T and I missed one out of the two New York restaurant weeks due to our California trip. But we did manage to try out two places during the second of the two.

[tag]Perry Street[/tag] is a modern, cool looking restaurant downtown near the West Side Highway (on Perry Street, of course). The place was reasonably busy for the middle of the week late at night (we got there around 10pm). I had read some bad things about their service, but we found it to be quite professional. The mood was low key, good for conversation and a romantic date. But the highlight was really the food. It was excellent, a good take on modern American cuisine. We loved the little amuse bouche we got at the start of the meal, a cool soup that was just perfect after a warm summer day. Their restaurant week menu had some really creative selections, and the food was presented beautifully. While it is on the upscale size with regards to price ($25+ entrees), it is a nice place to go if you want a quiet romantic evening.

Our next selection was a lunch selection the day we went to catch [tag]John Mayer[/tag] in concert (see my previous post on that). We decided to check out [tag]davidburke and donatella[/tag] with our friends, since it was close to our office. On entering, we could see the obvious disadvantage of being next to Bloomingdales. The place was packed with shoppers and society wives, and was really loud. The service was good, and the decor was modern, though a little on the bad eclectic side. The food was reasonably good, but not outstanding in any way. Desserts were good and managed to save the lunch, even though we didn’t try the cheesecake lollipops with bubblegum flavored dipping cream. If we weren’t with friends, we might have been a little disappointed.

Till next spring.

[tags]New York Restaurant Week[/tags]

When we arrived home on Monday morning (after taking the red-eye from CA), we found waiting for us the much anticipated Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Tanu and I got busy reading it, snatching up the book whenever the other one was busy with something else. Like any virus, the HP7 virus kept me up at night, and left me useless for anything else (like work). By Friday morning, we had both finished the book (I finished a day before her, much to her chagrin). And we both loved, loved, loved the book.

The ending J.K.Rowling wrote for the Harry Potter saga was nothing short of brilliant. She wrote the perfect finale, one that answered all questions, tied up all loose ends, did not sell out, and was immensely satisfying. Her writing style is inconsequential; what this book exemplified was the compelling plotline and emotional hold that she managed to weave. It was just perfect.

I especially loved how she managed to spin plotlines that we were totally convinced could never be spun. The backstories on Dumbledore, Snape, Voldemort and others were brilliantly constructed. I loved how Ron came into his own, and Hermione continued on her path to greatest wizard/witch of their generation. The much publicized bloodbath was definitely there, and some deaths hit harder than other. I am pretty confident I know which chapter she was referring to when she said “But there’s a chapter towards the end that I absolutely howled. It was, unbelievable.”

Can’t wait for the final two movies. If the trends stay the way they have, they are going to be great.

Continuing a pretty cool birthday week celebration for T-Bone, I took her to [tag]Nassau Coliseum[/tag] to catch one of her favorites in concert. She thinks [tag]John Mayer[/tag] is soooo groovy. And while she was not disappointed by the show, I found myself leaving the [tag]concert[/tag] a fan as well.

I always knew the guy could play the guitar. But man is he good. And he knows how to put on a show. The place was absolutely jumping, and his energy had a lot to do with it. While I think most of his songs are good but not great, his presence on stage and his command of the guitar were what really impressed me.

And the production quality of the show was really slick too. After a pretty good opening act by [tag]Ben Folds[/tag], the whole stage seemed to transform. The three split screens behind the stage were masterfully edited by whoever was running them. The black and white shots it showed of Mayer on stage during the first song was real classy. And the stage lighting was effectively used. Check out a clip of Mayer performing “[tag]No Such Thing[/tag]” below.

[tags]Guitar play[/tags]

Wednesday we headed to [tag]Lincoln Center[/tag] to check out a new and interesting art installation there. ‘[tag]Slow Dancing[/tag]‘ is a video art performance piece in which various super slow-motion videos of different dancers is projected onto three separate 50 foot screens hung on the facade of the [tag]New York State Theater[/tag]. The slow movement is so subtle that until you stop and watch it you could mistake the three dancers for posters of an upcoming performance.

Each video covers a completely different dancer doing a unique dance move that spans only 5 seconds, but the slow motion hi-def video stretches it out over 10 minutes each, allowing you to see subtleties that you would never see otherwise. You see the ripple of a dancers skirt, the tautening of calves, the flow of hair around a rotating dancers face. This is the creation of video artist and photographer, [tag]David Michalek[/tag], who used a high-definition, high-speed camera at 1,000 frames a second. The result is surprisingly smooth and fluid. You can watch a video clip that I took below.

[tags]video art, slow motion video[/tags]

So we got held up in CA this weekend during one of our usual trips to HQ. Meetings meant I wouldn’t be able to make my Friday flight, so we decided to spend the weekend in the bay area instead. It meant we were able to make a Sunday barbeque at the home of a colleague, and gave us all of Saturday to do something.

We slept in late on Saturday, and after a late breakfast at IHOP, we headed from our hotel in the East Bay to Half Moon Bay to get onto US-1. We’ve done the [tag]picturesque California coastal drive[/tag] before. But we had a convertible (one of the rare upgrades I have received from Hertz), and it was a nice sunny day. So we decided to drive down the Pacific Coast Highway as far as [tag]Santa Cruz[/tag]. The water looked gorgeous, a deep blue that met the blue sky way off on the horizon. The drive was relaxing, and we stopped at a couple of places on our way to enjoy the vista.

Along the way, we also stopped at Pigeon Point Lighthouse. It was a picture perfect lighthouse perched on a cliff, one of the tallest in the US and well over 200 years old. After about 4 hours we ended up in Santa Cruz, where we decided to check out this place called Mystery Spot.

The Mystery Spot is apparently the site of a [tag]gravitational anomaly[/tag], located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz. Semyon, one of my colleagues, told me to check it out when he found out that I was going to be in CA that weekend. In the middle of some tall trees, set on the side of a hill, it is a circular area around a small wood cabin. Getting there at around 5, we found the parking lot full, and next available tour in 2 hours. So we purchased our tickets and then drove 15 min to Main Street in Santa Cruz for a quick bite.

Getting back a little before 7, we went on the tour, which didn’t disappoint. During the 45 minute tour, the guide demonstrated phenomena that completely defied the laws of physics as we now it. People’s height relative to each other seemed to change depending on where they stood within the area, seemingly growing or shrinking. Balls, bottles and even water seemed to roll/flow upwards instead of down, contradicting gravitational physics. All of us could lean over at impossible angles without toppling over (see me showing off my abilities on the left). And at the center of the house, you could feel something change, giving some a feeling a nausea, making others feel light-headed. It was really weird. Below you can see a video I took of our guide demonstrating the anti-gravity effect at the Mystery Spot.

After the tour was over, we headed back to Main Street in Santa Cruz for dinner. We ate at a nice little pizzeria. Main Street was really crowded, with a lot of people out having a good time. There was this guy who had set up these homemade telescopes through which we could see the moon really close up and Jupiter with all its moons. Really neat. The drive back was a little windy, but nonetheless we got back to our hotel a little tired but happy.

Here is a really good use of technology. Thanks to [tag]Care2.com[/tag], this social networking site I frequent that is geared around social causes, I learnt of this really cool way in which the [tag]United States Holocaust Memorial Museum[/tag] has teamed up with [tag]Google Earth[/tag] to try and raise awareness about the ongoing [tag]genocide[/tag] in [tag]Darfur[/tag]. The Museum has used Google Earth’s mapping technology to expose photographs, data and eyewitness testimony from a number of sources as part of a Google Earth feature called [tag]Crisis in Darfur[/tag]. Anyone looking at Africa and the [tag]Sudan[/tag] region in Google Earth automatically sees it.

It is really well done, so check it out. If you launch Google Earth and fly over Africa, you see little fires showing up over the Sudan region. When you zoom in, you see more fires burning, plus icons to see photographs or read documents.

The image above shows a photograph of the village of [tag]Um Ziefa[/tag] burning. I found the photograph quite powerful, especially having just read [tag]Ishmael Beah[/tag]’s first-hand account of burning villages as a [tag]child soldier[/tag] in [tag]A Long Way Gone[/tag]. It continues to amaze me that something this appalling is continuing under our very noses. I think this effort by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is incredibly astute, and I applaud Google Earth for getting involved in this way.

Click here to find out more.

10 am on Sunday morning, and our apartment still doesn’t have any water, thanks to yesterdays [tag]water main break[/tag]. Seems that it is the high rises in the [tag]Newport[/tag] area (including ours here at the [tag]Portofino[/tag] building) that are suffering, along with some high rises in [tag]Hoboken[/tag]. There doesn’t seem to be any timeline available for when we will get water.

“Customers in high rise apartment buildings in southern Hoboken and the Newport section of [tag]Jersey City[/tag] still have very low pressure or no water at all,” said Jim Glozzy, vice president and general manager of United Water. “Our emergency crews worked through the night and have been replaced with new crews to finish the work necessary to repair this main break. We are dealing with infrastructure that is more than 100-years old in many areas and it has been very difficult to completely isolate the main break.”

http://www.unitedwater.com/uwjc/PressRelease.asp?ReleaseID=589

We haven’t been getting any water for the last 3 hours or so. Seems that a water main has broken in the Newport area, forcing water to be shut off to Jersey City, and pressure to be low in Hoboken. Rumor flying around is that a bus ran into something, causing the break.

We can hear a police car doing the rounds telling people to boil water for the next 48 hours. I guess that means that we will be getting water again soon. Fingers crossed, otherwise it is going to start getting real stinky around here

I just finished reading ‘[tag]A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier[/tag]‘ by [tag]Ishmael Beah[/tag]. It is his autobiography, recounting a 4 year journey in the war-torn [tag]Sierra Leone[/tag], from innocent 12 year old in a small village, through life as a [tag]child soldier[/tag] in the vicious jungles, to his eventual escape from the war-ravaged country as a frightened 16 year old desperate for a way not to go back to his old ways.

The book is undoubtedly one of the most amazing works I have ever read. It is unbelievably powerful and moving, giving a first-hand account of a child soldiers life. Ishmael Beah’s voice is clear, uncompromising, and above all, honest. You read (in vivid detail) of the [tag]atrocities of war[/tag] and its effect on the children of the country. You follow his escape from the violence, and feel the futility of his escape as hunger and fatigue lead to his eventual, inescapable capture and induction into what is supposedly an army. You read in excruciating detail of the unbelievable cruelties that he himself perpetrates. Yet somehow through it all, you never forget that he is but a child, doing all of these in the perpetual drug-induced haze he is kept in because he believes that it is the way of the world, the only way to survive.

The book is a strong reminder of the chaos prevalent in the world today, and of just how terrible [tag]humanity[/tag] can be. It brings home with incredible force the reality of how children have become the weapon of choice in conflicts the world over. yet the book also reminds us of the power of one, of how an individual can make a huge difference in the face of incredible odds. The story of Ishmael’s rehabilitation will fill you with hope, as you hear of the incredible love, caring and patience of the folks at the [tag]Benin Home[/tag] who help him along the hard path to normalcy. Just when you feel yourself losing faith in humanity, he brings you back with an incredibly moving portrait of those working to do what is right, at great risk to their own lives.

The key word (if you haven’t noticed so far) is [tag]powerful[/tag]. It is a powerful look at war through the eyes of a child soldier. It examines how a gentle heart can be driven to commit truly terrible acts. It is a heartbreaking look at the rape of innocence, and the redemption of a soul. It will leave you touched like nothing else you will ever experience.

[tags]A Long Way Gone, hope, faith, love[/tags]

Tanu and I couldn’t wait much longer, we just had to catch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as soon as possible. So yesterday we headed to the theater to avoid the inevitable long lines that will descend over the weekend (not that yesterday was a cakewalk, but getting to the theater 30 min before the show meant we got a decent seat). Plus, I promised Tanu to read the next book (Half Blood Prince) after watching the movie, so we can discuss the upcoming final book.

The movie is awesome, definitely the best in the series so far. Each movie has had a darker edge to it, and this one begins to get into the horror movie realm (well, PG-13 horror movie realm). But the opening sequence in an underground tunnel is really creepy, and perfectly sets the tone for a movie that is all about the frustration, anger and isolation growing in Harry. The movies pace ensures that not a single moment is wasted, and you are drawn into Harry’s frame of mind, feeling every outburst of anger, every moment of doubt and fear, every moment of loneliness. The new characters (Umbridge, Beatrix) are played perfectly, but did they (she, meaning J.K.Rowling) have to kill Sirius? I hated that, and it is just one more nail in Harry’s coffin (speaking of the final book).

It is amazing that the movies have maintained the consistency of vision and logical progression that they have, while going through four different directors. David Yates does an incredible job here, getting the most out of his stellar cast. The special effects are excellent, with little or no flaws. And it is also cool to see these actors growing in step with their characters. I feel a little bad for the actors because they are going to have to do sooo much to escape these characters (think Mark Hamill). But their fame is secure for all time with this franchise. And they have been getting better in each movie.