Well, this was pretty horrific. A few months ago I sang a song at one of Dylan’s shows and felt like it was over far too soon. So when some our friends suggested a ‘couple’s music night’ at Think on 8th Avenue, I thought it would be a good chance to attempt my first ever full set …
Read MoreYou all love my blog, right? Well, now I’ll finally know the truth. Tonight I went to a lie-detecting class hosted by The Nonverbal Group in Midtown. The three-hour workshop whizzed through the basics, but here is some of the most I interesting stuff I learned:
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Mayor Bloomberg may always be reminding us that New York is the ‘safest big city in the U.S.’, but it still has a lot of dark corners. So I thought it might not be a bad idea to learn some moves to protect myself – just in case.
Read MoreAs I made my way to watch some music at Arlene’s Grocery in the Lower East Side, I thought about what new drink I could try. I had visions of a blog post entitled ‘…drank a Manhattan in Manhattan’. But as it turns out, there’s not really that sort of selection in the basement of …
Read MoreI had no idea how many things could go through your mind in ten minutes. In the time I was supposed to be concentrating on my breathing at my beginners meditation class, my phone bill, John Kerry, these French-singing cats and how I really, really wanted a Diet Coke all crept into my mind instead. …
Read MoreIt snowed! And it’s bloody cold. But not so cold to put me off trekking to Midtown to see what Central Park looked like. I managed to drag an unenthusiastic Dylan along (“I’m from Minnesota! I know what snow looks like!”) and we entered the park at 72nd Street, where Winter Jam was underway. The organisers …
Read MoreThe Museum of Modern Art has free entry on a Friday evening so, after work, I jumped on the E train and shuffled through the snow to claim my ticket. Aside from saving $25, the real draw was seeing Edvard Munch’s The Scream up close. Or so I’d hoped. Everyone else in the city apparently …
Read MoreTonight Dylan and I went to friends in South Slope for dinner and as I foraged for deserts at the supermarket, I came across a jicama – an ugly, stout root veg with a bizarre stringy part protruding from its top. I’d never had one before. When I took it along to dinner, I learned that not only is the …
Read MoreContinuing on my ‘free stuff in New York’ streak, tonight I went to watch what I thought was a student piano concert at the New School. I’ve been to a strings recital at Juilliard before and getting to see world-class performers for free is just too good to miss. The only problem here? Said students turned out …
Read MoreFor some bizarre reason, the Squash Tournament of Champions chose to set up its court in Grand Central Station, so tonight I went to watch the women’s quarterfinals. For the non-paying spectators, the game is viewed through the massive glass back wall, which means they smack the ball directly at us. I spent the first ten minutes …
Read MoreThe bank called to ask whether I’d tried to spend $800 at one of the online casinos uk. Luckily they guessed the chances were slim. While I’ve always been interested in something like a paypal casino, this particular effort was not my doing. Now thanks to my entire lack of a contingency plan (and my …
Read MoreForget Occupy. Today, hundreds of us unleashed chaos on Wall Street – in the form of a massive Freeze Tag game. The annual event organised by father-and-sons company Levys’ Tours celebrated its eighth year with two hours of playground favourites, including Blob Tag (where tagged players join hands with the tagger), and a few games I’d never …
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Perhaps it’s my job as a reporter. It could be my obsession with the Investigation Discovery channel. Or maybe it’s just sick human nature. Whatever the reason, when I planned my trip to the west coast, visiting Alcatraz was right at the top of the list. This morning, I caught the 9 a.m. ferry from …
Read MoreAnother day, another state – and while I have been to this one before, I did achieve a first moments after arriving in San Francisco: Taking a cable car. I hopped on the rickety Powell and Hyde cart from Union Square, hanging off the side as we whizzed up and down the city’s undulating streets. …
Read MoreLots of firsts today. A new state! A visit to Portland! The first time I got on a bike in about 15 years! After more travel delays, I arrived in Portland, Oregon hours later than I’d hoped – but thankfully still in time to watch the sun set over the city’s waterfront as I wobbled …
Read MoreI had planned on taking a food tour of the historic Pike Place Market when I arrived in Seattle today, but thanks to fog clogging the coastline this morning, my flight was delayed and I missed it. But not to be defeated (or left hungry), I did a cheeky DIY tour – based on reports …
Read MoreAfter two days of hikes, ferries and driving up mountains here in Washington, it was time for some refreshments. This afternoon, my friend Jane and I stopped at Island Hoppin, a six-month-old microbrewery on the island of Orcas (an appropriate name as Orca whales swarm its waters). The owner, an excitable man named Nate, pulled …
Read MoreI know, I know, pretty impressive. My friend Jane (who I’m staying with on an island off Washington state) gave me a cello lesson this morning, and after initially struggling to balance the bow in my grip, I eventually managed to play a scale. You can’t see it on the footage, but minutes later I …
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Today I flew to Washington (state, that is) for the first time. I know it’s not in keeping with my ‘new thing in New York’ premise, but I’m counting it anyway. And it takes my tally of states up to 31:
Read MoreI seem to have done a fair amount of eating and not a lot of exercise since starting this project – not very New Yorker of me. So to ease me back into the new year after a gluttonous holiday season, I signed up for a Gyrotonics class at the SoHo Living Room. The machine …
Read MoreThat’s right, I’d never eaten from a truck before. And you know what? Even though I can’t be certain they didn’t fry my veggie option in meat fat, it was pretty good.
Read MoreTonight I went to see five plays which were part of Manhattan Rep Theater’s Spring One Act Competition for new playwrights. My friend Paul (pictured middle) starred in one – Black Friday by Matthew Klein – about two brothers who meet to discuss what to buy their grandfather for Christmas. Conversation soon turns from gift …
Read MoreThis is why I love New York. About four years ago, I devoured The Year of Living Biblically – a book documenting one man’s mission to live by the rules of the Bible – and now, I can just head out and meet that man: A. J. Jacobs.
Read MoreWhat would any of us do if we were locked up on Death Row for nearly two decades for a heinous crime we did not commit? How would we spend our days? How would we stay sane? For Damien Echols, one of the ‘West Memphis 3’ falsely convicted of murdering three young boys in 1993, a spiritual …
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