Meghan Karen Hounshell

Everyone, this is Meghan. She should be on Broadway, too. She's been seeking attention ever since I gave Bill his own post. Anyway, she is my former student and she is a comedian who has recently moved from Seattle to LA to pursue more fame. Evidently, she reads this blog, but can't figure out how to post from her Blackberry, so you don't know her. Here is her website:

http://meghanhounshell.tripod.com/

Bill, Karyn and Meghan should all be on Broadway.

B Train to Russia

If you take the B train to the Brighton Beach stop and descend the elevated subway tracks, you can either turn left, walk up the street and see a vast beach and a wide wooden boardwalk that leads to Coney Island, or, you can just walk under the tracks on Brighton Beach Street and... just be in Russia. This neighborhood under the tracks is, or was, the home of the Russian mafia, but it's home to many, many Russians and other ethnicities today for sure. We felt like we traveled through the Twilight Zone to Eastern Europe AND to the most ghetto amusement park in the world, all at one stop at the southern tip of Brooklyn.

We started by wading in Jamaica Bay (that's what the map says) with hundreds of other New Yorkers. I honestly had no idea that this kind of beach existed just a mere half hour subway ride away, but there it was. Of course Long Island is where the real beaches are, but I guess I won't be seeing those. Anyway, we walked along The Boardwalk (of the song), had a Coney Dog at Nathan's (I maintain that hot dogs cannot be great), contemplated "Shooting the Freak" (yes, there was a "Live Freak" who danced around in a goggled helmet and shield while little kids took shot with paintball guns as a Sean Penn look alike yelled "Shoot the freak, shoot the freak...anyone want to shoot the freak?") and went on the Wonder Wheel, a huge monstrosity of a ferris wheel right in the middle of this tacky carnival. As we looked down on the little rides, I mentioned that the rust on this ferris wheel spoke of very old age. Sure enough, when we got down, Kristina, who had chosen wisely not to go on The Wheel, had a little history lesson for us. It is the highest and oldest ferris wheel in the world. I'm glad I'm off of it, the only good thing about the ride being the view of the beach and the breeze the height offered on this very hot day.

After the carnival, we headed to Russia to find a Oygur restaurant we had heard about. Don't ask me what Oygur is...it's something Russian. We ordered a few salads, some dumpling looking things and some skewers. The food was OK, but what was really great was the table next to us, where three burly men sat eating and drinking vodka, speaking so loudly in Russian that we couldn't hear each other, and falling over the table as they left. One guy came back, opened the door and said something to us, then left. By the tone, we think he was apologizing, but who knows!

Last night we had a party out on the I-House terrace, a sort of a end of the seminar party. It was fun, but I admit, it is very bittersweet to watch it come to a close. Not the China part...we are all a little sick of China. In fact, after the party, we went to a local bar and toasted "no more China" and then we had the best speaker of the session this morning... a sociologist from Yale who spoke about China's economy. Anyway, we are all in awe over what we have been able to experience this month, and, well, connections like these are rare and spectacular.

I'm going to leave you with a few pictures...the first is Kristina being gangsta on the subway coming home (this train goes over the Manhattan Bridge, and we crossed it at sunset) and the other is Noemi from Seattle (she teaches at John Stanford International School), and she is eating a slice of Koronet Pizza from down the street. Noemi is a little short, but not THAT short. This slice is huge. It costs three dollars, and the other night when I bought one to go, I felt something burning my elbow. It was the slice, so long that it peaked its way out of the bag and burned me. *I only ate half.

William E. Kumma

OK everyone, I have this friend named Bill Kumma. We were locker partners in high school (Lynnwood High School, of course), and we feel that the locker partner bond transcends just about everything. He emailed me this response to the Randy Couture posting (remember...Ultimate Fighting) and because Bill should be on Broadway, he deserves some kind of fame. Tonight, Bill, revel in the fame of my very modest blog.

Here is Bill's comment:

Smarj,

I couldn't add my comments in "LESS THAN 300 WORDS" (too much emphasis and too many exclamation points...), so I'm going to email my response directly to you and you can post as you see fit:

GO ROYALS!!! LHS RULES!!! PEEL TO THE LEFT! PEEL TO THE RIGHT! PEEL DOWN THE MIDDLE AND - UNH - TAKE A BITE! GO, BANANA, GO! GO, BANANA, GO! GO, BANANA, GO, BANANA, GO, BANANA, GO!!!!

Not only am I an LHS alum, not only was I junior class "president" (Marjie, you know I use that term VERY loosely), not only do I live back in the beautiful suburbia of Lynnwood, but Randy Couture was my cousin-in-law for a short time! We are somehow still connected by blood... It makes me want to go out and beat the crap out of someone RIGHT NOW!!

Ah, Marjie... I am so envious of your NY adventure - BROADWAY, BROADWAY, BROOAAADWAAAYYY! I wish I could go every year! However, reading your blog is ALMOST like being there... Once again, another of your friends that lives vicariously through you...

GO ROYALS!!! And, thanks to Mission Impossible II for giving us the correct pronunciation of "Chimera..."

Sbill

Americana

On 57th between 6th and 7th Streets is a four star hotel called Le Parker Meridien. You walk in through the marble floored hallway, turn right and go down a hall with a dark gray curtain, follow the neon sign, turn the corner and you are in The Burger Joint. Rose chandeliers don't class up this little space with cardboard menus warning: "If you don't know what you want when you get to the front, you will be sent to the back of the line." And there is a line. So, as a break from my stroll down 5th Avenue (St. Patrick's Cathedral, NY Central Library, back to MoMa to see the fourth floor with Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, I got a burger and Coke to go and found my favorite picnicking/napping spot so far in Central Park. I could paint signs and make some money because this spot was so good. And the burger was great.

Later, a few of us went to a Latino Film Festival film, then on to the Meatpacking District to find some food and more music. I was told by a "subway friend" that this was the place to go," an "Adult Disneyland" he called it. "Dress up," he said, then listed all of the celebrities he had seen in the past few weeks: Lenny Kravitz, Sarah Jessica Parker, etc. He wasn't kidding...block after block of people dressed UP. I felt like the country bumpkin from Seattle, and by Seattle standards, I was dressed UP. Anyway, I decided that I am more of a Greenwich Village kind of girl. Greenwich Village could be called the Seattle of NY, in fact, the other night the band we saw looked a little grung-y with their flannel, so I felt right at home. We did have some great food, though, at a Malaysian restaurant called The Fatty Crab. My favorite dish was a salad made of fried pork fat and watermelon. I know...it doesn't sound good, but we trusted the waiter and it was fantastic. We also had Malay fish tempura in a coconut chili sauce, crispy duck, and the chili crab. I had no idea what time it was, but we finished our dinner at 1 am. When I get back to Seattle, I will sleep for a week!

Today Elsa and I were planning to head to Chinatown to taste our way through; imagine how excited I was for this. However, it rained a dark, dreary rain that made me feel like I was in a sauna with all of New York. We got out of film festival Latino film #2 and decided to head to her apartment, which is just north of I-House, in Harlem. Elsa grew up in Taiwan and her mother sends her home with Taiwanese food every time she's home, so since Elsa is my kindred spirit in love for food, she brings me treats to class, like her mother's taro cake and a Vietnamese sandwich ("I figured you would have one less thing to taste when we go to Chinatown.") See why I love this girl? So we went to her place and she made noodles with a package of "Taiwanese" mince that her mother made, topped with steamed Romaine. It was great to have home cooking after three weeks of eating out, and to me, eating this treat from her mother was like striking gold.

Entering my last week in NY and I feel like my to-do list has grown by about 100 things. I'll see how much I can fit in this week, but it may effect my blogging activity somewhat!

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

In the last 36 hours, I have been to Museo del Barrio to listen to an Afro-Rican 13 member "tropical band," to an Irish bar on the upper West Side to hear one guy in cool glasses do the best cover songs ever, to The Bitter End in Greenwich Village to hear one crazy unidentifiable band plus one rock and roll band (think Black Crows plus Ryan Adams), to the Blues House to see four guys from LA, to Broadway to see Spring Awakening, to TriBeCa to a place called The Knitting Room to hear reggae ska and reggae funk, to a Chinese/Mexican restaurant, and to a Japanese/Italian restaurant (that is cheesecake tempura on the upper left and a yellowtail/asparagus/pesto roll on the right). Oh, and I had to stay awake for the second most boring lecture of our three weeks on only four hours of sleep.

So, anyway, Amy, that's why I didn't blog last night. And Karyn, I LOVED SA. "blah blah blah blah blah..." (that is from a great song from the musical, but I cannot write the title here or my blog will be flagged.) Kristy was concerned with the twelve year old boy sitting behind us, though, since the performance is so, um, "progressive." (Mom and Dad, you probably wouldn't like it.) "His parents are going to have to talk to him tonight!" she said. What talent, in such young people!

So, anyway, I have nothing to say right now at almost 4 am, but here is a little post, anyway. I have decided, though, that the live music is going to take up most of my last week here.

You can take the boy out of Lynnwood...

I just had a moment. I'm coming out of The Year of Magical Thinking into Times Square. I look up and see this:

For those of you who are not from Lynnwood, Washington, the guy on the left is Randy Couture...he is sort of a pioneer of UF, Ultimate Fighting, and evidently, he is fighting this Gonzaga guy in the Championship on August 25. Randy is a legend at Lynnwood High School, and "Gonzaga" obviously knows nothing about the toughness of northern Seattle suburbanites.

But wait, there is more. Right next to this billboard is the Millenium Hotel, and guess who is staying there for the next four days...Kristy McCaslin, another LHS graduate. I'm telling you, LHS is representing. What was our mascot? The Chimera? (I just discovered that we all pronounced it wrong the entire four years). I would like all LHS graduates to comment on this posting, showing some Chimera pride. Bill Kumma, Jaci, Kristy (even though you're here), Jodi, Angie, Bill Gillam, Brian, the "L(iy)ndas," Crystal, Patti Bourgault, Glenn, Casey- you taught there...come on and represent in spirit with Randy, Kristy and me in Times Square. (Karyn, I know you may be the only one commenting, so can you pretend to represent from LHS?)

But wait, there is more. Look at the advertisement below the UF one...it's a rat! You know what? I am very aware that every night is Black Hefty garbage bag night somewhere in Manhattan.

So, back to Magical Thinking. Imagine this: you lose someone suddenly within the past year and you go to this play, which is basically a stage adaptation of a book written by one of the best writers alive and it's about the sudden losses she experiences - of both her husband and daughter - over a very short period of time. Not only that, but the person performing this book is Vanessa Redgrave. So you have Vanessa Redgrave describing the exact grief you experienced over the past year, basically acting out your life on stage, and you are sitting in the fourth row. This is how the girl next to me experienced this play - she is from my program - and because I knew this, it's how I experienced it, too. Vanessa was dressed in a white blouse and gray skirt with her hair pulled back with a scrunchy. I'm convinced that she is the only human being who can make a scrunchy look classy post 1990. She appeared on stage in complete darkness, except for her face, after a huge white sheet dropped. Her first words: "You don't think it will ever happen to you," (longest pause in the world) "But it will happen to you" (no, wait, this was the longest pause in the world) "only the details will be different."

I kind of hate to tell you what was going on in my mind during this powerful beginning. I was thinking about my cell phone. Was it off? I knew it was off. But I felt horror just thinking about the mere possibility of my cell phone ruining this moment.

It didn't go off, and I got past that and was pulled in to magical thinking. No intermission, one hour and forty minutes' worth. That is a lot to memorize. I am so glad I saw it.

By the way, guess what Kristy and I are going to see this Friday night? Wait for it, Karyn.....
Spring Awakening! I just couldn't let you down, you know? (Remember, the heavy burdens I am carrying...).

Let's see, what else did I do today? Well, I heard an excellent lecture about Mongols and Manchus by a professor named Morris from Columbia. Then I saw the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, filled with, um, really cool designs. While I was there, I took a few renegade photos (I didn't know better until reprimanded) so here's one for Brian, my brother who has always had a thing for flashlights:










And here is one that was just fun to figure out. Sorry it's not better, but it is contraband, and if you click on it, it should get bigger. The bottom middle picture is Cheney, and the bottom right picture is a gesture.













My favorite part of the museum was outside in the garden, and I will let the pictures explain it, but we saw water purifiers, water carrying devices, shelters, cooking devices, etc, designed for those living in poverty. It made me want to look up all of the websites and support these designers.

I have no proper conclusion for tonight, so I will just say "Go Royals!"

Can you spell Guacamole en Molcajete?

Today when we walked into class, we were handed checks for $1500 (we are getting three installments). Last summer, I sold myself into Chinese slavery in order to get a "free" trip. This summer, "they" are paying me to hear experts lecture, to take tours, to see Broadway shows and to drink Vodka tonics in the Rainbow Room. Does anyone know how I can get this job full-time?

This is a picture of the view from the Rainbow Room...in Rockefeller Center, where my favorite new sitcom is based: 30 Rock, with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. We had a drink here (yep, that's the Empire State Building) after seeing a Broadway show that is getting a lot of buzz lately, Spelling Bee. Jon, Kristin and I were able to get "student rush tickets" for $25 each...what a deal! By the way, if you go to the half price ticket booth on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons, you can walk right up and have your choice of about twenty shows. Anyway, we loved this quirky, fun musical. They included people from the audience and so had to use a lot of improvisation, which is always so impressive if done right. My favorite two were a little girl who looked exactly like "Little Miss Sunshine" and a Rabbi who smiled through the whole thing. The Rabbi kept spelling words correctly that he was supposed to get wrong (and therefore exit the stage) and the little girl, well, I don't think this is the last time she will be on Broadway. She took a bow and after the show we talked to her outside...she was still beaming, reveling in her fame. Anyway, smart, smart writers and actors. We laughed all the way through...it was politically incorrect on all levels. So much fun. Tomorrow night I am seeing The Year of Magical Thinking...a play based on the book by my writing idol, Joan Didion, and starring Vanessa Redgrave. Did I mention I am getting paid to do this?

We had the afternoon off, so many of us took advantage of "Restaurant Week"--you can eat lunch at NY's best restaurants for $24 from a fixed menu. I went with the Rosa Mexicana group and had freshly made guacamole, a salad of chicken, avocado, jicama, oranges and cucumbers, enchiladas moles (a sauce made with chilies, almonds, raisins, Mexican chocolate and bread) and coconut flan. The best part of the meal was Sandra, pictured here, because she had NEVER tasted guacamole before....never! And you get to see the event captured on film! Actually, until today, she had only eaten Mexican fast food. Her favorite taste? The mole. But here is a secret that I am only going to tell you: my mole is better. I have eaten it in Oaxaca, you know, so I don't mean to brag or anything- I am just stating a fact. My recipe is from a Oaxacan mother, and I can put just a little more Mexican chocolate in it, if I want to.

Our cafeteria at I-House is actually not bad. We eat there for breakfast and sometimes for lunch, but only because we were forced to pay for it in order to stay here. My favorite guy on the line is very cheery and is always speaking Spanish to people in line. So the other day I answer him in Spanish and we have a nice little chat. He is from Puebla. When I tell him I've been there, of course he lights up and says:

"So, you have had the mole!"

I say, "I love the mole!"

He tells me he has been here for fifteen years, and that he doesn't miss Mexico because "The USA is the best!"

"But the food is better in Mexico," I suggest.

"Ah, but my wife is from Puebla! See?"

Yes, I do see! So with that story, I will leave you with a picture of coconut flan, with sugared mint and dried pineapple on top!