My taste buds have been introduced to a most excellent sensation this evening.  A few weeks ago I read about a Japanese curry place called Go Go Curry, which was supposedly the most authentic to be found in this country.  This intrigued me enough to go and get myself a plate full.

In a word: addicting.  Whatever is in this stuff has an almost narcotic effect, I swear!  I must indulge again soon.

You can get a decent sense of the plans from NewsDay and Gothamist, with maps to boot.

They still call for half of the existing Farley Post Office to be converted into an entry hall for the train station. But in addition, the current Madison Square Garden would be torn down and a new aboveground hall would be built over the existing Penn Station, which would also see renovations. A new MSG would be built in the place of the other half of the Farley building. All this, plus anywhere from 4.5 to 10 million square feet of commercial space would be created, either in a few skyscrapers or (more likely) dispersed throughout the surrounding neighborhood.

The timelines and budget have ballooned in size and scope along with the project plans. Right now the estimates of cost is somewhere in the neighborhood of $14 billion, with no clear sense of who’s paying how much between the feds, the state the city and the developers. The proposed first phase (Moynihan Station and the new Garden) would be completed by 2011, with the second phase (demolition of the old Garden and the Penn Station rehab) finishing by 2018.

We still have a long way to go, and a good many people keeping watch over the project, but I think this is a positive step and I have a good feeling about it all. Not often I get to say that about public works of this scale (see my ranting on the Atlantic Yards project if you need proof).

Image by Annie Nyborg via Flickr

Edit: When I found the Gothamist post, I went back and added it in. Can never have too much linkage.

A while back I was riffing on the mass of new stadium plans in the New York area. The most controversial of those these days is the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, where a large slice of the borough is planned to sprout an arena for the Nets, along with a host of skyscrapers taller than anything else in Brooklyn.

Even though there are still cases pending in federal court, construction is about to start, with Forest City Ratner giving the go ahead to begin the prep cleanup work in some parts of the project site. You can believe that Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn is having fits over this. It’s really rubbing me the wrong way as well. The project footprint is too big, the buildings too tall, and this all has the feel of overuse of eminent domain against the many for the gains of a few, at least in my eyes. But be that as it may, with every passing day the tide seems to be turning in favor of the builders.

Somehow I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of the defeat of the West Side Stadium project here. I can only hope that if this happens, all the positives being preached by the builders come to pass and then some. Even the original World Trade Center project was loathed as much as it was loved in its day, but before it’s tragic end it had endeared itself into the heart of the city. Maybe the same can be said for the new vision of Brooklyn.

Really, I’m trying to look on the bright side here….

Edit: Reader Chad pointed out the following paragraph in this press release regarding the building heights:

Mr. Ratner today also announced some additional programs to support the Atlantic Yards project, as well as a reduction to the height of the proposed “Ms. Brooklyn” building, ensuring that no building at the site will be taller than the 512-foot Williamsburg Savings Bank.

It’s good to see at least one of my major concerns has been mitigated.

It’s been almost five years since the attack on the World Trade Center, and as Ray Nagin stated, the site is still more or less a “hole in the ground“. I’ve been through that hole quite a few times to take the PATH, and I’ll admit that I’ve found it hard at times to visualize just how the whole gigantic site is going to look once the bureaucratic tangle is cleared up and the reconstruction begins en mass.

Enter USA Today with this very nice visual of the site as it’s going to be. Notes on the new buildings and memorials and what’s holding up there progress, along with some audio commentary are all part of the package.

(Via Digg)

For some reason I woke up at 5 am and stayed up. Those who know me best know that I love my sleep dearly, but I’ll admit that I’m enjoying mornings a bit more these days. Call it maturation in progress. Anyway, I was making my way to the office and was just about to walk into the lobby through the back of the building when I came across a burnt out wreck of a station wagon on the street outside. Not everyday you get to see the remains of a car-b-q on a Tribeca street; at least not in this day and age.

A few hours of work go by and then it’s off to lunch at Pongsri with some of the guys from work; all part of the interview process for a new hire in the web department at work. Still strange to be part of the process, but I guess it’s getting easier being on the other side of the table; asking questions and not answering them. On the way back we noticed some metal security railings along Braodway outside the office. I had seen parking permits the day before about filming for Conviction so I really didn’t pay them too much mind, thinking they were somehow related to that.

But then around 2 pm, there were unfamiliar sounds coming from outside that grabbed all of our attention: people chanting. A group of us made our way outside to the rooftop garden to see what was going on. And for the second time that day I was rewarded for bringing my camera with me.

Then it dawned on me.  In my earlier-than-usual morning, I had time to catch up on the news, and they made mention of planned protests about the immigration policies in this country.   I knew they were happening in Atlanta and Washington, so it’s wasn’t too far of a stretch to see one here too, what with New York being the center of the universe and all.

That’s right, I said it. The universe goes around New York and Copernicus was a flake and a fraud, but that’s neither here nor there.   ^_^

Anyway, the rest of the workday took on a very strange atmosphere.   Every ten minutes or so chants would go up from the protesters and seemingly punctuate whatever minor task we were taking care of.   My personal favorite example was the loud round of chanting that kicked off just as I was concluding a phone interview.   I even raised my arms in mock adulation to my many fans outside.   Things were still going on some four hours later when I was walking out the door to make my way to the Big Quiz Thing, but the epicenter was further south.

Another dozen and a half pics of the protest — from the roof and from ground level — after the jump.

Last night was my first trip to MoMA, a rushed, cramped and warm affair to go see the Pixar exhibit before they trucked it out. Very interesting seeing all the sketches and models used in the making of their films, but alas there were far too many people mulling about for me to take it all in with the kind of time all these works of creativity deserved, though that’s to be expected when you attend and exhibit on the museum’s free Friday night about an hour and a half before closing.

I look forward to visiting again in the near future, and getting the most out of my visit. Same goes for a number of the other museums in this city. I mean, I’m living in the seat of all this art and culture and so far all I’ve really gone to see museum-wise is the Met and the Natural History Museum, and on the last time I stepped foot inside there was elementary school. I really do need to get out more….

Until this ends I’ll be doing reversing my usual commute route, but I still have it far easier than some in the city. Those of you who still don’t have transportation plans for this strike might be interested in this commuter map and guide (also in PDF) provided by the NY times.

And the winner is…London — mild shock!

Yesterday the revised plans for the Freedom Tower were released. Looking much closer in design to the original Twin Towers, I gotta say I do like it. The way the sides are angled kind of reminds be of the TransAmerica building in San Francisco, so it has some additional character. Of course, it’s getting further and further from the original Statue of Liberty inspired design.

Safety concerns (and a pig-headed developer) are the biggest reasons why this is still in the drafting stage and girders and concrete have yet to be set. The base is going to be much further from the roadways, extra thick and metal clad to protect against car bombs. Now that those concerns been addressed, (which should have been done the first time around,) maybe they can actually start building it?

(Update: Some don’t like the new look so much, as Signal vs. Noise points out)

The 2005 Jammys
Five years running, four years attended.  In baseball terms, my attendance percentage to this jam band extravaganza is .800.  Nice!  I had been wondered which would give out first: the shows themselves or my desire to attending them religiously.  Looks like we’ll have to wait another year to find out the answer to that question.  I don’t see the shows (and the supporting scene) losing momentum anytime soon, and so long as I’m in the northeastern U.S. my attendance is all but a certainty.

This year’s event was solid all around if you ask me.  It helped that one of my favorite artists from childhood (Huey Lewis) played a few songs with one of my current favorites (Umphrey’s McGee).  Add in The Benevento-Russo Duo, Les Claypool, Keller Williams, The Disco Biscuits, Bruce Hornsby, Buddy Guy, John Mayer…the list goes on and on.  Mr. Ferdman has a great breakdown of the event and the torrent is still up for grabs over on eTree.  Give a listen and see who’s opinion you agree with more.

Co-pilot Ryan had also scored some tickets to the official after-Jammy’s show at BB King’s with Umphrey’s playing, but the looming specter of rush-rush work days for both of us kind of quashed our chances of attending. The down side of buying tickets months in advance, I guess.  I did manage to offload the pair to some music fans without the same kind of restrictions on their schedules, so at least they got used.  Those tickets probably made their night, and that thought helped dull the depression a bit as I was riding that bus back through the Lincoln Tunnel.

No T-Shirt or poster this year, but I did get a copy of Relix Magazine signed by the three-fourths of the Disco Biscuits. Pretty good schwag, right?  ^_^

City driving and moving pictures
Ryan also came into frame this past Friday as I helped him with a portion of his move from the village to the upper west side — my first bit of driving in Manhattan in ages. The trip seemed to go in 40 minute intervals: I was stuck waiting outside of the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel for 40 minutes as they dealt with a car fire in one of the tubes. It took another 40 or so to get to his old place and then another 40 to get a Cavalier’s worth of his possessions to the new apartment. Still I had a good time with the expedition, and helping a friend out is never time badly spent.

Besides, I got to put all those years of playing Poll Position to some practical use.

Sunlit Sunday birthday bashing
This past Sunday happened to be my sister’s Birthday, which also coincided with the Hoboken Arts and Music Festival.  About 8 blocks worth Washington Street was packed with all kinds of arts, crafts, food and people of all kinds, book-ended by two stages of live music.  Perfect weather — sunny, warm and all that. Lots of people, dogs and oversized, SUV-like strollers as well. Kind of crowded, in fact. I guess word of mouth from last year was pretty good.

Eventually we headed over to the big city to do some wandering around SoHo, my sister trying in vein to find good fitting jeans that didn’t cost $300 — not an easy thing to do in that part of New York. A few drinks later and we called it a successfully spent day.

Missing paychecks, pending road trips and some reenforcement on the writing idea
From celebratory bliss to bank account woes in less that 24 hours, such was the way my week started. Nothing heinous keeping me from my well earned pay, but a simple misunderstanding has left the coffers closer to empty than I’m comfortable with, especially with a weekend road trip to North Carolina quickly approaching. Can’t rightly go on “vacation” with my house of cards a mess, now can I?

The one good thing I can pull from this fiasco would be some more praise for my potential writing career (ha!), all based on my very diplomatically worded email about said missing money. When someone says they can’t wait to read your next email and all you ever send them is stale corporate business type stuff, then maybe you really do have some writing talent.

Either that or I need to introduce this person to a new sources of reading material.

I’ve seen some strange things before, but nothing to this degree. About the closest I’ve come is being on a train that ran over someone and he survived without a scratch.

April sure entered strong this year. For better and worse.

It’s amazing how much the world has changed since I last posted. Mitch Hedberg went quietly. That makes one favorite author and one favorite comic gone in the calendar year. But of course the big one would be his holiness Pope John Paul II, which had the effect of stopping all television news. One thing garnered from the thousands and thousands of hours of biographical footage was that he was a varied individual — more sides to him than I gave him credit for. Now the world watches as the Vatican begins the cryptically ancient process of selecting a successor. Even in death, there is rebirth.

And musically, it’s been a very exciting few weeks both live and in new releases. Queens of the Stone Age and The Benevento Russo Duo have blessed me both with new albums and live performances. Lake Trout delivered on the show and will have the album coming later this year. The shows begin to get more numerous as the month progresses, with the Jammy’s looming large on the 26th. How can one not get excited by all of this?

In fact, one might just run up to a total stranger and get into a screaming contest. Or perhaps a total stranger just rushes up to you and starts things off. Maybe even a cute as all get-out stranger. Yeah, there’s about as much a chance of that happening as running into someone you used to work with in the subway.

And who’s to say that these things don’t happen?

With all the sweeping changes that seem to be going on, it was about time to do some here on the web as well. The posting system has been changed over to WordPress, which I intend to hack to pieces along with the default layout. It really is quite lovely, but my personal site must scream from my soul. That creative voice in my head won’t rest until I have rebuilt the site in his image, and damn if he isn’t annoying.

This is the first visual representation of an effort I started back in November. After finding that splitting my old content into two separate blogs was a bad idea, I merged them back together. I also folded back in the last of my pre-MoveableType comments and gave those posts that were missing titles some snazzy eye catchers. This is the most complete the archives have been in ages, and it’s only going to improve from here on in. The technical switch was all done in about 2 hours or so, thanks to the ridiculously easy manner in which my hosting provider has made it to set up an installation of WordPress.

I’m also trying to get a bunch of work from my freelance business out the door. The ever present patience of one client with a serious musical slant to his site has to pay off soon. It seems like every time I finally find the time to work on his stuff, the bigger, more resource hungry company that I’ve been distancing myself from comes and weighs in on my time. Late night sessions where I burn through the night have become overly frequent, but somehow I would manage to get everything asked of me done.

Of course, it has to end eventually and one of the smaller projects slipped, with the work only getting half done. That was the sign I needed. I’m cutting back how much work they can give me in an attempt to even the playing field for my other clients. Once they were my employers. Now they’re a client. I think I like this arrangement better.

And we’ve come full circle. Sometime long ago it was decided that there would be orbits and rotations in the universe, and ever since spinning wheels have been a way of life. Motion is conveyed and time is propelled in these fashions, which means that you get to spend as much time looking at the sky as you do with your face in the mud. I’ve already had my taste of dirt, so here’s to drinking in the sunshine.

• Queens of the Stone Age – “Lullabies to Paralyze”
• The Benevento Russo Duo – “Best Reason to Buy the Sun”

• More reports of prisoner abuse in Iraq and Guantanamo, this time courtesy of the F.B.I. Seems as though the torturers are using the F.B.I.’s name to shield the blame from getting passed onto the Department of Defense. Sick, just sick. Does anyone else find it frightening that we’ve now lost the majority of our moral high ground when it comes to this kind of thing? For every “enemy combatant” left to defecate on themselves or pull their hair out, we give rise to two or three terrorists to replace them. Not the way to promote the splendors of democracy or ensure the safety of our nation if you ask me.
• The long rumored MTA fare hike is now official. Monthly unlimited cards are to jump up from $70 to $76 a month, among other hikes. Great, there’s another $72 a year that I have to give over to someone else. This wouldn’t irk me so much if the MTA’s books were open. As it stands now, lots of nasty corruption rumors have been circulating.
• The FCC has given the go-ahead to the use of in-flight broadband. Cell phone use in planes is also to be decided upon soon. Probably of interest to those who fly a lot, but considering my terrestrial nature this is just one of those curious policy things I like to make note of.
• Just the mental image this one-line post creates had me laughing out loud at work.
• The process is now officially underway for Turkey to be evaluate for entry into the European Union. There are many steps along the way. The process could take up to 15 years and there is no guarantee that they’ll be admitted.
• Gizmodo has a picture of the Varioptic liquid lens that will add optical zoom and autofocus to future camera phones.
• A write-up on how to build traffic to your blog. Not like having this personal indulgence of mine widely known has ever been a big issue with me, but maybe I can use some of this on another blog I get involved with.
• Some Australian game has bought a virtual island for $26,500 in cash, and not virtual cash either. The slice of digitized land is in the online role-playing game Project Entropia.
• First it was XM releasing their MyFi portable satellite radio. Now it looks like Sirius is gonna follow suit and raise the stakes at the same time: they are rumored to be talking with Apple about integrating a Sirius satellite radio into the iPod. It’s times like this that I wish O&A were on Sirius and not XM. That and their NFL coverage package.
• Title how to get a budget out of a client. Hopefully I’ll get to use this tip some day on one of my freelance gigs.
• Looks like we’ll be waiting until spring for the new season of Chappelle’s Show to begin. My funny bone is heart broken at the news.

And finally…

• A new drug called called Sativex, used to treat the central nervous system of multiple sclerosis patients, is on track to get the green light from Canadian health officials. What makes this noteworthy is that it’ll be the first cannabis-based drug approved anywhere in the world.