Go jump in a lake?

Don't mind if we do! My super-summery daughters and I are headed into the New Hampshire wilderness for a week of family, food and fun on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee. No movies, no restaurants, no shows, no internet. So keep the city warm for us, and see you next Monday!

Boiled Peanuts at an IGA in Georgia

Scoboco just got home after spending a beautiful week with lots of family in, of all places, Georgia. But because we vacationed in a beach community—specifically, Jekyll Island—and didn't really interact with anyone other than ourselves, there really wasn't much Georgia-ness to the experience. Except for the Boiled Peanuts, sold in big cauldrons right up front in the local IGA grocery store.

Now, neither I, nor Bo, nor Co had ever sampled this ubiquitous Southern snack before, so I have no way of knowing whether the Vidalia brand peddled at the IGA represents a typical version, but I must say we were totally impressed. It seems that, when boiled, the peanut's shell remains hard, but the meat becomes surprisingly tender, even mushy... in fact, it becomes very bean-like, unmasking this so-called "nut" to be the legume it really is. And it's not like they've been boiling there for God-knows-how-many-hours in plain old water—no, these legumes have become saturated by a smoky, tinged-with-sweetness and amazingly delicious marinade, adding a whole 'nother level of addictiveness to this already hard-to-resist snack.

So this is the scene, around 5:30 in the evening: a crowd of kids and me, hands fighting for position around little Styrofoam buckets of steaming nuts, hot liquid splattering everywhere, no one's talking, just cracking and sucking and chewing and going back for more. Nice.

Happy Twenty Oh Seven!

My New Year's resolution? Inspired in part by the scientist a few years ago who tried to get everyone to use "web dot [url]" instead of "www dot [url]" because the acronym takes three times as long to say as the phrase it's purporting to abbreviate, I've decided that, starting today, I'm going to stop this whole laborious "Two thousand and whatever" nonsense and adopt the leaner, far more efficient "Twenty oh [insert year]".

Seriously, I'm doing it.

Are you with me?

In case you're wondering, Bo and Co think the whole thing's ridiculous... lots of eye-rolling and "Yeah ok, Dad"s. Although Co did say she'd start when we got to "double-digit years."

Hope you had a beautiful holiday season.

My Year in Cities, 2006

Taking a cue from Kottke, here's my list of places in which I slept at least one night during 2006.



New York, NY
London, England
Bronxville, NY
Montauk, NY
Chicago, IL
Cow Island, NH
Gaithersburg, MD


Yeah, I know, it's not much... but at least it was always for pleasure!


Where's your list?

Happy 10th Birthday Co!

Ten years ago today my beautiful daughter Co was born (that's her at about six months, and, below, on her first birthday), part two of the best thing that has ever happened in my life. So how do I feel, now that I have TWO double-digit daughters?

I feel excited and a little nervous for them as they begin new chapters in their lives: Bo into 7th grade and a new school, Co into 5th grade, and all the social pressures that really kick in for girls at that age (see the wonderful Odd Girl Out for more on that).

I feel unbelievably grateful that I can be an involved and active part of their lives, both emotionally and just by my physical presence.

I feel proud to have two such courageous, friendly, well-balanced, smart, funny, warm, chatty, energetic, curious, strong, creative, adventurous girls.

Mostly, though, what I feel is love, deep and unwavering, the kind that will never go away.

I feel like a father.

hudson beach

the ever-gorgeous and razor-sharp dglass once told me the secret to making the weekend feel longer: go out friday night. as always (except for sometimes) she's absolutely right... especially, it seems, on the weekends when bo and co are with me. so this past friday, with no movies around that the three of us could agree on, scoboco went down to hudson beach to hang out, see the sunset, and watch co master the rings course.


hudson beach--located at approximately 105th street in riverside park, down all the way next to the highway--features the following: two "traveling rings" apparati (a cross between gymnast rings and monkey bars... ten rings strung across a sand pit; you swing from one to the next to the next) one adult-sized, one for kids; a beach volleyball setup; the hudson beach cafe, which cooks up servicable burgers and fries; kenny scharf lollipop heads gazing down from the fence near the highway; music from the live band that's usually playing at the cafe; lots of happy upper west side families doing the same thing we were doing... soaking up those beautiful summer's-just-beginning vibes.

dance: a midsummer night's dream

another HUGE night for scoboco! in what had to be the most high-energy, the most raucous, the absolute smiley-est dance performance of the season, co's fourth grade teamed up with the national dance institute for a one-night-only presentation of a midsummer night's dream.

once a week since last fall three ndi teachers--a music director, a choreographer, and arthur, their leader--have worked with co and her classmates on this broad interpretation of shakespeare's comedy. the hour-long show was highlighted by the enthusiastic "dance of titania and her fairies," set in the forest and featuring a pack of kindergarteners as wild animals; a very meta number in which shakespeare himself (or, in this case, herself) makes an appearance and the kids run through some famous quotes from the entire canon; and a gorgeous finale, with all the kids singing a musical version of the "if we shadows" speech that ends the play. the music was lively, the children beautiful and beaming, the audience roaring with cheers.


it filled me with such joy to see you so happy up there, co-beanie, and i love you very much.

panacea

it was BIG night for scoboco: the world premiere of "panacea: an original musical about trust, betrayal and hope" running from now until... well, until tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.. a limited run, sure, but definitely one of the most original, heartfelt, lump-in-the-throat theatrical experiences of my life.ok, this was bo's sixth-grade play, which the kids wrote, directed, set designed, choreographed, starred in. the plot takes us from elizabethan england to a not-too-distant future of "the world federation," and back and forth and back and forth. in both eras, whole populations are being wiped out by the plague; leaders in both eras seek out a quick cure--a panacea--when a sorceress in each leads them to the unicorn's horn and the narwhal's tooth, respectively; in both eras everyone learns that that while there may not be a magic cure, a solution can be found if we keep our hope, and work together. SO beautiful!!!

the songs were really impressive, especially the big production numbers. the english accents were totally endearing. the cosumes were amazing. the energy on stage was HUGE. and the whole thing came in at a tidy one hour, five minutes running time. it was a wonderful night.


i'm so proud of you little bo, and i love you very much.

room 4 dessert

so i turned 43 last week.

yup. 43.

but whatever misgivings i might feel about becoming ever-more solidly middle-aged were completely erased by the incredible love and generosity i received from all the amazing, beautiful people in my life, especially my amazing daughters bo and co, my mom, and my beloved dglass.

anyway, i felt like i had a week of perfect celebrations, but on the actual bday itself dglass took me to room 4 dessert for some late-night goodies. located in nolita on cleveland place (i think one block south of spring), this new and tiny treats-and-wine place (there's only a long bar to sit at) is a little gimmicky, but definitely good. basically, there are four dessert "flights" you can choose from, each with four riffs on the theme. we went for "chocolate" and "red", and both were, to varying degrees, interesting, fun, scrumptious. pastry chef will goldfarb is quite energetic and entertaining as he chats you up. the place itself is very pretty, even romantic. and, like i said, the desserts were all cleverly conceived and mostly delicious. makes for a nice ending to any evening.

best buy: mission accomplished!

agent scoboco was lucky enough to be included a couple of sundays back in charlie todd and the improv everywhere crew's latest "scene of chaos and joy": 80 pranksters dressed like best buy employees (khakis, royal blue polo; belt, black shoes) slowly infiltrated the store on 6th avenue and 23rd street and proceeded to stand around looking helpful. the full report (complete with video!) can be found here. my report, included on their site, is repeated below...

-------------------

Agent Scott reports:

This was my third mission, and the first time I had the opportunity to bring my daughters. For us, it was a HUGE success. At one point on the way over to Best Buy, Agent Co said to me: "My cheeks hurt I'm smiling so much!"

We actually had other plans for Sunday--fortunately canceled by the rain--so we woke up uniform-less that morning. A stop at Old Navy got Bo and Co as close as we could get, and Agent Todd hooked me up with the perfect royal blue shirt. I must say that the anticipation, and the speculation about what we might be doing, was at least half the fun for the kids. And spotting other people in their "prank uniforms" on the way to the meeting place provoked total giggles in all three of us!

I was actually surprised that my kids didn't feel a little disappointed by the prank itself, because there was no, like, "big moment." Keeping on a game face and seeing their dad do something so... i don't know... ridiculous and silly and "daring" was obviously entertaining enough. Some highlights of our time inside the store: the customers who would stop mid-question upon seeing no logo on my shirt and apologize, sometimes pretty profusely, that they thought i worked there (wonder what gave them THAT idea!?); watching my kids massage their cheeks in that classic "don'tsmiledon'tsmiledon'tsmile" maneuver; the dude who seemed genuinely angry at me for wearing the shirt ("what are you guys doing?!! why are you wearing these clothes!!??); and at one point about 45 minutes in wandering from the video games all the way back to the TVs and seeing the scope of our "invasion."

You know, though, having recently seen V for Vendetta and The Inside Man (both of which feature robberies and/or escapes using lots of people in identical outfits, I could definitely identify with the growing anxiety of Best Buy's security and managerial staff. All in all, though, we had a great, truly memorable day, which always seems to happen when I hang with the Improv Everywhere crew! So... thanks.

the pond

we go skating maybe three times every winter, and pretty much always at lasker rink. even though it's tiny, there's almost never any tourists, the music is usually fun, and the prices are much more reasonable than wolman, or chelsa piers, or, obviously, rock center.

today, though, scoboco went skating just off the deuce (can you imagine such a thing, like back in the 80s?!) on the heavily-corporate-sponsored "pond" in bryant park, and we had a blast. it's always such a treat to watch bo and co get their skate legs. trust me, we're no pros, but we can get around once we get used to it again...

the rink is a nice size--bigger than lasker or rock center--and though it's free to skate, after rentals and locker we dropped $27 for the hour and half (you could skate longer... if you were nuts). of course it was crowded--it's two days before christmas in midtown, after all--but the vibe was festive and the rental skates good and it was all well organized and they have snacks and drinks if you want and boco loved every minute of it and mostly, for me, it was just a goof to ice skate in that once far-from-wholesome location.

the pond (behind the nypl, on 42nd street, just off sixth avenue) is only around until january 16th. and since this'll probably be my last post for a little bit, i just want to say...

merry christmas.

happy holidays.

hope you're well and safe and filled with comfort and joy.

yay!!!!

scoboco is now officially an uncle and two cousins!!

my sister e gave birth to baby pabs at 2:17 this afternoon.

sooooooooooooooooo exciting!!!!

thankful

...for bo and co, who give me so much love, and allow me to make mistakes, and make me smile and laugh, and constantly push me to be a better father, and are the best part of my life.

...for dglass, and all the love and best-friendship she gives me, and who teaches me something new about myself and my world every day, and who encourages me to be the man i've always dreamed i could be, and is a total inspiration in my life. and for her daughters, whom i adore.

...for my sister e, and her courageous decision to become a single mom, and for bringing a new baby into all our lives in time for christmas.

...for my mom and my dad and stepmom, who i know will always be there for me, even if i forget to ask.

...for my brothers, whose journeys through life in so many ways resemble my own.

...for my amazing friends, all going through different things in their lives today--good and sad and scary and joyous--all of whom know they can ask me for help at any time; all of whom would be willing to help me if i needed it.

...that i feel young, healthy, strong, and so happy to be alive.

happy thanksgiving.

weekend wrap up

random thoughts from this beautiful nyc weekend

1. in the sweet and chewy genre, the cookies at city bakery--the big ones near the registers, either chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin--are hands-down the tastiest in town.

2. the north end of central park can be truly spectacular. yesterday it looked like we were in new england or something, with the leaves in their full, fireworks-y glory, and those wide vistas you can get up there above 96th street.... and someone had made a huge, perfect heart on the ground out of fallen leaves (reminded me of andy goldsworthy) next to that pond right near the 103rd and cpw entrance, all red and orange and romantic. yes, i should have taken some pictures.

3. dancing with daughters is absolutely the greatest thing ever invented... even if it's square dancing!

4. after the 24-hour show at swiss institute (which was totally silly and entertaining, though it's too bad dglass didn't answer her phone), bo, co and i had fun on saturday goofing around in two new soho stores. you may have read about burton (on spring and mercer) in the times last week or whenever it was--that review that self-righteously spent about half its words on the 420 stash-pack they sell? anyway, the place is definitely chill, like a hipper niketown, with historic snowboards embedded under fiberglass below the floor (so you can "stand" on them) and a huge screen playing non-stop, totally sick snowboard videos (and co appreciated the comfy viewing couches) and lots of browseable burton and gravis accessories and clothing in addition to the hardcore gear and, best of all, a "cold weather" dressing room to try on jackets. really, it's just a big walk-in freezer with a full-length mirror, but it's decked out with huge ice blocks (with rubber butt-mats for sitting) and a deer head mounted on the wall and you can pretend you're locked in and make your kids laugh nervously....

we're uncle- and cousins-to-be so also fun for us was giggle, on wooster near spring, filled with high-end, design-y kids stuff but not pretentious and it has a cute stroller parking area up front and lots of seating (for nursing moms and tired 9-year-olds) and reasonably priced toys and beautiful but totally too expensive crib sheets from dwell and $700 stokke strollers that are way cooler than the ubiquitous, $900 (!!!) bugaboo strollers, though both price tags make my jaw drop.

weekend fun

well it looks like this weekend with bo and co is pretty jammed with plans... all totally fun plans, to be sure--art class and soccer and a fall family dance at boco's school and bo's doing a sleepover and my sister's having her baby shower (yay for e!!!! and happy birthday today!!)--but it leaves us with not much walking-around-having-adventures time.

maybe we can squeeze this in though: the 24-hour incidental, running from noon to noon, saturday to sunday, down at the swiss institute, (495 broadway between spring and broome), part of the performa 05 celebration of "contemporary performance in the visual arts." ok, i know that all sounds kind of weighty and maybe even boring, but this show seems like it could be fun. basically, 10 artists will be doing their thing, live, for 24 hours straight, in the space. one has an interactive sound piece going on; another piece involves a crew being filmed building a bench and screen for the first 12 hours, and then they show the film for the next 12 hours; one guy will spend the entire time asleep in a hammock; another is going to build and install what sounds like a rain machine. etc. again: it's all going on at once, for 24 hours straight. sounds slightly chaotic, probably goofy, almost certainly interesting to watch for a little while. note: this is type of thing i NEVER actually tell my kids we're going to, because if i revealed too many details, i'd have a total rebellion on my hands. better to leave it kind of vague, and just say we're going to go see "something that might be really cool"...

and if we do go check it out, we'll have to eat some lunch, right? i had a delicious sandwich at olive's last weekend (on prince between wooster and greene). it had been almost a year since i last had one from there, and had forgotten how well they make them: fresh fillings, excellent bread, all ingredients in the proper proportions. lots of variety and totally first-rate, it's a good soho quick-bite alternative to rubens empanadas. the cookies are never as good as they look, though, i don't think.

we then might walk up to parsons on 13th and fifth for the taxi-design show i saw on gothamist today. parsons shows can be pretty hit or miss, but no matter what, we'd be on our way to where the cookies are always even BETTER than they look, city bakery, on 18th between fifth and sixth. or... maybe we'll just go here first for lunch, and grab a plate of their french toast, which happens to be the absolute best ever! it's caramelized, it's thick and chewy, it's total heaven. and they have niman ranch bacon. and if you haven't tried their hot chocolate with homemade marshmallow, what the heck are you waiting for? a hot chocolate festival or something?!

no bo, no co, so: no mo.

so boco are at their mom's this weekend (we alternate), which is great for them because their mom is great for them.

an aside: when their mom and i got separated, we decided to make an effort to refer to the other person's home by the street name. in other words, we'll tell co "bring this sweater to 103rd street," rather than "bring it to dad's house." the thinking is, if they had one home, we'd just call it "home." if you say "dad's" and "mom's" house all the time, it maybe diminishes a sense of ownership for them. yes, it's subtle. and when they're with me, i obviously say "let's go home," not "let's go to 103rd street." but, i don't know... we try to be cautious with scarring-for-life stuff like that.

anyway, if bo and co WERE with me this weekend i would try to plan our saturday evening around dinner at mo pitkin's house of satisfaction, on avenue a between 2nd and 3rd. you've probably read about this place recently: the food is judeo-latino (yes, that's right), it's owned by the two boots pizza guy, it's been in every issue of time out new york for like two months, it's been on gothamist, and it was even mentioned in entertainment weekly last week as a celebrity hangout. well dglass and i went on wednesday and thought it was great. especially fun is the "mo's pickins" part of the menu, where you can choose 6 things (out of like 15) for $13, and you get your samplings served in one big seder dish, with matzah. we got the chorizo meatballs (nice and spicy), the chicken liver (awesome, and made with balsamic vinegar), the pickled chicken (we like vinegar), the brisket (also delicious), the deviled eggs (good) and the somewhat disappointing cauliflower (too ratatouille-y). for the main course, my turkey burger with tomatillo sauce and avocado was juicy and perfectly seasoned and excellent; dglass's borscht salad was also a hit. if you're game (we weren't) there are also all kinds of shows in the cabaret upstairs.

so i want to go to mo's, with bo and co.

maybe next weekend.

sunday night blah-blah-blah

i don't really ever get the sunday-night blahs anymore, and i'm not sure why. it's not like i love my job, and can't wait to get back to it. or that i'm psyched to hear the alarm go off at 5:45 tomorow morning. or that i had a bad weekend i'm glad to be rid of (it was the total opposite). one theory i have is maybe now that i've done 42 years of sunday nights, i'm just sort of used to it.... but more likely, i think, is that the lack of dread i used to always feel is a nice benefit of an overall optimism that's been growing in me for a number of years. i mean, i'll ALWAYS take a weekend over a weekday, but tomorrow could be the best day of year, right?

anyway, what about my totally totally great weekend with boco? here's the highlights:

saturday was art class and homework and errands at the time warner center, which we always love going to, especially whole foods. by the way, the new fountain they did in columbus circle is really pretty amazing... you wouldn't think you could feel even remotely tranquil in that location, but they pull it off: it's actually a really nice place to sit.

in the evening we hooked up with dglass and saw "dreamer," which was ok. i mean, even though there's NO question what's going to happen, you can't help but get all excited during the final race... and dakota fanning certainly is appealing, as is the whole cast, i guess... and it's pretty to look at, the kentucky horse-country setting... but the pacing kind of gets to you pretty quickly: there's just one obstacle after another that seems to spell doom, but of course you know it doesn't, because there's still plenty of movie left to go, and so the tension is totally
artificial.



a total aside: during the movie i whispered to dglass: "you know, i hate horses..." mostly to make her chuckle but also, honestly, i don't particularly care for them. then, total coincidence, much later that night i'm goofing on the internet and i come across a hilarious blog by a guy who REALLY hates horses! the page is obviously a joke and it's completely moronic (he sells shirts that have a pic of a horseshoe and say "nice shoes asshole!") but it cracked me up.




anyway, after the movie we had wanted to go to dinosaur barbecue up on 131st but i called in the afternoon to make a reservation (not at all thinking i would need one, but why not) and they were booked solid all night! so we ate at tomo on 111th, which is always tasty and pretty reasonable: the sushi boat for two--which easily fed us four--is only $40 and is fun to have on your table.

sunday was no soccer because of too-wet fields so i took boco to moma to see those two exhibits and they were both excellent, especially the elizabeth murray. i had never seen her stuff and it's just so full of movement and color and humor and it's smart and playful and expressive and there's LOTS of it and it put me in such a great mood. safe was cool, too, and both kids were totally engaged by the products, like the stuffed "parasites and viruses;" the bearcub pad-lock and heart-link chain; and the protective, passive resistance protest suit, my favorite feature of which was the fact that it amplifies the wearer's heartbeat through that speaker, to emphasize the protestor's humanity.

and amazingly, the musuem was completely not crowded. we got there during prime time, around 1:15, and there was NO line to buy tickets, and in both exhibits it felt like you could see whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. and i was debating NOT going because i thought it'd be a mob scene.

ok, last thing i'll mention: after moma we walked over to 51st and 9th for lunch at empanada mama, which i think are the best in town. there's tons of choices--the corn flour ones are wonderfully sweet (goes great with broccoli and cheese), but the wheat flour ones are tasty too--lots of interesting beverages, music playing, pleasant people, cheap prices (seven empanadas came to less that 20 bucks, with tip), always worth stopping in for a snack if you're in the neighborhood.

and now? i guess it's time to rest up for tomorrow... the best day of the year!

so many choices

raising kids in manhattan is totally my dream come true for so many reasons. but on friday afternoons before my boco weekends i guess i'm most grateful for the 600 million things there are always are to do.

yes, there's the regular family, chill-at-home stuff... like homework and chatting and singing along to music and chores and dancing and laughing and bickering and sleeping late and reading books and bo has art class on saturday (there are three classes for 8 - 12 year-olds every weekend at the art students league on 57th street: they're a month-to-month commitment, they're cheap, they're great), and co does soccer on sunday.

but in addition to all THAT, every weekend we have the option of a movie (in this case, we're so going to "dreamer"), museums (moma has two cool-sounding exhibitions that just opened--safe: design takes a risk and the elizabeth murray show--but they run through to january, so we'll probably wait a bit), chelsea galleries, tons of restaurants to try (we're going to check out dinosaur barbecue on 131st and 10th on saturday), goofing around soho's high-end stores (and, always, a stop at kid robot, on prince. and a truffle at vosges, on spring. and usually
an empanada at ruben's, on broome), on and on and on.



basically? if you or your kids are bored in this town, you need to get out more.

less kid-ish

a little while back either bo or co expressed dissatisfaction with their room (they share our apartment's only bedroom; i do the futon-in-the-living-room thing).

"it's too kid-ish," whichever-she-was said.

and she was right.

we hadn't really done anything to their room since we moved in three years ago, when they were just starting first and third grades.

now, their room is pretty tiny, and i don't have money for any kind of big re-do. so i'm thinking a good way to have a big impact in a small room is new duvet covers... especially if there are two beds.

and where can you find inexpensive, cool, contemporary-looking duvet covers? my girlfriend dglass hooked me up. "no doubt about it," she told me. "ikea is the best bet for comforters and pillowcases."

and SHE was right!

of course, everyone knows about ikea, but it always seems kind of overwhelming to go there, you know? especially with no car. i mean, christ!, it's in another STATE! but i am so glad i didn't listen to those "too-out-of-the-way" voices.

last saturday i took the free ikea bus out of port authority. it leaves every half hour from gate 5 (which is downstairs and all the way right near ninth avenue) and it was unbelievably easy and quick and comfortable. and the store wasn't even that crowded! i found a perfect bedside table for their room, and a cute little lamp. i bought myself some new flatware and a spiffy cheesegrater and some other stuff i didn't need. and then i got to the bed linens section and it was a beautiful thing to see.

there was a HUGE selection. everything was in stock. there were all kinds of designs and colors and tones--and many designs came in at least two different but complementary colors, which is obviously perfect for a sibling-shared room. AND a twin-sized duvet cover with pillowcase is only $20!

so: massive success. i love the new room. THEY love the new room. door-to-door it only took like four hours. and the whole thing--dresser, lamp, duvet covers and a new roman blind--cost just over $100.



the lesson? listen to boco. listen to dglass. they are always right.