Late Show with David Letterman

Location: New York City, New York, USA
Address: 1697 Broadway Ave.
Date: May 2003
Website: www.cbs.com

  David Letterman has been a part of late night television since 1982.  Originally his show was on NBC, but years later it moved to CBS.  His NBC show was called Late Night with David Letterman and now it is called Late Show with David Letterman.  The Late Show is filmed inside the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway in New York City.  This is the same theatre where The Beatles performed in 1964 making their American television debut.  Like most late night shows, with the exception of Saturday Night Live, it is filmed in the afternoon.
  We had already successfully called and secured tickets for the week we would be in New York.  We arrived around 3 PM and picked up the tickets.  We then had some time before we needed to return and line up again to get inside.  We took this time to check out the neighbourhood.
    The south side of the theatre on W 53rd Street was starting to be closed off to traffic.  This was because one of Letterman's guests was filming a segment.  Jesse James (Monster Garage) had converted a hot dog cart into a drag racer and they were going to race it down the street.  Also on W 53rd Street is the Hello Deli.  The Hello Deli is owned by Rupert Jee and longtime fans of the show should recognize him.  Through the years he has appeared on the show many times.  Usually a camera comes into the deli and Dave talks to Rupert from the studio.  Another memorable segment was where Rupert went around the city wearing an earpiece and did and said whatever Dave told him to.  In the photo below he is the one in shorts standing just outside the deli door.

  We returned to the theatre and lined up to go inside.  We ended up being about 6 rows back just in front of Paul Shaffer and the band.  Paul Shaffer has been the bandleader throughout Letterman's late night run and is Dave's official side-kick.  One fun thing about being at the taping is that we get to hear the band's entire performance while those watching at home are viewing commercials. Before the show Dave came out and chatted with the audience until it was show time.
  The episode we watched consisted of Mark Wahlberg promoting his new movie The Italian Job, Jesse James racing his hot dog cart dragster down 53rd street, and a musical group called The Sounds.  Every night Dave does a Top Ten list and on this night it was the Top Ten Good Things About Having the Same Name as a Celebrity.  The show located people whose real names are the same as famous celebrities and had them come up on stage to read the list.  Number one was read by a man named David Letterman. "When people meet me, they say Wow, you look much better in person."

David Letterman has become the longest running late night talk show host in television history.  It will be about 33 years since his original show took to the air.  He will host the Late Show for the last time on May 20, 2015.  Thanks Dave!

---

Map of Our World
Late Show with David Letterman
Hello Deli

---

Post # 50

Northern Lights Attempt

Location: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada 
Address: Joe Buck's Ridge
Date: Oct 2014
Website:  www.everythingchurchill.com

  We went to Churchill to see polar bears and Northern Lights.  We succeeded in seeing polar bears.  The Northern Lights are caused by charged particles entering the Earth's atmosphere.  The resulting collision causes the much sought after light display.  Usually it manifests itself as greenish lights causing waves across the sky.  Unfortunately, for the three nights we were in Churchill, the skies were cloudy.  We slept in our room each night with the curtains drawn back despite the glare from the street lights.  All of this was in the hopes of catching even a glimpse of this spectacle.  

  While we were in Churchill, we went dog sledding with a company called Bluesky.   They are located to the south-west of the town.  As we waited for our chance to go sledding we could see the lights from the town to the north.  The lights were giving off a yellowish green glow visible through the trees.  The picture below may be able to fool some people into believing we had captured the Northern Lights, but not us.  We hope to head north again soon and give it a try once more.  Perhaps in Iceland?

---

Map of Our World
Churchill, Manitoba

---

Post # 49

Top 5 Characters in Times Square

1. Batman
2. Elmo
3. Minions
4. Toy Story
5. Hello Kitty 

Times Square in Manhattan is known for having thousands of tourists swarming around 24 hours a day, and for having lights and advertising wherever you look.  It is also a place to find people dressed up as popular movie or TV characters.  You may even encounter people dressed as "What the hell is that supposed to be ?".  They can all be found in Times Square hoping to pose for photos and earn a buck or two.  This list includes our favourite characters.

1 ) Batman
Not dressed like Adam West Batman, (We would pay to have our photo with him) but more likely the Christian Bale Batman or Michael Keaton Batman.  Or is that Val Kilmer or George Clooney?
Anyway, it just depends on how long they have had the suit and when they decided to start wearing it in public.  If you are going to invest in a costume, Batman is a safe bet.  Although you will have a fair bit of competition.  We were also surprised not to see any Dynamic Duos.  Sorry Robin.
2)  Elmo
Everyone's favourite giggling Sesame Street monster can also be found in abundance. We once were on the New York subway when an Elmo got on at 49th street after a hard day's work.  He soon revealed himself to be one very sweaty man.
3) Minions
Minions from Despicable Me are taking over the streets.  With a Minion movie and Despicable Me 3 on the way, they are not going to disappear anytime soon.  You can spot their little yellow heads through the crowds.  When choosing a costume, minion is best left to the shorter people.  Nobody wants to take photos with a 6 foot 4 minion.  If you taller people insist on dressing as minions, may we suggest you dress as the purple guy with the crazy hair.
4) Toy Story
The popularity of Toy Story characters has yet to fade.  Maybe it has faded a bit, but Toy Story made the list mainly because Woody & Buzz never seem to be too far from each other.  This also makes them the only duo on our list.  Again, sorry Robin. 
5) Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty has worked her way from the pencil cases of Japan and into the hearts of the world.  Now she is waiting to become part of your New York vacation memories.

---

Map of Our World
Times Square

---

Post # 48