...
The Playground Of The World
Seriously, is there a better place on Earth than Coney Island?
This past Saturday I made the trip with Ben, Aimee, and Cait. This was only my second time spending a day there, but I get the feeling that I could go there a thousand times, and the awesomeness quotient would NEVER decrease!
I kept Pentax on a pretty short leash that day, so there are only a few pictures to share...
The first thing we did when we got off the train was hit the Coney Island Circus Sideshow:
Note that, yes, the man in the top hat has a screwdriver stuck into his face. And for some reason I think it's cool that the clothespin guy is staring right at the camera in that second pic. The show itself was great, really campy and entertaining. Eak the Geek performed the Human Bed of Nails Sandwich, a sword-swallower named Heather Holliday plied her craft, Diamond Donnie V snapped animal traps on his hand and tongue, and a woman named Insectavora performed a fire-breathing/fire-swallowing routine. They politely asked the audience to refrain from photography, and in many other cases I'd shirk the rule and find a surreptitious way to get some shots, but out of respect for the Sideshow, I chose not to. That kind of performance art doesn't get the respect it deserves.
On the way out of the Sideshow, we passed this adorable little display... Coney Island's take on the perpetually drinking bird:
The perpetually vomiting man!!! Obviously, Ben thought it was hilarious. All that watery barf made us hungry, so we hit up the original Nathan's for fish & chips and beer in cardboard cups. I was too busy eating to care about pictures.
After lunch we made our way to the beach, passing a sandcastle building contest:
Now, Coney Island is (or, at least, was) often called The Playground of the World, because it is a haven for global vacationers. So naturally, there are bound to be some... um... European-style bathing suits:
Or who knows, maybe he's just a dude from Queens beating the heat. Either way, this was taken at a pretty extreme zoom, and Pentax chose to focus on the garbage can in the foreground. Maybe the selective autofocus was for our protection... Thanks, Pentax... always looking out for us!
After the beach, we did one of my favorite Coney Island activities, the Eldorado Bumper Cars! Again, I chose to refrain from pictures, and focused instead on applying the principles of Sidewalkology to the track, with the aggression amped up to 100! No time for pictures when you're cutting to the outside, looking for a lane, splitting between two slower drivers while avoiding contact, whipping around a curve, and slamming broadside into one of your friends! Now THAT'S entertainment!
After the bumper cars, we made our way to the tallest ferris wheel in existence, the 150-foot-tall Wonder Wheel. The cars are either stationary or "gliding," that is, they're on tracks that slide the car back and forth with the forces of momentum and gravity. Needless to say, we opted for the gliding car, which Aimee wasn't expecting to be so rollercoaster-esque:
While Aimee held on for dear life (and Ben thoughtfully pointed out that the Brooklyn Cyclones were playing), I took advantage of the Wonder Wheel's spectacular view. This is one of my favorite snaps from the day:
Look for it in the running for Favorites 2005! After the Wonder Wheel, Cait and I decided we hadn't gotten enough whiplash and motion sickness, and she had never ridden on the Brooklyn baseball team's namesake, so we made our way to the Cyclone. Again, I didn't take any decent shots, but when thinking about the Cyclone, I'm constantly reminded of a subway graffiti piece from a couple summers ago...
Chock Full O' Nuts coffee had an ad campaign celebrating New York's grittiness, character, strength, etc..., and related it to their being one of the hallmark coffee brands in the city. This was one of the ads:
The graffiti was Sharpied-on, right near the woman's open mouth. I'll let you figure the rest out...
At the end of the day, we sat on the beach in the dark and relaxed. Of course I unwittingly fell asleep... but not before getting another of my favorite shots from the day:
I'm glad that I was able to get even just a day at Coney this summer. The way schedules are working out, I don't know if I'll get back there before the season ends, which is unfortunate. But that's life.
It really is the Playground of the World... They don't sleep anymore on the beach...
[***You history buffs can check out some info on Coney Island's colorful past HERE and HERE.***]
*****N*T*G*****
Never hesitate to comment!
This past Saturday I made the trip with Ben, Aimee, and Cait. This was only my second time spending a day there, but I get the feeling that I could go there a thousand times, and the awesomeness quotient would NEVER decrease!
I kept Pentax on a pretty short leash that day, so there are only a few pictures to share...
The first thing we did when we got off the train was hit the Coney Island Circus Sideshow:
Note that, yes, the man in the top hat has a screwdriver stuck into his face. And for some reason I think it's cool that the clothespin guy is staring right at the camera in that second pic. The show itself was great, really campy and entertaining. Eak the Geek performed the Human Bed of Nails Sandwich, a sword-swallower named Heather Holliday plied her craft, Diamond Donnie V snapped animal traps on his hand and tongue, and a woman named Insectavora performed a fire-breathing/fire-swallowing routine. They politely asked the audience to refrain from photography, and in many other cases I'd shirk the rule and find a surreptitious way to get some shots, but out of respect for the Sideshow, I chose not to. That kind of performance art doesn't get the respect it deserves.
On the way out of the Sideshow, we passed this adorable little display... Coney Island's take on the perpetually drinking bird:
The perpetually vomiting man!!! Obviously, Ben thought it was hilarious. All that watery barf made us hungry, so we hit up the original Nathan's for fish & chips and beer in cardboard cups. I was too busy eating to care about pictures.
After lunch we made our way to the beach, passing a sandcastle building contest:
Now, Coney Island is (or, at least, was) often called The Playground of the World, because it is a haven for global vacationers. So naturally, there are bound to be some... um... European-style bathing suits:
Or who knows, maybe he's just a dude from Queens beating the heat. Either way, this was taken at a pretty extreme zoom, and Pentax chose to focus on the garbage can in the foreground. Maybe the selective autofocus was for our protection... Thanks, Pentax... always looking out for us!
After the beach, we did one of my favorite Coney Island activities, the Eldorado Bumper Cars! Again, I chose to refrain from pictures, and focused instead on applying the principles of Sidewalkology to the track, with the aggression amped up to 100! No time for pictures when you're cutting to the outside, looking for a lane, splitting between two slower drivers while avoiding contact, whipping around a curve, and slamming broadside into one of your friends! Now THAT'S entertainment!
After the bumper cars, we made our way to the tallest ferris wheel in existence, the 150-foot-tall Wonder Wheel. The cars are either stationary or "gliding," that is, they're on tracks that slide the car back and forth with the forces of momentum and gravity. Needless to say, we opted for the gliding car, which Aimee wasn't expecting to be so rollercoaster-esque:
While Aimee held on for dear life (and Ben thoughtfully pointed out that the Brooklyn Cyclones were playing), I took advantage of the Wonder Wheel's spectacular view. This is one of my favorite snaps from the day:
Look for it in the running for Favorites 2005! After the Wonder Wheel, Cait and I decided we hadn't gotten enough whiplash and motion sickness, and she had never ridden on the Brooklyn baseball team's namesake, so we made our way to the Cyclone. Again, I didn't take any decent shots, but when thinking about the Cyclone, I'm constantly reminded of a subway graffiti piece from a couple summers ago...
Chock Full O' Nuts coffee had an ad campaign celebrating New York's grittiness, character, strength, etc..., and related it to their being one of the hallmark coffee brands in the city. This was one of the ads:
The graffiti was Sharpied-on, right near the woman's open mouth. I'll let you figure the rest out...
At the end of the day, we sat on the beach in the dark and relaxed. Of course I unwittingly fell asleep... but not before getting another of my favorite shots from the day:
I'm glad that I was able to get even just a day at Coney this summer. The way schedules are working out, I don't know if I'll get back there before the season ends, which is unfortunate. But that's life.
It really is the Playground of the World... They don't sleep anymore on the beach...
[***You history buffs can check out some info on Coney Island's colorful past HERE and HERE.***]
*****N*T*G*****
Never hesitate to comment!
posted by JMP at 9:58 AM
2 Comments:
Soon dude, soon!
i actually thought that was you and ben in that chock full o nuts picture. it looks a lot like you guys.
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