Humann Bytes

Lady Liberty

2009-07-27T20:03:00.003-06:00

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to take pictures and purchase over-priced souvenirs...

Although I had been there before, it had been a very long time since I had seen her up close. And since I didn't have a camera on my previous visit, I was anxious to take another trip to Liberty Island and attempt to get some photos of the colossal green lady.

After riding the subway down to Battery Park, fighting the crowd and waiting in what seemed like an endless line-up of tourists, we went through security and boarded the Miss New York ferry. Shortly after, with the boat packed to capacity, we set out across New York Harbor to the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

Lady Liberty as seen from the Miss New York Ferry

Initially it looked as if the rain was going to spoil the trip, but after a thorough soaking it cleared up a bit and we spent an hour or so wandering around the island. Thick cloud cover resulted in somewhat poor light conditions, but I was able to get a few decent shots.

The Face of Liberty

Liberty from the ground

Learn about the Statue of Liberty...

NiN/JA

2009-05-27T21:10:00.000-06:00

Nine Inch Nails & Jane's Addiction Live! (5-26-09)

Last night my girlfriend and I, along with a several other friends, caught the Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction show at Fiddler's Green in Englewood, Colorado. I hadn't seen either of these bands [live] since the first Lollapalooza tour in 1991 so attending this show was a must.

Nine Inch Nails; Photo by E. Ellis (aka librarierin from Flickr)

It got pretty cold after the sun went down but the bands heated things up. The show was fantastic. I thought Nine Inch Nails could have performed a little better but [the original line-up of] Jane's Addiction didn't disappoint. Their performance was one for the archives playing tracks from their Nothing's Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual albums.

Jane's Addiction; Photo by E. Ellis (aka librarierin from Flickr)

Update:
I found a decent bootleg clip from the show on YouTube. It features Jane's performing Pigs in Zen. It includes one of Perry's infamous diatribes toward the end of the song. The sound isn't the best quality but if you're a fan it's worth watching.

The New Yankee Stadium

2009-05-23T00:04:00.000-06:00

The New Yankee Workshop across the street from "The House That Ruth Built"

I've been a New York Yankees fan since I was a kid and tonight (thanks to my awesome girlfriend) I had the opportunity to see my first game at the 'new and improved' Yankee Stadium. The Yanks hosted the Phillies in a three-game series of 'Interleague' play and we were able to make it up to the Bronx for the Friday night game.

Although it can be a little expensive to see a game there (more on this in a minute), the new stadium is gorgeous. We sat at field level on the right side corner —close enough to see the bald spot in the turf from Swisher pacing back and forth. As with many 'big time' sporting events, the prices at the concession stand are also outrageous. However, the accommodations were plush. (No joke. Huge padded seats. Very comfortable! "Big Stein can't be floppin' and twitchin'!")

Approximately 51,000 fans can be seated, with a standing room capacity of 52,325 (reduced by more than 4,000 seats in comparison to the old stadium). The new stadium's seating is spaced outward in a bowl, unlike the stacked tier design at the old stadium. The new design places most fans farther back but lower to the field.

Many design elements of the ballpark are inspired by the original Yankee Stadium. For instance, the roof of the new facility features a replica of the frieze that was a trademark of the original ballpark. The wall beyond the bleachers is cut out to reveal the subway trains as they pass by (like they were in the original facility). A manually-operated auxiliary scoreboard is built into the left and right field fences, in the same locations they existed before the renovation in the mid 1970's.

Between the exterior perimeter wall and interior of the stadium is the "Great Hall"—a large concourse that runs between Gates 4 and 6. With seven-story ceilings, the Great Hall is absolutely enormous and is lined with 20 banners of past and present Yankees superstars.

The newly relocated Monument Park, which features the Yankees' retired numbers, as well as monuments and plaques dedicated to distinguished Yankees, has been moved from its location beyond the left field fences (in the original stadium) to its new location beyond the center field fence. The choice of location has drawn criticism from fans as the many of the monuments are now situated underneath the sports bar and not 'in the open' as in the previous stadium. The new location of the monuments is meant to mirror their original placement in center field at the pre-renovation Yankee Stadium, albeit when they were on the playing field.

Although Yankee Stadium has been praised for its amenities and its usage of "classic" design elements, the new stadium has been widely criticized for being a place that is 'not fan friendly.' Seats within the first eight rows in the lower bowl (called the "Legends Suite") rank among the highest priced tickets in professional sports. These seats have been regularly vacant despite most other seats in the ballpark selling out. This has created an "embarrassing" image in TV broadcasts because the seats behind home plate seem almost completely empty. Consequently, a surplus of tickets for Legends Suite have emerged in the secondary market, and with supply exceeding demand, resale prices have dropped a bit.

The exorbitant prices have even become fodder for comedians. During the 2009 season, David Letterman took a jab at the ticket prices on his show. His dig went something like:

"Paul McCartney is here tonight... Paul's going to be in town this week doing two shows this weekend out at Citi Field, home of the Mets. The reason he's doing the two shows at Citi Field, is that he hopes to raise enough money to buy a couple of tickets to go see the Yankees."

All kidding aside, the new stadium is truly a 'Cathedral of Baseball' which holds regular services for devout fans. If you're one of the faithful and you have the means, I suggest checking it out.

I'll Have What She's Having

2009-05-20T17:13:00.000-06:00

Katz's servers (to borrow a phrase from Anthony Bourdain) "sandwiches that dreams are made of." In pursuit of said dream, yesterday Cathi and I took a trip downtown during lunchtime to get some of that world-famous, over-stuffed goodness.

If you're not familiar, Katz's Delicatessen (Katz's Deli for short) is a kosher-style delicatessen on the corner of East Houston Street and Ludlow in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Since its founding in 1888, Katz's has become extremely popular with locals and tourists alike for its salami, corned beef and pastrami, as well as its hot dogs, which are considered some of New York's finest. And it's worthwhile to note that each week Katz's serves approximately 5,000 pounds of corned beef, 2,000 pounds of salami and about 12,000 hot dogs!

During World War II, Katz's encouraged parents to "Send a salami to your boy in the Army" which became one of the deli's famous slogans, along with "Katz's, that's all!" (and these slogans can be found on signs that hang inside and outside of the modest brick building). Katz's continues its "Send a salami" campaign to this day. The deli has arranged special international shipping only for U.S. military addresses and it has been a source of countless gift packages to troops stationed abroad for more than sixty years.

Déjà Vu?
While looking at the supplied photos, you might be thinking: "this place looks familiar..." That's probably because Katz's has been featured in several popular films. It was the site of Meg Ryan and Estelle Reiner's famous "I'll have what she's having" [fake orgasm] scene in the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally; the table at which she and Billy Crystal sat is marked with a sign that says: "Where Harry met Sally...hope you have what she had!" It was also as a backdrop in a scene from the mobster movie Donnie Brasco starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.

A few words of advice...
At lunchtime, the place is absolutely buzzing and sometimes the line backs up out the door so be prepared to wait. Don't worry, it's worth it.

Don't screw around; just order the pastrami sandwich; it's awesome.

From the Empire State Building

2009-05-19T17:40:00.000-06:00

A view of Manhattan from the observation deck at the Empire State Building.

Looking south towards Lower Manhattan

Other Views:

More pictures of New York City

I'm Calling It Shea

2009-05-10T22:21:00.000-06:00

The Mets have left Shea Stadium for Citi Field but some fans still insist on referring to the new ballpark by the old name. For instance, there's even one guy who is selling t-shirts with a graphic that states, "I'm Calling It Shea" printed on the front.

My girlfriend is a baseball buff and a die-hard Mets fan. It was from her that I learned about the controversy over the name. Being a Yankee fan, I didn't know much about Shea. And since we were headed to Citi Field for a game this weekend, I figured I would learn a little bit more about the subject so that I could put it into perspective.

Whatever you call the place, there are several similarities as well as many significant differences. Citi Field has a capacity of 42,000 (more than 15,000 fewer seats than Shea). Like Shea, the spacious field at the new stadium make it a 'pitcher-friendly' park. However, unlike Shea's symmetrical layout, Citi Field is asymmetrical with a few bizarre angles. While Shea's outfield fence had a uniform height of 8 feet, Citi Field's fence varies in height with the right field side being slightly taller. Also, Shea Stadium was the only Major League ballpark with orange foul poles—a unique characteristic that was echoed at Citi Field.

After visiting the park, my impression is that Citi Field seems to be an homage of sorts to the Ghosts of Flatbush. For example, the exterior facade is reminiscent of Ebbets Field (home of the old Brooklyn Dodgers). Also, the front entrance rotunda is named after the legendary Jackie Robinson and honors his life and accomplishments. (There are even large photos of Jackie and the old Brooklyn Bums owner, Walter O'Malley adorning the walls of the rotunda.)

The team has actually received a fair amount of criticism due to the emphasis of the Brooklyn Dodgers' legacy, seemingly favoring it over the history of the Mets organization. In response to these criticisms, the Mets have begun installing imagery of famous players and historic moments in team history on the Field and Promenade levels. They have also put team championship banners on the left field wall.

We attended a day game as the Mets hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was a mild spring afternoon and a perfect day for a ball game. (The Mets won 8 to 4. Woot!)

All in all, I enjoyed myself quite a bit. I think it's fair to say that Mets fans are some of the best baseball fans in the world. And aside from the name, I think Citi Field is a pretty nice ballpark. My only complaint was that they wouldn't let me wear the Mr. Met outfit.

So where do the Mets play? Some fans still say Shea.

Fox Games

2009-04-14T17:35:00.000-06:00

A recent addition to the exhibits at the Denver Art Museum, entitled Fox Games by Sandy Skoglund, combines various elements to create an interesting fantasy scene. The exhibit depicts an invasion of a restaurant by a pack of gray foxes. The foxes prowl on and around the dinner tables in an entirely red room. As a matter of fact, every other element of the room—tables, chairs, forks, knives, plates, dinner rolls, and even a squirrel in the mouth of one of the foxes—is painted red.

Phillies at Rockies (04-12-09)

2009-04-12T21:35:00.000-06:00

The Phillies were in town for a series against the Rockies and we went to catch an afternoon showdown at Coors Field. The weather didn't cooperate at all for this game. It rained on and off all day and it got pretty cold outside. By the fourth inning it was pouring and since we were sitting in the lower level [without any cover] we ended up going to the Sandlot (a tavern inside Coors Field) to watch the game on the monitors.

The Rockies blew this one but it wasn't a total loss. We got to watch a girl inhale a plate of nachos in record time—all while standing in a very crowded area and while balancing a nearly full beer tucked under her arm.

I have posted a few pictures from the game at my Flickr site.

Freakin' Freak Snowstorm

2009-03-26T01:21:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning to find a fresh blanket of snow covering everything in sight. A blustery wind was whipping up roaster tails of frigid crystals and depositing them into every nook and cranny.

The AM news stations are reporting weather-related traffic jams all across the Front Range. People are calling this a blizzard. I don't know... It's not much of a blizzard by Upstate New York standards, but it's still a pain in the ass. It's supposed to be spring!

Rocky Mountain Sunset

2009-03-21T22:26:00.000-06:00

A View of the Front Range, Rocky Mountains from Erie, Colorado

While driving home from a friend's house in Boulder County, I looked back into my rear view mirror and noticed the sun setting behind the Rockies. I had to pull over and get out the camera.

View Larger Image

Only Being

2008-12-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

There are moments when one feels free from one's own identification with human limitations and inadequacies. At such moments, one imagines that one stands on some spot of a small planet, gazing in amazement at the cold yet profoundly moving beauty of the eternal, the unfathomable; life and death flow into one, and there is neither evolution nor destiny; only Being.

- Albert Einstein

Recommended Reading:
The World As I See It by Albert Einstein

Empire State Building Stolen

2008-12-04T12:42:00.001-07:00

It only took ninety minutes for "Nelots Properties LLC" to steal the Empire State Building...and it wasn't even that difficult.

(In case you didn't catch it, "Nelots" is "Stolen" backwards.)

Read the whole story...

Happy Stampeding

2008-11-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

Black Friday, the opening of the holiday shopping season...

A temporary Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death in a stampede of early morning shoppers as he and other employees attempted to unlock the doors of a Long Island, New York, store.

This is the type of society that we've become: a stampeding herd of holiday shoppers—maniacs that will trample people to buy poor quality products that were manufactured by slave labor in China. Awesome!

Read the whole story...

An Equation for Successful Living

2008-11-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

Consider the following:

A=x+y+z

If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z.

Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.

You can thank Einstein for that one.

We'll Leave the Light On For Ya

2008-11-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

My friend Matt has a theory...

He thinks that when the New York Giants play at home, Tom Coughlin's family stays at a hotel—just in case the Giants lose.

Although the prospect of the Giants losing a game isn't very funny, his theory is somewhat amusing.

DIA: Denver's Scareport

2008-07-09T15:15:00.000-06:00

The atmosphere at Denver International Airport is absolutely charming. Travelers from all walks of life marvel at the cheerful artwork as they stroll through Jeppesen Terminal. And there are some wonderful pieces to behold, like this gem, The Children of the World Dream of Peace by Leo Tanguma (see below).

Nothing says: "Welcome to the Airport" like a mural of a death squad soldier shoving his cutlass up a dove's ass. Each time I walk by this masterpiece I find myself wondering: "am I taking a trip somewhere or being conditioned for the Apocolypse?"

A recent addition (and one of my personal favorites) to the frightening collection of artwork at DIA, is The Mustang (shown below) created by the internationally renown artist Luis Jimenez.

This 32-foot nightmare stands on Peña Boulevard and can been seen as you drive up to the airport. If the scuplture of "El Mesteño" isn't creepy enough you will certainly find it terrifying to know that this monstrosity is responsible for the untimely demise of it's creator. Apparently, Jimenez was working on the sculpture when a section came loose from a hoist and pinned him against a steel support beam.

At the dedication ceremony, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper mused about its glowing red eyes, an effect that some cultures believe can "ward off evil spirits— a good thing to have at an airport," he noted.

Yeah sure... That is, unless the evil spirit comes in the form of a devilish, blue horse with glowing red eyes and a thirst for human blood!

I think the only thing that's missing out at DIA is a sign that says:
"Threshold to Hell - Keep Left."

Mets at Rockies (06-21-08)

2008-06-21T17:57:00.000-06:00

It was a gorgeous day in Colorado and a perfect day to be at Coors Field. The Mets were in town for a series against the Rockies so I went to catch an afternoon game.

Pedro Martinez - New York Mets

I uploaded a few pictures from the game to my Flickr site. Have a look.

The Swamp Thing

2008-04-05T13:53:00.000-06:00

Louisiana Swamp Thing and Crawfish Festival 2008

Myself and a few friends are at a hoppin' Louisiana inspired event in the City of Austin, Texas. The 'Swamp Thing' features the best in Louisiana cuisine prepared by concessionaires from Louisiana and Texas.

The highlight of the show is 6000 pounds of jumbo crawfish, but there are several other bayou favorites available. The music is thumpin' and includes such styles as: Cajun, Zydeco, Funk, Blues, Brass, Rock, & Jazz.

Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band

Update:
You can view [more] pictures of the event at my Flickr site. Chose from the links below:

View Set | View Slideshow

St. Patrick's Day, Denver 2008

2008-03-15T17:11:00.000-06:00

I captured a bunch of images at the Annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade in Denver, Colorado (Saturday, March 15, 2008). If you would like to see them, use the links shown below:

View Set | View Slideshow

Bonerama at Quixote's True Blue

2007-09-15T14:03:00.000-06:00

Myself and some of my friends from New Orleans caught Bonerama at Quixote's True Blue in Denver this weekend. It was a great double bill; Bonerama went on stage first and were followed-up by Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk.

I could probably come up with some flowery description of the show...but as one of my Cajun cohorts succinctly put it: "they tore it up." To which the other replied, "Yeah, you right."

Nuff said, I guess.

The Doctor Is In

2007-08-19T22:26:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to see legendary New Orleans blues and funk musician Dr. John. Being 67 years old might slow some people down but not "The Night Tripper." Along with his extremely talented band of musicians, Dr. John shook the foundation of Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver, Colorado.

Abour Dr. John
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Malcolm John Rebennack Jr., began his career as a session musician in New Orleans in the 1950s. The name "Dr. John" came from a legendary Louisiana voodoo practitioner from the 19th century. Dr. John is perhaps best known for his hit song, "Right Place, Wrong Time", which reached number 9 on Billboard's Hot 100.

The Drum Also Waltzes

2007-08-17T11:38:00.000-06:00

Internationally renowned jazz percussionist, composer and band leader, Max Roach died on Aug 16th in a Manhattan hospital at the age of 83.

Referred to as a founder of modern jazz, Roach was a pioneer and the last surviving member of a legendary group of performers which includes: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Thelonius Monk, whose innovative and ground-breaking styles forever changed the world of music.

Roach got his first big musical break at age 16, filling in for Duke Ellington's drummer who was unable to make several gigs due to an illness. Those three nights spawned a career that would make the self-taught Roach the first jazz musician ever honored with a MacArthur Fellowship, or "genius grant."

Roach's off-time and dislocated beats helped define jazz and bebop. What distinguished Roach from other drummers was his ability to maintain multiple, [simultaneous] syncopated rhythms (e.g. The Drum Also Waltzes).

By layering different beats and varying meter, Roach pushed jazz beyond the boundaries of the standard time signature. His innovative use of cymbals for melodic lines, and tom-toms and bass drums for accents, helped elevate the percussionist from time-keeper to featured performer.

So long Max. We'll miss you.

It's All Just Fluffy White Clouds

2007-08-13T10:47:00.000-06:00

As is probably true with many people, I'm fascinated by cloud formations. As a result, I've spent many hours staring at the sky looking for good photo-opportunities.

There is something mysterious, beautiful and awe-inspiring in clouds. It's difficult to put your finger on; I can't identify exactly what it is but the emotional response is undeniable. If I could earn money snapping pictures of clouds, I would be happy to become a recluse cloud photographer surfacing only to process my latest captures.

If you would like to see what I'm rambling on about, please view my "Clouds" photo set at Flickr.

Hotrod Hoedown

2007-07-15T18:24:00.000-06:00

A classic and custom car show in Colorado Springs, Colorado (July 14th, 2007).

The pictures tell most of the story...

View Set | View Slideshow

No Pants Day

2007-05-04T07:28:00.000-06:00

Today is No Pants Day—a little-known holiday that celebrates 'not taking oneself too seriously.'

Learn more about No Pants Day

Enjoy.

National Day of Prayer

2007-05-03T15:35:00.000-06:00

Today is the National Day of Prayer. So, what are you praying for? I know what I'm praying for: a 'National Day of Common Sense.'

The Truth About the Internet

2007-04-17T17:16:00.000-06:00

The Internet is a place where, given the opportunity, people are more than willing to humiliate themselves.

The Blasphemy Challenge

2007-04-11T21:17:00.000-06:00

After viewing a great many responses to the Blasphemy Challenge on YouTube, I was able to draw the following conclusion:

"Both believers and non-believers have too much free time."