Observations on Art 2.18

With Armory Week just two weeks away my mind is turning more towards art and warm weather and away from politics and cold, both of which have me totally irritated right now.

I'm taking the time to post this video because I think it is just so dead on. I have this thing about art projects that are more theatre than anything else. I mean seriously if I stand on a street corner smoking a cigarette and call it an art project does that make it so? It's the question that will never be answered and if it suddenly was we artists wouldn't have anything to argue about all the time because, and this is surprising, not many want to discuss politics with me.

If you have never seen Portlandia it is a quirky comedy sketch show on IFC Friday nights that is now in its third season. Portlandia is produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels' company so you get the idea. I haven't seen many episodes, even though it's a current VQ favorite, but Ash showed me this sketch and I have to say ... yes, yes, yes, my thoughts exactly! I especially like the purse snatcher project called "Meditation on Property."

Just watch, and be sure to watch it to the end, it needs absolutely no other description. I do have one question now and it's this, is this sketch an art project?

link

Observations on Sandy 10.30

Thought I would throw up a quick post before I wander out to see what's happening. Just shy of two million without power in the city and as of now I have no idea for how long. I have double batteries for everything so I should be okay for now and I can always go uptown for a charge but than I'm sure everybody has the same idea. The apartment smells of wet clothes and something electrical. The latter isn't anything here, I think it's coming from the subways, probably everything shorting out overnight. As with the power there isn't any timetable for when the subways will be back, than again I suppose there can't be without knowing about the power first. It's either a vicious cycle or I'm still mentally wiped, hard to tell at this point.

I guess I'm just an adrenalin junkie because I need to get out and look around while the VQs seem to be perfectly happy watching a movie and contemplating empty wine bottles, probably mentally calculating how many they have left and how long they will last. As for myself, I went up on the roof when i woke up and what stuck me was just how quiet it is, unreal how a city this size can be so quiet.

12:45PM - Surviving so far, actually I'll be happy as long as I have batteries and a 4G connection and those are a few things I do have. Well I have batteries and Ash has the 4G but she doesn't need it to drink wine and watch movies so I claimed it. Latest is the power could be out here for two or three days but that is subject to change. All the subway tunnels in lower Manhattan are flooded and it's a total mess in the streets, trash, trees, leaves blowing everywhere. Haven't heard anything about Stone Harbor yet, my dad said it could be days till anybody gets in there too. I was looking at photos I took yesterday and so far I'm unimpressed, visibility was terrible, it was more like a blizzard than like Irene. As always we shall see, maybe with some work. Now I'm off to check on Foxy.

5:40PM - The sun returned to the Village an hour or so ago, briefly, but it was there, I know it was, I saw it, maybe. Anyway, when I checked on Foxy I found the family had sustained an injury, Foxy has a massive scratch on her hood. The garage manager said some branches had blown in and one landed right on her. Pisses me off cause that may be the biggest scratch in all the time I own her. The latest on the power situation is four days, via Reuters not ConEd, but we have come up with a wonderful plan in the event it drags on, it seems my dad is going to get some company. There is nothing much to keep us here without power so some outlet shopping may be called for plus I can get an estimate on a paint job while I'm there because I am not about to pay what they would gouge me up here.

Geek notes, I know it's probably something not worth mentioning but don't forget you can always use your cell phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot if you lose your Wi-Fi. Also there are some decently priced battery packs out there that can run your comp for up to 6 hours, I just grabbed a Duracell model today.

Political note, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was asked on Fox News whether Willard would tour damage in his state and said; "I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested. I have a job to do in New Jersey that is much bigger than presidential politics. If you think right now I give a damn about president politics, then you don’t know me." So some Republicans still really are relatively sane, too bad their party despises them for it. Today was probably the day Christie lost the 2016 Republican nomination for president.

Observations from the Window 10.26

the calm before the storm on flickr

You can probably guess that the main topic of conversation around here today has been the impending frankenstorm, snor'eastercane, or just plane big ass storm otherwise known as Hurricane Sandy for short.



At the moment I really don't have much to say about Sandy other than it's supposed to hit somewhere in the vicinity of New York in a few days. Personally I think it's bad karma because there have been altogether too many blizzards and hurricanes hitting the Village since I moved here but my brother swears it's just climate change in action.

Earlier today we were reading what I wrote last year during Hurricane Irene. Taken together the Irene posts are one of my most read series of posts so I thought I would take a look back here too. This wasn't my first post about Irene but I like it because it contains a very serious list of items we stocked for the storm. As I write this tonight I think the VQs are probably out buying the very same items. If you want to read the full series just click the Irene tag.

Saturday, August 27, 2011
Observations on Irene 8.26

I thought maybe I would take some early morning photos so I rode an empty subway train down to the soon to be forbidden zone of Battery Park. Truth be told I didn't take much of anything because it was just a cloudy dreary humid morning and on top of that the Starbucks was closed. If this is the calm before the storm I think I'll pass.

Irene came ashore in North Carolina around 7AM as a category 1 storm. The weakening doesn't change the situation much here as the problem is how long the storm will batter the city and how much water will be pushed into the harbor, the rivers, and down the street. Later today ConEd will decide if it is going to shutdown the power to lower Manhattan. Because the cables are all underground they are vulnerable to saltwater if they are in use but not if they aren't in use. Now I understand why there are no batteries to be found in the Village.

Everybody says be prepared so we stocked up with the following ...

One case of Corona, one case of Corona Light, and two bags of ice in the freezer. Multiple bottles of red and white wine because Ash can't decide which is the right one for a hurricane and one must follow the wine rules at all times.   A bag of limes and one bottle of Jose Cuervo Black Medallion tequila because one shouldn't ride out a big storm with cheap tequila.   One carton of Misty Menthol Ultra Lights otherwise known as Misty Silver under the theory that people think ultra-light smoke is healthy and will think silver isn't.   One carton of Marlboro Menthol 100s because Chloe isn't a lite weight like me and smokes a real cigarette, or so I am told.   New lighter to light those above named cigarettes.   Two camera and two laptop batteries charged.   A camping lantern and flashlights along with a jumbo pack of priceless D size batteries. The latter I am tempted to sell on the street because, well, they really are priceless right now.   My older digital camera packed in a towel and zip-lock bag. Don't ask on this one because I'm not going to tell.   Shit I forgot to get food.

A bit of worthless hurricane trivia that doesn't seem so worthless now. If the storm is a category 1 at ground level it is a category 2 ten stories up. I can hear the glass raining down already.

No subways running down below and it just started raining in the Village. I suppose this really is the calm before the storm. Let the games begin.

update - Due to some concern I would like to add that we have cookies, coffee, and two cases of bottled water too.

Observations from the Window 4.9

It may be a bit late but first I want to wish a Happy Easter to my peeps. Hopefully you found many golden eggs under your tree. For me it was a totally mellow weekend, took some pics, visited Vinnie, had some ribs, and banished politics from my mind. So here I give you some boring fluff from my scribbles.

I was going through some boxes of CDs that I never really unpacked just looking for some to rip. I have at least a thousand CDs so it's easy to lose track when they are stacked in the corner. What I did was re-discover Sheryl Crowe whose music I always loved but who just got lost in that corner. She looks totally stunning in the pics for c'mon, c'mon.

Than, keeping with the same line of thought, there is Anne Hathaway whose Love and Other Drugs was the featured attraction of a VQ movie night. In my dreams Hathaway is the girl I run off to Paris with. What we do there while not roaming the Louvre is a story for another time. There is a scene in the movie, a movie which is actually quite good in a fluffy kind of way, where she is stretching and smoking at the same time, to die for. Her naked breasts are a very, very, prominent part of this film which may explain why I like it. Utter perfection.

There was a good article in the Sunday Times about Ralph Lauren's niece Jenny. Her jewelry is awesome but what grabbed me was how the writer described Lauren's style which she said was "more eclectic artist than all-American, accessorized by the chipped nails and pallor of a type A creative sort who works mostly at night." That just sounded so familiar.

You know I can't totally stay away from politics so also in the Times was a good column by Maureen Dowd about Augusta National still not allowing women membership. In it is an awesome quote by President Obama as he spoke to a women's forum at the White House. "Women are not an interest group. You shouldn’t be treated that way. Women are over half this country and its work force — not to mention 80 percent of my household, if you count my mother-in-law. And I always count my mother-in-law."

Smart man that Obama.

Observations from the Coffee Shop 1.24

For better or worse Fridays always seem to be something special. The date or the moon can make them even more so but no matter what Fridays definitely are different.

Last Friday morning I was sketching/thinking on a notepad as I usually do at breakfast. Now Ash seems to have a more thinking artsie type of mind than I do, yes scary, more analytical where I tend to be theoretical. Anyway, out of nowhere she told me to write down whatever word popped into my head. Not necessarily from our conversation, just whatever word was on my mind. Than she told me to do it all day long.

For what it's worth here is my list of words. I didn't quite make it through the whole day because I knew I would post the list here and I could see where it was heading.

waffles, ugh, coffee, euros, Euros, effing euros, étrange, des conneries, putain, weather, speed, sushi, bold, ignorant, skittles, indigo, sapphire, newt, toad, asshat, miley, NOH8, trend, ignorance, tolerate, cubist, impressionist, crap, queer, abstract, blue, tension, sopa, 1Q84, style, stoner, Cuba, loathe, vq, hipster, ice, word, indulgent, silk, black, Corona, crayons, yakuza, tattoo, ninja sex ….

Observations from the Gallery 10.13 Randomness

Some days I just get all kinds of things in my mail, for instance today I got an invitation to the 12th Istanbul Biennial which runs through November 13th. Now I'd go in a heartbeat because I would love to see the Hagia Sophia and museums but it seems the folks at the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts forgot to send along the airfare. I suppose I need to pass on Istanbul this year. I also received an invitation to a Halloween party at a major gallery in the Village, now that could be fun and far cheaper than Istanbul, but it seems a $100 donation is necessary to attend this event. I guess I pass on that one too or maybe we'll just have our own Halloween party that night. I spend far too much time on my multiple tumblr blogs but I like looking at photos so I would probably be looking anyway.

One thing I have discovered is I'm far from the only person alive who loves quotes. I rarely get photos reblogged, well rare for the number I post, but the quotes always seem to get a couple likes or reblogs or likes. Two of the most popular are Hunter S. Thompson quotes, "life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously," with 98 reblogs and "who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed," with 52. Seems there are a lot of Thompson fans out there.

Another thing I've been spending some time on is trying to keep up with the Occupy Wall Street protests and others around the country. There is a video on YouTube of the Boston Police breaking up a demonstration and tearing a flag out of a man's hands. I wont bother sharing because it isn't of the best quality. What I want to share is a comment to the video that just shows how damn myopic some people are in this country. The comment said, “Boston Police officers are doing an outstanding job. These so-called "protesters" are the most ignorant and arrogant misfits around. They were repeatedly told to leave the area. The fault clearly lies with these ignorant misfits. It is a shame that the Boston Police officers are forced to put up with these arrogant crapheads. Keep up the good work, Boston Police!!!!” The group protesting was the Veterans for Peace, a non-profit humanitarian organization of vets dedicated to increasing public awareness of the costs of war.

Finally today was one of those days where one topic of conversation seemed to linger all day in the gallery. That would be thanks to Ash who, when I got the party invitation, commented that before she dies she would just like to get a little respect from those, well, people. I shan't elaborate on the exact language she used but I will say she has a point because the bigger galleries do tend to look down on the smaller ones. Respect is a tricky thing in that it's earned, given, and sometimes taken for granted, sometimes until it is gone. But should a large gallery have our respect simply because it is large or should there be more to it than that? I suppose more art world bridges have been burned over that one simple word than almost any other reason. Damn arrogant artists.

My only fear is that any hits taken out during Ash's campaign for recognition will have to be handled by me.

Michelle Branch - Loud Music

Observations on Irene 8.29

I always seem to find funny moments in any situation and Irene was no different. Both involve my early morning wanderings as the storm reached its peak. The first I mentioned yesterday when I got the text from Ash calling me an idiot. When I got back to the apartment she scolded me like an errant child as Chloe tried not to laugh but failed terribly. The other was during that same walk near the forbidden zone while I was standing in a doorway trying to keep a cigarette dry. Two of New York's finest strolled by, stopped, and seemed ready to scold me like, well, an errant child. I only had on hiking boots but I was still taller than both. After a moment they walked away never having said a word.

Favorite tweet from the storm, this made me laugh. “@spicenyc: So that's it..my next girlfriend is going to be a hot weather chick..done + done!” I'll tell you what, after the past couple days I could write a post just on those weather girls and maybe I will sometime but not now.

To tie up some loose ends I should say that I heard from my friends to the south and all is well, just a power outage. I don't know anything first hand about the beach house and Stone Harbor but I did find this on their Facebook along with some photos that show little damage to the downtown area.

“Stone Harbor fared very well! We have retained much of the replenished beaches, and little damage around town is evident. We are so fortunate that we can all now return and get back to normal. Many thanks to all who helped keep us safe - our tireless public servants and volunteer fire company - and thanks to all of you who provided photos and information that we could pass on. We love our Stone Harbor - Sidewalk Sale, anyone?”

I have been hearing all over that the government, particularly New York City's, overreacted to Irene. Speaking for myself I don't think they did at all. Better to shut down and have it end the way it did than not shutdown and have a Category 3 storm plow into Coney Island Sunday morning because North Carolina didn't take the hit first. If this was somehow a failure of government I'd much have this Irene failure than the previous Katrina one. As for the complainers, I didn't see any of them out in the streets this morning during my walks.

I think I'll remember Irene more for how I felt than for any lasting damage it did. Not scared or worried at all, maybe a bit depressed about things, but I was wired. Excited at what was happening around me and what I was going to do with it. Saturday night was exhilarating, I can't think of any other word to describe it. I'm just not right in any way.

One last question, anybody need some 'D' size batteries? First come, first served, cash only please.

Observations on Irene 8.28

2:00AM - After a bit of relaxation I just realized the wind is absolutely howling outside the window. Warnings be damned I grab a cigarette and sit in the window as sheets of rain blow down the street outside. Lights of some kind flashing down the block, police, fire, or ambulance, I have no idea. I just took a look at the ConEd map and there doesn't seem to be any major power outages yet but they are going to decide in the next hour whether or not to shut off power to lower Manhattan.

Best line on CNN, “the empty and ominous streets of New York.”

Guess I'm on my own here because the VQs seem to have grabbed their wine and gone to bed so I suppose it's time I try and get some sleep myself. Irene is just south of Stone Harbor.

8:00AM - Awake since six, alive, not hungover, and amazingly I have power. Over 75,000 in the city are without power but no one in Manhattan has lost it yet. That's just hard to believe but I better shutit because the lights are flickering and I don't want to jinx myself. As predicted Anderson Cooper isn't down at Battery Park but over in Washington Square Park which is just a couple blocks away from here. I guess if he was going to be up this early he wanted to be within walking distance of his apartment. Well, I don't care what the mayor said, I might need to go for a walk. For the record Jacqyi Jeras in a red dress isn't a bad thing to wake up to either.

Some friends to the south lost power last night and I have no word from them yet. I hope all is well with them but I just talked to my sis and she said that other than the rain it never got very bad at home. That was good to hear. No sign of the VQs yet which is strange because it's a perfect morning to be a VQ.

High tide along with the storm surge is happening right now, winds gusting close to hurricane force, and heavy rain falling. Forgetting food was a bad idea because I had too much to drink, not enough sleep, and I'm starving. Like I said it might be the perfect time for a walk.  I wonder if AC wants some coffee.

10:30AM - Not long after I posted that last part the wind kicked up dramatically and at the same time both rivers began to spill over their banks as now Tropical Storm Irene made landfall over Coney Island. Never did get AC his coffee because till I got over there they were moving out. His loss.

The VQs emerged from their hurricane and wine induced slumber. I was walking down the street when I got a text from Ash which, edited to be politically correct, pretty much said I was an idiot and I should get my ass back inside. I've decided that unless I can get to the water, or the water can get to me, hurricanes aren't very photogenic at all. Just a big nasty rain storm slapping you in the face.

Some water in our basement but other than that no big problems yet. Brooklyn and Staten Island are covered with power outages but so far there is just a small one in the West Village. That I do not understand but I'm an artist so what do I know.

Seems like the worst is passing now and AC finally made it back to Battery Park. The water is starting to recede already so maybe I'll try and get to one river or the other and see what I can find. I don't have a Weather Channel or CNN jacket so might have a problem but maybe the Penn State field hockey one will do the trick.

Than maybe it will be time to put a dent in these supplies we have.

Observations on Irene 8.27

12:00PM - We have the weirdest sky now, all dark and swirly, something I don't associate with a hurricane. More like a twister movie sky.

Electric shutdown, “If a shutdown of those substations did become necessary, the affected area would be the southeastern tip of Manhattan, bordered by the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Broadway on the west and the East River on the south and east, said Chris Olert, a spokesman for Con Ed.” Well that's bad for them but good for me.

1:00PM – The bar is open and the Phillies are going to try and play. I hope I didn't make a mistake leaving the alcohol with the VQs though. I could get back to a storm shelter for theatre types and that isn't how I want to spend my hurricane. Forget this as the Phillies game was called when the outer bands of Irene arrived over Citizens Bank Park. That means the Phillies now have no days off until the end of the season, 33 games in 33 days. Not good at all.

6:00PM - Made one last check on Foxy and did my usual weekly engine running routine while I called my dad to check-in. It's getting breezy there but not raining much yet which is good because they already had over a foot of rain this month. For the first time I'm glad my parking space is on the third floor, she should be fine.

I'm starting to get a slightly depressed feeling as the storm tracks up the coast. I love the shore, I always have, and one by one some of my favorite places are being trashed. Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks went first and will soon to be followed by Ocean City and Rehoboth. When Irene hits Stone Harbor later tonight I might just cry. Supposedly 95% of Cape May County, which includes Stone Harbor, has been evacuated. It will be days till I know how the house made out.

11:00PM - Heavy rain started falling not long ago and with it came the first sounds of thunder. The winds are gusting to about 30 mph now but should rise to 50 mph by midnight according to NY1. The latest predictions have us getting wind speeds up to 90 mph and a six to eight foot storm surge by early morning. When Anderson Cooper goes live at 6AM I don't think he will be standing in Battery Park where he was Friday night. The street below is pretty much deserted now, honestly I think I saw more activity out there during the blizzards this past winter.

More useless hurricane trivia. On October 16, 1955 Hurricane Katie was born with winds of 115 mph. It lasted three days, caused $250,000 damage (1955 dollars), and left seven deaths in its wake.

And now the first lightning. I have the feeling it's going to be a long night.

Observations on Irene 8.26

I thought maybe I would take some early morning photos so I rode an empty subway train down to the soon to be forbidden zone of Battery Park. Truth be told I didn't take much of anything because it was just a cloudy dreary humid morning and on top of that the Starbucks was closed. If this is the calm before the storm I think I'll pass.

Irene came ashore in North Carolina around 7AM as a category 1 storm. The weakening doesn't change the situation much here as the problem is how long the storm will batter the city and how much water will be pushed into the harbor, the rivers, and down the street. Later today ConEd will decide if it is going to shutdown the power to lower Manhattan. Because the cables are all underground they are vulnerable to saltwater if they are in use but not if they aren't in use. Now I understand why there are no batteries to be found in the Village.

Everybody says be prepared so we stocked up with the following....

One case of Corona, one case of Corona Light, and two bags of ice in the freezer. Multiple bottles of red and white wine because Ash can't decide which is the right one for a hurricane and one must follow the wine rules at all times.
A bag of limes and one bottle of Jose Cuervo Black Medallion tequila because one shouldn't ride out a big storm with cheap tequila.
One carton of Misty Menthol Ultra Lights otherwise known as Misty Silver under the theory that people think ultra-light smoke is healthy and will think silver isn't.
One carton of Marlboro Menthol 100s because Chloe isn't a lite weight like me and smokes a real cigarette, or so I am told.
New lighter to light those above named cigarettes.
Two camera and two laptop batteries charged. A camping lantern and flashlights along with a jumbo pack of priceless D size batteries. The latter I am tempted to sell on the street because, well, they really are priceless right now.
My older digital camera packed in a towel and zip-lock bag. Don't ask on this one because I'm not going to tell.

Shit I forgot to get food.

A bit of worthless hurricane trivia that doesn't seem so worthless now. If the storm is a category 1 at ground level it is a category 2 ten stories up. I can hear the glass raining down already.

No subways running down below and it just started raining in the Village. I suppose this really is the calm before the storm.

Let the games begin.

Neil Young - Like A Hurricane, Berlin 1982

update - Due to some concern I would like to add that we have cookies, coffee, and two cases of bottled water too.

Observations from the Window 8.14

I was planning on a lazy Sunday at the bar watching the Phillies but the gods decided we needed rain so the game was postponed. It's been raining all day in the Village too but it's a nice soft rain falling in cool air so it was actually nice. I find rainy days like this romantic in a way, I just want to watch it as I sip coffee and listen to jazz which is something I rarely want to do.

This morning the VQs dragged me out of bed to take me out for an early birthday brunch. We went to a Brazilian place on Varick Street called SOBs. The fresh tropical fruit, ginger-lime snapper, and champagne were all excellent but I passed on the banana stuffed french toast. I did have to try a Devassa* beer which is almost impossible to find. Pretty much it tastes like beer. It's called the 'Bossa Nova Brunch' and they have live music but I had no clue where the rap of MGK fit in so we bolted before he got far.

The VQs and I were watching a show about Woodstock the other night and it turned to Jimi Hendrix jamming "The Star Spangled Banner." One of the guys that produced the festival, I forget which it was, said you could hear everything that was happening in Vietnam at the time in the Hendrix rendition of the song. People screaming, napalm, death all around, but I could hear none of it. I guess it was the times and you had to be there because I just didn't get it.

In the end my lazy baseball Sunday turned into a lazy day of eating and shopping. My dad gave me money for my birthday and said to spend it on myself. I didn't spend it all yet but I did buy the biggest bouquet of sunflowers I could find which I put in a vase on my window seat.

Than I sat in the window and smiled.

*Devassa Beer Commercial

Observations from the Coffee Shop 8.8

Over the weekend Ash and I made an art related road trip to Boston. I have never spent much time in Boston, I think because it must have more sports teams I hate than any other city other than my current home. The main concentrations of galleries in Boston are along the eight blocks of Newbury Street running west from the Boston Common. There must be two dozen galleries here with Lanoue Fine Art being my favorite. The Boston art scene seems a bit more formal than the Village, less laid back and not nearly as dark. The two of us felt pretty much out of our element but we survived.

Now I want to categorically state that we had nothing to do with a spate of recent gallery heists in the Boston area. I had to laugh when I told a friend that Ash and I were going on a road trip to Boston in a rental van. She emailed me back that she had a vision of me in black leather carrying an uzi. For some reason I find that vision appealing although I might need to add a smoke, something that is probably going to get me smacked. Better still, did you ever see the Tony Scott movie "Domino" with Keira Knightley and Mickey Rourke? It's based on the true story of Domino Harvey who left her life as a Ford model to become a bounty hunter. In its review of "Domino" six years ago The New York Times said: "The real Domino Harvey, who died at 35 in June from a heart attack with a toxic level of painkiller in her system, lived her life as if she were a character in a Tony Scott movie. That life was stranger than fiction, but perhaps not so strange as this."

Getting back to Boston, we stayed at the Fairmont Copley Plaza because it was close to the galleries. I found the hotel, which opened in 1912, comes with a bit of art trivia. It was constructed on the original site of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and gets its name from the early American painter John Singleton Copley. I just love big old buildings like this and I laid in bed that night imagining ghosts walking the halls. I'll give you my style of hotel review. The bed was huge, soft, and warm in the cold air. The in room "refreshment center" was cold and full, and the waffles from room service were simply awesome. Would have been even better had "Battle Los Angeles" been on the screen instead of "Arthur" but I didn't pick the movie.

All in all a fun little trip.

Tom Jones / Stereophonics - Mama Told Me Not To Come

Observations from the Window 7.9

I had been saying how I thought I needed to re-charge somehow and last weekend seems to have helped some but may have had one unintended consequence. I have always been a morning person, I should say a dawn person. I love the sunrise so much more than sunset, the light and color being totally different as the sun pushes into the sky. If you ever look at my flickr you will find that most of the few color photos in it were taken at the shore at dawn. I just love the solitary feeling of sunrise and I always found it to be my artistic time of day. Maybe not literally but mentally in that I think better, clearer, and come up with better ideas.

Since I moved to the Village I've gotten away from the dawn more and more. Maybe it's the influence of the VQs or maybe just it's being so much busier than I once was but most days I find myself staying up later and sleeping later than I had before. That changed a little this past week when I found myself awake, totally awake, at 4AM and loved every minute of it. One day I even had coffee on the roof as the sun came up. I'm not sure if it's a temporary change or I'm reverting to a previous life, as always time will tell.

As much as I can be a tech-geek I love books, real paper books and magazines. I like to hold them in my hands and feel the paper while I read. I like big glossy photo magazines printed on coated paper. That being said I want a Kindle and I want it bad, well I want the Kindle to play with but I want the app for my netbook. I think I need to do some Amazon shopping. One book I want to check out is Power: Portraits of World Leaders by Platon (Photographer) with the text by New Yorker editor David Remnick. It is the portraits of 150 world leaders shot over a year at the United Nations. Platon is staff photographer for the New Yorker, and recipient of the World Press Photo Award and National Magazine Photo Portfolio Award.

A couple days ago a new shaved ice stand opened just a couple blocks from the gallery. It gets all its fruit from the Greenmarket at Union Square and it's so damn good but I can't figure out why anybody pays $3 for frozen flavored water when the dude at the corner is still selling it for a buck. Maybe buying it from temporary wooden stand makes it better than buying from a vendor with a cart. I'm thinking I might have to open an alcoholic shaved ice stand. I'll just use flavored vodka instead of juice.

And so it goes.

Observations from the Window 6.26

It's a day after the still unbelievable vote on gay marriage and the Village is a bit on the giddy side. It doesn’t hurt that it is also the end of Pride week with all the parades and dances taking place yesterday and today. With Ash out of town I really wont get to any of them but I can still feel the buzz in the air. It’s kind of funny how Ash and Chloe, my two friends most likely to actually get married, were out of town when the whole vote went down. I think I got a "what's happening" text about every five minutes Friday night.

The last couple days have been like a dream come true, even if it's a dream more for others than for myself. I still can't put into words how it felt, how it feels, maybe I never will be able to. I should admit that yes I cried and it had nothing at all to do with allergies. It was the realization that two of my best friends, along with so many others, could marry if they wanted to. It was, is, such a totally awesome feeling that I never want to forget it.

Last night I took a walk to the Stonewall Inn just to be able to say I had been there this weekend. Even 24 hours later there were crowds of people outside celebrating. The Stonewall is only a few blocks from our apartment in the West Village, possibly the gayest part of the city of New York. I'd be willing to argue it is the gayest neighborhood in the US but the folks at The Advocate magazine don't even have New York on their recent list of the top 15 gay cities in America (l). Seriously Cleveland is number 12 and no New York? What's up with that?

As I stood outside history swirled in my head. Almost 42 years to the day after the riots that led to a movement that led to Friday night's vote. The first Gay Pride march took place in New York on June 28, 1970 to mark the first anniversary of the riots with Los Angeles and Chicago holding marches the same day. I can't even imagine how many cities hold marches today. In 1999 the Stonewall and the surrounding area were designated a National Historic Landmark. During the dedication John Berry said "Let it forever be remembered that here, on this spot, men and women stood proud, they stood fast, so that we may be who we are, we may work where we will, live where we choose and love whom our hearts desire." And than came Friday night’s vote.

Damn, I think my allergies are back.

Robyn - Dancing On My Own

Sunday morning update - Marriage is for the most part a religious issue while control of marriage is primarily a state one, so as much as I would love to see it I don't honestly think the U.S. will ever have a gay marriage law in every state. What I don't understand is why we can't have a national civil union law that gives any two people all the benefits of marriage? France continues to vote down gay marriage, but has no problem with civil union. Time to 'evolve' a little bit faster.

Observations from the Coffee Shop 3.7

There is one thing I have yet to get used to about New York. I met the VQ for lunch today and ordered a Philly cheesesteak because I was totally famished. Where the hell is the sauce? I still forget I have to ask for sauce here. Damn Yankee fans.

When you first arrive at the Armory Show you are greeted by an industrial size elevator that takes you to the main floor. What is fun is taking a quick look at who joins you for that ride and if your lucky enough you will get a microcosm of the art world itself. My first group was mainly female but still a varied group. Among them a younger girl in camo fatigues and headphones, an older woman in fur talking on her cell phone, two Eastern European model types dressed in black and knee high boots, and a middle aged man who looked like my dad if my dad had been a physics professor with a penchant for Hawaiian print polo shirts and silk scarves.

What had to be my fav line of the whole week was this. I was eating dinner one night with a group of friends when a friend of Ash came to the table to say hello. One guy was sitting at the table with us and Ash's friend leaned over and said to him “I’m sorry but I have to say this but I hate men! Not you though, I don’t even know you."

Something I try to never do is the Euro cheek kiss greeting but I totally had major problems with that this week. To many Euros around to start with plus in the shows you can't see far enough ahead to get yourself ready before somebody sees you and boom heyas kiss kiss. But my height still comes in handy in these situations because not many people carry a stool around with them.

I know Armory Week is now passed and it's time to move on to other things including a piece I want to write on Contemporary Art. But I don't think this is my last Armory Week post because I just have so much I still need to get out of my head.

Kings Of Leon - Pyro

Armory Week Randomness 3.6

In the end I may remember the people more than anything else from this week. Deep down I really am just an observer because what I like to do is sit back and take everything in. Still the excitement of the last few days has been just contagious at times and next week could be a big let down after the constant buzz of this one. I've been so intrigued all week by everybody at the shows, at the gallery, and just talking to friends about art.

My brain has just been on sensory overload for days now and for the last few I have been trying to come up with a way to describe it better and have yet to find it. Maybe because it is the first time I experienced anything quite like this. I have been to other shows, galleries, museums, and exhibitions but this is something so totally different and I can't find the right words for it. I might keep trying but I honestly don't know if it's possible.

The always amazing VQ doesn't seemed to have slept more than a couple hours a night since the fairs began and yet she was still all perky at breakfast today. Actually she was probably all perky before breakfast, that would be before she woke me up with a cell call asking what I wanted for breakfast. While I have been into the people she has been into the art and texting me a constant stream of opinions on one gallery's works or another. It's been fun to watch her because more than anything else she reminds me of seeing my sister in a Toys"R"Us at Christmas time.

Finally, between the owners and the connoisseur I haveve worked on my French more than I have in some time. I even came up with a favorite line I used more than once during one conversation or another. "Pourriez-vous me faire parvenir un billet s'il vous plaît?"

I haven't gotten a positive response yet.

Observations from the Window 1.20

I have been quiet here lately but not for lack of trying. Seems I have slipped into one of my moods and the more I tried to write my way out of it the more depressing the read became. Just one of those moods I get in where I'm not happy with anything at all, I just hate everything equally. I might have a reason or I might not; it doesn't seem to matter at times like this. With know obvious cause for the melancholy feeling everything becomes the cause and the mood becomes a demon that feeds on itself. I just feel mentally and emotionally drained, tortured, dejected, gloomy .... emo.

One time my mom gave me a carton of eggs and told me to throw them in the kitchen sink to blow off steam. I don’t remember if it helped but I do remember it being fun as hell so I gave that a try yesterday. Made one hell of a mess for me to clean is what it did. Next up I might try slinging paint at canvas while trying not to hit the walls, or maybe sling paint at the walls themselves. Either way it could get interesting.

At times like this my girls always seem to know what's best for me. Last night one suggested I soak in the tub with tunes and a drink. I won’t pass on what else she suggested but it all seemed to help me unwind and get to sleep. Than today the VQ told me to just stay home and do something to relax, like I know how to do something like that. But some wandering the Village, doing some photos, and another soak in the tub have done wonders for my attitude. Ash also came up with the idea of making a run home to recharge which I might just do. I'm not about to risk taking Foxy out in this crappy weather again but I just might look bitchy enough to get a pair of seats to myself. I just have to remember to skip the hells this trip.

And so life goes on.

Bob Dylan - Not Dark Yet

Disclaimer - I should admit I lied up above because I don't hate everything equally. Even in my mood I hate that jackass Glenn Beck more.

Observations from Paternoville 9.4

(disclaimer – the following post may contain thoughts that originated in a mind under the influence of intoxicants. KT)

There is nothing quite like opening day of football season at Penn State. The now fifty year old Beaver Stadium packed with 110,000 fans making it the second largest stadium in the nation. But on opening day the fun begins much sooner. Dawn finds my brother’s ‘tailgate chili’ beginning to simmer in the pot and the first of the beer chilling on ice.

But this day had all the makings of something special. My tenth in a row it dawned in stunning fashion with simply gorgeous weather. I have been to opening days when it was hot, days when it rained, and days you wished it would rain but never a day quite like this one. Calendar be damned it was a picture perfect early fall day in the mountains.

Tailgating starts not long after the sun rises over Nittany Mountain with the first of an endless line of cars and rvs pulling into the lots augmented by throngs of cooler toting students who have no tickets, and probably want no tickets, who will disappear to the bars and their apartments just before kickoff. Forget any diet you might be on because every kind of meat you can think of is grilling somewhere on the parking lot. And anything, I mean anything, you would want to drink is here too.

Adding to all this on opening day is the fact that all of these fans have spent the last 247 days thinking, dreaming, and planning for this day. Yes we are Penn State and yes we are that sick. The opening day opponent is normally a cake team (Penn State beat Youngstown State 44-14) so the morning takes on the feel of celebration of the beginning of a new season with JoePa. But now, in the back of your mind, you are always wondering if it will be his last.

In a new tradition I managed to stay relatively sober until kickoff. I felt just a little weird, almost as an outsider looking in for the first time. On the other hand Ash, at her first opening day since she graduated, almost repeated her last time here where she passed out before kickoff. Seems once you are a vq you find it hard to get up at dawn and party instead of doing the opposite. I found that just too funny.

Since the day I moved to the Village I have often pondered what or where I consider my home. I have moved around so much in the last few years that I sometimes feel lost. Banished from the student section of the stadium for the first time the beginning of the game found me looking down into the screaming mass of humanity. Just before kickoff my brother muttered two words. “Welcome home.” I never asked who he was talking to or what he meant by it ….

I just smiled knowingly =)

Useless info ….

The Nittany Lion mascot, well actually the student who wears the costume, was suspended for the first four games of the season after being cited for public drunkenness and underage drinking. The cheerleader, who shall remain nameless, was selected after the previous was kept from attending the Rose Bowl game as the mascot after being charged with DUI.

In a related note Penn State is ranked #3 in the 2011 Princeton Review party school rankings. Sadly that is a two place drop from their 2010 ranking. I think it is just a coincidence that I moved away during this time.

Finally, from a PSU - OSU game in 2008, the best game opening ever
JoePa

...........

a little update from the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer
Final stand for Penn State's Paterno?

Observations from the Roof, the Vendor

I had a rather eye opening day today and I seem to be back on the roof where it all started last night. After a night of chatting with the vqs I tried to get to sleep early, well early for me. For various reasons I found myself tossing in bed unable to sleep. Around four in the morning I pulled on a sweatshirt and some cutoffs and decided to go wander the neighborhood. I wandered the dark and empty streets, or what passes for dark and empty streets on a summer night in the Village.

Eventually I stopped to get an early edition Times and ended up drinking coffee and talking to the vendor. I guess he doesn’t get much company at that hour because he proceeded to give me a life update. At one point he was telling me about his daughter who lives out on the left coast and whom he hasn’t seen in years. But than he pulled out his cell phone and told me he talks to her every day.

Something about that hit a loose wire in my brain because, as he talked on, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I have been thinking about it ever since. Now I always talk about how I ‘burn bridges’ leaving people behind like so many piles of bones alongside the road of my life. Not that it has to be my way all the time, more like I find it hard to deal with life’s problems and I find it so much easier to just walk on and leave it all behind. Its why have so few really old friends and always seem to depend on my family for support.

What makes this all more intense is the fact that at the moment the friends I do have seem to be scattering to the four corners. My sister is deep into field hockey, Ash’s girl friend is off visiting family and attending a theatre seminar and one of my best friends is off in wilderness unknown hunting bears.

After a day of thinking I came to determination of sorts. I just don’t think I am any longer the loner I once was, the loner that all my life I thrived on being. Maybe part of it is living in such a totally and constantly intense environment or maybe its just I’m getting older. Maybe I’m just maturing into a more normal person after twenty eight years. Honestly I have no idea why the vendor’s story did this to me. Karma, always karma.

The only thing of any substance to come out of all this meditation is this. I have a friend I call Pitts, its short for Pittsburgh and the reason is worth a blog post all its own and maybe one day I’ll get to it. She left PSU just before me, moving to LA and a job at UCLA just before I moved to the Village. For a long time we would talk everyday but now we just don’t seem to do it as much. I guess its one of those another place and another time type stories, things would have could have been so different had i met her at another time in my life. But today I realized I don’t want her to become one of those piles of bones along the road, honestly I miss her. There are only so many tall dark arrogant bitches in the world and we have to stick together. So I called her, talked for like two hours, and until we said goodbye it seemed like we were never apart. It felt good.

Well this turned into one of the longer posts i have written but I still have to get back to my newspaper vendor. After finishing my coffee and a last smoke I decided that the nicely caffeinated muah really did need some sleep after all so I said goodbye and headed for home. Hopefully I get to talk to him again but when I finally woke I wasn’t so sure the whole episode wasn’t just a dream. Than I found a paper next to the bed and realized that it really did happen. Strangely I found these words scribbled on the paper in my handwriting. I have no idea if I saw or heard them somewhere before or they came out of my sleepless brain. Ill finish with them because they seem fitting ….

No one knows till they have it
No one cares till they lose it
No one bleeds till they live it
No one wants to admit it
No one can be without it
No one truly lives till they feel it

The journey continues.

Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good

Observations from the Roof 7.24

I’m sitting on the roof enjoying the light show on a Saturday night. To the one side an almost full moon big and bright, to the other side one hell of a lightning storm off over the ocean. But I’ll tell you what, this is just wrong, its 90 degrees and it’s almost 11 at night. The vqs seem to like it but I’m feeling a bit like the wicked vq of the west, I’m effing melting here. But the beer is ice cold and the limes are fresh, some things are always good.

I think it’s finally time I made a confession. I should have told you this long ago but I didn’t do it. Underneath this tall, dark, arrogant, artsie, antisocial dyke skin lurks another heart. Contrary to the image and reputation I have carefully crafted over the years, at times I am a total geek. There I said it, I admit it, and I feel so much better now.

I have two flickr sites, plurk, twitter, youtube, tumblr, and the blog. I have so many site accounts that one password would unlock the world for you, and no not just porn. I has mad computer skilzs that make a comp sing like Pavarotti singing Turandot to packed house. I love Lisbeth Salander not for her sexy tats but because she can make her comp sing too. Actually I want to take Lisbeth home to make my comp sing but that’s another story. I have a first life, a second life, and I'm sure a third lurks in the back of my brain even sluttier than the first two. And as further proof I'm writing this on a Saturday night.

I’m only telling you this because the heat and Corona are getting to me so don’t go spreading it around. After all I do have a reputation to protect.

But now I must go because the vqs are dragging me out for a night of training. See you all for breakfast. Black attire is required.

Black Veil Brides - Knives and Pens