Midweekpost

US Open

2007-09-10T12:44:00.001-04:00

Some of you may have heard of this little tennis event called the US Open. It's where a couple of people get together several times for a little relaxed tennis. Oh wait, maybe not.

Here are photos from the excursion out to Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billie Jean Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens. We watched the men's doubles finals and both women's semi-final matches, the match of consequence being Venus Williams versus Justine Henin. Good times. And of course some requisite shots of food at Pio Pio, a Peruvian restaurant in Queens. Apologies on the quality of the shots, I reduced them to shorten loading times.

Shot from center court at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Women's semi-final match between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anna Chakvatadze

Brian, Amy, Angela, Eric on the Loge level at Arthur Ashe

A completely empty Grandstand Court

Our seats (not exactly what you'd call courtside, but a great view)

Amy, Angela, Brian and me taking in some rays and posing for a shot during the men's doubles finals.

Pio Pio

Taking a seat, looking at the menu and drooling.

A lot of food and one lonely water. Hands reaching without qualm for the nearest comestible. Delicious.

Make Sure To Vote For Bradley

2007-09-05T16:05:00.001-04:00

Bradley's a finalist. NO surprise there, BUT he is in need of your votes and comments. Click on the video to watch his 2 minute finalist entry and make sure to leave a shout out and vote.

Consider this a request!

UPDATE: Bradley has ~8,300 votes as of this afternoon (Sept. 5th, 2007). Keep 'em coming!

Watkins Glen

2007-09-05T10:51:00.001-04:00

Watkins Glen is one of those places you wonder how you ever missed. It's gorgeous, as you ascend through 200 foot cliffs passing 19 waterfalls. Here's a shot I took from one of the hundreds of small cascades.

Make Sure And Vote For Bradley

2007-08-20T16:03:00.001-04:00

If you haven't seen Bradley's post below, make sure you read it and vote for him on his endeavor to co-host a show sponsored by Holiday Inn where he travels across the country doing daily videos and a chance to meet HBO executives.

Trust me, this guy needs to be on TV. He's a natural. Oh, plus when he wins I can say that "I know that guy" as I point to the screen and sit there in awkward silence as I realize no one's around to hear me. Anyway, click, watch, comment and vote.

Simply Executed Details = Gorgeous

2007-08-20T15:52:00.001-04:00

How beautiful is this timepiece? Italian, vintage-inspired, handcrafted manual timepiece. Nothing else to really ask for. Panerai is the best brand you've probably never heard of.

Pearl's Oyster Bar

2007-08-20T15:43:00.001-04:00

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Originally uploaded by midweekpost

Pearl's Oyster Bar on Cornelia Street in West Village is one of those places you wish more people knew about for the simple fact that it's delicious but wish less people knew about it because you selfishly want it to be one of those places only 'you' know about it.

Clam Chowser, Fried Oysters and a Lobster Roll were the victuals at this particular visit. I do have to thank Angela, the super-foodie, for introducing me to it.

A Shindig. On A Rooftop.

2007-08-20T15:34:00.001-04:00

A couple of Saturday's ago we had a little shindig on my friend Mickey's rootop. Impromptu at best... but that makes it all the better in my opinion. Glad they called to wake me up from my nap, otherwise I might've missed out.

Steak & Salad, Apartment Style

2007-08-20T15:26:00.001-04:00

Who's to say you can't have a nice steak and salad dinner without a grill or dining table?

Ingredients for a Glamour-free Steak Dinner:

Two Ribeyes
Mixed Greens & Vegetables
Sweet Potato Fries
Bottle of Wine
A Dinner Companion

You can help an LA boy out

2007-08-18T11:23:00.000-04:00

Hello Midweek Posters.

I am sorry I have been a bit out of it for a while and have been stingy on my posts but I have one that you can now participate in and help a brutha' out.

I am submitting for a Holiday Inn hosting position that would allow me to co-host over a 2-month time frame while traveling around the country and doing daily videos (something I pretty much already did about a year ago on my own...this time I'd get paid AND the chance to meet HBO executives in the comedy department which is massive!)

Click on this link NOW b/c all submissions have to be rated and voted for and all that in a few days. Vote from this link

You'll figure it out. OH and even if you think my audition video is la la la lame, fake it for me...come on. AND you can pass this one to your friends and get them to vote too b/c half of the criteria is to see who can create a following too.

Thanks guys!

Vote from this link

Kayaking on the Hudson

2007-08-13T17:41:00.001-04:00

Kayaking on the Hudson can involve a couple of things.

Making people believe you can actually do things like kayak in New York City and do it for free.
Realizing that your upper body is not in as good of strength as you'd like.
Being eerily close to the infamous Hudson River.
Realizing that 10 miles is pretty damn far when you're kayaking and there's no cab to conveniently hop into.
Makes for a great date.
Getting pictures like this.

Frisée Aux Lardons

2007-08-07T22:44:00.000-04:00

Loosely translated it means mixed greens with bacon but I prefer the way our Franco brothers and sisters say it.

Anyway, I was sent this article clipping out of the New York times of 101 Simple Meals and thought I'd take a shot at this particular recipe. It looked relatively painless and I already had some of the primary ingredients in my fridge from the weekend.

Here's how it went down:

Layed out the ingredients: good bacon, large eggs, frisée salad and sherry vinegar.

Then I boiled the eggs. The recipe called on me to poach, but I had neither the energy or knowledge to do this simple task. I made a call to a friend to ask, but getting a voicemail greeting reminded me that I should just go ahead hard cook the damn eggs. I did such. As I did that, I cooked the Vermont maple cured bacon in a skillet.

With my limited counter space (8 inches thank you very much) I peeled the eggs, and degreased the bacon. I cleaned the tomatoes which wasn't part of the recipe, but I added them anyway. Finally, I deglazed the skillet with the wine vinegar and made some type of basic dressing. I cheated a little because there wasn't enough of it by adding some ExVeeOhSquared (extra virgin olive oil) to buff it up a bit. I dashed a little black pepper for the sake of dashing a little pepper. I think it was fun, I'm not sure.

With the eggs boiled, the bacon cooked I then prepared for the step I like to call the "human food processor." With the eggs still piping hot I coarsely chopped them up alongside the bacon and set them aside as I plated the greens.

I tossed the tomatoes, eggs and bacon haphazardly onto the pre-dressed frisée (read: store bought bag salad), poured myself a glass of wine, leaned on the counter and ate while I watched Entourage.

There you go, a 10 minute meal (+ 15 minutes of cleaning)...

Crap, I have to go get my laundry.

So... My Head Is Kinda Big

2007-08-07T22:42:00.001-04:00

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Originally uploaded by midweekpost

Golf. $50

Dinner at Applebee's. $20.

Eric forcing himself into a kid's ride and nearly getting his head stuck. Priceless.

$50 A Week - Pt. 5-7 - Ouch.

2007-08-06T17:39:00.001-04:00

The weekend. I figured it was going to be tough going into it but I suppose I'm partially to blame for that.

Friday - 8/3/2007
Large iced coffee - $.95
Lunch (Office buys lunch on Fridays) - $0
Dinner - Halal food from street vendor - $5
Ticket to Bourne Ultimatum - $11
Total = $16.95 | Total for week = $50.45 ($14.75 overbudget)

Saturday - 8/4/2007
No Breakfast (not on purpose)
No Lunch (not on purpose)
Snack - (it was brought over) Cherries & Wine $0
Dinner - Um... $38
Total = $38 | Total for week = $88.45 ($45.61 overbudget)

Sunday - 8/5/2007
Grocery Store - $34.34
Breakfast - $0
Afternoon snack (leftovers from dinner on Saturday) - $0
Dinner - Ramen noodles and egg - $0
Total = $34.34
| Total for week = $122.79 ($72.79 overbudget)

Ammendment to Wednesday: Dinner out - $41

Grand Total for week = $163.79 ($113.79 overbudget)

Ouch. Needless to say, I crashed and burned. There are obviously external reasons why some costs were on there. I'll honestly say that it was within my control but I'd be doing no one a service to sit here and explain why or how. I choose to live one of the most expensive cities in the world and it's by choice. Sticker shock is part of life here and frankly... it's worth the damn price of admission.

Everything I spent is listed including a hefty sum I left out from Wednesday. It's all on here in full, painful, disclosure.

Here's what I've learned:

$50 is a reasonable amount to spend if:
You don't plan on eating out and have groceries ready.
You are savvy in the kitchen.
You prefer being a hermit.
Your date doesn't mind paying.
You live on a completely self-sustaining farm with free labor.

$50 is an unreasonable amount to spend if:
You maintaining any type of social activity.
You go on a date and plan to pay.
You have no food in your refridgerator.
You live anywhere, including New York.
You are me.

$50 A Week - Pt. 4 of 7

2007-08-03T11:24:00.001-04:00

Thursday - 8/2/2007

Large iced coffee and hard boiled egg - $1.30
Lunch - Jambalaya from Hello Deli - $6.00
Dinner + Cab for meeting with consulting client - $0

Total = $7.30

Total for week = $33.50 ($4.96 overbudget)

Today I'm slated to see Bourne Ultimatum... let's see if I can finagle this. Tightwad meal de jour of ramen noodles are imminent. I wonder what the cost per packet is around here... surely not more than ¢50, right?

$50 A Week - Pt. 3 of 7

2007-08-02T12:34:00.001-04:00

Wednesday - 8/1/2007

Large iced coffee - $.95
Lunch (Burrito) - $6.25
Dinner - 1 Qt of yummy leftover Orzo Salad - $0

Total = $7.20

Total for week = $26.20 ($4.78 overbudget)

This is getting hard... like no joke hard...

$50 A Week - Pt. 2 of 7

2007-08-01T09:32:00.001-04:00

Tuesday - 7/31/2007
Large iced coffee - $1.50
Lunch (Italian Roll. Pictured @ right) - $4.00
Office Happy Hour - $0.00 (no drinks, budget unscathed)
Movie Ticket - $0.00 (Arrived late to theater and ticket was already purchased. I know... weak, but not planned.)
Cab ride - $5.00
Total = $10.50

Total for week = $19.00 ($4.72 overbudget)

~~Rachel Ray is a big fat liar.~~ I have to make a correction, my friend Sam reminded me of a $5 cab ride I took yesterday. Crap.

$50 A Week. Can I Do It? - Pt. 1 of 7

2007-07-30T20:56:00.000-04:00

Sometimes good things do come from bets.

I've decided to try a socio-economic experiment. Premise? Living on $50 a week. Now before you go scoffing at the premise remember that this is New York City where $5000 monthly rent paid by people who make $50 per minute. Neither of those are me, but that should make this experiment that much easier, right? Anyone? Hello??

Costs will be logged over the next week and barring any medical emergencies I will try and spend less than $50 over the course of seven days, starting with today. Basically it breaks down to $7.14 a day. I did some rough research on my expenditures and it's no a stretch for me to say that over the course of a week, I tallied up about $50-60 per day. That's just gross.

So here I embark on this experiment spawning from a random conversation over dinner ($56) after a game of golf ($38) where I lost five golf balls ($10). Can I do it? We'll see... I certainly wouldn't bet on myself.

Notes: this doesn't include my monthly expenses such as rent, car, bills, etc because there's just no way to take that out of the picture. This isn't to see if I can sustain life on $50 a week here in New York City... that's an ignorant notion. However, I will not use alternative means to supplement my stipend, it's just a countdown from 50 bucks. Oh, and what do I get for winning this bet? Nothing but bragging rights and what I predict to be some left over ramen noodle wrappers.

Monday - 7/30/2007
Large iced coffee from street vendor - $1.50
Subway $2.00
Lunch (got lucky here: delicious leftovers) - $0.00
Dinner at Halal food vendor - $5.00
Total = $8.50 ($1.31 overbudget)

Uh oh.

Met's Versus Nationals

2007-07-29T21:26:00.000-04:00

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Originally uploaded by midweekpost

There's this little rivalry between Mets and Yankee's fans. Just a little tiny itsy-bitsy one that not many people know of...

Ha.

Anyway, so Shea stadium (where the Mets play) is slated for replacement, by Citi Field, by opening game 2009. I figured it would be a good to try and get into a game here or there before then so was keen on taking up my friend's offering of a free ticket.

I've got more photos coming, but here's a shot from a few rows down from where were sitting. Yes, that was literally our perspective.

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

2007-07-28T00:49:00.001-04:00

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Originally uploaded by midweekpost

For those of you who haven't heard of the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee musical (check their site) I strongly suggest you get it on your list of broadway theater to see next time you're in New York (they've actually launched a nationwide tour now...).

It's quite possibly the funniest play/musical I've ever seen. Think American Pie meets musical meets improv. They had everything from a magical foot to a lesbian high school girl to a Korean overachiever to an Pan-Asian Jesus.The theater was practically rolling with laughter. The best part is that they take four pre-selected (by random) contestants to come up as part of the musical - forcing them to be a part of the actual production and spelling ridiculous words.

With some adroit timing and luck I was able to get my friend up there - squirming with delight as she suffered/laughed through 45 minutes of on-stage spelling. Of course no photography of any kind is allowed in a Broadway production, but you know me - no Kodak moment goes uncaptured.

Classics at Washington Square Park

2007-07-28T00:41:00.001-04:00

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Originally uploaded by midweekpost

Free concerts are one of summer's highlights in New York. At this point in our evening we had made it away from the actual concert (but still within listening distance) as Kim, Carol, Henry, Maria and myself kicked it back to some well performed classical pieces.

Hotel Gansevoort Rooftop

2007-07-28T00:39:00.001-04:00

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Originally uploaded by midweekpost

Rooftops seem to be a reoccurring theme for me this week as I found myself atop the Hotel Gansevoort at their rooftop bar. I suppose that's quintessential New York, but perhaps more so this week.

Anyway, definitely was some good times and great convo even if it did involve some wacky medical stories (two of them were residents at Mt. Sinai).

Oh, and I finally learned how to make a Michelada. Mmm... delish.

Impromptu Get Togethers and Spectacular Views

2007-07-28T00:34:00.001-04:00

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Originally uploaded by midweekpost

I recognized the building once I got there, but I forgot that I had actually been to a party at 2 Gold Street down in the Financial District.

This time I was quite pleased with myself for remembering to bring a camera because how often do you get to go to someone's rootop party and it be approximately 60 stories up with views of Manhattan like this.

Yeah, me neither.

Thriller? Prison Style

2007-07-27T10:15:00.001-04:00

Just watch it for a couple of minutes... you'll thank me. Oh and listen to the music.

That means you Bradley.

Hello Steam, Goodbye Interesection

2007-07-19T15:45:00.001-04:00

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Originally uploaded by midweekpost

Yesterday in my walk home from work I got that sense that something was wrong. There was an 'urgency' in the air, unlike the typical rush hour craze. As I crossed Park Avenue I noticed that everyone was staring into the air and South towards the Met Life building.

Then I noticed there were a lot of people running away from that building, Northward. Suddenly everyone was on the phone and then I knew things were awry. I heard someone say there was an explosion at Grand Central Station and the worst thoughts came to mind. Oh god, an attack.

As I walked down 53rd street towards my apartment I rounded Lexington Avenue and immediately saw everyone walking around in the streets staring downtown. Then I saw it, the plume - it was a bit like that scene from the movie 'Volcano' where the volcano erupts from the middle of Los Angeles. Yet, there was no Tommy Lee Jones and no power button to turn it off.

I pulled out my Treo and started jogging toward the plume (yes, not very smart on my part) snapping photos and videos as I walked until I came upon the epicenter of the blast. Man, it was messy, hot, smelly, and chaotic. I was entirely mesmerized.

You should take a look at the WCBS slideshow to get another look.

Man... I love this city.

Peach Dialogue

2007-07-17T11:50:00.001-04:00

Peach Dialogue
Originally uploaded by midweekpost

You know what's good? Spontaneous picnics.

You know what's better? Spontaneous picnics in the comfort of air conditioning.

Goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, olives, french rolls, blueberries and peaches.

Delish.