NYC Journal

[Calzone]

I suspect you're right. I mean why would your agent come all the way to Peekskill to tell you stuff you already know? I hope you like the surprises she has in store for you. They could be very exciting. I hope they are more exciting than the surprises that my doctor had for me at my rescheduled appointment on Monday. Actually, I think I am going to skip my next appointment, and then call him up and tell him I rescheduled it but forgot to tell him.

PTP,

That’s funny.

But what is no joke is how people fell behind on their checkups and screenings. How many more deaths that are Covid “related” due to not catching up with the routine medical?

Took me about 2 years to catch up on medical and dental, and I’m retired. How can working people find the time?

Anyways take good care of yourself.

Our agent really knows how to handle us. Earlier this year we kinda tried to say no thanks, but we got snookered. In July we signed a contract for 3 years.

I really don’t care about glamour, fashion, or being famous.

I want a lifestyle that is low maintenance, where I don’t have a public image, and pretty much the worst is being famous.

My gal “Maggie” has 758K followers and is/was a GoDaddy girl. In NYC she was billboarded at news stands and bus shelters, and the invasion of privacy gets crazy. What a hassle.

I got sucked into this world, and it is kinda crazy, can be fun, but it is exhausting.

Then all this free luxury goods gets delivered, and all this other intrusions where you can loose yourself and your life.

Generally I only shave every 4-5 days so I don’t look homeless. I kinda wear the same clothes all the time that are comfortable, but know a pretty girl at FIT said I looked like an Asian version of James Bond when I got dressed in one of my Paul Smith suits.

Another pair of “slippers” I’m wearing today that were gifted to me that cost about $150.00 that are called “Driving Slippers” made by Rothy’s. Somehow they are made of recycled plastic, but they are comfy. I got them because I had to model with “Maggie.” We gave Devil Christian a gig where he used my SL or SL2 to shoot us in a garden in the northern end of Central Park.

Having deadlines, and at times getting overly busy is not my style, especially since I’m retired. The money can be crazy though… especially where we are positioned.

Maggie will have an editing schedule, so she will be busy still with the book. I play a support role, I was her photographer, I cooked and kept things somewhat tidy, but the life of a digital influencer is a non-stop tread mill. Then we bought a 112 year old Baby-Victorian that we are restoring…

Cal

 

[MrFujicaman]

Ever notice that life always gets in the way of what you wanted to do in life?

 

[Calzone]

Ever notice that life always gets in the way of what you wanted to do in life?

MFM,

How true.

For a decade we took vacations exploring places where we would like to live when we retired. We made all these plans, but not one ever came true.

Then again all these strange and wonderful things happened…

Because of Covid I retired early, and we bought the Baby-Victorian using record low mortgage rates.

The idea of retirement is to try and relax, but even though I’m a lazy slacker I have all this work to do. Then I have some pretty big projects like getting the 1966 Chevy C-10 road worthy; building out my garage studio; and building out my darkroom.

Next big house project is to insulate my attic, but first I need to install the pull down staircase I bought and have on hand. The idea of building a huge walk-in closet evolved into dedicating the tiny bedroom into a dressing room for “Maggie.” I intend on using Rock Wool and R21 plus R38 will provide a R59.

Devil Christian says I should insulate the rafters since my attic is not vented. I have this craft paper that is laminated with tar to use as a vapor barrier against the second floor ceiling. The idea is to seal and insulate the entire attic to prevent condensation.

Christian steered me from sealing the attic with spray foam.

Life is full of surprises, and retirement is a busy time that seems to have a deeper meaning.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Call me a bathroom-hog, but I took some time to clean myself up to be “pretty” for the camera.

I have a bit of “performance” anxiety because anything can happen.

Anyways Vanessa is a bit like Snarky Joe in that she kinda knows us pretty well and knows how to “handle” us. She is a mighty smooth talker, that’s how we got “snookered” into doing something we wanted to reject.

I have very mixed feelings. Could be exciting, could be a big hassle, could be glam in a good or bad way, could be ugly and stressful, but I wanted to avoid remorse.

I also want to live life fully with no regrets, and for me life is about experience, risk, and taking chances. Pretty much my personality profile is to be a bit crazy and adventuresome. Did not really have a choice, even though it made no sense. Pretty much I am kinda thinking like a woman where I make no sense and am a source of problems and anxiety.

It is like in the film “Annie Hall.” For the actor (Woodie Allen) the best part of the performance is when it is over. When I was a performance artist and performed in big venues like a full standing room only crowd at Cornell University, or off-Broadway at Second Stage Theater, or at The Joseph Papp Public Theater pretty much performing was in full panic mode because I was really putting myself out there and was very-very vulnerable.

Not that I was foolish, but it took a lot of courage to expose oneself and be so naked.

So know that I truly was a “Drama Queen” and a creature of the theater. Pretty much a scary place to stand alone.

Anyways, I’m reminded of that decade of discovery, all the chances I took, but also all the fear, anxiety, and stress.

Although I kinda stand-out, it is hard to be the loner that I am. It seems I never get left alone…

Cal

 

[ptpdprinter]

So much to respond to, so little time. So I'll just say I hope your meeting goes well, and the surprises are to your liking. Here's an idea: put some balloons on your mailbox so your agent will know which house is yours. That also has the benefit of setting the tone of the meeting as a festive occasion. Maybe some party hats too.

 

[Calzone]

It was at 9:00 AM, after I cleaned myself up and made myself “pretty” for the camera, that I found out Vanessa, our agent, wants me to wear my hair down.

So pretty much I have to do a “makeover” and regress back into being an old hippy that looks like a surfer dude. So for use of less words I will call it “beast-mode” where I kinda emulate a skinny boyish Tarzan with my lean muscular body, or perhaps even the main character from the “Jungle Book.”

Anyways evidently the reveal I performed in a luxury hotel for Vanessa, her personal assistant, and her office manager, all women had an effect that my feral beast look was kinda sexy.

I’m reminded of this song I heard on the radio where this guy’s claim to fame was “Just acting naturally” was part of the refrain.

So my feral “Beast-Mode” has been discovered and looks to be exploited. Vanessa was clear back then, “Don’t cut your hair.”

So to explain my wild look, understand that I have not had my haircut professionally in at least 4 years or maybe 5 years. The last time I had my hair cut I did it myself during the New York lockdown because I got some spray insulation in my hair working in my basement crawl space. Right mow some of my hair reaches inches from my navel, but if I tilt my head it reaches my waist.

So now I know the sense of urgency and why a photographer is required. My beast-mode is going to get promoted.

Separately in our house “Maggie” took some shots of me without my shirt on walking down the staircase with her siting on the steps using a mirror. Some of the responses used the word “hot” and separately one of her followers asked if I had any brothers.

”I was just minding my own business,” I say.

What is very scary is how great an agent Vanessa is. She is really great at snookering people and is really good at pitching. She comes with all the huge connections with the big time lux brands. This is what I’m afraid of. Somehow I’m getting pushed to the very top. How crazy is that?

So realize that while all this is happening we are also performing childcare for the almost 8 week old grandson.

The meeting begins when the Metro North train arrives at 11:40 AM, less than 2 hours from now.

In the past, before a performance I did a hundred pushups to kinda re-enter my body and to calm me. I am or use to be such an anxious person that people were scared of me. Before washing my hair again and doing my “makeover” I was able to do 70 pushups in one set, granted that they were sloppy, quick and fast ones performed after lots of rest and before lactic acid buildup.

So pretty much an audition…

Cal

 

[Austintatious]

"I’m reminded of this song I heard on the radio where this guy’s claim to fame was “Just acting naturally” was part of the refrain."

That would be "Act Naturally" originaly recorded by Buck Owens in 1963 then later by the Beatles with Ringo on vocals 😀

 

[Calzone]

PTP,

They are taking the train. We will be meeting them at the train station with a baby in tow. Not the best. LOL.

Anyways lately life has been a bit crazy. Not easy and almost impossible to be a lazy-slacker.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

"I’m reminded of this song I heard on the radio where this guy’s claim to fame was “Just acting naturally” was part of the refrain."

That would be "Act Naturally" originaly recorded by Buck Owens in 1963 then later by the Beatles with Ringo on vocals 😀

Austin,

Thanks. A great song with a profound hook for me.

I joke around saying I’m Chinese so I’m one in a billion. Then with my bifurcated super-tooth that I’m also one in a million.

I feel a bit like John Goodman after the Rosanne Scandle. He was asked about how it would be highly unlikely that he would ever get an Emmy Award for the show since it was cancelled, and when asked if he was disappointed he said, “Not at all,” because he was nominated 6-7 times and if it didn’t happen by now it will never-ever happen, and he’s cool with that.

Like in the response to MFM: life is full of surprises.

Seems like just when I retired and was mucho happy these opportunities are happening. How odd is that?

Anyways it seems like a lot, even though Vanessa has other clients here in New York, that to make a trip to get some photo’s of my hair down being so important. There must be a gig in mind.

We are waiting for a text to se if they caught the train. Oh-well. Maggie just got the text: 12:50 PM. Vanessa is chronically late, and I bet she missed the train. Almost predictable.

One thing I learned though is to avoid music videos because did you know that there are long hours and little pay. Pretty much spent an entire weekend with Maggie doing an ASAP Rocky video with Twig in Sunset Park. Maggie also did a music video with Charlotte Gainsborough where she plays Charlotte’s older self.

Considering all the chaos, I’m pretty calm. In the past I would be a hot mess, and kinda ready to throw up.

So now a new twist in “Calzone” the persona.

You can understand that a “simple” meeting kinda got morphed into a photo shoot, and pretty much wasted lots of time. Very crazy already.

RFF is a good distraction…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I got some smut: In November we will officially be “Announced” and work will begin. Already two casting agents have seem “Previews” so gigs should follow shortly.

Evidently the photographer coming up on the train is a big-deal photographer who is really great at her work. I admit my abilities in this genre are limited. Sometimes I got lucky, other times I did okay.

So evidently my mind got kinda crazy. You guys know me. LOL.

Anyways what’s with my feral look? Now this is feeling like fun and is playful.

“Calvin the Savage”

 

[ptpdprinter]

It was at 9:00 AM, after I cleaned myself up and made myself “pretty” for the camera, that I found out Vanessa, our agent, wants me to wear my hair down.

More chaos.

So pretty much I have to do a “makeover” and regress back into being an old hippy that looks like a surfer dude. So for use of less words I will call it “beast-mode” where I kinda emulate a skinny boyish Tarzan with my lean muscular body, or perhaps even the main character from the “Jungle Book.”

I don't think Tarzan or Mowgli had hair even down to their shoulders. Which reminds me, one of my friends from college was Tarzan in the 1981 movie titled, appropriately, Tarzan the Ape Man. We played lacrosse together. He was a midfielder and I played attack. It's really great having a natural athlete feeding you. The less talented midfielders usually throw the ball over your head, so you have to run go chase it down, and just as you are picking it up, the big goon defenseman absolutely creams you. Anyway, he was a hunk and all the girls thought he was something else. All the girls thought I was something else too, but not in the same way, which explains why they chose him to do the steamy scene with Bo Derek.

Anyways evidently the reveal I performed in a luxury hotel for Vanessa, her personal assistant, and her office manager, all women had an effect that my feral beast look was kinda sexy.

That's what I keep telling my wife but she's not buying it.

I’m reminded of this song I heard on the radio where this guy’s claim to fame was “Just acting naturally” was part of the refrain.

Buck Owens and the Buckaroos did a great version of that song. Obviously, Buck is playing a D model guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDmDwvZSlPw

So my feral “Beast-Mode” has been discovered and looks to be exploited. Vanessa was clear back then, “Don’t cut your hair.”

I wish I had Vanessa for my grandfather. My grandfather used to call down and tell the barber how short to cut my hair. So I would go down there and climb up in the chair, and the barber would put that strip of tissue paper around my neck, and then cover me with the cloth, and pin it so tightly I couldn't breath, and then the negotiations would begin. The barber had a tough job. He had to cut my hair short enough to keep my grandfather happy, and leave it long enough to keep me happy. Aristotle would be disappointed to learn that there is no golden mean when it comes to haircuts. Everybody ends up unhappy. I think haircuts is the thing that put me off compromises. The other thing you want to remember is not to antagonize the barber too much during the negotiations. If you do, it can cause some real anxiety for you when he's standing behind you stropping his straight razor vigorously on that leather strap before shaving the back of your neck. "Oops. Sorry. Can I get you a tourniquet or would you prefer to bleed out?" "No need. You've got the cloth pinned so tightly around my neck I should be okay."

So to explain my wild look, understand that I have not had my haircut professionally in at least 4 years or maybe 5 years. The last time I had my hair cut I did it myself during the New York lockdown because I got some spray insulation in my hair working in my basement crawl space. Right mow some of my hair reaches inches from my navel, but if I tilt my head it reaches my waist.

My grandfather would never have allowed that.

So now I know the sense of urgency and why a photographer is required. My beast-mode is going to get promoted.

Get the ropes up to keep the screaming girls back.

Separately in our house “Maggie” took some shots of me without my shirt on walking down the staircase with her siting on the steps using a mirror. Some of the responses used the word “hot” and separately one of her followers asked if I had any brothers.

I tried that once and my wife said for God's sake put a shirt on. The folks down at Sun Tan City make me wear a shirt at all times, even when I'm on the cooker.

I was just minding my own business,” I say.

Me too. We have that in common.

What is very scary is how great an agent Vanessa is. She is really great at snookering people and is really good at pitching. She comes with all the huge connections with the big time lux brands. This is what I’m afraid of. Somehow I’m getting pushed to the very top. How crazy is that?

Pretty crazy.

So realize that while all this is happening we are also performing childcare for the almost 8 week old grandson.

Nothing like a poopy diaper to break the ice.

The meeting begins when the Metro North train arrives at 11:40 AM, less than 2 hours from now.

Don't worry. I know you are up for it.

In the past, before a performance I did a hundred pushups to kinda re-enter my body and to calm me. I am or use to be such an anxious person that people were scared of me. Before washing my hair again and doing my “makeover” I was able to do 70 pushups in one set, granted that they were sloppy, quick and fast ones performed after lots of rest and before lactic acid buildup.

I passed President Kennedy's President's Physical Fitness Challenge. Of course, that was in 1962, when I didn't have quite so much to push up when I did pushups.

So pretty much an audition…

Life is not an audition; you already got the part. So just be yourself, or yourselves, as the case may be.

 

[Calzone]

We got shot till about 2:30 PM. I overheard that overall in the mix of shots the photog said she had 3-4, but would like one more.

Pretty much this is for the November “release” that evidently is a big deal. Seems like with the previews we had a good response which was a tease of sorts. Pretty much this announcement is to showcase us and when everything kinda begins.

”Now I have to get working,” Vanessa said. Also Vanessa says she has been busy.

I kinda learned a lot about posing. First thing I learned is that I’m a slouch who does not stand up straight, then I tend to not hold my head up straight either, then I have to keep my face parallel to the film plane. Evidently I’m not a natural and am a newbie.

I learned from “Maggie” that long hair on old men is a trend, so all my second guessing was wrong. Also posing is way awkward and not so easy.

A funny takeaway is that Maggie reported that she liked working with photog’s that gave direction. I remained quiet because whenever I asked her to move or stay still or not to move for a second so I could change my position she never listened over the past 5-6 years.

This photographer is from the Ukraine and is living in NYC. Actually where she lives now in Long Island City very close to PS1 by the Court Square Diner. We lived a few blocks away. We spoke of the war in the Ukraine.

Vanessa loved the train ride up to Peekskill, but I mentioned how 87 goes over the Hudson at Tarrytown, and how south of Tarrytown are just boring suburbs and how things open up north of Tarrytown in a very nice way. I told her how things get better and nicer even further north than Peekskill and how Peekskill is a Gateway of sorts.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

PTP,

My dad, an immigrant who spoke little English could say perfectly, “Cut your hair.”

Also in the 70’s the most dangerous neighborhood in NYC was likely Chinatown where people said, “Don’t mess around there.” Back then the Chinese gang members were called “The Long-Hairs.”

I was building lofts in SoHo in the late 70’s when I was an art student. Back then you had to go to Spring Street to a place called “Food,” or to Chinatown. One day I went to a Chinese restaurant and even though there was a line the owner came from behind the counter and asked me in English, “What do you want?”

I asked for a quart of fried rice, he ran into the back to get it, and when I went to pay him he was confused. Evidently I mistakenly was profiled as a member of the Ghost Shadows or the Flying Dragons.

Later in the eighties the gang culture changed and pretty much it evolved into 3-piece suits and hand guns.

Back in the day though Martial arts were used to kill people in a blink of an eye.

Anyways this photo shoot kinda killed a day. Let’s see what happens next.

Cal

 

[ptpdprinter]

Back in the day though Martial arts were used to kill people in a blink of an eye.

I sort of got interested in martial arts in 1966 when The Green Hornet debuted on TV. Bruce Lee played Kato, the Green Hornet's trusty chauffeur and all around ass kicker, who used martial arts to disable the bad guys. It was Bruce Lee's first big role. I never formally enrolled in martial arts classes or got one of those white getups with the colored belts. I would just go out in the backyard in my pajamas and pretend I was kicking the daylights out the bad guys. Kato also threw those metal stars which would stick in the door jamb and stuff. Rocks worked pretty well for me. They canceled The Green Hornet in 1967, ending another chapter in my youth. By that time I had moved on to Star Trek, where martial arts were not required. Captain Kirk mostly engaged in fist fights like in the Westerns, and when that didn't work, shot the bad guys with a phaser. I was sort of a pacifist; I would just shoot the bad guys with a phaser and be done with it. No reason to rumple up your uniform. Besides, you can't kiss an alien with a fat lip.

 

[Calzone]

I sort of got interested in martial arts in 1966 when The Green Hornet debuted on TV. Bruce Lee played Kato, The Green Hornet's trusty chauffeur and all around ass kicker, who used martial arts the disable the bad guys. It was Bruce Lee's first big role. I never formally enrolled in martial arts classes or got one of those white getups with the colored belts. I would just go out in the backyard in my pajamas and pretend I was kicking the daylights out the bad guys. Kato also threw those metal stars which would stick in the door jamb and stuff. Rocks work pretty well for me. They canceled The Green Hornet in 1967, ending another chapter in my youth. By that time I had moved on to Star Trek, where martial arts were not required. Captain Kirk mostly engaged in fist fights like in the Westerns, and when that didn't work, just shot the bad guys with a phaser. I was sort of a pacifist; I would just shoot the bad guys with a phaser and be done with it. No reason to rumple up your uniform. Besides, you can't kiss an alien with a fat lip.

PTP,

In college I had a friend named Derick who knew this style of Kung Fu called “Tiger Claw.” He mentioned that before he learned any moves that he had to study the body’s nervous system and I asked why. He gave me a demo by grabbing my arm near the elbow and applying pressure to a bundle of nerves that caused mucho pain.

Pretty much my arm was immobilized, and Derick said that he is not really applying any serious pressure because he does not want to cause any trauma or permanent damage. The idea in Tiger Style is to immobilize an opponent and then beat the crap out of them.

Evidently there is some truth to what Spock did on Star Trek. I forgot to mention that Derick is a huge guy.

I had a friend/coworker at Grumman who was close to my age, who was formally not only the navigation officer on a “Boomer” (Ballistic Missle Sub), who also was a Navy SEAL during the Vietnam era.

Zingo inquired if I was in the military, I answered “No,” and I asked him why he was inquiring? He them told me I was the perfect size to be a Navy SEAL, and that I had the right personality and intelligence.

Part of Navy SEAL training Zingo received was a series of 7 connected deadly moves that were internalized as a reflex for hand to hand combat. I tried to have Zingo teach or show me, but he ended up accidentally hurting me.

Anyways I learned a lot anyways, the best thing to bring to a fight is speed, agility, and experience, but also in combat also comes into play decisive action and by this I mean truly disable, hurt, main or destroy an opponent.

I grew up with a lot of violence. Lots of street fighting happened. I saw a lot of beatings. One thing you should know that boxers are use to beatings, they have a very high threshold of pain, and they keep on fighting. A trained boxer also generally has superior upper body strength. A good combination, and a strong punch can be very deadly. A mistake is to discount a boxer and his abilities.

I don’t really like to talk about fighting, had more than my share of it because of bullying and racism. My greatest fear growing up was killing someone because I knew I had/have the rage to do it. It only takes a moment to loose control and take things too far.

I guess part of my culture growing up is to be a fighter, I had to stand up for myself, I had to fight alone, and I had to overcome challenges that toughen me up.

I don’t think Zingo was wrong in his profile of me. I have speed, agility, and experience on my side. The decisive nature of when I flip that switch is scary because at this point it is a reflex and really hard to control.

The takeaway that is positive is that I do things in a specialized concentrated manner to become really good/great. I went all in with Piezography to become a fine art B&W printer. I tend to print big, and I tend to shoot like a large format shooter and optimize image capture and minimize post processing to be able to print big without digital artifact.

My main camera is the old M-Monochrom, likely the most unforgiving digital camera ever made, that demands ideal exposure. No Bayer filter array to help recover highlights, also less high iso capabilities over a CMOS sensor, also less dynamic range.

I think the MM will become a cult camera because of these limitations and the skill and precision required. Know that I also own an SL and SL2 and crazy “L” glass, but the old MM is all I need and is my tool of choice. For me very much a film like experience shooting the MM even though it is digital.

I hope to become a solo guitar player one day, which I know will happen.

Also I do this for myself. I don’t really share my work, the NYC Meet-Up people are perhaps my audience, because the only person I need to impress is myself. I was involved enough in the art world to see how people’s ego’s get oversized. I also know that the gate keeping and institutions in the art world are highly rigged and are closed societies.

I don’t say this out of artistic despair, but out of experience.

Cal

 

[ptpdprinter]

In college I had a friend named Derick who knew this style of Kung Fu called “Tiger Claw.” He mentioned that before he learned any moves that he had to study the body’s nervous system and I asked why. He gave me a demo by grabbing my arm near the elbow and applying pressure to a bundle of nerves that caused mucho pain.

Pretty much my arm was immobilized, and Derick said that he is not really applying any serious pressure because he does not want to cause any trauma or permanent damage. The idea in Tiger Style is to immobilize an opponent and then beat the crap out of them.

Evidently there is some truth to what Spock did on Star Trek. I forgot to mention that Derick is a huge guy.

I had a friend/coworker at Grumman who was close to my age, who was formally not only the navigation officer on a “Boomer” (Ballistic Missle Sub), who also was a Navy SEAL during the Vietnam era.

Zingo inquired if I was in the military, I answered “No,” and I asked him why he was inquiring? He them told me I was the perfect size to be a Navy SEAL, and that I had the right personality and intelligence.

Part of Navy SEAL training Zingo received was a series of 7 connected deadly moves that were internalized as a reflex for hand to hand combat. I tried to have Zingo teach or show me, but he ended up accidentally hurting me.

Anyways I learned a lot anyways, the best thing to bring to a fight is speed, agility, and experience, but also in combat also comes into play decisive action and by this I mean truly disable, hurt, main or destroy an opponent.

I grew up with a lot of violence. Lots of street fighting happened. I saw a lot of beatings. One thing you should know that boxers are use to beatings, they have a very high threshold of pain, and they keep on fighting. A trained boxer also generally has superior upper body strength. A good combination, and a strong punch can be very deadly. A mistake is to discount a boxer and his abilities.

I don’t really like to talk about fighting, had more than my share of it because of bullying and racism. My greatest fear growing up was killing someone because I knew I had/have the rage to do it. It only takes a moment to loose control and take things too far.

I guess part of my culture growing up is to be a fighter, I had to stand up for myself, I had to fight alone, and I had to overcome challenges that toughen me up.

I don’t think Zingo was wrong in his profile of me. I have speed, agility, and experience on my side. The decisive nature of when I flip that switch is scary because at this point it is a reflex and really hard to control.

The takeaway that is positive is that I do things in a specialized concentrated manner to become really good/great. I went all in with Piezography to become a fine art B&W printer. I tend to print big, and I tend to shoot like a large format shooter and optimize image capture and minimize post processing to be able to print big without digital artifact.

You sound like you had a tough life growing up. I only have two experiences fighting: 1) going out in the backyard in my pajamas and pretending I was kicking the living daylights out of the bad guys during my Green Hornet period, and 2) when I was young I played ice hockey and got into fights. Of course, no one could skate, so if you swung and missed, you fell down, and if you swung and connected, you both fell down. Then the referee would come over and help you up, and escort you over to the penalty box. I finally wised up, because sitting in the penalty box wasn't much fun.

I did see the results of a lot of fighting though. My father was a doctor and used to take me over to the ER on the weekends to watch him treat emergency patients. Saturday night was fight night, so there were a lot of victims of fist fights, knife fights, and gun fights. Sometimes the patients got beat up, knifed, or shot so bad my father didn't want to to watch him fix them up. I guess he thought I would be scarred for life or something. Then I would have to sit out at the nurses station and talk to the policemen and read patient's private medical records. The policemen were always so nonchalant. I guess after a while everything is just paperwork.

My favorite memory occurred one New Year's Day. The hospital called my father and said they had a knifing victim. So we go on over, and his wounds were so serious we had to take him into the OR. So I scrub up and get in my greens, and am standing on a stool behind my father watching the goings on. Turns out the guy was watching a football game and his wife tried to Bobbitt-ize him. Fortunately for him his wife missed, but he had half a dozen knife wounds around his groin, thighs, and lower abdomen that my father had to attend to. My advice is not to watch football games on New Year's Day, or if you do don't have a hangover, or if you do don't say anything your wife may take issue with, or if you do make sure you have gotten all the knives out of the kitchen drawers. Years later I heard about old Wayne Bobbitt. But I already knew all about that stuff because I was a man of experience, having learned at an early age.

I hope to become a solo guitar player one day, which I know will happen.

I played in a bluegrass group for a few years. That was the most fun I had playing. It beats noodling around by yourself, although that can be fun too.

 

[Calzone]

PTP,

There was a time when there were Chinese Exclusion laws: my father’s time.

I grew up during the Vietnam era looking like the enemy. In kindergarten one of the first things I learned was how to fight and by third grade I was good at it.

There was a time before President Nixon normalized relations with China after the Vietnam War was over. Before then there were actually very few Asians in the U.S.

When I was born in 1958, and there were less than 238,000 Asians counted in the U.S. in the 1960 census.

I enjoyed no privilege growing up poor. I had a rough life for sure, but that is behind me. BTW poverty is a constant punishment, and like a boxer I have a high threshold of pain.

What amplified our poverty is that I grew up in the suburbs of Long Island where not only did my family stand out, we didn’t belong there.

The street violence in my time was very serious. My friend Tommy who is dead now (heroin overdose) beat the crap out of a Nassau County cop when he was 16. The cop was roughing him up…

Also pretty much NYC was a wild place back then.

Seen and experienced mucho violence close up.

My experience with cops is that they see so much that they become indifferent. Its not at all like the TV shows. One cop thought the most accurate TV show depicting cops in real life was the show “Barney Miller.”

Cal

 

[ptpdprinter]

When I was born in 1958, and there were less than 238,000 Asians counted in the U.S. in the 1960 census.

I thought that sounded low so I checked. According to Pew Research, there were 980,000 Asians in the 1960 census. Still, not that many.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...ian-americans/

My experience with cops is that they see so much that they become indifferent. Its not at all like the TV shows. One cop thought the most accurate TV show depicting cops in real life was the show “Barney Miller.”

If what you say is true, Barney Miller couldn't have been accurate. Jack Soo played Det, Sgt. Nick Yemana, an Asian-American detective. Or were there really Asian-Americans on the police force when and where you were growing up?

I didn't know that off the top of my head. I initially thought Buddy Ebsen (aka Jed Clampett) played Barney Miller but he played Barnaby Jones. So now you know why I have never been picked to be on anyone's trivia team. Anyway, I was just checking who played Barney Miller so I wouldn't post something inaccurate and saw about Jack Soo playing an Asian-American detective on Barney Miller.

I'd say we are well on our way to erudition. A couple of more posts and we'll be there.

 

[Calzone]

I thought that sounded low so I checked. According to Pew Research, there were 980,000 Asians in the 1960 census. Still, not that many.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...ian-americans/



If what you say is true, Barney Miller couldn't have been accurate. Jack Soo played Det, Sgt. Nick Yemana, an Asian-American detective. Or were there really Asian-Americans on the police force when and where you were growing up?

I didn't know that off the top of my head. I initially thought Buddy Ebsen (aka Jed Clampett) played Barney Miller but he played Barnaby Jones. So now you know why I have never been picked to be on anyone's trivia team. Anyway, I was just checking who played Barney Miller so I wouldn't post something inaccurate and saw about Jack Soo playing an Asian-American detective on Barney Miller.

I'd say we are well on our way to erudition. A couple of more posts and we'll be there.

PTP,

I don’t know what was reported to me from a coworker who went to a presentation about NYC crime is true. Kinda funny if it is and that is why I brought it up.

When I was in high school a friend’s brother was a cop and he tried to recruit me. One of the problems was Chinatown, and pretty much I would get advanced rapidly I was told.

Pretty much under representation, but also I would of been somewhat of a token. Also because I was an Asian pretty much I would get fast tracked into undercover because I would be highly unlikely be a cop.

The number I got was from the 1960 Census. Very likely the Pew Research number is more accurate. Lots of illegal immigrants, therefore undercounting.

My dad was an illegal immigrant during the times of the Chinese Exclusion Laws. He jumped ship in the late 1920’s or early 1930’s.

Because he served in the U.S. Army in WWII he was one of 1428 Chinese allowed to become Nationalized as a citizen. This enabled him to go to Hong Kong to seek a bride.

The Exclusion Laws were made so that basically the Chinatowns were bachelor communities with no women, and it was expected that the Chinese would die off and become extinct in the U.S., but illegal immigration persisted despite the sentiment, hostility, and lynchings.

In the Long Island suburbs the communities where I grew up were Lilly White.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I looked at the 1966 Chevy C-10 in my garage and started to drool. That is going to be a mighty cool rat-rod that will be fun to drive. Three on a tree manual tranny on the steering column. Have to get a valve job done, and I’ll pull the head. The rear oil seal needs to be replaced, a messy job, but likely the clutch is oily and needs to be replaced.

Then at least front disc brakes, and new tires. I hope to keep the OEM white narrow rims so I can keep the dog dish hub caps.

It is a mighty handsome truck, and I’m sure it will turn heads.

I cut up a square pallet the “Man-Bag” full of gravel came on into two sections to make a narrow walkway down on the shelf, my term for the narrow raised embankment I made by the marsh grass. I also removed three long planks to back fill three spaces to effectively create a 3x8 foot deck to lay on the “shelf” by the marsh grass. The narrow walkway did not work out, but the two small sections were used to level and stabilize the shelf for the 3x8 deck.

These pallets were leftover from building out the cedar shed.

Very cool that this is just repurposing and cost no money. My Milwaukee Super Sawzall made things EZ-PZ, and I used some exterior grade screws to strengthen things up.

I used Knotweed mulch as a bedding under my 3x8 foot deck and spread more mulch around to prevent anything from growing.

Did some knotweeding on my slope to prepare it for my leaf harvest. Basically I round up all the leaves my neighbors leaf blow against a fence that is public property as clean fill. All the mulch from last year now is converted to topsoil on my slope. The idea here is to backfill the slope to increase the area of my back-backyard that I call “The Table” which leads to a slope down to the marsh. The valley’s depth is about twenty feet.

I also moved a brush pile down the slope to be right against the chain link fence I recycled to help make a improvised retaining wall. My thinking is this year I have till about Thanksgiving to round up all the leaves, pretty much that will cover the fence and a lot of the slope, and again the table will grow, and the slope will become more of a cliff.

I expect some spillover will eventually go over the fence and start backfilling the shelf. I’m ready and anxious to start collecting my leaves. Effectively I’m building out a slope and converting it into a cliff.

The area that is the table, the slope, and the shelf is perhaps 40x40, but sculpturally it is a separate space as the back-backyard still has about 40x70 as lawn. Understand that my back-backyard is a second building lot on a dead end (40x100) plus about 10-12 feet on the rear of the garage (10-12X40).

I do love the view of woods, hillside, marsh, brook, Frog pond along with my lawn. I love that I have all these different spaces to cultivate. Know in the dead end I’m growing Maple trees and I transplanted about 5-6 saplings, and many seedlings. I have three oak seedlings growing by my garage that I intend on establishing in the dead end and on the slope.

Gearing up to install my attic stairs. Then I will insulate with rock wool big time.

My hope is that next year I’ll have time to start working on my truck.

A big deal in Peekskill is having privacy and a huge backyard. Understand that Peekskill is a city that has a population of 25K and is only 4 square miles. Many houses are on just a 40x100. Having an extra 40x100 is a huge deal. Living on a dead end, and having only one next door neighbor is a double bonus. Also I live on the edge of the city in a neighborhood that is a maze of dead ends.

I love it.

Cal