Bad Luck Charm

Another Mets loss (Chan Ho sucked). Why do I keep going to games? Because I love baseball.

RFK

The Mets won 1-0 on a Carlos Beltrán homer.

DC art

(This is going to be harder than I thought. I'd be better off just starting fresh, instead of trying to remember stuff that happened two months ago.)

Took the Amtrak down to DC for the weekend. I really did not enjoy waking up so freaking early on a Saturday; yeah, it sucked. Pulled into Union Station, found my way on the Metro to DuPont Circle.


I had to gather myself before we headed off to the first ever artDC show. It was beautiful Spring day and we stumbled across several yard sales during our walk downtown. I wasn't feeling much of the work on display, but I also wasn't looking to buy anything either.


Back "home" for some food & MJ. Waited for ZS's friends who were super cute (they always are) and we girls (plus me) embarked on another walk (this time uphill) to the "best dance party in DC!" The police eventually came to shut it down, so I guess that means it was a good party. And there were hot dogs. And origami.

DC and Back Again

I can't sleep (maybe I'm sick?), I have a lot on my mind.

Another outing to a ballpark awaits, this time old RFK Stadium. Though not as decrepit as The Vet (now demolished) used to be, RFK might be the worst ballpark in the major leagues right now. It's the last of the 60's era multi-sport stadiums still in use for more than one sport (MLS's DC United is the other home team at RFK while Shea Stadium is currently baseball only and Qualcomm aka Jack Murphy Stadium is football only).

Arts in LIC

More things to do in the neighborhood.

Visit Richard Meier's studio in LIC.

Check out the Long Island City Culture Alliance's Summer in LongIsCity Opening Weekend (May 5th & 6th).

Eat Me

A reminder to myself to read the Michael Pollan article from this week's NYTimes Magazine.

And this bit of Yum-O.

And lastly, bye-bye Serena.

Afternoon at Shea

JYC and I got to the ballpark early enough to hear the Star-Spangled Banner. A class/team of disabled kids sang the national anthem. It seemed like most of the fans in the upper deck were kids on class trips to see the Mets. They were probably there for Kid Fitness Education Day (also Senior Stroll Day). I don't remember ever going on a trip to a baseball game when I was in school. Oh yeah, Mike Pelfrey and the rest of the Mets pitching staff got shelled (Rockies 11-5).

The Mets win the ballgame!

They have been winning (in 1st place as of tonight), but it's the first game they've won when I actually attended the game. So they're 1-3 now in my games. I'll probably go to at least a dozen more before the season is over. And tonight (85°F high) was a beautiful night for baseball.

OHNY Times Square

Woke up early to get to my volunteering stint for the week, OHNY's Peeling Back The Neon tour of Times Square. As described on their website:

Peeling Back the Neon! April 21, 2007
Think Times Square is all electric glimmer and gloss? Join OHNY to catch a glimpse behind the neon. Offering a look at a century of design, The Times Square Alliance tour guides will take you to spaces and places that will help define “The Crossroads of the World.”

We began the tour (led by Judy) at the Times Square Information Center (located inside the now landmarked Embassy Movie Theatre). She started off with a quick history, both of "the Deuce" in general and of the Embassy Movie Theatre and the story of its landmarking in 1999. She then took us outside to view the Louis H. Friedland designed building (1560 Broadway) from its 46th Street side; Judy pointed out the four statues along the 2nd floor of the building. Turns out the then (1927) owner of the bulding, Israel Miller, wanted to pay homage to the theatre stars of the day and commissioned Alexander Stirling Calder (the mobile dude's daddy) to make them. The women so sculpted are Mary Pickford as Little Lord Fauntleroy, Rosa Ponselle as Norma, Ethel Barrymore as Ophelia, & Marilyn Miller as Sunny.

Pics of the statues here.

We ventured farther away from Times Square along 46th and stopped in for some quiet reflection inside the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin aka Smoky Mary's. Judy told us a hilarious (though probably incredibly sacrilicious) story that happened in the church years ago.

Back outside on the plaza next to Father Duffy Square (the former and future site of the TKTS booth) where we saw the Naked Cowboy honing his craft and grabbing some ass. An article about the old TKTS booth with a mention of The Israel Miller Building's landmarking. I was too far away from Judy to hear what she was saying above the roar of the traffic around us and the screeching subway below, so I reverted back into usher mode and discussed future volunteering efforts with the OHNY coordinator.

Our final stop on the tour was André Balazs's Hotel QT (shouldn't it be Hotel DL?), famous for its stylish/budget party vibe (the rooms originally had no doors/screens for the showers and still have no doors to the main bathroom area). Maybe I'll stay there next time I'm out on the town...

Yummy Noodles

Another (crispy) noodle shop, Yummy Noodles. It was pretty good, (*nods head*), pretty good.

Sunnyside CSA - Farmers edition

My 2nd Sunnyside CSA meeting. I got to meet the farmers, Farmer Maggie & Farmer Matt; they were a cute couple (sunburnt in a farmer's way). I made them a dollar bill origami butterfly while I chatted with them - I felt like I monopolized their time there. Maggie & Matt mentioned they were going to have dinner at a neighborhood restaurant, Quaint, that I've yet to visit. Looking forward to harvest!

Green Grits & Baked Eggs

I made a dinner of green grits and baked eggs for my friend tonight, because I missed her. We sat and watched TV. I was content.

Baseball v the Weather

I was supposed to go to four baseball games at Shea this week, but I only ended up going on Wednesday and Saturday, because of the insane weather this week - 8 inches of rain in Central Park! The Mets may have lost both games, but I still think they'll finish in 1st place come October.

What You Say?

This clip from Saturday Night Live, not my slew of baseball games, might have been the highlight of my weekend. The lyrics to the song remind me of this insane collage of a website.

Carapace!

I don't want to continue the discussion surrounding the whole Don Imus fiasco, but I was impressed/excited by Gwen Ifill's use of carapace in her Op-Ed. Color me a word nerd.

Schiff @ the 92nd St Y

HYB is still all over the Schiff and this was his 2nd of night in a row that he was going to hear his favorite interpreter of Mozart, only this time it was Beethoven's works for piano and cello.

New Green Bo redux

Another lunchtime stop at New Green Bo. But why on a Tuesday?

Die Zauberflöte

The Magic Flute @ BAM tonight (review in the Times). It's one of HYB's favorites; he'll basically go to anything by Mozart anyway. I was more excited about the prospect of seeing William Kentridge's take on the work. I remember wandering around inside the New Museum while on a date years ago (when the museum was still on Broadway in SoHo) and watching the animated films by Kentridge over and over.

No John Passion

Happy Easter.

I was planning on hearing the Philippe Herreweghe led Collegium Vocale Ghent perform the St. John Passion at Lincoln Center today. The tickets were $60 a pop, but I would have purchased the tickets if not for their horrible, horrible website. The Metropolitan Opera's site is so much better.

Poker & Green Food

We hadn't hosted a poker party in a while, so we decided to combine it with the next scheduled potluck. The poker kids showed at 2pm, while the food folks arrived at 6pm. That was the plan anyway. I had a lot of fun making my contribution for the green themed dinner - a broccoli, olive, & pine nut penne. Everybody else actually brought green food and drink. It was a resounding success I must say. I should really remember to have my camera out next time.

Photos!

Lily Pad

Bowling birthday party.
At Leisure Time Bowl inside the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
It's actually much less of a hellhole now.
LC had a large posse of friends there.
I was actually on track for a score in the low 120s , that is before my nagging injury reminded me why I was so reluctant to go bowling in the first place (finished with a 98).

Heartland to Vineland

I drank so much tonight.

It started with some beers and shots at Heartland Brewery to celebrate JI's birthday - yes another birthday. Then it was across Union Square to catch a preview of Vineland: The Musical. I think I had three glasses of wine before the show and there was the complimentary/complementary glass of dessert wine during the finale of the musical. If the producers do that when the show opens it's guaranteed to be a hit. The actual quality of the show seems a moot point after all that drinking, but there was one bit (the Rodan imitation) that killed.

Armando Reverón

What happened today?

Went to a Brown Bag Lunch Lecture at MoMA on Armando Reverón this afternoon (MoMA's online Reverón exhibit).

Another visit to another noodle shop, this time in midtown - Menchanko Tei. I still think Minca's the best so far.

Strangely enough, the most compelling action of the day was the two hours I spent watching Deal or No Deal on the boob tube. There was this one guy on the second hour, a jig dancing Korean country boy, who was obviously (85%+) gay, but had a female wife. I say only 85% because he was married, but his wife was more mannish then her husband or either of his best friends who were about 220% gay combined. I just couldn't stop watching.

April Birthdays

An early morning brunch at Wallsé for SL's birthday. All the usual suspects would be there, but I got there on time and chatted with the barkeep, a photographer from Berlin, while I waited for the rest of the birthday party. The brunch was tasty, but an incredible birthday surprise awaited, a Mille Crêpes from Lady M Cake Boutique. I can't do this amazing cake justice, just check out the link.

Had to rush off to meet V and CS for the First Sunday Series of 365 Days / 365 Plays. We were there to see all the plays written in weeks 17-20. It was weird, but I enjoyed it; the most memorable moment was the reenactment/pose of Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware (listen to the Metropolitan Museum's podcast about the piece).

Another take on the plays.

Final leg of the day. My trip to the upper reaches of Manhattan for April's April bash. I hadn't been that far north since August. There might have been more pastries than people at this party. I took a lot of pictures. But the excitement for the day wasn't over yet, because I made a new friend on the subway ride home.