Sand artist in Union Square

Came upon this in Union Square yesterday . . . everybody loved it, from the youngest to the oldest passer-by.  All done in carefully poured colored lines of sand . . . I'll have to check in on it today if I have time.  Two more pix after the jump . . .

Starbucks litters art all over public space to encourage itself.

I was biking through Madison Square Park yesterday, minding the business of enjoying a brilliant sunny day in NYC, when i was stopped in my happy tracks by an unwieldy crowd which had collected itself on the [triangular bit of] square.  I saw this:  Thousands of cups (and more to come) filled with varying hues of coffee and milk (wasted) forming the silhouette of a huge redwood tree.  I was immediately intrigued and irritated.  As it turns out, it is a messy, soggy, ill-conceived eco-art nightmare that -- through it's wastefulness -- seeks to remind us to use FEWER cups.  Ok, so I got a free refillable mug out of the deal, but meanwhile can I have my public space back?  When did city parks become billboards for wealthy corporations and their fake good green deeds? I'm holding my breath for the Pampers version.

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The South needs some more Freedom to remind them of Slavery

A serious proposal for the Charleston Harbor -- a male version of the Statue of Liberty called the Statue of Freedom (they love that distinction, Liberty is so snooty) has made its way to the Patriot's Point Development Authority.

"At Tuesday’s monthly board meeting, Rodney Cook, of the National Monument Foundation suggested that a male version of Lady Liberty could house a museum about South Carolina’s role in the Civil War.

The statue would be the same size as the one in New York City, and cost about $150M. Most of that money would come from the private sector."

Wait . . . South Carolina's ROLE in the CIVIL WAR? -- you mean starting it and losing it, and now wanting to commemorate cotton and slavery with a big statue to duel with the North's much less homo-erotic one?

Good one.

Some words from the brilliant Geoffrey Nunberg on the shift from Liberty to Freedom after the leap ...

It's time for BOROUGH QUIZ!!! [gong!]

Back after a long winter hiatus, it's

Sights, Blights and Hi-lights from NYC's Fantastic Five!!

Any Idea where this dude surveys the land? Answer at the end of the week!

WHERE THE HECK IS THAT GUY?

Bronx
Brooklyn
Manhattan
Queens
Staten Island

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