Befriending a 94-Foot Blue Whale and Being Introduced to New York Times Editors Around the World

Let’s get something out of the way first: Today couldn’t possibly top yesterday. In fact, nothing else this month will probably top yesterday’s good-news glut.

But I did do some pretty neat museum exploring today. I went back to the American Museum of Natural History, and also visited outstanding Stonewall and LGBTQ history exhibits at the New York-Historical Society (Yes, there’s a hyphen in the name. Don’t ask me why.).

First up was the Natural History museum. I stood beneath the iconic blue whale (which measures in at 94 feet) in my favorite hall of the day, the Hall of Ocean Life.

I loved reading about all the wacky deep-sea dwellers, from a starfish that eats coral polyps by extruding its stomach over them and digesting them outside its body, to parrotfish that take turns changing sex while breeding. Each time I thought the creatures couldn’t get any stranger, they did.

I also enjoyed the dioramas in the Hall of Human Origins, with ape-like human ancestors that look just human enough to distinguish them from beasts. We really once looked like that? Wow (and all the hair!).

Another highlight: A snowy owl stuffed by former President Teddy Roosevelt himself. There are stranger hobbies, I guess.

At the New York-Historical Society, I visited a Time magazine exhibit that showcased the many, many words the publication’s writers have coined over the years. Some of my favorites: “bed-wetter,” “glitterati,” “upper-crusty,” and “pratfall.”

Other highlights from my visit included:

>>A Cole Porter piano.

>>A copy of the Declaration of Independence.

>>A fragment of George Washington’s tent.

And, finally, well-curated Stonewall and LGBTQ history exhibits that are here for the summer. I was familiar with the history of Stonewall, but it was different to experience it through the lens of artifacts. One striking fact: Lesbians of the 1950s and 1960s recalled that police would arrest them if they weren’t wearing three pieces of gender-specific clothing.

I also got to see a 1969 bill for a Ru Paul show, who of course now heads up “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

Next up: I popped into the Historical Society’s gorgeous library — there’s a Tiffany Lamp collection upstairs I’ll definitely be making a return visit to see!

Then it was on to work, and today’s New York Times Page One Meeting. All guests get introduced, so a bunch of editors around the world and in New York met me today (and have probably forgotten about it by now). It was neat to listen to section editors pitch their strongest stories for the day, as well as to see the lineup of A1 photo candidates. The morning meeting is more contentious, as the section editors do more jockeying for placement. The afternoon meeting is more of a confirmation or adjustment of the morning’s decisions.

Up next: A taping of “Live with Kelly & Ryan” at Lincoln Center tomorrow morning!

And today in dessert: A diva-sized Coast to Coast Cheesecake from Rice to Riches, an East Village rice pudding joint. Think sweet vanilla pudding with cheesecake chunks. As you can probably imagine, it was rather tasty.