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For the sake of my mental health, I am taking a break from this blog. There are other pressing things that I need to do right now, and I can't afford to be providing myself with structured methods of procrastination. Thanks for your gentle readership. And, you know, get in touch via normal means.

molding words

Whoever thought of writing the titles of plays up in between the ceiling molding at the Public Theatre deserves applause. (Also? I kinda want to know what font that is. You know, for posterity's sake.)

CONSUMED: The Public Theatre; 425 Lafayette St, NoHo (Manhattan)

CSI pinball machine

I was greatly amused by the mention of lab equipment on a pinball machine (click the picture to zoom). Also on the machine, but not pictured here, was the DNA bonus!

CONSUMED: Mugs Ale House; 125 Bedford Ave, Williamsburg (Brooklyn)

Francis and the Lights (at the Bowery Ballroom)

When Francis came out and started to dance along to his music, I couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. Because he was awkward; his dancing was awkward; I felt awkward for him and his lack of communion with the crowd. But strangely, as the night went on, I stopped thinking about how weird the whole situation was and started thinking about how courageous he was to pull that off. And then soon, combined with his unbelievably catchy tunes (all of which felt somehow familiar, as if they were old friends whose names I had forgotten), I was willing him to dance more, to show me what other spirits he held inside. Not to mention that I was dancing too.

CONSUMED: The Bowery Ballroom; 6 Delancey St, Nolita (Manhattan)

The Ear Inn

Purported to be one of the oldest (if not THE oldest) drinking establishments in Manhattan, I was brought to The Ear (Inn) several years ago by my friend Anne. And since then I have never regretted spreading the gospel and bringing others to this little pub (almost-)on the Hudson.

I can't really put my finger on why I love this place so much. It has something to do with crayons on paper tabletops. Or civil music levels that don't compete with your conversation. Or a decent but inexpensive kitchen. Or always being just more than slightly-tipsy when I leave. Or their cell-free zone sign on the door. Or lovely company all the many times I've been there.

What I do know with certainty is that I'm always looking for another excuse to go back.

CONSUMED: The Ear Inn; 326 Spring St, SoHo (Manhattan)

La Superior

Excellent (and cheap) Mexican for the South Side! This small BYOB spot has something good going, and come summer I'm sure they're going to be busting at the seams with clientele (here's hoping they put out a patio).

CONSUMED: La Superior; 295 Berry St, Williamsburg (Brooklyn)

Barcade

Dory and I spent our entire Saturday together. We sometimes added people here or there, but we really only spent maybe a total of 15 minutes apart to run individual errands. It was a wonderful day of roommate bonding that ended with an impromptu field trip to Barcade.

Barcade is one of those places that actually lives up to that idea you get in your head when you hear about it for the first time. It's simple: arcade games (most seemingly from circa 1982) and beer. And great beer at that. (I had a mighty tasty dobbelbock from Climax Brewery in New Jersey.)

So after losing $5 in quarters, we ended up sitting at the bar nursing our second-round beers. And since it was the end of the night for the both of us, and since the day was an exercise in friendship building, we shared secrets. And at that point I knew the day had been a rousing success.

CONSUMED: Barcade; 388 Union Ave, Williamsburg (Brooklyn)

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Wow. Two bar posts in one week. What do you think I've been doing with myself lately?

bus parking

Cycling down the back industrial streets of Gowanus, you don't really expect to see anything familiar. Imagine my surprise when I turned a corner and stumbled upon the sleeping place of all those damned double-decker buses that shuttle tourists around our fair city. (I am most familiar with how they use 1st Avenue as the "throughway" to get people from the East Village to Midtown, without stopping in the unsavory neighbourhood of Kips Bay. I don't blame them, really.) Seeing the lot made me wonder what's going to happen to spaces like this when the ever-expanding Carroll Gardens and Park Slope crowds start to converge on the canal.

CONSUMED: 2nd Ave and 6th St, Gowanus (Brooklyn)

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

This book secured Steinbeck in my list of great authors (I was turned onto Steinbeck by East of Eden, which is now in my top 10 books "of all time"). I'm so glad I didn't have to read this for school, because I would have probably ended up hating it. Instead Wuthering Heights/Emily Bronte and Huck Finn/Mark Twain got served those odious fates.

CONSUMED: in my apartment, and on the trains of New York

roasted marshmallows

Perhaps the best gift Katerli received for her birthday was to have glorious springtime-like weather for her early February birthday party. So the smores-making that she promised occurred with jubilation and good spirits. Much whiskeyed cider, malted beer, and charred marshmallows were consumed. And all rejoiced in her anniversary, in the smoky company, in the simple gelatinous treats.

CONSUMED: Katerli's backyard; Clermont Ave, Fort Greene (Brooklyn)

Beauty Bar

Somehow, Beauty Bar has become my department's watering hole of choice, which is strange considering that we're scientists, not hipsters, and that it's a good 10 blocks away.

OK well maybe some of us are hipsters.

The caveat of Beauty Bar is also what gives it its name: free manicures with the purchase of a beer. Instead of the odour of beer-soaked floors, the volatile scent of acetone permeates the room. I smell enough chemicals in my lab that I would prefer not to inhale more during our social hour. But it's the small price to pay for the good company of my workmates (and to capitalise on $3 Blue Point Toasted Lagers).

CONSUMED: Beauty Bar; 231 E 14th St, East Village (Manhattan)