Friday, November 30, 2012

(Belvedere)RED Night Lights, an Interactive Art Experience and Outdoor Nightclub at Gansevoort Plaza to Support World AIDS Day


Last night, Belevedere Vodka transformed the Meatpacking District's Gansevoort Plaza into an interactive art experience and outdoor nightclub in support of (RED) and World AIDS Day. The event featured a live, spectacular light show that illuminated the area in red, 20 foot white neon trees and a one-night-only DJ performance from electrofunk DJ duo Chromeo.

BELVEDERE (RED) Night Lights, was set up by Belvedere Vodka to help raise awareness around the beginning of the end of AIDS – meaning the virtual elimination of the HIV virus from mothers to their babies and the first AIDS-free generation born by 2015. During the event a 250 liter (BELVEDERE)RED bottle whose red metallic design was also unveiled. Belvedere’s iconic white trees will remain lit in Gansevoort Square until 1st December 2012 (World AIDS Day).

Thursday, November 29, 2012

"Global Rainbow After The Storm" - Colored Lasers Illuminating NYC to Mark the First Month Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy

American artist Yvette Mattern has installed a public art project called "Global Rainbow, After the Storm" on the rooftop of The Standard hotel on the High Line in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. The rainbow laser installation is a tribute to those affected by superstorm Sandy. The lasers shine into some of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the storm, beaming for up to 35 miles into Brooklyn toward the Rockaways in Queens, from 8 PM to 2 AM through Thursday, November 29. The public art project aimed at offering hope with the symbol of the rainbow and to encourage New Yorkers to support residents still struggling to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the storm that hit on October 29. The project wasn't built specifically for New York City. It has been displayed across Europe.  According to the artist, the rainbow-themed lights seemed to be a perfect symbol of hope and restoration after a storm: "I hope that seeing this beacon in the night sky will provide people with a sense of peace and security in this time of crisis and that it will unify us with its presence so we remember that we are all in this together," Mattern said in a press release, "regardless of divisions of class, race, religion, and culture." The photo at the bottom shows the rainbow laser lights intersecting with an unrelated light show being installed at the Meatpacking District by Belvedere vodka for World AIDS Day.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Renwick Ruin (Smallpox Hospital)

The Renwick Ruin is the picturesque ruin of the Smallpox Hospital located at the southern tip of Roosevelt Island. It was the only hospital for small pox in New York City for many years. The hospital was built in 1854-56 with a fine Gothic Revival architecture designed by James Renwick, Jr. The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the structure as a Landmark.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Union Square Holiday Market

The Annual Union Square Holiday Market is one of several holiday markets for shoppers who opt to deviate from the typical department store chaos. Situated above the Union Square/14th Street subway station, 4/5/6, N/R/Q, and L lines, the market has more than 100 merchants selling the most unique gifts available. Some of the items you may find include hand-blown glass housewares, local, handmade leather belts, bags and accessories made from recycled plastic, a variety of handmade jewelry, gloves, hats, Tibetan crafts and more. Food vendors include Momofuku Milk Bar, Sigmund's Pretzels, Mayhem & Stout, Wafels & Dinges, Mighty Balls, Hong Kong Street Cart, La Sonrisa Empanadas, among others.

Market Dates and Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday, 11:00am to 8:00pm
Saturday, 10:00am to 8:00pm
Sunday, 11:00am to 7:00pm
Monday, December 24th closes at 4:00pm

Monday, November 26, 2012

2012 Grand Central Holiday Train Show at the NY Transit Museum Gallery Annex and Store



A replica of Grand Central Terminal, which turns 100 in 2013, is the centerpiece of the brand new layout of this year's Holiday Train Show at the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex and Store at Grand Central Terminal. The 11th Annual Holiday train Show features model Metro-North and New York Central trains departing from a miniature Grand Central Terminal on a 34' long two level "O" gauge layout. Vintage model trains from the Museum's collection and New York Central Railroad posters from the 1920s – 1940s are also on display. There are also miniature cars, taxis, police cars, buses, gas station  and houses. The show continues to delight young and adult visitors alike. It runs through February 10 next year.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Hayden Planetarium

video from divebuddy777
The American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium is connected to the Rose Center of Earth and Space. The planetarium has been known for its astronomy exhibits and sky shows since 1935. It offers a spectacular space show and a representation of the Big Bang. The planetarium also conducts astrophysics research which contributes to the educational offerings of the American Museum of Natural History to the public. Staff members of the Hayden Planetarium have authored numerous books about the universe. The Hayden Planetarium is located at 175 Central Park West at 79th Street.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Lunch Hour NYC - Exhibition About the History of the Fast-Paced NY Lunch at the New York Public Library

Automat, coin-operated vending machine from Horn and Hardart, the most prominent automat chain
New York Deli
New York Pretzels
Lunch Hour NYC is an ongoing exhibition at the New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan about the history of the fast-paced New York lunch. The exhibition looks back at more than a century of New York lunches, when the city’s early power brokers invented what was yet to be called “power lunch,” local charities established a 3-cent school lunch, and visitors with guidebooks thronged Times Square to eat lunch at the Automat. Drawing on materials from throughout the Library, the exhibition explores the ways in which New York City—work-obsessed, time-obsessed, and in love with ingenious new ways to make money—reinvented lunch in its own image. The exhibit continues through February 17, 2013. (Exhibition description from the NYPL website).