Giro d'Italia live online

Dammit. Robert got me hooked. We hovered over his desktop this morning having coffee and watching Day 2 of the tour.

Watch the Giro d'Italia on RAI here, every day, live.

And since the RAI links are unreliable (at least on Mac), visit the official Giro website for updates (English and Italian), or the gazzetta for updates in Italian.

I guess once an American starts winning, we'll eventually get to see the Giro on U.S. TV. Back in 1996 I used to have to watch the Tour de France on ESPN2 at 2:30 a.m. for measly 30-minute highlights.

If you buy bottled water, read this

First, the NRDC: Bottled Water - Executive Summary and the full report here based on a four-year study.

You might find this disturbing:
"Some of this marketing is misleading, implying the water comes from pristine sources when it does not. ...one brand of "spring water" whose label pictured a lake and mountains, actually came from a well in an industrial facility's parking lot, near a hazardous waste dump, and periodically was contaminated with industrial chemicals at levels above FDA standards.

or:
"...about one fourth of bottled water is bottled tap water (and by some accounts, as much as 40 percent is derived from tap water)..."

and a bit more
Even when bottled waters are covered by FDA's specific bottled water standards, those rules are weaker in many ways than EPA rules that apply to big city tap water. For instance, comparing those EPA regulations (for water systems which serve the majority of the U.S. population) with FDA's bottled water rules:

City tap water can have no confirmed E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria... FDA bottled water rules include no such prohibition (a certain amount of any type of coliform bacteria is allowed in bottled water).

Well, actually, just go read that executive summary -- it tells you the rest!

Engine Trouble

2007 is proving to be an exciting drama filled year. First, I was chased by the NYPD in January. Yesterday, on my return to Chicago, we had an incident in the air.

So I had a bad vibe that hovered since morning. I couldn't place it. I wandered around Chicago with an ominous feeling all day long. We boarded the plane -- the flight attendant was unkind about helping me put my five pound small bag up in the bin, but everything else was rather uneventful.

Take off. Um, sparks. Flames. Smoke...where I happened to be sitting, immediately behind the wing. Really bad burning smell seeping through the cabin.

What I love about United is Channel 9 Audio -- air traffic control communication is open to all passengers, which I happen to find fascinating audio. The most exciting thing in the past was hearing the Air France pilot speak -- gotta love an accent. So our pilot explains to air traffic control that we had a 'bird strike' -- a "fairly large bird, like a goose or something."

Shortly after take off, at about 5000 feet, a goose (or something) went straight through our right engine -- hence the sparks, flame, and smoke. The burning smell entered the cabin, at which time the pilots turned off the A/C controls for that engine. While the engine was fine at 5000 feet, they were concerned how it would react when we reached cruising altitude and chose to turn us back around to land in O'Hare just to be sure.

Non-emergency landing. Sit on aircraft and wait for inspection. Announcement: This aircraft is being taken out of service. We found significant damage to the blades in the engine. At this time, please take all of your personal belongings and deboard the plane.

It was a good call from the pilots, who later also explained that the plane was taken to a hangar for further inspection for internal engine damage, and that in 30-something years of flying, he had "never smelled anything quite like that."

Dining Out for Eastern Market

On Monday, May 21, Dine Out for Eastern Market, a special fundraiser to help rebuild our beloved and historic neighborhood market, lost in a fire on April 30.

A Lyon in the Kitchen

My mom is a chef. I bought my All-Clad eight months before I bought a bed. I cooked almost daily in my 150sf Greenwich Village apartment which was so small, my kitchen only had a pint-sized fridge that fit under the counter. Imagine my excitement when I heard from my old college buddy Nathan Lyon that he has his own cooking show on Discovery Health, focusing on local fresh foods. It's a philosophy I've always abided by, encouraged by my neighborhood in NYC and my stint in Italy.

I lived across the street from Pearl Oyster Bar and on the same block as Murray's Cheese store. I went to Faicco's for my meats and the baker for my breads. Given zero freezer space and about nine cubic feet of fridge space, I always cooked and ate fresh, and I always had to go out for my ice cream.

Living in my medieval village in Italy was much the same. I bought from the local market on Tuesdays, and on Saturdays, I bought the seasonal produce off a truck -- the sweetest cherry tomatoes (I popped them in my mouth like candy), artichokes so gorgeous that my American friends who visited thought they were fake, and arugula so tasty I ate it senza dressing.

Tune in on Thursday nights to watch Nathan, who is made for stardom, and check this out!

Google Fools

Toilet ISP service. Free, through your very own commode.

Thanks for the laughs, Google. I wonder how many people will actually sign up for this service?

Vintage.

I love vintage things because often, they're just better designed and better manufactured. Companies go the cheap route these days, and mass production has taken the quality out of most things.

On the way back from Myrtle Beach, I saw this vintage Esso station, est. 1912. I jumped, of course.

JUMP SEATTLE!!!

Seattle had awesome jump spots.


and of course, the Starbucks HQ...we just happened to be at a restaurant supply place across the street.

The windy city

On my way to Seattle, I popped into Chicago... there were lots of ice floes just beneath us in the water here, so even if it didn't look so cold, I'm sure it was.

I love what I get to see from the sky.

Small town, big city.

Ok, so living in the city is a lot like living in a small town. When I used to live in Greenwich Village, my neighbors knew me, the butcher, the cheese guy... they all recognized me. If it'd been a while since I'd visited, they'd inquire if I was on vacation, or after my health.

So living in Dupont Circle with my friend is no different. He told me about how he was at the Cairo liquor store the other day, talking to the owner about a coffee liquor, so the guy says, oh, he'll order some. Four days later, my friend is in the store and guess what? Yeah, four bottles of the liquor were on the shelf and so my friend gets a bottle. Imagine that actually ever happening in your local Giant (Ralph's, Safeway, Piggly Wiggly or what have you)...another good reason to avoid the suburbs. Cool, huh?

2007 is the Year of the Pig

My annual newsletter is up!

William Dolby, January 1935 - 2007

Bill Dolby was one of my dads, and here he is with me and Lori in 1996 when we finished the Philly-DC AIDS Ride to raise money for AIDS services in the D.C. area.

I'm in Arizona now for his memorial services today on my new year. Bill passed away recently because he needed a pacemaker, and when he arrived at the hospital for the procedure, somehow, he didn't get it.

He was a grandfather, brother, father, son, husband, uncle, cousin, naval aviator, sailor, joker, singer, chef, volunteer, friend and neighbor. Rest in Peace, dad.

I'm an aunt!

I'm an aunt! My baby nephew was born today. Here he is, just a fourteen minutes old, and he doesn't look like an alien! My sister says he's a "Very relaxed baby -- Zen-like. :-)" and from this video, she's right on.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day
Originally uploaded by cityflickr.

Apropos Love, captured in the Chicago airport yesterday during a layover. Happy Valentine's Day!

Kurt and David Got Married!

My friends got married in Rota, Spain where David is from, and had a fun celebratory party at Baltimore's Red Maple Lounge.

From Pearl Oyster to Hank's Oyster

I used to live across the street from famed Pearl Oyster Bar in Greenwich Village.

Now I'm in a historic art deco building with a view of just the tip of the Washington monument across from Hank's Oyster Bar. I'm here until I leave, so come visit, because you never know when that'll be. ;)

When life deals you a lobster roll, you've got nothing to complain about.

Baby E4

My sister is about to have the first grandchild in our family! We're calling him


Just had the baby shower -- tea and lots of great goods.
Three kinds of sandwiches, tomato quiche, spinach and cheese quiche, scones with mascarpone and jams, mini banana nut cupcakes with coffee buttercream icing, and chocolate covered strawberries.

Voice crush

"I think it's smashing," he said with a very light English accent, of my first name. I was talking to the customer service representative of my credit card. I had to dictate my name, since it's pronounced unexpectedly different than the way it's spelled. He asked me what it meant but I explained that my mom made it up. And then I explained how all my siblings have weird names too, to which I received his compliment.

I love the way you can hear someone smiling on the other end of a line. And how sometimes, you just make a sweet connection with a stranger, say goodbye, and think, there are still plenty of kind people out there.

Peace. Happy New Year. And more peace. We know we need it.

The nicest people live in New York City.

Just returned from a ridiculously fantastic two weeks in the city. I ended it the best possible way, by having dinner at my old neighborhood joint, the Blue Ribbon Bakery. I thought I was last there in June but just checking, it was Labor Day weekend of 2005 when everyone in New York was being so nice to me.

Eric, the manager there was gracious as ever, and is always super kind (he never corrected me when I'd been calling him by the wrong name forever). Jai, who has known me since I was seven years old met me there after his dinner date. I was starving, hadn't eaten especially well all week, and I asked him to join me so I could treat myself to a good last meal. Despite not having been there in 14 months, Eric remembered me, and offered us dessert on the house. He also knocked off Jai's soda, double espresso, and discounted our bottle of wine. Needless to say, I left a 30-something% cash tip and hope next time I could leave more (once I start working again!).

I've good reason to send the dozens of people I've sent to that place. And you should go, too.

P.S. I have always been a little unsure that Eric's name is really Eric, especially after I discovered I'd been calling him Ed for several months when I first met him. If you have any insight, please, share it! But for the time being, I'll keep calling him Eric. Besides, I think he hasn't quite figured out how to say my name either. :)

I'm not a serious drinker

And Peter has a way of making it very un-serious.

I started the evening at Fanelli Café in SoHo with Robert and Vera with a sapphire and tonic, extra lime. Headed to dinner in Brooklyn at their new digs. Parting with R&V, I left for Peter's place in the Heights. We started with a bottle of champagne. Gibsons followed with the last of the vodka. And we topped off with a bottle of sake, which he warmed in batches as we worked through it.

Luckily, I hold my liquor rather well for someone under a hundred pounds.

chased by the NYPD

I helped my friend Patti set up a new Mac, wireless network, printer, the works, going till just after midnight. Being on the way east side, she sent me home with cab fare and I walked over to First Avenue to pick one up.

First sign of wrecklessness, the cabbie I flagged down crossed four lanes and cut off others to get to me. I climb in. He doesn't know where my cross streets are so I just tell him to get me down near Washington Square Park. No big deal. Partway through, we're westbound somewhere down in the teens. In front of us are three other cabs and a tow truck. My guy decides he'll cut everyone off on the left and speed through the light. Just as we're getting to the front of the line, the tow truck begins to turn left in front of us. A slamming of brakes, arms waving and lots of cursing. It's an NYPD tow truck. My cab driver jumps out of his car and starts waving and screaming with total belligerence at the uniformed cop. The officer says to him pretty nicely, "Wait right here." Goes back to his truck. Comes back and asks for license and registration, adding that if the driver didn't comply, they'd have a problem. Cabbie cusses him out instead. Backs up (since the tow truck is across our front), and then takes off! I told him "You really need to stop the car." He told me to ignore the guy, he's not a cop.

NYPD truck chases us. Tries to cut us off again. Cabbie says to me, "You see? This guy is crazy!" Finally, the officer blocks us off again. He gets out, he waves at me to get out of the cab. I open the door and begin to climb out. The cabbie TAKES OFF AGAIN while I was getting out, so I shut it and slide back in. Cabbie says, "He's crazy! You're my witness!" The officer gets back into the truck and chases us some more. The cab gets me two blocks from where I need to be. I just want to get out. The tow truck cut in front of us one more time, totally blocking the cabbie. The officer comes out, waves me out. I'm ready this time, and jump out of the car as fast as possible. The officer tells me to get in his truck, he'll drive me home. The cabbie starts screaming at me for his fare and the cop just looked at him and told him he wasn't getting it. He clears off the messy front seat for me, and I climb in. He drives me around to where I needed to be, and says "That guy's crazy. He's going to be arrested."

I ask him, "Would you please wait for me to get inside before you leave?"
"Sure."
And he does.
And I figure I ought to get Patti her cab fare back.

Brooklyn Museum of Art

Currently playing at the Brooklyn Museum of Art are the Annie Leibovitz (through January 21) and Walton Ford (through January 28) exhibits.

New Year's Eve in the Hamptons

Teresa called me to come out to the Hamptons for New Year's Eve.
So I did.

Their house and the view from the deck.

We followed up with a delicious dinner at the Blue Room in East Northport for some seriously good eats, lots of champagne of course, a fun brunch in Southhampton, and a luxury bus ride back to the city.

Night Walk in NYC

If you've never taken a walk through New York City at night during the winter holidays, add it to your list of things to do in life.

NYC holidays

Happy holidays from NYC... I'll be here for a couple of weeks.



photo taken from my old street corner in Greenwich Village, 2003.

Could I ask for anything more?

Happy holidays to us from the generous folks at flickr, now with unlimited uploading of photos.

I can catch up with uploading all my old snaps and have a great place to store the visual adventure of my life.

Water outweighs Gold.

A friend of mine who lives in Africa and India forwarded me a chain e-mail about the Pascua Lama project.

I researched it and found that the Campaign against the Pascua Lama project in the Andean peaks (between Argentina & Chile) is indeed true -- though the folks at Snopes (where, as a responsible netizen, you should always double-check your chain mail & urban legends) indicate that the chain letter doesn't show the complete picture. I also found the petition site to sign where your signature will be counted, rather than signing the chain e-mail.

Here's more information:
Wikipedia on Pascua Lama.
Snopes' review of the chain letter.
MiningWatch, Canada's Campaign against Barrick Gold's Pascua Lama project
Barrick Gold Corporation's response to the chain mail. They also have a Q&A.
Upon making your own judgment of the case, you can sign the petition against mining (or not).