Patrick Ewing (33), but Lou Albano dies

The 'Patrick chEwing' celebration is marred by the death of Louis Vincent Albano :

RIP Capt. Lou Albano.

The Next Hot T-shirt

I wanted to jump the trend by creating my own T-shirt, inspired by NYC Fox local anchor, Ernie Anastos. The story was originally posted at Gawker (check here). I am taking orders now. Get your official T-Shirt here.

Kristen Schaal sighted again

On my way to work this morning I sight a familiar face when I near the 43rd subway entrance:

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.

See you around Kristen.

Sandra Bernhard sighted

I sighted the surprisingly tall actress/comedian walking through Chelsea Market. We exchanged glances and she scurried away.
It was strange.

New York 25th Brazilian Festival

The last few weeks has seen an MTA change in service for the E train. The last two weeks my trip to Queens consisted of a 7 train ride to Roosevelt Ave, followed by a 15 minute walk or a bus ride on the Q53. The E is running along the F line until October. Today, I thought I would save some time by walking to the 42nd & 6th station to catch either an F or E. To my surprise there was a festival :


This is the back of the stage of the 25th Annual New York City Brazilian Festival. There were some balloons as well :


You could hear the great music and smell something delicious :


Maybe next year, I will actually make a point to attend. Ano seguinte.

Henry Hudson and 400 years later

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.

HULU Compromised??

A strange thing just occurred: a company email talking about a problem with Hulu and that we are blocking it for now.

The reason : It appears that servers at Hulu have been compromised, either by a hacker or by some malicious code (Trojan, Worm, Virus, etc), and the site is actively attempting to compromise the systems of those who connect to it. Our security software is blocking attempts to connect to Hulu in order to prevent internal systems from becoming compromised.


I have done a search of Google, Yahoo, Reuters, CNN, BBC, Gizmodo, among other sites, and find no mention of this. We are either breaking news or someone is reading something wrong. Either way, we'll find out soon enough.

"We are working with Hulu, but it will be up to them to clean their systems and to take measures to prevent future compromises."

Stay tuned.

Matt Dillon sighted

Having just walked through the nightmare that is Times Sq, I made my way home. I was now walking past the old NY Times Building, approaching 8th Avenue. Just about the corner of 43rd and 8th, right across the street from the Westin Hotel, I walked by a familiar person

It was Matt Dillon wearing large glasses (not sunglasses) and a hat, trying very hard to be incognito. I guess my recognizing look and 5 second stare rattled him a bit, since he crossed the street. I don't think that heading towards Times Sq. as he was, would have made him feel any better. Maybe he just needs the blind adoration of out-of-town tourists to feel better these days. Maybe they are the only ones who would remember how in love he was with Mary or he could simply need to get to the east side fast.

Dominic Chianese sighted in Hell's Kitchen

This Saturday I was relaxing on the weekend instead of traveling (as I have been doing lately). I picked up ingredients for dinner and a bottle of wine. As I crossed 43rd Street, heading uptown, I walked by a familiar face :

Uncle Junior himself, Full-screenDomininc Chianese. This isn't the first time I have spotted him. Several years ago, my wife got me a session at John Allan's. I got a haircut, shave and a manicure sitting right next to him. We exchanged a few words but that is all. I usually don't like to small talk, whether with a celebrity or a grunt.