m&m’s&$&¢’s

The plummeting M&M’s balloon at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was most prominently caught on tape by Alar Allas, a spectator from Toronto whose recording of the 515-pound dirigible toppling a 30-pound light fixture in Times Square thankfully hasn’t turned him into the Abraham Zapruder of character mascots. Moreover, the father of the two lightly injured by the falling debris declared he has no intention to sue the City of New York or anyone else, instead accepting the invitation to sit in the VIP section with his daughters next year. By contrast, a column in the New York Daily News points out NYC doles out some $500 million a year in settlements – $50 million alone to folks who slip and fall on the sidewalk – goaded by adverts from personal injury lawyers. The accident wasn’t necessarily a surprise to Macy’s officials aware of the crosswinds gusting around the Broadway intersection where past mishaps occurred with Sonic the Hedgehog and The Cat in the Hat. Most criticism related to the accident is being leveled at the NBC network, who failed to report on it during the parade coverage, instead switching to a clip of last year’s M&M’s – Al Roker wondering, "Will these classic candymen get out of this delicious dilemma?" (The accident as captured by Allas – who evidently works in video production locally – can be viewed here.)