February 20. 2011

Today's NYT Magazine has an article about the U.S.A. Memory Championship. I remember reading The Art of Memory and The Memory Palace of Mateo Ricci and applying the same techniques. They work.



Saw The Social Network and it was OK, thought-provoking and Jesse Eisenberg does a great job capturing the awkward genius at work. The dialogue is good but cannot approach anything by Paddy Chayefsky.

Vanity Fair has a good interview of Sean Parker , the person played by Justin Timberlake.

Gage: Mr. Zuckerberg, do I have your full attention?
Mark Zuckerberg: [stares out the window] No.
Gage: Do you think I deserve it?
Mark Zuckerberg: [looks at Gage] What?
Gage: Do you think I deserve your full attention?
Mark Zuckerberg: I had to swear an oath before we began this deposition, and I don't want to perjure myself, so I have a legal obligation to say no.
Gage: Okay - no. You don't think I deserve your attention.
Mark Zuckerberg: I think if your clients want to sit on my shoulders and call themselves tall, they have the right to give it a try - but there's no requirement that I enjoy sitting here listening to people lie. You have part of my attention - you have the minimum amount. The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook, where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room, including and especially your clients, are intellectually or creatively capable of doing.
[pauses]
Mark Zuckerberg: Did I adequately answer your condescending question?



Dominick's Hot Dogs voted the best in NYC by the Daily News. I agree, they're great.



Newly found Dashiell Hammett short story to be published later this month by The Strand.



I'm canceling my subscription to Newsweek, only 48 pages recently and a lot of good writers have jumped ship. I get a lot of magazines, a habit from school fund-raising appeals. Time will probably be canceled next.

The New Yorker still puts out a good magazine and I just subscribed. This week's piece on Scientology is worth reading, long, detailed and fascinating. Their on-line archive is also terrific and available to subscribers.



Serge Ibaka had an interesting stunt in the NBA All-Star Dunk Contest. Blake Griffin won the thing by jumping over a car.

January 30, 2011

Well, that's it for Chevy's , they closed the downtown North End Avenue branch because of a Goldman Sachs deal. Had to go to the 42nd Street establishment. The food is fresh and good for a chain. The service is , well , needs improvement. I liked the North End Avenue branch, it had a friendliness to it. No more for this chain.



The Union Square Train Station with a snow cap.



Statue of Jackie Gleason as bus driver Ralph Kramden in front of the Port Authority Bus Station.



Bought the DVD, will be one of the few times I will have seen an Oscar nominee before the ceremony. Watched SNL last night , "The Social Network" was spoofed as Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg joined actor Jesse Eisenberg and Andy Samberg all as Zuckerberg, a guy who thinks "The Social Network" was "interesting." Just saw Eisenberg in Zombieland.



Renewed my Barnes and Noble membership and happened to come across this new translation of Voltaire's Candide. Thanks to the New York State Legislature and Executives, my membership fee is now subject to Sales Tax. They won't raise Taxes but they will "Nickle and Dime" you to death with fees and such.