#Lower east side apartment views

[thesuffolk]

Lower East Side Apartment Views : The Ultimate Guide to Lower East Side Living

Welcome to the Lower East Side, the trendy Manhattan neighborhood that boasts some of the best apartment views in the city. If you are looking to move to this bustling area or are already a resident, we have put together the ultimate guide to Lower East Side living.

Explore the Neighborhood

The Lower East Side is known for its diverse culture and historic landmarks. Start your exploration at the Tenement Museum, a preserved tenement building that tells the story of immigrants who lived in the area in the 19th and 20th centuries. For a taste of the vibrant street art scene, check out the murals and installations at the First Street Green Art Park. For a more laid-back vibe, head to East River Park, a 57-acre waterfront park with stunning views of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.

Dine Out

One of the best things about living on the Lower East Side is the incredible food scene. Whether you're in the mood for traditional Jewish deli fare or trendy fusion dishes, there's something for everyone. For a classic brunch experience, head to Russ & Daughters Cafe, a beloved institution that has been serving smoked fish and bagels for over a century. For a more upscale dinner, check out Contra, a Michelin-starred restaurant that serves inventive tasting menus.

Shop Local

The Lower East Side is home to a variety of independent shops and boutiques. For unique home decor and gifts, check out Coming Soon, a quirky shop that sells everything from ceramic vases to funky light fixtures. For stylish women's clothing, head to Assembly New York, a boutique that features avant-garde designers and contemporary brands. And for vintage finds, don't miss the Manhattan outpost of Beacon's Closet, a popular consignment shop.

Experience the Nightlife

If you're looking for a fun night out, the Lower East Side has plenty of options. For live music, check out the Bowery Ballroom, a historic venue that has hosted everyone from the Beastie Boys to Adele. For craft cocktails and speakeasy vibes, head to Attaboy, a hidden bar with no menu where the bartenders create custom drinks based on your preferences. And for a raucous dance party, don't miss the rooftop at the Hotel Chantelle, a lively spot with views of the Manhattan skyline.

Find Your Dream Apartment

Of course, the main draw of the Lower East Side apartment views . Whether you're looking for a cozy studio or a spacious three-bedroom, there's a home for every lifestyle. Check out buildings like the Ludlow, a luxury high-rise with panoramic views of the city, or the Blue, a boutique rental building with stylish finishes and a rooftop deck.

Conclusion

From the vibrant culture to the stunning apartment views, the Lower East Side is truly a special neighborhood. We hope this guide has given you a taste of what it's like to live in this dynamic area. Whether you're a longtime resident or a first-time visitor, there's always something new to discover in the Lower East Side.

[bossymarmalade]

The parlor, or living room, of the Rogarshevsky family, who immigrated to New York from Russia in 1901

The kitchen of the Gumpertzes, a German-American family that came to New York in the 1870s

Harris and Jennie Levine ran a garment shop in their tenement apartment at the height of the Jewish Lower East Side.

The Levine family’s kitchen

A view of the 97 Orchard staircase

Founded in 1988 by historian Ruth Abram and social activist Anita Jacobson, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum explores the uniquely American story of immigration and the rich, diverse landscape it continues to create. The Museum took root when Abram and Jacobson discovered 97 Orchard Street — a dilapidated tenement building that had been shuttered for more than 50 years.

[blood-grove]

tws; blood, death, body horror , injuries, gore + bones, canniblism, unhealthy coping mechanisms??, no use of y/n, soap focused, this is like so much more horror ish that the first i think pls be safe

a/n: another thing for shapeshifter reader but child :3 had this scenario in my head this is completely different sort of scenario than from the first shapeshifter

Shapeshifter!Reader but everything that went down that first night went even worse two corpses lay on the floor you didn't mean for it to happen it was the Monster to young to comprehend what you'd fully just done wiping the blood off you as you clawed at your mouth trying to get rid the disgusting taste of iron in your mouth.

But it's been a year since then, A year since you've taste the flesh of another person, A year since you sunk your yellowed teeth into someone's face ripping apart any semblance of identity, And a year since you've been in containment you were found quiet easily after the Police were called to your home that faithful night you were sent a rehabilitation facility then to another one and another.

Switched from place to place because they could tell something was wrong with you but finding out what was hard since every test came back human you had no pointed ears, fangs, or tail.

Another year past and the facility had long shut down a month or two now but you still lived stuck in this room Shapeshifters can be killed of course at a age of what 10? 11? You didn't have many forms and you were still so confused to how your powers exactly worked you never shifted at all despite the itch that had been boiling over.

You had roommates of course in the room to keep yourself social.

They were also stuck when the facility went into lockdown mode abandoning its lower value patients.

You were the only one left in the room now.

The room smelt horrible.

You were horrible.

You didn't want to be.

Licking the flesh from there bones kept off starvation.

The illusion of there still breathing body as you ate at them chewing and crunching till there flesh was no more alone but apart of you.

They had kept you alive when there heart was still beating you couldn't remember what they were.

You forced yourself to forget the taste of your flesh fearing you'd dig in for more.

But you did.

Your a parasite.

"Someone's going to get us.."

"I'm sure."

You shifted as you caressed there skull gently idly picking at the last few remaining strands of hair.

You woke to noises the next day everything still all the same the opening of doors and footsteps a new sense of hope running threw you.

A tail unknowingly sprouted out wagging quickly as you clutched the skull tightly as you got us on shaky legs stepping over rotted pieces of the body you couldn't eat and over to the door stepping up on the tip of your toes to try and see out of the window in the door.

Flinching back one a large shadow over casted the door blocking your view.

Your tail wagging in excitement as you walked back from the door to the spot in the middle of the room you'd become accustom too silently wondering if you should move there bones into there spot next to you but the doors code was unlocked before you could.

A man now stared down at you seemingly shocked at either your appearance, the fact your alive, and or the skull in your hands.

Or all of the above.

Fucking hell.

Fucking hell.

This retcon mission was not at all what he expected.

Sure he expected the usually gathering intel, looking for not trashed files or papers, And or looking for new leads.

It always gave Soap the creeps when they went on missions like these in only a couple of months this facility looked like a shit hole.

Cracked tile, Bugs, old rusting equipment.

The mere thought of people being kept here before the places decay still disgusted him.

So it caught him off guard when he picked up scent unfamiliar but he chose to trust his nose radioing in he'd be moving to the east side.

He reached the holding cells even with the locked doors along the hallway he could smell the decay nearly overwhelming his senses.

With one of the keycards he opened a few of the doors at the rare chance of life.

He was foolish to think this of course, How could anything still be alive after been trapped for months.

Yet here he is staring down a very scraggly, dirty, bloodied kid.

Holding a skull.

A Skull?

He quickly pulled himself out of his thoughts as he shifting in place sliding his weapon back into his holster crouching down.

"Hey there—"

He fully expected you to be timid, nervous, and or scared about the random man unlocking your room that was eventually going to be your grave.

He didn't expected for you to barrel into him skull still in hand hugging his arm.

Now he was downright confused.

"It's uh..It's okay- Hey.."

"I-I know they didn't forget us!-"

You started on rambling about something Soap couldn't comprehend fast enough.

"Hey hey-"

You looked up at him with tired eyes still full of life.

"..I'm gonna get you outta here alright..? Me and my friends didn't expect to find anyone..Are you hurt?"

He gave you a look over lucky he had decent enough vision in the dark no serious wounds maybe just a few cuts that had luckily scabbed over already.

"Are you taking me home..?"

"..I don't know yet..But we'll get you warm and nice and clean how about that..?"

"I don't like baths.."

"Well ya' need one- Its gonna help you feel better.."

You huffed stomping your foot which amused him but you really did need a bath he could barely make out your skin color under all the grime, blood , and dirt.

"Mm..Can ye' walk?"

You nodded as you went back into the room for a moment starting to picking up bones off a corpse he failed to noticed was there.

"Wait wait- Don't touch those."

"Why?"

"Because you'll get sick touching..stuff like that."

"But how else are they supposed to come!"

He grimaced for a bit shifting on his feet as his tail flicked.

"I..Look that was your friend yeah?"

"Mhm!"

"How about..You leave them there..And I'll send some more of my friends to come get them.."

You mulled over the choice for a while looking down to the skull in your hands tracing over a crack before deciding to leave rest of the body tucking it in like a doll before heading back over to the man still holding onto the skull how else re they supposed to see the outside?.

"Whats your name?"

"John..But my friends call me Soap."

"That's a silly name!"

"Hmph..Alright what's your name?"

"[Name]"

"Now that's a silly name-"

"Nuh uh!"

He chuckled as you huffed.

But he quickly regained his composure, He radioed in his little discovery afterwards gently ask you if he could pick you up which you allowed you were scarily light for your age.

He sighed his tail slowly swaying quietly listening as you rambled on about something.

You eventually went still after a few telling yawns, He guessed you must be horrible sleep deprived being next to a corpse couldn't have gave you good rest.

So he just kept quiet as he could still saying vigilant as he updated his position every so often as you slept.

a/n; honestly im feeling so bad at so sorry it started to downgrade at the end i couldn't think clear it starts to fall off so bad cuz head empty </3 might post some old thoughts abt how my ver of shapeshifters work....

[b7ngt4n]

The Last Remaining | Part 03

-> South Korea was left abandoned after a 'zombie' virus sweeps the nation. Left to save themselves, Y/N and a group of seven men, who she's found safety in, rely on each other to stay alive as they travel to the south side of the country on the hunt for a rumoured 'z-free' haven. But nothing is ever easy. Especially when they find it's not only just zombies they need to watch their backs for.

-> A female reader x BTS zombie apocalypse AU

-> Genre: Post-apocalyptic, action

-> Warnings for Part 3: swearing, violence

-> Word count: 2,276 words

-> Interactions are greatly appreciated xoxo 💖

Part 03: Mokpo 🧟

"Jeon Jungkook," he added with a shy smile that showed off his front teeth, "that's Jimin," he gestured to the slim man behind him.

"Hey," Jimin smiled, bowing at you and giving a small wave. You noticed his eyes disappeared as he smiled with his top teeth. He had such a pretty and gentle kind of smile. You smiled and bowed back in respect.

"Hey!" another male's voice yelled, followed by the sound of footsteps against gravel. You raised your knife to the source of the sound but you heard Jungkook whisper, “It’s alright,” as he lowered your arm down. You glanced at him, he giggled at the perplexed look on your face.

A tall man with broad shoulders soon came into your view. He’s dressed similarly to Jimin and Jungkook: cargo pants, combat boots. Except he wore a plain sweatshirt, while the other two wore plain long sleeves. He scanned the scene with wide eyes, visibly shocked by the men lying on the ground and your unfamiliar face.

"Jimin, what the hell happened?" he scolded Jimin, who was clearly apologetic towards him as he explained what happened. Broad shoulders sighed deeply while shaking his head, "I leave you both alone for two minutes and this is what you two get up to?"

"Ai, hyung~" Jungkook whined, his eyebrows pinching together, "They kept her hostage, what were we supposed to do?" He nodded to you when he said 'her.' Broad shoulders glanced at you. You noticed the immediate change in his expression: from hot-headed anger to understanding the situation and standing by their decision to help you.

He sighed once again, "well, we need to get moving, okay? Z’s are moving in from the east. We're waiting in the cars," he told the two boys before turning to Jimin with his back to you.

"Do whatever you need to do, but sort this out fast," He murmured to Jimin, who nodded and reassured his hyung by patting him on the shoulder. He didn't know you could hear him.

"Y/N," Jungkook's voice drew your attention back to him. You didn't realise how close he was to you. You could every facial detail of his: his big eyes, a silver ring on the side of his lip, long black hair, multiple ear piercings, his round cheeks. It was amazing how he looked so maintained for a month into the apocalypse. You could only imagine how scruffy you looked. You just knew your hair was all over the place. “Where are you going?"

Where were you going? Well, shit. You never thought about that. You never thought you would ever make it beyond the convenience store. But you weren't even in Seoul anymore. There was no way you could make it back to your apartment alive right?

"I don't know," you answered honestly, "I live in Seoul but I can only imagine how difficult it would be to get back."

Jungkook sighed, agreeing with you, "We live in Seoul too. But it's gotten worse with zombies. They're everywhere now. It's impossible to leave, let alone get in."

You sighed, dipping your head into your hands just for a moment to think. You were homeless. You had nowhere to go. And in the middle of an apocalypse? You wouldn't last a night by yourself.

"We're heading to Mokpo," Jungkook shared with you. You lifted your head back up to look at him. He noticed your glossy eyes and for some reason it pained him to see you upset, "we’ve heard there’s an evacuation camp set up there and the survivors are evacuating to Jeju Island.”

You nodded, taking in the sudden information. But it seemed like you didn’t get Jungkook’s point so quickly, “you can come with us,” he added.

You blankly stared at him, glancing between him and Jimin. Jimin only smiled at you, Jungkook eagerly looked at you, awaiting an answer. Well, what the heck. Where else could you possibly go?

“Okay then,” a weak but joyful smile appeared on your face.

Jungkook’s smile widened, “okay? Okay! Perfect! Okay, well we have to get going now,” he stood up, helping you up shortly after, “you alright to walk?”

You nodded, “yes I just need my bag from their car,” you nodded to Kang and Gihoon still unconscious. Jimin took it upon himself to go retrieve it, saying he’ll meet you both in the car.

“Sweetheart,” you heard a groggy moan coming from behind you. You turned to see Kang still sprawled on the floor but trying to lift his head up to look at you. All that hatred and fury rose back up inside you hearing that stupid nickname that you had picked up a large rock and were already walking towards Kang without thinking.

“It’s Y/N you bastard!” you yelled at him, raising the rock and smashing it onto his head in a fit of rage. You knocked him out of consciousness. You made sure he was still breathing though, not having the intention of killing him but simply serving your revenge.

Jungkook found himself smiling at you. Usually, he doesn’t condone violence, but your actions didn’t anger him. Matter of fact, he felt a sense of justice had been achieved. He was proud of you.

When you agreed to join Jungkook in his group's journey to Mokpo, you didn't expect to meet four more strangers who made up their group of seven. You were overwhelmed enough simply meeting Jungkook and Jimin in the most random way.

You hadn't been around a lot of people in a while that it was daunting to you. Especially when they were all men. Yes, you were the only girl out of the seven men. Now you and men didn't really have a good connection, you tend to not trust nor get along with them. Especially with your most recent encounter with Kang and Gihoon. The compatibility bar was at a whopping 1%.

You started to have second doubts about joining Jungkook and his crew. Maybe you could run away while they're asleep. Take some of their supplies, food, weapons, and maybe you're good to go solo. But you decided to sleep on running away for now. After all, Jimin and Jungkook did kind of just save you. You owed them. But you continued to keep your guard up, just in case.

You found yourself in a public parking lot only a minutes walk away. The lot was dusted clean, only a small Suzuki rested in the corner. There were two cars opened and occupied, obviously belonging to Jungkook's friends. One was a Jeep Wrangler while the other was a Hyundai Palisade. It was intimidating to feel six pairs of eyes on you all at once. But you put on a brave face nevertheless.

"Guys, this is Y/N," Jungkook announced to them. They all appeared youthful looking, somewhere in their 20s, all likely around the same age group as you. There was an uncomfortable silence as they shared looks between themselves, "she's coming with us to Mokpo."

You awkwardly smiled as they all stared at you at once, shifting on your two feet as you gave a little wave, "hi guys."

One of them decided to make the first introduction, hopping out the car to extend his hand to you. The first thing you noticed was that he was a whole head taller than you. He had broad shoulders and big biceps - a combination of broad shoulders from earlier and Jungkook's own muscular biceps, which you happened to accidentally notice about Jungkook. He had short black hair up to his eyebrows and skinny almond-shaped eyes that stood out among the rest.

"Hi, my name’s Namjoon, it's nice to meet you Y/N," he greeted you. You shook his hand as he continued, "Jimin’s already informed us on what happened earlier. I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

You managed to give him a weak smile, unsure how to feel about the sudden sympathy and that these strangers all know your business, “thank you.”

Namjoon gestured towards the Hyundai, “you must be hungry, we have lots of water and snacks in the car.”

You nodded but he noticed your hesitation as you stared at the strangers in the car, “don’t worry, we’re all friendly. You’ve already met Jimin. He’s very kind, he will take good care of you,” he pointed at Jimin sitting in the passenger seat, “that’s Yoongi. He‘s the type that’s hard on the outside but soft on the inside so don’t be alarmed if he appears distant,” he pointed to the man sitting in the drivers seat, who's zoned out into the distance, “and in the back there is Taehyung. Just a warning, he doesn’t know what boundaries are so please don’t mind him,” he pointed at the man resting on his arms against the open window. He eagerly waved at you with a big smile on his face when he noticed you staring. You waved back, chuckling at how pure he seemed.

"And over in the Jeep is Jin," he pointed to the man with broad shoulders from earlier sitting in the drivers seat, "and Hoseok in the back," he referred to the man with prominent cheekbones standing watch through the sun roof.

“Thanks Namjoon,” you thanked him for the brief introductions before walking to the car. You spotted Jungkook putting a helmet on his head and the question came out your mouth before you could even think.

“Are you not coming?” you asked clearly confused, a slight frown adorning your face. Jungkook chuckled, moving to reveal a motorcycle behind him.

“I’m coming, don’t you worry now Y/N,” he assured you, a hint of teasing in his voice, as he swung a leg over it, settling in the drivers seat.

“Oh okay,” you muttered, embarrassed you came off more worried than you intended, “be safe.”

Jungkook smiled at your awkwardness, saluting you with two fingers, “always.”

“Zombies! Let’s make a move!” you heard Namjoon’s voice yell from the Jeep.

In the distance a herd of zombies had gathered down the street. They started stumbling in your direction after hearing the roar of three engines at once. You jumped in the car to find your backpack already waiting for you and an eager seatmate by the name of Taehyung, pulling you into a very welcoming and rather tight hug. This you should've seen coming, considering Namjoon's warning. You weren’t really a physical touch kind of person. But you never knew that was the kind of healing you needed most.

In the short time you've spent in the car with Taehyung, Jimin, and Yoongi, you learned three things:

One:

Taehyung LOVES to talk (not that you're complaining. You enjoy hearing him blab on about the most random things, or oversharing embarrassing stories about Jimin)

Two:

Jimin is the most considerate person you've ever met (he asks if you're hungry, thirsty, too cold, too hot, feeling sick, feeling tired, the list can go on)

Three:

Namjoon was right about Yoongi (he seemed uninterested in you but then again asked you many questions about yourself, your hobbies, and your life pre-z)

You must've gained at least three kilograms from stuffing your face full of snacks. They had rice crackers, canned soup, water bottles, and most importantly, Doritos your favourite flavour 'Sweet Thai Chilli'. Taehyung kept you company throughout the drive, informing you all about his plan for when the apocalypse is over.

"I'm going to open up a dog cafe where you can eat with dogs surrounding you," he told you (and the entire car too), "and I'll let dog owners bring their dogs too. Oh! And I'll also serve dog food for free because the dogs deserve to eat as well."

You laughed. It was a pretty solid plan he had. You liked his enthusiasm and that he dreamt big for the future. You admired his hope. It bought you your own sense of hope. That there's some kind of normality that comes after all of this. But just as you opened your mouth to say something, Yoongi muttered, "Why're they slowing down?"

You sat up to look out the windscreen as everyone's attention diverted to the cars in front. You could hear the roar of Jungkook's motorcycle die down as he came to a stop. The Jeep in front of you too came to a halt as well. You could see Jungkook frantically pointing to the floor as Namjoon got out the car to see what he was talking about. Based off the panic you could see on Jungkook's face and the seriousness of Namjoon's, you could tell that whatever stopped them wasn't a good thing. As soon as Yoongi stopped the car, they all got out to join the others. You followed behind them shortly, slinging your backpack on in a hurry.

"What's going on?" Yoongi asked Namjoon. Everyone had crowded around Namjoon. He was staring down at the floor, everyone else followed. You were driven by curiosity, legs moving closer to see what he was looking at.

Lined horizontally along the road was a skinny row of spike strips. They blended so well into the asphalt concrete that they were nearly invisible. It would have been impossible to have seen that while driving. And it would have been too late to do anything about it once all your tyres are flat.

"Who leaves spike strips in the middle of a tunnel like that?" Jin complained as Namjoon bent down to inspect further. It only took you a couple seconds to realise how much danger you were in until it was too late.

"Hands in the air or we'll shoot your brains out!"

a/n: it's pretty hypocritical that i HATE when k-pop fanfics include random korean romanized words in their writing but i literally did exactly that 😭😭 don't attack me ok 😔 i just thought it fit better rather than putting jin's name because i can literally hear jungkook complaining like that BAHAHAHA 🤣 you can't tell me u don't hear it too ✋

anyways thanks for reading my pookie bums xoxo i hope u enjoyed this part, i love u all mwah mwah 😙😙

[angrylovelyheart]

Jack Kerouac, 1953

In Allen Ginsberg's handwriting: "Jack Kerouac, railroad brakeman's rule-book in pocket, couch pillows airing on fire-escape overlooking backyard clotheslines south view three flights up, my apartment 206 East 7th Street between Ave B and Ave C Lower East Side, Manhattan. He'd completed On the Road, Visions of Cody, Dr. Sax, &'d begun Book of Dreams and Pic, was in midst of subterraneous affair with 'Mardou Fox,' that novel completed same year along with his romance Maggie Cassady."

[kg-clark-inthedark]

So my fic is corvosider and all that but today I’ve been rereading it to help with writers block and was reminded again just how infatuated I am with the city of Karnaca. Dumping some examples of my love-letter-ass descriptions of that sweet sweet Jewel of the South below the cut because why not:

Corvo returning to Karnaca by ship (ch 13):

Karnaca emerges dreamlike from the morning haze when the shoreline comes into view days later. Where my attention would normally be drawn by the sprawling metropolis, its edges touched softly by the summer sunrise, I instead watch the mountain overhead. Shindaerey Peak slices a sharp, bleeding edge through the mist. Pale, pink streaks of light from the east lie, refracted through the early fog, upon the side of the mountain that faces the city. But that curious crevice that splits the mountain in two is cast completely in shadow. A dark, mysterious wound carved into such seemingly unyielding stone. It appears to me an omen of the Void that lies within.

The Outsider looking down on Karnaca from up on Shindaerey Peak (ch 12):

The view of all that is below flourishes before my eyes. The beautiful spectacle that is the Jewel of the South is distant and sprawling, showing how far up we’ve come. A low fog has settled into the valley, streaming down from the mountains and dissolving away at the ocean’s edges. The city persists through the mist with its brilliantly colored rooftops and emerald umberwood canopies, unable to be rendered pale by the gray, unsaturated filter through which the sun radiates. I can make out the northern Campo Seta District from here and dare to wonder if I can spot my old apartment building…

The Outsider briefly stopping in Karnaca for supplies before embarking on a dangerous journey (ch 12):

I follow him down the bustling street and familiar smells of Karnaca fill my nose - the spices of a street vendor cooking meat, raw seafood hanging from the stall nextdoor, the summer humidity bringing earthy, leafy aromas with every breeze that flows down from the wind corridor to mingle with the salt-tinged air of the bay. The comfort of it all is intoxicating.

I end up hurrying past him. If we dawdle here too long, I’ll never want to leave.

Corvo and the Outsider leaving Karnaca together (ch 7):

The ship begins moving now and we quiet down. The two of us watch as the city we both love fades further and further away. As the minutes pass, its details begin to blend together in the windy seaside haze. Individual buildings become whole city blocks, masses of beige plaster and painted concrete shining in the late morning sun. The towering wind turbines appear as thin as dandelion wisps at this distance. Now from this vantage point, the mountains look like great hands, cradling the city and lowering it to drink at the water’s edge.

[pwlanier]

Making Art by Day, Guarding It by Night.

Greg Kwiatek, a painter, at his studio in the garment district in Manhattan, April 21, 2023. Over 25 years walking the museum’s midnight shift, Kwiatek learned how to look for the hidden subtleties of paintings, which helped inform his own. (Victor Llorente/The New York Times)

NEW YORK, NY.- The small hours of the morning — when the galleries were empty, hushed and dim — were Greg Kwiatek’s favorite part of his 25 years as a night guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when he could spend hours looking at a single painting like El Greco’s “Christ Carrying the Cross,” J.M.W. Turner’s “Whalers” or ​Johannes Vermeer’s “A Maid Asleep.”

Then, shortly after sunrise, Kwiatek, now 74, went home to his rent-controlled railroad flat apartment in Hoboken, New Jersey ($557 a month) to work on his own paintings, which were often inspired by those he’d guarded at the museum.

Now Kwiatek’s work is on view, through May 14, in a small group show at Fierman Gallery on the Lower East Side.

“He developed a very intimate relationship with much of the collection, and a lot of that has really permeated his practice,” said Alissa Friedman, who organized the show, “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,” which includes work by artists Chonon Bensho and Amy Bessone. “Some of his works are direct homages.”

Working at the Met taught Kwiatek how to look. When the Met had a Francis Bacon retrospective in 2009, for example, Kwiatek said he logged about 70 hours.

“You get an hour to do a route,” Kwiatek said in a recent interview at his cramped garment district studio, referring to one of the museum’s seven sections. “I would do a route in maybe 40 minutes, and then I would have 20 minutes to focus on one piece. I got to know some paintings pretty well by doing that.”

Kwiatek is emblematic of a large but little-known swath of the art world — those who have never been famous and likely never will be but doggedly, passionately keep at it anyway.

His paintings are quiet and understated. He often makes versions of the same image repeatedly — in particular a series inspired by a 1906 photograph of Paul Cézanne carrying his paintings. The small ones go for about $5,000; the larger ones for about $20,000. He also painstakingly sews needlepoint images, many of which echo his paintings of the moon and sun.

A tall, solid man from a Polish family in Pittsburgh, Kwiatek radiates the taciturn intensity of an introvert who would much rather be communing with paintings than humans.

Indeed, this is what made Kwiatek gravitate toward the overnight shift at the Met in 1987, where he worked until retirement in 2011. “I’m not a people person,” Kwiatek said. “I figured by working at night, I wouldn’t have to deal with the public much.”

The schedule wasn’t easy — working from 12:15 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. and then going home to paint meant he was always tired. But the lifestyle suited him. And he took pride in the work.

“My job was to walk at least four hours a night,” Kwiatek said. “You know every square inch of this building — you’re doing surveillance. You cover every gallery, every catwalk, every roof, cellar, offices, bathroom. You’re looking for fire and water and so on.”

It’s been over a decade since Kwiatek last walked these routes, yet the Met’s physical plant remains in his bones. “Route Three includes European painting, painting conservation, Japanese art, musical instruments, Arms and Armor,” he said. “The Rockefeller wing, that would be Route Six. You’re looking at all the cases. You’re looking at that boat that’s hanging from the ceiling.

“We’re drinking 20 cups of coffee a day. I would sleep an hour on my lunch break at 4 o’clock in the morning,” he continued. “You’re living with works of genius. And I’m not a genius. But I knew that what I had the privilege of guarding — it was otherworldly.”

Kwiatek was featured in Alexandra M. Isles’ 2011 documentary “Hidden Treasures: Stories from a Great Museum” talking about the layers in El Greco’s “View of Toledo.”

“From this point of view, this modest-size painting looks like a very large painting, the details are not clear — is it a landscape? Is it an abstraction? Maybe it’s a mirage,“ Kwiatek says in the film. “The hidden subtleties will not reveal themselves unless one is willing to come back time and time again and live with this work in an extended relationship.”

Growing up near Polish Hill in Pittsburgh — where his father worked in the steel mill, and his mother crocheted in front of soap operas — Kwiatek got his first exposure to art at the historic Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, which was influenced by baroque and Renaissance architecture.

Art Daily

[tybarious-ii]

Jeep XLI CJ-5

"Tentatively dated 1964, these photos show a prototype developed by Kaiser Jeep to be exported as knock-down kits to emerging markets, under the title of the eXport Low Investment (XLI) programme.

The design was for a simplified body that could be easily made locally without a large-scale investment in industrial facilities, which would then be assembled on to a chassis and drivetrain exported from the US.

The version shown here was based on the CJ‑5, although designs were also drawn up for the longer wheelbase CJ-6, a format that was often more popular outside America. Some parts are recognisably CJ in origin – the headlights, hood latches, seats, rear-view mirror, tailgate chains and tail-lights – while others were borrowed from the Gladiator pick-up: the instrument cluster and, most obviously, the front grille.

The latter seems a curiously ornate touch for such a back-to-basics design, although it’s likely it would have been exported with the chassis and was perhaps chosen for its simplicity as a single bolt-on part.

The XLI even had something the CJ-5 didn’t – metal doors – while a steel canopy hard-top was created that included sliding side windows and a lower back panel.

In overseas markets, Jeeps often fell foul of local regulations that required the headlights to be placed further apart, and it seems that may have been foremost in the designer’s minds. They did manage to retain the folding windscreen, although the frame’s design and hinge were much simplified.

The XLI CJ may not have had many friends inside Jeep, however. Internally, employees called it ‘The Flintstone Mobile’ after the popular TV cartoon series. And with neither of the CJ-based XLI models making it into production, it seems few friends were found elsewhere, either. Land Rover, Toyota and others were already well established by the 1960s in developing markets such as Africa and the Middle East, and it’s possible that making headway against the incumbents may have proved too great a task for the squared-off CJ.

In the end, Kaiser had more success with a pared-back XLI version of the Gladiator assembled in Tuzla, near Istanbul, and used mainly by the Turkish military."

source

[i-am-the-entertainer]

Tick, Tick... Boom! Filming Locations

Some people have too much time on their hands. I am one of those people.

One of the things I love about Tick, Tick... Boom is the obvious affection the filmmakers have for the NYC theater scene, an affection shared with the film's subject Jonathan Larson. To that end, I recently decided to try to identify some of the filming locations in the film.

One thing that was extremely helpful in this process was the "special thanks" list in the film's credits, which names a lot of the orgs that were used in location shooting and from which I was able to make some really good guesswork.

Note that this is mainly for location shoots. Things like the recreated Moondance Diner, which was done on a set, are not included in this.

508 Greenwich Street - Jonathan's apartment

(from MWhiteShelley on Twitter/X) This is probably the most obvious location: Jonathan Larson's actual address. While interiors of the apartment itself were filmed on a set in a soundstage, it is obvious on viewing the film that there was some location shooting at the building, most prominently in "No More" when Jonathan and Michael enter and climb the stairs.

The Underground Theater at Abrons Arts Center - The musical theater workshop scene

(from their website) You'll probably recognize this brutalist theater from the Stephen Sondheim workshop scene (which, according to this video, was one of the last scenes shot) – it also briefly appears a few shots earlier in the scene where Ira Weitzman is observing Jonathan rehearsing. The Abrons Arts Center is located in the Lower East Side and is part of the Henry Street Settlement.

The Strand Bookstore - "30/90" and Sextet

(From an article by The Guardian, photo by Bruce yuanye Bi/Alamy) The Strand is instantly recognizable to New Yorkers, maybe less-so for others unless you've visited as a tourist. It's a giant independent bookstore located two blocks from Union Square. Prominently featured in "30/90" and visited by Jonathan during the "Sextet Montage" where he tries to sell some of his records.

Teatro LATEA at the Clemente - Susan's dance recital

(from their Instagram) This one was a little harder, because obviously it's just a black box theater and how many of those are there in NYC? What clued me in was 1) the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, where Teatro LATEA is located, is thanked in the credits and 2) those chairs (a little bit more obvious in this photo). I've seen and worked a fair number of shows in that theater, and as soon as I noticed the very distinctive chairs for Susan's dance recital I was able to look more closely at the scene and immediately could map out the layout of Teatro Latea.

The Delacorte Theater - "Why"

Another easily recognizable location for locals, the Delacorte is the amphitheater where Jonathan sneaks in and sings "Why". It doesn't get named in the film but it does in the stage version.

Hunter College's Thomas Hunter Hall Sixth Floor North Dance Studio - The Superbia workshop

(from Facebook) This was, without question, the hardest location to find. In the film it's identified as being in the Theater District, specifically at Playwrights Horizons (an Untapped Cities article about filming locations even claims this, and uh, basically gets everything wrong). However, if you've ever been to the modern Playwrights Horizons, it looks very different, both on the inside and the outside, and while they do have rehearsal spaces in a slightly less-remodeled building on Lafayette Street, none of the spaces there look like that. The reference to Hunter College in the credits narrowed it down, and then it was just a matter of finding photos of the studios (this gallery of recent restoration work shows the different angles that you will recognize from the movie), discovering an architectural plan of some planned renovations in the building, and then looking out the windows of the building and comparing it to Google Maps street view to figure out which side of the building it was on.

...I have waaaaay too much time on my hands.

I do want to point out, Thomas Hunter Hall is actually located on Lexington Avenue between 68th and 69th, quite a few blocks northeast from the Theater District depicted in the film.

New York Theatre Workshop - The framing scenes

(from a New York Theatre Guide article) The real Jonathan Larson's artistic home, where he performed both Rent and the original version of tick, tick... BOOM! thirty years ago. Both the theater's exterior (at the start of "Louder Than Words") and interior (the tick, tick... BOOM! performance scenes) feature prominently in the movie.

Fun fact: when they were shooting the film in March, they originally planned to film the NYTW scenes inside a recreated set because there was a show playing at the theater at the time (though not referenced in the linked video, I happen to know that the show was Endlings by Celine Song, the writer/director of the recent Oscar contender Past Lives) but when filming restarted the theater was available again because of the shutdown.

Any other locations you recognized that I didn't include? Let me know! Currently trying to figure out where Michael's apartment building (Victory Towers) was located – the scene in the car leading to the arrival at teh building makes me think it's somewhere near Central Park, but that footage could also have been filmed separately.

[elizabethplaid]

The Singing, Ringing Tree - 1957

wiki page

trailer

full movie on youtube

Back in 2012, I watched “The Singing, Ringing Tree” on dvd, after seeing a picture of it on tumblr. I saved 15 14 images from the movie, mostly for costume reference. Thank you, @pandaskywalker​, for expressing interest in seeing them.

This will be a long post, so all the images and text are under the cut.

The Singing, Ringing Tree is a 1957 fairytale movie, filmed in East Germany. My interest was caught when I saw a screencap of a girl with green hair next to a giant fish, which seemed to be stranded in the desert. After tracking down the title and a wait with my Netflix disc queue, I finally got to see the film.

It features many elements seen in various fairytales: a prince turned into a bear, a spoiled princess who must learn what true beauty is, the promise of giving someone "whoever greets [the character] first" when arriving home, and lessons and trials in groups of three. While the princess is a lovely 1950s blond, I preferred the green hair.

I've done my best to keep the screencaps in chronological order with the story, but the images I saved are mainly for costuming reference and give little information about the story.

#1 - princess pouting in bed

After rejecting the prince's offer of the singing, ringing tree, and then sending her father after the prince once she changed her mind, she finally got her singing, ringing tree... but it would not make a sound for her. The tree would only sing and ring if the princess truly loved the prince.

The little pigtails with such a sour pout are amusing. The blue dress in the background is the one she wears for most of the tale, and it's my favorite of the few costumes she has.

#2 - entering the garden

Perhaps the tree would sing and ring if it were in sunlight? The princess and her nurse went out to the garden, even though they were worried the bear would take her away. After all, the king had promised his daughter to the bear (unknowingly) so he could bring the singing, ringing tree back to the princess.

It was really hard getting a good full-view of the dress before it started falling apart.

#3 - first by the pond

The spoiled princess insisted the singing, ringing tree be put in the middle of the garden, in the fish pond. "Put it in there? But what about all the fish?" the nurse asked. The princess said she grew tired of the fish, that the pond should be drained.

Here you can see a bit of the details of the blue gown's sleeves and all the gold drop-beads that hang from the shoulder piece.

#4 - emptying the fish

After the water had drained from the pond, the nurse gathered the dying fish in her skirts. The nurse added lots of soil into the empty pond, so the tree could be planted.

Another view of the dress, as close to full-view as I could find, again, before the dress is damaged in the story.

#5 - shaking the tree

Even though the tree was planted in the "best place" in the garden, it still would not sing or ring for the princess. The princess grew angry and threatened to burn the tree if it did not sing or ring.

This view shows how there are two layers to the lower part of her sleeve, one blue and one white.

#6 - scared away the big fish

After the bear had kidnapped the princess and taken her back to the magical kingdom, the princess had a tough time adjusting to her new home. As she approached the bear greeting the giant fish at the pond, the fish swam away, afraid of the princess. She asked the bear, "Where is my silver bath? I demand my silver bath!" The bear replied that the water here was clean and clear, but the stubborn princess was too spoiled. "You expect me to bathe there? I'm a princess!"

A side view of her sleeve, with a glimpse of the back of the dress.

#7 - horse with antlers

As she approached the bear gathering moss, she scared away this magical deer. (I think it's supposed to be a deer, but it's clearly a horse with fake antlers.) The princess said to the bear, "Where is my feather bed? I am tired." The bear said the moss was soft enough to sleep on. "You expect me to sleep on moss? I'm a princess!"

This horse-deer thing is hilarious to me. But hey, it's a 1957 movie filmed on a sound stage. They had cool effects and beautiful sets, so maybe they spent all the budget before they made the "deer".

#8 - princess turns ugly

The princess ordered the nearby birds to fly down to her. When they flew away, she accused the bear of telling all the creatures of the land to stay away from her. The bear said that the creatures do not see her beauty like humans do. They see her based on what's in her heart and how she treats others. The bear described the ugly features they saw on her, to which the princess replied, "I want to stay just the way I am." The evil dwarf who ruled the land (and had changed the prince into the bear) used his magic to make the princess's outer beauty reflect her inner beauty.

Yep, I love that hair color and style. The turned-up nose was rather cute, too.

#9 - princess kissing a bird

After helping the bear to build their shelter, the princess went to gather berries. The evil dwarf blew a strong wind over the land, which knocked a bird from its tree perch. The princess gathered the bird and took it back to the bear; together, they bandaged the bird's wing. When the bear explained that treating others nicely would attract more of the birds, the princess realized the birds had stayed away earlier because of how she mistreated the birds in her kingdom.

Right after this image, her nose changed back to "normal" to show that the princess's heart was changing.

#10 - princess comforting the frozen fish

While washing her hands in the water, the giant fish appeared swam close to the princess. The evil dwarf froze the water, trapping the fish, but the princess was able to free it by breaking the ice with her shoe. She realized why the fish ran away earlier: because she had mistreated the fish in her garden.

You can see how her dress changes along with how the character develops. The skirt is shorter, the large collar is gone, the hanging parts of the sleeves are gone. With this scene, she abandons her golden shoes. Right after this image, she regains the color in her face.

#11 - princess with frozen fish, after change

When the fish was free and the princess had changed, the bear came over to see what was happening. The princess explained with joy how she helped the fish.

Again, you can see the dress has changed along with the character (rosy lips now). Personally, I like the dress like this. And though I liked the original "ugly" version of the princess, her rosy lips go nicely with her green hair.

#12 - princess with deer-horse, before snow

Here, the princess gathers moss while the deer-horse-thing approaches from behind.

Another full-view of the damaged dress. This might become my computer background later.

#13 - princess with deer-horse, in snow

The evil dwarf started a snow storm, which trapped the deer-horse in the valley of moss. The princess dove into the deep snow to try to free it, but could not on her own.

Those antlers are badly placed, but I have a feeling the horse might've shaken them out of place a bit.

#14 - princess with deer-horse, in snow before change

The princess went to get the help of the bear, who scooped the deep snow away from the trapped deer-horse. The princess realized that the creature was afraid of her earlier, because she had mistreated so many people and creatures in the kingdom.

Just after this image, the girl's hair returned to her "normal" golden curls. So long, lovely green hair.

========

Very happy to share these with tumblr, now that I’m removing most of my archive from flickr. This was a fun movie, though a little silly with the costuming/props. Did I mention how much I love her green hair? Came for the weird fish, stayed for the green hair.

[chooseyourownavenger]

[START] [ABOUT AND WARNINGS] [FAQ]

IRONHAWK/ Let’s get a place for ourselves in the city

“I think I’d like to get a place that was ours and not just us moving in with you, Tony,” you say.

“You know it will be mine though, right?” he says.  “I mean - I’ll be the one paying for it.”

You and Clint both laugh.  “Gee thanks for feeling so welcoming, Tones,” Clint teases. 

“You know what I mean.  I want to move in with you, but we’re hardly at the ‘sharing a mortgage’ phase and why would I even get a mortgage when I can pay for any house we get up front?” Tony argues.

“That wasn’t what I meant anyway,” you laugh, shaking your head. “I mean - I want us to choose it.  We move our things in and decorate.  If we need new furniture for rooms, for us to pick it out.  Not just your place that we have to find our space in.”

“Alright, alright,” Tony agrees.  “So what?  Are we gonna stick near here or should I buy some land upstate and build us the perfect home.”

“As nice as that second option sounds,” you say.  “I think we should stay in the city.  I mean, it’s where we work.  I don’t want to start this part of my life and figure out a new career at the same time. Plus, I can disclose the relationship with them while we’re looking and it won’t seem like I was lying this whole time.”

“Smart,” Clint says, tapping his nose.

Tony smiles.  “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.  It’s pretty exciting.”

“And a little scary,” Clint adds.

You take each of their hands in yours and pull them in close.  “We’re together.  We got this.”

The next month is quite busy with informing your boss you’re in a relationship with an Avenger and beginning the process of packing up your apartment.  Though most of your free time is now spent looking at houses.

Every weekend and occasionally after work the three of you would go out with a realtor to see different places around the city.  You see modern penthouse apartments downtown and gorgeous old brownstones on the lower east side.  No home fits you all perfectly, but each has pluses and minuses.  In the end, the three of you narrow it down to four potential places.

The first is a three-bedroom four-bathroom apartment on Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side.  It has a white glove doorman and is only a block from Central Park in a beautiful part of the city.  It’s smaller than Tony likes but has a room off the master suite that he can make into a workshop for tinkering.  It’s beautifully modern but with dashes of that beautiful prewar architecture, that’s so distinctive to New York.  Clint isn’t a big fan of the views, but he does keep saying how the living area is long enough to set up for archery.  Something neither you nor Tony like the sound of.

The second place is smaller than the first with three bedrooms, and three bathrooms.  It has the same blend of modern and prewar as the first place and a doorman but it lacks the little add-on that Tony could use as a workshop and the kitchen is much, much smaller.  It is, however, directly opposite Central Park with views out over it and it’s much closer to the Tower and has a direct subway line from it to City Hall where you work. As close to Central Park as it is, the views are exceptional, and it has a rooftop garden that Clint is in love with.  One of the bedrooms can be used as a workshop, but that will mean that if you ever do decide to have a family in the future, you’ll lose a guest room.  It also has a wet bar, which Tony is in love with.

The third place is in a similar location as the first, just off Madison Avenue but a few blocks further from the Tower.  However, where the first two are apartments, this is a ten-bedroom, fifteen-bathroom, Neo Georgian Mansion in red brick and limestone.  It’s five stories with a basement and rooftop garden.  There’s a wine cellar which Tony loves and a home cinema.  There are two separate libraries, and the master suite is so large you can fit your current apartment in it.  It even has both an elevator and a dumb waiter.  It’s a gorgeous home in a gorgeous location, with a lot of space.  A lot of people might say too much space as you’ll need to hire people to take care of it, as well as security to keep people from knocking on the door or trying to break in.  The biggest issue aside from being so large is that it’s heritage listed and you’ll have to seek approval for any changes, and there would need to be some if Tony wants a workshop.  It’s also fifty million dollars more expensive than the two apartments.

The final place is also a large house, billed as being nine bedrooms and eleven bathrooms.  It’s the furthest one from anyone’s work by ten to fifteen minutes, as it’s located on the lower west side, but the house is directly opposite Riverside Park and has views of both the park and the Hudson River.  The house facade is stunning.  It’s classic New York Pre War architecture with ornate limestone features including cherubs and latticework.  It’s also forty million dollars cheaper than the other mansion. However, the home is completely gutted.  The current owners had big plans that included digging out more of the basement to put in an underground basketball court, lap pool, and cinema.  They’d just dug out the foundations and run out of money.  So it’s a beautiful shell with nothing inside except potential and the original staircases.  Tony is in love.  He’s planning to throw out all of the current plans the owners have.  He’ll keep the pool but rather than a lap one, it would be a place to relax and socialize.  He’ll have an entertainment floor.  A shooting range for Clint. A library.  A home theatre.  His lab.  He plans to install FRIDAY to run it, so it will be perfectly secure.  Each time you or Clint suggests something new he runs with it, pointing out where on the house plans he’ll put it.  It will mean a lot more cost and a significant amount of time before you can move in though and Clint hates that you can see New Jersey from the bedroom.

There’s a big decision to make.  Each house has pluses and minuses, but, in the end, both men defer to you.

The bigger apartment on the lower east side.

The smaller apartment across from Central Park

The mansion on the East Side

The townhouse on the west side that needs all the work

[first-and-last-neocount]

Whumptober Day 7

So, we have an altprompt for today. My original plan had a fill for Silent Panic Attack here, but I kinda triggered myself accidentally trying to write that, so change of plans! Have a fill for Ambushed instead, lol. 

This is set immediately prior to yesterday’s fill, and sheds a little bit of light on where the invisible creatures came from and what exactly they are. 

Day 7 - Theme Chosen: Ambushed

The ships docked on a gorgeous summer day. 

They had drifted into view on the horizon shortly after dawn, their white sails full-bellied in the warm wind. The sight sparked a flurry of activity on the Faraday docks, for the shape of the hull and rails was far from the norm for the ships that typically plied the shores; within the hour, it was clear that these were not simply merchant ships that had strayed from the usual trade routes. 

They were from across the Novatlantic. 

The excitement was immediate and palpable, but so too was the fear. Word had spread years ago that the long-ago expeditions to the east had actually succeeded in crossing the ocean after all, and had founded a second society on the continent they discovered on the far side of the treacherous waves, but in the decade and a half since that shocking confirmation there had been no attempt whatsoever at communication. The people of the west were still too wary of the deep waters to risk another voyage just for the sake of potential trade, and no word had come from the east, and it had been widely assumed that the status quo would remain thus. Therefore, the sudden arrival of six imposing galleons bearing down on the largest port city in the west was not only a shock - it was a cause for deep alarm. 

Pilot boats were launched at once, setting out to hail the newcomers and hopefully determine their intentions before they had drawn too close to port - before, it went unsaid but heavily implied, they were within range to bring whatever weapons they might be carrying to bear on Faraday itself. The port city still stung from the memory of the brutal tsunami that had all but torn it apart thirteen years ago, and they were in no hurry to experience a similar devastation at the hands of potentially hostile foreign sailors. When the pilot ships came alongside the galleons and hailed them, though, the new scenario that presented itself managed to be even more concerning. 

No one answered. 

It was impossible to get a good view of the deck from the vantage of a low-riding port skiff, but lack of any sound or movement aboard the ships was extremely disconcerting. It became apparent almost immediately that the course of the ships toward Faraday was less a matter of intent and more of luck - the sails were at full draw, and there was no hand on the lines, no helmsman at the rudder. It seemed that sheer chance had set the wind at just the right angle to push the galleons toward land, and that if not for that, they would have simply continued to drift across the waves. 

After a brief but heated argument on the docks, some fishing boats were recruited alongside the port’s official tugs, and lines were lashed to the sides of the galleons to tow them the rest of the way into port. Within two hours, the great ships were pulled securely up to the docks. With the lack of anyone on deck to lower the ladders, grappling lines were thrown up to the rails, and a half-dozen squads of city guards scaled the sides and boarded the ships to face whatever horrors awaited. 

By the time the guards reached the decks, a massive crowd had gathered, filling the wharf to capacity and spilling out along the shore. Word had spread about the ships and their foreign origin, and speculation ran rampant. Men and women craned their necks, eager to see what the guards might find, yet equally prepared to flee if the situation soured. 

The guards were all equipped with enough Worked talismans to ward off the cloud of fearful anticipation rising off the thronging crowd, but they had fears enough of their own as they climbed the ropes. They were all keenly aware of the various horrific scenarios that might await them aboard the ships; hostile forces lying in ambush, or the aftermath of a mutiny turned massacre. Perhaps the ships had run out of rations or water, and the decks would be scattered with the dead bodies of the crew. Perhaps it was plague, and they would find rotting corpses instead of dehydrated husks, bloated with disease and decay. 

What they actually found when they finally gained the upper decks of the galleons was less distressing, but far more shocking. 

The ships were empty. 

The guards looked high and low, sweeping the decks, poking through the cabins, scouring the holds. Nowhere showed the slightest trace of human life, nor of human death. It was as if the ships had simply materialised on the horizon line under full sail, and had never had a crew at all. 

Of course, that was patently impossible. Soon, word filtered down to the watching crowds, and the rumours exploded into vividly imaginative life. Assertions flew that the crew must have been driven mad by the fumes of an erupting volcano they had sailed too near to, and simply walked off the decks into the water. Others claimed that the crew had been lured by sirens, coaxed off the ships and drowned before their bodies were devoured by hungry faeborn. No matter how wild the theories grew, though, none of them could fully account for the genuinely baffling circumstances at hand. After all, how could the entire crew of six large ships have all succumbed to the same menace, no matter how threatening? Surely at least one member of one of the crews would have been a Worker of some kind, at least fighting back long enough to leave some trace that would reveal what had happened. There was no evidence of Working aboard the ships though, and no sign of physical combat either - no damage that spoke of struggle, or of any presence at all. 

Indeed, the longer the guards looked, the more that fact stood out; there was no evidence of human presence at all. Regardless of what had caused the crew to vanish, where was the evidence that they had been there in the first place, some sign of human habitation abandoned? The holds of the ships were truly empty, with no crates of provisions or casks of water, as a crew would have laid in while preparing for a long sea voyage. There were no personal effects. In the cabins, the mattresses in the bunks were bare, seemingly never slept upon. It looked as though no human hands had prepared these ships for travel - as though there had never been a crew at all. 

Any attempt to reconcile that, however, was even more absurd than the theories of sirens and volcanoes. Six unmanned galleons could not have accidentally come unmoored at the same time, and they certainly could not have made it this far without the careful attention of a skilled crew. The violence and danger of the Novatlantic was legendary, and had claimed the lives of many a knowledgeable sailor - an empty ship would have been wrecked almost immediately, and would certainly never have made it all the way to the west. For six to have done so, and arrived in a unified group, was utterly ludicrous. 

Yet, that only drew minds back to the original question. Where in God’s name were the crew, and why had they left no trace of themselves behind? 

The port authorities could only scratch their heads. After hours of investigation, they conferred with the city guards, and released a unanimous conclusion; they had no evidence to say one way or another what had happened. For now, the incident would simply have to remain a mystery - but, they assured the grumbling people of Faraday, there was reason to take heart. 

After all, however mysterious, at least the empty ships posed no threat. 

Later, some would wonder - at the moment those words were uttered - just how hard Lady Fate must have been laughing. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gram Johns had only been in Faraday for a week, and he was already wishing he’d never left Satin. 

He’d come to trade his latest batch of furs a little further from their source - he’d managed to snag a single ragged Forest-wolf pelt on his last hunt, and despite the rough edges the white fur could fetch him enough money to last all winter from the rich merchants in Faraday. The people were wound up in such a state now, though, he wasn’t sure he’d even have a chance to sell the damned pelt at all; no one was thinking about buying furs when panic had the city by the throat. 

All because of some empty ships. 

Now, he was heading down to the docks in the middle of the damn night, because someone had finally taken an interest in his furs - and of course, of course, that person had to be involved in some kind of shady business that required they meet up at night. Gram didn’t give a shit what his customers got up to in their free time, but he didn’t particularly enjoy it when it infringed on his sleep schedule. 

He stomped down the night-shrouded street, muttering under his breath, utterly unaware of the danger lurking in the shadows. 

He never saw the blow that killed him coming. 

To be fair, no human could have seen the blow coming, since the creature that had struck it was cloaked with power beyond all human perception. As Gram Johns crumpled to the ground, choking on his own blood as he clutched at a throat laid open to the bone, there was a scraping drag of claws on the cobbled street. An invisible muzzle dipped down to taste the blood that pooled on the weathered stone, and an approving rumble ran through the other creatures that gathered around, watching with satisfaction. 

This hunting method would suffice. Clearly, their prey had no sense for unseen danger, and they were all so very hungry after their long journey. 

The pack leader dug into its meal, and the others rose and moved away, splitting up across the city so that each might lay an ambush of their own. 

[servillanomadobestagentsclub5656]

Real Estate Agent Review Toronto: Durham House for Sale by Servillano Mado - Century 21 Green Realty

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When working with Servillano Mado, buyers can expect comprehensive guidance throughout the entire buying process. From arranging viewings to negotiating the best price, Servillano ensures a seamless experience. His strong network in the Durham region gives him early access to listings and market insights that benefit his clients, ensuring they find homes that match both their budget and lifestyle.

Why Choose Servillano Mado from Century 21 Green Realty Inc:-

Century 21 is one of the most trusted names in real estate, and Servillano Mado upholds the company’s standards of professionalism and excellence. His expertise in the Durham real estate market, coupled with Century 21 Green Realty Inc.’s powerful resources, makes him a top choice for both buyers and sellers. Servillano prides himself on building long-term relationships with clients, guiding them through every step of their real estate journey with transparency and dedication.

Conclusion:-

If you’re looking to buy or sell a house in Durham, working with Servillano Mado from Century 21 Green Realty Inc. Brokerage is a smart choice. His in-depth knowledge of the local market, combined with a client-focused approach, ensures a smooth and successful real estate transaction. With a proven track record and a commitment to excellence, Servillano Mado is well-positioned to help you achieve your real estate goals.

[braidedgraphite]

John Updike's 9/11 report:

Suddenly summoned to witness something great and horrendous, we keep fighting not to reduce it to our own smallness. From the viewpoint of a tenth-floor apartment in Brooklyn Heights, where I happened to be visiting some kin, the destruction of the World Trade Center twin towers had the false intimacy of television, on a day of perfect reception. A four-year-old girl and her babysitter called from the library, and pointed out through the window the smoking top of the north tower, not a mile away. It seemed, at that first glance, more curious than horrendous: smoke speckled with bits of paper curled into the cloudless sky, and strange inky rivulets ran down the giant structure’s vertically corrugated surface. The W.T.C. had formed a pale background to our Brooklyn view of lower Manhattan, not beloved, like the stony, spired midtown thirties skyscrapers it had displaced as the city’s tallest, but, with its pre-postmodern combination of unignorable immensity and architectural reticence, in some lights beautiful. As we watched the second tower burst into ballooning flame (an intervening building had hidden the approach of the second airplane), there persisted the notion that, as on television, this was not quite real; it could be fixed; the technocracy the towers symbolized would find a way to put out the fire and reverse the damage.

And then, within an hour, as my wife and I watched from the Brooklyn building’s roof, the south tower dropped from the screen of our viewing; it fell straight down like an elevator, with a tinkling shiver and a groan of concussion distinct across the mile of air. We knew we had just witnessed thousands of deaths; we clung to each other as if we ourselves were falling. Amid the glittering impassivity of the many buildings across the East River, an empty spot had appeared, as if by electronic command, beneath the sky that, but for the sulfurous cloud streaming south toward the ocean, was pure blue, rendered uncannily pristine by the absence of jet trails. A swiftly expanding burst of smoke and dust hid the rest of lower Manhattan; we saw the collapse of the second tower only on television, where the footage of hellbent airplane, exploding jet fuel, and imploding tower was played and replayed, much rehearsed moments from a nightmare ballet.

The nightmare is still on. The bodies are beneath the rubble, the last-minute cell-phone calls—remarkably calm and loving, many of them—are still being reported, the sound of an airplane overhead still bears an unfamiliar menace, the thought of boarding an airplane with our old blasé blitheness keeps receding into the past. Determined men who have transposed their own lives to a martyr’s afterlife can still inflict an amount of destruction that defies belief. War is conducted with a fury that requires abstraction—that turns a planeful of peaceful passengers, children included, into a missile the faceless enemy deserves. The other side has the abstractions; we have only the mundane duties of survivors—to pick up the pieces, to bury the dead, to take more precautions, to go on living.

American freedom of motion, one of our prides, has taken a hit. Can we afford the openness that lets future kamikaze pilots, say, enroll in Florida flying schools? A Florida neighbor of one of the suspects remembers him saying he didn’t like the United States: “He said it was too lax. He said, ‘I can go anywhere I want to, and they can’t stop me.’ ” It is a weird complaint, a begging perhaps to be stopped. Weird, too, the silence of the heavens these days, as flying has ceased across America. But fly again we must; risk is a price of freedom, and walking around Brooklyn Heights that afternoon, as ash drifted in the air and cars were few and open-air lunches continued as usual on Montague Street, renewed the impression that, with all its failings, this is a country worth fighting for. Freedom, reflected in the street’s diversity and daily ease, felt palpable. It is mankind’s elixir, even if a few turn it to poison.

The next morning, I went back to the open vantage from which we had watched the tower so dreadfully slip from sight. The fresh sun shone on the eastward façades, a few boats tentatively moved in the river, the ruins were still sending out smoke, but New York looked glorious.

[tintprosnyc]

NY Window Tinting: Enhancing City Living with Style

Window tinting has emerged as an essential element in enhancing city living in New York, offering a blend of style and functionality that resonates with the urban lifestyle. In this exploration of NY window tinting, we delve into its role in elevating city living with style, examining how it enhances aesthetics, improves comfort, and contributes to the overall quality of life in the bustling metropolis.

Enhancing Aesthetics: The Intersection of Style and Function

In a city renowned for its architectural diversity and design innovation, NY window tinting serves as a catalyst for enhancing the aesthetic appeal of buildings and vehicles alike. From sleek skyscrapers to historic brownstones, tinted windows seamlessly integrate into the urban landscape, adding a touch of modernity and sophistication to the city's iconic skyline.

One of the key aspects of NY window tinting is its ability to complement a wide range of architectural styles and design motifs. Whether it's a classic pre-war building in the Upper East Side or a contemporary high-rise in Midtown Manhattan, tinted windows enhance the visual impact of facades while maintaining a cohesive design aesthetic.

Moreover, the customization options available with tinted windows allow for endless possibilities in architectural expression. Neutral tones such as charcoal and bronze offer a timeless elegance that blends seamlessly with any design palette, while specialty films allow for creative experimentation with patterns, textures, and colors.

Improving Comfort: A Sanctuary Amidst the Urban Jungle

In the hustle and bustle of city living, finding a moment of tranquility can be a challenge. NY window tinting offers a solution by providing a sanctuary from the chaos of the urban jungle, allowing residents and businesses to create comfortable, inviting spaces that foster relaxation and well-being.

One of the primary benefits of window tinting is its ability to regulate indoor temperatures and reduce glare, creating a more comfortable environment for occupants. By blocking out excessive heat and UV rays, tinted windows help maintain a consistent temperature throughout the day, reducing the need for excessive heating or cooling.

Moreover, tinted windows offer privacy without sacrificing natural light or views, allowing individuals to enjoy the benefits of outdoor living while still maintaining a sense of seclusion. Whether it's a luxury penthouse overlooking Central Park or a cozy apartment in a bustling neighborhood, tinted windows create a cocoon of comfort where residents can retreat and recharge amidst the chaos of city life.

Contributing to Quality of Life: Sustainable Solutions for Urban Living

In addition to enhancing aesthetics and improving comfort, NY window tinting contributes to the overall quality of life in the city by promoting sustainability and environmental stewardship. By reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, tinted windows help create a more eco-friendly and sustainable urban environment for current and future generations.

One of the key advantages of window tinting is its ability to enhance energy efficiency by reducing the need for artificial cooling and heating. By blocking out excessive heat and UV rays, tinted windows help maintain a consistent indoor temperature, reducing reliance on air conditioning systems and lowering energy bills.

Moreover, tinted windows contribute to the overall sustainability of buildings and vehicles by prolonging the lifespan of interior furnishings and reducing the need for maintenance and repairs. By protecting against sun damage and fading, tinted windows help preserve the integrity and value of assets, ensuring a higher quality of life for residents and businesses alike.

Conclusion

In conclusion, NY window tinting plays a vital role in enhancing city living with style, offering a perfect blend of aesthetics, comfort, and sustainability that resonates with the urban lifestyle. From its ability to enhance the visual appeal of buildings to its role in creating comfortable, inviting spaces for residents and businesses, window tinting contributes to the overall quality of life in the bustling metropolis of New York.

As the city continues to evolve and grow, window tinting will undoubtedly remain a staple feature of its architectural and cultural landscape, reflecting the dynamic spirit and diversity of its residents. Whether it's the sleek facades of skyscrapers or the cozy interiors of brownstones, tinted windows add a touch of elegance and sophistication to city living, making it a more vibrant, stylish, and sustainable place to call home.

[doctorguilty]

WAIT I SAW IT I think i managed to catch the tail end of it, the best viewing for the montreal area said 11pm-2am and it's approaching 2 so I came back inside but! turns out all night I was looking towards the west thinking it was north, from the back of the apartment, and you can't see the front of the apartment from the balcony, when I went outside earlier though across the street there was a huge blanket of clouds over the north side of the sky so I wouldn't even have known anyway ... but I gave it one last shot and went out around 1ish, walked across the street starting at google maps being like "am I SURE this is north.......wait no because if my dot is moving in this direction, that means I'm going east... which means that's west, which means north is... [turns around]!!!" the clouds were 100% gone so the sky was clear, and it wasn't the most spectacular view, nothing near as cool as the pictures I saw online, and I think there's just way too much light pollution where I am and nowhere to really escape it walking distance, but I could definitely see these faint waves of light, it looks like when sun rays are shining down through holes in cloud blankets, except just out of the dark, it was shocking even if it was hardly anything impressive b/c I've never seen anything even like that. and I saw them slowly move over my head and everything heading south and like dissipating. right before I went outside I saw a post recommending that if you can't see it well, take pictures with your phone b/c the exposure is longer, so I tried that the best I could, my phone camera is definitely not great either BUT I did pick up like patches of slightly green light so I am confident I wasn't just imagining seeing it. I gotta go through and pick out ones to share that are like.............decent enough I guess, I do wish I got to see it as colorfully as everyone else posting about it, maybe it WAS stronger earlier but I literally couldn't see it anyway b/c of the clouds, who knows, but hey about a half hour ago the lights moved south of me away from lower Quebec so Vermont/Buffalo NY area look outside maybe you'll see the same ones :)