Those Mutha'uckers

This weekend we freaked you out by writing weird (sexual) messages to each other. They were in fact lyrics from Flight of the Conchords songs. We've seen them before at Wembley stadium, the most we could see were the screens projecting their faces. I loved it and had no complaints. But here, somehow we found ourselves on a special secret list to buy tickets. They were sold out within the hour. So off we went and the experience was, well, imagine if they came to play in your front room...

Yup, the venue couldn't have held more than 200 people. They were playing in a bar with few tables and booths so seats weren't guaranteed. We decided to set off early and managed to get seats in the second row! They played mostly new songs which absolutely stood up to the beloved classics. And they were so funny, maybe even funnier because we were so close! No seriously any act that can go onstage and perform half a finished song while whispering the next few lines to remind each other, and get away with it. Well it's a testament to their ability. That was definitely a highlight as well as Bret performing Mutha'uckers live  and perfectly reproducing the Hip Hop censoring in that song. 

Happy Anniversary!

So yesterday was our one year in New York moment. We arrived at 11:30 at night to a less than favorable situation (as I'm sure most of you have heard the story, I'm not allowed to write it), exhausted from the flight and emotionally drained from the airport goodbyes with my family. The description of crying zombies still makes us laugh until today. It has been everything that I expected and at the same time so much more different than I had imagined. It still feels pretty new to me as I really feel like I've only been out here for six months. That's when things changed for me. Previously I was living like the walking dead. Eyes open but not quite there. Anyway, this being a celebration we needed to find the most New York thing we could think of to celebrate. We ended up having an impromptu dinner and drinks with friends, which is always a positive sign in an experience like this. Having friends is after all something that helps one to feel settled. Then we went up the Empire State Building at midnight. I still couldn't believe that there was a slight queue at that time, but the main thing was that I couldn't believe how long the queue would be during the day. There wasn't an express lane we had to walk the barriers as normal and it was a long walk! Seriously if you come to visit do it at night. 

So I'll leave you with our highlights of the year.

Hipster-Dufus

1. The spirit of enterprise that exists here. You all know how much he loves food and quirky things and NY really encourages you to try a business idea and make it happen. If you take away the big gross chains the individual restaurants, stores, grocery shops and boutiques are definitely more than in the UK (sorry UK). 

2. Tulum, Mexico because that's when I stopped being depressed. No lie. 

3. Stepping through the building at the UN. Sitting in the security council was definitely a highligh for him. Especially as he remembers seeing his father's UN passport as a child and wanting the same adventure for himself. (Not that any of this information was given to me freely, I had to decipher it from grunts and nods).

Me:

1. Living in Midtown. You have no idea how lucky we are to live in Manhattan. A reality that is virtually impossible for most. And while I wouldn't have picked this as the area to live in, it's great to live somewhere that's so close to all the tourist things to remind me that this is where I live. 

2. My job at the New York Historical Society. I came here for a reason, my career and when I got this job I felt like I was moving forward and actually improving. I love this job. 

3. Tulum, Mexico. That's the moment I stopped being depressed, that things changed, I got a job, I met people and I started to settle in. 

Serenity in the City

Whoyagonnacall? Ghost... yeah this is the area that houses the famous Ghost Busters fire station so let's just get that out of the way. But there's so much more to TriBeCa. When we set off to explore it, all I knew was that this is apparently the area of town where all the hollywood stars live. This place must be jumping! Actually it was really quite the opposite. Probably the most peaceful spot I've seen in the city (within Manhattan). This is obviously the attraction. There are no big stores (or any that tourist want to visit) or proximity to famous landmarks, it was all really understated. Bespoke book stores, antique furniture shops and speciality poster sellers. This gave the area a real arty vibe, which after all is how it became such a destination with artist beginning to move in around the 70s. I couldn't pinpoint any fantastic restaurants as they all looked pretty amazing. This area doesn't have the usual mix of high and extremely low brow eating options that you normally see. The best part though was that we finally found authentic Pakistani food! Pakistani Tea House offers no frills dining but a true taste of London.

TriBeCa had a double personality, a slightly grungy yet posh bit that looked rough around the edges. Such as the alleyway that's home to the simply titled Museum. Then a more upmarket Chanel and Dior toting bit. This is after all where we saw Famke! The real attraction here is the architecture, it really has the traditional fire escaped buildings that personify the city. Most of the buildings are conversions, you can still see the signage and advertisements from its time as a commercial centre and industrial base. A lot of the shops are also closed up so it felt like you were exploring more than usual. Sometimes you'd get a really gorgeous organic food market right across the road from a closed up graffitied place with rubbish bags outside or sprawled all over the pavement. An dded bonus is the areas proximity to the river. You get really beautiful views across to Jersey. What's funny is that the area still attracts the 'bridge & tunnel' crowd, but of an aspiring kind rather than the out-on-the-lash kind that we get in our area. Definitely a place to come to relax.

Street Photography: Urban Summer II

My street photography of New York continues. Here, what's a man to do in a city full of concrete and not enough green space to relax? Own it. 

New York's smallest Museum

Yesterday we headed to TriBeCa to do another area study (which is coming up). Part of the lovely thing about exploring one area at a time, is that it also highlights the museums that one might not think of. In this case it was the Museum. I have been wanting to see this tiny museum ever since someone I follow on Instagram posted a picture of it. Why have I not visited this place! So off we went. Hipster Dufus was not impressed when we turned into an ally that blocked out the sun and had rubbish everywhere. It looked like we had just walked into a scene from a bad 80s movie. "Um where have you taken me?" he asked, "don't worry, it's just down here". Of course this was really hard to tell from just the look of the ally as there's no signage, no crisp gleaming new architecture, and no queue of tourist waiting to get in. No this institution has been built into an abandoned freight elevator.

This is a cultural institution with a difference. Named simply Museum, it aims to show the beauty and absurdity of life through the simplest of forms. With the objects that make up our everyday lives, that we don't give a second thought to and that we rely on almost everyday. They can tell us about who we are through a alternate narrative. The curators are film makers who own the production company Red Bucket Films (here again the target is to capture the everyday, the mundane or the forgotten moments in life). They collect the objects themselves or have people who donate them, you can also submit an object if you want. A lot of the objects were donated by artists which I suppose is what gives this museum its gravitas. These are objects from everyday life, some are found on the streets and others they were not legally allowed to tell us how they obtained them (such as the current display of the actual shoe that was thrown at George W. Bush.

I of course was immediately drawn to the religious collection. Yup it even had on of those, a series of Chinese funerary object made of paper. The interpretation is fantastic for something so small. The guide explained that each shelf was like a gallery in a museum. We could find out more about the objects from the information cards or we could turn our phones into audio guides by calling a free number and key-ing in the object number. It was fantastic. It even boasted a museum "cafe" with an espresso machine a collection of baked goodies that were donated by baker friends or supporters of the museum. And even a gift shop, complete with postcards and museum badges. This is my favourite place in the city.

Goodbye my friend

Ok so I've been slack again. This photography course has really eaten up all my time as it was an intensive course. Next time I think twice a week is too much, it left me feeling frazzled. However I finished last night and really loved it. The teacher was fantastic and I met some really great people on the course. My only regret was that there wasn't enough time to make connections outside of the course. Everyone had different talents and strengths so all the pictures were interesting. I have to say that it took me a while to get the hang of the technical side. Yesterday was the first day that I felt I may have finally got it. What it did was really help with improving my photo taking skills. Because I knew I had to print these photos I really had to look harder to find my subjects. It made me more picky and taught me to self edit.

I ended up with a really eclectic mix of photos that I really think showed elements of New York life. I was heavily influenced by an exhibition I saw in Perth called "Picturing New York" - it was a collaboration with MoMA. And so I had an evaluation from my teacher, what was my verdict? I have a natural eye for composition and use of all sides of the frame. I also have a natural eye for street photography. Jim's advice was to explore this further by creating a photo series based on a single subject. So food carts or nightlife etc. Here are two more shots for your delight. I really wanted to put more up but I also thought that I quite like them being slightly private. For people to view when they visit or when we return. Although this one of Phil was just too much to resist.