October 29, 2004 [Friday]......The Walkmen
Tonight I went to a well known NYC venue, Webster Hall, to see the band The Walkmen. The Walkmen are another of the current crop of bands from New York with their own original sound.

Old-style subway car [nyc] 

Old-style subway car [nyc] 

October 27, 2004 [Wednesday]......100 Years of Subways
Today marks the 100 year anniversary since the New York subway system opened. During the day I went to the Subway Museum which is located in Brooklyn where they have a series of photos on exhibit showing the construction of the subway system which was quite amazing.

After work, I went uptown to the opening reception at the Whitney Museum for the sculptor, Isamu Noguchi, and artist Romare Bearden.

October 26, 2004 [Tuesday]......Gomez
Tonight was back to Irving Plaza to see the band Gomez. They are a British rock band who have 2 drummers and a couple of different singers.

October 25, 2004 [Monday]......Tommy Lee
This afternoon I went up to midtown where Tommy Lee, former drummer from Motley Crue was making an appearance at the Barnes & Noble, to promote his new book, "Tommyland".
After a wait of around an hour, I got to meet Tommy where he signed a drumstick and his book and posed for photos. He was pretty cool in person.

Tommy Lee signs copies of his new book [nyc] 

The Winnebago out front of the Paul Frank store in SoHo [nyc] 

October 24, 2004 [Sunday]......Paul Frank's Winnebago
Today we went to the second Paul Frank signing on his tour, this time was at the flagship Paul Frank store down in SoHo on Mulberry Street. It was quite a cold day out, but the good folks with Paul Frank handed out cups of hot chocolate to those of us waiting in line. We got some posters signed this time, but more importantly got to see the Winnebago parked out front that they are travelling around the country in.

Paul Frank signing at Bloomingdales [nyc] 

October 23, 2004 [Saturday]......Paul Frank is your Friend
This afternoon we went to Bloomingdales where the fashion designer Paul Frank was doing an in-store appearance. I took my Paul Frank skatedeck to get signed, whilst Anh took her Paul Frank edition Barbie to get signed. After meeting Paul Frank, they filmed and interviewed us for their website as Paul is travelling across the US on his "Get To Know Me Tour". Famously, Paul Frank does not fly, so they have a Winnebago they drive across the country in.

October 22, 2004 [Friday]......Ultimate Fighting
Caught the bus over to Atlantic City this afternoon on the way to the Ultimate Championship Fighting event. UFC is famous for being a sport that is banned in 48 states, and tonight was the pay-per-view event UFC 50. The trip to Atlantic City is just over 2 hours, once there I headed over to Boardwalk Hall where the event was being held. All up, there was around 7 fights and it lasted 4 hours or so. I had a lower level position, very close to where the fighters made their entrance from. The main draw tonight was Tito Ortiz in the main event, who eventually won on a points decision which left the crowd upset as they wanted a clear knock-down or submission from Tito. Usually, UFC events are held in Las Vegas so it was good to make use of seeing it when it was in the area.

October 21, 2004 [Thursday]......Rangers Reception Night
As a New York Rangers season ticketholder, I got an invite to a reception tonight where the Head Coach and VP of player personnel were discussing the plan they have for the team with season ticketholders. I haven't heard of many sports / teams which do this and actually have a Q&A where you can ask the head coach anything you want, so I wanted to go to this. The Rangers had to do something however, as at this stage the season hasn't started due to a player lock-out which could cancel the entire season, plus the Rangers have traded away almost their entire team to focus on young players. Not to mention that they haven't made the playoffs in years. All up, a fascinating night, hearing the Rangers talk about their players, plans and views on a variety of questions raised by angry fans.

Yankee Stadium: NY Yankees v Boston Redsox - Championship Game 7 [nyc] 

October 20, 2004 [Wednesday]......Curse of the Bambino - Game 7
Tonight is the deciding Game 7 of the MLB League Championship between NY Yankees and Boston Redsox. I headed up to the Bronx for one of the most anticipated games in recent history. Winner would go to the World Series, and for us Yankee fans, we were keen to see Boston lose and the Curse continue (Boston hasn't won a World Series since 1918).
After the Yankees blew a 3-0 game series lead, tonight was the deciding game 7. Unfortunately, Boston came out strong and the Yankee pitchers had nothing. A quick 6 run lead proved too much and Boston ended up winning 8-3 convincingly and depriving me of another World Series.

Former President Jimmy Carter book signing, Upper West Side [nyc] 

October 18, 2004 [Monday]......Another President
This evening we went up to the Borders Bookstore at Columbus Circle where former President Jimmy Carter was appearing to sign copies of 2 new books he had written. There was a good turnout to see him, but it only took an hour before we went at the front & being searched by the Secret Service. We then met Jimmy Carter who signed our books and said hello.

Later in the evening I ventured back to Times Square to a club where Public Enemy and Living Colour were playing in concert. This was the second time I have seen Living Colour and again they were very cool live.

October 17, 2004 [Sunday]......Pretty Boy Probst
Took a late brunch down at the Mayrose diner near Union Square this afternoon. This is around 10 blocks south of our apartment and one of the diners around town specialising in "comfortable food". Every time I have been past this place on the weekend it has been packed, often with a line coming out onto the footpath.
As we walked toward Mayrose, standing next to me on the street corner was the "Survivor" TV host, Jeff Probst (or Pretty Boy Probst as Boston Rob called him). He was with his model looking girlfriend and they went into a building quite near the Mayrose where we were heading.

Notre Dame v Navy college footbal game [nyc] 

October 16, 2004 [Saturday]......Fighting Irish
This afternoon I went to a college football game between Notre Dame (the Fighting Irish) and the Navy Midshipmen. This was a rare college football game in the New York metro area so I couldn't give up the chance to go see some of the college bands and fight songs and other traditions that are unique to the college game. Notre Dame won this game pretty easily in the end and probably 80% of the crowd were supporting them.

October 14, 2004 [Thursday]......Billy Does Poetry
Tonight at Virgin Megastore Union Square, former Smashing Pumpkins leader, Billy Corgan was making an appearance to sign copies of his new book of poetry. We dropped by and got a up-close look at Billy but couldn't bear to wait another hour in line to get a copy signed so passed on this one tonight. Took a walk around Union Square instead.

October 13, 2004 [Wednesday]......The BOSS Votes
A mere week ago, Bruce Springsteen announced they were extending the "Vote for Change" tour to a show in New Jersey. The tour is presented by MoveOn.org with the aim of removing Bush and the Republicans from the White House. They are touring several of the swing states in order to effect the states where it is most needed. I missed seeing one of Bruce's shows at Giants Stadium last year so was happy to see he would be playing a smaller venue and I could be down in the action. Although I can't vote, I still support the Vote for Change ideology.
In addition to Bruce & the E Street Band, John Fogerty, Jackson Browne and Eddie Vedder all played sets and joined Bruce onstage. This was quite a marathon show, it probably extended over 4.5 hours all up. The Boss came on for over 2 hours playing a great selection of his hits from over the years including some of my new favourites, "Mary's Place" and "Badlands". Not only was it great to see Springsteen, especially in his home state, but most people in the crowd look like they had been to several Springsteen shows in their time and knew most songs word for word.