Shadow Shot Sunday

Practically every stoop in my neighborhood 
looks like this right now.  Hope 
you all have a happy a safe halloween!

[See more Shadow Shots here.]

Photo hunt — "dark"

"It was a dark and stormy night."

Actually, it really was.  We've been having some strange weather 

around here lately.  As if two tornadoes weren't enough, 

a couple of weeks ago I came out of the subway to find leaves 

and branches strewn everywhere—the aftermath of a torrential hailstorm,

with hailstones the size of eyeballs.  My building's super 

told me that every single car alarm on the block went off.  

Can't quite decide whether I'm grateful or disappointed that, 

once again, I was underground and missed the show.

[To see more "dark" or add your own, go here to tnchick's meme.]

Skywatch Friday

I featured this same moon (and bridge) on my other blog 

last Sunday, but I thought it deserved a closeup.

[See more Skywatch—or contribute your own— here.]

Thursday Challenge — "messy"

Saw this truck parked in Union Square.  
Some would say it's a hot mess, 
others might call it art.  
Where do you stand?

[See more "messy" posts here.]

abc wednesday - O is for "out of focus"

But here's my excuse:  It's not easy when picture-taking is strictly

verboten and you're doing it anyway (at least until the jerk sitting

next to you says something—hey, it's not like I was using flash, Dude!).

This is a scene from "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which 

moved recently from Off-Broadway to the real deal.  

It's gotten mostly rave reviews—and I loved it!

[See more abc wednesday here.]

New York at Night (8)

This is one of the world's classic views—lower Manhattan seen

from the Brooklyn Promenade.  There are people who live on the

Promenade and enjoy this sight day and night—can you imagine?

[This post is part of That's My World. See more of the world here.]

Mellow Yellow Monday

It's that time of year again—and I found 

these strange but fascinating gourds 

at our wonderful Saturday greenmarket.

[See more Mellow yellow here.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

Early morning, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, 

and the street lamp loomed large.  As you 

can see from the drawing below (an illustration 

of  the opening day of the bridge), they've 

kept the original design for almost 130 years.

[See more Shadow Shots here.]

photo hunt — "orange"

The day after a couple of tornadoes blew through here last

month, the big orange forestry trucks (yes, NYC has a Dept. 

of Forestry—who knew?) were out in force.  Before the day was 

half over the only evidence of what had happened was a lot of

"Caution" tape and a mountain of mulch! (And of course some 

empty spaces where beautiful old trees used to be—sigh.) 

The same spot 18 hours earlier.

[To see more orange, go here to tnchick's meme.]

Skywatch Friday

Last week I told you that if you hung around Rockefeller Park in lower
Manhattan, you'd catch a spectacular sunset.  Well, I did—and here it is.

[See more Skywatch here.]

Thursday Challenge — "golden"

This is the beautiful scala d'oro (golden staircase) in the 

Palazzo Ducale, in Venice.  It was begun in the middle of the 

16th century, and used only by magistrates and very

 important people.  I happened to meet the Venetian who was

 given the job of re-gilding this staircase (and all the rest 

of the doge's palace).  It's an "inside job" though, because two 

of his ancestors were those same magistrates who were

allowed to use this very special staircase.

[To see more gold, go here.]

abc wednesday - N is for "Nadal"

And also "newborn."  Our friends Ruah and Neil had 

a baby last week.  He is, predictably, beautiful—just like 

his parents, whom I've featured before.  This is a 

21st-century baby—he had a Facebook page the day

 he was born, and before he was 24 hours old 

he already had almost 200 friends! 

Nadal's name is Sanskrit for "the fortuitous, lucky, 

and blessed one."  Here's hoping, precious boy!

[See more "N" words here.]

sneak peek

Last week I got to take a tour of the last section of the Hi-Line.  I was happy for
the opportunity to take this "before" shot.  They've completed the section
from Gansevoort Street in the West Village's meatpacking district to
20th Street in Chelsea. They're working on the stretch from 20th to 30th
(due to open next spring).  It will be a few years before this looks like this:

[This is part of That's My World Tuesday. See more of the world here.]

Mellow Yellow Monday

One of my favorite things about fall:  They're big, they're beautiful—

and they're yellow!  Don't really understand how they stay upright though.
[See more Mellow Yellow here.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

This place is called 59 Steps (I counted; there are).  Too cool to swim here on the
North Shore of Long Island, but still nice to gaze out across the blue water of the
Long Island Sound to Connecticut, visible on the other side.
[You can see more Shadow Shots here.]

photo hunt — "miniature"

Don't know if it's still there, but for many years there was a little shop in
Paris's Palais Royal that sold nothing but toy soldiers.  These were just
a few of the thousands they had in their collection.

[See more miniatures here, at tnchick's PhotoHunt meme.]

Skywatch Friday

As promised on Tuesday—as I stood in Rockefeller Park and

looked west this was the view across the Hudson River.

(If you hang around, you get a really spectacular sunset.)


[You can see more Skywatch here.]

Thursday Challenge — "peaceful"

A dugout canoe glides across a lake in the Peruvian rain forest: This supremely
peaceful scene was shot by my daughter Lila.  Don't know about you, but I'm
totally blissed out!
[You can see more "peaceful" scenes here, at the Thursday Photo Challenge.]

abc wednesday - M is for "Marcus Aurelius"

Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman Empire from

161 to 180 AD; he was revered as a philosopher

king during his reign. This 11-foot bronze statue

(a copy—the original, erected in 176 AD, is indoors)

is in the Campidoglio on Rome's Capitoline Hill.

[See more "M" posts at abc wednesday,  here.]

That's My World Tuesday

This is Rockefeller Park, just some of the green space

to be found at the southwestern tip of Manhattan.  It's

part of Battery Park City, built on 1.2 million cubic yards

of landfill, mostly rock and dirt excavated during the

construction of the Trade Towers.  The parks down here are

all public, but I have some lucky friends who live in that red

building back there and get to do yoga on the roof deck every 

day.  On Friday I'll show you what I saw when I turned around.

[See more of the world here.]

Mellow Yellow Monday

A bright yellow boat in Burano—wonder if its 

owner lives in a bright yellow house too.  

What color is your house?

[See more Mellow Yellow here.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

Back in August, the city began a massive renovation of the Brooklyn Bridge. 

The project will cost $508 million, including $30 mil in stimulus money. Though 

the reno will focus mainly on the ramps and roadways, the pedestrian/bike 

path has lost some of its amazing views. [Here's a similar view, but taken before they 

got these walls up.]  On the positive side, there are definitely fewer people up there, 

and I haven't been held up by a photo shoot in weeks.

[You can see more Shadow Shots here.]

They Say It's Your Birthday

My all-time fave Beatles song is "In My Life," and since John was 

killed it always makes me think of him.  Imagine . . . that 

John Lennon is still here and we can all wish him a happy 70th birthday!

[This is part of James' Weekend Reflections meme.  See more here.]

Skywatch Friday

I think it's a sight to behold in any kind of weather!

[See more Skywatch here.]

Thursday Challenge — "music"

One of the things to love about New York: Here at Lincoln Center,
they film the operas that people pay big bucks to see at the Met, then
show them in the summer in hi-def on this screen—so all of us po'
folks may enjoy as well.  They also showed the first-night performance
of this year's season on this screen (and on another one in Times Square).
Thank you, Met Opera!   [And you can see more "music" here.]

abc wednesday - L is for "Lady Liberty"

This time I'd like to thank the good people at ABC Wednesday for 

providing me with the opportunity to post yet another 

shot of this gift from France that 

I love almost as much as I do the Eiffel Tower!

[See more of abc wednesday here.]

That's My World Tuesday

Yes, I've shown you the Municipal Building before—but 

this time I was on the other side of the island, 

by the Hudson River.  The building's five cupolas represent the 

five boroughs, as does the five-sectioned crown in the 

statue's left hand. (BTW, at 25 feet 

tall she's the second-tallest statue in NYC, and 

I'll bet you can guess who's Number 1.)

[You can see more of the world here.]

Mellow Yellow Monday

I've shown you the Brooklyn Flea once before.  It's held every

weekend in an old bank building, the kind they just don't make

anymore. This one has soaring ceilings, murals and marble, 

and fabulous brass chandeliers.

[See more Mellow Yellow here.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

Went for another walk on the beach in Greenport,

on the north fork of Long Island—had to focus in

to find this subtle little shadow.

[See more shadow shots here.]

Photo Hunter — "letters"

We have a great "giveaway" table here at my office—
which is where I found all of these A's (and a Z).  And 
this is how a useless but fun collection gets its start.

[See more "letters" here at tnchick's meme.]

Skywatch Friday

Another nice view from the Brooklyn Bridge:

The white dome belongs to City Hall, which

I've shown you before.

[See more Skywatch here.]