| 5 October 2007
Back in Oz
Some random images in the post below, but for now, some NYC observations:
1:
It was nice to be in a place where everything doesn't shut down at 5pm. Sydney, take notice.
2:
Went to see 3.10 to Yuma. Superb flick.
3:
On the multiple interminable plane journeys, I watched Shrek 3, The French Connection, Casablanca and Pirates of The Carribean: At World's End. The people responsible for that last one should be beaten to death. Christ almighty, it was fucking awful.
4:
Some reading material picked up on my trip: F. Paul Wilson's The Keep, The Battle for Spain by Anthony Beevor, The Way of the Wiseguy by Joseph Pistone, Michael Largo's The Portable Obituary and Only in New York - a collection of the New York Times' 'FYI' columns.
5:
The pizza in NYC is awesome. My two picks: Perfecto on Broadway & 92nd st, and Grimaldi's in Brooklyn Heights.
6:
Had my first Philly Cheesesteak. Oh baby.
7:
The coffee in America is mostly dishwater. It's the national drink for crying out loud. Come on people, it's really not that hard to make. No wonder Starbucks became popular: it's one of the few places you can get a half-decent brew.
8:
The coffee may be awful, but the Americans crap on every other nation when it comes to great breakfasts, which are huge and delicious, especially the bacon, which the Americans know has to be made crisp.
9:
Another culinary delight: popovers.
10:
I still hate the idiotic practice of tipping. Really, who thought up this pain-in-the-ass stupidity?
11:
I went to a Yankees v. Orioles baseball game at Yankee stadium, which was a brilliant experience. Big crowd, very noisy, great atmosphere. Getting a beer aint cheap though: a can of Becks beer cost $8.75. Coors Light <eeeuggggh> cost $9.00. And we still had to drink out of paper cups. The hot dogs were a comparatively cheap $3 a pop.
Also, the idiot who designed the Yankee stadium seating system should be thrown into a large fire. So should the retard cops in crowd control.
12:
I got real tired of people SHOUTING at me. By the time I actually made it to the observation deck at the Empire State Building, I was almost homicidal. Imagine waiting in line for 40 minutes, and having the same fucking asshole SHOUT REALLY LOUDLY about "take the Skyriiiiiiide!!!! <add thirty seconds of sales gibberish, and repeat>". Dude, shut the fuck up. I heard you the first fifty times.
Then there were the dickheads behind the beer stand in the hall at Yankee Stadium "GET YER ICE COLD BEEEEEER HEEEERE" while you're standing right next to them.
Really? 'Beer' you say? Gee, I never would have guessed with that giant sign behind your fucking melon head saying "Budweiser" and "Coors".
Oh, and the Gypsy Cab guys who get in your face right outside the airport terminals. "WHERE YOU GOING BUDDY!?!?!?!? WEST SIDE HUH?!?!? COME WITH ME!!!!".
And to top it all off, the NYC subway system seems to be filled with well-dressed black men with Jamaican accents who start shouting about Jesus to all the other passengers. This happened three times just in the carriages I was in.
13:
Went to Greenwich Village. Nice area. Good ice-cream. The stinky hippies were giving me evil looks because I was wearing a USMC cap. Hehehe.
14:
Went to the big courthouse building you always see on Law & Order. I'm a sucker for great architecture. Sadly, you can't take pictures of the beautiful mural in the main atrium. "Security" reasons. Murals are such dangerous things.
15:
NYC subway stations are like a blast furnaces. Using them in high summer must be unbearable. The trains themselves, thankfully, are air-conditioned.
16:
The 3rd Avenue bus has more old people than the entire state of Florida.
17:
I went to watch this. Despite having zero interest in opera, I was quite entertained. Probably had something to do with this honey.
18:
NYC really needs to do something about the giant piles of trash bags outside some apartment buildings.
19:
Had an amazing meal at the festively decorated Mama Mexico, where we were serenaded by strolling mariachis.
Images of New York City (and some bits outside of it)
The street outside our apartment:
Yankee Stadium (as seen from the top tier):
One of the many views from the Empire State building:
Fifth Avenue:
Sensory overload in Times Square:
New York Public Library:
Another library shot (them New Yorkers know their architecture):
The Lady of Liberty:
Part of the Manhattan skyline, as viewed from a Ferry tour:
The Boathouse, Central Park:
The Bethesda Fountain, seen in a million TV shows and movies:
The foyer of the New York State Theater (home of City Opera):
Gaia-friendly stretch hummer in Greenwich Village:
Callicoon, a two-hour drive from NYC, right on the border with Pennsylvania:
The Delaware river at Callicoon:
Awesome
Congratulations Casey Stoner, the 2007 MotoGP World Champion.
As you might imagine, the groupies of the "greatest rider of all time" are not happy:
well done casey my arse: [...] far superior machinery than the rest of the field. it's the bike and rules that has won the championship not stoner. it was clear from the first race of the year that the ducati had the legs and it was going to be a one horse race. in my opinion this was the worst motogp championship i have ever witnessed since becoming a fan over 15 yrs ago.
ALL I can see at the moment in Rossi NOT having the technical support or such a complete package as others do. Rossi's talent is WITHOUT question but the development, technical & engineering Yamaha are giving him is pathetic. There needs to be a big boot kicking somone's arse down at Yamaha for next year to be any better.
stoner is good but he aint no Rossi
NOT AS FUCKIN GOOD AS ROSSI
rossi on the same bike and tyres would have kicked his backside.
I HAVE WATCHED MOTO GP FOR YEARS,AND THIS YEAR WAS RUBBISH, ALL I WILL SAY IS, YES THE DUCATI WAS THE BEST MACHINE BY A LONG WAY AND YES THE TYRES ON IT WERE THE BEST, BUT STONER IS CHAMPION OF BEING ON THE BEST BIKE. YOU CAN SEE BY THE LAST TWO RACES GIVE THE OTHER TOP RIDERS SOME TYRES THAT WORK AND EVEN WITH ALL HIS POWER HE COULD NOT WIN, ROSSI MADE HIM LOOK WEAK
Boooo. I don't support boring riders.
Awww, poor duckies :)
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