Bklyn Blggng (Factory Outlet)

2005-03-31T23:29:00.000-05:00

Bklyn Blggng has moved! Please visit www.jpchan.net for all your NYC moblog needs. Thank you for your patronage.

Scenic Vista

2005-03-31T15:41:00.000-05:00

(Battery Park)

We Had a Winner

2005-03-30T11:43:00.000-05:00

Take a chance take a chance take a chukka chance chance take a chance take a chance take a chukka chance chance...

(Wall St & William St)

Tuesday Unlucky Rats (I Am, I Said)

2005-03-29T08:29:00.000-05:00

As I was taking this photo to show how one can get used to anything in this City, including drinking Dr. Pepper next to stinky subway trash containers, a rat the size of my cat darted out from between them.

I leapt out of its way, barely a second before it would have climbed onto my shoe, crawled up the inside of my pant leg, chewed its way into my right front pocket, turned on my iPod's shuffle mode, listened to several tracks, made some snide remarks about Neil Diamond, and escaped by squeezing itself past the loose waistband of my baggy jeans.

As I stood there with a big grin of shock and relief at the fate I'd escaped, I could hear a couple with a baby next to me chuckle and say, "that's a big one."

(14 St-7 Av Station)

Monday Lucky Cats

2005-03-28T12:05:00.000-05:00

(Great Wall Store, Canal & Broadway)

Cut Rate

2005-03-27T14:28:00.000-05:00

(Fulton St & Ryders Alley)

Dunkin-n-Writin

2005-03-26T17:47:00.000-05:00

(Dunkin Donuts, Hudson Pl, Hoboken)

FIRST Robotics Competition: Boom Box

2005-03-25T20:47:00.000-05:00

Lastly, what's a teen event without loud music? This robot, which was built as a side project by the Pirates of George Westinghouse High School (BKLYN!), features a DVD player, a stereo, and of course, Earth-shakin' bass. The makers tell me they may attach an arm to it and enter it in next year's competition.

(Riverbank State Park)

FIRST Robotics Competition: The Pit

2005-03-25T19:16:00.000-05:00

This is the Pit, where the robots are kept and repaired between matches.

(Riverbank State Park)

FIRST Robotics Competition: British Invasion

2005-03-25T18:42:00.000-05:00

The Systemetric team hails from Hills Road Sixth Form College of Cambridge (UK, not MA). They've posted flyers with UK trivia all around the venue, presumably to help us dopey Americans understand their stange and exotic culture. I didn't see any flyers explaining their mysterious uniforms, however.

(Riverbank State Park)

FIRST Robotics Competition: Grrl Power

2005-03-25T18:05:00.000-05:00

The Brearley Bots of Brearley School are competing here for the first time. They're one of the few all-female teams.

[Special shout-out to my good friend Zoe, a proud Brearley alumna.]

(Riverbank State Park)

FIRST Robotics Competition: Bklyn Rbttng

2005-03-25T17:44:00.000-05:00

The JeffTech2005 is straight outta Thomas Jefferson High School, Brooklyn.

(Riverbank State Park)

FIRST Robotics Competition: The Game

2005-03-25T17:31:00.000-05:00

This year's competition is a kind of tic-tac-toe involving "tetras" -- fiberglass pyramids about three feet across. The competitors are divided into two sides of three teams each. The remotely-controlled robots have arms that can stack the tetras -- and block opponents from doing so.

(Riverbank State Park)

FIRST Robotics Competition

2005-03-25T17:18:00.000-05:00

The FIRST Robotics Competition NYC Regional is always a raucous and uplifting event. This year, three dozen teams of NYC-area high school students have built robots for the competition, which is designed to encourage interest in science, technology, and math. The teams have their own uniforms, chants, face paint, and even cheering sections. The enthusiasm of the kids and their supporters is incredibly inspiring.

It's especially great to see that the program has attracted teams from a wide variety of schools -- not just the elite ones. The kids are as diverse economically and ethnically as NYC is. It's a wonderful sight.

(Riverbank State Park, Riverside Dr between 135 & 145 Sts)

Rehearsal

2005-03-24T23:46:00.000-05:00

Writing a play -- even a short one -- is a difficult and lonely process for me. Maybe one day it'll get easier, but for now there's no fun to it until rehearsals start. I love watching the director and actors find their way (and themselves) through the text, trying some great things, trying some not-so-great things, but trying always to get at the truth.

Sitting quietly, watching them work, I'm glad they're too busy to notice the big embarassing grin on my face. They're my heroes and I'm their biggest fan.

(Lower East Side Tenement Museum Theater, Orchard St)

Cars, Snow, Cold

2005-03-24T00:03:00.000-05:00

(Houston St & Lafayette St)

Freight Entrance

2005-03-23T10:21:00.000-05:00

(7 Av & 14 St)

The Iceman Zambonith

2005-03-22T15:00:00.000-05:00

I don't care who you are or how far you had to travel to get here or where you have to be in an hour. When you come here to skate, you play by my rules. And my rules say that every ninety minutes, you get your ass off the ice so I can resurface the most famous and most perfect piece of ice on the motherfrickin' planet.

(Rockefeller Center)

Monday Seating: Red Sofa

2005-03-21T14:08:00.000-05:00

(87 St & Lexington Av)

The Needle and the Damage Done

2005-03-20T16:22:00.000-05:00

The junkie chic look of the early nineties is back! I guess a Kate Moss comeback can't be far behind.

(55 St & 5 Av)

Hope Springs Eternally Underground

2005-03-19T13:40:00.000-05:00

What is it about our species that we can't resist throwing coins into every small man-made body of water we come across, even if said small man-made body of water is a fetid stream of who-knows-what flowing through Brooklyn's busiest subway station?

Whatever the reason, my frickin' wish better come true soon, because coming here every day with an offering is getting damn tedious.

(Atlantic Av Station)

HBS Case Study 11201: Moderately Extreme Makeover

2005-03-18T14:27:00.000-05:00

Sales rose 73% at the former Disappointment Smorgasboard following a comprehensive re-branding effort.

(Willoughby St & Lawrence St)

Getting a (Germ-Free) Grip

2005-03-18T12:13:00.000-05:00

Subway riders do lots of things to minimize skin contact with the pole -- I've seen gloves, two-finger grabs, body leans, and surfing, to name a few. But I hadn't seen this rather obvious method (paper napkin) until today.

(B train, Bklyn)

The Sphere

2005-03-16T10:49:00.000-05:00

I think the proposed WTC memorial is a good one, but I can't imagine how it'll match the quiet power of this 9/11 survivor.

(The Sphere by Fritz Koenig, formerly at the World Trade Center Plaza, moved to Battery Park in March 2002)

Why Other NY Graffiti is Still Pretty Lame

2005-03-15T21:19:00.000-05:00

I thought this bit of faith-based vandalism was a recent phenomenon, but apparently it dates back to the late sixties. Note to tagger: if you're gonna be rude enough to tag a subway car, you should at least try to do something fresh...

It's just more proof that the best graffiti around the city these days is ad graffiti -- postmodern, meta-commentary-licious, and easy on the property damage. Smart-asses with Sharpies, unite and take over!

(Q train to Bklyn)

Why NY Ad Graffiti Rocks

2005-03-15T08:59:00.000-05:00

The truth can really hurt sometimes.

(1 train, heading uptown)

Monday is Cat Week: Hello Beckoning Kittys

2005-03-14T14:59:00.000-05:00

(Mott St)

Monday is Cat Week: Paws

2005-03-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

(Marla)

Gratitude

2005-03-13T01:49:00.000-05:00

What's a great day in New York? It's watching a play you wrote on its feet for the first time and thinking how lucky you are that these talented people are creating wonderful life from some crazy things you scribbled on paper. It's eating Two Boots pizza for dinner and Junior's cheesecake for dessert at Grand Central. It's seeing a terrific work-in-progress by a playwright you kinda know and being inspired to try to make your own stuff as good as his. It's spending an evening with a beautiful person so full of love and life you're reminded that you were like that once and maybe could be again. It's hanging out at a coffehouse with great jazz and no cover charge. It's heading to a bar to buy someone birthday drinks when you should have gone home hours ago. It's deciding between a fast but expensive cab ride or a cheap but pokey subway trip back to Brooklyn where you'll hit the bed tired but happy and feeling very, very grateful for the small and imperfect life you once cursed.

(Canal St Station)

Street Level

2005-03-12T17:09:00.000-05:00

(Allen St)

Chinatown

2005-03-12T11:08:00.000-05:00

(Canal St)

The Unbearable Heaviness of...Adulthood

2005-03-11T12:38:00.000-05:00

Act your age and get your mind out of the gutter why don't you. This ain't that kind of website.

(Eyes by Louise Bourgeois, Wagner Park)

Blue Ice

2005-03-11T07:39:00.000-05:00

(Broadway & Park Pl)

Time Out From the Rat Race

2005-03-10T20:37:00.000-05:00

These inflatable rats* are so commonplace now that we locals barely notice them, which probably says something interesting and true about New Yorkers, but I am just way too tired right now to figure out what that something might be.

*Commonly used by construction union protesters at non-union worksites.

(Broadway & Wall St)

Stairway to Academia

2005-03-09T20:52:00.000-05:00

Monumental staircases aren't too common in new public buildings, which is a shame because this one at the NYU student center is quite nice. I'm guessing this is my alma mater's take on the famous Low Library steps at our uptown rival, Columbia. Except ours is air conditioned, ya Ivy League haterz.

(Kimmel Center for Student Life, New York University, Washington Sq South & LaGuardia Pl)

BP Bird

2005-03-08T23:05:00.000-05:00

(Battery Park)

Christo in Bklyn?

2005-03-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

I loved The Gates, but I'm kinda worried that these copycat mega installation art projects will cheapen the whole concept.

(Brooklyn Borough Hall)

Flight by A Woman

2005-03-07T14:58:00.000-05:00

(Broadway, north of Bowling Green)

Peace is the Dream

2005-03-06T13:44:00.000-05:00

Whatever you think about the NYC 2012 Olympic bid (I'm a supporter), you gotta love their current ad campaign, which was meant to be seen by the IOC during its recent four day evaluation visit. I wish we'd see more messages like this, preferably not in the service of some bank or athletic footware company, however.

If anyone from the other 2012 candidate cities (Paris, Moscow, London, Madrid) is reading this, tell me how our ads compare with the ones you got.

(42 St & 7 Av)

Amusements

2005-03-05T21:34:00.000-05:00

(Mott St)

Battery Park-n-Flip 2

2005-03-05T00:23:00.000-05:00

(Battery Park)

Battery Park-n-Flip

2005-03-05T00:15:00.000-05:00

(Battery Park)

Red Coat

2005-03-04T08:42:00.000-05:00

Looked up from my spot
Saw a world in your red coat
I wanted to know

(Canal St Station)

Chatham Towers

2005-03-03T21:42:00.000-05:00

(Worth St & Park Row)

Terminal Coture

2005-03-02T08:41:00.000-05:00

(Broad St & Marketfield St)

A Whiter Shade of Bowling Green 3

2005-03-01T13:38:00.000-05:00

Cass Gilbert is the man.

(Bowling Green & the US Customs House)

A Whiter Shade of Bowling Green 2

2005-03-01T13:36:00.000-05:00

Cool and comfy seating.

(Bowling Green)

A Whiter Shade of Bowling Green

2005-03-01T13:35:00.000-05:00

The pink tint on the trees is from the camera, making them look like cherry blossoms, which is pretty cool.

(Bowling Green)

$63.68

2005-02-27T20:14:00.000-05:00

They don't call it Whole Paycheck for nothing.

(Whole Foods Market, 24 St & 7 Av)

Arc d'Washington

2005-02-27T19:19:00.000-05:00

Wow, the restored arch is stunning.

(Washington Square Park)

Snow Signs

2005-02-25T21:59:00.000-05:00

(Battery Park)

The Secret of My Success

2005-02-25T09:05:00.000-05:00

Blandly Positive/Reassuring Things I Say When I Don't Want to Say What I Really Think
(especially useful at the office)

1. It makes a lot of sense.
2. Yeah, I hear that.
3. I think you're onto something there.
4. Sounds like a plan.
5. There's something to be said for that.
6. I think it's inherent to the process.
7. It's not really you; these computers just aren't configured correctly.
8. Word, negro.

("Charging Bull," Bowling Green)

Times Square Snow 2

2005-02-24T22:32:00.000-05:00

(Broadway & 48 St)

Times Square Snow

2005-02-24T22:29:00.001-05:00

(49 St & 7 Av)

Downtown Dehumidifier

2005-02-24T07:07:00.000-05:00

Hot sticky New York summers are a thing of the past now that the world's largest dehumidifier has entered operation in Lower Manhattan.

(One Liberty Plaza)

51 Nassau St

2005-02-23T20:39:00.000-05:00

"Eight bucks for a house sign at Home Depot? I can make my own for nuthin'."

(Nassau St near Maiden Lane)

Rush Hour Reading Room

2005-02-22T09:41:00.000-05:00

Today's Results
(in no particular order)

Torah
New York Post
English vocabuary book
Bible study guide
Six Days of War
Chinese newspaper
Daily News
Bible
Metro
Science textbooks
Stuff printed off the web
Cult of Harvey (???)

(Q Train - Brighton Local/Broadway Express)

My Expiration Date?

2005-02-20T20:47:00.000-05:00

Just in case a person really can die from eating six year old hummus and tabouli mix, I just wanna blog three last things: 1) I love you all very much, 2) I'm sorry I wasn't the best son/brother/friend/boyfriend/cat owner I could have been, and 3) I always planned on putting the money back where I found it, honest.

Heart Stupid

2005-02-19T18:21:00.000-05:00

I heart the BBQ at Biscuit, even though I'm sure my heart doesn't heart it. The $8.90 half rack of ribs (includes two sides!) is just too delicious to stay away from. Did I mention the key lime pie is pretty good, too?

(Biscuit, 367 Flatbush Av, cash only)

Requiem for a Mullet

2005-02-18T14:41:00.000-05:00

I hope blogging doesn't turn out to be the mullet of this century, because I still haven't fully recovered from the one I had last century.

(Blue Chip Hair Salon/Mohan Jewlery, New St. Haircuts left, jewels right.)

Trade Center

2005-02-18T13:46:00.000-05:00

(World Trade Center PATH Station)

Customer Service

2005-02-17T22:07:00.000-05:00

A long time ago, my Mom told me that in Japan those gratuitous racy scenes on TV and in movies are called "customer service" (i.e., giving viewers what they want).

I'm fully aware that BKLYN Blggng hasn't had much motherboro content lately, so I hereby offer a bit of customer service until I can get out and shoot some more Brooklyn scenes. I heard a rumor about a version of The Gates coming to Prospect Park that involved do-rags, so maybe I'll wait for that.

(Brooklyn Bridge, from the Fulton Fish Market)

Nantra & Bijou

2005-02-16T16:22:00.000-05:00

Viva public art!

(from Animals, Buildings, Cars and People by Julian Opie, City Hall Park)

The Gates 7

2005-02-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

Big thanks to the artists and NYC and everyone that helped make this happen. This is an awesome gift to the City. Everyone should go see it.

(Central Park)

The Gates 6

2005-02-13T23:14:00.000-05:00

(Central Park)

The Gates 5

2005-02-13T14:03:00.000-05:00

(Central Park)

The Gates 4

2005-02-13T14:02:00.000-05:00

(Central Park)

The Gates 3

2005-02-13T14:01:00.000-05:00

(Central Park)

The Gates 2

2005-02-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

(Central Park)

The Color of the Day

2005-02-13T13:58:00.001-05:00

...is going to be saffron (known in the other boroughs as just plain orange). This is a sign of things to come.

(49 Street Station)

The Gates 1

2005-02-13T13:58:00.000-05:00

Here we go...

(Columbus Circle)

Such A Deal

2005-02-11T07:50:00.000-05:00

Is it still Tax-Free Week in NYC?

(Trinity Pl & Rector St)

Four Minutes

2005-02-10T08:26:00.000-05:00

You'd be surprised how many New Yorkers are willing to give up several minutes of a busy day to fight a crowd and listen to a sidewalk sales pitch about romantic getaways to Quebec -- all just to get a free polyester scarf.

You'd also be surprised at how flimsy this damn scarf is, goddamn it.

(Wall St & Broad St)

Respect the Cock

2005-02-09T07:36:00.000-05:00

...because it's the Year of the Rooster, 4702.

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone, especially my fellow chickens, roosters, and cocks. It's our year, peeps.

(Artwork by my dear Aunt Michiko of Kobe, Japan)

On the boats and on the planes...

2005-02-08T16:14:00.000-05:00

If our country is going to detain lots of immigrants for no good reason, then it probably makes sense to also lock up a few sculptures related to immigration, just to be on the safe side.

("The Immigrants" by Luis Sanguino, Battery Park)

Birds Above

2005-02-08T15:41:00.000-05:00

The sign, if we were in France, might say: "Des chapeaux sont recommandès."

(Battery Park)

Lions in Winter

2005-02-05T23:16:00.000-05:00

Alternate names for Patience & Fortitude, the New York Public Library lions:

1. Bookish & Dateless
2. Chicken & Broccoli
3. PlayStation & Xbox
4. Siegfried & Roy
5. Illiteracy & Unemployment
6. Brad & Jennifer
7. Drunk & Disorderly
8. The New Hot 97 Morning Crew
9. Readin' & Rithmatec
10. Barnes & Noble

(NYPL Humanities & Social Sciences Library, 42 St & 5 Av)

What in the world...?

2005-02-04T11:29:00.000-05:00

DINDUPG

(Tugboat Helen McAllister, South Street Seaport Museum Collection. Call +1-212-748-8610 to join the volunteers restoring this and other historic vessels.)

Civic Serendipity

2005-02-04T07:16:00.000-05:00

I know plenty of people live by the motto "seek and ye shall find," but it's never worked for me. Many of the best things in my life -- friends, jobs, bags of unmarked $100 bills -- eluded me until I gave up looking for them.

Photoblogging is no different. You can walk up and down the streets of the City for days, cameraphone in hand, looking for something kitschy and never find it. It's only when you've sworn off blogging forever and go out to smoke some clove cigarettes that you stumble upon the red Honda Civic with "TRUST NO ONE" emblazoned on the windshield complete with parking ticket and Jersey plates -- a hat trick of found irony.

And then, for just a second in time but with an intensity that keeps you buzzing for weeks, you feel a deep connection with the universe and are convinced that somehow everything is going to turn out okay.

(Broad St & South St)

From A to B

2005-02-03T14:59:00.000-05:00

I was waiting for the B train back to Brooklyn when the A pulled up. Not my train, but something caught my eye. "Far Rockaway via JFK Airport" the sign said. I blinked.

The chime rang and the doors began to close. A quick step and I was inside. The people looked different than the ones on my train. Poorer, darker. After Jay Street, I was the only guy in a suit. After Nostrand, I was the only white one.

Somewhere in Queens, the train left the tunnel and I could see rows and rows of small old houses from thirty feet up. You could see right into the backyards and even in some of the windows. Everything was unashamed and out in the open: rusty above-ground pools, moldy Big Wheels, soggy cardboard boxes. When the train stopped at these elevated stations, the cold wind would fill the car, blowing in husky guys wearing uniforms that said JetBlue, DHL, SkyChefs.

A few stops later and we were at the edge of the airport. I followed the crowd up an escalator and onto a smaller, newer train that reminded me of the monorail at Disney World. I hadn't thought about that trip in a long time. It was our last family vacation before Dad split. He never told us he was leaving for good, just that he had to take a trip. I used to wonder how a person could just leave his family like that, but eventually I stopped.

The little train made its way around the terminals. I got out at Terminal 9, the last one. It was old and decrepit and there were construction barriers everywhere. You couldn't tell if they were tearing it down or fixing it up.

The next flight was in ten minutes. Shit, I thought. I'm not going to make it. I walked faster. Got through security quickly. "Final boarding," the announcer began. I started to run. The gate was at the very end of the concourse -- a straight shot but still several hundred yards away. I ran faster. I felt my chest burn. My ankles hurt. I thought I might lose a shoe.

I got there just as the door was about to close. I was winded and I wanted to vomit, but Goddamn I made it. I found my seat and sat down, sweaty but satisfied. In a few hours, I'd be in Orlando. I closed my eyes.

The A pulled out of the station and a few moments later a B arrived. I got on and was back in Brooklyn in about 30 minutes. I picked up the kids from day care and we ate pasta for dinner. My wife and I watched TV until we both fell asleep.

(Jay St Station)

Waiting for the Eye Doctor

2005-02-01T21:35:00.000-05:00

my yearly exam
doc's chattin' away next door
trying my patience

Whitehall and I 4

2005-01-30T11:15:00.000-05:00

You can see Governors Island just beyond the ferry ramps from the comfort of the new waiting room. I wish I'd been able to catch the always-gratifying sight of a boat about to dock during this visit. Well, that's just another reason to come back.

(Whitehall Ferry Terminal)

Whitehall and I 3

2005-01-30T11:13:00.000-05:00

The use of supergraphics seems dated to me (although I enjoy it at the entrance), but I really like the interplay of line, light, and shadow when the sun is out.

(Whitehall Ferry Terminal)

Whitehall and I 2

2005-01-30T11:12:00.000-05:00

The new waiting room is a junior version of the soaring steel and glass pavilions you see at newer airports.

(Whitehall Ferry Terminal)

Whitehall and I

2005-01-30T11:10:00.000-05:00

The starting point (if you don't live in SI) to NYC's best cheap date just went upscale, so you can feel a little less like a cheapskate bringing someone here before splitting the check at Gray's Papaya. Can it really be that the spectacular Staten Island Ferry ride is still free? Yes.

(Whitehall Ferry Terminal)

Forever in Bluejeans

2005-01-27T07:57:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to blog about the numerous health benefits of drinking at least eight glasses of water a day and eating a diet rich in fiber. And as soon as I can spend more than 15 minutes away from the toilet, I will.

Androids Dreaming of Electric Sheep

2005-01-26T07:52:00.000-05:00

Help me, I cannot escape the Cult of Mac. I own a PowerBook. I own an iPod. I want to buy more Apple stuff, even though I don't need it. A power adapter, some extra RAM, even one of those damn iPod socks -- I need to buy something...

Or help you buy it. If you need assistance purchasing a Mac or an iPod, I can offer advice and probably even help you set it up if I have enough frequent flyer miles to get to where you are. Just drop me a line. You know the URL. Please do it quickly.

(Apple Store SoHo, 103 Prince St at Greene St, +1-212-226-3126, open 7 days)

The Big Drink

2005-01-25T21:41:00.000-05:00

Quench a City's thirst
With Hudson River Cocktail
Ice cold refreshment

(Battery Park)

Heavy & Light 2

2005-01-24T19:02:00.000-05:00

(Broad St)

On a Rooftop in Brooklyn 2

2005-01-24T19:01:00.000-05:00

(Fenimore St)

On a Rooftop in Brooklyn

2005-01-23T11:55:00.000-05:00

I guess it was a bona fide blizzard after all.

(Fenimore St)

Heavy & Light

2005-01-22T13:09:00.000-05:00

Not sure if what we're getting this weekend qualifies as a bona fide blizzard, but whatever it is, I love it. A good dumping of snow always transforms the City, hushing its noise, covering its eyesores, lightening its mood.

All kids love snow -- and more adults should. So bundle up, watch your step, stay off thin ice, don't eat yellow snow, and enjoy yourself.

What in the world...?

2005-01-21T09:13:00.000-05:00

ZRFONE PTSI

Golden Touch

2005-01-20T07:44:00.000-05:00

If you want to avoid severe confusion, don't read more than one self-help book at a time. Just take my word on this.

(1 St & 4 Av, Bklyn)

Lost in the Land of the Lost

2005-01-19T08:25:00.000-05:00

Although it's a fairly common belief here in Brooklyn that early humans spent their days battling dinosaurs for food and real estate, it simply isn't true. The fossil record unambiguously shows that dinosaurs and humans never co-existed, which precludes scenes like the one hanging in my living room of a scantly clad she-warrior riding a triceratops. During the Age of the Great Lizards, in fact, mammals were a lowly bunch of pre-human scavengers and deadbeats, bolting in fear at the mere mention of a brontosaurus. (Broadway's Les Miserables is an excellent chronicle of the mammalian struggle to get out from under the thumb of T-Rex and his scaly ilk, if you're into musicals.) It wasn't until the Great Comet/Ice Age/Alien Invasion that these ferocious and ornery beasts were vanquished, making way for the ascent of mammals, who were next on the waiting list. Through evolution, these creatures would eventually become the species we call "people."

I've often taken pleasure in smugly deriding the "humans vs. dinosaurs" myth as silly "Land of the Lost"-based history, but now I wonder how long I'll be able to say it with confidence. Recently, researchers from the American Museum of Natural History reported their discovery of a small prehistoric mammal fossil in China -- with an even smaller dinosaur partially digested inside its stomach. Mammals munching on baby dinosaurs? That's bad-ass, yo. Now that we know early mammals were much more gangsta than we'd been led to believe, what other revelations await us?

Perhaps we have already seen the Land of the Lost -- and it looks a lot like Brooklyn.

Parts, anyway.

("Alligator" by the awesome Tom Otterness, MetroTech Commons, Brooklyn)

To serve or protect?

2005-01-18T09:06:00.000-05:00

They seemed awfully young, they were wearing dress uniforms, and they didn't have guns. They looked alert, scanning the throngs of busy commuters quietly and methodically. I thought they might be a symbolic sort of protection, not unlike the unarmed National Guardsmen that are stationed at Grand Central and Penn Station. Or maybe it was part of their training, the way NYPD rookies are now sent into the worst precincts right out of the Academy. Was Atlantic Av Station on high alert now? Whatever the reason, they became part of my daily commute.

One day, one of them made eye contact with me. I felt I was being checked out. Did I look suspicious? I wasn't offended, just curious as to why I had merited any attention. For some reason, the moment stayed in my mind.

On Saturday, I saw them again -- differently. They had pamphlets, brochures. They were speaking to young men. They were recruiting.

(Atlantic Av Station, Brooklyn)

NYC > AC 8

2005-01-16T20:36:00.000-05:00

When choosing a beachfront condo, make sure beach chair storage is included in your common fee. If it's not, you may find yourself, er, saddled with unanticipated charges.

(Atlantic City)

NYC > AC 7

2005-01-16T14:52:00.000-05:00

Lucy the Margate Elephant has been around for a real long time, but she still looks great.

(Atlantic Av, Margate)

NYC > AC 6

2005-01-16T14:51:00.000-05:00

Ventnor City is a quiet town (at least in January) next door to Atlantic City. There's a lovely beach and some beautiful old homes here.

(Ventnor City Beach)

NYC > AC 5

2005-01-16T14:50:00.001-05:00

Woof.

(Ventnor City Beach)