Birthday'd!!

You might at first think this post is late for my birthday. "But Graham," you'll say, "your birthday was more than a week ago, on the 25th of May!" and yes, technically, in your bithdo-fascist worldview, you'd be right. A single day for your birthday is a crime - it's impossible to schedule around and really isn't very much fun that way.

This year was different. On the friday before, I went out dancing with my friend Rachel from undergrad, saturday was taken to dinner by another friend, sunday went to dinner with a whole bunch of folks at this fantastic Tibetan restaurant, then went to see Indiana Jones (which we all really enjoyed). Monday, my much-loved salsa teacher turned the regular Monday night party into a birthday party for me, and Tuesday night (while not a birthday matter but still good news) I was installed as an officer of my Masonic Lodge. The following Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday I was taken to dinner again by friends, and then concluded my birthday week with a lovely day in the park. See? Isn't that a much better way to celebrate? I am totally spoiled by having really great friends.

i really don't know what to make of this

I like pro wrestling. If you want, we can have a talk sometime about how it's the greatest dramatic performance around. But when you have the three candidates for the highest office in the land doing this for the fanbase...

candidates laying the smackdown very awkwardly

I start to get weirded out.

P.S. Obama is almost too good at that.

Regina Spektor and the Very Good Saturday

After a somewhat jumbled plans with Marit D (who played the secretary in The American Superhero Applies for a Job and the president in Grandma + Robot = Outer Space) and some of her friends, both the weekend and the season got off to a pretty kickass start on saturday.

Kristen Baker (of Confectioners' fame) and I went to see Regina Spektor live at a tiny, tiny venue in williamsburg. She was so good! The set was short but really very excellent, and we were in the 1/4 or so of the people who turned out who actually got in to see the show.
After that, Kristen and I went for a picnic and nap in the park (well, I napped and she read to me from a pamphlet about composting, it being earth day and all). Next we went to a bar for a BBQ for a friend of Kristen's birthday. Unfortunately, it started to get cold, so everyone went to the entirely shady clothing stores around the bar and bought ridiculous but warm things to wear. Kristen and I managed to find totally not lame $5 matching sweatshirts (which will I'm sure make her boyfriend oh so jealous).
Then I broke off from the party to attend not one but two parties in the same building back in manhattan, being thrown by some work friends. After a while I started to fade, so I headed home, but along the way got pulled out by some surgeon friends to go watch the Hopkins vs. Calzaghe fight on HBO. I hung with them for a little while, then headed home to sleep.

I LOVE spring in the city. This was a perfect start.

And now a Master Mason

On Saturday, April 12, yours truly was raised to the Third Degree of Freemasonry, that of Master Mason. This puts me on the level, masonically, with everyone else - George Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the rest. Furthermore, being raised to Master Mason affords me unrestricted access to the Masonic library and to any information about freemasonry I want to know. This will be a very exciting new chapter for me!

And, on a more personal note, it's wonderful for me to be able to share this with my grandfather, even after his passing. The experiences I'm having now are ones he, too, once had, and ones he encouraged me to have - something that's always on my mind when I put on my tuxedo and gloves.

Mysterious mysteries all around!

So....long story short, Selcen and I happened to hang out again, and she wanted to find this book for the kids she nannied years ago. The book was about this young female crime-solver, sort of Nancy Drew with special effects. We found the book, and in it was a description to you, the reader, of how to find some of new york's most infamous locations and secret spots. We got excited, and we went to find out if any otfthe places mentioned in the book were real and/or as the book said them to be.

First up was Doyer's street in Chinatown, which the book said was where more people had been murdered than anywhere else in the city. Also, it had a secret tunnel underneath. We found it, and the tunnel underneath (which is now full of sketchy shops, but still not obvious) and the internet says there's some truth to the murderous claim as well for the "bloody angle," as Doyer's was known.

Next up was the Ear Inn (James Brown House), a building which, we came to find, in its long history since first being owned by an ex-slave turned revolutionary war hero, has been a brothel, a boarding house, and a smuggler's den. It is also haunted.

We didn't make it to the other places, but I'm hoping at some point to make it to a few. New York has so much cool stuff!

i didn't order snake

I've got a weird mix of spring fever and senioritis. How will I disract myself? I want to be outsiiiiiidddddddddddddeeeeeeeeeee.

In the meantime, this gentleman on the online had no choice but to draw 200 bad comics. Here they are. A few of my favorites are below.

I am eating bunny marshmallows and commenting on Art

First of all, this movie looks fantastic:
"The Fall," directed by Spike Jonze. A bit like Pan's Labyrinth meets Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

Second, I am calling shenanigans on the Jonathan Schorr Gallery. I went there for a birthday party with Erin (my de facto cooking teacher) and one of the installations, well, I was immediately struck by its similarity to the beautiful lithographs that adorn my edition of Dante's Divine Comedy. Upon closer inspection - that's exactly what they were: the "artist" had, as he stated in his description of the piece, cut the lithographs out of the book and pasted them together. That's it. How does that get you a spot in a gallery?

Maybe I'll stick some of these bunny marshmallows together and put them in a gallery.

Grupo Corpo is worth the trip, OR, Naomi and I try to hurry spring along

Selcen is a friend of mine from college who now lives in new york, and on the most recent of our rare, once-in-a-blue-moon get-togethers, we made the trip up to White Plains to catch one of the last North American performances by Grupo Corpo. The show from this Brazillian dance copmpany was really incredible, fun, and inspiring; a video preview of their show can be seen here. Enjoy!

The following day, Naomi Milstein came to brooklyn for the day - she had been nearby at a conference - and we went to the Brooklyn Botanical gardens. This choice of activity might rightly be construed as seasonal optimism - nothing is yet in bloom, and it was kind of a chilly day. But we tried, and that's what counts, right? Can it be spring now, please?

(Of course it was endlessly wonderful as always to spend time with Naomi, a dear friend for ten years this fall!)

This is Easterween, this is Easterween...

I am the bunny sleeping under your bed....

I don't know what's weirder about this picture:
a) the t-shirt was bought for me by one of the dearest people in my life, sarah, who told me she knew immediately it was for me (and she was right!)
b) this is the first time those bunny ears have been off the clock in the living room in recent memory
c) i wish this were my driver's license photo

Happy Easter, everybunny....

"Sho' yo' gonna be a doctor, baby!"

That's always been my favorite line from Raisin in the Sun. And today, it's more than funny. It's true.

Well, it's official. Today the emphasis is on the once and future dr. science. I have made my decision: I have accepted the invitation of the University of Michigan to attend in the fall for my doctorate in neuroscience.

Also: Happy Birthday, mom!

Patty Freakin' McGuire, that's who.

I suppose it's only fair. I've got to revise my previous stance on facebook (i.e. "Guns don't kill people, Facebook kills people"). After all, a "foolish consistency," says Emerson, "is the hobgoblin of a little mind."

You know when the last time was I used that quote? About the same time I last saw Patty McGuire - my junior year of high school. Through the creepy magic of facebook, we got back in contact, and when she happened to be coming to new york, we were able to arrange to have brunch in Brooklyn.

Patty's awesome. Always has been. Funny, smart, and super creative. It'd been what, 10 years? 11?

Nicely done, Facebook. You've won this round.

Ain't no party like a natural history museum planetarium dance party with music by DJ Jazzy Jeff because a natural history... (well you get the point)

A super-fun dance party last Friday with Kristin Baker (co-founder of the free-cookie acquisition squad known as The Confectioners) and a metric hojillion other people. And yes, it was that DJ Jazzy Jeff. Also, yes, this is picture of a meteorite from space in which someone has deposited their empty beer can. C'mon, people, it came from Space! Show some respect.

Anyways, fun times.

The District and I have a slumber party

It's no less true the more I say it: I have really amazing friends. And it's sad when the course and drift of our lives makes for diaspora more than continued life in the same circles, but, by that same token, it's really wonderful when we get to reunite.

I needed badly to get out of NYC for the weekend, and I'd been talking for a long time about heading south to visit Elizabeth McQueen in DC. Liz is a former U of M cheerleader who decided to do some theatre when we were in college together, and appeared in Information for Foreigners. She has since gone to grad school and now works redesigning airspace (no, I'm not kidding). She is ridiculously smart and curious and funny and I really miss spending time with her.

The train ride to DC is about 3.5 hours, which flew by (courtesy of my nintendo DS and Professor Layton and the Curious Village; I love that game so hard). Once I got to DC, Liz and I had dinner and went out dancing (followed by a dance party in the car on the way home, to such wonderfully bad dance songs as "Relax, Take it Easy" by Mika and "World, Hold On" by Bob Sinclair).

Saturday we spent lazing about at Liz's in Maclean, Virginia, (which I don't have a picture of but, is in the same city where the CIA is headquartered), and went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum so I could see some dinosaurs. Then we met up with her friend Sarah and Heather and saw "Be Kind, Rewind," which was gorgeous in a typical Gondry fashion but not so well acted. Then we headed into DC with Liz's friend Mike to meet with my friends Drew and Isabelle for salsa dancing at this tiny club. Liz and I stayed up until something like 6 (which was just like old times) talking about everything. Sunday was spent hanging out in Dupont Circle (pictured here). Voltaire's is gone - replaced by a new Thai place, sad as that is. We returned home and I jumped on the train and headed back.

I had forgotten how much I love DC. I'd happily move there (and maybe I will when it comes time to look for postdocs) and seeing Liz was really good for me. With so much instability and craziness in my life over the last year, it's great to spend time with people who are characterized by being consistently great, even as they grow and change.

I am indeed the future Dr. Science

I've held off talking about this online not only because I respect the jinx more than most, but also because I've heard horror stories about applicants' online words finding their way to interviewers' eyes - but at this point it's looking more and more like the matter is settled, so...let me start by saying: The application process for phds in neuroscience/genetics is really long and complicated. There are an awful lot of pieces that have to be compiled, you have to take the GRE, and then you have to battle the labyrinthine university bureaucracies who will try to tell you that what you've submitted never actually arrived/was in the wrong form. Several hundred dollars later, though, there's some fun to be had in the form of interview trips.

Of the schools to which I've applied, I was fortunate enough to get interviews at the top two. Which is a mystery in and of itself, I guess: Why would the top two programs in the country want me, but not the safety state schools to which I applied? Odd, that. Anyways, the program that's not in NYC, a neuroscience program, flew me out, put me up in a hotel, bought me every meal at fancy restaurants, and basically fawned all over me to get me to go there and it was AWESOME. Everyone should have that experience at least once in their life, that's for sure. The program in NYC, in genetics, was not so splendid, but still kind of cool with more subdued fawning.

That difference is really indicative of the contrast between the programs, though: the latter is unquestionably the most important school in the history of genetics, but seems to be resting on its reputation and laurels in the expectation that students will still want to attend. The former is making a real giant-size move for science, is already ranked #1 for behavioral neuroscience, and clearly wants to assemble the resources for a bright future. And their students get paid to fly all over the world for conferences and to give lectures; I met students who'd just returned from China and London. And they called me a day after the interview to tell me I was in (which both programs sort of unofficially told me on my interviews).

At this point I still have to hear from a few more schools, but these two were, at the outset, my top picks. I'm really surprised by the program in NYC's shabby present state, given its pedigree, but folks I talk to tell me that's not the first they've heard of it. I'm definitely leaning strongly toward the neuroscience program, but though the location is not ideal (exactly how much that should matter, I don't know).

I'll keep you posted on what I decide (which will have to happen soon, whether or not I hear from my remaining schools).

Blogging is not like this...

...so feel free to get excited for updates from grad school interviews, science, freemasonry, a birthday message for Alan Trammel, and notes from this weekend's super-awesome trip to DC. Coming very very soon!

Oh, internet. Don't ever change.

Man, I'd forgotten how amazing Engrish.com is. And speaking of wonderful ways to spend (cough waste cough) time when you're frustrated from work and preparing for your upcoming interviews, did I mention I met the guy who draws the Perry Bible Fellowship? Actually, I take that back. I'm pretty sure the guy who does the perry bible fellowship played a joke on the bookstore and sent some dude off the street (who may or may not have been stoned), because when people would say, "hey, we love your website!" he'd look really confused and respond, "Website? Oh...yeah. Lot of good stuff on that...website."

Also worth checking out if you've got "spare" time:
GORGEOUS TINY CHICKEN MACHINE SHOW with your host Kiko This is first on the list because if you haven't seen it then you are a bad person. Watch both episodes.

Got a big bag of crabs? Here's an idea for you.

I LOVE YOU EGGS "Eggs I really love you, like the skies above." Um...what? Oh, and carrots, too.

The Meth Minute 39 is a series of short, really odd and funny cartoons. "Watermelon Nights" is amazing, and "Mike Tyson's Brunch Out" is a classic.

30 Hornets annihilate 30,000 Bees Honestly the most insane thing I have seen to come out of nature in a long time. Who knew hornets were such killing machines?

Enjoy!

Ye Olde Holiday Newsletter, OR, Well here comes trouble

The holidays were lovely, even if also a little jagged. Christmas saw a brief trip to the motherland, with Hilary and I cooking up some food for the big day, as well as a rather dramatic Christmas eve mass in a church devoid of lights or heat. Oh, and while I never get to see everyone I want to when I go home, I did happen to finally cross paths with someone of particular importance...



That's right, the muse of the visual arts herself, Lindsey Sherline (complete with stylish fake hair). I hadn't seen her in something like 3 or 4 years, and we've both been through a lot of changes. But we had such a good time catching up, and it genuinely does me good to spend time with her.

New year's was the most fun I've had in a while. Cousin Heather came to town and we attended a dinner party at Rachel Razgunas's. Rachel recently moved here with her fiancee, and this was a sort of housewarming/welcome to new york/happy 2008 party. Then Heather and I went dancing at the Brooklyn Lyceum until we were both ready to collapse. Let me tell you - with 2007 having been such a complex and painful year, counting down to midnight while you dance your brains out is a pretty good remedy. Hello, 2008. Let's be friends, shall we?

p.s. I don't want to jinx anything, YOU KNOW I DON'T, but so far (and it's really early still) I've heard back from two of the ten grad schools to which I applied, and both have asked me to come and interview! So keep your collective fingers crossed, internet.

A Transgene Special Report (sort of)

Of the myriad characters created to market products to children, perhaps none were so bizarre as those inhabiting McDonaldland, which opened its doors to the world in 1971. From the milkshake-obsessed, walking, talking tumor known as Grimace to the utterly baffling Mayor McCheese (were we supposed to want to eat his head?) the citizens of McDonaldland presented a puzzling, yet tantalizing, view of a world in which McDonald's food products were not only purchased by everyone, but actually became everything in the world itself.

That is, until recently. From Wikipedia,
Late 2007
As the ongoing obesity epidemic in western nations has been increasingly noted by the mainstream media, McDonald's and other fast food chains have been under increasing pressure to revamp their products and advertising with healthier alternatives. As part of this campaigns, McDonald's has agreed to discontinue marketing to children under the age of twelve and the McDonaldland characters will be completely eliminated;[citation needed] Ronald has been recast as a role model for healthier lifestyles.


This news item, while as yet unsubtantiated from other sources, raises an important question: what will become of those characters who filled the ranks of the McDonaldland Army? What's next for this cast of rogues?

To answer these questions, I sat down with perhaps the most beloved of these characters, the Hamburglar, in his hideout in McDonaldand.
TG: So, thanks for meeting.
HB: No problem, robble. Did you bring those hamburgers I asked for?
TG: (handing over a bag of mcdonald's hamburgers)
HB: (quickly eating the hamburgers)
TG: You're still eating McDonald's, even after the news? You aren't angry with the company?
HB: Hey, think about that for a minute, robble. This is the only food I've eaten for the past thirty-six years. Doesn't that seem strange to you? Like there wasn't any other food around? Why'd I keep trying to steal hamburgers? They made me an addict, robble. That's why. Got me hooked. I try to stop the stuff, I get the shakes. Bad.
And hell yes I'm mad at them. Robble. I'm a kleptomaniac who's got a criminal background and a speech impediment, robble robble, and no work experience in the past four decades. What can I possibly do? Ain't nobody going to hire me now. (the Hamburglar begins to sob uncontrollably)

Careful, he'll hypnotize you with treats, and that's when he sneaks in the Judaism

Oh look! Free pie! My favorite kind of thing to find in the kitchen!

And aww, it's from Andrew!



WAIT WAIT WAIT...what's this in small print at the bottom?


Well, I'm sorry Jesus, but that was some excellent pie. Perhaps you'd like to make a delicious counter-offer?

HALLO-WHOA this update is late

Yeah, so as I find myself listening to the Mountain Goats' song "This year" on a daily basis for its resounding chorus of "I am going to make it through this year if it kills me," it appears my blog updates have been absent for some time from my "Oh good lord get this done right now" list. But after a harrowing trip to New Jersey this evening (feel free to go ahead and die, New Jersey) I decided to do some end-of-the-year updating. So here are a whole bunch of pictures from halloween! Sorry they're not getting the treatment they deserve. Also, hooray for mermaid dog!