You Want a Piece of Me?

It's HOT in NYC

2009-08-22T07:38:00.000-04:00

Last night waiting for the R train in Brooklyn.

Pier foot

2009-07-20T22:14:00.001-04:00

Pier foot
Originally uploaded by Ingrid!

My entry for the I heart faces photo challenge: feet week!

Pride Parade

2009-06-28T15:16:00.007-04:00

A series of shots taken with my Fujifilm Instax instant camera. Like a Polariod, but with a different aspect ratio. Click on the images to see them bigger, and enjoy!

NYSC sucks and here's why

2009-06-06T22:12:00.004-04:00

I sent an Email Executive Carpet Bomb a la The Consumerist to about 15 people at NYSC about an incident that happened last week. Their personal trainers need to really learn some gym etiquette.

Here's a copy of what I sent, please to enjoy:

"I’m writing to inform you of a recent incident at your 8^th Ave and 23^rd Street facility.

Recently this location has started roping off one area of the gym and trying to keep other members out while one or two people who have hired personal trainers use the area to exercise. Unfortunately this is the area where all the Swiss balls are stored, along with a rack free weights, stretch bands, medicine balls and other equipment. On Tuesday June 2nd, I was in this area using one of the pieces of equipment (the hip flexor machine) that is located there. When I finished on that machine, I wanted to use the blue Swiss ball (of which there is only one in the entire facility) and, seeing no one else near the ball, picked it up to take it out of the Personal Training area. When I walked past the only personal trainer in the area on my way out, he snatched the ball out of my hands and said, “This is for MY CLIENT.” I replied that neither he nor his client was making use of the ball, as they were at the other end of the area from where the ball was sitting unattended. He responded that he had placed the ball there for his client to use later. Even if the Swiss ball was the personal property of the trainer, there was no reason for him, someone much larger and stronger than I, to physically pull the ball from my hands. He might have maintained a civil tone of voice and explained that they would be using it in a few minutes and asked me if I could wait, or he might have followed what is standard gym/health club etiquette throughout the world and offered to let me work in between their sets. I was then told to leave the area by both this trainer and his client.

I proceeded to the front desk and approached the General Manager, Gerry Gutierrez. I told Gerry that if I was going to lose the opportunity to use certain pieces of equipment during peak gym hours (which is the only time I can use the gym), then I expected to have a reduction in my dues. Gerry smirked and said “that’s not going to happen.” I then explained the incident that had just occurred with the personal trainer and asked why I was not allowed to use the blue Swiss ball, even though the trainer and his client were not using them at the time. He said that I was allowed to use the ball, as long as they were not. I asked him to please explain this to the trainer and Gerry and I and another gym employee walked over to the Personal Training area. The trainer again said that his client would be using the ball, but again the ball sat, unused, in a corner. Indeed the ball sat unused for much of the time that I observed the trainer and his client over the next 15 - 20 minutes. I insisted that I only needed to do two sets of twelve using the ball, and would be done quickly, but still was not allowed to have access to the ONE blue Swiss ball in the entire facility. Although Gerry and the other gym employee assured me that they would “take care” of the situation and speak to the trainer, no attempt was made to get any contact information from me in order to follow up and let me know what the outcome was. Gerry seemed extremely uncomfortable having to deal with someone who was complaining and refused to approach the trainer at that time, so as not to “interrupt his time with his client” even though my workout had already been disrupted and rendered incomplete by the arrogant attitude of your employee.

I would suggest that if this area is to remain an area for personal trainers and their clients that you remove the equipment that is stored there so that the other paying members of your facility have access to them and have the trainers be the ones to retrieve each piece of equipment as needed, rather than monopolizing all the gear stored in that area and/or roping off access to it.

Furthermore, it seems that you have begun a new policy of catering to one or two members who have chosen to buy personal training, while ignoring the needs and expectations of the other members whose dues make up the majority of your income. It is obvious to even a lay person with no training in business management that catering to the two people in the gym that evening that were with trainers versus the 60-some people filling up the rest of the facility is foolish. I’d advise you to check your revenue streams and reorganize your priorities accordingly. At the very least, some customer service training for all your employees is in order before another incident like this occurs and another member like me takes her business elsewhere."

TTMF!

"I don't really know what kind of girl I am."

2009-05-16T08:24:00.001-04:00

"I don't really know what kind of girl I am."
Originally uploaded by Ingrid!

I've spent quite a bit of time at the NYPH so far. My company (AdoramaPix) sponsored a group of artists and did the printing for the show of last year's winners of the NY Photo Awards. You can see both shows in the Tobacco Warehouse and NO festival pass is needed for Tobacco Warehouse shows!
Overall, I'm impressed with the show, it's a lot of hard work by the men and women who work pretty much all year to put it together. I'm going back Sunday NOT to work, but just for ME to enjoy everything I haven't had a chance to see yet.
Now for this. I have to say, this is the second year for the festival now, and I am so surprised to see how the local businesses do not seem to be prepared for the crowds and attention.
I dropped into the VIP Green Room, located downstairs in the Water Street Restaurant. First, not to sound like a big fat complaining snob or anything, but I expected a bit more from a VIP lounge. There was a coffee station but they were charging for the coffee and muffins, and no bottled water any where in sight. Though I'm not a TRUE vip (got the pass as a result of working with the Festival) I was surprised again to be ignored for a good five minutes while two employees three feet from me fiddled with the TV/audio hookup. I mean, they had no idea who I was, I could've been anyone from anywhere and much, much more important than I am (which wouldn't be hard!). And then I was given a dirty cup for my tea. WTF? With all the advertising and lead up to the Festival, did they really get so caught off guard?
Anyway, enough of my whining. The show is outstanding, again, and if you get a chance get over there.

Yes, another accident at 23rd and 9th.

2009-04-10T16:42:00.007-04:00

This is getting tiresome. ANOTHER accident at 23rd and 9th, SW corner.

I didn't see what happened, but can you imagine standing on the little island, waiting to cross the street, and seeing this car headed straight for you? There was another car involved, its entire front bumper was torn off, license plate and all, sitting in 23rd Street, facing west.

I guess it was lucky there was no one in the bike lane! A few more feet and this driver would've gone through the window of the Chelsea Square diner! It didn't look like anyone was hurt, no EMTs at the scene at all, just cops. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the delayed light, etc. at the intersection, or was just an accident.

Flu Shout-Outs!

2009-02-21T08:58:00.005-05:00

In case you haven't heard, I got on the plane and went to Vegas despite having a fever of just over 101. Just how long are you contagious anyway? Just in case:
Shout out to Adam Aguilar, who helped me to open my foil pack of Motrin with his teeth, after I had handled it with my flu-sweaty hands.
Shout out to everyone I played craps with that handled the dice after I blew on them and tossed them, shout out to all the dealers who handled my chips.
Shout out to the nice couple who sat next to me on the plane, against whom I was pitted in the in-flight trivia game and who cringed every time I coughed, which was often.
Shout out to the baristas at Starbucks and the cashier at the buffet who took my money, the germy-est thing there is.
By the time the tradeshow started I probably wasn't contagious anymore, as the fever seems to have broken sometime Saturday night, thank goodness I don't have to give shout-outs to the 600 and some people I talked to there, do I?

Everybody thinks they can write

2008-12-07T08:47:00.003-05:00

Oh, Timothy Egan, truer words were never spoken. As a struggling writer myself, I tremble with frustration when some actor or worse yet, some nobody gets a book published. I think I'm going back to my original plan: get myself cast on some schlocky reality show, then when I'm kicked off, voted out, fired or whatever, I tell Katie Couric the next day that I'm really a writer. What do you think?

White Russians

2008-12-04T07:58:00.004-05:00

Oh there's an article in today's Times about how some hipsters, inspired by their love of the movie "The Big Lebowski," are now drinking White Russians like crazy.

I drank White Russians at one time. It was the disco 70s and early 80s, just like the article says, and I was working as a cocktail waitress in Atlantic City. We used to sneak drinks all the time, yes, drinking at work, we all did it. Anyway, White Russians (along with Banana Banshees and the vodka spiked sibling, Screaming Banana Banshees) were our favorites. Sweet and laced with thick, heavy cream, the bartenders used to put a batch in the blender with ice for us. It was a frosty milkshake with a kick. I never cared for Black Russians, the dairy-less counterpart, as they seem almost too hardcore, like the old people eating coffee ice cream. By the end of a night of drinking White Russians, of course, your mouth tastes like you've been chugging Elmer's glue, and the next day the hangover was singularly agonizing. But oh, the taste, the rich, creamy sweet taste and oh, the buzz, a combo of sugar rush and alcohol (which is also essentially sugar) was divine.

And now, a recessionista moment.

2008-11-24T20:40:00.005-05:00

I've been thinking about doing this for a while but this article in the Times pushed me. I've been doing the second hand thing for a long time, not so much because I have to but because it's always been a favorite sport of mine. "See what I got? Guess what I paid?" It doesn't have to be second hand, necessarily, I get the same satisfaction from a good sale. From the number of people telling me how put-together I look, I'll assume that no one would assume that I'm getting this stuff practically for nothing. So let's run down the look on this random Monday:
Banana Republic wool v-neck, bought second-hand, $4.99
Theory french-cuff shirt, bought second-hand, $7.99
J.Crew lined wool pants, bought second-hand, $8.99
Gap leather belt, bought second-hand, 1.99
Silver and gold fleur de lis cufflinks, bought second-hand, $1.00
Christian Louboutin shoes, $415 reduced to $40 at the Barney's Warehouse Sale 5 years ago.

This recessionista moment has been brought to you by the shitty economy.

Bob Votes!

2008-11-04T19:29:00.001-05:00

Bob Votes!
Originally uploaded by Ingrid!

My friend Bob voted for the first time in his 88 years today. I asked him if he was excited to vote, and he said, "no."

Notes on Camp

2008-11-02T18:31:00.003-05:00

Ngorongoro Campsite
Originally uploaded by Ingrid!

Among other things I learned on my trip to Africa (that I can’t play the African trumpet, that I no longer get tan, just blotchy, that I can haggle, and that no matter where you go and no matter what kind of shitty shape our economy may be in at the moment, EVERYONE happily takes US dollars), I discovered that I can camp with the best of them. Anyone who knows me even a little would say I’m not a big fan of camping. I haven’t been in a tent since I slept in our family’s tent in the back yard when I was 8 and came inside, freezing, at 6AM.

I wanted to camp out on this trip because it’s a chance to get really close to the animals; I wanted to experience sleeping under the wide African sky, awash with stars. I wanted to eat breakfast in the cool, thin air and spend the evening around a campfire with water buffalo snorting and tearing at the grass just beyond the campsite. One night I sat up just in time to see a jackal trot by the front of my tent in the light of the full moon. You won’t see those kinds of things when you stay in a lodge.

And it was cheaper.

Of course there’s a downside to all this “nature.” Because I wasn’t accustomed to camping, I was slightly unprepared for nighttime. I saw “flashlight” on the list of things to bring, but couldn’t imagine what I would use it for so didn’t bring one. When night fell, I understood what it was for, but I didn’t let it cramp my style. Going to the bathroom in the dark required tagging along with one of my more prepared campmates (which was recommended anyway, in case of an animal encounter, presumably so if one person was brutally mauled the other could go for help). That wasn’t bad. Also, there happened to be a full moon, so I could just leave the door open and do my business, then nonchalantly buddy up for the way back.

I noticed but did not imitate all the other campers taking their shoes off before stepping into their tent, and so ended up with some mud next to my sleeping bag. I didn’t want to get my socks dirty, so since I wasn’t sharing with anyone, I just used my shoe to brush it to the other side of the tent. Problem solved. Look how resilient and resourceful I am!

There was one couple who were really smug. They were poo-pooing my concern over the method of washing vegetables in tap water at the campsite and grousing over the price of a slice of cheese on a hamburger (“it’s a dollar!”). They had all the camping equipment anyone could need, water filters, fast-drying towels, high-tech, wicking clothes, and those goofy-headlamp things that make you look like a miner. They left their towels behind at the very first campsite we stayed at and had to use dirty clothes to dry themselves off until we swung back by the campsite and picked up the towels at the END of the safari. She glared at me the one day we could do laundry when I whipped out my Tide-To-Go while she sat there trying to get her bio-degradable detergent to suds (she was washing the clothes they had used for “towels). Ha! Let’s see them find and apply eye cream, lip balm and moisturizer in a pitch black tent like I did! Oh, and my cotton towel that I rooked from NYSC stayed with me the entire trip, and always dried by the next morning, thanks very much. Oh, yeah and my Gap khakis that were hung on a tree branch overnight looked crisp and fresh the next day. At least one day they did.

I’m sure everyone was snickering over my suitcase with wheels, which was useless in the campsites, but I was able to carry my bag to the equipment truck myself. In fact, our driver, Mike, always put my bags in last because he said they were the lightest. Ha!

By the third day I was able to squat and poop in the latrines (and hit the hole!), and could take a cold shower without gasping and actually feel clean and refreshed afterward.

Everyone else was getting eaten up by mosquitos and flies. We were warned repeatedly not to wear blue or black on the game drives in the Serengeti, as tsetse flies are very attracted to blue and black. There are large swatches of blue and black fabric doused with poison hanging from trees all over, the tsetse flies go straight to them and are killed. I forgot and wore a blue tank top with a black fleece and applied insect repellant only sparingly and did NOT get stung once by anything. The entire trip.

Yes, I can camp. Part of me just wanted to see if I could do it, if I could survive in a tent with no flashlight or fast-drying towel. If I could sleep on the hard ground with only a sleeping bag and thin foam pad beneath me and bounce around all day in a safari truck with no seatbelts. I’m pleased to report my back and neck did not hurt until the return trip when I started using the computers in the AirFrance business-class lounge (ergonomics, anyone?).

And the best thing I learned? Now that I know I can do it, I never, EVER have to do it again.

How did we ever live without one?

2008-10-01T19:47:00.001-04:00

The Va j j Visor! Please to enjoy.

The Sun goes down

2008-09-30T09:56:00.002-04:00

Oh, I loved this little paper. It was like a real local newspaper, with great arts coverage and a darn good crossword. We needed this paper if only to show how crappy and bloated the we-don't-need-to-check-for-grammar-and-spelling-mistakes-cause-we're-The-Times-damn-it NYTimes. Donald Trump can bail out Ed McMahon but where is he when we really need him?

Suicide Prevention: Donate!

2008-09-17T07:03:00.002-04:00

3 months after tragedy
Originally uploaded by mister mark davis

My friend Mark Davis took this image. This morning I got an email from him:

My girlfriend's father killed himself early this summer.
As someone who has been around this I can say that you
really cant understand just how awful this experience is
for the family. Everyone feels as though if only they
called more or visited him he wouldn't have killed himself.
If only they didn't do some action that was completely
normal, if only that then they could still have their
father, their brother, their friend...

Being the victim of suicide is one of the most isolating
experiences. It's important to realize that if you are
related to someone that killed themselves you are likely to
be in a family with a genetic history of depression
compounding your misfortune. My girlfriend hasn't told
many people. Only her closest friends. She hasn't even
told her roommate or most of her friends. She hasn't told
her professors and hasn't asked for special treatment. She
is doing this because she doesn't want people's pity. She
doesn't want people looking at her as if she should be sad.
She just started her first semester of college in new york
city since she lost her father and is in New York city far
away from her family in New England.

She will be walking in the Out of the Darkness Community
Walk to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention. She has set a really modest goal for herself
of $1000. The thing is since she hasn't told anyone what
happened she can't really ask people to donate because she
hasn't even told people about what has happened. I just
donated $20 dollars. What I really want to happen is for
lots and lots of people to donate at least $1 (the minimum
the site allows). the AFSP is a great organization and the
work they do is important, but more importantly I want to
restore my girlfriends faith in humanity. I can just
imagine her checking the progress of her donations and
seeing that a hundred or even a thousand people gave her a
dollar. You should feel more than welcome to leave more
money, but more importantly send this to a bunch of your
friends. See if you can get everyone in your office to
give.

Here's where you can donate and see how much money she has
raised:
http://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&eventID=630&participantID=13545

The walk is the 26th of October. I don't know if there is
a payment deadline, but check back at the end of the month
to see how well this went.

If you can just give a dollar, do so, cause suicide is not painless for anyone.

The Man in 8A

2008-08-30T20:00:00.001-04:00

The Man in 8A
Originally uploaded by Ingrid!

My neighbor, the guy in 8A, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. It's a bad way to go, messy and irrevocably final. He'd come home from the hospital about two weeks ago, in pajamas and slippers, shuffling in the door and telling the doorman he was sad because he had no family or friends. Then he said he was going to the package room to pick up his keys. We figure he must have done it that day.

The doorman showed me his picture from his building ID in the computer and he looked like an old man, just another old man. I may have seen him in the elevator, but I didn't recognize him. No one else I talked to knew who he was, even though he'd been living in the building for a very long time.

No one heard the shot, it took almost two weeks for someone to smell the body (god bless this pre-war construction). Even in death it seemed he was invisible and alone.

His things were out on the sidewalk last night. In garbage bags, piled up with the rest of the trash and recyclables. There were clear bags with books, Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, real books, not just piles of John Grisham or James Patterson. The books said he had had a rich intellectual life, a mind that worked, that asked questions and looked for answers.

Someone had already come by and taken the majority of the hardcovers, probably to sell. All that was left of them were the dust jackets, left behind like snake skins, worthless, while the books that had been inside went on.

They had already torn out his kitchen cabinets in preparation to renovate his no doubt rent-controlled apartment, getting it ready for new tenants and a higher rent. He had taped pictures of apes and gorillas with their babies to the cabinets. When I saw it I thought of how he'd told the doorman he had no family.

I took a photo of the cabinets, then I gathered a few things here and there, snippets from a book of letters by William Sloane Coffin, images from Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and a lovely holiday card showing a Japanese painting of a geisha in the snow. It was not signed, so it's hard to know if he planned to send it or just kept it cause he liked the beauty of the image, the elegant woman in full dress, her body gracefully bent, as if bracing against the wind with her delicate parasol. I want to think that the beauty was the reason.

I made this collage from those things. Cause I've been sad and lonely too. Haven't we all?

Smoking is Kool

2008-08-03T12:14:00.003-04:00

This article in the NY Times this morning got me to thinking about cigarettes. They’re talking about banning or regulating flavors in cigs, like Menthol. I remember when I smoked. I started out with Eve, or Virginia Slims, which tasted like crap but looked cool when you held them. And that was what it was all about, right? How you looked when you had it in your hand, drew on it and blew it back out: mature, sophisticated, attractive. I went away to for a few months and took a carton of Now menthol cigarettes with me. They were advertised as ultra low tar, low nicotine. The reason was they had a filter like a piece of cement, you could barely suck the smoke through it. People would bum cigarettes from me and repeatedly check to see if they were lit.

I can’t remember how or why I first tried Newports. I had a leaning toward menthol already, I guess cause I didn’t like the taste of plain old tobacco. So why did I smoke? Why does anyone? Cause it’s cool.

I do remember trying Kools, they were harsh as nails, leaving my throat feeling raw and my head heavy. Salems were too light, too cool, it was like sucking in freezing cold air and felt too artificial. Marlboro Menthol? Don’t even get me started. They were like smoking dead leaves with a cough drop in your mouth.

But Newports, like the baby bear’s porridge, were just right; minty without being sweet, heavy duty without being harsh. I graduated to the box, it was a neat little package, a menthol Christmas gift I could buy myself, everyday. Best of all, I was cool.

When I finally quit smoking, I was hypnotized, but I guess I was ready to quit anyway. After attending a wedding where we’d been drinking champagne and smoking up a storm, I woke up to find my then boyfriend rolling his own cigarette from butts he was digging out of the trash. I never smoked again.

I still have dreams that I’m smoking. In them, I’m always upset with myself, thinking that now I’ll have to quit all over again. But it’s fun while it lasts, and I’m oh so cool again.

Slydial has an in somewhere ...

2008-08-02T19:54:00.002-04:00

This is the second article in a week about the service to be in the NY Times. Think someone at Slydial knows someone at the Times? Or is the Grey Lady losing her memory in her old age?

Doorman Switcheroo at London Terrace

2008-06-09T13:30:00.002-04:00

Rose Associates are getting more and more sneaky in their quest to rid London Terrace of rent stabilized tenants and illegal sublets. The newest ploy is taking all the doormen from the 24th Street side and putting them on the 23rd Street side and vice versa. The reason, ostensibly, is security; they want tenants' building ID to be checked upon entering the building. The reason, really, is so that they can find out who is in an illegal sublet. I guess they don't figure that some tenants might just walk around the corner to the other side and enter where there is a doorman who knows them. Are they also not taking into account that when the weather is bad (hot, raining, cold) most people walk inside the building as much as they can, often exiting or entering on the opposite side of the building from where they live, thus getting to know all the doormen? I guess not.

Microsoft Ad Campaign in Chelsea

2008-06-09T13:06:00.006-04:00

Hey, check out Chelsea Court Meat Market! They are part of an advertising campaign by Microsoft targeting small business owners. The left-hand section of the store is covered by a giant photo of the right-hand side. You can't really appreciate it in this shot, if you live in Chelsea, stroll by. It's cool.

While you're down there, say hi to Tony the butcher. If you don't know about this place, it's a good old fashioned butcher shop; Tony will set you up with bones or chicken scraps for your dog, or a nice steak for you. Support our local Chelsea businesses, before another one bites the dust.

Who is this idiot's editor?

2008-04-30T19:04:00.002-04:00

Alexandra Marshall flips off the rape of Nanking in the name of fashion in today's Times. WTF?

Powerful Pixel is ready for its closeup!

2008-04-08T19:53:00.006-04:00

And now for something completely different ...

A Florida doctor is going for a world record by attempting to construct the world's largest photo. The image itself is one that he took of the space shuttle on one of its night launches, and features a fiery trail streaking across the sky over a lighthouse, and it's already garnered quite a bit of attention in the way of winning a bunch of prizes and awards.

Now it's ready for the big time, and I do mean BIG. The finished photo-mosaic will cover 5 acres at a still yet to be determined site somewhere in Florida.

Here's the completely different part, we can all be a part of it. He's asking folks to "sponsor" a pixel for 12 bucks. Out of that you can designate up to 3 dollars to go to one of the non-profits that are partnering with the site, or register one of your own (your kids' school perhaps?). What you get for the pixel is a certificate of participation with your name and the number of the pixel you've sponsored. After it's all over, the plywood on which the entire thing is to be assembled will be donated to non-profits that build homes right here in the US.

I already got my pixel! Get over there and get one, then help spread the word!

Et tu, Bill Cunningham?

2008-04-05T08:12:00.005-04:00

If a picture's worth a thousand words, then why, oh, why does the Times insist on doing these god-awful "audio slide shows?" I can barely stand to read the articles, what with the sloppy writing and editing and typos all over the place (of course, I'm talking about the online edition. I wouldn't blacken my fingers with the actual paper copy), what makes them think that I want to hear their reporters uh-ing and um-img their way through a story?

Saturday mornings I rush to the Fashion and Style section to see Bill Cunningham's "On the Street" column, a collection of photos of whatever fashion trend he's seen a lot of in the past week. Now they've fouled that up by turning it into a "multimedia feature," having Mr. Cunningham narrate the slide show. It's a slide show! I want to see the pictures, and I don't need someone, not even Bill Cunningham, who I love, telling me that what I'm looking at are weird and really unflattering pants.

London Terrace Dog Policy - revised

2008-04-03T20:44:00.005-04:00

One of my neighbors who shall remain nameless at her request, wrote some revisions and additions to the new Dog Policy distributed to residents of London Terrace yesterday.

Enjoy!

Rose Associates dog policy revised:

All dog owners must speak English. And all dogs must be trained to understand English. Dogs who do not understand English will not be permitted in the building.

Dogs are NOT allowed to stop at any of the doorman stations, concierge, dry cleaners, or mailroom. If your dog drags you to these locations, or stops short, doorman have been instructed to administer a short sharp shock with a very mild stun gun. This will not result in any harm to your pet, and it will teach them a valuable lesson.

Doorman have been instructed to halt the administering of dog treats or biscuits of any kind and doorman shall not harbor any such treats in their pockets. In order to ensure that this rule is followed, doormen have been instructed to bring all of their
uniforms to the dry cleaner so their pockets may be sewed closed.

All dogs must be trained to use an indoor voice. A certificate of training and graduation from the course "Shut the Fuck Up!" is required. Please sign up for this class in the management office with Ellen Grubby-Hornet (212 243 7000). As an alternative to this required class, an owner may choose instead to have the dog's vocal cords cut. A certificate exhibiting that this procedure has been done by a certified Veterinarian will be required to be filed with the management office. A yearly review of this certification will be required.

All dogs must be groomed once a month and and must have their nails trimmed and buffed to ensure our beautiful lobby and apartment floors are not marked or scratched. Please provide a copy of the receipt from the groomer to the management office each month (along with your rent check)to show that these services have been performed. If you prefer to have this service performed by the London Terrace dry cleaner, this can be arranged and automatically added onto your rent bill
each month. Please inquire at the management office for this special program.

Although dogs are are not permitted in any public areas of the building, including laundry rooms, gardens or roof terraces, rodents and vermin of any kind; and all insects with less than 200 legs and weighing less than 4oz. are permitted.

It is recommended that all dogs see a dog nutritionist who will provide a diet that results in perfectly shaped feces to allow for easy pick-up. A brochure is available in the management office. Please stop by and pick one up (but please don't bring your dog, sorry).

Your dog will be required to be participate in a "weigh-in" once a month to ensure they do not exceed 25lbs. If they exceed 25lbs, you will be given 2 months to "minimize" your dog. If slimming is not successful, eviction proceedings will be begin immediately and without hesitation.

Pregnant dogs are not allowed (at any time, for any reason) in our buildings.

Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated. Pets have been a grand tradition here at London Terrace Gardens since 1929, but personally I would rather not see them or hear them. Ridding London Terrace Gardens of all these creatures (and the people who love them) will be just be a part of my glorious legacy.

Ellen Grubby-Hornet

Rose Associates says: Get along, little doggies!

2008-04-02T18:27:00.006-04:00

Came home today to find this posted in the lobby and under our door:

In case you can't read it, it basically says it's a "friendly reminder" of the rules and policies on dogs. I read it as Rose trying to get people out however they can, now by "enforcing" the dog rules and ordering offending parties to move or live in LTG sans canine companion.

Here's the short version of the rules:

Dogs have to be carried or on a short leash in public areas (what do they consider short?)
Owners must control their pets so they don't "jump on" or act threatening (what do they consider threatening?)toward another tenant.
Dogs are not allowed in any public areas unless going to or from their apartments, esp. the laundry room or courtyard (I always take Tony to the laundry room, what's the big deal? It's not like he pees on the floor, and he's even killed a roach or two. They should be happy for the help, they need it, if you get my drift).
And "most important of all" we are required to "curb and promptly clean up after" our dogs. (Well, no shit. Literally. I have walked out in the morning to a veritable mine field of dog poo and wondered who on earth is leaving it. I mean, the size of some of these turds makes you wonder what else the owner didn't notice.)

Yes, these are all fairly common sense policies, but just the fact that they came from Rose makes me suspicious. This is the company that threw out all of our doormats. It's also the company that erected a "sidewalk bridge" around the whole building cause they don't have the money to fix the falling bricks. And that's the same company that took six months to repair the entrance at 420.

It also sounds all kinds of illegal to "revoke permission" to keep a dog in a building that allows pets, but hey, I'm just a little ol' dog owner who's disappointed that I will no longer have the company of my canine while folding laundry.

I wonder what put him over the edge?

2008-02-16T11:51:00.002-05:00

Park worker goes postal.

Beyonce is an ass

2008-02-14T20:03:00.003-05:00

An even bigger one than she looks like in this picture.

I'm related to Old Blue Eyes ...

2008-02-01T11:50:00.000-05:00

And everyone else with blue eyes, according to a Danish study.

The plot thickens

2008-01-27T19:01:00.001-05:00

Faded Old Glory
Originally uploaded by Ingrid!

I sure wasn't expecting this.

Too good to be true

2008-01-08T17:10:00.000-05:00

They're having a field day with this one.

White shoes

2007-12-31T17:30:00.001-05:00

White shoes
Originally uploaded by Ingrid!

I wore white shoes today.

Oh, I know the Rules, and believe me, I’d be the first one to cast a disapproving look your way if you wore white pants or white shoes sometime after that first week of September.

But today seemed to call for it. With everything I’ve been through the past two years, it seemed fitting to break a rule today.

Anyway, I’m walking down 6th Avenue on the way to work, and I see a hipster guy coming toward me. The fingers of his left hand were pink with cold (too hip for gloves, I guess) and holding a cigarette, while his right hand clutched the front of his thin vintage blazer just below his scarf that was doubled over and knotted you-know-how. His own shoes were very pointy, and the heels made a loud clack-clack sound as he marched up the street. As he passes me, I see him look down. I was wearing sunglasses and so could look right at him without being detected, and of course he’s looking at my shoes. I can see, as clearly as if there were a cartoon thought balloon over his head, what he’s thinking.

He’s thinking, “Damn, why didn’t I think of that?”

From the IHT yesterday

2007-11-30T08:36:00.000-05:00

This is unbelievable. What IS believable is that the IHT is owned by the Times. If you don't see anything wrong, well then, the Times is hiring and they want YOU.

2007-11-22T14:23:00.001-05:00

Originally uploaded by Ingrid!

Oh we're not done with this.

Ha ha Barry Bonds

2007-11-15T18:12:00.000-05:00

Look at you now.

I'm in Schmap!

2007-11-09T18:49:00.000-05:00

Here's my shot of "The Gross Clinic" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This is the painting that I just had to see and got stuck at the museum and couldn't get a cab back to 30th Street Station in time to make my train back to New York so had to take another one and it cost me more money and I couldn't change the ticket I already had cause I had no up to date ID. I guess this kinda makes up for it.

More Scoop on the London Terrace "Sidewalk Bridge"

2007-10-08T13:36:00.000-04:00

Ok I don't want to turn this into a London Terrace blog (even though there isn't one yet, hmm ...) but the scaffolding thing just keeps getting better.

The LTTA (London Terrace Tenant's Association)put out the October newsletter today claiming that the scaffolding "will remain in place until exterior maintenance (not yet under contract) is completed" (emphasis mine). They add that Rose's estimate is 1-2 years. My friend on the second floor basically has a terrace outside her bedroom window, and despite there being no one doing any work, there still manages to be accumulating garbage on the structure. Here's an interesting tidbit uncovered at Property Shark:

7/19/2007 Failure to maintain exterior bldg wall. bricks fell from around the wi ndow at the 9th flr of exposure # 1. install sidewalk shed. remedy: ma intain exterior bldg wall.
7/10/2007 Failure to maintain exterior bldg.north elevation facade parapet exhib its vertical cracks,separating & shifting in its facade;vertical crack s reopening in corners of its facade;greenery plants growing joint &

So even after scaffolding went up at 450 after bricks fell there, no one ever checked the rest of the building?

London Terrace Building Code Violation Details

2007-10-01T07:11:00.000-04:00

Here's the scoop, note that there has been NO other work to date, just the installation of the sidewalk shed.

People's 311 in the News!

2007-09-20T18:05:00.000-04:00

From the flickr group

Deadly Corner Gets a Partial Fix

2007-09-14T11:38:00.000-04:00

Hey, it's something, though I'm not sure how much it will help. (Sorry about the crappy cameraphone pic, I was on my way to the gym.)

As you can see the crews are at work this morning extending the traffic signal on the NW corner of 23rd and 10th an additional five feet into the street. One crew member told me tomorrow they would be taking the yellow arrows out. It's a start!

Bombs Away!

2007-09-04T13:17:00.000-04:00

This was the scene this morning at 29th Street and 8th Ave where a bomb went off outside the theater (red awning.) Thank goodness it was a small bomb and no one was hurt.

Blog Chelsea is reporting that the building is owned by one or more Sopranos cast members. Perhaps a disgruntled fan hoping for another season?

... And the Scaffolding goes up on the 23rd Street side

2007-08-29T16:21:00.001-04:00

There's now scaffolding going up on the 23rd Street side of London Terrace. Bah! The entire building will be surrounded for probably about a year.

[Update]
A memo from General Manager Ellen Gribben Bornet was posted yesterday at the 23rd Street entrances saying that a "sidewalk bridge" would have to be constructed in order to make some needed repairs to the building. Note that us peons on the 24th Street side got no such notice when our "sidewalk bridge" (read: scaffolding) went up weeks ago.

I was walking behind a Rose employee and two prospective renters the other day, and heard the woman telling the couple about all the amenities in the building. I wanted to chime in and say, "Oh and don't forget to tell them about the "sidewalk bridge" aka tunnel of dog piss, out front!"

On the bright side, we'll be able to walk our dogs in the rain without using an umbrella.

People's 311

2007-08-29T07:34:00.000-04:00

Ok, check this out. A couple of civic minded flickr members have started a group that's intended to serve as an "unofficial companion" to 311 reporting. Anything that one reports to 311, such as potholes, cracked sidewalks, graffiti, illegal advertising, is pictured there. In fact, one of the rules of the group is that you call 311 to report the problem you've photographed.

I was wondering if they've sent the link to anyone in city government so I posted the question in the discussion area of the group. It's a great idea, go check out this group.

Doggies Dying from Drugs!

2007-08-22T11:47:00.000-04:00

This is no joke, if you live in Chelsea and own a dog, please be careful!

It's that time ...

2007-08-17T09:13:00.000-04:00

Regular readers might remember that last year I was proud to participate in the 2,996 tribute to the victims of 9/11. For those of you new to it, it's a project started by one man who was determined to honor the victims of that attack. Bloggers from all around the world participated by volunteering to write a tribute to one of the fallen from that day and posting it on their blog on 9/11.

I wrote about Firefighter Gerard Duffy last year and I'm hoping to write another tribute this year. This is a terrific project and if you are looking for some meaningful way to mark the anniversary, this is it. Swing by the site, pick a name and start writing. I hope to read your tribute this 9/11.

2007-08-17T08:36:00.000-04:00

Here's the letter my husband wrote to Melanie La Rocca, who he contacted the last time someone was killed at the dangerous intersection of 23rd and 9th. He's concerned with another dangerous corner just a block away from where the recent fatalities occurred at 24th and 9th.

Melanie -

We had spoken a month ago regarding the left turn from Ninth Avenue to West 24th Street. West 24th Street is much wider than the standard Manhattan cross street at this juncture and is angled in such a way to allow drivers to turn left without almost without reducing speed. This is a half block from where Christine Quinn lives so I'm sure she is familiar with this throwback to irresponsible 1960s urban planning.

As you can imagine over the years I have watched numerous near collisions with pedestrians especially elderly from the Penn South houses and those laden with baby carriages.

The solution to this is to create a simple choke point where the curb is extended at the turn to prevent illegal parking and force drivers to slow down before turning. While increased signage is a cheap way to appear if something is being done to alleviate the danger it does nothing as it is ignored by the drivers and not understood by many pedestrians who have never driven a car.

You mentioned that the expense to the DOT of moving a drain is what stands in the way of creating this choke point.

This led me to an idea. Please supply me with the lowest ranking person in the DOT and their immediate supervisor who have the authority to finance the movement of the drain regardless how that financing can be accomplished.

I will then contact a series of urban issue bloggers and ask them to post that person's name and contact information. The context of the message will be that if someone is killed or injured as a result a vehicle turning left from Ninth Avenue to West 24th Street, that death or injury could have been avoided had this New York City employee funded the simple movement of a drain. Additionally we can copy this and any further correspondence to the local newspapers citing an example of how politics triumphed over human life. I'm sure at that point the money will appear.

I understand the usual method is to wait until the number of injuries and deaths reach a certain critical statistical point but I thought it more humane to repair an obvious hazard before someone dies. I'm sure, should Christine become Mayor, this is the kind of accountability she would like in her administration.

Thank you
Tyler C Hill
London Terrace
New York

Please contact Speaker Quinn and urge her to rectify the risk to all our citizens at these two dangerous corners.

ANOTHER Fatality at 23rd and 9th!

2007-08-13T09:47:00.000-04:00

Someone DO something!

How about it?

2007-08-12T08:08:00.000-04:00

Clark Hoyt, the Public Editor for the Times, suggests that to encourage fewer spelling mistakes in the Paper of Wreckord misspellers should be required to write personal letters of apology to the person whose name they mangled.

I'd wager they'd all be so busy, they'd have no time to report the news.

I fell good ...

2007-07-31T18:56:00.000-04:00

I knew that I would.

Corcoran, always good for a laugh

Scaffolding goes up at London Terrace

2007-07-21T08:55:00.001-04:00

Scaffolding went up yesterday not only in front of 460 but 430 too! Those of us who live on the 24th Street side can now walk our dogs under shelter of lovely scaffolding for nearly the entire length of the block. A building employee told me to expect the scaffolding to stay up for about "two years," though I'm not sure where he got that idea. A few pieces of the bricks that fell are still laying on the sidewalk.

What kills me is the big flag that's attached to the building that says "luxury pre-war" apartments. If they'd only maintain the building properly, it would sell itself. Now it just looks ridic! Pictures to follow.

London Terrace is falling down ... YET again

2007-07-19T16:13:00.000-04:00

Ok, so the joke is getting less and less funny.

Not only is the scaffolding STILL up around 450 from nearly a year ago, now falling bricks have closed down the 460 entrance.

The "management" tacked up this notice by the elevators, telling everyone to avoid 460. Ironically, this notice can only be read by people who have already successfully navigated the challenge of finding an alternate entry into the building, ha. Note that it says "emergency" repairs were necessary. I wonder what their idea of an emergency is, and I've started a pool among some of the neighbors as to how long till scaffolding goes up, and how long till they do any kind of "emergency repairs." Anyone wanting in on the action, there are a few choice spots left.

I heard that they were measuring around the hydrangea this morning, presumably for scaffolding and more of that nasty green mesh crap that's draped all over 450 like a Christo (can I just add again, for nearly a year while no one has touched the bricks with any intent to repair, and which smells like a green tunnel of urine since every dog in the nabe pisses on it).

I heard that Rose blew their budget on renovations in vacant apartments that weren't really necessary in their unchecked effort to charge a small fortune for the so-called "luxury pre-war" apartments here. They ran out of money, and now don't have the dough to either "finish" the brickwork on 450 or to even begin to work on 460.

Maybe we should just take the pot from the pool and donate the proceeds to the London Terrace Gardens "luxury pre-war" repair fund. WTF?

Turn off those lights so we can have more big concerts!

2007-07-08T08:50:00.000-04:00

At yesterday's Live Earth, Jayme Fine, 32, stumbled on a solution to the conundrum of the energy-taxing large "awareness raising" events. Jayme stated that, "People leaving their lights on at home when nobody's there is going to eat up electricity. If we all just remember to shut those off, it's OK for us to have an event like this."

Wow, thanks Jayme! I hope Al Gore is listening.

Paris's Medical Condition: Dry Skin? Prisoners Threaten Revolt

2007-06-09T08:23:00.001-04:00

Oh, lord, she wasn't allowed to moisturize while in the slammer.

The Sun Online "reports" that other inmates at the Century Regional Detention Facility were furious with the special treatment Paris received, and threatened a riot.

ATTICA! ATTICA!

I love the Girls Next Door

2007-05-31T19:35:00.000-04:00

Girls Next Door - Deleted Scenes Season 1

I am an intelligent woman; I have an IQ that qualifies me for Mensa with points to spare and I have an advanced degree. I’m talented, creative and worldly … and obsessed with The Girls Next Door. When I recently had to try to explain this guilty pleasure to my husband, I had to dig deep into the reasons why someone who has feminist values would get such a kick out of watching these three women, three young, beautiful women, who happily share an 81 year old boyfriend go about their days. Oh sure, there’s the whole “look how stupid they are!” “did she just say what I think she said?” and “wow, I’m SO much smarter than they are, now I feel great about myself” reasons, but those aren’t my reasons. Then there’s the prurient, Big Love-esque curiosity of “are they all really having sex with Hef and how does that work?” But I don’t care so much about that either.

Some of it has to do with the total surreal nature of their day to day lives. Yes, I’m aware that much of it is scripted and planned for the benefit of the viewers, but it’s easier to succumb to that suspension of disbelief crap and imagine that each episode is a peek into real life at the Playboy Mansion. I’m not all that materialistic, but it’s hard not to drool when one of them has a bright idea to go snowboarding and a few days later a van pulls up with all kinds of free clothes and gear for them to pick from. Then once they’re on the trip, they return from the slopes to their suite to find masseuses, strawberries and champagne waiting for them. At home at the Playboy Mansion, they can pick up the phone anytime, day or night, 24/7, and order anything they want to eat and someone will appear at their door with a tray. [Sidebar: Hef, the one you’d think would be living it up in his golden or should I say, golden blonde years, is surprisingly mundane with his requests, eating the same soup with saltines, lamb chops and hard boiled eggs day after day.] Parties and nights out for the Hefner “family” are huge affairs, with entire days spent primping and having hair, nails, and makeup done and while doing that once in a while sounds exciting, I really wouldn’t want to trade places with any of the girls.

What draws me in the most is that these three women are unflaggingly cheerful and optimistic. They’re almost polymorphously perverse, cooing and gushing over everything and anything with genuine enthusiasm and sincere happiness.
It’s easy to make the argument that if you are empty-headed and shallow, it doesn’t take all that much to make your day, but I’m not making that argument either. One of my other guilty pleasures, “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica” was not all that happy, despite the decidedly delicious ditziness of both Nick and Jessica. Toward the end of the series you could actually see the first frayed threads of a marriage destined to unravel.

I guess I’m saying that with everything going on these days it’s nice to see people who are happy and grateful to be exactly where they are doing exactly what they’re doing or doing a darn good job of acting that way.

On a trip to Europe in an early episode, Hef and the girls take a tour of London that includes a boat trip on the Thames. Chugging past Parliament and Big Ben, Kendra runs outside and pulls her shirt up, “flashing” Parliament. Describing the incident, she says, “I don’t even know what Parliament is, but all’s I know is, I flashed ‘em!”

Being all worldly and smart and educated and stuff, I know what Parliament is, but all's I care about right now is that Kendra flashed ‘em.

A View of Chelsea from Down Under

2007-05-18T15:43:00.000-04:00

Via BlogChelsea:

Someone produced a documentary (scroll down, it's at the bottom of the page) based on one of Ed Hamilton's posts from the Hotel Chelsea blog.

Another doozie from the Times

2007-05-16T16:41:00.000-04:00

In today's Times (which I now only read to scan for mistakes)their "blog" The Lede" dignifies Rosie O'Donnell's cockamamie 9/11 conspiracy theory by talking seriously about it.

The Lede is the general news blog of the Times and the blogger, Mike Nizza took over in April after spending some years managing the online presentation of the paper's important news stories (ahem, the front page). So now he's a writer!

The Times said:

"The blog aims to be a place where stories and themes plucked from the day's local, national and international news are highlighted and discussed - using the Web and its rich repository of links, archives, images and forums as a resource for adding context, for pushing a thesis further, or for simply sparking a conversation." That rich repository is Mike's playing field and his library.

Maybe Mike should pay a bit more attention to his playing field and library, as in the last sentence of today's blog he sarcastically implies that the Warren Commission was, as many Americans feel, wrong in its conclusions about the Kennedy assassination. Just yesterday in the Times, presumably part of the web's "rich repository of links," they ran a review of the new Vincent Bugliosi book that concludes that Oswald indeed did act alone in his assassination of Kennedy, essentially upholding the findings of the Warren Commission as fact.

I'm glad that I'm not the only one that caught it.

Sweatrs

2007-05-12T16:53:00.001-04:00

Sweatrs
Originally uploaded by Ingrid!.

I bought these sweaters together about 7 years ago. They're really high quality cotton, I got them at Barney's, one pink and one blue. Over the years, the colors faded but the yarns still held up, which is surprising for cotton. Anyway, I couldn't just let them die away so I dyed them!

One minor accident. I hung them a bit too close together while they were still wet and got some blue splotches on the pink sweater ( I guess I didn't rinse it as much as I should have) but the story has a happy ending! I had turned the sweaters inside-out before dyeing so the spots are on the inside. Yay!

They're nice and bright now, and serendipitously flickr-like. I like.

I met the Bonneville owner!

2007-05-10T16:37:00.000-04:00

Today I was thrilled to walk outside with Tony and see my favorite car parked across the street. I've taken lots of pictures of this car (and played with the color some, as you can see!) over the years.

I was in the middle of taking a few more, when a man came out of 450 and started walking towards us (me and Tony) and the car with some keys. I asked if he was the owner and when he said he was, I started gushing about his car. He seemed a bit puzzled when I told him I'd taken lots of pictures of it.

There's just something about the long, elegant lines of the car, the regal bronze-y gold color and the way it wears its tattered edges and signs of decay so gracefully.

In all the excitement I forgot to ask him what year it was, though I think it's early 70s sometime. He said it gets pretty good mileage for its size (pre-70s gas crisis), about 15 mpg on the open road. I don't care about the open road mileage much, as I'm happy to see the car parked around here all the time.

Lovely, yes?

Speak up and maybe save a life

2007-05-05T11:45:00.000-04:00

Help choke the turn at 9th and 23rd where a woman was killed yesterday by writing to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Maybe those of us who live in LTG should just go and knock on her door.

More Tragedy in Chelsea

2007-05-04T13:08:00.000-04:00

A woman was struck and dragged approximately 25 feet at the intersection of 23rd and 9th Avenue this afternoon. No pix on this one kiddies, she's in pieces. Literally.

Isn't this like the 10th accident at that corner?

[Update: Read NY1's story on this accident here.]

Tragedy at London Terrace!

2007-05-03T15:02:00.000-04:00

Someone jumped from one of the upper floors of 470 West 24th Street. The body landed here:

on the roof of the swimming pool. If I find out anything else, I'll update.

[Update: The victim was one of our neighbors from the 23rd Street side of the building. He apparently leapt from the sun deck on the roof of 470. He and his wife were residents of London Terrace Gardens, and kept an office in the building as well. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family.]

2007-04-27T08:09:00.000-04:00

Here's an article from yesterday's NY Times that relates to the whole doormat situation. The article quotes Francis X. Gribbon, the deputy commissioner for public information for the FDNY.

The building code, Mr. Gribbon said, “includes language that says, ‘Corridors shall be kept readily accessible at all times, free of combustible items.’ ”

Are doormats combustible items? Well, yes. But this still sounds like ball-breaking to me.

Trauma at Sephora!

2007-04-25T15:59:00.000-04:00

Ok, how's this for gross? I'm on my way to physical therapy for this stabbing pain in the middle of my back and I duck into Sephora on 34th Street for a spritz of Chanel No 5 and to look around at some makeup I am needing. I'm not in the store for 30 seconds when I see one of the employees (recognizable by her black outfit and headset) standing by the bins of tools and applicators for sale in the middle of the store. She's got one of the lavender colored buffers and she's using it on her nails. Then she finishes and puts it back in the bin with the others!

WTF? Are you kidding me?

I walk over and look and sure enough, there it is right on top, with a big white stripe of exfoliated skin and nail matter.

I approached the nearest employee who was luckily also recognizable wearing the black ensemble because she wasn't wearing a DAB of makeup. In a makeup store! What's up with that? I told her what I just saw. She asked me to describe the person and I did as best I could then I led her over to the bin and pointed out the scuzzy used buffer (I couldn't face picking it up myself!) and she picked it out.

Honestly, how is this for real? Can you even believe this? Don't even get me started on the other employees in the store. Where are they hiring from, Mo'nique's Charm School?

I mean the store does have samples all over the place, but you can't just use something like a nail buffer and then sell it to someone else! An employee especially should know better, and at the very least have an understanding of basic hygiene! Plus, it's TWO DOLLARS, people. She probably even gets an employee discount.

I'm shopping at Sephora on line from now on, if at all!

London Terrace Door Mat Update

2007-04-24T17:09:00.000-04:00

Well, since I slept through the LTTA meeting on April 12 I had to wait until today when they gave out the newsletter to find out if anyone confronted the building rep about the doormat situation. Here's the quote:

Doormats - In answer to questions, Mr. Di Schino addressed the removal of doormats from hallways, saying it made Rose subject to a code violation. Several tenants queried the Fire Department and were told that there is no regulation forbidding the mats. However, Rose will continue to remove them but will hold them in the basement - not throwing them out.

Because they're such nice people.

I bumped into a group of firefighters last week and asked them if it sounded like doormats were a legitimate fire code violation. They said that it didn't sound familiar, but that they (Rose) may be interpreting some vague wording to their advantage (advantage, for what?! To toss doormats? WTF?), like "no flammable materials shall be stored in common hallways." I can see that, but why be such ball breakers over this? I'd be interested to hear from others in large apartment buildings if they have doormats or not.

Putting the Smiley back in Loft Living?

2007-04-16T13:36:00.000-04:00

Anyone else notice this? Looks like someone not only lives tall, but lives happy.

And again ...

2007-04-15T17:16:00.000-04:00

... with the Gore Effect.

Happy Easter or Nor'Easter?

2007-04-08T17:00:00.000-04:00

Where oh where is Al Gore right now?

Yours Truly and Perez Hilton

2007-03-30T18:25:00.001-04:00

Yours Truly and Perez Hilton
Originally uploaded by Ingrid!.

His hair brings out my eyes, don't you think?

PeePee was so nice! There was a whole contingent of us that were there just to see him and he stood and shook hands and took pictures with all of us. He even signed my shirt that I made just for the occasion!

New York is a small town

2007-03-28T10:05:00.000-04:00

Has anything like this ever happened to any of you?

On Friday night while on the L on my way to a friend's birthday party, a woman got on the train with her son. The kid was unusual looking, reddish hair but with kind of African American features and really thick glasses; he was cute as anything. So I go to the party, and I'm coming home a hour or so later and I get on the L train and who gets on at the next stop after I get on but this woman and her kid. What are the odds of this? The same three people on not only the same subway train but in the same car within 7 feet of each other. The kid recognized me and looked at me with his mouth hanging open for a few seconds like he couldn't believe it either.

On Sunday morning while walking Tony I see a guy crossing the street with a cup of coffee. He looks similar to a neighbor of ours, so I noticed him. Later that day, again walking Tony, at the same intersection, I see the SAME GUY carrying a pizza across the street.

Is it just that I am hyper-observant of who and what is around me, and so I'm noticing things that most people don't, or am I in some kind of cosmic warp with the same people. These things amaze me more than creep me out, but seriously, WTF?

Jennifer Aniston needs our help!

2007-03-27T19:41:00.000-04:00

Poor Jen apparently only has the one shirt to wear, so maybe we could all take up a collection or something to pitch in and get her a new one.

We first saw her in the shirt in question back when she went on Oprah. Then she wore it again on Larry King Live (sorry you'll have to squint to see it the shot is so small, but I'm sleepy and too lazy to hunt down another pic!). She showed up in it again when she appeared on Letterman and then today I saw over on Perez Hilton that she was caught again in this same black shirt coming out of her agent's office. Please let's hope the agent was able to get her some work so she can buy a new shirt! Or at least have this one dry cleaned.

More on the No Mat situation in London Terrace

2007-03-24T12:00:00.000-04:00

Update: I just talked to a neighbor in 430 who said they came "in the middle of the night" and took away all their doormats. In all fairness, they could have come very early in the morning, but still ... go to sleep with a doormat, wake up without one. I know it sounds crazy and petty maybe to be complaining about the lack of doormats, but methinks Rose Associates is just breaking balls. Anyone reading this who has access to a NYC Fire Code, please contact me and let me know if this is indeed a valid part of the code.

No mas mats in London Terrace!

2007-03-22T12:33:00.000-04:00

What's wrong with this picture? Oh, yeah, that's it, they came around yesterday and threw out all our doormats! We'd gotten a memo a few weeks ago to the effect that it was some sort of a fire code violation and that as of the 15th of March (beware the Ides!) any doormats left in the hallways would be considered abandoned and would be disposed of by maintenance staff. Of course, we didn't think they'd actually do it, everyone sort of thought that it was one of those "enforce it if you need to" rules. No one expected them to toss out all the door mats! Yet, inexplicably, my neighbor's equally flammable and obstructing umbrella stand remained untouched in the hall.

I'm on the case now to find a copy of the NYC Fire Code to see if this is in fact a violation. Till then, wipe your feet in the elevator!

Rachel Ray Sucks!

2007-03-07T19:02:00.000-05:00

How did this woman get a talk show? She talks out of the side of her mouth like she's had a stroke or some sort of crippling palsy, and she can't stop scratching herself: her ears are a favorite place to dig around while talking to the likes of John Stamos or Marcia Cross. Today she was going at her scalp pretty good (it was on at the gym, I was a captive audience). Plus none of the food she prepares even looks appetizing, despite the fact that she smothers everything in cheese. I love cheese, but I can't stand Rachel Ray!

Kids, don't try this at home, but if you do, write about it here

2007-03-06T12:39:00.000-05:00

Oh, lord. This is definitely my new favorite website. Hours of entertainment.

Please read this if you think you need to break the law or see a doctor for something to help you get a buzz.

OK, seriously, I tried this as a teenager, though with not nearly as much nutmeg as this person used. We were told you had to toast it first, which I did one afternoon after school in the oven. I then wrapped it in foil and hid it until the next morning. My mother always made me hot chocolate in the morning, and I waited until she left me alone in the kitchen to dump the contents into my mug. Well, it wouldn't mix in with the cocoa, and I panicked while trying to stir it in and heard my mother come out of the bathroom. I rushed to the sink and poured it all down, just as my mother came into the kitchen, yelling at me for dumping out the hot cocoa because "it had a skin on top" (this was the excuse I gave). If only there had been something like Erowid then, I wouldn't have had to waste my mother's nutmeg, or hot chocolate.

Don't Encourage Frank Gehry!

2007-03-04T13:38:00.000-05:00

People.

Please stop taking so many pictures of this building. It's ugly.

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

2007-02-13T11:31:00.000-05:00

From the dog show yesterday.

Is there some rule somewhere that women have to wear ugly shoes to these things? I mean, I understand that handling dogs isn't exactly a high paying career, and that they are running in the ring and on their feet a lot, so they need to be safe and comfortable, but come on. There are cute flat shoes out there! At least keep them clean and shine them or something once in a while.

Also, why is everyone fat?

City Scoops

2007-02-10T16:41:00.000-05:00

As if ChelseaNow wasn't bad enough ...
This came in the mail the other day. I can't believe that someone actually started another freebie magazine (not sure if it's always going to be a freebie, though I can't imagine anyone paying for it) in New York. Hopefully we won't be subjected to yet another of those hideous plastic free newspaper dispensers on our street corners with this crap in it. Most of the ads in it were from the same obviously desperate podiatrist, one of which depicted an open sore on the bottom of a foot!

The only thing more unbelievable than the weird ads and bad writing was the presence of Donald Trump and his son on the cover. How they agreed to do anything this cheesy is beyond me. Oh, wait ...

28 SECRETS IN 28 DAYS -----SECRET #1.....adda shook BATMAN's hand!

2007-02-09T11:40:00.001-05:00

28 SECRETS IN 28 DAYS -----SECRET #1.....adda shook BATMAN's hand!
Originally uploaded by addadada.

Oh, please, if you do nothing else today, go over and explore the photostream of this inventive, creative friend of mine. He is definitely one of my best friends on flickr and is so talented. He is now in the middle of a series, 28 Secrets in 28 Days, and I highly recommend a look.

Also, check out his X-Mess Advent Calendar, it's geniosity!

RIP Anna Nicole Smith

2007-02-08T19:01:00.000-05:00

Oh, dear. She was one hot mess.

Lindsay Lohan, are you paying attention?

2007-01-05T08:28:00.000-05:00

The dumbest discussion EVER.

Free Speech

2006-10-09T14:44:00.000-04:00

Interpol is in on the hunt for gassy dissident Hubert Hoffman of Poland after he farted in response to being asked what he thought of the Polish president. I'm grateful to live in a country where we can say and/or spray, our opinions freely.

2006-10-05T16:17:00.000-04:00

No more wacky neighbor.

We'd heard that he left the apartment he was staying in in our building and that he'd been staying a night here, a night there with acquaintances, hanging around the dog park asking for money and/or a place to stay. My friend and I spent Saturday at the street fair wondering if he would come by asking us to bunk on our respective couches, and we both dreaded being a captive audience to his plaintive ramblings. Indeed he had been at the street fair, chatting with some of the maintenance staff. Another neighbor came by in the late afternoon and said that he had given the wacky neighbor twenty dollars just a day or two before, and that he had been a witness to the handing over of Ella, his tiny skittish dog, into the care of another acquaintance.

The next day, Sunday, I got a call from my neighbor during Desperate Housewives. No more wacky neighbor. He killed himself. I'll spare you the gory details, suffice to say that it was not an accidental overdose.

I immediately broke into tears despite the fact that anyone would be hard pressed to state one redeeming quality about this man. After he flooded our building last November, he was taken to Bellevue. We went to visit him on Thanksgiving evening with some leftover pumpkin pie and I took turns with a few other neighbors walking and caring for Ella till his release.

A few months later, when I began to have back problems, he volunteered to walk Tony for us in the afternoons. The first time he came into the apartment, he asked if he could use the bathroom and that's probably the first time he stole drugs from me. The second time was later that day. He called in the late afternoon, complaining of a pain in his foot that bothered him when he ran (my husband had told him earlier that I was a former distance runner) and did I have anything "strong?" I said "sure," thinking about the prescription-strength ibuprofen I had. When he came down and I offered him the Advil, he asked me if I had anything "stronger" and rattled off a list of drugs that were exactly what I had in my bathroom, Hydrocodone, Vicodin, Fioreset, Methocarbamol. "Do you have any of those?" he asked. Well, of course I knew I did, but I hadn't yet made the connection that he was as desperate as he would prove to be. I said I didn't have any, and I mentioned the "program" and how did he square taking stuff like that and being in AA? He said as long as he was taking it "for something," like the aching foot, it was ok. Then he asked to use my bathroom again.

My heart sank, literally, I could feel it somewhere down around my crotch, and I almost started to cry right then and there, cause that's when I knew he was in there stealing whatever Hydrocodone, Vicodin, Fioriset and Methocarbamol that I had. He came out, took the namby-pamby anti-inflammatories that I offered him, and went on his way. I walked straight into the bathroom to find that everything vaguely buzz-inducing was gone, including some diuretics.

It was pretty much a downward spiral from there. It would take him eleven months to die this slow death, to put himself in a place from which he'd never climb back out. So many people tried to help him and the help was met with betrayals and even scorn. Of course the mind teems with questions, all the obligatory questions that are asked after someone takes their life, no need to repeat them here, because the answer is always the same: everything and nothing. We could have given him money and places to sleep and food and even the drugs out of our medicine chests, but it wouldn't have been enough and it would have all been too much, he would always be looking for something stronger.

London Terrace Street Fair: Move your car! Or not, whatever ...

2006-10-01T08:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the London Terrace 14th Annual Street Fair. As in years past, the organizers did a bang up job of making sure that all the cars were moved from the street.

When I got up at about 7:30 I looked out the window and the first thing I saw was that our spot, #124, was right outside the door. Yay! I also saw that there was a huge Range Rover (will gills!) parked smack in the middle of it. Boo! I looked up the street and noticed about five more cars parked on both sides of the street. There were signs posted all week long "No Parking Saturday," but some people I guess either didn't see them or didn't care. I called the fair's organizer and left a message that she needed to have the cars towed. The neighbor I was sharing the spot with went down and talked to her in person and was told there was nothing they could do except move us to another spot. Why not call the police? I asked.

I called the police. I called 311 first and was told that whoever was organizing should have taken care of it before Saturday, (no kidding!) because there was no way to now get a tow truck out. I called the 10th Precinct and they said they would call a supervisor at the Tow Pound and see if they could send someone out with a truck with the idea that maybe the violators would see the tow truck and be scared into moving their cars. I called back a bit later and the officer said that he called but at this point, the day of the fair, a Saturday, there was nothing they could do. Meanwhile I was telling the other numerous people who had cars in their spots to not bother with the organizers, who I knew from experience wouldn't/couldn't do anything and we were trying to make the best of it by setting up our booth around of and in front of the massive car.

Around 11AM, Officers Francis and Gilligan from the 10th approached and asked us if "this was the car." They gave nice fat tickets to all the cars that hadn't been moved. Yay! I'm pretty sure they came out because of my phone calls, and I'd be willing to bet it wasn't because of the efforts of the organizers.

Here's a shot of Officer Francis, one of New York's finest, citing the Range Rover (notice the gills!)

Yay!

Here come the locusts

2006-09-25T15:39:00.000-04:00

Well, the wacky neighbor is back!

Word around the building was that he moved out after being handed a hefty bill for five figures worth of damages resulting not from the recent fire, which was ruled an accident, but a flood he caused back in November of last year just before Thanksgiving. (I know, I know: flood, fire, what’s next with this guy, the plague? a horde of locusts?)

Now, after spotting him (and his little dog too!) around the building (my husband saw him on Sunday and refused to get into the elevator with him), it’s been confirmed that he’s a guest of a tenant here!

I went to the office this morning where the smirky receptionist representing Rose Associates Inc. nodded like she’d heard it about ten times so far today as I told her that the guy who caused the flood and the fire and stole from me and at least one other tenant was again staying in the building. Smirky McSnark, from behind her VERY messy desk, informed me that if someone chooses to have him as a guest, there’s nothing they can do. Well, legally, of course, but New York landlords and management companies are famous for employing not so legal means to get someone out of a building. If ever there was a legitimate use for those illegal means, this is it!

I learned from two sources today (one inside the management office) that the police were called when he was seen in the building on Saturday, but because he had keys and was a guest of a tenant, there was nothing they could do. For the time period after the fire and before he was officially out of the building he was being escorted to and from his apartment to retrieve things, check his email on his computer, etc. I wish they’d start that again.

I can’t think of one good reason that this guy could have for coming back to this building if not to harass or otherwise freak out all the people who wanted him to move out after all the damage and thievery, except for maybe revenge.

Keep your eyes peeled for locusts.

Is London Terrace Falling Down Part II

2006-09-22T13:53:00.001-04:00

Hey, check it out.

We got this in our mailbox the other day, addressed to "London Terrace Neighbor." Those good neighbors over at Corcoran were nice enough to calculate just what we'll be spending to pay rent over the next five years vs. buying our very own condo. According to their figures, we would save one thousand dollars a month by purchasing a "luxury Chelsea one-bedroom" for just 750K.

Ah, yes, the life in a "luxury" Chelsea rental. Hey, since they are so smart with the predictions, maybe someone over there at Corcoran can figure out just how long it's going to take to finish painting the damn hallways, since ours have been like this for going on three months now. What is up with that?

They came and spackled in some blotches on the walls about a month ago, but nothing has been done since. Oh, wait, that's wrong. They installed a chair rail. In the hallway. Where we are not allowed to put chairs.

We just got a memo that they've started repainting the street level and basement doors. Basement. Where no one lives. They expect that to take several weeks. What's next, the laundry room?

Paint the hall already! On my floor. Where I live.

Health Careless

2006-09-15T18:04:00.000-04:00

I hope the Illinois State Attorney's office throws the book at the Vista Medical Center in Waukegan after Beatrice Vance, 49, died on July 29th of a heart attack in the waiting room. Read about the tragedy here>.

Kidnapped!

2006-09-15T15:33:00.000-04:00

London Terrace residents will have something besides Law and Order to scan looking for familiar local sights when NBC premieres Kidnapped (without the exclamation point, unfortunately; that was me having some Robert Louis Stevenson-inspired fun in the title) this Wednesday night at 10. They shot what seemed like quite a few scenes in the back courtyard of London Terrace Towers and shot one day in the pool.

This is my pic of the pool, not theirs.

Sorry, not sure what eps these scenes will be in, so do what I'll do and TiVo the whole thing, then scan through on fast forward looking for something that rings a bell. The series stars Dana Delaney, Tim Hutton and, apparently, Clay Aiken, according to this pic.

In Memory of Gerard Duffy

2006-09-10T12:29:00.000-04:00

"Greater love has no man than this- that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

How much greater a love to lay down one’s life for strangers?

When I signed up to participate in this project I looked forward to doing the research, to finding out all there was to know about Firefighter Gerard Duffy, Ladder 21. I wanted to know how long he had been a firefighter. Did being “on the job” run in his family? Did he like fishing? Nascar racing? Football? Fried chicken? How had his day begun on 9/11/01?

I didn’t find out any of these things.

I tried to talk to his brothers at Ladder 21; I wanted to hear their memories of him, I wanted to ask them how they thought he would want to be remembered, and I wanted to make sure that he was remembered just that way. I took the bus up to the firehouse at 38th and 10th, just 14 blocks from my home. The doors were all closed up tight, the whole house silent and dignified, the empty jackets with their reflective stripes hanging in loose rows near the wall, the truck sitting with one door open, ready. There was a plaque outside with his name on it and a small memorial, a cross made with a piece of the steel removed from the WTC site. I didn’t see anyone at all inside, so, disappointed, I started to slowly make my way back up to the bus stop at 9th Avenue. Halfway there, I heard the alarm sound, and a few seconds later, the truck came barreling out, there was a fire to go to. I wondered if that was the way the alarm had come, if that was the way the truck had left the house five years ago with Gerard Duffy in it, for the last time. I wondered as I saw the faces of the men in the truck, serious and brave, as it swung down 38th Street away from me, if that was how Gerard Duffy had looked five years ago on that truck on the way to hell, and then, heaven.

I tried other ways to connect with someone who may have known Gerard Duffy, because I needed to know all about him, but had no luck.

Friday night, I’m in bed crying because I want to start writing my tribute soon and I have no information, I don’t know enough about Gerard Duffy to write the kind of tribute I want to write, the kind that he surely deserves.

When I stopped crying, I realized I knew all I need to know about him.

We all know Gerard Duffy.

We know him by his actions that day and every other day that he spent as a firefighter. We know that he was doing his job that day, that day five years ago that started off like just another day for all of us, but would soon become a day like no other. We know that the alarm came, and he was called, and he, with his brothers, his friends, went down to hell. He went willingly, indeed, it was his honor to do so, to lay down his life for his brothers, for his friends, and for strangers.

Read other tributes here

Clay Aiken named to Presidential Committee

2006-09-07T16:24:00.000-04:00

And this will be the closest he gets to any Bush ...

Is London Terrace Falling Down?

2006-09-07T15:39:00.000-04:00

Those of you in the 'hood are probably used to seeing the scaffolding at various points around the London Terrace block. Up to now, they've all been mainly repairing brickwork on the Towers (the two tallers portions of the building at either end of the block). Tuesday, however, some bricks tumbled down from the 14th floor of 450 West 24th and tore a hole in the awning. I found this out the next day when, going to assume my usual place on the front steps of 450 with my dog, Tony, to wait for his dog walker to come, the doorman told me he "wouldn't sit there" if he was me. He explained that the tear in the awning right above where Tony and I usually sit had been made by falling bricks. I haven't yet found out what the cause of the brick shower was, but suffice to say I'm glad I wasn't sitting there when they fell!

On another unrelated London Terrace note, Tony and I had an impromptu play session this morning with Lorraine Bracco and her 10-year old Jack Russell, Chandler. Chandler was much friendlier than Lorraine, who was probably just trying to avoid being recognized. I didn't say anything to her, partly because I didn't recognize her for sure until she spoke (there's no mistaking that husky voice!) and also because we New Yorkers don't fall all over celebrities here. It's what separates us from the animals, er, I mean, people who live in LA, where poor LiLo can't go for Starbucks without getting accosted by the paparrazzi. Of course I was dying to tell her that Tony was named, in part, for Tony Soprano but didn't want to break my cool. Next time, unless of course I'm knocked unconscious by a brick ...

2,996

2006-09-07T10:06:00.000-04:00

I'm participating in this project and will be posting a tribute to Firefighter Gerard Duffy on or before 9/11. I'm excited to be participating in this, a lovely and dignified way to remind everyone that 9/11 should be a day to remember those that we lost, and why we still fight on against terror.

More Photoshop fun via The New York Times

2006-08-28T16:22:00.000-04:00

Oh, dear, where is the mic cord?

Adnan Hajj in the New York Times

2006-08-08T20:02:00.000-04:00

Sunday August 5th had the New York Times using a photo by the same photographer that was "suspended" from Reuters later that day for doctoring a photograph by crudely "clone stamping" more smoke on to the site of an Israeli bombing of Beirut.

Reuters has since pulled all 920 of Hajj's shots and admitted that the photo was manipulated. The photo is still available on their online site, in a slideshow here (scroll about halfway down the page, it's in the left hand column and Hajj's shot of a man on a stretcher is close to the end of the feature).

News Flash! All NYC Street Fairs the same!

2006-08-08T19:52:00.000-04:00

I can't believe someone spent time and money actually studying this. The Center for Urban Studies has just released a report on a study they did on street fairs and concluded that they are all the same.

No fucking shit? Really?

Reuters: Oddly Enough

2006-08-06T16:11:00.000-04:00

Reuters: Oddly Enough is a feature on the respected news agency's web site which has those stories that are just too bizarre for the regular news. Like the guard dog who went nuts and ripped the stuffing out of a teddy bear that once belonged to Elvis Presley.
Or the Masturbate-athon that was recently held in London.
Or perhaps the item about the news agency that doctored the photo of Beiruit, sloppily Photoshopping extra smoke onto the scene of an Israeli bombing strike to make it appear that the damage was much worse than it was.

Oh, wait, that's Reuters.

Read the original post from one of the bloggers that first spotted this mess here.

Want to say, "Reuters, WTF? Go here.

One big dog park?

2006-07-18T13:42:00.000-04:00

I've seen a total of five dogs off-leash around my hood over the last few weeks. Considering the total amount of time I spend out of doors right now, that's a regular epidemic.

What gives? Is New York so safe now that it's just like one big dog run?

According to the ASPCA,

"it is a violation of the New York City Health Code for an owner to allow his or her dog to be off-leash in a public place."

The law is supposedly to protect citizens from attacks, but what about protecting dogs from the idiocy of their owners?

One of the dogs I saw was a tiny puppy straggling along behind her master and being constantly distracted by the noise and activity on Ninth Avenue where cars and trucks were whizzing by. I saw a Jack Russell (oops, Parson Russell) terrier a few months ago bolt out onto the West Side Highway while its idiot owner ran helplessly after it. Luckily the traffic was stopped at the light. Just a week ago or so someone in my building had their dog off leash on 24th Street. The dog strayed away and ran back toward 9th Avenue where cars and trucks were again whizzing by. As the flustered owner caught up with the dog, I said, in a friendly but slightly sarcastic way, "You know there's a wonderful invention; it's called a LEASH!" He was equally sarcastic and not a bit friendly in replying "Thanks for your advice." It wasn't advice, buddy, it's the law and for good reason. Puppy pancakes in the middle of 9th Avenue is one of them.

New York may be one of the safest big cities, but for dogs, it's still a jungle out there. Keep your dog on a leash, 'k?

What I'm up to

2006-06-28T12:54:00.000-04:00

Hip: The History by John Leland

The Family Guy

Live365 Internet Radio

The Blink of an Eye

2006-06-21T18:02:00.000-04:00

Here's a really bad idea.

What really gets me about this is that it, unlike those horrid Flickys which were an "awards" collective started by a group of pretentious, pompous Flickr members, this Blink of an Eye thing was actually initiated by the Flickr people. I have to say, I'm surprized. I found it encouraging when the Flickr people didn't respond to the whole Flicky madness, like maybe they were saying, "we don't want to be involved in anything that has to do with judging or quantifying what is on Flickr." But now it seems like that is just what they are saying. They've chosen a group of "judges" to choose the "best" shots from a pool of submissions. Ugh!

I hate this for the same reasons I hated the idea of the fotolog book (besides which the so-called "guest editors" of that endeavor made selections etc., in secret, and then pretty much chose most of their friends for inclusion); I don't like the idea of one small group of people "judging" what is "best" among what was an egalitarian community of people. It brings a whole different feel to the site for me now and it's not a feeling I like. Why couldn't they just leave well enough alone?

What did PETA order?

2006-06-17T08:25:00.000-04:00

Here's the video of PETA confronting singer Beyonce in New York restaurant Nobu. Notice that Beyonce looks like a deer in headlights as she allows others at the table to respond to the questions the two PETA people are firing her way. Notice also that they didn't begin to question her about her use of fur in the clothing line she runs with her mother until after they ordered.

What'd they get? The house salad?

Thanks, High Line

2006-06-16T16:31:00.000-04:00

Via Curbed Chelsea:
Another casualty of the High Line land-grab mania: Capitol Fishing Tackle. This blows. I hate the High Line.

Life imitating life ...

2006-06-15T15:35:00.000-04:00

This ... almost like this antic from that crazy mad-cap painter Nelson Shanks, but not quite.

"One year, a well known contemporary artist judged the exhibit. Nelson had just won the famous Stacey International Competition* in California and decided to enter the winning painting in the Memphis show. Knowing the judges prejudice he had no expectation of winning, so to make a point, he and a colleague hatched a plan. They cut out a four foot square piece of masonite and gessoed it. They then unwound two rolls of toilet paper onto the surface willynilly and spray painted it in a random design with red lacquer. It took about two minutes. His friend entered the piece under his name as "Interrupted Movement #2". The judge, either missing the pun or possibly considering it part of the brilliance of the work, awarded it third place out of several thousand entries! Of course, Nelson's serious entry was not considered. The media had been alerted and the gaffe received full coverage and it was talked about for years."