Category: Manhattan

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!