I’ll be heading out of town for a few weeks, but will likely return with a few new images and stories. I’ll see you soon.

Sarah makes her way towards the highway. This year’s adventure differed from last year in amount of canoes (perhaps doubled) and the depth of the water (much shallower this time), but certainly still a blast.

Lucille, a fashion designer visiting from Paris, shows off a bumblebee, while Jenn and Laura look on.

The one rule of the day was to not allow Giardia-filled creek water into your beer.

Alison (far left) and others.

2 Matts, Franck, Leslie, and Laura.

DLISH.

PJ takes it pretty seriously, reflecting for a moment.

Recently I met Justin, who restores vintage cars on the side, in South Slope, Brooklyn.

Under the hood of the 1953 DeSoto that he’s been spending some time on recently.

While we were shooting, we also talked over some beers. That’s another vehicle of his in the background, a 1950s Ford delivery truck.

When I moved to Brooklyn (via Manhattan and Queens for a few years), I was surprised to learn that many people have project cars. I had assumed the concept only existed outside of large cities – but there are definitely a few very close to my apartment, including a super-loud drag car a few doors down.

Some cyclists in Adams Morgan, a neighborhood in Washington, DC.

This past weekend, Jenn and I took a bus down to DC to hang out with Terry and Stacey. Stacey took us to a large public pool with a diving board – something I hadn’t seen in years, maybe due to insurance liabilities. Definitely the best way to spend the afternoon on one of the hottest days of the year: flying through the air, trying new tricks (while hopefully not landing on one’s stomach).

• I forgot to thank Big Joseph for the great birthday dinner over in Bushwick two weekends ago. After eating, Jenn, Big Joseph and I went over to my cousin Julia’s open studio party, a short bike ride away. She and her friends were in great spirits, and I recall talking to someone for a while about fire-breathing / fire-swallowing and such.

An alleyway near Columbia Heights, in Washington, DC.

A fantastic little barbecue place in East Austin. A little dirty, but great tasting beef brisket, chicken, and ribs. We ate at the large picnic table inside – very tight quarters led to some spills on clothing.

The group minus Chad (taking the photo) and Kelli (not pictured) at the Austin branch of Beauty Bar – just off of the River Road (ie: Stubb’s BBQ) area.

A worker at Lance Armstrong’s bicycle shop, Mellow Johnny’s, during the opening night party of the Tour de France. Large turnout in a really large space. The biggest, most extensive bike shop I’ve seen yet. There are even showers for commuters – top notch considerations.

There’s nothing wrong with Austin being a hippie town – especially when even the graffiti gives off positive vibes.

Back in New York: this is a shot from a recent apartment shoot I did with DLISH in the Upper East Side.

• And speaking of David, he and Emily made a great dinner for Jenn, Hans, and I over in Greenpoint the other night before we headed out to Coco66 to see Mike spin, over on Franklin. Homeless Ben made it out too – good to catch up with him over some drinks.

• Had a chance to also catch up with another Ben [Calloway], during the final game of the World Cup at the Draft Barn in South Slope, as he was in town for a few days from Los Angeles. Will, Wendy, and the rest of the crew were also representing.

• Jenn (with the help of some other people too) gave me an iPod touch this past weekend for my birthday. I’m not one to harp on technology, but this thing is fantastic. I was genuinely surprised that the interaction with it (even moreso with a standard iPhone, I’m sure) is vastly different than a laptop, though that’s common sense. I feel like I’m finally part of this decade, haha.

Red Hook, Brooklyn, before a big thunderstorm. My brother was visiting the other week for an interview at an advertising agency in Connecticut, and we found out this week that he accepted the position. It will be great to have more family close by — and I’m sure Clay and I will each make sure to keep at least one extra bike around for visits.

• I just returned from 10 days in Austin with Jenn and a bunch of friends from Seattle and Cincinnati. We rented a house and set out to swim and eat our way through the city, also catching some local music in the process.

I’ll always be partial to palm trees. They remind me of fond memories of visiting Florida in the early 90s. Always magical.

It was good to see Daniel Johnston’s illustrations still up, like this spot near the University of Texas campus, off of Guadaloupe. Many stores sold clothing with his illustrations printed on them as well.

Brad and Jenn near the large Capitol Building, in downtown Austin.

Sapphire performing a song at a drag game show night at Jo’s Coffee Shop.

Austin seems to be overflowing with little animals and insects. This green anole (Anolis carolinensis) was in our backyard, and would occasionally puff up its reddish throat.

Austin will be continued in part 2.

• A quick note, unrelated to Austin: two Brooklyn-based filmmakers have just released new short films that I’d like to mention:

Sean Dunne (who created “Man in Van” and “The Archive”) just put out a new short film called “The Bowler.” Like his other pieces, this too presents, without overt judgment, the life of an unique individual. Worth checking out, even if you’re not curious to see into the life of a man from Staten Island, all of Sean Dunne’s pieces are shot and edited beautifully.

Another Brooklyn filmmaker, Terrence Elenteny, mentioned his new short film, “LeBron James: King of NY,” to me the other day as well. While I’m not the biggest fan of professional basketball (collegiate is more appealing to me), there are some great moments in this short, which is comprised almost entirely of interviews with people on the street in Manhattan.

To change it up a bit, all shots this evening are recent scans from 35mm film. I am happy to have found a little shop in downtown Brooklyn that seems to do great processing. It generally takes me a while to make it through a roll, so these are from the past few months.

Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Partially inspired by a string of cherry blossom shots that Terry Richardson posted on his fairly-new photoblog (link). His blog is really fascinating to check out occasionally — he mixes up his standard white-wall studio snaps of scantily-clad celebrities with an assortment of street ephemera he finds in the East Village / SoHo / Lower East Side area.

At the end of Long Beach, on Long Island, NY. From left: Erik, B.Davis, Erin, and Mr. Appalachia. It’s a 65-mile round trip from the Park Slope area, and even with 2 water bottles, I couldn’t seem to stay hydrated. If you’re in the Brooklyn area, definitely take advantage of the nice beaches out by the Rockaways if you aren’t already doing so. To get to this spot, we passed through some areas that had tiny back-alley-like streets that were closed to cars, only open to pedestrians headed over to the beach or hanging out.

Plum Beach, Brooklyn. Initially I thought this may have been a fox, but I’m starting to wonder if it was a raccoon, which I’ve seen a lot of around town.

Shane and Echo invited Jenn and I up to Scarsdale for a bike ride a few weeks back, right before Echo left for China. This is a highway that they close off on Sundays for cycling traffic. Its amazing how much ground you can cover with vast highways cleared of cars and trucks.

David Downs and I got in a good ride from the Manhattan Bridge, through Sunset Park and Bay Ridge, along the coast past Coney Island to Plum Beach before needing to turn back. That’s his fixed-gear Bridgestone townie on the left, and my Mercier on the right.

A skeletal saddle in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

This stray, albeit tired, was in better shape. Unfortunately though, its tail was chewed down to the bone, with a little tuft of hair at the end.

On to happier topics, I was lucky enough to go on WNYC’s client appreciation cruise this past Tuesday evening. The three-hour open bar and full dinner, hosted by WNYC personalities ended up being good fun. Unlimited Johnny Walker Black Labels did help as well.

• BAMcinemaFEST opened this past week, with a premiere of Cyrus. Most of the cast were in attendance for the film and afterparty (including John C. Reilly and the gorgeous Marisa Tomei). I also saw Susan Sarandon walk through the crowd. Jenn and I enjoyed the film, which felt like a humorous and fun take on a standard romantic comedy. My only criticism is of the extensive hand-held camerawork (with sporadic quick zooms) is worn out and unnecessary, very heavy-handed. The festival runs until June 20th.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

• Speaking of Williamsburg, on Friday night, Rebecca Smeyne, Tod Seelie, and Maxim Ryazansky presented a selection of their photography and spoke about their approaches to image-making, feelings on subject-photographer interaction, and the lifestyle of an artist. Tod, the only one of the three I’ve met on a few occasions, always comes off as genuine, modest, and passionate. Definitely check out all three of the artists’ work if you’re not familiar with them; a lot of great photography and traveling experiences.

Shane road his bike all the way down from Scarsdale to join Jenn and I at the photography talk. Afterward, we hit up Caracas for arepas.

A front yard in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn.

• A friend pointed out Urban Plant Research to me yesterday. From my understanding, it’s two women who document urban plants and weeds here in New York City and elsewhere. Worth checking out.

On the bike front, I’ve been very happy with a recent handlebar & brake lever swap on my Kogswell, over to Velo Orange Porteur bars (in stock over at Bespoke in Fort Greene) with Tektro RX 4.1 reverse brake levers.  Makes grocery runs even easier.  The bar tape is Serfas Echelon.

• The other week, Shane’s wife, Echo, began a new job which involved relocated to China for a year. The company is being really accommodating, though, in flying her back to the states at least 4 times over the course of the year, and two round trip tickets for Shane in the other direction as well. They had a send-off party in Koreatown the other week: drinks at the roof of the La Quinta hotel, then we all had a Vietnamese dinner later in the evening.

The M train in Bushwick, Brooklyn, as seen from The Opera Singer’s old apartment, circa 2007.

Ran into Sef the other weekend, hadn’t seen him since he got stuck in Vancouver for something like 10 months due to customs at the airport, pretty crazy situation. He was hanging out with Johnny Juice (not pictured) who had a new mountain bike, and was also in great spirits.

This is the Salt Lot, which I’ve mentioned in the past as being headquarters for our Gowanus operations (the blue storage container can be seen through the trees on the left side). Also worthy of mention here is the white porsche: it’s stolen. Someone seemingly used a crowbar on the driver’s side door for entry and dumped it here after a ride, tucked behind some concrete blocks, far from the street, for safekeeping, and with the passenger side window all the way down. A city worker had just questioned us about the vehicle shortly before this shot, and the vehicle has since been impounded.

The other, unrelated thing I’d like to mention about this shot is that the other month, a friend I was hanging out with was able to crawl and climb around to gain access to those somewhat-abandoned storage silos to get a vantage point on roosting birds. He described them as having many ledges covered in droppings, as you’d expect. He also took a few shots of stray cats on the property. James’ site is here: The Origin of Species.

James Stacher (left) and Conrad (aka DJ Dirty Finger) of Black Label, were on the tables during Bicycle Fetish Day, a day-long block party in Williamsburg, dedicated to beautiful bikes. Way too many distractions to hold long conversations with people; great bikes in all directions.

Over the past 2 weeks, I think I’ve joined the South Slope crew for possibly 4+ grill outs (my North Carolina heritage prevents me from calling them barbecues if there’s not slow-cooked pork involved). Here Alison and Mr. Appachia are keeping things under control. We’re lucky enough to have some small plots in the community garden near Pedo Park.

• And speaking of North Carolina roots, thanks to John Prolly over at Prolly is Not Probably for the kind words the other week. To return the favor and introduce him, he’s an architect by trade, and more recently, a mover-and-shaker in the fixed-gear freestyle scene here in New York. He hosts weekly “Peel Sessions” under the BQE in Williamsburg, has acquired grassroots/small-company sponsorships for riding, and is always quick to give shout-outs to new riders and small start-up cycling organizations. And yes, he proudly hails from North Carolina as well.

My Kogswell during a street art-focused bike tour hosted by Jake Dobkin of BlueJake, Becki Fuller of StreetSpot, and Times-Up. Great fun during a hot afternoon, covering ground between Williamsburg and Bushwick, checking out pieces by Gaia, Revs, Roa, Robots Will Kill, Imminent Disaster, and others. Not much mention of the recognizable tags and simply claiming space with one’s name, but instead the intricate wheatpastes and large-scale spray-painted images of people and animals.

I may always love abandoned lots. They’re such a happy surprise; a fissure breaking up the monotony of connected building after connected building. They are always taunting the real estate market with their reckless disregard for property value. This one is in Fort Greene, and is littered with plastic beverage crates, and has a massive pit that will likely slowly be filled in with the weeds that surround its edges.

Also in Fort Greene, a beautiful and condemned church. Some more info about the property here.

On Saturday afternoon, JohnnyCoast and Rosko held a block party at their shared Bushwick bike-building space. D.Lish, Big Joseph, and Jenn also made it out. All the makings of a solid springtime kickoff: live music, hotdogs, beer, tall bikes, and a great crowd. There might be a good summer ahead of us.

Greg of Black Label.

A young Boston terrier.

Marta displays her recently created bone ring.

“In the summer of 2004 I said to my friend Meredith, ‘I dunno. I don’t really want to be around NYC this summer. I think I’m going to go to Philadelphia.’ She responded, ‘Don’t go to Philly. Rent is really cheap there, so nobody works a lot, and instead they sit around, drink beer, and have sex with their housemates.’ My reaction of course, was like, ‘Are you fucking kidding me? You say that to dissuade me somehow?’

Anyway, Jake – enjoy. You know the game, right? Within a week, you get a new bike, a new date, a new tattoo, and lice.”

—Mattio

• My brother, Clay, and his good friend, Cedric, crashed with Jenn and I for the week while taking advantage of a big advertising agency conference, studio tours, and portfolio reviews. We rode around the neighborhood the other evening and through Prospect Park; I was on the Kogswell, Clay took my Mercier, and Cedric took Jenn’s Peugeot. We spent Thursday evening in Greenpoint with D.Lish – starting at Matchless for happy hour then making our way up to Karczma, for the best Polish food I’ve had yet. Really great place all around, though I understand it’s a little more than Lomzynianka and the dozens of others down the street.

Jenn and I flew down for my sister’s graduation (Hillary’s the second from the right) from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill .

From taking over entire lots, growing up through cracks, and colonizing decaying structures, mugwort is making a strong stand in the urban weed subnature. Mugwort, or “chrysanthemum weed,” is currently my third favorite urban weed, behind 1) Ailanthus (aka “Tree of Heaven,” which can be seen in shots #3 and #4 above), and 2) Catalpa (aka “Lady Finger Cigar Tree,” and can be seen here).

• Jenn and I just spent a little over four days in Cincinnati, allowing for me to explore areas of town that were new to me, thanks to rides from Nate, John, Sylvia, and Kelli, to name a few. We didn’t have easy access to bikes and the region is sprawling, like most US cities. Happy birthday to John (Senior) and Johnny (the Third).

A massive, old KFC bucket sign in an industrial corner of Cincinnati, with some ailanthus in the background on the left.

An area of Cincinnati called “Over the Rhine,” referencing it’s strong German roots. These days, crack addicts and sad alcoholics are seen roaming the streets. Definitely more closed businesses than open ones.

A trail down the hillside near the Gorman Heritage Farm. With the recent spring rains, all of the plants were super healthy, and not yet beaten down by the upcoming heat of summer. (This past July we were also at the edge of this farm: here).

We were happy to see a marching band had arrived, coincidentally, outside of Kelli’s children’s book store in Oakley, Cincinnati, in the early evening. I’m not sure that the girl with the red balloon was actually involved, but she seemed to demand attention from the crowd.

Definitely a lot of dogs. That’s Charlie in the cone on the left, Moonlight on the right.

Also, a reader told me about People of Public Transit recently, some great daily, candid shots of riders – somewhat in the vein of Vice magazine’s “Do’s and Dont’s.”

Hans adding some charcoal, getting ready to grill some hamburgers, with one of our new community garden plots on the left side. Alison, still covered with plaster from sculptures she’s been making, looks on.

• Cory was in town the other day for a wedding, and brought Katie along as well – great seeing those Asheville, NC guys again, and a great excuse for more home-cooked food. Also had a chance to catch up with Matt Rossi.

• Also Pam was in town from Chicago last weekend and in great spirits, so we checked out the new bar Mission Dolores in Park Slope, plus had birthday drinks with David Downs over at the Standard Hotel’s outdoor Beer Garden, under the High Line.

My brother, Clay, in Nolita, Manhattan, circa 2007.

Ailanthus, or “Tree of Heaven,” among other names, as you may know by now, is one of my favorite urban weeds. Over the past two weeks, many have been coming out of winter hibernation, such as this one near the Dunkin’ Donuts on Third Ave heading towards Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

The bank of the Gowanus Canal, likely during a low tide.

Before the show, DLISH, Katie Scott, Jenn, and I met up for dinner at Relish, and after the show, more drinks until closing at Roebling Tea Room.

DLISH, during the Washed Out show in Williamsburg.

A common gull, a few weeks ago, in the basin at Washington, DC.

• On the subject of birds, the Canal Nest Colony has been pretty active recently, with a new, recently donated shipping container to serve as a headquarters on borrowed city property, and a revamped website (more content to come, obviously).  As usual, a thanks goes out to a handful of people and organizations, especially to Andy and Brett of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy. The first community workshop of the season is April 24th.

Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

• Mr. Appalachia & Alison hosted a great dinner party for Moses’ parents this past Sunday evening at the D.Mo/Hans/Schlereth estate in South Slope, bringing the group together for some great homemade cooking: a main course of chicken, served with fresh salad, sauteed mushrooms, and french apple tart, among other appetizers and drinks.

Riding to work last week on Sixth Avenue in Brooklyn.

• I went on a great bike adventure around Brooklyn with David Downs this past Saturday afternoon. Since he rode his fixed-gear Bridgestone conversion, I decided to ride fixed too. We started at the Brooklyn side of the Manhattan Bridge, went through the edge of Fort Greene and Boerum Hill to get to the Gowanus area, then rode down the low-numbered avenues, parallel to the BQE for a while as we passed South Slope, Sunset Park, and eventually into Bay Ridge.  We took a right to cut through Owl’s Head Park, and swung by the pier before taking the waterfront path down and under the Verazzano-Narrows Bridge, and then, after a quick pit-stop at a Wendy’s, through Brighton Beach (briefly on the boardwalk), through Sheepshead Bay, and on the coastal path, ending up in Plum Beach, before needing to head back.  We took the more standard route back: a right onto Bedford in Sheepshead, up through scenic Midwood and then less-scenic Flatbush, before riding a half loop through Prospect Park and finally coming to a stop at South Slope. I took a few shots, but on 35mm, of which I haven’t quite finished the roll yet.

Just a quick quote from the Wikipedia entry about Plum Beach:

“Though this ‘beach’ is not clean enough to swim in and at times may smell awfully its a nice place to walk. There is also garbage all over the sand as well as some ‘ship wreks’ that of small boats. Relative remoteness combined with easy access to the Belt Parkway has made the beach attractive to people who are cruising for sex. This has occasionally led to violence.”

Haha, that’s the good stuff.

A letter from me to Shane.

Virginia, 2005.

• I was riding through the desolate edges of the Sunset Park area late the other night and realized I had grossly underestimated the quantity of 24-hour adult video stores strung along Third Avenue here in Brooklyn. Each block was dotted with at least one or two beacons of neon light, illuminating just enough to see all of the exhaust dust and illegal dumping accumulating under the raised stretch of the BQE. I wouldn’t call it a beautiful place, though there is a peacefulness late into the evening, as you ride through side cobble-stoned streets under looming warehouses, not quite able to decipher the odd chemical smells in the night air.

Brakeless on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, during rush hour on a Friday.

This courier likely comes from the school of thought that uglier bikes are less likely to get stolen, as there’s a nasty patina all over this otherwise-pretty track frame.

• Marta threw another successful Feaster party over Easter weekend, and Jenn, Big Joseph (now residing in Bushwick, if you hadn’t heard), and I swung by for drinks and dinner at the huge, collective dining room table at her apartment over in Bushwick. We contributed some orzo & feta-based salad, a bunch of cheddar biscuits, and some stiff drinks. Johnny Juice and Maria were also in attendence.

Partially mummified mouse in Queens, NY, April 2006.

• One sign that spring is officially here in New York is the moment that the street grime and goo starts to liquify again, releasing putrid smells that had been hibernating since at least late September. As temperatures have been in the 70s for a few days, allowing a little heating of the asphalt around my office in Fort Greene, I started to smell evidence that we’re over with the cold, and we’ve made it another year.

Another shot from the vault: I used to be really interested in trashed furniture on the street. It struck me as more out of place than other items that people leave out on the busy sidewalks. This chair and ottoman shot is from February 2006, and likely near downtown Brooklyn. I’ve since found far more entertaining street-side leftovers than soiled and flea-bitten living room pieces.

K-Tel (left) placed second in the 20-lap race. Lucas Brunelle (on the right), a videographer and cyclist, rode along on a multi-speed road bike while equipped with video cameras to film the event, while not actually racing himself.

Left: race organizer, Dave Trimble, on a borrowed tall bike. I also liked the “Boston Straight Edge” jacket the other guy is wearing. Right: a spectator boldly helps to delay an empty NYC bus from plowing through the race, allowing the pack to ride through, despite making the driver completely irate. Other spectators blocked the bus from the front.

• The race culminated in a full-on podium ceremony on a collapsing concrete slab over the water, complete with podium girls to kiss the winners, and the traditional spraying of champagne and prizes being awarded.

• I was cracking up when people were randomly saying “don’t steal bikes, bro,” over the course of the night, referencing this now-infamous video, shot in the East Village last year.

• People have a weird relationship with celebrating holidays here in Brooklyn. For example, a few blocks from my apartment, there’s a home with St. Patrick’s Day decorations up (and that’s understandable, the event was only about 8 days ago), but they also have Halloween decorations up (which was closer to 5 months ago).  This evening, walking back home with Jenn from dinner at Nuevo Mexico, we noticed the apartment building on 5th Avenue that maintains two large Christmas wreaths, year round, with lit, multi-colored lights. I’ve noticed that Valentine’s Day last month caused at least one home in Windsor Terrace to finally take down Christmas stuff, replacing it with a red paper heart in each window (I haven’t checked to see if those hearts are still up over a month later). Don’t get me wrong: I don’t want to sound like a grouch about people’s happiness and holiday cheer; on the contrary, I fully support it.  It does continue to baffle me though, I do wonder if the completely erratic decorations are an indication of interior apartment hoarding of possessions?

Howard Beach, Queens.

From left: Charlie, B.Nasty (borrowing my Kogswell because a car hit him, smashing his main commuter last Friday; he walked away from the crash without a scratch though, tough dude), D.Mo, Jenn, and DLISH. We finally made it over to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (not pictured), during a 40-mile trek in Brooklyn and Queens.

Marta, Katie Scott, Jenn, and I had drinks earlier at The Creek Bar in Nolita before meeting up with Hans, David Moses, Mike, Ben, and some others at the show. Some pretty disturbing activities went down at the venue, but music-wise it was primarily a mix of experimental/noise DJing mixed with some South Beach-esc party tunes between sets. The venue is a small storefront lined with speakers, tucked into an unassuming (residential) Crown Heights block. As to be expected, the cops were busting people for drinking out front in the light rain, and they poked their head inside once or twice, but I didn’t see them actually enter the space.

Still plenty of beards in Brooklyn.

• Jenn and I finally made it over to Bahn Mi Saigon in the Asian area of Little Italy. It’s a Vietnamese sandwich place (as is obvious from the name), tucked into an area behind a jewelry store. It does live up to the hype: one bite into the #1 Pork/Saigon sandwich, and you realize that the others  (Hanco’s, Nicky’s, Henry’s, etc) are inferior and higher-priced. The summer rolls are also a great value. The location will be moving to somewhere else, close by, in May/June.

An abandoned car in South Slope.

David & Cindy (not pictured) hosted their own party in their apartment and back patio in prime people-watching territory, on Washington Ave, seemingly the epicenter of bro culture.

I was wearing skinny jeans and a skinny tie (which, well, maybe didn’t cause me to blend in), nor was my clothing green, the dominant color in every direction. But, of course, by mid-afternoon, everyone was too drunk to notice much of anything, even when their friends fell into the street.  I did see a great shirt that read: “NJ ALL DAY” in stacked, massive, white letters, which I’d love to buy and wear around Brooklyn on sunny days, though I’m sure it’d be a regrettable decision (though not as regrettable as Hoboken’s rampant promiscuity this past Saturday, obviously).

• Speaking of parties, Jenn recently made it onto Last Night’s Party (here).  David and I are also in the periphery of the shot, by photographer Merlin Bronques.

On an entirely different note, and back at the home base in Brooklyn, this young plant is doing quite well in my windowsill. I don’t actually know the name of it though, can anyone shed some light on its name? To the left in the shot is a Hindu rope plant cutting that Jenn and I got from her grandmother and are working towards a replanting in soil, and the plant on the right is something than Hans dug up near the Gowanus Canal.

• Happy birthday this past week to B.Davis and Mr. Appalachia.  We celebrated earlier in the week with some homemade cake (from Allison and Mother Appalachia) in the neighborhood, then this past Friday at Great Lakes and Brooklyn Fish Camp.  Dominique and Anna joined in the fun too, both in town for 6 months from Argentina, and studying at Columbia University. I hadn’t seen Dominique since visiting Argentina about three and a half years ago.

Speaking of the Gowanus, it should be mentioned that the recent Superfund status designation has been all over the papers and in conversations, though I still haven’t been able to form an opinion on the scenario quite yet.  It already has meant more attention to the area my friends and I have been trying to rehab for over a year now. This snow melted completely over this past weekend, as we finally made it over 50 degrees in NYC.

Jenn and I made it over to the Pulse Art Fair on Saturday, thanks to free passes from David Harper.

Midtown Manhattan.

Beach Fossils performed as part of The Crystal Stilts & The Beets lo-fi lineup this past weekend at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.  A great turnout of fellow Brooklynites: Mr. Appalachia, Katie, Erin, Allison, B.Nasty, Hans, and DLISH, in addition to Jenn and myself.  We ran into Brad from the Crystal Stilts in Anna Maria’s Pizzeria en route to dinner a few hours before the show (it’s  a little embarrassing that I needed a slice on the way to real dinner, over at Teddy’s), and I said “hi.”  But the show was good, certainly worth it, but not quite outstanding.  I’m starting to feel a little bit burnt out on the glo-fi wave that we’ve been wallowing in for months now (a la Washed Out, Toro y Moi, Neon Indian, Small Black, etc).  Of course, it seems that late 2009′s glo-fi may age a little better than 2008′s electrocore movement in the indie scene.

Lots of lonely, solitary items out on the street during wintertime.  Well, possibly year-round in New York. This moldy bread at least had a mate.  Actually, for that matter, I’ve seen a few actual pairs of shoes flung into the street recently (no, not like when people leave them on a stoop instead of investing the effort to deliver them to a Goodwill/Salvation Army), compared to almost always seeing a single boot or heel. The alarming number of recent trash pairings can only mean that spring is around the corner, and love is in the air, if only manifested initially through detritus on feces-strewn street corners.

The first thing that comes to mind is the title of a classic Roger Corman B horror movie, “Bucket of Blood” (1959). Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

I was able to take my project touring bike on an inaugural grocery store run with Jenn (on her trusty Peugeot) this past weekend. I sold my beloved Cetma rack to get a rack more suitable for a 26″-wheeled tourer, which ended up being a large Surly Nice Rack. Sorry, Lane! Though, if it’s any concession, a fellow Brooklynite snatched it up as soon as I put it on the market. I am ready to fully explore the land again.

A housefly in my apartment.

Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, July 2009.

Parking lot near the Gowanus Canal.

Marta (on the right) and friends take a moment to play cards in the basement space of China One in the East Village. As a kick-off to fashion week, there was a secret party in the cavernous labyrinth downstairs (and yes, one would think that caverns and labyrinths are somewhat mutually exclusive, but the space managed to feel like both).  The music for the evening was quite an impressive mix of old Indonesian, Cambodian and other Asian pop, possibly from the 1960s, similar to Thailand’s Shadow Music I may have mentioned before.  The promoters were kind enough to post the entire playlist here. Absolutely worth the time the ~273MB download takes, top notch.

The snow back in Greenwood Heights. Jenn poses next to our late-night, 5-foot creation.  In Brooklyn fashion, the snowman had been decapitated by the next day.

If you’re considering moving to Brooklyn, or are already here but are looking for a different apartment, I highly recommend living within walking distance of the great Prospect Park. Snow & ice has a transformative quality on landscapes in general, but especially so in this park. Jenn and I traversed a good amount of the land on Valentine’s Day, this past Sunday, and saw improved snowboarding slopes cutting between trees in secluded areas and many small ice castles & partial igloos. Trails felt so quiet and remote it certainly was another one of those moments where you find yourself thinking “there’s no way I’m in New York right now.”

While it seems to be the norm for New Yorkers to seek out and crave those fleeting moments of city disguise, I’m reminded of similar thoughts I’ve had in different towns.  One example: in the small town of Bridgewater, Virginia, there’s a modest residential area of homes lining some of the smaller hills/mountains that lead up to the Dry River, and overlook the ancient Bridgewater Parade Grounds. My brother and I used to spend weeks in the area during the summer when we were back in elementary school, wandering around, finding small caves, building dams in creeks, among other things.  But back to the point: there was one street, I’m not positive of the name; it was en-route from our grandparent’s house near the peak of the hill (and surrounded by large evergreens), and Wildwood Park. The street lead off to the right (what seemed like north) as we headed (via bike or walking) to the park, and it climbed upwards and to the left (which would be northwest), and was flanked by a handful of homes possibly built between 1950 and 1975. For some reason I always had a feeling of being in Denmark.  I still have not have the opportunity to visit Denmark, and I imagine I knew even less about the country at that point in life, and yet: I was positive I was experiencing the spirit of Denmark, a temporary vision, if nothing else. The visual/mental association remains, sometimes surfacing in dreams (albeit, not in the past few years), though I can’t find an explanation.

The walls have eyes in the Atlantic-Pacific subway station, in downtown Brooklyn.

Miss Pacman in Metropolitan, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. When Brad visits from Seattle, Jenn, and I always find ourselves at Fette Sau and Metropolitan, inevitably. Always good times.

Last Friday, DLISH and Katie joined Jenn and I to see the Vivian Girls & Les Savy Fav play a great show at BAM’s Opera House, as the opening night of the Sounds Like Brooklyn music festival. As I had heard about/seen photos, the lead singer of Les Savy Fav made sure to bring a high-energy performance, large belly out, only wearing shiny purple leggings the whole night, charging through the crowd with a corded microphone.  The Vivian Girls, on the other hand, didn’t quite know what to do with the large space (compared to their usual dingier Brooklyn haunts), and calmly played a set amidst spectacular stage lighting. After the show we got drinks at Brooklyn Public House before many more drinks in South Slope until after 4am.

Thanks to Pavel for buying my Centurion, enabling me to finally build up the Kogswell P/R frame I bought from Malcolm (via James Stacher, thanks guys!) though I’m still dialing it in a little, and hadn’t yet trimmed/capped off wires as of this shot.

Thus far it rides really comfy around town, and I can’t wait to see how it feels fully loaded. The risers won’t be ideal for long distance, so I may look for an alternative that won’t cut into the cetma’s space too much.

build list:
59cm Kogswell P/R w/ low-trail fork
26″ Mavic M117 to Deore LX hubs w/ 1.4″ Michelin City tires
Bike Planet Hardcore Freddy fenders
Sugino XP triple cranks, currently running as double
Brooks Team Pro saddle
IRD cafam cantilevers (with longer link cables to come)
Cetma 5-rail rack
MKS-GR9 pedals w/ MKS clips
Dia-Compe downtube shifters (having some issues with the installation)
Thomson zero-rise stem
Kalloy risers (to be swapped out for other bars at some point)
Kalloy seatpost
Tektro brake levers
Deore rear derailleur / Deore LX front derailleur
Incredibell brass duet (haha)

And here’s my older bike:

For comparison’s sake, here’s a recent shot of my main fixed-gear commuter.  It does look like a brother of the new bike (as my own brother mentioned), though it certainly the other end of the spectrum.

If you’ve been keeping up with the weeds in Brooklyn, it seems that even the heartiest of the smaller guys are on their last leg (as seen in the light snow this past Thursday).  If you recall, this same red root pigweed was still thriving in late October, and back in September as well.

Speaking of urban weeds, my good friend Brian Davis (of FASLANYC) was telling me about some recent stuff Brett Milligan was writing about recently over at Free Association Design about weeds in urban spaces.  I noticed the use of the term “subnature,” and found out it may have been coined recently by David Gissen in a book of the same name.  Essentially, the core of subnature is the nature & elements that exist within densely urban environments, including (but not limited to): weeds, insects, debris, puddles, etc. (paraphrased from Jason A. King’s recent review). I think the lack of subnature in some American cities (fended off with a systematic sterilization) eliminates beauty.

Kanchanaburi, Thailand, 2008.

• At least two birthday shout-outs need to happen today: my brother Clay turns 25, and my friend Shane turns 28.  Happy birthday!

The clean-cut Nymphets perform fast punk songs at Glasslands.

A few weeks back, after a fire-side dinner at Teddy’s Bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with my cousin Julia (who moved to Bushwick several months back) and her friend Mike (in town from Harrisonburg, VA), we went to the Beachniks record release party at Glasslands. One of those 7-bands-for-7-dollars kinda things, which can result in a lot of mediocrity, but sometimes some gems. In this case, we were most impressed by The Nymphets, moreso than the headliner.

• A quick mention of two other shows: the Secret Science Club that happens at the Bell House in the Gowanus area every month or so is a pretty interesting lecture/interactive series by scientists and PH-D students while everyone drinks — certainly has potential, even though the one I caught with Jenn, Christine, and Charlie was possibly not the best (regarding motion capture technologies).

Secondly, Eugene Mirman hosts a comedy series at Union Hall in Park Slope that I hadn’t heard about until Chris & Lindsay Reid (in town briefly from Durham, North Carolina) got a few of us together to check it out. While initially being somewhat film/Hollywood focused stand-up, the comedians did end up being worth the $7 cover in the end (plus modelo cans are $3, which isn’t too bad).

• On the material possessions end, I’m looking to unload a wide-format Epson injet printer, a multi-purpose rice cooker, and a great, disgustingly pink & bright yellow Centurion road bike (61cm), if you or anyone you know is in need, give me a holler for prices.

I’m excited to officially announce that the This City i$ Mine book is now available for purchase.

Here’s a sample spread – the book design (composition, juxtaposition, sequencing, layout, etc) was all done by Jenn Richey.

Winter in New York seems to mean so many indoor spaces (aside from riding one’s bike to and from those spaces). This dim light is in the bathroom of the newish Greenpoint bar named Blackout, where a group of us got drinks after a nice dinner over at David’s apartment a few blocks away.