sub-urbanramblings.com

a decade past. a post reprise. "a wrinkle in the morning"

2011-09-11T09:05:00.001-06:00

the view from my old living room, 12 floors up, lower manhattan, NYCi wake up earlier than normal to a clear day at 6:43 am, tuesday.i feed oreo [the pomeranian] and bandit [the chihuahua], then lounge around the apartment, absent-mindedly gazing at the inert water towers on rooftops that surround my building.i put away books and pamphlets that i've started reading in advance of the graduate

The recent journey. FRANKFURT. ISTANBUL. ISRAEL. WEST BANK.

2011-06-02T09:49:00.003-06:00

LINKS pertaining to trip: FLYING OFF INSTAGRID - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

mothballing SUR

2011-01-24T23:06:00.002-07:00

its been a nice ride. come see the other sites. urbium cusps cusp 83.2 gallons sur [on your plate] alt.arch cue

less words. more pics.

2011-01-13T12:32:00.001-07:00

more and more i'm realizing that i may be running out of steam for this site. not that there was steam to begin with. but i mean the sustained spurts. twitter had taken some of that. or maybe this dang cold weather. dunno. you will see though that those energy have been somewhat disseminated to other else. to 83.2 gallons. or forms such as that... the stuff that document the short trips. or

on the eve of the 2 week road trip, i leave this...

2010-12-18T00:07:00.001-07:00

drop in on the journey.

a header in search of a blog.

2010-12-16T11:08:00.003-07:00

[re] thunking the concept of my istanbul webblog here. incorporating the idea of place and time as edges [of asia/europe, classical/modernity, christianity/islam]

What's for dinner in suburbia

2010-12-13T19:05:00.003-07:00

ancho chile pepper-crusted seared long island duck breast. balsamic apple citrus confit. flash-sauteed mustard greens. roasted corn polenta. pomegranate seeds.Homecooked.-- Post From My iPhone var LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_INFINITE_LOOP_COUNT = 300; var LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_MAX_HIGHLIGHTS = 50; var LEO_HIGHLIGHTS_IFRAME_TOP_ID = "

just food.

2010-12-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

which i've not updated in a while. here.

2010-12-05T18:30:00.001-07:00

a break for our sponsor

2010-12-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

[or a self-promo to the other site]

from a cool website

2010-12-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

Hawaii-bound

2010-11-25T08:35:00.001-07:00

Older versions of touch and phone as hand-me-downs-- Post From My iPhone

As if on cue, snow

2010-11-25T07:05:00.001-07:00

-- Post From My iPhone

the winter road trip

2010-11-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

one of the pros of public servanthood is the relative generosity for time out granted. it does not quite approach the generosity of the european employers [altho many countries there are revisiting long standing, entrenched traditions in the wake of worsening global fiscal problems and competition for increased productivity] but relative to the private sectors closer to home, my employer grant

At Zea Bistro

2010-11-21T13:22:00.001-07:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Bagel. Lox. Eggsalad. Mornin'

2010-11-20T11:22:00.001-07:00

-- Post From My iPhone

fall. sunset. deck

2010-11-16T12:41:00.001-07:00

a good listen: means on carver

suburban home-making: pear-apple cake

2010-11-14T12:04:00.001-07:00

Inspired by this-- Post From My iPhone

At the pastel society of NM

2010-11-13T11:24:00.001-07:00

-- Post From My iPhone

2010-11-10T20:48:00.001-07:00

A crepe craze has invaded suburbia: as ice cream in a blanket in between two homemade crepes after going for drinks (zinn) and lite bites at artichoke cafe (miso fritto & onion grtinee) -- Post From My iPhone

fall colors

2010-11-09T11:07:00.006-07:00

populus fremontii is the commonly known cottonwoods here in my neck of the woods. they line the banks of the rio grande from beyond the colorado border north all the way down to texas. and right about this time the peak of fall color season, they cannot but scream for your attention. for a couple of weeks now, their leaves have been transformed to an indescribable gold, getting deeper and deeper

Sundays sustenance

2010-11-07T11:16:00.003-07:00

Crepe and culture-- Post From My iPhone

Late Nite raw oyster-in at Pappadeaux

2010-11-06T21:50:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

2010-11-04T11:00:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Supper

2010-11-03T21:11:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

on the boards

2010-11-03T07:14:00.001-06:00

Xocco Persian rug shadows

2010-10-31T10:47:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Morning Comfort food

2010-10-30T08:53:00.001-06:00

Nutella crepe. Raspeberry confiture crepe. For breakfast-- Post From My iPhone

From babbo to this: mac grill

2010-10-28T21:25:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

images from the PHX trip

2010-10-26T07:52:00.000-06:00

2010-10-24T09:20:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhoneLocation:The Sunday wisdom

breaking the silence

2010-10-22T12:07:00.003-06:00

i haven't been held captive by taliban or patty hearst types that would explain the brief silence. but all is well on both home and work fronts. the biggest development of late has been the award to two general contractors of my two separate projects: the third and last phase of the high school started in 2006 [the bottom right building that would close off whats conceived to be an eye-shaped

At Predock's Nelson Fine Arts

2010-10-16T11:57:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

its aloha Friday in Scottsdale

2010-10-15T17:06:00.006-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone link to song HERE. It's Aloha Friday, No Work 'til Monday Song Lyricsc 1982 Paul Natto Here is where I sit, all cloudy and blitzed with the Primo bottles lying everywhere Got a guitar in my hand and a Wesson Oil can Under my okole for a chair. CHORUS: It's Aloha Friday, no work till Monday. Doo be doo, doo doo be, doo be doo be doo be doo! (Repeat) The cousins all here,

driving to scottsdale + phx

2010-10-14T08:56:00.001-06:00

by the time this posts, i would be already on the road, driving with the 2 dogs in tow, to a road trip yet again to visit friends.

chasing hot air. the last day of the baloon fiesta

2010-10-10T09:58:00.001-06:00

when i lived in NYC, a friend from hawaii used to call me WHILE the macy's thanksgiving day parade was progressing and ask why i was not there. there are thousands other distractions more compelling than the parade i'm sure. or none: it was sometimes more convenient to be cooped up in ones aparment decompressing from the stress of work and other else. one of the bad habits the resident

2010-10-06T14:14:00.000-06:00

[post in progress] there is this billowy, adulterated mess of a mass that stands along third avenue and 7th street, cater-corner to cooper union's original bulding, accross of a crannelated pilastered victorian four storey building, which is next to the old mcsorley's bar [figured in joseph mitchell's stories], and a christian orthodox church to its east. to its south is a newly constructed

Fettucine w/ homemade chunky beef ragu

2010-10-03T20:45:00.002-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Made: Fettucine & Pappardelle

2010-10-03T13:02:00.003-06:00

Using Collichio's recipe, made Fettucine & hand-cut Pappardelle -- Post From My iPhone

Making pasta

2010-10-03T12:14:00.002-06:00

back.

2010-10-03T10:31:00.006-06:00

You can imagine the exhaustion from what can only be characterized as the trip with an over-earnest agenda: 5 states in one week-- 2 events at lincoln center, the barnes in merion, the east wing and the phillips and the natl portrait gallery and congress tour in DC, phillip johnson's glasshouse in new canaan, kahn's two buildings in new haves: yale art gallery and the british

my bags are packed; am ready to go.

2010-09-19T09:12:00.004-06:00

packing the suitcase for this. launching here a-pronto.

pic of the day. venezia

2010-09-19T07:36:00.001-06:00

don't you just love these jarring juxtapositions? purist tourists and its residents may view them as incongruous dichotomies: hi-low, cultural-commercial that should not co-exist. you find the copied real deal [in venice, in rome, in florence] becoming as transgressed as the copies in vegas. [read the NYTimes online article here]

[re]discovering fellini

2010-09-18T06:58:00.000-06:00

8 1/2 by federico fellini is an old mod flick that is sumptuously shot. this work predates my birth by a couple of years. i wont even attempt a review-- except to say that it is mostly the director's psycho-self exam /soliloquy [embodied by a dapper mastroianni ] propped by a visually stunning montage in black + white. the nytimes reviewed it, i assume, after its arrival in the US in the summer

revisiting predock's UNM school of architecture

2010-09-11T23:09:00.011-06:00

links: -separarted at birth: predock and rudolp [unm + yale]-other articles having attended a school of architecture [in manoa] housed in facilities that at best taught its students by its negative virtues--- the mostly absence of fundamental favorable architectural qualities in spaces largely culled in a kind of marginal, provisional, ad hoc, make do manner, i am specially keen on noting [and

Spray insulation at RGhS ISP

2010-09-09T16:44:00.001-06:00

YouTube Video-- Post From My iPhone

a luau of sorts. here in suburbia.

2010-09-04T16:45:00.003-06:00

And I'm contributing the hibachi'd Korean BBQ ribs, tho i wanted badly to do a shoyu ahi poke [tho no good source for fresh tuna; i'm also bringing the hawaiian music. and wearing my surfah shorts. 'li dat.-- Post From My iPhone

the new gadget in suburbia. apple tv

2010-09-03T13:50:00.004-06:00

there's only so much squinting tolerated when watching netflix on the laptops. and specially on the iphone. and while i was about convinced to shell out 70 clams for roku- the go-to box streamer for netflix, when lo i discovered that steve jobs not two days prior had just done his standup schtick bragging about the latest gadgets that apple just rolled out. one of them was regarding the apple

secured + confirmed. a reservation for 2. 10 pm in sept.

2010-08-31T08:39:00.001-06:00

bruni/ NYTimes says: "Some restaurants revel in exquisite subtleties. Babbo, blessedly, goes staight for the gut, adding one big taste sensation atop another, gilding already delicious dishes with extra bits of texture and final flourishes of flavor. Although its co-owners, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich, have branched out considerably since they opened Babbo, the restaurant remains their

the weekend film

2010-08-30T10:35:00.001-06:00

if for anything else, this film will serve as a mini seminar on the history of modern california architecture seen thru the lens of julius schulman.

Still life Sunday

2010-08-29T09:55:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

how netflix is rendering me anti-social.

2010-08-28T15:35:00.004-06:00

it started when i discovered this past thursday the free netflix app for my iphone 4g. as i've done mindlessly with many apps that are free, you click download not minding the long and short implications to life and soul and health. or what necessary trade offs you sacrifice. but alas you are implored to become a member of netflix in order to take advantage of the subject app. i've always

Istabulu mania continues

2010-08-28T12:13:00.001-06:00

The leather bound Knopf pic/map laden guide at bottom arrived from Amazon-- Post From My iPhone

A panful of paella pollo y camarones

2010-08-27T18:59:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

re-living annie hall.

2010-08-26T07:35:00.003-06:00

except this movie is an aggregation of 10 atmospheric vignettes of a cross section of the population that make up the city. some are excellently written. like its predecessor, paris j'taime. the scene with ethan hawke is especially fun- see the scene here. rent it. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091014/REVIEWS/910149995/1023: http://bit.ly/aTCPhT http://bit.ly/

citizen architect: sambo mockbee/ PBS docu

2010-08-23T12:18:00.006-06:00

Citizen Architect Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio - FILM TRAILER from Samuel Mockbee.com on Vimeo. some days i champion the one-of-a-kind architecture, the kind you see in glossy mags done by starchitects, the iconic buildings that could be candidates for vanity faire's top 10 buildings of the century. and then some days, i'm an advocate for what sambo mockbee did in alabama

my own private babette's feast.

2010-08-21T06:09:00.007-06:00

revisiting the compound in santa fe and [re] sampling james beard recipient [2005], mark ziffrin's work. [a post in devt] *** how do you assess fairly a place that has as its logo a florid composition of an unnamed font style that dates it squarely between the age of aquarius and the good earth catalog and brutalism? having been reading michael beirut lately, this is my lens. *** i like

What's eatin' in suburbia

2010-08-15T20:07:00.001-06:00

The still deep green potted basil plant on my kitchen counter have been used very rarely up till now, having used a few leaves at a time (thrown into the spaghetti ragu when finishing, as garnish when plating, or as a pizza topping a la margherita). I think it senses that the end of summer is approaching - its branches have lately sprouted healthy leaves and began bearing white flowers. Hating to

header graphics.

2010-08-09T16:33:00.000-06:00

2010-08-09T11:54:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

headed to santa fe to see this matinee

2010-08-07T10:01:00.001-06:00

review from the NYTimes: "Anthony Hopkins, Laura Linney and Charlotte Gainsbourg, playing cultured, cosmopolitan residents of a remote estate in Uruguay, are among the actors who lend the film a classy imprimatur. As their characters philosophize and bicker, you bask in a refined sensibility shaped by Chekhov, Henry James and E. M. Forster, in which privileged people with time on their hands

preliminary research.

2010-08-07T01:29:00.002-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

booked. may 2011.

2010-08-06T18:43:00.013-06:00

confirmed is a trip that will be a timely thaw after winter. to asia minor and the middle east. thanks to continental mileage earned; i've redeemed [if only in this one sense]. also made possible by skipping an international trip, eg. buenos aires- which was heretofore a yearly trek in the last 4, this year] a blog solely devoted is already in the making; and i won't have to work in a kibbutz

got apples?

2010-08-01T13:02:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Chopstix'in Eats

2010-07-31T22:24:00.000-06:00

-- Post From My iPhoneLocation:Northern Sky Ave NE,Albuquerque,United States

devoted site for my photo-collages

2010-07-30T12:23:00.002-06:00

collages from recent. break from the prosaic. kahn. dfw.

2010-07-29T09:46:00.002-06:00

from this trip.

Lunch. Scalo

2010-07-28T15:20:00.002-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-28T07:41:00.000-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

recent + upcoming

2010-07-27T09:43:00.000-06:00

The state of my grove

2010-07-25T08:53:00.000-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

On authenticity

2010-07-25T08:52:00.004-06:00

It occurs to me that what we taste in these themed parties is just but a slice of reality-- the choices we made in each of our contributions reflect the biases of our palate, the biases of google, and ultimately the biases of our western[-ized] tongue. (inevitably too on what is available in our markets.) In some respects, isn't it akin to History-- here i invoke Howard Zinn-- in which the

Off to the neighborhood pot luck

2010-07-24T17:55:00.001-06:00

Contribution to the neighborhood 'South African- themed fête: A. Crisped baked lavosh B. Chilled hibachi-seared beef w/ Bereber rub (Ethiopian) C. Fire roasted farm fresh corn, sweet peppers, onions, grapefruit dressed with Ethiopian Berbere aioli, lime, cilantro -- Post From My iPhone

on a carb funk

2010-07-24T09:01:00.001-06:00

Banana and blueberry pancake is what's for brikfist-- Post From My iPhone

Bereber rubbed beef, scallion pancakes

2010-07-23T19:39:00.000-06:00

A prelude to tomws neighborhood potluck in which everyone was tasked to work around the theme 'grub in south africa'. but as one who diverge from rules most of the time, I'm goin north to ethiopia to adapt it's bereber rub used in stews and roasts and plan to bring a seared beef rubbed with said spices, tonight's is a test to make sure that it is edible. sho nuff, it's a go.It will be served as

The drive. Home.

2010-07-22T19:59:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

@ nob hill b&g

2010-07-22T18:59:00.001-06:00

-- Post From My iPhoneLocation:Bryn Mawr Dr SE,Albuquerque,United States

Nob hill main dining room

2010-07-22T18:50:00.001-06:00

Duck confit over polenta, fish n chips, fish tacos-- Post From My iPhoneLocation:Central Ave SE,Albuquerque,United States

Happy hour. Nob hill bar and grill.

2010-07-22T18:01:00.001-06:00

A Cab, a Chard -- Post From My iPhone Location:Central Ave SE,Albuquerque,United States

Almost always

2010-07-21T19:47:00.001-06:00

A well prepped pan of homemade paella with fideaua noodles (and a bottle of carmenere from Chile) cooking it smells up the house and welcomes me home. not dissimilar to these with noodles, and arborio rice and probably more pimientos.-- Post From My iPhone

on the road. for fun. again.

2010-07-16T09:00:00.011-06:00

as this post goes live [at 9am Friday] i would have been on the road for the better part of an hour. driving. east. and a little bit south. [to an almost different country entirely. as its citizens would like to think. and as i don't mess with texans, i let them think that. if they find some insular comfort in this, i let them.] having picked up this short vacation's rocinante [am invoking

branding procedurals. moo.

2010-07-12T12:27:00.003-06:00

somewhere in afedEx truck, my iphone.

2010-07-12T11:07:00.001-06:00

to be delivered, apronto update: delivered at 12:35pm

follow me

2010-07-10T23:21:00.006-06:00

next weekend, a texas-sized dose of TX

2010-07-09T13:56:00.004-06:00

driving to [re] visit works of ando, kahn, piano, koolhaas, philip johnson. and art that texas oil wealth bought. ...in the heat of late july. links: the modern- ft worth [tadao ando] kimbell art museum [louis kahn, pending addition: renzo piano] amon carter museum [phillip johnson] dallas contemporary dallas museum of art [not architecturally significant but worthy works of art] nasher

visit [some of] these before you die.

2010-07-08T10:51:00.004-06:00

if for anything else to remind you that profound, nuanced, and passionate things can come out of humanity... vanity fair compiles an inherently faulty list of [relatively] current architectural works that are worthy. i've aggregated them above. top group i have not seen but plan to- including the works of koolhaas, himmelblau, ando, zumthor. i've seen/ visited the middle group that

so far, my summer.

2010-07-05T15:46:00.000-06:00

In Santa Fe & back

2010-07-03T18:21:00.002-06:00

-- Post From My iPhone

the train ride to s. fe

2010-07-03T14:39:00.002-06:00

-- Post From My iPhoneLocation:Washington Ave,Santa Fe,United States

ridding the excess apricots

2010-07-01T17:31:00.007-06:00

a remedy: barbecued chicken drumsticks marinated in sweet tangy apricot soy confit* *apricot confit marinade2 lbs halved pitted very ripe apricots half a cup of vinegar 1 cup water stick of cinnamon 3 cloves half a cup of sugar [optional] black pepper [optional] rind and juice of a lemon tbsp of salt 2 tbsp chopped ginger 3 tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce combine all ingredients in a

thou shalt. [wisdom with your chow mein?]

2010-07-01T17:22:00.005-06:00

an Emersonian credence found recently in a Chinese fortune cookie -- Post From My iPhone

the profusive summer.

2010-06-29T16:03:00.006-06:00

apricots and mezzes. much as i tried forestalling the apricot's ripening [and their eventual fall to earth], the lesson as always is this: you cannot control mother nature. the birds have been rapaciously at feast. the ants too. and even lucca and xocco have filled their bellies with these succulent, overriped pitted fruits. i am hoping that there will be some left for my visitors this

the lingering tune. staple singer's i'll take you there.

2010-06-26T10:10:00.007-06:00

heard while on my second cup of jav at starbucks this morning and have found itself [the tune/lyrics/delicious gospelly funkof it] stuck lodged deep in my brain this whole day. if you, like me, subscribe to an indeterminate religiosity, may find its message simple and literal of the suggested destination: some utopian nirvana but knowing the staple singer's roots, a kind of heaven that reminds

summer desserts.

2010-06-24T22:32:00.003-06:00

the overproliferation of apricots in the backyard have inspired manifold ways of using them in desserts: over challah french toast [shown below served recently to visitors from miami + vermont], as sliced toppings along with strawberries over blue bell ice cream-our current suburban favorite brand - even better, me thinks, than haagen dahz or ben &jerry's. top depicts the southern

orwell's correlatives: fancy and sweat.

2010-06-24T10:09:00.006-06:00

Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer-winning food critic ensconced at LA Weekly invokes and abides by George Orwell's pithy and truthful rule of thumb re fancy grub: 'the fancier the restaurants,' warns Orwell, ' the more people who have dripped sweat into your food'. Thus as a panacea, you find Gold extolling the merits of the seemingly ordinary places in LA and surrounds with the presumed conceit that

transaction accomplished.

2010-06-22T12:18:00.000-06:00

i now summon patience for its jul 14th [or thereabouts] arrival.

currently reading DFW.

2010-06-18T15:51:00.004-06:00

[click photo to access article] if my fellow gym mates this lunchtime found it weird that i would snicker in between sets on the bench press, this is why: i brought the folio to the gym with me as reading material during the workout [who said you CANNOT multi-task?]. and it was thoroughly entertaining. you will think initially that DFW does not have much there [there's coolness and mocking

the september trip. ABQ-BWI-DC-PHIL-NYC-CT-ABQ

2010-06-18T12:33:00.004-06:00

it is not even the midpoint of summer but already the itchy feet syndrome [aka travel-itis] rears its head here in suburbia. the east coast visit hatched mid-way thru this movie gains momentum in its planning. first the airline [delta, ABQ-BWI/ LGA-ABQ. booked], next the hotels [Microtel nr BWI but a convenient hop onto the AMTRAK - 15 minute ride to DC for the 2 days/ Radisson Warwick Philly

i was ready to fork out $299 to steve jobs...

2010-06-15T16:51:00.003-06:00

but 1) the white one is unavailable for pre-ordering, and, 2) the apple site must have a deluge of orders as the screen was stuck to the above. all afternoon. no. rest. for. the. materialistic. weary. links about the phenom : here, here, here, + here.

the evening grub

2010-06-15T00:43:00.001-06:00

beef, mushroom + red bell pepper ragu over homemade pasta