Piercing Al Fresco

This photo is a footnote to yesterday's posting about the Police Riot Concert held in Washington Square Park. Click here for a photo collection and click here for a short video. When I told people, young and old, that I had photographed piercings being done outdoors on the ground, everyone had the same reaction - "outdoors, on the ground?" But I found it in keeping with the defiant spirit of the event. After all, I am not sure prudence, propriety and proper procedure apply to attendees of a punk rock concert. At first glance I was not sure why these people were sitting on the ground looking looking at something - closer examination revealed the object of interest to be a small zippered case opened to display body piercing jewelry, disposable rubber gloves (and I imagine the piercing tools themselves). Actually, it appeared that the piercer was operating as professionally as she could under the circumstances. Body piercing, of course, has an long history and large subculture. It's a world unto itself with many facets: the jewelry, the procedure and tools (sterilization, autoclaves, needles, cannula, scalpelling, dermal punching), healing and cleaning, allergic reactions, scarring, keloids, infections both bacterial and viral, where to pierce etc. Click here for a good overview ...

Police Riot Concert

This was an event that really caught me by surprise - no one I met was aware that it was to be held, apart from the many music fans. The annual Police Riot concert is typically held in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village - this year the concert was rescheduled for Washington Square. The concert, which featured Leftöver Crack (a group that has been been banned from several NYC venues), commemorated the 19th anniversary of the police riots of August 6-7, 1988 in Tompkins Square Park. The park at that time had essentially been taken over by drug dealers, skinheads and squatting homeless. The riot, which occurred on the day of a rally, protesting a recently enacted curfew, was seen as largely police incited as a result of mishandling on their part. Many complaints of police brutality were made along with public condemnations (such as in the New York Times) against the Police department and the commissioner Benjamin Ward. In addition to Leftöver Crack, groups performing were: False Prophets, World Inferno Friendship Society, Planned Collapse and Witch Hunt. There were guest speakers such as Norman Siegel (former ACLU director). Event appropriate books and zines were being sold. The concert was essentially punk rock, however more specifically there were elements of ska, hardcore, crust punk, and metal. The music was LOUD of course and spontaneous moshing occurred with stage diving. This event was a superb photo opportunity - the mohawks, hair colors, clothing, piercings, mosh pits and stage diving made great subjects in a perfect clear day's afternoon light. Click here for a short video of the concert. Click here for a photo set of the concert...

Spalding Gray

This tree and plaque in Washington Square Park is a relatively unknown memorial to Spalding Gray (1941-2004). If you are unfamiliar with Spalding and his work, I suggest you go to his website here. Spalding was an award winning monologist par excellence, although his work and life was certainly controversial. Gray wrote 18 monologues and appeared in many films. He is most well known for Swimming to Cambodia, the filming of one of his monologues based on his experiences in Southeast Asia while working in a small acting role in the film The Killing Fields. In January 2004, he was reported missing - read the article here. In March, 2004, Spalding's body was found in the East River. It is believed his death was a suicide and that he jumped into the river from the Staten Island Ferry. He had threatened to do this in a note to his wife in 2003 - click here for the entire story. He had previously attempted suicide in 2002 and his mother had also committed suicide. Spalding moved to NYC in 1967 and lived in the Village. In 1988 the New York Times ran an article where they asked 12 well known New Yorkers where they would go to show a visitor the real new York. In it Gray said: "And then there's Washington Square Park. I go there every day. It's a little carnival: the fire-breathing guy, the guy sitting on a little stool, giving out free advice. It's distinctively New York, not a Parisian thing, or a San Francisco thing. What I figured out in L.A. is, they've got lots of nature, like birds and trees, but no human nature. Here it's like a dance, everyone very aware of their own body space. The other night, I saw four people on a specially made bicycle for four. They had a generator that was lighting up four huge spheres, light bulbs on their heads, as they rode up Second Avenue. It takes a lot to catch an eye in New York, but they did, and I said, you know New York always redeems itself." ...

Red Panda

This word was new to me - crepuscular - pertaining to twilight. In the case of an animal it means that it is active at twilight (dawn and dusk) as opposed to diurnal or nocturnal. The Red Panda in the photo is from the Central Park Zoo and an example of a mammal that is crepuscular. This perhaps explains not only his relaxed state in the photo, but also the reason that these fellows are difficult to spot moving around at the zoo habitat during exhibit hours. Red Panda's tend to be solitary and their habitat is the Himalayan foothills of southwestern China, Tibet, northern Myanmar, and Nepal in temperate forests at elevations of 4,900 to 13,000 feet. They are an endangered species and part of the Species Survival Plan - the Central Park Zoo has produced three cubs, a difficult feat in captivity. Their diet is almost entirely bamboo which is extremely high in indigestible fiber, making it difficult for red pandas to extract the nutrients they need. They need to eat large quantities of bamboo and spend long hours foraging. Their low energy diet does not lend itself to an active lifestyle, so they spend most of their time eating and sleeping (in tree branches or tree caves) - they may sleep half the day. I think this lifestyle would appeal to many ...

NOTE: A friend informed me that the term crepuscular has also been used to describe works of artists, such as Albert Pinkham Ryder, Arthur Dove and Winslow Homer who depicted subjects with the light characteristic at that time of day.

Lunch Limbo

This is a trend for which I have been waiting a long time - better street food vendors. Hot dog and pretzel carts don't do the job anymore, certainly not for lunch. Most people I know of buy most of their lunches out. The plethora of options and convenience of delis and other takeout venues in NYC wears down one's resistance and soon the idea of bringing lunch to work becomes a charming notion and dim memory. But we get spoiled here and soon even the absolutely incredible selection of foods in a deli or green grocer is not enough - we still feel there is "nothing to eat" and one graduates to small takeout restaurants. But the best of these become quite expensive on a regular basis (sandwiches at $8-$10) and one is left in lunch limbo - what to eat. What we really want is a prepared, cooked MEAL that is excellent and inexpensive. Enter the high quality street food vendor, where $5 will go a long way. I wrote of this already in my posting of NY Dosas - a Vendy Award winning Sri Lankan food cart on Washington Square. But now we have a new problem - lines (I understand that NY Dosas gets as many as 60 people waiting in line). New Yorkers are suckers for "the best" and there are always many willing to wait in line to get that special thing, best thing, get something first (iPhone, Harry Potter book), blah blah blah. We tried Calexico yesterday, a Vendy Award finalist. We had been trying for some time, but unless you phone them in advance by 11:45 AM (they have a cellphone) or get there by noon, you're looking at huge lines. The food was good, but I'm not sure it was worth strategic planning in our office for a week to score a meal without waiting for an hour ...

NOTE: The cart in the photo is Speedy Gonzalez specializing in TexMex and is located on Broadway in SOHO - good food, no lines (the last time I was there).

Picture New York

This photo is from the demonstration in Union Square on Friday, July 27, which was sponsored by Picture New York, accompanied by the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Critical Mass bike riders and Rev Billy and his Stop Shopping Gospel Choir. Click here for a photo of a demonstrator that was brandishing quite the T-Shirt. As I wrote in the posting on Reverend Billy (click here), there is pending legislation proposed by the Mayor’s Office of Theater, Film, and Broadcasting that would require a permit for photography and videography in New York city. Permits and $1 million in liability insurance would be needed for a group of two or more people who want to use a camera in a single public location for more than 30 minutes as well as a group of five or more people who would be using a tripod for more than ten minutes. According to a new York Times article, although officials have indicated that the rules are not intended to apply to amateurs or tourists, there is nothing in the proposed ruling that specifically exempts them. The fear is that this could lead to discriminatory enforcement. Many demonstrators were brandishing cardboard props modeled after a 16-millimeter Bolex camera - click here for photo. And in an interesting sidebar, this guy was arrested for riding his bike on the flag - click here. NOTE: The city is accepting public feedback until August 3 ...

Radio City

This is Radio City Music Hall, one of NYC's best known attractions, top tourist destinations and part of the Rockefeller Center complex. It has a roster of film debuts and a history of stage shows with luminaries like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Linda Ronstadt, Bill Cosby, Liberace, Sammy Davis, Jr., Count Basie, Itzhak Perlman, Ray Charles and BB King etal. The music hall was created by John D.Rockefeller, Jr., impresario Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel, and RCA chairman David Sarnoff (the name "Radio City" is from RCA - Radio Corporation of America). Radio City opened in December, 1932. The structure was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone with the spectacular interior by Donald Deskey, winner of the design competition at that time. Deskey was a pioneer in industrial and packaging design with an impressive list of credits - Joy detergent bottle (1950), Cheer detergent box (1951), window displays at Saks Fifth Avenue and exhibits at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. Click here. The interior, designated as a Historic landmark in 1979, is an Art Deco masterpiece with one of the largest stages in the world. Ceilings reach 84 feet. The Great Stage, framed by a huge proscenium arch that measures 60 feet high and 100 feet wide, is an engineering marvel with a system of hydraulic elevators. The Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ houses its pipes in 11 different rooms. With "The Progress of Man" as Deskey's general theme, he created a stunning tribute to human achievement in art, science and industry. He made art an integral part of the design, engaging fine artists to create murals, wall coverings and sculpture; textile designers to develop draperies and carpets; craftsmen to make ceramics, wood panels and chandeliers. All manner of precious materials (including marble and gold foil) and industrial materials were used. In 1999 the facility underwent a massive $70 million dollar restoration. The music hall is home to the renowned Rockettes, a precision dance team, virtually synonymous with the theater itself, along with the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular, a tradition in NYC since 1933. It's impossible to give a real sense of this magnificent space in writing - I suggest you visit at least once in your life...