cityrag

friday links...

Jason Kottke is our Hero of the Week. check out his excellent post I need your help getting the word out regarding the US presidential elections. the Gothamist is also reminding people to register to vote!

and earlier in the week, Kottke.org provided the thrill of the day with this mind-blowing video of a guy surfing the biggest wave you've ever seen.

from his Royal Thighness (Thighs Wide Shut)... this site has kept us laughing all week, maybe it gets old the 100th time or something, but still killing us after about 20 visits.

Joey of the Cities (Tale of Two Cities) put up this kick-ass info on CMJ shows, and then posted (from a friend or reader?) this hilarious and informative review of the bands that performed at the Austin City Limits festival

Feddy's a pot head! well call us a Federling! (from our Sociallite Life heartthrob)

used to spend hours crusin' the photo sites for funny shots of celebs having bad dress/make-up/hair/face days - but now we just go here (Go Fug Yourself)

our friend NO has a way with gettin hot boys to strip... his site NYCguys.com has been updated with some crazy naked photos of new york guys. we especially love the shots of this hottie playing ball in Dumbo. and on his site we found AllAmericanStraightBoys.com another site with sexy amatuers strippin' fo cash (*both sites have naked mens - not work safe)

furry model
"show us your pensive look, now serious, now dreamy - perfect! you're a pro Buddy"

illegal band promotion
other than trumped up protester charges, haven't heard much about people getting busted for postering/flyering in NYC for a while. busting people for putting up posters to promote their band used to be frequent cop active around town (lots of band members were arrested back in the 80's & 90's) but these days we're wondering if the "poster police" squad is still active.

these posterboys have the covert-flyer-operation down... from right to left - the "holder", the "gluer", and the "look-out"...

dueling smoke-in
smokin' up on First Ave last night with friends. through the magic of Photoshop, one joint becomes two...

(ps - didn't saturate or change the ember color, came out hot pink all on it's own)

Federlings
not saying we scooped this fad, cuz like it's so obvious... but we've been seeing at least 3-4 Kevin Federling fashion followers a day since we wrote about it a couple weeks ago. caught this guy in the LES last night with full on K-Fed stylin'... tipped b-ball cap (Phillies), baggy jeans and white top, big floppy unlaced kicks, and a nice little line of groomed stubble around the chin.

beach blanket Buddy
Buddy's all smiles in the sun...

delicious, cheap and fast delivery: Rice
amidst the abundance of great food delivery in New York, Rice on Mott Street is one of our all-time favorites. here's the scoop on why they rock the delivery scene...
1) delicious food - well made, fresh and flavorful
2) interesting variety of options, all very inexpensive
3) huge delivery range - 6th Ave to Ave A, 8th St to Canal St
4) your address/info is kept in their computer, so you don't need to give it every time you call
5) great packing, always comes with complete assortment of accessories and free ginger candies

recommended items:
- Vegetarian meatballs $4- wonderful tender tofu meatballs with a flavorful chili sauce (shown in pic)
- Chicken Satay $5 - lots of grilled chicken and a rich nut sauce
- Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings $4.50 - served with a salsa fresca, their wings are always super tender and nicely browned (shown in pic)
- Indian Chicken Curry $6 - with lots of chicken, raisins, mushrooms, topped with fresh banana and yogurt, and served with their homemade mango chutney (shown in pic)

with each entree you select the rice you want (basmati, brown, Thai black, sticky.) and they have a wonderful selection of specialty rice (rice and peas, green rice) for an extra .50 cents - the Thai black with edamame is excellent, PACKED with edamame. there's also some nice salads, soups, noodle dishes, and an interesting and wide selection of homemade sauces, dressings and chutneys adding more flavors and variety. and for dessert they have the classic rice crispy treat (with cranberry or apricot bits) 4 big disks in a cool package for only $4. they have a sweet little restaurant so you can eat there. but yo, this is all about their GREAT delivery service!

tattoo festival highlights
stormy weather lowered the attendance a bit, but we still had a fabulous time last Saturday at the Woodstock Tattoo Festival. highlights: watching beautiful tattoos being done by some of the worlds top tattoo artists, seeing great bands in cool venues, and of course, drinkin, druggin, and partying all night with a bunch of friends.

but our favorite part was touring through all the amazing art exhibits! most tattoo artists are also incredibly skilled graphic artists, illustrators and painters. in addition to specific locations devoted to art exhibits, throughout the festival fantastic art is displayed on the walls of every venue. so many brilliant, intense, moving and thought provoking pieces...

next week we'll be putting up more photos from our favorite exhibit: Rides of Passage "featuring 120 BURTON Snowboards painted, mangled, mauled, distorted, or made pretty by some of the world's finest tattooists"

How to Swing pt. 1
as we reported last week - Swing States are the key to John Kerry winning the election. in some states the margin is so close - a few hundred votes could tip the scale.

Zogby Poll for WSJ Shows Kerry Solidifying Lead in 11 of 16 Battleground States

Ideas on how to get the word to people who can make a critical impact in their state:
- think of friends or family you know in these states and ask them to tell everyone they know that THEIR VOTES COULD DETERMINE THE ELECTION
- think of friends and coworkers you know here in New York who are from these states, give them the scoop and encourage them to contact their friends or family and let them know we need their votes
- spread the word on your website

For more ideas, here's some ways we've spread the word in the last few days:
- emailed a friend who lives and works as a park ranger in New Mexico, sent her some links on how critical her state is and asked her to forward to everyone she knows, and spread the word
- talked to my girlfriend about ways we could approach her friends and family in Michigan. then remembered I work with a cool woman from Michigan and sent her an email.
- talked to a friend who went to school in Seattle. gave him the scoop, and asked him to bug his old homies out there.
- emailed a reader who'd mentioned she lived in Va.

every person we spoke to was unaware their state was a swing state, and PSYCHED to get the info and be able to pass it along!! So don’t be shy... YOUR HELP CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE in our future!

media consensus of the core group of 17 states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin, with these as the top 10: Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

An excellent organization, ReDefeatBush.com, has a drive on their site to get volunteers to call voters in Swing States - ReDefeat Bush: Volunteer. And if you can't participate in organized callings - there's a page that tells you how to do it on your own.

More swing state news:
Swing-state shakeout is starting
My Sunday: Volunteering in a Swing State
The Swing State Project

team Buddy
feeling down?... Team Buddy to the rescue...

donut and coffee shop opening in the LES!
last week we caught this awning for a new store front, Sun Shine Cafe, at the corner of Allen and Houston. today we peeked in the window and found a work permit that notes the new place will be a take-out “donut coffee shop”. woohoo - right on the way for people who jump on the F Train at the 2nd Ave stop-Allen/Houston entrance! and the Chinese characters give us hope there might even be some killer crullers and egg custard tarts! (maybe even some congee) the inside looks almost ready to open...

token Arnold
republican poster boy Arnold Schwarzenfaker - huffs like a pro...

F-fection
sent with love…

ol blue eyes
sometimes the light turns Buddy's brown eyes blue