My first stop on Sunday, after dropping my luggage at a hotel that wouldn’t let me check in in the morning, was the Natural History Museum on Central Park West…a tres expensive part of Manhattan. One of the first things I saw was what appeared to be a case of Dorthy with her ruby red shoes merged with Toto—- For the record, the dog did not say ‘there’s no place like home’ though it looked like it wanted to go… Read more

True confession— I could not afford to go see Bruce Springsteen on Broadway. The good tickets were more than a $1,000 more than going to Hamilton, and any way…. I’d rather see the most astounding musical perhaps ever. So…. after filming, filming, filming, I went to the Richard Rogers theater. And of course this show has gone through a variety of cast members now in its third plus years of being a huge hit, and so there were some tickets… Read more

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After the disaster that was 9/11/01, New Yorkers, and in general Americans, thought it important to not take that troubling event lying down, indeed, to come back stronger. Part of this involved building a pyramid shaped better Trade Tower on the bedrock called shist (say that carefully) at the end of Manhattan Island. What many will not know is that much of this island was manmade— out of landfill, and brought in soil and rock, even all the way from… Read more

As one gets older, the pleasures of life become, what shall we say, more attenuated? Anyway, food remains a big one even for the AARP crowd. You Hope for the best when you go out to eat at places you’ve never been before… So, here were a few of my culinary experiences whilst working in NY (filming for the History Channel). Firstly, how about a genuine Spanish restaurant (not to be confused with Mexican or Tex-Mex). I’m talking tapas, empanadas,… Read more

Here’s a fun blog post by former religion editor for Time Magazine Dick Ostling, now blogging his way into or in retirement. He correctly characterizes the three ring circus that is the SBL/AAR convention upcoming—– “Each year, thousands upon thousands of religion scholars assemble during the days preceding Thanksgiving for simultaneous conventions of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the professional counterpart for Scripture specialists, the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). This year, the two organizations gather November 17-20,… Read more

Hovering like a giant angel, over the end of the E train line station in lower Manhattan is the Occulus. “The Oculus at Westfield World Trade Center Mall replaces the PATH station that was destroyed during 9/11 in 2001. This 800,000 square foot building cost 4 billion dollars, making it the most expensive train stop in the world! With its sleek and modern design, it immediately became an attraction in Lower Manhattan. The transit hall alone is 325 ft long… Read more

Sadly, Stan Lee, the architect of my childhood imagination with characters like Spiderman and the Fantastic Four, has passed away. Here is a nice piece in the NY Times from today….. Here’s a brief bio from Wiki today…. Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic-book writer, editor, and publisher. He was editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, and later its publisher and chairman, leading its expansion from a small division of a… Read more

The contrast between St. Paul’s Chapel, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral is evident both inside and out. One is small and elegant in its simplicity– a brick chapel. The other is a Gothic Cathedral with towering spires. St. Patricks is downtown at 5th and 51rst streets. It’s in the center of traffic and the hustle and bustle of Manhattan life. It’s been visited by popes. St. Paul’s is small, hidden in a grove of trees, and too close to the site… Read more

One thing you may not know about NY, is it is a very religious place in many ways. Churches old and new are everywhere in Manhattan, and in other boroughs too. This post and the next one is just a few images about the oldest chapel in this part of the world— St. Paul’s Chapel, and one of the most famous ones St. Patrick’s (Catholic) Cathedral. The recent history of this church near the end of the island, is that… Read more