Archive for November 2024
Archives #040
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s been a wild 1,729 hours, I’ll offer, between the day I shattered my ankle and this post. People look at me cross eyed when I discuss events in terms of hours or days rather than weeks/months/years, but getting granular with such things speaks better to the experience of medical drama – in my opinion. Roughly 1,600 of those hours involved constant and inescapable pain, the kind that wakes you out of a dead sleep.
2010’s ‘Tales of Calvary 6’ tells the story of one of First Calvary Cemetery’s permanent residents – the Newsboy Governor Al Smith.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve been walking around the house just wearing shoes for a couple of hours a day, on medical advice I’d mention, but when I’m out in the world the giant Frankenstein like walking boot is affixed to the injured limb. By ‘out in the world,’ I mainly mean driving back and forth to my weekly triad of physical therapy appointments. I’ve also been assigned ‘homework’ for the ankle, a three times a day series of stretching moves. It seems that all of the discrete little rubber bands which compose the ligament and tendon department are the focus of this action. The process is working, as I’ve had a comparatively pain free couple of weeks, but it still hurts – not gonna lie.
2016 saw ‘engulfed in’ published, with a progress report on the real estate industrial complex’s build out in Queens Plaza. Stealing the sky, indeed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s looking like the end of this journey is going to be just another starting line, this one will start at the end of the year as I try to resume my normal activities. Not going to lie, it’s scary thinking about resuming even my short walks. Might have to get a bike.
These archive posts are reaching into Newtown Pentacle’s backups, and are pulling posts that went public on this date, in their respective years, going back to 2009. This practice will continue until I’m back on both feet full time, and new photos and stories can be gathered. For anyone who hasn’t heard the news, I broke my left ankle at the end of September.
Back next week.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Archives #039
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator is getting close to recovery from the broken ankle at this point. I’ve taken multiple heel to toe strides wearing just a normal shoe by this stage of the ‘PT’ process. I should be able to resume a somewhat normal, albeit hobbled, existence soon.
On November 28th in 2017, ‘reconised from’ was published, and the post discusses a few obscure historical tidbits about LIC and the East River.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Overall, the fall off from unrelenting 24/7 agony has been nice. It’s important to keep on reminding myself to ‘don’t do that, not yet.’ Take it slow, move with purpose, don’t get ahead of yourself and ignore distractions. No multi tasking. One thing at a time.
2018’s ‘choking gas’ gets high over LIC.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Saying that, I’m absolutely dying to get out and do some creative work again. So many things to see and learn about, and I’m stuck sitting on my butt waiting for the ankle to heal. You can’t win, I say.
These archive posts are reaching into Newtown Pentacle’s backups, and are pulling posts that went public on this date, in their respective years, going back to 2009. This practice will continue until I’m back on both feet full time, and new photos and stories can be gathered. For anyone who hasn’t heard the news, I broke my left ankle at the end of September.
2019’s ‘diminished perceptibly’ found me at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Archives #038
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Here are the keys to the mausoleum, and all the liquor is inside.
That’s what my pal at Atlas Obscura said before disappearing for an hour to gather the crowd of paying guests at an event, leaving me all alone at the Whitney Mausoleum in Brooklyn’s Greenwood Cemetery. I did the only logical thing, which was to call Kevin Walsh from Forgotten-NY and tell him where I was, trying to make him jealous. You don’t get to make that guy jealous often, savor it when you can.
On November 27th in 2013, ‘fastened ajar’ arrived in subscriber’s inboxes, describing a nocturnal visit to Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The train thing isn’t really a new subject for me, it’s just that I used to be extremely limited in terms of what was on offer. Long Island Railroad often popped into focus here at Newtown Pentacle, as did several of their freight contractors.
In 2015, it was the LIRR which caught my attention in ‘continuous system.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The 7 Line is the most photogenic of NYC’s subways, which is a hill I’ll die on. Yes, Smith/9th street is quite comely, but for pure urban goodness, the 7 is the best.
These archive posts are reaching into Newtown Pentacle’s backups, and are pulling posts that went public on this date, in their respective years, going back to 2009. This practice will continue until I’m back on both feet full time, and new photos and stories can be gathered. For anyone who hasn’t heard the news, I broke my left ankle at the end of September.
In 2017, a ride on the 7 line was discussed in ‘cryptic formulae.’
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Archives #037
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hands down, that’s my favorite ever angry pigeon photo above. It’s one of a series of shots that I’d use for profile pics on Xoom meetings during COVID, and I’d switch them around to signal my support or ire at whatever the active speaker was talking about. The ‘non verbal communication’ bird pictured above was encountered in Queens’ Sunnyside Gardens, as a note.
2015’s November 26th post, dubbed ‘louder drone,’ was definitely one for the birds.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At least once a week back in NYC, over a period of more than a decade, some sort of Newtown Creek ‘thing’ would require my attendance. I would arrive early and then walk home, usually. Two birds, one stone, yeah?
In 2021, ‘scoundrel out’ brought readers back to Newtown Creek.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Since moving to Pittsburgh, rail ‘stuff’ has been catching my eye. It’s actually a challenge photographing something which is huge and moving quickly. Now… that’s the sort of statement which I usually get lacerated for in the comments, so have at it.
These archive posts are reaching into Newtown Pentacle’s backups, and are pulling posts that went public on this date, in their respective years, going back to 2009. This practice will continue until I’m back on both feet full time, and new photos and stories can be gathered. For anyone who hasn’t heard the news, I broke my left ankle at the end of September.
In 2024, a few images of Pittsburgh’s rail traffic was on offer in ‘Thanksgiving Choo-Choos.’
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Archives #036
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
These archive posts are reaching into Newtown Pentacle’s backups, and are pulling posts that went public on this date, in their respective years, going back to 2009. This practice will continue until I’m back on both feet full time, and new photos and stories can be gathered. For anyone who hasn’t heard the news, I broke my left ankle at the end of September.
One of my notions, when I lived in Queens, was that the abundant grave yards along the Brooklyn Queens border which form the so called ‘Cemetery Belt’ are fantastic places to stretch your legs and get some exercise. Few or no cars, lots of trees and birds… just stick to the roads and paths. If you see a path nearby a fence… definitely walk that way, never know what you might find and it very well might involve extinct North American elephants.
In 2010 on November 25th, ‘Things you learn from being a ghoul’ published, describing a walk through St. Michael’s Cemetery in Astoria that proves the point I always make about paying attention to little things.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the story goes, I was on my way to some midtown bar for a friend’s birthday when a powerful thunderstorm roared through the City. I had my trusty old Canon G10 with me, which at the time sported a magnetic tripod mount. I clanked the thing down onto a fire hydrant as an ad hoc tripod, as the sky displayed a meteorological phenomenon called Mammatus Clouds. The light was unreal for about a minute. I got lucky.
2015’s ‘or depend’ was actually a Thanksgiving week archive post, so double boomerang on this one. Incidentally, the photo above is my most pirated shot – ever.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Famously, if I’m ‘out and about,’ I’ve got the camera deployed and ready.
Have to take a subway somewhere? Why not get a shot of it? All of those meetings I used to have to attend, in all of the bizarre places they were held, often brought me to visually interesting areas. Sometimes, I’d go ride the trains for ‘shits and giggles’ when I was physically compromised or the weather sucked.
2019’s ‘wholly allied’ saw me riding the 7 train corridor at night.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
The Newtown Pentacle 