Entries Tagged as 'spiderman'

Happy Birthday, Quinn

April 12th, 2011 · 1 Comment

Last week was Quinn’s birthday and on Sunday was the celebration. He and all his friends went to The Little Gym and then after that we met up with everyone for dinner at Village Tap. It is quite remarkable how healthy and awesome Quinn is, given that four years ago he was born 15 weeks too early, weighed about a pound, had 2 holes in his heart and had barely functioning lungs and kidneys. Talk about a miracle kid! Four years later he is a perfectly healthy, smart and rambunctious little boy!

Quinn is still a huge fan of Dallas’s. Even more now, I think, because Quinn is starting to like comic book characters and Dallas always knows everything about comics. It’s about time that all those boxes of comics in our closet paid off in some way. Whenever Quinn points to a comic book character and asks Dallas who it is, Dallas always knows.

We noticed Quinn was into comics a few weeks ago when we saw him at The Piggery. In his little backpack he had sticker books of comics. He played with the book and talked to Dallas about it for so long! So, for his birthday we got him some popup comic books. One was DC Super Heroes and one was The Amazing Spider-Man Pop-Up, because Quinn especially loves Spidey.

Some of the pop ups in the DC comics book were so big and elaborate. They were way taller than Quinn when he was sitting down with the book open in front of him. And, if that’s not enough, this book even had a battery in it and the Batman spread had a lit up bat signal coming out of it! I think he liked them. I know I did! haha

As I was posting this, I realized we had a few more photo so of Quinn from the last few weeks. We hadn’t seen Quinn since New Years Eve with all of the wedding planning and wedding trip, so it was nice to hang out with him these past few weeks.

Here’s from a different night at the Village Tap. After dinner Dallas took Quinn next door and got him a chocolate ice cream cone.

As if Dallas wasn’t already Quinn’s favorite, now he was really his buddy! Of course this all looks innocent, but Dallas is always teaching Quinn such nice habits. …. like telling people they STINK! I’m sure Quinn’s preschool teachers are loving that one. Quinn doesn’t forget either. The last two times we saw him he made sure to tell me I was stinky!

Finally, one from The Piggery, where Quinn had the biggest brownie & ice cream sundae ever!

[Read more →]

Tags:·············

Now That I’m An Old Lady I Can Take You On a Tour and Tell You What Things Used to be Like Back in the Day

September 8th, 2005 · 5 Comments

After lunch I felt like I should go shopping more, but I was exhausted. I’d forgotten how quickly the City can wear you down. I ended up walking over to Washington Square Park to make a few calls. Then I headed to Broadway to wander in a few stores, but I was so tired I just ended up finding a cafe and chilling out.

used_to_be_joes.jpg
Used to be Joe’s :: West Village, Manhattan

You know the opening scene of Spiderman II where Toby Maguire is in the tiny pizza place and is going to deliver a pizza? That place was Joe’s and it was just around the corner from my apartment on Bleecker and Carmine. When I was broke in NY I would buy a $2 slice for dinner, almost always at Joe’s. It’s sad to see it replaced.

ifc.jpg
IFC :: West Village, Manhattan

This theater was empty & deserted the entire time I lived in NY, which is a shame bc it would have been nice to have another one so close.. actually if it was more “mainstream” it would have been nice to have it close. Already I had the Film Forum, The Angelica, and Sunshine Cinema within walking distance to see indie/foreign/artsy films.

basketball.jpg
West 4th Street Basketball Courts :: West Village, Manhattan

The first time I went to New York was in June or July of 2001. I stayed with Mark on 6th/King. One of my earliest memories of New York is standing on 6th Ave and West 4th Street while Mark took a call on his cell and wonder wtf was going on with all the people and the basketball. Since then I’ve come to appreciate the courts at West 4th and used to stop to watch people play basketball when walking by or before going down into the subway station there.

flute_jam.jpg
Flute Jam :: Washington Square Park, West Village, Manhattan

pink_shirt.jpg
Pink Shirt :: Washington Square Park, West Village, Manhattan

washington_sq_fountain.jpg
Washington Square Park, West Village, Manhattan

heaven.jpg
Are You Going to Heaven? :: Washington Square Park, West Village, Manhattan

vendor.jpg
Washington Square Park, West Village, Manhattan

I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent in Washington Square Park people watching.. or how many pages I’ve read there.. or how many problems I’ve worked out while sitting on a bench or laying in the grass. A lot. I used to go there all the time just to chill for a minute or to relax for hours. Or I would walk places and purposefully walk through the park on the way, even if it was a little out of the way. It’s not as relaxing as Central Park and you can’t lose yourself as easily, but it’s still a nice contrast to the city around it. The only challenge is to pick a spot or try to put on a look that screams you don’t want to be bothered. Someone is always up to something there and I’ve been offerred drugs, hit on, and badgered by religious zealots a ton of times.

Also, I guarantee you’ve never seen anyone jam on the flute like this (.mov, 43 sec, 1.4mb).

broadway_buildings.jpg
Broadway, West Village, Manhattan

taxfree.jpg
Tax Free Week :: West Village, Manhattan

Tax-free week is a dangerous thing!

[Read more →]

Tags:····················

OHNY – Roosevelt Island

October 13th, 2003 · 24 Comments

After brunch, Jeannette, Masako, Tien, Eleanor and I took The Tram to Roosevelt Island to see the Smallpox Hospital Ruins. We missed the openhousenewyork tours, but the grounds are open until sunset every day so explored around by ourselves.

- – - -


After brunch at the Sidewalk Cafe we went to Veniero’s to get some Italian pastries for dessert. I’d never been to Veniero’s before – it sounds too much like an STD! – but had heard Jeannette talk about it many times. On the bus ride to the Upper East Side we dug in to the pastries. From the Upper East Side we took The Tram to Roosevelt Island, a small island in the East River between Manhattan and Queens.


The Tram goes from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island and back. The Tram opened in 1976 as a temporary solution to get people to Roosevelt Island since there was no subway service. The gondolas are Swiss-made and are the only such system used for mass-transit in North America. At the time of it’s opening, The Tram was free. It wasn’t until 1990 that they started charging a 10 cent fare. Today the fare is $2.00 and is the only place in New York that still uses the old subway tokens.


From The Tram you get a beautiful view of the Queensboro Bridge and Queens. The skyscraper to the right of the bridge is the Citibank building and is the tallest building in Long Island (including Queens and Brooklyn).


The Queensboro Bridge is also called the 59th Street Bridge because you access it from 59th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Simon & Garfunkel sang a song called The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy). It’s one of my favorite songs of theirs.


The Tram system has two sets of cables so that two gondolas can be running at the same time. Here we pass the other gondola at one of the highest points of the 4 1/2 minute ride. It’s about 250 feet above the water.


Descending, we approach the Roosevelt Island Tram station.


Roosevelt Island’s west side has a promenade along the water with great views of Manhattan. These cranes are working on FDR Drive on Manhattans’ east side.


While we were at brunch earlier we were trying to decide what to do. We wanted to go to Gracie Mansion but it was going to be too late by the time we got done eating. We thought about going to the MTA Transit Museum but it was closed. On the openhousenewyork map there were tours of the Smallpox Hospital Ruins on Roosevelt Island, but they were for Saturday, not Sunday. Because no one in our group had ever been to Roosevelt Island, we decided to go and check it out anyway. These are the ruins of the Smallpox Hospital.


The Smallpox Hospital was opened in 1856 and was the first hospital in the United States to take in the victims of the smallpox plague. Patients here were under quarantine because smallpox is so contagious.


James Renwick, who is best known for St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Smithsonian Institute Building, was the the architect who designed Smallpox Hospital.


The ruins of Smallpox Hospital as well as The Tram are featured in the 2002 movie Spiderman. Dave Gallagher documents the NYC Spiderman locations here.


Looking back at the ruins as we make our way to the southern tip of Roosevelt Island.


Masako stops to pick up a stone. Behind her are the ruins of Smallpox Hospital and the Queensboro Bridge. The three smokestaks are that of a powerplant in Queens.


At the tip of Roosevelt Island there was a grassy area with some chairs left behind by some fishermen. Sitting down and enjoying the view.. Manhattan to our west, Queens to our east. This is another view of Manhattan.


Eleanor, Jeannette, Masako, Rachelle, Tien


Pepsi Cola bottling in Long Island City, Queens. There’s been controversy around this sign.. whether it should be preserved or whether it should be taken down to make a clear waterfront for Queens West. I think it should be saved. It’s 60 years old and is well-known and loved as part of the western Queens skyline.


At the very tip of Roosevelt Island there were some rock outcroppings in the water. In the background is Manhattan.

Walking back up the promenade to the subway.


The seagulls of Roosevelt Island hate me. I was torturing them to get a good shot in front of the Queensboro Bridge and the Manhattan skyline.

- Tien’s post on Roosevelt Island

[Read more →]

Tags:································