Month: August 2005

I don’t know if any of us have friends or family in New Orleans, but I do feel for New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina is now a Class 5, and will hit by Monday, and the mayor of New Orleans has declared evacuation. Yikes. Stay safe, people.

Oh, why, oh why am I watching the NYC Public Advocate’s debate (Democratic primary)? It’s so ridiculous. No offense to the candidates (or maybe I do mean offense, I don’t know), but there’s something silly about this. I like the substance, if any, but the people… they’re not appealing to me. This isn’t going to be the greatest election, I’ll admit it. The scariest thing is, Norman Siegel, civil liberties man himself, is making sense (and he has to harp on that he’s more than a litigator). Uh…

The latest storyline in the comic strip “Blondie” is sort of amusing. The comic strip is celebrating its 75th anniversary, and so Blondie and Dagwood is throwing a huge shindig, inviting everybody from every other comic strip over. It’s the ultimate crossover. So, in today’s comics section, “For Better or For Worse” congratulated “Blondie”; “Gasoline Alley” interrupted one of Dagwood’s infamous baths to say happy anniversary; and in “Blondie” itself, George W. Bush tried to call and wish Dagwood a happy anniversary, but Dagwood believes it’s a prank. (ah, good one there, Dagwood).

Daily News article in the “Brooklyn” section – Hofstra Law School has America’s first Hasidic Jewish dean, Aaron Twerski (known to some of us from the Alma Mater Law School days; he’s also the known authority on torts law). Mazel tov, as they say!

Rubin Museum of Art – I checked it out the other day; fascinating place. It specializes on Himalayan art. A lot of Buddhist thinking, plus some native Tibetan religion (Bon, which resembles Buddhism, but isn’t the same), with some Hinduism. The colors of the paintings and the sculptures were amazing. The decor was minimalist – made me feel like I was visiting the apartment of really rich Manhattanites (which may have been the idea – with the circular staircase to symbolize Buddhist thinking, but apparently also because it came with the building, which used to be a Barney’s; and because the Rubins were/are a generous couple who collected a lot of stuff). I recommend it as something really different to try in NYC.

I read Margery Allingham’s “Pearls Before Swine,” wherein detective Albert Campion is home in England, grateful to finally be on leave, during the waning days of World War II (it never changes, I guess; we feel bad for the soldiers stationed in Iraq who are missing their rotating leave for home; it’s no different 60 years ago). But, Campion can’t go see his wife just yet; he misses his train to go home, because he’s dragged into a real bizarre murder investigation in London. It’s a load of crazy stuff (as usual, as if Campion’s aristocratic friends don’t get into trouble): Campion’s pal Johnny, Marquess of Carados (a Royal Air Force pilot who’s got war stuff on his mind) is looking like a suspect in killing a woman who was found dead in his bed, on the eve of his wedding to another woman (whom he doesn’t love, but feels he owes, because her late husband was one of his subordinates in the RAF).

Campion gets mired more and more, until the real bad guy is finally revealed. A doozy, too – I did not see it coming. A taste of the homefront, during a time when they felt the world they knew really was gone. And, Campion gets his own personal surprise, when his wife Amanda (aristocratic aviation engineer extraordinaire) introduces him to the son she bore during the war and who he hadn’t met due to the war. Good subway reading.

Otherwise, it is just the lazy days of summer. I love this weather we’re having in NYC – perfect sunshine, and moderate temperatures. I just hate that it reminds me that summer’s almost over…

THE ONE. Had a reunion Turkish dinner at Taksim on 54 and 2nd with my cousin, SSW, and about a dozen people from law school. Good food, great conversation, crazy camera shots, and the longest farewell session (nearly 1.5 hours after the end of the meal.

TWO. Started making small contributions to Wikipedia. It’s in some ways a bit scary as the audience is large, and you don’t know who you might offend, but on the other hand it is empowering.

THREE. Ring circus at work among three buildings. On Thursday, my cell phone pager goes bonkers as half of the network goes down at 7:30 in the morning, and I’m the only person anywhere near there. I get everything back up in 45 minutes, but it’s not a great way to start the day.

FOUR. I haven’t been sleeping well- I’ve been going to bed at 4 daily. Though not connected, a fourth co-worker lost a parent last week – I attended the memorial service that was on Friday.