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Philadelphia part I
Just a quick on-the-fly entry from the middle of my stay in Philly, thanks to the lovely and talented ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sidewinder and her laptop...
Some Impressions of Philadelphia
Morimoto is fantastic. I'll have more to say later, but if you want details before next weekend, read sidewinder's version of the meal. (We both ate the same courses, just like the tasters on Iron Chef, only we didn't have to sit near Kishi.) After a lifetime of conventions where people you watch on TV are separated from the commoners by ropes, tables and/or security guards, it was surreally exhilarating to have Morimoto Masaharu walk nonchalantly past us, as if he were merely a restaurant owner and not an international celebrity.
On the way 'home' from Morimoto, on the El[evated subway line], I sat opposite a pair of venerable-aged men of Japanese extraction. They were probably old friends or brothers-in-law or somesuch, but I couldn't help enjoying the easy companionship they shared. Apparently I was a shade too obvious in my staring, as after a few minutes one grew dour and glared at me suspiciously, while the other smiled at me as if over a koan shared only by the two of us.
The pigeons of Philadelphia scare me, or would if I were a city bird on their turf. They look tough, rough-and-tumble in a way the pigeons of other places don't. Their necks are even thick.
I'm as disgusted with the current state of the United States as anyone, as some of my rare political LJ entries will attest; but visiting some of Philadelphia's historical sites, notably where the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were penned and signed, has been enough to bring prickles to my eyes. (No actual tears -- yet. Liberty is heady stuff, folks.)
Letting senior citizens ride public transportation free outside of rush hour is a brilliant notion of the sort that might yet save the American nation, if only enough such radical ideas were implemented on broad enough scales.
Oh, yeah, and I had my wallet stolen Thursday night, but that's been the only dim point in an otherwise lovely vacation, and it irks me as much because I can no longer afford to go back to Morimoto for a lunch of lobster sashimi as anything else.
More when I return home.
We're probably going out again Tuesday night for (a much more affordable than Morimoto) dinner with some other fandom people who live in the area, so if you're a Philadelphian, haven't gotten an invite and want to join us, dropsidewinder an email.
sidewinder and her laptop...Some Impressions of Philadelphia
Morimoto is fantastic. I'll have more to say later, but if you want details before next weekend, read sidewinder's version of the meal. (We both ate the same courses, just like the tasters on Iron Chef, only we didn't have to sit near Kishi.) After a lifetime of conventions where people you watch on TV are separated from the commoners by ropes, tables and/or security guards, it was surreally exhilarating to have Morimoto Masaharu walk nonchalantly past us, as if he were merely a restaurant owner and not an international celebrity.
On the way 'home' from Morimoto, on the El[evated subway line], I sat opposite a pair of venerable-aged men of Japanese extraction. They were probably old friends or brothers-in-law or somesuch, but I couldn't help enjoying the easy companionship they shared. Apparently I was a shade too obvious in my staring, as after a few minutes one grew dour and glared at me suspiciously, while the other smiled at me as if over a koan shared only by the two of us.
The pigeons of Philadelphia scare me, or would if I were a city bird on their turf. They look tough, rough-and-tumble in a way the pigeons of other places don't. Their necks are even thick.
I'm as disgusted with the current state of the United States as anyone, as some of my rare political LJ entries will attest; but visiting some of Philadelphia's historical sites, notably where the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were penned and signed, has been enough to bring prickles to my eyes. (No actual tears -- yet. Liberty is heady stuff, folks.)
Letting senior citizens ride public transportation free outside of rush hour is a brilliant notion of the sort that might yet save the American nation, if only enough such radical ideas were implemented on broad enough scales.
Oh, yeah, and I had my wallet stolen Thursday night, but that's been the only dim point in an otherwise lovely vacation, and it irks me as much because I can no longer afford to go back to Morimoto for a lunch of lobster sashimi as anything else.
More when I return home.
We're probably going out again Tuesday night for (a much more affordable than Morimoto) dinner with some other fandom people who live in the area, so if you're a Philadelphian, haven't gotten an invite and want to join us, drop
sidewinder an email.