busy!

Summertime brings a more frenzied social life along with the searing heat. I've been busy the last few weeks but here's some of what I've been doing:

Long Beach- took the LIRR out to the beach. Although the $12 beach admission seemed pricey, it was worth it for the pristine sand beaches. The water was cold and a bit rough, but worked well enough to cool me down. And lying around on the soft sand and listening to the ocean was pure bliss

Movie in Bryant Park- due to the crowd, the concrete and the long bathroom lines we didn't stay to watch the movie. We did however enjoy a nice al fresco picnic in an interesting setting.

Sazon- awesome. This Puerto Rican restaurant offered two hours of unlimited mimosas or sangrias plus a two course burnch. They had a great eggs Benedict with a green Hollandaise sauce. It's a hard dish to pull off, but it was perfect. And the drinks were strong!

Madiba Restaurant in Fort Greene- tasty South African place in cute Fort Greene. We sampled lots of dishes and had a great time.

Hill Country- meat! meat! meat! gotta love the meat here and the caloric, buttery sides. Although the sauce doesn't match up to the actual hill country greatness, the meat is pretty darn good. And the drinks were great! I tried a serrano pepper margarita (what a kick!) and a rum & rootbeer mixer (like dessert!). Fun and informal.

Big Apple moment

Walked into a random wine shop in midtown west and Whoopi Goldberg was there! But I can't add her to my list because she's already on it. crazy city!

The Winter's Tale in the heat of summer

Shakespeare in the park! After many weeks of fruitlessly entering in the virtual lottery for tickets, I finally got rewarded with a pair to see The Winter's Tale. And it happened to be on day where the heat in the city broke, the sky was clear and there was just enough of a breeze to keep one altet and cool. The scene to the left is Paulina ripping Leontes a new one after he has let jealousy get the better of him and caused the death of his wife and son. Paulina was amazing! She really stole the show with her energy and fiery tongue. Although the it only got a tepid review in the New York Times (they liked the other play in this summer's cycle, Merchant of Venice) I thought it was thoroughly enjoyable. For a three hour play, it kept a pretty good pace and the actors recited the twisty Shakespearean lines with enough clarity and panache that I understood most of it. The staging was also well done. They had fake sheep popping up from hidden grooves in the stage and a lovely glass window pane that mimicked rain fall. The drama was absorbing and the comic relief hilarious. It made me realize that as the precursor to television and modern entertainment, Shakespeare knew how to keep the rabble interested. All in all, a most enjoyable evening. :)

Oh Canada!

This weekend I went to Montreal for fun with a few close friends. Montreal is a pretty and spacious city and seemed very uncrowded and sparkling clean from a New Yorker's point of view. I loved the spiral staircases, the flowers and ivy covered walls, and the cobblestone streets of Old City. And it was far enough away to feel like a real vacation and adventure.

We climbed up the winding Mont Royal to see the views from the top and the drum circles at the bottom. Bought and sautéed duck liver. Consumed loads of ice cream and sorbet, and maple flavored everything (including soda!). Went to the Montreal International Jazz Festival where we saw The Lost Fingers, a very popular Canadian band that covers eighties songs. Their rendition of Billie Jean was amazing.

We also ventured to Quebec City where we played around in the castle/palace like hotels before wilting in the scorching sun and having an impromptu picnic. Who knew Canada would be so frakkin' hot? Also did some shopping in cute French boutiques, where I bought pates, a nice wall hanging, and some maple tea.

What I'm watching

True Blood, Season 2- so far, so good. Same great characters, sexy and fun. And more Eric! I loved it when he turned all vampire and ripped some poor guy limb to limb, then turns and asks Lafayette, "Do I have blood in my hair?" Lol. I'm still not tired of Sookie and Bill either. I think they are cute together :) But I'm sure I'll be ready to watch them be ripped apart when the time comes.

Skins- yay for British tv! Another well written, well cast and well acted British teen drama. Well bad! Nothing terribly new or original but pretty high quality.

Dog Whisperer- fascinating show. I can never get tired of Cesar Milan magically knowing how to calm all dogs and solve the people problem. Plus, puppies!

Orange is the New Black

Just started reading Piper Kerman's Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison. It sounds remarkably like college! She describes how you had to carry all your shower articles in a bag or caddy and then wait in line to use the good showers since half of them didn't have great pressure or hot water. Hello old Parrish hall! I had no idea that prison was so similar to dorm life. I guess in movies they always portray prisons as maximum security. In minimum, as Kerman describes, there are no bars on the individual cells- there are no cells, just a barracks like dorm system. Prison is a scary, almost mythical concept. It is enlightening to hear a middle class hippie describe her journey down the rabbit hole.

It's an interesting read- really brings out the gender and race issues in representations of prison. Jail stories are almost always about men and violence. So far in the book, what Kerman has noticed about prison is the racial divisions and the army like structure. I was turned on to it when Kerman's fiancé had a NYT Modern Love article describing visiting her every week in prison and the bond he developed with the other prison men. He writes really eloquently about what it is like to be one half of a couple in prison.

Who I saw last night!

J-Lo at the Apollo! She is amazingly beautiful in person, and that golden dress was radiant. :) She hid in the VIP section the whole night but I did get a brief glance when we crossed paths en route to the bathroom. Not the most glamorous way to see such a celeb, but I will take what I can get! 

And Aretha was there too! Also dressed in gold. Nice night!

What I'm watching

Season 1 of True Blood in preparation for Season 2 being released on Netflix this week. I've read most of the books so it is quite pleasurable to watch the show and enjoy this fluff in another medium. True Blood is popcorn and enjoyment, pure escapism

I struggled to make it through the first few episodes of The Bachelorette. I just couldn't do it. The heroine of this season, Ali, is so disgustingly all American. She quit her job to be on the show and when asked what she wants out of life responded that all she wanted was a family and love to fill the holes in her life. Ack! I cannot watch her search so obviously for a "husband" to complete her, to give her life meaning.

Rewatched Kill Bill again and found it much more fun the second time round when you know what to expect. Then you can just relax and enjoy Tarantino's masterful touches and awesome female characters.

Still watching Party Down, and the characters just keep growing on me. Witty writing and excellent acting make this Starz comedy a critic's darling. With the stars being stolen away for other projects, who knows if it will last.

and Big Brother is coming in July! talk about summer flings :)