October 5, 2011

There’s a candlelight vigil for Bob Arihood tonight at Ray’s Candy Store that Shawn and Lindsay organized. Later everyone’s meeting at Lucy’s bar. I’m running late and I’m pretty sure I missed the candlelight vigil, but I’m guessing people will still be at Lucy’s, which is a great East Village bar. And luckily, it’s swizzle stick night, so it’s perfect. Let’s go pay our respects.

Alright, a short walk down Houston to Avenue A and we'll be there shortly.

Even though it's over two hours after the candlelight vigil was held, there's still a good crowd of people outside of Ray's.

Some of the candles and photos of Bob in front of Ray's.

Jim Power, A.K.A. Mosaic Man was taking some videos of the crowd. He was a good friend of Bob's and was the subject of some of Bob's first entries on his blog, Neither More Nor Less.

Two friends of Bob at the vigil hold up a photo of Bob and shared some memories.

Avenue A Jay said that from this day on, someone will always be sharing a story about Bob in front of Ray's.

Avenue A Jay left this message for Bob at Ray's.

East Village activist John Penley shared memories of Bob and said he'd be at Occupy Wall Street all week. Maybe we'll see him down there. I plan on going soon.

And here's Ray with the framed photo of Bob (taken by Melanie) that Shawn and Lindsay donated to Ray's Candy Store. This insures that Bob will continue to look after Ray as he always did. Nice.

Ray points to his friend, Bob.

It's after 11PM now, I wonder if anyone is left at Lucy's.

And there at the bar are Shawn and Lindsay, the two who organized tonight's vigil for Bob.

And here's the lovely owner and hostess of Lucy's, Lucy!

There's no swizzle stick in my vodka and tonic and to be truthful, I'd be disappointed if there was one at Lucy's bar.

A long shot of the wooden bar at Lucy's.

People enjoying themselves at tables opposite the ber.

Lucy taking care of business behind the bar.

At the end of the night, Lucy and I traded stories about Bob and drank a toast to him. Cheers to you Bob! You'll be missed, but forever remembered in our thoughts and in your work.

Ray's Candy Store
113 Ave. A (Near 7th St.)

Lucy’s Bar
135 Ave. A (Near 9th St.)
212-673-3824

Further reading: Neither More Nor Less.

Waterloo Sunset’s fine.

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Bonus Photos By Crazy Eddie!

Crazy Eddie was at the vigil for Bob last night. He left before I got there, but sent me these photos he took. Thanks, Crazy Eddie, hope to see you soon!

October 4, 2011

Last Friday I was going to go to Occupy Wall Street, but it was raining so hard, I postponed it and took photos on my way home and then instead of captions, I put up song lyrics and a link to a video of the song. I really liked the results of what happened in that post. I’ve kind of run out of ideas for “Sixpack Monday,” where I take six pictures of specific things, so I’ve decided to marry the two ideas and every Monday I’ll take six pictures in a part of New York and then add song lyrics for the caption that I think fits the mood of the picture.

Tonight I thought we’d do it in Times Square. I know I rag on about how Times Square is ruined and a squeaky clean tourist trap, but it’s still good for people watching and photo taking. So let’s go and get a sixpack of photos.

Don't sleep in the subway, darlin', don't stand in the pouring rain. Don't sleep in the subway, darlin', The night is long, forget your foolish pride, nothing's wrong, now you're beside me again.

I stepped up on the platform. The man gave me the news. He said, "You must be joking son, where did you get those shoes?"

Bakin' potatoes, bakin' in the sun. Put on your noseguard, put on the Lifeguard. Pass the tanning butter.

I'm taking it to my room. I'm taking it to my lonely place. I'm tempted to hide away. I'm tempted to hide in a tourist town.

Me and my Arrow. Straighter than narrow. Wherever we go, everyone knows, it's me and my Arrow.

We've done very well, but we've been to hell and heaven as well. We're having a lovely time, wish you were here.

Further reading: Andrew Prokos Photography, Laughing Squid and Times Square Alliance.

Picture this —a sky full of thunder,
Picture this—my telephone number,
One and one is what I'm telling you.

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Candleight Vigil For Bob Arihood Tonight

There's a candlelight vigil for Bob Arihood, who died last week. Shawn and Lindsay organized this and it takes place in front of Ray's tonight at 8:00 PM. I've heard it will continue at Lucy's later, where I'll probably join up due to the fact that I have to work. Here's the information from Shawn and Lindsay via EV Grieve:

We wanted to put together a candlelight vigil for Bob in front of Ray's at 8 pm.

Please tell people to bring a candle and or flowers, photos of Bob or photos Bob took. We all think instead Bob would want people to just buy something from Ray's in his memory!

We are presenting Ray with a framed portrait of Bob to hang up so he's always watching over Ray.

UPDATE:

Bob's friend Jefferson Siegel just sent me this email:

There will be a gathering of Bob's friends tonight at 7 p.m. at Lucy's at 135 Ave. A near 9th St. Please spread the word. A memorial is being planned, possibly for this weekend. Also, there was an obit on page 32 of today's Daily News. It's not online, but an image of it is attached:

October 3, 2011

Tributes To Bob Arihood

There’s some great tributes to East Village photographer and writer Bob Arihood who died last week. He was a friend to a lot of us and and an inspiration to even more. Check them out here:

EV Grieve

Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York

The Gog Log

Single Linds Reflex

East Village Corner...Musings by Melanie

Bowery Boogie

Runnin’ Scared

The Local East Village

Shawn Chittle

Slum Goddess

New York Through The Lens

October 2, 2011

I first met Bob Arihood last Easter at the Mars Bar. He saw me giving someone my corny-ass Marty After Dark card and came up and introduced himself. I already knew who he was though, I was a big fan of his photography and the way he documented the East Village on his wonderful blog, Neither More Nor Less. I remember saying to him, “You really get into the shit, don’t you?” And he just smiled that big-ass Bob smile and shook his head in agreement and replied, "That I do." We had a few beers and had a great conversation about New York and how it was changing for the worse. He left early that night, but we started exchanging emails and became friends. I was happy I had met Bob, he’s the kind of person I wanted to meet and hang out with when I moved to New York City over 18 years ago. Bob was somebody driven by passion, not by money and that’s a rarity these days. I always had a feeling he couldn’t stop what he was doing even if he wanted to, and I can identify with that.

Today I was looking for a place to go get a cheeseburger and I went to my computer and checked out the EV Grieve blog. I was shocked when the top post read: RIP Bob Arihood. It seems Bob died of a heart attack last week in his apartment. Shocking and sad news. I felt like someone had hit me in the face with a loaded snow shovel. You can’t put the loss of a friend and a hero into words, so I’m not even going to try. As Johnny Thunders once sang, you can’t put your arms around  a memory.

The last time I saw Bob was on September 10th of this year. My friends Britta and Tom were in town and we were going to Manitoba’s, but we thought we’d stop by Ray’s Candy Store first. Bob was there chatting with his friend Chrissy. I took this photo of the two of them.
We made plans to get together soon, but that’s not going to happen now. R.I.P. Bob, we’re all going to miss you and the East Village just lost a true original person. We love you, Bob and what you did. You will be missed here in New York City, I thank you for your contribution to New York City and for your friendship. Sending love to you wherever you are.

Neither More Nor Less.

August 7, 2011

Live from New York, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night! Starring Ray’s Candy Store and a street party in front of the Mars Bar! And now, ladies and gentlemen, from the East Village in New York City, Ray’s Candy Store!

And it's off we go into the night. There's a protest/party starting out at the BMW Guggenheim Lab thingy and then ending up at the Mars Bar for a street party. The BMW portion was too early for me, but I thought I'd stop by Ray's and get a cheeseburger and then wander over to the Mars Bar for the street party/protest. The man organizing this party/protest is longtime NYC activist, John Penley. Last Halloween John was organizing an event for Halloween and we traded comments on EV Grieve and he promised me a kiss! The event didn't happen though, so I didn't  get to receive my kiss. Tonight I'll see if John will make good on that promise.

It's sprinkling a little outside, but it's not that bad and it's brought the heat down.

And here we are at Ray's, time for Cheeseburger Saturday night to begin!

There's a line inside which I always like to see at Ray's.

And here's the man himself, Ray flanked by two of his pretty co-workers.

Ray recently became an American citizen, here's a photo of the legendary day. Congratulations, Ray!

They were out of cheeseburger ingredients for the night, so I opted for a hot sausage with mustard and carmelized onions.

It was delicious!

I also got one of Ray's classic vanilla milkshakes. And now it's all gone. Burp. Okay, off to the street party at Mars Bar.

Hey, where is everybody?

Oh, here they are!

And here's the man who put it all together, John Penley. The group gave the BMW Guggenheimer's a run for their money and I was sorry I missed it. But at least I made it to this portion.

A sign is hoisted in front of Mars Bar.

"Gentrification is class war! Fight back!" The message for the evening.

LES Jewels had a poem he had just written earlier in the evening.

It was a great poem and read with heartfelt conviction. Nice job, LES Jewels!

Ace photographer Bob Arihood was on the scene documenting everything. I look forward to his take on the evening which should be forthcoming this week.

Perfectly summed up. I've asked many people what the point of this whole BMW Guggenheim Lab thing is, and no one seems to know. I haven't gone yet, but it seems like one big circle jerk to me.

And the wine is brought out, let the party begin!

A corkscrew was brought out and the uncorking of the wine begins.

Here's everyone milling around.

Hey John, how about that kiss?

This photo by Bob Arihood just may be the highlight of this blog so far! It'll be hard to top this moment! Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.

Further reading: EV Grieve, Neither More Nor Less, facecrack and The Gog Log.

You Might Also Like: Peaches and Herb.

Five Songs About Parties
Where’s The Party by Madonna
Party on the Patio by ZZ Top
It’s My Party by Lesley Gore
1999 by Prince
The Party by Phil Ochs

In the city there's a thousand men in uniforms,
And I've heard they now have the right to kill a man.

ARCHIVES

(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you! This one’s a day late.)