New Favorite Quote

This was in a recent New York Times article by John Markoff.  I think it was about artificial intelligence. Christ.  Do I have any brain cells left??  I read the article, what?  Yesterday?? Anyway, Markoff was writing about making predictions, and how everyone thought things were going to happen a lot sooner and he quotes futurist Paul Saffo saying, “never mistake a clear view for a short distance.”

I have to start making a list of ” truest true things ever,” and begin with that.  Brilliant.  Don’t you wish you were a smart person?  I wish I was a smart person.  Ugh.  Damnit.  I forgot that I’m trying to stop noticing my failings and instead focus on the positive.  Well, I noticed that I noticed my failings, that’s good. Can’t stop if you don’t even notice when you’re doing it!

And now, a cute cat picture.

Washington Square Park

It’s been closed down for a long time while they do renovations and now it’s open again, and I have to say, it doesn’t look very different to me.  They moved the fountain, supposedly, but if it’s a few feet over in one direction or another I can’t tell.  There used to be a two tier, different level thing going on around the fountain and now everything is all on one level.  But I looked all around for improvements and couldn’t find them.

This planting thing leading up to the fountain didn’t used to be there.  A statue/monument thing used to be there.  I liked the statue/monument thing, but this is nice.  

One great change is there have been children playing in the fountain every time I walked by, and I love the sound and look of that. Screaming, splashing children.  I’m not very kid-oriented, but I once was a kid and I remember how much fun it is to play in fountains.  I love that they have one. Street performers used to take over the fountain and I’m sorry they’ve lost their spot, but this is a better use. Now they perform off to the side, so it’s not like they no longer have a spot.

Yesterday in Pictures

I took the day off mostly.  Wherever I went I took my time getting there, stopping to smell the roses, or look down at the pavement.  I wonder when this was scratched into the cement? When they were in their heyday, or later, as a tribute?  I forget where I was, east of NYU, kinda in CBGB’s territory.

A pigeon I loved for a few seconds.  And fed cornbread crumbs.  “Cornbread crumbs kill pigeons you know,” Howard lied.

Screaming gargoyle-ish female faces!  That top room is lovely inside, I bet.

The Chrysler Building, seen from Grammercy Park.  What a work of art.  I never tire of seeing it. Who does?

A jacket I can’t possess.  


From Howard: “That’s too matronly for you.”  Hmmm.

Not sure I agree. I love the collar.

I want to take today off too.

And tomorrow.  I’ll compromise.  I’ll take half a day off each day.

Summer movies!  

Terminator Salvation!

Night at the Museum!  (I liked the first one, sue me!)

By the way, I seem to have developed a problem holding the camera so all the lines are straight.  I had to rotate the image of the Chrysler Building for instance, in order for it to be standing up straight.  That’s why the top of the building got a little cut off.

Why is that?  What sort of weird spatial problem have I developed??

Holiday Weekend

I’ve talked about this daily journal I keep, it’s not writing it’s a couple of lists.  I note three accomplishments each day and three things that made me happy.  I was trying to describe one of the happy things yesterday and I settled on:  feeling unrushed, like summer vacation.

First, it’s amazing how rare this feeling is for me, but I got down on the floor with one of the cats to pet him and I was just laying down, petting the cat, and I felt transported for a few seconds to summer afternoons, laying on the grass, when I had no place to go, nothing to do, a life before appointments and work and guilt about things I should be doing.  It was a wonderful feeling.  So relaxed and contented, even though it only lasted a few seconds.

I took this shot of the Jefferson Market, heading uptown.  I believe I was standing on the corner where 8th Street, Greenwich and 6th converge.  It looks a little Disneyland-ish, doesn’t it?

Roses in Manhattan


These were pretty magnificent.  So. The holiday weekend starts today, right now, right??

I’d love to go to movie after movie after movie, but they’ll all be packed so I think it will be book after book after book for me.  Okay, I’m a slow reader. In reality it will be:  book.  Period.

God the weather right this second is perfect.  I’m sitting in front of my sparkling clean window, there’s a cool breeze coming in, birds chirping, the sound of a pile driver in the distance—the urban equivalent of a lawn mower—and I’m wrapped in fleece blanket drinking coffee.  As you can imagine I’m quite content.  A pile of sleeping kittens on my lap would make it a little more perfect, but you can’t have everything.

But I do have So You Think You Can Dance recorded and ready to watch!! I started it last night but fell asleep.  I already love Gabe, I think her name is.  The one with rheumatoid arthritis.