A Severe Mercy
This book amazes me. I don’t care who or what you are – Atheist, Christian, Muslim, Democrat, Republican – this book is amazing.
Here is an excerpt from “A Severe Mercy” -
“Do fish complain of the sea for being wet? Or if they did, would that fact itself not strongly suggest that they had not always been, or would not always be, purely aquatic creatures?” Then, if we complain of time and take such joy in the seemingly timeless moment, what does that suggest? It suggests that we have not always been or will not always be purely temporal creatures. It suggest that we were created for eternity. Not only are we harried by time, we seem unable, despite a thousand generations, even to get used to it. We are always amazed at it – how fast it goes, how slowly it goes, how much of it is gone. Where, we cry, has the time gone? We aren’t adapted to it, not at home in it. If that is so, it may appear as a proof, or at least a powerful suggestion, that eternity exists and is our home.
Now that’s the spirit!
I busted out of my office today around 1:30pm to find something for lunch. I wasn’t sure where I was going – I figured I would have an easier time deciding if I left my computer(s), blackberry, and stacks of paperwork in my office and just started walking. I turned left directly out of the building doors on 39th Street because my options in that direction were more appealing – Pret and Hale and Hearty – my two usual fall-backs. THEN I saw the line of people coming out of some hole in the wall restaurant that I had never even noticed despite it’s 4-doors-down-the-street proximity to my office. What the heck are they lining up for? I’m not kidding there were 75 people in this line that stretched to the end of the block and threatened to curl around the corner of Broadway.
Cupcakes? No.
1/2 Price Broadway Tickets? No.
They were standing in line to get their $.99 “Recession Burgers” which City Burger (39th Street & Broadway) serves as a Recession Special every Tuesday. Yes, that’s right. People ARE lining up for food, even if they’re wearing stilettos and carrying Louis Vuitton bags. I asked a couple people in line if the burgers are any good and the general consensus is YES.
Recession Burgers are pulling the Mid-town Manhattan community together during these rocky times. Now that’s what I like to see.
Ode to Awesome Roommates
Because sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do just to get through the day.
Read top to bottom.
Emails on September 4th, 2008.
Me:
Do you like Brooklyn Pale Ale? I got some last night thinking it would be a nice easy beer to drink. GROSS. I almost puked.
So you can have it if you like it.
Otherwise we’ll just leave them in the fridge because I guess it’s the right thing to have Brooklyn beer in the fridge, you know?
Caroline:
well, i’ll have to taste-test a few, of course, to make sure it was a good batch and that I still like them.
If nothing else though, it can keep the Coors Light company.
Caroline again:
Do you purposefully choose Courier New as your signature email typeface?
Or just for today maybe?
Me:
Yeah I changed it to courier new for a couple weeks.
Next stop on this Type Train: Verdana.
Caroline:
I just looked for you on facebook, but you weren’t there.
Me:
What’s Facebook?
Caroline:
it’s for former pageant queens and runners-up.
Me:
Why the hell am I not on it, then?
Caroline:
that’s what I’ve been SAYIN’!
Me:
For my profile pic, can you take a Holga picture of me in my pageant dress with my sache and crown?
Caroline:
yes. i promise promise.
Me:
Standing in front of a cream satin backdrop, please.
Caroline:
cream satin looks best with your skin.
Me:
That’s what the former Miss. North Dakota from 1987 told me.
Caroline:
well, she was right for your skin tone.
and a beauty in her day.
she has taken a turn for the worse (beauty-wise) lately, though I don’t like to be the one to gossip.
Me:
Yeah ever since that (sigh) botox-gone-wrong job…she just hasn’t been the same.
And her 10 kids with a truck driver. I mean what’s she trying to say?
Caroline:
her as a child…
Me:
Yes. Yes. that’s her.
What a sad sad story.
Explanation of Benefits
Explanation of Benefits
I have never understood this document. It comes to me through the mail in a very official-looking envelope. The return address is my health insurance provider and it shows up after I’ve had a doctor’s appointment. A million things run through my mind like: maybe they’re writing to say I have a fatal illness. Or maybe they’re writing an “Oops! We accidentally covered too much of the bill at your last doctor’s appointment. Please remit payment for $598,340 at your earliest convenience.” This document scares me to death because written across it every-which-way are massive dollar amounts. Some are in parentheses, which might mean it’s a negative amount or it could mean the company is just having a little inside joke with me. Some dollar amounts are in bold, some are underlined, and some are italicized. My eyes dart back and forth across the pages and sweat forms on my brow. I need to sit down. I can’t pay this amount of money. What are they trying to do to me?
Then I see it. I see the disclosure. “This is not a bill.”
THEN WHAT IS IT? Is it just a little notice of bragging rights? “Look how much we did for you? Look at how much of your over-priced standard physical exam we covered for you!” Thanks, Mr. Health Insurance. Thanks for weakening my heart and expanding my ulcer and causing me to get on the phone with my doctor to set up another appointment to get these symptoms you just worsened checked out. I appreciate all of your hard work.
Who would have thought?
I was listening to NPR the other day and heard this story about a man who I’m sure you’ve heard of. I really didn’t care to know any more about him than I already knew – that he’s a sordid, exploitive jerk. But then I heard this story.
You’ll never believe who said the following excerpts in different speeches he’s given.
The tax cuts proposed by the president are obscene – what the hell is he giving someone like me a tax break for? The argument for the tax package is to give people back their money so they spend it and put it back into the economy. Here’s what’s stupid: the rich people can already afford what they want to buy. Do you think if I get a check back in the mail that I’m going to buy something? If I want to buy something, I’m going to go out and buy it! Don’t give ME the money! Take that money and make sure that every citizen in the United States of America has health insurance. THAT’S where you spend the money! If we would get that message across to the citizens of Ohio (AMERICA!), I don’t care how republican your district looks, they will say, “Uh huh, that relates to me!” That’s what we stand for! We are right on the issues! That’s what drives me insane when I watch the news and I see this garbage…well, I’m the KING of garbage! I KNOW garbage!
……..
Yes the government is responsible for protecting us from violence and terrorists, but there is another form of violence they should be protecting us from. It’s the violence of a pink slip on a Friday afternoon saying you’ve been laid off and now you don’t have enough money to take care of your family… Job insecurity, health insurance, the fact that you have to choose: should I take my medicine this month or should I buy my kid a coat for the winter?
…….
Any job I’ve ever had has had the same constituency; it’s been middle and low-income people that need a voice, that need help, that need whatever. Even in my entertainment, that’s my base. It was my base in politics and when I practiced law.
…….
54 years ago this week I came to America. I was 5 years old and most of my family had been killed in the Holocaust in camps in Germany and Austria during WWII. We came over on the Queen Mary January 19 – January 24th a 5-day voyage in 1949. When we arrived my first memory was my mom waking me up and saying, “Jerald, we have to go up there on the top deck,” (one of the top decks on the Queen Mary) and all I remember (the rest has been told to me, I was only 5) but I vividly remember everyone standing out on top of the ship, on the deck – there were about 2000 passengers on board. Packed together! Packed together! And what I remember was that it was freezing and that nobody said a word. It was absolute quiet. We were passing the Statue of Liberty. My mother told me later as I got older (obviously I wouldn’t have remembered what I’d said) but she remembers me asking her, “What are we looking at? What does it mean?” And she said to me in German, “One day, everything!” The Statue of Liberty means everything! We take it for granted today! We take it for granted. Remember the Statue of Liberty stands for what America is… This is a place of protection. This is not a country of bullies. We are not an empire. We are the light. We are the Statue of Liberty.
-Jerry Springer
It’s a Scorcher Out There
What happens when it hits 100 deg’s (Fahrenheit) in New York City?
Here are some observations I made on the first 100 degree day in New York City, June 9th, 2008.
#1. My hair was 4 inches shorter due to the humidity curling it up like Shirley Temple’s.
#2. The garden behind my apartment looked unusually green and thick and muggy when I looked out the window this morning.
#3. Serious Runner Dude that I pass on my way to the subway every morning was doubled over and wheezing instead of sorrowfully looking at all the poor souls descending the subway stairs on the way to their offices.
#4. People on the subway seemed more chatty than normal. I’m not sure what the connection to the heat is here, but I’ve never seen so many New Yorkers speaking on the subway at 8am before – even through the typical L-Train “We are stalled because of train traffic ahead of us…” announcements.
#5. After walking for 2 minutes in the heat from the subway to my office, I had an urge to post all of my clothing on Ebay apart from bathing suits and my two favorite sun dresses.
#6. Also on my walk to my office I noticed a severe decline in the number of smokers standing outside of their buildings for their “start the day right” cigarette. This could possibly be the only good observation I post here.
#7. When sweat drips from my chin onto the paperwork on my desk, the ink doesn’t run as badly if the paper is high-quality. *Note to self, on 100 deg+ days, use high-quality paper to avoid ink bleeds – or work in an office where the air-conditioning does its job.
#8. Tourists find an excuse to use the free fans they give away at the Broadway shows:
#9. 90% of my emails today (work and personal) mentioned the heat. ”Stay cool!” “I hope you’re inside in air-conditioning!” “Can you believe this heat?!”
#10. Everyone carries a tissue around:
#11. In Brooklyn they unhook the water hydrants and let the kids run through the water – this is one of my favorite things from today:
Watch out, New Yorkers. It’s going to be another scorcher tomorrow!
Let the Games Begin
This post will serve as the Opening Ceremony to the 2008 Summer Games Brooklyn Style.
Some things to know before we begin:
All sporting events are fictitious (fake sports are better).
There are only about 4-6 athletes who compete in all the events (I only have about 4-6 friends).
The results of all the events are rigged in my favor (hey, I post the results…).
There may or may not be steroids involved (I mean, just look at us…).
Event #1 – Darts
The intimidating photo below is of “Team Ten Days A Week” who seem to be taking the dart world by storm. They are expected to win the gold medal for the dart competition in the 2008 Summer Games Brooklyn Style. That could be because these games are not real and we will (by default) win every competition we enter – or it could be because we are really that good at darts.
Composite photo designed and produced by Caroline Mitchell – www.carolinemitchelldesign.com
Soundtrack by Andrew McConkey of Last Go - www.myspace.com/lastgo
Motivation and Innovation by Davey Spens – www.daveyspens.com
Heavy Metal in Baghdad – Update
A few weeks ago I wrote about the documentary film “Heavy Metal in Baghdad.” I have a couple updates about the band and the documentary.
Currently the band is in Istanbul, Turkey under refugee status and are waiting to hear from the UN if they will be granted visas so they can tour. The film makers (Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi), Converse, Vice Magazine and a few fundraisers have been helping the band get on their feet in Istanbul.
The documentary will be released to DVD on June 10th and will be available through: Blockbuster, Amazon.com, and Heavymetalinbaghdad.com.
There was also a great article about the band and documentary in the New York Times.
Happy 125th Birthday!
“The completed work will not only be the greatest bridge in existence, but it will be the greatest engineering work of the continent, and of the age.”
—John A. Roebling, civil engineer
The Brooklyn Bridge turns 125 years old this weekend and there are a slew of celebratory events happening. Check out the Brooklyn Bridge film screenings, guided Brooklyn Bridge walking tours!!, and music/dance performances…
See the full schedule here:
Generally, I’m not touched by buildings and engineering (apart from the Taj Mahal because the story is so flipping romantic) … but I will admit to shedding a couple tears when I watched the documentary film on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. What this structure stands for is so amazing – bringing communities of people together, opening up trade and commerce for New York, and the way people pulled together to build it 125 years ago is so touching. I am overwhelmed every time I walk across it.
Come celebrate its birthday this weekend!
A Favorite Thing
It’s sunny today.
It’s the Friday before a 3 day weekend.
And I found my favorite song of the month.
Listen to it….
THEN download her album and just TRY to stop yourself from dancing…just try.
