21.3.12

Happy Birthday?

27.2.12

A February Spring Has Sprung On The High Line

It's February 27th, and unbelievably, there are signs of Spring. Although the global warming aspect of it is frightening, I'm really happy to see some green. I hope it sticks!

(This shot's actually from February 17th... Eek?)













10.2.12

9.2.12

It's Paramount

I never noticed that the clock on the Paramount Building is made of little (giant) stars...

Just Imagine!

I absolutely love when decades-old futurist views of New York re-emerge--especially when they're Deco-era visions of the late 20th century. Here's a film I absolutely must see: David Butler's 1930 musical (musical?!) set in 1980, Just Imagine, starring Maureen O'Sullivan and El Brendel. Sadly, it's apparently never been released on home video. C'mon Film Forum--how about a Just Imagine + Metropolis double-feature!

Gothamist linked to the clip below. I totally dig this vision of a New York skyline filled with Woolworth Building-esque skyscrapers.


And to prove it's a musical...a drinking song:


And this is just, well... ?

8.2.12

A KKNY Revamp

Many of you have probably noticed I've been a bit quiet in recent months... I've admittedly been busy and trying to work on a few other projects, but I've also been pondering a new direction for KKNY. I haven't been cooking all that much lately (winter socializing has made eating salads at home a necessity!), and frankly, I'm tired of being one of those people who has to photograph everything I order in a restaurant. And without photographs, who can blog about eating out?

The one thing that has remained constant, though, is my love of New York City, and the wonderful things I see as I wander around.

So last night, when a friend said, "Why darling, you're a flâneur!" and explained what it was...a lot about myself and the various ways I like to pass my time suddenly became sparklingly clear.

A chalet on Fulton St.?
He had been reminded of the term when reading Sunday's New York Times op-ed about "The Death of the Cyberflâneur." He said me I was proof, actually, that flâneurs still exist, in spite of what the writer posits in his essay. And when I thought about it...yes, I am indeed a type of flâneur.

In the original sense, flâneurs were people who wandered the streets of Paris, gazing at the sights, the people, and taking in everything else that was wonderful about participating in an urban lifestyle. What's my favorite thing to do? Wander around in a city, taking it all in.

In the cyber sense, I am the same. I often pass the time (or probably more accurately, procrastinate), by surfing the web and reveling in the many weird and wonderful things I discover. It, to me, is what makes cyberglobalization an absolutely wonderful thing.

So what does this mean for KKNY? Well, for now, it will morph into a repository for the fabulous things I see as I wander the streets of this fabulous metropolis--as well as anywhere else I may go.

Who knows what's in store?

31.1.12

Dragon New Year 2012

A few images and a little music from Sunday's Lunar New Year parade in Chinatown.