Double D

My friend just signed a two year lease on an apartment in Brooklyn. "Two year lease," I exclaimed. "You're crazy." This is a girl who bounces around the world more than everyone I know combined. She's constantly hopping from continent to continent and it wasn't until a year or so ago she managed to stay put. And now a two year lease. Apparently the deal was too good to pass up, it being rent controlled and all. Superior real estate will make anyone settle down.

I was talking to someone else the other day about coveting where other people live. Big house on the hill, condo with new fixtures, amazing views of the city, ginormous apartment in Chinatown, etc. I asked him what exactly he would enjoy about having such a place. Was it for his own happiness or partly also the thrill of having a show off spot? I guess it's really a matter of personal comfort. I mean, I'm more comfortable with high ceilings, strong showers, sweeping panoramas, and unlimited Wifi too.

When my friend was visiting me the other week, he said he understood why I stayed home in San Diego so much. There's just space. And coming from New York where that's a high priced commodity, he said he (kinda) got it, how I could stay here. That led me to wonder how long I could actually live in an enclosed urban space. I'd like to think it's forever but last time I tried, I desperately missed parking lots after only a year or so. And I wasn't even in the city city.

If you hang out online at the places I tend to, Brooklyn seems like the only place to be. Nobody ever talks about the charms of Manhattan, ever. But I still prefer it for its long avenues and constant on-ness. Walking around in Brooklyn just isn't quite the same.

• Why Can't the Bronx Be More Like Brooklyn?
• Brooklyn: A vertically integrated factory for literature
• As Brooklyn Gentrifies, Some Neighborhoods Are Being Left Behind

Going through some essays by Nora Ephron. Basically when you die, that's when people discover your stuff again. We knew that. Personally I've been put on a lot of people this year simply because of their posthumous tributes, or been reintroduced to their lesser known works. Christopher Hitchens, Maurice Sendak, Ray Bradbury, Adrienne Rich, Anne McCaffrey, Nora. I bet the people who have to pre-write obituaries know so much shit. They must sound so well informed at parties. I hope they have time to attend parties.

Currently listening to the new Frank Ocean. Off the first go I like it better than Nostalgia, Ultra, which was good but I didn't dig everything on it. This one though, smooth all the way through. I am pumping his songs through some True Image HR-6.5 speakers, which were unearthed from the garage and now have a little amp connected to them courtesy of AMR. With one push of a button my neighbors can hate me. "Yeah! It's a party in the USA!"