"I just wanted people to know that the Constitution says everyone is equal, and if we don't agree with someone, we should just live and let live. But all I ever see is hatred and intolerance and bigotry, and it's not supposed to be like that. Everyone in our country is a child of this Constitution, and that makes us a family. I just want us to treat each other that way."
"A Spider in the Web" (s2e6)
"I like her, too, that's why she was returned to you." The sheer power implied in that line alone. When I first saw this episode, as a teenager, I was fascinated by the idea that the federal government could be so vast and labyrinthine that individuals like Mulder and CSM could coexist within it.
I also like this scene because it shows that (at least in this point in the mythology's development) CSM seems to be standing on some sort of principle, even as he antagonizes Mulder here.
"Midnight on the Firing Line" (s1e1)
This scene always amused me because CSM's idea is so silly. The First Elder just stares at him because, yeah, we're five years in and you think you can turn Mulder to the dark side?
"Redux II" (s5e2)
In some ways, Skinner is even more skeptical than Scully, and I always found it funny that CSM of all people had to tell him that, yeah, of course your agents are telling you the truth here. He's seen some shit himself.
"Babylon 5: In the Beginning"
I can't remember who here recommended this spot, but kudos to them, because it's now in the rotation. It's just off 33rd on the 7, so it's easy for me to get to (although us losing power on the 1 for a few minutes when we pulled into 42nd was a fun diversion). They had a few lunch specials, and I chose the Coca-Cola chicken, which came with rice, mac salad, green sauce, a soup (I chose lentil), and some kind of room temp beverage that was sweet, mildly spiced, and quite pleasant.
The chicken was tender and juicy, and although I couldn't taste specifically Coke, there was an overall rich sweet flavor, a bit richer than what I'd had at Chicken Lovers but not cloyingly sweet. Addictive with the green sauce, and the rice, man, I could demolish a huge bowl of just that. The mac salad was nice and light, one of the better mac salads I've had here, with no surprise fishy taste (looking at you, Brown Bag). The lentil soup was excellent, as flavorful as the main dish, at which I was very pleased because some places phone in their lentil soups. All this for $15; there are places in Manhattan where you'd pay more than that for a single bowl of soup. I don't know how anyone has lunch here and then goes back to work, unless they save some for later, because I went home and napped.
This was an impulse purchase after I got wasted at the Blind Tiger. Their "Sasso" pie with mozz, parm, oregano, and black pepper, plus my usual additions of sausage, basil, and garlic. I mean, it's John's. Some of the best pizza on the planet, period, and I think this specific combo of toppings is standout. It's about loading up with flavor, with spices and seasonings, not thick toppings.
I've lived in the WV for years and never gone here. Finally fixed that. It seems to be part of a strange category of establishments whose authentic heyday was years ago, but persist off reputation or name recognition and whose visual appearance is carefully maintained. At lunchtime it was just me and a few tourists (and the way they greet you there tells you they're more used to tourists than locals). I got the Bistro Burger, which turned out to be... a serviceable, totally average bacon cheeseburger. Fries were similar. Nothing distinctive like what you'd get at Emily, Minetta, Au Cheval, etc., just a bog-standard burger. Worth the $24.75? Not at all--and yet, there's a weird faded charm to this place, and it's right in my neighborhood. I imagine I'll stop in here again at some point, but maybe not on a weekend.
Folks forget that they have some savory snacks in addition to all the fried sweet stuff. For $4.25 you can get the sort of chili cheese dog that you might have gotten from a nameless concession stand when you were a kid. I'd challenge anyone to find out how much the next-cheapest chili cheese dog in the neighborhood costs, because I'd bet it's nowhere near that.
64th and Madison, been there forever. My way is: ribeye hero with mozz, peppers, onions, and mayo. He adds olive oil by default. One of the best sandwiches in the city and one of the best steak sandwiches anywhere. I might try it with American cheese someday just to switch it up. He's not getting any younger, and one gets the sense that when he goes, this cart will go with him, so don't miss out.
This is the "Stube Sausage Bar" next to their store and it's one of the few places in the city where you can just walk up and get bratwurst on a bun. I'm originally from the Midwest, where bratwurst is everywhere, but it's a little rarer here. Kielbasa you can get, either at Slavic stores or Chicago-style (e.g. Dog Day Afternoon, Bobbi's Italian Beef), but bratwurst not so much. In fact the only other times I've been able to do this were at that German place in Chelsea Market and the Taste of Poland stall, which pops up at the big Sunday flea market on the UWS every now and then. They cook it fresh, while S&W uses its own precooked brats. Still tasty, but I'll always prefer fresh. This place also has other kinds of German sausages such as weisswurst and knockwurst.
I always forget that, when you add bacon to something here, they really load it up. So much so that I could finish barely a quarter of this massive chicken Caesar wrap. All that bacon turns it into something that I chip away at over a few days, which sort of conflicts with how well lettuce doesn't keep in the fridge. Damn fine wrap, though.
I'll say it again: get the "sour vegetable" (mustard greens) with your noodles. Why they don't advertise this option more clearly on their menu is beyond me. I now consider it essential.
I got the email yesterday afternoon and responded as fully as I could. I'm a lover of art--I commission quite a bit of it, frequent museums to see it, and make poor attempts at it myself. I appreciate it whenever I see it in the system, even if it's not precisely to my taste. I read all the poems I see, and I like when they're physically printed instead of on a digital board where an ad might swoop in before I've finished digesting the work.
Anyway, in this survey the MTA asks what art you've noticed, where you've seen it, how it affects your experience, etc. I know it seems to be easily ignored in the day-to-day grind, but I firmly believe that public art is something that impacts us whether we realize it or not. Even if it's on a subconscious level. We'd all go crazy if we lived in "THX 1138" white rooms or any other artless dystopia. (This is also why, although I'm an avowed urbanist, I very occasionally side with preservationists when the former gets a bit too gung-ho about demolishing historic structures.) I want my city to be beautiful and that includes our transit system.
Yes, we need better service, serious system expansion, safer and cleaner stations, more R211s, all of that. We also need this, so let them know you appreciate art!
"Divided Loyalties" (s2e19)
Check out these actual game screens!
