Stratovania

I can't believe it's almost the end of November. I mean, I can literally believe it, but this year has gone by really quickly. I have started Christmas shopping, but I'm not very good at it. I guess I need to ask people if there's anything they want, but most of them won't answer. It would be easier if everyone liked what I like. And I don't even mean specifically; it would be nice if I knew, say, books I could get for everybody. Of course, not everybody reads recreationally. I also have to ask my dad if I should switch my insurance plan.


Beth and I had Thanksgiving dinner at her mom's house, and we ate at Applebee's the day before and Friendly's the day after, so we were successful in the food department. Speaking of which, I need to go to the grocery store sometime soon. The Pathmark, which was the biggest in the area, just recently closed down; and even before that it had a dwindling inventory. There are a few other small places around here, though. Right now, we mostly need soda. I'm relieved that I didn't have to work on Black Friday this year. It kind of seems like, with all the stuff you can get cheaper online, frenzied shopping in physical stores wouldn't even be a thing anymore. It apparently is, though, albeit probably not quite as bad as it was a few years back. And am I the only one who's tired of the word "doorbusters"? I mean, it's funny to replace the lyrics to the Ghostbusters theme ("I ain't afraid of no doors!"), but the term is really kind of disturbing. The stores don't actually WANT people breaking their doors down, do they?

Yesterday, Beth's plan was to go to three different museums in the same area (the Museum Mile on Fifth Avenue adjacent to Central Park) and pick up memberships through the NYC ID program. The first was the Museum of the City of New York, a pretty small place with exhibits that apparently change pretty often. Ones there now focus on the artwork of Chris "Daze" Ellis, affordable housing (how affordable, they don't say), a photographer and writer who brought attention to the city slums, activism, and the revival of folk music.

The second museum we hit was the Jewish Museum, which turned out not to be part of the ID program. The Museum of Jewish Heritage is, but that's down in Battery Park. The Jewish Museum is free on Saturdays, so we did look around, but didn't spend a whole lot of time there. I did like the creatures on the top of this Ark of the Torah.

Finally, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where I've been twice before, once with Beth and once without. That place is so big and confusing that just going in can be exhausting, but we did check out a few things while we were there.

Would this be considered culturally offensive?
You can see pictures here, here, and here.

I'm thinking of maybe writing another Oz story for Thanksgiving, as I have at least part of a plot involving Santa Claus and Jack Frost in mind. We'll see if that pans out.