Posts Tagged ‘photowalk’
curious and cyclopean
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s Tugboat Sunday at the Newtown Pentacle, so let’s shine a little light on K-Sea’s Ross Sea. Named for the infamous Antarctic waters explored by Roald Amundsen, the ship is one of the newer tugs plying the waters of NY Harbor.
from k-sea.com
K-Sea Transportation Partners L.P., headquartered in East Brunswick, New Jersey, is a leading provider of marine transportation, distribution and logistics services in the U.S. From locations in New York, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Seattle and Honolulu, K-Sea operates a large fleet of tugs and tank barges that serves a wide range of customers, including major oil companies, oil traders and refiners.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Ross Sea, or specifically the Penguin infested Ross Island, is home to two volcanos which bear the dearest nomenclature of all geologic forms upon the earth- the polygenetic stratovolcano Mount Erebus, and the shield volcano Mount Terror.
The latter infernal mountain is mentioned in both the Poe Novella “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket” and H.P. Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness” as well (although Lovecraft’s Mountains are in Western Antarctica, and assumed to be at least 1,000 KM from the Ross Sea).
for all the technical data, manufacturing history, and more photos of K-Sea’s Ross Sea- check out tugboatinformation.com
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Ross Sea, as in the Antarctic, is named for explorer Sir James Clark Ross. An Englishman, Ross led an expedition to the frozen south in two wooden ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror- for which the volcanoes were named. The astounding Ross Ice Shelf is named for him, although he christened the formation as “The Victoria Barrier”.
It must be mentioned that Ross Sea, as in the Tugboat, was the winner of the 2011 Great North River Tugboat Race,
from workingharbor.com
The Great North River Race Results
- Ross Sea – Class A 1st place – Time: 4:44
- Quantico Creek – Class A 2nd Place – Time: 4:55
- Maurania III – Class A 3rd Place – Time: 4:55.5
- Catherine Miller – Class C 1st Place – Time: 5:54
- Pegasus – Class B 1st Place – Time: 5:56
- Susan Miller – Class C 2nd Place – Time: 6:09.
- Growler – Class C 3rd Place – Time: 6:13
- Freddie K. Miller – Class B 2nd Place – Time: 6:29
- Sea Wolf – Class B 3rd Place – Time: 6:48 Best Tatoo (Wayne)
- The Bronx – Did Not Race Little Toot Award & best mascot
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A question I’ve often heard asked often about Tugs with the sort of configuration that Ross Sea exhibits, a second wheel house atop the mast, is “why it is thus”?
Short answer is that it enables the pilot and or Captain the ability to see over a barge whose own height occludes the way forward.
from wikipedia
The Ross Sea was discovered by James Ross in 1841. In the west of the Ross Sea is Ross Island with the Mt. Erebus volcano, in the east Roosevelt Island. The southern part is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf. Roald Amundsen started his South Pole expedition in 1911 from the Bay of Whales, which was located at the shelf. In the west of the Ross sea, McMurdo Sound is a port which is usually free of ice during the summer. The southernmost part of the Ross Sea is Gould Coast, which is approximately two hundred miles from the Geographic South Pole.
All land masses in the Ross Sea are claimed by New Zealand to fall under the jurisdiction of the Ross Dependency, but few non-Commonwealth nations recognise this claim.
A 10 metre (32.8 feet) long colossal squid weighing 495 kilograms (1,091 lb) was captured in the Ross Sea on February 22, 2007.
Hermes Trismegistus
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Jules-Felix Coutan designed “Glory of Commerce” for Grand Central Terminal in 1911. A neat contemporaneous account of the construction of this statuary, which was carved in Long Island City I would add (by the firm of William Bradley & Son, 547 Vernon Avenue, which I suspect to have been located somewhere around Queensbridge Park), and can be accessed at nytimes.com.
from wikipedia
The Hermetic literature added to the Egyptian concerns with conjuring spirits and animating statues that inform the oldest texts, Hellenistic writings of Greco-Babylonian astrology and the newly developed practice of alchemy (Fowden 1993: pp65–68). In a parallel tradition, Hermetic philosophy rationalized and systematized religious cult practices and offered the adept a method of personal ascension from the constraints of physical being, which has led to confusion of Hermeticism with Gnosticism, which was developing contemporaneously.
As a divine source of wisdom, Hermes Trismegistus was credited with tens of thousands of writings of high standing, reputed to be of immense antiquity. Plato’s Timaeus and Critias state that in the temple of Neith at Sais, there were secret halls containing historical records which had been kept for 9,000 years. Clement of Alexandria was under the impression that the Egyptians had forty-two sacred writings by Hermes, encapsulating all the training of Egyptian priests. Siegfried Morenz has suggested (Egyptian Religion) “The reference to Thoth’s authorship…is based on ancient tradition; the figure forty-two probably stems from the number of Egyptian nomes, and thus conveys the notion of completeness.” The Neo-Platonic writers took up Clement’s “forty-two essential texts”.
The Hermetica, is a category of papyri containing spells and initiatory induction procedures. In the dialogue called the Asclepius (after the Greek god of healing) the art of imprisoning the souls of demons or of angels in statues with the help of herbs, gems and odors, is described, such that the statue could speak and engage in prophecy. In other papyri, there are recipes for constructing such images and animating them, such as when images are to be fashioned hollow so as to enclose a magic name inscribed on gold leaf.
strange delicacies
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Fascination with the once upon a time community known as Blissville haunts my dreams.
Unaccountably, given the corrupted environment and largely abandoned to industry character of this corridor in western Queens, there are still proud and ancestral residents of this neighborhood which borders the sanguine Newtown Creek. First Calvary consumed most of the neighborhood in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as it grew by acquisition and through the action of wills and estate transfers.
Greenpoint Avenue, as is slouches roughly toward the Newtown Creek, is the central artery of the place.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Traffic choked, this part of Greenpoint Avenue was once home to fine hotels and numerous inns, public houses, and bars. The teeming multitudes of largely Catholic Lower Manhattan, whether denizens of the fabled “Five Points” or from the savory upscale districts in New York, came here for funerary rites at First Calvary. Before embarking on the long journey back to Manhattan, a major endeavor involving ferries and horse drawn trolleys, they would often tilt a glass to their fallen comrade or family.
The last of these comfort stops is still in operation, the Botany Bay public house at Bradley Avenue.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There were two major “trolley” roads (not steam or electric at first, but rather horse drawn) which serviced this area, providing access for the New Yorkers to arrive at Blissville. The Greenpoint based one would find its passengers at a ferry stop which connected Grand Street in Manhattan with the foot of Greenpoint Avenue in Brooklyn. This is the reason why Greenpoint avenue is so wide, it originally carried two lanes of traffic with the center given over to the “road”.
It’s also the reason why GPA near the East River hosts so many grand and significant structures, it was a sort of “Parisian Avenue”.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The second “road” followed Borden Avenue from its foot at the Long Island Railroad ferry in Long Island City to its intersection at Greenpoint Avenue. A point of interest about this line was that it was owned and operated by the notorious Mayor of Long Island City, Patrick J. Gleason, known as Battle Ax. The LIRR ferry connected the line with Turtle Bay in Manhattan, but the Brooklyn based one was far more popular.
Obviously, the Catholic population around Manhattan’s Grand Street was quite a bit larger than that of the less populated area around 34th street.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are quite a few run down relicts found along this stretch of road, an area that time seems to have forgotten. Worm eaten pilasters and hints of former glory adorn these structures, some of which date back to the years directly following the Civil War. Modern structures are strictly utilitarian, boxes of brick and rebar.
Sources in the construction industry, some who are even responsible for erecting these architectural abominations, have hinted to me in the past that jobs in this area always yield surprise and sometimes engender astonishment. Foundations of much earlier structures, unknown pipelines, and even underground voids of astonishing size and workmanship.
Credulous, I must accept the descriptions offered to me that the whole area is thoroughly tunneled out. Sometimes I wonder, and tremble at the suggestions made by anonymous sources that some of these tunnels are quite freshly dug, however.
modern entrance
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Drink in the remaining scenery down in Long Island City while you can, lords and ladies, for the march of progress is indeed upon us. The initial phases of the Hunters Point South project, with myriad workers and clattering machinery, is under way. The first structure, a school, is rising from the dusty shoreline of Western Queens, and will soon obscure the shield wall of the Shining City itself.
Late in the second week of January, the estimable scions of Community Board 2 held a very well attended meeting at PS1 on Jackson Avenue, and your humble narrator was in attendance.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Uncharacteristically, I sat quietly in the back of the room and merely observed the proceedings. The community of the so called “Tower Town” at the older Queens West development voiced concerns over the ratio of affordable versus market rate housing that would be included in the newer units which be appearing at the southernly edge of Hunters Point. Concerns about the already sparse level of community services- mass transportation, sewer capacity, schools, fire and police service- all were voiced in urgent, accusatory, and somewhat aggressive tones.
In attendance were City Councilmember Van Bramer, Assemblyperson Nolan, and representatives from the Mayors office and the Manhattan political establishment.
No comment is offered by your humble narrator.
waxen mask
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Wandering aimlessly, that agglutination of wounds, phobias, and general wreckage which you might describe as a humble narrator recently found himself on the acclaimed Borden Avenue Bridge. The existential issues of life in the Big City are quite bothersome, and distract from pursuits of finer cast and higher intellectual firmament, but a fellow must eat (or be eaten). “Bucks, burgers, and beer” after all… it’s just the cold has gotten me down.
Problems maintaining biological homeostasis and personal comforts plague one’s patience during the winter months, for my dynamic equilibrium adjustment and regulation mechanisms are all ‘effed up.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hand wringing is a necessary pursuit for me during the frosts, as my feeble circulatory system cannot combat the normal vasoconstriction of extremities exposed to freezing temperatures, causing my fingers and hands to grow wan and bloodless. Looking like nothing but the curled and grasping claws of a cadaver, nervous feedback becomes intermittent, and it feels as if an amputation would bring nothing but minor discomfort.
Despite all this horror and ennui, I’m nevertheless compelled to wander the earth, and often find my steps have carried me to that sundering of natural law known as the Newtown Creek- or one its tributaries.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The great thing about the Creeklands, and what always draws me back (and causes me to stop my whining self narrative and soliloquy of self pitying sophistry), is that there is always something you haven’t noticed- like the so called Freedom Tower rising over the two LIRR bridges which cross Dutch Kills. Wow.
This is the kind of thing that just keeps on bringing me around this place, despite the ravaged and ruinous condition of my physical incarnation.
