Multimedia Manhattan

[bironic]

Back when I did the photo meme, roga asked for a photo of my favorite place in the city. It took me a while to figure out what that would be: the view of the skyline from the BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway). Unfortunately, since I'm always driving, and alone, it's not too smart to snap a photo. Well, on Saturday I finally had the chance as my mother and sister and I took the scenic route on the way back from Pennsylvania—and as a bonus, my sister's camera takes video, so here are two shaky clips.


1. The kinda crappy video: Driving on the BQE alongside Manhattan. This is the southeast side of the city, where the World Trade Center used to be. The buildings are much closer than the camera makes it look (and much better detailed and colored than YouTube makes it look). When I pan left, it's to show you the Statue of Liberty, which is ... that tiny spiky thing in the middle. That'd be my mother talking in the background over The Who, advising on shots to take, because she didn't catch the part where I said I'd be taking video, not stills.

[Embedded below, or better-quality download link from yousendit/27MB: http://download.yousendit.com/0B43A60670114D12]

(YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENieppFcK_s)


2. The better video: Driving under the Brooklyn Bridge, with a bonus shot of my palm. This time, you can sort of hear my mother saying she didn't realize I was taking video and my sister making fun of her.

[Download link from yousendit, because YouTube refuses to upload this one, even though it's only 20 seconds long/11MB: http://download.yousendit.com/65F9792F07747512]


Then the camera battery died, so that's all you get.

For a laugh, here's a sign at the corner gas station we stopped at that morning:



Only in America.

Comments

[roga.livejournal.com]

Pretty! You know, I see New York almost exclusively through the media, and your short clip reminded me that the city isn't Metropolis - it, like, exists. In real life.

And I've never seen that angle of it (in RL), never been on the Brooklyn Bridge, but it sure looks beautiful. (And also, I can't get over the fact that yo drive in NYC every day. That's... *shudder*. So much worse than Tel Aviv.)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

You can get an up-close-and-personal view of the Brooklyn Bridge from South Street Seaport on the Manhattan side or by a fantastic pizza place called Grimaldi's on the Brooklyn side. It's really beautiful. You can walk across it, too, although I haven't ever done it.

I can't get over the fact that yo drive in NYC every day. That's... *shudder*.

Ohhhhh, no. I have yet to steer a car in Manhattan, although I've been a passenger there many times before. Nooo, thank you. Where I commute is further out on Long Island, and driving that close to the city is still a special, thrilling treat for me. It's a magical thing to crest the hill on the LI Expressway in Queens and catch the first glimpse of the city skyline (there, foregrounded by the skeletal remains of the World's Fair -- the stuff from Men in Black). But I always hook left/south into Brooklyn and never take the last few exits into Manhattan proper.

[roga.livejournal.com]

I've never been to Brooklyn. Manhattan yes, Queens exactly three times (and really, practically the only thing I recognize in Queens is the MIB place), and the Botanical Gardens - wait, are those in Brooklyn or the Bronx? Bronx, I think? Saw the Chihuli exhibition, which was gorgeous.

I drove in Manhattan once, just to return the rental car, and I was terrified. I wanted to let one of the guys drive instead, and didn't on principle, but yikes. And you have to plan everything ahead, because once you're in go figure which streets are one-way only, and which direction, and how many lanes you're gonna have. Thankfully, the crazy rain eased up once I entered the city, which kind of felt like a gift from God. In any case, not an experience I'd like to repeat. And driving makes you miss the pretty view :-(

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Isn't it? Glad it made you laugh too.

[thirdblindmouse.livejournal.com]

Hey, free air is nothing to sneer at; in some places they charge 25 cents for that stuff! ;)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Like in Cambridge? :)

[thirdblindmouse.livejournal.com]

On the plus side, I hear it's 100% organic.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Heh.

[purridot.livejournal.com]

Just like in the movies!!! *marvels* That is co cool

Not to sound macabre, but does the Brooklyn Bridge have a suicide barrier? I almost thought so from the clip.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Just did some quick-quick Internet research, and it doesn't look like it. Many stories of people who've jumped, and some stats on how high the roadway is from the water vs. the towers vs. other bridges, but no mention of barriers. I guess it's just a regular railing.

Er -- the smiling Wilson is for the "so cool" comment, not the suicides.