Double 9's!

Roar! Yesterday was double 9's, the 9th day of the 9th month on the Chinese calender and the most auspicious day of the year. On double 9's there is way too much Yin energy in the air so all the guys have to go out and drink smelly flower tea then climb to a high point and scream, spreading their chi out all over the land. I decided to ride to the top of the glacial moraine and hang out in Forest Park in Queens.

On my way over to Forest Park I rode past Forest Hills golf course. I had no idea there was a full golf course in NYC. Woah! Did that guy just get a hole in one?!

Here I am on top of the glacial moraine. It sure is pretty out! I love fall! Roar! I'm having some trail mix and drinking chrysanthemum tea. Yum. Then I went and ROARED real loud so all of New York could hear me! Did you?

Here is a really pretty pond over by Forest Park. I would like to come back here and paint this someday.

OH MY GOODNESS! Check out these sweet pine trees! I never knew we had trees like this in NYC. This is so amazing! All the pine needles were crunching under my feet as I stomped around! And the smell, oh my it was incredible. I love trees! Roar!

More Art Adventures!

Roar! Today I tried to sell some collage art I made over on Bedford Ave in Willamsburg. It didn't go so well. I only sold one piece. The collages were a personal interpretation of some scenes of old Brooklyn. I thought they came out looking pretty cool and they generated a lot of interest but it turns out no one was buying. I hope I didn't scare everyone away because I am a dinosaur! It was really fun making the collages. I went over to the New York Public Library and did some research in their picture collection. I made a bunch of photocopies of the stuff I thought was the coolest then I went home and cut up all the pictures with my claws. Paper went everywhere! Then I glued them together into these surrealist scenes.

Here I am on Bedford Ave trying to sell my art. It was a really nice day out. Even though I didn't sell any art at least I had fun outside.

Here is a picture of the old Fulton Street Rocket Train. Unfortunately it didn't last very long.

This is what Brooklyn Heights used to look like! Roar!

This is in Dumbo over on Barry Street. That pigeon is looking a little nervous. I don't think he realized this was an owl bar. Not to mention the eyes of the Lindbergh kidnapper are gathering overhead! Spooky!

Roar! This is the only picture I sold. It's a back alley somewhere in Bushwick. I bet the the only reason I sold this one is that girl has a fixed gear bicycle.

Here is an old picture of the Williamsburg Savings Bank.

Roar! Crown Heights sure was crazy in the eighties!

Another one from Crown Heights. Just look at what everyone is wearing!

Here is what McCarren Park Pool used to look like in the winter time. I love ice skating! I don't even need skates I can just use my claws! Roar!

Woah! Check out the sweet fixie that guy is riding!

Here is the Williamsburg Bridge back when the old trolley lines used to run.

This railway yard in Brooklyn is CRAZY! Watch out for all the jazz on the left Mr. Choo Choo train! You don't want to get swept up in it! Roar!

Here is a diptych I made of a cock fight between Williamsburg and DUMBO. There are lots of pretty ladies watching! Roar!

Sunnyside Up!

Roar! Today was so nice out! I rode over to Sunnyside to check out this famous garden I've heard so much about.

Queens is such a suburban borough. Check out this ridiculously nice street! Everyone has lawns and look at all the pretty trees! I bet they get really pretty once all the leaves start to change color. Then there will be piles of leaves to play in! That is so much fun!

Here I am in front of the entrance to the garden. Turns out the garden is private and you have to be on a committee to be allowed inside! What is this Gramercy Park?!

I decided not to let this set back ruin my day. I just rode around a whole bunch of Queens enjoying the nice weather then headed home. I guess sometime things don't always go as planned but it's always nice to go outside and get some exercise! Roar!

Superfund? More like SUPER FUN!

ROAR! So it turns out the EPA wants to declare Newtown Creek as a Superfund Site officially making it one of the most polluted places in the country. I read claims that there is now more oil in Newtown Creek than was spilled in the Exxon Valdez disaster! Apparently Brooklyn has been leaking my ancestors in the creek for the past 100 years. I decided I just had to check this place out. So I rode my bike through Greenpoint and over the Pulaski Bridge where they have a nice rest area right over Newtown Creek!

The NYC skyline is really pretty this time of day. Too bad that water down below is so polluted!

Look at that nasty water down there! There is trash floating around and you can see oil and chemicals floating on the surface! GROSS! I don't understand how people can even live around here!

Here you can see a bunch of the industrial factories along the creek. They've been leaking chemicals and sewage into the water. The EPA even says some of those could get into the air. I better hold my breath next time I cross the bridge!

I threw up a sticker on the bridge and decided it was time to head home.

While riding down Morgan Ave on my way home I passed this crazy fashion shoot by the L train stop.

I'm not sure what they were taking pictures for. I guess the industrial area of Bushwick is just all the rage for fashion shoots now.

Next I rode past the Boar's Head distribution center. Look at all those trucks full of tasty meat! Oh man, I'm so happy I live so close to this place! ROAR!

Columbus Day Art Adventure!

ROAR! Today I rode up to the PS1 MoMA gallery in Queens. It's really cool. The museum has lots of local artists on display and it's suggested donation unlike the MoMA in Manhattan. The PS1 is in a big old schoolhouse and it's really fun to wander around all the rooms. Unfortunately they were setting up new exhibits so there were only a few things to see.

They had this crazy indoor pool where you could see people hanging out below under the water. It was a neat trick! Here I am getting ready to go for a dip.

Now I am floating around under the water! Everybody was so surprised to see a T-Rex swimming around them.

Here I am hanging out on the railing. Sometimes it's cool to just chill under the water and take it all in.

Woah! Somebody lost a dollar in the pool! I tried to chase it down but it wasn't easy. T-Rex's aren't really made for swimming you know!

One other interesting exhibit in the museum was this room whose floor was completely covered in old records. It was really interesting to walk around and look at all the great music I was stomping on! Crush! Take that Bee Gees! Smash! Woah! Look out Bach, it's a T-Rex!

Next I headed over to the Socrates Sculpture Park in Astoria Queens. It another cool little place where they showcase lots of student sculpture work. Here I am standing on top of a crushed car. Haha, silly art student, he had to use a machine to crush this! I could have done it all by myself! ROAR!

Check out this giant sculpture of a bisected whale! It looks so yummy! I wish I could eat it. Cool art though. Reminds me of that whale that beached itself over in Oregon decades ago. That sure was a disaster! Go look it up. Roar!

Check it out I found the missing I and U lines! I think this is a pretty great art piece but I think maybe the artist should have included the "O" line in there between the "I" and the "U" if they're trying to make some sort of comment about the MTA.

Open NYC was today!

ROAR! Today was Open NYC, the day where all these crazy places around NYC have open houses and you can sign up for tours. The problem is all the tours are at the same time so you can only go to one. I signed up for the tour of the Jackson Heights garden apartments. It was pretty fun to walk around the historic garden community in Queens but also a little ridiculous because now the apartments all cost upwards of a million dollars an apartment. It was crazy!

Here I am in front of the Chateau, one of the fancier apartment buildings in Jackson Heights. Check out that slate roof! What is this the stone age?!

This the Towers apartment complex, apparently it was a financial failure. Sure looks nice though!

Where would New York be with out its keep off the grass signs? They really aren't too welcoming in this neck of the woods. I guess when you have a million dollar apartment you don't want to share the space.

One of the great things about Jackson Heights is it has a really diverse ethnic community. That means all kinds of exotic MEAT! Here is some delicious chilly chicken! ROAR! I love meat!

ROAR! Giant kebabs! Jackson Heights is so great! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT!

After eating a ton a awesome meat I left my mark on a street pole then rode on to my next destination, Flushing.

It turns out that day in Flushing there was this big protest against racial profiling. I decided to help out and raise awareness about an issue close to me, Dino-Profiling.

Afterwards I rode this crazy ride! Overall it was a pretty excellent day! ROAR!