Nothing to get hung about...

...yes, a visit to Strawberry Fields in Central Park was in order, although it happened somewhat by accident. The plan was to meet a friend in Central Park for lunch on Saturday before heading to The Met and I intended to arrive a little bit early to just sit and relax. I meant to hop off the subway at 59th/Columbus Circle but I got lost in "Scoop" and didn't realize my mistake until 72nd. I walked into the west side of the park on 72nd expecting to make my way over to the east side, when I realized where I was. I had planned on coming to this mosaic since I was 13, listening to "She Loves You" and running my hand over the print--"Anna (Go to Him)"--on the back of my mom's record, Introducing...the Beatles. In high school I was obsessed with John Lennon...every documentary, book, exhibit (I spent a whole day just in the John Lennon exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland), article, photograph, video captured my attention and fed my peace/love/rock and roll understanding of the world. I stood at the corner of North Broadway and High Street in Columbus with my No War sign, I wrote Imagine all over my notebooks and on chalk boards, I wanted my life to be like "The Wonder Years"...circa 2001. As I grew up my extremes became much more moderate, as happens to most people as they age and idealism becomes much harder to hold on to...I still love John Lennon's music and I felt nostalgic looking at the Imagine mosaic even though I had never been there before.

I sat on one of the benches to pass the time and it was one of those absolutely perfect moments--a bright sunny day with a slight breeze, light streaming through the trees' branches, a steady flow of people but not too many, the sound of a jazz trumpet far off in the distance--it was satisfying. I took out the paper and began to read, and it was then that all nostalgia left and I was face to face with the older me. The story was about Now Zad, Afghanistan and the stalemate between the U.S. troops stationed there and the militants...this line sums it up: "For the U.S., it’s a prize too valuable to lose, not valuable enough to win." What would have raised only anger in me as a teenager now made me feel sad, intrigued and left me trying to figure out where this story fit in the larger picture of that region...and then came the amusement when I realized the irony of objectively reading a story about war right next to a mosaic dedicated to man who was--and still is--a symbol of peace...


...Weekend Anna

P.S. The awesome photo is courtesy of rootinshootin.

"Just a perfect day, Drink sangria in the park..."

I love May and I love the fact that it actually feels like spring--a rather elusive season I haven't truly experienced in a while since teeth-chattering Chicago winters usually transitioned immediately into sweat-inducing summer. I got a taste of that heat the weekend before last while I was in Florida visiting the family. It's still weird to think of my parents down there among the palm trees, backyard swimming pools and alligators...going to visit them feels like going on vacation instead of going home. Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend with my parents and sister. It was filled with lounging, a little bit of swimming, and games of Scrabble, Sorry and Euchre. I miss all of them, although I will get to see my Dad in a few weeks (Yankee game!).

Last weekend was another New York weekend with dear friends--from an exhibit of Picasso's later paintings in a Chelsea gallery to a lovely outdoor brunch in the West Village, a street fair on Barrow St. (whoopie pies!), a stop at Bleeker Street Records, dinner in Little Italy, mass at St. Pat's, the Museum of Natural History and pizza at John's on Bleeker. My wallet was lighter by Sunday night (beautiful stationary--pictured above!--from the street fair, chocolate covered espresso beans from Porto Rico Importing Co., Lou Reed's "Transformer" on vinyl, to name a few culprits), but I was filled with satisfaction, happiness, and a feeling of gratitude for being lucky enough to have some pretty awesome friends, both near and far.

My next weekend is approaching rapidly and Memorial Day means another one of those rare Mondays that I look forward to...and the return of another dear friend...


...Weekend Anna

I'm still here.

I’m sorry. I’ve been failing at the whole weekly posting thing—as the wonderful Papermoon pointed out the other night I haven’t updated in a while. I’ve been busy, but I’ve also found it overwhelming to sit down and write something worthwhile about my weekends. I’ve started a post several times over the last several weeks, but each time I get distracted or don’t like how the words are coming out. I can be very picky sometimes with writing…not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.

I’ve had five wonderful weekends since my last post, with too many things to fully recount—Easter in Chicago, the return of the lovely RMB, Jersey Boys with my Dad, movies galore courtesy of the Tribeca Film Festival, Glasvegas and Ida Maria at Webster Hall, Pete Seeger’s 90^th Birthday concert—including Bruce!—at Madison Square Garden, “Around the World in 80 Days” at the Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, a visit to my new favorite bookstore Idlewild Books, and lots of time spent with friends.

Today I continue my busy weekend theme with a trip to Jacksonville—I’m giving the gift of myself to my mother for Mother’s Day. The Florida weather will be hotter than I desire, but it is so nice to see the family.

Maybe I’ll even post about it later…

...Weekend Anna

Simple. Wonderful.

It's been a beautiful weekend, the perfect blend of lounging, visiting, seeing, buying and experiencing. Staying in Friday night was a glorious decision--it gave me time to go through some of my files (a task I'm still working on today), watch a couple movies ("Age of Innocence") and chat with that lovely Papermoon girl. My plans for Saturday included a trip to the dry cleaners, a stop by Macy's and Old Navy and a visit with my darling cousin who was down from Montreal for a quick weekend trip with her boyfriend. Oversleeping caused me to miss the dry cleaners and to rearrange the rest of my day, but it was perfect. I met up with my cousin in Midtown and we walked up Broadway, through Times Square and over to Fifth Ave. Some coffee at Dean & DeLuca kept me caffeinated and on a slight whim I decided to go over to the Museum of Modern Art and become a member. I had come across a coupon in a special museum section of Thursday's Times and after considering the benefits for a few moments, decided it was worth the expense. Now I can visit the museum whenever I want in addition to bringing guests for only five bucks, free screenings of MoMA movies and entrance to special exhibits and previews. I am official a patron of the arts in my own tiny way.

Next up was a subway ride down to SoHo which was pretty crowded with shoppers and tourists. The sun was so uplifting--and so was my second stop for coffee--that I didn't mind all of the people. We made our way all the way up to St. Mark's Place and stopped at a bakery, recommended by my cousin's boyfriend, on 1st ave. and 11th. The cases in the front of Veniero's Pasticceria were filled with cannoli, biscotti, zeppole, pignolli and at least twenty other kinds of cookies. I had a chocolate chocolate cannoli that was perfection. After I parted ways with my cousin, I fulfilled part of my original plan for the with a stop at Old Navy for some jeans, a fun red spring jacket and some black, gray and white t-shirts--hey, at least the jacket was red (I'm still working on the whole incorporating color into my wardrobe thing)!

Today has been a lazy day thus far filled with more filing, taxes and some clean up. Simple. Wonderful.

Now it's time for some old movie viewing--"Niagara," a 1953 thriller starring Joseph Cotten and Marilyn Monroe...


...Weekend Anna

Happy Birthday Mr. President....

It's James Madison's birthday today--so I'm toasting the occasion with some red wine and the reading of the Constitution. Yes, for once I have red wine in my apartment. The red wine, aka "date rape wine" because it knocks you right out, is leftover from a weekend-o-fun with my aunt, uncle and cousin. We had so much fun and I miss them already. We did too much to recount in anything but a list: pizza/date rape wine, Hoboken, walking along the water front, Ellis island, LES, Rockefeller Center, St. Pat's, MOMA, Upper East Side, Bagels!, Central Park...

So much fun. So exhausted...


...Weekend Anna

Easily Distracted...

I keep sitting down to write a post and then something else grabs my attention. Last night it was a combination of realizing that Ida Maria is opening for Glasvegas at the end of the month at Webster Hall and the release of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs newest album, "It's Blitz!" on iTunes at midnight. I've had a love for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs since I stumbled across a recording of "Art Star" online the summer before my sophomore year of high school, smack in the middle of my I-love-the-Beatles- and-everything-about-the-1960s-and-maybe-I-will-dress-in-hippie-clothes-and-not-wash-my- hair phase. I fell head over heels for Karen O--her crazy outfits, her onstage writhing, and her howling scream punctuated with flirtatiously coy lines ("I've got a dealer in Tokyo/ I've got a rep in Paris/ I've got an agent in Cologne/ Shit, I've got a gallery in New York!). I was hooked and the rest is simple: "Fever to Tell" was next followed by a trip up to Cleveland to see that writhing in person. Then relatively unknown TV on the Radio (Colbert bump!) opened on the waist-high stage in the tiny ballroom. I was right in the front, close enough to feel the sweat from Karen O.'s hair whipping around when she danced and the champagne she squirted out of her mouth like a fountain. It was glorious.

"Gold Lion" from "Show Your Bones" pops up on my playlist at least half a dozen times a week and I've listened to their latest album in full three times since I downloaded it less than 24 hours ago (not including the dozen times I've listened to "Zero" and "Hysteric", my two current favorites). "It's Blitz!" is different from the others, less raw and disjointed. I love it though and right now time will tell if it enters my list of favorite albums.

The last two weekends have been amazing...but the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have kept me from writing about those weekends for at least another 24 hours...

...YYY Anna

I like this place...it's not pretentious...

...this of course being my paraphrased attempt of quoting "Priceless," a beautiful and light movie starring the lovely Audrey Tautou. I love this movie because it makes me think of some of my old favorites, like "Charade" or "To Catch a Thief." I like that quote because it sums up my view of Chicago, a city that I've loved more and more only after I left it. Not that I didn't love it while I was there--I always felt lucky to be in or near Chicago, but New York was always the goal, the dream. I'm as close to that dream now as I could hope to be at 23, but Chicago has entered my heart and refuses to relinquish its grip. For one thing, Chicago is cleaner, more spread out, less chaotic--the people are nice and lack the pretension displayed by so many New Yorkers and their wannabe counterparts. Chicagoans have pride, but it's a pride in something real and seemingly more deserving...maybe it's hard work without the glitz or bright lights? I don't know, but it's this feeling that Chicago is a wonderful place, but it isn't all there is--there's a whole world outside of Chicago, one that people go out and explore. Chicago is the place that you return to, it's home. Some New Yorkers think that they are at the center of the world, not just part of it, giving them the false sense of worldliness, even if they never leave the island of Manhattan. Of course, not all New Yorkers are like that and not all Chicagoans are wonderful. New York will always have more than The Second City and I feel more connected to the history of the New York/New Jersey area then I ever will to the Midwest. But Chicago is a nice place, a place I hope to go back to at some point in my life.

Yes, I had a lovely visit to Chicago--I am always happy when I'm surrounded by friends and family, and I got a taste of both last weekend. Recapping it will just make me miss them more, so I'll just leave it at that for now.

On to this weekend, my independent/Italian weekend of randomness--"A Room with a View" (ah, Firenze!) on Friday night with some popcorn a la Sarah-style (kernels, oil, salt, oregano, paper bag, microwave, yum). Yesterday was organizing parts of my life and then a date with myself. I took myself to see "Gamorra" at the IFC center (stopped off for a peanut butter and nutella sandwich at Peanut Butter & Co. first). The movie was wonderful--dark and horrific, but beautifully shot and moving. The film looks at five different characters all attached in some way to the Camorra family (mafia) in Naples. The dialect was strong so I had to rely on the subtitles, but that made it all the more real. I think that's what was so troubling about it--I've seen plenty of violent films but over the top violence seems more like entertainment. I can watch it because I know it's not real. This violence, the killing and revenge and depravity of the whole situation was (and is) just so real. In any event, I'm glad I saw this movie, even if it wasn't uplifting at all.




Today was Italian mass (I love all of the old Italians and how they talk with their hands...their gestures are amusing and pleasant), a quick stop by the hairdresser's for a bangs trim and a visit to the bookstore for Ian McEwan's "Enduring Love" and Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited"--yes I have an illness called compulsive bookbuying...


...Weekend Anna