It is the anniversary of Henry Hudson's exploration of the river now bearing his name in tribute. I don't think anyone could have predicted what this little island was to become. The question on everyone's mind, during this anniversary, is what did this place look like when Hudson saw it for the first time.
NPR showcases National Geographic's September issue :
There is a mountain of information on the subject if you want to delve deeper into the subject. A good place to start is at the
Manhattan Project website. You can explore the virtual island and learn about the fauna, flora and geography amongst other things (lectures, teaching aids, etc).
I also stumbled upon this map of NYC (
NYC Oasis) loaded with valuable data, in a Google Earth type page with multiple layers. You can manipulate data such as transit route & roads, parks, environmental impact, land use, population characteristics and others.
It was actress and comedian, Kristen Schaal, coming back from her morning jog. She was wearing giant sunglasses to try an conceal her identity, but I recognized her. This is the second sighting of her in Hell's Kitchen in a few weeks, which means she likely lives in the neighborhood.
As I was doing my laundry, on 10th & 46St., I notice a familiar face at 44&X. There is a film crew, but I cannot place the face. My initial guess is Nintendo/Sony executive or game developer. Since I cannot guess a name, I snap this photo and upload it to Facebook for my friends to identify. This happens very quickly. The gentleman is physicist Michio Kaku. I probably made several cameos (and completely coincidental) while they were shooting (most likely for The Universe, on the History Channel).
When my eyes adjust to the bright fluorescent patches of EMS, fire fighters, the police and their vehicles, the situation was a bit clearer (sort of) :
The white van on the left, may have struck the man now lying in a circle of EMS, fire fighters and police, in the middle of 10th Avenue. The "victim" was sitting down in the street, with what looked like a "can" of something next to him. Lets hope 10th Avenue doesn't become the newest most dangerous street in New York (especially in light of my near collision with the Vespa driving Batali).
