The Brick City is Full of Murals (Newark, NJ

I spent a day recently in Newark, NJ, and was surprised--and pleased--to see murals wherever I went. Not only were the images and the stories they told captivating, it was wonderful to see that they hadn't been defaced with graffiti. To me, this speaks to the respect people have for public art. When politicians oppose money for the arts, they should consider the power of public murals to bring beauty and instill community pride. And while pols may think that funding art is a lower priority than, say, funding police departments, they should consider that the lack of graffiti reflects the public's appreciation of the form. Or they can look at research, which has shown "the great power of public art to influence how we move, think and feel in city environments."

Dead Mayors' Club, Dallas, TX

Working on a video in Dallas, I had a chance to interview Council Member Delia Jasso (being miked by Niki). That she's a woman is hardly remarkable--until you see the photos in a City Hall corridor of the OWM (old white men) who once served as Dallas' mayors. It wasn't until Adlene Harrison in 1976 that the city had a female mayor. Bottom right is just a sampling of their pale, dry faces. I found the dude at bottom left so intriguing--the visual embodiment of old-school politician--that I thought he deserved a separate image.

Lunch in Tokyo (Except We Were Really in Herald Square)

FoodParc, a sleek modern food mall, opened off Herald Square, and my friend Robyn and I celebrated her birthday there. Customers place their order (with help from green t-shirted staff, as in the photo) with three different food stands via a touch screen and check their orders' progress via large flat-screen TVs. We ordered from all three places, as you can see in the photo below (our order is third from the bottom). I felt like we were in Tokyo.

Park Avenue, Manhattan

Score one for Bloomberg. Park Avenue was closed to traffic for the third and final time this summer. Bikes and joggers ruled the road!!