"if you have to sleep on a subway, the E train is the best place to do it."

I'm in the midst of working on a research paper on homeless people living in the subway tunnels of New York City. Known as 'mole people,' they have entire communities underground. Several books have been written on the topic, and there's a good documentary out on it as well, Marc Singer's 'Dark Days.'

While doing my research this afternoon, I came across some interesting things. One is a quote I read in an article from the February 12, 2002 edition of the New York Times about the homeless sleeping on subway cars. According to the report, "if you have to sleep on a subway, the E train is far and away the best place to do it. Or perhaps a more accurate way to phrase it would be that the E is indisputably the least undesirable place to spend the night on a moving subway train."

Hmm. So, if you want to spend the entire night riding around in a subway car, apparently the E train is the best place to do it. Interesting, interesting. I always knew something was up with that train!

I never ride the E (preferring the A or C trains), but I can vouch for the fact that homeless people do sleep in subway cars. Just the other day I stepped onto an F train and was assaulted by the worst smell of urine I have ever encountered in my life. I looked over and a homeless man was sprawled along three seats, passed out to the world. A long stream of pee had soaked through the bottom of his pants. This being New York, everyone else in the car took it in stride. However, at the next stop, a young man got on the train, sat down near the homeless guy, and then started sniffing at the air. He turned to me and asked, "Does it smell like piss in here?" I started laughing -- I couldn't help it -- and gave an affirmitive answer. Yup, it smells like urine in here!!

Anyway, enough about homeless men peeing on themselves. Getting back on to the topic of interesting things I've discovered during my research, I have a website for anyone interested in abandoned subway tunnels. http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/ <-- right there, folks.
It has a large list (with photos) of old subway stations, tunnels and platforms in the city. Being the geek that I am, I find this very interesting. Equally dorky is this website about NYC's first subways: http://wt.mit.edu/Subway/Archives/Project.html <--right there.

Last, but not least, two websites that have photographs of mole people and/or aboveground homeless:
http://www.fragiledwelling.org/
and
http://www.artcoup.com/movie.html

gobble gobble.

Oh, and woops ...

Happy Belated Thanksgiving.

Thank you genetically modified turkeys everywhere, for the precious gift of your tasty bird flesh.

Gobble gobble.

bond. james bond.

Okay, so I have a confesion to make. Well, two actually.

1) I probably overreacted to the anonymous comment made two posts ago. I'm still standing by what I wrote, but I (quite possibly) (maybe sorta) was a little over the top in my defense of chimps. As Erykah Badu says, "I'm an artist and I'm sensitive about my shit." So yeah. I jumped the gun in getting snippy on that one.

2) I have a crush on the new James Bond.

Pictorial evidence as to why:

I just saw the new James Bond 'Casino Royale' the other night and highly recommend it. I normally loathe the whole spies with big guns genre, but this time I actually enjoyed it. Lots of car chases, exploding objects, good looking ladies and the like. Did I mention the car chases?

Actually, I'm not going to lie. I'm crushing on James Bond's car far more than him.

The proof is in the pudding:

Foxy, foxy.

I heard a lot of rumors that the new Bond flick would be terrible. Multiple websites and magazines stated that Daniel Craig (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0185819/) was shaping up to be a sketchy (at best) Bond. However, I have to say, Big D is rockin' the whole English Spy thing. As for the movie -- well, it lags towards the end, but it's still pretty damn enjoyable.

In other news, me thinks that I'm going to be updating the travel blog sometime this century (!!) ... possibly even tonight. Check it at some point this week.

Oh yeah -- and go save some chimps!

a response to a comment posted ...

Someone made a comment about my last post, asking why I wasn't advocating helping people. (Well, in their words, 'peoples.') I understand the sentiment, but it's a little inaccurate. I am all for helping folks out, and I certainly do believe that there are many women, men and children out there who need our time, energy and love. By posting up a charity for chimps, I am in no way taking away from helping people out.

I strongly feel that the charity I posted is a beautiful cause, which is why I posted it. I was deeply moved by what I watched about it, and I could see in the faces of the rescued chimps the horrors and abuses that had been inflicted on them. They were treated worst than prisoners in solitary confinement. These creatures were, in essence, victims of torture. There is no excuse for a human being to treat another living creature this way, and that is my point in making the previous post. Some people make the argument that an animal is worth less than a human, which I don't buy. Because a creature is a chimp does not make him (or her) less valuable as a living, breathing, thinking being.

If you want to help out your peers, I suggest calling up homeless shelters, rape crisis centers, Boys & Girls clubs, and other such organizations. See what you can do to help out. These are well known parts of society, and I assume that if you are so intent on helping out people, you'd already know where and how to do so.

In all honesty, if you are the type of person who doesn't value animals and thinks that helping them out is a waste of time, please stop reading my blog. I don't want you reading my stuff.

Simple as that.

Peace.

save the chimps foundation

I've been having wrist issues (minor tendinitis) lately, so I have been avoiding typing much. However, I just signed up for physical therapy and my condition seems to be improving with much needed rest and relaxation.

That said, I'm going to make this entry pretty short. I had to post about it though, because this topic made such an impression on me that I felt it was important to share it with others. I encourage you to seriously check out the website linked below, and to make donations (or adopt an animal!) if you can afford to do so.

The other night, on Channel 13 PBS, I watched a show on the US Government's horrible abuses of chimpanzees in the Air Force. They'd use these poor animals for all kinds of testing, including crash tests and launching them into space. Many died or suffered horrible injuries. When the Air Force stopped using chimps for testing, they were sold off to medical labs where they endured further mistreatment, including being infected with HIV and other diseases. The chimps -- which are very similar to humans and very social creatures -- were kept locked in tiny cages and basically kept in solitary confinement for years. These labs also bought former pets from families and circuses who had been stupid enough to purchase wild chimps as babies. Many were torn from their families and stuck in cold steel cages, never to be really touched by a human (or another chimp) again. Many died while under the 'care' of these labs, including several who were heated to death when a heater malfunctioned, literally cooking them until they were killed. It is important to point out that these chimps have no access to natural sunlight, windows or fresh air.

There is an organization working to rescue these very human creatures. The organization is called Save The Chimps, and they have a website at http://www.savethechimps.org/. They are doing incredible things to try and help these poor creatures out. Many of the animals psychologically damaged, and some have never been outdoors in their life! This foundation is working to give them all a beautiful new home in Florida, where they can live out their last years in sunshine, warmth and a habitat that is fitting for such creatures.

At the website you can adopt a chimp, donate supplies (they have a wish list, including basics like honey and blankets), or donate money. You can also work as a volunteer if you live in New Mexico or Florida.

I will be donating my own money to this cause. I think the holidays are a great time to give to others, and why not our closest relatives in the animal world? Seriously, please consider checking out the website. I promise you it's worth it, and it's a wonderful cause. Do something you can feel good about!

lic & the marathon.

... just a few things.

go see the new borat movie.

long island city is kind of nice, in a vaguely dirty kind of way. it has a nice run-down feeling that parts of nyc seem to be losing quickly ... me likey the grunge factor.

the marathon is happening this sunday, november the 5th. if you're going, i suggest catching a view of the runners somewhere (most anywhere) along 4th ave in brooklyn, starting in sunset park. last year they had music playing near 25th st and 4th ave by the dunkin donuts. it's right off the 25th st stop on the 'r' train. just a heads up if you're going to be in the area.

this ends my post.

oh, and P.S.:

classical musicians really are geeks. but i love us anyway.