Monday, January 12, 2009

CRAZY BUSY!!!

Just a Short Posting

We are now well in to 2009, and I couldn't be busier. I was planning on doing more of a retrospective, but so far there is no time. I do still plan on the "A Look at '08" blog, which will include "movie", "music", and "the books I read" lists.

For now, I will leave you by saying that this is shaping up to be an exciting year career wise, and I can not get enough of Guitar Hero: World Tour!

Until next week...

Thursday, January 01, 2009

2009 - The Return of the Blog!!!

Retrospective - New York State of Blog


Okay, I'll start by admitting that my blog updates have been about as reliable as the stock market recently. One of my resolutions this year is to start blogging on a more regular basis. I do miss it, and the comments. This time around I don't want to rely on cheap YouTube videos just to make a post. If I see something that I like, I will pass it along. But I don't want to blog unless I actually have something to say. Whether it is an opinion on something in the world (controversial or not), or just a quick "what's new" or "state of the union" type of posting.


So I guess the best way to start this year's blogging is to look back on some highlights of 2008. Here we go...


NYC


Last May Andrea and I went back to New York for our yearly vacation. This trip had us taking a TV bus tour, eating at the elegant Tavern on the Green, touring NBC, wandering around the financial district (before all hell broke loose!), Battery Park, and much more! Here are some pics of fun.



This was the sculpture in the World Trade Center. Now it sits in Battery Park.















The Friends building!

















Serpico's apartment! The only honest cop in New York. Awesome!















The New York Public Library















The Fat Black Pussycat. This is where Bob Dylan used to try out new stuff in the early years. Now it's a Mexican restaurant which serves some of the best Margaritas!















F.A.O. Schwarz was the toy store made popular by the movie Big. Off topic - I was offered a Rolex out of a guy's coat pocket in front of this store. Awesome!















Fantastic Lego sculptures! I'm so nerdy!



































I'll be honest here. I felt a little like Waylen Smithers when I took this one!























This week on Law & Order!















Well it looks like I was the only one who knew where the markets were going! Everyone else was posing at the unfunny end of the bull.




















It was like Grand Central Station in there!















The Drake Hotel and Strawberry Fields. That Imagine photo is probably the best photo I will ever take!




















Break dancers in Central Park.















Eating at Tavern on the Green. I think I was sitting beside the window Rick Moranis was banging on in Ghostbusters! Luckily no demonic dogs ate me during my visit.























The show that night was Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan, & Gladys Knight (no Pips though), and was being hosted by Bill Clinton. Suffice it to say, I couldn't get tickets!




















The bathroom in Tiffany's. Probably wouldn't want to eat breakfast in there! The stalls had dead bolt locks and real doors! Not just the run of the mill steel doors in this place. Also look at all the marble! This place was so high end, they have a guy to spin the revolving door for you! Now that's customer service.















9/11 is a lie!!! I found this just 10 minutes away from Ground Zero.















This is what's left of CBGB's. Once the punk mecca of the world, now just another medium for a snooty designer to pimp his wears. At least John Varvatos left all the graffiti, and still sold albums (and I'm talkin' real vinyl here), but his clothes were quite unreasonably prices. For shame...















At least Joey Ramone Place still stands.















Story Corps is a company that allows everyday people to tell there stories and then streams them online. It's actuall quite remarkable. Click here to visit the web site.























Well, that about wrapps up my New York adventure. I will be posting a few more retrospectives, and then start reporting on the coming year.
I hope everybody had a great holiday season, and all the best in 2009.