August 9, 2010

Finding The Right Words

Nina, Daisy and me in our hobo chic backyard. Photo copyright Lisa Jane Persky. lisajaneperskyphoto.com

I posted this last week on Facebook but I’m sharing it here because I realized I didn’t caption it correctly.  The picture above does show Nina, Daisy and me in our hobo chic backyard and the wonderful Lisa Jane Persky did take the photo but there’s more to it than that so I will now attempt to provide a proper caption.

  • My two favorite living things, my favorite radio station tee-shirt  and me.
  • My three favorite things and some cinder-blocks.
  • Three of the best reasons to get up in the morning, plus me.
  • Nina, Daisy and me in our hobo chic backyard. (Not pictured, my crushing depression which has not been seen since 2006)

I think that last one says it best. For more from Lisa Jane Persky, go to: lisajaneperskyphoto.com.

August 8, 2010

Sunday Mornings

I tend to miss my father most when I’m the only one awake in the house on a Sunday morning. My father was always the first one up, on most days this was so he could go to work. On Sunday’s however he would wake up, put on a movie and then make breakfast while he waited for everyone else to wake up.

On most mornings these days I wake up before my wife and leave for work but on Sundays I’ve been waking up early, putting on a movie. I’m a plate of bacon and eggs away from becoming my father, and that’s okay with me.

August 5, 2010

Choose Your Words Carefully

Now matter how many times it happens, I still get excited when I see that someone new is following me on Twitter. You see, I need external validation because I’m filled with self-doubt so when ever my email tells me someone is following me on Twitter I drop EVERYTHING to find out who it is.

Earlier today I got this notification:

Hey Will,

Tammy Hunter (Sexkitten123456) is now following your tweets.

Obviously Sexkitten123456 is a spammer  but so what, I’ve gotten hundreds of messages like this that lead to Twitter profiles that look like this:

I have a problem with this but it’s not what you think. I don’t care for one second that they are a spammer. You want to spam people or get traffic to your web cam? Go for it. I’m not interested but you can do whatever you like.

The problem I have is the use of the term “SEX KITTEN“.

Say the words “Sex Kitten” to yourself.

Then, think about what those two words mean.

Now look at this cat:

Note: This cat has 6 toes, but that's not the point.

Now say to yourself: “I’m an 8 week old cat. I like chasing things, napping AND SEX

See what I mean? It’s awful because kittens and sex do not go well together.

You can bet that if cat’s were on Twitter calling themselves SEX BABIES we’d put a stop to that right away so why can’t we show kittens the same courtesy. Come on spammers, even you can do this.

If you are not a sex kitten, you can follow me on Twitter here.

June 28, 2010

Two Photos From This Weekend

Nina and I, before the dancing started.

Am I being pushed out or pulled back?

June 18, 2010

Revisiting An Old Story

It’s my birthday today and, like I do every year, I’m celebrating by retelling an old family story.

The Best Advice I Ever Got About Hookers

Today marks 18 years to the day since I received some life changing advice. It was my eighteenth birthday and a relative pulled me aside to share some wisdom.  He told me:

Always keep some extra cash on you, in case you run into a hooker.

-How much?

$20 should do it.

I kept that extra $20 in my wallet for years but I thankfully never used it in the way it was intended.

June 17, 2010

Checking In On My Goals

Earlier this year I posted a few things I’d like to accomplish in 2010. Now that 2010 is half over I decided to check my list to see how I’m doing. Here is the updated list with my progress in bold:

In 2010 I will:

  • Write more than I did in 2009 – A big NO on this one but I did start this story project.
  • Call The Best Show on WFMU more than the one time I called last year – DONE, I’ve got two calls in and I’m not stop
  • Dress like this more often: Absolutely YES!

(Photo by Lisa Jane Persky)

  • Make it to Citi Field – I made it thanks to an assist from this outstanding person.
  • See more live music and comedy - Thanks to the Paul F. Tompkins show I have been able to see this one through and like the Best Show calls I’m not stopping.
  • Get my youngest sister out to visit LA – One sister has visited and I’m doubling down by having her come back with my other sister.
  • Spend less time talking and more time doing  – This is a work in progress but I’m getting there.

So far so good on my goals. Lets see what else the year has to offer.

June 12, 2010

A Short Ride With My Uncle

It’s been more than two months since I’ve updated this blog and I know that for two reasons:

1) I own a calendar, and

2) I’ve thought about updating in a few times each week but I didn’t because everything I felt in the last post still applies.

So why am I updating this today?  Because I feel sharing something and it’s easier to tell it here than it is to have you all at my house.

A few weeks ago, my Uncle Tony passed away. For those of you unfamiliar with my family, Tony was my great-uncle, the husband of my grandmother’s sister Rita; he was one of the all time good guys in this world and I am lucky to have known him.  There are dozens of stories about Uncle Tony but most of them are not mine to tell; they are better told by his six children.

However, I will share one with you.

Several years ago I flew back home to Long Island from Los Angeles and stopped by my Uncle Tony’s house to see him and my aunt. He asked me to go for a ride with him to pick up a few things. We walked outside to his Lincoln, not a Navigator or one of the new models: it was a Continental with full leather interior and a St. Christopher medal set in the dash. Behind the wheel my uncle looked much younger and stronger, the way I remembered him when I was a kid and I’d beg him and my aunt to let me stay at their house.

He leaned back in his seat and said:

“You know this is the last year they made these with the leather” he told me, “I don’t drive that shit they make now, I like a big car.

I nodded and took it in, feeling as awed by my uncle as I did when I was a kid and the car was a Cadillac or a Crown Vic.

We’re still driving and he’s talking about the car.

So I had them rebuild the engine so I could have the full V-8 instead of the 6 and I take it home and it’s burning oil…so I call the guy and he don’t want to hear it…so I drive over there and say DO I HAVE TO DRIVE THIS THROUGH THE BUILDING OR YOU WANNA DO THIS THE EASY WAY? They understood then. It’s about respect you know; don’t let nobody take advantage of you.

Finally he asks me how I like Los Angeles and I tell him it’s pretty nice.

Pretty nice is right. I was in San Diego for two years in the navy, we used to head up there on leave sometimes we’d go to Mexico too cause it was cheaper. You like it there huh?

-Yeah, I’m gonna stay for a while.

As long as you’re happy. Remember, you get in any trouble you call me…you know what I mean?

-Yeah I know.

Good…I know some people out there if you need anything.

I didn’t doubt for a second that he meant it. If I needed him, he’d be there. My uncle took care of the people he cared about and I was lucky to be one of those people. We picked up what we needed and headed back home.

I’ve thought about that car ride a lot over the years, partly because of what he said but mostly because of what he didn’t say. While my uncle talked about demanding respect that day, he had spent his whole life earning it through his actions. I respected and admired Uncle Tony not because he could help me, but simply because he was willing to.

In the years that passed I never needed to ask my uncle for a hand but there came a day when I needed his help and he didn’t let me down. Last year when my father passed away Uncle Tony was there. He was sick by then but he was there along with the rest of my family to pay their respects to my father.

He asked me if there was anything I needed, but just seeing him was enough to make it a little easier.

I learned of my uncle’s passing while walking home from dinner with my wife in Los Angeles and a few hours later I was on a plane heading home. My uncle, my aunt and their children stood at my side when my father passed away. Returning home to say goodbye was the least I could do.

March 30, 2010

Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There

When this blog started, way back in 2003 I had two goals:

1- Tell stories

2- Make sure my father never finds it

Looking back, I succeeded at the first and failed at the second but that turned out much better than I could have expected. In 2006 my dad found this blog and read every single entry, even the ones where he doesn’t come off looking so great. Then a funny thing happened, it brought us closer than we had ever been.  My dad didn’t mind I was talking about him; he understood that I was telling the story of our time together and he also understood, maybe for the first time, that I wasn’t mad about anything. With everything out in the open we both came to the same conclusion: While we both made mistakes we never tried to hurt one another (unless we had a VERY good reason) so there’s no sense dwelling on the past.

In time my father became an active participant here: filling in background info in the comments and adding story elements I was previously unaware of. When he wasn’t commenting he was reading and for three years I shared my life here knowing that the person who was half responsible for it was watching. As you probably know my father passed away last October; for a few weeks afterward I kept busy by telling stories about my father but over time the stories have become infrequent. This is partly due to the fact that I work a more than I used to but it’s mostly because telling stories here feels like less fun than it did when my father was reading them. I expect this will pass someday but until it does you can find me in the following places:

BeTheBoy on Twitter

3TweetStories on Twitter

BeTheMarriage with my wife, Saturday’s at 5 PM PT or on podcast

See you back here when the time is right.

March 9, 2010

Help Good Guys Win – A Two Step Process

Step 1 – Buy the new Ted Leo & the Pharmacists record.

The Brutalist Bricks is available at: Amazon, iTunes, eMusic and fine record stores everywhere.

Step 2 – Pledge your support to WFMU

Pledge to the WFMU Marathon!

For more ways to help WFMU, see here.

March 9, 2010

Help Us, Help (WFM)U

This is being re-posted from my wife’s blog, The Slack Daily, because it’s important. If you can participate, that would be fantastic. If you would like to donate yourself, click on the WFMU Marathon icon over on the upper right hand side of this page. Finally, please spread the word. Thanks.

There’s one week left in the WFMU pledge drive and they’re barely halfway to their goal. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock – a BIG rock – you know that WFMU is near and dear to our hearts. Tom Scharpling, Jon Wurster, Evan Funk Davies, Terre T, Mike and Therese make our Internet World a happier place.

While Will has already made a pledge on behalf of our household (including Daisy J. Dog) but I got a magic WGA envelope this week (thank you, Italy, for continuing to air Lizzie McGuire!)

So help us, and you help WFMU.

Last Saturday BetheMarriage podcast is available for download on iTunes.

What does this have to do with the WFMU marathon? you ask.

For each review you leave on the BetheMarriage podcast I will donate $1 to the WFMU marathon…up to $100.

But wait! There’s MORE!

If we receive over 75 reviews before The Best Show on WFMU airs tomorrow (at 5pm PST/8pm EST) I will make my donation then, which will qualify me for Scharpling’s DJ Premium. Since Will has already donated, we have a Best Show DJ Premium.

So I will give the second premium away to one of our lucky reviewers!

If we do not receive 75 reviews by tomorrow, we will be making our pledge on Terre T’s Cherry Blossom Clinic on Saturday, March 13, the day before the marathon officially ends.

Of course, if you want to make a donation to WFMU on your own (and thank you to those dear friends of ours who already have!), there’s a handy web form right here.

The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling
The Evan Funk Davies Show
The Cherry Blossom Clinic with Terre T
The Therese Show