Cartier-Bresson On View

Many people consider him the finest photographer of all time.
He is certainly the father of modern photojournalism.
He was a photographic pioneer; someone who seemed to possess the natural ability to capture a moment - what the called the "decisive moment" - with an astonishing eye for even the smallest detail.
Though his photographs are spontaneous, they seem perfect. Each one tells a story.
In fact, these seemingly precise black-and-white images could not be improved upon even if they were posed and calibrated to the last detail.
He was an artist with a camera, a genius behind the lens.
He was Henri Cartier-Bresson and 49 of his classic photographs are on view through May 2 at the Edwynn Houk Gallery in Manhattan.
To see these prints is to thrill at the power of the still camera.
The show consists entirely of vintage and early prints. It includes work from France, Mexico, Spain and Italy taken in the 1930s, from China and India in the 1940s, and from the U.S. in the 1960s.
Cartier-Bresson is regarded as one of the art world's most unassuming personalities. He disliked publicity and exhibited a ferocious shyness since his days in hiding from the Nazis during World War II. Although he took many famous portraits, his own face was little known to the world at large (which presumably had the advantage of allowing him to work on the street in peace). He dismissed others' applications of the term "art" to his photographs, which he thought were merely his gut reactions to moments in time that he had happened upon.
Here's what The Master, himself said about photography:
"The simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression... . In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little human detail can become a leitmotif."

Timeless: Keens Steakhouse!

While we were in New York we lunched at Keens Steakhouse.
Keen's has been operating since 1885.
In fact, Keens was around even before that when it operated out of The Lamb's Club, a private club for actors. When Keens first opened in its current neighborhood (on West 36th St. between 5th and 6th) it was in the theater district. Now, it's more like the garment district.
Everything around Keens has changed; except Keens.
Very, very few restaurants (especially in a big, sophisticated city like New York) remain in business as long as Keens. Which means that this place must be good -- and we're here to tell you that indeed it is!
We enjoyed a tasty, relaxing lunch at Keens (steak sandwiches and salads) amidst the unique atmosphere of this cushioned, clubby eatery which retains a timeless quality right down to the maitre d and well-trained, attentive waiters. At Keens you can choose the main dining room, the pub room or the bar. Both the bar and the pub room feature lower-priced entrees and all three offer specials. The bar offers a huge selection of single malt scotch.
Go to Keens for steaks, chops and hearty fare. And if you're a real carnivore, try the Mutton chop - a legendary treat.
BTW: Keens Steakhouse owns the largest collection of churchwarden pipes in the world. The tradition of checking one’s pipe at the inn had its origins in 17th century Merrie Old England where travelers kept their clay at their favorite inn – the thin stemmed pipe being too fragile to be carried in purse or saddlebag. Pipe smoking was known since Elizabethan times to be beneficial for dissipating “evil homourse of the brain.” Keens's pipe tradition began in the early 20th century.
The hard clay churchwarden pipes were brought from the Netherlands and as many as 50,000 were ordered every three years. A pipe warden registered and stored the pipes, while pipe boys returned the pipes from storage to the patrons.
The membership roster of the Pipe Club contained over ninety thousand names, including those of Teddy Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, Will Rogers, Billy Rose, Grace Moore, Albert Einstein, George M. Cohan, J.P. Morgan, Stanford White, John Barrymore, David Belasco, Adlai Stevenson, General Douglas MacArthur and “Buffalo Bill” Cody.
This place is truly unique. As Cindy Adams says: "Only in New York, folks; only in New York!"

Macy's 'Dream In Color!'

On Thursday we took the train to Manhattan to see Macy's spectacular Flower Show at Macy's flagship store on Herald Square in New York.
It was a beautiful spring day in Manhattan - sunny and in the mid 60s.
Macy's was overflowing with shoppers and gawkers, all to enjoy vivid spring colors in total harmony. The show is free and runs through April 19. You will be amazed at the colors and varieties of flowers on Macy's main floor. And, you can do a free, 20-minute guided tour of the show. The tours meet every half-hour at Macy's 35th & Broadway entrance, just inside the door.
Plus, don;t miss the table settings with live floral pieces on the 8th floor, the children's garden on the 7th floor and the Williamsburg garden in Macy's cellar.
On top of all this, Herald Square itself is festooned with tons of tulips and daffodils.
Macy's show this year is built around the theme, Dream in Color and includes the following memorable gardens:
The Paradise Garden transports you to a tropical paradise. The garden features over 300 different species of tropical plants, from green palms to exotic flowers. Since the tropics are known for their array of fruit trees, Macy's brought in a Coconut Tree, a Papaya Tree and an Ensete Red Banana Tree, plus a favorite from last year's show, the Chocolate Tree.
The Woodland Garden celebrates nature's beauty with annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs. In a color palette inspired by the season, the Woodland Garden features such flowers as tulips, daffodils, primula, ranunculus, forsythia and begonias. This garden also showcases some handcrafted birdhouses.
The Community Garden reflects and honors the efforts of the several hundred community gardens that are scattered throughout the five boroughs of NYC. These neighborhood scale gardens are enjoyed by all of those who come into contact with them and they have multiple uses. Whether they produce flowers or vegetables, they are a favorite of all New Yorkers.
The Living Garden is Macy's salute to the Plastic Lawn Flamingo and its impact on American gardens. These flamingos were handcrafted by the artisans at the Macy's Parade Studio, and were hand planted with hundreds of pink kalanchoe by Macy's landscape partner, Ireland Gannon Associates.
The Pink Garden features several new plant additions to the Macy's Flower Show. The first is the Prunus Persica, which is an ornamental Peach Tree that does not bear fruit. This particular tree is called the Corinthian Pink, which has medium purple foliage and lots of small pink double flowers.

NY Democrat Denied Victory:

From Breitbard and the Asso0ciated Press:
After a frenzied, bruising special election, a New York congressional race that became linked to President Barack Obama's economic recovery efforts won't be decided for at least two more weeks.
Democrat Scott Murphy led Republican Jim Tedisco by a scant 65 votes out of more than 154,000 cast Tuesday.
After the count of machine votes in 610 voting precincts spread over the mostly rural, 10-county district, the unofficial count was 77,344 for Murphy to 77,279 for Tedisco. That puts the focus on the more than 10,000 absentee ballots mailed to voters who are registered in the district but were unable to vote in person on Tuesday.
It can be a laborious process to count all the paper ballots and those being mailed from overseas aren't due in New York until April 13. A lawsuit filed by state Republicans Tuesday night required all ballots to be impounded to ensure accuracy. It's not an unusual step in close elections.
Of the ballots mailed out, nearly 6,000 were returned by Tuesday but most had not yet been counted. . . .
"To even be competitive in a district like that, I think says a lot," press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters on Air Force One as Obama traveled to London. . . .
Republicans were also optimistic, claiming that their polling showed an advantage of about 1,100 absentee ballots sent to registered Republicans, but that couldn't be independently verified.
"I believe, when the smoke clears, we'll have won a tremendous victory," Tedisco said.
Noting a dismal 2008 election cycle that saw three Republicans ousted from New York's congressional delegation, Pete Sessions, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, looked for the positive in Tedisco's showing.
"For the first time in a long time, a Republican candidate went toe-to-toe with a Democrat in a hard-fought battle over independent voters," Sessions said.

Fired For Catholic Slur

From Kerry Burke and Oren Yaniv at the New York Daily News
The manager of one of the city's most luxurious hotels was given the boot after ordering a Catholic employee to clean up his forehead on Ash Wednesday.
"Wipe that f-----g s--t off your face," managing director Niklaus Leuenberger told a bell captain at the New York Palace Hotel on Feb. 25, sources said.
The unholy ultimatum ended up costing Leuenberger his job at the Palace, a swanky 55-story tower on Madison Ave. across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral.
"As of Monday, March 23, Leuenberger is no longer employed by the New York Palace," hotel spokeswoman Teresa Delaney told the Daily News Tuesday.
The incident was deemed so severe, Christopher Cowdray, head of the London-based Dorchester Collection, which owns the Palace, flew here to hand Leuenberger the pink slip.
"We take the well-being of our employees extremely seriously and that is why our CEO, Mr. Cowdray, went to New York in person to deal with this matter," the company said.
The object of the manager's insult, bell captain Mike Murray, said the cross of dark ashes was liberally applied to his forehead at his Long Island church.
"My priest did a real number on me," he said with a chuckle.
Catholics receive the ashes as a reminder of their own mortality on Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of penance that ends on Easter.
"The [general manager] wanted it off, and he knows he was wrong," added the observant Irish Catholic employee. "I've never been approached on a religious issue [before]."

Stampede Injures 'Top Models'

From Reuters:
Six women received medical treatment on Saturday and three people were arrested after what local radio described as a stampede as thousands waited in New York to audition for the reality show "America's Next Top Model."
A New York Police Department official said two women and a man were arrested on charges of inciting to riot and disorderly conduct.
WINS radio reported that chaos erupted outside a midtown Manhattan hotel after a car belching smoke pulled up near the line of women late in the afternoon, leading to a cry of "fire" that sparked panic. Witnesses told the station the situation was compounded when a man leapt from a car and began grabbing women's purses.
The police spokesman could not confirm the details of the radio report. Police said six women in the crowd were treated after complaining of feeling faint. Some of the women had lined all night to audition for the show that airs on the CW network and stars former model Tyra Banks.
Sidewalks were littered with chairs and sleeping bags from those who waited overnight, as well as clothes and shoes abandoned in the rush of screaming women, radio reported.
The auditions were for the show's 13th cycle of competition, for which about a dozen contenders will eventually be selected. More auditions will follow in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles, according to the show's website.

Kean: NJ Slips Further

New Jersey Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean (R-21) responded to a report in Crain’s Insider titled “Nearby states doing worse than New York.” The March 13, 2009 report, published in the highly respected and influential business publication, noted that New Jersey experienced a 6.8% drop in tax revenue in the 4th quarter of 2008, while New York experienced a dramatically lower reduction of just 0.2%, despite serious problems in the financial sector.
The report also noted that Pennsylvania experienced a 2.4% decline in 4th quarter 2008 tax revenues, and a 50-state average decline of 3.6% during the same period.
“While Governor Corzine has repeatedly maintained that his efforts to sustain state spending have put New Jersey closer to economic recovery than other states, the data shows that New Jersey is actually doing much worse than our neighbors and the nation as a whole,” said Kean. “Governor Corzine’s proposal to increase business taxes by $350 million, while cutting thousands of dollars of rebates and property tax deductions for middle-class families, will only ensure that the New Jersey economy continues to suffer unnecessarily.”
Senator Kean is the primary sponsor of the “Economic Development Promotion Act,” S-281, which would make New Jersey job growth programs more efficient, target high paying industries, and give middle class families the economic security of a stronger job market.

Man Survives Niagara Jump

From Aaron Besecker at the Buffalo News:

A man who jumped into the upper rapids on the Canadian side of the Niagara River and then fell over the Horseshoe Falls was rescued this afternoon after spending more than 40 minutes in frigid waters below the falls.
The man, who suffered a head injury and hypothermia, would not help emergency responders with his rescue but was saved when a firefighter using safety equipment swam out about 50 yards into the Niagara River, said officials from the Niagara Falls, Ont., police and fire departments.
The man, said to be in his late 30s, was either unable or unwilling to grab onto a pole extended out to him from two rescuers aboard a helicopter. The helicopter pilot then positioned the aircraft in a way that used the winds to push the man closer to the shoreline.
The man was taken by Niagara EMS to Greater Niagara General Hospital, officials said.
A tourist who saw the man hop a fence and jump into the water reported the incident by calling 911 at about 2:11 p.m., Niagara Falls Fire Chief Lee Smith said.
The river's temperature was just above freezing, and ice floes could be seen in the area, Smith said.
The Horseshoe Falls is 167 feet high and the pool of water beneath it is equally as deep. On average, about 1.5 million gallons of water flows over Niagara Falls every second.
The man, whose identity has not been released, was pushed in circles by the river currents over about an area of 100 yards, but was able to keep himself afloat before he was rescued.
"It's amazing that he survived that long," Smith said. "He was very close to not being able to keep himself afloat anymore."
The man had clothes on when he entered the water, but was naked when he was rescued.
Rescuers believe the force of the falls stripped him of his clothing.

Photo: Associated Press

Opportunity Awaits

Crisis always brings opportunity.

And this was amply evident this morning as New York Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno stepped before the microphones and spoke in advance of Eliot Spitzer's resignation.

Bruno delivered an upbeat, eloquent, unifying message and pledged to move forward with the business of the state. Though Bruno himself was often a target of Spitzer's legendary hatreds and nefarious schemes, his comments today were entirely positive and sympathetic to Spitzer and his family.

It's important to note that Bruno is next in line (after the Lieutenant Governor) to become Governor and he will serve as Acting Governor whenever the new Acting Governor cannot serve. Today, the silver-haired Bruno (a grandfather who has been married to the same woman for 57 years) certainly looked and acted like a Governor. We wish him well!