Saturday, December 26, 2009

34th Street Shop Window

Just happened that this shop window, with all its jewelry and seashells etc. caught my eye on 34th Street...

This window is no big deal as Manhattan store windows go- -this city must have some of the best window -dressers in the world-- but I just found this one intriguingly different.

Will be looking now around the neighborhood for oddities and places that just interest me...they don't have to be "important" places.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Cities Forced to Cancel Christmas | Lifestyle | Mainstreet

Cities Forced to Cancel Christmas | Lifestyle | Mainstreet

This is link to internet article about drastic measures taken in Chicago etc. to cut down the cost of Xmas celebrations-- budgets are tight this year.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

American Academy of Dramatic Arts

Over at 120 Madison Avenue is the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, which claims to be the oldest acting school in the country ( or is it the whole English speaking world? Have to check the Wikipedia article again-- )

The building is the landmark Colony Club, designed by Stanford White. the Academy also has a school in Hollywood, on the site of the old Charlie Chaplin Studios.

There is an impressive list of alums in the Wikipedia article-- includes Robert Redford, Grace Kelly, Diana Barrymore, John Cassavetes and all kinds of names you have heard of or maybe not. It doesn't say whether these people graduated with any kind of degree, only that they attended the place.

I knew the building was the old Colony Club but it wasn't until very recently that I learned it was also this Drama Academy.

New York has all sorts of places to study acting, notably the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU ( where my friend Cecil Mackinnon teaches). I wonder how well graduates of these places do on the whole...guess it's still true that it is such a competitive profession that there is still " a broken heart for every light on Broadway."

The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is celebrating its 125th year of operation in 2009.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Mild December Day- What are these flowers?




It's December 4 and some hardly flowers are still blooming...what are these red flowers on Third Avenue and 37th Sreet?

Meanwhile, water project has been finished and you can now see Third Avenue...