Another trip to New York

Thursday afternoon, I travelled to New York for a series of meetings. One of the meetings was with Crown's Director of Publicity, Christine Aronson. Christine and I are finalizing the plans for the appearances and readings when Look Me in the Eye goes on sale (September 25th.) I will be adding a calendart section to the blog and http://www.johnrobison.com/ as soon as she confirms the dates from our meeting.


I've got a lot going on now, so I can't write too much, but I've got a few photos of the highlights of my trip.





Here is a view of my hotel, the Park Lane, seen from Central Park, which is right across the street. It's quite pretty in there, and in spots you could almost forget that it's all man made.

Indigenous fauna is visible most everywhere in the park. In my short visit, I saw several types of bird, a fish, two kinds of squirrel, and three species of rat.

There are many native trees, and ornamental flowers and bushes are everywhere. One noteworthy difference between the park and the woods back home is the almost total absence of hiding places among the vegetation. Presumably that is done to control predators.






This is a photo of me with three other authors after I lured them into the park. From the left are Kim Stagliano, Holly Kennedy, Pat Wood, and me.

Some of the apparent size difference between me and them is an optical illusion.

After expressing the belief that she was about to win at least twenty-four million dollars in the Powerball lottery, Holly bought all of us lunch at Mickey Mantle's, a famous restaurant across the street, on Central Park South.

I ate a small but tasty meat snack, garnished with mushroom bits.





My hotel is in a qiuet part of town, but Holly and Pat stayed at the Double Tree at Times Square, where it rocks all night long.

Here is the view on the ground outside their hotel at midnight.
Unlike the cars in my home town, the cars in New York do not stop for pedestrians, unless they lodge underneath and disable the vehicle. Great caution is required to take pictures in the street in the big city.










Many of New York's tall buildings are faced with reflective glass to prevent solar heat gain from overcoming the air conditioning systems.

One side effect of glass facing is that you can often see buildings reflected in other buildings, as shown in this photo.

Builders in New York have mastered the art of securing huge, heavy sheets of glass with glue and pins. Those of you who have struggled to hang a sheet of mirror glass in your bathroom should be able to appreciate the magnitude of this accomplishment. Many of these sheets weigh several hundred pounds, and they must remain affixed to the buildings through extremes of hot and cold, and wind, snow, and rain.


I will have more to say, and it will be backed up with pictorial evidence.

Check back shortly.

Comments

Holly Kennedy said…
I didn't win the powerball *sigh*. Maybe they have something against Canadians?!!

However, you can hold me to my promise. Should I win a lottery anywhere in the next two months (ie., $1 million or more) you, and Kim and her family are coming to Maui in August for the Writers Retreat & Conference -- my treat. Pat and I would soooo love to have you join us there.

If not, I guess we'll see you in New York again next spring when we return in April 2008
It's always a treat to see you, John. And to watch Pat and Holly "volley" was a howl. But where's the optical illusion? You're 6'4" tall. I'm 5'4" tall. And I'm guessing you have a hundred pounds on me? We were walking everywhere so flats were in order.

Holly, better rent my little circus a private jet!

We had great fun. Thanks for everything!
ORION said…
I too had SO MUCH FUN talking with you...actually wasn't it ME doing all the talking? If it was I apologize!!!
And John actually is only 4 foot nine. He has the most realistic elevator shoes I have ever seen...
Sandra Cormier said…
How nice that you were all able to get together. I didn't win the 649 either, so I guess I have to keep my day job for a while longer.
Drama Mama said…
Your pictures make me salivate. I will be in NY in a few short weeks. I start to feel anxious if I am away for too long.

Never been to Mickey Mantle's,though. My offspring are FORCING me to go to the American Girl Department Mecca; 4 stories of dolls and doll hospitals, doll restaurants, and a doll theatre. Bizarre enough for you?

Of course, I am torturing them by making them see plays.

Can't wait.

And I also can't wait to read that darned book of yours. You are forcing me to read the summer sludge proffered by the Borders nearby. Sludge, I tell you.
Unknown said…
If you love Central Park, perhaps you'd be interested in my new legal thriller, A Good Conviction ... with several scenes set in Central Park and featuring runners (a runner finds the body) and the NYC marathon, which my wife ran 7 times. You can find my book at …

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Conviction-Lewis-M-Weinstein/dp/1595941622/ref=sr_1_1/103-7341421-1865416?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180587686&sr=8-1

LEW WEINSTEIN
John Robison said…
Drama Mama, you may be interested to hear that I had an encounter with sludge myself, just last week.

I have some buildings that I rent out to people who fix cars. They have drains in the floors, and the drains go out to the city sewer.

Between the sewer and the building is a trap for oil and sludge. And last week, I cleaned them out.

Five thousand pounds of oily sludge, accumulated over fifteen years.

Makes your mouth water, doesn't it?

Vile stuff. The book will taste better, I assure you. Soak it overnight before you eat it, though.
Irene said…
I enjoyed reading about both your NY experiences. From the movies, I fully expected something similar to your earlier experience. Thankfully, my first NYC experience (02/2007) was more like your second. I DID, however, have two really great "tour guides" so maybe they skipped over the "grimy" spots. I am so excited to be moving to the east coast. NYC will (hopefully) be a place we frequent.

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