Day 2

...and...the balloons are still there! I caught 3 different tourists taking pictures of them. I must say, they looked much better today, against the bright blue cloudless sky than yesterday. They still looked rather sad though.

Today lots happening on the bridge: A bridge worker was patiently scraping gum off the railing. Lots of lost items waiting to be claimed: A scarf was tied to the railing, a fur band was placed on a bench, ...and I found my lost glove! It was wet and mushy, and was in the exact place in DUMBO where these 2 Indian tourist ladies yelled to me asking for directions to get on the bridge yesterday.

Festive Remnants...

I spotted this sad bunch of balloons, more than half were deflated, tragically trapped in the bridge's cables.
Perhaps remnants from a Chinese wedding party on the pier below...

For the rest of my walk to work, I wondered how the hell they were going to remove the offending balloons! I'm going to count the days it will take for them to disappear...stay tuned.

This morning I encountered a people of note. The first one was a guy walking fast and simultaneously reading his newspaper. He almost walked into me.

The second was this foreign couple: the woman was walking with ski poles despite the fact that there was no snow left on the ground.

It was nice to be back on the bridge, it's been a while...

C-C-C-C-O-O-O-O-L-L-D-D!

Brrr...chilling walk over the bridge this morning. For the first part of my walk, I didn't see a single soul! Then, as I got closer to Manhattan, a group of about 50 teenagers and teachers walked by me!

Choppers, Honeycut!

This NYPD "chopper" was going around and around the bridge like a yellojacket around a tunafish sandwhich. I've seen them fly under the bridge as well! I had a distinct feeling that the pilot was watching me.

Here She Comes, Just Walking Over The Bridge

Is it? Yes! It's the blogger herself! Caught in the act of walking over the subject of her blog!

Lost Chance

It seemed like someone was leaving me a secret note! There was a multicolored oragami frog tucked behind the big sign on the Brooklyn Bridge! I came screeching to a halt and pulled in to the dead space by the main column and took this picture. Then I reached out to get the frog and open it and read the secret inside, the secret words written just for me that explain the whole purpose of life and possibly death. But my fingers were frozen and instead of plucking it out, I accidentally pushed the frog in and fell down inside the sign where I guess it will stay until the end of time.

It's Like Winter in January....

We had some snow last night, finally! Almost an inch. But enough for some Bridge-goer to make a little snowman. Just don't sue him when this thing freezes solid and falls backward into traffic, killing someone and causing a pile-up.

Phantom Filming

I walked on the bridge 3-4 times while the famous film shoot starring Will Smith about the last human in New York was supposed to be happening, but all I saw was blinding lights, chalky footprints and an empty EMS 2-person tent...

A Japanese Crewman Saved my Life!

I was happily filming the skyline on this cold, crisp morning with my new digital video camera when I came across a large group of people blocking the pedestrian path. I tried to circumvent them, and as I did so, I stupidly drifted into the biker's lane without looking back. I was too busy filming! I heard a screech and the tall crewman outstretched his hand and grabbed me as the crazy bike man whizzed by. Turns out it was some TV crew of some sort that was filming a man speaking Japanese.

Here's the video....

Come Back Here, Little Snow Storm!

I loved biking through the little snow story yesterday. I was wearing my new down sweater and the flakes just bounced off. The storm was as small as a bad mood and you could see it float away toward Staten Island. Why can't we have more snow right now? There were a few people on the bridge but I was suddenly alone and the snowflakes were swirling along the wooden walkway of the bridge in little spirals like curls of hair. And when I looked up into the wind, the snow flakes touched my lashes and touched each other and there was then a solid connection between me and the top of the sky.

Snow!...for 5 minutes

First time it snowed this winter in New York, as I was midway through my walk on the bridge! It was very brief, but lovely!

Speaking of the weather...

NOAA REPORTS 2006 WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD FOR U.S.
General Warming Trend, El Niño Contribute to Milder Winter Temps
The 2006 average annual temperature for the contiguous U.S. was the warmest on record and nearly identical to the record set in 1998, according to scientists at the NOAA National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Seven months in 2006 were much warmer than average, including December, which ended as the fourth warmest December since records began in 1895. Based on preliminary data, the 2006 annual average temperature was 55 degrees F—2.2 degrees F (1.2 degrees C) above the 20th Century mean and 0.07 degrees F (0.04 degrees C) warmer than 1998. NOAA originally estimated in mid-December that the 2006 annual average temperature for the contiguous United States would likely be 2 degrees F (1.1 degrees C) above the 20th Century mean, which would have made 2006 the third warmest year on record, slightly cooler than 1998 and 1934, according to preliminary data. Further analysis of annual temperatures and an unusually warm December caused the change in records.

Also worth of note: more stickers! The bridge seems to be a popular place for artists to self-promote. This one called blindluckindustries.com was stuck next to a second Bin Laden sticker. When I went to the site, there was a funny picture of a painting called "Bush It" where George Bush is busting out of his suit to reveal a superman-like costume that says "Katrina Who?".... Captain Clueless Strikes Again!

Bin There

It was a lovely walk home, warmish. The bridge was bustling with tourists with digital cameras taking self-portraits with the brightly light Manhattan skyline in the background.

I stopped short when I noticed that right on top of the scratched out "Wear a Beard" sticker was this sticker of Osama Bin Laden!!

Foggy Bridge

Fog and drizzel this morning, but I wanted to get on my bike. I headed to Gorilla and had a coffee and read the paper a bit. I almost lost it reading about the first family of mammals to go extinct: the baiji in China (frickin' China!!!). I started getting wet around 3rd Avenue and was pretty soaked by the time I reached the bridge. I liked the look of the lonely bridge shrouded in fog. Here's a view for you.

Peace Man

I was taking a picture of an empty beer can in a paper bag on the bridge, when this man walking towards me began waving at me. I couldn't hear what he was saying as I had my earphones on. Turns out he wanted me to take his picture! "Take a picture of me!" he shouted. He stretched his arms out and gave me the peace sign...or is it "Victory"?

Twisted

I had my beautiful new Samsung camera phone out in case I saw any weird activity on the bridge and accidentally snapped this twisted shot of the Muni Building.

It's cold enough that the bike and tourist traffic on the bridge is beginning to thin out. Still, even the asian woman with the full-face-mask can out pedal me.

E.Coli Lettuce?

Yes banana peels, but let's not forget the e.coli piece of lettuce on the biker's path of the bridge! Perhaps it was discarded by a suspicious person eating a sandwich?

I also noticed that the beard sticker was scratched out and destroyed. Maybe that was an act of vandalism by jealous hairless man unable to grow a decent beard...?

Bike on Bike on Bike on Bridge

So lucky that I get to bike to work. Fast enough to escape the bums but slow enough to see the banana peels. I get to work more ready to face the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. And, there's always a chance I'll get hit by a bus and not die but have to stay in the hospital for a night and then rest up at home for a few weeks or months, reading back issues of the NY'er and discovering a new favorite single malt.

Banana Peels Take Manhattan

These two happy banana peels are in down for the holidays. As I was biking in this AM they asked if I would take their picture in front of the skyline. I was late, but I couldn't resist these slippery characters! Anyway, here's the shot. Pretty good for a cell phone, huh?

Dog Full of Money

Peculiar sticker that I saw today: Dog Full of Money" At first glace I thought it said "Dog Full of Memory."

Anyway, I googled it, and apparently this sticker appears in the streets of London. I found it referenced in 2 blogs:
blog 1
blog 2

Apparently, "DFM are those dogs you see outside shops that people put coins in. They are the best thing ever. We need to promote them for the good of humanity."

Here's the actual Dog Full of money website where you will find a gallery of pictures of these dog statues.

The site, which encourages users to download and paste up various mutant DFM's (one has four eyes, another a horn, and the one I saw has two heads), has this disclaimer:
Dog Full of Money cannot be held responsible for any product misuse. DFM/Dog Full of Money products are not intended to be placed on public or private property without prior consent. It’s naughty don’t do it ever ever ever!!!!!

Fun stuff!