Bang on a Can, Below West 4th Street

Photo by myself at the West 4th subway platform.

The other night I was standing on the platform at West 4th Street, when my ears pricked up at this incredible sound. What I heard was something between a thunder and a rumble.

Two bucket drummers were riffing, without a care in the world. Different plastic drums, the kind used to store soy sauce and building supplies, made a whole range of tones.

When I got home, I showed my fiance Mark my photos. He said immediately, 'That's Larry the Busker!'

A quick look online made me a bit speechless - Larry was the first to use five-gallon plastic buckets as drums on the street. He's been drumming since the age of five. He even has his own Wiki page.

Nothing is off limits as part of the 'drum set'. Larry moved seamlessly between banging on the buckets, the ground, and the subway structure next to him. He uses his feet to manipulate another bucket, while twirling the batons in the air, no less.

Larry and his wife Sonia were in a world of their own, and didn't seem to even communicate while performing. I was lucky enough to find a video of them performing in the exact same spot (!).




A short movie made about Larry when he was 15.

Related posts: Early Snowfall in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Even More Snow, in Central Park, and Fresh Snow, at the New York Public Library.

On the Subway Shuffle, Below Ground

Photo by myself, in a subway car.

A man wearing a highly decorated jacket stood in a subway car.

A photo from the stash, taken when people wore more clothing. Sometimes while sitting on the subway, there will be various body parts or backpacks or purses in front of your face. It's hard to get away from people.

Speaking of subways, there was a short video clip on the front page of the Times website the other day. On subway platforms where an express train is on one side and the local is on the other, riders have to choose between which train to board. You will see people running back and forth between trains.

Sometimes the train that pulls in first leaves first. But not always. It can be a sometimes funny sight to watch riders scamper back and forth in their flip flops.

The Times calls this 'the Subway shuffle'. New Yorkers call it 'commuting'.

 Related posts: Sunset, on the Ride to Brooklyn, Ghoulish Greetings, on the R Train, and All Clear, Below Ground.

A Rupert Update from Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Photo by myself in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

In the mornings, the rolling green lawns of Brooklyn are sometimes misty with fog. Above, our Boston Terrier, Rupert, was playing keep-away with friends.

Before 9am daily, dogs are allowed to run around off leash for exercise and play*. After 9am on the weekends, the fields are filled with Little League baseball games, with teams of little kids dressed in uniform.

Prospect Park is large and an incredible amenity for Brooklynites. There are public grills and picnic tables for public use, ponds filled with wildlife, and enough space to be able to relax without sitting on top of each other.

Here's a recent video I shot on my iphone of Rupert playing fetch. I call him 'Pupkin' in the video because his full name is Rupert Pupkin, after a character in the movie 'King of Comedy'.

 *In case you're wondering, all owners are required to clean up after their dogs at all times. Most do.

 

Related posts: Boston Terriers Gone Mad, at the Mad Dog Run, In Chinatown and a Rupert Update, and Roaming Free, in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

Hurdy Gurdy Player, in Union Square

Photo by myself in Union Square.

A fellow named Davin sang along to an instrument called a hurdy gurdy in Union Square, Thursday evening. I'd never seen one of these before, though wikipedia says they are common in European folk music.

A crank on the bottom of the instrument turns a wooden wheel, which rubs against six strings. The result sounds like a nasally, stringed version of the bagpipes. Meanwhile, the player presses keys with the other hand to change the pitch.

At one point, Davin rubbed the wheel with a square of rosin, the same stuff that violinists use on their bows. The rosin maintains the friction between the wheel and the strings, which creates the nasally sound.

I managed to speak with Davin for just a minute, between songs. He said he fell in love with the instrument after hearing it by sheer accident. When I got home, a quick search on youtube shows Davin playing in the same area just last night (!).

 

Related posts: The Morning Serenade, Young Man, on the Subway Platform, and The King of Song, Below Ground.

On Taking Naps Outside and Images Around the Globe

Photo by myself, in Bryant Park.

Some photos from the stash show a couple things: the cliche about New Yorkers being overworked may be true after all, and that Bryant Park serves as a convenient rest stop.

Bryant Park is surrounded by tall-ish office towers. In the warmer months it's difficult to find a seat, let alone a spot of grass on the lawn.

During lunch, I have seen men take off their ties, shirts and undershirts to tan. Egad.
 

--Just before leaving for vacation, I was happily involved with a gesture that was romantic on different levels - a fellow from Poland named Tomasz wrote to me, requesting photos taken at New York landmarks. The only hitch - that I hold up a sign saying 'WNUCZU *heart* KUCIA'.

I wrote back saying I would do it, and then procrastinated for a few days. I was busy preparing for my trip, and wound up taking the photos the day before I left.

Tomasz told me he was compiling a set of photos taken around the world for his girlfriend's birthday. I was floored by the video he made, showing photos taken in Dubai, London, Paris and Tokyo, among other places.

In the world of Photoshop, this is a refreshing idea - to show photos that are taken at particular places, rather than slapping text on images from the comfort of one's couch. And it's refreshing that photographers around the world joined to help a perfect stranger.

Enjoy!

The first four New York photos of Times Square, the New York Public Library, the Empire State Building and the Plaza are from me.

 Related posts: Zzzzzzzzzz, As the World Walks By, on Fifth Avenue, and Stealing a Nap, Underground.