I thought this would also be a good time to put up a couple of new pictures we just took while goofing around with Sheri. This morning I found that one of my favorite shirts was ruined and gladly donated it to Sheri’s wardrobe. Here she is expressing how happy she is to know she’s joining us this year on vacation in Provincetown.

The other picture below was taken by an engineer who came to the house and took a couple of pictures.

The majority of shrimp that lands on your plate comes from Asia. If shrimp was no longer able to be harvested in the Gulf that ten percent decrease in supply would have a huge effect when you shopped at your local grocery. Again, I’m not saying run out to the store and grab some cheap frozen shrimp. I’m just saying I went to supermarket and picked up three backs of two pound shrimp. Just in case!!

The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan’s largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park.

The preservation project isn’t fully finished but it’s still a really nice experience. I recommend everyone check it out at least once. As soon as the weather gets a little warmer again.

The convention as a whole was exciting and unique. There was a section whereby top designers like Ralph Lauren presented dining tables to raise funds and awareness for AIDS research.

There were also many unique interior artists displaying new product concepts. In the gallery above I have a couple of images from the Wunderwurks booth. They build handmade non-toxic, soft plastic bowls and lamp shades. The work was visually interesting however the price tag was completely outrageous.

I realize there are plenty of people who still have oodles of cash burning a whole in their pocket. However, artists need to be realistic in the uniqueness of their product. In the case of Wunderwurks it would be easy for me to fly to China, have them produce a similar bowl, fly back to the states, make a deal with Target, and sell billions before WunderWurks made another handmade bowl. Artists need to be realistic about their product uniqueness when compared to the opportunities within the mass market.

I found it so interesting walking around the show and meeting all the companies that had no clue how to market themselves. Take for instance Muddwall. They specialize in wall organizers. While Muddwall might tell you their product is the newest thing since the wheel, they would be completely wrong. Anyone who lives in the Northeast, particularly New England grew up with a wall in the Mud Room to put coats and other outdoor objectives. This is not a new concept.

Their marketing is worse than their product though. I took a brochure trying to see how much they were selling these walls. No prices on the brochure. Ok, your trying to be aloof, fine. Get me interested enough to go to your website. Went to the website…it’s a copy of the brochure. No additional information, no prices, no in-depth story. Really? I’m not psychic and I don’t have the time to get you on the phone to hear a sales pitch. Tell me the freakin price.

From the Home Show you could gain access to the “Go Green” show. Interesting aside, in order to get into the Green show you had to climb rickety scaffolding that went two flights up. Not for the weak of heart or anyone afraid of heights.

So I went up the scaffolding and decided it was time to use the bathroom. Came out of the bathroom and there were two guards standing in the hall heading back to the booths. “You can’t come in sir” they said.

“I’m sorry I was just in. Did something happen while I took a piss?”

“You don’t have a wristband.”

“Why would I need a wristband I was just in the convention hall.”

“There are a lot of people trying to get in without paying.”

“Paying for what exactly? Both events are free.”

“Management told us not to let anyone in unless they had a wrist band.”

“Where exactly was I supposed to get this wristband?”

“At the front of the convention.”

“You mean the front of the Green convention or the Home Show convention?”

By this time the guard’s heads were hurting. So they walked me to where I should have picked up a wristband (at the top of the rickety scaffolding) and told me to have a nice day.

The Green show wasn’t eventful except to say that until Green Technologists (scientists working on car emissions, dioxides in the water, etc.) can separate themselves from Green Wack-a-doodles (hippies interested in rubbing patroulli on my body and meditating me into the fourth dimension) it’s going to be hard to convince a skeptic like me to give a crap about the environment.

In the end the Architectural Digest Home Show 2010 was a lot of fun to attend. It was great seeing Aleene Donofrio-Stitt working with clients and it was a beautiful day to be in the city.

Anyway, I really like Dr. Stanley Boyd. He’s very serious about perfection. Much more than I am. I personally just want my teeth to stay in my head for as long as I live. He wants my teeth to look the best they can and stay in my head for as long as possible.

This week I had the chip in my front tooth and the filling in the back fixed. When it came to the front teeth Dr. Stanley Boyd asked me if I wanted to have the teeth go straight across or leave them curved. I’m not really up on what’s in fashion for front teeth these days. So I asked Dr. Boyd and he said most people’s front teeth go straight across. I said make it so! And here are my new front teeth! Thanks Dr. Stanley Boyd. It’s worth the trip down to 15th street in Chelsea NYC for great dentistry.

Then I remembered that some games have demos available. My plan was to see if one of the three Gamestops located within a mile of my house had any demos. Honestly, I live in Jersey City and I have three Gamestop stores within a one mile radius of my house. There is a Gamestop located in the Hudson Mall, which is in walking distance from my house. There are another two Gamestop stores in Bayonne, which is less than a five minute drive from my house. I rarely go into the Hudson Mall so I got into the car and drove to Gamestop in Bayonne to see if they had a demo of the game. Sure enough they did.

Ok, enough about my life. Let’s get into this game review. The fact that previous iterations of this game were huge in Japan speaks volumes to the societal differences between our cultures. If I had to sum this game up with one word it would be BORING. Maybe it’s me but a guy wandering around by himself killing monsters just isn’t my idea of entertainment.  There are two really huge problems with the game. First, the load time from area to area is just ridiculous. This isn’t 1999 and I’m not playing on an X-box. Why does every new area need it’s own loading time. The graphics aren’t that intense that it should use up vast amounts of memory.

Worse than the long download time is the actual game play. When the hunter thrusts his sword and hits a monster there is no impact. It’s like the two characters exist in two completely different plains of field. In fact the video in this post shows exactly what I’m talking about:

I feel bad for Wii. They are under pressure to increase their sales. X-box and Playstation have a multitude of games coming out monthly. The last big release for the Wii was Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, which really doesn’t excite me either. Now granted I’m a huge Lego fan and am waiting eagerly for Harry Potter but that doesn’t come out till May.

Going forward I’m going to be a little more weary of game bundles that sound to good to be true cause they probably are.