More than a few times in my life, I have found myself in relationships with really great guys who are also hardcore Deadheads. Hard to believe, yes, but it can happen to the best of us. Over the course of these otherwise happy relationships, I was often subjected to the unimaginable multi-sensory torture that is a live Grateful Dead concert. I was never able to really grok the attraction to this band of profoundly unattractive men that played meandering, soporific and somewhat dissonant music. Then one night at Madison Square Garden, a certain vital ingredient that had been missing from all previous Dead concert experiences was thrown into the mix. Finally, at long last, I “got” The Dead. Since that time I have been much more tolerant of The Grateful Dead and its vast legion of unwashed fans, because “China Cat-Rider” is awesome.

Love them or hate them, there is no denying that The Grateful Dead is a legendary band that made an indelible impact on rock music; not just aurally but visually and socially as well. Through July 4, 2010, The New York Historical Society (located at Central Park West and 77th Street), presents a very fun exhibit, Grateful Dead: Now Playing at the New York Historical Society, which I strongly recommend not just to Deadheads but any fan of rock culture. While the exhibit is smaller than I was lead to believe, Geoffrey and I really enjoyed looking through the displayed archives of vintage concert posters, tickets, backstage passes and assorted memorabilia as well as a fascinating collection of psychedelic, hand-drawn fan art collected by members of The Dead over their lengthy career. It was also surprising to learn about how The Dead revolutionized live concert sound with the invention of their “Wall of Sound” monitor system. Grateful Dead tunes are piped into the room as you browse the exhibits and I actually found myself digging the music in a nostalgic, comforting way. Oldness!

Geoffrey, who never had the chance to see The Dead, as Jerry Garcia passed away on the very day he purchased a ticket for one of their upcoming concerts, has posted some cool pictures of the exhibit over at his blog, According 2 G Dot Com. You should check that out. While I thought that the $12 admission price was a little steep for this exhibit alone, we did venture up to one of the higher floors, where a mind-blowing collection of antique Tiffany glass lamps made the trip uptown more that worth it. Afterward, we walked a couple of blocks over to the American Museum of Natural History (free admission provided courtesy of my day gig), where we spent the remainder of a very rainy afternoon gleefully enjoying the Dinosaur bones and my personal favorite, the Hall of Ocean Life. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Geoffrey took this picture (with his hand) at the recent Armory Art Show. It has my name on it, so he sent it over to me for bloggishness. What a pal. You can see why I love him so very, very much.

That’s all I have to say about it.

Thanks to Rose at The Lacking Organization for the Tip!

Not to be confused with the “Golden Handcuffs” which I accessorize with from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday!

This news is mind-blowing on so many levels, I can hardly think where to begin, but basically what’s happening is that Mattel Toys has officially licensed characters from the best TV show ever in the Universe of all time, Mad Men to become limited-edition, collectible Barbie and Ken dolls. You can read all about the Mad Men Barbies at This Link, but first I would like to point out my personal-favorite few sentences of the entire article:

“The pairing of Barbie and Mad Men is more interesting than the typical licensing agreement, because of their shared history. Barbie was introduced in March 1959, and the first episode of Mad Men is set in March 1960.

“Mad Men represents so beautifully the universe that created Barbie,” said Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University, “because the series is about the selling of the American consumer society.” The personification of Betty Draper as Barbie is particularly resonant, Mr. Thompson said, because she represents “the wife who lives in her dream house whose soul is eaten away.”

So awesome. The dolls will retail for $74.95 each.

Are you looking for a perfect gift for that hard-to-please old school Vinyl Aficionado slash Salvationist? Then check out these awesome wall clocks made from retired turntables by Etsy vendor Pixel This. What  makes these clocks  even cooler is how the LP or 45 adorning each clock’s face can be interchanged, for an even more personal touch. The clock pictured above displays The Doobie Brothers’ album Minute By Minute — clever! Additional pictures can be found at Synth Gear Dot Com.

Hot on the heels of their sensational, sold-out GG Allin Bobblehead, the toy geniuses over at Aggronautix announce preorders of their super-lifelike, super collectible homage to Joey “Shithead” Keithley of Canadian hardcore legends, DOA. Joey stands 7-inches tall and is made of colorful, lightweight polyresin. In a limited edition of just 1,000 pieces, don’t be left without one! Hardcore!

Happy Monday! The 4 and 5 trains were running about 20 minutes behind schedule this morning due to either a stalled number 7 train at 42nd Street/Grand Central or signal problems at Bleecker Street, depending on who you believe. But the delays weren’t anywhere near as bad as these L trains to Brooklyn. Gee whiz. If I had to wait fifteen hundred and thirty four minutes for a train, I’d probably just suck it up and take a cab.

David is a good friend of mine from the gig I spend nine hours, a day, five days a week at so I can do fun things like eat and have health insurance. David is just so awesome that on his Birthday a few years back, his team surprised him by wrapping his entire desk and computer in pink wrapping paper! Birthday Office Pranks! I forgot I still had this picture on my hard drive and decided it’d make a cool Pink Thing of the Day to entertain you and to honor David for his awesomeness. Surely, you agree.

The Darth of a Disco Dancer (Image Source)

While I did very much enjoy Carrie Fisher’s one-woman Broadway show, Wishful Drinking – I’d never stoop to call myself a Star Wars fan. The thing is, the whole Darth Vader mystique is iconic enough that it bleeds over into mainstream, not obsessed-with-Star Wars culture. Anyway, I saw this item over on the Geekologie Dot Com blog and, due to my passion for all things big, shiny and geeky, had to snag it.Thank you, please drive through.