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.<<<