songbird's crazy world

This week's musical theme is: ‘Motivation Monday’ –  songs that motivate you to clean house, run errands, work out, or what have ya.   So...what motivates me? Well, the first song that came to mind....it was the 80's, and I signed up for an aerobics class.  We did a routine to this song, and it always got me moving. How about one to keep you motivated while doing chores? Yes, I still have Disney on my mind. This next one motivates me to take time to enjoy life, to be an active participant in life, to appreciate nature and music and art.... And the last one motivates me to try and be a better person.

Another synagogue shooting.  This time in San Diego. On Shabbat and the last day of Passover, the Rabbi was preaching to a packed house.  One dead, three (including the Rabbi) wounded. A hate crime conducted with an assault rifle. Six months to the day after Tree of Life. I feel so lost.

So the other day, when I posted about using a ride-sharing app, Liz wondered about the taxi medallion owners.  Coincidentally one of my coworkers is doing what I call a “pro bono friends and family” case right now; her neighbor no longer drives a cab, but the Taxi &Limosine Commission is looking at some alleged improprieties from when he was still driving.   The guy spent over $800,000 on a medallion that’s now worth $250,000, and wound up filing for bankruptcy protection.  My coworker doesn’t usually handle TLC cases — our cases are usually about exposure to toxic substances — so she’s doing some research.  Yesterday she told be “I’m tired of reading about taxi drivers committing suicide over financial pressures.” So I’ve been avoiding Penn Station at night, and going to the Long Island Railroad’s smaller and quieter station on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.  Penn Station is a major transit hub, always crazy, and since it’s right under Madison Square Garden, ...

It's a small park on Liberty Street, across the street from the World Trade Center. When you first enter the park, you can see the Anne Frank tree, planted by the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect. Continue to walk through the park and you'll get some impressive views of the World Trade Center. And the reflecting pool where the South Tower once stood. The building behind the pool is the 9/11 Museum.  I visited the museum a few years ago. There is also a statue dedicated the the US Special Forces, who answered the call of duty after 9/11.  The steel beam embedded in the statue's base is a piece of the original WTC. My goal this trip was to visit an old friend, the Koenig Sphere . The Sphere is a sculpture.  It graced the plaza between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.  Battered and beaten on 9/11, the Sphere was temporarily located in Battery Park for many years, until its return to the WTC site in 2017. F...

Today is "Take Our Kids to Work Day" and my office is entertaining a number of young people, both male and female.  They are learning about the various jobs in this office. I can remember when the day was known as "Take Our Daughters To Work Day" and was focused on female empowerment, to let our children know that expectations had changed, that girls could aspire to careers other than housewife.  Boys were not included, because we expected them to grow up and choose careers.  I'm glad boys are included now, all children should be exposed to the working world. My kids, of course, have jobs of their own now.  But when they were younger, they'd sometimes come to my office. One year I took Jen (then about 9) and Becca (age 7) to court with me.  I had a rather boring conference with the judge.  He didn't even wear his robe or sit on the bench, but sat at a table with us while we worked out some rather mundane legal issues. He did, however, take a f...

Terri's  questions for this week: NATIONAL PIGS-IN-A-BLANKET DAY On April 24, observe National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day with just a few ingredients.   Celebrated across the world, the term often refers to a variety of different dishes. In the United States, Pigs-in-a-Blanket are often hot dogs or sausages wrapped in biscuit or croissant dough and baked. Pigs-in-a-Blanket are generally served as an appetizer or as breakfast. However, it can be served any meal time! HOW TO OBSERVE Share your version of Pigs-In-A-Blanket using #NationalPigBlanketDay on social media. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Everything above this line is from the National Day Calendar website. (My first thought was 'what am I going to do with this one'!! Bear with me, followers!) 1.  Typically served as an hors d'oeuvre, have you ever made or had a Pig-in-a-Blanket?  Do you like Pigs-in-a-Blanket? If by "made" you mean "taken the package o...

I did it.  I finally did it. Yesterday I used a ride-sharing app. I had a lunchtime appointment with my orthopedist  (yet another chapter in the story about My Stupid Knee).   The doctor’s office is on East 64th Street.  I work in the Financial District.  Last time I saw him, I took the subway uptown, it was a quick trip.  But yesterday ... all sorts of issues, it took forever to get to 59th Street.  And then I had to walk 5 blocks in the pouring rain. I was 30 minutes late for my appointment. So, to get back to my office ... I used Via.    Via is like Uber or Lyft, but their drivers are licensed by the City’s Taxi & Limosine Commission, they operate exclusively within Manhattan, and you’ll be sharing your ride with other customers unless no one else is going in the direction you are traveling. He picked me up on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 62nd Street and dropped me at my office.  Total for the 5 mile ride, includin...

The blog hop theme this week is:  your choice.  I seem to have exhausted by "songbirds" vanity topic, so I guess it's time to move on to something else.  How about the music I listened to in college? I had this album on vinyl, I recorded it on a cassette tape and played it over and over.  One of my favoites from the album: (yeah, I know, Long Islanders and Billy Joel....) I was still in high school when  Rumors was released, but the music became a staple of my college years. A  favo I really loved this one: Tume for some Breakfast In America. My favorite cut from that album: There's a club wed go to every once in awhile, and we'd dance to this: My first serious "we are committed to this forever" relationship was in college.  His favorite band was Queen.  My love for the music outlasted our relationship.   This one is for Kenny, wherever he is.

Remeber this post ?  the Mennonite Choir, the Jehovah's Witnesses and the young man all vyin for attention in the subway corridor. In the same spot where the Mennonite choir performed, another religious group: Hare Krishna is alive and well and living in NYC.

So, Passover.... I've blogged about our heirloom Seder plate . We had no idea it was cousin to a museum piece until we say it on eBay. Well, now I've seen our family Haggadah on Amazon. A Haggadah is a book that contains the prayers and readings you need in order to conduct a Passover Seder.  When I was a child, most families used the free Haggadah that they picked up at the supermarket while they were doing their Passover shopping.  The most famous of the "supermarket Haggadahs" was printed by Maxwell House, but other coffee compaies also gave out Hagggadahs. We have the Maxwell House Haggadah, but we don't use it anymore.  Instead, we use the Haggadah for the American Family .  We like this version because, in addtion to the long, traditional text, it also contains a shorter service, all in English, which keeps everyone engaged in the story. Our books date back to the 1960's.  they are falling apart, the pages are stained wit...

So this week we watched the historic Notre Dame Cathedral burn.  Much was lost, but much was saved, and the world has united to rebuild the Parisian icon.    And I was inspired by these words:     Notre Dame is one of the world’s great treasures, and we’re thinking of the people of France in your time of grief. It’s in our nature to mourn when we see history lost – but it’s also in our nature to rebuild for tomorrow, as strong as we can.   -- Barack Obama   And I could not help but think of a building I know that rose out of the ashes.               That's One World Trade Center in the background.  The weird white structrue in the foreground is the transportation hub; all aboard for the PATH train to New Jersey.   And another shot:       I love how the "wing" from the transportation hub seems to point to the top of the tower.   ...

Listen to this audio: I don' t know which creatures are making all that noise, but they are in my back yard every night, and they are LOUD.  The weather has gotten warmer, my winter coat has retired to the back of my closet.  I am NOT unhappy about that. A sure sign that spring is here:  I saw a robin on my driveway.  by the time I got my phone ready to take a picture, though, the bird decided he'd rather sit on the garage roof.  Sigh. Robins are my favorite birds, you know. Can't imagine why....(all sarcasm duly intended) Another sure sign of spring -- on Monday,  a thunderstorm woke me up about an hour before my alarm was set to go off.  I had to drive to the train in a downpour.  The rain stopped about 10 minutes after I got to my office. I think I'll go take a walk...

As always, Terri poses some interesting questions. NATIONAL HAIKU POETRY DAY Observed annually on April 17, National Haiku Poetry Day encourages all to try their hand in creativity.  Haiku poetry is a form of Japanese poetry that is non-rhyming and normally consists of 3 lines with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5.  Haiku poems are usually inspired by an element of nature, a season, a moment of beauty or an individual experience or event. Sensory language is used to capture a feeling or image. From  Haiku: This Other World Richard Wright (1908-1960) Whitecaps on the bay: A broken signboard banging In the April wind. English haiku does not always follow the strict syllable count found in Japanese haiku. The typical length of haiku found in English language journals is 10-14 syllables, versus the 5-7-5 syllables used in the Japanese language. HOW TO OBSERVE Celebrate National Haiku Poetry Day by creating a haiku poem of your own!  Post yo...

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Ever watch it?  It's on Amazon Prime.  I'm a bit behind the curve, because I only started streaming Season 1 last week, and they've already completed a second season, but I am loving the show. It's a drama, set in 1950's New York City.  The main character is Midge Maisel, a wealthy Jewish housewife, whose husband has left her for his shiksa (non Jewish) secretary. Midge is absolutely fabulous -- smart, funny, beautiful, and with a wardrobe to die for.  Influenced, in part, by Lenny Bruce, she seeks to become a stand-up comic.  Well, there's now a product tie-in for the series. In Midge's day, "everyone" would use the Maxwell House Haggadah for their Passover Seder.  This year, Maxwell House has come out with a version of the Haggadah that's related to the show.  Free with purchase of a Maxwell House product, of course. Mine arrived last week.  (I bought k-cups, something they never imagined back in 1958....

The world is watching Paris burn ... Fire has destroyed the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral.  An 850 year old building, it has withstood war, plague, civil unrest... When I saw the spire collapse... Medieval Paris came alive for me in the pages of a Victor Huge novel.  I always wanted to see the cathedral. But now I never will.

Once again, it's Music Monday. This week's theme: ‘Songs where a particular instrument has moved you’ –  whether it’s a favorite vocal sound, bass line, drumming/beats, piano, guitar solo, …’  First thing that came to mind;  not only is is a great song featuring great guitar music, it's also about the guitar. Next up is a hit from the Monkees.   They were the first band to use a Moog Synthesizer.  This song features the synthesizer: Now, if you're looking for a beat.... And because I am a Long islander, I feel compelled to round out the set with this: And a bonus hit, not part of the theme, because I could not help but notice today's date:

No, I’m not talking about the recent Tim Burton movie, I’m talking about the original TV show. It premiered in 1966 as a Gothic soap opera about a governess coming to a mysterious house in Maine. It veered into the supernatural with a ghost story, and became the hottest show on TV with the arrival of a vampire named Barnabas Collins. Die-hard fans of the show still meet occasionally to celebrate its legacy.   I am not a “die-hard fan”, but Drew is.  I’ve gone to Dark Shadows  events, though, and I always enjoy myself.   There was a convention in Tarrytown, NY a couple of years ago, featuring panel discussions with some of the cast members, clips from the show, memorabilia auctions, and lots of tables of Dark Shadows merchandise ... Yesterday we went to the world premiere of a documentary film, Master of Dark Shadows , which celebrates the life of Dan Curtis, who created the original show.   The event was held at the Paley Center for the Media,  a museum dev...

Taken at EPCOT, while waiting for Illuminations #skywatchfriday

Over the years I’ve seen many religious types throughout the city New York.  You’ll see them on the street, in the subways,  at the railroad stations.  Jehovah’s Witnesses, who stand quietly with their books and pamphlets.  Evangelicals preaching from their Bibles.  Hasidic Jews in the Mitzvah Mobil — they don’t bother with you unless you tell them you’re Jewish.   Buddhist monks.  Hare Krishnas. Black Hebrews.   But what I saw Friday night ... I took the subway from Wall Street to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.  The Long Island Railroad has a Station there,  where you can avoid the craziness of Penn Station and catch a train like a civilized human being.  I was walking in the tunnel that connects the subway to the railroad when I noticed a choir.  They were young people, and from the way they were dressed (the girls in long dresses and white bonnets), I assumed they were Amish, or Mennonites.  They w...

Once again, Terri has posed some interesting questions, this time for National Sibling Day. 1.     How many siblings do you have? Are  you  rivals or do you support each other in all you do? I have three younger sisters.  I'm not very close to ay of them, but I wouldnt say we were rivals either.  It's a weird, complicated relationship. 2.  Have you heard of the Birth Order Book?   What are your thoughts on the premise that your birth order affects everything you do in life?   I haven't heard of that book, but I have heard several theories on birth order. I don't know if it's birth order per se, but my two youngest sisters are very different from my other sister and I.  But then again, my parents treated the younger two very differently than they treated the older children. 3.  Is there something that you still do that drives your siblings crazy? Old habits die hard... 4.  Are you closer to yo...