Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 9:00PM | Torea Jade 
A view of the lasting impressions left on two buildings in Philadelphia; I can't help but wonder what those ghosted stairways once connected, what went on under that phantom roof.
Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 7:38PM | Torea Jade 
Found an envelope of 10 or so hand-tinted postcards from Brussels in a market in Mumbai five or six years ago; they've been lost in the bottom of a drawer for awhile -- such a pleasant surprise to find them again!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 9:06PM | Torea Jade 
New York does not suffer for public art, but I was blown away by all the great murals and mosaics and sculptures and more in Philadelphia. Above, two views of a mosaic installed in a parking lot; Philart.net has great and thorough guides to some of the city's offerings, and Public Art Philadelphia is also helpful.
Post a Comment | Share Article | tagged mosaics in philadelphia, philadelphia, public art in art, travel Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 9:40PM | Torea Jade 
We popped down to Philadelphia on Saturday; though we didn't actually take the subway, the signs were pretty cool.
Post a Comment | Share Article | tagged color contrast, old signs, philadelphia, red and green, subway in travel Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8:47PM | Torea Jade 
I've posted about Le Corbusier's Modulor before, and I remain interested in the architect's writings and work, particularly given connections to Chandigarh. So it was really cool to read, on the architecture Web site Archdaily, about a "lost" building of his recently discovered in Iraq. Le Corbusier designed the Baghdad Gymnasium in 1957, and it was built in the city in 1982; it was "rediscovered" less than a decade ago by Caecilia Pieri and has set off a movement toward preservation of buildings, insofar as it is still possible, in today's Iraq. AFP offers more detail on this fascinating story.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8:40PM | Torea Jade 
I'm as big a fan of New York's food carts as they come; right now, I'm particularly fond of a nice little cart at 53rd and Park where, for $3 or $4, you can get the most pungently delicious apple-carrot-celery-ginger juice in the five boroughs. Walking home today, near Northern Boulevard, I saw these two unadorned carts on the side of the street: such interesting structures, inside and out, even before cuisine and culture come into play.
Post a Comment | Share Article | tagged astoria, food carts, photography, queens, seen on the street in New York, food Tuesday, April 24, 2012 at 7:05AM | Torea Jade 
Three jelly-fish blobs on the side of a red building in Greenpoint, from March 2012.
Post a Comment | Share Article | tagged greenpoint, paint on buildings, red jelly-fish, street art in New York Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 7:52AM | Torea Jade 
Loved the pretty purple and green of this UFO sticker slapped onto a sign on 39th Street in Queens (walking from Astoria to Sunnyside).
Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 7:29PM | Torea Jade 
Found this charming 1963 book by Beryl Gould-Marks (from the back cover: "As the wife of a documentary film director, British writer Beryl Gould-Marks has traveled in forty-eight countries where 'I follow my nose and go into kitchens and talk about food with the cooks'"). The illustrations, by Geoffrey Walker, are particularly choice (the jacket, at left, was designed by Henry Dabbs). Blinis and kvass for all!
Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 6:15PM | Torea Jade 
Walked past the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cemetery the other day; it's at 26th Avenue and 21st Street in Astoria. The Greater Astoria Historical Society has a bit of info on the site (the cemetery is visible but otherwise abandoned), but Patty Fagan's site is phenomenal, offering a map of the plots, transcriptions from the headstones, and some notes on the church's history.
