The Most Spoiled Dog in the World

Meet Mimi, mother of Roland. Mimi lives with my parents down South on 5 acres of land with two giant black labs. They live outside. She lives inside. She sleeps in my parent's bed, and when not asleep can be found perched on the couch with my mom or, as seen here, on the recliner with my dad.

This is her on Christmas day. She ate what we ate. This included: lamb, ham, spanikopita, tiropitakia, potato salad, deviled eggs, shrimp pilaffi...and some other stuff I can't remember. She also always has a full dish of dog food. She is ridiculously spoiled.

Three bottle minimum

Here's a nice little New Year's Eve story from the New York Post that will fill your hearts with gladness. Oh New York. $350 for a bottle of vodka?

December 30, 2007 -- Call it a bottle-service beatdown.

An evening out at the trendy Times Square nightclub Arena ended for a recent NYU grad when bar staff overcharged him $1,000, beat him, frog-marched him to an ATM and had him arrested for not buying enough liquor, according to court papers.

Gregory Barnard, 22, is now suing the club for $2 million over his bruising. He filed the suit last week in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Arena charges up to $350 for a bottle of vodka. What Barnard did not know was that the club has a three-bottle minimum.

Barnard's party in June petered out after one bottle, so when he called for the check, the waitress told him that he would have to pay $700 over his tab for two bottles he never drank.

He refused.

Barnard handed over his bank card, but after running it several times, the waitress claimed it was denied, he said.

A bouncer threw him to the floor and held him down while two other bouncers punched and kicked him, he said.

They then picked Barnard up and walked him two blocks to an ATM for more money, but the bank had frozen his card because the waitress had already charged $1,400 on it, swiping the card at least nine times, he said.

He said the bouncers dragged him back to the bar, where he waited until police arrived and arrested him for theft of services.

The charges were dismissed.

Celebrating Christmas and Celebrities

Though I was recently in New Orleans myself (more on my travel woes in a subsequent entry), I do not actually have any Jolie-Pitt stories of my own to report. [Though we did get a gander at the pink house/tent-thingie installation that Brad Pitt had commissioned in the Lower Ninth Ward, while waiting for a certain traveler from Chicago to arrive after a much-delayed flight home.]

But I what I do have is a funny Jolie-Pitt story e-mailed to me from a friend - he's the photo assignment editor at my previous paper. So I thought I'd share it here. Please feel free to share your own encounters with the famous or semi-famous. In Bucky's World we like to live vicariously.

So I had a brief brush with greatness while in NOLA.

I never leave home without some vacation meat in my ice chest.

And this year I took three slabs of smoked ribs with me to help out with the holiday cooking.

Turns out my brother in-law's frig was so packed the only place I had to keep my meat was in the ice chest in the trunk of my car.

Well, anyway, come along about Wednesday evening last week my bro in-law and I went into the Quarter to buy more ice.

While he was screwing around in the store I decided to unload my ice chest and pour the water off and then repack it while parked in the Quarter.

So while I as busy doing that I see this little biking family coming down the street.

It's a mommy and daddy team pulling a double child carrier trailer behind his bike, while mom had a child seat on the back of her bike with another tike strapped in.

Feeling that natural bike rider connection I made up my mind I would speak to them as they rolled by me.

As I threw my own bike rack back into my trunk I looked up and said,

"Hey, how are you folks this evening."

As I got the last word out of my mouth I realized I was looking right at Brad Pitt.

And if daddy is Brad Pitt, the mommy must be ANGELINA JOLEE.

And sure enough, yes, it was Brad and Angelina just cycling around the quarter on their bikes with no paparazzi in sight and just me and them out there on the street.

I felt like a guy who just got a hole in one, and no witnesses.

Brad rolled by and said "we're doing ok." While Angelina just smiled and said "hi" as she peddled by.

And so that is my brush with greatness.

Pretty much after that everything else was uneventful.

Except the ribs of course, mmmmmm, mmmmmm, good.

New Year's Eve Eve ponderings

One of my reporters called me today to invite me to a New Year's Eve bash at her boyfriend's apartment. She said, "I wasn't sure if you had plans, but I wanted to invited you over. There will be lots of booze."

This was very nice since a) of course I have no plans and b) I now will not have to discover what happens when one drinks an entire bottle of champagne by oneself.

But then she added, "Matt (her boyfriend) says bring a date. Oh and Mike (his roommate) says bring a date for him." Laughter. Then she goes on to say that I should feel free...in fact encouraged to bring friends. This has given me pause because now I feel like if I go I'm SUPPOSED to bring at least one friend. But here's the thing — I don't have any friends. Not here. Not real friends. Not the kind you call up and invite to parties.

What I have here are pre-existing friends, mostly from graduate school, almost all from journalism (though not necessarily still practicing) all of whom are married with children. I have two ex's; not married, with children (well, one each). And then I have the new people I've met who either live in my apartment complex, are students that I've tutored or work with me. I'm close to none of them.

So I've been here a year and a half and I'm beginning to wonder what is wrong with me. I would like to blame it on my job or suburban living but I'm beginning to think those are just excuses. Am I a less friendly person? Am I more hesitant to just invite myself along or break into conversation with people? I think it is I that must be different, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Could I just be tired of meeting new people?

Should I make a new year's resolution to make new friends? That makes me sound like I'm 10. But it would be nice to have people to call up and say, "Would you like to go for coffee?" And it would be nice to have them call me up and ask if I'd like to go out for a drink or 12.

And, anyway, when you are in your 30s with no hobbies and you work nights, including Fridays and Saturdays, how do you meet people that don't work in the same office as you? We don't even share a building with other businesses, so you have the chance of meeting folks in the hallway. This new phase of my career is very insular, isn't it? Any thoughts, blogosphere?

Survey Says: Hipsters are annoying, even to Greeks

Save Astoria from hipsters say Greeks
BY NICHOLAS HIRSHON
DAILY NEWS WRITER

A growing number of college students are uniting online to rescue Astoria's famous Greek culture from "guitar-playing hipsters" they charge are ruining the increasingly artsy neighborhood.

Formed a few weeks ago on the social networking site Facebook, the Save Astoria group urges members - about 150 as of late Thursday - to prevent the hipsters from turning churches and cafes into "wasteful art exhibits."

Its five organizers, all former or current students at Fordham University, note Greeks' history of banding together and becoming "a formidable force" during tough times. They ask followers to support only Greek businesses.

"Invite all your friends and bring public attention to this issue before it is too late!" plead the group leaders, who didn't return e-mails and phone calls seeking comment.

"I guess they have a problem with people who go out and free ourselves with our music," snarled David Guevara, 18, of Astoria, who sings and plays guitar in a rock band.

The group's grievance that hipsters are driving out "the souvlaki guy on the corner" was met with disbelief from Chris Sourlis, owner of Gyro Uno on Steinway St.

"That's not true. Who said that?" asked Sourlis, 53, insisting the hipsters aren't his Achilles heel. "It's not like I'm not going to survive."

George Delis, district manager of Queens Community Board 1, blasted the Facebook organizers for assuming only Greeks belong in western Queens.

"How can any ethnic group claim Astoria as its own?" he said. "It's not going downhill. The community continues to thrive, and property values continue to climb."

Other Greeks distanced themselves from the group's call for battle against long-haired music lovers.

"We don't personally feel at war. Everyone can co-exist," said Athens-raised Ekavi Valleras, 27, a former program coordinator at Astoria's Greek Cultural Center.

Many even welcome the changes. For Jared Koeppel, manager of the Guitar Center at Northern Blvd. and 48th St., the emergence of a hipster base in Astoria has been a godsend.

"I wish that there were more. I don't think there are enough," said Koeppel, 30. "We sell more classical guitars than pretty much any store in the world."

In case you want to see the original, here the Daily News link.

How do you like dem apples? Not at all: Day 6 (McIntosh)

This smallish, red apple with yellow speckling is not a good apple. It has a weird pear-like taste and while makes a big crunching noise, is actually soft and a little mealy inside. The meat of the apple is white and it has a bizarrely thin peel (which according to NY Apple Country.com makes it cook down faster).

For your history lesson: The apple has been around since 1811, when John McIntosh discovered the first seedling. McIntosh apples grow particularly well in New York's cool climate...apparently.

Outsourcing the news

Another depressing item marking the decline of newspapers:

The Miami Herald is outsourcing some of its ad production work to India. Starting in January, copyediting and design in a weekly section of Broward County community news and other special ad sections will be outsourced to Mindworks, based in New Delhi. The project is still in the testing phase, so it wasn’t clear if or how employment in South Florida will be affected. Earlier this month, the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, also owned by McClatchy, announced it would outsource some of its ad production work to India. In May, news Web site pasadenanow.com was widely criticized after editors hired two reporters in India to cover the Los Angeles suburb (WSJ, p.B3; AP).

One rotten apple spoils the bunch: Day 5 (Rome)

I took two bites of this apple and tossed it. There was nothing at all good about it. It was mealy and it was bland. Stay away from it at all costs. It was so bad I didn't even bother taking any notes on it. It's red. And it's bad. That's all you need to know.

My experience with this apple was especially disappointing because I was starving and had brought it with me to eat on my trip home for the holidays. Blah. I'd rather starve. Luckily Continental provided me with a significant snack on the trip. Love live Continental.

Anyway, according to the New York State apple page (not it's official name), it is perfect for frying. I do not eat apples in any form other than raw. I cannot stand almost all cooked fruit, but most especially cooked apples. Anyway, the site also claims it is mildly tart, but I didn't taste tart. It must have been super, extra MILDLY tart.

Anyway, it's an old apple, which originated in Ohio in 1816 but is widely grown in New York State. I think it's time we retire this apple. But I guess that's just me.

¡Oye!

How could I have forgotten to mention that I made a 99 on my Spanish final! A 99!

I actually missed three questions — all verb tenses and two were exactly the same. The past tense conjugation of dar (to give). I actually knew the conjugation, but for some reason kept putting down the first person singular conjugation (I) instead of the third person (he/she/you formal), even though I knew it needed the third and I knew what the third was. I just didn't read back over closely enough. ALWAYS my problem. The third missed answer was because I used the preterit tense where the imperfect past was needed.

Anyway, I wound up with a 99 because she liked my essay so much that I got bonus points for it. Hurray! She said I wrote an amazing essay, actually. I went by her office to drop off a Christmas card and she had already graded all our tests and asked if I wanted to see mine.

So I have an A+ in the class and now, allegedly, I'm an advanced student. I still don't feel very advanced. We'll see how I do in Spain this summer. [Note the assumption here that I'll be doing something cool this summer, as opposed to slumming around Baton Rouge, Chicago or Memphis, as per my usual vacation plans.]

iApple: Day 4 (Cameo)

The Cameo has a red and yellow spotty skin with a yellow meat. It has a sweet, light taste and is crunchy. It's from Washington state and is a fairly new apple, created in the late 80s. They are available from September to January. It's a tasty apple, but at $1.04 an apple, too pricey to add to my apple diet.

The City

I went into the City today. I had the day off, because I have these comp days I wasn't expecting to have and I have to take them by the end of the year and I ain't got a lot of year left. So I went to do some specialty Christmas shopping. That was a very disappointing endeavor. I bought you people some gifts, but don't expect to be wowed by them...actually, Deadman, your gift wasn't bought. As I mentioned in my text message to you, I went to a book signing and the author canceled due to illness. No gift for you. I hope you like cheesecake.

Anyway, I digress. On Fridays from 4-10 p.m. The Museum of Modern Art is free. This is thanks to Target, which sponsors Target Free Fridays. (Did I need more reason to love Target? I love you Target.) I enjoyed MOMA. I've never been before and it's not nearly as bizarre as P.S.1, which I like...sometimes...but at lot of it I find a little pretentious. However, I now have a free entry to P.S.1 to use in the next 60 days because it's included in the price of MOMA entrance, even when that entrance is free. However, I don't know that I'll be making my way out to Queens any time soon.

Anyway, it's really not that big of a museum. There was a special Seraut exhibit of his charcoal sketches, which were really cool. Plus I got to "Birth of A Nation" by Joan Miro, which I wrote the paper on in my Spanish Class. I saw more Picasso. (Yawn) I am very much OVER Picasso, since my jaunt through the exhaustingly extensive Picasso museum in Spain. There were water lilies and "Starry Night" and some Jackson Pollocks and Andy Warhols, including the Campbell Soup Cans.

I went and saw the tree too. It's very nice this year. I was impressed by it's giantness this time around. I was not the only person who thought so. There was a lot of chatter on the non-tourist side of the tree (the side that isn't viewed from across the skating rink) about the tree and how pretty and full it was. "Not THAT's a tree," someone next to me said.

"It came from Connecticut," said someone else in a tone that clearly denoted that only New Englanders knew how to pick the Rock Center tree, and that it should never EVER again be left to Northwest.

Oh, and I almost forgot the best part of my day. I saw Stanley Tucci on Lexington Avenue. Yeah! Finally, a celebrity sighting. I wanted to run up to him and declare my undying love, but there were some stern looking me with clipboards following him and they seem to be discouraging me from doing so. I'm not sure they were even with him, but they were discouraging nonetheless. Plus, I would have my New York driver's license revoked for such behavior. Alas, next time, Stanley, next time.

Update: Stalker & Snow

So yesterday we got this massive snowstorm. (Thanks Midwest.) I woke up early — an hour before the snow was supposed to arrie — to try and go to the dry cleaners but it was snowing already. So I went to do laundry, and it was like an office Christmas party in there. There was a line of people waiting to use the machines. This one woman, Jane (her real name, not made up to protect her identity), says "Everyones staying home. Everything's closed. Even the mall."

"Not the newspaper," I said. "I gotta go to work."

Then Jane says, "I have someone who is really interested in you. A GUY. Do you know who it is?"

I was confused at first, but then she started to describe him and I knew immediately it was my second stalker, the one that works here.

"He wants to ask you out," Jane said.

"He already has," I said.

"I know," she said. "But he asked me to put in a good word for him." Then she started extolling his virtues. Then she added, "You should think about it."

I did not do laundry.

I had to go to work. So I walked to the train, took the 17 minute ride north, walked from the station to the newspaper. Work was fine. About 8 inches fell near work...less here where I live. When I got home I noticed something odd: my car was not covered in snow. In fact, someone had dug my car out. At first I thought, "Maybe someone dug my car out thinking it was there." But there are no cars that look like mine and my car had been brushed cleaned. So no one mistook my car. I realized with some dread that it was Stalker 2. It was double dread, actually. That he had actually de-snowed my car, but also that he knew which was my car.

This morning as we were all out moving our cars so they could plow the lot, he drove up on his golf cart and said, "I'll give you one guess who dug your car out."

"Oh that was you? Thanks. I thought someone cleaned my car by mistake." It was not a very good response. Later I realized I should have said that I thought it was my boyfriend who did it as a surprise. I've got to learn to think on my feet faster.

An Apple a Day: Day 3 (Granny Smith)

I don't think you really need my impressions of a Granny Smith apple, but I'm trying all of them. So this list wouldn't be complete without the ole' GS app. This apple has a green skin and a green meat. It is crunchy and tart, which I like. This apple, however, had a particularly thick skin. I don't think that's normal, but it really put me off this particular apple because it was like chewing throw plastic to get to the apple. If I hadn't been at work, I would have peeled it.

This is a very old apple, created in something like 1850 by Maria Ann Smith. She and her husband orchardists in Australia. The apple now grows wild in New Zealand.

That's all I have on Granny Smith. I'll try to pick a more exciting apple for tomorrow.

Apple of My Eye: Day 2 (Gala)

So I actually ate this apple yesterday and I'm a day behind, but we'll just pretend this is Day 2 and go on with the illusion from here.

Today's apple is a Gala apple. My impression is that this is a good apple. It has a light red skin and a yellow meat. It is very crunchy. (Good!) The first bite seemed very sour and made all those glands in the back of your mouth that water, water and go all crazy. But after the first bite the tartness goes away and is very tasty. It's a very consistent apple. It would make a good addition to a fruit salad too.

According to my New York apple page, this is an apple made for kids. I'm not sure what that says about me. Also, not a NY apple at all, but one developed in New Zealand. Though the site also says it has a mild, sweet flavor and clearly that doesn't go with my first bite impression, but does fit with the rest of my apple experience.

The Big Apple: Day 1 (Empire)

Before I moved to New York, I knew of only three kinds of apples: red, green and yellow.

To be honest, I knew the red ones were called Red Delicious and the green ones were Granny Smith. My parents also had an apple tree that grew little apples that they claim are called "Anna Apples". I have no idea if this is true. Also, I still have no idea what the yellow ones were and mostly they turned up in holiday fruit baskets.

Since moving here, however, I have learned there are hundreds of varieties of apples. I've also learned that apple picking season is in the fall, not the spring/summer like most fruits I know. In the fall, not only are there apples galore, but apple doughnuts and apple cider hit the circuit big time.

My favorite of apple is now The Pink Lady. It is on the shelves for only a very short period of time...maybe two months, starting in September. It is a wonderfully sweet, crunchy apple. Really it's all I could ever want in an apple.

Alas, since it's season is so short, I've decided to sample my through every apple I can fine in New York and report to you my impressions of these apples. I bought six different kinds at the store the other night. One of each. The woman behind the counter looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Are you making a pie?"

"No," I said, "I just like apples. I like different kinds of apples." This sounded incredibly dumb coming out of my mouth.

Anyway, moving along to the point of all this exposition. Today's apple: The Empire. (Pictured above.)

I give this apple a thumbs down. It's a beautiful looking apple with a sort of marbled red, pink and yellow skin and a white meat. But it is an exercise in opposites. It is crunchy to the bite, but soft and mealy to the chew. (I HATE mealy apples!) It is both sweet and sour to the taste. I think this apple would be better served in a salad or a sandwich, not eaten alone.

After writing my impression of this apple, I went to do some research. The apple, apparently was created by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva (Ontario County, not Switzerland) in 1966. And my impression seems to be consistent with its description. You can read more about it here.

A long overdue Spanish update

Somehow six days have gone by since that last entry and I have nothing to show for it. I have spent all my free time this week tutoring Spanish students as finals start on Monday.

My 101 students had oral exams the week I was in Chicago and my 102 students had them this week. I don't know how they all did, yet. Most of them I see again on Monday. Actually all but two of them I see on Monday. One I see on Tuesday and the student who was taking 101 online I'm done with. (In case I haven't stated my opinion on this before, taking a foreign language online as anything other than a refresher course is a VERY VERY BAD idea.VERY BAD.)

I am happy to report, however, that my very worst student - she who falls asleep during class and can't remember basic verbs like escuchar (to listen) or vocabulary like pero (but) - somehow, who knows how, made an 86 on her oral exam. She credits my tutoring. I think it must have been dumb luck.

As for me, this semester has mostly been a review with focus on culture and in-class discussions, so having the same teacher from last semester hasn't turned out half bad. After class on Thursday she told me I was getting really good at Spanish. I think I sound ridiculous when I speak, misconjugating verbs and stumbling over pronunciation. But I think she likes that I try and I'm always willing to answer when everyone else just sits there quietly (even though most of them are much better speakers than I am). I also think that maybe they don't understand what she's asking. Sometimes I don't either, but then I ask her to repeat it or I just through out a "No entiendo su pregunta" and she'll either rephrase it so I understand it or just ask me in English.

Anyway, I'm off to study my baseball vocabulary. Wish me luck!

A brief non-musical interlude

If I weren't so tired from my 9 p.m. delayed to 10 p.m. flight from O'Hare to Newark that got me home over icy roads and foggy, mere feet in front of me visibility at 4 a.m. this morning, I'd have a lot to talk about. Chicago. Snow. Planes. How snow and planes don't mix. LSU Football (now appearing in a national championship near you). How hard it is to explain the subjunctive mood when exhausted.

But all of that will have to wait because I'm in no condition to type and stay awake. I will report that I am healthy and have no cavities according to the recent doctor and dentist appointments I've had. Next stop, eyes. Full report tomorrow.

Hopefully all of this is spelled correctly. And makes senses. And is in English. Stay tuned.