Puddles of My Podcast: Season 2, Episode 5 - Athletes

After a multi-year hiatus, Matt Domino, Erik Gundel and David Stern are back with another podcast.

Puddles of My Podcast: Season 2, Episode 4 - Aliens

Season 2 of Puddles of My Podcast continues as Erik Gundel (@EPGundel) and Matt Domino attempt to discuss their top five aliens of all-time, but instead receive an unwanted lesson in gambling from a stranger.

Puddles of My Podcast - Season 2, Episode 3: Movie Kids

 The Second Season of Puddles of My Podcast returns from a slight break with a new episode where Matt Domino, Erik Gundel (@EPGundel), and David Stern (@davidaaronstern, @sanctuariesnyc) discuss their Top Five Movie Kids.

Groundhog's Day: The Shadow Knows

Matt Domino offers a brief tribute to Groundhog's Day 2012 as well as why Punxsutawney Phil might just be full of it.

Puddles of My Podcast - Season 2, Episode 2: Vegetables

Puddles of My Podcast returns this week with the second episode of Season Two, wherein Erik Gundel (@EPGundel) and David Stern (@davidaaronstern) discuss their favorite vegetables with Matt Domino.

Puddles of My Podcast - Season 2, Episode 1: Holidays

Everyone's favorite feature returns as Matt Domino brings back a revamped and reformatted Puddles of My Podcast for a second season.

Free Forest City Redemption Project Day 7: Living is Hard

We are now on Day 7 of the the Free Forest City Redemption Project, my Puddlers. I hope everyone has been enjoying the tracks so far.  Today's track is called "Living is Hard" and is off the album Forest City. This track was actually written by Tony Wain of Tony Wain and the Payne, who is also a Puddles of My Podcast alumnus.

I think this shadowy photo (taken by T. Mencia, as was yesterday's live performance photo) does the track and the legend of Tony Wain some sort of justice.  What do you think?

Anyway, I hope you will enjoy "Living is Hard."

Puddles of My Fiction Reading (Really?)

I told you that I would have a few blog related events to announce to you in the coming weeks (how many times have I promised you that?) and of course I deliver.

On November 18, 2010 at 8:00 PM, courtesy of Book Thug Nation and one of its partners, Corey Eastwood, I will be "hosting" a reading at the Book Thug Nation storefront.  I will be reading some of my own material from From Here to the Last Mound of Dirt, but the reading itself will be a showcase for the Indian novelist, Chandrahas Choudhury. Chandrahas is the author of the novel Arzee The Dwarf as well as the editor of the fiction anthology, India: A Traveler's Literary Companion.  I will also be conducting a podcast with Chandrahas prior to the reading so you will be able to hear him speak at length before you listen to him read his fiction at Book Thug Nation, which is located at 100 North 3rd Street, Brooklyn, New York:


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I am very happy that Chandrahas will be participating in this event and this is a turning point for this blog as a whole as there will be more events to come in the future.

As I always say, just stick with me - I'll get you to where you should be.

Puddles of My Podcast Episode 25: Forest City 25th Anniversary Podcast

Hello, my Puddlers.  This has been a hectic week for a variety of reasons so I apologize for the lack of posts.  Mr. Alex Ramsdell had some personal matters to attend to this week, but his column will be back up next Tuesday for you all to enjoy.  I was going to substitute a Halloween themed post up, but for a variety of reasons (work related) I wasn't able to get that up (although I may still be able to).  However, we do have a podcast.

As I have mentioned before, one of the ongoing projects I have tried to curate for the blog is the release of all the recorded material for one of my favorite bands in the Brooklyn area - Forest City.  Obviously, all of the members of the band are friends of mine and I thought it would be worthwhile to share their material with the world.  This has become a more pressing issue since my good friend Nick Mencia will be moving to Miami this week in order to start his own sorbet business (more promotion on that as he and his wife give me the go ahead).

This project, titled Puddles of Myself: Free Forest City Redemption, will feature tracks culled from various Forest City recording sessions over the past year.  The tracks will be posted individually for stream and free download.  Once all the tracks have been posted, the entire "album" will be posted for complete download.  There will also be a chance to pay for the album through CD Baby, in case you feel inclined to donate.  The whole project will have a section of the blog devoted to it that you can navigate to using the orange bar at the top of the blog.

The podcast today features Nick Mencia and Ted Robinson who are the primary songwriters in Forest City.  In this, Episode 25 of Puddles of My Podcast, Nick, Ted and I all sit down to discuss the writing process and meaning behind six of the featured Forest City songs, the nature of Forest City as a band, the notion of wanting to fail, birthday parties, how to write a song, what both Nick and Ted learned from playing in Forest City as well as the most rewarding part of listening to a song.  This is a must listen podcast that I highly recommend.

In addition, the band will be playing their final show at the Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club, which is located on Kent Street across from the East River Park - the home of the JellyNYC Pool Parties.

These tracks and this band have meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people and it was a creative effort that I believe, perhaps did not go in vain.

Enjoy.

Puddles of My Podcast - Episode 24

I haven't officially addressed the public since I ended this self-imposed hiatus on the blog, so I am going to take this space to do so.

First, I hope you are enjoying the new layout of the blog - I thought it could use some sprucing up.  Make sure to use the links to the left as this blog is really nothing without the people whose creative projects and other endeavours are marked by those little blue pieces of writing on the side.

Second, I hope you enjoyed that riveting and heart-wrenching Blonde on Blonde post; it will go down in the canon of English Literature as one of the pillars of its achievement.

In general, the blog is back.  I have a lot of material to share.  There will be a lot of theme podcasts coming up as well as some basketball talk as we get nearer to the start of the season.  We will also be welcoming in two guest columnists who will contribute each week.  One reason is to take some of the burden off myself from providing content for you selfish people five days a week.  The second, is that I wanted to expand the range of voices that are speaking to your from this blog space and I seriously trust the two voices of the people who will be contributing each week.  The first "guest" post will be this Friday. In general I hope to be opening up the blog to other guest writers from time to time in order to provide more fresh and interesting content to you all.  This blog is a space to express desire, to express a longing for life and an enjoyment of all the various wonders of life: which usually happen to come through Mad Men, sports (basketball), books and music.  I want to convey the passion that we all should have for observing and appreciating life - for chasing down that impossible spirit that urges us forward - on this blog and very often that ability is provided to me from the friends I have and the people I meet - so why not bring the ability to communicate on this space to those people as well. I hope you all have been enjoying the blog and will continue to enjoy the blog, because we all have Puddles of Ourselves, this is just the space that copyrighted the name and concept and tends to push that fact in your face.  There is a lot more to come and I know that you have missed me.

Now, for today's content.

The baseball playoffs are immediately upon us, so why not have a podcast completely devoted to baseball. In this, Episode 24 of Puddles of My Podcast, I welcome longtime friend and lead singer and guitarist for The Sanctuaries - David Stern.  In this installment, David and I predict the MLB Playoffs, the NL and AL MVPs, the NL and AL Cy Youngs, which team has the best color red, which Major League movie is the best, the concept of the "Reverse Major League Movie," the best characters and moments of the Major League movies, cursing in movies and also touch base with the current status of the Sanctuaries.  This is an hilarious podcast that I encourage all of you enjoy.

Welcome back.

Wasted at the Waldorf

As I posted on my new Twitter account this morning, I was going to try to give a slight play-by-play of last night’s Mad Men episode, but again I was left confused and thrown back as I have been nearly every week this season. “Waldorf Stories” was a difficult episode to watch at many times as we saw the different characters of Sterling, Cooper, Draper Pryce in less than desirable or admirable positions.  Much of this had to do with the allures of alcohol, which brought Don Draper to perhaps the lowest depths that he has fallen to all season.  We also saw explicitly, at least for the first time since “Six Month Leave,” how dangerous all the drinks that these men throw back can be.

This post will hopefully not come off as a diatribe against imbibing alcohol as god knows I like to take the sacrament with the best of them, but “Waldorf Stories” illuminated how fine that line of inebriation is; that line of overdoing it that we all look out for and acknowledge so well.  It’s been well documented this season that Don is in the throes of a serious drinking problem.  We saw him curb his thirst last week only to fully unleash it this week in the aftermath of his winning his first Clio award.  Don and Roger have already started in on their drinks before the award ceremony and they continue drinking at it.  They watch as Duck Phillips, their former colleague and enemy, makes a fool of himself during the ceremony because he is too drunk and has fallen completely out of the sober state he was in during Season 2.  Then, Don wins the Clio and in the spirit of the moment decides to try and seal the Life cereal campaign with an impromptu pitch back at the office.  In the meeting, Don rambles through a pitch. This is not the Don we are used to seeing, especially as he tries to drum up another powerful presentation about the pains of growing older in order to sell Life cereal.  However, due to his inebriated state, Don is unable to completely win over the Life people – his presentation didn’t cause goose bumps or tears like his Kodak “Carousel” presentation did in “The Wheel.”  They want a better tag line.  Don tries to impress them by riffing on the spot, which becomes an embarrassing display that is hard to watch. Finally, he stumbles upon “Life. The cure for the common cereal,” which is a line he had stolen from the rejected copywriting candidate he had met with earlier that morning.  Peggy immediately recognizes this fault as she was in the meeting, but no one else does.  Everyone is pleased and it is cause to continue the celebration.

That night at the bar, Roger, Joan and Don all continue to celebrate.  Roger makes sly remarks about not being appreciated.  Roger mutters, “They don’t give you an award for what I do,” to which Joan replies, “And what is that again?”  This is one of several times in the series where what Roger does has been questioned as it does show exact results as Don’s ad campaigns or even Layne’s accounting pragmatism.  Roger always feels the unease of never being appreciated and never truly being able to articulate his role. In fact, Burt Cooper has to explain to him what his job is about in “Guy Walks into an Ad Agency.”  Here, Roger tosses off the line, “Find guys like him,” as he looks down the bar at Don who seems to be having the time of his life.

At this moment, we get another terrific moment between Don and Faye Miller.  Don brashly  “rescues” her from a conversation she is having.  The body language and the chemistry are immediately present as they begin to speak.  Faye and Don discuss the merits of winning an award and Faye says, “Award or no award, you’re still Don Draper,” to which Don responds, “Whatever that means.” This is a fantastic line not only for the viewer who knows how loaded a statement that is, but also because there are often situations where someone will say, “no matter what, you are [insert name].” That is very often a statement that one has difficulty responding to, because that requires a person to understand how another person sees them, to comprehend their appearance and their meaning to others – that is not an easy thing to do and in fact it is something we struggle with throughout our lives.  Faye seems impressed by Don’s remark, which is surprising because she seems to be a character beyond being impressed by the simple, humble and somewhat pretentious brush-off of her statement. Instead, we have to strive to respond to those kind of moments with a casual understanding that other people do see us in different lights and ascribe many different meanings to who we are and that is one of the great truths of life that we have to accept in order to continue to move forward.  However, Don is having trouble moving forward and again he makes a drunken pass at Faye Miller and spoils another intimate moment between them.

Meanwhile, back down the bar, Roger is getting spiteful and Joan wisely says to him, “you’ve crossed the line from lubricated to morose.”  Joan tells him goodnight and Roger hesitates, but finishes his drink anyway. Don continues his night be going home with another Clio award winner who hums “The Star Spangled Banner” while Don falls asleep to only be woken up by Betty who tells him what day it is and that he has forgotten to pick up the kids as he was supposed to.  Don wakes up to find a different woman in his bed and he realizes that he has seriously overdone it. If you saw the episode, you know that Peggy comes over, lectures Don and forces him to fix the situation of the stolen tag-line, which Don does by giving Danny a copywriting job.  Yet, that image of Don running the shower and hiding from the waitress he slept with is stuck in our minds, as  well as Don pouring a stale glass of whiskey to ease his terrible hangover.  That is the depth of a Sunday after a bender that some of us may know too well and that was an incredibly painful scene to watch for anyone who has felt the creases of their couch and no matter how many showers you’ve taken, you still don’t feel clean or prepared for the world.

The drunken weekend was nicely framed by the narrative of Roger “hiring” Don to work at Sterling Cooper.  We finally get the back-story of how Roger found Don at the fur company. Don was overzealous and still contained very many of his Dick Whitman mannerisms as he tried to impress Roger with his ad campaign for Play-Doh.  The poignancy arises when Don shows up at the Sterling Cooper offices and offers to buy Roger drinks. After a morning of drinking, Roger staggers out of the bar, his arm around Don, with Don offering him to get him a cab home.  The next time they see each other, Don has once again showed up to the Sterling Cooper offices to bother Roger. However, this time to Roger’s surprise, Don informs him that he’s been hired and a puzzled Roger is left to wonder if he really had.  This calls to mind Alison’s insulting Don by calling him a drunk who “never remembers anything.”  Don has made a slip as well by having to hire Danny since he drunkenly stole his line and can’t pay him off for it.  The kid is hungry and he wants a job, not just a buy out check.  Like Roger, Don is in danger of slipping, of losing his edge and his hunger.  Don and Roger are tied together in many many ways, which we knew before, but “Waldorf Stories” helps to cement and further illuminate this fact.

There are always counterparts in Mad Men and without getting too much further in plot summary, Peggy’s episode with the new Art Director in the hotel room showed how very intuitive and on her game she is.  She is able to outwit the new Art Director and force him to do some work instead of continue to be a “chickenshit” as she calls him.  She also has the confidence to go to Don’s apartment and point out that he was wrong in stealing Danny’s line and that he has to make it right.  Peggy eschews the drink, even though she is a part of this man’s world and she is able to perform her job at a continued high level.  Pete plays into this counterpart as well when he is confronted with the news that Ken Cosgrove (of course the viewer is happy) is coming back to the firm.  Seeing that his importance may be in jeopardy, Pete sits Cosgrove down as soon as he comes to the office and tells him bluntly that things have changed. Cosgrove tries to laugh Pete’s statement and posture off, but is confronted by a grim and terribly professional looking Pete.  Ken has no response. Pete notices the change in Ken’s posture and then leans back in his chair and asks Ken how his wedding plans are going.  Pete resists alcohol  (he did drink more in earlier episodes, but has been seen doing it less on screen) and has continued to do so as the show has progressed.

Again, there are plenty of themes that I am skirting over such as how we show respect and thanks to others, and how much we can really attribute our individual success to the other people in our lives.  Yet, this stuck out to me as the show pointing towards the short comings of alcohol and, being in my mid-twenties it gave me pause as so many of us turn to the bottle for some kind of self-medication or a way to show us an answer.  I’m not calling for abstinence, I’m just calling for self-awareness for I am as much in fault as anyone and am as lost as anyone (see Puddles of My Podcast theme song).  I’m just looking for some kind of answer and Mad Men is a damn good TV show that I watch at the end of exhausting weekends.

Plus, you have to love Layne telling Pete, “On a personal note, I like you very much and it pains me to hear you think otherwise.”

Until next week.

Puddles of My Podcast - Episode 22

Its been an action-packed week for me at work and otherwise and we are going to close it out with a podcast.  In this Episode 22 of Puddles of My Podcast I welcome an ultimate ideas man, a man of many interests and distractions and one of the founders of Brooklyn Brainery as well as Ice Cream Club,  Jonathan "Soma" Soma.  In this installment of the show Soma and I discuss the state of Virginia, Indian Food, the charms of New York, starting Brooklyn Brainery, the appeals of teaching, Ice Cream Club, the virtues of good tasting ice cream against experimental ice cream flavors, alternative rock music, collectivism in Brooklyn as well as touch on what is becoming the signature Puddles Questionnaire.  This is one of the more fascinating podcasts I have done and I enjoyed it very much. 

I also wanted to remind all you Puddlers to elect to download these podcasts so that I can keep track of which episodes you like more than others so that I can cater the podcasts in order to make them as entertaining for you all as possible.  If you go to the Puddles of My Podcast archives you'll be able to download whatever episode you like with ease.

This week marks the last week of full activity for me until mid to late September. I am going to be working on revisions to From Here to the Last Mound of Dirt until then. During this time, you will still receive weekly Mad Men reviews, hopefully one podcast per week, as well as a few other special treats that will remain a surprise.  Of course you can repeatedly read the Lisbon review and try to gain as much meaning from it as possible.  That could easily take you a month.

So enjoy this sweet and savory podcast.  Take care, my Puddlers.

Puddles of My Podcast - Episode 21

Its another sweltering night, my Puddlers so I have to deliver you the only remedy, which is a cool, soothing conversation known as Puddles of My Podcast.  On the heels of the Tony Wain podcast I welcome in former member of Tony Wain and the Payne, Dig Shovel Dig and current member of D. Charles Spear and the Helix, Ramble Tamble and Forest City, Ted "Theodore" Robinson.  In this, Episode 21 of Puddles of My Podcast, Ted and I discuss scaring people, playing in Tony Wain and the Payne, singing country music, learning how to play music, living in Asheville, the music industry and advertising, what Ted looks for in a woman and what he hates about himself and the purpose of music in general.  This was an enlightening podcast and I hope you all enjoy it.




On a side note, if you want Mr. Robinson to send you any of his work (as you'll hear in the podcast) you can e-mail him at searchwielder@gmail.com. I recommend that you do, if only to force him to give you a live rendition of "The Man Who Plays the Music For You."

Puddles of My Podcast Episode 19

Well, my Puddlers, its hot out and hopefully that thunderstorm is going to come and wash all our problems away and blow some kind of breeze in through our screened, un-airconditioned windows.  And if that thunderstorm doesn't come? Well, you can always slide in Puddles of My Podcast because we have a brand new one for you this evening/Thursday during the day when you're bored at work.  In this, Episode 19 on  Puddles of My Podcast, I welcome writer, retired political activist, and owner of the book store Book Thug Nation, Corey Eastwood to the program.  In this installment, Corey and I discuss the Hudson River Valley, Jack Kerouac, Ralph Nader, the organization of NYU, the East Village,  Tomas Bernhard, selling books on the street, opening your own book store, writing and what makes a piece of fiction good.  This is an action packed podcast that features a special guest as well as a special promotional offer that you would be a fool not to check out.  This is one highly enjoyable listening experience whether it is in the rain or in the snow.

I'll be back either tomorrow evening or Friday with some links and general thoughts for you all to check out.

Puddles of My Podcast - Episode 17

In the heat of the summer, I make my promises come true.  On this slightly cooler Tuesday evening I bring you yet another episode of Puddles of My Podcast.  In this, Episode 17 of Puddles of My Podcast, I welcome the artist, Chicago native and Lost fan, Lauren Gidwitz.  In this conversation, Ms. Gidwitz and I discuss growing up in Chicago during the Chicago Bulls' 1990's dynasty, her B.J. Armstrong poster, her influences as an artist, her love of the human anatomy and youthful desire to become a medical student, how to manipulate paint, Beiruit, why she chooses subjects for her painting, the Lost series finale and so much more. This podcast took about a month of planning to finally complete and is completely worth it.  I highly recommend listening to this podcast if you are of the mind to undertake any creative endeavour.

I will be back with a post on Thursday and hopefully another podcast will be posted on Friday.  Stay cool my Puddlers and keep wishing for that breeze to blow through your non-air conditioned apartment, just like I am.

Hot Hot Heat

  

 No, this post is not about the 1995 crime drama starring Al Pacino and Robert Dinero, its about how godforsaken hot and humid it has been over the past few days.  I spent the weekend playing some pickup basketball near McCarren Park, which literally made me want to write another column about the pure joy of playing basketball.  However, I may have to pair the joy of playing basketball with another topic in order to write something that deserves full length.  

Now, I was exhausted from the weekend after I got back from work today, but I was listening to "Isis" by Bob Dylan and I realized in My Puddles of My Own Podcast that I should have said that "Isis" was my favorite song of all time.  And I may just write an entire post about Isis in the upcoming days.  However, I am lamenting the fact that it is doggedly hot and that I do not have any terribly new content to put up for all you poor Puddlers out there just trying to stay cool in Puddles of Myself.  But, I am working on a few podcasts for this week that had to be rescheduled.  I am editing From Here to the Last Mound of Dirt and I am working on setting up a real live reading of some of my work in the near future.  Things will be happening.  I should be finishing the recording of a podcast tomorrow night with Lauren Gidwitz and once I get back from that I will try to pump out a column for you all, either about "Isis" by Bob Dylan and some assorted delusions that are related to that song or a diatribe against all those who do not listen to Blitzen Trapper.  Or, I may just discuss the novel Stoner and my immediate impressions.   I definitely want to take a break from basketball as the hype for July 1, 2010 is rapidly becoming insane. 

Don't worry my Puddlers.  I got your back.  Just be patient with me.

However, now, I leave you with the next installment of From Here to the Last Mound of Dirt:

Liza

    Eve is holding the book in her hands and flipping the pages nonchalantly.  She is wearing a thin charm braclet with a whale’s tale as the only charm.  I can feel a slight breeze from the book pass across my skirt.

    “You can probably tell that this is much more my kind of book,” she says. “I know guys mostly like Hemingway, but this book seemed romantic to me for some reason even with all the bull fights.  There’s just something about Jake I like and that last scene with he and Brett. That last line.”

    “I’m not there yet.”

    “Oh,” Eve covers her mouth quickly and laughs.  “I won’t ruin it.”  She puts the book gently down on the table, pats it and crosses her legs.  Tom comes striding through the room with James following after.  I catch myself laughing at the reversal of roles;  though, Tom stopped following James after awhile.  Eve watches James as he passes.  You can feel the energy in the room change.  This girl – woman – sitting next to me gives off the strangest feeling when my brother passes by.  It was like mom and dad in a way.  They both did that for the other.  Maybe I’m exaggerating or maybe I am the only one who noticed because I was home alone the longest.

    Eve turns towards me. “How are you doing?”

    I feel water in my nose and I have to frown. “I think I’m OK.  It’s been a long day.  I don’t really know.”

    She leans over and hugs me.  I’ve been trying all day to figure out what perfume she’s wearing.  I can almost place it.  There is lavender in there somewhere, something strong and citrusy.

    “It’ll all be alright,” Eve says. She grabs my shoulders.  Her hands are actually strong. “I don’t know what else to say besides that.”

    My eyes are getting watery with tears.  I look up at her but I see the brick facades of the buildings at school and the titlted iron roofs over the walkways throughout the campus.  The walkway roofs are a sort of green – green rust comes from the rain.

    “You think so?”

    Eve nods.  Her brown eyes serious. “Sure. I think you’re a strong girl.”

    I laugh.  It sounds wrong coming from her.

    “What?” Eve asks. She laughs too. “I’m not a motivational speaker.”

    “No,” I say. “I think it will be alright.”

    “You’ll go back to school.  You’ll be fine.  It’ll be hard.  But it’ll be OK.”  She pats my hands.

    My stomach feels like its going up and down a hill.  Like Mount Grey Road with all of its hills which made the car fly.  I remember the night before I left for school. I was standing out in front of the garage and all of the trees were dark between our house and the neighbor’s house.  Light from the pool was on some of the leaves and the crickets were making their noises everywhere.  I looked into the garage at all of the things on the shelves: dad’s tools, the old sporting equiptment, the neon striped beach chairs – there just seemed to be too much in the world.

    Mom came out of the house.  She looked up and saw me.  She shuffled her sandals on the loose rug and walked down the steps.  She stepped out into the dark to meet me.  The moon was above her.

    “I can’t believe you’re going,” she said.

    “Oh, mom.”

    “I’m sorry.” She looked straight at me, tearing up.  I always hated to see her cry. “I got like this with the others too.”

    “But, Tom didn’t -”

    She shook her head.

    “What do you want from me, mom? Do you want me to stay?”

    Mom looked out into the dark. “Don’t talk so loud.”

    I felt so angry at her then.  The night was full of something, some life some moisture.  It was the end of summer and there was a breeze on my legs reminding me that I had soccer practice, but really didn’t because I didn’t have to do that anymore and I don’t have to do that anymore.

    “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s  just hard every time.”

    “I have to go, mom.”

    “Yes, I know.”

    I wanted to hug her so badly, but all I could do was look at the line where the light concrete from the garage met the the black tar of the driveway.  There was still a small puddle from the rain.  I looked at her and the crickets were so loud.

    Eve is still looking at me. “What do you think?” she asks.

    I have to confess and it might as well be her who I confess to because she is so nice and she smells the way  I want to smell and I understand why James fell in love with her. Because she is just Eve and I don’t know what that even means, but it makes me want to tell her what I have to say. The feeling of the hill – the feeling of my stomach runs through me.

    “I killed mom, Eve.  I was the one who did it.”

    “What?” She raises her eyebrows. Her hands still on mine.

    “I killed her and  I couldn’t help it.”

Puddles of My Podcast - Episode 16 aka Puddles of Your Podcast aka Puddles of My Own Podcast

Well, it may be a bit premature, but this is the podcast that you all (may have) asked for. We break the drought of podcasts with this episode of Puddles of My Podcast, where Nick Mencia sits down with me, Matt Domino, for an informal conversation that is primarily based on chance. In this Episode 16, Nick and I discuss theories on writing, the evolution of the pivot as a basketball move, Rajon Rondo, Game 7 predictions for the NBA Finals, what to do if you get the juice of a pickled pepper in your eye, Robinson Cano's MVP-worthy season, Nora Joyce and Zelda Fitzgerald, being a good human being, deciding between a redhead or a brunette, my top 5 albums, my favorite song, as well as the starting five for the All-Time NBA Team.  A bonus feature of this podcast is that you can also play the official Puddles of Myself - Who's Podcast is Longer: Nick Mencia or Matt Domino's Game, which is officially sponsored by Rookie Blue on ABC every Thursday at 9:00 PM EST.  As Larry Sanders said, this is a private and intimate conversation that should be enjoyed by me alone. I hope you all enjoy it.

Remember Memorial Day

Let me just tell you that I love Memorial Day Weekend.  There are a few reasons why you have to love it:

1. It is the first holiday since Easter and is always rewarded with a classic three day weekend - perhaps the archetypal three day weekend.

2. It is usually brutally hot and leads to prolific swimming, which means that most pools and beaches are christened for the season over the Memorial Day Weekend

a. You will most likely be attending one to five bar-be-ques over the course of the three day weekend.

Second of all, it is the gateway of summer, meaning that after Memorial Day we are unofficially in summer, until that day of days - the Longest Day of the Year, which is summer's official beginning.

3.  Sun-tan/subburn - always welcome. You have got to set that base tan before getting out there on Memorial Day Weekend.

And finally, that beer just tastes that much colder when you are drinking it all weekend long.

This particular Memorial Day Weekend was fantastic. I went to Providence to stay with my old friend Jeff.  Jeff has just purchased a home in East Providence (near Brown University) and has gotten engaged to his quite terrific fiancee.  Anyway, I and a few of my high school friends descended on the house this past weekend and had what many scientists refer to as "The Perfect Weekend." I'll let you marinate in my enjoyment of life and how it supercedes yours for just a slight moment.  A few of the highlights included:

- Watching the Celtics clinch a berth into the Finals by beating down the weak Orlando Magic on Friday night.  Leading my friend Jeff and I to giddily anticipate the Lakers beating the Suns the next evening.

- Watching the Lakers edge out the Suns in yet another entertaining game in an entertaining series, which leads to Celtics vs. Lakers in the NBA Finals for the second time in three years.  This is going to be  brutal and physical series.  These teams do not like each other - obviously - and the Celtics are going to force the Lakers into playing their game much as they did to the Cavaliers and Magic.  The Lakers are going to be led by a determined Kobe and Pau Gasol who are both looking to avenge the embarrassing loss in the 2008 Finals.  We will also be seeing Ron Artest who is showing signs of a rare mix of child-like innocence and craziness that is rarely seen in a grown man - there is something truly poetic and genius going on in the mind of Ron Artest at the moment.

- Eating a seafood feast in a sunroom during a thunderstorm on Saturday night.

- Swimming in the Atlantic Ocean a Second Beach near Newport.

- Almost swimming in a scummy pond.

- The 11-Part Memorial Day Weekend Documentary that can be seen at Erik Lilleby's Youtube Channel.

- Meeting some new acquaintances like one Jeff Byers and exchanging workday e-mails on the hungover post-Memorial Day Tuesday.  This is a shout out to some of Mr. Byers' work at the blog Leadbellies.

- Listening to five and half Beatles albums (chronologically) on the way home and hitting no Memorial Day traffic at all, while watching a terrific mist rise up from the ground throughout Connecticut and over New York City, which made me feel like running away forever and never resting in one place. Just one of those true American Nights.

And so it goes. There was plenty to enjoy on this Memorial Day Weekend. The main thing being the ability to enjoy the passing of phases of your life, friends growing older in the sun and in the rain, by fires and amid the spray of the beach, while time and drinks pass, if ever so slowly in the adjacent room.

As for blog updates, this week may mark the first non-podcast week in awhile.  I will try to make it up to you with some other content, however scheduling with Puddles of My Podcast guests can get tricky when you are working a 9-5 job once again.  However, when the podcast returns, we will have the following podcasts: Art Discussion with Lauren Gidwitz, NBA Finals discussion with Paul Sicilian, Baseball Movie Podcast with David Stern, and the Puddles of My Own Podcast where Nick Mencia interviews me.

So, please stick with me here as I will be bringing you plenty of new material as the week rolls on.  Tomorrow, you will get a special excerpt from  one of my writing notebooks, Thursday the next installment of From Here to the Last Mound of Dirt, and Friday will be a Play-by-Play of Game 1 of the Celtics vs. Lakers Finals.

Get excited everyone.  The summer is here.

Puddles of My Podcast - Episode 14

It's Thursday and that means there is another installment of Puddles of My Podcast.  In Episode 14 of Puddles of My Podcast, I welcome the writer Chris Dannen to the program.  In our discussion, Chris and I stumble upon such topics as his life as a freelance writer, Notorious B.I.G. remixes, working with literary agents, attempting to have empathy for a computer, reading the letters and writing of Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, economical writing, his two novels and the nature of the technology world. A very surprising and terrific podcast.  This is an intimate experience that I recommend you listen to.

Tomorrow, my review of The Beatles' Abbey Road.

Puddles of My Podcast - Episode 11

It's been built up, been talked about, been rambled about over several beers and Season 1 DVDs at 4:00 in the morning, but now here it is - Puddles of Myself presents to you Puddles of My Podcast: The Gilmore Girls Edition. In this episode, I welcome Erik Lilleby, master quipper, nihilist and late night coffee drinker and novel reader, as well as the multi-talented artist Janelle sing to discuss the classic WB dramedy known as Gilmore Girls.  Be advised, if you do not follow the show Gilmore Girls, you will definitely enjoy this because of the witty banter that is used in order to explain some of the intricacies of the show. For those that know the show, in this episode we discuss, Lane Kim, Emily Gilmore as the best character on the show, Rory's boyfriends, Luke or Christopher, Suki's rapid weight gain and loss, and the top 5 Gilmore Girls moments - plus, KIRK! So, please sit back and enjoy this podcast with a big cup of coffee as Lorelai and Rory would at Luke's.  This is the podcast that kicked open the door to a generation's consciousness.