Photo of the day: MM = MACY*S + MARILYN
Photo of the day: MM = MACY*S + MARILYN – As part of department store Macy*s current Americana theme, the flagship store in Herald Square has been decorated with giant banners of what they feel is ‘Americana’. Mount Rushmore, hot dogs, apple pie, the American flag and…Marilyn, the eternal all American girl!
America = the Grand Canyon, light houses and Marilyn!
Photo of the day: THE COLD IS SO HARD ON THE KNEES
1am, Macy’s and 34th Street
Photo of the day: THE COLD IS SO HARD ON THE KNEES – It was 11°F (-11.67°C) last night in New York City, with wind chills 10-15° degrees colder. To most of us that didn’t matter in our warm beds. Last year the number of homeless people sleeping each night in the New York City shelter system surpassed 50,000+ people for the first time since modern homelessness emerged three decades ago. That grim milestone includes more than 21,000 homeless children. More children and adults are homeless now in New York City than at any time since the Great Depression.
Thanks to despicable billionaire mayor Bloomberg New York City’s record homeless shelter population continues to grow at an alarming rate – up 19% percent in the past year alone. And this does not even include the thousands of New Yorkers still displaced by Hurricane Sandy, many of whom comprise extremely low-income households.
In total the homeless shelter population under billionaire mayor Bloomberg rose by a staggering 61% percent and the number of homeless families has increased 73% percent. During Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure, New York City homelessness has increased both in absolute numbers and at a higher rate than under previous mayors Koch, Dinkins, or Giuliani. One can only hope our new Mayor DeBlassio and our new administration can rectify these horrific numbers.
Please donate to your local charities.
Photo of the day: EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD
Photo of the day: EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD ~ At first glance, you don’t realize what is happening here. Looks cute doesn’t it? Not to the ‘tin man’. He stands motionless on his crate waiting for someone to put money in his tin can so he will move robotically. (No “oil can” requests, just money.) He’s in a prime location by the main subway entrance to Macy’s at Christmas time. He’s doing ok money wise – – – then all of a sudden comes an entire hoard of school children out of the subway gathering around him, oohing and aahhing and just killing his business. At first he tried to motion with his hands, as he is here, to ‘move along/ease on down the road’ – they didn’t get that and were even more fascinated with him. More oohing and aahhing. He tried again to wave his hand to ‘move along’. Nothing. He finally got off his crate and hid in a corner burying his face in his arms refusing to turn around. The kids finally eased on down the road . . . I ♥ NY.
Come on and ease on down, ease on down the road
Come on and ease on down, ease on down the road
Don’t you carry nothing that might be a load
Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road
Pick your left foot up
When your right foot’s down
Come on legs keep movin’
Don’t you lose no ground
You just keep on keepin’
On the road that you choose
Don’t you give up walkin’
‘Cause you gave up shoes, no
Ease on down, ease on down the road
Ease on down, ease on down the road
Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road!
(“The Wiz” 1978)
Photo of the day: SANTA AND A TWIST on ‘THE NIGHT BEFORE/after CHRISTMAS’
“Twas the day after Christmas…”
Photo of the day: WHAT DOES SANTA DO AFTER CHRISTMAS CELEBRATE ! ! – Here is my ‘poetic’ twist on Clement Moore’s classic poem as I encounter drunk Santa after Christmas in front of Macy*s . . .
. . . And then, in a twinkling, I heard something uncouth
The prancing and pawing of Santa whose had too much vermouth.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down 34th Street St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fake fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with cigarette ashes and street soot;
A giant stuffed fish he had flung on over his back,
And he looked like a street peddler just opening his pig pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! His eyes, how blurry!
His cheeks and nose were like roses, he surely was in no hurry.
His drawl from his mouth was Southern – a bit slow,
And the beard on his chin with gray as the street snow;
The stump of a ____ pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a crazed face and a little round pot belly
That shook when he ranted, like a bowl full of jelly.
He was happy and drunk, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and his twisted head,
Soon gave me to know he was out of his head;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
To fill his own stockings from tourists that looked like a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up ‘snow’ did rose;
Then he sprang into his dance, and the crowd did whistle,
And their cameras clicked until the arrival of a policeman’s dismissal
But I heard him exclaim, ere he stumbled out of sight—
Happy returns to all, if you kept your receipt – you done right!
(with my apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)
Photo of the day: BELIEVE IN THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS
Photo of the day: BELIEVE IN THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS – Believe in flying reindeer, believe in wishes coming true, believe that a sleigh can fly, believe that there is a wondrous place at the North Pole (not a factory in China), believe that Santa can deliver toys to all the boys and girls in one magical night, believe that he knows if you’ve been good or bad, believe that all things are possible, believe in love, believe in miracles and above all, believe in yourself.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE !
Foto des Tages: GLAUBEN SIE AN DIE MAGIE VON WEIHNACHTEN – Glauben an fliegende Renntiere, glauben an sich erfüllende Wünsche, glauben, dass ein Schlitten fliegen kann, glauben, dass es einen erstaunlichen Platz am Nordpol (nicht eine Fabrik in China) gibt, glauben, dass der Weihnachtsman Spielsachen an alle Jungen und Mädchen in einer magischer Nacht liefern kann, glauben, dass er weiß ob Sie artig oder bös gewesen sind, glauben Sie, dass alle Dinge möglich sind, glauben an der Liebe, an Wunder und vor allem glauben, an sich selbst glauben. FRÖHLICHES WEIHNACHTEN ALLE!
Photo of the day: MMMM = MACY’S, MT. RUSHMORE AND MARILYN MONROE !
Photo of the day: MMMM = MACY*S, MT. RUSHMORE AND MARILYN MONROE ! – To celebrate the summer of 2013, Macy*s launched the ‘American Icons’ campaign celebrating everything American and our American fashion designers. The one human being chosen to represent the USA is not Elvis or any of our current celebrities, but none other than the eternal blonde Marilyn Monroe! Marilyn is now a clothing brand, a merlot wine brand and a part of so many other things. She is wealthier in death than she ever was in life. Fifty one years after her death in 1962, her image, innocent sex appeal and allure continue to captivate our imaginations. Come to Herald Square, turn the corner and walk down 34th Street, and there you will see Macy*s ‘American Icon’ huge banner. What images did they choose?: the American flag, the Coney Island Ferris Wonder Wheel, the Empire State Building, Levis, Mt. Rushmore and Marilyn Monroe!
Original May 2013 press release: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/05/14/macys-american-icons-campaign-launches-tomorrow-wi/
P.S. Out of all these ‘American’ fashion designers – whose clothes are really made in America??
Mondays on Memory Lane – Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip ‘shop’ Bloomingdale’s 1976
Queen Elizabeth II Prince Philip and Marvin Traub
Mondays on Memory Lane – Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip ‘shop’ Bloomingdale’s 1976: It wasn’t your average advertisement in the local papers ‘Come Meet the Queen at Bloomingdales’! This being 1976, the height of the disco era it could have been any one of dozens of queens. Divine, Sylvester, Craig Russell, Holly Woodlawn, Rollerena, Charles Pierce, Danny LaRue, Jim Bailey?
No, this was THE Queen to beat out all other queens, The one that always carries her handbag wherever she goes. Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip. (As Bette Midler once famously asked: “What has she got in that handbag?! A card that says ‘I am the Queen?!’) Bloomingdale’s then CEO and president Marvin Traub had pulled off the media stunt of all stunts and convinced the Queen to visit his store. This was quite a coup for him. She wasn’t visiting Macy’s, SAKS, or Bonwitts, Tiffany or Bergdorf’s, she was visiting the store that was so hotly in vogue at the time. The Queen “didn’t choose Saks, and she didn’t choose Bergdorf — she chose Bloomingdale’s,” Traub once boasted in an interview with The Post.
As part of the city’s 1976 bi-centennial celebrations, on Friday, July 9th, 1976, the Queen first decided to participate in a little historical reenactment herself. Most famously, the Queen graced the steps of Trinity Church to receive back rent owed the crown — 279 peppercorns. A bronze plaque presently marks the spot at Trinity where she accepted the peppercorns.
After a luncheon at the Waldorf, the royals fit in a couple unusual stops. The first was a spot of afternoon tea at the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Harlem, accompanied by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Afterwards, they sped downtown for a tour of Bloomingdale’s, not only stopping traffic, but reversing it on Lexington Avenue, to allow the Queen to exit her vehicle from the right side.
After a luncheon at the Waldorf, the royals fit in a couple unusual stops. The first was a spot of afternoon tea at the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Harlem, accompanied by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Afterwards, they sped downtown for a tour of Bloomingdale’s, not only stopping traffic, but reversing it on Lexington Avenue, to allow the Queen to exit her vehicle from the right side.
She quietly moved from floor to floor, admiring the many displays of products of British make, particularly the pottery and furniture. She was also greeted to a private fashion show, as Her Majesty was led through a room of mannequins garbed in the latest stylish trends from 1976. Along the way, a few American designers made appearances to greet Queen Elizabeth, including Calvin Klein.
I recall it was in the mid afternoon and many office workers made it a long lunch to see the famous couple. I got there several hours early to get a good viewing spot on one of the upper floors where a museum exhibit had been set up. The aisles were narrow here so therefore the best spot to snap a picture with my little instamatic camera with the square flashcubes. The buzz on the floor was heightened but polite, no shoving or pushing – after all, it was the Queen! She graciously perused the exhibit but her eyes and his swept across the crowd as they truly tried to connect to the people of New York, it was quite remarkable. (Remember, this is before John Lennon’s 1980 assassination and security was still very lax in those days.) A representative of Bloomingdale’s remarked, “we thought — and the Queen agreed — that it would be a very American experience for her to go amidst all the crowds and just pretend she might be shopping.”
It was a surreal ‘pretend shopping excursion’ but it was a thrill for me, but alas…no…she didn’t do the royal hand wave 🙂
Story told in honor of her 87th birthday yesterday April 21.
Photo of the day: MACY’S STAIRWAY TO PARADISE
STAIRWAY TO PARADISE: In a year where we have suffered a great amount of closings of iconic landmark stores, restaurants and shops in New York City due to the voracious greed of the landlords, there is one thing we can still count on…the clickety clack of the wonderful wooden escalator at Macy*s.
Macy*s is paying tribute to those glorious wooden moving stairs in their main Christmas window this year, featuring fashions of the past fifty decades. The escalators will take women to the largest ladies shoe department in the world – shoegasm!
The Otis (as in elevator) escalator has been lifting shoppers to all heights since 1927. My favorite memory: in the 1960’s when women wore those thin stiletto heels they would always get caught between the wide slats of the escalator. One day mom and I were ascending to the second floor – mom got off the escalator – her shoes didn’t…that almost became routine. Women had to stand on their tippy toes as to not get caught. Since the stilettos were made of a primitive plastic, they would either break off or get sliced off by the notorious escalators. Limping women was a common sight in 1960’s. “Clickety clack, clickety clack buy another pair off the rack!”
Photo of the day: THERE ARE FAIRIES IN NEW YORK CITY!
THERE ARE FAIRIES IN NEW YORK CITY!: . . . well, yes, we have many different kinds of fairies 🙂
Photo of the day: NEW YORK IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
In New York City – shopping is a sport !
BLOOMINGDALE’S Friday’s hours:
7:00AM – 10:00PM
Saturday, November 24
9:00AM – 10:00PM
Sunday, November 25
10:00AM – 9:00PM
Monday, November 26
9:00AM – 10:00PM
Tuesday, November 27
9:00AM – 10:00PM
Wednesday, November 28
9:00AM – 10:00PM
SAKS FIFTH AVENUEMon-Sat 10 am – 8 pmSun 12 pm – 7 pm LORD & TAYLOR
Mon – Sat: 10am – 9pm
Sunday 11am – 8pm
BERGDORF GOODMAN
Holiday hours begin November 26: Monday to Friday open 10am until 9pm. Saturday until 8. Sunday 11am until 7pm
CHER “Shopping” song – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a_YSdQLHWo
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NEW YORK CITY - IN THE WIT OF AN EYE 