Wake Up Call
Wow is all I could say as I stood at Times Square looking west along 42nd Street into one of the most amazing sunsets I have seen. This stretch of 42nd Street is already quite dramatic at dusk or at night. But this sunset was remarkable with the heavily stratified clouds and beautiful color gradation of orange to deep blue. One could have easily seen the sky as part of the artificial spectacle. Drama added to drama.
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Privileges
I am fortunate to have friends with an extraordinary view of the city and was able to capture a series of photos in the evening sunset light - see more here.
These rooftop turbine ventilators make a very visual accent the city’s skyline. They can be seen everywhere in New York, along with the ubiquitous water tanks, which I have previously posted on - see here.
In this photo, the ventilators are directly
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When Worlds Collide
There are things one never tires of and for me, Central Park is one of them. What is there to get tired of in this idyllic urban oasis? I place it at the pinnacle of any must see list for visitors.
Given the lack of outdoor space for city residents, parks take on a much greater significance - they effectively become our backyards and recreational playgrounds. So, the reason for my bias is obvious.
I can
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Lucky
It’s a shame that Disney is seen by some as an evil empire. Pejoratives like Disneyfication are virtually synonymous with the sanitization and degradation of American culture. Why do I say a shame? - because Walt Disney was a real visionary and one of the most influential men of the 20th century - one of the creators of some of the most durable fictional characters. In his lifetime, Disney won fifty-nine Academy Award nominations and twenty-six Oscars
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Post-9/11 World
I remember the first time I heard someone say “everything is different now, we’re in a post-9/11 world.”
At this point in time, the events and impact of 9/11 are not looming so much in the conscious mind, but more as an ever present background tapestry. But it still is there, altering the collective unconscious permanently.
However, from time to time, there are reminders, typically witnessed as increased
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Keith
Keith Haring was a NYC based artist and sculptor, known for his grafitti art and social activism. In the early 1980s, I had the privilege of meeting Keith numerous times while working on a collaborative business venture. People frequently ask what he was like. My experience was that he was always charming and really knew his Pantone colors. You can read more about him here. The work in the photo is a recreation of a piece done by Keith in 1982. From the Deitch Foundation website:
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Model for Decorum
Gothic meets drugs, sex and rock and roll. Not such an unusual mix actually, it’s just that we generally don’t think gothic church. This place has actually been a neighborhood problem and has had a sordid history. It has been a night club since 1983, when it opened as The Limelight, owned by Peter Gatien and designed by Ari Bahat. Gatien owned a number of Limelight nightcubs - read about it here. And you can visit their website here.
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Le Figaro Cafe
I remember reading along time ago in a book that “what draws and keeps so many in California is not so much what the state has as what it suggests.” When I quoted this to a friend at the time who was a recent transplant from New York to the West Coast, he bristled. There certainly are wonderful things about this remarkable state, but I still think that quote still makes a valid point.
In the same way I think
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Rite of Passage
Now there are people who do not like pastries at all. I have met them. But you won’t find them in line here at 342 East 11th Street, home of Veniero’s Pasticceria & Caffé.
I won’t claim that desserts at Veniero’s are the ne plus ultra of the pastry world, but they are excellent and well respected. Veniero’s is a New York City institution, started in 1894 by Antonio Veniero and kept as a family run business
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Belvedere Castle
Yes, we do have castles too, albeit small ones. This is not one of the most well known or often visited spots in the city, but given good weather I would put Central Park and Belvedere Castle on a must-do list. The castle, built from Manhattan schist, is in a secluded area near the Ramble. Two narrow staircases, each bringing u to an observatory level. There are excellent vistas, greenery, the Shakespeare Garden,
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