Coldplay Fires Them Up June 30, 2008

 

 

By Dan Rice, Chopper 4

 

As I have mentioned before, Chopper 4 is periodically used by the TODAY Show for their Toyota Summer Concert Series. Back on May 19, I was surprised by the size of the crowd the band The New Kids On The Block drew. When I heard that Coldplay was going to perform, I knew we’d be flying overhead on Friday.

 

Naturally, I expected a really large crowd, but I did not expect it to be as gigantic as it turned out. For eight years now I have worked with the TODAY Show and I do not remember a crowd as big as Friday’s. Trust me, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Ricky Martin all drew enormous crowds. I feel safe in saying the crowd for Coldplay was the biggest to date.

 

We arrived overhead around 7:20 a.m. and the crowd not only filled The Plaza, it reached back to the front doors of 30 Rock, where the Rockefeller Christmas Tree normally stands. The crowd even filled the South side of West 48th Street and people spilled around the corners of West 48th and West 49th Streets at Rockefeller Plaza. I am sure if most of those people could see anything. But regardless of where they were standing, they got one hell of a show!

 

 

Normally the musical part of the concert begins around 8:40 a.m.  Coldplay started right at 8:30 a.m. and played right up to the local newsbreak. Then, they played an encore at the top of the 9:00 a.m. show, which I’ve only seen happen two or three times over the years.  Nobody left early and the band gave it their all for their fans.

 

If you watched, you saw the sweat coming off of Chris Martin. He worked the crowd, even heading to the West 48th Street side of The Plaza to connect with the people in the back of the crowd. Considering they played at Madison Square Garden several nights earlier in the week and were heading to Philly Sunday, I really impressed by Coldplay as people giving back in some way to their fans, not just as musicians.

 

I know TODAY has many talented people scheduled for the rest of the summer. However, it is going to be hard to impress me the way Coldplay did on Friday morning.

 

Please share your comments below or you can e-mail me chopper4@nbcuni.com

Something Old, Something New May 27, 2008

By  Cat Greenleaf

This weekend, as so many of us did, my husband and I met up with far flung members of our family at a spirited reunion of sorts. Part of the weekend included a trip into my brother-in-law’s basement to check out the baby gear they’ve put aside for us. There was that gorgeous crib, a stylish, understated high chair, and a baby swing that looked like Eames had designed it!

Everything is so pretty, and well preserved, and we felt so lucky that it was waiting for us. It got me thinking, though, about people with lots of stuff and no one to give it to, and on the flipside, about people who need baby things and have no way to obtain it. It turns out the organization Baby Buggy addresses the issue from both sides. Here’s their link, in case you have, or need, things for the little ones: www.babybuggy.org

NKOTB May 16, 2008

Rob By Rob Morrison, Anchor

I turn 40 soon. And I do so with a sense of relief, having unburdened myself of a deep secret I’ve kept for decades. I admitted on-air today that I like New Kids On The Block. It’s a fact I once secretly acknowledged to my (much) younger cousin Amanda back in the late 80’s. She, however, broke our confidence and told other members of my family…much to their surprise and delight. The teasing was too much for my fragile ego to take at the time and I angrily denied it.

I thought the skeleton was buried in my closet forever until today when our Plaza was besieged by thousands of still-loyal NKOTB fans. They’ve reunited here to kick off a new tour.

So, much to the surprise and delight of my co-workers, I admitted the truth today. The teasing has resumed, but I feel I’m in a better place to handle it now.

Daddy Day Care April 24, 2008

By Cat Greeleaf

One of my best friends is a stay-at-home dad of one-year-old twin
girls. On Wednesday afternoons, he has a sitter for a few hours, and
today we took a walk through my neighborhood. An hour in, I realized
he’s changed. He’s gentler, calmer. I want what he has – that
serenity. Does that come with kids? Do babies force you to realize how
little control you actually have over the world, so you can just let go?
I don’t hear a lot of parents talking about it, but if, indeed,
children bring balance, then what a lovely byproduct.

Earth Day ’08 April 23, 2008

Rob Morrison, Anchor

Here we are (Chris, Otis and me) reporting for duty in East Harlem.  We were proud to join about 200 NBCU volunteers and members of the New York Restoration Project to plant trees at the Martin Luther King Jr. Housing Campus.  It’s all part of our ongoing Green is Universal “Earth Week.”

We didn’t mean to strike this Three Stooges looking pose, but we needed to fill out some forms and there was very limited table space, so…

 

Good Morning April 23, 2008

Erika Tarantal, Reporter

TINY has a big secret!

Shhhhh…..I’ll tell you what it is in just one (hyphenated) word “Ess-A” …. as in Ess-A-Bagel. Every morning the most marvelous breakfast bread product ever invented is delivered to the 6th floor newsroom at 30 Rock… at least a couple dozen, piping hot!

Here’s another secret, and the explanation for my excitement over the warm, wonderful O-shaped offerings. I am a self-admitted carb-addict, and my carb of choice is the bagel.

Being as this was my first time ever filling in on Today in New York, being greeted by my familiar friend (from Ess-A no less!) was a nice treat. Oh sure, people are always putting down carbs and cutting them out of their diets….but consider the foundation of the food pyramid….that’s right grains are down there. So shouldn’t the bagel have a firm place in the foundation of my day?! Especially when that day begins with an alarm clock buzzer at 2:30am! With the price of wheat growing….and the price of bagels growing too, I have an even deeper appreciation for the free-bee.

But I have to say what was even better than the extra topping on that warm bagel….the warm welcome of the morning crew. Thanks for making the day so delightfully delectable, and thank you all at home for watching.

 

 

High Flying Father April 21, 2008

By Cat Greenleaf

While the adoption process promises to be a slow one, yesterday, we had a paternal experience of a wholly (holy) different kind. At the end of an otherwise ordinary weekend, the truly extraordinary happened.

In an effort to shape up for summer, my husband and I went for a run (my first in years) around 7 p.m. As we turned onto the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, there were helicopters hovering overhead, police boats in the East River, and flashing lights doting the FDR and Brooklyn Bridge. The scene was dramatic, and we figured someone had gone overboard, or some other disaster had transpired. But nope: It was the pope, taking off from the South Street Seaport, traveling by helicopter to JFK.

Little by little, people started to gather and the excitement began to build. Before long, Il Popo was airborne, and his chopper did a graceful lap above us. While we’ve all seen the pope  give Mass to thousands of New Yorkers over the past few days, last night it felt like it was just us – this little handful of Brooklynites – and him, the most famous man on earth. And while I’m not Catholic and can’t say I’m thoroughly familiar with Benedict’s teachings, seeing him lift off above us felt serendipitous, intimate, and so New York. Convinced he could see me, I waved goodbye, and then felt silly when I looked around and realized the only other person waving was a  2-year-old on his father’s shoulders. Oh well, it felt right to me!

My husband told me that the pope had blessed my first run, and now I had to keep going. I’m not sure if that’s true, but I am walking slightly lightly today, buoyed by this neat little gift from the city.

Practical Magic Ball 2008 April 16, 2008

Rob Morrison, Anchor

Sometimes simple is best.  That was definitely the case at last night’s elegant City Harvest gala at Cipriani.  Glitzy evenings like this are important for charitable organizations no matter what the cause.  The well-heeled and rich and famous in attendance can raise millions, literally, in a matter of hours.  And certainly, feeding hungry New Yorkers is as important a cause as any.

Yet amid the glitter, one man’s simple eloquence shined brightest.  Bill Murray, one of a handful of City Harvest drivers who were honored last night, spoke about the people he connects with everyday.  The children…the elderly…his own neighbors who wouldn’t eat if not for the donated food he delivers to them.  He’s not getting rich doing what he’s doing, but he says he feels lucky.  As I said from the podium after his speech, I feel lucky to have met him.

  

All In The Family April 10, 2008

By Cat Greenleaf, Reporter 

 

 

Today my colleague Rob Morrison asked if I’m having any second thoughts. No. But it was an interesting question, because my sister-in-law is pregnant with her third child, in the not-paper way. Yesterday she sent a family-wide email describing her latest ultrasound. Her baby’s heart was beating, and she says that the baby waved.

 

Reading that still didn’t inspire me to want to be biologically pregnant now, but it did give me a little pause. I realized I wouldn’t be sending out those kinds of emails, and that my family wouldn’t be able to get excited with us in the same way. I experienced .5 seconds of sadness, until I remembered my mom, who was visiting from California this weekend.

 

She sat on my couch Saturday afternoon, knitting soft, pastel colored yarn into delicate squares. I asked what she was making. “A baby blanket.” I asked who’s pregnant. “You are!”

That made me smile. She’s having fun with this, and I guess that kind of greater family involvement is more important to me than I thought.

My sister-in-law says we’re “gestating together”, which is a kooky but compelling concept. I look forward to more ultrasonic evidence of my niece or nephew, and maybe when my mom has finished her blanket, she’ll email everyone a picture and we can all keep getting excited together!

Vanity Plates March 25, 2008

Dan Rice, Chopper 4

This morning Cat Greenleaf did a story about a man obsessed with vanity license plates.  She even showed a few plates from people who work on the newscast.  This immediately made me think back to when I first met my wife.

It was May 1996 and I was working for Metro Traffic doing reports from one of their airplanes.  Shannon was hired to replace me as I moved on to their helicopter.  From the moment I saw her I was in love!  She still is the most beautiful woman I have ever met.  Of course I figured I had no shot at dating this beauty.  However, as the morning went on, I started to gain confidence.  At the end of the shift, I walked her out to her car.  The first thing that caught my eye was the vanity plate, “12MPRES.”   Talk about a confidence killer.  Not only is she hot, she knows it!   After thinking I had no chance of being with her, I started to get mad.  I thought, ” Who the hell does she think she is?  She’s hot and full of herself!  Who needs that?” 

Well, she must have caught me staring at the plate because she explained to me that the plate was the name of her horse, One To Impress.  For years Shannon and Onie (pronounced “oh’ – knee,” it’s the horse’s nickname…don’t ask me where it came from) competed in several shows and competitions and won hundreds of trophies and ribbons!  She loved the horse like a child and wanted everyone to know this. 

I was very relieved that she was not some kind of narcissist and my confidence came right back (although I never acted on my feelings and she wound up asking me out a few weeks later…I wasn’t exactly Mr. Smooth!). By the way, we still have Onie. Instead of competing in shows, he has become more of a pet and my daughter’s best friend!