Sometimes you walk through Central Park and have one of those quintessential NY moments. The weather was perfect, Cleopatra's Needle was framed in blues and greens, and a busker was playing Somewhere Over the Rainbow under the adjacent bridge.
And then you turn the corner and some guy decides to put his things down on the bench next to you and to use the bushes as his personal urinal.
My Guggenheim membership expires at the end of June, so I decided to check out the current exhibition before it does. Called "Storylines", it's a collection of works by contemporary artists. I'm a complete philistine when it comes to contemporary art--I don't get it at all. Much of this collection was perplexing to me. Carol Bove's installation which is a bookshelf with books and other things on it (no one would ever know it was art if you had it in your home. A lot of it was creepy, like this:
But some of it was beautiful, like Pawel Althamer's statues:
And then there are the colorful window blinds...
And this by Agathe Snow, which just made me think of Spinal Tap.
(Three-foot tall Stonehenge and Easter Island replicas made of fur)
I finally made it to Coney Island on a sunny summer day, thanks to my friend, S. We headed out on the F train in the morning, and went straight to the beach. Despite the battling boom boxes (rap on one side, Maroon 5 on the other), it's a lovely beach. And on a Monday morning, the boardwalk and the beach aren't too crowded. By the afternoon, though, it was mobbed. The Cyclone wasn't running when we got there, and after a couple of beers, I decided it wasn't a good idea to try a roller coaster. So I'll definitely be making a return trip to ride it and see the Aquarium.
Be sure to stop by to see Nick at Paul's Daughter if you are in the neighborhood. He's been working there since the 80s. (He didn't know I was taking the picture or he would have been grinning.)
I've mentioned Bryant Park before in this blog...In the summer they have an author series, where you can listen to poets, novelists and other writers talk about their craft. This week, I got to see Jay McInerney (Bright Lights, Big City) interview Candace Bushnell (Sex and the City) about her latest book, Killing Monica.
This week, Thursday morning was a perfect NY summer day. After living in a swamp for the previous several days, it was glorious to be outside. So rather than head to the movies like I'd planned, I headed to Long Island City. The Socrates Sculpture Park had been on my to-do list, and I wanted to see Agnes Denes' piece The Living Pyramid, before it was de-installed (uninstalled? disinstalled? Google fail.). I was a disappointed to find very few flowers in bloom for my visit. And the rest of the park was significantly smaller than I'd imagined. The view of Manhattan, however, is amazing.
The trip to LIC is worth it, however, just for the chance to visit John Brown's Smokehouse, Thrillist's choice for best KC barbecue in the 5 boroughs. I have to concur. The burnt ends were as tender as I'd ever tasted, though the sauce was a bit on the spicy side for me. (I like mine sweeter.) The owner is a Lawrence, KS, boy and a Chiefs' fan, and the restaurant has a great back garden. I'll definitely be bringing Ed back to this one.
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