The parakeet is resting quietly in its cage. Suggestions for what we should name it are welcome. James's take on the whole thing is here.

We went to an opening at M3 Projects in DUMBO for Christina Mazzalupo and Harry Nolan. We have several works by Christina, and I've been watching Mr. Nolan since we first saw his work in a big Mixed Greens show in Williamsburg in 2001. He was also in the first show at Plus Ultra (titled "Skank"), one of my favorite Williamsburg galleries.

If you go to the show, I highly recommend starting with Christina's big wall of works on paper before you look at her paintings. Those contain her ruminations on Atlantis, alchemy, and other myths -- mostly from Internet sources -- without which the paintings are a bit baffling. Harry's examinations of the imagery of war are quite powerful. My favorite work is titled "Debriefing", with images inspired by Operation Anaconda.

My regular visits to DUMBO and Williamsburg make me feel that Manhattan is pricing itself out of being interesting.

After the opening, we went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Bistrot Margot. It's the anti-Nolita restaurant -- an oasis from the Mercedes SUV-driving trendoids that make that neighborhood so annoying. As we walked back to the subway, we passed a former cyber cafe that I remember from when I worked in Soho in the late 90s. It's now empty, with a single payphone hanging on the wall.