a sad story...

I experienced yesterday, my first day of non work at Friends. With a lot of time on my hands, I decided to use the bank branch in Bed-Stuy for some banking. It is on Bedford and Fulton Street. After I did my banking, and had a nice tuna fish sandwich at the Corner Grind (Bedford and Jefferson) I took the 25 bus back to the Gotham Market. What did I see as the bus moved west? At least three empty block long spaces on which will soon be built more luxury housing. Its amazing! A whole neighborhood reconstructed with most of the housing being for the wealthy. It is like watching a juggernaut take the place of everything that was there in the past. What a frightening message this sends to the "average" New Yorker.  And how can this homeless crisis which so dominates the talk of the city be solved if the real estate industry cannot be kept in check. Hopefully the next mayor will have a different vision then the current one, and the next City Council members will be free of real estate money. Maybe then we can see some change. Anyway, those are my feelings about this crisis.
  Not much else to report--- last Saturday seems like a long way away---I saw a very tepid play at Abrons Arts---supposedly about race, but which largely avoided the problem. I was really disappointed by this. Still, I wanted to see it. Today, with no work and just a Friends basketball game in the afternoon, I thought of seeing the Pink Chair, a tribute to a major Polish theater director by the Wooster Group. Went to TDf, looked at it, reasonable price, but simply could not pull the trigger. So I am not sure what I will do after the game, with plenty of time on my hands.
  Since I am at Lincoln Center Library, after I finish at the computer, I hope to look at some commentary of Timon of Athens, the play that I saw at TFANA last Friday. Should be interesting, will report soon.

three days at Friends...

now over, kind of exhausted. Some sessions afterwards, one of them in the snack bar at the park on the west end of 145st street. A sports center among other things, open until 11:00. Lots of action. I had a nice blt at the snack bar. Kind of frenetic, yet it is always interesting to see what is happening in places I have not yet visited.
  Yesterday evening, despite being tired I went to see Timon of Athens at the Theater for the New Audience. They now have a massive theater near BAM---again, as with so many other not for profits their list of donors is very strong. Where do all these people with money come from? Why are they so willing to give to this theater--whose work, in my opinion is "spotty" but this year has made some pretty daring choices in their projects. Timon is very rarely presented---the last production that I saw of it was at the Public, somewhere in the low 2000s,  and featured a really good performance as Titus by Richard Thomas. This production, first done in England a few years ago, has a female Titus---A wealthy woman courted by all of Rome, until it is found out that her investments have faltered, then she turns to the friends who flattered her and finds out that they will not help her. In Act II (actually the second part of the play) she lives in a cave on the outskirts of Rome as a penniless homeless person. Now she hates everyone, and expects nothing from anyone. A tough contradiction between the two acts, the other two productions that I saw recently (the one with Thomas and one in Central Park that starred Michael Cumpsty) stressed the first act, and made the second a little more then an intellectual contrast to the first. This production tries to take the second act head on---the result is a very strong vision for that act, and a strong performance by Ms. Hunter in the title role. She is an English actress, surrounded by American actors in the ensemble. The ensemble is, for the most part, very strong--sometimes Ms. Hunter's acting seems a bit to intellectual and studied, compared to their more visceral approach, but she has strength and power in Act II. A very strong decision by her and her director to make this act the dominant one. Like I said, the ensemble around Ms. Hunter is very strong---some quibbles but basically I was glad that I saw the play. A lot to think about---written about the same time, I think, as King Lear, but its vision is more stripped down and it lacks the passion of Lear.
  Not much else to report. Tonight I think I will go to the Abrons Arts Center and try to see a project there---a two character discussion about race between a white man and a black women. Then probably stop off at La Flaca to hang out. Tomorrow is totally free, at this point, I like that, and there are no football playoffs to build the structure of the day around. That means I can do as I please, after I spend a little bit of time at Cobra (at least that is the plan now). Will report soon.

the weekend (long)

Saturday---came back from my sessions---pooped! Could not do much. All plans for movies or plays scrapped. But did finally eat a nice salad at the hotel bar on 77th and Broadway, while I watched the end of the Knick game. I like that place---lots of energy, even if this time, no conversation. Still, it made me feel vital and alive. Other choices, a few Greek diners that are left (and overpriced ) in the area, would have been cheaper, but I just did not want to sit there. So the hotel was a good choice.
  Sunday---a nice day---as I expected, went to Cobra for the first playoff game---had a chance to read Michelle Alexander's interesting piece on page 1 of the News of the Week in Review. Enjoyed my stay at the bar---some good conversation---afterwards watched the first part of game 2 at La Flaca. The bar was filled at the time I came in, so I sat at a table---very rarely do that, but enjoyed watching the first part of the game. I knew it was all over by the first half, so I stopped off at the newly created big center near the restaurant and had a really nice ice cream cone. The returned home.
  Monday, perhaps the most interesting day of the three.Around 9:30, left the house for Brooklyn to participate in an action against a landlord being cruel to tenants in a changing neighborhood on Dean Street in Crown Heights. Joined the group on this very cold day. We marched (about 20 of us) to the subway and arrived at the landlord's office in about a half hour. On the train, I had an interesting talk with a tenant at another building in the area---who says her landlord withholds heat and installing a new gas line is leaving a forever hole in her kitchen. Disgraceful! For about a half hour in the cold, we marched outside the landlord's office, around Kings Highway and Avenue P. I noticed a few new buildings being built around the neighborhood---I was surprised---I did not think that gentrification was coming this far south. I assume most of these buildings will be market rate. During the march had an interesting conversation with a fellow marcher named Grace. The group returned to the Crown Heights neighborhood---I left them early---got off the Q train at Cortelyou Road. It is right near a school, P.S. 139, that I subbed in from 02 to 04. A very diverse group of students, I really enjoyed my time there---sometimes I miss subbing in the public schools. Hard to believe that my last day there was in November of 04. Seems like a very short time ago. At Cortelyou I grabbed a pizza slice that was really good and then went to the neighborhood Connecticut Muffin for a coffee and (of course) a muffin.
  Still, it was early, so after a stop at the Fiction Center then decided to go to the Film Forum. The movie that I saw there was called Mephisto. Made in 1980, it was about an actor who becomes hot in the early days of Nazi Germany. As the Nazis become more powerful, he is forced to make more compromises in the name of his own survival--so he supports them. His reward is to head the German National Theater in Berlin. But what is the reward worth? The movie unfolds like a garish nightmare--full of amazing off kilter colors. Intense but very glad that I saw it.
  Then I returned home--nothing more to say---will report soon.

a long week for cityboy...

four out of five days at Friends---the other day had many sessions. So here I am, Saturday, pretty exhausted, yet still with a few more hours of work to go. No social life, no night life--just coming back to the apartment and taking it easy. Will I make it out tonight? Hope so, but you never know---I had to examine my "tired quotient" before I make a decision. Lots of options---too many to go into now.
 Tomorrow is the day of the two playoffs that lead to the Super Bowl (way overhyped, I know) and I hope to watch both of them, probably will begin at Cobra (just thinking of being there relaxes me) and possibly end up at La Flaca. Or perhaps remain in Bushwick. Monday, I have just found out has a demonstration in Brooklyn at 10A.M. that I would like to join. After that...?
  Missed Wozzeck last Thursday, I was far too tired to see it; now I have only one more choice, next Wednesday--it remains elusive. But on Thursday I bought a book that I had been thinking of reading for a long time---a novel by John Williams called Stoner. Brilliantly written, it is about the life of a college teacher from his birth to.....? Don't know, have not got there yet. Stoner comes from a closed, non feeling family---he enters and accepts a loveless marriage---and devotes most of his time to teaching and what he really loves, exploring the classics. A strong affair with a younger student, beautiful at moments, is finally stymied, leaving him with...? Don't know, that is where I have stopped. The narrator (omniscient) relates the story in a cold, bloodless tone. But every word is focused---the vision is tight and really draws one in. Really glad I found this novel, even though its pessimism, (so far) falls hard on my feelings. But it really is a great piece.
  So, the rest goes on...will report soon.

two full days at Friends....

very hectic---followed by two trips to the library on 160th and Saint Nicholas, followed by a walk to the other library where I have my sessions on 145th and Amsterdam. Well, I did it. Yesterday at the school, got some really good help from the seventh and eighth grade science teacher---very timely, and I am very appreciative. Monday night, returned to the apartment and within a less then an hour was fast asleep---spent most of the night resting, but got a lot of sleep. Yesterday, feeling much more satisfied that this marathon was over, I had a lot of trouble sleeping, my body just did not want to do it. Maybe it was because I had a strawberry shake protein drink, right after supper. Who knows? But, satisfied as I was, I was also surprised that sleep did not come so easily. However at this moment, (around 11) I am fully awake. I have probably three sessions today--will see how I feel after they are over.
 Not much else to report. Saturday turned out to be a bit of a wash---instead of a movie, came fatigue, probably from the intensity of the three sessions I had had before. Slept a bit, then had a meal at the hotel restaurant-bar around the corner. I like the place, it is very mellow--people (mostly tourists) are talkative. Had a nice salad, though it took a long time to come. Saw first half of the Ravens-Titans game; like everyone else, I was stunned by how poorly the Ravens played.
  Sunday was nice--my Brooklyn day---spent much of it at Cobra and then returned to the city to watch one of the games at La Flaca. Glad to be out---as usual, once I hit Brooklyn I felt invigorated---just love wandering through the different neighborhoods and looking at the architecture--old, and new (yes, I know, the new is a little gross and represents displacement). Hope to do more of it as the weather improves.
 Tonight after sessions--not sure, ,maybe a movie---or a trip. Will report soon.

return to Williamsburg....

after the Friends basketball game---I decided to take the L to the Bedford Avenue stop in Brooklyn, then see if I could find a place at the bar at Sweetwater's, a friendly restaurant (more then a bar) on north 6th street near the subway stop. But when I got to the restaurant, the place was filled---no room at the bar---in fact no room anywhere, so I got out of there quickly. Still hungry, so where could I go, I walked south on Bedford, then came to the Whole Foods very large store--wandered around and chose the chicken pot pie soup---really beautiful, then five pieces of roasted chicken, not so beautiful for my stomach. I have to remind myself to stay away from cooked foods; I don't think my stomach can handle them anymore. After whole foods, felt it was best to return to Manhattan, to the Essex market for my final stop before going home. So I hopped on the J and went the one stop from Marcy into Manhattan. As I walked south on Bedford, I realized that I had not been there for a while---remembered a time, not so long ago, when South fourth was still in operation when I walked that trip sometimes every day. It seemed then that Williamsburg was my "second home". But no more--soouth fourth is gone, and I have no other regular eating or drinking place in the area.Every bar and restaurant seemed packed as I walked my walk---where do all these people come from? Finally arrived at Essex street, stopped a bit at the Market, chilled out and returned to the apartment.
  Today, after some sessions will try to watch the first of four football playoff  games and since the second one is not that interesting (at least not yet) might want to see a movie later tonight. The Metrograph has High and Low, a Kurosawa film that is supposed to be amazing but that I have never seen. Well...maybe tonight...

Not the greatest of mornings..

although sitting in the 42nd street library, I am kind of mellowed---the morning began with my coffee at the place connected to the hotel on 77th and Broadway. I usually then take the coffee and grab a Times, (there are about 20 of them) and read. Today, some security person met me as I was about to take a paper and told me I could not read the paper, since I was not a resident of the hotel. I explained to him that this is something that I do every day, but he insisted that I could not get a paper and read. He then said I couldn't even sit in the hotel and drink the coffee. So I left---feeling very put out. I should have checked this with the coffee proprietors next door (they know me well) but I just returned to the apartment. I don't know if it is even legal to not allow me to sit in the hotel lobby. Next I decided to see if I could get a rush ticket for the tonight's performance of Slave Play, and arrived at the theater about 9:10. There were already twenty people ahead of me; I thought my chances would be slim, and they were. Stayed on line until the box office opened but many in front of me were turned away. All they had were very expensive seats. It is ironic, during the last few months, $39.00 tickets to the play were very accessible---now they are impossible to get. If I try to rush again next week (the final week) I will probably arrive around 8, or even, earlier.
  I had ambivalent feelings about seeing the play, not shattered that I won't-it will probably be in the regionals in a year or two.
  Those comprise the problems befalling me today----nice to have the day open. Yesterday, completed my second day of work at Friends, afterwards just returned home--plain tired. On Wednesday a full day at Friends and three sessions at the library---of course yesterday I felt played out. Mostly just listened to classical music on my radio, then headed to a Greek diner for a blt--not the greatest, but I did not feel up to hanging out in a bar last night..
So what happens today now that I will not be seeing Slaveplay? Not sure. Lots of choices, and I just remembered there is the basketball game at Friends this afternoon. So as the weather warms up, perhaps more positive events will prevail. Will report soon.

what a difference a day (or a night)...

makes---had a great time at La Flaca's staff party last night. Really had to force myself to go---was feeling tired but went anyway. Glad that I did. Great conversations and interactions with many, many people, including some old friends from the days when Bob ran the bar at Cosi. Its hard to express how happy I am at the existence of this bar-restaurant---how it all sprang from Bob's imagination in the early 2000's. Really happy that he has accomplished this and created such a fun and welcoming space for all of us.
  Otherwise, not much to report--return to Friends tomorrow for two days, continuing the sessions at the library---trying to figure out my schedule for the weekend. Just read about three new theater projects that are being done for a limited time that sound really interesting, but whether I will be able to see any of them with all that is going on is hard to predict.
  The plan for tonight (so far) is to rest up for tomorrow at Friends. We will see if this happens, will report soon.

the rest of the weekend (and the vacation)

so Saturday afternoon, met with my friend Frank who is appearing in Is This A Room? at the Vineyard. Good conversation--mostly about the future of The Team, the theater inventive group that he has been with for the past 13 years (and which I have followed for the same amount of time). The stalwarts, those who created the Team over sixteen years ago, are all getting older, and their careers are changing. The artistic director is now a very successful and sought after theater director. So where does The Team go from here, and who leads it? That is what we spoke about---no real answers---there is one project that the group is working on now, which will be shown in New York in the future. Anyway, a good discussion. Frank will soon travel to Berkeley to be in the inexhaustable Gatz with ERS. We went through the cast on that.
Glad that I was able to catch up with him, then off to Brooklyn to meet Riley, the Friends graduate at a production of a theater piece at JACK. As always, I enjoyed going there. The piece, whose name I can't remember, had five actors, coupled ideas of intimacy (never spelled out) with statements from American torture victims and immigrant detainees on the border. So the horrifying mixed with oblique statements of intimacy. Some of it was effective at other times, I felt the playwright-director was too into her own head. Still, it was nice to go there, so a play in that space and introduce Riley to a different theater world.
  Sunday, off to Cobra---arrived in the cold---watched the first football game. Actually as that was going on, some "heavy stuff" at the bar, which could have turned difficult, but bar tender Olivia successfully and strongly diffused the situation. Second half of the game was really intense, enjoyed hanging out there and having a few more good conversations with Paul, a friend of mine whom I have known since Cobra opened (2012) and Matt, the mid day bartender.
  I thought I could watch the second game as well (Eagles versus Sea Hawks) but it seems one game per day is enough for me. I got restless, and took the L and the G to Gotham market where I watched some of the game and had a good conversation with a couple, Ray and his wife, about movies and theater. I also achieved my goal of spending very little money for the day, which was important since I lost some work by accident on Friday (don't get me started on that).
Rest of the day:possible sessions later in the afternoon, after that a small party at La Flaca and/or a basketaball game at Friends. Will report soon.

It's almost over...

the vacation, that is---Friends reopens on Monday---so far only two days of work this week---Wednesday and Thursday---perhaps more, also a lot of my sessions resume this coming week---it should be pretty busy. It is about time, since I have found myself restless at times when there was no structure in my days. This even happens when there is a two hour wait before leaving the apartment for a play or movie. Anyway, the end of the holiday approaches.
  Yesterday, finally settled on the Philharmonic Concert as my evening event. I was able to get a senior ticket---very reasonable. The hall was pretty full---I had thought that senior tickets were only sold when a lot of seats were not taken , but this was not the case. I had gone specifically to hear the Mozart Piano Concerto number 22, a favorite of mine, and I was not disappointed. It is a remarkable piece, especially the last two movements which the orchestra and its conductor, who was also the pianist played beautifully. I love the variety of ideas that Mozart presents, the changes moment to moment that are so inventive. After the intermission, there was a Respighi piece that showed off the orchestra, and a Haydn symphony that, compared to the Mozart, I found incredibly superficial. Some of Haydn's symphonies are unique, others seem to be just concert fillers, like this one, entitled the Miracle symphony (no 96). Granted by this time I was pretty tired, but I really found nothing interesting in the music. I was glad it was short and over.
  Tonight I am going to see an original piece of theater (I don't even know if it is a play) at JACK the venue on the Clinton Hill--Bed Stuy border. I am going with one of Friends former students--who asked me specifically to take him to something offbeat. This piece concerns immigration, displacement---I don't know anyone in it---it could be didactic and repetitive or very inventive. I don't know---we will see, but it gives me an excuse to go to Brooklyn which I like---afterwards will find a bar and watch the middle to end of the Patriot-Titan game.
 Tomorrow is football immersion day, mostly at Cobra--let's see how long I last there, and where else I go. Will report soon.

But what does cityboy really want..?

Not sure---woke up today and immediately scotched the idea of going to the Philharmonic 10 A.M. rehearsal---body too tired, but also did not want to spend the money. Then determined, that, even though there were theater projects that interested me, I would pass for today---save my money, just wanted to live an "unplanned" day---let things happen, probably end up in Brooklyn doing some reading. But now, all of a sudden--tomorrow is taking shape (Sunday is already planned--watching football) and a part of me feels that maybe I should see something tonight. I came very close to booking tickets to an off beat project at Jack, one of my favorite experimental venues in Brooklyn, but at the last moment, decided against it. Why? Not sure---Anyway, that is where I am at the moment.
  Last night, decided against seeing the opera Wozzeck at the Met---just did not want to experience it, instead went to see the movie starring Adam Sandler called Uncut Gems. A ferocious movie about a compulsive liar and gambler who makes his own rules---it was very well mde---everything moves quickly and with a lot of power. The "hero' is a hateful guy--one is amazed at how he invents his own world constantly at the expense of others, but I am sure there are really people like that---locked into their own reality.
 What was also interesting was that the only time available for me was in a theater on 60th street and 3rd avenue---it has three screens. So I took the 66th street crosstown to Madison and walked the rest of the way. I never travel on that part of the east side---it almost seems like another county to me---still, it was interesting to try to find the small buildings that still exist around the many high rises that dominate the area, I remember in the late sixties and seventies when several movie theaters in that area were the ones that ha the first runs---most of them are gone now. This theater had great seats, very comfortable, but senior tickets were $16.00---I did not like that but wanted very much to see the movie, so I payed.
  That is all for now---time to figure out where I am going for the rest of the day, will report soon.

so how did it go..?

Pretty well, the time spent at La Flaca was fun. Settled in at the bar, then had a fun discussion with a friend of the bartenders, and two women who were hanging out with him. One was from Arizona, just visiting, the other lives in Bushwick and knew of Cobra Club. Lots of energy. The three of them left about half hour before midnight, leaving me with a few other people. One of the women that I was introduced to was actually an assistant principal (she is now retired) at one of the high schools that I subbed in before my full commitment to Friends. Kind of strange, I really did not recognize her. Finally the ball dropped, everyone screamed and yelled, and about twenty minutes into the new year I left for home. A pretty good night.
 Yesterday, a kind of "dead" day, woke up feeling tired, and so I stayed around the apartment for most of the day. Alternated reading the two books that I am currently into: The Topeka School, Ben Lerner's much praised novel, and the biography of Elaine Stritch. One really complements the other.
The Topeka School is ambitious, moves around in time frames, deals with serious personal issues. The Stitch biography takes in Ms. Stritch's life year by year, production by production, some of which I have seen. There is mention of a million other people who interacted with Ms. Stritch in the fifties and early sixties (where I am in her life now)  brings back many familiar names and places to me from that time. The years 55-64 were the years that I was a total theater "nerd" ---I followed the world of Broadway and Off Broadway very carefully. So the book is a light hearted release for me, after the novel.
  By the evening, some of my fatigue had lessened, so I decided to go to Brooklyn to see if I wanted to see a movie at BAM or just hang out at Gotham Center, which is fast becoming one of my favorite places to be. I opted for the bar at the restaurant adjacent to the TFANA theater and had a good time. I watched the Knick game (first half) and had a good conversation with the bar tender named Ryan. Opted not to see a movie; the nice thing about the bar is that nobody is rushed out---you can sit there quite a while, even after you have finished eating, and just hang out. Several groups were doing that yesterday. I like the energy there.
  Today the plan is to see Wozzeck this evening at the Met--I still have not gotten my ticket yet, will probably do so when I leave this library (I am at the one in Lincoln Center) Still have to figure out how to see Slave Play (hopefully this week) and the Philharmonic concert which has one of my favorite Mozart Piano Concertos.
  The world gets back on its axis beginning next Monday (Friends reopens and more sessions) and personally I am anxious for this to happen--will report soon.