STL DPB ON THE ROAD - DOH!

When I was standing in the middle of the NY Halloween parade my eye was drawn to the color on these women. I didn't immediately get the reference. My six year old granddaughter, Ellie, was sitting next to me when I was starting to flip through the photos. "Marge Simpson!" she exclaimed. "Patty and Selma!"

Except that patty and Selma usually have the same dull purple hair. And they always have cigarettes, not smart phones, in their hands. But okay, so I was just stood up on a cultural reference by a small child. Won't be the last time.

The surname of the never-married sisters and Marge's maiden name is Bouvier. Some may remember that it was Jacqueline Kennedy's maiden name. Deep.           

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - YELLOW AND BLUE

Yellow and blue. No particular reason. There is just so much inventory from the New York parade and I don't have new local material. By the way, that long blue tail in the second picture is a whip.           

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - WHAT IF YOU SAW THIS COMING UP 6TH AVENUE?

Run or vote?

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS

New York, a city of 8.4 million people, contains many immigrants. (And, of course had many emigrants, comme moi,)  Some of the marchers in the Halloween parade dressed in themes referring to places far away. Top: the man looks like a young Yadier Molina, the Cardinals great catcher, minus the tattoos. Bottom: some but not all of my readers will get the reference in the second photo. Actually, although the image felt familiar, I needed help from a younger family member. If you need a hint, click here.             

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH ALL THESE PICTURES?

I took hundreds of pictures Thursday night at New York's Halloween parade. It was a technical challenge. The only lighting was street lamps and, of course, the subjects were moving. Lots of shots were out of focus but many were real keepers. There are many, many more. Just keep posting them, I guess.    

CITY DAILY PHOTO NOVEMBER THEME DAY - BROWN(ISH)

Souvenir of my visit to New York. This is The Vessel, the multi story Escher-ish sculpture at the new Hudson Yards development in Manhattan. Thank heavens there is an elevator (vertical track in the center) or I would have never made it to the top. It is of limited use, though - just six people every 15 minutes. Olivier scampered all the way up.

Is bronze close enough for the theme?      

SO DO I

Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!

                              - Claptrap by Sir Walter Scott

I love this place. It's just happenstance that I don't live here any more (not that I'm sorry about where I ended up). There are other big cities with high energy (Los Angeles, Tokyo) but none of them has the muscle, the scale, the sense of enormous possibility that New York has. If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere.

Olivier and I shot the NYC Halloween parade last night. Haven't seen so many people in such a confined area since, um, maybe Woodstock. Everyone was friendly and just out for a good time. There are so many more pictures. I fly home today and have to go straight to work but I certainly won't stay away from this place too long.