A Happy Anniversary to Triscribe, as we get all excited about an exciting future. Or, at least, notwithstanding the unfortunate state of the economy, we’re living in some interesting times…
I’m not a Yankee fan, but I’ll give them respect; what a sad thing to say goodbye to Yankee Stadium and reflecting on the history and legacy.
At least the Yankees won their last home game. The Mets… oh, those Mets. A sad farewell to Shea Stadium, as the Mets lost to the Marlins in a nail-biter loss. Ending the 2008 season much like the 2007 season is just sad.
Congress – the House, anyway – rejected the so-called bailout plan (or whatever you really want to call it; calling it a “bailout” plan apparently turned a lot of people off). Goodbye, plan; back to the drawing board to find something to save the economy from collapsing.
And, but not least: the passing of Paul Newman – salute to an American icon (even if he never saw himself as one, he touched people with his acting, his philanthropy, and his passions).
Last night P- got me tickets to see Xanadu the musical as an advanced birthday present, as the show is closing this weekend. I got to see the talented Kerry Butler, who I actually knew in high school – she was the lead in all of our high school musicals when I was on the stage crew. It was hysterical in how it embraces the Olivia Newton-John movie score, rejects the movie, and yet imbues the Three’s Company-era Venice Beach of the 80’s.
Cheyenne Jackson & P-
Me and Kerry Butler
According to Wikipedia, Xanadu was Kubla Khan’s summer capital Shengdu. From Marco Polo’s description, it seemed to be a resort of sorts. This became the inspiration for the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem.
If you are looking for a message from the musical, it is the search for “Xanadu”, which is defined in the story as “finding true love, and creating and sharing art.” I guess that is what we have been trying to do with Triscribe for the last five years, and it has worked: I’ve found true love (who I’m going to marry in 2 weeks – we’re picking up the rings today), and we have been able to share our love for food, travel, news, writing, and just about everything else.
As always, thanks to my compatriots SSW & YC for keeping this going!
The tv people have to make up for last season’s strike reduced season. So, I’ve had some viewings and there was the big premiere (or as Time’s tv critic James Poniewozik puts it: “the best tv show of the fall”): the first of the Presidential debates!!!
I’ll leave it to the professional pundits and talking heads and critics to say what they will and we’ll all see the polls’ results. But, my impressions… well, Jim Lehrer was trying to stay on top of things pretty well, starting off with gusto. Confession: I stuck with PBS for the coverage, more or less. It’s Lehrer’s home; so, why not?
Not a bloodbath by any stretch of the imagination on either side. Neither really impressed me on the economics portion of the debate – Lehrer couldn’t pin them down on specifics (when this economics mess is still evolving, I don’t really expect the candidates to be too specific; but it was as if Lehrer wanted them present a solution Right Now).
I thought McCain did very well with the foreign policy portion, as expected; well, McCain was being McCain. Obama kept it steady; a bit too wordy, but he was okay. How he persuades the Average Voter viewing the debate, I don’t know; I’m not exactly the target audience (I know who I’m voting for; I’m just watching ’cause this is gripping stuff and it’s living history).
Other debate impressions: no silly sound bites; focusing on the issues. Pretty good, actually – they both came off mature – a matter of agree to disagree (and agree where you do agree). I think they came off even. That may bore the easily bored, but hey, this is how our democracy works. You have to take it seriously.
I missed the David Letterman tirade about McCain’s bailing on his show on Sept. 24:
But, I did see the Sept. 25 episode – and he was still on his tirade! Best quote: “Here’s how it works: you don’t come to see me? You don’t come to see me? Well, we might not see you on Inauguration Day,” Letterman said. Hehehe…
And, thanks to YouTube, I found this fantastic, funny, and on point monologue by Craig Ferguson: “If you don’t vote, you’re a moron!”
I watched most of the series premiere of FOX’s “Fringe” – brought to by J.J. Abrams and Friends, it feels an awful lot like “Alias” meets “X-Files” with a touch of “Lost” (well, when you have a Big Evil(?) Corporation, it’s hard to avoid the “Lost” correlation; and when you’ve the FBI, well, really, what did people think “X-Files” involved? Anyway, don’t be surprised by the “Alias” and “Lost” feelings – this is a J.J. Abrams project after all).
You’d think I’d learn and stop watching the shows that end up sucking me in. But, no, I think I’m a little intrigued. The cast is a bit more amusing than I expected. FBI Agent Olivia Dunham has the toughness and vulnerability of a Sydney Bristow (like our “Alias” heroine, Olivia loses her boyfriend in the first episode, and deals with the implications of that loss); Dr. Walter Bishop, the scientist, is a weirdo who’s funny and deeply troubled (“Let’s make LSD!” he said in the series premiere, when Olivia agreed to undergo the experimental LSD-involved technique to get info out of her comatose boyfriend; it was priceless in the delivery of the line); and his son, Peter, is smart and… well, as Walter says, there’s his medical history to wonder about. A decent summary up on Television Without Pity. The second episode felt even more X-Files-ish, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
And, really – Pacey from Dawson’s Creek as Peter Bishop! Joshua Jackson came off all right as a decent guy who doesn’t want to be a hero or a son or anything, but is still something of a decent guy (in the good sense, that is). Better to be Pacey than That Kid from Mighty Ducks, right? Anyway, there’s potential, even if the show’s awfully derivative. The casting’s impressive, to say the least, as EW’s Gillian Flynn noted.
The Emmy Awards on Sept. 21 — well, the show wasn’t nearly as great as I’d like; in fact, I wasn’t excited at all. Neil Patrick Harris got passed over for Jeremy Piven for Supporting Actor? Nuts! Josh Groban did a medley of tv show theme songs that was actually quite impressive, even though it was so irrelevant and ate up time that I would have preferred for winners’ speeches. Still – Groban was versatile and fun!
This past Monday was the return of “How I Met Your Mother” and “Heroes.” I’m scared to get excited again over “Heroes” – there seems to be possibilities of improvement. I have to catch up and watch the premiere episodes, but from what I watched, this season’s latest “Save the World!” hasn’t grabbed me yet.
HIMYM was a fun episode – Ted has to deal with fiancee Stella’s not being a fan of Star Wars (gasp! No! How can you not like Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca?). Marshall’s grappling with being an unemployed lawyer (honestly, if Marshall, a Columbia Law grad, is unemployed this summer, the economy really is going to tank! but, they didn’t make that joke, so…). Lily figures out that Barney is in love with Robin. Barney wants to be in denial, or at least he recognizes that he’s in love with a Robin who won’t be in love with him (oh, geez, a poignant unrequited love! aww! Neil Patrick Harris had to balance Bad Barney / Lovelorn Barney – and did it well). Robin is getting sick of being Tabloid Anchor on the HIMYM universe’s version of a lame NY1 channel; she accepts Barney’s honest encouragement to apply for a big shot job. Setting up for interesting plotlines for this season!
The season premiere of “House” was pretty strong. The House-Wilson relationship’s on the rocks. Last season, I kind of thought that House was going to use Foreman, Cameron, and – even more likely, Chase – as his substitute Wilson (particularly Chase or Cameron as the conscience or moral agents; there has been less on Foreman’s Housian behavior). The second episode introduced the new character – House’s private investigator, who’s not exactly doing that great a job helping House patch things up with Wilson.
I want more ensemble work from the House cast. Really, I do. Plus, more Robert Sean Leonard!
As a final thing to note from what I’ve found on YouTube, that excellent time waster: an odd video, even if I did kind of like Emma Bunton’s cover of the song “Downtown” — Bunton (ex-Spice Girl) had something of an odd narrative going on in her video.
A long post to recap on the Chicago trip with the siblings.
The weekend of the remnants of Hurricane Ike:
Flooded ‘burbs and their flooded roads made for scary moments (to me, but maybe not to my driver-sibling); certainly made it harder to drive around with no clear detours. (or, at least it seemed strange that folks were golfing while the road was a mess, that much was obvious on the Saturday night we arrived).
I thought the Field Museum’s exhibit on Ancient Americans was really amazing and fascinating – it really captured the sense of diversity in America prior to the arrival of Columbus and showed a history as far back as possible. Excellent stuff. Strangely enough, I felt that Sue, the T-Rex, wasn’t nearly as big and exciting as I expected, but quite mesmerizing for what it was – a very complete set of bones of unknown sex (“Sue” was so named because of the paleontologist that found the bones).
Shedd Aquarium was okay; but I’m never quite one for aquariums anyway.
We didn’t get to go to the Adler Planetarium since the weather was too nasty – the wind and rain of the remnants of Hurricane Ike made nearby Lake Michigan look ridiculously treacherous; I wasn’t too keen on walking along the peninsula’s path to see the stars – but perhaps another time!
Near the Museum Campus (where I have to say, besides the weather, it was real easy to check out the foregoing three institutions) was Soldier Field. Granted, I’m no football fan, but really – that’s quite a stadium the Chicago Bears play in. The Greek columns, the modern architecture smack atop of the Greek columns — umm, quite a juxtaposition! And, near the museums? That’s like placing Giants Stadium in Central Park, next to the Hayden Planetarium or something. … come to think of it, that’d be kind of cool, actually. Culture and intellect near the brawn and body – sounds an awful lot like being in compliance with Greek philosophical ideals too… (uh, oh-kay, useless liberal arts background must – be – suppressed…).
The weather altered our itinerary. The postponed Chicago White Sox game got pushed off until Sunday night with a doubleheader. They won both games, beating the Tigers. Weather got brisk.
Puppet Bike! So cute! They were across the street from the Art Institute. And, if the Wikipedia entry‘s serious (I can’t tell, anyway), something of a Chicago institution. Sort of. If you like Punch and Judy in the form of a kitty and a doggy who hug and dance. Kind of. It made me smile!
The Magnificent Mile. I thought the Water Tower was an interesting landmark. The window shopping was also pretty nifty; funny how I don’t usually feel the same kind of enthusiasm with, say, NYC’s own Fifth Avenue.
Mity Nice Grill at Water Tower Place – a bit hard to find (lower level, way, way in the back, past this FoodLife (odd place, that one; glad we didn’t really eat there, which seemed more like a glorified buffet, sort of).
Navy Pier. Fun! My siblings enjoyed the Ferris Wheel and the mini-golf. I kept walking along and checked out the free Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows (I know, me geek! — but, pretty windows, even if they’re placed in what was essentially a hall for conventions). Crystal Gardens – very pretty. In between, we enjoyed the architecture cruise, touring the Chicago River to see the sites from a boat that embarked off of the Navy Pier. Loads of stuff in this complex, and amazing views!
Chicago Cubs v. Milwaukee Brewers, just after the Brewers fired their manager in the middle of their attempt to get to the playoffs (and we thought the Mets’ season had its bizarre inconsistencies?). Wrigley Field – the second oldest ballpark – was pounding with activity (tight space; plenty of people were moving around to get to the concession stands; and people are really hoping that this is (finally) the Cubs’ year).
Chicago Cubs won, but a nail-biter, as Kerry Wood struck out Prince Fielder (kind of had to root for Cubs since Brewers might affect the Mets’ chances for playoffs).
Wednesday, 9/17/08 – drove through Chicago’s Chinatown for last minute sightseeing and checked out U of Chicago and the Robie House nearby. Got to NYC later than originally intended. Oh well. [edited end of the paragraph to ensure some privacy; suffice to say – oh,well…. – ssw]
Other observations:
Chicago’s transit system… hmm… some of the el’s platforms reminded me of the creepier platforms along our own MTA lines; the whole idea of the el in the Loop — I believe the reason why they took down a good chunk of the elevated subway lines in Manhattan was because of the whole we-need-sunlight business. I kind of came down on realizing perhaps I shouldn’t complain all that much about MTA, since Chicago’s system doesn’t seem all that much better. But, it was serviceable, and goes way out into the ‘burbs.
Chicago hot dog — it’s a sandwich with a hot dog stuck inside. Personally, I like my hot dogs plain and simple. But, it was otherwise tasty.
No sighting of celebrities (so I didn’t get to say hi to Oprah), or even a Barack Obama sighting (I believe he’s kind of busy; you know, campaigning and stuff for the biggest job in the world).
Ultimately, pretty good trip. I like Chicago; but nothing beats NYC!
In Chicago for a vacation until Wednesday. I still want a really great staycation, but this will have to do.
FC had done the Chicago deep dish (okay, “stuffed”) pizza and the Amazing Race-like escapade. Can’t say that my siblings and I had any Amazing Race; it was mostly smooth, but for weather-related delay, thanks to rain. Atop of that, the Chicago White Sox game was postponed due to the rain. Rain, rain, go away… The deep dish pizza at Giordano’s in Oak Park tonight was pretty impressive, but I agree with FC – you can’t call that pizza (not if you’re a NY’er!).
Oak Park’s very pretty – amazing architecture for a suburb (well, Frank Lloyd Wright was from here – we barely saw too much of his house/studio, since it was pretty dark tonight; I wouldn’t call it mere ‘burb either; some of it felt very classic and well-tended – plus how many ‘burbs would claim to being the hometown of Ernest Hemingway?).
I dropped by on my Saturday day off and found so much change on this site! I think it’s good… but nowadays I don’t know what change is good or bad. Change is… just change.
B- is out today in her cooking class and she’s come up with some great recipes and stuff. She also has been doing flower arrangements as well and I liked the Yellow Chrysantheneums next to the TV in the living room. Very nice stuff.
Meanwhile, next week, I’m back on the CX shuttle again to KL Malaysia for an IT conference. After about a couple of months of no travel, I’ve been to Malaysia during Merdeka week and Kunming China for company department team building the previous two weeks. The Kunming trip was important because I got 3 new managers on board plus some helpdesk people. Getting the right people have been quite difficult this past year but i can say that at least for the Business IT group of the team, we’re complete. Still need some more work on the Technical IT group side of things…
More change coming at the work front – reorgs coming down the pike and 2009 will be quite the interesting place to be. I’ve shattered my record for staying in a company – 2.5 years this past week. I might just make it into my 3rd year, early 2009. That would be quite a milestone in many ways.
Looking forward to next month and seeing you all 🙂
NY Times’ David W. Dunlap on memory and imagery, and the Tower of Lights’ dress rehearsal. Even as I’m never quite sure where I stand on the re-building process, I’m of the view that the Tower of Lights are the best kind of tribute.
Season opener of Sarah Connor Chronicles – AWESOME! Usual EW major spoilers here. Fantastic Terminator action in this first episode, where Camaron turns on John. Wrecked more vehicles in one episode than they do in most movies. And the first appearance of a T-1001 – look out!
Primary results: Daniel Squadron defeats incumbant Martin Connor. For someone who has been in office since the ’70’s, and is actually my state senator, I have almost zero knowledge about Connor. I’ve never met him in person or seen him at public events or anything, and I have met or seen most of my other elected officials at one point or another. But for crying out loud, Squadron’s clipboarding posse was really annoying. They were worse than the canvassers described in the recent issue of the Village Voice. They even had people come up to my apartment twice to ask if I was voting, and that kind of turned me off. But at least he’s trying. The clincher is that Squadron had Chinese on his banners, and Connor didn’t. That might seem to be a small thing, but it’s often the small things that count.
So, Tropical Storm Hannah went up the eastern sea board. We had humidity. And, rain. Lots of rain.
More people watched the RNC than the DNC on tv? Ok, fine, you had the curiosity factor going, since people were still going, “Sarah Who?” about the Palin as VP choice and maybe people were still in Olympics withdrawal with the DNC on tv (but only on PBS and C-Span with much more coverage – I’m not going to wonder how much the FOX/CNN/MSNBC folks really put in it). But, it’s not really cheering me up that more watched the RNC.
Yeah, I’m really excited to find my missing socks. Not so excited about the end of the world due to black holes or uncontrolled singularities; pretty unsure if I really want o know how the world began (not if it means causing the world to end – as seen in an episode of “Eureka” – where the experiment to recreate the start of the universe rendered the smart people stupid and almost destroys the universe. oops.)
On Sept. 14, 2008, it’s going to be the Brooklyn Book Festival! I’m going to miss it this year due to my vacation in Chicago, maybe someone else can go and let me know how it goes?
Politics… I ought to stay away from politics. But… I can’t.
In this linked article, “Whatever Happened to Family Values?”, Slate’s Jacob Weisberg raises the excellent point that this isn’t Dan Quayle’s GOP anymore; the party that criticized tv’s Murphy Brown for choosing to be a single mom would now praise her for being… pro-life (ironically, Murphy Brown made a choice – presumably, she had one). Down with absolutism, I say; Weisberg’s right that absolutism ended up tossing all those other so-called values – which supposedly were pretty important too.
I don’t consider myself a liberal, but in this column of NY Times’ Bob Herbert, he highlights why liberals should be proud – they made great contributions to American history; they made history. (considering that the whole point of being progressive or liberal is to take action, should we be surprised? Conservatives are about status quo – not necessarily about action, at least not usually).
RIP Don LaFontaine. Discipline, commitment, excellence. If I had a choice to be known as the American President or unknown as the movie voice of God Himself “in a world where both of our cars are underwater”, I know who I’d want to be.
