cityrag

email whoas
in the last couple weeks we've become aware that HOTMAIL sucks, and we HAVE NOT been getting a bunch of the email people have sent us! we try to reply to every email, so if you've sent us something and haven't gotten a responce, please try again (and we're working on a new email service and address.) over and out. thanks.

lil' update: BIG THANKS to the awesome peeps who have emailed with gmail hook-ups and other ideas. thinking about getting domain-specific email accounts from hostway.com (they have a cool deal where you get a bunch of accounts and email tools under your sites domain for $3.33 a month) has anyone had any experience with SiteMail from Hostway?... thanks!

scenes from a late night smoke-in
smoke-ins are better with friends. this one includes the man who started it all...

(Transfer's rant on how "Bloomy and company want to Crush Fun")

raw dog
Buddy always checks out the spots other dogs have marked...

Bush whackers
friends (and heroes) John and George are flying out to Broward County, Florida tomorrow. they are going to join the volunteer force that will be helping people get out to vote for Kerry. they love seniors and have been assigned a retirement area. John's rented a van and has a goal to get 40 people to the polls to vote (they'll be there through next Tuesday!)

our Mom is now a full on convert and Kerry evangelist. She's convincing friends in NJ that we need a new president if they want to have any chance at a safer country, better health care and a stable future for their Social Security.

more people became aware this week that this may be the most important election for decades...
Imagining America if George Bush Chose the Supreme Court
"If President Bush gets the chance to name three young justices who share the views of Justices Scalia and Thomas, it could fundamentally change America for decades."

keep the battle going - tell EVERYONE you know to get out and vote for Kerry...
The Bush Record vs. the Kerry Plan
Bush is responsible
How to Swing pt. 1, How to Swing pt. 2
Laura Start Packing: Kerry Now Up in FL, OH and PA

and more inspiring words and images... this Eminem video kicks ass, and the directors notes are excellent. this is a great link to send people who question the power of their vote...(thanks MW!)

"...on the eve of one of the most spirited elections in recent times, it’s time to try and turn out the vote... The goal was to make a video that inspired young people to vote because they too often disregard it as a powerless exercise. To show them that political decisions do impact their daily lives and that voting is the most powerful act we all have to voice our opinion and effect change."

"With more than 55 million voters between the ages of 18 and 35, this demographic group accounts for 36% of the total eligible voters in the U.S."

Frankenbust
after weeks of drills, real terror has hit 42nd St - Frankenstein is going DOWN!

update on Costume Sale!
after reading this excellent tip on Gothamist yesterday...

20,000 PROFESSIONAL THEATRICAL COSTUMES AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC - "shopping bags for $20 each.... go through the collection and fill the shopping bag with any costumes in the warehouse"

...we strategize a 10:30 am attack to see if we could get in line a bit past the dealer flood. as our cab approached from 5 blocks away we could see masses of people from all angles walking towards the warehouse, once we hit the building we saw a wide line from the entrance leading endlessly down 26th Street.

we told our cab driver not to turn off the meter as we followed the line all the way from 12th to 11th Ave and saw it go up 11th and turn around the corner to 27th. the line wasn't moving and 6 people wide. filled with pro and non pro fashionista's, it looked like the door for the best party in town!

and it was killing us as we watched these amazing costumes being rolled off trucks and into the space (maybe from another warehouse.) our eye caught a Robin Hood-ish one that looked really well made and heavy, with vibrant green and brown velvet, and lush trim. dam it all!!

4 p.m. UPDATE: a friend got in and said the crowds are insane, and there are tons of greedy buyers with loads of bags and groups of people grabbing/buying for them. they also said - at this point there's still good stuff to be found... tons of Military wear, peasant dresses, gypsy outfits, high quality stuff... but going fast and the place is getting trashed.

"return and get it"
the assistant who works with Buddy's vet in the East Village has this cool tattoo on her wrist. it's a West African Adrinka symbol called "Sankofa". she saw the symbol on Janet Jackson and liked it. but a fascinating thing happened the day we were in the office... she and the receptionist had just noticed the EXACT same symbol in the iron gates on the building DIRECTLY across the street from their office...

the receptionist said that she'd heard that African slaves incorporated tribal symbols in their work and it can be seen around the city (even as a legacy today in newer work).

looked around the net to learn more. not a lot out there but we found that many of the slaves who helped build New York were great artisans and came from the regions of Western Africa that used these symbols, and these areas/empires were specifically known for their metalwork.

the mystery was heightened, and at the same time possibly answered, with this message found in the Sankofa's meaning:
"return and get it" - symbol of importance of learning from the past

UPDATE: Black Lilly from I'm So Confused (a GREAT site you MUST check out right now!) sent a cool email thanking us for mentioning the Sankofa (she has the same one on her wrist!) she sent along some comments that provide additional food for thought...

"the one thing that annoys me about tattoos is that many people don't pay attention to the meaning of symbols. I have heard too many people describe theirs as tribal, but cant tell the meaning, what tribe they came from or even which continent."

and keep your eyes open... "You can find adinkra symbols everywhere, you just have to look."

cute works
this is Buddy's extra cute "can I have a treat" face. we think he pushes his own ear down to add to the effect. it works.