day 302: what city is this?

i thought this was quirky. what was the goal here? with a single sign in union square, was the DOT trying to change the walk/don't walk tendencies of all of new york city? very ambitious, i say. foolish? absolutely. but still ambitious. I appreciate the showing of concern, new york.

day 301: a summer beverage

it was a sunny day yesterday and i was surprised to find that duane reade had (in a matter of a few hours) removed the umbrella stand and quickly replaced it with beer. Lots of beer. a land of beer. Right at the door. They just REALLY need you to buy some beer.

(i almost bought beer...)

day 300: castle in the sky

This castle on the corner of my street has been a point of confusion for me since I moved up here. What is it? Where did it come from? What was it before? Why did someone choose to build this castle like structure on the UWS and who exactly lives here? I see people going in and out throughout the day, but I still can't quite nail down who these residents are. It will remain a mystery - at least until i finally get motivated enough to google this.

(ps. its my 300th post y'all!! Only 65 more days of this nifty and awesome blogject of ours!)

day 299: bike this way

I really enjoy this bike lane sign "mistake". Doesn't it look like two people riding their bikes together and enjoying a wonderful day of fun and sun? I think it does. And what a beautiful scene it is...

day 298: caught in the storm

there were some storm clouds yesterday but I had no idea it was gonna rain the way it did. It came out of no where. actually, no where. Crazy rain and winds swooped in from Columbus ave. - it felt like an attack! I had to hide in a random bldg lobby with other strangers who were also ill prepared for a lightning/thunder storm to happen right above us. The building was shaking when it thundered, and the lightning was scary as hell. anyway, i tried to take a pic of the storm but this was the best I could do. Trust - it was terrifying.

Day 298 is at peace

I went to my favorite spot for lunch today. It's in Westwood which is officially known as "Westwood Village" and often called "The Village". I think it's an apt title since it feels like LA's answer to Greenwich Village. Laid back, lots of students, many big name stores but also smaller boutiques, streets at weird angles with awesome bookstores and cafes and restaurants and movie theatres tucked away... I love spending the afternoon there reading, window-shopping, drinking coffee, etc. I took this shot from the top of the parking garage today and I think it has the right feeling for the day: calm, sunny, relaxed, beautiful, simple. It was a nice day.

Day 297 has gone to the birds

LA has cool paintings on the sides of these electrical boxes. Palo Alto has some public art exhibit sort of like this but I've never seen anything as varied as LA's take on it. While getting gas tonight I spotted this one and I took the opportunity (takes a while for the tank to fill up and my bank account to drain) to grab a shot. I don't know what the hell it is but I think it's pretty nifty.

day 297: thai cooking

i love stumbling on to photos when i take different routes to or from work. this was from this morning on my way to the office. I walk by this restaurant often when it's open, never once when closed. I really like this and think it's super fun.


just a word on today's passings...
what a terrible reminder of how short life is to have the passing of two great cultural icons. no one is invincible, tomorrow isn't guaranteed and life is precious. rip Michael and Farrah.

day 296: puddles

evidence of this never ending rain is everywhere. mainly in garbage filled puddles and wet streets in general. snapped this shot near the my subway stop by work. kinda of liked how it came out, really shows how muddy and nasty NY has been lately. man, i can't wait for summer to finally get here......

Day 296: Holey tire, Batman!

So... this happened. Cars, repairs, tickets, flat tires... it's all such a pain in the ass. I love driving, don't get me wrong, but it's such a hassle to deal with all this crap. And expensive, too. I'll tell you though. Getting back in the car and driving home after it was replaced, I've never appreciated solid tires more. One of those things you don't even realize you take for granted.

Day 295 eats its Kix

Pinz is on my drive to and from work. It shares a parking lot with the Staples I frequent. This sign is new and it made me laugh so I thought I'd share. Witty, no?

Day 294 is alight with wonder

I've probably been to Disneyland 15 times in my life. Yesterday was the first Electrical Light Parade I'd ever seen. Shocking, I know. More shocking? It's been going on since the 70s! Who knew?? It's pretty spectacular and I'd highly recommend it. It's pretty difficult, however, to take pictures of moving lights in complete darkness. This shot isn't bad (and you get half of Mickey as a bonus) but it took several tries to get it even this close.

day 295: warning - adult content

someone decided the addition of this word was exactly what this wall needed. this is up for discussion.

gnight!

day 294: soho blue

love this picture! this is one of those clothing stores in soho where i swear they sell like 20 pieces of clothes total, you know you can't afford anything just by looking at it and there is never anyone really inside, save one or two lost shoppers. The security guard here is a nice guy though and smiles and waves at me everyday on my walk home. I was trying to take a picture of the scarce rack of clothes but caught the reflection of the buildings on the other side of the street in the meantime. came out pretty cool. and look guys, no rain!!

day 293: will it stay or will it go?

i'd like to use the symbolism in this picture to discuss the rain situation in new york. i'm calling it a situation because it's become unbearable and needs to be addressed. in the past 30 days, it's rained 24 of those days.

what is the problem here?! how am i supposed to sport my super cute new, perfect for summer gladiator flats if the elements are working against me?


so in this picture we have the "go" on the left. go for rain. on the right we have the "stop" hand. stop the rain and stop the freaking twilight zone of new york weather.

i'm leaning right here. that is all.

Day 29(3)

I think it's hilarious when people correct public signs. Improper grammar, bad spelling, false statements, etc. But this takes it to a whole new level. {lease note the palm tree as a size reference. This thing is massive. We're talking 5 or 6 stories high. Someone had to really care a whole lot to climb up there and make the change. Hats off to you, whoever you are.

Day 292 feels happ4

Sometimes the photo op just presents itself right on the corner of Hollywood and Gower.

day 292: U Like?

i've been talking about taking a picture of this place for a while. I guess its not a surprise to find a chinese food place with a strange, nonsensical name. This is no exception. The food is terrible and the workers are scary, so i plan on never eating here again, but the name makes me laugh every time... the quotes are the best part! "U" like?

day 291: rain with a chance of blue skies

though its been dreary and gross, yesterday there were promising patches of blue. It wasn't the sunny day I think all of new york is wishing for, but it would do just fine for me. I took the opportunity without rain to walk a bit around my old college stomping grounds to enjoy the night and see a movie. Getting off the train, I looked up on this. I've never taken a picture of it because i didn't want to be that touristy person. But from the bottom, looking up, it really is a cool site. And this pic came out pretty awesome, if i may say so myself!

Day 291 is awe-ful

This arrived today! Look at it sitting there all perfect and shiny. Now all the other DVDs have something to aspire to.

Day 290 votes for change.

Village Pizza is hilarious! They slay me with these signs!

Day 289 reflects back.

Sometimes I point my camera just anywhere or line up a shot at just anything and snap for a while. Trying to choose a favorite from the results is often harder than picking a photo that I've slaved over. I call these "happy accident" shots. Wednesday was one of those days. I have about 20 shots of my side mirror and I still can't pick the best one. I like this one because the scenes out the window and in both mirrors are nicely balanced. Also the two mirrors don't seem to be reflecting the same things which is pretty cool. Limiting myself to one photo per day is hard!

day 290: holy motherboard!

Today i got a peak into the inner workers of the imac. And boy, was it beautiful. Actually, as the whole thing was open, I remarked that the little boards looked like small cities. The way cities look from an airplane. Here's a shot of a motherboard town I like to call Chicago. And I like it a lot.

Note to all: never take apart an imac. it is scary. and many, many even scarier tools are involved in the process. There were parts held together with scotch tape. I never want to know this about my computers ever!

day 289: a classic scene

i went on another photo adventure today!!! definitely one of my fave things to do for work, just an hour or so to myself to take pictures around downtown. absolutely lovely. Today the weather could have been better, but it was not raining and not freezing cold so i can't really complain. One of the broad subjects I had to get pictures of was "little italy". I got some great shots, but this one was my fave and my pick for today. Something about this scene is so bizarre and yet, so perfectly okay. i really like it.

Day 288 is an oxymoron. Or is it?

If you counted up the number of trips I've made to Staples over the last year, I think you'd find that Encore Merchandise is keeping them afloat. The one on Sunset has this sticker on the door underneath a sensor that makes it look as though the door will open automatically. And maybe it did at some point. This is no longer the case. Props to the joker who corrected the sign.

Day 287 doesn't have a leg to stand on.

I spent a few hours with my parents yesterday at the San Diego Zoo. I'd been when I was very little but I barely remember it. If you've never been, book yourself a trip to the West Coast just for this. It's the most incredible zoo I've ever seen. We weren't able to figure out exactly how big the place is but suffice it to say the new Elephant Odyssey exhibit is 7.5 acres. This place is enormous. Our tour guide taught us all that "flock" is not the correct term to use for flamingos. They hang out in a "flamboyance". I took over a hundred pictures during the day but this one came out the best. I forgot how much I love the zoo.

day 288: the trash is fabulous

new york is a special place because there seems to be this rule, that anything beautiful can fit a little trash too. Trash on the ground, overfilled trash cans, and then of course this beauty.... right in front of cooper union in astor place. why? i hope the "fabulous" is sarcasm. Or maybe it's not, you never know.

anyway - this just seemed sooo new york to me. beauty, trash, and the city co-existing. perfect.

day 287: all the lonely people

don't know what to say about this picture. its a little loney and funny at the same time. on the one hand... umm, i think someone lost their shoes! on the other hand, what happened to this guy? Should we be concerned? I mean... I saw something, so should I have said something? oh well....

day 286: red light special

and for today's class - a view of the lincoln tunnel in traffic! Everytime I've ever gone through this tunnel I think of danger, darkness and very very small lanes. And being added to that list - cool red lights!

Day 286. Namaste.

We found this new sushi place, Kabuki, right near work. Amazing food, insanely low prices, incredible happy hour specials, half a block from the theatre. Plus the whole thing is decorated Asian temple-fusion-mod-Hollywood-chic-club-extravagance. It's weird and cool and we love it. This is hanging on the wall right inside the door and I think it's awesome. When I figure out what it actually is I'll let you know.

Day 285 gets back to nature

There was a hummingbird outside my window yesterday morning and in trying (unsuccessfully) to get a picture of it, I got this. It's strangely beautiful. I know it's a shot of nothing in particular but sometimes that's okay, right?

Day 284 284

Um, so this happened. I guess it's just a drive-thru with no actual restaurant. I think it's hilarious.

day 285: exotic food from far away lands

oh, whole foods. Remember the exotic ostrich egg from pho365 days past? (i'll have to add a link to that post later). Well, maybe this is just foreign to me but... chilled peach soup?? i don't think there's any fruit that I eat as a soup. Ugh. sorry for any who love this dish, just nothing about it sounded appetizing to me!

day 284: traveling long distances

back to MD! that's right, I'm back in MD for the weekend. please excuse lack of regular posting due to, per usual, lack of regular access to an internet connection. The weather has been so crappy lately, but on the drive from NY to MD, the clouds were moving and the sun was trying to shine through. It made for a pretty beautiful view for a lot of the drive down. Check out how snazzy the new jersey turnpike looks here!

Day 283 is a bargain-hunter

Virgin Megastore, as you all probably know, is going out of business. The stores in New York have been closed for while but the one on Hollywood here in LA is closing this weekend. Currently the entire store is marked down to 70% off. Imagine, if you will, Black Friday at Filene's Basement or Macy's but condensed down to half a store. I can't even describe the madness. I got some incredible deals on DVDs but it was a taxing two days of shopping. This is just one wall after the masses have clawed through it. Utter insanity.

day 283: random acts of inspiration

love this picture! remember yesterday - the awesome things in soho windows lesson? Look at this! There was no sign or anything outside this store, just these transparent human figures, all locked together lego style, with their colors mixing in with each other. Really very awesome actually. Tomorrow i'm gonna do some investigating and try to see what this is all about. I really liked how this particular shot came out (i took a bunch). enjoy!

Day 282 respects.

If you don't know who Yitzhak Rabin is you should. I remember his assassination as one of the first major events of my lifetime. Obviously I didn't understand the full importance in second grade but it was a big moment. Driving down Ventura today I noticed this sign while stopped at a light and I'm really happy it's there. He was a great man and will not soon be forgotten.

Day 281 is star-hunting

I just went to grab some coffee yesterday and I stumbled upon a full-on film shoot. I have no clue what they were working on or who the "stars" were but it was very intense. Their setup was rather complex as the restaurant they were using was still open to the public; so long as you didn't walk through the shot. I snapped this shot and happened to catch the cameraman yawning which is pretty funny. LA is so wacky!

Day 280 is the happeist post on earth

For those not in the know, I've been a Disney-going fiend the last few weeks. I got me a shiny new AP and now I can park hop for "free". This past Monday we finally did "It's a Small World" which I haven't been on since I was very little. It brought back a lot of memories of my grandpa who used to take us to the park. Annoying as that song is and as lame as you might think the ride is, it's still a classic and it holds a special place in my Disnoid heart. This is one of the few shots that actually came out well and I think it's pretty nifty. It is a small world, after all.

day 282: in the window

i really like the store windows of the little boutiques in soho. There's always the oddest or coolest stuff i've ever seen in them. I was trying to get my camera to focus on the "American" metal thing in the background and blur the bars, but alas.... camera 1, AVH 0.

day 281: strawberry fields?

it rained cats and dogs today!! I caught this shot bright and early this morning while it was still coming down hard. Perhaps some fellow new york, caught off guard by the intensity of the rain, dropped these (seriously delicious looking) strawberries onto the street. They looked soooo yummy! Would I have picked one up off the street to eat it? absolutely not. Did i think about it for half a second. .... maybe. (shh)

gnight!

day 280: leave your mark

took my camera out for another test run today. This time for just about 10 minutes while running to a printer. I really like how this shot came out, mostly because of what the buildings in the background add to the picture. This is really what my area of soho/chinatown feels like to me. I wish it had been a little bit of a sunnier day, but oh well.... can't win em all!

(ps. i know you can't really see a lot of detail in this small pic, but if you click the pics, they'll open up at full size and you can see the details better. enjoy!)

Day 279 likes change

New pizza place near the theatre! Much cheaper than our old one. We're always looking for good places to eat near work that don't cost the whole paycheck. Tonight was our test run and it's a hit! We walked in and found the sign above the counter that says "change is for customers only". Problem is, sitting on the counter was the entire contents of the cash register and no one guarding it. Confused, we wondered if we were allowed to take the change since we were customers. We're still laughing about it 6 hours later.

Day 278 is... um...

There's construction right near the theatre (seems to be a theme...) and one of the trucks had this spray painted on the back. We laughed about it all night and still couldn't figure it out. Bizarre and hilarious.

day 279: all my bags are packed

i went on a photography adventure in my neighborhood today. This very old looking suitcase inspired me to give my new camera a run and see what happened. It needs some work (i'm already eyeing a new and mightier lense) but I think it came out pretty cool.

goodnight all!

day 278: from inside out

despite the fairly nice weather yesterday, I decided to sleep for 14 hours and rest up all day. I stayed inside, leaving only for some groceries, coffee and laundry that had to be done. Just as the sun was about to go down, I snapped this picture. I'm realizing now this is a little 'peeping tom' of me, but totally not what i was going for!

Day 277 likes what it likes

Who's tired of beach pictures? No one!

day 277: the yellow side bar

okay, love this! This came out way different (and better) than I realized. The only thing actually in the window I was taking a picture of is the "Bar" on the side and the lights in the lower part of the picture. The building is across the street. They totally merge together and look like one composition. man, sometimes that iphone really comes through for me!

day 276: morning cup of joe

okay, first things first. I know this is kind of gross. Also, i certainly wasn't planning on this having been my picture for yesterday (sorry i'm late postin', ya'll!). I have this terrible habit of getting my morning coffee, which I always look forward to, taking a few sips then never finishing it. The last part is what I hate. I get too busy and pre-occupied to throw it away. all day. this is what my typical cup looks like after sittin neglected on my desk for 9 hours. 365 days and I was bound to share this on of them.

Day 276 goes glatt

Remember this? I found more at the same 7-11! D and I tried some weird cookie marshmallowy chocolate-vanilla thing tonight. It was pretty good but Parve, so I'll have to go back and look for actual Milchik chocolate. This city is awesome!