Author Archives: kurczy
April 2013: Good Hope Noodle
A favorite memory of living in Cambodia for two years was a restaurant on my street called Chinese Noodle, which made fresh thick rice noodles woven daily by hand. Almost as good: My first bowl of noodles at Hong Kong’s Michelin-recommended Good Hope … Continue reading
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April 2013: Hong Kong’s Big Buddha
It’s the Ching Ming Festival in Hong Kong, a holiday when locals visit the graves of ancestors and place flowers or other token offerings at the headstones. It reminds me of All Souls Days in Europe, when tens of thousands of people flock to … Continue reading
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March 2013: Bearing Bear Mountain
Even from the top of Bear Mountain, 45 miles north of Manhattan along the Hudson River, New York City’s skyline looms on the horizon and lights up the southern sky. Still, the state park is far enough from Manhattan to easily offer a restive … Continue reading
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March 2013: Nate gets his Bar Mitzvah
Hungover and on two hours sleep, Nate took his bar mitzvah today. He was about 17 years late to the ceremony, but he went to the right place for it in Crown Heights: the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters, considered one of the world’s largest Hasidic … Continue reading
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Feb 2013: Back North
“You’ll die out there,” the locals warned. I was headed into the Presidential Range of New Hampshire’s White Mountains for a week of winter hiking and camping. Ideally, I wanted to summit all the highest peaks during the harshest conditions of the … Continue reading
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Jan 2013: The Great White Hike
The waterbottle beside my bunkbed was frozen solid. The temperature in our unheated cabin — nestled between Wildcat Mountain and Carter Dome, two of the top 20 tallest peaks in the White Mountains of New Hampshire — was in the … Continue reading
March 2011: Pisco Paluck
Be warned, New York. A new bartender is in town. “Any good bar has to have a pisco drink,” says Nathan Paluck, a bartender at Panca restaurant in New York City. MSNBC happened to find Nate tending Panca’s bar recently … Continue reading
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Oct 2011: Today is the Rapture
Today, the world ends. For real this time, says radio evangelist Harold Camping. He’s predicted that a cataclysmic event will today destroy the globe and take 200 million Christians to heaven on Oct. 21, 2011. “I do believe we’re getting … Continue reading
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Oct 2011: I once was lost, but now am found, by The Book of Mormon
I haven’t laughed so hard, I haven’t felt so good, as during and immediately after seeing the Broadway musical “Book of Mormon” on Friday night. Getting into the theater was an ordeal, but worthwhile. The show is sold out into … Continue reading
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Sept 2011: Taking on New York Road Runners (NYRR)
Like thousands of other runners, I forked over $45 to run the Bronx Half-Marathon on August 25, organized by New York Road Runners (NYRR), the nation’s largest running organization. At first I was disappointed when Tropical Storm Irene caused the … Continue reading
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9/11/11: Forgetful Remembrance
Here’s the problem with remembering the 9/11 terrorist attacks as the United States is doing today: We’re lying to ourselves. We’re indulging in self-pity and hero-worship. We’re selectively choosing what we want to recall and forgetting important facts such as how the … Continue reading
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Aug 2011: Medeski, Martin, Wood & Sufjan
New York City can really suck the life out of you, especially during the miserably hot summer months, unless you work hard at finding the life in the city. One way is through music. Under a gentle rain in June, … Continue reading
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July 2011: Trials of NYC apartment-hunting
Six weeks after starting a new job in New York City, I’m yet to actually move to New York City, as I haven’t yet found an apartment. I’ve been rotating between couches in Brooklyn and Manhattan, living alongside cats and encroaching … Continue reading
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June 2011: Angry Canucks
Moments after landing in Vancouver last week, I had five Canadians competing to point me in the right direction on the subway. They were so helpful that it was unhelpful. They were confusing me with all their “abooots” and “eeh’s.” Angry … Continue reading
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April 2011: Peruvian Music Primer
Current Lima resident Nathan Paluck pulled together the following primer on Peruvian music for me, as I’ll be visiting him for two weeks. Hopefully I’ll get to sample first hand the Peruvian music during my first-ever visit to South America. … Continue reading
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