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Thanks Jim
Monday, February 28, 2005
Just wanted to say thanks to Jim for bringing Scala to my attention. What a truly amazing, uplifting and spiritual sound. Wow! (Someone New is such a beautiful arrangement.)I feel like a bad gay son today - I only just realised it's Mothers day this weekend. It was pointed out to me today that I was expected to be the last person who'd forget but I very nearly did. Where is this year going? Thankfully I have the Internet at my disposal and time to get myself organised!
[iTunes: "Someone New" : Scala On The Rocks]
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Free Music / Free Speech
Sunday, February 27, 2005
No; I don't want to sound like Prince during his Emancipation period! I want to highlight two things in this blog entry; the great free music available online and the state of our great English language.I was hunting around the web to find out more about Pod Casting and ended up browsing further.
Two great music sites I came across were Static Discos and 3 Hive. These sites illustrate that there really is a wealth of musical talent worldwide and the majority of it does not need to appear on Pop Idol or have a record contract to get noticed. (Although some of them deserve a contract).
I am not saying all free music is good, far from it, but there are definitely artists worth listening too.
One very good female vocalist is Natalise, I used the MyMusic search box for artists that "sound like" Janet and although Natalise isn't that close she does fit the R&B Diva genre quite well. I especially like the remix of "Watch This" which can be downloaded from MySpace.
This isn't to preclude that all music on these sites is classified as pop or chart orientated. Music is available to suit just about every taste.
I had a search around for other artists and genres, on such being Electronic and came across Marbles. His music is quite edgy but also very listen-able - especially the track "Out of Zone". He does not have the best voice ever but hey the guy is giving it a bloody good go.Moving onto another genre and another great band - The Same Fate are a very good indie/surf rock outfit. The kind of band I'd expect to see at The Bait Shop (The OC). I love the guitar work on Static - it's so encouraging to hear an independent band play so well.
The Bravery are an act that prove that this is a good basis to start a career and that the industry does pay attention. I have heard them recommended on The Culture Show and they have performed on The Friday Night Project all to promote a legitimate single release. It may not be best practice to keep free downloads online so if you like the boys music grab the free tracks while you can. (An EP is also available on iTunes)
We did attempt to watch the New Ten Commandments last night and if this is any sort of reflection we are aggrieved by the state of our nation. I don't believe any of the program to be honest and think that most people asked, answered the poll as they wanted things to be, not as they actually see them.
The nations number one commandment is supposedly Do not unto others what you would do to you. I don't believe this for a second. If this was the case I would never have been attacked. This country would not have such problems with it's hooded masses or football hooligans etc. For that matter we wouldn't need an army! It is all so saccharine and idealistic.
This program just highlights my continued misgivings about the culture of the UK and the fact that the current Labour government has just pulled us down. The New Ten Commandments does fell like a very New Labour type of program - illustrating the bleeding obvious to everyone, nannying us as usual.
Whilst watching BBC Breakfast this week, there was an article regarding a film festival in London which (funded by the Lottery Charity Commission), illustrates WWII to the young generation so they do not forget what their relatives went through. My initial point has to be why can't these children and their families just sit down and talk about it?
After watching the article I now know realise it is because our children have become completely illiterate. The journalist interviewed someone from the charity and a couple old ladies who survived the Blitz in London which was fine. It all fell apart when some New Labour producer decided to ask the kids.
Two questions were put to a group of four or five boys around 8 - 10 years old and the result was a very painful ten minutes of live television. Not one of the boys managed a coherent sentence, actually none of them managed a complete sentence! All we heard was "em, well, yeah, and, it was, and, the war, and like, and stuff! WHAT?!
I fell that I must live in a cocoon and am privileged to be blessed with literature, language and conversation - lord help us when then next generation start to "get jobs". I guess we'll be reverting to the tin mines by then!
[iTunes: "No Brakes" : The Bravery]
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Native Albaner
Saturday, February 26, 2005
I did put together a New York Playlist which is music that I heard (or had going through my head) whilst I was on my travels.
I read some good news from Engadget this morning:
Back in December Britain’s Office of Fair Trading said they were transferring a complaint to the European Commission that Apple’s iTunes Music Store was overcharging customers in the UK? Well, a spokesperson for the commission has confirmed that they have formally opened an investigation. You can argue all you want about how local taxes and differences in the general cost of doing business means it’s perfectly reasonable for a company to charge more for the same product in one country than they do in another, but the EU has rules about how businesses have to treat the entire, um, entity as a single market. Obviously all this Internet stuff makes issues about geography a little messy, but it sounds like Apple’s practice of blocking customers in one EU country from buying songs from another country’s iTunes store could possibly run afoul of that policy.
I will be interested to hear what the Pet Shop Boys pick out for their Back to Mine collection.
I had a look at Foto Log this morning, set myself up and account and thought I'd have a search around the site. Annoyingly this site has no search facility. There may be links to wade through countries and states (etc.) but nothing to let you search user profiles or types of content - what's the point in such a large web site?
This guy (right) has been posted as the Most Beautiful Guy Ever over on Dreamcaps, I don't think I entirely agree but I have to admit he is nice eye candy. Thanks to the Guy Guide I know he is Nick Auger but that's about it. Maybe we should have some debate on this subject?Do you think this guy is the most beautiful ever? If not who do you think is? Why not email me your thoughts, along with a picture or two and I'll post them in a gallery for consideration...
I think James Denton should definitely be considered as well as Jesse Metcalfe or even the Australian Football League players featured in their fabulous 2005 calendar ;) (See the cute guy on the left)
Hang on though, I couldn't forget Kevin Peake could I?
Judging by the content of this rather dubious VW ad (involving a car bomber), I can see why they ditched the idea and went for Gene Kelly!
[iTunes: "A Man Could Get Arrested (12'' Mix)" : Pet Shop Boys]
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Cheifs and Indians
Friday, February 25, 2005
Well the latest thing to attack my ears is the Leeds based band the Kaiser Cheifs, admittedly not to everyone's taste but worth a listen. I think Brit Skank was the term I heard them not use about themselves on last nights Culture Show (watching the programme will make that sentence much clearer!) Listen at iTunesI have decided I am going to boycott Amazon. I will still use them as my selling market place but I am tired of them lying to me (and it would seem I am not the only one). I purchased a book this week and was informed that it was in stock and ready for dispatch, when I ordered it I was told there was a couple days delay. I was emailed Wednesday to be told it was being sent 24 hour delivery, I checked the parcel progress and it was not sent until Thursday and arrived late Friday. I wouldn't mind but they are based 2 miles from my office and charge you a fortune for delivery.
This is sadly not my only run in with them...
A little while ago I pre ordered a triple CD advertised at £6.99 - an amazing price. Amazon kept changing the release date until eventually they emailed me to say they would not stocking it due to production problems. A month later the product was re-listed at £16.99! Come on Amazon, I am not that stupid - if you advertised it at the incorrect price you a) have to honour it and b) are big enough to admit your mistakes.
There are many other stores online (although sadly all the book stores have been swallowed up by Amazon) and from now on my business will be with them.
We may not have had much snow here (and nothing compared to New York) but at least the girls on site made an attempt at a snowman! I do love his hat! ;)I have heard that Prince will be presenting an award at the Oscars on Sunday - with Chris Rock as the host, one can only imagine what's going to happen! I am sure it'll be fun...
Brawny Man seems to be cropping up on a number of blogs but then again I guess that was the marketing guru's plan. Why else would you pay attention to a product with such a crap name?
Came across Dream Caps today (not literally), it's worth a gawp :)
I am still not sure if I want/can be bothered to move this blog to Type Pad - what do you guys think I should do?
[iTunes: "Used To Love U" : John Legend]
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Oh please!
Thursday, February 24, 2005
First she "made" the un made bed and now she's releasing public art on the unwitting people of Liverpool! What the F*** is Tracey Emin on? Do Liverpoodlians (or however you spell it), not suffer enough? Is it not bad enough they have to live in Liverpool that now they have too suffer some sparrow on a stick? What a crock of shit! Sorry but that's just the way it is!Have to give a shout out to Towelroad again for bringing to my attention the Sheffield Hallam University Rugby Calendar. I am a little disappointed that I didn't discover this myself (after all I am in the UK), but what the hell! Let's just hope that the socks are enough to keep them warm in the present climate? (now do I really need another rugby calendar in the house..?)
Apple have announced even more iPod's to flood the market - don't get me wrong I love mine and wouldn't be without it but do we need any more? Improvements are fine but can we please draw a line somewhere Mr Jobs? I guess there will be a rush to buy a Gold iPod Mini now that they are being discontinued?
Mind you that's not as blatant as Gates announcing they will have to rush the latest version of Internet Explorer to fill security holes - me thinks Microsnot are getting scared of the competition from Firefox.
[iTunes: "Always There" : Incognito]
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Weekend Report
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
I have been so busy this week (and so wrapped up in wanting it to snow so I could stay in bed) that I forgot to make any comment about the weekend!I went to Tate Britain on Saturday for the Turner, Monet and Whistler Exhibition. I had a nice time but I feel I must be spoilt as I didn't really see any different Monet works from ones I had seen previously in places such as the Museé D'Orsay in Paris (where some of the collection has been borrowed). This is a shame as Monet was quite prolific and my main reason for attending the exhibition.
It was interesting to see how the Tate Britain had categorized the three artists but I feel it would have been easier to take in if it wasn't so crowded.
I am sorry to say that Turner still does not float my boat, he's works are very depressing and dark and I fail to see the appeal. Whistler was never an artist I had considered and although I wasn't blown away by the selection being exhibited I was impressed by the intricacy of the etchings.
Sunday, Richard and I went to visit Blenheim Palace. We had a lovely day but it was very cold so not much time was spent in the grounds. The "house" is absolutely enormous but sadly you only get to see a small fraction of it. I enjoyed the visit but was annoyed at the "forced" historical reenactments - this may be entertaining for the American and Oriental tourists but it's not what I expect. I want to absorb a historical property at my leisure. That minor gripe aside it was a lovely day out and the snow and the wind blew out some winter cob webs.
Now I am wishing the rest of this week out of the way so that I can enjoy another weekend.
It would seem a number of blogs have made reference to the delicious Christiano Ronaldo and his involvement in the latest Pepe Jeans campaign. I see no reason to repeat everyone else but want to give to thanks the likes of Oh La La Paris for gracing their blogs with such stunning imagery ;)
[iTunes: "Sexy Boy" : Air]
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Shuffle Board
I guess it was really only a matter of time. Sorry but even this level of customisation doesn't stop them from looking cheap!
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Snow joke!
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
(I am sure I have used that title before!)Anyway it's appropriate - some of the country gets snowed in, trapped in an icy blanket and what do we get - a light dusting! Don't get me wrong I don't want to get caught out in it, I simply want it to snow hard enough over night so that I can spend the day at home huddled up in bed next to my baby. That's not too much to ask is it?
My blog posts have been a little sparse since the redesign of the site because I am trying to test out a new system, to be honest though it's proving very temperamental. All I want to do is replicate this template in Type Pad but I don't have the time to sit down and work through it (and having a 30 trial period is pilling on the pressure!). Seriously though I do this sort of thing all day so to be confronted with it when I get home is just a drag. (Anyone got any shortcuts?)
I am not sure if I agree with the top 100 greatest gadgets - I am sure something else should be number one?
It looks like Stu will need to take his thermals! I did warn you... Courtesy of Towleroad
Why is it in all the press photo's for Bush's visit to Europe (and particular Nato) he poses like a Recess Monkey? (Or has he watched too many episodes of Mr Benn?)
Right Luke, I am off to put my fiver in the slot! (Don't ask!)
[iTunes: "Love Is an Arrow" : Aberfeldy]
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Excellent
Monday, February 21, 2005
Thanks to Matty for this rather novel twist on The Gates ;)Very funny ;)
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Damn it!
Sunday, February 20, 2005
They are all sold out :(And this has been far too long in production - mind you they are only Human Afterall (pun)
Motorola have issued photo's of the newest phone in the V range. It's sexy, it's slim but I still prefer my V3.
[iTunes: "Human After All" : Daft Punk]
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What the blog???
Saturday, February 19, 2005
New style, new look, new wave, new era?Yes, yes, yes and yes.
Why?
Because I can ;)
[iTunes: "Hush" : LL Cool J & 7 Aurelis]
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An update
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
I don't really want to say much more about the events of that awful day last year except, I gave my evidence, I stood up to my attacker and I won.Guilty.
I hope I never have to go through anything like this ever again. At least I know our Justice System does work and hopefully the verdict will stop him doing to others what he did to me.
[iTunes: "Law & Order" : Dimitri From Paris]
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ILMB
Monday, February 14, 2005
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Springtime 4 TG
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Urban Boy posted this rather fine photograph, asking when it was going to be summer and I have to say I am inclined to agree. I have seen enough snow and ice in New York and have got used to the bright chilly weather of January but now we seem to be hit with another set of weather systems and this morning we had the lot, snow, sleet, hail, rain, sunshine and high winds! What's going on?
I have booked my ticket to go to the Tate Britain next weekend for the Turner, Whistler, Monet Exhibition that open on Friday. It may sound odd when grouped with the other two that I am not much of a Turner fan but it will be interesting to see how these three great impressionist artists depicted London and Paris by the river.
There was a more alarming news headline this week whcih I think has been bypassed by the national press (that may not be a bad thing though as it could spread panic). The news is that there has been a new strain of HIV discovered which is resistant to most current drugs.
I love browsing through the designs submitted at Threadless and have in the past uplaoded a few of my own. It's nice to see that there is now a UK equivalent called TShrt.com. I have uploaded a quick design to the community and look forward to hearing what people have to say, who knows; you may be wearing it this summer?[iTunes: "I'm Not Perfect" : Missy Elliott Feat. The Clark Sisters]
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We were in London
It's amazing what you can see when you are at such great heights.One of Richard's best friends lives in a very exclusive pad in London and this is one of the interesting views.
Vauxhall has never looked so appealing!
New York Update
I forgot that a couple small video's were taken by us in New York using our mobiles when we were visiting Liberty Island. I didn't move much in the video Richard took of me as I thought he was taking a photograph! Still they give an impression of where we were and how cold it was![iTunes: "London" : Pet Shop Boys]
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Macaroon's!
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Well we came we saw and we (very nearly) wet ourselves! Acorn Antiques is so so funny - it truly is a brilliant show.If you get the chance to nab some tickets before its limited run in the West End comes to a close you should.
I really didn't know what to expect and was dubious of how Victoria Wood, Julia Walters, Celia Emrie and crew were going to pull of bad camera angles, wonky sets and miss timed lines on the stage but they did!
And to hear Mrs O swear was just so unexpected!
This was a brilliant play and it tied up all the lose ends from the "show". This really is your one chance to find out what happened after Acorn Antiques was "axed" ;)
Oh yes and to end all speculation, we had Julia Walters play Mrs O and not Victoria Wood.
"If Ozzy Osbourne had stuck to custard fucking creams, he'd have turned out alright!"
[iTunes: "Ladyflash (Hot Chip Remix)" : The Go! Team]
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Come down
Not surprisingly I don't think there is very much from my personal life that I feel the need to blog about this week. To be honest it's been quiet boring. Following our trip to New York everything seems to pale in comparison. It's been a week of working hard and very hard week at that!It was to know that at least some of my fellow workers were interested in my travels and I hope I haven't bored Stu too much with all my "hints and tips" - Stu flies out at the end of the month... (I wonder if I told Stu about Gridskipper?)
It's a shame The Gates were not finished whilst we were in New York but I am sure Ben, Yvonne or Stu will get to see them...
Things I feel compelled to write about are things that have happened in the wider world, such as the events of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles.
As I have already said though I think this story has been over played. There have been lots of other interesting pieces to read about this week such as the Monet, Whistler and Turner Exhibition that opened at Tate Britain yesterday. I wanted to go from the moment I saw the posters but the selection of photo's that the BBC are displaying make we want to go even more. Thankfully it runs until the middle of May so I have plenty of time to set myself a weekend to get into town and admire the works.
I was chatting with Miss Overall, sorry I mean Di in the office yesterday about Desperate Housewives and decided to take a look at the ABC web site to find out how many episodes there are. Of course my natural gay instincts lead me to the shop and I was completely taken aback by the selection of merchandising... I really do need a pair of Desperate Housewives oven mitts in my kitchen, I do honest!
Later this morning we are heading into London as today is the day we get to see Acorn Antiques at the Theatre Royal. I do hope we have a full cast day, but whatever happens I am sure it will be an absolute scream.I have been quite amused to hear the perils of this schmuck in the US Senate that has been blogging and has managed to get himself suspended from the White House. Turns out he owned a number of dodgy domain names and had an AOL profile baring his chest... The story is far more complicated than this but it did make me smile.
Another odd story from the USA had to be the one of the rather naughty judge - this could only happen in America!
A rather cute story this week was of the German Zoo that didn't realize 13 of it's 14 penguins were male and that thy had all (apart from one obviously) managed to team up into gay couples. The Zoo only realized this when they noticed the penguins were not producing any chicks! How cute ;)
We had the
Thanks to iTunes and free music Tuesday I was delighted to hear Get it Together by The Go Team. What a fab outfit they are. I have purchased all the B's from iTunes and wait with anticipation for the album Thunder, Lightning, Strike to arrive from Amazon (I decided I wanted the physical CD instead of the virtual version from iTunes). I am not sure how you can describe this UK based group, I guess I would have to say there are an eclectic mix of urban, authentic, jazz and hip hop music blended with electronic tracks which makes for a really cool ambient sound. I don't think that really is much of a description so why not go to iTunes or The Go Team's web site to find out more?
I thought I'd add a photo of Joseph Sayers whom I seem to find online in the most unusual places. So many guys seem to be using his image as their profile pic's and on blogs etc. - do they think the rest of us are stupid! STOP IT!
[iTunes: "Get It Together" : The Go! Team]
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Good luck to them
Friday, February 11, 2005
Prince Charles and Camilla announced their engagement yesterday and stated they would be married in April.Good on them, I have never seen Prince Charles look so happy.
Now can we let them get on with their lives and stop all the bickering and moaning about constitutions, the churches view and our historical pass? The British public have become a nation of divorcees and multiple marriages - why can't the Royal family do the same?
I think anyone who moans about it are just hypocrites. Shut up and let them enjoy their love for one another.
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Fries with that?
Monday, February 07, 2005
I am sure this entry will be huge so make sure you have a nice cup of coffey before you start!New York was wonderful - I had the best birthday. The place was everything I expected it to be and much more.
Our flight out was very comfortable and thanks to it being quiet Richard and I managed to sprawl out across a couple seats. It was also helped that our Virgin Atlantic 747 had top of the range media kit in it which meant we could watch any one of fifty movies and a host of other stuff when we wanted. Although the flight was around seven hours it didn't feel like it. (I managed to watch Dodge Ball, Hell Boy, Simpsons, Friends and text Richard during the flight!)
Now I have been to the USA I can profess to having my fingerprints taken (only my index fingers) - still not sure what use it is to the authorities but they have their reasons (don't worry this isn't special treatment this is standard practice for all visitors!).
Anyway I received a bit of a surprise when we came through the arrivals hall...
In my usual way I was thinking 100 steps ahead and was worrying about finding a train or a cab into Manhattan and missed the guy in front of us holding up a board with my name on it. It took a while for what was happening to sink in but we were lead out of JFK with this guy taking our luggage (Richard had a huge grin on his face). Once we got outside the guy disappeared to leave us in the snow only to return driving a huge black stretch limo. I was so shocked, I really did not see it coming. Needless to say our journey into Manhattan was very comfortable.I felt lost in the back of the car but comfortable and very happy, I could not stop grinning! Neither could Richard for that matter.
We made our way through the busy evening traffic and saw a number of familiar sites and the sounds of NYC. Thankfully I was too stunned to realize just how reckless people drive there! LOL
Anyway we arrived at our hotel; the Hotel Metro feeling calm and relaxed. Our room was lovely and (so I have been told), typically American, big with two double beds.
The hotel was very comfortable but I was scared to find President Bush on every TV channel - trust us to arrive the night of the State of the Union Address!
After a bit of a relax we went for a walk around the block so that we could grab a bite and take in some sites. The time difference was starting to hit so the fresh crisp air was needed to keep us alert. After grabbing a coffey and some soup in a corner store we made our way to Times Square. I was quite surprised by the scale of the place to be honest - it really is as big as I had imagined if not bigger. You can see why New York gets the title of "The City That Never Sleeps" as it really is busy all the time. After an hour or so of browsing we headed back to the hotel and got a good nights sleep...
Well it would have been a good nights sleep if both of us could have adjusted to the time difference better as we both admitted defeat at 4:30 and got up!
Day one
As we were up so early we made the most of our time and headed down to Battery Park first thing to get the ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. On the way we past Ground Zero and it was kind of eery. Richard had been at the top a couple years ago so knew the scale of the buildings, I wasn't so sure of it's size but was amazed by the size of the building site at ground level, and the visible gap in the skyline. Still it's good to see that building is underway and that New York is moving on from the awful events of September 11th.We took the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty and spent an hour or so wondering around the island, taking in the views and checking out Lady Liberty. I must admit (as with most things like this), the statue is no where near as big as I had imagined. I guess it's because it's something I have seen so many times that my movie and TV preconceptions have blown it out of proportion. Still she was worth a visit, and worth visiting in February as the ferries were quiet and the crowds were minimal (it was also around 0 degrees so that might have had something to do with it!)
We then sailed across to Ellis Island and Richard and I spent several hours wandering around the various exhibits in the museum. We also spent some time tracing Richards' family and were surprised to see just how many people were listed who came from Devon and Cornwall. It was kind of surreal to be in New York and read placenames like "Newton Abbot", "Paignton" and "Tavistock" in a database. I was very taken in by Ellis Island and was amazed at just how much history there is in one place and the fact that this island really does mark the big expansion of the American people. I learnt so much about the immigrants and cannot imagine what they had to endure to find themselves a new home.
Once back on Manhattan Island we found ourselves somewhere to eat and then headed off to every gay mans mecca in the USA - Abercrombie! LOL Surprisingly I didn't purchase very much, I just bought a couple of T shirts. In the freezing temperature the last thing I wanted to think about was summer clothing. It was good to finally step inside an Abercrombie store (usually only get the chance to browse online and have the catalogue shipped) but I wasn't completely blown away by the stock. I was rather taken by the cute guy behind the till though - even if he was a bit too camp for his own good! LOL
We managed to just drift around for the rest of the day and happened across Wall Street. Now this was a place that was much smaller than I had expected but very interesting. Especially when you consider the original buildings sandwiched between all the skyscrapers.
On the way back to the hotel we popped into one of the many electrical stores dotted around New York and Richard bought me a new digital camera for my birthday. He bought me a fab new Olympus Stylus Verve which is pretty cool. It's a 4 MP camera which also takes nice clear QuickTime movies (see JFK below). :)For the evening we made our way to 3rd Avenue and had a typical American Diner experience at the Sunflower Diner. You can keep all your fancy restaurants and your tourists eateries. Nothing gets you inside New York like an evening in a typical diner. The Sunflower Diner was very good, it was fun to sit, watch and listen to all the native New Yorkers at rest. On the table opposite were two elderly couples who were definitely Jewish. The husbands were hen pecked and the women just did not stop talking the whole time. I swear according to one of the ladies everything was gooorgeouuus or faaaabuuuuuluss! ;0) (I am not mocking anyone I am simply making an observation and it's one I enjoyed).
Another reason to visit a diner is the value - I swear we have never had so much food for so little money. Each time I ate in New York I was beaten by the portions - New Yorkers certainly know how to pack it away!
Day two
We did not get up so early but 6:30 was managable - I think by now we had both got accustomed to the time difference. (Although I do remember spending the first night trying to work out what the time was back home!).
There were two agendas for today and we did manage to achieve both of them - just about!
The first was a trip to the Apple store which took much longer than it should of. Now don't get me wrong I love the underground and can find my way around with no problems but the New York subway is a nightmare! I lost count of how many trains zipped past the station we wanted to stop at - it took ages to get to Prince Street. Once inside I was a little disappointed that the store in New York is identical to the one in Regent Street London. My primary aim was to scope out a Mac Mini and an iPod Shuffle. I was very disappointed with the iPod Shuffle, it's too small, too plastic and the lack of screen makes it difficult to navigate. The Mac Mini however won us over and we were very close to buying one. We have however decided to consider what we would use it for and once we have a plan, we will be in London to get one - me thinks this will replace our current entertainment set up in the living room... (did some one say Media Centre?)
Looking at the map we got back onto the Subway and headed up to the Guggenheim. Sadly though the first station brought us out 30 blocks away and the second brought us out at the edge of Central Park! It didn't make too much difference though as Central Park was on our to do list, as was the skating rink. We didn't skate but did watch the skaters. I think they were all a damn site braver than us though as it was absolutely freezing down there. Central Park resembled the Artic North!
We walked the length of Central Park along Museum Mile to the Guggenheim where we flaked out and enjoyed a well deserved bowl of broccoli and cheese soup followed by a huge whipped strawberry and cream cup cake :)I loved the Guggenheim it was very interesting. The building is just amazing and the permanent collection must be worth an absolute fortune. It is hard to believe it was all owned by one man!
I wasn't too struck on the current Inca exhibition but there were some interesting pieces.
I will confess that we were too knackered to walk back so we hailed a yellow cab and made our way back to the hotel and Herald Square.
Before heading back to the Metro we stopped by Macy's, had a coffey and a browse around the store. Thanks to the visitor card we made even bigger savings on our purchases in store. Richard and I seemed to buy an awful lot of undies in store and with good reason! I purchased a truck load of blue and white mesh Calvin Kleins and the Macy's price was about £8 each - they are £24 a pair in the UK!
Another night and another diner! This time the Hollywood Diner. It wasn't our first choice but the food was great, the service was excellent and the prices were amazing! It's also close to the Village so we got to sit in the window and observe the NYC Queens going about their business.Once fat and full we headed back uptown and walked to Times Square so that I could get some photo's with my new camera. Friday was Red for Women day when national monuments are illuminated in red. The Empire State was the best illuminated building that night - it looked so cool bathed in brilliant red light.
Day three
This was our final day in New York and it was kind of sad to be wandering around Manhattan as I had become accustomed to the noise and the atmosphere, we'd even beaten the jet lag, but sadly we had to fly out late that night :(
This did not mean we had to take it easy though - we crammed as much into our final day as possible.
We started with the obligatory climb to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building to witness the spectacular views of New York City. Thankfully Saturday was the warmest day of our visit, the snow was melting rapidly and the sky was clear. It was still very windy at the top but when you are 86 floors up what do you expect?
It's only from the top of the Empire State that you realize just how big New York City is. It really is a vast sprawling metropolis and you can see where the additional 400,000 people spread out (that's 400,000 more occupants than London).
The rest of the day seemed to have been spent cramming in as much retail therapy as possible. I think I bought more in two hours on Saturday than I did the whole time I was in New York! This included several more pairs of Calvins at Macy's, a chi chi cord peak cap (which finished my Native New Yorker look!) and a couple nice spring sweaters. All that and I still managed to have spare cash!
We had a big yellow taxi take us back to JFK where we seemed to spend hours watching the Air Train coming and going before we could board. In fact I was so bored I took a couple movies on my Olympus, click here to take a look at Terminal 4 and my baby! (It's 7 Mb QTVR so give it a while!)Now I don't want to sound critical but I thought the American's (sorry to generalize) stepped up their security post "9-11"? I did mention the finger printing on the way in right..? So why is exit security so bad? It seemed that the staff at Terminal 4 were only too happy to see us leave and were very rude. I was very pleased with the manner and the conduct of every one I had met in Manhattan but sadly this wasn't the case at JFK security! We had to do everything ourselves, remove our shoes, our belts and bags, get our own boxes and push the contents through the machine while the security staff watched on - there was no comment raised at the other end, no good byes, no "have a nice day", nothing! Very odd.
I am amazed to say this has to be the poorest security I have ever witnessed!
The flight home was OK - we didn't have all the flash gimmicks on the plane as we had coming in but it didn't matter. After we were served dinner, typically we hit a huge bought of turbulence so we decided to nap for the rest of the flight.
And the rest (as they say) is history!
I had a truly wonderful time, to quote the Jewish old ladies at the Sunflower Diner it was fabulous, New York was gorgeous! I will definitely be back with my baby.
And to my baby I have to say thank you for a truly amazing and unforgettable birthday - I love my baby so much xxXxx
There are more photo's online if you want to take a look. This link will take you to the main New York section and there are sub menus on the left. Why not rate some of my photo's or leave me some comments?
[iTunes: "Uptown" : Prince]
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Jet Lagging!
Sunday, February 06, 2005
We arrived back from New York this morning and I have had a truly awesome time.
I will write much more about it when I wake up but for now stop by Zoto to check out my photo's!
Have a nice day!
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31 today!
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Well today is the day that I am officially too old to attend an 18 - 30 holiday (mind you I have never had any desire to attend one but it's just a point of reference!).
Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to me
I can't wait to get on that plane to New York and celebrate!
Happy Birthday to me!
Well I have had a nice birthday so far and it'll be even better when I get to see my baby later tonight!
Anyway this is going to be my last entry for a while as we fly out to New York tomorrow and I cannot wait. I am so so looking forward to this trip ;)
To keep yourself busy in my absence, take a look at this cool web site that Yvonne sent to me (thanks babes!). Type an artist in the search box and then guess which track is playing.
10 out of 10 every time baby! LOL
See y'all when I get back :) xxx
[iTunes: "New York City Boy - The Superchumbo Uptown Mix" : Pet Shop Boys]
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