It's about TIME!
I was just complaining about this problem this past weekend. In the best of situations, I am bad with direction, but coming out the subway, I am ALWAYS turned around. I wish they would put these things at every stop!
If you've ever struggled to figure out which direction you're facing when you step out of a subway station (and there are no landmarks or sun to guide you), you won't have those problems at four subway stations in Midtown anymore. That's because the Department of Transportation and the Grand Central Partnership are placing temporary directional compass decals outside them.
DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan explained, "Not a single person, native New Yorker or visitor, can truthfully claim that they have not, at least once, been confused as to which direction to walk when emerging from a subway station." The decals, funded by the GCP, were suggested by a resident. Here are the locations:
150 East 42nd Street (south side of East 42nd St between Lexington Ave and Third Ave) - Entrance to 42nd Street/Grand Central station
The Grand Hyatt New York, 109 East 42nd Street (west side of Lexington Ave between East 42nd St and East 43rd St) - Entrance to 42nd Street/Grand Central station
570 Lexington Avenue (south side of East 51st St between Lexington Ave and Park Ave) - Entrance to 51st Street/Lexington Avenue station
509 Madison Avenue (south side of East 53rd St between Madison Ave and Park Ave) - Entrance to Fifth Avenue/53rd Street station
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The View from The Top Racket
For once I had Saturday off and so I went into the City to watch the LSU-Kentucky game at our alumni bar Tutle Bay Grill & Lounge. This was a mistake, because every time I go there, we lose the game. So, sorry everyone, that was my fault. It was also a mistake because a Miller Lite bottle there costs $5.40.
But this is not an entry about LSU football, instead, I'm here to talk to you about a different sort of rip off, The Empire State Building. I dragged a friend of my from Queens, who was born and raised in Long Island and has never lived anywhere but in a three hour radius of NYC (and only in NY state), to the bar. She was amazed by the school spirit.
She, in turn, dragged me to the Empire State Building because as a New Yorker, she had never been. (She's also never been to the Statue of Liberty, the U.N., etc.) I thought it would be a good idea, because though I have been, I've never been at night. It was a chilly on the 86th floor in October. It was also pretty to see the city at night with no haze, no smog, all lit up. Unfortunately it was also $18! I couldn't believe it! My guide, which was written in 2006, has the price at $13. So in a year it has gone up $5. And it will just keep going up because people continue to line the walk for the view.
Now NBC has gotten into the act and you can pay to go to the top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. They are late to the game, but what with the popularity of the show by the same name (actually shot at a building in Queens, which they renovated to look like 30 Rock), they too could probably get $18 a head. It's now cheaper to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (and you have to take a boat to get there!) than it is to go to the top of a building, look around for five minutes and then leave.
To spare you the $18, the view follows:
But this is not an entry about LSU football, instead, I'm here to talk to you about a different sort of rip off, The Empire State Building. I dragged a friend of my from Queens, who was born and raised in Long Island and has never lived anywhere but in a three hour radius of NYC (and only in NY state), to the bar. She was amazed by the school spirit.
She, in turn, dragged me to the Empire State Building because as a New Yorker, she had never been. (She's also never been to the Statue of Liberty, the U.N., etc.) I thought it would be a good idea, because though I have been, I've never been at night. It was a chilly on the 86th floor in October. It was also pretty to see the city at night with no haze, no smog, all lit up. Unfortunately it was also $18! I couldn't believe it! My guide, which was written in 2006, has the price at $13. So in a year it has gone up $5. And it will just keep going up because people continue to line the walk for the view.
Now NBC has gotten into the act and you can pay to go to the top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. They are late to the game, but what with the popularity of the show by the same name (actually shot at a building in Queens, which they renovated to look like 30 Rock), they too could probably get $18 a head. It's now cheaper to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (and you have to take a boat to get there!) than it is to go to the top of a building, look around for five minutes and then leave.
To spare you the $18, the view follows:
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
The Hard Times of a Stalker
So as I type, Stalker #2 (Apartment Worker Stalker), is painting lines in the parking lot just outside my window. I know because I was just forced to have yet another stilted conversations with him as I encountered him when I returned from walking the dog. And I had just been thinking how nice it was that I managed the walk without running into him.
So he starts with the weather, moves to "When my boss asked me to come down here to do this, I said 'Sure. I'm good at doing lines.' It's a good thing he didn't catch my meaning." And he finishes with talk of the Colorado Rockies and how well they're playing. (He used to live in Colorado. He told me this during the last conversation...you remember, the one in which he played air guitar.)
Seriously where do these people come from?
I am glad for one thing, though. I've been griping about that parking lot needing lines drawn because it's circular and no one knows how to park out there. A LOT of wasted space! I just wish one of the other guys were out there doing it.
So he starts with the weather, moves to "When my boss asked me to come down here to do this, I said 'Sure. I'm good at doing lines.' It's a good thing he didn't catch my meaning." And he finishes with talk of the Colorado Rockies and how well they're playing. (He used to live in Colorado. He told me this during the last conversation...you remember, the one in which he played air guitar.)
Seriously where do these people come from?
I am glad for one thing, though. I've been griping about that parking lot needing lines drawn because it's circular and no one knows how to park out there. A LOT of wasted space! I just wish one of the other guys were out there doing it.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Reviews. Catching up
Am I behind! I just realized that I haven't mentioned what I've been viewing in quite a while. I mean there's a reason I haven't updated you on what I've been reading...I haven't. At least not in English. Spanish is consuming my life and you'll see that in the movies I've been watching as well.
I did, however, finish "Marley and Me." It is sappy. Easy to read. Not the greatest writing in the world. And yet, at the end, I was crying like a baby. Anyone who has ever loved a pet will understand and thus it is obvious why this book did so well.
Movie-wise I've done better. But only because on my current Netflix plan I get only two movies a month and I feel like I HAVE to watch them or else I don't get my $6 worth. So since The Candidate, I've watched the following films (with mini reviews attached):
The City of No Limits. My rating: See this movie. In Spanish and French with English subtitles, this flick is a great film noire featuring the incredible Spanish actor Fernando Fernan Gomez. Really. He's an amazing actor and he should bet getting as much acclaim as any of those white men with English accents people are going on about, but because he makes Spanish language films, he does not. The Netflix plot synopsis: This haunting drama set in Paris revolves around Max, a former titan of Spanish industry who's become terminally ill. As his family members gather around him, the delusional Max talks incessantly about a plot against Rancel, apparently an old acquaintance of his. When Max becomes increasingly earnest in his ranting, his son Victor decides to take him seriously and investigate his story.
300. My review: Rent if you like this genre. Based on the comic book, it is gory and full of testosterone. I liked it. But then again, I like comic books. The Netflix plot synopsis: About the storied Battle of Thermopylae, a conflict that pitted the ancient Greeks against the Persians in 480 B.C.
Hot Fuzz. My review: Stop everything to see this. Look, I liked Shuan of the Dead OK. I wasn't all crazy for it like my friends. But this move, by the same guys, is hilarious. I found something painfully familiar in the desire to be village of the year. It reminded me of where I work, somehow. Netflix plot synopsis: A top London cop is ready to die of boredom when his superiors transfer him to a sleepy English village to work alongside a blundering but well-meaning young constable. Craving some real action, the big-city bobby may just get his wish when the town begins to stir with a series of grisly "accidents." Is foul play afoot in this seemingly idyllic hamlet?
Mala Uva. My review: If you want something funny with a cheesy, unlikely, sorta happy ending, this is for you. The name of the film in Spanish means "bad grapes", but they called the English release "The Hit Man." I like Bad Grapes better. But either way, it's about a retired hit man who has a vineyard and a daughter about to marry when his crop is damaged beyond repair after grafting French vines with his Spanish ones (a nice dig at the French by the filmmakers). Anyway, he comes out of retirement and wacky adventure ensues. I won't give you the Netflix plot synopsis because it's not quite right.
Next up is The Queen with Helen Mirren and I'm still reading the Che biography.
I did, however, finish "Marley and Me." It is sappy. Easy to read. Not the greatest writing in the world. And yet, at the end, I was crying like a baby. Anyone who has ever loved a pet will understand and thus it is obvious why this book did so well.
Movie-wise I've done better. But only because on my current Netflix plan I get only two movies a month and I feel like I HAVE to watch them or else I don't get my $6 worth. So since The Candidate, I've watched the following films (with mini reviews attached):
The City of No Limits. My rating: See this movie. In Spanish and French with English subtitles, this flick is a great film noire featuring the incredible Spanish actor Fernando Fernan Gomez. Really. He's an amazing actor and he should bet getting as much acclaim as any of those white men with English accents people are going on about, but because he makes Spanish language films, he does not. The Netflix plot synopsis: This haunting drama set in Paris revolves around Max, a former titan of Spanish industry who's become terminally ill. As his family members gather around him, the delusional Max talks incessantly about a plot against Rancel, apparently an old acquaintance of his. When Max becomes increasingly earnest in his ranting, his son Victor decides to take him seriously and investigate his story.
300. My review: Rent if you like this genre. Based on the comic book, it is gory and full of testosterone. I liked it. But then again, I like comic books. The Netflix plot synopsis: About the storied Battle of Thermopylae, a conflict that pitted the ancient Greeks against the Persians in 480 B.C.
Hot Fuzz. My review: Stop everything to see this. Look, I liked Shuan of the Dead OK. I wasn't all crazy for it like my friends. But this move, by the same guys, is hilarious. I found something painfully familiar in the desire to be village of the year. It reminded me of where I work, somehow. Netflix plot synopsis: A top London cop is ready to die of boredom when his superiors transfer him to a sleepy English village to work alongside a blundering but well-meaning young constable. Craving some real action, the big-city bobby may just get his wish when the town begins to stir with a series of grisly "accidents." Is foul play afoot in this seemingly idyllic hamlet?
Mala Uva. My review: If you want something funny with a cheesy, unlikely, sorta happy ending, this is for you. The name of the film in Spanish means "bad grapes", but they called the English release "The Hit Man." I like Bad Grapes better. But either way, it's about a retired hit man who has a vineyard and a daughter about to marry when his crop is damaged beyond repair after grafting French vines with his Spanish ones (a nice dig at the French by the filmmakers). Anyway, he comes out of retirement and wacky adventure ensues. I won't give you the Netflix plot synopsis because it's not quite right.
Next up is The Queen with Helen Mirren and I'm still reading the Che biography.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
FINALLY!!!
A good use for DNA testing! Finding out who your baby's daddy is and freeing men wrongly imprisoned 20 years ago for a crime they didn't commit is all nice and good, but this...THIS is what DNA was truly meant for. Roland won't have to wonder about his lineage any more!
Tests help mutt owners find identity
By NATE JENKINS, Associated Press Writer
Rascal's mom looked like Lassie. And his dad? Well, that's a good question. Rascal's ears make it clear that he was the product of something besides a collie, but his owners couldn't say exactly what. So Kathie Svoboda of Lincoln dabbed a swab in her pet's mouth, mailed it to a lab and, a few weeks later, unlocked the mutt's canine heritage.
Collie and cocker spaniel, as suspected, along with a twist — Shetland sheepdog.
The growing availability, and declining cost, of high-tech DNA tests are giving dog owners long baffled over the makeup of their mutts something to do besides shrug and speculate.
The tests, which cost as little as $65, are the result of several years of work by scientists who gathered a large pool of DNA samples from thousands of dogs to create a sort of genetic roadmap of breeds.
For years, owners have been able to get dogs tested to prove they are the offspring of parents that breeders said they were. In the new testing, DNA markers that help tell breeds apart are checked against the thousands of DNA samples to find out Fido's ancestry.
A new test unveiled late last month by Virginia-based Mars Veterinary uses DNA from blood samples taken by veterinarians and sent to a lab in Lincoln. Within four to six weeks the genetic puzzle is solved for the dogs' owners.
The method can test for 134 of the 157 dog breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club. The company plans to have data for all the breeds by the end of this year, said Paul Jones, a scientist in England who led the method's development.
The test Svoboda used covers 38 breeds and doesn't require a trip to the vet. It has been on the market since early this year, and its producer, Beltsville, Md.-based MetaMorphix, hopes to test for 115 breeds by year's end.
"People spend hundreds of dollars a month on accessories for their dogs," said Brad Mitchell of MMI Genomics, a subsidiary of MetaMorphix. "We kept saying, `This is going to be big, this is going to be big.'"
Mars Veterinary officials say 86 percent of mutt owners don't know which breeds are in their dogs' backgrounds and that consumer surveys they conducted show 60 percent of mutt owners would like to know.
The cost of a cheek-swab test is $65; the cost of the blood test is up to vets but could range between $100 and $200.
There are limitations. Because DNA gets more muddied with each generation, great-grandparents are the oldest relatives that can be mixed breeds themselves in order to secure a reliable answer for the mixed breed in question.
Not everybody is convinced the mutt DNA business will take off.
"I think most people interested in a mixed-breed dog wouldn't want to pay the price" for the tests, said Richard Oberst, a veterinarian and professor at Kansas State University.
Svoboda said she got Rascal tested only because her daughter was curious.
"We thought it was silly," she said.
Tests help mutt owners find identity
By NATE JENKINS, Associated Press Writer
Rascal's mom looked like Lassie. And his dad? Well, that's a good question. Rascal's ears make it clear that he was the product of something besides a collie, but his owners couldn't say exactly what. So Kathie Svoboda of Lincoln dabbed a swab in her pet's mouth, mailed it to a lab and, a few weeks later, unlocked the mutt's canine heritage.
Collie and cocker spaniel, as suspected, along with a twist — Shetland sheepdog.
The growing availability, and declining cost, of high-tech DNA tests are giving dog owners long baffled over the makeup of their mutts something to do besides shrug and speculate.
The tests, which cost as little as $65, are the result of several years of work by scientists who gathered a large pool of DNA samples from thousands of dogs to create a sort of genetic roadmap of breeds.
For years, owners have been able to get dogs tested to prove they are the offspring of parents that breeders said they were. In the new testing, DNA markers that help tell breeds apart are checked against the thousands of DNA samples to find out Fido's ancestry.
A new test unveiled late last month by Virginia-based Mars Veterinary uses DNA from blood samples taken by veterinarians and sent to a lab in Lincoln. Within four to six weeks the genetic puzzle is solved for the dogs' owners.
The method can test for 134 of the 157 dog breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club. The company plans to have data for all the breeds by the end of this year, said Paul Jones, a scientist in England who led the method's development.
The test Svoboda used covers 38 breeds and doesn't require a trip to the vet. It has been on the market since early this year, and its producer, Beltsville, Md.-based MetaMorphix, hopes to test for 115 breeds by year's end.
"People spend hundreds of dollars a month on accessories for their dogs," said Brad Mitchell of MMI Genomics, a subsidiary of MetaMorphix. "We kept saying, `This is going to be big, this is going to be big.'"
Mars Veterinary officials say 86 percent of mutt owners don't know which breeds are in their dogs' backgrounds and that consumer surveys they conducted show 60 percent of mutt owners would like to know.
The cost of a cheek-swab test is $65; the cost of the blood test is up to vets but could range between $100 and $200.
There are limitations. Because DNA gets more muddied with each generation, great-grandparents are the oldest relatives that can be mixed breeds themselves in order to secure a reliable answer for the mixed breed in question.
Not everybody is convinced the mutt DNA business will take off.
"I think most people interested in a mixed-breed dog wouldn't want to pay the price" for the tests, said Richard Oberst, a veterinarian and professor at Kansas State University.
Svoboda said she got Rascal tested only because her daughter was curious.
"We thought it was silly," she said.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Mallo-yummie!
I know New York is all known for its cuisine, so it probably speaks to my lameness that the newest food I have discovered comes, not from some old time deli or swank New York cafe or a world-known pizza institution. No, the food I present to you today is made by Nabisco. I give you Mallomars cookies.
I had never even heard of these cookies until someone brought them to work one day. I was all like, "What are Mallomars?" And you'd think I'd insulted the Pope, or something. They were all, "You've never heard of MALLOMARS?!"
Then I bought a box. (They're like Smores, really - a Graham cracker cookie and marshmallow covered in dark chocolate. I'm thinking about putting one in the microwave and seeing if I can make it even more Smore-like.)
According to Wikipedia, the Mallomar is produced seasonally by the cookie company. So that might explain my recent introduction to them. And the fact that since I had that first Mallomar, I've noticed that the grocery stores have a huge display of them at the front when you walk in. It also explains why they're about $5 for a box. More expensive than Girl Scout cookies.
From the box I learned that the Mallomar was created by Nabisco in 1913 (same year as the Moonpie, Wikipedia says) and first sold to a grocer in West Hoboken, NJ. I also learned that more than 70 percent of all Mallomar sales are "generated in the shadow of the Big Apple." We are also "the most loyal Mallomars fans."
Well, they just got one more fan.
I had never even heard of these cookies until someone brought them to work one day. I was all like, "What are Mallomars?" And you'd think I'd insulted the Pope, or something. They were all, "You've never heard of MALLOMARS?!"Then I bought a box. (They're like Smores, really - a Graham cracker cookie and marshmallow covered in dark chocolate. I'm thinking about putting one in the microwave and seeing if I can make it even more Smore-like.)
According to Wikipedia, the Mallomar is produced seasonally by the cookie company. So that might explain my recent introduction to them. And the fact that since I had that first Mallomar, I've noticed that the grocery stores have a huge display of them at the front when you walk in. It also explains why they're about $5 for a box. More expensive than Girl Scout cookies.
From the box I learned that the Mallomar was created by Nabisco in 1913 (same year as the Moonpie, Wikipedia says) and first sold to a grocer in West Hoboken, NJ. I also learned that more than 70 percent of all Mallomar sales are "generated in the shadow of the Big Apple." We are also "the most loyal Mallomars fans."
Well, they just got one more fan.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Tale of Two Stalkers
It’s been a great week for my stalkers. Last night the original stalker/downstairs neighbor got wasted and sat under my bedroom window serenading me with his slurred dialogue with his dog who was outside and some guy named Frank who was on the phone and, apparently, is getting married. I also got a little verbal abuse when it became obvious he was parked there for the night and there was no getting around him when I needed to take my dog out.
Meanwhile, stalker no. 2/workman stalker stopped me yesterday as I was walking the dog and relayed to me his weekend adventures which involved “getting ripped” at a bar (his friends were buying him “all kinds of shots” and he went out back of the club and “smoked a little herb”). At the bar, he saw some 12 year old guitar phenomenon who was “wailing on some Hendrix, Zeplin” etc. And he illustrated by playing a little air guitar for me.
Then he asked about my weekend. I responded with the standard, “I didn’t do much.” I swear, it was like watching a train wreck…or a bad sitcom, in which they mock bad 80s sitcoms.
Meanwhile, stalker no. 2/workman stalker stopped me yesterday as I was walking the dog and relayed to me his weekend adventures which involved “getting ripped” at a bar (his friends were buying him “all kinds of shots” and he went out back of the club and “smoked a little herb”). At the bar, he saw some 12 year old guitar phenomenon who was “wailing on some Hendrix, Zeplin” etc. And he illustrated by playing a little air guitar for me.
Then he asked about my weekend. I responded with the standard, “I didn’t do much.” I swear, it was like watching a train wreck…or a bad sitcom, in which they mock bad 80s sitcoms.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
And The Envelope Goes To...
I just saw an ad for some movie. I can't remember what the movie is, but it was billing itself as "The First Oscar-Worthy Film of the Fall."
THE FALL?!
The fall just started last week. ANY film can be the first Oscar-worthy film of the fall when it's the first one out!
I mean, are they serious?
THE FALL?!
The fall just started last week. ANY film can be the first Oscar-worthy film of the fall when it's the first one out!
I mean, are they serious?
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Bucky in the Burbs
So remember all those weeks ago when I wrote about the column I had to submit some sample pieces for and everyone gushed about what a great "voice" I had and how much they loved my columns, etc., etc. And then nothing.
Well that was until now. Yesterday I had an e-mail from the page's editor and she said she had gotten all the levels of approval she needed and everyone was on board with having me writing the column, except my immediate supervisor who would really rather just have me do more employee reviews, I think. (I also, apparently, write amazing employee reviews and so of course the reward for good work is to load me up with more work. So I'll probably have even more of those to do, which is just ridiculous. I feel like such a fraud writing those reviews. I have no idea what I'm doing. And yet, that is exactly what they want, somehow.) But clearly, I have digressed.
So today I had my photo taken for the column. I didn't get much sleep last night due to a totally unrelated reason, but as I was dragging my tired self into the office today I had vision of that Sex and The City where Carrie gets asked to be the covergirl for New York Magazine's 40 and Fabulous or whatever the hell the issue was called, but it wound up being Whatever and Fabulous? and this crappy picture of her without making, dark circles under eyes with a coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other. THAT's what I envision my photo will turn out to be. Though, luckily I convinced the one photographer I get along with really well to take my photo. So I think he'll do right by me.
Anyway, my first column runs October 6. I'll be sending you all the links. I have to keep my page views up. Now all I have to do is decide which column should be my first and tweak it. Probably most of what you read in the future columns you'll first read a version of here, but there's a chance I might throw in some original material too. After all, I want to keep you, loyal readers, on the edge of your keyboard with excitement and anticipation.
Well that was until now. Yesterday I had an e-mail from the page's editor and she said she had gotten all the levels of approval she needed and everyone was on board with having me writing the column, except my immediate supervisor who would really rather just have me do more employee reviews, I think. (I also, apparently, write amazing employee reviews and so of course the reward for good work is to load me up with more work. So I'll probably have even more of those to do, which is just ridiculous. I feel like such a fraud writing those reviews. I have no idea what I'm doing. And yet, that is exactly what they want, somehow.) But clearly, I have digressed.
So today I had my photo taken for the column. I didn't get much sleep last night due to a totally unrelated reason, but as I was dragging my tired self into the office today I had vision of that Sex and The City where Carrie gets asked to be the covergirl for New York Magazine's 40 and Fabulous or whatever the hell the issue was called, but it wound up being Whatever and Fabulous? and this crappy picture of her without making, dark circles under eyes with a coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other. THAT's what I envision my photo will turn out to be. Though, luckily I convinced the one photographer I get along with really well to take my photo. So I think he'll do right by me.
Anyway, my first column runs October 6. I'll be sending you all the links. I have to keep my page views up. Now all I have to do is decide which column should be my first and tweak it. Probably most of what you read in the future columns you'll first read a version of here, but there's a chance I might throw in some original material too. After all, I want to keep you, loyal readers, on the edge of your keyboard with excitement and anticipation.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Tears of a Mime...
PARIS (AP) — Marcel Marceau, the master of mime who transformed silence into poetry with lithe gestures and pliant facial expressions that spoke to generations of young and old, has died. He was 84.
Did anyone know he was still alive?
Did anyone know he was still alive?
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Second Stalker: Update
Today, as usual, I was walking the dog when my second stalker - the guy who works for the complex and whose sole job, it seems, is to park his little golf cart somewhere along my dog walking route and then lie in wait while pretending to pick up trash - asks, "Hey, so I wanted to ask, are you single, or..."
I tried to not to sigh. I think I was successful. I quickly answered,"I have a boyfriend." And so instead of saying "OK" or some other typically quick response to such an answer and driving off, Stalker2 says, "I was just wondering, because I've been trying to meet someone and I live talking to you." (Mind you our conversations - are almost entirely one-sided and almost always involved the weather. I'm not sure what kind of conversation he's used to, but it strikes as very bad if what I've just described is enjoyable conversation.) Then he finishes with, "Well let me know if you become single." And he drives off.
Yes, Stalker2, you'll be at the top of the list when I dump my imaginary boyfriend.
This apartment complex is starting to scare me with it's stalkers-per-me ratio.
I tried to not to sigh. I think I was successful. I quickly answered,"I have a boyfriend." And so instead of saying "OK" or some other typically quick response to such an answer and driving off, Stalker2 says, "I was just wondering, because I've been trying to meet someone and I live talking to you." (Mind you our conversations - are almost entirely one-sided and almost always involved the weather. I'm not sure what kind of conversation he's used to, but it strikes as very bad if what I've just described is enjoyable conversation.) Then he finishes with, "Well let me know if you become single." And he drives off.
Yes, Stalker2, you'll be at the top of the list when I dump my imaginary boyfriend.
This apartment complex is starting to scare me with it's stalkers-per-me ratio.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Brooklyn: Part the first
Though really I haven't lived in New York long enough to make comments like the following, I'm going to anyway.
I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit this, but I thing I have a little crush on Brooklyn Heights. I don't know the exact latitudes and longitudes of this particular neighborhood, but it begins, I believe, in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge and heads south to some unknown (to me) point.
I spent the day there today, wandering it's streets, watching kids play in its parks, sitting on its waterfront promenade — which right now isn't all that pretty due to some unsightly piers operated by Port Authority, but I understand that those soon will be demolished and a meandering waterfront park will be put up in its place — window shopping.
We ate brunch at a restaurant called Heights Cafe on Montague Street.
I had a spinach and feta tart that was heavy on the spinach, light on the feta and seemed more quiche-ish than tart-ly to me. My dining companion, who was sporting a hangover, had a cheeseburger and reported it was perfect. So meat beats tarts once again.
I've been here before and I always find it too cute for words. Today we passed a dad and son holding a sidewalk sell. The dad had a dad-sized table in front of him featuring such items as paperback novels and pint glass. The son had a kiddie-sized table in front of him featuring such items as plastic armor and stuffed dinosaurs. Seriously it looked like a sidewalk scene from a movie. It was too perfect.
In addition to being too cute for words, I'm sure it's also too expensive for words to set up a home there, but it's nice to wander it's streets, hang out in its dog parks and daydream.
I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit this, but I thing I have a little crush on Brooklyn Heights. I don't know the exact latitudes and longitudes of this particular neighborhood, but it begins, I believe, in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge and heads south to some unknown (to me) point.
I spent the day there today, wandering it's streets, watching kids play in its parks, sitting on its waterfront promenade — which right now isn't all that pretty due to some unsightly piers operated by Port Authority, but I understand that those soon will be demolished and a meandering waterfront park will be put up in its place — window shopping.
We ate brunch at a restaurant called Heights Cafe on Montague Street.
I had a spinach and feta tart that was heavy on the spinach, light on the feta and seemed more quiche-ish than tart-ly to me. My dining companion, who was sporting a hangover, had a cheeseburger and reported it was perfect. So meat beats tarts once again.
I've been here before and I always find it too cute for words. Today we passed a dad and son holding a sidewalk sell. The dad had a dad-sized table in front of him featuring such items as paperback novels and pint glass. The son had a kiddie-sized table in front of him featuring such items as plastic armor and stuffed dinosaurs. Seriously it looked like a sidewalk scene from a movie. It was too perfect.
In addition to being too cute for words, I'm sure it's also too expensive for words to set up a home there, but it's nice to wander it's streets, hang out in its dog parks and daydream.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Danger. Stalker Alert Level: Orange-Red
So my mom befriended my not-as-stalkerish-as-before, downstairs neighbor while my parents were here. (They left at like 2 a.m. this morning, determined to drive straight through, back home. Crazy people!)
Anyway, while I was off working the last two days, she would take the dog outside where he would play with the other dogs. My mom will talk to a wall, as will my downstairs neighbor. So they struck up a conversation and the next thing I know my mom is promising to send a package of cookies back with me for him when I go home over Christmas.
Traitor! She's supposed to helping discourage the stalker-y behavior. You just KNOW this is going to take a lot of damage control to fix!
Anyway, while I was off working the last two days, she would take the dog outside where he would play with the other dogs. My mom will talk to a wall, as will my downstairs neighbor. So they struck up a conversation and the next thing I know my mom is promising to send a package of cookies back with me for him when I go home over Christmas.
Traitor! She's supposed to helping discourage the stalker-y behavior. You just KNOW this is going to take a lot of damage control to fix!
Monday, September 10, 2007
A mini break
My parents are visiting this means there will be a lack of posts as I try not to kill my mom who keeps insisting I eat more and study more. I'm taking a quick break right now while they've been distracted by Gunsmoke on the television to check my e-mail, pay bills, etc.
They leave this weekend, so hopefully, soon I'll be back to providing valuable insight into New York living. I know, I know. It's hard to live without, but I'm sure you will survive.
In the meantime I'll leave you with this little tidbit I learned from my Spanish book this week. There are more Puerto Ricans living in New York City than live in San Juan.
They leave this weekend, so hopefully, soon I'll be back to providing valuable insight into New York living. I know, I know. It's hard to live without, but I'm sure you will survive.
In the meantime I'll leave you with this little tidbit I learned from my Spanish book this week. There are more Puerto Ricans living in New York City than live in San Juan.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Sharks Galore
Following up on the original shark stories, The New York Daily News had made mention of a second shark sighting her in NY.
The summer of '07 came to an end on Coney Island yesterday with an only-in-New York fish story: meet the city lifeguard who saved - a shark.
Tender-hearted muscleman Marius Mironescu rescued a 2-foot sand shark from a mob of panicked swimmers, grabbing the wriggling fish in his arms and - in a neat reversal of the usual scenario - swimming out to sea with the stunned animal.
"There must have been 75 to 100 people circled around the shark in the water and they were bugging out," said Mironescu, 39, of Brooklyn.
"They were holding on to it and some people were actually hitting him, smacking his face. Well, I wasn't going to let them hurt the poor thing," he said.
He carried the shark - a baby, he reckons, and harmless to humans - to a less populated area and started backstroking out to sea, dragging the shark with one hand.
"He was making believe like he's dead, then he wiggled his whole body and tried to bite me. He didn't get it," Mironescu said.
A lifeguard since 1985, Mironescu has never dealt with a shark before.
After a relatively uneventful summer, the weekend was packed with sharks. A small one was seen at South Beach in Staten Island on Sunday, following the 5-foot thresher shark that startled swimmers at Rockaway Beach on Saturday before its lifeless body washed ashore the next day.
"We had a little bit of a punctuation mark at the end of summer with 'Jaws' junior showing up and frightening people," said Adrian Benepe, the city parks commissioner.
In all, about 16 million people visited New York City's beaches this season, and another 1.4 million splashed in its 52 outdoor pools.
At Coney Island, Joana Vasquez, 12, had mixed feelings about the end of summer.
"I'm happy to be starting school because I get to see my friends," she said. "I'm not happy because I don't get to go to the beach anymore."
And because that wasn't enough, The New York Post had yet another shark on record:
September 4, 2007 -- The "Jaws" drama in the Rockaways over the weekend nearly had a terrifying prequel - as a maneating mako shark was caught just a mile off the shore.
Two veteran fisherman reeled in the 200-pound predator after a nearly one-hour fight near the Rockaway reef.
"It was one tremendous, 51/2-foot shark," said John Doyle Sr., 62, who tied it to the side of the boat with pal Dennis Mannarino, 56.
"We fought this fish back and forth. It was a great fight."
Mannarino added, "He was nasty. He opened his mouth. That's when we really got nervous. He had about 300 teeth - fuhgeddaboutit!"
As news of Wednesday's mako catch spread, Rockaway lifeguards said they were told to keep an eye out in case any of its cousins made it closer to shore.
The Parks Department did not return a call for comment.
Meanwhile yesterday, a 14-inch sand shark was reeled in on Coney Island.
"Everybody got out when he caught that," said witness Smith Yanez.
New York Aquarium shark expert Hans Walters said he's not surprised that sharks are coming to coastal waters, but admitted that the ferocious mako is rare for this area.
"It is a little unusual to me that somebody caught a mako shark that close to shore," he said.
But Walters noted that while "those teeth could do a lot of damage," they are more likely to "bite people when they haul them into their boats."
A day after Doyle's catch, another pair of fishermen a mile from the beach reeled in a thresher shark similar in size to the one that gave beachgoers a scare when it washed ashore Saturday on Rockaway Beach. Saturday's shark returned to the beach the next day and died.
City swimmers shrugged off any dangers the thresher sharks might pose to them ever since news of the beached fish broke, but their opinions changed yesterday when they were told a mako was part of the mix.
"A mako shark? That's scary," said Maria Valez, who had been swimming with her two children, 8 and 11. "I'm going to start taking my kids to a pool."
Petra Petrano, 24, added, "I'm so glad summer's over. I don't want to swim with sharks."
Bad, Ad Man! Bad! No commission for you!
Courtsey of AP:
A member of a Riverside newspaper’s advertising staff was arrested in connection with a garage sale advertisement placed in its classified pages promising that proceeds would go to a “memorial fund” for District Attorney Rod Pacheco. The man, Chandler W. Cardwell, 32, was booked Saturday on suspicion of making terrorist threats and possession of a concealed firearm. Mr. Cardwell was a member of the East Side Riva street gang, against which Mr. Pacheco had recently announced a crackdown, said Chief Russ Leach of the Riverside police. Mr. Cardwell was arrested after the authorities carried out search warrants at the newspaper, The Press-Enterprise, and discovered that his cellphone had been used to order the advertisement, the authorities said.
A member of a Riverside newspaper’s advertising staff was arrested in connection with a garage sale advertisement placed in its classified pages promising that proceeds would go to a “memorial fund” for District Attorney Rod Pacheco. The man, Chandler W. Cardwell, 32, was booked Saturday on suspicion of making terrorist threats and possession of a concealed firearm. Mr. Cardwell was a member of the East Side Riva street gang, against which Mr. Pacheco had recently announced a crackdown, said Chief Russ Leach of the Riverside police. Mr. Cardwell was arrested after the authorities carried out search warrants at the newspaper, The Press-Enterprise, and discovered that his cellphone had been used to order the advertisement, the authorities said.
Last Day of Summer
In New York, everyone (EVERYONE) considers Labor Day as the last day of summer. The close the swimming pools, kids go back to school, everyone goes back to work from their summer vacations come the Tuesday after Labor Day.
It's strange to me to witness this because in the South, especially the Deep South where I grew up, summer stretches to October...long past the official start of fall and return to school. And it's not unheard of for summer weather to continue straight through Halloween. How many of us haven't sweated up a Halloween costume as a child. (I've noticed as I've gotten older that the adult costumes seem to be growing smaller, so that, unless you're an executioner, your freezing your fanny off at parties. Actually, now that I think of it, I'm SURE there's a "sexy executioner" costume out there. So you probably freeze no matter what you wear.)
As the end of summer, Labor Day is a huge day to blow out your end of summer outdoors. About a million people were at the apartment complex pool, cooking out at the grills or just at various festivals and other outdoor events. I spent the day cleaning and waiting. I was supposed to go to a riverfront festival about three miles away from my home but by the time my "date" showed up, the fireworks that ended the last day of the festival had already started. I did get in a little drinking on the stoop with my neighbors. So I guess it wasn't all that bad. Plus my apartment is super clean, right now.
It's strange to me to witness this because in the South, especially the Deep South where I grew up, summer stretches to October...long past the official start of fall and return to school. And it's not unheard of for summer weather to continue straight through Halloween. How many of us haven't sweated up a Halloween costume as a child. (I've noticed as I've gotten older that the adult costumes seem to be growing smaller, so that, unless you're an executioner, your freezing your fanny off at parties. Actually, now that I think of it, I'm SURE there's a "sexy executioner" costume out there. So you probably freeze no matter what you wear.)
As the end of summer, Labor Day is a huge day to blow out your end of summer outdoors. About a million people were at the apartment complex pool, cooking out at the grills or just at various festivals and other outdoor events. I spent the day cleaning and waiting. I was supposed to go to a riverfront festival about three miles away from my home but by the time my "date" showed up, the fireworks that ended the last day of the festival had already started. I did get in a little drinking on the stoop with my neighbors. So I guess it wasn't all that bad. Plus my apartment is super clean, right now.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Summer at Shea
Last weekend I spent much of my time at Shea Stadium watching the Mets first beat the Dodgers and then suffer an embarrassing loss to the same team. It's one of the aspects of baseball that I find fascinating - that the same teams can play three/four nights in a row and it's like watching totally different teams play...I mean, in a way, they ARE different teams because different players are cycled in, but still. That you can totally dominate a team one day and the very next lose spectacularly. That doesn't happen in any other sport.
Anyway, I've seen the Mets play before, but this is my first time at Shea, which soon will be demolished and the team will move next door to Citi Field. It's a corporate sponsorship (Citi Bank), but people seem not as ticked off at it as they could be because they can convince themselves that Citi seems to, sort of, kinda make reference to NYC.
More photos from my camera phone follow. Warning, not the best quality.
Sharks in NY? Who knew?
A Rockaways beach (in Queens) was closed Saturday afternoon after a shark washed up on the shore.
Park officials say a shark washed up on the shore this morning near Beach 109th Street.
Some beach-goers approached the creature and pushed it back into the water.
As a result, the Parks Department has closed the beach and the surrounding bay.
For more check out The New York Daily News story.
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