Saturday, our plans included seeing the John Lennon exhibit at the
Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame Annex, doing sightseeing in the city, and
going to a friend's party.
First, though, we had to run an important errand. At Citi Field the
previous night, when she was paying for a Mets shirt, The World Traveler
discovered her driver's license was missing. She racked her brain for
where it might be, ruling out other purses and bags, or other stores.
Finally, in the wee hours as I was drifting off, she explained, "I
know where it is."
Seems that she'd left it at the front desk while checking
out a gym near her office to determine if she'd like to sign up and
use the pool. She called in the morning and confirmed they had her I.D.
Massive exhale of relief.
We had to leave early enough to stop there first, grab
breakfast and make it to the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame Annex by 11,
which was the entrance time for the tickets we'd bought. The tickets
made clear that we couldn't be later than 15 minutes or the tickets
might not be honored. The timed entrances, I gather, are in order to
facilitate crowd control moving through the relatively small museum.
The gym was nice; you could see the pool through a window
on the second floor. To me, it looked like a movie set: one of those
old-fashioned pools where people do laps.
Since we were nearby, The World Traveler took us to what
she called the best bagel place in New York City, Ess-A-Bagel.
There was, of course, a line but it moved quickly. I ordered a Whole
Wheat Everything bagel with a tofu spread, and I also picked up a banana
and an unsweetened green tea.
We walked to nearby Greenacre
Park, which is a little green space between buildings with a waterfall,
foliage, stonework and tables. I got a photo of the waterfall (shown
below). There, we ate our delicious bagels in leisure. That is, until
The World Traveler consulted her watch and realized we ought to get
going.
The
Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame Annex is in Soho, which The World Traveler
told us used to be an artsy, bohemian neighborhood but is now known
for high-end fashion. The annex is in an unassuming dark stone building,
and the only indication of the wonders inside are the banners hung outside
announcing the John Lennon exhibit.
Photography was not allowed inside the exhibit, which
is not unusual for museum displays featuring copyrighted art that unscrupulous
persons could photograph in order to create unauthorized prints. In
addition, some of the clothing might fade faster with repeated exposure
to flash photography.
As we entered, we waited first in a room lined with what
looked like metal bricks, with the names of the Hall of Fame inductees.
As short snatches of music played, the blocks would light up for the
people who'd had something to do with that song: if they'd played on
it, written it, inspired it, or produced it. That was entertaining,
because every time a new one started, we looked around to see the names.
As the time got closer to them opening the doors, the snatches of music
got shorter until it became a cacophony of sound, ending with a very
recognizable chord: the last note from "A Day in the Life"
from The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper.
Then they opened the gates and seated us in a small viewing
room, where we saw a video presentation about the history of rock 'n'
roll. It combined both moving images and still shots projected all over
the walls, so that it was an immersive experience. Parts of it made
us laugh, while others gave us goosebumps.
As we moved into the rest of the exhibits, we were given
a radio device with headphones that would pick up music from the exhibits
as we moved through. This seems to be an ingenious way of providing
music to go with each exhibit while not producing a bunch of cross-bleeding
noise. As we moved through the first corridor, we saw tributes to different
types of sounds, such as female vocalists, or blues rock. Each section
played clips and showed images of that form of music, going from the
early days of rock to contemporary artists. It was a nice way of linking
current artists, who won't be honored in the Hall of Fame for some time,
to the history of rock.
From there, we moved into a larger room containing memorabilia,
the first of several. In addition to the music, each item had a card
that described what it was and provided information on its importance.
Among the artifacts were: hand-painted boots worn by Johnny
Cash; guitars from everyone from John Lennon to Jimi Hendrix; a jacket
worn by Prince; a costume from Madonna's Blonde Ambition tour; handwritten
lyrics by such people as The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon;
a jumpsuit worn by Elvis; various items from the recently-closed punk
venue CBGB; promotional flyers for '80s hip-hop bands; a mixer designed
by Grandmaster Flash; a convertible owned by Bruce Springsteen when
he recorded Born to Run; the big suit that David Byrne worn in
Stop Making Sense; a studio piano played by John Lennon while
recording "Imagine." Those are all part of the permanent collection
there.
One of my favorite parts was an interactive display about
historic sites in the history of rock. It was a 3-D plastic model of
New York that was about 10-15 feet long, with digital touch screens
placed all around the perimeter. You could navigate through the information
and read about specific sites, such as recording studios or clubs where
great artists got their start. If you pressed a button, a light on the
map would show you where the site was located. Many of them were in
Lower Manhattan. Some I recognized as places I've visited, such as the
Knitting Factory, where I participated in a reading held by the now
defunct Poetry New York about 15 years ago.
Finally, we reached the John Lennon exhibit. All the walls
were white, and the floor was covered with a white covering. You walked
over a sticky surface when you entered that pulled most of the dirt
off your shoes. I thought, again, that was ingenious.
The exhibit was fantastic. Considering it was all in one
large room, there was a lot going on. There was memorabilia on display,
such as his favorite brimmed hat and Army jacket, which he used to wear
a lot when he lived in New York City. There were handwritten lyrics
and drawings, photos, and letters. In the four corners of the room were
benches where you could view videos which were running on a loop. Each
viewing station had two videos. They included videos of songs set to
home movies from New York, a video for "Imagine," some experimental
films, and some concert footage.
On tables in the middle of the room were displays giving
insight into his thoughts on his music, politics, and personal life.
At the far end of the room was a display about gun violence,
asking people to sign a large piece of paper mounted on the wall, which
will be presented to President Barack Obama. We all signed it, of course.
Overall, I thought the John Lennon exhibit was terrific:
never-before-seen glimpses of the man and how he thought. Yoko Ono,
who oversaw the exhibit, did a terrific job.
Afterwards, we exited through the gift shop. I bought
an exhibit T-shirt. It's a fitted T-shirt with a scoop neck, and I love
it. The World Traveler tried on a CBGB shirt, but they didn't have the
one she liked in her size.
Out front, I had The Gryphon take a picture of The World
Traveler and I, flashing peace signs, in front of the exhibit sign.
We were hungry, so we talked about the options and decided
to walk a few blocks into Little Italy. Along the way, I spotted a chalk
drawing of the word "LOVE" on the sidewalk. It seemed to fit
with what we'd just seen, so I took a picture. Peace and nutopia.
We decided to eat at Lombardi's,
which Zagat rates as having the best pizza on the planet. It was also
the first pizza parlor in the U.S. Surprisingly, there was only about
a 15-minute wait, so we sat on a bench outside until we were called.
Actually, I was across the street buying a bottle of water when they
called.
We got to walk through the kitchen on our way to the table,
so we got to see the scene of the action. Of course, we had to order
pizza. The pizza was thin-crust with high-quality toppings, and I loved
it. We also shared a salad.
When we were done eating, we didn't have much time left
before the party. We had talked about seeing Coney Island, but we would
probably have had just enough time to get there and back. Instead, we
stopped first at a nearby place called Rice Dreams, which serves all
sorts of rice pudding. The World Traveler knows that The Gryphon is
a food lover, so she was trying to give us a taste of the best of Manhattan.
I have to say, Rice Dreams is worth a visit. We also loved their funny
signs, such as this one, which says, "'STRESSED' SPELLED BACKWARDS
IS 'DESSERTS'." True!
Then we headed for Harlem, with a goal of checking out
the North End of Central
Park. Back in December, when we'd visited Central Park, it was the
South End, so this was the opposite end.
On the way, we passed through Spanish Harlem and saw some
murals painted by the famous muralist De La Vega. They both appeared
to be portraits. The first one is of an elderly woman and is labeled,
"La Reina Celia." The second is of an elderly man, labeled
""La Calle de Pedro Pietri." Both use strong lines outlines
and a cartoon-like style.
We entered in the Conservatory
Garden, a small section that is done up like a Victorian garden.
The view inside the gate was breathtaking: a large expanse of neat green,
bordered with trimmed hedges, with a fountain and green arbor at the
far end.
The Conservatory Garden happens to be a popular place
to take formal photos and to hold weddings. While we walked through
the arbor, we saw a bridal couple posing for photos, with their family
and wedding party lingering nearby. Nearby, a wedding party went through
a rehearsal, the bride all smiles. I got a shot of the bridal couple
posing for their photographer. The groom noticed me just before I took
this. I wonder if he'll look for it online. If so, here it is!
As we walked by the fountain on our way to the rest of
the garden, I noticed a rainbow in the spray. I took a photo, and you
can see it faintly, near the bottom, just above the person in pink.
We strolled through the Conservatory Garden, which was
planted with seasonal flowers. Then we headed for the very northeast
corner of the park, and the Harlem
Meer. Along the shoreline was a sign showing what it looked like
before it was restored, and it's a major difference. The buildings,
shoreline, and landscaping have been improved. By casually walking by,
we spotted some ducks, a fisherman, and two turtles, one of whom I managed
to capture briefly on video.
I thought this area would be a nice place to get a photo
of The Gryphon and I, so we scouted locations and found a willow tree
at the water's edge. We stood on a rock while The World Traveler got
a photo.
After Central Park, we did a little more sight-seeing
in Harlem. Namely, we stopped at the Apollo Theater. At first, we just
stood on the sidewalk, where I took a couple shots of the famous sign.
Then The World Traveler suggested we try going into the
lobby, and sure enough, we were allowed to. Just as I was about to get
a photo of the lobby, an Apollo employee informed us that certain pictures
in there were copyrighted and that, while we could take a picture, someone
had to be in them. I guess that way we couldn't make illegal reproductions.
She very kindly offered to get a photo of the three of us in front of
the mural that shows some of the greats who have performed there.
Afterwards, she also told us that they give tours of the
theater on Wednesday nights before the amateur performance. The World
Traveler suggested maybe sometime I come up and do that with her. It's
a definite possibility.
We also checked out the school where The World Traveler
used to teach, about six years ago. A lot has changed since she taught
there: now there are Starbucks and H&M stores, not to mention new
construction. She says it almost doesn't look like the place she knew.
By this point, it was close to the time of the party,
so we headed over, stopping in a grocery store along the way to buy
some beer, some fresh strawberries and some dipping chocolate you were
supposed to be able to microwave (however, I would make such a mess
of that, leaving it in for one extra minute, that the chocolate was
unusable).
When we arrived, the party was in high gear. There was
food on the table, and The Godfather was grilling burgers in the kitchen.
Half of the guests were hanging out in the apartment, while the other
half were on the roof, with our host, Doc the Stampede.
We weren't immediately hungry, since we had eaten not too long ago,
so The World Traveler and I got a beer and then, once Doc returned to
the apartment for something, followed him up on the roof. There were
some great views from there, and there was a warm, light breeze. A lot
of people socialized up there and brought their food up, too. Here's
a shot of some of them.
There were a handful of people I knew, all of them Otakon
staffers. Over the course of the party, I talked to new people and made
some new acquaintances. No surprise, really, that I would have something
in common with them, since Doc had invited them!
At one point, The World Traveler and I walked to the grocery store
with another party guest to get more beer. It wasn't much of a drinking
party, but he wanted to be sure it was there for the people who might
want it (like him). He was an interesting guy, very opinionated. I'm
not sure how old he was, but he seemed fairly young. In his 20's, for
sure, still in that stage of figuring out what direction he wants to
go. Then again, I can say the same thing about a lot of people I know
in their 30s and 40s.
Inside, one of the favorite activities, other than eating and conversing,
were playing cards, such as blackjack and poker. This was primarily
at a special table in the corner. I don't know if it's a permanent fixture
of Doc's apartment or if he brought it out just for the party. There
were always several people gathered around it. In this shot, Doc is
the one placing some chips.
Later in the evening, at some guests' request, there was
also video gaming. It started out with a zombie shoot-em-up game, which
seemed to take a lot of concentration.
After it got dark, The World Traveler and I went back
on the roof, and I tried for some night shots. It took me a while to
figure out the proper settings, but when I did I got a great picture
where a car's headlights turn into streaks.
Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, there was cake! (And
it was not a lie.) Seems that Doc had bought it on a whim because he'd
liked the logo on the store window. The first shot is of the logo that
inspired his cake purchase. The second is of one of the party guests,
camping it up while cutting the cake.
We had a great time, and we would have stayed longer,
except that The Gryphon was starting to fade. We said our good-byes,
and I got a few more shots of the entire room before I left. This one
is my favorite, showing the card game in the foreground, and people
watching a video in the background.
As it turned out, I was more tired than I realized. While
The World Traveler and I tried to watch the new episode of What Not
to Wear, which she'd recorded, I fell asleep before they even finished
trashing her wardrobe!
Moral:
New York is full of great sights, sounds and tastes.
