Anyway, today was Mum's last day in NYC so we thought a good way to round it off would be to go to the Empire State Building and go up to the top so we could see what the city looks like. I've never been up there myself (I went into the lobby in 2002, but not the tower) so was very glad of the opportunity. Went fairly early - we were there by 9 a.m., and that was definitely a good thing as the crowds were pretty impressive by the time we left.
The building itself is impressive enough, with its 1920s art deco throughout, but obviously that's not why anybody goes. With the fall of the World Trade Centre in 2001, it's now the highest building in NYC again (I think?) and the views are nothing short of breathtaking. Though rather cloudy, visibility was still not that bad (10-15 miles) and we could see the whole of Manhattan plus Jersey, Queens and Brooklyn. Amazing sight, well worth doing. Photos are, of course, reproduced below.
Saw Mum off to JFK this afternoon, took the subway out to Queens and then back again. I have a Hallowe'en party to go to tonight, and for once I'm not going as Agent Smith (thank you, Nes) - I'm going as the Scream slasher with the mask and everything. I'll let you know how I get on, assuming I don't get shot by the NYPD.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Burning the Midnight Oil
So my mum's here to visit at the moment - a big thing for her. She's never been to the US before, let alone New York, and while some aspects of the place do seem a little strange to her, she seems to be having a good time of it. I've been out for dinner with her every night since she's been here, sampling Korean, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Moroccan food, all of which are within 3 blocks of my room here. In typical mother style, she's also been buying me towels and pillows and generally sorting out my room...I don't think it really needs it, but it does look better for her intervention, I have to admit.
The downside of the equation is that it increases, de facto, an already pretty heavy workload, so I've had a couple of late nights this week (1:00 a.m. and later). Not that late by many standards, but I'm usually in bed by midnight, so it was something of a shock to the system. Been working on Edo plays (mostly dealing with love suicides...) and on Tayama Katai's Futon, a flawed and somewhat prurient if still interesting work.
I was asked by a friend down in Pennsylvania to take some shots of the CU campus for a project she was doing, so in the absence of anything more interesting I thought I'd share them with you. They're not really that interesting, but I thought they might give an idea of the campus surroundings. The story about Butler Library's lawn is interesting, though I don't know if it's apocryphal or not - apparently, it was used in the opening sequence of Ghostbusters, and in payment they asked for a tiny share of the profits of the movie, something like 0.0001 percent or similar, with the proviso that the money could only be used on the upkeep of the lawn outside the library. The film, as we all know, was wildly successful beyond anyone's imagining, and so Butler now has hundreds of thousands of dollars to be used on the lawn's upkeep...I guess that's why they allow sports teams to practice on it - you gotta give the staff something to do...
The downside of the equation is that it increases, de facto, an already pretty heavy workload, so I've had a couple of late nights this week (1:00 a.m. and later). Not that late by many standards, but I'm usually in bed by midnight, so it was something of a shock to the system. Been working on Edo plays (mostly dealing with love suicides...) and on Tayama Katai's Futon, a flawed and somewhat prurient if still interesting work.
I was asked by a friend down in Pennsylvania to take some shots of the CU campus for a project she was doing, so in the absence of anything more interesting I thought I'd share them with you. They're not really that interesting, but I thought they might give an idea of the campus surroundings. The story about Butler Library's lawn is interesting, though I don't know if it's apocryphal or not - apparently, it was used in the opening sequence of Ghostbusters, and in payment they asked for a tiny share of the profits of the movie, something like 0.0001 percent or similar, with the proviso that the money could only be used on the upkeep of the lawn outside the library. The film, as we all know, was wildly successful beyond anyone's imagining, and so Butler now has hundreds of thousands of dollars to be used on the lawn's upkeep...I guess that's why they allow sports teams to practice on it - you gotta give the staff something to do...
Thursday, October 20, 2005
So very New York...
There are theme pubs, there are theme pubs, and then there is the theme pub from beyond the grave. Quite literally in the case of Jekyll and Hyde down in Greenwich Village, where I found myself sipping an ale or two with my friend Matt, husband of my good friend Nina and all round top bloke.
Now, before I describe Jekyll and Hyde, I should say that this week has been more or less unexceptional...getting on with the work, trying to keep a lid on everything, basically. My Mum comes to visit for a week tomorrow, so it was good to have the opportunity afforded by Matt's visit on business (with expense account, I might shamelessly add) to catch up with someone I go way back with. There aren't many of them around here right now.
So we had a bite in Chinatown, some decent if not exceptional General Tso's chicken (I have a sneaking suspicion he was mentioned in the dynastic histories I've been reading in Chinese lit) and various other variations on a theme. Thus sated, we went to Greenwich Village to look for a watering-hole. The thing about the village is it's very trendy - I almost felt like I shouldn't be there...someone was going to come up to me and ask me to leave because I wasn't cool enough, to get a decent haircut, or at least put some more work in on my biceps, for goodness' sake.
Anyway, we saw what looked like a good option, the aforementioned Jekyll and Hyde. The decor - well, um, it has to be seen to be believed. Allowing that Halloween is still ten days away, this place looked like it was gearing up for it - skeletons, coffins, old grimoires on the wall, stuffed monsters - the lot, really. But this stuff was apparently there all year round. The restaurant was called, if I remember rightly, the Crematorium, and behind the bar was a talking skeleton who would harangue people waiting to get drinks. Over the PA were broadcast such legendary hits as The Monster Mash, The Time Warp, and more, plus house specials, consisting of singalong classic such as "He's a Werewolf" and "The Mummy's Curse", which we suspected the staff might find a bit grating after a while - this we confirmed later.
And to be fair, it did do a decent drink, though when I asked where the bathroom (we don't say toilet here, it's vulgar) was, the pretty blonde girl on the door told me, with a completely straight face, "Second fake bookcase on the left. Press the books until you find the right one." And so it was. Not easy to find, and Matt managed to embarrass himself by misunderstanding the instructions and walking straight into the Ladies'. Happens to us all mate, don't worry. I won't tell Nina, honest.
But it was a good night, all things considered. I love to welcome people to cities and locales I call home, no matter how exotic or bizarre...and considering how many different places I have lived in, I guess I've had quite a bit of practice.
Earlier, on the Subway, I was priviliged (?) to see a plain-clothes NYPD officer arrest a man on the subway and haul him off at the next stop. All this in one night? You betcha. It's what NYC is all about.
Now, before I describe Jekyll and Hyde, I should say that this week has been more or less unexceptional...getting on with the work, trying to keep a lid on everything, basically. My Mum comes to visit for a week tomorrow, so it was good to have the opportunity afforded by Matt's visit on business (with expense account, I might shamelessly add) to catch up with someone I go way back with. There aren't many of them around here right now.
So we had a bite in Chinatown, some decent if not exceptional General Tso's chicken (I have a sneaking suspicion he was mentioned in the dynastic histories I've been reading in Chinese lit) and various other variations on a theme. Thus sated, we went to Greenwich Village to look for a watering-hole. The thing about the village is it's very trendy - I almost felt like I shouldn't be there...someone was going to come up to me and ask me to leave because I wasn't cool enough, to get a decent haircut, or at least put some more work in on my biceps, for goodness' sake.
Anyway, we saw what looked like a good option, the aforementioned Jekyll and Hyde. The decor - well, um, it has to be seen to be believed. Allowing that Halloween is still ten days away, this place looked like it was gearing up for it - skeletons, coffins, old grimoires on the wall, stuffed monsters - the lot, really. But this stuff was apparently there all year round. The restaurant was called, if I remember rightly, the Crematorium, and behind the bar was a talking skeleton who would harangue people waiting to get drinks. Over the PA were broadcast such legendary hits as The Monster Mash, The Time Warp, and more, plus house specials, consisting of singalong classic such as "He's a Werewolf" and "The Mummy's Curse", which we suspected the staff might find a bit grating after a while - this we confirmed later.
And to be fair, it did do a decent drink, though when I asked where the bathroom (we don't say toilet here, it's vulgar) was, the pretty blonde girl on the door told me, with a completely straight face, "Second fake bookcase on the left. Press the books until you find the right one." And so it was. Not easy to find, and Matt managed to embarrass himself by misunderstanding the instructions and walking straight into the Ladies'. Happens to us all mate, don't worry. I won't tell Nina, honest.
But it was a good night, all things considered. I love to welcome people to cities and locales I call home, no matter how exotic or bizarre...and considering how many different places I have lived in, I guess I've had quite a bit of practice.
Earlier, on the Subway, I was priviliged (?) to see a plain-clothes NYPD officer arrest a man on the subway and haul him off at the next stop. All this in one night? You betcha. It's what NYC is all about.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
More of the same
A dull if somewhat productive weekend, spent mostly at my desk or in the library. I did do some shopping at the JASMart across the road from my apartment - it's a regular Japanese conbini. I swear, the have bentos, all sorts of cooking spices, miso, tonkatsu, everything. You literally could have walked into 7-11 in Shiogama. It's not cheap, but it's a little slice of Japan right on my doorstep. Reminds me of the good times...
Which is not to say that I'm not having a good time here in NYC, but there are some things I do miss about being in Sendai. The money, for one - that goes without saying - but also having much more free time...back as a CIR when I got home at 5.15 that was pretty much it for the day, I could relax and do what I wanted. Here it doesn't really stop; even when I've finished my classes for the day, I still have at least another 3 hours of study ahead of me, usually more - I rarely go to bed before midnight. Admittedly, I'm packing a lot in in trying to get the MA done in one year, so perhaps that distorts things a little.
On a related note, I'm just starting to put together another set of grad school apps - here, Yale, Stanford and SOAS. Without a doubt my first choice is to stay at Columbia, but we'll have to see what happens - fingers crossed. If nothing else I'd have to change the blog title if I ended up in Palo Alto...
Which is not to say that I'm not having a good time here in NYC, but there are some things I do miss about being in Sendai. The money, for one - that goes without saying - but also having much more free time...back as a CIR when I got home at 5.15 that was pretty much it for the day, I could relax and do what I wanted. Here it doesn't really stop; even when I've finished my classes for the day, I still have at least another 3 hours of study ahead of me, usually more - I rarely go to bed before midnight. Admittedly, I'm packing a lot in in trying to get the MA done in one year, so perhaps that distorts things a little.
On a related note, I'm just starting to put together another set of grad school apps - here, Yale, Stanford and SOAS. Without a doubt my first choice is to stay at Columbia, but we'll have to see what happens - fingers crossed. If nothing else I'd have to change the blog title if I ended up in Palo Alto...
Saturday, October 15, 2005
The sun comes out
Blimey, I haven't posted in nearly two weeks. Yes, I'm crap, and I apologise - the usual excuses, I am very very busy right now with academic work and a shedload of other things to sort out. I will do better in future, etc etc etc.
Anyway, it's been absolutely appalling weather here over the last ten days or so, it literally rained pretty much for a straight week. I don't mind that so much - except on Thursday when I got absolutely soaked, and had to sit through an Edo lit seminar in sopping wet shoes - as the no fewer than six people in one day who asked me if it reminded me of home. We all have our crosses to bear, I suppose, and this is mine. Ironically, as it happens Cambridge is one of the driest places in Western Europe, with an annual rainfall roughly on a par with Israel. But it's the image that counts...
My Dad came to visit for a brief while as well last weekend, dropping in while he's in the US mainly visiting his brother (my uncle) up in Boston, or more specifically Cambridge, MA. So as the more observant of you will have no doubt noticed, we have family branches in the Cambridges on either side of the Atlantic.
It was, of course, a pleasure to see him - neither of my parents were able to come out to visit in Japan, though my brother did, and it was great to be able to show him around the Columbia campus, have dinner and a chat generally and do a bit of sightseeing. We went to the Met, which was free like the MOMA, and also to the Museum of Natural History, which wasn't, but is still very cool indeed and worth a visit, if only for their awesome dioramas depicting all sorts of wildlife and ethnic groups...go take a look, if you're in the area.
One amusing incident downtown...I had originally booked my Dad into a hotel in Times Square known as the Hotel Carter. Found it on the web, it seemed alright - big mistake. Ladies and Gentlemen, stay the hell away from this place. It was, in retrospect as both Dad and I agreed, actually funny. The place was almost literally an American version of Fawlty Towers. It took a while to check in because, as we later discovered, about half the people in front of us had checked in, seen their rooms, and come straight back down to check out. We finally did get to check in, went up to the room and found it was still being cleaned (this was at 5 p.m.). Realising this wasn't going to work we went back downstairs and got our money back. We weren't the only ones - the guy behind us was complaining loudly that his room "looked like a crime scene". The manager had more or less just given up in despair...he was assailed constantly by a stream of people complaining. God knows how he managed to keep his sanity. In due course I was able to find somewhere else for Dad to stay, but let this be a lesson - don't trust bookings made over the internet!
Anyway, things roll on much as they ever did. My Mum is coming to visit next Friday for a week, and Nina's husband Matt is also going to be in town on Thursday, so dinner downtown is on the cards, I think. Stay tuned...
Anyway, it's been absolutely appalling weather here over the last ten days or so, it literally rained pretty much for a straight week. I don't mind that so much - except on Thursday when I got absolutely soaked, and had to sit through an Edo lit seminar in sopping wet shoes - as the no fewer than six people in one day who asked me if it reminded me of home. We all have our crosses to bear, I suppose, and this is mine. Ironically, as it happens Cambridge is one of the driest places in Western Europe, with an annual rainfall roughly on a par with Israel. But it's the image that counts...
My Dad came to visit for a brief while as well last weekend, dropping in while he's in the US mainly visiting his brother (my uncle) up in Boston, or more specifically Cambridge, MA. So as the more observant of you will have no doubt noticed, we have family branches in the Cambridges on either side of the Atlantic.
It was, of course, a pleasure to see him - neither of my parents were able to come out to visit in Japan, though my brother did, and it was great to be able to show him around the Columbia campus, have dinner and a chat generally and do a bit of sightseeing. We went to the Met, which was free like the MOMA, and also to the Museum of Natural History, which wasn't, but is still very cool indeed and worth a visit, if only for their awesome dioramas depicting all sorts of wildlife and ethnic groups...go take a look, if you're in the area.
One amusing incident downtown...I had originally booked my Dad into a hotel in Times Square known as the Hotel Carter. Found it on the web, it seemed alright - big mistake. Ladies and Gentlemen, stay the hell away from this place. It was, in retrospect as both Dad and I agreed, actually funny. The place was almost literally an American version of Fawlty Towers. It took a while to check in because, as we later discovered, about half the people in front of us had checked in, seen their rooms, and come straight back down to check out. We finally did get to check in, went up to the room and found it was still being cleaned (this was at 5 p.m.). Realising this wasn't going to work we went back downstairs and got our money back. We weren't the only ones - the guy behind us was complaining loudly that his room "looked like a crime scene". The manager had more or less just given up in despair...he was assailed constantly by a stream of people complaining. God knows how he managed to keep his sanity. In due course I was able to find somewhere else for Dad to stay, but let this be a lesson - don't trust bookings made over the internet!
Anyway, things roll on much as they ever did. My Mum is coming to visit next Friday for a week, and Nina's husband Matt is also going to be in town on Thursday, so dinner downtown is on the cards, I think. Stay tuned...
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Welcome to the Neighbourhood
Been meaning to do this for ages, but finally got around to posting a few (and I do mean a few) shots of the locale around my place. It's not a bad location as it goes, really, pleasant enough location and so on. I'll put up a few more shots once I have a little time to take them...grad school is keeping me busy as always. No slacking off here like I used to as an undergrad, sadly enough.
Today, I went to the MOMA, Museum Of Modern Art, with a couple of friends from out of town (Philly, actually - Laura's sister Diana and her friend Isbel) and had a wander around, then showed them around the Columbia campus. Was pleased to find that Columbia students get in free to the MOMA, which saved me $12. All I have to do is go another 2,000 times during my stay in New York and I'll have just about got my money's worth.
Weekend was again rather boring, spent the whole of Saturday plowing through more premodern Japanese stuff, mainly ghost stories and the like. Look up Ugetsu Monogatari, "Tales of Moonlight and Rain", if you're interested, worth a casual read and has been rehashed a few times in J-popular culture.
Still getting a kick out of living in New York, there's just so much to do and see here...it really is, as my friend Nina said when I spoke to her on Saturday on the phone, one of the few cities that lives up to the hype.
Today, I went to the MOMA, Museum Of Modern Art, with a couple of friends from out of town (Philly, actually - Laura's sister Diana and her friend Isbel) and had a wander around, then showed them around the Columbia campus. Was pleased to find that Columbia students get in free to the MOMA, which saved me $12. All I have to do is go another 2,000 times during my stay in New York and I'll have just about got my money's worth.
Weekend was again rather boring, spent the whole of Saturday plowing through more premodern Japanese stuff, mainly ghost stories and the like. Look up Ugetsu Monogatari, "Tales of Moonlight and Rain", if you're interested, worth a casual read and has been rehashed a few times in J-popular culture.
Still getting a kick out of living in New York, there's just so much to do and see here...it really is, as my friend Nina said when I spoke to her on Saturday on the phone, one of the few cities that lives up to the hype.
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