- activism
- anarchy
- apocalypse
- Athens
- bicycles
- birds
- books
- Buenos Aires
- clubs
- coffee
- couple's dancing
- Dante's Inferno
- demons
- drunks
- Dyckman
- economy
- film
- fire hydrants
- graffiti
- Greek diners
- gross factor
- Havana
- idling
- immigration
- Inwood
- Ioannina
- it's a man's world
- Miami
- New York City
- Nova Speaks
- Ode to...
- odyssey essentials
- olympians
- on the subway
- Outer Space
- paradise
- police
- press
- prostitution
- public space
- restaurants
- Rio
- salsa
- school
- Sicily
- sidewalks
- Sinvergüenza
- star trek
- star wars
- stores
- street cookie
- taxis
- trees
- twilight zone
- urban confessions
- Washington Heights
- zipcar
And so it ends… arrived are the winds of autumn
Inwood, NYC, “Summer Daze 09″
It lasted all of two weeks… break out of it because here comes autumn.
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Our neighbor, the ? Finch
There is this little spice finch (?) who eats on a blade of uncut grass on a hill in Inwood Park that I’ve been seeing every day for the past week. At first I thought he was a sparrow, but noticed his coat had more of a chestnut shine, not a dusty brown. Then I saw his black little beak, and how he sat royally on top of a blade of grass eating its seeds. I stopped. I confirmed he wasn’t a sparrow after seeing his black and white speckled underbelly. He let’s you get close. He looks at you looking at him, then continues eating his seeds. I think of two things when I see him: why are you here, and, if the parks department had cut this part of the field in man’s obessessive quest to have trimmed grass, you wouldn’t have any food as it seems like your beak is made just for blade seeds. How a small act of not cutting the corners of the grass allowed for a spice finch to survive.
Now I’ve called the Audubon Society, emailed bird websites to see if I should catch him because I’m not sure if he’s an escaped pet (they told me NOT to do this). I really don’t know for sure if he is a spice finch. One resident who saw C-mixto looking at him claims that there are tons of them here. If anyone knows of finch colonies in Inwood, give a shout out. It’s such a curious urban sight.
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Endangered species- local movie theaters
For better or for worse, we’ve lost a lot of our local movie theaters. In its last days Metro theater had cheap prices, peeling art deco decor, nasty seats, and I think only two movie rooms. But I didn’t have to trek on a subway or bus to see a movie. I could take a neighborhood stroll. I believe Metro is now land marked, so it’s in this odd limbo world of what to do with it. I hold my breath walking under that awning. It looks ready to fall flat down and squash you like a pancake out of anger for its decrepit state.
There are benefits to going to a mega theater- nowadays we want good sound and good images to entertain us, less so the storylines. And cleanliness is always nice. But loosing local places seems like one more step towards our cities becoming more like the affluent suburbs.
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Strange friends you have, Mr. Heineken…
Washington Heights, NYC August 2009
Delivering more than beer here!
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Sicilian Medusa
Catania, Sicily July 2009
Nice contrast with the architecture
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Why all of you are trekkies
Those of you who think you are not sci fi fans or trekkies, think again… Did you know that the inspiration behind the invention of the cell phone are the communicators and tricorders used in Star Trek? Don’t know what a tricorder is? Well time to read up and just give into Trekkie coolness. And now that we have touch pads, well… it’s getting more and more like what Spock, Kirk and Picard use when going where no man has gone before…
And to further show you how cool some Trekkies are, here is a pin up by the artist Jesus Diaz.
So next time you are texting, googling, blabbing and slaving over your cell phone, remind yourself of the truth. You are really a trekkie. And by texting so much, your fingers will slowly begin to curl permanently into the Vulcan live long and prosper sign. It’s a secret trekkie joke of the inventor.
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Catania’s alien problem
Apparently Sicily’s city of Catania has an alien problem (or a renegade sperm). Every other block or so I saw this guy… Looking fierce, looking lost, looking like a naughty Peeping Tom (image included above). How do residents feel about this white alien?
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The Accordion Player at Broadway-Lafayette
photo taken at...?
There is an accordion player whom I see on Sunday afternoons at the Broadway-Lafayette subway stop. She is young, has white skin with almost a talcum powder glow. Her hair is raven black. The music coming out of her accordion sounds so old… as though she channels an old Eastern European soul from its wooden frame by pressing its white keys.
When I descend the stairs into the underworld of the MTA and hear her accordion cry, I freeze. I am chilled by its misplaced melody, as though someone opened up a jewelry box somewhere and its notes are echoing through the labrynth of tunnels. I feel I am suddenly being haunted by a ghost. The accordion player smiles if you smile at her. I often wonder her story, and indeed took a card should I want to end the mystery. Her song makes you think you have time traveled back to the cobblestone streets of early 20th century Prague. Seeing her as the source of the music is just as unexpected as first hearing the notes; her modern image jolts you back into the present. I see her as an unlikely historian, a priestess of an old craft, keeping what’s dead in history alive in our memories.
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Nova Speaks
Greetings Urbanites-
Who says things slow down in our cities during the summer? Here are some highlights:
· Coming to a comic store near you are playing cards of Salsa Characters. This list of first editions focuses on some of the men you’ll encounter in the Salsa Universe. Study them like SAT cards, ladies. Your dancing life will improve tremendously when you know how to spot a “Topsy Turvey”, “Predator”, “Romeo Don Juan”, “Have No Rhythm, Don’t Count, Don’t Care”… the list goes on.
· Nova has a Star Wars- Matrix moment at Jimmy Anton’s… I meet Obi-Wan-On2, who shows me how the way to feel the force is to salsa with your eyes closed. Before anyone gets any ideas, only Fred Astaires and Romeo Don Juans can get away with asking a girl to do this. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Then read up on Salsa Characters!
· We learn that city heaven has Cecilware Fe-100s, and city hell has announcements managed by the MTA.
· C-mixto spots a white tiger lurking in the safari of Inwood. Captured on film! Can you spot it?
· I call the return of paperboys.
· Get ready for… end-time, black holes, mutants, aliens… or the status quo. You have until about November 2009.
Nova Speaks – continue reading …
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Salsa Characters
I’ve been dancing long enough to start a list. That’s right, a list of salsa characters. This list will only continue to grow. Note that this is man-list. I am sure some of you can come up with an equivalent list of female salsa characters. But let’s start here. If I could come up with some cards of these characters like my Marvel Universe 1st edition ones, I would.
Narcissus: Let’s start with you, Narcissus, as you’re so easy to spot. You are the not-salsero who asks a girl to dance, but spends the entire time watching yourself dance in the mirror. You are fond of the side-step because it allows you to position yourself at an angle where your dance partner doesn’t obstruct your view of yourself in the looking glass. When you do remember you have a dance partner, it is only for a moment, because you adjust the girl’s grip on you as a queen would rearrange a diamond bracelet so that it better highlights her wrist.
Predator: As vulgar as the one in the movie, you don’t salsa to dance. You salsa to get a quick feel and three minutes of hand-holding. Your favorite target are the beginners, not so much because they are your choice; the more advanced girls don’t have to dance with you anymore. And besides, those girls already got your predator number. You come in all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, and ages. Guys, it’s less frustrating on all of us to just drop the money on a good lap dance at Hustler. They have a taxi stand right outside their doors to take you home when you’re done.
Frog to Prince Charming: Oh, you’re a delight! You are the guys whom most would least expect to be great dancers. Either because you’re no Fabio in your outer shell, you emit a rhythmless vibe off the dance floor, or you’re straight out of Revenge of the Nerds. When the clave sings, POOF! You bedazzle us with the smoothest moves, showing us, indeed, there is such thing as Clark Kent and Superman. Salsa Characters – continue reading …
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