Yesterday's News

This gorgeous black labrador was one of the sniffer dogs at the Staten Island ferry wharf. He was quite a clown, wanting to play. He had a strange way of sitting, with his leg out to the right (just cut off in pic) and really wide eyes!!

I was just thinking, this blog is a bit like the magazine you might order from overseas, two weeks late. Oh well, there is only so much time for these things.

We had all day Sunday in New York and lots to do! So much choice, we had to be choosy. We bought a Metro card to get public transport options for $8.25 for the day. Thing is, it's better to walk anyway as you see so much more, up close. We had a great walk through the city on the night we arrived and it was good to see it again in daylight. The city is very well organised. Once you realise the Avenues go North/South (basically) and the streets, East/West, it's easy to see where you are. And where you're going!

We walked a few blocks to Central Park and I wanted to go to the Museum of Art and Design (thanks to Ali's recommendation!) It didn't open til 11am so we hired pushies to go around the park. This day happened to be a huge organised bicycling day so the roads within the park were closed, we just had to deal with thousands of other bikers as well as joggers, strollers, rollerbladers, and walkers.....with dogs! The park is just gorgeous, darling. We checked out all the famous spots', including 'Strawberry Fields' and went the wrong way on the roads and paths without anyone chiding us. And it is really huge (am I repeating myself here???)

THe Museum of Art and Design had the most perfect exhibition for me to see. Titled, Dead or Alive, it featured artist works made from organic materials such as bone, dandelion seeds or dead flies!!! I just had to have the catalogue. Here's the site address:

http://collections.madmuseum.org/code/emuseum.asp?emu_action=advsearch&rawsearch=exhibitionid/,/is/,/505/,/true/,/false&profile=exhibitions

Wow, many works worth mentioning, but one, an illustration of human bones made of small mosaic like sections of cockroach shells on a light box, OMG. Also the pile of mouse bones expelled from an owls gut, the artist taking the fur from these bones and weaving a fabric.............jaw dropping!

Sorry, I could go on. Oh, on our walk through Times Square (day after the bomb scare) we sat for a couple of street artists to draw our caricatures for $5 ea. (see pics) They were very friendly until we declined buying the necessary matt to 'protect' the works (drawn on butcher's paper!). They winced as they proceeded to roll our pictures. Poor things.

We proceeded to 'the Gugg' (as oi call it), the Guggenheim Museum, via taxi, as the feet were'a hurtin by then. And of course, one must have a ride in a 'big Yellow Taxi' while in New York.
It is an amazing building. I don't think there is one level floor within that spiral, an engineering masterpiece. The exhibition within the spiral was a pretty pretentious photography show of mostly :so what" works, but some of the permanent collection is housed in the radiating galleries. They have the Van Gogh 'Irises' (**NO they don't it's at the Getty Museum) and many other famous works.

We then walked down to the shoreline and got the Statten Island ferry, which, surprising, is free! (Who said America is a capitalist society!!??) It's a decent, cheap way to check out the woman of liberty, although this day was humid and smoggy. I think it was about 30 degrees.

The pic of the Police is in Times Square, the day after the bomb scare. There were more than usual cop cars and trucks in the CBD.

America seems still caught in the middle of the twentieth century. Many things seem quite old fashioned such as newspapers (layout), electrical fittings (soviet union like???), hotel fittings (ice bucket, no fridge), buildings. They don't seem to update things like we do. It's like an addiction to nostalgia. IN contrast, England has the best of the extremes; fantastic 'old things', contrasting with the cutting edge of design, even in a main street shop. Australia seems much more 'modern' than the US, surprisingly..........

Anyway, I digress...... England next one.

BTW, does anyone have anything to say?????.......