Tag Archives: New York City

Favorite places

Posted on February 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

While re-watching 500 Days of Summer recently, I found myself wondering…

What are my favorite buildings in Manhattan?

The lovesick architect Tom, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, was able to find inspiration in Los Angeles.  I live in New York City, home to some of the most iconic buildings in the world.  What speaks to me?

The Lucerne Hotel

When I was looking for my first apartment in the city back in 2006, this Upper West Side building immediately caught my eye.  The realtor had made an appointment for me at a nondescript high-rise across the street; I just wanted to talk about this beautifully ornate structure.

I soon learned it was a boutique hotel with a decidedly European influence — a French restaurant occupies the entire ground floor — and that had it just undergone a major renovation.

But at the turn-of-the-century, The Lucerne was a residence hotel.  Eugene O’Neill is one of its more storied occupants.  I’m sure it was less grand back then, but the man knew his architecture.

I wish the darn thing would go co-op now!

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Posted in Commentary, Design, History, Home, Humor, Life, Travel, Walking

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Lady luck

Posted on January 28, 2012 | Leave a comment

When it comes to bugs, I earned my wimp card years ago.

I’m not a fan.

But the ladybug?  That’s one very different beetle.  It’s cute, it eats a lot of harmful insects and it’s lucky.  (That’s a scientific fact.)

If you like ladybugs too, you might consider this Ladybug Nightlight that my friend Stephanie sells at Stoopher & Boots on the Upper West Side.

Look at that face.

And you might stop reading right now.  Because the rest of this post on ladybugs will freak you out.  It did me.

Hungarian Artist Gabor Fulop also likes ladybugs.  A lot. So much so that he created 20,000 and hand-painted them.

He then applied his ladybug creations to a  sculpture of the human form, forcing viewers to imagine what it would feel like to have ladybugs crawling over every inch of their bodies.

Me?  I wouldn’t feel lucky at all.

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Posted in Animals, Art, Commentary, Design, Humor, Life, Museums, Shopping

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If a tree falls

Posted on January 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches green delight us!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, What’s next for you we should discuss.

You grace our homes with twinkle lights,  Then hug the curb — that’s just not right.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Plus, my dog pees on you.

A lot.

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Posted in Comedy, Commentary, Environment, Green, Holiday, Humor, Life, Music

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Gift guide

Posted on January 7, 2012 | 1 Comment

To all travelers, business or pleasure:

I got a peek behind the curtain yesterday during my flight to Dallas.  Discovered something that can turn a cold, distant flight attendant into a friendly and engaged conversationalist.

Cookies

It’s as simple as that.

Two pilots were deadheading on my flight from New York City, and they were in the row in front of me.  After we achieved a ‘comfortable cruising altitude,’ the flight attendants started coming.  One by one.  Big smiles on their faces.  Gratitude on their lips.

All because one of the pilots brought the crew cookies when he boarded the plane.

With the rest of the passengers, the flight attendants were polite, but we didn’t get those genuine grins.  Or the frequent check-ins to see if we needed anything else.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.  I’ve received a less effusive version of this treatment when I’ve given a flight attendant a magazine when I’m finished with it.  But yesterday I learned an important nuance:

Do it at the start of the flight.

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Posted in Airplanes, Business, Commentary, Food, Foods, Humor, Life, Travel

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Plastic people

Posted on January 5, 2012 | 1 Comment

It’s been bitterly cold in NYC the past few days, and in the family-friendly Upper West Side, this has been a common sight:

The plastic-covered baby carriage

On an intellectual level, I realize the plastic covers serve a useful purpose, shielding the child inside from the cold, snow and rain.

But my claustrophobic mind registers only one panicked thought…

He’s smothering!  Get that poor kid out of there!!

Sorry.  All better now.

It does makes me wonder — would my fear of small spaces have been averted if my mother had used such a baby carriage when I was young?  Will children today whose mothers use such contraptions have less of a chance of developing claustrophobia?

For their sake, I hope so.

Some good should come out of being publicly shrink-wrapped.

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Posted in Children, Commentary, Family, Humor, Life, Walking, Weather

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Shining stars

Posted on January 2, 2012 | 1 Comment

The lights on Broadway are a bit darker today…

…and not just because it’s Monday.

Hugh Jackman, Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette all completed their highly successful runs in Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway and How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying respectively.

Living down the street, I was fortunate to see both shows multiple times.  They deserved all the critical and audience acclaim that was heaped upon them (much by me right here on The Egg).

But one stat from Jackman’s show deserves yet another mention.

While he earned over $14.6 million dollars during his 10-week run at the Broadhurst — setting records for that theatre alone — he also raised a record $1.8 million for the charity Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

I saw him raise $60,000 in one evening alone, auctioning simple meet-and-greets after the show.

The 2012 Broadway season has a hard act to follow!

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Posted in Broadway, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Life, New Years

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Magic carpet

Posted on December 29, 2011 | 1 Comment

It’s chilly today in New York City.

My morning walk with Rory in Central Park was cold, cold, cold.

So when I found this aerial view of carpets in Marrakesh, Morocco — shot by photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand — the colors and reflected sunlight warmed me right up.

Hope it adds a little warmth to your day, too!

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Posted in Art, Celebrities, Design, Life, Photography, Weather

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Hearth and home

Posted on December 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

Christmas may have come and gone, but the yule log is still burning bright.

On TV, that is.

I have been visiting my sister and brother-in-law for the holidays, and they haven’t had cable television in years. They watch movies and TV shows via Internet streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.com.

So when they aren’t online or are listening to music, chances are pretty good a fire is burning on their TV. This has become a tradition of sorts at Christmas, but I didn’t know where it originated until today.

Chalk up another one for New York City.

WPIX-TV Channel 11 was the first TV station to broadcast the burning yule log way back in 1966. President and CEO Fred M. Thrower thought residents of New York who didn’t have fireplaces would appreciate the added holiday cheer. And it allowed station employees to stay home and celebrate Christmas with their families during the four-hour time slot.

It’s like I’m always saying…

New Yorkers are the nicest people.

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Posted in Christmas, Commentary, History, Holiday, Humor, Life, Travel

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After six

Posted on December 21, 2011 | 1 Comment

The tuxedo was invented by a tailor in Tuxedo Park, New York, some 125 years ago at the request of tobacco magnate Pierre Lorillard IV.

It wasn’t named after the tailor.  Not Pierre, either.  Nope, Tuxedo Park got that honor.

‘Cause where you’re from matters.

I learned this slice of history today in a one-page SKY magazine article on my Delta flight.  My holiday has begun, and I’m flying to Kansas City to visit my sister, brother-in-law and countless friends there.

You see, I used to be from Kansas City…for a little while.

Oh, I was born and raised in Kentucky, and only lived in Kansas City for seven years.  But during that time, I made a now infamous trip to New York City – the current place I’m ‘from’ – and ended up talking to Al Roker outside the Today Show window.  And when Al asked me where I was from, I said, “Kansas City.”

My Kentucky kin have never let me forget.

‘Cause where you’re from matters.

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Posted in Commentary, Design, Fashion, History, Humor, Life, Relationships

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A robot’s tale

Posted on December 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

I met a robot in my neighborhood.

image He’s a nightlight for sale at my friend Stephanie’s shop, Stoopher & Boots.

Every time I have seen him, I couldn’t look away. (We don’t get a lot of his kind on the Upper West Side.)

Then I started hearing a sound when I was near him…a soft chant. “Milo. Milo.” (He’s a friend of mine — the baby boy variety – who has a particular interest in the ‘bots.)

He needed that robot nightlight.  So after a quick consultation with his parental units, it was soon on its way to Milo’s robot-themed bedroom in sunny Los Angeles.

image

Look at it — sitting in his room, like it was made for the place.

It’s almost an exact match to the robot in the print on the wall!

How a’bot that?

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Posted in Design, Family, Home, Humor, Life, Shopping

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