19/4/13 – ‘Captured’

While working out on the stepper at the gym this morning I watched the Boston manhunt in real time action. You have got hand it to this country, they certainly know how to do live coverage. But am I a bad person to say that I think there is too much hype attached to anything that resembles terrorism here in the USA? This morning the Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, put Boston into ‘total lockdown’. This meant that over a million people were told to stay home and stay indoors, go to their basements and not answer the door to anyone. All transit systems (bus, train and plane) were shutdown. Boston was at a standstill and was supposed to remain that way until the fugitive was apprehended. 

 

After lunch we took the subway downtown to Century 21 to buy Peter a suit. He did so well with the suit he decided to get himself a blue blazer as well, just so that he can match Hansie! We then travelled back uptown and ate at the famous ‘Tanoshi Sushi’ (1372 York Avenue). Last month the NY Times listed this microscopically small place as doing the best sushi in NYC and the queues ever since have been huge. Being ‘hot’ in NYC means you can hang out a clipboard on the restaurant door at 1.30pm with just 10 spots available for each of the three sessions (6.00pm/7.30pm/9.00pm) for which they are willing to seat guests that night and expect that there will be a queue of people just standing around outside waiting to sign up and that the list will be completely filled by 2pm … after which and a sign goes up on the door to say: ‘Our restaurant is full tonight – please try again soon!’  Who has time in the middle of a busy day to come all the way up to York Avenue and sign a clipboard? Well we do of course. For one thing we are not at work during the day, so we can afford to take the time out required to stand on line and sign up. Plus of course we actually live up here on the UES, so the restaurant is only a five minute walk away from our apartment. But what about other Sushi lovers, who are not as fortunate as us? Well in typical New York fashion it seems that they actually pay people to come and sign for them!

 

I am pleased to report that the NY Times was right – the ‘omakase’ meal we had was spectacular. Wikipedia tells me that ‘omakase’ (

お任せ?) is a Japanese phrase that means "I'll leave it to you" (from the Japanese word ‘makasu’ (任す?, "to entrust"). The expression is used at sushi restaurants to leave the selection to the chef. The chef will generally present a series of plates, beginning with the lightest fare and proceeding to heaviest, richest dishes. Customers ordering ‘omakase style’ expect the chef to be innovative and surprising in the selection of dishes, and the meal can be likened to an artistic performance. And on this night our Japanese chef may have been huge, and almost completely incapable of communication in English, but he sure put on a show. As he prepared our dishes right in front of us he paid careful attention to even the most minute details and, as in most other aspects of life, it was this attention to detail that proved to be the prime difference between being merely ‘good’ and being ‘absolutely outstanding’. The seaweed wrap was dry, the rice soft, the seafood was at room temperature and very flavoursome and all presented with a grunt (as I said the chef didn’t speak English) on a fresh lotus leaf. He even fired a few of the courses with a mini-blow torch to sear the top – something I had never seen before - and boy was it all good!

The seafood dishes included creamy sea urchin, scallop, salmon, tuna, sea bass, yellowtail, squid, eel, fluke and salmon roe. While we were consuming these delicacies we chatted with a very nice couple seated beside us. Turns out that like us they live nearby. But unlike us they were terribly exotic! He was from Turkey and she was from Cuba – they met whilst they were both studying in Boston (at North Eastern University). Peter, ever the ‘cunning linguist’, was miffed that he did not have the knowledge or skills that would allow him converse with either of them in

their native tongues, but he soon cheered up when he found he could chat in Cantonese with the maître d' who as it turned out was not Japanese at all but a Chinese from HK. We paid our bill ($140), finished our sitting at precisely 8.55pm and proceeded to assure the people waiting outside for the next sitting that they were in for a rare treat indeed.   

We got home to find out that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was now in custody. The Chief of Boston Police had just tweeted "CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody." 3 dead and 284 injured.

18/4/13 – Dinner with Howard Meitiner

 

Today the Boston Marathon bombers were identified as Tamerln Tsarnaev (26) and his brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (19). A huge manhunt for these two is underway in reaction to the serious nature of their crimes and the threat that they continue to pose. Last night the two brothers robbed a 7/11 store and hijacked a car. Sadly they also shot and killed an MIT security guard. At about 3am this morning, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot dead in a fire-fight with SWAT teams but the younger brother (Dzhokhar) escaped into the suburbs and into the night. The drama of the search for him continued to unfold throughout the day and the tension, in this city and throughout the entire North East was palpable.

 

Tonight we had dinner at a fantastic Provençal Restaurant (called ‘Pastis’) down in the Village. We had arranged to meet up with one of Peter’s old friends from his days at the Hong Kong Football Club. In his 30 year career in the Far East Howard Meitiner proved to be a very successful businessman. He started his career as a record salesman with Debenhams on Oxford Street in London and was then head hunted to DFS Hong Kong.

But he is no longer involved in the cut throat world of business. Instead he now chooses to give back to the world and is the CEO of Phoenix House, a leading non-profit provider of substance abuse treatment services since 1967. The Phoenix House programs are tailored to meet the needs of each individual client, and they are renowned world wide for their willingness to embrace new research-tested treatment methods and practices.

They run more than 120 programs in California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia and Metro D.C. all of which are designed to lead individuals and families affected by addiction from disruptive to productive lives. They welcome clients from every level of society and address an array of problems.

They work with kids at risk, support clients in recovery, and offer a wide range of treatment options for adults and teens, as well as additional services such as vocational training and arts therapy. Their strong networks on Facebook and Twitter extend beyond treatment to support their entire recovery community. It was inspiring to talk to Howard and to learn more about Phoenix House. We hope to actually go out with him on a visit to some of their NY treatment centres early next month.

I’m thinking of starting a blog – things that should be invented……first request would be a flashing light for the vehicle of those who need to get to an emergency but are not first responder vehicles like fire brigade/police/ambulance!! Do you think say obstetricians or doctors on call might appreciate this?   

17/4/13 – Tilda Swinton ‘Appears’ at MoMA

What the?

Today we did the special exhibits at MoMA. On the sixth floor, we looked at Claes Oldenburg – he did some imaginative work particularly displaying every day house hold items as works of art. Did I mention he was also ’nuts’ and we were allowed to go into his ‘mouse museum’ where he had arranged his collection of toys, oh, and his cubby house where he put his ray gun collection.

I then looked at the 3^rd floor and the designs of Labrouste (1803-1875). He was responsible for responsible for many large public works in France including the ‘Bibliotech de Nationale’ and the ‘Bibliotech St Genevieve’. His support of the new medium of iron over the traditional wood was something that set him apart for the others of his day. Did you know that the 2011 movie ‘Hugo’ was filmed in the Bibliotech de Nationale’?     

In search of the photographic work of Man Ray, I came across a large glass box with a sleeping woman inside. A press release from the MoMA Department of Communication that I was given by a guide when I asked ‘what’ she, was informed me that I had seen ‘The Maybe’ – a performance piece by Tilda Swinton. It was to appear on unknown dates in unknown locations and was organised by Klaus Biesenbach Director of MoMA PS1 and Chief Curator at Large at MoMA.

Tilda is an English actress and has successfully ‘appeared’ in England and Germany but these were in the times before social media. I then spent the rest of the afternoon being asked by young people if I had seen her. To which I replied a simple yes. Her location was something for them to find….good luck youngens this ol’ girl’s already been there seen that!

I really enjoyed the works we saw today particularly the design and technology aspects of the exhibition by the masters over the years and the new breed of designers and inventors. Great to see the classic designs from years gone past but even more amazing to see Martin Ruiz de Azua’s ‘Basic Shelter’ - homeless shelters made from emergency foil blankets,

Massoud Hassani’s windpowered deminer – it triggers landmines in Afghanistan, or

energy collected from Cochrnae and Howes ‘Grow’ - plastic leaves that move in the wind and collect the sun, and

Bruno and Brutters ‘EPT’ - tables that can withstand falling items in an earthquake and

Ray Tomlinson’s @. But I was blown away by new thinking looking at using bees to tell the health of people from their breath or an artificial biological clock to keep women informed on ‘how much time they have left’! What a wonderful world!

We also wandered around the sculpture garden and thoroughly enjoyed seeing a young father showing his son ‘The River’ by Maillol, ‘Moonbird’ by Miro and Auguste Rodin’s ‘John the Baptist’ and Henry Moore’s ‘Family Group’. This garden has great light and it is a very peaceful and contemplative place.   

The photo of the dad and son has led me to start a NYC iconic people series – so far I have the cool dad and son and also the dog walkers…. Watch the blog for others appearing soon.

16/4/13 – The Hunt for a Bomber

While the police and the other agencies involved in the ‘hunt for the bombers’ sifted through the mountain of evidence (and not evidence) at such a complex crime scene as a marathon finish line, we went about our normal activities. Today Peter had planned to collect the tickets for a modern interpretation of the opera ‘Rigoletto’ at the Lincoln Centre, take in a visit to the discount store Century 21 to find some grey jeans and to introduce me to the Designer Shoe Warehouse. We collected the tickets, Peter got the jeans a new dress watch (by Hugo Boss) and those shoes were so cheap compared to Australia … I just could not help myself!

15/4/13 – Boston Marathon Explosion

Just when you’re enjoying a time when ‘too much sport is barely enough’ and bathing in the reflected glory of others, tragic events bring you right back down to earth with a loud thud. Today while working out on the stepper we learned that there had been an explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Was it a bombing? Who was responsible?

Well, even when none of those things were yet known, you can rely on television coverage in the US to roll relentlessly on, hour after hour, covering nothing else but the bombing but with nothing but speculation and rumour to report.

While waiting for developments and press releases for the authorities, the networks broadcast the opinions of a plethora of ‘experts’ in the fields of homeland security and law enforcement. The coverage and actions of those in positions of authority were astounding and the vibe in NYC when it comes to ‘terrorism’ on home soil is, as you might expect, extremely intense. We are bracing ourselves for what comes next and just hoping and praying for the best.

14/4/13 – Adam Scott wins US Masters Golf

This morning Peter went for a cycle to find the ‘missing link’ which would complete his circumnavigation of the bike path around the northern tip of Manhattan.  Three hours later he returned tired but triumphant. Tick that one off his ‘to do’ list! Now he is going to turn his attention to finding a way to cycle around the southern half of the island.

Later in the day we went to the Australia Bar to watch the rugby as we’d heard that the Western Force had defeated the Crusaders the previous day. I know - simply amazing! Could this day get any better? Well as it turned out the other event on the TVs in the Australia Bar was the Master’s Golf Championship at Augusta, Georgia. Despite the rain it turned out to have a quite exciting ending.

For the first time in 77 years, an Australian won the masters. Well done, Adam Scott! (or as you yourself said 'you bloody bewdy'). How good it was sit to be sitting in an American bar surrounded by other Aussies watching one of our countrymen doing so well. In fact it wasn’t just one Aussie doing well, Jason Day and Marc Leishman didn’t do so badly either! But all credit to Adam – he putted wonderfully and maintained a steady hand during that nerve-racking playoff with the veteran Argentinean Angel Cabrera.

13/4/13 – Saw Tom Hanks in ‘Lucky Guy’

Upon reflection, today’s lesson was about having the will to get up and just do stuff. I am constantly amazed about the amount of effort it takes me to make a decision to get out and do things as opposed to just sitting there. Am I content just growing older and in the end not really having lived? Not all of the things we do go well but sometimes even the most ‘unplanned’ events can turn out to be really interesting adventures. One can only plan for as much as one knows, so in the event of the unknown happening it is itself a way to learn new things, see the world differently or most importantly observe and reflect upon how you responded to the situation. So the moral surely is: ‘Just do it!’

I had been sitting online surfing the Macys website for a few days looking for a pair of jeans. So while Peter was away refereeing on Long Island today (and in order to successfully avoid cleaning the house), I decided to catch the subway and go and look at the Macy’s Sale for myself. One could spend the entire 6 months we are here just shopping – which I suppose is the point of capitalism. Apart from eating out, I think shopping must be the national sport for most Americans! Could it really be true that people spend time studying the top labels/designers and how much items cost? Do they really practice identifying who designed a particular piece of clothing, what label it appeared under and what year it was released in?

This was sounding more like a wine-tasting in France than fashion in NYC. Could it be that they are actually the same human behaviours but just a different medium? Do animals do this? I am starting to get the feeling that for humans at least this is true, and worse, I am starting to think that way too. I had even perfected the little glance up and down (all done without moving your head) that women in NYC do to check what labels the other person is wearing– ah social conditioning! I think that it is nearly getting time for me to get out of this place – but not before I purchase a few really important things that are currently on sale! Ha!   

After I had wiped the numbers from my credit card at Macy’s I decided to walk home in order to clear my head of the ‘shopping bug’. Great idea in theory but half way into the 38 block walk I was starting to question my choice, as were my feet. And then it popped out before me – the Chrysler Building with light and shadow playing ‘peek-a-boo’ across its multifaceted and highly polished surfaces as the afternoon sunshine streamed in through the gaps between the many other tall, but far less imposing, buildings. How good it was to just wander Uptown taking photos of these skyscrapers. I was so uplifted that I completely forgot my tiredness and aching feet. The rest of the walk went quickly, or so it seemed. (On days like this I really do love this town!)

A brief rest and a quick shower later Peter and I were out the door again and headed off down to Broadway! If my day had been interesting, it was as nothing compared to the spectacular evening that was to unfold. We went to see Tom Hanks in ‘Lucky Guy’ and although the part did not seem to challenge him it was just amazing to see him in person. Tom played Mike McAlary – a legendary tabloid reporter who covered the scandal ridden NYC from the late 70’s to the early 90’s. McAlary was particularly well known for uncovering major corruption in the NYPD. And he won a Pulitzer Prize for his story on police brutality shortly before his untimely death from lung cancer on Christmas Day 1998. He was only 41 years old. The script for Lucky Guy was written by three time Academy Award nominee, Nora Ephron and the show was directed by two time Tony Award winner, George C. Wolfe. Hanks was supported by Maura Tierney (ER), Christopher McDonald (‘Shooter McGavin’ from Happy Gilmour), Peter Gerety (The Good Wife), Courtney B. Vance (Law and Order), Peter Scolari (The West Wing), Michael Gaston (Mad Men) and a few others that we recognised from various shows. All up - a very good day indeed!

12/4/13 – Blogger Benefits

I was way behind on the blog so I today decided to put my head down and get a few days worth of reporting done and up on line. I have enjoyed the ‘blogging experience’ and have been pleased with many of the comments that have been coming in – even ones from people I don’t know! Not only is the blog a good record of our adventure, we have enjoyed going back over each day, discussing the important things to come out of it and researching the many names and events that pop up in the course of a particular activity or the thoughts/questions we had afterwards. It has been a good exercise in taking lots of small events and deliberately stepping back to look for the ‘big picture’ perspective and what it means to us. Does it affirm or change our views on life? Most of the time back home we are so busy getting the job done and rushing on to the next deadline we don’t have time to stop and reflect. This time away has been good for us as individuals and as a couple.

11/4/13 – Super Shopper

After the gym I took Peter to the thrift shop to see if he liked the jacket I was thinking about buying. In the end I didn’t get the coat but no sooner had I put it back on the rack when I spotted Peter at the cash register making a purchase – a leather coat and Prada dress shoes! What have I created? Not only did he try them on while I wasn’t looking, but he managed to get $50 discount on the jacket because of a little mark! Wohoo – you go big fella – Nana would be so proud of you!

10/4/13 – Online Clothes Shopping

Size 4 - as if !!!

This morning we decided to have rest day from events/activities. I went to the gym and took in a few thrift shops (the one on 3rd Avenue has its ‘designer’ section back open after a complete ‘make over’ renovation), while Peter went for a run in his new joggers before having a swim and running errands to the shop and the tailor. Later in the day, I decided to buy my first pieces of clothing on line – I had tried them on in the store earlier in the month and now they were on sale but only online. The Ralph Lauren red linen jacket and jeans will be here in two days! How easy was that?

9/4/13 – Spring Fashions and Visit to Collegiate School

 

Today @ 25 degrees is (or at least it feels like it is) the first true day of Spring. It is also the day, apparently, that ‘the email’ went out to the women of Manhattan regarding the wearing of brightly coloured jeans. Regardless of age, gender, body shape or ethnicity every woman in NYC has yellow, pink, lilac, peach, light green or light blue ankle jeans on today. The email also must have stated that only pastel flats were to be worn with this outfit. Ha! - Spot the tourist was easy to judge today … just look to see who is still wearing scarves and boots!

Today I had been invited by the Headmaster, Levi Levison, to visit Collegiate School www.collegiateschool.org/. Collegiate School, a day school for boys from K-12, is the oldest independent school in the United States. Tracing its origins to 1628, the school was established by the Dutch West India Company and the Classis of Amsterdam, the parent ecclesiastical body of the Dutch Reformed Church for the colonists of New Amsterdam.  

According to its website, Collegiate School strives to educate each boy to reach his highest level of intellectual, ethical, artistic, and physical development. Drawing on what is known about boys' growth and learning, the school offers a rigorous K-12 program rich in opportunities for cultivating individual talents and interests in a climate of collaboration and respect. Collegiate continues its historic tradition in New York City of educating a diverse and talented student body and of helping boys to become independent adults and responsible citizens who will lead and serve. It has strong sports and music programs.

 

In 2007, The Wall Street Journal ranked Collegiate number one in the world in terms of percent of the senior class (50) matriculating to eight selective American colleges. In 2002, Worth ranked Collegiate third among the nation's independent schools in terms of percentage of graduates attending Harvard University, Yale University, and Princeton University.

Security, as one would expect at a NYC School, was tight. Once in the front door, I entered into a secure room with CCTV and had to provide photo ID, sign my name and then wait for the teacher receiving me to arrive.  I was met by Chris Koble (Director of Technology) who took me to a conference room to discuss with me the College’s programs and plans. It seemed to me that Wesley and Collegiate are very similar schools in term of hopes and dreams and progress towards them using technology. Chris was keen to establish a relationship with Wesley College and I think they would be a good fit for us. They are a like-minded school but would provide a fascinating study in urban schooling. When Chris took me on a tour of the school it was hard to get used to the small spaces and tall buildings. Since by law here Grades 1-3 must be on the lower floors, we toured the school by going up the elevator!

Collegiate is located between 77th and 78th Streets and West End Avenue and consists of four separate buildings: The “Old Building,” Platten Hall, West End Plaza, and a new six-story extension that bridges Platten Hall with West End Plaza. The four-story “Old Building” is part of the original church and is home to the Upper School (grades 9-12). It includes two gyms (in addition to the Alumni Gym located next to the Old Building), the recently renovated Ann and Edgar Bronfman Theatre, the Black Box Studio theatre, the Lower School (grades 1-4), the Middle School (grades 5-8), a full-service library, music and art studio facilities, a dark room, two computer labs, a weight-lifting room, and the science department.

West End Plaza is a hotel that was purchased by the school in 1977. Though it still serves in part as a residence for teachers, Collegiate has renovated several floors into administrative offices, classrooms for the Kindergarten (added in 1997), Lower School and the Middle School and two cafeterias. All four buildings border a courtyard where students of all grades play various games ranging from Handball commonly played by the Lower School students to Courtyard Football played by the Middle School students to Courtyard Soccer played by the Upper School students. And it was just a ‘courtyard’ and every space in it was used to best advantage.

I liked this school as the boys were the focus. Despite a number of the buildings looking run down (they will be moving to a new school in a recently purchased building on 66^th by 2020), it had a good feel to it. The boys were all busy doing their stuff, the teachers pleased to talk about their programs and showcase the boys’ work and all the class rooms seemed well-resourced. And their Middle School is Years 5-8 like ours. Fees here are $39,400 p/a (plus an expectation of an annual ‘giving’). Total number of students: 651 (Lower School: 228/Middle School: 197/Upper School: 226) Total number of faculty (full and part time): 112/ Doctoral degrees: 16/Master's degrees: 67. Mascot – an old Dutch pirate!

While I was busy with my school visit, Peter went shopping and brought home joggers, running pants, a tracksuit, 4 polo shirts and - from the thrift shop – 2 pairs of slacks, a spray jacket and 4 business shirts. Good job, Pookie!

8/4/13 – Apple Service Bar

Woke this morning to find that what was a trickle was now a flood and that my iProducts were not talking to each other – no itunes purchases registered/couldn’t buy new itunes/apps or make bookings across devices. This makes life tough when one has bought tickets for shows and is planning to make new ones so I decided to visit the store and get it sorted. A very nice young man tried to help me (for two hours) and eventually it was sorted – gotta love the quality of the service with this company. Meanwhile Peter was@ MoMA by himself and had a lovely time. Needless to say he came home with another book – MoMA 350 Highlights – great book!

7/4/13 – Leonard Cohen at Radio City Music Hall!

 

This morning I went back to Bloomingdales to change a few items from the sale…and to add a few others while Peter was refereeing a rugby game on Long Island. The shopping was good, but the Leonard Cohen concert that evening was spectacular. I had heard of Leonard Cohen and thought his music was ok but nothing special, so I was more interested to attend the concert as a chance to see the inside of the Radio City Music Hall … I didn’t think too much about the music. 

But when we arrived and I saw the massive queues waiting to get into the Hall I began to get the idea that this night was maybe going to be something very special And was it ever … when he first walked onstage that night, Cohen said, "I don't know when we will meet again friends, but tonight we will give you all we've got." He was certainly true to his word. He and his band put on an epic show! Afterwards Peter and I both agreed that attending this concert was one of the greatest performance experiences of our lives.

Of course, we had been hearing about his legendary concerts since 2008 when he began a series of world tours, which have continued to this day, selling out the world's greatest venues, often within hours of tickets going on sale. And of all the older rockers and musicians still on the scene, Cohen commands some of the largest numbers of young people flocking to hear him and his extraordinary band. Not bad for a guy pushing 80.  What is it that makes a Leonard Cohen concert different from almost any other night on the town? As Angelica Houston once said of him, he is "part wolf, part angel." And that spectrum, which pings in most of us as well, is obvious in his music, his lyrics, and his onstage presence. He lets the wild have its day -- the passions and the darkness, the vagaries of love, loss, and death -- and at the same time, there is tenderness and generosity in his views. In just one or two lines of poetry or lyrics, he sums up a lifetime's vague murmurings of the heart.

Surrounded by world class musicians, some of whom he has worked with for over 40 years and most of whom are legends in their own right, Cohen paid homage to each several times throughout the evening and gives ample time for their solo performances. This alone is worth the price of the ticket. But finally, it was the experience of the audience that revealed the talent of those onstage. In this case, the concert-goers of New York would simply not let Leonard Cohen leave. Before the final song ended, the entire sold-out crowd of over 6,000 was on its feet, clapping in unison, yelps and whistles piercing the air. Three encores later -- at midnight -- it was at last closing time, and we left that great venue with flushed, radiant faces -- a flash mob of exalted strangers. It is heartening to know that in this time of spectacle and trivia, of celebrity voyeurism and gangsta rap, there are still plenty of those who are moved by what can only be described as a class act. 

There were so many great songs sung that night (the full set list is below) but my two favourites were the hauntingly beautiful ‘Alexandra Leaving’ and the incredibly deep and meaningful ‘A Thousand Kisses Deep’. ‘Alexandra Leaving’ is, at one level anyway, a simple story of lost love. But ‘A Thousand Kisses Deep’ is much more complex.

It is a song about loving another person and feeling that you know them really, really well, but still, somehow not being able to bridge the void that separates each of your realities. It is a song that summaries quite well that feeling that everything in life is temporary and insubstantial and that, although you have to live your life as though it were all real, the fundamental reality of our existence is something far beyond our human understanding.

Set 1 -

Dance Me to the End of Love/The Future/Bird on a Wire/Everybody Knows/Who By Fire/Darkness/There Ain’t No Cure for Love/Amen/Come Healing/First We Take Manhattan/A Thousand Kisses Deep/Anthem

Intermission

Set 2 - Tower of Song/Suzanne/Heart With No Companion/Waiting for the Miracle/Show Me the Place/Anyhow/Lover Lover Lover/Alexandra Leaving (sung by Sharon Robinson)/I’m Your Man/Hallelujah/Take This Waltz

1st Encore - So Long, Marianne/Going Home/Closing Time

2nd Encore - Famous Blue Raincoat/If It Be Your Will (sung by the Webb Sisters)/Save the Last Dance for Me

3rd Encore - I Tried to Leave You