Sweet Times Square New Year's Eve

Magnet #313 - Hershey's Times Square

Oddly, this is my only Times Square magnet - from the Hershey's store. Love that store. Most of the stuff in there is what you can get in a Duane Reade or CVS, but they have supercute branded stuff, too. And you know I love my swag. Plus, the facade of the building, with its giant candy is just awesome. It's almost as cool as Willy Wonka's candy factory.

Picked this one for today, because most assuredly, Times Square is already jam-packed with New Year's revelers. Everyone should do New Year's in Times Square at least once. But don't go sober. Or alone. And make sure you go to the restroom before you head out there.

It's a great place to be, don't get me wrong, but you know that phrase, alone in a crowd? Truth is, even if you're hanging out with friends, the second the ball drops and everyone's kissing on each other, it's the loneliest feeling on the planet - absolutely the only time I've ever felt lonely in New York. Odd, I know. I could have gotten my freak on like the drunk chicks from Germany near us, who were then kissing on the drunk boys from Australia near us. But, ewwwww.

Anyway, I digress. It was a superfun night - we weren't actually in Times Square, though. Yet again, another example of me going somewhere and missing the biggest thing about it. While we did see the ball drop, I didn't get to see Dick Clark that night. It was kind of upsetting. Heh.

Check out this map. We left at like early afternoon, and we were still about 8 blocks away, halfway between the One Times Square and Central Park. And those blocks were filled to the brim with people. Insane. The one good thing is that we got to see both the ball drop and the fireworks over Central Park. It was seriously amazing. Even without the strangerkissing.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year's Eve, and a Happy New Year!

Tatay = Daddy

Magnet #312 - Winslow Homer's The Blue Boat

Every year around this time, my sisters and I go to the card shop and look for birthday cards for our dad. And every year, we have to eliminate a good 75% of the great cards, cuz they use the word "Dad" or "Daddy" on them, instead of what we call our dad - Tatay. That's Filipino for Dad or Daddy.

That's just who he is - Tatay. It's weird to even think of calling him anything else.

Actually, this article is fairly interesting - all about how this Filipino reporter's sons are pronouncing Tatay in Obama's America. (They speak Tagalog, while my parents speak, and are, Visayan, but the Tatay concept remains the same.)

And no, I can't think of any word that will help you pronounce it correctly. It won't matter - for some reason, no non-Filipino can pronounce Tatay correctly. I'm serious. I've had friends whom I've known for 20 years now and they still can't pronounce it. They say, TatAye, or Daday, or even TayTay. Weirdos. That's my Tatay!

It's Tatay's birthday today, so a very happy birthday to you! Mind you, the first umpteen years of our lives we all thought you were a New Year's Eve baby, until you finally clarified that you're actually a New Year's Eve, Eve baby. Anyway, hopefully you're enjoying your TVs and your new DirectTV today. Sorry we're not down in NC to help...watch tv.

I picked today's magnet, because it looks like my dad might have a new fishing boat buddy down the line. (Aside from Mom, that is. No, we just call her Mommy, or Mom. I dunno why, but she never wanted us to call her Nanay, the counterpart to Tatay.)

That fishing buddy might be my sister's fiance, Gordon, whose birthday is today as well. Happy birthday, Gordon!

And, don't worry Mommy, I'm trying to find just the right magnet for your birthday in May!

Underwriters above the rest

Magnet #311 - Lloyd's of London

The Lloyd's of London building headquarters is on the 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die list. So how could I not visit?

Amazing. It's freakish looking, all modern, with exposed everything, and shiny bits and bobs and funny-looking towers and what have you. And, it was done by the same guy who designed the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and you can see that fact plastered all over this "inside-out" design.

Designed by Richard Rogers in 1986, it was the height of modernism back in the day. Some folks didn't (and still don't) take too kindly to it, but it certainly is an interesting building to look at. As for me, I love looking at it. And they have a Lloyd's building shop on the ground floor. Hence the magnet. Love.

It's much nicer when viewed from farther away, when you're walking in its shadow, you lose a lot of the detail. Plus, you lose a lot of sunlight, just because it's so large that it really does block out the sun.

Lloyd's of London was actually created in a coffee shop, owned by Edward Lloyd, and they basically took his name. That was back in 1688. Whoa. More history, here.

According to this, the best book ever, I Never Knew that About London, they have the Lutine Bell, which came from an old French ship (lost at sea) that Lloyd's had underwritten back in 1799. They used it to let people know when one of their overdue ships had arrived. They announced bad news with one strike, and good news with two. They still ring it, every once in a while - usually for ceremonies, or unusual disasters.

Useless fact of the day: Lloyd's of London used to have their contract with all the terms of whatever they were insuring. And then, they all wrote their signatures at the bottom of the contract - hence the term underwriters.

Sigh. Great building, great history, great city. I finally posted my Arts & Architecture album on FB, which includes a few Lloyd's shots. Though, not as many as I wanted to include, I know.

Blah, blah, blah Deletecakes

Magnet #310 - Doctor Who Cyberman

I mentioned a while ago that I'm not a big Dalek fan. Which is tantamount to sacrilege in the Doctor Who universe. But, I'm also not a huge Cybermen fan, either.

So, I haven't really been looking all that forward to the Christmas episode of Doctor Who. We've all been seeing the same snowy graveyard pictures since earlier this year, and when I found out it was a Cybermen episode *and* that David Morrissey was in it, I was kinda nonplussed about The Next Doctor.

But, that didn't stop me from watching it just as soon as we could, and my sister and I were able to watch it on Christmas night, only a few hours behind the UK.

My blogger pal Cameron at Stuff on TV did a good review of the whole eppy here, so I'm not trying to review The Next Doctor episode here. Suffice to say that:

- I'm so glad that David Morrissey isn't the real next Doctor, because I don't think I could handle a wimpy, crying Doctor.
- Dudes, the ho-yay between the two Davids was a tad over the top.
- Mercy's gorgeous red dress provided some really beautimous shots at the graveyard and in the giant robot ship. (Which admittedly was way cooler than I thought it was going to be.)
- I winced at every stunt David Tennant did that potentially killed his back, right down to having that really-not-so-great child actor hop on his back. Sigh.

Other than that, it was a Cybermen episode, so it won't go down as a favorite of mine. And, it could have been much better. Though, it did pull in 11.7 million viewers, second only to last year's Voyage of the Damned, which I loved infinitely more.

And, I finally uploaded my "Is there a Doctor in the house?" album on FB. It's DW and Hamlet and DT related, and I totally didn't need captions, I know. I'm also missing a pic of my little stuffed Adipose, but these are up. I visited the DW Exhibition in Cardiff, and was seriously underwhelmed by stuff that I could buy...and shockingly, I owned the magnet set they had for sale. Oh well.

eta:
Having watched the first half of the DW Confidential on the Christmas Special, I have to say that the Cybermen retrospective has made me quite grateful that these current Cybermen are what we've been given. The Cybermen of yore were kinda cheesetastic.

King of the road

Magnet #309 - Amtrak

I love trains. Love them. If given a choice between flying and training, I'll choose the train pretty much every time. Traveling by rail always reminds me of that Roger Miller song, King of the Road.

Almost every year for Christmas, if there's enough time to lose, I'll take Amtrak from Penn Station down to Salisbury, NC. Our historic train depot (you can look it up here, dudes - we're in the Smithsonian! and Clooney shot a few scenes from Leatherheads there) is literally 10 minutes from home, instead of anyone having to drive the hour to/from the airport in Charlotte or Greensboro to come pick me up.

Mind you, it's a couple of hours as the crow flies, but on the train, I get 12 hours just to sit in my own little universe, staring out at the world whizzing by - with my headphones or laptop or book or manuscript, or whatever. It's like my own little me vacation before I get home, and after I've been home.

Of course, I keep waiting for the supercute boy to sit next to me, like in those Before Sunrise/Sunset movies - been waiting for years. Instead, I've gotten young kids, little old ladies, and even nuns. Just my luck.

After a very short time here at home, where I didn't get to do or see nearly enough people (or eat enough of mom's home cooking), we're hitting the road back to DC. Then tonight, I can take the train back home to NY.

It's two of my favorite activities in one day - roadtripping and training. Can't imagine a better way to travel.

Well, I could, but it totally wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

Stand clear of the closing doors, mind the gap, and step back to allow passengers to board

Magnet #308 - Good service on all lines

Some observations noted, after having ridden the transit systems of three major cities (New York, London, and Washington, DC) in the last week.

Best transit map design: New York. They're big, they're pretty, they're associated with an actual city map. The others are pretty, sure enough, but doesn't really give you enough geographical orientation.

Best schedules and/or service announcements: Tie between Washington and London. At least you know when/if a train is coming before a garbled message comes on.

Cleanest trains: London

Cleanest buses: London, by default. I'm told only tourists ride them there, but they rock. I've never ridden in Washington, and I once saw a roach on one in New York.

Smallest trains: London. So tiny. Like how can they fit people in there?

Biggest trains: Washington. Even so, I keep bumping the bottom of my thigh against the hard armrest. Ouchie!

Cleanest train stations: Washington

Prettiest train stations: Draw between New York and London. And by that, I mean the tilework, the public art and sometimes train station design. (Actually, as far as coolest train stations, it really is a draw if you compare New York's Grand Central with something like London's Paddington or Canary Wharf.)

Grossest train tracks: New York. Trust me, from firsthand knowledge do I know that NYC MTA track grime - does not come off your skin easily.

Worst to travel with luggage: New York. (Or, London, if you're coming in/out through Heathrow, staying off the Picadilly line, at a station with lifts to the street.) Though, what the heck is up with no lifts to Gatwick Express at Victoria station in London?

Best to travel with luggage: Washington. God bless the escalators.

Scariest escalators: A draw, depending on the station. And the angle of descent. Or ascent, come to think.

Nicest escalators: London. The adspace alone is dizzying. Washington tries, but it's really...sorta concrete.

Best buses: London. I know they're mostly for tourists, but I love them mostly cuz they're double-deckers, and how much does it rock to sit up top.

Prettiest buses: London. They've got a new bus design winner, so they may get even prettier!

Nicest staff: London. I've never seen a DC transit worker on the platform. And New York can be a little short if you approach them wrong.

Best commuters: Washington. New Yorkers can be downright mean, but Londoners are a bit passive-aggressive. And they don't say excuse me.

And the grand prize for best transit system: Tie between New York and London. You don't have to walk too far to the next station - so it's function over form for both cities.

Did I miss anything?

Without peace, there is no joy*

Magnet #307 - Joy to the World

What?

I couldn't resist.

Have a very, merry Christmas!


*That's what our priest said tonight at Midnight Mass. He used to be Baptist, and is now Catholic. It makes for a very Baptist preachery sermon now and again. We like to call him John the Baptist.

What? His name is actually John!