There Must Be Some Way

A nerdy little post, just for fun.

But, mostly because fewer things are more consistently relevant in this day and age than a zombie incursion, moustaches, Van Buren, Santa Claus and obscenely hipstery street art.

Oh... and tequila.

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Endless Summer

The art and culture of  Williamsburg, with its fun street scenes, is just so nifty that I felt the need to do a second post. Actually, there are going to be a third and fourth post shortly following. All of the photographs that I shared yesterday were of the same wall- these are from all around the neighborhood.  It felt like summer on the day I was in that area- so sunny and nice!  I can't wait until it is in the seventies every day.  In August I know I'll be biting my tongue, but right now, I'm just enjoying being able to wear sandals for the first time in months. 

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Community Canvas

Williamsburg- that pretty hipster and hasidic enclave in northern Brooklyn.  It's not an area I visit that often, but wow, does it have a lot to offer!  The main streets are lined with cute cafes, bars, and vintage stores.  There is a gorgeous park along the riverfront, with a great view of Manhattan (come back in a few days for more about this).  Fun antiques are sold on tables along the streets, and the walls of the abandoned warehouses are covered in some of the most creative and bizarre murals and grafitti that I have ever seen. 

There was one area in particular that just fascinated me.  It was the skeleton of an old warehouse, and I'm not sure what it is used for now, if it is at all.  Around the building were the kind of temporary walls you generally see around construction sites.  As I said, I'm not sure if this was part of the aesthetic, or whether this really was a construction site.  Either way, it was neat.  One place on the wall was this first photograph- "Community Canvas," encouraging people to draw and paint (and even sculpt!) on the wall.

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Flashback

I had not walked over the Williamsburg Bridge in about nine months.  Since I moved out of Bed-Stuy, I don't live anywhere near it.  I live fairly far south, and I barely go to northern Brooklyn at all, so there is no reason for me to walk over it.  I walk over the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges fairly often, but they are near places I hang out, and are just generally closer to where I find myself most of the time.  Yes, the Williamsburg is a cool bridge, there is no doubt about that, but I live nowhere near it.  However, when a good friend of mine wanted to meet up for lunch in Williamsburg on Friday, and I didn't have to be anywhere else until later in the afternoon, I saw an opportunity for a little trip across the East River and down memory lane.  

When I did live in Bed-Stuy, I walked over the bridge all of the time.  I was constantly meeting Danny at Grand Central Station late in the evening, and then we'd take a nice two hour walk back to our neighborhood together, to catch up on the day.  At the time, I was still in school, doing my last semester of college.  I was in a summer intensive- six weeks of Shakespeare and then five weeks of Chekhov, with four to nine hours of class a day, so I had lots to talk about.  This time, I walked the bridge by myself in broad daylight, and noticed all kinds of things I hadn't seen before.  New grafitti, the look of the train tracks below, the signs on buildings near the bridge.  Some of it probably was not there before- that is one thing I love about street art- it is always changing.  Someone adds a new word to a design, paints on a rafter that was previously clear, or even covers up a previous message or symbol with their own.  It's fluid, new. I like that.  

Oh... and here's a gratuitous hipstery self-portrait for funsies.

Look at me.  I'm obviously thinking deep thoughts about post-modern performace art, underground bands you've never heard of, and organic bok choy.

Just kidding. What was I actually thinking about?  Probably about how my camera was running out of batteries.  And how I wish that there were more public bathrooms in New York.  Deep, deep thoughts.

New York City, New York, USA