After the Flood

I received a copy of this gorgeous, 10 pound Steidl (of course) produced book this week. Containing more than 500 pictures taken by Robert Polidori between September 2005 and April 2006 in the aftermath of Katrina, the book is a haunting record of the lives washed away in New Orleans. Does total destruction become art? Eerie and powerful. Some sample images below.

NIMBY, Literally

Please hold the line for a minute for an old person curmudgeon rant:
I am almost throwing up in my mouth at the thought of a roof garden at Studio B. This place is backed up against my garden. I already have to hear the bass coming from the club every night they have a show when I'm in my kitchen or bedroom. I shudder to think about people pissing down into my garden, shrieking all night from the rooftop, or throwing beer bottles off the roof.

While I wanted to be glad about a live music facility in the neighborhood, Studio B has been nothing but a crappy neighbor. They seemingly have no crowd control as people enter and exit the club, and take no notice of the fact that they are located on the edge of a residential neighborhood. On show nights, people scream drunkenly up and down Calyer, or even better when the windows are open, sit on our stoops to make phone calls at extremely high volume.

Trash is strewn everywhere on nights after shows, garbage bags pile up outside for rats to run around in, graffiti that is obviously tied into the previous night's show has gotten worse (Anarchy symbol anyone?) and parking is impossible. Beer bottles end up in the planters, and someone even went so far as to steal a lily in bloom, pot and all, last summer. I love when people fuck with my car, too.

Via newyorkshitty's research on the DOB online database, it looks as though the roof garden is completely without permits, so we'll have to see what we can do from this end to make their lives a little harder. Just as they have done to everyone's lives on my street.

A Joke Gone Horribly Wrong

I'm finally trying to sell this terrifying collection of "Smiley" figurines aka The Friends of the Nurse or FOTH that have been living in my house for far too long. This whole thing started with THE NURSE back in SF about 15 years ago, and as is bound to happen, as soon you have a collection, and/or talk about it too much, people start buying you items to 'help' add to your collection.

I found about 75% of these crazy little people in various thrift stores for a couple bucks, but also had contributions from far and wide when people would send them to me randomly. The bad part was when visitors used to come to my house for the first time, and I had to explain what in the fuck these things actually WERE, and suddenly, it wasn't so funny and um, 'ironic' anymore. I was becoming a crazy ol' lady way before I should have been (currently see: me and gardening). Four shelves of these were downright weird. I hid most of them away in boxes a few years ago, while keeping my favorite 8 (The Great Eight) for posterity.

Twenty-six of these babies are for sale for $250 on Craigslist*. I'm hoping someone will purchase them to put in their bar or whatever as a group. That way, when the first one comes alive, there will be a whole army to follow and kill you in your sleep. Discount for my readers!

*cat not included.

Derby 2008

I've been a little quiet on this year's Derby Preps because no one horse is knocking me out. I generally pick one of my favorites from the local Wood, which was run last Saturday at Aqueduct. While it was a gorgeous day at the track with SL and 3 newbies (two of whom, in accordance with the racing gods plans to make all people racing fans, went home winners while i was down $80 for the day), the only reason Tale of Ekati won was because no one else did. It was a S-L-O-W of pace as can be (slowest Wood since 1952) with no real standout.

I'm still leaning a bit towards Court Vision, who closed decently to come in third in the Wood. He could either do well in Derby with the extra furlong, or completely suck it up. (Insightful, I know) Colonel John, coming out of the Santa Anita Derby, looks damn good with a his powerful closing kick, and a few more (Pyro, Blackberry Road, Gayego) will shake out of the Blue Grass Stakes and Arkansas Derby this weekend.

SL and I are going to Ohio next week for six days, and will also catch some racing down at Keenland in Lexington with my family on the 19th -- the date of the Coolmore Lexington Stakes, where some late Derby contenders often run. Kentucky this time of year is absolutely beautiful, so racing or no, I am looking forward to everything being in bloom in the midwest.

Three and a half weeks until Derby. Invites coming shortly.

Book/Shelf

Can't wait to check out this exhibit at MoMA. For the book nerd in all of us. Now through July 7th.

Featuring works that transform books through a variety of mediums, Book/Shelf stresses an expanded notion of the illustrated book. The exhibition begins with a documentation of Marcel Duchamp's Unhappy Readymade (1919)—a work created when the artist, while traveling, asked his sister back home to hang a geometry book on his balcony in order to let the wind flip and tear the pages. It continues with works in which artists appropriate books by others, such as a sculpture by Martin Kippenberger made partly of books, and a copy of Duchamp's catalogue raisonné rebound by David Hammons under the title Holy Bible. Artists who tackle the idea of books in film (William Wegman), sound works (On Kawara), prints (Edward Ruscha), and drawings (Steve Wolfe) are represented as well. Finally, the exhibition surveys a number of artists who have created installations that display books in public contexts, including Brian Belott, Allen Ruppersberg, Josh Smith, and Lawrence Weiner.

Love Note

This was on my car's windshield yesterday morning:


Points to consider:
1) It's not two spots, but realistically and safely, one. And has been so for the past year and a half.
2) It's an unmarked spot half a block from my house i.e. there's no signs on the small island for street cleaning, so you never, ever have to move your car. Awesome. With semi-planned round robin, SL, Tim Hailey or I have held onto this coveted spot for about 6 months of the past year.
3) What kind of a douche takes the time to leave a NOTE disguised as a fake parking ticket????

Unreal. I love New York.

It's a Mad World

Meant to post this link last week - a wonderful article from the Sunday Times about Al Jaffee, the 87-year-old artist who has been drawing the Mad magazine back cover fold-in by hand since 1964.

Some of his more recent covers can be found here, and the Times has a great interactive folding cover feature here.

Wisdom

I rode with a taxi driver today who had been driving on the street of NYC for 47 years. FORTY SEVEN YEARS. An Italian immigrant from Genoa, he was an ambulance driver for 15 years or so before starting with the taxis. He claimed that driving a taxi is harder than driving an ambulance in the city. He still drove that taxi like a bat out of hell. REALLY fast, but really good.

He gave me lots of advice about how to live as long as him (guessing he was about 70-75): one should avoid smoking, alcohol, too much fat, too many carbohydrates, and stay active so the blood doesn't congeal in your body/muscles and slow you down (i got a very lengthy explanation about this). You also gotta love the Italian men of all ages managing to call you "bella" like 5 times in every conversation you have with them -- Still workin' chicks at 70.

I think he's probably on to something. I was charmed, I'm sure.

Benefit for Scott Sunday

There's no NCAA games on, so get over to Black Betty for some fine music from Big Lazy, Tandy and the always amazing Malcolm Holcombe. $20 with all proceeds going to The Scotty Hard Trust. Malcolm's from Tennessee - I've always thought of him as the country Tom Waits. Check some of his music out on his myspace page. Not sure who else is playing in Tandy, besides the talented Mike Ferrio since the loss of Drew in January but very glad to see Mike playing on.

Bad Ass Johnny Cueto

Saw the highlights of this kid pitching last night, and WOW. Who knows if he can keep it up, but the form and speed were undeniable. Exciting stuff for a team that hasn't been in the playoffs since 1995. The Reds Nation is aflutter, or at least as much as anyone can be after the past 10+ years of disappointment.

He was in Single A this time last year.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- While Johnny Cueto blew away batters with a 96 mph fastball, his Cincinnati Reds teammates compared memories about the last time they'd seen anyone so young look so good the first time out.

The consensus: This was something special.

Cueto allowed nothing more than Justin Upton's solo homer in seven innings Thursday, striking out 10 in an overpowering debut while leading the Reds to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Full story here. Next up: Edinson Volquez on Sunday. In spring training, Cueto’s ERA was 5.09 and he walked 12 in 16 innings. Volquez had a 2.70 ERA, walking four in 20 innings while striking out 26. Cueto struck out 19.