No rain was falling while the clouds passed overhead, but shortly afterwards, there was quite a downpour!

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 4:29 PM

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Way back in April, Shannan and I made a visit to the Statue of Liberty. Unlike our last visit, when we just visited at night, we were making a trip to the crown on this visit. The crown reopened last year after some security and safety upgrades (it closed after 9/11). I hadn't been up since the 80s while with my family.

From the very base of Lady Liberty's pedestal, the climb to the top is 354 steps — many of which are in a tiny spiral staircase.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 12:58 PM

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Yay, the circus is in town. For the first time in ages, I went to the circus! I'm positive I went at least once as a child, but it was my first time as an adult. Sunday morning, Shannan and I went with the Epsteins to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at Madison Square Garden. It was the first time that Jonas and Willa went to the circus and Shannan's first time seeing Ringling Brothers.

And while watching the 7 motorcycles in that cage was very impressive, the greatest show on earth may have been watching Willa devour gummies off Neil's hand.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 6:00 PM

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Takeru Kobayashi really likes eating. Last Monday, he set the Guinness Record for most meatballs eaten in one minute when he devoured 29 meatballs. I was lucky enough to be there in person, but if you're curious what that meatball eating pace looks like, I have video below. It seems like he had to swallow each meatball and show the judge before moving on. I suspect that's the reason for the low count.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos, Sports at 6:10 PM

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From last Friday, when New York's new record for snowfall in February was set. As you can see, Shannan was very, very scared by the record-setting snow. Climate change! Ahhhhhhh!!!

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 3:50 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:50 PM

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From this morning in Greenpoint. I'm not sure how Betty Boop feels about the snow. She seems underdressed.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 11:59 AM

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Look! No aluminum siding!

And sometimes, you just want to over-process the photo.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:31 PM

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I've had a lot of pizza in my life, yet strangely this was my first time to Di Fara. Di Fara is a legendary pizza joint, in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn where Dom DeMarco has been toiling away for over 45 years, making each pie himself with the best ingredients. Is the pizza good? Yes, it's very good. Is it the best in the city? No, I don't think it is. Especially with all these new "artisanal" pizza places that are popping up all over the place. I'm not even sure if, taste-wise, Di Fara is better than a Patsy's (original) or a Grimaldi's.

First, the bad parts: Perhaps it's just my preferences, but I wasn't a huge fan of the end crust. While the crust to support the cheese, sauce, toppings, etc., worked, the ends just seemed to be lacking a little flavor. It's possible that the end crust was even slightly underdone on the first pie we had (plain). And, of course, there's all the olive oil that is poured (not drizzled) onto the pie. I know olive oil is healthy, but I think a drizzle of the stuff could have been better (note napkin pile). Our second pie (broccoli rabe and sausage) didn't seem as oily, nor did our final one (plain square). Maybe there was just more stuff to distract us from the oil. Some of the pies started off so "wet" that attempting to slide a slice from the pie onto our plates resulted in a pile of hot cheese on the pizza pan and a relatively cheese-less slice. And all the toppings and overall wetness, lends itself to a floppy slice of pizza. That wasn't the case with the square pie we had as it's a naturally firmer crust.

Now, the good parts: The ingredients and the care that are put into each pie is excellent. It's easily on par with all the "fancy" pizza places you go to in the city. You can taste the quality of the ingredients with each bite you take. The fine mozzarella, the grana padano he sprinkles on top, the fresh basil, and even the plentiful olive oil, lend to a delicious bite of pizza. Of course, that shows up in the cost of the pies (we paid just under $100 with drinks for 7 people), but quality doesn't come cheap. It's the ingredients and the care that Dom puts into each pie that seems to set this place apart from many pizza places.

Am I being overly critical? Perhaps. But going into my "virgin experience" at Di Fara, I was expecting a lot. Some people talk about Di Fara pizza as if it were a nectar of the Gods. Sure, Dom DeMarco has done something at Di Fara that exceeds the pizza of any neighborhood pizza place in the city, if not the world, and it's excellent pizza that I would eat again. I'm just not sure if it's as mind-blowing as I had hoped (or expected) and I certainly wouldn't wait in line for two hours just to get a bite of it. That said, I would like to go back sometime in the future to try it again. After all, it could have just been an off day at Di Fara, right?

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 12:00 PM

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They sure do like Christmas trees in this DUMBO building.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 11:21 AM

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New to the walls of Gothamist HQ, my mounted turkey head. It's the remainder of Pat, the wonderfully crafted piñata that Mari created for Fakesgiving.

I managed to make the board for the head myself. Well, after Shannan drew the lines.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 4:04 PM

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For Halloween, which I really hate dressing up for (as an adult), Shannan made us some bobble heads. They both came out really, well and actually bobbled. Somewhat creepy though, were the eyes that were painted onto the head.

The day after Halloween was the 2009 NYC Marathon and event with almost 44,000 people from around the world running in the streets of New York. I love the marathon, but I don't think I would ever run it. So maybe I should say "I love watching the marathon."

In the 1st marathon photo, you can see eventual women's winner Derartu Tulu (blue top on the right). Leading the men at mile 12 was eventual winner Meb Keflezighi, the first American to win the NYC Marathon in 27 years. Does that guy in the 3rd marathon photo look familiar? That's because it's Anthony Edwards! You may recognize him from such movies as Top Gun and Revenge of the Nerds and TV shows like ER. If you're wondering, he does respond to people (me) yelling "Go Goose!" Edwards was running for the charity Shoe4Africa, which is raising money to build a public children's hospital in Kenya. And, yes, that last photo is of a guy carrying an Eiffel Tower replica.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos, Sports at 8:48 AM

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Last Sunday finally brought and end to the miserable 2009 Mets season. A season where I went to entirely too many games (curses to that season ticket). But through a stroke of luck, we ended up in the front row on the field level for the final out of the stadium's inaugural season. Following the game was the Mr. Met Dash on the field for season ticket holders (not that they actually checked). Also, the word dash is very generous for the event. You're really just walking around the field as the people tell you not to stop. But at least we got to step on three bases (2nd, 3rd, and home).

If you're wondering what's going on in the 3rd photo, it's David robbing a home run with his newspaper.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 3:51 PM

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Last Friday, the National Park Service allowed night visitors to the Statue of Liberty for the first time ever as part of National Parks Week NYC. Two boatloads of passengers headed over to the island at about 7pm, just in time to catch the end of the sun set over New Jersey. I took a lot of photos of Lady Liberty, but eventually they all end up looking the same. The ones here are the ones I liked the most.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:30 PM

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The people sure got their money's worth in this garbage haul.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:16 PM

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Not surprisingly, the new dedicated bike lane on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg and the change in traffic patterns have caused some outrage in north Brooklyn. The new lane was just finished a couple of weeks ago and people are still getting used to it (see cyclist using right side of road in 2nd picture). As much as I like the new, dedicated lanes, I had no problem at all with the old lanes. In my opinion, this mostly seems like a pain in the ass for people that used Kent before. But once people get used to it, I'm sure it will be fine.

One person that wasn't used to the change (or just decided to ignore it) was a minivan driver that went south (against traffic) IN THE BIKE LANE despite the obvious green paint and signs saying the street is now one way. This guy drove the whole block in the bike lane, forcing me and another cyclist to move out of the way into the parking lane. I can only hope I don't see this happen again.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 1:45 PM

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Sunday when we returned home from upstate, we saw this this horrifically mangled car sitting across the street from our apartment. With a police station also across the street, we'll sometimes see impounded vehicles and cars that were damaged in accidents before they're moved to another location.

This accident occurred early Sunday morning in Greenpoint (Green and Provost) and it looks like the car just flew into some sort of pole. The car was bent right at the driver's side door. People were saying that the accident killed the driver (not surprising given the damage) and that the girlfriend in the car was at Bellevue and had regained consciousness by Sunday night. It also looks like the jaws of life were needed to extract the victims since the roof is totally cut off.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 12:14 PM

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Anyone who has taken the 7 train into Queens is surely familiar with the graffiti covered building in Long Island City called 5 Pointz. The building owners allow for graffiti artists to use the exterior as a canvas as long as they don't use curses, religion or race in their artwork. Inside, the building was mostly used as artists studios. But earlier this year, after an exterior staircase collapsed, the building was shut down until the appropriate renovations could be made. The owners later determined that the repairs were impossibly expensive and the tenants were told to have everything out by this Saturday. Last weekend, I went over to the building to take some pictures of the interior and roof (the exterior should still be a canvas for graffiti). More photos over at Gothamist.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 11:23 AM

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I was thinking that the gold at the end of it would be a Wild Card, but then they lost 2 of 3 to the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks. And yes, the Wild Card is a case of extreme optimism, but I guess you gotta believe?

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 5:57 PM

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Way back in early June, Shannan and I went on a tour of the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel in Brooklyn Heights. The tunnel, built in 1844, is the oldest subway tunnel in the world and is a half mile long. It was originally built to accommodate LIRR trains that lacked breaks good enough to run above ground.

The hour and a half long tour, which is led by Bob Diamond, goes deep into the history of the tunnel and all the research and work that Bob did to find the long abandoned tunnel in 1979. The tunnel is an impressive piece of work and it's almost hard to believe that it's in perfect condition to this day (gotta love those Sandhogs).

I would recommend making a reservation with the BHRA for its next tour of the tunnel.

Posted by tien mao in Culture, NYC, Photos at 6:31 PM

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Pictured are strawberries, a bunch of lavender, pea shoots, and garlic scapes. Not pictured asparagus, cilantro, rhubarb, sugar snap peas, mesclun, kale, and eggs.

Some of this helped make a tasty dinner on Sunday night!

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 3:47 PM

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Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 5:23 PM

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Apparently the parade (Festival of Chariots or Rath Yatra)culminated with a vegetarian feast in Washington Square Park. Of course, I had just left Madison Square Park where I, and thousands of other people, were gorging themselves on pork and cow at the Big Apple Barbecue. New York City is random like that.

Posted by tien mao in Culture, NYC, Photos at 1:58 PM

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My transportation out to Long Island for that little airplane thing wasn't by car, or by train, but by helicopter (!!), which was also a first for me. It was surprisingly calm, but really, really noisy (I took the headset off for a second to take a listen). We flew up the West Side from 30th St. and, over Manhattan, over Queens including LGA and eventually into Long Island.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Travel at 6:37 PM

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Why go to the beach when you can use your American Flag umbrella on the old, ratty couch that you keep in the garbage room of your basement. What better way to protect your eyes from the fluorescent lights.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:18 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:45 PM

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If you're debating whether to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza this summer or hold off and see their holiday show Wintuk, let me settle that little quandary. DO NOT see Wintuk. It sucked. Kooza, in comparison, was awesome. There were parts that I thought were stupid (specifically, the juggler) and parts that I thought were unnecessary (I don't care about the storyline), but there were a couple acts of the show that were just amazing.

One small pain about the show was getting to it. Randall's Island is not easy to get to unless you have a car.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:49 PM

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Last week, when the Spacebuster (a portable event space) made a stop in DUMBO last week for an architecture contest, I was able to take some photos from outside and even got to go inside while they were setting up.

Full set on flickr.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 3:24 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 12:25 PM

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Monday night, I headed out to Flushing for the first official Mets game at their new stadium, Citi Field. It's a very nice stadium (especially in comparison to Shea), but there are some quirks: I can't see the whole field from my seats, the food lines (for the really good stuff) are insanely long, and I found the seats kind of uncomfortable.

I'm sure I'll learn to love the stadium though, just like I loved Shea.

And if you want, you can click on the image for a much larger version.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 12:47 PM

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Rising up on Bowery St. on Cooper Square is a new addition to Cooper Union — an academic building designed by famed architect Thom Mayne of Morphosis. The building exterior is partially clad in a perforated stainless steel panels, which can be moved to maximize energy efficiency.

Faaancy! Cooper Union has a nice page full of renderings of the project if you want to see what it's supposed to look like when finished.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:55 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:17 PM

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Yay Willa! 1 year old.

Posted by tien mao in Birthdays, Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 11:25 AM

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The largest snowstorm this winter hit NYC last night and continued into today. It doesn't look like it from this picture, but there are at least 7" of snow out there. I would have been even happier with some more. Oh well.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:17 PM

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Here's a panorama (click for larger image) from the top of that 90-foot snowboard ramp that Red Bull constructed in East River Park.

Sorry updates have been so sporadic. Ever since finishing up last year's project of taking at least a photo a day for a year, it's been hard to get motivated to take photos. I usually only break it out when I have a specific event/item to take a photo of and not to fulfill a daily need to use it. Not sure if that makes sense at all.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 3:57 PM

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Last Thursday, the Red Bull Snowscrapers competition took place in NYC on a man-made 9-story ramp in East River Park. The morning before the event, I went down to East River Park to take some photos for Gothamist. It was cold and windy — and that's before I walked up the stairs to the top of the 90-foot ramp.

But the views from the top were pretty ridiculous. I'm not terrified of heights or anything, but I'm happy that I didn't look straight down over the edge of the platform.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 11:44 AM

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Any thoughts that people had about Calvin being crazy were confirmed yesterday. Last week, the Bacon Explosion was featured in a Times article and what does Calvin make for a Super Bowl party? The Bacon Explosion, of course. Two pounds of bacon, two pounds of sausage, all rolled into one huge log of pork. It was ridiculous and insanely over the top (and I love bacon). That said, it was surprisingly tasty, if not really salty. It's a good thing I was stuffed on lots of other food, otherwise I might have wanted to eat more than one piece of this monster.

Oh, that exploding sound was my heart from eating the Bacon Explosion. My heart aches a little just from looking at these pictures. At the same time, my stomach grumbles.

And if you're wondering what a Bacon Explosion is, here's the breakdown: a woven bacon exterior, with two pounds of sausage inside, and even more bacon inside that.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 12:36 PM

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You can see this larger on flickr.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 6:08 PM

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It was the Knicks versus the Houston Rockets, but on the first day of the New Year, there was no Yao Ming to be found! Despite all the Chinese New Year themed activities and pre-game warmups, Yao left all the Chinese people in the stands disappointed as he sat out another game to rest his knee.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 1:49 PM

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Based on the Mosstika website, this moss graffiti probably went up sometime in the summer of 2008. But as you can see, it's yet to fall completely off the wood or degrade.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:15 PM

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Last night was apparently the first time that the Empire State Building has changed its colors just for the Presidential Inauguration. That's special, but I don't think the color combination is very different than the building's standard red/white/blue look.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 3:00 PM

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With the weather brutally cold in much of the United States, I thought I would put this photo up from last summer. It was one of the photos I nearly overlooked as I was doing Project365, "Oh shit, how did I end up 3 photos short with only 10 days left in the year!"

I wonder what the man on the platform is thinking.

Posted by tien mao in Film, NYC, Photos at 11:14 AM

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I saw this last Friday and wasn't sure if it was a cloud or a contrail.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:28 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:34 PM

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The cake that Margaret bought for Shannan was so tasty that Jonas kept some around for eating later.

Jonas actually did a very good job of washing the cake off moments after this photo was taken.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 6:33 PM

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On January 1st, 2008, I started out on an insane project that many other people have done: taking at least one photo every day for the entire year. After taking the photo, I eventually (usually not the next day) put them onto flickr. Some, but not all, of the photos have appeared here. But the photos are all in one set on flickr.

You may think taking a photo every day for 365 days is easy, but I actually found it really, really hard. It was extra hard in 2008 because there were 366 days.

I encourage you to take a look at the photo set that turned out. It's an interesting capsule into one year of my life.

Posted by tien mao in Film, Food/Drink, Friends/Family, Illinois, Mortimer, NYC, Photos, Randolph, Sports, Travel at 12:08 PM

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Woo! Or maybe good riddance? More on flickr.

It seems like we really, really loved those 2009 glasses.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 6:10 PM

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I'm heading to Illinois to do some cold-weather farming tomorrow morning, so no updates until next week! Have a nice holidays, everyone!

Posted by tien mao in House and Home, NYC, Photos at 5:23 PM

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These were real snowflakes from Tuesday, not the cutout paper kind at the holiday party.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:50 PM

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In a yearly bout of goodwill towards their DUMBO tenants, Two Trees had their annual holiday party last night. Maybe it's me, but it seemed very crowded last night. And unlike 4 years ago, they didn't have any rice krispy treats from Rice for dessert. Tough economic times!!

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:43 PM

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In #174, they store track lubrication. I'm not exactly sure how they get the lubricant onto the track. I assume they have some sort of tubes, hoses, pipes.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:00 PM

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Almost immediately after entering Rockefeller Plaza, I cursed myself for using it to cut from 5th Ave to 6th Ave. Gone was the, "Oh, I might as well see the tree while I'm up here" attitude, replaced by "Why can't these tourists walk faster!?!" I still ended up taking a picture though. But I did make sure I was out of the way.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:21 PM

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There's nothing quite like unboxing a new Apple product. Sadly, this one isn't mine, but Shannan's new MacBook Pro. It's pretty, very pretty.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:16 PM

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We had these frames at home that we've been meaning to use and I finally got around to ordering prints. This is how they seem to be turning out.

Posted by tien mao in Film, House and Home, NYC, Photos at 6:32 PM

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When your girlfriend is working late into the night, having Daisy May's BBQ delivered and joining her for dinner is a nice thing to do. At least, I thought it was a nice thing to do.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 6:08 PM

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Saturday night, we headed to a farewell dinner for a family friend at Danny Ng's Place on Bowery. There was a ridiculous amount of delicious food, including that conch dish in the second picture. Incidentally, I think conch is my favorite seafood item. The "food item" in the third picture is a pig's hoof, which still has hair on it. Ew. I didn't have any of that dish.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 5:57 PM

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I thought she was sitting somewhat model-like, so I told her to hold the position while I took some pictures.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 6:55 PM

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You don't have to worry about the football Bears, but on occasion you have to watch out for bears walking the streets of NYC. Or drinking beer in NYC.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 6:07 PM

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I've never met Dante and the last time I saw Mike and Rion was a year ago, but over the weekend, they brought Dante to Brooklyn to meet everyone. Even though Dante's everywhere on the Internet, meeting a baby in person is still totally different. I mean, I've never seen him fall, hit his head on the floor and cry in pictures, but in person I was able to see it three times! And he managed to stop crying soon after each time.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 6:12 PM

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I want to start taking photos of the entrances/exits to the subway. I'm sure it's been done already, but I just thought it would be fun. Not really all the stuff actually at street level, but looking up the stairs, down the stairs, stuff like that. It's kind of similar to an idea Shannan had a few years ago, to take a photo of every station in the subway system, but that never got off the ground. I'm not nearly as ambitious -- I just hope to take photos of a few stations here and there when the opportunity arises.

This photo is from the Nassau Ave. G stop at the southwest corner of Norman and Manhattan Avenues.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:12 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:14 PM

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Saturday night, we went out to Sunset Park to check out Zach's new apartment (very nice and it seemed to have a woman's touch) and to have some good Mexican food. We went to Tacos Matamoros, which Peter Meehan of The Times said, "were some of the best, if not the best, tacos I’ve had in New York." Pictured (not that you can see the meat) are two carne asada tacos (left, center) and a chorizo taco (right). I actually liked the chorizo one better, though the carne asada tacos were pretty good.

So much for hating Mexican food, huh? Well, I still hate the bean aspect. And I'm not so into all that enchilada business.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 6:35 PM

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Neil does!

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 5:30 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:12 PM

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I had never seen a submarine moving in the waters of NYC. Until last week, that is. The U.S.S. Growler was returning to the Intrepid Museum via the East River last week when we spotted it in our office.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 3:30 PM

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Garbage, okay. Poo, no.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 11:08 AM

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As usual, there were several great Halloween costumes, but I think this is the best one I personally saw. Dan is dressed up as the Gorton's Fisherman. Well done, Dan!

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 5:54 PM

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It felt really good to open The Times this morning to this cover.

Posted by tien mao in Culture, NYC, Photos at 11:27 AM

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I've never voted anywhere but in New York City. In 1996, I voted in the presidential election by absentee ballot from Michigan, but the voting system in NYC is the only one I know. And photo #2 is what it looks like. I've used them since high school school, when we used them for school-wide elections (class president, etc). NYC is so old school.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 11:31 AM

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Sunday was the best sporting yearly sports event in the city, the 2008 New York City Marathon. Almost 40,000 people from around the world participated - top-notch athletes, wheelchair athletes, blind athletes, and regular people. Even entering a marathon and running is impressive, but finishing it? I can't even imagine doing that.

Paula Radcliffe (right in the first picture) won the women's race for the second year in a row and third time overall in a time of 2:23:56. Marilson Gomes dos Santos (yellow shirt in the second photo), not leading at mile 12 where I was, won his second NYC Marathon title in a time of 2:08:43. Very impressive on both parts.

More impressive? Calvin and Maggie both ran the marathon...and finished. Calvin finished in 4:15:28, beating his goal of 4:30 despite a leg injury that almost kept him from running. I suspect he finished early because he didn't stop to pee. Maggie, who had lots of energy at mile 12, finished with a time of 4:26:17. Congratulations to both and all the people that competed (and finished) yesterday. To celebrate, Calvin had some White Castle.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 9:46 AM

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Way back in July, we saw this scene in Long Island City. I would find out later that they were filming Ugly Betty with Lindsay Lohan at this fast food joint. I think the episodes that they were filming then have been airing recently. At least, that's what I gather from the commercials I've seen on ABC.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:07 PM

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Um, it's already too late, no?

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:15 PM

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Last night at Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard Jori and Matty got married! The wedding reception had the most dancing at a wedding that I've seen in a long time. I think there was maybe one song the band played that wasn't danced to. It was crazy.

And the table I was at had an insanely large centerpiece (it didn't even fit in the picture). The most popular food related item last night had to be the chocolate fountains. Right after I took this picture, people swarmed the fountain - like bees to chocolate, if you will.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 3:53 PM

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Everytime I finish up a checkup at my orthodontist, I walk to work via the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. And whenever I do this, I try to take a picture. This photo is from today. I wonder what it will look like in January when I have my next appointment. I'm guessing it will be so cold that I won't want to stop to shoot a photo.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:27 PM

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With Shannan away on vacation for 10 days, I was given the task of moving her car. That's no easy feat considering it's a stick shift (something that I'm pretty bad at driving) and that finding parking in NYC is never easy. But the other night when I got home, I noticed 5 parking spots on my block! I figured that no matter how many times I stalled driving the car around back to our block, there was a good chance that there would be a spot for me.

Lucky for me, I didn't stall once and the spot I pulled into was actually two spots so I didn't even have to parallel park.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:40 PM

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They don't travel well, especially from the Upper West Side all the way to DUMBO. Though it would have still been really good if I didn't already eat lunch.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 6:57 PM

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Saturday, the Vendy Awards took place at the Tobacco Warehouse in DUMBO. It was a fun, tummy filling event that resulted in the Calexico Carne Asada cart winning the Vendy Cup.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 7:22 PM

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I didn't want to leave work until the above cloud passed. Thankfully, it moved north, so I can now leave. I just hope I don't catch up with it by riding the subway.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:57 PM

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Even right outside my apartment!

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:43 PM

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People seemed to really like this photo on flickr, so here it is on the site. When I took it, I just thought it was "eh", but what do I know.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:52 PM

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In the top photo, chicken nuggets are dipping themselves in BBQ sauce and a just hatched nugget is drinking egg whites. On the bottom, a rabbit is grooming itself in its display.

Posted by tien mao in Culture, Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 6:45 PM

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Banksy recently opened a new exhibition up in the West Village at a storefront he's named The Village Pet Store and Grill. Pictured is fish sticks in a fish bowl. Brilliant!

See the full gallery over at Gothamist.

Posted by tien mao in Culture, Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 6:38 PM

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From Bowlmor Lanes' 70th Anniversary Party last night.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 6:25 PM

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This was over the weekend, but in the summer, people just sleep in the park all night.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:34 PM

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Guess who won the Chuck D Cup in Brooklyn Kickball yesterday? The Bacon Bits! We beat the John Cougar Mellencamps in thrilling fashion, 8-7. It was a tense 9-inning game that featured a few lead changes and several ties.

The other side of the ball features Hillary Duff's signature. Cool, I suppose, but she's no Chuck D.

The Bacon Bits have come a long, long way in three seasons. Congrats to all the other people on the team.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 3:54 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:16 PM

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I've been a Mets fan for 20+ years and this week (maybe early next week) the final regular season game will be played out at Shea Stadium. I think most Mets fans will agree that they won't be missing the stadium, but it's still the place the Mets have called home since 1964. Next year, the team will move into the sparkling Citi Field (cost, $610 million) leaving their $28.5 million stadium to become a parking lot.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 2:30 PM

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Jake's got it, and plenty more C215 in color over at Streetsy.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:18 PM

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The stars of 'My Best Friend's Girl' get a makeover in this movie ad in the NYC Subway system. From left to right, that's Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, and Jason Biggs. The poster with the original photo is on IMDB.

Posted by tien mao in Movies, NYC, Photos at 6:08 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:28 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:27 PM

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Outside the stone dealers.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:28 PM

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Grandma style pizza from Driggs Pizza with pepperoni and pesto. It was quite delicious, but also quite oily.

What's grandma style, you ask? Adam's got a pretty good description:
"Essentially a thin-crust Sicilian. I've gotten guff for saying that in the past, so if any of you out there want to correct me and argue for a workable definition of this style, please comment. It was sort of a Long Island thing until the past couple of years, when it started making inroads into the boroughs of New York City. Typically has a fresh, lightly seasoned sauce."

In fact, Sliceboy lists out many regional style pizzas. I didn't get an upskirt for the pizza-perv though.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 5:59 PM

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Randolph generally likes to chew on flower petals, and I thought he would at least investigate the sunflower petals. But to my surprise, the sunflower hasn't experienced a nibble yet.

Posted by tien mao in House and Home, NYC, Photos at 5:17 PM

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It's further and further away, but still remembered by all in New York City.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 3:12 PM

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Recently in DUMBO, the city opened up a passageway under the Manhattan Bridget that makes it easer to walk from one side of the bridge to the other. It's nice, but I don't really understand the artwork. It's like DOT fencing on leftover DOT steel. I suppose it does add some color to the dreary archway.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:05 PM

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A couple weekends ago, we took another trip out to Spicy & Tasty with my parents. I thought it was better this time than it was previously. Also, that 3rd photo is some strange pork dish covered with rice. It was pretty strange looking and I didn't love the taste. I liked that fish dish (last photo) the most.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:31 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 1:57 PM

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Not like the No Homer(s) Club.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 4:51 PM

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While we were taking the Water Taxi between Manhattan and Red Hook, we saw the MS Caribbean Princess. Launched in 2004 at a cost of $500 million, the boat is 951 feet long and holds 3100 passengers (plus 1200 crewmembers).

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:14 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:00 PM

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And it's not me. Besides, it's not really my shade of lipstick.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 6:03 PM

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Late Sunday morning, Shannan and I headed to IKEA in Red Hook to check things out. After taking the ferry to Manhatan and back, we met up with Jeannette and Yvan at the Red Hook Ballfields for some more food. Nothing like eating Swedish meatblals, a pupusa, plantains with sour cream and Mexican corn in a span of about three hours.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC at 8:28 AM

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In a storefront in DUMBO, Brooklyn sits a carousel that is unused during most of the year. It's a vintage carousel that was restored by Jane Walentas (her husband David essentially shaped/created the neighborhood of DUMBO). Without a place to go since its restoration, Jane Walentas' carousel sits in this space and is only open a few days a week. I've never seen it lit up before, but spotted it lit with nobody around a couple of weeks ago.

Below is a piece CBS Sunday Morning did on Jane and her carousel.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:58 PM

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Sunday in Prospect Park, my first BBQ in that park. There was tons of food. Seriously. More than one could possibly eat.

*By Mr. T, I mean Terrance.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 6:35 PM

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Saturday afternoon, after getting brunch at Lokal (poor service, undercooked eggs), Shannan and I stopped by the green market in McCarren Park. On our way out, we spotted the stand selling Ronnybrook Yogurt. Shannan was hesitant about buying a drinkable yogurt at first, but I decided to get a blueberry and pomegranate yogurt. Just after crossing the street, we opened it, tasted it, and promptly turned around to buy some more. We ended up bringing seven home. I wouldn't be surprised if they're all gone by the time I get home.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 6:12 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:31 PM

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Way back in the middle of June (almost exactly two months ago), Matty and I went to Spicy & Tasty in Flushing. We were planning on a Mets game, but torrential rain put a damper (hahahaha) in those plans.

After waiting briefly for a table, we were seated and ordered some of the items that Frank Bruni mentioned in his NY Times review a while back. While the food was occasionally spicy, and occasionally tasty, I didn't think it was all that spicy or tasty. It was good, but it wasn't blow my socks off, give it two stars good. Granted, it was only one meal, so it's hard to judge the place on that visit.

I'll just have to go back another time. Hopefully just with the idea of eating and not going to a baseball game.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 6:58 PM

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This is what it looked like yesterday when I got into the office. Shortly after taking this photo, it started to rain heavily. The storm system also brought hail to parts of the city.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:41 PM

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Whenever I go to an outdoor wedding, I always worry what the weather will be like. What happens if the couple experiences bad weather?? All those plans down the tubes. That wasn't the case Saturday evening for Kim and Mike's wedding at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The weather was beautiful and it was one of the best venues I've attended a wedding at.

There was also lots of vodka at the reception (thankfully, I didn't have much) - we're talking like 10 vodka options.

Anyway, congratulations to Kim and Mike, both of whom I've known since sometime during high school.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 2:37 PM

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I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone eating in Pete's Downtown, yet it seems to have been around for a while.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:03 PM

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I wonder how difficult it was to get parts of the piece in the ridges of the fence.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:10 PM

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The evening clouds in recent weeks have been really cool looking. This photo was the sky over Greenpoint Monday night.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:23 PM

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Sunday afternoon, I attended my first Baptism ever! It was for Willa Margaret and I guess it went as planned. There was crying when the priest put holy water on Willa's head, but in all fairness, the older boy also getting Baptized cried as well.

Considering all the other religious people I know with children (like 2), this could very well have been my first and last appearance at a Baptism.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 6:32 PM

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While some people might know this building for Nobu, I know it as the first apartment I lived in. Until Nobu moved in (after we moved out), I think there was a string of unsuccessful restaurants in the space.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:14 PM

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After Jonas finished (what could have been his first cotton candy ever), he was a sticky mess. Just brushing against me left a sugar stain! Longtime readers will know that I too love cotton candy at baseball games!

And it should be pointed out that I was using a wide angle lens. Really, really wide angle.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Friends/Family, NYC, Photos, Sports at 6:34 PM

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The Western Union Building in TriBeCa no longer houses the headquarters of Western Union (they moved out in 1973). Now it serves as a "carrier hotel" for telecommunications companies and is apparently the most important carrier hotel in the world.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 9:13 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:01 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:09 PM

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This past Sunday at kickball, there was a team that had a cat at the field! Awesome! His name was Monty, he wasn't on a leash and he had a cute little blue bandanna on his back. He was quite the well behaved cat despite the fact that he gravitated to David, who is allergic to cats.

I did hear that Monty held his own against some curious dogs though.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:49 PM

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There's nothing like cramming copious amounts of food down your throat on a hot and humid day. The challenge: first to 6 hot dogs (max of 10 minutes) and no reversal of fortune. That's what went down Saturday afternoon on Adam's roof, except the Marlon didn't need 10 minutes to down 6 HDB, just a little over 5:30. It wasn't really much of a contest for Marlon.

I think with training, Marlon could be a contender on the professional eating circuit.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 10:49 AM

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There's nothing like coming home to a clean apartment after you've been at work. An apartment that is clean and where your feet squeak on the freshly cleaned floor. That's like the best thing in the world.

Posted by tien mao in House and Home, NYC, Photos at 5:59 PM

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assuming you have an unlimited Metrocard. If you don't, this is still a reasonably priced meal for the area.

All you have to do to buy food at this restaurant is take a trip on the F into Manhattan. One short stop from York Street to East Broadway, you'll find a restaurant at East Broadway and Rutgers Street. There, you can get what's pictured above (three treasures over rice or san bao fan in Mandarin) for the super cheap price of $4.50. It even comes with those veggies. My order had two types of pork and chicken and for an extra charge, I think you can get a fried egg on top.

If only the name of the restaurant didn't escape me right now. But if you go, it's right on the corner with meats hanging in the window. And if you work in DUMBO, you'll be back at your desk in 30 minutes.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 3:15 PM

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Apparently, it got even more absurdly beautiful later.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:33 PM

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More photos of Shannan in the yellow/black and white hallway of the Olafur Eliasson exhibit at MoMA.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 5:59 PM

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The winner of the 9th annual young architects program from MoMA/P.S.1 was WORK Architecture Company. As winners, they got to do the summer installation at P.S.1. They called their winning entry is called P.F.1 (Public Farm 1) and has live chickens and is constructed with large cardboard tubes.

From MoMA/P.S.1:
P.F.1 (Public Farm One) is an urban farm concept that evokes the look of a flying carpet landing in the P.S.1 courtyard. Constructed from large cardboard tubes, its top surface will be a working farm, blooming with a variety of vegetables and plants. The structure will create a textured, colorful, and constantly changing surface in contrast with P.S.1’s angular concrete and gravel courtyard. P.F.1 will work as an interactive bridge between outside and inside, creating multiple zones of activity including swings, fans, sound effects, innovative seating areas, and a refreshing pool at its center. The installation will be a living structure made from inexpensive and sustainable materials recyclable after its use at P.S.1.

Posted by tien mao in Culture, NYC, Photos at 5:33 PM

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Pictured here are parts of Olafur Eliasson exhibit at MoMA: I only see things when they move, 1 m³ light, Room for one colour.

I only see things when they move: Bright light shines through rotating color-effect filter glass panels, creating shifting prismatic bands of colors on the surrounding walls.

1 m³ light: In a dark room filled with fog, the beams of twenty-four spot-lights articulate one cubic meter of space.

Room for one colour: Monochromatic bulbs emit light at such a narrow frequency that they affect your normal color perception, making the contents of the room appear in yellow or shades of black.

Posted by tien mao in Culture, NYC, Photos at 11:07 AM

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If you really did take your time, you probably missed the Olafur Eliasson exhibits at P.S.1 and MoMA. I'm happy to say that I got off my ass and made it on the final day.

Pictured here are the Inverted Berlin Sphere and Take your time, both at P.S.1.

Inverted Berlin Sphere: Light radiates out through the lamp’s reflective components, altering your experience of the space.

Take your time: A large circular mirror affixed to the ceiling at an angle rotates slowly on its axis, destabilizing your perception of space.

Posted by tien mao in Culture, NYC, Photos at 8:01 AM

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I think the only way Mr. Met can show sadness is by dropping his head, slumping his shoulders and looking at the ground. I guess that's what happens when you have a permanent smile on your face.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 8:02 AM

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Apprently, soccer stars + NBA stars = big crowds. At least that's my assumption based on yesterday's Showdown in Chinatown. NBA players included Jason Kidd and Baron Davis, while soccer stars included Thierry Henry (with freetime after that Euro 2008 showing by France), Jozy Altidore, Juan Pablo Ángel and Claudio Reyna.

I couldn't see any action, but people were excited!

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 7:29 PM

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On the west end of the L train platform at Union Square.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 12:41 PM

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Coldplay took the stage at a packed Madison Square Garden for their final free show on Monday night. The group played many of its songs from their new album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, as well as several previous hit songs.

Working out the kinks in only the fourth performance of the new material, lead singer Chris Martin joked several times about the quality of the band's performance "We come over here, we steal your women and we can't even play one song," Martin joked. With concert goers given free tickets, Martin said that there would be no complaints about ticket prices.

In addition to playing "plugged" and acoustic sets on the stage, the entire band took to one of the concourses at The Garden to play a two-song acoustic set, which included "Yellow". They concluded the concert with a confetti filled performance of "Lovers in Japan".

Much thanks to Kathryn for hooking up the free tickets to the free show.

Posted by tien mao in Concerts/Music, NYC, Photos at 5:51 PM

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I remember when I first started working in SoHo, I told Jake that there was no way I was paying $7 for a burrito from a cart. But after several months of working here and paying that much for lunch every day, I broke down last week and got a $7 burrito from Calexico. At this point, I think paying $7 for lunch is a bargain. So sad. The biggest downside of eating at Calexico is the 20-30 minute wait for your food. It makes sense considering the small amount of grill space they have and the devoted following.

Pictured is the tasty Calexico carne asada: grilled skirt steak with rice, beans, cheese, pico de gallo & avocado sauce wrapped in a giant flour tortilla.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 12:54 PM

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No matter what the weather is, people like playing softball in this park. Even when it's raining and there's lightning in the skies. Lightning + metal bats = not good.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:36 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 4:20 PM

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I kind of preferred it when it was abandoned to what the pool has become. Though I guess using it for something is better than using it for nothing.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:02 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:09 AM

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The outcome of last night's game took a while, but at least they won in extra innings after a blown save by Billy Wagner. This afternoon, Wagner blew yet another two-run lead, but the Mets lost when Aaron Heilman decided he had enough of this extra inning stuff and gave up a run in the top of the 10th.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 5:12 PM

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If you go to Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn, this is what your eating experience will look like. That is assuming you've ordered a steak for three with creamed spinach and German friend potatoes and a "Holy Cow" sundae for dessert.

That thing to the right in the 1st picture is the fish of the day. Sole, I believe it was.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Friends/Family, NYC at 12:38 PM

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Because I didn't sweat enough Saturday at the Belmont Stakes, I decided to hit up the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party on Sunday. I was actually cooler while stuffing myself with meat than I was watching horses running in circles.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 5:35 PM

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Previously on Jersey Street: hula hoop, Michael De Feo.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:12 PM

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Okay, maybe she hasn't/won't be supporting Obama, but at least in some graffiti in New York City, Hillary is wearing an Obama hat.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 4:23 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 9:24 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:28 PM

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From Tuesday's sunset.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:23 PM

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One of my favorite blocks in Greenpoint is Guernsey Street between Meserole and Norman Avenues. While the buildings on the street are nothing to speak of and it always smells like piss halfway down the block, the canopy of trees is kind of beautiful.

Alternate photo on flickr.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:02 PM

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I remember running up the stairs in the middle when I was a kid. I'm not sure I could do that anymore without passing out at the top.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:40 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 8:02 AM

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One set on the right side of the construction shed, the other set on the left side.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:50 PM

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The ping pong table at Iona sat idle for a brief moment.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 12:44 PM

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I have no idea why this girl was dancing on 22nd St, but I was told she was promoting some show she was in. I was also told she was dancing for about an hour and a half before I saw her. Odd.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:25 PM

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Getting up to speed after a hard drive dies is slow! And painful. So here's another cherry blossom photo.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:41 PM

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A trip to the BBG for the cherry blossoms. It's like an annual rite of spring.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 9:26 AM

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Fortitude in front of the New York Public Library.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:08 PM

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I think the garage door is mostly mad at being across from the Edge building.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:13 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 11:16 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:12 AM

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A plain old hamburger (with lots of ketchup) and a vanilla shake.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 12:00 PM

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Taken with FUJICHROME-T64 film.

Posted by tien mao in Film, NYC, Photos at 2:43 PM

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Gotta feel sorry for this little dude. His feet are broken off his body!

Posted by tien mao in Culture, NYC, Photos at 5:52 PM

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I'm trying some stuff out in Lightroom. You can see the original photo on flickr.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 9:16 PM

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A couple weekends ago, I went on a tour of Tom Otterness's studio in Brooklyn. Organized by OpenHouseNY, Otterness was there to give the tour himself. Some of the items in the studio were models of finished project, while there were others that were projects in development. One of these finished models was of his Humpty Dumpty balloon, which made its debut in the 2005 Thanksgiving Day Parade. Here's a nice photo of the balloon in action.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 3:45 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 4:40 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:08 AM

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Way back over Christmas, I got a Holga as a gift. Well, I finally finished (or at least thought I finished) the roll last week and got it developed. I'm pretty pleased with the results considering it was my first time using it and I haven't used anything with film in it since like 2003 (or earlier).

Posted by tien mao in Film, NYC, Photos at 11:39 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 10:08 AM

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First, they said that last year was going to be the final year of Astroland - the end of Coney Island as we know it. Then, Astroland got a reprieve. But now they're saying it's Astroland's final year again. I guess we'll see if it's really the final year or not. Maybe I'll finally ride the Wonder Wheel.

Whatever happens, it's obvious to any visitors on opening day that you're seeing everything at its cleanest, everything with a fresh coat of paint, and minimal crowds. Yesterday's lousy weather didn't help either.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:27 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:30 PM

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Mmmm...Bo Ssam.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 3:04 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:59 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 4:25 PM

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The first time I saw one of these wanted posters was around the corner from a police station, so I actually thought it was real. That is, until I looked at it more carefully. I could then see that it was really a marketing campaign for the newest Grand Theft Auto title. Those sneaky bastards!

I spotted the ad above today while walking around in SoHo.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 3:55 PM

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Some of the meat items at Hill Country are rather large. For some reason, Jonas wasn't keen on trying much of the food (perhaps it was the ice cream that he was eating), but he did seem to enjoy the spare rib once he got his hands on it. It's unfortunate that actually eating the rib wasn't an easy task. Jonas also enjoyed dancing around on the stage with some random kids, but I don't have any pictures of that.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 10:35 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:04 PM

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The first hot pot of the winter.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 8:57 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:06 PM

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The wind was blowing like CRAZY yesterday. Of course, you can't really make out the motion in the tarp in the picture.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 12:19 PM

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Sunday brunch at Cafe Henri in Long Island City.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 12:40 PM

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I think the 21st Street station in Queens is one of my favorite subway stops in the city. It's so run down and in such a huge state of disrepair. Beautiful.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 9:07 AM

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When I relayed what Janelle told me to Shannan - that Taco Bite had reopened - Shannan was very excited. How excited? She insisted that we go that night AND she said I should have kept it a secret and taken her there for a Valentine's Day dinner. Ever since Taco Bite closed way back in 2006, she hasn't been happy. She would go there as many as three times a week for dinner, so when it closed she lost a major part of her diet.

Taco Bite just reopened this past weekend, but it's no longer all that close to us. Now it's on South 4th St at Rodney (by the BQE). They've expanded their menu and are a full fledged restaurant now, no longer just operating out of the side of a restaurant. They're still waiting on their liquor license, but their menu spans a whole two pages now (not including booze/desserts).

After talking to the owners/employees, it seems that they'll deliver all the way to our apartment. I'm not sure if we're really in their delivery zone or if they're just willing to deliver to us because they still remember Shannan.

Taco Bite 310 S. 4th St (at Rodney) in Williamsburg, 718.302.1117, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner except on Mondays

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 4:32 PM

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It may not look appetizing, but it sure tasted good. And I don't even love sausage and peppers that much!

It's not on the regular menu of the Crosby Connection. It was the special that day. Yum.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 5:22 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 3:50 PM

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If I ever tried to pull the things the competitors do at the Union Square Street Sessions, I would break a few bones.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 9:00 AM

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Did someone say ticker tape parade? Oh yeah! The last ticker tape parade I witnessed was way back in 1994 when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. While there have been parades since, I'm not a fan of the team that was feted.

And even though the Giants have won Super Bowls before, this was their first parade in New York City. As you can probably imagine, it was a pretty awesome experience.

Maybe in late October or November, I'll be at another parade. This time for the Mets!

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 11:57 AM

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That candidate shown above is an option. Not saying it was my choice. But merely an option.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 3:20 PM

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If you have a performance for Chinese New Year, the best marketing is to make your performers wear their costumes home. Cruel, but cheap. They were even handing out fliers. It's possible that they're related to a cult though. Who knows.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:32 PM

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Now that I've determined that beans are the main component I hate in Mexican food, I've found that there are actually some items that I like.

With Taco Bite near our apartment closed, we've turned to Acapulco Deli and Restaurant, which is almost as north as you can get in Greenpoint. The typical items I order are pictured - Pacifico (complete with frosty mug!), chips with red sauce, and a steak burrito (no beans). Not pictured is the Mexican Coke I always get as well.

And it's not just me that loves it, the users over at Yelp are big fans too.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 2:10 PM

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It's been more than a month since Christmas. And way too long since normal people throw out their Christmas trees. But last night in Greenpoint, I saw a tree waiting for disposal on the street. Who the hell keeps their tree this far into January. This is certainly the latest I've ever seen a tree on the streets of New York.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 10:58 AM

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How shitty would it be to: run to the subway station only to find that the green subway globe you see leads to you a station entrance that has long been shuttered? I think that would be pretty damn shitty.

That's almost like notification that a train is arriving at a station only to find that it's a garbage train or a construction train.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 1:25 PM

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How shitty would it be to: run to the subway station only to find that the green subway globe you see leads to you a station entrance that has long been shuttered? I think that would be pretty damn shitty.

That's almost like notification that a train is arriving at a station only to find that it's a garbage train or a construction train.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 1:25 PM

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One of the better lunch options in SoHo is the Crosby Connection. Pictured here is the meatball sandwich (Crosby special), the smoked gouda and ham sandwich (with apples), and the beautiful prosciutti (freshly sliced prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, sundred tomatoes, sweet roasted peppers, basil, virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar). Yumm.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 3:12 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 10:09 AM

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I wonder if these shoes were thrown out or if someone dropped them into the nasty pool of water and determined they weren't worth salvaging.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:25 PM

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The 50mm lens that I've had on my Canon 20D for the past week or so can't really capture this Michael De Feo piece on Jersey St. very well.

Previously on Jersey St. was that half-faced hula hooping girl.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 3:18 PM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 11:03 AM

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Over the weekend, Shannan and I went to see Fuerzabruta, the new-ish performance by the people behind De La Guarda. The show consists of the same dancing, yelling, and some similar aerial tricks as De La Guarda, but I didn't think it was great like the older show. Fuerzabruta also featured a random story line of a guy running on a treadmill and getting hit with foam/cardboard walls (I found this kind of boring). What is cool is the water pool that drops down from the ceiling of the theater, the energizing music parts, and the dance club feel at points (not that I like dance clubs).

I would say that the Times review summarizes the show pretty well. I would say that it was good, not great, and not nearly as good as De La Guarda.

Posted by tien mao in Concerts/Music, Culture, NYC, Photos at 3:27 PM

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While it can probably be said that ANY day is a good day for Shake Shack, yesterday was almost the perfect day to go. They may be putting heating lamps in for the winter, but I'm still not sure I would want to sit in the cold eating a burger. After all, those things can only warm you up so much.

Besides, isn't it possible to have too much of a good thing? Waiting for Shake Shack to open used to make the burgers that much more satisfying. Now they're going to be open all year, making a shack burger that much less special.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 12:27 PM

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I took this photo last Thursday in Chinatown when it was super, super cold in New York. It was so cold that the neighborhood didn't even stink and I don't think the fishmongers needed to use ice to keep fish fresh. Today's forecasted high is going to be about 50° higher than it was on Thursday. Fucking global warming.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 11:08 AM

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To commemorate her 30th birthday, Shannan decided to have a bunch of friends meet up to go bowling at The Gutter. She was treating 30 as a big deal, so she was happy that so many friends came out. I'm not sure how I'll be treating my 30th birthday when it rolls around in two months. Probably as just another year.

Note: There were more people than just the few pictured. There were actually LOTS of people.

Posted by tien mao in Birthdays, Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 10:55 AM

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Last night, we went with my parents to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. With my new, youthful haircut, it made sense to sit in a crowd with all the other children. But seriously, The Rockettes were amazing. But I could have done without the dancing bears, the Santa Claus mumbo jumbo (though the dancing Santas were entertaining), and the Jesus story. Just make the show 100% Rockettes exhausting themselves for an hour and I think you've got a hit!

Then again, they've been doing it for 75 years, so they probably won't listen to me.

Posted by tien mao in Concerts/Music, Culture, NYC, Photos at 3:50 PM

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I like to think that this is Ronald McDonald consuming the world's resources, but it's just the juxtaposition of the two balloons from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 9:00 AM

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The new Macy's Thanksgiving balloon, Shrek. From last night's insane scene at the balloon blowup.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:55 AM

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Lady Liberty with M&Ms that were made to help the Central Park Conservancy.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 4:20 PM

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In the Spring Street entrance for the C/E, there's a mosaic in the stairwell as you enter the station. It was made over the course of a year by Edith Kramer using glass, marble, granite, slate, brick, and ceramic tile.

To my expert eye, it looks like the downtown 4/5/6 platform at 14th St.-Union Square to me.

Posted by tien mao in Concerts/Music, NYC, Photos at 2:34 PM

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Now open in the United States for the first time at 455 Broadway in SoHo.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 12:45 PM

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Lunch options in SoHo are generally not cheap. A good sandwich runs $6 or $7, depending on where you go, and anything else tends to be $9+ for lunch. Salads (not that I eat them for a meal) can sometimes set you back more than $10. No thanks!

On Lafayette St. near Spring is La Nueva Conquista (formerly just La Conquista), which will stuff you silly for the same price as that good sandwich - $7. Pictured is my lunch from Tuesday - yellow rice, pork chops (which are briefly fried in oil), rice crust (I would call this guo ba in Chinese), and topped with onions and gravy. I usually get plantains as well, but I went with the rice crust this time as I've never seen it as an option. La Nueva Conquista seems to be described as a "hole in the wall" quite frequently, but I think it's slightly larger than a hole. And if you're walking by at any time, you'll see that the restaurant has quite a devoted customer base.

More information:
- La Nueva Conquista is located at 236 Lafayette Street
- Eat for Victory (Village Voice)
- Yelp

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 5:17 PM

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Currently on exhibit (through Nov. 24th) at the Storefront for Architecture in NYC is the CPH Experiments. The exhibition shows 5 different examples for high-density living from BIG/Bjarke Ingels Group from Copenhagen.

It's almost like watching all those futuristic movies where people live in huge towers, but in model form. The coolest model has to be the one that is made entirely out of Lego.

See also: on Gothamist.

Posted by tien mao in Culture, NYC, Photos at 1:23 PM

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The penthouse of the SoHo Grand is very nice. And it's got a gigantic terrace that almost seems bigger than the living area. Then again, I was only in a small part of the penthouse.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 3:17 PM

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Partially faceless hula hooping?

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 4:38 PM

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Eating this lobster roll at Ed's Lobster Bar last week made up for that horrible, horrible seafood that Jake made me eat at City Island.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 4:16 PM

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After going up to Westchester yesterday, Jake and I stopped in City Island (The Bronx) for lunch. Somehow we ended up at Johnny's Famous Reef Restaurant, which I was pretty disappointed in. I think, in hindsight, I would have preferred a McDonald's (though I didn't see one). Pictured are the fried calamari and fried clams. Not pictured is the horrible stench of sewage that seemed to permeate the establishment.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 5:08 PM

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The ever-knowledgeable Jake Dobkin says that this is Plasmaslug.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:01 PM

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From Papabubble, the new candy store that opened up last week. This is their fruit mix, which is my favorite so far. While there are some fruit flavors that I like more than others, it's nice to mix it up on occasion. And the fruit on the sides is a nice touch.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 11:47 AM

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I feel like the quality at Tang Pavilion has dropped off a lot since I last went there a couple of years ago. But it's still popular enough that members of the head of the UN mission for China dines there (he was there on the same night).

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 4:40 PM

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When asked where his baby is, Jonas will point to his belly. And with the ball, which he seems to enjoy eating, stuffed under his shirt, he really does look pregnant. Too bad he's just not built to handle pregnancy.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 3:19 PM

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These aren't even my cats! These are extra fancy cats from the CFA-IAMS Cat Championship press preview. I have a few more pictures that I'll put onto flickr tomorrow.

In order the cats pictured are a British Shorthair, a Sphynx, a European Burmese kitten and then two cats that were up for adoption (Bebop and Jazz).

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 4:00 PM

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I'm heading back to MSG today to hit up the press preview of the CFA-Iams Cat Championships. I hope my cat allergies don't go haywire with all the cats around. I should have sniffed Randolph and Mortimer fur more last night. Damn.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 12:17 PM

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Did you know that the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower was at one point the world's tallest building? From 1909-1913, it held that distinction, until the Woolworth Building passed it.

I think I have to take this picture while waiting in line for Shake Shack at least once a year. Last night, we went after going to Shaffer City Oyster Bar for their $1 oyster night. Four people combined to eat 54 oysters. I followed that up with a Double Shack Burger. Mmmm!

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 1:07 PM

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Early Thursday morning, there were two separate police cars that crashed while in pursuit of a stolen vehicle. This car one got the worst of the damage. I believe this car, which flipped onto its side, hit a utility pole on McGuiness Boulevard near Calyer before flipping. The police officers were fine and the suspect was arrested.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 10:33 AM

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Last night at The Garden, besides many bitches and hos, there were two block parties. There was Bloc Party at the WaMu Theater (what a horrible name) and the La Kalle Block Party Concert 2007 at the arena, making for a somewhat confusing evening. It even led to Garden security to say, "this entrance is for the English group 'Bloc party.'" Kele Okereke even made mention of the dual bloc(k) parties at The Garden during the show.

Posted by tien mao in Concerts/Music, NYC, Photos at 12:23 PM

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In the long-standing tienmao.com tradition of putting things up way after I take the pictures, here are some pictures from The Gutter - a new bar/bowling alley in Greenpoint/Williamsburg (it's really right on the border). Almost the entire bowling alley is made of old lanes, which gives the place a nice look. The best part about The Gutter? It's conveniently located to my apartment.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos, Sports at 12:28 PM

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Last night, I went to Borough Food and Drink for dinner with a bunch of people. At Borough Food and Drink, their menu is a homage (said with an H - think hom-age - by our waitress) and they outsource (again, according to our waitress) their dessert cakes and pies.

Pictured are the dumplings (surprisingly good), the mac and cheese pancake, tobacco onion rings (very good and oily), the jerk lobster (I wouldn't order again or recommend it), and the banana split (the candied walnuts were virtually missing).

I'm guessing the restaurant will be closed in less than two years. It's only okay in my book and Shannan got a martini with glass in it and some possible food poisoning from her braised pork shoulder. That's at least two reasons we won't be passing on another homage to NYC. They also seem to spill maple syrup on occasion.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC at 3:00 PM

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I remember when I was on a trip to China one summer, there were these two sisters from Long Island. One was a "model," who probably modeled stuff that would appear in local circulars or something like that. There was one thing that the sisters would always say, "not for nothing." When starting a sentence, it was always, "not for nothing, but..." Over and over again. It was incredibly annoying and it didn't even make sense in the context they used it in.

Naturally, when I saw this graffiti in Williamsburg, I thought of those two annoying girls.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 10:25 AM

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The harvest moon from last night that rose over Citi Field didn't do much to help the Mets make their way towards the post-season. In fact, they seem to be doing everything they can to miss it entirely. Sigh.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Sports at 1:29 PM

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It's hard to believe it's been six years since 2001. It's probably the only think I actually remember in detail six years later.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:48 AM

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Sunday was the last Pool Party at McCarren Park Pool in Greenpoint this year and possibly ever. Performing was one man show Yacht, who stopped his performance at one point to take Q&A and got into the crowd to perform; The Baltimore Bass Connection with The Cool Kids, Kid Sister, Santo Gold, Spank Rock, and Amanda Blank; and Ghostland Observatory, who are awesome.

Posted by tien mao in Concerts/Music, NYC, Photos at 10:35 AM

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Friday night, we celebrated K's birthday at Beast in Prospect Heights. Not only were some of the items finger licking good, but the mussels were so good that Kate had to help herself to some of the sauce when the mussels were finished. And I don't know what it is with all the bike helmets at birthdays recently, but things devolved as the night went on.

Posted by tien mao in Birthdays, Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 8:26 AM

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I've been pretty busy using my camera for the past few days, so I'm going to go in order of event.

Thursday was the 2007 U.S. Air Guitar Championship at Irving Plaza (now dubbed Fillmore New York - guh) where contestants vied to represent the United States at the World Air Guitar Championships in Oulu, Finland. 2006 champion Hott Lixx Hulahan was defeated by William Ocean, who came in 2nd last year.

See also: Last year's championship at Bowery Ballroom

Posted by tien mao in Concerts/Music, NYC, Photos at 8:54 AM

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(Click to enlarge image)

I saw this note (click the image to enlarge) at the Greenpoint Avenue subway stop on Saturday. It was scrawled from right to left and reads:
"It's hard loving someone whose [sic] in love with someone else." 8-4-07
"But thank God that's not the case 4 me anymore."
"Lovers & Ballers. Briggs N Bunz since 10-4-06."

I thought it was a pretty nice message.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:13 AM

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As I'm sure most people know, for the release of The Simpsons Movie, 7-11 turned a bunch of their stores into Kwik-E-Marts modeled after the convenience store from the TV show. They have some blow-ups of lovable Simpsons characters, some products from the TV show (Squishee and red sprinklicious donuts), as well as employees dressed in Kwik-E-Mart gear.

Yesterday was the last day of the promotion and it took me the whole month to get there. Crazy, considering how HUGE a fan I am of The Simpsons.

Posted by tien mao in Movies, NYC, Photos at 9:21 AM

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From yesterday's Pool Parties at McCarren Park Pool in Greenpoint (I think it's Greeenpoint). Performing were Oxford Collapse (myspace, Annuals (myspace, and Band of Horses (myspace).

Posted by tien mao in Concerts/Music, NYC, Photos at 9:04 AM

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Tuesday night, a group of us went to Hill Country Barbecue - one of the latest 'cue joints to open here in NYC. A little different than your typical restaurant in NYC, at Hill Country you line up at various counters to order your food. There are counters for the meat, the sides and the drinks. While at the meat counter, you order meat by weight. The first picture is about 1/2 lb of the moist brisket (it didn't seem like enough to share with Calvin). We ended up with 1 lb of the brisket, 1/2 lb of the pork spare rib, and 1 jalapeno cheese sausage. We also had the white shoepeg corn pudding, sweet potato bourbon mash, and corn bread (with ancho honey butter) for sides. It was sooo good (especially the brisket and sides), but super filling. So if you ever go and you like to eat, eating a pound of meat and sides should be your upper limit. This would have been useful information to some of the other people at the table - I think someone got about 2 lbs of meat for himself.

Note to large groups, you can make reservations for 8 or more people, but they only allow a limited number of reservations each day for those groups. Although we didn't have a reservation, we only had to wait about 50 minutes for our table after getting there at 7:30.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 9:57 AM

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No TV and no beer make Homer something something...good thing Homer has beer for eyes.

Posted by tien mao in Movies, NYC, Photos at 9:10 AM

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Friday evening, I headed up to the Apple Store on 5th Avenue to catch the insane scene surrounding the iPhone launch. There were tons of people in line and a huge amount of media on hand to cover it. The girl in the 3rd photo - who was 3rd in line - said that she knew what it was like to be homeless now. How would someone who bought two iPhones know what it's like to be homeless? Because she didn't shower for the several days that she was waiting in line.

Shocking as it may seem, I didn't get an iPhone. For now, I refuse to switch carriers for it. Once I play with it a little more, I wouldn't be surprised if I did get one though.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Tech at 8:51 AM

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I keep forgetting to put these pictures up from last Saturday's Wiimbledon at Barcade. Shockingly, I did not play.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Sports, Tech at 3:17 PM

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Pieces by Shepard Fairey and the Faile collective that are currently splash free.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 5:06 PM

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I bet this doesn't make those living on the South side of the building next door very happy.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 4:55 PM

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This was from a trip to BLT Burger before going to Asia. The 2nd picture is of "waffle bites" - kind of like potato skins with waffle fries instead.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 4:36 PM

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Neil and I were on hand last night for the 4th game of this year's Subway Series. It was a great game, and that's not just because the Mets won 2-0. Oliver Perez pitched a phenomenal game, shutting out the Yankees for 7 1/3 innings. Since they didn't welcome Billy Wagner with Enter Sandman, I had to improvise a little. It was just like Shea Stadium. Well, kind of.

Because of my travel earlier this year, I missed two games at Shea that I had tickets for.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 3:07 PM

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I couldn't bring myself to see these photos from the Big Apple BBQ Block Party on my site until today. I simply had too much BBQ on Sunday to see them again. I'm not sure when I'll be able to eat it again. Maybe when summer's over?

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 8:33 AM

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These photos don't really do the new Richard Serra exhibit at MoMA much justice. You can't see how large the steel sculptures are, how they lean or open up over you, and how grand each piece is.

Anyone in New York City through September 10th should really take some time and head to MoMA and check it out.

Posted by tien mao in Culture, NYC, Photos at 8:26 AM

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Nothing like a double shack burger. Plus that grilled/burnt cheese stuff at the top was pretty tasty too.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC at 4:17 PM

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A week from today, if you've got lots of money to spare and some storage space, you can bid on Jean Prouvé's Maison Tropicale through Christie's. Lot #0311 was built in 1950-51 and is a prototype by French architect and designer Jean Prouvé. Be sure to save your pennies though - Christie's estimates the house to go for $4-6 million.

Prouvé thought that the Maison Tropicale would be a perfect house for French colonies in Africa, where the mass-produced houses could be easily shipped (this one fit in six containers) and assembled. Only three of the houses were ever built in the late 40's and early 50's, with little interest from the colonialists the houses were meant for. The house for auction next week was in Brazzaville in the Congo. The house - 16' tall, 59' long, and 32' wide - comes wired for electricity, but with no plumbing. All you get is a one room designer house. The house has been restored (removing bullet holes and evidence of squatters) to its original form except for one bullet hole.

A second Prouvé house is on display at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, while the third house will be a traveling Prouvé museum financed by the sale of this house. If you're in NYC anytime soon, you should definitely check out the house before it's sold.

I wonder what a more beautiful backdrop for the house is - the jungles of Africa, or the industrial settings of Long Island City with Manhattan in the background.

Posted by tien mao in Culture, NYC, Photos at 9:16 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:47 AM

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Last week, in cities across the United States, there were rallies for immigration reform. They weren't as big as last year's marches, but the crowd in Union Square was still loud and numbered in the thousands.

To view the photos in that slideshow, you can just click on the image and it will scroll to the next image. Don't like the slideshow, here's the flickr photoset.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 9:25 AM

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Nothing like reading a menu while waiting for the subway. Also, don't they put garbage on top of those bins?

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:17 AM

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Matty claims to be itching his beard, but I'm not so sure.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 8:00 AM

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A little break from the Japan photos with a day of Japanese cherry blossoms and Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival) at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Due to the poor weather in New York recently, the blossoms weren't in full bloom yet, like they were last year. Nevertheless, Shannan and I had a fun time. I'm thinking of going again when the blossoms on the Cherry Esplanade are in full bloom.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:57 AM

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Perhaps a little too much food that had a casing?

From the Bohemian Hall, Nathan's, and Totonno's.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 8:01 AM

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So, if I walk down the street from Taipei 101, I should stumble upon New York, right? Too bad I can't do that and have to take a super long flight back to New York.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Taiwan, Travel at 5:46 AM

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I guess you can never have enough if you're running Grey's Papaya.

I'll be traveling some over the next couple of weeks, but I'll try to update when possible. Things I may miss - hot dogs, a good burger, maybe steak. Good thing I had all those recently!

And yes, I know there's a new error somewhere in the redesign.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 5:32 AM

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Almost two weeks ago, NYC's Parks Department and the Central Park Conservancy unveiled the restored arcade at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park. What they did is really beautiful, but they essentially restored and replaced 15,876 of the tiles on the ceiling of the arcade. Total cost - $7 million.

A lot more photos, including some of the tools they used for the project, in my flickr photoset.

Oh, and if you didn't see, there was a site redesign that went live last night. We're still working out the bugs.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 9:25 AM

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Ever since it opened, I've been hearing things about Lucali. I'm not sure I heard one bad peep, but until last week, I haven't made it to the Carol Gardens restaurant. I was not disappointed. You may recall that I tried to go to Lucali a couple of weeks ago, only to find that it's not open on Tuesdays. So keep that in mind if you're going. This time, I made the trip with Matty, Adam and Janice. We ordered one plain pie, the calzone, and a pepperoni pie. While the menu may be sparse, the food certainly doesn't lack in taste. Something else to note is that Lucali doesn't have a liquor license, so you can bring your own alcohol. Conveniently, there's a deli a couple doors down from Lucali.

More on Lucali:
- Gothamist
- Slice
- NY Times
- NY Magazine

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 8:59 AM

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There are still lots of reminders that Chinese New Year was recently celebrated in Chinatown - confetti on the sidewalks, festive lights and decorations, etc. But I think this display is there no matter what time of year or what year it is.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 8:25 AM

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If only because he's on a dumpster.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:56 AM

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This REVS sculpture in Williamsburg has been there so long that they painted around it when the rest of the building was painted. I'm surprised nobody has "removed" this one yet.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:34 AM

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I had a good Valentine's Day, but this balloon failed to fulfill its promise. That is, unless it was destined to be caught on a crosswalk in Greenpoint.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:20 AM

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Last Thursday, some top snowboarders came here for New York City's first snowboard competition - Union Square Street Sessions. There was no need for a mountain as the riders were just doing tricks on the rail and they were coming down a manmade "hill." I tried to catch the actual competition in the evening, but it was just too crowded. These pictures are from the early morning preview. It looked as if the competition would be much better if it were on an actual mountain.

More pictures in my flickr photoset.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 8:54 AM

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When Calvin was telling people that he ran in Saturday's Idiotarod, the explanation that I would tell people is that it's like the Iditarod in Alaska, except with idiots replacing dogs. That and they're using shopping carts instead of sleds and dressed in ridiculous outfits. Conveniently for me, the race started in Greenpoint. I decided not to follow it to Long Island City (it was too far to run) or risk getting pelted with any projectiles from the participants.

And if you're wondering, it was cold on Saturday.

There are a couple of more photos in my flickr set.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 8:37 AM

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Jake tells me that there are lots of Obey and WK pieces around together. He had yet to see this one with Lepos between them though.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:50 PM

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From the night before it closed for the winter. They actually ran out of burgers.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 7:58 AM

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Saturday afternoon Jake took me on a tour of 11 Spring Street. The building was recently sold and the new owner is allowing street artists to fill the interior with their work. After a three-day open house in the near future, the building will be scrubbed and eventually converted into condos. There was a good deal of work already finished, but I'm curious to see what the finished product will look like.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:16 AM

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I got home a little early yesterday and saw lots of little kids walking around the neighborhood. I spotted more than one tiger costume, but only one Tigger. The best was probably a kid in a prisoner costume (you know, the stripes) with a hat that was exiting the police station.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:47 AM

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With the recent opening of Bank of America (in the former Jennifer Leather/Convertables store), there are now several banks on Manhattan Avenue. It almost seems like there are more banks in the 5 block stretch from Greenpoint Avenue to Norman Avenue than the most bank-dense stretches in Manhattan. Starting from the north, there's HSBC, Citibank, Bank of America, Dime Savings Bank, North Fork (formerly Greenpoint Bank), Chase, Apple Bank, and Sovereign/Independence Bank (the only bank between Meserole Avenue and Norman). It's possible that I've even missed one. There's also an H&R Block for all of Greenpoint's tax needs!

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 7:36 AM

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I've determined that the best part of a wedding in Chinatown isn't the fact that wedding gifts are generally cash (everything is so easy for the guests) or that they are apparently very casual. The best thing is how there's a HUGE airbrushed glamor photo of the happy couple.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:28 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC at 8:14 AM

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I gather nobody has made a call from that telephone booth in a long time.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:29 AM

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I was in City Hall Park last week and killing time before a photo shoot (BWHAHAHA, but yes, really) when I took this picture. I also experimented using flash.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:54 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:46 AM

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I can't count the number of times that I've finished dinner and had a craving for ice cream. Soon my problems will be answered with the newest addition to Greenpoint - a Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robins on Manhattan Ave and Bedford Ave. The are moving into the old Moon Shadow space and the store next door. From the looks of it, the store will be open pretty soon. They lights are done and they've got a freezer already delivered.

The donut/ice cream combination will certainly open before the We the People bagel spot which now has an awning and real name. They should have kept the old name and the notary. People are always in need of a notary with their bagel.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC at 8:17 AM

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The Schwartz Chemical Company building was orginally a power station for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Built in 1909, the building became a chemical factory in the 50's and later housed tennis courts. Now, the building is awaiting development into apartments, which were supposedly supposed to have smokestacks as part of the structure. Clearly those are gone right now, but I'm not sure if they are returning later or not.

More information:
- Bridge and Tunnel Club, which has good pictures of the pre-construction structure
- Industrial New York, with great pictures from inside the building

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:58 AM

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This was the view Thursday evening from Long Island City's Gantry Plaza State Park. I remember looking across the East River from the United Nations at the gantries with "Long Island" on them. Back then, there weren't any of those fancy buildings or landscaping.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:49 AM

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Saturday morning, Janelle organized a small group trip to Governors Island in New York Harbor. The island is so close to Manhattan, it seems like one could swim there. That would probably be deadly though as the island is at the junction on the Hudson and East River. While never used in any battles, the island was used to protect New York City from naval attack. Parts of Fort Jay (part of it seen in the 4th picture), the oldest structure on the island, were first built in 1776 and repaired and added to through the 1800s. The cannons in the fort date back to the Civil War. Castle Williams (1st picture) was built between 1807-1811 and used as harbor defense, barracks and a P.O.W. holding facility during the Civil War.

The rest of the island has a lot of living quarters that were used by the Army when they occupied the island from 1794 until 1966 and by the Coast Guard for 30 years after that. Use of the island ended in 1997, when the Coast Guard left the island and it's been in disuse ever since. Some of the more surprising things that were on the island were a YMCA, a Super 8 Motel, and a Burger King.

Who says there isn't any good real estate left in Manhattan?! There's plenty, it's just all on Governors Island. The big question is what they'll end up doing with it. There's already a pro-am golf tournament scheduled there for later this year.

Now, if they would only solve the problem off the hot dog monopoly that exists on the island. The lone food vendor sets the price of a Sabrett hot dog at a pricey $2. If only that Burger King was still in business!

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:56 AM

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I took advantage of the nice weather last Friday to take a leisurely stroll home. I kind of wish this hot and humid weather would all end right now. Bring back winter!!

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:42 AM

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This building, pictured in late March, has already made a lot of progress in it's conversion to something fancier since then. The old windows are gone, waiting for their replacements, and something is being added onto the roof.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:57 AM

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Over the weekend, I competed in the Brooklyn Kickball's North American Invitational. Unfortunately, the team I was on didn't make the playoffs after a last minute change in the number of teams that made the playoffs and being shortchanged one run in our first victory. It's unfortunate that we didn't advance because of that recording error. Providence Kickball came to play and they had the most unique uniforms - not just t-shirts - but whole outfits. And when you're in Brooklyn, you definitely want to write "Fuck You Brooklyn" on you belly.

And for some even more disturbing imagery, I recommend you click here and here.

It should be noted that I took none of these pictures. I'm not sure I would want to get that close.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Sports at 7:49 AM

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Happy July 4th, everyone.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 9:54 AM

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Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:41 AM

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I think Daniel wins this matchup.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:39 AM

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I have no clue what's going on, but I've seen a couple of these Isaac/Daniel things near work. Isaac seems much more sensible than Daniel in this pair.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:45 AM

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From the roof of the Smith Gray building.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:35 AM

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Last night I went to the New York City Beard and Moustache Championships, which left me feeling painfully inadequate in the facial hair department. Despite the fact that I hadn't shaved in a couple of days, I even had less facial hair than some of the women on hand.

For more photos (and I have a lot) - including a hirsute dance troupe - check out the full set on Flickr.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:56 AM

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This always happens. I say I haven't done something here and my parents are all "yes, when you were so and so age, you went." Last week, I said I've never been to the Cherry Blossom Festival before, but of course I was wrong. And these are the pictures to prove it. I was two months in the first picture and four in the 2nd. There's also this picture from when I was 3 with a nice Tonka truck.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 7:58 AM

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Yesterday the biggest fire in recent New York City history (not counting 9/11) hit the Greenpoint Terminal Market/Warehouse, which I've previously said is what I love most about Greenpoint. It's sad to see it go, especially in such a dramatic fashion. Before heading to work, I biked over to the site, getting as close as about two blocks from the fire. It was easily the largest fire I've ever seen and it eventually grew to a 10 alarm fire with 400+ firefighters. After work, I went down to the site again, but it was essentially blocked off and I couldn't get nearly as close as I was in the morning. I'm very sad to see the building go. Next up for the site - really nice condos.

- A lot more photos in my Flickr set

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:47 AM

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Sunday afternoon, a group of us went to take in the Sakura Matsuri Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Screw the flowers, the highlight of the day was clearly Jonas. I don't think I've ever been to the festival before [note to mom: going while I was Jonas' age may count, but I don't remember], so it was quite an enjoyable time despite the throngs of people.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 7:53 AM

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You just can't stop the improvements in Greenpoint. With local residents unsatisfied with just a Subway up Manhattan Avenue, a Blimpie opened up just recently at one end of the Nassau Avenue G stop. While it doesn't seem like they bake their own bread or to have Hershey's Ice Cream in the store (Subway has both), they seem to have some little cart that is destined to serve some craptastic Mexican food. On the plus side, they have an eager and helpful staff and plenty of seating.

So it's T-Mobile, "We the People Bagles" (which hasn't made much progress) and now Blimpie. What's next?

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC at 7:58 AM

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Last night, I went over to Williamsburg with Jake and Jesse to document the crowds mourning Moses Teitelbaum. There were so many people in the two-three block radius of the Satmar Synagouge. By the time I arrived, the police already set up a good number of barriers along the street in an attempt to control the crowd. By the time I left, those barriers were useless as people filled Bedford Avenue.

It's reported that there are about 120,000 followers worldwide of the Satmar sect of Hasidism with the biggest number of them living in Williamsburg. The 2nd largest contingent lives upstate in Kiryas Joel. It's unclear which of his sons will be the next Grand Rebbe, Aaron or Zalmen. Teitelbaum was 91 when he passed away Monday.

- Jesse's gallery of the funeral

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 12:13 AM

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Saturday afternoon I went over to Taste of Chinatown despite the weather forecast. The turnout was surprising as well as the miniscule amount of food I ate. Not sure why I didn't eat that much despite my hunger. Maybe it was the imperfect system of walking around with food in my hands and camera under my arm while trying not to get wet.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 8:02 AM

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I just had to take a picture of the Bump Your Ass Off sign. Adam noted that it's an annual tradition. I don't think I posted one last year, but I did in 2004 - almost the exact same picture.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:52 AM

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Yesterday, I headed to Coney Island to meet up with Adam for his Pizza Club. Of course, I had to have a hot dog beforehand. I also rode the Cyclone three times. Each time, we moved up one seat until we ended up in the front. I've never sat in the front before, but it's an awesome, awesome experience. And for the people that are going to ride with me in the future, I have a strategy to get to the front.

Special Bonus: I'm on the cover of today's Metro newspaper! (.pdf file)

There's nothing like having a band (the Hungry March Band) around to entertain you while you wait either.

More from Adam and from Dan.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:56 AM

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Not only do we have a T-Mobile, but it looks like some bagels are coming to Greenpoint. I, for one, welcome them. Especially since the bagel place on the corner of Meserole and Manhattan is horrible. I also think they should keep the canopy and name of the previous occupant.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC at 8:15 AM

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I wonder how crazy it must have been in Greenpoint when the Pope came to visit St. Stanislaus Kostka.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:12 AM

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Monday night, I took a leisurely walk home from work. If I didn't take any pictures, I probably would have been home in about 30-40 minutes, but it took me about 50 minutes because of pictures and a few stops on the way.

Time to consider which way to commute:
- Subway: 22 minute best
- Bike: 13 minute best
- Walk: 30-40 minutes

The summer will be too hot to walk, but in the spring, walking is a viable option. But riding a bike would be healthier.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:34 AM

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Greenpoint has a lot of ugly builings, especially all those apartments with aluminum siding, but I think the Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union takes the cake. I mean, look at those crests!

For full on ugly Greenpoint, be sure to check out Bridge and Tunnel Club's page on aluminum and vinyl siding and Brownstoner's little compilation of the images.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:52 AM

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Well, T-Mobile is now open. Sure, it's no crazy Trader Joe's action, but it's all Greenpoint's got. Although, that Jennifer Convertibles location did close down. I wonder what that will be come. Seems too big for a Starbucks. Maybe it can be another discount clothing store or a 99¢ store. I'm not even sure what I want in that location. Maybe they're just tearing down the building to put up a new apartment building.

It also looks like the store has taken up at least half of the old hardware store. After assuming they have some storage space, I can't imagine that the YMCA will have much space left if they are indeed supposed to expand into the building.

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 8:08 AM

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Well, it looks like the Germans are pushing the Polish out again. The Polish-run True Value Hardware store, that is. I find it kind of strange that T-Mobile seems to be building out a store here in Greenpoint. I guess there market research tells them that they have a good Polish customer base? Maybe it's that they like the GSM.

I guess the authorized dealer less than a block away isn't very happy.

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 7:59 AM

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Well, at least a sign depicting the blue Metrocard. It was only available in a few dollar amounts, including $3 and $15, but no more or no less. Back then, the fare was only $1.50, but the Metrocard didn't even give you a transfer. I think I have a few of these lying around somewhere. And I think it's a commemorative Rangers Stanley Cup Metrocard.

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 7:59 AM

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It's good to know that while changing Gage & Tollner to Friday's they were still able to preserve some of the historical interiors. Despite Friday's not even close to being the oldest restaurant in New York, let alone that stretch of Fulton St, I like how they kept the old window signs. On the inside of Friday's, they still have the lamps that used to be gas lamps before Gage closed down. Obviously there's no gas there anymore.

All this comes from that awesome heart attack inducing trip to Fridays.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC at 8:07 AM

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As we don't have actual mountains here.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:04 AM

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With all this snow from the "Blizzard of '06" on the grounds, the Department of Sanitation has got to put it somewhere, right? While in high school, I remember watching dump trucks empty loads and loads of snow into the Hudson River. Apparently, that wasn't too friendly to the environment. Since 2000, Sanitation has used these super-fancy snow melters that can handle up to 60 tons of snow per hour. The machines use water to dissolve the snow and drain the water into the sewage system.

Near my office, they shut down several blocks for one snow melter and have a HUGE pile of snow that gets dumped into it all day. Two front end loaders, one melter, but about 15 sanitation employees on hand. Now that's municipal efficiency. The best part was when the machine operator looked into the machine, grabbed his rake, and pulled out a pair of jeans. I wonder what else is in the pile of snow.

The NY Times had a great article on these $200,000 machines yesterday.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:45 AM

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Here we are, in the "Blizzard of '06," which is currently the 2nd biggest snowstorm in New York history! These photos are from Manhattan Ave. on the way to brunch, which was delicious (see photo here). There is a car somewhere under that snow drift.

And I just couldn't pass up the chance to make a snow angel.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 1:23 PM

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or is that Ill...Hellbent. So confusing.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:09 AM

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Lots of dogs were on hand to celebrate the Year of the Dog, the most famous of which was Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog. Obviously, no comedic stuff going on, just Triumph sitting on a rickshaw.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:59 AM

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Last night, my friend Margaret was on Jeopardy!, which I think is one of the best game shows on TV. I remember watching it during dinner when I was a kid, but from what I understand, playing the game in real life is much harder than watching at home. There's the clicker, the penalty for clicking early, and of course the prospect of making a fool out of yourself on national television.

Margaret, however made her hometown in New Hampshire proud. She was up against a Naval officer and some bald two-day champion. That Navy guy was such a jackass, building off Margaret's "Happiness is a Warm Gun" answer. Not only that, he had a retarded story about how he got out of a ticket on a Saturday. It certainly didn't match Margaret's story about how Steve proposed to her on the Jumbotron of Yankee Stadium. I especially like how Margaret is "from" New Hampshire but actually lives in New York. And can I just ask how the answer for the $2000 baseball answer was "Commissioner Bud Selig is a former owner of this Midwestern Major League Baseball team" - come on! That's just tooo easy. Despite coming in 3rd behind douchey Navy dude and cue ball, you can't help but be impressed. Despite watching plenty of Jeopardy as a kid, I'm not sure I could have made it all the way to Final Jeopardy. I just wonder what her parting prizes were. Clearly Margaret needs to do an interview with me so I can find out all the juicy details.

Another pair of my friends - Jeannette and Yvan - are currently selling their apartment in DUMBO. They even have a nice looking website to show prospective buyers their apartment. I must say, their apartment cleans up nice. It looks like they put a lot of stuff in storage and I don't know that I've ever seen it so clean. They don't even have the extra bed in their living room that I've slept on before. And I'm not sure if I've ever seen their bedroom (pictured) so well lit before.

Also, showing the house over Chinese New Year is a nice touch - they won't even have to sweep after people come. That would be bad luck!

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, TV at 7:58 AM

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Shannan spotted these faces in some Club Med ads on the G Train the other day. There were about five ads, but we only saw faces in two. Even the faces are all happy in the blue and green water, I can't help but feel they are a little creepy looking. Maybe the good folks at Club Med think New Yorkers need some happy faces in the water of their subway advertisements. Although, in the lower left of the 2nd photo, there is what seems to be like another, not so happy face.

I suppose the question is whether these ads are subliminal at all as they almost look too obvious to be so. I wonder if the MTA picked up on these at all when they were looking at the ads.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:05 AM

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Or should that be "Graffiti of a Certain Age."

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:30 AM

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I never thought I would see a vanity plate as a store sign, but last Friday, I did. What the store was, I'm not sure. I'm not even sure there was a store. But it's clear that someone hates the game, no? Enough to get a ladder or hang out a window and then write the hilarious message in the 2nd photo.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:10 AM

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The New Yorker Hotel recently received a new sign. Spotted on a fun trip to the car pound.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:08 AM

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Goodbye 2005, hello 2006. Resolution already broken. Oh well. I wasn't going to keep it anyway.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:27 PM

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If I have a strike post, I have to have a strike over post, right? No bike riding for me today! Yay!!

And excuse the swipe retardedness, it's been a while and I was using my left hand, and well, it's the G Train so that turnstile is never working.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:49 AM

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With the transit strike of 2005 somewhat over, I figure it's about time to do a post about it. After all, what kind of New Yorker with a blog would I be if I didn't. The thing is, while the strike certainly affected me, it wasn't quite as bad for me as it was for a lot of the stories that you're hearing out there. I didn't have to walk several hours to get to work, I didn't have to share a cab, I didn't even get to miss any work. If anything, I actually worked longer hours this week because of the strike. All I had to do was ride my bike less than 20 minutes to work in the sub-freezing temps. So the strike for me saved me a few dollars in transportation costs and made me exercise a little.

I was even riding/driving a car a couple of times during the strike. I can say that traffic was a mess though. The last three photos here came while actually driving into and out of Manhattan. That was a poor, poor plan, but I wasn't the one driving, so I had to entertain myself in some way. And for those outside of New York who drive to work and don't depend on mass transit, the strike was so bad that some Starbucks stores didn't even open.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 9:27 PM

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Oh how those Polish people like to sit on their buildings. While the chair is next to the signage of a furniture store, it still strikes me as odd. Then again, it does kind of catch the eye, maybe accomplishing exactly what the store owners intended.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:04 AM

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After work yesterday, I hustled over to Hoyt-Schermerhorn to check out the MTA's newest subway car, the R160. Scheduled to roll out next year for testing, the only feature that is obviously different than the R142 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and R143 (L) is the new FIND system (Flexible Information and Notice Display). The display shows the next stop, nine after that, five more "further stops" which vary along the line, and the last stop. Below each station, the display also shows transfers, if there are any, and it shows handicap accessible stations next to the station name. A screen also shows the line the train is on and any other information the MTA want's to put on it. During the open house, various videos were running, including one with a race car. The best thing about the FIND is that if the train switches routes, all the information can easily change, unlike the current trains which are stuck with one map no matter where they run. The MTA employee that was explaining the display said that there would be three per car so people in each section could see the coming stops.

- SubText on the new train
- NY Times: New Subway Cars Promise All Kinds of Information
- R160 set on flickr

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Tech at 8:05 AM

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I'm convinced that I've never gone to seen the inflation of balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, but I have been in the parade. How many people can say that? Not a clown or even a balloon handler, but a "floater". This was in 1998 after that woman was injured in 1997, so I didn't have the proper training. I did get to drive a John Deere down Broadway with no traffic and to the cheers of the people waiting to watch the parade. That was kind of strange and unique. Oh, and I made the cover of USA Today.

- More photos on flickr

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:37 AM

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Walking around the World Trade Center, you see a lot of different things. Besides the obvious hole in the ground, there are lots of gawking tourists and there used to be various people hawking their wares, but it seems like they've cut back on that. One odd thing I noticed was a sign from the Port Authority, "Please Pardon Our Appearance While Construction Restricts The Sidewalk." I'm guessing most people would understand.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:03 AM

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So these really aren't from all over Jamaica, but a very small slice right around the Airtrain Terminal. I just wanted to reference Q-Tip from Tribe because how often can you actually do that.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:55 AM

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When you're racing with 36,000 people, it's probably good to stand out in the crowd. While most people just went with comfortable looking athletic gear, some went over the top.

Funny story about the first photo. The runner continued to look at me as he ran and eventually ran into someone else. So if you are running in the marathon, it might be a good idea to at least have a view of those in front of you.

All my marathon photos that were even semi-decent are now in a gigantic flickr set.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 7:55 AM

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I'm impressed by everyone that finishes the marathon, but there are just some people that look like they have a harder time of it. People like this are the heroes of the New York City Marathon.

- NYC Marathon flickr set (I've got more to add tomorrow)

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 7:48 AM

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Adam had some people over to watch the 2005 New York City Marathon, which truly is a great event. I would never run, but that doesn't detract from how great it is. Pictured here are the lead packs of both the women and men at around mile 7. In both lead packs, the eventual winners are in at least one of the pictures.

More photos tomorrow.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos, Sports at 6:18 PM

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So last night, I'm waiting for the L train at 1st Avenue at around 12:15 and across the way, this douchebag decides to get off the 8th Avenue bound platform to switch sides. At first I thought, "Oh, he's sitting down. I've always wanted to do that." I'm not quite sure why I want to sit on the dirty platform, but it seems like it would be fun.

Anyway, so before getting on the tracks, the guy takes a quick look to see if there's a subway coming. I suppose he feels that there isn't one, but there actually was. A Brooklyn bound train was about 200 feet from the station. The jackass proceeds to cross the tracks, not looking as he crosses onto my side of the station, and climbs onto the platform and nonchalantly walks away.

I think everyone was kind of shocked as to what he did and I think there was only one person that said something. It was just crazy. The train was so close. Once it finally pulled into the station, the subway conductor stopped and asked people if someone just crossed the tracks. He was told that the douchbag/jackass already got back onto the platform and it was okay to proceed.

I don't know what was running through that guy's mind. Even if he was on the wrong side of the stop, without money on his Metrocard, or in his wallet, he could have asked the token clerk to let him back in. Just not worth risking your life over, I would think.

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 2:19 PM

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There's nothing quite like moving into your brand new apartment with your plasma TV but using newspapers for blinds.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:10 AM

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I was reading today's NY Times article on how Mike Bloomberg is blanketing the media outlets with advertising and drowning Fernando Ferrer and when I got to the 2nd page of the ad, what popped up? A Bloomberg ad, naturally.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Politics at 8:55 AM

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Gotta love digging through archives to find photos you haven't posted. Some you forgot about, like these, others you just haven't gotten to like the rest of my San Francisco photos (over a month ago). At some point, they probably become pointless to post, but what can you do.

These were from August when we went to Ward's Island for some BBQ.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:55 AM

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Yesterday, I briefly went to two openhousenewyork sites on the Lower East Side - the Beth Hamedresh Hagadol Synagogue and the Eldridge Street Synagogue.

Beth Hamerdresh, pictured in the first four photos, was built in 1850, originally as a Baptist church. In 1885, after a period as a Methodist church, it was bought by orthodox Russian Jews and converted. There are murals on the walls that depict several towns in Israel. A fire has damaged the synagogue and they are in the process of raising money to restore it.

The Eldridge Street Synagogue, pictures 5-7, was built in 1887 and one of the first built in the US by Eastern European Jews. It's already being restored and repaired with the bulk of funding from the city in the form of grants that total $2.9 million. Major improvements, besides roof repair, include the installation of an HVAC system.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 9:00 AM

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Contrary to my dislike of bad smells on the subway, "good" smells on the subway can also be annoying. For example, the woman with the overwhelming perfume who is standing in your personal space, causing you to choke on the scented air you're breathing. Or the man who slathered on waay too much after shave in to cover up the late day odor he'll have.

Even worse is when you grab the bar on the subway, something I usually never do, only to come away with a hand that smells like aftershave. That's what happened to me a few days ago. Yet another reason for me not to grab the bar. You would think that a nice washing of the hand would get rid of the smell, but somehow, just somehow, the scent doesn't go away.

But then, what happens if you neurotically think, "If there is a subway accident, and I'm not holding onto anything, I could go flying!" But really, what's worse, life threatening injury or someone's smell plastered to your hand all day (I'm not even talking about germs)?

Then again, if the scent is actually Jovan for men, I might be in luck!

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Random at 8:05 AM

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In New York, September 11th is remembered in one way, in Chillicothe, Illinois, it's remembered in a different way.

Oh, and Chilli is "where the rails cross the river."

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:54 AM

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Sunday night was the last Cyclones ticket in my weekend package, so it might be the last time I head to Coney Island this year. The last trip to Nathan's, the last ride on The Cyclone, the last time to hear the PC Richards jingle, to hear the "We Deliver" song for a local car dealership. Okay, maybe another trip to Coney Island has to happen. If not for a baseball game, then at least for rollercoaster fun and eating.

The game against the Staten Island Yankees wasn't pretty. The Yankees started with two quick runs in the 1st inning, hitting balls that had eyes and proceeded to shut the Cyclones out. In fact, Brooklyn failed to get a hit until the seventh inning.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Sports at 7:53 AM

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I feel like every time I go to Coney Island, there is a requirement that I ride the Cyclone and eat a couple of hot dogs from Nathan's. Not really the healthiest trips in the world, but they are oh so fun and tasty.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:45 AM

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Boy, that New York Stock Exchange is really patriotic.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 11:29 AM

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I alluded to McCarren Pool's transformation into a dance space sometime this year in yesterday's photos, but in his post, David had a link to what they are actually doing. It looks like it will be a performance space for a short period, but I would think the pool would need some serious work. No more graffiti, no more smell of urine or feces? I can get with at least two of those.

I'm going to try to score some tickets to check it out, as I would love to see what they end up doing with the space.

And totally unrelated, check out Jake's site today as I make an appearance in his "Blue Project" - aka, I'm traveling and I must have something on my site. There's stuff from my archives up there, some New York, some California, and some Norfolk.

More information:
- "Inside McCarren Pool 1"
- "Foggy and Dark McCarren Park Pool"
- David's McCarren Pool Flickr set
- David's "Night In McCarren Pool" on Tangentialism
- Ben's McCarren Pool photos

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:43 AM

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Last night, I went over to McCarren Pool to take a look inside the once lively, now abandoned pool. I had previously taken pictures from the outside looking in, but last night was my first time inside. I was later told that the pool is undergoing renovations to become a dance space (?!?). Parts of the pool will be filled in and the whole area cleaned up.

I suppose it's good that they've finally decided to do something with it, but wouldn't making it a...pool make more sense?

More information:
- Previous entry: "Foggy and Dark McCarren Park Pool"
- David's (Tangentialism) McCarren Pool Flickr set
- Tangentialism: "Night In McCarren Pool"
- Ben's McCarren Pool photos

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:59 AM

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Really, I'm not sure how to follow up that whole cheesecake thing. It was really hot until it started getting misty. Also, I ate the hot dog and most of those fries about 4 hours before the cheesecake, plenty of time.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:29 AM

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Okay, maybe not. But really, how much of a sign can possibly be out at once before you actually replace it. All the letters were out except the ones above. Of course, the logo was well lit.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:57 AM

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I tried to stitch these photos together, but it didn't look too good because the colors in the sky weren't cooperating. As you can see, Calvin's got a pretty good view on his roof.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 12:29 PM

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On my way to dinner last night, I was on the 4 to City Hall when a passenger broke out a 1/4 watermelon piece. If that wasn't somewhat odd enough, he decided that he wanted to share it with his friend. To break it, the two geniuses decided to push down on each end of the melon while balancing it on a knee. Not surprisingly, one half of the watermelon tumbled to the floor and skid about half a foot. The man who was going to eat that half said "Damn!", picked up his half thought about it for a second and then started to pick a few things off his half and dug in. As you can see, I captured it on the cameraphone and for that one man, the 5 second rule applies to the subway too.

Quite possibly one of the more disturbing things I've seen inside the subway. It's up there with the pile of shit I once saw.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC at 8:05 AM

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Over the weekend, I visited the United Nations for a free tour as they are celebrating their 60th anniversary this month. As a "thank you" to New Yorkers, they are encouraging citizens of their host city to make the trip to visit. I've always had fond memories of the UN as my mom worked there. While they give tours every day, the Sunday tours this month are free. One thing I found out, from the guide that has been there three months, is that the cafeteria has increased their prices.

The minimalist tour includes trips to the Security Council and to the General Assembly. Pictured above is the Secretariat Building, a mural depicting the formation of the UN, the Security Council, the Trusteeship Council, the General Assembly, and some reflective globe sculpture.

Fun facts: the United Nations is international territory and not part of the United States or New York City; there are 191 member states now; the first seat in the first row of the General Assembly rotates between all the members (who are seated alphabetically by their English names), thus preventing Afghanistan from being in the first seat all the time; currently, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has the first seat and Saint Lucia is last.

The actual 60th anniversary of the UN charter's signing is on June 26th, the last Sunday of the month.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:46 AM

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Much like last year, the Big Apple BBQ Block Party was an insane eating extravaganza. So much food, so much over eating, so many people. All very bad on the waistline, but it seemed like such a good idea at the time. I believe I had one of each barbecue item at the event except for the snoot and anything from Blue Smoke.

So, a list of what I had:
- Brisket with sausage and beans from Southside Market & BBQ in Elgin, TX
- St. Louis spareribs with coleslaw from Whole Hog Cafe in Little Rock, AR
- Whole pork shoulder with beans from Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, AL
- Baby back ribs with beans from 17th St Bar & Grill in Murphysboro, IL
- Whole hog with coleslaw from Mitchell's BBQ in Wilson, NC
- Beef brisket, sausage and coleslaw from The Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, TX
- Pork shoulder with coleslaw from Ubon's in Yazoo, MS
- Pork shoulder with beans from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in New York

Insane, I say! INSANE!!!! More later. Damn, I could go for some more today...

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC at 10:40 AM

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The remnants of a dream from the 7 train last night.

I'll be away all day for forklift (hi low) training for work. I suppose that will all be explained next week.

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 6:35 AM

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Katie and Johnny's wedding today is at St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia. Yesterday was the wedding rehearsal (I play a semi-integral part) and I took a few pictures of the chapel while I was waiting around.

The chapel was designed by I.N. Phelps Stokes and was the first building at Columbia that was not designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White. Construction began in 1904 and St. Paul's was dedicated in 1907. In 1966, as they point out on the website, it was one of the first buildings in NYC to be designated a landmark by landmarks preservation.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, NYC, Photos at 9:29 AM

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Anybody that knows me knows that I love me some sneakers, so when the opportunity to visit the secretive and exclusive Nike iD store Design Lab in SoHo came about, I was naturally pretty excited. Or should I say very excited. I was going to get the chance to design my own shoe at a store that is by invite only. And by design, I mean pick one of 7 shoes and choose among various colors for each item on the shoes.

Designing your shoe at the store is exactly like the one on the Nike iD website, but there are colors at the store that are not available online. The sneakers available to design in the store change every now and then but Friday's selections included the Nike Free, Air Presto, FC Futebol, Air Rift, Air 180, Dunk Low, and the Waffle Racer. The Waffle is a shoe that is only available for "individual design" at the Nike iD store. Since the whole store is about exclusivity, I had to go with the Waffle.

After a few clicks of the mouse and some discussion with the design consultant, I came up with a Waffle that is granite, black, and clementine. Clementine is one of the colors that was only available at the store (others I remember included ice, a pink, and hyacinth) and I was warned that the orange of clementine really popped. Perfect.

If you don't know what size Nike you might have to go with, don't worry. At the store, they have each shoe in every size they make of it in a grey sample shoe that look so good by themselves that you want to design your own pair. Unfortunately, they don't have the options to design your grey on grey shoes.

This is going to sound quite cheezy, but the store is really more than a store (since you don't walk out with a pair of sneakers). It's an experience and clearly a brand building piece. It seems like every element was designed down to a tee. The wallpaper has sneakers in the design (no, it's not for sale...yet) as do the coasters and the cocktail napkins. Coasters and cocktail napkins, you ask? People walk around offering hors devours and drinks. While some might be put off by a store like this, they have to realize the store isn't meant for them. Sneakerheads know that there are shoes that are only released in limited numbers and Nike is doing the same thing with the store because it is by appointment only as the bouncer will tell you.

Supposedly, there is a lottery for an appointment to the store that started sometime Sunday on Nike's site, but I didn't find any info. To say I enjoyed myself would be a mild understatement. I hope I have the chance to go back again.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Sports at 7:55 AM

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It's not often that I experience firsts in New York anymore. After 27 years, how many things haven't you seen? Sunday afternoon, I experienced a first. I was entering the Nassau Avenue stop of the G train at the Norman Avenue entrance. On the stairs, I saw a large pile of human feces. I should say, what I assume was human feces as I didn't really try to inspect it. I just held my breath, hurried past the pile and tried to get through the turnstile as quickly as possible.

Obviously, I've seen plenty of shit on the streets, but that's dog shit. I can say that I've never seen human shit anywhere outside a bathroom in New York. Some of you might be thinking, "you need to get out more because I see the big deuce all the time on the streets." Well, if you have, I guess you're lucky and I'm not.

What's more flabbergasting is that there was no paper to be seen around the shit. Did the shitter not have the time or the materials to wipe up? Or were they courteous enough to dispose of their wipingings in the garbage can. And how bad did the shitter have to go in order to drop trou right there on the stairs? If it was explosive diarrhea, I would understand a little better, but solid crap? Can't you hold it until you get home or find a store?

As disturbing as this sounds, I think it might have been better if the shit was actually fresh. A steaming pile of fresh shit is better than a festering pile of fly attracting shit. Of course, no shit at all would be best. I feel bad for the guy that has to clean that mess. Unless it's still there.

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 7:43 AM

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With the coming rezoning of Williamsburg and Greenpoint, a lot of the buildings along the East River will likely be torn down and replaced by huge apartment buildings. I have no major qualms with that. It's the way things go. People like to live on the water and it was only a matter of time until apartment buildings would make their way to North Brooklyn.

There are a couple of things I would like them to designate as landmarks on the waterfront - the Domino's Sugar Factory and the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse/Market. The Terminal Market, as described by NYC's Greenpoint-Williamsburg Environmental Impact Study (Chapter 9, pg. 3):

The Greenpoint Terminal Market site occupies over three blocks of land along the East River between Greenpoint Avenue and Oak Street. This site, which is largely vacant, includes six industrial buildings ranging in height from one to seven stories, several of which are severely deteriorated. Immediately south of the Greenpoint Terminal Market is a now vacant piece of land formerly occupied by Consolidated Freight, a national freight forwarding company that declared bankruptcy in August 2002.

It might be severely deteriorated, but it's beautiful and it's historic. Continental Iron Works was located there, which is where the Monitor was built, which as everyone know played an important role in Civil War history. Put some minor-major repairs to the building, shore up the structure, and the Terminal Market could remain as is. The freight area that Consolidated Freight is suitable for an apartment complex and the warehouse could be made into a commercial space. I'm thinking something like Chelsea Market which would preserve the building and its character while developing the area.

To be a landmark, the NYC Landmark's Commission says, "to be designated, a potential landmark must be at least 30 years old and must possess 'a special character or special historical or aesthetic interest or value as part of the development, heritage, or cultural characteristics of the city, state, or nation.'" Hmm...I think Greenpoint Terminal Market has that heritage for the nation.

So if there's anyone that wants to work on this with me or is already working on this, I think the Monitor deserves more than a little plaque.

UPDATE: Much of the whole complex burned down on May 2, 2006 in a huge fire.

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 8:01 AM

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I was just called by the City of New York to participate in a survey about my mental and physical health. I normally don't pick up calls when I don't recognize the phone number, but it did say "City of New York" on my caller ID, so it could have been important.

They asked me all sorts of probing questions, which I didn't have to answer, but I thought it might be beneficial for the study if I did, so I answered away. Somehow, I'm supposed to represent my zip code...I wonder how many New York born Chinese people live in Greenpoint. They probably don't need any more of us for 11222 now.

While there were many, many questions, the best question they asked was about sex in the past 12 months. They asked the same thing about men and women, "In the past 12 months, have you had sex with a woman/man, where sex is defined as oral, vaginal, anal, but not masturbation." When I quipped that the questions were quite detailed, I got a pause and I'm guessing a smile from my questioner, but she read on.

Other questions included ones about where I was during 9/11 (below Canal St or below Chambers St.), if I worked on 9/11 recovery, if I was severely depressed at all, etc, etc. I'm curious as to what the results of the study will be.

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 8:12 PM

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A few photos from my walk to and back from the Brooklyn Brewery.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 10:01 AM

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I was supposed to ride around Brooklyn this past Sunday with Jake, but do to a minor miscommunication and some undercharged technology, we never met up. So I just rode around slowly for an hour and took a few pictures.

I've still got a lot more China photos, but I haven't had the time to sit down and edit them yet.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:19 AM

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I didn't have a chance to venture into the salon last night to actually find out what the "man cure" was. Too bad, I'm sure it would have been fascinating. Hopefully, nothing to do with waxing because that would be an awfully painful cure.

Damn, I want to know what the cure is.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:57 AM

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So for the second time, I'm in The New York Times. Crazy, I know. I never imagined being in The Times once, let alone twice. The first time was about that whole middle finger crosswalk thing, this time, it's about that potential NYC slogan, "The World's Second Home." I expressed my disdain over the slogan over at Gothamist and was contacted about it earlier this week.

The creepiest thing about the article was the constant "Mr. Mao" references. Damn style guides. And I have no idea what this quote means, "I guess they're pretty strong words, but it is pretty bad."

For those without a NYTimes.com membership, the full article is in the extended entry.

- NY Times: "Who You Callin' Second?"
- Gothamist: "NYC: Brought to You by the Number Two"

February 27, 2005
NEW YORK UP CLOSE

Who You Callin' Second?
By JAKE MOONEY

TIEN MAO, 26, grew up in Manhattan and lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. In short, New York is his home - his first and only home. Which may explain the distaste that Mr. Mao feels for "The World's Second Home," the phrase that could wind up as the city's slogan, if U.S. Patent No. 78484751 is approved and the political stars align.

"Could this possibly be the worst slogan of all time?" Mr. Mao wondered on the Web site Gothamist, of which he is editor-at-large.

"I guess they're pretty strong words," he conceded later by telephone, "but it is pretty bad."

Mr. Mao is part of a small but opinionated contingent of New Yorkers who disdain the slogan, which the city is seeking to trademark for possible use in the future, possibly in connection with the city's Olympics bid. As long ago as 1996, Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff used the phrase in his capacity as the city's chief Olympics booster. But by seeming to question the city's primacy, it rubs people like Mr. Mao the wrong way.

"Don't you think the city could have come up with something better?" he said. "No. 2? The city should be No. 1, you know?"

Barry Popik, who researches New York words and phrases on his Web site, barrypopik.com, is of similar mind. "Especially if you live here," he said, "it's kind of insulting. This is not your second home."

Mr. Popik, who made a name for himself researching the non-trademarked, public-domain nickname "The Big Apple," sensed another injustice. "They're probably spending thousands of dollars on 'The World's Second Home,' " he said. "They have attorneys, they have publicity people, they have someone in the mayor's office explaining what 'The World's Second Home' means. They did none of that for 'The Big Apple.' "

That venerable phrase, which according Mr. Popik's research was popularized in the 1920's, does have a street corner named for it, at West 54th Street and Broadway, where John J. Fitz Gerald, the sportswriter who popularized it, once lived.

Several out-of-towners walking by that corner one afternoon last week described themselves as less than enchanted with the potential new slogan, although not for the reason Mr. Mao and Mr. Popik cited. In their view, it seemed presumptuous.

"It's a bit cheesy," said Doug McWilliam, a visitor from England who was photographing the "Big Apple Corner" sign. "It's kind of like blowing your own trumpet."

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 10:48 AM

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I am an unabashed aggressive pedestrian. I'll jaywalk, stand in the street while waiting to cross against the light, pretty much anything to get me from point A to point B faster. I know that this is dangerous, but I accept the danger that goes along with these risky activities.

Yesterday, however, I was minding my own business and exiting the office and nearly run over by a van that was going about 10 mph on the sidewalk!! On the freaking sidewalk! the van grazed my left elbow and my right hand. The van was a neighboring company's vehicle that was making it's way to their offices and the sidewalk isn't very busy, but it was still a little insane. The van was maybe three feet from the building and several feet away from the curb and the cars parked in the street. My only reaction at the time was something along the lines of "what the fuck?" and not the anger that one might normally exhibit when they are almost run over. The only reaction of the driver, "are you okay?"

The crazy thing is, I normally push that door open much wider, swinging it all the way open. If I would have done that yesterday, the door would need replacing, and the van would need some body work. Two of my coworkers were walking back from lunch and were more shocked than I was and immediately told me that I should buy a lottery ticket.

I'm pretty sure if I were in the same situation as the driver, I would have been going much slower, and closer to the curb. You can easily see if you're going to hit something on the driver's side and there aren't going to be any people popping out of doorways on the driver's side either.

Just crazy I tell you, crazy.

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 7:56 AM

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Walking through the ramble late at night by yourself isn't the most comforting thing to do. Then again, there's nobody out when it's that cold at night, but what about the rats? Too cold for them too, I assume.

- More Chisto and Jeanne-Claude

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 7:52 AM

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While you and I might be completely tired of looking at photos of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Gates, I went back to Central Park yesterday afternoon for some pictures. Since I've already seen them during the day, the idea was check out the orange crush (or saffron crush) at night. I also wanted to get there before the sun went down so I could see sunset, dusk, and dark.

For some reason, I didn't mind sifting through these photos quite as much as I did the last set.

- More Chisto and Jeanne-Claude action on this site

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 10:21 AM

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(click image for full size)

This is from last weekend's trip to see The Gates.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 10:33 AM

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To raise money for the tsunami victims in Asian, Brian Berg has been in Good Morning America's studios since February 11th building a skyline of NYC with playing cards. He's using 178,000 cards to honor all the victims of the disaster.

It's kind of an insane task, but it is for a good cause. In the last picture, he's working on a replica Yankee Stadium.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:13 AM

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Okay, so promise broken. But this isn't my picture of The gates or even really a picture at all. It's technically a screen grab of a picture. But The NY Times likes The Gates so much that they even made made one of thier main page's boxes double wide.

All for this feature.

Posted by tien mao in NYC at 7:43 PM

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More of those annoying gates. I promise no more gates until next weekend because, as you can imagine, I'm already suffering from orange overload. It's like the Orange Crush, but much, much worse. That's not to say you shouldn't check them out, but all the photos are overwhelming.

More info and annoying gate photos:
- The Gates by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Pt 1
- Snow covered gates from January
- A healthy list of pictures at Gothamist.
- Satan's Laundromat, Lex's Folly, Corie, Rion, Joe and Bluejake

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 1:15 PM

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The Gates are just beautiful. But seeing them in person is one thing. Going through more than a hundred photos is another. So many similar pictures, so much orange. I almost want to say I never want to see another orange gate in my life. Then again, I have some today, some tomorrow, and I'll probably go back for more at some point.

These photos and the ones tomorrow are all from around the Harlem Meer. Some people might think this whole thing is a pointless piece of art and there are better uses of money, but when you hear little kids running around yelling, "coooooollllll," I think you've got a good idea.

Also, snow covered gates from January and what's sure to be a growing list of pictures at Gothamist.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 6:39 PM

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A few pictures from yesterday. First one from DUMBO because you can't not take that photo when you're heading to Jacques Torres. The second and third at JFK's Terminal 4, which I think it's beautiful. Terminal 5 gets a lot of press for it's classic look, but I think there's something to be said for new as well. It definitely could have been worse.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 11:25 AM

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Totally overstuffed from the weekend. I wish I biked more on Saturday. Maybe I'll bike to work this week since the weather will be kind of nice.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 8:03 AM

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I took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday to ride my bike (!!!!) and of course I took some pictures. I was nice to get out and exercise a little. Sadly, I'm a little sore today.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 10:50 AM

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You haven't waited for a subway until you've waited for the G train after midnight. The first one was after 10, but it was still kind of painful. That said, I like the G train. That shit's got character.

Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 10:59 AM

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