Central Park + Autumn

Typically, I'll spend my lunch hour reading in Central Park. I've been reading Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle for the past several weeks. It's a 600-page behemoth. I usually avoid books of this girth because I don't have as much time to read as I used to and it takes too bloody long to finish. Murakami's new book, IQ84 is 925 pages! The new Stephen King novel is 850 pages! What the hell is wrong with these guys!? I once asked Nick Hornby how he was able to get through so many books and he told me to keep in mind that he doesn't have a "proper job." So that's the secret. But I like Murakami and was willing to make an exception. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is good, but not nearly as good as Norwegian Wood. That book is his masterpiece.

Anyway, last week, I left my book in the office, grabbed my camera and went for a stroll. Here's one of the most photographed stone bridges in the world. I, myself, have posted numerous pics of this bridge in various seasons.


Here's the view looking south at The Plaza Hotel. The Plaza was bought and refurbished by Donald Trump. Trump is kind of a buffoon and I can't stand his taste in architecture, but The Plaza was a landmark of faded beauty that needed rehabilitating, so I guess I'm okay with it. I'm just grateful that he didn't wrap the building in gold and mirrors. He likes shiny things. He's like a parrot.


I took this one with my iPhone and ran it through a vibrancy filter. Not sure I like the results. It gooses up the color levels a bit too much for my tastes and gives it an unnatural look. The greens are too green. It's like looking at an old black and white movie that's been colorized.


As I was uploading these, it dawned on me that they look rather pedestrian. Like greeting card photos or holiday photos your friends bore you with. Too late. I was too deep into the process to stop.


Musicians, musicians everywhere, but not a venue to perform in! Throw a stone in any direction and you'll hit someone who has mastered their instrument but has to busk for a living. The acoustics of this passageway are perfect for a sax, don't you think?


And, of course, this being New York City, as I was enjoying this splendid performance, some guy walked up to the passageway entrance and relieved himself. Right in front of me! He heaved a great, audible, sigh of relief. You've really got to take the good with the bad in this place.