Weekend images

Chandeliers at ABC Carpets...

A widow's walk...

Africa is on my mind... I spied this above a door near Union Square... Waiting to go out in the rain...

"Old dog, new tricks"

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A few years ago, when I thought my life was moving in a forward direction, I took a class at NYU in marketing. It was an interesting enough class - a basic overview of marketing concepts in the entertainment industry, lead by a guy whose claim to fame was managing Kiss way-back-when. (yes, Kiss, the band.) the class was fine, and I had some randomly vague thoughts about getting my certificate in marketing, and furthering my career in new directions, blah blah blah. Needless to say, after moving in a decidedly *backwards* direction soon after finishing the class, the hope of a certificate has rather fallen by the wayside.

I've taken other classes as well, including an art class (which said it would teach us trompe d'oeil and really only taught us faux bois) and - more recently of course - karate (which was just a not-so-hidden-excuse to punch the crap out of things.) So I thought, perhaps now that I've moved into a better place in life, I'd look at some fun classes to take again... maybe salsa lessons, or start painting again... after all, you can do anything in New York, right? Honestly, I had no idea how much "anything" there was to offer...

So after popping around some scary Google searches, I followed the advice of my new favorite book ("The Best Things to do in New York") and looked up classes on Craig's List.

I searched for general classes, and ended up with thousands of choices... so I narrowed it down to classes only in Manhattan and here are a few options... (I've removed repeats, of which there were many)


In the mood for crafts?
Private Class with a knitting coach
Stylish Craft of Crochet
Needlepoint for beginners
Ceramics and pottery
Adults-only art classes (Do you really want to know? I didn't think so)
Beading (for kids and adults)
Sewing classes
Figure clay sculpting
Drawing classes with live models
Private painting tutor

How about a language?
French lessons
Spanish lessons
Italian lessons
Korean lessons
English lessons
Chinese lessons
Russian lessons
German lessons
Brazilian and Portuguese lessons

Get up and MOVE!
Square dancing
Ballet lessons
Modern dance
Belly dance ("You can burn calories while you seduce him!")
Salsa
Polish American Folk Dancing lessons (now that sounds like fun!)
Hip-Hop dance lessons
Merengue & Bachata
Staci's Boot Camp workout ("She'll kick your butt
........back up where it belongs!")
Yoga classes
Pilates (private or group classes available)
"Spine-Song" - an integration of Pilates and Yoga
Capoeira
Shorinji Kempo
Aikido
Judo
Acrobatics
Exotic Dance Class for Everyday women (This class is taught by a
........former professional dancer. "You'll learn strip teases and lap
........dance basics. Please wear platform stilettos and bring along
........a button-down shirt. Wine is provided.")
Pole dancing (Yes, that would be a stripper pole. Though I wonder...
........don't you think lap dancing is more practical in the home?)

New skills anyone?
Voice lessons
Bass, guitar, violin, piano, sax and other random instrument
........tutors and lessons
Improv acting and comedy classes
Songwriting lessons
Digital photography
Writing for Performance workshop
Advanced fiction writing
Finally write your novel
Romance writing
Poker
Chess
Private math lessons
SAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT tutors
Astrology
Astronomy
Practical investing class
AHA Adult CPR Training
Speed reading (Led by a Columbia University Ph.D.)
How to do spiritual readings and read tarot
Fellatio (class for women only)
Finding the big "O" from your woman (That's "O" for
........orgasm, and it's a class for men. Finally.)

Bite me:
Make your own sushi
Beginning cooking classes
How to make paella
Vegan / Vegetarian / Organic cooking classes
Cooking for couples
Cooking for one
Cooking for a party
Italian food for everyone
Baking
Pastry chef offering group lessons

Huh?
How to be a successful flea market vendor
How to think and grow rich
Plastic Surgery (no no, you don't learn to DO it, you
........get to attend lectures about it. Phew!)
Beginning Robot Workshop for Adults
Santeria and Pan African Religious Practitioners
........("Add explosive power to your ritual, spells and
........healing Paths")
Candle Magick (sic)
How to e-learn (apparently an online class about
........how to take online classes)
Learn Permanent Makeup
Esoteric lore for women


That, my friends, were the classes offered on PAGE ONE of the upcoming classes in Manhattan. All of these start in the next two weeks, and most lead to websites that have other classes as well.

Now, all I have to do is choose between CPR and fellatio. Seems like you might be able to combine those... now THAT would be an interesting class. But please, feel free to let me know which class you'd like me to take and (inevitably) blog about.


P.S. I know it's Valentine's Day. I'm boycotting it because it's a capitalist excuse for a sentiment that should be expressed every day. Plus I'm feeling decidedly anti-romance these days. Bah humbug.





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Graffiti

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A bit of philosophical graffiti I saw on the subway today....

Digital Macro

A random assortment of photos...

First: My new "Edge only" brownie pan! I think I'm in love...

Before:
(note the "resolution" apples in the background)

During:

And AFTER!! YAY!!!

And the final photo of the day, me and my nephew, DJ.... on a bright, sunny day, as interpreted by him... (*insert warm fuzzies here*):

Yellow Ribbons...

I was walking around the city today - it was a GORGEOUS day - and I passed a church. And all along the fence were yellow, green and blue ribbons...

They were tributes and prayer wishes to troops that have died (yellow), are serving (blue) or have returned from active duty (green.)

The saddest part was looking at the ages on the tribute slips... 20, 23, 21, 19, 26... All died protecting our way of life... protecting what they loved.

I cried today, for all the families, friends, and loved ones who will never see their children, friends, fathers, and husbands return... And for the people who are serving for us abroad and aren't going to be with their families, but instead, will be fearing for their lives...

So over this holiday season, let's take a moment to remember those who are alone, lost, apart, or saddened this time of year... it's easy to overlook the heartbroken amidst the gifts, trees, food and festivities...

NYC Photo of the Day - Daycare

Waiting for mom to pick him up from day care:

The Photo Ode to the Subway iPod

Ever noticed how many people wear iPods on the subway? This is just a 6-stop ride on the E train tonight... and I counted nearly 25 iPods... Here are a few...

Photo blog of the day: Locks for Love

My sister has always had long hair. No, wait... I take that back. She cut her hair short once in... I think it was around 1986... and was so traumatized that it takes years for her to get up the courage to cut it now. Her husband - a strapping, handsome man of 6'5" and who could pick me up by my ankles without even adjusting his center of gravity - loves her hair long. VERY long.

So when she got her hair caught in the engine of the leaf blower a few weeks ago, she decided that she needed to cut it a little shorter. And seeing the length of her hair now, she decided to donate a few inches to Locks for Love. (And by a few inches, I mean... a foot.) Her husband refused to cut her hair... so she asked me to help her out.

I - being totally willing to do anything because I'm adventurous (and because it's not my hair) was ready and excited! To be honest, we were all a little nervous... she because we were about to cut off a foot of her hair... and me because, well, her husband is a big guy... and so far, he seems to like me, and I didn't want to jeopardize that.

But we plunged ahead... rubberbands in hand... scissors at the ready... tv on for soothing background noise. I'm not sure why we had to put a bed sheet over 50 square feet of the floor, but hey, who am I to judge? The goal was to lop off ... uh, I mean, carefully and lovingly hack two braids... and then make the remaining ends look neat. Or, as neat as I can... (*wince*.)

Here goes...

I've always wanted to try being a red-head... but hopefully, another person somewhere with NO hair will enjoy it more...

Yay Sue! (And please forgive me, Matt... but it was for a good cause...)