May 31, 2014: Amazing Race Season 25 Kicks Off in Times Square

This post is a little late (by about four months, heh) but after the premiere of Amazing Race aired I loved seeing how they aired it (vs. how I saw it) and had fun going back and looking at the pictures I took.

So, let me flashback. May 31 of this year, a friend told me that The Amazing Race was starting it’s 25th season in Times Square. Generally, this would be an absolute no brainer for me to go see. But the catch? It was starting at 3:00 am. THREE AM.

SO, I went to bed at 7 and set my alarm for 2. I figured if I woke up, I’d go. If the alarm went off and I thought, “oh hail no!” then I wouldn’t go. But when the alarm went off at 2, I popped out of bed and headed to Times Square for another New York adventure!

It was all fun to see (especially now that the show has aired and I know a little bit about the contestants). And Phil Keogan (the host of the show) was fantastic with all the fans after the contestants were sent on their way. Best yet, I got an epic picture with Phil!

It’s Phil!!

September 6. 2014: Reading Rainbow Live with the cast of Battlestar Galactica!!

Several months ago I became aware of a Kickstarter campaign for Reading Rainbow. Its goal was to bring Reading Rainbow back for “every child, everywhere”. Now, I’ll be honest, I’m a Sesame Street / Electric Company / 3-2-1 Contact kid, not a Reading Rainbow kid, but after reading up on the program, it seemed utterly worthwhile. Not to mention it was lead by LeVar Buron (aka Geordi LaForge from Star Trek: TNG) and I’m a huge ol' Trekkie. And THEN when they announced an opportunity to attend a Reading Rainbow Live event with not only LeVar Burton but with the cast of Battlestar Galactica?! I mean, I could help kids learn to love to read AND indulge my geeky heart all at the same time!?

Oh yeah, I was in.

October 29, 2013: Elementary filming on the streets of New York

Date: October 29, 2013
Event: Elementary filming on the streets of New York
Location: Lower Manhattan, New York City
Summary: It's a Sherlock!!

Woo! I finally got to see one of my new favorite TV shows filming! And I saw my second Sherlock live this year (though both times it was from afar). Still, Elementary filming, woo!!

I was fortunate that I had a break in meetings mid-morning and was able to slip out into the streets of New York for a brief set visit (thanks to OLV for the location info!). I got there as they were putting on the final touches to the set and then as they started filming – with Sherlock and Watson and Det. Bell, woo! The viewing wasn’t great and because of lighting they soon moved a massive white screen in place which blocked the view completely. Still, I enjoyed the short amount of time there. I never tire of all the behind the scenes stuff or watching the actors work, I really don’t. :)

Below are a few pictures (both behind the scenes as well as of the actors).  Please do not take or repost without permission.

October 20, 2013: Pumpkin Carving w/ Ray Villofane at NY Botanical Gardens

Date: October 20, 2013
Event: Giant Pumpkin Carving with Ray Villofane at New York Botanical Gardens
Location: Bronx, New York City
Summary:This guy does incredible things with pumpkins!  It's truly art!

Despite the fact that I was far from recovered from yet another West Coast swing, I had to rouse myself from my desire to spend all of Sunday on my futon to attend what is going to be a yearly event for me: going to see Ray Villofane carve giant pumpkins at The New York Botanical Gardens.

I met up with my friend, L, in a not-so-well-thought-out-plan-to-meet-on-the-subway-platform then we headed up north to The Bronx. I must admit, the sculpture itself was not quite as terrifying or (at least to me) impressive as last year. But it was still flipping amazing! And unlike last year, I got to see Mr. Villofane give a few interviews for TV as well as do a Q&A session with visitors of the garden, all of which was *very* interesting.

The idea of this carving was that a carnivorous plant was wrapping its vine around this huge pumpkin and squeezing out pumpkin wasps, which were then attacking the plant while the plant was trying to eat them. And remember, this entire scene is CARVED FROM PUMPKIN MATTER. PUMPKINS.

October 18, 2013: Nikki & Nora Premiere in Hollywood

Date: October 18, 2013
Event: Nikki & Nora Premiere in Hollywood
Location: Hollywood, California
Summary: Being a funder/supporter for a new webseries based on an old pilot, I was invited to its Hollywood premiere.  :)

I’ve been doing much traveling for work of late which has taken me away from home a little more often than I’d like. But at least on this trip out to the left coast I was able to combine business with pleasure, ending my week attending the N & N Files premiere in Hollywood.  Oooo, yeah!

This description is just one fan’s / one supporter’s experience, to be shared with other fans/supporters who couldn’t be there (and I hope it’s clear it is all said in good fun!). I apologize for the utter crappiness of the photos. My camera let me down (and maybe it had something to do with the wrong ISO setting I had it on; poo on me!) Anyway, here goes.

July 24, 2013: Set Stalking: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Date: July 24, 2013
Event:  Set Stalking:  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles near Wall Street
Location:  New York City, ~Wall Street
Cost: FREE
Summary:  My previous encounter with TMNT was completely by accident.  This time, not so much.

Thanks to onlocationvacations.com (they're awesome!) I knew that TMNT was filming in around the Wall Street area for several days during this particular week in July. After my encounter with it in Times Square and having seen some pictures of the Turtles out and about in NYC on other sets, I had high hopes of an actual Turtle encounter. Sadly, while I saw their trailers, I didn't see Turtles. I did see Megan Fox, though. That's something, I suppose. And, let's be honest, I love seeing ANY filming, whether I know anyone actually filming or not! So, here was the experience.

June 22, 2013: 24 Hour Plays LA Benefiting Urban Arts Partnership (sponsored by Monte Blanc)

Date: June 22, 2013
Event: 24 Hour Plays LA
Location:  Los Angeles, CA
Cost:  Ticket prices ranged from $100 - $200
Summary: And with this, I become a bi-coastal supporter of 24 Hour Plays.  :D

If you know me, you know that The 24 Hour Plays benefiting Urban Arts Partnership (sponsored by Monte Blanc) is one of my favorite favorite favorite things to do in New York.  Favorite!  I have attended the 24 Hour Plays six times in New York, but this is the first time I've gone to the LA version of it.  It just so happened I had to be in California for work the following week so I wasn't about to miss the opportunity to come down to LA a couple of days early to experience this!  And I wasn't disappointed.

Now, why do I love it so much?  Well, why do any of us love anything so much?  It's hard to pinpoint.  But I can say that it was the very first Broadway show I ever saw after I moved to New York, so it holds that special place in my heart for that reason.  Second, I feel very very strongly about the organization that benefits from the show -- Urban Arts Partnership (http://www.urbanarts.org or @UrbanArtsNYC on twitter) -- which brings arts education to under-served students in New York (or LA).  And, third, you seriously just never know what you're going to get.  And that makes it so.much.fun.

For those that have never heard of 24 Hour Plays, here's what it is:  in short, it's a show in which six 10-minute plays are written, produced, and performed all in the span of 24 hours.  The writers, directors, and actors meet for the first time at 10:00 pm the night before, then the writers write the plays all night, then the actors come back and rehearse with the directors all day, then they do lighting and such, and at 8:00 pm it's curtains up, and the performances end at approximately 10:00 pm, 24 hours after their very creation began.

As I said above, as an audience member, you honestly have no idea what to expect.  Will they be comedies?  Dramas?  Who will play what roll?  Will I laugh?  Will I cry?  Will the play make any sense at all? (admittedly, the answer to that last question is frequently 'no', but again, that's part of the fun.)  And also, it's clear every year, and this year was no different, that the actors love what they're doing, they believe in what they're doing, and that translates on the stage.  The audience can feel it, and we're brought along on the ride with them, we're part of this creative process, and it's...as I said, it's just plain fun.  (if you’re on twitter, search on the #24HRLA hashtag to see some of the shenanigans)

As for the actors, kudos to them.  They give of their time to this and their name (and for some, their dignity, heh) and they do it for an amazing cause, one I feel strongly about as I said.  I'm an engineer by training, a scientist by nature.  I’m all about numbers and the laws of physics.  But I know that I would not be a complete person, professionally or personally, without the arts (if you've read previous entries in this blog, I think you can see I do love artsy stuff), and I believe we need to continue arts education in our classrooms -- it's not just a 'nice to have', it's a requirement.  And that's what Urban Arts Partnership also believes and that's what they do -- bring arts back to the class rooms, both for the sake of arts but also incorporating it into the core curriculum.  Helping kids stay interested, helping them learn.  And more of them are graduating because of it.  As I said, it’s not just nice to have, it’s making a real impact on kids’ lives.

And so that's what these actors lending their time to this cause does.  And I'm not just speaking theoretically:  at this year's performance, the person on my left was there specifically to see Sasha Alexander perform and the person on my right was there because she wanted to see Sklar Astin.  And I’m sure these two cases were not unique.  All of these actors, their names, their presence was putting butts in the seats and bringing money to UAP.  So, as I said, kudos and props to the actors.  Respect.

Continue reading below about the individual plays from this year.

June 14, 2013: Leonard Nimoy's Vincent

Date: June 14, 2013
Event: Leonard Nimoy's Vincent at Symphony House, with Q&A afterwards with Mr. Nimoy
Cost: $35 for a general admission ticket
Summary:  I readily admit I knew little about Vincent van Gogh; this was an amazing way to gain some knowledge and insight.

I will be the first to admit that not only did I not know much about Vincent van Gogh (other than what we learned in art history class and getting my picture taken with Stary Night at MoMA), but I will also admit that I pretty much went to this play because of the Q&A session afterwards with Mr. Nimoy (*cough*yes I'm a trekkie*cough*).

But, it was such a wonderful surprise.  The actor (singular, for it was a one man show),  Jean-Michel Richaud, was amazing!  Amazing!  The pace was good, the material was interesting, and the length was perfect.  I left with a desire to know a little bit more about Vincent van Gogh (and about his brother Theo, who was the narrator in this play).

And, of course, the Q&A was wonderful.  No mention of Star Trek other than a passing comment when asked why he wrote Vincent.  Mr. Nimoy's answer was he was tired of talking about the things he was talking about -- something about a TV show he did once (at which point the audience laughed appropriately and knowingly) -- and that there must be more out there he could do.  So he wrote this play.

Lots more about the play and Q&A (as well as pictures) below the cut.

June 4, 2013: Breakfast Briefings at Bryant Park with Bobby Flay

Date: June 4, 2013
Event: Breakfast Briefings at Bryant Park with Bobby Flay
Cost: FREE (well, an hour of sleep so I could get to work early so I could take an hour off)
Summary:  Beautiful morning, beautiful weather, free coffee, and Bobby Flay talking about barbecuing.

I was checking my twitter feed last night and lo and behold, Bryant Park (@BryantParkNYC) tweets about the first "Breakfast Briefing" (sponsored by Wall Street Journal) of the year -- a one hour discussion with Bobby Flay, click here to register.  Why, I think I *will* click there to register, thank you!

So, about 14 hours later I find myself at Bryant Park on the most gorgeous of spring/summer mornings.  And soon after that, found myself in this wonderful little outdoor seating area listening to Bobby Flay talk about cooking, his restaurants, Iron Chef, an upcoming book of his, and barbecuing.  All the while enjoying the weather and sipping coffee while the city goes on around us.  Mornings like this is just one of the things I love about NYC.

May 15, 2013: Turner Broadcasting Upfronts 2013

Date: May 15, 2013
Event: Turner Broadcasting Upfronts 2013
Cost: FREE
Summary: In short, SQUEE!!!  (also, best time you’ll have standing outside a methadone clinic. Ever.  No, really.)

Let me just start this off with OMG OMG OMG SQUEE!!!

*deep breath*

SQUEE!!!

OMG PICTURES WITH NEW BFFS!!

INCLUDING SASHA ALEXANDER AND NOAH WYLE!!

SQUEE!!!!!

There, now that I got that out of the way, I can give you a run down on what the hell I’m squeeing about.