Showing posts with label new york city. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new york city. Show all posts

26.12.23

Exploring NYC's Hidden Power: ConEd Steam Pipes - A Journey Beneath the City Streets

Dive into NYC's unseen marvel: ConEd's steam pipes. Discover the city's underground energy network creating urban steam art, transforming streets into a city sauna.
One more special post for tonight: New York’s underground steam pipes are putting on a show! Walked into an epic steam cloud today - it’s like a city sauna. The streets are calm, making it easy to admire this steamy spectacle. Con Edison’s doing its thing, creating urban steam art. #NYCSteam #CitySauna #UrbanWonders 🌆💨🔥

29.11.23

Exploring Ancient Herms: A Visit to the Met Museum and Discovering Timeless Symbols

Join me on a journey through the Met Museum, exploring ancient herms and uncovering the enduring influence of these fascinating artifacts.

🏛️ Spent the day exploring the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and guess what caught my eye? Herms! These ancient pillars featured the busts of gods like Hermes and marked roads, entrances, and even doorways in the ancient world. Swipe left to see the striking example I found!
🚶‍♂️Why Hermes? He’s not just any god; he’s the patron saint of travelers and the psychopomp ferrying souls to the afterlife. Talk about multitasking! Hermes is also the god of commerce. These pillars were more than just art; they were divine guideposts for ancient society.

🚄 Flashback to earlier this summer when I was admiring the statue of Hermes perched atop Grand Central Station. Mind. Blown. 🤯 I suddenly realized that Grand Central is like a modern-day herm! It’s a transit hub guiding travelers and bustling with shops and eateries, making it a center of commerce, too.

🔁 The ancient and the modern worlds aren’t as far apart as we often think. It’s awe-inspiring to see that the symbolism of herms and Hermes has traveled through time, just like the travelers they protect and guide.

🌟 So next time you pass through Grand Central or another bustling hub, maybe take a moment to appreciate the millennia of human history that continue to resonate in our daily lives. Who knows what other timeless symbols are around us, quietly shaping our world?

27.3.23

Griffins & Mythological Creatures: Architectural Motifs in the Jackson Heights Neighborhood of Queens

A stone Griffin stands guard a "Garden Apartment" in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens.
New York City neighborhoods are rich in history, and Jackson Heights is no exception. Situated in a rectangular swath of Queens, with Northern Boulevard, the expressway, Roosevelt Avenue, and Junction Boulevard as its perimeter borders, this neighborhood boasts a charming collection of beautiful pre-war residential buildings, many of which feature intriguing architectural adornments, including the presence of mythological creatures like Griffins.
     Griffins, fascinating creatures that are half-lion and half-eagle amalgams, grace the façades of numerous buildings in Jackson Heights. These majestic beings typically possess bird-of-prey talons for feet and lion-like tails. Although occasionally depicted without wings, or even as wingless eagle-headed lions, these figures bear a striking resemblance to Griffins. Interestingly, even the neighborhood's local school, Garden School, an independent nursery through twelfth grade, has adopted the Griffin as its mascot.
Some of the stone sculptures are more lion-y than Griffin-y.
While some of the statues in Jackson Heights may resemble guarding lions more than take-flight griffins, there is undoubtedly a family resemblance. However, I must confess that I am not a pedant when it comes to classifying mythological creatures, and their presence in the neighborhood adds to their unique character and charm.

The abundance of griffins in Jackson Heights has a historical significance that traces back to the neighborhood's early days. When the Inter-Borough Rapid Transit company constructed the 7 elevated line that runs over Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights and much of Queens were mostly undeveloped farmland, with only a few notable features such as the waterfront natural harbors in Flushing and Long Island City. However, the arrival of the elevated subway sparked a wave of housing development. The Queensborough corporation, whose remnants can still be seen, particularly at the corner of 79th Street and 37th Avenue, decided to build "garden apartments," forever altering the area's landscape. The apartment buildings were billed as convenient upper-middle class residences for the white, non-Jewish, non-Catholic, white-collar set. One brochure for one of the apartment buildings, The Towers, reads, "The people you find at Jackson Heights are only those people you want to associate with." Anyway, after the Second World War — with the advent of white flight in the 1960s and 1970s, the demographics of the neighborhood shifted — but the garden apartments remain — in their unsullied glory. And the griffins. Talons out! 

If you take a stroll through Jackson Heights, you can spot various griffins and griffin-like statues in specific locations. Here are some approximate locations where you can find these captivating figures:
  • 72nd Street and 35th Avenue - Griffin
  • 75th Street and 35th Avenue - Griffin
  • 81st Street and 37th Avenue - Griffin
  • 81st Street between Northern Boulevard and 34th Avenue
  • 34-48 81st Street (between 35th and 34th Avenues) - Stone carving of two Griffins above the doorway
  • 80th Street between 37th and 35th Avenue
If you happen to discover any additional griffins or statues not listed here, please let me know in the comments. Jackson Heights continues to be a treasure trove of fascinating historical and architectural delights, and the presence of these mythical creatures only adds to its allure.
Works Cited
Antos, Jason D., and Theodosiou, Constantine E. Jackson Heights. United States, 
    Arcadia Publishing, 2013.

22.12.22

Quotes from Bonesana and Rimbaud: Embracing Unity in Diversity: The Strength of Our Collective Individuality

Explore the beautiful intersection of individuality and collective unity as we dive into an unconventional New York City commute experience. Find solace in the words of Cesare Bonesana and Arthur Rimbaud, reminding us of our shared humanity and continuous evolution.
"Happy is the nation without a history."
- Cesare Bonesana, Marchese di Beccaria

Reflecting upon Cesare Bonesana, Marchese di Beccaria's words, "Happy is the nation without a history," I found a profound truth in the heart of an enigmatic dream. A regular New York City train became the stage of an unconventional tableau. Suddenly, as we pulled into the Atlantic Avenue station, the train erupted into a harmonious chorus of "OK!" But this wasn't a robotic reply, common to our daily commute.

In this spontaneous symphony, every passenger became an active participant, their voices coalescing into a vibrant affirmation of the moment. Each voice retained its individuality, yet melded into a harmonic collective, creating a soundscape antithetical to the cacophony we associate with the city's hustle and bustle.

I think about this moment when I read about how divided we are as a nation: red and blue, gay and straight, white, brown, black, and I know we have a lot of work to do to come together. But when people have to come together, when you have to buy your books from the bookstore and not shop online, in the comfort of your apartment, or when you have to pick up your laundry from the local laundry-o-mat, you come into contact with faces, with someone, an identity. Another who has a story.

Individuality is the idea that I am a unique being on this planet. No one is more unique than me. But as someone once told me, "You're unique. Just like everyone else." It is not that individuality is wrong or bad. I love embracing individuality — but individuality is different than solipsism. I exist because of the other, as Arthur Rimbaud, the French Symbolist poet, wrote, "Je est un autre." I am the other. It is a line from Rimbaud's poem "A Season in Hell," published in 1873. The poem is a semi-autobiographical account of Rimbaud's spiritual and psychological crisis. In the line "Je est un autre," Rimbaud expresses that the self is not a fixed or stable entity. Instead, the self is constantly changing and evolving. We are all "others" to ourselves because we are continually becoming new people.

The line "Je est un autre" has been interpreted differently. Some scholars believe that it rejects the traditional notion of the self. Others believe it is a celebration of the fluidity and mutability of the self. Still, others believe it is a call for us to embrace our inner "others" and see them as a source of creativity and growth.

Whatever the interpretation, the line "Je est un autre" is a powerful and provocative statement about the nature of the self. It reminds us that we are not static beings but constantly becoming.

I was probably feeling like Rimbaud. On the train. With others. But totally myself. And that recognition, that shared "ah ha" moment when we had all reached Atlantic Avenue on the D train. Together. This dream encapsulates the beauty of individuality with each other — a nation that reverberates in unison, even amidst such identity. Such a country may not have a shared history, but it suggests happiness from the serendipity of the present.

19.8.22

Photos Taken Near the Bronx River and Two Stories About New York City from Louisianians

In this post, I ask two family members from Louisiana to give their impressions of New York City. These are their responses.

Stylized photograph of the author
In this photograph, I am
waiting for the Q44 bus in the Bronx,
right next to the Bronx River.

A New York City subway train traverses the Bronx River.
A New York City subway train
traverses the Bronx River.
When I asked my school-aged nephew what he thought about New York, he replied: “I think that it's like very crowded and a lot of people like foods there and the best place is probably the pizza. And it's probably the best food. Thank you for your time, everybody.”


And then, I asked him to imagine what the city smelled like and felt like (using sensory details): “New York is fun and stinky and interesting, like a hot dog.”

When I asked my seventy-something-year-old aunt what people in Louisiana think about New York, she told me a story: “Greig, I would say they think it's too dangerous, but when I went to New York with Uncle Raymond in 1993, that's the only place that I was able to go out at night shopping. Even in New Orleans, even when we lived in Chalmette, I couldn't go out at night shopping. Oh my God. I forgot how many years ago. That was probably twenty-odd years ago. But in New York, I could go shopping. We had a hotel near Times Square, So I was able to go up and down that street without any restrictions in the middle of the night. Do you know? And, um, you know, I never go at night, and Uncle Raymond never let me go anyplace at night.”

Three kids walk past a bus stop In the Bronx.A sign advises against littering, but someone left an informative note.
Photos (L) Three kids walk past a bus stop In the Bronx. (R) A sign advises against littering, but someone left an informative note.

25.7.22

Journal Entry #2502022: I Woke Up This Morning on a Hot, Summer Day in Queens and I Fiddled

In this post, I dabble in a bit of online journaling. Take a peek at the day in the life of a bloke in New York City on a hot Summer day.
On a hot, Summer day I put on a blue surgical mask and go about my day.
The author dons a blue surgical mask
on a hot Summer's day.
I woke up this morning early. I fiddled a bit, then ran out of the house to catch the bus. And then I realized I was waiting at the wrong bus stop. I eventually made it to my eye doctor’s appointment — albeit a little late. Side note: I realized that I am still definitely afraid of the eye puff machine, even though the eye doctor told me they don't use the puff anymore. That doesn't stop me from mightily squinting and tossing my chin. “There’s no puff, Mr. Roselli,” the doctor said, “You can relax.” I love when medical doctors are so rational with their patients; it's comforting. At the end of the visit, he was like, you're a good patient — as if he was attempting to reassure me. Uh <laugh> but I was okay. I ate some Brazilian comfort food, hopped on an N train, and went to @moma. Tourists queue up to take pictures with Andy Warhol’s soup cans. Watching museum goers look at art is voyeuristic. A boy calls Jackson Pollock’s drip painting “cool,” and a family was having fun finding all the animals in Rousseau’s “The Dream.” I noticed @momafilm was screening the vampire flick Let the Right One In. One unique element of movies is how they create settings. This movie takes place in a gray, snowed-in Norwegian suburb. I highly recommend the movie. Amazing. I had seen it in 2008, but it's always splendid to see a good movie on the big screen.
Collage of a Summer Day in Queens
On Astoria Boulevard in Queens, there is a mural of a 7 subway train car; The author notes, "As I waited for my take-out, I snapped a picture of the fish in the aquarium. Life is good."

12.5.21

Why Wednesday Is the Day of the Week to Send Messages (Because of Woden, or, as the Greeks Call Him, Hermes)

Wednesday is named for Woden — the Norse parallel for the Greek and Roman messenger god Hermes.

In Jackson Heights, Queens

Ephemera
I’m obsessed with messages, epistolary novels, and journeys and undertakings. I never 👎 skip by a note or love letter. Even a torn letter I see on the sidewalk. I'll pick it up. And save it. And I love to eat tears and swallow joy.

My friends say I’m constantly flexing. My students want the school year to end. I’m listening to lots of books on tape and cooking lots of sausages and egg salad.

Achievements
I’m proud of my student @jukycheng, who got accepted into a Summer engineering program at NYU Tandon in Brooklyn. Congrats, Juky!

And I’m also excited for the Summer—those dog days. But I’m into May. With its warm afternoons and occasional showers.

Let's Chat!
How are you holding up? Need a hug? Here’s one. Need a nudge? Here’s one? Need a ride on a white swan? I don’t have that, but drop me a message if you want to chat about YA novels and the best place to walk in New York City.


Mr. Greig Roselli, Teacher, Writer, and Philosophy Sprinkles Maker!

11.4.21

A Paean to Payphones (And Why I Feel Nostalgic for Old School Telecommunication)

When is the last time you used a working payphone? How sure are you that you can find one if your mobile phone goes dead? Do you have a quarter in your pocket?

Payphone in New York City Subway Station
Found a working payphone in the
Times Square / 42nd Street Station in New York City

Nostalgia is dangerous. Start feeling nostalgia, and suddenly, everything in the present is suspect. "Oh, I remember the days when you had to call someone on a landline."

But I like it when old-school technology still persists. I don't want to return to using payphones. They are clunky (and who has change, anyway?). And just when the conversation gets good, you have to add another quarter to continue the call.

You can find a working payphone in a few subway stations, strip malls, maybe a gas station in Duluth?

I used a payphone recently. I cannot remember why. It was when I was traveling. My phone was dead. I think it was in an Amtrak station (which I feel like is where I would find a working payphone).

Ironically, the school where I work has a payphone in the main hallway. But it does not work. It just hangs there on the wall. Hundreds of people walk by it. Heck. I didn't even notice it until like two years working at the school. I think it will become an art installation. Soon.

Fun fact: Payphones still exist. And one in five of them are in New York City! The Federal Communications Commission still regulates payphones. They still maintain a tip guide for using them and not get scammed when using a calling card. Remember those?

When was the last time you used a payphone?

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31.10.20

All Hallows' Eve in Greenwood Cemetery and Sunset Park, Brooklyn (Special 2020 Halloween Post)

In this post, I regale you with pictures and musing from an All Hallows' Eve visit to Greenwood Cemetery and Sunset Park, Brooklyn. It was a beautiful Autumn Day and we are all cognizant of the need to physical-distance ourselves — so what better way to do that than to be outdoors in a massive cemetery?

A front lawn on a sidestreet in Sunset Park 
hosts a fortune-telling witch.

Fortune-teller Witch (Exterior Halloween Lawn Decoration)

Exploring Greenwood Cemetery on All Hallows’ Eve, I scored a handful of great photographs. Located in South Brooklyn, the cemetery is one of the oldest graveyards in the city and is a site of a Revolutionary War battle. 
@historicgreenwood is also a National Historic Landmark. My friends John and Jennifer joined me; we also went to Sunset Park, my old neighborhood. Scarfed down a torta stuffed with spicy pork at @tacoselbronco, scored a free beer from a passerby, and watched the D train come out of the tunnel on Fourth Avenue — it was a serendipitous day.

Headless gravestone sculpture of a woman in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn

 
A weathered devotional statue of the Virgin Mary placed next to a gravestone in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn.A close-up detail of the face of a marble statue of the Virgin Mary in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn

3.9.20

Aesthetic Thursday: First Time Back at the Museum of Modern Art Since Covid

That time I stepped into the Museum of Modern Art since it had closed (like all cultural institutions) its doors because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Greig Roselli visits the Museum of Modern Art in New York City shortly after it reopened at the end of August 2020.
MoMA normally has massive crowds. Not today.

Judd's series of parallelograms
A series of five parallelograms on view
in a special exhibition on the artist Judd.


"On my way to the Museum of Modern Art," I told my roommate. "Oh?" she said. As if I had just admitted to a felony. "Oh. It's cool. The museum is open now. Since yesterday. But they are only letting in a certain amount of people — and there are mad temperature checks at the front door." I went on and on, basically convincing myself it was OK to look at art during a global pandemic.

MoMA sits on a nice piece of real estate on 53rd Street in Manhattan between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Over the years, the museum has expanded significantly — and now, in 2020 — going there is like going to a museum version of a theme park. You can do a lot in one space — see a movie, grab a bite to eat but not now, because of restrictions still in place. You can see a mega-ton of artwork. It's incredible. And with the limited tickets doled out daily for admittance, it feels like the museum is all yours to cherish and to keep.

Museum-goers look aglow. In the elevator, the museum's design people have created beautiful markings on the door to denote physical distance. There is cute "modern art" style signage to don a mask and to take a helping of hand sanitizer. The greeters and guest attendants are happy to be back at work — you cannot work from home if you work in guest services. 

The top floor houses a temporary exhibit on the sculpture-cum-concept artist named Judd. I liked his parallelograms — only because I like saying that word. Makes me feel smart.

After lingering with old favorites, like Rousseau's "The Dream" and Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," I sat outside in the sculpture garden. It was a beautiful day. People lingered too—everyone in masks or gaiters. The sun bright, but it did not feel hot. I read on my phone. Watched people — and I noticed that MoMA was devoid of tourists, of Europeans, of people from all over who flock to see its collections. It was mostly — if not at — a bunch of us locals — those cats who live here.

"I'm back from MoMA —" I told my roommate, but she listlessly nodded — she was engrossed in a television show — and had forgotten that I had done such a momentous thing. Going to a museum. Finally. But it was an interior triumph — a return to a routine that I had missed during quarantine. 

Coincidentally, I was tapped to teach a high school art history class to tenth and eleventh graders. So all my museum visits will have been worth it. Here's to me about to make that lesson plan. I will definitely tell the kids about my trip back to the museum.

13.8.20

Photographs: Red Mask, Red Flowers, Pedestrians in Queens

Taking a walk in Jackson Heights, Queens I notice shades of red.
A beautiful flower opens it bloom on a side street in Jackson Heights in the Queens borough of New York City.
A red trumpet creeper overhangs a side street in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of New York City.
Red Mask

Found these in my camera roll and I'm surprised by the shades of red found herein. It's hot and muggy here in New York. But flowers are abloom. I notice signs of humanity — a mother and son crouch together on the median on the 37th Avenue pedestrian zone and talk. A pile of police officers, eight or ten of them, stand in front of an apartment building, one holding what looks like a silver revolver 🔫. ”It’s fake, ” the officer says calmly. ”Found it here?” I ask. They did — after someone had called it in. A boy and a girl practice ollies on the street. I had hoped to use a camera to capture some of these moments. But I was too caught up in the moment.

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21.1.20

A Moment of Clarity Waiting for the Q66 Bus in Flushing

I don’t like to wait. For buses. For people. Waiting feels like an abuse on my person. But worse than that, waiting exposes the truth of it all - that I’m not important.
     Which is why people who are entitled or privileged scoff at flying coach. One has to wait. So those who can pay the extra cash do so to stave off the notion that they’re insignificant. However, there is something to be said for waiting. I was waiting for the Q66 bus. This New York City bus takes me from Flushing to home via Queen’s Northern Boulevard. Today, I took the bus. I was shepherding a few students of mine back to Jackson Heights. We had spent the day in Flushing to celebrate the Lunar New Year (even though it doesn’t officially begin until Saturday). I teach teenagers who are studying in the United States on F-1 visas. 
      What that means is - among many aspects of the job - that we take trips quite often during the year. This year, we decided to go to a hot pot restaurant that recently opened up in Flushing. Apparently, it’s a popular chain in China. It’s situated on the ground floor of a modern box-y office building. The Mandarin teacher at my school recommended the place; she organized the trip. The dean of the upper school also came with us. He had never eaten at a hot pot restaurant, so we introduced him to duck blood and ponzu sauce.
      After the meal, waiting for the Q66 bus, I noticed the sign of Modell’s Sporting Goods sign flapping in the wind. I don’t like to wait, so I made something aesthetic for the moment. It’s often true that time slows down when waiting. Maybe it was the festive meal we were having. But I felt I was seeing, reaching for, and experiencing beauty all around me. Time goes into slow motion. Flapping of a sign. Red lanterns hanging from the storefront window. Ginseng for sale. The laughter of children. The feel of my wallet as I take it out, searching for a metro card. It’s an ephemeral feeling that lasted long enough to make me feel on par with existence. So I took a few photos. Pictures never capture how I see something with my eyes. The human eye’s depth of vision still exceeds the iPhone camera.
      I like the conversation I hear around me. I even said “Happy New Year” to a gentleman waiting for the bus in Mandarin. He smiles. I think he must be proud of me that I know an appropriate Lunar New Year greeting. We board the bus - the students and I - and I’m pleased by how calm they are; as the bus rocks and sways, gaining speed as it crosses Flushing Bay, the world seems open with possibility, and I remember the morning time. Sitting. Waiting. For the day to begin. And a teenager had said out loud, “I’m bored” - it was that time before classes had begun. That moment of free time terrifies some people because I don’t think everyone learns what exactly to do with themselves.
       It’s a skill. To stave off boredom and do. Something. And I don’t like to wait. That feeling of inactivity. Of time ticking. “Are we back at school? Yet,” asks Neil - who is sitting across from me. Yes. I say. Press the button to alert the driver to stop. “But I’m scared,” he says. I press the button. I get it. He’s afraid to stop the bus. To fling himself into the next thing and the next. I get it. I tell him. And we’re off.

28.11.19

Photograph: Looking Out the Window at Night

Windows. Side windows. Curtains. Basketball bounces define the streets of the city. Conversations. Night walking. Visions. Of Joanna.

1.11.19

Lesson Plan: Teaching New York City with the Musical "On the Town"

Teachers Pay Teachers Banner for "New York, New York" It's a Wonderful Town Lesson Resource"
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Higher Education, Adult Education, Homeschooler, Not Grade Specific - TeachersPayTeachers.com
I created a fun, engaging lesson for Middle and High School students
inspired by the Broadway-turned-MGM-film-classic "Our Town."
    If you like New York City (it's where I happen to reside) and if you love musicals then you may know there is a famous musical produced in the 1940s about the Big Apple. On the Town is a fun day-in-the-life story of a trio of sailors who take a tour of the city and find love and hijinks. In 1949, MGM  made the Broadway hit into a movie.
    Inspired by the film and the song "New York," New York" I invited my students to plan a one-day itinerary to explore the Big Apple. The kids were surprised by how this old-school song is still humorous today. The lyrics are also fun: "The Bronx is up, and the Battery's down" and people "get around in a hole in the ground." I asked my students some trivia questions, too. Do you know where Grant's Tomb is located or do you know the best way to get to the Bowery?

    We then learned more about the history of New York City and then as an extended learning project created itineraries to explore the city on our own terms (in which I encouraged everyone to share their creations with their family and friends who may not know the city very well). 
    I created a lesson plan based on my classroom experience that is three days long, and I used it for my English Language Learners (ESL), but it also fits for a Humanities, English Language Arts, or Social Studies lesson.

My lesson plan includes the following features:
  • Lesson Planning Guide and Calendar
  • Cloze Passage Worksheet
  • Lecture Notes for the Teacher
  • Guided Notetaking Organizer
  • Editable Google Slide Templates
  • 2 Color NYC Landmarks Contact Sheets
  • NYC Itinerary Template
  • NYC Map Template
  • NYC Map Resource List
  • List of New York City Regional Transit Maps (including the New York City Subway)
  • *Google Classroom / App Friendly Resource*
Suggested Classroom Use:
  • Unit on New York City History
  • ESL Class for English Language Learners
  • Middle School Humanities
For other resources using maps and geography check these out:
Add my TpT store to your favorites so you can follow me on my journey. I offer original resources for teaching, writing, and all things arts and letters in the Middle and High School classroom.

22.8.19

Aesthetic Thursday: Marta Minujín Reloaded at the New Museum

La Menesunda (on view at the New Museum) has several interactive features.
La Menesunda - So, Marta Minujín created an installation in the 60s in Buenos Aires - it’s been reloaded in New York at the New Museum. Of course, I shamelessly inserted myself into the television screen. The installation has several interactive features — one notable one being the recreation of a nail salon from the period — replete with a performance artist who will do your nails. I felt curious while within the experience — fully jiving with the work's conceit that I was living inside the mind of the artist.
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#newmuseum #modernart #artist #gallery #artreview #performanceart #newmuseum #installation #gelatin #lamenesunda #art #halcyongallery #gelitin #artmuseums #contemporaryart #photography #travel #museum #modern #design via Instagram.

9.6.19

Video Installation: Flyover Woodside, Queens (with a Church Steeple and Cross in the Foreground)

I've documented a flyover of a passenger jet gliding over Eastern Queens on its way to Laguardia Airport. It was a bright, semi-cloudy day in Woodside - a quiet neighborhood in Queens. Folks were going to church (as shown in the picture). I took this amateur video on my iPhone and later uploaded it and added a soundtrack.

8.6.19

Bathroom List: There Ain't No Place to Pee in New York City (Unless You Know a Few Spots)

It's a common occurrence. You have to pee. And you're in the city. You probably don't want to risk peeing in an alley or behind a tree (although I must admit I have been forced to do that). New York City, unfortunately, has very few public places to relieve oneself. When nature calls, what are you going to do?
Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash


2.5.19

"Sin nombre" - Harold Mendez, Artist

Sin Nombre
Harold Mendez (American, born 1977)
Sin nombre 2017-18
Cotton, graphite, spray enamel, toner, and lithographic crayon on ball-grained aluminum lithographic plate mounted on dibond.

31.10.18

Third Grader Channels Pennywise the Clown at the Annual Halloween Parade in Jackson Heights, Queens

Annual Jackson Heights Halloween Parade
In Jackson Heights, every year on Halloween, the local "Beautification Society" hosts a parade on 37th Avenue. My school participates, so I have, for the last several years, marched in the parade. I love seeing the kids and adults who have lined the street, mostly dressed up and in a spirit of "being costumed." I feel like when kids, especially, wear costumes, it can be a moment to channel creative energy and to pretend to be someone you're not. 
Third Grader Channels Pennywise the Clown
One kid I met on the route was dressed up as Pennywise the Clown — there were several permutations of this character, a malevolent force in Stephen King's novel-made-movie IT. I was struck by this Third-grader wild abandon into the role, like the video, posted below, demonstrates. Happy Halloween!

29.10.18

Two Photographs: Push (推) and Pull (拉)

I was walking on Bowery on a Fall day in Lower Manhattan and I was struck by the simplicity (and pragmatism) of these two opposite facing signs stuck to a store window written in Mandarin Chinese and English.
A storefront door has a sign affixed to it in Mandarin Chinese and in English for "Push"
"Push" 推

A storefront door has a sign affixed to it in Mandarin Chinese and in English for "Pull"
"Pull" 拉