April 30, 2011

The weekend beer is a Belgian Style Summer Ale : Sam Adams Rustic Saison.



Not too crowded on a cool morning.



Asparagus and Ramps are the new entries.



From the Public Theater Web Site:

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK 2011
June 6 - July 30, 2011

Performances begin at 8PM
Performed in repertory for 8 continuous weeks

MEASURE FOR MEASURE
Directed by David Esbjornson

Measure sweeps from the corridors of national power to the intimate confines of the bedroom and from the convent's chapel to the executioner's block. It is Shakespeare at his grittiest: a bracing and bawdy glimpse of what happens when those in power allow their basest human impulses to range unchecked.

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
Directed by Daniel Sullivan

A fairytale for grown-ups, this beguiling fable follows the low-born Helena, one of Shakespeare's most resourceful heroines, as she inventively surmounts obstacle after impossible obstacle in order to win the love of the aristocratic and haughty Count Bertram.

April 24, 2011

Youtube is great, the entire Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy is available in 9 minute increments.

Roddy Martindale: Let's talk about your old boss, Control. The only Head of the Secret Service who kept his name a secret. Shall we talk about Control?
George Smiley: If you insist.
Roddy Martindale: Of course, it wasn't a secret to you, was it, George? He never had any secrets from you, his tried and trusted right hand, did he?
George Smiley: I don't know. That's the point about secrets.

April 23, 2011

With Stat hurting and Billups out, The Celtics are the better team. I just want one win to break the 10 year skid.



This is just an after-image exercise. Stare it it for thirty seconds, then look at a white space. A more vivid experience is Palinopsia (Greek: palin for "again" and opsia for "seeing.") It was discussed in Oliver Sacks' THE MIND'S EYE. Also, mentioned was Synethesia. A terrific book which puts the mind to work.



Getting back into LeCarre.



Tinker ,Tailor , Soldier , Spy is being re-made with Gary Oldman as George Smiley. For now, I'll re-read it and watch the Alec Guinness version on Youtube.

April 22, 2011

It is exactly 10 years since their last Playoff win: The 2001 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Raptors. Sunday, April 22, when the Knicks won the opening game of the series, 92-85. The last time the Garden had a postseason Pro basketball victory. They eventually lost the series 5-3.

In 2004, the Knicks qualified for the playoffs with a 39–43 record, but were swept by the New Jersey Nets in the first round.

Time has come today, Hey ! The Refs up in Boston killed the Knicks, may they do the same down here to the Celtics.

I must be losing my mind. Tonight's Beers are 16 oz. Buds in bottle shaped cans.

April 21, 2011

James Gleick has a real nice piece in the current Smithsonian Magazine on Memes. Now I am going to have to get The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood.

April 20, 2011

Yevgeny Zamyatin's novel We influenced 1984 and other works. Ordered it and will be my first fiction book in a while. Came across it in an interview of Thomas Wolfe.



This is on order too. Came across it in a piece by Jonathan Franzen in a recent New Yorker. It was the favorite book of David Foster Wallace.

April 17, 2011

Let's go Knicks ! Maybe we can steal one.



Since this is Beer and Citrus weekend, I would be remiss in not adding Blue Moon's Belgian White Ale. This is another stealth beer, it is made by Coors.



Another sign of Spring, no wonder I am wheezing.

April 16, 2011

Overcast dreary day. Waiting for the Monsoon.



That's P.E. and D.D. Seafood. Bought Flounder again.



Of course it's Spring, Ramps are here. Ridiculous price of $3 a bunch. I did buy one, made a Mushroom, Wine, Lime Juice, Red Pepper, Garlic, and Ramp Sauce for the Flounder. It was excellent.



Another sign of Spring, Flowering Pear Tree.



I've declared this Citrus in Beer Weekend. Coronitas with Limes and Shock Top with Oranges. Got to do all you can to stave off Scurvy.

April 15, 2011

Shock Top Belgian White was on sale in my local supermarket. It's OK, nothing special. Another stealth beer put out by a major brewer. In this case : Anheuser-Busch.

April 13, 2011

Well, it's no longer a rivalry, but the old times come roaring back. The Celtics are old and the Knicks are young. Here's hoping for some upsets.

April 10, 2011

Someone lent us a cottage in Harsfordshire. I was sitting in a sort of parlor there one day, writing. And suddenly I saw someone run past the window, along the lane outside. With shorts on, white shirt and so on. And it seemed to me such an unusual image... that I wrote down at the top of a sheet of paper, 'the loneliness of the long-distance runner.' I didn't know where he had come from, I didn't know where he was going. He was simply a sort of ...vision, floating by the window. And I put the line away, I thought I was going to write a poem with this sort of line in it. It seemed rather a nice line."
- Alan Sillitoe, author of The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner



Alan Sillitoe also wrote an Autobiography entitled Life Without Armour which is only available on the used book market. Will try to obtain one from Better World Books.



Also on the reading list is Alexandra Horowitz' Inside of a Dog.

April 9, 2011

Beautiful sunny day.



Hydrangeas in the sun.



Oysters at P.E. and D.D. Seafood. Picked up some flounder.



Great article on McSorley's in last week's NYT.



Beer for the weekend is Zywiec-Porter. Heineken owns the Zywiec Breweries.

April 4, 2011

Coming along.



It has been almost ten years.



Outside the hotel window, 24th Floor.



Hope to see more progress next year.



Still makes me want to cry.

April 2, 2011

Time for my yearly trip downtown. Will be interesting to see how far Ground Zero has progressed.



A little Pinot Noir, a little Cadillac Margarita, a little Mimosa and Godiva Truffles. Yeah, lots of good stuff. Chevy's was the place to eat and now it is closed. Will check the Financial Center, P.J. Clarkes may be the place for dinner. Go UCONN !



Picked this up at the library. I always liked Joe Torre. This will be a good read. He actually takes shots at different people like A-Rod and Brain Cashman.



After finishing Frank :The Voice, I had to get a couple of his albums.



This one is the best, one right after the other, he hits it out of the park.

April 1, 2011

Some sort of April Fool's joke, ice and sleet. You know it is Spring, the Forsythias are blooming !



A show that only lasts a few weeks.



Soon the Greenmarket will have Ramps, another sure sign of Spring.



Yesterday's NYT Crossword featured the SF Giant's Pitcher Brian Wilson and referenced the Beach Boy in a tribute to Opening day of Baseball. This track from Smile also reminds us that Svmer is icumen in.

Surfs Up

A diamond necklace played the pawn
Hand in hand some drummed along, oh
To a handsome man and baton
A blind class aristocracy
Back through the opera glass you see
The pit and the pendulum drawn
Columnated ruins domino

Hung velvet overtaken me
Dim chandelier awaken me
To a song dissolved in the dawn
The music hall a costly bow
The music all is lost for now
To a muted trumperter swan
Columnated ruins domino

Canvass the town and brush the backdrop
Are you sleeping, Brother John?

Dove nested towers the hour was
Strike the street quicksilver moon
Carriage across the fog
Two-Step to lamp lights cellar tune
The laughs come hard in Auld Lang Syne

The glass was raised, the fired rose
The fullness of the wine, the dim last toasting
While at port adieu or die

A choke of grief heart hardened I
Beyond belief a broken man too tough to cry

Surf's Up
Aboard a tidal wave
Come about hard and join
The young and often spring you gave
I heard the word
Wonderful thing
A children's song



I read about Founder's Breakfast Stout and it has received glowing reviews. I concur, at first the coffee flavor hits you but it is not overwhelming and the smooth feel takes over. Emphasis on the smooth which is startling because of the high 8.30% ABV .



You can have Blue Moon, but this is the Belgian Wheat of choice , 5.10% ABV.