first season. As always the show is ridiculous and campy as hell, but god damn if it isn’t a perfect binge. With all the success and glut of online streaming shows it’s not hard to forget that House of Cards started this whole trend. Now it seems to be buried in a crowded lineup, I mean I didn’t realize the 4^th season was coming out last Friday until last Thursday. Perhaps I just wasn’t paying attention as there was a huge Frank Underwood video right next to MSG. Oh well. Now on to my feelings on the show.

Kevin Spacey still plays the hammiest President in the world and I love it and can’t help but root for that evil, evil man. My favorite scenes this season were when he would go head to head with those who would dare stand in his way (and of course his tree chopping story-sublime). His freak out with Kathy Durant was as menacing as it was both silly and hilarious (yes that was the President of the United States threatening to kill his own Secretary of State). The same goes for the scenes with Underwood and Will Conway. Watching an old pro talk down to this young brash gun was a delight. They’re ICO bullshit discussion was my favorite part in the season as we finally got somebody to successfully ham it up with old Underwood. Here’s to a thrilling election next season.

Robin Wright still plays Claire like she’s made of steel and ice and that’s the way I like it. There’s no better side to Claire than when she’s playing Lady Macbeth, or simply Macbeth in the early parts of the season. As much as I enjoyed seeing her screw over Francis with that KKK flap, there’s the old softie in me that loves seeing them work together to scheme their way to the top. It seems like such a waste to have America’s best power couple fighting each other when they could be destroying the lives of all those who dare look at them funny. That last shot of the season was simply haunting. I can’t wait to see their fear campaign go head to head against the white Republican Obama.

Will Conway is what Republicans wish Marco Rubio was. He’s charismatic, a veteran, social media savvy, white, and has an adorable little family. I don’t understand why he would pick an old white male as his running mate as he already has the veteran angle down. He should have added some diversity to that ticket, but then again as his wife said, you don’t want to piss off the base.

Is every lead data scientist going to have a scene where they play heavy metal music into headphones while they gyrate like a moron? Will this become a quick way to identify which characters are great at going through data?

Putting Claire on the ticket still makes no sense. Kathy Durant would have been such a better choice in every way possible. Claire is supposed to be the brains behind the organization and her insistence on taking up the VP slot seemed so dumb. But House of Cards has never been fond of the waiting game so why not! Also, the Underwoods are supposed to be master politicians (with Tom Yates, yes the Tom Yates, as their main speechwriter/fuck buddy) but their speeches are ho-hum and I’m pretty sure the temperature drops 20 degrees every time they enter a room. It’s a wonder that it took them this long to considering playing the fear card.

I enjoyed how they brought back every character from every season. Garrett Walker is forever the dumbest politician in the world. Freddy had his annual “go fuck yourself Frank” speech. Tom got to play both Woodward and Bernstein, so he’ll be dead next season for sure. Lucas got to both jerk off an Armenian gang member and shoot the President. Busy season for the press!

Doug Stamper will forever be the creepiest guy you’d ever want on your side. It’s not a Doug Stamper storyline unless he gets weird with a woman. If he doesn’t marry that donor’s widow he’ll be disgracing the memory of Rachel.

I wish Neve Campbell’s character became Claire Underwood’s Doug, but it never happened. Her role for half the year was wearing hokey disguises while meeting not Christian Bale’s character from the Big Short in shitty jazz clubs. I guess, in the spirit of jazz, I was supposed to focus on the scenes she wasn’t in.

Breaking down the season into little subplots was interesting to watch. The Conway election and Hostage stuff was my favorite as they ratcheted up some good tension. The Frank in a coma part was boring because I watch this show for Kevin Spacey. I’m not looking for a Donald Blythe presidency. I crave those 4^th wall speeches in that luscious accent. In short, Kevin Spacey is a good actor and I have to leave now.

No more Meechum threesomes. That was a difficult thing to grasp after he died. Tom Yates just couldn’t do it for me. How they work around the death of Meechum for Season 5 will be a wonder. Teardrop.

Season 4 of House of Cards is in the books and I’m pretty sure they wish they knew about Donald Trump before they started writing. Seems like a missed opportunity in light of the insanity occurring this election season. I still have no idea why Frank or Claire craves the Presidency other than perhaps his mini-rant to Tom in the finale. I guess he wants to help people, sort of? Again, thinking deep about this show defeats the purpose. You binge, enjoy, and then don’t think about things like how in the world Heather Dunbar would think it was a good idea to trash the recently shot President of the United States. That shit was just dumb.

My First Pair of Skinny Jeans: A Trash and Vaudeville Tale

I brought my first pair of skinny jeans at Trash and Vaudeville during the early part of my senior year at Brooklyn Tech. My body was razor thin (a sharp departure from what it is now-model skinny) and people had repeated me told me that I’d be perfect for the skinny jeans look. Naturally when I receive excellent advice, I tend to not listen for reasons that range from petty to stupid and petty. Finally, I decided to take the plunge and update my look to what I assumed was cool in the late 70’s by buying a pair of skinny jeans. There was only one place to go for such an endeavor claimed my mom, so she took me to Trash and Vaudeville. The place was amazing and opened my eyes to the stores that existed outside of the Herald Square loop. I tried on a pair of ultra-tight skinny jeans personally recommended by the fantastic manager, Jimmy Webb, while my mom checked out leather short shorts (she did not purchase them). I bought, or rather my mom bought me, the pants and a Debbie Harry Blondie shirt which I still wear today. My wardrobe was updated and I was now known as the kid who wore nothing but the tightest pants possible. Eventually I had to get rid of the jeans because they were too tight, most likely due to them being a pair of women’s super-skinny jeans (I should have realized they were women’s pants when I couldn’t slip anything thicker than a MetroCard in the pockets). It was the cocoon for an old Jason Thompson to go in and a new one to emerge draped in quasi punk attire and full 70’s sleaze. Today I cringe at wearing anything looser than skinny jeans (slim fit is pushing it). Trash and Vaudeville opened my eyes to a world and culture I thought would be forever relegated to old nostalgia tales. They and St Marks Place for that matter, are classic New York City and the pride of getting to join in on that heritage are forever imprinted on me.

Trash and Vaudeville is moving a block down the street after 40 years in St. Marks Place due to what can only be assumed as losing a battle against the absurdly high rent prices which have nearly strangled all the individuality out of this city. What will become of the old Trash and Vaudeville spot? Will it lay haven to a Dunkin Donuts or Rite Aid or Duane Reade because I’m positive there’s a law that mandates one of those on every city block? Perhaps it’ll become another bank or just a series in failed businesses. Who knows, but it surely won’t be the same. It’s a sad enterprise walking down theses streets and seeing landmarks and eccentric institutions become banal enterprises of nothing. Did the Palladium really need to become an NYU dorm? How does that add to the cultural climate of the city? Is the future of New York going to be a series of property battles between NYU and Columbia because I see no evidence to suggest otherwise?

Change in a city isn’t necessarily a bad thing. New York is unique as an old east coast city for the cavalier rate at which it tears down and destroys historical landmarks and old buildings. Can you imagine the outcry if Philadelphia had decided to tear down Independence Hall? Or Boston if they had decided to get rid of the Old North Church? Those building would have been long gone if they had been located anywhere north of Wall Street. That attitude keeps New York thriving as a modern city. My problem is when we destroy landmarks and replace it with mediocrity and banality. When developers and gentrifiers invade neighborhoods and blatantly ignore and destroy what makes a place unique and interesting. New York City is not for New Yorkers anymore. Trash and Vaudeville’s relocation is just another example of the nail in that coffin.