Buying the New Yorker 1996 - page 11

Two of these shows are still running on Broadway. I'll leave it to you to find out which ones.

Tickets to one of these shows on Broadway (2006) - $60.00 average

Buying the New Yorker 1996 - page 9

Now this takes me back:


When that version came out, it was an event. Everyone was eating it up like candy. I was taking a class in the history of Regency England, and let me tell you, when the professor brought in the videos, there was joy.

So lets have a bit of compare and contrast:

I've yet to see this new version, but that's okay, we're talking about the ads.

Outside, backlit by the sun, Elizabeth Bennet in the foreground looking confident, Mr. Darcy behind her looking glummish. The 1995 P&P feels like a cool mid April - and look at that chemistry. Mr. Darcy looks like he is trying to blow Elizabeth's skull apart with his dangerous psychic mind skillz, while Elizabeth grins smugly and contently with the knowledge that such heinous brain powers don't actually exist. The 2005 is late June and muggy, and this pair look like they get along. In fact, it looks like they may have just finished a session of getting along and once Darcy gets his breath back, they are going to go diving under a bush and get along some more.

Both are out on DVD, and I'm sure that the history class syllabus is all the better for it.

From the world of baseball

A high school kid from Illinois has got control of the knuckleball. For the time being.

Meanwhile, "rambling, slurred" Rick Sutcliffe and Bill Murray visit the San Diego Padres' clubhouse:

When Sutcliffe introduced Murray to infielder Mark Bellhorn, who was seated, the actor hugged the infielder tightly and the two tumbled onto the ground.

"You were a Cub!" Murray said.

How, um, sweet

Dateline 1982: The Pac-Man theme wedding.

Enjoy a cool photo

This is an HDR photo. In a nutshell, HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a process where multiple exposures are taken of the same image and then composited.

In this example, ten shots were taken, but one was slightly different.


Photograph by Michael Paul

Johnny the Horse was kicked to death. He died for entertainment.

I was poking through my CD's and came across a stack of Madness. "Johnny the Horse" was the first single off of their 1999 comeback attempt, Wonderful. I'm always moved by the contrast between the upbeat tune and the bleak subject matter and I've always suspected that it was written in response to an actual incident, just due to the power of it, but I've never thought to do the research to find out.

From an interview with Cathal Smyth:

The idea for the song came from an incident I had with two down and outs who used to sit drinking on a wall at the end of my street. They had become a fixture of my street for some four to five years and I had taken to stopping and talking with them as they were pleasant and I like to think that all of us should have more time to stop and talk. One was an Irish ex-boxer who was a gentle giant and a little punch drunk the other was Scottish and very quiet. Well one day I saw Dempsey in a state of distress, he was crying and full of grief. I asked him what was the matter and could I help and he told me that his Scottish friend had slept in a derelict building and some thugs had come upon him and killed him. I was moved to write about this and try to point out that there are so many who disappear onto the streets and they are forgotten or ignored....

Buying the New Yorker 1996 - page 8

The Surry Hotel is now an Affinia Hotel. I've never heard of Affinia Hotels, but that shouldn't be a strike against it. It looks quite swank.

And they take doggies! In a very swank sort of way! I like that.

Unfortunately, the "famed Restaurant Daniel" is no longer there. In its place is the Cafe Boulud, run by "Renowned Chef Daniel Boulud." I have no idea that the Daniel who ran the "famed Restaurant Daniel" is the same Daniel Boulud, but for some reason I hope it is.

If I had an updated ACCESS New York Restaurant Guide handy, I could look it up, but so far as I can see, it hasn't been updated since 97/98. The plain old ACCESS New York guide should do fine in a pinch.

A night in the Surrey Hotel - $500 average (dog spa appointments start at $15).

ACCESS New York Restaurant Guide 97/98 - $0.33 used on Amazon.