The long-awaited Green Card confirmation.

There are certain things that I have never felt comfortable discussing on this blog. My criticisms of the immigration system has been one of them.

Though the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service has, at times, given me cause to wonder whether they would actually be diligent enough to Google me, I did not want to wreck my chance of a Green Card by saying the wrong thing. I still have to renew this card in ten years. So, I’ll just shut up.

What I will say, however, is that after almost six years of jumping from two-year visa to two-year visa, after standing for hours in lines to be fingerprinted and photographed in Brooklyn for a Work Authorization document or to have a visa put in my passport at the US embassy in London, I am relieved that it is finally over.

For Sofie and me that means no more worrying about if, and when, we will get the next visa extension. It means no more endless form filling and waiting. It means no more costly trips to London. It also means our nighttime reading will soon be Welcome to the United States: A Guide For New Immigrants. I don’t think I realized quite how big a step we had taken, until I read the intro:

Congratulations on becoming a permanent resident of the United States of America. On behalf of the president of the United States and the American people, we welcome you and wish you every success in the United States.

The United States has a long history of welcoming immigrants from all parts of the world. America values
the contributions of immigrants, who continue to enrich this country and preserve its legacy as a land of
freedom and opportunity.

As a permanent resident of the United States, you have made a decision to call this country your home. As you work to achieve your goals, take some time to get to know this country, its history, and its people. It is now both your right and your responsibility to shape the future of this country and ensure its continued success. Exciting opportunities await you as you begin your life as a resident of this great country. Welcome to the United States!

Yesterday was quite a moving experience. A hush fell over Times Square on a couple of occasions. And when traffic stopped for the lights the area was almost silent. I cannot quite put into words why it was so special to be there with all those people at that time. But I do know that I will remember it for the rest of my life. (You can click on the gallery above for larger images.)

I would also be interested to know how many copies the New York Times sold today. My home delivery was swiped from our doorstep early this morning. And when I went to the local newsagent people were coming away carrying bundles of eight or ten copies at a time.

UPDATE: BritInBrooklyn has some great pics from Lower Manhattan.

You Americans, with your inauguration ceremonies and inaugural balls, your Thanksgiving Day parades and your Fourth of July fireworks displays. Do you have anything, and I mean anything, that can compare with the pageantry and grace of the great British Morris Men? (Shown here ‘wassailing’ an apple tree in Coventry to bear fruit for the coming season.) Just look what you missed out on because of your selfish little War of Independence. If not for that bid for freedom, this scene could be playing out in cities across America as you read this humble blog post. You’ve got nothing on us! Nothing at all. (PS Just in case you are wondering, that’s cider-soaked toast they are putting on the tree at the end.) (Itsallaboutcoventry via EcoExplorer.)

You know those two things attached to the sides of your head? Those ears? Use them. Remember that in life. Listen with both ears. You listen to one story. You listen to the other one. Someplace in the middle is the truth. It’s up to your own brains and knowledge to determine what to do, if you know the background of the people who are involved.

But it’s actually an extract from Sammy “The Bull” Gravano’s memoir, Underboss, in which capo Salvatore “Toddo” Aurello is advising Sammy how to deal with a beef. I’m only about a quarter of the way through the book but it’s a riveting story thus far and promises to get even better. The most surprising aspect in the first six or seven chapters is how realistic Hollywood/TV depictions of life in the mafia really are. As Gravano says of The Godfather:

I left that movie stunned. I mean, I floated out of the theater. Maybe it was fiction, but for me, then, that was our life. It was incredible. I remember talking to a multitude of guys, made guys, everybody, who felt exactly the same way. And not only the mob end, not just the mobsters and the killing and all that bullshit, but that wedding in the beginning, the music and the dancing. It was us, the Italian people!

I’m used to a book shedding new light on a subject. So it’s odd, and strangely gratifying, to have my prejudices confirmed by Underboss. Though I assume that Italian-Americans, who lament their depiction in the media, might disagree.

In that article, Meyer calls out the program and Surnow for blind patriotism and for legitimizing torture as a means to an end. In tonight’s show, Senator Mayer judges Jack Bauer similarly harshly. Though not before Jack has time to call the senator “smug” and leave the Capitol to save America from the terrorists once again–using any means necessary, we suspect.

Surnow and the rest of the crew were still unhappy about the article when my editors and I visited them in the summer of 2007, while we were working on Secrets of 24. It seems they felt strongly enough to have a little dig at Meyer in the opening of season seven. As for the show itself, I thought it was a promising start.

UPDATE: It seems Meyer was not amused. This from the Washington Post:

“It’s kind of flattering,” she says in an e-mail. “It’s also kind of amusing that the Tough Boys of Hollywood, who created Jack Bauer, are total cream puffs themselves, who can’t take criticism that their glamorization of torture is about as popular these days as Dick Cheney.”

(Hat tip: Dan)

Riding in Style. Photo: Copenhagen Cycle Chic

It’s particularly hard not to feel inadequate in Copenhagen. Not only is everyone taller, leaner, fitter and better looking than you, they also have a great sense of style. Their clothes are stylish, their homes are stylish, their shops are stylish. Even the street kiosks that sell pølser, a type of Danish hot dog, look stylish. (Hell, even the bloody sausages look like they might have been designed by Arne Jacobsen.)

So, only a city like Copenhagen could provide enough material for a site like Copenhagen Cycle Chic, post after post of lean, fit, good-looking Danes peddling effortlessly through the city on sleek, curved, and very retro-looking bicycles, seemingly without a care in the world. Even their baskets and trailers, and the sub zero temperatures, don’t seem to slow them down.

Copenhagen Cycle Chic via Manhattan Users Guide

Not only was Prospect Park designed after Central Park—and is therefore devoid of all the deficiencies inherent in an earlier model—it is also predominantly a local park for local people.

It takes a lot to make us Brooklynites hop on the subway on a holiday weekend when the temperature has hit 80F and head to Central Park. But the other week, while working on a story, I met one of New York’s earliest freestyle Frisbee players who invited me and William to join him in Central Park for some jamming lessons.

More on that at a later date but my thanks to him. And my Memorial Day gift to you, this video of some freestyle players jamming in the Sheep Meadow of Central Park on Saturday.

But unlike its Downtown twin, which is primarily recording stories of people affected by the September 11 attacks or of tourists nearby, the Grand Central booth is attracting native New Yorkers with diverse tales from all over the city. These recordings are of stories as rich as the city itself—tales of what it was like to grow up in Morningside Heights during the Depression, a typical housewife’s routine in the Bronx and the joy of food at Coney Island movie houses.

Listen to 91-year-old Harold Slappy regale you with stories of Saturdays at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, Joseph Robertson tell his son-in-law about the German he killed during the Second World War, or Michael Wolmetz propose to his girlfriend with his late father’s wedding ring. Interested?

Links for today:
Listen to Storycorps.
Look at Storycorps.

I failed miserably at mastering the violin, the keyboard and the recorder. My singing sucks. I trust my ear so little that I often ask people around me whether the singer I am listening to is good or not, although rather than straight out asking I generally use a tactically placed question mark such as “she’s quite good, isn’t she?” or “is it me, or is he slightly off?”

All of which is an elongated introduction to Stephane Wrembel, a gypsy jazz guitarist who never ceases to amaze me with his performances at Barbes, a local bar here in Brooklyn. Take a look at part of his performance last night. He’s good, isn’t he?

Next Sunday is Stephane’s last night at Barbes of 2005. Barbes is on the corner of 9th street and 6th Avenue in Park Slope. Entry is free. Suggested donation for the band is $8. And best of all, whiskey is only $5. More movies here and here (my camera’s limit is three minutes!). And check out Stephane’s website for downloads and gigs.

Celebrate Brooklyn was one of the highlights of life in New York last year. It is an annual event in our local Prospect Park, with outdoor concerts and movies once or twice a week for a $3 (suggested donation) entry fee. Wednesday’s opener was Rickie Lee Jones whose song Chuck E’s in Love (captured here on my camera) may sound familiar. Geekier readers may be interested to know that, according to this Wikipedia entry, she is also the female vocal on The Orb’s Little Fluffy Clouds.