Archive for the ‘Astoria’ Category
Project Firebox 92
An ongoing catalog of New York’s endangered Fireboxes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Found amongst the blessed hills of Astoria, this scarlet soldier of the realm enjoys long tenancy along 31st avenue nearby Steinway Street. Its been in Astoria for a long, long time and remembers a mythological day when “things were different” and “people cared” unlike today. Dross neighbors notwithstanding, it serves its vigil endlessly.
Upcoming Tours
Saturday – October 19, 2013
The Insalubrious Valley of the Newtown Creek with Atlas Obscura- tickets on sale now.
Sunday- October 20th, 2013
The Poison Cauldron of the Newtown Creek with Brooklyn Brainery- tickets on sale now.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
known gods
It certainly has been quite an interesting life.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
No man is a failure who’s got friends, or so they told George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Homespun aphorism and Capraesque cliche notwithstanding, I would argue that having the wrong friends is a wholly different sort of failure which far outweighs the dollars and cents of conventional success. A loner, malcontent, and altogether difficult and argumentative know it all- your humble narrator’s few acquaintances tolerate my presence, but only in small doses.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
You’ve got to use it or lose it, but what if you never had “it” in the first place? One such as myself, bereft of natural advantages such as speed, grace, strength, or athletic prowess on any level knows full well the shame of fumbling, stumbling, and or striking out. The only advantage possessed by me is a rat like cunning, although given my standing amongst the humans it would be logical to presume that I would make a poor specimen of Rattus rattus.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Like some ancient mariner lost upon the storm tossed waves go I, lashed to the frozen deck of a broken life. My wants and desires are nonexistent beyond the purely existential issues of food and shelter, as I have long ago given up pursuit of material success. There is no plan, things just happen, and the daily round is just a series of dull events. Your humble narrator is not at all driven by avarice, vainglory, or ambition in the ways that most are. Just think of me solely as the battered, the disabused, the disenfranchised, and always an outsider- if you feel the strong urge to categorize or quantize me.
Upcoming Tours
Saturday – October 19, 2013
The Insalubrious Valley of the Newtown Creek with Atlas Obscura- tickets on sale soon.
Sunday- October 20th, 2013
The Poison Cauldron of the Newtown Creek with Brooklyn Brainery- tickets on sale now
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Project Firebox 90
An ongoing catalog of New York’s endangered Fireboxes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The chap who is reprinting the Fireboxes of Woodside and Astoria seems to have struck again. This garish representation alongside St. Michael’s cemetery may not be wearing the uniform of the day, nor is outfitted according to regulation, but it still stands tall should menace or bad fortune cross its path.
Upcoming Tours
Saturday – October 19, 2013
The Insalubrious Valley of the Newtown Creek with Atlas Obscura- tickets on sale soon.
Sunday- October 20th, 2013
The Poison Cauldron of the Newtown Creek with Brooklyn Brainery- tickets on sale now
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Project Firebox 89
An ongoing catalog of New York’s endangered Fireboxes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Horror and depredation are denied to those who frequent the corner of 19th avenue and 37th street at the ragged edge of blessed Astoria, nearby the sonorous Steinway Factory. This vermillion vanguard waits, eternally, for the day when its clarion call will summon brigades of the capable, the skilled, and the well trained to snuff out conflagrations. Shine on, oh sentinel of the night watch, shine on.
Upcoming Tours
Saturday- September 21, 2013- TODAY
13 Steps Around Dutch Kills Walking Tour with Atlas Obscura- tickets on sale now.
Saturday- September 28, 2013
Newtown Creek Boat Tour with the Working Harbor Committee- tickets on sale now.
Saturday – October 19, 2013
The Insalubrious Valley of the Newtown Creek with Atlas Obscura- tickets on sale soon.
Sunday- October 20th, 2013
The Poison Cauldron of the Newtown Creek with Brooklyn Brainery- tickets on sale now
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
always pedantic
Astoria, Queens rules.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Having sense enough not to schedule any walking tours against the Jewish holiday last weekend allowed me to have an actual day off last Saturday. Our Lady of the Pentacle and I decided to take a stroll around the neighborhood, soon finding ourselves nearby Astoria Park. Having company such as Our Lady along on my perambulations is a pleasant change to my normally lonely round, although one does have to slow his gait. Our Lady doesn’t dawdle, instead I walk preternaturally fast.
from wikipedia
A loner is a person who avoids or does not actively seek human interaction or prefers to be alone. There are many reasons for solitude, intentional or otherwise, and “loner” does not imply a specific cause. Intentional reasons include spiritual and religious considerations or personal philosophies. Unintentional reasons involve temperament, being highly sensitive, having more extreme forms of shyness, or various mental disorders. The modern term “loner” can be used with a negative connotation in the belief that human beings are social creatures and those that do not participate are deviant.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Yom Kippur is one of those holidays I’ve never understood. “Day of Atonement” and all. If I need to atone and account for my actions to some sort of extra dimensional super being who invisibly observes all that I do in minute detail, it will be after I’m dead and am standing in front of some supernatural court. Also, I have very little that I feel guilty about, as I don’t go out of my way to screw others over nor hurt them. It meant a lot to my parents, this day of atonement, but I’ve never had any use for all the shouting and jumping about that religions bring.
from wikipedia
Anthropophobia or Anthrophobia (literally “fear of people”, from Greek: ανθρωπος, ánthropos, “man” and φόβος, phóbos, “fear”), also called interpersonal relation phobia or social phobia, is pathological fear of people or human company.
Anthropophobia is an extreme, pathological form of shyness and timidity. Being a form of social phobia, it may manifest as fears of blushing or meeting others’ gaze, awkwardness and uneasiness when appearing in society, etc. A specific Japanese cultural form is known as taijin kyofusho.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
We spotted this roughly scrawled graffito over on 20th avenue, on the fenced walls adjoining the ConEd property. Odd, ironic, and frankly- a bit more literate than the stuff you normally see around the ancient village. I did not see anybody wearing a hunting cap lurking about, and kept moving. It was nice actually having a day off, something one such as myself doesn’t get much of these days.
from wikipedia
Holden Caulfield is the 16-year-old protagonist of author J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Since the book’s 1951 publication, Holden has become an icon for teenage rebellion and angst, and now stands among the most important characters of 20th-century American literature. The name Holden Caulfield was used in an unpublished short story written in 1942 and first appeared in print in 1945.
Upcoming Tours
Saturday- September 21, 2013
13 Steps Around Dutch Kills Walking Tour with Atlas Obscura- tickets on sale now.
Saturday- September 28, 2013
Newtown Creek Boat Tour with the Working Harbor Committee- tickets on sale now.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
The Newtown Pentacle 