September 2006 Archives
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Craftsmanship
Dead Programmer's Cafe has an interesting post on craftsmanship in software and construction, and links to a post by Joel Sporksy, who says:
[S]ometimes fixing a 1% defect takes 500% effort.
Lupa - disappointing
I ate at Lupa Monday evening and I was disappointed ... we shared all the dishes and 3 carafes of white vino from Italy ...
The meat dishes of salami, prosciutto, veal tongue, head cheese, etc. were completely tasteless except for the salt and oil ... no perfume flavor and dried tasting ... I imagine that the meats were sliced a long time ago ... not freshly sliced meat ... the diced brussels sprouts with cheese were very salty and oily with no other flavors, such as lemon or herbs ...
The sardines with escarole were not fresh and tasted like marinade herring ... the salad was very plain with plenty of dried cheese ...
The fresh fettucine pasta with cheese was buttery-OK. I bet that the ingredients did not cost more than $1 per dish!
We had a nice table outside on the patio that was nice and comfortable. The white wines were good. We split the bill of $100 plus and we each left a tip of $10. So my bill was over $63.
Not good at all and I felt that I was bamboozled by the Italians. For example, for the price of the $10 tip, I could have a very delicious bowl of fresh egg noodles (al dente) with wonton soup ($3.00) and a plate of BBQ baby pork ribs ($5.00) in Chinatown.
No offense but I think that Italian food in the fancy restaurants are the biggest sham in this Big Apple ... the only place to eat Italian is to cook at home, it is so simple ... ask my Italian nephew, Francesco Buitoni ...
However, the evening did not end too badly, we rode the subway to Lincoln Center and saw the MET opera of Madam Butterfly, outdoors on a huge screen with English sub-titles ...
Lupa, web site, 170 Thompson Street, between Houston and Bleeker Streets, 212-982-5089 [MenuPages | NYT | NY Mag | Village Voice | openlist | Gayot | Savory NY | Yelp | Citysearch]
Post by Peter
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"Beauty Surrounds Us"
New exhibition at the Diker Pavilion for Native Arts and Cultures ... "Beauty Surrounds Us," September 23, 2006 - September 23, 2008 ... A free event for the whole family ... take the subway to Bowling Green ...
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| Nuwukmiut Eskimo Football | Transformation Mask | Sioux Drum | Quechua Child's Costume |
The Diker Pavilion for Native Arts and Cultures, which houses objects fashioned of bone, hide, clay, reeds, seeds, wood, metal and other stuff, opens Friday at the Smithsonian’s center in Lower Manhattan.
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The new 6,000-square foot pavilion, which includes a performance area that can seat 400, occupies former storage space under the grand oval rotunda on the main floor of the center’s home, the United States Custom House on Bowling Green. The marble floor has been replaced by one of sprung maple suitable for dance performances; the walls have been covered with handsome cherry paneling, sloped gently inward; and 10 vertical exhibit cases have been placed in the window niches, covering up a bleak view of an inner courtyard. Behind the performance space is a curving wall of jade-green translucent glass. (The pavilion is named for the New York collectors Valerie and Charles M. Diker, who contributed $1 million toward its realization.)
"Finding Beauty in Usefulness," by Grace Glueck, The New York Times, September 22, 2006
Diker Pavilion for Native Arts and Cultures at the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian, Free admission, web site, 1 Bowling Green, open 10 am - 5 pm every day except December 25th, Thursdays until 8 pm, 212-514-3700
Off the Broiler reviews Di Fara Pizza
Jason Perlow has an excellent review, with many pics, of the square pie at Di Fara Pizza ... and pics of other great looking dishes ...
"NYC Dining: DiFara Redux -- Its Hip to be Square," Off the Broiler, September 21, 2006
DiFara, 1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn, 718-258-1367 [slice | A Year in Food | NY Mag | NYT | in praise of sardines | eating for brooklyn]
It pays to stroll through the flea market and avoid the TV shows
A very good eye for Fine Art ... $50 makes $284,000 ...
A painting bought for less than $50 at a Manhattan flea market 23 years ago sold at auction in London this week for $284,000. The picture, an oil on canvas by the Indian artist Francis Newton Souza, is a portrait of a bald, frowning man in a black suit, his eyes obscured by wire-rimmed glasses, and is dated 1958.
"Bought for Less Than $50, Sold for $284,000," By Ben Shapiro, Arts, Briefly, The New York Times, September 16, 2006
Also, he enjoyed the painting for those many years ... It pays to stroll through the flea market and avoid the TV shows ...
2nd Annual Vendy Awards
Nominations are now open for the 2nd Annual Vendy Awards ... last year, our favorite, Tony Dragonas, was a finalist ... to nominate your favorite street vendor, fill out this online form ...
2nd Annual Vendy Awards, Sunday, October 22, 2006, 6:00 - 8:30 pm, St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery, Second Avenue and East 10th Street ...
"I will survive"
An alien sings "I will survive"
I bought it on eBay....
Are you an eBay junkie? This song, based on the music from "I Want it That Way" by the Backstreet Boys, is for you!
With words superimposed on the screen:
And if you missed it the first time around ... the 2 guys from China lip synching "I Want it That Way" ...
