New York Daily Photo Analytics

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Watching Ourselves

There are many unique things about New York City and one of them is how often we watch ourselves. This is most evident on New Year's Eve when the country, and much of the world, turns their eyes here for the greatest New Year's party and the legendary Times Square ball drop.
As I wrote in yesterday's posting, the very popularity of the event also makes it a reason to avoid direct participation and it on TV like the rest of the world. It is a little strange perhaps, knowing that the event is a subway ride away, but this really misrepresents the situation. At this point in time there is no way to attend this event in a spontaneous way. People now wait at least 7 hours in the freezing cold, getting there well in advance to have a position where they can actually see the ball drop. I attended the millennium celebration in 2000, but even arriving there hours in advance, the closest I was able to get was eight blocks away near Macy's. I experienced the spirit of the celebration but was able to see only people - no ball drop or confetti. 
Today's photo was the scene at a friend's party as we watched the revelry on a big screen TV and ushered in 2009 - watching ourselves and watching others watch themselves. Happy 2009 and thanks for watching :)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year & keep up your good "work" with NYDailyPhoto;love it! rolin

Anonymous said...

On TV, the celebration looked like a big worship orgy to the God of Capitalism. All those people in the blue Nivea hats... Why not watch a commercial instead?

Brian Dubé said...

Anon- a point well made. Everything has become very commercial.

Leeds daily photo said...

Hi Brian
Wishing you a great New Year.

Anthony Barba said...

New York has become so large, secured and crowded that there are so many things I want to do but not bad enough to wait in the cold for 10+ hours. Same is true for the Halloween Parade, blowing up of the Thanksgiving balloons and the window displays on 5th.

Don't get me wrong. I love new york, but I'll attend these events in front of my television a subway ride away. Or at lease it was last year.

An Honest Man said...

A guid New Year Brian.

jen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jen said...

I didn't even watch it on tv this year, and like you, didn't even consider standing outside for 8 hours.

I like that you pointed out how much we watch ourselves. It wasn't until after I moved to New York that I realized how many commercials, tv shows, and movies have been shot in or based on life in New York. Now I'll watch any old dumb movie shot here, just so I can look at "my" streets and buildings. It seems odd and self-obsessive, or maybe I'm just smitten...

bitingmidge said...

Thanks for reminding me why I don't want to do that!

Doesn't our calendar start in Greenwich in anycase?

I hope you have a fantastic 2009, with absolutely no standing in freezing lines!

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