Just Another Flâneur

JUST ANOTHER ARTIST

2009-11-05T03:04:00.000-05:00

Artist Drawing the Art of Another Artist

One of my favorite things to do in a city full of museums--of which there are only a few that can even come close to comparing to New York City--is to go to said museums and, while viewing the art on display, also view the art being made of the art on display. Usually, especially in a place like The Met, but also in many of the other museums around New York City, you will find artists sketching some of the works in the museums. They aren't always the best artists, but every once in a while you stumble on someone phenomenal. Whether they so happen to be an artistic genius or just some mediocre art student, it is still interesting to peak over their shoulders as they try their best to recreate (or reinterpret) what they see.

MORE INFO:
Ain't got none.

JUST ANOTHER LOSS

2009-11-04T01:53:00.005-05:00

Bill Thompson Loses the Mayoral Election to Mike Bloomberg

Truth is that no one was really expecting Bill Thompson to win today. If he had, it would have been quite an upset. And to be honest, I'm not even sure I really wanted him to win all that bad. He wasn't a phenomenal candidate and he said some things that turned me off (especially about the new bike lanes). I will say though that even if it isn't a great LOSS that Thompson didn't win, I do think it is a great LOSS that Bloomberg did won. Unfortunately, he has won a third term--becoming the fourth mayor of New York City to obtain a third term.

Now, the fact that he got the two-term term limit overturned isn't the thing that irks me so much--though I know plenty who weren't happy with that obvious grab for power. I just hate that this douchebag who has no political convictions (once a democrat, then a republican when it was convenient, and now an independent as soon as the republicans are out of vogue) can hoodwink a city full of people who I consider generally smarter and more politically attuned than most the rest of the nation.

What is it with New Yorkers always wanting to elect shitty mayors? The big problem, I see, really comes down to the fact that the mayoral elections don't fall on presidential election years--if turnout were a lot higher, I think a democrat would win the New York City mayoral election on a much more consistent basis. The other problem, of course, is: how can a mediocre democrat like Thompson compare with a guy who spent millions of dollars on his campaign (supposedly over $100 million). Bloomberg, for this mayoral election, spent more than any other mayoral candidate has ever spent, and by A LOT. Why is that not surprising? Because Bloomberg is a cutthroat billionaire who will do whatever it takes to win. The only way he gets any of his platform through as mayor is by paying off those who stand in his way. He is the equivalent of a high school bully.

Now, as I say this, I have to remind myself that, as far as the nation goes, there are countless politicians I despise much more than Bloomberg. Bloomberg, in fact, doesn't hold positions that are TOO far from my own. Sure, he isn't a liberal democrat--but he ain't too conservative either. He may only agree with me a little over half the time, but at least we have that agreement. We can be glad he's no Guiliani, at least.

Anyways, all this is merely to say that I admit that New York City isn't always perfect: we can elect somewhat shitty people too.

MORE INFO:
I like what Gawker had to say on the subject...

JUST ANOTHER OF THE BRAVEST

2009-11-03T02:03:00.000-05:00

"New York's Bravest" aka FDNY

The other night--actually it was over a week ago now--I was about to get on the subway at Times Square when I realized that lining the streets were over ten firetrucks. I decided to investigate. I noticed that all the commotion was on Broadway and 42nd Street. There were a number of people standing around--even though it was pretty late at night--and watching firefighters behind a "Fire Line Do Not Cross" hosing down the subway below through the subway grates. I never really found out what happened exactly. I looked for info when I got home, but found nothing on the internet that could appease my curiosity.

No matter--it was cool to see the so-called "New York's Bravest" up close while they worked.

Of course, this mission, hosing down the subway grate, may not be one you'd call "brave," but lest we forget that these same firefighters were the ones who eight years ago all went down to the WTC while it was still standing and went in to try to rescue the people inside. Firefighting is a pretty insane job, and the FDNY has a reputation for being one of the--if not THE--best fire departments in the United States. They have an average response time that is under 5 minutes. And they deal with disasters great and small, on a scale unparalleled anywhere else in the United States. Whether they are putting out an apartment fire before it spreads quickly (in a city where buildings huddle close to one another), getting people out of elevators in one the huge skyscapers 80 stories up during a blackout, running into the burning towers of the Trade Center to save lives or, the classic, getting a kitten down from a tree--FDNY aren't really just New York's Bravest, they might just be America's Bravest.

(AND THEY HAVE THE GHOSTBUSTERS FIRE STATION!)

MORE INFO:
F
D
N
Y

JUST ANOTHER RACE II

2009-11-02T00:16:00.002-05:00

The ING New York City Marathon

When I first moved to New York City years ago, when I transferred to NYU, on my first day there, I awoke to incessant cheering and the blasting of Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" outside my window. Most people wouldn't have enjoyed this rude awakening, but I didn't mind at all. I looked out my window and found a number of floats migrating down Fifth Avenue and people packed like sardines along the sidewalks. I remember thinking, "I'm home." I had only been to New York City for a total of three days before that move, so I clearly had no true explainable rationale in calling it my home, but it was a feeling inside of me that I couldn't shake. I was home.

Now, looking back, I am able to understand the feeling a little bit better. I think Thomas Wolfe, the 1920s American novelist, said it best when he wrote, "One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years." I had belonged instantly. I remember that morning, it was like Christmas, and I was opening up the city like one giant package. And it was the best gift that could be given: a so-called "gift that keeps on giving." It was a place that I could feel both instantly at home in and also constantly alien, like there was always something else to discover, always some hidden secret. That waking up to cheering signified something to me: it was as though it symbolized all the things that would be perpetually going on outside my window--some loud and obvious and easy to find, some quiet and secret and hidden--but always there would be countless things to explore.

I was reminded of that today because I was also awakened this morning by the loud cacophony of claps and cheers. I got that same feeling that I had those many years ago. It was that mystery: What is going on outside? What am I missing out on? What can I explore? Of course, I realized immediately what it was this time: it was the head of the pack of the New York City Marathon finally making its way into Queens. I peaked through the blinds and saw runners going by. I didn't realize they'd be running down my very street. I knew they'd be close, but not ON MY BLOCK. Literally, they turn onto 48th Avenue and then turn up Vernon Boulevard. I live on that corner of 48th & Vernon. In the picture I have above, those are runners turning down onto my block.

The New York City Marathon is, supposedly, the largest marathon in the world. In 2008, almost 38,000 runners participated. According to one source, this year there are around 42,000--the largest ever recorded for a marathon anywhere. It is one of the five major marathons in the World, and with the others (the Boston, London, Chicago and Berlin Marathons), it comprises the World Marathon Majors. Along with the thousands of runners it attracts, it also attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators who line pretty much the entire 26-mile course which goes through all five boroughs, starting in Staten Island and finishing in Manhattan in Central Park. What is really exciting is that all these spectators are constantly cheering, but not for one person or one team--like in most sporting events. Instead, they are cheering for every runner who is participating.

It is a very incredible sporting event to see, and amazing to view just outside your window.

MORE INFO:
The official site and wikipedia

JUST ANOTHER PARADE

2009-11-01T01:19:00.000-04:00

The Village Halloween Parade on 6th Avenue

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. Why? Because costumes are awesome...and so is diabetes. Or not. But let's face it: a holiday centered around scary stuff, dressing up like whatever the hell you want and eating all sorts of goodies...how is that not the greatest holiday ever? No religious significance (well, it used to have some, but that's pretty much all gone now). No pressure to buy or receive gifts. No big awkward extended family meals to partake in. Nothing to do but go out and have a good time with whomever you please.

Plus, I judge my holidays on which has the best Charlie Brown special and It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is by far the best...

One of the biggest Halloween events in the world is the New York City Halloween Parade in the West Village on 6th Avenue. The Village Halloween Parade is like the Times Square of parades: big and crazy and full of people and noise and plenty of interesting sights to see. It is overstimulation from the moment it begins. Unfortunately, this year it rained, which made the parade not exactly the most fun event, but it was still full of the insanity that makes it interesting. Thousands of people crowd up and down 6th Avenue and watch hundreds of people walking and on floats in the craziest and most elaborate costumes you can think of: from the simple to the elaborate, from the obvious to the clever. There were pirates and superheroes and zombies and moviestars mixed in with a woman wearing a "Freudian" Slip, a guy dressed as a roll of toilet paper, some people with Anti-Teabagger signs, a girl in a collared shirt and men's underwear a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business, a woman with mismatched clothes giving out misinformation going by the name Miss Information, a "Cereal" Killer or two, a guy in an elaborate version of one of those fortune teller booths (like in the movie Big), plenty of naked people, someone as the Johnny Depp Mad Hatter in the new Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland which wont come out for another 6 months, a guy dressed as "Swine Flu" (Oh wait! That was me!), a number of Barack Obamas (in all shapes, sizes and colors) and Where's Waldos and Jokers and Michael Jacksons and Spongebobs and yadda yadda yadda...

It is basically one huge clusterfuck of people--which depending on what you like, either enhances the partyspirit of Halloween or detracts from it. Of course, the rain tonight definitely detracted from the Halloween partyspirit, but, hey, what can you do? When you live in the greatest city in the world, you gotta live with its few pitfalls--one of which is that its not always sunny in New York City. I was supposed to go to a party after the parade, but I ended up being so soaked (and sufficiently drunk) that I just ended up going back home so I could take a nice shower.

Then I just listened to Prince's "17 Days" ("so let the rain come down, let the rain come down, let the rain come down, down"), and waited for the clock to hit 2:00 am so that it would magically roll back to 1:00 am again, while I did a bit of writing...

MORE INFO:
Their official website...

JUST ANOTHER REASON TA GET YER YA-YA'S OUT!

2009-10-31T01:17:00.000-04:00

Maysles' "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" & Godard's "Sympathy For The Devil" Back to Back @ IFC Center

Who really needs a reason ta get yer ya-ya's out? Well, here is one for those who need a reason: Friday, Oct 30th, through Monday, November 2nd, IFC Center is showing a new 30 minute documentary by Albert Maysles of footage he took when the Rolling Stones played Madison Square Garden back in 1969--or as the documentary says "when the world's greatest rock band played the world's greatest venue." They are supplementing that new 30 minute doc with Godard's "Sympathy For The Devil," a full-length movie that interweaves scenes of the Stones in the studio recording the song "Sympathy For The Devil" (one of my alltime fav Stones jams) with strange poetic scenes of 60s counterculture.

MORE INFO:
Right here.

JUST ANOTHER MOMENT WITH MICHAEL

2009-10-30T13:26:00.000-04:00

"This Is It"@ Chelsea Clearview Cinemas

I know this isn't a solely New York City thing, but I saw Michael Jackson's This Is It @ Chelsea Clearview Cinemas (260 West 23rd Street) this morning and I felt compelled to report. First of all, I'll report on the New York side of it: the theater. Chelsea Clearview Cinemas is a nice theater that hosts, every Thursday evening, a classic film night. The Chelsea Classics evenings are hosted by famed dragqueen Hedda Lettuce (who you might remember from one of the seasons of Project Runway during the drag challenge). Beyond that, there's not much to report about the venue.

On to This is it:

So, like I said, I saw Michael Jackson's This Is It earlier today and, though it was quite good, it was bound to fail. Right? Rather than make us say "THIS IS IT!!!," didn't we already know it was going to make us say "This is it?" It left me saddened that this little peak behind the scenes will be all we get--and by no fault of the filmmakers. It is a good film--interesting because it is not a concert film really, it is unlike anything I've seen. I recommend it to any fan of Michael's. But it is a sad thing that, literally, this is it. This is all we have left of him: a dream of what could have been, and a remembrance of how things were in the far off days of yesteryear. This is his final piece: a promising but unfinished comeback that could have finally turned around all those years of bad press and strange quirks.

Whatever your thoughts on Michael Jackson, there is no denying that he was and will forever be a major figure in the pantheon of late 20th Century Pop Culture gods. This is a riveting glimpse at what could have been one of the greatest comebacks of alltime. Unfortunately, we'll never know, and all we have in the wake of the tragedy of his death is this.

This is it.

MORE INFO:
This Is It Trailer.
Chelsea Classics Info.

JUST ANOTHER BIG BUST

2009-10-29T04:38:00.001-04:00

Picasso's "Bust of Sylvette" @ University Plaza

If bustsize is everything, then Sylvette must be the greatest lady in all of New York City. The art piece "Bust of Sylvette," which, like the Fiorello LaGuardia statue I discussed the other day, can be found in the NYU area of Greenwich Village, is an enormous cubist art piece created by Pablo Picasso. This 60-ton sculpture stands 36 feet tall and 20 feet wide in University Plaza (which is on Bleecker St. between LaGuardia Pl. and Mercer St.). It is a Betograve sculpture, created from sandblasted concrete and basalt. It was commissioned by I.M. Pei, the architect who designed the towers that surround the piece and form University Plaza. The original "Portrait of Sylvette" is much smaller in scale, and the construction of this version (retitled "Bust of Sylvette") was undertaken by Norwegian sculptor Carl Nesjär (and overseen by Picasso) in the late 1960s, a few years before Picasso's death.

Sylvette David, who is portrayed in this piece, became Picasso's muse during the 1950s and was famous for a time in that role as a sort of "it-girl." He created at least 40 artworks that were representations of her during this time: paintings, drawings and sculpture. The most famous of which is most likely "The Girl with a Ponytail." Her style was often imitated and duplicated--Bridget Bardot, for one, is said to have ripped her look off from Sylvette David. In fact, Sylvette David explained that Bridget Bardot once "asked [Picasso] to paint her, but he declined because he'd 'already painted Sylvette David' and we looked as alike as two drops of water!"

Bridget Bardot may be infinitely more recognizable to the public than Sylvette David, but does Bardot have the biggest bust in New York? I think not.

MORE INFO:
Info on "Bust of Sylvette" and info on Sylvette David.

JUST ANOTHER CRAZY 8

2009-10-28T03:02:00.001-04:00

OCHO LOCO Pop Burger Deal from 8coupons.com

Whether you go to the 8coupons website or follow them on twitter, 8coupons.com is a great site to help you navigate your way through the countless deals in New York City. Their twitter keeps me updated on all sorts of deals from cheap Broadway tickets to cheap burgers. Every once in a while they sponsor specific deals with businesses called OCHO LOCO! deals. To explain what these deals are, I'll quote their website:

"What are OCHO LOCO! deals you ask? The 8coupons team goes around the city convincing local businesses to provide us with an outrageously ridiculous deal with lots of 8's in it. OCHO LOCO! deals can range anywhere from 8-cent ice cream, 88-cent burgers, to $8 Broadway tickets."

So what's the deal with 8? I'll quote their website once more:

"Why 8 you ask? Well, for several reasons. The number 8 holds a lot of significance and symbolism throughout different parts of the world. In addition to being the luckiest and most coveted number in many countries throughout Asia, it's also a symbol for infinity (on its side that is). Also, have you ever heard of the 88 butterfly? She is our mascot, and her name is La Mariposa Ochenta Ocho Loco."

So what you do for these OCHO LOCO! deals is you give them your phone number and they text you and you show the text to the cashier. Earlier today was the first time I took advantage of an OCHO LOCO! deal: .88-cents for 2 sliders at Pop Burger today! Pop Burger is a little burger joint, located at 14E 58th Street, with a chic modern look that includes Andy Warhol Campbell Soup Cans on the walls--name starting to make more sense now? There are also a lounge, a poolroom and a bar attached to this hip burger joint. Pop Burger's slider burgers are quite good, and when I worked around the corner from the other Pop Burger on 9th Avenue, I used to go there often for lunch. The problem? They are pretty overpriced: usually $7.00 for 2 sliders. Well, fear no more--the 8coupons team came to save the day!

And word on the street--and by the street, I mean twitter--is that they're teaming up with Pop Burger again to provide the same service on 12/1. See ya there?

MORE INFO:
8coupons.com
popburger.com

JUST ANOTHER LITTLE FLOWER

2009-10-27T03:22:00.001-04:00

The Statue of Fiorello H. LaGuardia near NYU

Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the man who gives his name to LaGuardia Airport, was mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945. LaGuardia Airport was, in fact, founded because Fiorello H. LaGuardia, after landing in Newark Airport, became enraged that his ticket said he was flying to New York City, but the only major New York City airport at the time was actually not within New York borders. He decided to create LaGuardia Airport, which at the time was just called New York Municipal Airport, and its first flights took place in December of 1939. That little story is just to say that once LaGuardia got it in his head that there was something to be done, he made sure it got done. He was no little flower, though "Little Flower" was his nickname: Fiorello means "little flower" in Italian, and it was also, perhaps, a name used to mock his short stature (he was only around 5 feet tall).

A Republican, he went against most of his party's platform and even actively campaigned for FDR, the Democrat candidate, for President--he was a staunch supporter of Roosevelt's New Deal. He went after the mob like few before him had, putting Lucky Luciano in his sights and not faltering until he put him in jail with a 30 to 50 year sentence. Not only did he go after the mob, he was also an early critic of Hitler and the Nazis, long before the onset of World War II. LaGuardia saw it how he saw it, and wasn't one to let injustice go on without a fight and some choice words.

All this is to say that, generally speaking, LaGuardia is looked upon fondly by New Yorkers as a whole. He cleaned up a lot of the city, modernized it, fought the Tammany Hall political machine that had been involved in corrupting much of the city's politics, and also helped get the city out of the Great Depression. He is, one could EASILY say, a New York Hero--hell, in 1959, there was even a Broadway musical written about him called Fiorello!

It is no wonder then why, when walking around New York City, you might find a statue of him. The statue is located near NYU, on LaGuardia Place (the name W Broadway takes on just north of Houston). The statue is a life-size recreation of the man. On the ground in front of the statue reads:

"The son of immigrants, Fiorello LaGuardia was the first Italian-American to serve in Congress. He devoted his life to the public interest. He was a champion of social justice and a defender of the poor and the oppressed. He fought against discrimination and corruption. As Mayor of New York, he was a leader in building the modern metropolis. He gave the people of this city twelve years of humane and progressive government. He was honest. He cared. He was beloved. He set the standard for all others to follow."

He makes me wish our recent New York Mayors weren't so...well...not LaGuardian, shall we say...

What is interesting is the position his statue appears to be in: is he clapping? Shouldn't we be clapping for him? I ask honestly.

MORE INFO:
Here and here.

JUST ANOTHER CIVIL WAR

2009-10-26T03:19:00.000-04:00

Newmindspace's Marshmellow Civil War @ Brooklyn Bridge (Manhattan Side)

Don't worry!...cheer up!...this Civil War isn't about slavery...this one is about...Marshmellows!!!!!

A Civil War about marshmellows? Yeah, you know, those little delicious things that make Rocky Road Ice Cream, S'Mores and Lucky Charms so damn good. Well, apparently, marshmellows, aside from being delectable treats, also make some fine ammunition.

Saturday, under the Brooklyn Bridge, on the Manhattan side, Newmindspace had yet another ridiculous (yet ridiculously awesome) event. A couple hundred kids-at-heart showed up with bags of marshmellows and marshmellow weaponry (both bought and made). Teams were divided up and given yellow caution tape to put around themselves if they were on one team, or red danger tape if they were on the other team. Mayhem ensued...

By the end, the place looked like a wet winter wonderland. It rained throughout most the event, and all the wet marshmellows that covered the ground looked like a Christmas display in a 5th Avenue store window, albeit a Christmas display that had been destroyed by a group of vandals...

MORE INFO:
All about the event...

JUST ANOTHER MUSIC EVENT and JUST ANOTHER OTHER MUSIC EVENT

2009-10-25T04:25:00.002-04:00

1) The Fader/Levi's FORT Event @ the Ace Hotel w/ Chauffeur and Others
2) The CMJ Event @ the Bowery Poetry Club w/ Love Grenades and Others

I initially planned to not write on any music events I went to today because I wrote about one last night. Originally, I wanted to write today's post on a different event I went to in the early afternoon today put on by Newmindspace--but that will have to wait for tomorrow. The two music events I went to today/tonight were too good to go unblogged about--they both, so to speak, rocked the proverbial Casbah.

The first was a non-CMJ event, much like the one I blogged about last night, which was put on by Fader Magazine and Levi's @ the Ace Hotel (located @ 20 W 29th Street). It included musical acts such as Midnight Juggernauts, Vega, Florence and the Machine, etc. (all of whom were quite good). The star of the show though was, undeniably, the new band Chauffeur, which is a supergroup, of sorts. It includes: my good friend and dance music god, Sam Sparro; one of the best producers around, Mark Ronson; Theophilus London, whom I saw last night perform at the Chromeo event; and two members of the Dap Kings. They only played two songs--one of their own and one cover--but they blew the fucking roof off with just those two jams. Would anyone expect anything less from the likes of Sam Sparro and Mark Ronson?

Apparently, the group is working on a whole album which, I'm fairly certain, is gonna blow some minds...and wads. Their cover of "The Glamorous Life" (a jam Prince wrote with Sheila E.) may, in one single night, have jumped to one of the top spots of my list of "favorite Prince covers," only to be rivalled with another Prince cover I heard tonight...well, we'll get there...let's not get ahead of ourselves...

But yes, I do have a list of top Prince covers, as any ridiculously obsessed Prince fan would. Obviously, Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" and Chaka Khan's "I Feel 4 U" would make that list...as would Arto Lindsay's "Erotic City," D'Angelo's "She's Always In My Hair," Cyndi Lauper's "When You Were Mine," and the list goes on...

SIDE NOTE: Why has no one I know of covered Prince's "17 Days"?

Anyways, after the show, later in the night, I ended up hanging out with Sam Sparro and his crew. Then, around one in the morning, we all stumbled into the Bowery Poetry Club (located @ 308 Bowery) to a CMJ event featuring the band Love Grenades--a band who has been getting a lot of buzz in the LA music scene, though not nearly enough. She, also, happens to be a friend, but I can say there is no bias when I claim she is literally both amazing and intoxicating. Is it possible to watch her perform and not fall in love with her? The short answer is: No. The long answer is: Not unless you don't have a fucking heart.

When she came out on stage, she was playing to a crowd too small for her enormous talent and prowess. There was a small group of fans and friends and music lovers there to see her, and then there was just a smattering of odd characters left over from watching the previous bands. As her set progressed though, not only did she get everyone left at to Bowery Poetry Club to gather round to hear her perform, but actually got everyone to dance. There wasn't a person not, at the very least, tapping their feet to the music. She had the whole crowd like putty in her hands. Anyone who wasn't already a fan there tonight is definitely a fan now--I can guarantee that. Is there any way she wont be huge by the end of 2010? Short Answer: No. Long Answer: No, of course not, you fucking idiot.

The other amazing thing that happened: she did a Prince cover which was as mindblowingly awesome as Chauffeur's was. Her version of Apollonia 6's "Sex Shooter" also, in the course of one night, became a favorite cover of a Prince jam and joined my list.

So let's recap: two amazing performances by two enormously talented individuals (that I am lucky to call friends)--and, holy fucking shit!, two phenomenal Prince covers.

A good day is a good day--what can I say?

MORE INFO:
Sam Sparro's Myspace.
Love Grenades' Myspace.
Info on Mark Ronson's new "Chauffeur" Project.

JUST ANOTHER NIGHT OF FREE MUSIC

2009-10-24T02:12:00.003-04:00

Green Label Sound Party w/ Chromeo, Amazing Baby, Theophilus London, Solid Gold and Holy Ghost! @ the Brooklyn Bowl

Sure, the CMJ Music Marathon is going on in NYC this week. Of course, I don't have the ridiculous $495 to attend, which is why I've neglected to talk about the CMJ Music Marathon here. Not to knock it; it is an amazing music (and film) festival--and it gets great artists!--but let's face it, paying that much for a ticket just isn't manageable for most of us.

Luckily, even in New York City, where magical things happen and seem to break the laws of nature and our conception of reality, Newton's third law still applies. It is this law of motion that is often paraphrased as that lovely little soundbite, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." There are the CMJ shows, and then, because all the musicians you can think of are in town, a number of other music events crop up in reaction to CMJ's being around town. Tonight I attended the Green Label Sound's party at the Brooklyn Bowl with Chromeo, Amazing Baby, Theophilus London, Solid Gold & Holy Ghost!

What is lovely about New York City is that, if you manage to stay in the know, which I admit is no easy task sometimes, there are countless free events--including plenty of free music shows. For this event, all you had to do was RSVP online early and, poof!, you get to see Chromeo and Amazing Baby for free, and you get two free drink tickets while you're at it. Who can complain about that?

(And tomorrow, which more correctly would be today since it is past midnight, I'll be hitting up another free music event with Midnight Juggernauts and the Mark Ronson/Sam Sparro project Chauffeur...these free music events are everywhere...)

MORE INFO:
To stay in touch with all the goings on in New York, visit my links. Places like Big Apple Music Scene, Brooklyn Vegan and Oh My Rockness do great jobs of keeping the general public in the loop for upcoming shows (and the like).

JUST ANOTHER PLACE TO GO MOVIEHOPPING

2009-10-23T06:40:00.000-04:00

AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street

I would never do it (wink, wink) because it is illegal, BUT the AMC Empire 25 located at 234 W 42nd Street, right near Times Square, is without a doubt the best movie theater to moviehop at in New York City. It has 5 floors of theaters, 25 in all, and they are usually playing somewhere between 15 to 20 different movies in any given day. The workers, as far as I can tell, generally don't care if you're moviehopping, so long as you don't make a big show of it.

Now, the key to a good moviehopping day, besides going to this theater, is to plan ahead.

The first thing you need to plan ahead about is bringing food. Take a purse or tote or backpack in, and bring in some candy, some snacks and, if you can, some sort of lunch/dinner. You can definitely always buy some hot dogs, soda or popcorn there, but you wanna have options and the only way to have options is to bring a lot of stuff with you. I usually bring some candy, some chips, some beef jerky and some bottles of water, juice and/or soda.

The second thing you need to plan ahead about is what movies and when. For this, it is best to actually go to the theater the night before and use their ticket kiosks so you can see what movies are playing in what theaters at any given time. You can just figure out the times from online, but in order to have ultimate success in your moviehopping, it is best to know which theaters the movies are playing in. You need this because a) it helps you get from one movie to the next easier if you know ahead of time where the next movie is located, and b) some theaters, namely theaters 1, 2, 7 & 8 are hard to moviehop in to and out of.

Besides bringing food and using the kiosks to plan what movies in what theaters, the other important factor which will determine your success in moviehopping is to figure out a good progression for your movies. When I go, which is usually about once a month, I plan anywhere between 4 and 7 movies--amount of movies isn't as crucial, though, as the order in which you see them. The progression of the movies you see on a moviehop is as crucial as the progression of songs on a mixtape. There are definite rules that I have when I plan a moviehopping day, which remind me of the rules Rob has in High Fidelity for making a mixtape:
"A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do. You've got to kick off with a corker, to hold the attention...and then you've got to up it a notch, or cool it a notch..." and on and on...

My rules for making a moviehop mixtape are as follows:
*Start off with a movie that you think will be one of your better movies of the day. You always want to start off on a good note, or the whole day will be soured by your first bad movie. Also, if for some reason you do get caught, at least you saw one of the movies at the top of your list first.
*The first movie should not be the movie you want to see most though. Do not blow your load early. If you put all the movies you want to see most in the beginning, by the time you are two-to-three movies in you'll see what you have planned for the rest of the day and decide it isn't worth it. You wanna scatter the ones you wanna see most throughout the day.
*Slowest or possibly worst movies should be placed in the middle, towards the beginning of the day. This way you don't start off with a slow or bad movie, but you also don't end with one, and you always have something to look forward to after a dud.
*Mix styles. You will, most likely, not be able to get through a day if you choose all horror movies or all action movies or all documentaries or all romcoms.
*It is best to make sure you have at least one or two comedies because, even if all the movies are phenomenal, a day with no comedy can be a little taxing and heavy. It is best to intersperse some of the more serious fair with comedy or lighter fair.

There are other rules I have, but those are the most important...

Now onto my moviehopping experience this week:
*I started off my movie mixtape with Whip It because I knew, even if it wasn't great, it would supply some laughs, and I doubted it would be terrible. It ended up being a perfect day starter--not a phenomenal movie, but it had some great moments, and ended up just being a decent film with some good laughs. I wonder if it could have been better had it been directed by someone with a little more skill? But I can't fault Drew Barrymore too much, it turned out pretty good.
*I then went on to New York, I Love You which I had high hopes for because I loved Paris, Je T'aime and, if you haven't figured it out yet, I love NY. It was a bit of a disappointment. They tried to merge the short films a lot more than they had in Paris, Je T'aime and it turned out to highlight how scattershot these vignettes were. Also, the quality of the directors was nowhere near as high as the Paris collection. But, alas, such is the life of a moviehopper, inevitably one film that you think you'd love will disappoint. Not to say it was terrible, it was just...okay...
*From there I went on to A Serious Man, the Coen Brothers' new film, which is a comedy, but don't be fooled, it is as bleak or bleaker than their Academy Award-winning No Country For Old Men. Of course, just because a film is bleak, doesn't make it bad. On the contrary, this was not only the best film I saw all day, but probably the best I've seen all year.
*Next up: Where The Wild Things Are!!! I was really excited to see this film because Spike Jonze is one of my favorite living directors and I just watched a whole week and a half of Jonze films and shorts at MOMA. Though I think Where The Wild Things Are could have been better than it was, it was still a very good film. I like how dark and philosophical they made it. They definitely did not make the children's film the studio wanted. At the same time, I don't think it would have hurt Jonze and Eggers to add "a little extra whimsy" (as my friend Alex said; he and his lovely girlfriend Rachael met up with me after they got off work for this movie).
*My final film for the day was Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore's newest documentary. I always go into Moore's films a little hesitant, and usually end up leaving pleased. This was no different. In fact, this film feels like the culmination of all his films. The others treated the symptoms of the disease, this goes straight to the heart of it. His other films were about guns and fearmongering and healthcare; this is about all that and more, building upon the basic premise that all those problems grow out of our system of capitalism which rewards greed and corruption and which thrives on keeping the rich rich and the poor poor--or, in some cases even, the rich rich and the poor dead.

So that was my moviehopping day...it was a very pleasant one. I hope yours is equally satisfying.

MORE INFO:
HERE

JUST ANOTHER PERSON TO CONFUSE WITH VIDAL SASSOON

2009-10-22T04:15:00.001-04:00

Gore Vidal Speaking @ Barnes & Noble Union Square

If you haven't seen Ali G interviewing Gore Vidal on Da Ali G Show, you should, it is quite funny. In it, towards the end of the interview, Ali G jokingly confuses Gore Vidal with hair stylist Vidal Sassoon and asks him, "If you could cut any first lady's hair, which one would it be?"

Though he doesn't answer the question about which first lady's hair he'd like to cut in his Ali G interview, and he didn't answer that tonight in his live interview at Barnes & Noble in Union Square, he did answer a number of questions with his usual intelligent and opinionated wit. Besides being one of the great preeminent intellectuals living today, he is also one of the funniest political commentators. I love to see him whenever he appears on television, because it is always a good time. And when you look at his old feuds with William F. Buckley (video at this link) and Norman Mailer (video at this link) which were captured for us on television, its hard not to wish for someone like that around today. He's a fine novelist, though I wouldn't necessarily say one of the best of the 20th century or the best living, but he is a better essayist and commentator--he is a masterful intellectual figure. He combines the perfect measurement of self-loving and self-loathing, of comedy and seriousness, of heated polemics and calm collected wisdom, of passionate patriotism for our country and complete contempt for it as well. I think the best way to describe him is how Bill Maher did: "You know those Dos Equis commercials that feature 'the most interesting man in the world'? Well, Gore Vidal is the real most interesting man in the world."

Earlier this evening, the interviewer started off by saying that Gore Vidal had managed to be at so many historic and important places and moments in history over the course of the 20th century. Mr. Vidal wittily replied, "I was also present at a lot of boring ones...the Nixon inauguration." The conversation meandered in and out of the personal and public moments of Gore Vidal's life, and he discussed his friendships (and not so friendships) with people like Amelia Earhart, Anais Nin, John F. Kennedy, Tennessee Williams, Paul Newman, etc. Sprinkled throughout were little insights into his political philosophy and his thoughts on the current political field. Talking about Bush, he discussed how idiotic he was in a speech and then the shock of the crowd eating that speech up: "and then you realize that the American public knows nothing of anything." He also discussed his disappointment in Barack Obama, something which I personally agree with. Not that I think Obama is a terrible President but he hasn't delivered on the majority of things he campaigned on. When Gore Vidal was then asked if he thinks any president in his lifetime was a good president, he refused to answer, saying that he doesn't do that and that he'd leave those assessments for the people at the New York Times--a paper he has utter disdain for.

All in all, it was wonderful to finally see him in person, after much of my teenage years spent seeing him on television and admiring his political commentary and his famous feuds, and after reading a couple of his novels and a number of his essays. Barnes & Noble Union Square gets some of the best living authors, intellectuals, artists and celebrities to come and speak--and this was no exception. I recommend checking up on their site here, and that will tell you of all the upcoming events. Guests in the next couple months include: Paul Auster, John Hodgman, R. Crumb, John Irving, Tracy Morgan and They Might Be Giants.

MORE INFO:
Some info on Vidal and some more info.
Video of a hilarious interview of Gore Vidal on Bill Maher

JUST ANOTHER JOYCE QUOTE

2009-10-21T04:39:00.001-04:00

"Under Bryant Park" Subway Art Piece @ the 5th Ave-Bryant Park Station

Until I moved to right near the Vernon-Jackson stop on the 7 (that train's first stop in Queens), I had never really taken the 7 train very much so I had never transferred from the 7 train to the B-D-F-V trains at the 5th Ave-Bryant Park station. The walkway for this transfer has some great subway art on the walls, all with quotes from famous authors. I was surprised to find, upon first taking this transfer, that an obscure James Joyce quote made its way onto these walls.

"Telmetale of stem or stone. Beside the rivering waters of, hitherandthithering waters of. Night!"

Seeing a quote from Ulysses would have been wonderful, but not completely unexpected. Ulysses is often considered the greatest novel ever written, or at least the greatest novel of the 20th century. But to find a quote from Finnegans Wake is as puzzling as it is exciting.

Finnegans Wake took James Joyce 17 years to complete, and it divided Joyce's readers. Some found it to be the next logical step after something as experimental as Ulysses, furthering in a sense that novel's project, whereas others thought it went too far, to the point of complete nonsense. It is the kind of book that is literally impossible to summarize in any coherent fashion because it doesn't have what could be called a conventional plot. One of the text's most interesting features is the novel's circularity. Using Vico's cycles as a jumping off point, Joyce created a novel which infinitely loops: the novel's final line is a sentence fragment that loops and is finished by the sentence fragment which begins the novel. The novel is also written in an idioglossic language, where multiple languages--somewhere between 60 to 70--combine to form words and expressions not used in any of those individual languages. Almost always in Finnegans Wake, a single word or phrase does and says multiple things at once. Needless to say, as the final sentence of the first paragraph of wikipedia's entry on it says, "Finnegans Wake remains largely unread by the general public." Understatement of the world. It even remains largely unread by the academic community--and by English majors and aspiring novelists.

What other city would have a quote from perhaps the most unreadable novel in the world, phenomenal as it may be, on its subway station walls? Not many, I tell ya, not many.

Who decided to take a quote from a work that probably less than .1% of New Yorkers have attempted to read, much less actually read all the way through, and put it in big bold writing on the subway walls? The artist's name is Samm Kunce.

This Joyce quote is part of a larger subway art piece by Kunce (entitled "Under Bryant Park") that takes up the entire corridor of the B-D-F-V / 7 transfer. It includes quotes from Mother Goose, Ovid and Carl Jung. The quotes are situated on mosaic pipes that seem to infiltrate (and are themselves infiltrated by) the mosaic nature surrounding them. The artist is quoted as saying of the piece: "People travel the subway system, water and other utility services are delivered by pipes, and plants and trees that provide grace and softness against the city's sharper edges find their way to water and nutrients underground through a system of roots. In a similar way, literature is shared by systems of learning and lending, and many animals inhabit systems of burrows just as humans systematically divide portions of larger habitats aboveground."

"Under Bryant Park" seems to be about our attempts at controlling nature, but the inevitability of our failure in that task. The Jung quote she placed on the wall is "Nature must not win the game, but she cannot lose."

In a New York Times article from 2004 about the art piece, Andy Newman asks random commuters what they think the Jung quote means and what they think about the piece as a whole. Certain individuals have interesting perspectives, but my favorite is the idiocy espoused by a person named Martin Bernier. He said, "I don't think it's appropriate for people to see in the subway. Why do they put this here? Who is Carl Gustav Jung? I know who he is now because I made a small investigation. But it makes me feel ignorant." And later: "I was very disturbed by this corridor. I have an average education, and I feel frustrated. It made me feel like an idiot." Well, sir, I hate to break it to you, but you are an idiot. Whether you know about Joyce or Jung doesn't make you an idiot, but when you judge public art as inappropriate because it forces people to think, question and research, then, sir, you are, plain and simply, an idiot.

I would argue that Samm Kunce's "Under Bryant Park" is far from inappropriate, and, on the contrary, rather entirely appropriate. It is both beautifully done, and also gets the average passer-by to think, to question and (yeah, if you don't know who Joyce and Jung are) to research. That isn't a bad thing. The more public art adds to a community, aesthetically and intellectually, the better the community is served.

MORE INFO:
That NY Times article, the little bit of info at the MTA website and pictures and info at the unofficial subway page.
Oh and take a peak at Finnegans Wake if you want...or read about it.

JUST ANOTHER SAYING

2009-10-20T01:40:00.001-04:00

"If You See Something, Say Something"

A few weeks ago, I was in a subway train that was speeding downtown when all of a sudden the kid across from me--who couldn't have been more than six--just started making the strangest nonsense sounds. It was as though I entered that wonderfully creepy documentary film Jesus Camp, about the young kids getting indoctrinated into the Extreme Christian Right, and this kid was speaking in tongues, like those far right loons tend to do. He was flanked by his father, who seemed not to notice his incessant rambling and busied himself with a sudoku, and his sister, who was getting visibly annoyed with her brother. As this cacophony kept continually escaping this young whippersnapper's lips, I was also noticing that the boy's head kept moving spastically--looking at the ground, looking at an advertisement, looking at a passenger, looking at his father, looking at me, etc.

Finally, his sister, after having enough of this racket, shouted, "Shut up already!" The boy turned to her, slightly confused, and responded very earnestly, "But I'm just doing what it says." "What what says?" she snapped back. He pointed to the sign right behind me. I had to turn around to read it. It was our city's little rule to stamp out terrorism and crime, "If you see something, say something." He explained to his sister, "I kept moving my head and seeing more things, so I did what it said and I said something." I immediately went from hating this little loud monster to loving the little genius.

His sister rolled her eyes, unamused, and said, "Dad, could you tell him to stop making noises and explain what that means." The dad, who up until this moment had been in his own little la-la land of determining which number goes where, explained, "It means that when you see something unusual or weird, you should say something to someone so that nothing bad happens."

Once more, the kid shouted out nonsense and looked straight at his father. "What's that?" his father asked. "I saw something weird." "What'd you see that's weird?" questioned his father. "YOU dad, you're weird!" How could you not love this kid?

Seriously though, this kid's taking the "If you see something, say something" dictum word for word got me thinking: Isn't that all I'm doing here? I'm seeing somethings, and saying somethings. Isn't that all we can ever do? This kid, in one silly little instance, got down to the basic of human existence. All we are all little bundles of cells that see things (and in that sense hear, touch, smell and taste things as well), and say things (or communicate things in the broader sense of the word): that is all of human existence.

JUST ANOTHER GATHERING OF GEEKS, FANBOYS, TREKKIES & OTHER VARIOUS TYPES OF NERDS

2009-10-19T00:02:00.000-04:00

The Big Apple Comic Con @ Pier 94

Hello Truebelievers! This weekend was the Big Apple Comic Convention, which, if you know anything about comic cons, was a huge space filled with comic book fanboys, Trekkies, Battlestar Galactica-ies, weird people in far too elaborate superhero costumes, autograph collectors, sci-fi cinephiles, and just plain nerds in general. Basically, imagine a bunch of people from your high school that got beat up by jocks, that played Magic: The Gathering, that you suspect may have had Asperger's, that drew a picture for you in your yearbook or that got above a 4.00 GPA all huddled in a room. You know, now that I type all that out, I realize I'm not selling this event very well...

Actually though, all kidding aside, it was a great experience. A ticket for the entire 3 day weekend cost $50. There were all sorts of interesting people there talking on panels and/or doing signings.

Here's a list of just some of these supposed "interesting people" I speak of:
*William Shatner: World-famous actor and singer who portrayed Capt. Kirk in the original "Star Trek."
*Adam West: Actor who played Batman in the 1960s TV show, and also plays a version of himself as the mayor of Quahog, Rhode Island, in the TV show "Family Guy."
*Jerry Robinson: One of the creators of the Joker, Batman's archnemesis, and probably the best comic book villain of all-time.
*Neal Adams: An iconic comic book artist, known especially for his brilliant work on the socially and politically conscious "Green Lantern/Green Arrow" and a classic run on "Batman."
*Billy Dee Williams: World-famous actor who portrayed Lando Calrissian in the "Star Wars" films and portrayed awesomeness in Colt 45 commercials.
*Mickey Dolenz: One of the members of the band the Monkees.
*Jim Lee: One of the 90s biggest comic book names, known especially for his wildly successful "X-Men" run, his co-creating one of my favorite comic book characters, Gambit, with Chris Claremont, his co-founding of Image Comics and his creation of WildStorm comics.
*Yogi Berra: Baseball legend.
*Joe Quesada: Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief.
*Thomas Jane: Actor who played the comic book character the Punisher, and also has small roles in a couple films by my favorite director P.T. Anderson.
*Joe Simon: Comic book icon and co-creator of Captain America.
*Linda Hamilton: Actress from "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2."
*Julie Newmar: Actress who portrayed "Catwoman" on the 60s Batman TV show, and also the namesake of that ridiculous Patrick Swayze movie "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar."
*Naughty by Nature: Grammy Award-winning Rappers of "O.P.P." and "Hip Hop Hooray" fame.
*Joe Kubert: Iconic comic book artist, known primarily for his war comics.
*Brent Spinner: Actor who portrayed "Data" in "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
*Pete Rose: Famous baseball player.
*Vincent Pastore: Actor, probably most known for his work on "The Sopranos."
*Ernie Hudson: Actor, probably most known as Winston Zeddemore from "Ghostbusters."
*Lou Ferrigno: Actor who played the Hulk in the TV show "The Incredible Hulk," and who recently had cameos in the new "Hulk" film and "I Love You, Man."
*Nichelle Nichols: Actress who portrayed Lieutenant Uhura in the original "Star Trek."
*Ric Flair: Former WWE Champion.
*Tom Noonan: Actor who is in Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are" and Spike's buddy Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York."
*Taylor Dayne: Singer who hit it big with the song "Tell It To My Heart."
*Kate Mulgrew: Actress who portrayed Capt. Janeway in "Star Trek: Voyager."

Surprisingly, my favorite panel from the entire weekend was "Star Trek: TNG" star Brent Spiner's Q&A. He was quite hilarious, full of weird asides and funny stories. He told about a dinner with Angela Lansbury where he asked her what it was like to work with Elvis; he made up and read (in a spot-on Stewart voice) a fake e-mail that he claimed Patrick Stewart had sent him that morning which said things like "I am but a drop of water compared to the great ocean of your talent;" and he relayed a strange tale Walter Matthau told him in which Judy Holliday said to Matthau, "You know that William Shatner fellow, his name's in the past tense."

The Big Apple Comic Convention, all in all, was a great weekend event. It has been in existence since 1996, but this was the first year that it was hosted by Wizard Magazine. It was located on Pier 94 (54th Street and 12th Avenue). Though neither are as big as the San Diego Comic Convention, the world's largest comic con, New York City actually has two comic cons. The Big Apple Comic Convention is hosted by Wizard Magazine and is the longer-running though smaller of the two; the New York Comic Convention is the second biggest comic con after San Diego. Weirdly, in 2010, both the Big Apple Comic Con and the New York Comic Con will be on the weekend of October 9th. I'm not sure how the city's two nerd-fests going head-to-head helps anyone--not them, not the fans and not the comic book companies--but who knows?

Anyways, as Stan Lee would say, "'Nuff Said!" I guess we'll see how it all pans out 12 months from now...

MORE INFO:
The official website is here and info on the two comic cons' rivalry and their being held on the same weekend in 2010 can be found here.

JUST ANOTHER FULL MONTY

2009-10-18T02:13:00.009-04:00

Monty Python Midnights @ IFC Center

For hundreds of years, countless people--both real historical figures and fictional characters, both studied academics and adventurous amateurs, both strong believers and equally strong skeptics--have embarked on a quest for the Holy Grail. From King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table to Indiana Jones, from Hitler and his SS Ahnenerbe ("Ancestral Heritage Society") to whatever that guy's name is in those abominable Dan Brown books, the quest has allured many. Perhaps those who got the closest to finding the Grail, though, are those six crazy British comedians known to the world as Monty Python. In their film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, their versions of the characters of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table may not succeed in finding the Grail, but the comedians themselves succeed in creating one. The film itself has become the Holy Grail of British Comedy. For all of its low brow humor, the film is actually astoundingly intellectual--and it doesn't hurt that, thirty some-odd years later, it is still a laugh riot.

From the Knights of Ni and their want of shrubbery to the armless-and-legless-but-still-not-giving-up Black Knight, from the oral sex offering ladies at Castle Anthrax to the rather vicious Rabbit of Caerbannog, the gags just don't let up. Monty Python, in all their work, be it the BBC show Monty Python's Flying Circus or the movies or whatever, are magnificent in their ability to get both the middle school kid in you to laugh out loud and the thoughtful adult in you to think a little bit. For some of us, we lean more towards one than the other, maybe, but the beauty of the Pythons is that they always offer both. There is some biting social satire here, but, of course, dick-and-fart jokes are just as prevalent. Would we want it any other way?

This weekend was the first weekend in the IFC Center's series Monty Python Midnights which extends through Thanksgiving weekend. The IFC Center always has weekend midnight programming that they call Waverly Midnights, and they have a number of series in any given year. Earlier this year, they had a Kubrick series, a Coen Brothers series, and a number of others, but they just started this weekend the Monty Python series. Next weekend they will be playing The Life of Brian, followed by: Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, And Now for Something Completely Different, The Meaning of Life, Jabberwocky and, one of my all-time favorite films, Brazil.

The IFC Center is located at 323 6th Avenue at W 3rd Street. It costs $12.50 to go to one of these Waverly Midnight screenings which play at midnight every Friday night and Saturday night. If you have an Auteur Pass, or one higher, at the IFC Center, all midnight programming is free!

Alright, that's enough of that, I don't want to talk anymore about it so I quote the French Soldier in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and say, "I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries."

MORE INFO:
Go here for theIFC Center's info on their Monty Python Midnights programming and go to here, here or here for info on Monty Python.

JUST ANOTHER PARTY FOR GIRLS & BOYS

2009-10-16T21:49:00.017-04:00

The Girls & Boys Parties on Friday Nights @ Webster Hall

What's better than a killer dance party?
A killer dance party with four floors of dancing.
What's better than a killer dance party with four floors of dancing?
One that is DJed by world famous dance acts.
What's better than a killer dance party with killer DJs and four floors of dancing?
One that is only a buck to get in.
What's better than a killer dance party with killer DJs and four floors of dancing for $1?
One that has $1 drinks from 10-12.
What's better than a killer dance party with killer DJs and four floors of dancing for $1 (with $1 drinks)?
I don't fucking know. Maybe nothing?

That's what the Girls & Boys Party is on Friday Nights at Webster Hall: a mega four-floor dance party with established musical acts providing the DJ duties and, if you sign up online beforehand, only $1 to get in and $1 for drinks from 10:00 til midnight. To give you an idea of the kind of "established acts" they get at this fine establishment, tonight's guest DJs were Chromeo, last week's was Steve Aoki, and coming soon is Simian Mobile Disco.

If you get there towards midnight, you wont get in for the cheap $1 rate because the Girls & Boys Party is such a popular event that you'll end up in an hour line. After midnight, the price goes up to a whopping $25--SO DON'T BE LATE!!! Hit up Webster Hall sometime between 10 and 11 on a Friday Night with the printed out ticket in hand that you get from signing up via e-mail right here.

There are plenty of hot spots to dance on a Friday night in New York City, but I promise there isn't one that is more hopping than this joint. So come join the party...

JUST ANOTHER THING TO REMEMBER

2009-10-16T03:22:00.001-04:00

The "Alamo" Sculpture in Astor Place

When I was a kid, before I even knew what or where the Alamo was, and before I ever knew the slogan "Remember the Alamo," what I knew of the Alamo was that there was no basement in it. My brother, who loved the early Tim Burton masterpiece "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," watched that movie over and over--and before I really knew what it meant I just knew those words, the voice in which they were spoken and the laughter that ensued: "There's no basement at the Alamo!"

Though New York's "Alamo" isn't quite the same as the iconic Alamo in San Antonio where Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone fought Mexican troops, it too begs to be remembered. What Pee Wee was looking for in the nonexistant basement in the Alamo in "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" was his stolen bike, perhaps he could have found it at this Alamo, which is flanked by a number of bike racks on a little concrete island in the middle of Astor Place. The cube, which is 8' x 8' x 8', stands on one of its corners and can rotate on its vertical axis. Often, when walking by Astor Place, you can see people spinning the big sculpture.

When Tony Rosenthal, the artist, is asked why he named it "Alamo," he tells an endearing story about how he didn't have a title and his wife, who was Polish, always remembered stories of the Alamo. One day, she blurted that out when someone asked the name of the cube. It stuck. Ever since that day it has been known as "Alamo."

So next time you're walking near Astor Place, remember the "Alamo"...

MORE INFO:
A cool video interview w/ the artist and the "Alamo" sculpture on wikipedia.

JUST ANOTHER FIRE STATION

2009-10-15T01:55:00.013-04:00

The Headquarters of the Ghostbusters

Earlier today, I went on a nice stroll. I started out at Varick and
Houston and wandered down the entirety of Varick Street, past what will become the new Jackie Robinson Museum (set to open in 2010), past Tribeca Cinemas, and on down to Finn Square. I then turned around and walked up West Broadway back to Washington Square Park, then over to Astor Place and up Broadway to Union Square. There's so much to be seen on such a walk!

Before I turned down West Broadway though, just before I had completed the walk down the entirety of Varick Street, I paused to look at a building on Varick and N Moore. It was a fire station: Hook & Ladder No. 8. Many of you, though, will recognize it not for the fire station it is, but for the headquarters it was. In the "Ghostbusters" films, this fire station acted as the headquarters for Venkman, Spengler, Stantz and Zeddemore.

I took a few pictures of the building and the painted sign on the sidewalk in front of it that had a ghost in a fireman's hat. A young man in his early 20s, accompanied by a much older woman who I assumed to be his mother, made a motion and called me over. He was standing just a few feet away on the corner. He was saying something to his mother in what I think was probably Polish, but I could easily be wrong. He turned to me and pieced together what seemed like the only three words he knew in English: "what...you...photo" and made a motion with his hands as though he was snapping a picture. I tried to explain that it was a fire station that had been in a famous American movie. He didn't understand a word I was saying except "American" and "movie." I could see some excitement at those two words though. I decided to get down to the basics. I just said "Ghostbusters" and feigned like I had a proton pack on my back. "Oh...Ghostbusters" and then he said a bunch of stuff in, like I say, what I think was Polish, to his mother. He then started humming the Ray Parker Jr. theme song from the film. It wasn't a perfect rendition, but it was recognizable. It was probably the moment that most adequately proved that something had transpired in our communication. What is it that Thoth said again (from my post a few days ago)? "Language can be the biggest impediment to deep true communication."

We had transcended the language barrier; we had crossed our streams. I then helped him and his mother find their way. Then, I walked a few yards down the street to Finn Square, which basically heralds the end of Varick Street, and then turned around and wandered up West Broadway on my merry little way to Washington Square Park and Union Square. All the while, I was humming the "Ghostbusters" theme song, though humming it as he had--slightly off, but still recognizable.

MORE INFO:
As part of the "Ghostbusters NYC Tour".

JUST ANOTHER DISPLAY OF POWERS

2009-10-14T02:01:00.012-04:00

Richard Powers in Conversation @ Barnes & Noble Union Square

I haven't been able to quite figure out what to say regarding the author Richard Powers and the talk he gave tonight at the Barnes & Noble at Union Square. I keep rewriting and rewriting the opening of this post. That, in itself, seems fitting though: if there's anything Richard Powers' new novel is about, it is rewriting. He called his new book, Generosity: An Enchantment, "a story about the desire to rewrite at every level."

The novel exists at a sort of crossroads between genomics and narrative. Though Powers didn't read from the novel at all, he spoke about the issues it brings up. He talked at length about his experience in being the ninth person in the world to get their entire genome sequenced. He explained how this process had a dramatic effect on the novel he thought he was writing--creating a finished project entirely different than what he set out to write. His new novel is about a woman who may possess what gets called 'the happiness gene,' and the media and corporate frenzy that circles around both her and the idea of rewriting our genomes with the happiness gene in mind. I haven't read the novel, but this is what I picked up from his discussion of it.

Richard Powers, whose novel Galatea 2.2 I quite enjoyed, has seemingly always dealt with somewhat scientific topics in his fictive settings. Whether dealing with genomics, artificial intelligence, artistic reproduction, or intellectual property, his texts wrestle with the the big philosophical and thematic issues that all good literature wrestles with, but in a setting that is entirely of our age, and in our lexicon, dealing with our internet/information age dilemmas.

Barnes & Noble @ Union Square (whose address is 33 E 17th Street) often gets really prominent writers and artists to come speak at their four-story store. It is always free for people to come see the writers speak, and it was great to see Powers on that list. Although, I must admit that, though I do like Richard Powers, and I was excited to see him on the list, I am much more excited about two other authors who will be coming to speak at this Barnes & Noble within the month: Gore Vidal (always interesting to hear speak) and Paul Auster (definitely one of my favorite living authors).

MORE INFO:
HERE,
here and
here.

JUST ANOTHER PORK & PINEAPPLE TACO

2009-10-13T02:44:00.010-04:00

The Carne Enchilada Tacos @ Chavella's

A few days ago I wrote a post about Tehuitzingo, sometimes considered the place that offers the best tacos in NYC; but when someone asks me where I get my favorite tacos in New York City, I have two answers--neither of which are Tehuitzingo. Answer #1 is Rosa Mexicano, but, being a moderately expensive restaurant, its not quite what people usually mean when they ask you where to find your favorite tacos. People usually mean: Where can I get a taco that's $3.00 or less? Answer #2 qualifies as just such a place. I say, "Chavella's."

Chavella's is a small little restaurant in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, at 732 Classon Avenue. It was started by a man named Arturo Leonar who came to New York City from Mexico City. It is a cute, quaint little spot that has a great home-y atmosphere and has a very personal touch. Of course, who gives a crap about that if the food doesn't hold up, right? Well, you'll be pleased to know that the food definitely carries its own weight. The carne enchilada tacos, which consist of pork, pineapple and a perfect little spicy salsa, are one of my favorite meals in the city. I have tried their other tacos, all of which are good, but the carne enchilada tacos are just so good that I just don't even look at the menu anymore. When I lived around the corner from this place, I ate it nearly every day. Now, since it's a bit more of a trek to get to, I have to savor the moments I get with it.

MORE INFO:
At their lovely little website...

JUST ANOTHER PRAYFORMANCE

2009-10-12T14:23:00.013-04:00

Thoth Performing @ Bethesda Terrace

Thoth, spelled out "T"-"H"-"yin and yang sign"-"T"-"H," claims on his website that he "heals through divine prayformance." His performances, which yes, he calls, "prayformances," are equal parts spiritual, hilarious, haunting, weird and, well, kind of awesome. When asked what he is doing, he responds, "Prayforming is my everything, my joy, my creative expression, my workout, my self study, my being-duty to pay back to the universe for the gift of my existence."

If you think that's good, just wait until the answer to the next question. So, when you see Thoth, you may wonder what language it is he is singing in. It is hard to place. It sounds like English, and then, no, it must be Spanish. Definitely not Spanish, maybe a Native American tongue? You go through everything and nothing seems to fit. This is his answer to the question of language: "It is the language of my people - the 'Mir. The 'Mir' come from the 'Festad,' a mythological world that I have been writing about since I was a child. However, look beyond language and words to discover meaning. Language can be the biggest impediment to deep true communication."

What a hard quote to unpack! On the one hand, I'm laughing my ass off: "A mythological world that I have been writing about since I was a child." On the other hand, I couldn't agree more: "Language can be the biggest impediment to deep true communication."

He's an interesting fellow, this Thoth. He was born Stephen Kaufman--no relation to Andy, though for some reason, I could see Andy Kaufman creating this "Thoth" character as an elaborate joke. Being biracial, Thoth experienced some hardship growing up, and retreated to this mythological world of his own design, called "Festad."

He was the subject of an Academy Award-winning documentary in 2002. For years now, he's performed his one-man solopera, though recently now he's begun performing with the Pink Angel. When I saw the two of them recently, the time I snapped this shot, my friends were in town and after a long day of walking, we had decided to just rest at the Bethesda Fountain. I got excited when I heard the violin and strange howling--I knew a Thoth prayformance was underway and figured they'd enjoy it. Everyone has their own reactions to it, but everyone I know who has seen Thoth has at least had their curiosity piqued.

Either way, whether you come to watch him for some deep spiritual breakthrough or whether you come to jeer at his loincloth, you should come and see him. He's a staple on the NYC street performance scene, and along with probably the Naked Cowboy, one of the most recognizable of the class of people I call "Eccentric New Yorkers." Catch him at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park...if you're lucky...

MORE INFO:
His website is here and a "prayformance" is here

JUST ANOTHER RACE

2009-10-11T01:11:00.011-04:00

The Newmindspace Big Wheel Race in Central Park

I have a theory that if you walk down the right path or enter the right alley in New York City, you could find anything. Today, anyone wandering the paths of Central Park may have stumbled upon a bunch of adults riding little kid big wheels.

The NYC Big Wheel Race hosted by Newmindspace was today!

Realistically, it was less of a race and more of a free-for-all. This made it less of a competition and more of a joyous chaos. Everyone was laughing, cheering and taking lots of pictures. At one point, one of the guys racing down the hill looked toward the people snapping photos who were lining the short route and shouted his name, followed by the words, "Tag me on Facebook...I need new profile pictures..."

This was a surprisingly small-scale event, but it was a fun group that kept up just the right energy without getting too raucous. I'll definitely be wandering back this way next year when they have this annual event again...

MORE INFO:
The Facebook Invite is all there really is...

JUST ANOTHER MEMBERSHIP

2009-10-10T03:40:00.018-04:00

MOMA Membership

There are plenty of amazing memberships one can buy in New York City, and many of them are worthwhile. There are museum memberships, film memberships, and memberships to all sorts of other clubs and services. I have a few of these memberships myself. In fact, earlier this evening I utilized my IFC Center membership and saw a midnight movie (Kubrick's "The Shining") for free! Though IFC has a pretty good deal going, as do plenty of other cinemas (Film Forum, Anthology Film Archives, BAM and the Film Society at Lincoln Center, to name a few), surprisingly, the best film membership is also, in just another flaneur's just another humble opinion, the best museum membership: MOMA.

The Museum of Modern Art, located at 11 W 23rd Street, is not only one of the greatest museums in New York City, it is also one of the greatest museums in the world. As far as modern art goes, there isn't one museum that compares. If you think of the ten art pieces since Impressionism that you think are the most famous or had the most artistic impact, I bet half of them are in this one museum: Van Gogh's "Starry Night" on your list? Monet's "Water Lilies" triptych there? Matisse's "The Dance" perhaps? Dali's "Persistence of Memory" (yes, the one with the clocks melting like Camembert cheese)? Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"? The first Duchamp readymade: "Bicycle Wheel"? "Map" or "Flag" by Jasper Johns? How about a Pollock splatter painting? A Warhol Campbell Soup Can? One of Mondrian's L'Oreal-esque paintings? "The Sleeping Gypsy" by Henri Rousseau or "The Bather" by Paul Cezanne? Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's World"? And there are other works by other important artists such as Seurat, Magritte, Kahlo, de Chirico, Gauguin, Hopper, Ernst, etc.

Needless to say, the museum's collection speaks for itself. As for the membership: $75 a year gets you free entrance to the museum whenever you want (usually a $20 entrance fee) and free admission to any film screening (usually a $10 ticket without membership or museum entrance fee). They screen around four movies per day and these films can range from obscure foreign films from the 20s to last year's summer blockbusters. At MOMA, in the last month and a half, it was possible to see Spike Jonze music videos, Taxi Driver, every Baz Luhrmann flick besides Strictly Ballroom, Fellini's Amarcord, a New York Dolls documentary, Dr. Strangelove, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Wall-E, a new 2009 film Paradise by Michael Almereyda, the Basquiat film Downtown 81, a Jacques Tati film entitled Mon Oncle, and Wedding Crashers--just to name a few. This week, as part of their Spike Jonze retrospective, they're even screening Jackass--I'm sure not something you ever expected to end up in a museum, especially one of this caliber. It goes to show though, the breadth of films this place has to offer (and FOR FREE and DAILY).

It is a pretty unrealistically awesome deal. Whenever anyone asks me what's the best deal in New York City, it's a no-brainer to say simply "MOMA membership." Basically, if you were so inclined you could see something like 600+ movies a year and go to the museum 300+ times and all for just $60. If you actually paid to see 600 movies at MOMA and to go to the museum 300 times, it would cost you $12,000. Obviously, any person with a life isn't going to go to the movies at MOMA twice a day and to the museum once a day every day it is open. Let's look at a more realistic schedule: a movie once a week and a visit to the museum once a month would still cost you $760. You save almost $700 if you buy the pass. In simplest terms, in one year, if you only see four movies and go to the museum twice, you've already saved five bucks by buying the membership.

So there's only really one thing I can say: buy the damn membership!

MORE INFO:
All the official info from the MOMA site is just one click away.

JUST ANOTHER DUO IN CAHOOTS

2009-10-09T13:12:00.010-04:00

Maurice Sendak & Spike Jonze in Conversation @ MOMA

With the opening of the film Where The Wild Things Are a week away, the MOMA is giving Spike Jonze a short, but sweet, week-long retrospective. "Huh?" you're probably saying. "How can Spike Jonze have a retrospective? He's only made two films...his third comes out next week." True, but think of all the music videos and commercials and short films he's directed, not to mention the movies he's produced and acted in. If you still think it is ridiculous, don't worry, because Spike did too. He said, on this, the opening evening of the retrospective, that he still didn't think it seemed like it should be. He playfully named the retrospective, "Spike Jonze: The First 80 Years," mocking himself and his accomplishments.

In the next ten days, they'll be playing both Being John Malkovich and Adaptation (his two features as director), along with a few nights of commercials, short films and music videos, and also, weirdly, Jackass (which he produced) and a couple other pieces. On this opening night, entitled "In Cahoots: Maurice Sendak and Spike Jonze," they screened a documentary by Spike Jonze and Lance Bangs about Spike's friendship with Sendak and Sendak's life as a whole. It is called Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak, and Sendak, in the footage, really does tell us anything he wants. He is nothing like what one would expect from a children's author. First off, he isn't especially fond of kids. He is pessimistic, vulgar, offensive and doesn't care. He's so funny, intelligent and engaging in the documentary that when it came time for he and Spike to come on stage and have their discussion, I wanted Sendak to do most of the talking. I couldn't believe I'd rather hear from a children's author than one of my favorite living directors. (Of course, it was a children's author who wrote my favorite book as a child--but still.)

They also screened a short film Spike Jonze made with Lance Bangs and Catherine Keener for Maurice Sendak's 80th birthday and a clip from Where The Wild Things Are.

Then, as they came up to speak, like I say, I was somehow more excited to hear from Sendak than Jonze. I think Jonze recognized this, and being shy as he is anyways, he definitely let Sendak rule the microphone. Maurice Sendak is one of the most wildly funny people I have ever seen speak. He is the type of person, and usually my favorite people are like this, that is so utterly pessimistic that it almost becomes a kind of wacky optimism. It is like a joyous, exuberant pessimism. As he talks about how the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby scarred him when he was just two years old, you don't know whether to laugh or cry. His constant begging for death to come leaves you with the same conundrum.

It was a truly great night. The young loverboy in me was happiest to see Catherine Keener in attendance, the true fanboy loved the opportunity to see and hear Spike Jonze, but really, this night was all about Maurice Sendak. Sure, it was Spike's night: the opening night of his first ever retrospective. And, of course, the huge crowds the event drew were not there for the children's author, they were there for their cinema-god Spike; yet it was Sendak who stole the show--and with Jonze's obvious approval. Spike Jonze has the rest of the week to wow us at MOMA (and the rest of his career to up the ante), he was fine letting Maurice Sendak have some time in the spotlight.

MORE INFO:
On Sendak.
On Jonze.
On the Jonze Retrospective.
On this Specific Event.

JUST ANOTHER AUTHENTIC MEXICAN TACO

2009-10-08T02:35:00.012-04:00

The Tacos @ Tehuitzingo Mexican Deli

Even the flâneur who walked every street in Manhattan would, I assume, have trouble finding this gem. The outside of this spot looks just like any other bodega or deli--who would have guessed that far in the back two ladies cook up some of the best tacos in the city? If it weren't for word of mouth, NYC guide books or the ability to google "best tacos in New York City," Tehuitzingo probably wouldn't get much business. Amazingly, even though it does come up as the first thing on Google when you search "best tacos in New York City," it still manages to never be crowded--which is perfect if you want a quick, cheap, authentic Mexican lunch.

The taco depicted in the picture is a chorizo con papas taco on which I have poured a decent amount of hot sauce. I also strongly recommend the enchilada taco (spicy pork). Both are only $2.50 and, though I have been known to sometimes get three, I usually get two and am thoroughly filled up. $5.00 is about as cheap as it comes for a great tasting NY lunch. Sometimes I'll splurge and, like I said, get a third taco or sometimes I'll get a Jarritos Mexican soda which they sell along with other imported Mexican treats. All in all, Tehuitzingo, located at 695 10th Avenue (between 47th and 48th Streets), is pretty much a perfect little taco joint.

When I was first moving to NYC from Southern California long ago, the one warning I got from numerous people was: "there's no good Mexican food." Seeing as I eat Mexican food almost every day, this worried me a bit. Luckily, it is not true. It may have been true in the 80s or 90s, but nowadays New York's got as many good Mexican joints as anywhere else outside of Mexico and California. Between the Endless Summer Taco Truck, Chavella's, Taqueria Coatzingo, Rosa Mexicana, Pinche Taqueria, Zaragoza, and this fine establishment, I could have completely different style tacos every day of the week. And I probably will.

MORE INFO:
Just Google "best taco in New York City"...
Addendum: I just did that search and now it doesn't come up as the first thing anymore. Well, at one time it did. Anyways, just go here.

JUST ANOTHER SUBWAY PERFORMER

2009-10-07T03:09:00.015-04:00

Alex, the Midget who does a Great MJ Impersonation

As a child, Michael Jackson was my God. I remember the moment that I learned how to moonwalk was as triumphant a moment for me as when I learned how to walk, bike and drive. My life is intertwined with moments of Michael. I mean, to be honest, if you showed some people in my high school class a picture of me, they wouldn't remember my name, but they'd say, "Oh, that's the douche who would dance like Michael Jackson at the high school dances." I'm fine with that...

For all the moonwalks, and robots, and leg kicks I've done in my day, I still really enjoy seeing a good MJ impersonator. I must admit though, they are a lot harder to find than one would imagine. Usually, they have one aspect down, and none of the rest. Either they look exactly like him (usually these are the Asian women who are impersonating him), or they sound exactly like him, or they have like one of the moves down (but rarely more than one or two). When someone has all the moves down, I'm always excited. The other day I saw an impersonator that blew me away. I was partially blown away because he was a midget, but mostly I was blown away because he had the most solid moves I had seen in a while.

I heard "Beat It" playing as I swiped my metrocard and entered the Union Square subway station, so I decided to check out what was going on. I notice a midget dressed in "Billie Jean" style get-up pulling off some of the best MJ moves I've ever seen. Yes, part of the allure was that he was a midget--of course! He knows it, the audience knows it, everyone knows it. BUT, if he were a midget who could dance just okay, he wouldn't hold a crowd for more than a couple seconds. People'd gawk and then walk. Instead, he had these people transfixed. I hadn't seen a crowd this big for a subway performer in a long time.

Any performance that has me so engrossed that I miss two--count 'em TWO--trains in order to not miss a moment deserves some props, and some dough.

I put some money in his bucket when the performance was over and then sped uptown in my Q train trying to remember if I've seen any subway performance that even came close to comparing with Alex, the lil' MJ.

MORE INFO:
Video of him performing so you can revel in the mindblowing awesomness.

JUST ANOTHER MOMENT WITH MARILYN

2009-10-06T05:04:00.005-04:00

A Screening of "Some Like It Hot" @ Film Forum

After seeing the Marilyn Monroe subway grate, there was really only one thing left to do: head on down to Film Forum and see a screening of "Some Like It Hot." Film Forum is located at 209 W Houston Street, between Varick Street and 6th Avenue. The seats may not be the most comfortable theater seats in New York City, but the programming is by far one of the best. If you are one for repertory cinema, and love seeing classic films on the big screen, if Film Forum isn't your place, by golly, it should be.

I went with a lovely lady who had never seen "Some Like It Hot." She was excited to see it, and I was too, because it had been forever since I had, probably since I was a little kid--and when you're a little kid you don't really get what's going on so much as just laugh at the fact that there's men dressed as woman. I barely remembered the plot, just some of the shenanigans.

What a stellar film! It is definitely a cinema treasure. Many of my generation refuse to see old black-and-white movies, especially comedies, saying, "They just aren't funny any more, comedy has changed, and what was funny then isn't funny now." I challenge anyone to watch this movie and not laugh. It was funny then and is just as funny now. I do agree that some comedy is, as one might say, "of the age from which it came," but not all comedy ages. The same issues plague our societies and the same things obsess us, and therefore, the right jokes can last for eternity without growing stale. This film here is a shining example of that.

There are many Hollywood legends about the filming of this movie. Apparently, during the filming, Marilyn Monroe had a terrible time saying the line "Where's the bourbon?" while she opened a drawer searching for some. She kept flubbing it so much that finally the director, Billy Wilder, had the line pasted to the inside of the drawer. Of course, Marilyn then opened the wrong drawer. According to movie legend, Wilder then had the line pasted into all the drawers of the dresser. If the legends are true, they don't show, because the film appears seamless. She manages to hit every line perfectly, and always oozes sex, while her character seems completely oblivious to it.

Her chemistry with Tony Curtis is pure perfection, even though he apparently said that kissing her felt like kissing Hitler. All this off-screen stuff may be true, like I say, but when you watch what's in the film, it's all magical. As Roger Ebert says of her and Curtis' kiss, "She kisses him not erotically but tenderly, sweetly, as if offering a gift and healing a wound. You remember what Curtis said but when you watch that scene, all you can think is that Hitler must have been a terrific kisser."

And I would be remiss not to mention Jack Lemmon at all--he makes the damn movie. His comedic timing is impeccable. He's pitch-perfect in every scene, including the final one, where...well, I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of seeing it.

MORE INFO:
Here and here.

JUST ANOTHER SUBWAY GRATE

2009-10-05T01:27:00.006-04:00

The Subway Grate that Received an Upskirt Shot of Marilyn Monroe

Since the last two days I updated "Just Another Square" and "Just Another Triangle," there was a part of me that wanted to continue the trend with "Just Another Circle"--I could have posted about the Circle Line or Columbus Circle or plenty of other things. Needless to say, I decided against it and instead chose to post on just another subway grate. What could be so special about a stupid subway grate? Why would I mess with a pretty nice shape pattern I had going in order to post about such a mundane object?

Well, this subway grate just so happens to be probably the most famous subway grate in the world. I promise you, no matter who you are, you've seen it before: maybe in a movie, more likely in photos. If you're a man--and maybe even if you're a woman--you probably have thought, "Ah, if only I could have been that subway grate." This is the subway grate that got that wonderful upskirt shot of Marilyn Monroe in the film The Seven Year Itch. It is a subway grate which has found its way into American iconography and our culture's collective conscious and for years and years to come will remain there.

What is funny though is that when you wander down Lexington in order to find it, you'd never be able to without a little research done ahead of time. And, in fact, even with said research, I still cannot be certain that this exact subway grate is THE subway grate. I just know the corner on which the scene took place. Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell walk out of the Trans Lux Theatre, having just seen "The Creature from the Black Lagoon," and turn left to walk up Lexington towards 52nd Street. Before they reach the corner, the subway comes by and the rest is history. The Trans Lux Theatre, which no longer exists, was at 586 Lexington Avenue. If you watch the clip of the film (feel free to here), you can get a sense of about where it is. It's now located right in front of a restaurant called L'Entrecôte.

Not only did that cinematic moment become ingrained in our social fabric, it also had a profound effect on Marilyn Monroe's personal life. At the time, she was married to Joe DiMaggio. Though they had been experiencing a number of marital problems, this was supposedly the straw that broke the camel's back. He couldn't handle the crowds of people whistling and hollering as they got peaks at his wife's underwear during the filming on that late night in the fall of 1954. They divorced soon after. Of course, the film's title refers to the moment, supposedly after seven years, when lovers may start to sour on one another and tend to re-evaluate their relationships. Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe's itch didn't take seven years to come on, only 274 days. It was that many days after their marriage that Marilyn filed for divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty. Years later, just before her death, they started seeing one another again. He was hoping to help her get her life back on track and ask her to marry him again.

Obviously, we all know how the story ends.

"Sorta cools the ankles, doesn't it?"

MORE INFO:
Besides the clip from the film, a picture, and some behind the scene video, there really ain't too much I can put here information-wise.

JUST ANOTHER TRIANGLE

2009-10-04T02:55:00.006-04:00

The Hess Estate Triangle

Sometimes the little victories are all we have to hold on to. There is no greater reminder of that, while walking through the city, than the Hess Triangle Estate in the West Village. Located in front of the Village Cigars store, on the corner of Christopher Street and 7th Avenue, it constituted the smallest plot of private property in the city (from the 1910s to the 1930s). It also constituted what could easily be called a little victory--a little victory awarded to Mr. David Hess.

David Hess, in the early 1900s, owned the Voorhis apartment building on Christopher Street. At some point in the 1910s, the building was being torn down for the expansion of the IRT Subway line. There was a small triangle of land left and the city wanted Hess to donate it to NYC so it could extend the sidewalk. David Hess fought the city and kept his legal right to that small 500 square inch plot of land. A mosaic was placed there which reads, "PROPERTY OF THE HESS ESTATE WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN DEDICATED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES." Though he lost the Voorhis building, he won that small victory for that miniscule plot of land.

In the late 1930s, the Hess Estate sold the small plot of land to the cigar shop that it is in front of for $1,000. Now that it is part of the plot of land that the Village Cigars is built on, it is no longer the smallest plot of land in the city, but it is still an interesting thing to see when strolling through the West Village.

MORE INFO:
Here's some.
And some more.

JUST ANOTHER SQUARE

2009-10-03T04:32:00.011-04:00

Times Square

Most New Yorkers do anything they can to avoid Times Square. New Yorkers can deal with a lot: some of the highest taxes in the country, harsh weather conditions, the subways smelling like boiling piss in the summer, the Mets never winning, multiple crazy mayors--hell, they can even deal with terrorists crashing planes into their two tallest buildings. New Yorkers can deal with just about anything, except they just can't deal with the masses of tourists at Times Square. I have friends who will take an extra 15 minutes to get somewhere just to avoid it.

I understand the annoyance of masses of tourists, but I am in the minority in regards to Times Square: I love it. Sure, walking through Times Square when you have somewhere to be and you're on a time schedule is no fun at all. No one likes trying to hustle somewhere and being caught in a slow-moving crowd. But what a place to just soak in when you've got nowhere to be!

It represents everything that we are (for better or worse): overrun by technology and advertising and soundbites and headlines...too many cars, too many people, too many signs, too many businesses...too much, too much, too much. It is a perfect microcosm of all of human existence. Here we are, too many of us, shoved onto this small planet, and we fill it up with more and more and more until it is overflowing with all our shit and then that shit begins to crowd us out.

What a place! Times Square! It is unlike anything else. There's something so ugly about it and there's something so beautiful as well. There's something so alien about it and there's something so comforting as well. There's something so boring about it and there's something so fascinating as well. There's something so jolting about it and there's something so peaceful as well.

Times Square, if you somehow do not know, is where Broadway diagonally crosses through 7th Avenue, between 42nd Street and 47th Street. Originally owned by John Morin Scott (a member of the NY militia during the American Revolution) and, later, John Jacob Astor (the first multi-millionaire in the United States), the area was chosen in 1904 by Adolph Ochs for the location of the new offices of The New York Times. He used his influence to make sure a subway stop was built there and it was named "Times Square" after The New York Times. Though The New York Times didn't stay in the area long, it changed the face of what would be Times Square and set it on its path to what it is today. The building where The New York Times once was housed, now called simply One Times Square, is where the ball is famously dropped every New Year's Eve. As New York grew, so too did Times Square--quickly becoming NYC's cultural hub. In 1913, Times Square was chosen as the location for one of the ends of the Lincoln Highway--the first road to span the entire country. It billed itself as going from Lincoln Park, San Francisco, to Times Square, New York.

Throughout the 20s, it was definitely New York City's cultural hub, and though in some respects it remained a vital part of the New York City and one of its major hubs, after the Great Depression, its seediness and dirtiness detracted many. In the 90s, Mayor Guiliani, for better or worse, cleaned-up and Disney-ified Times Square. It became safe again, and thus, a tourist mecca.

And so now I have friends who avoid it like the plague, but me, I like to stroll through there every once in a while. There are few better places to be dwarfed by tall building, crowded by masses of people and overloaded by a million flashing and moving and changing advertisements. It is the ultimate place to be overstimulated.

MORE INFO:
Some info, some mo' info...and a little bit mo'.

JUST ANOTHER WONDERLAND

2009-10-02T04:14:00.013-04:00

The "Alice in Wonderland" Statue in Central Park

After Alice wakes up at the end of Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, she tells her sister of Wonderland and all the unbelievable events that took place there in her dream. Alice then runs off to tea, and her sister spends the final chapter of the book thinking about Wonderland and Alice's adventures there. In that final chapter, Carroll wrote, "So she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed herself in Wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again, and all would change to dull reality."

In my life, whenever I've lived anywhere else, I have sat with eyes shut, like Alice's sister, and dreamed of New York. Like Alice's sister though, I also always knew that all I had to do was open them again and suddenly I'd be back in the dull reality of wherever I was. It didn't matter where it was: it wasn't New York City.

Whenever people who haven't been to New York City ask me to compare it to something, I always give this ridiculous comparison: "New York is the real life equivalent of Wonderland." I recognize that these people who ask this question most likely want me to say, "It is much closer to those grand European cities like Paris and London than it is to other American cities," or "It's like a bigger version of San Francisco," or something else to that effect. For me though, trying to compare New York to another city that actually exists on this Earth is like trying to compare a raven to a writing desk. My only comparison is that it is the real life equivalent of Wonderland. As I stroll the city streets, I half expect to stumble into some mad tea party or fall down some neverending rabbithole. Around every corner could be the Caterpillar smoking his hookah and ready to ask "Who are you?," or some cards surreptitiously painting roses red. On a daily basis I find myself saying what Alice said as the Cheshire Cat disappeared into nothing more than a peculiar grin, "It's the most curious thing I ever saw in all my life." In fact, there is so much to marvel at in New York that something that should be an uncanny occurrence can start to seem normal. It wouldn't be so strange to see a white rabbit look at his pocketwatch and then scurry off, complaining all the while about being late; it would just be another sight to add to the millions of strange characters and odd things and unrehearsed little happenstances that one can see every day in this paradise for the flâneur.

On the book jacket of Absurdistan, a novel by a gifted writer named Gary Shteyngart (who once owned a bear and walked it around the city on a leash), New York City is compared to Oz. Contrariwise! New York is no Oz. Dorothy's dreamland can't even compare to Alice's, and, subsequently, it can't come close to capturing the essence of New York City. No, New York is no Oz. New York is Wonderland. New York is a mad tea party. New York is curiouser and curiouser.

I decided that for my first real post (after the initial introductory one from yesterday) the most fitting thing to start with is the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park, just north of the Conservatory Water and it's plethora of remote-controlled sailboats. Since I first stumbled upon this statue years ago, it has remained my favorite piece of sculpture in all of New York City. I am obviously not alone in my admiration of it because it is also one of the hardest statues to get a picture of if you want a picture that doesn't have other people in it.

This statue, probably one of the most visited statues in the city, was commissioned by George Delacorte in honor of his wife Margarita. The artist, José de Creeft, crafted this sculpture from bronze and used John Tenniel's famous original drawings for Lewis Carroll's novel as a blueprint for his depictions of the characters.

Yes, I realize I just used "famous original" in the previous sentence in order to describe Tenniel's drawings, as though I were talking about Ray's Pizza. We'll get to "Famous Original" Ray's and trying to piece together where the "original" Ray's is in New York City another time. There's plenty of time to talk of those things to come. "The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things: of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--of cabbages--and kings--and why the sea is boiling hot--and whether pigs have wings." Whatever I end up talking about on this blog in the posts that follow, be it shoes, ships or sealing-wax, or anything else for that matter, I think it best to start off by letting Alice's dreamland infiltrate any conception of the city.

New York is Wonderland. New York is a mad tea party. New York is curiouser and curiouser. As the Cheshire Cat would say, "We're all mad here."

MORE INFO:
For the Curioser and Curioser!

JUST ANOTHER FLANEUR in JUST ANOTHER CITY

2009-10-01T02:58:00.004-04:00

The Big Apple

Once New York City has you, there's no going back. True, there are other places to visit, maybe even live for a short while, but you always keep coming back. Of course, New York doesn't have everyone who visits it or lives in it, but once you've been had, you've been had. There's no going back.

There's no going back for me; I've been had. Any time in my life when I haven't lived in New York City, I have spent the majority of the time complaining about the place I live in and go on and on extolling the virtues of the Big Apple--often annoying any friends I have in any other places. For me, no other place can live up. Oftentimes I get asked, "What's so special about New York City?" Or: "What would you be doing there right now that you can't do here?" This blog is my answer to those questions, and the million others like them. There are, of course, plenty of other New York blogs whose goals are similar: to show all the wonders one can see if one just opens one's eyes while walking through New York City. This blog is my addition to that choir of newyorkophiles. The blog is titled "Just Another Flâneur" because, in truth, that is all I am: just another flâneur, just another gentleman stroller of the streets.

Each post will be titled "Just Another _____________." Of course, the point of the blog is to prove the irony of these post titles: New York is not filled with "just anothers" but with extraordinary phenomena at every turn. It is easy, when one lives in New York, to forget that you can't see and hear and smell and taste and touch and do and participate in these things if you live in just another place. Of course, not everything I will post about will be a unique, unrepeatable miracle that only exists in New York City, but taken as a whole, the blog will show the breadth of possibility that New York offers and that I believe is not offered anywhere else.

Many of my friends in New York City have asked me about all the crazy things I do, all the long walks I take, all the events I attend and all the calendars I keep just to keep afloat in the chaos of near-infinite possibility this city has to offer. They often say, "Oh man, if I'd have known that was going on, I'd have totally gone." Or: "Weird? I walk by there every single day and I didn't know that was there." Or: "I wish I knew about all that stuff but it is just so overwhelming to try to keep track of it all." Besides being an answer to non-New Yorkers' questions about why I think NYC is the greatest city on Earth, this blog I hope will also act as a guide to New Yorkers as well. It will be a daily dose of something interesting in the city--things to do, things to see, things to know...

To put it simply, I want this blog to be an ultimate guide to New York City for anyone who is traveling here, living here, or living elsewhere but is still interested in what I think is the greatest place in the world...

The reason I believe NYC is the greatest place in the world will become clear as this blog progresses, but the simplest explanation I can give is that New York is the closest place to "infinite possibility." I think it is a natural human reaction to want infinite possibility. This is why as children we tend to believe in fairytales, and as adults we tend to believe in heaven--both offer infinite possibility, both allow your wildest dreams to come true. When things are finite, human beings grow stagnant. It is the idea of infinite possibility and the yearning for more that allows for innovation in the arts, in the sciences and in every other arena. Human beings like to test the boundaries, like to experience new things and explore new horizons. There is, sadly, no place that offers infinite possibility in this world. It is a myth like Hercules' labors, like Pizarro's El Dorado, and like George Washington's cherry tree. Though there is no place that truly offers infinite possibility, there are places that offer much more possibility than others. I'm of the opinion that New York City offers the closest to infinite possibility this side of heaven. And since I'm inclined to be skeptical even of heaven, perhaps the closest to infinite possibility in this life or any other.

Is this place really Just Another City? Or is it a lot more? Here it is, I give to you, Just Another City as witnessed by Just Another Flâneur. You be the judge.