Elevated Subway Trains

Although most of the subway tracks in New York City are below ground, there are some that are elevated or above ground like this one in the photo (Queensborough Plaza). The above ground subway tracks can make a lot of noise and affect the property values around them.

The most desirable apartments in the city are usually those that are between 2 to 4 blocks away from the subway stations. In addition, the availability of support businesses like grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, dry cleaners, book stores and cinemas can significantly affect the value of the properties.

I live about two and a half blocks from the nearest subway station and my commute to work takes about 50 minutes. How long is your commute to work?

Taschen Store Skylight

This is the inside view of the new Taschen Bookstore in SoHo. Taschen Books is the most prolific publisher of coffee table books in the world. It publishes books on topics ranging from art and design to film and pop culture.

There is a huge skylight at the rear end of the store, which floods the area gorgeous natural light coming through the glass ceiling. In addition, you can see the distinct SoHo loft architecture of the buildings abutting the store. The concrete wall on the right is the entrance to a staircase leading down to the basement offices. The walls of the stairwell is painted with wild, psychedelic shapes and colors, which is very indicative of the type of books the store carries.

If you like books, check out the site, Leaves of Grass by Sonia A. Mascaro who posted some wonderful photos of home libraries filled with books. I even noticed a few coffee table books in her photos.

Do you have any coffee table books at home?

Maine Monument II

Here is another photo of the Maine Monument that I posted about two weeks ago. This photo, unlike the earlier photo that just showed the boy doing the "I'm the King of the World" pose, includes the entire cast of the scene.

There is a lady flanked by two near naked men on each side of her. This postures are fairly common in maritime statues from the 1800s. Does anyone know the significance of the posturing?

Ming and His Raw Food Diet

Chinatown vegetables like these are fairly common and relatively inexpensive. Many families come here to buy their weekly rations of meats and vegetables on weekends. I, however, come here for the restaurants and cafes. And while I'm here, I take a lot of photos.

Some of you may already know this about me -- I don't cook. In fact, I dislike cooking so much so that I have developed a taste for raw food like sushi, beef tartar, carpaccio, uncooked vegetatbles like broccoli, cauliflower, squash, carrot, pea pods and salads. I even like my burger cooked medium rare. But I'm not a member of the raw food movement.

What are your favorite vegetables and how do you like them cooked?

Ming on a Photo Assignment

About six weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a young gentleman who asked if I could help him propose to his girlfriend. Of course, I said yes. My assignment was to shoot photos of New York City scenes with a note in the photos saying, "Say YES to Wai Leong!" I promised I won't post the photos until he had a chance to propose to her. So on May 25, Wai Leong proposed to Zee and she said YES!! CONGRATULATIONS!!

Wai Leong documented his "Project Proposal" on Marry Me Zee and created a beautiful video proposal for her. You can watch the video at Marry Me Zee (the second video down) or click on this YouTube word. My photos are among the three dozen photos or so photos he collected from around the world for her. Is that romantic or what?

Gosh, Wai Leong put me to shame. I was never THIS romantic!!

Literary Walk at Central Park

On Wednesday, I posted a new photo of the Central Park benches that were located at the Literary Walk. Here is the follow-up photo to the Literary Walk, which stretches from 66th Street to 72nd Street. At the end of this path are The Mall (a public square, not a shopping mall), the Bethesda Fountain and the Boathouse Restaurant.

If you are visiting New York City and have only an hour or so to see Central Park, this is the place to go. It is probably the most beautiful and popular places to visit in the park. To get here, take a taxi or the bus to the 72nd Street and 5th Avenue entrance and walk west into the park. You will see The Mall and the Bethesda Fountain after a short 10 minutes' walk.

Theme Photo: View From Your Bedroom

June 1st is Theme Photo Day. The theme this month is: View From Your Bedroom. Here is a photo taken a few minutes ago, i.e. 1:00 AM in the morning. I set the camera shutter speed to 2 seconds to capture more light in the photo. You can see the fire escape right outside my bedroom window. The other bedroom window has an air-conditioner sitting on it. The view ain't pretty but it's home.

I forgot to sign up for the theme photo day list but here are the 87 sites that are participating this month:

Seattle (WA), USA - Manila, Philippines - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Toruń, Poland - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Seoul, Korea - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Vantaa, Finland - Madison (WI), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Cleveland (OH), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Omaha (NE), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Stockholm, Sweden - Grenoble, France - Lubbock (TX), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Arradon, France - Hyde, UK - Joplin (MO), USA - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Kansas City (MO), USA - Naples (FL), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Manila, Philippines - Sydney, Australia - Stavanger, Norway - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - London, UK - Chandler (AZ), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - Singapore, Singapore - Hamburg, Germany - Sydney, Australia - Tenerife, Spain - Moscow, Russia - Lyon, France - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Villigen, Switzerland - Anderson (SC), USA - Oslo, Norway - Evry, France - Hayle, UK - Mumbai, India - Kitakami, Japan - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Los Angeles (CA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - La Antigua, Guatemala - Paderborn, Germany - San Diego (CA), USA - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Madrid, Spain - Lyon, France - Selma (AL), USA - Shanghai, China - Baziège, France - Cologne (NRW), Germany - North Bay (ON), Canada - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Stayton (OR), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Austin (TX), USA - Hong Kong, China - Trier, Germany - Joensuu, Finland - Paris, France - Greenville (SC), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Cork, Ireland - Bastia, France - Vancouver, Canada - Brookville (OH), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Mainz, Germany - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Zurich, Switzerland - Torino, Italy - Montréal (QC), Canada

Old Iron Fence

I saw this iron fence in front of an abandoned townhouse on 60th Street and 3rd Avenue on the Upper East Side. It has some very beautiful details that we don't often see any more. I think it was handmade due to the irregular size and shape in the curls above the horizontal beam.

I hope whoever buys this townhouse will try to salvage this fence and not remove it from the building.

Central Park Benches 4

Last month, I posted a three-photo series on Central Park's benches - on April 15, April 16 and April 17. Personally, I am fascinated by these benches because they are so different and yet so similar. A lot of the different designs and materials used are based on when they were installed in the park.

Here is another set of benches lining both sides of the Literary Walk in Central Park. These are pretty old they are made almost entirely of wood and brass (or iron). The walk stretches for 6 blocks from 66th Street to 72nd Street. It is one of the most photographed scenes of Central Park.

N.B.: Please vote for me for the Blogger Choice Award (or click on the icon on the right). You may have to sign up for an account to be eligible to vote. Thanks to Carol from Oh! For the Love of Food for nominating for the award.

Chimneys in NYC

These chimneys on top of a co-op building on Park Avenue and 60th Street are quite unique and interesting. I believe the apartments in the building have individual wood burning fire places, which are rare and found only in very old and expensive apartments. Nowadays, new buildings have electronic heating systems that negate the use of steam pipes or fire places to keep the place warm.

I have never lived in a house with a wood burning fire place. But I find the concept very appealing because of all the beautiful imageries I saw in movies and television while growing up. I would love to spend a winter vacation in an old house so I can build a fire in the furnace and curl up next to it while drinking hot cocoa. And maybe toast some marshmallows.

Have you ever lived in a house with a fire place? Did you enjoy or was it more work than it seemed?

Hairless Dog

I saw this hairless dog at the downtown street fair a couple weeks ago. It received a lot of curious stares including a couple of "Ewwwww!"s from the kids. The dog demeanor was very nervous and jittery like a chihuahua but it is about the size of a Jack Terrier.

The owners told me the dog was specifically bred for its hairless qualities. Have you seen anything like this before? This was my first time.

Ouch! Is that a fruit?

I took this photo a couple months ago at the Patel Brothers, an Indian supermarket in Jackson Heights, Queens. It is a tropical fruit that is quite delicious.

Can you guess what it is?

Update: It is a jackfruit, which is a kin of the mulberry tree. Click on the highlighted word on the left for more information.

Ming Goes to Washington

I was in Washington DC for work earlier this week and managed to take some great photos of the subway system there. Even though these photos are not of New York City, I hope you would allow me the opportunity to post the photos from my trip.

The subway system in Washington DC is spotlessly clean and absolutely gorgeous. The design of the platforms and tunnels in the waiting area look like a futuristic movie set. And like the Paris Metro, there are electronic billboards announcing the wait time for the next available trains. Unfortunately, the subway lines there cover only a limited area and shut down after midnight.

Do you have a rapid transport system or subway in your city?

Green Leaves

I took this photo while looking up from under a tree. It was a very spontaneous and random shot and the photo came out very nicely. I love the colors and the textures of the leaves.

Do you have a spontaneous or random shot that came out better than you expect?

Fire Escape 3

This is another beautiful fire escape of a building in Nolita (North of Little Italy), which is located between Bloome Street and Houston (pronounced as House-ton) Street. Nolita is currently a hip retail district where small boutiques sell clothes and home furnishings by up-and-coming local and international designers. Recently, there has been a push by local businesses to bring in higher-end Italian retailers like Armani, Versace and Gucci to establish the area as an extension of Little Italy.

Fire Escape 2

This is a beautiful and ornate fire escape on the back lot of the Puck Building in SoHo (South of Houston Street). The building, or the front facade of it, is probably most famous as the place where Grace Adler of the tv-series, Will & Grace has her office.

The building got its name from the two gold statues of Puck, the Shakespeare character in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," at the front entrance. It is now home to the New York University's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Close Up of the Tree in SoHo

A lot of you asked me about the tree in yesterday's photo. Here is a close-up of the tree with the green buds growing out of its branches. It is definitely an odd looking tree. Does anyone know what kind it is?

Fire Escape

Older apartment buildings in NYC like this one in SoHo has to have an external fire escape because it does not have a water sprinkler system inside. The fire escape, however presents a security problem because it makes it easier for burglars to enter the apartment.

My first apartment in New York City was burglarized many years ago. The burglar climbed up the fire escape and entered the apartment through my bedroom window. Luckily, nothing important was stolen. I remember being traumatized for days after that. I was afraid to come home and when I did, I would ring the door bell a couple of times before entering the apartment. Obviously, I can laugh about it now but at the time, I had lost my sense of security.

Sunday Brunch

I love Sunday brunch. This is one of my favorite breakfast meals -- eggs cooked sunnyside up, sausages, home fries, rye toasts with butter and a cup of good coffee. Yes, it is cholesterolville and not something to be eaten every morning but it is a perfect meal before a visit to the museum or a walk around the city on a Sunday morning.

Chuckeroon of Richmond upon Thames Daily Photo has a totally different idea of a perfect Sunday breakfast. And I think his choice is healthier than mine. What would you like for Sunday brunch?

N.B.: I will be in Washington, DC for the next couple of days. Two&2 of LA Daily Photo will be posting the photos for me if I do not have access to a computer in DC.

Takashi Murakami at Gagosian Gallery

I have been a big fan of Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami's work since he exhibited his sculptures in front of the Rockefeller Center a couple years ago. This month, his art work is being exhibited at the Gagosian Gallery in the Upper East Side.

Takashi Murakami is probably most famous for his cartoon work and hangbag design for the Louis Vuitton label. He has frequently been compared to Andy Warhol because of his commentaries on consumerism and pop culture through his art work.