Posts Tagged ‘Pickman’
many corridors
Thursday? Hell yeah, Bro. THURSDAY!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Stupidly, last night one was sharing his nascent plans and aspirations for the coming year with Our Lady of the Pentacle. Our Lady is more than supportive of me, that’s not what was stupid. Instead it the falsehood that one such as myself has any control, whatsoever, over either his near or long term future. The captain of this ship offers that the old adage “life is what happens while you’re making other plans” sort of rules the roost, and that control of the wheelhouse is up for grabs.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Once, I allowed myself to have aspirations, most of which were vainglorious. Youthful vagaries turned into middle aged regrets, and those regrets have hardened into diamonds as time has gone by. At least there is some treasure for the old dragon to hoard, although there isn’t exactly a market out there slavering for regret diamonds and every time I try to breathe fire it brings on a jag of coughing and a runny nose.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There is desire, though, so I know I’m not dead. Some sort of adventure is required, and soon, however. A humble narrator feels like a ferret in a cage, thanks to these multiple weeks of non stop rain which have forced both myself and the camera into a sort of domestic incarceration. Desperation for a stimulating or exciting experience usually forces me into some sort of extreme at this time of year. In the meantime, I’m still working my way through Robert Caro’s “Power Broker” biography of Robert Moses, which is a very, very good book.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
been traversing
I hate Mondays.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The short intervals of time when torrential rain was not falling in the last week have been quite productive for a humble narrator, as my post vacation energy levels have remained rather high. Unfortunately, the aforementioned inclement weather has been a bit of a drag. Saturday found me out and about, and by the time that a return to HQ was accomplished both my filthy black raincoat and camera bag had become thoroughly saturated with precipitants. A short visit to my beloved Newtown Creek confirmed that the CSO’s (combined sewer outfalls) had been barking into the waterway. E’au de Creek, indeed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another brief moment between the storms found me on Broadway, here in almond eyed Astoria. A fellow decided that he could beat a Skaggs Walsh oil truck to the corner, both were attempting to turn right, when he discovered that his calculations of velocity and mass were skewed. The oil truck was unscathed, as it is literally and figuratively a tank. The fellow in the car, however, required the services of a tow truck and body shop after the encounter. Another “accidental.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Over at my Brownstoner column, the latest attempt to deck over the Sunnyside Yards is discussed in a post called “NIMBY.” For all of us who live here in Queens, the renewed interest in decking over the yards by the elites of Manhattan is a shot across the bow. The development plans currently approved and underway – Hunters Point South, Flushing Common, Astoria Point, Hallets Cove – will be bringing us close to 40,000 new neighbors in the next decade. Decking over the Yards to allow Manhattan its long desired jettisoning of the Javitz Center from midtown, and exporting it to Queens just stinks. Another example of an ugly something that the City people don’t want which they want to stick Queens with, just like their garbage. If at all possible, please click through to the NIMBY post and share it to your twitter and or Facebook accounts, as we Queensicans need to get mobilized on this topic.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
nearly total
Humbug.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Everyone’s got a cool ride, it seems. Your humble narrator would particularly like a somewhat militarized version of the DSNY Earth Mover pictured above. Mine would be painted black, with an illustration of a dragon riding sword chick (wearing boob armor like Red Sonja, natch) dueling with a witch in front of an impossibly large full moon on the scoop. A less dated motif for my earth mover would be to entirely cover it in googly eyes that jiggled about as I drove around and… y’know… moved earth.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This goldenrod VW micro bus hasn’t moved from this spot on 43rd street in Maspeth for at least a couple of months now, and I’m beginning to suspect a Dr. Who sort of thing might be going on. Is this Volkswagen bigger on the inside, despite what I remember about the automotive line’s interior dimensions? What’s odd, actually, is the fact that a brightly colored machine can remain in this location for so long without becoming soiled by the ambient airborne particulates and pollutants which distinguishes this part of the ancient village. The BQE is literally on the next corner, and Newtown Creek is just down the hill.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Over on Northern Boulevard, this fellow was spotted providing the motive force required to actuate his ride along the busy thoroughfare. One applauds the desire to become energy independent, but cautions against this sort of thing. Northern Boulevard is an automotive death machine, from the pedestrian point of view, and you are far better off being inside of a giant metal box than without.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
problematical attempt
Alright already, jeez.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As previously mentioned, Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself enjoyed a short vacation at the end of the last month, and for part of that duration we were at sea. Hence, your humble narrator is a bit short on content as I’ve been off my beaten path. Therefore, a couple of shots of the oceanic sky greet you today. This was about 15 minutes or so after the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself opened.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sunset, on the same day as the one above. We hit weather for most of the “away game,” it was 42 degrees in Florida for instance, so seeing the ole burning thermonuclear eye of god itself open and close at all was a treat.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
worse because
DUKBO, in Queens, in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
“The truth of our times, as told in graphic narrative” requires a lot of boots on the ground time, and a lot of that is spent wandering through industrial hinterlands like DUKBO.
Down Under the Kosciuszko Bridge Onramp, Brooklyn side – was described recently in this space.
The NY State DOT contacted a humble narrator regarding my christening of the water body that has appeared on Gardner Avenue and used to be Cherry Street as “Lake Skanska.” It seems that my assertion that the water was the byproduct of their demolition project was incorrect, and they asked me to share with the readers of this – your Newtown Pentacle – that a broken fire hydrant belonging to the NYC DEP was the culprit behind Lake Skanska.
Today, the shots are from the Queens side of DUKBO.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
43rd street will soon be “used to be 43rd street” when the sweeping changes that the Kosciuszko Bridge replacement project will bring begin. The demolition of the factory buildings currently underway on “used to be Cherry Street” will be replicated here.
The State of New York has already purchased the properties and relocated the corporate entities which have existed in this shadowland angle between Maspeth and Blissville which was once known as Berlin, which were found along 43rd street, which itself was once called “The Shell Road.”
My understanding of the Kosciuszko Bridge plan is that the new structure will be taking a small step to the east of the current 1939 vintage span, hence the “used to be” nomenclature I’ve assigned to both Cherry Street in Brooklyn and 43rd Street here in Maspeth. These little street ends at 55th avenue, and 54th drive, avenue, and road are soon to be “kaput.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ll miss the whimsical stuff here in DUKBO, although I imagine the working guys and Calvary Cemetery will still be quite present when the new bridge is finished. Given the City’s current leanings, of course, it would be just like the Manhattan folks to try and site a few homeless shelters out here after the project is done, especially if they could get the State to pay for the construction. Either that or they’ll invite some real estate industrial complex type to build a condo tower, out here in DUKBO.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
