Finally some good summertime TV

Just a quick note to say that I am really enjoying Damages with Glenn Close, basically reprising her Cruella De Vil role(!), along with a powerhouse cast on FX, and the very retro (takes place in the advertising world, circa 1960), Mad Men on AMC.

Mad About Madoo, or, How Artists Can Afford to Live in the Hamptons

Well, you've got to hand it to artistic types like Robert Dash and Jack Lenor Larsen. They figured out that all they have to do is open their gardens one or two days a week to the public, and they can live in the Hamptons all year round, virtually tax free! Be that as it may, I did venture out East earlier today to visit the Madoo Conservancy, created by Robert Dash, and Bridge Gardens Trust, originally created in 1988 by Harry Neyens and Jim Kilpatric (Larsen's Longhouse Reserve I had visited on an earlier occasion). All of these gardens are beautiful and well worth a visit, as long as you can get past the fact that you are essentially trespassing on not-so-private property. "Yes, Mr. Dash is here today, but he won't be coming out. He's getting over a bad case of lyme disease." Yikes!

Nothing could be hotter than reading Harry Potter

Yesterday, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was officially released and the library celebrated by offering pony rides in the park, live owls, train rides (actually golf cart rides), a magic potions class, purple cotton candy, a prize for best decorated book truck, and many other illustrious events. Best of all, in my opinion, was a patron who showed up with their cat, wearing a hat(!), seated in a baby stroller, looking as cool as a cucumber amidst all the crowds. But of course all this pales in comparison to the actual excitement of the book itself, which I am now wending my way through, courtesy of Mr. Jim Dale.

My New Favorite Show

Just when I was about to cancel HBO, along comes Flight of the Conchords, about a New Zealand folk-pop duo who move to New York to increase their chances of "making it." The plotlines make Everybody Loves Raymond look densely topical, but they devolve into a kind of mini-musical with ultra-quirky lyrics ("those aren't tears of sadness because you're leaving me, I've just been cutting onions") and characters (their fan base consists of one fan, but she's obsessed). If you like movies like The Royal Tenenbaums, you would probably enjoy this.

What I did on my summer vacation (re-revised)

Saw the "Unknown Monet" at the Clark Art Institute
Listened to I Feel Bad About My Neck, as read by the author, in the car on the drive up to Massachusetts (FYI: Brilliant!)
Shopped at The Browns
Went to the Harrison Gallery
Went to the Plum Gallery
Saw the Spencer Finch exhibit ("What Time is it on the Sun?") at MASS MoCA
Saw "Ratatouille"
Saw the Al Parker exhibit at the Norman Rockwell Museum
Had dinner at Blantyre (an amazing dining experience - Iced Key Lime Souffle!)
Had dinner at Spice
Had dinner at Mezze
Had lunch at Tunnel City
Bought a copy of Insatiable at Water St. Books
Watched the Independence Day Parade down Main Street
Went to a reading of the Declaration of Independence at the Chapin Rare Book Library at Williams College
Shopped at Wild Oats
Saw "The Front Page" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival
Stayed at the Orchards
FINALLY got to see Avenue Q
Had dinner at Turkish Cuisine on 9th Avenue
Unpacked/Did laundry