Author Archives: Sans Souci

Friday Flu-Fluff

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We can all use some uplifting on this NYC flu-ridden Friday. Here’s a goodie bag that I filled during the week with things that made me smile and ponder.       It’s time to dance! Love these two. Who says a big guy can’t dance?   Doggie at the hair salon       Peeping Tom   I would like a little platypus, please. Thanks. (Surely they are part cat)   I love the Christchurch seniors. Waving to New Zealand. Also wouldn’t mind living in such a happy place.   And another …     Have a glass of water … Continue reading →

Down For the Count

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I have the flu. It’s not that bad. Sometimes illness is a gift. What’s wrong with staying home on a freezing day and reading or watching a movie? Having chicken soup, taking a nap? I didn’t take a flu shot; my type A flu would have been prevented. My doctor says that plenty of people are coming in with flu even after having the shot. I’ll be seeing you. My soup is calling.

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NYC Photo Journal: The Start of 2015

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  In honor of a new year, I present another little kitty that found me. Here I go again!  (all iPhone photography)     City streets on New Year’s Day. Visiting friends in the Columbia University area near Riverside Drive. Fabulous neighborhood. They live in a building that is 105 years old.   Quick shot of Tom’s, aka Monk’s, the restaurant façade as seen on Seinfeld.   A very Happy New Year to all. Here’s a card for you. .

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So Long, Farewell … From Winky Dink to Tron and Beyond

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  This RCA television was a professional model and purchased in 1980 through a family member who was in the electronics business. I recall how he struggled to get it out of his car to “deliver” it. I had seen its brother in the art department of a nearby university when I was taking sabbatical studies. That was 2001. We saw “Tron.” Tron was a futuristic  sci-fi movie that was released soon after I got that RCA television. Now they are both outdated. Thirty-four years later, the television is still in my living room. And still working. But here’s the … Continue reading →

Review: Constellations: Pole Dancing in the Parallel Universe

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  Last Sunday emanated from a parallel Universe. Show tickets, the decision to drive to a specific train which had a stop near the theater. The transit website said, “no delays.” Arriving at the train proved otherwise, in fact it seems always to prove otherwise when the site indicates no problems. The platform was mobbed and a train was going out of service. As the clock ticks toward the curtain going up I have to calm myself down. It is either traffic or trains, in New York City you picks your poison. Finally an E train is rerouted around the … Continue reading →

NYC Photo Journal: All About Dinner: The 90-Year-Long Christmas Meal

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A perfect evening began on the pre-Christmas streets of New York City where each block was punctuated by a parade of shopping bags. Throughout were LED globe-like light arrays in different colors: Everything was dressed in lights. This rarely happens: There was a parking spot in front of the restaurant. Andanada. Who knew that the restaurant near the Alice Tully Hall (show to follow dinner) was so superb and had one Michelin Star? Don’t want to sound like Anthony Bourdain, but I had no reservations; still got a table. Let me share this meal with you.   On the house: … Continue reading →

Friday Fluff: Are Some Things Meant to Be? The Bashert Factor

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Is it serendipity? Telepathy? Coincidence? I often have, as I am sure you do, situations where it’s gotta be more than a coincidence … you run into someone you were just thinking about, a letter arrives, an email, a call from someone who has been on your mind … Last night I heard from someone I had contacted months ago and left a message. The call was returned last night, a few hours after a holiday card was mailed to her saying: I called and left a message, I hope you are well. I knew in my heart of hearts … Continue reading →

An Evening at Carnegie Hall: Requiem for the 20th Century

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Made it on the subway in a light snow. Nothing like Manhattan; streets are packed day and night. I’ll try to reconstruct the concert for you. This is not full of yuletide cheer, if anything it is downright sorrowful, depressing, and serious. Sometimes you need some of that. The 2oth Century was one helluva hundred years. Each composer was affected by war. May the century rest in peace.   Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 6 Excellent introduction.  Listen for the saxophone solo.     Gyorgy Ligeti: Requiem A most incredible choral piece. Think: you have heard it.       … Continue reading →

Birthday-Poetry Wednesday

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My sister was born on December 10th as was Emily Dickenson; I visited her home in Amherst, (see photos) Massachusetts this past summer.       In honor of birthdays, a brilliant poem from Billy Collins. Let’s just call this BIRTHDAY-POETRY WEDNESDAY.   Happy Birthday, Emily Dickinson. Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes by BILLY COLLINS First, her tippet made of tulle, easily lifted off her shoulders and laid on the back of a wooden chair. And her bonnet, the bow undone with a light forward pull. Then the long white dress, a more complicated matter with mother-of-pearl buttons down the … Continue reading →

Part 79: Observing. A Look At My Mother

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Yesterday I made a quick run over to my mother’s residence to leave off a rent check. I had to make a quick visit–there was no room in the parking lot. My mother has taken to leaving her door open when she is expecting meals or company and the tray from the previous meal is always waiting for pickup, leaning against the wall near her door. Each time I see her she is smaller. She is probably about four feet seven inches but who knows? Her presence has diminished greatly but she still has an ability to make sure she … Continue reading →

Be Happy, Or At Least Pretend To Be

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Years ago when I was on a teaching sabbatical I was walking through Manhattan to a class. I remember crossing a street near The New School. It was around noon. I was wearing a gorgeous sweater I made under a red coat. It was early Winter, somewhat cloudy and I remember the chill. It was about twenty-eight years ago. I was pregnant with my son. A young man approached me and said something like, “you look happy, would you like to get a cup of coffee?” He likely approached me because I was smiling. I often smile to myself when … Continue reading →

Sign Of The Times

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My past, my students. Teachers will understand, teachers of the deaf will understand better. I came across an article in today’s The New York Times. In the 1980’s I taught in a program for the deaf at The High School of Fashion Industries in Manhattan. I recognized faces in this article. Faces of former students who at that time were learning a trade along with academics. At graduation they were 21 years old. I was in my 30’s. I see at least one of my former students in a photo of the choir and the video. The woman in the … Continue reading →

Part 78. Way to Go: On Mothers and Migraines

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People ask me frequently: “How is your mother?’ I have to say for a woman of ninety-six she is doing well. She is all there. She has made peace with her life in New York City (although she buys into the news-spin and thinks it is the most dangerous place on earth) she knows how to handle herself and lives how she pleases. She has found her “way to go.” So, let’s not cross her. She has decided that she will remain in her room for meals and pay the fee to have them delivered. This is her assurance of … Continue reading →

NYC Photo Journal: November: A Month of Back-Blogs (part 3)

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The New-York Historical Society New-York Historical Society 170 Central Park West at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street) New York, NY 10024 Phone (212) 873-3400     I was able to catch several fascinating exhibits:   A Brief History of New York: Selections from A History of New York in 101 Objects; Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage: “Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage charts a new direction for one of America’s best-known living photographers. Unlike her staged and carefully lit portraits made on assignment for magazines and advertising clients, the photographs in this exhibition were taken simply because Leibovitz was moved by the subject. The images … Continue reading →

NYC Photo Journal: November: A Month of Back-Blogs (part 2)

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Ralph Fasanella September 2, 1914 – December 16, 1997 My favorite museum visit this month was to the American Folk Art Museum, 2 Lincoln Square Columbus Ave. between 65th and 66th Streets New York City, across from Lincoln Center. A few photos taken outside, unfortunately no photos are permitted inside.   I stumbled across the art of Ralph Fasanella in the 1970s and he has since been my favorite primitive artist. He was self-taught, untrained, has the eye of a genius and the soul of a saint. He was a union man and a champion of the worker who slaved … Continue reading →

NYC Photo Journal: November: A Month of Back-Blogs (part 1)

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    Looks like I have been missing in action, hasn’t it? It’s been a busy month: celebrations of good things, museum visits, meals out, cultural events, mother issues, the daily migraine … and yes, I got lazy. Most museum exhibits cannot be photographed if there are copyright issues and the material isn’t owned by the museum; this makes it difficult to construct a post with my own work. There are some things I’d like to share but it looks like I will have to rely on internet material. I’ll let you know what is mine and what isn’t. So, … Continue reading →

An Angel Played the Violin–On Seinfeld?

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I attended a wonderful concert last night at a local college. I even ran into friends there. The Moscow State Symphony Orchestra was to play and the scheduled violin soloist was the highly esteemed Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg.   She played in the second piece, Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No 1. The women in the orchestra were garbed in elegant black fabrics: lace, silks. They wore high heels. I mean, these young women were Muscovites and they take pride. But who was the woman who came out to play the solo? She was holding a violin! Where was Nadja? What happened to … Continue reading →

NYC Photo Journal: Halloween 2014: Rob and Dorit Thereminize at Joe’s Pub

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Joe’s Pub is a nightclub/bar/theater venue for New Yorkers of all ages. Halloween night is special: out come the theremins for a little spookiness to add to your dinner. Meanwhile, outside, and a few blocks down, you have the world renown Halloween parade, and chances are while walking the streets you’ll see a lot of fake blood and some very interesting costumes. If they are costumes. After all, this is the Village. (Greenwich Village)   Meanwhile, inside, the usually great burgers are being served (it was a busy night and many orders were incorrect), but (cousin) Rob Schwimmer and Dorit … Continue reading →