F Train of Dreams

You can’t make this up.

Scene 1:
Singing panhandler croons an a capella version of “Stand By Me”. No money gained. William Hung could have done better.

Scene 2:
Black woman with really big poofy hair and bustier as troubadour. Her hispanic boyfriend has the guitar case in tow. Strums a lyric, then asks, “Am I over-analyzing…”.

Scene 3:
Couple playing hand held video games. The girl is singing something unintellible, and then giggles every few minutes.

Scene 4:
Old Chinese woman gets into a Jerry Springer moment with a young black woman. Nobody on the train can figure out what the argument is about, but after four letter words on one side, and the equivilent ones in Cantonese, it degenerates into volleys of “You shut up”…”No, you shut up”.

Monday into Tuesday

Sunday’s NY Times had an interesting article on “Alias” – thought it was a good read. The episode itself – well, that was just nuts. So, Secret Agent Sydney and her sister are part of the Rambaldi prophecy and crazy adventures are their family legacy – and yet… the writers may still very well not know what they’re doing. Yet it’s quite a romp anyway, since we were left reassured that Sloane is still an obsessed selfish bastard. And, that Jack Bristow still loves his daughter. Okay…

Doonesbury – wow. B.D.’s taking the whole losing-a-leg thing well, since he and his friend Ray appear to be both shocked more by the appearance of B.D.’s hair. Funny thing that I always thought that B.D. would be bald after wearing his (football/”CHiPs” highway patrol/army headgear) helmet all these years. But, Trudeau’s reassuring folks that he will go into this serious injury in his black humor style (as noted in this week’s Question of the Week on the Doonesbury site, via the Slate.com portal).

For anyone who’s wondering – Quebec’s treasured foodstuff, poutine (the french fries with cheese and gravy mixture), gets explained in the NY Times – and the current generation of Montreal chefs are trying to glamourize it, with foie gras and other calorie-filled and bad-for-your-heart but ooh-guilty-pleasure eating.

Back on April 5, 2004, I noted the fascinating influx of minorities in commercials – namely, the Verizon ads with the Elliot family – that curiously interesting family that has a white, clueless-as-can-be-Dad, busy-yet-doing-just-fine Latina Mom, and their kids – particularly that odd toddler who yaks away on the phone to Nana – and their big dog. The more I’ve seen the ads, the more I really like them – the toddler’s cute and the family’s interactions are incredibly regular life-like – and the latest Slate.com Ad Report from Seth Stevenson more or less agrees with me. Well, remember – I had the exclusive first, folks!

Anyway, according to Stevenson, there are additional families added to the Verizon line up – an African-American and a Latino family. I’ve only seen the Elliots in the NYC tv market – so perhaps the Davises and the Sandovals will be coming to a tv near you soon. Based on what I saw on Verizon’s website, the Davises are amusing – the kids’ setting up their single (widower? divorced?) Dad with potential female mates while his mom gets bemused; the Sandovals, apparently in Spanish tv (Telemundo or Univision, probably), put their dad in funny situations; but I like the Elliots’ pleasant normal charm best. And, where’s the Asian family? Asians make long distance/local calls and go on-line too, you know. Anyway, this is all a positive step – more diversity in commercials please! (more diversity in tv generally, please)…

For anyone who’s interested: the 25th Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival is this Sunday, May 2, 2004, 11:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., at Union Square in Manhattan; check out the website: http://www.capaonline.org/index.htm.

Enjoy the week…

Brooklyn Restaurant Week

P– and I went to too many Brooklyn Restaurant Week restaurants. Marty’s restaurant week was an astounding success!

Worth another visit: Cocotte (French bistro cooking): excellent coconut-hinted bouillabaisse. Totally tolerant of having one latecomer to our party. Prix Fixe was a worthwhile value.

Worth waiting a few hours on the cell phone: Blue Ribbon Sushi (5th Av): sushi platter modestly sized, but absolutely satisfying and filling. Salmon had the most outrageous stripes of delicious fat, showing its excellent quality. Tip: get there to be on the waiting list early (no reservations), give them your cell phone number, and then hang out at Ozzie’s coffee across the steet. My friend Kam and her husband were also waiting there.

Not worth it: Baccus (Atlantic Av, French bistro): While the scallop appertizer was skillfully done, and the deserts were heavenly, the main dish (lamb ribs – 3 ribs yielding enough meat to make 2 chicken nuggets) was unimpressive. They also litterally left money on the table by forgetting to make our extra side orders, which would have been an additional 12 dollars.