October 02, 2006
Fireworks@SouthStreet.Seaport
If I had gotten my wish that I had known about the fireworks display early enough so that I could bring along my tripod, I would have chosen to be on the pier. I wouldn't have risked being in a location where the view could have been anything less than full.
Tripodless, but lucky enough to be in a relatively quiet area, behind a blown streetlight, with relatively low ambient light and limited light spillage.
Another view here.
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September 30, 2006
Gimagua
Gimagua, one of the more popular subway performers. The rhumba-flamenco guitar-playing twins hail from Cartagena, a nice old coastal city in Colombia. In between the three short pieces they played while we stayed, no less than 4 people had their picture taken with the duo, including N.
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The United Nations
... and the Chrysler - two of my favourite buildings in the city.
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September 12, 2006
The Chrysler
And its neighbours.
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September 11, 2006
dusk@westside.nyc
Midtown, and part of the Upper West at dusk.
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September 10, 2006
Subterranean Musicians
Unless they lose their orientation, subway commuters move quickly often without having to look for directions. Quite understandable, because the air seemed to smell like a mixture of stale smoke, vaporized metal, and urine. Well... it's usually not that bad. But, even when the air seemed fresh, standing around would mean the difference between finding a spot on the other side of a set of closing doors and having to wait for a train fuller than the one that had just left.
Commuters on autopilot are a feature of many big cities, but it unfortunately lends to the impersonal nature 'progress'. I think together with the Permanent Art program, the MTA has done good to subway riders by introducing live music into its stations. According to the MTA's site, there are around 100 performers under the Music Under New York programme. Performers under this program are auditioned by the MTA, and while they don't stop hardened zombified commuters, many are good enough to persuade a small crowd to give 5 minutes of their time, and maybe also a buck, for a break from their daily mechanized routine.
And, if you have been generally missing out on this world beneath the city, Travis Ruse will show you the way.
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September 02, 2006
Honest, Raw.
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September 01, 2006
Fellow photographer
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August 30, 2006
Street Carver
Taken two years ago, of course. We all know no one wears Von Dutch anymore.
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August 29, 2006
House DJ
For $10 a pop, he will sell you an excellent crowd-pleasing house mix.
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August 26, 2006
Jump Rope Visitor
7:57 p.m., 20 August. A rollerblader visits a group of friends jumping rope and manages to impress the crowd with some serious undiscovered skill. Spectators watch on, and many of them join in, until the last invite was called out 30 minutes after sundown.
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August 25, 2006
Seemingly Quiet (It's not)
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August 21, 2006
Bronx Rabbits
Yeah... I think I'm gonna maintain my flickr account.
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August 10, 2006
Cooler than hot
but still warm. Hot enough to look cool in wishing others to "stay cool".
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August 03, 2006
Mini(?) Blackout
It’s not often that one is made to feel like a swamp.
I had made a mental note of trying not to talk about the weather often, anywhere, or by any means. But when I attempted to walk home tonight, and ten seconds into the night, I was reminded that we had a high of 103 Fahrenheit today. 40 Celsius. In the shade. The humidity is high enough to turn every pore of my skin to mini-swamps. Appropriately, Mayor Bloomberg declared a heat emergency a few days ago.
Sporadic thunderstorms that typically (and thankfully) cool our hot summers had again made the news. Reports of people being struck by lightning are also typical: 2 men were struck by lightning a few weeks ago, and more recently a woman golfer was killed by lightning while seeking refuge in a shed.
But because we already know the sorry state of the city’s infrastructure, what’s more worrying to most is the possibility of another blackout. For a large number of Queens residents in July, several hundreds of thousands had gone without electricity. For 8 days. In New York City. The NYT reported a few days ago that 100,000 people were without power, and that was in addition to the estimated "several hundreds of thousands" that were with limited power. So a total of 300,000 people? Or maybe 400,000 affected by the power failure? ConEd, the city's energy supplier, could not provide an exact figure, and it wasn't also in a position to refute the various estimates by different press sources.
The papers were filled with stories of the old and sick who were on respirators, who can't climb stairs, who only had a pack of crackers, and a few packs of yoghurt which would most certainly turn into a health hazard by next sunset.
A friend from Ethiopia said that a blackout of a couple of days was rare in Ethiopia, and an 8-day stretch was simply unheard of. Now tell that to the Ethiopian football team and they might just qualify in the next World Cup together with Ghana and humiliate a certain world power.
We are very lucky not to be affected by the black/brownouts, but we know friends who were. ConEd will only reimburse up to $350 worth of damaged groceries per (residential) customer - if they can prove it with receipts and photos. So lucky are those who hoard their grocery receipts. Now they just have to avoid the electrified metal plates and exploding manholes.
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July 12, 2006
UES night
One early morning before the sun was even up, I was walking alone when a very young couple I had just passed shouted something, which I could only assume as “Hey..!!!”
It was raining, I had an umbrella and my headphones on. The couple was probably still in college; they signaled if they could walk with me, and share my small umbrella.
I took my headphones off and held them in my hands.
“iPod?”, the girl asked, pointing at my hand.
“Yeah.”
“What are you listening?”
“Julieta Venegas”
“Who?”
And the conversation went on meaninglessly for about a block, after which we exchanged goodbyes.
I am strangely attracted to the excellent album by Julieta Venegas and I can’t remember how I came across her videos in youtube. I certainly know of no one that I can talk with who shares my latest attachment. While the music isn’t the kick-ass kind that I would buy on the first listen, it has grown on me much quicker than most.
I haven’t been listening to a lot of new music – there’s no radio in the apartment; VH1 and the 2 MTV channels mostly show something with Tara Reid or Ashton Kutcher and something that the producers insist is the new cool.
So… Esthero, Brazilian Girls, Si*Se and Zero 7 are constantly in my playlist, maybe some Buena Vista Social Club, because it somehow reminds me of home, even though it is no where near Cuba.
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July 11, 2006
Forza Italia, l'ultima parte.
No way was I going to watch the World Cup final in isolation from the rest of the world. I had seen Italy played with heart in reaching the finals. It had reminded me of Serie A and how it was better at one time than the other leagues. Not wanting to cross bridges or go through tunnels for fear of unforeseen delay, Little Italy was the obvious choice.
Mulberry Street was already packed when we got there 2 hours before kick-off. It must have been many, many years since Little Italy had seen that many Italians and their friends.
Due to some miscommunication with a restaurant that professed to have many plasma screens, we had to change our lunch plans to be in a much better place where one didn’t have to pay a cover charge, drinks or anything. The bar was open, and with just a smile one can just come in and be welcomed – the owner looked more like doing community service than anything else. Chairs that did not match the interior were brought in to accommodate at least 50 guests who couldn’t manage to get seats on the sofas. The rest either sat or lied on the floor. Like a handful of lucky people who were in the know, we brought in outside food. Between N and I, we spent $20 on a pizza and courtesy drinks.
It was the World Cup final and nothing was better than being in the company of thousands of the winning side’s supporters. Every dribble savoured by the players were cheered on with ooohs and aahs… every mistake, met with cries of passionate frustration and the occasional slap on the forehead. The crowd inevitably and mercifully drowned the voices of the two clueless ESPN commentators, who had done nothing more than show the world their immature understanding of the sport.
Italy had won the match on penalties and the sun was shining on this small neighbourhood 4,000 miles from Berlin where it was already dark. Thousands filled the streets effectively closing them to traffic.
There were some confrontations with the NYPD, but quick arrests effectively contained the situations. Of course, revellers accused the authorities of not understanding the euphoria of a world event. And in protesting against the arrests, at least one person got arrested for over-zealously making her point.
Some kind soul offered us access to his building’s rooftop from which we soaked the sun and witnessed the celebrations. Red, White and Green confetti was scattered from the roof of another building.
The sun had turned orange. Someone had a barbeque started, but it was already time for us to leave. As we made our way through Mulberry once again, Little Italy was still filled with blue shirts, painted faces and six cups-full of awesomeness. Semplicemente. Bellissimo.
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July 10, 2006
Little Italy, 9 July 2006.
5:29 p.m. Eastern.
Of course, Little Italy is much bigger than this small section of Mulberry Street and bigger than what my 28mm can cover.
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July 05, 2006
East River, 4 July 2006
More another time.
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July 04, 2006
4 July 2006
Macy's provided fireworks displays in three locations, with a total of 5 barges on the East River. We decided to go to the FDR drive this year, where we can watch clusters of fireworks from the usual 3 barges.
We were on the upper level of the FDR drive at around 35th street. It was a 2-hour wait for a show that was 25 minutes, and the stretch of road was already reasonably packed when we arrived.
The first Macy's fireworks we saw was in 2002, from our 38th street apartment near Second. I think there were three barges but we could only see one, that is, when we were lucky, when it floated in between the small space of two buildings built large enough to house the population of small islands in the Asia-Pacific.
We were three then, and this year we're one more, sitting on a stretch of road closed to traffic, probably with neighbours we haven't met. The only tourists near us were an elderly couple with a Cockney accent, who used the word "bum" in reference to the backside 28 times. About 10 metres away, some people held an impromptu competition, to see who can sing the Star-Spangled Banner best. Someone from the 11th floor of the building behind them joined in the contest, drawing applause from their neighbours in the next building, and the people below.
The kids were happily munching on cheerios and what seemed to be chewy rectangular layers of strawberry jelly.
By nine, most were already on their feet, many taking pictures of each other before the sun finally set.
"Wow.... Fireworks!!!", Azmina said over and over again.
Farizah just stared at the sky.
Millions ... looking at the same display; millions, having the same gleam on their eyes. The 5 new colours introduced this year didn't matter much. It was time to let go, in each of our comfortable spaces.
Once in a while, someone would say.. "Look... smileys", or "Cubes!" And applause, more awe and applause. Though there was one "Aww, come on!!! What the ... was that???", followed by, "Alright!! That was what I was talking about!!"
An hour after the fireworks ended, M15 buses heavy with more people than it would have taken any other day, were still making their way slowly through the road that would eventually lead home.
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April 18, 2006
Coney Island
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April 13, 2006
Apathy
When I took the above image, I wanted so much for the shot to work. Damned wild seagulls were just being difficult. At least six of them were out of place. And they know who they were. That was the last time I was gonna work with that lot. I am only posting this photo so that others can be warned if they come across with this flock in the future. The worst offenders are the ones that flew in the wrong direction, and the one which refused to fly at all.
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April 10, 2006
Liberty
I need to free some hard drive space for photos. I am not too sure how to go about it - I have two active external hard drives, the contents of which, when synchronised, should be identical to each other. I have two new hard drives that need external casings. Out of the 4 drives I've just mentioned, only one is an external drive out of the box. I'll soon figure out what's best; but whatever it is, it should allow me to have easy access to all files. And yeah, I know that I should back everything up in multiple DVDs. It just seems more work than setting up a file server.
I have only 1.3GB left in my main external drive, preventing me from downloading photos from last Sunday's trip to the Coney island opening. I am thus left with what's in the archives: something to continue the previous theme, and in the spirit of the predominantly blue skies prevailing lately.
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April 08, 2006
Bridge
This image would have been considered clichéd if I had an audience primarily from the city. Even I cringe at the pretentious shots that somehow find themselves in my twin hard drives. I still take, process and store those images though. Having spent nearly five years in this city, I know my time here would end soon. My hope would be to visit places that we've considered our own, when the kids are old enough in their teens; maybe at least every five/ten years or so thereafter. This city is where they cried and laughed, where they took their first steps, where they grazed their knees, and where they first walked on grass, on snow, on sand. Though I don't make it a secret of wanting to become good at the craft that had established many local photobloggers, documentation is a means for pixelating the many more temporary experiences I would expect in the future.
Now that excuse is out in the open, expect more cliché soon.
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April 07, 2006
Downtown
Azmina, seventh from right, enjoying the breeze and watching the boats on East River.
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April 06, 2006
Ice cream factory
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March 20, 2006
Quiet discourse
Kids... even when they're asleep in the next room, you miss 'em. At least they're near. If I wanted to kiss them I could. If I wanted to hold them I could. What I couldn't do is to keep them asleep while doing so. And what I couldn't have done is to make the whole apartment and the neighbours sane for the rest of the night in exchange for the temporary lapse into insanity.
Elephants crossed the Midtown tunnel into Manhattan tonight. I hope they're safe. Met a few colleagues in a friend's photo exhibit, friends I haven't seen for months. One of them is leaving soon. Another returned to the city after a 3-year absence. Stories of having new people working for old friends. Stories of new travel and new folios. Stories of old and of the stale. Like an old song, the familiarity helped wind down a long day. Images reminding me of my own muses. And a thought that led to that afternoon in the empty Bethesda fountain, during which a child wondered how we found humour in pulling a hood over one's face.
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February 12, 2006
Blizzard of 2006
Record snowfall arrived just when we thought winter was only leaving us with the two inches in January. 26.9 inches fell, beating the record set in 1947 by just about half an inch.
A blizzard warning was in effect from 2 a.m. to well into the afternoon but that didn't deter tourists and locals from going out. There were reports of winds blowing as strong as 60 m.p.h.; even then, when we were out in Times Square before noon, whole families were out enjoying the weather. It stayed pretty much below freezing the whole day and we got home before the gusts ended.
More another time.
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February 03, 2006
Rainy Afternoon in Brooklyn
Determined to avoid tourist traps, we braved the winds during the rainy Tuesday to visit the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory in search of a quiet afternoon. The person at the counter had an affection for old songs on the jukebox, his selections quietly drowning the sound of rain. Chocolate chocolate chip ice cream in an empty parlour completed the retreat from city. From where we were sitting, only the Brooklyn Bridge served as a reminder that downtown madness is only a 30-minute walk away.
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February 01, 2006
President
(of the World Turtle Racing Federation)
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January 30, 2006
Spring in the UES
Very, very strange weather this year. We've had breaks from the winter quite often now. It's mid-January but it felt like early spring, there was even a shirtless man in Central Park. I am sure those were spring buds that I saw on trees today.
Picture was taken on Sunday, 5:35 p.m. somewhere around 78th and 3rd.
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December 23, 2005
Walker
New York is a great city to walk in. It's just is. I haven't been in a city where you can just walk without passing a large empty space or industrial area. Just the total opposite of nothingness. The logical grid system just begs for unwritten rules that one should follow. Enter the 843-acre Central Park and one would find oneself walking in a wooded area, a refuge for many tired minds. Go south of First Street and a stranger would find it harder to get their bearings, but it shouldn't matter - you're still walking in New York City.
The MTA transit strike forced many to walk to work and back. A quick check with Google maps showed my commute was over three miles both ways. N's visit to the clinic was more than four miles when Farizah had a throat infection. Taxis were full, and since they were allowed to take passengers even when they had three other passengers going to different destinations, it might not be the quickest way to go when one's walk is just two miles.
Maybe it's good to walk. Walking for leisure is more common in the UK, and according to The Ramblers, it is Britain's most popular outdoor recreational activity. I had once walked the length of Manhattan just to see what it was like, and having not exercised for more than a year before that, it was quite tiring. It was also a let down in at least one aspect: the walk only took me half a day. At least my heart rate went up for doing something healthy.
Don't mind the unrelated photos above: Pictures are from the archives about five weeks ago. Even though the strike lasted for 3 days, and I had my camera with me, I didn't manage to get a single shot. Not even of the massive jam that it had caused, or the filled sidewalks during rush hour. I wasn't in Times Square, where I heard the the roads were closed. Nor do I have any extraordinary accounts of the ordeal that millions others faced.
Local news stations kept us up-to-date, bloggers reported and gave first-hand experiences. Some trains and buses were still operational, and the city had an OK contingency plan put in place on the second day of the strike. It took longer to go to work but it was manageable. Personal spaces were traded for frustration - more emotionally-charged in some places like the few stations serving running trains.
But to my mind, and I am sure many would agree, the spirit with which the people faced the situation... and it is the same spirit that built this city... the "I will make it possible" attitude of its people... is what makes New York.
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December 04, 2005
Eid
Thanks for the invites.
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November 09, 2005
New Gap
We like the new look that Gap is installing in its stores.
And in the women's, or was it the kid's section, they had a small set of activity tables and chairs, some children's books and crayons. Just so happened that we were there the first day they had the change, so everything was new. It's still not there in terms of providing personal service, but what can you expect from a store like Gap? A lot less, that's for sure. Small, family-owned stores survive partly because of that personal touch. By tending to Azmina, this big chain had tended to our personal needs.
I've been to many family-owned stores outside the city, and outside New York, and I find the hospitality endearing and more than makes up for many shortcomings. In a number of places in South America, many small stores serve drinks to their customers. Some places in China will serve you tea. And so do some other places in Asia. Where canned Cokes are considered near-luxuries, store-owners may offer you drinks in small, clear plastic bags with a straw, bought from a reliable hawker he/she knows just a 3-minute run away. Of course, you can't expect all those from buying a few AA batteries, but spending an equivalent of two weeks' worth of manhattan grocery shopping will get you personal, barely-divided, and unpressured attention.
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November 08, 2005
Couples in the shadows
Last Saturday M took a few of us to dinner at a pleasant Italian place in the very touristy area that's near the Rockefeller centre. Pleasant because the food was nice, and we weren't ripped off in an area where you could spend around a hundred dollars each for a proper meal. And of course, old friends are good to have no matter what the circumstance.
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October 30, 2005
Closing time
Daylight Saving Time ends today.
We get an extra hour of sleep, but I have used up 5 hours being awake when I am supposed to be doing something more productive, like sleeping.
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October 24, 2005
Yearning
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October 17, 2005
The 6
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October 16, 2005
Waiting for the 6
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September 27, 2005
Have hat and guitar; will perform...
Everytime someone mentions something about wearing a hat and turning to the other direction, which happens more than you think, I think about this guy.
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September 03, 2005
Green Blanket
More or less the summer version of the shot I took last winter. Duckweed covers the lake this time.
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September 02, 2005
Pleasant. Friendly.
From the archives.
Oh, anybody has a copy of that Ferrero Rocher commercial of the "Ambassador's Reception", mail me... I miss that ad.
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June 06, 2005
First Avenue Monks
During a month-long UN conference to discuss issues related to nuclear disarmament, held only once every five years, this group of monks gathered in front of the UN building and prayed for the meeting’s success.
The chants never stopped when the meeting was in session, which would lead one to wonder if any of them quit being a monk after reading press releases like this.
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April 19, 2005
Where the sun sometimes shine...
Apart from Mumm-Wraath, we really do have relatively good neighbours.
When we first moved in to our current apartment, some of them stopped by and said hi, and gave some warm words of welcome. I wouldn't have expected this in this city. And we still exchange pleasantries in the morning in the corridor, or in the elevator. We had one immediate neighbour in our previous apartment and I had only seen her once - getting out of the elevator, looking down, walking hurriedly into her apartment, closing the door and bolting the sixtytwo hundred locks on her door. During our stay in another building, we had neighbours who complained when we cook, and who think the world of their dogs, so much so that they think they can let them walk around the building without a leash and let them jump on everybody else.
Anyway, I think it was a couple of weekends ago when we met one of our neighbours who wasn't staying in the same floor as us. N and I had just finished bringing the children to the park when we met this pleasant old man coming out of the elevator in the lobby.
Old Man: Good afternoon! It's a nice day outside....
N: Afternoon. Yes it is.
Old Man: Oh look at them (pointing at Azmina and Farizah)... What are they?
N: Huh?
Me: Eh? Excuse me?
Old Man: What are they? I have one grandchild adopted from China. He's Chinese and he grew up to be a beautiful boy. Are they Chinese too?
N: Eh?
Me: Erm, they're Asian actually.
Old Man: Oh, I see!!! I just want to tell you that they are going to grow up to be beautiful children.
N: Oh-ho-ho, thank you.
Me: Yeah thanks.
We get in the elevator. Door closes.
N and I: (thinking) Did we just moved to a place under a rock?
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April 10, 2005
Dear Bippy,
You betcha it's Spring.
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April 09, 2005
Tudor City
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April 05, 2005
Acting Tough in Public Transport
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April 03, 2005
Spring
I know it has been raining all weekend, but spring is finally here!!! It's time for song and dance. Clocks spring forward one hour ahead, and the day is longer once again....
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March 21, 2005
Parking Lot Graffiti
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March 20, 2005
Officially Spring
Today is the official first day of spring, and New Yorkers were greeted by cold rain.
I sensed there was calm however; maybe because people were beginning to believe that the winter was finally over. With everybody else in the apartment still asleep, I went out to take in this peace and managed to stop by a camera shop in West 18th Street to get a battery for my camera.
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March 17, 2005
BBoys on 5th
The New York Times ran an article a few weeks ago on "issei" or japanese immigrants, who have found their place in the Big Apple. One of the persons featured was 26 year-old Kumi Naito from Nagoya, Japan, pictured above in the red jump suit, known simply as Q in the Float Committee crew.
I have always wondered if I could have been succesful if I was born in a different time, or in another place. I imagine a place where brawn is an essential quality. Or a situation where I've lost everything, including the memory and that piece of paper that says I have an education. Every time I witness a glimpse of a different life, I wonder if I could have done the same under similar circumstances. I wonder if I have the courage to gamble the clothes on my back for something more.
Not that it has been easy for me to get here, nor was it impossible. My grandfather led a nomadic life till he married my grandmother. My grandmother was born to parents who left their homeland in search of a better life. So far, I am lucky enough for not having to make a decision that could drastically change my life. Everything seemed natural enough. Even not staying in the same postal address for more than 2 years at a time since I was 16 seemed natural.
Until that time when I face and pass that test that would require me to make such jump, I'll continue to admire people like members in the Float Committee, for their zest, their energy and their attitude towards life.
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March 08, 2005
Gates 4
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February 28, 2005
Gates 3
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February 27, 2005
Gates 2
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February 15, 2005
Tougher
An NYT article that confirms what we already know.
In terms of the effects of the increase in the cost of living:
"In nearly every category, people in the New York region spent more of their household dollar on essentials than other Americans between 2000 and 2003. Rental prices in the region rose 8.1 percent, while nationally, they went up 4.1 percent.""Food prices rose 9.3 percent in the New York region; nationally they increased 2.7 percent.
What residents gave up were the extras. Spending on clothing fell by 12 percent, and there were also cutbacks in buying meat, poultry, eggs, and tobacco."
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February 14, 2005
Year 4702
Yesterday was the big Chinese New Year Celebration in Chinatown. Arrived late and didn't get a good location to catch the parade. The mood couldn't be merrier; I think it had to be one of the best celebrations that NYC has to offer.
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February 13, 2005
The Gates: Day One
The great thing about The Gates is the feeling that imparts on people, and the people it attracts. Central Park is smack in the middle of the city that you find all sorts of people; but the visitors to Central Park had one thing in common - all of them had been moved in one way or another by this huge public display. Fan or not, one has to admit that Christo's and Jeanne-Claude's work made the thousands of visitors think about his work at the same time; and for many, this atmosphere he created was a welcome refuge within Gotham.
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February 09, 2005
Firecracker Ceremony
I sacrificed a cheap lunch to go out and catch the firecracker ceremony during this first day of the Chinese New Year. Evidently many people had the same idea and went to witness the event.
Now, I am familiar with firecrackers, having played with them during my childhood. The firecrackers that I am used to when I was a child were short-fused, and since during the daytime you won't be able to tell immediately if the fuse is lit or not, you tend to devise other ways of lighting them.
One of the easiest and safest way of lighting firecrackers is by putting the fuse on a piece of tissue paper and lighting it instead of the fuse. Of course, I only did this with only my brother around - big boys don't play with burning tissue paper.
I've forgotten how loud firecrackers were and since I was going to shoot them, I won't have my hands free to cover my ears. Only for good measure, I used my iPod earphones for some protection. But even then... my ears were ringing hours after the event ended.
For something that was held during a weekday, it was quite well attended; I could only imagine the crowds if the Chinese New Year was ever made a public holiday in NYC.
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January 30, 2005
Frozen
Sometimes I think that last weekend's blizzard was not at all fair. For the amount of suffering that followed the blizzard, we didn't really have THAT much snow. Not when you compare it with the blizzard of 2002. There hasn't been any snowfall after this year's blizzard, and the period of time when the snow was fun and pretty was quite short. Blink, and you'll miss it. It was gone in a few days. The freezing temperature however, meant that the snow (now turned to ice) stayed on for several days. Buses were late in the beginning of the work week, sidewalks slippery and narrowed because of the ice, and the temperature was steadily going down. It was 5 degrees Farenheit when I left for work on Thursday. At a temperature nearly 30 degrees below freezing, you can even see a pigeon's breath. And the M15 express bus, was faithfully late, freezing the behinds of irate commuters.
Piture above is taken today. It shows a frozen lake in central park. More snow please.
Posted by quickness at 02:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack