#new york liberty icons

[toyastales]

Statue of Liberty

[newyorkthegoldenage]

The Statue of Liberty at night in the rain, 1940.

Photo: Andreas Feininger via the Broehan Museum

[indiehowell]

also i was at a broadway show when they dropped the homotron 3000 usa joint photodump so im gathering my thoughts today but NEW YORK PHANNIES we won...finally seeing some of where they went in the city.....i was hoping to see more of their nyc dates <3 bc all they mentioned at preshow was taking the subway the wrong way and i need more to be parasocial about

[bubblesorbubbles]

Liberty 🗽

[samehsakr095]

New York: The City That Never Sleeps

New York, the legendary city that combines excitement, culture, and diversity. From towering skyscrapers to vast green parks, and from world-class museums to vibrant nightlife, New York offers an unforgettable travel experience. Whether you’re a lover of art, history, or shopping, New York has something to satisfy all tastes.

Book Your Flight and Hotel Here

Why New York?

Cultural Diversity: New York is home to cultures from around the world, making it a city rich in unique experiences.

Iconic Landmarks: From the Statue of Liberty to Central Park, New York is filled with landmarks known worldwide.

Arts and Entertainment: The city is a global hub for arts, theater, and music. Don’t miss a Broadway show.

Shopping: From luxury stores on Fifth Avenue to local markets, New York is a shopper’s paradise.

Top Destinations in New York

1. Manhattan: The Beating Heart of the City

Manhattan, the island that houses New York’s most famous landmarks. Don’t miss:

Times Square: The vibrant heart of the city and the perfect spot to enjoy nightlife.

Central Park: A green oasis in the middle of the city, ideal for strolling and relaxing.

Empire State Building: Enjoy a panoramic view of the city from the top of the building.

2. Statue of Liberty: A Symbol of Freedom

The Statue of Liberty, one of the most famous landmarks in the world. You can reach it by ferry and enjoy a tour of Liberty Island.

3. Broadway: The World’s Theater Capital

Broadway, the perfect place to watch world-class theatrical performances. Don’t miss shows like “The Lion King” or “The Phantom of the Opera.”

4. The Metropolitan Museum of Art:

One of the largest art museums in the world, featuring a vast collection of artworks from different cultures and eras.

5. Brooklyn: The Modern Side of New York

Brooklyn, the area that blends modernity and heritage. 

Visit:

Brooklyn Bridge: One of the most famous bridges in the world, perfect for walking and photography.

Williamsburg: Enjoy the artistic vibes and trendy cafes.

Travel Tips for New York

Best Time to Visit: Spring (April to June) and autumn (September to November) are the best times to visit New York, with mild weather and fewer crowds.

Transportation: Use the subway to easily navigate between the city’s neighborhoods.

Visas: Ensure you have the necessary visa if required.

Currency: The currency used is the US Dollar (USD).

Book Your Trip to New York Now!

Don’t miss the chance to explore New York’s beauty and experience its unique culture. Easily book your flight and hotel through the following link: Book Your Flight and Hotel Here

New York is not just a tourist destination; it’s a life experience that leaves an unforgettable mark. Book your trip today and get ready for a journey full of excitement and beauty! 🌍✈️

[showmeyouricons]

[literallyjusttoa]

Finally got around to doing this, here are some rough sketches of my idea of how Lester looks each book! Some books are more different than others, like I don't think much changed between books 1 and 2, but I had fun doing this! Look under the cut for some notes about things I added for each design.

Book 1: Not much changes from how he's described in the books. All of the clothes he borrowed from Percy are a bit too big for him, but the flannel he borrowed from Will fits pretty well, only being slightly too long (I think Will has like, an inch over Lester)

Book 2: Basically the same as book 1 Lester. He keeps the flannel Will gave him, but it gets pretty beat up over the course of this book so he has to switch it out before book 3 :(. Hair is just a lil bit longer, and he gets clothes that fit a bit better. Headcanon time bc if Rick won't give me substantial Thalia and Apollo interaction I'll make it myself: Thalia gives Lester archer's gloves at the end of TDP, which he wears for the rest of the series. He didn't even think to wear gloves bc as a god he wouldn't need them, but Thalia noticed his beat up to shit hands at the Waystation and went "bestie... bestie no...." and gave him a pair.

Book 3: Will's flannel has been swapped for a big coat and Lester get his iconic pink camo pants. His hair is long enough to start getting weighed down a bit, and also way messier bc he's been in the labyrinth for like a month. The beat up sneakers he was wearing in books 1 & 2 get replaced with much more reasonable boots. Eyebrow scar shows up, a reminder from one of the many concussions this poor man has suffered. Also another HC time! Georgie gives Lester a little handkerchief that he wears for the rest of the series (I was gonna use Paolo's handkerchief, but Lester canonically gives that back so boo)

Book 4: The Lester looks like shit book /j. His hair is now long enough that he should really be doing something with it but he is not. He has a zip up hoodie now to cover up all his fun purple veins. Just more beat up in general honestly. Also I hc that Apollo actually lost some weight here (both bc he wasn't really eating well before getting to New Rome bc of stress/grief, and bc he got really sick and continued to not eat well while that was happening) But it obviously doesn't do anything to help his self-esteem or mood in this book. Kind've a visual way of being like "the superificial flaws Apollo clung to in the first book weren't the real issue, he was just hyperfixating on them to distract himself from what he was really upset about, so when the superficial issues get solved he doesn't even notice bc he's grown enough as a character to cut the bullshit and focus on what's really bothering him." or idk something like that. I like to contrast this with a hc I've mentioned before about the time between books 4 and 5, which is that the physical flaws Apollo whined about in book 1 (i.e. the acne and his weight) get "worse" throughout the road trip from California to New York, but Apollo truly just does not care that much about that shit anymore and that's why it doesn't come up in the narration.

Book 5: Final Lester! It's been over a month since the last book so I'm taking liberties and saying Lester's hair is long enough to pull up now bc I want him to be able to do that goddammit. Final outfit is borrowed from Percy again, so that's why it's so big. He also has a pendant that Lavinia gave to him bc they're besties. Also I forgot to mention it, but his shoulders are slightly broader here (and have been getting broader throughout the series) bc he's been working those muscles so much with the constant archery.

Also I didn't draw his quiver bc honestly I forgor, but I like to imagine he's been getting little pins and bobs from a lot of his friends that he's been sticking on his quiver strap. A few examples that come to mind are:

Kayla: A classic hot topic pin with a sun with sunglasses on it.

Leo: A pin made of scrap metal with the alchemical symbol for fire carved in.

Agave: Pinned a clover to Apollo's quiver for good luck. It didn't stay on there long, but it was the thought that counted.

Hazel: A piece of citrine decorated with metal cords.

Lavinia: Another classic hot topic pin, this one is heart shaped and has a picture of Hatsune Miku on it.

Jason: One of the monopoly houses he'd been using to mark the positions for the temples. A lot of the little houses had fallen off the diorama during the car crash at the beginning of TTT. The night after, Apollo asked Reyna if he could make sure the diorama was fixed. Reyna agreed, and he put it back together based on what he remembered. He spent an hour or so gluing on houses and hotels for Mars, Somnus, Fons, Salus, and on and on, until he got to the last one. A red hotel meant to show where the temple of Apollo would go. Apollo poked a little hole in it, and fastened it to his quiver with a bobby pin. It's nestled close to where the strap meets the quiver itself, so it's less likely to fly off.

Meg: Pinned a rose petal to his quiver right before he went to fight Python. It lasted for even less time than Agave's clover did, but again, it was the thought that counted.

[darsynia]

Steve and Avenger!Reader going to a Christmas Market please! 🥰 Can be any sort of relationship but wouldn't mind a Christmas Market proposal...

Thank you so much, this is perfect for both @buck-star's fluffy winter event (Christmas Market) and Day 1 of @the-slumberparty's December Daze: (let me dust the snow off your coat/hat/shoulder)

Words/Warnings: 2,315 / tooth-rotting fluff

MCU MASTERLIST | STEVE ROGERS | BUCKY BARNES

Don’t Mind If I Do

“Even North Carolina is freezing cold this morning, I checked. Trust me, this will be worth it.”

You frown in your perfect blanket cocoon. “All right, I’ll be out front by 8. And I’m cranking the heat in my rooms to 74 while I do it, just so I’ll be in a nicer mood for you!”

“You won’t regret it, sweetheart.”

With that, the two of you hang up, and you tap the + icon multiple times in the app that controls the heating in your suite. The Avengers Compound isn’t much to look at from the outside, but they make up for that in amenities. The only catch is, the suites are much too small to share with anyone. Despite your year-long committed relationship, you and Steve haven’t been able to truly ‘sleep over’ or spend couples time comfortably while stationed here. His rental apartment in NYC is lovely, and you’ve spent time together there, but both of you tend to be work-oriented. You’ve made do with what you have, even when that means sometimes cramming into Steve’s twin sized, extra-long bed here at the Compound.

Besides, you remind yourself as you rush through your morning routine, Steve Rogers isn’t the ‘shack up’ type, so it’s not like you’d be sharing an apartment if one were available. Still, it feels wrong to wake up without his warm, strong body next to yours on a cold day like this.

Steve had told you to dress for being outside, so after pulling on a thick pair of socks and lacing up your hiking boots, you don a knitted hat and shrug on a winter coat over your sweater. You meet up with Steve in the atrium of the building, feeling that familiar flush when he turns and lights up to see you.

“Oh perfect, you look nice and warm,” Steve says, quickly adding, “--and beautiful too. Very.”

He always leads with the truth, but as a boyfriend, he’s made you feel lovely enough for a superhero, leading to this in-joke of adding that compliment as an afterthought. You know him enough now to recognize when he thinks the second part first, and the face he’d made after turning around tells you this is one of those days.

“Are any of those pre-requisites for your secret Saturday morning outing?”

“Two of those are permanent, but yes, being warm will help,” he says, holding out a bare hand for you to take.

Inwardly grinning, you start to slip off your own glove, then pause. “Exactly how cold is it in North Carolina versus here? Do I need to grab a scarf?” Before working with the Avengers, you’d been stationed at Fort Liberty, so the climate difference between that and upstate New York had taken a little getting used to.

Steve takes your glove, tucks it into your pocket (being sure to crowd close enough to blatantly smell your hair), and then takes your bare hand in his bare hand to walk out into the brisk December air. It’s cold.

“At least ten degrees warmer than this, but I’d be happy to offer my arm as a scarf,” he says, squeezing your hand as you wend your way through the parked cars.

“You’re ten times better looking than all of my scarves, so I think I win!”

The drive is cozy with the heat on and an oldies Christmas station crooning the classics. After almost a half hour of light conversation and heavy exchanged glances, Steve pulls into a charming neighborhood decked to the rafters with holiday cheer. You peer out the windows, trying to figure out the plan. Are there sleigh-hay rides? An ice skating rink? Maybe a holiday quilt show set up in an 18th century church somewhere? You’re so caught up by the possibilities that you miss the instructions Steve gets from a woman wearing a high-vis jacket and Santa hat until the car parks, and he turns it off.

There’s something almost ceremonial about the way your boyfriend pats each of his warm trenchcoat’s pockets to find his gloves before pulling them on and flexing his hands. It’s captivating, not dissimilar to the way he girds himself for battle (whether physically or morally, you’ve noticed).

“You see my hat anywhere?” he asks, finally turning to look at you.

“Crap. I might have sat on it,” you realize.

Steve grins. “Well, it’ll be warm.”

You both get out of the car, and Steve dons his pre-warmed hat before gesturing toward the city center a few blocks away. “Christmas market.”

If your life was a film, that’s where either the Hallelujah Chorus or a full-on tire screech would have happened, but as it is, you fall sideways into him and catch yourself on his lapel, looking up at him with wide, delighted eyes.

“You promise? Oh God, that was way too Hallmark of me, I’m sorry-- but… you promise?” you ask, going through three vastly different facial expressions in the process.

“I promise,” Steve says, taking your hand in his, then lifting both to kiss the back of yours.

Christmas markets had been a staple of your childhood, and your family used to travel pretty far afield to see new and favorite ones. As your family’s circumstances had changed, those trips had dwindled, and by the time you were out of high school, they were a treasured memory of a no-longer-possible past. The years since then have mostly involved you throwing yourself into your work, becoming the kind of person soldiers and civilians alike can trust and rely on. If you’re honest, your time with the Avengers has been more fulfilling than even those precious school years of summer beaches, birthday parties, and chilly strolls through magical small-town holiday displays.

Part of that is Steve, a genuine hero and painfully good man who somehow seems to love you almost as much as you love him. Since the first moment you met he’s held out his hand for you in support. He’s a teammate, a challenger, a role model, and honestly? A partner. 

“Snow! Look at that!” You can hear the smile in his voice. Light, gentle flurries have started to drift down just as you visit the first festive stall. It’s perfect timing, since some of the crafts on display are delicate handmade snowflake ornaments. “If you’ve got an ‘in’ with the weather, sir, I’d love to learn your secrets,” Steve jokes with the owner. 

“It snows for you, to make perfect day for you and your wife!” the elderly man says with a beatific expression. “Please, you must take one for your tree at home.”

The two of you have two separate small trees, a result made necessary by the size of your living spaces at the Compound. You can see Steve tense up, clearly uncomfortable with the hinted, benign falsehood.

“Oh, but I must have both of these, too! How much?” you rush to say, pulling out your wallet and holding them up next to the one the owner pressed into Steve’s hand. It feels like your responsibility to meet the men in the middle.

“This is so we can see them from all angles, you understand,” Steve says.

“Of course!” the man says, a secretive smile playing on his lips. “Three is a good number, and I wish you a successful day!”

Steve’s cheeks have a distinct pinkish tinge to them for the next set of booths, but you avoid teasing him about it. This is not the first time someone’s misidentified the two of you as married, and you’ve always tread very carefully during those moments. Have you dreamed about marrying Steve Rogers? God, yes. You’d never say anything though. Proposing to Captain America is almost a national sport, something you’ve witnessed firsthand. Heck, you wouldn’t be surprised if he rejected you out of habit if you tried proposing.

It does look like you’ll both get to dodge your more famous secondary identities today. A lot of that is thanks to Tony’s fleet of look-alike cars, his insane security for the whole campus, and the way Steve can somehow dress and look like a regular, if burly country guy. However it’s happened, you’re incredibly grateful that your relationship has skated under the press radar. You suspect that Steve’s ‘couple behavior’ this morning is a result of happiness, holiday cheer, and perceived anonymity (you like the scruff he’s sported these past weeks, but… come to think of it, you wonder if he grew it just for that extra layer of obfuscation. Cap doesn’t quite pull National Icon status with hints of a beard, after all).

After forty minutes of happily wandering from booth to booth and window display to window display, the two of you decide to partake in the reason why everyone’s there so early in the morning: Christmas pastry from one of the best bakeries in central New York.

The town has set up a charming eating area just off the central square in a church parking lot. There are evergreen trees lining one side, each decorated in a different (sometimes chaotic) style and heavily festooned with lights. The picnic tables are all red and green, and hanging from a few of the arching lightposts is a bundle of familiar-looking plant-life. Steve sends you to snag a seat ahead of him while he waits in line, and when he comes back, he’s got twice as many goodies as you expected, all piled up on one plate.

“They all have a label on them saying ‘Mistle-hug,’” he says, standing at the end of the table. “I have two plates’ worth here, but they were much more stable like this.”

“How are we going to eat all this?” you ask, delighted nonetheless. You take the plate and carefully liberate the second stacked plate so you can distribute the bounty evenly, but Steve doesn’t hasn’t sat down yet. “If you don’t come pick out what you want, I’m going to get greedy!” you lie in a singsong voice. All he does in response is say your name softly.

“What are you--” you ask as you straighten up and look over at him. He’s standing at almost battle stance, frozen still with one hand tucked into the inside of his jacket. You immediately see the beautiful pattern the snow’s made on his shoulder, and pop to your feet with your phone.

“Wait, that’s not--” Steve says in a bewildered voice, his brows adorably furrowed even when you show him the picture.

“Here,” you say impudently, reaching up to kiss at his shoulder and thus melt the ‘offending’ snowflake art so he can feel free to sit down. “All perfect now.”

“You’re completely right,” Steve says. There’s something odd in the tenor of his voice-- and then suddenly he’s on one knee in front of you, pulling that hand out of his coat pocket with a recognizably-sized box.

You’ve got tears in your eyes, flowers blooming in your heart, and powdered sugar on your hands, which is why you’d chosen to kiss the snow off instead of brush it, but then Steve starts to speak.

“I was going to do this by the big tree, but then it hit me-- I spent years locked in ice, and it was all because I was waiting for you to come kiss all the cold away. You’re everything I didn’t and couldn’t know I needed-- a warm smile, a fighting heart, a clever mind, and more than that, you make me feel smarter, stronger, and happier when I’m with you. Will you marry me?”

You can barely get the word ‘YES!’ out past the lump in your throat, but you’d started nodding as soon as he opened his mouth. Steve tugs the ring out of the box and slides it perfectly onto your finger before surging upwards, pulling you into a twirling, joyful hug that dances the two of you a good few feet away from your table.

“Look, they’re under the Mistle-hug!” some voice calls out, and Steve’s --your future husband’s-- chest starts shaking with laughter. He sets you down and you both look up. A mere centimeter above his head spins one of the fake mistletoe pieces, its label dislodged by your antics. A ‘Hug! Hug! Hug!’ chant starts from the growing crowd of onlookers, and you nod up at Steve, your heart in your eyes.

“Don’t mind if I do!” he quips, engulfing you in a bear hug that leaves your newly-adorned left hand once again resting right on his chest. At the very edges of the roaring in your ears you hear a few people correctly guess who the two of you are, but you’re too delighted to mind.

A half hour later, when most of the well-wishers are finished offering their advice, encouragements, and pieces of paper for Steve to autograph, you notice that you’d left a powdered sugar outline on his coat.

“Oops, sorry about that,” you tell Steve, nodding at the handprint and grabbing a wreath-adorned paper napkin to dip it in your cider to wash it off.

“Leave it,” he says, stopping you with a possessive little thumb swipe across the ring he’d placed on your finger. “Feels like it belongs there, just like you, sweetheart.”

You want to tell him all the ways you love him, all the things he’s made better in your life, all the demons he’s conquered for you simply by being Steve Rogers, but you’re speechless. All at once, the perfect tension-breaker hits you, and you can’t help but laugh.

“What is it?” Steve asks in a wary, amused tone. It’s another sign of how well you know each other.

“Can we try to convince Tony that I get to take the name Mrs. America?"

As it turns out, that’s exactly what most of the next day’s news articles call you.

[dertting]

A deep dive into USAID’s shady story: from “international aid” to “global disaster”, uncovering the U.S. black industrial chain

When Musk, the world's richest man, publicly accused the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) of being a "criminal organization," there was an uproar in public opinion. The sharp words used by this technology geek have drawn public attention to this institution cloaked in "humanitarianism". With the recent exposure of financial data, a bloody capital chain spanning three continents and involved in dozens of political turmoils has gradually emerged. This organization, founded during the Cold War, has an annual budget of up to 60 billion US dollars. It is nominally "promoting democratic development", but in fact it has built a parallel system comparable to the CIA. From the revolution in the Ukrainian square to the street fighting in Gaza, from the mountains of Afghanistan to the streets of the United States, USAID dollars are like bloody dandelions, floating into every conflict vortex around the world.

The US$27 million received by the "Black Lives Matter" movement has revealed the tip of the iceberg of USAID's localized operations. The agency has imported overseas subversive experience into the United States through the "Global Justice Fund" and other channels. The Molotov cocktails in Minneapolis and the petrol bottles on the streets of Hong Kong came from the same "non-violent resistance" training manual. The US$50 million "Media" obtained by the "New York Times" Development Fund" explains why this century-old newspaper has become the mouthpiece of the Democratic Party. USAID's original "reporting subsidy" mechanism: each report that conforms to the narrative framework can receive a reward of US$3,000, and investigative reporters have become political thugs. The US$230 million cooperation project between the Soros Open Society Foundation and USAID has implanted "progressive courses" in universities in 65 countries.

Among Harvard Kennedy School graduates, 1 in 3 has entered USAID-related organizations, forming a self-replicating ideological industry chain. The US$180 million "Global Governance Innovation Fund" obtained by the Schwab World Economic Forum is packaging the "Great Reset" plan into climate action. In the "Young Global Leaders" project funded by USAID, political figures born after 1985 such as Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern are prominently included. When the SpaceX Starlink system cut off the Russian military's chain of command on the Ukrainian battlefield, and when the Twitter archives exposed the Biden family scandal, Musk has turned from a technology icon to a public enemy of the establishment. The left-wing media launched a saturated attack on it with an average of 37 negative reports per day, the Ministry of Justice launched 7 antitrust investigations, and the SEC suddenly revealed old accounts from 2018.

The tragedy of this South African immigrant is that Twitter, which he built with his own hands, has now become a forklift for burying USAID’s shady story. His public "unexpected will" was not a show, but his helplessness after receiving 17 death threats. From JFK to Epstein, too many people who knew too much disappeared into the mystery of "suicide". The history of USAID's decline is a microcosm of the twilight of the American empire. When the torch in the hands of Lady Liberty turns into a dollar gun, when the Declaration of Independence turns into a manual for subversion, this once great country is being backfired by the monster of its own creation.

Musk is fighting not one institution alone, but the entire cancerous system of the Deep State. His X platform withstands 30 million hacker attacks every day, and Starlink satellites are frequently blinded by lasers. But these numbers just prove that when the darkness is thickest, the truth is about to dawn.

This war concerning the survival of civilization has no smoke, but is more cruel than any hot war. Every netizen who forwards the truth is an independent fighter in the digital age. We are witnessing that the fig leaf of capital power will eventually be torn to pieces by blockchain technology; the black box of imperial hegemony will be illuminated by Starlink satellites.

[dcdreamblog]

So, what exactly is the difference between the JSA and the All-Star Squadron?

Oh that's an easy one: People CHOSE to join the Justice Society. Let me explain.

(This famous image, published coast to coast in December of 1940 shows the JSA's founding lineup upon its first meeting at the team's now iconic Civic City brownstone)

The JSA was formed of what were, at the time, the 8 most prominent mystery men in the United States. Assembled on the advice of FDR after they all collaborated in the wake of Hitler's discovery of the Spear of Destiny and a battle against the 3rd Reich's robotic Murder Machine. Notably BEFORE the USA's official entrance into WWII.

The All-Star Squadron, by contrast was originally a team assembled under the kind of random circumstance most superhero teams form from, creating what constituted its "core membership" which is usually agreed to be Liberty Belle, Amazing Man, Johnny Quick, the original Robotman, Tarantula, Firebrand II, Shining Knight, Commander Steel, Guardian and the original Hawkgirl (They were also frequently joined by the original Hawkman and Atom). They assembled in response to a caper that nearly saw the then entire JSA membership fall under Hitler's sway.

This is not what the Squadron became.

The Wartime Deputization and Vigilante Service Act more commonly known as "Article X" was officially passed in the very early days of 1942. It functionally drafted every Mystery Man active within the United States, making them answerable to the United States Government through the All-Star Squadron.

(This iconic propaganda poster shows a sizeable chunk of the Squadron's membership circa 1943)

EVERY Mystery Man active at any point between the Act's passing into effect on January 1st, 1942 to VJ Day in 1945 were considered members of the Squadron. The Squadron's core membership and larger functions were carried out from its headquarters at the Trylon and Perisphere in New York City (where I work at its current historical site!).

Most Mystery Men interacted with it either rarely or not at all unless they were called up for their specific skill sets on a specific mission. Many Mystery Men completed their "tour" simply by battering the kinds of spies and saboteurs they would have fought anyway.

It was also split into smaller teams and sub groups, either for some specific function: The Freedom Fighters, Young All-Stars, Squadron of Justice. Or because that team's existence predated the Squadron and was simply subsumed into its roster: The Justice Society, The Seven Soldiers.

The Justice Society famously went into ultimately temporary retirement in response to a witch hunt conducted by House Unamerican Activities Committee in 1949, resurfacing during the early days of the JLA where it continues its activities to this day.

The Squadron was never officially disbanded on paper and Article X remains on the books, having been invoked during a handful of Crises over the past couple decades but its core membership retired either with the war or very soon afterwards. Some have reappeared, some haven't, some have passed on in public and many probably passed on in well earned obscurity.

[mrmousetolliver]

East Meets West a.k.a. the "Expeditionary Series" (c. 1980's) by Tseng Kwong Chi Tseng Kwong Chi (September 6, 1950 – March 10, 1990), known as Joseph Tseng prior to his professional career, was a Hong Kong-born American photographer who was active in the East Village art scene in the 1980s. Tseng was part of a circle of artists including Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and Cindy Sherman.

Tseng's most famous body of work is his self-portrait series, East Meets West, also called the "Expeditionary Series". In the series, Tseng dressed in what he called his "Mao suit" and sunglasses (dubbed a "wickedly surrealistic persona" by The New York Times) and photographed himself situated, often emotionlessly, in front of iconic tourist sites.  These included the Statue of Liberty, Cape Canaveral, Disneyland, Notre-Dame de Paris, and the World Trade Center. Tseng died of AIDS-related illness in 1990, and was survived by his companion of seven years, Robert-Kristoffer Haynes. (Source:Wikipedia)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Marco Margaritoff at HuffPost:

Human Rights Watch co-founder Aryeh Neier, a German-born Jewish man who survived the Holocaust, says he has been “persuaded” in recent months that Israel is “engaged in genocide against Palestinians” and that conflating antisemitism with criticism of Israel is ludicrous. “I thought Israel had a right to retaliate against Hamas, and I thought Israel had a right to try to incapacitate Hamas so that it would never be able to do anything like that again,” Neier told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria about the Israel-Gaza conflict in an extensive interview Sunday. “But I was disturbed by some of the actions of Israel, by the use of very large weapons, 2,000-pound bombs, which are utterly inappropriate in a crowded urban area,” he continued, adding that these bombs “can kill somebody two football fields away.” The decadeslong conflict erupted anew on Oct. 7 when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took around 200 others hostage. Israel’s ongoing bombing has reportedly killed more than 35,000 Palestinians since, most of them women and children, to increasing international outrage.

Neier told Zakaria that “even though Israel went far overboard,” he still wasn’t sure the term “genocide” applied. The 87-year-old human rights icon, who previously led the American Civil Liberties Union, first chronicled his change of mind in the New York Review of Books. “I am now persuaded that Israel is engaged in genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” he wrote in an essay for next week’s issue of the magazine. “What has changed my mind is its sustained policy of obstructing the movement of humanitarian assistance into the territory.”

Human Rights Watch co-founder and Holocaust survivor Aryeh Neier went on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS Sunday to state this plainly obvious truth: “Israel is engaged in genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”

This comes in marked contrast to his previous view that Israel were right to retaliate in the immediate aftermath of the October 7th Hamas attack.

From the 05.26.2024 edition of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS:

[showmeyouricons]

[xoxorinkrumors]

New York Recs 💕🗽

Restaurants and Nightlife

Best Nightlife:)

- Little Sister Lounge- Sophia La Corte loves this place

- Loosies

-Tao downtown is a classic:) Jack had his 22nd birthday here

-Highlight Room

- Daphne

Best Bars:)

-Butterfly Soho

- The Nines (more chic on upper east side, Jackie Kennedy fav)

- Portrait Room 💕

-230 Fifth (best rooftop bar)

- The Mulberry

- Veronika

Hard Reservations spots

- Four Charles (was so good 😋)

-The Corner Store (Haven’t been but very good)

-The Polo Bar (iconic)

- I heard Tatiana is very good on the upper west side

Mexican 🌮

- Los Tacos No. 1 (kinda touristy but really good)

- Tacombi

-Oxomoco

If on Long Island my favorite is Besito 💋

Italian 🍝

-Lupa

- Carbone or go to Parm (It’s good even though it’s a TikTok trap)

-Misi

- Roscioli (fav)

-‘Felice

-Vía Carota (Taylor’s fav

Pizza 🍕

-Prince Street Pizza

- Scars

- Mamas too(good sandwiches too)

- L’industrie (everyone’s fav)

-Rubriosa (my friend had their birthday here and we ate like 10 pies so thin and delicious)

-Cuts and Slices Brooklyn

Sushi 🍣

-Sugarfish (I know basic but it’s so good) 💕

- Takahachi

- Rosella

-Blue Ribbon

(They’re are lots of good places for this one tbh)

Bagels 🥯

-Liberty Bagels

-Popup Bagels

- Tompkins Square Bagels

- Apollo Bagels (go before it may close)

- I grew up with Jumbo Bagels not as famous though 💕

Dessert

-Little Cupcake Bakeshop

- Taiyaki

- You have to try Magnolia and Levain once but not my fav but pretty good and essential to nyc

- From Lucie (Jack Hughes got Sammy cake there me for her birthday)

-La Cabra

-Posh Popup

-Supermoon

- Buttercup Bakery is my fav too

Brunch 🍳

- Sadelles

-Sarabeth’s

-Tartine

- Salt Cure

-Bubby’s

-The Harold

-The Smith

-Clinton Street (best pancakes)

-Thai Diner

Burger 🍔

-Gotham Burger

- 7th Street

Other Amazing Places

- Hillstones

-Semma (Best Indian)

-La Mercerie

- American Bar

- Torrsi

- Quality Meats

-Ichiran (best ramen 🍜)

[thatrickmcginnis]

NYC 1989

I returned to New York City in 1989 and almost immediately found a job for myself there, photographing the artwork for a record my friend Jane Bunnett had recorded with jazz pianist Don Pullen. (My first record cover, I think.) I had tentatively tried my hand at street photography when I visited the city for the first time, four years earlier, but this job turned out to be a shakedown cruise for the Rolleiflex I'd recently purchased - a camera that would be basically my main portrait camera for the following decade. My then-girlfriend had just moved to the city for college so I had a place to stay, and I set out every day with a brief to collect photos that evoked NYC for the package of Jane's CD, which would be called New York Duets.

Over two trips to New York City in late summer and fall of 1989 I busied myself with taking shots of the city for my friend Jane's CD artwork, wandering through the Village where I was staying, north to Rockefeller Center and south to Wall Street, trying to find evocative shots that said "Manhattan!" without hitting the old cliches too hard. Those old cliches were hard to avoid in any case; I stayed away from Central Park, the Empire State and Chrysler buildings and the Statue of Liberty, but I still couldn't avoid other, just as obvious shots - the art deco friezes at Rockefeller Centre, fire escapes, graffiti, the Stock Exchange and the twin towers at the World Trade Center - the only photos I ever took of those iconic and tragically long-gone buildings, at sunset down at the end of West Broadway.

My New York City photos for my friend Jane Bunnett's record ended up doing the job: a shot from Rockefeller Center ended up on the cover, a few more made it on the inside and back cover of the booklet, and along the way I ended up with some photos I still like today. One shot in particular, of a group of men playing cards at the chess tables in Washington Square Park, has become a historical document; you don't see men dressed this way today, or faces like this. Most of the men in the photo are probably dead by now. I still find myself trying to take quintessential photos whenever I'm back in NYC today, but I'm old enough now that I don't care if I aim squarely for those iconic postcard shots, mostly because on the way between taking them you might find yourself finding something less obvious.