Happy New Year Message

Within 3 days of the 1919 New Year (not the Jewish one), Woodrow Wilson said, in an address to the Italian Parliament:

"The only use of an obstacle is to be overcome. All that an obstacle does with brave men is, not to frighten them, but to challenge them."

On this Jewish New Year the quote holds special significance. A long and strange year, filled with turmoil and unanswered questions, is now over.

Even as the possibility for escalated violence and war looms close, challenges give us the opportunity to look inward and ask "Am I doing all that I can? Am I living up to my potential?" It is all to easy to abandon person reflection when faced with the questions that are at once unavoidable yet unanswerable: "What can I possibly do? And how can I make a difference?"

There is always room for improvement. My wish for everyone on this New Year is continued strength to meet the year's hurdles with vigor, commitment and child-like optimism.

May you have a happy and sweet New Year, filled with friendship, inspiration and victory (even if you aren't Jewish).

Happy New Year

The Jewish New Year is always a time for friends and business to send out "Happy New Year" messages. Mine is forthcoming. In the meantime, here is an exact copy of the message I got earlier today from El Al Airlines. I guess budget cuts have forced them to purchase keyboards without spacebars!

"Toallourcustomers,
MayyouandyourfamiliesbeBlessedwitha
NewYearfullofhealth,peaceandprosperity.
ElAlIsraelAirlines"

Newest Obsession

I usually have CNN on all day while working. Recently, I started indulging in some MTV2 action. Every day MTV2 devotes some programming time to a voting-based online system that lets web surfers decide which videos get played. Check out MTV2.com and click on "Control Freak" in the navigation area. Please help me get them to play more Billy Joel and Genesis!

The Starbucks Guy

He is neither an employee, nor is he endorsed by Starbucks. Check out the dude who wants to go to ALL of the Starbucks in the world. Click here.

The Weekend

Well, all good things come to an end. I am now back in Brooklyn after a really fun weekend in Manhattan spent almost entirely alone.

The obligatory list of films I saw: (none for the first time, by the way)
Forrest Gump (I still cry when Forrest is introduced to Forrest Jr.)
Austin Powers (the first, the original, the classic)
The Sweetest Thing (unrated director's cut)
The Time Machine (you'd expect a better-produced DVD)
She's the One (ehh)
Waiting for Guffman (amazing)
Best in Show (improv genius)
Down to Earth (Chris Rock is God)
The Tao of Steve (how not to get a woman!)
The Royal Tenebaums (the DVD is awesome!)
Larry Sanders: The First Season

That list is quite different from the classics I saw last week. In the upcoming days I plan to conquer the entire first and second seasons of Mr. Show on DVD.

During the evenings I did something I never tried before in NYC - I went out alone. It was a cool ending to what was the greatest summer of my life. I checked out about a dozen different bars, clubs and pubs. Not drinking too much (didn't want to loose control without a friend around) was not an impediment to having fun. I met some strangers, did some dancing and enjoyed the experience of total anonymous abandon.

I can only hope that those things which made the summer so amazing are carried through for the rest of the year and the rest of my life.

Biggest lessons from Summer '02:
Chill out
Don't take things so seriously
Be as open as possible to new things (rarely use the word no)
Don't be afraid to be alone and you'll meet more people than you know what to do with
Don't worry about not being cool
Absinthe is a very intriguing beverage
Meeting new people is awesome but only viable once you are comfortable with yourself.

The Journey IS The Destination

I'm making a pilgrimage to save the human race.

Who's with me?

Along the way I'm also going to save some human grace.

The future's open. Why?

A Vacation From Myself

This weekend I am not simply residing in the greatest city in the world (New York City) but I am actually residing in the greatest borough of the greatest city in the world (Manhattan). My brother and his wife's departure to Vermont for the weekend provided the perfect opportunity to pretend I have an apartment in the city. So, here I am, on their high speed connection, listening to their great sound system and enjoying the perks of being within walking distance to anything I could ever want (other than a black jack table).

More later...