Williamsburg Savings Bank

I think I might be the last person to post pictures from the Open House NY event a few weeks ago...but here they are, finally.

close up of mosiac


close up of windows

Thrilling, no?

Hispanic Day Parade

I usually abhor parades...boring spectacles of floats with B-list celebrities, unwieldy balloons and the requisite marching bands. However, on my way to an OHNY site in Rockefeller Center, I stumbled onto the side streets where people were getting ready for the parade. Just wonderful. You could feel the energy and excitement as everyone cranked up the music, got dressed and practiced dancing in the streets.

Sky Mirror

I just had the most wonderful, I heart NY kind of days. I took a lot of pictures which I'll post in the next week.

Let's first start with Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror in Rockefeller Center. I orginally intended to see the rooftop garden as a part of OHNY but the line was SO long that I skipped it and watched the preparations for the Hispanic Day Parade instead (pictures coming soon).

Moving day

Work moved from Soho/Tribeca to the Financial District.

Brooklyn in the morning. The view from my desk.


Where I used to work 5 years ago.

Butterfly

Went to Central Park the other day and saw a guy with a huge butterfly kite. It was taller than he was and when it was in the air, it looked so surreal and wonderful.

Seattle

Another friend of mine got married and I went to Seattle to celebrate. We had only a day to poke around the city and have a look-see. I think I should visit again...

Totem pole with pigeons


Exit ramp sign


The Experience Music Project is housed in a fantastic building designed by Frank Gehry. I'm not sure how the red and sky-blue sections of the building will stand the test of time but right now, it's simply wonderful. A handful of folks paid the $20 to get in and came out with mixed opinions. In general, those who didn't know anything about music, loved it...while those who actually played instruments, etc thought it was a waste of money.


I really love the way the building interacted with the Space Needle.


Self portrait reflected in the EMP.

Orcas Island, Washington

Went to the San Juan Islands (about 2 hrs north of Seattle) for a few days of exploration before another wedding. It's simply beautiful in this part of the country.

View from the top of Mt. Constitution


Self portrait with friend and seaweed


Sunset view from the kayak


Starfish are much more harder than I thought they would be. For some reason, I thought they were soft and squishy.


Old gas station


The pine trees dripped sap in a way I've never seen before. Globs of soft, sticky sap would ooze out of pinecones. Tasted pine-y.


Sunset view from hotel


Another sunset view from the hotel with a long 15 sec exposure. I love how the water is blurred out and looks almost like a cloud.


And with all remote places, you have your crazies.

Chihuly

Chihul-what?

The New York Botanical Garden is having a beautiful Chihuly exhibit now. Dale Chihuly, of pirate eye patch and intellectual property lawsuit fame, does produce some wonderful art.

The reflecting pool.


Detail.







And, of course, since you're in a garden, you might as well take pictures of...um, nature.

Corpse Flower at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden

The Amorphohallus (aka "deformed phallus") blooms in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden! I was sorely disappointed that the day I went, there was no smell of rotting flesh. So sad.

The gathering of pollen.

One of the "fun facts" given by the BBG was that the first time the flower bloomed in cultivation was in 1889 in London. Young ladies, like myself, were not allowed to see it because of it's phallic appearance.

All I know, is that I got all hot and bothered. Oh yeah.

Rocking out in BedStuy

Went to a housewarming in BedStuy, my old hood. Haven't been back in years and now I see there's lots of new construction going on. Overall, it looks like things are looking up...but a side of me is sad to see the old dilapidated buildings being torn down.


The apartment had a much coveted backyard with a much coveted (in my opinion) ruined storage shed. I was told that a family of raccoons lived here.


Shed door detail.


Inside shed with view of hole in roof. I'm facinated with the way nature overtakes man-made things. The way ivy will cover a wall (and eventually bring the building down) or a branch will grow right through the roof.


There was a birthday party going on in the next door neighbor's yard. Kids drinking soda and running around, a DJ playing loud random music to an empty dance floor. Rock on.

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

Overgrown sign on 87th street. Bayridge, Brooklyn.

Another Wedding weekend

One of my best friends got hitched this past weekend in lovely Garrison, NY. I'm so rediculously happy for both of them.

The location.


The cake.


The flowers.


The bridesmaid dress.


The view from the hotel window.

Yikes!

Atlanta Koreatown oddities

Holy shit! Asian John Lennon lives!


Buford Highway, Atlanta. What the hell does this mean? It's so weirdly hostile.

North Carolina with the family

Post-wedding, the extended family and I headed to NC for a little too much time together.

Check out the text in the black and white checker pattern. Oh yeah, the motorcycle resort.


Close up of Fontana Dam.


View of Fontana Lake.


Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. You know...the author of the trite poem "Trees"
http://www.bartleby.com/104/119.html
At least the forest is beautiful...