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.