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The Elusive White Tiger of Inwood
Look very closely... you'll see his face...
If you look closely at this picture you will find it.
And once you do, you will see it had you in its sights long before you could say the same.
A few days ago while walking to work on a bright sunny morning, I was startled to see a flock of pigeons take flight from the overgrown lot. Then out of nowhere, a small white tiger launched into the air in a primal attempt to snatch one from the air. A Wild Kingdom moment for the urban safari. . . on the sidewalks of Broadway, instead of the waterholes of the Serengeti.
On the following day, I then saw him taking his position in the sheltering grass. Achieving such camouflage for a pure white predator was impressive enough for me to snap this picture and wish him well on his quest.
Bike Parking in Inwood, Dyckman Street, NYC 2009Alien Street Cookie Arrives in Inwood via Black Hole
This find was submitted by C-mixto in Inwood, NYC
Speaking of outer space, if this isn’t Street Cookie I don’t know what is. C-mixto submitted this photo reluctantly. He is not a fan of the Street Cookie thread, but was shaken by his find and might be a new believer. This is alien Street Cookie emerging from a black hole vortex. He came across it near Academy Street in Inwood.
Dante’s Inferno, Fourth Circle: (Most) Yellow Cabs and Non-local gypsy cabs
I am pretty sure in Dante’s Inferno, the banished were allotted room for redemption. So join Beatrice and sing for these groups:
A special place is reserved for some members of two groups that manage to always make Nova go to the verge of supernova status (big difference between the two). That would be the majority of yellow cabs and non-local cabs that troll around neighborhoods that aren’t their turf. Why such harsh words for you? Let’s start with the hornets:
- F*ck you for not wanting to go past 125th street, and forcing me to hail you on the downtown lane to trap you into going uptown.
- Once in your vehicle, screw you for either:
- kicking me out because you don’t want to go uptown.
- sucking your teeth, cursing in [insert language], being disgruntled and driving angry for the entire ride up.
- abandoning me midway pretending the car broke down.
- here’s where Nova becomes Supernova: demanding a $5-10 tip for “going this far up”.
- While you’re busy screwing yourself, study a f*cking map of NY and accept that Inwood is in Manhattan and not the Bronx so NO you can’t charge me Bronx fees from the airport. Dante’s Inferno, Fourth Circle: (Most) Yellow Cabs and Non-local gypsy cabs – continue reading …
Keep Off Everything
Does Parks have nothing else better to do but put up fences everywhere? You can’t promote connecting people to nature if you’re constantly putting up barriers. I swear walking in some of our parks (Central Park being the worst in this sense) is like walking in a transient zoo for humans, where the trees get to watch us. Fences everywhere, and cement paths dictating where it is we’re supposed to step. Granted, some areas need protection for growth, some semblance of order, etc, but come on, balance it. The economy may be down but walk in parks and you get the sense they seem to have the cash exclusively to install more fences.
In the Inwood park entrance they took out a beloved man-made trail under a weeping tree and uprooted the darling bench where you could spend some time with quiet thoughts on the not so walked road. There was even an article in the local paper awhile back about how Parks installed some sort of alarm system that threatened you verbally if you walked on the grass or were too close to a tree (can’t remember which one, but it was something crazy like that. I have to note here, we also have crimes of “arbocide” in Inwood, wanted posters and all).
Someone check out the background of who’s behind this. It reminds me of Guliani.
One big overly pruned lawn is not nature. Keep the broken glass, crack vials and muggers out, but give us back our parks.
Nightingales of Inwood
If there are any ornithologists out there reading this, please enlighten us. When the weather warms up, the birds of Inwood seem to confuse midnight with dawn, because as I close my eyes to enter dreamland the birds break out into a twilight song. It starts with one chirp, but then it crescendos into a melodious chorus, like night has found her voice and is enticing you to find her. If you’re not a Hitchcock fan, this should be relaxing, except my circadian rhythm tells me that when I hear birds and I am laying in bed, IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP AND GO TO WORK. Oh how cruel that such beauty in nature can be raped into the modern man’s alarm clock! They sing on and on until about 3:30am when suddenly it becomes Inwood-Hill-Park-dead-silent.
It is strange because 3:30am is usually when the birds of Central Park start singing, at least in my book. Maybe it’s the same crew that picks up and takes the party there. How many nights did I wake up and cling onto the grey bars of our concrete terrace and wonder what makes birds sing at night? Is it the artificial sun our mastery of electricity makes, which also f*cks up our view of the celestial mosaic of stars? Do the birds feast on crack pebbles scattered in the scummy puddles of city West Nile-standing water? Is this what makes them party during the night and sleep away their normal call to announce day? I don’t think the nightingale is native to Inwood. Or is it? A seal has been recently spotted in the Inwood waters and they say seals once thrived here. Are animals reclaiming our cities? Someone please tell me.
The Dyckman Revolution: the Free Man’s Last Stand
The weather is warming up in the Inwood Heights. Besides the midriffs and sidewalk bastions for dominoes that blossom like May flowers, one thing to look forward to are the Saturday night wild west automobile parties at the abandoned Marina on Dyckman street. C-mixto & I have unwittingly strolled into these before, during hot summer nights when we’re looking for a breeze on the pier overlooking Englewood Cliffs, the distant GW bridge, and the Hudson curving up into that vast distant territory called upstate. We know what’s up. We’re not playing the innocent. We hear the thumping base of reggaetón, the snarls of exhaust-less motorcycles. Walking into Dyckman Marina past dusk requires a comfort that you are one with your neighborhood and that you’re actually there to be a part of the party. The Dyckman Revolution: the Free Man’s Last Stand – continue reading …
Zip Codes
Who are your global zip code neighbors? Here are some of mine. Go to the “check the weather” button on yahoo, click on change location, and type in your zip code. It should give you a list to choose from around the world.
Troyes, France (home of Lacoste apparel)
Chivasso, Italy (has a natural reservoir with a spring of sulphurous water)
Olsztyn, Poland (…on the Lyna River, has lots of rivers and lakes and nature preserves)
Nyeri, Kenya (has Africa’s second highest mountain, and pockets of ranches catering to secret celebrity getaways)
