brynn, hudson, my dad and i strolled along the Highline yesterday

i'd been wanting to head there since it opened, but like many things in NYC -- i just never got there...until now. it is truly amazing -- from the skyline views, to the new perspective on the city's architecture, to the interesting people... definitely worth the stroll.


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TILLMANS

this past tuesday i returned to spin at TILLMANS. special shouts to Lil and Lautz for coming out! my boy Ant booked me for the gig and also showed me that i can review the set i played afterwards on serato, as I never plot my song list - and sometimes forget what i played. added bonus for you: you can see what I rocked, and go grab the tracks in your own time, if you'd like. so, here goes.

clouds. sunset. - with the phone

when i was working for nokia nseries - we did some cool stuff with phones related to art, like this : CANNES 2007

how we pitched the phones (aka 'multimedia computers') to artists was that they weren't replacements for your true equipment, but rather an option when you don't have it - because lets face it, we ALWAYS have our phone these days.

so, despite my owning and using my NIKON D80 (rather) (frequently), sometimes something occurs, and you want to -- NEED to capture it. this sunset was one of those times. so, i pulled out my nokia phone -- and played around with some of the camera settings - and these few shots were the result. not bad if i don't say so myself...



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SETting it up right

every so often the sun sets right on 34th street. the folks at hayden planetarium call it "manhattan henge" - ya know, like stone-henge, i guess. read more here: the henge

- and here are my photos from last night. (half sun on grid)

more lego - this time, movie posters

see many more movie posters here:
http://speckyboy.com/2009/05/20/21-amazing-movie-posters-recreated-with-lego/

also, peep hiphop album covers:
http://djtakefive.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-lego-for-you-hiphop-covers.html

and NYC-oriented items:
http://djtakefive.blogspot.com/2009/02/lego-new-york.html

standpipe/ auto spkr by me.

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Yanks

three weeks ago, i journeyed out to the new Yankee Stadium. as B and i got off the 4 train, i shuffled my way to the back staircase, as my dad and i always had used that sortie - assessing that it was the quickest. after taking 30 steps or so, it hit me -- the Yanks don't play in that stadium anymore. the new one is the other direction. it was a moment of confusion, but as shawn offered when i made my second trip last nite to the house that someone built, not unwarranted confusion. even inside, the stadium feels remarkably similar to the old one.

on this journey, i brought my trusty nikon. so, for those that have not been - welcome to the new era of Yanks bball..... stadium - awesome. on the field play this season so far, not so much.


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a train pulls in

i shot this on wednesday evening. there is something interesting about the emergence of the train from the tunnel i feel. this weekend, i'm gonna figure out how to use iMovie so i can cut this to music. but for now - enjoy the soothing screech of the metal from the MTA's F train.

in the booth

My good friend Dustin, a super photographer, set up his new concept STUDIO BOOTH at the latest My Favorite Things party. The deal is: he sets up a cool space - and gives you a prop to get creative with - in this case, a very large PUMA Clyde sneaker. The photos are great quality. Here are a couple of shots I concocted. More shots from other party attendees: here

You like?? Reach out and book Studio Booth for your next party!

Central Park - Ice

i 'bought' a nice Nikon SLR camera online a few weeks ago, but it's back-ordered. i'm not confident it'll ever come in to be honest - the deal was too good. but, that has not deterred me. today, i strolled through central park, which is still full of ice, and took some snaps with my lil' coolpix camera (also from nikon).


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LEGO NEW YORK

I'm a LEGO maniac!!!

twenty-six point two

my pops ran the nyc marathon twice - both times when i was in grade school. i believe it was truly one of his biggest accomplishments (1st time his time was 3:56:09 -- the second time, slightly over 3:30). running 26.2 miles is an awesome task, no doubt about it.

today, two friends of mine were off to the races. Colin is straight up a gifted runner. he finished in 2 hours :53 minutes :44 seconds. ridiculous pace! only 550 finished ahead of him out of over 40 thousand. (his splits are listed below - in 5k increments until the 16th mile - then mile-by-mile). dooley has run several marathons, and i'm sure has many more in him. (pictured in the purple tank)



Gabe (the big guy in the grey cut-off sleeveless tee on the left) was running his 1st marathon ever! props to him for embarking on the torturous journey and finishing strong. gabe ran approx a 9 minute mile for the twenty-six... very impressive - as i run a 9 minute mile but must stop after my 3rd mile for fear of death. ha!



anyhow, CONGRATS guys! you are an inspiration - my dad told me after completing the NYC marathon, he felt all other obstacles could be tackled with relative ease. may you jump over your impending hurdles, as well as those yet unseen / unknown.

mash it up!

as some of you know i've been dabbling in photography - and am still considering investing in a really nice camera as my christmas gift to myself. we'll see. well, i took some shots of the city in the last few days - mostly of buildings. this prompted me to begin experimenting with doing mash-ups (my use of music word to explain this imagery). i think it's called "photo-stiching" officially. anyhow, have a look - you'll get the idea.


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food. food. and more food!!!

i took a quick stroll through the San Gennaro Festival on saturday. wow! that's a lot of food. it was goooooood too!!! :)


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the Real Live Show at Nublu

My guys, the REAL LIVE SHOW rocked it last night. Visit their myspace page to hear some of their tracks and learn how to buy their music. It's great - I promise.

?uest @ Love

last nite i went to see ?uestlove at a club famous for hosting underground house parties - the spot is called 'Love'. perhaps they booked him for the cache of the name?... to be honest, who cares. i went to hear some tracks either i haven't heard in a while - or maybe never. he did not disappoint. from 'the show' -- to 'the fat boys are back' -- to 'hit it run' : gotta dig a nice beatbox set. and the new busta track is just plain nutty - and he played a remix of a new kelis song called 'junkie for your love' -- not sure who produced it, but i hope to find it. the roots drummer also played a nice dose of Dilla - some obscure ones, like "eve - the dilla rmx" by spacek, and 'disco' by slum village. it was hot! -- no i mean literally, it was like a sauna in there -- and very appropriately, i ran into two guys from finland (famous for their saunas). they were impressed i knew where they were from - see, i learned something while at nokia besides geek talk. ;)

a world away - yet as close as 14th street

i remember directly following the tragedy that was SEPT 11, 2001 Union Square in NYC was, for me, the center of the grieving city. thousands of "have you see this person" posters and folks mourning both quietly and outwardly. tonight i was walking home and came to that same spot, where hundreds of people sat and stood, in a meditative chant protesting China's hosting of this year's Olympic games.

i must admit, i don't know much about what is happening in china and tibet, but i read an article in Newsweek today, at my dentist's office, that mentioned there may be protests. the writers' stance was that the protests may be counter-productive to the process of integrating our world. he mentioned that china is cracking the door to be open to new thought and idea -- but protesting their way of life will directly counteract that. there are obviously two sides to this story.

currently, i don't have enough info to formulate an opinion -- so please tell me your thoughts on this topic.


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music and dancing in the park - with special shout out to jamie lidell

dad's visit

my dad has been visiting the states with his wife for the last few weeks. whenever he comes, we try to get together for dinner and events, as much as our schedules will allow. this trip - we've been out to some lovely meals at cafe deville, atlantic grill, vezzo, le colonial and buddakan -- and we got the opportunity to go to a yankee game, in this, their last season at the current stadium. (thanks, Al!!!) it was great hanging with him - especially since now that i don't travel internationally for work anymore, we see each other only once or twice a year. fun times, though - no doubt!

live music around town (the REAL LIVE SHOW)

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TIMEOUT, my go-to events publication, has made finding great free live music in the city easy.timeoutnewyork.com/makemusic allows you to sort by genre, type of performance or borough-neighborhood to find your perfect offering. i'm headed to the outside block party this saturday in williamsburg to peep my guys: the REAL LIVE SHOW! here's a brief description of the event. I'll be doing a brief set on the 1's and 2's at ONE PEE-EM (1pm). so come on by - hope see you there!

The Real Live Show

June, 21 2008 at MAKE MUSIC NYC- Outside Block Party- Williamsburg
bedford, Brooklyn, New York
Cost : free

Make Music New York is a new live, free musical celebration across the city that takes place each June 21—the longest day of the year. On that day, public space throughout the five boroughs—sidewalks, parks, community gardens, and more—become impromptu musical stages, dance floors, and social meeting points. Thousands of amateur musicians, in every genre, perform on sidewalks for the biggest crowds of their lives. Professional musicians perform for new audiences, who come out from under their headphones to hear unfamiliar groups risk-free. And everyone is invited to sing along and enjoy the first day of summer. Our event will be on North 12th & Bedford @ McCarren Park. GLACEAU drinks will be served at our free catering table.