Posts Tagged ‘New York City’
ravished sight
Destruction in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Spotted recently, on one of my interminably numerous walks to and from Greenpoint to attend another well meaning meeting designed to discuss the infamous Newtown Creek and the nuances of its environmental and legal standing, was this ripped to shreds traffic barrier on 43rd street alongside the titan Sunnyside Yard. The wooden traffic barrier pictured above has been in place for years now, vouchsafing a pedestrian walkway which has long substituted for the sidewalk alongside a construction fence.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The substance of the the thing, a stout and squared off log which was held fast by steel rebar to the pavement, was shredded. This is the sort of damage one witnesses on wooden docks, a manifestation of the physics of weight, inertia, and velocity. This damage would require quite a bit of all three. Likely, a truck or large automobile was hurtling along 43rd when the driver lost control of the vehicle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The physics of the scene were off putting. The amount of energy required to lift the wood and rebar out of the cement had to be enormous, and the shredding of the woods edge says to me that the vehicle uncontrollably rode along it for a bit. Hopeful wonderings that no humans or dogs were injured in this accidental are embraced, as this is a busy pedestrian pathway connecting Sunnyside with Astoria.
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
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
lately passed
It’s Blasphemy Day!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A newish holiday, Blasphemy Day was started in 2009 by the secularist organization “Center for Inquiry,” which was established by Paul Kurtz. Kurtz was “the father of secular humanism” and the founder of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), the Council for Secular Humanism, and the Center for Inquiry. Blasphemy Day was set up, in part, to protest the notion that there are still blasphemy laws in many of the worlds nations, including the UK, the EU, and six of the United States (really, Massachusetts?).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Personally, my entire spiritual foundation is based on the veneration of Superman. April 18 is my holy day, celebrating the publication of Action Comics #1, wherein the revelation of the savior was revealed. This was when the good news was released to an anxious nation that Jor El had sent his only begotten son to live amongst, morally instruct, and catechize us. For me, blasphemy is the ridiculous notion that this is a fictional story. Clearly, we live in a state of sin which precludes the man of steel from revealing himself to us, as evinced by the popularity of the heretics over at Marvel and their collusion with the evils of the Floridian Disney empire.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The traditional sort of blasphemy which would have gotten you into a lot of trouble until quite recently is something which one observes on a regular basis, around the Newtown Pentacle. Occult artifacts and the leave behinds of eldritch rites are not hard to find in area cemeteries, for instance. Go to City Hall over in the Shining City and proclaim any objection to policies offered, and you will find yourself accused of blaspheming against logic and proportion, and branded with a scarlet letter marking an enemy of the state.
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
psychologically sensitive
Another darkling image in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned yesterday, an attempt to catch up on my many deadlines is under way, hence a single shot with little commentary is offered.
Upcoming Tours
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
The Newtown Pentacle 