My staycation

Elephant parade

How do they get the elephants to the circus in the middle of the big city? They walk them right through town late at night so that no one sees.

(Except for the thousands of us waiting with cameras, that is.)

Virgin no more

I never thought I would be so sad to see the closing of a major corporate establishment, but the death of the Times Square Virgin Megastore is truly a significant loss. Not only was it my favorite place to go in the area, it was also the largest music and entertainment store in the world. Fitting for Times Square.

Now that the Virgin Megastore in Union Square is closing too, there will be no major music retailers left in all of New York City. Will this help the many struggling independents left in the area? Or is the passing of Virgin a sign of more to come?

DC in NYC

The picture on the right is of a fire hydrant I found in a Brooklyn alley. It kinda reminds me of the United States Capitol Building.

Here's an idea for some guerilla art:
1. Spray paint a hydrant white.
2. Put a little plastic figurine on top.
3. Bring a little DC to NYC.

Today I got a new umbrella

In the fall of 2000, my mother purchased a small black Totes© umbrella for me in San Diego, California. That umbrella accompanied me through the streets of Mexico City, the hills of Pachuca, Hidalgo, the corridors of Brigham Young University, and the avenues of New York City.

In the spring of 2009, a man at the entrance of Argosy Book Store on 59th Street in Manhattan picked up that same black umbrella--now worn and breaking. He looked at it with puzzled eyes. And, mistaking it for his, walked away with it--leaving behind his own small black Totes© umbrella.

How I spent my vacation days

The lines drawn here represent every footstep I took during my time off. Each day is a different color. From afar I think they look like the Nazca lines in Peru. Or maybe constellations or something.

Supposedly when you don't travel anywhere for your vacation it's called a staycation. But as you can see, I didn't really do much staying around at all.

Pictures coming soon.

Run, Walk, Explore, Run

Changefest '09

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Changefest '09 - Obama's Inaugural Speech

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Extemporaneous Eve

Last night I decided to conduct an experiment. How close could I get to seeing the ball drop in Times Square if I left home at 11pm. The answer: not very close.

Here is a map of my three-mile investigation. I popped out from underground at 40th St. I could actually see the ball from behind at this spot, but not the celebration. So, I headed uptown. Block after block was already barricaded by police. It wasn't until 58th St. that they actually let us in. From there getting back down was next to impossible. By the time the ball dropped I was still stuck at 53rd. Fortunately, they had nice big screens to show us the action from afar. Once 2009 began, I continued heading downtown wherever the police and barricades would let me.

It wasn't until 12:30 that I actually got to Times Square proper. Though most of the people had gone, I did get to witness the gorgeous confetti twisters blow about. It was good enough for me.

For some great photos of what I saw, click here.

Save the Spur!

The High Line is an amazing strip of elevated rail line built in the 1930s that used to be used to transport goods from Midtown down to the Meatpacking District. Over the course of the century, it fell into disuse and was close to being torn down. Fortunately, the local community fought to protect it, and in a couple months, a section of it will open as a brilliant elevated walkway/park.

I'm going to a forum tonight to help save the last part of the High Line still left unprotected. It's called "The Spur." (When you see a map of it, you'll understand why.) "Friends of the High Line" want as many people as possible to show up at this meeting to demonstrate public interest in keeping this fascinating part of NYC history alive.

If this moves you as it does me, try to attend tonight.

Mon, Dec. 1, 6:30–8:30 PM 520 West 49th Street

More info here. Be sure to RSVP.

Interesting Words from Elton John

"We're not married. Let's get that right. We have a civil partnership. What is wrong with Proposition 8 is that they went for marriage. Marriage is going to put a lot of people off, the word marriage.

I don't want to be married. I'm very happy with a civil partnership. If gay people want to get married, or get together, they should have a civil partnership. The word 'marriage,' I think, puts a lot of people off.

You get the same equal rights that we do when we have a civil partnership. Heterosexual people get married. We can have civil partnerships."

Full story here. Interestingly enough, I just purchased my first Elton John record (unless you count The Lion King) a couple weeks ago. It was about time.

The Real Hate of Prop 8

I'm not sure who's actions are more upsetting: the disrespectful protesters, or the newscaster summing it all up with "hate on both sides." It looks like a pretty one-sided attack to me. Then again, this Christian woman could have had a hate-filled message on her sign. Let's hope not.

Now what?

After many months of speculating what an Obama presidency might look like, we can now stop wondering. Like it or not, change is here.

After an emotional victory speech, Obama hit the ground running Wednesday by asking Rahm Emanuel to be White House chief of staff. While we obviously can't expect complete bipartisanship in all of Obama's selections, it's difficult to see how Emanuel will be able to help the president-elect fix or unify our broken government. Emanuel is known as a fowl-mouthed, highly-partisan Washington insider. While this in itself isn't necessarily an offense, his connections to Freddie Mac are.

What you probably won't hear reported in the news is that, like Obama, Emanuel has been heavily funded by this corrupt government-sponsored agency that played a role in our current financial crisis. (McCain also received money, but not nearly as much as Obama.)

Now, for some reason, when it was discovered that McCain's top advisor was receiving money from Fannie and Freddie, it was big news at the New York Times. Don't expect the same scrutiny for this new leader of Obama's "post-partisan" reformation, though.

The news media helped elect Obama; now they have to do their best to keep him popular.

Read more about Emanuel and Obama here and here.