" 'Cause everyone's your friend, in New York City. And everything looks beautiful, when you're young and witty."

I recently ran into Katie Schorr, from college days, on the subway, and she's in this hilarious new improv show called "The NYC" at the People's Improv Theatre (the PIT). It's an improvised teen drama, and does an hilarious job of mocking shows like 90210, the O.C., and maybe even a little Degrassi. It's even serialized, so each week picks up where the last week's stories left off. I went monday night, and it was great! The less-than-stellar part, though? Katie's older aunt and uncle, who had never seen her on stage before, chose this show to attend (complete with its section where the guys need to pay off their debts at the Shake Shop and so film and sell a "guys gone wild"-style porno film in a janitor's closet). Hilarious for me, awkward for her.

Incidentally, I feel like I know a lot of people named Katie. It's like 128 Hot Katies up in here. Oh, and Katie Knott, whom I dated post-college in the D, just told me she is getting married! That seems to be happening a lot...

This is awful. Here, you try.

I'm kind of surprised that I don't blog more about music. Recently someone told me that they had never seen me without my headphones either on or in my hand, and the person in question sees me pretty frequently. I walk with music, section and dissect at work with music, fall asleep to music - you get the idea. And while somewhere in the back of my head there lurks the vague beginnings of a "my NYC soundtrack" blogpost, I thought I'd take this opportunity to mention a few eccentric bits of music I think you would find fun because of their sheer terribleness:

1) Harry and the Potters - this is a band that performs songs based on the Harry Potter novels. Do I even need to say anything else? Their songs are awful both musically AND lyrically. The emo theme,"I am a wizard," is particulary awesome.

2) Starsplash - I'm not sure how many people know this, but I thrive in a work environment filled with terrible trance techno music. Seriously, I can pump out 50+ page papers like nobody's business when there's bad, mind-numbing trance music in the background. And if you've ever taken the time to listen to the lyrics, they're like horrible 7th grade poetry. One need look no further than Starsplash's "Travel Time":
Take my hand to travel time,
So we can run away forever,
There's a chance we cross the line,
And we can do this thing together,
And my heart goes out to everyone,
A light will shine on him,
So please lay down your heart,
'Cause this is who I am.
[drum breakdown]
Bass in your face!

3)Remixes that just don't work - Say, what's better than listening to one song you like? That's right: listening to two songs you like! But who has time for all that? Oh, I know, let's just lay one on top of the other and call it a remix. Don't worry if they clash horribly. Snoop Dogg and Riders on the Storm? sure, why not! An Eminem track and a song by Shaggy AND Survivor's eye of the tiger? Ooh, a hat trick of auditory trauma!

4) Anything with Lil' Jon - This man is a genius. He's the illegitimate musical love-child of Flava-Flav and James Brown and he has exactly ONE brilliant performance which he recreates on every single track on which he appears. And he's on DOZENS from countless rap artists. And a commercial for Subway sandwiches. The coup de grace? I once heard a music critic from the New York Times describe him as being the new minstrel show. The man shook his head in shame just from seeing Lil Jon dance! How is this not all you listen to?

There's a LOT of terrifically horrible music out there, just waiting to be found.

On a night like this

The city was a ghost today. Even the Medical Center was eerily quiet, and everyone I saw seemed to be doing their best just to laze along. I went salsa dancing last night, but the event was about as exciting as a damp rag. And while yes, this is the city that doesn't sleep, it is apparently also the city that refuses to get off the couch following an overdose of tryptophan. So, take that, Friday.

Overheard on the way home, outside a movie theater: "That movie was great, even though it wasn't like the thing it was...even without being the thing it was. You know? And really both could have been good." Well, I didn't even see the movie, but I mean, YES. There's no way a statement like that can't be true.

Good Times with the Goodmans

Thanksgiving can be kind of a tough time for me. And not just because the Lions always lose. This is a holiday for family, and if I can't be with them, I'd usually rather occupy myself with something entirely different.

But this year Andrew would hear none of it, so I was brought to Woodbury, Connecticut for his family's holiday dinner. The best part about this story is that there really isn't much to tell: we made food, joked around, his mother made us sing Dona Nobis Pachem together in the kitchen, and we ate too much. That's pretty much it. And you know what? It was great, and I'm really glad I went.

Risotto-tastic (risotto-riffic?)

So I'm learning to cook. I had wanted to take cooking classes, but it turns out they're crazy expensive here and didn't actually make learning to cook sound like much fun. Well, it just so happens that a little while ago I ran into someone I met during my college orientation at UM right here in the neighborhood. We'd never really gotten to know each other, but we were always on good terms and would say hello, that sort of thing. It turns out she's a chef at a well-known fancy restaurant in NYC - and here I cannot over-stress the importance of the following credential - the very same restaurant which has been reserved for Thanksgiving dinner by David Bowie.

Anyways, long story short, we struck up a deal for her to teach me to cook. We get together and shop for ingredients for a menu, preare the food under her instruction, and then host a dinner party. We had out first one Sunday, and it was so much fun!

We made risotto with roasted candy-stripe beets and kale, and a salad of roasted squash, bitter greens, and walnuts in a walnut oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. We finished it up with an apple crisp with soy cream. Perfect for a chilly fall evening with friends.

I think we'll be doing these every couple of weeks, so I'm very excited!

Crazytown checks in

Every once in a while New York will flex its crazy-muscles just to remind me that it's top of the weird pile. Tonight was one such time. Roaming around and deep in thought though I was, something caught my eye and snapped me back to reality as I walked through Washington Square Park. And I could not regret more my not carrying my camera at the time.

The item in question was a taxidermied squirrel standing upright with a large paper model plane in its mouth. On it was a sign that read:

"Hello, my name is Kitty Boo.
I was electrified.
A nice man gave me this hat and airplane.
TAKE ME HOME."

The hat, sadly, was nowhere to be found; and no, I did not take Kitty Boo home.

This concludes our gentle reminder. Thank you for choosing New York City, where our motto is, "Yeah, sure, why not?"

This Sundae Would Kill Most People

See, Carol, I thought they wouldn't understand - couldn't understand what we had to do. It was a matter of survival, man vs. nature and all that. Not a thing to speak of on a civilized blog like this. Children read this blog. How could I accurately describe the hugeness? The deliciopumpkinositude that trapped us in its carmely death grip and forced us to eat our way to freedom?

You know what I'm saying. You were there.



They'll never understand.

And that's not all!

As for the rest of my trip, there were a number of great things. It was very hectic, and at times frustrating, but overall it was really, really good for me to be home. So, the highlights and lowlights, for your perusal:

- Spending 16 hours at Laguardia because stupid Spirit Airlines is managed by a bunch of stupid jerks. Never again, if I can help it, will I lash my fate to their bargain basement enterprise.

- Saw Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D!!! It was fantastic and looked great. I'd forgotten how good that movie is.

- Attended the Halloween Bang, which was filled with a very different crowd from previous The Bangs I'd been to, and not different good. Definitely the other kind of different. The drunken, ruiner-of-faith-in-humanity kind.

- Attended a co-op party where my good old pal JP's band was playing. This turned out to be, incidentally, the exact same co-op party as every other co-op party anyone has ever been to, ever. Just as strange, just as many people trying to have drunken sex on the floor of a crowded room, just as many kids smoking on the porch. (shakes head)

- Cooked pheasant. Pheasant! Who does that? My sister Hilary and I do. Pheasant, lamb, and lobster tail.

- Danced tango, salsa, and merengue. Sometimes in socks, and twice in Angell Hall.

- Made the annual family visit to Haunted Greenfield Vilage in costume as dead monks and were, again, confused for being part of the event. Ended up in a LOT of pictures again.

- Attended a workshop on theatre and social justice, where I talked about Matrix and its relationship to the RC, and was made to stereotype members of the Rotary Club for dramatic purposes. Not my shiningest theatre moment.

- Saw two of my oldest friends in the world, Craig and Naomi. It's funny how certain people can just make you feel more like yourself than you have in a long time, more comfortable and capable and happy. We recorded an audio-card for our friend who is getting married in New Zealand, and made sure to include vital marriage advice. I'm sure you can imagine how simultaneously helpful and misinformed our words will be upon reaching her.

- AND saw lots of friends, loved ones, and family. Ate lots of food, walked great distances, told stories, laughed, and had a very wonderful time.

This was Halloween, this was Halloween

Sorry, kids, I've been occupied with other goings-on lately, and, when one posesses precious few mental faculties to begin with, getting distracted is tough to avoid. But, I mark my return by bringing photos of mirth and fantastic creativity (click for larger versions). Most of these were taken on the evening following the 31st, because the night itself we were all busy being pirates. You know, keeping our priorities straight.









This year saw the much-anticipated return of the pirate ship to our front lawn. My father attested to having folks stop by well in advance of halloween to inquire whether we would be doing our stuff again this year. I myself had to field questions from a surprising number of people who balanced their questions with compliments about how much fun they'd had in previous years at our house. Folks came from all over.










This was easily the biggest and most complex display yet - and of the new items, I think my favorite was this masthead my dad made. He carved the entire thing out of blocks of styrofoam, and it's just beautiful. On Halloween proper, we received overwhelming expressions of thanks from parents and kids alike for all the work and detail which had gone into making something everyone could enjoy (secretly, we enjoyed it most of all).





We tried to show folks the power of creativity and imagination. I think that is tremendously important, and inspiring, at the risk of sounding immodest. Putting together stuff from cardboard and other people's garbage and then acting like pirates for a few hours may sound crazy, but you'd be amazed how into it we can get, and the neighborhood can get. I have the most fun working with my family on making something from almost nothing - it's a really fantastic experience. And for our visitors, we offer a simple message, and it is those words, pictured here, which with I leave you. Happy Halloween, all!