Divo’s Corner

I’m not feeling terribly inspired right now to write a proper rant, but we can start here: How the hell did Sen. Larry Craig know about all these subtle bathroom signals? The right foot tapping, the reach under. Dirty birdie.

I’m not a huge foot tapper in general, but at the US Open last night I was in the stall and was suddenly hit with a wave of nervousness. Did I move my foot too much and send out a signal? How many other signals am I accidentally sending off in this unknown language? Was someone going to give me the reach under and try to play with my Roddick?

Don’t even get me started on gym locker rooms. They scare me.

As the city packs en masse for a Katrina-sized exodus from New York for the Memorial Day weekend, I can’t help but feel left behind. I have roomates heading to Nantucket and Fire Island, friends heading to San Francisco and Italy, heck, even my mom is going on vaca.

So what will I be left with? An empty urban barren land of the Village, sprinkled with busses of MidWesteners touring the remains of the urban landscape? Will I seek out the other few stragglers that for one reason or another choose to stay and huddle until it is all over?

F-that. Instead I feel a whole new sense of freedom with a three-day vaccume of a social life. I’ll hit they gym all three days, wake up refreshed, read a book, hang out on the Christopher St. piers, make breakfast in my boxers instead of the usual brunch production. I’ll experience a rare entity…. free and relaxing time.

So when people ask "where are you going this weekend," I’ll now reply: I’m goign to New York for a relaxing weekend away from it all.

Love my new BlackBerry Pearl… as a result I’ll give a brief week-in-review:

Leaving Cali was so sad, this was the view from outside my door. But I was eager to get back into NYC and get back "home"… as they say… home is where your stuff is.

Given my penchant for lasers and Icelandic things, I quickly forgot the beach and remembered why NYC is far superior. Yay Bjork!!! Yay Lasers!!!

An then there were these *stars* that came into town. Haven’t I seen them somewhere? Must have been in my dreams. Despite their French-Canadianness, they were fun.

Moving on…

Ryan fisting a donkey Pinata…

Apparently someone’s got some Irish that night…. Wasn’t me!!

Photos are fun, more to come.

E

So I did a little experiment due to the sudden trendiness of this beard thing. Alone, silent for three weeks, I asked myself ‘what would be the harm?’ The fact that I have to shave ever 3-5 hours ensured that the way was there, but would there be the will? Was William Shakespeare right when he said, "He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man." I tend to be on the side of the Greek proverb that states "A beard signifies lice, not brains."

Day 1-3 were normal… standard practice, but on the eve of day four I realized that I had never grown facial hair past this point. Half my friends look like the Geico caveman, did they receive some strange benefit from this otherwise gross concept? I had to list a few reasons why people would bother with facial hair:

1. You are stuck on an island and you talk to a volleyball. If you’re crazy enough to talk to a volleyball, then obvy you don’t care about keeping a close shave.

2. You are ugly. Ugly people grow beards because more beard means less visibly ugly face. It’s like a paper bag that you can go swimming with and take with you in the shower… some call this the ultimate paper bag.

3. You want to be a twink magnet. Now this is just rumor, but apparently twinks like beards. Some daddy complex I’m sure. So chest hair is bad, facial hair is good? I’m confused.

4. You don’t like corn on the cob and you don’t have a job. People with beards can’t eat corn on the cob and are outside of the realm of the corporate world. I’m not sure why I grouped these two together.

5. You look like a two year old. I love guys trying to look like they suddenly went through puberty by growing a "beard." Note the quotes, because if you look like a two year old chances are that a peach can grow a more formidable facial hair.

Day five I hated it, but perhaps my styling technique was off. I searched for the ultimate beard style.

Petit Goatee: Too gay!

The Franz-Josef: Too Austrian

Mutton Chops: Too San Francisco bear

The Hollywoodian: Just right! Love the name, love the look, but I would have to tweak it a bit. Perhaps I could morph it into the ultimate mid-20s gay beard-style: The West Hollywoodian.

Well, as the title implies, this was the beard that never was. My new record is five days, but I figure if the hotties on LOST can keep their facial hair perfectly perfect that I, firmly planted in society, should do the same.

Damn you Jack and Sawyer, I was almost a man.

E

Remember Earth Day last year? Yeah, neither do I. That is what is so exciting about this year. There is a buzz about the nation and its coming from governors, businesses and every-day people. In just one year, America has found something to focus on aside from pointless debate on gay marriage, stem cells and Iraq. It isn’t like this issues are not important, but the debate consists of buckets of rhetoric and succeeds in dividing America at a time when unity is needed. Green has become trendy, and we all know how much America loves a trend.

I remember last year, looking at America’s failing car industry and backward emissions policy (of course we need to give people rebates for buying Hummers) and wondering… is this really the America that led the world during the 20th century? Who the F is leading our country into the gutter? How can we lead the world again if we don’t take the higher ground and some freaking initiative?

Here are the facts: After WWII, Americans left the nations cities and fled to the suburbs. This was as a result of governmental lending policies that, at their root, encouraged segregation and the move from a city-centric nation to a highway-based organization (read: sprawl). Lured by the hopes and desires of washing machines and single-family homes as seen on Leave it to Beaver, Americans bought into the absolute ease of suburban life.

At some point there was a tipping point. Around the 80’s, affluent people moved from the suburbs to the foothills or more distant suburbs, to escape the traffic from the original suburbs. The building of highways led to, not less congestion, but rather a more unhealthy reliance on the automobile. Living in SF and LA, a car is absolutely necessary, period… and the time spent in the car is hell.

Its time to reorganize Americas’ thoughts on the city. It is time to refocus on America’s strength: innovation and perseverance. It is time to get creative and challenge the way that we live our lives. Traveling around the world definitely helps, as you see how wasteful and insane aspects of American life is. I moved to NYC because I was tired of getting in my car and idling for hours each day; now my commute involves only public transport and takes half the time. As a result, my commute emissions went from 7 tons of CO2 a year to almost zero. 7 tons!

I am still wasteful at times, but I’m excited about all the new ways that I’ll be able to tweak my activities. My agency recently started a new practice: Green Tech. My mom is reusing plastic bags at the grocery store and my grandma now recycles. I moved to NYC and now create so much less waste. These are small steps, but are nevertheless important.

I think that the culmination of this all will be when Al Gore enters the 2008 presidential race. His association with the Green movement is something positive and will be the way that American can regain its leadership role in the world: solving these problems with technological prowess and united motivation. We have seen what aggressive, thoughtless leadership results in… I, for one, and going to vote for hope this time around.

Sorry guys!

I know PR people are soulless bastard children, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want Good Friday off. No Passover either? Oy vey! I must admit that any employer not closed tomorrow is begging for low productivity and further damnation from You Know Who.

This somehow justifies Jagged Little Pill being on the top of my iTunes playlist in 2007… a mere 12 years after its 1995 release. Still love her.

This is Alanis’ April fools joke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W91sqAs-_-g

Oslo 05/01/2007

Sheik Saud and Rakeen of Ras Al-Khaimah has appointed Snøhetta the prestigious task of creating an iconic gateway building for the new capital city of Ras Al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.

The approx. 300,000 m2 complex will contain a Congress Center, Exhibition Halls, Shopping Center, 5+ Star Hotel, 5 Star Hotel, and a 4 Star Hotel.

More information to come…