December 2008
67 posts
What A Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong
Have a...
Chicklit sent me this poem about a month ago, I figure I’d share this, since this seems apt for the year that was and the year that it’ll be…
All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;...
“A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of hell.”
– George Bernard Shaw
Off to Jamaica
I have to start using my remaining 10 PTO days by the end of the year, since they do not rollover to the next year, as off tomorrow, I am off. With the economy tanking and the Madoff scheme, I have about $4.74 disposable income for those 10 days. I may be able to go to Jamaica (roundtrip) — Queens, that is — with $ 0.74 to spare.
But seriously, I really need a break from the...
Christmas Canon, TSO
“If you prick us, do we not bleed?
if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you...”
– Shylock, Act 3, Scene I, Merchant of Venice ~ William Shakespeare
As English majors [and non-majors] may recall, Shylock’s last trial didn’t go so well. (He was publicly humiliated, and was forced to convert from Judaism to Christianity; the authorities handed over his estate and half his...
Revolutionary Road -- the film
Ok, so maybe I’ll go see the movie. Two reviews, so far, have given the film favorable reviews: NYO [via JVNY] says that Mendes has faithfully adapted the film from the book; and per David Denby [New Yorker]: “By schematizing the book’s relationships and by cutting away Yates’s extraordinary precision, psychological nuance, and eloquent sorrows, Mendes has, I think, unwittingly...
Life On Mars →
…back filming in the LES
[Bowery Boogie via EV Grieve] and here’s the lovely Mol [pic via]
Fairytale of New York, The Pogues and Kirsty...
The Demise of Dating →
The paradigm has shifted. Dating is dated. Hooking up is here to stay.
per NYT Op-Ed:
Under the old model, you dated a few times and, if you really liked the person, you might consider having sex. Under the new model, you hook up a few times and, if you really like the person, you might consider going on a date.
So why is there an increase in hooking up? It’s: the collapse of advanced...
New York City has Anxiety Disorder →
Anxious New Yorkers Popping More Pills per Crain’s NY:
In the city, prescriptions for anti-anxiety drugs, anti-depressants and sleep aids had shot up in September, when an economic tsunami bankrupted Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., forced Washington to bail out insurer American Insurance Group Inc., prompted Bank of America Corp. to rescue Merrill Lynch & Co., and led Goldman Sachs...
Two French Noels , St. Martin’s Chamber...
Friday Night. I’m
Steppin’ Out, Joe...
Fire up the TV: 'The Yule Log' is coming back to... →
per AMNY:
It wouldn’t be a holiday in New York without The WPIX Yule Log! “The Yule Log” will run from 9 a.m.-1 p.m on December 25, and at 1 p.m., the Laurel and Hardy classic “March of the Wooden Soldiers” will be back as well.
This year’s Yule Log comes as PIX celebrates its 60th anniversary. And in keeping with the station’s respect for its...
NYT's 10 Best Books of 2008 →
Babes in Toyland: March of the Toys, Razumovsky...
Babes in Toyland
[pic via] Avery Fisher Hall will be running a performance of the Holiday Classic Babes in Toyland. per Timeout NY:
For its performance of this chestnut, the Little Orchestra Society rewrote the entire script, transforming Toyland from a fantastical Oz-like setting into an old-fashioned New York shop. When the eccentric storekeeper learns that his new partners are trying to take over, his...
Get Drunk Gift-Finding Bazaar
Abetting your lazy decision to just give alcohol, Astor Wines And Spirits hosting a tasting bash of their downstairs liquor store’s finest: $15 gets you four hours to sample 18 wines and champagnes (Albarino Amarone, Chateau l’Ermitage de Bel-Air…), plus half a dozen spirits, from Coole Swan Irish Cream, to 1921 Blanco Tequila, to single malts from Tomintoul, named for the...
Illinois Governor Accused in Scheme to Sell...
Mol.Chicago Version
Hark, The Herald Angels Sing, A Charlie Brown...
What Makes a Real Brooklynite? →
WNYC had a segment last week on the question, What Makes a Real Brooklynite? This debate got started when actress and native Brooklynite Rosie Perez called in on the previous day to weigh in her thoughts on the proposed Ravitch Commission proposals on the MTA. [pic via NYO]
“That’s not writing, that’s typing!”
– Truman Capote (on Jack Kerouac finishing On The Road in three weeks, and his lack of proper punctuation and sentence structure)
Translation of that quote, in today’s terms, would be — that’s not blogging, that’s tumbling!
Three of "Real World: Brooklyn" cast members are...
As Gothamist reported, 4 of the Red Hook Real Worlders are smitten with NYC that they are planning to stay on after their gig with the Real World ends. Now, AMNY reports that 3 of those 4 reality “stars” have rented an apartment and will be living together at Stuy Town.
Thank G_d_, I’ve moved out of there before Tishman Speyer bought the complex.
Strawberry Fields Forever, The Beatles
Someday a real rain will come and wash all this...
[pic via IMDB] NYC taxi driver with MBA posts resume in back seat.
per IHT:
A recent graduate with a master’s degree in business administration who can’t find work has posted his resume in the yellow taxi he’s been driving around New York City to help pay his bills.
He says he’s received a couple of business cards and supportive comments but no job offers.
Current Weater: Clear, but Cold and Windy ...
“It was a lonely for a day or so until one morning some man, more recently...”
– Nick Carraway The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Slings and Arrows
[pic via Sundance Channel] My recently discovered new favorite tv show is profiled in today’s Sunday Times:
” “Slings” is a sendup of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario. It will entertain viewers with no knowledge of Stratford and little patience with Shakespeare while tantalizing them with glimpses of the plays being performed by peerless actors. It is...
A New SoHo Boutique Where Fashionistas and the... →
“The 1929,” at 174 Mott Street [photo via NYDN]
per NYDN:
A new SoHo boutique named The 1929 - after the Depression - and a place where fashionistas and the down-and-out soon could be rubbing shoulders.
The street level store on 179 Mott St. is decked out with racks of snazzy dresses, pants and tops by independent designers.
The basement level has been transformed into an art...
Living Cheaply in New York →
[BAS via JVNY]
Employees Come And Go At Cummins →
Just love that headline.
On a Holiday note…
Christmas Wrapping, The...
NYC to close 3 underperforming public schools →
Yet, if banks underperform, gov’t bails them out.
Welcome to New Wild Boar Village →
[per metro NY via (metro Boston)]:
“…in a fascinating new book, The Atlas of True Names, the traditional names of the world’s major cities, countries, rivers and mountains have been changed to reflect their etymological origins.
New York becomes New Wild Boar Village — after the Old English “Eoforwic” (wild boar) and the Latin “vicus” (village or trading place) which combined,...