Last Weekend...

Pem and I were back in New York and we had a blast. The two days flew by with...

...birthdays at the Blue Ribbon...

 ...bubbly above the High Line...

 ...and lots of bicycles thanks to NYC's brilliant Summer Streets initiative!

 Some other shots from the weekend...

Bill Cunningham: On the Screen

The other night I finally got to watch "Bill Cunningham: New York" - a documentary by Richard Press about street/fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. What an incredible life this man has led, capturing the evocative, the eccentric and the everyday fashions while cruising the streets of New York (and sometimes Paris) by bicycle! And yet you don't get any sense that Bill has acquired an ounce of pretentiousness rubbing elbows with some, if not most, of New York's high society. If anything, his modesty and mirthfulness has become more stubborn despite being honored with the title chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.

He really seems to approach his work as an anthropologist, slightly removed (Bill himself wears a cheap blue workman's jacket and patches cheap ponchos with duct tape) yet utterly absorbed and dedicated to his subject. What he does every day is wake up and do what he loves. You can tell he is simply devoted to documenting the beauty he encounters. In an interview with Bill about 20 years ago, he says, "You can't let them give you any money. Then you're free... Money is the cheapest thing. Freedom, liberty, those are the most expensive."

Last Sunday's On the Street (above) is right up my alley, a reflection on black and white. But if shoes are more your thing, check out Bill's latest here.

Hey, Bike Lovers!

Get this - apparently the U.S. is reviving its highway system for cyclists! Initiated in the early 1980s, the plan faltered but with the number of cyclists in the US ever rising, the Association of American State Highway and Transportation Officials are revisiting the idea. How cool is that?

Another cool thing - monogrammed bike seats.

I happened upon this one walking home from Yola the other day. The "S" could be for "Schwinn" (biodegradable bicycle?), but I'm pretty sure it stands for "Sara". :-) I was tempted to ride it home but I made off with this snap instead.