The Eagle Waits...

This is the center city Macy's store that was formerly known as John Wanamaker's, where the bronze Eagle stands in the Grand Court. This is where the holiday light show is held every year. Two weeks ago I was passing through and stopped and took a picture, because it seemed to me that the Eagle was standing there, looking up, just waiting for the light show to begin. That photo is the wallpaper on my phone right now.

But I wasn't entirely happy with it because I didn't quite get the top of the Christmas tree. So after I helped my friend move earlier this afternoon (well, yesterday afternoon as it's now after midnight) I stopped in center city on the way home and tried again. The photo at left is the one that is closest to the one I took two weeks ago.

I took a couple more, as well as one from the opposite side, showing the people today sitting around the Eagle waiting for the show to begin (it was 2:30 pm at the time), and you can see that, with the head turned as it is, the Eagle actually isn't looking at the tree...

Happy New Year. Posts on my 2011 in music and this blog coming in the next day or two.

The Philly Holiday Shows

I already posted these videos to Facebook but I thought I'd share them here as well, since I blogged about my Wednesday plans. First is a short clip of the finale of the Macy's Holiday Light Show. The Macy's show has been around forever -- well, over 50 years -- dating back to when the downtown store was Wanamaker's. It's been freshened up a bit, though. It's been a while since I've seen it so I was surprised that the narration, which had been recorded by the late John Facenda (known nationally for his work on NFL Films) is now done by Julie Andrews. I think, as a uniquely Philadelphia show, the vocal should have stayed local. Still, it's a charming old-fashioned tradition:



This is a longer clip, from the Comcast Holiday Spectacular (I would record a bit and then hit "pause" so it's not a full version of the show, just some excerpts all in one video):




The Comcast show is, as befits a high-definition age in a building that only officially opened in 2008, high-tech. The video is played on a giant hi-def LED screen on the wall. But other than the shot of the city skyline, there's nothing that says "Philadelphia" about it. Nice, but less than spectacular.