songbird's crazy world

Tonight we will be ringing in the New Year at a local Italian restaurant.   They plan to have live music.  Maybe we'll hear some of these songs: Happy New Year. May 2019 bring peace and prosperity to all of us.

Seen in the Wall Street station at about 5:15 on a recent Monday afternoon. I’m sure there is an interesting story to tell ...

Amid all the holiday celebrations we had some sadness.  We were on our way home from Benihana Christmas Eve when I checked my Facebook and found out that M had died.  Drew and his sister used to be part of a community theater group and still have many friends from the group. Over the years we've seen many of the group's productions.  M was one of the most active members of the group, working tirelessly behind the scenes as well as appearing as a lead or featured role in most of the productions.  I didn't really know him, but I enjoyed all of his performances. He was diagnosed with cancer last spring.  He was only 54. He leaves behind a wife and three children, the youngest of which is 17 years old.   This was the same group that introduced me to  Lily   Hard to believe it's been 7 months since she passed away.  

News report last night. Transformer explosion/fire at a Con Ed power plant in Astoria, Queens wreaked chaos at LaGuardia Airport, the NYC subway, etc. And caused the night sky to turn turquoise blue. It could be seen in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and even parts of Nassau County. Weird. Seriously, people thought extraterrestrials were invading. Pity I wasn’t in the city, I would have loved a photo of it for Skywatch Friday.

  70 Pine Street was once the tallest building in lower Manhattan.  Built in 1931, it rivaled the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.  Until recently it was the home of insurance giant AIG, but has now been converted to luxury apartments. Even today, it towers over some of its neighbors. It has a very interesting profile up top. The detailing on the facade is beautiful. And look at the entrance, there's a model of the building! #skywatchfriday

So it  was 1964, and I was 4 years old, and my daddy took us to see Mary Poppins . It was the first movie I ever saw in a movie theater.  I had the soundtrack album and played it over and over, until I knew every word to every song.  Back then there was no such thing as a VCR or a DVD player, or even cable TV, so you had to wait forever until a network decided to broadcast the movie if you wanted to see it again.   Last week two people went to see Mary Poppins Returns -- my current grown-up self, and my inner child who still remembers being 4 years old. My adult self admired the craftsmanship of the movie:  Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman took great pains to have their songs sound like songs the Sherman Brothers wrote for the original; the animation sequences were done by hand, again in the style of the original; the exquisite costuming, both in Depression-era London and in the fantasy scenes.   Adult criticisms:  to put it bluntly, Emi...

So ... my Christmas. Christmas Eve dinner was at Benihana .  I think by now everyone knows how I feel about teppanyaki.  Set me down near the hibachi, let me watch the chef prepare my meal, hand me a pair of chopsticks, and I will gleefully dine on steak, shrimp, fried rice... Christmas Day found me with another pair of chopsticks in my hand, enjoying  the pu pu platter, Grand Marnier shrimp, Szechuan beef and chicken with candied walnuts at Orchid . And of course there was a movie: Mary Queen of Scots. My college major was history, with a concentration in the history of Europe.  I was especially fascinated by English history from the War of the Roses through the Elizabethan era.    I wrote a term paper on Mary of Scotland once.  That was many years ago and I've forgotten a lot of what I learned in my research, but  my knowledge of Mary of Scotland and Elizabeth of England is much more detailed than the average movie viewer. (What piqued...

A little video I put together about 8 years ago.

Among my favorite NYC places to visit this time of year is Bryant Park.  Located behind the famed NYC Public Library, the park features an open-air winter village/marketplac e.  You can shop for that not-from-a-department-store gift, eat semi-exotic street foods, ice skate under the Christmas tree, or let your young children ride the carousel. Yes, there is always a big tree... Drew and Kathy and I spent a good deal of time in the marketplace the other day. One of our favorite shops was Farm To People .  It's a Brooklyn, NY company featuring artisanal products from small-batch producers.  We bought hand-made cherry licorice (very sweet but very good), some cookies, some hot sauce, and something that sounds incredibly delicious, can't wait to try it: Another favorite is No Chewing Allowed .    This shop features a rich, smooth chocolate.  As the shop name implies, you're not supposed to chew the chocolate, you're supposed to let it ...

So dropping my iPad at the Seaport turned out to be a royal pain.  The device was too badly damaged to be repaired.  (And I had just finished paying it off!) After payment of a $150 deductible, I was entitled to a replacement device ... on back order.  Grrrr.... But it's here now, and I am not unhappy -- the replacement device is better moel than the one I damaged. I just bought a new laptop and really didn't want to replace the  iPad, but what can you do?  I'm not going to upgrade the phone for awhile, even though I really don't like my current phone. Jen is settling into her new home.  I haven't really started to miss her yet, because she's been back to the house for dinner several times.  And Becca has been home with me as she waits for her new apartment to become available.  I guess I won't really feel it until next month, when neither of the girls is home with me. Becca made me laugh the other day.  We were waiting for our com...

The flagship store on 5th Avenue, across the street from Rockefeller Center. This year's theme is "Theater of Dreams". The windows are all about a woman's theater fantasy. Every year the store's facade is turned into a projection screen for a light show. And here's the show: (the fireworks were only for the premiere):

Christmas in Rockefeller Center, the quintessential NYC experience. First a view of 30 Rock, the iconic tower that defines Rockefeller Center.  So bright against the night sky.  And yes, that little dot of light is an aircraft.  Not sure where it was headed. Decorations on 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas). Radio City Music Hall, home of the Rockettes/ The tree: Off to the side you can see another version of the star that tops the tree. Look towards 5th Avenue, that's Saks in the distance. Toy soldiers above the ice rink. There are angels in the plaza. A view of the tree from 5th Avenue. #skywatchfriday

Yet another big tree in NYC. The white structure behind the tree is a monument to the Titanic. The museum's boats are all decked out  (yes, I went there) for Christmas:

1.  Wednesday, December 19, 2018, is National Hard Candy Day! So the first question today is to ask if you enjoy hard candy, especially the kind we usually see during this festive time of year?  What is your favorite?  Which hard candy brings up the best memories for you if any? Yes, I do like hard candy.  I love candy canes and ribbon candy this time of year.  As for memories, there are two.  The first involves a general store located not too far from my house.  When I was a kid we liked to go there occasionally and buy "old fashioned candy", especially the candy  sticks; if you suck on those long enough, the end becomes sharp and pointy. The other involves my grandmother.  She loved Charms  Sour Balls.  There were always sour balls in her candy dish. 2.  Holiday shopping!  Are you finished? If you could spend an entire day in just one store, which one would it be and why?   I'm Jewish, and Chanukah wa...

So it was lunchtime, and I'd wandered over to the South Street Seaport to take some pictures for the blog. And after I'd taken a few shots, I put my iPad back into my bag.  Only, it didn't stay in my bag. It fell, screen side down, onto the cobblestones. The result is not very pretty. Insurance claim has been filed...