August 31, 2010

"Torture of survivors was the norm, as it was all across the plains."

Brutal savage warfare is outlined. Both sides guilty of unimaginable atrocities. Incredible, fascinating book.



The lines were great. New stuff like "Big Feet and Thumbsuckers" and old stuff like Panjandrums. I had to go to William Safire to figure out Thumbsuckers. Also, PUMA - Party Unity My Ass, a coalition of Hillary backers.

Describing Hillary's campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle: "..(k)ept Hillaryland's sense of Omerta" and had "crawl-across-broken-glass fealty." Describing Dick Harpootlian:"... volatile, unpredictable, messy - a human IED."



Yes, Summer's almost gone.



Don't buy many CDs, will get this one.

August 30, 2010

Breaking into my library, time to re-read some old classics. My paperback cost me 95¢ back in the seventies.



DeLillo's first.



Yunte Huang's "Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective" is getting reviews all over the place. Next on the reading list.

August 29, 2010

Did the Brunch thing at TGIF's Union Square. Not bad, $1 extra gets you a small pitcher of Mimosas, Bloody Marys or Screwdrivers. The special is $10.95, but all sides are extra. Still not a bad deal and the place was packed.

On the NYT Best-Seller list. Looks great.

I am currently zooming through this one. Excellent book with lots of inside-detail.

August 28, 2010

OK movie, a little long, reminded me of Dances With Wolves which was also a little too long. Stephen Lang was excellent as was Zoe Saldana.



Bleak, long and not really worth it. Stick with the book.



New food store opening at Madison and 23rd.



They have a sister store in Italy.



Site was the old Toy building.



Across the street, William Seward in the sun.



At the Greenmarket, the artists are back thanks to an injunction.



Crowded at noon.



Hard to navigate with this much people.



Brunch at Brother Jimmy's. A super Egg McMuffin: Bj’s Egg Sandwich * 2 fried eggs, ham, bbq onions & cheddar cheese on a jumbo english muffin, served w/ home fries , was terrific. Washed down with an oversized Mint Julep all for $14.95.

August 26, 2010

Sculpture.



End of Summer Camp.



South Street Seaport Tkts line.



Palace Theater. West Side Story. Times Square is surreal at night. Didn't realize that the character "Ice" was only created for the movie and that the song "Cool" is sung in the play by Riff and the Jets.



Trained it in and back. The 49th Street station had mustaches on all the ads. Pretty funny in its own way.

August 25, 2010

The original is still the best. The re-boot has some interesting parts but as Stephen Whitty/The Star-Ledger says: "Even a film that is full of art, and has previews by night, can become a problem when the fans complain and the studio gets a fright."

Check out Max von Sydow in the beginning of the re-boot.

Just realized the difference in titles: The Wolfman(2010) and The Wolf Man (1941.)

August 24, 2010

Robert Downey Jr. is why I rented this.



Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins are why I rented this.



Quite unwatchable.



Kandyse McClure is why I rented it.

August 23, 2010

Lousy weather, nothing worth seeing in the Movie Theaters. Going to Blockbuster and renting some movies I never went to see when they were out. My boys told me I would like Avatar.



Read the book, bleak and dark. Viggo Mortensen and Robert Duvall should make it interesting.

August 22, 2010

Blues BBQ says "Rain or Shine." About to give it a go. If it starts pouring, BBQ to go.



Staycation City. Hope to keep the Blackberry off most of the time.



Reading a Mini-Biography of Spartacus made me want to read more of Marcus Licinius Crassus. A good start would be Plutarch. Was unaware he died in battle.



Bit of a downpour but it cleared up for a while. Not very crowded.



Fatty ’Cue was the best. The Pulled Pork sandwich was terrific.



The Lamb Ribs were interesting but not worth a second shot. I did order two Pulled Porks to go.



Pork shoulders on the grill.



A full rack and a pulled pork sandwich was taken home.



The Biergarten at the Standard Hotel was nearby and visited.



Köstritzer was served. Excellent brew.

August 21, 2010

Greenmarket Trinity obtained: Corn, Peaches and Tomatoes. I'm a little disappointed with the Corn this year. Small ears and not as good as last year.



Pretty crowded at 2:00 p.m.



Lots of classic cars in town today.



Start of a two-week "Staycation", not going anywhere, just hanging-out and short trips. Some relations unexpectedly popped in and they wanted White Castle and Buds. Voila! A "Crave Case" and a case of Bud kept everyone happy.



Blues BBQ Pier 54 at W.14th St.
Free! August 22, 2-9pm

An impressive list of BBQ and the beer is Blue Moon and Sam Adams.
Brother Jimmy's BBQ
Char No.4
Dinosaur Bar B Que
Fatty 'Cue



Will see West Side Story soon. This must be the end of the run. Good half-price tickets are widely available and Tkts has them on the list.



The supermarkets have Pepsi and Mountain Dew "Throwbacks", that is sodas made with real sugar, not corn syrup. I think it tastes better with sugar. The "Throwbacks" go fast. I can remember when Mountain Dew first came out. Highly caffeinated.

August 14, 2010 - Summer Streets

Plan is to walk and at 11:00 a.m. start a Beer Crawl.Beautiful day to be outdoors.




Nice day for a walk.



Streets are closed for play.



The dumpster pools were by Grand Central.



Crowded by Grand Central.



Wall art along the way.



First stop was McSorley's.



Next was Acme at Great Jones Street for appetizers and Abita Turbo Dog.



Acme has an extensive Hot Sauce collection. This one was Scorned Woman Hot Sauce.



Next stop was Loreley Beer Garden on Rivington Street.



Pimm's Cup #1: 2 ounces Pimm’s No. 1
7UP, lemon-lime soda, or ginger ale
Slice of lemon
Slice of cucumber
Crushed Mint
Tanqueray



Also, Erdinger's .



Last stop was a very crowded Greenmarket.