Having lived in this city all my life, I don't know what this experience is like but it must be an intimidating one. If I wasn't from here, I don't know if I'd have the chutzpah to come. Go them.
Does anyone out there drink Snapple? Not being an iced tea man myself, I haven't really acquainted myself with the beverage but, apparently, it's the official drink of the City of New York.
Seriously.
In 2000, Snapple and the city government created a partnership, and Snapple sponsors the visitor's center in Times Square and they only sell Snapple (I think) in city buildings.
Also, if you buy a bottle, the bottle cap has a fun fact inside about NYC you might not know. Example: "The first person in the U.S. arrested for speeding was a NYC cab driver." Interesting.
Snapple was actually founded in Brooklyn in 1972. I always wondered why, when I was in college out of town, I didn't see anyone drink Snapple. Everyone in my high school (except me) loved the stuff but in college no one else did. Only now, only a decade later, do I come to learn that's basically a New York City drink. Boy do I feel foolish. I'm sure most of you won't disagree.
The New York Times has a wonderful story today about, of all things, the last stops on New York City subway lines. It's an interesting and unique delving into a part of this city's untapped psyche.
Separately, each of these various lines are, as the story indicates, rather lonely and sad places. You're at the end of something, you can go no further. Yet they're also, a in strange way, exciting places -- you can start the whole journey over again, you can be at the beginning. If you've ever gotten off at a last stop or got on at the first stop, you'll know what I mean.
By putting these various stations together and in their own unique context, this story creates a sort of strange community, an end of the line community. As you might imagine, most of these stops are located at the very edges of the city, way up in the Bronx, at the bottom of Manhattan, or on the fringes of Brooklyn and Queens. But scattered as they may be, when you put them together, they seem more than the sum of their parts somehow.
And isn't being more than the sum of its parts what New York City is all about?
(New Lots Avenue subway stop, last on the 2, 3, 4, and 5 line pictured above.)
Like many Johnny Come Lately's to the HBO series The Wire, I've been catching up on it on DVD. And the rumors are true: it really is one of the greatest TV shows ever made. It's easily the greatest TV show about a city -- ever.
That city is Baltimore. It presents the whole complex tableau of cops, criminals, bureaucrats, politicians, lawyers, business people, union workers, journalists -- you name it 0- that make 21st century American cities whir. It also gets at why so many cities are not only crime ridden (drugs, greed, broken families, etc.) but just generally dysfunctional: the people in power benefit from the status quo and those who want to change it are usually shut down (brutally). Careerism and money too often get in the way of doing the right thing. Virtue is punished and venality rewarded. Yes, it's bleak comment on American urban life and policy -- but that doesn't mean it's not fun to watch. Despite being socially conscious, The Wire is massively entertaining and funny. I've never been more riveted by a series.
Most of all, The Wire shows how "law and order" is not a black and white business (racially or morally), how people aren't all good or all bad, how circumstances so often force us to make choices we don't want to make or shouldn't have to make, how the line between right and wrong, ethical and unethical, legal and illegal, is so often very blurry.
I could go on and on about every aspect of the show (the plots, the characters, the performances, the writing) but I couldn't do it justice. It's all perfect. So if you've never seen The Wire, get on Netflix ASAP and order the first season.
Now what does The Wire have to do with NYC? Nothing, sadly. There isn't a show half as good, even a quarter as good, heck even a tenth as good about NYC as "The Wire" is about Baltimore.
What are the big shows about New York? Empty cop procedurals like Law and Order (and it's clones) and CSI: New York or silly shows like Dirty Sexy Money and Lipstick Jungle. The closest NYC ever came to having a "great show" about it was NYPD Blue which managed to start sucking after a couple seasons and was never anywhere near as good as The Wire. Maybe NYC is just too big and too complex for a TV series to it just justice, but I'll hold out hope that maybe one day such a show will come along. Until then, any good New Yorker should watch, enjoy, and celebrate The Wire.
For you movie buffs out there, you might find the following interesting:
The Paris Theater -- you know, the one next to the Plaza Hotel on 59th street -- is turning 60 years old next month. It's the oldest continuing art house cinema in the country and it's a real treasure. If you've never gone to see a movie there, you should. It reminds you of a time when movie theaters were really theaters, and going to the movies was a semi-classy event. The Paris has a balcony and a curtain in front of the screen that goes up at showtime. I remember going to see The Remains of the Day there in high school, Life is Beautiful there in college, and then a movie called The Company, one of Robert Altman's last films, a few years ago. My mom told me about going to see movies like The Bridge on the River Kwai and other classics there back in the day. At a time when NYC landmarks like CBGBs are vanishing, let's be thankful the Paris is still there.
2. And if that don't excite you, then this might: The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are coming back to the big screen! From September 12 to October 2, Film Forum will be showing these classic films that were completely restored by Mr. Francis Ford Coppola himself. It's hard tow believe these two movies are almost 40 years old. Needless to say, New York City film geeks are going nuts (that includes me). Get all the info about it here.
If you're unfamiliar with the folk singer Deirdre Flint, then you should be. She's one of the smartest, funniest, most charming chanteuses performing today. Her songs wax nostalgic and lovingly about dating, the 1970s, breakups, Nancy Drew, old friends, Donald Rumsfeld, boobs, cheerleaders, belly dancers, Nancy Drew, nuns, food, Kenya -- you name it. In this clip, she reminds us about that terrible fate our nation avoided, the metric system.
She's easily one of the most original singers out there.
I had the joy of seeing Deidre with her singing troupe The Four Bitchin' Babes last year at BB King's Blues Club. She and her fellow babes brought the house down with one of the most enjoyable shows I've ever seen. Deidre doesn't play in NYC too often but tomorrow night she'll be at the The Living Room on Ludlow Street as part of the Upstairs Sessions. The show starts 7:30 and, for more information, check out Deidre's site.
So I'm walking home from the gym yesterday afternoon and pass two ladies talking when I hear one of them say to the other, "I orgasm when ..."
Very proud of the fact that I did not allow my head to turn or slow my gait to hear the remainder of that sentence. Needless to say, being a man, I'll always be curious as to what it was (besides the obvious). I just marveled that anyone would say something like that on a crowded street but New Yorkers are truly bold. Wacky even.
Oh, but it gets wackier. An hour or so later my lady and I are driving down a street when we pass a church. All the dressed-up people on the street and a couple of white stretch limos made it clear that a wedding had just taken place. And where was the bride? In the street! She was running from car to car, asking the drivers to roll down their windows, so that she could get and gives total strangers kisses. She clearly was so happy she wanted to share the joy!
My lady, being a mench, powered down the windows and I obliged the lady. She thanked me, we congratulated her, and on she went. The wacky scene was made even wackier by the sight of her exasperated photographer trying to take pictures of this while dodging traffic. I hope he gets a bonus from that.
Yes, there are some wacky New Yorkers out there and thank god for them. Makes me happier than ever that I live here, where free spirits feel free to be free.
Just found a great new blog that should be of interest to New York City foodies. NYC Tastes has reviews and incredible links that any real food fan will love. Check it out!
