Runs With Scissors

The City Moves Slowly For Some

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:38:00 -0400

The City Moves Slowly For Some
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors

I went to the gym for the first time in a week and some change. It's been a struggle lately for a host of reasons; I'm dead on my feat from work, I can see daylight when I leave work, I've had to run lots of errands and my iPod broke three weeks ago.

My iPod is my medium of choice for listening to both radio and television news. Amy Goodman, Bill Moyers and some occasional NPR programming fill my ears as I commute to and from work and as I try not to injure myself at the gym.

Without my iPod my eyes wander upwards to the television talking heads glowing from the monitors above the machines my sweat drips on.

Today I walked onto the floor of the gym, spotted a cardio machine to use, glanced above and saw the teletype flashing something along the lines of linking Barak Obama to Louis Farrakhan insinuating there's some sort of relationship between the two.

I turned around, went back into the locker room and stayed in a sauna for a half hour.

Memories

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Fri, 6 Jul 2007 08:59:00 -0400

memories
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors

Sixth and Seventh Avenues south of 14th Street in NYC used to offer great views of the World Trade Center. One spot in particular, at Greenwich Avenue and 7th Avenue South had a great view. The fence around a lot there has served as a wall for a memorial.

I've been thinking a bit lately about GW Bush's now famous Sept. 14, 2001 speech. In the audience that night were the leaders of Great Britain and France. I was encouraged to see them there. I naively thought that J. Chirac and T. Blair flew to Wash. DC to counsel Bush about the best and most proven means in stopping terrorism like changing foreign policy to eliminate factors that influence people to pursue terrorism and working to be less violent than the terrorists themselves.

Instead the world heard the words, "either you're with us or against us." and the "axis of evil".

Once upon a time I worked within the management of a Fortune 50 (Not 500) company. My direct manager who served in the US Army as a 'tunnel rat' in Vietnam taught me this; There are two things you can never go back on in life; missed opportunity and the spoken word."

It saddens me that the last six years have been such a sad and bloody affair.

August 23, 1989

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Sun, 8 Apr 2007 06:43:00 -0400

August 23, 1989
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

A faded and peeling painted mural of Yusef Hawkins stands seemingly silent on a side street across from Bedford-Stuyvesant's Restoration Plaza. Seeing this deteriorating mural it's not difficult to imagine that it's possible that many people who walk by it don't know who Yusuef was.

After taking a few pictures of the mural I began thinking about what life was like in New York City in the 1980s. In particular the police killings Michael Stewart and Eleanor Bumpers as well as the white mob violence directed at blacks in Howard Beach and in Bensonhurst came to mind. As I walked down Fulton Street thinking of how when i went on dates with black women we would be refused service at restaurants and have to endure sly comments on the streets of Manhattan. Is it me or does it seem like these sorts of things just don't happen in the city anymore? Maybe this paled in comparison to what Rev. Al Sharpton and others who had watermelons thrown at them during their marches through Bensonhurst, or Micheal Griffin's unfortunate death.

I remember Mayor Ed Koch publicly asking for Sharpton not to march in Bensonhurst and the outrage that followed. Looking back it seems that these events may have been turning points for the city in how people relate to one another.

Could it be Sharpton is owed credit for changing New York City in a positive way?

Duh!

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Tue, 3 Apr 2007 11:23:00 -0400

VANISHING CITY MIDDLE CLASSBy TOM TOPOUSISPrintEmailDigg ItStory BottomApril 3, 2007 -- The middle class is fast becoming an endangered species in New York City, where the costs of housing and health care have soared faster than salaries over the last decade, according to a survey of city leaders that was released yesterday.Almost all those polled - 92 percent - said it's harder for families today to work their way into the middle class, which the survey found requires an income between $75,000 and $135,000, a far cry from the city's median family income of $49,374.The squeeze on the middle class has left the city with a widening divide between rich and poor, with fewer families in the middle, said John Mollenkopf, director of the Center for Urban Research at CUNY.

VANISHING CITY MIDDLE CLASS By TOM TOPOUSIS - Regionalnews - New York Post Online Edition

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Knucklehead Alert!

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Mon, 2 Apr 2007 19:54:00 -0400

Knucklehead Alert!
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

So I'm out having a great time with my new Flickr friend taking pictures in our neighborhood when these two characters come along.

The schmo in the suit is screaming, "Oh no, no, no. Don't take my picture!" The other rocket surgeon is yelling, "You're doing it all wrong. I'll tell ya how to take pictures."

Yep you guessed right, "Mr. Photography stands behind us while we're shooting pictures of other things blabbing on and on about how we need to get up early in the morning to take pictures of cherry blossom trees in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. So I'm thinking, is it worth $150 and a two week repair to remove my zoom lens from this guy's face?

And wouldn't you know it, as this is all going on a third dinosaur brain carrier walks in between us saying, "Don't take my picture unless you're going to make me famous." I yelled, "Come back. I'll put you on the Internet!"

Gotta love Brooklyn for its diversity and character.

"This Way Please Mr. Jackson..."

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 03:56:00 -0500

"This Way Please Mr. Jackson..."
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

About 40 or so paparazzi were neatly lined up against metal barricades with their HUGE lenses waiting for their shot. Some of them turned and looked me up and down as I came from the other side of 23rd street and started shooting from between parked cars.

I started to laugh at myself with my silly 'nifty-fifty' lens.

"Hey, who'ya with?!" shouts one of trapped photographers. I reached into my wallet and gave the guy one of my Flickr calling cards; I guess I could have told the guy that I'm married these days.

He said I look like some Russian photog he worked with the other night by the World Trade Center.

Whatever.

Open Lot To The Past

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:57:00 -0500

Open Lot To The Past
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

There aren't many empty lots like this left in New York City, yet once upon a time there were many. Sometimes, in some neighborhoods they were all that could be seen.

Given all that has changed in my city in the last 20 or so years, a certain part of me wants to save a few of these lots; a place or two to commemorate the lousy past. It could be like a monument that make us say to ourselves, "I remember when Howard Cosell told the world, The Bronx is burning".

The strongest memory I have when I approach this lot on my way to yoga each Saturday is when I was a reckless teen hanging out on the Lower East Side's Alphabet City. There at a party in the dead of winter, sweaty bodies dancing to the Tom Tom Club in a dark, steamy living room. I took a moment to go out to the fire escape for some air and to let the acid kick in.

The rear view of the building was nothing but an empty lot. Imagine if you will, an entire New York City block with just a building or two on it! Laugh if you want, but I was there as the glass reflected up from the overgrown weeds. I saw the glimmering become an ocean with large waves splashing up against the tenement I was in.

You can't have my memory, they ripped out the weeds, dug a big hole and built their luxury lofts on top of those waves.

The Bronx may not be burning, but my memories live on.

Flash Of Red

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 15:08:00 -0500

I was having fun taking photographs on my commute home last night - - we'll all have to wait for the results since I was shooting film.

While taking pictures of people on a subway car a woman who I wasn't taking pictures of erupted into a extreme fit of rage.

The woman, twice my size screamed at the top of her lungs, "Don't you go taking pictures over here! Don't point that camera at me! You ain't allowed to take pictures of people!

I replied softly, "Can you relax?"

"Don't tell me the relax!", she yelled back.

Again, almost at a whisper, "You're yelling at me."

"Shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up!"

"I don't know why you're yelling?"

"Shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up!"

At this point I just stared directly at her as calmly as I could. Her friend looked at her oddly and people stopped looking at her too. No one else said a word to me and as far as i could tell, no one was looking at me either.

At the next station stop the woman dragged her friend off the train and went into the next car.

The idea of giving her one of my nifty new Flickr cards crossed my mind.

Is It Like?

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 06:07:00 -0500

Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

Is digital photography like writing?

I write and cross things out and discard words without much thought - - what happens to the blurries, poorly exposed and missed shots that out number the images that seem refined and ready for 'publication'? Are these like the pieces of writing that have found their way through a fine process of revision?

Are the smaller pieces of writing no less valuable as the larger, well crafted ones they later become, sometimes?

Obscured Smile

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:11:00 -0400

obscured smile
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

It's amazing what happens when you put a piece of black construction paper in front of your camera. most people on the street don't notice the camera at all. Like I said, most people.

As she passed me by she asked, "What's going on?" i told her i was with my high school photography class and she said, "Oh that's nice," and flashed me a smile.

Camera, Camera

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 23:11:00 -0400

camera, camera
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

I'm not too sure which one of the three young Hasids just bought the camera as each of took turns examining it and reading the manual. But I thought about how rarely I've seen Hasids buying electronics from B&H Photo here in New York and decided I wanted the shot.

I managed to get two shots off before I was caught on the third at which point a picture was taken on me.

I gave them one of my cards, but they didn't speak any English and gave me a puzzled look when I said "Your photo on Internet." Oh well.

Walking

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 11:41:00 -0400

Walking
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

Walking in different directions my group of somewhat geeky New York City High School teachers with fancy cameras passed this woman by without a word. I stopped, turned and waited to see if my initial instincts were true.

There are times I feel like I can read people like Popeye Doyle, the famous New York City Police Detective of French Connection fame. He had an incredible instinct. He could look at someone and accurately tell how many loose joints they were carrying.

There was something about this woman when she passed us by. She and our group were pretty much the only people around in this warehouse district of Long Island City which is just up the block from a large public housing project - - the same ones the rapper Nas comes from. As she passed us she took off her rather plain looking denim jacket and revealed a tight fitting white sleeveless blouse. She wore no bra. When I noticed all of this I though to myself, 'how odd she's dressed like that walking away from where people live'.

So I stood there thinking about the contrasting purposes of us both being on the same block at the same time. I thought about how we were both spending our time on what was a glorious, sunny and warm Sunday afternoon. I thought about the store value of the camera equipment I had with me and well, what she was up to and what brought her to this block on this day.

The Lounge Takes A Long Rest

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 06:07:00 -0400

The Lounge Takes A Long Rest
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

Having lived in New York City my whole life I've seen this scene many times; a neighborhood of great distinction is renovated and done completely over to the point where it is no longer recognizable. I've seen this happen on the Lower East Side and in Williamsburg where I just moved from.

Seeing how 'Brooklyn' has become the hot commodity, I'm fearful of what will happen precious Crown Heights.

Okay

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 20:59:00 -0400

Okay
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

The door was closed and I wondered about the empty beer bottle on the steps.

RESCUE 2

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:01:00 -0400

RESCUE 2
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

I'm not sure how many Rescue Units the FDNY has, but I'm sure glad they're around. These Rescue squads respond to fires in a large truck filled with gear that helps them tear through burning debris in order to locate and rescue people. That's right, they show up to go into fires not to put them out, but to go into them with an axe instead of a hose to save people.

Monday marks the fifth anniversary of the World Trade Center collapse. Nearly 400 New York City fire fighters lost their lives in collapse.

While the City's firemen have somehow been morphed into national heroes, I think it's important to put things into a more sober perspective.

The firemen who were called to the World Trade Center on Spetember 11, 2001 were responding to a fire alarm. Hundreds of firemen climbed the stairs of the two towers to put out a fire and rescue people along the way.

Their efforts along with many police officers, FDNY Paramedics, teachers who had to escort their children from schools at the foot of the WTC are testiment to the professionalism of New York City's municipal workers.

The point is that it didn't have to be a terrorist attack that day - - a fire is a fire and people will do what they have to to save lives. There's little need for flag-waving.

"Why do you take pictures?"

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Tue, 5 Sep 2006 19:57:00 -0400

"Why do you take pictures?"
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

Got to love this:

A few hours after telling friends that I want to get right to taking pictures of my new neighbors this kid approaches me as I'm exiting the subway in my neighborhood.

This kid out of no where says to me, "Hey, why you take pictures?" pointing at my camera.

"Because that's what I do - - it's for fun."

As we're walking along him and his friend ask me to take pictures of completely random things; a pile of trash and a wall of very nondescript graffiti. I tell them that the wall they picked out is ugly.

"You don't like graff?"

"No, I like graff, but it's got to be good."

They then break out with their sketch books.

Which Ride Did We Share?

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Wed, 2 Aug 2006 14:42:00 -0400

Got at b3co.com

Blogged

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Wed, 2 Aug 2006 07:09:00 -0400

The Brooklyn Museum of Art, have used innovative online services to promote and enhance their current exhibition 'Graffiti'. A series of podcasts are available, allowing visitors to transfer the audio files to their mp3 player and bring them on an exhibition visit. The museum also has its own Flickr account, which it has used to invite the public to upload their own photos of graffiti in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn graffiti flickr group currently has over 1200 photos submitted.Our own online exhibition Stewart Bale 2.0 features classic photographs from our archives 'recreated' by Liverpool-based flickr photographers.Posted by Billy | 02/08/2006 11:26

THE NAKED MUSEUM - Graffiti in Brooklyn

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Golbal Warming

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Tue, 1 Aug 2006 13:42:00 -0400

Golbalwarming
Originally uploaded by Bullet Eye.

And I thought it was my sweet talking.

Happy happy Joy Joy!

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:50:00 -0400

It seems like some acts of human behavior are working out okay these days...

If the Mets were to finish their remaining games at their current winning pace, the Phillies would need to go 50-10 just to catch them. If the Mets were to finish playing .500 baseball, the Phillies would need to go 44-16 to catch them. Even if the Mets were to finish 20-38, the Phillies would have to go 35-25 to catch the Mets. It would take a tremendous set of circumstances for either the Mets to finish the season eighteen games under .500, or for the Phillies to finish ten games over .500 for that matter.

MiracleMets.net - A New York Mets Blog: The drama is over

Oh joy!

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RESTAURANT

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 14:37:00 -0400

RESTAURANT
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

The truck stops came as some bit of relief during a 18-hour drive from Urbana, Illinois to New York City. They were not ony place to empty our stressed bladders, but a welcomed reprieve from big-named, very recognizable resturuants and stores.

Amantha and I stopped once to spend the night in Haute Heights, Ohio near Akrin. We drove around a bit before we settled on which motel we'd spend the night in and again in the morning looking for a bookstore in hopes of buying a audio-book.

Driving along the main roads of these towns makes rattles my nerves. I'm not certain why, but the brightly colored fast food resturuants, the bold and bright facades of every nationally recornizable business screams at me, distracting me from the road and the traffic around me. It's as if each one of these businesses is trying to be as big and blod as a television advertisement.

Thinking back to the time when my parents would jam my sister and I along with piles of bags and other stuff into the back seat of a Volkswagen Beattle, I remember there being far more large billboards on our nation's roads than there are today.

Is it just me?

Williamsburg Is Boring

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 19:57:00 -0400

williamsburg is boring
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

I don't get it. i don't understand the fascination people have with graffiti.

All anyone has to do is look at Flickr's Williamsburg Group to see how much people adore graffiti. the group is filled with images of it and lost in the mix of pictures are the people who live in the neighborhood.

I'm afraid that somehow we have forgotten that people make a neighborhood special. My wife points out that it's much easier to take a picture of a painted wall than another person and I can agree with that.

'O' CHICAGO

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 19:47:00 -0400

'O' CHICAGO
Originally uploaded by Runs With Scissors.

If I lived and drove everyday in Chicago I'd have one hand on the camera, the other switching between the wheel and the stick, one foot on the camera bag, and the other between the three pedals.

George Bush singing "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 19:42:00 -0400


Thanks to http://onegoodmove.org and Rx @ http://thepartyparty.com/ Let's Roll!

Scissors Are Running

kenstein@gmail.com (Your (optional) podcast author name) — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 18:38:00 -0400

A new blog at new location is coming soon. Stay tuned.