cigarettes.[part 2]

from [part 1]
The first time I ever thought cigarette where cool was when... they where always cool. You don't always like whats cool, sometimes you're a square/sissy boy like me who follows the rules. Cigarettes have always been symbolically linked to cool, you can thank Holly Wood for that one. Any Wes Anderson jump off, you're gonna have cool characters smoking.

Okay, now I remember when cigarettes became cool(in my world anyway). It was this movie that was too indie for your life, so indie it might as well not exist, its THAT indie. .. well. not that indie, if it had some big stars in it. I am of coarse talking about Coffee and Cigarettes.

The first time I heard about this movie was around the beginning of high school. My best friend Evan was telling about this boring black and white movie with people sitting around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes that his older brother Ceasar was watching with his friends. Fast forward a few years later to when I'm 18. I am in California at a friends house deciding what movie we would watch for the evening. I am blown away by the selection of off-beat hipster films readily available in this vast library of awesome. some usual suspects; Pulp Fiction, Blue Velvet etc.

I'm browsing through the shelves and shelves of movies when I come upon a copie of Coffee and Cigarettes. I pick it up and suggest we watch it. I was asked to give a breif synopsys on the film and all I could really come up with was, well, there are people-famous people, smoking cigarettes and chatting over coffee. not exactly the best sell, but i convince the group to watch it anyway.

We start watching it and 15 minute in everyones already bored. But I was super into it. It was intellegent and witty. I would admit its not for everyone, but thats fine right? Be part of a select few that enjoy this work. you'll be that much cooler. I leave you now with one of the finer scenes of the film. The ever timeless Bill Murray's encounter with the Rza and Gza of the Wu tang clan.



To be continued...

Cigarettes.[part 1]

Up until this point in my life, this point meaning the past maybe 2 years, cigarettes have been a really touchy topic for me. See, as a kid growing up in the 90s, elementarty school made it a huge deal to convince me that cigarettes where bad. I deffinently know there bad, that's not what I'm debating.

I'm not really debating, I'm telling a story. So through out my teenage life I hated cigarettes. I hated that my sister smoked, I hated that my brother smoked, I hated when anyone in my life smoked at all. It was really only up until my first year of college when a good friend of mine taught me the joys of smoking.

We actually started smoking together, I think we split a pack or something. I remember I had maybe 5 cigarettes out of that pack at most and he finnished the rest. I slowly witnessed first hand as he built up his addiction. I definitely didn't smoke as much as he did, but whenever I would smoke it was with him. We would always have these great philosophical conversations while having a cigarette, some times just us, other times with company.

Before this point I would be so completely against cigarettes. I used to make such a fuss about it to my now ex girlfriend. It was just one of the things that she did that didn't sit well with me. Every time she would have a cigarette, I felt betrayed. I would beg her to stop, tell her it's because I cared. When I look back now it was just me being young and unable to manage my emotions. I was insecure and felt comfort in controlling what she could and couldn't do. I realize now it was hardly about the cigarettes.

Nowadays I just take everything with a grain of salt. If someone wants a cigarette, it's their choice. It would be an insult to their intelligence if I said they couldn't have one. I mean that's what addiction really is right? It's a test, one that the feeble minded fail time and time again. To say, no, you can not take this challenge, would really be an insult at the core. It's saying, you're not smart enough to understand the risk you're taking. That's a call for a 13 year old's parent to make.

Even now I would never smoke in front/around my parents, it would just break their hearts. I should just quit or something. But to quit would imply that I started and constantly smoke, something I'm slightly in denial of. I'm a light smoker, I'll say that.

What a fun topic, I feel like I have so much more to say on it! Perhaps that is why a part 2 must be in production!

To be continued...

timeline:2004

2004

This was the year I started high school. I attended the high school of Art and Design. To be honest, it didn't live up to my expectation. It was sorta ghetto and over-run with sneaker head hype-beasts. I have reason to beleive Art and design may actually be the epicenter of the "fresh" movement, but thAt could be a post for another day.

So in 2004 I was 14. I was goofy, awkward and totally insecure. Seriously. I used to cry when people called me gay-nowadays I provoke it. This Is also about the time I realized what a blessing it was to live in New York city. Up until this point I had only really known my little suburban neighborhood.

I remember on the first day of school my sister took the train with me into the city so I would get familiar and used to going to school. She was gonna come with me the whole first week but I quickly adjusted to taking the subway and it no longer was neccessary. Upon arriving at school I was really nervous. I immediately called Alex, my friend back home, to tell him how scared I was. I think I was wearing baggy jeans and some Stupid tee shirt that I deffinently thought was cool at the time. I mean, I must of thought it was cool if I wore it the first day of school!

Truth was, I knew nothing about cool. Why would I? I was a high school freshmen! Now I'll tell you about someone who been dead cool since birth. This was the year I met Nabi Salomon. I remember it so clearly-like an instant dude crush. He was wearin a white button down, some ripped up dark wash jeans and had the signature Nablos hair he rocks til this day. I came late to Gym class and sat next to him. I noticed how torn up his shoe was, it had to of meant he skateboarded. So I ask him about it and before you know it we're talking about gundams and shit. The rest is history.
High school was just a crazy time of self discovery and learning to be me. I've gone through so many phases and am not ashamed to admit it. When we change sometimes people think it's hipocritical, but being hipocritical is really just a part of life. You live and learn/evolve. You grow into the best you.

Herpes-The new Black?

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So I heard this statistic that says, at this rate, in 500 years(or so), natural blonds will be extinct do to it's recessive genic traits. So I have a statistic. I say at this rate, eventually everyone will have herpes. Herpes isn't the worst-plus on a long enough time line...I could image something like "9 in every 10 people have herpes." It becomes a totally normal thing that some people have to deal with, and that 1 in 10 that don't have it will have to just be careful.

I think in the future if this DOES happened, it's up to hollywood and the media to save it. It's inevitable that some celeb of the future with contract herpes(probly Miley Cyrus) and make it the "cool new thing". He or she will be crowned "Avant guarde" and lead a revolution! Making herpes "the new black".

Unless there's a cure for this rather comedic STD, I think this is a pretty good hypothesis. I mean, I don't have herpes but when and if I ever contract herpes, I'd hope I don't have to be bummed on it forever! So that's why I'm leaving it up to the world to make herpes the hot new style of 2000whatever. You can do it! Make herpes the hot new fashion trend that all the cool kids are rockin'!

X-Rays!

I've been plagued these past few weeks. doomed to be indoors. but lets look at the bright side! Its motivated me to write this blog, I got to watch all the great movies on my extra awesome premium cable TV and I've gotten plenty of breathing room from all the people in my life! This has allowed me to reflect on myself and build character, get a personality and focus on what I consider important in this world!

Over here is an X-ray i took a week or something ago. I'm fucked, its not even beginning to heal! I know not alotta people know this, but I skateboard. yup. and this nasty injury was from this day in Jersey shitty. God i felt like a Toolshed that day, ha, whateves. that's a post for another day!