Saw the 73rd to last game at Yankee Stadium...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Papal Yankee Hat
Lunch in Gramercy Park
Monday, April 14, 2008
Kluge's Visit
Had an absolute blast while the old fella was in town. Got to see him 3 times over his visit, with him dropping by for a coffee one day, the breakfast at Little Poland I posted about earlier, and a lovely night on the town on Saturday.
Started with a cocktail at our apartment and a nice chat as this was the first time he got to see The Wife this week. Then took a leisurely stroll to Pia Dina in the Village for a splendid Italian meal with a couple bottles of a nice red wine. From there we discussed the Irish Coffee and he put it to me to find a great one in town, so we jumped a cab up to the Blue Bar at the Algonquin where this photo was taken. They delivered and then we repaired to a crowded Jimmy's Corner, followed by a postprandial cigar in Gramercy Park. A very nice evening, with a great guy...
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Clinton St. Graffiti Gnomes
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Breakfast with Kluge
Had breakfast with my former creative writing professor from Semester-at-Sea, the novelist P. F. Kluge. He was kind enough to take me to "Little Poland" for what I think was his third trip there so far this week. As I asked him on our walk to the restaurant, "You can tell me, it's just the two of us... Does it bother you you're not Polish?"
Great to see him, as always. Had a delightful, far-ranging chat over breakfast discussing his family's involvement in World War II, Semester-at-Sea reminiscences and the staying power of his most famous work "Eddie & The Cruisers." Here he does a little victory dance in our booth as he correctly named a mural painter faster than I could pull the information from the internet. Small victories for the elderly...
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
John Chin & Irvin Mayfield
Live at the Blue Note. John is a friend (and soundtrack artist) & I could NOT believe it when I found out he was playing the Blue Note with IRVIN MAYFIELD. (!!) For those who do not know, Irvin Mayfield is the Cultural Ambassador of New Orleans and a legendary performer. Had a great time at the show, even though I went alone. And, thanks to John, got to meet Irvin. Well done, John!
Greatest. Coozie. Ever
Monday, April 07, 2008
Sunday, April 06, 2008
One for Eddie
I don't know what it is, but every time Gano & I get together, weird (and wonderful) things happen. Met Sully & Jen for lunch at the Spotted Pig as we had not seen Sully in a very long time. Then wandered down to the Ear Inn to meet JD for a semi-business meeting. JD left for the suburbs and, shortly thereafter, a wake arrived. A very fun, very inebriated wake for a gentleman named Eddie who had been going to the Ear with his widow Ronnie for 25-30 years and was the cinematographer on such classic New York films as "The French Connection" and "Rosemary's Baby." One for Eddie indeed...
Friday, April 04, 2008
'Metal Gods'
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
The Donnas
Live at Harry O's in Park City. They were dreadful. As has Harry O's become. We heard a few songs, couldn't take any more and retreated back to the (glorious) No Name Saloon.
BRIGHTON!
Had an EPIC day of skiing at Brighton. Thanks to our being "the creme of the national sporting press" we received complimentary ski passes. They had received 6-8" of fresh snow and NO ONE was there. Our cumulative wait time in lift lines? 0.0 seconds. An incredible day, and it kept snowing.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Skynyrd Remains Underrated
My second favorite Skynyrd tune. But this one has a more interesting message (although "Gimme Back My Bullets" is a pretty interesting point to make... Who took them? Where are they? Why do I need them back?) Despite being sung by the "new" Skynyrd, this is a truly great song, and great message... "Don't forget, Son, there is someone up above..."
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
"Liberace: Your Personal Fashion Consultant"
Our dear and generous friend Sully, who left us for Boston, still makes his presence felt. Every now and then a gift will arrive, always unexpectedly but this time... shockingly. Who knew there was a book entitled "Liberace: Your Personal Fashion Consultant"? Certainly not I. I had always credited Evel Knievel as a tremendous fashion influence but I am going to have to rethink this as Liberace was Polish, and everyone called him "Lee." Hmm... As Sully's note read, "Who knows fashion better than Liberace? I agree, not a soul. Thought perhaps this would help at Mardi Gras." Great stuff.As Liberace himself said, "Excuse me a moment while I slip into something more spectacular."
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Zombies Redux
Beloved brother-in-law John wrote in from San Diego to say he enjoyed several recent posts including the Zombie Food Pyramid. He wrote, "i bought this t shirt for [his wife] denise last year"Monday, March 24, 2008
WOW! What an Easter!
WOW! That was some Easter... For my Mom's Christmas present we got her tickets to see the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin at Radio City Music Hall. So Momma G. came down on Saturday and had a fantastic lunch at BLT Market. Then we wandered around, ending up at dinner at Osteria del Circo before getting to Radio City right on time. The concert was fantastic, a full retrospective of Aretha's career from her early days in gospel to the 2 hits "Respect" and "Chain of Fools." There was even a welcome guest in former Temptations lead singer Ollie Woodson and an indulged guest in her son who sang Christian hip-hop as many of the crowd went to refresh their drinks. Despite not having the polish I expected from a Radio City-level show, she is still Aretha Franklin and there were moments of transcendence. I particularly enjoyed all of the gospel numbers and the encore she sang and played on piano, "Easter Parade." Wow. (NY Times review here.)
On Sunday we went to Mass at our local church and then up to the U. Club to watch the Easter Parade itself on 5th Avenue through the Club windows, followed by an exquisite Easter brunch replete with SEVERAL bottles of champagne. (Momma had given up drinking for Lent so it only seemed appropriate we get her right back on that horse.) Had a blast and then came back to our apartment to relax, watch the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix, order in Italian food and then send Momma back Uptown in a cab.
Truly a great Easter. Family, fun, food and Aretha Franklin.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Rocking Russkies
In what can only be called a TRIUMPH of international relations, the Soviet Army Chorus jams with Finnish rock band "The Leningrad Cowboys" on Lynyrd Skynyrd's classic "Sweet Home Alabama." This has to be seen to be believed, and the REAL Soviet Army Chorus lends a certain terrifying gravitas to the end of the song...
New Yorker Caption Contest
My friend Christian & I are obsessed with the New Yorker's weekly Caption Contest. We submit entries frequently, but I thought that we had this week's LOCKED UP. You see, in high school, I had submitted an entry to the Bulwer-Lytton Contest which is a contest to write the best opening line to the worst piece of potential fiction:
Edward Bulwer-Lytton was the author of that line, made famous by Snoopy of "Peanuts" fame, "It was a dark and stormy night..."
My entry, nearly 20 years ago, was "The vultures alit from their prey, their carrion luggage stowed away." So I get a call from Christian telling me that this week's New Yorker Caption Contest is PERFECT for a joke I made 2 decades ago. Naturally, I submitted a similar entry thinking that - at last - my time had arrived, destiny had come calling, and I would finally get national New Yorker-level recognition for my rapier wit...
Here's where I get angry. Christian & I had superior entries for this week's Caption Contest, neither one of which was chosen. So, I took it up on myself to write our friend Bruce, who is a film critic and editor at the New Yorker:
Bruce:
I apologize in advance for this rant, but I am afraid that I am really furious at your employer. As you know, Christian & I are obsessed with the Caption Contest. Now, of course we always think our submissions are superior, but this week it's no contest whatsoever and we are really angry that the three that were chosen were INFINITELY inferior to our submissions.
Here is the cartoon, and the 3 loser entries:
Drawing by Drew Dernavich
Now here are ours:
Mine -- "No, no checked luggage. All carrion."
Christian's -- "No, I said we should adopt a corporate culture."
Obviously ours are better.
So, in short and in closing, you work for a bunch of communist-sympathizing whoremongers who wouldn't know good cartoon captions if they bit them in their pompous asses. Filthy animals...
Strong letter to follow,
LTG
Since 1982 the English Department at San Jose State University has sponsored the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, a whimsical literary competition that challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton was the author of that line, made famous by Snoopy of "Peanuts" fame, "It was a dark and stormy night..."
"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."
--Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)
Dreadful. So they named a great contest after him to write a terrific / terrible opening line to a fictitious novel. Brilliant.My entry, nearly 20 years ago, was "The vultures alit from their prey, their carrion luggage stowed away." So I get a call from Christian telling me that this week's New Yorker Caption Contest is PERFECT for a joke I made 2 decades ago. Naturally, I submitted a similar entry thinking that - at last - my time had arrived, destiny had come calling, and I would finally get national New Yorker-level recognition for my rapier wit...
Here's where I get angry. Christian & I had superior entries for this week's Caption Contest, neither one of which was chosen. So, I took it up on myself to write our friend Bruce, who is a film critic and editor at the New Yorker:
Bruce:
I apologize in advance for this rant, but I am afraid that I am really furious at your employer. As you know, Christian & I are obsessed with the Caption Contest. Now, of course we always think our submissions are superior, but this week it's no contest whatsoever and we are really angry that the three that were chosen were INFINITELY inferior to our submissions.
Here is the cartoon, and the 3 loser entries:
 | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Now here are ours:
Mine -- "No, no checked luggage. All carrion."
Christian's -- "No, I said we should adopt a corporate culture."
Obviously ours are better.
So, in short and in closing, you work for a bunch of communist-sympathizing whoremongers who wouldn't know good cartoon captions if they bit them in their pompous asses. Filthy animals...
Strong letter to follow,
LTG
Monday, March 17, 2008
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Happy St. Patrick's day to one and all. We normally hunker down to avoid the drunken masses and are doing so again this year, shutting ourselves off from the red-eyed hordes who dress in, and vomit, green. I (correctly) lump St. Patrick's Day in with New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day -- Amateur Hour. For the hard-drinking, festive stalwarts among us there is no need for a manufactured holiday - the behavior exhibited by the multitudes today we just call "Tuesday". [As one of my hilarious yet less charitable (and French) friends said in college, "Happy be poor, eat potatoes and starve day."]
I, for one, happen to like the Irish. They share a lot in common with the Polish. Or as I have been known to say, "The Irish are the poor man's Pole." Both groups have bad cuisine, drink too much, tell stories, get in fights, are fiercely loyal and predominantly Catholic; but the Irish have that accent everyone loves and thieving little green men who horde gold and that seems to have given them an edge in the collective consciousness. What do we Poles have? Better looking women and a Pope. I'll take it...
All of that being said, here's a nice version of a traditional piece:
Had a good if subdued weekend up at Windham. Did some skiing on variable and, on Sunday, dangerously foggy conditions and enjoyed the last weekend of the season there, trying to get some turns in before we head to Utah in 2 weeks.
I, for one, happen to like the Irish. They share a lot in common with the Polish. Or as I have been known to say, "The Irish are the poor man's Pole." Both groups have bad cuisine, drink too much, tell stories, get in fights, are fiercely loyal and predominantly Catholic; but the Irish have that accent everyone loves and thieving little green men who horde gold and that seems to have given them an edge in the collective consciousness. What do we Poles have? Better looking women and a Pope. I'll take it...
All of that being said, here's a nice version of a traditional piece:
Had a good if subdued weekend up at Windham. Did some skiing on variable and, on Sunday, dangerously foggy conditions and enjoyed the last weekend of the season there, trying to get some turns in before we head to Utah in 2 weeks.
Friday, March 14, 2008
THE BLOG IS BACK!
Okay... My profound apologies. I have been ABSURDLY busy the last few weeks with work and haven't had time to update the blog. Very sorry and will endeavor to keep up with it more frequently. However, I have gone back and added more photos & events going back to last October, so feel free to peruse some of the older posts. There are some amusing things I just was not able to get to, until now. As an added bonus, the Zombie Food Pyramid:
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Salon Opening
Saturday, March 01, 2008
KB & Ladies
Went to North Carolina to visit KB & Z. Had a truly stupendous time. Saw Maceo Parker & Booker T. and the MGs at Duke University's Page Auditorium. Kevin got tickets MONTHS ago and we were seated in the fourth row. Great show, and the first time K & Z had seen Maceo.
Went to an EPIC dinner at the "Second Empire" on Saturday, followed by late night shenanigans at their wonderfully decorated house. A very fun weekend...
Maceo Parker - "Gimme Some More"
Funk legend Maceo Parker lays it down... As Kevin noted on our way out, "Now THAT'S a bandleader. He plays THE BAND as an instrument."
Booker T. & The MG's - "Green Onions"
Video from the concert in North Carolina of the legendary Booker T. & the MG's performing their timeless classic, "Green Onions".
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Adventure
Apparently, our man in Bangkok is returning safely. Have enjoyed his running blog updates and thought I would make him this motivational poster, using a picture of him in Thailand and including an actual quote from a friend of mine in the Explorers Club. I think it's perfect on so many levels. I will be submitting it to Sky Mall.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Crawfish
Ordered way too much food at Mara's Homemade with Laurie & Matt. A good taste of New Orleans in NYC. Then we kidnapped our waitress and brought her to see Milo Z, where we danced much of it off. Mara's also carries EVERY Abita product including being the EXCLUSIVE NYC carrier of the AndyGator beer. Well done.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Our Man in Bangkok
Finally spoke to my brother over the internets today, for the first time since he's been in Bangkok. He flies out tomorrow for Singapore (visa issues) and then back to Bangkok for a week of work and then a week's vacation in Phuket, staying at the place pictured here. Not too shabby... Seems he's doing very well.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
New Orleans Jazz Vipers
Gano & I spent a delightful time with James & Reese at their place in the Marigny and then left to go on walkabout. Stumbled across The Spotted Cat where the very talented New Orleans Jazz Vipers were playing. Outstanding.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
I love New Orleans
I really, really, do. It is arguably my favorite place on Earth. Why? Tough to put in to words... There is no place that is like it, you see things there - around every corner - that you just don't see anywhere else, and it is probably the only place in the world that, when you mention it to people, they immediately smile. The Life Guzilla has been fortunate and blessed with a lot of travel, and no place has the magic of New Orleans. To say it's my "happy place" underutilizes and misuses both "happy" and "place"... It is pure magic, in a world that desperately needs it and yet is trying to stamp it out.
One of The Wife's favorite actresses, the comedic genius Jennifer Coolidge, put it exceptionally well in a "60 Second Interview" with the Times-Picayune's (and acquaintance) Chris Rose:
Without making references to food or music, describe the magic of New Orleans.
It's the only city I've ever been to that has its own feeling, its own ambiance. It has its own eeriness. Sometimes I'll go into the park and this mist comes out of nowhere over the park and I feel like a vampire family could just appear out of nowhere and join me.
Like tonight: The wind is blowing and the mist is coming. I feel like anything could happen, like you could sprout wings in a second and just fly away. When I lived in New York in the '80s, it was such an exciting time and you never knew where the night could take you and I feel like this town is like that times 100.
This photo was taken at approximately 4:00am as Gano & I were wandering the French Quarter. And the Vieux Carré had exactly that mist and that feeling and it stopped us both in our tracks. We both fiddled with the camera for about 15 minutes trying, and failing, to capture that same ephemeral magic. It has to be experienced to be believed...
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
'My Mama Said...'
Khawuleza!
One of our favorite Hugh Masekela songs. The song is about when they used to sell illegal booze in the shantytowns of South Africa and they would throw pebbles on the corrugated iron roofs and yell, "Khawuleza, Momma!" to let everyone know the police were coming.
Intro:
Song:
Intro:
Song:
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