ROY X CONE contest, 1.1.11 - 2.1.12

[almostnice]

will a M4 suit your needs?

but before this goes over the top again,one last contribution to the humour theme

sorry for the little derail,but it was All Quiet on the Denim Front.

[robbie]

haha. (10 chars)

[entertainment!]

Was hanging out in Union Square yesterday.

Decided to go to Old Town for a drink.

Two pairs of ROY X CONE?

[roy6]

Being an excellent judge of crotches, I think that is not you standing. Who is wearing those nicely faded RxCs and hasn't posted pics of them?

Looks kind of familiar...

[not too tight]

Picked up a pair of Alden Snuff Suede Indys today at a consignment store in Manhattan. Here is a fit outside my apartment before I left.

They have this statue of Predator made of motorcycle parts and metal in front.

There are the boots.

I decided I was tired of being hot and gave myself a hair cut. Not the best idea because now I regret it. Basically an awful crew cut to wear for awhile now. Photos of that and he recently hand washed Roys soon.

[Paul T]

Nice boots. Small world. I was checking out their Stronghold - 30 bucks - yesterday morning. Managed to restrain myself.

[almostnice]

After the failed Blitzkrieg yesterday i needed a day of rest and peace,so the Nice family invaded a friends idyllic weekend resort on the countryside.a star spangled banner greeted us,wobbling tauntingly in the air.utter mockery!

see that loo on the left? just let your dumb follow by a fistful of cat litter.simple and dirty

the hippiesque dining table

a cheap rubberboat keeps the kids busy

time for a little discovery tour

couldnt resist, dkatz

view from the other backside

[almostnice]

walked back

sat down

a kids book caught my interest

realized that our childhood books were utterly crap(compared to this state-of-the-art example for sex education)

decided to read the newspaper,which was more accommodatingly

[zissou]

Our newspapers in Utah are definitely not that entertaining! Jeans are looking great, markus.

Day #3 of the class took us up Big Cottonwood Canyon where we hiked through aspen and Douglas-fir forests. Wildflowers were peaking around 7500 ft in elevation, but were still very behind just 1000 ft higher. What a beautiful day!

Our trail for the day...

I love hiking through Douglas-fir forests. There were red squirrels running everywhere. They love to sit in the trees and tear apart the cones for the seeds inside. The huge piles of cone scales enrich the soil, which helps fungi to grow, which helps the trees to grow and also provides mushrooms for the squirrels, which cache the mushrooms, dispersing the spores and helping the mushrooms to grow. It's one big happy ecosystem.

I shared a new tree with everyone- the Pondersoa pine. Needles in bundles of three, seven inches long.

Sadly, like many conifers in the west, they have been hit hard with bark beetle outbreaks and fungi.

We hiked through what was quite possibly the most beautiful aspen grove I've ever seen.

And finished off the day on a wildlife hike up at Silver Lake, about 8600 ft in elevation.

Happy trails!

[almostnice]

cheers zissou.seeing your trail pics leads me to a letter i received from my health insurance today.i am going to enjoy a rehabilitation for my lumbar disc lesion from july 26 in a health spa in upper franconia,bavaria.it took them only three months to make a decision for a three week rehab.cant wait to learn nordic walking,aqua aerobic and fancy basket weaving.

[ThisSunday]

These are from yesterday

Then walked thru Central Park

[ThisSunday]

Stopped at a gallery that had Pulp art. I loved it

[ThisSunday]

Took an old man nap in the park

Then on to the Met

[ThisSunday]

And for a finale. I finally picked up some buttons for my suspenders

A tiring day in the NYC heat and humidity. Didn't take any food pics but I did eat a few times while I was out. Nothing fancy, just classic NY street food.

[zissou]

cheers zissou.seeing your trail pics leads me to a letter i received from my health insurance today.i am going to enjoy a rehabilitation for my lumbar disc lesion from july 26 in a health spa in upper franconia,bavaria.it took them only three months to make a decision for a three week rehab.cant wait to learn nordic walking,aqua aerobic and fancy basket weaving.

Ach, disc problems are never fun I am glad you'll have a chance to recover, and be sure to post photos! Can't wait to see your baskets.

Looks like a fantastic day! I love Alphonse Mucha's work...

[ThisSunday]

I love Mucha too. Art Nouveau has been on my mind quite a bit lately. Unfortunately after waiting 1 1/2 to see the McQueen exhibit, I wasn't in the mood to love for more of his work.

[Paul T]

markus, great that you've finally got a break, I'm sure it's well earned. If mrs almostnice comes, make sure she waits on you hand and foot.

So… I was going to wait until my trip was done before I posted, but here I am, stuck in a room on Boston and I realise i have a bunch of photos.

I arrived in NYC Tuesday ready for the US publication of my Bowie book. Was initially worried I didn't have enough to do. Now I'm completely freakin' knackered, these bastards are working me like a dog! MOnday is the big day, and I will be up and down Manhattan to various radio stations. The weekend was quiet - then I managed to sort out an interview for the pitch, for my next project. So I couldn't be happier, one book finished, another one a possibility,

I had just one meet my first day, over towards the West Village. This is one of my favourite parts of town, altho this time i'm in the East Village.

It's crazily hot compared to London - I was envious of these kids at the Bleecker st playground. then I got nostalgic and thought my nipper would love the fire hydrants spraying out water, then I spotted the rainbow…

you can see it, yes?

Again, for nostalgia's sake, in the evening I went to Kaya sushi in the village - nothing specialy, just a typical family-run place. And cheap. Yeah!

But then - wtf? English weather is suddenly here?

Ohmygod my Roy's have just had another soak! It's all over!

Sun was back the next day. Just a couple of blocks away, off Lafayette, I love this building - an original Singer shop front, beautiful sinuous cast iron just like the sewing machines themselves.

Now… familiar?

I know I've been here before - but I can't remember when. Terrible how the mind goes with old age.

Now, roy6 loses points for not recognising my crotch. Can't work out why.

I had a great evening with entertainment! and we didn't even get to talk about the Gang Of Four. We shared lots of architectural geekery, and he told me about some buildings in the UK I have to visit. Cheers, John, it was a wonderful night.

There was a full moon over East 4th street by the time I walked home.

[Paul T]

Friday, more meetings, went well. I walked down to the west side, near the meatpacking district, where I've stayed in the past. I love that some parts are so well-scrubbed, others semi-derelict…

horses' butts.

That evening i ate by myself at the Jones cafe. Had one of their pretty good gumbos for old time's sake.

It was one of those blissful times, overshadowed with sadness. An old hangout from my last couple NYC trips, it's on on Great Jones, a little, rough cobbled street which was the haunt of Warhol and Basquiat and the location of Don Delillo's heady, hypnotic novel Great Jones Street - the story of a rock star who disappears (fittingly, the street's a few blocks from David Bowie's current abode). Then I read about the snow on the warehouse window ledges - and I remembered how I wrote the obituary for Ron Asheton, the architect of the Stooges' moronic inferno, on this street during the January 2009 freeze - I had to perch in the snow in search of a wifi hotspot to send the copy in. David didn't rate Ron - he thought the Stooges sound was all down to Iggy. He was wrong. I miss Ronnie.

And still that full moon. And still it's pretty hot. I sleep with the ceiling fan running

Today I had to get up early to do my laundry, I wandered to a couple places on the lower east side. And, hilariously, got recognised by xrevengex on the basis of my Veldtschoen shoes and ROys. With luck we'll meet for a drink Sunday night. Then it was a trip on the Amtrak to see Al Kooper, the guy who played organ on Like A Rolling Stone and founded Blood Sweat and Tears. I've driven thru Massachusetts and Connecticut before - this was a great opportunity to take in the scenery properly.

Looking back over Manhattan. This reminds me of the view as you come into London, there's an electircity about the place.

Further out, lots of beautiful, old factories, many of them derelict.

[Paul T]

plus the idyllic coastline of connecticut. Looks so well-scrubbed, nothing out of place.

Finally, Boston itself. Found a bar that claimed to be 100 years old (not sure about that) and to have the best local selection of beers (that was more plausible).

I had a pint of Lost Sailor IPA - excellent, five stars - then a Coney Island Amber lager - passable, three stars - and a bottle of Stone Levitation amber ale - very good, a bit warm, four stars. They served a humungous amount of food, so I made friends with adjacent drinkers who ate my French Fries and explained how the hell I could get to somerville, where I've rented a room in an old house I found via airbnb. By now I was knackered but remembered to write down directions so I wouldn't forget the way.

Nearly there. Funny how Massachusetts and Connecticit have hundreds of churches that look familiar, copied from St Martins in the Field. So I feel kind of at home.

[smittybat]

awesome update!

[robbie]

great updates gents. Klimt, that wrought iron store front... I really need to visit NY one of these days.

[zissou]

plus the idyllic coastline of connecticut. Looks so well-scrubbed, nothing out of place.

Ahh, wonderful, Paul! Do you recall passing through Mystic, just before you hit Rhode Island? That's where I'm from! Much of my family still lives there.

[roy6]

Excellent updates, Paul. Mr. 6 recognized many of your locales and wanted to rep you (after I explained the concept) but alas...

[Paul T]

Ahh, wonderful, Paul! Do you recall passing through Mystic, just before you hit Rhode Island? That's where I'm from! Much of my family still lives there.

Mystic was beautiful, IIRC, a big harbour, little boats tied up and a bunch of older building to the left. I made a note of the name, as it's so romantic. I will check it out again on the way back.

[ThinFinn]

great updates on the last pages.

Paul - great pics from the US...now we wanna see more meetup pics

Markus - und ich dachte die Bildzeitung wäre interessant

[zissou]

If you have the time, Paul, take exit 90 off of I-95 and head south on Rte 27. That will take you past the Mystic Seaport, which is a living history museum devoted to 19th Century ship building. If you can believe it, I used to work there Just past the Seaport, turn right on Holmes St. and that will take you into Downtown Mystic.

Now I'm feeling all nostalgic!

[Maynard Friedman]

If you have the time, Paul, take exit 90 off of I-95 and head south on Rte 27. That will take you past the Mystic Seaport, which is a living history museum devoted to 19th Century ship building. If you can believe it, I used to work there Just past the Seaport, turn right on Holmes St. and that will take you into Downtown Mystic.

Now I'm feeling all nostalgic!

I hear they have good pizza there...

[ThisSunday]

I went to Mystic a couple of times when I was a kid. I think I need to go back.

Nice updates Paul T

[zissou]

I hear they have good pizza there...

Actually, the pizza is pretty terrible. Ever since the movie, that place has been mobbed with tourists. I used to live just a couple houses from Mystic Pizza, and every time I walked by, I'd photobomb tourists in front of the sign.

When they were filming one of the scenes where Julia Roberts is riding around on her scooter, one of my friends rode his bike past, and they had to reshoot the scene.

I went to Mystic a couple of times when I was a kid. I think I need to go back.

We used to also give New Yorkers wrong directions. Sorry, man.

[robbie]

This sunday - so fucking solid this weekend, repped!