NYC books

Two books centered in New York which I have read recently are:

"The Cricket in Times Square" by George Selden. It's a children's book from 1965, about a cricket named Chester who inadvertently arrives in NYC via a picnic basket and makes friends with Harry the Cat and Tucker the Mouse, who live in the subway station under Times Square. They feel empathy for Mario, a young kid who works in his parents' newsstand, and try to help him make more money for his family.

"Empire Rising" by Thomas Kelly. This centers around Briody, an Irish immigrant in NYC, who is also an ironhanger working on the Empire State Building. In 1930, the Empire State Building was slated to break records as the world's tallest building that went up the fastest, at 3 floors a week. Briody is also working to reestablish Ireland as a free state and is mixed up with Tammany Hall men, infamous for their corruption. He comes to love his work at the Empire State Building, despite the danger of falling to his death, because it is the only honest work in his life.

He flew the coop.

Ted the Pigeon, who has been in my bathroom for the past 2 months recuperating from his missing tail feathers, went back to Brooklyn today. He had to be released around where he was found so he could rejoin his original flock. So he went to Park Slope, which is a very yuppie neighborhood. (Apparently, Ted was just slumming it in my apartment in Astoria.)

So now he is out and very happy to be so. Fly away, Ted! Nice knowing you!

NYC conversations

A couple of conversations of note this past week:

I was talking to CJW, an older female personal trainer who is an extra in movies every now and then. She says they like to make her be a cop in a crowd scene. She has been in "Ghostbusters" and "Quick Change", and will be in "Chapter 27", a Lindsay Lohan movie on John Lennon's assassin.

She told me of once, she and another extra (also as a cop) were cold and sat in their fake police car to stay warm. Some guy came running up, saying "You gotta help me! My girlfriend is over there and etc etc"

They had to tell him they weren't real cops, that he was on a movie set.

I told her she should wear the uniform to a deli and get some free stuff, because cops are always getting free stuff from the delis.

She said no, she never wore the police uniform off the set.

"Because impersonating an officer is a crime?" I asked.

"No, I don't want anyone shooting at me," was her reply.


BUYING FRUIT

I was buying fruit from the street vendor at E 88th Street and Lexington, where all these cars were at a standstill. They all started honking their horns (like that really accomplishes anything.)

"It's the New York City symphony!" said the fruit vendor. "Free fo charge, all day long!"

Names of the lions

The two stone lions that are right outside the New York Public Library on 42nd Street are named Patience and Fortitude.

I need patience and fortitude whenever I hear the latest ignorance from that horse-faced donkey, Ann Coulter. Only in America do they pay you to suck and call you a "pundit".

Couples to get wed on Empire State Building - Yahoo! News

High-rise weddings on Empire State Building

Fourteen couples from Britain, Germany and the United States will say "I do" atop the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day, swelling the exclusive ranks of those married on the New York landmark.

All 14 are winners of an annual competition which draws a huge number of participants from around the world who are looking to put a unique stamp on their wedding day.

The ceremonies -- each one lasting 30 minutes -- will be held Tuesday morning in the skyscraper's 80th floor Sky Lobby and include a champagne toast and a visit to the observatory on the 86th floor.

As well as foreigners like Kerstin Weber and Torsten Schulz of Germany, the couples include lovebirds from across the United States, from Texas to Massachusetts.

To join the building's wedding club, couples must write -- before November the previous year -- explaining why they want to get married there. The winners are chosen on the basis of originality and style.

At 1,454 feet (443 meters), the Empire State is the tallest skyscraper in New York City, following the destruction of the World Trade Center's twin towers in the September 11, 2001 attacks.




Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.


Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

A duet

Ted the pigeon is still here, as there has been a massive snowstorm up the EastCoast with a record 26.9 inches in New York City. We thought it would be a little too cruel to release him into such weather when he has not had to fend for himself in so long, so he is staying for just a little longer.

Anyhow, yesterday I had to use the bathroom. I started to sing out of the blue, not even noticing I was doing it, when I noticed Ted stop trying to get away from me and listen intently (he was perched on top of the medicine cabinet.)

BTW -- I was singing a song from "Rent". I stopped singing, then resumed. Ted cocked his head in my direction.

"There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret
Or Life is what you'll miss.

No other road
No other way
No day but today."

So I left the bathroom and closed the door. Then, for the first time in the 6 weeks since he got here, Ted started to coo. "OOOOO OOOOO OOOOOO!"

I opened the door to see if he was hurt, but he was just on top of the medicine cabinet as always. He stopped cooing when I oepned the door.

I shut the door and he started doing it again! I wonder if he wanted to sing too.

Awesome Ethiopian restaurant

Just thought I'd share -- I really wish I was there right now ....

Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant

468 W. 47th Street
New York, NY 10036
Phone: (212)664-0520

Very thoughtful

I ventured to Bloomingdale's the other night because I wanted to pick a present for a guy friend. I thought I was being very brave because, frankly, Bloomingdale's scares me. It is noisy and disorienting, and there are tons of little staircases consisting of 3 steps wach to lead you to this or that designer's 2 square feet of showroom.

However, when I got out of the subway, I discovered a small door at the store's corner of 3rd Avenue and E 60th Street with "The Men's Store" on the door. Apparently, it is the larger women's part that is so scary. The men's part is small and quiet! I got what I wanted and departed, never to return unless it is to that one small section.

Starry!

I just found out one of the managers for whom I work is the older brother of actor Benicio Del Toro (21 Grams, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas). Isn't that cool???