Amy's New York Notebook

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31316482008-08-20T16:33:22.042-04:00Amy's New York NotebookAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comBlogger1949125This is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site, subject to copyright and fair use.tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-44159596101344167662008-08-20T16:31:00.000-04:002008-08-20T16:33:22.074-04:00Spotted on Imlay Street

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-17392789005662804022008-08-20T07:58:00.002-04:002008-08-20T08:21:50.529-04:00Prague Spring anniversary

Today's the 40th anniversary of the end of the Prague Spring. Last week I went poking around the Internet trying to find the video of Alexander Dubcek addressing the Czechoslovak people on TV after he was summoned away by the Kremlin. The way I was told "When we saw him crying, we knew it was over." The tanks rolled in the night of August 20, 1968 -- and everyone's favorite story is about how the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-8773188937492621362008-08-19T10:53:00.004-04:002008-08-19T11:05:58.216-04:00Dino's farewell

Dino's dad spells out the very sad news on the Dino's Journey blog:My son, Dino passed away this evening a little after 8PM. My heart hurts to say it and I know yours hurts to hear it. But this was Dino's Journey. ...Oddly, that's how I got the news this morning -- via RSS feed. Coincidentally our Daily Nexus reunion is set for Santa Barbara this Saturday. On the Facebook page for the event, Dino

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-25977630838646748952008-08-17T20:50:00.003-04:002008-08-17T20:59:25.883-04:00Name that big harbor contraption

Weird thing in the harbor this afternoon. Looked like a ship was moving several small bridges. When I saw it, it was hugging Staten Island - so much so that the Staten Island Ferry diverted over toward the Intrepid, and then headed for St. George after the big crane-ship departed. When I was taking the pictures, I was hoping Will at Tugster might happen to be out there this afternoon. Indeed, he

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-32043180219884341072008-08-17T07:43:00.004-04:002008-08-17T08:08:50.044-04:00Think good thoughts for Dino

Some rather crushing news is developing about the medical status of my friend Dino Scoppettone, who I met when he was a sports guy at the Daily Nexus at UCSB. Suffice to say, the updates involve words like metastasize and 30-pound tumor. If you know Dino, you'll want to follow the updates on the We HEART Dino Scoppettone Facebook page or the Dino's Journey blog. And even if you don't know Dino,

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-81338677996053815762008-08-15T12:52:00.001-04:002008-08-15T12:53:52.961-04:00Real World Red Hook?

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-83434577047600746022008-08-13T12:06:00.003-04:002008-08-13T12:10:04.004-04:00New Red Hook political wisdom

I've seen at least two of these so far -- in the same area (and I'm even gonna say in the same handwriting) as the "Osama Votes Kerry" that was all over the place before that election.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-51098191131553599702008-08-12T15:56:00.001-04:002008-08-12T15:57:52.511-04:00New art at Pier 41

Things taking shape at the end of Pier 41 in Red Hook:

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-77476351087331977082008-08-09T15:19:00.002-04:002008-08-09T15:22:43.479-04:00NY State Law starts in Jersey

Fairly certain this sign is new."NY State Law" starts on the Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel now.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-5007472352115417182008-08-07T11:00:00.005-04:002008-08-07T11:41:34.619-04:00Magazine readership stats for NYC

As I was throwing one of my consumer magazine on the recycle pile this morning, I was thinking "Is anyone reading this thing anymore? It used to be good." And then I recalled the ABC website will tell me exactly how many people are reading it. So before I waste anymore time on this, here are the numbers for a few New York-area magazines: New Yorker 1,062,018 New York - 429,116 Time Out NY -

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-69356633845249764212008-08-07T06:13:00.001-04:002008-08-07T06:15:33.294-04:00Red Hook Sunrise

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-71284020514534921632008-08-03T13:06:00.002-04:002008-08-03T13:08:16.280-04:00Post-storm sunset

Quite a nice show last night. ...

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-71762608067859434072008-07-31T12:00:00.004-04:002008-08-05T11:58:28.489-04:00Blackout storytelling

(Update: The Tenement Museum has sent out e-mail saying the event date is now Aug. 27.) Considering I was briefly Internet Famous for this little ditty -- On the last car of the Q Train between DeKalb and Atlantic -- you'd think I'd want to make time for this:Lower East Side Stories: Blackout Wednesday, August 20 at 6:30 PM Tenement Museum Shop 108 Orchard Street F to Delancey; B/D to Grand; J/M/

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-21373052419397501422008-07-28T11:04:00.003-04:002008-07-28T11:14:11.758-04:00A secret security breach at Citibank

Citibank has just added several hours of pain to my week by sending me a brand new card with a brand new account number. The explanation:Your account number may have been illegally obtained as a result of a merchant database compromise and you could be at risk for unauthorized use. As a result we have issued you a new City Card (s). ... If you do not reply by the date indicated on the top of your

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-57148581864396891412008-07-26T11:41:00.004-04:002008-07-26T11:59:28.592-04:00Where vegetarian means just a little bit of meat

This Soviet-era meat commerical reminded me that I've got some not-vegetarian pictures to post from the trip to Middle Europe. As the Czechs informed us, the vegetarian restaurants there are still serving meat. And ordering something from the vegetarian section of a menu means you want only a litle bit of meat. You may have already seen on NewYorkology my Prague trout, which -- surprise -- came

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-31950635236077403872008-07-26T09:47:00.004-04:002008-07-26T10:06:49.152-04:00Giving up on the Water Taxi, again

So while we were away, IKEA/NY Water Taxi changed their rules and reduced the number of boats -- something they said they wouldn't do until September. So now on weekedays, the boats depart every 40 minutes, shuttling up to 71 passengers per trip. Priority is given to people who say they've shopped at the store (as there was no verification process when I was turned away yesterday afternoon.) It's

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-88483565882872993652008-07-25T06:41:00.004-04:002008-07-25T07:02:11.126-04:00A $35 beer at Red Hook's newest bar, Botanica

From my NewYorkology Twitter feed last night:just ordered fancy 10 dollar cocktails at brand new bar Botanica, two blocks from Sunnys on Conover in Red Hook husband ordered Death in the Afternoon: champagne, absinthe and san bitters There's a 35 dollar beer on the menu, albeit for a 25 ouncerCocktails were indeed good - and extremely potent. This place went in fast, as I think renovations on the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-18704271549223361962008-07-24T12:42:00.004-04:002008-07-24T12:51:47.048-04:00To BWAC, or not to BWAC

The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition show opens in Red Hook this weekend. Notice something about their ad for the show? It's the wrong building. That arrow pointing to "hot art" is actually the end of Pier 41, where MTV is reportedly moving in. BWAC is actually at 499 Van Brunt -- the other side of Fairway -- and not on a pier.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-26706280416460643602008-07-23T10:34:00.004-04:002008-07-23T10:37:17.990-04:00'We have tried every bastard government ...'

Spotted last week in Budapest on a building facing the Danube:

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-44938393578036555252008-07-22T19:35:00.005-04:002008-07-23T10:31:24.746-04:00Bad attribution, British style

Par for the course, the Brit media irritated me throughout our UK trip. My favourite example was on the Banksy unmasked exclusive in the dreaded Mail on Sunday. For those who don't know, his art capers include a 2005 grand tour of NYC where he surreptiously hung his own works on the walls at the Met, MoMA, the American Museum of Natural History and Brooklyn Museum -- where they stayed unnoticed

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-32272531556472842172008-07-22T07:34:00.006-04:002008-07-23T10:45:41.510-04:00QM2 backing in

So apparently I'm still on London time, as I was up around 4 a.m. getting work done, then decided to go for a jog. I got out the front around 5:30 a.m. and ... Hello, Queen Mary 2. We've been living here more than a year, but I hadn't yet timed it right to head out and see her do the 180-degree turn to back into the Buttermilk Channel. It was so early that the gate was still locked to the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-9524320346520811432008-07-15T03:49:00.003-04:002008-07-15T04:02:50.178-04:00Video: Czech march against US radar facility

We're back in England now, but here's the quick video I shot a week ago in Prague. Just before heading out to dinner, I caught a bit of CNN mentioning Condeleeza Rice was in Prague for the signing of the agreement that will allow the US to build a radar monitoring station in the Czech Republic. (It would guide defensive missiles launched from Poland or Lithuania if one of those sites are

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-16760137970578853982008-07-11T15:25:00.000-04:002008-07-11T15:25:54.586-04:00Amadeus arches at my old Prague place

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-39234652646079829492008-07-11T15:19:00.000-04:002008-07-11T15:20:07.314-04:00At my old Prague apartment

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-24387681937183023622008-07-11T15:17:00.000-04:002008-07-11T15:17:16.302-04:00Charles Bridge Reconstruction

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.com