2005-08-21 - 7:31 p.m.

almost every year, mr. m has a birthday party the third week in august. his birthday is actually sometime in march, but he's so icy cool that he just has his party when prospect park is at the peak of desirability. h is staying with me for the weekend, so we collected x and piled in her grandmother's oldsmobile to join the festivities. there is something so unbelievably joyful about a three-year-old in tap shoes and a pink party dress. i blew bubbles until i got too sunburned.

last evening i joined the surfer girl for glasses of wine at the oyster bar. she wanted to introduce me to a painter friend of hers who lives nearby. i hate to take her sloppy seconds but he seemed like a decent enough guy. walking back to my own loft, i noticed an impromptu sale on wythe ave. there were nearly 25 crates of records. hipsters were digging frantically through the haul with caffeinated fingertips, eyes glazing over. i wasn't going to indulge, but when he told me nothing cost more than a dollar, you know i started digging like there was no tomorrow.

• if you can believe your eyes and ears the mamas and the papas
  
• 19 paul hardcastle
  
• losing my religion rozalla (note: disco cover of the REM song)
  
• absolute torch and twang k.d. lang
  
• oil and gold shriekback
  
• colour by numbers culture club
  
• new song/change the man/conditioning howard jones
  
• made in U.S.A. the beach boys
  

the mamas and the paps record really took me back. aside from the musical theater records i inherited from my mom, they are the first group i can remember listening to. the cover of 'spanish harlem' alone was worth the 75 cents i spent on the record.