redrawblak

...in the meantime...

2009-07-12T18:48:00.003-04:00

...check out tumblr...

overexposure

2009-02-12T19:20:00.003-05:00

kittens! one each

where did all the snow go?

2009-01-26T19:22:00.006-05:00

i'm at one of those points where every decision, every incident, seems fraught with importance and implications.

the tiniest events are SCREAMING at me...this is right! this is wrong! this is why your life is heading in the wrong direction! you must do more of this to right yourself! you must stop doing this!

it just seems like every moment is a new opportunity to turn in the right or wrong direction...every moment is redefining my life's purpose and direction, and my worth as a human being.

ah, yes! buddhism! this is it! this is what I've been looking for my whole life! i must renounce material desires and focus on my inner development! then again, look! i just canceled my cable! perhaps this is the key to success--no more wasting time with superficial bullshit like football! or no--I must go back to school, to follow my TRUE inner calling, to be a musician! it must be so!

it's all bullshit, of course.

life's not that simple, or that complicated. we all need to relax a little bit and trust ourselves a little more. if i die tomorrow, none of this matters--and if i die when i'm 103, then i'll have had a million more chances to make a meaningful life. and if i die next year? then i die next year--in baton rouge, in north carolina, in new york, broke, rich, single, in love, playing music, selling books, teaching third graders--i don't know that it ultimately makes that much of a difference.

so why put forth any effort at all?

so that if i die tomorrow, at least i'll have been happy today, i suppose.

then again, maybe it's just human nature. whatever the fuck that means. 'if this town is an apple, then just let me take a bite!'

see, now i'm back to where i started. if i can't take a big enough bite of the big apple, i need to leave! right? isn't that the 'right' decision, what i'm meant to do? go back to baton rouge and seclude myself in discipline and righteous devotion to my chosen task? isn't that my destiny? isn't it? please?

because i went to the met

2008-12-29T20:42:00.003-05:00

my favorite part of the met museum

bonus points for identifying which section!

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[no title]

2008-12-01T20:14:00.003-05:00

whisper to me, you're beautiful

the return of happiness and kittens

2008-11-23T19:03:00.006-05:00

the storm is breaking. i think.

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your thanks is appreciated

what's the weather like?

2008-11-17T18:15:00.003-05:00

the cold is here, and i couldn't be happier

fill me with trash, and piss on the ashes

there is no rainbow, no tomorrow

we fight fear with aggression and purpose

i can't

maybe

fuck

2008-10-20T18:37:00.001-04:00

pictures suck

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fuck brooklyn. and fuck you.

this blog is dead.

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goodbye.

Old Church

2008-10-14T23:34:00.001-04:00

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Sterling Pl and Classon Ave

Resolution 1

2008-10-14T18:28:00.000-04:00

less words

way too many

one last thing...

2008-10-14T02:36:00.001-04:00

my camera was dropped on the floor, which means i'm unable to access the electronic viewfinder. this is perhaps a good thing, no?

Bonus Post: New Beginnings

2008-10-14T02:26:00.003-04:00

have you ever listened to nina simone?

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her voice shakes like fall trees and their leaves

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what a pitiful comparison. but believe me, i had to try.

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i live in a beautiful neighborhood, full of photos, but i stopped carrying my camera months ago.

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what am i doing here? 'this is the end of the line, i've clearly read every sign' says nina. maybe i should go back to where i belong.

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which is where, again?

Welcome Back

2008-10-13T17:44:00.004-04:00

it's been a long time since i've posted

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we'll start the new renaissance with some gorgeous pics of coney island. the above was taken by me.

the below by kristlechirpen:

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i'm interested in something new. i think a collaboration might be nice, perhaps with someone who lives in a different city (or borough, even).

any takers? email me, or leave something in the comments. auditions will not be strenuous.

check out the blogs i follow. the work of nathan kensinger, the kingston lounge, the pasilalinic-sympathetic compass, blue jake, and joe's nyc are not to be missed.

please also check back often, and leave your comments. thanks for reading.

from the archives (2): baton rouge

2008-06-07T14:44:00.004-04:00

the weather today in the city reminds me of deep south heat waves...

this is baton rouge by the campus lakes, dalrymple drive

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LINK ALERT!: in honor of the deep south heat wave, please check out these wonderful photos my brother took of Dixie, AL (and no, that's not a euphemism...that's the name of the nearest town!). there's a text file that goes along with them, so if anyone's interested, drop me a line...

abstractions 4

2008-06-05T21:10:00.002-04:00

from the archives: coney island

2008-06-02T22:50:00.003-04:00

another one from the collection...coney island, last year

i'll try and make a return trip soon...

bonus post, no. 8: from the archives

2008-05-28T14:42:00.002-04:00

flashback!!

for me it is, anyway. this is a shot from a bayou east of new orleans. took that when i still lived in baton rouge. i was going through old photos and it really stood out...

Rob Brown Trio @ The Stone

2008-05-28T10:11:00.003-04:00

this is another flashback (3/31/07, to be exact!), but i came across it after seeing rob brown's quartet perform this sunday night, so it seems appropriate.

before...

rob brown

with daniel levin (cello) and satoshi takeishi (percussion)

satoshi is quite literally a blur of movement when he performs

great group. be sure to check out mr. brown's new album, Crown Trunk Root Funk

i rarely take pictures at the stone now, as i was reprimanded on more than one occasion (by another photographer, no less! i suppose he had the artist's blessing, but still...) by a guy that i see at just about EVERY experimental gig in town taking pictures in the front damn row. perhaps it has something to do with john zorn, the club's 'artistic director', who i once heard curse out some polish photographers (on a bootleg recording), and has something of a negative relationship with critics.

whatever. i don't have to take pictures. i'm there for the music, so i don't anymore. but i have to wonder if most artists would really mind having a few non-flash shots taken while they were playing, as long as they had some say in where they were published.

any thoughts out there?

bonus post, no. 7: to be bluejake

2008-05-26T23:49:00.005-04:00

i love bluejake's signature shots of urban decay along flushing ave and elsewhere, and i suppose you could consider these homage (or cheap imitation). sites and shots like his are what got me interested in creating a photoblog.

never really intended to put these up...the last thing this world needs, after all, is someone else taking artsy photos in gowanus. look for more crown heights and ft greene/clinton hill photos this week, and (hopefully!) the photos of my school i've been planning for weeks now.

look in the bottom corner of this last one for a candid shot of kristlechirpen, famous of course for her KITTEN PHOTOS

Memorial Day Special

2008-05-26T20:41:00.002-04:00

let the flag wave high and proudly

union st near the gowanus canal

2008-05-24T21:34:00.002-04:00

a recurring theme...

2008-05-23T15:59:00.002-04:00

i know i've posted skyline shots before, but i felt like this one came out rather nicely, so i couldn't resist...

Clinton Hill/Fort Greene: Clinton Ave 1

2008-05-22T23:47:00.002-04:00

I've been walking to and from work down the avenues of Clinton Hill and Ft Greene...mostly Washingon, Clinton, and Waverly, but also others. I'll feature them intermittently over the next few weeks

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we start at myrtle ave

housing project, you say? not so! these are co-ops (perhaps used to be projects?). more to come from these later.

some lovely stone buildings

the three following are around the st. joseph's campus:

pretty brownstones, lovely trees

more porches in this neighborhood than in mine...this could be a cottage in the south, complete with garden.

and...more co-ops!

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OK, at this point my camera gave out, but I'll certainly get some more shots either tomorrow or next week.

Still working on some photos of the school I work for...easier said than done!

kittens, pt. 6: portrait of needles

2008-05-18T21:58:00.002-04:00

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note: to any and all

i've changed my settings to allow anonymous postings...so any of you that are unable to post because you don't have a Blogger/Google ID can now post comments. so do it.

nightscape

2008-05-16T23:00:00.000-04:00

from a friend's apartment on the 36th floor of a building on 39th street/1st ave

prospect/crown heights rooftop

2008-05-15T23:20:00.002-04:00

some shots from the rooftop of a building on the prospect/crown heights border

if you look to the left of the above photo, you can see the ebbets field apartments looming in the background

a shot of the brooklyn museum--i'll see if i can get a shot of it lit up at night, it's lovely

selfportrait 2

2008-05-14T23:17:00.000-04:00

ok, so not a self-portrait necessarily...this was a drawing made by one of my students last year.

Crown Heights South: Part 2

2008-05-12T22:34:00.004-04:00

we continue down crown street from bedford ave going east. the block between bedford and rogers is one of the loveliest i've ever seen.

an unusual church up on the hill near nostrand ave

and then the rest of the way is made up of small brick houses, probably one family per, many with meticulously cared for front lawns.

i stopped taking pictures around troy/schenectady because the light got so bad...but i did take one of the yellow 'moshiach' flags (blurry, but it's all i got) that are common in the area. this area is home to the world headquarters of the chabad lubavitch sect of the hasidic movement; the 'moshiach' flags refer to the messiah, the word meaning 'anointed one' in hebrew. further insight on the topic is welcomed!

i sometimes feel like an intruder in the jewish neighborhoods in williamsburg and crown heights, and i have mixed feelings about whether i should be taking pictures or not. my view is that since i don't shy away from photographing neighborhoods of any other ethnicity or religion, i have no reason to avoid the beautiful architecture in this neighborhood. i rarely, if ever, photograph people of any kind, and i don't feel that i'm particularly intrusive...

any thoughts on THAT topic are also welcome in the comments section.

bonus post, no. 6: ebbets field houses

2008-05-11T18:55:00.005-04:00

no trip to this part of crown heights would be complete without a visit to 'ebbets field', the housing complex on the old dodger stadium site

this is the most intimidating building i've ever seen. not the people--i spoke to one or two, and they were friendly and inviting--the building itself. something about the way it looms over the smaller buildings that make up this part of the city, and the grim nature of the architecture...

this photo makes it look more grim than it is; empire blvd is a bit run down, but overall the neighborhood is quite pleasant.

added bonus: the school just around the corner...aptly named for jackie robinson, who played on what would later become this school's grounds

Crown Heights South: Part 1

2008-05-11T16:24:00.004-04:00

took a trip through crown heights south of eastern parkway earlier today

we begin at the carroll street pedestrian bridge (over the franklin ave shuttle), near washington ave

there are some interesting murals on franklin ave near carroll and crown streets:

the mural notes that the 'youth collective' has now moved to ralph ave

as we move further east, much of the architecture consists of two- to three-story brick buildings, many with meticulously manicured lawns. the vinyl (?) awnings you see are also quite common south of eastern parkway.

there are also a number of larger apartment buildings, similar to those you can find further south in brooklyn

we'll finish with a particularly lovely apartment building on carroll street near bedford avenue:

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many more to come tomorrow, as i continue down crown street to utica ave. enjoy!

sunset slope

2008-05-10T21:27:00.002-04:00

9th street and seventh ave in park slope

wishful thinking

2008-05-09T21:01:00.000-04:00

in protest of today's grim, cold, gray weather, some shots of SPRING when SPRING was still quite YOUNG (we miss you, April)

the very first tree i saw begin to flower. this is myrtle ave at vanderbilt ave on April 9th

now three shots of the little park just next to the brooklyn museum, at the corner of eastern parkway and washington ave:

and two more from a few blocks further down on eastern parkway:

the eastern parkway shots are from later that same day (april 9th)

finally, two shots from clinton ave between park and myrtle

this one looks for all the world like the antebellum south...straight out of natchez, mississippi

the above are from April 16th

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posts have been slow lately, but i'm working on a few different projects...

one, i still need to tackle the southern part of crown heights

two, i'm working on some photos of the school i work for, and some artwork that my students are producing

three, i'm very interested in featuring some of the fort greene/clinton hill avenues (clinton ave in particular), so look for those over the next few weeks

suggestions are welcome! in the meantime, i'll be hoping for sunshine and temperatures in the seventies to return...

morning

2008-05-07T09:41:00.002-04:00

it's a beautiful morning in ft greene park

dark skies

2008-05-04T22:43:00.003-04:00

sorry no posts for a while.

it was an ugly few days.

but the storm has passed! all is well, and the posts will continue.

the above are prospect pl near classon ave

the return of green

2008-04-28T23:44:00.002-04:00

prospect park stop on the franklin shuttle

the first thing i noticed back from vacation was how green the city looked

bonus post, no. 5: god bless america

2008-04-27T23:03:00.001-04:00

i'm not gonna stand here and let you bad-mouth america!!

kittens, pt. 5: hide your eyes!

2008-04-27T17:08:00.002-04:00

Back from the Beach!

2008-04-26T13:06:00.004-04:00

Had a lovely time on vacation in Destin, FL...most beautiful beaches in the world

a few shots of an abandoned pier, destroyed in a recent hurricane:

and one of an unusual practice that i never noticed before...'sea fishing', or perhaps 'beach fishing'. locals park a chair on a public beach, dig a few pieces of pvc pipe down into the sand, and set their fishing rods with the handle in the pvc pipe. then...they wait. and the fish come! no boat, no work, no stress.

hail to the chief

2008-04-17T21:13:00.002-04:00

33rd st near 6th ave

on vacation for the next week or so, so posts will be intermittent (like my internet access). i'll try to post some lovely beach pics, though...

abstractions 3

2008-04-16T21:24:00.002-04:00

Trapped!!

2008-04-15T21:46:00.003-04:00

needles wants to go outside. we're not sure the cats should be out on the balcony...we're up on the 13th floor!!

LET ME OUT!!

sometimes life can make us all feel trapped sometimes, right? i think right now i'm almost TOO ready to move on to the next stage of my life. patience. patience. patience. the right time will come...

bonus post, no. 4

2008-04-14T22:31:00.000-04:00

sunset from balcony, downtown bklyn in background

beautiful day...

2008-04-14T22:22:00.004-04:00

it was a lovely day today...the sky was the kind that only comes once a moth or so. i dream that this is what the sky in africa, or australia, would look like...

that's a shot from my classroom window at mckinney. you can see downtown brooklyn in the foreground, and manhattan in the distance.

i took the other shot from city park, near the navy yard and the fort greene/farragut projects

would have taken many more...but my camera ran out of batteries!! next time...

brooklyn invades the garden

2008-04-13T17:33:00.003-04:00

took three students to the knicks/hawks game on friday night. definitely fun.

...we lost, of course. what did you expect?

there it is!!!!!!

Really? In inner-city Brooklyn??

2008-04-12T23:16:00.003-04:00

classon ave near dean st

and yes, it is what it says it is...poke your head inside to see cages full of live chickens stacked about 6 feet high.

this one's in honor of my friend over at exact change. ain't no plastic on these chickens, baby! some assembly is required, though, you'd have to assume (depends on who's eating them, i suppose). in all seriousness, though, for a food- and environment-conscious meat eater, the sight of live chickens in cages two blocks from my urban apartment does raise some interesting questions for me...will my vision of creating a more sustainable, healthy lifestyle for myself ever include seeing the live source of my food on any kind of a regular basis? can it? should it? will it?

North Crown Heights: Part 4

2008-04-11T10:33:00.004-04:00

we start today on park pl near albany ave...and an interesting statue of a bull (actually on the corner of hampton pl)

turned around at albany ave (things start to deteriorate there), and back to brooklyn ave, and a lovely church

back to bedford ave, near bergen st (not a great shot, but a nice building so I included it)

then to dean st

the old armory, which many have probably seen, on bedford between atlantic and pacific streets

and, finally, back to where we started (close to it, anyway)...dean st near franklin ave

next up: the other side of eastern parkway (probably next week)

North Crown Heights: Part 3

2008-04-10T23:03:00.003-04:00

more of the walking tour of crown heights...this one was more of a wander than a tour

we begin at the corner of brooklyn ave and st marks...more of the odd dutch-inspired buildings

then a detour through brower park, undeniably lovely, with some trees beginning to flower

finally, at the corner of park and kingston ave, a lovely church...

and its very unusual, if beautiful neighbor

the second half tomorrow, plus a story (which I'm excited to tell!)

Poses

2008-04-09T22:16:00.005-04:00

this...was fun

yeah needles...i don't know about her either. scary!!!

abstractions 2

2008-04-08T23:02:00.003-04:00

i have a couple of big postings in the works...

one on the nature of technology in today's world

and some follow-ups to my earlier north crown heights posts

so check back often! take my poll if you haven't already (only 19!?)

new layout!

2008-04-07T21:01:00.007-04:00

i've been experimenting with a new layout. like it?? let me know in the comments section!

this is a shot from ft greene park. think of it as a continuation of the 'spring is here???' post...

they haunt my dreams

2008-04-05T18:22:00.006-04:00

...waking and sleeping...

...

(somewhere on dean st)

spring is here...isn't it???

2008-04-04T22:45:00.007-04:00

a dour, gray day

some shots of the pj's...uninspiring, perhaps, but they're an intimidating part of the brooklyn landscape, and worth studying

this is walt whitman in fort greene. many of my students live here.

seen from park ave and n oxford, over the bqe

the remaining shots from cumberland btwn myrtle ave and park ave

North Crown Heights: Part 2

2008-04-03T12:08:00.012-04:00

(continued from yesterday)

turn on east new york avenue, walking south towards eastern parkway

maybe my favorite stretch in the neighborhood

i left out a couple of really run-down buildings...i'll cover those in a future post

below is one of the most interesting buildings, a large seventh-day adventist church/school

the following three are all of the streets surrounding lincoln pl and new york ave

i was so amazed by the houses in this area the first time i ever walked through it

what do you think? leave comments, please, if you have thoughts...

bonus post, no. 3

2008-04-02T16:51:00.004-04:00

a spirit (st marks at new york ave)

as i took my photo, an older gentleman stopped and asked me if i knew what this was

i said no, expecting a story about its origin or background

'a gargoyle', he said

...

sha-zam!!

North Crown Heights: Part 1

2008-04-02T12:36:00.012-04:00

i've taken to short phototours; pick a street (or two) at random in a particular area, and walk down those without deviating from the path.

i'll feature north crown heights over the next couple of weeks; you may remember that i consider this area the most interesting (and beautiful) i've yet seen in the city.

begin at st marks and franklin, going east

mostly earth-toned buildings and brownstones until bedford

at which point things get more interesting; more varied architecture, more colors, more decoration

lots of these peak-roofed buildings around bedford and nostrand

ending at new york ave with two very different buildings:

tomorrow the 2nd half, from new york avenue to eastern parkway

Jazz Gallery 3/29

2008-04-01T23:52:00.004-04:00

tony malaby/william parker/nasheet waits

tamarindo

three shots:

nasheet

then william

then nasheet

didn't get a good shot of tony...

GREAT show. check out their album.

Flushing Ave

2008-03-31T22:34:00.010-04:00

from the brooklyn navy yard to east williamsburg

rothko on the subway?

2008-03-30T23:00:00.004-04:00

pretty kittens

2008-03-27T23:58:00.003-04:00

HELLO!!

how could i resist?

afternoon walk in crown heights

2008-03-26T21:55:00.009-04:00

and we welcome spring to (my view of) downtown brooklyn...beautiful day!

i live in the most interesting neighborhood in nyc

as you walk down eastern pkwy, or wander the sidestreets of crown heights, i don't see how you could avoid it. it's beautiful. i'll try to feature the architecture of the row houses more in the next week, but i'll say for now that i think it bests anything in park slope, the villages, or brooklyn heights. it's much more diverse and colorful (only bed-stuy rivals it, to me).

proof of spring? check the buds on the trees...

it's such a diverse neighborhood, dominated by two very different groups (the caribbean sections and the hasidic section). they've had their problems in the past, and perhaps still do, but now we can savor the experience of walking nostrand, or kingston, or utica, soaking in the sounds just as i might in a foreign country, letting my eyes wander from the island colors to the hebrew lettering...

i even saw a car covered in 'barbados' towels and flags parked right behind a mitzvah tank

(photos: eastern pkwy, at various spots between bedford ave and utica)

bonus post, no. 2

2008-03-25T23:49:00.007-04:00

found this today walking home from the a train station at nostrand ave

corner of bedford and st marks

this is the second example i've found of these unusual figures posted on currently abandoned buildings in the area; there's also a vignette of two people and an identical bird on a franklin ave building. they both use a similar type of material, which appears to be very thin metal (?). the birds, above, extend to the three visible sides of the building in question, and are actually ABOVE the scaffolding currently on the building (slated for destruction? we'll see...)

you know what? i'll post the other building, since i have an old shot of it:

I recently learned that this building (a 19th century brewery, franklin ave at bergen st) was purchased by a development group, and will be preserved (though renovated) and turned into apartments. It's apparently one of this group's projects.

i've noticed a lot of gang-related graffiti in the neighborhood lately, mostly on franklin and classon. bloods and crips, red and blue paint. it's always nice to come across something more creative. i'll be looking for more from this particular artist...

bklyn is beautiful, nr. 2

2008-03-25T21:47:00.005-04:00

this is the ugliness that i can't find ugly

but there's something beautiful about the trash, the decay, the ruined buildings. see my nyc photoblog links if you don't believe me

here are some more pictures of my neighborhood--we're sticking with prospect/crown heights until the gold mine has been exhausted.

most of the above from (near) the corner of underhill and dean st

borrowed poetry, vol. 1

2008-03-23T00:46:00.003-04:00

in the delicate distance
of brown, i sit on a bus

with uneasy proximity
of tan, i look out on queens

shade shift my way to jfk
ride past ins possessing my access

in kind and card, swipe the coded
stripe and my name drops in ones and zeroes

somewhere a computer may know
Ladd is to Pratt as Cawthorne is to Willis is

to Pickett and on
what it won't show are the moments

of love or lust that swirl
through centuries and tans me here

making me one more momento
of a close-quartered world

all trinkets of time shrink space
a cluttered reflection of collecctions

am i a catalogue of memories
a series of possessions?

of an age within an age within an age
is a mirror to a mirror to a mirror
of a people to a people within a people

each image, descending in view like seeing
one's history through the core of a spine

stepping through the act
of self-appropriation

my mother relies on the old
negro spirit of reinvention

"i am a citizen of the world"

ta da she is

-mike ladd (from in what language? mike ladd/vijay iyer, pi recordings)

two views of a rock, and more

2008-03-22T18:31:00.004-04:00

there are a few of these unusually painted rocks in the area

this one found on classon ave near dean st

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there's often a lot of contrast between buildings only a block or two away from each other

above, a particularly lovely stretch in the crow hill section of crown heights (franklin ave btwn atlantic ave and pacific st)

below, an abandoned house a block up on franklin

might be a million-dollar home one day

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the el?

the lirr running over atlantic ave...the nostrand ave station nearby

kittens, pt. 4: portrait of sasha

2008-03-20T23:16:00.002-04:00

photos by kristen

Rain in Manhattan

2008-03-19T22:41:00.001-04:00

a sea of umbrellas

broadway near bleecker

bonus post, no. 1

2008-03-18T23:17:00.004-04:00

(i took a three day break, so we'll do a two-a-day)

'The Invisible Landscape' @ Living Theatre

2008-03-18T21:10:00.003-04:00

live on 3.14.2008 at 10:30PM

this is Gunter Gruner's band (playing his compositions)

featured daniel carter on trumpet

and daniel carter on saxophone

and daniel carter on transcendence

the show was definitely interesting. it paired gunter's rather strict, angular compositions (5 musicians staring intently at their music stands) with daniel's free improvisations (1 musician, no stand, no eyes, all music).

go see Macbeth at BAM if you haven't. it's fabulous.

ft greene park in the afternoon after work

2008-03-13T20:47:00.003-04:00

afternoon loveliness

2008-03-12T14:57:00.004-04:00

two very different photos of bklyn:

day and night

old and new

unfinished and unkempt

fire and ice (...? ok, not really)

the first is dean st at vanderbilt ave

the second a new building eastern pkwy at grand army plaza (photo taken 12/2007)

it's a beautiful day in the city today. enjoy it.

kittens, pt. 3: sleepier

2008-03-10T16:54:00.002-04:00

i don't think i'll ever get tired of posting pictures of the kittens...

change is coming

2008-03-09T17:27:00.013-04:00

a trip down dean street

mostly on the corner of carlton and dean

my thoughts exactly

as for this one...hillary + ratner? really?

frustration about the atlantic yards projects boils over

not sure if this building/corner is slated for destruction thanks to the ratner project, but i know many of its neighbors are

the atlantic yards 'liaison' signs are everywhere in the area--this one's been edited a bit

you can see the atlantic terminal houses in the background--the original atlantic yards project(s), i suppose. some of my students live there.

one of my all-time favorite graffiti projects. unfortunate that it had to come in the ruins of what i assume is another casualty of the atlantic yards development

bklyn is beautiful, nr. 1

2008-03-08T19:20:00.005-05:00

photos taken over the past week and a half

sometimes dull, gray days are the most captivating.

this is the franklin ave shuttle train station @ botanic gardens

these that follow are from the streets of prospect/crown heights

this was tagged on whats left of the old brooklyn jewish hospital

i have to assume that she/he is telling the truth

jumble

2008-03-08T02:02:00.002-05:00

life is a mess right now

it makes me very sad

selfportrait 1

2008-03-06T22:11:00.001-05:00

love those knickerbockers

2008-03-05T21:12:00.005-05:00

the world's most famous arena:

don't you get the feeling the knicks are getting a little self-conscious, after all the losing and all the embarrassment?

it may well be the world's most famous arena (dubiously, at this point)

but does it really make sense to say that tonight LeBron is playing on the 'NBA's biggest stage'? how can it be the biggest stage if the only reason anyone ever talks about your team is to mock it? i haven't heard anyone make a positive comment about the Knicks, Isiah Thomas, James Dolan, Stephon Marbury, or anyone else since...um, yeah. The NBA's biggest stage is television, and i ain't talkin about MSG...TNT, ABC, ESPN. know how many games we've had on nat'l tv? 2. one on tnt (lost by 4,928,283 to boston), one on espn (lost in overtime). as basketbawful would say...'sucktastic'. that's 5 solid hours of nationally televised 'lacktion'.

the world's most famous ceiling? most famous scoreboard?

everyone in ny seems to think that what happens here matters-no matter what. that's why it's so hard for people here to handle their teams being bad (and I mean bad--despite the fact that they're leading against the Cavs right now). and in a way they're right...the knicks get an inordinate amount of attention for being awful. where's the hate for memphis? how bout minnesota? why aren't they chanting "fire [whoever]" in Charlotte? because no one gives a damn--there or here.

and that's why guys like jamal crawford get criticized unduly, even though he's all we have going for us, that and the young players like nate and lee and balkman (and chandler? we'll see...). i like crawford, and i hope he's not going anywhere, no matter who ends up as team president.

that being said, the knicks are making the playoffs next year, isiah or no isiah. you heard it here first. yes sir, you heard it here, just like you would have last year if i'd had a blog. but i didn't...so you didn't.

so yeah...let's go knicks! let's go knicks! let's go knicks!

sadness

2008-03-04T23:54:00.003-05:00

sometimes things make you sad for no good reason.

this is st marks ave somewhere near washington ave

cities decay right in front of our eyes, and people's lives and memories

on display

lonely outposts in the snow

blurred memories

bergen st and classon ave

cold winds

the strangest doorway in bklyn

2008-03-03T18:05:00.002-05:00

st. marks ave and grand ave

kittens, pt. 2: sleepy

2008-03-02T16:28:00.002-05:00

took the kittens to the humane society yesterday for shots and spaying

the return to the apt? full of energy and verve. jumping on cabinets, begging for food.

but, as suspected, the energy died. day 2: sleep, sleep, and more sleep.

at least needles woke up to say hello...

abstractions 1

2008-03-01T21:55:00.010-05:00

spent the day at pace classes. they leave much to be desired.

here are some abstract images to express my frustration (click on them to see the full-size images):

kitties are all drugged up...just got back from the doctor's office where they got spayed.

we pray for happy kitties

:)

2008-02-28T22:51:00.004-05:00

fierce kitty rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

manhattan from bklyn

it's been a good day

may there be many more to come

bklyn nightline

2008-02-27T22:54:00.004-05:00

two night photos

from the apt balcony, phosphorescent

park pl and washington av...this neighborhood is underratedly beautiful

Miami/South Beach

2008-02-26T19:12:00.004-05:00

it's a nasty, ugly day today...so i'll post some pictures of my mid-winter vacation with Kristen. south beach loveliness...

art deco and blue skies...

sunshine screaming its way into our hotel...

palm trees day and night...

ain't no coney island, but what is?

and my lovely girlfriend, wind in the background...

kittens, pt. 1

2008-02-25T15:12:00.010-05:00

these are my kittens, sasha and needles

they're sisters, so they're pretty comfortable around each other.

---

that's needles. she used to be the shy one...but now she's crazy as hell. she has a lot of personality, as i'm sure anyone could tell. she looks like she's about to reach up and shake your hand...

and this is sasha. she's MINE. she's a little more relaxed than needles. she looks a little bit annoyed to be having her picture taken (I'll blame that on Kristen, who took this picture).

say goodbye, girls!

---

Lightning Never Strikes Twice

2008-02-24T18:39:00.002-05:00

short recording i made about a month ago.

Lighting Never Strikes Twice.m4a

Manhattan Saturday Night

2008-02-24T17:27:00.008-05:00

some pictures i took in SoHo and the East Village last night

2008-02-23T14:14:00.001-05:00

city bus passing grand army plaza in bklyn