Away

I will be away for the next week or so, down in Florida visiting the family. I don't plan to be blogging during that time, so look for me back here after June 8. Have a great week!

(Photo: Door buzzer, East Village, May 2009)

This is (Almost) Spinal Tap

I am a casual fan of Christopher Guest and some of his dry parody films, like “A Mighty Wind,” “This is Spinal Tap” and “Best in Show.” So when my friend Angela approached me with a free ticket to a concert last night by Guest and actors Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, in which they sang songs from their films, I said, “Sure!”

(“Free” being the operative word...)

It was a funny show, especially, I suspect, for those who really know the films and the characters. I was a little lost during some of the numbers, but they stand well on their own so you don’t really need a whole lot of context. And all three are genuinely good musicians.

Talk about things I never expected to do!

(Photo: "Mesterious" street art in Brooklyn, May 2009)

Where Was I?

I suspect that computers cause Attention Deficit Disorder.

For all I know, there’s already research to support or reject this suspicion -- I haven’t done any reading on the subject. But I know when I work on the computer I often find myself trying to do ten things at once, and bouncing from one task to the next before I finish any of them. The situation is expecially crazy at work, where I have TWO computers on my desk.

(Oops -- sorry -- I just popped over to iTunes for a minute to see if my search for Ralph Vaughan Williams turned up anything. And it did! Yay!)

I find that I am especially easily distracted if the computer begins performing a task that takes a little time. For example, if I need to download something, I’ll launch into another task while the download occurs -- and then I get wrapped up in that and forget about the download entirely! We’ve all had this happen, I’m sure.

Computers foster this kind of activity because with a few keystrokes you can be off on an entirely different trajectory without ever leaving your seat. (Oops -- pardon me -- my Flickr download is complete so I need to caption my photos. Be right back.)

So, yeah, what was I saying? Oh -- right -- different trajectory. I think there’s something about working with books and papers that’s more focused. You don’t need to wait for a machine to do anything or take you anywhere, so there’s less opportunity for your mind to wander. It can keep sustained concentration on a single subject.

ADD seemed to really rise to prominence at about the same time as computers. And don’t even get me started on video games! Of course, this doesn’t prove causation, but I suspect there is a link -- I think young people would better train their minds to concentrate if they weren’t so scattered in all their electronic activities.

(‘Scuse me for a second while I edit a picture on Flickr now that the photo editing program has launched...)

OK...now...what was I saying?

(Photo: Think twice, Coney Island, March 2009)

Food and Music!

Culinary adventures with Dave continued this weekend! We tried a new restaurant on Sunday evening that specializes in “American Tapas.” We had several cheeses and accompanying pates and relishes, a beet and an asparagus salad, grilled octopus -- which was good but still looked a little too much like an octopus, which made me feel guilty -- and nachos with salmon and caviar! (Who thinks of these things?)

That was after a concert at Carnegie Hall conducted partly by one of Dave’s former professors. Playing were a high school string orchestra, a middle school concert band and a collegiate band of chosen students from around the country. Among other things, we heard Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasy on a Theme by Thomas Tallis,” a favorite of mine.

Then, last night, we made seared scallops here at my apartment, along with some sauteed spinach and a baked dish of layered gruyere, cream and celery root. (Is this really coming from MY kitchen??)

I did get out and walk yesterday afternoon. I went out to Bushwick for a few hours and explored a whole new area, and found some great street art. Also, a friend of mine from the Zendo came over to photograph me in my apartment for a project he’s doing -- somewhat reminiscent of my Japanese adventure. I can’t wait to see how the photos turn out.

(Photo: School buses in Coney Island, March 2009)

Chez Steve, Revisited

I thought it might be time to show you the current state of my apartment. You may remember it from this post, in February 2008, but I’ve made some changes since then. Mainly, I’ve thinned my stuff out even more, which gives me more space.

I gave away some of my artwork, some books and my CDs. I don’t like wires, so I traded in my old, multi-component stereo system for a simple iPod docking station (atop the dresser). And I got rid of the lamp in the corner near my bed, which I always disliked. My only complaint now is that it’s a little dark there!




Armenia likes the spaciousness!




The kitchen stayed pretty much the same. I repainted the whole apartment last Labor Day, but I kept the original color scheme. I got rid of my ancient drip coffee maker and got a stovetop espresso pot, which is what I make coffee in now -- it’s much easier to clean and gives me more counter space.

Overall, the result is a cleaner look and easier maintenance. (Also, I changed cat litters, from clay to a wood pellet litter called “Feline Pine” -- it is SO much cleaner and less dusty than the old stuff. And it’s made in Florida, my old home turf!)

Angels, Demons and Marines

Yesterday I made it to the gym and then went to meet Dave. It was a clear, sunny morning, so we walked across Central Park, stopping by Bethesda Fountain and Strawberry Fields. We marveled at the variety of musicians busking in the park, from jazz trios with full drum kits to a solo sax player and guys with didgeridoos.

Eventually we made our way to the west side to meet Randall and David, a couple I know through work, to go to a movie, “Angels and Demons.” It was a really fun movie, though utterly absurd.

We also stopped at the Magnolia Bakery, where I was thrilled to find banana pudding with vanilla wafers! Woo hoo! Mrs. Kirkland, the woman who took care of me and my brother during the day when we were kids -- and who was something of a surrogate grandmother -- made amazing banana pudding. This took me right back!

Walking back through the park from the movie, Dave and I stumbled onto a concert by the U.S. Marines at the bandshell. It’s Fleet Week, so the streets of New York are filled with strolling sailors and Marines, and I guess this concert must have been a related event. We stayed for the whole thing -- at first I felt a little like I was in the belly of the beast, a committed leftie wearing my U.S. Peace Corps cap, surrounded by military folks -- but eventually I set that feeling aside and enjoyed our inherent commonality. It was a good performance, right down to “America the Beautiful.”

(I'm so rusty on patriotic protocol. The band played “The Star Spangled Banner” and I sang right along with everyone else, and even remembered to take off my cap. But I realized about halfway through that I put the wrong hand over my heart. And then I wondered whether the hand-over-the-heart thing even applies when we sing the national anthem -- or is that just the Pledge of Allegiance? I’m such an idiot.)

We walked back home via Fifth Avenue, just talking, and spent a quiet evening here, making soup and watching some stuff on YouTube. A great day!

(Photo: Spelling mishap in Bushwick, Brooklyn, May 2009)

Have a Drink...Or Not

Last night I went out in the East Village with my friend Dan. We found a great little Dominican restaurant with excellent food -- I had plantain fritters and a layered chicken dish made with corn flour and tomatoes. We also had a couple of mojitos, which were quite excellent.

Then we wandered about ten blocks to a laid-back neighborhood gay bar called The Phoenix, and had two or three beers. I wound up getting home about 1:30 a.m.

As you know if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, I am the somewhat unusual Drinking Buddhist. I don’t drink a lot, usually, but every once in a while I have a night out. Lately, my drinking has been a bit on the upswing, as Dave and I have been trying different wines with meals and I’ve taken part in the springtime whirl of social events.

I’m beginning to feel a bit conflicted.

Many, if not most, Buddhists are teetotallers. Buddha told his followers not to use alcohol or drugs, and it’s one of the core precepts that we pledge to uphold during jukai, when we more or less “become” Buddhists. Drinking clouds the mind and numbs us to life.

I’m all about balance, though, and as I’ve written before, I think it’s smart to leave some leeway. Sometimes drinks are called for -- on nights out with friends or special occasions, or to heighten the flavors of a special meal. Rarely, when we have a party at the Zendo, we serve wine to those who want a glass or two.

I don’t like the fact that I'm drinking more these days. I think I have a pretty good internal alarm that goes off when I’m becoming unbalanced -- kind of like a washing machine -- and it’s starting to beep and clang. Maybe I need to think more about the terms under which I drink -- a two-drink max? Just beer and wine? Hmmm.

Robert Aitken, in his book “The Mind of Clover,” which is sort of my bible for navigating the precepts, definitely leaves room for alcohol now and then. He points out that Zen masters in the past have enjoyed their wine, and that Bodhidharma says the precept is really about “not giving rise to delusions”:

It is not only drink, or drugs, or tobacco, or coffee, or TV, or whatever. What is happening in your mind? Do you provide your own barbiturates? All of us do, and so all of us violate this precept. It is really the Three Poisons* that this precept is about, self-centered delusions that cloud and darken the mind in our world of Zen practice, and in our application of realization in our everyday life. Victimized by our own separation from others, we drink to break down inhibitions. But when we dwell in that place where every day is truly a good day, a little wine, or the Chinese thrush, or meeting an old friend from far away, can gladden our hearts.

So I think there’s room for a drink or two. But I also think I need to listen to that internal alarm, telling me when to cut back and respect my practice.

*The Three Poisons are greed, anger and ignorance.

(Photo: Huge Cyclops tag in Bushwick, Brooklyn, May 2009)