Old and New Hell's Kitchen

Was a gorgeous weekend here in Hell's Kitchen.

Low humidity was key. Blue skies helped, and the sun was bright...

2012 Ninth Ave Food Fest appeared to be a whopping success... My favorite? Fried calamari at Uncle Nicks.

Actually last year's Food Fest was the last time I remember eating meat (Pork sandwich at Dalton's Bar and Grill)... It's been a year since an animal had to die in order for me to have a meal... Sweet.

Good to catch up with a few friends over the weekend... As always... Not much energy for any of it during a work week...

Six more weeks til Summer Break...

I hope that each of my 678 Twitter Followers and 575 Facebook Friends all enjoyed their weekend as much as I did...

As for my Blog readers and Blogger Buddies... That goes without saying!

Picture, by me of Old and New Hell's Kitchen on my Flickr page.

More Cindy Sherman

MoMA isn't the only place for Cindy Sherman these days. Metro Pictures Gallery in Chelsea is currently running a Cindy Sherman show. I slipped down to see it one day this week. I'm a fan.

Springy Sunday in Hell's Kitchen, NY

"I can't be held accountable for anything I do that occurs between 5pm on Friday until 11pm on Sunday". - ShitTwinksSay on Twitter.

Saw the Veendam docked here in Manhattan today. I headlined on it's inaugural cruise in 1996. Gad. A lifetime and a lifestyle ago.

Saturday was pretty much a stay-in-all-day kinda day. I slept way too much. Sunday was pretty much a stay-outside-and-enjoy-the-day kind of day. I'll probably still sleep too much. Beautiful cool weather for both!

"No matter what the problem, enlightenment is the Answer". - Marianne Williamson, said that. And she meant it.

Six Ways To Make Your Memoir More Memorable.

 Lots of big decisions at work this past week. I think I'm making all the right choices. Time will tell.

I wonder what Mayor Michael Bloomberg will give Mayor-Hopeful Christine Quinn  for a wedding gift? How about one of the schools he closed in their hijacked third terms together?

I was gonna get to Trader Joe's this weekend. Didn't make it!

"Joy is what happens when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are." - Marianne Williamson said that too!

Billy's Bakery carrot cake is awesome.

Saw "Fifty Years of Latin American Art" from the Neuberger Museum at the UBS Building lobby, 1285 Ave of Americas.

TCM's "Private Screenings: Liza Minnelli" is terrific!

It's a miracle... Nicomar has finally joined Facebook!

10 Habits You Must Quite To Be Happy. includes number 3 "Quit trying to avoid change.... If nothing ever changed there would be no sunrise the next morning. Most of us are comfortable where we are even though the whole universe is constantly changing around us. Learning to accept this is vital to our happiness and general success. Because only when we change, do we grow, and begin to see a world we never knew was possible... And don’t forget, however good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. So embrace it, and realize that change happens for a reason. It won’t always be easy or obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.

Now, go Eat your nuts!

Chattering Final Sunday of Spring Break 2012

"Things don't spiral out of control when we surrender them; they spiral out of control when we try to control them!" - Marianne Williamson said that on Facebook this week.

Had a great day Saturday, yesterday, taking Robert M around the MoMA Cindy Sherman exhibit... Once you "get" what she's doing here... You see the brilliance...

It was my second visit. MoMA membership has it's privileges like early Member Preview hours, and cheap guests...

Then, when strolling toward and around Central Park afterward we started spotting them... Cindy Shermans were everywhere...

Gonna be 85 degrees tomorrow. Just in time to schlep around for work... This does *not* please me. Break out the baby powder...

10 and a half loooong weeks til the next break. Ugh!

Bought a barely used A/C over the weekend... So looks like I got it installed just in time before tomorrow's expected record breaking heat...

I just noticed it's one of those "always on" devices... damn. I'll plug it into a zip strip with an on/off switch... That'll keep it from draining power when not in use. Truth is, I should do that with ALL the "always on" things around here.

Taxes aren't due til April 17th this year. Mine are all ready, I just need to electronically submit the damned things... Which is quite a maneuver requiring printers and faxes or scanners. When will they perfect the "digital signature"?

 "I bet there was a week where William Wegman considered cats" sez clever Nick Amadeus on his Twitter!

Here's my own Twitter, BTW.

Yesterday in Greenwich Village, I pinpointed the exact location of the former International Stud gay bar immortalized and depicted in Torch Song Trilogy. It was on the NE corner of Greenwich and Perry. Later, it was a restaurant called Caribe. Currently, it's a different restaurant...

A recent Dr. Oz guest said coffee with paper filters is best cuz it gets out cholesterol causing compound... I really should get myself a damned coffee maker... Finally! Make a big pot and then fridge the rest for iced coffee too. OK... I'll get it this week! Paper filters too!

I can't live without Swiffer cloths.

 "Create your future from your future, not from your past." - Werner Erhard, said that.

Any good blogs want to share a Blogroll link w/ my own Postcards from Hell's Kitchen. Just do it and leave me a comment. It's a huge boost to Search Engine rankings... If you don't know what I'm talking about. Do it anyway. LOL

Photos by Todd HellsKitchen on Flickr. Click each to enlarge details...

Staycation Tuesday Reflections

"New Yorkers are born all over the country, and then they come to New York City and it hits them: Oh, that’s who I am." - Delia Ephron, said that.

Just noticed that yesterday's pic from Blogger app on Android was the wrong picture. I just fixed it a day late!... Yikes. Better get in the habit of double checking those kinds of posts in preview mode... Lord knows what I might publish by mistake!! Horrifying!

Yesterday was one of those great Staycation days ... Wandered around Greenwich Village... Including paying respects at the sites of the International Stud and the home of a famous puppeteer Rod Young... at 93 Perry Street. Visited a friend's new flat farther East on Perry Street... 300 square feet for $2400 a month. Oh Dear...

Wandered some more...

Stopped for a nice House Blend drip coffee at Roasting Plant table top.

 Soon after getting a Calendar of Events at The Center... Lunch at Benny's Burritos... Last time I ate there... My present waiter hadn't been born yet... Sign of age and wisdom: I ordered a mini burrito and a salad... That was more than enough...

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.” - Alice Walker, said that.

Browsed Mxyplyzyk. Sat out in the sun in a couple of Village area parks down there: Abbingdon Square and Jackson Square...

 Had a another quickie meet with a new friend in Chelsea...

Walking back down his West 18th Street I stumbled upon a Chelsea branch of one of my favorite restaurants, Westville... Was craving their rhubarb pie, but not in season yet... So had a Mixed Berry cobbler and coffee instead...



Rest in Peace, Mike Wallace. I last saw him at opening night of Inherit the Wind in 2007. For a journalist, he seemed to very much enjoy the show biz spotlight... Posing for the Paparazzi. He looked more Oprah than Morley... He was a great, great journalist though!

By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher. - Socrates, said that.

Wanted posters for Wonderwoman are appearing on light poles all over Hell's Kitchen. I wonder what Wondermann thinks about this...

Saturday Chatterbox

"A 65-year-old man who's angry is a loser. A 20-year-old angry man is a sexy leader. Nothing makes me angry anymore". -- John Waters in The Wall Street Journal

Speaking of my Baltimore roots, Your blogger is greatly anticipating having his relative or childhood friend, schoolmate, or neighbor from Baltimore County spend a tiny portion of their new Mega Million winnings to buy him a nice lunch... And maybe a new apartment?

 Goodbye Keith Olbermann... Actually I gave up on you after your first tantrum at Current TV. Too many "issues".

John Waters on Neurosis: "Routine is not the enemy of creativity. I'm very organized. I go out to get the paper within 20 seconds of the same time each day; my hangovers are scheduled a year in advance. I don't have time to be nuts. If I was retired, I might be completely out of my mind, because I'd have time to give in to neurotic thinking. Now I just have to work it into a schedule. That neurotic behavior has to produce". from the WSJ.

Celebrities spotted (and chatted up) in Manhattan this week: Danny Aiello, Richard Kind, Chip Zien

 Manhattan pizza slices down to 75-cents per slice as part of a pizza war reports today's New York Times.

Note to Self: Look out for artist John Currin. John Waters sez he's interesting.

Rest in peace, Anthony Razzano. You'll be missed by so many (including for your Activist efforts on behalf of your neighbors and doormen)... The laughs... Your big eyes... Your great spirit, Tony. Tragic loss.

39 degrees as I write this... Seasonably cool, for a change...

 Less than a full work week to Spring Break. Am so ready!

Am once again on a modified self-styled vegetarian version of  Phase One of the South Beach Diet... I want to drop 10-15 lbs of winter weight...

And now... I gotta go clean this apartment... Cleaning burns calories, you see...

Thursday: Handling It All...

March 8th! NYC temperature at 4:45pm? 70 °F. This is just wrong!

WNBC is too foolish to oust anchor Sue Simmons. She is a local TV News Goddess... These stupid consultants... They want new, hip, cutting edge... But, local audiences prefer their hometown feel. WNBC is done.

One month only... newly restored Keith Haring bathroom is open to the public til March 31. Details of the Keith Haring Mural at the LGBT Center.

According to the NYTimes, new gay club XL is up and running with different themes... "At the moment, Friday is popular with clean-cut young professionals, while Saturday draws an older, well-muscled crowd from Chelsea. Sunday is Latino night. Earlier in the week, there are also occasional cabaret shows featuring drag queens and other acts. And starting today is a new party called 20-Something Thursday". So far, I don't see a theme for me... lol.

I've been groovin on some Stevie Nicks lately... Here's Stevie Nicks official You Tube channel... I especially dig her other worldly stuff...

I can tell you that Eric R. Kandel is a brainiac. "I have no difficulty about enhancing memory. Removing memory is more complicated. If it’s to reduce the impact of a particular trauma, I have no difficulty with that, but there are other ways to deal with it — cognitive behavior therapy, exposure therapy, drugs. To go into your head and pluck out a memory of an unfortunate love experience, that’s a bad idea... You know, in the end, we are who we are. We’re all part of what we’ve experienced... It shapes you."

Don't forget... Clocks spring forward on Sunday!

New mantra from the book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers: "I can handle it"...

Lonely Narcissism Skewered By Cindy Sherman

Saw a preview of Cindy Sherman exhibit this past week at MoMA...

Sherman is considered one of the greatest Modern artists of the last 40 years... Essentially, she makes self portraits in various characterizations that make statements about feminism, aging, sexuality, pornography, youth, aristocracy, pop culture and lonely Narcissism.

The New York Times review of Cindy Sherman informs: "she is famous for working solo in her studio, without assistants. Part of the power of her images is their home-alone quality. We know that everything we see in a Sherman image she put there, deliberately, decisively."

MoMA's Cindy Sherman is great fun...

A great deal of it is the big gaudy colorful stuff...

I found the smaller early works the most fascinating and insighful to what made the artist tick...

Thirteenth Day of Christmas

"The initial high of romantic love is not an illusion that inevitably crashes into reality, so much as reality that crashes into an illusion". - Marianne Williamson, said that this morning on Twitter.

Am digging Maoz Vegetarian lately for hearty veggie lunches...

Today is to be so-called *gorgeous" with temps in mid 50's. Knock it down another 20 degrees and I'll agree with the adjective... Personally, I much preferred the seasonal teens earlier in the week.


Jeers to Bouchon Bakery for dropping the Tres Chocolate croissant log thingie from their menu... Idiots!

Julie Halston is currently in rehearsals for her imminent entry into Broadway's Anything Goes!

Sweater vests make one look fat! Like a big Santorum frothy mix of fat... Ew... We wore those fashion debacles way back in the seventies...

New Danny Yoffee photo show opens in Ridgewood this weekend.

"I didn't get old on purpose, it just happened. If you're lucky, it could happen to you." ~ Andy Rooney


It's the thirteenth day of Christmas... Final Holiday Party of the season is later today... And the Christmas tree has been removed from the lobby of my building...

Congratulations to Brian Blackburn and David Estreich Architects on their new 2012 website design. Most impressive.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sprayed Olive Oil Pam on dry microwaved popcorn so that the salt and Parmesan adheres to it... Works good.

Hoping Charlie Rose's new puffy CBS Morning News gig doesn't cut into the quality of his cool PBS show... This week's programs included fascinating interviews with Barney Frank and George McGovern.

Have you tried Evernote yet??? I highly recommend it! A great tool for getting organized in the New Year!!

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." - Walter Winchell

Had a great meal recently at Joe's of Avenue U! Their Linguine with White Clam is the finest on the planet... Ditto for their Broccoli Rabe... Thanks to Nicomar for turning me onto that place... I find myself jonesing for it from time to time...

Have a great weekend!

Day. At. A. Time.

This is *not* my favorite time of the year... Just sayin'.

Comfort food: Brad's Organic PB&J on multi-grain Wasa crackers. A little messy? Yes.

Amazed by how many snail mail Xmas cards I still get. Far fewer than the ol days, fer sure... But, still...

Fact is, it's been weeks since I read a newspaper. They go straight to the recycle bin. No time. No interest. Too depressing.

Headache today. Perfect!

Second time now that I thought I was buying those fabulous deep orange yams at the Union Square Greenmarket to realize later that they are some yellow kinda thing with a dry consistency. Me no like.

Here's eight reasons why waiting in line can drive you crazy!

Gmail is once again offering free domestic voice calling to the US and Canada. If you're interested...

Gimmee Jimmy's Cookies make a great gift. They deliver quick, too! Recipients always express deliciousness.

Here's seven Android Smartphone browser alternatives. I use Dolphin, myself. Though I've never mastered the new version and find it frustrating.

Here are the Ten Commandments to Lower Cholesterol.

Pre-holiday pressures are on *full tilt* at work! From EVERY side!

Day. At. A. Time.

The Max Ginsburg Retrospective

Realist painters earn extra points from me for... well... realism...

Max Ginsburg does extraordinary work and I was grateful to see his retrospective Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club before it closed in early August...

There's a beauty of a book available here or here.

Salmagundi Club, 47 Fisth Avenue always has great shows open to the public...

If I lived in that area I would definitely consider membership...

Here's another great shot I took of another Max Ginsberg masterpiece.

Here's a shot I took of Max Ginsberg The Friends.

Pre-Labor Day Recollections

Last weekend of summer staycation... *Sigh*.

It's been a truly great summer break. Despite hurricanes and earthquakes... New events, sights, personal growth, and catching up with so friends old and new!

Had a flood down here from the upstairs apartment. The moisture badly warped the signed matte of a Disney sericel... Unfortunately, it's the only one I had that was autographed by a deceased voice over artist from one of the original classic films... Will take it to an expert to see what can be salvaged...

Accidents happen. And things are only things...

Doing cleaning and de-cluttering projects all weekend around the place...

I don't care for this new Blogger... Composing in Compose mode puts in too many line breaks... Composing in HTML puts in none. And the automatic saves trip me up all the time. Phooey. I'll give it some time to see if I adjust...

Generally speaking, I hate change... Usually... Though I acknowledge that I strive for it... Because I think it's good.  Go figure.

Needed to stay inside and out of the sun after a topical medical treatment the other day...

I can always use the excuse to stay in and do chores! Have cleaned the bathroom, and kitchen, cleared the hallway, defragged and scandisked the computer, reset a coupla drivers for mouse and keyboard, installed a Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router and vacuumed, too!... Still more to do: Do a test run of a new portable scanner... And start updating software on a notebook computer that I haven't used in a loooong time but plan to use it at work starting next week...


Yesterday morning at the clinic, I offered the nurse $20 bucks to permanently alter my birth year on my medical chart to make me 20 years younger. Said she just couldn't possibly do this. One little digit. ...Can you imagine?


Latest guilty pleasure: Portabello quesadillas from Burrito Box = Fabulous.

July 2011 rainfall total for NYC area was a whopping 18.95". Wettest month on record. Ever! Normal for August: 4.22". Previous record: September 1882, 16.85".

I'm fish sitting this week. Laura the goldfish.  She hates me and she is always trying to commit suicide by leaping out of her container. I just hope she keeps it together til her owners get back!

Next week: cat sitting for another couple of friends... Well, not as much sitting as running over and feeding them in their apartment for three days...

Haven't eaten any meat since last May. Need to get my cholesterol checked to see if that has made a difference... Though I know I need to give up dairy and do more cardio to probably make the real difference...

New York City is gearing up for the 9/11 tenth anniversary. I can't wait for it to be over. All too morbid for me... And I have no desire to re-visit any of it... I remember it all too perfectly well.

I thank God everyday for my parent's continuing good health and independence...

Let me just say, I'm enjoying my self-imposed media embargo. I plan to extend it... Makes my life happier!

I love 7pm curtain times on Broadway! I saw two shows this week with 7pm curtains. There oughta be a law requiring this!

Lots of new pictures on Todd's Flickr profile. Some are accompanying this post... Lots of new tweets on Todd HellsKitch's Twitter Profile if you want to fill in the blanks...

OK, I have to now go back and sing to the fish... It's the only thing that keeps her from slamming against the walls of her Tupperware mobile home... She seems to like my Ethel Merman impersonation.

But she still hates me, I'm quite sure...

MoMA: Figures in the Garden

Twas a beautiful day yesterday to spend some time in the MoMA Sculpture Garden...

Seems the last couple of times I was at MoMA, the weather wasn't so good for a proper Sculpture Garden visit...

Below is some text from their press release on what treasures are currently on display out there...

This summer’s Sculpture Garden installation brings together figurative works from the late 19th century to the present day. Making its debut in the Sculpture Garden is Figurengruppe/Group of Figures, by contemporary German artist Katharina Fritsch (b. 1956). Conceived in 2006–08, the work features nine life-size sculptures of, among other figures, St. Michael, a Madonna, a giant, and a snake, all rendered in precise detail and finished in bold colors. Religious symbolism and references to mythology abound, yet any fixed meaning remains open and elusive.


Group of Figures is joined by earlier works such as Auguste Rodin’s heroic St. John the Baptist Preaching (1878–80) and Aristide Maillol’s pensive Mediterranean (1902–05). Striking a casual pose in his derby hat is Elie Nadelman’s Man in the Open Air (c. 1915), and perched atop a tall pedestal is Gaston Lachaise’s open-armed, voluptuous Floating Figure (1927). Perennial favorites like Picasso’s She-Goat (1950) and Miró’s Moonbird (1966) are on view as well, in addition to works by Renée Sintenis, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, and Tom Otterness.

All photos by me. And are viewable in more detail on the Todd Hellskitchen Flickr Page.

It's a nice perk of MoMA Membership with the added benefit of   MoMA's proximity to Hell's Kitchen... That dropping by the MoMA Sculpture Garden for a morning read, some quiet time, or a session to just sit and catch up on Smartphone emails is so easily doable!

It's all good...

Here's an article on Katharina Fritsch, written by Eleonore Hugendubel and posted on the MoMA blog.

A Blue Sky Friday

This is the kind of day we're having today...

Perfect...

Thought I might run around.

Then decided to take it easy...

A stroll with a bag lunch picnic to Hudson River park for some rays...

A chat with a wild old lady with a parasol... And to watch the grazing Canada Geese...

Still letting the afternoon unfold...

How about you?? How's your Friday?

Have a great weekend, wherever you are...

The Other Gorgeous Day in Tweets...

Just now catching up with a a few days ago... Using Twitter's microblog as my template. Adding a few words and hyperlinks... But do read these in reverse order to get the chronology of it all...

Cold Stone Creamery's Peanut Butter Cup Perfection with dark chocolate ice cream in a waffle cup... Soooo gooood.

Outdoor public space at Worldwide Plaza was pretty damned jammed at 2pm on this gorgeous afternoon... And why not?

Olive Garden five cheese penne was good. Rich and filling. Salad too, of course with dressing on the side... (Hold the breadsticks!)

Lion King takes the stage at Broadway in Bryant Park... "Circle of Life"...

Bryant park lawn is pretty crowded. Not a chair at a table to be found at the back. People circling w/ bagged lunches looking for a chair.

Awesome weather for "Broadway in Bryant Park" today. Jersey Boy's cast asks "Who Loves You?" as I tweet...

NYPL main branch has a good Centennial Exhibit. Nicomar would like this. So would the Queens Librarian Lady. Worth checking out...

Watching Jersey Boys singing Big Girls Don't Cry at Bryant Park...

Saw more Aug Art: Nancy Grossman: Combustion Scapes (PS1) at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery and more Elliott Erwitt @ Edwynn Houk where famed New York 1974 chihuahua signed print can be had for $5,500...

Beautiful morning in Midtown East.

Art Gallery day for me. Saw Lever House's sexy David LaChapelle exhibit From Darkness to Light

Also saw Pace-MacGill's Diane Arbus, Robert Rauchenberg, Garry Winnogrand, Duanne Michals, Robert Frank, and Lee Friedlander... Want to See My Portfolio?

Hell's Kitchen at 11AM: Scattered Clouds, Temperature 73 °F, Humidity 86%... Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.

Male Bonding at Manhattan Mini-Golf

Played some Miniature Golf, yesterday, for the first time in 40 years...

Actually, I tried to convince my Father to join me for a round on his 80th Birthday when we were on the boardwalk in Ocean City in June. He wanted none of it. Probably, because he could beat me when I was ten and he could sense I wanted to get even... LOL!

There is a fun Mini Golf Course in the Hudson River Park at Chambers Street... At Pier 25. Who knew?? Only $5 per round.

Course has it's fair share of fun challenges: ramps, hills, sand pits, bridges, tunnels, flowing rivers and  slopes!

Many surprising lessons on the (miniature) golf course... Good fellowship... Stiff breezes off the water... Great views...

And, you learn so much about your opponents while you play:

...Ex-Detective Jimmy Mc (can't keep score worth a damn! LOL), Dan the Man (Libertarian! Yikes!), Jonathan (the Triathelete! Impressive!), and Ben (who always figured I was straight like the rest of the players today! Preposterous!)...

Now if more Washington Democrats and Republicans played (mini) golf more often, they might learn more things about their opponents, too...

Check out Manhattan Mini-Golf here.

Art Meets Reality : MoMA's Talk to Me

Went to a Member preview of Talk to Me at MoMA over the weekend...

Here's MoMA's press release:

Whether openly and actively or in subtle, subliminal ways, things talk to us. Tangible and intangible, and at all scales—from the spoon to the city, the government, and the Web, and from buildings to communities, social networks, systems, and artificial worlds—things communicate. They do not all speak up: some use text, diagrams, visual interfaces, or even scent and temperature: others just keep us company in eloquent silence.

Talk to Me at MoMATalk to Me explores this new terrain, featuring a variety of designs that enhance communicative possibilities and embody a new balance between technology and people, bringing technological breakthroughs up or down to a comfortable, understandable human scale. Designers are using the whole world to communicate, transforming it into a live stage for an information parkour and enriching our lives with emotion, motion, direction, depth, and freedom.

And I also refilled my Metrocard at a real working Metrocard machine on exhibit at MoMA without a line...

Art met my reality...

More photos on My Flickr page.

Did You Hear the One About the Mockingbird and the Tall Guy?

Tomorrow marks one complete month since the start of the summer vacation on June 28th. As usual, the time is FLYING by soooo fast!...

This past month seems to have gone by as quickly as a typical Monday through Friday slogs along in a regular work week... Can someone please explain this time dimension continuum thingie to me and how to beat it?? This MUST be fixed!

Meanwhile, there's a tall guy with a goatee standing out on a paved walkway at the Hudson River Park this morning soaking up his his Vitamin D from the brilliant sunshine. Suddenly, a mockingbird dive-bombs his head. Ouch!... Yes that was me, you damned bird!

Had breakfast in the Hell's Kitchen Park this morning, where some shrewd old people fix the gate so it looks like the park is still locked... And you have to know that it's open to lift the doohickey to open the gate... Made for a quiet breakfast and the reading of The New York Times...

Had made a little picnic breakfast at Lenny's on Ninth Avenue to bring along...

The Clinton Community Garden was very late in being unchained this morning (by whatever volunteer does it every morning)... So I passed by after breakfast to use my member key after the chain was remand take some photos inside for my Clinton Community Garden Flickr Group...

Damn, that's a lot of activity in Hell's Kitchen area parks for one tall guy with a goatee blogger for one day...

BTW, that damned mockingbird came back and made a second pass before I left that Hudson River Park just before lunch...

Obviously, it was a personal vendetta... because here I thought I was well away from any shrubbery where there might have been a nest...

So, watch out, there, little Mockingbird bird beast...

I'll be back...!

... With a hat next time...

I'm no Tippi Hedren...

Goddamned bird!

Rainy Afternoon In the Villages East to West

Much cooler than the last few days, but with the awful 96% humidity... It was still miserable. Especially in the subways... Summers in the subway are a reminder of what life is probably like in hell...

Nevertheless, I hopped the N train for a visit to Union Square.

Decided to wander way East to Avenue A for another visit to Westville for their vegan hot dogs. Had the sauteed kale instead of French Fries... And then they had Berry Rhubarb Pie ala mode on the Specials menu so I had that with an iced coffee... Perfect...

Still had some time before my NewFest screening, so I texted Lisa to remind me of the name of a shop nearby that sold some unusual colognes... She responded with Odin on East 11th. And I grabbed a bottle of Wonderwood...

Tried to finally get to visit the Obscura shop... But they were busy filming another episode of Oddities... So I couldn't get near the place with all the film equipment and texting crew blocking the entrance... Maybe another time... (I hope!)

Admired the architecture on the side streets as I walked westward for the NewFest screening at Village East Cinema...

Hated this film today, though. Haven't decided if I'll blog a review or not... See how I feel in a day or so...

Wandered past the Salamagundi Club, but it was too late to visit their gallery which closed at 6pm. I know I would've enjoyed the Max Ginsberg Retrospective show there. And City Life. Both shows are there til August 5...

So, maybe I'll get myself back down that way before they close...

The High Line: A New Perspective

If you haven't visited The High Line yet... You're missing a really cool new park here in New York City...

Just below Hell's Kitchen is a long abandoned elevated rail line that was once used for freight transfer to area warehouses...

Some ingenious urban visionaries have managed to make it into something truly wonderful...

Frankly, I'm not crazy about the accelerated rate of luxurious gentrification to the once gritty area... New York still needs some grit...

Jeremiah's Vanishing New York warns that it is driving out New York City's last remaining leather bar (The New York Eagle).

But on it's own merits... The High Line is beautiful and worth the trip...

My High Line Flickr Gallery is here. You gotta scroll down as the most recent shots, including the newly opened Phase Two are at the end of the stack...

Here's the Wikipedia article on The High Line.