February 12, 2009

As mentioned in my post of 02/08/09, Happy Lincoln/Darwin
Day. It is also the theme of today's NYT Crossword.



Another restaurant, this time Vento in the
Meatpacking District. Their Lunch menu.



The Beer at lunch was Birra Moretti, a subsidiary of Heineken.
A real nice beer with a lot of flavor. I drank Peroni when in Italy.
The food was great. I had Chicken Saltimbocca(Italian: jumps in the mouth.)



Vento was appropriate, it means Wind in Italian.
The winds were fierce. A sign from a place up the block flew
off its hanging. A little Dante:

The Divine Comedy
Inferno: Canto V
The Second Circle: The Wanton. Minos. The Infernal Hurricane.

I’ cominciai: «Poeta, volontieri
parlerei a quei due che ’nsieme vanno,
e paion sì al vento esser leggeri».

And I began: "O Poet, willingly
Speak would I to those two, who go together,
And seem upon the wind to be so light."



Of course, it had to be a BBQ place. The place closed in January.

February 8, 2009

This Thursday is the 200th Anniversary of the births
of Lincoln and Darwin,Feb. 12, 1809. Look for many tributes.
Newsweek had a good one last July.



The NYT book section had a review on “Spade & Archer: The Prequel to Dashiell Hammett’s ‘The Maltese Falcon’ ” by Joe Gores. This one will be picked up soon.



The NYT crossword had OOLALa as an answer, but it made
me remember OOH LA LA.The song harks back to this old favorite:

XIII. "When I was one-and-twenty..."
by A. E. Housman (1859-1936)

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
'Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;

Give pearls away and rubies
But keep your fancy free.'
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again,
'The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain;
'Tis paid with sighs a plenty
And sold for endless rue.'

And I am two-and-twenty,
And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.



Nice Joes Ades tribute on Gothamist.