Snapshot: Summer 7

The Pool in Central Park is beautiful any time of year, but during the summer months, it's a lush, emerald wonderland. I took this photo last summer; this year, the Pool's idyllic landscape is richer, greener and even more spectacular, if you can imagine. Since we spend our summers in the city — including weekends, when many city residents leave town — we find ourselves in Central Park at least four or five times a week. The Pool, which is located in the northwest portion of Central Park, is the perfect spot to while away languid summer evenings — or to take a meditative break, lie on the grass and gaze at clouds before heading home from a museum. One additional amazing feature: the Pool is never crowded. Ever. At most, we'll encounter eight or ten people during our time there. Incredible.

If you visit the Pool — especially in the summer — be prepared. Your head might explode from all the gorgeousness.

— Diana of swoond (née diana : muse)

(The stunning photograph is, of course, by Diana)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

Water
Have you been following the Water series of posts that Neville of the wonderful saint verde digest has been doing recently? If not, hurry over and check it out — it's stunning.

Models Without Makeup
Tired of how artificial models look in magazines through makeup and retouching, photographer Peter Lindbergh decided to shoot eight top models without makeup for the September issue of Harper's Bazaar. Lovely, very human portraits of real people. Via Kottke.

Max Dalton
I love the work of Buenos Aires-based illustrator Maxim Dalton — not only does his work possess a wonderful midcentury modern hip sensibility, but it has a great sense of humour, too.

Awful Library Books
A surprise hit on the web, the blog Awful Library Books was created by Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly, two public spirited librarians from Detroit who hope that by drawing attention to the worst books on library shelves, they'll encourage fellow librarians to clear their collections of some truly awful titles — such as 1983's Hanging Out - The Upside Down Exercise Book, or Vans: The Personality Vehicles. Though I have to say, coming across titles like these is part of the fun of library browsing ...

Make Your Own Solar Movies
"The Yohkoh Film Archive is a collection of solar images from the ten years the Yohkoh [solar observatory satellite] was in operation. You can use the archived data to create your own solar movies or request a still image for a particular day, perhaps a birthday or anniversary. The Movie Making Page takes you through all the possibilities." Via Pruned.

Windy Days
A new favourite blog of mine — just beautiful.

On The Beach
NPR has a lovely slide show of photographer Richard Misrach's On The Beach series, now on display at Atlanta's High Museum Of Art. His work takes an "... aerial, seemingly omniscient view of swimmers and sunbathers below. Although the beach is typically a destination for relaxation, there's a certain foreboding and vulnerability to these photos."

Watermelon Arugula Salad
A perfect salad for a scorching summer day, by Rita of A Pookie Pantry. Via Tastespotting.


(photograph from Nuevo Estilo, via nom nom nom)