We Didn’t Quite Hear You, Can You Repeat That Please?
“Researchers found that exposure to subway noise levels for two hours or, at one 102.1-decibel-loud station, as little as two minutes a day could damage hearing."–L Magazine: Subway Noise is Making You Deaf.
“Noise is the number one complaint to the City’s 311 citizen service hotline, currently averaging nearly 1,000 calls a day."–CityMayors.com: New York Mayor in fight against noise pollution
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Noise Abatement and Control was defunded in 1982. The Noise Control Act of 1972 and the Quiet Communities Act of 197: “...remain in effect today, although essentially unfunded."–EPA.gov
Living in New York City is a privilege people all over the world fantasize about. It can also be challenging and stressful, particularly when dealing with the noise. Noise is not only a nuisance, as the information noted above shows. Studies have also shown it is a hazard to our physical and mental health.
To learn more about these issues, and new strategies to preserve and improve hearing for life, join audiologist Craig A. Kasper on Nov 17 for Healthy Hearing, Healthy Life. Explore the link between healthy hearing and overall well-being. May Center Members will receive more than %50 off ticket prices when calling 212.415.5500 to purchase tickets.
Ted Sorensen, John F. Kennedy’s special counsel, speechwriter and close advisor, appeared at 92Y on May 6, 2008 to speak with foreign affairs expert Ralph Buultjens about his memoir, Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History and Kennedy’s legacy.You can listen to the full program above.
Related:On Dec 10 at 92Y, Katie Couric will moderate a Special Celebration of the Life of Senator Edward M. Kennedy with Vicki Reggie Kennedy and Ted Kennedy Jr.
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100 Heartbeats is the next premiere in MSNBC’s landmark Future Earth series. This 2-hour special, reported by famed naturalist and biologist Jeff Corwin, tells the story of the “Sixth Extinction” — an extinction of our planet’s wild species caused by people and which can only be stopped by people. The show is the basis for a book of the same name, 100 Heartbeats: A Journey to Meet Our Planet’s Endangered Animals and the Heroes Working to Save Themsoon to be released.
To hear more from Corwin in person, you can visit 92Y this Sunday, Nov 8, where Corwin will talk about the effect humans have had on our planet’s inhabitants, many which are on the brink of extinction, and conservation efforts made for endangered species and ecosystems around the globe. Use discount code “COR” at checkout to purchase a ticket for only $10, and tell your friends who share concern in these matters. Jeff will be available for a book signing after the event.
As part of our series of Food Talks, last Sunday the New York Times‘ Frank Bruni—their recently departed restaurant critic—joined Mike Colameco, host and producer of Public Television’s Colameco’s Food Show, for a candid discussion about Bruni’s life and career thus far. We’ve recapped some highlights in the video above with a few bullet points:
On calorie counting, Colameco asks Bruni, whose new book Born Round, documents his life-long battle with weight and unhealthy eating:
“Do you keep track of calories? ...Especially as a critic, you’re obliged to eat...you’re supposed to eat food. And a lot of food. And taste everybody else’s food. And swallow. Well, calories.” Bruni playfully replied, “That almost sounded dirty.”
About the expense of maintaining a food critic at a paper like the New York Times, Bruni explained: “I never had them reduce my dining out budget. I know they haven’t reduced it for my successor Sam Sifton. It’s one of the most expensive beats to maintain.” Maintaining this is important he argues, so the readers know they are getting: “...a considered opinion based on at least three restaurants visits, based on a thorough canvassing of the menu, and based on money spent by the paper.” According to Bruni, that might not always be the case with restaurant criticism elsewhere, particularly online, where arrangements might be clouding the reviews:
“A lot of the stuff you see online, a lot of it’s lively, a lot of it’s great, some of it has a lot of integrity, “ he said, “but some of it, you have no idea. You’re reading it because that’s a restaurant in which the person writing it dines for free, frequently.
...You know at least when you read the Times, there’s utter economic independence of the critic.”
On restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow, who placed a full page ad in the New York Times attacking Bruni after receiving zero stars from the critic, both men verbally jabbed him: “I don’t know how you can write many flattering reviews of any of his restaurants,” Colameco opined. Bruni chuckled, and continued: “You might have to look long and hard in the archives to find a flattering review of a Jeffrey Chodorow restaurant.
On anonymity and how important it is, or isn’t, to the job. Bruni related stories he heard about the lengths some restaurants went to neutralize a surprise visit from a critic, including sentries posted on the street corners nearby, employees whose sole job is to stand in the restaurants lobby keeping an eye out, or chefs who will make two dishes of everything for a critics table, picking the best one to serve. So it is more important to make sure they don’t know you are coming, as opposed to staying anonymous once there, he argued. What they can’t do without a lengthy advance notice, is to rework the menu, change the staff, or make a new run to the market for fresher food. “You will still get a...fundamentally honest experience at the restaurant.”
The evening ended with Bruni and Colameco offering recommendations for various restaurants and bakeries, or more accurately, where they have been spending their money as of late. Peasant on Elizabeth Street in Manhattan was mentioned, Bruni said he was a “big fan.” Vinegar Hill House in Brooklyn was mentioned as a “nice experience for the money,” and Veloce Pizzeria in the East Village was called: “a very pleasant place.” Levain Bakery on 74th Street was held up as a place that does very limited things, but what they do, they do “really, really well.” Bouchon Bakery, the bakery at Petrossian, and any place Karen Demasco or Kate Zuckerman hang their hat at were also given mention as places and people deserving praise for their pastries.
CEO Eric Schmidt told you that Google is poised to become the first $100 billion media company. So it’s official: Google now defines itself as a “media company”?
Auletta: Yes, and the media companies that wail about Google’s power attest to this as well.
Won’t such a definition offend Google’s content partners in traditional media?
Auletta: Yes, that’s the delicate balancing act most companies must make in the new world. The word “frenemy” was invented to describe companies that are both collaborators and competitors.
Google is a media company in terms of generating advertising revenues, not producing content. Is there any indication that Google could enter content production?
Auletta: Google co-founder Larry Page and CEO Eric Schmidt told me that they had discussed buying the New York Times, but in the end decided that if they succeeded it would sabotage their identity as a neutral search engine. The reason they are interested in preserving the New York Times is that Google’s search engine depends on good information, and the Times is the world’s best newspaper.
On the other hand, Google already produces content. It has made production deals to create content for YouTube. It established Knol, its effort to compete with Wikipedia. The tensions between remaining the Switzerland of search and pushing its own content will only grow.
Higher still, a helicopter executed a dipping turn over the Hudson—a curtsy to the fact that the summer day was going to be cloudy and cool anyway—and the rotors beat a rhythm over the warehouses of the West Side. At first the helicopter looked lopsided in its advance and a small side window was slid open as if the machine were looking for air. A lens appeared in the open window. It caught a brief flash of light. After a moment the helicopter corrected beautifully and spun across the expanse.
Some cops on the West Side Highway switched on their misery lights and swerved fast off the exit ramps, making the morning all the more magnetic.
A charge entered the air all around the watchers and—now that the day had been made official by sirens—there was a chatter among them, their balance set on edge, their calm fading, and they turned to each other and began to speculate: would he jump, would he fall, would he tiptoe along the ledge, did he work there, was he solitary, was he a decoy, was he wearing a uniform, did anyone have binoculars? Perfect strangers touched one another on the elbows. Swear words went between them, and whispers that there’d been a botched robbery, that he was some sort of cat burglar, that he’d taken hostages, he was an Arab, a Jew, a Cypriot, an IRA man, that he was really just a publicity stunt, a corporate scam: DRINK MORE COCA-COLA, EAT MORE FRITOS, SMOKE MORE PARLIAMENTS, SPRAY MORE LYSOL, LOVE MORE JESUS.
McCann and fellow novelist John Banville (The Sea, The Infinities) will be here for a reading on Feb 24. You may purchase tickets here. For those 35 and under, tickets are $10.
As part of our Funny People series, actress and comedian Susie Essman (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Joy Behar, a cohost of ABC’s The View, sat down to talk about careers, family, husbands, and lesbianism, among other topics. In the highlights above, hear why Susie used to pray for lesbianism to strike her, the relationship between Susie and her father, Joy Behar being parodied on SNL, and what Susie would tell Dick Cheney if given the chance.
With the elections taking place tomorrow in New York City and around the country, we have a timely update to the Share Your Story™ series. In the video above, 27-year-old Matt Bishop, resident of Astoria, Queens, stepped in front of the camera at the Share Your Story™ booth during the 92Y Street Fest. Bishop told us he spends most of his time doing what he really believes in, public service. Being involved in local politics and policy, being involved in your community, Bishop argues, is the most effective way to change things:
I hope that people will realize that they’re part of a community, and they’re part of something that is much bigger than themselves. And I hope people get involved in politics, whatever your politics are...because when we step out of this democratic process, you have all sorts all of special interests that step in.
Israeliness™: Israeli Family Programs: A bi-weekly program for families with young children, focusing on Israeli culture and conducted entirely in Hebrew.
92Y Video: MindCapsules™ - One Life, One Lesson, One Minute with Anthony DeCurtis
Anthony DeCurtis sits in front of the camera for the 92Y MindCapsules™ video series, and offers one life lesson learned that is very helpful: “Don’t take it personally.”
I think that when I was younger certainly, that was something that tripped me up a lot. I mean, I tended to kind of respond in a very personal way to situations that was either, innapropriate, or beside the point. You know, I think the more you can distant yourself, and have a little bit of perspective...”
Wise, wise words from a wise, wise man. This brings back so many cringe-inducing memories when we did not practice this advice. View previous MindCapsules™ with Malcolm Gladwell and Lewis Black.
Upcoming events at 92Y:
Gail Collins with Nora Ephron: Women Come of Age: Jan 12
Covington is doing good work through his I Am My Brother’s Keeper ministry, using the church to provide food, clothing and shelter to the city’s homeless — more than 100 on some nights. At the same time, Covington isn’t able to heat the expansive old building or repair the hole in the roof that allows wind, rain and snow to enter the 1,200-seat sanctuary.
Albom learns of Covington’s plight and writes about it in his column in the Detroit Free Press. He donates time and money to get the heat turned back on in time for Christmas Eve services last year.
“That was just disgusting,” Albom says one recent night while visiting the church. “It’s unforgivable. I know this is a poor city, but nobody needs to be that poor if they’re trying to be faithful.”
We would like to extend a special offer for our blog readers who would like to attend Albom’s event Nov 4. Purchase tickets for Mitch Albom and use code MCF9 at checkout to receive 50% off the ticket price.
New York Times Looks at “Exotic Bets” in Financial Markets
“When the global markets plummeted after Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy in September last year,” the New York Times reports, “a handful of alternative investments remained stable or even made money for investors.” Among that handful were managed futures.
David M. Darst, chief investment strategist of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, calls managed futures “financial Tylenol.” “Managed futures tend to do well during periods of great market volatility,” he said.
By way of example, Mr. Darst pointed to the period from the beginning of 2000 until the end of 2002, when the technology bubble burst and the economy was last in a recession. During that three-year period, managed futures gained about 22 percent on average, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell roughly 38 percent, he said.
More recently, from September 2007 until the present, managed futures have gained around 20 percent on average, while the S.& P. 500 index has lost about 30 percent, according to Lipper, the fund tracking firm.
Mr. Darst said that one advantage managed futures had over hedge funds was liquidity. Some managed futures funds allow investors to take their money out monthly, while hedge funds typically have quarterly or annual redemptions. Mr. Darst said that managed futures funds could do this because the futures traded on public exchanges, while hedge funds often owned illiquid assets.
92Y Video: Vivian Gussin Paley at 92Y Wonderplay Conference 2008
In the video clip above, early childhood education researcher and recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship Vivian Gussin Paley speaks at last years Wonderplay Early Childhood Learning Conference, an all-day conference for early childhood educators. She touches on the importance of imagination and play in childrens’ development, as well as suggesting the most important aspect between a teacher and child:
You, one on one, can be kind to each child. You need no permission from anyone to look every child in the eye and make the child understand how you respect him and her and how you want to carry on this conversation, and how much you love the child’s play and talk, and everything about the child…
...You will never do a more important thing in your life. This is the great gift we give to each child everyday.”
For this month’s Fiction Podcast in The New Yorker with fiction editor Deborah Treisman, novelist Orhan Pamuk reads from Vladimir Nabokov’s My Russian Education. We found the podcast quite interesting, particularly Pamuk’s choice to read Nabokov.
Pamuk will make his first appearance at 92Y on Nov 9, when he reads from his novel, The Museum of Innocence. And on Nov 16, the Poetry Center presents: A Celebration of Vladimir Nabokov with Martin Amis, Brian Boyd, Chip Kidd and others. This will be a notable event where The Original of Laura is read and discussed, which only exists because the manuscript was saved against Nabokov’s dying wishes.
Do you follow us on Twitter? If not, we would invite you to do so. We have a good time over there. For instance, as seen in the screengrab above, we are soliciting questions from our Twitter audience for the Mitch Albom event on Nov 4.
Head over to Twitter, @reply us with your question for Mitch, and if used in the Q&A that evening you will win tickets to an upcoming lecture of your choice, subject to availability.
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David M. Darst, chief investment strategist of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, calls managed futures “financial Tylenol.” “Managed futures tend to do well during periods of great market volatility,” he said.
