Birdland

Traversing the sidewalks of Eighth Avenue wasn't easy on New Year's Eve.  The crowd that was growing larger and noisier by the minute was only just beginning their party evening, loading up on street vendor gear advertising their support for "2012."  I'm all in favor of that.

However, I had something better, perhaps a bit more low-key but every bit as exciting, that I was aiming for just around the corner at West 44th Street.

It was a New Year's Eve celebration worthy of Times Square and New York City!  That was, and is, Birdland.  It's a New York jazz institution and, on New Year's Eve this year, big band jazz was featured. 

The music was big indeed, especially from my perch at a table that was practically in the band.  Put it this way, the bass player could have easily reached for our bottle of wine had he wanted to.  And, looking around, it felt possible that there were as many band members as audience members who were thoroughly enjoying the sold-out set.

Birdland's room is just the right size with good seating throughout, even at the bar.  The dinner menu features Southern items with a cajun flair.

The Birdland Big Band, directed by Tommy Igoe, performs every Friday, so whether it's New Year's Eve or any other Friday, Birdland is a true New York find worthy of an evening out (for about the price of a night of theater around the corner, including dinner).

Global Consumers Above All

Among the many signs I photographed in China last week (especially those that don't quite master the use and meaning of English words and phrases), this one, though using no English, spoke volumes to me.

This outdoor wall poster in Beijing clearly advertises Pepsi.  Yup, I'm sure that's what the Chinese characters spell out (not really), but we Americans all know the Pepsi logo.  But I was surprised to see one of the largest US brands using the Chinese revolutionary poses so iconic in their propaganda materials of that era.  Well, whatever sells, I suppose.  And I learned, while in Beijing, that there is much nostalgia for that period.  I cannot fathom that, given all that transpired in those years.  But, then again, we love the old movies, songs and fashion styles of the 1940s, '50s, '60s, '70s and apparently even '80s (big hair and shoulder pads?!?), even though we surely don't want to relive those years for a whole lot of other reasons.

So that's China.

Today, though, back in New York, what do I see in Times Square?

As of August 1, 2011, China's government-run news agency, Xinhua, has one of the key LED billboards in Times Square, measuring 60x40 feet (right above Samsung, which is right above Coca Cola - I hope this is not symbolic of anything, but given recent global financial news, who knows?).

The US is in China speaking its language; and China is in Times Square  - ditto.  Both speaking the language of commerce and commercialism.

Such Heat!

Global warming it is then!  Or perhaps not.  One could argue the point, but who has the energy?  It's just too darn hot.  So, I went out on a hunt for just what one can do in such heat, if one strangely chooses to leave the confines of an air-conditioned space and spend time outdoors, as I attempted yesterday (all in the name of research, as I often say, but this research, alas, didn't involve any calories).

I think this little girl running through the sprinkler in the Union Square playground fountain has the best idea, and certainly won the prize for Appearing to Most Enjoy the Heat (she's not crying, believe me, and watching her dash around in and through that sprinkler with abandon was a riot):

Most everyone else just seemed to slow down, find some shade and do what they would ordinarily do, but with as little movement as possible:

playing chess

playing with toys

wearing costumes and performing childrens' theater, really

finding the shade and grass and just lying there

eating lunch

reading under umbrella

Kindle and iced coffee

And then there were those in great numbers who just didn't seem to understand that it was 95 degrees.  But when you're a tourist, you have to play with the cards you're dealt, and if you really want to see a Broadway show, then you really want to see a Broadway show (and I don't blame them).  I would have been happy to explain the online option for discount tickets if anyone had wanted to listen:

crowd and hours long line at the TKTS booth in Times Square - no shade at all

In the end, who did I most wish to emulate yesterday?  This mom:

back to the water...

Why should only the kids get to have fun while staying cool?

Bryant Park

One little park, tucked behind the New York Public Library and surrounded on all sides by office buildings new and old, hotels and Broadway theaters right around the corner - it's Bryant Park.  When I first moved to New York in 1981, this was just about the last place any New Yorker would think of to spend time, unless you were a drug dealer or customer.  Now, it's simply amazing.  Yesterday's 73 degrees at lunchtime proved it.  The park is not only extremely well-located for midtown workers to have a breath of fresh air during lunch, but this small location packs a punch with creative and ambitious programming:

Chess games

Southwest Porch, complete with beach-style seating and bar

Free wifi

Free sun and grass

The fountain - a good place to meet

The Reading Room, with books, etc. from the Public Library

Almost a little bit of Paris in midtown NYC

Le Carrousel

Movies in the summer evenings, ice skating in the winter, as well as take-out sandwich stands and the Bryant Park Grill for dining or drinking indoors or out, Bryant Park is my favorite bit of sanity in the middle of the city.  

Midtown Tunnel

It never ceases to amaze me.  Was I walking around New York for the last 30 years completely blinded by work, chores, child-rearing and daily pressures?  The title of my blog is unfortunately more accurate than I intended.  How did I miss this?

It's a funny little tunnel that serves no purpose (it's art!) tucked between two buildings on 48th Street ("Music Row") between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, across the street from the Cort Theater.  (It was McGraw-Hill's contribution to the public passageway between 48th and 49th Streets when its building on Sixth Avenue was built in 1972 as part of the Rockefeller Center Extension.)  

Good to know there are others out there who do live with their eyes open.  There they were, taking pictures, linking arms, walking through and posing in and around this plexiglass tunnel under a waterfall. Just plain old no-purpose fun.