Good lord! NYC is rife with stories about tenants putting up with eccentric landlords. But this is downright shameful, or simply criminal. To hell with Heskel Properties, who tried everything they could to force the tenants out of the rent-stabilized apartment at 64 Troutman Street, which is 8 blocks or so from me(!). Deplorable.
Should you decide to go to their offices and urinate in a secluded corner of the office...
64 Troutman. Debris from the stairway (between 1st and 2nd floor) that was ripped out and replace with plywood stairs, to the surprise of the unwitting tenants.
This has been an ongoing thing. When asked in April about the stench emanating from the vacant first floor apartment where the stairway debris had been dumped, Mr. Heskel--the supposed building manager--said, “Nobody has called me about a smell. What do you mean it smells? I closed the door. What’s the big deal?”
Hats off to Kennedy Rivera and the Bushwick Housing Independence for helping these tenants--and other Bushwick tenants--stand up for their housing rights.
29 September 2008
Gave 'Em Hell
On the morning of the biggest game of the season, Dale Sveum scrawled a terse message to his men on the clubhouse chalkboard, Give 'em hell. And my oh my, a hell of a game it was. Me and my burly bud split our attention between the Brewers game on the computer to our left and the Mets game on TV to our right, nervously guzzling a twelve pack of Miller Lite. As the Brewers pulled out triumphant, we ran around the apartment, high-fiving each other, yelping in joy. Then we watched the Mets stumble into '08 oblivion, being effectively dismantled just like their beloved Shea soon.
I've never watched baseball this meaningful, this exciting. Wish I could have been at Miller Park, watching the final out of the Mets game with the Crew, standing in front of their dugout, with the 45,200-some-odd fans, the sound of corks popping in our head, knowing I'm going to call off work the next day. Still, running around the apartment like a nut, knowing I'll be watching a playoff game this week with an actual stake in it, tickled enough.
Wow!
I've never watched baseball this meaningful, this exciting. Wish I could have been at Miller Park, watching the final out of the Mets game with the Crew, standing in front of their dugout, with the 45,200-some-odd fans, the sound of corks popping in our head, knowing I'm going to call off work the next day. Still, running around the apartment like a nut, knowing I'll be watching a playoff game this week with an actual stake in it, tickled enough.
Wow!
28 September 2008
Do or Die
It's come down to the 162nd game of the season for the Brewers to make the playoffs for the first time since '82. The September Slip really hurt the Brewers, but they've clawed their way back just enough to stay even with the Mets in the wildcard race.
Living in NYC, my allegiance to my hometown teams in Milwaukee hasn't waivered; in fact, it's strengthened it. I even bought a Cooperstown '78 retro road hat to represent, apparently much to the detriment of my wardrobe. Too many spoiled New Yorkers wear Yankee hats; they're easy to dismiss as the brats of baseball. But with the Mets, it's a little different. They're disgruntled with their team's uncanny ability to screw up when it counts; something a Brewer fan can relate to. And with this the last season in Shea, it makes their playoff run all the more special.
BUT, the Brewers really deserve a playoff berth. New York will always have a huge market for their teams, high payroll, plenty of people to pack the stadiums. But Milwaukee home-brewed their talent in their farm system. These guys have known and played ball together for years (Rickie Weeks was Prince Fielder's Best Man at his wedding). They're young, they're passionate, and baseball in Milwaukee hasn't been this exciting ever (being born in '82, I missed out). I remember attending the filming of Major League when I was a youngin. I remember being confused by how many people were in the stadium and why they were cheering so loud. In the last two years at Miller Park, the stadium has been even more raucaus. Fans actually had something to cheer and care about, and not just drunkenly jeer at their own team. Going to County Stadium/Miller Park was like going to a really big bar/party where there happen to be a baseball game being played (I'll be the first to admit that I used to go to games and not remember who the starting pitchers were or the final score).
I'd say odds are with the Mets. They should take 2/3 from the Marlins. Brewers have struggled in the latter half of the season against the Cubs, who own the best record in the NL. While the Cubs will not be playing for anything and probably be resting their big talent, they are still tough and will gladly strive to ruin the Brewers' year, as the heated I-94 rivalry culminates today (hopefully to be rekindled in the post-season).
This is good flippin baseball.
I've been very, very critical of the Crew all year. For the past three years, actually. But it's because, these days, they actually have a chance to compete. They're damn good, and it's exciting. Expectations are high. But come what may, they have my unconditional love (cue music). Helluva season, fellas. Tip of the hat!
GO BREWERS!
Living in NYC, my allegiance to my hometown teams in Milwaukee hasn't waivered; in fact, it's strengthened it. I even bought a Cooperstown '78 retro road hat to represent, apparently much to the detriment of my wardrobe. Too many spoiled New Yorkers wear Yankee hats; they're easy to dismiss as the brats of baseball. But with the Mets, it's a little different. They're disgruntled with their team's uncanny ability to screw up when it counts; something a Brewer fan can relate to. And with this the last season in Shea, it makes their playoff run all the more special.
BUT, the Brewers really deserve a playoff berth. New York will always have a huge market for their teams, high payroll, plenty of people to pack the stadiums. But Milwaukee home-brewed their talent in their farm system. These guys have known and played ball together for years (Rickie Weeks was Prince Fielder's Best Man at his wedding). They're young, they're passionate, and baseball in Milwaukee hasn't been this exciting ever (being born in '82, I missed out). I remember attending the filming of Major League when I was a youngin. I remember being confused by how many people were in the stadium and why they were cheering so loud. In the last two years at Miller Park, the stadium has been even more raucaus. Fans actually had something to cheer and care about, and not just drunkenly jeer at their own team. Going to County Stadium/Miller Park was like going to a really big bar/party where there happen to be a baseball game being played (I'll be the first to admit that I used to go to games and not remember who the starting pitchers were or the final score).
I'd say odds are with the Mets. They should take 2/3 from the Marlins. Brewers have struggled in the latter half of the season against the Cubs, who own the best record in the NL. While the Cubs will not be playing for anything and probably be resting their big talent, they are still tough and will gladly strive to ruin the Brewers' year, as the heated I-94 rivalry culminates today (hopefully to be rekindled in the post-season).
This is good flippin baseball.
I've been very, very critical of the Crew all year. For the past three years, actually. But it's because, these days, they actually have a chance to compete. They're damn good, and it's exciting. Expectations are high. But come what may, they have my unconditional love (cue music). Helluva season, fellas. Tip of the hat!
GO BREWERS!
26 September 2008
From Into the Wild to The Descent of Men
So, on the reading list was Krakauer's book about the wayward Chris McCandless. I wanted to reread it last year when the movie was being released. I finally did it. I gotta say, I don't think I appreciated it quite as much back in college. I found myself wanting to speak to some of the questions raised in the classroom. Krakauer did an excellent job. Tip of the hat to him. Perhaps more specifics on my thoughts re: the book later...
But now it's onward to Y: The Descent of Men by Steve Jones. I was in Seattle over the summer at the Elliott Bay Book Company, a great independent bookshop. Maybe it was the hours spent in the direct sunlight or being frazzled from incessant phone calls from work, but I got a little bristly talking to KZ about the dearth of good books about men (manhood, masculinity, etc...) by men. I've tried several times to put a dent in Susan Faludi's Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man, but found some of the puff-and-fluff filler hard to get past (admittedly, I'm not the best reader...I'm incredibly slow and easily distracted...sometimes, I think, to the point of disorder). 610 pages is a bit much to ask of me right now, but I'm sure she makes some good points somewhere in the tome. One day I'll get to it. One day... Anyway, among my many gripes, one was that good books about/for women by women are plentiful and the study very accessible. You'll have no problem finding the Women's Studies aisle in a bookstore; you can even major in it in college. It's become something of an institution. But where's the Men's Studies, I asked her. There's not a lot of good information about/for men by men; that is, what it means to be a man these days, when a man is a man--aka manhood, and what's happening to masculinity in the wake of a rising feminism.
So, we went upstairs to wander the aisles for a bit. And lo! To my utter surprise, next to the Women's Studies section, was a Men's Studies section (a mere 3 or so shelves, above the overflowing shelves devoted to weddings)! I zinged over to it, and pored over the spines, looking for something of substance. Most were pretty soft titles about how to be a good father (son on father's shoulders, both smiling) or more self-help (Where Men Hide. Gosh.) or very simplistic, sex oriented, frat-guy man books (GQ and Maxim columns really don't count as Men's Studies in my book) about guzzling beer and watching sports and why women don't understand this. Lame. But I did spy an interesting title (with a sort of ufortunate cover...don't know, just don't like the gymnast-self-fellating-looking pose): Y: The Descent of Men. This title is a little spinoff of Darwin's famous book The Descent of Man. Steve Smith is a professor of genetics at the University College London, so the book comes at the topic with a genetic point of a view, with the Y chromosome as its starting point. And in the preface, Steve mentioned many of the same things I had just been ranting about to KZ. I was a little giddy, reading it as we walked around. I went ahead and bought it.
So let's see what Steve has to say.
But now it's onward to Y: The Descent of Men by Steve Jones. I was in Seattle over the summer at the Elliott Bay Book Company, a great independent bookshop. Maybe it was the hours spent in the direct sunlight or being frazzled from incessant phone calls from work, but I got a little bristly talking to KZ about the dearth of good books about men (manhood, masculinity, etc...) by men. I've tried several times to put a dent in Susan Faludi's Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man, but found some of the puff-and-fluff filler hard to get past (admittedly, I'm not the best reader...I'm incredibly slow and easily distracted...sometimes, I think, to the point of disorder). 610 pages is a bit much to ask of me right now, but I'm sure she makes some good points somewhere in the tome. One day I'll get to it. One day... Anyway, among my many gripes, one was that good books about/for women by women are plentiful and the study very accessible. You'll have no problem finding the Women's Studies aisle in a bookstore; you can even major in it in college. It's become something of an institution. But where's the Men's Studies, I asked her. There's not a lot of good information about/for men by men; that is, what it means to be a man these days, when a man is a man--aka manhood, and what's happening to masculinity in the wake of a rising feminism.
So, we went upstairs to wander the aisles for a bit. And lo! To my utter surprise, next to the Women's Studies section, was a Men's Studies section (a mere 3 or so shelves, above the overflowing shelves devoted to weddings)! I zinged over to it, and pored over the spines, looking for something of substance. Most were pretty soft titles about how to be a good father (son on father's shoulders, both smiling) or more self-help (Where Men Hide. Gosh.) or very simplistic, sex oriented, frat-guy man books (GQ and Maxim columns really don't count as Men's Studies in my book) about guzzling beer and watching sports and why women don't understand this. Lame. But I did spy an interesting title (with a sort of ufortunate cover...don't know, just don't like the gymnast-self-fellating-looking pose): Y: The Descent of Men. This title is a little spinoff of Darwin's famous book The Descent of Man. Steve Smith is a professor of genetics at the University College London, so the book comes at the topic with a genetic point of a view, with the Y chromosome as its starting point. And in the preface, Steve mentioned many of the same things I had just been ranting about to KZ. I was a little giddy, reading it as we walked around. I went ahead and bought it.
So let's see what Steve has to say.
11 September 2008
9/11...Paying My Respects...I Remember...Renewed
September 11, 2001... I remember waking up in my dorm room alone. Loneliness was a prevalent feeling that semester. My roommate, a good friend from home, decided to drop college last minute, so I was in roommate limbo until the university found me another. I stayed in my room a lot, behind closed door. I was often alone with my thoughts. The floor I was on was the same as last year; I knew mostly everyone. I was more reclusive though, didn't hang out with people on my floor much. I remember feeling desolate, very alone at night, watching SNL reruns from the early 80's with a lone light lit under my bunked bed. I sort of folded in on myself, like a dried autumn leaf (thank you, whoever you were that wrote that...Winterson?...Louise Erdrich?...I remember someone remarking how she liked it...quote is not verbatim, I believe). Call it melancholy.
I remember that's when I took my first Alison class, the one that would ultimately persuade me to change my major to English from accounting. I remember writing by lamplight, under the bunked bed, those seminal--very sophomoric--works and getting excited about writing.
I remember going to African American Studies class that September 11th morning, trudging to class not particularly excited about anything, half-awake probably. I remember getting into class and the projector screen was down. People were watching the news.
TERRORIST ATTACK...PLANES...WORLD TRADE CENTER...
I saw the first tower in flames, smoke billowing from its side. I remember hearing reporters speculating about whether or not it was an attack, and so on. Then I remember the other plane hit... The room was silent. Spine tingled. I remember the first tower crumbled in a matter of seconds, the skyline of a nation irrevocably altered. Couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then the second tower. We were told we could go home, classes were canceled the following two days. I went to Alison's class later that week. And we all found it hard to concentrate. We all talked a little bit about it. She let us go home. There was a stillness, a quiet, in those hours and days after what we all saw on TV in that wooded Podunk.
It's one of those Where-were-you-when moments of our generation.
So now, 7 years later, that NYC skyline is what I see when I stumble to the shower every morning. And now, having just celebrated my first NYC anniversary, something jerked at me to go pay homage.
I mean, I live in NYC, but so often it doesn't feel like it. I live in my routines, which are very removed from the typical NYC routines (i.e., Manhattan) and there's been a dearth of NYC-specific things on the weekends; I jetted around the country for a good portion of the summer. So I figured I'd join with fellow New Yorkers, the mayor, tourists, businessmen, survivors, families, families of victims, mourners, presidential candidates alike and pay my respects. It's just something I feel the need to do.
Talking to New Yorkers, it's interesting to hear their reflections on that terrible day. Someone said, when she found out what was going on, she cried even though she wasn't directly affected. And I heard that from many people here. It had a huge impact on people. Around the country, people watched in astonishment, there was a sense of unity as the nation collectively grieved, but it seems nothing compares to actually having been here during the attacks, sharing that experience with fellow New Yorkers, tragedy erupting in your own backyard...
So now, being fully immersed in New York, I'd like to pay my respects and, for what it's worth, share in that experience, even if it's just by showing up to that gaping hole in the ground on Church Street.
So I went after work, showed up at dusk. The air was heavy. Though there were throngs of people, still doing the same mad shuffle past one another, things just seemed...subdued a bit. There were flags with victims' names on them, pictures posted by families, flowers. There were plenty of cops, conspiracy theorists soliciting the ears of passers-by, prayer stations, musicians of varied creeds singing together, insoucient commuters on cell phones, people with big cameras taking pictures of everything/everyone, and globs of poeple who were just standing or sitting, holding each other, gazing skyward, taking in the moment. All this calm an odd contrast, of course, to the panic that engulfed the area 7 years ago to the minute.
I circumnavigated most of the enclosure, peaking through holes in the blinded fence. Wrenching thoughts of what happened that day, in the very spots I tread, took hold. Hair on my arms stood erect at moments. I didn't have a camera, but I probably wouldn't have snapped any pictures anyway. Didn't seem appropriate.
Hunger began to set in, so, in stillness, I took it in a couple minutes longer, and left for home.
Night fell. And from my livingroom, I saw the two ghostly light beams shooting up, piercing the belly of the heavens, illuminating the firmament.
I remember that's when I took my first Alison class, the one that would ultimately persuade me to change my major to English from accounting. I remember writing by lamplight, under the bunked bed, those seminal--very sophomoric--works and getting excited about writing.
I remember going to African American Studies class that September 11th morning, trudging to class not particularly excited about anything, half-awake probably. I remember getting into class and the projector screen was down. People were watching the news.
TERRORIST ATTACK...PLANES...WORLD TRADE CENTER...
I saw the first tower in flames, smoke billowing from its side. I remember hearing reporters speculating about whether or not it was an attack, and so on. Then I remember the other plane hit... The room was silent. Spine tingled. I remember the first tower crumbled in a matter of seconds, the skyline of a nation irrevocably altered. Couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then the second tower. We were told we could go home, classes were canceled the following two days. I went to Alison's class later that week. And we all found it hard to concentrate. We all talked a little bit about it. She let us go home. There was a stillness, a quiet, in those hours and days after what we all saw on TV in that wooded Podunk.
It's one of those Where-were-you-when moments of our generation.
So now, 7 years later, that NYC skyline is what I see when I stumble to the shower every morning. And now, having just celebrated my first NYC anniversary, something jerked at me to go pay homage.
I mean, I live in NYC, but so often it doesn't feel like it. I live in my routines, which are very removed from the typical NYC routines (i.e., Manhattan) and there's been a dearth of NYC-specific things on the weekends; I jetted around the country for a good portion of the summer. So I figured I'd join with fellow New Yorkers, the mayor, tourists, businessmen, survivors, families, families of victims, mourners, presidential candidates alike and pay my respects. It's just something I feel the need to do.
Talking to New Yorkers, it's interesting to hear their reflections on that terrible day. Someone said, when she found out what was going on, she cried even though she wasn't directly affected. And I heard that from many people here. It had a huge impact on people. Around the country, people watched in astonishment, there was a sense of unity as the nation collectively grieved, but it seems nothing compares to actually having been here during the attacks, sharing that experience with fellow New Yorkers, tragedy erupting in your own backyard...
So now, being fully immersed in New York, I'd like to pay my respects and, for what it's worth, share in that experience, even if it's just by showing up to that gaping hole in the ground on Church Street.
So I went after work, showed up at dusk. The air was heavy. Though there were throngs of people, still doing the same mad shuffle past one another, things just seemed...subdued a bit. There were flags with victims' names on them, pictures posted by families, flowers. There were plenty of cops, conspiracy theorists soliciting the ears of passers-by, prayer stations, musicians of varied creeds singing together, insoucient commuters on cell phones, people with big cameras taking pictures of everything/everyone, and globs of poeple who were just standing or sitting, holding each other, gazing skyward, taking in the moment. All this calm an odd contrast, of course, to the panic that engulfed the area 7 years ago to the minute.
I circumnavigated most of the enclosure, peaking through holes in the blinded fence. Wrenching thoughts of what happened that day, in the very spots I tread, took hold. Hair on my arms stood erect at moments. I didn't have a camera, but I probably wouldn't have snapped any pictures anyway. Didn't seem appropriate.
Hunger began to set in, so, in stillness, I took it in a couple minutes longer, and left for home.
Night fell. And from my livingroom, I saw the two ghostly light beams shooting up, piercing the belly of the heavens, illuminating the firmament.
poetry readings
So, on my commute into work this morn, a poem by Charles Bukowski was featured in the daily almanac I listen to. And I enjoyed it. Pithy, no bullshit.
I like his (characteristic) shunning of academia, preferring those who live life raw, face to face, and not just talk about it, turn it over to the intellect. Preferring, perhaps, those who are living hard--too hard to dream, to compose.
I haven't read him in awhile. I think I should get to throwing my eyeballs on something of his...
poetry readings
poetry readings have to be some of the saddest
damned things ever,
the gathering of the clansmen and clanladies,
week after week, month after month, year
after year,
getting old together,
reading on to tiny gatherings,
still hoping their genius will be
discovered,
making tapes together, discs together,
sweating for applause
they read basically to and for
each other,
they can't find a New York publisher
or one
within miles,
but they read on and on
in the poetry holes of America,
never daunted,
never considering the possibility that
their talent might be
thin, almost invisible,
they read on and on
before their mothers, their sisters, their husbands,
their wives, their friends, the other poets
and the handful of idiots who have wandered
in
from nowhere.
I am ashamed for them,
I am ashamed that they have to bolster each other,
I am ashamed for their lisping egos,
their lack of guts.
if these are our creators,
please, please give me something else:
a drunken plumber at a bowling alley,
a prelim boy in a four rounder,
a jock guiding his horse through along the
rail,
a bartender on last call,
a waitress pouring me a coffee,
a drunk sleeping in a deserted doorway,
a dog munching a dry bone,
an elephant's fart in a circus tent,
a 6 p.m. freeway crush,
the mailman telling a dirty joke
anything
anything
but
these.
I like his (characteristic) shunning of academia, preferring those who live life raw, face to face, and not just talk about it, turn it over to the intellect. Preferring, perhaps, those who are living hard--too hard to dream, to compose.
I haven't read him in awhile. I think I should get to throwing my eyeballs on something of his...
10 September 2008
Damon & Palin
Diddo, Matt.
So...where's Hillary, anyway?
Well, Palin's first press conference is tomorrow. And Matt is right, America should be asking tough questions--not just of her, but about her.
Sidenote: I gotta say...bad disney movie...that's funny. What would said movie be called? Hmm...
Northern Exposure (why/how does this picture exist, anyway?)
So...where's Hillary, anyway?
Well, Palin's first press conference is tomorrow. And Matt is right, America should be asking tough questions--not just of her, but about her.
Sidenote: I gotta say...bad disney movie...that's funny. What would said movie be called? Hmm...
Northern Exposure (why/how does this picture exist, anyway?)
09 September 2008
When Subatomic Particles Collide
We'll find out what happens tomorrow when CERN flips the switch on their brand new Large Hadron Collider. Some fear--lawsuits and death threats abound--the end is nigh. Although this 27 kilometer, 125 (or so) meter-underground experiment will reproduce conditions similar to those present at the Big Bang, most believe we will not see the cataclysmic visions of some transpire.
Some worry that the black holes created by the myriad collisions of subatomic particles in the LHC will survive and grow exponentially to cause hurricanes, tsunamis, or even to just gulp up the entire planet.
The goal of this thing?
For Your/My Edification
News on the Eve of
Update (10 September 08):
Success! And we're all still alive (so far)...
Live at First Beam
Some worry that the black holes created by the myriad collisions of subatomic particles in the LHC will survive and grow exponentially to cause hurricanes, tsunamis, or even to just gulp up the entire planet.
The goal of this thing?
- Learn about how our universe was born
- Maybe discover the Higgs boson, the so-called "God particle," which is all theory at present
- Maybe discover extra dimensions of space as predicted by string theory
- Give theoretical physicists something to do on Sundays (see: crunching the data)
For Your/My Edification
News on the Eve of
Update (10 September 08):
Success! And we're all still alive (so far)...
Live at First Beam
Droopy Lieberman and Foghorn Thompson
08 September 2008
Update: Single Life in NYC (Quantified)
Forbes released its annual Best Cities for Singles list a few days ago...
...And as I mentioned before, NYC doesn't seem to be the best place for singles. Turns out, it's the 8th best. The criteria covers 7 categories: number of singles, nightlife, culture, cost of living alone, job growth, online dating activity and coolness. Of course, coastal cities were much more "cool" than the "fly-over" cities in the Midwest. And New York, while being top dog in coolness and nightlife and third best in cultural resources, ranked dead last in cost-of-living and poorly in job growth. No surprise on those economical factors; New York is a grind. And for that, it gets bumped down substantially from the overall ranking. Anyway, just interesting to see that quantified a little bit.
True, it's sometimes hard to quantify and rank things--and the methodology can be debatable--but I have to attest to Milwaukee's poor ranking. There's a dearth of...well, all of the above categories. I felt a little stagnant there--and I don't think it was all just me.
Noted: While you're in your mid-twenties move to the coast/the big city (if you're not already there), live (with roommates/strangers you can tolerate) it up, beware of claws/trim your own (aka, don't fall victim to/become a self-seeking people-trouncer), find an intelligent gal (preferably one who wants to get the hell out) with whom you can have a fervent debate/hug, go back home/move inland away from the madness. Oh, and get a job that isn't geographically dependent; that is, a job that's in demand everywhere (i.e., teacher, firefighter, health care professional, police officer, store greeter, etc).
...Or move to "Hotlanta," but I'll have to say a thanks-but-no-thanks to that one.
More rumination to come on the NYC singles front.
...And as I mentioned before, NYC doesn't seem to be the best place for singles. Turns out, it's the 8th best. The criteria covers 7 categories: number of singles, nightlife, culture, cost of living alone, job growth, online dating activity and coolness. Of course, coastal cities were much more "cool" than the "fly-over" cities in the Midwest. And New York, while being top dog in coolness and nightlife and third best in cultural resources, ranked dead last in cost-of-living and poorly in job growth. No surprise on those economical factors; New York is a grind. And for that, it gets bumped down substantially from the overall ranking. Anyway, just interesting to see that quantified a little bit.
True, it's sometimes hard to quantify and rank things--and the methodology can be debatable--but I have to attest to Milwaukee's poor ranking. There's a dearth of...well, all of the above categories. I felt a little stagnant there--and I don't think it was all just me.
Noted: While you're in your mid-twenties move to the coast/the big city (if you're not already there), live (with roommates/strangers you can tolerate) it up, beware of claws/trim your own (aka, don't fall victim to/become a self-seeking people-trouncer), find an intelligent gal (preferably one who wants to get the hell out) with whom you can have a fervent debate/hug, go back home/move inland away from the madness. Oh, and get a job that isn't geographically dependent; that is, a job that's in demand everywhere (i.e., teacher, firefighter, health care professional, police officer, store greeter, etc).
...Or move to "Hotlanta," but I'll have to say a thanks-but-no-thanks to that one.
More rumination to come on the NYC singles front.
Happy Birthday, New York City (?)
It's the anniversary (1664), at least, of New Amsterdam becoming New York, after being surrendered by the Dutch to the British Duke of York. Henry Hudson claims to have discovered the land in 1609, however, while searching for a route to India. He was sailing for the Dutch West India Company, which is how the Dutch came to settle it in 1614, six years earlier than Plymouth Rock. In any event, that's a lot of candles (344 years young).
New York is quite the aged one, but it's not the wrinkliest raisin off the vine. Like the state's demographic, Florida claims the oldest continuously settled city in the United States. St. Augustine (1565) is 99 years New York's elder, thanks to Spain who established it as the first permanent settlement in North America.
Narf moment-- If you reverse New York's age, you get St. Augustine's: 344→443
Old New York
New York is quite the aged one, but it's not the wrinkliest raisin off the vine. Like the state's demographic, Florida claims the oldest continuously settled city in the United States. St. Augustine (1565) is 99 years New York's elder, thanks to Spain who established it as the first permanent settlement in North America.
Narf moment-- If you reverse New York's age, you get St. Augustine's: 344→443
Old New York
04 September 2008
As They Do in Thessaloniki...
...same should be done to Khim's Millennium Market & Brooklyn Natural, local "organic" food-store gougers of people who just want some quality groceries. May shame devour you!
...Or more simply, may there be a Trader Joe's built nearby.
...Or more simply, may there be a Trader Joe's built nearby.
at
4:38 PM
Filed Under:
I Bite My Thumb at You,
I Read the News Today,
Les Misérables,
Tip of the Hat
02 September 2008
Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar
Hats off to these three Democracy Now! journalists who were unlawfully arrested--violently, at that--at the RNC convention in Minneapolis on Monday afternoon. They were covering the protests outside the convention (unlike their other colleagues in the media). When Amy heard that Sharif and Nicole were arrested, Amy turned the mike on the cops, who then of course manhandled her, cuffed her, and shoved her into their van.
They've since been released from custody, but they face felony charges. Psh. Outrageous!
Report on!
They've since been released from custody, but they face felony charges. Psh. Outrageous!
Report on!
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