the steps of the main library

midtown - 5, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

this was a totally lucky shot that i got while sitting on the steps on the main library (41st and 5th). i happened to have my camera already out or i would have missed it.

Ward's Island

Ward's Island - 19, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

I was on my bike and took a spontaneous trip to Ward's Island, which I had never been to before. The island includes ball fields, mental institutions, drug rehab programs and many other things that I am still not aware of. More pictures here.

central park - harlem meer - 6, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

i really like the greens in this photo but i couldn't really get as close to the duck as i wanted to, without getting in the water...and probably scaring it away.

p.k.'s sports bar / restaurant., ltd.

Brooklyn - 17, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

"come share the love. enjoy the happiness." how new york...this bar owner understands that we need to be reminded to enjoy happiness.

Brooklyn - 10, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

this is outside of the brooklyn museum of art. looks like we finally ran out of summer days. i actually said, "i'm sick of summer" the other day...not sure what came over me...i'm enjoying the cool for now. we'll see how long that lasts...

open house new york

St. John's Cathedral - 3, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

i was pretty half-assed about getting out to open house new york venues this year. i went to st. john's cathedral which is about five blocks away. i could probably go anytime but i know that they usually hit you up for a pretty hefty "suggested donation" and i thought this would be a good time to go and skip that (cheap, i know). i went at 2:30 with hopes of catching the 3:00 "vertical tour." when i asked, i was informed that the tour was limited to 10 people...TEN people. if you aren't familiar with the scale of open house new york, you can easily wait in line for 2 hours to get into someone's house...much less st. john's cathedral.

the next day i arrived at the arch in grand army plaza an hour and a half before they were scheduled to stop giving their version of a vertical tour and i was told that i was already too late.

this is one of my favorite shots from the lobby of the williamsburgh bank building (one hanson place...now being converted to condos).

One Hanson Place - Brooklyn - 9, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

back to nyc

back to nyc, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

this is a shot from the plane (obviously) as we headed back into newark. i don't understand flickr sometimes. it keeps stats of how many people see your photos. there are some not particularly impressive photos from sweden that have been seen around 20 times. this awesome (if i may) picture of manhattan that has only been viewed once! not to sweat myself but this is a great picture, no?

bye bye stockholm

Stockholm - 410, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

this is my last sweden entry. this is a photo from my last night in stockholm that i got to spend with my new friend joy. we took turns taking pictures each other as we did silly jumps on a playground trampoline. this is about the least silly of them all but it's my favorite.

oh yeah...

Värmland - 176, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

i forget that there are stars for months on end...literally forget that they exist. this was a nice reminder.

another strange outcome of the non-polluted countryside was the warning i got to not be surprised if i felt really tired the first couple of days as my body adjusts to getting a much higher level of oxygen.

you know they're ready when...

Värmland - 41, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

got to meet the "neighbor" who lives on the other side of the lake from fanny's family's cabin. he was driving away from his house when we met him but was all too eager to show his recent hunting kills. he drove back up his curved driveway 300 feet in reverse and produced these birds from a sack in his shed.

when we asked him why they were sitting in his shed in a bag he replied that they were old birds and they needed to sit for about a week for the meat to become tender. we asked if the birds started to smell after a week and he replied (i kid you not): "yes! that's when they are ready - when they smell and...when they drip from the bottom." (complete with "ass dripping" hand gesture - the pause was only to make sure he was translating/explaining it properly).

Värmland - 58, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

record shopping

Värmland - 73, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

yeah...record shopping in nearby Torsby didn't prove very productive so we had to find other ways to entertain ourselves...

Värmland - 29, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

Värmland - 5, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

this is the cabin that i stayed in for the week in Värmland. ben and fanny were in the other cabin that faced it from about 25 feet away. and below is how i heated it (because it was very very cold, at least some of the time).

Värmland - 66, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

Värmland

Heading To Värmland - 48, originally uploaded by jonoliver.

So sorry (if anyone was actually following along) I'm back in the states now...my blogging & flickr posting fell off when we went out to the Värmland a.k.a. the Swedish countryside where the internet access (and running water) were not in high supply. It was beautiful though...