Kit Kat Thursday

It is extremely difficult to resist a display as relentlessly compelling as this one. Kit Kat bars are good...in moderation obviously.

I have been drinking so much iced tea lately! I used to just buy a huge container of mix and make it that way which I find totally crazy now. Someone suggested to me a couple of summers ago that I just make it with tea bags and lemon and sugar and I must say it's way better. Thanks for that advice. It's a lot more fun to make iced tea from scratch.

New White Car

Do you like my new white car? It's perfect for summer and goes well with my shoes which are also white and my eyeballs which are white too. It's so damn hard to find a parking space, but the good thing is I can fit my entire library in the back seat.

I have to admit that what I like best about my big new car is that I can have my driver cruise slowly through Times Square and I can hang half my body out the roof and scream wildly nonsensical things at the top of my lungs. What fun!

National Lasagna Day

In case you didn't know it, today is National Lasagna Day. My celebration consisted of going to Faicco's Pork Shop on Bleecker. It's probably the best Italian butcher shop in Manhattan. Among other things, they make great sandwiches. I also like the fried cheese ravioli ($3 for a dozen). So delicious. But for $10 the Italian hero is a great lunch. It's enormous and more than filling. Eating one is really just about enough food for the entire day. They also sell great lasagna for take out. I actually bought some for later not even realizing that it was coincidentally a holiday of sorts.

How did you celebrate this special day?

Ugh, why aren't my comments working correctly? I gotta get this fixed since it shows 0 when all sorts are comments are getting registered.

$1,000 Breakfast

Screw the recession, I'm having a $1,000 breakfast!

Ok, of course I didn't get The Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata (Supersize with 10 oz. Sevruga Caviar). But I did have a decent breakfast at Norma's at Le Parker Meridien. It's my favorite meal of the day and it's right around the corner. I had the Scrambled Eggs and Bacon Breakfast Quesedilla. It was good but I really should have gone with my first inclination which was the Nova Lox or the Hash. But sometimes I do love Mexican flavors. Bottom line is that they do have a terrific breakfast there and anything you order is delicious. I would love to go there more often than I do, which really isn't that often. They serve breakfast from early to late - 7AM to 3PM - which fits my schedule just about perfectly.

I've been on this electroclash thing lately which is kind of lame since isn't that whole genre kinda over? Nevertheless, I really like this song and you should too. The video is innovative and just the type I like for a day like today. The song is "We Won't Break" by Zoot Woman. I recommend watching full screen, full blast, in high quality. Their new album "Things Are What They Used To Be" comes out on August 21st. Great title.

Sunday Lunch

Because it was hot out and this looked cool and refreshing, I bought a orange soda with my sandwich for lunch today. I found a little deli place on 5th Avenue near the Guggenheim Museum that had overpriced sandwiches. Lunch was good and after a long bike ride around the circumference of the park I needed a short break. I went to a couple of different museums and had a nice day out and about. Surprisingly, for a change I didn't get caught in the rain.

Flavor of the Day

This looks a lot better larger. Click the picture.

Village Scandal

Things are usually open late in the East Village. Here's a hat shop just after 11pm on Saturday night on 7th Street right near McSorley's.

Coffee Stop

I go here to get coffee most mornings. It's $1.50 for a large coffee. The small used to be .90, but one day they just raised the price to $1.00 without any warning. I usually put in just a tiny bit of milk and one sugar. That's the way I like it. Your preference may vary. I used to go to Zibetto around the corner, but I haven't been there in a while. Zibetto is way better coffee, but I've cut back. I'm doing my part for the recession.

How do you like your coffee?

Thursday's News

Here's what the news looked like on Thursday. It changes every day. I'm pretty much over the Michael Jackson story at this point. I think Joseph Jackson is to blame for everything that went wrong with Michael.

Rainy Afternoon Bus Ride

Another rainy summer afternoon. A ride on the bus uptown.

Internet Upstairs

Downstairs the world.

No Drugs On Company Property

This sign will definitely stop those guys from bringing their drugs and liquor to work again.

Seriously though, do you think the company put this sign up for legal reasons? Why on earth would a company (in this case Bovis Lend Lease) feel the need to post something as obvious as this on a public construction site? What kind of people are they hiring for construction jobs in Manhattan anyway? When was it ever OK to drink or do drugs on a dangerous construction job? Maybe if the people at Bovis focused more on not overbilling on 9/11 Memorial construction jobs and less on hiring employees who would bring drugs and drink at work we'd all be a lot better off.

Slicing Up The Sidewalk

These machines are beasts. As best I can tell, they slice up the sidewalks so that crews with jackhammers can come along and make a huge racket fixing the underbelly of the city. It's pretty obvious from my picture (click image for closer inspection) that enormous men in sunglasses with tribal tattoos and who smoke large cigars are required to operate this sort of heavy machinery.

How is everyone's summer?

Marketing Idea

Product placement on socks.

I'm not really sure why you would ever need to have a logo printed on the bottom of your socks, but as a homeless marketing technique for Joe Boxer it kind of works.

This was captured outside Nobu 57.

Veggie Car Attack

This really takes the whole vegan thing to an entirely another level. I like carrots and peas too, but not enough to glue them to my car. Oh, I don't have a car, but my skateboard or my bike or you know what I mean. I could always just glue them to your car. I know exactly how to do that esp. after I got some tips last week from the wheat paste guy. I'll do it at night and you won't even notice.

On a side note, I do believe it's totally illegal to have writing on your windshield. That's even more dangerous than texting while you are driving.

Friendly Flyer Guy

Take a flyer or else the Savage Nomads will get you! 58th Street and 5th Avenue.

Post No Bills

Did you ever wonder how all of those movie posters get plastered up all over the city? I found out how this happens on Friday night around midnight. It only takes one guy with a combination large scraper/mop and a bucket of glue to do the trick.

Wild posting is one of those totally underground activities that is somehow not prosecuted by the city. I can't be sure, but I think it's run by some illegal organizations. They probably pay off the cops. Nevertheless, it seems to function really well because as soon as a construction site goes up these posters miraculously appear covering every available inch of plywood a couple of days later.

Friday night was so hot out. This guy worked up so much sweat while he worked that you can see his t-shirt is soaked. You would be surprised how quickly these posters are put up. It only takes a minute or two. But I was even more surprised to see that he managed to clean the site, mop a ton of glue all over the wall and then put up a couple of those enormous Fast and Furious DVD posters while carrying on a cell phone conversation with a phone that was somehow cradled under his neck the whole time.

Times Square Skate

I haven't done this in a long time, but I broke out my skateboard and skated through Times Square on Saturday night on the way to the movies on 42nd Street. (I saw (500) Days of Summer. It was very good.) 7th Avenue is newly paved so it was smooth sailing right through all of the traffic.

The return trip home up 6th Avenue was a lot bumpier. The pavement on 6th Ave is really not very conducive to skating. It's not really pavement, it's more like grooved concrete. Wouldn't you know it, I fell down hard on my hands and knees between 46th and 47th streets. Luckily, I escaped with just some minor scrapes and cuts on my left knee.

Karma Boomerang

Follow my blog with bloglovinKarma...it's a bitch. The Gray Dog's Coffee on Carmine Street.

What do you think about these tip jars -- Do you like them, ever put money in them?

Saturday OJ OK

I never take pictures with the camera on my phone, but I do like this one of Mr. Orange.

Really Big Sleep

It was super hot and humid out last night. The doorway of Brookstone on 57th Street looks like as good a place as any to pull up your shirt and get some much needed sleep.

On closer inspection these solid brass doors are rather intricately designed. You can see it a lot better if you click the photo above for some more detail.

Fire Fire Pour on Water

You definitely don't need an alarm clock when five fire trucks show up with their sirens blaring at 6AM. With no signs of a fire, they left ten minutes later. Thanks for the wake up guys.

Back Soon

I took a break. Simple as that.

Final 4th of July

There is perhaps one thing better than Four Seas Ice Cream (see next post below) and that is Friendly's. I recommend the legendary super-thick soft serve shake, otherwise known as the unbeatable Fribble! I always go for the coffee flavor. And they make great grilled cheese sandwiches too. There's really not much better than that.

Have you ever had one?

More 4th of July

What could possibly be more American than a trip to an old-fashioned homemade ice cream parlor?

Four Seas is considered one of the best ice cream shops in the country and is celebrating it's 75th anniversary this year. Don't worry they have all of the requisite hat, t-shirts, beach towels, coffee cups and other souvenirs to take home. They even have cool Christmas ornaments and EXTRA parking.

Despite all their sales efforts, I can see they need some marketing help. That's because they're missing out on the one sure-fire souvenir that would sell faster than two scoops of chocolate in a sugar cone with jimmies -- the branded ice cream scoop! It's such an obvious item they're missing from the list.

They've got every flavor you might want: Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Coffee, Chip Chocolate, Mocha Chip, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Maple Walnut, Black Raspberry, Penuche, Mint Chip, Butter Crunch, Peppermint Stick, Chocolate Almond, Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate, Rum and Butter, Caramel, Frozen Pudding, Pistachio, Coconut, Ginger, Lemon Crisp, Cantaloupe, Banana, Fresh Peach, and Fresh Strawberry.

Were you wondering what Penuche flavor was? Me too! According to Wikipedia:

Penuche is a fudge-like candy made from brown sugar, butter, and milk, using no flavorings except for vanilla. Penuche often has a tannish color to it and is lighter than regular fudge. It is formed by the caramelization of brown sugar, and thus its flavor is said to be reminiscent of caramel. Nuts, especially pecans, are often added to penuche used for texture, especially in the making of penuche candies. It is primarily a regional food, found in New England and some places in the Southern United States, though in the latter it goes by different names, usually "Brown Sugar Fudge Candy".

I know you were dying to learn all about this classic ice cream flavor. We're always so informative here. You just know I'm going to try it. Details tomorrow.

The 4th of July

Traditional 4th of July Fireworks.

Alice Needs A Password

Better late than never. Five years after everyone else is doing the cell phone thing, Central Park finally gets on the the stick. Literally.

These signs are cropping up all over the park. I tried calling the number the other day and I needed some sort of password to hear the recording, but it looks like they've fixed the system since then. If you're dying to have Whoopi Goldberg describe the Alice in Wonderland bronze statue in Central Park...just call the number. Why Whoppi I'll have no idea.

I am looking forward to the Johnny Depp version. And my favorite, Anne Hathaway, is starring as the White Queen.

Are You Listening To Me?

Nope.

Straight outta Compton.

Blow Your Brains

Def Leppard, Cheap Trick and Poison on the same bill. Serious?

If that's not enough to blow your brains, there is really nothing that will do the job. But after your brains are blown, no fair suing Atsuko because you were warned well in advance.

Oreo Truck!

It's a pretty great day when the Oreo Truck pulls up outside your building. I totally want some Oreo Fun Stix cause they look amazing and elephants are great. Don't you think?

This should be the U.S. tour vehicle for Civil Civic. I received a very nice email this morning from Aaron (the guitarist and noisemaker in the band. He was psyched for the mention on this here site and wanted the Doritos Truck, but the Oreo Truck is way better since it is America's Favorite Cookie. I am curious why the American flag is printed backwards on the truck. Anyway, if you haven't gone and downloaded their song I recommend it.

Along For The Ride

A quick tour of Central Park is best accomplished with a pink helmet and matching flip flops.

How To Cross The Street

Everything's cool. Ditch the cigarette.

Delickoricious?

C'mon, surely they could have come up with a better way to describe the new candy Kazoozles than "Delickoricious?"

Did they consider blowjoberific?

I gotta admit that the thought of chewy ropes sounds pretty incredible. Ok, actually they are lemon ropes with cherry filling. And Pink Lemonade? Lemon + Cherry = Pink Lemonade. Color me confused.

Summer in the City

Catching some rays on the concrete beach. It looks like he's mostly catching some rays from the plasma advertising screen though.

Explanation of Don't Walk

As if we really needed another confusing sign to specifically explain what WALK and DON'T WALK means. This brilliant sign is located somewhere on Park Avenue.

Doritos Truck!

Who doesn't love it when the Doritos truck shows up?

I've been listening to "Less Unless" the debut single from Civil Civic all morning. You can download it for free here or listen below. It is one of those songs that totally appeals to me. Once it kicks in you're hooked. For now it's only available via MP3 download although they say an EP with "Less Unless" and 4 other songs will be released later this year on a strictly limited run of 100 screen printed, vintage reel-to-reel style cassettes which is totally cool in my book. I can't wait. I'll take two.

Thinking about Toro

Portrait of a diner at a sushi restaurant on the Lower East Side.

Pizza Pizza Pizza

Pizza slices for only $1.00. I bought two. Not the best pizza I ever had, but not so bad either. There are so many signs in this picture!