Bleecker Street Men

Spring Cleaning

Everything on the floor in this picture was crowding me and my files.

I threw out the trash today.

Oh, I kept the dog.

Spring is in the Air

And they are showing some leg at the Flower Stall on 13th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues.

They Lasted Four Days

Pink birthday shoes lasted four days on my girl.

Putting cloth shoes on her is like putting flip-flops on a Clydesdale.

Retro

Scope Art Fair 2008

Ain't

Cut the Cake

Happy Birthday to my baby.

54th Street at 9th Avenue

Like the sign says, Caution Wet Floor.

Slovenian Stencil Graffiti

This is not a New York photo. I took it in LjubLjana, Slovenia and I consider it a fine example of Eastern European political stencil graffiti.

Sometimes it's good to mix it up a bit.

Night Shades

They sure look pretty but the taste isn't for everyone.

$1.39 lb. for an eggplant. Is that a good price?

The Sculpture Center

The Sculpture Center in Long Island City has a pretty front lawn all dressed up for their annual Lucky Draw event in April. If you like art, you won't want to miss this one.

Those are rocks painted with fluorescent paint, if you were wondering.

Mannequin Kick

And there's more where these came from.

Purple Lady

I've been admiring this portrait for months. It's on the base of a lamppost on 4th Avenue near 11th Street.

Someone is Lying

Who is telling the truth?

The Ice Machine is Down the Hall

This building on East 87th Street is the damnedest thing. It's apartment doors are motel style, meaning they have external hallways out on balconies instead of in the building.

I can see this working in Miami, Arizona, and LA, but it just looks weird here in NYC.

And the light pollution this monster is giving off is atrocious. Each apartment door has a giant spot above it so the poor bastards across the way get an entire wall full of bright lights. It's so reminiscent of motels that you can almost smell the stale air conditioner and see the tiny wrapped soap.

I must say though, there is a strange and captivating beauty in its misfit status. I made my three-year old stand on the street after 11:00 p.m. on a school night so I could take it in for a few minutes.

Nothing Like Fresh Air

This air conditioner (as seen in a ladies room stall) was one of the most interesting things I saw in the entire never-ending well-lit cave of art known as the Armory Show.

Located on Pier 94 in Manhattan across the West Side Highway from The Coffee C'Art, The Armory Show is New York City's biggest art fair.

The Coffee C'Art Debuts at The Armory Show 2009

Here is my rendering of The Coffee C'Art as it might appear on the southeast corner of 54th Street and 12th Avenue - across the street from Pier 94 where the Armory Show is shacked up.

Come on down for a cup of nickel coffee, get an awesome GUEST of CINDY SHERMAN coffee cup, and support the arts!

Check Out the Gams on Her!

Oops. She's legless. Nevermind. Nice hair, though.

W 25th Street between 6th and 7th is creepily filled with mannequin shops. I guess this is NYC's display wholesaler neighborhood because you can also by earring trees (weirdest concept ever), necklace displays, jewelry cases, racks, and shelving.

So, if you are that one person out there who thinks now is a good time to open a new retail establishment - head over to W 25th Street. Everyone else - get that Web site done, get those virtual shopping carts rolling, and join the global online economy.

Metalarc

I would love to say, "This is a portrait of my friend Metalarc," because he looks so damn cool. But the truth is, I just took his picture and asked him his name.

He plays music in the Uptown Prince street subway station. When I asked him his style he said, "End of the World Fashion." When I specified that I was interested in his musical style, he said, "Blues! Traditional blues."

You can reach Metalarc at jmetalarc at yahoo dot com and he has a myspace page under that name as well.

UPDATE: Metalarc has a schedule so you can make sure you catch him. He writes, "I am at prince from around twelvish to 3ish and then delancey street station from 4 till about eight." Stop on by and support the arts.

The Buzz

It's Art Fair season in NYC and the city is buzzing about art. And lost fortunes. Sounds like a bad combo. We'll see what happens.

There's also a buzz about coffee. Cheap coffee. Coffee for five cents a cup.

The bee mural here is on 2nd Street between 2nd Avenue and the Bowery and it's pretty hard to miss because it's two stories tall.

Lucky 13

Just think, Octomom has one more child than there are mannequin torsos on the table in this picture.

Mid-Century Modern?

This bench in the N, R, Q Train 57th Street Station almost looks Danish. But not quite.

Notice the lack of snow on the platform. But it is still cold down there, especially on a cold and windy day like today.

New York Snowfall today so far is here.

Glass

My theme day contribution is glass tubes. This is the back of a phone booth that usually features an illuminated ad, but the ad is gone and only illumination remains.

It's directly across from my front door and I was so happy to walk out to a nice Dan Flavin homage created by the city.

Daiquiri

I would like to squash some oranges and pineapples into a glass with crushed ice a bit of lime and a bunch of rum.

It's March first and it's 30F and snowing. I am ready for a warm day and a cold cocktail.