siblings II

I was biking along the Hudson River just north of the 79th Street boat basin yesterday with a friend when we noticed a bunch of people watching the nest of a Red-tailed hawk. There were three young inside who I have been informed are called eyesses. The mother had just left; and speaking of mothers, today mine celebrates her birthday - Happy Birthday, Mom!

lecker

For some reason I seem to be going to Brooklyn every weekend lately. Last night Ben dragged a gang of us over there for Frank's benefit. It was a great event, but hot, so we ended up in the garden of a restaurant across the street. I had not seen Diana in ages, and she could not stop laughing, or hold still for a low light photograph.

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As seen on the way home from dinner last night at George & JC's. The wet weather made for a mysterious evening in the city.

purple II

dandelions

paradise lost

Back in the city working, not relaxing on a deck in the mountains.

hytte

A friend of mine has a dream of a little house on the hill against the sky, a perfect place to get away.

Alder Lake

relax

yellow II

As seen on the Riverside Park bike path yesterday.

burg

Made it out to Williamsburg last night for Stefano's benefit at the Brooklyn Brewery. I made a wrong turn off the bridge and went through the Hasidic neighborhood south of the bridge - that was interesting. I have to say Williamsburg is very bike friendly.

piñata

Seen in the community garden 'La Perla' yesterday.

pink IV

The sun is out again! (For those of you who think I only blog on rainy days.)

Dance Parade 2009

It was dance, dance, dance at the third edition of the dance parade in New York City. We caught it on St. Marks, near the end, and some of the dancers, even the young ones, seemed a bit tired. Still the joy of dance was clearly visible in most. I would best describe the participation as international and eclectic, but see for yourself.

AIDS WALK 2009

It never ceases to amaze how many people come out for this and the diverse array of social groups, schools, sports teams, sororities, organizations, companies and even retail outlets participate every year. While gray skies threatened, there was no rain, and the cool breeze was a nice change from the heat of past years. For all who donated to the cause - a big thank you.

dance

Mom is in town and we had a delicious raw food brunch at Quintessence in the East Village with Basil. When he mentioned the dance parade that was passing through the neighborhood that afternoon we had to check it out. Where else are you going to see a man in a pink unitard with a silver lame cape on a unicycle exhibiting the pure joy of music?

rare

As seen outside the mens room in the Belasco Theatre, not a common site these days. Andrew mentioned to me that the theater is haunted, but on reading the fine print I do notice the ghost was banished by a production of Oh Calcutta!

birdwatch III

It was a sad day for birding this morning. A few warblers, and long spans of nothing. Cold, wet, gray, blah.

sunset II

art

Andrew got me over to Sotheby's over the weekend to see the contemporary art that goes on the auction block today. It's a great way to get up close and personal with a lot of name brand art in a setting that is much less hectic than most museums in New York these days. He picked a Rothko. I picked a Rauschenberg.

trek

If you live in the New York area and want to see the new Star Trek movie I recommend going to the Ziegfeld - the screen is enormous, a great sense of outer space. It's an enjoyable movie with just the right touch of nostalgia for the original series. The audience was great, good combination of fans and regular people, nice energy.

To Mom

A mother's day tribute to the woman who brought me into this world. With another milestone birthday coming up it was time to revise it. Some improvements have been made.
In 2005 I created this movie to mark a milestone birthday for my mother. I interviewed her when she visited me that Spring and then asked my dad to send old photos which I combined with photos and footage from a family trip we took in 2003.
On that trip we went to Providencia, the village where my mother was born in Zacatecas and a place she had not seen since leaving it at the age of 8. When the mine closed everyone left the town and it has remained abandoned at the top of the mountain ever since.
Our family spent the day exploring the ruins until a sudden rain left us cold, wet and exhausted. The rest of the movie follows her journey to Kansas in the 60s where she met my father and I was born and then my brother.
The year this movie was made also marked their 40th wedding anniversary. Most recently her fifth grandchild was born (who is not in this edition). And I look forward to the next annual Spring visit with Mom later this week.
This movie goes out in memory of her best friend, Lupe, and her brother, my Tio Guero.

pink III

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And better yet tg the rain stopped for a moment this morning. Made it to the park for a little birding with a new birding buddy.

lush life

It's been raining or cloudy since Sunday, miserable. I live in New York City, not Tacoma, Washington. So when the clouds broke yesterday and the sun came out I made a dash for the park. The joy of working at home again. I fight the urge to make a second cup of coffee.

asocahu revised

On to my own projects, the guys from the salon gave me some great feedback on the Agustino short. In fact, I had a sort of breakthrough on re-arranging and cutting some things. Thanks, guys. The creative process moves on. I fight the urge to make a second cup of coffee.

keys

The first big difference I noticed after being laid off is how few keys I have on me. Not that I carried around that many before, but fully half were work related. I had access to a lot of places, I came and went as I pleased. It's funny to come home at night now and have that urge to check the work e-mail, one of my bad habits. Slowly I am letting go.

sakura matsuri video

A sunny, mild May afternoon spent at the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. People dressed up and had fun with it so there were plenty of manga girls, samurai and geishas to look at. The butoh performance was interesting and of course all the blossoms were lovely.

sakura matsuri

Photo ops abounded at the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

fado

Ryan sang at Le Gamin last night in the East Village. It was so nice to relax with old and new friends and listen to him.

bike path II

Happy May Day and all that. Workers of the world unite, etc.