One of my favorite things about living in New York City, is all the filming of movies and TV shows that go on in the city.... Because I have no shame, I don't mind walking on set, taking pictures talk to the crew and the extras, and if I'm really lucky I get to meet the actors themselves.... there haven't been many (yet) but the few I have met have been really super cool! So the latest is the set of Law and Order Special Victims Unit... now their sets I've been on before, but it's always cool to see the different settings, and I've been lucky to have met different actors each time... so here are some pic's from this last time....

Actor Danny Pino and myself... 

List journal blogging.

Last week I discovered a book that has sent the thoughtful and creative juices flowing for me... it was a journal type book that made one make lists of everything under the sun, and as I have gone back and looked at it a few times, it's grown on me...

So, I decided I'd make my own lists, that will help me in my journal-blogging as well.. and I'm starting off with a random list...

List of American Idol contestants that didn't finish first, but I think should have! :) (told you it was random!)

• Carly Smithson (season 7) why? Because she gave one of the most heart wrenching versions of Beatles' "Blackbird"! Seriously!!! Youtube it!!!!!
• Michael Johns (s 7), why? He's not only handsome and has an awesome accent (he's Aussie), the man can sing so my soul gets chills! Check out his version of Aerosmiths' "Dream on"!!! Amazing! (actually any of his Idol songs are worth a listen! Not to mention his whole album "Hold Back my Heart".)
• Blake Lewis (s 6) Reason: he rocked Bon Jovi's "You give love a bad name" and made both John and me a fan! Honestly, kid has talent and I'd love to hear more of him "meshing" beat-boxing and pop/rock songs. For a surprise, see if you can find his version of "Mack the knife".
• Melinda Doolittle (s 6) because: her soul reaches out through her voice and touches yours... if you don't believe me look up her rendition of "How can you mend a broken heart". To be blown away check out her singing "Have a nice Day" by Bon Jovi on Ai!!! or her "Since you've been gone"...
• Michael Lynche (s 9) why? His voice makes me melt into a big wet puddle of goo.. I don't think I could ever be bored of his singing.. don't believe me? Youtube his... wait... just youtube him... any of his songs will do!!! 
• Crystal Bowersox (s 9) because of her "Me and Bobby McGee" simple as that... and last but not least:
• Chris Medina (s 10)reason: he's got the voice and the talent.. and when he left it was probably the most outrageous elimination in AI history, but then he went on to have a HUGE single in Europe, and will probably go farther and be remembered more than anyone else from his season (besides the winner). Check out his take on "Fix you" (by Coldplay).

Waiting for spring...

It's quite amazing how the weather can influence us mere mortals, today the temperature finally rose a little, and the sun peeped out from behind the cloud-cover this afternoon.... it was only for a couple of hours, but I have been loooonging for spring since I came back to the city, so I immediately got on my sneakers and headed out. 

The James Bailey House is a large freestanding house which resembles a castle, and which sits at 10 St Nicholas Place (the intersection of St. Nicholas Place and 150th Street) in Hamilton Heights, Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York. The house was built 1886 to 1888 to the designs by architect Samuel Burrage Reed for James Bailey, most famous for his role as business manager of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. As of 2010, the house is known as the M. Marshall Blake Funeral Home.

The house is located within the boundary of the Hamilton Heights / Sugar Hill Historic District. Among the house's numerous design features are numerous stained glass windows, designed by a cousin of Louis Comfort Tiffany. The interior is richly paneled in hand-carved timber. The AIA Guide to New York City. (2010) described the building, built 1886-1888 as a "rock-faced granite, stylishly Dutch-gabled and corner-towered. Once it was a major mansion owned by circus entrepreneur Bailey, who joined with showman Phineas T. Barnum in 1881 to form the Barnum & Bailey Circus."
In 1951, the house was purchased by a black woman, Marguerite Blake, who ran a mortuary from it until her retirement. In late 2008, she brought the house to market, seeking to sell it for $10 million. As of May 2009, it was being listed for $6.5 million. On August 31, 2009 it was reported that the house sold for $1.4 million, which was only around $170 per square foot

And wow, how feeling good and showing some happiness sure gives way for the positivity to blossom in the people one meets.... I don't think I've had as many flirts, comments and "come-ons" as I had today.... Must have been in the air *giggle* and though I of course brushed them off, it was nice to feel appreciated that's for sure! We all need a little lovin' as the song says I suppose. :D 

So I was on top of the world today, the city seemed to have a buzz about it, and the squirrels in the park certainly had a fabulous afternoon...

The lambs were out at the zoo, the peacocks were... well, amorous, and people were smiling... I think spring is in the air!!! ;D

NYC home of the....

...well, Artists and today I was fortunate to catch a fun one....

after Church I decided to head down to Union Square Park and the B&N there, and as I was walking, trying to also enjoy some sun, I spotted this fantastic guy...

dilemma...

My favorite place in the world where I used to hang out, was the Barnes and Noble at Lincoln Square, across the street from the Performance Center, ABC New York and the LDS Temple building. It was 4 floors of fantastic heaven for me, the place was light and airy, had a cafe at the top, magazines, music and films in the basement, and.... best of all..... three whole floors, filled, top to bottom with stories, countries, information of just about any kind... books...

the store as seen at night

the cafe on the fifth floor...

Then, I went away, and the building owners decided to raise prices on the rent, B&N said "fuggedaboutit"(a very typical Italian NewYork'ish slang) and left... It was so sad, now there is a discount designer clothes store there, ick!!! 
Now, I am back and forced to find a new hangout, which is turning out to be a very trying business....

My first thought was of course to try out the other B&N stores in Manhattan, there are of course several. There isn't one close to my house, but with a metro pass that didn't really matter to me. The second consideration is lighting and general "feel" of the place, too "hip"?, too young? Too old?? And the only real viable option came in the Union Square store. But even with it, there is a kind of a big problem imho. and that is, they don't let the public sit on the floor even if it is tucked away in a corner, and there are not enough cosy crannies and corners. :(  All the others were too dark, too small, too busy or just didn't give me the relaxing feel I am looking for. 

I have also considered some places that aren't necessarily a B&N bookstore, such as Ikea (too busy and a bit cumbersome to get to), any of the parks but it really kind of needs to be indoors at the time, which also cancels out Columbus Circle, the docks at the tip of Manhattan, or the little square around the corner... I considered the Library, thinking, well that's as good as a bookstore, better in fact because one can check out the books and take them home if one wanted... But, again, they are waaaay too busy, and quite noisy as well.. It seems as if I find myself at an impasse... I don't know where else to look... but I also need a place to hang out, relax and just have "me" time... :S 

As for right now, the search continues, and though I feel a little dejected, I am by no means giving up!!! (so there!!) :)   

pict. from newsstation

Last week, the day after I got back to NY, there were some drama in the neighborhood when a man was shot and killed at my subway-station... He was a very bad man, who was running from the police after having shot his girlfriend the day before, and sadly he was able to hurt the police officer before he died.

The way I found out something was up, was seeing a helicopter hovering in the air over a building a block down, and it just sat there for a loong time.. I could see it from my window and thought it very strange.. Then we looked online and sure enough it was all over the news. So I'd say I got quite the welcome-back! Fortunately the police officer just got shot in the arm, and will be okay, a dangerous man is now off the streets for good, and all is nice and peaceful again in "da hood"  :)

The news reported later that:" The shooting turned a busy Harlem intersection into a crime scene for hours, re-routing traffic and delaying trains. Bystanders said they were thankful they didn't get caught in the crossfire.

"I guess they took it in their own hands and did what they had to do," said Johnny Wilson of Harlem. "But they ain't thinking about everybody around them. Kids getting out of school, all types of factors. It's real busy over here."

 As I was sitting in Union Square Park, enjoying the sun after lunch today, I noticed a rather large bird, kind of the size of a chicken sitting over in an area by itself. This was a rather surprising and peculiar behavior, so I went to investigate, and sure enough it was a juvenile who had hurt it's foot and seemed a bit dazed.

It started attracting a lot of attention and I noticed there was another lady on the phone with someone who seemed to give her instructions of some kinds. She asked around for a box and I went to get one for her. Fortunately, there were some farmers at the market, and I was able to charm a box from one of them, to put over the bird. I was also very fortunate to remember some of the training we had gotten in Salt Lake City last year with the Peregrines. (Thank you Bob and crew).

So back I went with the box, turns out my co-rescuer (I never got her name unfortunately) had been on the phone with the Wildlife Resource (or some such thing) and they were on their way to meet us. She had been instructed that we capture the bird in the box and kept it until they could come pick it up...

We had a fun few minutes chasing the poor stressed thing around, before we finally got her under the box, and we attracted quite the crowd. All wanted to see the bird, know what was going on in general, and a good portion of them had ideas of how to handle the situation... But we held our ground and finally a Park Service Maintenance man came over and made some phone-calls. Then all we had to do was wait for the Park Ranger who was coming to take the bird and deliver it to the Rehabilitation People. She came equipped with a cage and thick gloves, and after a little struggle, got hold of the bird and was able to show her/him off to the waiting crowd. We all got a round of applause, and after a short photo session, the bird was off to get checked out.
 
A happy ending to a most exciting afternoon. Again thanks to the SLC Falcon volunteers and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, for all you do in taking care of our wonderful, majestic, feathered co-inhabitants! :) My tiny "wealth" of knowledge came in handy today, largely because of you! And it was a pleasure for me to use what I had learned in watching you!!