Under a Bridge as They Say

            Don't actually know if that's a real expression or not, sounds like one, but I did find myself under a bridge yesterday. With another unusual warm November day presented to me, I had no choice but to take my bike out for a nice long ride. A few blocks from where I live there's a bike path which goes along the Hutchinson River Parkway and leads to a place called Ferry Point Park. I've taken the path many times and have gone to the park, but once I reach the end point there's always fences which cut access to the other half. Yesterday was a different story, for the first time I had noticed the fences were removed and I was able to ride on to the other half of the park.

            Most of the path was freshly paved with new tar(probably the reason it was fenced off all this time), but as I got closer to the water the road became more rugged with grass and dirt covering the surface. Despite that, I was able to still ride on and I even went down a slight hill which I'm lucky I didn't fall over forward on while on the bike. This brought me to the base of the Whitestone Bridge, which connects the Bronx to Queens. From there I was able to get a great view Manhattan as well as airplanes passing over Flushing Bay to land at LaGuardia Airport. Also in a distance, another bridge parallel to this one, the Throgg's Neck Bridge, was also within sight. If I wanted to, I could've walked down even further to the beached area, but I didn't want to get sand in my shoes. Plus, there wasn't much to look at there except broken glass and other types of trash that was dumped there. As I looked up at the bottom of the bridge, it didn't seem like there was much that would be able to hold up all those cars. Probably the next time I drive over that bridge I'm gonig to wish I didn't know what it looked like under there...

                               

A Visit to the Brooklyn Museum

            For nearly a year I have been wanting to visit the Brooklyn Museum, but for some reason or another I've never been able to make the trip. With another unusually warm day for late November upon me, I figured I had to be outside today, so why not go to Brooklyn to check out the museum and surrouding area. The museum itself is located on the outskirts of the infamous Propsect Park and neighboring the Brooklyn Botantical Gardens, so perhaps I might have enough time to visit those as well I thought.

            Thought on a map it seems like a long journey from the Bronx to Brooklyn, with the subway the ride only took about an hour. In fact, due to some weekend construction there were plenty of service issues with most train lines and I still made it there timely. The building itself was larger than I antipated, there's five floors worth of exhibits. In front of the building there's benches and stairs used by skateboarders to practice their new tricks. The suggested donation for entrance was twelve dollars, so I paid with a twenty dollar bill in hopes on getting a suggested eight dollars back in change. They do allow for pictures to be taken, but naturally the flash has to be turned off, and pictures may only be taken for certain exhibits. For purposes of not wanting to be guessing all day what can I photograph and what can't I photograph, or find myself being scolded by a guard for incorrectly taking a picture of something I shouldn't have, I decided to not take any pictures inside whasoever.

             The museum itself has a little of everything on display and doesn't behold itself to one singular theme or category. On one floor there are old European paintings, on another floor there's a modern sculpure, then another floor will have pottery from the Turkish Empire that's over five thousand years old(not sure exactly how old the Turkish Empire is, just a guess). In Manhattan museum terms, it's a mix of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Modern Art all buddled together. Unlike most of the museums in Manhattan, the Brooklyn Museum doesn't have nearly the same amount of visitors or pesky tourists that either block views or cause one to have to move along quicker from seeing an item than one wanted to. There were times I felt I had an entire area or floor to myself and could take as much time as I needed to view the exhibits. The only drawback was I arrived around 2:30pm, with the museum closing at 6pm, so I couldn't be as leisurely as I would've liked to. Another good aspect of this museum was that most exhibits are in plain sight and visitors are allows to get up close to the point of almost touching them(although touching is not allowed, of course). A great number of ancient works are behind protective glass, but then again there's just as many ancient and/or priceless artifacts that are right out in the open and one could put their face right up to it.

             Of all the items on display, the star of the show for me was the Egyptian wing. For the reasons mentioned above, there were ancient tablets, wall pieces with hierogliphics, and sculptures/busts right out in the open. In fact, it was so out in the open I walked extra slowly in case if my head was turned, I wouldn't accidently walk into one and knock it over. There were also all the other usual suspects in terms of an Egyptian wing such as mummies, tools, scrolls, and pottery. I found this section the most intruiging and it was where I spent the bulk of my viewing time. Another noteworthy mention of the museum was its housing displays. Meaning, they had rooms from American houses dating back from the 1700's through the 1900's on display fully equipped with all the furniture and details that existed during those periods. One room was litterly a dressing room taken the White House before rennovated by then President Andrew Jackson(on the twenty dollar bill I paid the suggested twelve dollars with). Another room on display was a dining room taken from a South Carolina plantation home from the 1800's. There was also a room dedicated from the home that John D. Rockefeller had in New York City around the time of the turn of the twentith century.

            The time was 4:30pm when I had finished seeing all five floors, so it took me about two hours to check out the museum and see about everything on site. There were some parts I rushed through or didn't spend as much time on as I would've liked, but overall I saw mostly everything there and did it with time to spare. In the back of my mind I was still hoping I would have a chance to see either the Botantical Gardens or just walk through the wooded Prospect Park with enough sunlight to take pictures. Unfortunately, this time of the year the sun goes down early so by the time I exited the museum, it was well on its way to being dark out. The Botantical Gardens was out of the question, and although joggers and bikers were still entering the park, it would be too dark for pictures and I wasn't sure my way around the place, I felt best to leave the park for another time. It would have been underwhelming to come all the way out to Brooklyn and just visit one place, so since I didn't have lunch and wanted something else to do, I decided to walk around to find a unique place to eat.

            After walking about five blocks and only seeing apartment buildings, I was beginning to think that maybe this was a bad idea, but luckily I came upon 7th Aveune which turned out to be a lively stretch of blocks filled with all sorts of establishments. After passing the corner of 7th Avenue and 7th Street I came upon a Turkish place called Stanbul. With the Turkish Empire fresh in my mind from the museum, this was the perfect place to eat at. It was before normal dinner hours so the place was almost empty at the time. They bring out warm bread and olive oil to dip it in for starters, plus I ordered a glass of Turkish red wine called yakut(I was surprised I pronounced it correctly). For the appetizer I had little liver cubes served with onions, and that was actually a meal onto itself that could've filled me up. The only complaint I have with that one was they serve the onions cold and uncooked, I prefer my onions cooked when it comes to liver. The main course was called manti, which are little dumpling cubes with shredded lamb meat and onions inside. For some reason I though the meal was going to be more breaded-style than dumpling style, but it was still tasty enough.

            There was no way I was going to leave the place without having Turkish coffee, which is one of the strongest coffees in the world. They did also bring out a dessert tray, and even though I was stuffed from the liver and manti, I selected a slice of chocolate pudding cake to go along with my coffee. Turkish coffee has a very muddy texture at the bottom of the cup when finished, and its part of Turkish folklore to turn your cup upside down on the saucer when finished for a few minutes, then after lifting the cup the muddy residue leftover makes and image that's supposed to reflect your future. I couldn't remember at the time if one must look at the impression on the saucer or at the bottom of the cup. It turns out its the bottom of the cup as I only took a picture of the saucer, and it was a mess. Hopefully inside the cup had a better outlook. When it came time for the check they actually brought it to me in a small chest which I found quite amusing. As I was getting ready to exit, then more of the dinner crowd started filing in, leaving the waiters with more people to tend to instead of watching me taking pitcures of my food, possibly breaking Turkish custom...

                                                     

It was the Blue Tango

            About a month ago I uncovered the names of two songs I had been searching for quite a few years, well, I must be on a lucky streak because I unearthed another tune I had been on the trail on.

            What made this mystery tougher was that it was a pure instrumental piece of music, so there were no words or lyrics to do a Google search on. I probably first heard this one about ten or fifteen years ago, and what re-sparked my interest occured over this past summer as I was having lunch at an Italian resturant. While I was waiting for the meal to come out, I was sipping on a nice cool glass of white wine and dipping italian bread into a little saucer of olive oil that was on the table. The weather was perfect, the wine was good, the bread-n-olive oil was tasty, and to top it off that symphony started to play out of the speakers in the resturant. It was almost all too good to be true, but in fact it was all very real and happening right in front of me.

             I had noticed other songs and symphonies that were playing were likely room the 60's era, so based on that I concluded this mystery tune must be from the 60's. Not too long after that day with the melody fresh in my head, I started to do searches on Google, YouTube, and iTunes for all types of orchestra, symphony, and instrumental music from the 1960's. Unfortunately, after listening to hundreds of different titles I couldn't find the one I was looking for. I kept replying it in my head so it would keep fresh, but after a few nights of no luck, I put the project aside.

             Fast forward a few months to last night, something was telling me to give it another shot. Again, a few weeks ago I had success with two songs I was seeking, so with that in mind plus it was Thanksgiving night, maybe something special would happen. I started my search around 11pm using all the same tools as I had before: YouTube, Google, iTunes. About 4 hours later it was 3am the next day and I was just about to give up on it yet again. I ran one last search on YouTube and came upon a piece of music that wasn't the one I was looking for, but the instruments and the musical style sounded striking familiar to my mystery tune. The group was Mantovani & His Orchestra, so I did a search of other titles under that composer and after two or three titles, I finally found the catchy tune that had been in my head for all these years. Too bad 3am wasn't a good time for white wine...

"Blue Tango" by Mantovani & His Orchestra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rymW8rvSEMM
                                                            

Chili done My Way

            The other week I had burning desire to make my version of chili, so after two experimental attempts I finally narrowed down a good plan of attack. After selecting the pot to cook it in, its a good idea to spread some olive oil at the bottom so it doesn't burn the surface. First what is needed to go into the pot is an ordinary can of chili, but since its typically not interesting enough, more items need to be added. The usual can of chili doesn't have enough beans, so I like to add another can of beans, but only half the can so its not too many beans floating around. Next, to prevent it from being too clumpy I like to add in a can of tomato sauce. Plus the tomoto flavor helps sweeten the crumbled chopmeat thats in the original chili can.

            Another import flavor to help add to the sweet factor is two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, or just one solid pour. The fun part is the spices, I like to chop up half an onion into little cubes and strings. The trick is to chop the onion pieces as much as possible, otherwise it might make the chili too clumpy in the end. For whatever reason, this onion today was quite mean and had my eyes tearing like crazy. To me, the secret ingrediant that really makes the difference is curry powder. Don't be afraid to put in alot, I like to fill the cap up a few times and dump it in. (The only downfall of curry it stains cookware, so make sure to wash those rather soon after using them). Other important spices include a few spritzes of black pepper, and a few pinches only of red pepper flakes.

            Once all these items are in the pot, I like to take a simple folk and mix it all up before starting the fire. Give it about 10-12 minutes and when it starts simmering and popping bubbles, use the folk to mix it up a little more, and then let it go for another 2 minutes. Once it simmers and pops bubbles again, its done, turn off the stove and let it sit for a few minutes. Once the steams lets down some, pour the chili into a deep bowl and sit it on the counter for another minute to cool down even further. I like to dip something with chili, most prefer nachos, I like ordinary saltine crackers. Plus, I also like a slice or two of bread as well. Since its hot as it is, and has alot of spice, water is going to be necessary, otherwise you'll find yourself drinking an entire bottle of juice or soda, etc. Most of these ingrediants are already in most kitchens, so it only costs a few dollars on the can of chili, and dipping in that first cracker when its finished makes it worth it ten fold...

Olympus FE-4030: You Lived, You Loved, You Left

            Sunday afternoon I was in the supermarket picking up some canned goods when I received a phone call from my uncle about an extra ticket to a football game that night. It was the Philadelphia Eagles visiting the New York Giants. The whole day I was looking forward to watching the game on TV, but having the chance to see it in person was an easy decision to make. In addition to the game, there was going to be tailgating festivities beforehand which I wanted to share as well, so I brought my trusty camera along.

             We all had to meet a someone's house first before making the drive to New Jersey, so while we were waiting for a few more people to show up, we decided to throw around a football to pass the time. I was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and initially had placed the camera in the front pouch pocket. So naturally, when we finally were in the car on our way to the stadium, I felt the front pocket a realized the camera was gone. It took me about 5 seconds to come to the conclusion it must have slipped out of the pocket while throwing around the football. I felt bad not only losing the camera, but that night the tailgating food and seats we had would've made for alot of nice pictures.

            After the game when we got back to the house we all met up at, I quickly scanned around the area I was throwing the football around in, but couldn't find the camera. It also wasn't helping that it was late night at that point and very dark out. My only hope was to come back the next morning and try looking again in the day light. Those hopes also started to fade fast because then it started raining, so even if I did find it the next morning, it probably would've had irreversable water damage. With that in mind, I still came the next morning to search the area, but didn't find it. The only solution was to get another one.

             The house wasn't very far from a BestBuy, so I drove there to purchase a new camera of an almost identical brand and make of the one I lost. Since I already had the software installed on my laptop and many pictures already saved, I didn't want to switch brands. It seems the only way to get help at a BestBuy is to be the first customer there when the store is completely empty. The time it took for me to enter, get the camera, and check-out couldn't have been more than 4 minutes. This camera is the Olympus VG-140, very similar to the previous camera, except this one has a 5x Zoom instead of only a 4x Zoom. Not sure if that saves my life from a falling meteor the size of a house, but its a small upgrade I suppose.

            As for the Olympus FE-4030, I purchased it back in January of this year first to take pictures of a flock of geese that were nearby, but then as the year went on the camera and I had alot of fun together. There were the trips to Miami, Haiti, Montreal, and Montauk, NY. Within New York City there was the Bronx Zoo, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, The Intrepid, Central Park, the Halloween Parade, the Paul McCartney concert and Derek Jeter's 3,000th Hit - both at Yankee Stadium, and most recently a cat show. There were also a long list of other random items I enjoyed taking pictures of. Out of all the cameras I ever had, I think this one might've been the best yet, so in rememberance, here's some pictures from that first day with the geese...

                                  

Best in Cat Show

             There was certainly a buzz in the air this weekend at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY which hosted a cat show. Okay, maybe there wasn't really a buzz, but there was a cat show. With a five dollar parking fee and a thirteen dollar entrance fee, it was more expensive of a visit than I was anticipating, but I was there anyways so it was on to the show.

             The Westchester County Center has two main show rooms, one upstairs another downstairs. This event took place in the larger upstairs room which is also able to accomodate concerts, basketball games, and other major shows. Before getting there visitors walk through a hallway in which small tables are set up, mainly for animal avocate groups handing out brochures, etc. After that, then people may enter the large room to see the cats in action. The center of the floor room had about seven rows of cats on display(with their owners), the right side had three main tables where judges examined and inspected the cats, the left side had a few tables selling cat-related merchandise, and on the stage was a few more avocate groups and some small conference that was going on. Although at the conference, even with the microphone, it was almost impossible to hear the speaker over the noise of chatter and judging announcements.

             Cats were on display in all shapes, sizes, ages, and breeds. Only a small number of them were able to photogrpah well as most were either asleep or moving around too fast to take a decent picture. It must have been a long day as most of the owners looked sluggish just lounging in their chairs, like their cats. There were a few interesting people, one guy was actually listening to a walkman(I didn't know those existed anymore), another lady was using her walker to carry a wide variety of items, including her oxygen tank, which I found creative. I was beginning to feel hungry after a while and their was a Nathan's concession stand in the back, but at the time I wasn't in the mood for burgers or hotdogs. Next to the Nathan's stand there's the bathroom and water fountain area, in both cases signs were put up informing owners not to wash their cats in the fountain or take them into the bathroom.

             As I walked around a I noticed a number of the cats had a black ribbon on their cages, so I would assume they won something for whatever category they were in. I believe there was a contest for shorthair, longhair, as I heard it over the loudspeaker. If there was anyone interested in taking a cat home, there were a few shelters exhibiting potential candidates looking for a couch to scratch up, some of the owners were also professional breeders selling their stock, and others just had displays for selling kittens. I overheard one lady mention that her husband warned her about going to the show and said if she did, to not bring home anymore cats. Alot of the people in attendance were wearing leopard colored clothes or shirts with cats on them. It was the quintessential definition of when people are called "cat people", and I found them more entertaining to look at than the cats...