Sunday, November 6, 2011

Skating Already

Skating at Nathan Phillips Square [Photo by KPA]

Above is a photo I posted last December of skaters at Toronto's City Hall (Nathan Philips Square) skating rink. Here's what I wrote:
Skaters at the City Hall's rink in Nathan Phillips Square (named after Toronto's first Jewish mayor) keep the spirits high. Some try their hockey moves (without sticks), others are just beginning.

The old(er) and the new are juxtaposed in the buildings. The new City Hall , which I don't like and which I refrained from photographing, stands near the "Old City Hall" (that's what it's called), seen in the above photo.

Notes:
1. The high rise is part of the city's skyline, and not the new City Hall.
2.The City of Toronto flags are waving in the background. Needless to say, in line with my critical nature, I do not like the flag design. Part of my dislike is that the lifeless new City Hall is the focus of the design (one bad idea always leads to another). But more on that later.
It looks like skating has already started at New York City's Rockefeller Center skating rink, which opened on October 15th, 2011. Toronto's rink is scheduled to open a month later on November 19th. So much for a northern city!

Below is a photo of the Rockefeller rink taken about a day ago, posted at the blog NYC Daily, which is a blog dedicated to taking photographs of New York City. There are some really impressive photos at the blog, although at times I find that the images are over-saturated (which helps to make them more dramatic, but New York hardly needs any added drama). It looks like the Christmas lights are going up, but the lighting of the Christmas tree isn't until the end of November.

Skating at the Rockefeller Rink [Photo from NYC Daily]