Well, here we are, nearing the end of the old year and welcoming a new one.
I’m trying to finish my 2024 reading, with carry over into the next year, in addition to making final charitable donations.
Gothamist had a post by Hannah Frishberg on December 18, 2024, on the popular books of 2024 of the NYC public libraries.
I still appreciate the NPR Books We Love; the 2024 edition has quite the curation.
Have a happy and healthy New Year to you and yours! — ssw15
(reposting last year’s post, on this anniversary)
Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
-“Try to Remember,” from The Fantasticks.
(I took the photo above at the Brooklyn Promenade, a couple of years ago. That framed picture is still there, do check it out if you’re in the neighborhood. — ssw15).
This stuff has been addictive, as usual. And, perhaps less mind-blowing, because Winter Olympics isn’t nearly as activity-filled as Summer Olympics.
But, really, who would have expected Bob Costas being away from the desk this long? Meredith Vieira covered the desk on Friday and Saturday, giving Matt Lauer a break and reportedly becoming the 1st woman to do the prime-time slot for NBC. (Mary Carillo, I believe, had hosted the late night coverage in the Olympics for NBC; they didn’t want to ask her to do prime time?).
Lauer was on Sunday night; the journey of Costas’ eyes became a bit of Internet fodder. Fortunately, Costas will be back Monday night – finally!
I liked how this item from WBUR (Boston’s NPR) explained the difference between “Ladies’ Olympic sport” versus “Women Olympic Sport.” (which I found via NPR.org, I believe) Really fascinating, how it turns out to be based on which international governing body governs which sport, and how the particular governing body wasn’t going to go change the name of the older sports to be “Women [whatever].” Oh well.
“I had the whole country behind me…but I come away with nothing to show them and give back to them to say ‘thank you for following me and believing in me.’”—Shani Davis on his performance during the Sochi Olympics. Well, I still say “thank you” for your career, Shani Davis, even if I am disappointed. I just felt bad for the entire Team USA speedskaters. That look on Shani Davis’ face is just so sad, and who knows if he can be back in 4 years? Who knows if it was really the speed suit factor or sports psychology? (ex., the saga of Dan Jansen‘s Olympic speedskating was always one of those “Olympics does things to an athlete’s brain” to me – external tragedies and then internal pressure are just combustible).
Also – the Dutch are just doing ridiculously well in speedskating this time.
I thought it was just me, but apparently skeleton actually is less dangerous than luge, to the extent that luge is faster. According to the Slate article I linked there, by Justin Peters, there is some issue of physics (i.e., the skeleton, as head first, loses speed due to the helmet of the athlete) and engineering (i.e., those luges are no joke as equipment).
People got really excited that US beat Russia in Men’s hockey on Saturday (see here and here). I watched on Saturday night the highlights and the rebroadcast of the overtime and shootout. Not that I think that it reached “Miracle on Ice” level from 1980 (this wasn’t a medal contention game, after all, as thankfully even NPR remembered). That the Russians’ goal got invalidated during the 3rd period was understandably frustrating, but then neither team was winning during overtime, and then to take it to the shootout – well, that was just arresting television. T.J. Oshie’s winning shots made people happy. I mean, people were in bars at 7am to 10am (EST) to watch this game.
Then, Sunday, Team USA won with Phil Kessel’s hat trick. The Canadians are still in it, too. (they are trying to win gold again, after all). It’s like the NHL All-Star game with the excitement, only for a longer time period.
Jamaica’s two-man bobsled team didn’t do very well at all, but the point is that they tried.
Watching the Men’s individual Figure Skating was pretty brutal. Sure, I saw the headlines and only caught the prime time edition on tv, but watching Jeremy Abbott fall early during his short program was still brutal. But, the crowd gave support to get him up and go finish his program – that was Abbott courage right there, and an Olympic spirit: when you fall, you still get up, don’t give up, and finish anyway.
The pressure was intense during the long program on Friday. I liked that Abbott redeemed himself (even though he really wasn’t in medal contention). Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan won gold (trivia: he was coached by Canada’s Brian Orser and he was of Sendai – the city affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011). Patrick Chan of Canada won silver. Denis Ten of Kazhakstan won bronze (trivia: according to NBC, Ten is of the Korean ethnic minority of Kazhakstan). Sure, this made Yuzuru Hanyu the first Japanese man to win gold ice skating, and probably made Denis Ten the first person from Kazhakstan to win an Olympic medal in figure skating (and Chan yet another Canadian man to win Olympic silver) – but I thought it was interesting that the podium had an all-ethnic Asian podium there.
And, thereafter, Chan is still dealing with the pressure of not getting gold for Canada (and nice of Orser to be pretty compassionate about it, since he had been in that position, notwithstanding that he was coaching the winning opponent). Probably a good idea not to be too hasty about retiring while still processing what happened.
I finally got to watch some live Olympics, watching ice dancing’s short program live during the daytime today. Comprehensive and fun (if only because I wasn’t watching everyone fall down over their quads or axles etc.). Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir skated so beautifully, practically in their top form again, but Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White were amazing; the long program on Monday will be a competitive one. Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir are the it-commentators of ice skating, and they kept things nice and entertaining (I work during the day, so I couldn’t catch them for any live broadcast).
On the other hand: Scott Hamilton’s enthusiasm is kind of hard to replace (this gag showed how his commentary can work just about anywhere).
Also, the ice dancing short program was a fun opportunity to watch Maia and Alex Shibutani, a.k.a., “the Shib sibs” (per Deadspin), the second of three American ice dancer teams at the Olympics (h/t Angry Asian Man blog). I thought that it was nice to see them, since Alex, at the least, was previously seen on tv being a cheerleader during the team event with Team USA (as seen in the photo/screencap via Deadspin).
I don’t get curling, but it’s kind of mesmerizing to watch.
Also, how come I haven’t discovered Deadspin before? Their Olympic coverage is freaking hilarious, particularly the running gag about the mascot, deemed by Deadspin “The Nightmare Bear” (LOL).
More Olympics to watch, while we can do it…
Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
-“Try to Remember,” from The Fantasticks.
(I took the photo above at the Brooklyn Promenade, a couple of years ago. That framed picture is still there, do check it out if you’re in the neighborhood. — ssw15).
Because this is triscribe and we are New Yorkers:
The passing of Mayor Ed Koch. See here for the NY Times obituary. The news was a sad one to hear on 1010 WINS first thing in the morning, and the realization that the quintessential New Yorker – even if you disagreed with him – is no longer physically among us. The mayor of our youth and the road to the New York City that we know now. Koch would be remembered for his “How’m I doing?” and his legacy – while complicated (since history is never easy) – cannot be ignored.
I’d read Koch’s movie reviews once in awhile; this NY Times item shared a couple of his hilarious reviews. And, Koch’s curiously amusing and fascinating post-humus video interview with the NY Times, released after he died per his request, done in 2007 and how he wanted to be remembered. He was Hizzoner. (apologies to the NY Times, with its nice editorial and all, but I remembered reading about Koch in the hometown paper of the tabloidy Daily News).
An interesting overview and clips from Metro Focus on Channel 13 on Koch. I couldn’t help but like the photo of Koch in front of the city landscape – with the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in the background – the past and time passing. Different times!
No, I’ve never seen the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” – somehow, the idea of NYC wrecked in a new Ice Age (and this movie probably came out some time after the bad snowstorm of 2003) didn’t appeal to me and I wasn’t in the mood for the emoting of Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal.
And, according to imdb, there was a 1983 tv movie with the title “The Day After” (something about a nuclear fallout and starring a bunch of big names and familiar character actors like Jason Robards, John Lithgow, Steven Gutenberg, JoBeth Williams, and John Collum); I have no memory of that one. And, based on the summary on the imdb page, it sounds really depressing. We’re no where near that close to world dissolution.
Count your blessings! Breathe!
But, the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy incurred a bunch of mixed feelings. The headline of this NY Times’ article by James Barron and Ken Belson, “Hardship Strains Emotions in New York,” works for me because there has been so much going on. I think it was from the NY Times somewhere, maybe a Thomas Friedman column (don’t hold me to it!), where it was said that the nation was in post-traumatic stress since 9/11/01, and I often feel that’s the case in New York City; the stress of the hurricane’s aftermath only emphasizes that to me.
Dazed, since one never imagines that this much damage would happen to the tri-state area; persistence, since one can’t just give up; maybe even inspiration, since so many have risen to action. We’re pulling through; we’re getting there. (almost a personal motto of mine as it is).
There has been a lot of impatience – I wonder if the Internet and social media, and cell phones, only increased the feelings and expectations of instant gratification? Or that we’ve become so dependent on electricity? (easy for me to say, when my neighborhood in Brooklyn was minimally effected). Then again, a lot the craziness could have been avoided with a lot more planning and better communication of what happened and what expectations to have and why things will be.
There’s the sense of question for what works in the context – what respects the community? (such as it is, since in a dense urban context, sometimes “community” is hard to find). For example: do we hold the marathon or not? Unlike 9/11/01, we did not have have a six-week odd to deal with stuff; we had only days. I consider the marathon to be a great NYC thing, and I look at Meb Keflezighi as an American inspiration for being an American elite marathoner (not too many of those for quite awhile), but there was just not enough time for the NYC Marathon. We could have civil conversation, but the controversy itself became a distraction from moving forward and helping each other out.
How do we balance interests and feelings and needs and wants?
Everybody feels forgotten, and Manhattan looked like two cities, with the half/third of the island in darkness (even described as a “dead zone”) and the north end looking no worse for wear. You got to feel empathy for Staten Island, Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn, and the Rockaways and Breezy Point in Queens, and there was so much going on.
But, there are reasons for everything: gas shortages are because the port was closed; the port needs electricity; there are places with no electricity; etc.
Gas? Well, we’re getting there…
Electricity? In Manhattan – almost there! So looking forward to near normal MTA service; MTA is doing quite a job! (amazing that I’m even saying that).
Semblance of normality is near. In the meantime, see how you can help. There are a lot of possibilities. Brokelyn has a good list, wnyc has been a great resource (see here for wnyc’s list of ways to help; also, their tumblr page is terrific), and the libraries are open (NYPL, BPL, and Queens). NYS Bar Association announced a storm relief effort.
Oh, and FC is so right on the mark on Facebook: NY1 has been on it and has done a great job.
I’m not forgetting NJ. I’ll be out there again soon, I’ve no doubt.
Don’t forget Eastern Standard Time; we fall back an hour tonight.
Don’t forget to vote next Tuesday. The Civil War didn’t stop Election Day; our legal rights should still be exercised. Hell, you can still vote by paper, if necessary (not that I’m suggesting that it has to be, but that depends on your district’s situation). Check your district/board of Election/county clerk’s office.
So, hang in there, friends!
Because the summer hit won’t completely go away, and because the conductor of this orchestral/choral version of “Call Me Maybe,” is an APA, of course I’ll share this (saw this on Facebook via a friend). As the linked article by Edwin P. Sallan notes,
What should make this version of particular interest to us is the fact that its conductor, 22-year-old Arianne Abela is actually a Filipina, a niece of noted stage actor Bart Guingona. Arianne’s parents migrated to the US before she was born and she also has a 14-year-old sister named Krista who actually edited the video.
In a 2008 article published by the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Arianne was born with physical disabilities brought about by a rare condition called amniotic banding syndrome, which caused her left leg to be amputated. Some of her fingers on both hands are either missing or fused together and there are toes missing on her right foot.
Thankfully, those physical defects didn’t stop her from pursuing a career in music successfully as she went on to graduate at the Yale School of Music and Yale Institute of Sacred Music.
Very cool!
FC shared this interesting item over on Facebook: Rachel L. Swarns writes in the NY Times about how second or third generation Americans try to hold on to their heritage via food. It’s a fascinating and bittersweet article – we want to remember what our grandparents or parents made, but assimilation is hard to fight and maybe we can’t quite get the food to taste the same or it gets Americanized (or we might have even grown up with Americanized versions of the food because of lack of ingredients or whatnot).
As we did last year.
Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
-“Try to Remember,” from The Fantasticks.
(cross-posted over at sswslitinmotion.tumblr.com)
Take a moment to think about those who served and are currently serving.
Some APA Heritage Month items, as the month winds down:
Recently, coverage on two APA lawyers:
Yul Kwon, on “Tell Me More” with Michele Martin,about being an APA Game Changer, i.e., that he was the first APA to win “Survivor” – and without totally backstabbing everyone – thereby being a pretty positive APA image on tv and undermining lawyer stereotypes to whatever extent; and once named to People magazine’s list of “Sexiest Men Alive.” (he certainly got to be one of the sexier ones on PBS with the America Revealed series).
Additionally, Stuart Ishimaru, an out-going EEOC Commissioner, was on “Tell Me More,” to discuss his new appointment to the the Office of Women and Minority Inclusion in the US’ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to monitor diversity in the banking industry.
FC shared this on Facebook, and I’m forwarding it along on triscribe: coverage on NY1 on APA’s – specifically the aging and growing Chinese population in Brooklyn.
Additional NY1 items include:
a story on how APA’s in government from Flushing came about because of a city council member’s insensitivity,
the development of the Pakistani population in Brooklyn, the expansion of Chinese demographics in Staten Island, and
FC and I had also checked out “Revisiting Vincent,” a performance/talkback/reception on the Vincent Chin case, co-produced by our favorite Asian American Bar Association of NY (AABANY), the Asian American Arts Alliance and the Museum of Chinese in America (MoCA). The performance was just great, thought provoking stuff by professional actors, adapting the AABANY project led by Judge Denny Chin and Dean Frank Wu (the two of whom also did a great Q&A at the end). AABANY posted a photo and the AABANY intro by Executive Director Yang Chen at the event.
Photos from Asian American photographer/icon Corky Lee were presented and even available in a silent auction.
The AABANY blog also shared that Jeff Yang at Wall Street Journal’s blog did a shout-out of the “Revisiting Vincent” event.
All great stuff. Keep it going.
… and Probably Should Get the t-shirt to express the survival.
Thankfully not so bad; we fared okay.
New Yorkers insist on grumbling, of course.
Look, I’m not going to second-guess the order to evacuate the coastal areas of the city or whether MTA didn’t need to shut down service. Hurricane Irene could have been a disaster and we got lucky. And, I’m glad to not have to hear about people trapped in Battery Park City or Coney Island or the Rockaways, or stuck in flooded subways or blown away on the elevated lines. Better to be safe than sorry – I’ll agree with the mayor on that.
Check MTA for subway service updates for Monday. Looks like service is expected to be up by 6am.
Pretty amazed – fascinating footage from AP, via NPR’s news blog. So the island of Manhattan was pretty unscathed; downtown was gushing with water during the height of Irene, but Times Square still glittered w/ lights, even if a people-less. Ah well.