Adelphi University

Yesterday, my mom and I walked through the university that is located right in our hometown. Adelphi University, in Garden City, NY, is the oldest institution of higher learning on Long Island. It was founded on June 24th, 1896, and its roots go back to 1863 and the founding of Adelphi Academy. The academy was a private preparatory school located in Brooklyn, on 412 Adelphi Street. In 1944, Adelphi’s school of nursing became the first school established by a college in NY State in response to the need for nurses created by the US’s entry into World War II.

Today Adelphi’s 75 acre campus is completely green, using only natural techniques to preserve the flora. It became a registered member of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta in May 2002. There are more than 68 types of plants, trees and flowers on campus, ranging from crape myrtle and weeping willows to Japanese snowbells and meserve hybrid holly.

Besides the flora on campus, many pieces of artwork are displayed across the breadth of green grass. This, along with the beautiful flora and architecture of the buildings, makes campus a beautiful sanctuary right in the middle of Garden City.

Empire State Building

On Friday my mom, sister and I went into the city to do something we had never done before: go up to the top of the Empire State Building. Though we have always lived in New York, we had never been up to the top, nor have we been to the Statue of Liberty. Rather than partaking in the normal experience- just waiting on line to go to the top, we got tickets for what is called the NY Skyride. If you do this, you go straight inside the building- no waiting on lines for 90 minutes. (that was the wait time when we got there)

First you go into a theater to see an overview movie of the NY skyline- while sitting in basically a ride car. Throughout the movie the car moved all around and jostled us- just think of a ride like Body Wars and you’ve got the idea.

Then we went to wait on the line, which was shorter for us. While waiting, everyone got to have their picture taken in front of a green screen, which would later be the Empire State Building. After, one of the attendants told everyone that if they wanted to get to the top faster, we could walk up the stairs. What seemed like a good decision at the time quickly turned into a bad one, as the stairs were getting steeper and steeper as we moved up each floor. Finally, after our legs began burning from the stairs, we reached the top.

That day, though extremely windy, was beautiful- every building could be seen from the top. There were no clouds and the skies were a nice shade of blue.

The Empire State Building was designed by Gregory Johnson and his architectural firm Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986 and is the second tallest skyscraper in the Americas. (surpassed by Chicago's Willis Tower) It is the 11th tallest skyscraper in the world and the 4th tallest freestanding structure in the Americas.

MOMA: Museum of Modern Art

On Monday my mom and I went to MOMA, or the Museum of Modern Art. Since it was both my mom’s first time there and mine, we grabbed a brochure from the shelf where we bought our tickets. From the moment we stepped in the first gallery, I knew I could not possibly see everything in the museum. First there were film theaters: an international collection of some 22,000 moving image works incorporates all periods of more than a century of film.

Second floor was MOMA’s extensive media collection that comprises 1,200 media and video works dating from the late 1960s to present day. Also on the second floor sat 53,000 prints and illustrated books.

Third floor first showcased drawings- 10,000 works in pencil, ink, charcoal, as well as watercolors and collages. Second, the photography section was comprised of 25,000 works from the 1840s on, showing applications of journalism, science and commerce. Lastly was the Architecture and Design section, where 28,000 works sat, ranging from large scale design objects to works on paper and architectural models.

Fourth & Fifth floors showcase Painting and Sculpture. These, the most popular floors, are where the Matisse’s sit, the van Gogh’s, the Picassos, the Cézannes, the Rothko’s. This, my favorite two floors, is where I will focus my blog.

One of my favorite oil paintings was Jasper John’s Map, which was made in 1961. It’s a map of the United States, but from far away it’s not recognizable. Just the bright colors draw you to it, and then you look to see what it actually is. Incidentally, Johns also made the oil and collage Flag, made from 1954-55. The Map's information card is shown below.

My other favorite was by Andy Warhol. The work, entitled Campbell’s Soup Cans, was made in1962 and is made of synthetic polymer paint on 32 canvases. Each canvas corresponded to a flavor of Campbell’s soup.

The other huge painting at MOMA was Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, and oil on canvas made in 1889. The information card next to the painting said “The Starry Night embodies an inner, subjective expression of van Gogh’s response to nature. In thick sweeping brushstrokes, a flame like cypress unites the churning sky and the quiet village below. The village was partly invented, and the church spire evokes van Gogh’s native land, the Netherlands.”

The artwork of the museum and the layout of the rooms make this a must see on any New York City visit.

NBC Studios Tour

On Monday, my mom and I headed into the city to go on a behind the scenes tour at NBC studios. The tour, which is about an hour and 10 minutes, begins in the NBC Experience Store in 30 Rockefeller Plaza. While on line our tour guides Simon and Marissa handed out lanyard- type things to hold our tickets in, and after we proceeded into the theater. There we saw a video about the history of NBC and about past shows of NBC like Truth or Consequences. After the film we were told that no photography or recording devices were allowed under any circumstances, which was a real shame.

The first thing I saw when we arrived by the studios was the fact that the ceilings were crawling with wires of every color of the rainbow. Hundreds of cables were along the ceilings, while pictures of celebrities that had been there hung on the walls.

First we headed up on the elevators to Brian Williams Studio. Smaller than it seems on television, Williams’ desk is in the shape of an L, so as to have different angles to shoot, thus making the studio seem like it has more than one set. Behind the desk is a long screen, which we were told almost always has pictures of a control room projected onto it.

Next door to Williams’ studio is MSNBC’s, which was moved to New York in 2007. MSNBC, up until then, always came from New Jersey. The anchor desk in that studio is on a revolving circular stage that can rotate 250 degrees, thus providing more sets.

After that we headed to the NFL studio. A few fun facts about this particular studio: the Rosie O’ Donnell Show was shot in that studio for the first 6 years. Caroline Rhea was in there for 6 weeks, and the first episode of Jeopardy! was shot in that studio. In the back of the studio, behind the anchor desk was a set of screens. Our tour guides told us that usually a shot of the ice rink in the plaza is projected onto the screens, to make it look like those in there have a fabulous view. The view does not exist because that particular studio sits in the middle of the building. Tons of secrets like these were uncovered to the lucky tour guests.

While walking to the elevators once again, we were passing a bunch of rooms. Sunday night, when I was looking at buying tickets for the tour, I saw that on the website it said that seeing talent while on the tour is rare, but not impossible. While walking to the elevators, we saw Kathy Lee in hair and makeup.

The last studio we saw was studio 8H, or the SNL studio. When the studio was built, it was the largest studio in Manhattan. Now, it is just the largest in 30 Rock. When we were touring the studio, we saw the Grand Central stage and hundreds of lights and monitors and wires hanging over our heads. We were told that the SNL studio has almost perfect acoustics. Our tour guides also told us that stars like Judy Garland and Elvis Presley would pay out of their own pockets to come practice in that studio before they had shows elsewhere. They also said that if anyone has any talent at all, they will sound good while performing on SNL. If they sound bad, they probably don’t have any talent.

As a conclusion to our tour, everyone was taken to another studio to have their pictures taken. As my mom and I walked in, I sat down on the chair behind the anchor’s desk, and she stood next to me. Two pictures were taken of each group, and each party could view and buy them after the tour.

Joan of Arc in the Cloisters

Last night, my parents and I drove up to the Cloisters to see Joan of Arc. My old theology professor is a playwright in his spare time, and wrote the play we saw. This particular play experience is different than most, in that it is set in Ft.Tryon Park. The actors move from one makeshift stage to another, while the audience follows the show. The lights set up around the ground which the actors stand on reflect nicely in the trees above the stage, and provides a nice atmosphere for Joan of Arc.

The experience was very different. While moving from one part of the park to another, members of the audience would carry flashlights so everyone could see where he or she was walking. The play, which started at 8 pm ended at 10 pm, and guides escorted the bunch back to the park’s entrance at the close.

One of the nice things about this play was the size of the audience and proximity to the cast. The audience, about 50 people, provided a small but nice crowd to follow the cast around. Since the number of the audience was relatively small, everyone could have a close-up view of the actors and every expression.

Joan of Arc was put on by the Gorilla Repertory Theater Company and can be seen until Aug. 2nd.

JONAS Concert

On Monday night, the Jonas Brothers performed at Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum to a sold out and very boisterous crowd. Part of their World Tour, the brothers were slated to perform for 3 consecutive nights on Long Island before disembarking to their next stop, Philadelphia on Thursday.

Fans who come to the Jonas Brothers concerts are in for an extremely fun evening, from singing along to all the Jonas hits to being pelted with soap suds as Joe and Kevin spray the crowd with what appears to be water hoses. The special effects and equipment alone is amazing; the preparation and care that goes into filming and recording is unbelievable. Also on tour with the popular boy band and opening the concerts are season 6 American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, Honor Society, and the Wonder Girls.

Nassau Coliseum, or Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, was opened in 1972 and sits on 63 acres of Mitchel Field, a former Army and Air Force base. The Coliseum is currently the third-oldest arena in active-use by an NHL team, after Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena and Madison Square Garden and has the smallest capacity of all arenas in the NHL without standing room.

New York City Shopping

Want to indulge in world class shopping and dining? New York City is definitely one of the best places in the world to shop. Rockefeller Center is surrounded by shops, with a J. Crew and Anthropologie right in the building. After hitting the stores, head to the basement, where you’ll find eateries from Godiva Chocolates and Ben & Jerry’s to Hale and Hearty Soup, which boasts the best soup, salads, and sandwiches for miles. While there, you’ll see Rockefeller Center’s businessmen and women milling about buying lunch. Tables sit all around the basement, with a select few of them positioned right in front of the windows. These tables boast a close-up view at the ice-skating rink, which draws million of people in the fall and winter and draws huge tourist crowds in every season. In the spring and summer, the rink is turned into an outdoor eating area, with umbrella-covered tables and gorgeous displays of flowers.

Next head to Lord & Taylor-- the first major store built on Fifth Avenue. Samuel Lord and George Washington Taylor founded the company in 1826, and the flagship store on Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th streets opened its doors on February 24th, 1914. In December 2007, it was named a New York City landmark. If you visit the department store at Christmas time, be sure to take note of Lord & Taylor’s Christmas windows. The store was the first to present innovative Christmas windows filled with holiday displays rather than merchandise.

Macy's, however, is the most popular stop on every city shoppers' list. Macy's was founded by Rowland Hussey Macy in 1858. Macy moved to New York City and established a new store named R. H. Macy & Company on the corner of 14th Street and 6th Avenue; it later expanded to 18th Street and Broadway on the Ladies' Mile, the 19th century elite shopping district. It remained there for nearly 40 years. After Macy’s death in 1877, R.H. Macy & Co. was acquired by Isidor and Nathan Straus; and in 1902, the flagship store moved uptown to Herald Square at 34th Street and Broadway. The flagship store has been recognized as the world’s largest department store since 1924.