New York Cupcakes

Cupcakes. They are a big deal here and have been for the last ten or so years. I took this video at Grand Central Station in the dining concourse at The Magnolia Bakery. I love sugar and fat, so I'm pretty happy with just any ol' cupcake. These, however, will bring you to your knees. Try the red devils.

Second Wind

Second Wind is the name of a great band in Cincinnati. For those of you who know my friend Willa, it's her husband's band. The group describes itself as a horn-charged rock and soul band. I like that. The brass section is truly their strength with precision timing and never a reason to squirm at any flat notes. Unfortunately, at this gig, the St. Margaret of York festival, they were all dressed casually. One of the lead singers was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and cowboy hat. I wish performers would realize they have to look good as well as sound good when they're on stage. I don't care how hot it is. But I noticed that they dress up when they need to according to the pics on their website. When I googled "Second Wind Cincinnati" I was taken to a site that listed them as one of many Cincinnati bands, but they do have their own: secondwind-band.com. Here's a video I took of them singing 25 or 6 to 4. You'll see what I mean about the horn section.

Pompeii at the Discovery Museum

One is not allowed to take pictures at this exhibit, but I found this picture on the USA Today Travel website and can attribute the article, though not necessarily the photo, to reporter Laura Bly.

This exhibit is definitely worth seeing and worth the admission price. I picked up a $5 off coupon somewhere and remembered to take it with me, but these same coupons are right out front as you enter the museum. You'd be pretty unobservant to pay full price, but then again who would expect a $5 off coupon to be at the entrance of an exhibit?

If you go, you will get to see amazing fresco paintings, delicate decorative carvings, and pottery like Jesus may have encountered, but the most amazing part is the molds of the bodies left behind on the second day of the eruption. Liquid plaster injection moldings were used to reproduce the space the decaying bodies left behind encased in a layer of ash. This particular dog was apparently a guard dog chained up and left behind as the owners evacuated.

Also, I was thoroughly entertained by a simulated time-elapse video as if a web cam had been in place in 79 AD in Pompeii.

Fire in the trash!

There was a cloud outside my window this morning. Turns out it wasn't a cloud, it was smoke from a fire below. A trash receptacle was spitting flames everywhere. Eventually three fire trucks made their way to the scene and focused their water hoses on it for about 45 minutes before it died down. In that time, at least three double-decker tour buses had driven by on their regular route. I wonder if the tourists had to pay extra for that excitement.

Dog Walking in New York

 

Today I got behind these two dog walkers. When they were stopped at a light I asked a couple questions. These dogs were out for a 2-hour walk, and every now and then the walkers would spray them with water to cool them down. You can have your dog walked for about $1 a minute I learned.

 

I have not spotted any yellow finches in NYC, so I'm delighted to come home and find these beautiful creatures enjoying my backyard lavender plant. I was unable to photograph all the birds that were there, but I counted eight all together.

Hello, distant readers!

This blog has received hits from all of these locations since I started it in May. Way cool.