Month: October 2005

Columbus Day… exploring five points.

1.

It was like everything we knew
was mightily swept away…
For the rest of time..
it would be like no one
even knew we were ever here.

2. The quote is from Gangs of New York, which I just caught on cable because there was nothing else on at 2 am. The Five Points area where the final bloody showdown is now Columbus Park, which is bordered by the criminal justice system on the west, and Chinatown’s funeral headquarters to the east.

3. I went to the wake I mentioned last week for my law school friend’s mother, who had suffered an unexpected heart attack. Same funeral home, same room, same age as my dad. My friend was standing in the exact same spot I was standing on the receiving line. It was extremely freaky, but also comfortable, in the sense that I knew where everything was. I stayed from 5 pm until it ended at 7 pm. There was not much to do except to chat with other law school friends in the lobby or sit in the room and meditate, which I was more inclined to do. The Buddhist chanting Musak made me want to do something prayful, so I ended up trying to say a rosary, using my knuckles to keep track of progress. If nothing else, it made me feel like I was doing something useful. The law school gang had drinks next door at Yello Bar, a Chinese sports bar that serves Italian food. (The only other restaurant on the block, Asia Roma, is also a Chinese resturant serving Italian. They’re both good).

4. Morbid news fatigue has set in. As of a new one last week, about 10 coworkers have lost a parent or partner this year. Guatemala has 3,000 dead, Pakastan 30,000. This has even overtaken Katrina victims, Iraq casualities, and terrorist targets from the news.

5. For the one bright thing in this otherwise grey Addams Family week, 10/11 is P’s and my anniversary. We have a week of things planned, including the return to the scene of where we met, Essex; a off-Broadway show, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, and trying out the French Culinary Institute’s restaurant, L’Ecole. She’s really the love, faith, and hope that I need in my life, and I am so happy for it.

Growing pains at Microsoft? Hmm.

A bit late of me to link, but I liked reading it – “The Has-Been” section on Slate discusses Democrats who have actual ideas and ideals and he links to Barack Obama’s interesting article, which was posted on the political liberal blog, Daily Kos. (Senator Obama’s article is also cross-posted on own blog on his official website). Such great writing, and Senator Obama makes great points. The Democratic Party has to stand for something, but can’t be raving idiots about it either.

Wallace and Gromit – the little clay characters’ movie studios had a bad fire. Poor guys. Even though their new movie’s doing great and had excellent reviews, their props were lost.

US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as Grand Marshal of the NYC Columbus Day Parade. Seems like he enjoyed himself:

Nearly a half century after he marched in New York’s Columbus Day parade as a high school student, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia returned to his hometown Monday to lead marchers up Fifth Avenue as the procession’s grand marshal. [….]

Scalia, the first Italian-American to serve on the Supreme Court, marched in a brown suit and white sash and waved to the crowd while his wife, Maureen, followed in a gold Lamborghini.

Asked how the experience compared to his previous marches in the 1950s as a student at Xavier High School, in Manhattan, Scalia joked, “I’m older now.”

“It’s a terrific day. It’s been a nice walk,” he said.

CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo interviewed J. Scalia; check out the clip on CNBC. Personally, I think it’s a little odd he’s named Grand Marshal, when he’s been on the Court for 20 years. Why pick him now? (not that he’s a bad choice; I mean, Italian-Americans who have Significant Achievements are great picks for parades).

Back to work tomorrow; was so nice to have had a day off, even if the weather’s still dreary (drizzle, drizzle, drizzle).