Bright Pretty Little Things

These bright little lighting units are among the pieces of artwork sold at the Union Square Holiday Market this year. I'm sure some lucky person will get these as gifts soon.

So, what would you like receive as gifts this year?

Dinner at Otto Enoteca

Last Friday night, my colleagues and I went out to dinner at Otto Enoteca, the least expensive restaurant on American Iron Chef, Mario Battali's stable of restaurants in New York City. I ordered the thin crust pizza, which was really good. My friend ordered the pasta with Italian sausage and it was awful. All in all, the food was a mediocre but the dining company was excellent.

So what is your favorite cuisine?

Union Square Holiday Market

This photo was taken at the Union Square Holiday Market this weekend. Vendors here sell everything from designer soaps, gloves, scarves and jackets to Christmas decorations like tree ornaments and sparkling trinkets. The market will be open every day until the day before Christmas. This booth in the photo sells gorgeous glass replicas of flowers that arevworn as jewelries.

So when was the last time you bought a piece of jewelry and who was it for?

Sushi on Thursday Night

I usually go straight home after work but my social calendar has very busy lately. Last Wednesday, I was invited to a lecture and book signing event, followed by a wine and cheese reception at the Asia Society. On Thursday, my friend and I went to our old neighborhood in Astoria for some really good sushi. Then I went out again on Friday and Saturday nights.

This photo was taken at the sushi restaurant in Astoria. We were seated next to the wine rack that separated us from the sushi bar in the front and the dining room at the back of the restaurant. I took this photo by sticking my camera through the shelves on the wine rack.

So how has your social calendar been this last couple of weeks?

Christmas Tree Vendor

My friend and I decided to go back to our old neighborhood in Astoria for dinner on Thursday night. That was where I saw this Christmas tree vendor on the corner of Ditmars Boulevard and 31st Street. I stopped and took a dozen or so photos of the scene.

A part of me understands the joy these trees bring to families who decorate them for the holiday season but another part of me feels sad because they will be tossed aside the day after the new year arrives. Life as a Christmas tree is not all it cracks up to be after all.

So when do you usually take down the holiday decorations?

Lecture at the Asia Society

Two nights ago, I was invited by a friend to attend a lecture and book signing event by a world renowned chi gong master (gentleman seated on the right) at the Asia Society, a cultural institution and museum in the Upper East Side. The chi gong master claimed that the martial art, which included breathing exercises, can cure everything from cancer to asthma and diabetes. I was surprised nobody in the audience contradicted his statement. Maybe everyone was being polite.

So what kind of exercise do you do?

Rockefeller Center

I wasn't the only one there to see the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center. I went, I saw and I left. I am not a fan of crowded places.

When or where are you most uncomfortable?

Central Park Bench 6

Here is a new addition to the Central Park Bench series. It was taken last Sunday during the snow storm. The water on the upper right corner is simply known as The Lake.

So what is your favorite thing to do during a cold Sunday morning?

Snow Globe

This photo of a store window decorations was taken at Saks Fifth Avenue, the luxury departmental store on 5th Avenue and 50th Street. Because of the weak U.S. dollar, many retailers are targeting the increasing important tourist market this season.

Recently I bought a snow globe with the skyline of NYC for a friend who collects them. She was so happy with the gift that she baked me a cake the next week.

So what was the best gift you have ever given and/or received?

Snowy Central Park

New York City saw its first snow storm for the season yesterday and I went out to Central Park after (a hearty) breakfast to shoot some photos. This photo was taken just as the snow stopped and you can see a lot of young couples were out for a walk and enjoying the weather.

Here is a photo of the same scene, the Literary Walk, taken earlier this Spring. Which do you think is prettier - the scene with or without the snow?

Night Traffic on 5th Avenue

This photo of 5th Avenue was taken after I had visited the Rockefeller Center to photograph the Christmas tree earlier this week. The old building in the background is The Peninsula Hotel on 55th Street. Even though it was after 8 PM, the traffic in mdtown Manhattan was still roaring.

So do you have a favorite hotel or an interesting hotel story?

Theme Photo: Bridge

This month theme photo is a bridge. This photo was taken on the paestrian and bicycle path on Queensborough Bridge, which connects Queens to Manhattan. You can see the new metal and the old concrete structures of the bridge here.

Here are the other photo bloggers who are participating in the monthly theme photo: Boston (MA), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Inverness (IL), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Stockholm, Sweden - Setúbal, Portugal - Brussels, Belgium - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Hyde, UK - Manila, Philippines - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - London, England - Austin (TX), USA - Toulouse, France - Weston (FL), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Selma (AL), USA - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Cleveland (OH), USA - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Seoul, South Korea - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - North Bay (ON), Canada - Arradon, France - Paderborn, Germany - Durban, South Africa - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - http://www.blogger.com/" target="_new">Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Portland (OR), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Wichita (Ks), USA - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Grenoble, France - New York City (NY), USA - Nottingham, UK - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Arlington (VA), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Miami (FL), USA - Cheltenham, UK - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Saratoga Spgs. (NY), USA - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Nashville (TN), USA - Toruń, Poland - New Orleans (LA), USA - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Melbourne, Australia - Moscow, Russia - Trujillo, Peru - Château-Gontier, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Joplin (MO), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Brookville (OH), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Baziège, France - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Detroit (MI), USA - Riga, Latvia - Nelson, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Cape Town, South Africa - Sydney, Australia - Dunedin (FL), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Radonvilliers, France - Turin, Italy - Montpellier, France - Kansas City (MO), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Wailea (HI), USA - Lubbock (TX), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Terrell (TX), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Budapest, Hungary - Montréal (QC), Canada - Sharon (CT), USA - Le Guilvinec, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - London, UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Orlando (FL), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Paris, France - Mainz, Germany - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Darmstadt, Germany - Naples (FL), USA - Torino, Italy - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Bogor, Indonesia - The Hague, Netherlands - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - Melbourne (VIC), Australia - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand

Rockefeller Christmas Tree

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was unveiled on Wednesday night to great funfair and excitement. According to news reports, the 8 tons, 60-year old, 84 feet tall Norway spruce was decorated with 5 miles or 30,000 pieces of energy-efficient lights called light emitting diodes (LEDs). The LEDs use up to 60% less energy than regular light bulbs. In addition, the tree will be recycled as lumber for Habitat for Humanity after the Christmas season is over.

Click here for professional photos of the tree and the festivity on Yahoo.com.

So what are you plans for this weekend?

Love is a Gamble

According to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) advertisement here, one has a 2 to 1 odds of running into six tall, dark, handsome men on the subway. I don't know if that is a good thing or not. If you were a single girl (or a single gay man), I guess the subway is as good a place to meet men as any other place.

So where and how did you first meet your current spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner? Was it love at first sight?

I Feel Naked

I was on my way to dinner on a very cold evening this past weekend when I noticed this tree looking very naked and cold.

Have you ever felt vulnerable or exposed?

SoHo at Night

This photo was taken minutes before the one I posted yesterday. It is from the corner Prince Street and Mercer Street, where the Fanelli Cafe is located. The bar/restaurant has been here for since 1847, way before SoHo became the hot spot for fashion and art. It serves really good chilli and burgers but most people come here for the bar scene since it is right in the middle of SoHo.

Since this was late in the evening, I set the camera to a slow exposure and balance it on top of a traffic light box -- the thing that is attached to the traffic light post and goes tick-tock-tick-tock as it counts down to the light change.

Christmas Reflections

This photo was taken in front of Zoë, a nouveau American restaurant on Prince Street between Broadway and Mercer. To catch as much light as possible, I set my camera on slow exposure and stabilized it on top of a car parked on the curb of the street. The reflection you see in the photo is from the roof of the car. I have never eaten at this restaurant before but I hear it is a really nice place.

So have you put up for Christmas decorations yet? Do you have a tree with lights and ornaments?

Political Message

Todd of Postcards from Hell's Kitchen and CityGirl15 of Gramercy Cafe recently posted photos of political messages they saw in NYC and they reminded me of a photo I took almost a year ago at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. It was a small graffiti scribbled on a giant poster blanketing the wooden fence surrounding the renovation site. If you click on the image above, you will see a full size version of the photo and what the graffiti said.

If you were to scribble a graffiti on a public space (not that I'm advocating it), what would you write?

Central Park Bench 5

The weather turned really cold and wintery yesterday. This photo re, taken last weekend at Central Park, presents how it feels outsidie -- chilly and dry. I had to have the humidifier on all day long because of the low humidity in the air.

So do you prefer the warm or cool weather?

Black Friday

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, is known as Black Friday because it is the official start of the Christmas shopping season and retailers across the country are expecting to be raking in huge sales volumes and profits.

This photo taken from outside the Apple Cube structure on 5th Avenue between 59th and 60th Street shows the crowd inside the underground store. The new iPod nanos are on sale (today only) for US$136.

So have you bought anything at a sale recently?