Once the heavy stuff abated Sunday — around the time our vice president accidentally shot a fellow hunter — I joined about a trillion neighbors for a winter romp in Central Park.

Here's my Blizzard '06 photo album, with ones I found most interesting at the beginning. (All NYC photos.)

Among the most curious sights were photographers' footprints. Serious photogs — and I'm not yet one — don't miss a day like this. Whenever I saw footprints deep in the snow, away from patted down walkways, I knew a photographer had ventured away from the crowd to get a better look at something, maybe to get a fence or a sign out of his camera's view. It was kinda cool to try to see what someone else had seen before you.

Also nice to watch how the people with real photo equipment work, being that I'm more apt to be surrounded by morons who try to capture that definitive concert shot 300 feet away from the stage with a cell-phone cam.

Finally, here's a nice, quick shot I took in Times Square on Friday evening. I always try to get a cab in my city street shots. Certainly adds to the NYC context, and the yellow usually a nice touch. This one, of course, is not short on color to begin with.

Today's New York Links:

• Mardi Gras Parties in NYC — MurphGuide rounds up all the best parties going Fat Tuesday, Feb. 28, which also happens to be my 33rd birthday. That's not going to be a fun night or anything.

• Free Stuff on Craig's List — Did you know people are just dying to give shit away for free on CL? Post after post of stuff available for you to pick up. And I'm not just talking STDs.

• A Year of Film Festivals — Manhattan User Guide rounds up a ton of film festivals coming to town this year. Nothing for pornos? WTF?!

• Ashley is One Multi-Cultural Name — This press release shows the top 10 New York City baby names in 2004 by race. Ashley was the top Hispanic baby name, fifth among blacks and seventh for Asian and Pacific islander. Yet, it's nowhere in the top 10 among whites.

• NYC Noise — Somebody in my neighborhood started a blog to bitch about all the noise emanating from our local bars. Talk about an exciting read!

• Overpriced Cocktail Hall of Shame — The Village Voice highlights pricey concoctions served at places I probably wouldn't be caught dead in. Also see: Part II

• Panorama of Times Square on New Year's Eve — The most fun part: zooming in on Mariah's golden globes.

• ZogSports Comes to Hoboken — Not so much a New York topic, unless you work here and live in New Jersey. Anyway, this rec league is great, so give 'em a look if you like sports, booze and sweaty chicks. You might even meet one or two people who don't work in the finance industry.

• New York Hack — A blog run by a New York City cabbie. And it's a chick, too. Think of all the available guys at that company party. Parking must be a bitch, though. Read Gothamist's interview with her.

• 4th Annual Marc S. Zeplin Foundation 3-on-3 Basketball Challenge — On March 18, hoop it up to benefit Children's Charities and the Marc Zeplin Scholarship Fund, named for a Cantor Fitzgerald employee who was fallen on 9/11. All teams play a minimum of three games, followed by single-elimination playoffs.