Wednesday, January 06, 2010

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

Is there anywhere is the world that can come close to matching the Big Apple at Christmas time? Uhm, try anywhere, like, warm. Still, there's something about the aroma of roasting chestnuts drifting through the crisp night air on 5th Ave, the sparkling lights of the Rockefeller tree reflected on the famous rink, the blanket of powdery snow enveloping every nook and cranny of Central Park... But gosh darn it, did I mention the cold?

Snowballs at 20 paces! Loser gets to swim back to Manhattan.

The Dyker Heights lights at the tip of Brooklyn have become something of an annual pilgrimage for Manhattanites, eager to see what happens out here in big sky country where it takes more than a single string of lights to span your abode.


The million dollar question (almost literally): did Rock get the contents of that rather posh looking box from Canal Street or 5th Avenue?

Rock revels in the fact he can at least look fashionable when they start amputating frostbitten fingers.

Who needs a 12 foot blue giant avatar to cavort around in when you can look this cool at 5' 10".

First Christmas in NYC is also the first white Christmas in six years. Good timing, eh?

Frosty and team strike a pose before global warming ruins the party.

See, sharing your birthday with the big dude isn't so bad after all.

Filming for Wall Street II gets underway in front of the Big Board. Greed is still good, apparently. So good in fact that resurrecting all the classics for a quick box office buck never goes out of fashion.

The Staten Island Ferry affords superb views of Lady Liberty. It's just too bad the next stop is the aforementioned island... Let's just say the frequency of service is worth the tax dollars.

Showing today in the Hall of Extinct Giants: Lehmannsaur Bankrupticus and Ursus Sternus.

Oh the shame, back in my day I didn't need a pathetic glass cage to protect me. You think I carried this tank on my back for fun?

Now where's a mosquito stuck in a bit of petrified sap when I need one?

It was tough be a vegetarian back then - just look at those horns.

Yeah, yeah, easy to mock me while I'm an extinct stack of bones. This never happened to me when I was uprooting sabertooth tigers at will.

Let the countdown begin... in 8 hours. Everything moves slower when it's freezing, especially the clock.

It's not even dark yet but the famous crossroads is already packed. And Rock is already bored.

You know you've been standing outside too long when the countdown... to the two hour countdown is something to get excited about.

What's another 47 seconds after 7 hours and 43 seconds?

Happy New Year! Let's hope this one doesn't end with standing in the cold for 8 hours.

Still, it's impossible to be a cynic as Times Square explodes into a riot of fireworks and a roaring sea of humanity. Sure beats CNN.

Looks like they had some left over from the Yankee's parade.

New Year's resolution: Beat Momofuku's convoluted fried chicken booking system.

Welcome to 2010, presented by Nivea.

New Year's day can mean only one thing. And since it's hard to get a Coke hangover, that thing must be college football. It's Popcorn Bowl, Chip Bowl, and Rose Bowl time!

On to games of another note, time to hit the legendary Madison Square Garden where the NY Rangers are in the middle of another un-legendary season.

Let's go Rangers, Let's go Rangers! For a team that has lost 7 of their last 8 home games, they need all the help they can get.

At least they have one of the best in goal. Henrik Lundqvist knows he's got another long night in store unless his team can finally find their scoring mojo.


I am a Ranger. Uhm, hopefully in the Aragorn way, not the Can't Hit a Wide Open Net way.


Uh oh, looks like the bottom-ranked Hurricanes are skating through the defense with ease. Again, thank goodness for Lundqvist.

The Rock on top of The Rock.

The majestic Empire State Building still defines a state. And a state of mind, according to Jay Z.

Manhattan's playground.

Hmph, do things really look any better up there? Not really, but it sure is colder.
The city that never sleeps. Unless you're in Rock's apartment, then it's lights out at 10.30.


When the road is icy and the ears are numb, there's no better tonic than 18 pieces of Korean fried chicken. Don't worry, hypothermia will get you long before the arteries start to clog.