Category Archives: Features

Citigroup Center’s Holiday Trains Display (12/2008)

These photos are a couple of years old as you can see by the date in the title that I gave to the posting, but they have never been presented to the readers of the PiercingKen blog since it did not yet exist. Since its overall goal is to share some of the adventures in life and photography that I have taken I wanted to post these for all of you to enjoy.

the station at citigroup center, holiday trains display

One of the coolest things that a corporate entity can do is deliver something that makes people smile and engages the spirit of the holidays for free. Such was the case found with the annual model train display that was set up in the lower level of the Citigroup Center for many years. Taking a couple of sentences from its description the massive display is said to feature thirty-one trains circle through the display, which portrays a journey from Weehawken, New Jersey, just outside New York City, to a fictional town in the Hudson River valley, then up to the Catskills and the Adirondacks.” Let’s begin our walking tour of this massive train setup.

the station at citigroup center, holiday trains display

My timing of the visit was not the smartest one as it was only a day after the Christmas holiday and that pretty much meant that EVERY tourist in the city was interested in seeing these same trains in all their glory.

the station at citigroup center, holiday trains display
Continue reading Citigroup Center’s Holiday Trains Display (12/2008)

Foodtastic: Cooking Up Some 3 Bean Chili

One of the dishes that I have loved for a long, long time is chili. My Mom cooks it a few times a year (especially in the colder seasons) and I always look forward to it when she makes it. With many of my friends being amateur level gourmands that frequently offer up samples of their own wares, it was only a matter of time before I started boasting my own branding of the stuff. Of course only a few select number of friends have been able to try it out and now with the new personal blog, I decided to discuss my most recent cooking adventure with the stuff. I hope that you like our take on this concoction.

Before going any further, I wanted to say that this was not at all a conventional chili recipe that used only the typical meat and kidney beans along with a dose of spicy seasoning. In my view of it, chili can be looked at as a bit of a pot luck recipe where anything goes depending on what you have at hand. With this in mind, I decided to try some very different ingredients this time around to see what came of it. Let’s begin with what you’ll need to mix it up.
Continue reading Foodtastic: Cooking Up Some 3 Bean Chili

“All You Need Is MP3’s” The Beatles Are Now On ITunes :)

band logos, the beatles, the beatles logo

Back in 2009 I did a little blog post on my PiercingMetal Musings announcing that the entire catalog of The Beatles was being remastered and released in both Stereo and Mono box sets. Fans that only wanted a few select albums would have the chance to snare those as well and you can refresh your memory HERE if you like.

Well now the big news is that this same catalog is finally available on iTunes and it really was not as timely as people had expected. Its been out on physical CD in the new version for over a year but there was some issues in getting the proper okays to do it in the digital manner. That made me decide to add the new news to the side blog since I was walking down 14th Street and saw that massive billboard on top of the Apple Store for all the world to see. Personally speaking, I prefer The Beatles catalog on CD and not MP3 but that is probably because I no longer have a digital music player.

Official Website: www.thebeatles.com

What’s In A Name? Shutters…..

Please pardon the interruption to your regularly scheduled Internet browsing but I just wanted to share this observation with you since it struck me as kind of odd. The other day I was heading back from the PDN Photo Expo with my good buddy Skeleton Pete and as we headed to the event we noticed how the bar once known as Shutters was now for lack of a better word “shuttered”.



I had never been to the establishment but did find it fascinating at the wordplay. Alright that is all I have for you now. Carry on and thanks for listening.