sundance

Haikus everywhere, 5-7-5 all around, you just read one here

Over the past year or so I’ve observed haikus, that “less is more” form of Japanese poetry, making a quiet stealthy encroachment and presence upon online pop culture through a variety of means. Some of these I’ve mentioned around these SUNfiltered parts, which makes me wonder whether we’re witnessing an emergence of haikus and a comeback for the genre of poems in general back into something possibly more mainstream or at the least “meme-stream.” I had written earlier about a reader of the New York Times online edition who has gained some small measure of fame for his comments left in limerick form. The best recent example of the merging of pop culture with poetry occurred when Salman Rushdie tweeted his thoughts on the Kim Kardashian divorce in limerick form. In fact, the latest issue of New York Magazine’s Intelligencer focused on the poets or at least on the tough economic realities of that noble profession (Walt Whitman had a second job as a government clerk). If you’re not convinced of my thesis on the pop emergence of poems, but specifically haikus, I turn your attention to the following exhibits.

Tales of a NYC location scout

One of my favorite, little joys of living in New York City is having my way blocked by a film shoot. Sarcasm aside, there’s something pretty wonderful about walking down a random street only to suddenly remember a scene from a movie that was shot in that exact location. It’s a sensation that makes living in a somewhat difficult city (but one which has had an iconic role in countless films) worthwhile. And after living here awhile you occasionally come across an interesting street or building and you start thinking “This would be an awesome location for my theoretical rom-com about the pedicab driver who falls in love with an uptown girl” – in other words, pretending to be a location scout.

First Olympic marathon athletes

The other weekend, my neighborhood was teeming with runners from all over the world who were in New York City to race in the world’s largest marathon, for which I woke up in time (no small feat for me on the weekends) to witness the thrilling come-from-behind-victory for the women’s race by Firehiwot Dado of Ethiopia. (Even more impressive to me than her win was the fact that Firehiwot Dado has the word “fire” in her first name.) Her winning time of 2:23:15 and, for the men, Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai’s record-setting time of 2:5:5 compelled the television commentators to remark that the marathon had now become a sprint at the elite level and it won’t be long before the 2 hour mark is beaten…

Vintage missed connections

I’ve previously mentioned the enjoyment I get from Craigslist’s Missed Connections, the forever alone (meme definition here) corner of the Internet. It seems that New Yorkers’ desire to seek out the stranger who caught their eye is timeless, as evidenced by these missed connections submitted and published back in an 1872 when our existence was a mere glimmer in the eyes of our great, great grandparents (yup, I just put that image in your heads)…

Illustrated missed connections

Since 2009, artist Sophie Blackall has been illustrating very artful and charming depictions of submissions on Missed Connections, one of my favorite time-wasting features of Craigslist. If you aren’t familiar with this subsite because you’ve been quarantined from the Internet in the past decade, it’s basically a message board for the hopeless romantic-optimists who were too shy to ask out a person when they initially saw them. Or as Sophie poetically describes: “Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I’m trying to pin a few of them down.” This is nicer than what I like to tell them, “You’ll all be FOREVER ALONE!” Kidding.

Deck of cards honoring NYC creative royalty

Class up your next poker game and pay homage to some of the artists, writers, thinkers and provocateurs who injected New York City’s DNA, either directly or indirectly with their creative genius with these casino quality playing cards from Shipley & Halmos. Who said gambling can’t also be both inspiring and educational?

Twin Tower movie cameos

Twin Tower Cameos from Dan Meth on Vimeo.

Just in time for the tenth anniversary this Sunday of the September 11th terrorist attacks, Dan Meth created this impressive mash-up video that pays homage to the fallen twin towers by stitching together scenes from various films from 1969 to 2001 that featured the World Trade Center “prominently in the foreground [and] sometimes lurking in the distance.” The accompanying soundtrack with songs from these decades is also pitch perfect. Watching this made me feel sad for all the human loss and destruction, as well as a sense of nostalgia of my youth that some of these films (HOME ALONE 2! WHEN HARRY MET SALLY!) evoked for me. However, I’m looking forward to and hopeful for One WTC’s completion, which, I anticipate, will serve as a similar anchor of downtown Manhattan and symbol of New York City in all the films yet to be made.

Hurricane Irene short film

Irene NYC from Buffalo Picture House on Vimeo.

Nothing says a good filmmaking opportunity like a hurricane bearing down on your city, or in this case a Manhattan-bound Hurricane Irene for a couple of filmmakers from Buffalo Picture House, who created this short black and white film during the storm. They were a lot more productive than the rest of us New Yorkers who took the chance to stuff our faces with our “emergency” rations (two pizza pies may or may not have been consumed by yours truly). However, Irene also served to remind us “that perhaps life should not fly by in a New York minute.” This sentiment seems to be echoed in their inspired film with shots of closed and empty subway stations, shuttered storefronts, and deserted streets.

#BikeNYC photo series

Flickr’s official blog highlighted Dmitry Gudkov’s photo project titled “#BikeNYC” that was inspired by his own personal transformative experience with how he engaged with New York City after he purchased a bicycle. He became curious about his fellow bicyclists and reached out to them, first through Twitter (hence the hashtag origin of the photo series’ name) and began snapping portraits of New Yorkers with their bikes along with an accompanying profile. He explains:

Photo series of people texting

Joe Holmes snapped this amusing photo series succinctly titled “Texters,” which focuses its lens on various residents of New York City texting. [Via]

Green tech finds (6/30/11)

A car designed by teenagers that gets nearly 2000 mpg, white roofs for New York City, and how your DVR is jacking up your electric bill… this week’s green tech finds.

• Puma’s “clever little bag” is biodegradeable: We mentioned Puma’s alternative to the shoe box back in April of 2010; PSFK reports that the bags will also be compostable (or, if you’re impatient, they’ll dissolve in water in a few minutes). (via Environmental Leader)
  
  
• The 2000 mpg car? OK, not quite… this design by students at Kingdown School in Warminster, UK got a mere 1,980 mpg. That was more than enough for it to win the Mileage Marathon Challenge at Mallory Park track near Leicester. (via Inhabitat)
  
  

The delicate dance between cars, bicyclists, and pedestrians in NYC

3-Way Street from ronconcocacola on Vimeo.

Ron Gabriel shot and edited this neat overhead video depicting the delicate dance between between cars, bicyclists, and pedestrians at a NYC intersection. In a follow up post to the video, which went viral and elicited many opinions, Ron explains:

The Best Street Photographer You’ve Never Heard Of

As an enormous fan of candid street photography (discovering Cartier-Bresson and Weegee née Arthur Fellig years ago was a revelation for me), I was blown away by both the background story and photographs of Vivian Maier or as Mother Jones described her: “the best street photographer you’ve never heard of.” Maier lived a relatively obscure and anonymous life as a nanny in New York City and then Chicago from the 1950s through 1990s. Never married, her constant companion through her life was her Rolleiflex camera which she used frequently, but apparently she never shared her work with others. It wasn’t until 2007 when John Maloof, 26, purchased a box of Maier’s negatives at an auction house that they came to light. Taken with the quality, he sought out others and ended up collecting more than 100,000 negatives as well as a few thousand rolls of film.

New York’s changing face

James and Karla Murray’s New York City storefronts project is now a book. It took them 10 years to complete the project and in that time 1/3 of all the shops photographed have shuttered. It’s a visual documentation of the loss of Mom and Pop stores across NYC. From the couple: STORE FRONT is a [...]

Hipster trap

A redditor came across a culture hacker setting up this “hipster trap” in New York City (presumably LES or Williamsburg?) bearing the irresistible lure of PBR, American Spirit cigarettes, bike chain, and lastly Wayfarer sunglasses. It appears the trap has been successful in the past by the looks of the blood. Spoiler alert: The “trap” [...]

Weegee disguised as an ice cream man

I love this photo of Weegee. It was a revelation when I first came across Weegee (Arthur Fellig) when there was an exhibition of his photography at Brown University’s David Winton Bell Gallery. Although I couldn’t articulate why at the time, I distinctly recall the feeling of: Finally! Art and photography that for some reason [...]

Mark Twain’s 70th birthday dinner menu

From their historical collection of menus (among the largest in the world), the New York Public Library, in honor of this beloved American author’s recent birthday, posted the dinner menu for Mark Twain’s 70th birthday celebration which was held in 1835 at Delmonico’s in NYC. Mark Twain is enjoying a resurgence as his recently published [...]

Radio-controlled model airplane tour of NYC

The Internet is abuzz over this f’awesome video of YouTube user “nastycop420″ (lolz) piloting a RC airplane (with a POV camera attached to it) over Manhattan and Brooklyn on a nice clear day. It’s even more remarkable considering that this wasn’t shut down by the post-9/11 NYPD. I was also struck by how the close-up, [...]

Train to Hogwarts spotted in Union Square

Recently NYC straphangers spotted this apropos update to our subway service which you can catch from Union Square: the magical 9 3/4 train to Hogwarts. Before you run into the wall for the 9 3/4, let me know first so I can film you…running straight into a wall.

Thanksgiving dinner menu from 1899

Here’s a menu for a Thanksgiving prix fixe dinner in 1899 at Sturtevant House, which apparently was a popular hotel located on Broadway and 29th Street. It closed its doors around 1903. Look at all that food people could get in olden times for just 75 cents. Relatedly, New York Magazine has a round up [...]

Hard times at Ghostbusters

By the looks of this photo posted at Unseen NYC (a nice photoblog of random graffiti and seedier spottings in NYC), it looks like the Ghostbusters’ business shift to animal control isn’t going too well. This car was spotted in my old neighborhood of Park Slope.

Vintage photos from past NYC Marathons

Browse online the New York Public Library’s collection of photos from past NYC Marathons, such as the above image which was taken on 1st Avenue between 76th and 77th Streets at the 1979 race. No iPods, no Foursquare check-ins, and no silly costumes. [Via]

1908 camera lens captures NYC today

With the assistance of a mad Russian lens technician, photographer Timur Civan attached a vintage “Wollensak 35mm F5.0 Cine-Velostigmat hand cranked cinema camera lens” circa 1908 onto his Canon EOS 5D Mark II. He then roamed Manhattan taking photos and instantly transported New York City back to a pre-digital era.

Creator of “I Heart NY” presents two new variations

The New York Times recently asked readers to submit their own version of the iconic “I Heart NY” icon, but with the twist of remixing it with other brands and logos. You can view the submissions here online. YMMV (your mileage may vary) as some of them are terrific and others…terrible. The 81-year-old design guru [...]

Avoiding Fashion Week and dreaming of Eminem

The man of my dreams—Eminem. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/GETTY IMAGES)

I had this crazy dream like a week ago — two of ‘em actually. The first one was more of a realization. I woke up in the middle of the night and was like, “Damn. I’m gonna be busy next year… So I better get some traveling in!”

The other one, also random — involved Eminem, of all people. I mean, huh? I don’t even listen to or think about him. Must have heard his song somewhere — like the time I was in K-mart and heard a lovely muzak version of Richard Marx’s “Ocean’s Apart.” Had a dream that night that I was at my mom’s dinner table introducing Richard Marx as my fiancé. My mother kept looking at his mullet with a hairy eyeball and my sister leans over and says, “Richard? What’s your last name again?” and as soon as he says “Marx,” I woke up to her mocking laughter in my ears. I didn’t go to K-Mart for a long time after that.