new year, old friends, new friends, good food, health, peace, family, love and chocolate

Charleston, SC, May 2007

for Lili

my friend Lili asked me to take some pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge

lovely Anna in the dark

archives: Pondicherry, India, 2001

These boys must be about 15 now. They followed me for a while so I took their picture.

archives: Thailand, 2005

I am so saddened by what is going on in Thailand, and their neighbor India. I love it there, everywhere, and hope to return before too long.

Go see: Black Watch

I went to a play tonight called Black Watch in Dumbo, at St. Ann's Warehouse, which is a pretty amazing space. (Kind of the worst night in a while to walk right down towards the water at the harbor, freezing winds ripping your face off. ah winter!)

The show was great - especially the choreography, but I am not talking about modern dance. It is put on by The National Theatre of Scotland, about the elite infantry of the Scottish armed forces, which is reason enough right there to go. They talk about the history of the division, but it deals mostly with why why why are they involved with the conflict in Iraq. Why is anyone, for that matter. It's intense.

The run has been extended to December 21. Mom really dug it, and she was proud of herself for finding the place with no problem. ha.

Working Life: Margot, 10/23/08

Can you guess where she works? The lobby of the office is insane.

do you still write to Santa?

I haven't for a long time, but lots of kids do, and the USPS lets folks try and help Kris Kringle out. What a great idea. Christmas is still way off, but the decorations have been up at Macy's since September.

Fantastic

I have been photographing part of the Brooklyn Museum's extensive costume collection this month, while my friend Lolly is away at an artist residency in Rochester. I was very flattered and happy to take over while she is away. Clothing and accessories are a magic window into the lives of people long since gone. I have been shooting ladies folding fans, which are especially intriguing because this is an item that has essentially disappeared. I can't even imagine that a fan would help that much on a hot day here in NYC, but I think they were just as much a tool for communication in times when the social rigors were much more strict than today.

This feathered fan from the late 1800s looks like an animal to me, or a sea anemone.

archives: Washington, DC, 2004

This is from April of 2004 when I went to DC for the pro-choice rally on the mall. The weather and scenery that day seemed out of the ordinary to me. Washington seems to be on the mind these days for me and many others. Sometimes the glimmer of hope is almost too powerful and painful to really see, and in this way I have felt that politics has been something unmentioned for some eight years now, wars, terrorism, patriot acts and the like. But with the new administration, at least it isn't scary to go to DC, and to hope that maybe things will change, for the better. A speedy end this needless war and I would be content for some time.

Go see: William Eggleston at the Whitney

This picture makes me crazy. It's so beautiful.


I am excited to see this show, which opened this past Friday. Runs through January 25, 2009 (which will be Mr. Obama's fifth day in office, ok, I need to think about something else for a minute. It's hard. I am going to head down to DC for the inauguration to see what I can see with a 4x5).

Change Gon' Come - Sam Cooke 1964

1964 - what a different country we had then; Medger Evers and the Freedom Rides to the south.....and tonight my friends and I were screaming alongside the fireworks set off by neighbors in Brooklyn. It makes me cry and these are tears of joy. Mr. Obama, I am so proud of your campaign and what we are capable of with you as president.

+++++++++++++++++++++

I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I been a runnin' ever since
It's been a long, a long time coming but I know
A change gon' come oh yes it will
It's been too hard living but I'm afraid to die
Cuz I don't know what's up there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming but I know
A change gon' come oh yes it will

I go to the movie, and I go downtown
Somebody keep tellin me "don't hang around"
It's been a long, a long time coming, but i know
A change gon' come oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother
And I say "brother, help me please"
But he winds up knocking me
Back down on my knees
There been times that I thought I wouldn't last for long
Now think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, along time coming but I know

I voted!

I voted!, originally uploaded by dirtystan.

Such a beautiful day here in New York, and what a pleasure to vote for someone I truly believe in.

Five Leaves in Greenpoint

It's been a while since I said anything about food, but the burger tonight at Five Leaves, right at the top of McCarren Park made me very happy. This place has several things going for it, namely the huge buzz created by their now deceased financial partner named Heath Ledger and the lovely interior, designed by the same chaps in charge of Moto, another of my favorite spots. Luckily the food is also delicious, especially the burger. I judge a restaurant on three very simple catagories (maybe too simple, but I'm no food critic): service, hamburgers, and bathroom. If you have a fantastic restaurant with a disgusting unusable bathroom, chances are they won't be around forever. There are exceptions yes, but it makes a difference in the overall impression that a customer comes away with. The bathroom at Five Leaves has this crazy metal door that used to be on a ship. Very cool. It strikes me that this depression era decor is really becoming a major trend. Ironic! The lighting and old mirrors work. It's a nice place to sit and enjoy a nice long dinner with good friends. Besides the wonderful grass-fed burger, we had prawns with lemon and pistou. I can't remember the name of the wine, but it was good and $7 a glass, which is totally reasonable.

That being said, the most important thing is service, because I can make a pretty amazing meal if I don't say so myself, so when you go out you want to have a nice time and have your meal be brought to you with no attitude and in a timely fashion. The waitress tonight was the only dull spot on an otherwise spotless evening. But Jeni overheard her say she only worked Sunday nights, so that's an easy fix, just avoid Five Leaves on Sunday and you won't get a little speech about how they don't give bread and butter before it was begrudgingly served. I hate to cut someone down this way, seriously, but she hated us from the moment we walked in and we still left her a good tip. I have worked in tons of restaurants/coffee shops, etc and I always thought the fun part was getting to talk to people all night long. She seemed pissed to be working in a restaurant. I dunno.

archives: Marathon 2004

This is at Calyer and Greenpoint Ave, back when I lived with Greg and Andrew on Lorimer Street. If you had told me then I would be a runner, I would have laughed really hard, while smoking. Will I ever run the marathon? I highly doubt it, but stranger things have happened.

p.s. how awesome is Tuesday going to be, actually Wednesday morning?

archives: death wind

my backyard in Greenpoint a bunch of years ago. we were spooky all year round.

Angela Davis at the Cooper Union

Angela Davis at the Cooper Union 10/30/08, originally uploaded by dirtystan.

I went with my mom to hear Angela Davis talk about the prison system, Obama, race, and historical context. It was interesting. She quoted from Obama's speech on race that he made in March, and wondered why any discussion on race was absent and seemingly not welcome in this election, which I hadn't really thought about. Angela is pretty cool.

When I was walking out I was thinking, shit, I can definitely NEVER get elected to anything now.....Bill Ayers was my nursery school teacher and I go to lectures by people who used to be on the FBI's 10 most wanted list.

I love this: my friend Tom Voorhies gorilla drawing

Tom is a master

archives: Mom on Fifth Ave, New York City

Here is my mom on the steps of the church at 53rd and Fifth Avenue a couple of years ago. I love walking on Fifth Avenue, day or night; it feel like you own the world walking up past St. Patricks to the park. And the best season for this particular type of wallowing in pure New York is right around the corner. I remember as a kid hearing someone say at some point every year, "Oh, they've put up the snowflake at 57th street already," and just like that it was winter and the holidays were circling ever nearer.

Watch this: Damon Weaver, 5th grader in FL interviews Joe Biden

this sort of thing always makes me very happy.

archives: Berlin, 2000

TV tower of former East Berlin peeking over a street in the Mitte.

Today finally felt like Fall

time to pick apples, make pies, crunch through leaves, vote for Mr. Obama and bring the poor succulents inside.

Is she really this stupid???

AAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

Congrats to Suzanne!

Suzanne Revy, who was my classmate at John Coffer's workshop this past July won the National Juried Photo Competition at the Camera Club of New York. I went to her show last week at the Club's gallery on 37th street and it is pretty great. I was inspired to pull out some black and white film. She does beautiful photos of children.

Time flies

I cannot believe this election is almost finally over, and with it another year coming to a close. Thinking about what it means to be American makes me want to travel very much. It is important to see things from the outside once in a while. I was in Washington this past weekend and that always puts me in a contemplative mood. Do you think the founding fathers thought it would last this long?

This is Sam in the water on a beach in Krabbe, Thailand in January 2002. He is 21 now, and a senior in college, which blows my mind.

dueling houses

Saw this on Capitol Hill in DC this past weekend. I like that the Obama sign is on the "white house". heh heh.

obama in my window

obama in my window, originally uploaded by dirtystan.

if you can't find it, make it. I think the dudes in the parking lot next to my building must be thoroughly convinced by now.

29 Palms, CA, January 2008

I took this at the little motel near 29 Palms where I went with Anna to shoot her line for Dolce Vita this past January. We had to wake up around 5 or 6 in the AM and I was waiting for them to be done with makeup and such. It was much too cold to go swimming unfortunately. This year has gone so fast.

Bill Ayers was my nursery school teacher. Seriously.

Below is a letter I sent to the New York Times today:

Letter to the Editor:

What makes a radical? Is it early learning, or your parents beliefs passed along? I am a liberal, yet American to the core, the descendent of passengers on the Mayflower according to my grandmother, yet Bill Ayers was my nursery school teacher. I turned out fine and I’ve never had the inclination to bomb anyone. So when I read, “Senator John McCain joined in the attacks on Thursday on Senator Barack Obama for his ties to the 1960s radical William Ayers as he told an angry, raucous crowd that “we need to know the full extent of the relationship” I feel I must add my two cents. These people do realize that Mr. Obama is a United States Senator, do they not? Not to mention that the Weather Underground was active when Mr. Obama was a child himself.

Bill Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn worked at a day care center called BJ’s Kids on Manhattans’ Upper West Side in the late seventies. Only years later, after Mr. Ayers and Ms. Dohrn had been pardoned by the government did my parents realize who they had been. My mom remembers BJ’s kids as an unruly operation, where she protested the practice of the children being sent home with whatever jacket or mittens happened to be closest, as she had knitted my winter accessories herself. And the time they took all the kids to a No-Nuke demonstration somewhere just outside of the city without letting the parents know in advance about the field trip. I guess I must have been mumbling leftist rhetoric that evening at home and she knew something funny had happened at school that day. Day care centers in the city were hardly regulated back then and many such home-grown operations supported the burgeoning crop of babies from aging hippies like my parents; full disclosure: my mom volunteered for the Chicago Seven during their trial in 1969, writing press releases in Chicago.

So when John McCain and Sarah Palin and others intent on making you forget what this election is really about and bring up Bill Ayers and the Weather Underground, who no one really remembers nowadays anyway, I hope everyone remembers that Barack Obama was a child when the Weather Underground did their dirtiest work. Also that I was a child when Bill Ayers helped me learn to tie my shoes and find my winter mittens, and I am not a terrorist and neither is Barack Obama. The only people looking childish in this situation are, well, John McCain and Sarah Palin. Barack Obama is the only candidate that really has a plan to get this country back on track and I plan to be in Washington to watch him be sworn in to office in January.

- quotation taken from: McCain Questions Obama-Ayers Relationship By Elisabeth Bumiller
October 9, 2008, NYT

Lia on Sugar Island

still editing photos from the summer. it's been a busy time in life, which is good. being on Sugar Island this summer with the Brezavars was truly wonderful. I am so excited for Mr. Obama to be our president. I am so excited for what he can do and proud of his campaign.

NY Mysteries

Everytime I walk past this building on 13th street, which is an old church that was made into apartments years ago, I get weak in the knees. I decided when I was 15 or so that I would live there someday. I wonder what it is like inside, if it's quiet, if there are stained glass windows and pews here and there.

Summer memories of a farm in Dundee, NY

Here are a few polaroids I took up on John Coffer's farm in Dundee this past July when I was taking the tintype workshop.

Wonderful picture from Fredericksburg, VA rally

photo by: ROBERT A. MARTIN/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

I like T Rex, but this is ridiculous.

This is worth a look-see, folks, especially if you are still undecided about who should be given the keys to the country.

Tunnel to Towers: first 5k!

Today I ran in the Tunnel to Towers run through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel up to the WTC site. I was joined by my friends Rebecca, Leslie and Paul from Macy's, and Nicole and Augustin, as well as 15,000 other runners, a great majority of whom were firefighters from the area and beyond (even London, UK). 2008 is the year I discovered running on a regular basis and this was my first timed run. It was just spectacular to run down into the tunnel with thousands of screaming people at your side and be pushed on through the tunnel by the echoing sounds of several groups of Marines doing their chants, each of them in full dress fatigues and carrying all of their combat gear in tribute to the firefighter Stephen Siller, who died in the towers on 9-11-01 after running through the tunnel on his day off to join the rest of his battalion. I feel very proud to be a New Yorker, even though too much flag-waving and screams of "USA, USA!" from local groups of cheerleaders and police make me nervous. The worst residual of the attacks on the WTC to me was the carte blanche given to our most jingoistic leaders to saunter through the world with a big stick. But, as my Dad says daily, Obama will fix it.

Working Life: Fishmonger in Union Square

Most recent participant from my Working Life series. Many thanks to Jonathon and everyone at Blue Moon Fish.

Register to vote by October 10th!

- In person: You can register in person at your county Board of Elections. To find your local office go to www.vote.nyc.ny.us/offices.html

- On the web: Register to vote online at www.rockthevote.com

flying up Manhattan

midtown, originally uploaded by dirtystan.

Riding out the storm

I love the picture at the top of this NY Times article from yesterday.

So excited....

My Bloody Valentine: When You Sleep

Right before you jump in...

Not that you would, but it is fun to be in a fast boat across New York harbor.

Have you ever been to Governor's Island?

Neither had I, until last week. My dear old friend Vivien is a charter member of the Gotham Planning Society, who co-sponsored a maritime visit to the island. A Navy stronghold until 1966, it then changed hands to the US Coast Guard who used it until 1996 when it became mainly an under-utilized and under-appreciated part of this great city. I wandered through an empty house built in 1834 that used to be where the Navy captain and his family lived. It was last lived in during the early 1960's and it shows. Apparently the folks who care about Governors Island really want you and I to care about as well and come up with great things to do there. We walked underneath one of those waterfalls and it was September 10th, so the lights to commemorate the Twin Towers were on in lower Manhattan. Seeing as I grew up here, I still can't really fathom that all that really happened. It seems abstract.

Love is ageless

This past Saturday I shot a wedding, which I have only done once before, but this was a special case. The bride, Babs Kellogg turned 92 yesterday and the groom, Leonard Schwartz, a spry 88. They had a bus to bring all their friends from the retirement community in Princeton up to St.Mary's on 126th Street and then to the champagne toast at the Waldorf-Astoria. I felt honored to be part of their wedding. They seemed really happy and kept telling me not to leave that Toni Morrison was going to show up any minute.

This election is different and it matters what you think

It makes me crazy and sad at the same time to listen to friends and colleagues of mine who are supporters of Obama yet say that the election is going to be won by McCain/Palin. It might be. That's not the point. Why give up now when we have such a good shot and things are going the Democrats way? It often seems to me that people bring so much of their own pain upon themselves. Call me an "elitist" crazy liberal, which I guess I am, but if you imagine yourself a loser, that is what you shall be, but if you know that you will be alright, that is what will be as well. Obama knows this, and that is one of the reasons why he has been so successful, in life, and in this campaign. The modern Republican party appears to be primarily concerned with abortion, the death penalty and the NRA, but that's a bait and switch to hard working people who are just looking for the strongest leader. They have no faith in Americans who are seeing the economic life of this country slide across the oceans and think on election day it all comes down to which candidate goes to church more often. I think America is smarter than that. Don't you?

Everyday, imagine President Obama making a speech on the veranda of the Rose Garden at the White House, and read this

Song of the Week: Christopher Cross

"if you get lost between the moon and New York City, the best that you can do...is fall in love." This town gets on my nerves sometimes and many are the days I want to throw my keys in the river and drive North for a few years, and then I hear this song and I love it again. also, it falls in the genre "yacht rock" and that's just good for the soul.

Tunnel to Towers run 9/28

I am doing this run in September with a few friends. I am really looking forward to running the tunnel. If you are interested in joining us or donating money to a worthy cause, let me know.

Sugar Island

Last week I went to Sugar Island, MI with my friend Kara and her family for a week. I slept outside for 5 nights, which is actually pretty fun. Never thought I would say that. Bonfires, card games, painting rocks, running, s'mores, swimming, tankers, hawks, Bud light lime, dog fetching rocks, Canada within sight.