I’ve moved…back

For anyone who stumbles upon this blog, I’m doing most of my posting over at Snowflakes In France, my original blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Reggie the Rug

I’m staring out the window, hoping that the people walking by about a foot from my face don’t look at me.  I saw a FedEx truck drive by about 30 minutes ago and I haven’t been able to sit still since. What if they forgot about my delivery?

I took off work today so I could be around when this rug arrives.

 

Reggie Spice Rug from Crate and Barrel

A beauty, isn’t she? We ordered her in September, and she was on back order until October, then November. We weren’t expecting to get this thing until the winter snows of February. And then suddenly, and email on Sunday said it would be delivered by FedEx today.

I took off work. I’m afraid to take a shower. I haven’t voted yet. But I have answered work emails, folded the laundry and started a new load, cleaned out the brownie pan that’s been sitting on the counter for 2 weeks, watered the plants upstairs, and now, wrote a blog post. If only FedEx could be so productive and deliver the rug.

I think I’ll now start making a list of the things I should do once the rug arrives and I can actually go places. Or maybe I’ll just sit around and admire it.

 

If you didn’t like Twighlight…

It’s been a while, but I just came across Publisher’s Weekly’s Top 10 Titles of 2009. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6704263.html

To say the least, it was a refreshing list. I’ve been worried that the only books that will be recognized or remembered from the time period will by YA novels with suspense and vampires but no real literary genius.

I looked over this list and I have not heard of a single one. I suppose I’ve stayed away from shiny chain bookstores lately to avoid the onslaught of commercial madness that comes with promoting badly written but profitable books. So for all I know, books on this list were probably on the tables in the front of every Barnes&Nobles in the city.

To convince myself that publishing houses are still publishing good literature, I think I’ll start reading from this list. Feel free to join me, and wish me luck.

1. The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science; by Richard Holmes

2. Await Your Reply; by Dan Chaon

3. Big Machine; by Victor Lavalle

4. Cheever: A Life; by Blake Bailey

5. A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon; by Neil Sheehan

6. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders; by Daniyal Mueenuddin

7. Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi; by Geoff Dyer

8. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon; by David Grann

9. Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work; by Matthew B. Crawford (I think my dad would really like this one…)

10. Stitches; by David Small

Carnegie Hall’s Unlikely Audience

I remember high school orchestra concerts, we’d been practicing pieces, perfecting movements for months and months, culminating in this one performance in a huge auditorium, where, for the most part, only our parents showed up. Wouldn’t it be great, I thought, if the student body showed up like they did to football games every week? Cheerleaders getting the crowd pumped as we walked out on stage, standing ovations and cheers at every tricky run that was successful, and hey, it’s a concert, why not some crowd surfing?

Obviously, this is just not the sort of crowd you see at orchestra concerts. The crowd has to be still and silent to be able to hear the delicacy of the music, and if everyone stood up, the people in the back wouldn’t be able to see the fingers fly down the strings or the conductor’s loopy moves. It just wouldn’t happen. Or so I thought.

Last night Jon and I went to see the New York Philharmonic, with guest musician Trey Anastasio of Phish. The crowd was not typical for the philharmonic. At first I gawked at the loads of people coming in late, wearing sweat bands on their heads or large tie-die top hats. I know they’re Phish fans, but where was their respect? This was Carnegie Hall!  But as the concert continued, they hooped and hollered after particularly impressive sections, gave the orchestra a standing ovation after every single song, and when I took a general glance at the rows in front of me I couldn’t help but feel the crowd moving, yes even head banging, to the music. 

So I forgave the girl near the top swinging around a blue glow light, and the guy in front of me who tried to get everyone to stand up for the last song. The music was great, and the crowd was loving it more noticeably than any orchestra audience I could remember.

Among the Weeds, Daisies and Sky Scrapers

Over the weekend, Jon and I cut through the High Line Park on our way to brunch. As I was trying to describe this newly opened phenomenon to my mom, I realized that I didn’t really know much about it myself.

 

Courtesy of the High Line Web site thehighline.org

 

 

Sure, I’d been there a few times, and I thought it was an awesome space in the city. A natural and green place where people can walk and relax, looking down the cars for some stretch of land, 10 blocks? 15? I wasn’t really sure. I just liked it.

As it turns out, the park may have opened this summer, but the High Line has been there since the 1930s, when it was built to run freight trains above the city streets. But the last train to run on that line carried 3 cars full of frozen turkeys in 1980. The elevated rail was left to decay and weeds for about 20 years before people started working on its reuse.

 

Courtesy of High Line Web site thhighline.org

 

 

 

Now we have a lovely, sunny park, from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, and in 2010 that will be expanded up to 30th Street.