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July 20, 2006
Old moon fades into the new
Long overdue congratulations to those who received awards last weekend. We were obviously not able to express our congratulations in person due to geographical reasons, but know that we were rooting for everyone we knew in front of the large projector we hooked up to display the net-broadcast.
Our best expression of congratulations also to M and R, for the birth of their first daughter. We are also very happy for RD and Dr. J who received the same blessing a few days later.
We hope to see everyone before year-end.
(Photos are from the 4th of July fireworks display on the East River.)
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July 19, 2006
About last night
I had just returned from a trip yesterday evening, when I came home and checked on the kids.
They were ready for bed, but Azmina wasn’t sleepy and asked me if she could join me out in the living room. I said yes, but I told her we were not to watch any kids stuff or listen to any kids music. She understood and stood quietly next to me watching the news.
What was happening and what was shown in the news were just not right. I wandered off when a CNN reporter was using words like “obviously” to describe something that had not been properly verified.
Unlike the time when Azmina and I were watching the Katrina coverage on the late news, I didn’t offer any explanation. I know her mom won’t like it very much if I had troubled her little mind this late at night. I instead asked her if she wanted me to read anything to her that night. She got me to go through a total of four short stories before she decided it was time to go to bed.
Azmina has been a source of calm as of late. We would sit together and without cue or explanation, she would give a kiss on the cheek. When she asks me if we could dance to Old MacDonald on my notebook, I’d say I don’t have it anymore, and she’d be happy to dance to Brazilian Girls or Si*Se.
Picture taken last July in Berlin shows Azmina with Sulha, who is our friends’, Kas’s and Bob’s, daughter. Azmina had been forever fascinated with leaves and flowers regardless if they were fresh or dried. Sulha, her new friend, was just pleased that she could blow bubbles with something that she can hang around her heck.
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July 13, 2006
Not candy
Apparently Farizah thinks this looks good enough to eat... or at least, chew on.
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July 12, 2006
UES night
One early morning before the sun was even up, I was walking alone when a very young couple I had just passed shouted something, which I could only assume as “Hey..!!!”
It was raining, I had an umbrella and my headphones on. The couple was probably still in college; they signaled if they could walk with me, and share my small umbrella.
I took my headphones off and held them in my hands.
“iPod?”, the girl asked, pointing at my hand.
“Yeah.”
“What are you listening?”
“Julieta Venegas”
“Who?”
And the conversation went on meaninglessly for about a block, after which we exchanged goodbyes.
I am strangely attracted to the excellent album by Julieta Venegas and I can’t remember how I came across her videos in youtube. I certainly know of no one that I can talk with who shares my latest attachment. While the music isn’t the kick-ass kind that I would buy on the first listen, it has grown on me much quicker than most.
I haven’t been listening to a lot of new music – there’s no radio in the apartment; VH1 and the 2 MTV channels mostly show something with Tara Reid or Ashton Kutcher and something that the producers insist is the new cool.
So… Esthero, Brazilian Girls, Si*Se and Zero 7 are constantly in my playlist, maybe some Buena Vista Social Club, because it somehow reminds me of home, even though it is no where near Cuba.
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July 11, 2006
Forza Italia, l'ultima parte.
No way was I going to watch the World Cup final in isolation from the rest of the world. I had seen Italy played with heart in reaching the finals. It had reminded me of Serie A and how it was better at one time than the other leagues. Not wanting to cross bridges or go through tunnels for fear of unforeseen delay, Little Italy was the obvious choice.
Mulberry Street was already packed when we got there 2 hours before kick-off. It must have been many, many years since Little Italy had seen that many Italians and their friends.
Due to some miscommunication with a restaurant that professed to have many plasma screens, we had to change our lunch plans to be in a much better place where one didn’t have to pay a cover charge, drinks or anything. The bar was open, and with just a smile one can just come in and be welcomed – the owner looked more like doing community service than anything else. Chairs that did not match the interior were brought in to accommodate at least 50 guests who couldn’t manage to get seats on the sofas. The rest either sat or lied on the floor. Like a handful of lucky people who were in the know, we brought in outside food. Between N and I, we spent $20 on a pizza and courtesy drinks.
It was the World Cup final and nothing was better than being in the company of thousands of the winning side’s supporters. Every dribble savoured by the players were cheered on with ooohs and aahs… every mistake, met with cries of passionate frustration and the occasional slap on the forehead. The crowd inevitably and mercifully drowned the voices of the two clueless ESPN commentators, who had done nothing more than show the world their immature understanding of the sport.
Italy had won the match on penalties and the sun was shining on this small neighbourhood 4,000 miles from Berlin where it was already dark. Thousands filled the streets effectively closing them to traffic.
There were some confrontations with the NYPD, but quick arrests effectively contained the situations. Of course, revellers accused the authorities of not understanding the euphoria of a world event. And in protesting against the arrests, at least one person got arrested for over-zealously making her point.
Some kind soul offered us access to his building’s rooftop from which we soaked the sun and witnessed the celebrations. Red, White and Green confetti was scattered from the roof of another building.
The sun had turned orange. Someone had a barbeque started, but it was already time for us to leave. As we made our way through Mulberry once again, Little Italy was still filled with blue shirts, painted faces and six cups-full of awesomeness. Semplicemente. Bellissimo.
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July 10, 2006
Little Italy, 9 July 2006.
5:29 p.m. Eastern.
Of course, Little Italy is much bigger than this small section of Mulberry Street and bigger than what my 28mm can cover.
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July 09, 2006
Forza Italia
The prayer...
Grosso's delivery...
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July 08, 2006
The Brownian State
Proof that little kids vibrate, in the X, Y and Z planes. Reminds me also of Brownian motion.
The above are 3 photos from a set of 8. Farizah wasn't even in the frame properly in the other five. She was gone by the 8th shot.
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July 05, 2006
East River, 4 July 2006
More another time.
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July 04, 2006
4 July 2006
Macy's provided fireworks displays in three locations, with a total of 5 barges on the East River. We decided to go to the FDR drive this year, where we can watch clusters of fireworks from the usual 3 barges.
We were on the upper level of the FDR drive at around 35th street. It was a 2-hour wait for a show that was 25 minutes, and the stretch of road was already reasonably packed when we arrived.
The first Macy's fireworks we saw was in 2002, from our 38th street apartment near Second. I think there were three barges but we could only see one, that is, when we were lucky, when it floated in between the small space of two buildings built large enough to house the population of small islands in the Asia-Pacific.
We were three then, and this year we're one more, sitting on a stretch of road closed to traffic, probably with neighbours we haven't met. The only tourists near us were an elderly couple with a Cockney accent, who used the word "bum" in reference to the backside 28 times. About 10 metres away, some people held an impromptu competition, to see who can sing the Star-Spangled Banner best. Someone from the 11th floor of the building behind them joined in the contest, drawing applause from their neighbours in the next building, and the people below.
The kids were happily munching on cheerios and what seemed to be chewy rectangular layers of strawberry jelly.
By nine, most were already on their feet, many taking pictures of each other before the sun finally set.
"Wow.... Fireworks!!!", Azmina said over and over again.
Farizah just stared at the sky.
Millions ... looking at the same display; millions, having the same gleam on their eyes. The 5 new colours introduced this year didn't matter much. It was time to let go, in each of our comfortable spaces.
Once in a while, someone would say.. "Look... smileys", or "Cubes!" And applause, more awe and applause. Though there was one "Aww, come on!!! What the ... was that???", followed by, "Alright!! That was what I was talking about!!"
An hour after the fireworks ended, M15 buses heavy with more people than it would have taken any other day, were still making their way slowly through the road that would eventually lead home.
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