Something I came across on my travels. A quote:
"Judd said Apgar told deputies he was smoking crack-cocaine at the adjacent park, but it was unclear why he was naked or why he was attacked by the alligator."
Not much I can add to that, really.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
What part of Nō don't you understand?
Well, most of it actually. That's as in Noh drama. We've been doing it this week in pre-modern lit class, and while it has no real relevance to this post, I thought it'd make a good title, largely because I intend to use the witticism therein in my future teaching career when I'm explaining Noh and some hapless undergrad says that they don't get it. I will, as you may surmise from that, be something of a sadist. Bwahahaaa.
Looking through the directory of classes on the CU website to work out what I'm going to take next year, I see that the Philosophy department offers a "Seminar on Vagueness". Taught at, um, some time in the afternoon, maybe toward the beginning of the week, by that guy, you know, what's his name, Bill something or other...
The pound is now apparently at a 14-year high versus the dollar, and basically ￡1 = $2. Which is great news for all of you spongers who are making plans to come and visit me, and terrible news for me, since now everything I bring back at Xmas will be denominated in USD and so worth about 10% less than it was when I came over here. Oh well - just illustrates the first rule of capital markets - you'll always get screwed. When in Japan, your yen will fall in value, rising as you leave - the same will doubtless be true for my sojourn in the US. As long as I'm still here, you can look for the ￡ to be worth about $5, some time in 2017...
Looking through the directory of classes on the CU website to work out what I'm going to take next year, I see that the Philosophy department offers a "Seminar on Vagueness". Taught at, um, some time in the afternoon, maybe toward the beginning of the week, by that guy, you know, what's his name, Bill something or other...
The pound is now apparently at a 14-year high versus the dollar, and basically ￡1 = $2. Which is great news for all of you spongers who are making plans to come and visit me, and terrible news for me, since now everything I bring back at Xmas will be denominated in USD and so worth about 10% less than it was when I came over here. Oh well - just illustrates the first rule of capital markets - you'll always get screwed. When in Japan, your yen will fall in value, rising as you leave - the same will doubtless be true for my sojourn in the US. As long as I'm still here, you can look for the ￡ to be worth about $5, some time in 2017...
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Thanksgiving
Kate's aunt and uncle live on Park Avenue, the playground of the upper class in New York, and it was at their place that I spent Thanksgiving. Their apartment, while charming, is not quite the palace one could find over on the East Side, but it was cosy enough, and considering it was raining outside, the presence of turkey, wine and good conversation inside made it very congenial indeed.
It was, I suppose, my first American Thanksgiving, since last year I and some other international students had had a dinner at Reto's place, with pork chops, pesto, couscous, and so on, in short none of the traditional fare. Moreover, none of those present were American, anyway, so as they say over here this one was kind of a do-over.
Now, Kate's uncle used to work for what he refers to as 'the Agency', spending some considerable amount of time in the Middle East and Afghanistan in particular. So, also present was Iman, the couple's sort-of Afghan 'godson', who had left at the time of the 'first jihad' and was now an American citizen, running a bagel cart on the East Side. Nice enough bloke; he didn't say much, and didn't drink anything, as you might expect. He did bring some fantastic Afghan flatbread, which I and others devoured.
I think David, Kate's uncle, actually quite likes me, which I know will disappoint those of you who have seen Meet the Parents and were expecting me to talk about undergoing a polygraph before I could sit down to turkey. We spent some time talking about East Asia and where it was going in the next few years; having spent some considerable time over there, he's fairly knowledgeable about Japan, and Anita, Kate's aunt, has co-authored a book on Chinese poetry, so they're both well aware of where I'm coming from. Made for some fascinating conversation; and in case you're wondering, no, I did not ask David whether he'd ever killed anyone, though given that he talked about having been 'in the field' in Afghanistan...
Anyway, the food was delicious and the wine plentiful. Much of the Thanksgiving fare is heavily carb-centric (potatoes, bread, etc) and this, more than any tryptophan or whatever in the turkey, was enough to make for a very lazy and drowsy evening back at Kate's place later in the day. I think we fell asleep watching Top Chef or something equally trashy on cable. It was a good day.
Oh, and in the spirit of the occasion, and providing a slightly more self-reflective note...things for which I'm thankful...
1) I get to do what I love for a living.
2) I get to live in one of the great cities of the world for the latter half of my 20s.
3) I have a great girlfriend and great friends, all over the world - yep, I'm talking to you, dear reader.
Compliments of the season to all of you.
It was, I suppose, my first American Thanksgiving, since last year I and some other international students had had a dinner at Reto's place, with pork chops, pesto, couscous, and so on, in short none of the traditional fare. Moreover, none of those present were American, anyway, so as they say over here this one was kind of a do-over.
Now, Kate's uncle used to work for what he refers to as 'the Agency', spending some considerable amount of time in the Middle East and Afghanistan in particular. So, also present was Iman, the couple's sort-of Afghan 'godson', who had left at the time of the 'first jihad' and was now an American citizen, running a bagel cart on the East Side. Nice enough bloke; he didn't say much, and didn't drink anything, as you might expect. He did bring some fantastic Afghan flatbread, which I and others devoured.
I think David, Kate's uncle, actually quite likes me, which I know will disappoint those of you who have seen Meet the Parents and were expecting me to talk about undergoing a polygraph before I could sit down to turkey. We spent some time talking about East Asia and where it was going in the next few years; having spent some considerable time over there, he's fairly knowledgeable about Japan, and Anita, Kate's aunt, has co-authored a book on Chinese poetry, so they're both well aware of where I'm coming from. Made for some fascinating conversation; and in case you're wondering, no, I did not ask David whether he'd ever killed anyone, though given that he talked about having been 'in the field' in Afghanistan...
Anyway, the food was delicious and the wine plentiful. Much of the Thanksgiving fare is heavily carb-centric (potatoes, bread, etc) and this, more than any tryptophan or whatever in the turkey, was enough to make for a very lazy and drowsy evening back at Kate's place later in the day. I think we fell asleep watching Top Chef or something equally trashy on cable. It was a good day.
Oh, and in the spirit of the occasion, and providing a slightly more self-reflective note...things for which I'm thankful...
1) I get to do what I love for a living.
2) I get to live in one of the great cities of the world for the latter half of my 20s.
3) I have a great girlfriend and great friends, all over the world - yep, I'm talking to you, dear reader.
Compliments of the season to all of you.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The Culinary Equivalent of an Orgasm
I think I mentioned that I MC'd the JETAANY career panel last month, which involved several successful former JETs (may seem like an oxymoron, I realise) talking about their experience so as to help out other recent returnees. Now, JETAANY reckons to thank those who help it out with a thank-you dinner, and as luck would have it, one of the panelists in October was a guy called Norman, who by funny coincidence happens to be the manager of both branches of a super-upscale Japanese place called Megu in New York. The kind of place that's listed as $$$$ (Very Expensive) in all the guidebooks.
So this evening, dinner was on JETAANY at Megu in Trump Tower on 47th St and 1st Avenue. And the food was simply nothing short of phenomenal. Try wagyu beef so good, we had a minute's silence to give it the contemplation it deserved. Or asparagus deep-fried in kaki-no-tane (yes, the same thing served as beer snacks in Japan), Kobe beef cooked on stone, toro tuna with daikon and spicy miso, and a yuzu chocolate cake so good I think I might actually consider marrying it. Seriously, this was the best meal I have had since I came to New York and possibly ever.
The best bit was not that I didn't pay anything for it (though that was good...), but that Norman (he's an ex-JET) and I got on like a house on fire, carrying on where we'd left off just shooting the breeze at the reception. So now he's going to hook me up next time I need to impress. Consider the scene - Kate's birthday. I walk into Megu - the manager shakes me by the hand, asks how I'm doing, greets Kate like a long-lost friend. "OK, so we've got your table ready for you - just the way you like it. Don't bother with the menus, we'll sort you out and take good care of you. You just relax and enjoy yourselves". Now that's classy. Nothing quite like turning to your date and saying, "Yeah, the manager's a good friend of mine".
So this evening, dinner was on JETAANY at Megu in Trump Tower on 47th St and 1st Avenue. And the food was simply nothing short of phenomenal. Try wagyu beef so good, we had a minute's silence to give it the contemplation it deserved. Or asparagus deep-fried in kaki-no-tane (yes, the same thing served as beer snacks in Japan), Kobe beef cooked on stone, toro tuna with daikon and spicy miso, and a yuzu chocolate cake so good I think I might actually consider marrying it. Seriously, this was the best meal I have had since I came to New York and possibly ever.
The best bit was not that I didn't pay anything for it (though that was good...), but that Norman (he's an ex-JET) and I got on like a house on fire, carrying on where we'd left off just shooting the breeze at the reception. So now he's going to hook me up next time I need to impress. Consider the scene - Kate's birthday. I walk into Megu - the manager shakes me by the hand, asks how I'm doing, greets Kate like a long-lost friend. "OK, so we've got your table ready for you - just the way you like it. Don't bother with the menus, we'll sort you out and take good care of you. You just relax and enjoy yourselves". Now that's classy. Nothing quite like turning to your date and saying, "Yeah, the manager's a good friend of mine".
Monday, November 20, 2006
One Day
Better get right back in the saddle, I suppose.
Thanksgiving's coming up. You can tell, because places around campus that are normally busy - the libraries, the gym - have thinned out considerably. I suspect a lot of the student body are pulling a fast one and taking the week off. Not that I would blame them - Columbia has a policy of scheduling classes even up to the day before the occasion, which, naturally, is extremely unpopular. This, I think, is somewhat unusual among the Ivies - Yale, for example, gives its students the whole week off. Mind you, considering how much the undergrads are paying for their education ($33,000 per year in tuition alone), one can't help but recall the nameless scholar who remarked that universities are the only places where people pay to attend and then try to get as little value as possible for their money.
I think my flatmate's going back to Chicago for Thanksgiving, but he's almost never here anyway so it's rather hard to tell. He's a great flatmate, to the extent that he pays the rent and doesn't seem to live here. I'm still not entirely convinced he's not a product of my own fevered imagination.
Kate, meanwhile, is having to move to Brooklyn. The rent went up on her place, and not everybody was willing to meet the increase, so unfortunately that means everyone has to go. It cuts both ways, really - it'll be a 45 minute subway ride to get to see her, which is a pain - it's been great that she lives so close by; but then, on the other hand, I'll get to explore a whole new part of the city of New York.
Thanksgiving's coming up. You can tell, because places around campus that are normally busy - the libraries, the gym - have thinned out considerably. I suspect a lot of the student body are pulling a fast one and taking the week off. Not that I would blame them - Columbia has a policy of scheduling classes even up to the day before the occasion, which, naturally, is extremely unpopular. This, I think, is somewhat unusual among the Ivies - Yale, for example, gives its students the whole week off. Mind you, considering how much the undergrads are paying for their education ($33,000 per year in tuition alone), one can't help but recall the nameless scholar who remarked that universities are the only places where people pay to attend and then try to get as little value as possible for their money.
I think my flatmate's going back to Chicago for Thanksgiving, but he's almost never here anyway so it's rather hard to tell. He's a great flatmate, to the extent that he pays the rent and doesn't seem to live here. I'm still not entirely convinced he's not a product of my own fevered imagination.
Kate, meanwhile, is having to move to Brooklyn. The rent went up on her place, and not everybody was willing to meet the increase, so unfortunately that means everyone has to go. It cuts both ways, really - it'll be a 45 minute subway ride to get to see her, which is a pain - it's been great that she lives so close by; but then, on the other hand, I'll get to explore a whole new part of the city of New York.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Fifteen Days
This might, I think, be the longest hiatus I've managed since I created this blog (did you miss me? I know you did. I'm feeling the love right now). The reasons are pretty easy to surmise; I'm hellishly busy right now with various papers and admin stuff that needs to be done, and that, aside from taking up a lot of my time, doesn't make for particularly interesting reading. I'm really excited about this big research paper I'm about to write on the use of the figure of Sugawara no Michizane in the Meiji period, but I think even those of you who've been to Japan would probably find it fairly uninteresting. In stark contrast to the rest of my blog, obviously. What? Oh.
It's not all bad, though, one does manage to blow off some steam from time to time. Ben Jennings, former fellow CIR from the UK, was visiting a couple of Fridays ago. He now has the job that pretty much every 12-year-old would kill for, in that he works for the company that runs Pokemon in the UK, and was here on business. We went for a few drinks, chatted to a few people, charmed a barmaid on the Lower East Side into giving us free drinks because of our cute accents, and wound up in a headhunter bar. I mean, literally a headhunter bar. Like, masks and shrunken heads on the walls. Different type to what I think most of you corporate types are used to.
But it gets hard to run a social life when academic work can be so all-consuming. After that it was 15-hour days pretty much every time, and will be most of the way to Thanksgiving, I think. It meant that I couldn't find time to see Sarah, who was in the US on vacation. Not the first time that'd happened...Nat passed through about a month ago, and I missed her, as well. Today a group of my friends from the Lit program went out to Queen's for Thai food, but I had to turn the invitation down because I calculated that getting there and back, plus dinner, would have taken 4 hours, and I simply couldn't afford to lose that much time out of my day.
Is this how it's always going to be? God, I hope not.
Though thinking about it, they do say that there are four good reasons to be an academic - May, June, July and August. Better hope that's true.
It's not all bad, though, one does manage to blow off some steam from time to time. Ben Jennings, former fellow CIR from the UK, was visiting a couple of Fridays ago. He now has the job that pretty much every 12-year-old would kill for, in that he works for the company that runs Pokemon in the UK, and was here on business. We went for a few drinks, chatted to a few people, charmed a barmaid on the Lower East Side into giving us free drinks because of our cute accents, and wound up in a headhunter bar. I mean, literally a headhunter bar. Like, masks and shrunken heads on the walls. Different type to what I think most of you corporate types are used to.
But it gets hard to run a social life when academic work can be so all-consuming. After that it was 15-hour days pretty much every time, and will be most of the way to Thanksgiving, I think. It meant that I couldn't find time to see Sarah, who was in the US on vacation. Not the first time that'd happened...Nat passed through about a month ago, and I missed her, as well. Today a group of my friends from the Lit program went out to Queen's for Thai food, but I had to turn the invitation down because I calculated that getting there and back, plus dinner, would have taken 4 hours, and I simply couldn't afford to lose that much time out of my day.
Is this how it's always going to be? God, I hope not.
Though thinking about it, they do say that there are four good reasons to be an academic - May, June, July and August. Better hope that's true.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Musings
Americans seem to like to heat their buildings (at least in New York) until they're warm enough that you could walk around in just a T-shirt. I sort of understand the logic to heating buildings when the winters are so harsh, but inside they're about 22℃, which means that when you walk in wearing several layers (as everyone who's outside does) you boil within 30 seconds. Not quite the right balance, perhaps.
I accidentally called my Chinese teacher a prostitute last week. How could I have known that the word for chicken in Mandarin also meant hooker? And why was I calling her a chicken in the first place? Answers on a postcard to the usual address.
I accidentally called my Chinese teacher a prostitute last week. How could I have known that the word for chicken in Mandarin also meant hooker? And why was I calling her a chicken in the first place? Answers on a postcard to the usual address.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Days of rest
I'm over the worst of it, I think. All that needs to be turned in has been, and I can relax for a day or two since we have Monday and Tuesday of next week off. It's not an official holiday, but the University cancels classes on those days because, I think, they don't celebrate Columbus day. So time to relax a bit. I'm going to Chinatown tonight for a good feed - I haven't had a good Chinese meal in a long time.
So I can take a breather from doing press-ups for a while (while you are perfectly correct, Tori, in pointing out that they will give me killer pecs, you neglected to note that I already have pecs that are statuesque, nay godlike, in appearance). I also get to hang out with Kate a bit more than normal.
Got my stipend cheque just this week, so I am not poor again just for the moment. Booked my flight back to the US after New Year - I'll be back in Blighty from the end of term, though I'm not completely sure when that will be in practical terms. So I anticipate a bit of a knees-up with my British-based friends.
Called the Student Loans company in the UK to get another deferment application, got put on hold, and noticed that their music was Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo Money, Mo Problems". I hope that was deliberate.
So I can take a breather from doing press-ups for a while (while you are perfectly correct, Tori, in pointing out that they will give me killer pecs, you neglected to note that I already have pecs that are statuesque, nay godlike, in appearance). I also get to hang out with Kate a bit more than normal.
Got my stipend cheque just this week, so I am not poor again just for the moment. Booked my flight back to the US after New Year - I'll be back in Blighty from the end of term, though I'm not completely sure when that will be in practical terms. So I anticipate a bit of a knees-up with my British-based friends.
Called the Student Loans company in the UK to get another deferment application, got put on hold, and noticed that their music was Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo Money, Mo Problems". I hope that was deliberate.
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