The Paley Center for Media. It's the perfect museum for a couch potato to visit when s/he has nothing to do. And this is the place that RQS and I visited this weekend.
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To start at the beginning....
Like many couples, RQS and I ask each other on a weekly basis:
"What do we want to do this weekend?"
We'll usually find a new museum to go to, or restaurant to try out. But it always seems to be a variant on the usual theme. We are simply looking for ways to avoid boredom, and want to do something that nurtures us in doing so.
Saturday morning came, and we slowly got ready to trek into Manhattan. The subway route that we would normally have taken was out. So we ended up taking an alternate way into Manhattan, and get to Rockefeller Center by 1:30 pm. From there, it was a short walk to the Paley Center.
Arriving at the Paley Center, we were surprised at how empty the museum was. We started our visit downstairs, and viewed some programs related to Women's History Month. We were the only two people in the theater. Next, we went upstairs to see an exhibit on Black Achievements in Music on TV. Both physical and video artifacts were on display, two of which were Louis Armstrong's Trumpet and Chuck Berry's guitar. It was a small, but well curated exhibit. But it paled in comparison to what is on display in Washington, DC. (I've gotten spoiled by exhibitions at the Smithsonian museums.)
And then, we went upstairs again to see some videos related to
animation. This wasn't that interesting, so we left the theater and looked at Al Hirschfeld's work
and the art of Television on display. This was most interesting, and worth the trip upstairs. Yet, we couldn't find all the Ninas in the pictures. Next, it was up to the fourth floor to watch videos from their collection. This time, I couldn't find the video of Groucho Marx appearing on the Jack Benny show riffing on the theme of Groucho's show, "You Bet Your Life." But I did find something well worth watching for a Yankee Baseball fan - Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
On our way out of the Paley Center, RQS stopped to see whether she could join as a member. By doing so, our admission fee was refunded and we helped the center in its mission. Next time, I'll look for a similar deal with another museum we'd visit more than once, and do the same thing.
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By this time, our stomachs were growling, and we decided to go to the Nom Wah Tea Parlor's Nolita outpost. Unlike their Chinatown site, this establishment was easy to get in to without a wait, but had a more limited selection of Dim Sum. I was surprised that one could order everything via a touch screen, but had trouble with the credit card reader. Although the food was as good as their original site, I still prefer going to their smaller venue in Chinatown with Ping's Seafood as a fallback.
Finally, it was time to go back to RQS's place for the evening. It was nice to know that our weekend subway connections got us back to her place almost as quick as if we were traveling on a weekday. And it was something for us to remember the next time her subway line does a weekend termination at its first Manhattan stop.
