New Year's Eve: dinner in on the Upper East Side, then The Black Door in Chelsea and Drop Off Service (14th and Avenue A in the East Village). A good time was had by all.

This week: played tour guide again, this time with Mom. Tuesday visited the World Trade Center site, Wall Street, St. Paul's Chapel (again), Trinity Church, NYU, Times Square, Rockefeller Center and lunch at Peanut Butter and Co. Wednesday walked in Central Park, visited the Time Warner Building and Lincoln Center. Dinner at Rosa Mexicano (on 1st Avenue) and saw The Producers at the St. James Theatre (John Treacy Egan as Max Bialystock and Hunter Foster as Leo Bloom). Thursday spent a rainy day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, dinner in Little Italy at Lombardi's. Finally, on Friday saw the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes. Spent the morning and early afternoon around Rockefeller Center (saw part of the Today show), visited St. Patrick's cathedral and walked Fifth Avenue. And of course, who could leave New York without having dinner at Eat Here Now?

See pictures here.

Done with being a tourist!

Slate's best jazz albums of 2005

This week: played tour guide with visits to Little Italy, Ground Zero, St. Pauls Chapel near Ground Zero, Battery Park, Wall Street (see pictures linked below of the NYSE decorated for Christmas), Rockefeller Center (for the Christmas Tree), Times Square, NYU, etc., etc. Lots of dining--I forget all of the restaurants, but they included Il Piccolo Bufalo (Little Italy), Patsy's Pizzeria, Pam Real Thai (again), and Cabana. Spent a half day in Philadelphia.

Saw Chicago at the Ambassadaor Theatre with Huey Lewis as Billy Flynn. Aside from my usual complaints about amplification--and bad singing in general--this show was a lot of fun. The sizeable jazz band--cutting back the orchestra in this production is not an option--made all the difference.

Saw Die Fledermaus at the Met. Not much to say about this--a straightforward production, and all-around great singing. Bill Irwin played Frosch, the drunken jailer.

See lots of Christmas pictures from Philadelphia and New York City here.

Tonight: the play "Thom Pain (based on nothing)" at the DR2 Theatre, 103 E. 15th Street near Union Square.

Today: random walk through Dumbo, Brooklyn and lunch at Grimaldi's Pizzeria under the Brooklyn Bridge. Some views of the bridge here. Had to walk off my pepperoni pizza with a long walk on Lexington Avenue from 23rd Street to 64th.

Tonight's dining group: to Pam Real Thai, 49th street between 9th and 10th (Hell's Kitchen).

Tonight: Dinner at Dojo (W4 at Mercer) in the West Village (picture snagged from the web), and the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden (Kansas vs. St Josephs and Michigan State vs. Boston College).

Speaks for itself.

Tonight: drinks, dinner, and more drinks in Gramercy Park. Early drinks at Maker's (3rd Avenue), Gujarat vegetarian Indian meal at Vatan (3rd Avenue at 29th), and coffee/drinks at Push Cafe (294 3rd Ave just south of 23rd Street).

Saw Romeo et Juliette at the Met. Featured Natalie Dessay as Juliette and Ramon Vargas as Romeo. Other standouts included Kristinn Sigmundsson (bass-baritone) as Friar Laurence and Theodora Hanslowe (mezzo) as the page Stephano. This was a new production by Guy Joosten, with sets designed by Johannes Leiacker. The design took an astronomical theme, with a large round portal at the rear that simulated the view through a telescope. A lovely Act 4 in Juliette's bedroom featured a bed suspended from the ceiling amidst a dark starry night background, with its pure white bed sheets billowing in the wind.

See the New York Times review here.

Today's Krugman column in the New York Times: adverse selection in the market for health insurance.

Jeff and Katie here this weekend...(pictures)

Fri: drinks at Volde Nuit (the Belgian Beer Bar), and dinner at Kittichai (Soho). Sat: breakfast at the Eat Here Now, long walks in Central Park, the Empire State Building (again), shopping, drinks in the Village at Boxers Bar and Grill (W 4th) and dinner at Surya (wonderful Indian food); cupcakes from Magnolia Cafe (Bleecker Street at 11th). Sun: a trip over to Roosevelt Island, more shopping, and pizza at John's (64th Street).

Sunday concerts: (1) saw a wonderful afternoon performance of the American Boychoir at St. James Church, 865 Madison Avenue. Favorites included Ave Maria (Richard Clark), I Am His Child (Moses Hogan), and Weep No More (David Childs).

and (2) the Opera Orchestra of New York's William Tell (with the New York Choral Society) at Carnegie Hall. Marcello Giordani was a phenomenal Arnold; Marco Chingari was William Tell. Ellie Dehn sang Jemmy (the son of William Tell) and perhaps the most beautiful aria in the opera in Act III (which--strangely--is usually not performed).

A brief bio of Russell Sage...

Russell Sage 1815–1906, American financier, b. Oneida co., N.Y. He was successful in the grocery business in Troy, N.Y. Active in public affairs, he became (1845) alderman of Troy and served (1853–56) as a Whig member of Congress. He continued to amass great wealth by banking, and after moving (1863) to New York City he engaged in stock speculation. In association with Jay Gould, he gained extensive financial control in several Western railroads, in the elevated railway system in New York City, and in the Western Union Telegraph Company. An attempt to assassinate him in 1891 failed, resulting in the death of the would-be assassin, Henry Norcross. Upon Sage's death, the distribution of his fortune was left in the hands of his widow, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, 1828–1918. She made large gifts to the Emma Willard School and to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy; established Russell Sage College; and donated money to other educational organizations and to benevolent societies. Marsh Island in the Gulf of Mexico was bought by her in 1912 and given to Louisiana as a bird sanctuary. The great single benefaction was the establishment (1907) of the Russell Sage Foundation in New York City. This institution, endowed with a total of $15 million for "the improvement of social and living conditions" in the United States, did pioneer work in cooperating with various social agencies. In addition to conducting research activities in social welfare, public health, education, government, and law, the foundation has also been concerned with the possibilities of increased use of social-science techniques in the practicing professions.

A new book on the history of urban sprawl, reviewed by Witold Rybczynski in Slate.

A map of political contributions to the 2004 presidential election, by size, by building, in Upper Manhattan.

There is a drop-down menu at the top left to view a few other cities (and larger Manhattan). If there were such thing as a "red state" in manhattan--I'm probably living in it. In a look at contributions from residents of the Royale (of $200 or more), Republicans received more contributions, $26,000 to $7,750 (names are viewable by searching by address here).

This weekend: more Fall walks in the park, and checked out the NYC marathon (pictures here). Took the tram over to Roosevelt Island for a view of the marathon from above, and a view of (foggy) Manhattan from the island.

Tonight: the annual black-tie board of trustees dinner at the Russell Sage Foundation. Afterward, martinis at the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center. First round of photos are posted here.

A recent paper on the 2004 election by William Nordhaus (Yale):

"The 2004 election has been interpreted as a resounding victory for conservative values. Was it in fact a mandate? The present analysis examines recent electoral outcomes and the 2004 election with particular reference to economic and political fundamentals. Looking at both aggregate results and exit polls since 1972, it examines three models of performance relative to economic and political fundamentals. Additionally, it identifies the trends for different socio-economic groups. It concludes that the Republican candidate in 2004 did significantly worse than would be predicted based on economic and political fundamentals."

A recent legislative history of school funding bills in Texas

Tonight: NYU economics seminar with Joseph Altonji, "Work Hours, Wages, and Vacation Leave" (NBER #11693). Dinner and drinks at The Coffee Shop, Union Square, and the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade.

(I stole this 2004 picture from the web, but the scene was pretty much the same).

A discussion of the Hoxby-Rothstein papers on "Economic Principals" blog. The WSJ article can be found here.

A glowing Washington Post review of the Washington National Opera's Porgy and Bess (through November 19th).

This weekend: nothing special... just long walks. Here are some pictures.

1) Lexington Ave north from 64th to 89th, east to Gracie Mansion and Carl Schurz Park (at 88th and East End Ave), south on East River Promenade to 73rd street, further south on York, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Aves to the Royale.

2) Lexington Ave south from 64th to 57th (coffee at Juan Valdez Cafe) to 50th, west to Rockefeller Center and Times Sq (south to 45th), returned north on Lexington.

A clear and concise overview of school finance developments in California in 2005-06, and a guide to Proposition 76 ("State Spending and School Funding Limits).

Tonight: dinner at Gnocco (East 10th Street in the East Village), and Dear Land at Performance Space 122 (1st Avenue at East 9th Street). From the PS 122 website, on Dear Land:

"Dear Land, directed by Berlin based Lydia Steier, is an evening of two contemporary works: Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' Eight Songs for a Mad King (1969) and the World Premiere of Chinese-American composer Du Yun's Zolle (2005). Eight Songs for a Mad King portrays the madness of King George III of England who was declared permanently insane ten years before his death. In Du Yun's Zolle a dead woman wanders through the shadowy space between memory and reality, tracing the lines of her identity through the land she once walked: an immigrant in death as in life. Dear Land juxtaposes these two sung monodramas of radically different style, and seamlessly combines sound, text, movement and multimedia images in the examination of the mind when torn from the body."

The first piece (Eight Songs for a Mad King) was brilliantly performed and produced. From the Director's Note: "we have decided, in considering this production, to use our contemporary technological dystopia as a launching point for Dear Land. Drawing inspiration from 'videocam diary' culture, where extreme emotional distress can be broadcast for macabre posterity and mass consumption, our George III delivers the rants and musings of Eight Songs for a Mad King to a stationary camera--his image then projected onto a very large screen. This creates the disorienting juxtaposition of voyeurism on the part of the audience, as well as a strong perception of the character's own exhibitionism."

Also, George III grabbed, played, and then smashed the violin of one of the ensemble's players. Very cool.

A discussion of the Larry Bartels paper "Whats the Matter with What's the Matter with Kansas"

Russell Sage outing: dinner at Josephina (1900 Broadway between 63rd and 64th) and The Light in the Piazza at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center. Light in the Piazza featured Kelli O'hara (Clara Johnson), Victoria Clark (Margaret Johnson), Aaron Lazar (Fabrizio Naccarelli) and Chris Sarandon (Signor Naccarelli).

Overall, I was disappointed with this production. Doris Roberts ("Everybody Loves Raymond" [why?]) was in attendance. I did learn one thing from "Light in the Piazza": don't propose to a girl from another country you met less than 24 hours ago--she may have been kicked by a pony.

RSF visting scholar seminar: a fascinating presentation by Phil Tetlock of his work on evaluating expert opinion. Mostly taken from his book, "Expert Political Judgement" (Princeton University Press).

Quite possibly the funniest picture of all time...

A quiet (half-empty?) night at the Met: saw the Cesare Lievi production of La Cenerentola with Olga Borodina as Cinderella. Vocal standouts included the phenomenal bass Ildar Abdrazakov as Alidoro and Simone Alaimo as Don Magnifico (the step-father). "Le Petit Prince" (he stood several heads below nearly all others on stage) Barry Banks gave a solid performance as the Prince Don Ramiro. Antonello Allemandi conducted.

Visual highlights of the production included Don Magnifico's brightly colored oversized mansion in disrepair (included a 3-legged sofa and peeling wallpaper), a flying donkey (during Magnifico description of his dream), a lightning strike (catching an umbrella on fire), and a giant wedding cake upon which the final wedding took place.

Of course, Olga's "Non piu mesta" was worth the entire price of admission.

Attended a symposium on "The Social Costs of Inadequate Education" at Columbia University, organized by the new Campaign for Educational Equity. Speakers: Charles Rangel (Congressman), Richard Rothstein and Henry Levin (Teachers College), Marta Tienda (Princeton), Jane Waldfogel (Columbia), Tim Smeeding (Syracuse), Ron Ferguson (Harvard), Clive Belfield (Queens College), Janet Currie (Columbia).

from Slate: Moral Courage--Is defending The Bell Curve an example of intellectual honesty?

Death Cab for Cutie concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom, with opening act Youth Group. In true indie style, kept announcing "we're death cab for cutie from seattle, washington." duh. Look for the set list here.

An NPR webcast of the concert at the 9:30 club can be found here.

Damon Clark at the Columbia Applied Micro seminar.

Dining out in the Village: pizza at John's of Bleecker Street, pastries at Rocco's and Belgian Beer at Volde Nuit.

NYU department dinner party at Viet Cafe, Tribeca

Pictures from a Saturday in Central Park.

Saw the band Only Forward from Montreal, Canada at "Underground" (in the basement of a church in midtown). Dinner at 44 1/2 and drinks at the Ginger Man (36th between 5th and Madison).

Saw Carmen at the Met.

Took the train to Boston for a rainy weekend....

Dining out in Chinatown with the RSF dining group at New Green Bo (66 Bayard Street).

Went to a taping of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Cameron Diaz was the guest. Lots of standing in line, but it was worth the wait...

Happy Hour in Greenwich Village at the Town Tavern.

Dining out...at Maya, on the Upper East Side (1st Avenue at 64th)

Tonight: drinks at the Princeton Club of NYC, and the One Man Star Wars Trilogy at the Lamb's Theatre (W 44th Street).