Thursday, September 25, 2008

No Pretty Pictures - Just Politics

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I've signed up to monitor the debates between the Presidential candidates, starting Friday. Then again...there may not be one on Friday; McCain's too busy saving the country from financial ruin. If there is one, I hope the questions are not like the one on Katie Couric's interview...."What's your favorite movie?"...oh, yeah, that's insightful! How about "What impact did deregulation have on the collapse of Wall Street firms"?

Here's a thought? If the Friday debate is postponed, is it possible that given the time frame, the debate between the Vice Presidential candidates will be eliminated?
Hmmm...could David Letterman be right? When hero McCain canceled his appearance on the Letterman show last night, was he afraid to send in his team mate to sub for him? I guess some things are scarier than being in a Vietnam prison camp, such as Sarah the VP candidate who is to be seen but not heard! Perhaps now that she has spent time sitting across from some heads of state of foreign countries (in addition to seeing Russia from home) she can share with us her informed knowledge of foreign policy.


I find it most interesting that it's not the talking heads nor the political analysts who really get it...it's the comedians...Saturday Night Live, David Letterman, and yes, Paris Hilton!

But there's nothing funny about the bailout that will cost every man, woman and child in the US $3600. Where's our share of the obscene salaries and million-dollar golden parachutes? Can those who've lost their homes apply it towards a month in a mansion in the Hamptons? How come the taxpayers only get to share the losses and not the profits?

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Warholized Rose


Warholized Rose
Originally uploaded by bellearielparis
Just playing with a photo of a rose in bloom in September.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Photos from Philly


Went on a Newark Museum day trip to Philadelphia, focusing on the African American presence from the 18th-20th centuries. Since most of our time was spent on a bus-riding tour, there were few opportunities for "artistic" photography. Either we were on the bus, or walking to or from a historic site, with just a few minutes to catch a photo...at least that's my excuse. By the time we got to our last destination...a soul food dinner at Patterson's Palace in North Philadelphia, I was too tired to even think about taking pictures. The bus had tinted windows, so there are some reflections in the photos I took from the moving bus. It was a long day...from 7:15 am to 8:00 pm. Philadelphia's a great "walking around" city. Maybe some day I'll take a train in and spend a weekend doing just that.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Liberty Hall Grounds - Kean University

Thomy wanted to take an advance look at the facility for a Tea to be held at the Livingson/Kean mansion. We went out late Saturday afternoon. The Carriage House is interesting, but the condition of the flowers in the Rose Garden was amazing. Not a black spot, a beetle bite, nor a mildewed leaf in sight. The straw sculpture horse on the porch of the Vistors' Reception building was fun. This might be a fun stop to add to a Newark Museum local NJ day trip, including Tea on the Mansion Porch.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Hey...I Did It First!


Caught a segment of today's "Sunday Morning" and guess what? The photo portion of the piece was all about the reflections in the Jeff Koons' sculptures on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum. OK, so it was a video, and they got to interview Jeff Koons, but I did my photo series first. It was a beautiful blue sky New York City kind of day, and well...see for yourself!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

More - Only in New York!

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Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Sunday with Susan

Met Susan at Penn Station at noon and had a fun day...walking, talking, "Stomping" and eating! We took the subway down to 14th St & First Avenue, and walked for a couple of hours. I shared with her the places where her Mom and I lived, went to school, played in Tompkins Square Park, and the churches we were married in. And later, the apartments where my husband and I lived and the neighborhood restaurants we ate in. It was fun to have refreshing lemon ices from the same old Italian pastry shop that I remembered from 60 years ago! I didn't have the heart to ask...I know in the old days the lemon flavor came from freshly squeezed lemons..wonder if it's now made with lemon "flavor." The coarsely crunchy texture seemed the same, and the shop had that same almondy aroma, tiled floors, and bakery cases of Italian cookies and pastries.
Lanza's is still an Italian restaurant, but part of a chain. They did keep the stained glass "Lanza" over the front entrance, but not the wooden screen in the rear that shielded the table for "special customers."

Our old grade school, P.S. 122 is now an off-broadway performance space, and the facade is crumbling, with scaffolding and lots of graffiti.

Susan noticed the beautiful architectural details on the facade of 115 St. Marks Place, where Ann & I both lived until we got married. That's what women did in the "olden" days...you lived at home until you married. No "bachelor" pads for girls back then. As a kid, I just went in the front door and climbed the four flights to our "railroad apartment" and never noticed how pretty this Eastside tenement building was. St. Stanislaus' Church looks to be in great shape, but St. Bridget's has lost its steeple and is boarded up, hopefully for restoration.

I couldn't point out the old Polish National Home (later known as Andy Warhol's disco club called "The Dom"). I'm sure it's still there, but they may have altered the facade so much I didn't recognize it. We stopped for lemonade before the show...lots of New Yorkers sharing brunch with their dogs. A huge Bassett hound who couldn't decide if he wanted to carry his bagel or not, was really funny.

"Stomp" was very loud and very creative. It's amazing the things that can be used to create musical beats....cigarette lighters, empty water cooler jugs, newspapers, kitchen sinks, etc. The troupe of 8 performed for two hours, without a break. It's understandable why the show has been running for more than 10 years. The theater is small and so our seats in the 6th row Orchestra were really good.

We had some time to kill before dinner at "Apiary" so we did some more walking...from Union Square to 5th Street and back.

We had an early dinner reservation for 5:30 p.m. so Susan could get home at a reasonable hour. Nobody has dinner that early, so for more than an hour we had the place to ourselves. Well, of course, service was outstanding! The menu is quite small, but there is something for everyone...fish, pork, steak, chicken. It was the interesting combinations of ingredients that made the dishes delicious and pretty to look at. By the time we were ready to leave around 7:30 p.m. the place had filled up and the noise level had risen quite a bit. It was then back on the subway at Union Square to Penn Station; Susan for LIRR; NJT for me. I got home before 10:00 p.m.; Susan before 11:00 p.m.

Unusual for this blog...I brought my camera, but we were so busy walking and talking, and the streets were so crowded...a beautiful sunny afternoon in New York City would be....that I never snapped a shot. I plan to go back some weekday in the Fall, and take pictures of all our old haunts, but I didn't want to include all those tourists with their cameras.

Without photos, this is probably not a very interesting blog, but for me, a way to record my day in the city with Susan.

When I got home, I had a message from a former neighbor who was visiting from Florida, and wanted to spend Monday in NYC....oh, no....I'm getting too old for this! But we made plans to meet at a reasonable hour...11:00 a.m., so that gave me enough "recovery" time.

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Only in New York City

You never know what you'll find in Union Square Park...clean energy protesters, homeless folks drying laundry, and naked ladies taking a stroll! Okay, they're just plastic blow-ups, but it made for an interesting photo.

Friday, September 05, 2008

Strange Fruit - Even Stranger

Just playing around with Warholizing on dumpr.net

Performer with the Australian Acrobatic Dance Group "Strange Fruit"

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Fall in the Air!

In the garden the flowers are gone to seed, and the hydrangeas turn a beautiful brown.




In the markets...juicy New Jersey peaches and luscious California nectarines in glorious shades of red and gold.

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