Nudity in Stamford? No...

Mmmmmmm call me crazy, but I read the Advocate headline "Nutty season: Residents notice a large acorn crop" as "Nudity season." I'm sorry- I'm just looking for more in life. I was in the South of France: I took my top off, and did some peelin' back in the US. Nudity. Nudity season. Hm. Stamford does have some rocky coastlines reminiscent of St. Tropez... anyway. Maybe I don't get out enough, but I haven't noticed an increase in acorns. I'm just happy the trees still have leaves. You can talk to me about acorns later. Click here to read more.

Stamford Disappoints Living Bluegrass Legend

Midway through last night’s show at the Palace Theatre, Ralph Stanley looked out at us and said, “You’re the first place we haven’t sold out in a while.” The audience was collectively embarrassed. There were 200 of us in a place that seats 1,580. Then, breaking the performer/audience relationship, he asked, “How did you all find out about this?” Silence.

“Internet,” someone called out. “Paper,” someone said. “Radio."
What could we say to the man who sang “O Death” in O Brother Where Art Thou (scroll down to listen), won Best Country Male Vocal for the song, and is named as an influence by Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris and Jerry Garcia?

After an awkward pause, he looked at his band and chuckled, “I guess we’re not popular in the northeast.” I almost died of shame. He picked up his banjo, played a bit, then said, “I’d give the same show to 10 people as I’d give to 1,000… because those 10 people bought a ticket and deserve to see the same show.”

Ah, Stamford? In that analogy, you were the ten people. I’m not asking you to listen to country music- bluegrass is different from country, anyway- but I will ask you to give props to one of the more important musicians in US musical history.

I look with great fondness on those of you who attended. I was tempted to personally invite you back to my house and ask the band to come too. With bluegrass, you really shouldn’t be sitting in a red velvet seat. We should have left the Palace, carpooled to my house, and had a real party in the backyard.

Stamford? I don’t blame you. I blame myself. I did not publicize this event, and the only peep I heard was from the Stamford Times online. (The ST site is completely un-navigable, so do an RSS feed.) And, I’m sure there will be nothing on the bluegrass show in the Advocate today. Just checked; nope, there’s not. Maybe they should hire a freelance writer- I'm not sure who- to cover the cool events.

Side note/rant: All I can say is, one of the local papers had better cover the Haitian Book Festival today. Don’t get me started on the fact that the Ferguson did not include the book fest on their weekly calendar published in yesterday’s ST. There was a teensy-weensy 5 sentence brief on the Book Fest in the SA today (the morning OF the event), in the “Area Briefs” section, right next to the “Library Schedules Toddler Time” brief. That’s why I started Stamford Talk .

Concert notes: Ralph Stanley is 80 and can still f’ing sing. He sounded weak on the opening song, and at the end of it, he stepped back and coughed. I felt us all get nervous. Was he old, and we were going to have to pretend he sounded OK? Was he going to have a heart attack right on stage? I watched closely, and he got progressively stronger as the show went on. Ralph’s band, the Clinch Mountain Boys, had banjo, violin, mandolin, 2 guitars, and great tenor harmony from Frank, the upright bass player. The “big fiddle,” Ralph called it. Frank has played with Ralph for 38 years.

Near the end of the show, Ralph sang a couple of songs a cappella: “O Death” and “Me and God.” I liked the line, “Me and God… you can say we’re like two peas in a pod.” Click the links above to see YouTube videos.

The audience clearly loved the show. Many were star-struck; Ralph Stanley is a big deal. He received the NEA’s National Heritage Fellowship for lifetime achievement and was awarded the “Living Legend” medal by the Library of Congress in 2000. Thank you to the Palace for bringing in an unusual show. I take back any bad things I said about your ticket prices.

Click here to read more.

Weekend Events Oct 12 and Scoop on SCA

I honestly could not find many interesting events happening in Stamford this weekend. I myself am attending the Ralph Stanley bluegrass concert at Stamford Center for the Arts (SCA) tonight, and the Haitian Book Festival on Saturday. I was going to complain about SCA being expensive, but my Ralph Stanley tix were only 36 $. Still, the Stamford Symphony Orchestra tix are 70 $ for good seats and 60 for OK seats… and they wonder why young people don’t like classical music?

Maybe I’m spoiled because in college the orchestra was basically free- 5, 10 $ ? And I know many of SSO’s musicians come from NYC, and they are professionals. I get that it’s their job, and they need to be paid. That’s why the well-to-do old people subscribe to the season. But what about the regular people who just want to hear beautiful music live and don’t want to pay 1/10 of their weekly salary?

SCA does have some cool shows. There’s Last Comic Standing in 2 weeks, and speaking engagements by Ira Glass and Dave Barry next spring. George Winston and the Irish Rovers also perform this spring. I’d get tix for all of these soon if I were you.

Photo of Ralph Stanley courtesy of John Edwards 2008 on Creative Commons. Click here to read more.

TOTER UPDATE: I Spy

I did spy on my garbage men, as promised. Dragging my Toter bin out to the curb this AM went OK, despite the fact that I was also dragging a stubborn coonhound. I will say, the bin is top-heavy, and mine was not even full, so I see why people are PO'd. I was crouched near a tree when the men picked up my bin. I waved at the driver, even though I was worried the man in the back would yell, "What the hell?" when he saw there was a trash can inside my trash can. (How would they compact my can? Wouldn't it make the truck get too full?) Fortunately, no one said anything. As they drove away, I scuttled closer to the road and snapped this pic from behind a bush.

The Advocate points out that the huge bins can be traded in for smaller ones, delivered for free, but only until Oct 31. After that you have go get the bin yourself at a mysterious location. There are only 1,000 little bins available, and 200 people are already on the list, so hurry up and call 977-4117. You can buy another big bin for 60 $ by calling 977-5620. Click here to read more.

Seen in Stamford on a Rainy Wednesday Morning

Would you believe that, at 9 am yesterday, I saw a big yellow school bus parked outside Beamers "Cafe" on West Main? I wish I'd had my camera. I hope the bus driver lived nearby and had just parked there. Are strip clubs open at 9 am? I've always wondered who goes to Beamers. I just don't imagine it's that nice of a place. Click here to read more.

Stamford School Shake Up: SOS

I love controversy. I’ll talk more about my Toter can later, but right now I’m switching focus to the Stamford Public Schools. The Board of Ed. is considering a plan to majorly shake up SPS, including closing some schools, redistributing students, and mushing schools together. They cite aging buildings, declining student population, and a desire to have more students walk rather than use the bus. Yeah, that sounds safe. Stamford drivers are so careful and respectful of pedestrians.
Gossip: I wonder how much NCLB has to do with this. One of the schools that may be closed is Toquam, a magnet school with a diverse population. It was one of only four (yikes) SPS that met NCLB standards. That law requires schools to meet certain test scores, with stigma and sanctions if they don’t. Some of the mushing is probably designed to level out test scores.

SPS also cites lack of funds in the need to close schools. Um, maybe UBS can give us some cash? I hear their traders make millions, but they probably don’t live in Stamford- bye-bye, tax dollars.

It is a very complicated issue. You can learn more at the Toquam parents’ site.

Related Topic: Today’s Advocate has a fascinating article. Also affecting the SPS plan is the June ruling of the Supreme Court that states schools can’t use race as a factor in assigning students to schools. SPS will use non-racial factors like stats on free/reduced lunch stats, income-restricted housing, and English learners. Frankly, that sounds smart me to me.
One more comment: Stamford just cut the number of school crossing guards to save money; why are they proposing more children walk to school? Click here to read more.

Haitian Book Festival in Stamford

I'm excited about the Haitian Book Festival this Saturday, Oct 13. It's held from 12-6 at the South End branch of the Ferguson and includes music and refreshments. I had a little scuffle with the Ferg because in late September, the event wasn't on the October calendar. The calendar was there, as were the children's story hours, but no Book Festival! Evidently the system doesn't easily let them add events until the actual month. If you ask me, they need a new system. Cool events like this need all the publicity they can get.

I was a French major, so I'm psyched to hear French and Creole, and probably understand it. If not, I'll still enjoy the sound of another language flowing past my ears. It's such a nice change to not get every word. Exercise for the ear and mind. I'd invite you to go with me, but this is the kind of event you need to go to alone, so you'll have more motivation to speak the language. You don't want to have the crutch of clinging to another English speaker, or have that person cling to you. Click here to read more.

Blogs for Paranoid Parents Across the US

I just found the most insane- and by insane I mean psychotic- blog. I googled Stamford in Google Blog Search to see if I could find more Stamford blogs. Well, I came upon an entry about Crabshell Restaurant in a blog called "I Saw Your Nanny." I hesitate to point out the site because it seems so despicable, but I did say one of the points of this blog is to gossip. If you read the responses to the Crabshell post, let me know if you think anyone other than crazy people read that blog. Although, after I said that, I did just feel the urge to go read that blog some more. But I'm not going to. At least right now. Click here to read more.

Endorsement of Talking to Strangers

Check out the post by my friend Adam over at Adam's World. I call him friend because, while we've never met in person, anyone who believes in the power of talking to strangers is a friend of mine. Many people in this area think TTS is a sign of naivete. I think those people are afraid. "I'm from the New York metro area, I don't talk to strangers," they scoff. In truth, their blustering hides the fact that they don't know how to do it.

TTS is not for the unaggressive; it requires mental agility and fast reflexes. It is a skill set supplemented by a healthy dose of confidence. Use discretion and choose your strangers with a hint of common sense.

Last night I said to a friend's boyfriend, "Where I'm from, talking to strangers is-- it's like a sport." Who looks worth talking to? What’s your opening line? Can you take rejection? How much can you get out of the person? Are they going to be fun? I feel lucky to be skilled in this sport. Like Adam says, it gets you things. It got me pretty fluent in French.

"Yeah, but the person I talk to always turns out to be crazy!" Well, so what. Now you know you don't have to talk to them again, you big New York crybabies. One essential skill of stranger-talking is being able to say, “OK, bye!” and walk off if the person is crazy. Trust me, that works. Even in New York- especially in New York- that works. Click here to read more.

Toter, Toter, Trash and Trouble

I got home yesterday after a 3 week trip. We rolled into the driveway and I shrieked, "The new Toter bin!!!"
"The what?" my husband said.
"Toter bin, you know, the one everyone is enraged about!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Does he not read my damn blog? I have been breathlessly reporting on the controversy surrounding the new, city-mandated Toter-brand trash cans. Angry residents have been writing the Advocate for weeks, complaining that the bins are way too big. The new bin is- well, huge. It makes one wonder what the definition of "bin" is. My old, normal-sized bin is on the left; the Toter, obviously, is on the right. You must see the humor in this photo. Know what else? Our other old can is actually in the Toter, although my husband won't tell me how it got there.

Me: "Where's our other old trash can?"
Husband: "Uh, it's actually IN the new bin."
"What?"
"Ah... it's a long story. Just- don't worry about it."

The new can arrived with directions attached in a plastic bag. My husband left the pamphlet out to rot, but I recovered it and am now letting it dry on the back steps. The Toter directions aren't necessary, as the letters to the editor give enough specific complaints to let you know how to use it. Scroll down the Advocate Letters to the Editor site, which they should really reorganize by topic so I can find the trash can complaints more easily.
Next Thursday AM, I'm going to spy on the trash men and watch what they do with the Toter bins.
Click here to read more.

Bank Robbers- Not Just in Stamford!

I'm feeling way better about both of my banks in Stamford being robbed. The Advocate just reported that a bank in Old Greenwich got robbed this morning. (By two men with silver handguns!) Another bank in OG got robbed in June. So, take that, Greenwich! You are just as dangerous as Stamford!
Uh, should we all be a little more worried as we go about our daily business? I walk around in a bubble of happiness, feeling guilty if I look at someone and judge them as sketchy. I guess Stamford is a city... but today's incident shows you're not even safe strolling around this country's highest-income areas. Pass the word on so Stamford doesn't get a bad rap. Click here to read more.

Fall: Last Days of Outdoor Dining

As summer wanes (ok fine, it’s gone) we need to enjoy the last weeks of outdoor dining. Stamford has many options, but one must consider view, food, and atmosphere.
Top choice, no contest: Capriccio on Bedford. See previous review.
Sleeper fave: Dairy Queen!!! It might not seem like it offers a good view, but as BMWs, taxis, and old Tercels zoom down busy Summer St., you see a true cross-section of Stamford life. (And a remarkable number of women of all ages talking on cell phones. Pull yourselves together and get earpieces, ladies). DQ has atmosphere galore: you and fellow lickers can laugh at a woman, 35-ish, stopped at the light, singing along to Wicked at the top of her lungs with the window open. How did she not notice the huge crowd staring at her and bonding over her obliviousness?
Other top options:
--Tigin. See previous comments. I like how their outdoor patio has a hedge that separates it from the sidewalk.
--Paradise Grill, Southfield Ave. The harbor view is pretty and the food is acceptable. The people-watching isn’t really there, but it can (emphasis on can) attract a pleasing happy hour crowd if you want avoid the sweaty mob at Crabshell next door.
--Saltwater Grille, Harbor Drive in Shippan. The food is expensive, and the view is of an inlet and an office building- but it is actual water.
More choices:
Bedford Street: Sabatiello's, Chez Jean-Pierre (nice white tablecloths), and Bedford Diner.
Columbus Park area: Black Bear, Bobby V's and Tiernan's all have outdoor seating. I’ve only been at night, but I know all serve decent bar food.
Bank Street, right near the park: Grand (excuse me, g/r/a/n/d) and Plateau each have a few tables and less car traffic.
Others: A friend said SBC Brewery had some outdoor spots. I think I should go there more. It’s already on my Oct 11 Karaoke schedule. Planet Pizza, across from Dairy Queen, has outdoor seating.
On Atlantic: Zody, which used to be Wish, and Galangal each have a few tables. This area has perhaps the worst views. Traffic backs up at the light on Main, and the cars, buses and trucks are only 10 feet away from the tables.
Farther North: Kit’s Thai Kitchen on High Ridge has good food, a nice patio, and a startling new bright green paint job. Kam Pei, beside Bull’s Head Diner, has two tables. Brickhouse, near the Avon Theatre on Hope Street, has 4-5.

A friend said outdoor seating is great for parents because they can roll the stroller right up, but outdoor areas are often full of smokers. She said Capriccio has enough space so that a smoker doesn't contaminate the whole area. I’ve only been annoyed by smoke at Capriccio once: a guy was smoking a cigar. I thought that was rude.

Winter dining review coming up, including heated outdoor spaces, and cozy indoor places. Click here to read more.

For Would-Be Actors or Extras

The Grant Wilfley Casting Company just opened an office in Stamford, and they're looking for people to register to be extras on locally-filmed movies. Recent films were Righteous Kill with Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, and Old Dogs with John Travolta, both filmed in towns in Fairfield County. Open registration is Wed. 3-7pm. They also need SAG actors for bigger roles, some of which amuse me, especially the request for a stenographer with real stenography experience. (I'm tagging this post for singles because I think this would be a cool way to meet people.) Click here to read more.