fire escape garden

Phase One of my fire escape garden has begun!

I discovered my passion for gardening a few summers ago. I was spending time at my mom and dad's house in the countryside, and had a lot of leisure time on my hands. My mom encouraged me to start helping out in her large garden. She had flower beds, herbs and a lovely organic veggie garden. Since I didn't know anyone in the neighborhood and had too much free time, I took up my mom's offer -- and found out how much I loved being around plants. It was incredibly zen to pull up weeds, water seedlings and harvest fresh peppers and tomatoes. I quickly realized that I had a proverbial green thumb. Almost everything I took care of grew into hardy, healthy plants.

Fast forward to life in the city. I kept a few plants around in my room, but was sad that I couldn't have an outdoor garden. I began to miss sticking my hands in some dirt and dribbling water down my sleeves as I tended to my plants. When I moved into my new apartment I was thrilled to have a room with an easily accessible fire escape. (Mom was not so happy, however, but that's another story.) My new room was small and badly painted, but hey! It had outdoor access, more or less.

In the rush and hassle of moving last summer, I never got around to starting a garden. Now that I've been settled in at my current digs for roughly a year, I have more time to begin my summer gardening project.

I invested in some plants today, and am rather thrilled to begin a new chapter in my life: Urban Gardener! My fire escape planting has, among other things, aloe, basil, cilantro, ivy, lavender, peppermint, rosemary and three other plants I had previously. (I have no idea what they are, but they have survived hell and back and have perked up considerably since being outside.)

Here are some photos of my new garden and the view from my window:

The actual garden -- still under construction.

The boys enjoying some fresh air and sunshine.

The boys, part 2.

I still need to put my new plants in better pots. I'll do that in the next few days or so. At some point I may have to move my little babies to the roof, which would kind of suck but ensure that I can install an air conditioner in my window.

Pictorial updates of my gardening ventures will be posted here. Hopefully the green kiddies won't die. Urban gardening is more difficult than rural or suburban gardening, at least in my experience. You have less room, more pollution and a smaller range of plant types to work with. There's also the wind factor to think about, since it's blustery four stories above the ground and pots tend to get knocked over.

Keep your fingers crossed for my garden. However, I'm pretty sure that it will turn out very nice -- and my friends will benefit from having some fresh herbs to add to their cooking.

stoop sale mania

stoop2 /stup/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[stoop] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation,
–noun
a small raised platform, approached by steps and sometimes having a roof and seats, at the entrance of a house; a small porch.
[Origin: 1670–80, Americanism; <>step]

It seems that everyone has collectively decided to hold a stoop sale in my neighborhood today. The basic concept behind a stoop sale is that of a yard sale ... only, because this is a city, there aren't many yards -- but there are plenty of stoops.

Usually these urbanized version of yard sales happen on sidewalks. (I have no idea why they aren't called sidewalk sales instead of stoop sales.) Clothes are hung up on fence posts, tables are stacked with cooking supplies, and cardboard boxes are stuffed full of CDs and old VHS cassette tapes. It's quite fun to be walking along and suddenly have your eye be caught by a scratched up wooden gnome ornament or a table full of glass vases.

I walked past four such stoop sales this afternoon. Most were being held by people who were moving and wanted to get rid of their accumulated stuff over the years. One of the sales was a family looking to unload their kid's outgrown "junk" and yet another was being held by a group of roommates who wanted to earn some quick cash.

All were festive affairs. Yuppie mothers clad in khaki shorts and old, tired day laborers mingled together in picking over the discarded but well loved items of other people. Hands were brushing over everything, from record sleeves to knick knacks only a grandmother could love.

I was very tempted to purchase a large piece of pottery that would look very nice in my kitchen. It was a lovely piece, cast in browns and blues. There were a few cracks on the bottom and a chip on one of the sides was a bit obvious, but over all it was a lovely piece. Selling price? $2. I opted not to get it by rationalizing that I probably had no place for it. Someone will enjoy owning it, though.

I did end up one CD and one book richer (and $2 poorer). My old copy of Nine Inch Nails's Pretty Hate Machine had vanished from my CD collection sometime during my sophomore year of college. I got a $1 replacement of it today. I also picked up a copy of 'The Island' by Huxley. I read the first two chapters under a canopy of sunshine at the park, and thus far my $1 literary investment seems like a pretty good deal.

That's one of the wonderful things about this city ... you can always find something worthwhile to take home. Worthwhile and cheap, and maybe even free. The local bookstore has a bin they leave outside everyday full of books they are simply giving away. Most are novels that never quite made it, or not so memorable items such as the '1963 World Almanac', but it's fun to rummage around and sometimes find a treasure in the midst of junk.

Which reminds me of my single most favorite purchase ever in New York City. It was at the Stand Bookstore, that infamous mecca of literature. They had racks upon racks of $1 books outside of their store, and I found a copy of a 1963 book for children on the Soviet Union. It is a complete gem. Communism is presented in all her glory, black and white photographs dot the pages, and life in the various parts of the old S.U. are written about. Buying that book was the best way I have ever spent $1.

At any rate, happy Cinco de Mayo ... I have no idea what the holiday is about, but I do know that it involves Mexican food and beer. I am going to go take a nap (it's hot out!), eat, and then go out with a friend to some of the finer establishments in my neighborhood to celebrate this beautiful weather and the holiday I know nothing about.

update.

I've been giving my blog a facelift. It's a process that is still very much U.C. (under construction), but it should be finished pretty soon. All the various fonts and font sizes in previous entries are being changed to match a standard format, a few lay out issues are being fixed to make entries easier on the eye, and labels are being added to almost every post. These labels can be found at the bottom of each entry. They are by topic. Clicking on a label name will reveal a list of other entries about the same topic. So, for example, if you want to see all the posts on subways, click on the 'subway' label and, like magic, a list of postings about subways will pop up. Same for any other label, including photo, links and parks. Roughly 40% of previous posts have been labeled, and the remaining 60% will be done so shortly. (Can you tell I have lots of free time on my hands right now?!)

Just a note: I will not be changing the content of any previous entries. I'm probably going to leave most spelling errors in and the like. (It's me, so whatever!) I'm not editing myself for content or anything else. This is my blog and not a school essay. Thank God!

I'm still looking for suggestions on New Yorky things to write about. I might start getting into reviewing various places to eat and visit, but we'll see. At any rate, I'm trying to get back on track on keeping this a mostly city oriented blog. There are always personal elements in my entries, but I would hate for this blog to turn into a highly 'me centric' spot on the internet. The vast majority of blogs are so terribly boring because they deal with subjects no one cares about, such as Suzie's pet dog or Timmy's boyfriend problems. Ugh!

Check back soon. I'm in posting MANIA right now.

skywriting photo

Here's a photo of the skywriting as promised:

(note: I actually have a few more shots of this that I may post up soon.)

flying humanoid post #2

(ok crap, i meant to post this video instead of the one i did in the previous post:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hwus_nQm54&mode=related&search=

and some more video footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z0HBp66uJ4&mode=related&search=
(this is a very short video for anyone with ADD like me.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNbe0YWXUuc&mode=related&search=
(en espanol)

this stuff is like candy! addictive! i LOVE the internet.

flying humanoids?

So, normally I am not one to fall for internet hoaxes or doctored 'photographs' of UFOs. However, a recent flurry of 'flying humanoid' sightings over Mexico City has caught my interest.

First of all, check out the video of one of the sightings on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCULiv2A9dg
(Nice Phil Glass soundtrack, by the way ..)
Other videos are online. Do a search on youtube for 'flying humanoid.'

Now, I did a quick scan of articles on the topic I found on google.com. None of them come from scientific websites, and a lot of conspiracy theories abound about these "flying people."

Some quotes from various online sources:

In October 1, 2000, La Prensa newspaper from Mexico City published a report from a commercial airline pilot telling of sighting of a "little flying man" witnessed by him and the copilot during their
descent to Mexico City's airport.

According to the article: "A comercial airline pilot from AeroCalifornia who wanted to omit his name to avoid problems in his work reported the sighting of a "little flying man" who was flying at the same altitude of the plane before landing. According to the pilot this "flying man" had a kind of backpack in his back and was flying freely. The pilot added he saw perfectly well arms and legs.

-- found at http://www.rense.com/general66/humsan.htm which has photos.

On August 17th Santiago gave a stunning video presentation to LA MUFON (which Kris and I attended), when he showed different pieces of daytime footage, recorded by multiple individuals, of unidentified flying humanoids filmed in Mexico in 2004, including the entity observed above Colonia Valles de la Silla

-- found at http://www.cropcircleanswers.com/FlyingHumanoid.htm which has photos and 'eye witness accounts.' (this website is a bit nutty, though.)

Apparently a television crew from the Discovery Channel tried to debunk the flying humanoid myth by saying it was probably a bunch of balloons. However, it appears that these 'flying objects' are not balloons and look nothing like what balloons should should technically look like.

In a creepy and chilling news account, a police office in Mexico was apparently attacked at night by one of these flying creatures. The man described a female witch-like creature that tried to get at him through the windshield of a car.

There have been other sightings in France, England and California. The vast majority have been over Mexico City, however, and I'm not sure of the validity of the European or American claims.

UFO fanatics have been going nuts over this topic. While I don't believe aliens or witches have come down to earth to haunt us, it certainly is a riveting case. Some people have stated that it could be a secret government test for jet packs, or that someone has gotten a hold of one somehow and is using it to fly around. It's kind of neat to think that there is the slimmest of chances that something not quite human is lurking about the mountains of Mexico ... although I 99% doubt it. That 1% of me would like to believe otherwise though. If witches exist, that means unicorns and faeries might too. How cool would that be?! (Actually, I know that unicorns must exist somewhere. Love them!)

I want to look into this whole flying humanoid thing a bit further. I think I'm going to haul my butt down to the local library and see if I can dig up any news reports or footage that wasn't taken by conspiracy theory hounds.

If anyone knows anything about this, leave a comment and let me know what's up. It'd be something interesting to research on a rainy day ...

sky writing part II

Hello, duckies!

I'm writing you on this beautiful spring day. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the flowers are in full bloom. Even the trees are filling out with green leaves. This weather has brought out the best in everyone. Grouchy senior citizens are nicer than usual, Catholic school kids aren't as snotty as usual, and the fat hipped Latina mother next door has stopped arguing with her husband so much. Ah, peace and quiet!

Sitting on my roof this afternoon I noticed that three airplanes were working in tandem to spell out letters in the sky. It was my second dose of sky writing! I couldn't make out exactly what the words they spelled out said. However, I did manage to pick out 'London' 'Eos Airline' and something about New York. I took a photo with my cell phone, although it didn't turn out too well.

I'm in a good mood today, which should be evident from my brightly colored blog post. It isn't just the weather (which helps!) or the sky writing (which was neat). I think the biggest reason of all for my good mood is that FINALS ARE OVER. I've done enough final projects, exams and ethnographies to last a lifetime. I have one more class tonight and then I'm done for the semester. Even though I'll be taking summer courses, it's good to know I can put the past 15 weeks behind me and start something fresh and new.

Okay, moving on to a different topic: Sushi in New York City. I don't really eat the stuff as raw fish grosses me out, but I bravely went out for some this past Monday with a friend of mine. Actually, okay, I said I would order sushi, but I ended up sticking to something cooked and not half alive. At any rate, my friend ordered sushi ... and we both came to the same conclusion: DON'T order sushi on a Monday! The fish will have been sitting around all weekend unless the fish is bought fresh everyday. Icky icky.

Also ... why is grocery shopping so expensive in this city? It's absurd. I saw a box of cereal selling for over $5 the other day. Cat food is close to $6. The only things not outlandishly overpriced are foods in the international section of grocery stores! I can buy kimchi cheaper than I can a can of corn. That is sheer idiocy.

I recently got addicted to Freshdirect.com. Just browsing the website is one of the best ways to waste time online ever. They have a wide variety of brands and hard to get produce, plus a neat organic section. It is also, at times, cheaper than regular grocery stores. The prepared meals are expensive, but I never go those so it's not an issue. Anyway, I recommend checking out the website if you like food and shopping.

As an ending to this post, I'd like to say that this color scheme is in honor of my friend 'dissent.' He'll know what I'm talking about!

Photo of the sky writing to (maybe) be posted shortly, plus another entry about something very New Yorky.

in the park

Things I saw at the park today:

a squirrel running up the side of a tree

an old man and his dog

two orthodox jewish boys walking through the grass

a young man lifting his girlfriend up and spinning her in the air

some guy skateboarding in circles

many, many dogs on leashes

a few very cute dogs on leashes

birds

buzzing bees

no butterflies, sadly

old pine straw turning brown under a tree

a woman talking on her cellphone

blue skies

the shadow of a plane passing overhead

children laughing

green grass

a mother and her child sitting on a picnic blanket

a couple kissing in the sunlight

a boy playing guitar

dead branches resting on the ground

a paper blag blowing by

my red sandals resting in the grass

a beach towel

fat men on lawn chairs

lawn chairs with no fat men sitting on them

a discarded soda can

girls in school uniforms

bare branches not yet in bloom

dust

dirt

a police car

an empty parking lot

benches

wire fences placed around newly sown patches of grass

my face, which i took a picture of on my cell phone camera and then erased

good weather at last!

Finally! Real spring weather is here!

I spent my afternoon in the park, relaxing and reading the newest issue of Vanity Fair. There were so many people out, from parents with their kids to couples strolling through the grass. It was a glorious day, full of sun and squirrels and budding tree leaves.

After my sojourn in the park I hit up the local coffee shop for some frozen yogurt and a huge chunk of fudge cake. $6 poorer but a pound heavier (and a lot happier) I made my way back to the apartment to teach a music lesson and bask in the happiness of not having to do anything today.

I'm playing around with my blog formatting. So much of it depends on visual appeal, and my newer posts have been ugly to look at. They never format correctly anymore. I'm not sure if it has to do with the new version of blogger, but it's very frustrating. I'll be experimenting for the next few posts, so I apologize in advance for any weird looking entries or strange fonts. I'll try to keep things as simple and quick loading as possible.

Please let me know what works and what doesn't. Input is greatly appreciated, as long as it isn't too rude.

life

dreary day

Dear New York,

Please stop raining.

Love,

me

***

Seriously, though. All the weather has been doing for the past several days is blustering about, full of Gloom and Doom. The sky has a leaden look to it, raindrops keep falling from the sky and the trees are full of plastic bags that have blown into their branches from all the wind. I feel like I'm stuck in monsoon season in South Asia. The subway tunnels have become dripping and damp caverns and the sidewalks have turned into ponds. I'm expecting everything to start growing mildew and slime soon. I'm reminded of a short story by Ray Bradbury about space travelers who wind up on a planet where it constantly rains, only to be taken over by man eating kudzu-like plants that grow constantly because of all the moisture.

It's true the rain has lessened in the past day or two, but it's still depressingly gray outside. I normally like wet weather, but this is getting excessive. I feel like I'm living in Seattle, not New York City.

On top of that, it's finals time again for me ... which means much stress and irritation at professors who demand idiotic papers and long answers to essay questions on exams. Trying to study while it's dismal outside makes the task much harder for some reason. This time last year I could study in a park somewhere and get some sunshine, but no such luck this season.

I'm also starting to feel obsessive about certain matters in my personal life. I am the sort of person who latches on to something and worries it to death. Literally. I beat dead horses and the whole bit. Maybe it's the fact I'm cooped up inside all day because of the crap weather, but I am starting to go a little nutty with all this thinking. Thinking, thinking, thinking. It never ceases. I try to fall asleep at night and I'm thinking. I attempt to study and I'm thinking. I write a paper for school and I'm thinking. I stare at my instrument and I'm thinking. Obsessively thinking. The truly irritating part is that it's never anything new. It is always the same thing, the same issue that is probably not fixable and is going to continue to drive me apeshit insane.

I keep hoping for a break in this weather. Perhaps with some sunshine and daisies I can get my mind off of matters that aren't going to be resolved anytime soon. But, then again ... this is me that we're talking about. So probably not. I like to think otherwise, though.

Anyway.

Enough about myself and how dreary April is.

Hopefully the next post will be much more uplifting to read. One can always dream, right? (Just kidding. It will be.)

Dollar Hunters in Manhattan

The West 4th Street stop in Manhattan seems to attract all kinds of interesting characters. I enjoy going there because I'm never sure of who's going to be standing around looking for money in creative ways. Normally the whole begging thing irritates me, but I have to hand it to the folks who congregate at West 4th Street. They've taken Dollar Hunting to a whole new level.

For example, there's a man who plays slide guitar on select evenings. He sits in a metal folding chair while playing the same songs over and over. He's old, grungy and looks like he hasn't brushed his hair in a decade. The man never talks, not even a thank you for those who toss change into his guitar case. I've never seen him smile or even change facial expressions. He just sits there playing away, with a scowl on his face that's more Scrooge than Street Musician. I always wonder what his story is. Does he have a regular job? Is he some old drunk? Has he ever been married or have any kids? If he has kids, do they scowl all the time like he does?

Then there's the fat lady who sells ugly trinkets and strange teddy bears on the street above the subway exit. Her creations are bizarre, to say the least. She lines everything up in a row and looks patiently on as people walk by her wares. I have no idea if she ever sells anything. All I know is that she's almost always there and has her bears and plastic baubles set up in exactly the same way every time I see her.

The one Dollar Hunter that stands out most in my mind was a fellow who I've seen only once. He was sitting on the steps down to the subway entrance with a baseball cap full of change beside him. A beautiful little kitten was next to this hat, eating away at a morsel of food. It was obviously his pet, and they were both homeless. I think everyone was softened up by the sight of the cat, because the old man seemed to be doing well in the money department. His grungy cap was full of change and one dollar bills.

I've also seen a very intoxicated man hauling around a plastic garbage bag full of cans, weaving drunkenly through the waves of subway passengers as he looked through trash cans for more soda cans. He was wearing a rainbow hat that was utterly absurd, and muttered all sorts of interesting insults about police under his breath. He smelled awful, a mix of unwashed feet and gin being sweated out through dirty pores. If trolls exist, then this man was one of the tribe.

All in all, a very interesting group of people. I should also mention two other characters that are always at this subway stop. One is a flute player who plays jazz standards. Having made my way past him multiple times (and wincing in the process), I can say that flutes sound awful underground. They echo in mammoth blasts for yards, making everyone feel like they've been exposed to the shrieking of a banshee. The other musician always there is slightly less annoying. He plays a keyboard and thinks he's Stevie Wonder. He belts out tunes, letting his voice carry over the heads of everyone walking by. At first he sounds pretty good, but after a few listens, you realize he really isn't. His voice isn't very strong, and he is certainly no Stevie.

I wonder what other Dollar Hunters I will discover. The warmer months always bring out more people, strange ones included. Perhaps I'll see more trolls in rainbow hats, or old women selling hideously dressed teddy bears. Who knows. What is certain is this: I will be writing about them all, new and old discoveries alike.

photos: central park & yankees stadium

I've been slack in the whole blog updating department. Blame it on school and life.

Anyway, because I'm too lazy to actually type an entry today, here are some low quality cell phone photos of life in the Big Apple. (Also, please note: blogger can't seem to get it together and format entries correctly anymore, so excuse how this looks.)

yankees stadium, april 6 '07

(GO ORIOLES!)

(they won, by the way.)

central park at the end of december '06

sky writing in central park, december '06

more photos to come at some point and yes, an actual post with more words and no pictures.

yet another pictorial update ...

First things first. It seems that comments are still not working on this blog, despite the fact I've updated it. Blogger is seriously dropping the ball. (Booo!) I do have a website set up at wordpress if need be, and may shortly be shifting my entire blog over to there. Hopefully comments will work there if I do. I kind of hate keeping a blog that no one can comment on -- it feels very undemocratic, or like the world is giving me the silent treatment! (Which would be fair if I was purposely trying to block comments.)

Anyway. To end this post on a note of amusement, I present you with another vandalized poster I found in the subway system. These things are gems, I tell ya.

because these make me laugh ... (in a good way)

Things seen around New York City this past month ...

Somehow a poster for a coat drive turns into one advertising a goat drive.

(At the Fort Hamilton Parkway stop in Brooklyn.)


















Closer inspection of the poster reveals that the Statue of Liberty is, after all these years, homeisck for France ...































My friend Devon poses outside of the food lover's haven Big Wong Restaurant.


(taken in China Town, on Mott Street, Manhattan.)

A toilet grows in Brooklyn.
(taken on 16th street.)

New York is full of weird surprises ... gotta love it.

youtube spectacular

Because I'm (still) so happy that my comments are working again on the blog, I'm posting up even more youtube goodness. I know that being happy and youtube really don't have much in common, but hey, youtube videos can make you happy.

Here are a few hand selected goodies.

My Favorite Tom & Jerry Cartoon Ever (the Hungarian Rhapsody one)
Baby penguin learning to walk (very cute)
Crazy Indian Music Video 1 (in honor of my trip there)
Crazy Indian Music Video 2 (the tune is catchy)
Kitty Exercise Wheel

Ok, that's all for now. Dinner awaits.

But before I go ...

REJOICE! THE COMMENTS ARE WORKING!!

comments work again!

Alright! COMMENTS WORK AGAIN!

Comment away, kiddos.

Also, ones made earlier are all showing up now. Apparently there is a blog god out there!

To celebrate, I'm posting a link to one of the strangest youtube videos I have ever seen. It's old (I saw it last year), but it never ceases to amaze me. It's of a new sport taking over Europe, and is basically a guy doing crazy stunts. I'm talking insane here, people. He's obviously had gymnastic training. Turn the volume down, since the music is kind of crap -- but watch the whole video, it's worth it.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LOKvvcBxVQ

blue day

So.

It's been awhile.

There's no excuse, really. The point of having a blog is updating it, and I'm pretty slack in that department. I know I threatened to stop posting entirely not too long ago, but I'll admit, that was all bluffing. Sheer, lying, lousy bluffing.

I was feeling very down for several weeks. I'm not offering that up as a reason for why I haven't updated this thing, but it probably was a minor factor. Very down, very out, very 'blue' as they say.

I had on Thom Yorke's album 'The Eraser' on non-stop repeat, which didn't help matters. It's a beautiful CD, but it can make dark days seem bleaker. There was one song in particular that I kept listening to. I don't know which track number (7, maybe?) but it's called 'Harrowdown Hill.' Yorke apparently referred to it as "the most angry song" he'd written in his life (according to the ever unreliable Wikipedia, anyway). It doesn't sound angry, but at the same time, the lyrics cut to the bone, as does the production, which is unrelenting and hard. The musical lines are sharp and tense, until they collapse under the weight of what they convey, blurring into an underwater world of sonic relief.

Anyway. The song is supposedly about Dr. David Kelly, who died under mysterious circumstances in 2003 after questioning some aspects of the Iraq War. Kelly's body was found at Harrowdown Hill in Oxfordshire, England. The lyrics, though, mesh with whatever you want them to be about -- in my case, little black clouds of personal crapola.

Another reason I've been avoiding updating is that I am dissatisfied with the blog. Part of me wants to go back and clean up old entries for spelling and grammatical mistakes. There's also a piece of my inner critic that is insisting I do some tidying up, some editorial work. The 'artistie' in me is refusing, however, on the grounds that it's my blog and spelling/grammar/whatever mistakes be damned.

I haven't made a decision yet on what I'm going to do. There's also the fact I need to move the blog to another server, since this one sucks and no one can comment anymore. Perhaps when I move it I will also fix it up some.

Until then -- whenever it may be -- I will keep plugging away, and adding entries as I go. (Blue days being an exception.)

Oh, and yes, I'm feeling better.

the man in subway station

It has been bitterly cold the past few days. An inescapable, down-to-your bones kind of chill. Having gone from a string of balmy days, this type of weather feels like a slap in the face. Literally. The frigid air produces the same results as getting hit -- that same burning, punishing and stinging sensation. The cold also turns skin pink, which might be attractive except it reminds me of someone who has just been slapped (hard) in the face. It's an ugly pink, not a blushing, nice kind of pink.

Even worse than the cold air, though, is seeing people suffering from the weather. I realize I live in a great city, but there are groups of New Yorkers who seem to fall through the cracks and end up in not so great places. Case in point: the homeless man I saw this evening at my subway stop. He was curled up by the stairs, in the warmest place he could find. The man had no blanket, no jacket, no mittens and no hat. People walked by him with barely a glance, without making any overtures to help him. I admit that I walked by him without helping, too -- he was sleeping and I was afraid of waking him up.

Part of me wanted to go buy him a cup of coffee, or drop an old blanket over him. Something. Anything. However, I know from experience that a lot of these guys you try to help don't always want it. I've seen grown men selling the food and clothing that people have given them, and I've been yelled at before for giving someone an apple instead of a dollar.

If I see the guy again, I might drop off a hat. Even if he ends up selling it, at least he'll be warm for a little while.

I have to wonder ... a few months ago, one of my friends was telling me about this man who lived in our local subway stop. I had never seen this fellow, and couldn't believe a homeless person actually hung out in my very middle class, white collar neighborhood. My friend swore up and down however that his guy did, and what was more, he had once been a business professional who had gotten into heavy drug use and lost everything.

I have no idea if the man I saw tonight is the same person my friend was talking about, but if so, how sad. And even if not, it's still sad that there are people who have to spend the night on the cement floors of subway stops to stay warm.

vandals

Two posters from the 86th Street Subway Station (Downtown Platform) in Manhattan. This is what I call 'creative marketing' -- vandals taking over otherwise boring advertising posters and making them far more interesting with a few scribbles.

keyspan is the osama bin laden of gas supply companies: evil, corrupt and utter crap.

If you live in New York City, don't get your gas from Keyspan. Not only did they shut off the gas to our apartment by accident, it happened a month ago. The repairmen from Keyspan, who made several appointments to come and fix the situation, have never shown up. Not even once. The super of our apartment building even came to watch our apartment one time to wait for the Keyspan people, and no one showed up.

Today, I've been in the apartment since 8am waiting for a stupid Keyspan employee to show up and remedy the situation. Not only has no one stopped by, Keyspan failed to inform me that they had magically switched the appointment time until Thursday morning. Naturally, I flipped my shit (so to speak) and told them they had to come today. After assuring me someone would come around the apartment by 3 or 4pm, I've now been informed that it's likely no one will stop by until 8pm.

The customer service for Keyspan is possibly even worse than crappy old Time Warner, who also like to jerk people around and lie a lot. Who hires employees that yell at people on the phone? Oh wait, that's right. Keyspan!

So, seriously, take my advice: tell Keyspan to go suck an egg, and get your gas from somewhere else. Buy a cow and let it fart methane in your house, or something. That would be a much better option than dealing with the fascists at Keyspan.

.

Happy New Year.

I'm not really updating right now, because no one is reading this thing anymore.

I'll post again once my need for self indulgence has to be met. Until then ...

ciao.

pigeons

photo of pigeons i took in kathmandu, nepal '06

i found this in some (old) notes of mine and thought ...

pigeons get no love.

so, to all the birds, here's a post for you.

and no, this is not meant to be taken seriously!

Ode to the Pigeons

You are so cute
although you always poop.

well, there ya have it.

my pigeon poetry.

(i think finals are really starting to make me go mildly insane. apologies for the weird post.)

(but i still think pigeons are cute.)

random things ... heard on the subway/subway & sidewalk sightings

Seen In The Past Few Weeks At The Bryant Park Subway Station:

* A little boy, who was merrily peeing against a wall inside of the station while his parents held his pants down around his ankles.

* An old Chinese woman, performing Christmas carols on traditional Chinese instruments ... which were still tuned in a non-Western scale. 'Silent Night' never sounded so unsettling.

* The old man who's always performing classical violin on the downtown platform. I never give him any money (I never have any), but I always wonder if he actually ever gets any students from his homemade sign that states 'I TEACH VIOLIN LESSONS!'

* A wheelchair bound beggar who became increasingly belligerent when no one gave him any spare change. I almost stuck around to see if he was going to start running people over.

* That guy always shilling his group's rap CD ("We do NOT degrade women!) and promotional materials for 1 dollar on the F train. "Best deal in the ci-tay. 8 songs for 1 dollar." Seriously. He's there almost everyday, and I've literally seen about 3 people purchase a CD from him.

* A pigeon flying around the uptown platform. Hello? You're a bird. Go back outside.

Seen In The Past Few Weeks On Various Sidewalks Around My Neighborhood:

* An old refrigerator

* A king sized mattress

* Baby pacifier (That struck me as sad, for some reason.)

* Books -- thanks to whoever provided me with a copy of the MLA Guide to Research Papers. Woohoo.

* Shoes

* A lamp and lampshade

Heard On The Subway:

* Conversation between a little girl and her father:
Little Girl: (looking at the drag queens standing near her) "Daddy, why are those boys dressed up like girls?"
Father: "Well, honey, sometimes men like to dress up like women ... "

* Street preacher to everyone in the same subway car:
"Men must stop lusting after women's butts. Jesus does not want men to look at women's butts. MEN MUST STOP WANTING WOMEN'S BUTTS." (etc etc ... I almost asked him if 'behind' or 'rear' would have been a better word choice than butts for a holy man, but whatever.)

sugar overdose

Have you ever had that 'I Ate Too Much Sugar And Now Want To Die' feeling?
Because I have. Right now, in fact.
It ain't pretty.

(Symptoms of sugar excess for anyone not in the know: being tired, cranky & overfed.)

During a walk today I came across 'Two Little Red Hens Bakery' on eighth avenue in Brooklyn. (http://www.twolittleredhens.com/) I was with a friend who owed me $5, so we oh-so brilliantly decided that the best way to even up the financial situation was to buy me cupcakes and/or sweets.

The interior of the shop was very nice -- think Park Slope Yuppie meets downhome country -- and full of the typical whitebread couples who seem to frequent such places. The bakery itself was small, but packed full of shelves lined with tarts, pies, cakes and cupcakes. Heeeeeeeaven! (Cue in Belinda's Carlisle 'Heaven on Earth' if you're reading this to music.) Everything looked incredible, in that picture perfect Martha Stewart Living kind of way. All the cakes and cupcakes were deocrated with a heavy coating of icing and artful/edible flowers. They looked like every cake I had ever wanted at my birthday parties as a little kid.

Naturally, being such a nice place, everything cost an exorbitant amount. Cupcakes were more expensive than the ones over at Magnolia's, and cakes were as high as $40. My friend and I just stood there for awhile in stunned silence, switching back and forth between coveting the food and loathing the cost of it. Perky salesgirls kept popping up from behind the shelves asking us if we needed help. I felt like we were surrounded by a magical breed of overly helpful cupcake baking elves or something.

I ended up spotting a cake that was on sale for $5. At 4" around, it was the only item of that size that was under $12. My friend got it for me, and we took it to my apartment, reverently sliced it in half, and chowed down...

... which explains why I feel so sick right now. Death by sugar. (Or else maybe there was some dark, twisted reason it was on sale for $5 ... poisoned, maybe?)

Not that anyone much cares, but here is a hideously lit picture of the cake:

Oh, and I forgot to mention that it was a pretty delicious cake. Homemade frosting, good texture, the whole bit. Yummy. It did, however, eradicate any desire I have had to consume sugar. Right now I feel like avoiding the stuff for the next week.

"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.

a falcon in prospect park

Autumn is here. She’s been creeping in slowly, one step at a time, and has finally arrived in her full glory. The air is cool and crisp, the kind you drink in like water and let burn deep in your lungs and belly. Red and gold leaves cover the sidewalks, but the trees still blaze forth in technicolor blasts. During the day, the sun has that special October way of gilding everything with a soft light, and in the evening, the skies are clear and lit up with stars.

In the neighborhood people have been decorating for Halloween. One brownstone has been draped in orange lights, complete with smiling plastic jack o’ lanterns that are lit up from the inside. They glow and glower with delighted ferocity from the windows, stopping people in their tracks as they look up and stare at them. Stores are selling pumpkins by the dozen, and I’ve seen more than one woman walking around with one cradled in her arms, looking like a lumpy, orange baby. Ah, and the candy! It’s everywhere. Store shelves are dripping with the stuff, layer after layer of all things tasty. Snickers, Mars Bars, Paydays, Nerds, Kandy Korn, Twizzlers, Gummy Bears, SweeTarts, Gobstoppers, lollipops, Hershey Kisses, edible buttons, M&Ms and Skittles galore. (Marshmallows. Taffy. Red dye and sugar. Heaven.)

I love this time of year. There’s the obvious reasons -- my birthday is during this season, the pleasure of eating pumpkin seeds, colorful trees -- and the less obvious ones, like the quality of sunlight and that expectant, almost anxious feeling in the air. I thrive on it. I love pulling out my old sweaters and putting them on, and I love chasing through piles of leaves. Seeing the squirrels rummage around for acorns in the park, watching kids get excited over Halloween costumes -- it’s all so autumn. So exhilarating.

Today, as a token of thanks for my gratitude, the season gave me a special gift. I was walking through Prospect Park, enjoying the sights and sounds of late October. The park was crowded, full of people on bikes, horses (!) and on foot in sensible foot wear. Both the yuppies and hood rats were out, and everyone was getting along fine.

As I was taking in this scene, I was thinking how close to nature you can get in the city. It was a thought that was still being formulated in my mind when, from the top of a tall tree, a huge falcon swooped down. He flung himself over to a neighboring branch, chasing after a squirrel. It was all very Discovery Channel, and not a single other soul was witnessing it.

The bird flew directly over and in front of me. I could see every detail of the creature, from the coloring of the wings to the sharp pointed beak and talons. The sight was incredibly touching and strange at the same time. A falcon? In Brooklyn?

I followed the bird for a short while, watching him swoop from tree to tree in search of dinner. The entire time no one else saw him. I tried to take a picture but my phone memory was full, and by the time I looked up from my phone, he was gone.

Those who are close with me know that hawks are very special and important to me. Although this wasn’t a hawk I saw, the falcon was equally meaningful. The bird was a beautiful gift, and one that apparently was just for me.

If I see the bird again, I’ll be sure to post about it. Hopefully I will!

photos: brooklyn rooftop, part II

That's all the cell phone pictures for now.

photos: brooklyn rooftop, part I

I've been writing papers all week (and will be doing more this weekend), so I don't feel like writing much here today. Instead of my usual prose entry, I decided to post up some photos I took on my cell phone camera of a Brooklyn rooftop. They aren't great, and the quality isn't too hot (hello, cell phone camera!) but I think they represent Brooklyn pretty well, in terms of all the random and interesting things there are to look at here. Hope you like, or at least gain a little flavor of Brooklyn from them.

RSS Feed Problem

Please note, that reading from RSS Feed may cause errors in the blog, and an entry might not load. Please come directly to this site, via the webpage!

Sorry, I'm not sure what is causing the problem. Honestly, I have no clue what an RSS Feed is, but my friend kindly pointed out the problem to me, so I'm doing my duty by passing it on.

Let me know if there are any further technical difficulties.

Also, don't forget to check (and comment) on my travel blog. Updated recently, with an entry and new photo. Enjoy!

More postings will be put up soon, here and at the travel blog.