The Willabeast strikes again.
Actually, I think it's time to call in the big dog to spook the Philly Phillies as we head into game two of the World Series.

Upper West Side dog is a Yankees fan, and she wants a win. Last year she haunted Philladelphia with her devilish antics- so maybe she left behind a curse.
Click here to see the Willabeast's Haunted Philly tour.

Short clip of interview w Charles Grodin. Longer versionuploaded later- plus watch on News 12 CT tonight.

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Heather Kovar
Twitter: hrkovar
HeatherKovar.com

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Help the Willa-Beast choose a Halloween Costume!

Remember Willamena's visit to the Bull and Bears as a Mutt-ador?

Click here to read her post about the stock market last October and click here for the pics with the bears!

However, we still need to decide what Willamena will wear this Halloween! I was thinking lab- tekkie. Maybe put a white coat and give her an i-Paw. I'm holding out for something better. Send me your ideas.

Every year we revisit the Willa-beast's haunted tour of NYC-
so CLICK HERE ...if you DARE...

Oh, she has also already been "Super-Mena."

But don't worry, I'm sure I'll find something with all the help retailers are sending.
I think the emails starting arriving mid-September.
Amazon, ebay and a company I don't remember ever ordering from, filled my in-box with titles such as "$10 Off Costumes." "Don't be left without a costume!" "The best ones are going fast."

They're said to be spooked about consumer spending this entire upcoming holiday season. A survey by the National Retail Federation says Americans plan to spend 15-percent less on Halloween this year.
Even following a dismal retail report yesterday, futures are up this morning. News 12 Business Reporter Bob Plunkett says some analysts think that after everyone's "NO-spending sprees" all year, as soon as people start shopping for gifts, they WILL make the impulse buys for themselves.

After all the tricks, maybe it is time to treat yourself.
In moderation.

I love that trees in Central Park are labeled. I can stop and look at them and know who they are and where they came from. I thought it was great the other day in Connecticut when I noticed some trees near the Bruce Museum in Greenwich were labeled as well. I started telling my friend Dwight about how I love reading labels on trees when I noticed, I was labeled. We had been at a media event, and not only did I still have my name tag on, I was labeled "New 12" instead of "News 12."
But this also reminded me of another time I had a label- and so here is the story of not just being labeled, but of where we put those labels.


If you watched the video, you heard about how I left a news conference with a name tag on, but how my photographer reminded me to take it off before shooting a stand-up. I'm not going to litter, so I pulled the sticker off my chest and put it on my back-side. Of course people walking by had to let me know I had something on my....

AND that story reminds me of a Halloween a few years earlier. As morning anchor, I like to have a costume, but I can't wear it all morning long, I mean, I am a serious journalist. So that year, I wore a white suit, brought along bunny ears, tail and a duster. I was a "dust bunny." Get it?

So we took some pictures for the blog. My photographer was supposed to remind me to take off the tail, but wouldn't you know it, we got called out to breaking news and I'm running around asking people what happened. I couldn't understand why they all kept telling me how much they liked my suit.

Finally I turned to 'not face' my photographer and asked, I took that tail off, right?
"Umm, NO."

Good thing Halloweeen is a Saturday this year and I'm not working!

Hey fellow Twitter fans.
Whether you use the social networking site for conversation or marketing or a way to never eat dinner alone, you should be aware of local tweet-ups and opportunities to meet people with whom you share links.
I'm excited to attend the upcoming #140 Conference in London, because I met so many agitators and movers and inspired thinkers at Jeff Pulver's #140 New York back in June.

As Pulver's gatherings move forward, he says #140conf is not about microblogging or the place where people share twitter “tips and techniques” but rather where we explore the effects of the real-time Internet on Business.

You can still register for #140 Los Angeles (October 27th-28th,) #140 London (November 17th,) and #140 Tel Aviv.
Maybe you are wondering how to get an opportunity to speak at one of these, or future events? @jer979 (Jeremy Epstein) spoke at #140 NYC and said he read every tweet by founder Jeff Pulver. He says he know what Jeff was looking for, and was able to respond and make a pitch based on what he knew about Jeff through his tweets. He explains why following only a select few works for him in this little video I shot with him at #140 NYC.


With all that is out there on Twitter, how can one read every single tweet of someone they follow? Simple strategy according to @jer979. When he spoke at #140 in NYC, he actually "got some boos" when he told the crowd that he only follows 140 people. He says it allows him to read every tweet and post and link of the experts he follows.
However, checking in with him now, he is only following 99 people!

I don't remember exactly what it was, but something @jer979 said at #140 conf influenced some interesting works from Jeff Pulver. After Epstein spoke, Pulver went on to say how twitter and blogs and your footprint on the internet are your legacies. Your words are there for future generations to read; ways to get to know you better.

With that in mind, see you at #140 London!

"Acorns keep falling on my head... "
Willamena was almost nocked in the head by these little nuts that were raining from the sky in Central Park Sunday morning. The squirrels were busy in the trees above, and the acorns had a certain rythm as they fell and hit the sidewalk, bouncing up to hit a few more notes as they bounced to their resting spots.

Yes, this year will be better than the last.
Willamena is enjoying the Counting Crows in Central Park.

A tour from the roof of 124 Broadway.

Witness says one of the cruisers got a call and took off. He says he watched as they used the jaws of life to cut off the top to get the one driver out.
72nd and West Wnd is a dangerous intersection. There are accidents here all the time.

Meet LT Sean Cooney @StamfordPolice . We are mic-ing him up for an interview. @chicphotog

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STRIKE A POSE!

While your dog might not enjoy hamming it up for the camera as much as Willamena does, (wonder where she gets that from?) there are ways to jazz up your pet's pics.

Tips such as changing angles by getting down at your pet's level, come from a professional photographer on the blog of Dogster.com.
Send Mena your best shots.

We are at the zoo finding out how the animals are keeping cool. Zoo Director Gregg Dancho says animals have natural habitat and plenty of shade and water. Later on News 12, heat from a vet on keeping you pets safe in heat. Also see the Guinea Hogs. There are only about 150 in country. They are endangered and called a heritage breed.

Part two of tweeting standup. Got called up on stage when act didn't show up.

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Twitter: hrkovar
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Two parter: got called up to do standup.

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Twitter: hrkovar
HeatherKovar.com

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Proof a pedicure is a NECESSITY

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Twitter: hrkovar
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Having fun at the beach (@ work) w/ @chickphotog

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Twitter: hrkovar
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Jail cell in new Greenwich PD Public Safety Complex.

This is a media tour. Ribbon cutting is August 24th. Expect to start occupying late September or early October. More on News 12 CT at 5.

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Willamena's New Haircut!
My floor thanks me.

My first audio boo. I tested it out last weekend before it was connected to Twitter.

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Behind the Scenes of a News 12 Connecticut newscast.
Meet Morning Producer Gwen Edwards.

Twitter: hrkovar
HeatherKovar.com

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Video on set this am. Having fun on Friday.

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BURNING ICE
NYC Artist Chin Chih Yang recreates the melting of the earth's ice cap with interactive ice sculpture in Union Square.
www.123soho.com

Saturday afternoon NYC Walk: Water Stop at The Frying Pan.
Railroad and Ship history buffs should not miss Pier 66 Maritime in NYC. As you walk along Hudson River Park at W. 26th street, Pier 66 is a former railroad barge that is now used as a public access pier.

According to it's website, the barge at Pier 66 was originally used as a car float for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad. Once you walk along restored rails, you will find a restored ships as well as a bar and grill.

Shelter Dogs Rock! Largest adoption ever held in Connecticut. Friday through Sunday at Petsmart North Haven. 400 Universal Drive North, North Haven.
View puppies www.spcact.org
Fill out application online.
I'm holding one of 18 rescue puppies that arrived in CT from Georgia yesterday. Hundreds more are arriving. 400 dogs will be up for adoption this weekend.

What a way to wrap up the long Fourth of July holiday weekend. Devour an ice cream on seconds. You should see what this dog can do to a hot dog. Watch out Joey Chestnut!

UWS Residents finaly get their sparklers on.

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NYC Fireworks

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High Line from 10th ave (last vo till fireworks!)

A view of the High Line from the street. This is fr the location you can look down from the High Line through the glass.

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Video from High Line with Empire State Building

As of now, the High Line only runs as far north as W 20th. Enter at 10th ave. This video features some wild flowers and the Empire State Building. The southernmost entrance is Gansevoort street.

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There are bleachers and a glass wall to sit and watch the street below.

The High Line in NYC

This amazing new park just opened in NYC. The High Line is an old abandoned train rail. Back in the day it was a place of debauchery and scene of drugs. Now through renovation and love, it is a public park. Luxury condos, hotels and amazing architechture line the route here on the west side.

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We are sitting on the bench just steps from the 79th street Boat Basin Cafe. It is outdoors, so they allow dogs at the tables and at the bar. Mena loves stopping in for a beer and demands one of her own when we are there.
Today, however, we are taking a nice walk, drinking water and relaxing.

"Celebrating Our Music" is the theme of today's Puerto Rican day parade in New York City.

Here is MENA-UDO enjoying the Puerto Rican Day parade in New York City two years ago.
(Read about her adventure here.)

2009 celebrity honorees include New York Yankee Bernie Williams, reggaeton star Daddy Yankee, and Grammy winner Olga Tañón. The parade starts at 11 am at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street.

After celebrating music, you can celebrate some great art that belongs to the Museo de Arte de Ponce. While that museum in Puerto Rico is under renovation, it's paintings are on loan. The only place you can see it's "Masterpieces of European Painting" in the Northeast is at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich through September 6, 2009.
Here is an interview with the curator of Museo de Arte de Ponce, Richard Aste.

MOTO MUTT in NYC


"If you really want to know
What I want in a guy
When I'm looking for a dream on a mean machine
With hell in his eyes.

A cool rider.. "

Willamena would be in love. Just when you thought you'd seen it all, New York City unleashes the surprises. I saw Moto Mutt on the West Side Highway. Scrambling to find my Flip cam while trying to mind traffic, I at least got a few shots. Watch as I approach the cool riders.


Driving through construction and traffic trying not to have or cause an accident, I lost Moto Mutt. However, Mena, your cool rider must live nearby because he took the same exit. I caught up with him on Broadway. I missed the opportunity to video him brushing out the dog and removing the goggles. But here are a few shots from a stop light. They saw me snapping.

Abandoned Puppies

Three puppies need a home! These two guys and a gal were left abandoned on a country road in Texas without food or water. My dad found them on his way to the post office to mail jalapenos he grew for me. (We must name one Jalapeno.)

It was a very hot day. Imagine- 98-degrees, no water or food, just left to die on the side of the road.

My mom says these pups are so young they tried to nurse her dog once they got them home, but at least they are old enough to eat. Actually, mom said they ate and ate and then ate her dog's food. Look at the round belly on the one lying down.

If anyone in Texas wants a pup, let me know.
Willamena was a rescue dog. Here are two of her earliest pics. She just turned 11 in April.

NEW YORK CITY THUNDERSTORM

Having overslept on Monday morning, I was slightly worried about getting up in time for work Tuesday. Both of my cell phones, which are my alarms, seemed to be acting out. I set an emergency backup for 3:00am. However, I didn't need any of them because nature was there for me.

Just minutes before my first cell phone alarm went off, (at about 2:45 am) I awoke to flashes of light and noise. It was a storm. Willamena was no where to be found. She somehow squeezed her 70 pound body into a ten pound space between my bed and the wall. She doesn't like loud storms. After several minutes of snoozing to the rhythm of the rain, I grabbed my Flip cam since the thunder didn't want to stop. It was like someone pounding a bass drum every once in a while with no consideration of the actual drum beat.

The storm seemed louder than the camera picked up. But then I was probably just worried about walking Willamena and driving to work. I actually like the noise. I should loop it and play it as background music. Maybe I'll use it in a future song. (There is a good flash of lightning and clap of thunder about two minutes in.) Also, you can hear my cell phone alarm at the end of the recording. I had to get up at some point.

Getting Caught in Times Square


Typically I avoid Times Square. I enjoyed the area while working at Reuters and running over to the Nasdaq for reports. However otherwise, I find it's best to avoid the tourist traffic.

Yet this weekend I jumped right in the middle of it. Recently the city closed parts of Broadway to traffic and opened what you may call a pedestrian beach. Right where people wait in line for discount theatre tickets, they've placed lawn chairs for people to relax. Then, on the edge of the beach and where the street traffic resumes, there is this chair shaped like a mitt.

NYC Dog visits Stamford, Connecticut.

35-miles from mid-town Manhattan, Mena finds plenty to do in Stamford, Connecticut.

Check out Willamena's visit to Stamford. Here you see her at the Bartlett Arboretum, where dogs can walk the trails on leash.

Click here for the DogFriendly.com "2009 Dog-Friendly City Guides."
Stamford isn't on the list, so you will have to use Mena's recommendations!

Purina's blog, Petcentric, has compiled several links to help you travel with your pet, including pet travel etiquette and a number to call on your cell to find dog friendly spots on the road.

Houston, we have a problem.

This picture was posted on one of my friend's Facebook pages. He writes: "Houston's no-nonsense approach to crime extends to those who dare to dine with their dogs."

While New York City Health Code forbids dogs inside restaurants, there are plenty of places to sit and eat outside with the dog by your side.

Legal? It would be too much to enforce. Some restaurants even have doggy friendly entrees! This is from Shake Shack, an outdoor restaurant. There are also plenty of places to satisfy a dog's thirst.

A visit to the 79th Street Boat Basin is due soon.

Achilles Schiano of the New York Press Club captured the opening ceremonies of Fleet Week 09. See more pics and read his write up here.

Happy Fleet Week!
Let's hear it for Rivron Three!

These guys are just in from Virginia. They arrived on the USS Iwo Jima, a 40,500-ton assault helicopter carrier said to be the largest and most familiar ship at his year's Fleet Week. The men said if you take a tour, they are on a smaller boat on a helicopter pad at the bottom of the vessel.

This year's Fleet Week is the smallest ever, with only three major U.S. warships and five Canadian vessels in the lineup.
More....

FLEET WEEK is underway in NYC.

Willamena poses with some visitors during Fleet Week two years ago.
Here are some links to help you navigate Fleet Week.

Fleet Week NYC 2009

Schedule of Events.

Here is a Happy Hour tip to early risers or those who have been out all night.
Jeremys Ale House- $1.75 buckets of Coors- 8am to 10am
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
228 Front St. near Peck Slip, Financial District

Was that an earthquake, or is this burger THAT good?

Sunday night, 9pm-ish, my friend in La Jolla, California says he was eating an In-N-Out burger while watching "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

In the midst of the movie, he says the couch started to sway. "It felt like I was sitting on a couch that was moving with a cool wave. I thought that it was my in 'n' out burger that got the best of me."

The earthquake that hit California Sunday, measuring 4.7 in the Los Angeles area, is said to have been felt as far away as San Diego county, which contains La Jolla.

My friend, who is originally from the New York City area, says that where he was it was more like a 3.0. To help me better understand what a 3.0 earthquake would feel like eating a burger watching a funny movie, my friend says to imagine sitting on the couch and all of a sudden Mena jumps up next to me. But a light jump.

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

This is the first year that on Cinco de Mayo I'm happy to be celebrating at home instead of in Mexico. Still battling the H1-N1 flu, Mexico has called off many of it's usual celebrations. The country, however, is slowly returning to normal with businesses and schools set to resume later in the week.

For a list of some favorite Mexican food places in New York City, click here.

For some great places in Connecticut, click here.
I'm sure there are many great restaurants left off these lists. However, I am always willing to try new places and add them to my repertoire. So send me your favs.

In the mena-time, enjoy your margaritas and Pina Coladas. Or as Mena likes to call them, Mena-Coladas.

While digging around the internet, Willamena came across a blog called
"The Litterbox."

Mena loves cats; and now her new favorite kitty is the self-proclamined "strangest." The blogger found the video from my comedy show at Gotham and called me "not just your everyday news anchor."

Willamena and I are thrilled. Considering he is the only blogger to give me "face time" from that event. Other bloggers gave me "foot time" by reblogging a picture hotty
Mary Rambin took of my shoes.
Here is one blogger's reaction to the Mary's shoe/comedy report.


I learned Louboutins aren't funny, but they generate blogs. On that topic, have you seen Michelle Obama's $540.00 Lanvin sneakers?

See them here- plus read
how she says she needs comfortable shoes to walk the dog.

Willamena Loves New York.
Here is a sign of spring in Central Park- yes, taken on the weekend.
Seems like prior to a visit from an out of towner,
this blogger didn't appreciate THE PARK on the weekend. (Yes, it's annoying when it's crowded. That's why we attend during off-leash hours - before 9am!)
And don't forget to pick up the poop.

In honor of the opening of Citi Field on this March 29th, Mena revisits her tour of hot dog eating in New York City.

Click here to see her tour of some of the best tasting hot dogs in the city!

She is wondering how the dogs taste at the new stadium.
So if anyone had one at the college game between St. Johns and Georgetown, let her know!
Or, if you have one when the Mets play their first game in their new stadium Friday against the Red Sox, let Mena know!

Yankees fans- Mena also wants to know how the dogs are at the new Yankee Stadium. It also opens Friday, April 3rd with an exhibition game between the Yanks and Cubs.

McMena revisits her NYC Irish Bar Tour


Literature is considered one of Ireland's greatest exports. It was the pubs where writers would congregate to meet publishers and other business contacts. So in honor of St. Patrick's Day, we celebrate the Irish pub. McMena takes us on tours of the East and West Sides.

An Irish pub in New York City? That's hard to find. A internet search reveals there are more than nine-thousand in the area! Mena can't make them all, but go to the Murph Guide - for all the Irish bars and activities in NYC- and then some. 

Below are the first two stops on each of McMena's tours. 

Click here for the full Upper East Side Tour.

Click here for the full Upper West Side Tour.

On the East Side: 

1. Finnegan's Wake 1361 1st Ave At 73rd St I'm assuming they have good whiskey here. It was the cause of both the fall and resurrection of Finnegan. You can also order Bangers & Mash, Steak & Kidney Pie, Shepherd's Pie and Fish & Chips.

As we cross the park over the West Side, our first stop is a neighborhood favorite that unfortunately is expected to close it's doors in May in 09 because of a rent hike. However, the owner says he will open up somewhere.

1. Emerald Inn
205 Columbus Ave (between 69th and 70th)

The same Irish family has owned this locals' joint since it opened in 1943. In 2006 it won New York Magazine's listing for the best watering hole of the UWS.

Willamena Loves her Fans!

She received this picture of Murphy from Fairfield, Connecticut checking her out!

Murphy and Willamena are now friends on Dogbook.

Murphy says he enjoys sleeping, watching tv, going to the beach, swimming and eating. Sounds like they would get along very well!


Willamena has long been a techie.
She originally began hooking up with friends and blogging via Dogster back in 2006.
She doesn't have her own twitter account yet, but she is known to log on as hrkovar and twit away.