Tag: NYC

Big Apple Circus, Pt 1

His first circus

It’s been months since it rained here in the big city but the night it began to rain for three days was the same night that I brought the kid out to his first circus.

You can see the very top of the big top in the center.

I remember my first circus – this is me with my brother and his friend.

I think I’m about seven in this – and just starting to get chunky.

I’d won four tix to the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center with absolutely killer seats.

The thing about the BAC is that they played in two places growing up – just a few blocks from my parents home in Queens and the literally across the street from my law school.

I remember for years walking past these signs on the way to or from Law School and thinking: Maybe someday I’ll check it out.

And last week was that day.

Unfortunately, the Firecracker and her kid couldn’t make it, so we invited one of the kid’s classmates.

To say that they loved it is an understatement.

Pretty much the whole night:

Him: WOW! How did they…?
Friend: DID YOU SEE THAT?!

The last time I was in the circus was 1980 – 44 years ago (!!).

Back then, this was my absolute favourite act – although in the version I saw the guys rode a motorcycle in it!

And the acts were pretty much all amazing, like this contortionist…

…and these guys who were doing some pretty intense flying moves.

But this entry’s getting super long so I’ll continue this in the next one?

Until then, here are two more quick videos:

Location: home, trying – very unsuccessfully – to block out the jackhammers outside my window
Mood: annoyed
Music: In the pouring rain, putting back the pieces of a broken dream (Spotify)
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Tags family, good things, New York City, NYC, video

personal

Court Papers

And then lunch in Chinatown

Her: It happened!
Me: What?
Her: My papers! The judge signed off on everything, we’re done!
Me: Sweeeeet – I’ll head down with you so you can grab a copy.

The Firecracker’s been involved in a legal matter for the better part of a year now and it was finally resolved last week (in a manner that made her happy).

So, early the other day, we took a train down to the court house together to get an official copy of everything.

Managed to get a copy and get out the door in less than an hour.

Afterward, we walked down to Chinatown to get some food.

Along the way, she noticed a cute little bookstore:

Her: OMG, that’s the best name: Yu and Me Books!

While we didn’t stop in, we did stop to get some cherimoyas, which are essentially Asian pawpaws.

They were $10 each so basically the same price as a domestic pawpaw.

Afterward, we made our way to a local greasy spoon.

Me: Could we get everything in takeout containers? We have to eat and run.
Waiter: Sure thing.

The Firecracker had to dash back to work so she left while I made my way back to work, belly full.

Not a bad way to spend a morning that involved heading to court.

Location: standing in front of my desk, wondering when my hip won’t hurt
Mood: okay
Music: It’s not over. You’re not your mistakes (Spotify)
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Tags good things, New York City, NYC

personal

Hanging out at JP’s pad

Something adult-like

Me: Do you wanna hit up the Morgan Library and Museum?
Her: Is it a museum or a sit and read kinda place?
Me: I think a little of both? It’s been ages since I was there last. I forgot who I even went with

Whenever the boys are away, the Firecracker and I scramble to do something adult-like since we always have factor in entertaining the kids otherwise.

We didn’t really have any set plans so just randomly got tickets to the Morgan Library and Museum.

I was coming in from dropping the kid off in Jersey so we met outside the museum.

It was a quick line so we were inside in no time.

Me: Crazy that someone once lived here.
Her: I think that this is actually an enclosed courtyard – I think these are two separate buildings they combined.
Me: Whoa, I think you’re right. (shaking head) Man, that is a crazy amount of scratch this dude had.

The actual library stuff was like something outta a movie.

Her: I’m waiting for Belle from Beauty and the Beast to show up with a book in her hand.
Me: Of course you are.
Her: Listen, I’m whimsical and romantic. There’s nothing wrong with that.

She even found some really cool Dickens and Chinese stuff.

Side-by-side to boot!

We also went to the mezzanine to admire the view – again, this was someone’s house once (or at least the outdoor space of someone’s house).

Wild.

It was gorgeous inside but there really wasn’t all that much to do so we spent probably an hour there at most.

Me: I’m ready to eat.
Her: Me too!

We walked a few blocks and ended up at this relatively empty Persian joint called Miraj Healthy Grill.

While they had some odd decoration choices…

…the food itself was on point.

Her: Man, the number of pictures I have of you with that face.
Me: I can’t help it – I love food.

I not only ate everything on my plate, I ate everything on hers. The food was excellent.

Me: OMG, I’m so full.
Her: Wow, you never say that.

Afterwards, we took the long way home and enjoyed a nice night out as two adults.

Me: Did you have a good night?
Her: Were you there? Then yes.
Me: (laughing) Thanks, I’ll take it.

Location: court, again.
Mood: annoyed
Music: drinking in the dark, I don’t know where I wanna go (Spotify)
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Tags good things, New York City, NYC

personal

Movie Premier: Gladiator II

Post author By Logan Lo
Post date 2024/11/21
2 Comments on Movie Premier: Gladiator II

Cray Rachet

Scenic Fights got an invitation to a pre-release screening of Gladiator II the other day.

I got picked to go pretty much just because it’s walking distance from my pad.

So, the other night, the Firecracker and I got dressed and took a little walk to the movie theatre.

We arrived and immediately queued to have our pictures taken.

The main picture above is the Getty image that we took.

I asked the gentlemen to not be so much taller than me but, clearly, they didn’t comply.

While she was queuing, I went to get us drinks.

Me: Can I get a Gladiator for my date, and I’ll have the Roman Empire, but toss in like two shots of vodka for me?
Bartender: You got it and good choice with the vodka.

It was really pretty good.

Afterward, we took our pics and then went to the other room for food…

…so much food.

The Firecracker managed to snag one of these cool little Colosseum popcorn buckets.

My producer asked me to get as many shots of myself as I could but the lighting in a movie theatre leaves a lot to be desired.

Speaking of leaving a lot to be desired, the flick itself was pretty good – I was surprised what a good job they did linking it up to the original that came out close to a quarter century ago.

The issue was that we were sitting next to possibly the most rachet group of influencers out there.

They were clearly suffering from Main Character syndrome with zero interest in the film – they were just talking loudly and texting the whole time.

Luckily, they left with 1/3 of the film to go – like I said, they had zero interest in the film.

All-in-all, it was a nice night out with the Firecracker and a good excuse to get dressed up.

I told her that we needed to get invited to a premier like for The Killer, which was awesome.

Her: That was fun!
Me: I thought so – our seat partners notwithstanding.
Her: Can’t win them all.
Me: Evidently not.

Location: court, again.
Mood: annoyed
Music: drinking in the dark, I don’t know where I wanna go (Spotify)
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Tags #gladiator2, #gladiatorii, good things, New York City, nightlife, NYC

personal

Hot pot with a buncha hapas, Pt 1

Post author By Logan Lo
Post date 2024/11/14
1 Comment on Hot pot with a buncha hapas, Pt 1

What’s a Hapa?

A hapa, in Japanese, has traditionally meant someone that is half Japanese and half something else.

Other Asians, like myself, have co-opted this term to mean anyone that is half-one race and half-another.

So, my son is not technically a hapa but I call him that.

In any case, after a lotta back-and-forth – and because alla our significant others got along so well – Bryson, the Frenchman, and I finally agreed to meet up for another dinner, this time at Bryson’s.

There, I marveled how the hapas completely outnumbered the only three people there that weren’t hapas – namely, myself, the Firecracker, and the Firecracker’s kid.

What I found the most interesting was that the Frenchman (French/Japanese) married another hapa, Tess, (Chinese/Caucasian), while Bryson (African-American/Okinawan) married another hapa, Nikki, (African-American/American).

And Bryson and Nikki have three hapa kids, while the Frenchman and Tess have two hapa kids.

The kicker is that some of the hapa kids were dating…other hapas!

Me: How do you all keep finding each other?
Bryson: We’re everywhere!

I’m finding this to be true.

Always wondered if the kid was gonna end up with an Asian like me, or a Caucasian like Alison, or something else entirely.

It never occurred to me that he might end up with another hapa.

Based on what we were seeing with the kids, that seems more likely than I had originally thought.

In any case, the food was so amazeballs that I felt it deserved its own entry, so I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Oh, and I’ll explain what’s going on in the picture above as well.

Her: Everybody point at Logan!
Me: That’s really not…ok, I see this is happening.

Location: my apartment, showing the boys how to escape an American lock.
Mood: parched
Music: We ‘bout to elevate, getting up and getting down (Spotify)
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Tags family, friends, good things, New York City, NYC

personal

Halloween 2024

A losing battle

This year was the same as previous years but also a bit different.

In the past, we used to go out and wander all over the UWS. But something felt different this year.

My kid’s dressed up as French soccer player Kylian Mbappé.

I’d been reading about shootings in the area on the upswing and I just didn’t feel comfortable with Nate running around outside; especially since, in the past, there were times I felt penned in in some streets and the last thing I wanted at that time was some violence.

It turns out that I was right, because my sister wrote me to tell me that a McDonalds – which my kid and I’ve been to easily 2-3 dozen times – had a shootout just an hour after when we were supposed to start trick or treating.

So, while the Firecracker and her kid went trick-or-treating out and about, I only let the kid do it in the large apartment complex next door.

On the positive side, though, it’s nice that he and I have so many friends in the neighborhood that we have the opportunity to do things like that.

It stinks that kids can’t just be kids these days.

Like all parents, I try to shield him from what I can but it’s a losing battle.

Still, he’s such a resilient little kid, I’m hoping it’ll be ok, somehow.

Location: the kid’s BJJ class, watching him try to throw another kid
Mood: nostalgic
Music: maybe you’re gonna be the one that saves me (Spotify)
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Tags New York City, NYC, observations, video

personal

It looks like me

But it’s not me

Just did my last shoot for Scenic Fights for 2024.

I’m not slated to do any more shoots until 2025, which is great, because I’m pretty beat.

Ever since we started doing these shoots, I’ve got a newfound respect for content creators; it’s pretty draining to shoot these scenes over and over again until they’re perfect.

I just checked – I did my first shoot in the summer of 2019 and we’re now closing in on 2025. Close to six years.

Man, time is just sprinting by these days.

On that note, check out the above video – it looks like me but it’s actually not me at all!

It’s an AI generated video from my Scenic Fights producer.

Wild, right?

(The picture above *IS* of me, though).

On that note, I met up with my boss at the law firm for lunch the other day at the Bryant Park Grill.

I’ve been with the firm, in one form or another, since 2008 or so, so some 16 years.

That too reminds me that life is sprinting by.

Now that I’ve been a lawyer for close to a quarter-of-a-century, I’ve been lucky in that I can be very picky with the new cases I take on.

Him: Well, what in particular?
Me: It’s gotta be something interesting OR with a huge payout. Otherwise, my patience for dealing with other people’s nonsense is pretty thin these days.
Him: (laughing) I get that. OK, interesting cases or big check.
Me: Essentially.

Location: in front of my sink, wondering if it’s time to call in a plumber
Mood: So. Annoyed.
Music: crazy how we live our lives, we spent it all on borrowed time (Spotify)
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Tags friends, good things, human condition, New York City, NYC, self-improvement

personal

It started off all so well

Post author By Logan Lo
Post date 2024/10/06
2 Comments on It started off all so well

Anything from Bibigo is solid

We were supposed to meet up with the Surgeon and his family for some hot pot the other night but that shifted to a party at their pad, which was actually even better since the kids could play.

Wanted to bring something so I asked Pac if he could recommend something to buy at H Mart now that it was in the UWS.

Me: Heading to a dinner party tomorrow and don’t wanna schlepp alla way to Chinatown for Chinese dumplings.
Him: Anything from Bibigo is solid.

So, we went and got a bag of beef dumplings and a bag of pork ones.

While the pork was definitely good, the beef was killer and we chowed through a lotta that before the other guests even came.

The Surgeon was mixing drinks all night and said – at the end of the night – that we kicked an entire bottle of mezcal with the four of us (him, his wife, me, and the Firecracker).

I didn’t think that it would affect me the same way as tequila does, but it turns out, it’s much, much, much worse on me than tequila is, which is saying a lot.

SAFE on a rooftop

She and her granny cart

Me: Why don’t I just carry everything, so we don’t have to bring your granny cart?
Her: I LOVE my granny cart! Besides, how are you gonna carry everything.
Me: Hold on. (thinking) If I have seven cans of oil-based paint, and a gallon of oil weights approximately 7 pounds, that means I’m carrying around 50 pounds. (sighing) Fiiiine, bring your granny cart.
Her: You’re gonna be so happy I brought it when you realize how much we’re gonna be carrying.

The Firecracker proudly using her granny cart to haul away a hoverboard and a buncha paint cans.

The first time I went to the Firecracker’s pad, I asked her why she had a vacuum cleaner and a kid’s hoverboard in her bedroom.

Her: They both have batteries in them that I have to wait until the city will take them.
Me: How long have you been holding onto them?
Her: A year?

I understood.

I’ve had paint and tar in my basement for at least the last 25 years and some were there when I moved in, meaning that two or three cans were like 35 years old.

We kept waiting for the next NYC SAFE (Solvents, Automotive, Flammables, and Electronics) Disposal event – something usually came up each time, so she was closing in on three years of holding onto the hoverboard and vacuum.

This is what the SAFE Event looked like.

This latest one was right by my gym BUT we were filming on the day of it, and I had to carry a whole boatload of costumes down from my pad for it, so we figured we’d miss this one too.

That is, until I got whacked in the face by my buddy Prin.

Her: Hey, we can go to the SAFE Event now!
Me: OMG, you’re right!
Her: See! Always look on the bright side.

So, we packed up her granny cart and headed downtown to do just that.

That was pretty quick, so we hit up a clothing store as the Firecracker needed some new gear.

Afterward, I rang up my buddy Ricky – as we were near his pad – and he said he was actually in a cafe just around the block from where we were.

We ended up walking over to his pad and chilling out on his gorgeous rooftop deck.

I brought some pork rinds, and he brought a bottle of sweet Moscato.

Honestly, I’m not sure life in NYC gets better than this.

Me: That’s what we like the most, random cool meetup with friends.
Her: Especially friends with roof decks!
Him: (laughing) Well, I’m glad you called then.

Location: this morning, an early ferry to Red Hook with the fam
Mood: excited
Music: You and me is more than a hundred miles (Spotify)
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Tags family, good things, New York City, NYC, slice of life

personal

She didn’t come this far…

Post author By Logan Lo
Post date 2024/09/22
No Comments on She didn’t come this far…

…to only go this far

Speaking of advice, a friend asked me to go with her to court to help her with a case she was involved in.

Well, a case she had to restart because of things way outta her control.

I’m not a court attorney but I know enough to at least tell her where to go and what to say.

We all need help finding our way, sometimes.

It’s good to have a friend during those times.

To this end, we went down to the courthouse the other day.

Me: I used to come here with my buddy Steele when we were both clerking for the same judge.
Her: That was a while ago.
Me: A lifetime ago, really.

The building directly in the center of the main picture is where Alison and I got married.

Now that feels like several lifetimes ago.

Going to court in NYC is a bit like going on a scavenger hunt, because, invariably, you gotta go to several different offices and speak with different people to get anything done.

While she didn’t get to accomplish everything that she intended that day, she got a bit closer to her ultimate goal, which is always a positive.

Afterward, we walked over to Chinatown to get some lunch – Taiwanese food over at Taiwan Pork Chop House.

Her: I never realized how close the courts are to Chinatown.
Me: That’s why there are so many lawyers that have lunch there.

Along the way, ran into not one but two Scenic Fights fans.

The first one was on the train ride down there.

Him: Excuse me, but do I know you? You look super familiar.
Me: Do you watch Scenic Fights?
Him: Yes!

The second was after we were done with court and went to Chinatown to get food.

Stuart: I love Scenic Fights!
Me: OMG, will you take a picture with me?
Him: Sure!

In the end, my friend didn’t get everything done that she wanted to get done, but it was a (good) start.

Court stuff is difficult, for sure.

But all difficult things are overcome, as long as you start – it’s the starting that usually the hardest part.

Her: Thanks for coming.
Me: Happy to help, although I’m not sure I did much.
Her: You did – we have a contact now and a plan.
Me: That’s more than you had before.
Her: Absolutely.

She didn’t come this far to only go this far.

Location: earlier today, a rooftop with Ricky and the Firecracker
Mood: fatty-fat-fat
Music: Knee deep in a muddy trench (Spotify)
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Tags friends, hope, New York City, NYC