JP Chan

jpchan
jpchan
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  • The (Still) Birth of Cool

    As I grow older, I find myself more and more fond of sharing unsolicited advice. Today???s lesson is about accepting the fact that you can???t always win. I know it takes a big man to admit he can’t be a playa 100 percent of the time, but fortunately …

  • 72 HFS: Submission!

    We dropped off the film at ACV at 6:35pm, an hour and twenty-five minutes before the deadline. I hope I get some points for the nifty mailing label. There are a few technical issues I wish we could have fixed before submission, but overall I think…

  • 72 HFS: Shooting & Editing

    Our shoot went well — and went over. I was hoping to be done by midnight, but we didn’t wrap until 2:30am. Rich the editor stopped by at the end of the shoot to get the tapes. I got to bed around 3:30am. Rich started editing Sunday afternoon and …

  • 72 HFS: Pre-Production

    The theme of the Shootout is “AKA.” After brainstorming with the cast and crew at last night’s Launch Party, I went home and started writing, but fell asleep pretty early without having written anything. I woke up at 5:30am and started writing and…

  • 72 HFS: Getting Ready

    We now interrupt our regularly scheduled blog for the Second Annual 72 Hour Film Shootout. Over the next three days, I’ll be leading a team that will be competing against 50 or so others to write, shoot, and edit a six-minute film, based on a them…

  • If You Were A Pill

    Title reference: The Replacements. (Franklin St & Broadway, Manhattan)

  • No Reality Distortion Field Here

    I admit it: I’m a sucker for a well-done speech. And Apple/Pixar CEO Steve Jobs’ Stanford University commencement speech (excerpts also available via video) is a great one. Create your own RDF at Wikipedia. (Brooklyn College, aka the Stanford of F…

  • The Radio Gives Me Static

    Title reference: The B-52’s. (Car Wash, Flatbush Av near Lincoln Rd, Brooklyn)

  • Chain Chain Chain

    I suspect that one of these mornings, this chain is gonna break, but I could be wrong. (9 St & 2 Av, Manhattan)

  • Driving On The Manhattan Bridge

    As many New Yorkers know, the mnemonic for the Lower East River Bridges is, from south to north, BMW: Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg. BTW, my very educated mother just sent us nine pickles, even though every good boy deserves fudge, IMHO. (Manh…

  • Prospect Parts: Peristyle

    The Peristyle, designed by McKim, Mead, and White. (Prospect Park, near Parkside Av & Parade Pl, Brooklyn)

  • The Light From A Cake

    Does anyone else find these Western Union ads hilarious — and vaguely creepy? And damn, I finally managed to convince most of my non-Chinese friends that not all of us eat dogs. Now I have to explain our affinity for radioactive pastries. Related…

  • Bowling Green Grow The Rushes

    If you’ve never visited Bowling Green, you’re missing out on one of the real jewels of the city. New York City’s oldest park is an oasis of calm in the Financial District and, for a few years now, has even offered free Wi-Fi. So come on down and g…

  • Lost Amongst the Pigeons and the Crumbs

    It’s been an interesting week — to say the least — for NYC wonks and Mac geeks like myself. First, the NYC wonks: the West Side Stadium was defeated, all but dooming New York’s (and the United States’) chances of winning the 2012 Olympics. I’m a…

  • Trees Lounge

    From Jean Dubuffet’s Groupe de Quatre Arbres (Group of Four Trees), 1972. Trees Lounge is a cool little film by the great Steve Buscemi. (Chase Manhattan Plaza, Manhattan)

  • Monday is Cat Week: White, Black, Trendy

    No animals were harmed to make this photograph, although at least one may have been annoyed. (Marla)

  • Subwayward

    (28 St-Park Av South Station, Manhattan)

  • The Hardest Button To Button

    Title reference courtesy The White Stripes. (Mulberry St & Mosco St, Manhattan)

  • Three Questions for Karen

    What are you looking forward to? The moment when all my African violets are in full bloom….they are so pretty. What song have you been listening to most lately? “Louie, Louie” by Iggy Pop from the Coffee and Cigarettes soundtrack. What do you be…

  • If You Need It, You Should Show It

    People often ask me why I chose to shoot this photoblog with the Treo 600, given its very limited camera. My answer is always the same: because of the Mysterious Self-Portrait Function, man. Title reference courtesy Weezer. Related Post: Self Port…

  • The Long And Winding Ramp

    If you wanna get your wonk on, check out “People, Parking, and Cities,” a great article from the University of California Transportation Center about the relationship of parking, density, and sprawl in Los Angeles. It’s not the story you usually h…

  • Unnostalgic For The Bad Old Days

    As an NYU student in the early 90s, I spent plenty of time waiting for trains at West 4 St station. It was even less of a pretty sight then — panhandlers and the stench of piss were everywhere. Younger readers and newcomers to NYC probably don’t …

  • Step Up To The Customs House

    Related posts: A Whiter Shade of Bowling Green 3 A Stranger Downtown (US Customs House, Manhattan)

  • Heavy Into Port Jeff

    (Port Jefferson Harbor, NY)

  • We Are Taking Sugar Water Shower

    Lungamente vivono le donne e le canzoni di Cibo Matto. (City Hall Park, Manhattan) Related posts: Civic Pride: City Hall Nantra & Bijou

  • You’re Tossing Your Seeds Around

    Why isn’t Superchunk more famous? Their songs are so cool. (Battery Park, Manhattan)

  • It’s Like Rain On Your Q Train

    This is not the beautiful late May weather I asked for. I hope this isn’t a sign that the universe is utterly indifferent to my needs, because I also need to hit it up for $2,500 by the end of next month. (Q train, Brooklyn)

  • Stealing Down A Wrong Way Street

    If there’s anything kids understand, it’s a really firm admonishment. Because only then will they realize that they have to ignore it. Skateaway is a song I haven’t heard in, like, forever. (South William St & Broad St, Manhattan)

  • (Way) Larger Than Life: The Movie

    These giant portraits of Time Warner TV personalities are unnerving. They remind me a lot of the similarly outsized Nancy Burson photos I saw a while back, but with even more menace. Aren???t huge public portraits are usually associated with fascism…

  • What Fools These Mortals Be!

    (Puck Building, Lafayette St & Houston St, Manhattan)

  • Self-Portrait In:Of A Scion

    Under the terms of its parole, Bklyn Blggng is allowed one trip outside NYC each month. During these special occasions, a favorite method of conveyance is a Scion xB rented from Zipcar. The Scion???s chunky-but-pleasing design are a hit with both te…

  • Empire of the Sunset

    (FDR Drive & 34 St, Manhattan)

  • All Those Signs, I Knew What They Meant

    My feeling is that in most other places, this sign would simply read PARKING SPACE FOR RENT. But of course, New York ain’t like most other places (as if you couldn’t tell by the fact that even in Kensington, Brooklyn, people are asking $200 a mont…

  • My Bicycle Spaniard, My Poor Restless Soul

    Is everyone spending more time on a bike and less time in front of a TV or computer this year? Don’t forget your New Year’s Resolution. Bicycle Spaniard is beautiful song by Cracker. (Riverside South Park, Manhattan)

  • High Above Morningside Heights

    I’ve kinda been avoiding churches ever since accidentally watching The Omen on TV when I was nine. But I’m glad this past weekend I had the chance to attend a friend’s screenplay reading in the tower of Riverside Church. The view was amazing — an…

  • The Last Of The Famous International Playboys

    I know this is last week’s news, but I had to let it sink in a while: is the UN really coming to Brooklyn? And why, being that I’m in favor of most of the proposed new development for Brooklyn, do I have mixed feelings about it? I think it’s becau…

  • You Can’t Put Your Arms Around An Ambulance

    Ever since I watched Bringing Out the Dead, I haven’t been able to look at an NYC ambulance at night without hearing this Johnny Thunders song in my head. Go rent it now and you’ll see (and hear) what I mean. And let’s take a moment now to honor o…

  • On The Road, A Capella

    With Lord Ganesh on the dashboard, all obstacles were cleared as we made our way across the Bowery, over the Manhattan Bridge, and up Flatbush. The traffic and the lights and the energy of New York City on a beautiful spring night made its own mus…

  • Brooklyn Junction, What’s Your Function?

    Most days, I’m an economic determinst, but even those that believe economics explains most behavior have to admit that politics, culture, history, lack of imagination, and good ol’ inertia are sometimes equal partners in the human adventure. How e…

  • Glass, Concrete and Stone

    It’s nice to see a non-hipster/yuppie new business going up on the Lower East Side. I say this, of course, after buying Earl Grey Creme tea at Moby’s Teany Cafe and having drinks with fellow NYC photobloggers at Magician. Gentrification is such a …

  • Your Pork Chop House Excellency

    There are just some secrets, like the massive sports betting ring I run, that I will never discuss on a blog. There are other secrets, however, that I’m more than happy to reveal. One of them is the braised chicken soup with noodle at Excellent Po…

  • Parkchester Station at 8:53

    (Parkchester Station, The Bronx)

  • Beautiful Garbage, Beautiful Dresses

    Oh look at my face My name is might have been My name is never was My name’s forgotten (Broadway & Stone St, Manhattan)

  • Monday is Cat Week: Bidalasana

    Marla’s like a totally new cat since she got into yoga. (Marla)

  • All About Our Mothers

    Happy Mother’s Day! You did remember to get her something, right? (Century 21, 22 Corlandt St, Manhattan)

  • And It Was All Yellow

    Look at the stars, look how they shine for you. (Bowling Green, Manhattan)

  • Civic Pride: City Hall

    As an urbanist, I’m a little embarassed to admit that I’ve only been in New York’s City Hall twice in my life. The architecture is beautiful. I think parts of the building, including the rotunda, are open to the public, although the intimidating p…

  • Chase/Bank

    (Chase Manhattan Plaza, Pine St & William St, Manhattan)

  • Rodenticide (Special Guest Star: Tiki Barber)

    Sometimes, I don’t ask why things are the way they are. I just keep the thought to myself and press the button on the camera. Releated post: Rodenticide (14 St-7 Av Station)

  • These Random Access Memories Can’t Wait

    I recently finished a really good book about memory improvement, but I’ve been too lazy to actually perform any of the brain exercises recommended by the author. So while I now know more about the brain than I did before, my memory hasn’t increase…