One of the unique aspects of New York is the abundance of metal plates covering construction holes in roads--I mean, they're EVERYWHERE! About the two hundredth time I walked over one, I noticed that someone had written 'FELIX' on the iron plate with an arc weld, often multiple times. I wondered--is Felix the name of the welder? The company that produces and/or installs the plates? I have no idea--does anyone out there know the answer to this mystery? Dan [View Full Entry]

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Frederick August Otto, if you were wondering. A German immigrant, he and his brothers opened a toy store in Baltimore, then Philadelphia and Boston, and finally New York, where they first used this name. The company has since changed hands multiple times and been in and out of bankruptcy. One of the originators' main contributions was the idea of "entertainment retail," the idea that the customers should be given an experience when they shop in the store, and that is definitely in play here. If you're old enough to have seen 'Big' (20 years ago, do you believe it?!) you'll [View Full Entry]

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Judging from what sells on Broadway, most tourists who come here want to see musicals. It is much easier, and cheaper, for a regional/local company outside of New York & LA to produce a drama (they usually have a smaller cast, fewer set changes, & no orchestra to pay) than a musical, and if they ARE host to a travelling production of a major Broadway musical it is more likely to be played in a large auditorium-sized theater than in the small, cozy confines of a 42nd Street music hall. Plus, for all the money a night on Broadway costs, [View Full Entry]

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Hello to all-- First, a hearty, sincere, and warmly felt "THANK YOU!" to Marianne Brushwiller, Patricia Smith, Lee Starkey, Earl Hunsaker, and Richard Camp! They are, in order, my 11th grade English teacher (who first told us Madison Heights, Michigan kids about Broadway and musicals--playing her vinyl record of 'The Fantasticks' for us); my 12th grade English teacher (who allowed us to hear or see 7 versions of 'Hamlet' because we were so interested); two high school drama teachers and directors of our high school plays (Le [View Full Entry]

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Several years ago the Director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem had jury duty and had to report to the beautiful building that houses the Supreme Court of New York. As he looked around the central rotunda of the structure he thought it would be a fantastic place to have a ballet... After many letters, meetings, and permissions, it came to pass, and a free lunchtime demonstration ballet has been held each year since. The stately elegance of the painted rotunda and the beauty of the ballet compliment each other and thoroughly delighted the crowd, including yours truly. Dan [View Full Entry]

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I have written in an earlier blog about being sick in New York--during my stay, I had conjunctivitus, a cold, the flu, a sore throat, a sinus infection, a back sprain, and a 'mild' case of shingles (which, like a mild case of pregnancy, is sufficient...). I was very, very fortuneate, however, to meet a physician who treated each and every one of these conditions. Dr. Alexander Krishtul comes from a family of physicians (his father, brother, sister-in-law, and wife are all doctors as well) and was apparently born into it: he was not only professionally competent, he was sensiti [View Full Entry]

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"GOLLY, Lamar--look at all them TALL buildings!" Truth is, we're all goobers when we first arrive in this vertical city, walking around with bent necks, mouths agape, staring upwards as we run into people on the sidewalk (another reason why New Yorkers just love tourists). As a photographer, trying to capture this sense of wonder and awe is challenging. In winter, the skies are mainly cloudy, which can make for better photos, but only if you're shooting DOWN. That is, the soft boxes used in portraiture (you've probably seen photos of a model shoot with those big puffy lig [View Full Entry]

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Hello once again! No, it is not really February 15th, but I'm trying to keep things in order... Yes, it IS Easter and I'm back in Vancouver about to color/docorate Easter eggs as soon as I complete this entry. As promised, I will be writing of our further adventures in Manhattan in the coming week: to tell, as Paul Harvey used to say, "the REST of the story." As this is a time when we celebrate renewal, rebirth, and hope for the future I thought I would include some images I took at the United Nations on one of our last [View Full Entry]

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No folks, it's obviously not Valentine's Day, despite the date I chose for this blog entry, my first in 3 weeks. Here's what's happening: Since the cessation of the back pain mentioned in the prior blog (Feb. 13th) I have been able to function more normally, which means I have virtually doubled how much I'm able to do each day. The "one activity, then exhaustion" day planner has been replaced by a second, a third, and a fourth activity most days. Instead of arriving home at 4 pm and having hours of 'down time' in front of the computer, writing these [View Full Entry]

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"BACK" being the key word here... My back pain became significantly worse overnight, such that by the morning I had only one position on the bed in which I was not in pain. Moving, like to the bathroom, was an exercise in pain management and trying not to yell out loud in agony. After several calls to find out what I should or should not do (Thank You, Omar!!) I got in touch with Dr. Alexander Krishtul, whom I had seen twice before, at a walk-in medical center in a Duane Reade drug store on E. 86th St and Lexington Ave. [View Full Entry]

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