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OK, those of you weary of my over-enthusiasm, or in general, averse to superlatives: skip the following.

   There is no city in the known universe that comes close to NYC. I’m staying in a small hotel in the old Village and right now having a latte and superlative breakfast wrap (eggs, cheese, sausage) in what is — yes, sorry about this — the coolest cafe I’ve ever been in. Grounded at 26 Jane Street, a couple of blocks from the hotel. Good colors, good Feng-shui (light pours in from street and skylight), greenery abounds, v. hip music, fast wi-fi, half the people here are on Mac laptops, everyone looks cool. No flakes.

   The hotel is in a 160-year-old building. I get to my 3rd-floor room up a steep flight of narrow steps (any steeper, it’d be a ladder). There are old nice quilts on the 2 beds. The windows open (unlike new hotels, where you are cut off from fresh air). Feels sort of like being in the attic of an old farm house. Traffic on street below, but it’s not bad, and dies down at night.

   NYC is in one of it’s very good moods. Weather balmy, fresh breezes off rivers, the sidewalk restaurants are full. When she’s good, she’s very, very good…

    There’s something very intimate about dining out here; you’re so close to people — you hear everything they say. I often end up in conversations with other diners.

   I’ve got a lot of good photos. Trouble is, it takes a lot of time to process and get them out there.

Deja vu factor. In 1957 I spent the summer living in a $60-per-week room on Morton Street (1st trip to NYC),  working the 4PM to midnight shift in a Durkee shredded coconut factory in Queens…another story…

“Ice shanties captured throughout New England, mostly Maine.”

Photo: Foster Huntington

From Cabin Porn here.

Note: Foster’s Toyota Tacoma with camper shell is featured in our Tiny Homes on the Move.

Pepe Alvarez just put up a portfolio of his photos. I just went through the entire batch. They’re quite wonderful. Such a variety and they all hit home with me.

https://photo.net/photodb/member-photos?user_id=4009966&include=all&unlimit=1

I buy a lot of stuff from them. Books, batteries, Bose earphones, travel alarm, anchovies…it’s a brilliant operation  — quick, simple, low-cost. But lately I’ve been backing off a bit. Yesterday I went into Builder’s Booksource in Berkeley and bought 2 books — Cracks in the Asphalt – Community Gardens in San Francisco, and Steal Like an Artist, which George, the owner showed me, plus 2 copies of Dwell Magazine (which I think sucks — going to write something about them soon).

   I read a while back about people finding books in bookstores and ordering from Amazon on their phones right then. Hold up here! Is low cost the only criteria? How about supporting the bookstores so they can stay open and you can go in and browse and talk to book-loving personnel?

   I’ve switched to ordering all my photo equipment from BH PhotoVideo in New York. To find an item like a Canon battery charger with fold-out (rather than cord) prongs, I talked to someone at BH, who directed me to the item I wanted right away. One time a guy there turned me onto a nice little card reader that he used himself. Their prices are about as good as Amazon. If you’re into photography and in Manhattan, go there — huge place — like 50 sales people at the digital counter — (take a number like for sandwiches at Whole Foods).

  Thirdly, I’ve been buying tools lately at Jackson Hardware, an employee-owned super tool and hardware store in San Rafael, Calif. Yesterday I bought a Makita model 4350T jigsaw, and it cost me $25 more than at Amazon. But the sales guy walked me through Makitas, Bosch’s, Dewalts and how to work the controls on the Makita for 4 different cutting actions. I ended up buying this top of the line one for $199. (At my age, it’ll last me for the –ulp! — rest of my life.)

   There’s a prevalent argument for buying everything from Amazon because they’re cheaper. I’m sayin that the almighty lowest cost ain’t all there is to it.

Mony Mony by Tommy James & The Shondells on Grooveshark