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Paula Gayness; Engage the people that live there — Awesome NYC story

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Written by Paula Gayness from Columbus Ohio with an awesome NYC story dated back to 1966.

I am always telling my stories about a wonderful vacation I took in New York City so why don’t I tell it to you tonight? It was in 1966 when I was ummmmm, 4? Haha – no – it was actually one year after graduation from high school and I had yet to turn 18! But my parents, and those of my two girlfriends, decided we were responsible enough for 9 days in the Big Apple so away we went!

Our very first adventure after we checked into the Barbizon Hotel for Women on 63rd in Upper East Manhattan was to take to the subway and find the Brooklyn Bridge. I would like to say right here that whomever we spoke with for whatever reason in NYC was as pleasant and helpful as ever could be to three young teenagers on their own in the city! I have heard people say New Yorkers can be rude and too busy to accommodate but we never ever encountered this. Quite the opposite – everyone we spoke to – and there were many – were very happy to share their beautiful city with us. I have many wonderful stories and I would be happy to occasionally share them.

We were told by the man who ran our hotel what subway to take and where to get off right at the bridge so off we went to see the famous Brooklyn Bridge. When we came up out of the subway the bridge really looked very intimidating to 3 young ladies from Columbus, OH so I hailed a cab and when he stopped to pick us up he asked rather quietly like he was tired, “Where to?” and lowered the rate flag.

I said “Please drive us over the bridge and bring us right back” — He turned around with a quizzical look on his face and said something like “Why do you want to do that?”

I told him about who we were and why we were there, where we were from and that when we returned home, we wanted to be able to say that we had been across the Brooklyn Bridge. We did not want to get lost and the only thing on the agenda that evening was this cab ride.

He flipped the rate flag back into the up position, asked us if we had some time to spare and when we said yes of course we did, that wonderful man told us he would not only take us across the bridge but he would give us a tour of Brooklyn and Flatbush and drop us off at a subway that would take us straight to the Barbizon! And he did just that! We had a 1 hour private tour from a native New Yorker – he pointed out everything and explained what is was, when it was built, etc., and gave us a running narrative during the entire trip.

When the hour was up he indeed dropped us at a subway entrance, told us what line to take back and what exit was ours at the end, and when I asked him how much we owed him for the trip he asked if $1.00 apiece was okay? Okay?? Oh yes it was certainly okay! To this day I think fondly often about the man who took an hour out of his job to give 3 young ladies from Columbus OH the first of many wonderful adventures in his town.

I have discovered that wherever one travels the best way to learn about the destination is to engage in communication with the people who live there no matter what job they have. People are proud of their heritages and are usually willing to talk about their city, town or country in length answering all your questions. Too many people travel and don’t take advantage of this communication and then say…”Oh the trip was nice” instead of “Wow! What an interesting place and how lovely are the people!” Opening up one’s own communication lines to others ends up a 2-way “happy street” traveled both by traveler and native.

Have a wonderful evening Scott and family and thank you for the opportunity to share and communicate something wonderful in my life. I just might send more for later at some point!

Paula Gayness

Calamity Annie on Facebook

Steven Blandin’s Bird & Wildlife photography

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good morning friends. We are thrilled to have Steven Blandin featured on “The Good News Channel” today. He is an award-winning professional wildlife photographer who leads instructional bird & wildlife photography tours in the United States and around the World.

Flash Of Pink => Gold medal at the 2014 Professional Photographers of America International Print Competition | Roseate Spoonbill flapping its wings after a quick bath in the shallow mangrove waters. Also created at the Tampa Bay Spoonbill rookery. A rare glimpse at the full wingspan of this magnificent bird.

When i originally contacted Steven after seeing his work, he could not have been more passionate about when speaking of wildlife photography and cordial in explaining it to me. This gentleman is an artist when it comes to photography. Nowadays anybody can snap a picture with their smartphones and capture a pretty decent shot. But that’s not the game Steven Plays. He’s all in on techniques, equipment and the process of capturing those one in a life time shots. Here’s a link to see what equipment combinations work best for him; http://bit.ly/1hYuzDE

Flying In The Water => Short-billed Dowitcher shaking the water drops away. Small shorebirds are very interesting when looked at from closer! Fort Desoto Park, St Petersburg, Florida.

He is currently ranked in the top 5 Professional Photographers in the state of Florida, he exhibits in Arts Galleries in New York and across the United States. His work has been recognized many times and has been published in various nature magazines. Steven gives an instructional eBook, “The 4 Angles Of Success”, for every new blog follower at www.bird-wildlifephotographyblog.com. The Good News Channels has done dozens of features by now and we love to see an artist give something away to share is passion and techniques through his eyes.

Speeding At Low Altitude => Royal Tern taking altitude after taking off. Fort Desoto Park, St Petersburg, Florida.

Artist’s Statement right off of his website.

“My wife introduced me to nature photography during our early dating years. My passion for wildlife photography itself was truly born during an African safari in Botswana. Since then, I have been hungry for learning more about all aspects of photography. I have watched my work flourish into creations that take me back to those encounters in all the vividness of their emotions. Here’s link to Steven’s website; http://bit.ly/1EgW1GY

Smelling The Light => Polar Bear smelling the air in quest of tis next meal. The adorable beast had been munching on berries for a while, when it decided to lift up its nose and walked away. Hudson Bay, Canada.

Steven has a fine art gallery; http://bit.ly/1IfzUv8. Perfect for corporations or for private collectors. We will be pleased to offer you custom fine art photography impressions to adorn your walls. Enjoy browsing through the fine art collections and do not hesitate to reach out to us for quotes or custom requests. We offer limited edition signed aluminum metal prints, metal prints with a glass/acrylic top layer and fine art canvas with sizes up to 98×43 inches. Custom sizes are available; http://bit.ly/1IfzUv8

Vampire Wings => Final round at the 2015 BBC Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition, Birds category. Reddish Egret in hunting position during an overcast day. Fort Desoto Park, St Petersburg, Florida.

Checkout Steven’s blog where he will share with you his love for nature photography through field posts, instructional photography tours update, photo creation advice, equipment reviews and much more. I personally went through it and was completely amazed. A wealth of information on birds, wildlife, nature and so many camera and photography tips. Here’s the link to his blog; http://bird-wildlifephotographyblog.com/author/bephotographers/

This kind gentleman Steven Blandin has four different types of tours he can take you and a group on. “The Alaskan Bald Eagle Photography tour;

Steven can also arrange a Botswana African Safari — Bird & Wildlife Photography Tour …

If that doesn’t suit your fancy, you can take a Florida Spoonbills & Shorebirds Photography Tour in the Tampa Bay, FL area, Lastly, Steven has a Private Wildlife Photography Workshop and Bird Photo Tours in Florida;

Feature continues below now;

Follow My Eyes => Peacock in full mating display. Corbett National Park, India.

Steven’s Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/StevenBlandin.birdwildlifephotography

Tilted Landing => Willet about to land to join the flock. Fort Desoto Park, St Petersburg, Florida.

Steven’s Instagram account; https://instagram.com/stevenblandinphotography/

In The Summer Landscape => Final round at the 2015 BBC Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition, Mammals category. Not the typical Polar Bear image! Male Polar bear cruising the Summer landscape with purple fireweed blooming. Hudson Bay, Canada.

Steven’s YouTube account; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUV24v39vFKDXmMCLI2TSKw

Born Of The Water => Brown Pelican flapping its wings against the water in an attempt to clean up its dirty feathers. Created in the Tampa Bay, Florida.

Pink Landing On Blue => Silver medal at the 2015 Professional Photographers of America International Print Competition | Roseate Spoonbill with breeding colors landing on the clear blue water. Created at the Tampa Bay Spoonbill rookery, where I run photography workshops. I am always amazed at how stunning those birds look when they are about to land!

Sammy & Family would like to close with what a pleasure it was to work with Steven Blandin on this feature. Steven loves birds and wildlife and his pictures show his passion. We would highly recommend taking a tour with Steven. Not only will you see amazing birds and or wildlife but he will teach you his techniques of getting the best possible picture one can get. Taking a tour with Steven would be fascinating and educational. Gotta love that combination.

Everyone is a great winner. But what counts is how you handle it when you lose. Even winners lose sometimes. The difference is they shake it off, drop their ego and work harder for the next battle. – Dr Harp Seal —

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Dr. Harp Seal

The Empire State Building and Sammy

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good morning friends. It was only a week ago that The Empire State Building hosted their historic event for endangered species. We figured to do a nice write up on this larger than life building and Sammy’s first class visit 4 Years Ago from the lobby to the very top. The official opening date of the Empire State Building was May 1st, 1931. It remained the tallest building in NYC for 40 years until the Twin Towers were built. It took only one year and 45 days to build. It took almost 7 million man hours to build. There are observation decks on both the 86th floor and the 102nd. Over 4 million visitors a year come to visit this bigger than life building. The total height of the building is 1, 450 feet. I mean it’s literally in the clouds.

As I have mentioned to all of you before, I was a trader for over 20 years on Wall Street. But my first job on Wall Street was a cold caller, yes the young man that would not let you off the phone. Be that as it may, my phone skills are unstoppable, unless of course you hang up on me which plenty of people did and do. So i called up the media department over Four Years Ago, and I said I would like to do a photo shoot at The Empire State Building for my website. They said terrific, lets get you set up. So we were exchanging information and she asked me describe what kind of pictures I wanted for the article I was going to write. I told her I wanted to take pictures of Sammy at all the hot spots in the building and particularly on the Observation Decks on Floor 86 and floor 102.

So she said; “Scott who is Sammy?” I said he’s my 10 pound Pomeranian dog, he just loves adventures. So the nice young lady said; “There are no dogs allowed in the Empire State Building. So i said to myself; “OK Scott, time to break out the old calling skills from Wall Street” — So I said; “Young Lady, in this particular sense you can’t really look at him as a dog, in this case he’s a spokesman for “The Empire State Building” in NYC. My website is going to do a featured story on the worlds most famous building sending more traffic to the building and that traffic will buy tickets to go to the observation decks. And I repeated “Its really not a dog coming to the building, its a project. The dog is just part of the project” — And I followed it up with one more closer, “Projects are allowed in the building, right?” So this sweet young gal said, I wont mention her name, but she said: “Mr. Smith when would you like to come in for the photo shoot?” — And without hesitation, I said” Tomorrow morning”

So my friends, other then an animated King Kong in 1933 at the top of The Empire State Building, Sammy Smith, the 10 pound Pomeranian to my knowledge is the only dog that was ever allowed in the greatest building ever. Wait, wait, I just said “dog” — I meant to say “Project” — A great New York lesson for our friends around the world. Its all about semantics. You say “Tomato” and i say Tomahto. And with that, Sammy the project got to see the Empire State Building with first class personal tour. They were literally creating restricting areas inside the building for my website to get the pictures I needed.

As I told you my late father was a commercial real estate broker in NYC. So his job was to move companies from one building to another should a company decide to have their offices somewhere else. During his years of being a commercial broker he showed prospective tenants many different spaces for lease inside the Empire State Building. But funny enough, the first time I saw this Iconic building was in the 1933 movie with King Kong climbing up it. And no, I did Not actually see it in 1933 being that I was born in 1969. King Kong was one of those movies they played ever year until the more recent ones were made like in 1976, and then another one in the New Millennium.

Its located on 5th Avenue between 33 and 34 street. Prime real estate for the world’s’ most famous building. Many a times I have stood right in front of The Empire State Building and looked straight up and because its so tall, I almost fell over to keep looking up and up to find the top of it. If you are in NYC, you must visit The Empire State Building. Put it first on your list.

Wishing you all a Wonderful Friday

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good morning friends. Happy Friday. Once again, it showed up right on time. Friday must be like a genius or something. I brought you this picture of me by the ocean so i can share a some nature with all you. I’m sure you have all see Oceans before, but I wanted to lift some spirits this morning with a refreshing visual of the ocean.

Try not to be distracted by my lethally handsome looks, my bedrooms eyes and my over physical beauty. At the same time try not to be distracted by the face that I am wearing Jeans, a black T-shirt and a sequenced NYC hat right on the beach. As my former colleague and great friend Jeff told me several times; “Scott You’re a walking contradiction”

OK friends, lets kick this day off with two Positive notions.

1. I did my best and my best is always good enough.

2. In business they say be the first one in the office and the last one to leave. In life be the last one in the office and the first one to leave, lol. Or at least be in the middle.

That’s all folks. See you tonight. Scott Smith for Sammy & Family on day 215 in Puerto Rico.

Poppy Tuesday on August 11th, 2015

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Happy Poppy Tuesday friends. A day of Hope and Possibilities. I thought it would be fun to look at the acronym for “Poppy”

I am going to wing it. Here we go; “Positive – Opportunities – Perpetually – Proposed – Yippee

Ok friends, lets kick this day off with two positive notions.

1. ” ‘When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven’t ” — Thomas A. Edison —

2. You don’t have to backpack through Europe to find yourself. Just look in the mirror and save the airfare.

See tonight friends. Happy Poppy Tuesday.

Love always, Poppy Seeks.

When did this School get so small

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good morning friends.

Dr. Harp Seal video message; “When did this School get so small” — This message puts our challenges into perspective.

The Girl that almost was but the dog won me over

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good evening friends. OK, it looks like the story of one of my ex girlfriends and her dog won the votes.

So lets get right into it. this was about 6 years ago. I was 40 years old and was doing the online dating thing like a full time job. I was a different kind of online dater than most. Most people would have several dialogues over email, then get on the phone and chat for a few minutes and either set up a date or not. You see I just wanted to go out. So my emails to women online were clear and to the point.

In my email to them I would say “Would you like to meet for drinks or dinner tonight?” 90 percent of people didn’t respond. Out of the 10 percent that did, some would say; “so tell me about yourself” — I would say “I will tell you about myself when we meet” — Remember friends with online dating, they can read your profile, so its kind of a repetitive question from them. Normally when i would say that it would end our dialogues and I would never hear from them again. Several people inside the 10 percent would say; ” I like a man who knows what he wants and directly asks for it” — So i would say “that’s great to hear” But then some of them would say; “The problem is I already have plans tonight.” So I would say to them, OK reach out to me when you’re free and they never would. But one or two gals out of the ten percent would say; “I can meet you at 6 pm tonight” — And that’s all it takes folks, just one “Yes,’ and you get to meet a new person.

OK, I’m rambling. On one particular night I met a woman out who grew up near the town I did and we had friends in common. Now when I connect, I move very quickly, and I don’t mean in the hanky panky way. I mean from “I want to see them a lot starting the next day.” Within 3 weeks we were in a full fledged relationship. We were talking moving in together, engagement, we were very into each other. She had a dog, I won’t say his name, but she loved him like I love Sammy, Henry, Patrick, Jeffrey and Kelly. And I absolutely loved her dog. Anytime we saw each other I just wanted to play with her dog or take her out somewhere. God forbid we just sat home and relaxed.

I wanted to be at the bars laughing with people and talking about light, dumb and breezy stuff, the dumber the better. This particular gal I was dating was a doctor. After a while she said; “Listen, I really want to be together but I want to live a slower and quieter life” I knew what she meant, but I was not on the same page. She was a really nice person too.

So she put it to me, she said “you have to choose us or this running around life that you have” — And not running around with other ladies, but I just couldn’t sit still. I didn’t like myself enough to want to sit with myself. And living the quiet life with her forced me to be with myself more than i was willing to be.

So we were at dinner and she asked me what i decided to do. I told her I cannot slow down and live that kind of life. I really have strong feelings for you but I must maintain this pace in my life. I don’t know how to live any other way. So she said, ” listen, I’m a doctor, this is not going to work out. I think we have to call it off.

I felt badly because I knew she was right and I knew what a nice girl she was. Nonetheless, I said; “Listen, please don’t take this the wrong way, I have grown very attached to your dog, you work late hours and I have two dogs. I think your dog would be happier with my two dogs and I, and would you be willing to give him up?”

Well friends, this is when things really went poorly. She threw a drink in my face and said that was the worst question anyone has ever asked her in her life. She said how dare you ? Boy did I feel like a horses patoot. I tell this story in gest looking back, but i do look back and feel bad about it.

In conclusion, when you and a nice person split for whatever reason, don’t ask them if you can keep their beloved pet they’ve had for 6 years. #LearnedTheHardWay #AnotherClassIsleptThrough

Thank you life for letting me live on August 4th, 2015

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good evening friends.

Tonight I would like to Thank God for letting me participate in life on August 4th, 2015. I can speak for anyone else but without the man upstairs I was a walking dead man.

OK, so tomorrow morning we have the full feature from The Empire State Building’s Illuminating Light Show of Endangered Species from this past Saturday night. It will be featured on “The Good News Channel” — Folks, wait until you see more of these larger than life images of our beloved animal friends and read the full story on this event. August 1st, 2015 will go down in history of one of those most historic NYC nights ever. The history books will speak of this for hundreds of years to come. OK, but that is tomorrow.

Let’s talk today and tonight. We hope everyone had a fabulous Poppy Tuesday. I am so in love Poppy its insane. He eats out of my plate, drinks water out of my glass. Anytime Vanessa says: “Do you realize there are germs in that water from Patrick.?” I respond with, “Do you realize the chandelier on the ceiling can fall and crack our skulls open at anytime? — Vanessa do you realize we can get hit by a car every time we walk outside?”

I told her, I don’t sweat the small stuff, if Patrick has some germs, and I catch them, I’ll live. It makes him happy, and that makes me happy. The rest is in God’s hands.

OK, lets close with two Poppy notions tonight;

1. Everybody has “The Poppy Chance” — He represents Hope and Possibilities. And man did I need those two words over the years.

2. I remember when Vanessa and I first got him, it was incredible. And he was so eager to please us so he would not be sent away again. He didn’t realize if hell freezed over that was Never happening. But in September of 2013, hell did freeze over and it was almost lights out for me. The point is not to bore anyone with a story you heard many times, but I knew when i woke up after six days under, it was Patrick’s Heart that was breaking. I knew Sammy & Henry were going to OK. They were shaken up yes, but they had been with me a while. Patrick was with us only 3 weeks before i went down for the count. When I made it home alive, I never let that little boy out of my sight again. My bond with Patrick is unbreakable and unshakable. Madly in love with my little boy.

Signing off from Puerto Rico on day 205 , Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.

Projecting Change: The Empire State Building

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Hello friends. We are thrilled to feature “Projecting Change” at The Empire State Building on “The Good News Channel” This is a very special night in NYC at the Empire State Building. Tonight the Empire State Building will display digital light images of endangered species in the hopes of helping the plight of animals.

Sammy & Family is thrilled about this event and wants to thank the Press Department of the Empire State building for helping us feature this story tonight. If something ever needed to be center stage, it’s the plight of the animals and their daily struggles.

For the first time in New York City history, this stand-alone, architectural projection art event featured towering images of endangered species—more than 350 feet tall and 186 feet wide, and covering 33 floors—on the south façade of The Empire State Building in an art event meant to draw attention to the creatures’ plight against mass extinction.

Photo Credit Jon William Brumbaugh

What could be more center stage than being projected on 33 floors of the Empire State Building. Wow, let me say that backwards, WOW. The projected images of endangered species will be almost 400 feet tall. The images will start being beamed from 9 pm tonight, right up until Midnight from a building on West 31 Street.

Travis Threlkel founder of Obscura Digital and Louis Psihoyos illuminated the night with live video projections, including (an 8 minute environmentally-focused tableau, combined with iconic imagery of endangered species, that made each 15 minute cycle running throughout the night a unique experience) showing a Noah’s ark of animals including Cecil the Lion, a snow leopard, a golden lion tamarin and manta rays, along with snakes, birds and various mammals and sea creatures choreographed to Racing Extinction’s original songs. Throughout, the LED lights atop the building were coordinated with the projection, by the building’s lighting designer.

(Photo by Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images for The Oceanic Preservation Society)

Travis Threlkel of Obscura Digital out of San Francisco, and Mr. Psihoyos, director of the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove” came together to collaborate this once in a lifetime event about one of the most important dangers and challenges on Earth today. Apparently, this project was three years in the making. NYC has strict laws about images being projected in the city. Especially when it comes to the most famous building in the world.

This Illuminating Endangered Specie Event is coming right on time. This event comes on the heels of Cecil the lion, who was heinously killed last week in Zimbabwe, and President Obama’s speech in Kenya just last week that the USA is cracking down on the Ivory trade to help protect elephants.

(Photo by Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images for The Oceanic Preservation Society)

We have written many times before that Mother Nature is tough enough on animals and marine life as it is. The last thing they need is for people to stack the deck even further against them, and that is putting it mildly. People are crucifying all kinds of species all over the world, with a total disregard for the lives of these beautiful, Majestic creatures. Whether its Trophy hunting or Canned hunting, and whether the creatures are Majestic or not, its across the board outright heartless. It needs to stop.

This image is honor of Cecil the lion that was killed in Zimbabwe in early July of 2015

The Empire State building is notorious for changing its light colors at the top of the building for major news and events. In December of 2014, The Empire Strikes Back with a lighting ceremony at the top of the Empire State building to honor the annual dolphin slaughter that takes place in Taiji, Japan. The color of the lights representing this Japanese atrocity was red to symbolize all the bloodshed that takes place. They just recently changed their light colors when The Supreme Court ordered states to recognize gay marriages across the nation. In the spirit of New York City, The Empire State Building also Lit up in Yankees Blue Pinstripes to Honor Derek Jeter.

Lets hope this Endangered Species lighting event shocks and awes the world into a permanent state of animal kindness, animal equality, animal rescue, animal welfare, and so on, and so on and so on.

Travis Threlkel founder of Obscura Digital and Louis Psihoyos

Sammy & Family applauds New York City and The Empire State Building for this historic event one of the most important topics in the world today. For topics related to this matter please see Dr. Harp Seal and Scott’s Smith video and audio messages on animal welfare said in a way like never before.

“The Second Amendment from the Perspective of an Animal” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wIpM1Jak3o

“Where is the Geneva Convention for Animals? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_NebYbcuGA

“Sizing up Hunting by Dr. Harp Seal; https://soundcloud.com/dr-harp-seal/sizing-up-hunting-by-dr-harp-seal

Thank you friends for stopping and reading such an important message. God bless all animals around the world.

Written by Sammy & Family. More information on The Empire State Building Below.

About the Empire State Building

Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan (from base to antenna), the Empire State Building, owned by Empire State Realty Trust, Inc., is the “World’s Most Famous Office Building.” With new investments in energy efficiency, infrastructure, public areas and amenities, the Empire State Building has attracted first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world. The skyscraper’s robust broadcasting technology supports all major television and FM radio stations in the New York metropolitan market. The Empire State Building was named America’s favorite building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects, and the Empire State Building Observatory is one of the world’s most beloved attractions as the region’s #1 tourist destination. For more information on the Empire State Building, please visit www.empirestatebuilding.com, www.facebook.com/empirestatebuilding, @EmpireStateBldg, www.instagram.com/empirestatebldg, www.youtube.com/esbnyc or www.pinterest.com/empirestatebldg/.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), owns, manages, operates, acquires and repositions office and retail properties in Manhattan and the greater New York metropolitan area, including the Empire State Building, the world’s most famous office building. Headquartered in New York, New York, the Company’s office and retail portfolio covers 10.0 million rentable square feet, as of March 31, 2015, consisting of 9.3 million rentable square feet in 14 office properties, including nine in Manhattan, three in Fairfield County, Connecticut and two in Westchester County, New York; and approximately 727,000 rentable square feet in the retail portfolio.