New York Potpourri

I arrived safely back in Toronto from New York on Wednesday afternoon. Here is an update on the rest of my adventures in the Big Apple, including a few details I neglected in earlier posts.

My Cousin Rocks with Frank

Upon arriving at Anton's apartment from the airport the day I arrived, I found a note in the front hall instructing me to immediately hit "play" on iTunes on the computer. Doing so cued Frank Sinatra to start singing New York, New York. What a perfect welcome to the city.

Spider-Man Week in NYC

My time in the city overlapped with Spider-Man Week, another promising omen of the good luck I'd have duirng my visit; I obsessively collected Spider-Man comics in my teens. As part of the promotional brouhaha, the public library had classic Spider-Man comics on display, including several issues I have in my collection. Am I really that old?

Day of Rest and a Festival Film

Last Sunday was spent not only recovering from last Saturday, but also attending the final day of the 6th annual Tribeca Film Festival. Every year, festival attendees vote on their favorite film of the festival (known as the Cadillac Award). Anton, Vinaya, and I saw this year's winner, a very moving documentary called We Are Together (Thina Simunye). British filmmaker Paul Taylor followed the efforts of a ramshackle South African orphanage as they tried to raise money by producing a CD of their orphans singing. The music was beautiful and the personalities of the young children, most of whom had lost their parents to AIDS, were irrepressible. The children had been in New York to accompany the film at the festival, but unfortunately had already left by the screening we saw. A wonderful film. See it if you can.

Author! Author!

On my last full day in the city, I paid a visit to Mark Shulman, long-time New Yorker and co-author of the first book I edited for Annick, Attack of the Killer Video Book: Tips and Tricks for Young Directors (available at fine bookstores everywhere -- get yours today!). Mark gave me a great skyline tour from his building's rooftop and then took me for a pair of mini-burgers at Pop Burger.

We finished up with a quick jaunt through the Chelsea Market, housed in an old Nabisco factory. Unfortunately, I had to rush off to finish my prep-work for the following day's sales conference, otherwise I would love to have spent the rest of the day touring the city with Mark -- he's an excellent guide (and a talented writer, why not pick up a copy of Attack of the Killer Video Book and find out?).

Leave 'em Laughing

I spent my last night in New York rounding out my Broadway experience (begun on my first night with Deuce) by seeing Monty Python's Spamalot. Lotsa laughs -- a great time at the theatre.
My presentations at the next day's sales conference went smoothly, and I managed to catch an earlier flight home, making for a perfect ending to a fantastic trip. Forget San Francisco; I left my heart in New York. Fortunatley, I can pick it up when I'm there again next month.