The Garden of Wedding Dresses

So on Sunday I went wedding dress shopping.

I wasn't buying; one of my reporters who is getting married in August was, so don't panic that you've missed some major announcement in my life. You most definitely have not.

We went to this appointment only place called The Bridal Garden, wherein rich people have donated their old dresses and they are resold. The profit (it's a non-profit bridal dress shop) goes to support New York City school children. Or at least that is what is claimed.

I thought the address sounded familiar (and the doorman looked familiar, actually). But it wasn't until I got off the elevator and saw the paint job in the hallway that I realized that a few floors down was where my friend Steven has his offices. That was a little disconcerting.

But not nearly as disconcerting as the mad house INSIDE the Bridal Garden. They had way overbooked the day and let someone in who did not have an appointment. So my friend had to start changing behind a screen in the main room that did not really cover her. Also the window were behind her and there were no blinds on the. Granted, we were on the ninth floor, but still, there were lots of buildings around us with nine floors as well. I'll cut to the chase and tell you that my friend tried on seven or eight dresses, but didn't find anything she really liked. More disappointing to her was the complete lack of attention paid to her by the staff. She was looking forward to some advice from someone who knows what they're doing, as opposed to me going, "The waist on that dress looks a little funny."

While all of this was going on, the drama playing out beside me was as follows:

Bride-to-be #1: Looked like a little doll. She had a dress that looked like she should be on top of a cake. However, she had come with her fiance, who the shop made wait outside in the hallway. Every time she wanted his opinion, they would have to go get him. She wound up buying the dress.

Bride-to-be #2: Came out with them most stunning dresses I had ever seen. The first one she tried on, I fell in love with and after she put it back on the rack, I seriously considered buying it, even though I have no wedding planned in the near future and no hope of one. Each subsequent dress (except for one - a halter top that fit weird) was more amazing than the last. She had her mother with her, who was very southern and I had a weird flashback to the process when a high school friend got married. She did not buy a dress.

Bride-to-be #3: Getting married in six weeks. Bought the most hideous dress I could imagine. It looked like someone's grandmother's "good" tablecloth, but sparkle-y. She was loud (didn't have an appointment), tried on 30 dresses (NO LIE), called everyone she knew to tell them about the dress. Took pictures with her camera phone and sent it to everyone. Discussed ad nauseam how, "I think I love this dress!" Told us several times in a normal speaking voice - because she had lowered her voice from loud to normal as if imparting a secret - "and it only costs $600!" She was there with her mother, who looked exhausted and disinterested. Became a really bad stereotype when she started saying something about her rabbi. I lied to her and told her it was a great dress. But it wasn't a great dress. It was hideous.

We're doing this again in June. I hope she finds a dress soon. I don't know how many of these other brides I can put up with.

Spring, my a**

We're mid way through May and the heat is still on at my apartment complex.

How is that even right? When is the warm weather ever going to get here?!

Again with the friggin' movies

So AGAIN this Sunday what do I encounter as I try to navigate my way around Grand Central? A movie crew. This time they were blocking my exit and taking up the street corner where I was supposed to be meeting my ride.

I wrongly assumed it was the same movie as the weekend before. (Damn, I thought, this movie must be almost entire set at Grand Central for these guys to be here again. Either that, or they are WAY behind their shooting schedule.)

Instead:
On Sunday, May 11, filming of the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 will result in street closures in and around Grand Central Terminal throughout the day, particularly along East 42nd St between Madison Ave and Lexington Ave.

This movie stars Denzel Washington and John Travolta and is set for a 2009 release date.

Sadly no photos on the Internet for this one.

This time I saw no one's back. But I was extremely annoyed by the stupid flacks who kept trying to "move us along" the sidewalk. They kept telling people to move along. I did not move along as I was waiting for my ride. And actually no one said anything to me, which I guess was weird and too bad. I was all prepared to do battle and tell the chickie with headsets who thought she owned the streets and sidewalks of all of New York that the only way I would move is if she had one of the nice gentlemen in blue with the guns come over and ask me to move.

Oh well. There went my chance of being arrested on the set of a Denzel Washington movie.

Gas Gone Wild

When I went to work yesterday, regular unleaded gas was priced at $3.81 a gallon.

When I came home from work, it was $3.89.

WTF?!

More on me

So the Sunday interview lasted all of 40 minutes. I wasn't sure how I did at first, but later in the day as I reflected back it felt like they were trying to impress me.

Today I got an e-mail asking if I could come back on Monday at noon for a tryout. Now I have to re-teach myself QuarkXPress in a week. How do I get myself into these situations? Well, at least I don't have any major projects going on at work.

More on Clive Owen

I didn't take these pictures and this wasn't even the scene I saw (back of scene I saw). They were in a totally different part of Grand Central when I happened upon them.

But as we covered already I didn't even know what was going on, so I definitely didn't take any pictures. I just stole these off someone else's blog; someone who DID stop and take photos. Smart girl.

Update: Blog2

Because you've been following this blogging saga with baited breath...

We bloggers received this in an e-mail today. (As if someone is reading this blog. Ah the power of Bucky! Or more likely, the same thought occurred to everyone simultaneously.)

Meantime, though, I should have mentioned before, even as I did sing your praises, that we got A LOT of submissions for this job. (Thanks, Craigslist!) Though there are a lot of YOU -- more than we planned! -- we changed our plans BECAUSE we liked you each so much, and MANY people, though we appreciated every submission, did not make the cut. Just wanted to give you some warm fuzzies to last you this week.

Movie Obstacle Course

In addition to the Five Boro Bike Tour, which tied up traffic like crazy today (so I couldn't drive into the city for my interview), they were inexplicably shooting a movie at Grand Central.

So half the place was corralled off and every time I tried to get where I needed to go, some young woman with a headset would come up to me and say, "Uh, excuse me ma'am. We're shooting a movie. Can you go another way?"

I was all like, "No I can't go another way. That's the only way to get from here to the 7 train!" Apparently I was the only person trying to get anywhere in Grand Central. Everyone else was just standing there transfixed, staring at the back of some guy in a suit. I don't know who it was. It didn't seem to matter to those gawking if the person was famous. They were just awed by the big, bright lights I think.

Anyway, I finally did make it to the 7 train.


(Oh and by today, I meant Sunday. It's after midnight as I'm writing this post, so it will pop up under Monday. Don't be confused. No one is filming in Grand Central on a Monday...at least not while the trains are running.)

Happy Birthday, Pete Seeger

Today is Pete Seeger's 89th birthday. How did he spend the day? How do you expect? Protesting the war in Iraq, as he does almost every Saturday I drive to work. Today he was wearing a yellow slicker because of the rain and looking like that guy on the box of fish sticks. I should have taken his photo while I was stopped at the stoplight at the corner of Routes 9 and 9D. But of course that didn't occur to me until I had driven away.

So instead I present to you this photo from an event held here Wednesday night:



I'm telling you, Pete Seeger plays every event in this town. I could hold a barbecue and say, "Pete, do you want to come play at my barbecue for peace?" And he'd be there.

Today is also my grandfather's birthday. But he didn't make it to 89. He died of Alzheimer's when I was in college.

I suppose in hindsight, that wasn't the best way to end a post.

Update on that other blog

It appears that BreakupGirl.net just let anyone who sent them sample blogs become a blogger because now they've decided to use a "team" of us, which is fine because it means less work. But when they said team, I thought they meant three or four. There are 10 of us (thus the conclusion that anyone who has ever visited the site is now a blogger). And it is a crazy group. We had to introduce ourselves via e-mail to one another. At first everyone seemed to be New York-based, which was nice. I thought I could potentially develop some friends from the group. Most of the seemed to be in media or the arts. But the second half was from more varied locations and backgrounds - a sixteen-year-old from Buffalo, a woman that works for a Jewish cultural group in D.C., a gay female "sex worker" from San Fransisco (I don't if that's good ole fashion streetwalker or porn star or other.)

Only one of us (not me) has started blogging though, because the two people who run the blog are in transition and haven't really instructed us what to do. One is moving to Israel for six months. And I think the other one is just moving...I can't really remember what he was doing.

They want to break us up by beats - someone doing celebrity gossip, someone doing books, movies, news items, etc. I don't know if there are enough beats to go around for 10 people, though. I mean, it's not like there's cops and courts or environment or IBM to be covered. Should be interesting how it plays out.

Sunday

I have a job interview. On Sunday. Is that weird? I'm not the only one who finds that weird right?

The Sunday part, that is. Not that I'd be able to land a job interview.

Always with the noise

As you know from my previous post I was dead tired upon my return. So, of course, yesterday morning at 7:30 my upstairs neighbor's alarm went off...for four hours. He's done this before and I've talked to him about it, but I guess he doesn't care enough to remember to turn the thing off when he's spending the night elsewhere. It takes about four hours for it to finally release nobody is coming to turn it off and then it shuts itself off. In the meantime, I had to relocate to the futon because it is so loud in my bedroom, sleep - even when one is bone tired -is impossible.

Then THIS morning, I got woken up at 8:30 a.m. because they've finally started deconstruction of my balcony (next comes reconstruction). They were supposed to have done this two weeks ago, but are behind schedule. I thought for sure they would finish it while I was gone and I'd miss it. But I have no such luck. So now, for the rest of the week balcony construction. Great. It shakes the whole apartment, that work. Not to mention it's weird to have men hanging right outside the sliding glass door. I'm so glad I finally got curtains.

It is never quiet in New York. Not even here in the 'burbs.

Bucky back home...and back at work

It took me a 4:30 a.m. alarm, a two-hour plane ride, the Air Train from Newark Airport to Newark Air Link, a New Jersey transit train to Penn Station, two subway trains to Grand Central, a Metro-North train and a short walk uphill to get to work yesterday.

In the process I twisted my ankle trying to wrestle my suitcase down the stairs to the 7 train. Subway, while getting better, is not the most handicap accessible place on the planet. Thus it is also not the most roll-y bag friendly place either.

Oh well, it's not the worst haul I've ever had. And at least it was only one roll-y bag.

Washington Square construction

As I mentioned in a blog entry about a thousand years ago, NYC is redoing Washington Square Park.

When I was down there last (note the photos from the street festival a few entries ago), I snapped a few photos. I couldn't get any really good shots because of all the people, but I was surprised to see it wasn't the entire square that was torn up. Just the center part.

In case you are wondering why all the construction, from PlanNYC.org:

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has begun construction on the renovation of Washington Square Park. The plans include a $16 million redesign of the Greenwich Village landmark paid for with funding by the city, the Tisch family, and NYU. The fountain will be refurbished and moved so it lines up with the arch, the central plaza will be ripped up and flattened, and a new playground will go where concrete play mounds now sit, and a four-foot wrought iron fence will replace the current mishmash of lower barriers. The new park will feature an adventure play area for older kids and a refurbished bathroom house. Holley Square will be moved away from the central fountain to create freer walkways, and there'll be more benches in some areas, new tables for Scrabble, and lower walls for sitting. The central plaza and lawns will all be made to the same grade so wheelchairs can get around and the different parts of the park feel connected.

Proponents of the plan say that the park is in a state of disrepair and that the large expanses of pavement should be replaced with green-space. Opponents of the plans fear that the park will loose its unique character, and they also fear disturbing the burial ground underneath the park during construction. The alleged disenfranchisement of local community members in the planning and design process is of greatest concern to many. During 2005 and early 2006, three lawsuits were filed challenging various aspects of the Parks Department's renovation plans. All of those suits were eventually resolved in the City’s favor, which allowed construction to begin in late 2007. The first phase of the construction is scheduled to be completed in the Spring of 2009.

Happy (Real) Easter!

Or, as we say in the Greek Orthodox church, "Christos Anesti!" (Christ has risen.) To which the response is, "Alithos Anesti!" (Truly, he has risen.) There's a song that goes along with it, but I won't go overboard with the Easter here, as most of you guys already went through fake Easter and thus are already looking forward to...uh...Mother's Day? Memorial Day? Fourth of July? Summer vacation?

Well, whatever it is, Happy Easter all the same!

Funny Sign (Memphis)

Blogs is bustin' out all over

Well, it's official. I write one funny e-mail.

I have been chosen to blog for BreakupGirl.net. Though it was based on my e-mails, not on my submitted blog posts, which they felt were forced. Of course they were forced. I don't perform well under pressure. I don't test well. But luckily I write one crazy-good e-mail and that's how they want me to write for them. So now I'm a professional blogger. Please don't feel like a lesser person in my presence. Not everyone can be as great as the old Buckster. (No. Seriously. You can't all be me.)

Anyway, you can read one of my seriously lame sample posts (they were lame...I was rushing and tired from all the crazy-long work days) below:

Title: Love on a Billboard (Or, All you need to know about romance can be found in Top 40 songs)

The floor and the club are in and the bed is out, according to a Breakup Girl in depth examination of the 10 songs that top the Billboard charts this week. (And by in depth, we mean listening to that little snippet they let you hear on iTunes as a teaser.)

Apparently the best places for making love in a pop song are anywhere but the traditional, and coincidentally most comfortable location, the bed.

The poor bed can't get a break. In "Touch My Body," Mariah Carey demands the floor (though admittedly, in a throwback to old school ways, she also asks for the bed). In "Love in the Club"...well, you can guess where Usher and Young Jeezy want to do it. And we can't really tell you where Lil Wayne wants to go, because this is not an X-rated site and all his lyrics are.

But pop songs aren't just about location. According to professors Joe Kotarba and Phillip Vannini in their book "Understanding Society through Popular Music," pop music is one of the most important sources of culture in our society.

To that end, we provide you with all you need to know about our society based on the Billboard Top 10:

1) Wrestling around on the floor? Good
2) Being so in love with someone, your friends think you've lost your mind and try to intervene? Uh, good?
3) Four minutes is the maximum amount of time you can give someone who is Madonna or Justin Timberlake to explain what you want to do to them? Neither good nor bad.
4) Dressing and wearing your hair like your man? Good.
5) Making love in the club? Definitely good!
6) Taking it to the floor? Even better!
7) Trying to breath without air? Very bad.
8) Making someone fall so in love with you they don't need money or cars? Only good if they give those things to you.
9) Asking for a love song because you need one? BAD! Don't ever do it again.
10) Dressing like a pornography poster? Oh Yeah.

Things I hate #429

The term "leisure traveler". As if everyone who doesn't travel for business somehow has loads of disposable income to spent jaunting around the world, or the option not to travel.

I definitely don't have loads of money. And I have to scrimp and save to take trips. I eat A LOT of cheap pasta. I don't go to movies any more except on rare occasions. Actually I don't do much of anything by way of entertainment. All of my "disposable income," in fact, is spent on travel. Either to and fro work, visiting my boyfriend, or seeing family and friends.

Sure I could not travel. But then I would never see my family, never spend time with my friends, never have anything worth calling a life. I don't understand how business travelers suddenly became the ones burdened with the cost of travel when it's their companies paying for it. And the leisure traveler, as it were, is the one that should pay the extra money because airlines don't know how to balance their budgets.

Charging to check a second bag. I swear, soon they'll be charging us extra if we choose to wear clothes on the plane...or use the bathroom...or breathe.

We need a revolution, people. Against airlines, and — while we're at it — against crazy high gas prices. I can't even afford to be alive anymore.

April 22, 2008
Airlines to Charge for Second Bag

By MARTHA C. WHITE
The New York Times

Five of the six major airlines in the United States plan to start charging coach passengers as much as $25 next month to check a second bag, the latest move in their quest to offset high fuel prices.

But while the airlines, and even some industry specialists, say they expect the fees will primarily affect leisure travelers, business travelers beg to differ.

Street Fair Weather, at last

Today's fair, at Washington Square Park. Too bad I had just eaten a big lunch and had only $6 cash on me. I'll be better prepared for you next time, Street Fair!

Potential new stalker moving in...

...as I type. Just in time for the summer stalking season.

Stay posted for updates.

From Bucky to Romantic Superhero

Because I don't have enough to do what with my job and my new social networking duties therein, I have foolishly put my hat in to be a blogger at BreakupGirl.net. They want me to produce some sample posts by the end of the week. Crap.

Here was the post I responded to:

Web superhero seeks blogger/sidekick for fun, clips

Us: Venerable, award-winning website about love, and/or lack thereof, geared for both men and women and combining witty relationship advice with sophisticated comic-strip adventures. We are seeking a new sidekick for help with content writing and management on our new blog.

You: Ace reporter, crackerjack writer. Funny, funny, and funny. Able to spot relationship-related news stories and the clever or insightful angle therein. You should have your own distinct voice and take, but should also be willing to roll with us in terms of style and philosophy. We may also want you to help track and moderate blog comments when necessary. Swinging geeky is good; affinity for superheroes a major plus.

Pay: Alas, none. This is a VERY part-time (part-part-time?) pursuit in which you may engage from the privacy of your own home/cafe/McJob.

Payoff: Honing of your voice and your nose for news. Tons of [short] clips. Considerable cachet / street cred! The opportunity to become part of a tight, fun team who will give you glowing references. And, possibly, your very own cartoon alter ego.


Last night this seemed like a good idea. Though it doesn't pay, it sounded like a fun distraction from my real work. Plus I'd actually heard of the site and been on it before. And would give me real blogging experience (as opposed to you guys here...sorry, fake audience of four), which is what half the paying jobs now have listed as a job requirement. And since it isn't paid, it doesn't violate my current work contract.

Of course, now I'm under pressure to be funny, which is no way for funny to work.

Crap.

Newspaper or Social Networking site: You decide

Our newspaper launched it's redesign this week. Included with the new look of the paper is the addition of Pluck, a social networking site no where near as intuitive to use as MySpace, et al. This is because Gannett is cheap and buys things that don't work quite right to a few cents.

All of its properties are now all Plucked up. (Just a hint of the jokes flying around the office.) This means, in addition to my editor, columnist, and payroll duties, I now how to help manage this social networking site - because I work nights and weekends - and keep my profile page interesting and up-to-date. So I'm blogging in two sites - there and here - uploading photo galleries of whatever I can think of to photograph, leaving messages on other people's profiles and all around trying to spur people on to using our site a social gathering place.

We had to go to training for this. So of the choicest Office Space-like moments where when we were told, "People used to visit our Web sites, now we want them to live there."

You'll be glad to know that we've gone from calling our customers, "readers" - which denotes a monologue - to "audience" - which denotes a dialogue - and now to "communities" - which denotes a polylogue. You're guess is as good as mine as to what that means.

Finally we learned this little gem, a variation on the Customer Is Always Right: The Reader Is The Expert. That is Gannett's new philosophy for all its news products. Nevermind that our readers all seem to be crazy, racist, losers who live at home with their mothers. They are all experts. No need for any other sources. Just listen to the readers. They'll tell you all you need to know.

I couldn't make this stuff up, if I tried.

Aristotle to hang out in Queens

From our friends at the Queens Courier

Greek city gives Aristotle to park
BY CHRISTINA SANTUCCI

A popular Astoria park, named for a Greek city, will soon have another tie to the European country. On Saturday, April 5, a bust of Greek philosopher Aristotle will be unveiled at Athens Square Park, located at 30th Avenue and 30th Street, during a ceremony slated to begin at 1 p.m. Entertainment will begin at noon.

The Greek city of Halkidiki donated the statue, which was sculpted by George V. Tsaras, to the city of New York for placement in the Queens park.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Vasilios Vasilakis, the Governor of the Greek city of Halkidiki, are both expected to attend the ceremony, which was organized in conjunction with Athens Square Inc., an organization dedicated to improving the park.

“They [Athens Square Inc.] have been working to design and fund the renovation,” said Parks spokesperson Trish Bertuccio.

The group raised $45,000 to pay for the maintenance of the statue, said Vice President George Delis. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation donated $25,000, Astoria Energy LLC $10,000 and a private donor provided $10,000.

The statue had been ready and waiting in Greece until Athens Square Inc. collected the money, Delis said.

“We waited 10 years for this statue,” he said, explaining that he had traveled to Greece two years ago to negotiate the work’s release.

The bronze bust of Aristotle will join depictions of fellow Greeks - mythical goddess Athena and philosopher Socrates - in the park.

A fourth space for a statue remains open, and the parks group is already planning to place a statue of playwright Sophocles in the area. However, they expect the statue and maintenance fees to reach $100,000.

“If anyone wants to give us the money, we will dedicate the statue in their name,” Delis said.

Reporter sings the blues. Literally

I'm working on an employee review right now — the part of my job I hate the most — and I Googled her name to pull up the stories she's worked on over the last six months and I discovered her YouTube site.

I knew she was a musician, but I wasn't really sure what kind of music she performed and I had never heard her. But I have to say, I think she's pretty good. Take a look:

Greek Independence Day Parade

Today was the big parade on 5th Avenue. And I actually made it this time! But in true Greek style, the 1 p.m. parade began at 1:30 p.m. and I met up with my friends, whom I was supposed to meet at 12:30 p.m., at 1 p.m.

It wasn't the most smoothly run parade, but there were some amusing points. However we were at the start of the parade and we really should have been closer to the grandstand, where they were actually telling people what all the floats and participants were.



I bought my two friends who were there little Greek flags. I was dressed in white and blue, a la my heritage. They were pretty taken aback by the anti-Turkey sentiment brazenly on displace in a parade. It's not like the IRA march in the St. Patrick's Day parade.

While it didn't rain today, it was windy and super cold. All week long the weather service said it would be sunny and a high of 60. Instead we got windy — or "Blowy" as my friend Kathianne put it — cloudy and a high of 49. This winter just will NOT let go. I wish it would warm up already.

There was no Greek food being sold nearby, which was the major downside of the parade. They should really combined the parade with a street fair. But it was okay because afterward we headed back to the West Side in Chelsea where there was a street fair. No photos from that. But here are some more from the parade.

England: Part 1, The Christening

So in case you are just joining us, I've recently (i.e. Monday) returned from England.

I was there because my friends, Sarah and James, asked me to be godmother to their daughter, the most adorable baby ever (well...if you called me out on it, you'd learn that I said the exact same thing about my cousin's daughter Penny and my friend Evy's son, Connor. So my definition of "most adorable baby ever" is very fluid) Amelie. A reminder in case you life in a bizarro cyber world that will not allow you to view any of my previous posts:


The christening went well. It was held at the village church. My friends live in a place called Wanborough in the county of Wiltshire, though I don't think they are actually called counties in England. The village has a little store that is also the post office, a park and a village hall and several inns with pubs. And that's about it. However it's only a few minutes from a bigger town that has a grocery store and a McDonald's and such.

Though I'm starting with the christening, it was actually one of the last things I did there. However, it is the primary reason I was there. The christening was pretty short and involved us all denouncing the devil and promising to pray for Amelie, etc. and there was some water and candles involved. Afterward we got little godparent certificates, which prove helpful the next time we're stopped for driving under the influence of juice boxes. Above are my friends with the vicar after the christening.

The reception was held at a nice seafood restaurant called The Crab at Chieveley.It was about 25 minutes from the church and there's not much else near it. Dear, little Amelie clearly knew the do was all for her because after waking up toward the end of the meal she really hammed it up for the cameras.

I have to say that I totally feel in love with this little baby. She and I got on quite nicely. I made her laugh and she chewed on my sunglasses. She was already asleep the night I arrived and when she woke up the next day and saw me for the first time, she acted like it was the most normally thing in the world that someone she had never seen before would be standing there in her pjs. She liked me immediately. I was heartbroken to leave her...covered in chocolate doughnut, which is what she had been eating in the car on the way to the airport. The next time I see her, she'll probably be making complete sentences (not just dada, mummum and cat) and walking. Oh, they grow up so fast!

So more photos below:

Definitely my goddaughter

Now THAT is how you enjoy pizza!

Bucky lag

Oi. I'm back, but still dragging a little. Updates and clever things to be said will appear again soon.

Bucky Across the Pond

Not that you'll even notice, but the blog will be on hiatus for about a week while I'm in England. I am to be a godmother. So while I'm gone I'll leave you with a little photo of godchild to be. A not quite full report to follow upon my return.

Happy Fake Easter

Easter always bothers me — except every four years or so when the stars align and all the Easters fall on the same date. It bothers me because I know what it must feel like not be Christian in a Christian society; and what it feels like is annoying. I'm annoyed at having to explain over and over - sometimes to the same people - thanking you for wishing me a Happy Easter, but no, it's not my Easter. Do I go around wishing random people holidays they don't celebrate? No. I do not. And if I did, they would certainly complain about it. So now it's my turn to complain.

This year the Eastern Orthodox Easter, along with the Passover it always follows, isn't until the end of April. A full month after the Western world celebrates it's Easter.

I'm annoyed by the people I encounter who keep giving me sad looks like, "Oh, poor girl, she has no one to spend the holiday with." And I want to shout at them, "It's NOT MY EASTER! Stop feeling sorry for me." And then I'm annoyed because I feel sad I have no one to spend the day with. Just me and Roland, doing laundry and repotting the cactus and finishing our state taxes (well, my taxes; he's finishing a bone I gave him last week).

I'm annoyed because I have to work tomorrow and I leave on Wednesday for England and I need to do a bunch of stuff and this is my only day off to do them and I can't because all of the stupid stores are closed for Easter. It makes me want to scream, "What about all the people who AREN'T Western Christians?! Huh? There are a lot of Jews here, a goodly number of Hindus and Muslims and Orthodox Christians too! We NEED to shop. Why aren't you open for us?!

I'm also annoyed because it's the end of March and it's still cold outside...but that's a different topic for a different day.

Crazy excuse for bad driving 3012: It wasn't me officer, it was the Oreo

SALISBURY, Conn. (AP) — Police say a man’s excuse for speeding through a small Connecticut town takes the cake — or, at least, the cookie.

A state trooper who stopped the 1993 BMW says its driver, 28-year-old Justin Vonkummer of Millerton, N.Y., blamed the driving problems on an errant Oreo.

Police say Vonkummer told the trooper that an Oreo had just slipped from his fingers as he dunked it in a cup of milk, and that he was trying to fish it out when he lost control of his car.

The alleged incident occurred last fall in Salisbury, but came to light in Bantam Superior Court this week.

That’s when prosecutors learned Vonkummer had been charged with speeding and driving under a suspended license — not driving under the influence, as a clerk had mistakenly noted in the court records.

Vonkummer’s attorney would not comment. The case is pending.

Me gusta mucho Ashley Tisdale

Everyone must go to this site immediately. It is so totally bizarre. I have no words for it.

Party Train

I don't think you really get how truly crowded the 10:51 a.m. St. Patrick's Day train to Grand Central was from this photo, but it gives you a hint. My car was standing room only and people were singing, chanting, banging on the roof of the car. At one point I thought they were going to stop the train and call the police.

At least twice the conductor came over the intercom to ask people to put out their cigarettes. (Might I remind you, you can't even smoke in bars in New York!) One guy had one of those camel packs long-distance runners wear to stay hydrated and he had filled it full of what looked like vodka and was going around giving people shots. He was falling down drunk and it wasn't even noon. Another girl had shot glasses stuck to her suspenders and was giving people shots. EVERYONE had cups or bottles filled with liquor. There were cases of beer.

I swear, it was like someone took the French Quarter at Mardi Gras and crammed it into a train. I had my iPod turned up to full volume and I couldn't hear the music. My boyfriend called and he said, "Is that the train?!" He couldn't believe I wasn't at a bar. He said he'd text message me instead and hung up.

The woman who sat next to me, sighed when she got on. "I took the latest train I could. I have to go to work. I was hoping to avoid most of this." [The parade was at 11 a.m. This train didn't get into Grand Central until about 12:10.]

It was a hilarious ride - way crazier than my New Year's Eve trip two years ago. But, it was also annoying after a while since I wasn't doing any drinking. I had a massive headache by the time we pulled into Grand Central.

My ride home last night

This happened on my train car:

Fight results in stabbing at train station

BEACON – A fight between two groups on a northbound Metro-North train late Monday night resulted in a Newburgh man being stabbed in the side.

Beacon City Police Chief Glenn Scofield said Tuesday that the fight apparently began on the train and spilled over onto the platform when it arrived in Beacon around 11:40 p.m.

The victim, a 22-year-old man who he declined to identify, sustained a minor stab wound and refused medical treatment at the scene, the chief said.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is continuing.

(Bad Luck) O' The Irish

This was my St. Patrick's Day. German and Italian beer and pizza. What is they say — if it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all. That pretty much sums up my life, relationship included.

I have a pretty funny train ride in story, but that's about as Irish as my day got. As soon as I arrived in NYC, I had to wait for my boyfriend to arrive, as always. I sat at Starbucks for about an hour. Then he picks me up and announces that he passed a couple of Irish-pub type places on the way in and they were packed and he's decided we weren't staying in the city. So he takes me to Staten Island. He doesn't ask me, he just takes me there. I had plans with someone later in the evening - a former reporter of mine who now works in the city. The boyfriend was working nights this week and so when he went home to sleep, I was going to hang out with my friend and get in some celebrating time.

Instead we go to Staten Island, drive around for two hours. I don't know what we're looking for. He makes about five references to going to Chili's - though he knows I wanted to do an Irish pub or at the least get a corned beef sandwich; something he had previously claimed to also want to do. Finally, I say, "Fine. Let's go to Chili's. I don't care. I'm starving." (It's now 3 p.m.) And he snaps at me, "What's with your attitude?! You don't think I'm hungry too!" And that was pretty much the end of our conversation for the day.

We wind up at this Italian restaurant/pizzaria called Villa Monte and have pizza and the beer seen above. Then he takes me back to his apartment where he packs for his week at work and then takes a nap. I nap too, because I have nothing better to do. We wake up at 7:10 p.m. and finally around 7:45 p.m. I say to him, "What are your plans for me?" And as if it's an annoyance, he says to me, "I'll drop you off at a train station in the city on the way to work." Which is what he does.

When he drops me off, he leans over to kiss me and I reflexively, without even thinking, turn my head so he winds up kissing me on the cheek. He says to call him when I get home and something about being safe, but by that time I was already out the car door and halfway to the station. I did not call him when I got home.

And that was my day.

I'll write up the brief, but funny tale of my trip in later. When I'm feeling a little more festive.

So much for parade fever

I overslept this morning and won't be making it down to the city in time for the St. Patrick's Day parade. I am so lame.

I will, however, still be heading into the city, so there will be merry making for all. More to come on that later...

Funny sign

Ah, warmth!

You may have noticed the lack of entries lately. It's because I've been in New Orleans, but I'll be catching a plane home in four hours and I'll update you on some happenings and funny stories. In the meantime I will report that it is super windy here and also warm. And if you wear a green dress, people will shout at you, "Hey Irish girl!" or sometimes "Hey Irish lady!" depending on if they're trying to be classy, I guess.

Potential entry for worst column ever written

We aren't running this, but one of our columnist submitted this as his column for the weekend. He's a Vassar College professor, who will remain nameless. I'll leave the rest for you to judge.


It’s always Easter. But at this time of year we actually talk about it, celebrate it.

Without contradicting any biblical account, I believe it’s useful to imagine the details of the first Easter morning differently than it’s usually depicted. Here’s what I mean:

As the blackness weakened in that hour before sunrise, Jesus suspected He wasn’t dead.

First, He noticed a gray halo of light slipping through the cracks between the cave in which he was entombed and the big rock blocking the entrance.

Then Jesus groaned, “My hands…. they hurt.” He also noticed His ankles ached and there was a throbbing pain in his left side.

When He was finally fully awake, He was still surprised. “Oh, the resurrection, it worked,” He thought. But Jesus was even more surprised at just how painful it was. During His lifetime it just never occurred to Him that the resurrection would hurt.

Now the practical problem: “How do I get the rock out of the way?,” He wondered. Jesus even smiled to Himself at the irony of rising from the dead only to die again of starvation if He couldn’t move that rock.

Avoiding his left side, Jesus slowly twisted Himself off the cold white marble slab, into a standing position. With swollen feet, He hobbled over to the entrance of the tomb.

He leaned against the rock, it didn’t move; He pushed, to no avail; He strained, without success.

Already sweating, He took a deep breath. As He let the air out, an angel appeared. Happy for the company and buoyed by the angel’s glistening garb, the task suddenly seemed less daunting

Working together, Jesus and the angel budged that big rock. “Good, good. That’s enough. I think I can make it through,” Jesus told the angel.

Then, standing straight and sucking in His stomach, Jesus shimmied His way out of the tomb and shuffled into a new dawn, a new civilization.

The advantage of this incarnation-laden account of Easter is how it reflects our deepest experience hope. Even if we have hope to the ultimate degree, all the way to resurrection, it’s always accompanied with struggle.

Of course this is true [here], like anywhere else in the world.

So if we’re homeless and seeking shelter with Hudson River Housing, or hungry and eating your one meal a day at the Lunchbox or depressed and seeking solace from the Mental Health Association our suffering doesn’t exclude hope, in fact, as Jesus shows us, it’s a condition for hope.

Weighing in on Spitzer

I don't think anyone is coming to Bucky's World for news of Spitzer, so instead I'll just share some inside anecdotes.

At about 1:55 p.m. the managing editor comes running (ok, really, it was more walking fast) to my desk and says, and I quote, "Sptizer. Prostitute. What's your plan?." The last line may have been "We need a plan." But I can't remember now. I look at him blankly and said, "What are you talking about? Is this a knock-knock joke?" He said, "No. It's the top update on the Web site." I look at our site, which is up on my computer and say, "I don't see it on our site. What are you talking about." Then he says in an even more frantic voice, "No. The New York TIMES Web site!" As if I was just supposed to guess that. Then for the next seven hours - including two meetings on the topic - my meager staff produced about 14 stories - four full inside pages, plus all but one slot on the cover. More than any other paper in New York State, including the New York Times. Today, the executive editor seemed to be thinking, "Okay, maybe she was right (talking about me, who, for once, was the voice of reason). This WAS a little overkill, as there was no actual resignation."

Now we, along with the rest of the state and national media, are on Spitzer resignation watch.

And this blog entry would not be complete without us giving some love to the New York Post, which once again through taste and ethics out the window when it with the following headline in today's paper (complete with the indefatigable slammer):

And to no one's surprise....

AP: Obama wins Mississippi primary

The Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. — Barack Obama has coasted to victory in Mississippi’s Democratic presidential primary.

Tuesday’s contest was the latest in a string of racially polarized contests across the Deep South. It was also a final tune-up before next month’s high-stakes race with Hillary Rodham Clinton in Pennsylvania.

The Associated Press made its call based on surveys of voters as they left the polls.

Headline I never thought I'd see

Obama looks to Miss. for momentum

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama focused on Mississippi's primary for new momentum in his tight race with Hillary Rodham Clinton, as a consensus began to emerge about two states stripped of their delegates where do-over contests could weigh heavily in the fierce Democratic White House battle.

Obama was favored to win in Tuesday's nominating race in Mississippi, a southern state where blacks — who have carried him to wins previously — make up a majority of the Democratic voters. The first senator trounced Clinton in Saturday's Wyoming caucuses, rebounding from earlier setbacks in a win that allowed him to retain his all-important delegate lead in his quest to becoming the U.S.'s first black president.

No parade, but I am wearing green today

Well, my resolve to hit up every St. Patrick's Day parade possible didn't get me very far. I did not, as promised, go to the Staten Island parade today. There were a number of reasons this happened. 1) Boyfriend, not on the island this weekend. He's working and his job has him staying at a hotel near JFK. 2) High winds. Lots of water. 3) I was at work last night...well, technically this morning, until 12:15 a.m. Then we had to Spring Ahead, so I didn't wind up going to bed until 3 a.m. (Daylight Savings Time) and I got up at 11 a.m. Thus making it impossible to get to Staten Island for a noon parade.

Oh well, I suspect the other parades I have planned won't present me so much a problem. And I've already begun recruiting people to join me for Greek Independence Day.

Batesville, Miss.

Parade Fever

Speaking of Staten Island, its St. Patrick's Day parade is Sunday. I plan to be there, even if my boyfriend can't make it. (He is already starting in with the whole, "I may have to work" excuse — an oldie, but a favorite of his.) I also plan to attend the NYC parade, which falls on a Monday (along with the actual day).

This is a great year for parades...for me, at least. Everything is falling on the days I have off — Sunday and Monday. This includes the Greek Independence Day parade on April 6, a Sunday. I've decided that since I can't recruit any of my fiends (including the alleged boyfriend) into doing things with me, I'll just have to do them all by myself because there's too much to do to just be hanging out at home all the time.

That said, you are all welcome to come up and join me.

A good review of Staten Island (not mine)

Someone had something positive to say about the island, suggesting Manhattanites take the Staten Island ferry over and hit the restaurants on a nearby street. Sounds nice. I'll have to try them when the weather gets a little nicer. I'll have my own review come the spring.

Has the salt air made you feel a bit peckish? Is so, exit the ferry terminal and walk to Bay Avenue, Staten Island's picturesque corniche. Go three blocks left to Victory Boulevard, which is a hotbed of amazing eats.

Your choices include Trinidadian, Polish, Italian, Jamaican, and Sri Lankan, plus a half-dozen Mexican taquerias. I most recommend Island Roti Shop (65 Victory Boulevard), where you can get a mean goat or conch roti, and Taqueria El Gallo Azteca (75 Victory Boulevard), where you can scarf cemitas, the round Pueblan sandwiches. My fave is milanesa, made with a pounded and fried beef cutlet and fiery sundried chipotle peppers.

New Jersey Transit

Had my first experience with public transportation in New Jersey today. I took the train from Newark airport into the city and was surprised at how easy it was to use. The ticketing process was simple and it took no time at all to get from the airport to Penn Station (New York).

I also learned there was a Penn Station Newark. That is a little confusing. Anyone know why there are two Penn Stations in such close proximity? There was at least one guy that wasn't paying attention and got off in New Jersey when he was headed to New York. Then again, he also tried to get off at the airport where I got on, not realizing it was NOT NYC, so I think maybe he just has some serious confusion issues going on.

Actually, so far getting to Newark rates WAY higher on the ease and quickness scale than getting to JFK via public transportation. I haven't yet tried to get to LaGuardia, but I've mapped it out in case I ever have to. It involves a bus and I'm pretty leery of those as I have a fundamental inability to understand their routes. But a bus with a giant sign that says "To LaGuardia airport" pulls right up to the Harlem/125th Street Metro North stop, so I'm confident I can get TO the airport. I'm just not so confident I could get back...you know without calling up TomClancy and saying, "Come get me at the airport. I have no idea where these buses go!"

The C.A. in song

So for the last few months I've been driving around with this Spoon CD in my car (given to me by one of my two music gurus, Min), listening to it off and on and bugged by Track 9, which I could have SWORN was about a newspaper I used to work at. But then I thought, that's ridiculous, why would anyone sing about The Commercial Appeal.

But it turns out, that's exactly what they were singing about:

Spoon Lyrics
"Finer Feelings"

Memphis comes creeping down my back
Somehow this place tastes just like an attack
A hundred-yard-stare of a kiss
Lord, I know I'll never miss it

They told me stop scouting the field
They told me have a look in Commercial Appeal
And start getting that hair cut sharp

Sometimes I think that I'll find a love
One that's gonna change my heart
I'll find it in Commercial Appeal
And then this heartache'll get chased away

I was part-time at the Tasty Prawn
That and moving furniture and cutting lawns
Covered in newsprint, staying up real late
Just holding out for some fate

Sometimes I think that I'll find a love
One that's gonna change my heart
I'll find it in Commercial Appeal
And then this heartache'll get chased away
[x2]

I was dreaming in the driver's seat
When the right words just came to me
And all my finer feelings came up

Always out on some witch's hunt
For the one who never lets me want
Before you know it it's all fuss

Sometimes I think that I'll find a love
One that's gonna change my heart
I'll find it in Commercial Appeal
And then this heartache'll get chased away
[x2]

It's snowing. Again.

Sigh.

Go Cup Gold

I guess I knew that my godparents daughter (or godsister, as I like to call her) Cathy was famous - I mean I see her on TV, in cooking magazines, sometimes in the Sunday coupons for Glad or Reynolds Warp or something like that, and she has her own cookbooks - but it must not have sunk in because yesterday I was truly shocked when, looking at my boyfriend's Starbucks cup, I saw this:



Iron Chef is all nice and what not, but you know you've arrived when you score the quote on the back of a Starbucks go cup.

Snow dog

Snow, Snow

We got our first big snow of the year on Friday. I'm a little late putting these up, but here are a few scenes from my day:

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.