Lived in NYC for about ten yers now, but I'd never gone up to Central Park West on Thanksgiving Eve to watch them blow up the parade balloons. Well now I have...scratch another one off the list.

Next, the top of the Empire State Bldg, the Bronx Zoo, and telling a cabbie to "follow that car".

Spent the afternoon at MOMA yesterday for SAFE: Design Takes On Risk, a collection of over 300 products and prototypes designed to protect us from dangerous or stressful circumstances...basically a paranoid hypochondriac's Christmas wonderland. Pretty interesting glimpse of where we are, and where we're headed, in this wonderful color-coded world of ours.

Check out MOMA's online exhibition here for a complete collection of in-focus images. (they don't allow flash photography and I was a little hung-over)

Remind me again, why do I go to this every year?

PS: If you're going, you'll need to read this.

For anyone who's curious, this is what watching a tennis match from another county looks like.

Went to the Agassi/Ginepri semi-final yesterday. Great five-set match, with the old man coming out on top in front of a hugely biased crowd. You had to feel bad for Ginepri, as there was a giant "awww" every time Agassi hit one into the net. Robbie had to know the deal coming into it, though. And he did get a big hand at the end. But it was Andre's day, and could be his last win ever in Flushing, if Roger Federer has anything to say about

I know this is getting repetitive, I just really like amusement parks. Promise...this is the last one.

You can keep your Olympics. We've got mystery meat.

Today at the 90th Annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition, Takeru "Mad Dog" Kobayashi won his fifth consecutive title by forcing 49 pork casings into a human organ designed to hold maybe one-fifth that amount.

American Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas (Black Widow being the mandatory nickname given any female athlete of Asian descent) placed second. Her consumption of 37 frankfurters set an American record.

At the end, Ms. Thomas stated "My stomach doesn't hurt, but my jaw is tired..." at which point, dozens of bloggers rushed home to their keyboards to all write the same joke.

Click here for video of the competition, and an interview with the runner-up.

Click below for a series of really tiny, really blurry photos taken from the 30th row in the blazing sun.

I power-walked the ICFF before I went to work yesterday. (I need to hold my real job so that I can keep wasting my time on this thing) My first time here, and it was definitey alot to take in all at once. I'm going to concentrate on companies that are focused on keeping design fun, and there were alot of them.

Regarding this image, The table is by Ingo Maurer, and it's amazing. I've said it before...as soon as I learn how to start saving money, I plan to shop there alot.

1) Good crowd for the show.
2) Herbie makes an appearance.
3) Lexus concept car.
4) Sign of things to come.
5) For those wondering what to get me.
6) P. Diddy in the house.
7) Maybach...a steal at 378,000.00
8) Possibly the ugliest car I've ever seen
9) and my dad shows his position on imports.

My first auto show. A fun time for myself and my family.(and a gorilla of a reminder of why we're bringing democracy to Iraq instead of Africa, North Korea, Central America...) Sorry. It's fun, you should go.