New York City, NY

New York... I get now why they call it a concrete jungle.  I have never seen so many buildings before, in such a small space.  The lights are always on, like in Vegas, and the city constantly bustling. When we first arrived, we had to make our way from Manhattan to Flushing, Queens, and as we took the train, we watched the sun rise on an enormous city.  The buildings and rooftops go on for miles.... LA is enormous, but you don't feel dwarfed when standing in the middle of it.  In New York you do.  

From the rooftop.

Central Park

Los Angeles, CA: Rally to Restore Sanity

"While an estimated 60,000 people gathered on the mall in Washington DC to rally under the leadership of Comedy Central hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, about 1,000 Angelenos made their way to MacArthur Park this morning to watch the live telecast, reports CBS.

There was a lot of humor, a lot of music, a lot of star power, and a lot of solid soundbites worth contemplating and, for many, quoting. "Families have brought their kids and dogs for a relaxing day under partly cloud skies and mild temperatures," reported Neon Tommy. "Folks on Twitter are also calling the event a relaxing affair.""
-laist.com

"This was a not a rally to ridicule people's faith or people's activism... or suggest that times are not difficult or that we have nothing to fear. They are and we do. But we live in hard times, not end times. And we can have animus and not be enemies..."  Jon Stewart

 

Meanwhile in Washington DC.....

To read colbert's inaugaration of fear poem:

Did you hear that? 

No? You’re probably going deaf.

It’s your kids back home

Cooking up some crystal meth.

Did you turn off the oven?

Did you set the alarm?

They still haven’t caught

The man with one arm.

Look around at these people,

How safe do you feel?

Your car when you parked,

Did you lock it?

Thinking reasonably now,

What are the odds, 

That nobody here is a pick-pocket?

That guy who just coughed on your neck,

Could he have an infection?

The restaurant where you went to brunch,

Did it fail its health inspection?

A mad man could set loose a virus,

For which there isn’t a cure,

And while these things may be unlikely,

Ask yourself, ‘Are you sure?’

And can you be sure

You won’t get Ebola from a tainted Diet Cola,

Toxic Waste or getting chased by a bearded Ayatollah

Funnel clouds and hail,

Anthrax in the mail

Your lover will discover your vestigial tale

Someone’s robbing your house,

I can see through your blouse

Your mother was right,

You choose the wrong spouse

Unlabeled Drano, tornadoes, torpedoes, 

The horrible sight

Of some Guidos in Speedos,

STD’s, PCP’s, SUV’s, UV light.

A giant pimple on your face:

You have a date tonight.

Choking on a biscotti

Being whacked by John Gotti

Getting trapped overnight

In a full porta potty

And I have one final fear to drop in your bucket,

About a friend of a friend

Of the man from Nantucket:

There once was a man from Oclair,

Who no one was able to scare,

He wouldn’t join panics,

About the Hispanics,

And later he was killed by a bear.

True Story.