News from New York, no. 5

Saturday: Montclair, NJ.
Playground has soft ground instead of concrete, which confused me no end. I guess kids don't want to break their arms anymore. Gee.
Nummy Ethiopian food at Mesob. Nummy.
Went to see "Copie conforme" and hated it.
Nummy gelato. Nummy.

Sunday: Legos with Noa, back to NYC too see the Prepare graduation. I am going to do that course.
Now for the music portion of the trip, jammed into one intense evening:
Sebadoh at Bowery Ballroom
Agitator in Brooklyn at some place that I should probably not advertise

Monday: I successfully resisted the temptation to spend more $$, ate tasty tacos with old Seattle pal Andrew "Treadmill" Blackwell, who has turned out to be a truly fascinating guy, and then I returned to Mtl.

Whew! What a trip. What a town. Must go more often.

News from New York, no. 4

um. Friday, April 8: Brooklyn. Ah Brooklyn. I really like it. Setting out relatively late, Urbanspoon told me where to go and so I went for a lovely brunch—Eggs Rothko: Easy-cooked egg in a slice of Amy's brioche and topped with Grafton cheddar. Served with broiled tomatoes and a side of meat or seasonal vegetables—at Egg. Oh my. Oh my my. I think I'm starting to understand this "comfort food" thing that's been going on. Yup. I like it. I do. Check this out!

So... I was determined to stay in Brooklyn. I had suffered too much. It was resting time. Me time. That brunch was a fabulous start. Now to feed the soul. Off to the Brooklyn Museum!

I found out from my knowledgeable and fabulous um... landlady, Ean, that Brooklyn would be one of the biggest cities in the U.S. if it weren't just a borough of New York. I dug a bit more, and it would in fact be #4! Right behind Chicago. In your face, Houston! You'd be number five! Sorry, that was uncalled for. All of this to say, Brooklyn is Big. So to get from Williamsburg to Prospect Heights (two Brooklyn neighbourhoods), the best way is to take the subway into Manhattan and another one back out again. I had vowed not to set food in Manhattan for the entire day. Oh bloody hell. It's just the damned subway.

The Brooklyn Museum was pretty damn cool. I really liked the Rodin sculptures and the gorgeous fabric canopies in the Great Hall. But what drew me there in the first place was the Lorna Simpson exhibition – it's there until August so check it out.

Huh?

What a great day. Now I head off to Montclair to hang out with the cutest family in New Jersey!!

News from New York, no. 3

Georges Dambier Marie-Helene Arnaud, Cap d'Antibes, Elle, 10 juin 1957
gelatin silver print
(I gawked at this one for a while. Wha?)

Georges Dambier
Marie-Helene Arnaud, Cap d'Antibes, Elle, 10 juin 1957

gelatin silver print

(I gawked at this one for a while. Wha?)

Here I am, nearing the end of my New York week. I need a break from Manhattan's noise and speed so today is a Brooklyn day. A relaxing Brooklyn day. My feet still ache from wandering around, with, of course, my bag loaded down with stuff. Today I take it easy.

Quick recap of Thursday: shoppin! Strand Bookstore and Dean and Deluca (hence the heavy bag), followed by more Soho wandering. Then I said to myself, I said, "Self, let's go relax and look at art!" So uptown I go. First the truly lovely but small George Dambier exhibit at the Bonni Benrubi Gallery on East 57th. That part of town makes me nuts. So I rush off to the Guggenheim. But it's closed on Thursdays. Bloody hell. Central Park is a bit muddy so I resist the urge to collapse in a heap, and drag my sorry self back to Brooklyn.