Purrrr

If only there were always old-school-ish cocktail parties in sprawling upper west side apartments going on, where one could encounter a jaw-droppingly awesome soap dish like this in one of the bathrooms:



Yes, that's what happened to me earlier this summer. I was having a great time, sipping perhaps one too many Brazilian drinks and shoving one too many Brazilian treats in my mouth. Isn't this amazing? Look at that sudsy cat! Considering how much cats notoriously hate to get wet, it's pretty amusing to imagine one in full-court bath mode. Brilliant.

Spooky city

There are all sorts of reasons to find yourself spooked in this city. Like when you're walking past the Fairway on 125th street near the river to get to some crazy new restaurant and you say to your companion, "THERE ARE RATS AROUND HERE, I JUST KNOW IT!" and your companion replies "OH GOODIE, RATS ARE CUTE!" and then you see A BIG HAIRY, GREASY ONE and your heart stops because you know it means 100 others just like it are milling around so you run shrieking into the dining establishment before a scary and assuredly life changing rat battle ensues.

OR

You find yourself strolling down First Avenue, uptown in the 40s, one night, having just enjoyed a dinner at a Turkish restaurant that would sadly and inexplicably close a few days later despite the fact that this place made you fervently decide you absolutely LOVE Turkish food, when suddenly, you look to your left and GASP WITH HORROR because something incredibly scary and dramatic is happening in the park near the UN! Oh my god!! And you might have to click on the image below to see what I mean.



"CALM DOWN, THAT'S JUST ST. GEORGE SLAYING THE DRAGON," your companion says, but you're still in shock and can only mutter "WHAT? WHY? WHO?" In response your companion yawns and basically tells you to "just bleeping google it." When you finally get around to doing just that, you realize this particular "mammoth statue" is actually called the Good Defeats Evil monument, and then it's like ohhhhhhhh, that's why it's a good thing to have right next to the UN.

It's still really spooky though, when you look at it at night, whether or not you know what it is.

Bizzy the Great

I just got back from a lovely week in Atlanta, Georgia, where I went to visit my dad, stepmom, and brother Max, and hang out with my sisters Brook and Erica, who'd also made the trip, not to mention the endlessly adorable and entertaining Henry and Hazy, and GO SWIMMING! YAY, SWIMMING! But oh my god. I lost my camera. Actually, I'm pretty sure it was NOOOO. YES! Stolen. In a playground, of all godforsaken places. And the worst part is the fact that I had just that day taken what I thought was a really great picture of one of my favorite beasts on the planet: Bismark, my dad's long-haired daschund. Oh, well. Here is an alternate picture, with an accompanying human foot.



Bismarck is a really cool dog. And not just because he loves green grapes and bananas and burrows under things with great zeal as all good daschunds do. He also inspired this portrait that Brook painted a few years ago. It's one of my favorite works of art anywhere, anytime. For serious. Every time I see it I practically start waving the cold cash bills at my pops in the hopes of claiming it as my own. I mean, just look at this thing.



Anyway, enjoy. And don't worry: The credit card I bought the camera with is reimbursing me entirely for the lost camera. Crazy credit card company. Damn thieves.

Smug berries

In the New York Times' Science section today, there's a lot to be thrown by...like the article about the possibly sooner-than-we-think end of the world, the fate of Magellanic penguins, or the guy and the worms. But what really stopped me in my tracks was this illustration for a query about which has better nutritional value, whole fruit or dried. Look at those cute strawberries. Victoria Williams is the artist, and she did an awesome job, eh? I wish more things in the Times had as much wit and charm. Oh, snap!