What’s In Your Wallet?

 

Every time I get a credit card offer from Capital One, this is how it ends up. Well, sometimes I cut them into funny shapes. Don’t tell the Vikings!

My Last Meal As A Twentysomething

 
And how delicious and nutritious it is.

PS: Dear Blogger: You suck for cropping my pictures without permission. 

Harlem Gentrification

Gentrification in Harlem’s a sticky issue – yuppies vs. longtimers, rich vs. poor, new tastes vs. old favorites. On the corner of Lenox Avenue and 125th Street, old and new have found a way to coexist.

Epicurean Triumph and Culinary Tragedy

This was a weekend of good sights and bad.

On the bright side, Gracie, one of my Midtown East friends, had a nice apron and a good command of the grill.

But sadly, the Best Arby’s Ever, in downtown Brooklyn, has closed.

I Know What You Did This Summer

What have I been up to this summer? Plenty.

 

Going to Panera Bread

 

Staying one step ahead of the cops

Going out to the ballgame

 

Riding in vans with friends

Catching some random music

Holding books hostage (or simply forgetting to return them)

Summer is far from my favorite season because of the heatwaves, the social inconsistency (some people leave, others come for relatively short amounts of time), and (before coming to Trinity Grace) the way that small groups always took three months off, but this summer’s been alright.

Boston Daycation

Hey, guess what? Blog’s back.

I took a daycation to Boston yesterday and got a few interesting, attention-getting shots around town.

 

This shot, of a rambling, boarded-up house on Hyde Park Avenue, cost me 20-some minutes waiting for the next bus. Architectural gem, don’tcha think?

 

Obligatory shot of Boston Common in the late afternoon. True story: hula hooping is not as easy as it looks, as a couple Trinity Grace friends can probably attest.

 

And why settle for one picture of Boston Common when you can have two? The woman in the background might’ve been hurrying off to the Shakespeare performance nearby.

 

This cup of coffee was my daycation companion from 12 noon to 8pm, and I made sure it never stayed empty for long.

Limelight Marketplace

Last Friday, I couldn’t make the worship event at Trinity Grace, so I went to visit the moneychangers instead.

For my many non-native New Yorker friends, the Limelight opened in 1844 as the Holy Communion Episcopal Church, starting in the 19th century. Eventually, the church passed out of the Lord's hands, and housed the notorious Limelight nightclub.
After a season of debauchery and a season of abandonment, the sanctuary enters a season of shopping.

The Late, Great St. Vincent’s

Until last week, this was the ambulance entrance at St. Vincent's Hospital in Chelsea. Now, the doors have been boarded over, and the ambulances sit ready to transport those in need of medical attention to Bellevue or St. Luke's-Roosevelt.

Fun With Power Tools

At the end of Bent Fest tonight, I was asked to lend my “brooming skills” to help clean up a projector. This hunk of WIN was waiting for me at the scene of crime. The final performer had opened his act by chainsawing this projector in half. Unfortunately, I was clear on the other side of the (cavernous) room, and only heard a loud ROAR of applause.

Clinical Protection Fail

Good news and bad news. Bad news first: Axe Clinical Protection anti-perspirant DOES NOT WORK. But it did put this shirt on the express train to the laundromat.

Good news: Walgreens has an excellent return policy.

Pics from the weekend coming soon.

Did You Flush? (or, Potty Humor)

I took a jaunt to White Plains this afternoon for an unsuccessful Walmart run (you do NOT need a car to get there, but you DO need all day to do it via public trans.); and stopped in at the Panera Bread down the block. This passive-aggressive piece of WIN was stuck to the back of the men’s room door. 

My Evening At The Auto Show

I went to the New York International Auto Show this evening to help staff a booth for the Museum of the City of New York, and got a few pictures while wandering around pre-shift.
With no further ado:

The A-Team van, on display at the Will-Call booth.

My self-portrait, from the eyes up, behind the wheel of a Chevy Impala.

My coffee, nestled next to the gearshift of a Ford Flex

 

A Mini Cooper, tethered to its spot on the floor with rope. Those crafty Brits!

A car model explaining the miles-per-gallon of a sensible-looking sedan to several curious kids.

That’s all, folks! The full monty can be found on my Flickr page.

Fall In Love Please

Phone booth graffiti on the Upper West Side.
Guys, girls, just know that Jim Joe wants you to fall in love. Please.

There is a camera

Took this one last Sunday at a Thai place on 8th Avenue, just down the street from Trinity Grace. When I saw the restroom ticker, I couldn't resist. Even if it took me FOUR shots to get one that didn't say WJHVAYE*%$#.
Oh, and the food and the company were top-notch.

Let's Play Chess!

I happened across this sweet chess set on Flatbush Avenue in downtown Brooklyn.
Just because I never learned the game of chess doesn't mean I don't know a kickass set of pawns n' bishops when I see it.

Fine Art

Two pieces of fine art for your viewing pleasure this evening (er, morning).
First, this fake MTA Service Changes poster. Service cuts are coming, and no one's happy. (I could vent for days, but that's another topic for another blog)

Then, a crayon drawing of yours truly by Camilla, a new Trinity Grace friend. She majored in Fine Art at Fashion Institute of Technology. It shows, eh?

Ronald McDonald Is NOT Happy

The Tank put on a "St. Purim" party on Friday night - Purim is a Jewish day, celebrating the deliverance of the Jews (read the Book of Esther for the story), and let's just say that they celebrate it similarly to St. Patrick's Day.
That said, I worked part of it, and found this Alice in Wonderland ticket stub in the Jerry's Kids contribution jar at the McDonald's around the corner.

Spring Preview

Day 2 of the spring preview. I was passing through Washington Square Park on a Sunday afternoon stroll, and couldn't resist taking this shot.

You Can't Take It With You

I was wandering through Soho and Tribeca yesterday, enjoying the preview of spring, when I stumbled across an art gallery and wandered in. Just what God intended random Saturday afternoons to be all about.
Hard to tell here, but this is the chassis from a Cadillac funeral hearse. If you look closely, the gearshift's about 45 degrees from where it should be.

Still Life in a Public Restroom

Between shows at The Tank, I came across this lovely pair of random items in the mens' room. Thanks to the zoom feature on my cameraphone, I didn't have to put my hands anywhere near that jar of hygienic hemorrhoid cleansing pads.

When the Obvious Happens

In case I'd forgotten that I'd plugged my headphones in, my computer was - and is - more than ready to remind me.
Did you see the AC Transit bus fight? Who hasn't?

You Can't Fight City Hall...

...but you can take pictures of it.
I got this shot shortly before dusk, on the way over the Brooklyn Bridge. It's a soothing, very relaxing walk - or an exhilarating jog/bike ride.
If you're ever here in The City, I do recommend.

Caramel Sauce

I spotted this at the Starbucks at Broadway near Houston after stepping away from the keyboard for a few.
Since I haven't really felt like updating the blog most of this month (two week funk), what better thing to restart it with than a picture of caramel sauce/bathroom soap?

Friends

Clifton Park was the place to be on Saturday. I Megabussed up to Albany Saturday morning, and met up with Melissa (left) at the Rensselaer Amtrak station. Later, we met up with Lisa (center), and her husband Eric, his best friend Ben, and my college roommate John (outside the picture), most of whom I hadn't seen since late 2008.
An awesome time was had by all.

The Rooftop

Friday night found a few friends and I on a rooftop in lower Manhattan. On the downlow, of course.



We had to get past a sign, but the view (pardon the cellphone camera's nighttime quality) was worth it.
The bridges, of course are the Brooklyn (bottom) and the Manhattan (top).

The Reunion

I worked the opening night of a play called The Reunion on Thursday night. Very, very quiet show. It got rave reviews from the theatergoers, though.

The Rat

The Rat usually means trouble. As in, one union or another is pissed off with some employer here in The City.
When the unions're mad, the inflatable rat comes out, much like the one in front of this office building on 5th Avenue in the 40's.

God Is

Taken at the 23rd Street subway platform this evening after church.
Very apropos, don'tcha think?
By the way, it took me FORTY-FIVE MINUTES to make it out of church this evening, which means a lot to this introvert.

My Globetrotting Friend

The gal with the bottle opener in her hand is Gloria, a good friend of mine visiting New York for the week. She's in Paraguay, teaching harp on a Fulbright scholarship.
The bespectacled guy with the letter in his hand is your humble photographer. The guy eating at the table next to us took our picture between bites.
Gloria, who I originally met at Redeemer, is off to Senegal later this year for three months of harpistry. Hopefully back to New York after that?

Le cordeaux de Frenchman

It took me NINETY MINUTES to find a Starbucks where I could sit down, plug in and get to work.
After an hour and a half of scouring lower Manhattan for a Starbucks, I stumbled into the "office" of an eccentric, angry Frenchman. The corner of Starbucks had two tables; one for your humble photographer, and one that had been taken over with a pile of bags, two different cell phones, a journal, a netbook, and the bundle of cords seen here, plugged into his universal adapter.
I took my first, very blurry, shot while he was up, half yelling at, half negotiating with, and completely confusing the baristas. Luckily, he got up again, giving me a second chance at a clearer shot.

Designline Bus

Brand, spanking-new city bus; only one of three so far.
Good news: I had an awesome window seat at Starbucks this evening.
Bad news: I had to take this picture three times, on account of cell phone camera jerkiness, and random umbrella-carrying passers-by walking into the picture.