songbird's crazy world

I'm already thinking about Drew's birthday. His birthday is February 7. I got him a combined Chanukah/birthday present this year (which I'll give him tomorrow night) (and no, he doesn't know this blog exists) -- tickets to see Mary Poppins on Broadway.  It's not the show I would choose, but he really really REALLY wants to see it.  So I sprung for two seats in the first row of the front mezzanine -- better than orchestra for this show because of the flying...We're seeing the show on February 5.  I'll also take him to dinner, not sure where yet... but we're also going to go out to dinner with friends, probably the weekend after his birthday.   there's a group of friends who go out every time it's someone's birthday. I have to start thinking of where I'd like us to go for Drew's birthday so that we can pick a date and time and get the group together....

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) We are slowly recovering from the Christmas blizzard....you know the deal....you race to the grocery store before the storm to make sure you have enough provisions, even if you just did grocery shopping a few days ago..then you hunker down during the storm, and wait it out....and then you have to dig out.... The picture I will carry in my head from this storm....my two college-age daughters, wrapped in blankets on the living room couch...watching DVD's from when they were younger .... Anastasia seems to have been the video of choice....it was their favorite back in 1997....

I'm writing this from a train headed to the city. It's already been such a lovely commute ....I HATE SNOW! Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

here's nother version -- clever video!

welcome to the blizzard of 2010.... these were taken about 4 PM Sunday, before the worst of the storm... My backyard around 8:30 PM Hello Mr. snowplow guy And this morning

I've never read the novel, and I've never seen the John Wayne version of True Grit , so I had no preconceived notions when we saw the Jeff Bridges movie yesterday.  I've since found out that the John Wayne movie was filmed in the Colorado Rockies when the story is set in Arizona and Oklahoma, that the actress who played Mattie in the first movie was 21 though the character is 14, and that the John Wayne movie changed the ending form how it wa sin the novel.  The new movie is supposedly true to the novel. This version of the story is very gritty and harsh.  Jeff Bridges' performance is full of bravado and pathos.  Loved Matt Damon's Le Beouf  -  his Texas Ranger bordered on the ridiculous.Hailee Steinfeld as Matttie...well, that girl deserves all the buzz she's getting.Josh Brolin was pure evil....there's dark humor, terrifying moments, satisfaction and redemption, and a bittersweet ending that I just didn't see coming. Definitely worth seeing.

My first effort at movie making:

And why not?  The secular aspects of the season have become deeply ingrained in our American tradition.  It's part of our communal heritage. Not to mention, I have plenty of company:  the most famous Christmas songs were written by Jewish men -- Irving Berlin wrote "White Christmas" and Mel Torme wrote "The Christmas Song".  Barbra Streisand, Neil Sedaka, Kenny G.  and (Lord help us) Neil Diamond have all recorded Christmas albums.  Barry Manilow recorded THREE Christmas albums.  Allan Sherman recorded one of the funniest Christmas songs ever.   And Phil Spector produced one of the best-selling Christmas albums of all time. I could go on and on in this vein....but Adam Sandler did it better.... No, Christmas is not "my" holiday, you won't find me at Midnight Mass.  But the ideals of the holiday -- peace on Earth, good will towards man, charity, benevolence, altruism, friendship, generosity, kindness, compassion -- are the idea...

Had to make a presentation at work yesterday.  I think it went well.  My coworkers say I always present interesting and amusing cases. Annual holiday party at the office today. We serve breakfast and entertain the kids with magicians, crafts and visits to Santa, and everyone goes home by lunchtime.  It's been a long time since i brought my kids to an office party....though Jen now has a once-a-year job as a cartoon character at someone else's office Christmas party. I am the mother of Minnie Mouse! Why is it that the most macho-looking guys on the subway are the ones you want to tell to "man up"?  Those poles and handrails are there so people can hang on while the train is moving, not so that you can lean on them (and on my fingers) looking "cool" .  Winter officially started on Tuesday, but I'm already "done" with cold weather ans snow.  Wish I had a Caribbean trip planned for this year, but alas.... My Avon lady gave me more of tha...

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) Jen said something to Drew the other day about how her housemates are all turning 21 in the next weeks and months, and how they're going to be able to legally buy beer for their house parties. And Drew told her "You're 20 years old, you're not allowed to drink." There's a huge difference between underage drinking at 14 and underage drinking at 20. The reality is, she's been going to college parties since...well, since she started college. I remember her telling me about one party, when she was a freshman, where she got doused with beer because "some guy at the party was drunk and rowdy but the people whose house it was couldn't throw him out..." She's 20 years old, in most countries around the world she could go into a bar or liquor store and make a purchase without having to bring fake ID. When I was her age, I could legally buy alcoholic beverages in the State of New York. I th...

I met Alan about 10-11 years ago.  At the time I was practicing law with a large firm in NYC.  An attorney about 3 years younger than me, he and I were adversaries on an insurance ocverage suit. As that case wound its way through the NYC courts, Alan and I became friends. In fact, Alan confided in me that he was unhappy with his law firm and was looking to change the direction of his career.  I thought he would fit in well with a small  law firm I'd been assoicated with in the 1980's, and recommended that he seek employment there.  It was a perfect match and I was happy I'd played matchmaker.  He was at that firm for several years, would have stayed there foreever if the firm hadn't dissolved. He moved onto another law firm, and we'd have lunch occasionally -- it was a business lucnh but also a social occasion -- his firm was trying to get more business from my company. He was a nice guy, Jewish, single...we never connected as anything other tha...

My news first. Weight was up a bit.  I knew why, too -- a lot of dining out and not making the best choices. The show -- well, I missed the live finale...thought I'd catch it on video a few days later....never happened....but I found out ada was chosen to be a finalist along with Frado and Patrick.... Patrick won....saw Frado on a local talk show and he looks good... I don't know, maybe it was just this season, maybe I'm just bored with the show, but I couldn't muster up a lot of interest in this year's competition.  I'm not sure I'll watch the enxt season, and even if I do, I don't think I'll be blogging about it.

Before we commit to Mediterranean, Drew is checking out a seafood place and an Asian fusion place. We've never been to the Asian fusion place, I think if we're going Asian we should go to the chinese restaurant we love so much.  Meanwhile, I have to go shopping, I don't have a dress for the occasion!

Natalie Portman was amazing as the ballerina whose success on the stage is accompanied by her descent into madness. It's a psychological drama that grabs you and doesn't let go. I loved the movie! But the man sitting in the row in front of us HATED it...I suspect he is the type who would have preferred the latest Bruce Willis shoot-em-up. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

going out with a group of friends tonight.  e're headed out for BBQ at Texas Roadhouse .  Never been there before, but we did a take-out order awhile back and the food was wonderful.

The movie opens today, but Drew and I got to see it a few days ago at a special preview.  I've never seen the original Tron, Disney's 1982  homage to video games and gamers.  Drew has it on videotape and tells me he'll show it to me -- we were supposed to watch it before seeing Legacy , but .... Well, anyhow, you don't need to have seen the original movie in order to follow the plot of the sequel.  the orginal protagonist, Kevin Flyyn, has disappeared, leaving behind a 12 year old son, Sam.  Years later, Sam goes to the video arcade his father used to run -- closed down now and preserved in all its 1980's glory -- and somehow finds his way into the digital world his father invented.  He finds himself engaged in combat with "programs" as he seeks out his father and does battle with his father's alter-ego, CLU. It's a 3D movie, but interestingly, the "real world" sequences are shot in 2D and the 3D effects occur only when Sam is in th...

Last year, Drew and I and a group of friends went to an Italian place in Drew's neighborhood.  There was a modified prix-fixe menu (we had a choice of about 5 different entrees), open bar, champagne toast at midnight, DJ and dancing.  a great time was had by all... This year I think we may end up at a Mediterrenean shish kebob restaurant.  Same deal as last year, plus entertainment -- belly dancing.Drew and I have eaten at this place many times, the price is right...sounds like a perfect choice for New Years'.

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) It's that "wonderful" time of the semester -- final exams.  Jen's last day of class was the 9th and Becca's last day was the 10th.  "Finals week" (a misnomer, the exam period is really about 10 days)  is now in full swing, and exams are set to end by the 22nd. This is Becca's first "finals week", of course.  She's a bit...intense...about the process, planning out her studying time and preparing for the tests. A few weeks ago I got a letter from some association at her college, asking me to pay for a "finals survival kit", a basket of snack foods to keep her going while she's stressing out.  I could choose healthy snacks like fresh fruit, or "good" snacks like chips and cookies, or (for an additional fee, of course) I could choose a combination of both.  Of course I chose....both. Jen is an "old hand" at finals, of course, and much more relaxed about it....

My news first. Did really well on the new program this week.  Lost almost 3 pounds!  That takes care of the weight gain over Thanksgiving and then some.... the final four go home.  Interesting to see Ada's family actually crying over her, I still feel upset that they didn't send her a video....Frado did a charity fundraiser at home on Staten Island... and Jillian and Bob get to pay surprise visits to the contestants... and they're training for a marathon...   weigh in, and the weight loss over 6 weeks will be the determining factor in who will be the final three... it's Frado and Patrick above the yellow line, Elizabeth and Ada below, and America gets to vote on who goes to the final and who goes home. the finale is next week...

So yesterday Drew and I headed into Manhattan to ejoy the charms of the city at Christmas. We boarded a Long Island Rail Road trai n the Polar Express around lunchtime.  I noticed that several of our fellow passengers were dressed as Santa, elves, etc.  Didn't realize it until later, but that was our first encounter with participants in this year's SantaCon . Our first stop -- a street vendor for a soft, hot pretzel. And look, he even has chestnuts! Next up, the windows at Lord & Taylor. You actually had to get on a line to see the windows. But you were entertained by piped-in Christmas carols and Salvation Army bell ringers. In fact, all of 5th Avenue was one big musical festival of Christmas music. At Lord &; Taylor, this year's theme was holiday memories of New Yorkers, and there were scenes of NYC Christmases past and present. Our next stop was Bryant Park, behind the main branch of the NYC Public Library. No photo of the library,...

Two years ago, when this blog was brand new, I posted information and photos about various Christmas displays in NYC. did it again last year. will do it again this year. we're going into Manhattan today to see The Tree (a/k/a the tree in Rockefeller Center), the sotre windows, etc. Photos will be posted shortly thereafter.

I love live theater in all its forms.  Broadway is magic, of course.  The gold standard by which everything else is judged. But I do enjoy community theater.    Last weekend we went to see a friend perform in a production of It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas. Never heard of it?  Neither had we. Ever hear of Meredith Wilson?  You know, The Music Man ?  The Unsinkable Molly Brown ?  THAT Meredith Wilson. He also wrote a great Christmas song, "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas".  He wrote that song before his big successes on Broadway. After he wrote Molly Brown , he wrote a show called Here's Love .  It was a musical version of Miracle on 34th Street.   It ran for 9 months on Broadway in the early 1960's.  It was awful. Don't know why the community theater group chose to revive it ... they cut four of the worst songs in the show and added Wilson's big hit song....and still couldn't save the m...

This aciton movie...well, we saw it in a packed theater, and I don't think a single person got out of his or her seat to visit the refreshment stand or the restroom the entire time the movie was on. Denzel Washington and Chris Pine play railroad employees on a northbound train....headed rignt towards a southbound runaway train.  You get pulled into the story of the runaway train and you don't get a chance to breathe until the end of the movie.... No romance, no comedy, very little subplot or back story, just pure adrenaline.... Go see it, it's amazing.

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) So last week I was lamenting that neither of my daughters would be home for Chanukah... ...and Becca scheduled a dental appointment for Wednesday afternoon, and showed up for dinner at home Wednesday night.  And before she headed back to school, she went grocery shopping...in the pantry closet and the refrigerator.  Seriously, she went back to school with latkes, matzoh balls, chicken soup ... It's a phenomenon I've seen quite a bit lately.  Becca's experience at school...well, she doesn't have a traditional dorm, she lives in an apartment  with 6 other girls, they have a full kitchen.  they don't have a traditional dining hall, their meal plan gives them access to an a la carte cafeteria, and Becca says the food is "awful".  So of course she has to raid the refrigerator whenever she's home. Jen's experience was a bit different, of course.  During Jen's first two years of college, she lived o...

First, my news.... Gained a bit over Thanksgiving, not a shock.  Could have been worse.  Weight Watchers has roiled out a new program, all the point values are different.  I have to learn program all over again.  A real challenge, but I will manage.  Still annoyed that there's no app for my Droid...they gave us a calc ulator with a shortcut to the mobile website, not nearly as functional as the app they made for iPhone -- I ought to know, I have the app o the i/touch, but it loses functionality when I'm out of wifi range. the show... So last week Lisa went home, and now there are 6 players.  After tonight there will be 4 -- there will be a red line and a yellow line.  It's the last week on campus. first up is a pop challenge, with a money prize.  It's sponsored by Subway sandwiches and  it's about exercises...got a phone call and missed who won...figured I would check the website...found out that Brendan and Patrick were the final...

Just released:

Interesting question! Especialy so because my desire to become a lawyer was formed, in part, in a high school history class. It was 10th grade, and we were studying European history.  And my very creative teacher decided to put Napoleon Bonaparte on trial for crimes against the people of France.  Everyone in the class got to play a role -- those who didn't have specific characters sat on the jury -- and we all had to write a term paper about our experience.  Two students were assigned to be prosecutors and two were assigned to be Bonaparte's defense counsel.  I was on the defense team and we got an acquittal! and while I was thinking about that history class, I also remembered Portia, the female attorney in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice . I have issues with some of the characters in that play, but Portia...."The quality of mercy is not strained..."  Shakespeare really had a thing about lawyers, didn't he?  "The first thing we do, let's ...

A little Chanukah joy by way of Adam Sandler:

We saw Tangled last weekend.  This is Disney's reworking of the Rapunzel fairytale.  We saw it in 3D, the newest trend, and we made usre to see a late evening show so as to avoid being with crowds of kids (although the three young girls sitting behind us oohed and aahed at the 3D effects but otherwise kept very quiet during the film). Many elements of the story are derivative, reminding me of the many classic Disney fairytales I saw as a child or when my own children were little.  The back story of the king and queen and their longed-for daughter reminded me of Sleeping Beauty , and Mother Gothel reminded me of the Evil Queen in Snow White .  alan Menkin's music sounded familiar, but then again, he wrote the music for Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, didn't he? I loved Flynn Rider, the unlikely hero, and I loved how Rapunzel is a very resourcesful, 21st-Century princess who can take care of herself.  Loved how the movie is full of drama, romanc...

zeitgeist: the spirit, attitude, or general outlook of a specific time or period, esp as it is reflected in literature, philosophy, etc And this is the theme for NaBloPoMo for December 2010. You have 31 days to try to capture the mood of your culture and your life as they exist right now. Use every tool in your blog box: words, photos, music...? I'll give it a go....

Happy Chanuka!

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) So despite the pre-holiday meltdown and drama my sisters created, Jen and Becca and I had a great Thanksgiving lunch with Drew, and a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with my parents, family and friends.    I don't think it's a bad thing for two college girls to split their holiday between two sets of relatives, and I think my daughters enjoyed being with Drew's family no matter what they told their aunts. There was no drama at either  home Thursday, though my sisters...let's just say the weekend did not resemble Thursday at all.... Becca spent most of the weekend working!  The job she had at the mall last year -- well, she can work there anytime she wants, and she wound up taking shifts Wednesday, Friday (Black Friday shopping!), Saturday and Sunday.  Nice paycheck for that, I'm sure.    Considering that she doesn't work while at school, the money will come in handy.  Of course, she made time for ...

My news first. Despite a food-oriented week, I lost 1.6 pounds this week, and I face Thanksgiving over 10 pounds lighter than I was when I rejoined the program. Still haven't carved out time to exercise, but I'm working on it. the show.... never had a chance to watch it, but  Wednesday was Biggest Loser --  Where are they Now?   It was interesting to see where past contestants have gone... most have kept off the weight, and many have become motivational speakers.  Interesting.

The United Nations voted to partition Palestine. ... And a 2000 year old dream became 20th century reality. I wish I could have been there to see it happen! Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

See this? It's the Colgate Clock. It's a landmark on New York Harbor, a relic from the days when Colgate Palmolive was headquartered in Jersey City. There's a walkway along the riverfront, it ends in front of the Goldman Sachs building, just north of the clock. And if you look south, past the clock, you see this: No wonder New Jerseyans think the Statue of Liberty should belong to them, not to New York!!!