I NY

I had one of those fabulous "only in New York or another large cosmopolitan city" evenings last night.

Topher and I met up and went to the Met to see a concert in which his friend Michelle was performing. It was a benefit for an organization called Lighthouse International, an organization that helps people who are blind or visually-impaired. A good cause, indeed.

First, however, we went for a glass of wine on the balcony of the main gallery at the Met, which is just about the most civilized thing one can do -- evenings (or, I should say, Friday evenings, at least -- they have string quartet or some equally mellow instrumental combo playing, and it's nice to sit and watch the comings and goings.

We spent a little time listening to the concert in the Temple of Dendur, but wandered away to look at the collection, as I'd not been to the Met in some time, and wanted to see some of my favorite pieces.

I do so love the Met. Every time I go back there, I'm surprised again at how much I love it. And Topher was kind enough to share some of his favorite hideaways with me. Really beautiful.

We wandered all over the place, from the Egyptian collection, to the impressionists, to the sculpture halls and the photography exhibits.

Wonderful evening.

As I was taking my camera out and snapping shots of my favorite artwork, Topher made a remarkably astute observation -- one that I'd never realized about myself before: I like my art spacial. Architecture. Sculpture. Furniture. Oh, I enjoy paintings -- mostly anything before the era of "modern art," but the things that really excite me are the things that exist in three dimensions, that fill up space.

There's just no getting around it: Rodin is my favorite sculptor.

For, I suppose, obvious reasons.

I do love me some impressionists, but van Gogh never jumps out at me until, of course, I'm presented with his work in person. Though there's just no way a photograph (particularly one taken by me) can do it justice, just imagine seeing this in person. How thickly the paint's laid on, the brushstrokes. It's amazing.


Really remarkable.

You know what else I can't get enough of? Stained glass. Really beautiful stained glass. And not the stuff that's made for cathedrals and pictures biblical scenes. I prefer the stuff that's done as art for art's sake. The Met has a number of really, really striking pieces, but I think this one will always be my favorite.

This is one of the things I love most about living in New York. Being able to go to the Met and just hang out. There're a ton of places where you're welcome to just sit and contemplate. Look. Read a book. It doesn't matter. And when you turn your page, you can look up and see a masterpiece by van Gogh. A statue by Rodin. An entire room designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The famous portrait of Washington crossing the Delaware.

Jeebus, I love this place.

After the concert, and Topher had a chance to say hello to his friend, we made our way over to the Film Center Cafe to wait for Ken and his sister to finish seeing 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I had seen the musical last week on a date that ended up not going anywhere, but that's okay: I found the musical delightful and clever. And a little shocking -- it has no problem with messing with political correctness. Which I dug.

I snapped that shot of Topher (which he'll no doubt hate!) while we waited for Kenjiman and his sister Roblyn(n?), who's visiting from Ohio. She's a bit of a corker, and doesn't mind jumping in there when we're playfully kicking Ken's butt. I snapped this picture of them on the train platform when we were all going home.

All-in-all, dear webfriends, it was a bit of a kick-ass day.