The Art of Not Losing Customers...

So I go to sign up for a gym membership today. I know, I am officially a New Yorker now. I didn't really want to, but with no access to a basketball court I find myself getting fat. With Muki and Kris here last week, I got the inevitable, "man, you're getting fat." Not that I actually think I am fat but I can't deny the slight double chin and the ever-present rice tummy. I'm still 10 pounds lighter than when I was actually fat though. So I go to this gym to find out their rates because I heard they have a deal where you can go 3 days a week for 19 dollars and that sounded pretty good to me. Unfortunately that deal no longer exists. So they tell me the cheapest deal they have for a month to month (I'd do a contract for a year but not sure where I will be next year) is $50, plus a $150 initial payment. There is a "non-negotiable" $100 dollar initiation fee though I'm not sure what that meant. That was the best they could do.Finally I told them no and left (there was two of them trying to goad me into something like a car salesman selling you the undercarriage rust proofing). I get two blocks away when they call me (I made the mistake of giving them my phone number). The guy says that he went over it some more and found a deal for 35 dollars and month including any class I want to go to and I can do it month to month and the initiation fee was only 75. Anyways I go there and the guy was going to be shady about it and put me on someone's friends and family package only no one has my last name. So I had to go with Kumar, my middle name, to get someone with the same last name. So my name is Marty Kumar, which doesn't make any sense, but at least I didn't have to sign anything and I can quit whenever I want.

I realized I started 2007 without doing a best of 2006 list, and you all know how much I love lists. So here it is the best of 2006. First up, is top 5 movies. As I was making a list of all the movies that came out last year that I saw, I realized I saw a ridiculous amount of movies and also that there were a lot of good movies that came out. Now this list only consits of movies that I saw and may not be completely accurate because of that. There were also some honorable mentions, Talladega Nights, Superman Return, and Tokyo Drift.At number 5, is V for Vendetta. This movie was amazing and Natalie Portman was hot even with no hair. At number 4 is Little Miss Sunshine. Hilarious, though some may say it was a cliched indie flick, I say boo to you. At 3 is Scoop. Woody Allen followed up Match Point with the complete opposite movie, a comedy with an informative ghost. It was the funniest movie of the year. Coming in at number 2 is the surprisingly amazing Lucky Number Slevin. I loved this movie and it turned me on to Lucy Liu. And the number 1 movie of last year was...The Illusionist. This was by far the most original movie of the year and the cinematography was amazing. All in all, if you haven't seen it you need to.















Hmm that took a while so I will only do one more list for now. The top 5 albums of last year. Again this is only music that I listen to and while my taste is probably better than yours, it doesn't mean I'm better than you. Honestly though, these are albums that I think are amazing and if you haven't heard it you at least need to listen to the free samples on i-tunes to see if you might like it. So here it is, artist firt followed by the album name. At number 5 is The Hold Steady with their album, Boys and Girls in America. The album was everything I hoped for after the first 2. I feel more connected with them somehow after moving to ny. At number 4 is Regina Spektor with her sophmore album Begin to Hope. This album may have been better than her first which is almost impossible. Her voice is amazing and so is the album, At number 3 is TV on the Radio with their album Return to Cookie Mountain. It is one of the best albums I have heard in a long time, it was very very close to being either number 2 or 1. However, at number 2, is Ghostface Killah with Fishscale. Easily the best hip-hop album I have heard in years. Every single song is ridiculously hype, the beats are ridiculous and I love how chrismatic he is. At number 1 is the Shout Out Louds with Howl Howl Gaff Gaff. This album is prefect start to finish. Any time a band uses the intro to the old atari game Pole Position in one of their songs, they are bound to be awesome. Buy these albums, they are all amazing.



















Anyways, that's all for now. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem. Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.

I'm out like like rudolphs nose

-M, p & z

oh ps - if there are any albums or movies that I missed let me know and I will see if you have a valid point.
also here is my next car (can someone tell me how to hyperlink on a mac)
http://autos.aol.com/article/detroit-auto-show/_a/toyota-ft-hs/20070103101109990001