Summertime pursuits

I've noted a trend in my blog. . I seem to be chronicling more adventures when I leave New York and this blog is entitled RJ's adventures in New York . . . so here are some shots of a recent adventure in NYC with my friends Chen and Timeah!

The Hudson Hotel on 8th and 58th has a faux billiard lounge on its 2nd floor, I've taken many a visitor there to swill the cocktails and finally, with Chen and Timeah, I played billiards. [Note: Timeah does not actually spell his name like that, he's not that pretentious. .he's Tim. Chen and I call him Timeah! after the character in the tv show South Park.]

The Hudson Hotel - Library

L to R: Chen and Tim(eah!)

Chen provides fuel for the game to RJ

Sunburning in North Carolina

Longtime friend Kivi has asked almost every year since I moved back east to join them for a family vacation to Ocracoke, North Carolina, an island in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore , reportedly where Blackbeard the Pirate was finally defeated. Read about the rake here: click

We travel to Ocracoke, R to L: Ella, Ava, Jia and me.

I journeyed down to join them and another pal, Kathy and her daughter Ella for eight days of sun and surf. Ocracoke Island has recently been voted as one of the top beaches in America. It's no wonder, a calm, laid back island that takes hours to get to and then a ferry ride. And for the San Francisco-Manhattanite snob I am, it had a wonderful java stop, bookstore and Zillies, a boutique grocery store. When you opened the refrigerator of our rental home, it contained about 3 types of yogurt, and when I found Zillies carried my Greek yogurt with honey we then had 4 types! So yogurt and the two cases of wine we brought provided great sustenance (Kivi as a freelance writer/trainer has a great arrangement with a local wine merchant where she helps them with PR and they comp her wine . .great wine by the way!). Even though I wore SPF70 sunscreen, being in a new swimsuit, i didn't cover all the exposed areas and walked away with a sunburn on my chest on day 1. Thereafter i was very covered in sunscreen and under umbrellas, though in the end, everyone commented I spent the most time in the water. I hadn't been to the ocean in nearly ten years, I was a bit nervous at first but soon felt secure and did float float float.

Note the sunburn . . .
I wondered if I'd really post this photo but hey..you all know what I look like


When not floating in the surf, I was up to my usual. . .

Film Boycotts, do they work?

After returning from NC, Kivi and Edgar saw the film Tropic Thunder. Part of Kivi's work entails providing support, training and advice to nonprofit organizations on their outreach methods. She wondered, via a column, if the Special Olympics boycott of Tropic Thunder was a good move, was it the most effective way to call attention to an issue? She questioned the tactic not the issue (i.e. use of the word "retard" in the film which is offensive to her and me and I think when you see the film--to writer/director Ben Stiller). But her point was lost on some of the readers of her column, so she asked me to contribute as a guest columnist. My brother Terry is physically and mentally disabled and has a wall of Special Olympic medals. Read Kivi and my takes on the movie--click here for Kivi and here for my thoughts. And for Ben Stiller's explanation--click here