Some cool watch the last don images:

Hey Uncle Bobbie – could you point your gun up in the air and fire it off once or twice? I wanna watch everyone freak out…


Image by Ed Yourdon
Note: this photo was published in an undated (Dec 25, 2010) Everyblock NYC zipcodes blog titled "10020."

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As I wrote when I visited Rockefeller Center a year ago, it’s a well known phenomenon that most people never bother to visit the famous landmarks and tourist attractions in their own city. God only knows how many Parisians have never visited the Louvre, and how many Londoners have never been inside Buckingham Palace. Many Washingtonians would probably have to admit that they’ve never been on the White House tour, and I can only guess at the number of New Yorkers who have never been to the top of the Empire State Building.

When we do visit such landmarks, it’s often because a visiting relative insists on seeing it; or sometimes guilt will force us to drag our young children to see the sights, because "everyone should see the XYZ building as part of their education." That probably explains why I can actually say that I’ve been to the Statue of Liberty (though it was more than 35 years ago), why I’ve been to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building, and why I dined at Windows on the World in the days before 9-11. I even spent one miserable New Year’s Eve in Times Square, along with a million other screaming revelers — which most New Yorkers would tell you is something only wide-eyed tourists and drunken teenagers from New Jersey would want to experience.

But despite all the tourist attractions I can say that I’ve been to in New York (Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Zoo, and so on), I have to admit that I’ve only been to Rockefeller Center once during the Christmas season — as documented in this this Flickr set. I’ve watched the annual tree-lighting ceremony on television numerous times, but have had no interest in standing in the bitter cold with a gazillion tourists as the tree is hoisted and lit. Nor have I had any interest in visiting during the final days leading up to the Christmas holiday itself …

As I did last year, I skipped the tree-lighting ceremony this year — but since I did come down here a year ago to take some photos, I thought it might be worth returning once again. Why? Because I thought the ice-skating rink would once again be a scene of dazzling color, stylish fashions, and great displays of athletic prowess on the ice. Unfortunately, that only seems to be true in Hollywood movies; like last year, what I saw was mostly a bunch of klutzy skaters and children sprawled out on the ice when they tripped and fell. There were a few attractive people, but no dazzling beauties; and the outfits were generally fairly dull and uninteresting. The only improvement this year was a rotund Santa Claus, who was friendly enough to cuddle up to several couples and family groups for some tourist photos.

I did manage to get a few interesting photos of skaters and local scenery, and I dutifully captured a vertical shot of the enormous Christmas tree. But after that, I fell back on my most favorite activity: photographing the "ordinary" people who milled around the square-block center, most of them observing the skaters and the overall scene. Almost all were tourists and visitors, and the Tower-of-Babel collection of dialects and languages made it clear that quite a few were international visitors, many with children in tow.

The other difference between this year and last year is that I shot videos as well as still shots; I’m still organizing the videos, and they will eventually be combined with some other videos taken during this week before Christmas. Meanwhile, though, I hope you’ll enjoy these still photos of the Christmas scene at Rockefeller Center…

Nature’s Fireworks


Image by -Snugg-
These fireworks are my favorite kind. They’re quite expansive, covering nearly the whole sky, they last for many times the span of their artificial counterparts. They are bright, yet subtle, showy on the surface but also offering minute variations in color and texture to more astute viewers. Not only are they safer because they don’t require pyrotechnicians, but they are also gentler on the ears — great for old folks and tykes, and anyone who wants to be able to hear until next year… all in the comfort of your backyard.

With a sky like this, how can you justify getting in the car and going off into the crowds to watch people explode things into the air? I think this may be my new 4th of July tradition! I just hope it doesn’t rain next year….

(without color adjustments!)

Arlo watching Abby, watching the funny lights


Image by DirtBikeDBA (Mike)
I don’t know how long the novelty will last, but the cats are totally intrigued by this umbrella thingy that makes funny light.