sunnyside up!

(leave your worries on the doorstep)

errands

Still trying to come up with a “theme” for this blog. An earlier design no longer works well with WP 2.7. I may be looking for a local graphic artist who can design banners for me — we’ll see if the demand for small sites and blogs remains steady.

My friend, CB, is starting a cool new site. I won’t tell you anything about it yet — only that I’m very excited to be a part of the project and EXTRA excited that CB recently moved to Jackson Heights, which is just two miles from here. His apartment is FABULOUS, as one would expect, and I love walking down 37th Avenue, checking out everything that’s changed (or remained the same) since I lived there (1991-99).

I’m doing a lot of walking around lately, despite the cold weather. The decision to blog again arises from the need to feel like I’m doing something productive rather than just wandering around aimlessly. I’ll take the camera for today’s rounds: up to Queens Blvd. to check out a potential gym, then north to Sorriso in Astoria to pick up some prosciutto, sopressata, cheese, and fresh pasta for Saturday’s dinner.   It’s a long walk, but I’ve got a lot of time on my hands (and several stops not worth mentioning along the way).  Also, it’s close to Coach’s home, and I need to pick up a new team photo for the Astoria Italia web site.

More later…

back to blogging.

I’m doing so much WordPress work these days that I might as well have my own sandbox. Expect random thoughts, reviews of local shops and eateries, and a lot of changes to the front-end over the next several weeks.

i got my job through the new york times

Subject: “I Got My Job Through The New York Times”
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 08:44:26 -0400
To: photosales@nytimes.com

Hello. I’m not sure that photo reprints is the right department, but I need to start somewhere. Perhaps you can direct me to the proper party.

My mother appeared in one of those subway poster advertisements that ran through the 60s and 70s — “I Got My Job Through The New York Times.” I am trying to locate a copy of either the poster or the photograph. Maybe you know of the agency responsible for producing the ads?

I used to see my mom’s face, larger than life, with her teeth blacked in or a moustache painted on. These are my earliest memories of riding the #7 train in and out of Manhattan, back when my mom’s Filipino face was the exception and not the norm in places like Flushing. I also remember buying Chiclets from the vending machines on the platforms. That’s where I first tasted wintergreen mint.

Anyway, I’m rambling. If you have any suggestions about where I might begin my search please let me know.

Thank you for your attention and assistance.

***********

More subway ad faces:

This one courtesy Ken Mondschein in his “Subway Ads, Deconstructed” [link rotted]: the nefarious Dr. Z, who wants to put acid on your face!

Here’s one from Global Graphica and two more from Romiphoto.

was there anyone as glamorous as Marlene Dietrich?

TriBaby asks the question. Mel responds, “no way.”

Paul and I are going to see “Der Blaue Engel” tonight at AMMI. I first saw this movie in Film 101. The screenings took place on Monday afternoons, in the cavernous auditorium on the 6th Floor of the North building. I loved sitting in air-conditioned darkness, up near the back where I could hear the projector’s muffled purring through the plexiglass window of the booth…

It’s been twenty years since Film 101 and I wonder what I will think of Ms. Lola and Professor Rath now. Time has a way of changing your point of view, especially in matters of lust and suffering.

craigslist rants

Sometimes when I’m bored I read through the “rants and raves” section of Craig’s List. I think I’ll start a weekly feature of my favorite posts. Here’s the first one:

RE: How to live on $10

Date: 2006-08-27, 12:32AM EDT

It can be done. Eat fried chicken, download all your music and movies illegally, and shoplift on the side. You can even smoke: order tobacco in bulk from Kansas, and roll it yourself. I have a titanium-steel “tube-injector” model that is a year old and still dependable.

Don’t go to bars. Drink Steel Reserve or St. Ides in your bedroom. I wouldn’t recommend drinking malt liquor your whole life but it will do for a few years.

Stay cool, and look for something better. Be patient. Federal minimum wage is still $5.15. High-fructose corn syrup has made a plethora of foods a lot cheaper, and drinking tap water won’t hurt you either.