Onward, General!

William Tecumseh Sherman, that is, being led by an allegorical

figure who represents peace.  They can be found in Grand Army

Plaza (not this one, but the one by the southeast entrance to

Central Park).  It was so named not because of its size, but for

the Grand Army of the Potomac (i.e., the Union Army).

abc Wednesday — O is for "om"

Not the sort of thing one expects to find

in Italy perhaps—but the savvy glassblowers

on Murano aren't exactly marketing their

wares to the locals. (I like it because it

matches my tattoo.)

"The River"

For some reason, when I'm taking a photo of

a painting or piece of sculpture I like to zoom

in on a hand if I can.  This one belongs to

Aristide Maillol's "The River," which lives in

the sculpture garden at the museum of

Modern Art.  Here's a much better 

shot of the whole thing.

going out on a limb

Another perfect day in the garden 

(although the cherry trees aren't quite in 

full stunning gorgeousness just yet).

Here's what I love about the BBG: It's so

accessible.  It's not too big, and you're

welcome to lie in the grass, touch the plants,

stick your nose in the roses and lilacs—and

even climb the trees.  That's a real treat for

a backyard-less, apartment-dwelling kid!

big apple in bloom

If you wanted to sell an apartment on this

block, this would be the week to do it,

don't you think?  (And that's the library

in the distance—I've shown it to you

once or twice.)

the night shift

Sometimes it seems as though they never
ever clean the subway stations, but as you
can see . . .
I've even seen them using big hoses to
power-wash the walls across the tracks.
Of course, all this scrubbing takes place
in the wee hours after midnight.

love is in the air

Pollen too, no doubt—but they don't care!
It's amazing I got this photo, considering
the hordes of people in the immediate
vicinity.  But this was such a private little
moment in the midst of all that.  Well, I
guess it's not so private now.

Nike of Samothrace

AKA "Winged Victory," my all-time favorite
thing in any museum anywhere (if I had to
choose, that is).  There was a time when the
Louvre was free every Sunday, not just once
a month, and I would try to get there every
week, even if all I had time to do was stare
at this for a few minutes.  Maybe that's why
this is my favorite moment from one of my
favorite movies.

abc Wednesday — N is for "nice"

Although perhaps "nice" is understating it when

you're welcoming your baby boy home from Iraq!

This is my cousin Beth and her youngest son, Ben.

This was his return home on leave, and now he's

home for good (though he does have to stay in the

Reserves for a few years, so keep your fingers

crossed). It was indeed a VERY nice moment, and

I was so happy to be there for it.

you got a problem?

The laptop, with all the photos, won't connect to
the Internet, and the desktop won't upload any more
photos . . . and I have this little blog I'd really like
to post to.
Hey, I have a spare room—maybe some young computer
whiz would like to move in and be my own personal
techie. I do realize that in the grand scheme, mine is
not exactly a tsunami-sized dilemma, but still . . .
(did I mention it's been pouring down rain all day?)

園 *

* Which, as some people probably already know,

means garden.  This is the lovely, tranquil

Japanese garden that's set within the Brooklyn

Botanic Garden.  It's one of my favorite places

in any season, but right now—wow!

it's a good day

. . . to come out of your shell and

enjoy the gorgeous spring weather!

Atlas shrugged

. . . and we all know what happened then. 
 Here's the well-known statue on Fifth Avenue, 
right across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral 
and in front of the International Building
 (part of the Rockefeller Center complex).

los hermanos Cubanos

This sign—put up at Lexington Ave. and 38th

Street by in-your-face Rudy Giuliani about 12

years ago—honors a group of Cuban exiles who

used to look for people trying to flee Cuba by raft.

Later, they flew into Cuban air space to drop leaflets

and two of their planes were shot down. Here's the

thing:  The permanent Cuban mission to the UN is

also at Lex and 38th.  They made a big stink at the

time, and I actually thought the sign was gone.

Guess NYC doesn't back down so easily.

 (Hey! You tawkin' to ME?")

3D Impressionism

When I saw this from down the street,
I admit it—myopic me was fooled for
more than a few seconds. If you like
J. Seward Johnson's work, there's more here.

abc wednesday — M is for mountains

Alps, actually. Took this from the plane

(obviously) on the way from Paris to

Venice.  Who knew they were so blue?

Sometimes it's spot on . . .

For example, yesterday that young woman
spoke to him, and his advice to her was to
wear boots and a short skirt today.  Would
you take advice from this guy?

buds

Not that many trees in Manhattan. So I did my bit to 
save some by doing my taxes online today.
Thanks, TurboTax (and thanks to the ex for his help)!

flowers

They had a very nice selection at the Union
Square greenmarket this week.  All the
others featured bad spelling ("Easter lillies,"
"Ester lily"), so I chose these for you. 
 Now I just need to use my two lips 
to wish you a Happy Easter!

skateboard

The board is belly up, but this guy just
keeps going anyway!  Skateboarding always
looked like fun, but I've never tried it (it also 
looks like a surefire way to break your butt).

Move over, Lance!

Hey, you think he would?
Another gorgeous day like today, and Fury2
(named for the bike I had when I was 10, which
was named for the horse in a '50s TV show) is
coming out of the basement bike storage and
taking me for a nice canter in the park.

5 Pointz

I hate graffiti, but I love graffiti art. This old

warehouse in Long Island City (in Queens)

is a major mecca for taggers.

(And I took this through the subway window,

which was marked up by a no-talent "scratcher.")

It won't be long now

. . . before this boatyard down on the

Jersey Shore will be up and running

for the season and boats will be tied

up cheek by jowl.  To tell you the truth,

I rather like it this way.

window shopping

or not.   Because I just have to say:  I really really

DON'T want it.  At all.  Any part of it.  No, no, no!

Show your arms?  Hey, who do I look like? 

 Michele Obama?

On the other hand . . . those big red sexy exclamation

points are pretty darned compelling.

So maybe if they say it one more time . . .

The U.N.

The Secretariat building, to be exact. Where
there will no doubt be a lot of discussion in
the next few days and weeks about North
Korea's little stunt. What is it about those
insane fanatical-dictator types that they
just can't seem to play by the rules??

a tree grows in Brooklyn

. . . right across the street from my place.
It's a sycamore, and this little guy just
moved into his new home—can't you
tell how house-proud he is?
P.S. -- he got it for a song!

Downtown Sunset

It rained cats and dogs all day.  Then it all

cleared up long enough for a fireball

sunset, then started pouring again.

Lesson:  You have to be in the right place

at the right time—with a camera.

dwarfed

These buildings in Tudor City look like

they're about to be inundated by a big

steel and glass tsunami.  I checked:  A

lot of these cars have diplomatic plates.

on the avenue I'm takin' you to

You can stand on a little bridge that runs
over 42nd Street at the eastern end, and
see all the way to New Jersey (13 long
blocks and a river away).
Nice view, I think, and not just because
it includes my fave NYC PTDD building.

Theme Day

Okay, I'll play along.  Today's theme is "yellow"
and here's NYC's iconically yellow thing. 
So why does it make me think of PHX-CDG?