Winter

It's been a while since I've posted. (Camera problems that have since been solved.)

Pale Male Sighted!

As I was crossing Central Park this afternoon, a red tailed Hawk soared across my path. His name is Pale Male. He and his family nest in the city. I had read about him prior to moving here, but never thought I would be lucky enough to see him.

Metropolitan Museum Rooftop

Photos from the roof of the Metropolitan Museum. On exhibit: Roxy Paine.

Photo One: Manhattan Skyline.

Photo Two: Pipe from which Maelstrom emerges.

Photo Three: Inside Roxy Paine's Maelstrom.

Central Park Ablaze with Color

A Honeymoon to Remember

When I get married, my husband and I are going to Tokyo for our honeymoon. We're going to bring along a professional photographer to document our stay. First stop: a sushi stand. The bright and shining smiles on our faces will hopefully convey our delight! Photo taken outside of The Metropolitan Museum.

Autumn...Finally!

It took a while, but it was well worth the wait. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Just a Hint of Autumn

Despite temperatures plummeting into the high 30s, the trees in Central Park remain defiantly green. Yes, one can sense that those little chlorophyll factories are slowing down, and in a few cases halting production altogether, but for the most part, summer colors linger. As I was leaving the park, I did encounter, for my first time, the fruit of the chestnut. Roundish and green, and larger than my fist, it had apparently fallen from the tree above. Leaking a milky juice, I was certain I had discovered some newly mutated life-form, until a passerby explained the fruit's more common origin.

Why New York? Part Three: Jennifer Hudson in Central Park

Was privileged to go to a free Netflix concert in Central Park last night, featuring none-other than Jennifer Hudson. More extraordinary still: a show-stopping rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Amazing!!

A Walk in Central Park on a Cloudy September Day: Part Two--The Ravine

Can you imagine? These photos were all taken within a short distance from my apartment on 107th, in an area known as The Ravine. Featuring a breathtaking waterfall and forest areas that recall something you would expect to find only in the deepest wilderness, The Ravine has surely become my favorite corner of Central Park.

A Walk in Central Park on a Cloudy September Day: Part One--The Storm

In mid-August, a powerful thunderstorm known as a micro-burst, hit the upper-half of Central Park, tumbling or severely damaging hundreds of trees. I have never heard rain and wind so intent on doing damage, in all my years. For weeks after, the sound of chainsaws and chip shredders pierced this otherwise quiet corner of the city, as workers did their best to make the park safe once more for visitors.

Playing with Picasa

Last Sunday I went for a walk in Central Park with camera in-hand. The picture above was one of several I snapped along the way. As I was preparing the photographs for this blog, I played around with Picasa, a free photo editor. Below, you will find the results:

Why New York? Part Two: Everything is Bigger

As these photographs, taken recently by my friend, iaeden hovorka attest, everything in New York is bigger, even the birds!

Why New York? Part One: A Once in a Lifetime Lear

Thursday I went down to Battery Park to see the New York Classical Theatre's production of King Lear. The production had been playing across the street from me at Central Park for the past several weeks and I had wanted to go see it, but rainy nights or other commitments had kept me from making the journey. By the time I was ready to attend this FREE production, it had moved several miles downtown, to the very tip of Manhattan.

The instructions on New York Classical Theatre website indicated that the audience should meet at 7PM at Castle Clinton, which I recalled was an old-style fort, and the place where one goes to purchase tickets to see The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I left my apartment quite early, as I had not visited Battery Park since my first visit to New York in 2007. Weather reports on-line had indicated that there might be short bursts of nasty weather, but that otherwise, the night would be mild. Perfect weather, I thought, for an evening of Shakespeare. But just in case, I too along with me an umbrella and a jacket, as it had rained earlier in the day.

Arriving at about 6:15, I checked out the Park, which besides Castle Clinton, boasts several statues and memorials, including the Sphere which stood at the site of the World Trade Center, and survived the collapse of the towers. About twenty minutes prior to the play, I stood outside the fort, along with about 50-75 or so others, waiting for the show to begin. And then it began to rain. I took out my umbrella, glad that I had brought it. And then it began to rain harder. The man in charge, who turned out to be the director of the play, Stephen Burdman, invited us into Castle Clinton, which was closed for the day, where we could wait out the storm. He promised it would be a short wait.

About a half hour later, Mr. Burdman announced that the grassy area where they usually performed was a soaking mess, and they had arranged for this evening's performance to occur in Castle Clinton itself, once the rain had stopped. This production would be slightly different than the typical New York Classical Theater production, in that it would be played in one spot, rather moving from location to location. He told us that the actors were excited about performing in this unique setting. And I could tell by the responses of the people around me, that they, like myself were excited as well.

Because the performance was going to be ad-hoc, prior to the actual play, the audience got to witness a rehearsal of the battle scenes, something that would usually occur behind the scenes. As the actors came out of their dressing rooms, several commented on the audience's fortitude. A few minutes later, the play began.

As Lear progressed, I was struck by what was for me, a profound insight: that Shakespeare was meant to be performed in an intimate, bare setting. There were times that I felt I was not watching a play at all, but bearing witness to actual events as they unfolded. My hats are off to New York Classical Theatre for bringing theatre back to the ground. I guess if "All the world is a stage, and the men and women merely players...", it makes sense that the audience be on stage alongside those very players, while watching a play.

There are only a couple of performances left of this production of King Lear, and I read on the New York Classical Theatre's website that a planned production of Moliere's The School for Husbands has been postponed until next year due to economic conditions. I know for certain that I will attend. I am glad I dropped a few dollars in the basket they passed after the performance, because theatre like this is unique, and experiences like this one, on a rain-soaked evening in Castle Clinton, more unique still.

(And one of the reason's I choose to make New York City my home.)

A New York Driver's License

No, this is not a recent photo, but rather a sample of the newfangled New York state Driver's License. And I for one am impressed. Not by the layout, which is pretty standard, nor the colors, which are bright and cheerful, but rather by the high-tech 3-D hologram incorporated into the license. You can't see it on license pictured, but horizontally located across the center of the card is a wavy line that looks like something you might see on a 1960s Outer Limits computer. Be sure to ask to see mine when next we meet.

For Book Lovers and Bargain Lovers

Just back from helping to set up Housing Works annual Open Air Street Fair. Housing Works is a Non-Profit whose mission is two-fold: to end both AIDS and Homelessness.

Each year they close down a block of Crosby Street for a street fair, where Housing Works sells thousands of books, records, & DVDs, along with clothing & furniture: all with the goal of furthering its mission.

As I was unpacking the numerous books for display, I was utterly flabbergasted by the selection. Fifty year old art books that had been sitting on a shelf for nearly as long, sat alongside more recent best-sellers by Stephen King or Dean Koontz. Brand new DVDs, still sealed in plastic, sat beside how-to-speak Swedish cassettes. And every one of these was on sale for ONE DOLLAR!

At about 9:30, a crowd started to form, on the sidewalk across from the booths, soon swelling into the hundreds, and at 10:00 AM precisely, they swept down upon us like crows upon a carcass. Within minutes, entire boxes of books had been emptied! It did my heart good knowing where the money would be going, and knowing also that there are still people out there who love books this much!

I was lucky enough to pick up three books on Art History, part of a series by Elie Faure, published in 1937, the year of his death. They smell of dust, are lavishly illustrated, and though small in size, weigh in at over two pounds apiece.

When the date is set for the 2010 Open Air Street Fair, I will post here, so that you may make arrangements to attend. You'll be glad that you did.

A City of the Dead

I spent a good part of Memorial Day at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, as these picture will attest. Huge by any standard, the Green-Wood Cemetery comprises 478 acres, compared to Central Park's 843 acres. According to a map published by Green-Wood, there are typically, 7-9 funerals performed at the cemetery each day. Among the famous buried here were Currier & Ives, the Brooks Brothers, Boss Tweed, Charles Tiffany and Leonard Bernstein. But as in life, the names of most of Green-Wood's permanent residents go unremembered.

As one walks through this necropolis, one cannot help but to philosophize a bit, to think of the tens of thousands buried here, the tens of millions buried somewhere on the face of this earth, all of those who have gone before us. The silence, the wind, the monuments to lives long forgotten, the parents who outlived their children, the soldiers who died in war. These are our brothers and sisters, our family and friends. Be good to each other, bear witness, listen, appreciate and most of all remember.

Broadway Serendipity

Fred and I went to the theater last night and saw the much talked about Mary Stuart at the Broadhurst on 44th. It received 7 Tony nominations, including nods to both lead actresses, Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter. While I can't say I loved it--at nearly three hours, it was overly long-- I can say that the performances from Ms McTeer and Ms Walter were electrifying. After the play, which ended at 11:00, we decided to pick up a bite to eat. Right across the street was a restaurant we had eaten at before, so we decided to grab something there. A sign outside the restaurant noted that they featured an "under $10" menu after 10:00pm.

We were seated promptly in the back of the restaurant, and had placed our orders, who should walk in, but Janet McTeer! It was only minutes after the performance had ended, so she must have hurried to get there.

(Now, those of you who have known me a while have probably heard the story of another evening back in April of 2008 when I had the good luck to visit New York and see the amazing Pattie Lupone in Gypsy (A tony winner!) and Patrick Stewart in Macbeth. After enjoying the latter's performance, we had the good fortune to dine in a restaurant where both Ms. Lupone and Mr. Stewart had also elected to dine that evening. And now, a form of fortuitous lightning had struck again and Ms McTeer entered the restaurant.)

But this is not the end of the story. Only moments later, in walks Geoffrey Rush, who I had seen in Exit the King, two weeks before. Another electrifying performance and another Tony nomination! I could not believe our good fortune! Mr. Rush was seated two tables away and once other diners had kindly departed, I had an unhindered view of this Oscar winning actor.

Next to enter the restaurant, and next to add to our galaxy of Broadway celebrities and fellow diners was Mary Testa, who we had seen in Xanadu in October of 2007! She is currently appearing in a revival of Guys and Dolls. She sat at the table next to us. Such wonderful energy, such a lovely smile.

Soon though, it was getting late, and our celebrities departed one by one, like stars vanishing from an early morning sky, and we too elected to depart. Another serendipitous Broadway evening to be remembered always.

For Those of You Who May be Missing this Shana Punim!

Shana Punim means Beautiful Face in Yiddish.

An Extraordinary Experience on This Extraordinary Journey

Only a fifteen minute walk from my apartment is a wonderful theater called Symphony Space. Each year, they produce a show, or should I say marathon of musical theater, called Wall-to-Wall Broadway. Some years they feature the works of one specific composer. Other years, like this year, they cover a wider spectrum of Broadway Musical Theater. But every year, one can be assured of twelve hours, that's right, twelve hours of extraordinary, bordering on sublime musical theater! And all of Wall-to-Wall Broadway is free!!!

Even the most ardent of musical theater fans is unlikely to be able to sit through the entire performance, but I did my best. In total I saw approximately 8 hours of the show. I'm not going to list every song or every performer for you would be likely to fall asleep before I was done, I would likely end up with a bad case of writer's cramp. Anyway, here are the highlights:

• "The Wizard and I" from Wicked, performed by Chelsea Krombach. I have yet to see this long-lived show, but want to more than ever, after Ms. Krombach's performance.

• This was followed by an hour of songs that had been dropped from shows before they made it to Broadway. Two songs from Gypsy, titled "Nice She Ain't" and "Mama's Talkin' Soft", along with a song from Cabaret, titled "I Don't Care Much", stood out among these.

• But it was Doug Kreeger's performance of "Being Alive" from Company that first brought me to my feet. What a voice! What a song!

• An hour long interview with producer and director Harold Prince was fascinating and really drove home for me the time, work and money involved in bringing a show to Broadway.

• Songs from yet to be produced shows were compelling. Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler performed a song from the musical version of Ever After, that was enchanting, along with a couple of other delightful tunes. Also to look forward to: The Kid, based on the book by Dan Savage. Book by Michael Zam, Music by Andy Monroe and Lyrics by Jack Lethner.

• Rebecca Luker from Mary Poppins sang "Embraceable You", Andrew Smonsky from South Pacific sang "Younger than Springtime" Michael Cerveris sang "Pinball Wizard". Later, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of In the Heights, was interviewed by Sheldon Harnick, lyricist for Fiddler on the Roof. Miranda went on to perform a rap version of "Tradition" which required audience participation. It was incredible!

Then the orchestra came on stage. Every song and performance was pure magic. The best among the best included:

• "September Song" performed by George S Irving, who appeared in the original production of Oklahoma back in 1943! In his 80s and still going strong!
  

• "Soliloquy" from Carousel performed by Brian Stokes Mitchell was another show stopper. As many of you know, Carousel does it for me, and when I saw Mr. Mitchell perform "Soliloquy" my breath was literally taken away.
  

• "Zip" from Pal Joey performed by the amazing Martha Plimpton.
  

• "Coconut Girl" from The Girl Who Came to Supper was performed by B.D. Wong. What can I say? It was surreal.
  

• Julie Wilson performed "Can That Boy Foxtrot!" from Follies. What a charmer!
  

• Kate Baldwin performed "How Are Things in Glocca Mora" from Finian's Rainbow. Another favorite of mine.
  

• Debbie Gravitte performed "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl. What a talent!

And I have mentioned but a few. As you can well imagine, it was quite a day & night! (and you wondered why I moved to New York!)

Through the Window on a Cloudy Day

Three Images:

The first is my window itself, the second the view to the right, and the third, the view to the left.

You may be wondering what that big white contraption is on the window. Because my apartment has a fire escape, it may be more easily burgled. I am able to keep the window open and not worry about break-ins because of it.