Reenatype

Some people need lots of money, lots of stuff and bling bling everywhere. I mean, that's how happiness is gauged, right? Through money and belongings? Well not for some. Since I've never been wealthy in money, it's been the little things in life that bring me joy. Most people view me as weird when I get so easily amused at even the smallest things.

My sister is similar in that way. Her simple pleasure: PENS. She loves to write and has the neatest penmen ship I have ever seen. So naturally, knowing this, I bought her 2 ballpoint pens at the store, pink and blue. When I presented her with this gift, she lit up like a Christmas tree and told me that her heart skipped a beat.

Now that is Priceless
insert American Express™ Logo here

A night out with the ladies, walking along the east river, Thai food for dinner and a beautiful summer night.

Now, whose idea was this? With all that is going on in the economy and world right now, people are going to focus on the newest craze, a flu pandemic. It seems that the media grabs on to what people will be most afraid of and exploit the shit out of it. All the hypochondriacs out there have even more reason to set up camp next to next fox five news headline:THE WAR AGAINST THE SWINE FLU. Whenever there is a problem, bring the war against it!

This flu pandemic makes us realize how vulnerable we really are to any kind of spreadable, harmful substance. In times of war, or any time at all, it's difficult not to let the mind wonder to the possibles of biological warfare and how the human race can even survive that. If you think some people are ugly now, imagine the possibilities with some harsh genetic alterations.

I remember seeing a movie called "Threads" in high school about nuclear war and the after effects. Since it was high school, we watched it over several weeks I believe and at the end, i recall sitting there scared stiff. My palms were sweaty and panic was setting in as the realization of that movie became so real in my mind. Ever since then, I await the day where it will come true.

That is the kind of news we need to be aware of. How can we possibly control a "natural illness"? We should focus more on the problems already created, attempt to fix those rather than tyring to stop hurricanes from coming and lava to stop flowing. I think we're having a hard time playing god and understanding what is still natural verses man made.

walking down park on my tasti delite ritual from my sisters for our "custom snickers", one of my worst fears are realized....

i see it all unfold...

Woman + dog + extend-a-leash = falling on face.

Classic case scenario: dog is peeing on flowers on the side of the sidewalk while the old lady walks ahead, assuming all is safe since her dog is connected to a cord 20 feet away in any direction. She decides to round the corner while her dog is still near the flowers, creating a perfect trip wire for anyone walking by, which happened to me this time (like many other times).

Of course I see this opportunity to make a polite statement to this woman, surely she has heard this before. I can't be the only victim. I approach the scenario with the common oblivious manner that most new yorkers do and tripped over the wire, i mean, leash, creating a slight pull for both the dog and owner. Only then did this women realize that her dog was around the block. WTF??@#% I could have bashed my face in as she was carelessly walking down the street!

Why is it that people need a 20 foot leash to walk their dog on a 5 foot sidewalk? NYC is crowded with bustling, inconsiderate people who only look forward. I call that Tunnel-vision. On the upper east side, I guess people call it something else, stuck up bitches.

I have always hated these type of leashes that are both unfair to the dog and to the people walking around. This is also one of the major reasons I can't roller blade around the city anymore, because their dogs needed to roam 20 feet ahead! That is simply unacceptable.

Laws are made about the stupidest things sometimes. I think we should add this to the list and have these menacing, dangerous items out of the market and off our streets!

Walking through the hood...







My rendition of De LaVega's rendition of Picasso's "Guernica".

3 Blocks away is a haven away from the city, where the cycle of life is being reborn.

I can never get enough of central park and since it's so close I broke down and took some flower photos, which i never usually do. If I sat and watched these flowers all day, I would probably see them blossoming before my very eyes, that's how fast they morph from bud to full blown intricate work of art. It's amazing to see the transformation and awakening of these flowers, each with a specific blooming and time pattern. The earth always knows what to do, even when we don't.













So many colors!!! Peace and tranquility within the city, who says you can't have both?

Last year I had one of my crazy ideas to transform my coffee table by making it have a cork top. Since I worked in a restaurant and had access to many corks from my wine classes, I decided it wouldn't be that hard to collect enough for the project. Well, I collected WAY too many and the cork table didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.

So there I was with around 1000 corks littering my apartment. I needed to get crackin on some projects. My first project was a very useful one, a cork board, a pretty obvious choice.



Not bad, only hundreds of more corks to put to use. One rainy night, I took a portion of my corks and dragged them to Astoria where I convinced my friend Jenn to create yet another project. Having collected these corks for a while, i had a couple of ideas, one of which was realized on this night.



Work in progress. The bottom was hand cut individual rings by Jenn.



The finished product






Signed by the artists. A hand made wine bottle holder, perfect for maintaining temperature and decorating your cheap bottle of wine.

My family immigrated over from Kiev, Ukraine 30 years ago and settled in Forest Hills, Queens NY. My grandparents still live in the same apartment. The neighborhood remains the same, old obnoxious Russian Jews walking to the Russian shops on 108th street. When I was little, my grandmother would take me out and somehow knew everyone on the street. Things have since changed, as they always do.











In my grandmother's bedroom (my grandparents have separate bedrooms, maybe that's how they have stayed married for 55 years) there is a shrine of photos from over the years. Children, grand children and a great grand children are sprawled across the dresser and any available surface. It's so sad that her vision is almost gone now, but I know that these photos are forever pressed into her memory.

I'm not religious, but today is a historic Jewish day. According to rabbinic tradition, on this day, the sun is in the exact position it occupied at the time of Creation. This event happens every 28 years and is even more rare this year because it happens to fall on the same day as Passover, celebrated each spring, commemorating the Jewish exodus out of slavery in Egypt. This year, both coincide today, with sun blessings to begin at sunup and Passover to begin at sundown.

It will mark the fourth such sun blessing-Passover convergence in history - the last fell in 1925, the one before that in 1309 during the Middle Ages. It's amazing that math and science work into religion so precisely and yet still there is this element of "coincidence" that not even the best scientist or highest priest could explain.

Astronomy, science and the way the whole universe works is a constant mystery to me, no matter how much reading i do on the topic. Often I find myself thinking how it's even possible to be traveling a such a speed while rotating in an invisible orbit in a constant perfect balance between the sun and the moon.

For Jewish people, counting the solar years in increments of 28 is just one more way of marking a new beginning. Today is also a full moon, symbolizing a full circle, an end of a cycle, or new beginning. I guess we're always looking for new ways to start over. Maybe this year could be my new beginning.

This video made me laugh! The boy is so serious and literal about it. HA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxfe8YTd6N4&feature=player_embedded

I will never turn down an opportunity to go to an opening reception of an art show. The space is usually buzzing with energy from the proud artists and viewers drunk on free cocktails. This gallery was in SOHO, which is an Awesome part of the city, mainly for it's charming character, various old school graffiti, and unaffordable stylish boutiques.

The Gallery appeared very small from the outside, but actually weaved in pretty far. The artwork was cluttered on the wall, the floor, in the corners, just about anywhere it would fit. I cringed when i saw people putting their half filled red wine glasses inches from someones artwork. Ah, se la vie! They were Brazilian and having a great time, singing and dancing, welcoming everyone.