Bound for the Promised Land

I agree. Me too.

Isn't She Lovely?

After a quick afternoon trip to the post office (no line!), I figured it was way too nice of an afternoon to stay inside with Mr. Orange. (OJ did spend some quality time looking out the open windows at birds and taxicabs so you needn't worry if he had a productive afternoon or not.) Apparently the rest of the city had the exact same thought as me because when I went out for a bike ride it was unbelievably packed everywhere. Doesn't anyone stay inside on a nice day like today? I actually don't really like unseasonably warm weather. The normal temperature for today is 64 degrees, not 80. Tomorrow is supposed to be around 88. I might have to make some iced tea though I think I need a new glass pitcher.

I went out to the bike shop on 58th Street near 7th Avenue where I managed to get the tires on my bike pumped up. I noticed they were a little low and I was happy to cross that off my list. I also ran into a totally insane man on the corner of 59th Street right near Central Park. I didn't feel like stopping for a chat with him, but he was more than happy to strike a Madonna-like pose for me.

Saturday

Nothing to say right now.

Shakespeare's Statue

William Shakespeare was born 445 years ago today (Thursday). There is a imposing statue of him in Central Park right near an area known as The Mall or the Literary Walk. It's one of my favorite areas of the park and is actually a really good place to read a book. I am sure that Shakespeare would like that. There are lots of benches in this area of the park.

The sculpture was donated by the citizens of New York, led by a committee to honor the 300th anniversary of the birth of the poet and dramatist in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. There wasn't much fanfare around the statue today.

Most people in the area were jogging or riding their bicycles by quickly and I am sure that those who passed by the statue today didn't even realize it was his birthday. I did notice that some thoughtful person left a small bouquet of roses at the base of statue.

You can read more about the William Shakespeare statue here.

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On a totally unrelated note, my new neighbor, Kristen Dalton, moved in down the hall this week. I haven't met her yet, but you can see my front door in this clip. If you listen carefully, maybe you can hear Mr. Orange meowing. Her apartment is decorated much differently than mine! I don't think she finished her sandwich, but I blogged about the deli mentioned in the clip a few months ago. Those sandwiches are good.

Parking Tickets

I think that aside from finding a place to park, one of the biggest difficulties of driving a truck in the city has to be getting parking tickets. Here's a great example of an illegally parked truck and a traffic cop writing out a ticket. Notice all the other orange tickets in the window.

The Horrors are coming to New York. This could be a really good show.

Rooting for Root Beer

By popular demand, here are some bottles of cold New York City root beer. I like all kinds, but Boylan's Root Beer is really good and found at deli's all over the city. They seem to have the monopoly on root beer in glass bottles. If you look hard you can find other brands, but you don't seem to see them as frequently. I also love Black Cherry soda, but only when I am in the right mood. One thing to note -- I can't stand Diet Root Beer. Bleech!

Apparently, my only redeemable skills are taking photos and buying root beer so here I present both skills in one image.

I think I'm rather good at music listening too. The last day or so I've been listening to Fever Ray. It's a freaking great record. I like the song Triangle Walks. Here you can sing along. If I had my way, I would go to Stockholm, Sweden for the show on June 13th. That would be fun. Unlikely, but fun to imagine all the same. Don't say I didn't tell you about good music.

Raining and Hailing a Taxi

It rained out tonight. Certainly not a good time to try to find a cab.

I found out tonight that I am thought of as a good taker of photos and a good buyer of root beer. I'm not entirely sure how important or useful these skills are in the real world.

All We Really Need In Life...

I took this picture a few weeks ago, but it seems like a really good image for a Friday.

I especially like the wooden chair and the yellow and blue colors on the house are particularly good ones since I like blue shutters. I haven't been feeling up to par lately and it shows in my lack of blog postings and in my mood and overall perhaps in my general disposition. I can't quite figure out what the last line of this says, since a couple of the wooden letters are knocked out, but I'm pretty sure the last line is "And love growing in our hearts."

This was a favorite verse of Ruth Rawlings Mott. She was 97 when she died ten years ago. She was married to one of the founders of General Motors.

City Tulips

Some white tulips on 6th Avenue. I don't normally get the white ones, but tulips are definitely my favorite flower.

Where's the Gus?

Asparagus is now on sale in Union Square at a very good price - $1 per bunch. It's usually not a good thing when the -gus has gone missing. Mostly, I like it in limited doses.

The problem I have is that I'm not a very good cook. Even still, asparagus, like most green vegetables (brussels sprouts, green beans, etc.), is fairly easy to prepare. You just cut off the bottoms and you steam them until they are tender and then add a little butter to taste. There are other, much better ways to cook asparagus, but I don't have those culinary skills.

I have no idea where -gus went.

Gone Away

A modified street sign on 5th Avenue at 18th Street.

Pretzels

A stack of pretzels on Easter.

Happy Easter!

A tantalizing display of items for Easter. No chocolate bunnies here.

Lucky Draw

My friend Mame and I went to the annual Scupture Center Lucky Draw event on Tuesday night in Queens.

The Sculpture Center is, in my opinion, this totally underrated boutique art museum located outside the city just three subway stops. Every year they host a fundraiser/event where 160 artists donate work and the museum hosts a raffle sale to raise operating funds. It's a good idea, but even more so, it's a really cool event. I think I've gone four years in a row. My friend Rob used to go with me, but he dropped out and Mame has gone with me the last two years. It's got to be one of the most fun things I can think of attending. They provide a nice spread of food, free drinks and lots and lots of great art.

What makes the evening so exciting is that they sell exactly 160 tickets (it always sells out) and then they throw all of the tickets into a bin and spin it around. Meanwhile, before they call the names you walk around the museum looking at all the art that fills every wall space and make a list of all the art you might want to choose. Some of it is awesome and other pieces you might think are crappy. You try to make a list in order of priority, but it's really hard to choose exactly what you might want if your name is called early. The guy who hosts the raffle (it's more like a funky auction) is funny and captivating. I love listening to him. As they select the names out of the spinning bin randomly one by one, you wait for your name to be called so that you can select a piece of art that you want. However, because you never know when your name is going to be called, you basically sit there on pins and needles waiting, waiting, waiting. Meanwhile the assortment of art gets smaller and smaller as people who are chosen before you select pieces that you may have wanted. A lot of the art is quite valuable and other pieces less so, but all of the art is from relatively known or upcoming artists and are exceptionally well-conceived.

I really wanted a piece by Christian Tomaszewski, but it was one of the first ones selected and I ended up taking home a nice wooden sculpture instead. (See picture of Mame with my sculpture in a box.) Mame snagged a cool painting for herself.

All in all, another really fun night in New York City.

All Arrows Lead Forward

For reasons unbeknownst to me, there are arrows in on the floor at Barnes & Noble in Union Square.

Are the lines so long there that people would get confused which way to go to find one of the 10 or so cashiers? Is the process of buying books that entirely mind-boggling that in order to go a dozen or so steps straight forward, someone felt compelled to haphazardly affix masking tape of some sort directly onto the carpet as though this will radically simplify things?

I should realize that some people have difficulty doing what they say they are going to do. You can't wait around forever for even the simplest of things to happen like making a phone call, or waiting in line to go to see a movie or buy a book. You need to put directions directly on the floor and if they can't figure it out you have to realize they'll never get to the cashier and you just need to look for more thoughtful customers.

Broadway Bound

As I was walking through Union Square on Thursday night I ran into this girl who wanted directions. I think her name was Ginger (she kind of said it quickly) and she was looking for directions on how to get to 1087 Broadway.

Closed Set

Night time road work in the middle of 6th Avenue.

These construction crews work round the clock digging up the avenues throughout the city. I suppose it's a necessary evil in a bustling metropolis. It only really bothers me when I notice how loud everything is here or when they are digging up the street with those noisy jackhammers at 3:30am outside my apartment. Oh yes, it happens all the time.

It's amazing to see how in the center of a city like this one, even the torn up streets look like movie sets. Unfortunately, no one ever asks the back-hoe operators for their autographs -- though they probably contribute a hell of a lot more to our daily lives than Ashton Kutcher (twitter posts notwithstanding) ever will.

Sunday Photo Overload

The Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD) had their annual photography show at the Park Avenue Armory last weekend. It's the longest running international show of fine art photography.

My friend Spencer called me at around 11am on Sunday morning and asked me if I wanted to head over there and check it out. I was still in bed when he called and had to get up anyway so I'm glad he called. I was sort of sleeping late, but I wasn't sleeping until noon. Actually, I woke up really early (7:35am), but I was still so tired that I went back to bed and was just waking up when he called.

Spencer has an upcoming exhibition of his work in Mexico and wanted to look at some different framing techniques. He's shipping all his work down there (his prints are fairly large) and he wanted to figure out the best way to frame and mount his photos for this exhibition.

If you like photography, it was a really great show with so many photographs crammed into the space. I was surprised by the vast numbers of people there admiring (and buying) the work. Jeremy Irons was there too. I took a rather blurry picture of him. He's wearing glasses and boots and you can see him standing in the background of the group of people (he's the tall one) engaged in an animated conversation presumably about photography. It looked like he just came from riding horses in Central Park. I thought he was so great as Claus von Bulow in "Reversal of Fortune." He's playing the legendary photographer Alfred Stieglitz in an upcoming TV movie about Georgia O'Keeffe. If you look closely at the picture (and if you give him a mustache), he looks just like Stieglitz.

Now Playing

Guest of Cindy Sherman is now playing at Cinema Village in New York City. Highly recommended. This is a MUST SEE. :)

Pink Grapefruit only $1

I haven't taken many pictures that I liked in New York City lately.

I went to Bermuda last weekend for the Bermuda International Film Festival. It was fun. The money in Bermuda is different, but they accept and give change in US dollars. I thought it is notable that their exchange rate is exactly the same as the US dollar, except everything is way more expensive there. It's only two hours from New York City.

I bought a pink grapefruit for $1. That seemed like a bargain.

Post St. Patricks Day Pile Up

I missed the St. Patrick's Day Parade as usual. Here's some of the aftermath on 5th Avenue.

Start to Read

One of these books is not like the others.

Sesame Street Elmo Animal Mix & Match is a super effective way to teach your kids to start reading. They are never too young to learn. Madison Avenue somewhere in the 40s.

The movie opens in 8 days!

Pavement Art

This is another example of the art that I was talking about the other day. It's scattered all over the city, mostly stenciled or affixed to the street. This one is located on the corner of Prince Street and Greene Street. It's not as pretty as this one, but this is what I was talking about. It's slightly different in form, but you can see how he's developing as a street artist.

This is quickly becoming my favorite blog. It gets right to the point.

Wristwatches on Canal Street

A shiny array of counterfeit watches on Canal Street. They have all the fake stuff there. A lot of it is now hidden away, especially the Louis Vuitton handbags. As long as you don't look like a cop, there are dozens (if not hundreds) of criminals from various foreign countries that will sell you anything you think you might need at a huge discount. Whatever you buy won't be real, but your friends back home will never know the difference.

I find the perfume they have for sale there especially intriguing because it looks totally real, but it's way cheaper and must be completely fake as well. It's just scented water anyway. I don't wear a lot of cologne, but I have some nice stuff from Italy that you won't find on Canal Street. I suppose if you are buying Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker or Opium from a shady looking dude in a stall on an exceptionally busy street in downtown Manhattan, you deserve what you pay for.

On a completely unrelated side note, I think something is wrong with my head. I've been getting dizzy lately and mixing things up and being a little irritable (maybe for good reason?) I should have it checked out. Maybe it's staring at all these shiny watches though. That guy was super pissed that I took a picture of his wares. Where's the NYPD when you need them?

Late Night Men at Work

Steam blasts out of the street as a couple of Con Ed workmen try to figure out what's wrong.

I kinda think that I haven't had such great posts lately since it seems every time I see a good picture my camera is out of batteries or I've forgotten it at home. I guess I haven't really felt like myself the past few weeks. Tired. Working too much. I had a cold. Etc. Hopefully some better pictures this week. It's Sunday night.

Art on the Street

These little figures seem to pop up all over the city.

If you've lived here long enough and keep your eyes peeled you'll see them around. I've noticed them mostly either painted on the street in crosswalks or affixed with some odd tape/paint sort of stuff directly to the pavement. This is the first one I've seen at eye level. It is glued to one of those strange electrical boxes that are on a lot of street corners. It's made out of some paper/plastic like material and is glued down really, really good.

This is quickly becoming my favorite blog. It's great and totally gets right to the point.

Angry Corner

There were a lot of angry people waiting on this corner. I think they misread the sign.

A Trip to The Dentist

Everyone loves a trip to the dentist. No cavities. Big smile.

Sarah Morris on West 40th Street

Sarah Morris makes excellent paintings with household gloss paint. She is definitely one of my favorite artists. She usually works in bright colors and makes huge interlocking shapes. She's also a pretty decent filmmaker. I saw her lecture at the Guggenheim a few years back and she was extremely good-natured and outgoing.

Here's a huge Sarah Morris panel display that I stumbled upon in the lobby of 104 West 40th Street in Midtown near Bryant Park. You can find all sorts of cool stuff like this in New York if you keep your eyes open. I saw this on Saturday night after the first night of The Coffee C'Art on my way to a late night in the editing room doing the sound mix on the movie. Blah, blah, blah.

Here is more information about this building than you would ever want to know.

Art Cart

Here's a picture of the Kenny Scharf art cart that transported people around outside The 2009 Armory Show at Pier 92 and Pier 94 in Manhattan.

The Coffee C'Art

Here is artist Mame McCutchin's rendering of The Coffee C'Art as it might appear on the southeast corner of 54th Street and 12th Avenue - across the street from Pier 94 where the Armory Show is shacked up.

Come on down for a cup of nickel coffee, get an awesome GUEST of CINDY SHERMAN coffee cup, and support the arts!

Movies at the Movies

Last night on 12th Street at 11PM. A movie being filmed on the street outside of Cinema Village.

Cinema Village is the theater for the March 27th opening of Guest of Cindy Sherman!

Party All The Time

The scene entering the Valentino party on Thursday night at 7PM on Madison Avenue. I hope my hair looked ok; I think I need a haircut. Maybe tomorrow. I had an OK time, but this will be a way better event.

Hoisting in Soho

Despite the terrible recession, there are plenty of new buildings going up all over the city. Here's a modern window being hoisted and popped into place on West Broadway in the Soho section of the city on Thursday morning.

I always try to avoid walking near these things. You never know when something might fall and crash on your head. I walk on top of the sidewalk grates though. It seems like those scary things might fall in at any moment. They are especially bad for women in high heels. I think that after living in the city for awhile all the women figure out how to get around them so they don't lose their heels.

Flooding Fifty Seven

You never know when a subway station is all of a sudden and completely out of nowhere going to get flooded. This was Sunday afternoon at the N/R 57th Street stop which I seem to use a lot. The best thing about this stop is that the trains come very regularly and there are usually no long waits for trains even if the station floods from time to time.

The transit system in Manhattan is totally unpredictable, but I imagine it runs pretty well compared to other cities. I prefer the bus for the ride and the weird people who you see on the bus, but the subway is way faster and much cheaper than taxi cabs which are totally outrageous. I was running late the other day and a cab from 57th Street to the World Trade Center was $19. Serves me right for being late I suppose.

More New Buildings

Progress continues on the World Trade Center. I don't think they should rebuild it. It should just be redeveloped as a downtown park. There are already enough tall buildings in the city already.

Attention! You May Be Recorded.

Don't do anything illegal.

At least you have a huge warning sign. I wonder why they felt the need to post such an enormous sign in this station. It is the City Hall N/R station, one of the closest subway stops to the former site of the World Trade Center so maybe this will scare all the terrorists and erstwhile Mayor Bloomberg protestors away.

I wish they would use these cameras to apprehend the scofflaws who gunk up the subway platforms with chewing gum.

I just noticed that I have been nominated for a 2009 Cool Photoblog Award. Someone submitted me yesterday and the comments are good too! There are tons of very popular sites that gets lots of traffic, but it's nice to be nominated. You have to register to vote, but if you are inclined to click the link above please do so, no one is stopping you.

Saturday Night Legwear

Every Saturday night a huge number of people gravitate into the city to visit one of the many nightclubs scattered throughout the city. Here's what a couple of New Jersey clubbers were wearing on their way out to frolic the night away.