My Favorite Ukes

I love Ukulele Music! Here are my personal faves. Don't hate.


1)King Benny Nawahi he was mad old school. I think he died in a car crash when he went blind as a result of drinking too much bathtub gin. That might just be a rumor. Please don't take my word for it, I'm a jackass.

2)Israel Kamakawiwo'ole aka Iz. This gentle giant iz a legend. Rest in peace brudda!


3)The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain http://www.ukuleleorchestra.com
They are a a pretty tight outfit who do cool covers of Smells Like Teen Spirit and Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights. Here they are covering Bowies "Life On Mars" with a couple of other stuck in for fun! Enjoy!


4) Sonic Uke http://ukuleledisco.com Jason Tagg and the Ukulele Disco bunch are long time freinds of the show! Look up their movie online Ukulele Freaks

5) Julia Nunes http://www.junumusic.com Original tunes and covers, a great voice, cute and a overwhelming enthusiasm for all things uke! Subscribe to here youtube channel.


6) Hi'ilawe Ohta-San is the Django Reinhardt of Classical Uke. He is indisputably a master. When I went to Hawaii I bought a cool how to play uke book by him!

7) Rachel Trachtenburg http://lookattfsp.blogspot.com Whether Rachel is fighting City Hall or playing drums with her Family Band the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players I was pleased to see she was rocking out on the uke for her new show Rachel Trachtenburgs Homemade World what is with this Family and the OD long titles?

8) I met Tiny Tim at a Beyond Vaudeville Live show he was very gracious and friendly. We spoke mostly about cleaning products. He was a very charming, polite friendly and clean person.
He did a lot of cool uke tunes my favorite being "She left Me With The Herpes"

9) Beatle George Harrison after years of Guitar towards his demise he switched to ukulele.

10) Stubborn Records head and Ska musician King Django brought ukulele to the ska music scene.

Craziness With the Bishop

When I say the Bishop I'm actually referring to the host from the public access show zERO gRAVITY. He is also on Saturday Night Live from time to time. Lester Vecsey from Chess Now aka the Vex and I teamed up to help him film this little skit behind the scenes. This dude is nuts! N-V-T-S, NUTS! Heh-heh.. a little History of the World humor for ye. In all cases take a look at this.

John Lennon Suggests Join the Human Race

As I am a little bit OCD I listen to one or two songs over and over again for days on end. Since Saturday (Today is Weds) I've been listening to Instant Karma which I feel is one of Lennons best songs ever.



" You better recognize your brother is everyone you meet!
Why in the world are we here? Surely not to live in pain and fear."
All the lyrics totally doth rule. I once met Yoko Ono at the old Lispenard St. book store Printed Matter ( Yes, Laurie Anderson was also there!) I asked her for some words of wisdom she paused thoughtfully and jotted in my book: "Always know what it is before you ~ Okoy Ono"

Spanish Posters: Taking Yourself WAY Too Seriously

Whoever puts these posters out better keep em coming because they rule!

Heres a couple of characters that make me laugh:


Attempting to "raise the roof"! Ya better lower it before you get a hernia!


Is he a singer, Pro Wrestler or Michael Jackson impersonator?


I will refrain from comment. Suffice it to say Joe is holding himself down.

Spanish Posters: The Saga of El Cata

My job has been relocated to Washington Heights. What do people do for entertainment out there you might ask? Well it seems from the street posters they go to clubs and see live music and comedy. What do I do for entertainment up there? I take pictures of them. They are so amusing to me. I don't think its on purpose. my favorite thing they do is put a blurry a low res picture with crisp lettering and background art. I understand the guys who make these posters are obviously talented but it's funny too. I'll try to share the silliness as I see them.


I stated seeing these posters in March 2007 but after this particular poster I started seriously photographing them. This one is Called "El Debate" Where these particular performers Sujeto and El Cata will be squaring off against each other at The Jet Set Club. The candidates have taken their positions on the issues concerning the party people of 'da Heights. Sujeto seeks to take the position of showing off his bling bling to bring the votes in while El Cata contends that he will be "holding things down" as noted by his outstretched hand."



El Cata must have won the debate because here is a victory poster with all sorts of champagne bottles in the background that I'm sure will be popping at his behest. As you can see by his photo he will also be keeping his campaign promise of "holding it down" (whatever "it" is.)



Heavy hangs the crown of the top gun in the Heights. El Cata has to defend his crown vs Shino in this one called "the batalla" Dont pay attention to the glove with the backwards Everlast logo . Foget Details! Don't Panic! El Cata is on the job! I can sleep a lil bit safer tonight!

The Cat is the Hat

This just in: This evening in Lincoln Center an unidentified man with a cat on his head hit me up for spare change. I laughed to see such sport, so circle gets the square! How can I resist?

Phil's Journal Entry 11/3/08

I woke a touch late today so after meditation I had to jet the pad. I totally forgot my book so not to miss out on the process I yam hereby writing. I am by no means an OD political or religious person but Samaria Graham came up with this really great Idea about doing a fast and a prayer thing for Obama, his safety and stuff. So I showed up here at work was going to buy breakfast but left my money in my bookbag upstairs. So I went back upstairs and instead of getting the money to eat, remembered my promise to skip one meal and pray. So I hit the bathroom and hit my knees. I felt much better. Also big shout outs to Rachel Trachtenburg who will be at City Hall today so I’m putting positive energy towards her and her family who have been steadfast staples of my increasing network of positive people who help inspire me and keep me sane throughout this tumultuous period in my life.

Mami Luz aka my Grand Aunt Illuminada is being buried in a big military cemetery today with her husband Papi Joe who was a veteran. She was ninety-four years old. No drinking or drugs. Belief in God and love of her family. Outspoken and active. This is was the road she tread. Truly inspirational. I remember spending time with her in the hospital when you can tell things were serious. I was really there. When my mom was dying I was a mess on many levels. I was sad and upset because I was too greedy to understand that my sadness was all about me and what I wanted. I wanted my mom to stay alive and take care of me, give me security. I have since learned life isn’t about what I want and can get from others. It is about how can I best serve others. In helping others I help myself. I’ve been really working hard to do this especially this past year and I find this practice to be quite spectacular. I’m happier than I have ever been. This is a stark contrast to how miserable I was for a good chunk of my life. I think this mental shift started when I visited my Grandfather, Papa Roro in the hospital. He was a long time meditation practitioner. He was very wise. Through my cousin Ralph who translated he imparted the knowledge he had acquired during his life. Seek a simplified spiritual life.

I don’t know how long I have on this plane of existence and the truth is I can’t take anything with me so how much happiness can I get from all my obsessive creature comforts? How secure can I be really? Personally I feel if I am standing in the past I live in a morass of regret and shame reliving sections of my life desperately wishing I had made different decisions. Eventually I become so filled with disgust I self-destruct. On the flip side of the coin, If I am standing in the future I live in an anxiety-ridden universe of fear where I replay these fantasies of how things should turn out and how I could troubleshoot the situation if certain situations arise. There are so many tangents and alternate realities to keep thinking about my brain overloads and I self-destruct. Focusing on bouncing between these two extremes I failed to realize there was a third option that doesn’t end in me self-destructing. All I’ve got to do is be here now. I can simply exist and handle business, love others and love myself.

LOL! I look at my self now and say this is SO not me. Ah but it is! It is not the angry, jealous, hateful, spiteful, lustful, mendacious me of the past. Not that I don’t have my moments. I’m no monk by any means. I still freak out from time to time but now I just get quiet, don’t front then take action. Note to myself: I have to clean my room but no biggie. I’ll do laundry tonight but I won’t stress that till then.

Crunk The Vote

I'm no politico but this amused me. Someone gotta explain what program they did this with:




I can't wait till this is over.