Triscribe

[I’m actually writing this on the 4th, but since I’m the admin, I get to warp space and time in this little domain. It also fits neatly that gap between the 2nd and the 4th.]

I went to the opening of the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, which is part of their new student center at Washington Square South. Wow, what we could have done if that were there when I went there! (say that three times fast). The premiere [AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution] [N.Y. Times] was 5 dance segments by the Parsons Dance Company. The most amazing performance was by Angel Corella of the American Ballet Theatre in “Caught”. The performance used a carefully timed strobe light. When the stage was dark, Corella would move into position on stage. He would jump into the air, pose, and activate the strobe light. When the strobe flashed, the audience would only see the final result of the movement. In this way, he seemed to float across the stage, sometimes walking, sometimes gliding. At the end of each sequence, he would reappear standing ramrod straight in a single regular spotlight on stage, and he wouldn’t even appear winded. Absolutely amazing! I wished that I could have taken pictures. [The New York Times article has a full sized picture.]

World’s largest cube fridge

The temperature has taken a dramatic drop. It must be around 55 degrees F! There is that crispness in the air that is distinctive of fall.

In other freezer news, my freezer is defrosting. I’ve got one of those ancient circa 1950’s refrigerator/freezers. It’s so old that the freezer is a box inside the refrigerator, like a giant version of those dorm cube fridges. There ‘s no easy way to do it but to just turn it down low and just let it melt. They apparently hadn’t invented the drain pan yet, so it all ends up at the bottom of the cabinet, mostly in the veggie tray. I used the top of a spray bottle as a makeshift pump to get enough of the liquid out to pull it out without getting it all over the floor. Two half buckets of water and paper towels were deposited down the toilet. There is still about half a gallon of ice still in the box. I guess the advantage is that the stuff in my fridge had enough ice in there to keep it going during the blackout.

Did I mention that it’s getting cold in the living room?

Okay, does anybody notice that the McDonald’s “Chicken Breast Strips” commercials are on the air way too much? Kind of ridiculous – “Ooh, look, real chicken meat!” – as if that makes it healthier (it’s still fried chicken; a McChicken without the bread, lettuce, and mayo). I’ll likely end up eating this latest item, but do I have to see the commercial twice in a row? (okay, not exactly; in between was a car ad or something).

Then, there’s the weird Buick Rainier ad. It’s weird for a lot of reasons. First, odd name for a minivan/SUV hybrid. Second, the ghost character who comes forth to guide the engineers to design this hybrid vehicle – wearing a fedora and nice suit to look like he’s a classic 1950’s Good Olds Guy mascot (umm, yeah, Oldsmobile is a different type of car, I know). Third, the appearance of the head engineer/auto designer, whom I recognize is the actor who plays the lead character for ABC’s “Threat Matrix” (the series about a Dept of Homeland Security special forces unit). By the end of the Buick commercial, the engineer character looks proudly smug, thinking, “Yes, I listened to the ghost, I’ve built it, and they will come!”

Well, I don’t know if people will go for the car or not, or else be confused that this is actually an ad for “Threat Matrix” (which, I could discuss in another blog entry, but suffice it to say that it’s a strange, cheesy show; did anyone hear the joke about it, calling it “Threat Nemo”??? It remains to be seen if the series is more than a joke, but it’s a guilty pleasure right now, just waiting for it to try something really silly, not just be a brazen take on current Homeland Security issues).