the party's over

But it was rockin' while it lasted!  It was held in this barn

(owned by the Lone Sharks' bass player, and set up as the

perfect funky party space).  Those guys play all the time,

and when they don't have another gig—they play anyway!

No wonder they're so good.

the north shore

Came out to the north fork of Long Island to see

The Lone Sharks (my brother's band) play.  Hoping to get

to the beach too.  The ones on the south shore (Hamptons, etc.)

are soft and sandy.  The ones on the north shore, like this

one (in Greenport), are rocky and littered with huge boulders.

That's because the glaciers stopped at the north shore of 

Long Island at the end of the last Ice Age (or so I'm told),

 and deposited all that.

you wanna buy a bridge?

Not the picture I wanted to post, but I'm lucky to

be able to put anything up! (*^$%@ computer).

You fellow PDPers will appreciate that phx-cdg and

I met this evening (that's the photo I wanted to post)

—and the first thing we did was walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

PHX (aka Lynn) is terrific and we had so much fun together.

Thanks, Eric—look what you started!

surf's up!

This is a famous surfers' beach out in Montauk.

One of my brothers used to literally live on this beach

40 or 50 years ago, before there were so many people

out there and they had to tell them how to 

behave on a surfboard!

Montauk . . .

. . . is where I am for a couple of days. This is

the Montauk Light, out at the very tip of

Long Island.  It's been there since 1796, and

was used as a guide by the members of the

slave ship Amistad to come ashore nearby.

bonding

This morning on the subway, everyone was

cranky—I actually had to physically stop

the two guys on either side of me from

coming to blows!  But a couple of days ago,

I witnessed a very different scene.  The

ladies on either end of this subway

bench were talking about their similar

black-and-white outfits.  When the third one

got on and joined them, we all had a nice laugh.

Lincoln Center . . .

. . . is a total construction zone right now.  But the

Met goes on.  I'm not the biggest opera fan ever,

but I sure would love to be at the 125th Anniversary

Gala next March (and—gift givers, take note— it takes

place on the eve of my birthday).  Yeah, that'll happen.

park slope food coop

Where it's all-organic all the time*—and the price

is right!  This is only a small part of the selection.

There's LOTS more. I'm so grateful to have 

this place right in my neighborhood.

*or if not, then at least minimally treated

so where are the bride and groom?

Take a closer look—this is a Quinceanera.

There seem to be two birthday girls, so must be twins.

And they were all that and in charge! But they did

manage the requisite sweet smile when the

photographer said "Say cheese."

There was a huge streeeetch limo waiting to whisk

them off to the party venue, and I don't even want

to think what this cost their parents.

Happy Birthday, girls!

yet more free music!

Last night in Damrosch Park, we were treated to 

a performance by Toshi Reagon's band, BIG Lovely.

This is her mom, Bernice Johnson Reagon,

cofounder of Sweet Honey in the Rock, who 

sang with her (big thrill for me).

look at the moon

Took this at 6 this morning, then felt

compelled to sing a verse or two of "Good

Morning Starshine" from Hair (which I'm still

hoping to see for free in Central Park).

fromage!

Just a small part of the excellent but unaffordable

selection at the market in Grand Central Terminal.

There's also meat, fish, veggies, bread, spices,

sweets . . . (now I'm getting hungry).

do you recognize this?

Eric's great photo and all that train talk on

Paris Daily Photo yesterday inspired this post.

I love trains, maybe because both grandfathers

and several uncles worked for the railroad.

obsolete?

Used to be you had to stand in line for one

of these. I don't even know what it costs

to make a call at a public phone anymore.

global warming

Had a big discussion about it today, and thought

of this photo—taken by my daughter Katie in

Greenland. This is part of the glacier, i.e., THE glacier—

the one that if it melts, my house will be sitting on the

seabed.  Katie said they stood there and watched 

all that ice fall off in just an hour or so.

So how's YOUR carbon imprint?

nice puppy!

I thought these five dogs were all

related to the hound of the Baskervilles,

but the kids in the park came running

as if the dogs' owner was the Pied Piper.

(including my daughter Katie, who says

"If you're gonna get a dog, get a DOG!").

skywatch Friday*

Seen from the north ferry to Shelter Island (which,

for those who don't know, is between the 

two forks at the end of Long Island).

* Because I'm having issues with the laptop, where

most of the photos live. Fingers crossed that 

I don't lose them!

how rude!

I wanted to talk to this guy about a) putting his

big feet on the bench and b) taking up two seats

during rush hour (and, no, he wasn't sleeping).

But at the end of a long day I just couldn't be

bothered—and neither could anyone else, so he

lives to be a jerk another day.

The first time ever . . .

. . . I heard Roberta Flack sing the song she's

about to sing (especially for me, it would seem),

I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd

ever heard.  She sang it tonight at a memorial/tribute

concert for Joel Dorn, the guy who produced her records.

(There will probably be more—it was quite a lineup.)

for the Roses

aka from cali and Rose from Canterbury, who

have both reached out and drawn me in even

deeper into this fascinating and friendly blogger

community. (And this IS a New York rose—in the

Conservatory Garden in Central Park. Learn more

about this beautiful garden, a favorite of 

Manhattan brides, here).

my fave subway musician

This guy is good! Well, he's actually ONE of

my favorites, because there's also the guitarist

at my local stop and the drummer at Penn Station . . .

fire escape

Never saw one this color. It's probably the

anti-rust coating and they'll paint it black soon.

But if I lived here, I'd lobby to leave it like this.

Gung hei, May & Eddie!

Okay, it's not the best picture and I don't

know May and Eddie, but I couldn't resist. Had

some fabulous dim sum at this place today,

and the sign was still there from M and E's

wedding yesterday. I heard that tens of

thousands of Chinese couples wanted

to get married on 8/8/08.

This new store . . .

. . . in my neighborhood is run by some lovely Tibetans.

They sell beautiful things, and I give them my custom as

much as possible.  Hope they're successful with this venture.

Me & Julio

I love the real NY neighborhoods, where the guys

come down to the schoolyard after dinner for a

friendly game of b-ball.  This is the West Village

(where all the neighbors who aren't part of this

pick-up game are the A-list movie stars who've

come to roost in this part of town.

waiting for the uptown express

She knew those killer shoes would turn out to

be exactly that—and she was prepared! (I know

women who never go anywhere without 

their safety flip-flops.)

party on, car 2226!

This is one of a looong line of police cars

parked outside Grand Central. There were

even more around the corner, on 42nd Street,

lined up along 2 or 3 blocks and all with

emergency lights flashing. They do this from 

time to time. Why? No idea, but it's a little freaky.

the GW

Went to New Jersey; crossed this swell bridge, the

4th-largest suspension bridge in the country. Two

levels, no waiting (a total lie—you never just sail

across this one, especially during rush hour).

it's a living

No, seriously. I'm really impressed with the quantity

of cans and bottles this guy has amassed; even at 

5 cents apiece, that's a decent chunk of change. 

 And if he can do this every day . . .

long lens

Felt a bit voyeuristic, so—sorry. 
 But it was such a good opportunity 
to test the new 15X zoom.

Let's go to Venice

If only it were that easy. I read that as of May 1, you're no

longer allowed to feed the pigeons in Piazza San Marco,

and you risk a fine of 50 to 500 euros if you do. Apparently, the

city officials have come to the conclusion that the 40,000

or so pigeons are a health risk and a nuisance. Gee, you think??