what color is your diet?

NMS mural - front street - dumbo, brooklyn - map it here
This colorful mosaic mural is a project ordered by the New York City Department of Transportation to beautify locations that need a little boost beauty-wise. I remember having seen that punch of color at the Bus Terminal a few months ago, on a gloomy rainy day. I made a mental note to make a little détour one of these days to photograph it. Last weekend, I found that same mural in DUMBO where I think it looks even better with a metal fence as background.

"The design for the mural was created by the renowned Malaysian-born artist Tattfoo Tan, who worked with 40 students aged 5-7 from nearby P.S. 307 along with 25 other neighborhood children. Together they painted hundreds of colorful panels using specialized paints matched to the colors of fruits and vegetables. The tapestry of color-8 feet high and 70 feet long-beautifies a corrugated metal fence alongside a DOT storage yard beneath the Manhattan Bridge at Front and Adams streets in DUMBO, reinforcing DOT's commitment to bring art to public spaces."

• You can find more details and great pictures of the mural concept and creation on the website of Tattfoo: http://tattfoo.com/projects.html.
• Also more pictures on http://dumbonyc.com, a great neighborhood blog on which I have been browsing a lot these past days, trying to find more details related to the pictures I took last weekend.

smile, you're on camera... from the 45th floor!

somewhere in the times square area - 45th floor
I think I took this picture last year. I found this dude outside of my office window, chatting on his cell phone with 44 floors under him and a nice breeze that was gently swinging his craddle.
Personally, I have not decided yet how much I should be paid to take over his job. Can you imagine being so casual and cool up there? Take a look at the guy our friend Mame captured the other day! Here is the link: Cat buglar.

35 pearl st

35 pearl street - dumbo, brooklyn - map it here - www.recycleabicycle.org
Recycle-A-Bicycle is a not-for-profit organization with a shop in the East Village and one in DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) in Brooklyn. In addition to give a new life to an old, tired, bicycle, they run programs encouraging cycling, particularly among children.
So if you plan to get rid of a old bicycle or are ready to adopt a super-green recycled one, check out their website and stop by their shops. As a bonus, you'll discover an interesting neighborhood, with cobblestone streets and stunning views on the city. See, on the other side, across the East River? That's Manhattan.

et la porte d'à côté...

126 front street - dumbo - brooklyn - map it here
And the door next door to the cute door...
The mural on this door is signed Pasqualina Azzarello, an artist from DUMBO. www.pasqualinaazzarello.com Looks like she also painted 126 front street.
I understand Superfine, a restaurant, is behind that door. You can see it here in a picture of this block found of Flickr: street scene by dumbonyc.

126 front street

126 front street - dumbo - brooklyn - map it here
This week I take you to DUMBO (District Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) for a little visit I started this weekend.
Today, how to upgrade an industrial door to cuteness. Isn't this little door just adorable?
Apparently the address is home to a restaurant called Superfine. The doors were closed when I walked by but who know's, I may have completely missed that, as we learned in the previous post that I can't see.

picture yourself as the safe driver

brooklynflea - 76 Front St. - dumbo - brooklyn - map it here
A frog, a pearl necklace, some feathers and good silverware, is all you need to picture yourself as a safe driver, as this little book from an insurance company suggests.
This picture was taken at Brooklynflea, an indoor flea market which takes place in DUMBO during the winter weekends.
DUMBO refers to the Disctrict Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. I stopped by this trendy neighborhood this weekend to visit the flea market. Which was very disappointing (not a real flea market but more like a street fair, a collection of vendors, selling anything from Tshirts, food, posters, etc). The only two booths that really qualified for the "flea" term was the one above and the one featured on the website (btw, unbelievably expensive and way too curated for a flea market).

friday night at the museum

metropolitan museum of art - 1000 fifth avenue - map it here
Where can you meditate with a power figure made my the Congo people of Central Africa?
Freak out at the sight of Perseus holding Medusa's head?
Translate a medieval tapestry?
Mesmerize at the view of a Bavarian cabinet from the early Renaissance?
Compare two Salomés?
Sit in the palace of an Assyrian king, guarded by two colossal beasts?
Laugh at a guardian from 12th century Japan?
Make a quick detour to peak at a pyramid?
Have a glass of wine with cheese and a string quarter playing in the background?
All of it, in one evening?
Where???

lazy picture du jour, morning edition

view from the office - somewhere in the Times Square area
I was in the office so early this morning that I saw the beautiful sunrise on the East River.
Let me guide you through the above picture:
• the building in front on the left is the Bank of America's headquarters on the East Coast (rumored to be one of the most environment-friendly office building in the city);
• just next to it, is the Grace building (you miss its beautiful slope here);
• and the pretty-pretty-pretty, oh so very pretty one in the center, is the Chrysler Building.

Here above? The same ones, plus a little piece of the East River to the right.
On the other side? It's Queens and Brooklyn.
And behind that rectangular building in the center is Bryant Park (hidden).

Now that rectangular building hiding Bryant Park is framing the left of the picture.
We still see the East River, Queens and Brooklyn and if you are really perceptive, you can probably vaguely see where the Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridges are.
Framing the right side of the picture, is our friend the venerable Empire State Building.
______________
Related post: http://www.nyc-daily-photo.com/2009/02/lazy-picture-du-jour.html

the heart of times square

"valentine to times square" by Gage/Clemenceau Architects - times square - map it here
There's two tons of love in the heart of scintillating Times Square!
“With all that’s going on in the world, we were overjoyed by the prospect of creating something where we can spread a little love,” said designer Mark Foster Gage. “Valentine to Times Square speaks to our love of Times Square and New York City – frenetic, ever-changing, colorful and always fascinating.”
Because you can never have enough heart, here's a few more of views of the organ.



*lub-dub, lub-dub* [click here to hear it beat]

lazy picture du jour

view from the office - somewhere in the Times Square area
If you stop by my humble little blog on a regular time, you know the view. Maybe not in this color yet. It's one of those lazy pictures taken from the window of my office. You just swivel on your chair, concentrate to vaguely try to frame it right, click and boom, done. Voilà: picture du jour.
For those who have never seen this view: the pretty building to the right is The New York Times building, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. You can see the Hudson River (the Miracle-on-the-Hudson took place to the right of the NYT building). And across the river is New Jersey. This is the typical lazy picture, when you stay late in the office and have nothing to post for the day.
Ok, that's it for today. Time to get some zzz's! Au dodo!

four little snails on their way to brooklyn

subway station - 5th avenue & 59 st, central park south - map it here
Four little snails on their way to Brooklyn... probably back from a busy day in Central Park, and smart enough to take the subway. Taxis are so hard to catch at the end of a work day, everybody knows that. Let's hope they get on the express!
And since you're asking: yes, the two little ones in the front are a bit blurrier. It's just the movement: they are obviously faster than the two old ones. Duh.

urban landscape

canal street - chinatown - map it here
This picture was also taken in Chinatown, the same day as the one I showed you yesterday. It was super cold and very windy that afternoon. I remember thinking that Canal Street can be a little gloomy at places when I was about to pass this parking lot. I'm not sure what the mural is about, if it is related to the videogame advertised on the top of the wall, if the white and turquoise grafitti are part of it or an improvised addition. But I love the colors and how it brighten an otherwise unappealing area.

12 little lanterns against a clear sky

somewhere in chinatown - map it here
This picture was taken almost a month ago, in Chinatown, during the Chinese New Year weekend. I can't recall exactly where: anytime I am in Chinatown, I let my inspiration guide me through the streets and love to venture through the local stores. That day, I came back with a bag of cashew nuts and a bag of star anise. I am not sure what I'll do with it yet but its fragrance is delicious when you open the kitchen cabinet.

pirouettes under the stars

the wollman rink - central park - map it here
Isn't it magical to skate under stars, surrounded by New York skyscrapers?
It will cost you about $20, a bit less if you bring your skates, the memories are extra bonus.
And for those who need a good idea for Valentine's Day, just borrow this one. You are welcome.

it's about time!!!

Ah, finally!!! You know how it goes: too much to do, too little time. You all know this. I finally stopped by the Apple store to get a new cable. This is the culprit:

This little cable synchs your pictures to your computer. If you happen to damage it, let's say you stuff it in your suitcase and energically close it not noticing it's not completely inside the luggage, it will not respond quite like it used to... Ah well... so now, I can show you some brand "new pcitures" I took just before this little incident.
Some fresh news like this one...

Or this one...

inauguration day - times square - 20jan2009