The Apollo in Harlem Congratulates the President-Elect!

From Little Byter, Bruce Roberts, who appeared in Herald Square, Parts One and Two.

 

"Last night as soon as Barack Obama won the presidency Harlem erupted.   It was amazing.  We filmed a great deal of the celebration out our window.  I got my coat on and followed the parade up to 125th Street.  I lived history a few hours ago but was amazed to see this picture not even 5 minutes after it was announced."

 

 

Photo by Bruce Roberts

COFFEE BREAK AT THE MUSEUM and THE WORST SEED

THIS WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MARCH 13, 2008.  FOR MORE OF THE ORIGINAL BLOG (MAY, 2006-SEPTEMBER, 2008), CLICK HERE.

Last weekend, as my tour group strolled through the fossil record, I bought a cup of coffee and tried to get some writing done in the basement food court, stupidly forgetting that the basement food court at the American Museum of Natural History is where children come to throw their grandest tantrums.  Billed as NYC's top family attraction--and I have no doubt that it is--there's not a place in the tri-state area with a higher quota of screaming, crying, and whining children or of parents fuming, mutually loathing each other, resenting whomever had the bright idea of a trip to the museum, regretting every decision in their lives that brought them to this moment.  Night at the Museum is about a security guard at the Museum of Natural History who discovers "an ancient curse (that) causes the animals and exhibits on display to come to life and wreak havoc."  This is a comedy.  A horror movie would be entitled Coffee Break at the Museum and would also involve an ancient curse that transforms all the children who come through the doors of the basement food court.  I gave up writing and decided instead to transcribe the pandemonium around me.  Here are selections from one ten-minute period.

A TAD OF TWEED IN TED

Last week, Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was found guilty on all seven felony counts for failing to report a quarter of a million dollars in gifts and services.  While that is indeed an impressive take, let's not forget our own Boss Tweed who in the nineteenth century managed to steal so much more.  Here's a byte we made last summer about New York's most corrupt politician--coincidentally titled "Twice the Price of Alaska."

Notes and credits for this byte as well as the rest of this video tour up Broadway from Bowling Green to Columbus Circle can be found HERE.