Snapshot Book Review: The Tender Bar

The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J.R. Moehringer

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Not a bad memoir; not particularly gripping, but very vivid in its way of person-description-by-storytelling. Probably the least "woe is me, I'm a drunk" and most interesting "look how I became a reporter for Times" book out there. And still, it became rambly. About two-thirds of the way through, I wondered why so many pages remained and what Moehringer could possibly have left to tell me that was so darned important. I hate when the story seems over and the book keeps going. Of course, I claim to hate when the story seems UNfinished and the book ends more, but I suppose that's a much better way to end a book--leave the reader wanting. Always a good sign for the author, anyway.

I could easily see The Tender Bar becoming a cult classic within reading groups, but it didn't blow me away. What can I say--I'm a tough audience. I'd recommend this one more strongly to males, particularly the intellectual types. It's about male-bonding, after all, and I imagine many of them would relate to the issues Moehringer explores.


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Riding the Bus: Only In New York City

What I love about having the opportunity to take a bus partway to and from work is the ability to look out the window. (That as well as the relative comfort of the seats and silence the of a bus ride, compared to the subway.) I wouldn’t necessarily claim that there are more interesting sights to be seen above ground than below—because for certain you would miss the calf-less man scooting from car to car rattling his tin bucket for change; the traveling Spanish mariachi group who, I discovered by listening to them practice at a stop once, knows exactly three chords which they play continuously in each car until people give them money; excited-looking foreign tourists who can’t stop taking pictures of one another and at seven-thirty in the morning; and the like—but sites above-ground involve setting variety in addition to character variety and are, therefore, simply a nice diversion.

Riding a bus in New York is also a very different experience from riding a bus in other cities. For instance, the sites are not always the same, since because the traffic is so horrendous, the bus takes a slightly different route every day.

I have certainly seen some Only In New York City sites while riding the bus. For instance, one morning, as I was looking out the window, I discovered a trapeze artist practicing inside what appeared to be a netted high ropes course . . . all constructed above a parking garage.

Another Only In New York City site appeared on a more remote street, farther from the city center, where the buildings were spaced farther apart. There, a flat, single-story building was flanked by light brown two-by-fours around the base of its perimeter, and no semblance of decoration could be found anywhere else on the entire building. One would assume the building was vacant, except that over one small, squat front door, a green and pink neon sign declared “Tequila Sunrise.” This could very well have been an outdated advertisement, except right below, hanging from two grayish strings, was a tarp-style poster proclaiming “We’re Open!”

When someone comes and visits me, I want to take them to that bar. I’ll save money from my first paycheck, and we can drink Tequila Sunrises, on me.

Why I’ve become a dedicated Mac user

1. Macs are for neat freaks

And I am nothing if not a neat freak. Since I have moved into my apartment, I have taken out my trash every other day. I have vacuumed my carpet and cleaned the shared bathroom every single weekend. I keep files for nearly everything, and making to do lists is how I occupy my spare time on the subway.

Macs let you keep your screen clutter-free. They put what you don’t need out of they way, but keep what you do need close at hand. Every application is streamlined and clean-looking, with as few extra windows, buttons, and pop-ups as possible.

2. Macs are for control freaks

Which I am, a bit. I like to know where things are at all times. I like to have my things “just so.” I like organization. I like routine. I like continuity.

Macs let you customize until you have things “just so.” You can put icons where you want them, in the size and color that you want them, in the number and variety that you want them. You can make them open in certain ways at certain times. You can give them certain appearances.

3. Macs don’t require downloading new software for every little thing

So you don’t need: virus protection, photo-downloading software for your camera, printer/scanner software, AIM…. And therefore your computer remains less cluttered (for the neat freaks) and you can open documents using the same application every time (for the control freaks). So everyone’s happy.

Snapshot Book Review: Leaving Dirty Jersey

Leaving Dirty Jersey: A Crystal Meth Memoir by James Salant

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
For me, reading this book was more educational than pleasurable. I wouldn't necessarily call it well-written, as many of the episodes the author recounts seem repetitive, and they don't culminate to any final climax, from what I could tell. The beginning didn't "grab my attention," and I felt that the entire thing left one with little sense of surprise, both during the reading and at the end.

However, I easily recognized the temperament and actions of a good friend of mine in those of the author/narrator, so that alone was enough to force me onward through the novel--eager to know as much as possible about this lifestyle, to understand it and recognize it.

I don't think Salant fully or vividly captured the overwhelming compulsion of addiction, but he laid out the lifestyle and habits of a drug addict very plainly and thoroughly (from what I know and have observed in Real Life).

I would be interested to know what other addicts would have to say about this book.


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Things I love

My mind is now at least somewhat at ease, and today’s weather is just so perfect that I am inspired to create this list. I am sure I have written one before, but just because the fancy has struck, I am going to make another one.

• Slightly breezy 65-70 degree weather, in the sunshine.
  
• Hot showers.
  
• Happy exhaustion at the end of a hard workout.
  
• Cooking for other people.
  
• Receiving mail.
  
• Giving gifts.
  
• Kittens.
  
• Good books.
  
• British accents.
  
• Learning about language.
  
• The smell of cinnamon.