Fake French

I spent the day with Katherine, her French sister-in-law, Marie and her French niece, Gabi.


We hit up all the spots where I usually take French people. The truth is that this was my first time hanging out with the French and it was so fun. Just being around them made me feel more fashionable, more cultured, somehow superior.


Gabi had never been to the United States and it was fun to see New York with her.


Maybe I'll start a tour service for French visitors. I should probably learn the language first, which sounds like a lot of work. I'm kind of lazy about learning languages. I guess I'll just have to settle for going to see Rendez-Vous with French Cinema or the Deneuve Film festival (with subtitles, thank you very much).

Long-term crush on New York

Last night Joe and I saw Part Two of Angels in America. After thoroughly enjoying Part One, we weren't prepared for new actors to play some of the roles, but once we adjusted to the change, we felt that Part Two was also outstanding.

After the play, I impulsively stopped at a pretzel cart near Port Authority. The air felt celebratory: an amazing play, a day with temperatures in the sixties (I wore sandals!). I don't remember the last time I ate a street vendor pretzel. We weren't more than two bites into our treat when the pretzel flew out of our grasp and painted the sidewalk mustard yellow.

Drunk pedestrians stumbled by, kicking our pretzel this way and that. In truth, the pretzel was stale and my nostalgia had been satisfied by those first bites. Now the pretzel belongs to the pigeons.

Everyday I am amazed by this city.

Visitation Rights

Friday:

Jim and Pam arrive in New York
BBQ at Fette Sau




Saturday:

Join Jim, Kerry, and Higgins for off-leash in Prospect Park
Joe, Pam, and Jim go shopping in lower Manhattan
Paulie Gee's for pizza
Joe and Gili attend Jenny’s 30th birthday party



Sunday:

Visit Brighton Bazaar and other Russian food shops in Brighton Beach
Coney Island
Shop at Brooklyn Kitchen
Go to the Sarandon Fest and watch Thelma and Louise; Susan Sarandon speaks at BAM
Sri Pra Phai for dinner



Monday:

Joe's parents fly back to Iowa
Joe and Gili go to work
Valentine's dinner at Cafe Habana
Oscar Nominated Live-Action Shorts at IFC





(Some photos were taken by Joseph.)

Excuse me, do you have the--

Continuing with February's theme of Wait and See, I visited Paula Cooper Gallery to watch two hours of Joe's MFA mentor, Christian Marclay's The Clock. The piece is a curated 24-hour film, marking actual time with clips from films that reference time. In other words, at 2:13 today, Marclay has edited together a cohesive sequence of representations of clocks, watches, and people talking about 2:13. There's lots of room to get comfortable on the couches and lose track of time while knowing exactly what time it is. The show is at once impressive and gimmicky. Most importantly, it's a great way to Wait and See.



Another option for Wait and See month is an evening at Radiance Tea House and a trip to the candy store, Myzel's with a good friend.

Extra credit to one of my favorite authors, Eileen Myles for an honest and hilarious essay on book tours in the back of the current issue of Bookforum.

The other best Joe ever

Haven't slept in thirty hours minus a thirty minute nap. The best food for sleep deprivation is a Belgian waffle with bacon from Joe Jr.'s in the East Village.

I walked to the train through the thick falling snowflakes and realized that this is the only acceptable weather for bagpipes. But not too much bagpipery, just a few notes while I dash away.

My emotions are fragile and frantic. I almost started crying on the train ride home as I admired all the beautiful New Yorkers going about their lives. Oh, home!

Here's to sleeping all day.

A New York sort of treat

Meredith Monk performed last night at Le Poisson Rouge. I've been a fan of her music since attending arts high school with music nerds. Listening to Monk was a trip down avant-garde music lane.

She sang one of my favorite pieces, The Tale. Accompanying Monk were three other virtuosos.

I love how easy it is to spend my nights engaging with brilliant artists in venues where their work is appreciated.

Bah hermit

Manhattan is a bad, bad place when Christmas is approaching. Grown people in antlers and shiny brown unitards, SantaCon, and herds of awestruck tourists congregating on every corner.

Stay indoors if you can.

Stunted growth

Tonight Joe and I went to MoMA to see what was pitched as a must-see arty film. Usually we love Free Fridays because we get to view interesting movies and hear about the work from the filmmakers. Instead, we were tormented with an hour and forty minutes of time-suck. Many people felt okay about walking out even though the filmmaker and one of the actresses were at the screening.

My favorite moment occurred during the best part of any cultural event in New York: the beloved Q&A. This is when magic happens; humanity reveals her beautifully grotesque face.

A woman raised her hand to make a comment. "I came to this film because I'm incredibly interested in adolescent sexuality; I'm a teacher."

Joe and I started laughing uncontrollably. I'd like to say that her comment made the whole night worth it, but that would be hyperbole.

Would you mind picking up that name I just dropped?

Natasha Lyonne, Laura Linney, and Christina Ricci on stage all in one weekend.

Bedazzled.

Momentum-less

This is documentation of my first taste of frog legs, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Veronica and I ate a Thai feast and shared our frog legs with the women sitting next to us. (Only one of them was adventurous enough to try them.) Maybe by ingesting frog legs, I will become bouncy and energetic. Transference, perhaps.

A woman contacted me about being on a television segment based on my article in the Times. I'm a very boring television personality, but I never turn down an opportunity to be in the spotlight.

I'm too busy this week, busier than my body wants to be. Almost every hour seems to be accounted for and all I want to do is drink milk tea and sit in the sun with a good book.


(I stole one of Veronica's photographs of a piece of art-- one of my favorites-- that we saw on our gallery tour.)

Cheat night, a successful stuffing

Indeed I do.

Drink coffee at Grey Dog
Listen to Grace Jones' This is Life on repeat
Eat dinner at Pukk Vegetarian Thai
Have tea and cookies at Podunk
Catch up on graphic novel reading at Strand
Appreciate how fortunate I am to have this life

Pee-Wee's Big (Halloween) Adventure

As a legalizing-our-partnership gift, my parents bought Joe and me discount tickets to see The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway on Halloween.


Many people dressed up as the cast of characters and I regretted my choice not to do so. In college, I was Pee-Wee for Drag Ball one year, and with my new haircut, I think I could have pulled it off.


The set was breathtaking, but there was a ton of security, so Joe was only able to sneak a couple of pictures before the show began. Once the curtain went up, it felt like we were in the Playhouse. I never wanted the FUN (secret word) to end!


After the show, Pee-Wee came out on the street to say hi to his fans.


Cowboy Curtis signed autographs.


I usually don't enjoy Halloween, but this was a bit of a religious experience.


He's back and he's sensational!


I love how in New York, being a fan is an immersive experience.

Make our own fun

After a you-had-to-be-there-and-like-dogs-to-get-how-great-it-was morning at Prospect Park during off-leash hours with Jim and Kerry, Joe and I decided to give ourselves a Manhattan adventure.


Last night, each of us wrote five instructional activities on index cards for our adventure. Then we combined the cards without reading the other person's steps. Based on a complex mathematical equation determined by the number of people using laptop computers at our coffee shop, we started our endeavor two subway stops into Manhattan. Here's documentation of our super-fun time: