Santa takes the 6!

It was last Saturday, December 8th, and I was going about my business trying to board a Brooklyn bound train at Grand Central Station. Immediately upon entering the central terminal hundreds and hundreds of Santas were before me standing in groups of 2- 10. Some of them chanting "Ho,Ho,Ho" others wandering around aimlessly. I have no idea who they all were or what they were all doing. Thus far I haven't even bothered to do any background research on why there were hundreds of Santas there that day. The scene overwhelmed me, and suddenly they seemed to galvanize and head for the downtown trains. Luckily they were all chanting "Santa takes the 6!", and I was looking to take the 4 or 5. The 6 train is the local train- and like lemmings they all boarded the 6 trains that came into the station. Of course you need several trains for that many portly dressed people. The line to board the train was backed up all the way up the stairs and into the station itself. This video shows you just one cross section of a group of Santas boarding a 6 train. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B9DC04692D8C0D82

Which Came First? The Store or the Sculptures?

Location: The Credit Lyonnais Building, 6th AVE btw 52nd and 53 rd. Items of Interest: One maroon awning displaying name of retail clothing store: "Rochester Big&Tall" Two bronze sculptures by Jim Dine after the Venus de Milo. One is Big, One is Tall (although there are actually three sculptures in front of the building, these two have positioned themselves right in front of the very store which has the ability to clothe their gargantuan nakedness!)

Gonna Sin You Out!

50th ST btw 8th and 9th AVE

Rishiram in his new shoes

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A Firefighter's funeral

The funeral for one of the firefighters killed in the August 18th fire at the Deutsche Bank Building.

The Monk Quaker Parakeet Parrot Bird.viewfinder

A great website about the country's BEST invasive species of ALL time! http://www.brooklynparrots.com/

To those who urinate in public:

Sign on Lincoln PL at Underhill, Brooklyn

The Courthouse, Brooklyn Borough Hall

New York, the Greatest City in the World!

Ceiling of the 1,2,3,& L Subway Station at 14th ST and 7th AVE, Manhattan.

Regarding Hurricane Dean

This is an excerpt from an article in the NYT talking about the effects of Hurricane Dean on Mexico. Tuesday Aug. 21, 2007 The streets were filled with water and littered with palm fronds and other debris. Overhead, spiraling clouds slid rapidly to the west....... In the center of the old town, people peered timidly from their windows to assess the night’s damage. Alvaro Sosa Marvil, a veterinarian who lives in the town square, said he was relieved to find at dawn that the destruction was not as bad as had been predicted. “This is a price one pays for living in a privileged place — the Caribbean,” he said, as he looked at the downed trees in the town square. “Nature collects a toll from us.” Reported by:James McKinley JR and Graham Bowley A pragmatic, truthful statement.

My morning commute, you're probably not interested

This morning I awoke to the sounds of thunder, lightning, and heavy rain. I thought to myself, "I better get up, I'll have to leave early today". My commute to work always takes more time when it rains.

I got up, did my morning exercises, and turned the TV to Fox 5 News. I tried to filter out the usual shiteous banter and focus on the Weather, Traffic and Road Report. There were some major road delays this morning and some flooding in Jersey, but when isn't there flooding in Jersey or road delays? I was primarily focused on what the newscasters would say about the Subways and Commuter Rail systems. They said, and I quote, "No Mass Transit Delays Reported." Thanks Fox 5!

As usual, at 7:40 AM I get to the Eastern Parkway 2/3 stop. I notice that there are many more people standing on the platform than on a usual day. At 8 AM I am still waiting for a train when I see one of my room mates waiting for the same train. We chat and wait together. All along we hear muffled announcements from the MTA over the PA system. After 3 listens we finally decipher the message. It says, " There are no 2,3,4, or 5 trains above Wall Street in Manhattan. As an alternative change at Atlantic Avenue and take the B,D, N, R or Q trains." I turn to my room mate and we agree that this does not affect at us b/c we are below Wall Street and we always transfer at Atlantic Ave to take the B or D trains. At 8:20, forty minutes after I arrived at the station, two trains have arrived in the station. Both overflowing with passengers. So packed with people, that I saw a man trying to board the train get deliberately Pushed Out of the Train by a female passenger. Not wanting to incur such wrath, my room mate and I decide to walk the 10 blocks to take the B train as the PA announcement suggested. We arrive at the 7th AVE B,Q stop a short time later. A MTA worker and a police officer are standing at the station entrance amidst a throng of people. We quickly realize that the B and Q lines are also shut down. But I am upset because we had just been told to use the B or Q line as an alternative. So I butt in to the throng and start saying that at Eastern Pkwy announcements are being made to transfer to the B or Q lines. The transit employee responds that, "There ain't no way they told you to come over here to take the B or the Q trains. These trains been shut down since 5 this morning." I quickly start venting that the MTA is poorly organized and that they should probably use walkie talkies,semaphore,or Morse code to communicate information to one another. My room mate and I decide to walk the 7 or so blocks to Atlantic AVE and see what sort of trains we can find. At Atlantic AVE it's utter mayhem or as a friend's boyfriend put it, "Judgement Day" Hundreds of people milling outside of the terminal, on their cell phones, looking dazed, and looking confused. We hear that there are NO trains running into Manhattan. No trains leaving Brooklyn. To get to work we can now a) high jack a car, or, b) walk. If we were to high jack a car there would be no fast get away so we decide to walk.....towards the closest bridge to get into Manhattan where both my room mate and I work. That bridge happens to be the Manhattan bridge.

We followed a long procession of other commuters who also weighed their options, reviewed past MTA experiences, and decided that their best option was to walk.

My room mate and I felt pleased with ourselves that we would be getting some fresh air, exercise, and a great view of Manhattan. We saw others like ourselves walking the Brooklyn Bridge, just to the south of the Manhattan Bridge

There were lots of us office stiffs walking the bridge. It was the first time, since I left teaching, that I've gotten so much work related exercise. The bad news about the rain is that it didn't cool off the city as much as we would have liked. This guy shows you how hot it was at 9 AM.

The walk over the bridge was very nice as there weren't too many bossy bicyclists (they don't get up that early) and there was a nice breeze coming off the East River. Here we are enjoying the sights of our walk.

The walk across the bridge took us about 30-40 minutes.On the other side of the bridge we came upon Chinatown where we caught the B train at Grand and Chyrstie Sts. We thought we were home free till our stop at Rockefeller Center, but then again, the MTA is full of surprises. At West 4th ST the B train stopped it's service, and we were befuddled once again. We eventually found an E train that took us to Midtown, and we arrived to work- just three hours after we set out. Everyone at work was impressed at my efforts to get to work this morning. I am even being considered for Employee of the Week.

I like this

Seen in Brooklyn at the East River. My dad told me this was Robert MacNamara's "practical" Ford Falcon Ranchero.

Views of the Brooklyn Bridge, East River, and Manhattan skyline

Photos taken by yours truly.

Awesome band names that are already taken

"The Blackout Shoppers" I spotted their sticker at Otto's Shrunken Head, NYC. Subtle anarchy.

Fiorello LaGuardia

What a fabulous mayor!

She could take a little of her own advice

Some fashion advice from Victoria Beckham as quoted by the Los Angeles Times', “Image” magazine. “However you’re built, be mindful of the rule that if you get your boobs out, put your legs away and vice versa.”

Subway to Your Soul

The M,R stop at Montague St. Brooklyn Heights. The subway entrance is directly below a church. Does the preacher use the subway rumbling as an allusionary device during services? Does he liken the sound of the trains passing underneath to the rumblings in the depths of hell? Does he shout over the thunderous sound, howling to the congregants to,"Beware the day of reckoning!" ? I wonder.

blunderous mouth

  Me: Hi, I'm Melina Him: Hi, I'm Adam Me: How do you know Caroline? Him:I don't. I'm in town visiting someone. (points to girl playing ping pong) Me: Oh, neat. Is that your sister? (referring to girl playing ping pong) Him: No, that's my girlfriend. *pause* (gets up and walks away)

This Turret Kicks Ass!

Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Little Black Van

 

The Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge as seen from The River Cafe in Brooklyn. I was there viewing the fireworks on the East River this year on the 4th. After the show, I saw Susan Sarandon. She's beautiful, she smiled at our whole group- a big, toothy, real smile. She oozed friendliness.

Laundry on a Line in Three parts

I was at a rooftop bbq on Tuesday night in Williamsburg. The view to the south included a couple loads of laundry hung out to dry on a line. It reminded me of a painting from the Ashcan school of old New York.

Sexy Beast

" Maybe this world is another planet's hell" - Aldous Huxley