Holiday Trip to New York City

I got back today (very early today) from a long weekend in New York City with Paul.

We walked a lot, as soon as we got to Manhattan on Friday. Starting near Macy's, then heading south to the Village for a cocktail or two at Pennyfeathers and other places, then back up again to see a very crazy Times Square at night. On Saturday, we walked from the Upper West Side, where we had a nice brunch at a nice cafe on Broadway. (So sorry I paid cash, so there's no receipt for me to remember the cafe's name.) We walked down Central Park West, past the closed-for-renovation Plaza Hotel, past the Apple Store and FAO Swartz and around to our destination, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At dusk, after a nice late lunch/early dinner at the Viand diner on Madison Avenue, we window-shopped down Madison Avenue and crossed over to Rockefeller Center in time to join the throngs walking by the Christmas tree and ice rink at 30 Rock (seen here). Then it was on the subway to the West Village again, where we got excellent service at the Italian restaurant Trattoria Toscana.

On Sunday, it was time to catch up with my good friend Bill Hall. A producer, editor, writer, graphic designer, animator and cameraman who lives and works in New York, he surprised us with a director's cut DVD of Bill Gottlieb: Riffs, his documentary on the photographer who "defined the golden age of jazz." He suggested a great spot - Cafe Mozart, where we had a great brunch and conversation about life in the city.

Then it was down to Columbus Circle and a peak inside the new Shops at Columbus Circle, the new Time Warner shopping mall complex, before a long walk downtown again, through Chelsea, around East Village, going by Soho and into the West Village before rain got the best of us and we headed back to our hotel and the train home.

While visiting NYC, we stayed in Penn Station Hilton in Newark, NJ - which was very convenient and highly recommended. The hotel is across the street from the Newark's Penn Station, which is the western terminus for the PATH commuter train to Hoboken and Manhattan. And an added feature of traveling by the PATH train to and from Newark was the chance to go into (literally) the World Trade Center site. Coming from New Jersey into the site of the disaster for the first time Saturday morning was an amazing experience.

Crowds at Christmas

Standing room only at Rockefeller Center's Christmas Tree in New York.

Baltimore's Holiday Monument 2007

The 36th Annual Washington Monument Lighting was held tonight on Baltimore's Mount Vernon Square. Music and festivities culminated with the traditional fireworks display.

39th Street in the Snow

An early snowfall blankets Baltimore with up to five inches of powder, leaving Christmas card scenes this morning.

Santa Arrives in Hampden

Santa Claus was the climax of the Mayor's Annual Christmas Parade in Baltimore yesterday, a tradition in Hampden.

Santa at Towson Town Center

Halloween Party at Genesis HealthCare

The Towson Office of Genesis held its annual Halloween Party today. I was part of the "Fruit of the Loom" costume contest entry, which won 1st Place among the groups. And, yes, we embellished the trademark, adding a banana, pineapple and a strawberry to create our own strange but fun mix of fruit.

A Wet Walk in Towson

It was a very wet, but successful Memory Walk at Towson University this Saturday. The walk benefits the Alzheimer's Association. Thanks to everyone who supported me. Many Genesis walkers were there, including the group in the photo with me. I happened to walk alongside a very nice woman who was by herself. Her mother suffered from Alzheimer's, and this was her first year walking, like me.

Towson Memory Walk

Rain did not stop this year's walkers.

39th Street Accident

This car flipped a parked car, in the second 39th Street accident within the week in Tuscany-Canterbury. (Photo taken from apartment window... Notice reflection of interior rug.)

I'm On the Move to End Alzheimer's

This week I signed up to participate in the 2007 Memory Walk, benefiting the Alzheimer's Association. The Baltimore area's walk will take place at Towson University on Saturday, October 27th.

My employer, Genesis HealthCare, is a Platinum Sponsor of the event, with dozens of teams participating through our network of locations along the East Coast. Our Towson regional office is a major part of this effort. If you visit my page on the Memory Walk website, you can find more information about our team, which has already exceeded its stated goal... However, Alzheimer's is a dreaded disease that many of us at Genesis know all too well, and much more financial support is needed to fund research that we hope will find a cure.

I have just uploaded a PDF of my article on one of our "Homestead" units, which specialize in the care and treatment of Alzheimer's patients. I visited this facility last year and saw firsthand the challenges faced each day by residents, their families and the staff.

Please consider sponsoring my walk on Oct 27th to help.

Autumn Fire

The first fire in our fireplace. Photo by PEK.

News from the Newsroom

If you've been checking out The BDL Newsroom, you've probably been excited but also wondering, "What's happening?"

Well, now the Newsroom has a constantly-updating video feed from the Associated Press, in addition to a revised photo section. This is all in addition to the regular sections: a This Day in History feature and list, a fun Article of the Day fact, Today's Birthday, a Quote of the Day, an In the News profile, plus world and national news headlines, as well as local news and weather from both Baltimore and Phoenix.

The revised BDL Newsroom Photoblog will often have photos and brief news, often sent from my cell phone. (See yesterday's pic of runners in the Baltimore Marathon, as they passed by me near the Waverly farmer's market.)

Regular BDL Online video clips and podcast will be coming soon, and a link is now active with a preview.

Autumn Colors

Baltimore Marathon

Change is Good!

Yes. There are some changes happening here. Please pardon the dust, as I have been busy planning what has become a major update to my Web presence. This blog is looking a bit different, and the main sites are moving to a new hosting service, but www.bdlyles.com and www.bdlcommunications.com will still be the domains. In fact, the links to these domains will now be direct.

Also, my e-mail addresses are changing (Yes, this means I'm saying good-bye to AOL...) The new personal address, to be officially announced soon - but you can start using it now - is brian@bdlyles.com.

NBC's Scrubs: the Musical

NBC just rebroadcast the musical episode of Scrubs. When I saw this for the first time, I went straight to iTunes, bought the episode and the separate, homoerotically funny "Guy Love" music video. In fact, if you don't like musicals, you will at least love this. (You can still catch, at least for now, the Guy Love video on You Tube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1qcwyomVpM.)

Web Changes On The Way!

Yes, I know... It's been a while since I updated my blog.

OK. It's been more than a while. Anyway, I've been busy updating all of my Web sites, in preparation for a move to new servers. (If you're moving, why not clean and spruce things up? Right?)

Well, it's taken a bit longer than I had hoped, but good changes are on the way. I'll have new online photo and scrapbook albums, a new media newsroom (with, what I hope will be, regular podcasts), plus revised sections on my personal activities and career. And, Yes... I am adjusting the look of this journal too. So please stay tuned.