My friend Erik saw Salman Rushdie and his sexy model wife the other day in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We were on our way to the Dianne Arbus exhibit and there he was in front of a 3rd Century BC heiroglyphic. I wouldn't have noticed him except for Erik whispering feverishly in my ear that I must turn around and look at him. He was wearing these fashionable little black leather tennis shoes and jeans that were frayed just so, which struck me as surprising, but if you are an internationally known writer with death sentence on your head and a sexy model wife, then I suppose you would dress with a little edge.
As it happens, Midnight's Children is sitting next to my bed, as it has been for several months. I have only read sixty pages or so, but technically I am reading it and technically it could have been in my bag when I saw him. Perhaps I could have had it signed if I had only been a bit more diligent about my winter reading. Really, Erik was much more bummed than I that he didn't have anything for him to sign.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Sleepyhead
It's so hard to go to sleep on Sunday night, because when you wake up you have the worry and fret of Monday morning to face. To forestall bedtime, here are some notes on New York this weekend:
Today I took the m4 bus down to 5th Avenue to go to El Museo del Barrio to see their Retratos Exhibit of Latin American portraiture from Pre-Columbian times to modern interactive art. Its nice, if somewhat disporienting because you run through 3 millenia in six or seven galleries. Am I counting correctly here? There were Peruvian masks going back to the year 600 AD, colonial, post-colonial, and modern paintings, so that would be the second millenium, and finally some very contemporary pieces that were post 2000, so yes that makes 3. It's hard to feel like you understand the artistic traditions that hold these artists together. Still, its a nice show because there are some very striking paintings, with one of the famous Sor Juana in Mexico, and with two by Diego Rivera, one by Frida Kahlo and some of their contemporaries.
Then I went to Fairway on 12th Avenue, which was definitely survival of the fittest, kill or be killed. People get very violent when they are trying to squeeze a cart through tight spaces.
Today was cold, but I've noticed the last few days that New York has a sort of late winter beauty. The days are longer so there is late afternoon light when we leave work, broad expanses of white where there is snow on the ground, and the bare trees against the sky make New York pretty in a melancholy sort of way.
Today I took the m4 bus down to 5th Avenue to go to El Museo del Barrio to see their Retratos Exhibit of Latin American portraiture from Pre-Columbian times to modern interactive art. Its nice, if somewhat disporienting because you run through 3 millenia in six or seven galleries. Am I counting correctly here? There were Peruvian masks going back to the year 600 AD, colonial, post-colonial, and modern paintings, so that would be the second millenium, and finally some very contemporary pieces that were post 2000, so yes that makes 3. It's hard to feel like you understand the artistic traditions that hold these artists together. Still, its a nice show because there are some very striking paintings, with one of the famous Sor Juana in Mexico, and with two by Diego Rivera, one by Frida Kahlo and some of their contemporaries.
Then I went to Fairway on 12th Avenue, which was definitely survival of the fittest, kill or be killed. People get very violent when they are trying to squeeze a cart through tight spaces.
Today was cold, but I've noticed the last few days that New York has a sort of late winter beauty. The days are longer so there is late afternoon light when we leave work, broad expanses of white where there is snow on the ground, and the bare trees against the sky make New York pretty in a melancholy sort of way.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Step Back Step
I've gone to the salsa workout class at the Y every couple weeks since the fall. (I think I mentioned falling over during the "bolero cooldown" here a few weeks ago.) Today I took myself to a Salsa class being offered in the lobby of the medical center. This introduced a new terrain of embarassment since it involved dancing with six or seven strangers, some of who salsa very well and others who are just as lost as me. I always feel terrible for imposing my incompetence on someone else. Feet go in the wrong place, the direction of turns is completely lost on me. And I do have a feeling that I can't really ever do any of it well. Like playing the piano: after thirteen years of piano lessons, even after six months of practice, I really never could manage to play a piece of music without mistakes. Apparently, I am a glutton for punishment.
Friday, February 25, 2005
The Elections in Iraq
Interesting comments on the Iraqi election and its implications for secular society in Iraq from Riverbend in Baghdad.
Work music
A sad, pretty album that makes me wish I was in a car driving in North Carolina and not sitting in an office in New York: Wide Swing Tremolo by Son Volt.
Well not sad so much, but a bit poignant. All the reviews point out the influence of 1980's R.E.M., which would explain the driving thing. In high school, I spent many hours in my car listening to Murmur and Life's Rich Pageant.
Well not sad so much, but a bit poignant. All the reviews point out the influence of 1980's R.E.M., which would explain the driving thing. In high school, I spent many hours in my car listening to Murmur and Life's Rich Pageant.
Queer as folk
Adding another layer of irony to the conservative anti-gay policies, Maya Keyes, daughter of Alan Keyes comes out publicly at an Equality Maryland rally. Good for her.
Monday, February 21, 2005
President's Day Weekend
This was the first stay at home, putter around the house and clean and straighten things up weekend in awhile. I am taking care of a Andy, the fine canine that belongs to my friend Erik, so I used that as a justification to by new running shoes and gear. I can do little runs and walk Andy at the same time, I thought. That was great, Saturday and Sunday, but today it snowed. So no jogging. Just cooking. Lots and lots of cooking. Last week I made some sort of pasta and bean thing, Saturday Moroccan chicken for a friend who came up from Brooklyn for dinner, yesterday pesto to put in the freezer, and doctor the above pasta and bean thing, which really didn't turn out so well, and today cabbage borscht. Mainly because I have lots of cabbage.
The weekend is a bit melancholy, as I'm feeling the break up. Also, I am looking at a somewhat crazy week at work. In the big book, these are pretty run of the mill complaints. I'm feeling pretty insignificant these days, in the grant scheme of things.
One thing that makes for a little bit of prime drame is that the dog that is visiting and the cat who lives here don't tend to get along so well. The only reason they get along at all is because the cat is sometimes able to dominate the dog and is therefore relatively calm. I just had to turn around from my computer to break up a fight over the dog's food.
The weekend is a bit melancholy, as I'm feeling the break up. Also, I am looking at a somewhat crazy week at work. In the big book, these are pretty run of the mill complaints. I'm feeling pretty insignificant these days, in the grant scheme of things.
One thing that makes for a little bit of prime drame is that the dog that is visiting and the cat who lives here don't tend to get along so well. The only reason they get along at all is because the cat is sometimes able to dominate the dog and is therefore relatively calm. I just had to turn around from my computer to break up a fight over the dog's food.