Shit List (NYC Edition)
1) Hipsters — this city is infested with these fuggers. I have never seen so many non-tourist or rednecks in jean or corderoy shorts and/or in plaid than I do here. Hell, I didnt’ even know they made plaid tank-tops?!?
2) The Humidity + Waiting on the Subway Platforms — the first 5 weeks here, the humidity was beyond ridiculous and elevated to just plain – angry F-U level. I’m talking about the type of humidity that when you step outside, the first thing you say is, “UGH – WTF!” To top it off, you’ve gotta to downstairs to take the subway and feel like you’re part of some filthy rat infested stew that Satan himself is cooking.
3) Tow Trucks, Parking Rules/Regulations — there’s nothing better than having your car towed the first night after just receiving it from being transported cross country. Wait…I lied and I take that back…the only thing that’s better is getting 2 tickets for parking 10 feet from a fire hydrant – when NY law says it needs to be 15 feet and THEN……getting it towed. BTW – a very close runner up is paying $205 to get the car out of impound and looking forward to paying $230 for the 2 fire hydrant tickets.
4) Craigslist Apartment Postings – my friend made a very good observation about Craigslist…specifically in NY. In other markets like Chicago or LA, Craigslist is an incredibly useful site and resource. However, Craigslist for NY has got to be the biggest fuggin’ joke and waste of time! You’ve got brokers posting their apartment listings in sections that they shouldn’t be…you’ve got the same listing 200x over – in the wrong neighborhoods but with slightly modified copy…incomplete listings…bottom line, it’s a complete shit show.
5) Overweight Brooklyn Commuters — pound for pound, the commuters coming in and out of Brooklyn have got to be the heaviest people I’ve ever seen. I know, I sound like a dick…but these people are like slow moving planets and when you put them in orbit with the “angry F-U level” humidity I noted earlier…you’ll understand.
6) The Slowest Fast Food Workers with 2 Legs — I don’t get how it could so difficult to take someone’s order, grab the food and drink from the minimum wage cookers in the back, receive and exchange payment, put the food in a bag and hand it to me…all within 4 minutes. There is no reason it should take 12 mins to complete this transaction…a one legged monkey on crutches could do it in 9.
7) The Mountains of Trash Stacked on the Streets — I am amazed at how much trash this city accumulates in a day. Every night, I feel like there is a life-sized replica of either the Rocky, Appalachian, or Swiss Mountains. It’s both impressive and disgusting at the same time.
8) $12 Domestic Beer and $13 Cigarettes — The average person drinks 4 beers at a bar so immediately, set aside $52 ($48 for the beers $4 for the tip). Say you smoke, add $13 and you’re at $65…which is at a minimum. Factor in cabs…bar hopping and late night eats and…yeah, you’re screwed.
9) Bed Bugs — my first week at my new job they found 2 bed bugs. So, they closed the office so they could fumigate the building. Normally I’d be stoked…I mean, day off on a Friday too right? But…1) It was my first week here and I didn’t get the memo – so woke up early and came to work to find it was closed…and 2) it’s bed bugs…in an office…WTF?!?
10) Having your would be Supervisor (who was also a big influence in relocating and accepting the job)…tell you he’s resigned the first week of work
*OH! And let me give a special honorary mention to World Moving Services (1-888-742-6683) for fuggin’ up EVERY single part of the transpor process! Shout outs to Thomas xt.405, Lamar xt.403, Danny xt. 311, Samuel xt. 208 and Cheryl xt. 314
Net Neutrality
A topic that’s been gaining a lot of momentum lately has been around the issue of “Net Neutrality.” I mentioned this briefly in one of my earlier entries and thought I’d follow up and provide a Crash Course in form of 11 facts about the issue to help educate what it’s all about.
1. Net neutrality is the principle that advocates all Internet traffic be treated equally.
2. Proponents of net neutrality fear that Internet and phone companies will create a 2-tiered Internet with a so-called, “fast lane” and “slow lane,” with access to the fast lane for a premium price.
3. There are 3 principle definitions of net neutrality:
b) Limited discrimination with Quality of Service tiering (QofS discrimination allowed as long as no special fee is charged for higher quality service)
c) Limited discrimination and tiering (Higher fees for quality of service provided there is no exclusivity in contracts)
4. In 2005, the FCC issued an Internet policy statement outlining 4 principles of open Internet which consumers are entitled to:
b) Run the lawful applications of their choice
c) Connect lawful devices of their choice
d) Use the Internet service provider of their choice
5. Arguments IN FAVOR of net neutrality:
- Cable companies cannot screen, interrupt or filter Internet content without court order
- Ensures the Internet remains a free and open technology
- Creates an even playing field for competition and innovation
6. High profile advocates FOR net neutrality:
- Vonage
- Microsoft
- Amazon
- Ebay
7. Arguments AGAINST net neutrality:
- Govt legislation could prevent ISPs from preventing email spam and Denial of Service attacks
8. High profile advocates AGAINST net neutrality (primarily made up of larger hardware companies and cable/telecom companies):
- Verizon
9. Despite previously speaking out in favor of net neutrality, Google recently proposed an agreement with Verizon that would allow for the creation of a higher speed “private” Internet that sites could pay a premium to use.
10. The FCC recently halted closed door meetings with several large Internet companies after massive public outcry
11. The Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009 was introduced in Congress by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) in an effort to make net neutrality the law of the land.
There’s a really poignant scene from the movie “Garden State” – when Andrew (Zach Braff) and Sam (Natalie Portman) are at his friend Jesse’s mansion, and Andrew opens up to Sam telling her about his mother and why he was sent to boarding school. In turn, Sam replies…”You’re in it right now, aren’t you? My mom always says that, when she can see I’m, like, working something out in my head. She’s like, “You’re in it right now” and I’m looking at you telling this story, and you’re definitely in it.”
What makes this scene so great is, the raw vulnerability found through the stillness of everything at that exact moment…colliding with Andrew’s honest admission of the past and present to finally come face-to-face with the gravity of everything that’s happened.
For all intents and purposes…or maybe instead…for lack of any better explanations…I feel like I’m in it right now. What’s more is, I can’t seem to shake thoughts of my family, friends, the past and present, work, LA, NY, life in general and an all together hollowed emptiness that’s been swirling in my head for the last month or so. In trying to get out of it, I feel like I’ve been grasping to find a sense of normalcy, but for one reason or another, the feeling of normal has been a fleeting one…and I know I’m still in it.
And though the easy and obvious explanation can be attributed to transitioning to a different city, I don’t think it really is entirely. I mean, I’ve moved to a few new cities before and I’ve never been this “in it” as I am now. What’s more, having lived here twice before with an established group of good friends, you would think the transition would/should be seamless so again…I think it’s more than just this. To make this even more convoluted, the one person I probably should be turning to, I haven’t…at least for now, because as Sam puts it, “I’m, like, working something out in my head.”
I know, this entry is vague and I wish could divulge more…but the truth is – it’s pretty difficult to articulate an answer to the question “why.” To that end, there really isn’t a point to this entry except for me to actually admit and recognize aloud the past and present and hopefully come face-to-face with the gravity of everything at some point.
Looking at the Digital Landscape Today
About 6-7 months ago during one of my interviews, one of the questions I was asked was where I thought the digital space was going. My response and belief is that we’re nearing the pinnacle of the social media explosion. However, unlike the dot.com boom…marketers and advertisers, combined with all the technological advancements…have learned how to sustain themselves there on after.
Facebook in itself, has been an incredible phenomenon that nobody would/could have predicted. That said, there are several areas which I feel and believe will dictate the next evolution in concert and beyond the social media/networking movement. Some of these are:
1) Location-Based/Geo-targeted Services and more specifically, a huge migration towards leveraging and expanding mobile capabilities. In turn, this is…or will be the next big “explosion.”
- Points in case are Foursquare, SCVNGR, the integration of augmented reality/QR codes within map applications
2) Data Collection – whether it’s curated or consolidated, with all the social networks out there – the aggregation of data is being collected in building profiles. What or how marketers/advertisers do with all this profiled data will be huge, but for now, it’s just a matter of time before some really cool shit comes out of it. And even more, until that time comes…the frameworks for data relevance are continually being built that support this feeling.
- Points in case can be found by what Facebook has been trying to do via their Beacon and Open Graph initiatives. Additionally, there’s a new search engine that’s specific to finding out what’s being trended on Facebook called “Booshaka” (Booshaka shows you what’s trending on Facebook — right now. Booshaka aims to show the freshest, most relevant posts across the social web.)
3) I also think that the internet is moving closer and closer to a point or regulation. If this will actually come to fruition, who knows? But as contradicting to the initial purpose and idea of what the “world wide web” is/was supposed to represent – with all the personal information that’s given away so freely and unbeknownst, combined with faster and broader infrastructures becoming more and more readily available…the flood gates are slowly cracking open and the FCC and other watchdogs knows this.
- Points in case are the ongoing privacy debate, as well as “net neutrality.” Of more recent relevance, is the current brouhaha around Google’s recent net neutrality proposal with Verizon
…I’m just sayin’…
