Last Week of May

5/24 AM One Streetcar Comes and Goes

LISTEN

5/24 PM Marina Deli
We ordered sandwiches to take into the movies and then changed our minds about eating them in the theater. As we were finishing eating in the deli, the sun was setting. So we chose some bells to ring and set up the camera. Norman and Vangie went outside, and I was on my way to join them when I thought that maybe the guys behind the counter might like to join us. They not only make great sandwiches at the Marina Deli, but they are good sports and bell ringers, too. Thanks!

5/25 AM Another Trio
This one for bells and crow- inside the house and out in the yard. If you listen carefully, you can hear Norman ringing from inside the house. The crow is as vocal as ever.

5/26 AM Memorial Day Sunrise

Today is Monday, May 26th and it’s the day we are observing Memorial Day. It was quiet out front this morning as I walked up and down the street. People sleeping in for the holiday. Only one flag flying.

5/26 PM Memorial Day Sunset
We walked alongside Golden Gate Park at sundown this evening until we found a place where there was a break in the trees. Those trees are taller than the houses and block most of the sunlight. There was a spot where the light poured through a small opening in the branches and we set the camera down on someone’s garbage can on the opposite side of the street. After going back to get the camera, we continued ringing bells for another 20 minutes until we got home.

5/27 PM Glad to Be on the Ground
Whoa. What a flight. Instead of landing at JFK airport, we circled for a few hours 200 miles away. Apparently there was a big storm in New York, and we couldn’t land. Then, the attendants announced that we were running low on fuel and were heading to Hartford where we would sit on the ground and wait out the storm. I started to worry about ringing the bells since they were in the belly of the plane, but I realized I could jangle my keys and that I had the camera with me. So I relaxed about that. When we were half way to Hartford, they announced that we were turning around and heading back to New York. The Storm had passed. Ha! We hit those clouds and pitched and rolled and dropped. At first I gripped the seat and squeezed my eyes shut to keep the tears from coming out. And then I thought, well if I’m going to die I might as well let go. In many ways. So in the next instant, the plane suddenly plummeted, and I let go of the seat and lifted my arms. It was like flying. Weightless and amazing for a second here and a second there. Then we broke through to a clear sky with big puffy white clouds. And it was over.

5/28 PM Can't See Stonehenge From Canal Street
We walked really fast over the Williamsburg Bridge to get to Manhattan in time for the special sunset. Unfortunately, in order to see the effect of the sun setting down the centerline of the buildings running on the East to West streets, we needed to be further uptown. At least as far as 14th Street. Lower Manhattan is too curvy and especially in the West Village, the streets are not on a grid. 8th Street crosses 12th Street. So when we realized that we weren’t going to make it to 14th street in time, we headed down to Canal Street which was a big mistake. Canal Street is a nice wide, straight street but it runs slightly on the diagonal. Oh well. It was a nice sunset nonetheless. Just as we finished ringing at the base of the Manhattan Bridge, a man got off the Fung Wah bus and joined us for a moment.

5/30 AM Sunrise J Train on the Williamsburg Bridge
Got it. That train is right on time. I don’t know what happened to the Manhattan bound train, but that little Brooklyn bound “J” train was right there at 5:27 AM.

5/30 PM Sunset Underground
The sun set as we emerged from the Bowery Street Station on the way to a performance at Phil Niblock’s Experimental Intermedia space this evening for an OptoSonic Tea event. OptoSonic Tea “is a regular series of meetings dedicated to the convergence of live visuals with live sound which focuses on the visual component”. Pamela Z presented excerpts from her past work as well a preview of work in progress, “Pendulum”. “Pendulum” will premiere at the end of June in San Francisco. Daniel Vatsky, Chris Jordan and Jon Cohrs also performed. Miya Masaoka was the responder for the discussion after the concert.

5/31 AM Sunrise on Broadway in Brooklyn
I woke up about half an hour before the sunrise so I decided to go downstairs and ring on the street as long as I had the extra time to set up. Besides, I figured we’d seen enough of the Williamsburg Bridge this season.

5/31 PM Tropical Sunset on 14th Street
It had been raining on and off all day and there was a little break in the clouds just as we finished eating. Then we headed over to Illuminated Corridor for outdoor multi screen, multi surface film projections.