Stacy Horn

Where the hell is Matt? has a new dancing video up. (I danced with Matt in 2007.) Speaking of dancing, I couldn’t do the easy dance routine for National Dance Day. I’m thinking of writing them a letter about it. They go way too fast when demonstrating the steps, and they don’t break it down enough for non-dancers. Maybe it’s just fine for most people, but for slow people like me, I just can’t grasp what they’re doing.

Re: Scientology stalkers. A number of places have posted the location of Katie Holmes’s new apartment, and about the fact that she may be being stalked by Scientology goons. From TMZ and the Post (via Gothamist):

“People who have photographed Katie multiple times tell TMZ there have been several ‘mysterious’ men and vehicles around Katie’s apartment and following her when she’s out. Specifically … a white Cadillac Escalade and black Mercedes SUV have been seen near Katie’s NYC apartment for the past week.”

“A team of beefy armed men parked themselves in a white Cadillac Escalade outside Holmes’ place all day yesterday, snapping pictures of people outside the building and demanding to know who they were.”

I feel like going by with a sign that says, “Leave Katie Alone!” with a little crying face. Except, she voluntarily married Tom Cruise, and Scientology’s aggressive tactics have been well known for decades.

The ruins on Roosevelt Island.

Prometheus. I saw this in IMAX 3D. On the one hand this is a profoundly stupid movie. On the other hand, I was entertained the whole time. Go figure.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. I think I might have already posted about this one, but it was lovely. Highly recommended. Steve Carell, endlessly sweet and charming and lovable.

The Avengers. Also highly recommended. Yes, I’m a Joss Whedon groupie, but there’s a very good reason I’m a Joss Whedon groupie. Most of what he writes is very smart and funny.

Men in Black III. It was okay. I wanted to like it more, but I can’t say that I did. There’s a lot better out there to see, alas.

What I was thinking about seeing today, but I don’t seem to be moving on it: Moonrise Kingdom, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Magic Mike, (I love watching people dance).

I took this on my walk up the east side. Why would someone put Medusa’s head on the front of their building?

– Learning one of the dance routines for National Dance Day. Last year even the so-called “easy” one was too hard for me. Talk about an esteem-crusher. But I must not have been alone because this year the easy routine actually looks do-able.

– Participating in an International Standard Pitch survey. The standard pitch is the A above middle C, it’s used in tuning. The survey is being conducted by the Levitin Laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition and Expertise at McGill University. I came across their work while researching my book, so anything to contribute to their wonderful investigations! “The objective of this experiment is to investigate whether the general population has a preference for one pitch standard over another.”

Actually, I did go out this morning. On my way home I passed by a photo shoot a half a block from my apartment. Note to model gawkers: Hang out on Perry Street. The thing is …

… this model looked so fantastic every shot I took came out great. I wonder how the photographer will be able to pick just one. The suit she has on is incredibly beautiful, but completely unwearable.

There are tons of secret gardens all over New York City, but these are on the water and they have a particularly special feel. I passed them by on my walk up the east river. I thought I might continue that walk today, but it might be too hot.

Now I wish I had done these shots differently. I wish I had included the buildings in the photographs. Although, maybe to do that I would have had to been hovering out above the water.

I gasped when I read that Nora Ephron died. It’s a cliche I guess, but she always wrote in a way that made you feel as if you knew her, so it was like an acquaintance had died. (She wouldn’t have liked me though. She didn’t approve of whining, and let’s face it, I’m a bit of a whiner.)

I’m always comforted when really smart people give their take on the mundane things of life, and I’m going to really miss Nora Ephron weighing in. Even if the news was bad, because she was always realistic, but she was realistic with compassion, and with humor that didn’t feel like denial. It had an edge.

Oh well. Fuck. Another one gone.

I walked up the east river yesterday. It was a problematic walk. On my side of town you can walk up and down the river non-stop. On the east side there are patches where there is no place to walk, it’s either blocked off or there’s only highway. I stopped at 57th Street, so I have to go back and pick up where I left off.

All of that said, there were many more pockets of beauty than we have on the west side. The tiny parks scattered along the river are greener and more lush and have a feeling of quiet and peace, and in some places apartments buildings come right up to the water and there are raised parks alongside overlooking the water. The west side is lovely too, but it’s the beauty of a nice lawn, vs the east side’s beauty of a secret garden. I’d say the west side is better for walking, the east side is better for sitting in a beautiful spot with a book.

Also, the rich have a far better deal on the east side. I saw some places that blew my mind.

I’ll post a couple of shots today, and more tomorrow. This was leading up to a park and a dog run.

This is the dog run taken from the other side of the highway. There is nothing like this on the west side (until you get to Inwood and above, I should say). Inside there you feel like you’re in another world.