FDNY, NYPD & DEP show their smarts

This is what I woke up to this morning. Every time it rains heavily, this scene ensues...



How many city agencies does it take to screw in a manhole?

Remarkably Mark #167: Quick Bites Hawaii

Remarkably Mark #167: Quick Bites Hawaii

I was in Hawaii last week for the "So Much More Hawaii", tour, sponsired by the Hawaii Tourism folks and Cilantro Media. These a few quick videos shot on my handheld camera. This first video is from our arrival and the reception held at the Sheraton Waikiki's Rum Fire outdoor terrace. See THIS POST by my new friend Melissa Chang, host of the Urban Mix Plate blog, for photos and description of the reception. Melissa is one of the local Hawaii bloggers who showed me the local food scene and introduced me to many of her chef friends. I include a short musical clip from MAKANA, a specialist in the unique Hawaiian "Slack Key" guitar style, who performed for us. There's also a short bit from our first morning in Kauai, where I visit the herb garden of the Grand Hyatt Kauai.

These are reposts from my "Quick Bites" series on Culinary Media Network, but they're fun and I thought I'd include them here. Just wait'll you see the ZIP LINE video!

Remarkably Mark #166: Memorial Day in NYC

Remarkably Mark #166: Memorial Day in NYC

Tommy and I enjoy the beautiful Memorial Day weather in Lower Manhattan. We bought a new basket for the bike for Stiva to ride in so we can take him with us when we ride our bikes!

Remarkably Mark #165: Impressionism on Broadway

Remarkably Mark #165: Impressionism on Broadway

I give a quick video review of "Impressionism", playing at the Gerald Shoenfeld Theatre on Broadway, and starring Jeremy Irons, Joan Allen, Andre de Shields and Marsha Mason.

Remarkably Mark #164: Shopping with Tasty Diane

Remarkably Mark #164: Shopping with Tasty Diane

I show Tasty Diane around the Chelsea Market in NYC and we discover some of the great food delights to be found there.

Remarkably Mark #163: Halifax Soundseeing

Remarkably Mark #163: Halifax Soundseeing

I walk around Halifax, Nova Scotia and climb up the hill to the Citadel to get a great view of the city. I talk about what's been up in my life since my last audio podcast, oh so long ago (I HAVE been doing lots of video, haven't I?)

Remarkably Mark #162: Zurich to New York

Remarkably Mark #162: Zurich to New York

I fly from Zurich home to New York on SWISS airlines, the distinctive Swiss cross in view the whole way.

Remarkably Mark #161: Jakarta Tower

Remarkably Mark #161: Jakarta Tower

High Above Jakarta, I visit the Indonesian National Monument. You can see all around this HUGE city, with great views of the Independent Mosque and the Catholic Church right next to it, and a wonderful sunset.

Remarkably Mark #160: Mount Pilatus

Remarkably Mark #160: Mount Pilatus

Jennifer and Chef Mark ascend Mount Pilatus outside of Luzern in Switzerland.

The God Bus

Great campaign in London, running on 100's of busses, financed by an atheist group. That's noted atheist scholar Richard Dawkins.

Remarkably Mark #159: Min Pin Holiday Playdate

Remarkably Mark #159: Min Pin Holiday Playdate

Stiva meets with a bunch of other Miniature Pinschers and tears it up for the holidays!

Remarkably Mark #158: First Snowfall in NYC

Remarkably Mark #158: First Snowfall in NYC

The first major snowfall of the year in New York City. This should be a treat to my friends in Indonesia, who never get to see snow!

Remarkably Mark #157: Flying Over Hong Kong

Remarkably Mark #157: Flying over Hong Kong

A rare treat: An early morning flight into Hong Kong reveals the city gleaming the in morning sunlight.

Prop 8: The Musical!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

More great coverage of Pesta Blogger & Indonesia

I've been posting videos from my trip to Indonesia and Pesta Blogger here and at www.culinarymedianetwork.com, and I thought I'd share the reflections of the other people who participated in the group. As you know, I tend to share my thoughts via audio and video shows, and these other folks do a nice mix of blogging and video posts.

Mr Brown, that irreverent guy from Singapore, vlogged thoughout our entire trip. Being relatively close to his home country, he was able to take advantage of his small handheld video camera and his Nokia N96 to update from his cell phone connection:

www.mrbrown.com

Mike Aquino from the Phillipines write one of the more interesting sites I've come across for Asia travel resources. He's the official About.com guide for Southeast Asia, and his reports from the road so far have included some great wrap ups of the Pesta Blogger event, and of the Ramayana performance in JogJakarta:

www.goseasia.com

Jeff Ooi, who started out as a blogger critical of the Malaysian government, and ended up representing Penang in the Malaysian Parliament, is one intrepid photographer. I learned so much watching him work, and he really has an eye for catching those human moments:

Jeff Ooi's Travelogue

And Anthony Bianco of Australia just published his full account of the trip at:

NickBowditchTravel.com


Besides us "foreign bloggers" who participated, here are a bunch of other great links to coverage of Pesta Blogger:

Pesta Blogger Flickr Photo Feed

The Unspun Blog

And of the course, the Pesta Blogger website itself.

Remarkably Mark #156: Becak Ride in JogJakarta

Remarkably Mark #156: Becak Ride in JogJakarta

We zip through the streets of JogJakarta, experiencing the unique Becak (Betch-ak), a man-powered tricycle rickshaw. It's a nice way to see the city, since zipping by in a tour bus, you don't see people's faces so much, and you don't get the smells and sounds of the city.

Remarkably Mark #155: Singing with Endah

Remarkably Mark #155: Singing with Endah

While in Jakarta for Pesta Blogger, I got to sing with a great band, Endah & Rhesa, in the lounge between sessions. They are very talented, and were selling CD's to benefit an organization which transcribes books into braille for the blind.

www.endahnrhesa.com