Category: Manhattan

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?

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

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.