Summer on the sidewalk

This fellow was camped out on a green folding chair, shirt off, thick magazine in hand. No one else was on that stretch of 30th Street, walking or biking or sitting on stoops; he looked something like the king of the Queens summer.

On the vine

There's not much I find quite as satisfying as sitting in our backyard while a breeze rustles through the grapevine. The light is diffused and lovely; mint tea is on the menu; we read books and then more books.

Spot of tea with a tern?

So, apparently, it's a thing for people to Photoshop human arms onto pictures of birds. (Or maybe it's just one avid aviarian?) Anyhow, here are 71 such amalgamations. I can't stop looking, laughing.

A little more mermaid

Sumeet outdid me at the Mermaid Parade, that's for sure. I love this luminous lady in blue; below -- is that? Could it be? Edie Falco, or a woman with a remarkable resemblance! (More images on his site; choose "Mermaid Parade" from the Galleries drop-down menu.)

Tens of tiny dogs

Peter Funch, Following Followers

I'm blown away by Peter Funch's series Babel Tales. Basically, Funch parks himself on a street corner and takes picture after picture (after picture after picture). Then, later, he appraises the pictures, finds a common thread, and makes something new: a horde of dogs being walked in front of a restaurant, an army of tourists posing underneath a digital billboard in Times Square, mouths gaping in yawns as far as the eye can see.

Jasper Elg, of V1 Gallery in Copenhagen, writes:

His uncanny work raises questions of reality contra fiction and challenges our notion of photography as being a depiction of a certain moment in time. Peter Funch's works are documents of moments that never existed as they are composed of several hundred moments taken over the duration of several weeks for each piece.

More(lo)

I saw 50 faces by Felix Morelo a few weeks ago in Union Square. And then today, his work popped up in our neighborhood -- hundreds of chalk caricatures led to an opening (for El Museo's Biennial: The (S) Files 2011) at Socrates Sculpture Park. They'll probably wash away by the end of the evening, but if you have a spare moment, hoof it toward the river on Broadway and prepare to be charmed. (You can also see more about the artist on his personal site.)

Keep Coney Island weird (snapshots of Mermaid Parade 2011)

A parrot balloon in the Mermaid Parade procession along the Coney Island boardwalk frames the curves of the Wonder Wheel

Like a fish needs a bicycle

Fantastically vintage

Keeping hydrated

Post-parade, spirits begin to flag

A moment of reflection

Many more photos over on the old Flickr account

To Coney!

The last time I went to the Mermaid Parade was 2008. It's a gorgeous day, and we're heading down to Coney Island for some prime people watching! The procession starts at 2 p.m. at West 21st Street and Surf Avenue, but there's much to see and do all day. Grab your wig and go!

Skating by

Skateboarders across the street from the Half King, as seen from the newly opened Section 2 of the High Line. (Go!)

Neighborhood watch

This fine four-legged friend kept an eye on the mean streets of Queens last weekend from a second-floor balcony facing Crescent Street.