Yaddayaddayadda. :-)

Went to the bakery for my gratis coffee and donuts this morning:

The sicilian lady goes:

"What can I getta for you, Joey?"

Heh. Joey.

"Yah. You are a 'Joey'.. some people its not right to calla them 'Joseph'.."

I will love this Sicilian woman forever. :-)
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Me: I gotta go through everything, throw out all that I dont need. Even the the stuff I think I might need.
Her: Ooof. I hate packin'. Me anna mah daughta, the other night - she is a movin from her place, all night and morning, we hadda tha coffee, tha tea, the water.. all we drink, we donta eat nothin'. We donta have da time, we go through everything.. and we still no finish.
Me: Heh. I hear ya. I think Im gonna give away most of my books and throw out a lot of my clothes.. a lotta stuff I think I need, I dont.
Her: No. Dont do that. You never know when you needa the books. Plus, they expensive. You, you keep d'ose, find some place to keep them.

*nod* She's right. Common sense. But, if there is any doubt, Im tossing it.

I wish to travel very light.
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Hopefully, I didnt miss anyone. But .. if you dont get at least an e-card from me, just know this:

To all, I wish joy, warmth and love for the holidays and throughout the next year.

I havent forgotten.
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Horrorscope...

If you want to master your destiny, then discipline and organization are mandatory. Make no plan without an alternative backup. Consider every trajectory and prepare to make whatever adjustments become necessary. Add flexibility and a sense of humor. A new attitude invites a kind of nirvana.

True dat.

Random randoms:
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I once mentioned to Maria of all the possessions I need to move around with me (very few items), one is a gong in a polished wood stand Id gotten as a thank you from a client..

She goes: "A gong! How random!"

Heh. Which is why I do these random things...
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Why doesnt New York seem to have a Hawaiian restaurant joint? Or at least one that serves Hawaiian staples?

(Mars and Sun keep rambling on about not being able to get Hawaiian breakfasts of Portugese sausage, rice and eggs on the mainland....)

Although I personally think Chicago is a better restaurant town, it amazes me that in a city of people from 169 countries and seemingly just as wide a variety of restaurants, you cant find a Hawaiian joint. Not a one.

Sun observes:
<< For some reason mainlanders think anything with "pineapple" in it is Hawaiian. >>

Um, I never did. But then again, Ive never been.

Mars retorts:
<< portugese sausage, eggs, and rice! that's my idea of a local hawaiian breakfast. Maybe substitute spam for the sausage and i'd still be happy. THAT's what i was missing when i was up in cali. I could've used that Denny's many a time if i had known about it JP! =)

And Sun...i totally agree with you about the pineapple = hawaiian thing. How retarded is that? Pineapples aren't even indigenous to this stupid island. haha. joke's on them. >>

Hehehe.

But, umm.. Spam is a Hawaiian delicacy/staple? FRIED Spam???

Hmmm. Mebbe there's a reason there isnt a Hawaiian joint in Gotham... *cough* :-)

I dont even know what Portuguese sausage is, but the thought of it is makin' me hungry now.

Unless thats just a euphemism for Spam in a roll....
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Philosophical ruminations Dept:

Heh. Now I know for sure God has a sense of humor.

For the first time in decades, I am reading books voraciously, even if the motives are profit and lifestyle oriented.

Puts me in poverty so that'll I'll go back to the basics. Bahstid. :-)

"I feel like Im on track" is only the start of the process.

When you DO find direction, it doesnt get any easier bubkas.

Now I am playing "Connect the dots" in the trying to solve the mystery of life. Hence the reading.

I know I'll be going "DOH!! That was so obvious!" later on in the process, but for now - I am going from Rand to Warhol to Leger to Lichtenstein, and nodding my head as I connect the dots on this path.

Its not about art, not just about business, not just about dreams.. and yet it is.

The point isnt evident yet, but I think Ive asked some of the right questions.

To paraphrase what I read in a book by Cliff Hollenbeck..

"A little bit of education and a little bit of experience will get you a complete life."

Yes indeedy.

It aint that simple, and yet it is.

Out of the blue, much thanks, much appreciated, George .

"Limited means beget new forms, invite creation, make the style."
- Cahier de Georges Braque

He was speaking primarily of art and creativity, but the axiom applies in so many other ways.

Then again - the process is wearing against my pride.

*growl* "Chappin' mah grits."

Heh. So to speak.
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Folk have been throwing nice breezes at me for showing some of the old pix..

I had forgotten that some folk hadnt seen 'em from the Pennants Pages dayz.

Here are a few more... and thanks. :-)


Jan 2000 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn.
For awhile, I was fascinated in trying to convey the subway experience.

For tourists, the surprise is the extreme in temps and smells. And crowds.

But like everything, the best I can do - is try to show the energy, with the confluence of people and machine.

March2000
Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall Subway Station


March2000
Bowling Green


November 99 Times Square.
Walking down Broadway in Times Square, I was taking pictures of folk pointing out the MTV studios. Then I noticed people were pointing the other way.

Only in Times Square would you not notice a 4-alarm blaze a block away.

I like this one for that and other reasons....


November 99.
Stuck in morning traffic on the West Side Highway, crawling by the Battery Park/WTC complex.

I stuck my head out of the back of the cab, looked up and snapped off a couple.

The moire pattern on the buildings I hate, but I guess that can be fixed in Photoshop....

October 99
Chelsea Piers, looking from the roof of the building at the corner of 20th and West Side Highway.

I saw God and everything when the clouds uncovered the sun rays, hadda catch it.


March 2000
A familiar viewpoint, from the back of a cab.

Lord, I took far too many cabs. Wasted *far* too much money.

Took me years to clock onto the fact that its usually faster to walk or whip out the Metrocard...

Same cab, 2 blocks... 20 $&%^&$# minutes later


Feb 2000.
47th Street N&R station

This piece of art was gone a few days later. New York changes almost daily, although it feels unchanging....
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Feeling restless yesterday morn, so I jumped on the light rail to Exchange Place for some pictures...

Cant upload 'em until I access a USB port and hi-speed net link.

But, it was sweet. Cold and clear makes for a beautiful sunrise over New York.

Very nice pictures. Shit, I could sell most of them.

The pictures are the kind that Cyn likes so much.

*sigh* Sans the WTC, of course.

I look over the PATH station that was the last/first stop to go under the river into NY and the WTC. Its all fenced off and empty now. Sad.

Even sadder, was that at 7am - I was the ONLY person out there. There was no one else.
Even with the cold and a Sunday morn, there are usually people all around, even at its most deserted, no matter the day or night.
The waterfront park is even starting to look run-down and dirty, with graffitti appearing on the signs. With the view diminshed and the subway station closed, its as if there isnt as much reason to be out there anymore.

Still, it was a great view.

Heh.. lemme take back that no one being out there. Halfway into my picture taking session - as pigeons were swirling around me looking to be fed, I noticed from the corner of my eye a Port Authority cop car pulls up behind, watching me. (They thought I wouldnt see 'em... even with glasses, I have excellent peripheral vision).

I pretended not to notice and kept trying to get shots of the pigeons, while catching the sunrise and skyline in the same frame.

They took off after a few minutes. Just doing their jobs.

Looks like there are a lot more cameras out there keeping watch over the waterfront.
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Looking back thru some of my old pics, reminded of all those careless pics I took last year....


Last December from the Gap store at the WTC concourse


Sometime late summer of 2000. I felt compelled to capture it this scene of them playing under the WTC...


Pulling into the ferry terminal in lower manhattan, the buildings, that before seemed scale-sized while out on the water, just *rise* up at you the closer you get.

I can never get used to the feeling.


Summer 2000. Who knew this would be a time-stamped shot....


Aug 2000. A poster for the School of Visual Arts. Canal Street A train station.

Back then, I was slightly horrified that they had this poster out.

Now I want one.


Heh. This was the July 4th of 2000, afterwards down in Brooklyn's Borough Hall subway station. It was hot and steamy down in them tubes.

I showed the guys the pictures. They loved 'em. :-)


Union Square, June 2000.
I caught the flash of bright yellow out the corner of my eye, held out my arm and snapped, hoping Id catch SOMETHING.

This is one of my favorite pics.


I HAD to take this picture. I HAD to take this picture. I HAD to take this picture.

*sigh* Summer in NY.


A meat store on Canal Street. Hope its still there.

Man, I miss wandering Chinatown.

Waaaaitaminnit.. is that *OCTOPUS* in the guys hand???




Pellegino's on MulberryStreet in Little Italy. Oooh. I SO miss eating out. :-(

The Hong Kee (thats the name, I swear) soy shop on the corner of Canal and Broadway.


Until Cyn turned me onto this place as well as soy, not fer nuthin, I wouldna touched soy anything.

Yum, fried soy noodles.. :-)

I should do more "blast from the past" pics.. :-). These remind me that I need to keep taking these pictures...

Cant stop.

Today's horrorscope:

Strength of purpose helps you through some tough challenges. Take time out to meditate and plan for the future. An optimistic attitude and a fresh perspective help you make new gains in your love life and career. Keep it up!

Using all the imspirational quotes I can get... :-)

Sidebar: My astrological quotes arent always the ones for Virgo.
See, I have a home-brewed system (Virgo/Cancer/Taurus/Aquarius) for reading this schtuff that works for me, so the 'quote' may not neccesarily apply to other Virgo's.
'K?
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The hardest thing to see, is what is in front of your eyes.
- Goethe

On one hand:

I would like stay where I am and enjoy the low rent and quiet suburbs.

On the other:

I wouldnt mind going back to New York or close to it.

Catch 22..

if I had the money to move, Id pay my landlord.

Gah.

Why do I get the feeling that the answers are right in front of me, as usual??

Then again, the voice in my head keeps saying.. "be patient".

Gah.
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