007 is soooo '07.

A rare PLAY post for once after watching the new Bond movie, inspired not by the qualities of the movie (which there are surprisingly quite a few) but by the context in which it is taking place and the fact that by the time the movie hit the screens, it is already outdated.  Consider the following references: expensive oil; green energy; a bribe executed in Euros, because "the dollar is not what it used to be."  Clearly, the screenplay was conceived in 2007 and early 2008; by now it feels strangely nostalgic that 6 months ago, those were our concerns.

Inspiration.

Even though I don't run marathons anymore, I can still appreciate how tough they are.  When you watch at mile 24, some of the stuff you see is downright jaw-dropping.  Most people, even those with the most intense training, are at a point where their bodies are running on sheer will.  It's no longer about physics or strength or nutrition.  It's pure determination.  In the pic above, my teammates from Frontrunners New York, Kelsey and Chris.  Kelsey is pacing Chris for a sub-3 hour marathon.  They finished at 2:59:31 .. amazing.

Another notable phenomenon worth mentioning was people running with Obama pictures on their shirts.  I bet that those will look quite funny a decade from now.  "OMG, dad! You ran the marathon with Obama on your T shirt?"

Then you have the people who may look funny but you know they are going through just as much pain as everyone else.  This guy in particular is not kidding at all - he ran 3:16 yesterday after running 3:08 three weeks earlier in Chicago.

And then there's Peter McGrane.  If there was an inspiration ad featuring him, it would go something like "Peter - making sub-3 marathons look easy since 2008".  This is him on the way to a 2:49 finish, shaving off 5 minutes from his first sub-3 performance in Chicago last month.  

Speaking of Peter, do these arms look familiar?

One thing is for sure: while I may no longer be a marathon runner, at least I got the cross dressing part down this Halloween!

7 Days To Go ..

Only seven days left until election day, and for the sake of my own sanity, I am going into campaign hypernation, so no more posts from me about the election.  BUT, before I stop, 3 related messages: 

1. Just because I won't be writing about it, doesn't mean I won't be following it.  And if you're an election junkie like me and own an iPhone, you should check out Slate's Poll Tracker, a neat app that allows you to track real time changes in polls on your phone in these crucial hours.

2. I am almost amazed by my own level of emotional involvement and the attention I pay to the campaign narratives.  But it really feeds on itself, so the more attention you pay the more subtleties you pick up and the more interesting it all seems and makes you pay more attention.   But for someone who can't even vote, it may seem rather ridiculous.. Which brings me to my last point: 

3.  I cannot believe I won't be able to vote!  And I am not even talking about the cliche that the whole world should vote for the US president.  Call me whiney, but I actually think it's unfair that after living in this country for 10 years - and paying taxes for all of those years - I won't be able to vote.  Not to mention, I am nowhere even near obtaining permanent residency.  I have lived here my whole adult life yet technically I am barely more than a tourist.  In all seriousness, the archaic immigration policies need to be reformed urgently, and not (only) for my sake, but for the country to stay competitive.  I can only hope that whatever happens on November 4th will be a change in that direction..

PLAY: Róisín Murphy

Last night I went to see Róisín Murphy and she was great.  As my friend Brian described her, she is like Björk and Goldfrapp having a disco baby, so if that sounds at all like a desirable combination to you, check her out!  Unfortunately the new album is not on iTunes yet (except one song) but you can sample it on last.fm.

PLAY: What a Hike!

Today I did something rather unusual: I spent the day hiking in the Catskills. It was phenomenally beautiful and so nicely exhausting. The leaves are more colorful than your typical gay pride flag.

Below are my adorable fellow travellers- Kevin, Bryan and Brian.
Final note worth sharing is that the patron saint of the journey was Suze Orman by way of Kirsten Wiig. Inspired by this video, we spent the whole day talking in Suze-talk..
So. Good night. My. Dear. Readers.

PLAY: Chicago Marathon + Will it Stick?

elite men at mile 2

In our most recent running-related adventure, Cenk and I flew to Chicago last weekend to watch a marathon we were originally supposed to run. It was my first time in Chicago and I was quite impressed - by the architecture, landscaping and natural setting, at least.  Here are some of photos I took.  While I continue to be uninterested in the incredible and torterous routine of marathon training, watching from the sidelines surely inspired me to start running again.  And indeed, this morning I woke up to do just that.  As I was sitting in the office, I couldn't decide what was making me happier - the heavy doses of endorphins flowing through my veins or the market making the largest up move ever.  As a side note, like Fox over at Time, I am not sure it can stick.

PLAY: The Awesomest Brooklyn-Centric Weekend Plan

Friday afternoon - school is out.  Go food shopping at the newly open Trader Joe's, make dinner, watch the presidential debate at Galapagos.  After taking a brief break from Brooklyn in the Bronx, spend Saturday worshipping spicy goodness at the Chile Pepper Fiesta at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, stop by for dinner at No. 7 on the way to the BAM party.  Sunday - sleep in, OD on rest of yumy food from TJ's and spend the rest of the day lazily walking around DUMBO's art festival.  Is Brooklyn the best place on Earth?  Quite possibly. 

PLAY: Thank God There's Theater.

Normally this time of the year you find me pretty down about the fact that the summer is slowly but visibly going away.  When I wake up, I panic briefly when I look out the window and see the temperature on the Jehovas' Witnesses' WATCHTOWER go a little lower every morning.   This year, worrying about seasons changing has been a tad overshadowed by the other stuff, you know, like the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it type of thing.  

So what's a comrade to do while cities are crumbling down and the planet is being flooded ON TOP OF unpleasant weather changes? 

Go to theater, I say, escape reality.  For my part, this is what I am dying to see: 

Equus - $100 to see Harry Potter naked?  Twisted, I know. 

All my sons - is what I call a good combo of talent, hottness and curiousity. 

Seagull - how will Kristin Scott Thomas and Peter Sarsgaard compare to Dianne Wiest and Alan Cumming in last spring's off broadway production at the Classic Stage?  I will see for myself on Sunday. (update - it was very good.  Kristin Scott Thomas was phenomenal but unfortunately Peter S didn't quite match the performance by Alan Cumming, in my opinion.  Maybe I was also distracted by the fact that he was speaking in an English accent, which is a recipe for disaster for most American actors..)

Margaret Cho - just love her.  LOVE her.  Saturday night she better shine!

August: Osage County - it won the TONY for best play and was called "the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years" by the Times  for a few good reasons (among them Deanna Dunagan and Amy Morton.. the former of which has unfortunately left the show after pocketing her own TONY).. and even though I already saw it, I have to hit it one more time before it closes!  Takers??

Fall for Dance at City Center - all sold out, damn!
Alvin Ailey - the secret sauce for this one is the $25 "orchestra pit" seats, where you can see the dancers up close.. wanna join me 12/14 at 3pm?

Paul Taylor Dance Company - when the weather gets REALLY cold, this will keep me warm.

BAM's Next Wave - I'm sure there is a ton here, but haven't really distilled it yet..

To be updated as I find more interesting stuff..

EAT READ PLAY: Friday Metapost

Not much has really happened since the last entry but somehow I still accumulated a lot of material.  First there was the Century Bike Ride last Sunday.  Unfortunately I didn't take my camera, so here are some crappy shots I made with the iPhone.  Apart from feeling great from the 40 mile bike ride in unbelievable weather, it was a further expansion of my NYC horizons.  Highly recommended as a sight seeing tour of places you will probably never go otherwise.  Also the last straw for me in my decision to get a new bike.  It's just insane how many options there are.. I need someone to hold my hand in the store.

Then, another week - another fun work trip!  Last week was LA, the city - this week was LA, the state, as in Louisiana.  The picture above is a shot of the river in Baton Rouge.  Kind of pretty, I guess.  The whole town felt deserted since they were just recovering from Gustav and there was still a curfew in place.  The culinary aspect of the trip would have been probably amazing, if I ate fish.  Alas, even heavy layers of southern hospitality and niceness couldn't hide the annoyance on the waitress' face when I told her I can't order anything on the menu.  A whole lot of drama later, they ended up making me an amazing dish out of their sides.  I hate to admit that the totally not vegan white chocolate bread pudding looked so good that I couldn't resist taking a bite, only to spend the rest of the trip with a giant stomach ache, fueling my suspicion that at this point I am probably lactose intolerant.  The bright spot, if there was one, was that on the way back to civilization, I saw the most amazing sunset from the plane - I am really such a sucker for them.  Here's a pretty week attempt to capture it.

On the campaign front, not much to comment on since not much actually happened if you don't count pigs with lipsticks, but quite a bit of good commentary (or maybe that is all I read while travelling..). Especially enjoyed Herbert's reminder that the fasionable derisive use of word "liberal" completely disregards that it is liberal values that have made this country better.  Great article from congressman Frank about Palin and family values.  Well not much happened until yesterday, when Palin spoke for the first time since her nomination acceptance speech and did reasonably well, that is, if you standard of "reasonably well" is that she can answer questions without hesitation and with confidence.  Clearly we are well beyond applying the same critical standard to her than we would to anyone else who ever thought of being involved in this election.  I do have one major gripe, however, which I posted today as a comment responding to Krugman's sharp column.  

Another significant case in point is last night's ABC interview with Ms. Palin. What I am referring to here is her response to the question of her readiness and her initial reaction to being approached by Mr. McCain's team. Every normal human being would have a moment of hesitation or self-reflection and - if formulated properly - it is a perfectly understandable emotion, something one should not be afraid to admit. But no. She chose to claim that she "didn't blink". The idea we're supposed to get is that she is determined and sure of herself.

But really, in the world we're living in with all its complexity and all its problems she expects us to believe that she didn't stop for a moment to think if she can handle the task, if she is ready? I can confidently say I don't know anyone who could honestly say that. I can't help but think that Ms. Palis is either lying or completely naive.

In fact, I would take this even further and suggest that her inability to even so much as recognize why she _should have_ hesitated (i.e. that she actually acknowledges the difficulty and complexity of governing this country AND that she possesses the critical thought to assess her own readiness) in and of itself makes the prospect of her being the VP truly scary.

(update- the Saturday editorial in the Times sort of picked up on the same theme "This nation has suffered through eight years of an ill-prepared and unblinkingly obstinate president. One who didn’t pause to think before he started a disastrous war of choice in Iraq. One who blithely looked the other way as the Taliban and Al Qaeda regrouped in Afghanistan. One who obstinately cut taxes and undercut all efforts at regulation, unleashing today’s profound economic crisis.  In a dangerous world, Americans need a president who knows that real strength requires serious thought and preparation.")

Finally, how could I forget the anniversary of 9/11?  On that note, here's a photo tribute and a good book I started reading this week on my way from Louisiana that deals with the post 9/11 world and the role of the US in it: "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman.  Love the idea of Chapter 18 - see here.

Meanwhile, two more strike outs in alternative careers:  first a reminder that going back to school isn't just about passionate discussions of politics and economics even if Krugman is your professor; later, a blog which provides enough details about the life at CIA to turn a reasonable person off from culinary school.  So, so much for being a chef.. but at least this looks like a promising read!

PLAY: Californication Nostalgication

Maybe it's the jet lag striking again or maybe my body is simply refusing to spend precious free time in bed.  Either way, I am sitting in front of TV in the middle of the night, watching the new 90210, DVRed from earlier this week, remembering the excitement with which I watched the original show back in my elementary school days.  Back then watching Brenda and Dylan kiss was the emotional highlight of the week, even when I still had no clue it wasn't Brenda I had my eyes on.  Not to mention that was the show that formed my early image of the US, only to be replaced by Friends a few years later.. both images so tragically off.

Ironically, that was not the only instance of California creeping up in my life this week.. As chance would have it, I also flew to LA this week for an annual work trip to visit a few companies headquartered in the area.  It was the same trip which 2 years ago I conveniently attached to a long weekend in San Francisco, in order to reunite with my long-distance boyfriend at the time - and took the chance to peacefully agree that we shouldn't be, anymore.  Even more concidentally, that ex apparently got engaged some time in the past week .. In other words, in the span of a week I have relived the memories of one of my significant relationships as well as those of my early formative childhood years, with California being the common thread to all this emotional baggage.  

I am too tired at this point to draw any meaningful conclusions out of all this, but that's a whole lot of California and a whole lot of nostalia for a week.

PLAY: Last Set + I Found the Place Where I Will Get Married

So here's the final set of photographic highlights from my Asian trip. It includes photos I took in Nusa Dua (a lifeless resort town about 20km from Seminyak, my village, where I biked on Thursday), Jimbaran (another resort center, this one fully gated and basically spread over a hill on top of Jimbaran Bay with insane views - hence the wedding reference above), and a visit to Tokyo's Tsukiji market - apparently the largest fish market in the world (I had a 12 hour layover on my way back).

All in all an amazing trip though ironically the highlights for me where the 2 short-ish stops in Tokyo.. which I guess is simply a reflection of the fact that I am such a city person and that I am obsessed with Japan (something I didn't quite realize beforehand) even if Japan isn't particularly fond of me (here I am referring to the fact that it is not particularly foreigner-friendly - let alone vegan-friendly - both of which I actually respected in a weird way). There were obviously many nice and impressive things in Bali but much of it is either (1) the downunder take on Cancun, with American frat boys replaced by Australian surfers (2) dirty and neglected, including the historical sites and buildings.. but that could be the ignorant Western snob in me speaking, who knows.

Anyhow, enough of my rambling. I am back in the city, it's 3am and I am exhausted after 18 hours of travelling but I am technically on 3pm in the afternoon so I am far from sleepy. Here's the final preview set..

PLAY: Second Update from Interior Design Central

Finally I had the time and energy last night to upload and sort out some of the photos I have been taking. 2 full days have passed since my last entry - first of which I spent walking around my village, bumming on the beach and then having dinner at the officially hip KuDeTa (certified by the fact that it has its own soundtrack of electronic lounge music - all three volumes of it!) - the chef crafted a bunch of outstanding veggie dishes off the menu - after which I barely had enough wind in my sails to walk back to my hotel before passing out. Today I did a mini tour to Ubud, the art and cultural capital of the island, with a stop at the elephant cave and the monkey forest. Finally some serious flora and fauna a.k.a. photo opportunities galore. Since I woke up at 2:30am yesterday morning (possibly the most ridiculous jet lag I've ever had - on the bright side it gave me a chance to watch CNN for 5 hours and catch up on all the DNC stuff and my favorite op-eds, yay!), I spent the 2nd half of the day glued on the beach until it was time for dinner - this one at Chandi - modern Indonesian cuisine run by a guy who worked at a bunch of NYC restaurants.. lot of tempe and tofu, peanut and tamarind sauce, mango and papaya in everything, oh so delicious.. not to mention yumy ginger cocktails :)


On a different note, I have been reading the book Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali - and the woman is seriously amazing. She was raised in a strict Muslim family only to escape to the Netherlands, denounce Islam, become an MP, and then had have her citizenship taken away when she became too controversial even for the Dutch after she wrote the script that was made into a movie Submission by Theo van Gogh who was assassinated for making it. Not exactly a fluffy beach read, but so interesting.

Lastly, speaking of the Convention, what a joke. Reading today's columns from Dowd and Friedman side by side, I can't help but feel like the Democrats are so unduly obsessed with themselves and - to use a severly overused term - "out of touch" in a world where there are so many much more pressing problems.. Anyway, at least they finally nominated Obama, Hillary did her long awaited speech (which I have yet to see), Bill wraps it up tonight, hopefully not producing any juicy material for the networks to obsess about, and we can move on from the silly theatrics.

PLAY: Sitting on the Balcony

After what seemed like 3 days of travel (but was only 18 hours, net, plus 24 hours for crossing the date line, a concept which I still find mind boggling, and a 28 hour layover in Tokyo..) I am finally in Bali, sitting on the balcony of my hotel listening to the ocean. I am so tired that I could paint clouds with melatonin yet the excitement of the being here - and a jet lag of epic proportions - is keeping me wide awake at 4am.. perhaps I will just stay up until sun rise / breakfast and then pass out in the sun? Tough decisions..

2 notables so far along with this first greeting:

1. Japan is amazing and definitely worth a longer trip. Just getting on to the Japan Airlines flight at JFK I felt like I was transported into another universe, one characterized by incredible politeness, insane precision, over the top service and unending obsession with fashion. It was almost challenging for me to play along with all the acts of kindness but in a sense it was a good way to break my mindset away from New York for the week. Of course, the real downside of it all is the omnipresent lost-in-translation feeling.. or actually lack of translation, since almost no one speaks English and relying on figuring things out on your own is difficult when most things are written in Japanese - like ATM instructions.. imagine trying to take the subway with no Yen, no idea which line to take, how much the ticket is.. long story short - I didn't - instead I browsed the nearby mall (there always seems to be one nearby! - it was packed at 10:30pm on a Sunday - hence the unending obsession with fashion) and then walked back to the hotel in pouring rain with no umbrella (which I can't buy because - remember - I have no Yen or no idea how to withdraw money and the convenience store lady doesn't seem to like the idea of accepting amex.. or the $20 I offered her)! Even funnier were the communication adventures in the hair salon.. but the cut turned out sort of OK (with one hour left in Tokyo I decided that rather than getting even more lost and risking missing the bus to the airport I may as well get a haircut.. a souvenir of sorts).

2. After settling in to the hotel here, I decided I need to go out and explore and maybe get a drink and some food.. Imagine my surprise when the only thing going at 2am was a gay bar. No, I didn't go in.. something about me set off a strange response from the crowd - I can't tell what they were shouting and whether it was good but I definitely attracted attention. Then as I walked back to the hotel, a guy, could have been 20 years old maybe, drove by on a motorcycle and first asked me if I needed a lift and then delivered an indecent proposal.. It took me all of an hour to be at this place before getting harassed. The good news is it was all very harmless and he retreated almost immediately when I said "no, thanks!". OK fine, I had to say it twice. But I suppose it wasn't threatening.

Anyway, so much for now.. check out a mini preview of my trip so far here. I am going in because the damn mosquitoes are eating me alive..

PLAY: The Good Things in Life

Yesterday was another pleasantly warm and sunny day in New York and by 4pm everyone has found some pressing reason to end the day early. Perfectly fine by me. It was exactly a year ago that the financial markets blew up and the economy started melting even more apparently than it was until then. That horrible August was a period of such nauseating volatility that I used to come home with immense pain in my stomach and drink my most recent alcoholic discovery of that period - St. Germain - elderflower liquor.. Hmm, it was great with vodka.. and champagne.. Things have stayed pretty much just as insane since then (with the only fortunate twist being that I rid myself of the at-home weeknight drinking habit) .. that is, until this week. Finally things quieted down, one boss went on vacation, the other one had a baby, half the office is gone and in an unusual conincidence it was also a week with the most incredible weather.. all in all, I caught myself thinking at some point that this may almost be better than going on vacation! OK perhaps that's an exaggeration. ANYWAY -- last night was another amazing night in Brooklyn - I went to see the movie by the bridge .. Not my first time but it has been a while. So there I was, surrounded by attractive neatly dirty hipsters and other movie-watching folk, wondering how the night could be any better. Nice things in life come in heeps, I thought to myself, after the guy staffing the Transportation Alternatives desk (they provide free bike parking at the event) complimented me on my hat, gave me smile and asked me to leave my email to sign up for their newsletter.. Perhaps he will find some better use for my email address? Good stuff in life comes in bunches , I think to myself again, wishfully..

PLAY: Dinner at Alma or Ode to Sunset

Last night, I went to Alma in Red Hook with Cenk and his sister who is visiting from Turkey. The place has hands down the best views of downtown Manhattan. Here's a little slide show of the restaurant, the views and the ridiculous sunset. Check out the cool new script I laborously figured out to display photos on the blog.



The whole photoset is here.

PLAY: My Summer Soundtrack

Something fluffy as promised..

What has been filling my ears this summer when I can't take another true but depressing podcast from Democracy Now! or I have gone through all the other spoken word material that I periodically download (This American Life, Slate's Political Gabfest, Vegan Freak Radio, Food for Thought.. I couldn't help but give all those a shout out!)?

Mercy - Duffy
Lay All Your Love on Me - Dominic Cooper & Amanda Seyfried

American Boy - Estelle Feat. Kayne West

Give it 2 Me - Madonna

Touch My Body - Mariah Carey
Calabria 2007 - Enur

Starry Eyed Surprise - Paul Oakenfold

Into the Night Life - Cyndi Lauper
Rise Up - Yves Larock
Crimewave - Crystal Castles vs. Health
Radar - Britney Spears
Valeria - Mark Ronson Feat. Amy Winehouse
Enjoy - Janet
Keep on Rising - Ian Carey Feat. Michelle Shellers
No Stress - Laurent Wolf
Relax, Take It Easy - MIKA
Love Today - MIKA
Kids - MGMT
Shut Up and Let Me Go - The Ting Tings
Whine Up - Kat DeLuna Feat. Elephant Man

And the following albums:
Dying to Say This to You - The Sounds
Life in Cartoon Motion - MIKA
We Started Nothing - The Ting Tings
Oracular Spectacular - MGMT
Mamma Mia! Soundtrack
We The Vehicles - Maritime

Thanks to everyone who has responded to my request for summer songs for to my friend Brian who knows just what to do when given free reign over my iTunes account!

PLAY: Your Own Summer Song

What is the song that will remind you of this summer when it comes on in your iPod as you're listening on shuffle next December?

NY Mag "Umbrella" Watch

PLAY/(EAT?): Chinatown - Don't Ask / Don't Tell

It may sound almost like a cliché but one of the reasons to love this city is unquestionably how suddenly you can find yourself in a completely different world. One moment you're in Soho, admiring $450 sunglasses in Ilori; a short walk later, you're in Chinatown walking by buckets of mysterious creatures at various points of the life-death continuum. The vegan in me shivers; the photographer holds the vegan's nose and takes pictures furiously. Who the hell knew crabs were so colorful?

PLAY: The Waterfalls

As I was walking and biking around the city this weekend I captured the waterfalls from a few different spots and angles. According to the artist's statement, the purpose of the waterfalls is to encourage people to "identify more with the waterfront of New York City" and to offer "an intimate and intellectually challenging experience to the people visiting the sites along the waterfront". While I am generally underwhelmed by the waterfalls - rather than majestic, I find the structures a bit awkward and the water flow too thin to impress - I have to give the artist credit for dragging New Yorkers and tourist out into venues they would otherwise be unlikely to go to with some astonishing views. I have long maintained that the waterfront in New York is tragically underutilized, especially when compared to some other cities built on water (Stockholm comes to mind), in part due to the genius idea of encircling Manhattan with highways (thanks, Moses!) thereby trapping people inside the island, both physically and psychologically. Projects like this, along with actual waterfront development (like the Hudson River park, the Brooklyn Piers, etc), may change things for the better. For my part, while taking photos of the waterfalls, I was inspired to organize a picnic in Brooklyn Bridge park one weekend before the summer ends - stay tuned! PS: Make sure to take a look at the detail of this panoramic photo.

PLAY: Beirut Trip