Let the games begin!!

This week is Commencement week at NYU, the week leading up to the big Alumni Reunion Weekend Extravaganza! As this may be my only post this week I will try to make it satisfying. Walking by Washington Square Park this morning, I noticed that they have already begun to clean up and set up for Thursday's activities. Enough about work though, I have to share my weekend with you.

Friday night Elissa took me to her school for their Literary Arts Fair...there was food, music, games, skits, movies...all the kids worked really hard putting everything together and they were adorable. It was fun being in middle school again and I think I'm ready to go back. Doesn't that scream reality show?

Saturday was such a beautiful day that I just wanted to sit outside and stare at the newly blossoming trees. We were off to Elizabeth, NJ to have Shabbos Lunch with Elissa and Melissa's friends, Yaelle and Marty. They were very nice and their 5 children were adorable. The food was delicious!! Afterwards, I rested up for a bit before we had to go to our Cinco de Mayo/April's Birthday celebration in New Brunswick at Maritas Cantina. We ate and then got drinks and there was even dancing and free Corona toys. After the mexican food, one would think there would be enough gas to get home, but we soon found the gas tank on empty and prayed that we would see a 24-hour gas station sign. After a mile, we saw the sign we had been hoping for and quickly took the next exit to the Exxon station. Even though they have polluted waters and killed wildlife, Exxon saved us that night...Thank You Exxon!

Sunday came next, and I headed for a workout in the morning with Dean so that I would be finished and showered in time to meet Elissa's parents. I was looking forward to meeting them and I really had a great time and liked them a lot. I got a tour of their beautiful home in the Parsippany/Randolph hills (who knew there were views in Parsippany?) and they took us out for Chinese Food and served some delicious homemade desserts afterwards at their home.

I really want to write more about everything as I just gave a very abbrieviated rundown as this is the busiest week of the year at work I have to get the day started. Have a great one!

***Let me apologize in advance for any grammatical mistakes in this email. I am not proofing as I type.***

Bruce, Demi, and Ashton..one big happy family

Is it possible that Bruce, Demi, and Ashton are really this happy family? Annie Leibovitz is a master photographer although it's photos like this one that make me question whether or not photoshop was somehow involved. This photo can be found in the new Vanity Fair issue which hits newsstands today. Ashton and Demi are cuddling while Bruce reels in what appears to be a shark from his Die Hard expression. Is this real? Is he acting? Are they really on a boat? Was the water rough? What is Ashton drinking? Is that his or Bruce's? I'm hoping the article answers all of my questions. All I know is the following:

Miss Moore, 44, and her film actor husband, 29, had joined 52-year-old Willis at his home in the Turks and Caicos Islands for a holiday to celebrate the completion of Live Free or Die Hard, his fourth film featuring hard-bitten detective John McClane.

Also present in the Caribbean were Willis and Miss Moore's daughters Rumer, 18, Scout, 15, and Tallulah, 13. Celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz was invited along to record the break for the latest edition of Vanity Fair, which goes on sale today.

You're acting awfully Tesh today, Evan

I don't know about you, but I've spent some restless nights wondering what John Tesh has been keeping busy with lately. I didn't know he had a radio show until I flipped past it yesterday on my way home from the bus. This guy does everything! He's a reporter, a pianist, singer, author, blogger, father, husband..the list is endless. And now, he's John Tesh, radio host of "The John Tesh Radio Show: Music and Intelligence For Your Life". It's actually quite funny and I encourage you to tune in for a laugh. What follows is a blurb from John's website.

“I like to call it ‘purpose-driven radio’,’” says Tesh of his award-winning daily and weekly show that is heard on over 240 stations nationwide by more than 8 million listeners. Tesh created the show for his wife, actress Connie Selleca, because “her nightstand was covered with the last 20 months of the Oprah magazine.” The show is owned and distributed by The TeshMedia Group and airs in all dayparts, on multiple formats.

“We wanted to create a show for that person, the person who doesn’t have time to find all that stuff, but is interested in being better in everything that he or she does,” explains Tesh. The show is full of genuine advice and tips - nothing pretentious or haughty - with a mix of humor and earnestness. “We appeal to people who want to make a change in their life, whether it’s to be a better parent or a better pet owner.”

Some of these tips: Always wear blue to important meetings as it is a subversively powerful color; throw dishwashing sponges (a haven for germ breeding) into the dishwasher or microwave oven for sanitizing every other day; and, the amount of time one should spend brushing his own teeth is the same duration of the song “Yellow Submarine.”

Good stuff. I wonder what other Beatles songs I could brush my teeth to...oh,oh..how about Strawberry Fields? When I'm 64? I can't wait to brush my teeth again tonight. Oh, John, I don't know what we would do without you. Your "genuine advice and tips-nothing pretentious or haughty" makes our lives that much easier and I'm glad I found you again. I thought I lost you forever after you left Entertainment Tonight. Then you started playing your piano and making sweet, sweet music. They made fun of you, of your hair, your inspirational melodies...but you showed them John, oh yes you did. And I applaud you for that. Now keep up the good work with your radio show and whatever you do, don't pull an Imus, John.

Spider Man Weak

There's a lot of excitement surrounding the release of Spider-Man 3 this week and everyone is going to flock the theaters. If you don't like crowds, I suggest you wait awhile before attempting to see this movie. I enjoy the Spiderman movies but have a grudge against anything Sony/Columbia Pictures puts out, for the people who work behind the curtain there are pure evil as I experienced first hand. They put on a good show though, and in case you haven't heard, this week is Spider-man week in NYC. They have events all around the city and even have set-up a website complete with interactive map. Go visit Peter Parker's neighborhood or take part in a number of events around the city. I'm boycotting Spider-man week. I love how Sony makes it seem as though this week is meant to create community and fun activities for the people. It's just a big publicity stunt! They don't care about you. All they want is your money and for you to see this movie. I personally think a group of people should dress up as other superheroes and crash some of the spider-man events. Now that would be fun.

This weekend is shaping up to be a very busy one and it's almost Commencement! I'm going to start using my digital camera more and upload photos to the site. Today's shoutout goes to Melissa and Andrew. Thanks for reading!

Senior Class Legacy Video

Here's a little video I put together for the NYU 2007 Senior Class Legacy. It's the first time I used my new editing software and the number of things I can do with this software is overwhelming. I kept this video very simple. Many, many thanks to Boaz, Mike, Andrea, Liz, Noemi, Debra, Angela, and the guy on the bike at the end.

My Kind of Town, Providence Is!

It took a few visits before I warmed up to Providence, Rhode Island and now I can't get enough. I have not had one bad meal in this great city and this past weekend was filled with fun, great food, and my sister's one woman show written for her senior thesis.

If you are in the Providence area and like fresh seafood, be sure to stop off at Hemenway's. Not only do they have a swanky website, but their food is delicious. I will definitely be going back there in the near future. The homemade clam chowder was scrumptious as was the blackened catfish. If you're looking for the best loaf of bread or sticky bun, head over to the Seven Stars Bakery. They have the best pecan sticky bun I have ever had. Their olive bread isn't half bad either.

The reason I went to Providence this weekend as you may know, is to see my sister's one woman show entitled Piccola Cosi about her experiences in Italy singing with some of Italy's most famous musicians at some of the most well known jazz clubs. She does it all, writes, acts, sings in this "R" rated show, playing all of these Italian men with whom she came into contact on her travels. It was simply amazing and despite some audio problems with my camera, I only got 26 minutes of audio which made my parents morph into angry vultures, feasting on the young. Okay, okay, maybe I'm over-exaggerating...I am also upset that we don't have the whole performance on tape and hope that my sister can find a way to put it on again.

Have a great day! My day is already going well because Elissa is back from Las Vegas and I saw a guy shaving with an electric razor on the escalator at Port Authority this morning.