Clearly I'm in a don'tfeellikeblogging mood. Or have been. This morning I feel like it. No guarantees about tomorrow.
So, there was an election recently, right? Just kidding - the mid-terms took up most of my interest over the past few months. I'm afraid I, like a lot of conservatives, got caught up in the mega-wave fever and got my hopes too high. Election day itself was terrible. Work was a disaster, a stress-filled day of putting out fires. I voted immediately after work only to arrive home and find out that my brother had been rushed into emergency surgery (he's fine now.) And then the election results started coming in and....nothing. I had set up my computer with open pages to all my favorite blogs and political information sites, hoping to keep abreast of any breaking news. And, as I said, nothing. Around 7 pm I realized what was happening, or what was not happening: the mega-wave. Oh, it was a wave for sure, but that was already a given. By election day 60 house seats and 7-8 Senate seats were what everyone was predicting. But 80-90 seats and 10 Senate seats were clearly not going to come that night. Depression started to sink in and it continued on into the following morning.
It wasn't until Thursday morning that I began to feel better. Years from now when they write about this election they won't be talking about how many of us were disappointed with the results. They'll talk about the historic gains in the House, substantial gains in the Senate, but perhaps more importantly, the gains Republicans made in governorships and state houses. That's where the real landslide occurred, and a good deal of them in very important states, i.e. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin. The old rust belt states that are so important to control during presidential election years. Barack Obama's chances of getting re-elected went down last Tuesday, no doubt. Also, having control during the reapportionment will also help Republicans.
So, all in all, I feel much better about the election than I did the morning after. The important work is just starting though and we will see if the Republicans are up to it. But if I think about that too much depression will start to sink in again. So let's talk about other things.
NOTE: the depression thing is just a figure of speech. The proper term for what I was feeling election night and the day after is letdown. I don't think I've actually ever been depressed. My normal disposition is happy, content, and I can't keep it down for long. I can get mad, I can be sad, I can feel bad about something, but never for long. Not sure why I needed to point that out except I don't want to give anyone the impression that I'm the morose type. Far from it and God forbid.
What else? Well, we just got back from New York City again, our last night at the time share. We have a time share at The Manhattan Club at 56th and 7th Ave, kitty korner from Carnegie Hall, a few blocks from Central Park and Columbus Circle, close to Times Square, 5th Avenue, and the Upper West Side. We had no daytime plans when we woke up on Monday but just before we left home I found out that there is an Edward Hopper exhibit at the Whitney Museum at Madison and 75th. We'd never been to the Whitney and we like Hopper (we saw and enjoyed the Hopper exhibit here at the National Gallery a few years back). So we decided to go there. It had rained all morning in New York and while it had stopped by the time we arrived, it was still cloudy and windy. That's no problem. I love New York best in lovely spring weather but I love it at all times - it's personality changes with the weather. I always feel like I'm in a movie when I'm in New York. Cool, cloudy, and windy is just a different movie. So we bundled up and head up Madison, heads into the wind, taking our time, stopping at some of the chi-chi stores along the way. My wife and I agreed that they make all the clothes in these stores for tall, slim, young people. We'd look a bit ridiculous in most of the styles on display, though my baby could still pull some of them off, minus the ridiculously high heels. She pointed out to me that all the women were wearing the tall boots that went up to the knee, usually over some sort of leggings. She likes the style so we stopped at more than a few shoe stores. We almost never shop when we're in the city but we had nothing planned so I went with the flow, even looking for a few things myself. We bought nothing though - everything I liked was at least double what I was willing to pay. You might call me cheap but I'll call it frugal.
Anyhow, about 74th street it hit me that it was Monday and most of the museums are closed on Monday. We walked the next block to the Whitney entrance and discovered that, yup, it was closed. Oops. I suggested we walk over to the Metropolitan Museum at 80th and 5th, though I was certain that it was closed on Monday also. Yes, it is. Oh well. We walked back down the other side of Madison, recalling a few places we'd been before (most specifically a few delis where we've grabbed some good food for picnics in the park.) When we got back to midtown it was 4:00, check-in time, so we headed back to the MC, checked in, and relaxed for an hour before dinner.
We ate at Il Melograno, at the corner of 51st and 10th, and it was very good. We realized right away that it wasn't really a tourist restaurant but more of a place where the locals come to eat - the owner and the waitresses seems to know most of the people who were there. The food was terrific and the prices very reasonable. Appetizers, I had a salad, two meals, two bottles of sparkling water, two beers, a tiramisu and espresso for dessert, all for $91. And very informal. We were dressed for the show but we didn't need to be. Jeans would have been fine. We decided to remember this place for those times when we wanted to stay casual all day. Highly recommended.
And then we went to see The 39 Steps at The New World Stages theatre on 50th, between 8th and 9th, a spoof of the great old Hitchcock movie. And it was delightful, very ingenious, terrificly acted. Lots of fun, lots of laughs. Again, highly recommended.
And then back to the Manhattan Club and too sleep, perchance to dream. I was tempted just to check the bags in the morning and spend the day in the city but we decided to just head home. I get that urge always in New York - I never want to leave. I've never had enough.
Now we're back home, back to the bland routine. I'm on vacation this week so that's why I'm sitting here blogging on a Wednesday morning. I'm going to try to enjoy the next few days off as work has been very stressful the past few months and I really want a break from it. I plan to listen to some podcasts, read some blogs, do a little blogging myself, listen to some music, do some reading. A lot of what I read will come from this link, The Best Magazine Articles Ever. I love the long form book review, essay, magazine article, i.e. something you can sit with for an hour or more and sink into. I'll make my way through most of these, many of them this week. I've read the Gay Talese Sinatra piece last night, a brilliant piece of writing that captures the man better perhaps than anything I've ever read about him. For instance, consider this, about "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning":
It is a lovely ballad that he first recorded ten years ago, and it now inspired many young couples who had been sitting, tired of twisting, to get up and move slowly around the dance floor, holding one another very close. Sinatra's intonation, precisely clipped, yet full and flowing, gave a deeper meaning to the simple lyrics -- "In the wee small hours of the morning/while the whole wide world is fast asleep/you lie awake, and think about the girl...." -- it was like so many of his classics, a song that evoked loneliness and sensuality, and when blended with the dim light and the alcohol and nicotine and late-night needs, it became a kind of airy aphrodisiac. Undoubtedly the words from this song, and others like it, had put millions in the mood, it was music to make love by, and doubtless much love had been made by it all over America at night in cars, while the batteries burned down, in cottages by the lake, on beaches during balmy summer evenings, in secluded parks and exclusive penthouses and furnished rooms, in cabin cruisers and cabs and cabanas -- in all places where Sinatra's songs could be heard were these words that warmed women, wooed and won them, snipped the final thread of inhibition and gratified the male egos of ungrateful lovers; two generations of men had been the beneficiaries of such ballads, for which they were eternally in his debt, for which they may eternally hate him...
As readers of this blog know, I'm particularly interested in Sinatra's period of transition, the few years when he began to redefine himself and became Sinatra the adult icon, the man other men patterned themselves after, the years 1952-54. He'd been down and out, had lost his crooner's voice, was starting to be considered a has-been. And he redefined himself. I'd never considered how much Ava Gardner had to do with this. The career descent coincided with his obsession with her; his ascent coincided with his leaving her behind. He'd gotten hold of himself and determined that from that point on he'd do things his way, damned the consequences. A few years later, he owned the world.
Anyhow, if the rest of these articles are as good as the Sinatra article, I'm in for a treat.
I also read the article Pearls Before Breakfast, by Gene Weigarten, which appeared in the Washington Post Magazine a few years back. I remember the episode: The Post had entreated world famlous violinist Joshua Bell to play his instrument in the subway, posing as a street musician, and see how many people recognized him or appreciated the music. The results were depressing, with only a few people stopping to appreciate the music and only one who actually recognized Bell. I didn't read the article at the time but it's a great read and has inspired me to go listen to Bach's "Chaconne" a few times, and almost certainly again as soon as I'm done typing.
Finally, for you political wonks who love a good discussion, CSpan had Jonah Goldberg on for three hours the other day and a more enjoyable three hours you will not find. Go here to see it again. Jonah is one of the funniest people around, and also one of the smartest.
And now, back to my vacation....
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