Archive for the ‘Astoria’ Category
under catechism
Once more, the breach is a Monday, so unto it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One week ago today did a humble narrator ride the subway for the first time in 140 days. An appointment for an inquisition about my homeostasis required a visit to the island of Manhattan, where a team of medical professionals awaited me with forms and needles. One was measured, weighed, scrutinized closely. At one point, a woman walked into the room and jabbed a barb into my left arm. Vials, she filled, with my blood. Test results were arrived at, and the Doctor intoned that one might just keep on living, for just a little while longer. One of the tests was for Covid, which confirmed my assertion that – so far – I’ve been lucky enough to avoid infection.
The subway ride was uneventful, but for the chin mask guy who alternated between grasping the subway pole and jamming his fingers into the various mucous membrane lined holes on his head.
Seriously, I’ve always wondered about the characters in Zombie movies who a) either pretend that what they’re seeing isn’t happening, b) hide the fact that they’ve been bitten and are infected, c) start fights over unrelated to the crisis issues which end up getting everybody killed. Then, along comes Covid, and…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One wandered a short few blocks after being the subject of scientific scrutiny, and a decision to splurge a bit was arrived at. Instead of climbing back down into the sweating concrete bunkers of the MTA, with their piston driven clouds of disgust, one instead summoned a ride back to Astoria. Mask on, windows open, one rode back to Queens in the manner of a big fellow. The driver’s name was Mohammed, he hailed from Pakistan originally, and we had a long conversation about the relative virtues of several Halal Food Carts which we were both familiar with. I still recommend the guy in the food truck on Steinway and 34th for that particular fix.
I have not missed Manhattan at all, thought I.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As is my habit, since I try to take advantage of the fact that I’m actually paying for the ride, the camera was busy as we exited the island of Manhattan and crossed over the spectacular Queensboro Bridge. As you can see, last Monday was one of the hot hazy and humid days which have plagued the Megalopolis for the last week or so. At least here in Queens, nobody grasps my arm and pops holes in it to draw out my blood.
Tomorrow, some shots from the City bringing the show directly to my front door.
Note: I’m writing this and several of the posts you’re going to see for the next week at the beginning of the week of Monday, July 27th. My plan is to continue doing my solo photo walks around LIC and the Newtown Creek in the dead of night as long as that’s feasible. If you continue to see regular updates here, that means everything is kosher as far as health and well being. If the blog stops updating, it means that things have gone badly for a humble narrator.
“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.
ill concealed
Let there be light, it’s Monday.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Careful negotiations, about wearing a mask and the other hygienic issues faced during the age of cooties we’re all living through having been arrived at, last week I hung out with a photographer buddy of mine who drives everywhere she goes. Picked up, a humble narrator suggested we visit Randalls and Wards Island, so over mighty Triborough did we fly.
I’ve been telling anyone who will listen, literally for years now, that the next round of NYC Ferry stops should include Randalls/Wards. It’s actually goofy how many hurdles there are to getting to this scenic complex of parks without a car. This was, of course, Robert Moses’s base of operation, the very center of the fabled “House of Moses” where the Power Broker himself spent his days.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is literally the first time I’ve left “the zone” in – as of today – 141 days. The zone is walking distance from HQ in Astoria, which has included all of Newtown Creek. Faulty logic on my part says that Randalls/Wards are further, there is a pedestrian pathway here from Astoria after all, but for whatever reason I’ve never walked it.
As a matter of fact, I’ve only been on the ground at Randalls/Wards once. I’ve driven over it a bunch of times, of course, but have never come here with a camera and the intent of taking a bunch of photos. I’m happy to say that this effort was very much worth the trip, and I intend on coming back for more and soon.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Consider the ones above, and the shots that will be following them this week, as being part of a scouting mission. I was in “hey, look at that” mode the whole time.
The one time I had come to Randalls/Wards in the past? The NYC DEP has a water treatment and sludge dewatering facility here, and I was invited to attend the christening and launch of their three new sludge boats along its bulkheads. Sludge Boat, you ask? Christening, you say? Sludge Boat, baby, Sludge Boat.
Note: I’m writing this and several of the posts you’re going to see for the next week at the beginning of the week of Monday, July 20th. My plan is to continue doing my solo photo walks around LIC and the Newtown Creek in the dead of night as long as that’s feasible. If you continue to see regular updates here, that means everything is kosher as far as health and well being. If the blog stops updating, it means that things have gone badly for a humble narrator.
“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.
omphalos gazing
Friday, Friday, which seat should I take?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While the above shot was being captured, one was standing just a few feet away from one of the City’s Bioswales – or as they’ve been renamed “rain gardens.” Absolute legions of cockroaches were seething in and out of the planting. I don’t mean roaches of the sort that you might encounter under your kitchen sink, I mean the giant two inch long flying variety. The kind that doesn’t give a shit about you, or how many times you stamp your feet.
In NYC, the conqueror worm is a cockroach. If they ever get organized…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While I was taking this shot, behind me and across the street, some fellow was sitting behind the wheel of his car staring at me while he was smoking a marijuana cigarette. Whoever was in the passenger seat must’ve dropped something, since I saw their head repeatedly bobbing up and down in the shadows within the car. They seemed nice.
One decided to head back home to Astoria.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Here at the HQ fortress, with its moat and towers, one felt safe from any possible incursion by Antifa, Trumpist Militias, Woman hating Neckbeards, Rosicrucians – or just about any other random threat which click hungry websites have told me are coming this way to take away my things. Without things, what are we?
Back next week with something totally different.
Note: I’m writing this and several of the posts you’re going to see for the next week at the beginning of the week of Monday, July 13th. My plan is to continue doing my solo photo walks around LIC and the Newtown Creek in the dead of night as long as that’s feasible. If you continue to see regular updates here, that means everything is kosher as far as health and well being. If the blog stops updating, it means that things have gone badly for a humble narrator.
“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.
non committal
Thursday photos from the before time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Having grown up in Southeastern Brooklyn, my natural inclination in all things is to be a wise ass. Even if it means I’m going to piss off the listener, there’s absolutely zero chance that I can contain my urge to say something either off color, salacious, sarcastic, or just plain mean. The odds of me not complimenting the local green grocer by telling him “Hey, you gots a nice set a melons on you, bro” shortly after snapping the pic above are astronomically against.
For those of you reading this who are of the Hellenic persuasion, I’m seeking out the “nom de plume” for a species of melon commonly available in Crete – said cultivar resembles a small cantaloupe from the exterior, but internally looks like a honeydew. It’s a fragrant and juicy melon which doesn’t have much of shelf life, which is probably why I don’t see it on sale here in Astoria. Any idea what the thing is called? I’d like to have one at breakfast time, with some feta and eggs.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Adages abound about life, cherries, and pits. I haven’t had any cherries yet this year, for many reasons, and would like to have a pile of them with lunch. Pictured above are the fruits of Prunus Avium, or sweet cherries. Technically speaking, cherries are “drupes,” which indicates that the delicious red exocarp surrounds an inedible woody endocarp which carries the actual seed within.
As to why I haven’t had cherries this year, the most “handled” item at the fruit stand are cherries. The old ladies of Astoria need to touch each and every drupe when filling their plastic sacks. I’m trying to avoid eating things which a lot of random people touch due to the cooties plague.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I use a lot of carrots when I’m cooking, which requires getting creative. There’s a giant resovoir of vitamins and other beneficial chemicals contained in these roots, and given a choice twixt the potato or the carrot I’ll always go for the latter. Potatoes are easier to cook, but carrots taste better and are actually better for you.
The modern carrot is actually fairly modern. Wild carrots are Persian in origin, and were described in many ancient texts dating back to Roman times. The modern orange colored domestic carrot seems to have been arrived at in 10th century Afghanistan, or at least that’s where the earliest evidence of them can be found. Carrots are also one of the few agricultural cultivars – unlike melons and cherries – which offer an entirely edible plant from root through stem, leaf, and seed.
Note: I’m writing this and several of the posts you’re going to see for the next week at the beginning of the week of Monday, July 6th. My plan is to continue doing my solo photo walks around LIC and the Newtown Creek in the dead of night as long as that’s feasible. If you continue to see regular updates as we move into April and beyond, that means everything is kosher as far as health and well being. If the blog stops updating, it means that things have gone badly for a humble narrator.
“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.
momentous talk
Tuesday photos from the before times.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few more archive shots greet you today, captured during the before times. The shot above was captured prior to Antifa establishing its moon colony, or Jared Kushner’s daily release of a list of newly proscribed citizens to round up for ideological offenses. Good times, back then, in the before times. Bill De Blasio was still quite tall, not having been diminished by hubris, and Andrew Cuomo had not yet displayed his god level Sith Lord persona to the general public. Today is March 129th.
Managed to get out for a walk last night, and had a friend with me, so I didn’t take too many pics. Accordingly, today’s archive post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Is it legal to ride a cop horse while texting? I’ve wondered this since recording the shot above. Do as I say not as I do always seems to be the way with the gendarmes. Double parking, parking on sidewalks, blowing lights… set an example, I always say.
All I can say is that I wish I had a horsey to ride around on right now, as it would make me feel like a grown up fella. I’d gallop, trot, even gambol. That’s what I need… a horse. I’d name it Xavier, or X for short.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s Coney Island pictured above. In the before time, a point would have made of performing a visitation to my ancestral estates on this side of Brooklyn but since those ubiquitous lunar based vandals at Antifa stole the ocean to teach us all a lesson – what’s the point?
Back tomorrow, stay cool, yo.
Note: I’m writing this and several of the posts you’re going to see for the next week at the beginning of the week of Monday, July 6th. My plan is to continue doing my solo photo walks around LIC and the Newtown Creek in the dead of night as long as that’s feasible. If you continue to see regular updates as we move into April and beyond, that means everything is kosher as far as health and well being. If the blog stops updating, it means that things have gone badly for a humble narrator.
“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 