Famous Ankles

Archive for 2008

Dagmar Duo in Grand Central

August 3, 2008

A little (very little) bit of free exposure to some musicians that I saw on Saturday in Grand Central. Its the Dagmar Duo. Just a man and woman set of singers.

But, I’m a sucker for a female singer who wears fairy wings. The rest of her getup was also a bit eclectic and retro; but the wings won me over.

I was only there for part of a song as I had places to go. They were good; but then again most performers in the subway system are quite good.

One of the primary reasons I put them in a post is that I seem to see fewer and fewer performers. They are all approved by the subway system, but I seem to just see a smaller number of them. In Times Square, their primary spot has been taken over by a little music kiosk so they can’t perform there. In Grand Central, the usual performance area just inside the subway entrance seems empty almost every time I go in there.

My observation isn’t systemic, though. I walk to work and I only use the subway over the weekends.

-H

Categories: Events, Manhattan, Mid-town, Wanderings

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Yep, I’m experimenting with the site

August 3, 2008

Some of my readers may note the new layout.

I’ve been doing this blog for more than a year. It’s about time.

-H

Categories: Administrative

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Evolution Store in SoHo

August 2, 2008

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that I know of at least one more place to buy a good skull. That got me thinking that it’s been a while since I was down in SoHo (South of Houston Street, on the center-to-west side of Manhattan). So, I went.

And, yes you can still buy skulls and bones and whatnot.

Evolution is on Spring Street and it almost defies a simple analysis of what it contains. But that won’t stop me.

It’s kid heaven. Yeah, that’s the simple analysis.

More detail? Okay, it has skulls (human and animal) and bones (human and animal) and bugs and meteorites and weird seeds and more bugs and scorpions and scorpions embedded in candy and fossils and warthog skulls (they deserve their own mention) and weird rocks and metallic rocks and metallic fossils and all of that in a tiny little place maybe 40 feet deep and 15 feet wide. Wow. All of that in one horrid sentence. And I didn’t even mention the crowds that come to take a look.

When I went there today, I was the first one in; but not by much. I had thought it opened earlier (it opens at 11am) and there was a father and two kids already waiting to get in. The girl (maybe 7?) was outside the store with her face just plastered to the window looking in at the treasures. The boy (maybe 3) was a little more placid about a closed door. I moved on and came back just after 11am and the family had gone on and returned before me. The girl was basically just beside herself with excitement.

As the owner/manager came and unlocked the door; the father worked to get his son out of the stroller (it’s the one in the picture, but the skeleton came out after they had entered the store). I’m not sure of the family dynamics, but it looked like the girl’s excitement was a bit tempered by the fact that her dad wasn’t quite ready to go in with her and there was no way she was going to go in there without him. Hey, there’s a lot of dead things in there! Dad’s are needed for that; despite the excitement of it all.

But they did come in and that little girl then seemed to spend her time right up against the counter displays.

It’s kid heaven and she had arrived.

-H

Categories: Manhattan, SoHo, Wanderings

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Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market 2008

August 1, 2008

Every six months to a year, I seem to end up wandering around the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market. As flea markets go, I gotta give it a 10 out of 10. Lots of old stuff. And really old stuff. And odd stuff…yeah, odd stuff.

And always in the presence of a familiar figure…

It’s located off 9th Avenue somewhere around 38th Street or so. It happens every weekend and its free admission. The most amazing thing about it is how long it is and how little it is populated. There are a ton of weekly street fairs and they are jam packed for blocks and blocks; but the HK flea market is very select in who it lets in to sell…apparently.

And the amusing part of it how downmarket the neighborhood is. It’s close to the bus terminal and sometimes it seems you have to run through an iffy area to get there. But for bargain hunters of old merchandise, it seems to fit the bill.

But notice how much open area there is. And the crowd was sparse. I was there mid-afternoon on a Saturday and the crowds were light. There’s lots of stuff for sale, but there’s one thing I never saw a single trace of. Not a one! The item? Anything new.

There’s old clothes, furniture, books, records, videotapes, jewelry, knickknacks. Just everything.

Think about it. You’re in New York and you need a good animal skull. Where are you going to go?

The problem with my little scenario…this is just one of two places I know where to buy a good skull. That’s NYC for you.

-H

Categories: Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Mid-town, Wanderings

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Macri Triangle in Brooklyn

July 31, 2008

I love noting little squares and parks throughout Manhattan. You don’t have to look too hard on this blog to find them. And, generally, the smaller, the better as far as I’m concerned. I just find it very fitting and right that New Yorkers fight for every bit of parkland they can find. Hey, we don’t have backyards.

Okay, a lot of people in Brooklyn do have yards, front and back, but they’re small and not the same as a suburban yard. So even they want more.

And right in the Williamsburg part of Brooklyn, roughly bounded by Union Avenue, Metropolitan Avenue, and the BQE; is Macri Triangle.

I can’t find any trace of where the name comes from, but there’s a memorial to 78 World War II servicemen from the area. The memorial reads “That we be free”.

It’s well kept-up and is a rather nice little park. I didn’t spend any time there, and didn’t even notice whether people could go into the actual triangle area. I didn’t see anyone there when I walked by. One other thing I didn’t see: seating. One thing about Manhattan parks; lots of seating. It may be true of Macri, but I didn’t notice anything.

But, like I said, it’s pretty nice and New Yorkers always appreciate a little greenery.

-H

Categories: Brooklyn, Wanderings

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