September 30, 2008
With only 13 days left and counting to admire Olafur Eliason's summer 2008-changing work (pictured here is the waterfalls under the Brooklyn Bridge at DUMBO), I'm starting to think we should just keep them, see if they handle a New York winter.
In addition viewing them at one of four locations along the East River, you might also want to check out the city's cooler than average interactive website dedicated to Eliasson's gushing monstrosities.
There you can learn all kinds of cool information-- like the fact that the four waterfalls together churn out 35,000 gallons of water per minute-- and also read about what inspired the project in the first place.
www.nycwaterfalls.com
Tags:
New York City Waterfalls, Olafur Eliasson, Summer 2008
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Posted on 9/30/2008
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September 29, 2008
NY-based artist Kathy Koller's work for the DUMBO Arts Festival 2008, submitted in the Water Arts category, presented a blanket of discarded plastic wrap anchored to four cinder blocks on the shore of the East River at low tide between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges.
As the tide moved in along the shore over the course of the late afternoon, the plastic wrap floated upon the surface of the East River shoreline, symbolizing and reminding viewers of the industrial waste materials bobbing out on the oceans surface around the world.
From the DUMBO Arts Festival 2008 Guide:
"Way out in the middle of the ocean a junkyard exists compiled of miles of non-biodegradable plastic objects, bobbing in the sea. Where did this come from? Kathy Koller’s Flow represents the starting point of trash that ends up in the doldrums of the ocean. "
www.kkoller.com
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DUMBO Arts Festival 2008, East River, Flow, Kathy Koller, plastic, waste, Water Arts
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Posted on 9/29/2008
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September 29, 2008
Upon first glance when I walked up to Reina Kubota's "City of Light" at the DUMBO Arts Festival this weekend the sheer number and variety of bottles, cans, cartons, paper cups, and jars of all kinds was so overwhelming that I didn't immediately get it-- I was just stunned. Then a friend of mind yelled out,"Hey look-- there's Central Park! That's the Upper West Side! That's Columbia University!"
Boom. I suddenly realized that the entire island of Manhattan stood before me, represented in clever detail by the use of almost every possible product of mass consumption you can imagine (with bottles and glasses representing buildings being the dominant item).
I only wish I could have seen this lit up at night-- even during the relatively overcast hours of this past Saturday afternoon, I still stood by this piece in awe for about 20 minutes-- then walked away shaking my head wondering how so much trash made for such a beautiful model of the city I love.
Bravo, Reina Kubota. I don't say this too often: a masterpiece!
Tags:
art, bottles, cartons, City of Light, DUMBO, glasses, litter, Manhattan, Reina Kubota
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Posted on 9/29/2008
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September 25, 2008
Born on the Lower East Side in 1888, with its famous old signs such as "Send a salami to your boy in the army" and the window display of thank-you letters from former U.S. presidents, Katz's Deli has repeatedly earned the moniker of most authentic New York deli.
You'll find people from all walks of life here enjoying enormous sandwiches, hot dogs, sauerkraut, and all sorts of crowd-pleasing favorites. Jane and Michael Stern praise Katz's in "Road Food" as the quinessential New York experience, which continually wows tourists and real New Yorkers alike.
I like the quaint old school ticket system, which you get punched depending on what you order.
Call me a light eater, but I only made it half way through the delicious roast beef sandwich, sour pickle,and fries. I bet Bill Clinton probably wolfed down two of those.
Tags:
Bill Clinton, Katz Delicatessen, Lower East Side, New York Deli, road food, roast beef, sauerkraut
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Posted on 9/25/2008
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September 24, 2008
'The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)', and the U.S Department of State's chief of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Ambassador Mark Lagon, picketed outside HBO Headquarters on 42nd Street on Tuesday.
The target of the demonstration was HBO"s reality series "Cathouse," a show which presents episodes from six years of filming inside the famous Moonlite BunnyRanch, a bustling legal brothel located just outside of Reno, Nevada.
According to CATW protesters it promotes the cultural mainstreaming of prostitution, which in turn expands the international demand for the sex trade and human trafficking.
Tags:
42nd Street, Cathouse, CATW, HBO, Moonlite BunnyRanch, Nevada, protesters, Reno
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Posted on 9/24/2008
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September 23, 2008
Well with Yankee Stadium now closed for baseball business, what remains are the memories. Slugger Wade Boggs, celebrated Yankee third baseman, did his part in preserving those today by offering to do a book signing of the the official Yankee Stadium retrospective book at Mickey Mantle's Restaurant.
The book, co-authored by Mark Vancil and Alfred Santasiere, features dozens of great black and white and color photos of Yankee Stadium's glorious past, along with a compelling narrative which will certainly be read by those Yankee fans mourning not just the loss of the stadium, but the loss of an era of baseball memories.
Baseball memorabilia buffs, including the desperate dozen or so people arrested for stealing pieces of Yankee Stadium during the old ballpark's final game, will definitely want a copy of the book as a valuable reference on the stadium's architectural history.
With the new Yankee stadium slated to open in April of 2009, Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective, published by the New York Yankees in partnership with Pocket Books, will make good fall/winter reading during the long layoff from Yankee baseball that lies ahead.
Tags:
book signing, Mickey Mantle Restaurant, stealing pieces, The Official Retrospective, Wade Boggs, Yankee Stadium
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Posted on 9/23/2008
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September 23, 2008
Bloggers out there on the beat might relate to this-- you're hitting the pavement, doing your absolute best to report the facts as you see them, when suddenly you discover that you're not looking at reality, but a movie set.
This Truman Showish experience happened me the other day, so I regret to report that the sleek trash bins I saw on the corner of Rivington and Clinton are no longer there today. A worker doing construction work on a new pizzeria going up on that corner informed me that the bins were not real, but part of a movie set and were removed yesterday.
To which I replied,"So how do I know for sure that you're really a construction worker and this is a real pizzeria going up-- hey, isn't that a SAG card I see behind that pack of Marlboros in your left chest pocket?"
And for the record, asthetically speaking I stand by my previous blog. I don't care if it was a movie set, that's what I think our recycling bins should look like. End of story.
Tags:
Clinton, movie set, recycling, Rivington, trash bins
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Posted on 9/23/2008
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September 22, 2008
Although opinions have ranged widely on the authentic nature of this particular Yankee Stadium, with some nay sayers claiming that this is not the House that Ruth built but the 1970's renovated version that's closing, I still am of the opinion that anytime America takes a good long gaze at its own history, in this case sports history, it generally bodes well for the nation.
As much as we get caught up in authenticity discussions about the architectural structure of Yankee Stadium in its closing days, we should also consider the storybook nature of the franchise's accomplishments. To do otherwise would be to merely judge the Yankee book by its hard bound cover.
Over the course of their storied history, the Yankees lead Major League Baseball with 26 World Series championships and 39 American league pennants. They have more championships than any other North American franchise, surpassing the 24 Stanley Cup victories of the Montreal Canadians in professional hockey, as well as the 17 championship banners won by the legendary Boston Celtics basketball franchise.
The victories and losses, the heroic personalities who have donned the pinstripes, the drama and achievement of Yankee legends-- simply stated, when you speak about the Yankees, you are not speaking about a cavernous slab of concrete surrounding a field of sand and fresh cut grass; you are speaking about a large slice of American sports history and culture. The personal sacrifices that were made out there on that diamond in the Bronx are really what move us. They are what is truly worthy of our current reflections.
Photo Copyright © 2006 Kjetil Ree, some rights reserved.
Tags:
Bronx, Major League Baseball, pennants, stadium closing, World Series, Yankee legends, Yankee Stadium
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Posted on 9/22/2008
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September 22, 2008
If anyone on the streets of Manhattan can top these sleek new recycling bins in beauty, functionality, and design integration, then the challenge is on and I request that you submit pics from your neighborhood of cooler ones.
These beauties are on the corner of Clinton and Rivington Streets in the Lower East Side and I find them to be so impressive that I would encourage people to visit LES just to have a look at them.
Since I was on my way to work when I spotted these, and I only had a few seconds to snap a shot or two, it still is a mystery as to the origins of these bins. I saw no NYC Department of Sanitation label on them, nor did I speak with any people on the street, but I assume you can't just put these up without city/neighborhhood approval so I'll follow up on this and let you know who created these.
For now I'll just call them a close encounter with classy trash design . . . stay tuned . . .
Tags:
Bottles, Clinton Street, NYC Department of Waste Removal, Paper, Plastic, Recycling, Rivington Street, Trash Disposal Bins, Waste Separation
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Posted on 9/22/2008
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September 18, 2008
One of my favorite subway ads ever was one I saw in Boston while riding the T. It was from ESPN and it read: "Without sports, there would be no reason to wake up on Sunday morning."
Since I firmly believe that in America sports is our biggest religion and religion is our biggest sport (quote me on that), there is really no place in my neighorhood I'd rather genuflect in than The Blue Seats, probably the sleekest, swankiest sports bar I have ever seen.
I didn't count the number of flat screen TVs here but they are high resolution beauties and they are everywhere. The menu offerings range from standard sports bar fare (that means chicken wings and sliders) to more nobler chow, such Italian pasta dishes, raw oysters, and scallops wrapped in bacon.
In addition to open seating in the front and back, this chic sports establishment on Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side boasts beautifully upholstered leather booths with multiple TVs, plus two rental only private screening rooms: the eight-seat, seven-screen Dugout; and then there's the 12-screen, 17-seat Skybox. I mean c'mon, I've never been there, but I bet these babies top the private screening rooms of half the ones NBA players got.
To owner Natasha Navidad from this NYC.com sports fan: "Your place is where I want to get my game on, where I think I died and went to sports heaven. Can I get season tickets for booth number 1 for all of this year's Celts games-- and can you put it on my tab? Thanks."
Tags:
Blue Seats, ESPN, Ludlow Street, Natasha Navidad, sports, Sports bar
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Posted on 9/18/2008
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September 17, 2008
Some of you may have missed the best little concert of the summer, staged outdoors last night by Peter Cramer and the greenthumb-minded folks at Le Petit Versailles in the East Village. Last night it was the soulful artistry of the fun and irreverant sextet, The Isle of Klezbos, who play imaginative versions of eclectic European-rooted Jewish folk music, Yiddish Swing and tango, and a growing repertoire of moving originals.
In the intimacy of the Le Petit Versailles setting, The Isle of Klezbos played to a multi-generational audience ranging from infants to senior citizens and everyone in between.
The crowd was delighted with the entertaining stagewomanship of bandleader-drummer
Eve Sicular and treated to numerous beautiful solos and complex harmony work by saxophonist-clarinetist Debra Kreisberg, trumpeter Pam Fleming, and versatile vocalist, Melissa Fogarty.
Simply a beautiful summer night's evening in the park with ladies who know their craft.
For more info check them out: www.metropolitanklezmer.com/islebios.html
Tags:
Debra Kreisberg, Eve Sicular, Klezmer, Le Petit Versailles, Melissa Fogarty, Pam Fleming, The Isle of Klezbos, Yiddish Swing
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Posted on 9/17/2008
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September 16, 2008
The New Museum of Contemporary Art is gearing up for fall with the continuation of its "After Nature" exhibit, which surveys a landscape of wilderness and ruins, darkened by uncertain catastrophe that feels like life in the civilized world these days, followed by the final decision on the 2008 Altoids Award.
An innovative exploration of American emerging art, the Altoids Award is granted every two years to four artists nominated and selected by a panel comprised entirely of other artists. Winners in 2008 are each given a $25,000 prize as well as the opportunity to collaborate on this exhibition at the New Museum, providing their earliest exposure to a broad, international audience.
Other new exhibits include a major exhibition featuring the work of painter Elizabeth Payton premiering on October 8th, as well as three additional fall openings: "Museum as Hub: Six Degrees" on September 25th, A.L. Steiner and robbinschilds "C.L.U.E." on October 8th, and Mary Heilmann "To Be Someone" on October 22nd.
Tags:
2008 Altoids Award, Elizabeth Peyton, Mary Heilmann, New Museum, New Museum Of Contemporary Art
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Posted on 9/16/2008
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September 15, 2008
The 81st Annual Feast of San Gennaro, New York City’s oldest, biggest and most famous religious street festival is currently being celebrated from September 11 and continuing through Sunday, September 21.
Presented annually since 1996 by Figli di San Gennaro, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, this year’s Feast will again attract more than a million people to the streets of historic Little Italy in the yearly salute to the Patron Saint of Naples – San Gennaro. The street festivities – including religious processions with the statue of San Gennaro, parades, free entertainment, food stands and a cannoli eating contest – reach their apex on Friday, September 19 – the Official Feast Day -- with a celebratory Mass honoring San Gennaro, followed by a candlelit procession as the Statue of San Gennaro is carried from its permanent home in Most Precious Blood Church on Mulberry Street through the streets of Little Italy.
A NYC.com short list of participating Italian restaurants includes:
Grotta Azzurra,
La Nonna,
Lunella,
Paesano of Mulberry Street,
Positano Ristorante,
Puglia Restaurant,
Vincent's Restaurant.
This is a religious inspired feast for the mouth, the eyes, and the senses in Little Italy-- Really good sausage stands, carnival rides, and much morel. Enjoy!
Tags:
cannoli eating contest, Little Italy, Most Precious Blood Church, Mulberry Street, San Gennaro, Statue of San Gennaro
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Posted on 9/15/2008
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September 15, 2008
Elando Questelles's chic new boutique salon on East 3rd Street in Alphabet City offers an impressive array of designer eyeware and accessories of both American and international origin. As both owner/optician Questelles, who hails originally from St. Vincent in the Caribbean, opened the cute wedge of lime green shop eight months ago with a passion about personal style (which is what the PS stands for):
"I wanted to create a friendly and inviting atmosphere and help to get rid of the stigma of wearing glasses. It's not just about seeing. Glasses reflect who you are, how you feel, and a sense of fun. That's why I think I'm a perfect fit for the East Village."
The nucleus of the collection here represents American, Japanese, French, Italian, and German brands such as Shuron, Gen, Modo, Alain Mikli, Persol, and Brendel.
In addition to the very classy and creative eyeware which Questelles handpicks himself, there are also quite a number of pretty cases for glasses which definitely appeal to the customer who not only likes to wear but also carry his or her pair of specs in style.
Personal Style Optical is off to a bright start and definitely one of the new optical gems in the East Village. In the future Questelles plans to work directly with the Gen company from Fukui Japan to design his own Personal Style eyewear collection. We look forward to seeing that vision happen.
Tags:
Brendel, chic new boutique salon, East Village, Fukui Japan, Gen, glasses, Mikli, Modo, optician, Personal Style Optical, Questelles, Shuron
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Posted on 9/15/2008
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September 15, 2008
Pickle producers and pickle connoisseurs of all kinds-- sweet, sour, spicy pickle lovers, you name it, they were here en masse for the Eighth Annual NYC Pickle Day in Manhattan's Lower East Side. Manhattan was represented by Guss's Pickles, Kalustyan's, Pickle Guys, Rick's Picks, Russ & Daughters, and Newton Farms.
Brooklyn pickle vendors were Fabienne Volel, Sahadi's, Wheelhouse, and the very spicy McClure's. China Food Imports and M&I International were there to give the Essex street pickle fare an international flavor and credibility.
There was simply no better place in Manhattan to deal with a Sunday morning hangover than munching on the mouthwatering green specimens you could sample here. Sweeeet! (Or maybe I'll try that sour one).
Tags:
McClures pickles, NYC Pickle Day, Pickle Guys, pickle producers, Ricks Picks, Russ and Daughters, Sahadis
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Posted on 9/15/2008
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September 09, 2008
Fortunately for me, the goods folks at this East Village diner, The Remedy, allow me to occupy an entire table to write on any given weekend, as long as families of four are not lined up out front waiting to get in to eat.
Owner Peter and Anastasious Giannopoulos have created a really sleek diner aesthetic here and offer all-day breakfast specials, steaks, pork chops, southern fried chicken and of course, a bottomless cup of coffee. The real surprise about the menu here is that they offer a number of tasty pasta dishes and even Pan Seared Mediterranean Scallops.
Since it is open 24/7, I guess the name is supposed to suggest it's the place to be after a serious round of binge drinking in the Lower East Side.
Not to sound smug, but I am strictly a morning visitor to this fine establishment.
Eating after midnight's not my thing.
Tags:
bottomless cup of coffee, breakfast specials, diner, East Village, Lower East Side, The Remedy
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Posted on 9/9/2008
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September 08, 2008
For her first exhibition at Lehmann Maupin's 201 Chrystie Street Gallery, Jennifer Steinkamp presents a new series of work entitled Daisy Bell.
Utilizing state of the art equipment to wed her projections to the dramatic architecture of the beautiful new gallery space, Steinkamp Daisy Bell series presents mesmerizing projections like the one pictured here, which shows a variety of poisonous flowers that appear to perpetually cascade down the 40-feet high gallery walls.
This work really is something astonishing and soothing to behold. Although Steinkamps's working exclusively with digital media, you almost felt you could smell these flowers, and they were delightful to view for minutes at a time.
Really worth the visit. The gallery is one of several new ones relocating from the more pricier Chelsea art district downtown to the Lower East Side.
Jennifer Steinkamp
201 Chrystie Gallery
September 7th-October 18th
(between Stanton and Rivington Streets)
Chrystie Street
Tags:
201 Chrystie Street Gallery, Chrystie Street, Daisy Bell, Jennifer Steinkamp, New York gallery, projection art
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Posted on 9/8/2008
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September 05, 2008
For a non-native New Yorker, like my artist friend patrolling the opening of the 2008 Chelsea Art galleries with me last night, you have to be impressed by the sheer number and volume of gallery space in the Gallery District, not to mention the scores of stunning babes stepping out on a sultry night in some of the hottest summer dresses I have ever seen.
I didn't dare to take a survey, but I would like to know what New York fashion designer of summer dresses was "in" this past season.
I will remember 2008 summer fashion in New York City for the absolute dominance of the flat-soled sandals worn by every single woman this summer. Isn't the asphalt hard on your feet in those, ladies?
P.S. I know Andy Warhol did the pop art thing decades ago, but I still like it-- and wasn't President Nixon always a little blue in the face?
Tags:
Andy Warhol, Chelsea art galleries, flat sandals, Gallery District, native New Yorker, pop art, Richard Nixon, summer dresses, summer fashion
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Posted on 9/5/2008
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September 05, 2008
I marvel every morning on my way to work when I see these lovely ladies performing their delicate soft tai chi exercises. No iPods, no Nautilus equipment, no fitness instructor barking commands on a mike headset, they don't even appear to be sweating. Who needs a fitness club when there is tai chi in the park? You go girls . . .
Tags:
fitness instructor, Ipod, iPods, Nautilus, Nautilus equipment, park, tai chi
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Posted on 9/5/2008
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September 02, 2008
Alas the summer has come and gone and the Olympic size pool in beautiful Hamilton Fish Park has officially closed for the year. In the name of all those daily swimmers doing laps at 7am and 7pm, we say thanks to New York City Parks and Recreation. Wish we could continue swimming while the New York weather dips into fall, but oh well. It was a swell summer love affair while it lasted.
Tags:
Hamilton Fish Park, New York City Parks and Recreation, Olympic, summer love
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Posted on 9/2/2008
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September 02, 2008
How did your Labor Day Weekend go, America? In addition to doing various mundane housekeeping tasks and enrolling in my local East Village Dolphin Fitness Center, I spent most of my free time talking to friends and intermittently tuning in to numerous progressive and conservative radio programs and news stations for the latest news regarding presumptive Republican VP nominee, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, and the dreadful approach of Hurricane Gustav.
Now that Labor Day's past and I am back to work, the above picture is basically what my media-fried brain conjures up when I think of these two cataclysmic phenomena.
Guess you could say thanks to Hurricane Sarah the aftermath hoopla of the Democratic National Convention was wiped out, while the blogosphere and radio and television airwaves became awash in Sarahmania.
Thanks to incoming Vice President Gustav, the beginning of the Republican National Convention, along with the potentially negative visits from President Bush and Vice President Cheney on Monday night were, as of Monday night, completely under water. Wasn't that the boost and support presumptive Republican nominee McCain really needed at this critical point from a sidekick willing to step up to the plate and knock it out of the park for him?
Actions speak louder than words. Water always conquers fire. Beauty always takes us by storm.
Tags:
Alaska Governor, blogosphere, Democratic National Convention, Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Sarah, Labor Day Weekend, McCain, President Bush, Republican National Convention, Republican nominee, Vice President Cheney, Vice President Gustav, Vice President Palin
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Posted on 9/2/2008
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