Alright New Yorkers, listen up.  Whatever you do tomorrow, avoid Rockefeller Center, and avoid it like the plague.  Why?  Oh nothing, it's just that teen pop sensation and recent troublemaker Miley Cyrus will be hitting The Today Show for a free concert tomorrow.  Yes, you heard me right.  So if you're a mother, prepare to be woken up at 3am tomorrow morning so you can bring your teenage and tweenage girls out to Manhattan to catch a glimpse of the megastar, all while battling tens of thousands of anxious young fans.

And if you commute through the area, consider changing your route.  Chances are you're probably not going to make it into work tomorrow if you even think about going within a 4 block radius of the plaza.

(Photograph via The Guardian)

Listen/Download "Large"

Off elitaste

3. 

It's really hot! And when the going gets hot, the hot head to the water, in whatever form we can find it. Here on Governors Island, we think a lot about our intimate and complicated relationship with water, especially as we begin to plan a new park and Great Promenade.  Water - 400-800 yards of it - is what separates us from our neighbors in Brooklyn and Manhattan : (. But that same water is a big part of what makes the journey to Governors Island so special. People from all across the City are drawn to the Island by the unique, sensory experience of the water here: the panoramic harbor views, the salty smell of the harbor and the sound of the waves.

And yet, in spite of this seeming abundance of water, the Island now offers few ways to get wet. An occasional organized kayak landing and swimming race around the Island are welcome exceptions, but there’s no refreshing toe-dipping or splish-splashing for the rest of us!  

Water – for playing in, reflecting upon, or cooling under - will be a major theme to explore in the design of our new park, Great Promenade and public open spaces. As we begin the park master plan, we'll be asking the design team, lead by West 8, to find creative ways to include water in the park experience.

From playful fountains to elegant reflecting pools to simple spray misters, there are many ways to incorporate water into a public park. We’d love to hear from you about your favorite places to play with water. For inspiration, see the photos above.

Photo Credits:

1. Families at Ira Keller Fountain in Portland: Phlogiston (Flickr, CC)
2. Child playing in fountain outside Shanghai Museum: Shashchatter (Flickr,CC)
3. Women walking through mister on Christopher Street Pier in Hudson River Park, NYC: GIPEC

CITY OF WATER DAY

In the very near future there will be much ado about water on Governors Island as the Waterfront Alliance hosts"City of Water Day" this Saturday, July 26th from 10am-4pm, to celebrate New York's waterfront and waterways. Highlights include:
• Kayak and canoe landings with organizations from across the city
• Music, letctures and exhibits
• Boat parade of working vessels past and present including the retired fireboat John J. Harvey and the Seaport Museum's tug W.O. Decker
• Eco-tours of indigenous bird habitats hosted by NYC Audubon  and a Hidden Harbor Tour
• Fishing clinics with I Fish New York

Max B was scheduled to perform at S.O.B.’s in Manhattan last night as part of a Hot 97 showcase, but shots fired at the rapper and his entourage abruptly ended the show before it began.

The rapper was not hurt, but upon gunfire erupting the show was immediately canceled.
Max B issued a statement regarding the event and apologized to his fans for the incident.
“I had no control over it, I didn’t want any trouble,” he said. “I never want any, but people despise me. They are jealous and envious, and they’re gonna do whatever they can to stop my movement. Shit is real.”

There’s no word whether the particular show featuring Max B will be rescheduled.

The rapper claimed to be unaware of who the gunmen were. Shortly before he was set to take the stage, eyewitnesses said a group of individuals entered the club, one of which shot a round toward the VIP area where Max B and his guests were seated. Police are investigating the case.

Overlooking the Hudson River Valley of New York.

The Battle of Saratoga was fought in September and October of 1777. It was a decisive American victory which resulted in the surrender of the entire British army that was invading New York from Canada. The picture of the canons is from Saratoga National Historical Park, overlooking the Hudson River Valley, in New York.

www.nps.gov/sara

Learn More: The American Revolution

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The image, Saratoga National Historical Park, is subject to copyright by Oram24. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of "The Revolution ed" pool.

The Battle of Saratoga was fought in September and October of 1777. It was a decisive American victory which resulted in the surrender of the entire British army that was invading New York from Canada. www.nps.gov/sara

Learn More: The American Revolution

Save To:

The image, Statue, is subject to copyright by Michael Garcia. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of "The Revolution ed" pool.

Keep checkin' back!

I saw some amazing retailing and some inspirational restaurants but I have to say the quality of the coffee bars (that I saw anyway) wasn't going to set the world on fire.  But one of the things that Hugo and I preach endlessly is to take ideas from other industries and see how they might work in our industry and specifically in your business.

The Abercrombie and Fitch store on Fifth Avenue is the most breathtaking example of a business understanding exactly who their customers are that I think I have ever seen.  And, it's worth bearing in mind, at the age of 41 - I ain't one of their target customers!  But i still walked around in awe at what they were doing and the level of thought that had gone into it.

Basically the store is laid out and created like a nightclub.  You have to queue to get in at any time of the day but this is nothing more than the classic nightclub policy of making the place look busier than it actually is.  The twenty or so people queueing outside could easily be accomodated within the four floors.  The queue moves very quickly.  But that doesn't mean it isn't busy - it is.  Very.

The "doormen" are model boys and girls, with one of the boys standing with his shirt off showing off a body like you might find on the front of Men's Health.  These boys and girls are so beautiful that some of the customers are asking to have their photos taken with them.  Inside it's a similar theme - lots of beautiful but extremely pleasant and friendly model boys and girls welcoming you and manning the tills.  At the top of each flight of stairs there is another model waiting to greet you in a genuinely friendly fashion.  The music is loud - nightclub loud and the lights are so low you really can't even see the colours of the clothes.  To someone in their forties it's irritating and seems pointless but to an aspirational teens and twenty something it is amazing and boy were those tills working.

Have a look at their "casting video" here and you can see just how deep this concept goes.  You can't be an Abercrombie model usless you actually work in the stores.  So in today's model and fame obsessed world they must have the beautiful people lining up to work for them and perhaps taste their "fifteen minutes".  All the plain and normal customers are just lining up to buy and take away a little slice of this lifestyle.  Even my wife and the wife of my friend were going in to "just have a look at the boys" - in my twenties I'd have been in every day in life to look at the girls.  The only reason I wouldn't do it now is for fear of being branded a "dirty old man" :)

This clearly didn't happen by accident - there has been some incredibly detailed work going on in the background to help create this experience to support the sales of clothes.

• How hard do you work to create a really great experience for your customers?
• How well do you actually know exactly who your customers are or are you trying to be all things to everyone?
• Have you really sat down and worked out how to attract great staff or are you just doing what everyone else is doing?

Food for thought.

Johnnie

Det er kanskje drøyt å hevde at Tjsernobyl-katastrofen i det hele tatt førte noe godt med seg. Men faktum er at det var nettopp evakueringen av hovedmann Eugene Hütz som sparket i gang fenomenet Gogol Bordello.

Med sin brokete bakgrunn som flyktning og omreisende i Europa endte han til slutt opp i New York der han kokte ihop sin kjernesuppe av egen folkemusikk, cabaret og New York-punk. Med sitt utpreget gode humør har dette ført dem mot toppen av den ellers ikke så rent lite selvhøytidelige New York-scenen.

Gogol Bordello herjet flere av de norske festivalene i fjor, og beviste at de voldsomme ryktene om et vanvittig liveband holdt stikk i massevis. Her er det både irsk folkrok a la The Pogues oppblandet i energioptimalisert rock'n'roll og selvagt rikelig med balkanske sigøynertoner samt noen hint av ska. For å nevne noe.

Blandingen til Gogol Bordello utgjør en eksplosiv eleksir som sammen med avhengighetsdannende låter gjør at du kommer i Hushovd-form tvert. Det er både kaotisk og rebelsk, og omslaget sier det meste, her er det hæla i taket og spandexjenka i en herlig grell koloritt. Full fest!

Sjekk utlånsstatus og reserver denne platen på drammensbiblioteket.no

So, this past Monday marked the first day of Restaurant Week NYC, summer 2008.  I love restaurant week.  I love seeing what different restaurants offer on their menus for budget-diners, how one place's selections differ from another, similar restaurant's selections, and how it compares to their normal menus.  More than that, people are usually more willing to go out to eat if they think they're getting a good deal, even if that isn't always the case.

Today (or technically yesterday, since it's past midnight), I met up with a couple of my friends to go to Opia restaurant, on 57th and Lexington.  One of my friends, Jon, wanted to go to a French restaurant, and my other friend, Catie, had no preference.  Since we waited too long to book reservations at, say, david burke & donatella, we settled for Opia.  In particular, I was intrigued by the charcuterie entree, and considering that I just finished reading Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's Charcuterie, as well as the fact that I did not encounter any other entree at any of the 50 other restaurant week menus I perused, I was sold.

Immediately, upon walking into the restaurant, I liked what I saw -- tastefully dimmed lights, lounge-style seating, an eye-catching bar, and big windows.  Unfortunately, it was fairly busy that night, so the three of us were led to the back area, where they presumably seat their larger parties (it was someone's birthday that night, too, so there was a table of, like, 50 billion 14).  They were loud.

Since there were three of us, and there were three options each, for appetizer, entree, and dessert, we all ordered different things.  We would pass our plates clockwise, so that we could taste everything.  Catie had the vichyssoise, Jon had the crispy frog legs with parsley and garlic puree, and I had the chicken liver mousse bruschetta with red currant relish.

First Course

I'm not a big fan of liver, usually.  I've not grown quite accustomed to the taste yet.  I suppose my palatte is still young and inexperienced.  Or maybe it's because, when I think of liver, I still think of the grey, boiled-to-death, mealy-textured mess my mom used to force me to eat as a kid.  Now, however, I do enjoy the occassional pâté, although I still have to get over the thoroughly liver-y liver taste.  As far as my bruschetta went, it was good.  I liked it.  My only criticism would be that I wish they had soaked their livers in milk for a while, if they hadn't done so already -- and if they had done so, I wish they used younger chickens' livers or soaked the livers they already had in even more milk for even longer, to remove some of the harshness of the liver that too often occurs in older chickens' livers.  I had a very similar appetizer at La Provence, in Lacombe, Louisiana (another one of Chef John Besh's restaurants), and that particular appetizer was done perfectly.

I have some chicken livers in my freezer.  Maybe I'll try to make my own chicken liver mousse bruschetta this weekend?

Catie's vichyssoise was all right.  It wasn't great, and I wasn't crazy about it, but hey . . . cold soup on a hot, humid, rainy day.  What more could you ask for?

The real star appetizer, in my opinion, was the frogs' legs that Jon ordered.  Although it wasn't quite as "crispy" as the name implied, it was a good value and there was plenty of food on the plate -- three pairs of meaty frogs' legs, tasty croutons, and very fresh-tasting, clean, garlic and parsley purees.  Excellent.  The only criticism I had was that the garlic had too much of that raw garlic harshness that I don't like and that I could have personally used a touch more salt on my frog legs -- but, I eat a lot of salt and so I have a higher tolerance for it than some.

Second Course

I'll start off by saying that I was very, very disappointed in my entree.  Again, since I just read Charcuterie, my head was filled with romantic notions and ideas about pork, fat, and sausages.  While I was expecting something a little more adventurous or perhaps foreign to the average American palatte, what I got instead was basically boiled fingerling potatoes, sauerkraut, and kielbasa.  Catie commented/complained that it smelled like her family.

Don't get me wrong.  I love me a good kielbasa and kraut, but I expect more when I'm paying good money for a plate.  If I wanted kielbasa with sauerkraut (and maybe a pierogi or four), I'd have gone to Sava Polish Deli in downtown Jersey City (I'll blog about this one, too.  Eventually).  I'd also save about 30 bucks and a trip into Manhattan.  What a fucking waste.  It was good kielbasa, though Sava can do it better.  Ditto on the kraut.

In a word or two, Catie's saffron risotto, with asparagus, pearl onions, artichokes, and tomatoes was fucking terrible.  Sure, it's nice to see a vegetarian option on the menu, but if you're gonna offer something to the vegetarians -- sorry, to the paying vegetarians, at least make it taste good!  Vegetables aren't that expensive, and for God's sake, you people were trained to cook food.  Make it taste good!  Or else we'll [gladly] go to Gobo.  I felt really bad for Catie -- she barely touched her plate and she still had to pay for her meal at the end of the night.  Instead, I had to eat a large portion of her entree, in all its acid, large-hunks-of-not-quite-cooked-garlic misery.  In short, I did not taste any saffron, the asparagus was pretty much raw, and the acid from the [canned?] artichokes and tomatoes just overpowered the dish.  And did I mention the huge chunks of nearly raw garlic?  The flavors were just muddled and it just didn't taste very good.  Saffron risotto?  Hell, my sister could have made a better risotto.  And my sister burns soup.

Dear God, I hope my sister doesn't read this blog.

Luckily, Jon (once again) pulls through with the undisputed star entree of the night.  He got the herb-crusted monkfish steak with orzo pasta, mushrooms, lemon confit (hooray, charcuterie!), and broccoli puree.  The orzo was delicious -- al dente, buttery, flavorful.  Tasty.  The horseradish-tinted monkfish was also excellent, although it was a little overcooked and firm.  I could have done without the broccoli puree, which is a shame, because I adore broccoli.  At least it brought some creaminess and color to the plate.

Dessert

Despite his previous successes in ordering the better dishes for the previous two courses, Jon didn't enjoy his white chocolate & lime soup with bittersweet chocolate mousse.  I, on the other hand, preferred his dessert, and not being totally happy with my cointreau parfait, we happily traded, both of us believing that we got the better deal in the transaction.

The lime was easily overpowered by the sweetness of the white chocolate.  I didn't care because I wasn't exactly aware that there was supposed to be lime in it.  The bittersweet chocolate mousse, on the other hand, was fantastic.  Light, airy, ethereal to eat, it was a perfect balance of sweetness, bitterness, and chocolatastic-ness.  Then, there was this crispy cracker-cookie on top.  I could have done without that.  I appreciated the thought, and I appreciated the texture it brought to the table, but it kept sticking to my teeth.  Made me wish I brought my toothbrush.

The cointreau parfait w/ honey sauce, served with "candy gingered & citrus madeleine" was decent, although I got neither cointreau, ginger, candy, candied ginger, nor "candy gingered."  Come to think of it, I'm not even sure what that's supposed to mean.  Ah well.  Jon liked it.  It was sweet.  Oh, yeah.  "Honey sauce"?  It was just drizzled honey.  Don't let the menu fool you.

Catie's peach tatin with vanilla ice cream, a slightly fancier version of peach cobbler a la mode, was unfortunately the superior dessert of the night.  The roasted peach was excellent (hey, it's the summer.  One expects excellent peaches in the summer), although the juices from it soaked through the flaky tatin pastry, making it soggy and stale-tasting, even though it was probably freshly made.  Also, vanilla ice cream is always good.  Aromatic, tasty, sweet, complex vanilla.

Yes, vanilla is complex.  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Overall, I still think it was worth the $45 dollars I ultimately paid, after tax and tip.  Nine dishes for $45 dollars works out to $5 dollars a tasting.  Sweet deal.  I'll probably never eat there again, not because the food was bad (not all of it, anyway), but because there are too many other places to eat.  The restaurant-tour must go on (har har, I'm so freaking lame).

Actually, I take that back.  The hostess was freaking cute.

Summary

Opia Restaurant. 130 East 57th St at Lexington.

From the restaurant week, summer 2008 menu, the frog legs appetizer, monkfish steak entree, and peach tatin dessert were particularly good.  Alternatively, order the chicken liver mousse appetizer or either of the two other desserts.  As for entrees, you can either get the charcuterie offering (severely overpriced kielbasa and sauerkraut) or this acid rice concotion they call a saffron risotto (don't order the risotto).

O outro projeto interessante é o InterSections, trata-se de um trabalho de resignificação do espaço urbano e das experiências históricas ligadas a Nova York. Bom, deixa eu explicar melhor....

O slogan traduz bem a sua proposta: "Where the past meets the present".
Andando pelas ruas, as pessoas são convidadas a decodificar os Semacodes (códigos 2D). Uma vez decodificada, a mensagem  mostra uma imagem do local, mas em  outra época, assim temos uma tentativa de reconstruir a história do passado através das tecnologias da informação e conhecer um pouco mais da história daquela região.

No site é possível baixar um mapa que ajuda os interessados a encontrar os lugares já mapeados pelo projeto e o leitor dos códigos.

Now, when I initially wrote on this story a few blogs ago...I knew that there had to be something wrong...because it was just out of sync.

And there was the supposed man...in the story...is really a woman living as a man who...I started to say had a sex change.  But she couldn't have otherwise she wouldn't have been able to have the baby or get impregnanted.

I am naive on many things...and I truly am.

But there are somethings which clearly just irritate me.

Why go through all of the trouble of trying to present yourself as a man...and then want to get pregnant?

What was she trying to make a mockery of?

Herself or God?

He can't be made a mockery of.

And then to have this picture of her...well, supposely him and the baby together.  Well...

Was this just a media thang?

And now they...what? The gay couple exploit the child and their relationship? Selling their story to the tabloids and appearing on talk shows. Anything for a dime or a dollar.

I once knew someone...and I guess I still do...just that I haven't seen them in a very long time.

When I first met this person I realized something was out of whack...but I could not put my hands on it. 

She lived in same town as a friend of mines...and I say she because really that is what I met him as...and have only known him as.  Though I do realize to call him...her would be lying...though at the time of course I was not saved...nor trying to be.

Well, she lived in the same Jersey town as my friend...who was new to the area.  And I just thought it would be nice for them to meet and then my friend would have somebody to hang with over in Jersey.

It was my friend who informed of what I just couldn't put my finger on.

She said to me one night...while we were all out at dinner or something I think...she said after the person had gotten up from the table-

"I know you kept saying that there was something strange...or something about her.  So, I have decided to tell you.  And don't look over there at her when I tell you this."

I said, "Okay.  So, what is it?"

And she said...she ain't a she.

I know I said I wouldn't look over in her direction...but my head spun around so quickly.  It was an automatic response.  I could not believe it.   I knew I had felt something was out of whack...but I never would have guessed it was that.

My friend immediately admonished me saying-

"I told you don't look.  Don't look."

But I could not help but look.  In fact I was staring.  I had never experienced anything like that before.  It was adverse to me.

I though that she was a woman and nothing could have prepared me for anything otherwise.

I told you I had been terribly naive...and to some degree still am.

That was at a time when I was heavily involved in gay life...hanging out...partying in clubs with women...and a member of Salsa Soul Sister, Inc, in New York City.  My life is by no means like that now but there was a time...almost 25 years of my life when that is what I did.  Before that I was not sexually involved at all.

So, I had gone through grade school and college without any type of involvement.  Never dated boys in my life.

I was just different from most people and lived a highly sheltered life under the wings of my parents.

It was in Salsa Soul Sister that I met this person whom I had introduced to my friend who had just moved to New Jersey from St. Louis.  Salsa was a lesbian organization...and I guess that is why I never would have guessed that this person had been anything other than a woman.

But this is the way it went...she was a guy who wanted to be a woman and then a lesbian.

When the Salsa Soul Sisters found out about this...every founding mother and everybody else stormed into Salsa one night...the record had to be set straight (no pun intented)...and they called an emergency meeting.  Where it was voted on that no biological male could ever become a board member of Salsa.  Because that was really the issue...not only did she want to become a woman and be a lesbian...but she also was nominated to run for a position on the board of directors of Salsa...and that of course was a no-no for any male...real or operated on...which at the time she was not.  And the Salsa Soul Sisters were not having it...not at all. 

You would have loved to have heard those women that night...it got pretty heated...and they were not playing.

In the end I felt sorry for him...because he was nice and had proven to be a good worker.  But my Salsa Soul Sisters were right...and I had to agree with them. 

Salsa was a black lesbian organization...the oldest in the world.  And through their years some very well known women, writers, artist of every type...and professional women and otherwise...etc... have walked through their doors...including Audrey Lorde, June Jordan and many many many others...all Salsa Soul Sisters.  Some very well known and widely read, and seen in media and all facets of the arts, performing and otherwise, as well as educators etc...all Salsa Soul Sisters.  Exceedingly, talented women.

It was hard for me to grasp why she...he would want to dress up as an woman and engage in sexual activity with women as a lesbian.  She was after all a man...by living his life as man...he would not have any of the confusion that just knowing the story caused me and many of the other Salsa Soul Sisters.

And as much as they tried...tried to not say...many of those same women dated her...before and after that meeting.

There is much confusion in the world...and I am so glad to not have that type of confusion any longer.

I am so glad that God has reclaimed my life...and set me free from the bondage that once held me.

Perhaps as strange as I though she was...she was not more strange than I was.   One thing is for certain we were both lost.  I don't know about her or him today...but I have been set free.   And I walk in liberty.

But there is one thing though...I will leave a pocketbook like most people forget an umbrella...because I am not used to carrying one.   So, most of the time I don't even bother with them...unless it is something like a bookbag...because I will walk off and leave it.   Smile...and even that too may become a thing of the past.

It is so good to be free.  I cannot thank the Lord enough...for saving me.

Have a good day...    and God bless....

Oh, yeah...another Chinese word.  wu bu dong ....  means I don't understand... wu is Chinese for 'I'.

It is pronounced .....woo boo dung.       So, it can be said either way... wu bu dong   or    bu dong  ...meanding I don't understand.

It has been raining most of the day and yesterday...but just as I was about to finish telling this story the ceiling started leaking.  I look at it as a sign that the devil just doesn't want me to tell this story.  But I will tell it everywhere I go if need be...if it can encourage somebody or help someone else to find peace and deliverance in their life.  I'm going to tell it.

I am oh so thankful....for the chance to share it with you.

It is funny...but the moment I wrote that last paragraph the ceiling stopped leaking.  It is the power of God...to speak what he puts upon your heart to speak.  I know that this blog is going to touch someone in a special kind of way...and I am so happy to be able to speak life and truth into your life.  Be bless...

Thus Phone Booth is also a social commentary, especially on how the news media will jump onto any story. Here they are willing to literally watch Stu die, and no one gives it a second thought. Its easy to distance one self from pictures on the news simply because they aren't happening to us. What Phone Booth attempts to say is that no matter how distant that event is, we're still watching human life portrayed on-screen. Stu is not only trapped by the confines of the booth itself, but by the people standing around it - if he does something wrong he'll endanger the lives of others.

When I first saw this movie it was with my Dad, and the confining, limited environment definently tried him. Its not easy to focus one self onto a single space; especially when movies usually feature multiple sets. On some level the movie is more like a theater production, and harkens back to the days where movies did have limited sets. I think of Arsenic and Old Lace - where much of the film occurs in a living room. Futhermore several devious if not nefarious plot-elements occur within the basement - which is never seen throughout the film. Phone Booth doesn't do exactly that, but it forces our world to become just like Stu's - confining, uncomfortable and exposed. It might be a struggle to initially watch, but its well worth sitting through. Besides, there's a lot to be said in its minimalism.

I'll start with Bloomberg. Yes, he's a billionaire, but he is also the current mayor of New York and an oft-discussed potential presidential candidate. Is it right for him to publicly use his money in a way that could influence voters--even if it is for charity? Let's imagine that instead of funding an anti-smoking campaign he purchased lunch for a number of poor voters in Ohio and Florida, would that be alright? How different are these two? Referring back to avschwarm's post on campaign finance, is this also an unfair political use of money?

Alright, on to Gates. Its hard to argue that what he has been doing with his money isn't a good thing, and I don't intend to do so. However, I think there are some broader questions about him that deserve some discussion: is it a socially beneficial outcome for someone to be able to accumulate such wealth (through arguably monopolistic behavior) so that they can then decide how to spend that money trying to fix the social problems of an unequal society? Rockefeller and Carnegie were both quite philanthropic with their money and society benefitted tremendously, but would we have been better off had they not become rich through monopolistic means? Does Gates have an obligation to give money away through his foundation? On a personal level, what obligation do we all have to be public servants-billionaires or not?

Finally, what does it say about society that we tacitly depend on the whims of billionaires to address some of our most pressing global problems?

Alright, so the last question is certainly heavy-handed, but nonetheless important. They are all tough questions, but I do not think we should shy away from them.

Some of the things aren't even practical for the rest of the world, but the skills I'm picking up in techniques and finding the details that make a person work. It's been fascinating.

I like LA. I'm not going to lie, but so far, it's not killing me the way I thought it would. I almost feel as if it's because I'm too busy to spend any time living in LA... The sunshine makes me happy. I have good friends here that are taking good care of me.

My heart, however, is still in New York. I miss watching the sunset on the skyline out the windows of the Daieli. I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did my last night in New York (thank you, Jean... and Josh. Hah.) I miss the satisfaction of a popsicle melting in my hand in the humidity. I miss sincere hugs and sincere personalities.

I'm just going to have to stay attached to New York through the phone, and know one day, after I sincerely pay my dues, they'll be paying me back in New York

Quality Rock & Roll Airplane

style.

Spread the word please the new Jefferson Airplane book "Have You Seen The Stars Tonite" is not far away from landing!  Thanks so much.

Welcome to Airshow Thursday:

Glad you are part of the flight.  Thanks for being here.

On the flight today:
Steve Howe from a show with Asia
Dennis Wilson from an early Beach Boys appearance
Skip Spence from Moby Grape
Skip Spence and Bob Mosley from Moby Grape
Simon & Garfunkel
Roger Daltrey

All in free-flight.  Enjoy the day and the memories.

Fly to this link and please click on Airshow Photos #8 but do not forget the other great

flights.  There are 100's more to check out from Beatles to Great Society.

http://www.takemetoacircustent.net

Relax and have fun!

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE-

JEFFERSON STARSHIP- Great Society-

Take Me To A Circus Tent

I look forward to hearing you later!

The book is Take Me To A Circus Tent (The Jefferson Airplane Flight Manual) W/93 photos, 32 interviews, 543 pages, and a myriad of 5 star reviews!

Please remember at any moment on an Aircast it can be a rare memory from the Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, KBC, Wooden Ships, Marty Balin, Paul Kantner to name several.  Maybe another picture previously unseen from the Rock Tent Vault sees daylight from Herb Greene or Don Aters.

Hope Thursday will be the best,

craig

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There's a thunderstorm in the city tonight. Rolling breaks of thunder competing with the mirrored sound of the LIC garbage trucks on their eleven o'clock run. Sharp fits of rain pelting the aluminum air conditioner, almost the sound of a tin roof. Almost I'm five years old again. But there's tobacco on my tongue and honking horns instead of lowing cattle, just so there's no confusion.

It's what I love about New York. It's the least confusing place I know.

 Manet and the American Civil War

The book's primary focus is the battle of the U.S.S. Kearsarge and C.S.S. Alabama. This from the front flap which provides an eloquent introduction to the book which I could not better....

"On June 19, 1864, the United States warship Kearsarge sank the Confederate raider Alabama off the coast of Cherbourg, France, in one of the most celebrated naval engagements of the American Civil War. The battle was widely reported in the illustrated press and riveted public attention on both sides of the Channel. When Kearsarge later anchored off the French resort town of Boulonge-sur-Mer it was thronged by curious visitors, one of whom was the artist Edouard Manet.  Although he did not witness the historic battle, Manet made a painting of it partly as an attempt to regain the respect of his colleagues after being ridiculed for his works in the 1864 Salon. Manet's picture of the naval engagement and his portrait of the victorious Kearsarge belong to a group of his seascapes of Boulonge whose unorthodox perspective and composition would profoundly influence the course of French paintings."

In part 2, more on Edouard Manet followed in subsequent posts about the two ships and their encounter across the Atlantic.

Note that I have added a shelf to my online library titled "Civil War Art and Artists." You can access that shelf here. I will shortly cross-reference this book on the Naval History shelf as well.

1. A person who bails out on a commitment at the very last minute.

Example: Jane is such a flaker. I can't believe that she bailed out the very last minute! I'm definitely not inviting her to hang out next time.

2. Someone who flakes.

Example: You flaker. Why did you bail at the last minute?

If the following applies to you, then you suck big time =p

I found the coolest site on the web this evening. I was looking for secondary coverage on my Ninn/Spearmint Rhino story in AVN (there hasn't been any), and I somehow stumbled onto WebsiteOutlook.com. The gimmick here is that the value of your website is calculated based on traffic, search engine reach, etc. in order to determine its potential advertising revenue.

The Migrant Blogger is worth $576.70-- not bad for a part-time hack that has only been around for about two months. That turns into about $0.79 a day.

Okay, this isn't exactly paying off yet. But, maybe instead of trying to generate daily revenue, I'll build up traffic then do a little bit of M&A work-- sell my blog for an outrageous fortune. ]]> http://culturalcapitol.wordpress.com/?p=393 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:56:51 +0000 culturalcapitol http://culturalcapitol.wordpress.com/?p=393

Once again the NY Times (City Room blog) is reporting that the 'TA wants to hike fares 13.4 percent over the next 18 months.

Forgive me for sounding cynical, but no one quoted in the Times sounds like a friend of the straphanger.

Several board members, however, expressed dissent, saying that despite internal spending reductions already proposed by the authority’s leadership, more should be made before asking riders for more fares and tolls. Some argued that those reductions could be made without affecting service.

Yeah, right. How about this? Instead of hiking fares and cutting service, why not put pressure on Albany to pass the congestion tax? Why not insist that public transportation in the city that holds 42% of the state's population, and is a massive spur to economic activity, and supports the local economy that pays for most of Albany's other projects, be subsidized by commuters into the city, or by a state-wide gas tax, or by a carbon tax on areas that refuse to extend access to the city by rail -- like Westchester?

Several members of the public called for more city and state aid was needed — a position with which several board members are quietly sympathetic, though as political appointees, they have been reluctant to publicly call on the governor and mayor for new assistance.

It's a political shell game. The politicians who would kill the subway are also the ones who think NYC should be "car friendly". And they live in Westchester, Midwood and Manhattan Terrace (with one exception). Why will you pay more for deteriorating service? Beats me.