New York City Chronicles

Iconic Breweries of New York City

noreply@blogger.com (MS2) — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 23:04:00 +0000

New York City, a bustling metropolis known for its iconic skyline, vibrant culture, and diverse culinary scene, is also home to a thriving craft beer community. At the heart of this community are the brewmasters – the masterminds behind some of the city's most beloved breweries. In this article, we'll take a closer look at the brewmasters of New York and the iconic breweries they've helped to build.

Brooklyn Brewery: A Pioneer in Craft Beer

Founded in 1988 by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter, Brooklyn Brewery is one of the oldest craft breweries in New York City. Hindy, a former journalist, and Potter, a banker, shared a passion for homebrewing and decided to turn their hobby into a business. They hired Garrett Oliver as their brewmaster, and together, they set out to create a brewery that would produce world-class beers with a distinct Brooklyn flavor.

Sixpoint Brewery: Pushing the Boundaries of Craft Beer

Sixpoint Brewery, founded in 2004 by Shane Welch, is known for its innovative approach to brewing. Welch, a former homebrewer, wanted to create beers that were bold, flavorful, and unique. He hired Eric Bachli as his brewmaster, and together, they've pushed the boundaries of craft beer with their experimental brews and unconventional brewing techniques.

Other Iconic Breweries in New York

While Brooklyn Brewery and Sixpoint Brewery are two of the most well-known breweries in New York City, they're certainly not the only ones. Other iconic breweries in the city include:

Other Half Brewing Company: Known for its hazy IPAs and creative collaborations with other breweries.
Threes Brewing: A brewery, bar, and event space in Brooklyn that's known for its diverse lineup of beers.
Grimm Artisanal Ales: A brewery in Brooklyn that's known for its small-batch, handcrafted beers.

The brewmasters of New York City are a diverse group of individuals with a shared passion for craft beer. From the pioneers at Brooklyn Brewery to the innovators at Sixpoint Brewery and beyond, these brewmasters have helped to shape the city's craft beer scene and have earned a place in its rich culinary history. So the next time you're in New York City, be sure to raise a glass to the brewmasters who have made it all possible. Cheers!

The Mark Hotel: An Icon of Luxury and Exclusivity in New York City's Upper East Side

noreply@blogger.com (MS2) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 22:32:00 +0000

In the heart of Manhattan's Upper East Side, known for its elegance and exclusivity, lies a hotel that embodies these qualities: The Mark Hotel. This establishment, recognized as one of the most expensive and exclusive in New York, is an icon of luxury and sophistication that has captivated the most discerning travelers in the world.

The building that houses The Mark Hotel is an architectural masterpiece that reflects the greatness of New York City. Built in 1927, the building was designed by renowned architect Emery Roth, known for his Art Deco designs. With its limestone facade and impressive entrance, the building is a perfect example of classic New York architecture.

Upon entering the hotel, guests are greeted by a team of highly trained professionals dedicated to making their stay unforgettable. From the moment they arrive, guests are treated to impeccable service and personalized attention that exceeds all expectations.

The rooms and suites at The Mark Hotel are an oasis of luxury and comfort. Each of the 152 rooms has been designed with an elegant and contemporary style, featuring designer furniture, high-quality linens, and all the modern amenities one could imagine. The suites, ranging from Junior Suites to the stunning Penthouse Suite, offer spectacular views of the city and are equipped with everything needed for a luxurious stay.

The Mark Hotel is also known for its exceptional dining offerings. The hotel's restaurant, led by a renowned international chef, offers a unique culinary experience that combines classic French cuisine with modern New York flavors. Additionally, the hotel features an elegant and inviting bar where guests can enjoy a wide selection of premium cocktails and wines.

But what truly sets The Mark Hotel apart is its attention to detail and commitment to excellence. From the moment guests make their reservation to the moment they depart, the hotel's team is dedicated to making every moment of their stay unforgettable. Whether guests are seeking a romantic getaway, a family vacation, or a business trip, The Mark Hotel offers everything needed for an unparalleled luxury experience.

As for the prices of the suites, these can vary depending on the season and availability. However, it is estimated that a night in the Penthouse Suite can exceed $75,000, making it one of the most expensive suites in New York.

As for the celebrities who stay at The Mark Hotel, this establishment is known as a venue of choice for many celebrities and high-profile personalities. Some of the celebrities who have stayed at the hotel include Madonna, Beyoncé, and Leonardo DiCaprio, among others. However, it is important to note that privacy and discretion are a priority for the hotel, so not all names of famous guests may be disclosed.

Winter in Central Park

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 21:40:00 +0000

The winter in Central Park, New York is a magical time. The park transforms into a winter wonderland, with snow-covered trees and frozen lakes. The hustle and bustle of the city is replaced by a serene and peaceful atmosphere, as if the park is a sanctuary from the chaos of the outside world.

As you walk through the park, the crunching of the snow under your feet and the sound of the wind whistling through the trees creates a symphony of winter sounds. The trees, bare and dormant in the winter, provide a unique contrast against the snow, and the frozen lakes and ponds become a canvas for ice skaters and winter sports enthusiasts.

One of the most iconic sights in Central Park during the winter is the Wollman Rink. The rink, located at the southern end of the park, is surrounded by the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan, creating a picturesque contrast between the natural beauty of the park and the man-made structures of the city. The rink is a popular spot for both locals and tourists, as it offers a chance to experience the joy of ice skating in the heart of the city.

But the winter in Central Park is not just about ice skating and snow sports. The park also offers a variety of other winter activities, such as horse-drawn carriage rides and Central Park Zoo's annual Holiday Lights exhibit. The horse-drawn carriage rides offer a unique and romantic way to experience the park in the winter, as the gentle clip-clop of the horse's hooves on the snow-covered paths creates a peaceful and serene atmosphere. The Holiday Lights exhibit at the zoo, on the other hand, transforms the zoo into a winter wonderland, with thousands of lights and decorations creating a festive atmosphere.

But Central Park in the winter is not just about activities and sights. It's also about the people that make the park what it is. The park is a melting pot of cultures and backgrounds, and the winter is no exception. During the winter, you can find people from all walks of life enjoying the park, from families with young children to couples on a romantic stroll. The park is a place where people come together to enjoy the beauty of the winter, regardless of their background or circumstances.

The park is also a place where people come to escape the stress and chaos of the city. The winter can be a difficult time for many, as the shorter days and longer nights can create feelings of isolation and loneliness. But Central Park offers a sanctuary from these feelings, a place where people can come to find peace and tranquility. The park is a reminder that even in the darkest and coldest of times, there is still beauty to be found.

One of the most striking things about Central Park in the winter is the way in which it brings people together. The park is a place where people of all ages and backgrounds come together to enjoy the beauty of the winter, to escape the stress of the city and to find a sense of community. It's a place where people can come together to share in the joy of the winter, to create memories and to experience the beauty of nature.

In conclusion, the winter in Central Park, New York is a magical time. The park transforms into a winter wonderland, with snow-covered trees and frozen lakes, providing a serene and peaceful atmosphere. The park offers a variety of winter activities, such as ice skating and horse-drawn carriage rides, as well as a melting pot of cultures and backgrounds. The park also serves as a sanctuary for many, offering a chance to escape the stress and chaos of the city and to find peace and tranquility. Central Park in the winter is not just about sights and activities, but about the people and the memories that make it special. It is a reminder that even in the darkest and coldest of times, there is still beauty to be found.

One of the most special things about the winter in Central Park is the way it brings out the sense of community and shared experience. Whether you're watching ice skaters gliding on the rink, taking a horse-drawn carriage ride, or simply enjoying a hot cocoa while sitting on a park bench, you can't help but feel connected to the people around you. The park becomes a shared space, where people from all walks of life come together to enjoy the beauty of the winter.

As the day comes to a close and the park begins to empty out, the lights come on and the park transforms into an even more enchanting place. The snow-covered trees and frozen ponds are illuminated by the soft glow of the streetlamps, creating a magical and ethereal atmosphere. It's a sight that stays with you long after you've left the park, a memory that you'll treasure forever.

In conclusion, the winter in Central Park, New York is a truly special time. It's a time when the park transforms into a winter wonderland, offering a serene and peaceful atmosphere, a variety of winter activities, and a sense of community and shared experience. It's a place where people come together to escape the stress and chaos of the city, to find peace and tranquility and to create memories that will last a lifetime. The winter in Central Park is a reminder that even in the darkest and coldest of times, there is still beauty to be found, and it's a place that will forever hold a special place in the hearts of those who have experienced it.

After 50 years, new LIRR lobby opens at Penn Station

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 11:17:00 +0000

Five years after former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo predicted a "summer of hell" amid extensive and lengthy work on the Penn Station tracks, the woman who replaced him, Governor Kathy Hochul, was in attendance Tuesday. to open a new Long Island Rail Road passenger concourse that the MTA says will be brighter, larger and less cramped.

It certainly is wider and taller, for sure. The LIRR concourse at the nation's busiest transit hub has nearly doubled in width, from 30 feet to 57, while ceilings have been raised to 18 feet. The lobby stretches from Seventh Avenue near the 1/2/3 subway lines to Eighth Avenue near the A/C/E subway and now features 9,500 square feet of programmable, color-changing LED ceiling lights.

Gov. Kathy Hochul described Tuesday's reopening of the concourse as a timely and on-budget step toward rebuilding Penn Station on a large scale into a modern, spacious, world-class single-level terminal. It is open to natural light and features a skylight, a reminder that "yes, heaven is still out there, despite the feeling that you may be living in hell," he said in June.

Each day, more than half of Penn Station's 600,000 riders pass through the LIRR concourse, and more than a third of them don't even use the Long Island Railroad for their daily commute. The lobby project is expected to be completed in early 2023 and, when ready, will include improved accessibility including a new elevator entrance, mechanical systems to improve air circulation and expand the volume of fresh air, intuitive wayfinding and more shopping and dining options, according to the governor's office

Reconstruction of the LIRR Penn Station space is one of three major projects that will transform the LIRR passenger experience in the coming months, along with the opening of service to Grand Central Madison and the opening of a new third track of the Principal line. It's all part of a multi-million dollar plan to renovate midtown Manhattan to relieve overcrowding and revitalize the surrounding area.

"Penn Station is not only the busiest transit hub in North America, it is also the beating heart of New York City, and for too long it has failed to deliver an experience worthy of New Yorkers," Hochul said in a statement. "Today, we're raising the roof of Penn Station, literally and figuratively, and paving the way for a better future as we unveil a wider, brighter Long Island Rail Road concourse. We're one step closer to making Penn a hub first-class transit and make New York an even more livable and lovable city.

The featured LIRR Concourse project features $380 million in state funding, with 30% of contracts awarded to minority and women-owned businesses. The total cost of the corridor amounts to $559 million. Construction began in June 2019 on the East End Gateway, which opened to the public in December 2020. Last March, seven 10-ton hanger beams known informally as "Head Knockers," which historically limited heights in walkways at Penn Station was removed.

The structures above Penn Station are now supported by an innovative structural frame system, installed by Skanska/AECOM.

"This larger, brighter LIRR concourse is just a glimpse of things to come, not just for LIRR riders but for all New Yorkers," MTA President and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement. "This project shows that the MTA is ready to finish transforming the seedy terminal New Yorkers have been suffering from for more than 50 years into a world-class facility."

Hochul's Redevelopment Master Plan calls for turning Penn into a modern, light-filled, walkable facility while revitalizing the surrounding neighborhood to prioritize the public realm, invest in affordable housing, increase access to public transportation and create a pedestrian-friendly urban landscape. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has also supported the transformation.

Empire State Development Corporation members voted unanimously in July to approve the $7 billion plan that requires New York, New Jersey and the federal government to cover renovation costs. New York City will also play a role, as to seal the deal, they will allow developers to tear down existing buildings near the transit hub and build 10 state-of-the-art skyscrapers.

Miss New York Miss America 2019

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 17:11:00 +0000

Miss New York, Nia Imani Franklin, won the title Miss America 2019 in Atlantic City on Sunday, in a contest for the first time there was no parade in a bathing suit.

"I'm glad I did not have to do it to win this title tonight because I'm more than just that," Franklin said of the parade in a bathing suit after the event. "And all these women on stage are more than just that."

The decision to eliminate competition in swimsuits aroused great controversy and criticism of the current direction of Miss America. Minutes before the broadcast, when a comedian who entertained the crowd mentioned that there would be no competition in swimsuit there was a loud booing in the audience.

That parade was replaced by on-stage interviews and the contestants drew attention with statements about President Donald Trump and the protests of NFL players, among other issues.

With his crown, Franklin resumed the series of triumphs that the state has had in the last years in the contest. Miss New York, Mallory Hagan, Nina Davuluri and Kira Kazantsev won the title from 2013 to 2015.

Apart from the title, Franklin received a $ 50,000 scholarship as a prize.

Franklin's theme in the contest was "defending the arts." Franklin, a classical music singer, played a selection of pieces from the opera La Boheme on Sunday night.

Franklin's theme in the contest was "defending the arts." Franklin, a classical music singer, played a selection of pieces from the opera La Bohemia on Sunday night.

The judges selected the finalists from among 51 candidates during the contest held on the stage of the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.

America New York New York

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 18:11:00 +0000

The greatest city in the whole world !!!...

New York, the first city in the US to limit Uber-type services

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 01:14:00 +0000

The Council of the City of New York approved on Wednesday a moratorium of one year in the delivery of new licenses for transport services type Uber, based on applications installed in cell phones.

The one-year moratorium calls for a study to analyze the impact of private transportation services offered in New York by companies that also include Lyft, Juno and Gett, among others.

The Council also voted to establish a minimum wage for drivers, similar to that received by drivers of yellow and black taxis in the city.

The limit on the growth of these companies, as well as the obligation they will have to offer a minimum wage to their employees, could serve as a model for other cities in the United States and the world, according to The New York Times.

"We are pausing the issuance of new licenses in an industry that has been allowed to proliferate without proper controls or regulations," said Corey Johnson, president of the New York City Council.

Johnson added that the intention is to support and encourage drivers of private transportation services, making sure they receive enough salaries to support their families. Mayor Bill de Blasio has supported legislation in this regard, and is expected to sign it.

The prestigious New York University offers a career in medicine completely free

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 20:23:00 +0000

The institution will cover the annual tuition of $ 55,000 for current and future students without distinction of merit or financial need, in an attempt to prevent young people being scared off by the high costs of the profession. The program will require 600 million dollars in donations.

The School of Medicine of the prestigious New York University announced on Thursday that from now on will offer completely free medical career, both for students already enrolled and for future applicants, and without distinction of merit or economic need.

"When you look at the median debt of medical students at the time of graduation, it's getting to the point where it impacts the workforce of doctors," said Rafael Riviera, associate dean of admissions and financial aid at the private US institution.

With tuitions that reach US $ 55,000 a year throughout the country, Riviera ensures that the offer will attract students who are scared away by this huge number when it comes to pursuing their vocation and who end up choosing more accessible study programs.

"Young people are in high school or college and think about what they want to do, they think medicine is a great career opportunity for them, they love the material, but they see that number and think, 'Well, you know, it should be better think of something else. "And for me that is a loss for society," he said.

Riviera also highlighted another problem. "Once people start studying medicine, we do not want debt to be a factor when it comes to deciding specialization," he explained, citing the case of pediatrics and research, very necessary but unprofitable options.

Because of the high costs involved in university education, especially in frontline institutions, in the United States it is usual for students to get into debt to pay for their studies. After graduating, they begin to repay the loan, but many times the returns of professional life are not enough to carry this weight.

According to the American Association of Medical Universities, one out of every five medical students in private institutions graduates with a debt of more than $ 300,000. At NYU, the percentage of students who graduate with debt reaches 62% and an average of 187,000 dollars.

With this announcement, NYU becomes the only prestigious university in the United States to offer the race for free, and Riviera hopes that other institutions will soon do the same.

To finance the program, the university has raised 450 million dollars in philanthropic donations, out of a total of 600 million that it considers necessary to ensure the sustainability of the project in the future.

However, although this covers all education costs, students are expected to be responsible for paying their support in New York City during the years of study, an expense estimated at $ 27,000 per year.

The NYU medical school is ranked third among the best universities in the United States, in a tie with Stanford University, and behind Johns Hopkins University (2) and Harvard (1).

NYU currently has 350 students enrolled in their medical school, according to the New York Times. Across the country, the number rises to 22,000.

New York will have the first underground park in the world

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 20:28:00 +0000

New York will have a green space hidden in the subsoil: Lowline, the future park in southern Manhattan that will become a reality in 2020.

Inspired by the famous Highline Park, this project is about some old tram tracks that run up to three blocks underground and are now transformed into a public park that will live under the famous American island, a somewhat more futuristic version of what we are accustomed.

Solar light underground

The new concept that seeks to revolutionize the way parks are designed, will house around three thousand types of plants and the most important challenge in this project is to achieve that light reaches a closed and dark space. According to the revealed information of the project, this will be achieved through a fiber optic technology and mirrors that filter the sunlight from the roof of the building to the green areas that are inside.

Likewise, in the streets of New York solar collectors will be installed that during the day will reflect it in a homogeneous way for the underground space. The project promoted by James Ramsey and Dan Barasch guarantee that there will be the necessary sunlight supply for plants to achieve natural photosynthesis, even in the coldest months.

At the moment it is a project that is still in the planning phase and seeks to raise 60 million dollars to raise the green space, even when it is in this facet, the protagonists of the work, consider that by 2020 it will be a reality.

Some curious facts about New York

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 05:07:00 +0000

The Dutch explorer Peter Minuit bought the island of Manhattan from the Algonquin tribe in exchange for trinkets and tools worth about $ 24.
New York was called at first New Amsterdam and was founded as a commercial port by the Dutch.
New York was the capital of the United States from 1789 to 1790.
New Yorkers take an average of 40 minutes to go to work each day.
More than 47 percent of New York residents speak a language other than English at home.

36 percent of the population of New York City was born outside the United States.
The Central Park of New York is larger than the principality of Monaco.
The average price of an apartment in Manhattan is 1.5 million dollars.
The yellow taxis of New York are of that color because John Hertz, founder of the company, learned through a study that yellow was the color most easily perceived by the human eye.
The Federal Reserve Bank on Wall Street in New York contains vaults 80 meters deep that hold about 25 percent of the world's gold bullion.
Around 50 million tourists visit New York every year.
The average daily rate for hotel rooms in New York is $ 267.
Hong Kong is the only city with more skyscrapers built than New York City.
The Brooklin Bridge was the first bridge in the world lit with electric street lamps.
The Brooklyn Children's Museum was the first museum in the world built for children.
An average of 4.9 million people use the New York subway every day.
The New York subway system consists of 26 lines with 6,200 convoys that stop at 468 different stations.
Unlike most of the world's metros, the New York Subway operates 24 hours a day.
There are more than 12,700 (official) taxis in New York.
There are more than 18,600 restaurants and fast food outlets in New York. The average cost of a dinner is $ 39.43.
New York City has more than 4,000 street food stalls.
More than 250 films are filmed in New York every year.
Genaro Lombardi opened the first pizzaria in New York in 1895.
The Chinatown of New York is the most populated Chinese enclave of the Western Hemisphere.
According to the 2011 census, 8,200,000 people live in New York City.
Approximately 790,000 companies operate in New York City.

An Indian hanging from the Empire State

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 13:48:00 +0000

Many metropolises of the world are cut by the same pattern: buildings of cement, brick, steel and glass, monolithic facades, rows and rows of skyscrapers. What betrays that this advertising photo of 1951 corresponds to New York? In the center the television antenna that crowns the Empire State is distinguished. And, comfortably sitting in the middle of the antenna, as if moving up there was the most natural thing in the world, there is a Mohawk Indian, a metal worker. At the end of the 1880s, a Canadian company specializing in bridge construction hired several Mohawks from the Kahnawake Reserve, near Montreal, to work on a construction site.

The members of that tribe turned out to be immune to vertigo even in the most extreme heights and, in the words of a manager of the company, "agile as goats". That fame earned them job offers in the United States; Mohawks are still traveling to Canada to perform "high" jobs.

Over the last century generations of Mohawks working in the metal sector have been hired to build almost all of New York's skyscrapers and bridges. For their poise when walking on the steel beams at dizzying heights they have earned a reverential nickname: the "eagles of construction."

New York will be the city with the largest free WiFi in the world

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 01:28:00 +0000

The Spanish company GOWEX has just announced that it will turn New York into the largest citizen network of free wireless Internet connection. Thanks to the deployment of more than 1950 Smart WiFi Zones distributed throughout the city, its 20 million inhabitants and the more than 50 million annual tourists that visit the city will be able to connect to the web without paying a dollar.

The Internet is, for many, absolutely indispensable. From hotels to cafés, clubs or libraries offer different forms of access but, what if a whole city had wireless Internet access and free? It is precisely what the GOWEX company will launch. The new network called FREEWiFiGOWEX will allow the downloading of data from 3G networks through Gowex networks, offered thanks to the 1,953 WiFi points distributed throughout New York.

The connection offered by the company has certain specifications adapted to the gigantic city. To access the network, users must download the application available on their portable devices, where a map of Wi-Fi points as well as news thematic channels, municipal information, etc. will appear. In this way the download of data can reach 1Mb of connection speed for free users. In addition, the network will allow offloading, that is, downloading data from 3G networks through GOWEX connection points, which, according to the company, "will help operators to decongest their network; a pressing problem in various parts of New York due to the high number of connections and users in many of its areas. "

But it does not finish here. To the almost 70 cities in which GOWEX offers WiFi all over the world (among which are Paris, Dublin and Madrid) other American cities will soon be joining. According to the CEO of GOWEX, Jenaro García, "the launch of New York is just one step in the GOWEX strategy that, in the near future, will be implemented in the United States with more than three cities this year."

One of the tallest skyscrapers in New York: Floyd Mayweather's new real estate business

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Fri, 22 Jun 2018 17:35:00 +0000

Floyd Mayweather is 41 years old, he is a multimillionaire and since he retired from boxing he also has too much free time. Apparently, in his life, it's not just the parties and the casinos, but also the investments.

Up to now there are two businesses that are known to him: he is the owner of the TMT clothing brand and is the owner of a stippers club in Las Vegas. On the other hand, he is also in charge of promoting young boxing promises.

Now, a new business was known to be joined by the former boxing world champion: he will join a real estate project in New York. The building is already under construction and is located in East Midtown New York, next to the Grand Central Terminal.

Mayweather himself was the one who confirmed the news in dialogue with the Youtube channel Fight Hype, where he said it will be the largest skyscraper in Manhattan. However, this is not true.

The One Vanderbilt will measure 427 meters and although it will surpass the Empire State by 381 meters, it will be lower than the One World Trade Center (541 meters) and two that are still under construction: the 111 West 57th Street (438 meters) and the Central Park Tower (470 meters).

The building in which he will deposit his Mayweather millions will be inaugurated in 2020 and will have 58 floors, a glass facade and would be connected to the Grand Central Terminal in an underground way.

Finding a job in New York

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 02:41:00 +0000

For those who have wondered how to look for a job in New York City, here are some options.

One of the most widespread and comfortable ways to find a job in New York is through the web portals of employment, here are the main job seekers in New York:

Monster, this portal in addition to offering a job seeker, and a section of job offers, has interesting tips on how to take advantage of your career.

Careerbuilder, a US employment agency that operates in the United States, Europe, Canada, Asia and South America.

Nationjob, American employment network with specific categories.

Theladders, is a portal that requires membership.

Newyorkjobs, specific job seeker in NY.

Another option to find employment in New York is to go to their Job Fairs, a widespread practice in the US.

A job fair or career expo is an exhibition of employers, recruiters and schools to meet potential job seekers.

There you can take your Curriculum and deliver it in the different booths of employers or organizations.

A job fair is a good place to meet many representatives of companies from all sectors in a short period of time. In them you can interact and get contact information that can be useful for your professional career.

In New York, Employment Fairs are held in different areas.

Another way to look for a job in New York may be to go to Employment Agencies, this option costs money and is not always reliable, so you should be careful when you trust one of the many offices that provide this service, more even if you do not master English perfectly.

In NY there are many employment agencies and their prices vary from one to another. Many foreigners who live in New York do not recommend its use and prefer the traditional job search, that is, go directly to the employer with your Curriculum Vitae and wait for a job interview.

If you love the multiculturalism of the city, the New York lifestyle and you want to belong to the inhabitants of the Big Apple you can start looking for the job done for you. This city has it all!

Brett Favre's Chief Concern

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:20:00 +0000

Brett Favre is, as we are all very aware, a New York Jet. Even after having a bit of time to let that settle in to the ole' noggin, it is still an odd thing to declare. Unfortunately, now, Favre has been lumped into a rouges gallery of highly successful athletes that finished their careers in uniforms that appear very foreign to what one would expect to normally see. Can Favre succeed? Well, yes, but history is not on his side. Just take one look at all the players that are always mentioned--that tried and failed--playing on new teams: Willie Mays on the Mets, Michael Jordan on the Wizards, Joe Namath on the Rams, Johnny Unitas on the Chargers and, of course, Joe Montana on the Chiefs.

Wait though, why is Joe Montana always on one of these lists? In fact, even a few weeks ago, Bill Simmons of ESPN was joking on his podcast that a website should be set up showing off these late-in-career jerseys and Montana was the butt of most of his jokes as an embarrassment. Did Montana really embarrass himself during his two years as a Kansas City Chief like The Sports Guy would want you to believe? I say, emphatically, no. Shall we take a quick look at reality instead of perception?

(In full disclosure, I went to high school in Kansas City. When Montana was a Chief I was a student at the University of Missouri and was enamoured with everything the guy did. In other words, in 1993, I acted exactly the same as every salivating Jets fan does today; so yes, I get what they are going though.)

In early 1994 the Kansas City Chiefs played the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game. This marks the only time, in the entire history of the AFC Championship Game (that started during the 1970-1971 season), that the Kansas City Chiefs were involved in this game. Would you like to take a guess who the quarterback was during that game? Joe Montana. This came after a thrilling overtime win against the Steelers during the Wildcard round and an improbable victory, in Houston 28-20, where Montana threw three touchdown passes. Keep in mind, he wasn't throwing to Jerry Rice any longer, he was throwing to guys named Willie Davis and J.J. Birden. Yeah, Montana was quite the disgrace.

Montana continued to "embarrass" himself during the 1994 regular season, which ended with another trip to the playoffs. Actually, I can make the case that after all of those highly successful years in San Francisco, Joe Montana's most famous moment--during the regular season--happened as a Kansas City Chief (can this even be argued for any other player on their late-in-career team?) during a game at Mile High Stadium versus John Elway's Broncos on Monday Night Football. Trailing by four points, Montana led the Chiefs 75 yards, with less than 90 seconds to play, for a game winning touchdown. Please shield your eyes, dear reader, as to not scar your retinas with this youtube clip of a legend making a fool out of himself with the winning touchdown pass in that very game.

So yes, Jets fans, Brett Favre can absolutely have a great year with a new team. I have seen it first hand with a guy that was about as fragile as fully progressed game of Jenga. I also know, no matter what kind of success Favre has, that fourteen years from now it will be remembered as a failure.

I denounce you star wars

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:16:00 +0000

What happened to Star Wars? The most iconic film franchise in pop culture has become unrecognizable compared to its early installments. Why the obsession with Anakin Skywalker in the prequels? Where is the character depth of figures like Han Solo and the exciting action that characterized the original trilogy?

The prequels gave us the opportunity to meet a young Anakin Skywalker, but that story felt too forced and repetitive. Instead of exploring the Star Wars galaxy more broadly and meeting new interesting characters, the prequels focused on a single character. The original trilogy, on the other hand, had iconic characters and exciting moments that kept viewers on the edge of their seats.

The worst part is that the narrative and character focus in the original trilogy is very different from that of the prequels. In the original trilogy, each character has their moment to shine, and the focus isn't on a single character. In contrast, the prequels were dominated by the character of Anakin Skywalker, leading some fans and critics to argue that other characters like Han Solo weren't given the same depth.

In summary, it's a shame that Star Wars has become so unsatisfying. The original saga is a masterpiece of pop culture, but it seems like no one knows how to continue it properly. Rather than fixating on a single character or creating insipid new characters, we should focus on what made Star Wars great in the first place: complex characters, exciting stories, and a galaxy that's truly thrilling to explore.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is...

noreply@blogger.com (MS2) — Thu, 22 May 2008 19:14:00 +0000

not very good.

You do not know how hard it is for me to say that, I wanted to like it so bad. I am still trying to convince myself that what I saw was a quality Indiana Jones movie. It had its moments but... sigh. More later when I collect my thoughts and stop cursing the name of George Lucas.

Updated:

I wrote that paragraph above at about 4:00 AM and now that I got some sleep I can share a few thoughts. I may have been a bit kind saying this movie is just "not very good", it teeters dangerously as "just plain bad". I was excited but my expectations were very low, there is a difference. Plus I saw this in one of the best environments possible, The Ziegfeld with 1500 fellow excited Indy fans. All I was hoping was The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was half as good as Temple of Doom or Last Crusade. Let's say on a scale of 1 to 10 that Raiders is a 10, Temple is a 7.5 and Last Crusade is a 7 (yes, I even like Temple of Doom!). Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a solid 3.

I do not want to get too involved in explaining the plot but let me just say I really have no idea what this movie was about and major plot points just disappear, the story about the Crystal Skulls is just plain ludicrous. For those of you that want to argue by saying "is it any more ludicrous than three magic stones in India?" On the surface, no. But the three stones in Temple were such a small part of the story, Indy went after the stones because the Thugee clan was enslaving children. This is in contrast to Crystal Skull where those stupid Crystal Skulls have everything to do with the plot and they keep risking their lives for reasons I can not explain to you if I tried.

Another thing, Indiana Jones is a superhero now. In other words nothing can kill him, not even a fucking nuclear bomb going off about 100 yards away from him. If anyone thinks the scene in Temple is bad where he jumps out of an airplane on a life raft and survives, just wait. There are at least five things that happen to Indy in this movie that would kill anyone, and I am not just talking about examples as rudimentary as just the act of being punched in the face about 100 times, I mean situations that no human should survive (did I mention the fucking nuclear bomb going off?).

I truly believe Ford and Spielberg did the best could with this mess of a script. Lucas has been pushing this stupid idea of his since the early 1990's that Spielberg and Ford always hated. Well they both realized unless Lucas got his way this movie would never get made and relented. Do you realize a few years ago Lucas turned down Frank Darabont's script, he rejected Frank "Shawshank Redemption" Darabont's script for this turd?!?!?

Did I like anything? Yes. Harrison has not been this good in a movie in 15 years. He had some legitimately good scenes with Karen Allen as Marion. Shia was actually fine. The story is just crap and there is way to much CGI which is a surprise considering Spielberg swore there was hardly any.

Here is one last example, this is not a spoiler in any way. During the big chase scene through the jungle (you may have seen this in the trailer), Shia's character Mutt gets knocked off a vehicle by a branch and some vines. So what do you think happens next? Of course in about 10 seconds Mutt makes friends with a clan of monkeys in the tree and then proceeds to lead the monkeys, while swinging like Tarzan from vine to vine, in an attack on the Russian bad guys. Swinging from vine to vine! He caught up to vehicles traveling at high speeds by swinging from vine to vine leading a pack of monkeys. Do I need to repeat this sentence again?

Tuesday Morning HIMYM

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:28:00 +0000

For the three of you out there (possibly four now) who care, it is time for another round of GCWOK approved Tuesday Morning How I Met Your Mother. So out of pure curiosity I checked out lilyandmarshallselltheirstuff.com (for no other reason to see if Ted's red cowboy boots were for sale) but the sight seems to be crashed at the time of this writing. Apparently with another Britney appearance people were watching.

First the good news - How I Met Your Mother has been renewed for a fourth season!!! The bad news is this might have been my least favorite episode of the season, and possibly the entire series. In fact I think I laughed out loud more often (twice) during Rules of Engagement than I did tonight during HIMYM (once). The first time Britney Spears appeared on the show a few weeks ago her role was small and the writing was very sharp. In fact that was the same episode Barney lied to Ted about his doctor, who he had a crush on, having a disease where she was only attracted to men with mustaches. A flashback to a year earlier shows Barney announcing a bet - that Ted eagerly accepts - that he could get Ted to grow a mustache.

Unfortunately tonight Spears' role was much more central to the plot. I appreciate the fact that her presence will draw viewrs to a show I love that has time stuggled in the ratings; the sad fact though is Britney. Can't. Act.

I am not trying to dump on someone while they have had a rough few months. It is just unfortunate that all of her scenes were opposite Neal Patrick Harris who is so charming and beams with personality; the contrast was distracting. A few weeks ago we find out someone has been sabotaging Barney as he tries to pick up girls, we now know it was the Britney Spears character and we also know that she is in love with Ted so this means - for better or worse - we are sure to see her again.

The whole subplot involving Barney (NPH) and Abby (Spears) conspiring together that they are in love to show Ted how pathetic he looks when he has a girlfriend made absolutely no sense. Was there any hint that she loved Ted in the first episode she was in? Barney going into McLarens (fun fact - is based on McGee's Pup on 55th street) and putting on this act in front of a friend that "dumped" him was pathetic. I mean Barney has played so many more elaborate schemes on Ted in the past, what was the point of this again? It just seemed so forced and weak.

The plot of Marshall and Lily selling her clothes to pay for the contract work on their new apartment (prompting the real life charity website listed above) and later trying to sell her paintings was... well it was a little boring. The only saving grace was Robin mentioning Ted has items in his closet he never wears prompting Ted to bust out his red cowboy boots for the rest of the episode (prompting me to produce my before mentioned one laugh). Let me get this straight - Lily can not sell her art but after the gay couple without kids (GCWOK) buy a painting and throw it away after learning they only wanted the frame, a veterinarian finds it and hangs it in his office only to discover her painting has a soothing effect on angry dogs. Then he purchases three more paintings without even testing them to see if they have the same calming effect the first one did?!?! Lily paints for veterinarians now full time?!?!

Last week the writers of Two and a Half Men and CSI traded shows. I am only hoping it is announced that the writers of the usually fantastic How I Met Your Mother traded places for this episode with the ones from According to Jim. Then someone will have to tell me when According to Jim is on so I can watch, what will be this week, a well written show.

Three words to sum up being a Mizzou fan in New York: It's Always Michigan

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 08:04:00 +0000

For the first time in my sports rooting life the University of Missouri is ranked in the Top 10 in college football (#9 in both the AP and USA Today polls). Being a Mizzou fan in New York is tough though, to tell the honest truth being a Mizzou fan in general is tough after three of the most famous loses in college sports history (we will get to those later) even if one lives in St. Louis or Kansas City. In St. Louis Mizzou is often overshadowed by Illinois and in Kansas City they have to share the stage with Kansas and Kansas State. In New York though I find we are always overshadowed by of all things The University of Michigan.

Now hear me out a bit on this one because I am sure Michigan fans and alumni do not even realize this yet. To begin with it is quite difficult to find other Mizzou fans in this city to start with, needless to say we do not have an overwhelming alumni population in this part of the country. On the other side of the coin I swear I can not swing a dead cat and not hit someone that graduated from Michigan (in full disclosure I dated three girls in a row who went to Michigan who had no relation to each other and met them all randomly..... this is how big the pool of Michigan alumni are in New York!!!). Couple this with both schools starting with the letters 'M-I' with six letters following and very similar school colors and you have one sad central park runner (me) who gets excited every time he sees a big 'M' on a yellow shirt running his way only to find out that yes....... every single time...... it is always Michigan. And they are a cocky bunch, on the first day of the season at a local sports bar we asked if we could watch the Missouri vs. Illinois game and we were roundly mocked by a table of Michigan fans...... and this is after they just lost to Appalachian State at home!!!!

The University of Missouri is famous for really three things. Brad Pitt attended (did not graduate), our alumni consists of two national villains in Kenneth Lay and Randal "Duke" Cunningham, and the fact we can lose like no other school can lose. I know every fan of any college program can list their bad losses over time, but can you list three examples of losses that still appear on montages before big games that all lead to the opponent winning a National Championship? Let us review all three games that can each be summed up in two words.

Fifth Down

October 6th, 1990

I hate even writing about this considering Missouri plays Colorado this week. Missouri leading 31 - 27 with 40 seconds left in the game and Colorado has the ball near the goal line on 1st down. On their first play they spiked the ball to stop the clock. Second play they run for little gain. Third play they run for no gain. Colorado spikes the ball again to stop the clock and on the next play ran a quarterback sneak to win the game with no time left on the clock. Yep, five plays. The officials forgot to switch the down marker on one of the plays. End result: Your National Champion Colorado Buffaloes!

My Conversation With The King of Kong Star Billy Mitchell

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:16:00 +0000

If you have not been following this saga so far I will offer this little recap. Last week after seeing the fascinating new documentary The King of Kong, about the quest for the title of world champion in the arcade game Donkey Kong, I wrote a review of my thoughts on this film and in the process lambasted current Donkey Kong world champion Billy Mitchell (pictured) who is played as the villain in this film (to read a real review check out Roger Ebert's review).

After this lambasting I received an email from Billy Mitchell himself:

Mr.Midwesterner,

Thanks for the review... and all your thoughts. Hope you take these "Just for fun" moments and have fun with them... That is what I do with my wife and 3 children. When I am not working in our family businesses we are involved in football, cheerleading, baseball, softball, track, gymnastics,.... and so on... I took notice to your blog because my wife was born in NYC and grew up on Long Island. She is quite the success story herself... you may not want to hear about that. Again, a sincere hope for the best to a transplanted midwesterner in NYC. It a great place...
Never Surrender,
Never,

Billy Mitchell

(It is really is)

Over the last few days Mr. Mitchell and I exchanged some emails discussing his family and the film after which he invited me to call him personally. On Monday I did just that and we had about an hour long conversation. Following are the highlights from the email and phone conversation:

Midwesterner: I hope you were not offended by anything I wrote in the 'review' (I use that term lightly, I am not really a seasoned critic obviously). I am smart enough to realize the way the documentary was filmed that it was one sided and played you as the villain but that is what made the movie very compelling.

Billy Mitchell: I am not at all offended by your writing, which is very obvious by the friendly e-mail I sent to you. It is a film... it is Hollywood and I am sure it is not the 1st time nor the am I or my friends in the film the first people to be dooped. Of course, you are only reviewing what was on the screen and some of it would be asdepicted, some far, far from the truth... and then some omitted intentional.

Midwesterner: I also read you recently broke the record again for charity which is fantastic.

Billy: There is actually a much larger charity in the planning in September in Bethesda, Maryland. It is at a Cancer Research Center. I have been asked to attend. It is quite flattering that I was asked to attend and that they canceled the gentleman was the 1st winner of Donald Trump's Contest The Apprentice ( his name?)

Midwesterner: I believe the name you are looking for is Bill Rancic, The Apprentice winner from season one. Actually it was odd because in the reviews I read of the movie before seeing it they all painted you as 'the bad guy' so I was prepared for that. For the first half of the movie you came across as a pretty nice guy (like the scene with the Q*bert machine) then near the end (I am sure due to editing) it did
paint you in a more mischievous light.

Billy: We may actually be giving away a Donkey Kong (record machine) or the Q Bert that I gave to Ms. Doris... We will see no promises yet... The gentleman directing the event is [email redacted] although I don't think he has all his ideas together yet...

Midwesterner: Yeah, I love New York. Case in point the fact that I am one of the few people right now that can see The King of Kong (Though I would also love to see Chasing Ghosts, I hope it is released soon).

Billy: If you would like to see Chasing Ghost I can help you [email redacted] is the producer of the film... he is in NYC... his phone number is [redacted]. If he does not get to you ASAP let me know and I will lean on him to help you.

Midwesterner: Why did you shun Steve (Wiebe) when he said hello in Florida? I am sure there is more to the story.

Billy: Steve and Mark walked into my Restaurant which was a shock to me as I was told he was not in town by the producer... Later to learn that the producer flew in and paid for Mark, Steve his wife and children, the three of which I never did meet, unfortunately. I introduced My Wife and Children to them, my whole family signed their Record Books. My Family also met the 25 other players who where in the Restaurant. Some of these people I have known 25 years and that was the very 1st time anyone met my family...EVER [Ed Note: this was not the scene I was asking about, I was asking about the scene at the Guinness Book of World Records Tournament where Steve says hello to Billy and Billy ignores him.
Billy explains later in our phone conversation why there was confusion]

Midwesterner: When your wife was on camera I thought I noticed a slight New York accent.

Billy: You notice my wife had a slight NY accent...? Humm... This is to easy... call me and we will talk about my wife... and I promise you will be surprised [redacted phone number] (Top Secret #). I have a Smoking Gun but that's later...

So on Monday I did just that and placed a call to Billy Mitchell who was in his car and had just dropped his son off for football practice. When I called and used my real name and mentioned we had been emailing he had no clue who I was. Finally after mentioning this blog a very jovial voice greeted me "Ah yes, Mr. Midwesterner".

What might be the most shocking thing to come from the conversation was to learn that Mr. Mitchell had yet to even see The King of Kong. He states press reports have accused him of saying that he has refused to watch the film but states he has requested a screener from the film's producer and has yet to receive one, and of course the film is not playing anywhere near him in a local theater yet so this led to an interesting situation of where I had to describe the scenes in the film to him to ask about them.

Near the end of the film there is the 'infamous' scene where Billy and Steve Weibe meet for the first time at the Guinness Book of World Records tournament (which Billy states was a one time deal put together by the producers of the film just for the sole purpose of getting he and Steve Weibe into the same room). In the film Steve is playing and Billy walks behind him as Steve turns around and says "Hi, Billy". Billy ignores Steve and walks off saying to his wife that "there were certain people he did not want to spend too much time with". In the email exchange I asked him about this scene but he confused it with an incident that happened earlier at his restaurant. Billy states the reason he did not know what I was talking about is because in real life he claims he said "hello" back to Steve but the producers must have cut it to make it look like he completely ignored him. He may be right, I recently saw the film again and sure enough there is a camera change right at the moment Billy is standing behind Steve. Billy said the reason he did not spend too much time watching Steve play is because the group of people that like to "Stir the Sugar" (Billy does not use expletives) would accuse him of "stealing Steve's strategy".

What might be more interesting was this apparently was not the first meeting between Billy and Steve like the movie portrays. Billy claims the two met in 2004 (not to mention earlier in the day at his restaurant which the film does not show) at a tournament, two years before the Guinness tournament, shortly after Steve broke one million points for the first time. At this event they actually even played head to head on a MAME machine (not a true Donkey Kong machine, more of a program that will run the game on a computer) and Billy won the contest. Billy claims he even presented Steve with a poster of the two of them and both of their, unverified at the time, scores and invited Steve on stage with him but Steve refused.

I asked Billy what the "smoking gun" was that he discussed in his email. Billy asked me, if he was so obsessed with a score he set in 1982 then why did he not try to break the record set by Tim Sczerby in 2000. That's right, according to Mitchell he was not even the world record holder when Steve Wiebe was gunning for the record. Tim Sczerby was the title holder but Tim was kind of of a guy just like Steve, a nice guy that is not part of this 'video game community'. In other words Steve vs. Tim is not a movie because there is no bad guy. As Billy put it "It would be Mr. Vanilla vs. Mr. Vanilla", you need a Billy Mitchell to make it into a movie and he said he "does not mind playing the bad guy" but wants to set the record straight.

In the reviews Billy has read he makes note the reviewers often refer to his wife as a "trophy wife", to the point Billy asked me if I felt the same way and wanted me to be honest. I did not mention that point in my review and I honestly did not feel that way after seeing the film. I did admit that I too had seen those descriptions before seeing the film but feel that is a bit unfair. He made it clear that his "trophy wife" when they first met was making more money than he was, and she currently has two masters degrees and is currently working on her doctorate.

Look, I still love this film and highly recommend it. It is listed second in this weeks issue of Entertainment Weekly's Must List. My point is sometimes I take it personally when someone just leaves a negative comment after a post, I have no idea how I would react if an entire documentary was made featuring myself in such a negative light. Yes, in speaking to Billy Mitchell it becomes rapidly apparent he is a confidant man and the negativity does not seem to bruise his ego too harshly. To be fair just in conversation Billy mentions several times that Steve is a great player and there is no question about that, a admission from Billy that never appears in the film. Billy Mitchell does not seem like a guy who minds if people want to hate him, but even someone as confident as Billy Mitchell wants to make sure that if someone is going to hate him at least let it be for accurate reasons.

Counterpoint to my The King of Kong Review

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 22:21:00 +0000

So on Tuesday I 'reviewed' a new documentary called The King of Kong about a man named Steve Wiebe who was trying to break the world record in Donkey Kong and his struggle to get his new record recognized by the governing body of video game records and the former (spoiler alert) and again current record holder Billy Mitchell. In the documentary Billy Mitchell (pictured) is painted as the bad guy in the film and when discussing the film my emotions led me to use what may have been harsh words calling Billy Mitchell a "douche" and something else....... what was it........ oh yes I think it was "evil".

I received a few emails asking about the film and a few emails about classic arcade games..... and oh yeah guess who else I got an email from......

Mr.
Midwesterner,
Thanks for the review... and all your thoughts. Hope you take these "Just for fun" moments and have fun with them... That is what I do with my wife and 3 children. When I am not working in our family businesses we are involved in football, cheerleading, baseball, softball, track, gymnastics,.... and so on... I took notice to your blog because my wife was born in NYC and grew up on Long Island. She is quite the success story herself... you may not want to hear about that. Again, a sincere hope for the best to a transplanted midwesterner in NYC. It a great place...

Never
Surrender,
Never,

Billy
Mitchell

(It is really is)

After a little research I truly have no reason to doubt that this was in fact from Billy Mitchell (and no disrespect to Mr. Mitchell but I would find it hard to believe people would go around pretending to be him and discussing his family). A couple of points..... First of all the origin of my original post was to try to get people to see what I found to be a very compelling documentary that I am not sure most people would want to see. Yes, of course I used words to describe Billy Mitchell that the director of the documentary wanted me to use because the film takes place from the challenger Steve Wiebe's perspective and I would assume the film is a bit biased in that fact.

But also there are a few questions I have for Mr. Mitchell and in my response to him I did ask him why when he finally met Steve Wiebe for the first time and Steve greeted him by saying "hello" did Billy completely ignore him then mention to his wife that (I am paraphrasing) 'there are some people we do not need to associate with'. Maybe something happened off camera that the viewer was not privy too, maybe it was simply Mr. Mitchell looking at Steve as his competition and like many competitors they do not socialize with said competition. Fair enough either way, but I would like to know.

I mentioned in my original post that it appeared Billy Mitchell who set the original record in 1982 was still living off these feats and I think Mr. Michell's main point in his email was that he has other concerns in his life other than his video game records. I would agree with that, but in the film it is obvious these records still mean a great deal to him. To be fair, if I was the best at something I would not want to give that up for anything no matter what it was. I mean look at Hank Aaron over the last few months, this was not a happy man. Of course he gave up his record to a steroid user (I refuse to say 'alleged', the man admitted to a grand jury that he 'unknowingly' took steroids), and I should point out I am in no way implying that Steve Wiebe took steroids to break Billy Mitchell's record in Donkey Kong.

I should point out that (again spoiler alert) Steve Wiebe did officially break Billy's record. In the last few weeks, after a sizable donation to charity which should be applauded, Billy agreed to play again and reclaimed his title. If Mr. Mitchell writes again (and I hope he would) I will share any updates unless instructed otherwise, also be sure to tune in tomorrow when I respond to the letter I am sure to get now from Barry Bonds (I am in no way insinuating Billy Mitchell took any performance enhancing drugs in constructing his letter).

The Color Man

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 20:29:00 +0000

I am really surprised I did not get the living hell beat out of me based on the following misunderstanding at a local bar in my neighborhood. I was enjoying a taste while watching some playoff football and a conversation was struck up between myself and the gentleman sitting next to me at the bar. Finding out he was a big Mets fan, and myself being a huge Cardinals fan, the conversation predictably turned toward the 2006 National League Championship Series.

This really did not turn into an issue. Cardinal fans are a lot like the people of Alderon, we are peaceful and we have no weapons. We had a nice debate about the series and the conversation was amicably pleasant. A few days before, I was listening to sports radio hosted by one of the Mets play by play broadcasters (Howie Rose) and for the life of me I could not think of his name but I wanted to quote something he had said. So not being able to remember, I ask the Mets fan what the name of the Mets color commentator is. Mets fan's eyes go wide open as he declares "Dude, I don't know!". Thinking that was an odd response I ask again, "so you don't know the name of your color man?" Again he states he does not know and he asks me why that would even matter. Now I am the one getting mad and I tell him, "well it matters because I was trying to quote him and all I know is he is the Mets color commentator and I can't believe your such a big fan and would not know the answer to that. "

At this point the Mets fan stands up, slams his drink down on the bar and looks at me and says "I will say it for the last time, I am not aware of any 'colored's' that broadcast for the Mets" before walking away from the bar. First of all this is the point in the story I should point out two things. The Mets fan I had been chatting with is indeed at least partially African American, and secondly had never heard the term "Color Commentator" before which I shall define:

'A color commentator, sometimes known as a color analyst, is a member of the broadcasting team for a sporting event who assists the play-by-play announcer by filling in any time when play is not in progress. '

It took me about 20 seconds to fully grasp what had happened. When it hit me, in all honesty the first thing to come out of my mouth was "Wait, I'm not a racist!!!" Wow, Michael Richards would be proud.

I immediately bring the bartender in to the conversation to back me up that there was indeed a term called "color commentator". After much persuasion from the bartender and myself the Mets fan finally pauses and says "Oh, I get it.... he brings color to the conversation....you mean Howie Rose?". Yes.... Yes.... Yes.... Howie Rose, indeed he brings color to the conversation. Thank You.......

So the conversation once again returned to civility for at least the next 20 seconds until I asked him

"So, do you think Beltran has taken the bat off of his shoulders yet?"

So, I witnessed my first mugging.....

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 19:31:00 +0000

Central Park at night is not the dangerous place it used to be. During the winter months running in the park after sunset is the only option for many New Yorker's to get a run in and I am no exception. The police presence is strongly felt and one feels the comfort of 'strength in numbers' from their fellow runner. With crime as low as it is now it is easy to forget that it can still happen, but for over two years of living in this city I had never seen a crime......until now.

My friend Kirk and I were running a full six mile loop around Central Park and we had just passed the Harlem Hill on the north west corner. On the downward hill I ran ahead and stopped near the 102nd street transverse on the west side. As I waited for Kirk I noticed a group of three running toward me coming from the transverse. As they approached I noticed two girls of Asian descent in full running gear and following close behind by another runner that was not female or Asian and not wearing running gear at all. Honestly, I am so naive (see definition: simple and guileless) the only thing I thought to myself as they all passed and turned south on the main loop was 'I don't know what type of workout this guy is going for wearing baggy jeans, and that black down coat has no reflectors... is he asking to be run over?'.

About 45 seconds passed and I saw Kirk approaching from behind me when I hear screaming coming from in front of me. It was a woman's voice yelling "You asshole, you asshole". The next thing I see is the man in the baggy jeans and the black coat running on the inner sidewalk of the park darting for the woods while he was being chased by one of the girls. By this point she was shouting "Help, please help, somebody stop him!!!".

At this point I have no idea what this guy has done so I start running from the main road toward the sidewalk. He starts to dart in to the woods so I look around me on the road and see an unopened can of beans. After quickly checking the wind I let the can of beans fly in to the air effortlessly toward the attacker, the beans strike him on the head knocking him unconscious to the ground. The cheers from the crowd that gathered engulfed me, and as I turned around to address them I tipped my hat and said "G'day mate". Wait..........no that was not me, that was actually Crocodile Dundee. My version was quite different and pathetic.

OK, lets reset the situation. The mugger was being chased on the inner sidewalk by the girl screaming "Help, please help, somebody stop him!". My first reaction actually was to run toward the mugger to try to help. I had no idea what was going on, the ideas of what this guy could have done fueled my adrenaline as he was entering the woods. Then the girl yelled "He stole my I-Pod!". Huh. I-Pod you say. The immediate thought of chasing an assailant in to the woods over an I-Pod caused me to stop my brief pursuit.

So my decision was to do nothing except try to console the victim. So it is official, I am no subway hero Wesley Autry.

A few seconds later Kirk arrived and I explained what had happened. He immediately told me how foolish it would have been to chase this guy down over an I-Pod. How did I know he did not have a knife or a gun. This is true but it does not make me feel better about it. I have told this story to a few people and they all say I did the smart thing considering only an I-Pod was at stake and I knew that. Again, I feel mixed about this. It is true I probably could have caught up to the guy. It is also true I am not Crocodile Dundee and if he would have pulled a knife on me I could not have quipped back "That's not a knife, this is a knife....".

Honestly, what should I have done? I want to know what people think. To be fair to myself I would have had to run in to the woods, with it pitch black out, in the Halem part of Central Park. Yes it would have been dangerous, but wouldn't an obituary that read "Even though the assailant only took an I-Pod, the Samaritan still risked and lost his life to help a stranger, because that's just the guy he was". Nope not me, still here writing a blog. It seems what my obituary will read is "Always lived to run away today, so he could live again to run away another day". I didn't really run away (I stole that from the movie Maverick) but you get the point.

Sitting in the Audience of Late Night with Conan O'Brien (Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:35:00 +0000

After seeing Letterman in person twice, next on my stop of the late night talk show circuit was Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Getting tickets was slightly more complicated than David Letterman was. There was no easy 'ticket request' on the internet like 'The Late Show' provided. After some searching on NBC's website I found a phone number to call. The lady that answered said that they were taking reservations for dates that were six months in the future, except for the following Monday night in which they had four tickets if I wanted them. It turns out that Conan usually does not film on Monday's and that is why they had tickets available.

The following Monday my three lucky friends and myself met at Rockefeller Center for the taping. As we stood in line there was a rambunctious line growing across from us that turned out to be the audience for 'Last Call with Carson Daly'.

These people were being plucked right off of the street to see this show, staring at this motley bunch I did feel some superiority over them because they had Carson Daly to look forward to in their future. Honestly I think I would rather take my chances with the Cracken from "Clash of the Titans".

The atmosphere for Conan is a lot more laid back than at Letterman's show. They do not run you through any sort of boot camp to teach you how to laugh. All you do is wait in line until they divide the line up for the elevator rides up to the studio. When you get to the studio doors there is no 'door man' with a velvet rope deciding who sits where, it is completely first come first serve. Upon entering the studio, the first reaction is to notice how small that place really is. I mean really small. On television it appears that Conan and Max Weinberg are a decent amount of distance from each other but in reality they are almost right on top of each other.

After a warm up comic finishes, Conan himself come out and addresses the crowd. Wow he is a tall man in person, I mean really tall. One of the guests was Seth (tell Sloan I said 'wad up') Green who is not a tall man and the contrast was freakish. Like I said earlier, Conan usually tapes Tuesday through Friday. He explains though on this night, through the magic of television that even though today was actually a Monday it was to become Friday. Because of a prior commitment they were taping Friday's show on this night. This led to awkward giggles from the audience the entire evening. It started in Conan's monologue when he declared "TGIF...... right crowd!!!" It was actually pretty great to be there, it was like an inside joke the whole night that Conan never revealed to the viewer at home. Another great thing about Conan's show is the awkward silence after a joke bombs. Without any boot camp training like Letterman's people put the audience through, if a joke fails it fails. So if you are watching Conan at home, all the laughter is real, there is no cattle prod forcing it which I really liked.

The best moment of the night came after guest Josh Duhamel (of Las Vegas and Tad Hamilton fame) explained to Conan how he barely made it to the taping tonight after being at the Superbowl in Jacksonville (which was the night before). This lead to the biggest laugh of the night when Conan asked Duhamel "Why, did you walk? You had 5 days to get here.....right..." Of course the at home audience would have no idea why the crowd erupted in laughter.

I have to admit I enjoyed my experience at Conan more than I did Letterman. The atmosphere was just a lot more natural (and warmer, yes it is freezing at 'The Late Show' a fact I forgot to mention) than at Letterman's show. Of course on the way out there was one incident, a woman in front of me snapped a quick picture of the lobby leading back to the elevators and an NBC page saw this transgression and confiscated the camera. This was after the show!!! The woman understandably was irate and wanted to go on to their next destination.

The page informed her that the camera would be taken to security for the removal of all her photos taken inside Rockefeller Center and then it would be returned, and she could pick it up the next morning. As we went down the elevators she was still arguing with the page, I heard her cry "But we are going to the Statue of Liberty tomorrow morning........" as the elevator doors shut. Ha.

The next instalment will take a look at the taping of the third ever episode of "The Colbert Report".

Sitting in the Audience of The Late Show with David Letterman (Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Drox) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 20:57:00 +0000

To this day I have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the top of The Empire State Building. To me, the one touristy (remember I still had a lot of Midwest in me) event I had to do when I first moved to New York City was to be an audience member at my favorite late night shows. Today in 2007 I would look at this endeavor as just a big hassle, but growing up in the Midwest the most exciting live taping I had seen to that point was a clogging exhibition at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO that was being carried live on KY3 Action News. Perhaps I will share that story if I ever start my sister blog "Midwesterner's Guide: The Ozark Years".

In truth, for about a month I was a late night audience member junkie. I could not get over the fact that not only did I get to see someone such as David Letterman in person, but that it was absolutely free!!!! Right after one moves here and has just paid two months rent upfront, a deposit and a broker fee..... free entertainment is pretty much a necessity. Over the first few weeks of living here I had secured tickets to 'The Late Show with David Letterman', 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien', 'The Daily Show with John Stewart', and later 'The Colbert Report'. I will offer a description of each in a four part series. In part one, lets take a look at our night in the audience of 'Late Night with David Letterman'.The first taping I attended was 'The Late Show with David Letterman'. Actually I attended twice in one week. My friend Kirk and I both signed up on the internet thinking it would be incredibly difficult to get tickets. Yet surprisingly we were both called back on the same day and offered tickets to attend a taping that week. To finalize the ownership of the tickets you have to answer a 'trivia question' about the show. Our question was to name the owner of the 'Hello Deli', so really not too difficult if you have ever seen the show before.

So we arrive for the first show at 4:00pm to check in. 'The Late Show' is very unique on how they seat the audience members though. Honestly, it reminds me of a West Chelsea nightclub on their door policy. Sure, everyone gets in and no one has to purchase a $300 bottle of Kettle One to get past the door but it is best to be attractive and spirited to get on the lower level. After they give you a line number (which means nothing) they have you meet outside for what I can only describe as audience member boot camp. The very spirited pages spend the next 30 minutes teaching you how to clap and laugh then only after this boot camp ends is it finally time to enter the theater.

On the first night we befriended four girls on 'holiday' from London who were a little drunk but quite entertaining. They found it quite amusing to refer to Kirk as 'Captain Kirk' then giggle amongst themselves for 30 seconds before asking 'The Captain' another question. Anyway, 'The Captain' and I found them to be a fairly fun group and it did actually enhance the experience. As we entered the theater the pages instruct the line to loudly clap and cheer. The six of us were full of life, but as we approached the doors to the seating area the pages were sending people up to the balcony, which we thought was quite disappointing. Interestingly enough when we got to the doors they stopped the line and sent the six of us to the lower seats five rows from the stage. I have to admit, we were feeling pretty good about ourselves as Letterman came out to talk to the crowd before the show.

Its strange when you are actually at the taping, things you would never laugh at on television are just hilarious in person. I suppose it is just the mood you are in, but I could have sworn at one point how lucky I was to be at the funniest installment of David Letterman of all time. Ice Cube was the guest that night and I was honestly riveted as he tried to explain why I should pay money to see a movie called "Are We There Yet?".

On the second night we showed up, checked in and went for our second round of boot camp. To this point everything was going as planned as we lined up to go in the theater, yet this was the exact moment the night went horribly horribly wrong for us. Kirk and I were talking amongst ourselves when I was tapped on the shoulder. We turned around and to our horror instead of being befriended by four drunk English girls, we were in the clutches of the freak shows from Akron, OH who resembled a male and female version of 'Digger the Dermatophyte' (The creature in the Lamisil commercials who lives under people's toenails).

Usually I am a pretty nice guy (I am from the Midwest after all) but I knew the policy at the door and the freak shows would not stop talking to us. As we approached the doors the page was letting a free flow of people right in to the prime seating. As he saw what he perceived as our 'foursome', the page actually stops the line with his arm and waves the four of us up in to the balcony as a third base coach would have sent a runner in to score . Kirk brazenly ignored the instructions to continue, stopped and sheepishly pointed at what appeared to be the section our seats were in from the earlier night and declared "We are not with them, can't we.......", to which the page cut him off "Well, you are now". Defeated, we made our way upstairs. I looked behind me, and the page immediately let the people behind us in to the prime seating. Sigh. So now, not only were we banished to the balcony, when we arrived they were out of seats!!!! A page then breaks out a couple of folding chairs and with a straight face she tells us "You know, these are actually the best seats in the house". Wow. Of course what made the evening better was the girl to my left having a cell phone conversation. Unbelievable. Did she think it was just like being rude at the movies? Did she think the people on stage could not hear her? The pages never even made her leave, just told her two separate times she was not allowed to use her phone. Of course with all the distractions I was less inclined to see Debra Messing's movie "The Wedding Date" that she was pitching to me. Though one highlight though came when Peyton Manning was being interviewed and a man shouted out "Go Eagles!!!" and this joker was immediately shown the door.

So that was it, I had finally attended a taping of David Letterman. And even with the bad second experience its hard to complain when it is free, yet I will anyway. On the next installment I will describe our evening at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien".