NYC Other Stuff

Other things I did in NYC .... I met Rose the Gypsy and went to the Isaac Mizrahi exhibit at the Jewish Museum, saw some of the permanent collection and had lunch.

I wasn't sure what I liked best about this woman's style - the hair, the shoes or the fact that she had a pet carrier along with her other bags:

I love trains but the NY subway is hard to navigate :(

I do just love the city.  I went to the Tenement Museum too, but no photos are allowed.  You'll have to take my word for it - it's worth the visit.

I got a hank of souvenir yarn at Purl Soho (they have nice yarn but remember liking Knitty City more).

I also squeezed in the show Beautiful.  Unfortunately, I was forced to check my weapons (aka knitting needles) so I didn't get to finish my sock that night.

I thought about telling the kid I knit so I don't kill people in the hope that he wouldn't make me check them, but then I thought better of it.  Seriously, does he think a 55 year old woman seeing a Broadway show about Carole King's life is a threat to someone or something?

The Train

I took the train to New York when I was done in D.C.  I figure what with security and getting from LaGuardia to the city it took about the same amount of time as a flight would have.

The station is nice.   Well, was once nice.  It's pretty chopped up now but there were some old style grand station bits still visible.

There was good people watching too.  I'm not sure how these stockings work, but they were impressive.

There was tagging along the way :)

More than anything else I was impressed by the number of states you cross on such a short train ride.  

The South Bank

I first discovered the South Bank in London when I went on a similar trip with Girl-child. We walked from the Globe Theatre to The Eye that day, and enjoyed the graffiti, the performance art and the beautiful views of the city.

This time I walked from the Tate Modern to iKnit London.

This guy was really good.

These were fun - lined up along a wall that would otherwise be gray and dreary.

I thought we had a lot of bridges, but they have lots and lots of bridges.

This ship is from WWI - an art installation piece with history.

I stopped at The Slug and Lettuce for a bite to eat.

This guy's shirt reminded me of what I saw the first time I was in London (1974).

Oscar Night

I've decided to watch the Red Carpet tonight and then turn off the T.V.  I love the Red Carpet.  In the old days Girl-child and I would watch together and critique all the dresses.  That's probably why she sent me this link.

Why will I not watch the rest of the show?  Too long.  And I haven't seen the movies.  Well, I saw one, but that's not enough to be able to cheer for or rail against winners and losers.

Faith Salie did a piece on actors cleaning up their language for thank-you speeches here.  Probably not a bad idea.  

Here are the speeches the Daily Beast thinks were the best.

And then there are the super long ones too.  Look here for info on Oscar thank-you speeches that were 11 words or less.

Anyway, hope you enjoy Oscar night, however you spend it.

Weather Shots

It's wintertime here in Minnesota. It's been a cold winter, with average amounts of snow. We have two kind of people here in the winter, people who love it and people who hate it. The folks who hate it should move.  Me, I really like the snow. I think the cold is tolerable if we have enough snow. 

This year the snow to cold ratio is out of kilter.  Mostly it's just been cold.

I go through the skyway to work now when the weather is  bad…that means every day.  I had not realized until being above the streetlights that those lights are warm, even in the cold, and the warmth causes melt, drip and icicles.  Kind of cool.

This is the view from our lunchroom at work when it's snowing.  Makes me smile.

When it's really cold people get dressed in all kinds of unusual garb.  This woman had a bit of a furry clash going on - the hat, the hair and the collar of her coat.  She was probably pretty warm though, so we'll mark her as fashionably warm.  It's hard to kinnear people when it's cold out, so I don't get many pictures of people dressed for winter weather.

When it's cold you can't even touch metal or it will burn your skin.  This is a shot of the door from inside.  The metal is dark brown when it's not covered in frost.

This is the view from the lunchroom on a cold day - today.  Today it is too cold out to snow.

I heard recently we aren't supposed to blog about weather but I'm not buying it.  I got an email from Australia recently asking what the hell was going on with our weather.  They're burning up there.  He also said that a newspaper in Oz said that people in the Midwest take a sort of sick pride in their brutal weather.

I did not deny it.

Hats!

Rose, the Gypsy is in New York. She sent pictures of these wonderful hats:
This architecturally inspired one is my personal favorite:
I've always loved hats. I like to knit them too. Today is a cold and blustery winter day, which would be ok, except we have no snow. Cold is only ok when there's snow. In the meantime, I'll wear a hat to ward off the elements...

On a Brighter Note

It's not a new book (published in 2003) but I did discover it in time for the Oscars:
Great pictures, commentary that you may or may not agree with.

If you like watching the red carpet, take a look before the big night.