DAY 1 on the DIAMOND PRINCESS

Well, first of all, the peace talks between the USA and Iran failed in Pakistan.  From FOX News Sunday.  What next?  More war, with the U.S. trying to secure the Strait of Hormuz and, as I've been hinting for weeks, maybe even an invasion of Kharg Island.  

Rory McIlroy held a 6 stroke lead at one point in the Masters golf tournament, but fell to a one-over 73 on Saturday, and heads into the final day tied with Cam Young at -11.

• S. Burns  -10
• S. Lowry  -9
• J. Day  -8
• J. Rose  -8
• H,T, Li  -7
• S. Scheffler  -7
• P. Reed  -6
• R. Henley  -6
• P. Cantlay -6
• J. Knapp  -5
• C. Morikawa  -5
• B. Griffin  -5

The Green Jacket ceremony should occur around 7PM EDT if there is no tie at the 72nd hole.  P.S. McIlroy won again.  Starts at 2PM on CBS.

So we left New Orleans yesterday.  Flight was delayed for two hours.  United Air meal, with scotch and red wine,

Saw the new Anaconda,  Rotten Tomatoes rating only of 47/75,  However, I found it mostly hilarious.  The original 1997 Anaconda got scores of 41/24.  Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez from the first film made cameo appearances.  In fact, the final scene with Lopez and Jack Black hints of another sequal.

Arrived at New Jersey Liberty International Airport, and wow, after a $27 billion Terminal A transformation, where we arrived, looks beautiful.  In fact It was named the World's Best New Airport Terminal.  The Port Authority has approved a record $45 billion capital plan for Terminal B, which will include an expansion of Terminal A.

Caught a taxi to the Marriott Marquis for $114.  Skyline of New York City.

We arrived at the Marriott Marquis.  View from our room of Times Square.

The executive lounge in this hotel is closed on Friday and Saturday nights, so we went to the Broadway Lounge for dinner of Bolognese Pasta and Buffalo Chicken Wings,.  A photo.  That video is mislabled.

Back to room with a photo of the elevator shaft,

We were here at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in May of 2024.  Here was our tour of Manhattan.  Never said that much about New York City, so here is a quick history,

• The pre-Columbian era was inhabited by the Algonquians.
• First European, Italian Giovanni da Verrazano, came in 1524.  Bridge so named.
• English explorer Henry Hudson rediscovered the harbor, searching for the Northwest Passage to the Orient. But he was representing the Dutch East Indian Company, so claimed this area for the Netherlands, The river was named after him.

• 
  Dutch colonists came around 1624, and called the place New Amsterdam in 1626,  That year, the Dutch West India Company purchased Manhattan from the native Canarsie for what is worth $900 today.  So the tale that the island was purchased for $24 worth of glass beads is not true.

• 
  Peter Stuyvesant became director-general in 1647, marshalling growth from 2,000 to 8,000 people
• Under English control in 1664 without bloodshed, and renamed New York after the Duke of York (who later became King James II), brother of King Charles II.
• In the early 1700s became the center of slavery.

• 
  Columbia University founded in 1754,
• The Stamp Act Congress met here in 1765.
• The largest battle of the American Revolutionary War was fought within modern-day Brooklyn in August of 1776.
• Became the capital of the United States from 1785 to 1790,

• 
  Hosted the inauguration of President George Washington in 1789, and first Congress met here, where the Bill of Rights was drafted.  The Supreme Court first session in 1790.  Also that year, New York City surpassed Philadelphia as the largest city.
• In the 1800s, the city grew from 60,000 to 3.43 million.

• 
  The Great Irish Famine brought more than 200,000 immigrants by 1860,  The German population was about 25% that year.
• Then came the Civil War, leading to racial riots.
• Statue of Liberty came from France in 1886.  Welcomed 14 million immigrants from the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

• 
  The modern city formed in 1898, consolidating five boroughs:  Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island,
• Became the most populous urbanized area in the early 1920s, overtaking London.
• By the early 1930s had a population of 10 million, becoming the first megacity.

• 
  United Nations headquarters was opened in 1952, displacing Paris as the center of the world.
• Came the 11September2001 incident, killing 2753.
• The new One World Trade Center at 1776 feet is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere,
• In March 2020 replaced Wuhan as the global epicenter for the COVID pandemic.  Three years later, New York City recorded more than 80,000 deaths,

• 
  The city set a record high 2,245 murders in 1990.  Dropped to 289 in 2018,  Now has among the lowest homicide rates among the 10 largest U.S, cities.

• 
  Mayor now is Democrat Zohran Mamdani.  67% of the city voters are Democrats.
• Has been called many things, but most economically powerful city in the world is one.  
• The economy of the metropolitan area is larger than all but nine countries.
• Fifth Avenue is the most expensive shopping street in the world.
• Is home to the most bilionaires and millionaires.
• Coming here?  A video of 20 things to know before visiting,

• 
  12 interesting facts about New York City you may not have known:

1. A little over 8 million people live in New York City. That means 1 in every 38 people in the United States call the city home.
2. More than 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. 4 in 10 households speak a language other than English.
3. Oysters were so popular in New York in the 19th century that the shells were used to pave Pearl Street. They were also used for lime for the masonry of the Trinity Church.
4. France gifted the Statue of Liberty to the United States in 1886 for itscentennial celebration. The statue was shipped as 350 pieces in 214 crates and took 4 months to assemble at its current home on  Ellis Island.
5. New York City’s Federal Reserve Bank has the largest gold storage in the world. The vault is 80 feet below street level and contains $90 billion in gold.
6. The New York Public Library has over 50 million books and other items and is the second largest library system in the nation after the Library of Congress. It is also the 3rd largest library in the world.
7. The United Nations headquarters was established in New York City in 1952 after World War II.
8. The first pizzeria in the United States opened in NYC in 1895. Since the 1960s, the price of a slice of pizza has been roughly the same price as a subway ride, generating the idea of “Pizza Principle” among economists.
9. The borough of Brooklyn alone would be the fourth largest city in the United States. Queens would also rank fourth nationally.
10. Times Square is named after the New York Times. It was originally called Longacre Square until the Times moved there in 1904.
11. New York City became the first capital of the United States in 1789.
12. More Chinese people live in New York City than any other city outside of Asia. More Jewish people live there than any other city outside of Israel.

I'll close with New York State of Mind.  Worthy watch.  Here, New York City Bids Adieu to Donald Trump, from the Stephen Colbert Show.  

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