Although this is my first fall/winter living in Manhattan, I'd be surprised if the weather is normally like this at this time of year. Today was 69F (21C) and tomorrow is going to be the same. As my Grandpa says,'I think it's that 'global warming'!' Right you are, Grandpa. Right you are...
According to Rasmussen Reports, 81% of Americans will have turkey today. Forty-seven percent of the people surveyed said they will eat too much. I say it's all relative.
Last Friday, Michael Richards, who most of us know as Kramer from Seinfeld, lost his mind on stage while performing at a comedy club in Los Angeles. Two people from the audience had been talking and heckling him during his show, and the result was something I'm sure nobody was expecting.
Too little too late. Nobody is naive enough to believe that racism no longer exists, or that names don't hurt. But in this day and age, when many people have phones that can take videos, and clips can be posted on sites like YouTube and viewed by people all over the world, Richards' outburst is a very public reminder of the hatred that exists just beneath the surface.
This outburst by Richards comes less than four months after Mel Gibson verbally abused a police officer after being pulled over for drunk driving, shouting anti-semitic statements at the deputy.
Should Richards be made an example of? Is this the end of his career? According to IMDb, Mel Gibson has two movies in production, and both are due to be released in 2008. So is the fallout from this sort of tirade less than 4 months? Or would the consequences for Gibson be more severe if the video of his outburst had been posted on the internet?
Unless you've been living under a rock, you already know that the Democrats gained enough seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate to have control of the full Congress. What does this mean for the (near) future of the U.S.? Here's one take on it:
I'm only sorry Dan won't be one of the 'tax and spend Democrats who take all your hard-earned money and use it to ... teach evolution to illegal immigrants'.
Last weekend Serena and I hosted my parents at the luxurious Chateau Jaffe. We ate out a couple of times, and although we tried a place that I wanted to try for a while, I actually preferred a place I’d been to before.
Le Pain Quotidien 833 Lexington Avenue NY, NY 10021 Tel.: 212 755 5810
Le Pain Quotidien is an international chain of restaurants that advertises itself as a ‘bakery and communal table’. They sell all types of fresh breads and pastries, jams and other spreads, chocolate, and even wine. The first time I went, it immediately reminded me of Paul, another chain of French café restaurants that has a few shops in London. In addition to the ‘communal table’, there are smaller tables on the side, and at least in the one on Lexington on the Upper East Side, in the solarium in the back.
When we went on Sunday morning, the line for a table was out the door. After about a 15-20 minute wait we were seated at the end of the communal table, which was curved just enough so that the four of us could all chat with each another. The food at Le Pain Quotidien is nice, simple, and fresh. I had yogurt with granola and fruit and we all shared a basket of different types of fresh bread, which came with three types of spreads. The yogurt was filling enough, but I made sure I had a little room left for a bit of the bread with jam, which was excellent. If you have a big group I wouldn’t recommend competing for a table with the Sunday morning crowd, but if you’re looking for a place for a simple brunch, you should definitely give Le Pain Quotidien a try.
Yesterday, around 37,000 people ran in the The ING New York City Marathon. I've been lucky enough to have seen the Boston Marathon and the London Marathon a couple of times, and even ran in the Philadelphia Marathon in 1994 (read what my friend Buck wrote about it here), but there's something about the New York Marathon that is different. Maybe it's that the course goes through all 5 boroughs, or that I can just walk to the end of my street and watch the runners as they head up 1st Avenue. Whatever it is, it's a really special event. Here are a couple of video clips of the race:
The wheelchair event is often overlooked in marathons, but the athletes are no less impressive. In addition to the more 'normal' race wheelchairs...
one guy made it the entire way on a skateboard!
The elite women started about half an hour before the elite men, so the races were essentially separated (although the lead men caught the slowest of the elite women).
One runner I didn't get a picture of is 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. I think what Lance has done with his celebrity status is amazing - his foundation, which funds cancer research, raised over $500,000 at yesterday's race - but the attention he attracts borders on the ridiculous. Before the race he said he was "just like any other 35 year-old" and that he wanted to "break 3 hours". First of all, most 35 year-olds aren't even thinking about running a marathon, let alone breaking 3 hours. Second, the ones who run the marathon don't have people like Alberto Salazar, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Hicham El Guerrouj running with them to help them along, making sure they're properly hydrated, and giving them a little food along the way. They also don't have the "LanceCam" with us (although "JaffCam" is pretty catchy).
Everyone who ran the NYC Marathon yesterday should be congratulated. Running (or even walking) 26.2 miles is an incredible feat. A lot of the runners raised money for a number of foundations, and the city did an amazing job of hosting the race. If you're thinking of visiting New York next fall, I highly recommend scheduling the visit so you can catch the race - you won't be disappointed!
Only three days before what will hopefully be the first step in getting the US on the road to recovery after 6 years with President Bush. The Democrats need to pick up seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, so every race counts. Dan Seals has made a race out of what was supposed to be a 'safe Republican' district in Illinois. Let's try to give him the support he needs during the final push to November 7.
I promise this won't turn into a full-time political blog, but with 5 days left until the mid-term elections, there's still time to show your support for an old high school friend of mine, Dan Seals, running for the US House of Representatives. Republican incumbent Mark Kirk has been representing the 10th Congressional District of Illinois since 2000, and was predicted to have a pretty easy time being re-elected when campaigning for the general election began. With less than a week to go, however, this race is being recognized as winnable for the Democrats, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has started showing their support for Dan's campaign, sending out a direct mailer to residents in the district. The Chicago media is also giving more attention to the race. Click here to see yesterday's story from the Chicago CBS affiliate.
In this final week of campaigning, supporting Dan is more important than ever. Pass this post along to your family and friends - whoever you think is interested in seeing change in Washington. Let's hope that change we all want will begin on November 7.
