Triscribe

Category: Brooklyn

  • Try to Remember

    Well, it is a time of year to reflect, whether it’s because it’s almost autumn and a new school year; or it’s Rosh Hashanah; or because of 9/11 and the passage of time.

    On the night of 9/11/07, after a mostly rainy day, I figured I’d stick around lower Manhattan to check out the Towers of Light. Walked to Battery Park, to pay a visit to the Sphere, and a heard a woman sing “Amazing Grace.” Looked up and saw the Towers of Lights – a pretty sight, once the low clouds cleared somewhat. Even headed to Brooklyn Promenade, but the low clouds didn’t quite clear. Once I got home, the night sky was clear and the lights were quite something to see from our backyard/driveway. A wet and somber Tuesday, a Tuesday different from the Tuesday we had 6 years ago. Speaking of the view of this year’s Towers of Light, Time Magazine’s art writer Richard Lacayo writes on the 9/10/07 entry for his Time blog, before segueing into a critique on the architecture of rebuilding:

    So here it is, the sixth anniversary of that morning. Last night I was walking down the Hudson River boardwalk near my apartment in Jersey City, N. J., which is directly across the water from where the World Trade Center used to be. Every year, there’s a memorial at this time produced by scores of floodlights positioned some blocks south of where the towers used to be. They shoot two broad columns of light into the sky.

    I’ve read complaints that the columns of light remind people of the vertical spears of floodlight that Albert Speer contrived for the outdoor Nazi party rally in Nuremberg, the one that Leni Riefenstahl made infamous in Triumph of the Will. Noted. But the Nazis do not own verticals of light against the sky forever. Last night, which was cloudy in New York, the columns of light were filled with changing formations of mist that reminded you, if you were there on the first 9/11, of the smoke that filled the air that day. From where I saw the lights last night, standing in roughly the same place I stood on parts of that day six years ago, they operated very powerfully, like a Light Art work by James Turrell or Robert Irwin, but one that intersected with a specific historical memory.

    Since I’m in the reflecting mood, a look back at our past September 11 posts:

    Try to remember the kind of September…

    Thinking about the idea of the 5th anniversary; realizing it’s still thought-provoking.

    9/11 on a Sunday.

    2004 with a number of posts from us.

    2003 also had an interesting item that was 9/11 related. However, we started after 9/11/03, so perhaps my searching missed something in 2003.

    Although it was humid and rainy on this week’s Tuesday, the Wednesday and Thursday had such beautiful skies. All the more to hope for the best, isn’t it?

  • Yet another quiz

    The Technosailor Self Importance Test

    Chris Pirillo

    You are most like Chris Pirillo!

    You are most like Chris Pirillo. You dominate your brand and do quite well in marketing it. However, you go out of the way to place the focus on other people as much as possible as a decision on power and authority. You may have many followers, readers or fans but you rarely let this distract you from your mission and focus.

    Want to know more about Chris Pirillo?

  • 9/10/07

    On a pleasant note:

    A common thread on this blog has been where we get pizza – as seen here (pizza in Chicago’s Giordano’s), here (Fornino), here (Grimaldi’s), here (Di Fara’s), and most recently (I think!) here (Franny’s). Or links to articles or websites on pizza. (even the concept of fried pizza… or how pizza’s advertised). Pizza, pizza, pizza, as the Little Caesar commercial once said.

    My latest contribution: Saturday – went to Totonno’s in Coney Island (it also has other branches in the metro area) with a friend. We had a white pizza. Quite tasty. Thumbs up, I’ll say.

    Speaking of Coney Island – whither Astroland? We shall see! From what I can tell, the progress of re-developing Coney Island has some kinks to work out.

    Dim sum on Sunday, since we had visiting relatives – Diamond on Eight on 8th Avenue in Brooklyn (formerly known as Ocean Palace). Used to be better, I’ll say. Not nearly impressed. Last month, we had taken other relatives to Pacificana, at the other end of 8th Avenue (brand spanking new place, with nice bathrooms, I’ll say) – and the food there seemed jazzier. I’m hardly an expert on dim sum though.

    Didn’t think that it’d be much of a primary election – next Tuesday – but there are some odd races in our borough. Oh, well. Guess I’ll do my civic duty.

    Anniversary of the A-line.

    9/11 observations tomorrow – Time magazine’s Jeffrey Kluger observes:

    Grief has always been our most well-policed emotion. Mourning is painful, so we make it the stuff of pageantry –of muffled drums and riderless horses and black-draped catafalques. To suffer collectively is, if nothing else, to suffer prettily.

    What’s harder to know is, When is enough enough? A lot of Americans are quietly, and guiltily, asking themselves that question this week, as Sept. 11–the sixth Sept. 11 since 2001–once again approaches. A sixth anniversary is an awkward thing, without the raw feeling of a first or the numerical tidiness of a fifth or 10th. The families of the 2,973 people murdered that day need no calendrical gimmick to feel their loss, but a nation of 300 million–rightly or wrongly–is another matter.

    Some have suggested that we discontinue the moments of silence and solemn speeches and all the other ceremonies that have marked our recent Sept. 11s. While many argue that that would leave the day bereft of meaning, it’s possible that there are deeper kinds of meaning to be had. [….]

    There are many ways to remember the dead. It’s hard to argue that learning how to defeat real evil, slap aside pretenders and rebuild in the face of abiding sorrow aren’t three very good ones.

    Thoughts to keep in mind, a mindful time of year. Be they happy thoughts.

  • Cincinnati recap

    Cincinnati has a unique set of culinary touchstones that seem to have some connections with New York.

    Montgomery Inn at the Boathouse: The place seemed to be designed for the casual business dining crowd. We tried the BBQ wrap and a side of their ribs. The ribs were tasty, somewhat like Kansas City ribs. They were tender, and sauced with a distinctive BBQ sauce, which not much of a smoked taste. The most curious dish was the “Cantonese Shrimp”, which are lightly battered butterflied shrimp which are then served with a dipping sauce composed of a mixture of plum sauce and hot mustard. The dishes were served with Saratoga Chips (which are essentially kitchen-made potato chips) , onion threads (thin shredded onions floured and fried) and a nice salad. For desert, we had Greater’s French Copper Pot style ice cream. – vanilla bean and the black raspberry chocolate chunk . BBQ: good; Ice cream: recommended; shrimp – acquired taste.

    Skyline Chili: The thing that you have to understand about Cincinnati Chili is that while it may have some visual resemblance to what is commonly recognized as chili, that illusion is quickly dispelled once you dig in. It is probably better described as slightly overcooked spaghetti with Grecian sweet spiced (we’re talking sweet like sweet sausage, not sweet tea) meat sauce topped with thinly shredded cheddar cheese (the “3 Way”), and possibly diced onions and red kidney beans ( the 4 and 5 Way, neither of which are cooked in the sauced). Oyster crackers (the ones commonly used for New England clam chowder) accompany the dish – they are used to sop up the thin sauce at the bottom of the bowl. To mix the metaphor even more, they also serve chili dogs called “Coneys” (the name derived from Coney Island in Brooklyn), which are 5 inch German style wieners topped with the Cincinnati Chili and the shredded cheddar cheese . It is one of those foods like White Castle on the East Coast which are suitable for after –drinking munchies. If you are looking for traditional chili, you will be very disappointed. If you are looking for something to satisfy a craving you didn’t know that you had, and want to spend less then $5, fill up on Skyline Chili.

    Renaissance Fair Good stuff: mead – a local company in the area made the heavenly brew from local honey. Fantastic – I had two glasses, and each had a distinctive taste based on the honey it was made with. The best bargain was the smoked turkey drumsticks – the dark meat tasted like tender ham on the bone. Very tasty. The fair itself was a bit kitschy – something between Medieval Times and Great Adventure. Glad to have checked it out.

    Kroger’s: the things that we noticed: 1. lots of sausage and pickles – they had almost a aisle just for pickles 2. a lot of recalled item signs, including for cans of regular chili and even margarita salt. We bought grilling stuff, because it was inexpensive – grill gloves and apple wood chips.

    Jewish favorites: during the bris, we had excellent lox and various cream cheeses, chopped egg salad, hummus, and excellent bagel, bialy and hallah bread A wonderful spread.

  • Weekend!

    OMG. Time magazine’s tv critic James Poniewozik has done a 100 Best TV Shows for the latest issue! Awesome! Well, ok, I haven’t seen the list in its entirety yet (Beavis and Butthead?!), so I shouldn’t be so effusive. But, it’s all cool to me anyway – even if it’s still “just tv,” respect the tv. See the video where he explains how he did it. I may not quite agree with his list (Beavis and Butthead?), but it seems like a pretty cool list all in all.

    On serious notes:

    The passing of Luciano Pavarotti. A singular voice indeed. The NY Times’ classical music critic Anthony Tommasini said it nicely:

    But no one ever mistook the voice of Luciano Pavarotti. There was the warm, enveloping sound: a classic Italian tenor voice, yes, but touched with a bit of husky baritonal darkness, which made Mr. Pavarotti’s flights into his gleaming upper range seem all the more miraculous.

    And it wasn’t just the sound that was so recognizable. In Mr. Pavarotti’s artistry, language and voice were one. He had an idiomatic way of binding the rounded vowels and sputtering consonants of his native Italian to the tones and colorings of his voice. This practice is central to the Italian vocal heritage, and Mr. Pavarotti was one of its exemplars.

    For intelligence, discipline, breadth of repertory, musicianship, interpretive depth and virile vocalism, Mr. Pavarotti was outclassed by his Three Tenors sidekick and chief rival, Plácido Domingo. But for sheer Italianate tenorial beauty, Mr. Pavarotti was hard to top.

    The passing of Madeline L’Engle, one of my childhood’s favorite writers. Among other thoughts:

    “A Wrinkle in Time” was amazing – heck, the entire Time series was an epic work of characters dealing with their universe. L’Engle was fantastic for her creations: Meg, who wasn’t the prettiest of girls, who envied her mom for being intellectually brilliant and beautiful, who later found her own beauty and strength in her capacity to love and understand and overcome her anger; Charles Wallace, the baby brother who grew to be an unusual teenager (surely I wasn’t the only one who thought “A Swiftly Tilting Planet” was such a vivid and amazing epic of time traveling? Who’d think that this was the same Charles Wallace as in “A Wrinkle in Time”?); the twins Sandy and Dennys, supposedly the normal ones of the four Murry children – who get their own epic time adventure in “Many Waters” (I don’t think I ever quite appreciated the Noah’s arc story until L’Engle did it); and even Calvin O’Keefe, the athletic smart boy who ends up being the love of Meg’s life and becoming the marine biologist he only dreamed of being. I never quite got into the stories of Polly O’Keefe, Meg and Calvin’s daughter, or the other books by L’Engle. But, there’s no doubt that she made children’s literature literature. Gosh, just remembering the books and gleaning at them on Amazon makes me want to find my old copies and re-read them.

    The L’Engle obituary in the NY Times that I link above – I thought it was great, I thought – little touches of the person, not just the achievements.

  • Labor Day Weekend

    Recently joined Facebook, since friends of mine are on it and, well, it is the wave of the future, isn’t it?

    Friday night: Dinner at Django‘s, for the last chance at the Restaurant Week prixe fixe. Lovely ambiance. The three of us shared the scallop appetizer (seared diver scallops and Cauliflower Puree Orange & Coriander Vinaigrette – very nice). On the Prixe Fixe menu, I had the gazpacho for the appetizer (yum); the pork tenderloin, which had a gorganzola puree – umm, tasty enough, did better with pepper; and dessert was a lovely chocolate financier.

    Sunday: siblings and I watched the movie Ratatouille at the AMC at Times Square. Visually amazing movie. An homage to cooking and the world of foodies. An homage to Paris. But, still – the idea of rats… I mean, yeah, you got to admire Remy the Rat’s desire to be a chef and rat. But… rats… only in a cartoon movie can rats be – well – cute.

    Also on Sunday: There’s something to be said about taking the Staten Island ferry just for the hell of it. And, the same to be said about walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (the latter being good for the views and the exercise).

    Actually, we meant to go to Governor’s Island, but the ferry service wasn’t doing its last run of the day, allegedly because they already had too many people on the island. Bummer. NYC and the federal governments ought to have better planning concerning Governor’s Island. Otherwise, I thought our last minute doing Staten Island and taking the bridge back to Brooklyn weren’t bad alternatives, since Sunday had such great weather.

    Labor Day Monday: We tried out the new bbq grill at home; quite cool, even if we still have to learn how to use this thing better.

    And, yes, yet another online quiz:

    Which Peanuts Character Are You?
    You are Charlie Brown. You are always optimistic and persistent, and everyone appreciates your simple sweetness. Sometimes, however, your anxieties get the best of you, and life’s mysteries can confuse you.
    Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

  • Labor Day Weekend!! We’re going to hop on a plane to exotic…

    …Cincinnati ?!

    We’re off to see the bris for P’s godson’s brother in America’s Heartland. It will be good to see one of P’s good friends, who happens to be going to law school right now. Now this is not exactly what I was expecting to do on Labor Day weekend – we as a rule try to avoid any sort of travel, not even to New Jersey. It’s supposed to be full of BBQ and the close of summer activities. It seems that the most exciting thing that’s going on is a full-fledged renaissance fair -I’ve always heard of them back in my D & D days, but never really went to any. The other thing to look forward to is the Cincinnati food – according to Food Network, the things to check out are the local style chili and Graeter’s French Style ice cream . We’re going to check out the Montgomery Inn at the Boathouse as soon as we touch down.

  • The Last Week of August (No Way!)

    Last Wednesday: Quintessence, Vegan and raw food. Very… interesting. Not something I’d do regularly, but it was different. Eye-catching, even. Kind of tasty and filling.

    Venieros Italian Bakery in the East Village – great stuff!

    Summer reading continued: Re-reading (or at least doing a better job of reading than I did of it the last time) Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Origins” (the book supplement to the Nova mini-series, which is currently airing on the local PBS station).

    Immediate past summer reading included some chick lit:

    How Nancy Drew Saved My Life, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted. Interesting read – very snappy tone from the narrator, Charlotte, who goes off to Iceland to be a nanny for the American ambassador, a seemingly sweet and dubious single dad. The mystery was odd, leaving me with a singularly bittersweet taste in the mouth, and the same to be said about the romance. Yes, it seems that Charlotte decided to grow up, but at what cost? The ending just left me feeling weird and wanting to shake her.

    My Favorite Witch, by Annette Blair – a fun sexy read, if not a tad bit predictable ending (so very much foreseeable). Happy ending. A bit of tv’s “Bewitched” and tv’s “Charmed” plus a little of the movie “The Cutting Edge” (for the old-fashioned romance and hockey elements). The magical spells don’t seem terribly brilliant (Harry Potter almost does that better; this might as well be New Age-y Positive Thinking for all I cared), but the charm is there.

    Some on-line reading:

    Time’s Lisa Takeuchi Cullen on Blogging tips, on her blog on Worklife. Generally, I’ve come to enjoy this whole blog set up that Time has – gives insight into their reporters’ work and thinking and on the topics they cover. Cullen’s interesting for putting in the different perspectives – as an APA and a working mom; even her post on being Catholic (which later became an interesting Time article) were thoughtful stuff.

    Asians in the News: Indian Jews, the Washington Post’s fascinating look at a decreasing community in India.

    Yet another Internet quiz: rather amusing outcome, in that I am a snake on the Chinese horoscope scheme of things.



    You’re a Boa Constrictor!
    You’re that person who is always offering massages to people and you spend a lot of time training yourself to get better at giving them. Sometimes, however, you make people just a little nervous with how close you’re getting to their neck. But you can usually knead them right back into a false sense of security, er, I mean into feeling comfortable. Your mouth seems to be capable of opening wider than anyone else’s. You’ve sometimes wondered what it would be like to be made out of feathers.
    Take the Animal Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

  • Weekend!

    Friday as the day where I didn’t go to work. What did I do instead? Among other things:

    NYC Transit Museum – saw the collages exhibit: “Paper Passages” by Chris Pelletiere. Loved it! Vibrant demonstration of the vibrant life in the subway. Pelletiere’s inspiration from his childhood in Brooklyn and enthusiasm for the medium is quite inspiring. Definitely worth seeing – at the museum’s Brooklyn Heights branch until 9/3/07.

    Brooklyn Historical Society – really cool. The building is a landmark; the collection was vibrant – a look at life in Brooklyn, since the pre-colonial days.

    It rained off and on all afternoon, and I couldn’t get myself to line up with the tourists (most of them were obviously tourists) to go for Free Friday at MOMA. Instead, I went to the
    International Center of Photography     – cool. Made it for the voluntary contribution Friday (5pm to 8pm), and therefore got to see the current exhibits. “Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits” was fascinating – some of which were likely rarely seen photos, others were fascinating portrayals of people that mainstream history had forgotten or neglected. The Amelia Earheart exhibit was also interesting, especially in the feeling of how celebrity in photography are sort of a 20th century invention – at least, in that fan sense of things. Both exhibits especially made me wonder – who’s in control – the photographer or the subject? Who wants to present what we the viewers see, and exactly what are we seeing? Earheart, the adventuress/aviatrix who somehow remained feminine (and yet gave off the whiff of adrogyny?); the African Americans who strove for equal rights and dignity – yet dealt with so much struggle.

    Saturday:

    APA alumni annual picnic. This year, it was up at Alma Mater’s campus. Regards to FC and P for doing such a great job with food. Kind of missed the smell of fresh bbq though. Maybe that’s just me. But, can’t neglect seeing the good work of the campus people for cleaning up after us. The annual tug of war: FC’s school beat mine; then again, the losers of each round of tugging later complained that the slope of the grand gave advantage to the winner. Umm, yeah, Alma Mater’s on a hill. What do you expect? Well, perhaps if the tugging had proceeded at another angle (perpendicular to the slop, rather than on it), the results could have been different. Who’s to say? At least we had perfect weather!

    Brother insisted on making a late night excursion to see “The Bourne Ultimatum” at Sheepshead Bay UA. Turned out to be an excellent idea. Major thumbs up – awesome movie! Paul Greengrass, director, has quite an eye and made for some dizzy scenes. Plus, one wonders if he really had the mindboggling plots in mind, or that it just lucked out for him. Matt Damon – well, he’s The Man as Bourne. Not a perfect man, but a man in mourning, in determination, and in search of redemption. This rounds out a fantastic trilogy – and was probably the best of the sequels of this summer. (ok, conceding that of the many third sequels of this summer (plus Die Hard as a fourth movie of a series), I’ve only seen three – Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek and Bourne, perhaps I shouldn’t be so sure of determining Bourne Ultimatum as the best – for all I care, Spider-man 3 was the best of the trilogy movies – still, I really liked the Bourne one).

    Take the Scooby test – is the crime presented real, or one ripped from a Scooby Doo episode. I did pretty well, if only because I remembered one or two episodes and recognized at least one of the crimes as a real one that I remembered reading from way back.

    Scooby Doo: Ripped from the Headlines?

    Score: 70% (7 out of 10)

  • Friday!



    You’re Ulysses!
    by James Joyce
    Most people are convinced that you don’t make any sense, but compared to what else you could say, what you’re saying now makes tons of sense. What people do understand about you is your vulgarity, which has convinced people that you are at once brilliant and repugnant. Meanwhile you are content to wander around aimlessly, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. What you see is vast, almost limitless, and brings you additional fame. When no one is looking, you dream of being a Greek folk hero.

    Take the Book Quiz
    at the Blue Pyramid.

    The 25th Anniversary of the CD.

    Notable passings of the week:

    The passing of Merv Griffin.

    The passing of philanthropist Brooke Astor.

    The passing of Yankee player and legendary broadcaster, Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto.

    The passing of modern jazz founder Max Roach.