Clarence Fahnestock State Park

Things to do away from the campsite while the campsite is flooding: Eat free cotton candy and sample free wine, order pizza, stare at weird bottles of liquor. Check, check and check.

I wonder if they accidentally printed the "summary" version of this sign or if Allan Warnecke is actually proud to have his name on this.























hiking the appalachian trail.








The blue trail (Taconic Region) runs along an old train path for an abandoned mine. Laura found this railroad tie nearby on the Appalachian Trail.

garden of eve farm. riverhead, long island.

My roommate and I belong to our neighborhood csa, who's farm source is Garden of Eve on Long Island. For anyone unfamiliar with csa's (community supported agriculture) they're a win/win/win socio-economic model of agriculture distribution that brings fresh-from-the-farm produce [almost] directly to your table. By purchasing a share before the local season, you're guaranteeing income for your farmers, getting fresh produce every week, cutting down on greenhouse emissions (by reducing shipping distance) and having the peace of mind of knowing exactly where your food is coming from.

Wanting to complete the latter part of this awesomeness, we took a trip out to our farm for a tour and bbq/picnic.

First stop: feeding the goats and sheep. Making a mental note to come back next month for GARLIC FEST!


There's a farm stand in front of the property where any passerby can pull up and buy some fresh produce, eggs or misc local goods.



picking blackberries






The good stuff.


Renegade chicken.


The chicken field, my favorite part of the trip. The guy kneeling here is the food dude from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and the lady in blue to the right is Eve, of Garden of Eve (a.k.a. our farmer!)


What's up, chicken butt?


Guard dogs. They LOVE chickens. Literally.


"It's easiest to pick them up when their head is stuck in a melon."

saranac lake state park, adirondacks, ny

Most of the sites at Saranac Lake State Park are boat access only. You can rent a motor boat or canoe from many nearby boat-houses.

jacob riis, ft. tilden

there is a lot to see on rockaway peninsula. we only had a few hours to check things out, but more trips are in order before summer and the return of the beach crowds.

first stop was jacob riis. the old robert moses comfort stations look years abandoned instead of merely closed for the season. it's amazing what salty, damp wind does to these structures.

Community Board 1 and the McCarren Pool Update.

ok first of all, cb1 mtgs are actually really interesting and since they deal with everything from the public spaces (waterfront, mccarren, etc) to approving liquor licenses and gardens for restaurants and bars and dealing with the bike lane, um, stuff, i highly recommend attending them. plus it's a good way to keep track of other things going on in the neighborhood (i.e. the new chez bushwick arts project funded by a $150,000 award from the rockefeller new york city cultural innovation fund!!) here's the cb1 website for more info, agendas and a calendar of scheduled meetings: http://www.cb1brooklyn.org/




so drumroll please.....
...aaaaaaaand..... the plans haven't really changed since any of the last presentations. but in case you missed all of those as well....

here's the architect's site:
http://www.rogersmarvel.com/McCarrenPool.html

and gothamist's write-up
http://gothamist.com/2009/02/11/mccarren_park_pool_presented_to_com.php

and of course the official new york dept of parks and recreation capital projects mccarren highlight
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_divisions/capital/parks/mc_carren_park_and_pool.html

ghostbustour (ghostbusters tour) and flushing meadows park

one of the great things about our city is how often it's used as a backdrop in movies. it's fun (although admittedly also sometimes annoying) to spot parks you live in during the summer, bars you call home during the winter, and all the other places; random boutiques, landmarks, etc that you selfishly consider yours and yours alone splayed across the big screen for everyone else in the world to enjoy.

sometimes those "secret" spots aren't a part of your regular scenery's repertoire, but living in close proximity, and loving the movie they're from, you choose to seek them out.

this is where ghostbusters.net comes in. this convenient website offers free downloads for your phone, ipod, lapot, itunes, etc of some of the major locations where the movie ghostbusters was shot. not only are these locations revealed, but the tour includes some interesting historical trivia for each place.

starting the tour at city hall park, we look a little bit like a miniature flash mob.

city hall was new york city's original building center. the design of the hall was the result of a popular competition held in 1802 at the end of which, the winners received a first place prize of $350. construction of the building was slowed due to an outbreak of yellow fever, and although it was finally finished in 1811, it didn't open until 1812.
in 1991, construction workers at a site just north of the building unearthed the remains of more than 400 men, women and children. soon after, it was determined that this site was the burial ground of hundreds of african american slaves. the site extends across much of city hall park and under city hall itself.

Atlantic Avenue Tunnel; The Oldest Subway Tunnel in the World

built in 1844, the atlantic avenue tunnel is the oldest subway tunnel in the world. a history shrouded in myth, speculation and blatant lies kept the tunnel a mystery until 1980, when it was rediscovered. partially renovated in 1982, it is now open to the public once a month for tours given by the brooklyn historical railway association.

to get into the tunnel, you have to climb into a manhole that's literally in the middle of a busy brooklyn intersection.

pseudo hdri

after some digging around, i found a nifty photoshop actions plug-in that simulates hdr images (hence, pseudo hdri.) i played around with some images and am sort of learning through process of elimination which types of images work better than others and also keeping some ideas in mind for potential true hdr images for the future. this isn't so much the attempt for the acquisition of a new "talent" as it is "yet one more thing to do on my computer to kill time during a freezing nor'easter."

here are the "better" results of my efforts thus far:

after

before



after

before



after

before

calvary cemetary

montauk and the end of long island.