Wallet Woes

My wallet was lifted out of my bag this morning, somewhere between 28th/5th and 28th/Broadway.

I had only had about 2.75 in it, my debit card, some old UFT ID and insurance information, an expired Driver's license, some receipts, library cards for both Queens and NYC, maybe a moth - so it was no great loss, except. . .

The beautiful earrings that Jon gave me our first night in our new apartment were in my wallet.

Why was I carrying them around? Because no matter how fine the earrings I wear, my earlobes get irritated and sore. I carried them around because I couldn't wear them all the time, just some times.

I'm not big into jewellry but those really meant something to me.

Well. At least my robbery didn't involve any physical violence. I am thankful for that. I just feel a little violated, I guess.

Put His Money Where His Mouth Is

Here it is and believe me when I tell you it is good.
Why We Must Not Re-Elect President Bush, by George Soros.

Billion Dollar Ball$

Billionaire George Soros is spending his money on an anti-Bush election campaign. He is distributing his pamphlet, Why we must not re-elect President Bush, to 2 million voters. He is travelling to 12 cities to speak with local news and media about why we must not re-elect President Bush. He also plans to run ads in several US papers including the Wall Street Journal.

(From Turkish Press.com) "This is the most important election of my lifetime," Soros writes in the brochure. "I have never been heavily involved in partisan politics but these are not normal times. President Bush is endangering our safety, hurting our vital interests and undermining American values. That is why I am sending this message."

It's probably not a good idea to get on Mr. Soros's bad side. Dennis Hastert suggested on Fox News Sunday (link here for transcript of show) back in August, that Mr. Soros has been earning his billions through illegal drug activity (link here for Slate article).

What will happen next? Will George Soros run a successful anti-Bush campaign? Will the undecideds (if they actually still exist) issue their one vote for a viable candidate like John Kerry or give their votes to candidates that don't stand a chance in hell of winning like Ralph Nadar or Homer Simpson? We'll just have to wait until November to find out.

Update

Progress Apartment
Jon and I added a new piece of furniture to the living room - a day bed that we placed amidst our bookshelves for our library corner. Also, we've been enjoying the kitchen table we bought two weeks ago and assembled ourselves.

Weekend
Friday - worked, played, drank, slept
Saturday - slept, awoke, prayed, slept, ate, watched Glengarry Glenross
Sunday - slept, awoke, cleaned, rearranged, brunched, rented movie, cleaned, played Scrabble, watched The Passion of the Christ, slept.

About The Passion of the Mel
Not having a deep and abiding understanding of the stories, fables and fantasies surrounding the death of Jesus, I had a hard time understanding the movie beyond this one point. Jesus suffered. Who was there when he suffered and why he was suffering, I couldn't tell you because nobody in the movie spoke to each other or addressed each other by name. Well, Mel did seem to go out of his way to paint Pontius Pilot in a sympathetic light or at least I think it was Pontius Pilot. Mel also really seemed to stress that the leading Jews of Jesus's day were very much against him and were adamant that he not only be tortured but crucified and humiliated as well.

I don't know any more about the Jesus coming out of the movie than going into it except that he sure could take a beating.

Yom Kippur

Today is the day of atonement and boy did I atone. Jon and I went to services this morning at our local synagogue in Astoria through my bad hangover. Don't look so surprised. Amidst the overwhelmingly Christian Orthodox and Muslim population of my neighborhood, there exists a Jewish congregation on Crescent Street called The Astoria Center of Israel.

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Last night, I convinced young Sarah to leave her borough for a second night a row. Once in Astoria, we had difficulty deciding what to do. It's always very exciting when a friend visits your house for the first time. I wanted to show her all my stuff and she wanted to see it. After a tour of our movie collection (Jon's and mine) we decided to watch a movie. I wanted to show Sarah A Star is Born, starring James Mason and Judy Garland. That got boring really quick. There is a feature before the movie, of the premiere for A Star is Born. Quite a large number of stars were brought up to a podium to be interviewed before the movie started. They basically all said the same thing - that they were looking forward to seeing the movie. Stars interviewed include Liberace and his mother, Ricky and Lucy, Janet Leigh and some guy. Then after getting through that interminable pre-movie feature, the movie opens with a premiere, which was just as long and winding as the one before the movie. BORING!!! We were too antsy for that.

So then we tried to watch a movie starring Judy Garland where she was a lot more innocent, because in A Star is Born she was quite boozy and over the edge and a little too thin. So we put in The Wizard of Oz, which is absolutely on my list of favorite films. We made it all the way "out of the woods" to the gates of the Emerald City. Maybe we have just seen the movie too many times, because we turned it off and moved on to something else. That something else was hanging out with my neighbors until 3 in the morning. Hanging out in this case is synonymous with drinking gin with key lime juice and gin with cassis.

That is why when I woke up this morning at 9 to attend services with Jon, my head felt as heavy as a led zeppelin. Jon was already ready to go by the time I awoke but I managed to throw together a nice outfit in 5 minutes or less. We were off to services.

We got there 15 minutes into the service so we didn't miss too much. Everything was going swimmingly. Granted the songs were unfamiliar to me, but that happens when you go to a new temple, except in the case of the prayers surrounding the torah ceremonies. Usually those songs are the same from temple to temple. We were sitting in the back, under this overhang, when everyone rose for the removal of the torah for ceremonial march around the temple (giving everyone an opportunity to kiss it) and then the reading. That is one of my favorite songs. It's the Kee Meetzi-ohn and it's quite a lovely tune, quite enjoyable to sing along with. Being under the overhang, we didn't know that above us was an organist and a choir being led by the cantor from below.

Well, that killed it for me. How do you sing along with opera singers that are butchering your favorite prayer? The answer is you don't. We left shortly after the torah was replaced, just before the Amidah service.

The moral of this story is that organs, choirs and synagogues don't mix. If I wanted to go to church, I would go to church.

It was jarring.

After the services, I came home and slept until 7:30, pretty much giving the day over to my endless need for sleep.

Please write to me about your own Yom Kippur experiences and your views about attending synagogue as an adult as it compares with your childhood experiences. You can send those to genxmisanthrope@aol.com or comment below.

Huh?

Dogs sniff out bladder cancer.

Why?

Random Links

Cupping
Plating

Forking
Knifing
Spooning

More Trivia?

Yes. The answer is always yes. Tonight, I'll be attending Drinking and Thinking at Dempsey's on the Lower East Side. Jon is c0-hosting tonight and has been preparing his questions in secret all week. I'm really looking forward to attending because, gosh darn it, he's just so good at hosting trivia and I'm dying to know what he's been working on.

Something To Think About

Last night Michael and I hosted trivia for a modest crowd. There were 8 team present and a lot of new faces.

• Winning team - can't remember but they had 35.5 points, out of a possible 50. If you remember their name please mention it in the comments section.
• Funniest team name - Capitalism Stole My Virginity, although Michael and I were the only two who thought so.
• Last place prize - went to Hungry Girls - they won a granola bar.

Michael ran three excellent rounds. His top ten list was to name the first 10 Democrat Presidents. Audio round was to name the artists covering various Beatles songs and naming the Beatle song - songs ranged from William Shatner's version of Lucy in the Sky to George Burn's cover of a Sgt. Pepper's song. The visual round was merely to name the entertainer pictured but the theme was that all the entertainers had alliterative names.

I took on the General Knowlege and Current Events Rounds. For fun, I've listed my egg themed general knowlege round below.

1. Varieties of this vegetable include the large and purple; the skinny, lavender Japanese variety; and a small, white version. Name the vegetable.
2. What great novel takes place in New York City, the valley of ashes and East Egg and West Egg, Long Island?
3. Do you remember Egghead? He was the super smart bad guy whose brain was too big for his head was rumored to be the world's smartest villain. Who played him in the 1960's Batman TV show?
4. When I was a child, my younger brother and I used to create many adventures for these little egg shaped people utilizing accessories like their tree house and their cars. What were the names of these little toys that wobbled but never fell down?
5. Which Czar commissioned the first Faberge egg as a gift for his wife the Czarina Maria in1884?
6. According to Martha Stewart.com "these small, white, stringy pieces help anchor the yolk to the thick white, and are most apparent in fresh eggs. They are harmless, but can be removed through straining for aesthetic purposes." What part of the egg is she defining?
7. How often do chicken lay eggs?
8. What are the three ingredients in an egg cream?
9. How bird lays the smallest egg coming in at .02 ounces? You can put 4700 of them into an ostrich egg.
10. Hard boil some eggs, removing the yolks, mixing with mayonnaise, paprika and spicy seasoning -- then scoop the prepared yolk back into the eggs. What have you just made?

Tuesday Night Trivia

I am hosting Tuesday Night Trivia.
Please come down and bring some friends.

A Theory to Poop On

Did you hear they have found methane in the Martian atmosphere? Scientists (see article) are arguing whether or not this is proof of life.

Just think, someone or something could be pooping on Mars.

The Weekend

Every time I try to write about the weekend, I get interrupted.

So, I'm linking here and here so you can get an idea of what I did and where I went.

3 books purchased at Cranberry Bookworm
Are you There God, It's Me Margaret
A Journey to the Center of the Earth
A book on greek mythology

Cranberry, NJ

After visiting Cranberry, we continued on to Princeton, our final destination. Having attended a state university in New York and not having even the closest exposure to a school like Princeton, I was pretty envious when I saw what the campus. I can't even imagine what my school experience would have been like amidst the beautiful environs of ivy colored walls as opposed to the brick on brick existence of SUNY Purchase. Do you see the picture on the right? This is the campus of an arts college. The building on the right was the library. The building on the left, the school store. There were 8 other buildings on campus and they all looked the same. Brick. Our paper was called The Load . . . as in "one brick short of a". . .

Tiger Tiger Saved My Life

Roy Horn is talking to the press 1 year after his tiger Montecore mauled him during a performance. He insists that the tiger was trying to save his life after Montecore witnessed what Roy described as a stroke. He felt dizzy and fell down. Montecore dragged him to the edge of the stage because he knew that was where Roy would be able to get help.

I don't know how much of that is true but I do know that a lot of people were concerned about Roy Horn after this happened. For those of you who are fans, I'm sure you are relieved that Mr. Horn is doing well considering the extent of his injuries.

For those of you who aren't fans, I'm sure you are relieved as well. If you're like me, you're not a fan but were concerened just the same. I was pretty amazed when I read this article at the PEOPLE website at how well he is doing.

Welcome back to the media circus Roy Horn.

The Red Train

Did anyone else notice that the red train doesn't run on the 7 line anymore? All of the red trains are being replaced by newer trains.

Here is a link to Kevin Walsh's FORGOTTEN NEW YORK where he explains what is happening in his article Bye Bye Redbird.

I think it is a little bit sad that this old and familiar bit of New York folklore is being replaced.

R.I.P. Johnny Ramone

Johnny Ramone dies in sleep
At his bedside were Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante.

Johnny Ramone of 'The Ramones' Dies at 55
Johnny Ramone, Member of Punk Legends 'The Ramones,'
Dies at 55 After Battle With Cancer

Punk guitarist Johnny Ramone dies
Johnny Ramone, guitarist in punk band The Ramones, has died at the age of 55 following a long fight against cancer.

Punk legend Johnny Ramone dies of cancer
Johnny Ramone, lead guitarist of The Ramones, the punk band that influenced a generation of rock musicians, has died in Los Angeles after a five year battle with prostate cancer. He was 55.

Johnny Ramone, member of punk legends 'The Ramones,' dies at 55

According to MTV.com, Johnny Ramone died of prostate cancer last night.

Love The Bunny

Sarah did a good job last night co-hosting trivia. Yes. Her audio round was very challenging. I mean who ever heard of the musical Pal Joey except for two or three people there last night. Thank goodness one of those people was on my team. Well, the whole game couldn't be as easy as the visual round, where we had to identify the characters from the movie versions of the Harry Potter books. Our team got 12 out of 12.

Speaking of our team, which last night was named 4 Words or Less, we achieved the highest score of all the team, making us the 1st place winners.

But that isn't the good news. The good news is that Candy Blue Kite did not make the bunny cry.

You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile

Does a smile have to be genuine? Does it really matter? How important is smiling to getting along with others? Cosmic Zephyr wrote a nice piece about the importance of smiling in Western culture and how it contrasts with some Asian cultures. He writes:

"But, the cynic in me does wonder how genuine [smiles] are. I suppose I [have] to attribute that to the Asian way of upbringing which is to keep a mindful distance, and speak only when spoken to. Sadly, this behavior has often been misconstrued by most foreigners as being cold or rude. Hence, I've made a conscious effort to dispel that notion by initiating a gentle smile and acknowledgement to strangers or people I know. Thanks to increased Westernization, the Asian culture is slowly evolving (and vice-versa) into a more globally accepted one."

Living in the melting pot (I know, trite) that is New York City, I've picked up that different cultures have different ways of showing respect for one another. In some, direct eye contact is rude. In some, not making eye contact is rude. This leads to a lot of anger and misunderstanding (e.g. Korean shop owners vs. Brooklyn during Mayor Dinkins administration). It's a shame we aren't more culturally aware of each other. I don't think it's because we're mean people or anything, I just think that, especially in the case of New York City, there are so many people living together from so many different countries, it's impossible to understand the cultural mores of each country represented.

Anyway, Cosmis Zephyr linked to a great BBC quiz that allows you to see how good you are judging whether a smile is real or not. You can link to that here.

Twosday

Good morning. Let me start his post by saying that over the last two nights I watched The Menagerie from my new Star Trek DVD. Awesome. Just awesome. Not only is it a prime example of 60's science fiction but it's laugh out loud funny. If you've seen it and agree that it's funny, please write to me. If you don't think it's funny, you can still write to me. My address for all matters concerning or relating to this site is genxmisanthrope@aol.com

It's early Tuesday morning and the garbage men are making their bi-weekly rounds. The trucks are noisy and smelly. The work of throwing our trash into their truck is loosening up pungent trash odors and releasing them into the air.

I don't know why I'm up so early. Maybe it's just because I miss listening to Howard Stern (go to his website to register to vote) so much. Nah, that's not it. I'm listening to his show now and it's like I didn't even miss a day never mind 2 months. He's arguing with his producer Tom about what a bad job Tom is doing; how he can't wait to leave the show; how he only has so much time life on his contract; how he is responsible for everything that is holy on the radio. What a kvetcher!!! He's became the most successful DJ in the history of radio by complaining, every day, about being on the radio. Isn't it ironic? Don't cha think? It's not the seemingly pornographic content I don't like. It's his constant whining. Oy!!!! The whining about his job and the constant arguing with his staff is the reason I stopped listening to the show and I've been listening since 1985 (that's a long time for those of you who are bad at math).

Tonight should be fun. Sarah is hosting Tuesday Night trivia tonight at 7:30 p.m. to be exact. She is hosting with Neil. Besides . . . I have to go. We all do. It seems that the people at Candy Blue Kite are holding a bunny hostage and if we don't go, they are going to make the bunny cry.

Oprah's Amazing Give Away

Say what you want about Oprah but I think she is just about the nicest talk show host out there.



Talk show host Oprah Winfrey sits atop a Pontiac G6 outside her Chicago studios Monday, Sept. 13, 2004, surrounded by some of the 276 people from her audience who each received one of the new cars at the start of the show to celebrate the premier of her 19th season. Winfrey said the audience members were particularly chosen because their friends or loved ones had told the show about their need for a new car. (AP Photo/Harpo Productions, Bob Davis)