Tuesday, February 1 and it’s dinner with Frank Tedeschi, Tony Jewiss+ and Bryan at Pangea.  Frank and Tony split a bruschetta, Bryan a small salad and I had a tiny, but oh-so-perfect Sicilian blood orange, sharp fennel and onion salad with lime vinaigrette – sounds weird but oh what a taste combination.  Entrees, I had a spaghetti special with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and chicken in tomato sauce; Frank the spaghetti bolognese (his people are from Puglia); Tony+ had the paella and Bryan the pork loin.  Four different cuisines, all perfectly prepared.

Great conversations were had about Bob Jones the bishop vs. Bob Jones the gay pornographer [with exceptions to Bob Jones, the university, and Bob Jones, the golf pro], New Zealand (ancestoral home to Tony+) and it's relationship to Australia, and Louis Crew (owner of a website devoted to the Episcopal church).

Then more listening to 69 Love Songs by the Magnetic Fields; and though I still feel that many of these could be strung together into one song, each one does represent a perfect nugget of love and despair.

Wednesday, February 2, Ground Hog Day and there’s no shadows.  Lunch is a burger and fries at Paul’s Place on Second Avenue.  I am always on the lookout for the perfect cheeseburger with fried onions.  For the last ten years, their specialty is just that; this one is much like ground sirloin, almost a steak tartare, served deluxe for less than $7 with a Stewart’s root beer.  About as close to a traditional greasy spoon as the East Village has to offer (except for the Stage Restaurant next door to Stomp, which is just too dirty - not just greasy!).

Also, Jeff Marshall, a fellow Taurean and ruler of Monolyth/Soundproof, sends this astrological prediction for February courtesy of Susan Miller:

Your chart of the moment is lit up brilliantly, more a chart of a rock star than that of a quiet, peace-loving Bull.  This is appropriate because in a new millennium where everyone is reinventing themselves, you are no exception.  What is remarkable is how deftly you are doing so—better than anyone else—at least in the professional sense. Make no mistake: the cosmos is choosing you for leadership, and you will be expected to bring the rest of us into the 21st century.  Detractors who have dismissed or discounted you are going to be the sore losers, but the truth of this won’t be known just yet—you need time to perfect your strategy, and perfect it you will.

Thursday, February 3, Verio is our new webhost.  We stop for a Campari and soda at Dick’s followed by tempura/sashimi/sushi at Mie.  Back home, we catch Friends and Frasier.

Friday, February 4  and recommendations include fake Timberlands from Marty's Shoes and the Virgin Megastore in Union Square.  That's where we buy the Kronos Quartet performance of Philip Glass’ music for the movie Dracula and Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Helikopter-quartett performed by the Arditti String Quartet.  Yes, helicopters.

A hunger pang sends me to Odessa’s in Tompkins Square Park.  Open 24 hours a day, there's a diner section, with bar and lounge.  But both sides are always packed and noisy; East Villagers all have an opinion on this place but everyone still eats here.

Saturday, February 5  Would you believe sushi again?  Yes, Mie has been keeping us well stocked on fish protein!  Otherwise, a quiet and rather typical NYC weekend day for the boys.

Sunday, February 6 and just before noon, the phone rings – it’s Jude Goldberg calling from London; later in the day I get a more complete e-mail post.  It just reminds us how much we miss London (I still follow the daily weather reports).  We have a quick breakfast at the Lunch Box before we leave a message for Matt and Paul in London - yes, sentiment overtakes us.

Monday, February 7  Bryan’s in the mood for Mexican and margaritas so it’s off to MaryAnn’s.  Gay bar notes:  Monday nights, it's Dick’s for showtunes.  Remember, Dick's has a higher average IQ than 86.4% of all gay bars in the States.

Tuesday, February 8, oh, no, I'm unstuck in time - so maybe I’m Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse Five.  I’m up a little after Bryan and for some reason I think it’s our anniversary; it would actually be celebrated on Valentine’s Day, three days away.  Or maybe I went back to January 28, when we first met?

And so it goes.  Which reminds me, I wonder how long it will take for Kurt Vonnegut to fully recover after the fire in his Manhattan apartment?  [Yes, it's my sneaky way of getting culture into this page - see the movie, read the book!]

Wednesday, February 9 Bryan has continued to add to our ceramics collection with a pair of interesting Roseville cornucopia, a three-footed McCoy and some odds and ends.  We are definitely getting a beautiful collection which quite surprises me as I'd never been interested in ceramics before our trip to Zanesville, Ohio.

Thursday, February 10, a few weeks ago, when working the temp job, I met George Jackson as one of the partners of Urban Box Office, he had worked at Motown Records.  Today, he died of a stroke; he was only 42 but overweight.  I can't say I knew him but I had gotten a nice impression of him.

Friday, February 11, Bryan and I meet Ted Smith and Jim Shewalter to see Leonardo diCaprio (who, besides his official site has completely unofficial and unauthorized and unofficial sites) in ‘The Beach.’  It’s opening night for this long awaited post-Titanic production for Leo.  But why?  To steal a quote from the movie, it’s “the kind of pretentious bullshit that Americans …”

Well, at least the music was good.  Indeed, Bryan told me that Salon suggested that the soundtrack was the only good thing about the film; and I might just agree.  It also gives me the chance to plug songs and websites by and for New Order, Moby (his new album Play sounds wonderful, and he has a great unofficial site), Blur, Faithless (and the record company site), Barry Adamson - bassist for Magazine (this is a great site if you want to hear some 30-second clips), the Birthday Party and Nick Cave but not to be confused with Barry Andrews of Shriekback - and more.

After the movie, it’s standard issue for Ted and Jim to have margaritas and Mexican; the closest one for us is El Cantinero.  We have two very stiff margaritas each along with various combination plates.  I question the quality of the food however; it seems every time we go my stomach feels the effects long afterward.  Of course, it simply may have been the alcohol!

Saturday, February 12 and Sunday, February 13, yes, I'm combining the weekend as we are on our own timetable.  Plus, it's a typical NYC weekend, small walks and longer talks.  On Sunday, we have brunch at the Telephone Bar and Grill and then putter the day away.  I work on Ecclesia and the laundry while Bryan shops at Fresco and the East Village Cheese Shop.  Ok, ok, now I know I find unusual links, but how about this?  A script directed by James Burrows and starrring Elizabeth Ashley and Warren Littlefield as himself.  Search for the cheese shop reference about halfway through the script.

Bryan sends me our food tip for today: Burritos are wrapped in a wheat-flour tortilla while enchiladas are wrapped in a corn tortilla.  Did you know that?  Now I know why I like enchiladas more than burritos which I always found a bit earthy.

Monday, February 14 is Valentine’s day and Bryan brings home a beautiful card and a heart-shaped box of chocolates; this marks our third year together!

Tuesday, February 15, and a late night snack at Yummy House, the new Chinese restaurant nearby.  Not bad actually, although I can’t seem to get them not to use MSG.   I had an interesting dim sum special, 4 little white bags with shrimp and 4 little yellow ones with crab stuffing in a beautiful bamboo steamer.  Then beef with orange sauce for dinner (there’s the problem with too much MSG – the beef is practically white) and a free glass of box wine.

Wednesday, February 16 and the weather is sunny and warm for winter, so I pick up a Q magazine.  Included in a book review is this pithy comment:

The Devil may have all the best tunes, but as anyone who has fallen asleep while wading through Aleister Crowley's junkie musings will testify, he's lacking in the literary department.

Thursday, February 17, Tad’s Steak House.  And in the 'I have no excuse for this department' - may I recommend Millionaires, the new album by James?  I love the songs I Know What I'm Here For - hands in the air! - and Just Like Fred Astaire - so romantic.  And, yes, you get an unofficial site with sound samples as well.

Friday, February 18, weird weather – it starts to snow around 10 am.  Does it think it’s winter?  At 3 pm, as the snow changes over to rain, I head over to Irreplaceable Artifacts; they specialize in taking the most interesting architectural elements from demolished buildings and resell them.

Saturday, February 19, tonight’s walk leads us around the world (but only to 188 First Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets) to the Mandarin Grill and Coffee House … Filipino food.  It’s obviously a place for the locals, even having a karaoke section.  The food is a mixed bag.  My appetizer of small shrimp is almost like a lime cerviche except extremely spicy; Bryan has the lumpia which looks to be like Thai spring rolls.  He’s familiar with them from his Navy days (it’s a great way for Filipinos to get US citizenship).  For entrees, I think his pork brochette is the best with a great sauce, my chicken pieces and vegetables in tomato sauce was quite generic (even my grandmother made a variation).  But although it won’t win any design awards (it would be a fancy joint in Riverton WY), the food was authentic (I had a drink made from baby coconut milk) and the people nice.  We’ll be back … although maybe for takeout; call them at 212-673-3656.

Sunday, February 20, Bryan’s in the mood for pork chops of, at all places, Tad’s Steak House.  Naturally, I won’t argue against it; indeed I had actually been thinking we might try to go to Peter Luger’s but this is easier and cheaper.  But once we get there it doesn’t seem like they have pork chops so B has the filet mignon instead.  Or at least what’s called filet mignon.  Nonetheless, even he has to admit that all the food tastes good, even though the general cleanliness and quality of the ingredients would lead one to think otherwise.

Monday, February 21, President's Day ... or is it Presidents' ???  Now that we've morphed Washington and Lincoln into one holiday isn't it plural?  After jettisoning the idea of ordering delivery, we head out to San Loco for some tacos and burritos followed by a drink at Dick’s.

Tuesday, February 22, I pick up Tabitha Neal’s painting.  Yes, one of the two that the boys from London brought with them.  So now we finally have one of her two paintings for us framed, albeit the small one.  But we just haven’t found the right frames; for these we want old frames – the one we did this for is from the early 1900’s.  We have dinner at Mie.

Wednesday, February 23, I listen to Lucas Foss’ Song of Songs (first performed by Serge Koussevitsky and the Boston Symphony in 1947) for the second time in three days.  This is the version with the NY Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein and sung by mezzo-contralto Jennie Tourel (Sony Classical 63164); also on the CD is Phorion and the orchestral version of Time Cycle.

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm:
for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave:
the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it:
if a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
it would utterly be condemned.

Songs of Solomon  8: 6-7 (KJV)

Another American composer relatively (and unfairly) neglected outside of his country is  Lukas Foss.  Foss is fond of surprises - there’s no guarantee that he’ll maintain stylistic  similarity from one work to the next.  Three of them are on SMK 63164.  Time Cycle is a free-wheeling piece of  serial experimentalism, but no dry academic exercise for all that.  It’s a set of four songs (sung here by Adele  Addison), with three improvised interludes.  Phorion, a movement from a larger work, is a "nightmare" based on  Bach’s Violin Partita in E.  Song of Songs, the only one not new to CD, is an appropriately lush sensuous setting  of the Song of Solomon.  The mezzo-soprano is Jennie Tourel, who frequently recorded with the conductor in the 50s and 60s.  As for Bernstein, he understood this music, and these world premiere recordings are stamped with his authoritative vision.

"She was a Russian Jew," she says.  "She left France during the Second World War in the last boat that was allowed to come out to America.  Without that suffering she had to go through and without the fact that she was a refugee, I don't see how I would be where I am today."

Friday, February 25 and we were supposed to meet up with Bill and Alice Abbate and their two kids as they returned home to Boston from Georgia.  But they never arrived into the city until almost 8 pm; by that time, we were already at Dick’s for a drink!   By 10 pm, we’d heard they arrived late and were going to crash early.

Saturday, February 26, being a gray day, we never really get motivated until late afternoon and food consumption at the Lunch Box.  We subway to Times Square to meet Bill and Alice Abbate and the family at the Virgin Megastore and then drinks at T.G.I. Friday’s near 50th Street.  Warning:  this one is part of the Riese empire and is therefore dirty and loose with service.  But it’s fun to see the them with the kids (Zack and James).  Of course, no one remembers to bring a camera so we have no pictures to show you here (unless Bill sends some!).

Sunday, February 27, while reading Rolling Stone, I’m surprised to see the name Noko as part of the British band Apollo Four Forty; in 1988, I had actually interviewed him with Howard Devoto (formerly of Magazine and the reason for the asterisk above - although this is a different site link) as the band Luxuria, which although sounding great never penetrated this market with their two albums.  A couple of years later, Noko hooked up with brothers Howard and Trevor Gray as Apollo Four Forty; their first album came out in 1995 and they’ve been a very popular singles band in England since then.

You've got the whole world in your wardrobe
your furniture's made to injure me
my skin will crawl back home to Ma
when our souls mingle uneasily

In 1979, after a performance by Magazine in Boston, I had the opportunity to do a two hour interview with Howard Devoto on WMBR (then called WTBS but that's another story).  And I asked him specifically about the furniture.  His reply slyly mocked those whose homes practically throw you out.  He specifically referenced those amazing Italianate living rooms with couches wrapped in plastic!  Certainly a missed talent.

Monday, February 28, and it’s Korean food at the New York Kom Tang Kalbi House Korean Restaurant, located at 32 West 32nd Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue.  This is a real Korean restaurant for real (and well off) Koreans.  Absolutely beautiful … and cheap, cheap, cheap for lunch.  We have bul go ki and beef bim bop that comes with so many accompaniments that it’s a full course meal (plus perfect Coca-Cola) all for $7 apiece.  With the sodas and tip, it’s still under $20 for the both of us.

I would imagine that the evening would be much different; the first floor (the one we ate in) has tables with built-in cookers for preparation at the table; the second floor has charcoal b.b.q. and then there’s a V.I.P. banquet hall upstairs – it is fancy!  And on the owners card (Yu B. Kim, President) it says, “We open 24hrs.  Sunday closed.  Welcome caterings for party and group of travelers.”  [sic]

Tuesday, February 29, Leap Year Day and the evening was quiet with a walk around the East Village.  And so ended February.

I will stay if you let me stay
and I'll go if you let me go
but I won't go far away
because you're my only home
I will hide what you want hidden
and I'll roam if you say roam
but I'd just as soon you didn't
because you're my only home ...

You're My Only Home by the Magnetic Fields:  69 Love Songs