Grand Central

Have you ever wanted to travel by Subway/Train? Of course no it sucks...but Grand Central isn't the worst place...

Union Square

Here's what I call the center of the city (just a few pics)!!! (It's really not, unless you're a student, but it is the best place to be!)

Music in the city: Times Square

Check out this band playing at Times Square....not bad!

Get out of the way guy!

Music in the City - Union Square 2

Here's a homeless, Bob Marley and the Wailers looking band, but classical style, that sounds...pretty lame, but they look pretty cool, too bad there's no guitars...

Playing Music

Check out this cool instrument at the 34th St Herald Square NYC stop!!!

Dog park - Union Square

Another day at the dog park....so this woman is sitting at the dog park with her tiny, designer dog and a giant husky comes to play. You would think her dog would be scared...but she was!!!!

Don't panic dear!!!

Music in the City - Union Square

So on Sunday at Union Square this guy was playing music on a dulcimer, everyone was watching...he was ok.

Music in the City - Saturday

Everywhere in NYC you'll find street performers. Here's a guy playing music on a saw near the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was pretty awesome...

Here's a woman playing music in Central Park

Another close

While walking by Lexington Ave. I noticed a guy taking down a small company sign (possibly just a building management co). Another sign of the times, everyone's closing, everyone's laying off, it's a tough time!

Tiny Dancer

As I waited for the subway for over 1 hr, there was a funny guy dancing across the way. Apparently the subway was running slow because someone fell on the tracks...argh..sucks. Check out this guy, he definitely made my day.

and then he ran for the subway!!!!

Just Another Bus Ride

Ever been on a short bus ride? Everyone's cramped, people are pushing, coughing and acting like they paid big money for the seat their in...Here's what happens in a uncrowded bus ride. Everyone's sleeping, people have stuff on their ass, picking their noses and this is just a short 15 min ride!!! Those NYers and Jerseys! Weird right?

Spring's not here yet

The blizzards, thunderstorms, and freezing cold are making its way out! The weather is lifting it's fat head and realizing that ... we hate the cold, and we hate staying inside. St. Patty’s day was yesterday and there wasn’t a short of Woo girls, and actually guys…NYC is warmer, sunny, but still winter. Here are a few pics of my city.

NYC Public Library

St. Patty's Parade.



Tasty treats van



Madison Square Park - some nice building

Snow

You're flying down the hill on big Popsicle sticks, making a turn here, then there, and all of a sudden a child barely able to walk races past you, then a snowboarder jumps over you....your Skiing. Skiing/Snowboarding is one of the greatest most exhilarating sports ever. The rush of the sport comes when you're flying down the mountain moving at car-like speeds, it's great.....until you fall.

It kind of sucks when you're making your way down the mountain, taking you're time, watching kids, snowboarders, idiots going past you and then...the inevitable happens...your skis stop doing what your telling them, and you fall down, and after a few tumbles and both skis flying down the hill, you regain consciousness. That part sucks, and I feel for Natasha Richardson who had a horrific accident. It's fun, dangerous...but is something everyone should not miss out on.

I recently made my way to Belleayre Mountain for a last ditch skiing effort (see pictures). The weather was in the 60's and the snow was hardly there. The trails had snow, but everything else didn't, seriously. This is not a good time to look down when on a lift, cause it's just grass and mud to break your fall. I was skiing in a 711 slushy machine, but it was great. Take a look at the pictures, now the elevation isn't all the great, but, if you look across to the other mountain, there isn't any snow...none, aside from the trails, hardly any snow could be found.

Sorry buddy, it was the only pic I had.

How I Met Your Mother

Monday is pretty much the worst day of the week. Yea, good things happen, but lets be honest Mondays suck. With most good TV shows gone, there is a slight glimmer of hope; it's in the show....How I Met Your Mother (Monday Nights; fyi - FOTC is on a different day). How I Met Your Mother is a show about 5 good friends living and working in New York City, there's the main character Ted and his 4 friends, Marshall, Barney, Lily, and Robin. The show is about Ted telling his children how he met there mother. After 4 seasons, we still don't know.

Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) is your typical hero, popular with the ladies, makes stupid decisions, but in the end, we're constantly rooting for him. He's also a bit of a wuss, a know-it-all, but good hearted, loves Star Wars, and is an architect (yea, he's funny too, but in a corny way).

Marshall Erickson (Jason Segal) his best friend (they met in college) is a lawyer who works for some money guzzling company. He loves burgers (there's a whole episode devoted burgers!), loves anything childish, like carnivals, but is also scared of those things, like dinosaurs (they seriously haunt his dreams). All in all he's Ted's level headed friend, known as "the kid."

Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) his other best friend is a womanizing, Ari-like, rich, self-centered bastard, who we all love. He does what he wants, who he wants, and whenever he wants. He's as he would like to say, "L - e - g - e - n .... wait for, I hope your not lactose intolerant... DARY!!!" Check out the video of him.



Lily (Alyson Hannigan) is Marshall's wife and also Ted's best friend. She's a nymphomaniac School teacher, who loves gossip and can't keep a secret. But she's that motherly figure that keeps Ted in line.

Robin (Cobie Smulders) is the latest addition to the group and had a thing with Ted. Besides her good looks, she loves guns, smokes and knows cigars, and loves a good whiskey. She's also a good substitute wingman.

This is the Man version of Sex and the city (yea, really!). It's funny, raunchy, and mostly stupid, but it's a great way to rid yourself of a case of the Mondays. So Suit up and check it out!

Friday

Friday is the slowest day in New York, the subways are empty, the lines are short and no one is around. Companies are also laying off left and right. Recently the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art) cut 74 jobs. Once museums start cutting jobs, things are bad. Check out the article. As I was saying, Fridays are slow, very slow. While enjoying the slowest and best day of the week, here's a great video of the "Showdown" yesterday between Jim Cramer and John Stewart (It was Awesome!).

Also, a few cool things to check out on Fridays in NYC are the MOMA, ICP, and Asia Society

Federer and Tiger

This week in sports marks a giant one! Roger Federer and Tiger Woods make there returns to their sports (again). The last time they suited up was in a loss. Federer lost to Nadal in 5 sets at the Australian Open, moving Nadal within one Grand Slam away from the Career Grand Slam. Tiger loss to a scruffy Penguin-looking Tim Clark at the WGC - Championship in Arizona. These two athletes transcend there sport and while they are considered by all, as one of the best in tennis and golf, only time determine if they are the best (and it will happen). For all of you that don't know much about these guys, think of them as the Florentino Ariza (Love in the Time of Cholera - movie) of their sports.

At this time in both Federer and Woods career their dominance is declining, while Federer has already lost his No. 1 ranking, Woods is on the cusp of losing his No. 1 ranking to Sergio Garcia. This week is not only a chance to see these once in a lifetime athletes compete once again, but it's a good indication of what is to come. Both are master at winning and clearly know what it takes to get it done, but will they? A bad week means, not winning, and as Federer weeped at the Australian open, we can only imagine what it must feel like for Tiger not to win.

You're probably thinking, "Who cares," these athletes are pop culture guys that...they don't mean much. For most of you, you probably have no clue who Jack Nicklaus or Pete Sampras is, but just think....Federer and Tiger aren't just once in a decade athletes, they're once in a FOREVER!

French Fries

French Fries! Who doesn't like french fries? From carnivores to vegetarians to those gluten free ones, the one commonality is their love of french fries (also, probably fruits, liquor and etc...but we don't care).

After a long day of ..... a basket of fries (and a burger for some) just hits the spot, but what happens if you want to take it out? Don't fall for it...don't!!! So you order you're food and grab the bag of amazing and lovable food and you head home, once home you discover that not only are the french fries not hot, but their soggy! The wet, limp, soggy nothings that you could of gotten by stepping on a potato and eating it, has nearly ruined your already long day. If i wanted to eat soggy warm potatoes go to the upper-east side and paid 10 bucks for a few (yea it's ridiculous there), but seriously, we buy fries for the crisp, the freshness, and the salt. The biggest tragedy in the 21st century is soggy french fries. When you're craving french fries, do me a favor and eat them there. Here are a few favorite french fries places: Pommes Frites , In-n-Out, and Petey's Burger. While McDonalds, White Castle and other well known est. reign king the three small est. definitely take pride in their food. Pommes Frites is in the lower east side, and while you're expecting some snotty french chefs, you'll find some local filipinos who love there fries. They only serve fries, and have over 25 sauces. In-n-Out is West Coast Christian staple who makes everything fresh and includes bible verses on their food....seriously! Finally, Petey's Burger who recently opened in Astoria, NYC, has great food; handcut fries and greasy burgers, oh my!

Now if you decide to make your own fries, be sure to carefully cool them down. Think of them as cookies, you don't just throw piping hot cookies on top of each other, do you?! And don't under cook them, remember 21st century tragedy. Keep them warm and crisp.

While we live in a society that loves high sodium, and high cholesterol food, and with a growing issue of obesity, so please don't eat warm soggy potatoes, but if you must, do it right when cheating on your diet.

Click here for the Secert History of French Fries by Debbie Stroller of Bust magazine (FYI - great magazine)

Crazy Eyes

Walking down the street, I was startled by a guy who was walking and looking directly towards me, he then looked away, then back at me, then his eyes got wider, and then wider. He was nearly 3 feet from me, when he blinked, and then opened his eyes as big as an owl. He didn't say anything and didn't flinch. But as he got closer he smiled. He actually wasn't looking at me, one eye was looking left and the other right. As he walked next to me I became in shock, not knowing what happened....this was a case of what is known as CRAZY EYES! Now I'm sure there could be a medical reason for his look, but damn, that was creepy (and pretty funny)! When in doubt do as New Yorkers do, look down and walk fast.

Borders

The economy sucks and our President, well...he remains in question. Less importantly Borders is dying...with their stock at 50 +/- cents and a recent layoff of 742 jobs nationwide (see here), one can only wonder not "if" but "when" will Borders close. Now this dear store, so very close to my heart on the cusp of ruins make me wonder how could this happen and what will happen a few months down the line. I'll probably never know why they're dying, however, Borders is the bookstore version of Walmart and Starbucks; look around the corner and you'll find one, and when in doubt drive 10-15 minutes and you'll find another one, and don't forget that they have a store in pretty much all the malls. Over extension is my guest. They look great, have great prices, but like many things that die, there image was a giant smoke screen. "Smoke and Mirrors" as my ex-coworker described New York, and Borders is not an exception.

I just can't believe how a company that has celebrities galore at their stores, the best prices, and the most amount of stores is dying!!! It sucks, especially since Borders is one of those stores that you can spend lots of money in and not feel too guilty for indulging in their products. But it's also good, finally those small businesses like "A shop around the corner (if it existed, from You've got Mail)" or the "Strand" can clear that giant shadow Borders puts up. This Bookstore version of Walmart and Starbucks won't kill more small charming local bookstores, that is....once it's dead.

To the death of Borders!!!

Mondays...

Have you ever been at work and wondered when will the weekend come and realize that it's only Monday!!! It happens to us all. We're plagued by a case of the "Mondays." Even if you have a date, a party, or are getting some gift or anything, mondays are still bad and irreversible.

After realizing that you have 7 hours and 5o minutes left to go in the day, I'm sure you'll try to keep your head down and just do whatever work you can. Good try, but usually it doesn't work and when 3pm rolls around, you're counting the minutes, correction seconds. I'm sure looking at a computer screen for most of the day, is the perfect recipe to falling asleep, but do yourself a favor, turn on some music (if you can), drink lots of water, get a stress ball, and surf the web (work appropriate please). Monday will be over before you know it, and just think, after Tuesday you're half-way to the weekend (stay focused!). But once you start to realize that the weeks are getting shorter, and you can hardly remember what happened, you've just discovered that you're ultimately speeding up time, effectively killing yourself even faster. Eeekkk!! Job's don't usually suck this much.

technology, technology, technology!

Technology continues to improve every day. We facebook, we myspace, we text constantly, we meet people online, and we get step-by-step directions fed to us by a machine (dubbed as "Susan" by a friend of mine), but we consider all these little hobbies as nothing more than indulgences and modern ways of communication, guidance, and etc.

Your probably saying..."what.."

While meeting our old childhood friends on facebook, and meeting new friends on myspace we typically consider these websites as small ways of communication, but they're not. These sites are the new and improved way for you to have drinks with a friend or even go on a blind date. Just the other day I met someone at a party, soon I was there friend on one of those sites and soon we started shooting the shit. Person to person interactions are long gone.

So while increasing your amount of friends through the internet, I bet you thought that meeting someone special, or the "Special" one on a dating site as risky, pedephile filled, and pretty lame. But then why is so much social interaction done online? Why are people forming new relationships and more importantly keeping/maintaining them online.

Online dating anyone?

We as a society have decided that meeting people (in real-life) from a internet relationship as dangerous by most. Although online dating services are making millions (500 million in '04, '05), many people continue to disapprove. This kind of activity has become taboo, while facebook and myspace reign as king. It's obvious, we're hypocrites, we like technology, but we don't.

Besides online dating, another form of social interaction is texting (cell phone). Did you know that 23% of harassment crimes take place on "Cyberspace." Which begs the question, "Why do so much stuff online, even though it can be a bit dangerous, and we don't completely like it?" Is there something wrong with this picture? Or are we all just a bit scared to talk to someone face to face, and texting, facebooking and emailing is just easier, and supposedly safer.

So to sum it up, we like meeting people online, only friends though, and while it's a bit dangerous we continue to do it, but continue to think that meeting a lover online is taboo.

Where My Dumpsters At!

With the economy doing so stellar, it definitely makes living on your own quite difficult. While you’re expected to have a place to stay and clothes on your back…you’re not necessarily expected to be eating healthy. A friend of mine lives in Brooklyn and works 8-5 but lives off of cup-o-noodles, another friend lives in the Upper East side of Manhattan a-la Gossip Girl and on good days, eats a bag of spinach for lunch and dinner. With all the necessary living expenses continually occurring, what can someone do?

They can "Dumpster Dive!" This is pretty much as it sounds; you go to a dumpster, jump in, or “Dive” and find your food. The interesting thing about this is that the people that are “Dumpster Divers” aren’t always greatly in need. Metro NYC wrote an article highlighting a few individuals living and working in NYC that are trying to cut a few corners; they get all their food from dumpster diving, and we’re not talking about rotten food, but good, slightly damaged goods. A good friend of mine dumpster dives in Georgia, but not for himself, he dives for the homeless. And no it’s not like “Running for a Cure,” but how great is it to recycle food for those in need. My friend once made 75 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and passed them out to homeless people in the Atlanta area. From 4 cans of gas, a case of orange juice, 100 of loaves of bread to 100 boxes of bagel bites (still cold), dumpster diving isn’t the latest craze, but it’s people being resourceful, and yes “being green!”

Trader Joes is notorious for dumping the best food in the nation, and not to mention all grocery stores do this because after all, “they’re running a business.” They could sell damaged stuff, but they don’t and they won’t.

Dumpster diving is illegal because the dumpsters are usually on private property, but there are many business that are “Dumpster friendly.”

When in doubt, DIVE!

And who would have thought that people can live quite healthy off of discarded dumpster food. I think…no, I know…we’re getting smarter!

Check out these articles and websites on Dumpster Diving.

Music

Who would of thought that Def Leppard and Taylor Swift would be teaming up. Country meets Rock. Not bad!



But wait, there's more!