UPDATE: THE ANTI-BOTTLED WATER CRUSADE

It struck me that I spent some time posting about how I changed my perspective on bottled water due to increased awareness thanks to the extended media coverage on this issue BUT I haven't followed up with how it's changed my behavior.

It's been about a month and I'm happy to say we no longer buy bottled water in bulk (or at all, really). We switched to one of those Brita water pitchers for our home use and have not missed the bottled water at all.

At work, meanwhile, I now use a Nalgene bottle for drinking water at my desk.

Hopefully we can keep it up and continue reducing our impact on the environment (and on our wallets).

Good Quote, Okay Book

I just read No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog by Margaret Mason. My wife borrowed it from the Brooklyn Public Library.

Yes, I am guilty of pulling the "here's what I ate today" move (see my last post about Sushi at Jpan) but I think I mix it up a bit more than that and part of the reason behind posting where we eat is for me to simply remember what we did as opposed to trying to fill a content void. Hmm, maybe I should re-think that.

Well, anyway, she did have some good ideas that inspired me for future postings. And she did have an inspirational quote that I will post here:

"Start saying yes. The more you experience, the more you have to write about."

Jamiroquai - Runaway

Music I Want To Download

1. I Lost Him Moonshine Sessions
2. Lazy Eye The Silversun Pickups
3. While the Cold Winter Waiting Trentmoeller
4. Challengers (album) The New Pornographers
5. Starz in their Eyes Just Jack

Things To Do

Great article in The Times about making "life lists" that my wife sent to me.

I'm a big fan of lists. Heck I'll make lists of lists.

I'm working on a "Things to Do in NYC" list right now. But what about a life list? Those are some big questions. Not sure what's on mine just yet. What's on yours?

Watching The Classics: Indiana Jones

This weekend we watched both Raiders of The Lost Ark and Temple of Doom.

I actually liked Raiders for its inventiveness, cinematic style and sense of humor. But how come it took the Nazis forever to see that Indy was digging up the Ark while the rest of them were working?

Unfortunately, I can't say that I liked Temple of Doom, though it did have its moments (like the mine car chase). For the most part, I was annoyed by Kate Capshaw as the damsel in distress and didn't get into the whole cult/child slavery plot.

And whatever happened to Jonathan Ke Quan? This kid was huge in '85, starring in Temple of Doom AND The Goonies?

Sushi on 5th Ave.

On Friday, we made our way to 5th/2nd in Park Slope and took in the lunch special at Jpan Sushi.

The food was good, not great, but you did get quite a bit for your money (for NYC). For $8, I got the chicken teriyaki lunch box which also came with shumai, miso soup, salad, a california roll and side of rice. My wife got the sushi roll special which came with a miso soup, salad and two rolls - the shrimp tempura roll and the eel and avocado roll.

The place has a nice vibe, including an outdoor patio in the back.

We'll probably still stick with Oshima for our sushi needs since it's closer to us but it was good to try a new restaurant.

Movie I Want To See

It's called King of Kong.

Here's a description I found online:

Spelling bee kids had Spellbound. The crossword crazies had Wordplay. Now, let the video game fanatics have their documentary! The King of Kong is a nostalgic look back at the early days of video games – when a yellow circle that ate dots was considered revolutionary – and the obsession some folks developed in beating the high scores (for most of us, that was on the machine at a local 7/11 – the subjects of this thoroughly amusing doc, it’s the Guinness Book of World Records).

Back in the 80s, Billy Mitchell set the all-time record high score for Donkey Kong (where the now omnipresent ‘Mario’ made his debut). The score remained unchallenged for more than 20 years, until, in 2006 a man named Steve Weibe broke the record. Director Seth Gordon manages to capture the personalities (Mitchell comes across as arrogant and cocksure; Weibe as a lovable loser who finally found victory) perfectly and crafts an addictive, entertaining jaunt down memory lane. Even if a name like QBert means nothing to you, and you don’t get the reference of a bouncing pretzel, you’ll still have a good time watching this story of social underdogs finding their own road to becoming champions.

Who's Pissing Me Off This Week

1. Germs. Damn you, cold.

2. The terrible abuse suffered in dogfighting, and underwhelming public outcry in comparison to violence against women.

3. Evil Corporations that try to control their Wikipedia entries. Thank God there's Wiki scanner.

4. BP. Although they said they would halt plans to dump waste in Lake Michigan, F you! You shouldn't be polluting the environment in the first place.

Cool Objects I Covet

Kudos to my friend K-Dubs for sending me this link of a USB drive made to look like an old cassette tape. Ah, mixtape you are all growns-up.

Old Friends, Sweet Chimay and That Pesky Cold

Last Friday I met up with an old friend at Sala One Nine in Union Square where we shared stories, though hers are usually more colorful - like crashing network upfront parties...

On Tuesday I met up with an old friend from a dot-com experience in 2000! We had drinks at Vol de Nuit in West Village where I must say, I had way more Chimays than I had planned. Nevertheless it was good catching up with her and sharing similar sensibilities.

Wednesday, I started feeling a cold coming on and now it's in full swing. Aargh.

Interpol - Rest My Chemistry

Good Articles in The Times

Melena Ryzik's piece on the "wheatpacking district", er, I mean Union Square.

Kim Severson's article on eating locally.

And props to my brother for directing me to Zoe Wolff's description of Park Slope's own A.C. Newman (New Pornographers) tying the knot with his girlfriend and celebrating at Union Hall.

Books I'm Interested In

What's The Matter With Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America
Thomas Frank
Delves into why people vote against their own self-interest and put the Republicans in office.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
Barbara Kingsolver
Chronicles a year trying to eat nothing but home grown food, and if not that, locally grown food.

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Michael Pollan
From The Washington Post: The omnivore's dilemma is twofold: what we choose to eat ("What should we have for dinner?" he asks in the opening sentence of his book) and how we let that food be produced. His book is an eater's manifesto, and he touches on a vast array of subjects, from food fads and taboos to our avoidance of not only our food's animality, but also our own.

I Heart NYC; Revisited.

My better half is in Chicago visiting friends this week, so I took the opportunity to take in some NYC experiences on my own.

Since I'm not sure how long we'll be here (see post re: 5 Stages of NYC Living), I'm making a list of NYC things I want to do and doing my best to cross them off the list. (Am I also checking it twice? Who am I? Santa Claus?) Also, since we're on a budget these days, I'm looking to do some fun things on the cheap.

Fortunately, the company that I work for enables me to visit any museum for free. All I need to do is show some identification. After conferring with my wife on which museums she wouldn't mind that I went to without her, I settled on The Guggenheim.

The weather was perfect today and I hopped on the Q train to Union Square and transferred to a 6 train to head to the Upper East Side and join the horde of international tourists. The Guggenheim isn't as expansive as the Met but I did enjoy some of the artwork, like Kandinsky's Blue Mountain pictured below:

I also enjoyed Kandinsky's Composition No. 8:

And another favorite was Picasso's Mandolin and Guitar.

Afterwards, I checked out the gift shop where I really liked this print of an old New Yorker cover from the '70's.

Having concluded my early morning visit to the Guggenheim, I headed south and took in the sites of the Upper East Side, like the UES'ers boarding a bus to go to The Hamptons.

Eventually, I took a train downtown and made my way to The West Village. I stopped by the W. 4th Street Courts (aka "The Cage") to watch some hoops. Lucky for me, turns out that Kenny Graham's W. 4th Street Tournament games were taking place. I watched about half of the women's game and all of the men's game, pressed against the fence alongside a mix of tourists and locals. It was pretty fun and a real NYC experience.

Hungry from walking around and standing during the entire length of the b-ball games, I grabbed a slice from Bleecker Street Pizza and returned to BK.

Later that night, I met up with a friend whose cousin owns a boutique in Park Slope. He was watching the store for her and when he closed up, we went across the street to Bar 4 (7th Ave/15th St) where I was happy to hear a My Bloody Valentine song played by the deejay. And we found out they have Guitar Hero nights every Wednesday. Bonus.

Nerd Alert

Is it wrong for me to be excited about Guitar Hero III?

Didn't Activision just come out with the 80's version of this game?

Why am I looking forward to the true sequel to Guitar Hero II?

The gameplay stays the same but the songs change and that's where they make their money. I'm the chump willing to shell out $50 a game just for the opportunity to "play" new songs. It's comparable to the Madden series for EA Sports. Essentially the same gameplay every year, but different rosters. What a business model!

Anyway, here are some of the songs on Guitar Hero III that I am looking forward to:
-"Cherub Rock" by Smashing Pumpkins
-"Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
-"Even Flow" by Pearl Jam
-"My Name is Jonas" by Weezer
-"Reptilia" by The Strokes
-"Sabotage" by Beastie Boys
-"Suck My Kiss" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
-"Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns n Roses

Protect Yo Digits

Yesterday I received a voicemail from the fraud department of a certain "premium" brand credit card that I use.

Curious I first Googled the number to make sure it was legit and then dialed it. After validating my info, I was informed that someone tried using my CC# but I had the actual plastic card!

Apparently whomever this thief is, he/she tried to put about $1400 or so on it at a Target store in the Bronx. The charge did not go through but it made me wonder - How did they get my number? Who was this criminal? And what kind of idiot tries to buy $1400 worth of goods w/o having the actual card in their possession? Did they just roll up to the cashier with a piece of paper and the cc# on it? So shady.

HOT/NOT HOT

HOT:

The anti-bottled water movement.

NOT HOT:

The douchebag known as Mystery, star of VH-1's Pick Up Artist.

Blasphemous? Perhaps.

We hit a lull in our Netflix queue so decided to start renting some "classic" films, many of which I am somewhat ashamed (but not really) to say I have never seen.

First up is Spielberg's E.T., which we watched last night.

Maybe this is blasphemous, but I didn't love the film. In fact, I didn't even like it. It's tough to watch this kids film from the '80s with the sensibilities of a jaded 30-something in 2007.

Here are my gripes (in no particular order):
-How stupid is the mom in this film? And reckless? She just leaves her kids home alone?
-How the hell does E.T. and the kid get psychically linked? E.T. starts boozing on beer and the kid feels it? That was weird.
-What's with the blatant product placements? Reeses Pieces, Coke and Coors?
-Why do the scientists bust into the home unannounced and wearing space suits? Why not knock? They broke into the home like zombies in a horror film.
-How do these loser scientists NOT stop the kids from taking E.T. and stealing the van? Where's the security here?

NEXT UP IN OUR SELF-IMPOSED "CLASSIC" FILM VIEWING: The Godfather.

Saturday in The Slope

Yesterday was a Stage 5 Day, where it was good to be a New Yorker again. The weather was perfect - cool, sunny, and not humid at all. We started out walking through the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket and then dropping off a book at The Brooklyn Public Library (where amazingly after over a year and a half, those front steps are finally open to the public!).

We then made our way to the Prospect Park Zoo as the company I work for was participating in a "Corporate Weekend", meaning that employees and guests get to attend the zoo for free. We immediately went to visit the star of the show, the red panda.

Afterwards, we checked out the rest of the zoo and particularly liked the meerkat, porcupine, and California sea lions, pictured below.

We then walked through Prospect Park and made our way to 5th Ave. where we sat outside at Willie's Dawgs, indulging in a couple Frankies (hot dogs with carmelized onions and bacon).