The Film Forum, just four blocks from home (and one of those things that makes New York the greatest city on earth), is showing Mel Brooks' The Producers for an extra week, with a spectacular summer filled with Akira Kurosawa's films starring Toshiro Mifune complete with new translation of Seven Samurai which means new subtitles. Next week I'll hopefully manage to see Luchino Visconti's Rocco and his Brothers (director of The Leopard) starring Alain Delon!

Suddenly I find myself triple booked and the options are:
Get my bike from Long Island from Ed who gave the Hoo Koo E Koo a thorough washing, lubing, brand new tires and Mr. Tuffys (which Stella's shop in Brooklyn removed and never replaced afterwhich I received my first (and only) ever flat)...
Dinner with friends who are going to Vietnam and need the low-down on do's and don't's (a comprehensive list will eventually appear on the sidebar here --->). I'm beginning to think I need to write a must-read travel book for Vietnam visitors in correspondence form rather than the guidebook listing type... does anyone know a publisher who wants to publish it?
And, of course, ITALIAN lessons, as over two years has gone by since my last course and I'm desperate to pick it up again.

That leaves me with no choice, really, because Italian is the answer, and so tonight, I tried to plan on doing some last minute cramming of reviewing my notes of two years ago, but alas... I'm blogging. And so tomorrow, we hope that Robert, il mio professore, will not be picking on me too much.

On the subject of blogging, East West Adventures is getting hits from a new site called New York City Bloggers which literally maps New York Bloggers on the subway map - super cool.

Imagine

They took my sign down in Times Square.
Since I've been back (and probably since September), there has been a plain white billboard in the heart of Times Square with plain black Helvetica type that read:

Imagine all of the people living in peace.

Underneath that board ran different billboard advertisements, most recently an ad for HBO's Six Feet Under. HBO's billboard was replaced, in an odd contradiction of communicating a message, with Showtime's network that advertised:

More fights than any other channel on network television.
complete with red image of a sweating boxer with his right arm outstretched, finishing off a punch.

Two weeks after the fight sign went up, my peace sign went down.

Just in from New Paltz, New York
Awoke at 6 a.m. this Sunday morning to go rock climbing with Katy, Eric and Damian in New Paltz at the Mohonk Preserve, home of the Shawangunk Mountains (a.k.a. the Gunks) where we gently ascended upon the rocks today. Eric and Katy taught us how to get sticky with the rock, and sore as I am at the moment, I'm addicted. We scaled two climbs, the first named Jackie, which was on a Gunk scale a 5.5 climb (according to our fearless leaders, Gunk ratings are generally more difficult than West Coast ratings) and our second climb, whose name I forget, which was a 5.9+ where I didn't get to the top but tried my best.
i'm in crash mode though, so must write more later.

THE ALL CLAD IS HERE.

So I have just discovered that my paper engineer IDOL has his own web site. About two years ago, I first met Robert Sabuda on a training ride while we were both training for the Alaska AIDS Vaccine Ride. I ran into him again in Alaska where I said something along the lines of "oh, hey, are you Richard?" And he kindly replied that he was Robert. Through mutual friends Enrique and Vinnie (whom I met on the airplane between Houston and Anchorage), we all spent our last Ride day having a grand seafood dinner together.

Back in NYC a few months later, Enrique tells me how Robert is a children's book artist (WHOA, I exclaimed, as I am an avid collector of children's books), and then he goes on to say that Robert is a POP-UP ARTIST at which my excitement increased by leaps and bounds as I am an ardent admirer of pop-up and origami. Eventually, Kaly and I went to Robert's book signing at Books of Wonder, one of New York City's most fabulous children's book stores where we were so enthused, we purchased at least a half dozen of his books (including a copy of Cookie Counts: A Tasty Pop-up signed to me). If you only buy ONE book this year, you MUST buy Cookie Counts. It is the most exquisitely beautiful and fascinating book I own. In the winter of 2000, I brought it to the Epstein school's 3-year old class and I read the book to our twelve 3-year olds. They were popping out of their seats and made me read it three times, and then about 3 or 4 parents went out and bought it. My aunt Lori and my sister Kiki went out to buy about a dozen more of Robert's books for holiday gifts, and then their friends in turn, as enchanted by Robert's amazing pop-up talents as we were, all went out to buy copies.

In 2001, Robert curated (or co-curated, I can't remember) the Brooklyn Pops UP! exhibit at the Brooklyn public library, of which I caught the remnants of the show. He worked with renowned Maurice Sendak and many other children's book artists for a project (and pop-up book!) for the show.

One of these days I would love to have a Robert Sabuda book party...I'm sure you guys would buy up a good 500 books, at least. You have GOT to go to the book store and see one LIVE for yourself. Robert's books have a youthful effect on one's mind, the same way as ice cream, only without any of the calories!

All Clad pieces are starting to come in. It's true... the way to a Hong's heart is through her stomach!
Still haven't managed to get very far with unpacking as I haven't built my shelves though the more stuff I actually get in here, the better the space begins to feel.

Kiki came into town for Sunday and we gave downtown a good walk through and dined at a couple of good restos in the area with Kaly. Then we hit several hardware stores (I'm eyeing shelving, molding, lumber, s-hooks, power tools, and all that good hardware stuff). Can't be too exciting for some, but I love hardware stores almost as much as stationery stores (I secretly covet power tools and a garage-woodshop).

On Sunday, we all went to the RES party which was at the Eyebeam | atelier space and gallery in Chelsea, "a not-for-profit new media arts organization that initiates, supports, and preserves artworks created with computers and digital tools."