Postcards from Hell's Kitchen

Hugo Missed The Mark

2012-02-02T07:25:00.000-05:00

I saw Hugo when it first came out... (At my favorite Ziegfeld Theater!)

Loved it's 1930's style. Many of it's visuals were rich and gorgeous.

Respected that it didn't over do the 3D stuff... (Though I still find the 3D glasses somewhat uncomfortable and restrictive).

Respectable.

But: Waaaaay tooooo looooong! (And therefore self indulgent).

Been a few weeks, and there's nothing about it that sticks with me...

As a friend remarked, "It could have been really great". So, we were in agreement that it was lacking... Something.

Lacking what? Plot, mostly. Or something.

Just left kind of disappointed...

It missed it's mark.

New in Times Square: Caffee' Bene

2012-02-01T15:11:00.001-05:00

European-style cafe... This place is off to a good start. Although they better learn to streamline the ordering process and hustle to get the upstairs seating area open. Real books on the walls... A nice touch in the Internet age... Signs on the walls seem to encourage the customer to actually read the books... Quite novel.... Stylish young international crowd already... This could be the next big thing...

Warm Up Wednesday: Marky Mark

2012-02-01T05:17:00.001-05:00

Carol Channing: Happy 92nd Birthday

2012-01-31T20:16:00.000-05:00

Carol Channing performs for Her Majesty The Queen at the 1979 Royal Variety Performance, held at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.

Miss Channing is 92 today!

Carol Channing: Larger than Life documentary film opens in theaters this week...

This Is Too Warm

2012-01-31T15:51:00.002-05:00

Temperature at 4pm today in Hell's Kitchen and Vicinity: 61.8 °F

Set the Tone: Control What Goes On Inside

2012-01-30T05:45:00.001-05:00

"You cannot always control what goes on outside, but you can always control what goes on inside."
-- Dr. Wayne Dyer

Who's On First? Starring Mitt and Newt

2012-01-29T01:54:00.000-05:00

Night of 100 Stars - Red Shoes

2012-01-28T13:27:00.000-05:00

13 minutes long... But worth it!

Thanks to Nicomar for sending....

City Crab With Comments

2012-01-28T11:20:00.000-05:00

Had lunch the other day at City Crab.

The one down near Union Square...

All the drizzled sauces look mighty pretty but they mask the delicate crab natural flavor.

Sooo... Next time? I'd order no drizzling...

Also, next time, I'd smuggle in my own saltines.. Gotta have saltines with Maryland Crab cakes...

As for the Maryland Crab Soup? Perfect... Although, it could have arrived steamier...

Gotta say the service was excellent...

A big improvement to my last visit a while back...

TGIF: Sh!t Native New Yorker's Say

2012-01-27T16:09:00.000-05:00

Shut Up About That!

2012-01-26T16:10:00.000-05:00

One Facebook fracker from high school days posted this week that he's gonna become a grandfather in August... We're the same age, for Chrissakes! Talk about a "Timeline"...

I prefer living in denial.

I've removed all the mirrors in my apartment... And no one can take a photo closer than 20 feet away.

On top of a dear friend dying suddenly last week I'm feeling very near my own expiration date lately...

Maybe its all a sign that I should get my Will together...

Day at a time, folks... Day at a time...

Warm Up Wednesday: Calvin Klein Underwear

2012-01-25T04:14:00.001-05:00

Happy National Peanut Butter Day!

2012-01-24T16:39:00.000-05:00

Happy National Peanut Butter Day!

Here's five reasons why Peanut Butter is healthy, too!

1. It's Heart Healthy
2. It's High In Potassium, The 'Good' Salt
3. It Keeps You Full To Prevent Weight Gain
4. It's A Cheap Source of Good Calories
5. It Could Keep You Sharp (Peanut butter has about 4.3 milligrams of niacin per two-tablespoon serving, noted for preventing cognitive delay!)

Read the entire article.

Set the Tone: Everything You Want

2012-01-23T05:28:00.002-05:00

“Everything you want in life is right outside your comfort zone”

~ Robert Allen

Reflections on Paul Cadmus

2012-01-22T10:56:00.003-05:00

I went out to see the following three events/exhibits (and a few old friends) at the Brooklyn Museum yesterday...

Discussion: "Reflections on Paul Cadmus"

Jon Andersson, longtime partner of Paul Cadmus, whose work is included in the exhibition HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, spoke to scholar and author Philip Eliasoph about Cadmus’s life and work.

Jon recalled meeting Cadmus for the first time in Nantucket and how their relationship developed over the 35 years that they were in partnership.

Afterward I visited the following exhibitions at the museum:

Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties

HIDE/SEEK: Difference in Desire and American Portraiture

(Luigi Lucioni (American, 1900–1988). Paul Cadmus, 1928. Oil on canvas, 16 x 12 1/8 in. (40.6 x 30.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 2007.28)

Caught up with many old friends that were in attendance including: Jon Andersson, Philis Raskind, Sue Renee Bernstein and Eric Stephen Jacobs.

Below is one of the Cadmus drawings of Jon that was discussed in the afternoon interview:

Snowy Saturday Morning

2012-01-21T06:28:00.001-05:00

No bigee. A light dusty snow was still falling at 6am when I went out for coffee... The kind that, with a little wind, stings when it hits your face. And it's still dark at this hour. And one of Hell's Kitchen's sidestreets still has their seasonal night lights up... So I snapped this shot with my smartphone... Actually, am posting this to Blogger using apps on my smartphone too. Such is the smartphone on a snowy Saturday morning....

Oppose SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-19T07:37:00.000-05:00

Tell your Representatives that you oppose SOPA and PIPA.

Why? SOPA and PIPA would put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won't have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn't being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won't show up in major search engines. SOPA and PIPA would build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.

In a world in which politicians regulate the Internet based on the influence of big money, Wikipedia — and sites like it — cannot survive.

Congress says it's trying to protect the rights of copyright owners, but the "cure" that SOPA and PIPA represent is worse than the disease. SOPA and PIPA are not the answer: they would fatally damage the free and open Internet.

Warm Up Wednesday: Jim Palmer

2012-01-18T04:11:00.001-05:00

Remember

2012-01-16T08:15:00.000-05:00

MLK, Jr.

(January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

Set the Tone: Say What You Want

2012-01-16T05:18:00.001-05:00

"You say potato, I say whatever the hell I want"

-- Darth Vadar, @darthvadar on Twitter

All to the Good

2012-01-15T10:04:00.000-05:00

Halfway through the Three Day Weekend...

It's a cold one...

I'm snug inside in a sweatsuit, drinking hot coffee, scented candles fired up, warm music on the Bose Wave.

All to the good...

Just changed my Desktop Theme to Ice Water... Ice and water go together like Astaire and Rogers, cookies and milk, and all the other great teams: beautifully. Each on its own is nice, but together they create something with extra sparkle. Add glamorous images of this all-time great team for free to your Windows 7 desktop.

Clearing off icons...

Need to fire up the iPad they gave me for work...

Pruning more apps on the Android...

And hopefully will hopefully really, really, really make my way to the hardwood surface of my Great Grandfather's Writing table... Through all the tear sheets and paper scraps...

Wish me luck...

Now where's that second coffee that just beeped off in the microwave?

Three Day Weekend Looms

2012-01-12T17:14:00.000-05:00

Just one more work day til the Three Day Weekend! (MLK, Jr day)

I'm ready!

Incandescent light bulbs are headed the way of the Dodo Bird... Does that include the colored ones for parties and decoration too?? I guess I better stockpile a few in my favorite colors before it's too late...

Why don't building supers realize when it's warm and humid that you don't have to pump the heat up the same way as if it's 13 degrees and dry? I'm going through Carmex like they are going through heating oil... I need a new tub...

Where does all this paper come from?? It never ceases to amaze... I mean, I'm really very good about paperless options to billing and such... And am pretty damned assertive about halting junk mail! So why is there a never ending pile?

Harry's Shoes had Rockports on sale this week...Good, as I needed a black pair of shoes...

Even the shoebox is nice... A charcoal gray. Firm. With a fitted lid... It stacks nice...

Great for putting all these papers into! So now there's plenty of room for a brand new stack to form!

It never ends...

Warm Up Wednesday: Buster Crabbe

2012-01-11T05:01:00.014-05:00

As winter progresses, Postcards from Hell's Kitchen provides another Warm Up Wednesday...

Vintage Pinup Fella: Buster Crabbe. (February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983.)

Swim star and Flash Gordon actor Buster Crabbe couldn't help becoming a gay icon.

"If the role required it, I guess I'd strip... If you have the body, you do it."
Buster Crabbe - After Dark interview, 1972.

Oh, Buster...

Grom Hot Chocolate

2012-01-10T15:41:00.001-05:00

Incredible. Rich. Smooth. Hot. I got the dark. Medium. $5.50. A perfect winter treat. Makes an ideal carrot on a stick to get through a tough winter work day! Fabulous.

As Long As He Needs Me by Judy Garland

2012-01-10T05:23:00.000-05:00

Set the Tone: The Main Thing

2012-01-09T05:14:00.001-05:00

"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing".

~ Steven Covey

Thirteenth Day of Christmas

2012-01-07T10:44:00.001-05:00

"The initial high of romantic love is not an illusion that inevitably crashes into reality, so much as reality that crashes into an illusion". - Marianne Williamson, said that this morning on Twitter.

Am digging Maoz Vegetarian lately for hearty veggie lunches...

Today is to be so-called *gorgeous" with temps in mid 50's. Knock it down another 20 degrees and I'll agree with the adjective... Personally, I much preferred the seasonal teens earlier in the week.

Jeers to Bouchon Bakery for dropping the Tres Chocolate croissant log thingie from their menu... Idiots!

Julie Halston is currently in rehearsals for her imminent entry into Broadway's Anything Goes!

Sweater vests make one look fat! Like a big Santorum frothy mix of fat... Ew... We wore those fashion debacles way back in the seventies...

New Danny Yoffee photo show opens in Ridgewood this weekend.

"I didn't get old on purpose, it just happened. If you're lucky, it could happen to you." ~ Andy Rooney

It's the thirteenth day of Christmas... Final Holiday Party of the season is later today... And the Christmas tree has been removed from the lobby of my building...

Congratulations to Brian Blackburn and David Estreich Architects on their new 2012 website design. Most impressive.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sprayed Olive Oil Pam on dry microwaved popcorn so that the salt and Parmesan adheres to it... Works good.

Hoping Charlie Rose's new puffy CBS Morning News gig doesn't cut into the quality of his cool PBS show... This week's programs included fascinating interviews with Barney Frank and George McGovern.

Have you tried Evernote yet??? I highly recommend it! A great tool for getting organized in the New Year!!

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." - Walter Winchell

Had a great meal recently at Joe's of Avenue U! Their Linguine with White Clam is the finest on the planet... Ditto for their Broccoli Rabe... Thanks to Nicomar for turning me onto that place... I find myself jonesing for it from time to time...

Have a great weekend!

New Daniel Yoffee Photo Exhibit Opens this Weekend

2012-01-06T17:04:00.002-05:00

Checkout The Ridgewood News: Ridgewood's Stable Gallery Hosts Daniel Yoffee's Photography Exhibit... By Eileen La Forgia.

"It was my grandmother’s dream that all of her grandchildren visit Israel," said Daniel Yoffee...
Yoffee, a native of Orangeburg, N.Y. is inviting Jewish organizations from Bergen and Rockland County as well as the community to come to the Stable Gallery and enjoy his journey to Israel.
His interest in photography began as a young teenager capturing Kodak moments with family, friends and pets. He says he was fascinated with a device that created a permanent image that could be shared and appreciated over and over.
"My passion is to share my way of viewing a scene that others may not see."
He took photography classes in high school, college, continuing education and at the International School of Photography, Edward Hopper House, Santa Fe workshops and attended the National Geographic Travel Photography Seminars.During the past year Yoffee’s work has been shown in group shows in White Plains, Teaneck, West Nyack, Manhattan and Tenafly.
He has had solo exhibits at the Pearl River Library and Park Ridge Library.
Yoffee has traveled widely to Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, across the United States and also on a Mediterranean cruise, always taking photographs.
An artist reception will take place on Jan. 8, from 2 to 4 p.m. The Stable Gallery is located at 259 North Maple Ave. in Ridgewood. "My Journey Through Israel" can be seen Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment. For more information, call the Ridgewood Recreation office at 201-670-5560.

For more information see DanielYoffee.com and DanielYoffee.Smugmug.com, and the Living Life for Two blog.

Friday

2012-01-06T16:27:00.002-05:00

It's Friday, thank you!

Warm Up Wednesday: David Beckham

2012-01-04T15:56:00.001-05:00

Because they don't call it Hump Day for nuthin...

While today was the coldest day of the season at 13 degrees or so...

David Beckham's new underwear campaign for H&M exudes heat...

Bodywear, they call it...

OK Dokey.

Warms one up!, IMHO

The First Monday Holiday of Twenty Twelve

2012-01-03T11:09:00.000-05:00

These are some of Monday's tweets and other thoughts...

New Year = New Wallet...

"You cannot soar with the eagles as long as you hang out with the turkeys" ~ Joel Osteen said that.

A new weather record: A record annual precipitation of 65.34 inches was set at LaGuardia Airport in the year 2011. This breaks the old record of 60.84 inches set
in 1983.

Fact is, I'm really quite happy with my 2012 New Year's resolutions.

Let's all just agree to call it Twenty Twelve! OK? OK!

I'm extreeeemely grateful to have had this bonus day off for After New Year's Monday...

Laundry. Recycling. Tea on the UWS with a friend... Later, coffee at Cafe' Safee.

"In order to respond, one should become like a mirror. A mirror just reflects... never touched or tainted by the images" ~ Amma said that.

January is Get Organized Month (GO Month) sez Unclutterer

Just took down my un-elaborate Christmas decoration off my apt door... An old fashioned Xmas postcard... Christmas is *over* for another year. Bah Humbug!

Cool today. ... Much colder tomorrow! Bring it on!

At Burrito Box today, I was the very first customer to tip in the New Year! I anticipated confetti and bells/whistles. Or at least extra chips? Nada!

Great starting the New Year w/ Lisa & Elliot for dinner last night at Pure Food & Wine in Gramercy Park! FABULOUS New Years Day meal last nite! Great food, ambiance, raw fine dining... Who knew vegan raw could be so good? Nut cheeses, chicory salad w/ cherry, zucchini lasagna! ... I'll be back!

Flaming Saddles Saloon, 9th/52nd St, raised the price of a soda from $3 to $4 in time for 2012. Hope they catch on. Cute bartenders two step atop the bar. Mixed gay/straight crowd. Clean well run establishment! Doorman, carpet nonsense is off-putting. Don't let it scare ya off!

"Live each day as if it were your LAST, and you'll develop a keen respect for opportunity" ~ Napoleon Hill wrote that.

Cold Weather means more seafood mee fun noodle soups at Mee Noodle...

Owner's of former St Clare's hospital ARE legally responsible for the detritus on the sidewalks around the property?... Yes? ... Get busy!

"Allow the deepening flow to find you - to carry and enfold and entice you onward". ~ Nalini wrote that.

Every Monday should be a holiday! Seriously!

Dropped by for hot coffee and to say hello & Happy New Year to Yianni & Vivienne @ City Lights Diner... My ol' breakfast haunt at 52/10th.

"Keep old friends near and old loves dear. For they will help you make those changes in your life that will produce miracles". - Neale Donald Walsch

"NYC is eerily quiet today. I like eerily". - Black Out Pete said that on Twitter.

And last but not least... about relationships: "Sticking your 'thing' into someone else's 'thing' is a simple enough concept. Animals do it all the time but humans seems to complicate it. - KlassyFucker said that on Twitter.

Enjoy your workweek ahead, Peops!

Set the Tone: Chaos to Order

2012-01-02T05:10:00.002-05:00

"Gratitude turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity."

-- Melody Beattie

Todd's Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

Be open.

Simplify.

Increase awareness.

Choose serenity.

Give of thy light and not of thy oil.

Forgive.

Attitude of gratitude.

Do the next right thing...

Be happy.

Starting 2012 Right!!

2012-01-01T09:22:00.002-05:00

"The one New Year's resolve that will cover everything -- Expand awareness!". - Deepak Chopra.

I realize that I am likely the most chipper and annoying person in all of Hell's Kitchen this AM... The benefits of going to bed early and getting up at 5:30am refreshed and properly hydrated!

Started the New Year chores:

Revoked Facebook Apps I Don't Use anymore....

Set up the New Facebook Timeline while I still have the free vacation time... Resistance to FB changes is futile.

"I don't make resolutions for the New Year. A New Year's Resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other". - Dave Upton. Oh, that Dave!

Registered the new Starbucks card... *Free refills* make it worth the while... But seriously?? One more card? I need a new wallet...

Fired up the two (count em: TWO) laptops and did all the updates necessary to virus protection, OS, Browsers, and whatev...!

"My New Years resolution is to stop procrastinating... one of these days! - Colin Quinn

First good deed of the New Year?? Helped sweet Sandy replant her little evergreen tree that was unceremoniously ripped from it's nest by some drunken reveler in the wee small hours last night...

Still SO much more to do before a vegan dinner later with dear friends at Pure Food and Wine.

Luckily... One more day off tomorrow before the next long stretch of work...

Set the Tone: New Year's Quotes

2012-01-01T07:17:00.002-05:00

Quotes from Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson to start the new year off on the right (mouse) foot:

"The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists. The fastest way to change is to laugh at your own folly - then you can let go and quickly move on."

“When you stop being afraid you feel good”

“He knew sometimes some fear can be good. When you are afraid things are going to get worse if you don't do something, it can prompt you into action. But it is not good when you are afraid that it keeps you from doing anything.”

"They kept life simple. They didn't over-analyze or over-complicate things. When the situation changed and the cheese had been moved, they changed and moved with the cheese. He would remember that."

"There is always new cheese out there whether you recognize it at the time, or not... You are rewarded with it when you go past your fear and enjoy the adventure."

“Being in the uncomfortable zone is much better than staying in the cheese-less situation .”

“When you change what you believe, you change what you do...”

“The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese.”

“Movement in new direction helps find new cheese.”

"Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again and again"

“If you do not change, you can become extinct!”

Kissing the New Year In

2012-01-01T06:32:00.000-05:00

New Year Greetings from The McGuire Sisters: Let's Start the New Year Right

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year 2012 from Postcards from Hell's Kitchen!

Look Back at 2011 via Google Zeitgeist

2011-12-31T10:14:00.000-05:00

See how the World Searched with Google's 2011 Zeitgeist: http://googlezeitgeist.com/ Music: "Sooner or Later" by Mat Kearney

Triple Your Donation By Midnight!

2011-12-31T09:34:00.000-05:00

Guest post by Bill Clinton... (Well, it would be, if I asked him! LOL)

I am extremely grateful for your year-end gift. Your support means that we can help even more people around the world achieve their dreams in 2012.

Because I know that you are committed to building a better world, I am hoping you could share the incredible news with your friends and family that a generous donor has stepped up to continue our matching gift campaign and give the Foundation $2 for every $1 donated. That means every online gift will go 3 times as far until midnight tonight.

I hope you will share the news that donations to the Clinton Foundation will be tripled with your family, neighbors, and friends and ask them to join you in supporting our mission.

Our work is only possible because of the generosity of our donors – make sure your friends and family take advantage of this incredible opportunity to have their tax-deductible gift tripled.

Thank you again for your generosity.

Sincerely,

Bill Clinton

Who Moved My Cheese? Revisited.

2011-12-31T05:01:00.038-05:00

I just re-read Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson.... Quite brilliant! A good read to examine the old and ring in the new!

I'm getting all new stuff from it at this present stage of life... I'd read it when it came out originally in 1999 or so...

... Particularly about clinging to people, places, things no matter what... "There is always new cheese out there whether you recognize it at the time, or not. And that you are rewarded with it when you go past your fear and enjoy the adventure."

And then there's my ongoing mantra that "people change" and some people's abhorrent disgust with that concept....

The other thing that strikes me is how the entire financial paradigm has shifted... No longer can we rely on pensions and "nose to the grindstone" as a guarantee of life long success and security...

It's all quite fascinating.... And horrifying and challenging, and enlightening... and simple. Oh my!

How will YOU change your methods in the New Year....?

As for me... I'll be more aware to:

"Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again and again"

Here are some great quotes from Spencer Johnson.

The Big Cheese

2011-12-30T05:46:00.000-05:00

Was at a high falutin celebrity holiday party recently and got to talking to the cheese man from Murray's Cheese Shop.

He's responsible for managing the cheese cellar where they age their cheeses. He's also quite the cheese connoisseur...

He directed me toward a special cheese on the cheese tray...

Cabot Cloth Bound Cheddar

You chip it off...

It's dry and magical...

An explosive sharp bite at first... Followed by a cooling and creamy after-taste...

I woulda walked right by it....

Perfectly paired with a fig jam... On a cracker...

Multiply Life By 'The Power of Two'

2011-12-30T03:14:00.001-05:00

My brother gave me this CD for Christmas...

The Power of Two (Released: November 3, 2009, Qualiton Imports, Harbinger Records)

These two guys make a fine musical combination...

Michael Feinstein, 55, and Cheyenne Jackson, 36 bring a classy old world pop style to this CD... Even with the diverse music choices...

It all works due to expert arrangements and recording studio work that makes for a cohesive album of largely upbeat easy listening with a show tune bent...

Favorite cuts: We Kiss in the Sunlight, I'm Nothing Without You, and I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter.

In 2009, Feinstein teamed up with Cheyenne Jackson to create a nightclub act titled "The Power of Two". The show was hailed by the New York Times as "passionate," "impeccably harmonized" and "groundbreaking". Variety acclaimed it as "dazzlingly entertaining". Their act became one of the most critically acclaimed shows of 2009, and the duo created a studio album from the material, The Power of Two. The Power of Two, a concert reuniting Jackson and Feinstein, was presented at Carnegie Hall on October 29, 2010. (Background information from Wikipedia)

2011 Buh-Bye! by Jib Jab

2011-12-29T03:23:00.001-05:00

All I Want for Christmas

2011-12-28T10:55:00.000-05:00

Silly fun from Alvin and the Chipmunks and Reese Rideout.

All he wants for Christmas is his Two Front teeth...

Poor fella...

I would like washboard abs, myself...

Christmas Season Blurbing

2011-12-28T05:49:00.001-05:00

Michael Buble's Christmas album is very good. I'd given it to my dad for Christmas. He opened it and declared "Oh, Michael Bubble"!

Listening now to Nancy LaMott's "Just in Time for Christmas"... Love(d) her! Michael Feinstein and Nancy's "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is absolutely the best version of that song... Ever... Bar none...

"Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten".
- John Dryden.

Also gave my Dad Tony Bennett's Duets II album... It was a snore to tell you the truth... Even Amy Winehouse's cut couldn't save it...

Rest in Peace Harry Kullijian, he passed just a few days short of his 92nd birthday! Condolences to Carol Channing.

Helldersburg Xmas 2011 recollections: Denny's slam, Roadkill, Nittany's, bathrobe #2, side dishes, Dad's cookies, Mom's bright spirit, apps, Walmart parking lot.

Those little Baltimore rowhouses you can see when passing through on Amtrak are still quite charming... That is, the ones that aren't being bulldozed by the city...

Beautiful orange and blue pre-sunset skies in Helldersburg.

Saw stars in Maryland.

Chelsea Lunch Break: Thai Chai-yo and a Billy's Bakery chaser! Had a free lunch come to my from the Chai Thai Yo frequent flyer program...

"A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape" - Mark Twain

These new Facebook Timeline pages are completely dizzying... I haven't selected them yet for my own page.

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has" - Epictetus

Jingle all the way...

"There is only one person who could ever make you happy, and that person is you." - David Burn

Julie Halston returns to Broadway soon into 2012!

"Instant gratification ensures that we will travel in the same vicious circles again and again". - Debbie Ford

Let me just take a moment to express my deep appreciation of Michael Fassbender. Nice pic in Entertainment Weekly Best of 2011 issue. Good work in Shame.

The After-Christmas Re-Charge...

2011-12-27T09:02:00.001-05:00

After the frenetic and intense stretch of work from September til now, I feel like I could stay snug in my warm little apartment for the next month...

Of course... That's not possible.

But I do plan to spend a goodly bit of time in here til I need to return to work next Tuesday...

Scented candles ablaze! (In safety glass containers, of course!)

And Nancy LaMott's Just in Time for Christmas in the background...

Plenty of sweet treats stockpiled in here... Holiday gifts, mostly...

To tell you the truth... A single slice of Tate's coffee cake (and it is extraordinary!) would be just as fulfilling a gift for me as a whole giant coffee cake... So, I concentrate on the pecans and the anti-inflammatory qualities of the cinnamon spices and pretend it's a health food...

Then, there's the giant tub of Fisher's Popcorn... Ocean City's Finest caramel corn! Gotta make a sincere effort go slow on that! This is Medium... sez my bro... But it's a brown sugar and corn syrup monster to me! Fiber? Sure.

Peace Love Truffles are delightful handcrafted treats... Peanut butter is best in my book... Basil was most interesting... Orange clove was very good, though it doesn't need the orange clove sugar added... and I'm all for the Moroccan Mint sans the mint sugar... Chocolate has Oleic Acid, a healthy monounsaturated fat that's also found in olive oil.

Although a whole tin each of my father's Oatmeal Raisin and Toll House cookies are never enough...

Lapsang Souchong with all.

Set the Tone: Give Sincere Appreciation

2011-12-26T05:15:00.000-05:00

“Increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone.”
-- Dale Carnegie

Merry Christmas Peops

2011-12-25T00:51:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T05:50:00.000-05:00

TGIF: Happy Solstice

2011-12-23T15:32:00.002-05:00

Get Lost in Miniatur Wunderland

2011-12-22T16:36:00.002-05:00

Boycott the Salvation Army Holiday Bell Ringers

2011-12-19T15:46:00.001-05:00

Please don't give your change to the Salvation Army bell ringers...

The Bilerico Project reminds us that the Salvation Army is anti-Gay.

That's right, complete bigotry... intolerance, and discrimination... reports the activist blogger in his annual post.

Sez Bil Browning:

The Salvation Army has a history of active discrimination against gays and lesbians. While you might think you're helping the hungry and homeless by dropping a few dollars in the bright red buckets, not everyone can share in the donations. Many LGBT people are rejected by the evangelical church charity because they're "sexually impure."

The church claims it holds "a positive view of human sexuality," but then clarifies that "sexual intimacy is understood as a gift of God to be enjoyed within the context of heterosexual marriage." The Salvation Army doesn't believe that gays and lesbians should ever know the intimacy of any loving relationship, instead teaching that "Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life."

(Image above from MyOutSpirit.org)

If you wish to donate to some inclusive organizations, Postcards from Hell's Kitchen blog recommends:

The Clinton Foundation

Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS

Wikimedia Foundation

Doctors Without Borders

Habitat for Humanity

Amnesty International

Put your holiday cheer where it can do the most good...

Love and joy come to you... etc.

Set the Tone: Mad About Strangers

2011-12-19T05:47:00.000-05:00

"I like friends — but I am mad about strangers".

- Quentin Crisp

Shame

2011-12-18T14:19:00.000-05:00

Saw Shame this weekend.

Still deciding what I thought about it...

It's a respectable movie to be sure. And there is already Oscar buzz.

Director Steve McQueen maintains a cool style.

Story line didn't provide many surprises. I pretty much knew where we were headed with this...

The whole cast of Shame was brilliant.

Authentic New York City location shots are ALWAYS appreciated.

Michael Fassbender is amazing...

Carey Mulligan's New York, New York rendition is a keeper.

Kandinsky at the Guggenheim

2011-12-17T15:55:00.001-05:00

If you're a purist who found the Cattelan exhibition to be hollow and garish...

Then be sure to check out the side galleries there at the Guggenheim.

My favorite show there?

Kandinsky's Painting with White Border

Vasily Kandinsky’s canvas, Painting with White Border (Bild mit weissem Rand, May 1913) was inspired by a trip the artist took to Moscow in fall 1912. Upon his return to Munich, where he had been living intermittently since 1896, Kandinsky searched for a way to visually record the “extremely powerful impressions” of his native Russia that lingered in his memory. Over a period of five months, he explored various motifs and compositions in study after study, moving freely between pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, and oil. After he produced at least 16 studies, Kandinsky finally arrived at the pictorial solution to the painting: the white border. In his seminal 1911 treatise Über das Geistige in der Kunst. Insbesondere in der Malerei (On the Spiritual in Art: And Painting in Particular), Kandinsky wrote that the color white expresses a “harmony of silence . . . pregnant with possibilities.”

This focused exhibition, co-organized with the Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., brings the Guggenheim’s final version of the painting from May 1913 together with twelve related drawings and watercolors and one major oil sketch, and features the results of an extensive conservation study of the Guggenheim and Phillips paintings. The study unearthed a previously unknown landscape painting beneath the surface of the Phillips’s Sketch I for Painting with White Border (Moscow) (Skizze für Bild mit weissem Rand [Moskau], 1913). A rare glimpse into Kandinsky’s creative process, Kandinsky’s Painting with White Border reveals the gradual and deliberate way the artist sought to translate his ideas into a bold new language of abstraction.

Until January 15th, 2012.

Fridays

2011-12-16T15:21:00.000-05:00

You gotta love em.

Though Saturdays and Sundays are even better, IMHO!

Have a great weekend, peeps...

Day. At. A. Time.

2011-12-15T15:27:00.008-05:00

This is *not* my favorite time of the year... Just sayin'.

Comfort food: Brad's Organic PB&J on multi-grain Wasa crackers. A little messy? Yes.

Amazed by how many snail mail Xmas cards I still get. Far fewer than the ol days, fer sure... But, still...

Fact is, it's been weeks since I read a newspaper. They go straight to the recycle bin. No time. No interest. Too depressing.

Headache today. Perfect!

Second time now that I thought I was buying those fabulous deep orange yams at the Union Square Greenmarket to realize later that they are some yellow kinda thing with a dry consistency. Me no like.

Here's eight reasons why waiting in line can drive you crazy!

Gmail is once again offering free domestic voice calling to the US and Canada. If you're interested...

Gimmee Jimmy's Cookies make a great gift. They deliver quick, too! Recipients always express deliciousness.

Here's seven Android Smartphone browser alternatives. I use Dolphin, myself. Though I've never mastered the new version and find it frustrating.

Here are the Ten Commandments to Lower Cholesterol.

Pre-holiday pressures are on *full tilt* at work! From EVERY side!

Day. At. A. Time.

Julie Halston is Back on Broadway

2011-12-14T17:14:00.000-05:00

It's official!

Julie Halston will join the cast of Anything Goes on January 13, 2012.

Ms. Halston will play matron Evangeline Harcourt in the hit Broadway revival starring Sutton Foster.

Her most recent stints on the boards included Olive and the Bitter Herbs, and The Divine Sister.

Anything Goes will play through April 29, 2012, on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd Street). It was originally scheduled to run through July 31, 2011.

Home page is AnythingGoesOnBroadway.com

Hand to God

2011-12-14T04:52:00.003-05:00

Update: See Comments for latest news in December 28, 2011 New York Times on possible revivals...

Brilliant piece of theater going on at Hell's Kitchen's Ensemble Studio Theater for one more week.

"Hand to God" by Robert Askins is more than a send up of Christian values, but a darkly comedic examination of dysfunctional family relationships and their after-life.

Steven Boyer gives a biting tour de force as Jason and his sock puppet Tyrone... (at right)

The entire cast is completely brilliant in this top notch production well directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel.

Clever set design by Rebecca Lord-Surratt makes optimal use of the unusual theater layout. Puppet

Designer Marte Johanne Ekhougen has developed a bedeveling sock puppet style with teeth.

The E.S.T. teaser?: Christian Puppet Ministries are a great way to teach children about the Bible. Each child gets a puppet, and each puppet gets his own personality. But children can be fooled by Satan’s tricks. For even within the sanctuary of the Christian Puppet Ministry, the devil lurks. The people of Cypress, Texas were good Christians. Until one day at Puppet Ministry, a boy named Jason, and his puppet Tyrone, let the devil in. This is their story.

Jason / Tyrone – Steven Boyer
Margery – Geneva Carr
Timothy – Bobby Moreno
Jessica – Megan Hill
Pastor Greg – Scott Sowers

I'm paraphrasing the script, I think: "A man has only one voice. And all the rest is just noise."

See this play!

Celebrity Sighting: Harvey Fierstein

2011-12-13T15:24:00.000-05:00

Caught Harvey Fierstein strolling down a Hell's Kitchen side street this afternoon...

Multiple Tony Award winner for Torch Song Trilogy and La Cage Aux Folles...

Harvey has also appeared in many motion pictures including Mrs Doubtfire and Independence Day.

Actually, he and I were Park Slope neighbors back in the 1980's.

Hi Harvey!

Set the Tone: Extend Love

2011-12-12T05:18:00.000-05:00

"We are not held back by the love we didn't receive in the past, but by the love we're not extending in the present".

- Marianne Williamson

Maurizio Cattelan: All at the Guggenheim

2011-12-11T20:32:00.000-05:00

I got over to see the fun show at the Guggenheim...

Maurizio Cattelan: All.

Quite striking to see all this stuff hanging in the atrium there...

Very Warhol-ish...

Sort of a mobile... Sort of collage... Sort of an assemblage...

Taxidermy, mannequins, statues, waxworks, paintings... you name it...

Only until January 22nd, 2012.

TGIF: Go Vote for Sookie!

2011-12-09T07:34:00.000-05:00

I keep saying this a lot lately...

But this has been another one of THOSE weeks... TGIF!

Meanwhile, please go vote for my friend's rescue dog in this poll. She wants to be a cover girl! LOL

Her name is Sookie! Vote here

HELP Make Sookie a star..

Please vote daily until end of the month so Sookie can become a covergirl. She will be a true ambassador for Animal Care & Control, Humane Society of Charlotte & American Pit Bull Foundation -

She should be a clean sweep. Help her realize her dream!

VOTE:

http://www.americanpitbullfoundation.com/mascot-submissions.html

THANK YOU..
Her Proud Parents: Deanna, Mitch & Mikayla

Celebrity Sighting: Deepak Chopra

2011-12-07T08:00:00.004-05:00

At my local Hell's Kitchen Starbucks in the early AM...

Spiritual guru Deepak Chopra.

We chatted in real time in between his intensive cyber chatting...

He wasn't Tweeting he told me but texting with a friend back in India...

Here are some great Deepak Chopra quotes. And Deepak Chopra's home page.

Deepak Chopra on Twitter.

“Love doesn't need reason. It speaks from the irrational wisdom of the heart.”
― Deepak Chopra

Time for Carmex

2011-12-06T05:22:00.001-05:00

Carmex weather...

It's so warm and humid around here in recent days, though... And when these old NYC buildings have the heat on, it's pretty unbearable...

Keeping the lips un-chapped...

... With Carmex...

Old Snopes story on Carmex addiction. FALSE!!

Here's the raw truth about my beloved Carmex...

Set the Tone: Store Memories

2011-12-05T05:10:00.000-05:00

"Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind."

- Lionel Hampton

2011-12-04T16:01:00.000-05:00

Got up in the wee small hours of the morning to take Holiday Pictures of Rockefeller Center and some of the store windows along Fifth Avenue and etc...

Will take a while for them to all upload into an album on my Flickr: Holidays NYC 2011. So keep checking back if you want to see the shots of Christmas in New York this year...

Actually the Rock Center shots are identical to previous years. Sure the tree is a different tree, but it's not like they've done anything particularly daring of different...

Gorgeous cool, crisp day here in the city today...

Back to work tomorrow... But, don't remind me...

A Chilly Blue Sky Saturday!

2011-12-03T10:45:00.003-05:00

Started the day at Starbucks where their brand new teensy tables and unmatching chairs could have ruined my day if I had let them. But no, not me... But seriously... These revenue consultants need to be put out of business.

Am blogging now on the Sidekick from the lobby of the Algonquin Hotel. Nice warm old world comfort. They plan to close the hotel for renovations so I thought I'm come and set a spell... They leave ya alone if you just wanna sit and chill... Er warm up...

Just walked up through Manhattan from Union Square area and a morning meet with friends down that way. The market is still going full strength down there (Pictured). Got my usual tiny pumpkin pie for $3.75. (The orchard dealer at Hell's Kitchen market wants $7 for the same size. So that's not gonna happen).

Had a nice chat while walking with my folks over the phone. My Dad was making the shopping list for his annual holiday cookie baking extravaganza... All good. He's making black walnut this year. Never a favorite of mine. I stick with the oatmeal and the toll house myself. My mother is psyched for Christmas, too.

Damn, this lobby is sooo lovely.

I took a few shots of the Macy windows as I walked up though Herald Square. I'll post them in a day or so by special request of Lady Donothing...
Stay tuned...

Friday Gratitude

2011-12-02T20:18:00.000-05:00

So glad it's Friday...

This was quite a week!

Now on to the weekend!! Have a good one, peeps...

PSA: Don't Go Phishing For the Holidays

2011-12-01T04:39:00.009-05:00

I received this email at work and thought I would share it with my readers...

Don't be fooled...!!!

As the holidays approach we want to make you aware of possible e-mail scams that can be directed to your work or personal email accounts. This is an opportune time for such activity. One such scam is known as phishing. Phishing is an attempt by individuals or groups to fraudulently obtain your personal information by tricking you into providing it. They may appear as:

· Electronic greeting cards

· Requests from charitable organizations

· Holiday chain-letters or screensavers

· Online shopping confirmations

· Credit card applications

In general:

· Do not respond to emails requesting personal information including "please verify your information" or "confirm your user-id and password."

· Avoid providing personal information on social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Set your privacy and security settings at the most restrictive levels. This will help limit the information scammers can gather about you and can use against you in a phishing attack.

· Exercise caution with all emails you receive as they can be fake. This includes email from friends and sources you normally trust. Do not open attachments contained in suspicious emails.

· Beware of emails that reference any consequences should you not "verify your information".

Phishers are crafty and known to send very official looking correspondence. Generally no legitimate organization will ever solicit sensitive personal information through the internet. If you receive a phishing email through your personal email account just delete it.

Image from Texas State

No, You Just Have to Wait!

2011-11-30T07:46:00.002-05:00

Heard this while leaving Starbucks this morning...

Sometimes HP's voice sounds remarkably like Diana Ross...

LOL

Set the Tone: Know What You Want

2011-11-28T05:30:00.000-05:00

"If you don’t know what you want, don’t say you never had a chance" 

— Napoleon Hill

Muppets 2011

2011-11-26T18:45:00.001-05:00

Well, it's not bad...

The Muppets

But you don't want to go in with high expectations...

Think Nostalgia... And goofy, silly, hokey fun... You know: Muppet-ish.

Kermit the Frog goes through his Rolodex (!) and calls the White House looking for President Carter, for example...

The typical fun cameos... Wish they'd done more with Mickey Rooney (!) when they were setting up the "Let's all get together and put on a show" theme...

Unfortunately, not even the Muppets can't make Whoopi Goldberg look less smarmy.

And some folk in the know will definitely be aware of the voice differences from the new performers behind the classic characters...

Steve Whitmire has made Kermit his own...

But Miss Piggy misses the mark, and the shots of her full bodied are grotesque and jarring...

Appreciation for Dave Goelz back as the original Gonzo and Waldorf.

Here's that Thanksgiving Sunset View

2011-11-25T07:09:00.001-05:00

Here's that twilight view from last night's party. Just realized I could post it to Blogger from my Smartphone... The post about the dinner appears below this one...

Thanksgiving Friday

2011-11-25T07:04:00.002-05:00

Had a great T-giving Dinner with close friends in midtown Manhattan. A spectacular twilight view of the sunset over the Hudson River...

I stuck to the vegetarian side dishes...

Shredded beets and carrots in a ginger sauce were terrific. And some kind of a whole grain provided nutty protein. Mashed potatoes. A couple bits of yam. Wonderful fresh string beans with almonds. And home made applesauce made with three kinds of local apples.

Dessert? Hell, yeah... It was a holiday...

Some kind of dark chocolate peanut butter fudge... Fresh peach pie. Not too sweet pumpkin pie was perfect. Cake too. And oatmeal cookies.

Let's call it cheat day!

OK...

Meanwhile, the bracelet is from createjobsforUSA.org project affiliated with Starbucks...

Like it?

Happy Macy Thanksgiving Parade Day!

2011-11-24T11:41:00.000-05:00

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving...

Or a happy "National Attitude to Gratitude Day".

Don't eat too much!

Peace to All!!

The Annual Macy's Balloon Inflation

2011-11-23T19:31:00.000-05:00

One of New York City's special Thanksgiving events is the Annual Macy Balloon Inflation that takes place on Thanksgiving-eve...

The action takes place on the Upper West Side in the side streets surrounding the American Museum of Natural History... And is usually heavily crowded by families and young kids...

They'll inflate these big guys all night long prior to launching on Thanksgiving morning for the famous parade... A tradition dating back to 1927...

Here are some shots from this year's festivities...

Happy 'Worst Travel Day of The Year' 2011

2011-11-23T07:14:00.000-05:00

AAA tells us that 42.5 Million people will be driving, flying or taking a train or bus to their their Thanksgiving destinations this year...

I'm thankful that I'll be walking around the corner for my Thanksgiving Dinner with friends!

Retailers are worried that Holiday sales will be in the dumper due to Congressional inability to come to terms on the budget. I'm grateful I'm not a retailer. I'm also grateful that I'm not in Congress.

Today is a Gridlock Alert Day in New York City... Actually the "Worst Traffic Day of the Year"

I'm grateful that I do not own a car...

Waaaay too many people are unemployed this Thanksgiving weekend... I'm grateful to have a job...

Some retailers are planning to open on Thanksgiving Night... Some workers aren't happy about this.

I'm also grateful to have the next couple of days off...

Add to that gratitude list the continuing good health of loved ones (and myself) and I'm one big grateful turkey today...

Hope you have a healthy dose of gratitude this holiday weekend in your life too!...

Set the Tone: Right Place, Right Time

2011-11-21T05:11:00.001-05:00

"If you're in the present moment with an open heart, then by definition you're 'at the right place at the right time.'"
- Marianne Williamson

When You're On the Net, On the Net You Will Stay

2011-11-20T19:24:00.000-05:00

Web Site Story

This won a Webby Award for Best Writing and Comedy: Individual Short or Episode

Swami: How I Love ya

2011-11-19T05:57:00.002-05:00

"The most auspicious moment of your life is when you make the commitment to know the truth, a commitment so firm there is no turning back".
~ Swami Chidvilasananda

Dawn of a New Friday

2011-11-18T07:14:00.001-05:00

Sunrise in Hell's Kitchen...

TGIF, Peeps...

Have a great day...

Mayor Bloomberg Earns Olbermann's Special Comment

2011-11-17T05:39:00.000-05:00

See Brett Whitmoyer's wonderful pictures of Occupy Wall Street and here are some more.

Wednesday's Word: Glitterbomb

2011-11-16T05:23:00.002-05:00

Glitterbomb: an emerging act of civil disobedience in the United States in which activists throw glitter on people at public events.[1]

Glitter bombers have frequently been motivated by their target's anti-gay beliefs.

Recent targets have included Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Dan Savage, and Michele Bachmann.

Source: Wikipedia Glitter Bombing

Diego Rivera at MoMA

2011-11-15T05:28:00.001-05:00

I went to a Member Preview this long weekend to see Diego Rivera: Murals for the Museum of Modern Art at MoMA.

Very interesting show. On the second floor of the museum...

For me, Indian Warrior is a showstopper... (At left)

Although, the most interesting mural panel is Frozen Assets...

... Be sure to check out the key that identifies the buildings along the 1930's NYC skyline... This panel was quite controversial in it's day as Rivera made a strong statement against Capitalism...

No doubt he would have completed a helluva mural around the banking industry debacles of recent years...

Here's their press release on this exhibition:

Diego Rivera was the subject of MoMA’s second monographic exhibition (the first was Henri Matisse), which set new attendance records in its five-week run from December 22, 1931, to January 27, 1932. MoMA brought Rivera to New York six weeks before the exhibition’s opening and gave him studio space within the Museum, a strategy intended to solve the problem of how to present the work of this famous muralist when murals were by definition made and fixed on site. Working around the clock with two assistants, Rivera produced five “portable murals”—large blocks of frescoed plaster, slaked lime, and wood that feature bold images drawn from Mexican subject matter and address themes of revolution and class inequity. After the opening, to great publicity, Rivera added three more murals, now taking on New York subjects through monumental images of the urban working class and the social stratification of the city during the Great Depression. All eight were on display for the rest of the show’s run. The first of these panels, Agrarian Leader Zapata, is an icon in the Museum’s collection.
This exhibition will bring together key works made for Rivera’s 1931 exhibition, presenting them at MoMA for the first time in nearly 80 years. Along with mural panels, the show will include full-scale drawings, smaller working drawings, archival materials related to the commission and production of these works, and designs for Rivera’s famous Rockefeller Center mural, which he also produced while he was working at the Museum. Focused specifically on works created during the artist’s stay in New York, this exhibition will draw a succinct portrait of Rivera as a highly cosmopolitan figure who moved between Russia, Mexico, and the United States, and will offer a fresh look at the intersection of art making and radical politics in the 1930s. MoMA will be the exhibition’s sole venue.

Set the Tone: Keep Cool

2011-11-14T05:58:00.000-05:00

"Keep cool and you command everybody."
- Louis de Saint-Just

A Three Day Weekend in November

2011-11-13T07:54:00.000-05:00

Here it is Sunday, of a Three Day weekend, and I have a long list of weekend stuff that still needs to be accomplished...

Where were you at 11:11 on 11/11/11? I was in a downtown #1 train somewhere under the Upper West Side...

Peace to all the Veterans!

Rest in Peace Lou Maletta (1936-2011)... I made personal appearances in his television studios and/or on his broadcasts many times in the 1980's and 1990's... I had even developed quite a following at one time. Lou was a character. Here is the Gay City News obit for Lou Maletta.

Took these few days off to catch up on some health maintenance stuff including some routine fasting blood work, and a trip to the health food store... Where they magically once again had my favorite Flora brand of an occasionally needed herbal remedy... The actual plant is pictured at left. Can you tell what it is?

Went to a Member Preview of the soon-to-open Diego Rivera show at MoMA... My review will be forthcoming... I'm sure that the entire art world is well braced while awaiting my two cents on that!... Ha!

Work pressures have been extraordinary lately... I'll just leave that at that... I don't want to spoil the remainder of the weekend "paying that no mind"...

11-11-11

2011-11-11T09:18:00.002-05:00

Swung by my alma-mater on the way to an Upper West Side appointment...
Dang, I'm hungry! Fasting cholesterol tests are a drag...
Beautiful day, though. Crisp. Like. I like it...
Remember the vets today. Give em a salute!

Doctor Day

2011-11-10T12:39:00.000-05:00

Took a day of medical leave today for a procedure (Not to worry)...

The very pregnant attending doctor told me that her contractions had started and she expects to have the baby at some point today...

She kept right on working...

And how was your day?

Punchy Player's: Judy's Groceries

2011-11-09T05:16:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Nicomar for sending this one!

Set the Tone: Keep it Simple

2011-11-07T06:27:00.000-05:00

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

- Leonardo da Vinci

Treasures at the Met

2011-11-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

I'd never heard about these two artists at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until recently. Well, I had heard of them, of course... But I didn't know much about them...

Goya (1784-1792) and Jacques Louis David (1748-1825).

You really need many hours to explore the Met...

One of New York's great landmarks and treasure troves...

Open late on Saturday Nights... Who knew...?

Clocks Go Back Tonight

2011-11-05T07:26:00.000-04:00

Don't forget!!

Thursday Reflection

2011-11-03T15:29:00.000-04:00

Is it Saturday yet??? (Because Friday isn't even good enough this week!)

Hump Day Sing-A-Long: Patty Duke Show Theme

2011-11-02T07:49:00.000-04:00

Back when TV theme songs were great...

Set the Tone: Laugh

2011-10-31T05:44:00.000-04:00

"The most wasted of all our days are those in which we have not laughed."

- Sebastian Chamfort

A Saturday in One Simple Sentence

2011-10-29T09:30:00.000-04:00

I'm grateful for this nasty rainy day to lock down and get myself sorted out...

Halloween Nor'Easter Coming

2011-10-28T20:15:00.000-04:00

Big monster winter storm advisory posted for the East Coast...

Very unusual weather for this time... But Al Gore was warning of things like this quite a few years ago...

Frankly, I'm looking forward to a good excuse to stay in my apartment all day and stay in pajamas...

Sounds perfect after so many recent stressers in my life lately...

Trick or treat??

Ahhhhhhhhh.

Witchy Wednesday

2011-10-26T08:14:00.001-04:00

Snapped this shot of two witches in a Betsey Johnson window this morning on the way to work... The reflection makes them appear to fade into the background...

That's a trick I wish I could do these days...

Unusual pressures on so many (all?) fronts...

And while I'm handling it, the surprises, twists and turns, and disappointments are unnerving...

Poof... They're gone?! Poof... There's the answer? Poof... ???

Wouldn't that be magical?

No poofs around here, though...

OK... I take that back... Poofs are everywhere...

And so is the magic...

Day at a time...

Set the Tone: Do Not Wait

2011-10-24T06:17:00.002-04:00

"Do not wait. Do not wait for enough time or money to accomplish what you think you have in mind. Do not wait for what you assume is the appropriate, stress-free environment. Do not wait for maturity or insight or wisdom. Do not wait until you are sure you know what you are doing. Do not wait until you have enough technique. What you do now will determine the the quality and scope of your future endeavors."

- Anne Bogart