Picture #196: "What are you... BAD DOG!"

Google "dog porn" and you will get a slew of really awful visuals. Google "dogs humping" and you will get, unsurprisingly, a bunch of dogs humping... AND this thing; The Hot Doll, the self-proclaimed first sex toy for dogs. From France. Because apparently, French dogs are just more worldly than American ones.

Or ARE they? Apparently a Brazilian company is manufacturing another toy, the Doggie Love Doll, which they claim is also the world's first dog toy.

Which came first? And more importantly, who gets to clean these toys out afterwards?

Picture #185: Rubber Duckie Tea Infuser

"Rubber duckie tea infuser, you're the one.

You make tea time lots of fun!

Rubber duckie tea infuser, I'm awfully fond of you!"

There's a very dangerous store on the outskirts of Chinatown called Pearl River. It is dangerous because they have all manner of devilishly intriguing knick knacks, clothes and home furnishings. Things such as robot-shaped ice cube trays, bio-degradable bamboo dishware and... this. A floating, rubber-duckie-shaped, tea infuser.

Did I need it? No. I even told the person I was shopping with NOT to let me buy the thing. And yet, somehow, it ended up in my shopping bag. Because it was meant to be.

Halfway There/Picture 183: "Smart-assed trivia"

It's weird to realize that the 90's have a Trivial Pursuit edition dedicated to them. And that it was long enough ago to be slightly arcane knowledge. It's also weird to realize that no one plays Trivial Pursuit anymore.

On a separate note, this picture marks just passing the halfway point of this little year-long Toy a Day project. The original purpose, to sort of exercise my creative muscles daily to develop self discipline in creative and other areas hasn't quite kicked in as much as I'd like it to, but I am seeing some small changes. I suppose it's like losing weight - maybe you're not dropping 5 pounds a week as though you're on some reality game show, but even if it's just a few ounces here and there, it's still progress.

Memories of September 11th, 2001

It's hard to believe 10 years have passed since the planes, since we ran down 6th Avenue towards the crumbling spires, into a cloud of dust, death and despair, even when the ache in my limbs and lines in my face remind me that it's true. I find myself in South Street Seaport, in the downtown area of Manhattan, a lot these days, and when I glance down Fulton I see the "Freedom" Tower slowly, finally, rising into the sky, and it seems to me that the thing should have been completed YEARS ago, not, appallingly, still in the midst of construction 10 years later.

But here it is, and rather than allow myself to be consumed in morbid

memorials and maudlin shows of sentimentality as the 24-hour news networks, politicians and, ultimately, our enemies would have us do, I'm going to go on about my life, thankful for it and trying to make the most of it.

That said, a tribute is necessary, a moment of remembrance and a bow to the heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed to help the people of this city and country in those shocking times. There have been some touching ones, simple and poignant, and I'm glad for them. This is mine, or rather, ours:

Back in 2001, my friend and now roommate, Luke Crane, was publishing a magazine called "New York Fucking City," or "NYfC," and for that month's issue, he collected all the emails and messages from our circle of friends from that day, that we had sent out to friends and family to let them know we were okay and what was going on in the city. He also included pictures taken that day, while we went down and tried to help. And he crossed out the "F" on the cover, making it NYfC, which I've always thought was just right.

So here, in tribute to that time, is that issue. There's a lot there - my own entry starts on Page 25 - but it is what it is.

New York fucking City

Best wishes,

Shy

Picture #174: "Damned zombie stormtroopers..."

These telescoping lightsabers came out with the re-release of the original Star Wars trilogy back in the late 90's. Aside from the awful Lucas' tweeks (e.g. Greedo shooting first, etc...), it was great seeing the original films on a big screen again, especially at the Ziegfeld here in NYC, a gorgeous old movie house, which for many years was the largest screen in NYC and by far the best sound system. And the digital restoration really did improve the movies visually in many ways. Add to that the release of what is one of the BEST TOYS EVER MADE, and it was a grand time for the Star Wars franchise.

And then Phantom Menace came out... ugh.