It's a Wonderful Town.....

....the Bronx is up and the Battery's down. The people ride in a hole in the ground. New York, New York....

Yep, I was in the "Big Apple" earlier this month to visit "family" (my god daughter and bf) and conduct a little personal business. Having grown up nearby in Jersey (natives drop the New, as everyone assumes the "Garden State" and not the island in the English Channel), I spent a lot of my (some may say mal) formative years visiting "The City", as we called it, as in "Going into the city this weekend?" (An aside: How many disconnected clauses can 1 sentence have?) Everyone knew you meant New York, specifically Manhattan. Staten Island was "the island", Brooklyn and Queens were just that, and the Bronx was close enough to Manhattan to count as part of "the city", especially the zoo and Yankee Stadium (even though, as a Mets fan, the distinction between those two is minor.) There is so much to see and do there that I feel I only scratched the surface of its offerings in the years I lived nearby, and have not managed to visit there nearly as often as I would have liked.

Other towns, most notably Chicago, have their proponents. Sure, the "windy city" has the Loop, the museums. the "magnificent mile", Navy pier, theaters etc. But, to me, it is but a pale imitation of the "real deal." Where else in the U.S. could you be sitting at a table in a restaurant and be surrounded by people all speaking different languages, none of them English? And no, it was not an "ethnic" eatery, but rather "Junior's" on 45th just north of Times Square. Speaking of which, does Chicago have anything even remotely similar to the aforementioned location?

What a place that is, neon and led lighting covering almost every surface, stores and attractions uncountable and unique, and people everywhere. There you can find not only a 3 story M&Ms store, but also a Toys R Us with an indoor 30' ferris wheel. "Hidden" in all the glitz are treasures like the Times Square Visitors Center, showing the history of the area and its rejuvenation from the "depths" of the 70's.

A "short" walk from Times Square is Rockefeller Center, home of NBC ("30 Rock", get it?) The murals on the walls and ceilings are incredible and the prices in the "high end" shops are breathtaking in their own right. The best part is the Plaza, with the ice rink and what is possibly the world's most famous Christmas tree. The crowds, even by midtown Manhattan standards, are incredible, especially on the weekends. But everyone gets along, and everyone gets where they need to be with no fuss. And for me, getting there is half the fun.

Walking through midtown you get to see both the usual and the unusual, sometimes within steps of each other. These range from street vendors selling $10.00 "cashmere" scarfs and "designer" goods to performers break dancing to disco music on a sidewalk stage delineated by masking tape. Pop into the mix the occasional celebrity and what is possibly the largest concentration of Lincoln Town Cars (all black) in the universe, throw in tourists, some in pedi-cabs and more street vendors. It is a veritable cornucopia of sights, sounds and smells (were those roasted chestnuts - I must buy some!)

I could, (and will, given the opportunity), go on and on about the wonders of "The City" but I am sure that you, the reader, are sick of it. So at the risk of repitition, "It's a Wonderful Town!"

1074

It's quiet around here....too quiet. Hi - I'm Chris and it has been 1 month since my last post. There have been (and are) issues with which I have had to address, but I won't belabor you. On to the post!

1074 is an interesting number, large enough to get your attention (unlike, say, 3) but small enough to be comprehensible ( as opposed to 1x10 to the thirteenth power, or the national debt, which may be larger yet.) But you ask, "Why is 1074 important?" Well, boys and girls, I'll tell you.

It has now been 1074 days since the Michigan State University Spartans (GO GREEN!!) were last defeated by the University of Michigan Wolverines (Boo!) in EITHER football or men's basketball. That's right - almost 3 years. Students who witnessed that last defeat as freshmen are now (or should be) seniors. The majority of MSU students on campus have NEVER experienced the pain of a loss to our arch rival in either of these 2 sports.

The latest MSU victory was especially sweet. A 34-17 drubbing of "the victors" (how disingenuous) on their home field, making 3 in a row, a feat not seen in over 40 years. To make victory even sweeter, our team completely stifled the on field heroics of U of M's quarterback, Denard "Shoelace" Robinson, who was being touted as "the leading candidate" for the Heisman trophy. He was held to season lows both running and passing.

Meanwhile, the Spartans (GO WHITE!!) shredded the already suspect U of M defense with almost 500 yards of total offense, including 5 plays with gains of over 40 yards. Tacking on 3 interceptions (half of our last season's total) and a blocked field goal attempt to the ledger resulted in a satisfying win. The "little brother" (Google "Mike Hart and Michigan State" for the full quote) has not only grown up, he has become the dominant sibling.

A word here of respect and best wishes to MSU head football coach Mark Dantonio. As you may know, he suffered a mild heart attack after MSU's thrilling overtime defeat of Notre Dame, followed by a blood clot in his leg a week later. He coached the game from the press box, but more importantly served as an inspiration to both the team and the community. Coach has rekindled a spirit of community and intergrity that has, in recent years, been missing from the program. And he finds a way to win games too! He is in his 4th year here, and my hope is that his tenure will last as long as he wishes.

It Was 60 Years Ago Today.......

that I entered this "mortal coil." And yes, that makes me officially "older." Most days I don't feel my age, except first thing in the morning, or getting up from a squatting position. I'm pretty healthy, even if my doctor wants me to lose the 10 lbs I've gained since my gall bladder surgery 2 1/2 years ago. I made the mistake of saying, in front of him, "I guess I should eat better and exercise more." He immediately wrote that in my chart. So I have been trying...but it is hard to make the effort, as many of you well know.

It is especially hard around one's birthday. Cake, ice cream, special dinners out etc. are harder to resist when you can justify (read make the excuse) that it is just once a year. But I've been "pretty good." Dinner was at B.D's Mongolian Grill, a mid range "select your own ingredients" stir fry restaurant. I was good and had only one bowl's worth, even though my birthday coupon was good for all I could eat.

In years past, I would have been disappointed had I not made at least a couple of runs at that ingredients bar. I would have (over)eaten myself silly, and waddled away from the table overstuffed and, ultimately, unhappy. But that's, for the most part, history. The "Oh my God, I want to die" (inside joke) moments have been few and far between.

I'm sure that part of my "new found" moderation is an effect of coming to grips with one's mortality, and an effort to delay its arrival. But I also find that I feel better and have more energy. So it seems that what "they" have been telling all along is true. "Eat right and exercise regularly."

"I See You"

I went to see James Cameron's movie "Avatar" this past weekend. I was blown away, and not by the surround sound system. I admit that my expectations were low, considering the amount of hype this film has generated. In my experience, the amount of publicity surrounding a work of "art", cinematic or literary, is inversely proportional to its enjoyment by me. This is not the case in regard to this film. It is visually stunning. The computer graphics blend seamlessly into the live action. The plotline, especially for a sci-fi movie, is plausible and comprehensible. I give it a "thumbs up." In fact I rate it among the top 5 sci-fi movies that I have seen. (The others? "2001", "Blade Runner", "Star Wars (Episode IV)" and "Outland".)

There has been some speculation, in the press and online, as to the film's "meaning." I understand that whatever someone might read into a work such as this is affected by that person's beliefs and experiences. Some speculate that it is an ecological paean to biodiversity or a religious parable. Others see a tale of imperialism, an allegory, perhaps, of the recent war in Iraq. Still others see a love story, Romeo and Juliet on a grand scale set on a distant planet, or a simple "one man can make a difference" story. I do not pretend to know what this film might elicit in anybody but me.

The central message I saw is best expressed by the three words above: "I see you." Without giving away too much to those who have not seen the movie, this simple declaration means much more than an acknowledgement of presence. It is "I get where you're coming from" taken to the next level, or higher. It is the ability to "walk in another's shoes"......on steroids. It is understanding and empathy. It is the ability to love another for what they are, not what we see them to be. It is something that is sadly lacking in this time and in this place.

There is only one Earth, and on it only one people. It is all interconnected, and the divisions we have created are only fictions devised to make one feel superior to another. There are no "sky people" nor are there any "Na'vi." There is only "us." And the sooner we come to this realization, the sooner we can live without the fear and hatred consuming our societies.

What a Concept!

Anyone that has met me, and some who have not, know that I am a "car guy" aka a "gearhead." I look at, read about, work on, sell parts for, and, sometimes , lust after cars. I think it all began wheen I was 9 or 10 years old and it has not yet abated. My main passion is what used to be called "sports cars", especially of the English persuasion. But anything with wheels and an engine of some sort is fair game. Hot rods, customs, race cars, dragsters etc. are all "in the mix" for me.

It is therefore unsurprising that I went to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this past weekend. It was (in relative terms) a pretty austere event this year. The displays were less ostentatious than previous years. "Elaborate" meant that the turntable holding the automobile was elevated and tilted. There were no waterfalls, no cars turning on spits like roast chickens at the deli. The bywords were "efficiency" and "economy", unless you were talking about cars in the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" range. The Bentley pictured here is one of "those."

But there were still "concept cars", those flights of fancy where stylists, designers and engineers start with a clean pad and say "what if" and "why not?" But instead of futuristic behemoths with built in golf carts or dual leather recliners in back (both seen at previous shows!) they presented hybrids, or fully electric cars, or fuel cell powered vehicles. Some were practical, some whimsical, but all were presented as alternatives. This is not a bad thing. It reflects the direction in which the automotive industry is moving, like it or not. "Green", "low carbon footprint" and renewable / recycled" are the buzzwords.

This does not exclude terms like "high performance", it merely redefines them. Things like direct injection, dual scroll turbos and variable valve timing are in, dual quads, high lift cams and huge displacements are out. These new features help the newest cars to achieve, almost, the objective of the old joke: "We have done so much with so little for so long, we can now do anything with nothing at all."

This sophisticated engineering is what keeps me excited about the future of the industry. If the future holds the promise of light,highly manuverable cars with better than average performance and acceleration (just about the classic definition of "sports car") rather than indistinct boring little "pod cars" puttering (or humming) along an automated freeway, differentiated only by color and occupant, then I am all for it.