I am going to NYC

Hey, I'm going to be in NYC this week and next! Any requests for things to check out/post about?

That Day Today

Again, an amazing set of photos from The Boston Globe.

Axe to Grind

Taken at the corner of 72nd and Amsterdam.

Civilization

Video installation by Marco Brambilla for the Standard Hotel in NY. The journey from Hell to Heaven plays as you ride the elevators. Video and interviews here.

Neimann does Lego does N.Y.

Christoph Niemann reflects on missing life in NY. Here.

Times Square LEGO Bar

Speaking of Protohuman Scarcity Mentality Theory, my mind was blown when I went to the giant Toys-R-Us in Times Square, in Manhattan; because they had this amazing LEGO buffet, something I had only dreamed of as a child. When I say I dreamed of it as a child, I'm not speaking figuratively. This very display, where a fella can fill a bag with all the parts needed to finish whatever said fella is working on, without compromises, figured prominently in my own personal dreamscape (and, I'd imagine, the dreamscape of anyone who's ever spent any serious time building with LEGO).

Sure, the parts are a bit limited, as the bins of bricks are meant to be parts for the dumb New Yorkey keepsake models in the center of the display, beneath the clock. I don't have a better photo of them, because I was too embarrassed to take the shot. LEGO Statue of Liberty, LEGO Apple, LEGO I <3 NY, LEGO guy-who-stands-motionless-and-demands-money-when-you-look-at-him, etc. I ignored the models and went straight for the parts, filling up a small plastic bag that turned out to cost about $20. Not a bad deal, actually, considering the number of parts I was able to cram in there; compared with the number of parts in your average $20 lego set.

I'm just now noticing the vaguely Socialist frieze at the very top of the display. Pretty sweet. Call me boring, but I think my hands were shaking when I grabbed a fistful of these:

I am in New York City.

I am in New York City. This is a view from where I am staying. I am staying in a hotel. My room is on the eleventh floor. I flew in on a plane. The flight was at night, and uneventful. I read a magazine, and slept some.

I am about to leave the hotel room. I will use the door, and then the elevator, and then another door. Before that, though, here is a picture of the sink in my hotel room. The sink is made of metal. This is remarkable.