supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

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Our girl Mary finally gets some well deserved help from the NYPD to handle those two little rascals. Chim chim cher-ee!!


For those of you who want to refesh their memory, here is the trailer of Mary Poppins: enjoy!

stardom is not what it used to be

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I used to like this little guy. But imagine my surprise when I found him at lunch time today. In Times Square. In front of Loft, a women clothes store.
I imagine from here that the boy must be stopping passers-by, trying to raise money to go back home to Orlando. I am not sure if this is really what's going on here. We did not chat. See, I tend to stay away from mice, especially if they are wearing a Michael Jackson jacket and crazy pants.

NB: for real stardom, head to Seguin DP.

holiday bus stop

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You'd better walk. Just saying.

a slice of Zabar's

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We stay in my 'hood, the Upper West Side, and I am taking you to Zabar's. It is an institution. Really.
It is one of those rare family business that have such a long history and is quintessentially New York. You can read all about it here.
And for those of you who enjoyed the movie "You've got mail" with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, one of the scene took place here. Well, not here. At the "cash only" checkout line, on a Thanksgiving day.

Our friend Lori showed you the cold cuts and prepared meals section. I am taking you to the smoked fish counter, my favorite.
Why? Well, for one, this is what they are more known for (smoked salmon, caviar but also numerous varieties of olives and cheeses. And of course coffee, freshly grounded on the premises).
And second, I find it fascinating to watch these guys slicing the smoked salmon at the counter. Paper thin slices, of course. Of course.

stoops in a row

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This is why I love the Upper West Side!

NB: for a much better picture of the same idea, check this. Isn't this just wonderful?

yellow blanket

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One day we had a yellow ginko biloba. The next, cars with a blanket of leaves.

NB: sorry if I haven't commented in any blogs for the past few days. I just caught up today and will continue to do so in the coming days. Hope everybody had a relaxing Thanksgiving break.

pikachu!

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And we end this series with this horrible news: they captured Pikachu!

and then a sea of santas showed up

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Little Santas waiting for their shining moment, on the steps of the Museum of Natural History in the Upper West Side.

dora and her little friends

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A baseball ball. A football ball. A snowman. And a very green chatty frog.

shrek the great

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This was taken this morning, before the parade started. The day before, the giant balloons are "parked" on W81st Street, in front of the Museum of Natural History and a couple of blocks down. I went to see them last year for the first time. It's a little bit of a chaos: tons of people, most cross streets blocked to direct the crowd to two specific cross points, tons of trollers, ... you get the idea.

This year, I decided to go a little earlier and take pictures. I had terrific pictures folks. Which I stupidly erased by accident. Ah well...

As I live a few blocks away from the "parking area", I was woken up this morning by the helicopters. Which, I am kind of used to now: anytime there is an event (the marathon, a race in Central Park, ...), helicopters are flying above for traffic and television purposes. A good alarm clock. So I jumped out of bed and went to see them in their parking place. It was so nice to see how the crews are organized, how they coordinate every move and to finally see those giant balloons go.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day. Mine was pretty nice. I made the cake. :) We'll see tomorrow if everybody survived.

we've got you covered!

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If you're planning to come for the Thanksgiving Parade or to see the ball drop for the New Year, the Big Apple is ready to welcome you. I saw a lot of animation and preparations today. Police fences being placed along the parade route. Policemen, emergency management officers and Macy's staff taking notes along the route. Workers checking the missing lights of Times Square. And, most importantly, the Charmin restrooms are there! The party can start!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, folks!

conjoined

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The other day, I was visiting a client in the Flatiron district (midtown south) and was mesmerized by this sculpture. I had to make a quick detour to immortalize it. You might have to click on it to see the right tree in its entirety.
This stainless steel piece is titled "Conjoined" and is by New York artist Roxy Paine. It is currently on view in Madison Square Garden until 31-Dec-2007, together with other of his works.
"Conjoined is a 40 ft tall by 45 ft wide sculpture of two trees whose branches cantilever in space and connect in mid air. Paine creates two different fictional tree species where each branch from one tree joins with a branch from the other. For the observer, it is unclear where one tree begins and the other ends." -source: wikipedia.org

feed the pig

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Save your money and one day it'll return the favor.
Ah money... to spend it or to save it, that is the question.
I found this philosophical add on a phone booth a few months ago. And thought it was the perfect time to post it: before black Friday, before the craziness of the holidays, before we start working on all those wish lists, ...
This campaign is sponsored by The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The bottom of the add sends you to feedthepig.org, an entertaining website to entice us to save our precious dollars. It is full of interesting facts and tips but also videos, calculators, ... I recommend the click. You'll be greeted by Benjamin Bankes, the only pig I know who wears a white tuxedo so well. And of course, you can befriend Benjamin Bankes on MySpace. Of course.

getting ready for the big show

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Ah, the holiday windows... Well, a little bit of patience folks: department stores across Manhattan are busy puting the final touch to the holiday displays. Like here at Bloomingdale's where the window dresser is fighting with that little white coat. If you thought playing doll was easy, think again. And this little fellow, here below in the big brown bag, will end up somewhere in the third window. Maybe we'll find out later.

Let me warn you right away: I intend to be a good guide and bring you window shopping with me as much as I can, from now till probably the end of the year. So put your walking shoes on!

Bloomindale's
59th Street & Lexington Avenue
1000 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022
PH: 212-705-2000

er... happy new year!

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Yes folks, the new year's eve ball is currently on display at Macy's Herald Square through December 10th.
Why, you ask? Well, it's a "new" new year's eve ball that will starts its descent from the pole of One Times Square at 11:59 p.m on the 31st of December. A brand new ball to mark the 100th birthday of the new year’s eve ball!
"It was in 1907 that the new year's eve ball made its maiden descent from the flagpole atop One Times Square. This original ball, constructed of iron and wood and adorned with 100 25-watt light bulbs, was 5 feet in diameter." , I learned from timessquarenyc.org. I highly recommend the click if you want to learn all about the new year's eve ball history.

how to manoeuvre your cruise ship in 5 easy steps

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• one (1):

• two (2):

• three (3):

• four (4):

• and five (5):

Now you know. Bon voyage!

shadow play

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This picture was taken a few weeks ago around lunch time. A colleague had shown me a famous National Geographic picture of camels in the desert. So when I saw this scene the very next day, I had to immortalize it.
What's so special about it? Let me help you: focus on the people in the street, but more specifically on their shadows. When you look at the people from such a height, they are stripped off all their details. While here, their shadows are actually very precise and give you a much better idea of the individuals. Amazing, no?

misty river

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Boston may have Mystic River but this morning in Manhattan the Hudson River had definitely turned into Misty River. Something about the difference between the water and air temperatures. Don't ask me, I have no clue.

NB: sorry about the pic issue! I uploaded two very similar photos, then decided to delete one of them. The wrong one of course. Ah well, that'll teach me.

green, white and red

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The Empire State Building is wearing its green-white-and-red costume today. Why? To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Radio City's Christmas Spectacular, of course! You know... the Rockettes, Santa Claus and his reindeers, the little soldiers, i tutti quanti.

can you hear me now?

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These phonebooths on 6th Ave. and 30ish are temporarily dug-up, while construction is taking place on the sidewalk.
Allo? Allo??

pale male and lola's appartment

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What are those people looking at? Like you, I was wondering. So I asked. And found out.
This is the spot:

And this is, er... pale male? ... or, er... lola? Ah well, one of them.

Now, let me tell you a bit more about the most famous couple of the Upper West Side. About two years ago, Pale Male and Lola had to find new living arrangements. Their nest was removed from the Fifth Avenue apartment building it had occupied for 11 years (read about it here). They have now been the happy residents of the Beresford at 211 Central Park West for over a year (read about it here).

NB: for much better pictures of these celebs and their sojourn, head to the following blogs:
• http://palemale.com
• http://urbanhawks.blogs.com

autumn in New York ... lalala lala la laa...

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Autumn in new york
Why does it seem so inviting
Autumn in new york
It spells the thrill of first-nighting

Glittering crowds and shimmering clouds
In canyons of steel
Theyre making me feel - Im home

[lalala lala la laa...]

Its autumn in new york
Its good to live it again

For the compete lyrics, head here; http://www.lyricsfreak.com

playing xiangqi on Central Park East

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art occupies several city blocks on Central Park East - grosso modo from 81st to 86th. Street vendors sell souvenirs and artwork on E81st and E82nd which run along Central Park.

Those two guys caught my eye. While one of their colleague keeps the Chinese calligraphy booth, they play xiangqi (Chinese chess), on a plastic cooler. Crafty!

Three hours later, I was surprised to see that they were still playing!