Yes, in case you’ve been in a cave, there’s been a blizzard in NYC and it dumped the second biggest snowfall –27 inches, on Manhattan and the surrounding burroughs. Artist and videographer Casey Neistat has done tons of stunts, including snow boarding all around the planet. He decided to take advantage of the perfect conditions, no traffic and amazing visuals you get swooshing though NYC, all to the tune of Sinatra’s New York, New York. ’nuff said. Watch.
New York
40 SNOWY NYC WINTER STORM SNAPS FROM MY INSTAGRAM FEED
I drove in from my upstate place in the Catskill Mountains to the West Village of Manhattan yesterday just in time for the snow to start falling. I checked out the view from my front door a few times and then went to bed and awoke this AM to a REAL winter blizzard. They weren’t kidding! The view out my door and on Instagram tells me we’ve gotten about 6-7 inches, so far and it’s supposed to snow for another day! I have tickets to the live broadcast of SNL with Ronda Rousey and Selena Gomez tonight, so it should be fun getting uptown. Here are some of my Instagram pals pics. Jeffrey Slonim gave us a peek at Madonna‘s mega-mansion on the UES from his front stoop, NPH gives us his view in Harlem & SJP – who lives a few blocks away– shows snow piling up in her backyard. Closed galleries and museums gave us views of their gardens and snow art as a consolation and my friends, the sister design duo of Porter & Hollister Hovey, had to cancel their design show house they’ve worked so hard on. (Speaking of hardon, Wowlebrity Linda Simpson is apparently warm indoors with that shirtless, sexy TV jogger!) Fashion maven Derek Blasberg shows us evidence that a blizzard is not excuse NOT to wear stylin’ footwear. Lots of dogs in the white from all over like photographer Pamela Hanson & artist Jo Shane and where I came from in the Catskills, the cute Itty Bitty Griff and buddy sit in cute coats waiting for the flakes to fall. Let in snow! Stay warm, kids!
THE "NO PANTS SUBWAY RIDE" IS A VOYEUR/ EXHIBISTIONIST'S DREAM
I’ve not witnessed it myself –every year I forget about it– but here’s the proof that it actually happens. On January 10th, the annual No Pants Subway Ride, commuters showed us their lower halves and gave us the opportunity to catch up on underwear trends all over.
NEW YORK WOMAN BEATS DUI CHARGE BY PROVING HER BODY IS "A BREWERY"
Did you have too much to drink last night? Or nothing at all? Well, a woman in upstate New York has a high blood alcohol level whether she drinks or not. A drunk-driving charge against the woman was dismissed after doctors proved she suffers from a rare condition called “auto-brewery syndrome.”
The woman was pulled over for erratic driving and showed to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.33 percent, which is well over the legal 0.08 percent. She claimed not to have consumed enough alcohol to be drunk and to prove it she started having doctors test her. Her lawyer arranged two nurses and a physician’s assistant to monitor her for a full day and then retest her.
“At the end of the day, she had a blood-alcohol content of 0.36 percent without drinking any alcoholic beverages.”
She also used a breath test kit that showed every night for over two weeks she had a blood-alcohol level of about 0.20 percent despite not drinking ANY booze. Her body really does use high-carbohydrate foods to create alcohol. Her lawyer said,
“She had no idea she had this condition. Never felt tipsy. Nothing.”
The DUI charges were dismissed this December. She is now free to drive with no restrictions but plans on making some changes to her diet. It’s January 1. Don’t we all. (T/Y Tad; via The Guardian)
RARE PICS OF GLORIA SWANSON AT HOME IN NYC
Photographer Allan Warren, shot these pics of Gloria Swanson in 1972 in her NYC apartment at 920 Fifth Avenue. He wrote me to give a little background,
"... those shots were taken at four a.m. As we had had a late supper after her show 'Butterflies are Free' and chatted in her apartment till dawn broke..."
Oh, sorry, do I need to tell you who Gloria Swanson was? Well, at one time, she was THE biggest star in the world, when the movies, and she, were both young. She starred in dozens of silent films and was nominated for the very first Academy Award for Best Actress. She also produced her own films, including Sadie Thompson and The Love of Sunya and in 1929, she transitioned to talkies with The Trespasser. She’s best known for her role as Norma Desmond in the classic 1950 film, Sunset Boulevard. (She also starred as herself in her last film role in Airport 1975.)
I have a Gloria Swanson story. Indulge me, it’s short. When I first came to Manhattan in 1980, I was couch surfing for a while. I was staying in my friend photographer Bill Westmoreland‘s loft, I think it was in the W 30s? (Once Bill reads this, he can correct me on the details…) I was sleeping on the couch in the AM after a long night at Danceteria and the phone rang. Everyone was at work, so the machine picked up. I hear a voice on the other end leaving a message…
“Hello, it’s Gloria Swanson. I’m looking for Tim. Can you tell me where I might find Tim? Hello. Is Tim there…?”
I’m running around the loft trying to find the phone… dial tone. Damn. I missed talking to Gloria Swanson. Her autobiography had just come out and I was actually reading it at the time, so I had a few conversation points. What a fascinating life. Among other things, she was a health nut, a vegetarian from WAY back. Oh, btw Tim might not have been his name, but he was a friend of Bill’s who did errands for Gloria occasionally.
Anyway, these photos were taken a few years earlier in 1972, in the apartment she called from, at 920 Fifth Avenue.
UPDATE: I did hear from Bill about the details and I was pretty close…
Yes, my loft was on 37th st. in the Garment District…Tim was living with me for a while and yes, he drove Miss Swanson around and ran errands for her… after he moved out Miss Swanson continued to call for him at my number–I would tell her that Tim no longer lived here and would give her his new number…we chatted quite a few times over a 3 or 4 month period…until one day when I answered the phone and, after having given her his new number numerous times, I said,
“Glo, he doesn’t live here…try the new number”… to which she responded,
“Oh, yes Mr Westmoreland, I do think I have it in my address book, thank you so much.”
THESE FANTASTIC PICS OF LONG-GONE NYC WERE FOUND IN A CARDBOARD BOX
When unknown photographer Frank Larson passed away over fifty years ago, his wife Eleanora boxed up all of their possessions and moved out of their retirement home in Lakeville, Connecticut. Carole Larson – the widow of Frank’s youngest son David – and her son Soren were sorting though old boxes in their attic and found these negatives. Soren said:
“I had seen a few examples of my grandfather’s photography over the years and always admired them – our old family photo albums have a few small prints of his work in them. My father also used to speak with admiration about his father’s love of photography and his weekend trips with his Rolleiflex into the city to film places like the Bowery, Chinatown and Times Square.
But when I opened the box and began to explore what was inside I was truly shocked at the quality and range of the images, as well as the effort, dedication and love he brought to the task. When Frank died in 1964, I was only three years old, and too young to remember this gentle, careful man.”
Inside the box were 100+ envelopes filled with 2 1/4 negatives. They were all marked by date and location, carefully sealed and left exactly as he packed them 50 years ago. Soren added:
“As I began unsealing each packet and holding the negatives up to the light, it was like a trip back in time, back to the New York of the early ’50s.”
Vivian Maier was a nanny and discovered in the same way. (She is the subject a fab documentary, Finding Vivian Maier) Larson’s images are good, I would’t say great, like Maier’s, but they are a time-traveling treasure trove glimpse of a long-gone New York City. You can see more of Larson’s work and order very reasonably priced prints here. (Not sure of the edition size...?) They range from $140 for 11 x 14″, to $250 for 30 x 40″. That Star Is Born marquee or the ticket taker would look pretty great HUGE, huh?
#SANTACON: THE WORST DAY OF THE YEAR GETS PUSH-BACK IN NYC
My friends, Michael and Zach were visiting from DC on Friday and we stayed-up talking, laughing and drinking until 5:30AM in my apartment on Friday. We met for brunch on Saturday, a block away at one of the last vestiges of the old West Village, Tortilla Flats, for a much needed hangover cure. (No hair of the dog, but the brunch specials are all $8.95!) We got a nice corner booth, some guacamole and chips and then who walks in? Oh, hey, it’s Santa! Oh, and another Santa… and a bunch of elves, and ANOTHER Santa! OH, SHIT, IT’S SANTA CON! Yes, THE most dreaded day –outside of St. Patrick’s Day– on New York City streets. And we were not alone in hating it. My buddies went to the Whitney, I got a facial at SoHo House (saw real reindeer in front of The Standard hotel!) and then ran home to avoid the ensuing madness. There are many places that are not so Santa-friendly, and they posted notices banning the hordes of drunken St. Nicks. Santaphobes!
(via EV Grieve)
VINTAGE MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE PICS
I love these old pictures of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Turn on any TV this morning and you can see the 2017 version. Here’s a bit of parade history from Wikipedia:
The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States, along with America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit.
In 1924, the annual Thanksgiving parade started by Louis Bamberger in Newark, New Jersey at the Bamberger’s store was transferred to New York by Macy’s. In New York, the employees marched to Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street dressed in vibrant costumes. There were floats, professional bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. At the end of that first parade, as has been the case with every parade since, Santa Claus was welcomed into Herald Square. At this first parade, however, the Jolly Old Elf was enthroned on the Macy’s balcony at the 34th Street store entrance, where he was then “crowned” “King of the Kiddies.” With an audience of over a quarter of a million people, the parade was such a success that Macy’s declared it would become an annual event.
Anthony “Tony” Frederick Sarg loved to work with marionettes from an early age. After moving to London to start his own marionette business, Sarg moved to New York City to perform with his puppets on the street. Macy’s heard about Sarg’s talents and asked him to design a window display of a parade for the store. Sarg’s large animal-shaped balloons, produced by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, replaced the live animals in 1927 when the Felix the Cat balloon made its debut. Felix was filled with air, but by the next year, helium was used to fill the expanding cast of balloons.
At the finale of the 1928 parade, the balloons were released into the sky where they unexpectedly burst. The following year they were redesigned with safety valves to allow them to float for a few days. Address labels were sewn into them, so that whoever found and mailed back the discarded balloon received a gift from Macy’s.
Through the 1930s, the Parade continued to grow, with crowds of over 1 million lining the parade route in 1933. The first Mickey Mouse balloon entered the parade in 1934. The annual festivities were broadcast on local New York radio from 1932 through 1941, and resumed in 1945 through 1951. The three-hour Macy’s event is held in New York City starting at 9AM EST, on Thanksgiving Day, and has been televised nationally on NBC since 1952.
Andy Warhol & Kenny Scharf, Mr. Chow, New York City, 1986
PAIGE POWELL'S UNSEEN PICS ARE A PEEK INTO 80s NYC & WARHOL'S WORLD
Paige Powell was the associate publisher of Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. She came to New York City from Oregon in 1980 armed with her camera and joined Warhol’s inner circle. She photographed the scene over the next decade, like her boyfriend, Jean-Michel Basquiat (captured in a series of nudes) designer Stephen Sprouse, Madonna, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf among others.
All these images were stashed in boxes under Powell’s bed for decades, but they’ve been taken out for a new exhibit at the Portland Art Museum. Paige Powell: The Ride.
Paige Powell At 15 West 81st, New York City, 1983
The Ride, is the first part of the multimedia installation which, includes video with never-before-seen recordings of Powell’s pals, including new footage of Warhol and Haring. Photographer/director David LaChapelle also mixed a soundtrack for the second part of the installation called Beulah Land, an interactive exhibit featuring over 800 images recreating a 1984 exhibition of Powell’s photographs in NYC.
The museum is hosting several other programs and events in conjunction with the exhibit, including a conversation between Powell and co-curator Brian Ferriso today, November 19. The exhibit is up through February 21, 2016 and you can find out more here.
Beulah Land (162 Avenue A) opening, January 15, 1984
Susan Hannaford (center) in a montage of Powel's pics in "The Ride"
Madonna, Fresh 14, New York City, 1984
(Jean Michel looking at Andy) Still From ‘The Ride’, 2015
Andy Warhol And Grace Jones, Nippon, New York City, 1985
Sting, Bob Dylan And Andy Warhol, New York City, 1986
Andy Warhol Studio, 860 Broadway, NYC, 1983
Andy Warhol’s Private Desk, 860 Broadway, NYC, 1982
Andy Warhol Posing As Invisible Sculpture, Area, New York City, 1985
PHOTOGRAPHER JANET DELANY UNEARTHS LONG-LOST 80s NYC
West coast photographer Janet Delaney made a half a dozen trips to New York City between 1984 and 1987 and after decades in storage, she’s dusted off these forgotten pics of a time gone by. She told Gothamist;
“In the 1980s I made 11 x 14 prints in my color darkroom and showed them to a few people, but I was busy photographing in San Francisco and Nicaragua at the time so I did not do anything with them.
At that time San Francisco just did not have the critical mass of people that make the streets come alive. My other projects were very focused, political in nature and technically complicated. Photographing on the streets in New York was pure pleasure. I embraced the hunt, the unexpected encounter with strangers, the challenge to describe people in the context of a particular place. This all kept me very engaged.”
Delaney has shown these photos at various galleries, but has no current plans for a NYC show, but she says she would
“welcome the opportunity to show the whole series in New York, they look great printed up big!”
They do! Have a look.
(via Gothamist)