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Our BetterMost Community => The Holiday Forum => Topic started by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 01, 2009, 09:50:49 pm

Title: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 01, 2009, 09:50:49 pm


--and it's nice that we have a little light and color (and wreaths on the doors!) this week, before the dark sets in till Spring--


 
New York
Beekman Place and environs

January 01, 2009
New Year's Day
3:00 - 4:30 PM

19 degrees F
(very quiet)


20 images



1
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath1.jpg)



2
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath2.jpg)



3
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath4.jpg)



4
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath5.jpg)



5
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath6.jpg)



6
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath7.jpg)



7
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath8.jpg)



8
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath10a.jpg)



9
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath11.jpg)



10
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath12.jpg)



11
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath13.jpg)



12
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath14.jpg)



13
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath15.jpg)



14
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath16.jpg)



15
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath18.jpg)



16
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath17.jpg)



17
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath9.jpg)



18
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath3.jpg)



19
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath10b.jpg)



20
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath19.jpg)
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 01, 2009, 10:19:28 pm
Such lovely pictures! Thank you for the walking tour of our neighborhood.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Ellemeno on January 02, 2009, 02:35:14 am
God you make New York look good, John.


Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 04, 2009, 12:26:25 pm


Lee'n'Elle--did you know your two names are (verbal) palindromes??--you are so kind.

Thanks you!

 :)

Merry 'Little Christmas' to you both!
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Meryl on January 04, 2009, 01:11:52 pm
Very pretty!  That "Deux Amis" restaurant looks so cute and cozy.  8)
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Monika on January 04, 2009, 01:17:25 pm
Thanks for the pictures, I love the atmosphere in them.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Penthesilea on January 04, 2009, 01:45:11 pm
I've never heard of "Little Christmas"- do you mind to enlighten me?

New York
16
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Wreath17.jpg)

This tree looks so beggarly, but yet someone took the effort to decorate it. Cute.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 04, 2009, 02:24:06 pm

Thanks very much, Monika--and Meryl, Deux Amis has great chicken and mashed potatoes!  ::)

Chrissie, the little tree (on the corner where I live) looks like Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree, after decoration!

(http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTefSt_2BJVNQAHu6jzbkF/SIG=12iahf2sl/EXP=1231180077/**http%3A//www.spiritandsong.com/files/images/CharlieBrownTree.jpg)

Interestingly, this little tree is the successor to a monstrous (and monstrously beautiful) fir tree that had to be taken down because it was attempting to destroy the foundations of the house. The owner, a very fit elderly gentleman who takes lovely care of his property, must have been very sad to remove the bigger tree; this new one is given much love and attention, I think!

I love the phrase 'Little Christmas;' my family often said it rather than saying the Sixth of January, or even during the whole of the period between Christmas and the Epiphany. Look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Christmas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Christmas)
Little Christmas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Anyway, I was sad that some people take down the lights and decorations quickly after the First, and I thought one needed to keep a little bit of light going this week (hence this thread)--

--and 'Supper' Restaurant (see below) certainly knows how to 'Keep the Home Fires Burning!" It is open seven days a week (other than Christmas Day) and there are no reservations, except on Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Eve. That's why I go early (before 6:00pm) or late (after 10:00pm).

(For the record, I had: white beans in oil and red pepper; a fish risotto--mussels and calamari--that takes 30 minutes to prepare; green beans with garlic; an amazing chocolate sherbet that tasted like a rich, creamy gelato; latte. With needed pauses between courses--good thing I wanted to take my photos!


 
New York
'Alphabet City'
the Lower Eastside
(Loisada--ville!)

'Supper' Restaurant
2nd Street and Avenue 'A'

January 02, 2009
6:00 - 8:00 PM

25 degrees F

30 images



1
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup1.jpg)



2
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup2.jpg)



3
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup3.jpg)



4
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup4.jpg)



5
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup5a.jpg)



6
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup6.jpg)



7
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup7.jpg)



8
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup8.jpg)



9
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup9.jpg)



10
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup10.jpg)



11
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup11.jpg)



12
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup12.jpg)



13
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup13.jpg)



14
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup14.jpg)



15
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup15.jpg)



16
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup16.jpg)



17
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup17.jpg)



18
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup18.jpg)



19
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup19.jpg)



20
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup20.jpg)



21
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup21.jpg)



22
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup22a.jpg)



23
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup22b.jpg)



24
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup23.jpg)



25
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup24.jpg)



26
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup25.jpg)



27
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup26.jpg)



28
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup28.jpg)



29
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup29.jpg)



30--Home: the neighborhood Christmas tree is still there!
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Sup27.jpg)
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Monika on January 04, 2009, 02:40:23 pm
yay, more pics!

That´s looks like an excellent restaurant. I hope the food tasted as good as it looked!
I love the chandelears, especially hanging from that rustic looking roof. I find the contrast really cool.

Alphabet city? I think that was the area what I warned not to visit when I was there in 2003. But I guess the area has changed for the better then?

Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 04, 2009, 02:49:53 pm

yay, more pics!

That´s looks like an excellent restaurant. I hope the food tasted as good as it looked!
I love the chandelears, especially hanging from that rustic looking roof. I find the contrast really cool.

Alphabet city? I think that was the area what I warned not to visit when I was there in 2003. But I guess the area has changed for the better then?


Ha!

I've been going to 'Alphabet Land' since '79, when a then-friend lived there--now that was scary!

The Tompkins Square Park Riot was in 1988: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tompkins_Square_Park_Police_Riot_(1988) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tompkins_Square_Park_Police_Riot_(1988))

But there was also--Wigstock! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wigstock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wigstock)

By the early Ninties, it was cool and pretty safe. (During the Summer of 1994, I spent as much time there as I could--loved the restaurants and shops and the whole ambiance around Tompkins Square Park.)

By 2003, I think your friend was very--cautiously conservative or conservatively cautious, I think!  ::)
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Monika on January 04, 2009, 02:53:16 pm



By 2003, I think your friend was very--cautiously conservative or conservatively cautious, I think!  ::)
I think I read it in a guide book actually. I guess that only goes to prove that you should never trust everything you read :)
I´ll make a point of it to visit next time.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Berit on January 04, 2009, 02:59:40 pm
Monika, my sweet Swedish rose!!

We COULD save for a trip to New York together...... :D......maybe a mini-gathering.......

Just an idea..... :D

Hope you had a beatiful birthday!!
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Monika on January 04, 2009, 03:13:47 pm
Monika, my sweet Swedish rose!!

We COULD save for a trip to New York together...... :D......maybe a mini-gathering.......

Just an idea..... :D

Hope you had a beatiful birthday!!
Hey, not a bad idea at all.  We could visit Heath´s restaurant and everything. I LOVED those pics that Jmmgalagher posted from it a week or two ago.
I´d love to go to NY again, especially with another Brokie!  :-* :-* :-*

And thanks, Berit! :)
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Artiste on January 04, 2009, 04:58:45 pm
Merci jmmgallagher,

The two guys, one in blue and the other in red, looks like my brother (blue) and his partner/lover!!

Maybe is was them, since they were there?

Was it in Deux Amis?

As they are arriving now from England for lastest trip for Christmas, may
you will reply before their arrival, so I can maybe ask them if they were in that
restaurant?

Or maybe you know those two in that restaurant?

I had my art studio in New York City for many years, but I do not remember a Deux Amis!
How long has it been there? Whom are the owners? Maybe gay guy(s) ??

Au revoir,
hugs!
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 04, 2009, 05:40:08 pm

Merci jmmgallagher,

The two guys, one in blue and the other in red, looks like my brother (blue) and his partner/lover!!

Maybe is was them, since they were there?

Was it in Deux Amis?

As they are arriving now from England for lastest trip for Christmas, may
you will reply before their arrival, so I can maybe ask them if they were in that
restaurant?

Or maybe you know those two in that restaurant?

I had my art studio in New York City for many years, but I do not remember a Deux Amis!
How long has it been there? Whom are the owners? Maybe gay guy(s) ??

Au revoir,
hugs!

Interesting--I'm always bumping into old friends, Artist--you never know!

'Deux' Amis (on the 12th photo) is on 50th Street between First and Second Avenues--there are a lot of French restaurants in New York, thank goodness! The second restaurant in that series, photos 13 and 14, is called ZéCafé on 52nd Street between First Avenue and the East River (no sign out front), owned by a nice Brazilian man named Zézé--the food is not Brazilian, but a sort of Italian-French-American cuisine, very nice.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 06, 2009, 01:32:06 am

'Little Christmas' is nearly ending--and by Sunday evening in New York, the decorations are being taken down. But a few still remain--


New York
An eccentric stroll home:

From 58th and 5th Avenue
to 51st and Beekman Place

Sunday
January 04, 2009
9:45 - 10:30 PM

40 degrees F

15 images




1
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/1Ench1.jpg)



2
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/7Apple2.jpg)



3
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/8Bm2.jpg)



4
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/23Bw.jpg)



5
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/10VCA2.jpg)



6
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/12Bu1.jpg)



7
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/13Star.jpg)



8
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/14LV1.jpg)



9
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/15LV2.jpg)



10
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/17Cartier.jpg)



11
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/18Rc1.jpg)



12
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/19Rc2.jpg)



13
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/20Rc4.jpg)



14
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/21Rc5.jpg)



15
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/22Beektree1.jpg)
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Ellemeno on January 06, 2009, 01:54:02 am
Heckuva job, John!  These photos I recognized and remember from childhood.


Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 06, 2009, 02:37:50 am

Heckuva job, John!  These photos I recognized and remember from childhood.

Thanks!

I love the Bergdorf's windows--so beautiful and so clever. Too bad Gene Moore's windows at Tiffany's are no more--


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergdorf_Goodman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergdorf_Goodman)
Bergdorf Goodman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Moore_(window_dresser) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Moore_(window_dresser))
Gene Moore (window dresser)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: belbbmfan on January 06, 2009, 03:01:16 am
wow!!


I love your photo reportages John. You always capture the mood perfectly.  :)

New York looks beautiful.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 06, 2009, 03:10:57 am

wow!!


I love your photo reportages John. You always capture the mood perfectly.  :)

New York looks beautiful.

Gosh, Fabienne--do you think I can get a job doing this?

(I want to be Jimmy Olsen!   :laugh:)

Dank u Merci!
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Berit on January 06, 2009, 06:12:37 am
T've always wanted to see New York in the fall but now I also want to see New York at Christmastime......Well, I want to see New York before I die and by God, I will do that...... >:( :o 8) :) :) :)

Thank you so much for these betiful pictures! :-*

Berit
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Monika on January 06, 2009, 08:59:48 am
T've always wanted to see New York in the fall but now I also want to see New York at Christmastime......Well, I want to see New York before I die and by God, I will do that...... >:( :o 8) :) :) :)

I´m sure you will, Berit!


Love these pictures too, JG!
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Penthesilea on January 06, 2009, 12:50:15 pm
Thanks for more pics, John :).
Loved the contrast between the Rockefeller tree and the beggarly one :laugh:.


And I saw my sculpture, Prometheus! :D
Oviously, it's not mine - but I view it as "mine". Although the tree and the ice skating rink are well-known to me, I hadn't heard of the statue in the forty years of my life, until Chuckie sent me a postcard with it. A few weeks later, I saw it/read about it again on BetterMost. We talked about it on Chuckie's blog.

I added Prometheus to my "must see" places of NYC (whenever I will get to see it).
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 06, 2009, 04:01:22 pm

Thanks for more pics, John :).
Loved the contrast between the Rockefeller tree and the beggarly one :laugh:.


And I saw my sculpture, Prometheus! :D
Oviously, it's not mine - but I view it as "mine". Although the tree and the ice skating rink are well-known to me, I hadn't heard of the statue in the forty years of my life, until Chuckie sent me a postcard with it. A few weeks later, I saw it/read about it again on BetterMost. We talked about it on Chuckie's blog.

I added Prometheus to my "must see" places of NYC (whenever I will get to see it).


 :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Chrissie, I hope you see it soon!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Manship (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Manship)

Paul Manship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Paul Howard Manship (December 24, 1885 – January 28, 1966) was a prominent American sculptor of the 20th century.

(....)

When he returned to America from his European sojourn, Manship found that his style was attractive to both modernists and conservatives. His simplification of line and detail appealed to those who wished to move beyond the Beaux-Arts classical realism prevalent in the day. Also, his view of and use of a more traditional "beauty" as well as an avoidance of the more radical and abstract trends in art made his works attractive to more conservative art collectors. Manship's work is often considered to be a major precursor to Art Deco.

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Prometheus_at_Rockefeller_Center_by_David_Shankbone.jpg/800px-Prometheus_at_Rockefeller_Center_by_David_Shankbone.jpg)

(http://www.madphotoworld.com/2008/05/19/Paul-Manship-Prometheus-Fountain.jpg)


http://www.artsjournal.com/man/archives20061001.shtml (http://www.artsjournal.com/man/archives20061001.shtml)

Influenced by the Widener family (whose Old Masters, European decorative arts, and so on fill the National Gallery), John D. Rockefeller, Jr. hired John Singer Sargent to paint his father's portrait. The two men got along better than anyone expected, and when Sargent suggested that Rockefeller sit for a bust by a sculptor named Paul Manship, Rockefeller assented.

Manship had a pedigree that Rockefeller was likely to appreciate. He had studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Students League and he learned to infuse his work with classical references after he won the coveted Prix de Rome. In between-the-wars America, Manship's mixture of allegory, neo-classicism and softened modern lines was mighty popular: It tied America's new wealth and broadened ambition, as demonstrated on an international scale by America's involvement in World War I, with past empires. The two busts Manship made of Rockefeller were a great hit and a relationship between sculptor and patrons was forged.

A decade later, in the middle of the Great Depression, Junior would build Rockefeller Center. The project was, from beginning to end, a great challenge. Junior started the project just before the stock market crashed in 1929, and no one expected it to succeed. After all, who needed millions of new square feet of office space at a time of economic catastrophe?

But, obviously, Junior pushed forward. He even stuffed Rockefeller Center with art, including work by Isamu Noguchi, Margaret Bourke-White, and Lee Lawrie. The most famous work at Rock Center was created by an artist with whom Junior had a prior relationship: Paul Manship.

Manship's Prometheus is one of the most famous sculptures in America. It presents Prometheus in the heavens, just after he has acquired fire. He has not yet brought it back to earth. He hovers above the signs of the zodiac, more floating with the gods than falling back to earth. The sculpture is a faithful, selective representation of the Prometheus myth: Prometheus created man out of clay figures that came to life when Athena breathed life into them. Later on, Prometheus nobly stole fire from the hearth of the gods and brought it down to man, only to be punished by Zeus, who sent an eagle peck at his liver for eternity.

Manship's sculpture, installed near the base of Rock Center's tallest building, is an allegorical glorification of Junior and the Rockefeller Center story. Rockefeller created a major urban development at a time of national crisis; He breathed fire into the city. And because of the aggressive way Rockefeller pursued tenants and other business dealings perceived to be monopolistic, he was excoriated by the press and the public. Manship had known the Rockefellers for years -- he knew how mixing the Prometheus myth with the Rockefeller story would appeal to his patrons. The result is a sculpture that stands in for the story of the Rockefellers, their development, and America, all joined by Manship's aesthetic. Seventy years later, it still works.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: belbbmfan on January 06, 2009, 05:01:06 pm
Gosh, Fabienne--do you think I can get a job doing this?

(I want to be Jimmy Olsen!   :laugh:)

Dank u Merci!

You're doing a great job already John.  :) The New York tourist authority should hire you.  :)

*googles 'Jimmy Olson'*

Sorry, the name Jimmy Olson didn't ring any bells. Mmmm, you have a thing for bow ties?  ;)

Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 06, 2009, 05:20:08 pm

You're doing a great job already John.  :) The New York tourist authority should hire you.  :)

*googles 'Jimmy Olson'*

Sorry, the name Jimmy Olson didn't ring any bells. Mmmm, you have a thing for bow ties?  ;)

Ha!

Jimmy Olsen was the 'cub' photographer at the Daily Planet newspaper (simulacra of New York's Daily News? ), the employee of editor (and nemisis) Perry White, and the colleague of reporters Lois Lane and Clark Kent (Superman). Something of a pest, he ran around New York taking pictures and getting in trouble before Superman repeatedly rescued him (with some fond exasperation).


(http://i21.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b1/ff/b322_1.JPG)
(http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/img/j/Jimmy_Olsen.gif)


C'est moi, no? (Or wanna be!)

 ;D
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 07, 2009, 12:42:03 am

It's the end of Twelfth Night (January 6), so--

Here's a little bit of it.

Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
O Mistress Mine (Feste's Song)
Sir Ben Kingsley
                                                        (3:56)
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8kA2zx8isk[/youtube]



Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996)
Characters in Order of First Lines and Appearance (Actor)

Feste (Ben Kingsley), singing
Sir Toby Belch (Mel Smith)
Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Richard E. Grant)
Maria (Imelda Staunton)
Olivia (Helena Bonham Carter), waking
Duke Orsino (Toby Stevens)
Viola (Imogen Stubbs), disguised as Cesario


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117991/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117991/)
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Ellemeno on January 08, 2009, 12:34:18 am
"My" Jimmy Olsen, Jack Larson, from the Superman TV show of my childhood:
(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/Ellemeno_2006/JackLarsonSpooked.jpg)


My favorite Imelda Staunton role, in Peter's Friends (I love that movie):
(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/Ellemeno_2006/laurie_l.jpg)


My favorite Richard E. Grant role, in The Player (I love that movie too):
(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/Ellemeno_2006/the-player-1992-tim-robbins-richard.jpg)
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Ellemeno on January 08, 2009, 12:38:23 am


And I saw my sculpture, Prometheus! :D




And with my cluelessly luxuriant childhood (cultural-wise), I have always known the statue, but don't remember ever paying attention to the fact that it was of Prometheus.  I'm going to read the Wikipedia posting of it, to see who was hubris-ish enough to see themselves as so Prometheus-like as to warrant a statue.  When I think of that area, I mostly think of the Librairie de France, one of my meccas through the decades.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Ellemeno on January 08, 2009, 12:50:16 am
And John, you would make a marvelous Jimmy Olsen.  But you would make a marvelous great many people.  You could be a whole Algonquin Round Table.  :-*

(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/Ellemeno_2006/Algrt.jpg)
The Algonquin Round Table in caricature by Al Hirschfeld.
Seated at the table, clockwise from left: Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, Heywood Broun, Marc Connelly, Franklin P. Adams, Edna Ferber, George S. Kaufman, Robert Sherwood.
In back from left to right: frequent Algonquin guests Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt, Vanity Fair editor Frank Crowninshield and Frank Case.


(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/Ellemeno_2006/algonquin_round_table.jpg)

Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 08, 2009, 09:20:04 pm

And John, you would make a marvelous Jimmy Olsen.  But you would make a marvelous great many people.  You could be a whole Algonquin Round Table.  :-*

Oh, pshaw, Elle! (Blush!)

(Although I am looking a little bit like Edna Ferber these days....)
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 08, 2009, 09:44:45 pm

"My favorite Richard E. Grant role, in The Player (I love that movie too):
(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/Ellemeno_2006/the-player-1992-tim-robbins-richard.jpg)



And there's this--



Richard E. Grant
(Hamlet Soliloquy)
Withnail and I (ending) (1986)
                            (1:45)
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zEVZGuU3BU[/youtube]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withnail_and_I (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withnail_and_I)

Withnail and I
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Withnail and I  is a British film made in 1986 by Handmade Films. Written and directed by Bruce Robinson, it is based on his life in London in the late 1960s. Withnail was Richard E. Grant's first film role and launched him into a successful career. The film featured performances by Richard Griffiths as Withnail's Uncle Monty, Paul McGann as "I" and Ralph Brown as Danny the drug dealer. The film has tragic and comic elements (particularly farce), and is notable for its period music and many quotable lines. It has been described as "one of Britain's biggest cult films".

(....)

'Marwood' leaves 'Withnail' in the rain in Regent's Park. There, for the first time, Withnail sincerely reveals himself, declaiming "What a piece of work is a man!" from Act 2 Scene ii of Hamlet to an uncomprehending pack of wolves[2] behind a fence in the adjoining London Zoo. Then, the camera remains still as he turns and walks further and further away into the distance, swinging the bottle, as the credits start to roll.

(....)

Actors who were considered for the part of "Withnail" included Daniel Day Lewis, Bill Nighy and Kenneth Branagh. Richard E. Grant was told "half of you has got to go" by Bruce Robinson, in order to play the part....
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 18, 2009, 05:22:15 pm



I'm certainly stretching the 'holiday' a bit--

It's the very last of Little Christmas--the 18th of January (it's 12 plus 12 days, so I'm procrastinating--) and it snowed! (Gee--isn't Summer yet??)


New York
'Turtle Bay'

50th Street
Between 2nd and 1st Avenues

Sunday
January 18, 2009
9:15 - 9:30 AM

29 degrees F
(about 20 degrees
warmer since Friday!)

11 images





1
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/050.jpg)



2
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/150.jpg)



3
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/250.jpg)



4
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/350.jpg)



5
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/450.jpg)



6
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/550.jpg)



7
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/650.jpg)



8
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/750.jpg)



9
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/850.jpg)



10
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/950.jpg)



11
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/1050.jpg)

Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Meryl on January 18, 2009, 06:00:27 pm
Beautiful as always, John.  :-*

I think you've found your mission at BetterMost.  Show everyone how great New York is so that they absolutely have to visit us!  ;D

You really need to start a blog.  Just PM Phillip and pick a name.  C'mon, you know you want to.  ;)
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Berit on January 18, 2009, 06:02:18 pm
You will cost me a fortune........just have to see it for myself!!
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Penthesilea on January 18, 2009, 06:15:43 pm
Ditto on what Meryl said.

And ditto on Berit's comment. It's all your fault! :laugh:
At least that's what I'll tell my husband ;).
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 18, 2009, 06:29:05 pm


Oops! What am I doing now?
(Actually, I am awful; one of my best talents is getting other people--and me too--spend money.  :P )

Thank you, though!

Happy, happy, everyone--Spring can't be far!
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 18, 2009, 07:01:55 pm
My favorite Richard E. Grant role, in The Player (I love that movie too):
(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/Ellemeno_2006/the-player-1992-tim-robbins-richard.jpg)


I LOVED the line about "Mommy and daddy are fighting"!!!!

Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Front-Ranger on December 06, 2009, 07:38:29 pm
So, WHY is Christmas on December 25, can someone enlighten me?
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 03, 2010, 05:36:28 pm
Front-Ranger is waiting patiently for an answer to my question!

And now another question: Will you be celebrating Epiphany? If so, how??
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 03, 2010, 10:36:08 pm
So, WHY is Christmas on December 25, can someone enlighten me?

Christmas is celebrated on December 25 because Julius Caesar's astronomers goofed when they calculated the date of the Winter Solstice. They calculated it as December 25 when, as we all know, it's usually more like December 21. The Romans celebrated the Saturnalia on December 25, and later in the Empire period December 25 was made the celebration Natalis Solis Invictus (not sure I've got the spelling right on that Latin!)--the Birth of the Unconquered Sun. Christianity preempted--or usurped--the date for the Birth of the Son of God to compete with the non-Christian festival, and to keep all those new Christians from backsliding because all those non-Christians were having a good time on December 25. It gave the Christians something to celebrate.

That's all from memory and just off the top of my head. I'm sure Del can correct any errors I've made and give you a more historically sophisticated and accurate explanation of the non-Christian festivals.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 03, 2010, 10:49:03 pm
And now another question: Will you be celebrating Epiphany? If so, how??

I won't be doing anything in particular myself on Wednesday, but Epiphany is an important day in my parish because in its present form the parish was created in 1898 by the union of two pre-existing churches, St. Luke's Church and the Church of the Epiphany!

Because January 6 is a Wednesday we more or less anticipated the feast today. Instead of a sermon, we had the children's Christmas pageant that was postponed from December 20 because of the blizzard we had that weekend. On the celebration of Epiphany we always sing the (in my opinion, goofy) carol "We Three Kings of Orient Are" because that's the point of the festival, the commemoration of the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus. Indeed, in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the festival was still called "The Epiphany, or the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles," the Three Wise Men being Gentiles.

At Coffee Hour (that other Episcopalian sacrament), we always have a cake with three little tokens baked into it. If you get a token in your piece, you get to wear a crown.  ;D
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 05, 2010, 01:09:56 am
Thanks for the information about Epiphany, Jeff, it helps a lot! I am planning to celebrate somehow. I will be going to a women's rock climbing class that nite.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 05, 2010, 09:20:08 am
Thanks for the information about Epiphany, Jeff, it helps a lot!

'Welcome!  :)

Quote
I am planning to celebrate somehow. I will be going to a women's rock climbing class that nite.

 :o  Be careful you don't fall off! 
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Marge_Innavera on January 05, 2010, 01:21:22 pm
Don't forget to read/re-read the "Brokeback Epiphany" sermon.

www.covenantnetwork.org/sermon&papers/jenkins.htm
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 06, 2010, 12:24:53 am
In church last Sunday I learned that the wise men were Zoroastrian priests who came from the Near East, perhaps Persia/Iran area, and arrived when Jesus was a little less than 2 years old. Interesting, because I've always thought that when he disappeared for a few years, he may have gone to the Near East and learned about those religions.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Marge_Innavera on January 06, 2010, 09:54:50 am
Quote
In church last Sunday I learned that the wise men were Zoroastrian priests who came from the Near East, perhaps Persia/Iran area, and arrived when Jesus was a little less than 2 years old. Interesting, because I've always thought that when he disappeared for a few years, he may have gone to the Near East and learned about those religions.

There are many stories about what other groups Jesus may have had contact with.  It's doubtful we'll ever know but many of the theories have some substance in terms of background, and that's one of them -- Persa wasn't all that far away from Palestine, even in those days and there was a lot of commercial traffic.

Jesus also might have regularly visited the market town of Sepphoris (spelling?) which wasn't too far from Nazareth and was a market town, where Jesus would have encountered a number of people outside the Jewish community.  It's also an historic fact that he lived at a time of extraordinary mobility for that era;  i.e., if you lived within the Roman Empire and had money to pay (and the Gospels indicate that Jesus had some wealthy 'sponsors') you could get passage on a ship to any port in the Empire.  Most, if not all, of the medieval stories about various places where Jesus visited are probably bogus but you never know.  It's theoretically possible that Jesus did visit Glastonbury in southwest England when he was young -- etc.....
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 06, 2010, 11:09:42 am
Interesting, Marcia. I think the reason Zoroastrianism was theorized is because the priests knew astronomy. In the book of Numbers apparently there are prophecies by a pagan priest about the coming of Jesus.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 06, 2010, 11:16:36 am
In church last Sunday I learned that the wise men were Zoroastrian priests who came from the Near East, perhaps Persia/Iran area, and arrived when Jesus was a little less than 2 years old.

If they existed, of course, which may be doubted. Incidentally, their gifts come from Isaiah 60:1--6.

A propos, on New Year's Day evening I was reorganizing a bookcase in my living room, and I came upon an old, yellowed newspaper clipping about some professor who said that the Star of Bethlehem was a conjunction of three planets--I forget exactly which three--that occurred in the year 7 B.C.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 06, 2010, 08:51:48 pm

 :o  Be careful you don't fall off! 

If I ever make it to the class! It's blizzarding in Denver right now!
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 06, 2010, 11:46:25 pm
If I ever make it to the class! It's blizzarding in Denver right now!

I wish I was there. I like snow. Just ask Adam how happy I was in the snow in Wyoming in October.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 07, 2010, 01:45:28 am
It was very pretty snow today, friend. Little snowflakes, like powdered sugar, drifting lazily through the air. A very suitable atmosphere for Epiphany.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on January 07, 2010, 09:59:37 am
Christmas is celebrated on December 25 because Julius Caesar's astronomers goofed when they calculated the date of the Winter Solstice. They calculated it as December 25 when, as we all know, it's usually more like December 21. The Romans celebrated the Saturnalia on December 25, and later in the Empire period December 25 was made the celebration Natalis Solis Invictus (not sure I've got the spelling right on that Latin!)--the Birth of the Unconquered Sun. Christianity preempted--or usurped--the date for the Birth of the Son of God to compete with the non-Christian festival, and to keep all those new Christians from backsliding because all those non-Christians were having a good time on December 25. It gave the Christians something to celebrate.

Actually, within Christianity's own frame of reference, there is a certain logic to celebrating Christ's birth in December, and this may well have had something to do with the choice of date. According to Luke's birth story, the Angel Gabriel visited Mary in the sixth month. Evidently the Church assumed that Luke was using the Jewish calendar, where the year begins usually about the middle of September. That would place the Annunciation--Gabriel's appearance to Mary--about February--March-ish. I haven't done any research into when the Annunciation was pegged at March 25 (thought to have been the Vernal Equinox), but nine months after March 25 is December 25.
Title: Re: The first day of 2009, and it's the last 6 days before 'Little Christmas'--
Post by: ifyoucantfixit on January 09, 2010, 05:23:50 pm


   I loved seeing your lovely pictures of New York.  Specially since it was at the special season.  I also loved
hearing the story of Prometheus.  I have seen many many photos of that landmark and never knew the
history of it before.  It is almost as facinating as the original story of why it is there in the first place.
   I have never been to New York, in any season, but have always wanted to go.  It was always drawing me
like some mythical place that I needed to see, before I left this soil.  I suppose I shall never make that
trip, but you have helped me feel that I have been there somewhat.  Your photos were exquisite, and
very meaningful..  Thank you Jimmy Olsen.  You have done an honorable job.  Janice