Christmas in New York

My entire immediate family is making tracks to Puerto Rico for Christmas.

I will instead head to New York City for a sweet sojourn in my home town.

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Williamsburg, Brooklyn New York

I'll sleep in the 'Burg, take the L train to Manhattan each day to eat bagels; gobble up ethnic food; indulge myself on Sushi; make a bee-line to New York Central; tear up at the old Art Store, now Dick Blick on Bond Street; venture into old territory and explore and discover the new.

Fuji Instax Mini 7s

I'll be certain to get over to B&H to check out cameras; and perhaps buy one, trade one in or just browse.

Red Paste for Chops

Chinese New Year

I'll wander around the back streets of China Town, buy a pot of red paste for my name chop and lunch at a fabulous dim sum restaurant.


I'll see Blake and Dickens at the Morgan; Jung at the Ruben; Man Ray at the Jewish Museum,

Tim Burton at the MoMA ©

and perhaps find my way to 53rd Street to see Tim Burton at MoMa (I just learned that tickets may make for long delays).

Rockefeller Center

If I do not dawdle, I might have time to see the skating rink aglow with Christmas lights; fashion on Madison Avenue; take the tram to Roosevelt Island; buy perfume at Bloomingdale's; drink cappuccino at some of my old cafe haunts; and take photographs of the Brooklyn Bridge.

High Tea at the Palm Court, Plaza Hotel

If the Plaza was offering high tea, it would be one of my musts, but I suspect it is still closed...instead I'll find an equally satisfying luxury in my travels.

I might even take an excursion to a pen shop.

Danger alights as my fingers tap out the the words, fountain pen.

Check out Kinokuniya in Bryant Park or RC.

What about a movie night; will I find some of those not here films in the City, like An Education?

I will not stint but indulge.

Will I be sated?

The Talented Miss Highsmith

WP's review of the book differs widely from that of the NY Times and its pre-review, so much so that I thought I was reading about two different biographies.

I look for more meat on the review plate and read the LA Times.

Mercury retrograde

21 Capricorn 46 Sat, Dec 26

5 Capricorn 35 Fri, Jan 15, 2010

21 Capricorn 46 Thu, Feb 4, 2010

Quote

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

-Goethe
(1749-1832)

The Films

Salon recommends: Synecdoche, New York; Platform; Inland Empire, Late Marriage.

Salon and the New York Times give Crazy Heart a review that makes it seem a "must see."

The Salon series on film recommendations here.

Avatar has had mixed reviews, but I'd like to see it for the effects and perhaps be affected by the story.

Children of Men, dystopia.

The Story of Marie & Julien (2003), a fantasy.

Art Bistro, AP recommendations here.

Truthdigs 20 best "meaningful" films here.

Quote

When obstacles arise,
you change your direction to reach your goal;
you do not change your decision to get there."
~ Zig Ziglar

Quote

Be Impeccable With Your Words
Don't Take Anything Personally
Don't Make Assumptions
Always Do Your Best

One Brief Moment: Nelson Mandela

For several days I've seen announcements about a new film about President Mandela and how well Morgan Freeman plays the role. I don't know if the subject matter, a rugby game, inspires me, the subject of "Invictus ," but I do know that Nelson Mandela has the charm and personal charisma to win the world.

I saw him on 8th Avenue. I shook his hand. I held his gaze as he held mine and we parted. A brief encounter of less than two minutes.

Recommended films, Daily Beast

Daily Beast had a segment of "neglected" films. The following interest me:

Adam, about a young man with asperger's syndrome
The Stoning of Soroya M, a Middle East tragedy and a woman's story about betrayal
Skin, a girl is born to two white parents in South Africa, with dark skin; seems poigant and timely
Lemon Tree, a grove threatened by Israeli-Palestine conflict and a woman's fight to survive personal destruction
My One and Only, a woman searches, in a comedy, her independence after searching for a "new husband."

Quema del Diablo en Guatemala

Garden of Earthly Delights (right panel),
Hieronymus Bosch, ~ 1504-1510

Many in Guatemala practice, "Quema del Diablo."

All year he hides under the bed or in the junk piled up in the corner, casting misfortune or worse on helpless mortals.

But this Monday, December 7 at 6 p.m. sharp, the devil gets his comeuppance, as he is tossed out of the house along with the trash and set ablaze in the Quema del Diablo (Burning the Devil), a tradition in many Guatemalan towns that literally sparks the beginning of the Christmas season.

~ Juan Carlos Ordóñez

Witness to your own life

Another terrific interview by Ricë Freeman-Zachery, this time with Wendy Hale Davis, bookbinder and journalist.

James Mason Retrospective

Photo via the Globe

Always among my favourites, a James Mason retrospective at the Brattle and a nice write up at the Globe.