Manhattanhenge

Manhattanhenge: when the sun aligns spectacularly with the NYC street grid.

For 2014 the dates for Manhattanhenge fall on May 29th and July 12th, when the setting Sun aligns precisely with the Manhattan street grid, creating a lovely glow of light across the backdrop of the city, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough's grid. 

For these two days, as the Sun sets on the grid, half the disk sits above and half below the horizon. The day after (May 30th) and the day before (July 11) also offer Manhattanhenge moments, but at sunset, you instead will find the entire ball of the Sun on the horizon.

Half Sun on the Grid Times

Thursday, May 29 8:16 P.M. EDT
Saturday, July 12 8:25 P.M. EDT

Full Sun on the Grid Times

Friday, May 30 8:18 P.M. EDT
Friday, July 11 8:24 P.M. EDT

If you're going to check it out, then arrive a half-hour earlier than the times given above.

For best effect, position yourself as far east in Manhattan as possible. But ensure that when you look west across the avenues you can still see New Jersey. Clear cross streets include 14th, 23rd, 34th. 42nd, 57th, and several streets adjacent to them. 

“Try to say nothing negative about anybody.
a) for three days
b) for forty-five days
c) for three months

See what happens to your life.”

— Yoko Ono, "Cleaning Piece III"

Amy Poehler's Book 'Yes Please'

COMES OUT OCTOBER 28TH, 2014!

As I've mentioned before, I cannot wait for this since it'll likely be FANTASTIC. You can pre-order it on Amazon, if you so choose.

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The Cannonball Run

I can't give you specific reasons why I've always loved this movie so much. I saw it at a really young age, so that might have made it more enjoyable than it actually is in reality. I also remember the scene where some women get out of a ticket by showing a lot of cleavage, and that has stuck with me to this day - just the boldness of that. And Sammy Davis Jr.? C'mon. I always had a crush on that weird looking little man. He seemed like he would've been nice. (Burt Reynolds always seemed like he'd be an uber dick, so I barred him by any early fantasies.) Anyway, all of this reasoning is nonsense, so just watch. The whole movie's on YouTube (which is amazing and I love it when that happens).

This Dog's Face

Hahahahahah. Man.

Someone Is Hiding Cash For You To Find in San Francisco

Hidden Cash is the Twitter handle of an anonymous person who is leaving stashes of cash in public places in the San Francisco Bay Area. The person said they had made “millions of dollars” in the San Francisco real estate market and he/she is looking for a way to give back. The person says they intend to stash cash once or twice a week and have no plans to stop. His/her explanation?

"There is nothing commercial behind this. It is a social experiment. I’ve made millions of dollars the last few years, more than I ever imagined, and yet many friends of mine, and people who work for me, cannot afford to buy a modest home in the Bay Area. This has caused me quite a bit of reflection. I am determined to give away some of the money I make, and in addition to charity, to do it in fun, creative ways like this. "

“Write something more than just “Happy Birthday” in cards. A joke, a compliment, a wish, ANYTHING.”

— #lizadvice

My Portrait by Michel Gondry

A few years ago (I'm gonna guess it was 2009, yikes) Michel Gondry had a deal where you'd pay him $20, send a photo of yourself and he'd draw you and mail you the finished portrait. I waited about two years for mine since, obviously, a lot of people signed up to have it done. He later upped the price to $100/per portrait and I'm pretty sure he stopped doing them altogether (which completely makes sense, who would want to offer something like this forever).

Anyway, here it is. I've always thought it was repugnant, but I was so happy to have gotten it since I'm still a big fan of his. It's actually grown on me over the years, I think. Of course I wanted to love it right away, but being 24 years old and painfully vain (at the time/still?) couldn't have helped things. I remember being way more excited at the thought of him sitting down at some desk looking at my photo and drawing me. I still think he's amazing for doing as many as he did. Man's great.

Healthy Banana Pancakes

As you already know, I'm into making pancakes. And this (flourless) recipe is, surprisingly, really good. Definitely try it out. All I ask of you is to please, oh, please get some pure (and likely Canadian) maple syrup to accompany your meal. Ignore the cheap, sugary brands and get the expensive, simple-ingredient-list kind of maple syrup. I know that it's easy to indulge in that corn-syrupy trash (and I am not one to judge), but c'mon. We can't live our lives on Mrs. Butterworth. (And to be fair, I only excessively endorsed that IHOP stuff whilst on vacation, if that helps my case at all. And clearly, my vacation self gives in to food temptation.)

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