travel

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

December 12, 2015 — 19 Comments

nyc christmas tree

F/3.5, 1/15, ISO 500.

Day 346 / 365

A guy bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas.
After hearing about this extravagant gift, a friend of his said, “I thought she wanted one of those sporty four-wheel-drive vehicles.”
“She did,” he replied. “But where was I going to find a fake Jeep?”

Interesting Fact: Although the official Christmas tree tradition at Rockefeller Center began in 1933 (the year 30 Rockefeller Plaza opened), the unofficial tradition began during the Depression-era construction of Rockefeller Center, when workers decorated a smaller 20 feet (6.1 m) balsam fir tree with “strings of cranberries, garlands of paper, and even a few tin cans” on Christmas Eve (December 24, 1931), as recounted by Daniel Okrent in his history of Rockefeller Center.[10] One claim is the tree had some gum wrappers and detonator blasting caps as decorations. There was no Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in 1932. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_Center_Christmas_Tree#History )

 

Let There Be Lights!

December 11, 2015 — 15 Comments

Christmas lights Skyline

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Day 345 / 365

Little Mikey had a cussing problem and his father was getting tired of it. He decided to ask his friend what to do. The friend said, “Since Christmas is coming up, you should ask Mikey what he wants Santa to bring him. If he cusses while he tells you his wish list, leave a pile of dog poop in place of the gift or gifts he requests.” Two days before Christmas, Mikey’s father asked him what he wanted for Christmas.
“I want a damn teddy-bear laying right beside me when I wake up. When I go downstairs I want to see a damn train going around the damn tree. And when I go outside I want to see a damn bike leaning against the damn garage.”
Christmas morning, Little Mikey woke up and rolled over into a pile of dog poop. Confused, he walked down stairs and saw another pile under the tree. Scratching his head, he walked outside and saw a huge pile of dog poop by the garage.
When Mikey walked back inside with a curious look on his face, his dad smiled and asked, “What did Santa bring you this year?”
Mikey replied, “I think I got a dog, but I can’t find the son-of-a-bitch!”

Interesting Fact: The illuminated Christmas tree became established in the United Kingdom during Queen Victoria’s reign, and through emigration spread to North America and Australia. In her journal for Christmas Eve 1832, the delighted 13-year-old princess wrote, “After dinner.. we then went into the drawing-room near the dining-room. There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents being placed round the trees”.[7] Until the availability of inexpensive electrical power in the early twentieth century, miniature candles were commonly (and in some cultures still are) used. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_lights#History )

I Think I’m On The Right Track

November 16, 2015 — 15 Comments

Light Rail

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Day 320 / 365

What do you call a train that eats toffee?

A chew, chew train.

Interesting Fact: The system began operating its first segment in April 2000, expanded in phases during the next decade, and was completed with the opening of its southern terminus on January 31, 2011. The line generally runs parallel to the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay, while its northern end and its western branch travel through the lower Hudson Palisades. HBLR has twenty-four stations along a total track length of just over 34 miles (55 km) and serves over 54,000 weekday passengers.[1] There are plans for expansion through extensions and additional stations. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%E2%80%93Bergen_Light_Rail#Historical_overview )

I Don’t Think Anyone Will Row Row Row That Boat Gently Down The Stream

November 12, 2015 — 26 Comments

Binghamton ferry

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Day 316 / 365

What do you do with a sick boat?

Take it to the DOC!

Interesting Fact:

Binghamton was one of six identical screw-propelled double-ended ferryboats built by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry-dock Company at Newport News, Virginia in 1904-05 to designs by Gardner & Cox, naval architects. She was launched on February 20, 1905, with Miss Charlotte Emery, daughter of John M. Emery, the newly promoted superintendent of the Hoboken Ferry Company and Ferry Department of the DL&W, serving as her sponsor. Binghamton was completed a month later and left the Newport News yard on March 25 for the trip to Hoboken, New Jersey. She was placed in commission on April 3. Her Captain for the first crossing was Oren D. Relyea.

Her normal run was from the Hoboken Terminal to Barclay Street, a twelve-minute journey of approximately 1 and 3/4 miles, a trip made continuously nearly every day for more than sixty years (on occasion she substituted on the Hoboken – 23rd Street run). ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binghamton_(ferryboat) )

 

 

New York, Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of There’s Nothin’ You Can’t Do Now You’re In New York

November 6, 2015 — 19 Comments

Empire State Building

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Day 310 / 365

Two men are sitting drinking at a bar at the top of the Empire State
Building when the first man turns to the other and says, “You know,
last week I discovered that if you jump from the top of this building,
by the time you fall to the 10th floor, the winds around the building
are so intense that they carry you around the building and back into
the window.”

The bartender just shakes his head in disapproval while wiping the
bar.

The second guy says, “What are you a nut? There is no way that could
happen.” “No, it’s true,” said the first man, let me prove it to you.”
He gets up from the bar, jumps over the balcony, and plummets to the
street below. When he passes the 10th floor, the high wind whips him
around the building and back into the 10th floor window and he takes
the elevator back up to the bar. He met the second man, who looked
quite astonished. “You know, I saw that with my own eyes, but that
must have been a one time fluke.”

“No, I’ll prove it again,” says the first man as he jumps. Again just
as he is hurling toward the street, the 10th floor wind gently carries
him around the building and into the window.

Once upstairs he urges his fellow drinker to try it. “Well, what the
hey,” the second guy says, “it works, I’ll try it!” He jumps over the
balcony plunges downward, passes the 11th, 10th, 9th, 8th floors
…and hits the sidewalk with a ‘splat.’ Back upstairs the Bartender
turns to the other drinker, saying “You know, Superman, sometimes you
can be a real jerk.”

Interesting Fact: On July 28, 1945, a B-25 bomber that was lost in fog slammed into Empire State Building north wall of the 78th and 79th floors. Fourteen people were killed (it was a Saturday, so many offices were empty). Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver survived a plunge of 75 stories inside an elevator, the Guinness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall recorded. There was no important structural damage to the building, which opened for business on the following Monday. ( https://www.walksofnewyork.com/blog/empire-state-building-facts )

Dear Autumn, I Am Not Ready For What Comes Next

November 3, 2015 — 59 Comments

autumn night

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Day 307 / 365

A couple goes to an art gallery. They find a picture of a naked women with only her privates covered with leaves.
The wife doesn’t like it and moves on but the husband keeps looking.
The wife asks: “What are you waiting for?”
The husband replies: “Autumn.”

Interesting Fact: As winter approaches, leaves make a coating for themselves which blocks their water source; in the absence of water, the leaves no longer produce chlorophyll (chlorophyll is what makes leaves green). ( http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/learn-about-the-weather/how-weather-works/autumn-facts )

We Remember!

September 11, 2015 — 2 Comments

September 11

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Day 254 / 365

God Bless all who lost their Lives. We Will Never Forget 9/11.

Interesting Fact:  September 11 is now remembered as Patriot Day in the US in memory of those killed. ( http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/top10facts/509590/Top-10-facts-about-9-11 )

Let The Spectacular Begin.

July 25, 2015 — 14 Comments

Radio City

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Day 206 / 365

“Here in New York City they are converting telephone booths into Wi-Fi hot spots. Because we have very few phone booths left, Clark Kent — Superman — has to use the men’s room at Starbucks.” –David Letterman

Interesting Fact: Its originally planned name was International Music Hall.[3] The names “Radio City” and “Radio City Music Hall” derive from one of the complex’s first tenants, the Radio Corporation of America. Radio City Music Hall was a project of Rockefeller; Samuel Roxy Rothafel, who previously opened the Roxy Theatre in 1927; and RCA chairman David Sarnoff. RCA had developed numerous studios for NBC at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, just to the south of the Music Hall, and the radio-TV complex that lent the Music Hall its name is still known as the NBC Radio City Studios.  ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_City_Music_Hall#History )

Let’s Make Life More Colorful!

July 2, 2015 — 6 Comments

Graffiti 1

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Day 183 / 365

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, yet the guy at the gallery wouldn’t trade me that painting for my newspaper.

DEMOLITION EXHIBITION : 100 Artists, 30,000 Square Ft of Graffiti, 12:00pm to 8:00pm Till July 4.

410 Marin Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07302

Interesting Fact: The Longest Graffiti Scroll was created in Pakistan on the 3rd March 2012 and it measured 1,924 metres in length, and took 274 people to complete. This is an official record and can be found in the Guinness World Record .

Keep The Art Alive!

July 1, 2015 — 16 Comments

Demolition Exhibition

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Day 182 / 365

The best way to tell if a modern painting is finished is to touch it. If the paint is dry, it is.

DEMOLITION EXHIBITION : 100 Artists, 30,000 Square Ft of Graffiti, 12:00pm to 8:00pm Till July 4.

410 Marin Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07302

Interesting Fact: Green Villain is a small group of social entrepreneurs and creatives that in the past few years have developed a diverse portfolio of projects and partnerships. Our regional mural program encompasses 22 sites across Jersey City, New York City, Brooklyn and Paterson and is accessible to the world through Google’s Cultural Institute. Monthly party and vinyl imprint, Green Village, is the by product of 5 years of producing DIY parties around the greater North East.  In addition to our creative ventures, we offer expertise in event production, creative consulting and project management. Our primary focus is build brand recognition by balancing between an artistic vision and serviceable platform. ( http://www.g.reenvillain.com/about/ )