Nov 042008
Nov 022008
My friend Emily ran the New York City Marathon today. As far as I know, she is my first friend to run a marathon. It was my first time watching any marathon in person; I went up to Sarah and Jeremy’s new apartment in Park Slope to watch her go by. It was a ton of fun, and something I want to repeat next year.
Emily wrote about her training for the marathon and also raised over $1,400 dollars to fight cancer. This was her first marathon, and she completed it in under five hours. She looked great when she passed Jeremy, Sarah, and I at 4th Avenue and 1st Street–not only was she right on pace, but she looked fantastic. She called out to us as she ran by. (Jeremy made a large cardboard “Emily” sign that Sarah was holding.)
Congratulations Emily!
I also took some poorly composed video of the marathon before Emily came by.
Oct 312008
Today it was announced that Condé Nast would be cutting 5% of it’s staff and 5% of it’s budget. I personally know one person who has lost their job; I hope I do not find out about others. American Express also announced layoffs of 7,000 jobs worldwide, and American Express publishing has announced a layoff of 22 positions, or 10% of its staff. Cutbacks by Gannet and the Tribune Company have also been reported.
Both of the publishing cuts come on the heels of the Time Inc. announcement. These cuts will certainly have a large impact in New York City in combination with the financial industry meltdown.
Oct 242008
Ginny and I were walking by Madison Square this evening, when we saw an odd array of lights. It turns out that we got a sneak preview of Pulse Park, a public art installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. It’s scheduled to run from tomorrow through November 17. I recommend checking out the video, since my still photos do not do the project justice.
[Visit YouTube to see the view in high quality]
Oct 242008
My brother called me to say that there was a fire close to his apartment building and that there were a large number of firetrucks present. I saw the report on the Gothamist Labs: Maps; it was reported on Gothamist as both a 10-75, “notification of fire or emergency,” and a 10-76, “notification of fire or emergency in a high-rise building.” He said that he could see water shooting out of the windows. Hopefully everyone is okay.
(Codes from F.D.N.Y. Radio Codes.)
Oct 232008
Last Friday, October 17, Betsy and I went to see Katy Pfaffl at the Canal Room. Katy is a fun singer/songwriter. For this performance, she was backed by a full band, including a string trio. The Canal Room is a small, intimate venue with a decent sound system, but some weird choppy lighting. It was a fun performance; Katy is a great singer and a lot of fun.
(You can go to YouTube to watch the video in high quality.)
After the concert, Betsy and I went to Bouley Upstairs. It is in the same price range as several small bistros in the same neighborhood, but the food is cooked with the same love and attention to detail that is given at the affiliated high-end restaurants. And the wine is also fair, if you stick to the wines by the glass.
Oct 232008
Last Thursday Evening, October 16, Anne and I went to the Rise Bar at the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park to wish the Queen Elizabeth 2 farewell to New York City. The QE2 is on it’s final voyage; after returning to England she will be moved to Dubai as a museum.
It was a windy, gray night, but the managers at the Rise Bar had the balcony open so that we could see the QE2 along side the much larger Queen Mary 2. The ships are both very impressive, but the QE2 looks more like a classic ocean liner than the QM2.
Even though I had a tripod, it was difficult to keep the camera steady due to the fierce winds.
The QM2 waiting for the QE2
The QE2 passing in front of the QM2
The QE2 sails ahead of the QM2 and out of the harbor
The New York Times has an article about the departure. And, of course, let’s not ignore the “it’s a small world” moment. The New York Times reports, “A duplicate of the pennant was presented Thursday to Grover Sanaschagrin [sic], 88, who as a harbor docking pilot guided liners to their berths from 1944 until his retirement in 1996.” I believe this is the grandfather of Grover Sanschagrin, my coworker at PhotoShelter.
Oct 162008
This past Monday, Dogmatic, street vendor turned fast food restaurant, opened on 17th Street in the former Mandler’s space off of Union Square. Mandler’s was a fast food store that served high end sausages, fries, and beers. Unfortunately, their food did not match their aspirations, the store always looked dirty, and the prices were a bit too high. Dogmatic is a new sausage store billing themselves as the “Gourmet Sausage System.” And they don’t disappoint.
The sausages at Dogmatic are served with a variety of sauces, but their bread steals the show. Rather than a standard hot dog bun, or even a fancy Chicago-style poppy-seed roll, Dogmatic uses French bread-style loaves. Each loaf is cut in half and shoved on a spike. The spike has two functions: it warms the bread and makes a nice receptacle for the sausage and sauce. I’ve tried a couple of sausage so far; my favorite combination is the beef sausage with the truffle-Gruyere sauce. (Don’t spill the sauce on your shirt–it is embarrassing, especially when your coworkers don’t tell you that you’ve spilled and you walk around all day with a splotch of Gruyere on your shirt like a nimrod.)
Dogmatic costs more than your typical dirty water dog stand–a sausage costs around $4.50. However, compared with nearby Chop’t (salad for $12), or other restaurants (sushi for $15), Dogmatic is a bargain. And I think the bread alone is worth the cost. Also, vegetarians (and those of us who have had their fill of sausage) have a very nice option: Dogmatic prepares grilled asparagus as a sausage substitute.
If you are in the neighborhood and want a quick bite to eat, Dogmatic is worth visiting.
(Dogmatic sausage with horseradish mustard sauce: if you love strong mustard and horseradish, you will love this sauce. For everyone else, it might be a bit too strong.)
Oct 142008
Last weekend, I rode on a yacht, had food poisoning, and climbed Anthony’s Nose.
I took Friday, October 3rd off to sail around the New York Classic Week Regatta, a schooner race around New York Harbor. Anne, Ginny, and I met at Chelsea Piers to board the yacht Manhattan. We paced most of the race to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and then made our way up the East River before heading back to the finish line at the Hudson. There was a bit of extra time, so we continued up the Hudson to see the Intrepid before returning to dock.
The day was overcast, but it was still pleasant outside and we all had a great time. We were supplied with a brunch of waffles, quiche, ham, salmon, and bagels; not to mention a fully stocked bar.
New York harbor is a working harbor, and the sailboats navigated along large container vessels and barges.
Turning at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
Anne and Ginny
The Manhattan was comfortable, fast, and fun. It’s worth looking into if you want a pleasant cruise around the city.
The New York City Waterfalls. The project just finished this past weekend. We were able to get very close to the falls.
The day before our ride, the Intrepid returned to its permanent berth.
The view of Manhattan from the middle of New York harbor.
Unfortunately, several hours into the ride, I started to become sick. I was still fatigued and weak after the ride, and took a nap when I went home. I woke up shaking several hours later and realized that I had food poisoning. I don’t think it was from the food on the ship since no one was ill; I think it was from my breakfast at a coffee shop or my lunch the day before. The details are a bit gross, but the good news is that my fever broke that night at 3 am, and by the end of Saturday I was in good shape.
So on Sunday, I went up along the Hudson to visit my friend Phil at his house in Garrison. Anne, Mary, Phil, and I started out the day by climbing Anthony’s Nose, a peak overlooking Bear Mountain. We climbed the mountain fairly quickly; it’s a fairly easy, but steep, climb with a beautiful view.
Phil and Mary at the peak of Anthony’s Nose.
Bear Mountain Bridge
Me (Sam Greenfield) overlooking Bear Mountain Bridge from Anthony’s Nose
Anne, me, Mary, and Phil
Climbing down the mountain, I saw many weird looking mushrooms. I would have taken more pictures, but I didn’t want to keep everyone waiting.
I didn’t do as much this past weekend, but I did walk down to Brooklyn Bridge Park with a friend of mine. It was a clear, warm day.
I finished up the weekend playing with my camera. I want to work with the strobe to see if I can capture better images of water droplets.
Oct 142008
Bobby Flay versus Jerome Chang
