Through a photographer’s eyes (exhibition, 1959 – 1962)

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If you were to ask the question, “What makes a great photograph?”, you would get varied responses.

“Interesting composition.”

“Great light.” ”

The subject has strong emotional appeal.”

Or simply, “I love it!” There is no set formula. Perhaps the  best way to understanding what makes great photographs is to, well, look at great photographs.

#1. David Heath

The single white line in the background and the two boys’ gaze extend and meet at a focal point outside of the photograph. By leaving the gazed object/person blank, Heath imbues a sense of urgency. The emotional draw is heightened because of viewers’ involvement in the act of looking (“What’s there? What are they looking at?”).

Image Credit: Courtesy of the artist / Howard Greenberg Gallery

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The best kind of dead end: Freeman Alley

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Dim street lights threw long shadows on graffitied walls, ghostly vapor veiled the alley… This is a perfect for a film noir, Hollywood crime drama popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Except, there was no crime, no detectives and no dead bodies. Instead, there was Freemans .

The low-profile Lower East Side restaurant scored high in terms of ambiance, service, food and WINE. The food was good, but the wine (a Merlot-Cab blend from Rome) was even better. Freemans’ charm, a great part of it, derived from the walk down the Freeman Alley — the journey to the end. I suspect other diners, like me, relish the thought that We, only we, are the privileged ones who know of Freemans’ existence.

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“Not a lot of people knows this place. It’s great.”

“Yes, obviously only you, and me, and… well, all these other diners.”

Yayoi Kusama: Contemplate Heaven in One Minute

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Obsessive (adj): thinking about someone or something too much or in a way that is not normal (www.meriam-webster.com)

Yayoi Kusama (1929 – present), a Japanese artist in her 80s, identifies herself as an “obsessive artist.” Having suffered nervous disorders and hallucinations as a child, she derives her artistic vision from them. Her fascinations include repeating patterns of dots, lines and other figurative elements such as eyes, profile of faces. Kusama asserts that repetition helps her ease her anxieties.

I make them [dots] and make them and then keep on making them, until I bury myself in the process. I call this process “obliteration.”

Yayoi Kusama: Contemplate Heaven in One Minute

Yayoi Kusama: Contemplate Heaven in One Minute

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Alex Gabriel McKanze: music is not passion, but necessity

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Alex Gabriel McKanze is not your typical tour guide. Born and raised in the Paris suburbs, he identifies himself as Italian American with French culture (the American side, since it does really exist, is German, British and Cherokee). He speaks five languages fluently, English, French, German, Italian and Spanish, as well as a little Portuguese and Latin.

As a freelance tour guide for Great New York Tours, he’s a walking encyclopedia. Even with a hangover, he can tell you that Henry Hudson discovered the Hudson River in 1609 (adding snidely, “Because the Native Americans obviously never saw it before”).

A 22-year-old with great ambition, McKanze speaks of his love for the “rhythm” of the city. To him, New York is work work work, and he loves it. He doesn’t know where his music will take him, but he is more than okay with that. He just wants to play.

I love it [Jazz]. It’s always new and it’s endless combination. And it’s also because you catch a moment that’s unique. Every time it’s different. I do not play the same song twice.

You can read the Q&A here or on Bedford & Bowery (This French-Born NYC Tour Guide Will Serenade You With Gypsy Jazz Tonight)

Alex McKanzie, NYC tour guide and Gypsy jazz musician

Alex McKanzie, NYC tour guide and Gypsy jazz musician

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(more-dog-for-thought) Three Girls in an Apartment

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It struck me, when I was writing about dogs attending church (see Blessing of the Animals), that girls SHED hair like crazy. The two thoughts — dogs and girls — do not share any direct correlation (except shedding), but bear with me.

Now, as the person who mops, sweeps and vacuums her entire apartment (bathroom, kitchen, hallway), I see hair strands everywhere. It baffles me, How come there’s hair again? I just mopped ten minutes ago?

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According to pantene.com, an average person loses between 80 and 100 hair strands per day.

Furthermore, humans have roughly 1.6 trillion skin cells[1], and between 30,000 and 40,000 of them fall off every hour[2]. In one year, a person will shed more than 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) of dead skin. That’s a lot of hair and dead skin cells to clean!

As for dogs that shed like crazy, the list includes: American Eskimo, Corgi, Dalmatian, Great Pyrenees, Labrador Retriever, Pekingese, Pug, Shetland Sheepdog and Siberian Husky.


[1] “Organs – Skin.” BBC. May 28, 2010.

[2] Reucroft, Stephen & Swain, John. “Does the dust in my house really include my own skin?” Boston Globe. May 27, 2010.

Church of the Holy Trinity: Blessing of the Animals (stuff-animals too!)

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Oct. 6, 2013 — Constructed in French Gothic style of the 13th century and adorned in rich terra-cotta sculptures, the church stood magnificently against a backdrop of grey, post-rained sky. Its soaring towers reached upward, as if pining for Heavenly Father. It was a beautiful Sunday.

My revelry, however, was short lasting and was interrupted by staccato barking — Woof, woof, woof. Dogs of all sizes — Rottweilers, Labradors, Boxers, Yorkies, Corgis, to name a few,  eagerly ran up the church steps. Before entering, owners grabbed bone-shaped dog treats from a basket. The atmosphere was cheerful and intimate, as people exchange greetings and compliments (for their dogs of course).

Every Autumn, the Church of the Holy Trinity[1], a neighborhood Episcopal parish in the Upper East Side, celebrates St. Francis’ day[2] with the Blessing of the Animals.

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(image credit: John Zongmin Chow)

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It’s more than “Baby Hope,” An Observation of Criminal Court

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Oct. 22, 2013 – The pavement outside the Criminal Court of New York City was strewn with tripods and reporter microphones – CNN, Bix, Telemundo, FiOS 1. The catch phrase of the day was “Baby Hope.” Today a Grand Jury had indicted Conrado Juarez for the murder of his cousin and the reporters were waiting outside to speak to his lawyer. He is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 21.

In 1991, the body of an unidentified girl, sodomized and smothered, was found stuffed in a cooler along the Henry Hudson Parkway. Earlier this month, Juarez, 52, of the Bronx was arrested for the death of his cousin, four-year-old Anjelica Castillo. The notorious case, which had captured public attention two decades ago, remains high-profile. Michael Croce, Juarez’s defense attorney, described this case as “the New York’s folklore. For now.” In his twenty years of criminal defense, he says that he has yet to encounter a case with this much publicity. “To some,” Croce added, “This is an once-in-a-lifetime chance.” Continue reading →

It’s Fall, and I want… homemade tofu

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Fall is my ultimate favorite season. With its arrival comes brisk weather and rich, vivid shades of red, orange and yellow. I love to inhale deeply the cold crisp air and feel it fill up my lungs, giving me a surprised shudder. To be shocked by the coldness! How alive one feels!

The season also invokes fond memory of places traveled, specifically Beijing and Seoul. When I studied in Beijing, I bought a lovely scarf that reminded me of Fall — carmine, deep orange-red).  It matched the color of Forbidden City. As for Seoul, Fall is forever linked with the unbelievable fall foliage witnessed at Seoraksan.

Fall calls for homemade tofu at Aburiya Kinnosuke

Fall calls for homemade tofu at Aburiya Kinnosuke

The season, closely linked with harvest, calls for a feast. But instead of hearty meals, I crave something fresh, something simple…

Homemade tofu! Aburiya Kinnosuke, a mid-town Japanese restaurant, serves their tofu cold or hot. Cold tofu comes with three types of salt: ponzu, truffle and wasabi.

The tofu, firm, smooth, and clean-tasting, provides the perfect blank canvas for salt sampling. Ponzu salt, the least intrusive of the three, calls to mind sweet-sour plum powder. Both truffle and wasabi salt are full in flavor, the former fills your palate, nostril with nutty truffle fragrance whereas the latter offers a sharp kick.

Click HERE for Yelp