September 2004 Archives

It's finally cooled off and I suddenly realized that the angle of sunlight has changed, and it really feels like fall. Autumn officially starts on Wednesday. I always look forward to fall...the beautiful leaves, the apple pie, the apple picking, the apple cider...ok maybe i just have an obsession with apples. But there's something wonderful about breaking out your winter clothing and putting on scarves and mittens, and coming home to a hot cup of tea. I really enjoy the crispness of the air, and how things quiet down.

It's a way of marking time, realizing that things go by so fast and that maybe we should just stop for a little while before winter sets in. I was thinking about how people on the West Coast and places like Texas don't really have that transition...it just sort of stays the same year-round, with some temperature changes. They miss out on all the dramatic fun of the leaves turning color.

I'm looking forward to visiting my sister up in Vermont in October. In addition to apples, I'm going to get some maple syrup. Grade A of course!

In the meantime, where to go to pick apples:
list of U-Pick farms in New York State
list of places in (gasp!) New Jersey

I haven't written much about what I've been listening to lately. I think I went through a "not listening to anything" phase, and then all of a sudden I went out and bought a bunch of CDs. So here's my favorites in no particular order.

Franz Ferdinand | - self-titled

I can't get enough of this album. And yes, they are uber-hip right now, but there's a reason. I get "Take me Out" stuck in my head for days on end. Argh!

Postal Service | Give Up

Frisky 80's style synth pop with melancholy lyrics.

Bjork | Medulla

A mostly vocal album, with beats created by human beatboxes. Essential. Creepy. What did you expect from Bjork?

OK go

They were introduced to me by my sister, who dragged me to their show a few weeks ago - which was loads of fun. Infectious pop punk with an oh-so-cute hipster frontman. I think they're my remedy for Spacehog now that they've broken up.

Los Amigos Invisibles

Finally picked up their newest album, I found out about them all those years ago on WERS's Gyroscope. Dancy funky music in Spanish.

Finally I installed Photostack to make it a bit easier to keep track of my images, so there are two new albums to check out.

Firstly, there's Brighton Beach. We went there a couple of weeks ago as a last hurrah of summer. It was totally packed, but the atmosphere was a little more chill than Coney Island. And surprisingly the water was clean. We also managed to have a truly Russian dinner after our beach jaunt, as the waitress couldn't really explain what any of the dishes were. But they were really good anyway.

Over Labor Day weekend we decided to go to the Storm King Sculpture Park in upstate New York, because we didn't really feel like sitting in traffic trying to get to the beach. It was a nice overcast misty day, perfect for roaming around. However, I wasn't so impressed with the collection. There were too many giant metal sculptures that would have been much more appropriate in the city (can you say penis art?). Can't we just have a sculpture park devoted entirely to Andy Goldsworthy? Is that too much to ask?

See more photos here. And yes I like Photostack because I can make my own templates. Sort of like Movable Type.

there are about a million things i need to post about, but i have neglected my blog for the past three weeks. i think the media blitz over the republican national convention just wore me out and i didn't feel like saying anything. let's get this election with over with already, sheesh.

upcoming:
trip to storm king sculpture park
more food in NY!
grad school crisis
getting in touch with people from your past (you know who you are!)
what to cook for your family when they all come to visit.

and I have to figure out why the heck my posts are expiring even though i've got them set to 30 days. harumph.

btw anyone seen the new G5 imacs?? drool.

and YES! register to vote!