Dessert Truck

About a week ago, my friend Chia-Yu came to town with her mom. She had two pieces that she composed performed at Carnegie Hall. We went out to dinner along with Liu and Meggie in the East Village. And guess what we found for dessert? The Dessert Truck that Jillian and I were looking for about a year ago. Hooray! (I highly recommend it.)

Goat Milk Ice Cream

G really loves goat milk. When I was at Whole Foods the other night, I was tempted to have something sweet. I picked up a pint of La Loo's Chocolate Goat Milk ice cream. A pint is alot, and my eyes are way bigger than my stomach and sweet tooth. It was perfectly rich and creamy, and you could definitely taste the goat milk, which I liked.



I ended up ordering a cup of coffee so I could dunk scoopfuls of ice cream in and finish it off. (Very brilliant idea because it's amazing this way!)

We Americans

Last Friday at Union Square, there was a big flag some people spread out amongst the crowd. It reminded me that this is the time for unity as Americans and change, no matter how you vote. The debates will be on tonight at 9pm on PBS. I hope you will be watching with me.

Stroll through the old neighborhood

I grew up in Corona, Queens. On Saturday, armed with a new camera for testing, I headed over to to my old stomping grounds. Corona was traditionally an Italian neighborhood, where you can get Italian Ice from Lemon Ice King og Corona and stroll to Flushing Meadow Corona Park. Today it is a diverse neighborhood with a heavy Latin American population.

My first stop was Empanadas del Parque, my favorite emapanada joint. Empanadas are little fried dumplings with filling. It can be savory or sweet, wrapped in corn or white flour dough, or anything else for that matter. Empanadas del Parque has an organic whole grains version. I wish this place was around when I was growing up, but then again, I would have spent every penny I had on a little empanada. Here's a photo of some empanadas from Empanadas del Parque, served with their special cilantro, avocado, and garlic sauce, which I can never get enough of. My favorite is the shrimp in corn flour.



I also ordered one of their homemade icepops in rice pudding. Rich and creamy dessert on a stick!



Here's the Unisphere in all it's glory. Most of you will recognize it from Men In Black.



And Just before I left the park, I had some mangoes in hot sauce, lime juice and salt!

Reunion

Can't wait to see who shows up at this one. It seems like I'm contantly going to reunions right? (I've actually never been to a HS or College one.)

Old Friends

Maggie is in town so she invited all the girls for a mini reunion. We had brunch at Orange Cafe, on the LES. I ordered this amazingly tasty tuna on ciabatta sandwich and we all shared some dessert.

Following the Chinese food trail

My friend Teresa recently sent me this NYTimes article about finding Beijing in Flushing. Flushing is an area in Queens, New York that has long been a second Chinatown in NYC. This article highlighted a bunch of places I had never heard of and some food I was not familiar with. With my friend Liu in town, we ventured forth with our appetites.

There is a download-able map from the NYTimes article. We tried the Dan Dan noodles at Golden Mall (no.9) and their version of the wontons in hot sauce. Both really good and spicy (food is from Sichuan and the peppers they use are of the numbing variety). I really wanted to try no. 13 but Shi Hong Mall was closed for renovation so we headed back to Golden Mall. We picked no. 11 from the list and proceeded to order dumplings (10 for $2) and a bowl of vegetable handmade noodles. The texture of the dumpling skin and the noodles were perfect. The dumplings were perfectly juicy as well. (This is coming from someone who avoids dumplings for fear of having a bad one.) The stall across from no. 11 sold Xi'an lamb sandwiches with cumin and red onions. ($2.50 for one.) I really liked this as well (not too much meat, which was perfect for me, and lots of cumin.) For dessert we hit up no. 1 on the list, a huge bowl of red bean ice for $3.75 big enough for four people. It wasn't anything special but did quench my thirst and put a sweet taste in my mouth.


This is Liu eating his third dinner. I did not partake in this meal.


Red bean over shaved ice.

The Lightship Frying Pan

Anna just told me about the Lightship Frying Pan, a decommissioned lightship docked in the Hudson River, next to Chelsea that has a restaurant. It sounded interesting and since I had planned a day of gallery hopping with friends, we decided to check it out when we finished our rounds. It was a great suggestion! We totally dug it and had a ton of fun. The food is on the pricey side but you can't go wrong with the hot dog that's under $3 (I unfortunately don't do hot dogs), the old bay garlic fries ($3.29 for a large portion), or the pizzas ($8.50-$11). The views are amazing and it's child friendly.

Jane Tam

welcome home Jane Tam

Nymphoto's own Jane Tam is participating in a two part group show. Part I opens tonight! (too bad I will be out of town.)

Hun Gallery: The Circular Exhibition: Term I
http://hungallery.org
Aug. 22. 2008- Aug. 28. 2008
Opening Reception- Aug. 22. 2008 (6pm-8pm)
12 West 32nd street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10001

The exhibition will then travel to Seoul, Korea and be exhibited at:

Gallery Ho: The Circular Exhibition: Term II
http://galleryho.com/
Sep. 11. 2008 – Sep. 20. 2008
Opening Reception- Sep. 11. 2008 (6pm-8pm)
Seocho Dong 1538-4,
Seocho Gu, Seoul, Korea


can i come home with you? Jane Tam


can i come home with you? Jane Tam

Eminent Domain at the 42nd and Fifth

There is one week (closes August 29) left to see the New York Public Library's Eminent Domain show curated by Stephen C. Pinson. The artists participating in the show are Thomas Holton, Bettina Johae, Reiner Leist, Zoe Leonard, Ethan Levitas, and Glenn Ligon. I thought it was a well curated show and well worth the time.

These words that were part of Glenn Ligon's piece really resonated with me. "I was born here in New York, and like many other New Yorkers lack imagination: the idea of living somewhere else has never occurred to me. Indeed, to live in New York is to have lived everywhere."

Hidemi Takagi on Nymphoto

Nigeria from "blender" copyright Hidemi Takagi

I forgot to post here that I put up a coversation with Hidemi Takagi on the Nymphoto blog last Friday.

Momma's Man

copyright Nina Buesing

Nina has blogged about her friend Aza several times. He is Azazel Jacobs, director of Momma's Man. The movie tells the story of a man, Mikey, who when stranded in NY amidst airline cancellations, decides to stay put in his parents' Tribeca loft. The loft is Jacob's family loft where his parents live and is a gem of a set. His parents play Mikey's parents in the movie. As the stay progresses, he starts digging through old boxes of memories and becomes entangled with the past and no longer wants to leave, or return to his wife and child in LA. This article in the NYTimes is a good read and features Nina's photo of Aza. I went to BAM last Friday to catch the movie in the midst of the thunderstorm. I have to say that it was well worth it and Flo Jacobs was amazing in the movie. Go catch it at Angelika, starting this Friday.

Hot air balloon ride above Central Park

You can now take a 10 min. hot air balloon ride 300 feet above Central Park. For more info read this. (Through Aug. 22)

Garden inspirations

I went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens two weekends ago. It was inspired by my visit to the Huntington Gardens in California (that will be another post, sorry I'm working backwards!) Here are some images that I wanted to share.


I love this texture!


These look like fluttering butterflies.


The color on this baby was so intense.


Airplant


Papyrus


Dessert room


I had no idea this is what vanilla beans looked like.


Succulant that looks like dragon scales.


Burro's tale (I really really want some of this stuff).


And of course I arrived starving and had somegazpacho with a mozarella sandwich.


After all the walking around, I worked up another appetite and downed this farmer's market olive and fennel focaccia bread. (From the Saturday farmer's market at Grand Army Plaza.)

Neti Neti

The Secret Michael Buhler-Rose

Michael Buhler-Rose sent me some info about Neti Neti, a group show he's in at Bose Pacia.

"Coming from the Advaita Vedanta branch of Hindu philosophy, Neti-Neti means "not this, not this" or "neither this, nor that." Artistic practice today seems to comfortably inhabit many interstitial grey areas in terms of content, forms, materials, techniques and cultural identities. Artists are attracted to subjects and ideas from all over the world, with scant regard to provenance or pedigree. Life is, ideally, multi-layered and confounding, full of cross-referencing as well as overlapping concerns. Cultural indeterminacy has become a preferred language and attitude, the most appropriate response for both the inhabitants of cyber-space and the polyphonic community of creative travelers."

Neti Neti (Not This, Not This)
a group exhibition curated by Peter Nagy
July 8 - August 16, 2008
Bose Pacia
508 West 26th St, 11th FL
New York, NY 10001

Fishnet bowl

I saw a fishnet bowl that I really liked while thrift shopping in Vegas. I didn't buy it because the design was faded on the inside, and I was sure I could get something similar in Chinatown. It also had a hefty $6 price tag. While surfing the net I found the same one- voila! And for the bargain price of $2.95 at Pearl River plus some other nice patterns.

(images from Pearl River)

Hee Jin Kang and The Insistent Object

Sandy's Deli (receipts) Hee Jin Kang

A Conversation with Hee Jin Kang that I have been working on for the Nymphoto blog just posted this morning. Have a read. I really like her work, it's making me think of still-lifes.

Just came across the 1987 catalog for The Insistent Object, a show of Black and White still-lifes at the Frankel Gallery in SF featuring works by Fox Talbot, Arbus, Watkins, Muybridge, etc. Beautiful.

Benefit Edition for the Lams of Ludlow Street

One of the most interesting shows I've seen this year has to have been Thomas Holton's Lams of Ludlow Street at the Sasha Wolf Gallery.

I found out from Nina's Lams of Ludlow post yesterday about the situation with the Lam famliy. The details are here from a post on What's the Jackonory?

"As you may or may not know, I photographed a Chinese family from 2002-2005 for a project called 'The Lams of Ludlow Street'. Beyond the remarkable publicity the work has gotten the past year or so, the Lams mean so much more tome than any professional accomplishments. I learned a lot about myself both personally and creatively and see the Lams as family. On Tuesday, June 14th, there was an electrical fire in the walls and the stairwell and the roof of their building on Ludlow Street caught on fire. The family made it out of the building via the fire escape and are now safe and sound, if not a little shaken up. The fire was caught early but their apartment, the 5th floor and the roof took a lot of structural,water and smoke damage. The space is not completely destroyed but the building is currently closed for inspection and the Lams are in a Red Cross secured apartment on West 129th street. The next step is between the landlord and the NYC Building Inspectors as they assess the building to see if its needs to be completely rebuilt or if only the5th floor apartments and roof should be repaired. This is not a new building and this will probably takes years judging by how long these things seem to take. In the meantime, The Lams have this Red Cross space for only six months before they need to find a new home for themselves.

Regardless of what happens with the Ludlow Street building, the likelihood that they will ever live there again is pretty small since they will need a new home soon and perhaps permanently. I am contacting you today to let you know that I will be selling a limited 'benefit' edition print of the project with all the proceeds going to the Lams as they rebuild their lives. The print will be a color 11x14 C-Print for $175 for one with discount rates increasing as the number of prints bought increases. Please contact me directly at thomas@thomasholton.com or call to buy some prints the help the Lams."

Take a look at Thomas' site and email him directly thomas@thomasholton.com.

(photo from Thomas' site)

In Our Dreams opens tonight!

This is a bit last minute but for those of you who can make it, check out the In Our Dreams show at Sasha Wolf Gallery opening tonight from 6-8pm. I won't be able to make it but have a really good reason why (I'm dogsitting for Lulu!)



(image from Sasha Wolf Gallery)

How to get the best views of the Waterfalls

You've heard about the waterfalls designed by Olafur Eliasson that are now happpening around lower Manhattan, right? Well I rounded up some tips for viewing them.

The Gothamist has a list of where the best sites are for viewing (yes, they've actually done the job for me.)
The Circle Line has a 30 min. Waterfall Tour that you can catch from the South St. Seaport.
Or, you can always hire a water taxi to check out the sites.

The details:
June 26- October 13, 2008
Daily 7am-10pm, except Tues. and Thurs. 9am-10pm
The New York City Waterfalls will be lit after sunset

Perforated

I picked up these super soft new shoes at a stoop sale in the West Village for a bargain. I'm wearing them today- so far, so good.

Saturday review

On Saturday morning while I was waiting on Fulton Landing for my companions to come, I decided to read a magazine to pass the time. It was about 10AM. 5 minutes passed and I realized that something gross was happening. . . The magazine was melting on my lap! Gross! It was the first day of the heat wave in NY, I had tons of sunblock on, and then some magazine goo on top of that. Well, the rest of the day turned out fantastic, and I'm glad I got to hang with my two favorite little girls, Camille and Juiszelle.

Here's a shot of the telectroscope against the Brooklyn Bridge.



The David Byrne Installation downtown.



We ended up having lunch on Stone St, which had a bunch of cute restaurants and outdoor seating areas on a cobblestone street.



My super fun companions.



(As a bonus, we also walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.)

Happenings around town

There are two installation pieces up right now that I'd like to see.



The David Byrne Installation seems really cool. (via Shane.)

And Nina intrigued me with her mention of the telectroscope on the Brooklyn waterfront that is ending June 15th.

And don't forget, the waterfalls are coming!

"The New York City Waterfalls, a major new work of public art by internationally acclaimed artist Olafur Eliasson, will be on view in New York's East River from June 26th through October 13th 2008. Commissioned by Public Art Fund, the project consists of four monumental, man-made waterfalls temporarily installed at sites along the waterfront in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Governors Island: one on the Brooklyn anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge, one between Piers 4 and 5 below the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, one in Lower Manhattan at Pier 35 north of the Manhattan Bridge, and one on the north shore of Governors Island. The 90- to 120-foot-tall Waterfalls are erected on the shoreline and have been designed to protect water quality and aquatic life. They will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, and will be lit after sunset."

(image from Creative Time)

My veggies are coming!

I'm super duper excited that my very first farmshare of veggies from farmspot is coming tomorrow! Greens all weekend. I have to start planning my salads out.

Sources of inspiration

This is the state I found my sister's car in on Friday morning whaen I went to move the car. It was parked across the street from my building, near a corner.



Needless to say, the whole day was spent with my sister filling out police forms and getting the car to a place for inspection and repair work. She was amazingly graceful about the whole incident. It totally drained me out. While standing around on the corner and waiting for the police to show up, I looked up toward our building and noticed that our 4th floor neighbors had window boxes in three of their windows. I had been meaning to get basil plants for the summer, so on Saturday, I went to home depot and got some planters and basil plants and potted them. My Home Depot was out of all of their window boxes so I ended up buying three ceramic ones and wired them to the window sill for safety.



I'm so glad I got these babies. Everytime I look out the window, I see a bit of green and smile.


I also got a nice aloe plant for my bedroom.

Ess-a-bagel in an outdoor garden

For our last meal together, Daf and I got some bagels from ess-a-bagel and went to the public space on 51st St. off 3rd. Ave. There was a nice waterfall and lots of shade in which to enjoy our breakfast. Not a bad way for her to end a trip to New York.

Olafur Eliasson at MoMA and PS 1

On Friday nights at MoMA, it is free to get in. If you don't show up right at 4:45pm, you can walk right in instead of waiting on line. It's a good way to enjoy an entertaining evening in NYC. I checked out the Eliasson show there and went to PS 1 on Saturday (free admission). Don't miss out on seeing his work, his work is quite fun and I'm glad to have the second chance to see it after SF MoMA.


This first piece is not Eliasson's, it's on the first floor (right on the floor!), before the entrance to the garden.


The lights were yellow, and it made everything turn into b&w.


Daf being silly, well, me too!




Moss.

Weekend with Daphne

I spent the weekend hanging out with Daphne. We walked around Dumbo, saw masses of people taking in the New York Photo Festival. Instead, we took in some good pizza and ice cream before walking over the Brooklyn Bridge.



We went to the New Museum on Sunday. The top floor was pretty cool (we couldn't go out on the deck because of the rain). I was a bit disappointed by the shows. We walked through in about an hour.








(last photos from my now retired canon point and shoot)

Hable sale this week

Hable Construction is having a sample sale this week on the LES. Find all details here.

(photo of my favorite bead fabric on a nice canvas bag via Hable Construction)

Relax time

Yesterday when I walked through the park in the morning, the tulips were closed, by afternoon, they were wide open. It's SPRING!!! Because of the good weather and Passover, hordes of families and dogs are romping around the park this week. After work today, I plan on spending some relax time just hanging out on the big lawn before heading to Fairway to grab some weekend groceries.

Last night I watched Jane Campion's An Angel at my Table, the biography of New Zealand poet Janet Frame. Does anyone know her work? I'd like to start reading it, where should I start?

Happy Earth Day!

I heard that it's nice outside (I work in the dark with no access to a window). I had a good walk into work this morning and will have another one on my way home. The sea lions in the Central Park Zoo have been lounging around lots on their sunny rock. Enjoy the day and check out this great list of 50 ways to help the planet.

I found this quirky tool from spell with flickr to spell out anything you want.

Carlo's Bondi Baths

I just made my first ever purchase- Untitled (Bondi Baths, Sydney, Australia) 2007 by Carlo Van de Roer- from Jen Bekman's 20x200 venture. To be honest, I had a hard time deciding whether or not it was I should do it because I felt that the deal was selling the artists short and goes so much against the grain of limited editions (small ones). In the end, I decided that Carlo (who I met and had a great time talking to at fotofest) is ok with this deal, I can afford it (and in a big way, I'd like art to be more democratic, hence the two-sided debate in my brain), and it's a wonderful image. I'm still kicking myself (really hard) for not buying Carlo's gorgeous Astoria Park photo and Bert Teunissen's La Alberca (I was in Houston when that happened so maybe I can be excused).

(Carlo's photo from 20x200.)

Polidori's Versailles work

Robert Polidori's Versailles series opens tomorrow at Edwyn Houk. I'm excited to see this series as I am unfamiliar with it.

Edwyn Houk
745 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10151
April 17-June 14

Earth Day is coming up

Earth day is coming up and I just read a great article in the NYTimes about a grassroots movement by some parents of Pubic School 154 in Brooklyn to boycott polystyrene trays and privately fund the use bagasse (the fiber left after the extraction of the sugar-bearing juice from sugar cane) ones instead. How cool is that? At work, we used to use paper products, and when they switched to styrofoam polystyrene products, there was an uproar. We were told that both types of products are equally bad for the environment. Huh??? Thankfully though, this year, we are back on track with biodegradable products.

One other thing- Tekserve is hosting a e-waste recycling event. April 26, 27 10am-4pm and April 28 4pm-7pm. Acceptable items for recycling include: computers, monitors, fax machines, copiers, DVD or VCR players, radios, telephones, cell phones, televisions, cameras and stereo equipment. They cannot accept the following items for recycling: Home appliances - including microwaves, stoves, refrigerators and air conditioners. I'm planning on bringing in an old hardrive that I dug out of my Mom's closet. Spring cleaning!

to die for- Falai's crepe cake

I got one of the sweetest birthday presents on Saturday. (My birthday was last month, coinciding with the period when I couldn't eat or talk.) A wonderful crepe cake from Falai Panetteria on the corner of Clinton and Rivington. Thanks!

Coney Island, USA

My dear friend Anna Seidman's other half, Craig Butta, directed a short film, Coney Island, USA. It is now a finalist on Channel Thirteen's Reel 13 Shorts. If you dig it, vote for it on the Thirteen site so that it has the chance to be viewed by a bigger audience.

Oh some Indian fragrances

Ever since I got my Unaccustomed Earth in the mail, along with Malgudi Days, I had been craving Indian food. No problem, I live in Queens, the most diverse place on earth. I had brunch on Sunday at the Jackson Diner, in Jackson Heights. It was lovely, especially the fresh dosa that my Mom queued up for. I have to say though, I still prefer my Karma Kafe in Hoboken.

A quick tip: leave your precious clothes at home when eating at the Jackson Diner. My cashmere sweater definitely reeked of onion and potatoes when I walked out.

Horizons

Sze Tsung Leong's new work, Horizons will be opening at Yossi Milo tonight. I am eager to see the new images and wonder what he thinks of Sugimoto's seascapes.