The Vernacularist

school, weddings and more

Hard to find time for the blog love.  These last weeks have been a blur so I'm going to give the itemized-update:

• two weeks of orientation at NYU was too long and too busy.  It could have been only a week long, or two weeks with less to do. I'm not just saying that because I had summer classes where I met 65 five of my 400 classmates.  Getting to know the classmates was great, but I was scheduled all day, everyday, with things to do.
• Recruiters come to school starting October, so I have to get on top of my work and prepare for choosing my summer intership
• Went to my friends Kate & Owen's wedding, as well as Owen's bachelor party two days earlier. Fantastic wedding, beautiful weather for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden event.  They have such great friends, many of whom I have gotten to know over their 11 year relationship.  Pics of the bachelor party and after wedding party here.
• Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the wedding of two other great friends, Justin & Michelle.  From all the flickr pics and over-the-phone tesitmonials, I hear the affair was just as fantastic.  CONGRATULATIONS!

The Bellagio Fountain...

...faked by diet coke and mentos.  At first, it's funny science.  Then it becomes art. The music, while dorky, has a certain D.I.Y. panache that can't be suppressed.  Resistence is futile. (hat tip to the irrepresible Jessica)

what's the best pizza, andy?

Arturo's! 

I used to eat here all the time with my high school friends. They haven't ever changed the signage for the place.  Really keeps it's character alive. It's on West Houston and Thompson in NYC. 

Save this number: 202 299 7949

My friend and colleague, Tom Lee, has just unleashed a great mobile phone-based search service called Last Call.  In his spare time, Tom is the director of technology for DCist, the most popular blog about all things Washington, DC. So it's no surprise that he took on this challenge, and now, after some laborious nights, gives birth to the greatest thing to hit DC since baseball came back. 

The service offers all the information you need to figure out your night on the town:  Metro schedules, OpenTable reservations, concert listings, movie showtimes and SMS weather report.

All you have to do is text the number 202 299 7949 with some easy to remember nomenclature and you are all set.  If you forget the words to use, just text HELP to this number and it'll send you the cheat sheet. Save the number. Test it while you are out. And let Tom know if there are any errors.

No cavities!

I'm 2 for 2. Trying for the streak.  So happy that I bought myself a blackberry green tea frappaccino with whip. I'm not normally a frapp guy, but I succumbed to the greeny-blackberry goodness. 

Gimmee Coffee

Great coffee shop I found in Brooklyn, near the Lorimer stop on the L.  It's called Gimmee Coffee.  I had a long day that started at 6am, but everything went well.   

I forgot to mention during my horsetrack posts that Ben and I saw Chief Justice John Roberts in a coffee shop in DC on Saturday.  Very DC moment.  At first, I didn't think it was him because he looked a lot older and more dour.  I thought he was a very good look-alike. But then he opened his wallet to pay for the bagels he and his son ordered.  I saw a card in his wallet that said "Chief Justice Security Contact List."  That was all the evidence I needed. 

By the way, his son is a handful. Lots of energy and very polite. 

Now I just have to see Judge Alito and I have Supreme Court BINGO!  I'm being a little presumptuous, but who really thinks this guy isn't going to get confirmed. It's a lock.  And the Democrats aren't willing to make this their Custard's last stand and launch a filibuster, which will be the last filibuster. 

Panda siting

It's hard to see, but that's a panda in the bus stop.  Andrea is a real Panda nut, so she had a Panda-themed birthday party last night.  I spent the night dancing at Peyote/Brass Monkey on 18th street.  Very fun, lots of booty shakin', and the best darn panda costume i've ever seen.  Big props to Taylor for making the costume, a birthday present.

Vietnamese restaurant in Nyc

Pho Viet Huong is a great find right off Canal Street in New York City.  The food is great and "rock bottom prices" ain't no joke.  Owen & Kate introduced me to this downtown find and I am very grateful.

Best fish tacos

Flying fish grill in half moon bay, ca

A summer slurp

Looking for a special party that you, and only you, can host? How about a sultry summer evening aperitif party:

LACKING the icy gloss of a dry martini or the urbanity of a perfect manhattan, aperitifs have always played the spinster aunt to the cocktail's gin-soaked good-time girl.

Love that sentence. This one is nice too:

All of the guests stayed late into the night, skipping dinner in favor of more shrimp and sipping their way down to the bottoms of the aperitif bottles, all the while maintaining that happy glow just on the other side of sober.

Campari is one of my favorites. When I lived in Padua, Italy, my favorite drink was a Northern Italian speciality called a Spritz: equal parts white wine, Campari, and seltzer. Great balance between bitter and sweet. It's also refreshing for those hot days.

For a more descriptive account of the romance and feeling behind uno spritz, take a read.

If anyone has a good summer cocktail suggestion let me know. I'm gonna throw one of these parties soon.