Grant Morrison (or How I Gave Up Eating Fast Food 20 Years Ago)

I've just finished watching the animated All-Star Superman movie again, ostensibly to write-up a review for Unseen Films. This is the animated feature that, as of the Emerald City Comicon in Seattle this past March, artist Frank Quitely hadn't seen yet, even though it's based on a book that he drew the artwork for. It's a terrific story, one that focuses on the power of good, and the power of love. It also hinges on a terrific ability to tell a story, and that's where Grant Morrison, the writer of the book the animated film is based on, comes in.

Back in 1989, I was working at a little comic book store in an indoor flea market-type mall in Flushing, New York, just one subway stop from Shea Stadium, home of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. I would see all of the different comics that would come in each week, and was forming friendships with many of the customers that would come in. This was helpful in both directions, as I would recommend titles for people to read based on what they were already purchasing, and I would hear tales of approval from them about books they were enthralled by that I had yet to sample. Although I can't grab any names out of thin air, I can still picture the faces of some people who, all at roughly the same time, were suggesting that I start reading Doom Patrol and Animal Man, both of which were being written by Morrison.

Upon finally picking up an issue of both titles, I soon became so enamored with them that I searched out all of the previous issues of both series that he had written, which thankfully wasn't a lot. I came onto Doom Patrol somewhere around #29 or so, and the first issue he wrote was #19. He had started Animal Man roughly a year earlier than Doom Patrol, and was unfortunately nearing the end of what became his 26 issue run by the time I'd started around #19. To this day though, I still think his first four issue arc on Doom Patrol, and his entire 26 issue run on Animal Man (issues 1 thru 26 comprised one giant story), are some of the best stories I've ever read.

Now we move ahead a little bit to the Spring of 1992. By now I was working at a different comic book store (surprise...) in lower Manhattan, just a block or so east of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Morrison had by this time already become one of my very favorite writers. I was a regular attendee at local comic books conventions, and there was a pretty good sized one twice a year at a hotel right across the street from Madison Square Garden, home of the National Hockey League's New York Rangers, in the heart of New York City. There were many luminaries from the comic book world that would make appearances at these shows, talking, signing, and sketching for the weekend. It was at these shows that I first struck up acquaintances with people such as Mike Mignola, Mike Zeck, Paul Chadwick, and others.

There was one slight difference between Morrison and the regular guests at these shows. Many of the bigger comic book creators lived in and around the New York City area, so their attendance was no more than a long car ride, or a fairly short plane trip, away. Morrison was a resident of Scotland, so the likelihood of him being at one of these shows was fairly slim (although Dave McKean, a lifelong resident of England, was flown in for one in 1990 or so, just after the publication of the Batman: Arkham Asylum graphic novel, which was authored by Morrison, so there was hope.).

The same company that ran the large twice-yearly NYC shows also put on a smaller monthly show at a more intimate hotel venue in Manhattan, and usually had one guest at each of these. Sometimes a big name, sometimes a smaller one, but there would always be one. Lo and behold, for one of these small satellite shows, the one and only guest was going to be...Grant Morrison! I was in my interviewing phase at the time, with articles recently published about Mignola and Chadwick for the terrific trade magazine Amazing Heroes. I instantly started jotting down questions that I wanted to ask Morrison. Now, seeing as how Amazing Heroes had just ceased publication (my interview with Chadwick was the cover story of the final issue of the magazine's 12 year run), I wasn't sure where, or if, this would ever appear, but I wasn't concerned with that. I was much more interested in getting inside the head of the creative genius that had already made such a huge impact on me.

I made plans to meet up at the show with a customer from the store who was a friend of mine. I lost touch with him after I left the store in late 1992, but I can picture him clear as day as I write this, and I remember his name was Allen, and he was of Polish descent with an appropriate surname to back up his heritage. As I mentioned, I'd made friends with quite a number of regular patrons of the stores I'd worked at, which was kind of easy when you could tell right away, based on what books people were buying, who you might have a little something in common with. Too damn bad the audience was pretty much 100% guys then...the only cute girls that ever made their way into places like that at the time clung desperately and nervously to the arms of the guys who had dragged them there, for fear of catching some sort of contagious nerd disease.

The show was to be on a Saturday, and I was tremendously looking forward to it. I think I even saw Allen in the store on Friday, and he being a big Morrison fan as well, was also eagerly anticipating the chance to meet him. I forget exactly when during the day I had lunch, but I remember distinctly what it was and where I got it. To paraphrase a terrific joke by the late great comedian Richard Jeni (he was NOT talking about an airline that had wronged him at the time, I've just changed the punchline to NOT talk about a certain fast food chain); I don't want to embarrass the company by naming them, that wouldn't be proper...let's just say it rhymes with Soy Sodgers...

I don't know what was wrong with the bacon double cheeseburger I had from that establishment, or exactly when it started to let me know that something was wrong with it, but something wrong there was. I was probably already turning colors by the time I got home from work that evening, and wound up forcibly ejecting everything from my system in a northerly direction. Unfortunately, this didn't happen one-and-done. That would have been fine. No, whatever I had decided it wanted to do a full purge of my insides, and pretty much every hour on the hour, for the next 10 or 12, I found myself running to the bathroom. There was nothing left to give after the third or fourth trip, but my body didn't know or care by that point.

Needless to say, sleep was not anything I made friends with that evening, so by the time morning rolled around, I was exhausted. Nonetheless, I was still determined to go back into Manhattan, because when was I going to get another chance to see Morrison? I was 20 years old, young, thin, and in pretty decent shape. As I started to make motions to sit up, my mother came in my room, and with ONE FINGER thwarted my departure plans by saying something along the lines of "You're not going anywhere" as she gently shoved me in the chest with that single digit...and completely flattened me back into my bed. I'd never felt so defeated and crushed...and she was right, which was probably the worst part. I instantly vowed to never eat fast food again, and nearly 20 years later I've stuck to it, as the number of meals I've consumed from places like that since then can be counted on one hand...and I'd still have some fingers left over.

When next I saw Allen at the store, he told me he figured something drastic had happened, as he knew there was no way I'd miss something like this. Remember kids, this is pre-cell phone era, when the only text we knew was the print you'd see in a book. What's worse, Allen also told me I could have done a feature length interview, as I basically would have had Morrison all to myself. Attendance was minimal at the show, and practically no one knew, or cared, who Morrison was. Allen said he talked with him for quite a bit, and had mentioned to him to be prepared to be interviewed when I showed up. I instantly felt sick to my stomach again when he told me this, but at least this time there would be no projectile vomiting.

Fast forward 16 years, to early 2008. I'm now living in the deserts of the American Southwest, I've been a postman for over 13 years, and I rarely if ever set foot inside a comic book shop anymore, as my collecting tastes have gravitated towards trade paperbacks and original art, which are more easily purchased online. I do travel to different locations around the country to go to comic book conventions however, as I still like to meet artists and writers whose work I enjoy, and it gives me an excuse to see parts of this land I haven't explored yet. And a break from work is always a nice thing too. I haven't been back to NYC in about a year at this point, and with my father not travelling, the only time I see him is when I go there. I know there is a huge comic book show coming to NYC in April 2008, and have pretty much made up my mind that I will build a trip back home around that...and then Grant Morrison is announced as a guest, and I probably bought my plane tickets the same day I found that out.

Not everything Morrison has written has been gold to me. There have been things that I feel missed completely, things I've read that I was rather ambivalent about, and some things I didn't even bother getting or reading at all. But there have been plenty of things that have been published in the interim that have been wonderful, and eye-opening, and amazing, and the initial impact of those early stories has never been lost either. In fact, those first Doom Patrol issues, and in particular the ENTIRE Animal Man arc, have only achieved even greater esteem in my eyes over the ensuing years and re-reads. And I've been introduced to a host of artists due to their collaborating with him, particular favorites being Quitely and Duncan Fegredo.

The convention ran Friday thru Sunday, and while there were plenty of people there that I was happy to see (Neal Adams, Chris Claremont, J.M. DeMatteis, Fegredo, Rick Leonardi, Mignola, and many others), my biggest thrill was going to come from meeting Morrison. Stopping by the big booth that DC Comics had set up on the show floor of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center (the largest convention center in NYC, which is saying something), my friend DB (from Unseen Films) and I found a signing schedule. Seeing that Morrison was due to be at the DC booth within the hour, I decided to take no chances. I inquired as to whether a line had formed for him yet, and upon hearing the answer was no, I told them there was one now. Since this was a Friday, and still very early on during the show weekend, there wasn't quite the throng of people that there could be (and WOULD be, as Saturday rolled around). By the time Morrison arrived, there was a bit of a line behind me, but not enough to force him to rush thru each person that was there. Which was good, because I wanted to talk.

By this point in time, Morrison had become something of a rock star in the comic world, with stories ABOUT him being nearly as legendary as the stories he wrote. Thankfully, this hadn't turned him into a snob, and he was extremely personable, more than willing to chat, and gave thoughtful answers to the questions I threw at him. We briefly discussed Bill Hicks, drugs, writing, ambition, and I even had the chance to tell him (in a much more concise version than this) how I'd waited 16 years to meet him. Although I can't remember for certain, I'm fairly sure he said he hoped it was worth it, in his thick Scottish brogue.

Thankfully, that wasn't the end. Since this was a 3 day show, I was going to be sure to be in his line each of the following 2 days as well. However, there was a panel centered around him fairly early on Saturday afternoon, and both DB and I wanted to be in the audience for that. There was a terrific scripted introduction (consisting entirely of Morrison quotes culled from interviews with him) read by the moderator over a slide show of images from Morrison-penned comics, as well as photos and drawings of the man. When he entered to a thunderous ovation from the packed room, he instantly threw the floor open to questions from the audience, and the remaining 45 minutes or so was him answering mostly intelligent queries from knowledgeable fans. Most of the questions I really wanted to ask I'd either already gotten to the day before, or someone at the panel asked something similar enough that I was perfectly content to just sit there and take it all in. Weeks later I was able to download an audio version of the panel from DC's own website, and I'll listen to it occasionally on the iPod while delivering letters and magazines in the mailroom of the big apartment complex on my route.

There was to be another autograph session at the DC booth later in the afternoon, but seeing how this was an extremely crowded Saturday (I believe the NYC Fire Marshal was threatening to close off parts of the convention venue if the crowds weren't better controlled), a line started forming for Morrison well in advance of the signing time. By the time I made it to the line, with more than an hour and a half to spare, it already wrapped clear around the DC booth, easily 100 people strong. DB went and saw another hour-long panel on something he was interested in, and still had time to find me on line before the signing had even begun. The line did actually move though once Morrison showed up, and this time they put a limit on the number of items to be signed, due to the volume of people. Made waiting for a little bit on Friday seem like an even better idea in hindsight.

Part of the reason for the reasonably quick movement of the line, DB and I were to discover as we got towards the front, was that for the most part, no one was bothering to talk to Morrison. Since the line snaked behind the table before it came around towards where he was seated, as soon as we cleared the partition, I was going to talk with him. As for what to talk about, well, that was decided as soon as we could see under the table from behind, where there sat a leather bag with the face of legendary British comic book writer Alan Moore apparently painted on it. As Morrison signed away for someone a half-dozen people in front of us, I asked what the deal with the bag was. He immediately turned to me and, with a big smile on his face, said something to the effect of "Someone GAVE me this! Can you believe it? What am I supposed to do with something like that?" And that started that conversation.

I should also mention that although he is a comic book rock star, he maintains the image of a fashion icon. He's what ZZ Top would describe as "a sharp dressed man", always appearing in full suit and tie, and definitely the expensive kind. He also has the same hair style as myself, that of the dome-shaved-with-a-straight-razor look (and probably for the same reasons that I do it too...).

We chatted for a bit, I got a few things signed, got to express my appreciation for his work, and repeated the process again on Sunday, when it had calmed down quite a bit as far as the crowd was concerned. I eventually made it back to Las Vegas, put the books back on the shelves, placed the artwork back in the frames and hung it back on the walls, and that was that. At the same giant comic book convention in New York in October 2010, I saw footage from a documentary about him that finally came out at the end of 2010, and I even wrote a review of it for Unseen Films this past May. But it's nice to know that I was able to meet and talk with the man, and I (as well as my body free of fast food toxins) am grateful for that.

Addendum (July 17, 2011): A Twitter-friend posted this blog about his very recent meeting with Morrison in Glasgow, Scotland. Worth reading as well. Good one, Colin!


Blog Post Soundtrack; Crunt, Alice In Chains, Nirvana (live), Elvis Costello, Primus, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Metallica (live), John Lee Hooker, Mr. Bungle, The Police, Tricky, The White Stripes (live covering Brendan Benson), Stevie Ray Vaughan (live), Mitch Hedberg, Danzig, The Doors (live), Cab Calloway, Pearl Jam (live covering Fugazi & The Talking Heads), Richard Pryor, Rollins Band, The Dropkick Murphys (live, brilliantly mixing an AC/DC cover into the middle of one of their own songs), Eric Clapton (live), Yawning Man, X, The Kinks, Spike Jones, Brant Bjork, Queens Of The Stone Age, Soundgarden, Medeski Martin & Wood (live), Bjork, (hed) pe (covering Black Sabbath), Shootyz Groove, Richard Jeni, Pink Floyd, Chuck Jones, Ike & Tina Turner, Nick Oliveri, Deep Purple (live), Clutch (live), Muddy Waters, David Bowie, Zero Mostel & Michael Hordern & Jack Gilford & Phil Silvers from A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Voivod, Red Hot Chili Peppers (live), Benny Goodman, Mr. Bungle, Kyuss (covering Black Sabbath), Prong, Black Flag, Slayer, Mike Patton, Jamiroquai, Audioslave, Oysterhead, Reel Big Fish, The Ramones, The Misfits (live), Minutemen, The Mars Volta, The Smiths, The Black Keys

Sorry, The Brooklyn Bridge Is Closed

Here's a story that crossed my mind recently, probably because the anniversary of it was just this past week...

Although I've lived in the Las Vegas, Nevada area for over 11 years now (!!!), I was born and raised in New York City. I grew up and lived in Queens for about a quarter century, and worked right in downtown Manhattan at 2 separate jobs for about 2 years total. Both jobs were within a subway token's throw of the late, lamented Twin Towers, right in the City Hall/Wall Street area. Being somewhat familiar with NYC, I've played tour guide on a couple of occasions for co-workers in my Henderson, Nevada Post Office who had never been to the Big Apple before. Both times my victims and I stayed at a hotel right in midtown for a great rate, thanks to a friend who worked there (hi, Cappy!). I made up loose itineraries beforehand, incorporating obvious touristy things that the respective couples wanted to see, plus a few interesting nuggets that I knew would be unfamiliar, yet interesting, to non-natives.

On the day in May of 2005 that this particular story revolves around, we made our way from the hotel early in the morning. The hotel itself was located right at 53rd Street & 3rd Avenue, around the corner from the Citigroup Center, one of the more interesting skyscrapers in New York. Completed in 1977, it's unique angled roof (originally designed to incorporate solar panels, a plan which never came to fruition), and one-of-a-kind base make it quite a standout among NYC buildings, which is no mean feat.

Also located within a block of the hotel is another architectural achievement, the Lipstick Building, so named for it's oval shape and rosy color. Since the building tapers in at points as it rises, it looks as if it could collapse upon itself, also like a tube of lipstick. While not a traditional sightseeing stop (it was only completed in 1986), if you're in the area, it's certainly worth a look. Like the Citigroup Center, it also has an interesting and beautiful base, this one comprised of many rosy-colored marble columns.

Our objectives for the day were the Empire State Building, Madison Square Park and the Flatiron Building, Washington Square Park, Foley Square (an area familiar to any of you who have ever watched the original Law & Order series, and I used to work in 60 Centre Street, the building featured in the opening credits), City Hall, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers used to stand tall. We worked our way south in the order just listed, so there were several short subway jaunts in-between each (it's really all walkable, but my co-worker's wife was not physically capable of doing that much walking without encountering real problems).

Since this was a Saturday, we were at the Empire State Building on 5th Avenue and 34th Street right at 9AM. There was no line to get in, and we were on the observation deck before 9:30, enjoying the view even though there was still a mild bit of haziness in the air. While it limited the amount you could see off to the outlying areas, it did nothing to detract from the view of Manhattan itself. I enjoy doing the touristy New York things with people who've never been there before, because A) it's great to see the enjoyment they're getting out of it, and B) since I only get in every couple years or so, I really enjoy it myself as well.

By the time we made it back downstairs, the line to get an elevator to the observation deck snaked back and forth in the staging area for something approaching an hour's length...which explained to my friends why we had gotten such an early start on a Saturday morning. Finally convinced them I'm not as dumb as I look (to which my co-worker would always reply, "Nobody could be that dumb!" With friends like these, who needs enemas...).

Our next stop was a half-mile south on Fifth Avenue to see the Flatiron Building, right next to Madison Square Park. Shaped like a clothes iron propped up, this is one of New York City's first skyscrapers. While it comes in at under 300 feet tall, which may seem small today, when it was completed in 1902, it was one of the tallest buildings in the world, and the first of New York City's tall buildings to be built north of 14th Street. Its iconic shape has made it a very recognizable structure, and I suppose its most recent claim to fame was its film portrayal of the home of the Daily Bugle, the fictitious newspaper of the Spider-Man universe.

We then wandered over to the Gramercy Park area, just a couple blocks to the east. Completely by accident, we stumbled into a street fair on Park Avenue South from around 18th to 23rd Streets. I suddenly had an extra added item for the visitors, because a New York City street fair on a beautiful day is a wonderful thing. Looking at people selling trinkets and clothing is always amusing, but the best part is always the food! I always tell people 2 things about NYC food. 1) If you recognize the name of the place (like a chain, or someplace you may have eaten in elsewhere in the world), forget it, avoid it. If you don't recognize the name of the place, and it looks like some dive or a hole-in-the-wall, go in, you're likely to get the best food you've ever had. And 2) some of the best dining to be had in NYC is right off the streets. Fruit stands, hot dog carts, pastry carts, street vendors selling all variety of edibles...you can eat 3 squares a day without ever sitting down at a table.

Washington Square Park was the next destination, just shy of a mile further south on Fifth Avenue. It's the gateway to Greenwich Village (literally...Washington Square Arch, a monument to General George Washington, sits at the north end of the park, right at the point where Fifth Avenue comes to an end), and it's surrounded by beautiful brownstone apartments and buildings that are part of the campus of New York University (NYU). It makes for a nice transitional point from corporate New York to a more artsy area. While normally a reasonably tranquil place to visit, on the weekends (and this was a Saturday, remember) it becomes an absolute hive of activity. The central fountain area of the park serves as a stage for all manner of street performers, doing their acts for the throngs of people who gather around, with the only admission price being a passing of the hat after the performance. Depending on the day (or time of day, even), you can see anything from stand-up comics to gymnasts to magicians, and everything in-between. Another of New York City's wonderful attractions.

Another quick subway hop got us a mile further south to the Foley Square area. As mentioned before, if you've ever seen an episode of the original Law & Order TV series, you've seen this area. This is where the main courthouses for New York City and New York State are located, as well as offices for the County Clerk and the City Register, plus a nice little park (Thomas Paine Park) as well. There's also a place to get an amazing chicken parmigiana hero, but since this was a Saturday and all businesses and offices in the area were closed, the area is fairly deserted, so they were closed too...damn...

City Hall, the Manhattan Municipal Building, the Surrogate's Courthouse, and the Brooklyn Bridge are all just a block or so to the south of Foley Square, so after admiring the architecture of "the Law & Order building", we made our way down to them. These were all built in the late 1800's & early 1900's during the "City Beautiful" era, when money was no object when it came to architectural design. The more lavish, the better. These are some of the more stunningly beautiful buildings in all of NYC, both inside and out. In particular, the Surrogate's Courthouse, while an attractive building outside, has an amazing all-marble lobby with a magnificent staircase leading to the second floor offices housing many records. I worked in this building as well for roughly a year, and would often marvel at the beauty of the lobby when I had a few minutes to sit during the work day. More than likely, you've already seen the lobby, since it has been featured in all kinds of media (film, music videos, commercials, print ads, etc.). And while all the pictures with this story are ones I took, the one exception is with this paragraph, which came from the Government of NYC's own web page about the Surrogate's Courthouse building...thanks!

Going off on a slight tangent, I can even give you a little story about "movie magic" that directly relates to the Surrogate's Courthouse. There was some dumb romantic comedy out last year called When In Rome. This link here is to the trailer for the picture. Everything from 23 seconds to 53 seconds in the clip I linked to takes place in a hall or something in Rome where the reception for a wedding is taking place. It's towards the beginning of the movie, and it's pretty much the only part of it (aside from the end, apparently) that takes place in Rome, as the rest of it takes place in NYC. Except that all those scenes at the reception taking place in Rome, are actually shot in the Surrogate's Courthouse lobby in Manhattan, just steps away from the Brooklyn Bridge! Which should give you an idea of just how extravagant that lobby truly is. I remember emerging from the subway everyday to walk the half-block to get to the courthouse, and more often than not, especially on Fridays, there would be trailers parked on Chambers Street right across from the courthouse entrance. These would be for whatever filming or shooting that was to be going on at night or over the weekends right there.

I noticed something else about When In Rome that I feel a need to nitpick about. There's a scene where the female lead is jogging thru Central Park, and she's heading south as she runs across Bow Bridge. Now she's running thru The Mall (also known as Poet's Alley), when some guy starts chasing her. As she continues on, she's now running down the steps leading to Bethesda Fountain, with this guy still in hot pursuit. Except that if she were really still running in the same direction, she would have already gone past the fountain and up the steps in order to reach The Mall from Bow Bridge. Do I really care? No. But am I gonna point it out? Yup. You can argue artistic license, but if you're gonna make NYC the featured location of your picture, you can bet there are gonna be people who notice stuff like this.

And why did I watch something as vapid and stupid as When In Rome? Because when I stumbled across it on TV one morning, I instantly recognized the Surrogate's Courthouse lobby, and I'm a sucker for NYC locations in movies. Even more so when it's doubling for somewhere else, like, say, Rome.

As we headed towards the Manhattan entrance of the Brooklyn Bridge, we waited at an intersection to cross. The road is for traffic coming from Brooklyn and entering Manhattan from the bridge, and it makes a big curve to the right as it does so. You can't see more than 30 or so feet up the road from where we were trying to cross, so even though no traffic was passing, we weren't taking any chances, and waited for the light. Except I noticed that NO traffic was coming. While we waited for the light to change, not a single car came thru from off the bridge. Even for a Saturday, this was unusual, to say the very least.

When the light changed, we made our way across to the City Hall Park area, so we could get a good look towards the bridge. With the one companion having the walking issues, we probably weren't going to walk out onto the bridge, but we could at least get a good vantage point from here. What I saw though was a most bizarre sight for New York. There was absolutely no vehicular traffic on the bridge whatsoever. This was unheard of. The reason was plain to see from where we were, as the police had closed the Brooklyn Bridge! This is not something that happens every day. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure this is something that had ever happened ANY day. The Brooklyn Bridge, in addition to being a world famous landmark, and one of the most New York things about New York, also serves as a major artery for traffic making its way between lower Manhattan and Brooklyn and the outer areas. To close something like this must have meant there was a serious problem somewhere. In addition, all pedestrian traffic was being allowed to continue off of the bridge, but no one was being allowed on.

I made a couple of phone calls to friends and family in the area to see if they were seeing anything about this on the news, but no one was coming across anything. I made my way closer to the entrance, and started asking around if anyone knew what was going on. Eventually I was able to find out (I can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty certain I got this from an NYPD officer) that some moron had abandoned a rental truck somewhere on the Brooklyn side of the bridge. While that might not raise any eyebrows in a normal area, this was NYC. 9/11 had only happened about 3 and a half years earlier, and people were still pretty skittish about things like that. So when someone abandons a rental truck on a NYC landmark, it gets the attention of New Yorkers. More than likely, whoever left it had mechanical problems. But the fact that it never occurred to them that leaving it sitting on a venerable icon such as the Brooklyn Bridge would possibly be interpreted as a terrorist act is inexcusable. The only reason this wasn't a disaster of epic proportions was the fact that it was early on a Saturday afternoon. Had this happened sometime during the 9-5 Monday to Friday work week, it would have crippled millions of commuters, and would therefore have been MAJOR news. One can only hope that they found the idiot who left the truck and beat the shit out of him. Just sayin.

Blog Post Soundtrack; The Les Claypool Frog Brigade, Fear Factory, Kyuss, Minor Threat, Monty Python, Louis Prima, Prong, Django Reinhardt, Sepultura, The Bakerton Group (live), Beastie Boys, Budgie, Clutch, The Doors (live), Fear, P.J. Harvey, Hermano, The Misfits (live), The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Scott Reeder, Slipknot, Sly & The Family Stone, Tool, Yawning Man, Woody Allen, Band Of Horses, Björk, Sausage, The International Noise Conspiracy, John Connelly Theory, Korn, Busta Rhymes, Leadbelly, Limp Bizkit (live, covering House Of Pain), Metallica (live), The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Nirvana, Primus, S.O.D. (live, covering Ministry), Slayer, The Stooges, Sublime, System Of A Down, The Ventures (covering Booker T. & The MG's), Beck, The Ramones, Eagles Of Death Metal, Sex Pistols, Brant Bjork, Black Flag, Bo Diddley, James Brown, The Clash, Corrosion Of Conformity, Elvis Costello, Deftones (live)

New York City, October 2010, Part V

In an effort to try and confuse myself even more than life in general normally does, I will now shift gears completely and go back to telling the story of my most recent trip back to the town of my origin, New York City. It's now been 5 months since this journey, but it's still quite vivid and fresh in my mind, thanks to A) it being an absolutely terrific time, B) my previous entries about the trip here on my travelblog, and C) the literally hundreds of pictures I took while there that I refer to when I write these entries. Shall we continue?

When last we left our not-yet-weary travelers, it was Thursday afternoon, October 7, 2010. Having spent most of the morning and early afternoon getting to and exploring The American Museum Of Natural History, we were now slowly meandering south thru Central Park. After we (and the "we" in question would be my Long Island-dwelling Mom and myself), had spent some time enjoying the wonderful views that can be had in and around Bow Bridge, we continued on around the perimeter of The Lake. It was such an absolutely beautiful autumn day that plenty of people were taking the opportunity to rent boats and row out around The Lake, lazily enjoying the warm sun and the cool breeze. Following the path along, it turned west, and we eventually made our way out of Central Park back over by The Dakota, John Lennon's last place of residence. His 70th birthday was the following day, so there were already people in and around the area of the building and the Strawberry Fields area of Central Park celebrating the occasion, singing songs, buying and selling artifacts, exchanging stories, and just generally having a good time.

We made our way down Central Park West to Columbus Circle, the southwest corner of Central Park. We lingered there for a few minutes to take pictures, because it was a beautiful weekday afternoon in one of the busiest areas in one of the busiest cities in the world. Definitely a great time and place for people watching and picture taking. I have this little quirk where whenever I take photograph in New York City, I try to get at least one yellow cab in the picture. It really isn't that difficult to do, but I have found myself occasionally having to wait a couple of seconds for one to enter the shot. Not a problem at this locale at this time of day.

As we started to make our way south down Broadway, I saw something that I'd never seen before...which in NYC, is something that can occur on a daily basis. That's one of the things to love about New York. It's always full of surprises, and something new is a regular occurrence. In this particular instance, it was a woman carrying a small step-ladder. No big deal, you say. To which I would agree. Except that the reason for her carrying the 3-step ladder was simply to afford her different perspectives for taking pictures. This was not ascertained as the reason for her carrying the ladder until she stopped midway across 58th Street, set up her perch, climbed to the top, and proceeded to snap a few pictures of the area. I instantly thought that was a terrific idea. She wasn't an overly tall woman, but by no means was she short either. So it wasn't for height reasons that she was doing this, it was simply to get pictures at what must be a very unique angle. She's dead center in the picture at the beginning of this paragraph, just left of the pedestrian signal. I think it's such a great idea that the next time I go back to New York I'm seriously considering buying a similar ladder and wandering the streets of NYC with it, seeing what kind of interesting shots I can get standing atop it. Even things that I've taken pictures of before will probably look brand new; you'd be surprised at what a big difference a subtle shift in camera angles can make. I'm a big fan of kneeling down and placing the camera on the ground to take shots (an idea I cribbed from artist Dave McKean...again, see the picture accompanying this paragraph). While a difference of maybe only 5 to 6 feet, it makes for a completely different picture from the worm's eye view.

As it was approaching late afternoon in New York, the sun was coming in at more of an extreme angle. What with many of the buildings lining Broadway being encased in glass, the reflected light that rebounds around makes for some interesting effects. I particularly like the way the light has a "shimmering water" look on the brown building on the right in this photo, and I like the way The Dream Hotel has an extra set of "light windows" between its own actual windows in this shot.

Continuing south down Broadway (the only major thoroughfare in Manhattan which actually runs true north-south; all the main avenues run at a northeast to southwest angle, consistent with the way the island actually is), we then made our way past The Ed Sullivan Theater, home of The Late Show With David Letterman for nearly 20 years now. I attended at least 3 tapings there, including one in 1993 a month into his CBS show run...when I missed seeing Bill Hicks live by one day.

Making our way further down Broadway, we eventually stumbled across Times Square. Even in the late afternoon, it's a hub of activity. Currently, if you stand in front of the New York Marriott Marquis (between 45th and 46th Streets), you can look up across the way and see a giant video board showing live pictures of the area of Times Square you are standing in. If you look closely, you can see both my Mom and I taking pictures of ourselves on the board. We're the ones just to the left of the giant woman's top 2 knuckles.

Now that we'd gotten our self-portraits, we then finished making our way back to Penn Station, underneath Madison Square Garden, to take our Long Island RailRoad train back out towards my parent's house. And meeting us at the train station near my folks' house would be a friend that I've known for around 20 years, who would be driving me and Mom the mile back to the house. Upon arriving at the house, I did a quick change, and then hopped back in my buddy's car so we could go hang out for the evening. This man was/is the host of Video Game Night, a weekly occurrence back when I was in my early 20's and the main group of idiots all lived in Queens, one of New York City's 5 boroughs. At one point he had practically every video game system known to man under one roof, and we would gather together at least once a week to play games, watch stupid TV, eat, laugh, joke, have fun, and just enjoy being a group of friends. Obviously, since I moved from New York to Las Vegas (11 years ago this month as of this writing), I don't get to see him very much anymore. So, upon leaving my folks' house, my friend and I started the drive out towards his neighborhood, and talked. And talked. And talked. And then went to a nice little Italian restaurant by his house. And talked. And talked. And talked. And then we made the drive back to my parent's house, and as we did so, we talked. And talked. And talked.

It isn't very often that him and I get a chance to hang out, just the 2 of us, and actually talk. There's always at least one other friend around, usually a whole group, and they've all got families, wives, kids, etc. So it's really nice on the rare occasions when I get to just be with one of my old friends for an extended period of time and actually find out what's really going on in their lives, delve into how they're feeling about things, discuss some of the other mutual friends we have, and just chat about life in general.

All of which finally got me to bed at around 2 in the morning, after starting at about 6AM, with another early wake-up fast approaching, as I had another big day in the city ahead of me...


Blog Post Soundtrack; Pearl Jam (live), The Doors (live), The White Stripes (live), The Misfits (live), The Who, Monty Python (live), Tool, Corrosion Of Conformity, The Black Keys, Blondie, Slayer, Grandmaster Flash (live), Les Claypool Frog Brigade (live, covering a King Crimson song), Howlin' Wolf (live), Bob Dylan, Mozart, The Specials, The Ramones, Björk (live), The Minutemen, Lily Allen, Henry Rollins, Refused, The Strokes, Rage Against The Machine, Nirvana (live), Anthony Jeselnik, System Of A Down, Public Enemy, Alice Cooper, S.O.D. (live), and the New York Rangers going in and defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins

House Cleaning & Baseball Memories

What with working way too much last year, and the Christmas season being nuts for the post office, and then all of my time off recently involving trips somewhere (either short or long), I really have made quite a cluttered mess of my house over the last few months. I have a lot of stuff, so in order to be able to find anything, I have to know exactly where it is. A place for everything, and everything in its place, so to speak. This hasn't been the case lately, and it has bothered me to some degree. I finally have a weekend where I'm not going anywhere; not going to any hockey games, not going to any concerts, nothing involving even leaving the house since getting home from work Saturday afternoon. Aaaaahhhhhh.....

What this means is, I can finally tackle some of the "putting things away" task that I've been sorely neglecting for far too long. For example, in going thru one of many piles of books and papers, I came across all the ticket stubs from my Pacific Northwest vacation that I took with my Mom in March of 2010 (yes, that's nearly a year ago already...I told you it's been far too long since I did this...). Which reminds me, I never wrote THAT trip up on this site...something else to put in the mental rolodex for a future write-up here...

In putting the ticket stubs away in a binder that I have for just such things, I started to look thru the entire binder, which contains ticket stubs from nearly every event I've ever gone to in my life. I'm not talking about movie stubs, but concerts, sporting events, museums, things like that. And all my brain needs is that small piece of paper to trigger a whole series of memories relating to that event. One of the ones that really caught my eye last night was 2 stubs to a New York Mets baseball game from September 18, 1981. It was the second Major League Baseball game I ever went to. I was a couple months past my 10th birthday, and baseball was the biggest thing in my life. That year involved a strike that lasted nearly 2 months, which must have been devastating for me.

The biggest memories those ticket stubs bring up are the weeks of anticipation I had, knowing I was going to an actual game. Even though I lived less than a 10 minute drive from Shea Stadium, going to games just wasn't something my family did. We used to go to my grandmother's house in College Point every Sunday, and on the drive to and from our house in Whitestone, you could see Shea Stadium exactly 2 miles off to the southwest as we drove in the car along 20th Avenue. It seemed like it was an eternity away. I used to wish that Shea Stadium was at the southeast corner of 14th Avenue & 127th Street, because every time we stopped at the light at that 5 corners intersection, it just seemed like the perfect place for the park to be. And then I would be able to experience the sights and smells of the game up close and personal at least once a week. I don't remember exactly when it was official that I would be going to that game in September with my Dad, but I do remember it seemed like FOREVER until that day came...time passes so much more slowly when you're a kid.

The other thing that really struck my mind instantly upon seeing those ticket stubs was the feeling I got when I first walked thru the tunnel out to the field level seating area, and the way I felt when I first was able to lay my eyes on a field of grass that was the greenest green I had ever seen. I'd been watching games on TV for several years at that point already, despite my young age. I was more of a Yankees fan than a Mets fan, but I still rooted for the Mets, and watched every telecast I could. This was back in the days when almost every game would have been on a local non-cable channel (WPIX Channel 11 for the Yankees, and WWOR Channel 9 for the Mets). Those announcers for both teams became like friends for me, seeing as I got to listen to them for endless hours during my childhood years. Phil Rizzuto, Bill White, and Frank Messer for the Yankees, and Ralph Kiner and Bob Murphy for the Mets were voices I heard probably more often than my parents when I was growing up.

However, watching games on TV did nothing to prepare me for actually walking into the seating area and seeing the field laid out before me. I'd been playing little league baseball for a while by this time, and hanging out in local parks playing games, so I was used to dirty and dusty fields, which had grass that seemed fine to me. But it paled in comparison to the vast field of lushness that greeted my eyes. I had been to a Yankee game 3 years earlier (my 7th birthday, matter of fact), but that had been a day game. This game had an 8:05PM start time, so seeing the glow of the artificial lights illuminate the pristine playing surface laid out before me was truly breathtaking. Again, picture this thru the eyes of a baseball-enamored 10 year old boy; I'd pretty much gone to heaven.

I don't really remember anything about the game itself, but that's not the point. The memories I do have from that night and the experience in general are ones that I will treasure forever, and no matter what picture I try to find online of Shea Stadium, nothing will compare with the images on the mental projector that are sparked by those 2 ticket stubs.

Thanks, Dad.


Blog Post Soundtrack; Led Zeppelin, Liz Phair, Black Flag, Traditional Japanese, Refused, AC/DC, The Misfits (live covering Black Flag), Fu Manchu, Pearl Jam (live), Paul Simon, ZZ Top, Nirvana, Monty Python, Deftones, Pantera, The Chenical Brothers, Skeleton Key, Helmet, Desert Sessions, Mr. Bungle, Queens Of The Stone Age (live), Primus (live), Eric Burdon & War

New York City October 2010 Part IV

Since I'm going to the MGM Grand tonight to see Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza here in Las Vegas, I figured I'd take the day off from work. I spent entirely too much time working last year, and I told myself I was going to take more time off this year to A) avoid burning out and B) get out to more shows, events, and road trips. So tonight I'll be seeing basically the 2011 model of the US version of Whose Line Is It Anyway. In addition to Carey, there will also be Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Brad Sherwood, Chip Esten, Jeff Davis, and Kathy Kinney. Other performances feature some different performers, including Greg Proops. These performances (several scattered thru late January and early February) are being filmed, and will start airing on the Game Show Network (GSN) here in the United States beginning March 28. Looking forward to it.

Since I have the day off, I also told myself I'd get some writing done today. I've got so many unfinished stories to put up here, as well as many stand-alone ones, but I like the travelogue format that this seems to have turned into, so for now I believe I will stick with that. Recently I've been recounting my mid-January trip to Florida, but I think I'll change things up and switch back to my early October trip to New York City. When last we left our intrepid traveler, he had just made it to The American Museum Of Natural History, accompanied by his New York-dwelling Mom...


We finally made it into the museum at around 10:30AM, and due to Mom's intelligence and library savvy, we managed to avoid waiting in line to get in, and also were able to get in for free, using passes she had borrowed from her local library. If you live near any kind of big museum, look into your local library to see if they have anything like that. The library near my Mom's house in Long Island offers passes to many of the major museums in New York City. There are limits and restrictions of course, but it is definitely worth investigating if you are at all culturally inclined. Libraries aren't just about books, kids...


As I'd mentioned in Part III of this NYC Trip story (yes, I've linked to it twice in this blog...sue me...), I had been to this particular museum many times as a youngster growing up in New York, either on day trips with my Mom, or as part of a field trip for school. I always enjoyed the place, and it was with a mix of nostalgia and appreciation that we wandered the many cavernous exhibit halls contained within the walls of the mammoth building. One of the nice things about the museum is they don't frown on picture taking as most other museums do. Granted, many of the other museums I go to are art based, and having flashes go off in immediate proximity is detrimental to the condition of the paintings, so I understand, but still, it's nice to be able to take pictures of the exhibits.


It isn't just what's on display at the museum, but how it's presented that always appealed to me. I love dioramas, and I really appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into making the pieces. I love all of the little details, and the perspective that you get by being able to take in an entire scene of whatever era and culture you happen to be looking at. This photo illustrates how a group of Native Americans used to hunt buffalo by herding them into an area where they were froced to fall off a cliff, which seemed rather clever and efficient to me. Why waste time and effort, and potentially injure yourself or lose your life trying to kill one buffalo, when you can relatively risk-free knock off a bunch at once, enabling you to clothe and feed an entire tribe or village for a significant amount of time?


Also in the course of wandering the insanely huge museum, we stumbled across a very familiar looking animal, which answered a question that had been lodged somewhere deep in the dark recesses of what passes for my mind for many years, freeing up some valuable space for other useless information. One of the few happy memories of junior high school that I have is an art class I took in either 8th or 9th grade with a fantastic teacher named Mr. Kelly (and I just pulled out my Jr High Yearbook, and no, it doesn't give his first name...I see a Google search in my future..). One of the projects we did was to do a large pastel drawing of an animal of our choice. I found some interesting one somewhere (remember younglings, this is the dinosaur pre-internet days, so no going home and Googling "interesting animals"...), and did what I thought was a decent piece. No, I have no idea whatever happened to the piece, but I was happy with it at the time...which was not something I could often say at that stage of my life. However, I had also long forgotten the name of the animal, until suddenly there it was right in front of me in the museum...the gemsbok (told you it was an interesting one...).

After over 2 hours of exhibit examining and slow walking, plus the 2 hours we'd spent meandering thru NYC going from Madison Square Garden to get up to the museum, we were a little tired and hungry. Fortunately, the museum has a wonderful cafe located in the basement, filled with excellent food and plenty of variety. Thankfully, the variety included a healthy dose of Italian based choices, so I was going to be happy. Nothing better in the world to me than good Italian cuisine, especially pasta with a nice marinara sauce and some meat to go with it. As many of my friends will attest, I'm simple.


After refueling in the crowded cafe, we made our way back outside into the brilliant sunshine beaming down onto New York on this amazing early autumn day. The temperature was in the low 70's, absolutely perfect for walking and enjoying the sights. This picture was taken just outside the front door of the museum, looking north up Central Park West as we emerged into the daylight. Just over 3 hours had passed since we entered the museum, but since we got an early start on the day, we still had plenty of time before we needed to make our way back out to Yentaville. So seeing as how it was a truly beautiful day, and I don't make it back to New York that often (this was my first trip there in 2 & 1/2 years), and I was having a nice relaxing day hanging out and talking with my Mom, we decided to take a leisurely stroll thru Central Park on our way back downtown. Mom doesn't make the trip into the city too much without me, so it's good for her to get to places in New York she doesn't see too often.


Central Park is one of my favorite places in Manhattan. A true oasis from the concrete jungle that is what most people think of when they picture New York City, this sprawling man-made landscape is the perfect respite from the non-stop chaos this is New York City proper. It is possible to get immersed in it enough to actually forget that you are in the middle of the busiest city in the world. There are places you can get to deep inside it that make the constant din of human and automotive traffic almost disappear. What makes it most interesting though is when you can see the dichotomy of the lushness of Central Park against the backdrop of the striking architecture of New York City. On a stunningly wonderful day such as this, the rich greens of the trees and the deep blues of the skies make for a terrific contrast with the sunlit tans and stone greys of the buildings.


There is some wonderful gothic architecture within the confines of Central Park as well. Bow Bridge (and from researching, I've found it's as in bow-tie, not as is in bow-down...I always wondered about that...) is a perfect example of that. Crossing over the mid-section of The Lake (the middle of the 3 main bodies of water in Central Park, with The Pond to the south and The Reservoir to the north), it is an arch bridge that is beautiful in its style and simplicity; a fantastic example of form and function merging perfectly. And it provides some of the most amazing views of the city on a day such as this. Being me, I chose to put a shot up here of the atypical view (facing southeast), because the view in the other direction, while terrific, is too overused for me to want to post it here.

There is much more to this day's wandering to be discussed and photo-illustrated, so I'll pause the telling of it here for now...



Blog Post Soundtrack; Colonel Claypool's Bucket Of Bernie Brains, Public Enemy, Mondo Generator, Bill Hicks, Pearl Jam, Les Claypool's Frog Brigade (live), Dropkick Murphys, Fun Lovin' Criminals, King Missile, The Mars Volta, The English Beat, Deep Purple (live), Bob Dylan, The Ramones, The Buzzcocks, Parliament, Primus (live, covering Rush), Anthrax, Monty Python, Fear, Goldfinger (covering The Misfits), Björk, The Misfits (live), Ted Nugent, Beck, Hungry For What, Cold War Kids, Metallica (live), Jimi Hendrix, Tchaikovsky, Sublime, Black Sabbath (most of Vol 4, most of Sabotage)

The Unsane Misfits AKA 1,200 People Groaning In Unison

I was watching a DVD of Whose Line Is It Anyway yesterday. It's from the American version of the show, hosted by Drew Carey. I'm a big fan of that show in both its British and American incarnations. Eventually I'll do a blog entry expressing my appreciation for Whose Line in general, although I did one a while ago about Paul Merton. One of the games they played on this DVD I watched involved footage of skateboarders failing miserably, and it reminded me of this event that took place in my past.

Ever since Metallica covered Last Caress and Green Hell back in 1987, and a good friend of mine introduced me to the original versions, I've been a big fan of The
Misfits. The band broke up in 1983, and singer Glenn Danzig continued on with Samhain, then followed up with the eponymously named group Danzig, which afforded him his most commercial success. But in late 1995, 2 of the other members of the old Misfits, brothers Jerry Only and Doyle, formed a new version of The Misfits (pictured here). They started touring, and were initially playing shows only performing the old material with a new drummer and a new singer. Since none of us had been old enough to see the Misfits when they'd first existed, we were thrilled at the chance to see this material performed live, as we'd all become huge fans of the material over the years.

Sometime in 1997 the new Misfits released an album of new material, and toured to promote it. They came to Irving Plaza in New York City on Friday, June 20, 1997, and myself and I believe at least 2, maybe 3 other friends went to the show. The venue holds roughly 1,200 people, and it was pretty packed this evening. After the opening act was done (and I have no idea who that might have been that night), a video screen came down, and music clips were shown while the stage was being set for The Misfits. Song after song came on, with some horror film clips shown as well, generating mild interest from the crowd. Then, something changed...


A video clip came on with a pretty agressive song by a band called Unsane. I'd never heard of them before, but the music sounded pretty good. But what I, and all of the other 1,200 people in the room found intensely compelling was the video clip that accompanied the song. This was the official video released by the band, and it consisted of very brief clips of them playing, and 95% clips of anonymous skateboarders that had been filmed failing at performing tricks in spectacular fashion.

While that alone is interesting enough to watch, what made it even more entertaining was the fact that you had 1,200 people packed in a tight space...all watching the same thing. When you see someone attempting a skateboard trick and fail, and witness the inevitable crushing contact of groin and handrail, you instinctively let out a graon, even though you are just a witness to the action. It's funny stuff to watch, because it's not happening to you. But when you have 1,200 people all groaning and moaning in unison, it starts to take on a life of its own. The pauses were spaced perfectly, and whoever compiled and edited the clips for the band Unsane should be commended for his brilliant comedic timing. There was always a couple seconds in between harsh, awkward impacts with pavement; just enough time to capture your breath from the last moan to visually absorb what was happening in the next clip, and verbally sympathize with the next poor soul who met his painful fate. The volume of the crowd ooohing with each epic failure increased as the song progressed, and became almost as funny as the clips themselves. It was the perfect set-up for that evening's main entertainment.

I eventually was able to get a copy of that video, and of course now, with YouTube, it's instantly accessible, and still hilarious and very entertaining to watch...but nothing will ever top that first viewing with 1,200 of my closest friends on a hot and sweaty New York summer night.


Blog Post Soundtrack; Iron Maiden (live), Jimi Hendrix, Primus, The Police (live), Rush, The Bakerton Group, The Misfits (surprise...), Judas Priest, Pearl Jam (live), Queens Of The Stone Age (live), Pink Floyd, MC5, Rollins Band, Soundgarden, Black Sabbath...and, oh yeah, Unsane...

OK, Where Was I... (NYC Trip Part III)

When last we were discussing the not-so-recent-anymore trip I took back to New York City (I was born and grew up there; lived in Queens, just east of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and just south of Da Bronx, until I was 25), I had covered my day spent at Old Westbury Gardens on Long Island, just 15 minutes or so southeast of my parents home. As much as I enjoyed the peaceful day of tranquility, it was time to get back into the running around portion of the vacation (which was about 90% of it...nuts, but I loved every minute...). And I certainly hit the ground running on this day, and didn't stop for quite some time.

This was Thursday, October 7, 2010, for those interested in keeping track of times
and dates and things like that (which would be me...). Mom and I were heading into Manhattan this day, with the ultimate destination (a phrase that would drive George Carlin nuts) being the American Museum Of Natural History. Located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, it's front door overlooks Central Park at about 79th Street. This is the institution that was featured in the film Night At The Museum with Ben Stiller and Robin Williams, which actually was pretty decent (and I don't often say that about recent major Hollywood productions). However, that was not my reason for going there this time around.


I have very fond memories of going to that museum many times as a youngster, either on day trips to Manhattan with my Mom, or on class trips for school. Certain things are vividly imbedded in the mental rolodex, such as the giant blue whale on the lower level, the dinosaurs throughout the museum, and of course the immense and amazingly beautiful building itself. But as I say, this was the ultimate destination...the getting there was going to be half the fun...

My Mom, now in her mid 60's (not sure how this is possible, for, as we all know, no woman on the planet is over the age of 29), is not one for doing trips to Manhattan on her own. She'll go in occasionally as part of a bus trip with a local ladies' association, or with a friend from her volunteer work, but that happens maybe 3 or 4 times a year, and they have specific destinations to get to, and a bit of a rigid time schedule, which doesn't allow for much in the way of meandering and sightseeing. Since I hadn't been back to New York in about 2 and a half years at this point (and I'm really not sure when I'll be making it there again), I wanted to wander and absorb the fun of just being in Manhattan. And since I'm familiar with many more areas of it then Mom, she was looking forward to being toured thru sections of it unfamiliar to her.

Since she lives in Yentaville (my "loving" way of referring to Long Island), we had to take the Long Island RailRoad (LIRR) in. It's a pleasant roughly 45 minute train ride from my folks' house, taking you thru some of the more interesting areas of Long Island and Queens (do you know anyone who lives RIGHT NEXT TO the train tracks and has a REALLY NICE house?). The LIRR, if you're not on your way to the daily grind of work, is almost like getting a little tour of the suburbs of NYC. It's a very vital part of the commuting line of NYC, as many work-a-day people spend a couple hours each day getting to and from their chosen profession via it. When you're doing the same trip every day, it just becomes a place to read, have breakfast, sleep, catch up on e-mail or whatever, but when you're just visiting, it's a nice train ride.

The LIRR lets you out at Penn Station, located underneath Madison Square Garden, and just a couple blocks west of the Empire State Building. And, as a special treat for me, seeing as how I've been a mailman for over 15 years now, directly across 8th
Avenue from the Garden (the side we chose to emerge from) is THE main branch of the United States Postal Service. On vacation, and I STILL can't get away from it...Kidding aside, it is a magnificent building to behold, even amongst the many that Manhattan has to offer. The building occupies an entire city block...the real estate alone is worth untold millions of dollars, and the building that sits upon it, regardless of what it's for, is a priceless gem as well. The mammoth pillars that line the front are almost awe inspiring. 20 of them, each about 60 feet high and roughly 7 or 8 feet wide. And up above, running the entire length of the building, is the motto of the USPS; "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

As a roundabout way of getting to the museum (remember, the front door is about 79th Street, and we emerged from the LIRR at 34th...20 NYC blocks is 1 mile, and we were gonna walk the whole thing...and not in a straight line, either), we were going to head over to the West Side, uncharted territory for the female parental unit. We turned north upon hitting the southern edge of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, which would play a major role in the upcoming weekend portion of my
vacation. Continuing north up 11th Avenue, we turned left on 41st Street, and stumbled upon one of the cooler playgrounds I've ever seen in my life. The slide you see pictured here is a functional piece of artwork called Playground by an artist named Tom Otterness. It made me want to be a kid again, as it was vastly superior to the slides I had in growing up in my neighborhood in Queens. I don't know if those kids will someday realize just how lucky they are, or how good they have it...I hope so.


Wandering thru the playground, we then made it over to the West Side Highway (which officially now has the designation of the Joe DiMaggio Highway, but it'll always be the West Side Highway to me and millions of other New Yorkers), hitting it just south of the Intrepid Sea, Air And Space Museum. Another museum that I've been to several times (again, school trips, and most recently in 2005 when I played tour guide for a now retired co-worker and his wife...and seeing as how he is an actual Vietnam Veteran, the Intrepid visit was an emotional experience for him), it's very unique as the museum is the actual aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, used during World War II. While we weren't going there this day, just seeing it from the street is still something special.


We now turned back right at 51st Street, and made our way over to 9th Avenue, directly in the heart of Hell's Kitchen. In the 1970's and early 1980's, you wouldn't be caught dead in Hell's Kitchen...well, actually, if you WERE caught there, odds are you WOULD be dead. But it underwent a major revival, and is now a very trendy, upscale place to live. It also has lots of funky looking buildings in it, and is almost the embodiment of what Manhattan dwelling looks like. We just slowly but steadily made our way uptown, enjoying Manhattan on an absolutely beautiful sunlit day. Nothing else like it.


Eventually we decided to take a break, grabbed a snack and a drink, and sat in Dante Park, right across from Lincoln Center. While Mom sat and watched the world go by, I went across the street and took a few pictures of the fountain in front of the Metropolitan Opera House, always a good photo subject. It was now 10AM, and we'd emerged from the depths of Penn Station at about 8:30. We'd already walked (in a bit of a zig-zag fashion) probably 2 miles in NYC, plus a mile early in the AM to get to the LIRR station from the folks' house. We knew we had much museum walking to do, and still another slightly more than half-a-mile to go to get there, so we figured we'd best get a move on.


Traversing up Central Park West was the quickest, and most interesting, way to complete the rest of the journey to the museum. Surrounded by the beautiful park on the right and stunning architecture on the left, plus the hustle and bustle of the sidewalks and Central Park West (8th Avenue), you can't get any more New York than this. I was grinning ear to ear doing nothing but walking, talking with my Mom, and taking pictures.


One of the beautiful buildings we passed on the way was The Dakota, the apartment complex that John Lennon lived in when he was murdered. Seeing as it was October 7, 2010, what would have been his 70th birthday was only 2 days away, so there were even more people than there normally would be congreating around the building, as well as at Strawberry Fields in the park right across the street. I've never been the biggest Lennon fan in the world, but I can appreciate his talent, and certainly the impact that he had on countless millions of people around the world.

Look how long this entry is, and we're only just getting to the museum now. To be continued...



Blog Post Soundtrack; Pearl Jam (live), Queens Of The Stone Age (live), Prong, The Raconteurs, The Crystal Method, The Who, James Brown, Anthrax, Pantera, Mike Patton, Orange Goblin, Suicidal Tendencies, Portishead, Muddy Waters, Johann Strauss, Björk, Black Sabbath, John Lee Hooker, Faith No More (covering The Dead Kennedys), Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rollins Band, Black Flag, Fu Manchu, New York Dolls (kind of appropriate, huh?), Kyuss, Foo Fighters, Eddie Izzard, Bill Cosby, Helmet, John Frusciante, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica (live with Cliff), Audioslave, White Zombie, Vangelis, George Carlin