Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Apple iPhone

It's love. First it was fascination, then a crush, obsessive some might say. Struck up the courage to engage in the commitment, and finally consumation. And it is true love.

This is not my first real PDA-type thingy, for I did have a brief affair with a Palm V some many years ago, in a pre-NYC life. It held lots of info, sure, but it never really took. Since then I've hunkered down from the fast evolving techno craze. My last phone did not even have a camera on it, let alone email or internet access. But since finishing school, becoming a licensed professional and having my own business, I figured it was time to get a real grownup techno gadget to fit the times. The iPhone contains everything I need, with that need becoming greater as I lost my orange iPod shuffle and the battery of my low-tech phone started acting wonky again.

With less than 24 hours of ownership with my new iPhone, I find the gadget has been constant source of delight. And utter coolness.

Things I love:
  • the usual cool out of box experience that Apple so wonderfully delivers with each new product
  • the way cool alarm clock dials that resemble the spinning wheels of a slot machine
  • notes to keep track of my to do's and ideas that always far exceed what I can keep in my head at any given time
  • consolidation of my phone numbers, emails and addresses plus the means to utilize them in same contraption (tap to call, tap to email, tap to log on and surf)
  • calendar finally all in one place, that I can sync with my computer, again on the go
  • iTunes with me all the time, especially on the long subway ride to and from the burbs or when my iPod runs out on my patients mid-treatment
  • a screen of beautiful colors, ease of use, nice feel of the machine in my hand
  • maps! a must in NYC when one lives out in the burbs and one's office is at home in the burbs while the business takes place in the city.
  • the full-on website pages
  • the cool way you can magnify or diminish the view of pictures, web pages, emails, etc.
  • the elimination of the stylus (yeay!)
  • the keypad for the phone, because there's something ultracool about tapping on a plain smooth sheet of glass instead of a set of plastic buttons.
Have yet to really use the phone, for I'm still waiting for the activation to come through.

Not like:
  • the icons on the main screen for some things I'm just never going to use, like YouTube and stocks - not a terrible thing, just a wasted 3/4ths of a square inch
  • one can say "price" and it is steep, but you know, combine the iPod with phone and internet as well as computer, one would say it's quite the bargain
  • can't switch the order of listed cities on the weather feature, so you either eliminate Cupertino or deal with the fact that you'll always know the weather in California before your own city [UPDATE with the iPhone software update to 1.1.1 they've fixed that issue]
UPDATED next day: So the phone finally works, and the sound is beautiful, crisp, and clear, at least compared to my old cheap phone. iPhone comes with handy earbuds that not only allows you the privacy of listening to your tunes, but it also comes with this tiny clicky thing on the right earbud cord that you click to answer the phone call that came in while your iTunes was playing, then once you finish the phone call, click the tiny thingy again, and your music resumes. It also doubles as a mic, and from my test run I was told the sound is great, maybe a little too great in that the breeze blowing in from the window was heard by the caller on the other end.

The iPhone is another piece of hard evidence of the thorough and thoughtful engineering of Apple, and why I soon switched to Apple after my first iPod many years ago, when it first issued the iPod for Windows and the stock price was still under $30.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Joyce Carol Oates reading

at the Barnes & Nobel, 82nd and Broadway. Book was her new collection of short stories called The Museum of Dr. Moses

Being a free event, of a well-known author, and at the huge bookstore chain B&N, we figured it would be packed. With my flexible work time, I made a point of getting there early to grab good seats. I had heard of other popular readings where there were long lines, hour waits, need of wrist bands. This was not the case. We did not even know she had a new book out, and it did not seem like this reading about be so highly attended. Arriving an hour and a half early, the seating area was sparsely populated. I grabbed a couple of chairs in the third row, just left of the center aisle.

Slowly as the minutes ticked by, the seats filled until it was standing room only. The author soon appeared, looking tiny and frail and quite at ease in front of this eager little crowd. Applause, an introduction, another applause. JCO discusses genres, and the difference from the general literary fiction. Her new book of short stories is of the horror/gothic genre. She is a good speaker, humorous, calm. I felt compelled to take notes. It makes sense she is a college professor. She reads a bit from one of her stories, and claims the gruesome end prevents her from reading aloud the ending to us. She just knows how to keep the audience in suspense. She takes a few questions, gives lively and interactive responses. Addresses a lot of information and advice to budding writers (like myself and my fellow writing club members), before it is time for the signing.

The announcer said we were to line up according to rows, but there was no one there to enforce such instruction, and it more like a bum rush to the front of the room. We were able to get near the front, our rightful place having been in the third row, but thanks really to a kind gentleman who was sitting next to us who bravely cut the line and allowed us to cut in front of him. Being the genteel, civilized crowd it was, there was no complaint or dirty looks. The signing was quick, JCO ever the professional made quick small talk with us before gently ushering us away.

Overall a good experience. I had not read much of the book prior to the reading, but a couple of stories in, it was nice to hear some of her explanations.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Faust with Puppets

from the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater
performance at the Bohemian National Hall on E.73rd Street

I've been hankering for a creepy puppet show, and finally got my taste last night at the so-newly-renovated-you still-see-wires-hanging Bohemian National Hall on East 73rd Street, with a performance of Johannes Dokchtor Faust by the CAMT. Faust is an old story, about some guy who sells his soul to the devil.

Puppets + devils = gotta be creepy, right?

The tickets were cheap at $18 - a tenth of the price of your latest Broadway show or Madison Square Garden concert. The tickets were general admission, seating was first come first served, so we arrived early about 20 minutes after 7pm - much too early. We were greeted in the newly renovated lobby by a nice lady who handed us the program and directed us upstairs, acknowledging that we were early as seating didn't start until 7:45pm, but there were a few seats as well as bathrooms available on the third floor. Up we go to the third floor, empty into a medium sized lobby. A couple of people were already there. We grabbed a couple of the empty chairs, and sat a while. The lobby slowly filled, and at about 7:45 some of the people who didn't get seats started lining up at the theater doors. A young gentleman dressed in velvet clothes and top hat ushered us in, but allowing only those whose program had a star on it (ours did) to be ushered in first. How we got the special stars, I do not know. A small rush into the theater, and we grabbed a couple of seats in the second row, slightly left of center. I've learned from sitting through previous performances to not sit in the first couple of rows, but I had forgotten that this was a puppet show - the closer the better. But we could see just fine. A good 3/4 of the seats were filled by the time the show started, and in my very inaccurate estimate, I would say there were about 50-60 people there. They did of course provide a nice little bench in front of the first row for the kids to sit on - children's privilege.

We were wooed by accordian music for the ten minute wait, and lights out, the performance began. We got to see all the cast members, who lined up in costume before the puppet stage (which I'm sure it has a technical name), playing some small instrument before filing out to allow the puppets to take over. Sweet harmonica solo, tophat velvet man.

The puppets were great. According to the literature, there was a cache of puppets found in a Czech church, no history of how or when these puppets ended up here. They were dated to be about 100 years old. We had Faust, his servant, his servant's servant who provided the comic relief. A brief appearance of a tiny angel and tiny devil as Faust's conscience, many devils of all sizes, a couple of aquatic creatures and a dog. A royal couple (is it me, or did the queen look an awful lot like the late Princess Diana? Maybe I've been watching too much CNN lately) and an awesome cast of couriers.

The performance was wonderfully energetic, the voices of the devils and