what about the plastic animals?

A Worldly Puzzle

The globe puzzle caused a lot of teeth-gnashing over Christmas.  The last few pieces were difficult to get in.  I was about to give up after dropping a piece into the center had a small-fingered assistant not come to the rescue.

Red and Black in the North Woods

This black squirrel was nervously chirping away in Central Park's North Woods this afternoon.  I didn't think I was causing the dismay so I looked around and saw a couple of women gazing up at this tree:

A red-tailed hawk.  I guess the squirrel had good reason to be nervous.  Luckily for the squirrel, this time the hawk flew away after a few minutes.

Kallet Theater

One of several Kallet Theaters across Central New York, the Pulaski Kallet Theater has fallen on hard times.  The movie house opened in the mid-1930s and closed in the early 1980s.

Not that it mattered since our family never went to movies, but the Kallet was the closest theater to where we lived.  I saw Star Wars there in 1977!  After the movies left the building was used as an auto parts store.  The auto parts store has also closed.  Come to think of it, downtown Pulaski was beginning to resemble a ghost town when I was there in November.

The Kallet Theater in Oneida looks much healthier.

2009 Holiday Display

Here's a few photos of the most recent holiday season display.  This was one of my lesser efforts, there was no theme or excessive decorating.  People seemed to enjoy it nonetheless.

Oh, if you're a fan of old movie theaters do not look at tomorrow's post.

Running Around the Animals

Making its triumphant return, because my new camera does video, is the runaround of the holiday display movie.  Enjoy the twenty-eight seconds of blurry happiness!

Dignity

Brigadier General Edward Fowler led the Fort Greene-based 14th Regiment of the New York State National Guard, the Red-Legged Devils, in 22 battles during the Civil War.  At the Second Battle of Bull Run his regiment lost 860 of its 960 members.

The statue of Fowler was erected in Fort Greene Park in 1902.  The mid-20th century was not kind to the statue and after vandals unsuccessfully tried to tow it away in the 1960s it was put into storage.  In 1976 Lafayette Square, at the intersection of Lafayette St., Fulton St. and South Elliott Place, was refurbished and renamed Fowler Gore and the statue was reinstalled.

On Sunday the general was valiantly trying to maintain his dignity, despite his holiday headgear.  He reminds me of another military man, Major Horace Applegate as played by Charles Ruggles in "Bringing Up Baby".  Unfortunately, I did not get to hear his leopard call.

Williamsburg Savings Bank

The Brooklyn Flea has moved its market indoors for the winter.  Indoors this year being One Hanson Place, the former Williamsburg Savings Bank, the tallest building in Brooklyn.  It is just a hunch, but I don't think Citibank has that dedication inscribed on any of their buildings.

A Live One

A funny thing happened while I was putting away the holiday display.  One of the creatures moved!  The little guy on the right was a not-quite-dead insect of some sort. It didn't have enough strength to right itself so I helped him/her out and wished it well.

Keith Kill-A-Bug

These handwritten signs have popped up everywhere in the neighborhood within the past week.

Constant Style

Evidence that my sartorial choices have remained constant through the years. Not sure what I was doing with my arms there.

More fun: This seal thinks it is a squirrel. The Arcade is reason enough to visit Cleveland. That picture is from 1901. It was beautiful when I was there in the early 1990s and it has since been renovated.