Author: F C

Saturday, SSW came to see my minor role in a reenactment of the Rosenberg trial at a bar association conference. You can listen to it here if you have a spare hour (mp3). I play the court clerk/court reporter – I have 4 lines, 2 of which I get to read off of a piece of paper tape. The other two lines I pretty much wing. What I have to do is more physical – keeping track of boxes of Jello (yes, it was a pivotal part of the original trial), two sheets of paper, and a video clip (that the audio didn’t work), as well as type on a stenograph machine (I kind of figure out how it worked about 10 minutes before the beginning of the show). With all of these other things going on, it took a lot of effort to remember stuff like swearing in the witnesses. It was very well received – a lot better than your usual continuing education course. A radio station recorded the proceedings – perhaps we’ll hear it online soon.

Sunday, I rented a Ford Explorer from zipcar to move a dresser from P’s sister to home; P’s stuff to storage, and P’s mom and brother to their home. We make a quick trip to NJ to check on some other things and ask questions. We also checked out the new Red Hook Fairway (pretty good bargains if you look carefully, and the produce quality is great). The wind was really kicking up! Shopping carts were sliding across the parking lot.

T-3 to our trip. Got to take care of dry cleaning, as well as a few other things…

Hippies validated as they win Amazing Race 9 today. After losing their stuff twice by being last at non-elimination pitstops, they get it all together in the final round. Being able to speak Japanese enabled them to have fun performing the messenger task. They were neck and neck with the “frat boys” up to the last roadblock, where they had to order flags corresponding to their travel sequence, where the hippies were able to burst ahead. The other reason to be happy about the hippies is that they had good karma and treated the local people well, speaking in their native languages where possible. They were well-deserving.

P and I are going on the next leg of our journey together: Hong Kong. It’s her first time; it’s my 4th. We picked up a really cheap flight, probably because it’s typhoon season. A big one narrowly missed Hong Kong yesterday, slamming Fujian with 200 mph winds, but only ranking Signal 3 (the southwestern version of a N’oreaster – Katrina would be a 10) in Hong Kong itself. I’m also going to catch up with some friends, and see some of the more out of the way places. Of course, there will be plenty of blogging. The trip begins on May 25. Say “hi” if you happen to be in the vicinity.

Sorry for the non-blogging this week. It was the last week of finals. No, I didn’t actually have to take any. Yes, I had to proctor them. With a 8:30 am to 10 pm schedule, it really was grueling. I almost would have preferred to take 3 exams rather than to watch people suffer through 10.

Last Saturday was my godmother’s fundraising brunch for culinary scholarships. An extraordinary collection of chefs put together a fine feast – the hungry room barely made a dent in the buffet. See the spread yourself! I’m so glad that so many people have received her love over the years, and that they return that love to her.

Last Sunday was the CAPA Festival at Union Square. Our friend from Meniscus Zine was selling out for Mickey D’s at their huge blowup tent, complete with Asian Ronald. Koreans out in force with the best give-aways. And I won a ImaginAsian T-shirt!

NYU is having their 175th anniversary celebrations this week with alumni weekend. The alumni awards dinner was Friday. A couple of not-exactly-striking graduate TAs had a mini-flyer handout outside of the hotel, but were not really effective; they had thrown their remaining stack of flyers in the garbage when we left. One line acceptance speeches: Stateswoman Carol Bellamy (“learn to take the risk of failing”); the Tuskegee Airmen (“just ordinary people doing their best”); songwriter Carole Bayer Sager (“if you get caught between the Moon and New York City/the best that you can do/the best that you can do is fall in love”); real estate developers H. Dale Hemmerdinger (we can rebuild Camelot) and Daniel J. Brodsky (NYU is the family business) and mathematician Peter Lax (“they trust me as an expert in Hungarian literature”). NYU President John Sexton takes the pulpit as usual, and during the tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, he reveals that the number 42 in a circle that he has emblazoned on his academic gown is a tribute to Jackie Robinson, and not the answer to life, the universe, and everything.