USTA OPEN PICKS, PICS AND FOOD

Went to USTA Open for a few events.  First was the Open Draw picking who will play who in first round as well as an interview with Serena Williams and more that was being broadcast on online tv.

That's Bethanie Mattek-Sands who will be giving the play by play on whatever channel this is.

 Serena was given top seed. 



Prior to going inside I got a few shots of Serena and who might have been Venus.  Not sure as fans were screaming, "I love you, Serena" the whole time.

Second part of the day was devoted to learning about what new foods are going to be available at the game.

Second seed Simona Halep joined the food scene and chefs to find out about what to expect.

ENVIRONMENT SIZZLES IN QUEENS MUSEUM SHOW

Temperatures may be back around freezing although at the Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows Corona Park things appear to be heating up.

In February, the museum opened “Raising the Temperature: Art in Environmental Reactions,” in conjunction with the Rainforest Art Foundation. The exhibition explores mankind’s negative influence on the environment.

“I arranged the artists in two trajectories in order to organize our discussion and aid the appreciation of these creations”, said curator Luchia Meihu Lee. “One section called ‘Conversation with Artists’ brings up the issue of the artists’ response to environmental senses.”

Works by nine artists are featured in the show. Jeremiah Teipen, Pey Chwen Lin, Ki Fei, Hai Zhang and Todd Gavin focus on technological changes that reinforce behaviors which contribute to the ongoing environmental issues. The second group of artists — Marlene Tseng Yu, Sarah Walko, Miya Ando and Kay Lin — share a more intimate or romantic approach in the second strand.

Ando’s works are titled “Obon” and consist of hand-painted leaves from Bodhi trees.

“This is an indoor installation of a traditional Japanese festival honoring the dead,” Ando said.

Using about 100 of the heart-shaped leaves from this type of fig tree, Ando paints them with a phosphorescene pigment that changes colors in light. The leaves are then placed in a clear, acrylic box containing water.

“Each fragile leaf appears clear in the light and becomes luminous in the dark,” Ando said.

In addition, Ando places her signature leaves atop the installation with a sign that encourages people to take only one. These leaves have been temporarily added to the museum’s City of New York Panorama exhibit to make them appear floating along the river.

Kay H. Lin’s piece is titled “Sun, Air, Water” and uses a balloon as the centerpiece of the work.

“The balloon is made from a collage of recycled plastic supermarket bags from different countries. The plastic recycled materials demonstrate conservation and waste reduction while also showing how immigrants from different countries join together in Greater New York as a hot air balloon that lifts us all,” Kay H. Lin said. “Below the balloon is a basket of living green plants growing in soil (earth) with their leaves trailing over the edge. They represent the greenery that provides oxygen and gives life energy.”

The mishmash of shopping bags and their placement in front of a large window reveals the Unisphere with its shape duplicated in Lin’s piece.

Pey Chwen Lin has called his piece “Eve Clone Revelation No. 4.”

“Eve Clone is a commentary on human civilization and its dependency on technology as the true cause for alienation and human suffering. The holy light surrounding Eve’s head is a golden metaphor for the all-powerful, metaphysical authority,” Pey Chwen Lin said. “Eve, both deceitful and sad, inhabits a space in ruins as it gradually fills with water. Eve Clone also sees the water level rise slowly while rotating, even dancing.”

This is one of two exhibits that use digital technology so the visitor can view this exhibit in motion.

“Photography has been the tool for me to investigate the context in which we all find ourselves,” Hai Zhang said about “Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost!”

He displays the photos in a series as if the viewer were shopping for a poster.

“It is such an unsettling journey into the understanding of the tomorrow that the new China is leading its people towards,” Zhang said. “These revelations raise some of the most pressing dilemmas of our time. Since 2008, I have regularly traveled to China to photograph the ever changing and sprawling urbanized landscape.”

“Raising the Temperature: Art in Environmental Reactions” will be on exhibit through Sunday at the Queens Museum.

Times Ledger - 

OMG IT'S TOM JONES

I recently received this email. "Would you have a few minutes to meet next week with Astronaut Tom Jones and Andrea Farmer of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex? Tom and Andrea will be in New York Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 20 and 21, and hope that you might have time to talk briefly in person. Tom and Andrea would like to provide an update on the latest at Kennedy Space Center and the Visitor Complex including: the new $100-million Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction; KSCVC’s continuing commitment to edutourism and STEM education; upcoming launches and the future of the space program."

It sounded interesting enough but not really up on going into Manhattan lately.  "That's okay. They'll come out to you".  WHAT...come to Queens?  Meet at my home?  A restaurant?  Then I thought of the perhaps place...the New York Hall of Science at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.  That place has been around since the 1964 World's Fair and for the same reason.  Lots of renovations since, naturally.  One particular area outside of the building itself is called Rocket Park.  Two actual rockets including one Gemini that went to outer space. 

All set up, I got there early to get a quick tour and figure out where the interviews and photos would take place.  Met with their p.r. person Mary Record to chat then off to see their latest 3-D movie about Monarch butterflies.  Only one at the 11 a.m. showing as the place was packed with school kids checking out all of the hands-on exhibits. I tried really hard to catch a butterfly as they were flying directly in front of me.  No use! Absolutely loved the movie. 

I looked out a window to see these two rockets and something in between.  What are they?  One of the fabulous staff came by to explain. 

Mary and I continued to explore places for later photo ops.  When Tom and Andrea arrived, we went directly into the cafeteria to grab lunch and bring it into a conference room.  After chopping and schmoozing, it was time for some interviewing.  I video-taped both interviews.  The first one was to talk about who Tom is and what he had done. 

Here is the video.



The next part of the interview was about the Kennedy Space Center and both Andrea and Tom gave me the lowdown. 




Onto some of the photo shots before we go outside, Tom changed into his official jacket. 


He absolutely loved looking at this module.

Had to get in this particular sign.

We then went upstairs to where the astronaut photo cut outs were located.

Into the Rocket Park we go.

“What a wonderful welcome we received from our space and science friends in New York,” Andrea  later commented. “It felt like being home in Florida as we saw the might Gemini titan and Mercury Atlas at the entrance. Astronaut Tom Jones and I were impressed with the many interactive displays and exhibits, and the welcoming and knowledgeable staff. It's no wonder so many young people flock there to learn all about science!”

Tom had this to say. “Growing up during the Space Race of the 1960s, I followed each space shot involving our astronauts with intense interest. Coming to the Hall of Science, site of the ’64 World’s Fair, brought me face to face with those icons of the Space Age standing tall in the Rocket Park. Back then, I would have turned over my little brothers to have been able to visit the Rocket Park back then! Fortunately, I didn’t have to trade them in—during my visit. I was able to explore the Mercury-Atlas, the Gemini-Titan II (built two miles from my boyhood home in Baltimore), and the Mercury 1 space capsule display inside the Hall. My pilgrimage to the Hall reminded me of the excitement I felt as a budding scientist and aspiring pilot.  Just as these early spacecraft at the Hall of Science inspired my journey to the stars, young explorers can go to Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex and see the spaceship I flew at the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit. The Hall of Science—the Kennedy Space Center—these are places to learn about amazing discoveries, epic achievements, and to inspire our young people to a bright future in space.”

Time for them to depart back the Manhattan.  I even got a signed copy of Tom's book as well as a NASA sweatshirt and a few other goodies.  Now I want to got to the Kennedy Space Center and see it all.