Midtown East, Second Avenue Between 58th and 57th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2010 ………………….…………......… ………………….. click to enlarge

Now, turning down Second Avenue - Yikes, school's out!  Teenagers one by one are great.  I like em.  It's probably because I still identify with rebellion and all that.  But in packs, they lose all charm, doncha think?
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In other news, please take the time to view this beautiful short film.  Up There, directed by Malcolm Murray.  It's about 12 minutes long, interesting and poignant  About the (dying) craft of painting signs.  Filmed in New York.

Kips Bay, Second Avenue Between 28th and 29th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2009 …………………………………….. click to enlarge


Here we are. Dolcino. I joined the philosophy group for a nice dinner and lively conversation. I will return.


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Murray Hill, Second Avenue between 39th and 40th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

I'm trying to figure out why this shot doesn't bother me whereas this one did. In the earlier one, I loved the colors and different elements in it: the doorway with light and stairs and the red brick second storey and the dark red free daily box, but it seemed to be too much a photograph about a restaurant. In the present one, many of the same elements are present, the store front with the prominent sign, the doorway to the side and the brick second storey, but I don't get the same feeling, that it's a photograph about the restaurant.

But why? What's the difference? The tree? I almost think that's it. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this.

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Murray Hill, Second Avenue at 39th Street

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

This is not in a meadow or swamp; it's at the corner of Second Avenue and 39th Street and I'm looking up into some grasses planted at the top of a brick wall about five feet high. Notice the blurry apartment building through the grasses at the right.

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Murray Hill, Second Avenue Between 38th and 39th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2007…………………………………….. click to enlarge

This caught my eye because it is named Aquamarine, and yet, it is not aquamarine (bluish-green). Nor is it in any way evocative of water. It would be pretty to think that this is an homage to Jasper Johns who famously painted an area of color, say, red, and stenciled over it the word for a different color, say, blue. But farfetched.

I discovered online that this is a Japanese sushi restaurant which gets mixed reviews, e.g., lovely music v. ear drum breaking music, lovely ambience v. tries too hard to be hip. The food seems to be "okay", "not bad".

Notice Christmas tree.

Murray Hill, Second Avenue Between 38th and 39th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Okay, a rare, no, a unique event: a photograph I shot today. It only happened because I got it into my head that the January 1 shot had to be shot that day so it would be dated 2007. Of course, it wasn't, but I'm not going into that again; if you care, you'll have to page down and read the previous two entries.

Today I had to dash over to the dermatologist to show him a mole that had ominously changed. You know what that means, folks, if you ever heed health warnings which I most certainly do. So he takes a look and tells me it was most likely bruised and not to worry. Just one more thing not to worry about.

His office is on 37th between Second and First Avenues, kind of out of the way, so afterwards, I walked up Second Avenue to 42nd Street before I went back to work.

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Midtown East, Second Avenue Between 37th and 36th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2006 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Early post to beat the New Year's Eve rush.

I love New Year's Eve and Day, the end of an old year, and thank god, the beginning of a fresh new one! With optimism that this one will be BETTER. Please. And I'm all for ritual. This is the first year of my blog, so I'm right now establishing a ritual. Tomorrow I'm posting something from 2007. This means I must get up, get out, and take some photographs, come home, select one, edit it, write it, all in time to leave at 4:30 for a New Year's Day party. I'm up for it!

Luckily my New Year's ritual before the blog has not involved late night parties and drunkenness, appropriate though that may be. On this one night, I like to get all serious and reflect and make resolutions and go to bed at a reasonable hour and wake up without a hangover. So it's probable that I'll be in good shape to get out there and photograph tomorrow.

I realize that I'm probably writing to myself, as this ritual will go unnoticed by most of my readers since they'll be involved in their own selfish rituals without a thought for me. That's okay! I understand.

So for the last posting of 2006, here are two views of a building on Second Avenue, taken on my December 28 walk. It's old, that's appropriate. And, as I've mentioned elsewhere, these buildings left standing while all around them new tall buildings are going up seem poignant to me and I feel like I must photograph them before they're gone. These two especially so, since it looks like their immediate neighbors were just stripped away. Oh, let me not get maudlin. For auld lang syne and so forth.

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for visiting! Love you!

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