Oct 8, 2011

I went to Parvin for a run around the lake and met Joanna there to walk and talk. We walked around two more times so it was a good long distance overall. Really nice day to be outside.

Chuck and I headed up to Red Bank and the Count Basie Theater for a night of live podcasts. The openers were Tell 'Em Steve-Dave, consisting of Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson of Mallrats fame as well as Brian Quinn. They were funny at times, starting the show with puppet versions of themselves but quickly abandoning that and getting into talking about how unprepared they were. Their lack of prep was obvious and sadly not amusing.

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes came out after a brief intermission to do their podcast "Jay and Silent Bob Get Old." They spent a lot of time talking about Jay's childhood, which was simultaneously distressing and hilarious. Jason was the highlight of the night, with Kevin being a nice commentator to his insanity.

After a collection of great anecdotes from both of them, they ended the show by bringing a fan on stage and having him read lines from "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" with Jason. The guy that went up was not a good actor, even with Smith directing him. It was only funny because Jason was up there being stubborn as well.

It was a really good show. It's always funny how much fun it can be to sit and watch people talk to each other. That's why I keep going back to see Kevin Smith.

Mar 5, 2011

I had to meet the bus early at the Student Center to head to New York on the Honors Photo field trip. Joanna and I sat in the teacher's pet seat so I got to precariously walk down the aisle while the bus was moving with a bag of bagels, handing them out to everyone. At least we got bagels though. That was cool.

We got there quite early; the museum wasn't even open yet when we arrived. Not sure why we left so early, but we took the time to walk around the city for a while and go to Bryant Park where I took some photos of the still-wet walkway and some people walking by.

We eventually headed back to MoMA, where Keith had met up with our group and was there to greet us (even though he forgot I was coming..) This painting by Umberto Boccioni was really great. It's one of a series of three he did at a train station depicting different moods.

There are always new things to see at MoMA, but the old favorites like Brancusi's sculptures never go away.

This photo was one of my favorite things I saw for the day. The mood of it is immediately apparent and it just feels very personal and lonely to me.

We wandered the rest of the museum for a few hours. It's a big place. This guy walked right in front of me while I was shooting something so I just shot him instead. The museum was good as always, but after a while I was ready to get back outside.

We walked around again for a while and went to the NBC Store before heading to the Rock Center Cafe to wait for the rest of the group to get there to have lunch.

We got called in to a place that seemed way too nice for us and got seated by the windows. After some sitting and gawking at the nice decor and the high prices of everything we were getting for free, our drinks and food came out. I got a penne pasta that was delicious but way too large for me to finish.

After dinner, we even got dessert. Speaking of too much... I ate it anyway. What a bad idea. We took off after we finished and walked around once again, thinking about going to some stores but we didn't have time. I bid Joanna farewell as she got on the Rowan bus and I headed uptown.

I met up with the one and only Nathan Terry on an unassuming street corner just blocks away. We headed back toward Penn Station and talked about art we had both viewed during the earlier hours.

We went to Jamba Juice where I got a delicious Five Fruit Frenzy and waited for Chuck to meet us. He arrived shortly after and got something for himself. We hung out for a while and then went to a pizzeria before parting ways with Nate.

We walked the other direction AGAIN (I walked 7th Avenue like 6 times over the course of the day) to Radio City Music Hall where Kevin Smith's new movie, Red State, was premiering for an audience the first time since Sundance.

The theater was huge even in the lobby. Had to take a shot to prove they actually let us into this place.

Our seats were on the balcony, but still very good. The Man came out and introduced the flick and then the show began. The movie was really good in my opinion. A departure from his other work, it was a nice thriller and still fun.

Once the movie had finished, Kevin came out to thank everyone and say a few words before introducing almost the entire cast to come out on stage for a Q & A.

Unfortunately, the majority of the questions were for Kevin and he seemed noticeably short with his answers this time around because he wanted to give the stellar cast a chance to answer some questions. John Goodman was among the many great actors on stage and they did each get a few good questions but it was somewhat disappointing overall. Not the typical Kevin Smith Q & A, but I suppose that is to be expected.

We shuffled out of the theater with some time to spare before our bus so we found a bar somewhere in Chelsea and had some microbrews that were actually quite good. There was some in-house entertainment provided by the drunk girls at the bar. It was a good time.

Though not pictured, except for possibly on my face, there was still a long trip home. We got on our sold-out Megabus and had some fun with disgruntled passengers. It got resolved and worked out fine in the end though. When we got back to the city, we lucked out because the bus dropped us near the train station so we could grab our train right back to Jersey without worrying about transfers. After a short drive back home it was sleep time. And almost dawn.

Nov 5, 2009

Once I decided to get up, which wasn't even late considering what time I got to sleep, I went to Parvin to run. I walked around for a while after running.

After I came home and got a shower I met Katie for some tea at the Fuel House. One good thing about the weather getting cold is an excuse to drink tea. I couldn't stay long because I had to go to class.

I got to Russian a little bit late but just in time to learn about verbs and their endings. It's nice that I know some French because the whole conjugation things is pretty much the same except for the endings.

When class was over I picked up Chuck and Diebra from a nearby parking lot and we headed to Philly. We ate at Cosi on our way to the Merriam Theater. The tomato basil soup was great as well as the rest of the food.

We walked quickly to the Merriam after eating, getting there with several minutes to spare before Kevin Smith took the stage with a couch he never sat on.

He started with a story about his father's death but soon answered a lot questions about comic book and then got into working with Bruce Willis and everything else you would expect from a Kevin Smith Q & A. Another great appearance.

I went to Rowan After Hours and hung out for a short time. I got this bobblehead with my face in it. It's pretty ridiculous and I have nothing to do with it now but there it is. I don't play soccer either but that's what they had left. I got some lame mac & cheese before leaving.

I walked down to the Landmark where there were people fighting and I didn't feel like dealing with that nor did I want to pay the cover to go in for last call so I just left.

Jun 17, 2009

I picked up Chuck and then Diebra and headed north to Red Bank to Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash.

They got a picture with Mooby, the sacred cow..

I checked out some new memorabilia from Zack and Miri and Clerks II since I hadn't been there in a quite a while.

You wouldn't understand unless you're a fan of Chasing Amy.

After we had some lunch at a pizza place we headed to the Quick Stop in Leonardo. Chuck and I got some Gatorade.

Whatchu lookin' at Grizzly Adams?

We drove into Manhattan and met Nathan for a drink to talk about the recordings he sent us. We got some beers and I got this giant brownie at a bar/restaurant/bakery. It was good but way toooo big. I only ate a few bites.

After a bit we went to line up at Carnegie Hall for the main event of the evening.

We had some really high up seats and were crammed close together where we would be stuck for a few hours.

This was our view as Kevin Smith's daughter introduced him for a night full of hilarious anecdotes and fat jokes. It was great to finally get to see him do his q & a thing live and in person. Next time I want to be much closer though.

We drove home as Diebra slept in the backseat and the drive didn't seem too long but I was ready to sleep when I got home. Great night with good friends and awesome entertainment.