The Dali arriveth

The handsigned Dali lithograph I bought in New Haven last August with my fabulous friend HB arrived. It is called "Don Quixote on an Infinite Landscape".

"In this classic image, we see the knight Don Quixote, perched on his valiant steed, doing battle with the giant Caraculiambro. He seeks to vanquish the giant and order him to kneel in submission to his beloved Lady Dulcinea. Note the special design in the lower right corner wherein his name and his wife Gala's are intertwined under a crown as a tribute to Don Quixote and his love for the Lady Dulcinea." - www.dalilithographs.com

I bought it at White Space Gallery on Chapel Street.

http://www.whitespacegallery.com/

Tale of a mermaid drop-out

so I went to Coney Island with good intentions of being in the 25th Annual Mermaid Parade this morning. I had even bought a hair gel to turn my hair blue. But the float I was supposed to be on was late, and I couldn't find it later, and the whole mermaid thing started to get annoying and feel like a lot of work. So I decided to ride the Wonder Wheel (oldest ferris wheel in the USA -- no accidents in the 85 years it has been open!)

(And I had not dressed as a mermaid as I planned to do that after I found my float. Good thing I had waited!)

So I waited in line to get on the Wonder Wheel. A cute little boy was in line with me (we were in the line for the car that doesn't swing, as you can get in the scarier swinging car through another line.) The kid waved to his dad, who was off to the side. As per all rides, there was a sign that said "Every child must be accompanied by an adult."

Just in case it was not obvious that my Pakistani self did not bring the little towheaded boy, I told the Ferris Wheel worker that he was not my kid. He nodded.

The non-swinging car arrived, and I got in the front, the little boy got in the back.

The ride worker shut the door and we started to ascend the ride.

No one was with the kid but me.

"There's my daddy!" yelled the boy, pointing down to a man who smiled and waved. "He's hiding."

Apparently, the dad did not want to buy a ticket to accompany his son, so had 'assigned' him to stand close to me and go with me.

"Is this your kid?" I yelled down to him.

He nodded.

"OK -- I'll take care of him." (Did I really have a choice?)

Luckily, the kid was not scared of the ride, as it was my greatest fear that he would start screaming when we got higher up. He was very calm. He was also named Dennis, which was suitable as he had blonde hair sticking up just like Denis the Menace.

We went twice around the ferris wheel, and as he descended to the ground, the ride worker opened the door as soon as he could touch it. Dennis jumped about 6 feet from the moving car and landed on the ground. He started running to the turnstiles to meet his dad. At the last minute, he turned around and waved at me. Then he ran off.

SO .... apparently it was my destiny to take Dennis on the country's oldest ferris wheel.

Restaurant Week

Apparently, it is Restaurant Week in NYC.

I asked JDM, "Isn't it Restaurant Week every week?" He said Yes.

The price for 3-course meals at top NYC restaurants during this feted Restaurant Week is $20.12, for 2012, the year for which NYC hopes to win the Olympic Bid.

You know, he's right.

I was in the 57th Street subway station around 11 pm tonight, and I swiped my farecard through the turnstile. I did, and the electronic sign said "Swipe card again at this turnstile."

I did and then it said "Just used". So now I was blocked from using my farecard again for 18 minutes.

(The MTA does this so that people don't cheat the system by buying only one farecard and using it among many people by passing it back through the turnstile.)

So I went to the subway worker at the kiosk and explained what had happened. He mock-gasped and said "It's messing with you!"

I smiled ruefully and said "Yes, like everything else!"

He burst out laughing, then paused and spoke into the microphone in his kiosk, so that it sounded like the voice of God, or at the very least like James Earl Jones as Darth Vader:

"Because you let them."

Wow. This guy pegged the whole situation without really knowing me. He rocks. I feel I should pay him the hourly therapist fee. As it is, I didn't even have to pay the extra $2 for the subway fare he should have charged me.

Looks like Pakistan

Late last night, I was walking up 7th Avenue to the subway when I noticed some horse-drawn carriages from nearby Central Park going down the street next to the tour buses, pedicabs (little cabs pulled by a person on a bicycle) and the taxi cabs.

We have the same mixture of animals and vehicles on the streets of Karachi, Pakistan as we do in New York City.

A midtown shout-out

This one is for "R", the very cheerful coffee vendor whom I see every day in front of Carnegie Hall. He is there in the waaaaaay early mornings, which is when I go to open the gym near there.

Fourteen years ago, in 1991, I sang in a 100-girl choir at Carnegie Hall in honor of its 100th anniversary. Our songs were "Va Pensiero" from Verdi's opera "Nebucco" and the Bach's "Hallelujah" Chorus from "Christ on the Mount of Olives", not to be confused with the more popular Handel's "Hallelujah" Chorus sung during Christmastime. Our orchestra was the Israel Philharmonic.

How times have changed. At least for me.

Hot town -- summer in the city

Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty!

Literally -- it is so hot that I sweat buckets as soon as I step outside. It is supposed to cool off later this week. Let's hope so.

Opportunity to help out tsunami orphans

I read about this on Craigs List.

http://seedart.org

Looking for artists, photographers, promoters to help out with an art project for children orphaned by the tsunami. Please email info@seedart.org for more information, and visit the project site. Any help is greatly appreciated!

He actually makes me feel worse

There is an early morning DJ who reminds everyone each day "to be thankful you got up today. There are a lot of people who died during the night. And you're NOT one of them!!!"

Ugh. Where's Mickey Dolenz when you need him?

My horoscope today

It's a good one, and really applies to all of us (but I am a Virgo, having the birthday of Sept 22):

Life isn't a battle, it's a game, and don't let anyone tell you differently. The only trick is to know the rules of the game, and you can turn any circumstance into a victorious one. The rules are pretty straightforward, actually, and you've known them all along. 1) Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 2) Have faith. 3) Remember that what you get out of this life is what you put into it. Pretty simple, huh?

I got on board

I recently ran into and bought a CD from "Accapella Soul" (sic), the acapella group that travels the subways and sings gospel and doo-wap. (See "don't need no baggage", July 2, 2004). This is the song they sang that convinced me:

(Woman in front of group)
"In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight!"

(Man in back)
"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"

An unparalleled nature stroll

HB, JDM and I went to Central Park on an incredibly sunny afternoon and the manmade lake by the 59th Street entrance was packed with wildlife.

There was a family of Canada geese, including 6 goslings, swimming together, and a snow-white egret flying across the lake. There was an identified bird who looked a lot like a penguin, sitting on a rock in the middle of the lake, as if to survey his kingdom.

We also saw huge fish swimming close to the surface, and some turtles crawling up a rock to enjoy the sun.

And some guy getting yelled at by a National Park Service employee because he let his two dogs into the water, at an opening with 2 signs that said "Dogs not allowed in water." Of course, I guess the dogs can't read.

Happy birthday!

Today marks the one-year anniversary of my moving into kick-ass Astoria and therefore the creation of this blog. Happy blogday to you!

So globally gross

I was walking down Lexington Avenue very early this morning (about 4:30 am) when some nice-looking clean-cut young guy at East 60th Street looked at me and said, "I'll take a night." As in, "Hi, ho bag! Want some work?"

I just looked at him and said, "Um -- NO" and kept walking. Ugh.

The same thing happened to me about 5 years ago in Rome, Italy when I went out in broad daylight at 8 am to buy some toothpaste at the local farmacia. So men can be pigs all over the world.

How cute!

At 3rd Avenue and E. 68th Street, I saw a young guy roller-blading with his pet dachshund in his arms. Neither were wearing helmets. Safety first, guys!