Opera Orchestra of New York concert performance of Delibes' Lakmé, at Carnegie Hall (with the New York Choral Society). Eglise Gutiérrez, a Cuban-American soprano, sang the role of Lakmé--her voice was breathtaking and lushly musical, even if it seemed to disappear in the lower (earthbound) register. Other standout voices included James Morris (bass-baritone) as Nilakantha, Daniel Mobbs (baritone) as Frédéric and Wanda Brister (mezzo) as Mistress Bentson. The tenor (Gerald), Yeghishe Manucharyan, had a lovely voice that unfortunately did not always find its way to the balcony, and was frequently overpowered by the orchestra (conducted by Eve Queler).

The shining moments, of course, were the flower duet in Act I (coming to a commercial near you) and Act II's Bell Song (and its surrounding drama).

Took a four hour walk through the East Village, Soho, and the Lower East Side... W4, Thompson Street, Prince Street, Broadway, Broome, Mott (stopped for rice pudding--pumpkin rice pudding, that is, with a graham cracker topping--at Rice to Riches), Spring, Bowery, Delancey (to the Williamsburg Bridge), Attorney, Rivington, Clinton, Ave B, East 4th, 2nd Ave, and Houston.

Snapped a few pictures including the two that make up my new blog banner. "Sean" comes from the store of the same name on Thompson Street; "Corcoran" comes from the Corcoran real estate office on Broadway.

Later that night dinner at Cafe Spice on University Place.

Went to the Saint Johns - Seton Hall game at Madison Square Garden. It was a race to the bottom in the first half, but eventually the Red Storm emerged "victoriant" 58-47. St. Johns went into the game with an RPI of 130, while Seton Hall has an RPI of 44 and is 9th in the Big East.

Tonight: dinner at perhaps the best Thai restaurant in New York, Sripraphai in Woodside, Queens. At risk of forgetting something (I wrote most of it down), we had papaya salad with catfish, the tom-yum pork leg with mushrooms in hot and sour soup, a green curry with softshell crab, jungle curry with beef, roasted duck in hot and spicy sauce, and pumpkin custard for dessert. Everything was delicious...

Afterwards, stopped in the nearby Uruguayan/Paraguyan bakery.

See Gary Fine's review (entry #72) of our dining experience.

Today: the annual Russell Sage Foundation trustees luncheon. Had Osso Bucco (Braised Veal Shanks). Yum.

Relive the Rob Corddry report (as VP Firearms Mishap Analyst) on the Cheney shooting

The Metropolitan Opera announces its 2006-07 season

Landsberg article on Slate that argues against keeping the poor on life support because--given the choice earlier in life--a poor person would choose to spend $75 on, say, bread, rather than $75 on ventilator insurance.

And, the reply by Robert Frank in the New York Times.

I'm amazed I hadn't heard of this case before. Under a law signed by Bush as governor of Texas, the plug was pulled on this woman, who actually (as opposed to Terri Schiavo) expressed a desire to remain alive so that she could see her mother before she died. The "sanctity of life?".

Kozol on segregation in New York City Schools, from The Black Commentator--"Segregated Schools: Shame of The City"

Saw Aida at the Met. This was a revival of the Sonja Frisell production, and featured Olga Borodina as Amneris, Andrea Gruber as Aida, and Johan Botha as Radames. Kwangchul Youn's booming bass-baritone voice was also a standout, in the role of Ramfis.

This production makes wonderful use of the Met's elevated stage--at one point the entire set (from stage to top curtain) descends into the stage; a row of Egyptian soldiers standing atop the set rides the entire way down. At the end of the (Act IV) tomb scene, Radames and Aida are enclosed in a tomb below the temple (where Amneris and her slaves stand) that slowly descends into the ground/stage. The highlight, of course, was the triumphant march.

A few scenes from the Blizzard of 2006. Above: Reflections of Snow Foundation.

On the eve of the blizzard... sushi at Ginger in the East Village; drinks and jazz at Rue B.

Attended the NYU Institute for Education and Social Policy seminar presentation of Wilbert van der Klaauw (Economics, UNC Chapel Hill), "Breaking the Link Between Poverty and Low Student Achievement: An Evaluation of Title I."

Afterwards, dinner at Butter, 415 Lafayette Street, on the edge of the East Village.

Are you racist? Anti-fat? Anti-Muslim? Try the Implicit Association Tests at Harvard and find out. See the Slate article on this subject here.