Daily Freeman Life Editor Ivan Lajara talks about journalism, living in the Hudson Valley, language, the Web, cats and even politics. But he shouldn't.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The stars among us
Adrian Grenier, who plays "Vincent Chase" on HBO's Golden Globe-nominated "Entourage," was hanging out on Nov. 19 at Keegan Ales and Nov. 20 at The Basement, both in Kingston. Local yokels, myself included, were wondering what his area connection was.
According to his HBO bio, he attended Bard College.
Or, as IMDB.com puts it, He "Was a stone-cold hippie bongo drum player while attending Bard College."
That might explain what the New York Post called his "bongo bonanza."
Season six is over, but you can catch the whole thing Monday starting at 11 a.m. on HBO2.
Drum roll.
UPDATE: The folks at the Kingston-based www.secondchange4me.com inform me that Grenier was at Savona's restaurant in Kingston on Dec. 13. No word if the bong drum was present.
Have you seen him anywhere?
UPDATE: Yes, you have
Reid: "NO," "YES"
Later in an interview, he said:
“To be honest, I’d like to say I was trying to be funny or create some bipartisanship. ... But I was just in dreamland, thinking about where we had come. Some said ‘oh bipartisanship or trying to be funny.’ It was neither quite frankly. It was just, I am bushed.”
“And I don’t mean George Bushed.”
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Blondie finishes album; O'Reilly muses
Blondie recently finished recording its upcoming album in Woodstock, your friends at the Woodstock Film Festival announced today. The album is set for release next year.
It will feature originals, a few covers and guest musicians.
Blondie performs the holiday classic, "We Three Kings" which you can download for free.
From your friends at the Woodstock Film Festival:
The video (shot in Woodstock) somehow stirred up controversy when Fox News featured a clip on Bill O'Reilly's "Pinheads and Patriots."
"I mean damn! We even mentioned The Deity hisself in the song (as written)," emailed Blondie co-founder Crhis Stein. "Anyway thnx Fox. All i can say is "we accept you gabba gabba etc etc."Not sure how singing a standard Christmas song can be unpatriotic but ironically, the Fox News segment also singled out Bob Dylan's "Christmas in the Heart," which features a cover of "Must Be Santa."
"This is the song my father wrote 50 years ago," emailed Woodstock's own Tim Moore. "Dylan picked it up and turned it into a madcap, loopy polka and party video."
The song can be downloaded on iTunes. Dylan's royalties go to charity.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
"Jersey Shore," redux
And the "Jersey Shore" guys are in on the joke as well (the joke's them):
That's it. Fifteen minutes are up.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Dear City of Kingston
Since this is a snow emergency ticket from Dec. 9's snowstorm - the $100 kind - let it be known that this image doubles as Christmas presents for my family and friends, who are encouraged to print this image and use it as a Christmas tree decoration.
So what to do when there is a snowstorm in the city? Here are the rules:
Snow Emergency Parking Rules
Since you can't park on public streets, you are to use municipal parking lots.
Good luck getting your car on top of the ones filling up the lots.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Snooki's wisdom
Watch her shine:
Where did she learn that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi actually is Lionel Richie? "I Am A TV Junkie" says she went to Ulster County Community College.
Who's Snooki? The Poughkeepsie native (according to her site) is famous for getting punched in the face and for exacerbating Italian stereotypes.
The show is "reprehensible" according to the New York Post, the same paper that hired a prostitute to be a columnist.
She also has a fan page on Facebook.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Corrections of the Year
Some favorites (aside from the 9/11-911 snafu):
A photo caption on Tuesday’s Page A8 said a student was performing the Heimlich maneuver on a dummy. The student was actually playing around and pretending to choke the dummy.
Bear sighting: An item in the National Briefing in Sunday’s Section A said a bear wandered into a grocery story in Hayward, Wis., on Friday and headed for the beer cooler. It was Thursday.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Climate change challenged
If you want to know what's what when it comes to climate change, you should visit www.politifact.com, the Pulitzer Prize-winning arm of the St. Petersburg Times, a site where statements from the left and right get a reality check.
Also worth checking is the Obamameter, which has compiled about 500 promises that Barack Obama made during the campaign and is tracking their progress.
New York Post's new advice columnist
Some other times, however, you just have to sleep with some governor to get one.
And said governor? He's a columnist too. So I guess I'm in good company.