New York Sights & Scenes

9-11-2001: Ten Years Gone, Let’s Remember, Reflect, & Respect Forever

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Is it ten years already?

Yes I suppose it has been that long and yet for many people it seems like only yesterday when the horrible attacks took place on US Soil.  For those who lived it, it became the modern version of “where were you when JFK got shot” as the world continually would ask “where were you on 9-11-2001?”.  On the day of the attacks I was a temporary consultant working with a small advertising agency and I came up from the subway to find my fellow citizens all facing downtown staring.  It was like out of a movie as all were still and no one really knew what was going on.  We all soon learned and it was an event that I never want to experience again.  As the anniversary came to pass I wanted to share some photographic memories that I found while going through folders.  The first few images are from the streets as I looked up at the now absent Twin Towers.  They were shot in March of 2000 and were done to share with some new out of state and country friends who were very anxious to enjoy NYC and its wonders.

The World Trade Center

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Features, Observations

Flight Of The Dragonfly

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I’m not embarrassed to admit that I visit my family every Sunday so we can have lunch together as they are right here in the neighborhood in while I live. While I am there I also try to get a little laundry done since it lets me relax and not worry about doing that when I could be out doing some photography or writing instead. With the summer still on but moving to an eventual close, the ability to hang the clothes on the outside line is there and I always love doing that instead of tossing stuff into the dryer (especially all those black band shirts that I sport). Anyways, continuing on. Last week while hanging the clothes I had some company in the form of a decent sized dragonfly. If I moved one place he flew right near me.

I decided to pull out my little Sony Cybershot camera which I wear like a sidearm. In most cases around the scenic life of NYC it does the trick rather well, but it would be a test to see how it worked on something as small and fast moving as this little fellow.

 

I only snapped a little under a handful of images of him and from a couple of feet away to not frighten him off. He seemed happy hanging around on the clothes line or one of the clothespins so I wanted to leave him be. The day was super sunny so it was a little tricky getting a good visual in the LCD screen but I was happy with what I ended up with for these purposes.

 

My good friend and fellow Blogger Beehivehairdresser does this kind of thing all the time as he serves up images and views on his eponymous site, and I admitted that I took a page from his book when I wanted to see just how good or okay I could capture some of nature’s wonders.

I’d like to try more visuals like this as I feel they work well within the context of the garden shots we have presented for your enjoyment, and perhaps next time I will use the Panasonic Lumix or get the super zoom lens on the Canon SLR to see what we land. I thanked my little friend for his participation and headed inside for some eats.

Take time to make note of the things going on around you. There is some really cool stuff out there.

Features, Food and Drink

When Good Things Go Bye Bye: The Pizza Coupons >:0

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OK I am pissed. Why you might ask? Well let me tell you what happened and its all because of these little clip out coupons that one normally finds on the boxes for the Nino’s pizzeria in Bay Ridge. For as long as I can remember in terms of a healthy amount of recent years, this particular pizzeria offered you the means to get a free large pizza pie after collecting 10 of the coupons that you would find stamped on the pizza box. Here’s a visual of a single one for reference.

Over the last couple of years you seemed to need about twelve of the coupons but that was easy to attain if you invited some friends over for a sporting event and some beers.  Totally pizza munching kind of things let you stock up on the coupons a little faster but with the last pizza I ordered I noticed that there was no coupon on the box.  I thought it was a mistake but then Mom and Dad told me that they didn’t notice one either when they last ordered pizza for themselves.  At this point I had a decent amount of the coupons stocked up and I felt I was very close to a free pie which would be wisely used on a night of blogging about some of my recent adventures in music or just conventional photographic discoveries.

So while out on some errands I popped in and spoke to one of the managers who said “Oh no, we are not doing that anymore since it got out of hand”.  Apparently some idiots figured out a way to clone these coupons and were ordering free pie after free pie.  Rather than dealing with the likes of that, the management of Nino’s Pizza decided to simply end the coupons.  The economy has been rough on everyone lately and I had to admit that losing something that was a nice treat every once in awhile downright sucked.  Fortunately my frequent patronage of the establishment found me able to use these last ones and as I handed over the stack I felt a little sad.

Below are the final fruits of my collecting the coupons from Nino’s.  I really hope that they choose to rethink the process as its not fair that the real and loyal customers have to suffer because of some idiots.  I guess my Dad saying “there is always one who can ruin it for everyone” is true.  Man I hate when he is right sometimes 🙂  I mean look at that slice below, isn’t it awesome?  Just think of how much more awesome it becomes when you sometimes get one for free.  Sigh.

While I am not going to stop hitting this particular pizzeria in the neighborhood based on it’s being so damned good, I do curse the schemers and scammers who have killed my occasional reward of a free pie for my continual business.  I hope you idiots choke on something really soon.  Thanks for effing up a really nice thing that was looked forward to a couple of times a year.  You’re kind always seems to find a way to do that.  Fucktards.

New York Sights & Scenes

A Visit To Federal Hall National Memorial in NYC (6/8/2011)

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So I realize that I sat on these images since taking them a few months ago and for that I apologize because one of my core aims with this blog is to spark your interest in what I see and find myself involved in. My hope is that the images and thoughts spark your desire to go to see this stuff for yourself. I had taken these shots when I was walking around with my musician friend The Muff from the Finnish band Naked. We were doing a city wander and needed to be near this historical site for a meeting he was doing. I couldn’t recall the last time I had ventured inside the Federal Hall National Memorial and that made me walk inside to take some photos for my own use and your enjoyment.

federal hall national memorial

This site is most famous for being the place where George Washington was inaugurated into the office of President of the United States. Since he was our very first President this was a very, very big deal. They also introduced the Bill Of Rights to Congress on this location. I’ll keep the discussion light because there is a Wiki link at the close that you can learn all the more from. Here we go.

federal hall national memorial
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Feline Friends, Lifestyle

Goodnight “Friday” The Cat (8/22/2011)

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Goodbye “Friday”.

Today was a bummer of a day as my folks had to put down one of the family cats. Her name was Friday because we because we rescued her on that day of the week almost 18 years ago in the dead of winter. She literally ran up to us while on the way home from a dinner out together and Mom insisted on bringing her home since she seemed to be personable and hungry. I felt that she was a lucky cat for chancing upon us that night since it dropped incredibly in temperature and even snowed a bit not long after we were home.

When we got her home and safe from the coming snowstorm and filled her ravenous appetite we made some calls and within days had put up some signs asking if this obviously used to a house cat had escaped someones home. We quickly learned from someone that another neighbor near us had thrown her out of the house at least two times in the recent past and from there we decided she would remain in our household. Can you imagine that kind of person? What an ass clown.

These two photos were taken very late in her life but its nice to have them just the same. For many a year she was a fantastic and interesting pet to have around. She always made me smile and was for all intents and purposes “my cat” for the time that I was living at home. She was a friendly and loving feline and I will miss her greatly. Bye Fri. You sleep now.

A Lifestyle Blog with a New York Flair