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Catchup - New York
May. 7th, 2022 03:05 pmA Little More About the ACPT: For those who want to know more about the crossword tournament, you could watch the 2006 documentary Wordplay.
Here is a run down of my results from all the years I’ve competed. It may make it clearer why I was disappointed. (But, then, I admit I was out of practice. And there were a lot fewer people participating this year.)
2009 – 265 / 654 (55th percentile)
2012 – 241 / 594 (59th percentile)
2014 – 202 / 580 (65th percentile)
2016 – 171 / 576 (70th percentile)
2017 – 141 / 619 (77th percentile)
2018 – 254 / 674 (62nd percentile)
2019 – 220 / 741 (70th percentile)
2022 - 243 / 474 (49th percentile)
But what’s done is done. I’ll aim to do better at other tournaments. (Next up is probably Lollapuzzoola in New York at the end of August.)
As I mentioned, I took the train from Stamford to New York on Sunday afternoon because I had plans. Here’s what I did.
Ari Shapiro’s Cabaret Show: Back in February, I had seen Ari Shapiro interview Fran Leibowitz at the Kennedy Center. He mentioned he had a cabaret show coming up at Feinstein’s / 54 Below in Manhattan on April 3rd and 4th. I realized that meshed perfectly with the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which was April 1st through 3rd. There were actually two Sunday night shows, but the later one was just too late for me, so I booked the 7 p.m. show. That gave me plenty of time to settle into my hotel room and relax a little before walking uptown to the club, which is a pretty well known cabaret venue.
I had been a bit apprehensive about going to what is, essentially, a supper club, alone. But they seated me at a table with a very personable gay couple and we had a lovely conversation while we ate. (You are required to spend at least $25 on food and drink. This is not a challenge. I went with the drink and appetizer approach and did succumb to dessert. My gin and tonic, crab cake, and gelato were all quite good.)
As for the show, Ari sang an interesting mix of songs in multiple languages (shades of Pink Martini) and told a few stories which touched on his journalistic experiences. For example, he talked about meeting with Ukrainian refugees in Poland and getting a text from his husband about their dog being sick and the dissonance of that. My favorite part involved a particularly evocative story he told about visiting a Yazidi shrine near the Iraq / Syria border, including a song. He had lines like “all around me was just sand. Sand and the sounds of the cello.” (He actually mentioned the cellist’s name, but I’ve forgotten it.) I enjoyed the show very much and it was worth missing the ACPT finals and some socializing time to see it.
MOMA: I hadn’t really made particular plans for Monday. There were several options, but given that the weather was chilly, I decided that museum going was the best thing to do. I chose the Museum of Modern Art largely because it had been a while since I’d been there. They are members-only on Monday morning, so I slept in a bit and took a leisurely stroll around midtown (mostly up Fifth Avenue), enjoying seeing several of my Manhattan touchstones.
I’ve never known which of the library lions is Patience and which is Fortitude. Whichever this is, he is magnificent.
The Chrysler Building is the most beautiful skyscraper in the world. This is not up for debate.
I was interested to see a new sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Brugge. It’s called Plantoir, Blue and was erected in 2021.
And it’s good to see that Atlas is still holding up the Earth outside Rockefeller Center.
As for MOMA, they were installing a couple of new exhibits, so some favorites (e.g. Van Gogh’s Starry Night) were not open for viewing. And it was a bit of a maze getting around parts of the building. There was still plenty to look at. For example, I was quite taken by Marta Minujin’s Minucode which consists of films she made of four cocktail parties she hosted at the Center for Inter-American Relations in 1968. It’s an intriguing look at how people interact in an unexpected social environment. (It is also pretty much impossible to photograph.)
Monet’s Waterlilies are more or less obligatory.
I like Matisse, but I don’t plan to take a dip in his swimming pool.
I was intrigued by Double Transparency by Venezuelan artist, Jesus Rafael Soto.
I like to include at least one work by a woman in every set of photos of art. So have The Family by Marisol.
And I might as well throw in this set of lithographs by Julia Wachtel, based on photos of crowds in various cities.
I also was intrigued by some of the pieces in a special exhibit of work by Kahlil Robert Irving, which I thought had some powerful messages abut the commercialization of art.
There was, of course, plenty of other art to look at and I spent pretty much all afternoon at the museum. There are also plenty of other museums in New York (and, for that matter, here in DC), but those will have to wait for another trip.
Funny Girl: A lot of Broadway theaters are dark on Monday nights. Looking for something to do, I was able to snag a ticket for one of the preview performances of the revival of Funny Girl, starring Beanie Feldstein. The show is very much a star turn and I thought Feldstein was competent enough as Fanny Brice. The book had been rewritten and did give a bit more to Nick Ornstein, played excellently by Ramin Karimloo. I should also note the spectacular tap dancing by Jared Grimes as Eddy Ryan.
But, frankly, the show doesn’t hold together very well. The story line is weak (and not particularly accurate, but, then, it was originally produced by Brice’s son-in-law.) It feels like Jule Style was trying to leverage off of the success of Gypsy. which is a much more satisfying show. I found it entertaining enough for an evening, but not worth going out of the way for.
Footnote: I took the train home Tuesday night, so I was able to call into one of my genealogy groups on Tuesday night from home. But I need to get back to New York in the next several weeks, since I very much need to see Hangmen, which is Martin McDonagh’s new play. And I want to go to the Faith Ringold retrospective at the New Museum.
Here is a run down of my results from all the years I’ve competed. It may make it clearer why I was disappointed. (But, then, I admit I was out of practice. And there were a lot fewer people participating this year.)
2009 – 265 / 654 (55th percentile)
2012 – 241 / 594 (59th percentile)
2014 – 202 / 580 (65th percentile)
2016 – 171 / 576 (70th percentile)
2017 – 141 / 619 (77th percentile)
2018 – 254 / 674 (62nd percentile)
2019 – 220 / 741 (70th percentile)
2022 - 243 / 474 (49th percentile)
But what’s done is done. I’ll aim to do better at other tournaments. (Next up is probably Lollapuzzoola in New York at the end of August.)
As I mentioned, I took the train from Stamford to New York on Sunday afternoon because I had plans. Here’s what I did.
Ari Shapiro’s Cabaret Show: Back in February, I had seen Ari Shapiro interview Fran Leibowitz at the Kennedy Center. He mentioned he had a cabaret show coming up at Feinstein’s / 54 Below in Manhattan on April 3rd and 4th. I realized that meshed perfectly with the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which was April 1st through 3rd. There were actually two Sunday night shows, but the later one was just too late for me, so I booked the 7 p.m. show. That gave me plenty of time to settle into my hotel room and relax a little before walking uptown to the club, which is a pretty well known cabaret venue.
I had been a bit apprehensive about going to what is, essentially, a supper club, alone. But they seated me at a table with a very personable gay couple and we had a lovely conversation while we ate. (You are required to spend at least $25 on food and drink. This is not a challenge. I went with the drink and appetizer approach and did succumb to dessert. My gin and tonic, crab cake, and gelato were all quite good.)
As for the show, Ari sang an interesting mix of songs in multiple languages (shades of Pink Martini) and told a few stories which touched on his journalistic experiences. For example, he talked about meeting with Ukrainian refugees in Poland and getting a text from his husband about their dog being sick and the dissonance of that. My favorite part involved a particularly evocative story he told about visiting a Yazidi shrine near the Iraq / Syria border, including a song. He had lines like “all around me was just sand. Sand and the sounds of the cello.” (He actually mentioned the cellist’s name, but I’ve forgotten it.) I enjoyed the show very much and it was worth missing the ACPT finals and some socializing time to see it.
MOMA: I hadn’t really made particular plans for Monday. There were several options, but given that the weather was chilly, I decided that museum going was the best thing to do. I chose the Museum of Modern Art largely because it had been a while since I’d been there. They are members-only on Monday morning, so I slept in a bit and took a leisurely stroll around midtown (mostly up Fifth Avenue), enjoying seeing several of my Manhattan touchstones.
I’ve never known which of the library lions is Patience and which is Fortitude. Whichever this is, he is magnificent.
The Chrysler Building is the most beautiful skyscraper in the world. This is not up for debate.
I was interested to see a new sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Brugge. It’s called Plantoir, Blue and was erected in 2021.
And it’s good to see that Atlas is still holding up the Earth outside Rockefeller Center.
As for MOMA, they were installing a couple of new exhibits, so some favorites (e.g. Van Gogh’s Starry Night) were not open for viewing. And it was a bit of a maze getting around parts of the building. There was still plenty to look at. For example, I was quite taken by Marta Minujin’s Minucode which consists of films she made of four cocktail parties she hosted at the Center for Inter-American Relations in 1968. It’s an intriguing look at how people interact in an unexpected social environment. (It is also pretty much impossible to photograph.)
Monet’s Waterlilies are more or less obligatory.
I like Matisse, but I don’t plan to take a dip in his swimming pool.
I was intrigued by Double Transparency by Venezuelan artist, Jesus Rafael Soto.
I like to include at least one work by a woman in every set of photos of art. So have The Family by Marisol.
And I might as well throw in this set of lithographs by Julia Wachtel, based on photos of crowds in various cities.
I also was intrigued by some of the pieces in a special exhibit of work by Kahlil Robert Irving, which I thought had some powerful messages abut the commercialization of art.
There was, of course, plenty of other art to look at and I spent pretty much all afternoon at the museum. There are also plenty of other museums in New York (and, for that matter, here in DC), but those will have to wait for another trip.
Funny Girl: A lot of Broadway theaters are dark on Monday nights. Looking for something to do, I was able to snag a ticket for one of the preview performances of the revival of Funny Girl, starring Beanie Feldstein. The show is very much a star turn and I thought Feldstein was competent enough as Fanny Brice. The book had been rewritten and did give a bit more to Nick Ornstein, played excellently by Ramin Karimloo. I should also note the spectacular tap dancing by Jared Grimes as Eddy Ryan.
But, frankly, the show doesn’t hold together very well. The story line is weak (and not particularly accurate, but, then, it was originally produced by Brice’s son-in-law.) It feels like Jule Style was trying to leverage off of the success of Gypsy. which is a much more satisfying show. I found it entertaining enough for an evening, but not worth going out of the way for.
Footnote: I took the train home Tuesday night, so I was able to call into one of my genealogy groups on Tuesday night from home. But I need to get back to New York in the next several weeks, since I very much need to see Hangmen, which is Martin McDonagh’s new play. And I want to go to the Faith Ringold retrospective at the New Museum.
