Ouchie, then popcorn

So, I had a cortisone shot today. In my elbow. Let me tell you, the phrase "a shot in the arm" does not mean, in this case, that I felt rarin' to go. It actually means my elbow area now hurts more than it did before I had the shot, an after-effect that will apparently…

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More Park, less Slope, occasional fried onions

The Manchester in Winter I hold no illusions about the neighborhood where I own property (that is, my one-bedroom): With Manhattan real estate officially certified insane, and the best parts of Brooklyn gentrified and cutesiefied and thus largely priced out of reasonable possibility of ownership, that means all eyes are slowly turning to Queens. Long…

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Sell it!

Just got a press invitation on a major trip that I'm sure I can't go on. That said, it is hard not to be enticed by this line from the invitation: This world-wind tour to visit the scientific laboratories where the biggest breakthrough in beauty has been uncovered will give you a once in a…

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Graceful, as always

Red hot I am not a George Clooney crazy. Really. I own nothing he's ever created, I tuned out of "ER" before he did, and I'm more likely to have pictures of Dave Eggers and Marc Maron up on my cubicle at work (and I do, I do) than I am of any movie actor.…

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Okay, who’s with me?

Nightmare on the Lower East Side It's Haunted House time in New York City again! You know I'm going to this. Who wants to come? Email me or post a comment here. Secondarily, and only slightly less scary, who's up for "Fitzcarraldo" at the IFC Center? What a great movie, and what a nutcase is…

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Of speeches, fishes, and Ethan Hawke

I'm nervous now. Or maybe the better word is anxious. It's only a minute and a half to two minutes, but I have to stand up in front of a group at a lunch in about a half hour and speechify. Nothing even really challenging, just a greeting, a thanks from my company, and an…

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