A blast of refrigerated air no matter where I go tonight.

- I step out of Tito's place after showing my face to ooh and ahh over his newborn girl, Delaney.

(Gorgeous chica, as newborn babes go. Looks like her momma. Tiny too.)

Brooklyn is definitely a different energy than is Staten Island.

A little flashier, funkier, edgier - and yet more bourgeious.

But JESUS CHRIST, is it cold tonight.

Good thing I stepped out prepared.

- The New York subways, efficient in its own way during the weekdays, becomes anarchic on the weekends.

Thats when trains are rerouted due to maintenance and construction down in the tunnels.

Confused and pissed were the faces having to step on trains that normally go nowhere but going somewhere to replace the trains that usually go somewhere, but are now travelling somewhere else.

Dont be a tourist during the weekends, for thou shalt be fucked.

The subway platforms were also cold tonight. Verily.

I went walkabout last night.

I wasted a coupla hours beyond midnight, but I didnt really go far because it is still chilly around here.

If I werent on the island, I probably wouldve stuck to my original plan and taken a late night stroll through chinatown, visited a few of the late-night joints Jules of NY told me about.

But nah. Rich thought I was either bent or very, very cold when he saw me pull on the hat, scarf, jacket and gloves at 10 pm..

I had to go somewhere, so I decided to walk the entire length of this dutch-named street (as are most of the streets on Staten Island named).. ostensibly to walk to the store a mile away, but really - just to go walkabout.

Hey, if I were driving, I wouldve bolted for the next state - probably using the reason "I gotta go get some gas", as I did when Id bolt for Wisconsin back in the day.

My beau's would never quite understand why I'd disappear like that.

I guess its to get outside of myself, my head. To center myself, as all Virgo's need to do. Therapy if you'd like.

I remember my routine as taking off first thing on a Sunday morning to chase the sunrise, ending the day with a foot-tall ice-cream cone from Uncle Harry's in Burlington Wisconsin.

I remember my ex-fiance, curious as to why Id do it, ever trying to understand what made me tick, came along once for a day out.

I never did teach her how to drive a stick shift, so she was bored to death flying through the countryside by the end of the day.

She never asked again.

So I would end up chasing sunrises by myself.
---------------

Brian Y gave me this compatibility link, based on chinese astrology.

Ive always considered the chinese astrolgical chart to be an excellent x-factor in relationships.

Wow. Talk about it being an x-ray...

JPennant: Im checking out a chinese compatibility chart. Oh my god, it trends everybody very well.
Nancy: I think it skipped me!
JPennant: Oct 10, 6*?
Nancy: 6*
JPennant: k
JPennant: lessee
JPennant: http://zodiac.asia1.com.sg/compatibility.htm
JPennant: For you and me, it trends as I expect.. cept for one
Nancy: ?
JPennant: the 'predestined' graph is off the scale
JPennant: Heheh. I musta known you in a previous life :-)
JPennant: I ran my 'perfect' astrological partner on it
JPennant: and the graphs for that was all high and even.
JPennant: Everyone else is high in some, low in others. skewed.
Nancy: whats your birthday
JPennant: 08/29/64
Nancy: I just looked. wow
Nancy: pretty cool
JPennant: yar :-)
JPennant: Man, this coulda saved me so much time with folk :-)
Nancy: heehee - don't take it too much to heart
JPennant: hehehe
JPennant: I feel better already.
JPennant: I put up an ex ... it pointed out what I always knew.. it was JUST about the sex. :-)
Nancy: heehee
JPennant: I dont feel so bad now :-)
JPennant: compare me to 03/16/72, the 'perfect astro partner', and see what it looks like
JPennant: I think the ideal chart is supposed to resemble that.
Nancy: wow
JPennant: yep
JPennant: balanced
Nancy: gotta run - meeting some friends at 5:30. Have a great weekend!
JPennant: you too hon. talk atcha latah :-)

Ooh


Fujifilm introduces FinePix 6900 Zoom

2001-03-22 Quite new is the Fujifilm FinePix 6900 Zoom, which was first introduced at the German computer fair CeBIT2001.
Technologically, the metallic-black coloured camera is to a large extent identical with the silver-coloured FinePix 4900 Zoom, however, it has a SuperCCD image sensor of the 2nd generation.
With 3.3 million pixels in honeycomb structure, the FinePix 6900 Zoom is thus able to produce image files with a resulting resolution of 6 million pixels (2,832 x 2,128 pixels).
The firmware, too, has been optimized, so that the new camera is a little bit faster and it even consumes less power than its predecessor, the FinePix 4900 Zoom.
The product introduction of the FinePix 6900 Zoom in Europe has been scheduled for June 2001. The price hasn't been announced yet.


Ooh.
--------------------

Aaarg

Blogger is &$%^#% malfunctioning again.

To put my feelings about this into the words of Gareth Blackstock, the very cranky chef from the BBC series "Chef!":

"You want to put salt on the perfection Ive created??? I HATE you with a passion you can only *dream* of!"

Or his succinct view of people with no sense...

"Let me explain the order of things:
There's the aristocracy, the upper class, middle class, working class, dumb animals, waiters, creeping things, head lice, people who eat packet soup, and then you. "

If only I possessed that kinda eloquent vitriol.... :-)

Spring has sprung.

Bleh.

Horizontal rain, cold winds. A nor'easter has come through.

I guess we should be thankful it aint snow, but Id rather the snow over cold, cold rain.

Rich came in on the rush hour ferry last nite, rhapsodizing about the beauty.. the low-hangin clouds and white-caps on the Bay creating such a snap-worthy scene, he wished he'd had a camera to capture it.

I spoiled the mood by pouting that I was jealous. I dont have a camera to capture shytte.

Walking up Broadway to Wall Street, the rain stinging my hand holding the Starbux coffee, the other holding the New York Post over my head - the streets were oddly deserted.
Maybe everyone stayed inside because of the cold and wet, or because of the feeling that Wall Street was gonna have to shed people with the losses theyve been having.

But it was uncharacteristically deserted at rush hour, storm or no storm.

Eh. Then I bought an umbrella off this old chinese lady, haggling down to five dollars from eight.

Eh, I should be ashamed, but itsa New York thing.

As they say, "Everything in New York is Five Dollahs".

snip

Waterbelle is the one who suggested the term 'Itinerant in New York'.

Being the stubborn ass that I am, I only grudgingly conceded.

She is being vindicated...

> ***All hail the mighty Google and its propensity for
> finding just about anything you're looking for, in
> any
> order.
>

Well, actually, its folk linking the site under that phrase.

It strikes a chord and draws the curious. In fact, I get a flurry of hits every time I update with Blogger, which is why I can tell the name intrigues them.

I need to get a new camera so that I can do it justice.

> > But 'Itinerant in NY' is more than a phrase - its
> an
> > attitude.
> >
> ***Yup. That's how I saw it. It's not just a way of
> life, it's a way of moving through life.
>
>

Just thought Id give her due credit.
--------------
Under my current need to organize myself, Im striving to answer my mail within a day.

Im only a day or so behind.. so far so good. :-)

Plus, its only good manners.
------------
Heh. Maria had this to say recently:

So now I'm happy. I think I may have even gotten some color back into my face. =)
Ahhh...I love enjoying life...especially when it doesn't bite you in the ass. =P

Reminds me of a conversation I had with Brian Y the other day about happiness.

Totally enjoyed it, but I didnt put it up, cuz Id been doing the IM/blog thing to death.. however...

theyams: yep, a lot of us worry about yoo, too :-/
JPennant: I know . I do appreciate y'all lookin out fer me. :-)
theyams: but I know that you've got a good head on those shoulders :-)
JPennant: thanks boss. But I think Im fairly lucky.
theyams: how so?
JPennant: Im doing fairly well considering.
JPennant: I am far from unhappy.
theyams: yeah, at least you're not losing your shirt in the Market :'(
theyams: yes, happiness is wealth!
JPennant: you know how when you look back at certain periods and realize you were actually happy, but didnt appreciate that you were happy?
JPennant: because you thought you didnt have everything you wanted or felt you needed?
theyams: yep, perspective is always better after the fact
JPennant: And reality is all about perspective
theyams: sometimes it's difficult to get that perspective until you lose something you had
JPennant: so why wait?
JPennant: I may be broke, itinerant and got no woman.. but Im far from unhappy. :-)
theyams: I have to say, that despite the pain I've gone thru recently, I still feel quite lucky....
JPennant: Right now Im housesitting a friends great apt with her cat, a fantastic view of New York and the Bay
JPennant: Ive got the freedom to do as I choose.
JPennant: my days are my own.
theyams: Shweet!
JPennant: Yar. Why should I wait for things to be perfect to be happy? :-)
theyams: there's nothing that sez you should, is there?
JPennant: nope. not at all. :-)
theyams: otherwise, you may never be happy in this lifetime
theyams: whatever happened to that apt you were waiting for?
JPennant: I spoke to the guy yesterday.. its almost ready.
JPennant: Changes are a-coming, so Im enjoying this period as much as I can. :-)
theyams: jeez, seems like it's been "almost ready" for a long while
JPennant: *sigh* Yeah, but you know.. it has worked to my advantage. So Im not questioning it.
theyams: changes? new job? new venture?
JPennant: all of the above. :-)
JPennant: Im putting my trust in faith. :-)
theyams: Ahh, that's where the perspective is comin' from, eh?
JPennant: And Im not even particularly religious. :-)
theyams: ya gotta have faith, whether it be in God, yourself, friends, LIFE... to be happy
JPennant: I had a dream years ago
JPennant: like I was allowed to take a peek at my life in the future.
JPennant: had the car, kids and brownstone
JPennant: all the things I thought I wanted
JPennant: so I asked - "but I dont seem happy.. am I happy?"
JPennant: and the answer was "That is not the point."
theyams: what is the point?
JPennant: happiness is not the point.
theyams: oh great Oz, what is the answer?
JPennant: Otherwise Id be craving stuff and things I didnt need
JPennant: just to be 'happy'
JPennant: There is much more to it than that.
theyams: eh, that's a pretty fine line....
JPennant: 'happy' is pretty limiting.
JPennant: if you think about it
theyams: it's all in how you define being 'happy' to your own self
JPennant: Not craving 'happiness' doesnt automatically mean youre craving the opposite.
theyams: comfort, self-confidence, satisfaction, all contribute
JPennant: Most of the things that have made me happy are out of my life now.
JPennant: I remember those things fondly.
JPennant: but sometimes you have to make room for more important things.
theyams: reliance on God can give you all of those things, but I'm not pushing that on anyone...
JPennant: There is indeed a difference between spirituality and religion
JPennant: not that the two have to be mutually exclusive. :-)
theyams: but how did you get to where you are now, without living the past?
JPennant: what do you mean?
theyams: sorry, that was a comment on what you said a while ago, regarding
theyams: what you said about your life now making you happy
JPennant: no, no.. what i said was.. I am not waiting for everything to be perfect to appreciate what I have now. :-)
theyams: oh, ok. well, that's good.
theyams: sometimes you never get what you're waiting for
JPennant: exactly
JPennant: why have your happiness depend on having to wait on something else?
JPennant: A new car, flush bank account, a perfect relationship, a neat computer or gadget?
JPennant: Dont get me wrong, those things are sweet. :-)
theyams: yes
JPennant: but, why put your perspective on hold while your waiting for all that?
JPennant: Chances are, if you want all that bad enough, they'll come
JPennant: but not necessarily on your own timetable.
theyams: almost never does....
JPennant: And time being the most valuable resource, why piss it away because its not 'perfect'?
theyams: speaking of that.... brb hahaha!
JPennant: I gotta go skedaddle'
JPennant: gotta go meet Kate to pick up the best bagels in brooklyn. :-) Speakin' o' happiness.
theyams: ok, have a good one! and get offa that island!


Yep. Its almost time.

Where are MY priorities?

I walk to the table where several devices are sitting, intending to pick up the cell phone to make a call...

I walk away, only to realize I had absently picked up the TV remote instead.

Yikes.
------------
To the tune of Skee-Lo's "I Wish"

Man. Apple, Shell, RJR and AOL are all at my strike prices.

Id better reactivate the ol' Schwab account and start picking up pieces before they come to their senses....
------------
As segregated as Chicago can be, I miss it in this sense...

In Chicago, once you make friends, you tend to make them for life.

And my friends were Irish, polish, puerto rican, gay, lesbian (the ones who dont put you down or think yer clueless cuz youre a man, a peeve o' mine), belizean, filipino, pakistani .. hell even proud rednecks from West Virginny :-)

I miss the get-togethers and barbeques :-) (Although I dont miss the beer, blechhhh...)

I mean, as much a melting pot as New York is, you dont get that sense of here.

Of hooking up without much thought to race, gender or nationality.

It could be me tho....
-----------

As Im talking to Cris about the merits of home-schooling...

JPennant: I would love to send my kids to school back in Jamaica.
Cris: I didn't know you had kids
JPennant: If I did
JPennant: when I do
Cris: hehe
Cris: Are you slipping Joe...hiding that secret life? :-)
JPennant: heheh. If I do.
Cris: For all I know you could be a billionaire
JPennant: Secret lives are too much work, trust me. :-)
Cris: hehe
------------
Heheh.

Tax time for recently laid-off dot-commers (by Thoughtpolice).

Feel no pressure, Em. :-)
--------
Carol calls me JoBear.

The Queen B sends me honey from Cali.

Im addicted to honey (Cole's Honey from Cali, specifically..)

(Awesome with Lemon and Green Tea)

Shit, just call me Pooh....
-------

The current issue of TV Guide has their 50 greatest movie moments..

Got me to thinking about the lines from movies that I saw when I was a teenager or young adult.

I mean, I enjoyed the lines then, but now - I APPRECIATE them even more.

For example:

From Risky Business

- "Sometimes, you have to say 'What the fuck.' .. 'What the fuck' brings opportunity...."

- "Go to school, Joel. Learn something."

- "Lemme give you a piece of advice, Joel. Never... EVER... fuck.... with another man's livelihood."

Say Anything

"I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen."

Gone With The Wind:

- "Frankly my dear, I dont give a damn."

These arent merely lines for me now.

More later as I think of them.
---------------

Hrrrmm. Blogspot is down.

I guess this is a signal that its time to move the site.

At least it dovetails with the other things Im starting to do.
----------------
One of my resolutions, starting this year. in my quest to be a better man.. was to overcome my fears so that I didnt do stuff in anger.

Win some, lose some.

But its getting better.

Part of it is trying to overcome my tendency to act emotionally when my insides are less than calm.

I think people find it hard to believe just by my general demeanor, that I am VERY emotional.

But I am.

I dont function well when my insides are less than calm.

Which is why I try to avoid people who piss me off

At least now.... I know when its happening.. but the way I have been handling it.. which is to disconnect and shut myself off from silly people.. isnt the way I want to live my life.

In becoming a better man, I want to overcome my fears so that my actions arent done in anger.
----------------

This is the kinda schtuff you get when you finally decide to put up yer e-mail address....

From: "Phil Askey" phil@askey.net
To: joepennant
Subject: Illegal use of copyrighted image
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 07:54:38 -0000

Dear Sir,

It has come to our attention that you have used a copyrighted image on your page at:
http://pennant.blogspot.com/

The image in question is:
http://www.dpreview.com/fuji4900z/images/inhand01.jpg

Please remove your link to this image immediately.
Regards,

Phil Askey
Editor / Author / Webmaster
Digital Photography Review
http://www.dpreview.com/

Aright.

Lets see if this is the kind of nonsense I'll be getting in my box from now on.

If it is, it may not stay up much longer.

Consider it an experiment.......

An overheard conversation riding the S46 bus this morning from the ferry...condensed for brevity

Young man: Im doin aright. Have you seen ******? I havent seen him in three months!
Older Man: Oh, he got fired. Hopes he finds one. If anyone ever needed a job, he does.
ym: Do you know where Im just coming in from?
om: Uh-uh. Where?
ym: Rikers
om: Whaaat?

(Rikers Island is the huge prison facility on an island in the East River, constantly mentioned on 'Law & Order'.
At this point everyone who wasnt paying attention is now listening in that keenly-aware, yet nonchalant New York manner... )

ym: *beaming* Yep. Left there at 5 am this morning. Been in for the last 3 months. Thats why I kept saying I havent seen ***** in 3 months.
om: Maan, thats bad news. Thats a place I hope I never see again.
ym: Yeah, its wild up in there. You gotta act like you can take care o' yer own, otherwise they'll take you out.
ym: I saw guys CRYIN' when they brought them in, talkin like "I dont wanna be here!!!"
ym: And if you walk in wearing gold chains, theyre gonna beat you down and take it. I saw all kinda fights daily...
ym: Man, the police are worse than the inmates. If there's a fight, they'll line you up against a wall and then all you'll hear is stanchions hittin heads and legs. They tell you not to look from the wall, and afterward, you'll see blood trails from where they drag 'em away.
ym: The only way to avoid all that is to act crazy and they'll seperate you from the rest of the prison population. But THOSE people are off the hook. They keep them doped up to keep them quiet.
om: They give you bus fare when you leave?
ym: Nah, but (pulling out a MetroCard), they'll give you a 3 dollar MetroCard (good for two rides and bus transfers) if you dont have any money.
om: What if you have money whne you get there?
ym: They'll put it in your account.

That conversation made me consider.. I really need to put a lawyer on retainer.. because in this city, if youre snatched up - you could be spending a long time in Rikers before they even hear your case.. EVEN if you havent done anything.

Thats reality in this city. A price paid for the calming down of New York.

During the conversation, I just wanted to tell a 14 year old boy on his way to school to close his mouth, as his mouth was just agape taking it all in....

And thats not an atypical kinda conversation to overhear in New York City, where the stories get so wild that someone can tell you any outrageous story, and you have to take it at face value.

As anything can happen here.
--------------

yamB: didja make it to the Strand?
JPennant: not yet. I was up all night. thanks for reminding me. :-)
yamB: no prob;-)
JPennant: I think I may havta pay full price for the book im looking for tho
JPennant: itsa hot field.
yamB: :-/
JPennant: Sold out at the bookstores Ive been checking
yamB: "How to become a Millionaire on the Internet?"
yamB: or "Finding Inner Peace, on Pennies A day"?
JPennant: Got that, read that. ;-0
yamB: LOL :-)

Gah.

Will someone PLEASE remind me to stop by the Strand Book Store in the morn?

For some ungodly reason I keep forgetting.....
-----------
Bloody fantastic.

I now find out that my camera is a discontinued item.

No wonder it died.

At least its replacement also functions as a web cam.....

Another 6 months, and IT'LL be discontinued. Oy.

Well, the Fuji 4900 is rapidly moving up my 'gotta have' chart.. specially as the prices keep dropping.

Yeah, a more serious cammy for more serious intentions.

I intended to go walkabout today, to take advantage of the bright blue skies and mild winds.

Really, all I intended to do was to get a paper and some nosh.

I havent been eager to go walkabout this winter as braving Windchills That Bite isnt my idea of fun.

Rich questioned my sanity for walking out as the light outside dimmed, but nah.. cabin fever and wanderlust won over.

He was right. Tonight was the Return of the Biting Wind Chills.

*sigh*

I walked out anyhoo.
------------
Only in New York:

A Hallal Fried Chicken and Pizza Joint.

It was quite decent, as I did an impromptu Chicken and Soprano's appreciation club.

Ive always liked Hallal (islamic version of kosher) chicken, as it turns out to be fresh, not frozen.

Makes all the difference in the world.
----------
Cat Stories:

For years, Ive always thought folk with an inordinate attachment to cats were on the wrong side of goofy.

Hm.

Today, I found myself saying several, complete and coherent sentences to HappyCat. No baby-talked short phrases.

WTF?

It made me feel better too.

Uh-oh.

To his credit, HappyCat looked at me as if I were bent.

- It is now a fact that I sleep WAAAAY sounder if HappyCat is cuddled up with me.

I tend to sleep on my stomach with the covers over my head (I used to be too claustrophobic to do that, but now I have no fear), so he'll pad all over me, until he finds the spot that allows him enough space to curl up closest to my body.

Normally I sleep in 3 or 4 hour bursts... but with him with me - I will go the full Nine Yards.

Maybe I dont wanna disturb him.
-----------
After the Soprano's Club at Carols.. I walked down to the ferry with the view of Manhattan glittering like multicolored jewels on the black water.

It was set off with the Empire State Building lit up in full green for the St Paddy's Day weekend.

I wish I couldve taken pictures.. but the little camera I have wouldnt have been able to capture that anyhoo.

Yeah, I am totally warming to the idea of getting a far more capable camera so that I can capture sights like that.

It was grand.
----------
My past life (link by BitterChick)


Your past life diagnosis:

I don't know how you feel about it, but you were male in your last earthly incarnation.
You were born somewhere in the territory of modern South New Zealand around the year 1100.
Your profession was that of a builder of houses, temples and cathedrals.

Your brief psychological profile in your past life:
You had the mind of a scientist, always seeking new explanations. Your environment often misunderstood you, but respected your knowledge.

The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:
Magic is everywhere around you, even in the most usual, most ordinary situations. Your lesson is to understand this magic and to help other people to see it, too.
You are a magician!

Do you remember now?

Eh..no, I cant say I remember that.

Southern frikkin New Zealand????

Must be why I hate tattoos.

The rest (cept for the building of ceremonial dwellings) does feel like my state of mind.

But.. nah.
----------------