Note to self:
Next year be sure to clear a few days off from the week to live it up at the Tribeca Film Festival.
It's time to really start taking advantage of all that The City has to offer.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
It took me all day to find out that they were called the Pier 12 units.
Overnight the fog rolled off of the harbor.
Even though it was still raining this mornings I could see the trees new leafy and green in Battery Park. The grass is really coming in now and it looks like they’re nearly finished with that side of the 1/9 stop.
Yesterday, from The Boss’ office, all that I could see was the blueasthesky (of course, not Monday's sky) of the Pier 12 units of the Atlantic Basin. Even through all of the fog I could see them.
I wonder what’s in them.
Even though it was still raining this mornings I could see the trees new leafy and green in Battery Park. The grass is really coming in now and it looks like they’re nearly finished with that side of the 1/9 stop.
Yesterday, from The Boss’ office, all that I could see was the blueasthesky (of course, not Monday's sky) of the Pier 12 units of the Atlantic Basin. Even through all of the fog I could see them.
I wonder what’s in them.
Found: Fading Ad Blog by Frank H. Jump
I get sidetracked very easily.
I'm working on one post and started looking around for the history of the blue storage units that line the coast that the BQE follows.
And then I came across this site with all of these wonderful pictures of The City on this blog by Frank H. Jump.
Check it out while I continue my search. Hop to it.
I'm working on one post and started looking around for the history of the blue storage units that line the coast that the BQE follows.
And then I came across this site with all of these wonderful pictures of The City on this blog by Frank H. Jump.
Check it out while I continue my search. Hop to it.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
The Real Deal
I had a friend once, I think that she lives in LA now, who said that if you’re not from NYC, you have to live in NYC for at least 10 years before you’re considered a NYer.
(Note: she revised this sentiment on September 12th 2001 when she said, “Remember how I told you it’d take you ten years to become a NYer? Well, scratch that. Consider yourself in the club.)
(It’s been a few years and I still get a little jumpy about certain smells and the sight of dust on a man’s boots. But I remember feeling that day that I would have rather have waited the 10 years.)
I was trying to find something on the internet that confirmed this 10-year rule when I stumbled across this charming little article in Time Out.
At my mother's insistence, I had to leave The City in late 2001. I came back in early 2003. As of this March past, it's been 5 years since I've been back here. I feel a special kind of pleasure in knowing that in a leetle over five years I've managed to do nearly everything on the Time Out list. It appears, 9/11 notwithstanding, that I am now able to call myself a NYer. I'm the Real Deal.
Check out the article to see if you can say the same.
(Note: she revised this sentiment on September 12th 2001 when she said, “Remember how I told you it’d take you ten years to become a NYer? Well, scratch that. Consider yourself in the club.)
(It’s been a few years and I still get a little jumpy about certain smells and the sight of dust on a man’s boots. But I remember feeling that day that I would have rather have waited the 10 years.)
I was trying to find something on the internet that confirmed this 10-year rule when I stumbled across this charming little article in Time Out.
At my mother's insistence, I had to leave The City in late 2001. I came back in early 2003. As of this March past, it's been 5 years since I've been back here. I feel a special kind of pleasure in knowing that in a leetle over five years I've managed to do nearly everything on the Time Out list. It appears, 9/11 notwithstanding, that I am now able to call myself a NYer. I'm the Real Deal.
Check out the article to see if you can say the same.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are better than you.
So Bighead, P and I went to see Baby Mama tonight at the Pavilion.
I LOOOVE Tina Fey. (I love her so much that I'm going to have Neighborhoodies make me a t-shirt that says, "Mrs. Tina Fey." [Weird. Yes. But I love you, so deal with it Tina. I mean, please accept it as the compliment that it is and not creepycreepiness.]) I know that she’s not from The City but she used to write for SNL and she’s rocking my socks on 30 Rock and she just… fits here. (Anyway she lives here now and has for a while and, speaking on behalf of The City, we're going to keep her.) She’s smart and funny and attractive and a brunette and has great glasses. I mean, she’s either a lesbian or a NYer.
I’m going to add a list of people who might not be from NYC but should be. I’m going to start compiling it this weekend and I’m going to put Ms. Fey near the top of the list.
Anyhoodle, the movie was supposed to take place in Philly but they shot nearly everything in Park Slope. Why? Because Brooklyn is freaking awesome, ya’ll. The opening date shot was done at Tempo, one of my favorite places to go with La Cabeza to spoil ourselves.
There’s really little that I like more than seeing the City (particularly places I know and actually haunt) on the big screen. And (regardless of much as I grow less and less fond of Carrie Bradshaw with every passing Sex and the City rerun) I was superthrilled to see the Sex and the City trailer. There’s bound to be some very romantic shots of my favorite city in the world in that flick.
I LOOOVE Tina Fey. (I love her so much that I'm going to have Neighborhoodies make me a t-shirt that says, "Mrs. Tina Fey." [Weird. Yes. But I love you, so deal with it Tina. I mean, please accept it as the compliment that it is and not creepycreepiness.]) I know that she’s not from The City but she used to write for SNL and she’s rocking my socks on 30 Rock and she just… fits here. (Anyway she lives here now and has for a while and, speaking on behalf of The City, we're going to keep her.) She’s smart and funny and attractive and a brunette and has great glasses. I mean, she’s either a lesbian or a NYer.
I’m going to add a list of people who might not be from NYC but should be. I’m going to start compiling it this weekend and I’m going to put Ms. Fey near the top of the list.
Dear Ms. Poehler,
I think that you are also super-duper awesome. I've been saying, "Bitch, I don't know your life," for weeks now. I'm also going to start saying, "I'm clean! I'm clean!" I love that you give interviews from the Jacuzzi and I think mostly that I'd be honored to be the lovechild of Angie Ostrowski and GOB Bluth. Because you are wicked funny.
Please don't think that because Ms. Fey had my heart first, she has overshadowed your genius. I'm even willing to overlook the fact that you love the Boston Redsocks because you are wicked awesome.
...A
Anyhoodle, the movie was supposed to take place in Philly but they shot nearly everything in Park Slope. Why? Because Brooklyn is freaking awesome, ya’ll. The opening date shot was done at Tempo, one of my favorite places to go with La Cabeza to spoil ourselves.
There’s really little that I like more than seeing the City (particularly places I know and actually haunt) on the big screen. And (regardless of much as I grow less and less fond of Carrie Bradshaw with every passing Sex and the City rerun) I was superthrilled to see the Sex and the City trailer. There’s bound to be some very romantic shots of my favorite city in the world in that flick.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Let's open up a restaurant in Santa Fe (since you're done with Law & Order).
Live-Blogging Jesse L. Martin’s last Law & Order: Burn Card
(Law & Order a/k/a [at least in my mind] the most significant show for and about NYC thus far in my lifetime.)
10:01 Even after all of these years it’s still incredibly satisfying to dance to the theme song. Bum bummm….
10:03 Heh… two bums are trying to buy beer using a dead guy in an office chair. Are we still allowed to call them bums? Where’s Jesse?
10:04 There’s Jesse. Looking good, My Man.
10:06 Am I going to be able to watch Law & Order after Jesse leaves?
10:08 We learn that Detective Ed Green is a much better date than Detective Cyrus Lupo. Dear Dick Wolfe: We already knew that. Thank you, The World.
10:09 Uhm… is Green a recovering gambling addict?
10:10 Oh shit, I think he is. Looks like he and Lenny had a lot more than just wise-cracks in common.
10:11 Jesse L. Martin looks CRAZY guilty now. And now he’s lying. We all know that you don’t have any friends in the hospital. Don’t do it Jesse. Don’t!
10:12 Cute dog. Ugly bathrobe. Why is Lupo in a bathrobe walking the dog? Where is this neighborhood? Why is this like the only episode that I haven’t been able to see at least one landmark that I know?
10:13 Jesse done shot somebody!?! Oh, it can’t end like this. Jesse done shot somebaddie named Bunny. Bunny has blond hair. They keep calling it "cauliflowered." That’s just all kinda fucked up but not as fucked up as the fact that Jesse shot a Bunny.
10:14 Commercial break.
10:17 We’re back. Has Jesse been crying? Oh Jesse, don’t weep. I’ll do the crying for the both of us in 43 minutes when this episode is over.
10:18 IAB is on the case. That’s never a good thing. Oh, OTHER Black Guy. You’re no JESSE!
10:19 Why is there is this Black on Black hate? Don’t hate on Jesse Other Black Guy. Don’t put his laundry out there in the street.
10:20 Jesse admits to… what? Having been to the speakeasy before… oh no! Those IAB guys are such pricks.
10:21 Everybody’s got a friend in the hospital this week.
10:22 Is IAB trying to frame My Man? Is Lupo trying to help or hinder them? Where is Jesse?
10:23 Lupo’s helping I guess. At least, until he confronts the waitress of the speakeasy (I love that they keep calling the illegal gambling den a speakeasy. I mean, I’m sure that that’s technically what it is but the use of the word just tickles me so.) and finds out that uhm… Green “beat the crap out of Bunny” over some gambling debts that he didn’t want to pay. But can we trust her? Still can’t place her neighborhood AND she’s feeding parakeets. Most birds give me the heebie-jeebies.
10:24 Lupo waits for Jesse outside of his place. Why don’t we all go inside? It must be better digs than when he was crashing with Roger and Mark or Angel. No? Damn. Anyhoodle Jesse looks good in his little golf cap. To bad they’re trying to frame him for Bunny’s murder and he may soon be wearing an orange jumpsuit.
10:25 S. Epatha looks upset about something. More upset than usual. Keep it together, S. Once Jesse leaves you’re the only one I’ve got left.
10:26 IAB is squealing to the D.A. This is not helping matters.
10:26 Jesse’s suspended without pay and White-Guy-Who’s-Not-Jack-McCoy is taking it to the Grand Jury. Oh Jesse, no! Who’s going to be protecting the streets? Who’s going to teach Lupo to shave? What’re we going to do with the next 34 minutes?
10:31 This commercial for the Jeep Grand Cherokee just used the word “infotainment.” I am confused. More confusing is the fact that my automatic spell-check didn’t underline it in red.
10:31 We’re back. Even Jack McCoy looks upset by White-Guy-Who’s-Not-Jack-McCoy’s plan.
10:32 Oh shut UP Other Black Guy. I hope that Jesse beats the crap out of you. Oh series please don’t make me try and accept Other Black Guy as a replacement for My Man.
10:33 White-Guy-Who-Isn’t-Jack-McCoy’s name is Linus. I keep forgetting that. I also keep forgetting about how nicely tailored his shirts are.
10:34 Grand Jury. Connie is going to fuck up Linus’ flow to help Lupo help Det. Green. Uh oh.
10:34 Linus has no chin. I can’t believe that I didn’t notice that until now when he’s really gonna try and prosecute My Man.
10:36 S. Epatha confronts Ed about the gambling. Aw, he started again when Lenny died. That’s sweet. Not so sweet… Green’s been indicted. Okay, so maybe picking an addiction back up isn’t sweet but look at Jesse’s puppy-dog eyes. Can you resist that?
10:37 Heh. S. Epatha just laid a nice clean smack-down on Other Black Guy. Go S. Epatha, go.
10:42 We’re back. Lupo is on the stand. Linus still doesn’t have a chin. Even less now that he’s actually prosecuting My Man.
10:43 The waitress is on the stand. She is NOT helping matters.
10:44 Lupo has just figured something out and he’s brought S. Epatha to the scene of the crime! Good things!
10:45 Bunny was shooting at someone else! Other Black Guy realizes that he’s not going to be bumped up to the detective squad with this shoddy work and agrees to go and see what’s in New Jersey with Lupo. This seems to impress S. Epatha. Ah… it’s a road trip for the new partners-to-be. This is just how Bighead and I knew that things would work out. We went on a road trip that took us through New Jersey.
10:47 Ooh… Ed had the number of a very pretty lady (April) in his phone. Way to go Ed!
10:48 Oh shit! The beautiful lady is the mommy of a beautiful baby. It’s it Jesse’s? Is she Jesse’s lady? Was she a gambler too?
10:49 Did Jesse shoot Bunny to protect this woman?
10:50 INSIDE of Ed’s apartment. Yes! It is SWEET (As I always knew that it would be). April’s there too. She’s scared. They’re trying to shake her down and Ed’s pretty much agreeing to take the fall for her. Ya'll My Man is so loyal.
10:51 Jesse’s agreed to plead to Man2 to help out his lady-friend. Linus says, “No," and breaks it to Jesse that April was gambling with the funds from her school. Shut up!
10:52 Bunny knew about April’s embezzlement and Jesse’s been protecting her (he’s felt guilty because he taught her how to gamble and even though he stopped she never did and her debts kept piling up. It turns out that Bunny pimped her out to his friends to cover her debts and that’s why Jesse beat him up. That’s My Man.). She went to find/kill? Bunny.
10:53 April is fessing up. Bunny started shooting at her and Green shot Bunny to protect her. Oh, April. What is to become of you now? What about the baby? All the shit is out. Jesse is exonerated but he’s not happy about what’s going to happen to April.
10:55 Oh, Jesse. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. I can’t bear the sight of tears ringing your beautiful eyes. Come to my arms. Live in my house I’ll be your shelter.
10:56 Jesse’s free and clear but he’s still in his street clothes and his cute black cap as he tells S. Epatha that he’s “just too worn out to fight right now.” He’s done. He asks Lu how she’s done it. He’s so jimblejambled and she’s still there like a rock and she says, “one foot in front of the other for 30 years.” Well, damn. They say goodbye in the most honest way. Good acting work by two people who obviously honestly care about and respect each other very much. It breaks my heart something awful but in the best possible way. He and Lupo share a nice moment and a strong handshake and then, he takes his box and he’s gone.
10:57 Ya'll, Jesse L. Martin has left the building.
10:58 Oh, Dick Wolfe, what am I going to watch now?
Well, that marks the end of an important era for me. I’ve been watching this show almost exclusively for Jesse L. Martin because he’s just so dreamy (he’s also really good at his job which makes him all the dreamier).
God bless and Godspeed Jesse. I’ve loved you since the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Rent and that one timed I ran smack into you outside of Weinstein dorm in the Spring of 1999. You are incredibly enjoyable and I’m glad that you’re getting paid for your craft. You’re worth it. That’s for making the show great.
One day I’m going to do a post specifically about how Law & Order is more than a show; it’s a love letter to the City. But for right now I’m going to sit and have a Singha and (think about how it’s great that this is a city where I can just go to the bodega around the corner and get Thai beer and) watch Vincent Donofrio on the 11 o’clock Law & Order: Criminal Intent rerun and look forward to more Jesse L. Martin Law & Order reruns.
EDIT: 4/24/08
Here's a link to the pros at Television Without Pity for their recap.
And, I guess Bunny had caulifower ear (not hair). But it sounded like hair to me so I'm leaving the post as it is.
(Law & Order a/k/a [at least in my mind] the most significant show for and about NYC thus far in my lifetime.)
10:01 Even after all of these years it’s still incredibly satisfying to dance to the theme song. Bum bummm….
10:03 Heh… two bums are trying to buy beer using a dead guy in an office chair. Are we still allowed to call them bums? Where’s Jesse?
10:04 There’s Jesse. Looking good, My Man.
10:06 Am I going to be able to watch Law & Order after Jesse leaves?
10:08 We learn that Detective Ed Green is a much better date than Detective Cyrus Lupo. Dear Dick Wolfe: We already knew that. Thank you, The World.
10:09 Uhm… is Green a recovering gambling addict?
10:10 Oh shit, I think he is. Looks like he and Lenny had a lot more than just wise-cracks in common.
10:11 Jesse L. Martin looks CRAZY guilty now. And now he’s lying. We all know that you don’t have any friends in the hospital. Don’t do it Jesse. Don’t!
10:12 Cute dog. Ugly bathrobe. Why is Lupo in a bathrobe walking the dog? Where is this neighborhood? Why is this like the only episode that I haven’t been able to see at least one landmark that I know?
10:13 Jesse done shot somebody!?! Oh, it can’t end like this. Jesse done shot somebaddie named Bunny. Bunny has blond hair. They keep calling it "cauliflowered." That’s just all kinda fucked up but not as fucked up as the fact that Jesse shot a Bunny.
10:14 Commercial break.
10:17 We’re back. Has Jesse been crying? Oh Jesse, don’t weep. I’ll do the crying for the both of us in 43 minutes when this episode is over.
10:18 IAB is on the case. That’s never a good thing. Oh, OTHER Black Guy. You’re no JESSE!
10:19 Why is there is this Black on Black hate? Don’t hate on Jesse Other Black Guy. Don’t put his laundry out there in the street.
10:20 Jesse admits to… what? Having been to the speakeasy before… oh no! Those IAB guys are such pricks.
10:21 Everybody’s got a friend in the hospital this week.
10:22 Is IAB trying to frame My Man? Is Lupo trying to help or hinder them? Where is Jesse?
10:23 Lupo’s helping I guess. At least, until he confronts the waitress of the speakeasy (I love that they keep calling the illegal gambling den a speakeasy. I mean, I’m sure that that’s technically what it is but the use of the word just tickles me so.) and finds out that uhm… Green “beat the crap out of Bunny” over some gambling debts that he didn’t want to pay. But can we trust her? Still can’t place her neighborhood AND she’s feeding parakeets. Most birds give me the heebie-jeebies.
10:24 Lupo waits for Jesse outside of his place. Why don’t we all go inside? It must be better digs than when he was crashing with Roger and Mark or Angel. No? Damn. Anyhoodle Jesse looks good in his little golf cap. To bad they’re trying to frame him for Bunny’s murder and he may soon be wearing an orange jumpsuit.
10:25 S. Epatha looks upset about something. More upset than usual. Keep it together, S. Once Jesse leaves you’re the only one I’ve got left.
10:26 IAB is squealing to the D.A. This is not helping matters.
10:26 Jesse’s suspended without pay and White-Guy-Who’s-Not-Jack-McCoy is taking it to the Grand Jury. Oh Jesse, no! Who’s going to be protecting the streets? Who’s going to teach Lupo to shave? What’re we going to do with the next 34 minutes?
10:31 This commercial for the Jeep Grand Cherokee just used the word “infotainment.” I am confused. More confusing is the fact that my automatic spell-check didn’t underline it in red.
10:31 We’re back. Even Jack McCoy looks upset by White-Guy-Who’s-Not-Jack-McCoy’s plan.
10:32 Oh shut UP Other Black Guy. I hope that Jesse beats the crap out of you. Oh series please don’t make me try and accept Other Black Guy as a replacement for My Man.
10:33 White-Guy-Who-Isn’t-Jack-McCoy’s name is Linus. I keep forgetting that. I also keep forgetting about how nicely tailored his shirts are.
10:34 Grand Jury. Connie is going to fuck up Linus’ flow to help Lupo help Det. Green. Uh oh.
10:34 Linus has no chin. I can’t believe that I didn’t notice that until now when he’s really gonna try and prosecute My Man.
10:36 S. Epatha confronts Ed about the gambling. Aw, he started again when Lenny died. That’s sweet. Not so sweet… Green’s been indicted. Okay, so maybe picking an addiction back up isn’t sweet but look at Jesse’s puppy-dog eyes. Can you resist that?
10:37 Heh. S. Epatha just laid a nice clean smack-down on Other Black Guy. Go S. Epatha, go.
10:42 We’re back. Lupo is on the stand. Linus still doesn’t have a chin. Even less now that he’s actually prosecuting My Man.
10:43 The waitress is on the stand. She is NOT helping matters.
10:44 Lupo has just figured something out and he’s brought S. Epatha to the scene of the crime! Good things!
10:45 Bunny was shooting at someone else! Other Black Guy realizes that he’s not going to be bumped up to the detective squad with this shoddy work and agrees to go and see what’s in New Jersey with Lupo. This seems to impress S. Epatha. Ah… it’s a road trip for the new partners-to-be. This is just how Bighead and I knew that things would work out. We went on a road trip that took us through New Jersey.
10:47 Ooh… Ed had the number of a very pretty lady (April) in his phone. Way to go Ed!
10:48 Oh shit! The beautiful lady is the mommy of a beautiful baby. It’s it Jesse’s? Is she Jesse’s lady? Was she a gambler too?
10:49 Did Jesse shoot Bunny to protect this woman?
10:50 INSIDE of Ed’s apartment. Yes! It is SWEET (As I always knew that it would be). April’s there too. She’s scared. They’re trying to shake her down and Ed’s pretty much agreeing to take the fall for her. Ya'll My Man is so loyal.
10:51 Jesse’s agreed to plead to Man2 to help out his lady-friend. Linus says, “No," and breaks it to Jesse that April was gambling with the funds from her school. Shut up!
10:52 Bunny knew about April’s embezzlement and Jesse’s been protecting her (he’s felt guilty because he taught her how to gamble and even though he stopped she never did and her debts kept piling up. It turns out that Bunny pimped her out to his friends to cover her debts and that’s why Jesse beat him up. That’s My Man.). She went to find/kill? Bunny.
10:53 April is fessing up. Bunny started shooting at her and Green shot Bunny to protect her. Oh, April. What is to become of you now? What about the baby? All the shit is out. Jesse is exonerated but he’s not happy about what’s going to happen to April.
10:55 Oh, Jesse. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. I can’t bear the sight of tears ringing your beautiful eyes. Come to my arms. Live in my house I’ll be your shelter.
10:56 Jesse’s free and clear but he’s still in his street clothes and his cute black cap as he tells S. Epatha that he’s “just too worn out to fight right now.” He’s done. He asks Lu how she’s done it. He’s so jimblejambled and she’s still there like a rock and she says, “one foot in front of the other for 30 years.” Well, damn. They say goodbye in the most honest way. Good acting work by two people who obviously honestly care about and respect each other very much. It breaks my heart something awful but in the best possible way. He and Lupo share a nice moment and a strong handshake and then, he takes his box and he’s gone.
10:57 Ya'll, Jesse L. Martin has left the building.
10:58 Oh, Dick Wolfe, what am I going to watch now?
Well, that marks the end of an important era for me. I’ve been watching this show almost exclusively for Jesse L. Martin because he’s just so dreamy (he’s also really good at his job which makes him all the dreamier).
God bless and Godspeed Jesse. I’ve loved you since the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Rent and that one timed I ran smack into you outside of Weinstein dorm in the Spring of 1999. You are incredibly enjoyable and I’m glad that you’re getting paid for your craft. You’re worth it. That’s for making the show great.
One day I’m going to do a post specifically about how Law & Order is more than a show; it’s a love letter to the City. But for right now I’m going to sit and have a Singha and (think about how it’s great that this is a city where I can just go to the bodega around the corner and get Thai beer and) watch Vincent Donofrio on the 11 o’clock Law & Order: Criminal Intent rerun and look forward to more Jesse L. Martin Law & Order reruns.
EDIT: 4/24/08
Here's a link to the pros at Television Without Pity for their recap.
And, I guess Bunny had caulifower ear (not hair). But it sounded like hair to me so I'm leaving the post as it is.
Anchors Away
While trying to distract myself from the fact that Bighead and I are still waiting to hear about the status of our application (and trying not to fret about the fact that because we’ve left a deposit that we will lose if we withdraw our application which makes it financially impossible for us to look at other places because we can’t afford to lose our deposit… and so we’re feeling sort of stuck here watching the weeks [going on 2 now] tick by while being told by our broker to be patient [to which I reply: We’ve been exceedingly patient. Two weeks of waiting in NYC’s rental market is a v.e.r.y. long time. Suck it.] as if our lease weren’t expiring soon.) I stumbled across these photos of Admiral’s Row in the NYTimes.
And then I got interested. Wikipedia has this little blurb about it and then… I came across this blog post (and its linked article) about the current controversy. Interesting right?
I must say that I tend to come down on the side of the Pratt students. The idea of spending the money to give each side a little bit of what they want resonates with me much more so that demolishing the buildings to put up one honking market or restoring the buildings but leaving them essentially impractical as historical landmarks.
Not, that historical landmarks are impractical but that it is impractical not to make use of the space for resources that a community so desperately wants and needs. Also, I believe that Brooklyn (and the City at large) is better served by a marriage of the pre-existing architectural and historical sentiment and modern needs and desires. You don’t have to rip out and tear up the old to have the new. Especially not at the detriment of a community’s clear sense of style.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
I'm not sure if he loves it when we call him "Big Papa."
Though, like I'm sure Biggie would have, the Pope managed to pull more people to Yankee Stadium than their opening series against the Blue Jays.
Throw your hands in the air if you're a true prayer.
And!
I just realized that Brooklyn's being on Long Island is the reasons that you can get the LIRR at Flatbush and Atlantic.
I mean, of course, duh!
But it's new to me and further reinforces that being from Long Island (saying, specifically, that you're from Long Island [as opposed to living on]) denotes a very specific state of mind.
(You know like saying that you're from Brooklyn or Queens, Staten Island or The Bronx.)
I mean, of course, duh!
But it's new to me and further reinforces that being from Long Island (saying, specifically, that you're from Long Island [as opposed to living on]) denotes a very specific state of mind.
(You know like saying that you're from Brooklyn or Queens, Staten Island or The Bronx.)
Spring has sprung.
I don’t really know what to say today.
It’s been a long week and an even longer weekend and I’m really tired.
This City just gogogoes and sometimes I feel like I need a little time to catch up.
The weather was really beautiful yesterday and everywhere there was excitement for the Summer to come. You can tell that Spring is officially here because already people are talking about leaving The City.
While I don’t share the intensity of some of my friends to get away (I think that’s it… I never want to GET AWAY -you know, that run away feeling of the phrase- from The City) I would like to have a nice weekend in Montauk.
The funny thing is, though, that I think that Montauk is still technically part of New York City.
Oh, it is!
(Long Island is part of the city of New York and in fact is the name of the island that harbors Brooklyn and Queens.)
Who knew?
It’s been a long week and an even longer weekend and I’m really tired.
This City just gogogoes and sometimes I feel like I need a little time to catch up.
The weather was really beautiful yesterday and everywhere there was excitement for the Summer to come. You can tell that Spring is officially here because already people are talking about leaving The City.
While I don’t share the intensity of some of my friends to get away (I think that’s it… I never want to GET AWAY -you know, that run away feeling of the phrase- from The City) I would like to have a nice weekend in Montauk.
The funny thing is, though, that I think that Montauk is still technically part of New York City.
Oh, it is!
(Long Island is part of the city of New York and in fact is the name of the island that harbors Brooklyn and Queens.)
Who knew?
Friday, April 18, 2008
Sometimes Billy Idol is just so right.
It was a hot time in The City tonight.
There were at least three incidents between 7:30 and 10:30 in Park Slope that required either paramedics or the firemen.
From a distance is was surprisingly easy for the flashing lights to blend in the with fully bloomed blossoms on the trees.
There were at least three incidents between 7:30 and 10:30 in Park Slope that required either paramedics or the firemen.
From a distance is was surprisingly easy for the flashing lights to blend in the with fully bloomed blossoms on the trees.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Close shave.
I was reading the NYTimes (online) and I came across this article about Rocco the Barber.
I searched my mnd for something to say about it and bupkiss.
It's just another reason to love the big-cityness of NY and really revel in its myriad small-town traditions and tradition-makers.
Good for you, Rocco.
I searched my mnd for something to say about it and bupkiss.
It's just another reason to love the big-cityness of NY and really revel in its myriad small-town traditions and tradition-makers.
Good for you, Rocco.
Guidelines for tourists (and I don't mean this sarcastically).
While looking for a post about the "rude NYer" reputation I stumbled across this set of helpful guidelines for tourists.
They should print this on the back of plane tickets to The City.
They should print this on the back of plane tickets to The City.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
City Pass
Bighead’s mother and two of her nieces are in town this week.
It’s really interesting to walk through the neighborhood with them because they see the things that have become everyday for me for the very first time.
It is nice to be able to take a step back in time to when things were new for me. Like the unexpected green of the freshly planted tulip or daffodil bulbs in the street tree boxes on the street; or the bright shiny neon-convenience of the bodegas on every corner and the new enticing flavors and smells wafting from the restaurants. NYers (despite their reputation) can be surprisingly friendly and helpful and can really add a lot of colour to a walk in the Botanical Gardens. Living here it’s easy to forget about all of the things to see and do. It’s easy to avoid them as tourist traps but The City has The Met, The Gug, MOMA, The Museum of Natural History, El Museo del Barrio… we’ve got a whole mile devoted to museums. We’ve got beautiful parks in nearly every borough.
(Tomorrow they’re going to hit some of these great sites. They were even given City Passes.)
It’s been a really frustrating week waiting to hear about the apartment and today we found out that we’re going to have to wait at least another week more. It’s really easy, when things get really hard, to get bogged down in the things that are dirty and hectic and gray about The City so it’s great that they’re here to help remind me of the wonderful things this City has to offer.
It’s really interesting to walk through the neighborhood with them because they see the things that have become everyday for me for the very first time.
It is nice to be able to take a step back in time to when things were new for me. Like the unexpected green of the freshly planted tulip or daffodil bulbs in the street tree boxes on the street; or the bright shiny neon-convenience of the bodegas on every corner and the new enticing flavors and smells wafting from the restaurants. NYers (despite their reputation) can be surprisingly friendly and helpful and can really add a lot of colour to a walk in the Botanical Gardens. Living here it’s easy to forget about all of the things to see and do. It’s easy to avoid them as tourist traps but The City has The Met, The Gug, MOMA, The Museum of Natural History, El Museo del Barrio… we’ve got a whole mile devoted to museums. We’ve got beautiful parks in nearly every borough.
(Tomorrow they’re going to hit some of these great sites. They were even given City Passes.)
It’s been a really frustrating week waiting to hear about the apartment and today we found out that we’re going to have to wait at least another week more. It’s really easy, when things get really hard, to get bogged down in the things that are dirty and hectic and gray about The City so it’s great that they’re here to help remind me of the wonderful things this City has to offer.
New York Minute
In a city that has its very own measurement of time being asked to wait for a day or two seems impossible.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Unanswered questions.
So after spending a good portion of the day searching all that I've been able to find are vague references that the receptacles are there to collect the Metrocards for recycling.
So then I wondered: What are they being recycled into?
And then I started humming to the tune of Whitney Houston's "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?":
And... I stumbled across this.
So then I wondered: What are they being recycled into?
And then I started humming to the tune of Whitney Houston's "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?":
Where do Metrocards go?
Do they find their way home
to the pockets of straphangers
and the love that's waiting there?
And if somebody swipes you,
why can't they always swipe you?
For an easier ride
why can't I just refill you endlessly?
And... I stumbled across this.
Any way you swipe it.
This morning, as I deposited Bighead's expired MetroCard into the Metrocards receptacle, I got quite a bee in my bonnet.
Where do expired MetroCards go?
I’ve asked a couple of people and no one seems to know. Some people don’t even put their expired cards in the receptacle. They just throw them away in the big trashcans. So I asked myself, “Self, don’t you think that if the MTA just wanted you to throw the cards away they would dispense with the repositories? If the MetroCards were meant for the trashcans then why aren’t there trashcans near the vending machines as opposed to the leetle MetroCard Here bins?”
The fact that there are places specifically designed and designated for MetroCards leads me to believe that they are being collected and what I would like to know is: for what purpose?
I’ve spent a good part of the morning looking around on the Internet to see if it can provide me with an answer and I haven’t yet found anything that fits the bill.
I did, however, come across this. (There's more here.)
And I do fervently hope the this kind of thing is the answer.
Where do expired MetroCards go?
I’ve asked a couple of people and no one seems to know. Some people don’t even put their expired cards in the receptacle. They just throw them away in the big trashcans. So I asked myself, “Self, don’t you think that if the MTA just wanted you to throw the cards away they would dispense with the repositories? If the MetroCards were meant for the trashcans then why aren’t there trashcans near the vending machines as opposed to the leetle MetroCard Here bins?”
The fact that there are places specifically designed and designated for MetroCards leads me to believe that they are being collected and what I would like to know is: for what purpose?
I’ve spent a good part of the morning looking around on the Internet to see if it can provide me with an answer and I haven’t yet found anything that fits the bill.
I did, however, come across this. (There's more here.)
And I do fervently hope the this kind of thing is the answer.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
I mis-spelled the magical because I think it's fanciful and I don't care what you think.
I am fascinated by myths.
What I like the most about them are the unexpected crossovers between the myths of different cultures. Like dragon myths.
As I was waiting on for the uptown R at Whitehall the other day I was struck by how the train roared while coming around the turn to the station and how the lights glowed like flames. Sleek and fast and dangerous and in the summer the subway breathes fire indeed.
It's just one of the majikal creatures in a city that I think is full of myth.
What I like the most about them are the unexpected crossovers between the myths of different cultures. Like dragon myths.
As I was waiting on for the uptown R at Whitehall the other day I was struck by how the train roared while coming around the turn to the station and how the lights glowed like flames. Sleek and fast and dangerous and in the summer the subway breathes fire indeed.
It's just one of the majikal creatures in a city that I think is full of myth.
Real Estate
So we’re keeping our fingers crossed for the Lefferts Garden apartment. We’ve turned in all of our paperwork (is it just a NYC thing or do people in other cities need to provide their last six to nine months of financial history as well as the W2s and tax returns of the past couple of years) and we’ll probably hear around Tuesday.
That means that we’ll find out on the 15th of April about whether or not we’re going to be moving in on May 1st.
Real estate moves so quickly in this City.
Whenever I talk to my mother and sister who live in Raleigh they talk about taking their time and looking for an apartment and then (AFTER) finding a place giving notice to their current landlords. They can search for months. There's no urgency.
This city is all about urgency. You get (at most) 30 days to make the change happen and that is WHAT. If you see an apartment that you like on Monday chances are by Tuesday it'll be gone so one rarely even has a chance to sleep it.
This is, after all The City that Never Sleeps.
That means that we’ll find out on the 15th of April about whether or not we’re going to be moving in on May 1st.
Real estate moves so quickly in this City.
Whenever I talk to my mother and sister who live in Raleigh they talk about taking their time and looking for an apartment and then (AFTER) finding a place giving notice to their current landlords. They can search for months. There's no urgency.
This city is all about urgency. You get (at most) 30 days to make the change happen and that is WHAT. If you see an apartment that you like on Monday chances are by Tuesday it'll be gone so one rarely even has a chance to sleep it.
This is, after all The City that Never Sleeps.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
It's not me. It's you.
Dear Tourist Family on the Uptown 1 at the Staten Island Ferry Stop,
I just wanted to clarify what transpired between us this afternoon. I am sure that you’ve gone on your way under the impression that what they say about NYers being rude is true and I didn’t want you to leave our fair city with such thoughts in your head.
Here are some important facts to remember and take with you in your travels.
I hope that you can understand that commandeering a busy subway car for your lounging and play-scaping desires is quite the faus pax as far as we NYC subway riders are concerned. I hope that you can understand that when I glared at you as you wouldn't move your legs and then said, "This is public transportation not a monorail at Disney," I wasn't being rude. I was responding to wanton breaches of etiquette.
Thanks for your visit.
Next time you should consider the taxi.
I just wanted to clarify what transpired between us this afternoon. I am sure that you’ve gone on your way under the impression that what they say about NYers being rude is true and I didn’t want you to leave our fair city with such thoughts in your head.
Here are some important facts to remember and take with you in your travels.
- You were on a crucial part of the public transportation here in The City. You were on the subway; a general admission, often standing-room only, subterranean train system that acts as sort of a through line to the various themes of this city. Thousands upon thousands of people us the subway each day to get to and from the various parts of their lives.
- There are many doors to the subway and people enter them at will (stops permitting). It is our right as fare paying patrons of the MTA.
- Similarly, it is our right as fare paying patrons of the MTA to sit wherever we can find a seat in which to (comfortably, but this is not always the case) fit ourselves.
- You saw me enter the train. I could tell that you did. Each member of your family sized me up and transmitted the feelings about what you saw to each other on your faces. You judged me. It’s okay, it happens everyday. I judged you.
- What was problematic was the fact that when you saw me enter the train and struggle to make my way to an available seat you did not bother to move your outstretched legs. Not a one of you. You all stared at me and did your best to let me know that this was YOUR section of the car that you reserved and that you didn’t take kindly to my trespassing. To which I reply: see 1 and 2.
- You allowed the small child that was with you (I’d say aged 7-9) to use the train as a jungle gym simultaneously further blocking my progress.
- You encouraged said child’s behavior by having Grandma snap pictures of him.
- You reacted defensively when presented with the politely veiled contempt of the other passengers as they were similarly barred from free passage on the train and subjected to outside voice squeals.
I hope that you can understand that commandeering a busy subway car for your lounging and play-scaping desires is quite the faus pax as far as we NYC subway riders are concerned. I hope that you can understand that when I glared at you as you wouldn't move your legs and then said, "This is public transportation not a monorail at Disney," I wasn't being rude. I was responding to wanton breaches of etiquette.
Thanks for your visit.
Next time you should consider the taxi.
Friday, April 11, 2008
PLG? Yeah you know me.
So last night Bighead and I saw and put in an application for an AMAZING one bedroom in Prospect Lefferts Gardens.
(Crosses fingers)
The PLG was not a place that either one of us had ever considered, but when our awesome real estate agent Mike drove us down Washington Avenue and stopped at a building in front of the Botanical Gardens and then opened the door to the largest one bedroom we’d ever seen it took all of twenty minutes (18 of which was trying to convince ourselves that it might not be the place) to decide.
(Crosses toes)
I’ve spent the morning reading about the area and stumbled across this article here. What’s really refreshing is that even though the article is full of shish-kabobbed crap the responses from the residents of PLG have really made me want to live there. What I like about the responses is the shared sense of neighborhood pride that the residents have. I also like the frank discussion about gentrification.
It’s interesting for me to think about because one of things that I like so much about the Slope is the opportunity to have some of those trappings of gentrification. And yet, while I’m put off by the idea of having to find another coffee shop (and being presented with the idea that there may only be one and that it may be super crowded all of the time) or a regular brunch hangout I’m kind of excited about what the lack of those things feels like.
Gentrification is such tricky business in a city that moves as fast as this one. I think, most specifically, that the word is misused. Not that gentrification (which is, as Merriam Webster defines it, a CLASS issue) isn’t happening. It’s that people seem to see gentrification solely in terms of race. In NYC when people say gentrificants they mean Whites. They assume that there is only one middle-class and that that class is solely made up of White people.
There are quite a few areas (in Brooklyn especially) where that simply is not the case but people really seem to forget that. So the fear and frustration about gentrification always seems to boil down to the anger about White people moving in to Brown neighborhoods and forcing the Brown people out. True gentrification is that Middle Class people are moving into poorer neighborhoods and forcing the poorer people out.
Where things get all fucked is the higher percentage of White people in the middle class. Frankly, fairer skin sticks out like a sore thumb in a brown neighborhood so it’s easier to see the White Middle Class as the only Middle Class.
Where things get especially fucked is the fact that I’m brown but Bighead is not. I gravitate to Middle Class areas (with a healthy does of White people) and those amenities because that is how I was raised, that is what I expect, feel entitled too and strive for.
So, I do not know that I won’t be a gentrificant when we move to PLG.
I like to think of myself as Middle Class but Experian would like for me to believe otherwise.
From what I can tell Prospect Lefferts Garden is already Middle Class (Brown Middle Class).
But what I do know is that some of the other neighbors, based solely upon my browness won’t perceive me as a gentrifcant threat in the same way that they might perceive Bighead because of her fairness (despite the fact that I am way more bougie than she will ever dream of being).
Especially if we get approved.
(Crosses legs)
So we’ll see. New neighborhood. New possibilities. New things to ponder.
Let’s just hope that we get accepted.
(Crosses everything possible)
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Brown is the coolest colour around.
Bighead and I are looking to move by the end of May. We love the Park Slope area but it’s just becoming too pricey for us and we really need more space. We’re currently co-existing in about 425 square feet and we’re big girls now and we’re okay with having more space.
We’re looking in Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Prospect Heights. We’ve been having a really wonderful time walking around these neighborhoods and exploring them while viewing apartments. There’s a real sense of history and style in looking at the houses. It’s nice to walk down the quieter streets and get the sense that this is a place where families have lived for years.
It’s interesting to see the way these neighborhoods are responding to yuppification. It’s kind of heartening to see it happening slower and sort of… more respectfully (?) here. I love Park Slope. I love for and in spite of it’s yuppification but it's time to make a change. And what I like so much about our walks and our explorations is that these neighborhoods feel like a good change.
They really feel like Brooklyn to me and I really dig it. I dunno, maybe it's growing up with the Cosby's and feeling like the home that I was invited into every Thursday at 8PM was the apotheosis of Brooklyn (and that this Brooklyn was one of the apotheoses of NY neigborhoods... right up there with the Greenwich Village). I like walking through the neighborhoods and imagining the Cosby kids hanging out on the stoops and Claire Huxtable climbing up the steps and entering the big beautiful doors at the end of a long day.
I think that it’s all the brownstones. I love them. One of my many dreams is to one day own at least one. Ideally I’d like a block in Harlem and I’d like to have one in all of the big brownstone neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn mean brownstone to me and vice versa.
And then I started wondering why brownstone? And I stumbled across this.
Neato, right?
We’re looking in Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Prospect Heights. We’ve been having a really wonderful time walking around these neighborhoods and exploring them while viewing apartments. There’s a real sense of history and style in looking at the houses. It’s nice to walk down the quieter streets and get the sense that this is a place where families have lived for years.
It’s interesting to see the way these neighborhoods are responding to yuppification. It’s kind of heartening to see it happening slower and sort of… more respectfully (?) here. I love Park Slope. I love for and in spite of it’s yuppification but it's time to make a change. And what I like so much about our walks and our explorations is that these neighborhoods feel like a good change.
They really feel like Brooklyn to me and I really dig it. I dunno, maybe it's growing up with the Cosby's and feeling like the home that I was invited into every Thursday at 8PM was the apotheosis of Brooklyn (and that this Brooklyn was one of the apotheoses of NY neigborhoods... right up there with the Greenwich Village). I like walking through the neighborhoods and imagining the Cosby kids hanging out on the stoops and Claire Huxtable climbing up the steps and entering the big beautiful doors at the end of a long day.
I think that it’s all the brownstones. I love them. One of my many dreams is to one day own at least one. Ideally I’d like a block in Harlem and I’d like to have one in all of the big brownstone neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn mean brownstone to me and vice versa.
And then I started wondering why brownstone? And I stumbled across this.
Neato, right?
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Sleeps with the fishes.
So today I learned that old Red Bird subway cars were being used to make an artificial reef off the coast of Delaware and other states.
Neat!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Today in the news.
So, the Congestion Pricing Plan was killed.
I must admit that I’m not quite sure how I feel about it.
I think that it is fundamentally flawed and that the plan itself was shortsighted. And before you get all on your
blahblahblahsyoureallyoughttobemoregreenandsavetheenvironment high-horse I just want you to know that I own those fluorescent bulbs (at great cost to my vanity) and I no longer use plastic bags for my shopping AND I try and unplug all unused appliances. So screw you hippie.
Anyhoodle.
I think that the plan is flawed because it is a fallacy to assume that the people most impacted by the proposed congestion pricing are the suburbanites commuting from outside of the City. And I am referring to the City as a whole and NOT just Manhattan.
I think that the plan is flawed because it is a fallacy to assume that the people in the outer boroughs own and use cars out of want and not necessity. I mean, look at the freaking subway map. It is plain to see that subway availability is diminished exponentially the farther one gets from Manhattan. (Bighead points out that people could 1. drive to the nearest subway stop or 2. take the Metro North or LIR. Bighead is always pointing out salient counterpoints in the middle of one of my rants and it’s really beginning to get to me. Stupid logic!) Not only is availability an issue but so is service.
I think that the plan is flawed because NYers have long been in the grip of the unreliable (I’m being generous) MTA. Presenting a congestion plan that implies that the MTA would be benefited by yet another influx of money is not going to comfort us. It’s going to make us angry. Too many supposed surpluses have turned out to be mysterious overnight deficits and we’ve submitted to too many fare hikes with no corresponding hike in service. It is foolhardy (and pause-giving) to present a plan to reduce traffic congestion, which ostensibly increases the reliance on mass transit, when there is no plan to increase the service of mass transit. The MTA can hardly service its current customers. How could it possibly handle more?
This is not to say that I do not think that congestion pricing would be beneficial.
I think that it would be quite beneficial. It’s had some success in London and despite being relatively new it seems to be going pretty smoothly. I’m particularly thrilled about the new changes that will be taking place this year with regard to the charges based upon emissions.
I think that any step taken towards reducing our dependence on fossil fuel is a good step. I think that any step taken toward reducing carbon emissions is a good step. I think it’s a good step for NYCity, NYState, the country, the world. (I guess I am becoming a hippie in my old age.) So I am disappointed that a congestion pricing plan did not pass. I am not disappointed that this congestion pricing plan did not pass.
And about that not passing… I’m quite dismayed by the way this happened. Back room votes really chap my hide. I mean even if this plan had a gays’ chance at Oral Roberts U of passing it still should have been defeated by a public vote. People on the NYTimes comments section are all up in arms about cronyism and dirty pool. It’s disappointing is what it is. It’s a real let down to the voters to feel like once again their political voice has been hijacked.
What’s also disappointing is the fact that this plan was struck down and nothing was offered in its stead. Really, how is that at all useful?
I mean, these are just a few things that Bighead and I came up with while watching Law & Order re-runs.
I spent this afternoon thinking, "Does Albany have no imagination or is it just lazy?"
What do you think?
I must admit that I’m not quite sure how I feel about it.
I think that it is fundamentally flawed and that the plan itself was shortsighted. And before you get all on your
blahblahblahsyoureallyoughttobemoregreenandsavetheenvironment high-horse I just want you to know that I own those fluorescent bulbs (at great cost to my vanity) and I no longer use plastic bags for my shopping AND I try and unplug all unused appliances. So screw you hippie.
Anyhoodle.
I think that the plan is flawed because it is a fallacy to assume that the people most impacted by the proposed congestion pricing are the suburbanites commuting from outside of the City. And I am referring to the City as a whole and NOT just Manhattan.
I think that the plan is flawed because it is a fallacy to assume that the people in the outer boroughs own and use cars out of want and not necessity. I mean, look at the freaking subway map. It is plain to see that subway availability is diminished exponentially the farther one gets from Manhattan. (Bighead points out that people could 1. drive to the nearest subway stop or 2. take the Metro North or LIR. Bighead is always pointing out salient counterpoints in the middle of one of my rants and it’s really beginning to get to me. Stupid logic!) Not only is availability an issue but so is service.
I think that the plan is flawed because NYers have long been in the grip of the unreliable (I’m being generous) MTA. Presenting a congestion plan that implies that the MTA would be benefited by yet another influx of money is not going to comfort us. It’s going to make us angry. Too many supposed surpluses have turned out to be mysterious overnight deficits and we’ve submitted to too many fare hikes with no corresponding hike in service. It is foolhardy (and pause-giving) to present a plan to reduce traffic congestion, which ostensibly increases the reliance on mass transit, when there is no plan to increase the service of mass transit. The MTA can hardly service its current customers. How could it possibly handle more?
This is not to say that I do not think that congestion pricing would be beneficial.
I think that it would be quite beneficial. It’s had some success in London and despite being relatively new it seems to be going pretty smoothly. I’m particularly thrilled about the new changes that will be taking place this year with regard to the charges based upon emissions.
I think that any step taken towards reducing our dependence on fossil fuel is a good step. I think that any step taken toward reducing carbon emissions is a good step. I think it’s a good step for NYCity, NYState, the country, the world. (I guess I am becoming a hippie in my old age.) So I am disappointed that a congestion pricing plan did not pass. I am not disappointed that this congestion pricing plan did not pass.
And about that not passing… I’m quite dismayed by the way this happened. Back room votes really chap my hide. I mean even if this plan had a gays’ chance at Oral Roberts U of passing it still should have been defeated by a public vote. People on the NYTimes comments section are all up in arms about cronyism and dirty pool. It’s disappointing is what it is. It’s a real let down to the voters to feel like once again their political voice has been hijacked.
What’s also disappointing is the fact that this plan was struck down and nothing was offered in its stead. Really, how is that at all useful?
- What about increasing the prices on toll roads/bridges?
- How’s about, charging a fee for cars coming and going within a certain radius of Manhattan with with less than two passengers? (Perhaps even making a deal for small business owners making deliveries.)
- Uhm… we could get rid of the bike lanes and put in express bus lanes throughout all 5 boroughs. We could revamp the bus schedules so that directly run to (and from) certain subway stations in the outer boroughs. We could LOWER the mass transit charges and increase the number of trains on the rails.
- Instead of spending all that time and money on the 2nd Avenue subway line pipe dream we could invest in light rail.
- We could make it legal to pool taxi rides with Zone charging during rush hours (a la the transit strike).
I mean, these are just a few things that Bighead and I came up with while watching Law & Order re-runs.
I spent this afternoon thinking, "Does Albany have no imagination or is it just lazy?"
What do you think?
Live and learn.
This is the Helix Nebula (also known as the Eye of God).
We are watching The Universe on the History Channel and I'm so excited by the photos from/of space. Bighead has decided to take me to the Planetarium as my birthday present.
I get really overwhelmed, sometimes, by the amount of stuff to see and do and learn in the City. It's a nice thing to be overwhelmed about.
We are watching The Universe on the History Channel and I'm so excited by the photos from/of space. Bighead has decided to take me to the Planetarium as my birthday present.
I get really overwhelmed, sometimes, by the amount of stuff to see and do and learn in the City. It's a nice thing to be overwhelmed about.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
First Saturday
Last night I went to my first First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum.
It was packed with what felt like was all of Brooklyn and I was proud to be a part of that number.
It was packed with what felt like was all of Brooklyn and I was proud to be a part of that number.
First the flowers then the Spring dresses.
The daffodils bloomed fully today.
I could smell their sweet from half a block away.
Everything and everywhere was alive in blue and green and yellow.
It was a beautiful day.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Stall-o-sophy
At the Commonwealth Bar I read the walls of the bathroom.
Is this way of telling stories -poems, tomes, ohms and dirty jokes- this brand of Sharpie stall philosophy strictly an NYC thing?
Probably not, but I like to think that it is.
Is this way of telling stories -poems, tomes, ohms and dirty jokes- this brand of Sharpie stall philosophy strictly an NYC thing?
Probably not, but I like to think that it is.
My front door.
There is a new tag on the front door of my apartment building. The pay-phone in front of it has a sticker on the receiver letting me know that the phone is tapped by the government.
Thanks NYC.
Thanks NYC.
Friday, April 4, 2008
About yesterday.
Yesterday I awoke to the sound of birds chirping.
Today the buds that were grey pods straining with possibility burst into the bright green of Spring.
Yes!
Today the buds that were grey pods straining with possibility burst into the bright green of Spring.
Yes!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
2nd game of the last season in the original stadium.
It's really weird to sit in Yankee Stadium (watching the home team lose 5-2 to the Blue Jays) and look out over the gap between left field and the center field stadium wall and see the new stadium being built in the parking lot.
I wonder what Yankee baseball will be like when they no longer play in the House That Ruth Built.
I wonder what Yankee baseball will be like when they no longer play in the House That Ruth Built.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
It's my birthday.
It's my birthday and even when it seemed that everything else had gone wrong the rain stopped this afternoon and by the time I left work the City was clean, cool and bright.
I can understand how the creators of The Wiz based The Emerald City on NYC.
I was pleased to spend my birthday here.
I can understand how the creators of The Wiz based The Emerald City on NYC.
I was pleased to spend my birthday here.
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