May 15, 2008
OBEY Posters on Lafayette
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
May 14, 2008
Lonely Ping Pong Table
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
May 13, 2008
Dancing Your Big Booty Off
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
May 12, 2008
Sitting in the Cherry Esplanade
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
May 8, 2008
Sorry I Was Away, I Was Dealing With Hard Drive Failure
There was a lesson learned when the hard drive on my MacBook failed on Monday - backup, backup, backup. I already do that, but I didn't do it for a couple weeks and I still lost a bunch of stuff. FAIL!
On the plus side, my new hard drive is double the size of my previous one.
Posted by tien mao in Photos at 6:17 PM
May 5, 2008
Sakura Matsuri at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
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
May 1, 2008
Fortitude in the Rain
Fortitude in front of the New York Public Library.
Posted by tien mao in NYC, Photos at 2:08 PM
April 30, 2008
Angry Garage Face
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
April 29, 2008
Viva El Neck Face
April 28, 2008
Dark Cloud by the Empire State Building
April 24, 2008
Jonas Does Shake Shack
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
April 23, 2008
Old Towne Grove Chapel in Groveland, IL
Jessica and Chanse didn't actually get married in this tiny chapel, but the larger chapel in the same "complex". The Old Towne Grove Chapel was much more picturesque though.
Posted by tien mao in Film, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 5:25 PM
April 22, 2008
A View of a Palm Tree
This is what it looks like when you're looking up while laying on a beach in Jamaica. Well, at least the beach I was on. I think I had a frozen beverage in my hands too.
Posted by tien mao in Film, Photos, Travel at 6:08 PM
April 21, 2008
Sunrise in Jamaica
This was the view of the sunrise from our hotel room in Ocho Rios. It was shortly after 6 AM local time (7 AM in NYC).
Posted by tien mao in Photos, Travel at 8:13 AM
April 17, 2008
Optimo Cigars
April 9, 2008
Limes Are Sour, Learns Young Colton
A lesson from his Aunt Shannan.
Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 6:09 PM
April 8, 2008
Jessica and Chanse Get Hitched!
I've got a lot more images from their wedding, but I have to sift through them all. I especially like this image that I took. And because Shannan loves her brother so much, we're going to tag along on Jessica and Chanse's honeymoon.
Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 2:48 PM
April 7, 2008
Stuck for a Night in Chicago
This past weekend, we went to Illinois for a wedding. Little did we know, we would be traveling on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Because of crappy East Coast weather on Friday morning, we missed our connection in Chicago and spent the night there (many thanks to Whalen and Brynn). Early Saturday morning, we finally made our way to Peoria for the wedding only to return to Chicago and NYC on Sunday. Way too much flying for a short weekend.
Posted by tien mao in Photos, Travel at 11:02 AM
April 3, 2008
At the Tom Otterness Workshop, Broken Feet
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
April 2, 2008
Hong Kong Island in Black and White from Victoria Peak
In continuing the whole image manipulation thing with Lightroom, here's a photo from last year's trip to Hong Kong. You can see a similar picture on flickr.
Posted by tien mao in Hong Kong, Photos, Travel at 5:15 PM
April 1, 2008
Nathan's on Coney Island in Black and White
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
March 31, 2008
Eating Cold Pizza is Best Done Pantless
Pantless, yes. But with the rest of your Easter outfit on.
Posted by tien mao in Film, Food/Drink, Friends/Family, Photos at 8:34 AM
March 27, 2008
Jonas the Train Conductor
Taken with a Holga on Easter Sunday using Illford Delta 3200 film.
Posted by tien mao in Film, Friends/Family, Photos at 5:15 PM
March 26, 2008
Humpty Dumpty at Tom Otterness's Studio
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
March 25, 2008
Heart Gaia
March 24, 2008
Sarah Marshall Sucks
March 20, 2008
Holga Babies
The top photo is of Shannan and Colton using the blue flash. The bottom photo is of Margaret and Willa using the yellow flash.
Posted by tien mao in Film, Friends/Family, Photos at 11:37 AM
March 19, 2008
Finally Some Results from the Holga
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
March 18, 2008
And the Future of Coney Island
March 17, 2008
Final Opening Day at Astroland?
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
March 13, 2008
Making Dumplings With Family
Sunday night, Shannan and I went over to my parents' apartment to participate in a traditional Chinese expeience...dumpling making. I'm not sure I've actually ever done this, but apparently people all over China do this on New Year's Eve when members of the family return home for New Year's celebrations.
There are a few stations involved in the process: the dough maker/chopper, the dough flattener, the skin former, the filling stuffer, and the dumpling pincher. I'm sure there's some official terminology for the actual people in those positions and that some of these roles can be combined, but for the five of us (Aunt Bonnie was there too), that's how the roles were split and that's what I'm calling the process. The easiest job fell to me most of the night - filling the dumplings (if you know how to use chopsticks, you can do this job).
It took us a little while, but we made something like 200 dumplings - pork and shrimp with Chinese leek and pork and shrimp with Chinese cabbage. The best part about the labor intensive process of making dumplings has to be the family bonding and of course the dumpling eating afterwards.
Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Friends/Family, Photos at 5:13 PM
March 12, 2008
Midtown Blues
March 11, 2008
The Bo Ssam at Momofuku Ssam Bar
March 10, 2008
Shadow of a Tree Grows in Brooklyn
March 6, 2008
Evening View of Houston (Street, Not City)
March 5, 2008
Say Good Bye to 29
March 4, 2008
Wanted in Liberty City
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
March 3, 2008
Jonas Attempts to Eat a Rib at Hill Country
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
February 28, 2008
Crossing Over
February 27, 2008
Blooming Soon
I can't recall the name of this flower.
Posted by tien mao in House and Home, Photos at 5:36 PM
February 26, 2008
Wegmans is Your #1 Stop for Peeps
Or so I would hope they claim to be. I mean, look at all those Peeps they have on display! This was right across the isle from the health-food section.
Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Photos at 1:52 PM
February 25, 2008
The Beautiful Chaos of Hot Pot
The first hot pot of the winter.
Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 8:57 AM
February 21, 2008
Domino Sugar
February 20, 2008
Blowing Tarp in Chinatown
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
February 19, 2008
Croque Madame from Cafe Henri in Long Island City
Sunday brunch at Cafe Henri in Long Island City.
Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, NYC, Photos at 12:40 PM
February 18, 2008
21st Street - A Beautiful Gritty Subway Station
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
February 14, 2008
Taco Bite Reopens in Williamsburg
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
February 13, 2008
Sausage and Peppers from the Crosby Connection
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
February 12, 2008
Streamlined Periscope
February 11, 2008
Union Square Street Sessions
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
February 7, 2008
Chinese New Year's Feast for the Year of the Rat
It's a Chinese New Year feast fit for a emperor! A king! A prince!
Last night, my mom did her yearly Chinese New Year cooking and as usual it was extremely delicious and filling. From top to bottom are: peanuts, jellyfish, chicken and something to wrap in lettuce, lion's head meatballs, eight vegetable dish, a shrimp dish, vegetables with dried scallops, a whole fish, and glutinous red bean rice cake.
Welcome, Year of the Rat!
Posted by tien mao in Culture, Food/Drink, Friends/Family, Photos at 4:53 PM
February 6, 2008
Super Bowl XLII Champs New York Giants Honored With Ticker Tape Parade
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
February 5, 2008
Vote
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
February 4, 2008
Mustache Makes Jonas Look All Grown Up
Jonas is growing up so fast! So fast that he's got a mustache. Who cares if it's from chocolate cake!
Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Photos at 2:42 PM
January 31, 2008
Marketing for Chinese New Year
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
January 30, 2008
Acapulco Deli and Restaurant in Greenpoint
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
January 29, 2008
Throwing Out Christmas in January? Really??
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
January 28, 2008
Snorkeling at Paradise Island in the Dominican Republic
Remember Paradise Island? That tiny sand dune that is somehow called an island?
Well, we finally developed the underwater pictures from snorkeling in the Dominican Republic. Man, those underwater cameras kind of suck, huh? I'm not sure if it was the camera or the developer, but there were some pictures that had some issues. Oh well.
Posted by tien mao in Photos, Travel at 11:13 AM
January 24, 2008
Deceptive Subway Globe
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
Deceptive Subway Globe
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
January 23, 2008
From the Crosby Connection
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
January 22, 2008
Love. Vote.
January 17, 2008
Lost Shoes on Crosby
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
January 16, 2008
Michael De Feo on Jersey Street
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
January 15, 2008
Testing Out the Deep Fryer
Way back in 2006, I was given a deep fryer for Christmas. Since then, it's been in our cabinet waiting to be used. Why hasn't it been used since December, 2006? Because Shannan hates the smell associated with deep frying. As she was away this past weekend, I seized the opportunity to fry some shit up! On the menu were fries, onion rings, and chicken wings (I was watching football).
I found that fries were the easiest (essentially all you do is cut and fry), followed by wings, and onion rings. It was hard to tell when the chicken wings were done, but otherwise they were easy. I think I liked the results the best with the onion rings, but my batter, while good, could have used some salt. I also learned that you can't put a whole bunch in at once because they stick to one another.
I think that everything I fried tasted good and seemed healthier than any fried food I would get while eating out. Maybe it's because I used fresh ingredients and knew what I was putting into/onto the food.
Given the results, I don't think Shannan should discourage me from using the deep fryer again. I think she would be pleased to eat the results.
Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, House and Home, Photos at 12:29 PM
January 14, 2008
Greenpoint's Physical Culture
January 10, 2008
Fuerzabruta at the Daryl Roth Theater
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
January 9, 2008
A Warm Day is a Good Day for Shake Shack
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
January 8, 2008
Nekst in Chinatown
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
January 7, 2008
Celebrating Shannan's Big 3-0 at The Gutter
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
January 3, 2008
Don't Call it a Resolution
A goal of mine this year is to spend less money. It's not to save money, as I kind of already do that (I have a spend and save philosophy), but to spend less money. Which I guess would increase my savings. Clearly that doesn't make sense, but I like it as a goal. Of course, the piggy bank pictured (a Christmas gift from Shannan) helps my goal.
Posted by tien mao in Photos at 12:38 PM
January 2, 2008
Douchebaggery to Start Out 2008!
There are these new tenants in my building (most units are owner occupied) that are young banker guys that like to party. I think they had 2 parties last year and another on New Year's Eve and well into the New Year. The parties are never quiet - doors slamming, people yelling in the hallway, loud music - but I don't think they've ever been as bad as they were the other night. It's like we were living in a frat house. Bottles were broken on the street and bottles left in the hallway, someone was banging on our window for us to let them in (this was after we got home from the night out), a fire extinguisher was knocked down, and someone puked in the hallway on a completely different floor. This of course is in addition to the loud music, door slamming, and yelling in the hallway.
This makes the rest of the building people sound like prudes, but we're not. We just dislike the lack of respect they have for our building. It's a small building, so it's kind of like a community.
Posted by tien mao in House and Home, Photos at 8:58 AM
December 31, 2007
Colton's Got a Tasty Glove
There's nothing quite as tasty as a fleece glove to young Colton.
Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 9:19 AM
December 27, 2007
Colton Can Fly (With Help)
Note the cute reindeer slippers!
Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 5:28 PM
December 26, 2007
Christmas Day in Lacon
For the past few days, Shannan and I went to Lacon, Illinois (that's Lacon, like bacon) for Christmas with her family. In addition to gift giving/receiving, it was also the first time that we got to see Shannan's new nephew Colton.
Santa was good to me, because I got some mighty good gifts: a Holga camera, Guitar Hero III for the Wii, a Wiimote charging station, Top Gun (collectors edition DVD), V-MODA vibe earbuds, a copy of The Simpsons Movie, Taboo, a copy of Sneaker Freaker magazine, a nice shirt, another thin wallet (mine is falling apart), and a gift card to Pizza Hut (mmm!). Shannan and I also got a chair, some towels, and a wine refrigerator. Thanks to Santa (and those that act on his behalf) for all the great gifts!!
Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 10:39 AM
December 20, 2007
The Hills and Water from the Dominican Republic
I kind of like the first picture because the camera miraculously captured that stick in almost the exact middle of the picture. But as you can see, the northwest coast of the Dominican Republic has some nice rolling hills to it.
Posted by tien mao in Photos, Travel at 4:08 PM
December 19, 2007
A Tobacco Plantation in the Dominican Republic
While on the bus back to Puerto Plata, we stopped by a cigar factory (if you could call it that) to inject some U.S. dollars into the economy. Tourist that I was, I bought some cigars to bring home. I'm not that big a smoker though, so who knows if I'll ever get to them.
Posted by tien mao in Photos, Travel at 3:39 PM
December 18, 2007
Mangroves in the Dominican Republic
After snorkeling around Paradise Island and before we made our way to Punta Rucia, we stopped by a little inlet where I took this photo of the insane mangrove trees.
Posted by tien mao in Photos, Travel at 12:30 PM
December 17, 2007
Approaching Miami From Above
In honor of the Dolphins finally winning their first game this season, here are three shots I took on the way to the Dominican Republic via Miami. In the first picture, you can see Dolphin Stadium on December 1st. That's a day before they lost to the hapless Jets.
Posted by tien mao in Photos, Travel at 12:46 PM
December 13, 2007
Punta Rucia in the Dominican Republic
After snorkeling at Paradise Island, we took our speed boat to Punta Rucia for lunch before our trip back to the hotels. It's really not much of a town, but the guide told us it's a fishing village, which seemed possible based on the looks of things. We wandered a bit during our free time there and saw a lot of abandoned lots.
Posted by tien mao in Photos, Travel at 1:29 PM
December 12, 2007
Paradise Island off the Coast of the Dominican Republic
Early one morning (we're talking 6:45 early), we took a trip to go snorkeling at Paradise Island. To get there, we had to take a bus to a "speed boat" (a small boat with a 75 horsepower engine on it) to this thing they called an "island". It's essentially a sandbar on the coral reef but the size apparently varies depending on the time of year and tides. Despite the pathetic "island", the snorkeling at Paradise Island was a great time. On the island, they have some huts, light snacks, and refreshments. Thankfully when we got there, no other groups there. By the time we left, the island was packed with people. The only shitty part of our trip was the weather. It actually rained a few times while we were there (including once when we were in the water) which actually proved to be somewhat cool. Also cool, dolphins swimming alongside our boat en route to the sandbar.
Eventually, I'll have some underwater pictures from snorkeling. Who knows how they look though.
Posted by tien mao in Photos, Travel at 1:05 PM
December 11, 2007
Sun Village Resort & Spa in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
I think the number of photos that I took on this trip reflects the amount of things Shannan and I did. I only walked away with about 100 photos (many of which I will delete), which means that we didn't really do that many activities during our week away. Most of the time we spent at Sun Village Resort & Spa in Puerto Plata (Cofresi, to be precise) was either by the pool or by the beach. I don't even think I took my camera to the beach once. The resort was kind of sprawling, which you can see from this photo on their website, so you had to walk about 5 minutes to get to the beach and walk up a fair amount of steps to a couple of the restaurants. If it wasn't for all that walking, I'm not sure how much more weight I would have gained during the trip.
Pictured here are the views of the ocean from one of the pools, the view east towards the mountains around the resort and one of Sun Village's many pools.
And we're totally trend setters. Puerto Plata was named one of the 53 places to go in 2008 this past Sunday by the NY Times: "Puerto Plata, the rowdy beach resort on the Dominican Republic's north coast, is about to get rowdier. Maxim, the racy men's magazine, is opening a 108-bungalow resort on Cofresi Beach, near the Las Vegas-style Ocean World Marina and Casino. Expect the drinking to start onboard JetBlue, which is offering nonstop flights between Kennedy Airport and Puerto Plata next month." That Maxim resort is opening up as part of Sun Village and Ocean World was right next to Sun Village. See, trend setters.
Posted by tien mao in Photos, Travel at 10:57 AM
December 10, 2007
A Butterfly From Our Resort in the Dominican Republic
We're back from our vacation in the Dominican Republic and home to a 40° drop in temperature. Believe it or not, I welcome the temperature change. I didn't take too many photos on the trip (another believe it or not) because how exciting is lounging by the beach or lounging by the pool? We did go snorkeling while there, so it's possible there will be some photos of that.
Posted by tien mao in Photos, Travel at 7:49 AM
November 29, 2007
The Bear Celebrates a Birthday
Tuesday night, Adam celebrated his birthday at Joe’s Bar. Ever fond of his bear suit, that's what he was wearing. You may remember the bear from such posts as: Wiimbledon at Barcade.
Happy birthday, bear. You furry, furry man.
Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Photos at 5:32 PM
November 28, 2007
Radio City Christmas Spectacular
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
November 27, 2007
Ronald McDonald Consumes the World...in Balloon Form
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
November 26, 2007
Thanksgiving Dinner
Looking at this photo, you can kind of see what it was like at Thanksgiving for me. Sadly, you can't really taste what it was like or smell what it was like.
Pictured clockwise from the turkey are: two types of cranberry sauce (one with walnuts), garlic mashed potatoes, yams, corn with pine nuts, some strange avocado/shrimp, and green beans.
Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Friends/Family, Photos at 9:35 AM
November 22, 2007
Happy Shreksgiving
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
November 21, 2007
Lady Liberty as an M&M
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
November 20, 2007
New York Subway Station by Edith Kramer
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
November 19, 2007
MUJI MUJI MUJI
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
November 15, 2007
An Attempt at Growing Paperwhites
Neither Shannan or I have green thumbs. It seems like every few months or so, we get some new plan and a month or two later, they're dead. We've got a few plants that have managed to endure our brown thumbs, but similar plants in the hands of my parents seem to thrive. With us, they just manage to stay alive.
The other day, Shannan brought home these paperwhite bulbs. If all goes well, they'll bloom into beautiful, fragrant flowers in a month. With our luck, in a month they'll be rotting bulbs.
Posted by tien mao in House and Home, Photos at 5:17 PM
November 14, 2007
La Nueva Conquista in SoHo
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
November 13, 2007
CPH Experiments at the Storefront for Architecture
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
November 12, 2007
Jonas Eats the Pizza
I think I've figured out one reason Jonas and I get along so well. Our mutual love for pizza (and his snacks). Though I think if he suddenly decided one day that he didn't like pizza anymore, we would probably still get along.
And if you're wondering why he looks so disheveled, it's because he was eating after he got up from his long nap.
Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Friends/Family, Photos at 11:43 AM
November 8, 2007
Night View from the SoHo Grand's Penthouse
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
November 7, 2007
Hula Hooping on Jersey Street
November 6, 2007
Sunset in Saugerties
Shannan and I went upstate for the weekend and spotted this sunset outside the room of the bed and breakfast we were staying at.
Posted by tien mao in Photos at 2:14 PM
November 5, 2007
A Lobster Roll from Ed's Lobster Bar
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