Friday, April 8, 2011
Vacationing in Morocco and Spain: overview/introduction
For our first long oversees vacation together, Therese and I decided to go to Marrakech, Morocco and then a few cities in southern Spain, totalling about 17 days. And it was a great success. It all went off with almost no hitches, and we both had a fabulous time. In future posts, I will go into the details of what we did on various days, but I thought it might be useful to just sketch out the general contours of the trip. For both of us, our destinations were basically a clean slate. I've been to Toledo, Spain twice before, but we did a lot of things this time I had never done before. So we shared lots of new experiences. We had been told that Morocco is a liberal Arabic country. And all our experiences bore that out. Sure, women wear head scarves in public and so forth. But we did not feel uncomfortable at any time during our visit, and found a good deal of looseness in policies. For example, many restaurants sold liquor, and it seemed to be an open secret. Our host and hostess at our riad, Riad Miski, were wonderful. They had lots of good advice on what to do and where to go, and even scheduled a daytrip for us and made restaurant reservations. Riads are small hotels in the medina, the old cramped Arabic half of Marrakech. They typically have a square courtyard in the center of the building, with all the rooms facing onto this courtyard. Riad Miski was beautiful and we were very comfortable there, sleeping long hours and enjoying languid breakfasts every day on their roof terrace. After 5 days in Marrakech, we flew to Madrid and stayed overnight there. The following day we took a train south to Cordoba, the old capital of the Caliphate in the Arabic period (roughly 700 to 1200AD). Over two days, we saw many wonderful sights there, attended a Flamenco performance, drank some good wine and sherry, and ate good meals. Before leaving Cordoba, we took a daytrip from there to Jerez de la Frontera, very far south in Spain, one of the centers of sherry-making. In Jerez we toured the Gonzalez-Byass factory aka bodega, and saw a sight or two. We returned to Cordoba in time to have a quiet dinner. Our last day in Cordoba we saw some more sights and hopped on a train in midafternoon back to Madrid, and then grabbed another train to Toledo, arriving in Toledo just before dinnertime. We stayed in quite a luxurious hotel in Toledo, the Hilton Buenavista, the most fabulous hotel of our trip. Our suite had a small balcony with a view of the river to the east. In three days of sightseeing in Toledo, we saw a ton of amazing things. Again, most of them were things I had never seen before - there is a lot to see in Toledo! The weather was quite warm and we walked quite a bit up and down Toledos cobblestoned hilly streets. On the fourth day it was time to return to Madrid, to the same hotel we had been in more than a week earlier. Finally, the weather had turned chilly and rainy, but we managed to see a hotel and then spent a quiet evening relaxing and preparing for our return home the next day. The flight from Madrid back to New York went so smoothly that Therese kept thinking something was sure to go wrong - never had she been involved in such an uneventful flight. And truthfully, the 2 hours it took us to get through customs, get our bags, and ride in a taxi back to our apartment was annoying. But we took it in stride. What a great trip! Definitely the nicest vacation I've ever had! And I know that having Therese there with me to share the experience made it infinitely more enriching and exciting! Now it's time to start planning the next trip, lol!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Opportunity is a dish best served with lots of mustard
When was the last time I collected unemployment? It was September-October of 1992. I had spent the previous 2 months temping as a proofreader at the mighty giant law firm Skadden Arps, and the proofreading supervisor, David Hill, offered me a permanent job at Skadden, which I accepted. However, David explained, it might take a little while for the details of the job to be worked out, so I might need to wait for several weeks before I would be officially hired, but I shouldn't worry, because it was a definite thing.
Well, I did wait, but in the meantime, I needed to get some other temping work, but all my agencies who got me work had forgotten about me since I had been on a long-term assignment, and I would have to work my way back up their lists. In other words, it would take a while to start getting jobs again. So filing for unemployment was the answer.
I know some folks who would rather poke themselves in the eye with a pencil than file for unemployment. It just doesn't fit with their definition of a responsible adult human being to lean on someone else, especially the government, when they are unable to put bread on their table. But I have never felt that way. I don't think there is something noble in not accepting help when someone offers it to you. Rather, I think it's mostly stupidity that would make a drowning man say, "no thanks, friend, I will pass up the branch you're offering me, and keep flailing about!"
I've got nothing against flailing. But I also have nothing against asking for help when I need it. I think it is a sign of maturity to put myself in the hands of others when it is appropriate and necessary, and my experiences in doing so have been vastly positive. But I belabor the point.
So for those few weeks, I participated in the unemployment plan that existed in New York City at the time. As a temp, I was considered an independent contractor, which means that each week I reported how many days I had worked, and for any week that I worked less than four days, I was paid a certain amount per day (I think it was the enormous sum of $80). So if I worked no days, I got $320, and if I worked 4 days, I got nothing. It wasn't enough to make me rich - I'm sure I spent every penny I got, between rent and food and transportation - but it kept me from getting destitute again.
Yes, I had been destitute not long before. You see, in early 1992 I graduated from graduate school at Columbia University, and I spent most of the year clawing my way back from destitution. I temped, I borrowed money, I sold books and records to the Strand and Academy Records. So at the end of the year, with the finish line of a regular paycheck well within my sights, the last thing I wanted to do was accumulate new debts. Unemployment saved my ass, and after about 8 weeks I was hired at Skadden and went off the dole.
Now here I am in 2011, after 18 years of milking the cash cow of legal support work at a total of 5 different law firms. I have decided to turn my back on law firms, and try to do something a little closer to my heart - admin work for music and other performing arts organizations. Maybe even start my own music business. But the phone so far ain't ringing off the hook, and the door ain't falling in with all the folks knocking on it. I'm developing opportunities, but it's a process less akin to digital photography, and more like what Matthew Brady must have done when he took his early photographs using glass panels and cameras that weighed as much as a healthy cows.
Yes, it might take a while. Not that I'm discouraged. I'm entering a new industry at a time of great national and international financial distress. But here comes unemployment to bridge the gap and keep me from the windowsills with other folks who are feeling more than a tiny bit desperate. And I'm thankful for it. I'll take it, and squeeze the money they give me until I get every last drop of sustenance from it. And when I'm back on my feet again in the near future, I will wax nostalgic for the time when I struggled, but didn't give in to discouragement and despair.
Well, I did wait, but in the meantime, I needed to get some other temping work, but all my agencies who got me work had forgotten about me since I had been on a long-term assignment, and I would have to work my way back up their lists. In other words, it would take a while to start getting jobs again. So filing for unemployment was the answer.
I know some folks who would rather poke themselves in the eye with a pencil than file for unemployment. It just doesn't fit with their definition of a responsible adult human being to lean on someone else, especially the government, when they are unable to put bread on their table. But I have never felt that way. I don't think there is something noble in not accepting help when someone offers it to you. Rather, I think it's mostly stupidity that would make a drowning man say, "no thanks, friend, I will pass up the branch you're offering me, and keep flailing about!"
I've got nothing against flailing. But I also have nothing against asking for help when I need it. I think it is a sign of maturity to put myself in the hands of others when it is appropriate and necessary, and my experiences in doing so have been vastly positive. But I belabor the point.
So for those few weeks, I participated in the unemployment plan that existed in New York City at the time. As a temp, I was considered an independent contractor, which means that each week I reported how many days I had worked, and for any week that I worked less than four days, I was paid a certain amount per day (I think it was the enormous sum of $80). So if I worked no days, I got $320, and if I worked 4 days, I got nothing. It wasn't enough to make me rich - I'm sure I spent every penny I got, between rent and food and transportation - but it kept me from getting destitute again.
Yes, I had been destitute not long before. You see, in early 1992 I graduated from graduate school at Columbia University, and I spent most of the year clawing my way back from destitution. I temped, I borrowed money, I sold books and records to the Strand and Academy Records. So at the end of the year, with the finish line of a regular paycheck well within my sights, the last thing I wanted to do was accumulate new debts. Unemployment saved my ass, and after about 8 weeks I was hired at Skadden and went off the dole.
Now here I am in 2011, after 18 years of milking the cash cow of legal support work at a total of 5 different law firms. I have decided to turn my back on law firms, and try to do something a little closer to my heart - admin work for music and other performing arts organizations. Maybe even start my own music business. But the phone so far ain't ringing off the hook, and the door ain't falling in with all the folks knocking on it. I'm developing opportunities, but it's a process less akin to digital photography, and more like what Matthew Brady must have done when he took his early photographs using glass panels and cameras that weighed as much as a healthy cows.
Yes, it might take a while. Not that I'm discouraged. I'm entering a new industry at a time of great national and international financial distress. But here comes unemployment to bridge the gap and keep me from the windowsills with other folks who are feeling more than a tiny bit desperate. And I'm thankful for it. I'll take it, and squeeze the money they give me until I get every last drop of sustenance from it. And when I'm back on my feet again in the near future, I will wax nostalgic for the time when I struggled, but didn't give in to discouragement and despair.
Monday, February 7, 2011
A weekend of opposites
What a great weekend I've just had, but a weekend composed of two days with lots of opposites. Saturday, with family. Sunday, with friends. Saturday, formal. Sunday, casual. Saturday, artistic and cultural. Sunday, low-brow and entertaining. Saturday, girly things. Sunday, guy things. Saturday wine, Sunday beer. And so on and so on. To the details:
Saturday, my sister came to NYC and we went out to dinner and an opera with her as a late birthday present.
Sunday, I went to Brooklyn to the Brooklyn Cigar Lounge, got a hero sandwich on the way, and ate and drank and watched the Super Bowl with lots of my guy friends.
Several months ago, around the time of sister's birthday, Therese and I decided we wanted to take her to an opera. We started looking at the schedule at the Metropolitan Opera, thinking it would be great to go to an opera taking place close to my sister's actual birthday. But when we thought more about availability and something we would like to see, we settled on "Nixon in China" by modern composer John Adams, which was playing in February. So we moved the birthday celebration to a few months later, which didn't bother my sister. She likes to come into New York periodically - she doesn't live far away, just in Avenel, NJ - and there's nothing to chase the winter blahs away like a festive visit to the big city!
Now, previous times when I had met my sister in the Lincoln Center area to attend opera performances and such, we had gone to dinner at Pomodoro Rosso, a great Italian restaurant on Columbus Avenue and 70th Street. In thinking about where to have dinner before the opera this time, when Therese and I were out for a walk on Columbus Avenue one day, I pointed at Pomodoro and said, "that's where we've gone in the past." And it turned out that Pomodoro is a sister restaurant to one Therese has been to in Naples, Italy! So there was no question, but that we would go there again on Saturday.
Saturday was another wet chilly day, so I asked my sister to come in early so we would have plenty of time to have dinner and not feel rushed to get to the opera on time. I was a little worried that we would have too much time. But it all worked out perfectly. We took a taxi from Penn Station to the restaurant, got a table right away, shared a bottle of white wine while we ordered and had our appetizers and entrees, all had really yummy meals, walked from the restaurant to the opera house with a few minutes to spare to get to our seats before the chandeliers started rising to signify the beginning of the evening's performance.
We all enjoyed the opera very much. "Nixon in China" has some unexpected humor in it, and otherwise is full of very listenable music. The melodic lines of the voices are stylized, and just like Baroque recitative, there are lots of phrases that end with the same melodic progressions or cadences. But the music is plenty expressive, and even commonplace textual phrases came across making perfect sense. And the orchestra and all the singers sounded wonderful.
Afterward, we put my sister in a car service so she could ride home in comfort, free of the train schedules to New Jersey. What a perfect evening it was!
Sunday began with me baking my famous cookies at home, which was to be my contribution to the pot-luck we were having at the cigar lounge. I arrived at the lounge in time to be involved in a live feed that my friend Kevin aka Senor Cigar was doing. After being interviewed on camera, I went to a deli to pick up provisions for the evening: a roast beef hero, a bottle of Chimay Blue Belgian ale and a Coke Zero.
By the time the game began, the crowd in the lounge had filled out a bit. Some people I haven't seen in quite a while were there, like Marc Kelly and Stephanie Balmir. Marc is a filmmaker who travels quite a bit for his jobs - music videos, television and films - and Stephanie is a clothing designer who also travels quite a bit. I had given her some tips on good cigar spots in Miami during the summer, to help her for a trip she was to make there. Apparently, my tips worked out well for her. Keon and Smalls and some of the other regular guys were also there.
David, the owner of the lounge, was rooting for the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl, which threw me, because I was sort of rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And sure enough, the Packers got out to a big lead, so David had a lot of cheer about, while I was feeling a little anxious with my team doing so poorly! But it wasn't such a big deal - overall I was having a good time.
The commercials for the Super Bowl were once again something of a disappointment. Some were cool, some were head-scratchers, and some seemed too gay to the guys at the lounge - like the Doritos commercial where one guy licked another's finger. I just thought they were mostly stupid. I liked the Audi commercial where the two elderly men broke out of jail.
When the game was over and the Packers had won, most people were pretty happy. I handed out some of my cookies during the course of the game, but the real star dessert-wise was the red velvet cupcakes made by Kevin's wife Belinda and Jonelle, one of the hostesses at the cigar lounge. Belinda's cupcakes won the prize, I think, for the best cupcakes. By then I was drinking my Chimay and smoking a Padilla Cazadores, so I was very happy. A bunch of people came after the game had ended - I think there were some late-night escapades in the works - but I didn't stick around, taking a car service home before midnight.
A wonderful weekend. But I look forward to next weekend being a little quieter.
Saturday, my sister came to NYC and we went out to dinner and an opera with her as a late birthday present.
Sunday, I went to Brooklyn to the Brooklyn Cigar Lounge, got a hero sandwich on the way, and ate and drank and watched the Super Bowl with lots of my guy friends.
Several months ago, around the time of sister's birthday, Therese and I decided we wanted to take her to an opera. We started looking at the schedule at the Metropolitan Opera, thinking it would be great to go to an opera taking place close to my sister's actual birthday. But when we thought more about availability and something we would like to see, we settled on "Nixon in China" by modern composer John Adams, which was playing in February. So we moved the birthday celebration to a few months later, which didn't bother my sister. She likes to come into New York periodically - she doesn't live far away, just in Avenel, NJ - and there's nothing to chase the winter blahs away like a festive visit to the big city!
Now, previous times when I had met my sister in the Lincoln Center area to attend opera performances and such, we had gone to dinner at Pomodoro Rosso, a great Italian restaurant on Columbus Avenue and 70th Street. In thinking about where to have dinner before the opera this time, when Therese and I were out for a walk on Columbus Avenue one day, I pointed at Pomodoro and said, "that's where we've gone in the past." And it turned out that Pomodoro is a sister restaurant to one Therese has been to in Naples, Italy! So there was no question, but that we would go there again on Saturday.
Saturday was another wet chilly day, so I asked my sister to come in early so we would have plenty of time to have dinner and not feel rushed to get to the opera on time. I was a little worried that we would have too much time. But it all worked out perfectly. We took a taxi from Penn Station to the restaurant, got a table right away, shared a bottle of white wine while we ordered and had our appetizers and entrees, all had really yummy meals, walked from the restaurant to the opera house with a few minutes to spare to get to our seats before the chandeliers started rising to signify the beginning of the evening's performance.
We all enjoyed the opera very much. "Nixon in China" has some unexpected humor in it, and otherwise is full of very listenable music. The melodic lines of the voices are stylized, and just like Baroque recitative, there are lots of phrases that end with the same melodic progressions or cadences. But the music is plenty expressive, and even commonplace textual phrases came across making perfect sense. And the orchestra and all the singers sounded wonderful.
Afterward, we put my sister in a car service so she could ride home in comfort, free of the train schedules to New Jersey. What a perfect evening it was!
Sunday began with me baking my famous cookies at home, which was to be my contribution to the pot-luck we were having at the cigar lounge. I arrived at the lounge in time to be involved in a live feed that my friend Kevin aka Senor Cigar was doing. After being interviewed on camera, I went to a deli to pick up provisions for the evening: a roast beef hero, a bottle of Chimay Blue Belgian ale and a Coke Zero.
By the time the game began, the crowd in the lounge had filled out a bit. Some people I haven't seen in quite a while were there, like Marc Kelly and Stephanie Balmir. Marc is a filmmaker who travels quite a bit for his jobs - music videos, television and films - and Stephanie is a clothing designer who also travels quite a bit. I had given her some tips on good cigar spots in Miami during the summer, to help her for a trip she was to make there. Apparently, my tips worked out well for her. Keon and Smalls and some of the other regular guys were also there.
David, the owner of the lounge, was rooting for the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl, which threw me, because I was sort of rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And sure enough, the Packers got out to a big lead, so David had a lot of cheer about, while I was feeling a little anxious with my team doing so poorly! But it wasn't such a big deal - overall I was having a good time.
The commercials for the Super Bowl were once again something of a disappointment. Some were cool, some were head-scratchers, and some seemed too gay to the guys at the lounge - like the Doritos commercial where one guy licked another's finger. I just thought they were mostly stupid. I liked the Audi commercial where the two elderly men broke out of jail.
When the game was over and the Packers had won, most people were pretty happy. I handed out some of my cookies during the course of the game, but the real star dessert-wise was the red velvet cupcakes made by Kevin's wife Belinda and Jonelle, one of the hostesses at the cigar lounge. Belinda's cupcakes won the prize, I think, for the best cupcakes. By then I was drinking my Chimay and smoking a Padilla Cazadores, so I was very happy. A bunch of people came after the game had ended - I think there were some late-night escapades in the works - but I didn't stick around, taking a car service home before midnight.
A wonderful weekend. But I look forward to next weekend being a little quieter.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Xmas Vacation 2010-11, part two
Therese and I said goodbye to Jake and Valentina at the pier in Miami, and then hopped back into the limo to head to South Beach. We were ready for a week of fun and hopefully warm weather to relax and let memories of cold dreary New York melt away...
The weather would turn out to be unseasonably cold for Miami to start out the week, but warm up nicely as the week went on.
And Therese and I had lots of fun. We went to see a couple of movies - Black Swan (disturbing!) and King's Speech (delightful!). We missed the Bass Museum of Art, but spent nice afternoons at two other area attractions, the Wolfsonian Museum (nice art deco media) and the Vizcaya Mansion (balmy day, nice gardens and amazing house!). And of course, we ate and drank well - had dinner twice at Alma de Cuba, a wonderful Latin fusion restaurant just down the street from our hotel, also had some good German food (and beer) on Lincoln Road, and sampled local fare at places like David's Cafe.
We also got out a bit and visited some friends and I got to smoke some cigars. First on Tuesday we bused it to Calle Ocho and I got a Padilla Cazadores, and we had our first taste of Cuban coffee. Then on Wednesday Maria Martin from Camacho picked us up and took us to lunch at Cuban Crafters with Berta Bravo, more Cuban coffee, and Berta and I smoked Medina 1959 Churchills. Then finally on Friday we taxied out to Hollywood to meet up with Ana Cuenca at Cuenca Cigars where we drank more Cuban coffee once again! and I smoked a Brickhouse Mighty Mighty.
After returning from Cuenca's, we spent New Year's Eve having dinner at Alma de Cuba and then watched the beach fireworks from our hotel room window. It was another balmy evening, and we heard people frollicking on the street until the wee hours of the new year.
Saturday the first of January we walked down toward the beach and made our way to News Cafe for a nice New Year brunch. Things had finally warmed up into the mid 70s, and everyone was out looking hung over but happy. We got the perfect table, on the porch facing the street, and happily gobbled up our delicious food washed down with more Cuban coffee. We didn't want to leave!
Flying back to New York first class helped a bit to soften the blow of the end of our vacation. Back to the snow, and the cold, and work. Oh well! Now it's time to plan the next vacation!
The weather would turn out to be unseasonably cold for Miami to start out the week, but warm up nicely as the week went on.
And Therese and I had lots of fun. We went to see a couple of movies - Black Swan (disturbing!) and King's Speech (delightful!). We missed the Bass Museum of Art, but spent nice afternoons at two other area attractions, the Wolfsonian Museum (nice art deco media) and the Vizcaya Mansion (balmy day, nice gardens and amazing house!). And of course, we ate and drank well - had dinner twice at Alma de Cuba, a wonderful Latin fusion restaurant just down the street from our hotel, also had some good German food (and beer) on Lincoln Road, and sampled local fare at places like David's Cafe.
We also got out a bit and visited some friends and I got to smoke some cigars. First on Tuesday we bused it to Calle Ocho and I got a Padilla Cazadores, and we had our first taste of Cuban coffee. Then on Wednesday Maria Martin from Camacho picked us up and took us to lunch at Cuban Crafters with Berta Bravo, more Cuban coffee, and Berta and I smoked Medina 1959 Churchills. Then finally on Friday we taxied out to Hollywood to meet up with Ana Cuenca at Cuenca Cigars where we drank more Cuban coffee once again! and I smoked a Brickhouse Mighty Mighty.
After returning from Cuenca's, we spent New Year's Eve having dinner at Alma de Cuba and then watched the beach fireworks from our hotel room window. It was another balmy evening, and we heard people frollicking on the street until the wee hours of the new year.
Saturday the first of January we walked down toward the beach and made our way to News Cafe for a nice New Year brunch. Things had finally warmed up into the mid 70s, and everyone was out looking hung over but happy. We got the perfect table, on the porch facing the street, and happily gobbled up our delicious food washed down with more Cuban coffee. We didn't want to leave!
Flying back to New York first class helped a bit to soften the blow of the end of our vacation. Back to the snow, and the cold, and work. Oh well! Now it's time to plan the next vacation!
Xmas Vacation 2010-11, part one
I know I told a lot of folks that I was going away for the Holidays, so I thought it might be fun to tell you a little about where we went and what transpired.
So basically, Therese and I went to Naples, FL to spend Christmas with her parents, who live there, and then we spent a week vacationing in Miami, returning to New York City on January 1st.
We flew in Naples on Wednesday, December 22nd and Therese's parents, Sam and Eileen, picked us up at the airport and drove us to our hotel, which was very nice of them to do. But also, they were very eager to see us. Our hotel, the Naples Double Tree, turned out to be really nice. It didn't hurt that we had the nicest suite in the hotel. The back of the hotel faced onto a sort of game reserve, so there was a beautiful lake and a grove of trees. We had a balcony that wrapped around two sides of the suite, one of which faced the hotel's pool and the other the trees and wildlife. We were told when we checked in that there was a bald eagle sighted in the grove of trees, and sure enough the next morning we saw the eagle majestically flying in circles before landing on a tall dead paper tree.
So Therese and I settled in and then went out to dinner with Sam and Eileen at a local spot called EVOO. Nothing too extraordinary, but the fried calimari and red wine hit the spot. The next day, the 23rd, the four of us went to the Naples Museum of Art, a modest art museum by New York standards but filled with lots of wonderful art, especially some great glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly. One of the most extraordinary examples of Chihuly's art was next door in the lobby of the Naples Philharmonic Hall, where I also got to see a plaque acknowledging Sam and Eileen's contribution. They are justifiably proud of their community - they've lived in Naples for more than 10 years and love it.
Friday, Christmas Eve, Sam and I planned to visit one of Naples' cigar lounges. There are now two noteworthy ones that I know of: Vicente of London and the new Burn by Rocky Patel. Sam and I went to Vicente's - the ladies dropped us off so they could go do some shopping, and we set a time when they would pick us up. Vicente's is a very impressive place. All along the outer rim of the lounge are glass cases enclosing their vast and varied inventory. It took us a while to look at everything, but I settled on a Camacho Select robusto, and Sam decided he would smoke the same.
It seemed to be a quiet afternoon at Vicente's, but the host, Mark, was very friendly and took good care of us. We found a comfortable couch opposite a tv broadcasting ESPN, and Mark brought us Diet Cokes to go with our cigars. Sam and I then passed a very relaxing 2 hours smoking, talking and watching sports news.
Eileen and Therese picked us up at the appointed time and we drove to Sam and Eileen's house, where Therese and I made dinner for the four of us. After dinner Therese's daughter Valentina and Valentina's boyfriend Jake arrived and the 6 of us opened our stockings as is the custom in Therese's family.
On Christmas morning, we all gathered again at Sam and Eileen's house for breakfast and then present-opening. I had made cookies for Valentina and a batch for Sam as well - their own personal batches that they need not share with anyone. And for Sam's main present from me, I gave him a Fuente Humidipak with 4 CRC Cigars, a Camacho Liberty 2010 and a couple other cigars. Sam was pretty excited - he likes cigars, but doesn't get to smoke them that often.
The gift giving went on most of the rest of the afternoon, and then it was time for Therese and I to start making dinner. For starters, I was making a pumpkin pie for dessert, and Therese put together a baked brie tart and some baked twists with ham. Then came the dinner: a beef filet with green beans, potatoes homemade mushroom gravy (my specialty). It turned out to be enough food to feed twice the number of people present, but that was no problem for Sam and Eileen since that meant they would have leftovers for many days to come.
Dinner was finished and Sam, Jake and I were going to sit out on the porch, when Therese suggested we smoke some of Sam's Xmas cigars. So that's just what we did. We had no cutter, but I took a paring knife and a cutting board and did my best to cut 3 cigars, and then we lit them using Sam's old trusty Bic. The purist in me shuddered, but most of me just thought, hey go with the flow, and the three of us passed a good hour plus chatting and enjoying our cigars. Dessert was eventually served to us by Therese, and it was just glorious.
The next morning we got all packed and met back at Sam and Eileen's where a limo picked us up to drive the four of us, Therese, Valentina, Jake and I, to Miami - Therese and I to have a vacation in Miami, Valentina and Jake to board a cruise ship to take off for the Caribbean.
So basically, Therese and I went to Naples, FL to spend Christmas with her parents, who live there, and then we spent a week vacationing in Miami, returning to New York City on January 1st.
We flew in Naples on Wednesday, December 22nd and Therese's parents, Sam and Eileen, picked us up at the airport and drove us to our hotel, which was very nice of them to do. But also, they were very eager to see us. Our hotel, the Naples Double Tree, turned out to be really nice. It didn't hurt that we had the nicest suite in the hotel. The back of the hotel faced onto a sort of game reserve, so there was a beautiful lake and a grove of trees. We had a balcony that wrapped around two sides of the suite, one of which faced the hotel's pool and the other the trees and wildlife. We were told when we checked in that there was a bald eagle sighted in the grove of trees, and sure enough the next morning we saw the eagle majestically flying in circles before landing on a tall dead paper tree.
So Therese and I settled in and then went out to dinner with Sam and Eileen at a local spot called EVOO. Nothing too extraordinary, but the fried calimari and red wine hit the spot. The next day, the 23rd, the four of us went to the Naples Museum of Art, a modest art museum by New York standards but filled with lots of wonderful art, especially some great glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly. One of the most extraordinary examples of Chihuly's art was next door in the lobby of the Naples Philharmonic Hall, where I also got to see a plaque acknowledging Sam and Eileen's contribution. They are justifiably proud of their community - they've lived in Naples for more than 10 years and love it.
Friday, Christmas Eve, Sam and I planned to visit one of Naples' cigar lounges. There are now two noteworthy ones that I know of: Vicente of London and the new Burn by Rocky Patel. Sam and I went to Vicente's - the ladies dropped us off so they could go do some shopping, and we set a time when they would pick us up. Vicente's is a very impressive place. All along the outer rim of the lounge are glass cases enclosing their vast and varied inventory. It took us a while to look at everything, but I settled on a Camacho Select robusto, and Sam decided he would smoke the same.
It seemed to be a quiet afternoon at Vicente's, but the host, Mark, was very friendly and took good care of us. We found a comfortable couch opposite a tv broadcasting ESPN, and Mark brought us Diet Cokes to go with our cigars. Sam and I then passed a very relaxing 2 hours smoking, talking and watching sports news.
Eileen and Therese picked us up at the appointed time and we drove to Sam and Eileen's house, where Therese and I made dinner for the four of us. After dinner Therese's daughter Valentina and Valentina's boyfriend Jake arrived and the 6 of us opened our stockings as is the custom in Therese's family.
On Christmas morning, we all gathered again at Sam and Eileen's house for breakfast and then present-opening. I had made cookies for Valentina and a batch for Sam as well - their own personal batches that they need not share with anyone. And for Sam's main present from me, I gave him a Fuente Humidipak with 4 CRC Cigars, a Camacho Liberty 2010 and a couple other cigars. Sam was pretty excited - he likes cigars, but doesn't get to smoke them that often.
The gift giving went on most of the rest of the afternoon, and then it was time for Therese and I to start making dinner. For starters, I was making a pumpkin pie for dessert, and Therese put together a baked brie tart and some baked twists with ham. Then came the dinner: a beef filet with green beans, potatoes homemade mushroom gravy (my specialty). It turned out to be enough food to feed twice the number of people present, but that was no problem for Sam and Eileen since that meant they would have leftovers for many days to come.
Dinner was finished and Sam, Jake and I were going to sit out on the porch, when Therese suggested we smoke some of Sam's Xmas cigars. So that's just what we did. We had no cutter, but I took a paring knife and a cutting board and did my best to cut 3 cigars, and then we lit them using Sam's old trusty Bic. The purist in me shuddered, but most of me just thought, hey go with the flow, and the three of us passed a good hour plus chatting and enjoying our cigars. Dessert was eventually served to us by Therese, and it was just glorious.
The next morning we got all packed and met back at Sam and Eileen's where a limo picked us up to drive the four of us, Therese, Valentina, Jake and I, to Miami - Therese and I to have a vacation in Miami, Valentina and Jake to board a cruise ship to take off for the Caribbean.
Friday, January 21, 2011
My classical composer top ten list
OK, so first, definitions: by "classical" I mean Western composers from the beginning of recorded history to today.
Second, if you don't already know my tastes, let me just give you, um, a taste of that. I am an Early music enthusiast, which means that I primarily listen to music from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. Further, that means that, just as someone who is into 19th century music will listen to composers other than Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner (i.e., the mainstream guys everyone listens to), I listen to all kinds of music from those periods, not just the most famous people that you learn about in music history class (no, Palestrina is not going to be on my list...).
Without further ado, here is my list of 10 favorite composers (in no particular order of priority).
1) Henry Purcell. Just on the basis of his Fantasias for Viola da Gamba and his many incredible songs, Purcell makes my list. Add in all his theatrical works, and the guy was one of the most incredible musical geniuses ever. I heard three friends perform "In vain the amorous flute" years ago with all kinds of ornaments added, and it was one of the most memorable listening experiences I've ever had.
2) Johann Sebastian Bach. Yes, I know, this is pretty obvious, but Bach holds a special place in my heart, partly as a result of me being raised as a Lutheran (Bach wrote his sacred music for a Lutheran church community, the St. Thomas Kirche, in Germany). When I was singing in church choir as a young man, we always thought of him as "Uncle Bach," like his music was written for us. And then of course, Bach has been adapted and re-interpreted over the centuries in so many wonderful ways - take Glenn Gould, for example.
3) Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Charpentier had the misfortune to be writing theatrical works at a time when an egotist held the monopoly on operas in Paris. Nevertheless, the one chance he had to write an opera, he created one of the most amazing theatrical musical works of all time, "Medee." He also wrote tons of other oratorios and vocal pieces full of spirit, in his unique style which combines French and Italian Baroque styles.
4) Johannes Ockeghem. Only a handful of works survive which can be definitively connected to Ockeghem, and yet there is enough there to keep me listening for decades. His mass settings are extraordinary, and his chansons are delightful. And he even wrote a few motets that survive which are also incredible.
5) Josquin des Prez. I struggle with my love for Josquin's music, because he is for many people the one composer they know from the Renaissance period. I love the music enough to tattoo Josquin on my arm, and I recognize that he is one of the greatest. His music has been compared to Beethoven's in the way that Josquin took pieces of melody and used them to create big magnificent works.
6) Jacob Obrecht. Obrecht died just when his career was taking off, but nevertheless he managed to leave a huge body of work, including many masses whose variety is staggering. I spent a couple of years collecting any recording of his work I could find.
7) Thomas Tallis. It's hard for me to choose among all the great 16th century English composers for one or two favorites, but Tallis stands head and shoulders above the rest for a couple of reasons. His career spanned all the upheavals that took place in England during that century (except the Spanish Armada, I guess), and he wrote music to suit whatever the situation was at any given time. His Lamentations settings are justifiably famous, and his masses and motets manage to sound both old-fashioned for their time and also radical.
8) Orlando di Lasso. Di Lasso's vast body of work includes secular music in Italian, French and German (and Latin) and I have so so many favorites from among both that and his sacred music as well. From the Penitential Psalms to the Lagrime di San Pietro to his Villanelli, he just created an astonishing amount of works of genius.
9) Heinrich Isaac. A northerner by birth, Isaac worked primarily in the south, especially in Florence. Like di Lasso, he created secular music in French and German as well as Italian, and captured different national styles for each. His work for the Medici court is extraordinary, especially his lament on the death of Lorenzo di Medici, Il Magnifico, "Quis dabit capiti meo aquam." Unfortunately, much of it was destroyed in the purges inspired by the monk Savonarola, but what survives is wonderful.
10) Claudio Monteverdi. Monteverdi spanned the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and created works in both styles of genius. His madrigals are absolutely astonishing, his three surviving operas are among the earliest examples of the genre and deserve to be part of the standard repertoire, his sacred music is sumptuously gorgeous.
Second, if you don't already know my tastes, let me just give you, um, a taste of that. I am an Early music enthusiast, which means that I primarily listen to music from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. Further, that means that, just as someone who is into 19th century music will listen to composers other than Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner (i.e., the mainstream guys everyone listens to), I listen to all kinds of music from those periods, not just the most famous people that you learn about in music history class (no, Palestrina is not going to be on my list...).
Without further ado, here is my list of 10 favorite composers (in no particular order of priority).
1) Henry Purcell. Just on the basis of his Fantasias for Viola da Gamba and his many incredible songs, Purcell makes my list. Add in all his theatrical works, and the guy was one of the most incredible musical geniuses ever. I heard three friends perform "In vain the amorous flute" years ago with all kinds of ornaments added, and it was one of the most memorable listening experiences I've ever had.
2) Johann Sebastian Bach. Yes, I know, this is pretty obvious, but Bach holds a special place in my heart, partly as a result of me being raised as a Lutheran (Bach wrote his sacred music for a Lutheran church community, the St. Thomas Kirche, in Germany). When I was singing in church choir as a young man, we always thought of him as "Uncle Bach," like his music was written for us. And then of course, Bach has been adapted and re-interpreted over the centuries in so many wonderful ways - take Glenn Gould, for example.
3) Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Charpentier had the misfortune to be writing theatrical works at a time when an egotist held the monopoly on operas in Paris. Nevertheless, the one chance he had to write an opera, he created one of the most amazing theatrical musical works of all time, "Medee." He also wrote tons of other oratorios and vocal pieces full of spirit, in his unique style which combines French and Italian Baroque styles.
4) Johannes Ockeghem. Only a handful of works survive which can be definitively connected to Ockeghem, and yet there is enough there to keep me listening for decades. His mass settings are extraordinary, and his chansons are delightful. And he even wrote a few motets that survive which are also incredible.
5) Josquin des Prez. I struggle with my love for Josquin's music, because he is for many people the one composer they know from the Renaissance period. I love the music enough to tattoo Josquin on my arm, and I recognize that he is one of the greatest. His music has been compared to Beethoven's in the way that Josquin took pieces of melody and used them to create big magnificent works.
6) Jacob Obrecht. Obrecht died just when his career was taking off, but nevertheless he managed to leave a huge body of work, including many masses whose variety is staggering. I spent a couple of years collecting any recording of his work I could find.
7) Thomas Tallis. It's hard for me to choose among all the great 16th century English composers for one or two favorites, but Tallis stands head and shoulders above the rest for a couple of reasons. His career spanned all the upheavals that took place in England during that century (except the Spanish Armada, I guess), and he wrote music to suit whatever the situation was at any given time. His Lamentations settings are justifiably famous, and his masses and motets manage to sound both old-fashioned for their time and also radical.
8) Orlando di Lasso. Di Lasso's vast body of work includes secular music in Italian, French and German (and Latin) and I have so so many favorites from among both that and his sacred music as well. From the Penitential Psalms to the Lagrime di San Pietro to his Villanelli, he just created an astonishing amount of works of genius.
9) Heinrich Isaac. A northerner by birth, Isaac worked primarily in the south, especially in Florence. Like di Lasso, he created secular music in French and German as well as Italian, and captured different national styles for each. His work for the Medici court is extraordinary, especially his lament on the death of Lorenzo di Medici, Il Magnifico, "Quis dabit capiti meo aquam." Unfortunately, much of it was destroyed in the purges inspired by the monk Savonarola, but what survives is wonderful.
10) Claudio Monteverdi. Monteverdi spanned the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and created works in both styles of genius. His madrigals are absolutely astonishing, his three surviving operas are among the earliest examples of the genre and deserve to be part of the standard repertoire, his sacred music is sumptuously gorgeous.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Milk in Dark Chocolate? What is the world coming to?
A couple of years ago, in reaction to the growing market for dark chocolate, Hersheys, famous for its milk chocolate making method, starting producing artisanal chocolates similar in appearance to those made by European chocolate makers like Gold & Black. The main difference was that, while Hershey called these chocolates "dark," they all have milk in them!
Of course, this was nothing new for Hersheys. Their Special Dark chocolate bars have always had milk in them. But what made this noteworthy to me was the fact that Hersheys was trying to compete with European makers while not letting people know that what they are selling is a different product because it has milk in it!
In Europe, something called "chocolate" is NOT ALLOWED to contain milk products. If it does, it has to be called MILK chocolate.
Now, unfortunately, all the other chocolate makers, including the major European ones who are commonly found in the US, like Lindt and Gold & Black, have begun copying Hersheys. Virtually ALL of their products including those labelled as being dark have milk in them.
This is a big problem for me. I am allergic to dairy. A little bit of milk in a candy bar may not be enough to give me headcold-like symptoms or send me into apoplectic shock. But I would like to think that I can choose to avoid dairy to avoid any possible allergic symptoms, and still have lots of choices to enjoy food like everyone else.
True, with desserts finding non-dairy options is always challenging. Cakes are usually made with butter, milk or both. Pie crust is usually made with dairy. Custards and puddings - milk or cream. Etc. But at least I used to be safe with dark chocolate. Now that safe haven for my sweet tooth is gone.
To now find safe dark chocolate, I will have to go to health food stores and look for chocolate labelled vegan. Which honestly makes me feel slightly abnormal, one of these picky eaters, a sickly person who needs to avoid food allergies. Well, maybe if I order Gold & Black directly from England, Lindt directly from Switzerland, I can find the good stuff that has not been poisoned for the American market, for the American palette. American imperialism has destroyed one more haven of decency in the world...
Of course, this was nothing new for Hersheys. Their Special Dark chocolate bars have always had milk in them. But what made this noteworthy to me was the fact that Hersheys was trying to compete with European makers while not letting people know that what they are selling is a different product because it has milk in it!
In Europe, something called "chocolate" is NOT ALLOWED to contain milk products. If it does, it has to be called MILK chocolate.
Now, unfortunately, all the other chocolate makers, including the major European ones who are commonly found in the US, like Lindt and Gold & Black, have begun copying Hersheys. Virtually ALL of their products including those labelled as being dark have milk in them.
This is a big problem for me. I am allergic to dairy. A little bit of milk in a candy bar may not be enough to give me headcold-like symptoms or send me into apoplectic shock. But I would like to think that I can choose to avoid dairy to avoid any possible allergic symptoms, and still have lots of choices to enjoy food like everyone else.
True, with desserts finding non-dairy options is always challenging. Cakes are usually made with butter, milk or both. Pie crust is usually made with dairy. Custards and puddings - milk or cream. Etc. But at least I used to be safe with dark chocolate. Now that safe haven for my sweet tooth is gone.
To now find safe dark chocolate, I will have to go to health food stores and look for chocolate labelled vegan. Which honestly makes me feel slightly abnormal, one of these picky eaters, a sickly person who needs to avoid food allergies. Well, maybe if I order Gold & Black directly from England, Lindt directly from Switzerland, I can find the good stuff that has not been poisoned for the American market, for the American palette. American imperialism has destroyed one more haven of decency in the world...
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