Day Twenty: Thursday, June 25, 2009

Day Twenty: Thursday, June 25, 2009
Workshop: Day 5 Editor Powerpoints


I heard from Zoe this morning. She got to Rome and wanted me to call her, but I never could get through. I wasn't sure whether or not to worry, but eventually I got news from Christine that they made it to the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel and everything.

We had some miscommunication about exactly what we were doing this morning at the workshop. Pete thought we were meeting in the big group all morning and I thought we were in our small groups all morning. We compromised and wound up working in our small groups from 9:30 -10:30. We did a journal topic on staff conflicts and then the rest of the time was spent hearing the editor Powerpoint presentations.

At 10:30 we all gathered and I went over the expectations of the theme packet, showed them what should be in the theme packet, gave them the assignment and then they started working. We got a little mixed up about when it should be due and realized that for the purposes of awards it had to be due tonight by 10 p.m.

Had lunch at Amirs. Chicken Hot Toasted roll or whatever it is called.

In the afternoon all the kids worked on their them packets. Many of them reverted to what they always do. It's disheartening to have them not really use what they have learned and go back to doing what they always do. Some began to do some pretty good stuff.

They were done by four. Talked with Zoe and she did get to the Sistine Chapel. They also climbed to the top of the dome at St. Peter's and saw Piazza Navona. When i spoke with her it was 11 and they were heading off to bed.

Crystal and I decided to see a show which would be my fifth. At TKTS we decided on 9 to 5 for $63.50. Then we went back to Hell's Kitched to look for a restaurant and I decided to take Crystal to Becco. This time I had the three pasta special for $22.95. On the way out I decided to buy a Lidia cookbook for Christine.

The show was at the Marquis and it was pretty bad.

Can this gaudy, empty musical really be part of the same Broadway season that gave us the minimally decorated, maximally effective “Exit the King,” “God of Carnage” and “Norman Conquests”? Those shows strip down to modest sets and, in many cases, small casts, the better to show off their considerable natural assets. But if ingenious austerity has replaced mindless opulence on main-stem stages, no one bothered to alert “9 to 5.” Dolly Parton and Patricia Resnick’s musical adaptation of the 1980 movie about three women’s revenge on their sexist boss piles on the flashy accessories like a prerecession hedge funder run amok at Barney’s. Staged by Joe Mantello, this show feels assembled by an emulous shopaholic who looked around at the tourist-drawing hits of the last decade and said: “I want some of that. And that. Ooh, and can I have that, too?” — Ben Brantley

Ben had it pretty close. It was crude and uninspiring a best. Though I did love seeing Allison Janney.

We we got back up to Columbia I stopped at Mortons for a Coke and thn I found my poster man. It was good to see him once again. Too bad he didn't have much.

When we got back to the room i down loaded all the tme packet stuff and when Pete got in early we all met in my room and graded. I think we were done by 12:30 ish.

Day Nineteen: Wednesday, June 24, 2009: Class Bonding. Patsy'

Day Nineteen: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Workshop: Day 4 Maestro Groups Debrief. Spread 2
Patsy's. Blithe Spirit with Angela Lansbury

Woke up at 5:30 again. Got up by six and worked a bit and then went out for a run with Pete. I didn't get to far before I had to turn back. But it still felt good to crank it up. I walked back to Camille's to hang out with Helen. Just had coffee and juice. The CSPA crowd keeps coming in later and later.

I just felt better after running. Got to talk with Zoe before she headed off on her adventure. She is excited and a little frightened.
I got to class early to get set up and was ready when they all arrived. We were missing three Bronx Science kids who were taking the Physics Regents exam. It was the best class so far. We debriefed the mission statements, had numerous prize giveaways, started the yearbook olympics, and then began work on the ladder. We really began to bond as a class which was fabulous. Most importantly the kids were having a good time. The time really flew by.

For lunch we decided to go to East Harlem to Pete's favorite pizza place, Patsy's 2287 First
Avenue, New York (between 117 and 118). He went there often when he was out her visiting Mary Kate. We caught a cab at Columbia and he worked a deal with the cabbie for him to wait for us while we got the pizza. He told him that he would give him a couple of slices and "make it worth his while."

We bought two pies for $11 each and the cabbie waited.

We ate some of the pizza in the cab and the rest outside of Carman. I the wasy back we saw Bobby Hawthorne on at street corner and I stuck my head out of the cab and started yelling at him, "Go back to Texas. We don't like yor kind here." It was pretty funny.

We started back at one ant the kids were working past and furiously on Spread #2. They had to have it done by no later that 2:45 so we would have time to get them to my computer and processed for a group critique. They really did a fabulous job building on and improving what they had done the first time. Here was the winner of our class contest:

After class Crystal and I headed down to Times Square and it was pouring rain. Luckily I did bring my umbrella this time. We planned to see what we could get for a show. We wanted Billy Elliot but when we went by the box office we realized there was no way so we went back to TKTS and bought two tickets to Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit. We took refuge at Cafe Europa but rejected the urge to time how long it took to get in and out of the restroom. By the time we ate it was barely 6 p.m.
From there we went on a hunt to find the Triton Gallery that has all the window cards. It was not at its old location on 45th but we found in in a cool art Deco Building on 9th ave. 630 9th Ave # 808, New York. Crystal bought a Charlie Brown poster for Brittany. We looked around Times Square some more and were in the Shubert Theatre by about 7:30.

There is no choreographer listed among the credits for the genial but bumpy new revival of Noël Coward’s “Blithe Spirit.” Yet for pure originality and expressiveness, it’s hard to imagine any Broadway chorus line topping the solo dances performed here by Angela Lansbury as Madame Arcati, a very self-serious medium on the prowl for vibrations from the spirit world. As for those little neo-Nijinsky dances, they are Madame Arcati’s method for making herself receptive for the arrival of errant ectoplasms. Those of you who are still among the living have the chance to witness this uncanny apparition simply by buying a ticket. And you shouldn’t feel shortchanged by Michael Blakemore’s production — which also stars Christine Ebersole, Jayne Atkinson and, in a solid Broadway debut, Rupert Everett — even if it still has a way to go before it finds its fleet feet. — Ben Brantley

The show not only had Angela, but also Christine Ebersole, Rupert Everett, and Jayne Atkinson, from 24. It really was fun and Angela was terrific. Apparently we even got to here Christine Ebersole sing the songs between scenes.

After the show, we decided to wait at the stage door. Right when we got there we saw Lynne Redgrave go out but the only ones who came out from the cast were the maid, and Jayne Atkinson. After a nother 20 minutes, out of nowhere Cloris Leachman appeared. Apparently she was trying to see Angela but she came out and said she was gone. One of the theatre people came out and handed out programs that Angela had signed and Crystal got one.


Karen Hayes from 24



Cloris Leachman showed up to see Angela.
It was then up to Columbia nd back to Carman before 12.

Day Eighteen: Tuesday, June 23, 2009: Workshop Day Three, In the Heights

Day Eighteen: Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Workshop: Day 3 Maestro Groups Debrief. Spread 2
In the Heights
Becco

Woke up before six. Went to Camille's at 7:30. BAck at the room I even took a little nap. I need sleep. Started teaching at 9:30 although I had forgotten that I was moving to the Party space so I had to quickly get all my stuf set up there in about ten minutes.

The morning was kind of tough. It is hard to get into any kind of a flow with this schedule. It is also hard to build relationships. I did a journal write and then my "What doe an editor do?" show. Then do to time I did the creating a mission statement and they worked on them right up until 11:30. We didn't even get to present them. Oh well. Tomorrow morning.

At lunch I got working on putting together the Keynote of all the first set of spreads and I wound up taking a quick nap and staying there all lunch. It was good to have the time as many did not have there pages pdfed or even correctly pdfed.

At one I had close to all the spreads and by 1:20 I had 12 of the 13. So we launched into the group critiques. To go through all 13 it took a full hour.



So it was 2:20. They actually made great commentary on the spread, Now only if they would actually translate those comments to their own workWe decided to have them start brainstorming their next spread which would not be due until 3:15 on Wednesday. The best bet would be if they wrote about the show, but as it turned out only a few were going to. We brought them back together at 3:15 to check how they were doing and then were done at four. They all seemed engaged and interested.

After we went back to the room, Pete and I walked down to Koronet for a slice. We hurried because we thought we were meeting at 5:15 but it turned out that the buses weren't really leaving until 5:45. We we did leave the bus ride was amazing in comparison to the old take the group on the subway days. We were down to the theater in less than an hour. We met Crystal down there, and were in the theatre by 6:30 since many Tuesday shows start at 7 now.

The show again was fabulous. It was the first night of the understudy, We even got a bonus press conference after the show was over.

After the show we got to have a brief press conference with several of the actors.


After the show Mark Murray, Pete and I ate at and Italian place called Becco which is owned by Lidia of Lidia's Italy..


The name Becco is derived from the Italian verb beccare, which means to peck, nibble or savor something in a discriminating way.

Lidia Bastianich & her son, Joseph, opened Becco in the theater district in 1993. It is best known for its acclaimed $17.95 pre fix lunch menu & $22.95 pre fix dinner menu that includes a large assortment of Italian antipasti or a classics Caesar salad together with unlimited tableside servings of our 3 daily pasta preparations. Becco also offers an extensive a la carte menu including chicken, fish, veal, & pork entrees & a wide selection of Italian wines, all priced at $25.00 per bottle. We also have an extensive reserved wine list with bottles ranging from $30.00 - $2,000.00.

Day Seventeen: Monday, June 22, 2009: Workshop Day 2

Day Seventeen: Monday, June 22, 2009
Workshop: Day 2 Setting up the Maestro Groups

Woke up at six. Not surprisingly I did not sleep well. Got up and went for a brief run to Grant's tomb and back at about 6:15. The most important part is just getting up and out.

Start my workshop Facebook group and did a little bit on the Japan blog. Mitzi sent an updated itinerary.

Met Helen Smith in the lobby, who by the way is retiring after 44 years of teaching, and we walked over to Camille's and literally opened up the place at 7:30. Enrique was there and eventually Ed and Brett showed up and we had a nice morning together talking New York and Boston politics. :)

Class started at 9:30. Yes, 9:30, crazy stuff. For the first two hours I met with my 16 Editorial Leadership kids and after doing some journaling, I went through my "The Big Questions" show and then at 10:30 I felt I needed to take them through the "Steps to Great Copy" session. One of the most amazing things was that EACH of my students had a laptop. I set up a

Facebook group and I posted their pictures and each of them posted one of their journal responses. The possibilities of having this kind of interactive workshop are truly amazing. Quickly it was 11:30 and we said "no mas" to Camille's and went to what used to be called Cafe Swish and is now called something like Vino Sushi, weird name for a Japanese place.

At 1:00 we all gathered together and put the group into Maestro groups each with a designer, editor and all around staffer. I think we wound up with about 13 groups. They were supposed to interview each other looking for possible story ideas and in one hour they were to check back with us. They really found some amazing angles but it appears that the designs may be nothing short of terrible. We circulated and answered questions and before we knew it, it was 4:30.

Crystal and I went to the bookstore and then had a Hagen-Daz and we were back in the Lerner Theatre before six. This year we do not have any night work but they have arranged some lectures and other entertainment options which appear to be terrific. Tonight they could go to a lecture on Photoshop taught by a professional trainer or hear Bobby hawthorne's "Master Class"on writing. Crystal and I wento the Photoshop session which was good and we go a free book out of it. the besgt part was thatCrystal had used most of the guy's examples and she had the book he took mot of them from.

At eight six of us walked to Carmine's for an 8:30 dinner. I had gotten a hold of maryam this morning and invited her and she was able to come. It was great fun. Every one has their stories of meeting their former editors at Carmine's and now I have my story too. We ate Calamari, Carmin'e Salad, Bow tie pasta with chicken and spinach, Chicken Scarpiello, and topped it off with a Titanic. all for $35 each. Definitely a bargain.

Everyone but Pete walked back and we were actually pretty early. Tonight is the night we usually go to see Les paul, but he had been sick, so it was going to be former Yankee Bernie Williams in his place. No thank you.

Day Sixteen: Sunday, June 21, 2009: Redeemer and Workshop Day One

Day Sixteen: Sunday, June 21, 2009
Church at Redeemer. The Workshop Begins

Woke up at about 7 and didn't quite know what to do. Eventually I decided not to run, showered and am now catching up on stuff before I head off to church at Redeemer.

I was out by 8 or so, stopped and got Starbucks then took the 1 down to 66th and then a three block walk to the cultural society where Reedemer has its 9:15 service.

I sat up front and they had an amazing brass quartet doing all the music. The prelude alone was worth coming to hear.

The sermon was on the calling of David from First Samuel, delivered by Scott Sauls, who appears to be one of the younger associate pastors. It was a blessed message and as usual I felt very privileged to be there. I went down stairs and bought Tim Keller's new book the Prodigal God for $10 and I started reading it at breakfast.

From there I wasn't completely sure what I was going to do, but I wound up walking to Something good To Eat which was on Amsterdam and 83rd. n the way there I passed Sarabeth's. It is very interesting to see what restaurants have any buzz.

I didn't have to wait long and I sat at the window bar and had a Lumberjack breakfast, two pancakes, two strips of bacon (which I had to send back because it was barely cooked) and scrambled eggs. I also had more coffee and it all came to about $17.

I thought about taking the bus back up Amsterdam but wound up walking the whole way. Also found the Popover Cafe which I had read about. It was definitely a beautiful Sunday morning to celebrate God and His goodness.

I chilled in the room until the three of us met at 2. Crystal came up to our room and we basically planned the whole week. It should be great working in the maestro groups in the afternoon. Tonight we planned to do our revamp "colors" entitled "We're all in the together," and it really is much improved. When I did it in South Dakota, it really seemed tired. So the changes are really good.

After that we went down and registered and then we pretty much just killed time until about 4:15 or so when we went over to Learner to check out our rooms. It turns out that we are not using the Party Space tonight. There was some People to People group in there.

The opening session started and five and believe it or not Ed filled the entire hour. Our yearbook opening was in the Broadway Room next door and we do have well under 50 kids. This really could be the end.

Crystal did "We're All in This Together," Pete did his theme session on finding and developing a concept and I had them fill out a questionnaire so we could set up our maestro groups tomorrow. We went right up until 8.

As usual we went over for food together at Havana Central at the West End. We were late getting served, but the food was good so it really didn't matter much.

Then it was back to Carman and Pete and I have been talking and got all the slides from slide fest...yippee!

I also got really nice emails from all the girls for Father's Day. I really appreciated it.

Day Fifteen: Saturday, June 20, 2009: New York!

Day Fifteen: Saturday, June 20, 2009
New York, New York

We left Sacramento right about midnight as scheduled. The flight was uneventful, but having the televisions is a great thing. We got to JFK by about 7:50 a.m, but had to sit there until almost 8:20 before we got a gate. The terminal we came into looked new or at least remodeled. I quickly got my bag and was in a cab by 8:50. Not much traffic so I got to Carman at 114 by about 9:30. The cost $58 including toll and tip.

At Carman there was a bit of a glitch. They did not have me on any of the lists, but with a quick call to Rebecca, it was all taken care of and I am in room 1001A. I got settled in and talked with Crystal about her computer and theatre tickets and then I was off on the 1 to seek my fortune in Times Square.

I first tried Billy Elliott, but nothing was available on either today or Wednesday. Then I went to the Palace Theatre to see what was available for West Side Story and I go some partially restricted view seats for $61.50 each. Next I decided I would pay full price for Hair at the Hirshfeld and got fourth row center for $120. I then went over the Europa Cafe and a delicious Turkey and Brie and asparagus pannini.

By now it was still well before noon, so I decided to go over to Tiffany's to see if I could find Kate something for graduation.

I won't reveal if I was successful. Tune in later. I should also report that I had left my umbrella at the dorm and so it was pretty crazy whn it started raining. Of course I was too cheap to buy a new umbrella.
I leisurely walked back to the Hirschfeld Theatre and got there by 1:30 for Hair. The seats were amazing.

Having moved indoors to Broadway from the Delacorte Theater in Central Park — where last summer they lighted up the night skies, howled at the moon and had ticket seekers lining up at dawn — the young cast members of Diane Paulus’s thrilling revival of “Hair” show no signs of becoming domesticated. On the contrary, they’re tearing down the house. And any theatergoer with a pulse will find it hard to resist their invitation to join the demolition crew. This emotionally rich revival of “The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical” from 1967 delivers what Broadway otherwise hasn’t felt this season: the intense, unadulterated joy and anguish of that bi-polar state called youth. — Ben Brantley

The nudity was interesting and the plot was sketchy at best, but it was exuberant and full of energy. I love going up on stage during the encore.

After the show I worked my way over the The 42nd Street station and got back to Columbia by a little after 5. I got in contact with Crystal. She had reformatted her computer, but at least it was working. I took a quick nap and we were heading down to meet Crystal's former student Tiffany for dinner and then she was going to go to WWS with us. We found her at 9th and 50th. This area is theoretically the northern reaches of Hell's Kitchen.

The Amazing Tiffany and Crystal and Beans and Rice.


The show was at the Palace Theatre where we say Legally Blond last year. The show was great, not necessarily amazing. The original Jerome Robbins coreography is something as is the music.
The other fun part is that the Amazing Tiffany had played Maria in a college production so she had much to say about the direction and performances. We all thought that it lacked energy and that Maris was not particularly strong. We loved Anita eventhough she was not Karen Olvio, the Tony winner. :(


The teenage hoodlums who maraud through Arthur Laurents’s startlingly sweet new revival of “West Side Story” seem like really nice kids. Youth has always been the engine of this epochal musical from 1957, created by one of the most talented teams in showbiz history: Mr. Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (score), Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) and Jerome Robbins (director and choreographer). But usually it’s the scary, adrenaline-stoked energy of youth that sets the tone and rhythms of the show. In this production, which lovingly replicates Mr. Robbins’s balletic choreography, what prevails is a tenderhearted awareness of the naked vulnerability of being young and trapped in an urban jungle. Half a century ago middle-class adult theatergoers were shocked and appalled by the brutality of the ethnic gang warfare of “West Side Story.” This time audiences — the grown-ups, anyway — are more likely to respond with feelings of parental protectiveness. — Ben Brantley

After the show we stopped at the little store, Morton Williams, near Columbia and I bought some drinks and Wheat Thins. Back at Carmen I puttered a bit, attempted to make the bed (love not having a fitted sheet) and then went to bed.

Other than the rain, all in all a pretty good day. :)

Day Fourteen: Friday, June 19, 2009: Off to NYC

Day Fourteen: Friday, June 19, 2009
Getting Ready for Two Trips

Christine made ableskivers for breakfast. She is going to make them for Aimee's shower on Saturday so she wanted to see how much a batch made. She figures 28-35 per batch.

I also took the cans to the recycler, bought dark socks, got a haircut, got money at the credit union, went to school twice, bought new slip on shoes and packed among a number of other things.

I took Zoe and Stacy to Bags and Baggage and bought them passport pouches-the kind that fits around your neck, I also went by T Shirt Pro and got the extra shirts I bought.

Looks like I will be ready to leave at 11:59.

Kate arrived and we had a great family fajita feast. All the kids there...amazing. I got a call from Crystal. Apparently her computer crashed and she asked me to being Leopard and some software. So I went down to school to get it all. My third or fourth time today.