cities in pixie dust

Cities in Pixie Dust actually spends more time in Camden, NJ than we might want to admit! Aside from being one of the most dangerous cities in the USA,  and the home of the following: Campbell’s soup, the Camden Riversharks, the (Whatever they are calling it this week - Sony / Tweeter / Susquehanna Bank Center) place where big concerts and festivals come in the summertime… Or a place to see an amazing view of the Philadelphia skyline at sunset, and a dying industrial town (oh-so-romantic) - Camden has  amazing graffiti.

We are seeking to learn more about the artists who are always painting and repainting the walls around Federal and 19th Streets. Some of these tags are so beautiful and intricate that they are hard to read.

See more here… JUST UPDATED and cropped/color-corrected. Hooray!

Cities in Pixie Dust is a big fan of art you can access in the everyday world, without going too far out of your way to see it - such as street art, graffiti, murals, stickers, found art, etc.  Cities are places where people interact with each other. Sometimes they choose to interact with each other, and sometimes they’re forced into it.

So many people in the city go about their day with a hustle and bustle and don’t have time to look around. Street artists take the time to make something and put it where everyone can see, on the sly, while trying not to get caught “defacing” property. Some people would call a lot of street art a criminal act and not a work of art, but CPD disagrees. There is a lot of stuff you could do to get your ass into trouble, but painting on a wall or sign is probably amongst the less evil things out there.

Recently, and we don’t know how we’ve missed this site for so long, CPD stumbled upon an amazing blog on the Village Voice - Camille Dodero’s Streetscape Blog. So you should go check it out.

And here are some pix of street art that CPD has stumbled upon in the recent past. There will be more to come. Or hit up the flickr for graffiti and murals…

Cities in Pixie Dust went to NYC for the weekend. On the agenda was much exploration, eating, drinking, and story-gathering. Nothing cultural or highbrow was accomplished, and as the editor made her way back home on the train somewhat hungover and pained this afternoon, she kicked herself in the ass upon seeing a sign for the Murakami show at the Brooklyn Art Museum. So CPD may have to get back up there for the day, on a well-behaved and more cultural type of visit before July.

On Saturday, we went to Roosevelt Island, formerly known as Welfare Island. This is a small island between Manhattan and Queens, and worthy of both a subway stop AND a tram. The tram is a pleasant but short ride from 59th and 2nd Ave. above the buildings where you get a pretty spectacular view. The subway ride (on the F line) takes you down in a tunnel built deep under the East River.

Apparently there is a historic Roosevelt Island Walk, which we traversed upon on this delightful April day. But there are no monuments or placards along this walk to tell you what makes it historic, exactly. So CPD and friends made up our own version of historic moments upon the walk. Paul Revere rode along the historic Roosevelt Island walk… Thomas Jefferson had a secret hideaway for one of his lovers overlooking the East River. Michael Jackson spent some time hiding out on the island after the tragic Pepsi commercial fiasco where his hair was set on fire. It was there he met his faithful companion, Bubbles.

The views of Manhattan from the west side of Roosevelt Island are pretty awesome. Also of interest are some curious sculptures by an artist named Tom Otterness, The Marriage of Real Estate and Money, which are mounted on rocks right in the water. The last of the sculptures shows a house getting clawed at by a lobster.

More views from Roosevelt Island here… more photos coming soon, and possibly some words too.

Cities in Pixie Dust is going to NYC!

Smell ya later…

The next time you’re out and about, look around. Look up. Look down. Peek thru the fences. Look down the grate. The devil is in the details.

The editor of cities in pixie dust is too busy this week to post anything good. And since this site is more about photos than words, she won’t rub in your face about how lame you are if say, you missed out on Pilam’s Human BBQ XXX last Saturday. (Japanther is WAY better LIVE than recorded in audio, by the way! But that is another thought for someone else - who focuses on words - to write. Unfortunately, we still have not found a great way to record performance in audio-only format.)

However, she will not miss this opportunity to shamelessly self-promote.

next tuesday, 4/15 at the raven lounge - great music all night long! 2nd floor.
all killer, no filler! rock and roll, punk, electropop, power pop, new wave, indie, alternative, funk/soul, and anything upbeat with fuzzy guitars or a hot drum beat.

Wissahickon Creek trails, 4/5/08

Christian Posters Invade Philly! But there is no 53 AM. Or is there?

Sent to me by Chris “Spam” White,

“These posters have been showing up in center city and south Philly for
about a year. They always have a model’s head and a similar style of
Christian ranting. They always mention demons getting in your blood
and defecating. They also exhort you to stay married, stop shacking
up, and listen to Christ radio. These new ones also mention that
angels will hug you forever in heaven.”

[Read more →]

Now that Spring is coming upon us, I’m hoping to take spend a fair amount of time exploring some of the local parks. I grew up right by the Wissahickon Creek/Forbidden Drive area of Philadelphia, and have been wandering that area since I was a small child. Some places don’t really get old. And there are all the urban parks, from Rittenhouse Square to Washington Square, Pretzel Park to Clark Park. But can you believe it, I’ve never been to Pennypack? So that place is definitely on the agenda for a day or a few in the near future. And then there are all those tiny green spots, garden spaces, and secret hideaways (like the photo below) that you just happen upon by chance. Look for explorations and photos to come in the next few weeks.

Real content is coming soon, promise!

this project aims to be a visual storybook documenting cities - and the lifeforce and people who make them alive.  the agony and the ecstacy. the beautiful, the mundane, the silly and the bizarre. 

Cities have their own rhythm and hustle, they can be anything you want them to be. Sometimes the city seems harsh, mean, gritty; everyone seems angry and in a rush, or out to get each other. Sometimes the city seems hopeless and sprawling, lonely and isolated - millions of people constantly passing you by, but no one to reach out to. But sometimes the city is amazing - a place where people come together and collaborate and celebrate - a place of endless possibilities. I’d like to think this website is a place of endless possibilities to explore all of those things … and everything in-between. A tall order?

if you have ideas or would like to contribute to this project, please get in touch.

I’m still figuring out exactly what I’d like to be posting, and tweaking out the site design, so some things may change a little bit here and there until it feels right. So hang tight or send your feedback.

For now, I’ll leave you with an old, but favorite photograph, taken in the early ’00s in new york city around the Christmas holidays. I like to think it captures the feeling that anything can be possible, with a little optimism and a little luck.