Mike told me to make a movie. 
And so I did. (Click here to see the film!)
It’s about the return home. 
That constant.
That cycle. 
And pause. 
That feeling of return. 
From where we left. 
To where we began.
Tag Archives: New York City
Fuck You, Umbrella
The precursor to Hurricane Joaquin washed through New York last night and left a trail of decimated umbrellas in its wake.
Commonly referred to as “New York Specials”, these poorly constructed bumbershoots rarely last beyond an hour or so.
“Try to Stay Positive!”
I trailed after my wife, navigating around a cluster of pink bedecked girls dancing to electro-pop beats during “ Open Studio Weekend; the place looked like a Hollywood set.
“Even the graffiti looks fake.”
A scruffy juggler in white tights called over, “Try to stay positive!”
I glared back. “Stay focused on yourself.”
“It’s okay, man.” He dropped his pins. “It’s all good.”
Days in New York City
When I stop to remember that I live in a city that I have little to do with, I remember to look to see this is where I am.
The Sister Cities of Ilulissat and New York
On first glance, Ilulissat, Greenland and New York City seem worlds apart. 
I have come to learn, upon further examination, that the assumption is inaccurate.
One commonality is that both places offer non-stop action. New York has 24 hours of lights and hype.
Ilulissat has 24-hours light and calving ice. 
Taxis dominate each locale.
As do throngs of tourists. 
One thing I will have to admit is that the graffiti in Ilulissat can be more direct. 
Transplanting Characters in “Anori”
Fitz is a go-to character in Anori: “To my mind, the philosopher types all died in the Renaissance and that.”
It seemed obvious that he would be a player in a prime scene in the book, something that’s got everything – sex, police chases as well as furious angst. 
However I realized that Uncle Ralph is the one who belongs in the scene; he’s family and makes Dee understand what she will be leaving.
And so, as much as I love the witticisms of Fitz, I had to expunge him from the great chase scene in New York.
He was transported to Greenland instead, where he will watch the ice melt and wax melancholic about the great ships launching into space. 
“Good seein’ ’em go. Now we can have a bit of the peace and quiet.”
Plumbing Artist: Cristian Daniel Torres
Cristian Daniel Torres is a plumber and an artist.
His creations are enigmatic, evoking child-like wonder
Some are mechanical, even functional. (Click the image below to see him demonstrate a computer desk.)
All of the work can be seen at Mr. Torres’ studio at Local Project in Long Island City, Queens.
Springtime in New York City
“Fish in the Dark” & The Critics Love to Hate
The critics have spoken on Larry David’s Fish in the Dark.
The New York Times: …set postures, lines and deliveries, while throwaway humor has been exaggerated in ways that perversely shrink its impact.
The New Yorker: …sour-voiced schtick…a cynical manipulation of sentimentality and humor.
The Wall Street Journal: (Larry David’s) playwriting debut, a poor and embarrassing excuse for the kind of Jewish humor that went out of fashion with Gertrude Berg, (is) bursting at the moldy seams with embalming fluid.
It’s not as if Larry David made any highfalutin’ claims. “I saw Nora Ephron’s play, Lucky Guy. I just thought, ‘That must be a really interesting thing to do.”
The hate from New York’s papers is perhaps best summed up by the theater critic in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman: I’m gonna turn in the worst review anyone has ever read and I’m gonna close your play. 
Would you like to know why? Because I hate you and everyone you represent. Entitled, selfish, spoiled children. Blissfully untrained, unversed and unprepared to even attempt real art. Handing each other awards for cartoons and pornography.
Luckily, the real-life critics aren’t having so much luck. Larry David’s play has broken box office records and been greeted by constant laughs and ovations every night. 
Fish in the Dark, as Mr. David is not ashamed to say himself, is “pre-tty, pre-tty good.”
Overlooked Manhattan: Dubuffet’s “Group of Four Trees”
Chase Plaza, between William and Broad Streets in Downtown Manhattan, offers that rare trifecta: light, space and art. 
Jean Dubuffet’s Group of Four Trees dominates the space. 
Made of fiberglass, aluminum and steel, Jean Dubeffet’s work was erected in 1972 and stands four stories tall.
The sculpture is one of the 14,000 works in Chase Manhattan’s private collection.*
This being one of the few that the public can see.
(*According to Manhattan’s Downtown Alliance)