Sunday afternoon---waiting for the,,,

 games to begin. Since I have joined the betting web site---my Sunday afternoon ritual begins at 1:00 and continues to aboout 7. It is all about following the nfl games that I have bet on--in today's case, three, one beginning at 1:00 and the other two at 4:05. At 1:00. the Patriots must win by 3 points or over, for me to win my bet. In the second round of games, the Dolphins must win by 4, and the Chargers by 10 for me to cash. I am a pretty conservative better---I am trying to stay in "the game" for the long haul----this gives me a focus for Sunday afternoons---important for me. Well, my first game begins in about twenty minutes---we will see what happens.ms

Yesterday watched most of Act I of Dialogue of the Carmelites, an opera by Poulenc---a really strong and individual work at the Met Opera streams. The music is troubling, abrasive, changeable---the central character is a young noblewoman in a France that is going through its cut throat aftermath of its revolution. She joins the Carmelites--the first act is about her adjustment to the convent; also the harrowing death of the Mother Superior (brilliantly sung and acted by                      ) Yannick, the new music director of the Met conducted--I had heard the second act on the radio last spring---all the nuns are destoyed by the blood thirst of the revolution. The opera reminds me of Janacek's From the House of the Dead, another work of tremendous individuality, that the Met did a few years ago. Hard to watch the audiece experiences the depersonalization of the prisoners through the music---it does not have an inch of warmth. The two operas are a good challenge to an "opera lover" because they are so separate from the standard repertory. I will try to experience them again at some point.

The rest is the same--continuing reading---I splurged and bought the most recent copy of The New Yorker on Friday, hoping for some strong insight into the election results, but so far i have only read half of the article that discussed it. The magazine and about five other books lie on the other side of my bed---somehow it is hard to want to read in the apartment---much easier in a coffee shop (there is one open at a nearby hotel) or even on a bench in Riverside Park, when the weather is fairly mild. Speaking of which, yesterday I was stunned as I walked north on Amsterdam Avenue at the number of people doing outdoor dining in the ten or eleven restaurants on that avenue between 76th and 83rd street. Just about every restaurant table was filled---lots of young  couples at the tables, and simply walking in the area. I had no idea how popular these restaurants were. Of course, yesterday was an "exemplary" (warm) day so I suppose brunch at most of these places was an easy choice. Nevertheless these places were completely packed--I guess that is the way it is now.

That's it---on to the football games, will report soon.