Falling for the High Line

As you may recall, I've posted pictures of and from High Line Park that were shot in early spring and summer time . Now I present the Autumnal view...

update on Baby Camilla

The following is an email update from baby Camilla's father. Please continue to keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.


Hi. I wanted to give you all a quick update on our daughter, Camilla.

After 20 long days in the NICU at Northwestern Memorial Hospital she came home. But only for 7 days. Then she was rushed to the ER at Children's Memorial Hospital after suddenly being lethargic and having a low temperature. Now she is in the NICU and has been there for 10 days.

She had about 100+ different blood, urine, spinal fluid tests. We finally have a diagnosis. She has a very rare liver disease called Neonatal Hemochromatosis (NH). Google it. It is very scary.

Essentially it means her liver is not dealing with iron the the way it is supposed to and thus could be fatal (deep breath). Currently, her liver is not operating properly and her blood's clotting factors are not normal. Therefore, bleeding has become a major concern even at her IV sites. Her liver function is about 1%.

Camilla is a very sick baby and the test result numbers say one thing, but to us she is looking better considering everything else that could be wrong -- she has not gotten worse, she just started feeding by bottle again, she is pooping/peeing, her weight is somewhat stable, she is alert more than when she was day 2, she is maintaining temperature somewhat, and hopefully this liver of hers already took the beating and is trying to recover.

So now what? There is a lot of "one day at a time" and/or "wait and see." But the really good news is that the only doctor who is doing effective treatments (though only small studies) for NH is Children's Memorial Hospital's Dr. Peter Whitington. We met with him. The one treatment that has been shown to be effective in a very small study Camilla received one week ago. The damage to her liver is done. All this treatment does is stop the damage to her liver from continuing.

From there the remaining healthy cells in her liver need to recruit other cells and start the rebuilding process. And this takes a long time. If she does not get better oftentimes liver transplantation is the answer but that comes with a plethora of challenges as you can imagine (she is small, liver donor has to be a child, lots of drugs, high bleed procedure, infection, etc.). But. We are hoping this Guru Doctor and the treatment they identified is going to work.

Another piece of good news is that the liver is one of our organs that can rejuvenate itself, but again, it has a lot of work to do.

One more piece of good news. Our son. Theodore. Teddy. T-Bone. He is doing great. No NH for him... thank goodness or else I would be in a mental institution. Mom is hanging in there, barely. I'm staying positive as much as possible. Our families have been a big help during this incredibly difficult time.

This really makes us appreciate how precious life really is.

Often people want to know what they can do to help. I don't know how to offer suggestions on that one. So just say a prayer to your god, think positive thoughts, and send your love to Camilla who needs all the help she can get.

Bonus Blog: Twice in one night

As I have recently added Heath Ledger's final film to my favorite movies ever I thought it would be fun to revisit the film that introduced America to him.

I love you baby!

It’s astounding…

A week and a half ago NewCorp, the parent company of Fox, pulled its programming from Cablevision (as well as other service providers) in an attempt to blackmail more money for themselves. Fox claims they are not being paid fairly and will hold programming until the money dispute is resolved. I can understand this power play, or at least I am used to it; Disney did the same thing back in March during Oscar (Academy Awards not Sesame Street grouch) Weekend. I take issue with NewsCorp’s statement, however, because they have revoked all programming except for FoxNews . Apparently their completely one-sided right-winged propaganda doesn’t cost a thing.

Now I find it irritating, but not at all surprising, that this blackout would coincide with the Major League Baseball playoffs and subsequent World Series airing on Fox (ha ha jokes on you, the Yankees embarrassingly got themselves eliminated.) As I mentioned Disney went out the night before the Oscars but after agreeing to arbitration they returned the Television feed for the Award ceremonies. ABC and its affiliates were out for less than 24 hours whereas this is going on two weeks. So why am I pissed? Tonight is the ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW episode of musical-high school comedy GLEE.

So since I (and probably you) cannot watch it, I figured I would share the music that I found on YouTube, enjoy!

Picture Time: DISNEY WORLD HALLOWEEN

Ryan Star and Alex Band Become One

I know there are a lot of people who consider U2 to be like the Beatles or Rolling Stones, untouchable. Personally, I believe music was meant to be shared and loved and if that means covering, and at times reinventing the classics, so be it. Many try and most fail but there are a select few David Cook every single time that get it right and in my opinion, Ryan Star and Alex Band (formerly of The Calling) are among those few with their rendition of One.

Prayers for Baby Camilla

I believe in the power of prayer.

Raised Catholic but also raised to question things, I’m not sure about all of religion, not mine so much as religion as a practice in general. It’s nothing against Catholicism; I was baptized under the Apostle’s Creed* and I stand by it. it’s just that the Bible was passed down through generations of people before ultimately written by human hands, and I can’t help but wonder if somewhere along the line the fallible humans with their God given free will might have taken creative liberties. Prayer, however, is our direct line to God and that is something that can never be tarnished because it isn’t passed around like a game of Telephone. And I have seen prayer work, my life is a result of it and every morning and evening I remember to thank Him for keeping me here and for the life I have, and to ask for help for those who aren’t as luck as my spoiled behind. I might spend the hours between out little chats complaining to whoever will listen about whatever it is that has pissed me off at that particular idiom but when it comes time to talk to God, that all melts away.

Recently I have been praying for my Boss’ niece, and I am asking all who are willing to please join me. Her name is Camilla, she was born in September and recently she has gotten very ill and the outlook is not bright. I have met her mother only once, it was while she was pregnant, but she is a wonderful lady and comes from a wonderful family (not that that should factor into weather you choose to try and help a child.)

I’m opening this up to anyone, I believe in God in the Catholic Sense but you don’t have to, just please ask whoever or whatever it is you believe to be the greater power to please save this little angel and protect her family from the heartache of such an immeasurable loss.



*THE APOSTLE'S CREED
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Couch Potato

This was not posed, We found him like this

If school was like this, I'd have never asked for 5 more minutes of sleep

Last week Johnny Depp, Captain Jack Sparrow, appeared at a school.
According to the BBC, Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp strolled into a Greenwich (England) school unannounced.

The 47-year-old star turned up after receiving a letter from nine-year-old pupil Beatrice, who wrote to Captain Jack Sparrow asking him to help her lead a mutiny against teachers.

A special assembly was called and the actor performed alongside other cast members – all of whom were in costume - for around 15 minutes, much to the delight of staff and pupils.

When we were Kids, we wouldn't have been able to watch Pirates of the Caribbean because it was PG13.





DON'T TELL ME KIDS DON"T HAVE IT BETTER TODAY

Revisting Brokeback Mountain

Recently, probably prompted by watching IMAGINARIUM, I began thinking about Heath Ledger's turn as ENNIS DEL MAR in Brokeback Mountain. Because of this, and the fact that I really haven't had the time to blog lately, I thought I would share an essay I wrote about the short story during a literature class in college. The paper got an A, along with some great feedback from the professor and is even published on the The Association of Young Journalists and Writers Website (Ok I am tooting my own horn but I think pride in a job well done is fine.) Hope you enjoy Anxiety the state of apprehension, physic tension or mental uneasiness caused by fear, as of danger. (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary) Many characters of the “contemporary” period are consumed by anxiety, which often results in a psychological division for the individual. One such character whose life is plagued by this type of ambivalence is Ennis del Mar in Brokeback Mountain. When Ennis met Jack Twist in the summer of 1963, there was a clear connection between the two men that defied any boundaries that society set forth. Even before their first sexual encounter, Ennis had come up behind Jack and held him against his chest, humming quietly and swaying in front of the fire, and after there first awkward, yet intensely passionate night together, it was evident that the men would never be able to quit each other. They never talked about the sex, let it happen, at first only in the tent at night, then in the full daylight with the hot sun striking down, and at evening in the fire glow, quick, rough, laughing and snorting, no lack of noises, but saying not a goddamn word except Ennis said, “I’m not no queer,” and jack jumped in with “Me neither. A one shot thing. Nobody’s business but ours.” Indeed it isn’t anybody’s business but theirs and, alone with only each other and the animals, they were free to love without fear, but in the real world-the world they return to the end of the summer- people tend to pay attention to other people’s business and that’s what concerns Ennis. Ennis’ fear of “being queer”, or having his sexuality being found out about, goes back to his childhood when there was a couple of men, Earl and Rich, who lived together not far from Ennis until tragedy struck. One day Earl was found dead in an irrigation ditch; whoever had done it had taken a tire iron to him, tied him up, and dragged him around by his genitalia until his penis was pulled off. Not only had Ennis heard about this hideous act, but his father had also taken him and his brother to see it and laughed about it, might’ve even done it according to Ennis. Which is why, when Jack brings up the idea of getting a ranch together Ennis declines, saying that all they can do is sneak off together a few times a year because anything more would lead to their deaths. Not that his fears are at all irrational. When Jack went back to Joe Aguirre for a job the following summer, there was clearly homophobia at the root of why he won’t hire him again, saying that Jack and Ennis weren’t paid to leave the sheep with the dogs “while you stemmed the rose.” Furthermore, by the end of the story Jack suffers the same fate as Earl, proving Ennis’ fears were indeed accurate. Being that Ennis finds maintaining a gay relationship with Jack so hard and believes that they are damned if they do, damned if they don’t, one would think that Ennis should forget about Jack and live out his life with his wife, Alma, and their two daughters, Alma Jr. and Francine. He had seemed perfectly content, even if he was not completely successful, with his life for the first four years after his summer on Brokeback Mountain, but once he heard from Jack all of the feelings that he had came rushing back. Still he contented that he was straight. “You know, I was sitting up here all that time trying to figure out of I was-? I know I ain’t . I mean here we both got wives and kids, right? I like doing it with woman, … but ain’t nothing like this. I never had no thoughts a doin it with another guy except I sure wrang it out a hundred times thinking about you,” And adding, “That summer when we split up after we got paid out I had gut cramps so bad I pulled over and tried to puke, thought I ate something bad at that place in Dubois. Took me about a year a figure out it was that I shouldn’t let you out a my sights. Too late then by a long while.” It’s not that he doesn’t love his family, he does love his daughters and he wants to be happy with Alma but there just isn’t anything that comes close to what he feels for Jack, he even wonders if this happens to other people and how do they overcome it. Since he was unable to overcome true emotions, Ennis’ marriage falls apart. Alma had seen the kiss between Jack and her husband, and he never would do anything with her and the girls, but he would always find the time to go fishing with Jack, so she divorced Ennis and remarried. Ennis understood and didn’t have any hard feelings toward her until she accused him of having something more than friendship with “Jack Nasty.” Faced with the accusation of having a homosexual affair, true though it was, Ennis grabs Alma by the arm and begins hurting her and yelling at her. This is the woman that he had, at one time, planned to share his life with and he can’t even manage to tell her of the love that he has for, and with Jack. No matter how much inner anguish Ennis has, he still manages to go up to the mountains with Jack for years, though he does seem to try to avoid it sometimes. On what turns out to be their last week together, in May 1983, the two men have an argument because Ennis says he won’t be able to get together for a week in August as they had planned and blames it on work. This might be indeed the case but Jack reasons “you used to come away easy. It’s like seein the pope now,” and though Ennis isn’t young and can’t just keep quitting jobs when he can’t get off to see Jack the way he had in the past, that coupled with Ennis inner conflict makes me think that he might’ve been trying to stay away from Jack in order to try and salvage a “normal” existence and trick his mind into believing he’s “not queer”. However if that is indeed the case, Ennis can’t mask his feelings, even during the argument; soon the conversation turns to Ennis wanting to know weather or not Jack goes to Mexico to have sex with hustlers. When Jack says yes Ennis ranges on, with a mixture of jealousy and fear, “I got a say this to you one time, Jack…all them things I don’t know could get you killed if I should come to know them.” When Jack fires back that they could’ve had a wonderful life together but Ennis kept that from happening, “then you ask me about Mexico and tell me you’ll kill me for needing it and not hardly never getting it.” And finishes up by saying that he wishes that he could get over him, Ennis falls down to his knees heartbroken. The love he feels for Jack lives on beyond Jack’s death, he even goes to Jack’s parents house and offers to take the ashes up to Brokeback Mountain. However I feel it is only after that meeting, and subsequently finding Jacks shirt hung over his own shirt, that Ennis finally begins to feel comfortable with their relationship. He buys a postcard with a picture of Brokeback Mountain and hangs it over the shirts in his trailer. Though he still doesn’t talk about what existed between them, he has openly acknowledged it with this display. At this time, Jack begins to appear in Ennis’ dreams because Ennis has finally allowed himself to think freely about Jack.

STARBUCKS VIA

I freely admit that I have a bit of a coffee obsession habit. It is not rare for me to think out loud something like, “Why does nobody make Irish Cream anymore?” quite melancholy about the situation. My work days revolve around what the bold brew at Starbucks is that day. If it is one of the many I love, the baristas know my order and start it when they see me, often times saying that they figured it was around the time I go in, so they just started a fresh pot (I love Starbucks Chelsea.)If it is one that I don’t like, I am talking to you Komodo Dragon brew, I must go and find an alternative for my coffee break. I know that you are thinking that there is no difference between coffee blends at the same chain but I can tell the difference, because along with savoring the beverage, I am also a coffee snob. Much like wine snobs, I never miss a tasting and enjoy swishing a trail in my mouth tasting the intricate flavors.

What I am getting at is I know good coffee when I drink it and I certainly know the crap as well. When I first tried Starbucks Via (instant coffee) I was less than impressed. It was fine but nothing amazing, I believe the phrase I used on the survey was “Drinkable Instant Coffee,” which I guess was my snobbish compliment. Recently, however, Via has introduced flavored variety and they are exquisite. When it comes to flavored coffee, I am usually not a fan, aside from the occasional cup of the now deceased Irish Cream, I find the stuff artificial and just plain “yuck.” Still, a free sample is a free sample so I tried Cinnamon- a tad too flavored for my taste, Caramel- I don’t even like caramel that much and all I wanted was more of it, and Vanilla- so good the snob who makes a pot a day bought instant coffee.

The product also comes in Mocha but I have a real issue with chocolate and coffee (two of my favorite things strangely enough) mixed together and, therefore refuse to try it. I believe that you can get all of the flavors as well as the original blend in decaf but I am not 100% sure of that because I really don’t get the point of decaf.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

There are certain movies that have a reputation the proceeds them. Usually it something that generates Oscar talk before it’s completed or the latest in a string of blockbusters like the most recent PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, or the long awaited sequel to something like WALL STREET. IMAGINARIUM was one of these long awaited and much talked about pieces because it had the unfortunate fate of being the late Heath Ledgers final film.


When Ledger past in early 2008, the film was mid shoot and it was mentioned almost as a passing fact; “Ledger, who had been working on Terry Gilliam’s latest film, THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS, was found late this afternoon.” As time went on and sleeping pills were found as part of the lethal (though nothing over intended dosage) combination in Ledger’s system, the film took on the role of scapegoat to some in the media; “Ledger said that the intensity and darkness of his latest role was affecting his sleep.” As summer came, and Ledger’s Oscar winning turn as the Joker in BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT hit theatres it became clear that that role was in fact the one that affected him so adversely. Around the same time, IMAGINARIUM began to make headlines because, in spite of the fact that one of his stars had died without completing his narrative arch, Gilliam had decided to continue the film without reshooting any of Ledger’s existing scenes.


Without any explanation of how this would work out, it also became known that Ledger’s role, Tony, would be completed by not one actor but three headline grabbing A-listers: Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell. From a movie goers’ point of view, I think this is what really got interest in the film to peak because even though Gilliam’s phantasmagorical mind and reputation of- I’ll go with unique- narratives in his films made him the only person possible of pulling something like this off, it failed to reason how three men of vastly different ages and looks to pass for the same man portrayed by Ledger, who himself, resembled none of them.


The film was released in theaters in late 2009 but poor timing mixed with my unease with crying uncontrollably in public made me wait for the DVD release and this week, I finally watched it and I was not disappointed. The main points of the film, wanting eternal life and making deals with the Devil have appeared in many stories throughout time but the story of Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) manages to be fresh and exciting as we find out that the price he’s paid for it is his only daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), who will be taken away by the Devil (Tom Waits) on her 16th birthday. Taking place on the last remaining days before this will occur; Parnassus and his mythical acting troupe must race against time to stop this from happening. The Devil has given Parnassus one last chance to reverse Valentina’s fate; he must get 5 souls to go through the Imaginarium (A magic mirror on the stage that allows patron’s to enter their own imaginations) before he can collect 5 soul of his own. Unfortunately for Parnassus, people are no longer interested in attending his traveling shows but, thanks to the serendipitous meeting with Tony, the mysterious stranger, all hope is not lost as bit by bit, Tony gathers up patrons for the shows and people start entering into the Imaginarium.


The film, not surprisingly for Gilliam, is a wonderland for the eyes as scene after scene becomes increasingly more stunning but the truly beautiful thing is how smoothly it plays. The setting of the film is London and the world of imagination and at the time of Ledger’s death all of his London scenes had been shot so what you see is Heath Ledger’s Tony taking an audience member through the mirror and reappearing on the other side in identical hair and costume but portrayed by Depp, Law, and Farrell as the way Tony is seen in the patron’s imagination. The first time viewers encounter this transformation, Tony is wearing a mask and he goes through about half of the fantasy following around a woman who then removes his mask and we see him stare in awe as his reflection is that of Johnny Depp and not Ledger. This moment for me was a bit of a shock as I truly believed that I was watching Ledger through the entire sequence, and was trying to figure out in my mind if maybe he had managed to shoot it before his death even though it was reported that he had only done the London side of things. The transition from Ledger to Law and later, Ledger to Farrell are just as seamless thought not as shocking once you get the concept.


Though it would seem to be the contrary, this movie is actually really easy to follow and the acting of everyone involved is top notch. I would recommend it to anyone who asked and am personally really glad that the film- billed as a Film by Heath Ledger and Friends rather than the contractual a Terry Gilliam Film- didn’t end up in a trash can.