Taking A Bite Of The Big Apple

Under the bright lights of the big city!

This year’s annual “We’re Over The Hill So Let’s Get Outta Dodge” reunion tour took us to New York City! Much like Seattle last year, there was plenty of food eaten (Little Italy will never be the same), lots of drinks…uh…drunken (Chaya can attest to THIS one) and many sites seen. Unlike last year, we couldn’t just up & walk wherever we wanted to go so we spent lots of time hailing cabs, riding in cabs and attempting to underpay cabbies (c’mon Tom…$1? Really?). Needless to say, we had a great time and I’m pretty sure Tom got a pretty good overview of what New York is all about (the man had NEVER been to NYC??? For shame!). Some of the stops this year included Yankees Stadium, MoMA, Broadway, Times Square, the 9/11 Memorial and Central Park. All of that in a little under 4 days? Absolutely!

Tom pondering the unique vision of the 9/11 Memorial

The famous Carnegie Deli! With sandwiches the size of …well…JT’s head!

Oh…and the cheesecake is kinda big also!

Tom was impressed with the size of Central Park

Chaya LOVED the cab rides!

The Statue of Liber…wait…DAMMIT JT’S HEAD!!!

“Alright! Knock it off!!!”

Okay! Okay! So his head couldn’t block EVERYTHING… 

“A Starry Night” at MoMA

“What? You don’t SEE the soccer player in that?”

JT was a “little” bit tired after viewing all of the beautiful 70′s art deco flower vases at MoMA

One is a Reds fan, the other’s a Yankees fan. Guess who won?

Yankees Stadium

New York has REALLY big buildings!

THE place for great food in Little Italy! Seriously…we ate there TWICE!

Men…and Woman…In Black

Chillaxin’ in Times Square

A New York Bloody Mary

The NY bartenders were NOT as amused with us as Sinead was in Seattle…

“Uh…guys? Can I borrow a $1?”

New York…Liberty Island

There are so many things to do in New York, I figured I would fly in a little early and go see some sights. So here I am…what to do? I started walking and came up on the Ed Sullivan Theater. How about going to see the David Letterman show? Not a bad idea. So I stood in line for 15 minutes, got a number (unlucky number 46) and then waited around to see if they would pick my number. Needless to say, I didn’t get to see the show. But that’s okay. It wasn’t something I HAD to do. So I started wandering Times Square…again.

I waited & waited & waited…

So now what? I know…how about a trip to see the most iconic monument in our country? Sure…why not? So that’s what I did. I hopped a ferry and scooted on over to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty. Lots of history there and you really need to see it for yourself, but here are a few shots that I took with my new Nikon point n’ shoot. Enjoy!

This way to the boat

On the water

Silly Bird

Sold out for months!

A nice view of the city

Me & the big green lady

Headin’ back to the mainland

Is there anything MORE beautiful?

My New York Trip…He Said

So Nathalie gave HER version of what happened. So now here is MY version of what REALLY went down. And trust me…it is nowhere near as interesting as what she thinks!

 

So I arrived in New York on Wednesday. Kinda overcast and crappy and headed STRAIGHT TO WORK. I didn’t get out til 6pm and from there I went straight out to Times Square to see the lights. Much to my disappointment, the Virgin Megastore has now closed, so I decided to see a Broadway show.

This year, I went to see “Desire Under The Elms” with Carla Gugino & Brian Dennehy (which is a huge difference from last year when I went to see “Spamalot“!). For those of you who don’t know who either actor is, Brian Dennehy has been in film  & television for a while and Ms. Gugino is in “Watchmen”, “Sin City” and quite a few other great films. “Desire” is a serious drama written by Eugene O’Neill in the 1920′s and is about a man, his father, his father’s new wife and a farmhouse. Needless to say, it generates some heat! I couldn’t take a lot of pictures (ushers get real huffy about taking pictures. I have no idea why) but the performances were great and the set was very cool for a minimalistic drama.

 

From there is was back to my hotel (Le Parker Meriden) for a burger at The Burger Joint, which is tucked in a corner of the hotel lobby behind a giant curtain. I kid you not! Burgers are $7 and as messy as you like it! And they really go great at 11pm just before going to bed. (Not)

On Thursday I hit the gym twice at the hotel. At $10 a day, I figured I might as well get my money out of it. Watched “Signs” and went to bed early.

My room with a view

Friday? Went for a nice long walk AFTER WORK, bought me some deli takeout (Waldorf salad, Cannoli & orange drink!), kicked back and watched “Nick & Norah’s Infinit Playlist” which is set in New York. Called it a night and went to bed.

Now THAT’S a New York dinner!

Saturday? I was working for 13 hours straight in a truck outside Radio City Music Hall. The NFL Network had a 5 hour “Pre-show” before selections took place beginning at 4pm. I got done around 11pm once the first 2 rounds were done. Needless to say, I went straight to bed because…

My place in the truck with a view

Sunday we were back in at work at 7am and didn’t get off the air until 8:30pm. Good times. However after I was done, I went back out to another deli and got a panini, canolli and a tea.

The OTHER deli

Next morning, up at 5:30 to catch an 8am flight back to Cincinnati so I could get to work down at Great American Ball Park to see the Reds lost to the Astros.

The Draft Crew (can you find me? Left side, back row)

Live…from New York!

So as you can see….I was NOT just goofing around in New York City, Nathalie! I was working my butt off! Oh sure…I was able to Facebook & Twitter throughout the day, but it is EXHAUSTING work bringing all the NFL fans their coverage of such an exciting event such as the NFL Draft! So there! 

I don’t need Photoshop to show you where I go…’cause I got REAL pictures H!

My Claim To Fame

Walking around in Times Square the other day reminded me of the last time I did it. It was probably 4 years ago. I remember because it was on that day that I witnessed my claim to fame.

I was in New York working the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. I had a late crewcall (the time I had to be at work), so I went walking down to Times Square. Get some exercise, get some pizza, enjoy the weather. You know the drill.

Well, in Times Square, there is the huge jumbotron that sits up on the building which is directly in the center of the square. Here’s a detailed image taken this week of it’s location…

So anyways, I remember walking and looking up and seeing an NBC promo for a show that the network was going to air soon called “Television Bloopers”, or something like that, which was essentially a show about goofy television news moments that had been caught on tape. Having worked in television for a long time, I love to watch these shows!

Pause story for a brief history…I used to direct a morning show called “The Daily Buzz” back in 2002. I only directed it for a year or so, but it was a “network” show for quite a few WB and local Fox affiliates around the country. We always had crazy things happening on that show. It was the way we wanted it to be! So we had plenty of outtakes!

So I think our Executive Producer at the time must have sent in clips to NBC or something because as I’m watching the big jumbotron, up pops something on the show that I directed!!! It was a brief clip, but I totally remembered it happening!

Uh…so that’s my fleeting moment of fame…something that I was a part of was shown on the big jumbotron board in Times Square.

Exciting stuff, huh? Now get back to work!

(And if you don’t believe I used to direct the show, go check this out! It’s my SECOND claim to fame. Dunno why it hasn’t been taken down yet…but I can say I am on IMDB!!!)

P.S. Here are a couple of the clips that aired on that blooper show that I directed. Go here…and here. A shout out to my buddy Brad for postin’ em!

New York…Times Square

Ah…New York. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. And I made it here…on a Delta/Southwest 747. I’m here for work, but I have to get out and enjoy the city! Now…you might not know this, but New York is a pretty big city. A few million people, lots of tourists. Pretty average. But it’s so freakin’ big, I can’t just comment on it like any other city. I figured I’d break it up and comment on a couple of different places.

First…the tourist destination of choice…Times Square. Here is my take on this location…it’s busy. Really busy. Lots and lots of busy. Walking here is like swimming upstream. But there is an energy here unlike any other place that I’ve ever been (except maybe New Orleans). Walking around, you can’t help but people watch. So many faces, so many different ethnicities, so many fish…swimming upstream. Anyway, it’s all very big and flashy. Giant video screens, flashing lights, cars and cabs. Half the time you catch yourself looking around and then you have to avoid an oncoming cabbie who is about to run you over.

Times Square has lots of places to eat (mostly your typical chains…the original, really great New York spots avoid this place like the plague). There are a lot of places to buy things. And, it’s really close to Broadway. So you can wander around then go check out a show. Which is exactly what I did!

Seeing a show on Broadway is unlike seeing a show anywhere. The acting and performances are top notch. There are usually big name stars involved. It’s the mecca of performance art in America. So what should I see? “Rent”? “The Phantom Of The Opera”? “Xanadu”? Nah…I wanted to have some fun. So me and my friend went to see “Spamalot”!!!

In 2005, Spamalot won a Tony award for Best New Musical. It is based (loosely) on the Monty Python movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. It’s a bloody, violent and sexually charged production filled with tension, amazing dance numbers and guys in tights. Okay…so it’s not really bloody. Or violent (which is the same thing as bloody…right?). Uh…and there is some sex…kinda. Anyway…it’s all silly and most scenes are straight out of the movie. The music is awesome! The production is a lot of fun and I got to see Clay Aiken (of American Idol fame) play the role of Sir Robin. He does a really great job! He is definately a good choice for that role! And everyone involved is top notch. I would definately recommend it to anyone who has a funnybone! The only downside…Nathan the maniac usher. Don’t you DARE try to sneak a picture in under Nathan’s watch…because if you do…he’ll tell you to delete it! I had the idea that Nathan had me in his sights…whenever he wasn’t checking his cell phone for messages. Anyway, I took a picture before the production. Nathan told me to delete it. I didn’t. Sorry Nate…but you can bite me.

Just an FYI…the show wasn’t really all that expensive for a Wednesday night. About $50. Not bad by New York standards! Dinner can go for over $100 or so in Times Square…so I had some fries and a beer at a local pub and called it a night.

If you do go to Times Square, there are lots of things to stop and check out. David Letterman’s theatre is around here, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Plaza, lots of stores and restaurants.

Its a great place to visit…once. Or maybe twice. But now that I’ve been here a few times, I think I’m over it. Too many people, too much noise. I’ll take Central Park anytime…

And that’s where I’ll go next!