Nobody 789

Sunday, October 25, 2009
Nobody # 789

Nobody Asked Me But:

I know that many of you think that I am overly effusive in my praise of our new iPhone. I don't think so. How can one exaggerate the ultimate importance of the healing powers of this little cell.

Perhaps you didn’t know, but I have long suffered from linophobia - a debilitating condition that forced me to carry reading material whenever I faced the remotest possibility of having to wait in a line. No more!

No more fear of lines.
No more heavy book bags to the bank.
No more magazines and newspapers to the grocery store.

Now when I am stuck in a line, long or short, I just pull out my iphone, and I am entertained for hours. (And that’s without even turning it on.)

REGRETS

There is no way that we could see and do everything we wanted in New York City in 9 ½ days, so despite the wonder of it all, I do have a few regrets.

Central Park – We should have spent more time there. The brief moments we had were great, but it is so vast and there was always something else to do.

The Brooklyn Bridge - I wanted to walk across it, but I would have settled for a drive over it. However neither taxi nor tour bus used it, so all I had was a glimpse here and there.

The Theater District – Since it was too far for Barbara to walk, I had hoped that one of our tour bus trips would take us past the legendary theaters, but no such luck.

Serendipity – We really messed up big time here. Sampling their famous frozen hot chocolate should have been an absolute must do.

Saks Fifth Avenue – I wanted to go into Saks, not to buy something but just to see their flagship store but, after day one, we spent no time on Fifth avenue south of 59th St.

White Castle – As far as we could tell, there is only one White Castle in Manhattan. It is on 8th Avenue, not that far out of the way. Not that we had any time for another meal, but I wish we would have Just “Done” It.

(We had White Castle cheeseburgers last night for dinner. Excellent and another reminder of what we missed.)

Fishs Eddy and ABC Carpet – These two were on our want list and during our Greenwich Village day, we were not very far away – but again, too many and too little.

Sextel – About two weeks before we left on our trip, I read in either the New York Times or the LA Times about a hotel in Greenwich Village that is opposite an abandoned elevated station that has turned into a small park. It seems that people gather there every night to watch the hotel guests put on a peep show. Many guests get into the spirit of things by standing naked at their windows. Some even get down and dirty.

When we were walking from John’s Pizza in search of the market in the old Nabisco Building, - picture of "waterfall"(which also houses The Food Channel) we, by chance, passed the hotel. (Pictured here)

My regret? It was daylight. Had it been night, I would have marched up to the front row of lookers and lectured them about their immorality.<<<

To finish my look at our great trip on the high note it deserves, here are Barbara’s and my very favorite images:

Barbara – Statue Of Liberty.

Me – Empire State Building.

THE PUNISHING GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT STRIKES AGAIN

For my morning sip-on I once had three favorite canned ice coffee drinks – Starbuck’s, Caribou and Cinnabon. The first to disappear was Cinnabon. I sighed and moved on. Then Pepsi stopped making Starbuck’s. Tears this time, and then a rationalization – “I’ll always have Caribou.”

Last Friday, my supply getting low, I headed for Albertson’s where the manager had promised me earlier in the week that he would order a case. Alas, the shelf was still empty. I sought him out and received the awful news. Coke has discontinued Caribou. At that moment this innocent manager was lucky that California, unlike Arizona, does not have a carry law, or I might have shot the messenger.<<<

(Reprieve – I found a half-dozen cans still sitting on a How’s shelf yesterday.)

SPORTS PAGE

Game changer – The Dodger gift shop was all geared up last Tuesday to sell the baseball with which Jonathon Broxton clinched game 4. Instead, after the horribly blown save, they are selling Broxton - cheap.<<<

Changing times - I remember when a good quarterback was one who completed 50% of his passes. Now that figure would condemn most to the bench.<<<

Baseball ritual of fall – What does a team do when the general manager doesn’t provide the players and the manager doesn’t get the most out of what he has?

Answer: It fires the coaches.<<<

FROM TED KENNEDY’S MEMOIR

Caroline Kennedy once asked her Grandmother Rose – “Grandmother, did you and grandfather ever fight?”

“No dear, we never fought.”

“Then how did you resolve your differences?”

“I would always just say ‘yes dear,’ and then I would go to Paris.”<<<

Sent from my iPhone (I won’t include these anymore. I am just being a smart ass.)

POP QUIZ

What merchandiser was “king of the mall” in 2008?

Answer: Apple finished way ahead with sales of about $4,700 per square foot. For comparison sake, Best Buy’s sales were about $1,000 per square foot.<<<

CRAZY CHARLIE
Neoconservative columnist, Charles Krauthammer, said this in a recent rant against liberalism: “The ultimate purpose of the New Liberalism's foreign policy is to make America less hegemonic, less arrogant, less dominant.”

Reaction: That’s bad?<<<

If you know me, you know that I am a champion of the First Amendment’s free speech clause, BUT even that is not absolute. It should not protect animal cruelty crush videos. I hope that the Supremes agree.<<<

NEOCONSERVATIVE MORALITY

Spend 65 billion a year to prop up a dysfunctional Poppy Republic, but not a cent for universal health care.<<<

The Religious Right in California is gathering signatures for a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban divorce in the Golden State.

Tell me again that these people are not off-the-wall crazy.<<<

Today’s advice for President O – Listen to Joe B., the VP, more.<<<

Nobody 788

Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009
Nobody 788

Nobody Asked Me But:

Health Care

I cannot say this often enough or loudly enough. I totally agree with the late Ted Kennedy. Universal health care is much more than a political punching bag. It is a moral issue. A question of right and wrong. And our country disgraces itself when it allows the sick to go uncared for or forces them to bankrupt themselves to obtain medical help.

And when it comes to health care, there is nothing sacred about a private option, especially when it holds good health, and, yes, even questions of life and death, hostage to a healthy profit margin.

Neither is there anything sacred about bipartisanism when the opposition takes an immoral position. Let’s go Mr. President! Let’s go Democrats. Ignore the Republican naysayers. Twist Blue Dog Arms! Do the right thing! Pass a health care law that insures universal coverage and provides a government option!<<<

Did you know: That on the eve of WW II, London zoo keepers killed all their poisonous snakes lest they be released by Nazi bombing and become a threat to the population?<<<

BUT BACK TO NYC – THE BEST FOODS ON OUR TRIP

Steak at Peter Lugers - I already praised this porterhouse. So let me just add - I want more!<<<

Tomato soup and chocolate pudding at Sarabeth’s – These I also applauded last week, but I failed to tell you that we saw the lady herself (Sarabeth) in the kitchen of her Nabisco Building store.<<<

Prime rib hash - Keen's Steakhouse was a moderate walk from our hotel. We went there for the intriguing prime rib hash listed on their Pub menu. Good move! Great food!<<<

The rice dish at Zarela - Zarela, a small Mexican restaurant on 2nd Avenue, is a place we learned about on The Food Channel. It was the show on which several chefs choose their favorite dish, and one, Aaron Sanchez, picked his mother’s arroz con crema – rice with corn, cheddar cheese, chili peppers and sour cream. Well, Mrs. Zerela is his mother and his choice was an excellent one.

Everything else was as unusual and almost as good. I had a roast pork tamal and a spinach dish sautéed with tomatoes, pinto beans, and jalapeno. Barbara loved her Chilaquiles, crisp tortilla strips, sautéed chicken, sour cream and white cheese baked in casserole with ranchero sauce.<<<

Chocolate mocha coffee cake – While starting our stroll down Madison Avenue we saw this people-filled place at the corner of 92nd Street called Yura On Madison. Always willing to take a chance when it comes to food, we bought a slice of coffee cake – white with ribbons of chocolate and mocha. It looked just like the coffee cake we love and buy at Julienne’s in San Marino, but it was even better. I thought it was wonderful and Barb liked it even more – so much so that we took a taxi ride all the way up there on the morning we left for home so that she could get another piece, and I could visit the small Ciao Bella in the basement of a house across the street.<<<

Pizza - We went to John's in Greenwich Village for three reasons. (1) The restaurant has been there since the year I was born. (2) Their pizza was rated as one of the best in town. (3) It was where Muriel Hemmingway told Woody Allen that she was going to London in one of my favorite movies, “Manhattan.” I thought the pizza was excellent. For Barb it was merely okay.<<<

Aside: What I would call a NYC experience occurred while we were there, but perhaps that is unfair, because one can find obnoxious anywhere. A young instructor from (I assume) New York University, which is almost across the street, brought a small group in for pizza and a lecture. But the know-it-all in the booth behind us kept interrupting the teacher and “correcting him.”<<<

Ciao Bella –If you remember, we discovered this great gelato place in Corte Madera during our last trip to the Bay Area. So I was thrilled to find one of their NYC stores. And my dish of half Scharffen Berger chocolate and half coffee was as good as I remembered.<<<

Blackberry doughnut – Barb wanted to go to The Doughnut Plant, which is located on the Lower East Side. I said it was too far out of the way. We compromised and went. Another good move. Their doughnuts, also sold at Dean and Duluca’s and other spots, were delicious – especially the blackberry ones. And the owner was extremely nice even if he did try to convert us to Hinduism.<<<

Curried shrimp and corn chowder – There is a chain of soup places around NYC called Hale and Hearty. They are owned and operated by a New York chef. We ate at 3 of them. Every soup we tried was delicious. My jambalaya was a 10+ and the curried shrimp I sampled was even better. Too bad it was not one of their offerings on our return visits.

OTHER PLEASURES

The Apple Flagship store – At Fifth Avenue and 59th Street a marvelous clear glass cubicle the size of a small room marks the entrance to this architectural showpiece. Inside is a elevator and a stairway, both also clear, descending to a computer wonder world.<<<

Speaking of 59th Street, here is a picture of the famous bridge that left Simon and Garfunkel “feeling groovy.”<<<

New Jersey – To steal half a line from Spencer Tracy, we saw little of the state, but what we saw was choice. On Sunday morning, before the Yankee game, Gary and Abby (who is getting to be such a big girl) picked us up and drove us to their very cool house in West Orange – or was it East Orange – or South?? Sheena was waiting with coffee and the grand tour. Gary’s brother Jeff joined us for a cup, a bagel and good conversation while his daughter Danielle played with Abby.<<<

The walk down Madison Avenue – We walked this great street from 92nd south to about 60th with zigs to the Guggenheim and Met and a disappointing zag looking for a Ciao Bella that was no longer there. The Ralph Lauren Flagship store and LeSportsac were cool but it was the smaller shops that turned us on. And, no, we didn’t see any “Mad Men.”<<<

Stumptown and The Ace – We had heard great things about Stumptown Coffee (headquarters in Portland, Oregon) from Barbara’s brother, Tom, so we sought out its new Manhattan coffee shop, which is their only one outside of Oregon. We found it in the almost equally new and stunning Ace Hotel. The coffee? Excellent! And their café mocha was better than Starbuck’s.<<<

Katz Deli - We went past Katz several times by tour bus and taxi but never had a chance to go in this deli made famous in "When Harry Met Sally." That's right. It was here that Meg Ryan faked her you know what. We were told that the table is even marked with a plaque.<<<
Bitter End - We walked past and took pictures in front of this famous Greenwich Village spot where many performers such as Dylan, Baez, Cosby, Simon and Garfunkel and PP&M got their start.<<<

New York Times – One of my musts was seeing the building from which America’s greatest newspaper emerges. But in the meantime we needed to eat. So we headed for Schnipper’s on 8th Avenue. This was another Food Channel Restaurant. On Bobby Flay’s Throwdown, the chef was putting his fancy sloppy Joe up against Schnipper’s old fashion one. Flay lost, so as a huge fan of my mother’s excellent SJ, I wanted to check out the winner. I think that Schnipper must have copied mom’s recipe, because his was a taste of home. (Barb’s BLT and malt were also very good.)

What does this have to do with the New York Times? A lot. After eating, we walked out the front door, looked up, and found that the restaurant is part of the new and stunning Times Building.<<<

Dylan’s – This candy and ice cream store is owned and operated by Ralph Lauren’s daughter. We had a good hot fudge sundae.<<<

THE GRAY LINE TOURS – Before leaving home we bought a three-day pass that allowed us to get off and on at any stop. We only used two days, but it was well worth the expense. On day one we took the uptown loop catching it in Times Square and getting off after it completed its loop around Central Park. On the West-of Park loop we saw the Dakota Apartments where John Lennon lived and outside of which he was shot, the Langham, where Mia Farrow lives, both in real life and in “Hannah And Her Sisters,” the famed Riverside Church, and Union Seminary, both longtime centers for liberal Protestant theology. And we also saw the spot that answered Groucho Marx’s famous question – “Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb.”

On the park’s north side, in Harlem, we saw the Apollo Theater where everyone that’s anyone in Black musical entertainment, from Ella and Sassy, to Stevie Wonder and the Jackson Five, got their start.

On the downtown tour the next day we saw Ground Zero (an awesome, sobering sight, and the Wall Street bull.

TO BE CONCLUDED

Nobody 787

Sunday, October 11, 2009
Nobody # 787

Nobody Asked Me But:

BEST EATING DAY – PETER LUGER AND SARABETH

Our best eating day in NYC was Wednesday. The first part was an accident. We were in Lord and Taylor’s, wanting to eat a light lunch before our scheduled steak dinner that evening. We went into the smaller of their two Sarabeth’s restaurants. I grabbed a table while Barb checked out the walk-up. She came back with a bowl of tomato soup and a chocolate pudding, both to share. It was the best tomato soup either of us has ever had – pieces of fresh tomato delighted at every spoonful, and the pudding with whipped cream rivaled Bradley Ogden’s legendary butterscotch pudding at Yankee Pier in Larkspur.

Although Peter Luger’s steak house is rated as one of the best in the country, it is also legendary for its arrogance. So I had some trepidation about going. It was a long cab ride just to be treated rudely. Wrong again! Everyone treated us great (with one small exception) and the steak was outstanding. We had the porterhouse for two. They serve it sliced on a tipped platter so the juices will run down and pool at the end. Their famous steak sauce lived up to its reputation, but dipping pieces of steak into that juice was even better. (And the rolls were otherworldly.)

The only exception to the perfect treatment was our waiter’s bit with the check. I signed two traveler’s checks and when he picked them up he asked if I wanted change. Since no change would have amounted to a $42 dollar tip, I told him I sure did.

More about food next week.

THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD

I won’t argue with the wheel as the greatest human invention, but my choice for a close second is the iphone. It is amazing! Who needs a laptop? Heck, who needs paper and pen? I can take notes, take pictures, take movies, talk, listen, send, receive, check out the headlines, the Bruins, the scores. I can even locate the closest Starbuck’s.

I must confess, though, taking notes with the small keyboard was a little bit at first. On my day one in NYC notes, I see that I had a jamburger for lunch.

And can someone please explain how in the he&* the iphone can know the location of my every photo. After uploading the pictures to my computer, all I have to do is click the little i in the lower right hand corner and the photo turns around showing a map with a pushpin almost exactly where I took the shot. I can even change it to a satellite view. Amazing!

Now if Apple could just find a way to dump AT&T!

KING OF THE HILL

WARNING - This Nobody is about the wonders of New York City, so if you hate the Big Apple you had best skip it. But you’ll be sorry. Let’s see. Where do I start? How about with my favorite experience, other than just being there of course. It was the Empire State Building. Going to the top was wonderful, but just seeing it every day gave me shivers. Part of it may be a trip back to yesterday when I was young. Reading about it and seeing pictures always thrilled me. Being there did not disappoint. While most NYC skyscrapers are in groups, the Empire State Building stands alone, seeming to rule over all Manhattan - the old king still dominant over the new kids on the block.<<<

Added attraction – On Fifth Avenue, as we were walking to the Empire State Building, we came to a block where 12 police cars were parked, their lights flashing. Barbara, being Barbara, asked one of the officers what was going on. His reply was that it was a anti-terrorist security drill.<<<

My runner-up building thrill was being able to look out of our hotel room window at night and see the lighted top of the Chrysler Building – another dream made real.<<<

They go together like Tracy and Hepburn, Anthony and Cleo - or is it Caesar and Cleo? What are they? NYC taxis and expensive. But boy do you want one when it is raining or when your feet cry out for help. And that’s my last word on those yellow dreams and nightmares.<<<

NEW STARBUCK”S

I could have added dozens, but I tried to be considerate to my wife who had more than coffee on her NYC agenda. So I settled for five new ones. Actually I could have added eight more without disrupting Barbara’s sleep, but I discovered one I liked a lot, less than a block from our hotel, and I returned there every morning. Yes, I have become a creature of Starbuck’s comfort over a SBs adventurer.

But not totally. I chose my four others with care. One was in Rockefeller Center, one in the Empire State Building, one in the Sony Building and the last one in Macy’s. Can you believe that Macy’s, which fills a city block and climbs upward 11 stories, has three from which to choose? (And a MacDonald’s too.)<<<

Our hotel, the Kitano, was on Park Avenue, just two blocks south of Union Station. It is Japanese owned and operated and, despite a couple of minor flaws we were very satisfied with our choice. Barbara Travel Agent scores again!<<<

A word about NYC blocks: The North-South ones are very short, more like half-blocks. They run 20 to a mile, or so our tour guide told us. East/West blocks are the opposite. Each one is at least the equivalent of a block and a half. And, yes, the cross-town traffic on them is BBB – bad beyond belief.<<<

OTHER LARGE PLEASURES

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island - I was a bit casual about these two, figuring I had seen enough pictures and read enough print about them. I told Barb that a float by would be enough. But they were important to her and so we took the tour. Barbara 1, Jim 0. They were both awe-inspiring. Lady Liberty especially. She was more beautiful than I ever imagined.

As for Ellis Island, to me it seemed the personification of America.<<<

The concert - Peter, Tom and Judy – Yarrow, Paxon and Collins, that is. Each of the three has written a children’s book, and they came to sign and celebrate Paxon’s “The Marvelous Toy”on Saturday at the Border’s in the Time Warner Building. We love signings and all three of the singers, so I said “let’s go, it will be cool to say that we went to one in NYC.” Little did we expect a full-blown free concert. They sang at least 20 songs – each one a thrill.<<<

The lights tour – we about froze our you-know-what’s off on top of the double-decker bus but the lights were incredible. The view of lower Manhattan from Brooklyn was incredible plus.<<<

Yankee Stadium–rain delay-Yankees clinch the pennant – We went with Gary and Sheena on the subway. Barb wore her team shirt purchased at the Yankee story of Fifth Avenue the day before. I ate a sausage dog, we each had soft Caravel in Yankee cap bowls and a good time was had by all.<<<

YS add on – Even though I am a Yankee hater and despite the fact that they beat the Red Sox and clinched the AL East, it was a thrill to watch a game there and to see a darkened “House That Ruth Built” right across the street.<<<

Bryant Park – named after the poet and adjacent to the NYC Public Library (where I found my friend Jim’s books listed in their electronic catalog). It is a wonder with its carousal and twinkling lights. It even has an outdoor reading room with books and racks for magazines newspapers.<<<


The Top of the Roc – The view and everything else about Rockefeller Center was terrific. Luckily we went earlier then our ticketed time and avoided a hard rain shower.<<<

The museums – The Guggenheim with its Kandinsky exhibit (Is the painter following us? He was also on exhibit at The Tate Modern in London when we visited there) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art with its Warhol’s, Lichtenstein’s, Pollock’s, Picassos and so many others were both “I wish I had more time” experiences.<<<

TO BE CONTINUED

Nobody 786

Sunday, October 4, 2009
Nobody # 786

Nobody Asked Me But:

If I could leap over tall buildings
With a single bound,
I might visit NYC
And not feel humbled. jt

I am home and happy. Barb too. We had a great trip and New York City was every thing I hoped for and expected. And so was our bed when we crawled in late Friday night – actually Saturday morning about 2:30 by New York time. The time since then has been too short to prepare my usual vacation review. That will have to wait until next week. But I have a few things to mention today.

TOTAL DELIGHT

We were at a free concert featuring Peter Yarrow (The Peter from Peter, Paul and Mary) Judy Collins and Tom Paxton - more about this delightful experience next week – when Barbara noticed this little girl sitting on the floor with her mother singing along with the three as they did their rendition of “Puff.” She knew all the words and even had the facial gestures down pat, looking appropriately sad when “Jackie Paper came no more.”

ALL ABOUT TAXIS

I have known petrifying fear 30 times in my life and they all occurred in the last 10 days while riding in NYC taxies.

If I ever had any doubts about natural selection and survival of the fittest they ended in those taxies. They had to be the quick or we all would have been the dead.

Actually you can see Darwin at work in NYC pedestrians as well. Ignoring traffic signals they play the matador deftly twisting and turning, creating near misses at every intersection.

Back to the taxi drivers: they must be a religious lot and give thanks every day for their cell phones, which provide them with a distraction from the boredom of driving with hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

If you are into the math of NYC, the numbers to remember are 20 and 80. For every dollar you pay in taxi fares 20 cents covers moving time and the other 80 cents is for the time you are stuck in traffic or waiting for green lights.

And finally, the phrase you must remember when sight-seeing from your taxi is – There it is…..was.<<<

ALL THE NEWS JUST REPEATS ITSELF

The LA Times saved time and energy while we were gone by repeating this headline over and over and over:

Dodgers miss chance to clinch NL West title.<<<

Four little words - and I love them: “Sent from my iPhone.”<<<

Smart - Bill Frist, former Republican Senate Majority Leader: “If I were still in the Senate, "I would end up voting for it." (The Obama health care proposal.)

Not so smart – Arizona Senator Jon Kyl on the health care proposal: “I don’t need maternity care.”<<<

THE EMPERORS HAVE ON CLOTHES or – those aren’t real wizards behind the mikes.

David Brooks had an excellent column in Friday’s NY Times. He writes about the failure of Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, O’Reilly and company to deliver voters in the 2008 primaries and election. As he points out, they couldn’t even beat McCain in South Carolina.

He says that those who quake at every word from the Rush bunch might really be living in Oz.

Here’s the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/opinion/02brooks.html

Just as I pulled into the garage a few minutes ago after my Sunday ritual of gas station and Starbuck’s, the novel I was listening to came to its end. Its title was “The Girl With The Golden Tattoo,” by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson. It was excellent easily one of my all-time best audio books. The story is about a muckraker for a Swedish magazine and the tattooed young hacker who helps him solve the disappearance 40 years earlier of the niece of a business magnate. My words do not do justice to this excellent book. Read it or listen to it if you can. You will find it in a trade edition at your local bookstore.

I might be even more saddened by the fact that I have finished except that I have the sequel here on my desk and ready to load into my car CD player. It is called “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and is currently a best seller.