Uncategorized – Page 9 – Mitchell's thoughts, photos, etc.

Pandemic Watch: Patti Smith brings live music back to City Winery NYC

Patti Smith on City Winery’s stage

April 11 — Last night, my cousin and I sat at our own City Winery NYC table enjoying personal Margherita flatbreads and chardonnay. About 100 other people each at a private table for their party were doing similar. We were all waiting for the return of live music. At about 8:15 p.m., Michael Dorf, owner, City Winery came on stage to say thanks for coming and welcome back. Minutes later Patti Smith, Tony Shanahan and Jackson Smith emerged and began playing. Jesse Paris Smith performed with her mom and brother during different portions of the performance. Opening with “April Fool,” Patti and her bandmates brought cheers, smiles and raised glasses from her audience.

The audience was mesmerized. She grasped our attention from start to finish. No one wanted it over. We all wanted to stay all night.

Patti Smith performing at City Winery

Over the past year, I was supposed to see the Alarm, Morrissey, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, an opera, a few NY Philharmonic performances and many Yankee games.

After several postponements Morrissey finally canceled. That was super sad. It made every day certainly like a Sunday — Silent and grey. Ringo rescheduled a few times and is now supposed to happen in June 2022. Let’s see if the yellow submarine emerges. The Alarm may happen this June. I suspect sixty-eight guns will fire if they perform.

The Yankees refunded my ticket fees. Being the die-hard fan I am, last Thanksgiving, I purchased several tickets for the 2021 season. Due to the social distancing requirements, so far my tickets have been voided. I can get my money back or credits from Ticketmaster. But the catch is you have to buy at least two. Usually, I bought just one. Is it lonely? Yes and no. Sure you want to high-five your friends when the Yankees play well or cry together. But if you are alone you can get there as early as you want and not worry about anyone. I get to ‘Da Bronx hours before a game. There is too much to do pre-game to arrive just a half hour or so before. Many do that.

Lincoln Center is hard at work trying to bring back its live performances. I’ve watched several streaming performances from the Philharmonic, Depeche Mode, Pearl Jam, U2 and others.

I discovered a few new bands this way, including Slooshy and the Weird Wolves. Give them a listen.

Back to Patti. She was the right one to bring live music back for me. And many others. She’s an amazing performer. Very few people have the stage presence she does. I loved her poetry during the show and her stories. She did a few Dylan covers and threw in a tune from Stevie Wonder. She memorialized her late husband, Fred Sonic Smith. It was classic Patti.

The new City Winery is amazing. Beautiful building. Delicious wines. I jumped from white to red.

Merlot from City Winery

It is good to be back. Looking forward to my next trip. Stay safe and remember the people have the power.

Prior posts.

Pandemic Watch: Forgotten mask

Pandemic Watch: Forgotten mask

Pandemic Watch: Shopping before a predicted snowstorm

mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2021/02/01/pandemic-watch-shopping-before-a-predicted-snowstorm/

Pandemic Watch: Keeping it clean

Pandemic Watch: Keeping it clean

Pandemic Watch: Forgotten mask

About a week ago, I was walking to my usual Friday evening destination. I bumped into an acquaintance heading to the same location. I was wearing a mask. He was not. He is a stickler for the personal protective equipment. We exchanged hellos. He quickly apologized for forgetting to wear his mask. We both knew he’d receive a brand new one when we arrived. He was very embarrassed.

I reassured him not to worry. Even mask obsessed me accepted his mistake. I knew he forgot. I once forgot my mask and walked down a few steps in my building heading to the gym. I raced back to get it. And I mean raced back to my apartment to grab one of my many masks and was back on the proper trail.

These days some people are letting their guard down. Some are not. But even the strictest of us forget our masks. Sometimes simple distractions like running in and out from the incinerator or to the mailbox are when forgetfulness occurs. I rarely get mail. For the record, that hasn’t happened to me. Sometimes when running in and out and realized you forgot your gym gloves or lock. Often you wind up pulling the mask off while you grab your forgotten items.

So why do we forget to put them back on? We can dig deep into this. Sort of like when your high school English teacher would make you deeply explain “Macbeth.” Remember when your teacher wanted you to ponder what story Shakespeare was telling?

So when we forget to wear our masks is it an honest mistake? Were we so caught up in other things that it slipped our minds? Are annoyed that it’s been over a year and we are still in the same situation? Are we not wearing the annoying masks out of protest? Did you get your first or second vaccine shot and feel immune? My first shot is tomorrow. The list is endless.

On a side note, quite often when I get home I don’t take it off. I keep wearing it. When I finally do remove it, I feel like something is missing. I feel not fully dressed.

Like everyone, I dream of the day we can burn the masks.

Pandemic Watch: Shopping before a predicted snowstorm

mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2021/02/01/pandemic-watch-shopping-before-a-predicted-snowstorm/

Pandemic Watch: Keeping it clean

Pandemic Watch: Keeping it clean

Cleaning up

Purim came and went. Marc and Alana sat at home and stuffed their faces with hamantaschen and had a few beers. They watched a few online Megillah Esther readings. For the first time ever, they didn’t dress up.

Anat dressed up as Ashoka Tano and took her little Anakin to a socially distanced party in the park. Jerry was so excited. He loved playing with his lightsaber. Before the party she spoke to him as best as she could about his use of olives in the fight during his birthday party. He nodded his head and smiled. He knows he’s special. All went well at the Purim party and time moved on.

Jay was still plotting to go after everyone. Everyone was cleaning up for Pesach. Anat was being very meticulous. She was planning a small Seder. Dan was gonna come. So was his sister’s family.

Marc and Alana cleaned up. But were down on the whole thing. They both wondered how much of this was made up. Marc hated ham. But relived stories in his head about an ‘ole friend who ate ham and cheese on smura matzos during the holiday. Alana was not a fan of ham either. Currently neither ate pork. But they have and were desperate to eat a big sausage and peppers hero. Marc’s friend would likely approve. They would put it on matzos for the festival.

Jen was going to her parent’s house for the Seder. Benjamin was getting bigger.

While Anat was cleaning her kitchen, Jerry was having target practice in his room. He was shooting olives everywhere. He was becoming quite a good shot. Anat walked in and put a stop to this. But in her heart she was quite proud of him. She hoped he didn’t use his powers like she used to use hers. She also wondered if Diane had any powers. But didn’t think so. She was just a mess due to her drug addiction. But she was in rehab and cleaning up.

Jerry breaks out

Anat told Jen to take Ben and Jerry and lock themselves in her auto. The four ran off. Jen watched over the kids. The onslaught of glass was slowing down. Alana, Anat and Marc didn’t know if he was done or waiting to attack.

Dan was with his fellow officers searching the park. Despite the craziness, things were relatively quiet. Jerry didn’t want to be trapped in his mom’s car. He wanted to be part of the action. He sat in the back seat, while Jen and Ben quietly sat upfront. While Jen was holding Ben’s hand, Jerry opened the back door and ran out. He saw his mom and her two super friends getting ready to stop the craziness. Quietly he moved forward. He didn’t want to be placed back into the car. He was now four. In his mind, he is much too old to be treated like a baby. After all, he could hit a whiffle ball and he knows how to swim. Dan taught him. Glass flew by him. Some smacked him in the left arm.

He heard Jay calling his name. His head turned. Jay was several feet away from him and rapidly approaching. Alana, Anat and Marc turned around and saw what was going on. They ran like Olympians to pull Jerry back and take out Jay.
Jerry was getting pelted with glass but it didn’t seem to hurt him. All of a sudden Jerry’s fingers rolled into his hands. They opened and out came giant-sized olives. They were flying like Mariano Rivera’s cutter. Several bounced into Jay’s head.

Jay looked his son in the eyes and fired glass. Jerry ducked.
Anat was getting nervous. She always figured Jerry has powers. But this was not how she wanted to find out. While the glass and olives were flying, Anat shot dozens of raisins. Several hit Jay. Marc and Alana were in standby mode. All of a sudden Jay was belted with an olive in the head. Down he fell.

Anat grabbed Jerry. She was proud of him. Yet angry he left the car and worried how he will use his powers.

Jerry’s birthday

Anat decided not to call her parents. She didn’t rule it out. However, she decided she wasn’t ready.She sensed she would by the summer. She got Jerry all dressed in his new Lacoste outfit for his birthday party. She had a cake, Double Stuff,lots of pretzels, chips and popcorn. Marc was assigned to bring the pizza.

Of course, he went to L&B Spumoni Gardens and ordered several pies and lots of spumoni. He discovered the world’s best pizza oddly. As a kid before he got to the camp, he calls home and will likely be sprinkled over or buried in he went to Manhattan Beach Jewish Center Day Camp. The camp was kosher. When they went to Great Adventure they ate food out of coolers that survived the ride from Brooklyn to Jackson Township. When they went on the overnights to the dude ranch and Cooperstown food was packed in the coolers and served in the hotel dining rooms. But for some reason, they took the kids to get spumoni at L&B.

All the kids knew the place is famous for its pizza. So while the counselors waited in the line to buy them spumoni, the kids took a dollar out of their socks and moseyed over to the pizza line for a slice. Those days all kids carried a dollar or two in their socks for pizza or ice cream.

Marc couldn’t wait. While they were packing his pies he got a slice. It cost $3.50. My how times have changed. He jumped into Alana’s car and drove up to Riverside Park. Alana took the train up.

The two helped Anat and Dan set up the party. Jerry was running around but under the watchful eye of Anat and his extended family. Guests started to arrive. The kids played games in the park. Kids who won the games had the choice of Double Stuff or raisins. Oddly enough a few kids picked raisins.
Dan and Marc tossed around the Frisbee. Marc played it quite a bit in camp. They had strange rules. There was no way he’d make the kids follow them at today’s party. Every kid was slobbering over the pizza. Their parents, too. Many had spumoni. In many cases including Marc’s, it wound up dripping down their faces and all over their clothing. Anat didn’t care about that. She was glad she could give Jerry a good birthday. This was his first real birthday party. All his little friends were happy.

Jen and Anat were getting friendlier. They dropped their hatred from their camp days. Jen still felt bad for swamping Anat in the canoe. Especially since Anat at that time couldn’t swim.

They gathered around the Palpatine character cake. Okay, Anat was much kinder now. But she still has an affinity for the Emperor. Marc and Alana always had and will have their feelings toward the Dark Side.

The kids were munching on the cake. The weather was perfect. The Sisters of Mercy were softly playing in the background on Anat’s Bumpboxx. Some of the kids were on the swings when glass started hitting them in their necks. One kid who was not part of the party but happily swinging back and forth with his older sister screamed bloody murder.

Dan put his badge around his neck and began to search for Jay. He knew the glass wasn’t just flying because someone dropped a bottle.
Anat told Jen to watch over the kids. She huddled with Alana and Marc. She was worried about this all day. She knew Jay would know when Jerry’s birthday was. She knew Diane was out of prison. But she was cleaning herself up and no interest in Jay. She filed for divorce.

The trio stayed together. They wanted to find Jay and all three of them take him out.This time they wanted to take him out for good. They were done just knocking him out.

Marc thinks about a new path

Anat was ready for Jerry’s party. It was in three days. A small group would be attending. She still wondered if she should call her parents. They probably have no clue they are grandparents. She wasn’t sure they should have the glory of knowing.

Marc watched Star Wars: A New Hope for the millionth time. When not watching he was listening to Bauhaus. He was quite obsessed with Grand Moff Tarkin’s destruction of Alderaan. He marveled at the power of the Death Star. He wondered if he, Alana and Anat have or could have such a power. Or could they create it? He would use it for good. But there is a place he’d like to test it on. He sees no good in that spot. He thought on. He planned on discussing this Alana.

Alana was hanging with Tzipora and her new daughter at Riverside Park. Shira was a few months old and adorable. Alana held her. She took her earpods and made the kid listen to the Smiths. Figured she’d break her in early.

All was well. All over a sudden glass started flying the ladies and baby. Alana quickly texted Anat and Marc. She told Tzipora to run home. The park was busy. But empty in comparison to pre-COVID-19 times.

Alana turned off her music and carefully watched and listened. She saw a hairy apish looking man in the distance. She wasn’t sure if that was Jay or a homeless person. He raised his hands and fired glass at her. She ducked and responded with a dozen apples. A few gallons of wine followed. She nailed him in the head with two of the apples. He started to slide in the wine wet mud on the ground of the garden. She quickly checked her iPhone. The other two didn’t respond. She figured they didn’t see the text or were on their way. She was prepared to take on Jay alone.

Jay hit the ground. Alana called the police and gave a very detailed description of what Jay was doing and where he was. The 911 operators were told to be on the lookout for calls about him. She fired away while racing over to him. She planted a few more apples in his head. She heard the sirens and saw the officers getting closer. She ran to her car.

How fake news ruins national holidays

Staten Island Chuck 2-2-21 Where’s the snow?

We all have heard the term fake news. Probably it has been said too much. To some extent all news is fake and all is true. It depends on the opinion of the outlet producing the news. Opinions differ. News reported via straight facts is of a higher caliber.

I remember sitting in my grad class, “Politics and Public Opinion” at CUNY-Brooklyn College. The professor used several examples, abortion and gun control were his key ones. He went on to discuss how the NRA, the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life groups have the ability to shape public opinion. We had a discussion about what most Americans probably feel about these topics. Then he discussed how these groups use their finances, survey data and other items to shape public opinion. At the same time, I was taking this class, I was taking, “Statistical Concepts.” We learned how surveys are created and how the survey takers choose the audience it polls. That being said, all news can be fake or real.

I will leave you to make your choice on what news to follow and how you will ingest it. Now let’s discuss how fake news or “Hollywood news” ruins a major holiday. About a week ago we had the opportunity to celebrate Groundhog Day, the holiday that sparked a hilarious movie starring Bill Murray, which subsequently was turned into a Broadway play.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been celebrating this grand day for several decades. I grew up on Staten Island, home of Chuck G. Hogg, NYC’s only groundhog and America’s most accurate prognosticator. I love ‘ya Punxsutawney Phil. But you’re second to Chuck.

For years, I went to the Staten Island Zoo to celebrate in person and wait for Chuck to make his prediction. The zoo was quite festive. We had donuts, hot chocolate, bagels, etc. The local news stations came to record the prediction. What could be better? Nothing. Years ago, I moved. Now I watch the prediction on the Zoo’s website.

Sadly, my current borough Queens doesn’t have one. In the 90s former Queens Borough President Claire Schulman said it did. It was a prairie dog. SI BP Guy V. Molinari came out swinging for Chuck. A few cute news stories ran. Chuck garnered more attention.

Chuck has had his share of controversy. One year he bit former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The next year Hizzoner returned wearing thick gloves. All was well. A few years later, Mayor DeBlasio dropped the groundhog. It passed away shortly after.

This year, we suffered a blizzard the day before. For the first time in years, most of the city was closed due to snow. Now due to COVID-19, the festivities were supposed to be virtual. Meaning zoo officials would wait for Chuck to come out of his slumber and tell us if he saw his shadow.

At 8 a.m. I logged onto the Zoo’s website and was treated to a wonderful display of historical facts about our beloved groundhog and his holiday. The video went on to talk about other attractions at the zoo, which is open. Then did a countdown to going live to the prediction. To me, this was more exciting than the countdown on New Year’s Eve.

The zoo claimed it went live. Anyone watching could tell it was pre-recorded. There was no snow on the ground. We had over a foot the day before. The zookeepers and the sponsor of the event were dressed for spring. They were already holding an early spring sign before Chuck emerged from his burrow.

It was very sad. There were many comments on the Zoo’s social media pages. Several media outlets penned stories. The Zoo declined to comment. How will we ever know what Chuck said?

2-2-21 Snow?

Jerry’s birthday

Anat was planning a small socially distanced party at Central Park. She would order a few pizzas, ice cream and take everyone to the park’s zoo. She figured the small crowd would enjoy seeing the grizzly bears and other animals. She wasn’t a fan of zoos. She’d rather the animals be free. But she knew the kids would be happy. She invited Ben. Which of course, meant Jen would be present. The two were friendly now and their friendship was getting stronger. She was going to see if she could get Spiderman or the Hulk to show. She wondered why when she could easily get Pomegranate Boy, Wine Lady and Dried Fruit Girl. But she knew those superheroes had to remain disguised forever. Or as long as she, Alana and Marc could do so. Dan’s nephew would be there.

Jerry was happy. But disappointed he often wondered about the other kids in the shelter he was forced to live in till Anat rescued him. She rescued him in many ways. Of course, Jerry rescued Anat, too.
Jerry’s young mind wondered if he could free all the kids and find them good places to live. He hasn’t seen anyone since he left. He wanted to. But knew he probably never would.

Jay was now living in Central Park. He camped out not far from Strawberry Fields. He fired glass at people as they strolled the park. He was waiting for the right moment. He wanted his kid back. Diane his wife was released from prison. She went back to the roach-infested dump she shared with Jay. She promised herself to stay clean and find a job. She enrolled in some online classes.

Marc and Alana got the invite to Jerry’s party and planned to show. Alana’s heart melted. Marc’s did, too. But they knew their roles. Alana had a skirmish with some nutjob in the train station. He was acting up and tried to push people. She jumped right in and sprayed him with wine and hit him with so many apples that he fell on the platform. She scurried out, while the NYPD raced down the stairs to cuff him. Alana texted Marc about her incident at the subway station. The two figured they had to be on guard for more craziness.

Pandemic Watch: Shopping before a predicted snowstorm

Writing while watching the snowfall. Coming down heavy it is. For the first time in a while to weather reporters got it right.

Naturally, the supermarkets were quite busy the day before. Maybe you’ve read my piece, “Grocery Shopping during COVID-10. Or anytime.”

Of course, whenever a storm is predicted sound or not sound-minded people go into panic mode. I didn’t I was expecting my FreshDirect delivery. The afternoon of Sun., Jan 31 I received a voicemail from it alerting me that all next day deliveries were canceled due to the pending storm.

It said you could reorder for your next delivery date or choose a new date. That’s not the case. Their normal amazing customer care hit the brakes.

Knowing I wasn’t getting my normal weekly delivery was not the end of the world. I bundled up and walked two or three blocks to Key Food. I often wind up there for the stuff I run out of before my next delivery or forget to order. I didn’t need much. I did need milk. Of course, that’s what people always rush to buy to weather calamities. Some people must have it for their coffee. I need it for my Frosted Flakes. I wondered for a split second if the supermarket would have any left. If it didn’t I could eat the cereal dry or eat Oreos for breakfast. Done it before. Will do it again. The short answer if you don’t have milk during the snow day, you will live.

The supermarket was moderately busy. I walked straight back to the dairy section and saw many containers of milk. I grabbed mine. And picked up a few other items. I wasn’t trying to replicate my FreshDirect order. I just decided to get a few things. Some fruit, corn-on-the-cob, an essential, as today is Ground Hog Day. Staten Island Chuck G Hogg, NYC’s only groundhog and his brethren include corn in their diet.

My order was rather small in comparison to what so many others were placed into their shopping cart.

This does beg the question was Sunday their usual grocery-shopping day or was it panic mode? A mix of both I suspect. Key Food certainly made more money than a usual Sunday.

The one thing that is always humorous is watching people shop during these days. They go aisle by aisle and look at and often grab everything they say. Why? That’s the age-old question. Do they think they will never be able to get apples, juice, onions or pretzels again? Are there families large enough to eat the fresh food right away? Or will they toss out all the fruit and veggies they loaded into their grocery cart?

Just a few months ago people were stockpiling boxes of Ronzoni, canned goods, a bag of snacks and toilet paper. Did they run out? Did they not learn how to create rations?

The line checkout line was rather long. Key Food deserves credit for rapidly getting their customers checked out.

Ultimately, I’m still not sure why the craze is necessary. I’m having a tougher time without being able to attend baseball games, Broadway, concerts and traveling. But am surviving.

Prior posts are here.

Pandemic Watch: Keeping it clean

https://wp.me/p8mDRF-km

Life through a wide-angle lens

Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, Nikon 10mm-24mm

We are all storytellers. We’ve all heard that line since birth. Some of us spend our lives telling stories, through dance, fiction, non-fiction, song and theater.

Whitehall Street bound Staten Island Ferry, Sigma 150mm-600mm

We’ve heard stories from U2 in “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Bullet the Blue Sky.” Of course, like Paul Simon, “I got a Nikon camera I love to take a photograph.” We know the story Simon’s telling. Or “I take pictures. Photographic pictures,” Depeche Mode. We know the amazing stories the guys from Basildon have been telling. Stories to live and cry by.

Coney Island Beach with Luna and Deno’s Park, Nikon 10mm-24mm

Many of you have seen my photos. If you haven’t check my Instagram accounts, personal and TMR Scout Museum. Ansel Adams or Robert Mapplethorpe I’m not. But I’ve gotten thousands of likes and views on mine. Yeah, I am sure they’d get more. I will keep trying to reach their level. I’d love to have their subject matter Andy Warhol, Peter Gabriel, Patti Smith and Yosemite National Park.

Flowers by Jackie Kennedy Onasis Reservoir, Nikkor 50mm

Telling a story through photography is amazing. It is how you tell it that makes it fun. Creating the story is challenging.

I once took a photo class where we had to shoot for one week the same way. We had the option of using the same lens, lighting, settings, subject matter, etc. I chose to use the same lens. I picked a Nikkor 50MM F1.4. It is an amazing lens. To continue Simon’s lyrics, “They give us those nice bright colors.”

Thunderbolt at Luna Park, Sigma 150-600mm

And its major benefit is shooting in low light situations. Great for capturing bands in a dive bar. If only we could go back to those. My challenge presented by this lens is framing the shot. I had to be able to properly measure the subject matter from the lens. That’s always been challenging. I chose to take the challenge with a fixed focal length lens. It is tougher to frame your shot this way.

Weird Wolves streaming performance, screen shot Macbook

I didn’t want the option to zoom in and out. Too easy. Those lenses have other challenges. I have two. One is bigger than me. And probably weighs more. On a sunny day, it is fun to stroll parks along the East and Hudson Rivers. Even better a cloudy day on the Coney Island Boardwalk. Or get a great shot of everyone’s favorite cruise boat, the Staten Island Ferry sailing from St. George, Staten Island to Whitehall Street, Manhattan.

Lately, I am finding the best stories come via a wide-angle lens. I love the way it captures the whole story. Outdoor Photography’s website has an amazing YouTube video on the best way to shoot with your wide-angle lens. It is so much fun to hang by the East River and capture the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges. Or just a nice shot of the Brooklyn Bridge. What makes it so special is you get the whole bridge, the river and if you shoot in a certain direction, everyone’s favorite highway the BQE.

You also can capture the medicinal waters at Coney Island, the sandy beach and the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel.

Coney Island beach with the parachute jump & Luna Park, Nikkor 10-24mm

You get the picture. We have the ability to zoom in and out on great moments, capture images in different situations and see how they changed based on lighting, weather and of course the mood of the photographer. That goes into the subject matter, camera settings and photo edits.

Jackie Kennedy Onasis Reservoir, Nikkor 50mm

This is the story of life. No matter whether you choose your camera, pen (maybe keyboard these days), voice or all. Whatever mechanism you use tells your story. Ultimately, your eyes and soul are capturing the story. They are the real camera or script.

Tell it well.