www.flickr.com
Balloons "On Line"
Thanksgiving Eve
Originally uploaded by crazypete04.One night a year, the streets around the Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side of Manhattan become the site of the Thanksgiving Eve activities. In preparation for the following morning's parade, balloons are inflated and tied down overnight until the they're let loose down Central Park West.
And in true New York fashion, you can wait in line, I mean "on line", with thousands of other people to catch a preview of what will be floating down the parade route for everyone to see. Luckily, since I live just down the street, I managed to sneak out in the middle of the night to snap this shot.
365 Days Left of My Twenties
In the spirit of the day, I figure it's good to have some perspective:
Things that are older than me:
- Apple Computer - April 1, 1976
- Sen. Bob Dole's long-standing attempt to get to the White House - 1976 (as Gerald Ford's running mate)
- Charlie's Angels - Sept. 22, 1976
Things that are younger than me:
- The NBA 3-point line - 1979
- The Rubik's Cube - 1980
- Post-its - 1980
Voted Off the Island
Having spent much of the last month in Malaysia and the Philippines where an overwhelming majority of the populations are Muslim or Catholic, respectively, I was once again in awe of the way in which religious doctrine seemed to dictate the way that thousand of people acted towards one another. It was very much the "Do unto others" attitude that you wish you would see more of here in New York.
Of course, then there's the flip side of that. Yesterday, on "The 700 Club," Pat Robertson commented on the elections in Dover, Pennsylvania earlier this week in which several school board members who pushed for the teaching of "intelligent design" lost their seats.
"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city."..."And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for His help because he might not be there."
When did God become a reality show contestant and will he be doing the obligatory talk show circuit after being voted off?
J-E-L-L-O
I didn't quite get Elizabeth Hickok's "San Francisco in Jell-O" series. Was it food art? Was it a photography exhibit? It wasn't until I watched the
1-minute video clip that I realized the seismological genius of it all.
Lunch at the Volcano
Overlooking Lake Taal and Taal Volcano
Originally uploaded by crazypete04.
Just returned from my side-trip to the Philippines. All in all, it was a great trip albeit a short one. With the help of some friends of friends who graciously spent some to all of their long holiday weekend showing me around, I squeezed in a lot in my 3 days there.
However, I also added a few things to the list of "to-do's" in Manila:
- Dirty ice cream
- Local music scene
- Mass in the mall
- Ayala Museum (and the highly recommended cafe inside)
- $2 movies with La-Z-Boys
There's more to that list but the point is that I think I've added more things to my list than were there before my trip. I guess that's the sign of a good vacation.
