samhain

yellow

harlem

Last night I took this picture on Malcolm X Boulevard after what had been a miserable day of windy, cold rain. I had gone up to see a great documentary on Alice Neel that her grandson did. It was playing at the Maysles cinema.

green

Last night the Empire State Building was green to celebrate the 5th year of the Broadway show Wicked. Union Square was alive with people on a mild fall night.

obamabird

mac

And before the day is out on the west coast, a big birthday shout out to eldest nephew Mac, champion gymnast and master chess player. Enjoy that ice cream and many happy returns.

broadway

The Broadway Democrats have set up a storefront in the neighborhood and were doing a brisk outreach business on this beautiful day. I walked by coming back from grocery shopping. With no food in the house and work piling up I had to pass on going to Philadelphia today, instead I made two rounds of calls for the Obama campaign to voters in PA this afternoon. It's easy to do and amazing how organized the campaign is in letting any volunteer just sign up online and start calling. Give it a try, it's pretty satisfying.

sunshine

Is not happening in New York today. Heavy rains are expected.

folliage

As noted from the Catskills, the folliage this year is not spectacular. Some combination of rainfall, global warming or whatnot has toned it down. I suspect the color will also be somewhat subdued and mottled in the city as well. Today I made a round in the park just to check it out.

primavera

It was this time last year that Barbara and I went south to Sao Paulo for the Cochrane Colloquium. It is spring in the southern hemisphere and my thoughts go out to the friends we made in Brazil. The video that we were producing there is nearing completion. If you want to check out the rough cut let me know what you think.

crew

Our canvasing crew from last weekend at the Molly Pitcher rest stop. Last night word came in from our field organizer, 'Over the course of the weekend, we knocked on 3,668 doors and made 1,079 contacts.' That was for just two wards staged from the Wawa parking lot on Castor. While McCain has to rely on his robocalls, Obama has actual people who are willing to go door to door for him. If you can't get out, make some phone calls, or make a donation: Vote Barack Obama

yikes

As spotted on St. Marks on the way to the pick up point for canvasing on Sunday. I'm not much into fear campaigns with elections. They have a bad history for all parties, but Halloween is coming up and I wonder who you will see more of this year - Sarah Palin or Joe the Plumber?

boo

Another day canvasing in northeast Philadelphia. I didn't meet Joe the Plumber, but I did meet John the Teamster, and he is voting for Obama. I think Neil has almost persuaded me to get out the vote in Virginia - the next frontier in swing states.

agast

Yesterday I went out to Brooklyn to check in on Christina who was doing an open studio on the Gowanus tour. It was nice to catch up and as an added bonus I got to meet the baby Huck. Today I go back to P.A. in search of Joe the Plumber.

leo

Last night was leo bar at Asia Society. I liked the exhibit on China under Mao and the calligraphy exhibit was beautiful. Caught up with Stephen, ran into some old friends and made some new ones. Was nice to unwind after finishing the show and dropping it off.

spin

Now that we are well into fall (49 F this morning) the networking season is in full swing. Last night it was Out in Film and TV at Bamboo 52. I think I recruited 2 new volunteers for the show - thanks for the back up Chris. Justin was spinning. Afterward we stopped by Therapy where David was DJing, but it was too dark to take a picture.

mix

Last night was the opening of the Mix Film Festival in New York. With experimental film festivals it's always a crap shot. At times it seems they screen about anything, but this series was solid. There were a couple of clever ones and about three very beautiful films. One thing that gets tiring is films that are entirely narrated. No matter how beautiful the images you need a very good script to pull that off - that only happened two and a half times last night.

walk

leaf

It's cloudy in the city this morning and the leaves have barely started to turn. Long afternoon country walks are just a nice memory.

columbus

Today was the last day upstate and we took a final hike on the beaver pond loop. At the end of the trail we came across this cemetery. I decided maybe it is a good way to sum up a holiday weekend that wasn't a holiday for everyone.

romeo

Our little buddy and sidekick loves the walks. Today we did the walk on the old railroad right of way. It's rare he stands still long enough to get a picture.

alder lake

Upstate at Ben's place for the holiday weekend. Surprised to see that we are past peak with the folliage, I was hoping there would be a little more color. Today we went in search of it at Alder Lake. It's still wonderful to be in nature and the weather is glorious.

joie de vivre

Es lo que más me gusta de tí, amigo Jorge, ahora que te vas para Ginebra te voy a extrañar mucho. Siempre tienes ganas de llegar a cualquier lado, conocer a gente y disfutar. Espero que te vaya bien y que nos veamos pronto.

In other news it was fun to hear back from so many of you on the e-mail blast. Chris in CA had moved, so he went online to change his address on the registration - which you have to do to vote! Erik had persuaded 3 people to register - go Erik! Rita is getting married to a lady in Canada! And in the Southern Hemisphere everyone is rooting for Obama.

believe

It seems that we live in interesting times again, as the Chinese saying goes. Almost everyone I meet is anxious about the economy and many a friend is fretting about the election. Rather than worry, why not take action? It's the reason I went to PA last weekend to canvas for Obama. And I intend to go again. No matter what happens after November 4th I can say I tried to do something. A lot is in play, votes do count and it's amazing to see how many are mobilizing across the country. Consider giving a night to make phone calls, or $25 to the campaign and put your mind at ease with action. But most importantly vote and tell your friends to vote. I remind New Yorkers that tomorrow is the last day to register to vote in the general election. It's fast and easy and you can do it online: VOTE

montefiore

I spent part of the day yesterday taping three doctors inside an exam room in Montefiore hospital in the Bronx which has one of the busiest emergency departments in the country. The video will be a podcast on what do when a patient has been exposed to HIV. Basically you take medication and hope for the best - the treatment, called Post Exposure Prophylaxis, is considered fairly effective in the right circumstances.

pumpkin

yes we can

A more personal picture from the weekend canvasing trip to Northeast Phila. Democracy in action - a glorious thing.

joe six-pack?

This pic was taken approaching the neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia were I spent the day canvasing. We were 3 cars going down from NYC in our immediate circle and probably many more otherwise. As we read the talking points in our car on the way down there was an interesting item about buying American, and the fact that Obama supports buying American made Harley-Davidson's for the Secret Service, while McCain has voted against buy American provisions in Defense Dept contracts. (There is a Harley plant in York, PA.) There was also a brief discussion of Joe Six-Pack and then we were there. A successful day in the neighborhood. I got 2 new volunteers for the Obama campaign and one new voter registration. Other teams did even better as there were probably over a 100 new voter registrations for that neighborhood alone. It's heartening to see so much effort going to change for a better America.

brunchyobama

With work and travel and what not I haven't been able to make the usual Saturday morning yoga and brunch date with Basil for almost a month. So today felt very special and we caught up. He was thrilled with his Latinos for Obama pin. Too bad he can't canvas with us in Pennsylvania tomorrow.

untitled

Before the week is out, one more post with photography by Lane. As you can tell from the previous post it's mostly lil sis Julia who was around when he picked up the camera. I really like this shot. It's like a work of art you might see in a gallery, maybe one that doesn't have a title.

siblings

Do you remember when you were young and your sibling was your best buddy and playmate? I don't, but I've been told that was the case and there are pictures to prove it.

happy happy

Today is my brother Mike's birthday. What turns a grown man into a kid again? The happy prospect of sky diving.