The Diner

The Ritz Diner on the Upper Eastside is one of the many restaurants that serve cuisine similar to the classic American diner. The traditional diner is a prefabricated restaurant characterized by an exterior layer of stainless steel. Like a mobile home, the original style diner is narrow and elongated and allows roadway transportation. In the case of the diner, this is a carry-over from the first "true" diners ever built, which were never intended to remain stationary. The original diners (as opposed to "dining wagons") were actual dining cars on railways. When a dining car was no longer fit for service, it was often employed as a cheap restaurant at a (stationary) location near a train station or along the side of the railroad at some other location. Later, tradition—along with equipment designed to build railcars—kept this size and shape. In this original floorplan, a service counter dominates the interior, with a preparation area against the back wall and floor-mounted stools for the customers in front. Larger models may have a row of booths against the front wall and at the ends. The decor varied over time. Diners of the 1920s–1940s feature Art Deco elements or copy the appearance of rail dining cars (though very few are, in fact, refurbished rail cars). They featured porcelain enamel exteriors, some with the name written on the front, others with bands of enamel, others in flutes. Many had a "barrel vault" roofline. Tile floors were common. Diners of the 1950s tended to use stainless steel panels, porcelain enamel, glass blocks, terrazzo floors, Formica and neon sign trim. Diners built recently generally have a different type of architecture; they are laid out more like restaurants, retaining some aspects of traditional diner architecture (stainless steel and Art Deco elements, usually) while discarding others (the small size, and emphasis on the counter) (from wikipedia).

Artemis and a Deer

Part of the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Greek and Roman Galleries is this Roman statue of Artemis and a deer (late Hellenistic or Early Imperial, ca. 1st century B.c. - 1st century A.D.). Artemis, known to the Romans as Diana, stands with her weight on her right leg, her left foot trailing. She wears a short chiton, appropriate to her role as goddess of silver, and elaborate sandals. Originally, she would have held a bow in her left hand. In other statues of similar type, the goddess is striding, but here she stands as if in epiphany, an impression that is emphasized by the high classicizing style of the figure, with its wind-blown drapery and strongly idealized features. A deer stands to her left, and there was possibly another small figure on her right, possibly a dog.

The statue and its base were cast in several sections by means of the lost wax method, as was characteristic in antiquity, and those parts were then joined together with flow welds. The artist and his workshop maintained a particularly high level of craftsmanship. The statue is said to have been found in Rome near the church of Saint John the Lateran, and it likely would have decorated a peristyle garden of one of the large ancient Roman villas or town houses in that area. The most important sanctuary of Diana for the anncient Romans was located at Aricia, some eleven miles outside of Rome, on the shore of Lake Nemi. That lake was known as the speculum Dianae (mirror of Diana).

STACK by SHAY ALKALAY

On exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art is SHAY ALKALAY's "STACK" (2008). Made of painted plywood and steel, the stack storage drawers unit is manufactured by ESTABLISHED & SONS.  With STACK, the artist showcases the beauty of drawers left open. Stack units are available in two attractive color schemes as shown in APARTMENT THERAPY, and the drawers can be opened from either side. London-based Shay Alkalay was born in Israel in 1976. This exciting designer has shown in Madrid, Cologne, Tokyo, Shanghai, Milan and New York. He obtained an MA in product design from the Royal College of Art. 

International Piano Showcase at The Plaza

An International Piano Showcase was held at The Plaza's Palm Court over the weekend. The showcase also featured a piano recital at this grand venue.

Winter Jam NYC 2010 in Central Park's Bandshell Area

Winter Jam NYC is a free annual winter sports festival that encourages New Yorkers to get out and enjoy the outdoors. The event was held today in Central Park's Bandshell Area. The festival featured Rail Jam for snowboarding, Snow Field for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, the Red Bull Project X, screening of a documentary on Shaun White's Olympic training, and Winter Market, a free sampling of snacks and refreshments from local producers.

Coins in the Fountain at the Met's Greek and Roman Court

Although the fountain in the Leon Levy and Shelby White Court for Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was "designed to rrecreate the ambience of a Roman court," it has become a receptacle for coins. Pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and even coins from other countries. Why do people throw coins in fountains? In an article published in the New York Times, Joan Mertens, the Met’s curator of Greek and Roman art, came up with a story, appropriately enough, from ancient Greece. Amasis, the king of Egypt in the sixth century B.C., predicted trouble for his ally Polykrates unless Polykrates showed some humility. Amasis, Ms. Mertens said, told Polykrates he should throw into the sea his most valued possession: an emerald ring. “Sort of as proof or a sign, someone in Polykrates’s household came in with a big fish who had the ring in his stomach,” she said, “so it came back to him.” From that, she said, came the notion of “casting away something that is meaningful to you, and if you’re lucky, you will be reunited with it.” The story still doesn't answer the question because people throw something of very little value into the fountain, and not valuable possessions.