Doing what it takes to get by...

A dear friend wanted to go to the movies with me, but she, being an adult in her 40's wanted to see some sensitive French film, and me, with the taste of 17 year old boy, only wanted to see either Dark Knight or Wanted. So we compromised and went to the Tenement Museum in the Lower East Side (97 Orchard St, to be precise.) There are a variety of tour options, and we chose the 'Getting By' tour, essentially exploring how families in the 1860's and the 1930's got by with the vicissitudes of life.

It was a wonderful tour! They have restored a tenement building in Orchard St, coincidentally the oldest building the block, and done a huge amount of research about the people who lived in it, and then took us into the building and told us two family stories based on the facts they had uncovered.

Just standing in the apartment, seeing how dark it would be without electricity, feeling how hot it would be, even with an electric fan and imagining standing there in long skirts and petticoats, I swear I would faint! And they were so tiny, ( 320 sq foot each) and held families of 2 adults and however many kids there were - often 3 or 4. And with no running water, and steep dark stairs, it just illuminated, beautifully, what the real conditions were for the workers of those times.

I really enjoyed it and will definitely take any tourists who come my way to it. Quite often in England there were beautifully restored regency houses (or even Elizabethan ones) to explore, and I loved going to them; but they were the homes of the very rich. Here we saw how the rest, how more likely we ourselves would have lived, and that was a valuable perspective.

It's so obvious how much harder lives were in those days (of course we know that, but seeing that corridor without electricity, just made you want to run away.

Definitely 2 hours well spent.

Testing

Since I changed the template things have gone awry backstage... here's my attempt to fix them. This is a test...

An Evening with George Michael

So we went and saw George Michael at Madison Square Garden last night. MSG is huge, holds about 35,000 people. At $250 a pop (maybe the gods were cheaper) but still, that's quite a haul.

We were so excited and the audience even more so. It was such a warm happy audience, cheering, knowing the songs, just happy to be there.

But it didn't go well....

Firstly, the ticket warned us that there was no warm up band, the show starts promptly at 8. Prompt was their word. And this being an audience of responsible adults (looking around I didn't see anyone under 30) the vast majority of us were there at 8, or at least by 10 past. But GM himself didn't show till 8.40. So what was that about? I mean I know that Kanye West showed up 2 hours late (4am rather than 2am?) at Bonnaroo, and his fans booed him, but we weren't the same crowd at all. If you're going to start late, have someone start the show for you and open at 9 promptly, like Annie Lennox did.

Anyways, this amazing screen backdrop - some new concoction of LCD television, that was maybe 60 feet high and 25 feet wide. Maybe more, but huge in any case. This backscreen lights up and music starts to play. Then a sliding door opens in the screen and GM walks out, great visual moment and the crowd goes crazy, I mean really ear ringing crazy. The first number is great.

But the screen is so huge, that it totally dominates the tiny man standing before it. And the screen doesn't show images of him, but rather abstract fractal art. So pretty quickly you lose him, somehow, in the shadows. Because the other problem was that the lighting was appalling. I'm quick to confess that I'm not lighting expert (though DH is) but George Michael's face was in shadow half the time and if he left the front of the stage and walked into the T shaped cat walk, there was no light on him at all.

And then, he would sing a hit, and everyone would be up and dancing, and he wouldn't build on it. He kept going for the slower numbers. And he got a stool and sat through every slower number! Frankly he started looking like he was too out of shape to stand for 2 hours. It was acutally odd. I've never seen a performer of his fame just keep stopping the show to sit down and catch his breath.

The other problem was that the sound was really muddy. I could hear the people singing around me more clearly than I could hear George Michael at times.

DH was so disappointed he suggested leaving at intermission. And why did we have an intermission? I've never been to a rock concert with one before. It just reinforced the idea that GM needed a break, he couldn't do it for 2 hours straight.

But we didn't leave and the second set was better - they found the spot light for the T catwalk and the fractals calmed down, but George himself never really filled the stage. Somehow he jsut appeared to get smaller and smaller...

It was a really disappointing show and frankly, if he puts out a new CD, I'm not sure I would rush to buy it :(

I'm going to change your life...

I'm going to tell you about Pandora. com - a site that designs a radio station to your music likes and dislikes (the more you play with it, the better it gets)

Think about 5 or so musicians who you love. I started with George Michael because we're going to see him tonight (very excited about that too!) and added Madonna and Justin Timberlake and now this amazing music is playing out of my computer. Have no idea how it works or why it's free (they explain both, for those who need to know those things.) I just know that there is going to be a lot more music in my life, which makes me very happy!

I'm looking forward to making a latin station and letting DS create a station for himself. This is magic! Share, enjoy, tell people about it :)

Updated to add 2 new facts - DH, just loves it, and says that it has changed his life (see, I knew I could do it!) and, sadly, it only works in the US. Several of my Australian friends tried it, but due to licensing restrictions (and DH still can't figure out how they pay for it!) Pandora can't work overseas, despite being a site on the world wide web. Still, if you are in the US, give it a go, it's amazing.

The girl who stopped swimming

I'm 3 for 3, which is rare for me. I don't even know where I got this book from. I think EW recommended it. (they actually have excellent film and book reviews. I trust their reviewers) But I just finished the girl who stopped swimming by Joshilyn Jackson, and really enjoyed it.

Laurel has this perfect life, sort of, with a husband who works computer code in the basement and a daughter she loves too much turning 12. And then her daughter's best friend Molly drowns one night in her pool and Molly's ghost comes to wake up Laurel and nothing is the same.

I liked the relationship between the sisters - Thalia and Laurel. I liked the depictions of Laurel and the life she was trying to build for herself. Her quilt art and her sister's fond contempt for her life. I liked David (sometimes known as Dave) and the marriage he and Laurel had made. I liked the ending, it felt believable. (within the realms of the story) I liked it all. I'd rate it an A, and a keeper.

Bel Canto

I've had luck with books this week. First finding The Finder and now reading Bel Canto by Anne Patchett.

A friend recommended it which always makes me a bit nervous. I read so much but have such specific tastes that I invariably do not like books that others rave about. So I refused to buy it on her say so, but diplomatically (I hope!) said I would order it from the library. The library emailed me that very day to say it was ready for me! So I picked it up and ignored it for a week and today started reading it. I finished it in one day. So that says something.

It's a lyrical book about relationships and power and language and opera. Set in an unknown South American country, a Japanese industrialist is there to celebrate his birthday, lured but the chance to hear a world renown opera singer sing just for his gathering. When the terrorists come to kidnap the President, and learn that the President did not come, the story commences. It's not strong on plot, but it does have beautiful descriptions and it was a lovely world to spend time in. I particularly liked the priest and his insights, and also how the various leaders were stymied by not having a common language, which made the one translator Gen, a man who would not otherwise put himself forward, a central character. My only quibble is that the ending, after such meandering, is too abrupt. I would have liked a different epilogue - either one with more detail or with a different resolution, but I did like the book very much and have labeled it a keeper at library thing.

Which reminds me, from time to time I write about library thing which is where I write reviews of every book I read. And so do many other readers. I like it so much I paid all of $25 to become a life member. I don't use all the chat facilities, but if you like books and like to browse, it has wonderful ways to link to other libraries that share common books with yours and a chance to see their selections. So it broadens your reading base and can introduce you to like minded readers to write and rant about books that you love. I just love seeing all the covers of the books I've read neatly laid out, and as I review most of them, I can remember what I thought about them and keep up with authors that I like. It made returning my library books much easier, as I can access this virtual library and then reorder them from the real library when ever I feel the need, so my house is much less cluttered!

The noir poet of New York crime fiction

isn't that a great description? That's how publisher's weekly described Colin Harrison. I'm reading The Finder, his most recent book and the first book of his that I've come across. I will look for more, because it's excellent. The start was so hard hitting, and even the smallest interlude is given such detail and veracity, everything works here. I'm half way through and very satisfied.

Diamonds and Rust

One very good thing about New York Public Library is that it has an extensive music section (it took me years to find it, I don't know why, I just never thought of borrowing music from the library, until one day I saw someone taking out all these CD's and found myself thinking - I could do that... )

Anyways, I've been revisiting music from my childhood, and this morning caught myself humming and then realized I was humming Diamonds and Rust. I just played it again, goodness it's a sad album! All about the breakdown of relationships and loneliness and a sort of adult, profound sadness of failed relationships and ideas and feeling that the future no longer reflects you as the past did. Diamonds and Rust was said to be written about Bob Dylan. Hauntingly beautiful album.

DIAMONDS AND RUST
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

Well I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall

As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said
Where are you calling from?
A booth in the midwest
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust

Well you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed phenomenon
The original vagabond
You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes the girl on the half-shell
Would keep you unharmed

Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there

Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid

Template Change

Yes, the blog looks completely different.

For some reason the background had gone black (?!) and I couldn't get rid of it. I could change the text to white, but the black background was too much for me.

So I changed the template and this is a cleaner, crisper look.

We'll get used to it, no doubt.

Hope it doesn't go black too!

Okay, fiddling about, I figured out how to change the background color, but they're color options are really limited! I want a creamy white, not this arctic white, but they don't do paint samples here, it's either white or quite strong pale yellow/blue/pink/green and that's it. I would have thought they could do more colors, clearly I'm from the 144 color pencil range (in fact, I could do with 32 different shades of white, you should have seen us pick paint for the walls!)

I like this lay out though, I like how the headings are clearer and more defined. We'll see how it goes.. maybe I'll start changing the template more often! (will say that it was ridiculously easy, so big point to blogger for that!)

Charlie Wilson's War

We just saw Charlie Wilson's War (downloaded from Amazon, amazingly high tech, of course I couldn't do it at all, DH is the king of all things technical in our household.)

I remember when it came out and there was something about the trailers that just didn't appeal to me, so we didn't go. But I was wrong, it's actually an excellent film.

Both Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts are not always my favorites actors. I mean I loved Pretty Woman (well, I was younger then) but I don't often like her and if she doesn't smile, it doesn't work for me. And Tom Hanks isn't my favorite either. But here, under the direction of Mike Nicols, they both give really strong, unactory performances. Julia doesn't smile much, but is entirely believable, and Hanks affable charm breezes along nicely. Philip Seymour Hoffman, as always, is superb. I don't think I've ever seen a film where he wasn't excellent.

It's funny, talky, got great witty lines, pretty texan gals, absurdity and gallows humour - because we know what happens after the movie ends. It ends with the Russians fleeing, and then chariasmatic Charlie no longer being able to get his funds, and thus no schools or infrastructure being built, and the seeds of the Taliban and Osama are sown. The movie ends with the quote, apparently by the real Charlie Wilson: "These things happened. They were glorious and they changed the world... And then we fucked up the endgame" Good review of the film here.

So it goes to show, that we sow the seeds of our own demise with our lack of follow through.

It was a nice glimpse into life in the '80's which feels far less politcally correct than life today. I also looked up Charlie Wilson and he pretty much appears to have been correctly portrayed in the film. A fine drinking man, who managed to get things started...

Explicit Vows

A man I know a little, from our children's school, is performing his one man show at a tiny theater in Tribeca - Explicit Vows at the Flea Theater. So we went to see it.

The theater seats about 50, and we bumped into 2 other couples we knew, so the room felt friendly. But the play, about a man's struggle with commitment in the hour before his wedding, and his backtracking over his relationship history, didn't work for me.

It's just I never found players, as I think of them, that attractive actually. Even as a teen, if I saw a guy who was longing to play the field, he just didn't do it for me. I don't want unavailable commitment phobic people in my life, and when they bump into me, there are no hooks, as we just slide against each other, and they go away. So this journey he was outlining, while familiar and it felt real (it made me sorry for his wife, who I know and is a really decent, admirable woman) just didn't connect with me.

I could see his pain but I didn't empathize (the horror of never being able to 'unwrap' another woman again.) He portrayed himself as overly romantic, committed to Noel Coward and his view of life, and finding every real life relationship less than the glories he saw in 1940's movies, and therefore not as good.

And the ending made me slightly queasy. He turns to look at a pretty young flower girl, implying that children, the daughter he would have with this woman, was what made the sacrafice of commitment worth it. What made marriage acceptable was not the love of a good person, but the child/ren they have together. And that pressed some of my buttons - what if they couldn't have children? What about the relationship between the spouses? What about growth and friendship and sex and companionship and comfort and laughter, developing a shared history, being part of someone's life? It just felt all that was minimized.

So the play just felt like it was all too much - too autobiographical, too long, too self referential
(though I did laugh occassionally, and the audience laughed more often than me.) I will say that other people seemed to enjoy it far more, and some of the reviews were much kinder than me. But it left me feeling that sometimes people don't know how much they are revealing when they write... (which of course made me wonder about here, and what do I reveal that others see too clearly...)

Picnics and summer rains

My idea of a perfect summer night is sitting with adults I like, drinking and eating in a relaxed way, while our kids run around, active, bright, happy. This rarely happens, except, at picnics. Picnics in the park are perfect environments for everyone - the adults get to sit under trees and rest for a minute from the relentless urban environment that is Manhattan and the kids aren't told to be quiet, but allowed to run around like the puppies they are, and if water guns are added into the mix, well then they are in their own personal nirvana.

Last night we went to our local park, sat at the tables under the trees. Everyone brought some food, (okay, everyone brought too much food) so there was a banquet laid out before us. We ate, drank the wine we sneaked in, actually chatted to each other while our children had the best time.

When the park closed, far too early at 8pm, we were dawdling, reluctant to leave, and the clouded skies came to a decision and a summer deluge burst forth.

The kids were all thoroughly drenched in any case, after an evening of water warfare, and once you relax into it, walking in a torrential downpour can add to the summer fun. I love it actually, walking in the rain. By the time I got home I could not have been wetter if I had been in a shower, but for me, it was the perfect end to a really lovely evening. Picnics, warm rains, water, laughter, it's all part of summer for me...

Stay up and Read all Night

This is an arbitrary collection of authors who I love. I read a lot, mostly sci-fi/fantasy, mystery and romance. Here are some books/authors who have kept me up, late into the night...

1. George RR Martin – my only complaint about his Fire and Ice Series is that it makes it hard to pick up another book after being in his dense and remarkable world. Don’t read it when you’re busy, because you won’t want to stop. It starts with A Game of Thrones and you have to read in order, but we are up to Book 4 Now – A Feast of Crows and the feast is certainly continuing. The characters will live in your head for a long time afterwards.

2. John Sandford – The Prey series. This series starts with Rules of Prey and is uniformly excellent. I think he’s up to 16 now. I’ve reread them many times, which is harder to do once you know the mystery, but these books are so well written, the characters and dialogue so true, that rereading them is a pleasure!

3. Laurell K Hamilton - I'm not going to list all of her books, but will say that unlike many of her fans, I prefer her later books, when Anita drops her prissiness and enters into this fantasy world where 5 gorgeous guys can lust after you and you can satisfy them all and keep them more or less faithful. I don't understand who could object to that! ;)

4. The Liaden World series. I hadn’t known the term ‘Space Opera’ until I came across Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. I think it’s too slight a term for the action and adventure and sheer fun I have with their books. The books are delightful, with a touch of romance, a new world order and a war to win. It was written out of chronological order, but the series starts with Local Custom.

5. Jennifer Crusie – She makes me laugh out loud, puts me in a guaranteed good mood, I just love her romances. She’s smart and funny and writes like your best friend talks. I’ve enjoyed all her books but Welcome to Temptation is a particular favorite to reread. If you haven’t read her, you’ve missed a treat.

6. Denis Lehane - He came into the public view with Mystic River, but his series with Angie Genaro and Patrick Kenzie was actually better (IMHO) These are beautifully written, occasionally wrenchingly sad detective novels, and you’ll thank me for introducing them to you. Each book is stand alone, but you get an added depth when you read them in order. It starts with A Drink Before the War.

7. Frank Herbert - I can remember the impact Dune first had on me, I could no longer bear to see hoses trickling water onto the sidewalk, because I was in the desert universe. If you think it’s dated, think again; it’s a timeless work of genius. I have to confess that I lost interest in the series after a while, but the first book… please read the first book!

8. Julian May – the Pliocene Era Series. Please ignore the terrible art work on the US covers. This is a great fantasy series, where a time hole can take a select few back into the distant past but it’s a one way trip. And then our adventures find what’s really there, they can’t get back to warn us… It’s got a huge cast of characters and it’s fun and interesting. It starts with The Many Colored Land.

I’ve loved creating this list, it’s been like sharing a basket of particularly fine goodies. I hope you enjoy them too…

Boeing, Boeing

I love a good farce, it's something you have to see live, films just don't do it. Live farce is like watching trapeze artists without a net. One missed connection, one door banging a second too late, and it all falls flat. IMHO, the British do farce the best, at least of the ones I've seen.

Boeing Boeing is a farce currently playing at the Long Acre on Broadway. I walked in incredibly hot and cranky (it's so humid out, that you literally melt as you walk down the street) And I winced at the opening scene - set in the 60's, a too old American man (Bradley Whitford) tells his friend of his ideal life - with 3 fiances and no intention of getting married. I thought, he's in his 50's this role should go to a man in his mid 30's. And how mean of him, who wants to see this, him exploiting the hearts of these 3 air line hostesses... and while I heard laughs, I didn't really join in.

But as the ridiculousness grew and the marvelous Mark Rylance (who was in the original London cast, and won a Tony for this role on Broadway) and Mary McCormack got more time, I started to smile. By the second act, I could no longer resist and was laughing out loud with the rest of the audience. It was so silly, so light, so perfect - like a souffle, airy and delicious and delicate. And just plain silly and funny. Physical comedy, word play, crazy over acting (Mary McCormack was just perfect as the hysterical German air hostess, obsessively in love) and beautiful underacting (Mark Rylance makes the word Wisconsin funny, all by itself... though come to think of it, Wisconsin is a pretty funny word.) Gina Gershon was very sexy and Kathryn Hahn was frankly frightening as the voracious american hostess. The cast was rounded off by Christine Baranski playing the overworked, existential French maid, with a dreadful accent but great attitidue!

So for a very funny, very silly night out, go see Boeing Boeing (click for a good you tube clip) and have yourself a giggle.

one step forward...

I'm walking better, and today my foot actually felt less numb, so I got ambitious. I tried on a one inch heel pair of sandals, that were always really comfortable and easy to wear. I took one step and promptly fell over. So it's back to the incredibly sensible sandals that I bought off footsmart.

Well, at least the numbness is going down. Let's give it another week and then see...

It's the simple things in life that make you happy...

... Whole foods is opening practically next door to us (okay, one block down and one across) but very close - and they are finally opening, next week! After months of teasing us, July 9th has been announced as the day they open, and every Tribeca resident I know is overjoyed. As Racked so aptly put it, 'tremble before them, Food Emporium.'

Other food joys - Le Pain Quotidien, aka daily bread, has opened up, also one block down and one across - and I see from their website they have 2 in Sydney - so you can check it out there too! Anyways, delicious salads and brunchy things, we definitely needed one in the neighborhood.

So good food tidings in Tribeca.

Though still sad that our local, much cheaper patisserie, Ceci-Cela closed, due to rent. Tribeca is becoming way too expensive for any normal shop, only mega glossly expensive stores can afford it here now, or chains :(

yeast rising...

So I'm not a bad cook, and I can follow a recipe but there are things I've never done.

One of them is make bread. I don't know why. I was afraid of yeast. It sounds so mysterious and it needs so much skill.

My 10yo, who never reads anything voluntarily, except for cook books, wants to be able to cook, unsupervised. My compromise is that he can make dinner once a week, but I have to be in the kitchen, even if all I am doing is reading a (non-cook) book.

What does he do for his first effort? Make pizza. Which sounds like a good idea, after all he eats pizza, but all of sudden, there it is... yeast.

I've never made a yeast recipe in my life. How do I know if he is doing it wrong? How can I assist him when I haven't been on the journey myself?

What I do know about cooking, is that having the right tools help immeasurably. Our very detailed (and quite wonderful) cookbook - The New Best Recipe - recommends a baking stone. I'd never even heard of one before, and am suddenly sure that the recipe won't work without it. Thank goodness for Bed, Bath and Beyond in the next block from home, because for $14.99 I get all the pizza making equipment you could want - the stone, the rack, the pizza peel (another thing I'd never heard of - basically a large wooden spatula that eases the pizza onto the very hot stone) My son is thrilled when he comes home and sees it.

Then we squabble over the cookbook.
"Can I read it?"
"No, mummy, I'm looking at it!"
Finally, I get to read it and find out all sorts of things - it needs two hours to rise and then 30 minutes for a second rise (who knew about a second rise? Not me, that's for sure)

The first pizza is made while I'm on the phone, and of course, he forgets something - to put corn meal on the pizza peel. The pizza sticks to the peel and won't slide off into the very hot oven. I kind of scrape it off, and it rolls over, spilling half the topping. DS is distraught.

Now for the life lessons of cooking - the first one, or even the several early versions - they don't always work. You don't make an immaculate cake the very first time. These are skills that develop. He listens to me, distrustingly. It's okay to make mistakes, and learn. No one gets it right all the time. Don't give up. (You don't have to play sports to get these life lessons, the kitchen will do it just fine)

The second one, is better and the third one looks professional as it glides off the peel and into the swelteringly hot oven, and then glides back onto the spatula and onto a plate.

And you know something... following the instructions, you mix flour, water, salt and yeast and you get... pretty delicious bread! The pizzas, even the misshapen first one, taste delicious. We all eat happily.

DS is already planning his next dinner.