3 places in new york i boycott for solely personal reasons... along with general usage of plastic bags...

just got back from this cafe called lotus on clinton and stanton... and i have a feeling that i won't be going back there possibly ever in my life...
well, if you know me personally, you'd know i do have quick temper... not all the time and i have to admit i've mellowed out quite a bit in recent years but still i do get pissed easily... i do get over quickly too... so over last 6 and a half years i've been living in new york, i've had my shares of run-in's in different places... and i know that sometimes i'm being over sensitive in a way but then, so what... so the following three places that i boycott including lotus from today and the reasons why... then maybe you can tell me if i'm being over sensitive... and i'm sure there are some other places i'm leaving out...

1. galapagos in williamsburg
yes, i know some of you know love that place... and that artificial pool is nice indeed... looked great in coffee and cigarettes... still...
it was probably 5 years ago or so... i was scheduled to play in this feminist art crap thing with two other female musician... it was sometime in winter and was snowing... and it's no fun to walk around in snow with my cello, believe me... anyway the gig was supposed to start at 8 and i got there around 7, i believe... well, when i got there, i was told that galapagos had double booked that night and the even i was in was postponed until 11 or so... well, i was annoyed and cold... but since going back to manhattan then coming back would have been too much of schlep so decided to stick around... so finally started playing around midnight and i knew that what we were doing was too out for them... it was a some kind of variety show of pretentious artsy shit but what could i do, other than playing my cello the way i do... so after about playing 15 minutes, this guy robert who fucking owns galapagos walked up on the stage while music was going on, not even in between tunes, not joking, and told me "this is your last song"... what the fuck... i told him to fuck off... i knew that he was worried that our music was driving drinking crowd away... and he had nerve to come up to the stage while we were playing...? since then i've never been near that fucking place... not putting down the shows/musicians/artists involved with galapagos by any means but i do hate that owner with passion...!!!

2. david's bagel on 1st avenue right below east 14th street...
i used to go there quite a bit since their bagels are pretty damn good... it's owned by thai people...? but trust me, their bagels are great... i think at least once a week for 3-4 years i went to that place for quick lunch... however, think it was sometime last year i went to get a bagel there, it happened... a little bit before that i noticed that there was this one new girl who was not that friendly... and you know, that's ok with me because i'm not always the most friendly person either... anyway she was always a bit grumpy and loud... well, that day, when i was paying for the bagel, she was in front of cash register... bad idea... well, she told me something like $2.18, let's say, and i handed her exact change... then she screamed "$2.80!!!" at my face... i was so shocked that she was yelling at me so loud, began to look for more changes... then i realized that she shouldn't have been yelling at me like that... it could have been her accent and it could have been my hearing but why was she yelling at me...? so i told her that she didn't have to be so rude to a customer... but her response was like "i don't know what you are talking about..." i wasn't expecting her to smile at me just because because i was a customer but at least have some etiquette... so since then i never went back there... although i do miss their bagels but i cannot risk of being yelled at again... thank god they opened another branch on the 1st avenue and 22nd street... it's kind of out of my way but if that's the only way to have their bagel, why not...

3. lotus cafe on clinton and stanton...
ok, this incident i had about 45 minutes ago is the reason why i'm writing this blog... kind of stupid, i admit... but they pissed me off... i go there quite often in the morning to get a cup of tea and bagel... it's very close to my house and they are usually very nice... and they even have free wifi which is a bonus...
then today i was sitting on a larger table where electricity outlets are next to... however when i sat down they were all taken and i had to wait for someone to leave... so this woman sitting in front of me finally left and i was able to hook up my computer to power... as soon as i did that, some guy came up to me and asked me if i could move somewhere since there will be group of 5 people coming in... and i told him sorry but i had to use the power outlet... and on top of that there were other tables on the other side of the room too... then a minute later this manager guy came to me and said that i HAD to move from the table since they cannot LET me use the entire table by myself... if this guy asked me nicely, that's one thing but TELLING me that i HAD to move...?!?! i do believe that no one should do anything if they don't want to... and i never agreed on any term when i went to the cafe... and how about the fact i was there before and i do go there quite a bit... i was shocked that this guy didn't think that was out of his line ordering me like that...! so i'm never going back to that joint...

ah, it might be just me making my life harder than necessary but then that's how i deal with things... seriously, am i being just too sensitive...? well, if you say yes, it's still not going to change anything... sorry...

letters from iwo jima...

when i learned that clint eastwood was making a japanese version of "flags of our fathers", i was very skeptical... although it was a very good movie but since i knew that clint eastwood was able to make such a soppy cliché-ridden movie like "mystic river"... can i just tell you that i absolutely HATE that movie with passion...
however while watching "letters from iwo jima" last night at landmark sunshine cinema, one of the best theaters in new york, i was so sucked into the movie and the characters and their emotions, i almost forgot that i was actually watching a movie... it felt so real and intimate... all the characters, i mean every single characters was so real and felt sincere, it didn't look like they were acting by any means but just being themselves... then even though the movie was written by japanese-american iris yamashita (her first screen play!) in english, then translated into japanese, the dialogue seemed so authentic and true to the culture... not to claim to know so much about japanese culture but as korean, there are definitely many similarities... also even though paul haggis who wrote "crash", another movie i couldn't stand, co-wrote the story, the movie didn't have so many clichés... it really showed japanese soldiers in a dignified and respectful but not glamorized way... without resorting back to the stereotype of what japanese people, especially male, are supposed to be like... you know, "oh, they don't show any emotions" or "they were all ready to kill themselves for the country"... and also showed how horrifying the wars are... when you see the bombs dropping from the sky in the movie among many other things, just remember that's what many people still have to deal with everyday...
what i appreciated the most about this movie is that it really showed that we all are the same when you strip down the color, nationality and ideology... we all have the same feelings, needs and will to live... nobody chose to be born into a certain country... it's only after we are born, we get conditioned and brain washed and forced to fit into the society to function as a part of bigger machine... and how did they do it...? using fear and stereo types and hatred... and unfortunately back in the time, it was probably ever harder to get away from that mentality and think for oneself... it's so difficult even now when we have so many resources...
a must see for everyone... and please do watch it on a big screen... even the music didn't bother me that much this time...

ah, yah...

woo... it's raining... it's really scary how warm it has been though... should be colder... poor polar bears...
so did that still life with commentator 5-day-run at BAM and it was great... lots of work and time went into it but it sure was worth it... also working with great people who believe in what they do and do the best is so inspiring... felt so lucky to be a part of it... and opened my eyes and ears in many things... wish we could do it again in new york sometime...
while we were rehearsing, went to this mexican place nearby BAM called pequeña quite a bit... think it's on south portland avenue between lafayette and fulton... pretty much everything i had was great... it's rather tiny so it fills up fast... also there's this new burger place on lafayette called 67 burger which had pretty good menu... think 4 different types of veggie burgers... and curly fries were fabulous... it's on lafayette and fulton...
watched "lucky # slevin" and liked it a lot... it's worth watching only to see ben kingsley and morgan freeman sharing a scene together... they are brilliant... so were bruce willis and josh hartnett... very smart, well written script and refreshing editing... also really liked the set design... all those patterns on all the interiors...
haven't gone to see any movies for an obvious reason...
what else...
oh, went to 2 exhibits at the met and they were amazing... one was tiffany exhibit and was jaw dropping gorgeous... so amazing how this guy was able to create something out of glasses... unbelievable details and textures and colors... he sure was in total command of his materials... then "glitter and doom: german portraits from 1920's" was sensational... since i've been to modern museum in stuttgart, i became a fan of otto dix for his gritty, grotesque yet expressive portrayal and this show was full of many paintings like that... also they all had very political messages as well... was very impressed with george grosz and christian schad... somehow that period didn't seem so different from what we have right now though... these people all saw the rise of capitalism and greed as one of the main reasons behind all the wars and conflicts... hasn't changed so much, i hate to say... definitely going back to look at them again...
so much i'd like to do before the year ends... ah... only 18 days left... yikes...