Good Job Dad

Dad’s non-profit mentioned in the New York Times.

So, I am reading the New York Times on Sunday about an article on how employees get hosed when they take leave for a new born or sick child. As I read the article, I noticed something familiar. One woman in Maryland contacted the D.C. Employment Justice Center for help. I thought, “Hey, isn’t that the non-profit organization that my Dad works for?”


I know what you are thinking...amazing: Matt reads the New York Times. Yah well, yanknow....Just something I like to do on Sunday between Cello practice, Tai Chi, and caligraphy sessions.


So I call the ole’ man up on the phone. Yes, yes, it is.

Here's the article.

About the organization my Dad works for:

The EJC is a private, non-profit organization with a mission to secure, protect, and promote workplace justice in the D.C. metropolitan area. We combine legal services, community education, organizing, and advocacy work to achieve justice for low-wage workers.

EJC

Most people his age are either eating dinner at the Smorgas buffet at 2:30 pm on a Tuesday while wearing pants up to their nippies OR driving around the country in a Huge Winebago, traveling southbound in a northbound lane.

Dad's having none of that and he's totally takin it to The Man. Eff The Man! Trust noone over 30! Attica!

Good Job Dad.

Flashback: The Great New York Blackout of 2003

So, I was speaking with Vincent the other day about New York. His French Visitors are there right now, seeing the big city. Our discussion reminded me somehow of The Great New York City Black out of 2003.

I was in it. Aimee was out of town.



I walked for hours to get home. It was hot.

The photo above was taken by a fella with whom I worked, Diego. Diego was featured in an Article from Wired Magazine. He is quoted:

"Realizing he was living a historic moment, Salinas took out his camera phone, snapped photos of people walking home and uploaded the pictures to a website hosted by textamerica. While most people, including Salinas, could not make cell phone calls that afternoon, they found that Web applications, which operate on different channels on the cellular network, worked normally.

"I managed to capture five or six pictures before the battery on my phone died," Salinas said. "I will always remember that particular day. It's a historic event that has never happened before. If anyone else wants to look back in time -- my friends and family -- I will always have those five or six pictures to mark it down for them."

Doh! It did happen before in NYC: 1965 and 1977.

It's kind of interesting because the same experience he describes in the article is mine too. We walked through the streets of Manhattan until we bid farewell as he turned east on the Brooklyn Bridge. I can only describe that day as surreal. But then again, that's how I can describe all the time I lived in New York. The only seemingly normal days I spent there were the first three days I live there: September 8th, 9th and 10th...... of 2001.

Here is the full article.

Here are some great pictures of the event.

Here I am pretendig to hail a taxi.

Aimee's in Texas

Aimee's back home this week in her favorite state, Texas. Unfortunately, I don't think she'll take advantage of my favorite restaurant, Captain Tom’s Seafood & Oyster Bar.

"Captain Tom’s shucks all the pretense away from the overwrought oyster house and gets you back to its origins as working man’s tavern food. Even better, Tom’s tone and taste profile isn’t Maine, Massachusetts or Manhattan, but rather coastal Mexico.

Outside and inside, Captain Tom’s is shaped like a snubnosed Gulf shrimp boat. Listing gently starboard on a sea of concrete, it also rises steeply upwards towards the bow, making for some tenuously anchored seats at the bar. If you go off hours and have a choice, grab a seat on the bow or lower stern, the two flattest parts of the boat."

Check it out, the restaurant is actually A BOAT. Aweseome.

A Dozen Oysters: $4.00...The Best, Jerry, the Best.

Have a great visit, Wife!

Aimee and Matt, on uncle Chuck's Texas Ranch, Christmas '06.

Small World BBQ with Black Squirrel

So the most recent post was about Matt's (my) secound cousin being a rapper. My cousin is part of a rap 'supergroup' named La Coka Nostra. Members of La Coka Nostra used to be in another Rap group called House of Pain (of which I was a fan of, one hundred years ago).

Jump to today, at a BBQ with our friends Vincent and Ann Laure. They have visitors in town from France, including Vincent's childhood friend Guillaume. So Guillaume, Tomas, and Elodie go last night to see a concert in Baltimore. The name of the band is Battles. The Drummer of the band is the former Drummer of Helmet.

So I was on Wikopedia tonight reading the entry for House of Pain. House of Pain worked with another group long ago for a song on a movie soundtrack. Who did they make the song with?

Helmet

I think it's kind of interesting.

What about the black squirrel? Is there a connection? No. We just saw a goofy black squirrel while enjoying our BBQ.

Merci pour le barbecue, citoyens de la France.

My Cousin..Movie Star...Rapper

Boston Accent: Zo I wahz uzin my Chadge Cahd fah thah Gahden Bah at Peah Fowah, when I heard my guzzinznow a muuvy stah.

Translation to English: So I was using my Charge Card for the Garden Bar at Pier Four (Restaurant) when I heard my cousin is now a movie star.

Actually, that’s not how I heard it but a Boston accent is fun. But the point is my 2nd cousin is soon to be in a big huge Hollywood movie (out this September) that is set in Boston. Actually, the specifc place in Boston is Dorchester. Dorchester is the same neighborhood that produced NKTOB and Mark Wahlberg. My Momma moved there from South Boston whilst younger and my peoples (relatives) are still keeping it real by living in both places. BTW, Aimee has a childhood story about NKOTB that I've heard about 11 times. Maybe she will tell you about it. She is obviously scarred by her missed attempt at seeing them in concert. I digresss......

The movie is Directed by Ben Afflack and stars his brother Casey Afflack. We are talking Hollywood, baby. Big Time, baby.

And we aren’t talking about some small, black and white Indy Movie featuring an unemployed mime named Carl who falls in love with a red balloon. We are talking Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Casey Affleck and….. my cousin Georgie...ooops, I mean Slaine.

See, Slaine is also an up-n-coming rapper. You heard right..Jay Zee, watch out, sucka! Not only that, but he's associated with House Of Pain. Yes, THAT House of Pain. The best part about this whole story is that one of my relatives is part of House of Pain's Posse.



This is where I become impressed, because I todally used to ROCK OUT to their cassette tape in my Subaru when I was 20 years old. House of Pain is now known as La Coka Nostra..nice. They are a Super Rap Group of which Slaine is a member: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Coka_Nostra .

I will end this post now. More to come about Slaine later. Meanwhile, here's the good stuff

1.) The Movie Trailer. You see Slaine about half way through. Quite awesome. Good Job George.




2.) For my dear wife Aimee, who never did get to see that NKOTB concert for which she and her mother camped out all night for tickets but moved out of town before the concert. Hang Tough, Dear wife, Hang Tough indeed!



3.) For me.... Old Skool House of Pain. I warn you before playing the following video: You may want to move your chair out of the way so you can, in fact, Jump Around. I just hope I don't throw my back out....who cares..let's go...

Knees are Necessary-Especially ACLs

Well, I am 2 weeks and 2 days out of my knee surgery. I hobbled around slowly at first but now you can barely detect a limp (unless I'm really tired!).

Thank you to everyone who helped out, inquired about or gave me personal testimonials!

Here's a chronological picture show:

Day 2-Saturday Ready to head out to lunch with Julie, too bad I can't completely straighten OR bend my knee!

Day 3- Sunday I got to take my brace off and soon my bandages. I'm swollen but walking on my own!

Circa Day 4-Bandages off but still really swollen

Fast forward to Day 16- All is well and I'm looking a little more normal. Let's face it, I was never going to be any sort of knee model-before or after!!

Soon I will be running, jumping and flailing like I did before. Gotta love modern medicine (now if they could only do something about the pain meds ;) )