suki tawdry Esq.'s Journal

7:35AM - Vacation I

I'm on vacation.  Here's what I've been doing.

Monday: Yoga at Yoga to the People, lunch with woddly_spinning at Rheon Cafe (sat and read in cafe for some time after), walked a lot-wandered around Soho for several hours, did a little shopping (bought things at Uniqlo and Anthropologie, wandered around TopShop quite a bit), went to Black Sheep Pub with a friend to have a drink and play scrabble.

Tuesday: Went to Grand Central Station and saw The Future Beneath Us at the New York City Transit Museum Gallery Annex, went to MOMA and realized the galleries are closed on Tuesdays, but the membership office and store is open.  Renewed my museum membership and wandered the store, sat and read for a long time on the lobby couches (very comfy) then went to a bellydance class at Pearl Studios.  Stopped and got a steamed bun snack at Fay Da Bakery. Went to BAM to see Visconti's The Leopard, but it was sold out. It is too bad.

Wednesday: Went to the American Folk Art Museum, especially liked the Henry Darger Exhibit.   Went back to MOMA, read and had coffee in the sculpture garden, the went for a long walk around the East Village. Had a snack at Plump Dumpling.  Then had a class with NYC Bhangra.

We'll have out of town guests for the next few days.  Then I'll resume my "alone in New York" vacation, which has been pleasing me quite a bit.

I plan to see a lot of movies before I return to work.

edit:  I also got a chance to stop into the Pacific Street Community Garden on my way home.  Also, the book I am reading is The Charterhouse of Parma.  This title makes me think of A) Ham and B) Parma, Ohio where I spent a good portion of my toddlerhood.

11:40PM

Watching Pierre Le Fou reminds me how much I miss discussing literature.  Literature with a big L.
It is frustrating, at times.

9:55AM

things to look forward to: 

The Dardenne Brothers Retrospective at Film Society.

Cairo Station at Bam.


Reasons to be Pretty.


So much to look forward to.

12:00PM - Kindle

The practice of judging people by the covers of their books is old and time-honored. And the Kindle, which looks kind of like a giant white calculator, is the technology equivalent of a plain brown wrapper. If people jettison their book collections or stop buying new volumes, it will grow increasingly hard to form snap opinions about them by wandering casually into their living rooms.

From here
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/fashion/26kindle.html?th&emc=th

This one resonates with me.

I do like striking up conversations with people when I notice what they are reading.

I also like scanning the subway riders’ books.  I like to see what people are reading.  I like to get ideas.

The comments to the article are funny—people are disgusted by literary snobbery!  That kind of snobbery is not allowed.

 I visited some hot springs this year—a “clothing optional” spot.  I was surprised by this:  almost every nude person sitting in the hot sulphuric flumes was reading a book—all of them very “literary”.  Milan Kundera.  John Irving. Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  Gunter Grass, even!

Perhaps books can absorb the judgment the body cannot withstand. 

In any event, they were all books I love, and it gave me ideas.  Perhaps I should re-read some Garcia Marquez.  Or tackle those unread Gunter Grass novels.

I’m in between novels now and looking for something to get me excited.  The last novel I read was Amitov Ghosh’s “The Glass Palace”—it was amazing, really, and I feel like picking up any old book would be such a let-down.  Maybe I should read another Ghosh novel?

For the record, I’ve never liked Proust.

11:22PM

 


R.I.P Keara.

We will miss you so much.  You were the best dog ever. Thank you for all the time you spent with us. We didn't deserve you.  

12:22AM - Things I ate in SF...

We spent many days in San Francisco---it was the vacation of " a little too late" (we arrived in Napa minutes after all the wineries closed, showed up at the California Academy of Sciences after most of the exhibits were sold out, approached the DeYoung museum an hour after it closed, and could not get a room at the Wilbur Hot Springs because we called too late.)

But we relaxed and ate a hell of a lot.

Food in SF: A List of Favorites

Poco Dolce Chocolate tiles (woddly_spinning got them as a present)

An Egg Custard Tart from Golden Gate Bakery (Chinatown).  So damn good and cheap too!  For pictures of the tarts and the bakery look here.

The Cauliflower in a Cast Iron Pot, the Local Grits Smoked with Hickory and the Cheesecake in a Jar -- all from Ubuntu.

An Eclair from Tartine.

A Goose roasted by Mom.

Grilled Mackarel from Tanpopo.

1:28PM - Ophelia

RIP Ophelia, the cat.   We will miss her.

1:05AM - Sometimes

 

My Bloody Valentine show was amazing.  Intense.  

10:59PM - Marcel

These are the books I read over and over again:

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Hotel New Hampshire, John Irving
The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
The Life and Loves of She-Devil, Fay Weldon

I went to Devachan Salon this weekend. They were confused by my hair--the top of my head contains primarily wavy hair, the back of my head has stick straight hair.  The wondered if had my hair chemically straightened in the past (no!) and were on the verge of scolding me for it..  They contemplated, they snipped.  They cursed past hair dressers who apparently cut into my waves (the Devachan technique is to cut while keeping the curls intact), They badmouthed those who have taken razors to my hairs trying to make layers where there should be curls.  They tried to educate me as to the proper care of wavy hair--no harsh shampoo!  no blowdriers!  Turn your head upside down and gently scrunch!   They had me feel my hair after they conditioned it so I would know how much conditioner I should rinse out (not all).
I was there for a long time.  I drank chilled water and read the "curly girl' book.  They told me to come back in three months as they were just starting to "organize my hair" and needed more of it ti grow out.
I'm not sure it was worth the expense.
The scalp massage I received with the shampoo  was incredible.
The thing that surprised me the most was that most of the stylists did not have curly hair.

11:34PM - blessed are the vegetarians

renrats was here.  we watched Planet of the Apes at the Walter Reade theatre.  We also ate fro-yo 3 times over the course of the weekend.
heaven, isn't it?

1:12PM - Westside

Cleveland trip was great:


A Wedding reception.

A short drive through the town in which I grew up-- Geneva, Ohio.
 
And a morning trip to the Westside Market.  If you are in the area, I suggest a trip to the Westside market.  woddly_spinning and I bought: plums, apples, a Scottish meat pie, a kinder suprise egg, a piece of sweet potato pie, a guiness chocolate cake slice, a and steamed bun stuffed with chicken.  Also, a crepe stuffed with cheese and stuff. 
woddly_spinning eyed the bacon and sausage, but we couldn't carry it with us.

I have many, many childhood memories of the Westside market.

On the walk back from the market, a man saw our bags and asked us if we'd like to trade some fruits or vegetables for a poem.  We gave him three dollars instead, and I guess he owes us a poem because we were in a hurry.

I will put my pictures from the trip on my flickr page at some point.  In the meantime, look at other people's Westside market photos here:

10:16AM - found inside used books.

Today, I came across this article.

Of course, I am delighted when I buy a used book and find some mysterious piece of ephemera.  Notes, photos, cards......
The last thing I found was a professionally done photograph of an asian girl standing in front of a cabin/ranch.  I believe woddly_spnning found some cheesecake pin-up pictures recently.

daigor0 found some a whole series of very naked photos tucked away in a book (evidence of a fun evening.)

I live very near the bookstore "Unnameable Books" mentioned in the article.  I will be sure to visit soon (tonight?) to see the "found inside books" display.
Here is the store's website.

9:04AM - pdx

I am back from Portland (Oregon).  The city was so early 90's!  Doc martens and pink hair everywhere.  One morning I amused myself by counting the number of people who had the word "punk" written somewhere on their clothing.
Kurt Cobain was certainly not dead.
But it was such a comfortable city to me-- no hassles, Powells city of books,  nice coffee, bakeries and gelato everywhere, people were nice,  a nice looking film center, lots of bikes and nice hiking nearby.

 Conference events took up most of my trip-- I went to many meetings, educational sessions, vendor demonstrations, dinners and cocktail hours.  I drank wine every night and came home with lots of swag. 
I was, however, able to swing a few side trips.
Sadly, I never got the chance to eat a treat from Voodoo Doughnuts.  They were served at the opening reception (but I was too full at that point) and I visited the store (again, I was too full at that point).  I watched a friend enjoy the Voodoo Doughnut (shaped like a voodoo doll, filled with red jelly, with a pretzel stick through its heart) and was amused.

Things I like about Portland (Oregon):

Free Public transport (the Max Light Rail "Fareless Square")
http://trimet.org/fares/fareless.htm

Powells City of Books
http://www.powells.com/

Pearl Bakery
http://www.pearlbakery.com/

Voodoo Doughnuts (the magic is in the hole!)
http://voodoodoughnut.com

Portland Art Museum
http://www.pam.org/

Otherwise, I'm glad to be back home.  One thing I like about New York is the fro-yo craze.  Fro-Yo everywhere. I love the fro-yo, I think it is much more delicious than any other frozen dessert.  mmm. tangy and sweet. I am sad because it is so trendy and I realize how fast trendy things disappear.  Where will I get fro-yo in ten years?
Here is an article about NY fro-yo: http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-07-16/restaurants/fro-yo-with-a-side-of-virtue/

I look forward to the weekend; I will eat fro-yo and watch the new Batman movie.  Everyone says it's so good...

10:11PM - For drbitch

Doughnut Plant was pretty good. I had the chocolate glazed, but I think I would have been more wowed by a cream filled or jelly. I went this morning at around 11:30, the line was long, and the people were anxious. The seating was just one bench outside the store--it was taken. I took my treat to Seward park and ate it on a bench. It was huge and it was indeed the less cakey, more yeasty variety (my preference). I got quite full towards the end.

Next time, I would go with a friend. For one thing, that might prevent me from walking all over NYC with chocolate smeared on my face (I discovered the chocolate later in the day at a MOMA installation involving spotlights and mirrors). Also, I would split the doughnut with someone, and then go around the corner and fill the other half of my belly at Sugar Sweet Sunshine (I did walk past it and stared at the cupcakes, but was too full). Also, I would try the cream-filled.


p.s. I've never actually eaten a Sugar Sweet Sunshine cupcake, but I've heard too many good things and peered into the window too many times.

9:15PM - Gold!

I'm on vacation now.
Here's my itinerary: leave for Rochester on Saturday, then back to Long Island with Jace on Tuesday to move all our stuff, then to Maine, with a side trip to Saratoga Springs to take "the cure"

Then back to work.

I will not have to drive to work anymore. Instead, I will take the LIRR. Unfortunately, the LIRR has suspended service on the exact trains I need for an optimal commute from June 29 to August 22. It was as if they did that just for me.

Tomorrow, I am free. I was thinking of going into the city and catching Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg or Spellbound at Moma.

Tonight..packing? cleaning? internet? fantasize about further anachronistic vacations, like prospecting for gold."

5:49PM - Square Pegs

I have only seen "Sex and the City" (the show)once. One episode.

I once read that "Sex and the City" is fundamentally a feminist show because it places female friendship above all other relationships. Of course, I've read many other pieces claiming the opposite.

According to several media pieces, I should have dragged woddly_spinning to the Sex and the City movie. Instead, we saw "Ironman", which was a terribly offensive movie. And boring too. I do, however, like the Black Sabbath tune.

5:21PM

woddly_spinning and I signed a lease. we move in July 1.

You should come visit-- before we move again.

Brooklyn. on the 2,3 subway line. Bergen St. Near the corner of Flatbush and Bergen. the place is tiny. very tiny. if you don't sitting/sleeping so close to us, you should come visit.

On our block, you can find a Babeland, a vegan shop, a used book shop, and a place called Melt.
that means you can get vibrators, tempeh, Samuel Delany, wine and burgers all in outing. Within a few blocks, you can find The Chocolate Room and Gorilla Coffee. Chocolate and coffee make me happy.

Just a stop and a short walk gets you to the BAM cinemas

big_eyed and I tried out The Chocolate Room this weekend. When you sit down, you automatically get a tiny scoop of chocolate ice cream. I loved it.

You are welcome to visit. Please do!

Some links:
Babeland: http://www.babeland.com/
Melt: http://www.meltnyc.com/
The Chocolate Room: http://www.thechocolateroombrooklyn.com/
Gorilla Coffee: http://www.gorillacoffee.com/
BAM Cinematek: http://www.bam.org/events/bamcinematek.aspx

12:38PM - Light of my life, fire of my loins. Part 2

-- Nabokov's last novel, "Laura", will be published.

-- went to to Tribeca Film Festival with Sheli late last night. as we stood in line for rush tickets, a passing couple gave us their all day passes as they weren't planning to see anymore films. we were grateful and happy. those tickets are expensive!

( then, Tribeca Drama ensued!!! )

( then, the movie was awful. so awful, it deserves its own word for awful. i am ashamed. )

Do not see the movie. See The Band's Visit instead. THAT was an excellent movie. and it starred Egyptians. except it was an Israeli movie and took place in Israel. although it was disqualified from being "Best Foreign language movie" because, well, when Egyptians and Israelis speak to each other, they would speak in English.

-- finally visited Beard Papa. it was so delicious. Sheli had the cream puff. I had the cheesecake. one dollar for one small delicious stick of cheesecake.

-- thanks to a generous gift from cmeckhardt, I have had the chance to taste four flavors of Zotter Chocolate Bars..
drbitchwas right. one's favorite flavor tends to be unexpected as such. I tried the Lemon Curd, the Sour Cherries with Sesame, the Wine with Curd Drops, and the Almonds with Grappa Raisins. My favorite was the Wine with Curd Drops.

11:26PM - Faces

daigor0 has posted photos of a party we had in 2001..
Cleveland people!

I like the photo where you can only see the side of my head; you can see how short my hair was.


the party was great. i had some wine, i struck up conversation with people I did not know. I didn't know about 80% of the people there.
a lot of art school kids and Case kids; I guess people heard about the party.
i had a nice time.

I believe earlier that day, I had an unfortunate experience with a bad salon technician.
He waxed my eyebrows with way too hot wax. That is why the skin above my eyelids are raw,
and there is a scab above my right eye. If you look closely at the photo, you can see it.

5:50PM - interlude

Saw Punishment Park at Moma. Loved it. It reminded me of one of my recurring nightmares.
There was a Q & A session with Joan Churchill. After a few questions, it became clear that half the audience believed the documentary was real.
well damn, I though that might happen.
See this film, if you have a chance. It is...timely.

On a related note, I will have to see more movies at Moma. I have membership, so they are free for me. More importantly, I loved the audience (yes, despite the documentary/pseudo-documentary misunderstanding) . Most of the audience members came alone..70% of them were older men in sweaters. They came early and sat towards the front..most of them brought something to read. Sometimes, they talked to each other about movies.
This is my kind of audience.

I wonder if this is representative of the Moma movie audience, or just the "Saturday afternoon" audience.

otherwise:
( A few food establishments I enjoyed in 2008 (so far) )