August 29, 2011

Enormous amount of great quotes from The Last Lion :Strategy adopted by Hitler, who knew that British politicians were known to be unavailable on weekends and holidays, therefore making those days perfect for launching major initiatives; The British ruling class continued "to take its weekends in the country," criticized Winston Churchill, while "Hitler takes his countries in the weekends."

"Of this I am quite sure, that if we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find we have lost the future."

August 28, 2011

Queens in Eye of Storm not hit too bad.



Juniper Park Tennis Court.



Another view.



Lots of minor tree damage. Previous wind storm had wiped out many rotten ones before this.

August 27, 2011

"D" batteries almost impossible to find, but I did. Getting ready.



Cool stuff.



The NYT examines Joe Hill's Execution because of a new biography. Interesting piece. His last word was "Fire."



Music starts around 1:15, Woodstock.



Wines for the Hurricane: Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon '120' 2009 and, Santa Rita Chardonnay '120' 2009.

August 26, 2011

Rat in front of 222 Park Avenue South.



Melons. Went to the Greenmarket today because I figured it would be closed tomorrow. I was right on the money: Storm advisory: Union Square Greenmarket will be CLOSED Saturday 8/27.
Monday 8/29 Union Square may be closed or open late, depending on the severity of the storm and cleanup.



Corn in the sun.



Green Beans in the sun.



Picked up Volume II, The Last Lion - Alone 1932 -1940 , from the library. Volume III was never completed because of Manchester's illness and death. It may still come out eventually: The Last Lion vol. 3, Defender of the Realm 1940-1965, is being com­pleted by Manchester’s friend Paul Reid.

August 25, 2011

Rickshaw Dumplings from the LIC Food Truck Lot on the menu today.



Looking forward to their Sesame Noodles.



Edge looks real interesting. Picked this book up at a Borders Fire Sale.

August 24, 2011

Victor's cafe was excellent. Had the Suckling Pig as a restaurant week special.



This Pinot Noir goes for $11.99 in the stores and it was $47 at lunch. Not a bad Pinot Noir, I will be getting it: Jelu.



Sister Act was packed and the audience loved it. I didn't love it but it had its moments. Patina Miller and Fred Applegate were terrific.

August 23, 2011

Long line, but got my Matinee tickets from Tkts.



Shades of night are falling and I'm lonely
Standing on the corner feeling blue
Sweethearts out for fun
Pass me by one by one
Guess I'll wind up like I always do
With only....

Me and my shadow
Strolling down the avenue
Oh, me and my shadow
Not a soul to tell our troubles to
And when it's twelve o'clock we climb the stairs
We never knock 'cause nobody's there
Just me and my shadow
All alone and feeling blue



The East River still stinks to high heaven.



Brooklyn Bridge.



Another shot of Brooklyn Bridge.



The Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club looked nice but had no bartender or beer. Went to Sequoia which had 16 oz. brews for $4.

August 22, 2011

Going to go to the movies, been a while. I think District Nine was the last time I went. My nineteen year old saw it and liked it. I was told by others the Special Effects are great.

Really good popcorn movie, lots of homage to the past series.

August 20, 2011

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more..Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, and go to the free stuff on 24th street. Ciao Bella Blood Orange Sorbet was superb.



Still a nice, quiet walk.



Saw a bunch of people today running in Kangoo Jumps.



It's Union Square, a protest fits in with the history.



Sunflowers in the sun.



Philip K. Dick's works inspired so many movies, this is another one : The Adjustment Bureau. Great line from the article: "Of all American writers, none have got the genre-hack-to-hidden-genius treatment quite so fully as Philip K. Dick..."

A free rental from Redbox. Matt Damon is a good actor who makes even bad movies better.



Staycation Broadway visit: Sister Act. Didn't like the movie, don't think I'll like this, but I'm going to cheer up a friend who is going through Chemo and wants to see it. Ropa Vieja at Victor's Cafe beforehand will make things better. TKTS will make the price more palatable.

August 18, 2011

Joe Abbracciamento Restaurant on Woodhaven Boulevard has a terrific lunch. Veal Parmigiana for $12 includes potato, pasta or Green Beans. What a deal, and great Veal too.

August 17, 2011

Today was LIC Food Truck Lot day. They have visiting Food Trucks every day. Usually two food trucks and one dessert. They post who is there on Facebook and Twitter.



Korilla BBQ had the longest line.



Red Hook Lobster had a terrific Lobster Roll and also a great Shrimp Roll. Liked that they had Maine style - flavored Mayo and Connecticut style - Butter.



Coolhaus is just that : Cool. Had Watermelon Ice and Ice Cream Sandwich. Good stuff.

August 16, 2011

I made it to the Shrine on Grand and Essex. They did not disappoint.



I will be back for Bulkas.



Trip to Grand Central to check out the Beer Table Pantry. No Growlers yet, maybe next week.



Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout was purchased.



Also, Scheldebrouwerij Oesterstout.



Ribs from John Brown Smokehouse.



Pulled Pork from John Brown Smokehouse.

August 15, 2011

The King's Speech was quite good. Liked Timothy Spall's Churchill. Now, I will attempt The Last Lion.



I had read Manchester's The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932–1972 and American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964. He was a good writer and biographer.



Running The Books by Avi Steinberg looks real interesting. Harvard Grad works as a Prison Librarian. The opening: "Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst. Ditto con men. Gangsters, gunrunners, bank robbers - adept at crowd control, at collaborating with a small staff, at planning with deliberation and executing with contained fury - all possess the librarian's basic skill set. Scalpers and loan sharks certainly have a role to play. But even they lack that something, the je ne sais quoi, the elusive it. What would a pimp call it? Yes: the love."



Will be reading this for the ideas presented.



A well-executed movie and the view is Mattie Ross not Rooster Cogburn. I have to say that Wayne is better than Bridges. This movie is truer to the book. Mattie Ross ends up with an arm missing and LaBoeuf doesn't die.
Great Line:
[after older Mattie enters The tents of the The Wild West Show]
Cole Younger: Yes’m, I am Cole Younger. This is Mr. James. It grieves me to tell you that you have missed Rooster. He passed away, what, three days ago, when the show was in Jonesboro Arkansas. Buried him there in the confederate cemetery. Reuben had a complaint what he referred to as "night hoss" and I believe the warm weather was too much for him. We had some lively times. What was the nature of your acquaintance?
40-Year-Old Mattie: I knew the marshal long ago. We too had lively times. Thank you, Mr. Younger.
[as she turns to go she addresses Frank James who's been staring at her]
40-Year-Old Mattie: Keep your seat, trash.



John Brown Smokehouse: 25-08 37 AVE, Long Island City, NY 11101. The Pulled Pork Sandwich and Beans were great. Smoky and Tasty.Will try the brisket next.