what about the plastic animals?

Details have been logged

I guess I won't be checking that email account anytime soon.

Honey Bee

Another image plucked out of the iPhoto drawer at random.

It is sad to say but I've worked at least a couple hours each day on this week "off".  There was paperwork I wanted to shuffle last Friday, but that was snowed out.  That necessitated a Monday morning office visit.  Every day since there's been something that I've had to do.  I'm about to wrap up the last bit of work and then I'm not accessing my work email for a week.

On the plus side I've managed to reduce the unread book pile and Netflix queue by three each.  I also visited the Rubin Museum of Art.  The Rubin is a newish museum dedicated to Himalayan art.  I learned that Himalayan art is not my cup of tea.  Oh, the art was great, but there was way too much going on in the paintings and tapestries for me to make much sense of it.  I knew I was in trouble in the Introduction to Himalayan Art gallery when I read that some works had five deities that took on four appearances each within a single piece.  To see something more to my liking tomorrow may be a gray day, while Monday is looking more colorful.

Movies on Mission

Tower Theater

Cine Latino

El Capitan

This has taken me forever to put up but there are a half-dozen grand old movie theaters along Mission Ave in the Mission District of San Francisco.  I passed by them a couple of times while searching for burritos.  All the theaters are closed.  The auditorium of the El Capitan was demolished in 1964.  The Cine Latino and Tower Theaters both opened in the 1910s.  The Tower is for sale for less than $2.4 million!

After the snow on Friday there was one set of cross country ski tracks in Central Park.  By the time I walked through the park it had started to rain.  I was wearing a down coat and didn't much notice the rain until I got to a restaurant and realized that I smelled like wet feathers.  No wonder service was speedy!

There hasn't been much snow this winter.  The six inches that fell on Friday more than doubled the snowfall total for the season. 

One of the photos above is highly modified.

Moldy Oscars

Even though Juno stars a Canadian actress and the Juno Awards are the Canadian equivalent of the Emmys, the movie itself wasn't nominated for a best original score or song Oscar.  The Juno soundtrack features a number of songs by Kimya Dawson, formerly of the Moldy Peaches.  I had the good fortune of seeing the Moldy Peaches way back in 2000 and managed to get an advanced copy of their only CD.

One song that is nominated for an Oscar is "Raise it Up" from August Rush, a movie I've never heard about.  The music and lyrics for the song are by Jamal Joseph, former Black Panther, current Columbia professor and someone whom I often see in the neighborhood.

Speaking of artistic endeavors, Erica used an old photo of mine to make a pretty scrapbook collage.

Happy Birthday George!

George Washington is turning 276 years young today.  In this 1856 bronze by Henry Kirke Brown the Father of our Country sits upon his steady steed Trigger in Union Square.  Brown chose to commemorate the moment, November 25, 1783 and location, 14th and Broadway, when Washington officially reclaimed the city from the British.  Today he is seen gesturing toward the Whole Foods Market across the street, hoping a kind, patriotic soul would run in and get him take-out organic spiced tofu garam masala for lunch.

Peeling

It is almost vacation time.  Unlike the past couple of years, no trips to the Midwest are planned.  No trips at all are planned.  The next two weeks are going to be all about fabulous New York City.   If it can't be reached by mass transit it's not worth visiting!  There may be more activity here, there might be less.

Westside Stone and Marble

I don't know if I've ever seen this business under the Henry Hudson Parkway at 125th St. open.  I do enjoy the artwork on their grates.  In addition to the guys above, a very faded Fred and Wilma Flinstone are around the corner.  For any geographers and geologists reading this, yes, that is an erupting volcano with a huge river flowing out of its side in the background.

Signs of Spring

The daffodils are slowly beginning to emerge in Morningside Park.  The snow drops are in bloom as well.  Spring can't be too far away.

John T. Brush Stairway update:  The City Room blog at the New York Times wrote about the same Polo Grounds stairway that I presented here last week.

Archstone

This building, which is called the Archstone, has no archstone.  I feel like I am not understanding something.