Category: Manhattan

On a serious note: on Tuesday, I had attended the tail end of the NYS/NYC Bar Associations’ rally at 60 Centre Street in support of the Pakistani bar’s situation, the event of which I had noted in a previous blog post. I’m not exactly sure of the media’s coverage of City Bar’s approach (Sewell Chan of the NY Times did blog it and there’s this article by Winter Miller of the NY Times – she actually took down comments from me, but I didn’t think it’d have amounted to much and it didn’t wind up in the article, understandably); NY Law Journal’s has quite the article (well, its job is to cover the local bar). Newsday, but not Daily News or Post? Guess I have to check the real newspapers to be sure. I did check Google – 34 articles on-line? Not bad! Well, it was just great to see NYC lawyers taking time to rally in support of rule of law and for colleagues who are trying to keep it alive in their country.

Not as serious stuff:

My National Novel Writing Month novel is slogging along. Some 20,000 odd words, and I’m not really sure how to go from Plot Point A to Plot Point B. My descriptions and settings are sucky. Dialog’s kind of funny at least, but this isn’t a screenplay or script. Arrgh. This is going to be quite the first draft.

Matt Damon’s People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” for this year, making his quote to the powers of People Magazine Time’s quote of the day: “You gave an aging suburban dad the ego boost of a lifetime.” Congratulations, Mr. Damon!

Monday TV:

“How I Met Your Mother” was quite timely – being November, it was time for Marshall to go on-line and check his NYS bar results (good lord, who on the writing people behind HIMYM is the former lawyer to know these true-to-life lovely details? I hope they’re on strike to get the credit they richly deserve – the accuracy of Marshall going crazy over not knowing whether he passed was too real). Only, Marshall can’t find his password to log in and he doesn’t want to wait for the mailed results (or check NY Law Journal? Come on, Marshall!). And, Ted goes crazy once he finds out why his friends don’t like his new girlfriend (they point out The Flaw), which leads Ted to point out Lily’s Flaw… which ultimately leads to Marshall remembering his password and finding that he indeed passed the bar. Let’s give a warm welcome to the newest member of the (fictitious) bar!

Hmm. I wonder if they’ll do an episode where Marshall has to deal with the Character and Fitness committee. Come on – they got to show that! There’s a sitcom plot to mine from that scenario; you can have Barney (played by the scene-stealing Neil Patrick Harris, ex-Doogie Howser), or Lily to mess up Marshall.

Saw some of NBC’s “Chuck” – wherein Chuck and his fellow CIA colleagues have to capture and cure themselves of toxic truth serum. Toxic truth serum maker was played by Kevin Weissman, who previously played dear Marshall Flinkman, the tech guy of “Alias.” Aww, Marshall – you’re a bad guy? At least on “Alias,” Marshall didn’t realize that he was on the Side of Evil (’cause he was working for SD6 thinking it was part of the CIA, only it wasn’t, and then he joined the real CIA, but he was still scared of Sloane, ’cause Sloane was Evil)… Oh, well. Pretty interesting episode; not sure if I’d be a “Chuck” watcher, but it’s a decent show.

“Heroes” – major episode explaining what happened “four months ago” – that is, the events that occurred right after the last season finale and explaining this season’s premiere. Skip this if you don’t want spoilers….

— Considering the slow pace of this season, this gave good explanations. I’m still bored with the Latin American twins, but at least they showed how Maya has something of a nasty streak in her personality (which intrigues me, because I haven’t bought her “I’m the Poor Victim” personality at all and her befriending Sylar is creepy…). Her brother’s still a boring irritation. Peter has his memory back, but really… who is “Adam” supposed to be? Good/evil? Just amoral? The actor David Anders was “Sark” on “Alias,” so you never know… Plus, Kristen Bell, former Veronica Mars, played up her character’s psychotic mutant very well (this character is soo NOT tough-but-moral Veronica). I still don’t care for Nikki, but sad that her husband went the way he did.

… end of spoilers…

Take a moment to think about the veterans (hoped you did it yesterday, on actual Veterans’ Day, too).

This week: Downtown for Dinner 2007 – $25 to $35 prixe fixe at participating downtown restaurants.

Reading: Time Magazine, with an interesting article on green roofs. I had read about it in an ABA publication too – this sounds like a great trend – environmental and it sure could make some cities look nice.

Recently read a book of selected Emily Dickinson poems, with an intro from former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins whose own poetry, from what I can tell, is sort of reminiscent of Dickinson’s).

On TV tonight: “How I Met Your Mother” and what may be a key “Heroes” episode. Got to enjoy before we run out of new episodes due to the writers’ strike (and it is November sweeps anyway).

It’s starting to feel a lot like November…

Mark “The Minimalist” Bittman of the NY Times demonstrates the making of a pan-fried pizza. Pan-fried pizza! It looks sooo good…

Seems quite interesting that the New York City Bar is putting out its statement in support of the Pakistani bar. Plus a rally to support the legal system. Rule of law, not rule of man indeed; something the world is going to have to learn and adapt.

The tv writers’ strike continues. I’m trying to keep up with the coverage. I’m hoping for a not long strike, but things aren’t exactly looking optimistic. Then again, my tv viewing has been pretty limited since I found myself increasingly uninterested in stuff. “House” is actually more interesting once Dr. Foreman has been back; Drs. Chase and Cameron have this weird vibe with each other, since in real life, they broke up (or at least ended their engagement). Still waiting for actor Kal Penn to do something on the show other than act silly. I mean, come on – actor John Cho got to do some grizzly stuff when he did his episode of “House” (admittedly, that was Season 1, and if I recall at all, he was a patient and patients don’t do much more than get really sick).

I really do like the show “Life” on NBC. Yeah, actor Damian Lewis is acting all weird; but he’s quite watchable. I don’t care for this seemingly unsolveable conspiracy that his character’s trying to unravel. Otherwise, it’d be nice if more viewers can give it a chance. The writers’ strike might make things a little difficult though.

“Heroes” finally got really interesting – the characters are joining forces, which is way more exciting. And, of course, actor David Anders – once they brought him on “Heroes,” I’m all “hmm; this guy was Sark on ‘Alias’ – amoral and irritating in his charisma. Is he really going to be a good guy on ‘Heroes’?” Plus, for a guy who’s really American, the tv people like having him play British, which means he can’t quite be a good guy, huh? (well, we’ll see, in the middle of this possible strike-shortened tv season).

And, what’s with McDonalds? I thought the Angus burger ad was a little funny – chubby Asian guy debating on whether to get two ketchup packs; resisting because well, you just can’t go there; don’t go wild and crazy, as the narrator said. Seemed funny enough – and chalk it up to having an Asian on tv. Then, Thursday night, on Channel 11, before the sports on the news, there’s a McDonalds ad for breakfast food – and I swear it’s James Kyson Lee (“Ando” of “Heroes”)! He played this office worker who is suckered to do favors for another co-worker because she bribes people with McD’s food. Playing an apparent APA (not just an Asian)!

(although, do you really want to encourage more Asians to eat at McDonalds, when there’s enough incidence of diabetes and heart disease? Oh well; take your pros and cons; and I’m a bit of a hypocrite, since it’s not like I’ve quit eating McD’s – just trying to lay off on the fatty stuff).

And, last but not least, these Christmas ads on tv are already irritating me, and we’ve still more than 10 days before… Thanksgiving. It’s going to be a long Christmas ad season.

Congratulations to Al Gore (and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) on winning the Nobel Peace Prize! Now comes the (continued) hard part of somehow trying to save the world from itself.

Saturday: Friend and I went to Tea and Sympathy. So worth the wait. Clotted cream and scones. Earl Grey tea. Welsh rarebit. Delicious!

Sunday: CultureFest 2007, in Battery Park, downtown Manhattan. Every arts and cultural institution must have had a table at the event. Great stuff.

Time Magazine’s cover article on “The Incredibly Shrinking Court” by David Von Drehle – I may not agree with the article’s thesis that the US Supreme Court has less relevance in the lives of people, but it is an interesting read.

Today is our (P +I) 4th anniversary. To have some idea how crazy this ride has been, you have to know something about how we decided to go “steady” in the first place.

First, Kill Bill, Vol. 1 opened, which we saw in Brooklyn Heights that night. Second, we had Italian food. Third, we somehow went into the city to a bar in the Union Square area. Defenses down, I believe that we were on a bus headed downtown where it happened.

Fast forward four years, and we’re half an hour early for the musical Wicked, which P- has been bugging me to get tickets for, and I finally got her for her birthday this year. A few obstacles came up threatening our attendence. I re-injured my ankle – the same one that I messed up in Toronto – last weekend, and I’m still limping around. P- has been recovering from one of those change of weather sniffles, as well as taking time out to review movies at the New York Film Festival. To top it all off, a Broadway strike/lockout threatened to prevent the show from going on.

Well, the show did go on, and it was magnificent.  As you may know, Wicked is the back story of the Wizard of Oz from the point of view of Elphaba, otherwise known as the Wicked Witch of the West (not easy being green), and her best friend from school, Glenda the Good Witch of the North, who is portrayed as a magical Elle Woods (Legally Blonde). We won’t get into spoilers, but so many questions of the characters’ origins are answered. The songs are well crafted, somehow managing to get exposition out of every verse.  At the close, it seems that the cast truly enjoys each other. If there were strife backstage and in the boardrooms, it sure didn’t show in the front of the house and in the capacity audience. Recommended.

Afterwards, we went to Ellen’s Stardust Diner down the street. They have singing wait staff whose range goes from opera to Kelly Clarkson. I had chicken soup and a philly cheese steak sandwich, while P- had a turkey burger and an orange shake. Not bad. We ended up closing out the place. A little pricey, but Recommended – these people have to support their acting habit.

The countdown begins … T-1 year to the big day. We’re checking out the church on Sunday.

Last Friday – lunch at Alfanoose with the Asian/APA alumni group – a downtown Middle Eastern cuisine spot. Attractive restaurant and delicious falafel.

This past weekend – Columbus Day Weekend – the siblings and I did Open House New York! Checked out the no-so-known sites of the city:
Saturday:

Villard Houses/ Municipal Art Society‘s exhibit on Jane Jacobs and the Future of NY.

Governors Island – especially done because we had missed it on the Labor Day weekend. Amazing site.

Sunday:

Chrysler Building lobby – with the lovely Art Deco look and the unique elevator doors.

Rockefeller Center Rooftop Garden – worth the wait on the line – seeing the little flowers, the reflecting pool, and a sight of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Polish Day Parade.

Technically, we missed the OHNY time, but still took a look at these sites, since they were close together:

–> 246 E 58th St., at Second Avenue in Manhattan – unique for being the last NYC townhouse built by modernist Paul Rudolph, with interesting play on verticals and horizontals.

–> Since it was nearby, we took the Roosevelt Island tram, checked out the Roosevelt Island Historical Society Kiosk, and walked around a bit on Roosevelt Island.

Columbus Day Monday – tutti frutti waffle in chocolate sauce, at Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man, at its 2nd Ave/9th Street location. This spot isn’t nearly as over the top as the 14th St/Broadway location, but it’s all okay!

Finished reading In the Shadow of the Law, by Kermit Roosevelt, a look at a fictitious white shoe Washington DC corporate law firm. At times laugh out loud funny (particularly the parts where some of the younger associates manage to make fools of themselves; ah, silly associates!) and at times bittersweet (you can awfully sorry about how the partners realize their lives become so meaningless or how the managing partner seemingly has no problem about accepting artificial values), it makes the practice of law a dilemma. Why are we lawyers; what are we doing with ourselves? The ending is ambiguous, which makes it hard to give a rave review for me, but I really liked it. Very good read.

Umm, I could feel sorry for the Yankees’ losing, but it didn’t quite come about as a surprise. Anyway, the Yankee fans can join us Met fans in mourning; nothing makes things better than misery loving company.

Tonight – dinner at the Soda Shop. Major thumbs up!

Brooklyn Book Festival was great fun. Fantastic turnout too.

Friend of mine e-mailed me the NY Times article that May May Chinese Gourmet Bakery is closing by the end of the month.

Judge Mukasey nominated for US Attorney General. Notably, Judge Mukasey was the graduation speaker when I graduated from Alma Mater Law School. Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick did an interesting analysis on the right wing’s – umm – concern about Judge Mukasey:

So there you have it: Some conservatives object to Mukasey because he’s an outsider (read: independent), others because he’s not a pro-life judicial activist (read: independent), and still others because he is respected by some liberals (read: independent). As criticisms go, these objections say more about the critics than about Mukasey. Except they suggest that he may not be the worst choice to restore independence to the Justice Department. Regardless of whether he’ll help Congress ferret out where the bodies are buried there, at least he does not appear likely to grab a shovel and start digging deeper. [….]

[Plus, Judge Mukasey’s decision in the Padilla case] suggests that at the very least Judge Mukasey understands the value of a lawyer. And if he grasped so well why Padilla needed one, he can surely appreciate why now, more than ever, the country needs one, too.

My undergraduate Alma Mater’s school newspaper’s all excited that Judge Mukasey is an alumnus AND an editorial page editor of the school newspaper back in the day.

A new exhibit on Rembrandt at the Met – however, it seems to be more about the historical view of who owned what of Rembrandt’s work. NY Times’ Holland Carter writes:

For “The Age of Rembrandt” it has come up with a theme, and a perfect one for our time: money.

The work has been sorted not by artists or dates, but by the names and dates of the collectors who bought and gave the paintings to the museum. In this arrangement the history of Dutch “Golden Age” art begins in the American Gilded Age of the late 19th century, when the Met first opened its doors. The exhibition’s stars are not Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals, but J. P. Morgan, Collis P. Huntington, William K. Vanderbilt and Louisine and H. O. Havemeyer. [….]

The arrangement has some advantages. It gives a good sense of the overall “look” of Dutch painting: an art that can glow like gold syrup but is mostly the color of sauces and gravies. We get a realistic sense of the crazy-quilt mix of portraiture, landscape, still life and history painting that simmered together in the 17th-century pot. We also gain quick perspective on relative talent. To see Rembrandt next to Bartholomeus Breenbergh or Jacob Duck is to know in a flash who was ahead of the curve, and why.

But the show’s primary theme — Dutch art seen through American money and taste, and coincidentally the wonderfulness of the Met — is a limiting gambit. That story begins in the first gallery, labeled “The 1871 Purchase,” which revisits, in highly edited form, the museum’s inaugural exhibition. After the Civil War, as the country was fast becoming an international power, Americans decided they needed a major art museum, and the Met was founded in 1870. [….]

Rarely in these galleries did it occur to me to ask who once owned these pictures, or when the Met acquired them, or their dollar value. Instead I wanted information about what they depicted, about the paint they were made of and about the hands that brushed the paint on. I wanted to know what the artists — Rembrandt, say — might have been thinking. And I wanted to know what 17th-century viewers saw when they looked at these pictures, what these pictures said in their time. I wanted, in short, a different show, one with exactly the same art but with less institutional ego and more art-historical light.

Yeah, I’ve noticed that lately – these exhibits about the collectors. Not to knock the collectors, who I’m sure were great humanists and fantastic captains of industry who had oodles of money and hearts of philanthropists – but in the end, I don’t care about them – I care about the art and the history. I guess it is a question of who controls what – if it weren’t for these buyers or millionaires who commissioned art in the 19th Century, would we have preserved art or created art since the 19th Century? We wouldn’t have had the Met, obviously. Ok, maybe the development of art history is a lot more complicated than that and maybe, my odd thoughts might explain why I didn’t major in art history in college.

A look at trends in tea – with a reference to Pu-Erh, which is one of those teas that I probably do drink too much.

Ah, and by Thursday, I’ll be far, far away…

This week is birthday central, with 5 bdays to celebrate – P’s best friend and maid of honor on the 12, P and my mom on the 15th, and P’s dad, brother and other friend on the 16th.

Wednesday: Essex. Judeo-Hispanic cuisine. Sentimental favorite because that was were P and I met for brunch for the first time. Best deal: Wednesday lobster night – $16 gets you a delicious complete lobster dinner. Also, you can’t miss the potato pancakes with gravlox and salmon caviar! Recommended.

Saturday: Sammy’s Fish Box . We’ve come to this famed City Island emporium of seafood a few times before, and know about the big plates, so we decided to go for a shared plate. Little did we know that the shared plates are even more ridiculously spectacular. Monstrous portions of fish, lobster, king crab, and assorted shellfish on a bed of linguine, all sitting on a plate suitable for a flounder or a jumbo turkey. I think we have a week of leftovers. Recommended if you like seafood and don’t mind the trek.

Afterwards we had desert/birthday wishes at the Black Whale. The back garden was great. Recommended if in the area.

Sunday: East Manor for dim sum later today. The last time we were here, in episode 14, we were ushering at my friend’s 650 person wedding. Eager to see if it has changed.

New banner – the aerial photo of Brooklyn wasn’t off of Google Maps – it was taken by me out the side of an American Airlines jet. Have to work on changing the photo more often.

Have to find something extra spectacular for the Four for Triscribe anniversary… any ideas?

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?