Manhattan - Day 11

Last night David and I braved a monsoon to make our way to the movies and then sat saturated through the new Steven Soderbergh film, Contagion. A nice, tight little thriller really well constructed with an all star cast led by Jude Law's prosthetic tooth. Not to give away the film but it all starts with a bad combination of Bat and Pig in Hong Kong.

Today, as if to continue a theme, we made our way to China Town where we tried out a little establishment we noticed on our travels a few days ago. We waited for some time in line with the locals for what turned out to be a dandy of a lunch spot. We both ordered and thoroughly enjoyed a generous helping of rice topped with chinese cabbage and pork (Hopefully minus the bat's contribution) all for $3.00. So today's recommendation is Wah Fung No. 1 Fast Food, Inc. 

Note: perhaps those with highly active imaginations might not try the above mentioned film and Wah Fung in the same 24 hour period.

Manhattan - Day 10

One of the greatest things about being in New York is the access to so much truly great art. Chelsea in particular is the home to so many galleries that are offering museum quality shows just around the corner. Today I stopped by the Gogosian Gallery to see the Richard Serra show. I have seen his work before but never in an enclosed space like today. Something about these pieces interacting with walls of the gallery made them even more powerful.

And then of course there were other shows that I stopped by to see . . . and well, . . . the art of course always speaks best for itself . . .

Manhattan - Day 9

An early morning fog rolled into Manhattan today, walking home from a mid-morning coffee, the top of the Empire State Building was still shrouded in the stuff.

On a foggy morning, July 28th, 1945, a B-25 Bomber crazed into the 79th story of the Empire State Building, killing 14 people but causing only minor damage to the structure.


When it was built, the Empire State set a record for height and construction speed as well. The demolition of the old Waldorf-Astoria on the site began in October 1929 and the skyscraper's opening ceremonies were held on May 1st, 1931 (45 days ahead of schedule). Employing 3500 people at the peak of operation, in one 10 day period 14 stories were added to the frame.


Recently the building has undergone a $550 million dollar renovation - $20 million to make it more energy efficient. 




Late this afternoon, this door caught my eye - an homage to my friend Bob Indiana.

Manhattan - Day 8

A long day of shooting inside a tiny conference room and then lugging all the equipment back from Jamaica and I'm exhausted. Falling asleep much too early at 7:30 so out for a quick walk in a light drizzle. Ended up in a coffee at a Starbucks across from Chelsea Market - nice finish to a successful day.

Manhattan - Day 7

Well, looks like we have a contest. Spent the afternoon at Doma - great little coffee shop in the West Village and just when I thought I had it all figured out with 71 Irving Place. So, I guess I'm gonna have to take a step back and reconsider. And . . . well, this must be the beginning of the official search - what is the best coffee shop in Manhattan?

Manhattan - Day 6

Spent most of the day editing but this evening I went out for a coffee and there was a film company shooting on the corner of 8th & 19th, so I sat and watched while I had my coffee. Even though I've seen them shoot like this many times, it never fails to amaze me how many people they employ on a feature film. Tomorrow I'm off to Jamaica to shoot interior shots of the Queens Library Children's Discovery Center - something tells me my crew will be considerably smaller.

Manhattan - Day 5

Today I just couldn't resist the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy.

San Gennaro is the patron saint of Naples and the festival was first organized in the early twenties by a men's club and mutual benefit society of immigrants from southern Italy.  In 1997 after years of rumors about the Mafia involvement, several members of the Genovese crime family were convicted of extortion in connection with the festival.

It's a real mad house but how can you not love a cliche ridden Italian singer and a bag of deep fried zeppole (I ate 6 and reached my calorie limit for the coming week!)

Manhattan - Day 4

Out and about today, made the park rounds - started in Central then off to Bryant for a while. Next down to Union Square for the market and then back up to Madison Square where they had a great day of live bluegrass. Della Mae http://heyheydellamae.com - terrific all female bluegrass band. Ended the day at 71 Irving Place, maybe the best coffee shop in all of Manhattan - maybe, it's still only day 4.