June 17, 2009 @ 12:36 pm
I’ve always been a fan of Michael Wolf’s photographs of Hong Kong, but somehow I missed this series he did on corner houses in Hong Kong.
I remember when I was in Hong Kong last summer, I kept seeing these rounded corner buildings and I thought that they looked really weird but kinda neat. I guess there’s so many of them because the planning of the streets in Hong Kong aren’t necessarily hard corners like they are in Manhattan and some other more modern cities.
Anyway, it turns out that there’s quite a lot of these rounded corner houses/buildings and Michael Wolf has photographed a good number of them in his series. Check it out if you’ve got some time. I really should take this downtime in my career to plan a trip back to Hong Kong. I wasn’t there nearly as long as I wanted to be last summer.
May 3, 2009 @ 12:18 am
I honestly consider this to be one of the best photographs I’ve ever taken, and I don’t really know why.
February 3, 2009 @ 1:19 pm
Photo: Joe Ades in Chinatown by Joyce Wong
Some sad news coming in this morning, as The New York Times is reporting that the gentlemen potato peeler Joseph Ades passed away on Sunday at the age of 75. Ades (pronounced AH-dess) was a corner staple in Union Square and some other places around New York City. If he was out selling his potato peelers that day, you would know even before you saw him because you could literally hear his voice from down the block. I can’t count the times I’ve seen this man selling his beloved potato peeler (it peels and cuts other things too) on the street, often saying the same lines over and over for hours. It’s amazing that he has done it for so long without being tired of it (at least he didn’t look tired). He sold the kitchen item with more enthusiasm and charisma than any other person I’ve ever seen trying to sell any other product!
Ades was a bit of a street performer too, as witnessed by the masses of people that would gather on a sidewalk corner to watch him peel potatoes, carrots, apples, pears, and just about anything else he could get his hands on. Joseph Ades never told anybody how much he made from his potato peelers, but one could assume he was pretty well off as evidenced in this Today Show segment showing his posh lifestyle and home on Park Ave [via].
If you want to see him in his element, selling his potato peelers on the streets of New York City, then head on over here and get viewing! RIP old man! The city will definitely be a bit quieter without you and your great voice.
November 19, 2008 @ 1:57 pm
This is the Corner lamp from modo luce. It’s a beautiful floor lamp that features a long arm to hang the light over your head. It allows sufficient amount of light to hit your viewing area without ever being in the way of your chair or your body (that is, unless you decide to stand up directly beneath it). [via]
I like it. It’s simple and effective. I didn’t even bother to open up the price sheet. I can almost bet that this is expensive.
October 12, 2008 @ 2:14 pm
A couple of months ago, I posted a photo of the sign that was hidden behind the old Ranch 1 restaurant at the corner of 28th Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan. It was a beautiful aged sign for a place called the Hickory House Coffee Shop. The signage was intact and exposed after Ranch 1 moved out of the location, leaving the corner lot empty for several months.
Just recently, a T-Mobile store has opened up in that location and the new T-Mobile sign is less than aesthetically pleasing. I mean, I guess it really doesn’t matter much since nothing on this block matches anything else. But compared to the old Hickory House signage, this T-Mobile sign just seems so…bland. There you have it though, proof that the neighborhood is moving on up.
