Blast From The Past

Naxos. I miss you. Especially since a blizzard is supposed to arrive tomorrow.

Brooklyn by way of dishes

There's a store in the city called Fishs Eddy — for those of you that haven't yet gotten a gift from me from the store. It makes dishes. There are a couple of lines that feature local landmarks, like Central Park, Conney Island, the Manhattan skyline. And then there is the Brooklyn line, as seen here on my absolute favorite item — the butter dish.

Staten Island. Like Brooklyn, but without stuff, and with detached houses, and...OK, nothing at all like Brooklyn

[Sigh] I did not go to Park Slope today. I went to someplace that was very much NOT Park Slope. I went, instead, to Staten Island.

In particular, I went to what I believed is called the Woodrow section of Staten Island, where my boyfriend just moved from Westchester County. He moved to Staten Island because Brooklyn - where he works - was too expensive to live in. Actually he's not the first person I've heard say that. Some friends of mine recently moved from Park Slope to Manhattan because MANHATTAN was cheaper. When did THAT happen?!

Anyway, I digress. Staten Island.

You see, I really want to have an open mind. I'm not originally from here. (I know. I know. Who is?) I shouldn't have any inherent dislike of that island, no reason to think of it as a garbage dump. But here's the thing about New York - all of New York - everywhere I go all the stereotypes and things you see in movies and on television seem to be true (except people, in general, are WAY nicer than they are given credit for. WAY nicer). But from what I've seen of Staten Island - and it's not a lot yet - it is a dump. And, to make matters worse, there is nothing but houses for MILES where my boyfriend lives. There is a gas station and a Domino's that delivers. Google and the phone book were no help. So we had Domino's. ARG! Staten Island! ARG!

I'm sure this won't be the last you hear of my life with Staten Island. Unfortunately.

Oh, Cobble Hill! You are SO easy.

So, it's pretty exciting times here in Bucky's World, as I've managed to piss off an entire section of Brooklyn. [See companion story here.] I know, I know. I've reached the big time. I'll be expecting a call from the New York Times and Oprah any day now.

But, do you not think that, uhm, perhaps...just perhaps...they are a tad bit too sensitive in Cobble Hill as 1) I have a total readership of about 6 (well, until now) and 2) I spend an inordinate amount of my time eating and then blogging about apples? I mean, for all they know, I am an 11-year-old circus freak and I'm blogging from my winter home in Romania and I never even BEEN to Cobble Hill.

There was one kind soul, however, who wrote:

we live nearby and couldn’t agree more. Lupo is no longer welcoming as it was when it opened and it is a stroller parking lot at happy hr.
Snarky. Yes. Accurate. Yes.

Anyway, tomorrow I have my sights set on pissing off Park Slope. Also, I'm now taking requests. Anyone else I should try and anger while I'm at it? Apparently, wanting to have a decent lunch on Valentine's Day and expecting good food and good service are too much to ask for in the Big C.H. That's something only crazy people in the suburbs should expect. Oh you crazy, suburban dwellers with your Olive Gardens and your Trader Joe's and your Starbucks...Wait a minute!

Nothing can stay free forever, especially in this town

Well, I don't think anyone ever thought the ferry would stay free forever. But still, sometimes a girl like to dream. The Independent Budget Office offered among one of its many creative ways to raise money, charging for the now free Staten Island ferry. All I can see this doing is decreasing the number of people who ride it and thus making it not worth the effort and in turn leading to it being decommissioned like so many other ferries in the region. But I could be wrong. Maybe people would pay $4 just to ride the ferry. I, however, would not. Full story below:

NEW YORK (AP) — If the city is looking for ways to pinch pennies in tough times, an independent budget agency has a few ideas: taxes on cosmetic surgery, laundry services and luxury apartment rentals, charging tourists to ride the Staten Island ferry and collecting fees from residents based on how much garbage they throw out.
The Independent Budget Office, a city agency that does not report to the mayor, on Wednesday laid out 63 proposals in its report entitled “Budget Options for New York City.”
The report stressed that the agency’s economists and analysts do not endorse any of the ideas but simply present them, along with projected savings and arguments for and against.
While many of the proposals are unlikely to be enacted, Mayor Michael Bloomberg often says he appreciates creative thinking — particularly in finding new ways to save money and bring in more revenue.
And Bloomberg has increasingly warned that the city could be facing a precarious economic situation. Last month he presented a budget plan for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, that demands cuts from every city agency.
The Independent Budget Office report looked at a variety of ways the city could find savings or generate new income. Many seem to be targeted toward the rich, like a proposed tax on luxury apartments.
Owners of units that rent for more than $3,000 per month would pay a 1 percent tax; with an estimated 50,000 such apartments in the city, this tax would raise approximately $24.2 million in 2009, the report said, and would only grow as the number of luxury apartments — and their base rent — also increases.
Or what about a tax on cosmetic procedures, both surgical and nonsurgical — like Botox, chemical peels and facials? The report estimates more than $1.4 billion was generated in the city in 2006 for cosmetic procedures by board-certified physicians, and much more by those who are not certified, such as facialists.
The report estimates $65 million annually could be generated by such a tax.
Another idea is to tax services such as laundering, dry cleaning, tailoring, shoe repairing and shoe shining.
The budget office projects that applying the sales tax to these services could bring in about $40 million annually, and it notes that the bulk of these taxes would be paid by “more affluent consumers who use such services more frequently.”
Another idea is a “pay as you throw” program that charges households for waste disposal, based on how much garbage they throw out.
Some cities, such as San Francisco and Seattle, already have versions of this program, the report noted. In New York, a household would pay an average of $91 a year, netting the city a savings of $296 million. It could also have the added environmental benefit of more awareness about trash and recycling and an overall reduction in waste.
One proposal that New Yorkers may favor — but those outside the city might not like — is to charge tourists to ride the Staten Island ferry, which is now free to the millions of commuters and tourists who ride it each year.
Of the 19 million riders each year, an estimated 3.6 million are from outside the metro area, the report said. Imposing a round-trip $4 fare on those outsiders, while also charging regular commuters a nominal fee for an annual pass, would bring in an estimated $3.4 million annually.

AP Dish, not Wire

Once upon a time, I'm sure, the news from the Associated Press (AP)* was transmitted over an actual wire. But as technology tends to do, we've advance now and the AP stories come shooting to us via large satellite dishes that sit atop our building.

I bring this up, not because it's any kind of new revelation — the AP dish has been around my entire career - but because as I was sitting outside the building earlier today, waiting for my car to warm up and staring at the dish, I realized how much the dish sucks in the winter. It particularly sucks on a snowy Saturday when building maintenance isn't here and we have to climb up there with a broom and knock the snow off it. It just occurred to me that this was nothing I ever had to do in the south. When news wasn't moving on the wire, it's because there was no news to move. Now it's because someone needs to go up and knock the snow off. Just another reason to be oh, so tired of snow.


*Most of you are either reporters or people who know reporters or people who at least READ the news and thus know what the AP is. (Some of you, it's true, even WORK for the AP.) For those of you who do not, it is a global news organization/behemoth, which provides print and broadcast stories for member news organizations...namely every paper you've ever read.

To anonymous, with love

We are all, so very stupid.

The New York Times
Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?
By PATRICIA COHEN

A popular video on YouTube shows Kellie Pickler, the adorable platinum blonde from "American Idol," appearing on the Fox game show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" during celebrity week. Selected from a third-grade geography curriculum, the $25,000 question asked: "Budapest is the capital of what European country?"

Ms. Pickler threw up both hands and looked at the large blackboard perplexed. "I thought Europe was a country," she said. Playing it safe, she chose to copy the answer offered by one of the genuine fifth graders: Hungary. "Hungry?" she said, eyes widening in disbelief. "That's a country? I've heard of Turkey. But Hungry? I've never heard of it."

Such, uh, lack of global awareness is the kind of thing that drives Susan Jacoby, author of "The Age of American Unreason," up a wall. Ms.Jacoby is one of a number of writers with new books that bemoan the state of American culture.

Cobble Hill is no Brooklyn Heights

I had a very miserable morning/afternoon stuck in New York traffic. I spent hours in bumper to bumper traffic both in Brooklyn and trying to get out. It was like it was Fourth of July weekend or something and everyone was trying to get to their summer homes. By the time we found a place to park and then a place to eat, I was cold, had a caffeine headache and was tired, plus my ears hurt [see cold].

So we wound up at Bocca Lupo, a wine bar that serves panini lunches. It's one of those places where the portions are small, the prices are big and the service is bad. And I was NOT in the mood for such a place. Then all of The Cobble Hill moms started pouring in with their SUV-sized baby strollers. It was everything the stereotype says it is. I am not at all enamored of Cobble Hill. I'd like to go back to Brooklyn Heights, please.

But lots o' love for this guy!

Yea! I've been cheering for this guy for the last two days. Watching Westminster beats watching the primaries!

NEW YORK (AP) — America has a new Snoop doggie.

Barking and baying up a storm, Uno lived up to his name Tuesday night by becoming the first beagle to win best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club.

The nation's new top dog was clearly the crowd favorite, and drew a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden when he was picked.

No love for me

So I'll be spending yet another Valentine's Day alone. I don't know why I keep taking the day off. Well, part of the reason is that for the last two years I've had to work the Monday before and so I've had to pick another day in the week to take off. And while both years I was promised a date, the week of my date (the same one both times) has backed out, blaming it on work.

I've never been a big Valentine's Day person. I mean, I like to go out to dinner - or make dinner at home - and I'll take flowers any time during the year, but some people go crazy. The other day I was in Target and I was in line behind this guy and his thuggish friends. And the dude was buying two stuffed animals and six or seven hearts filled with chocolate. All together he spent just a wee bit under $100. And I don't think it was all for the same lady. He asked my advice on which heart filled chocolate I would prefer. When the woman working the register said, "What kind of chocolate does she like?" referring to the woman he was buying for, he answered, "I don't know. That's the problem." I suppose it was funnier if you were there.

I think I'll wish you all a happy UN-Valentine's Day and find some nice man-hating movies to watch on Thursday.

Earthquake

2 earthquakes rattle Greek port, but no immediate reports of damage

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Twin earthquakes rattled the western Greek port of Patras, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage, officials said Tuesday.

The Athens-based Institute of Geodynamics said a 5.4-magnitude quake occurred at 10:25 p.m. Monday and a 5.5-magnitued quake struck around noon Tuesday. Both quakes were centered around 100 miles southwest of Athens and 25 miles outside Patras.

“The activity is ongoing but the likelihood of a very strong earthquake is considered to be very slight,” Institute director Giorgos Stavrakakis said. “This is a phenomemon of twin earthquakes or virtually identical magnitude. It’s not common but it is well known.”

Before there were gods, there were...more gods?

I'm a little confused by this article in the New York Times today about a discovery of a deity that predates Zeus worshiped by the Greeks before they were Greeks. (I guess Greek-speaking people came later from the Balkans. At least that's what the article says.) I mean first I'm confused about how they look at these shards of pottery without any markings on them and determine that they were vessels in which offerings to gods were left:



Maybe it was just a good place to store meat. But more confusing is that I thought there was already established gods before Zeus. Much of Delphi was built over a temple to Gaia (otherwise known as Mother Earth). There's a cave there, which is off limits to visitors due to danger of collapsing, that was believed to be the birthplace of the deity; a crack that goes to the center of the earth and from which she crawled onto the surface and created life.

Maybe these new gods are supposed to pre-date her too, but Zeus is more widely known, so they used him? Either way, they should really explain it better.

NY Times: Giants Stun Patriots in Super Bowl XLII

This is a very dark day indeed.

Update: Books, Movies, More. Part 1: Books

There's not really a "more." I just thought it sounded better with three things, instead of two.

It's been months since I updated my reading/viewing, and so I won't be covering everything I read/watched, but I'll do my best to sum up.

Read:
The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch - My least favorite book by her (thus far). Skip it unless you are trying to read the entire catelogue of her works.

The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt - This book had the opposite effect on me that his last book Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil did. I never want to go to Venice, ever. Savannah, however, I would move back to in a heartbeat. The book was fine. I didn't hate it. It just wasn't very unique since it's the exact same formula as Midnight. You'd be better served re-reading the first book and skipping this one.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 8(comic) - I'm glad the gang is back, even if it's just in comic form. However, I'm not sure I've yet warmed to the legion of Slayers in army-like format. I would like to see something new and all of this feels a little rehashed.

Confessions of a Teen Sleuth by Chelsea Cain - (I may have mentioned this one in a previous post.) Funny. Funny. Funny. Especially for anyone out there that read Nancy Drew as a young lass...or lad — I'm not judging. It's a spoof of the teen detective novels we all loved as a child. The main character is indeed Nancy Drew. Though this is supposed to be the "real" Nancy Drew (actually named Nancy Drew) whose college roommate Carolyn Keen stole her story and wrote the world-famous books about her adventures as a falsely fictitious character. Anyway it picks up where all the books left off and follows her through college, marriage and into old age and is purposely written over-the-top in the language of the original hardback Nancy Drew books. Check it out. You'll have a good laugh.

Bought:
The Nice and The Good by Iris Murdoch
Love In the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
El Amor en Los Tiempos del Colera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
(That's right. I bought the same book in two languages. Take that Nick Hornby.)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction

I also sold three books on half.com. (Thanks, Melinda, for that introduction.)

Nice day outside, wish I had brakes

Because the weather is so nice today, I've decided to stay in and update my blog.

Well, the truth is I did just walk the dog, so I was outside for about an hour. But I can't really go anywhere till I get my brake pads replaced tomorrow. I went last week to have my oil changed and tires rotated at Firestone, where I always go, primarily because 1) it's on my way to work and 2) it's next to Borders, so I can look for books I don't need and also get coffee - two very important aspects of my life.

So I come back and the guy at Firestone calls me to the desk. This always happens. Every time I go in they try to convince me I need something done. I say no thanks and then I go to AutoZone and do it myself (if it needs to be done). WAY cheaper to do it yourself. For example: You need new wiper blades. That will cost $40. AutoZone price for Bosch wipers: About $22. This time they tell me I need new front brake pads. It will cost a little over $250 to have them replace them. The guy puts the hard sell on me, saying they are almost metal to metal. I need to have it done immediately. I find the phrasing a little funny since they are semi-metallic brakes. They want to replace them with ceramic. No price give on the cheaper semi-metallic brakes.

This is a problem, because I CAN'T replace the brake pads. Wipers, air filters, belts, batteries - all these things I can do myself. Brake pads require jacking the car up, take off the tires, taking off the pads, putting on the new pads, tires, etc. Then repeating on the other side. Not having any air compressed-tools and only the jack that came with the car, this would not be impossible, but would certainly feel that way as I was doing it. The current brake pads on the car came from AutoZone and my dad put them on four years ago. Apparently Nissan Pathfinders blow through brakes like I do bags of coffee.

So anyway, I obviously do not have a spare $250 lying around. So I'm wondering what to do when the mail comes (I'm back at home at this point) and there is a coupon for a local tire/brake place that will do per axle for $69 metallic $89 ceramic. This is too good to be true, I think. I call them up and ask if labor is included. They say yes and can do my Pathfinder. Woo-hoo! Victory is mine.

Sometimes I get tired of being a girl and dealing with auto-related places. They are always trying to get one over on you, thinking you don't know what you're doing. Actually between this experience and the first dentist I went to up here, I'm just getting tired of people thinking I'm a complete moron and trying to rip me off. I should start a blog of places NOT to ever go.

Football. God help us.

I don't want to hate the Giants. Really, I don't. But they have two things working against them for me right now:

1) After spending so much time bad mouthing Eli Manning when he was quarter back for Ole Miss, playing against LSU (sorry Ole Miss fans), I cannot bring myself now to defend him or cheer him on or cheer for his team. Last week with the Giants v. Packers, at least I had the excuse of cheering for a different Mississippi quarterback. One that played for Southern Miss and thus was not in the SEC at all. But this week I have nothing to hide behind. When the New York (but really New Jersey because that's where they play) Giants suit up against the New England Patriots, I'll just have to cheer on New England without any good reason. Well, except for...

2)I work for a newspaper in New York. This means our executive editor lost his mind and decided we should blow out Super Bowl coverage all week long. So our already overtaxed, less than full staff — which is working on both a giant special business and industry section AND all the crazy, overblown coverage of the Super Tuesday presidential primaries the same editor wants — is now having to try to cram in all of these football stories. Most of them don't even know anything about football. And also, we're not exactly THE source for everyone's Giants news. People really aren't buying our paper to read up on the team and I don't think they care if local caterers are doing better business. They might, however, pick us up for pictures of people's dogs dressed in Giants gear.

In fact, the entire staff - lifelong Giants fans, New England fans, non-football fans alike - are cheering AGAINST the Giants because the executive editor has already started talking about how we need to have a "plan" for post-win coverage. "There's the parade. The homecoming. The what this means..." I can hear the rioting already. The staff's rioting that is.

Probably not the best idea to steal from a priest

While it is very sad the bishop's crown was stolen, what I find most interesting in this article is that the bishop is a former marine that served in the Korean War. I don't think you get a lot of those in the Greek Orthodox priesthood.


Texas thief steals bishop's crown

A thief has broken into a car in Texas and stolen a valuable crown and other items belonging to a visiting Greek Orthodox bishop from Colorado.

Metropolitan Isaiah, an ex-US marine who served in the Korean War, was dining with others at a restaurant when the thief smashed his car's window.

The gold and silver crown is believed to be worth up to $10,000 (£5,000).

Also stolen was his Bible and a bag embroidered with his religious title, a gift from the widow of a fellow marine.

Metropolitan Isaiah, who was the only priest at a Vespers service on Saturday night without a head covering, is offering a reward of at least $1,000 for the safe return of the crown stolen in Arlington.

"We parked in a brightly lit place, and with all the lights there, we thought we were fine," he was quoted by the Dallas News as saying.

"We came out at 10 o'clock, and the window was smashed."

The symbolic crown, he said, was the first gift he had received as a bishop, 22 years earlier, and he felt "lost without it".

Other items missing include the bishop's mobile phone and his clerical veil but the loss of the bag seemed to be a particularly hard blow.

"It has my name on it, embroidered Metropolitan Isaiah, so who can use it?" Metropolitan Isaiah asked.

According to his official biography, the ex-marine, whose official title is Metropolitan of Denver, entered a Massachusetts seminary in 1954 and became a bishop in 1986.

Yup. Still cold here.

While the snow may have come and gone down South [temperature check: 60 degrees back home], here it is still bitterly cold. Especially the wind. My face is chapped and I'm barely out in it. Anyone have any good moisturizing tips? Seriously. Because I'm at a loss for what to do.

It's so cold that even the cat has found creative ways to stay warm.

News from Patras

I guess the next step is to get rid of all the gypsies and Albanians? Greeks hate Albanians. They're the new Turks.

Authorities in the city of Patras began demolishing a camp right by the city's port that was home to nearly 4,000 illegal immigrants, mostly Afghan. Illegals would stay in the area and try to board ships bound for Italy or other European destinations.

The Greek Red Cross had given the immigrants a few days warning of the impending demolition of the camp. The question now is, where do they all go?

Authorities said a similar establishment at the port of Igoumenitsa (northwestern Greece) would soon be razed as well.

Not even Memphis-STYLE BBQ

My new old beau and I (he will henceforth be called TomClancy as he is ultra paranoid and would loose it if he found out I was using his real name on the INTERNET WHERE ANYONE COULD SEE IT or something like that, despite the fact that the only people who read this blog are a few, very bored friends and some guy in Indian who stumbled upon it by accident and accidentally set it as his homepage and can't figure out how to unset it!)

So wait, where was I?

Oh right, TomClancy and I went out for BBQ this weekend, as I mention at a local joint called The Piggy Bank. While I knew, in my heart of hearts, this was a bad BAD idea. I did it anyway. People at work had raved about it. It was Zagats rated. We weren't in NYC, so there's plenty of land to have a real smoker on. It could work, right? Wrong. It's not that the barbecue was bad, but it wasn't great and it certainly WASN'T Memphis-style BBQ, as advertised. If anything, I'd say it was more Texas style. It was runny, in that vinegary way that Texas barbecue has. And it was tomato-based, so it tasted like what I consider real BBQ, as opposed to North Carolina barbecue, which is very heavy on the vinegar and yuck and light on the yum and sauce.

I had a pulled pork sandwich. Uninspired. The slaw was pretty good, though. TomClancy had the Carolina-style pulled pork sandwich, which was based on the South Carolina mustard barbecue. It was also very vinegary, though. Though TomClancy is from South Carolina, he hadn't had the mustard-based 'cue before and didn't care for this version of it.

We also ordered a small side of ribs. These were immensely better. Though it was the same lame sauce and there was no dry rub on the meat, it was actually cooked well. Moist and falling off the bone the way good barbecue is supposed to be.

The best thing we had by far were the chicken strips, though. They were an appetizer and nothing to do with barbecue at all, but were deep friend to perfection.

I don't get it, though. They had the meat right - that's the hard part. Anyone can make a decent, thick BBQ sauce. How did they screw that up? Hmm...maybe they need someone to help them in the way of Memphis-style BBQ? Do I smell a job possibility? Or maybe just a reality TV show in the making?

You say park, I say potter's field

I found this little item pretty interesting. They've got Washington Square Park all torn up for a complete restoration or something like that. I've gotta get down there and get some pics that I'll post here. In the meantime, remember the next time you're down there protesting the war or attending a wiener dog convention that you're hanging out on a grave yard:

Mostly intact skeletal remains from at least four people were discovered Wednesday morning by city archaeologists doing soil testing as part of a restoration of Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, city officials said. The discovery could have significance for scholars studying the history of the early United States; the area of the park was used as a common burial ground, or potter’s field, from 1797 to 1826.

The Parks Department immediately announced that the skeletons would be left in the ground out of respect and that some of the plans for renovating the site would be adjusted so as not to disturb the burial site.

According to Jama Adams, a Parks Department spokeswoman, at least four relatively intact burials were uncovered. At one site, 70 to 80 human bones, possibly belonging to two individuals, were found. At a second site, three to four sets of skeletal remains were found. The archaeological work is being done under supervision from the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, which has responsibility for maintaining the historical integrity of the park.

Who needs Frank Lloyd Wright when you got Kate Spade and a boyfriend?

Well, I would update you on my life, but I've been very busy going out on actual dates with the guy I've been seeing, so I just don't have time. Also, I have a column I'm supposed to be writing, but am not. I have to tell you about the decidedly NON-Memphis BBQ Memphis-style BBQ I had today for lunch, but that will have to wait till morning.

Also, because looking at Chicago architecture in a snowstorm wasn't crazy enough, today I went shopping (with the afore mentioned guy) at a outdoor outlet mall in sub-zero weather. It was not just cold, it was damn cold! We went to Woodbury Common in nearby Orange County. I bought a dress, which was about all I could afford. And the afore mentioned guy bought me a warm wool hat. (Did I mention it was cold?) Also, for some reason, we decided to go on this crazy shopping excursion spur of the moment and took no gloves or hats with us. I had a nice warm jacket, but he had a windbreaker without its fleece interior. Needless to say, there was much coffee drinking and popping into stores we had absolutely no interest in.

Anyway, I'm busy thawing out now...I finally have some feeling back in my fingers. Stay tuned for the update on New York BBQ.

Snow, but not in New York

As far as I know, I'm not pregnant. [See my friend's blog.] But apparently hell IS about to freeze over, as Mississippi got snow. See photos from friends and family below:

Don't be alarmed. Those explosions are planned. No. Really.

Public reminded about construction blasts at World Trade Center site
by The Associated Press

Don't be alarmed.

That's the Port Authority's message to the public about construction blasting at the World Trade Center site.

Seven controlled blasts were scheduled throughout the day today.

New Mike the Tiger

This is Mike VI. In case you want to learn more about him:

A GROWING LOVE AFFAIR
LSU's 400-plus pound mascot, Mike VI, is winning the hearts of fans young and old
Saturday, January 05, 2008
By Billy Turner
Staff writer

It was a Wednesday, days before Christmas.

A gray sky sheltered Tiger Stadium, but beyond that enormous building, stacked between the football and basketball homes of LSU Tigers, was the environment that housed the newest of Mike the Tiger, a 15,000-square foot area.

Out beyond the athletic facilities, a warm wind kicked up, and drops of rain began to fall. The sky was ominous to the East, with black clouds forming a marching army.

Still, families came by to see the large feline, staring in past the glass or past the fencing.

Mike VI was oblivious to all that. As the rain drops hit him, on his stomach since he was lyingon his back like a house cat that had escaped to roll in the front yard, he didn't even tense. He didn't care that moisture was gathering. He seemed to care about nothing.

But when a leaf blower cranked up to his left, the howl piercing the air outside his palatial home, he cared. He rolled, and the enormous cat leaped to his feat. He strode to the edge of the cage and peered out. A golf cart rolled by, and that seemed to capture his attention.

It was just another day in the life of a wonderfully playful cat the size of a Volkswagen.

Norma Compton, a grandmother from Wichita, Kan., ignored the impending rain. She walked to the fencing and stared in.

"I'm here to visit my granddaughter," she explained. "We purposefully came to see Mike. He's a tradition. It's just fun to see a beautiful tiger like this. You don't often see them in zoos."

Laura Compton is getting her master's degree in education from LSU and was to graduate just before Christmas. But the afternoon wouldn't be complete, Norma said, without a visit to see the cat.

Minutes later, the Holland family arrived.

Travis Holland is a student at LSU. He was wearing LSU pants as he led his mother, sister and father to the edge of Mike's shelter.

"I'm a student, and my family wanted to see him," Holland said. Sister Jessie, mother Terrie and father Melvin are from Shreveport.

"We live in Shreveport," said Terrie, "and my parents live in New Orleans. We had to come see the Tiger. We love him, we love animals. Travis was telling us he is very young and very big, and he is."

The families were but a few of the almost constant flow of people who have come to see the tiger who replaced Mike V. Mike V died in May of renal failure.

At the time, LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman said, "Mike V was a noble mascot who was loved by Tiger fans young and old, and he represented all that is proud and dignified about LSU."

Mike VI, who was named Roscoe at the time, arrived in August.

He's been a huge hit.

"He's had a lot more visitors," said Bobbie Grand, public relations officer of the Tiger Athletic Foundation. "Dr. (David) Baker estimated that about 100,000 visitors per year came to see Mike V, and we believe there are more people coming to see Mike VI.

"He is just so friendly and out-going. On a daily basis hundreds come to see him."

LSU has had a live tiger mascot since 1936, and the tales that have grown up around the Tigers are legendary. The original Mike was purchased from the Little Rock Zoo for $750 that year. His name originally was Sheik but was changed to Mike for Mike Chambers, who was the LSU athletic trainer when the first mascot was purchased.

The first Mike was placed in the Baton Rouge Zoo for about a year before a permanent home was constructed. He was at LSU for 20 years before dying of pneumonia.

Through the years, traditions have grown around the tiger, such as the one that says for every growl of Mike elicited before a football game, the Tigers will score a touchdown that night.

The tiger stopped traveling with the team in 1970 when his cage overturned on Airline Highway en route to a game. In the mid-1980s, someone cut the locks on Mike IV's cage and freed him, but he was returned safely. Tulane students kidnapped Mike the Tiger in 1950.

But Mike VI might turn out to be the most popular of all the mascots. When he was released into the facility Sept. 1, he immediately showed his style.

"He played with a big purple ball that was placed in the environment, and he went swimming almost immediately," Grand said. "It was so sad when Mike V died. We were so worried. Were we going to get another one, we wondered. It was what he represented that meant so much to people.

"Turns out this one is just so fantastic," said Grand, who has chronicled the lives of the Tigers through photographs, many of which are in her office in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center where she overlooks Mike VI's habitat.

"Dr. Baker did a fantastic job finding this cat. When they released him into his environment, it was like, 'this is great.'"

Grand said the TAF gets a lot of calls asking what is the best time to see the tiger. She laughed, "We don't really know. He's a tiger. He sleeps whenever he wants to and gets up whenever he wants to. We had an elderly couple call and ask us, and we told them the morning might be best. They said that wouldn't work for them, like we were going to go and tell the tiger. They came in the afternoon.

"I've seen him raise up and put his paws on the glass near where kids are placing their hands. I've seen the kids come by wearing their LSU clothing. He loves his handlers, too. He reacts when he sees them."

Though the Tigers don't travel any longer, Grand said there had been pressure to take Mike VI to New Orleans for the BCS championship game. "I don't think they would let him go riding in that trailer, though."

Other random updates

I got these pretty roses the other night, for no real reason except the boy who gave them to me seems to like me a lot. I thought the were pretty, thus their posting. Also, my cat tried to eat the baby's breath...she's been obsessed with it since she was a wee, little kitten. One of my ex's used to buy her her own baby's breath whenever he bought me flowers. This is obviously a bad thing to do, since she just pukes it back up. It was one think when I had hard wood floors and could just wipe it up. But now I have carpet and have to bust out the Bissell SpotBot to clean it up.

Part 2: I will not be taking a Spanish class this semester. The community college I go to isn't offering any upper level classes this semester. The one I originally signed up for was canceled due to lack of enrollment. Apparently they will offer 301 in the fall. I just hope I can keep my Spanish up between now and then. Also, I didn't really have the money to take classes at a four-year SUNY school. I have to apply, get accepted and then the tuition is much higher. So I'm just waiting the semester and summer sessions out. Plus, I may not even be here in May. My boss told me the other day that he won't be here through the end of the year. He's looking for jobs outside of journalism. When he leaves, I hope to be gone. If not I'm going to have to do his job AND mine and that means working six days a week and many, many more hours than I'm putting in now...most likely without his pay.

I've eaten some more apples, read some additional books and watched a lot of movies. So I have several other updates I need to get to. Doubt I'll get them all up tonight, though.

M.I.A.: Stalker

So it's been almost a month since I've seen my stalker that works here. I've probably just jinxed myself, but I thought you all might be wondering about his whereabouts and what crazy, new stalker thing he's done.

I'm hoping he got fired or transfered to the other apartment complex these people own. Maybe someone complained to management on my behalf...or maybe he was stalking some other people who weren't afraid to go and complain to the front office. Whatever it is, I'm glad for it. It makes walking so much more peaceful and enjoyable!

Ah, New York

From The New York Times.

January 9, 2008
ABOUT NEW YORK
Young and Broke in the City, but Staying Afloat

By JIM DWYER
As hosts of a small gathering the other night to watch a college football game, Brian Markey and his roommate, Owen Cahillane, hustled to get their place ready, which took a startling amount of time, considering that it has only 250 square feet of space. They live on a houseboat in the Bronx, on a finger of water that is formally known as Westchester Creek. It is close to the elbow of the Hutchinson River Parkway and the Cross Bronx Expressway, in a pocket of the city that is in no immediate danger of becoming the new Williamsburg.

Mr. Markey, 25, found the houseboat, the Pee Jay, after seeing an ad for a rental that was only a seven-minute canoe ride to the Whitestone Multiplex.

On Monday evening, to get a signal for their television, he and Mr. Cahillane, 28, turned to the neighboring houseboat, which is vacant because of an unfortunate tilting episode but still has a handsome, and functioning, satellite dish. They ran a cable from the dish through a window into their living room. By pulling as far and as hard as possible, the cable just reached the television set.

“It’s like when they bring the chains out to measure a first down,” Mr. Markey said triumphantly.

The cable cut the room in half, but the guests, arriving with beer and a pot of red beans and rice, simply ducked beneath it. They were friends who had gone to college in New Orleans, and most of them had moved to the city in the past six months. Like their hosts, they, too, are chronically broke and accustomed to physical discomfort. These are New Yorkers in the larval stage.

“The novelty of a party on a houseboat gets people here,” said Mr. Markey, who works as a gardener in a Bronx park. “If we advertised it as a party in a small room a few blocks off the 6 train, I doubt we’d get many.”

Perched on the edge of a sagging sofa, next to a pine twig that had been stuck in a beer bottle — a Christmas tree, houseboat-size — Dominique Ellis, 23, who works in marketing, confessed that she had wanted to compare the houseboat with the basement in Astoria, Queens, that she shares with three unemployed actors.

“I had no idea,” Ms. Ellis said, “that accommodations such as these were just 28 subway stops away.”

After spending a few nights on the boat, Lizzie Ford-Madrid, 24, noticed a mini-rain forest effect. The faintly dank odor becomes less noticeable the more you breathe it. The $800 rent includes propane heat, but it is tricky to adjust. The result, Mr. Cahillane said, is that the top half of the body can be quite warm while everything below the waist is freezing.

“There are some problems with the moisture,” said Mr. Cahillane, who returned last month from a yearlong fellowship with Catholic Relief Services in Latin America and is looking for work. “I dropped the soap in the shower and literally could not see it in the steam to pick it up.”

Ms. Ford-Madrid, who works as a production assistant at Nickelodeon, has sleeping rights to a sofa in an apartment in Borough Park, Brooklyn. “My roommate is a third-year resident at Maimonides, so it’s cheap hospital housing,” she said. “He’s friends with a friend of mine in New Orleans, and he said, ‘Oh yeah, you can stay on my couch.’ ”

She came north during the summer with Samantha McKinney, 24, who now works at an art gallery in Chelsea and lives above a wheelchair store in Williamsburg. “My roommate has a wheelchair she spray-painted gold that she uses at her desk,” Ms. McKinney noted.

In separate police blotter moments, Ms. Ford-Madrid and Ms. Ellis each had a purse stolen in bars. “Some woman came into the bar like a housewife of Orange County — only a 50-year-old hussy,” Ms. Ford-Madrid said, as if such a profile were inherently bad. “She went on a shopping spree at Brooklyn gas stations.”

Things felt secure on the houseboat. Occasionally, someone going for a beer would knock the cable out of the television set, temporarily interrupting Louisiana State’s blowout of No. 1-ranked Ohio State in the Bowl Championship Series title game. Everyone at the party was connected somehow through Loyola University New Orleans. Mr. Markey graduated from there in 2005; Mr. Cahillane grew up with him in Springfield, Mass.

At night, one roommate gets the arthritic sofa, the other, a foam chair that unfolds to bed length. They are not sure how long their residency on Westchester Creek will last, for all its charms. “At low tide, the bluefish will chase the little shiners, and they’ll jump in the air, and the seagulls are waiting to get them,” Mr. Markey said. “The food chain.”

Ms. Ford-Madrid took her spot on the New York food chain in a moment of pure impulse. “Samantha and I worked at the same restaurant, and I turned to her one night and said, ‘Samantha, let’s move to New York,’” she said. “That was it. Just came here on a nickel and a wish.”

Tiger Taters!

Since there's not much I can add to the reams of print - both electronic and paper varieties - that has been written about LSU's victory over ESPN darlings Ohio State, I will instead write about my experience as the school's ambassador to the not-so-frozen-north, particularly my newsroom.

As soon as I stepped off the elevator today my immediate supervisor saw me and said, "Well I didn't expect to see you today. I thought you'd be too hung over from the celebrating." There was much congratulations thrown my way and as I told everyone that stopped by, "Yes. I take full credit for the LSU victory." And there is something to be said here, in that I purposely avoided going to the LSU alumni bar in the city to watch the game - though it would have been nice to celebrate with my fellow alumni - due to the (previously mentioned in another post) run of bad luck I've had with the place. I wanted to do nothing to jinx this game. Instead I opted to watch the game at home with my boy friend (I don't think I can quite put those two words together yet), Abita beer and pizza. Actually we were playing like buffoons until he showed up and then right on cue the game turned in our favor. So now not only do I have to avoid the alumni bar, but I have to haul this guy over to watch the games with me. Ensuring victory for LSU is getting harder and HARDER!

But I digress. Back to work: I came armed with my Zapps LSU Tiger Taters, which I put out for the newsroom to enjoy and wrote an obnoxiously glowy e-mail informing said newsroom of the afore mentioned chips. They were a huge hit and were gone in like 120 seconds. The executive editor kicked off the supervisors meeting today by saying the first order of business was to congratulate me on LSU's victory. And things continued along in this manner for the rest of the day. I heard confessions of people from Ohio who hated Ohio State and were secretly glad for their loss. There was much smack talk about the Big 10. It was nice...like I'd converted the entire newsroom in SEC - and in particular LSU - fans. My favorite story was form the assistant sports editor who went to LSU for something to do with a basketball tournament (I was unclear on whether he was playing or covering) and he was in awe of the acres and acres of sports facilities. He was all "the Mississippi River was right there," as if we aren't all "the Hudson River is RIGHT THERE" ourselves.

So anyway, I'm exhausted by my missionary work up here. Any other LSUers have funny day after stories to share?

Sad Tree. Sad Bucky.

I'm feeling a lot of sympathy for this tree, which is still just as it appears here, off my balcony. Is everyone still on vacation? Does no one goof off at work anymore? Is that one of your New Year's resolutions? "I will not goof off at work anymore, watching YouTube videos and reading blogs? In my free time, when I have it, I will only read the McLaughlin Report Web site." Well, let me tell you, my friends, that is a very BAD resolution. You won't get any smarter like that. You'll just start to realize how dumb you really are. Better to stick with YouTube — and this blog - where you'll feel like a genius.

So, anyway, this tree. I noticed last week. Someone had apparently just decided that it was too much of a hassle to drag it across the parking lot to the dumpster or to take it to be mulched for free at the park. No, much better, just to toss it out the window because, after all, it is nature and the stuff behind our building is also nature. Nature to nature, dust to dust.

I swear I don't know where I live anymore. This place used to be filled with adults. Now it's like I live with a bunch of children. Or, as I've mentioned before, in a frat house.

Sigh. Come back friends, come back. I need some intelligent conversation. Clearly that's not to be had here where I live.

The Apple Cart: Day 7 (Red Delicious)

Hello, old faithful!

I think anyone who's had an apple has had a Red Delicious. It is the generic of apples and available everywhere. It has a dark red peel and a white meat. They are grown everywhere apples are grown. It is a sweet apple, which is crunchy, though closer to the core becomes less so. It has versatile applications, though is probably most popular eaten in its original apple form. It is also very cheap, which is good. At my grocery store you can buy organic and the waxy, shiny version we're all used to seeing. However, strangely, the organic version is one cent cheaper.

Here is the history of this apple as told by Wikipedia, so who knows if it's true:

The Red Delicious was originally called "Hawkeye" by Hiatt, but after taking it to the fruit show in Louisiana it was called simply "Delicious". When the Golden Delicious was discovered in 1914, the name changed again to "Red Delicious".
This variety of apple became increasingly popular until the 1990s, when overproduction began to degrade the quality and when better storage and transportation techniques made other varieties more available. Recently, apple aficionados often consider this apple bland and deride the Red Delicious for its overly sweet, relatively simple flavor compared to other apple varieties.

Apparently the Louisiana referred to isn't the state, but a city in Missouri. I have no idea what or who Hiatt is. I have also discovered that the "yellow" apple that I mentioned in my first apple post is actually the Golden Delicious. We'll have to give that a go soon and review it. We shall see how delicious it is.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2008. In New York the year has begun cold and rainy. And I'm at home alone with my dog and cat. So I figure things an only get better from here.

I did go to that party last night, by the way. I did not take anyone with me. (Though when I got there someone asked, "Why didn't you bring Roland?!" The dog is more popular than I am.) I did however go late after everyone was pretty much soused and so no one even noticed.

There was a lot of drinking and fooding and playing of Guitar Hero 3, which is the most insane idea for a video game I've ever seen.

Hope you guys had a good New Year's Eve and it continues into '08!


A million revelers. A ton of confetti. One giant celebration.
by Associated Press

More than a million revelers in Times Square cheered as the giant crystal ball made its 100th drop last night and a ton of confetti rained down on the urban canyon, ushering in the new year.

University of North Carolina junior Reid Medlin, 21, attended the celebration with his friends Rachel Rand, 20, and Jeremy Crouthamel, 20. They were in the city for the first time and planned to stay up all night because they had no hotel.

"I think the best part is being here with friends," Medlin said as confetti floated down on him and people kissed around him. "This was beautiful. It makes you appreciate everything."

Rand said it didn't even matter that they didn't have a place to sleep.

"I'm too happy to go to bed," she exclaimed.

A century ago the Times Square ball tradition began with a 700-pound ball of wood and iron, lit with 100 25-watt incandescent bulbs. This year's event featured an energy-efficient sphere clad in Waterford crystals, with 9,576 light-emitting diodes that generated a kaleidoscope of colors.

Organizers said well over a million people attended the festivities.

They were treated to an entertainment lineup that included Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest handling the countdown to 2008 and musical performances by Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus and other acts. Even New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez showed up, shaking hands and posing for photos as he waited for midnight.

The Times Square Alliance, the business group running the event, handed out thousands of balloons and mittens to the crowd, which waited for hours in chilly winter weather for the main event. The confetti included pieces of paper with the new year's wishes and resolutions of people who submitted them in advance.

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.