"Supermena the Halloween Hound"

Supermena isn't the only hound out haunting, or, in her case, protecting Metropolis this Halloween.



The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA), based in Greenwich, says 7-percent of dog owners have purchased Halloween costumes for their campy canines.



The association's 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey shows the number of dogs donning disguises is on the rise. Back in 2004, only 4-percent said they had bought duds to doll up the dog.







Here you see Supermena outside the Daily Planet. She was taking a break between deadlines to put out fires, lift buses over busted bridges and to help tourists find the subway.



The National Retail Federation also conducted a survey on doggie dressing. The NRF found a higher number of dog owners, 11-percent, had purchased a costume for the dog.



Pet parents also say they plan to offer TREATS in the form of Halloween toys and goodies. There was no information on how many owners dress up with their pets.



For a look back at Supermena's haunted NYC, click here for a tour.

Polo Lesson at Greenwich Polo

Pete and J

"You can't get me to listen to the god damn radio..."

Newest member of the pig pen.

Taken at 9:11 on 9-11

I looked at my cell phone and it was 9:11pm. So I took this picture of what I could see of the Tribute Light from where I was in Riverside Park. I could only really see one bit of light throught the clouds. Not sure where these light sources are coming from, so I'm calling this Dancing Spirits.

Plaza reflection.

Now I know why I paint upside down images. They are reflections on something or maybe myself.

Ducks after the rain.

Trump is building a Fort.

The doorman nodded and smiled at me, then addressed the dog in a hello. He looked a little embarrassed when he suddenly realized what he did. But my dog returned the nod. She expected it. She is finally one of those dogs.
Now I can write of the doorman and other people who touch her. Maybe of how she imagines for that second, life with them.

yah. the drink man is here.

Summer Stage NYC. Grizzly Bears. Decemberists. Central Park with Mena. "Budwiser, Coors Light, cold water."
Not as agressive as in the Sheep Meadow. That guy had a portable blender and mixed up pina coladas and mojitos by your side.

Pigga needs help

Express Yourself with Gizmoz Video Clips

Central Park Wild Kingdom

Early morning in Central Park is for the birds. They were chirping near the tree you see below. However, if you look closer at the picture below it, you see there is a hawk in the tree.

A man in the park walking four dogs, of which only three were his, pointed out the hawk. He said it was watching one squirrel in particular. We didn't see it get that squirrel, but it did spread its wings and swoop to reperch on a nearby tree.

He told me this is a young hawk. It is the one that fell onto 54th street and was rescued, finally released in Central Park. He says it sits every morning near the Hecksher fields in the park.

Cool Accident

Hot, humid and outdoors at a Brazilian soccer camp in Fairfield, Connecticut. Trying to manage in a suit and high heels, moving and carrying video equipment and two cells, somehow something pushed the camera button and take on this phone. The result is a picture of either my shadow or my videographer's. She ended up with near heat stroke this last part of June in CT. I got a cool picture.

Lunch at Bistro du Soleixl

Memorial Day in Central Park

You can slightly see the fountain that Mena was in with the German Shepard in the background. This memorial Day, Mena takes a moment to appreciate the flowers and what US service men and women do to protect their country 365 days of the year.

Mena does Fleet Week

New York City Memorial Day weekend. Many people are in the Hamptons, Jersey Shore or Connecticut. That means there is plenty of parking and you can get dinner reservations. Plus there are numerous service men and women walkng around with a smile.

Memorial Day Weekend

Many people go out of town this weekend. But the dogs that stay around love the fountains. Some get the Hamptons some get Connecticut or Jersey Shore. Willamena and this unknown male hottie enjoy the fountain in Central Park. Plus, for those in the city, they can get dinner reservations and parking spots and machines at the gym. This is the weekend to stay around. Winter should be the Miami escape. Know of a house share for me there November through February?

Brunch at Cafe con Leche. Without coffee

People are walking to nearby Starbucks and diners to bring coffee to their tables. Their is coffee on the menu, but somehow they don't have cafe today. Cafe sans Cafe.

Vegas Vacation

I've arrived in Vegas via a Rolls Royce.
Then I took the $5.75 shuttle to my hotel, The Four Seasons. But the shuttle isn't allowd by the hotel to drop me off there (no stinky shuttles!) So he left me at Mandalay Bay, which is ultimately the same location. The Four Seasons is the top four flours of the Bay.

Baby bird in Central Park Tree

This little guy is crying for some reason. Constant chirp chirp. Guess its about time to fly the nest.

Lunch at LaPaella in Norwalk

This tapas bar is on Main street in Norwalk near the New York Deli where a Mets, Yankees and Red Sox fan all work side by side in close quarters. Lori is having the ten-dollar buffet. I'm enjoying the pear, endive and blue cheese salad. We stopped at three places before deciding on this place. Very tasty. But I think I am still full from yesterday's stuffed spinach bread at Ambrosia bakery in the Devon section of Milford. Yesterday did a story on how the town is turning porn into chai. Can't wait for that place to open. M-Bellish cafe and tea room.

Brunch

Just a little reflection time on the day and what I need to accomplish this weekend as well as into next week.
1. Match work blog
2. Opening day of baseball hot dog tour blog
3. Prepare presentation for Career Day
4. Update bio
5. Bill time. Figure.
6. Promised resume update.
7. Plan week's stories. Make call list.
Damned weekend is too short. I need time to read and workout and walk and bathe the dog and clean the apartment. (apt at bottom of list)

A Bed Blog Byte

I just love lying in bed and blogging. Wow. What else will our PDAs eventually allow us to do in bed wireless?
Yes, you can probably tell by the lighting that I am lying in bed in the middle of the afternoon.
Yeah, so what. I have an excuse. I am forced out of bed weekdays by 3:20 a.m.
But home now what is better than blogging in bed watching Southpark via DVR. Having to get up at 3:20 you don't expect me to catch the 10:00 p.m. new episodes?
With PDAS, people can blog from anywhere there is cell service. So I won't be blogging from the subway. Wait - I can type without service. I only need service to send. Wow. Even subway bogging. Blogging while waiting in lines. Blogging during commercials. Blogging at restaurants, concerts and bodegas.
Oh no! No html on my PDA. Always room for improvement. I'll have to upgrade when they offer html-able PDAs.

another sign of spring.

you can't ignore buds on the trees. soon your sinuses will burn.

willamena at cental park water drizzle

willamena has been getting some nice walks in central park. this is her favorite watering hole in the ramble.

Empire State Building in Black and White

In sticking with the dog and pretzel vendor theme, here is a mobile phone picture of the Empire State Building tonight. Wonder why the colors are just white? Me too. They change depending on the season and event. See the schedule here. Friday yellow lights will be added to the mix in celebration of Spring and Easter. Then on April 4th, for one day, all lights will be yellow. It's the 100th anniversary of the Yellow Cab. I'll try to get a pic for you.

spring in nyc

Overcast. Threat of rain. Yet enjoyable temperatures near mid 50's. The most telling sign of spring now in New York City is the return of the mr. softy soft-serve trucks on almost every corner. There also seem to be additional pretzel and dog carts. Plus the outdoor restaurants in the park are opening.

mobile blog

Snow! Finally. But barely measurable.

Driving home from work Friday morning was such a pretty sight along the Merritt I had to stop and take this picture. Looks like a nice park, but its actually from the gas station off the parkway in Greenwich.

Unfortunatley by the time I was home in New York City, there was no snow left in Central Park for my dog to root through. So she is still waiting for her first snow of the season.

Her dilemma is a little like that of some children in southwestern Connecticut. It snowed throughout the region Thursday night leaving a dusting to a half an inch. And when they woke up for school Friday morning, it was lightly snowing again. Unfortunately for them, still NOT a snow day.

We had an interesting conversation Friday morning just before starting the newscast at 5:30. That morning's light snow had not started yet, and we were trying to figure out what to call the snow that had fallen Thursday night. Of course it was the first time the utilities crews sent out the trucks to treat the roadways, and we had video of that. But, could we really call it a measurable snow fall?  In some areas, the snow melted as it touched the ground. In others, like Wilton and Redding, we had reports of up to a half-an-inch accumulating. So, I asked our morning weather guru, Paul Piorek, and he said records go by the Weather Station at Sikorsky airport. He said at that point there was no measurable snow there, meaning ultimately our first snow wouldn't be recorded as having been a snowfall!

But, by later in the morning it started snowing again, leaving another layer. So, finally. More than halfway through January, snow!  It's finally here. Time now for me to start perusing travel sites for my warm weather beach get-away!

Breaking a No-Snow Record

The lastest southwestern Connecticut has ever had its first snow fall of the season is January 11th. Since it's not going to snow today, we're breaking a record.

This is a picture of my aunt's house in New Mexico. Last month she got 18-inches of snow. Southwestern Connecticut got none!

SInce our region hasn't had snow yet this winter, some residents are a bit BUGGED!

Some say they just like the seasons and feel they are missing out. For others, business has been bad. Sales of snow-related gear is down. And for the kids they just want a Snow Day off to play.

Weather statistics from the past 40-years are compiled to compose average snowfall amounts. Thanks to my morning weather man, Paul Piorek for these numbers.

The average monthly snowfall based on 40 years of averages (climatology)
November: 0.6"
December: 4.9"
January: 8.5"

But looking at the ACTUAL snowfall for southwestern Connecticut:
November 2006: None; November 2005: 1.0"
December 2006: None; December 2005: 11.5"
January 2007: None; January 2006: 5.5"

Yet these stats don't mean we'll skip winter. Look at what happened last year. The majority of the snow fell in February. So much, in fact, the storm on the 11th and 12th was categorized as a federal emergency.

Plus, March 2nd, 2006 was a day off for kids; snow day! There was even a dusting of snow on the first day of Spring! Speaking of Spring, it's only 69 days away. Only ten weeks to go. (As you can tell I'm not one of the people pleading for snow.)

However, here is something funny I found. Easter candy out on the counter at a drugstore. Right there with all the Valentine's candy, chocolate eggs. I couldn't help but thinking, Easter candy out before the first snowfall of the winter season? It just so happened it was to the manager of the store I did my musing. He said he has boxes of it already in the back, and that those few boxes of eggs are all he has put out yet. But so far they're selling!

Resolutions: How Are You Doing?

This time of year we see numerous stories on New Year's Resolutions. However, when is the last time you noticed follow-ups in June? I think if we were reminded of our commitments throughout the year, we'd have a better success rate. It's said most resolutions are forgotten by the end of January!

As I was doing this year's "What's Bugging You" piece on keeping resolutions, a woman in Norwalk told me she never keeps resolutions so she never makes them. She also says she feels it's gimmicky. I think that's the key. We slosh champagne, we laugh and make resolutions for the New Year. However, they're not taken seriously.

For the past couple of years I've spoken with Stratford resident Dr. Donald Wetmore of the Productivity Institute for advice on keeping resolutions. He says he spend the first week of every year developing his game plan for his goals and resolutions. For instance, he says you can't succeed at saving money if you don't map out exactly how you are going to do it. 

So what are you going to do this year? I've created this web poll to see what most SAY they will do. I'll check back with you in June to see HOW you are doing.

While you are devising strategies to keep your resolutions, here are some links to facts related to and the history ofNew Year's Resolutions.