Cimbi's bath photos made it onto Stuff On My Cat!

Please vote for her, and see the amazing after-bath photo, here!

Posted by Chris at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A dirty little Harlem Fur secret is that Cheryl is deathly allergic to cats. We work around this minor inconvenience with general apartment maintenance that includes severe constraints on the use of rugs and cloth covered furniture, running a Honeywell air filter, constant clothes washing, twice daily litter box attention, a sweep-vacuum-Swifer weekly floor regimen, and frequent cleaning of the bedding. This helps to an extent.

Although we keep the apartment as free of cat dander as we can, Cheryl adds a layer of complication to the situation with non-allergic lifestyle behaviors. She encourages Cimbi to sleep in bed with us, nuzzles her face into Cimbi's side, and frequently kisses her on the head. So, in addition to keeping the apartment clean, we also have to keep the cat clean, and that means baths.

Usually the cat's bath is a private affair, but this time we have an opportunity to share the experience.

Stuff On My Cat's weekly contest that ended Saturday has a theme that jives perfectly with Cimbi's wash schedule. The contest theme of "bath time, before and after" allows Cheryl and I a rare opportunity to share the pure joy that is Cimbi's bi-weekly summer bath with people at a website who constantly ignore our submissions.

I am providing this teaser photo of Cimbi on her way to the bath, and trust that Stuff On My Cat will post the after photos tomorrow, where everyone can vote for Cimbi.

If not, I will post the after photos myself.

UPDATE
Cimbi's bath photos made it onto Stuff On My Cat!

Please vote for her, and see the amazing after-bath photo, here!

Posted by Chris at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My neighbor Alix, in collaboration with his good friend Justin, held a party for the New York Coalition of Black Architects / National Organization of Minority Architects last weekend. The design inclined crowd was large enough to fill Alix's rather expansive terrace and still spill into his kitchen.

I took a good number of photos that night, some of which are up on Flickr. (If I finally upgraded to a Pro account, then all of the photos would be up.) I have great shots of everyone I met, and even a good shot of Alix and Justin. (Although they are a couple of good-looking gentlemen, had their wives been in the picture, it would be much better.)

What I don't have are the names of all the guests. I met and remember quite a few merrymakers at the party, but one thing I have learned is that if you publicly recognize one person, you should be prepared to publicly recognize everyone.

Posted by Chris at 01:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cheryl and I have been considering adopting a second pet to keep Cimbi company. We have been concerned that, being a very active and playful cat, she is lonely during the day.

The brick-being-dropped-on-our-heads evidence supporting our concern happened this weekend. Cheryl and I shut all of the windows and turned on the radio, something we usually do before leaving, and then sat quietly on the couch for a moment. We were not leaving, but rather taking a moment to vegetate after a long bike ride. Cimbi must not have known that we were still in the apartment, and began a deep, sad howling like nothing Cheryl and I had heard before. Once we called to her, she immediately stopped and came bouncing over.

Now Cheryl and I feel awful every morning when we leave.

Before adopting another pet though, we would like to see how Cimbi would react to having a friend with her all day. She has wanted to play with pit bulls she saw in the park, came over with a curious expression when Romeo the boxer puppy stopped by, and had a good time sniffing Bonnie, a chihuahua neighbor. Although all of Cimbi's meetings with other animals were good, they were short visits.

So, being the season for vacations and out of town weddings, Cheryl and I are making this offer: if you have a well behaved dog or cat who you would like someone to watch instead of boarding them while away, Cheryl and I are up for hosting. Of course, we would want an initial visit to make sure the two small animals get along, and hunting dogs like Honey are out of the question. Nonetheless, this is a great way to avoid sending your companion to the kennel.

If you are interested, drop us a line at:

Joyce's Offer

Joyce, the Hunt columnist for the Times real estate section, is offering a homemade cat toy to the writer of the best poem on the subject of moving. Beat poets take note, Joyce is insisting that the poem must rhyme and scan.

Cheryl and I want to let all cat owners out there know that of all the toys Cimbi has in her toy box, since being given one of Joyce's homemade toys, she has ignored all of the others. We assure you, any time spent on a poem for submission is time well invested.

Entries should be sent to:

Posted by Chris at 12:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

First spotted filming on 117th Street and St. Nicholas in early April, I saw Rescue Me starring Denis Leary filming this morning on Adam Clayton Powell and 126th Street.

Sadly, I did not have the chance to take any plot spoiling photos.

Posted by Chris at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Both Central Harlem Aphrodite organic dry cleaners are now open! The location at 304 West 117th Street, between Frederick Douglass and Manhattan Avenues, has been open for at least a week now. More importantly though, the Aphrodite at 169 Lenox Avenue (119th Street) in the Normandie opened Saturday.

I woke up early this morning to make sure I had time to drop off my dry cleaning at the Aphrodite cleaners on Lenox Avenue. Both cleaners have free pick up and delivery, but for the maiden run, I brought my dry cleaning down myself. I cannot tell you how nice it feels to wake up and walk a block and a half to drop off dry cleaning after years of trying any number of work around strategies.

To sweeten the deal, both Aphrodites are offering opening specials. Regular dry cleaning is 30 percent off, dress shirts are 99 cents each, and wash and fold is 80 cents a pound. I dropped off a few regular dry clean items, a couple of shirts, and two comforters. Reviews of each will be out by the week's end.

Posted by Chris at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Okay, this is disgusting.

I said that I was going to drop the subject of excreta and move on to less malodorous Harlem summer topics. Despite my best intentions, I'm brought back to the dirty subject by someone taking a second dump in the in the exact same place of the nook next to my front door. Number two part two came Sunday, about a week after the first poo poo platter was served.

I don't know if this is the work of a serial crapper, or simply a copycat crime. However, once again a sly crapper did this, to my knowledge, without being seen.

Posted by Chris at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So, Cheryl and I are not the only whack-o's who take their cat to the park. Beanie, who I met in Central Park, rides around in a green KittyWalk pet stroller.

And speaking of cats touring the city, Lizz at NY City Pets is looking for cat photos. As she writes, "I feel a little one sided when I post mostly dog photos... I try to catch pets on the street for photos and I obviously have trouble finding people walking their cats!"

And speaking of sending in cat photos, Stuff On My Cat is holding a photo contest whose winner will be rewarded with 4 shirts, 2 buttons, 1 magnet, some stickers, a mouse pad, a daily calendar, a brand new wall calendar and an engraved iPod.

Posted by Chris at 06:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As long as The Fur has had two postings on excreta, why not round it out with a third? After all, three is an esthetically pleasing number. Then we will be done with this genre, and move back to more appropriate things like cats in parks. I swear.

Someone reminded me today of a bizarre sight on the porch of our 4th of July rental in the Finger Lakes region. Hanging along one wall under the porch roof was a wind chime consisting of five metal birds hanging off of a medium-sized metal bell. This would not be note worthy itself, except for the fact that there were real bird droppings directly below.

The droppings would make sense if birds could somehow perch on the chime, or if the chime itself had droppings on it from birds perching above, or if the droppings were metal like the chime. None of these conditions were the case.

Posted by Chris at 06:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What is it about a New York City summer that makes the transition from smelling number 2 to smelling number 1 so seamless? Whatever it is, the countdown is on (we cannot wait to smell number 0), and it brings us back to the topic of pets. This time, however, the story has a happy ending.

Cheryl and I went to her aunt and uncle's 54th wedding anniversary just outside D.C. in Maryland last weekend, and decided to bring the cat. We left Cimbi under the neighbor's care during the 4th of July trip, as Honey the dog came with, and we feared she would hunt, kill and eat Cimbi before the weekend's completion. So, agreeing that the cat needs some time out of the city this summer, we decided to take her along on this jaunt.

From the two medium length automobile trips she took (from the 110th Street animal shelter to Long Island when we adopted her, and from Long Island back to the city when we moved), she had only a 50 percent average. On the way to Long Island, she was fine. On the way back to the city she threw up all over the back of the car. After she gave up lunch, she laid down, crossed her front paws, and stared at the celling as if nothing had happened. Cimbi, ever a creature of routine, held her stats constant on this trip.

The ride to Maryland was great. We devised a fairly clever set-up for the cat's 5 hour trip. Cheryl's car has access to the trunk through the back seat arm rest, so we put it down, and positioned her litter box in the trunk so it lined up perfectly with the opening. This worked great. We arrived happy, contributed to the celebration's merriment and revelry, and took off late Sunday for the trip back home.

The trip back was far less enjoyable. With the air conditioning out, the trunk became an oven, providing a nice, slow roasting of the cat's litter box. At 70 miles an hour with the windows down this was less noticeable than it was at zero miles an hour waiting to get into the Lincoln Tunnel. So, thinking we were almost home, I shut the arm rest door leading to the trunk. About five minutes later I asked Cheryl, "do you smell something?" My question was answered without doubt two days later when Cheryl, going to a doctor's appointment on Long Island, opened the hot car's door and nearly fell ill.

That night, looking at the car and shaking her head slowly while whispering "cat piss," Cheryl and I decided to try Nature's Miracle. Much to our surprise, the smell was completely gone by the morning, after one application, and did not return even when the sun beat down through the car's windows during the day. Amazing.

Posted by Chris at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

One would think that on a blog loosely about pets, any mention of poo on the streets would be centered around furry companions. Oh, how I wish that was the case. Anyway, you are now warned.

After reading my 1988 birthday wish list, my dad came to me with a look of puzzled disgust and asked me "what is a sly crapper?" I quickly pointed out that he misread my poor hand writing. I was actually requesting David Lee Roth's second, more experimental solo album, "Skyscraper." Nonetheless, his excellent question stuck in my mind. Now, the same year of David Lee Roth's short-lived radio career, my dad's question is answered.

When Cheryl and I returned from a Central Park bike ride a couple days ago, we were greeted at our building door by a non-dog-poo poo smell. This was not a light wafting that we questioned at first. With a combination of egg-baking summer heat and our post-exercise deep breathing, the unquestionable odor hit us hard enough to displace the mirth.

At our feet, between our building's entrance and that of the brownstone under gut reno next door, was human feces. The person who could do the doo there was, obviously, a sly crapper.

When facing East, one has an appreciation of how sly this crapper had to be. Although the area is semi-secluded on the West side, the opposite direction, which the imputable individual would have been facing, is open to all kinds of public scrutiny. There are three banks, one to the left, one to the right, and one straight ahead, a busy grocery store, and a school. What teenager would pass up the opportunity to make fun of someone soiling the sidewalk? Also, given that we do not remember seeing the mess when we left for our evening bike ride, the culprit had to have done this in broad daylight.

The sad irony of the whole situation is that for weeks I have been watching this same area for whomever is using it as a pissoir. Camera at the ready, every day I come home I have been hoping to catch a couple of good public humiliation shots a la the Village. I even have a posting title ready: Say Cheese, Wiz. (Runners up for the title of this posting were "Who Ordered The Poo Poo Platter?" or "I Can Finally Put That 'No Dumping' Sign To Non-Ironic Use.")

I am guessing the short wall in question became this summer's orina al fresco hot spot when the ground floor bank opened. The people who hang out all day in front of an adjacent laundromat on Lenox Avenue probably don't feel comfortable urinating in the tree pits there anymore, now that people in office attire sitting behind large windows are looking right at them. The space between the two building entrances is the first semi-seculuded area around the corner.

Posted by Chris at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Jeremy, the uptown man behind City Specific, a contributing editor at Curbed, and a guest of honor at our housewarming, finds himself in a similar situation to what Cheryl and I are in after our shindig. Both of us have way too much booze left over from a home party to know what to do.

Jeremy is taking a better approach to dealing with his situation than Cheryl and I. Whereas we have all of the extraneous alcohol in a cooler near our front door, and we try to get the neighbor to drink it every time we hear him walk past, Jeremy is offering to help someone stock their party.

Although he said it would be nice to know the party host in real life, he lets it be known that that need not be the case if someone can prove they are worth knowing and sharing some drinks.

Posted by Chris at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Cheryl and I joined a small group of people this evening for a sneak peek of the day spa soon to open on the top floor of Nubian Heritage. Located on 5th Avenue between 125th and 126th Streets, the spa will reside on the second floor in Nubian Heritage's flagship store. The store includes Boma Coffee & Tea, aromatherapy, bath, beauty, and accessories departments, and Vera Moore Cosmetics.

Vera Moore herself lead the day spa tour. The venue will have all of the features of a salon, including hair and nail care, in addition to spa amenities that include a massage parlor, hydro-therapy, and a room with equipment that looked ready to perform dental work.

Many of the rooms had amazing light. The yoga/pilates studio drew in considerable sun even in the late hour through large windows looking South over 125th street. A room for massage and hydro-therapy was also exceptionally bright, as it drew in light from the setting sun through windows overlooking 5th Avenue.

The decor, under the direction of Nubian Heritage's Creative Director Jullanar Barron, is coming along quite nice. Jullanar, whose creative domain also includes product packaging, is in the photo below.

I did not want to ask if the spa will be unisex or not, but I had the question answered nonetheless when the tour entered the men's restroom and changing area. Yes, it will have services for men too. While looking at the women's changing area, I was told that would be the last time I would be stepping inside. That's what they think.

And my reason for questioning the unisex vs. monosex design is not that I think men don't need spa services. A few blocks to the South, in new storefront space on 116th Street between Lenox and 5th Avenues, I have been watching a sign for Braxton with the tag-line "Exceptional grooming for exceptional men." Clearly, this is a salon of the no girls allowed variety.

Posted by Chris at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, the Fur has been somewhat anemic on posting for the past couple weeks. Because of the line of work I am in, Cheryl and I have not had a summer to enjoy in the nearly three years we have been together. So this summer, we are making room for a few things we want to do, and that is cutting into Harlem Fur's posting time.

However, I want all of Harlem to know that just because the Fur is not posting about it, that does not mean that somewhere, out there in the area roughly between 110th and 154th Streets, someone is not currently filming something with Harlem as a back drop. Case in point: Streets 2 Suites.

While heading to see MacBeth at Central Park's Delacourt Theater on Saturday, we passed Streets 2 Suites in the process of being filmed on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and 113th Street. Cheryl had a little dental surgery that day, with the regular embarrassing Novocain after effects, so we didn't stop to ask what the production was about. I'm guessing it is about one or more people who start out on the streets and end up in the suites.

Posted by Chris at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The New York Sun has a hard, biting article today on the treatment of Morningside Park by Harlem residents over the Fourth of July. Cheryl and I were out of town over the long weekend, and I have not been to the park since we returned, so I cannot say if the article's description of the park's abuse is accurate or not.

Why does Morningside Park the morning after the Fourth of July cook-outs look like a pig sty? Why does the woman who set up a spot for her family barbecue in the middle of a recently planted garden refuse to move when repeatedly approached by a park employee? Why can people not put garbage into garbage cans? Is it a "class thing," as one park employee said? Is it a lack of education, or a lack of law enforcement? The rules and great ideas for everyone to enjoy the park are in place, why are they not being enforced properly?

It is great to see that so many local residents use the park, and that New York City allows for barbecuing in some areas. But why do children get chased away in Central Park when they play soccer outside "designated areas," but absolutely nothing is done to stop people from abusing Morning side Park? Unfinished dinners, empty beer and hard liquor bottles, and enough Styrofoam plates to serve the whole of New York are everywhere except in the provided garbage cans Nothing gives the impression that civilized people were celebrating, enjoying, and respecting the park.

The sad thing is that police officers seem afraid to act. For the past six years we talked to the 26th precinct, which is responsible for Morningside Park, and for the past six years we have gotten the same answers: "How long have you been living in Harlem?" As if to suggest that a person who lived in Harlem for just a short time has no right to certain quality of life complaints? The best excuse I ever received was from a police officer at the 26th precinct who said, "We will not write any tickets, because we are afraid of a riot."

Cheryl and I had a long Fourth of July weekend with another couple in the Finger Lakes region. We had a much-needed few days in a great cabin with all the comforts of home, sans all of the irritants. The cabin had electricity, air conditioning, running water, two bathrooms, and a two story stone fireplace, but there was no television, phone, or Internet. Luckily, none of our cell phones had reception.

Posted by Chris at 09:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

My brother, Senior Airman Eric Cullen in the Air Guard, sends everyone a big Happy Fourth of July. He is on his way to Mississippi, where he will be until late August, training at Keesler Air Force Base and helping to rebuild the coast.

Whereas most of us will be celebrating our country's independence by trying to blow up a small part of it with the biggest fireworks we can find, my brother hopes to take part in rebuilding the Gulf Coast where it was hit hard in the last hurricane season. He wants to remind everyone that in addition to New Orleans' destruction, good people all along the coast were affected.

Eric also has a lighter side. In his free time, he's a stand-up comic working to promote other comics. He is also producing a podcast that will cover, in addition to comedy, his experiences this summer in hurricane-ravaged areas. Check him out on MySpace.

Posted by Chris at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)