New York Top Five

This list is for my cousin's, Keith and Sammie. They are headed to NYC for their 10 year Anniversary in a couple of weeks, and here's some of my favorite things to do (most involve food) that are a little off the beaten path (I figure Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building are things you're already planning on doing).

Ferry to Staten Island: One of the best deals in NYC, this free ferry takes you to Staten Island and back. The view is

great of lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island etc. Plus you're on the water for a bit. One of my other favorite things to do that is similar is get off the Subway at the first stop after the Brooklyn Bridge and walk back to the City on the Bridge. Best done at Dusk or just after dark. Don't worry, it's safe. There'll be a ton of people on the Bridge.

Metropolitan Museum of Art: I hear the admission is 20 dollars now, but the Met is still worth it. Take the Best of tour, it's free with the price of admission, and the tour guide gives you a tour of their favorite pieces in the museum rather than a preset tour. The pieces you see give a great introduction and overview of a grand ol' museum. Then go see what you're interested in--you'll probably have already seen at least the Egypt room in Movies. Great view of Central park, and one of the coolest Museum rooms I've ever seen.

Greenwich: Dunar Kebabs, Magnolia Bakery banana pudding, pizza by the slice, etc etc. Greenwich is great to just walk through, but I always find myself eating my way through. The funky shops, the people watching, it's a great place to spend a few hours. I almost find myself a little disoriented in Greenwich, but don't worry-it's small. You'll figure it out. Lower East Village is another great place to eat your way through.

My favorite Subway stop: This is a silly one, but I really like 72nd and Broadway a lot. The subway station is picturesque as is the neighborhood. There's a Grey's Papayas (ht dogs done right--and cheap, ask either of my brothers about these) across the street, several places to eat.

5th Avenue: If it's a hot afternoon, and Keith is willing-going into Tiffany's, FAO Schwarz etc. Both are worth just seeing, and ask prices on the rings. You'll be amazed-at least I was.

One More: If you're going to Palmyra, go see Niagara Falls. Crazy tourist trap, but still impressive. I like the view from both the American and Canadian Side, and find both to pretty developed. Canada is fun to spend a few hours in however. I didn't do the boat ride as it was closed, but did pay on the Canadian side to walk down to where you're right next to the falls.

Tips:

New York is a cash mostly town.

Bring comfortable shoes.

Public Transportation is fun, walking is one of my favorite things to do in this city.

I'm sure you know the tips to get the cheaper Broadway tickets.

Yes, the Subway is dirty, and don't look at the tracks too long, but it's easy, pretty cheap, and you'll have a good time figuring it out.

Also, if you can-go see either the Mets or Yankees play. Baseball games in NYC are a TON of fun...even if you're casual fans.

If anyone else wants to give Keith and Sammie any suggestions, please feel free!

Land of the Lost----

Ok, this trailer has been around for a while, and yeah the movie looks dumb, but Will Ferrell getting chased by a dinosaur? Makes my heart skip a beat.

Will I see this one? Yes.

"Greatest Earthquake Ever!!"

Wordless

Memorial Day Weekend Destination......

This Shouldn't Surprise You

I've got a dear friend and former roommate, Meg, who blogged about a website earlier this week. I keep going back to the site when I have a few minutes so I thought I'd share my top three images from said website. Enjoy. I feel a little remorse for sharing said images, but uh, the thought of Jesus looking over the shoulder of an office worker; Jesus backseat driving; and Jesus enjoying a Chris Farley/Meatloaf look alike just makes me want to share my happiness with you. Meg, I think we're going to hell together.

John Doe + The Sadies

A punk icon (John Doe of the band X) singing classic country standards?  audio comfort food.  At least in my world. If you're expecting "Ring of Fire" a la Social Distortion, you may be disappointed.  But if you enjoyed Teddy Thompson's "Up Front and Down Low" album from a few years-John Doe may be right up your alley (Mom, this post is for you).

Monday Roundup

Just a few random links I found while checking out some of the blogs I read.

Egg White Face Mask

Are you as cheap as I am when it comes to beauty-but have large pores on your face?

The Beauty Shop shows you how to use an egg white face mask to shrink pores! (those yolks?

http://thebeautystop.com/tip-stop-use-an-egg-white-face-mask-to-shrink-pores/

(How would you use the yolks? I’d use them to make ice cream)

Professional Photographer’s Blog

Food and Lifestyle Professional Photographer Sheri Giblin’s blog.

http://sherigiblinphotography.blogspot.com/

(Some call it a blog, I call it my kind of “porn.”)

Star Wars Crafts!!

Have a 4 year old who knows he’s Darth Vader? Here’s some crafts to spark his/her imagination.

http://starwars.com/kids/do/

(Death Star Piñatas and make your own Star Wars Lucha Libre Masks sound like my kind of a party, really. Really.)

Utah School To Apologize To Kilt-Wearing Student

The principal of a Utah middle school has been asked to apologize to a student for forcing him to change out of his kilt. The student says he wore it twice recently for an art project. The principal said the kilt could be misconstrued as cross-dressing. The school district says the kilt was an expression of the boy's Scottish heritage and not inappropriate. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104239062

(Where in Utah was this? I’m too lazy to look it up.)

President Obama's address to Notre Dame's graduating class.

By Common Consent had an interesting post today about faith and doubt in the context of Pres. Obama's speech to Notre Dame graduates.  Here's an excerpt of the speech below:

In this world of competing claims about what is right and what is true, have confidence in the values with which you’ve been raised and educated. Be unafraid to speak your mind when those values are at stake. Hold firm to your faith and allow it to guide you on your journey. Stand as a lighthouse.

But remember too that the ultimate irony of faith is that it necessarily admits doubt. It is the belief in things not seen. It is beyond our capacity as human beings to know with certainty what God has planned for us or what He asks of us, and those of us who believe must trust that His wisdom is greater than our own.

This doubt should not push us away from our faith. But it should humble us. It should temper our passions, and cause us to be wary of self-righteousness. It should compel us to remain open, and curious, and eager to continue the moral and spiritual debate that began for so many of you within the walls of Notre Dame. And within our vast democracy, this doubt should remind us to persuade through reason, through an appeal whenever we can to universal rather than parochial principles, and most of all through an abiding example of good works, charity, kindness, and service that moves hearts and minds.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003119367

http://bycommonconsent.com/2009/05/18/open-hearts-open-minds-fair-minded-words/

At Church Today

During a baby blessing at church (in the LDS church, infants are given a name and a blessing), a 4 year old just behind where I was sitting proclaimed fairly loudly, “I am Darth Vader,” while his 4 month old brother snorted (they call him Lil’ Piggy) throughout the prayer. On top of that, the 18 month old in front of us decided he would pet my friend’s leg very softly. I like church.

Ups and Downs

Downside: Out of my own knuckleheadness, I "missed" my first flight
Upside: I made the next flight on standby.

Downside: Plane was delayed two hours in Miami, and another 1/2 hour in National.
Upside: I'm back in DC

Upside: I got to watch "Bride Wars" and "He's Not that Into You"
Downside: We were stuck in the cabin of the plane for two hours

Upside: I like Drew Barrymore.
Downside: Neither "Bride Wars" or "He's not that into you" were great, or even that good, really. Upside: I learned "life lessons" from both films.

Upside: Kelli Kay is feeling better.
Downside: She's still struggling with the bug she got.

Upside: When I finally made it back? An unbirthday present from a sister-in-law. Nicole, you're seriously the best. Smokey picked well when he married you.

South Beach

I ended up in South Beach alone this evening (Kelli is here, but sick with the flu). While walking along the path near the beach, I came across four or five extremely attractive, ripped Latinos and an extremely fit, gregarious 87 year old. The 87 year old had a game he fashioned out of garden hose, cord, and a steel football through the two cords that you hold with the garden hose handles, and pass the steel football back and forth. The 87 year old had several of the fit guys, three drunk girls, and myself transfixed with the game. I ended up playing the game for a while, mostly with Miguel (photo below, on the right). Great workout, and I'm wishing a little I had my own game. I may have to go back tomorrow to play again!

66th Honor Awards Convocation

I don't like bragging, I figure if I work hard enough-people will notice, and if they don't--I'm either not working hard enough or they don't care-and that's okay too.
For the first half of every year, my job revolves around the Department of the Interior Honor Awards Convocation. This year was the 66th Convocation the Department has put on. The event is a formal awards ceremony honoring employees who have received the highest honor awards the Department gives. These awards, the Distinguished Service, Valor and Citizen's Award for Bravery are for employees who have changed the Department for the better(we have 60k employees and only a dozen receive this award a year, ) and employees and citizens who risked their lives to save the life of another.
The ceremony is a Secretarial event, and I found out that putting the event on during a transitional year creates its own kind of excitement. We have slides, videos, a choir, an honor guard, a reception afterwards in our South Penthouse (hard to beat that view), our own Vanna White giving the awards. I coordinate with various Department Bureaus and Offices to pull it off. Many, many (close to a hundred, and I'm not exaggerating) employees and citizens are involved with pulling this event off the ground, and it was my pleasure to work with each and every one of them. That being said, we pulled it off this year, everyone including the Secretary was complimentary, and most importantly--all the award recipients and their families seemed very happy.
This year, the Valor/Citizens Award for Bravery story that stood out to me was a park ranger and guide who flew up Mt Rainer to rescue a climber who was hurt on the most dangerous part of the mountain. The helicopter crashed, the ranger was covered in oil, the park ranger and guide stabilized the pilot who was injured, called for help, made sure help got there and then continued up the mountain to rescue the stranded climber. The least I can do is make sure the ceremony allows the Secretary of the Interior to give these employees the honor they deserve.
Now it's off to create a work-life utopia, but before that? Miami for a benefits training tomorrow. Me voy mañana en la mañana.

Who are the People in your Neighborhood?

Every day when I ride the Metro, I pass by a homeless couple. Sometimes the pair is sleeping on the GSA building steam grates next to the sidewalk on the corner of E and 18th. Often, I find the pair on a bench across the street from my building.
I keep tabs on the homeless on my commute, but this couple stood out because they were a couple, clean, had a very well-behaved dog who was always on a leash, the man always had one eye open even when they were in "bed", and were friendly. Just encountering the couple for a few seconds nearly every work day, I could tell how much the man loved and protected the woman. I never went out of my way to talk to them, but for the past several months, when I would walk bye, the man always made sure to say hi to me, and would make sure to catch my eye to say hi if I didn't notice the couple.

Anyway, imagine my surprise to recognize the couple on the front page of Yahoo this morning. Of all the homeless people in the United States, it was two people I recognized.
When I read about Dante's background (kicked out at 14, same age as my younger brother) and the fact that the man was floored by the affluence in Virginia, and had never been to a shopping mall in nova (the park bench he sits on is probably 3-4 miles from one "ritzy" mall which is right on the metro line, and less than 10 from another. Seriously, that made me feel pretty humble. Here was someone I encounter regularly that had never even crossed the river to go to one of the Malls in Northern Virginia-something I take for granted every day. I kick myself a little for not knowing their first names until I read it on the front page of Yahoo, but now I can call them by name when I say hi to them next in my "neighberhood" (although that might freak them out a bit). I sincerely wish this couple well.

"Notice how the couple holds hands in this shot. "

The Yahoo Article