My first post from my phone. I’m down in battery park. Now I just have to figure out how to add pictures. There must be an easier way…
Author: hugh
Blog But Not Blahgotten
Putting another Marble Cemetary picture out. I’ll be back soon.
This Walkway Could Use a Drinking Fountain
I remember being really thirsty here. More tunnels… I’m going to make a flyer out of this picture.
Velvet Green
Little did I know that sculpting a park includes fencing in the railroad vents and struggling bushes.
Tunneling and Landscaping
One thing about tunnels is that to see the light at the end of them, you have to build them before you get to experience the darkness and wonder about the light at the end. If it’s a pedestrian tunnel as part of a bridge and landscaping project, it was an afterthought and there was some extra money lying around. (This is part of the Riverside Drive viaduct over 125th Street built around 1900. Before this, Riverside Drive ended at a cul-de-sac next to Grant’s Tomb. Now you know!)
I haven’t done one of these in a while so the first links are over a week old but of course they’re worth putting in the record. More links than you can shake a Chinese puzzle stick at are after the jump! Continue reading “Tunneling and Landscaping”
Lights and Ponys
I would rather look at a light than listen to someone turn one syllable into 31 notes– no offense to Ella Fitzgerald or Sezen Aksu or hundreds of other singers. If you’re just showing off, it shows. I was rolling through old photos, listening to NPR, and they had the vocalists on that did the Youtube video of “In the Air Tonight” on the train. They still sound like a one-trick pony. New category for my blog: running NPR crit.
Locksmith Sticker
Locks have a fascinating history. As a kid I was on a mailing list for a locksmith school. It’s a good trade and I sort of wish I’d followed up on it. At the time, I was afraid of being under suspicion all the time. When a crime is committed, call the locksmith. Once you get involved in security, you are under surveillance.
A friend of mine has locked herself out of her apartment twice in the last six months and the locksmith made a fortune. Something like $450 a pop for a half hour of work. (Not endorsing this locksmith service. I just saw the sticker on my steps as is and took a photo.)
Ground Zero Twice
Ground Zero. A cultural magnet as opposed to John Varvatos taking over CBGB. Oh wait.
Ground Zero at around 2 in the morning.
Uli on the Roof
There are a lot of rooftop environments populated by after-work people in suits. Uli is punk rock even though he would say he isn’t.
Ground Zero Progress
Here it is. The news story every tourist is covering.
Free Mood Lighting and Comfy Chairs
Come and get it. Cleaning crews are clearing out the Columbia student housing on my block.
Las Palmas
I had a great time downtown at the Bang on a Can Marathon on Sunday with a caveat. Like some people, my problem with some new music is that it becomes a big bore and letdown if it takes itself too seriously. I’m not talking about the abandonment of popular music structure which some people can’t get around. Having mostly fallen in love with music through pop and rock, very serious performances that obviously take a lot of training and work to achieve fall flat if the performers don’t make it look effortless and joyful. The fun disappears and where’s the fun in that? Maybe I’ll write more about this soon.