Sunday Sundae

Sunday, I accompanied Sarah to an openhouse on Bleeker because she is shopping for an apartment. The building was nice and clean with a doorman that doubles as a security guard. And what a view she would have looking uptown. There were three rooms plus a bathroom. If it we had been looking for me, I would say that the bathroom was a bit small and needed a window. I don't like bathrooms without windows. There is something very confining about that. The kitchen was also a bit small for my taste. But that's just me.

Part of yesterday's plan involved eating brunch at NOHO Star - a very nice neighborhood eastside eating estasblishment north of Houston Street. We both ordered the Mexican style breakfast which we devoured as if we had just emerged from a 2 day fast in the desert but when it came to our dessert we savored every bite. Can you blame us? We ordered the butterscotch sundae. One scoop of maple ice cream, one scoop of vanilla plus hot butterscotch equal a dessert worthy of kings and queens. Perhaps, I am going on just a little bit too much but Saturday night's reading has mbe all inspired to be a writer and shit.
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After lunch, I spontaneously decided to join Sarah at the movies. We saw White Noise. It was very bad but should be remembered for future episodes of Mystery Science Theater if MST's producer's every try to revive the show. I was pretty tuckered out after all that, mostly because I wokeup abnormally early. So when I got home, I took a nap. Jon snapped this shot while I was trying to transition from asleep to awake in the living room. I did want to rest up because later that night we intended to visit with our friend for his birthday which we did and we took him to my new favorite restaurant GOWASABI in Astoria which I believe I have written about at length. During dinner, we were treated to live jazz guitar, a regularly scheduled Sunday dinner happening at the restaurant. It was fun to eat a Korean dish in a Japanese restaurant while listening to American jazz. Isn't New York great?

And of course, what evening would be complete in our household without a game of Scrabble? Jon won this one. 436 points to my 228. Ouch.

Scrabble Babble

Well rested . . . both of us . . . we were. . .upon awakening early this morning. So, of course, we played a game of SCRABBLE which I lost. Naturally we photographed the game. We liked this board because of how the words formed in the upper right hand corner. Highlights of the game include Jon's play of I-N-T-E-N-S-E giving him the first bingo and the my later play of L-I-B-E-L*-E-R-S off of I-N-T-E-N-S-E making it more intense. That was my bingo.

Later in the day, I installed Tomb Raider:Angel of Darkness. I enjoyed the previous versions of the game and have been looking forward to playing Lara Croft's latest greatest for well over a year. Wouldn't you know I'm already having trouble getting out of the first scenario. I can't make the leap from the balcony to the wall across the gap. Computer games would be so much more fun if they were just a little easier.

This evening, we were invited to a reading at KGB bar. We went to see Stephanie Klein, specifically. I didn't know that there would be other readers. Boy was it packed. Standing room only. When I arrived the first reader had already started so I had to wait outside with the others who arrived late. Inside the bar, people were crammed together. I took a picture of the crowd as reflected in the enormous mirror hanging near where I hunkered down before fighting my way into the room but it came out pretty dark and unless I post it as an 8 X 10, you'll never be able to decipher what's going on.

After the first reader finished, the moderator announced a five minute break and I was able to find my friends and miraculously there was a seat for me
at their table. I'm glad I made my way into the room.
The next reader was wonderful. Her name was Maura Mulligan and she read from her memoirs about her childhood in Ireland.

I wrote down some examples of her wonderful writing.

". . .winding, curling, grey, clouds . . ." used to describe the scene at her grandmother's funeral of grownups smoking their pipes "sending grandma up to heaven in a cloud of smoke".

"when the moon was high over Kilpatrick" . . . used to describe the scene where her Aunt tried to get her uncles to move her grandmother's body from one cemetary to another.

She was really charming. I was pleasantly surprised because normally, I find readings pretty boring.

Afterwards, some of the group went over to the Jaffa Cafe on First and St. Mark's Place. Excellent food. Three of us ate the Shrimp Scampi Linguine. It was most excellent.

From "It" to "Shit"

The "IT" coupling of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt has come to an end. The couple, together for 7 years and married for 4, have issued a joint statement through their PR representatives that explains that this is a mutual decision and has nothing to do with speculative stories that have recently appeared in tabloids.

Caren writes that if a famous, goodlooking, rich Hollywood couple has problems making it work, then we should be a little easier on ourselves when things don't work out in a relationship.

I agree with this statement. It takes effort to make a relationship work. The most successful relationships emerge from respect, friendship and compatability. Maybe the friendship just wasn't there. Maybe Brad Pitt doesn't want to have children with Jennifer Aniston. If she's 35 years old then that is something, JA is most likely thinking about. If he doesn't want to have children, then they are right to split up while she has still has time to find someone who wants to raise children with her.

Of course, I could be completely wrong. It could be the other way around. Jennifer might be the one that is not ready to have children and Brad at 41, maybe the one who wants to settle down and start raising a family.

What I find completely amazing about all of this is how big a news story this is becoming. It certainly is easier to comprehend than the tsunami disaster but not worthy of front page news.

The Anonymous Blogger Yet Again

The Anonymous Blogger has yet again put his foot in his mouth with another glaringly wrong observation about New York women.

In his January 5th post, the Anonymous Blogger says that New York women have an unusual interest in independent films and have no interest in mainstream films. He sites the movie Sideways as an example of a movie NY women would want to see as opposed to a film like Elektra which he considers more mainstream and then acknowledges that this is an extreme example of what he means. You don't even have to link to it. Here is what he wrote!!

Just tell me this: what is it with New York women and independent movies? It seems to be some sort of requirement that if you're a single New York woman, you just LOOOVE independent film. Can't get enough of the stuff. Mainstream movies are the Kryptonite of these women (with rare exception). The prospect of going to the movie Dodgeball, for example, is utterly repugnant to them.I don't like this sort of arrogant, intellectual elitism. It's a typical dating double-standard, too. It's okay for her to say "Let's go see Sideways". But, I can't say "Let's go see Elektra" without being laughed at.There are those who would argue that I'm generalizing, you are correct. I have no doubt that there are single women out there in NYC who would love to see "Elektra". If you can point them out to me, please do.

Why on earth would a man take a woman on a date to a movie like Dodgeball or Elektra? Why would a man expect a smart woman to not want to see a smart film? What kind of man would want to take a woman on a date to a movie that is meant for the male 18 - 35 demographic and then gets upset if she laughs at the idea of it?

I would assume that a smart, almost intellectual man like The Anonymous Blogger would want to date smart, almost intellectual women with some taste and some appreciation for the finer movie choices out there. I'm not saying that a movie like Sideways is the ideal choice for a date but certainly a more datelike movie is expected in a situation such as a date. (having seen Sideways, by the way, I can suggest it as the perfect date movie for smarter couples)

It's not a good idea to bring a woman to see a movie starring a woman considered to be ideal by men. Clearly the ELEKTRA film was created for the sole purpose of exploiting Jennifer Garner's beauty. I could almost guarantee just from watching the commercials that the story is weak at best but has amazing special effects and camera work featuring her dressed in tight, shiny leather. There probably isn't too much to the film beyond a weak revenge/protect the innocent plot that a smart 12 year old could see through or get bored with or predict the ending of. That's just stupid and in bad taste.

Men. You can't have it both ways. You either have smart woman with smart taste or a dumb woman with bad taste. You can't have both a smart woman with bad taste or vise versa. They don't exist.

Friday Night

Friday night. Just got paid. I did a couple of days of temp work that made me feel great!!!

Wish me luck because it could lead to something grand and unexpected. I'm going back on Monday for more. I don't want to say what it is yet for all the superstitious reasons people don't reveal their hands.

Wish me well, that I don't come down with the flu. It's going on all around me and so far nothing but who knows how long my luck will hold. I'm in the throes of a headache right now that I'm attributing to eye strain but that could be denial talking.

Right now, I'm taking a rest. I'm watching the Simpsons, the episode where they get a pool, Bart breaks his leg and Lisa becomes the most popular girl in the world. There are many classic moments in this episode. . . like the tribute to those Esther Williams swimming sequences from films of old; a look at a b/w episode of Klassic Krusty where he interviews the head of the AFL-CIO; where Bart grows mad from his isolation in a tribute to Hitchcock's Rear Window, one of many Hitchcock tributes done by the creators of the Simpsons.

Tomorrow night, I'm hoping to go to a reading downtown. It'll be nice to get out. Haven't been out since Tuesday night.

Tuesday Night Trivia

Last night, I returned to the Baggot Inn to host trivia with the very elegant Barry. We decided to go with an overall internationl theme although we didn't stick to it very strictly. Barry's general knowlege round required the players to have a broad knowlege of world history. It was a good round with the usual distribution of easy, somewhat hard and very hard questions. I focused on current events which are usually pretty international anyway. Then I asked the crowd to list the last 10 monarchs of England including the present one for the top 10 list.

At the break, where we see who's doing what, we discovered that there weren't any tremendously funny answers nor were there any very funny team names. This was proven when we announced the ROUND 1 standings and nobody else laughed at anyone else's team name. It was up to me to break it to the group that there were no funny answers because that's when it's done. . . before the standings are read. I said that because everyone was so earnest and serious about answering correctly, no one really wrote anything jokey so there were no funny answers. I think I offended one team but I wasn't lying. People were pretty serious last night.

The audio and visual rounds went pretty well. Barry provided a challenging audio round of covers done of songs from the 50's, 60's and 70's. While I asked people to name the landmark shown on the clue sheet and then name the city it was in. I didn't make it too difficult because I wanted people to have some success after what I knew would be 4 somewhat challenging rounds.

It went pretty well. There was no heckling. People weren't screaming and carrying on and we didn't have to raise our voices while reading out our questions. The winning team scored 43 out 50 points. That was excellent. Of course, this team had 10 members on it which always gives an advantage.

If you're interested in attending trivia with me as a co-host, I'll be working with Caren, one of the founders of Tuesday Night trivia. This will be a special night, because Caren hasn't hosted in a while. It should be very exciting.

Ringing in the New Year with Scrabble

Late last night, about midnight, Jon and I played our first game of the year.

Then today, Sunday, our activity du jour was attending a weekly meeting of the Scrabble club There were a couple of Scrabble celebrities there including GI Joel, who by the way, is very, very nice. I won 2 out of 4 games played. My first two games were pretty strong. I beat two regular players, mostly by luck. . .I drew really good letters. Not bad for my first meeting but after four hours of competitive Scrabble with strangers, my head really started ache.
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I lost one game 555 points to 235. My opponent played such a beautiful game that I couldn't even get upset. Even if I had pulled great letter combinations, this guy still would have beat me. He was just that good.

But then Jon played him and won, defending my honor. He opened with Q-U-E-S-T-E-D and then moments later, made his second bingo O-U-T-*-L-I-N-E-S off of Q-U-E-S-T-E-D.

Happy New Year!!!!

2005 arrived quietly chez Jon & Valerie. I roasted a nice duck for dinner and was joined by three friends. The duck was yummy as was the stuffing and the accompanying salad. I made a special blackberry vinaigrette which I've never made before. It's amazing. You can take the same basic recipes and alter them into hundreds of different ones. I started out the evening strong and in pretty good shape. Jon and our guests ended up outlasting me - pajamas were on by 2:45 am; asleep minutes later. I'm recovering now, watching the Twilight Zone - nursing the duck soup I made last night from the carcass of our delicious repast.
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Photos from Last Night

Here is a picture I took of my freshly scrubbed self before the party,
after the food was ready, after manically cleaning the house.

Here we are at the beginning of the party, toasting to each other's health.

It was long after, that I started seeing double, no really.

Here is how I looked during the party.

Jon and Tony brought in the New Year with a kiss.

Here is evidence of our festivities.

At some point I started seeing ghosts and other people started fading fast.

This is evidence that we were indeed laughing and having fun.

Here is how I looked by the end of the evening.

Tsunami Disaster

This year's worst tragedy has to be what is happening now in Asia. The death count is well over 100,000 and will probably only get higher.

Indonesia, the hardest hit nation, said its toll ? now at 80,000 ? could reach 100,000, and officials began to acknowledge that the number of dead may never be known with precision, because the towering waves that smashed into Sumatra island swept entire villages with their inhabitants out to sea.

The international community has pulled together to bring relief to the survivors if any can be given. You've heard the stories - whole families killed; property destroyed; vacations ruined. If history repeats itself then we all have to be very careful for a scandal involving any moneys raised for the victims in this crisis. All fundraising is tainted with corruption. Please do the best you can to make sure that any money you give gets to wear it needs to go.

There are already reports that the legitimate organizations are having trouble distributing the goods contributed just because of the shear quantity of it all.

But with help streaming in, overstreched authorities were dealing with logistical nightmare of getting it to the needy. Tons of supplies were backlogged in Indonesia, with thousands of boxes filled with drinking water, crackers, blankets and other basic necessities piled high in an airplane hangar nearly 300 miles from Banda Aceh, the wrecked main city in the disaster zone.

This is one of those times that I wish I had the resources to quit everything I'm doing and fly to site of hopelessness and offer some kind of help or consolation. But I don't. The best I can do is gather some clothes and try to send them off. I'm not sending money. Not only do I not really have it to spare, but I don't want the money I donate to get tied up in some kind of criminal doing by some crooked chairman of some legitimate organization.

What could they do with used clothes? I don't think that's worth much as currency. What would gangsters want with used clothing?

The Day Before Tomorrow

Today was a good day. I went to bed at 10:30 last night and woke up headache free. I left the house to visit the bank and the NY Public Library. My intention was to do research but it was so nice out, I just couldn't sit still. Also, my research proved to be somewhat unproductive. On my way to the library I passed by one of those tourist traps/stores that have hideous, hideous artwork available to see to unsuspecting tourists, like this.

If you are the artist, my apologies and if you collect these my apologies to your loved ones. After shaking off the ill effects of seeing these hideous pieces, I continued on to the library. I waited for Jon to meet me, but while I waited I walked around and around. I shot these random shots.


Can you believe how green the ivy is? It's winter for crying out loud. Shouldn't it be all brown and dried out? Jon met up with me and we walked around the back to Bryant Park where booths were set for their fetes de Noel or Christmas Fair. We found it pretentious that the Christmas Fair was called a Fetes de Noel. We also thought it pretentious that the carousel organizers were playing Edith Piaf music instead of the typical caliope variety.

Anyway, here is a picture of my sweetie at Bryant Park.

And here is a cool picture of a sign on Sixth Avenue for a popular chain of hair salons.

Laundry Hangover

I woke up this morning with such a headache. Actually it was more like the early afternoon. I did wake up around 7 this morning and struggled to go back to sleep. So all in all I did sleep a total of 8 or 9 hours although broken into two sections.

Went to the laundromat last night; went in and out over several hours. First I went over to Dunkin' Donuts for some of their signature coffee. Then I came back. When there were six minutes left on my machines I got so bored I took some pictures.





After I set up the clothes for about an hour of drying time, I treated myself to a non-home cooked meal. It's impossible to make a cheeseburger like they do at the diner so that's why I ordered one, deluxe and with bacon.

yummy

Folding the laundry was taking so unbearably long, I eventually just shoved every unfolded thing into my second bag and headed home. I hunkered in for an evening of reruns of Law & Order on TNT. About 20 minutes into the first episode, my friend and neighbor knocked on the door. It was pleasant to have company after spending the latter part of the day by myself.

When Jon came home, we watched the end of Elizabeth starring Cate Blanchett and then played a rousing game of Scrabble (trademark). I won't say who won or who lost but here is a picture of the final board. Between the two of us we scored well over 600 points.

Sideways

We ran errands in New York City on the Monday after Christmas. One of our dear friends gave us a gift card for Bed Bath and Beyond and it was literally burning a hole in our figurative pocket. Getting around the city was relatively easy now that the holiday rush is over. We actually ran a couple of errrands. First we rode the trusty ole' W train down to 23rd for our trip to BB&B. Then we rode the F train uptown so we could go to the midtown COMPUSA to pick up my computer which they had repaired over the last few weeks. The F train at 23rd came rather quickly and quickly moved along the tracks to 34th street. But we got off at 42nd so that's neither here nor there. The tunnel through which we walked smelled like rotten corn, foot odor and stinky armpits. We walked through the tunnel to avoid the cold but it the chills would have been worth not smelling that earthy stench.

Last night Jon and I went to see the movie Sideways. Here is a picture of us on the train. You didn't honestly think that I would post something without including a picture, did you? Jon took this picture by holding our camera at arm's length. He also used the flash which turned out to be smart because we don't look yellow from the fluorescent subway lighting. I thought for sure we would end up looking washed out from the extra light but it worked out great. The flash on the digital camera is a perpetual mystery to me. It works when you don't expect to and doesn't work when you want it to. This train ride was perfect. We boarded shortly after we got to the platform and the train proceeded to Union Square with no delays. Perfect.

Sideways was very enjoyable. Alexander Payne, director of Election and About Schmidt, did a nice job telling the story of Miles, an English teacher at the end of his rope. Miles takes his friend Jack on a road trip to wine tasting country in California for a week of tasting wine and playing golf before Jack's wedding on the following Saturday. What follows is typical of most road trip movies. They meet women, get into trouble and our lead character learns something about himself by the end of the movie. What's not typical about Payne's version of a road trip movie is the quiet way in which he observes a man hiding from life behind his obsession for finding the perfect Pinot. Paul Giamatti plays Miles quietly and without big gestures, sucking the viewer in to look and listen closely as he describes himself as a delicate Pinot grape to the woman of his dreams; as he quietly suffers his ex-wife telling him about the baby she is expecting with her new husband; as he drinks a valuable bottle of wine while shoving burgers and fries into his gullet. I really liked this movie.

After words Jon and I went to Cosi. Here is a picture of Jon hypnotizing me into ordering something delicious. I have to admit that it didn't take that much convincing but isn't this a cool picture? Yes. I agree. Jon does look great in this picture.

Sunday in the Park with Jon

Jon and I went to Flushing Meadow Park to see the Unisphere and the panaroma of New York City at the Queens Museum of Art.

I love cold weather. Today was no exception, but was it really cold? One could argue that 30 something degrees with cold winds is cold. I agree, but find this kind of cold weather bearable if bundled up correctly, which I was. I've been to see the Unisphere before but not photographed it. Here is shot taken from directly underneath the center.

After fooling around in the park for a little while, Jon and I went into the Queens Museum of Art to see the much touted panaroma of New York City. It's alright. It's actually pretty incredible if you think about all the work they did and do to make sure that thing is accurate. All buildings in the five boroughs seemed to be represented in miniature however, it was impossible to photograph. After a non-tantalizing hour in the museum looking at the non-impressive collection of art we decided to head home but when we walked out of the museum the sun was setting in a most spectacular way. So, I immediately ran to the other side of the unisphere so I could get a picture of it with the sunset in the background and took this and several other shots. I think this one is the best.

There is nothing like seeing New York City through the eyes of a tourist while living in New York City. I wonder if there's a name for that.

Anyway, we headed home through the now painfully cold winter air. Actually, we were headed for a great restaurant called Gowasabi in Astoria. GoWasabi is a delightful little Japanese restaurant that opened about a year ago and we absolutely adore the food there. The decor is nice as well.

Here are two shots of their sushi bar - one with the flash and one without.
You can see Jon enjoying his meal in the one with the flash.

Christmas day - Midnight Walk

Yesterday was a Saturday like any other with the exception that it was Christmas. In traditional lazy Saturday fashion, I played on the computer, watched TV, slept for most of the afternoon and then made dinner. I never left the house.

Around midnight, I just had to get out of the house. I walked around the neighborhood, looking for photos, looking for Santas to shoot. Later, after my walk, I came home to get Jon and our neighbor/friend to walk with me. We walked quite a bit more and then stopped to get ice cream at a diner on Broadway and 21st Street.

Here are the Santas, I found:
This is my favorite of the neighborhood Santas. I found it in the window of the pediatric clinic. At night, he looks very serene in this soft blue light, holding a candle to light the way for the little ones.

I've taken several pictures through this flower shop window, because it is one of the nicer ones on 30th Avenue. I finally found a picture that I want to share with you. Here, Santa is hiding among the different plants available in the shop.

This naughty Santa looks like he's bound and gagged with the decorative lights that the owner is probably using to hold him up. Look at how he's biting down on that wire. Go Santa, go. He really is enjoying it.

Inflatable Santa strikes again. He really gets around. When last scene, he was standing guard in front of a local supermarket. In the early morning hours of the day after Christmas, he was waving goodbye to us from the driveway of a local residence. Perhaps his reindeer are parked in the nearby garage.

I want to end this Santa photo essay with one of the first images that I took in Astoria. It is the image that sparked the idea of showing you neighborhood displays of Christmas cheer. I thought I would find many more images like it but I only found the one. I shot it because it was different. It's a Santa with Greek writing under his visage; presumably it says something about the holidays.

More Skyscapes for your Holiday Viewing pleasure

Happy Holidays

The best store window Santa I saw was in Edinburgh. Here Santa is dressed in traditional Scottish clothing, ready to play 18 holes of golf.

Scottish Santa and I wish you a


MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Skyscapes - Edinburgh

When we were in Scotland, Jon and I took advantage of the vistas by shooting some pictures of the sky.

Here is one of them.

And here is another.

Christ-mastoria

Sneaky santa. I found this guy hiding just under a neighbor's front porch. I think he looks a little bit shy. He also looks like he's about to say something. What do you think it could be? Maybe if we listen really closely we can hear. Shhhhh!

This Santa is stationed in front of the Euromart. Behind him, there is a generator pumping air to keep him fluffed up. Look at how big his feet are. It must be working.

Roasted Chicken

The Chicken
1 5.5 lb. chicken - seasoned with salt, pepper and OLD BAY.

The Stuffing
1 med. onion
1 challot
4 celery stalks
chopped and sauteed.
Saltines, smashed and then moistened with water and combined with
1 egg.
Then I shoved it inside the bird.

The Vegetables
Where the pan wasn't covered with chicken, I filled it with white aspargus and carrots.

I set the oven to 375 degrees and cooked the chicken for almost two hours.

Everything came out pretty good.

Something to Blog About

These images are part of my photo essay on Christmas in Astoria.

This enormous blowup Santa can be found in the front courtyard of a building around the corner from our apartment. If you look in the background you can see the front door of the building. Isn't this an utterly ridiculous display. A giant Santa waving hello, sheesh!! They should have just put out pink flamingoes and be done with it all already.

Here is your typical array of drugstore Santas, complete with a stuffed reindeer and Santa bear. Perhaps the santas will pull the sleigh for the giant reindeer. There is nothing in this window that makes me want to go into this drugstore. Not even the Santa teddy.

This household has handed over the responsiblity of cleaning their porch to their plastic snowman. I guess this household was going for a more laid back look. I actually kind of like this one, especially the broom next to the snowman. I would like to think they did it on purpose, as some kind of joke, but it's most likely a coincidence.

And last but not least, this family has hired some wicker reindeer to keep the bad guys away. These guys are stationed right at the front door. You'd have to do some pretty fancy footwork to get by them without getting all tangled up. I think these weird white wired decorations are the ugliest decoration to come along in quite some time.

Nothing to Blog About

I don't have anything to blog about.

Blogger's block.

I am blogging about nothing.

This is a nothing blog.

Let's give them nothing to blog about.

Bloggin' nothin'.

Bloggity blog.