Maharishi

Lets think for a second about power in this world. Today it is mostly a made-up concept among men. Yes, there are those of us with militarizes and those of us with truly vast fortunes but most power is in the eyes of the beholder. As the numerous leaders of cults will surely tell you from their prison cells: it is easy to manipulate people.

Stock prices, stability of nations and indeed how we view other individuals can and is often influenced not by actual factors but simply by manipulation and imagination. When a stock price rises and falls, it is not because that company sold more or less product, it is because some investor decided (imagined) that their stock is worth a certain price. This is why markets tank into depressions; people become scared and in a heartbeat, money is flooded out of the economy and despite no companies actually doing worse off immediately, their stock prices plummet. The same can be done of people. To manipulate someone you just have to make them think what you want them to, it doesn't even have to be real. I just manipulated you now because surely you thought I was coming to a brilliant point but you'd be wrong: I couldn't think of one!

John Lennon learned about this manipulation first-hand when he met Maharishi Yogi. The Maharishi taught transcendental mediation to The Beatles and they eventually discovered he was scamming them and teaching phony BS. Lennon was furious and strummed out a little diddy called 'Maharishi' whose lyrics bashed the Yogi for his phony teachings and false spotlight. In the end Lennon decided to remove the Maharishi's name from the song and what you get is 'Sexy Sadie' on The White Album.

"Sexy Sadie what have you done
You made a fool of everyone
You made a fool of everyone
Sexy Sadie ooh what have you done

Sexy Sadie you broke the rules
You layed it down for all to see
You layed it down for all to see
Sexy Sadie oooh you broke the rules"

A View From the Top

Times are changing quickly. In the past three months I graduated from college, got an internship and moved to New York City. Now the changes seem to be coming even faster as my summer draws to a close. Somebody needs to hit the pause button. Why is life not Tivo?

The agency where I am interning- Mr. Youth- moved offices this week. Our old offices were in Chelsea Market, a location that is as beautiful as it is unique. Sandwiched between the Food Network offices and working under one of the best gourmet food courts in the city, life in Chelsea Market was sweet and fattening- a dangerous combo. Our new office on Park Avenue near Union Square would fool veteran businessmen into thinking we're a division of Google. The fresh colors, open spaces and creativity-nurturing environment make for easily the most enjoyable workplace I have ever spent a day at, and the scooters in the break room are too tempting to pass up.

And the view. From 16 floors up, New York takes on a whole new persona as you stand equal to or above the towering buildings of the city. From the windows around the office you can see the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building and Julia Roberts penthouse- not to mention the epic sunset which can only be described as earth-porn.

The view from the top is is intoxicating.

Burritos and Beatles

I think I owe someone for a good suggestion, because I've just had one hell of a burrito.

Carne Asada, Salsa, a smattering of other ingredients and some brilliant hot sauce make for one of the best burritos in New York City. Courtesy of Dos Toros in Union Square this eight dollar festival of flavor gave Chipotle a real run for its money. I was impressed with the freshness of the ingredients, the friendliness of the staff and most of all amazing flavor of the medium hot sauce and the fresh salsa. Dos Toros is sure to become a drain on my rent money in the coming weeks...

I walked into the office today with my lunch decision already made up: Chipotle, far before I was reminded to try Dos Toros, so clearly burritos were on my mind. However, my mind had the wrong idea about what to buy. Why spend a dollar more on a burrito that is no better than the one I just had? I think it is safe to say a burrito stole my heart today, and its name was Dos Toros.

The Beatles' Paul McCartney wrote a great song that applies here called 'Got To Get You Into My Life' a song that for years people thought was about falling in love with a woman. The truth however, is stranger than fiction. The song in fact about Mr. McCartney's love for a controlled substance which he fell in love with after being introduced to it by Bob Dylan. However today, instead of falling for what Mr. McCartney fell for, I have fallen for a mix of Mexican ingredients wrapped in a tortilla. Dos Toros, I've got to get you into my life.

"I was alone, I took a ride,
I didn't know what I would find there
Another road where maybe I could see another kind of mind there

Ooh, then I suddenly see you,
Ooh, did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life
...
Got to get you into my life"

Inspirational Quotes series Part 1

Sorry for the hiatus, millions of followers. I became very preoccupied with work, friends and the city of New York over the past few weeks that I either forgot or put off writing blog posts so I could continue living on scraps in a city for rich people.

Moving on then, today I would like to bring you all the first Installment in my inspirational quotes series. All of the following were made up by me and were intended to be inspirational to the highest degree:

"You'll never get anywhere if you don't do what you need to do to get there"

"To get things done, you must do things"

"The difference between someone who owns their dream and someone who rents it is that the person who owns it probably has a fixed rate mortgage"

"Don't live in the past, that would be super boring"

"In the Yankees vs. Red Sox game of life, the winner is always the fan"

"Success is little more than performing a task exceptionally well"

"I didn't come here to learn, I came here to rob you"

"The shortest path between two points is the one with the least distance"

"I welcome the new day, I just talk nasty about it behind its back"


Beatles today? Nope. But stay tuned tomorrow for a return to normal broadcasting services.