CURIOUSER NEW YORK

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Every year I go out during St. Patrick's Day to see the 'green' creations that people wear on this day, and every year I wonder if they are either Irish or are of an Irish descend, or just those who find any kind of a reason to be joyful and have a reason to get together with friends and do some partying. Personally, I've never been a huge fan of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations because I'm far from being 'Irish' and this holiday does not really resembles  with anything of my life, upbringing, and/or cultural heritage. It took me even a while to get used to the Halloween and Thanksgiving, which I now fully embrace, but it wasn't like that for a while. Despite the fact that it was snow-storming today in New York City, and the temperature was far from making it a warm Spring pleasant weekend day, nevertheless, many young people were roaming the streets of the city, wearing all sorts of 'green'.  Re...

When Christmas comes, most likely you will go home to celebrate the holidays with your family and friends - in the city or away. And, what's the best way to pump up your Christmas holiday spirit if it's not with the Christmas tree market scene?!

Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. I'll be missing it terribly this year! Thanksgiving is only two days away, but I'm sure a lot of you have already done all the shopping and string beans, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and, most importantly - the turkey are resting on the shelves of your refrigerator... This is more that I can say for myself! If I'm right about it and you've already done your Thanksgiving shopping, then you are so much smarter than I am, because I haven't done any shopping and/or preliminary preparations, which means, I would have to brave the crowd of the last minute procrastinators tomorrow hoping to have any kind of poultry left. What did I get myself into?!!

You might have not noticed, but it's almost Halloween time! As a matter of fact, since this year Halloween falls on a work day, most Halloween parties will be happening this weekend and I'm pretty much sure that most of you have already decided on your Halloween costume . But you might be the only one organized at this point, some people take it to the last moment to come up with a costume and I know quite a few people who told me that they'll 'put it together' two hours before a party...

I love how right before the New Year's Eve every media outlet starts to reflect on the past year, talking about "the best photos of 2011", "the best events that changed the world 2011", "the best technology of 2011", "the best fashion trends 2011" and so on. Everyone seems to be reflecting on the ending year of 2011 and making predictions and wishes for 2012. This includes, of course, New Year's resolutions - a traditional list of things to do and accomplish in the new year - especially popular to do in USA. Growing up in a different country, we didn't make those lists. Yes, we reflected, remembered and talked about certain accomplishments and wishes for the new year, but they were not lists. Not in every country people make lists. Personally, I don't make lists. I don't believe in lists. I call them 'mental notes' - I make 'mental notes'... I believe in living one day at a time and just be better at it...

I love, love Christmas and New Year's celebrations - and for very different reasons... First of all - I love taking photos of the holiday decorations in the city. I can't never get enough of the holiday window displays, street lights - day and night, restaurants' interiors, in-store music, and, of course - the holiday sales... I know some say it's 'cheesy' this, 'cheesy' that and the winter holidays are just the epitome of 'cheesiness', and many people, who know the fact that I take holiday photos EVERY year, are surprised by that as they think that NOTHING changes in the city in terms of the decorations...it's same old, same old - just as the Rockefeller Center's Christmas Tree . But it does change, and I notice it because I shoot it every year and can see the difference...

It's been quite an interesting day last Saturday - the overindulgence in two very different events that took place that day and draw my attention to. One was a complete the opposite from the other one: a very silly entertaining one vs. a very serious important one. I must, though, admit, I enjoyed both! Last Saturday, I became a witness of my very first Naked Santa Day in NYC, which - as it seems - I happened to miss through all 5 years of my life in NYC. Perhaps I was preoccupied with the New Year's celebration - my favorite holiday of all times - more than with Christmas? Maybe, maybe... But as far as I remember myself, I never participated in such massively silly dress-alike events in my life. [Halloween doesn't count...] And on the same day, at the same time - last Saturday - I've also been a witness of the Russian protest against Putin and parliamentary election fraud at the Russian consulate. That happened to be just one block from the Central Park , wh...

Don't you ever wish, if only we could turn the time back and become kids again? - And start believing Santa Clause and elfs again. I do...  Even in the most basic things in life, like window shopping, kids have it 'cutier' - it's one thing to be enjoying Christmas store window decorations, tailored to adults, but it's a complete different feel to enjoy the ones for kids and teens - they seem to be more 'fairy', full of inspirations to really wish for Christmas, snowflakes and Santa Clause. Didn't we all make snowflakes at one point or another in our lives? I did... I used to make my own paper mache tree decorations, cut out snowflakes and make Japanese crane out paper - Origami , as the Japanese call it. (You can learn how to make it here .) Do you remember your very first Christmas? I don't, but nevertheless...

I won't be original - [and the only one] - who would say that one of the best things about Christmas time is Christmas Market, or as they call it in Germany, where I've been exposed to my very first old school traditional Christmas market at the age 14 - Weihnachtsmarkt .  Christmas Market, Union Square/NYC. A view from the top. It was in Gottingen, a small German town (here's more on the town from my upclose and personal experience), where I first learned the joy of Christmas market traditions and which - up until this day - I consider the best Christmas markets in the world. I still very vividly recall - as it was yesterday - the smell of freshly made steamy Glühwein (Mulled wine) - [the memory of which is kept by my family in the glasses one can keep for paying an extra .50 Euro], Brätwurst (usually described the way the sausages are made - grilled or pan fried, and sometimes cooked in broth or beer) and Kartoffelpuffern (potato pancakes/cutlets deep frie...

Not a year goes by when I don't stress enough the importance of being 'thankful', especially when it comes to Thanksgiving Day's tradition of 'expressing thanks' - a day that, actually, reminds you to be thankful...  You see, I haven't been born with this holiday's traditions. I, rather, acquired them along the way over the years, and once I did - it seemed very natural to me and my 'foreign' loved ones to spend this holiday with the family and close friends and thank those who matter in our lives and eat the foods that otherwise we wouldn't consume all at once on the same day - at the expense of your skinny jeans. This is - [and, perhaps, Christmas] - the only day that I feel no guilt about mixing all the carbs, protein and fats together...And, you should not as well.

Let's talk about Halloween - that is, about Halloween parties and costumes' feast that is about to begin tonight...There is quite an industry in USA to tailor to one of the most popular holidays in the country - Halloween. While a few decades ago it's been mostly popular with the kids - [for some of whom Halloween was the only day in the whole year to indulge in all kinds of sweets in all kinds of amounts] - now this holiday slowly has evolved into an 'adult' holiday, which is both - absurd and entertaining...

Pumpkin time in NYC... The time has arrived - the pumpkin time, that is... I've had quite a long road towards accepting both Halloween, pumpkin and all 'orange'...