So… I forgot to mention a couple of things — let’s see, on July 4, besides seeing Wall-E, the siblings and I did get to check out the new Ikea in Red Hook, Brooklyn. It’s Ikea with a view of the New York Harbor. Nothing too spectacular, but fascinating in a Swedish-Brooklyn kind of way. We then took the NY Water Taxi, free thanks to Ikea, to Manhattan. This got us a nice view of the Waterfalls.
We then did shopping at the Strand annex on Fulton Street, which is sadly closing (aww shucks; check it out soon, by August). Soon, cheap book shopping in downtown Manhattan may be only found at Strand’s main store near 14th Street.
Frankly, we need more bookstores in Lower Manhattan, as the linked article notes: too many Duane Reades. (even though there’s now a Barnes and Noble in Tribeca on Warren Street, near West Street, it’s bit of trek; the apparently exciting aspects are Bed, Bath and Beyond next door, and that the new Whole Foods below both B&N and BB&B should be open by now).
With the loss of Strand’s annex (and I still miss Ruby’s on Chambers and this used bookstore that was on Nassau) — it’s a little less literary around where I work (well, can’t discount Borders off of Wall Street though; that Borders is cool, but not nearly as cool as the Columbus Circle one).
Otherwise this week was about anticipating this year’s Asian American International Film Festival. Asia Society hosted panels, in addition to the AAIFF films. I think FC will blog more on it. On Saturday, 7/12/08, which was when FC, P-, me and others watched and seemed to have positive responses to the fortune cookie documentary, The Killing of a Chinese Cookie (check out its official website). Quirky and entertaining, it pretty much covers much the same ground as Jennifer 8. Lee’s “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles.” FC and I wondered if we saw Jennifer 8. Lee herself on the premises, but I don’t remember being very sure of that.
That afternoon, FC, P-, and I also checked out the “On Asian/American Aesthetics” panel, where playwrite David Henry Hwang, film director Wayne Wang, architect Billie Tsien, and fashion designer Mary Ping. A bit dry during certain points, I’m not entirely certain still on what is “Asian American aesthetics,” but it was fascinating to think that generational differences and the very meaning of “Asian American” make things no less complicated.
I also attended the panel on “China and the Environment” – a topic that makes me feel more depressed than not; the best we can hope for is that more people can become aware and demand more from their authorities; but “awareness” is different than “action.”
Well, no, I did not get to check out Jon Bon Jovi in Central Park on the night of July 12; and well, yeah, he may be a little on the generic side, but he makes people happy. We need more happy these days.
Plus, Billy Joel at Shea Stadium soon (fascinating article in the Times profiling how he’s been these days compared to what his past has been about), and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game Fan Fest at Javits Center (probably tons more fun than, say, the dreaded Bar Exam later this month at Javits), and the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium — well, do we really want to think about $5 gas?
Other stuff to note:
As probably known to fellow triscribers and readers, as well as friends and family, I am/was an X-File fan, and so I’m a tad nervous about the upcoming movie. NY Times has an article catching up with Chris Carter (the man behind X-Files), along with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as they reprise their roles. Oh, heaven help us: is it really the return of Mulder and Scully? Has it really been (gasp!) 10 years? Am I really going to watch this movie? … Sigh, I think I will, ’cause I’m a sucker…
Cool slide show on Slate: fascinating look at what Whistler’s influence made possible.
Last, but never least: Linda Greenhouse in the latest NY Times’ Week in Review, as she proceeds to retire from the NY Times. I liked her closing:
It has made a substantial difference during these last 21 years that Anthony Kennedy got the seat intended for Robert Bork. The invective aimed at Justice Kennedy from the right this year alone, for his majority opinions upholding the rights of the Guantánamo detainees and overturning the death penalty for child rapists — 5-to-4 decisions that would surely have found Judge Bork on the opposite side — is a measure of the lasting significance of what happened during that long-ago summer and fall.
It is also a reminder of something I learned observing the court and the country, and listening in on the vital dialogue between them. The court is in Americans’ collective hands. We shape it; it reflects us. At any given time, we may not have the Supreme Court we want. We may not have the court we need. But we have, most likely, the Supreme Court we deserve.