New Years Eve - Times Square - New York City 2007- 08 
Millions have dreamed about doing it, millions have done it and millions more will do it again. If you have ever thought about watching the ball drop at Times Square in New York City I suggest you do it at least once in your life.
Times Square is not a square but more like a triangle and the place got its name because the New York Times newspaper building was built there but later on moved but the name stayed.
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This just happened to be the 100th time this ball-dropping event has happened since 1907.
This time a new and improved 1,070 lb. ball, six feet in diameter, that has 9,576 energy saving LED’s that are twice as bright and 672 Waterford Crystal triangles with 16 million colors for a kaleidoscope of hues. The original ball was constructed of iron and wood and had 100 25-watt light bulbs, was 5 feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds. A billion people watch this event on TV every year from all around the world, as I did most of my life until now. About a Million people attend this awesome event every year. I’m really proud to be a member now instead of a TV spectator, it’s so much better. I used 3 different cameras on this adventure,
two pocket digital still cameras that also shot low resolution video and I used one small digital camcorder. There are no bathrooms in the standing area’s so before you go I suggest you go to the bathroom and make sure you are capable of holding it for at least 10 hours, because you are not allowed to return if you have to leave your spot, unless you find an area to stand outside the barriers. They also do not allow backpacks. A small bag with water and lunch is OK. Police presence is everywhere so there are no worries. Depending where you are, the police may shift the barriers a couple of times so be prepared to be shuffled. Some people had to sit on the ground to take a break from all the standing. I myself was on my feet for over 12 hours, a little tight in the lower back, that was it, not bad for 47. I met some really nice people from all around the world. Some newbie’s like myself and others who have amazingly done this before. The weather was good too, clear and not too cold. We even had some sunshine on our faces for over an hour when the sun shined down 7th Ave. I happened to get a spot in front of the MTV studio around 2:00pm where you could see people comfortably watching. There were huge speakers that filled Times Square with music that sounded awesome. Even the lip-syncing bands sounded great like Kid Rock, Jordin Sparks, The Bravery and Carrie Underwood to name a few. You were able to view the bands too on 2 giant video screens. You could also see some of the musical acts playing in the MTV studio right above us that Tila Tequila was hosting. 
Of course the people around me thought I looked like Will Ferrel, which is a complement because he’s not a bad looking fella.
So I did a side by side comparison. After a little work in Photoshop I guess there is some similarities. What do you know. Now if I can only get a beautiful wife like he has I would have it made.
The crowed occasionally screamed when they thought they were on camera from the many camera booms that surrounded us. Some started a dancing circle where everyone took a turn to dance in the middle, yes I did too of course. Some people where even nice to share some of their food too. Then they started handing out the big tall red Pontiac hats that made the crowd look like a huge sea of red. After that they handed out these big long bright orange wiener balloons with streamers attached, the balloons had Times Square 2008 printed on them. Some of the balloons were just floating through the air just waiting to find a home. I loved the 2008 glasses too some people were wearing. I kept asking them if they could see the future with those glasses? Then they bring out the ball around 8:00pm. Slowly climbing up the 77-foot flagpole into position between Broadway & 7th Ave. When in position the ball covered the Ann Taylor’s Models face on the billboard right above the Chevy clock. I heard the model was pretty upset about it. They also had everyone ring in the New Year for other countries on earlier time zones then us before it was our turn, that was cool. Now it was our turn. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…The fireworks, the music, 3.5 tons of confetti, the hugs, the kisses and the Happy New Years, what a climatic ending, thanks New York! It took about an hour to walk back to Grand Central Terminal train station where I slept on the train till I got back to Brewster, N.Y. Then I drove home to Danbury, ct. were I got stopped in a Police check point for drunken drivers, luckily I didn’t stop at any of the New York city clubs after the ball drop. Howie
Have a Happy 2008 Everyone!
New York Adventures "I love big cities, except for the constant background noise that permeates from people going nowhere fast. The noise is so deafening that it drowns out all sounds from the natural world and all the beautiful moments of silence in that lay in-between those sounds. I'm a little concerned with what the long-term effects are from this constant noise. I envision that people in big cities will one day have noise cancelation booths, that when you enter will play sounds from the natural world with complete moments of silence in-between them, as well displaying images of the natural world along with the smells and scents that someone would experience in nature. Maybe we could just convert those public toilets into these little sanctuaries, giving people a 5 minute break as well as a reminder of how extremely important our natural world is. That would be nice." | 