It's Snowing!!!!

It is Saturday 29 October and it is snowing in New York City!

Bryan and I were just coming out of the diner (where we have our usual Saturday breakfast of pancakes) when I noticed it was snowing. The weather forecasters are saying it is crazy to be snowing this early!

I am currently sitting in bed with the blinds pulled up looking out my window watching the snow fall on the rooftops and water towers just outside. It is a surreal experience.

The Late Quartet

Early in the week Bryan got an email at work asking if anyone would be interested in being part of a test audience for a new movie staring Christopher Walken and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Of course he jumped at the chance and so last night we went to an office in Times Square to watch the first draft film of "The Late Quartet". The movie is about a string quartet that have been performing professionally for 25 years and at the start of season 26 issues arise that each of them must deal with.

So when we got to the location last night we were ushered into this private theatre with the most luxurous seats. There was about 60 of us in the test audience. Prior to the start of the movie we were told about scenes that were not completely finished. For example, one scene is set inside a taxi. In the background there is a green screen where they have to yet put in the filmwork of shops and buildings passing by in the background.

But what was amazing was that these little things did not really distract you from the film. The acting of course, was amazing. It was a fantastic movie, one I definitely would recommend (launch is 2012).

After the film ended they asked us to complete a questionairre where we had to write down what scenes we liked, didn't like, rate the different scenes, and provide any additional comments about what worked and didn't work.

Once we had finished that the director then came out and introduced himself to us and asked the audience to provide him feedback, so for about 10 minutes people talked about what they had written on their feedback form.

On the way out Bryan and I went up to the director and introduced ourselves to him and congratulated him on such a great movie. He was extremely appreciative of our feedback. We also met the producer of the film. She was also very nice and very appreciative that people would take time out on their Friday night to see a movie that was not yet "finished".

It was an amazing experience. If you ever get the chance to be part of a test audience I would highly recommend it.

After we left the screening room we decided to head down to our favorite sports bar to see the end of the last game of the world series in baseball (Texas Rangers vs St Louis Cardinals). Times Square was showing the game on one of their big screens. We noticed that it was at the bottom of the 7th innings (only two more innings left) and the people traffic was chaos, so Bryan hailed down a push-peddled tuck-tuck. We got in and he cycled us down to our sports bar.

Now, these push-peddled tuck-tucks are a lot of fun, but they can be quite expensive. I say, have a ride when you're here on holiday but it is definitely not something you want to do all the time. For the distance we went it would have probably cost $5.00 in cab, in the push-peddled tuck-tuck it cost us $25.00 - but don't forget you got to tip as well! So it ended up costing us $30.00. Expensive - Yes, but it was fun!

An afternoon with Martha Stewart

Ok hand me my glue gun......

No seriously, on Wednesday I went to see the Martha Stewart show being recorded. Her studios are one block from where we live (cnr 26th and seventh Ave).



Outside the Martha Stewart Studios

I was warned that people line up early, because even though you have been confirmed for the recording it is still first come, first serve when getting a seat. So I decided to get there an hour and a half before the scheduled time and I was first in line! When I spoke to one of the attendants that worked there he said that people generally start lining up around the time I got there, so I didn't feel too silly. And sure enough, ten minutes after I got there people started to line up behind me.

So the way it works is, an hour and a half before recording, they let you into a "Green" room where you are issued a seat number and you need to pass through security (crazy I know.....like anyone is going to blow up Martha Stewart!!!!!).

My ticket

Whilst in the greenroom they have a "mini" starbucks set up so you can try their coffee for free (no thank you!) and then you fill out a form giving consent to them being allowed to film you. After about 40 minutes the "Audience Manager" comes down and tells everyone what the show is going to be about and the freebies you will be getting. The show I saw had to do with animals, and all the freebies were for pets (just what I needed....NOT). He also takes you through all the signals that he is going to display during the show to get you cheer, clap, say "mmmmmm", and "aaaaahhhhhhh" (pretty cheezie I know!).

Audience Manager teaching the audience the different signals he'll use to get the audience to clap, cheer etc

Mini Starbucks where you can taste their coffee for free

About 15 minutes later they then start calling your seat number and take you up to the studio. Once in the studio you are allowed to take photos before and after the recording of the show, but not during the show. I was in the second row on the floor. It was a great spot. I got to see all the behind-the-scenes stuff.

On set, crew having a meeting and preparing to film the different animals that were to appear on the show



One of the sets in the studio



the "Greenhouse" set in the studio




Audience seating

 So, what can I say about Martha.........well, she does not come across as the warmest person. What was strange was when a guest speaker was next to her before recording the segment she would not talk to them. She would just stare off into space. Now, maybe she was thinking about the up-and-coming segment, but it is not like she had to remember her lines because there was a telepromter. She may also just be a quiet person....who knows, but she was very closed off.

Prior to the recording we were told that she would answer three questions from the audience in relation to animals. Anyone who had a question had to tell the crew prior to the recording because they had to be screened before they were asked.


I really can't say whether I enjoyed the afternoon or not.....but it was definitely an experience.....Would I go to another recording of the "Martha Stewart Show".....I don't think so.

They're Creepy and They're Spooky........

On Saturday night we decided to see our first Broadway show. We went and saw "The Addam's Family" starring Brooke Shields. It was a lot of fun, lots of laughs and toe tapping tunes. Brooke was great. I didn't realise that she had done so much on Broadway.

Even though this musical was a lot of fun, if you were coming to New York for a holiday and wanted to see a Broadway show I would probably pass on this one. BUT, it is definitely a family friendly musical, lots of references that today's kids will understand and nothing that is in appropriate for young audience members.

Costume Dogs

Yes! You read right! I'm not kidding around.....

For the last couple of years, the East Village has hosted a "fancy dress" for dogs. I know, I hear you say "only in New York" but man were there lots of "oooooooooo" and "ahhhhhhh" and "ohhhhh how cute". Yes, I dragged Bryan along and we had a good laugh.

It was a bright sunny day, the weather couldn't have been better.

Oh yeah....I heard a crazy fact on the news today that Americans spend over $300 million on pet costumes for Halloween! How crazy is that?!

Pumpkin dog

Banana Split dog

Subway dog

Taco dog

Busy Bee dog

Constable dog

Shark dog



Sailor dog

Red Riding Hood dog

Black Swan dog

Angel dog and Grape dog

Angel dog

Busy Bee dog

Elf dog

Devil dog

Fireman dog

Elvis

Butterfly dog

Minnie Mouse

One parent got confused - dressed his kid up as a poodle

Banana Split dog

Hot dog

Snow White

Spider dog

The American Museum of Moving Image

Thursday was a rainy day, not so heavy that you need an umbrella but rainy enough to my make my hair frizz. You know, that drizzle pithy rain.....well, I decided to take myself off to the American Museum of Moving Image in Queens.

Now, this is not a museum that stands out once you get out of the subway, so if you decide to go to this museum, as soon as you get out of the subway ask someone for directions.

The museum costs $12.00 to get in and they usually have a special exhibit that you can also view at no additional cost.

Overall, the museum was interesting, nothing like the big museums that I have seen so far, but still interesting. This museum specialized in movies and the history of how movies came about. What is good about this museum is that they pay a lot of attention to the roles required behind the scenes to make a movie, such as wig master, make up (and special effects with make-up), costumes (they had lots of famous costumes from movies such as Dangerous Liaisons [there was a lot of detail in Glenn Closes' dress] to the Mork costume used by Robin Williams in the TV show Mork and Mindy).

They also had on display all the different kinds of film cameras that have been used over the decades to film famous movies as well as an area where you could learn about audio and editing film.

On the top floor is where you will find the special exhibit. The exhibit I saw was about Jim Henson and the history of his career. So if you are into Jim Henson you would have loved this. There were film interviews with Jim Henson where you could learn about how Kermit the Frog came about (btw Jim used is mother's green spring coat to make Kermit - I bet she wasn't too happy about that) and how he also dabbled in other work outside of the world of Sesame Street and The Muppets.

Sorry there are not a lot of photos - no photos were allowed, but the dare devil inside of me said "you gotta get photos of the muppets" so I whipped out my phone and took these two before I got caught. I was politely told to put my camera away!

There is one piece of film that you first see when walking through the museum that Jim directed, starred in and edited. . It runs for approx 9 minutes and it is the trippiest thing I have ever watched. You definitely don't need a joint to go on a ride when checking out this piece!

I got to see several muppets that they had on display Kermit the frog, Miss Piggy in her wedding dress, Rowlf the dog, and Wembly from Fraggle Rock. What was great was you got to learn about how Sesame Street, the Muppets and Fraggle Rock came about. There were drawings showing how Big Bird morphed into the character that we know and love today. It was really well done.

In conclusion I would say that this museum is a fun museum to go to with kids. There are lots of hands-on things for them to do but it is not a "must see" when coming to New York. If you have a lot of time, then you may want to consider it, but if you only have a couple of weeks here then you may want to give it a miss.

Frogs and Protests

Saturday was an interesting day. We started off going down to our favorite diner, saying hi to all the wait staff there (yep, they have got to know us) and having our usual Saturday treat - Pancakes. Mmmmmm it makes me hungry just thinking about them.

After breakky we decided to go down to TKTS in the financial district to see if we could get some cheap tickets to Spiderman. And on the way down there we passed the "Occupy Wall St" protesters - they were walking up Broadway to Times Square. There were lots of Police, as well as media and tourists taking photos.

The police had the protesters route orchestrated in such a way that the protesters could walk on the sidewalk so they would not disrupt traffic. It was done really well, the police were not harassing the protesters, just providing them with a path that they could use when walking up Broadway.

Unfortunately, when we got to TKTS there were no tickets available for Spiderman and we decided to pass on seeing any of the other shows.  We then needed to think about what we were going to do for the rest of the afternoon, so we decided to head back up to the Natural History Museum to check out one of the special exhibits. The Frog Exhibit.

I'm not too sure if you remember from my previous post about the Natural History Museum but it is an awesome place, full of amazing dioramas of stuffed animals depicted in their natural setting. This time we went into the Northern American Animals section.

We then moved on the Frog exhibition. Now if you go to the Natural History Museum it can be a bit pricey. It costs $25.00 each adult to get in to see the main museum, then if you want to see a special exhibition it costs another $20.00 each. Now if I was a tourist I would not worry about these special exhibits unless you are really, really interested in the topic. As Google is a member of the Natural History Museum we get into the main Museum for free and to get into see the frog exhibit it cost $15.00 per person - so all in all not too bad.

Now to the frogs......the stars of the show..... I totally loved them. Some were so camouflaged with their surrounding you really had to look hard to find them. It was so much fun. And some were so tiny and brightly coloured, they were really pretty (but deadly). These frogs were not though because they were not given the food that they would normally eat in the wild. It's the food that they eat (in the wild) that makes them deadly. They digest the food then through pours (all over their body) they excrete this poison film. It was noted that Amazonian tribes only have to rub their spears against the frog's skin to make poisonous darts. Poisonous to both human and animal. But even still with that information - they are just so cute.

This is Mr Bashful!

This is Mr "Do not disturb me"!

This is Mr "Spotty" (how cool is the colour)

Check out this beautiful yellow frog

This is Mr "Commando"  (he was teal green with brown spots)

Can you see this little guy Mr "Tiny" (he is in the plant - hint: he is bright orange). This guy was smaller than the size of your pinky finger nail.

There were also black frogs with orange strips but they were really hard to find on the floor of their glass exhibit, and they were very camera shy!