A very Merry Christmas . . .

from the heart of Times Square!

[Linking back to Blue Monday
at Magical Mystery Teacher.]

art in the subway

New York in Transit is the name of this big
(only half of it is visible here) glass
 mosaic mural by Harlem Renaissance artist
Jacob Lawrence.  It was installed here
in the Times Square subway station in 2001
to coincide with a retrospective of his
work at the Whitney Museum.

[Linking back to Monday Mural and Blue Monday.]

In Times Square

I actually took this picture a couple of days
before Christmas, at (believe it or not) 2 o'clock
in the afternoon.  There's no rain predicted
for tonight—that's good news for the estimated
1 million (!) people who will be gathering here.
I will most definitely not be joining that crowd,
but I wish them—and you—a very Happy New Year!

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and to Our World Tuesday.]

New York at Night 24: Taxi!

It was pushing midnight when I took this
shot at the corner of 8th Avenue and 42nd Street.
Well, it was a Friday night—so it probably
looked like this at 3 a.m. too.  I did not
hail a cab (never do), but went home on the
subway—where there were no seats to be had
even at that hour.  I love/hate this city!

[To see more Mellow Yellows, visit Gemma's meme.]

Blue Monday

Cookie Monster wants to know where Lady Liberty
got that patriotic but out-of-context bandanna.
This Elmo probably doesn't remember it (and
no doubt thought we were out-of-towners rather
than born-and-bred New Yorkers), but I recently gave
him a buck to pose with a friend here in Times Square.


[To see more Blue Monday posts, visit Smiling Sally's meme.]

New York at Night (13)

Times Square, Tuesday at 8 PM—
the crowds here make me nuts at pretty 
much any hour of the day or night.
On the one hand, I'm glad they
cleaned this area up.  On the other . . .


[I'm linking back to Olivier's Walk in
the Street Challenge. To see more, go here.]

The Great White Way

I wonder how many people have gotten
a stiff neck visiting this city.  Times Square is
not my favorite part of town, but I guess it's
a must if you're here to see the sights.
[To see more of Olivier's Walk in the Street challenge, go here.]

abc wednesday —W is for "Whoopi"

And also for "wax"—because this Whoopi is
not the real one, but her Madame Tussaud double.
Makes for a nice photo op on 42nd Street though.
[To see more ABC Wednesday, go here.]

Mellow Yellow Monday

If you're going to open a McD's at Broadway and 42nd Street,
you should probably make it fit in.  This is the biggest metropolitan
McDonald's in the country.  The marquee has 7,500 light bulbs.
Inside there are 18 42-inch plasma screens and 27 15-inch monitors.
(They're ostensibly to keep the customers entertained, but I
think it's really to keep your mind off what you're eating—dress
it up all you want, it's still junk food.)
[You can see more Mellow Yellow here.]

That's My World Tuesday

It's the 65th anniversary of the famous photo

(taken on V-J Day by Alfred Eisenstadt) that's depicted 

by this statue in Times Square.  The

nurse—Edith Shain was her name—just died this 

past June at the age of 91.  Though dozens

of men have claimed to be the kissing sailor, he

has never been positively identified.

[See more of the world here.]

That's My World Tuesday

Well, it is my world—but I only go there

if I absolutely have to. This shot doesn't quite

 capture the hordes of people who

clog the sidewalks at all times and keep

you from getting where you need to go.

Times Square might be okay with no one in it, 

but, frankly, the only time that ever

happens is when there's a bomb scare!

[You can see lots more of the world here.]

New York at Night (5)

These beautiful old globe lamps belong to the

New Victory Theater, on 42nd Street just

off Times Square. And right across the street,

our all-time favorite nanny (and king of the jungle). 

 When I think about what this block used to 

be like—a total sleaze fest—what a turnaround!

[This post is part of That's My World Tuesday.

See more here.]

2009

But only for another 24 hours. By this

time tomorrow, this ball will have just

dropped, the numbers for the new year

will be all lit up—and probably the

crazy crowd down below in Times

Square will be too (but in a different

way)! They can do whatever they want—

I'm nowhere near the insanity.

New York at Night (4)

It figures that the subway station at Times
Square would have its fair share of glitz and
color, and probably more than its fair share
of wattage use. I'm thinking our carbon
footprint, in this neighborhood especially,
is not anything to brag about.

tourist central

Must admit that I often roll my eyes

at what I think of as "tourist junk."

On the other hand, here's part of

my Eiffel Tower collection. So what's

the difference really?

Let's chat

Well, now I kinda regret that I didn't!

I wonder what kind of conversationalist

he is. He does look like one of those people 

you might very well run into

somewhere else around town—so if 

I ever see him again, I'll definitely comply.

good news!

I hope Ben means it, don't you? This
is Times Square, of course, and that's
the ball that they drop (or rather "lower,"
since it might be a bad idea to drop
something that's made of Waterford
crystals!) on New Year's Eve.
[FYI, that geodesic ball weighs 11,875
pounds, and is covered with 2,668
crystals. The 32,256 LED lights make it
possible to create 16 million colors and
billions (!) of patterns.]
Off to Virginia tonight and may or may not
be able to comment—please feel free to do
so yourself, of course. And Happy 4th to all
you patriotic (or not) Americans!

power to the pedestrians

Took this last Monday, Memorial Day (in the same spot as 
yesterday's photo), as everyone was trying to get used to
the idea of this stretch of Broadway (42nd to 47th Streets) 
now being a pedestrian mall.  It's not exactly Piazza Navona, 
and the area could use a few classy outdoor cafes to replace 
all the schlocky souvenir emporiums—but everyone seemed 
to be enjoying this space where formerly you could barely
walk down the sidewalk, and the taxis would just as soon mow 
you down as pick you up.  Hey, it's a start.

ahoy there

Last week was Fleet Week here, and we've
been seeing sailors all over town.  These 
guys in Times Square were probably 
hoping for some of this action!

big brother

In Times Square, the NYPD is making sure they 

don't miss a thing.  I'm okay with their overview, 

though I suppose it's only a matter of time 

before we'll all be on "candid camera" instead.