computadora

i got my computer today. it's rad. it has a camera built into it, so you'll probably be seeing a lot more pictures of me in front of my computer. i've had the computer for 4 hours now and in that time i've managed to successfully make it look and operate exactly like the other apple laptop that i just donated to the suzanne l. bestler education foundation. now, as she is sitting in front of her computer reading about freud's theories regarding the interpretation of dreams, i'm sitting in front of my computer telling you all about what she's doing.
you know how this is happening? there are two important factors. one: we both have computers now. two: i successfully got a wireless router hooked up in our apartment. my brother had an extra one that he donated to us, but it didn't work, so i had to shell out some cash to actually get a new one. i'm taking advantage of the early stages of student loan disbursement...you know, the beginning of the semester when you have all that money and you don't know what to do with it. now is the time for me to rationalize such important purchases like wireless routers and computers with cameras built into the screen.
i'm looking forward to the end of the semester when i have no money left and i'm starving and exhausted because i haven't slept in 2 weeks because i have three, twenty page papers due. that'll be good times.
anyway...i've screwed around enough today. i really should get to some reading.
incidentally, i did some redecorating on the ol' bloggy blog. the color scheme is supposed to elude a feeling of urban-pavement-sprawl. there were parts where i couldn't really figure out how to change the color, and that's ok, because i'm a philosophy student. the main thing is i got your dark gray for the road, a little yellow for the dotted lines, some white section breaks in the sidebar (also to mimic road borderiness), and this brings us to the green.
you say to yourself, "rob, the green really takes away from the whole effect." to which i reply, "bugger off you silly twit, i do what i want."
actually, the green was something i couldn't figure out how to change, and then when i figured out how to change it to what i wanted, i realized it looked better the other way. and since it looked better i decided that it was right along. and it was, because the elevated train that lives outside our building is elevated by huge steel girders that are painted a very similar color of green.
so here i am...in brooklyn.

nanuk of bushwick

i got an i-pod, i got an i-pod, i got an i-pod hey, hey, hey, hey!
yes, i got my nano today, which means my new computer is forthcoming and suz and i will be fully entrenched in a techological wonderland. my brother even happens to have an extra wireless router kicking around his place that he's gonna donate to the rob and suz internet foundation.
i named my i-pod nanuk...cuz you know, its a nano. nano, nanuk, nano, nanuk...get it?
yeah, i'm not entirely sold on it yet either. if anyone has some suggestions that maintain the alliteration i'd be happy to hear them. for now, nanuk and i have to go whaling.
that was not funny.

myrtle ave...party central

so, just a quick update about the "block party" last night. has anyone ever heard the song "i wanna fuck you" by plies featuring akon and snoop? well...we have. in factt we've heard it approximately 637,000 times, all last night. what i thought was a block party was actually just some bushwick thugs showing off their hot cars and their ridiculous stereo systems.
i decided to crawl into bed around 2:30 last night hoping i would be able to block out the mayhem, but unfortunately suz woke up as i did so. she had already been asleep for a solid two hours so after stumbling nude to the bathroom and returning to bed she was partly rested from her previous two hour nap and completely unfettered by drowsiness. the music proved to be too much to block out and as it persisted while we laid awake in bed we soon gave up on the prospect of sleep. i lit a cigarette and pulled up a window seat where i had a great view of the neighborhood activity. i soon discovered that there was a method to this mayhem. the music would play as loudly as possible until a cop neared at which point the car trunk would be slammed shut (where the subwoofers reside) and the volume turned down while the rest of the bystanders would linger looking quite innocent on the sidewalk. the music would stay off for a while until some other car came by blasting its own music at which point my streetbound neighbors would throw open all the doors and crank the music again. it was a stereo-showdown and everytime this territorial ritual was initiated they would play the same song. it was awesome. truly a sight to be seen, or rather, heard. each time i heard "i wanna fuck you" i thought about how great it would be if i owned a paintball gun that i could stealthily point out the window and unload on the unsuspecting audio-intruders. i fear that this sort of behavior might get me actually shot, so i doubt the dream will ever come to frution.
at one point, suzanne even called the local police station to lodge a noise complaint, but unfortunately there were real crimes going on in bushwick and they had little time, or concern for noise complaints.
once we had completely given up on sleep we curled up on the couch to watch a simpsons. we usually watch the simpsons with the volume set to about 28 or so and only turn it up to 31 when the train comes by. last night we had it up all the way to 35! 35 people! and we still couldn't hear the deliciously witty dialogue over the stereo system of someone who was parked nearly a block away. it was unreal.
at approximately 4:15 the streets cleared and at last it seemed we could resume our slumber. we decided that all of our friends had to return to their parents' basements or garages to celebrate 4:20 in the morning before the night could really be called complete.
it was a fun adventure in late-night, late-summer urban celebration. i only pray that if any of you visit you'll have the privilege of its experience.
and now, so you can share in our misery, the lyrics:

[Akon:] Convict!
[Plies:] Plies!
[Akon:] Convict...Music...and you know we a front.

[Chorus: Akon]
I see you windin n grindin up on that pole,
I kno u see me lookin' at you and you already kno
I wanna fuck you, you already know, i wanna fuck you, you already kno

[Verse 1: Plies]
I wanna sit u ????
and show u what a real nigga wit money do
I'm caked up and well respected wit shit to prove
to be straight up with cha I wanna fuck u
I'm a street nigaa so u kno I aint ???
want u to bust it open so I can drop tht dick in ya
I'm thug nd x-rated plus I'm a real nigga
I wanna lay tht pussy I dont want ur fone numba
I wanna take u to the crib and fuck u to sleep
I let u get a lil rest and wake u up and beat
I bet a stack u aint met a nigga fuck betta than me
and I have bitches swear 2 god I was on three

[Chorus]

[Verse 2: Snoop]
Money in the air as mo feel grad you by your coat tail take you to the motel, hoe sale,
dont tell, wont tell, baby said I dont talk dogg but she told on me, oh well,
take a picture wit me, what the flick gon do, baby stick to me & ima stick on u,
if u pick me then ima pick on you, d-o-double g and im here to put this dick on you,
I'm stuck on pussy n urs is right, wrip ridinin them poles and them doors is tight
and ima get me a shot for the end of the night cuz pussy is pussy and baby ur pussy for life.

[Chorus]

[Verse 3: Plies]
Let me fill u up wit liquor and fuck it out cha,
lay u flat on ur back and get tht noise out ya,
feel it in ya stomach tearin tht back up out cha
I wanna hear u moan baby I wanna hear u holla,
dont worry about ya hair do I'll shoot u a few dollas,
just when u start ridin me get on them toes for me,
I dont like a quiet fuck so tell me how u want it,
u needa act like its yurr dick while u on it,
I kno I'mma freak baby nd im luvin dat,
now I needa get u on the same level where im at,
but when I get ya out there aint no turnin back,
and I'mma take u from likin' it to lovin sex.

[Chorus]

[Verse 4: Plies]
And if the pussy good I'll fuck ya a week straight,
and meet ya at ya crib and fuck u on ya lunch break,
cuz I'mma stay up in dat pussy till ur numb babe,
and put tears in yur eyes and a smile on ya face,
gimme dat pussy one time thts all it takes,
and I'mma treat u like a big girl okayy,
and I can tell u even then i can see ya legs shake,
and at tht point imma give it to u all the way,
cuz I'mma make u wanna fuck me erryday,
fuck me at ya own risk is wht I'm tryenna say,
cuz I'mma have ur nose? wide open after dis,
nd make ur panties get wet wen u think about the dick,
u wanna leave me alone but u cant quit,
wheneva I aint in that pussy u feel sick,
the more times I get it the better it get,
so next time u see me think about dis.

[Chorus]

[Verse 5: Akon]
Shorty I can see u aint lonely handfull of niggas n they all got cheese,
so u lookin at me now whats it gonna be just another tease far as I can see,
tryin get u up out this club if it means spendin' a couple dubs,
throwin bout 30 stacks in the back make it rain like that cuz I'm far from a scrub,
u kno my pedigree, ex-deala use to move phetamines,
girl I spend money like it dont mean nuthin n besides I got a thing for u.

[Chorus]

[Verse 6: Snoop]
Mobbin' through club in low pressin im sittin in the back in the smokers section (just smokin),
birds eye, I got a clear view, you cant see me but I can see u (baby I see u),
its cool we jet the mood is set,
your pussy is wet u rubbin your back and touchin your neck,
ur body is movin' u humpin' n jumpin' ur titties is bouncin' u smilin' n grinin' n lookin at me.

[Verse 7: Akon]
Girl n while your looking at me im ready to hit the caddy right up on the patio move the patty to the caddy,
baby u got a phatty the type i like to marry wantin to just give u everythin n thats kinda scary,
cuz I'm lovin the way you shake your ass , bouncin', got me tippin' my glass,
lil' mully dont get caught up to fast but i got a thing for you.

[Chorus x2]

[Akon:] Girl...

kierkegaard, and foucault, and rousseau, oh my!

well...we only have to take 3 classes per semester, but in addition to those three classes we have a language test to pass and an introductory seminar for incoming students, but none of this is really phasing me yet. i'm taking one class on the human will and its evolution from medieval to modern philosophy, and the professor said quite blatantly that all of the reading was suggested, none of it is required and since there is no test or anything to worry about (only a 20 page term paper on a topic of my choice), i'm not so inclined to read much unless it is specifically interesting to me.
for our next class we're supposed to read some rousseau. he's another one of those early modern philosophers that was primarily concerned with the natural order of things versus the culmination of the city-state and how the two compare. i haven't read much of him and as i sat down to try to get into it, i remembered why. its not very interesting stuff. its all about social contracts where the masses determine the norms of civilized society based on models from naturally occuring societies (such as the family unit). as the masses work out basic rules and everything, eventually a ruler comes around who either takes his power from the grace of god, or is given his power through the aggregate will of the masses. i mean...its interesting to think about how things came to be, but i'm just not feeling it yet...maybe the lecture will get my early modern juices flowing.
foucault is an endless source of joy, particularly because of my enlightening conversations with my beloved, but so far i'm not too impressed with the class. as suz has made reference to in her blog, the professor is so far just teasing us with philosophical concepts, trying to fit foucault into a tidy little box labelled with whatever multi-hyphened philosophical jargon you feel most comfortable labelling him with. i just want to tear into some of his texts for crab's sake. i understand that she has to sorta set the stage, but lets get going already...we only meet once a week and i'm fiending for some flamboyancy.
so far the only thing that has really been interesting to me is my kierkegaard class. for those of you that know me, you understand that my kinship with kierkegaard is at the very least skin deep. the hebrew lettering i have tattooed on me is based largely on one of kierkegaard's famed works, fear and trembling. i thought that kierkegaard's concentration on contradiction was interesting in that text, but it goes so much deeper than that. in either/or a whole new aspect of contradiction is considered. its still to nebulous for me to really articulate, but it has brought me to such questions as, is reflective sorrow the cause of the internal/external contradiction, or is that contradiction the cause of the sorrow, and furthermore if it isn't the cause what function does it play in furthering that type of sorrow? if don giovanni as represented in mozart's work of the same name is representative of sensual desire and is constantly at the mercy of the immediacy of his desires, is don giovanni really an erotic genius or is he merely a puppet to his sensuality? if at the mercy of his desires, don giovanni is perpetually in flux and in that sense does he serve as a theoretical exemplification of kierkegaard's reflective sorrow which perpetually walks "back and forth in its by-chamber, never wearying of putting sorrow's long or short road behind it." does this mean that the erotic conqueror, while on the outside appears quite satisfied with his 1,003 sexual conquests is actually on the inside full of sorrow? could it be said that this sorrow, if it exists, is the result of the fact that he is perpetually driven to these conquests, but he himself doesn't actually want them?
it might not shock you to know that i answer yes to all these questions. nonetheless i want to bring them up in class, but unfortunately the professor sees it fit to only pay attention to one half of the class and despite the fact that i have plenty of interesting questions, she will never see me raise my hand.
at least my brain is working again. at least i'm not contemplating the complexities of gasoline related credit issues.
so yeah, there's some of what i've been thinking about. like i said, i haven't really formed a comprehensive theory about any of this, but its really only 2 weeks into class, so i'm not quite there yet.
i hope y'all enjoy the pictures i have up on flickr...there will be more added as soon as the first of the next calendar month rolls around.
i know this has gone a little long so i'll wrap it up with this. there's some sort of block party going on down the street right now. i don't really think its the sort of thing that's sanctioned by the city because its really just a dude with a bangin' system in his car chillin with all his doors open and the volume turned up all the way with a bunch of stupid assholes standing around, occasionally dancing, occasionally yelling loudly so as to be heard over the excessive bass.
i love weekends in bushwick.

the storm has subsided

well, i'm here, in my apartment, on my working computer, with my working internet connection. it seems that for now everything is in working order. hopefully we won't have any further problems with the apple and that the internet connection maintains its current awesomeocity.
so, what has happened since my last update? not too much aside from classes starting and mountains of reading raining down upon us. actually so far the reading isn't too heavy. currently i'm in the process of re-reading descartes' meditations on first philosophy for one of my classes. it amuses me slightly that in undergrad this book took up the space of several classes for discussion whereas now, the book in its entirety will be summed up in one class. at the very least, my re-reading has ensured me that my knowledge of philosophy is sufficient for the time being. in fact i'm finding that i slip right back into the process of criticizing and deconstructing an argument. this is perhaps aided by the fact that this is a re-reading of a text that is fairly common and that i'm fairly familiar with, but its encouraging nonetheless.
its odd having all this free time though. i'm really only in classes for a total of 10 hours per week, so the rest of my time is dedicated to laundry, food and simpsons and sleep for now. i'm slowly getting ready to decrease the frequency with which i watch simpsons, and i fear that even laundry and sleep may fall by the wayside as things get more hectic. ahh well, such is the life of a philosopher, and since i am now officially a philosopher, or at least a philosopher in training, this is my life.
i love it.
i can't help but feel akin to descartes as a read the text because in it he is sitting in his library by a warm fire in his winter dressing gown. it seems to be a life of comfort and leisure, with none of the stresses of the fast paced working world, but that's deceptive. unlike descartes who suffers from a vast fortune which enables him to sit around pondering the physical reality of the piece of wax he holds in his hand, i am still burdened with the question of finances. while the question of whether or not the wax really exists is interesting, but far more interesting is the question of whether or not my loan distribution check really exists and if so when it will be in my hands and shortly after that in the bank.
so where does that leave me for now? it leaves me only slightly behind on the work that i swore i would never get behind on. it leaves me sitting at the kitchen table that i've turned into my desk wondering how i'm going to finish the meditations and then read most of kierkegaard's either/or before wednesday.
i'll find a way...its not like i have anything else to do.
in closing, i'd like to thank all of you who have been so patient with suzanne and me. its been an interesting struggle getting moved into our new place. a struggle which as you know has involved countless technical problems, some cochroaches, and even a mouse.
actually let me explain the cochroaches and the mouse for a second. one night i was going into the bathroom to brush my teeth and when i opened our medicine cabinet a small, gold-ish bug tried to scurry away before i squashed it with the first thing i could find. i quickly determined it was a cochroach and that we would have to find whatever gaps in the wall existed and patch them soon. days went by and no cochroach sightings, but on one of my frequent trips to the kitchen to get a glass of water i saw a small mouse rushing away from our dish rack to behind our stove. since we have two living, breathing mouse traps i decided to move the fridge and the stove away from the wall a little bit as a encourage the hunt. i saw the mouse a couple more times and even got close to catching it, but the elusive little bugger always got away. however, the mosue was no match for kink, the mighty huntress. we were watching the simpsons (surprise surprise) when we heard a lot of running around in the kitchen area. i got up to examine the situation and saw kink, slowly walking from the kitchen with her mouth slightly open. she let go and i saw a mouse trying to run away. at this point i got really excited, grabbed a glass and with much hullabaloo including one mouse escape and one re-capture the mouse was soon sent on it merry way to the wonderful world of our back lot. i hope it has an exciting life in the outside world with the other mice and rats, but if it tries to get back in here i'm not going to interfere when kink starts to kill it.
so that's our cochroach/mouse story. through discussing this matter with some of our peers we have discovered that such vermin are entirely common and is not the result of our disgusting selves.
again, thanks for being patient with us while we get our feet on the ground. if you haven't heard from either one of us directly, you will soon. its been an awkward kind of busy trying to get situated in the big city, but now that we have the valuable tool of the internet at our disposal things should move along much easier.
traubie - glad to hear mexico was fun. i'll be checking flikr soon.
friend of rjr - you tool, we'll e-mail you soon, sorry we haven't called but you know we're difficult like that.
keren - hang in there kid, once you start school again it will be a whole different kind of suffering, which is somehow refreshing.
x - where's the beef? how are things in 'kato?
vegan - don't know if you've been checking in, probably not cuz its been so long, but i'll check your blog soon to see how you're doing.
talk to you all soon...possibly even on an individual level.
get excited...i am.