10.29.05
Waiting for Carmen
I recently got a copy of Francesco Rosi’s version of Carmen (1984) starring
10.25.05
A hammerbox smash down memory lane
iTunes just randomized me into the self titled debut of the band Hammerbox. I was turned on to these guys right before college by my buddy Erick who was a big fan (methinks he had a crush on the lead singer). I got into them in college, going to concerts with some regularity. It has been a while since I listened to the band and my tastes have changed quite a bit, however I still recognize it as a good rock album and see why I thought these guys were going places. I always thought lead singer Carrie Akre should do a duet with Eddie Vedder since she had lungs to match his capacity for screaming out harmonic lyrics.
10.23.05
Now playing the Gs
My iTunes library is sorted by Album (and then by Artist). It just sent me from ‘Gershwin’ (Rhapsody in Blue) to ‘Geto Boys’ (Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangster) and then to ‘Glen Miller Band’ (In the Mood). You gotta love these moments…
Guess the Google
Have a bunch of time? Want to play a game? Give your try at Guess-the-google.
10.21.05
Colombia #1 in Murders per capita
Sad but true, Colombia holds the top spot for national murders per capita (as of 2003), and not by a small amount either, over three times more than the number 5 spot (Russia) and twelve times as many as in the USA (number 24 on the list). Click around the nationmaster.com web site, it is full of all kinds of fascinating info.
10.05.05
Addendum
JetBlue has lost a great deal of the cache it enjoyed with me until this point. The terminal at JFK was unclean (specifically the restrooms) and uncomfortable. This would not be much of a problem except that even as the boards showed my flight from JFK to PDX to be ‘on time’ we came to departure time with no movement on our gate nor mention from the ground crew of a delay. Some forty minutes after we were due to board we were suddenly told that our airplane ‘had arrived from the hangar’ and was now waiting for us at a new gate on the other side of the terminal. A mass of unhappy customers migrated to the new gate and stood there for another ten minutes before being told to hoof it back to the gate where we started. The cat calls and boos from the angry passengers should have been a clue to the employees to dispatch customer care representatives or at the very least to give us some more information on the cause for the delay. But no, ten minutes later we were told there was a delay and we would board in just a couple of minutes. Just a couple being about half an hour in jetBlue speak. We finally departed well over an hour after our original departure time. The only reason the airline still holds any good place with me is the friendly and appeasing attitude taken on by the flight crew. Note to jetBlue: New Yorkers or not you have GOT to train your ground crew to give somewhat of a damn about the passangers.
10.04.05
Counting from the accounting
This morning was spent on tech support going over last minute details on backups, new features of MacOSX and other computer bits with my dad. After a few hours I got tired of the computer and we went out for a long walk and chat along Central Park ending up on his old stomping grounds in the Upper East Side. I made a last effort and finally found a bottle of Peter Luger steak sauce for Victor (who will hopefully not read this and be surprised), we then had a great Italian dinner along 1st avenue and 63rd.
A painless drive to the airport with a quick stop by H&H Bagels for ‘one of each’ and I find myself once again writing with a free internet connection. Unlike last time the only power outlets at the terminal are all on a hard surfaced rundabout that is sized such that uncomfortable to sit on though the power and the network are both available, which you have to appreciate. The JetBlue terminal at JFK is an impressive cacophony of unnecessary noise, mostly endless boarding announcements yelled at top volume that necessitate loud conversations by anyone who wants to be heard. It somehow seems to be an appropriate book-end for the trip.
Well, my plane will be boarding soon so it is time to bring the New York 2005 travel log to an end. The trip has been marvelous; summer days, great food, wonderful company, new friends, a premiere, one opera, one play, one musical and fifteen movies in thirteen days… not bad…. not bad.
The Film-fan’s Last Call
Monday afternoon I went in for an interview at Charlex that was pleasant but did not seem to generate any jobs. Afterward I felt the need to walk and went up Park avenue and into Central Park. I was headed northish when I heard violin music and deviated my path to find a string duet (Violin and Cello) playing on a most pleasant and serene park bench. I sat and listened letting the last vestages of daylight play across the park foliage and onto my face. Delightful.
A call to my dad generated a new plan for the evening; Head back to the New York Film Festival and look for someone selling extra tickets to the evening show. I took the long way to the festival going north of the Lake and through the ramble. I arrived just in time for of The President’s Last Bang a Korean dark comedy based on the assassination of dictatorial president Park Chung-hee and very possibly my favorite movie of the festival.
After some dinner we went home and started a DVD of The Aviator (2004) which was pretty good but 11 academy award nominations? Every year I loose more and more respect for the Oscars. We started the 3 hour long movie late and I did not finish it until 2am which is probably for the best given that I need to start re-adjusting for Pacific Standard Time.