This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I'm a compound modifier nazi

As opposed to a compound modifier-nazi.

via xkcd.

Sushi

A few days ago I went to a sushi-making class (by the same lady who put on the last cooking class I went to.) I don't think I will attempt to make my own anytime soon, though, because:

a. Making sushi is hard. Those ones that are sitting on their sides and falling open? Those were my first attempts (they tasted pretty damn good though ... smoked salmon and cream cheese and green onions. I call it the New York roll.)

b. Too paranoid about using the right kind of fish and keeping it fresh enough.

But I figured when you live in a city where the number of sushi bars is eclipsed only by the number of people who spend every moment of their lives trying to appear cultured, sushi is a good thing to know about, kind of like wine. Also, after spending a LOT of time last summer at sushi bars, I think I'm finally to the point where I'm not just choking it down but I actually like it.

Oh, and it's GORGEOUS outside. The trees are starting to get leaves on them, which makes everything cheerier-looking, especially in the 'hood.

Get Lite

The kids at Harlem Live are all about this. or at least about trying to do it.

Mama I'm coming home

I'm flying into Appleton on May 14, flying out on May 20 and I'll be in Eau Claire for a while in between. Yay! I'm excited. To quote Nikki, I miss you all like Paris Hilton misses carbs.

Get Some.

My city has its own brand of condoms. Does yours?


I'm too lazy to look but I'm sure the condoms were a Mayor Bloomberg idea (doesn't seem like something Giuliani would have been into). He's all about public health initiatives (farmers market stands in poor neighborhoods like mine, calorie counts on fast-food menus, $7 cigarettes ...) I don't follow city politics enough to make an informed judgement, but how did Mike Bloomberg ever convince people he was a Republican? To me he seems almost european-style socialist. Mind you, he still gives TONS of money to the GOP, so go figure. Maybe it's just that he's so obscenely rich that he can do whatever he wants.

From what I understand, he does do a fair bit of pleading and cajoling and bullying to get what he wants, and the NYC government is not exactly a squeaky-clean organization so I'd take them all with a grain of salt. But I'll give Bloomberg the benefit of the doubt, because, at least as far as I know, he's not cashing out big time on everyone else's economic suffering.

And then I did not come to the end

Every Saturday I have to do the most boring part of my job, which is proofreading the Book Review. Imagine proofreading the Billboard music charts, and then proofreading them again with most of the miscellaneous numbers removed. It's kind of a buzzkill, but the upside is that it makes me want to, like, read actual books. Also, I spend a good chunk of my life on public transportation. So I read a lot.

In light of the terrible state of the print journalism industry, I'm currently reading And then we came to the end, by Joshua Ferris. Which is about stupid office drama as people at at ad agency get laid off and occasionally suffer nervous breakdowns. It's a lot like "the office" in book form, only kind of depressing, and I mean that in the best possible way.

But on that note, I found out today that my job is safe from the current round of layoffs. Praise the Lord and pass me my Mastercard!

Ladies and gentlemen ...

This is an important message from the New York City Police Department. We are aware that our trains smell like all kinds of nasty things, but PLEASE REFRAIN FROM SPRAYING YOUR CHEAP-ASS COLOGNE ON THE TRAIN. In the event that you choose to spray your nasty cologne and other passengers bludgeon you to death with canes, purses and stiletto heels, the MTA will not be held responsible. Thank you for riding New York City Transit, and have a safe day.