Sold Out Show

The Artist was sold out last week at The Paris before it won five Academy Awards on Sunday night. Yes, I finally ended up seeing it. It costs $13 to see a movie in Manhattan.

To Hell With The Devil

After receiving some really encouraging and super nice emails from around the world, it looks like there are some people that actually do enjoy my blog and photos. So consider my arm twisted and I'm starting it up again.

Here's a picture from an opening of Jonas Mekas film strips at the Agnes B. store in Soho about a week and a half ago.

Expect more regular updates and photos from now on. Thanks for all the notes.

Where's Quite All Right?

I used to post nearly every day or at least once a day. But I lost my inspiration. I don't actually think my photographs are really all that good either so I stopped posted very regularly. If I change my mind I'll post again, but for now I don't have anything to post.

Ready or Not

Ready or not here comes Hurricane Irene.

No bread in NYC

There is seriously NO BREAD in New York City. All the panic-stricken New Yorkers scooped it up in a frenzy last night.

Bergdorf Closed!!!

Sorry girls, no shopping today!

Cigarettes, Please

Please have your ID ready.

Night in New York City

A beautiful spring evening in the city.

French Sneakers

I should have bought these sneakers in Paris. I figured I'd go back to the store (somewhere on Rue St.-Honore), but then I didn't and now I'm wishing I did. That's something I am trying to do more of, just do it when you think of it rather than waiting until later. What are you waiting for? To find a better pair of sneakers somewhere else? Now it's too late, but it's never too late. Good thing to keep in mind for the future.

Anyone going to Paris anytime soon?

Actress for Hire

Oh Kristin Elliott, what were you thinking when you plastered your headshots all over Williamsburg? Did you imagine that the casting gods would shine a light on you and give you a role in the next Woody Allen movie? While that may still happen, at least some bearded, fixed-gear riding, skinny jean wearing, Whole Foods shopping hipster got an excellent opportunity to make a funny drawing on a random lamp post.

Easter Ears

Somewhere in the West Village on a cloudy Saturday afternoon before Easter.

Here Comes the Tax Man

The door is wide open. No time like the present.

Magic Cupcake

These are mostly magical after you eat about six of them in a row. Magic Cupcakes at the Duane Park Patisserie.

Chambers Street

Waiting for the subway at the Chambers Street stop on Sunday afternoon.

National Debt Clock

I never noticed this before, but the other day I saw that the infamous National Debt Clock is located right above the Internal Revenue Service office on 44th Street near 6th Avenue. How ironic, right? Better get your taxes done, you only have 9 more days!

This clock is a must visit for any tourist visiting New York (at least it's on my list of tourist sites.) I know all the best places in New York City. Anyone want a tour?

"Tip" "Wow" Tank You

One of the local deli's in the neighborhood. I like how worn out the counter top is.

Sew Buttons

New York City has something for everyone and can truly be an oasis of unexplored treasures if you ever get around to looking for them. I have been needing to find a store filled with nothing but buttons for months! I need a few replacement buttons for two shirts that I love wearing and yesterday I finally decided to venture out to cross this one off of my ever expanding list of things to do. A button store of this sort has to exist somewhere in Manhattan, right?

Luckily, I found just such a store conveniently open on Saturday afternoon called Lou Lou Buttons (212-398-5498). They're located at 69 East 38th Street right near 6th Avenue and they're open from 10am to 6pm on Monday through Friday and from 11am to 5pm on Saturday. They have loads of buttons! It's a slender little drawer of a shop filled with nothing but buttons. Row after row after row of all sorts of magical little shapes in every color and size you can possibly imagine. It's neatly organized and the guys working there were super friendly.

I showed the salesman exactly what I needed and in less than 5 minutes he expertly pulled out a few boxes of buttons until he found the exact buttons I needed. He filled them into two little plastic bags and I was on my way. Now I just need to find a girl who will sew them all on for me.

All Books Must Go

There's a huge sale this week at the 57th Street and Park Avenue location of Borders which is totally going out of business. They filed for bankruptcy last week. Other better performing branches of Borders are staying open, but the company is struggling with the massive changes rocking the book industry and hasn't been able to meet its debts or pay publishers and landlords.

Random Crap

She asked me directions to a bar in the neighborhood. I pointed her in the right direction. Isn't gambling illegal?

East River Dreaming

The Roosevelt Island tram sails high above the East River and brings people back and forth to the city all day long. This would not be a fun place to get stuck on a cold winter day, but the view is nice. I've never taken it before, but it looks like a fun ride. It was closed for most of last year for repairs and remodeling, but it's recently back in service.

Help Us Help You

The truly awesome thing about living in New York City is you never know what you are going to get hit over the head with from one day to the next.

For example, a random heavy set Hispanic dude in his mid-thirties with an ace bandage (or a cast) on his right arm might just come up behind you while you are reading the subway map and assault you.... w/ Hammer. Then he'll flee on the subway to an unknown destination. Watch your back!

Late Night Snow

It snowed on Tuesday night. Unfortunately it didn't really last very long, but it was good while it lasted. I pretty much want it to snow all the time in the winter.

Above the Star 2

All new commentary free blog. Make up your own witty and snarky comments.

Above The Star

A view down on the Crystal Snowflake on 57th Street from the windows of Bergdorf Goodman. This is a nice view of the Bulgari and Tiffany stores that you don't see very often from this perspective. It's actually the UNICEF Snowflake and was designed by Ingo Maurer and features over 16,000 Baccarat crystals. UNICEF's marketing department does a totally crap job of promoting the snowflake because everyone knows about it cause it hangs in the middle of the city for six to eight weeks every year at the corner of one of the busiest intersections in the world, but no one has any clue that it's put up by UNICEF. Where's Audrey Hepburn when you need her?

Pee-wee Herman on Broadway

Pee-wee Herman outside the Steven Sondheim Theater on Sunday after a rainy evening performance. His show plays on Broadway until early next month. My six word review: "It was very entertaining and funny."

It's Like Halloween Never Ended

I was out in midtown Manhattan earlier this evening and I saw an interesting guy crossing 2nd Avenue at 53rd street. Normally you don't see anything out of the ordinary in this neighborhood, but when you see someone dressed in 8" silver boots and a full length fur coat and feathers it makes you stop and stare. Of course, this being NYC, no one really stops to give this much of a second thought. It's as if nothing was all that unusual about this sort of look. I stopped and waited for him to come out of Walgreen's. I was actually wondering what he purchased,

Anyway, I don't know quite know how to explain the face paint or the rest of his look, but it certainly makes a pretty good statement and I appreciate that. When I asked him to take his picture, he was more than happy to stop for a portrait. Beautiful.

Rainy Day

A standard rainy day in New York City. Energy levels are low today. December 1st too.

What a Racquet!

I spotted this enormous racquet on 6th Avenue and 40th Street. He gives private lessons too and if you need to improve your game you probably won't miss many shots with this one.

Late Night Skittles

Cool girls from the Bronx know that the only acceptable late night candy is Skittles. They really don't get any cooler than this. No fake ID required.

Christmas and a Coffee Con

For the past week or two I've been going over to 55th Street (adjacent to the Robert Indiana "Love" sculpture partially visible in the background) in the morning to get my coffee. There's a little breakfast cart there and a large coffee is only $1.25 which is the cheapest in the neighborhood and, quite frankly, I think it tastes a lot better than Starbucks, Zibetto, Fika or any of the other fancy places in the area. There are, no joke, at least 30 different places to buy coffee in a two block radius of my house. I've tried them all. Maybe not all, but most of them. Not including the four Starbucks locations which are all the same...awful. So I've been going to this new cart to get my no-frills coffee which is great aside from the fact that the guy calls everyone "Boss" which is only slightly grating, but not enough so that I don't still go there in the morning.

Today, as I was walking back and passing in front of the unbelievably and wildly overpriced supermarket pictured above, a reasonably articulate and casually dressed black man approached me. In New York City, when a stranger approaches you it's always startling for a second. Your guard immediately goes up, more so than it already is, but that's just the way it is. After you realize that the person is semi-normal or just a tourist or not otherwise frothing at the mouth it's really not such a big deal to tell them where Carnegie Hall is located or how to get to the F train. This morning, however, was slightly different.

I'm walking back with my morning coffee (I resisted the urge to get a couple of high calorie doughnuts) and this guy approaches me on the sidewalk. I must have jumped a bit or something because he immediately apologized and said sorry to bother me, but he didn't want anything. Whew. Everyone wants something.

Ok, so I am thinking to myself, what do you want then? He begins his lengthy explanation. Somehow he dropped his car keys in the sewer on the corner and it's wet and watery down there and he couldn't get them out with a coat hanger. Dubious enough, but I'm sort of intrigued where this story might be going. He says that everything is OK, he's not going to get towed, the traffic cop has already assured him of that. At this point, I should have just walked away because traffic cops in New York don't care if you are the man in the moon because you are so getting towed whether you dropped your keys or have a crying baby locked up in the back seat. Since I was in no particular rush and I sort of enjoy these versions of street theater I decided to continue to hear him out if for no other reason than my own personal amusement. He continued. He reassured me that he didn't want anything and that because his keys were dropped down somewhere irretrievably in the sewer that he needed to go home to the Bronx or some other distant borough to get his spare set. The man told me that he would give me his license to hold and....blah blah blah. Now he lost me. I just tuned him out completely. I don't want some stranger's license. I don't want to be bothered on the way home from getting my morning coffee. I don't want anything other than to drink my hot coffee. I am more than happy to tell you where to get a great bagel or which diner serves the best breakfast, the best exhibition at MoMA or even how to get to Carnegie Hall (practice!) or really any other basic thing, but holding your license while you take the imaginary bus back to the Bronx is way too much for 9:30am in the morning. Of course he wanted money. So I just lied and told him that I had no money on me and he actually thanked me and moved on, eager I am sure to find his next more gullible morning coffee con.

What would you have done? Most people in New York City, busy and rushed on their way to work on a Friday morning, probably wouldn't have even stopped for 5 seconds. At least I gave him an opportunity to work on his pitch.

Oh and the picture above is right outside where he stopped me. The city is crazed right now with every business installing Christmas lights and decorations. I sure wish they'd wait another week to give us a break between the holidays.

Art Party

I went downtown to a small party/cocktail sort of thing last night. There was wine and cheese and it featured the work of the artist Spencer Tunick. Moby was there for a while and here he is talking to Spencer. The works on the table in front of them are 8" x 10" color photos of various installations around the world.

A Trip Down 57th Street

Rush hour on November 10, 2010.

Marathon Madness

The New York City Marathon brings people to the city from all over the world. Here's a group from Japan crossing 57th Street on Saturday morning.

Halloween 2010

It was another wild night in New York City for Halloween. The streets in the Village were jammed with thousands and thousands of people out in creative costumes celebrating the holiday and there was a massive parade as well. I'm not really sure exactly what everyone is celebrating. What is the point of Halloween anyway? Are people celebrating the arrival of the Great Pumpkin? Time to check Wikipedia. I thought it was a worldwide phenomenon, but it looks like the don't have Halloween in Russia, China, Italy, New Zealand or basically just about anywhere aside from Ireland, Scotland, US and Canada. How is this possible? Don't they eat candy in the rest of the world?

I went out for a delicious sushi dinner and then enjoyed everyone acting crazy and running around in costumes. As far as I could tell, everyone seemed super happy and like they were having a really good time. I'll all for that.

Halloween Cupcakes

The good thing about cupcakes is that they can manage to make them fit for any holiday. These kinds of sweet Halloween treats are available just about everywhere.

Two Months Until Christmas

I should really update more regularly, but I seemed to have lost my inspiration for being consistent. At any rate, I kind of think that my observations would be better received if they were a lot more timely.

Case in point is the above picture which I shot on October 8th. I know that Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Center is closing after the 2010 Holiday season, but who came up with the brilliant idea to yank out the Christmas wrapping paper in early October and display it all over the main floor? Do the sales execs at B&N actually think that anyone who is not completely sane would buy gift wrap in October? I know times are tough, but that doesn't mean we want to be whacked over the head with anything even remotely dealing with Christmas before Halloween. What's next, Easter baskets in January?

And what's up with the kid with the glasses? I think he was as shocked as I was. This is a really good way to ruin Columbus Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving for everyone, Barnes & Noble.

Gnip Gnop

I don't often go to charity events like this, but a friend was involved so I was somehow convinced to venture down to 23rd Street to this huge cavernous basement space called Spin New York. It's filled with over 30 ping pong tables and a bar and lots of young New Yorkers and some not so young ones too. The place has been around for over a year and seems to draw a crowd. This just shows you how many places there are and how much stuff goes on in New York that you can't possibly be on top of everything no matter how much you read Urban Daddy and Very Short List and every other semi-informative email newsletter.

For a Monday night charity table tennis tournament (models vs. whoever else), the place was reasonably full, if only because there were globs of models and semi-famous actors there for the breast cancer charity event. I don't know how it fares on other nights of the week. Unfortunately, you can't really see any models in my picture, but just imagine a bunch of tall thin girls with long hair wearing tight black pants and tank tops and you'll get the idea. I didn't see Susan Sarandon (she's an investor in the place), but I wasn't really looking for her either. I saw lots of models or wanna-be models. I mostly liked the green floor. I admired that. I said hello to a few people that I just happen to know and then it was off to other events and happenings in the big city.

For the record, I'm not so bad at table tennis. Anyone want to play?

I must say that I also like Gnip Gnop. It's just as fun and you can play at home. We had this toy growing up. Add it to the Christmas list.

Bruce Willis' Graffiti Truck

I spotted this amazing truck in very crowded rush hour traffic on Lexington Avenue in the 60s. Bruce Willis appeared to be making his way incognito down towards Bloomingdales. As hard as they try to go unnoticed, you can always spot the famous celebrities driving around town in graffiti trucks.

Newspapers

Morning in Manhattan.

I haven't been uploading very many new pictures lately. Not sure why, but I have a ton of photographs that I have just never posted. Some are good and some are great. I delete the really bad ones. I suppose I've been distracted. Sometimes I feel like posting and sometimes I don't.

How Not To Ride A Bike

Spotted in Central Park. Four things to note:

1. No helmet
2. No hands
3. Flip flops!
4. Talking on cell phone

I wanted to bump into him just ever so slightly so that he crashed horribly on the pavement, but realized just in time that it wouldn't be so nice. I'm ok with the no helmet in the park, but surely get a headset for talking in the park and the flip flop bike riding is only ever OK near a beach. Your rules may differ.

Fashion Week

Last Friday night on the streets of the West Village. This plaid-suited pair sauntered along as a large group of friends and acquaintances ate dinner outside.

Here's a smart tip, good manners go a long way. So always remember when you return your suits to the closet that there's no need to be offensive to someone you just met. Even if you are wearing a goofy plaid suit.

The Truth About Shopping

Dior is renovating their store on 57th Street for the next few months. They'll have a brand new boutique opened just in time for Christmas. Instead of putting up an ugly plywood wall to cover the construction, they came up with a brilliantly designed large handbag. It's one of the best examples I've seen of how to do something super creative with what is usually a very boring construction site.

A lot of people love shopping and I think that this article is probably one of the most informative articles I've ever read on the subject.

Big Mac Attack

I was trying to take a picture and then this bus went by right in front of me. No wonder everyone in America is so fat. These things look (and taste) delicious.

East Side Serious

More seriousness on the East Side. A grim look is common in NYC especially when you are on the way to the tanning salon.

Random Midtown Corner

This picture gives you a brief sense of how busy it sometimes gets on the streets of my neighborhood during the middle of the day.

Directly across from the the architectural monstrosity called Trump Tower is the busy NYC location of Abercrombie & Fitch. The worst thing about it, aside from the idiotic line to get in, is that they pump tons of A&F scent into the street and it smells awful. If you are allergic to bad cologne and find yourself in Midtown, steer clear of this corner. You can see Tiffany's and Louis Vuitton in the background. Gucci is across the street too. It's a busy retail location.

I have no idea who the gentleman is who happened to be standing there right at the precise moment I took the photo, but I must have seen his blue jacket and I decided to capture his stoic countenance. So good and serious.

Doggy Bag

If you're going to bring home a doggy bag, then it makes total sense to have the dog carry it.

Open Door Policy

Why does every guy who owns an expensive and flashy sports car in New York City feel the compulsive need to open all the doors and windows in the middle of the street? Is this absolutely necessary? Ok, we get it. You have a snazzy car. It matches your small penis.

In case you are wondering, the car is a Lotus.

Three other automobile related things I just noticed in picture. (1) Stylish looking woman wearing white trenchcoat and smoking is carrying a Mercedes Benz tote bag. (2) Zipcar office in background. (3) Food establishment on corner called "Speedy's."

Dominican Devils

I'm not sure exactly what these two characters are dressed up as, but they sure look like devils to me. I found this unlikely pair standing on the corner of 56th Street and 6th Avenue on my way to lunch at the MoMA this afternoon. Halloween is still months away so unfortunately they didn't have any candy for me. Though I do especially like the Tropicana Orange Juice bottle.

I later found out they were part of the the 28th Annual Dominican Day Parade where New York's Dominican community comes out to celebrate their heritage with dancers, musicians and bold costumes on 6th Avenue in Midtown. There's always something going on in NYC. I don't even have to barely step outside the front door to find something unique and interesting. I suppose this is why I pay so much to live here. Enjoy the photos. Buy an Andy Warhol book.

Saturday Siesta

Taking a well-deserved nap after a sunny Saturday spent biking tourists around midtown. 58th Street and Broadway. 6:15pm.

It's amazing how much traffic I am getting from all over the world. Click the map to the right a few times to blow it up full screen and see where. Also buy a copy of my new Andy Warhol book, "The Autobiography and Sex Life of Andy Warhol." It's inexpensive and if you like art and appreciate great photography you are sure to enjoy it. It's less than $30 on Amazon. What a bargain!

Street Bracelets

A selection of colorful woven cloth bracelets for sale at one of those awful 6th Avenue (who calls it Avenue of the Americas?) street fairs at 7pm on Saturday.

Happy Ice Cream

A very happy man holding a just purchased ice cream cone on Saturday night on 14th Street and Broadway just below Union Square.

What gives with my camera and the blurry images? Ugh.

Shirts at the Strand

There are a bunch of t-shirts featuring literary classics for sale at New York's largest bookstore, The Strand.

This one caught my eye mostly because I can't imagine that J.D. Salinger's heirs would give permission for this cover to be exploited so brazenly, but they probably don't control the rights to the image and now that he's dead who really cares anyway. I always thought his "don't publish club, don't talk about don't publish club" credo was a little bit of a put-on anyway. If he didn't want to publish his writing it's really no big deal since it seems he kind of went off the proverbial deep end back in the mid-60s. Besides his behavior was really odd in the years to follow no matter how you look at it and I'm sure his writing was more "Raise High The Roof Beam" than "Catcher in the Rye."

At least someone's making some money off these shirts.