Funky Memorials in NYC

As works of art, memorials are usually very staid, conservative things. Since they are public exhibits and meant to remember the dead, obviously they need to be as tasteful as possible and offend no one. Thus most memorials, on strictly aesthetic grounds, are usually less than stunning l'objects art -- that is, of course, unless they are designed by someone like Maya Lin (who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC and the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial in Atlanta).

New York City doesn't have a lot of memorials of note with the clear exception of the Soldier and Sailors Monument on 89th Street and Riverside Drive (I guess Grant's Tomb counts as a memorial, sort of). There's also the World War I memorial in Astoria Park and, of course, the 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero is built slowly, slowly.

However, some regular people have taken it upon themselves to create their own memorials in NYC. In Bayridge, Brooklyn, there is a rather incredible memorial to 9/11 of Jesus cradling the Twin Towers. While one might question its artistic merit, there is no denying its sincerity.And if you look around town, on the streets, you might come across some bicycles spray painted in white. These are called Ghost Bikes and the are meant to remember cyclists and pedestrians who have been killed on the streets.

While some might consider these exotic types of memorials strange, in the end, aren't we kind of glad they're there? After all, who says you have to be boring when remembering the dead?

Recession Culture

There is a great story in this week's New York magazine by Jennifer Senior about how the recession is changing the character of NYC. The city's economy is changing and it's way of life is changing -- thus we are now living in a "recession culture." However, if you think about what's happening to NYC and the country's whole economy, it's less of a recession we're living through than an economic "restructuring." It's restructuring in ways that are obviously painful but in other ways that might give the middle class reasons to hope.

Coming of Age in NYC: "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" and "The Wackness"

I recently caught up with two movies on DVD that came out last year: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and The Wackness. Both of these flicks are about teenagers "coming of age" in NYC and, as a former teenager who came of age in this great metropolis, I obviously felt compelled to watch and critique them.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist: Technically this is about teenagers from New Jersey but the movie takes place in NYC and is where the youg'uns "find" themselves so I think it counts. Anyway, Nick is a high school senior who loves, loves music and is in a band with a couple of gay guys called The Jerkoffs. He's just been dumped by his girlfriend who's a giant raging bitch but, like most dumb guys, he can't get over her. His ex goes to school with, and is frenemies with, Norah who is also a giant music geek. So one Friday night, just before Nick and Norah graduate, Nick's band plays a gig at Arlene Grocery. Nick and Norah meet and, in an attempt prove to Nick's ex that he's over her, kisses Norah. After that, hilarity ensues: Nick, Norah, and the gay guys fail in their attempt to take Norah's drunk friend Caroline back to New Jersey, Nick's ex decides she wants to get back with him, and all the while they are trying to find out where a band called Where's Fluffy is playing (apparently this band is so cool and so good that their gigs aren't announced until the last minute and they always play at weird times and places). Needless to say, love and music triumph, as Nick and Norah realize they are the only two people cool enough to understand each other.

I REALLY wanted to like this movie. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist had the potential to be a great early 21st century, coming of age, NYC, hipster flick. Also, it clearly understands how important music is to some people and how growing up sucks. And it's a very affectionate love letter to downtown New York: the movies rushes from place to place, from Arlene's Grocery, to Gray's Papaya, to St Mark's Place, to Penn Station, to Brooklyn, to Veselka (easily my favorite East Village hangout). But the characters of Nick and Norah aren't really developed, I never come either to like or identify with them really. Micheal Cera from Juno and Arrested Development plays Nick and basically the movie doesn't give his character any complexity -- we're basically supposed to love him because he's cute, his character loves music, and we loved him in Juno. Someone named Kat Dennings plays Norah (I'm totally unfamiliar with her other work) and her character makes no sense: one moment she's a tough, smart, and resilient broad, the next she's a little wimp. Totally illogical. As for the story, it's hopelessly contrived. The whole "finding where Where's Fluffy is playing" is lame, just an excuse to have the characters run around the city. And the ending is very dumb. So sadly, as much as I would love to tell people that this is a great coming of age in NYC flick, I can't.

The Wackness: Much better movie. It has its problems but in terms of story and character development, it's a quantum leap above Nick and Norah. So Luke (played by some kid named Josh Peck who I never heard of but he's really good) is a pot dealer. He's just graduated high school but his college plans are almost derailed when his parents go bankrupt. He has a shrink named Squires (brilliant performance by Ben Kingsley) who Luke pays with pot, and Squires is also the stepfather to a girl named Stephanie that Luke went to HS with and is in love with (Stephanie is played by Olivia Thirlby who played the best friend in Juno; she is an amazing actress). Anyway, it's the summer of 1994 and Luke has two missions: deal enough pot to pay for college and hook up with Stephanie. The only flaw in this plan is Squires, who becomes a bigger and bigger part of his life. Squires is basically going through a mental breakdown, his marriage to Stephanie's mother crumbling, and Luke begins to view him as the father he never had. Events and hijinks and misunderstandings ensue and, unlike the previous movie, The Wackness is totally unpredictable and has one of the weirdest and most strangely satisfying endings I've seen in a while. All ends well ... sorta.
The Wackness really moved me. Personally, I don't know how anyone who wasn't a teenager in NYC in 1994 can't appreciate it but, if you were one like me, you'll love it. This movie gets 1994 down PERFECTLY. I really felt like I was transported back to that time, when teenagers still thought they were cool by drinking Zima and sporting beepers, and Giuliani had just taken office (you may recall my previous blog posts on remembering the cultural impact of 1994 that we still feel today). The only big problem I had with this flick is in the character of Luke: on the one hand, he's this brilliant pot dealer (never gets caught) but at the same time he's a total loser with girls (until Stephanie). Here's the deal: if you're a drug dealer in NYC and you're smart enough to make a lot of money at it and not get caught, and even graduate high school in the process, then you are smart enough to know how to score chicks! Drug dealers have no problem getting laid! Women love hooking up with drug dealers! They friggin' offer themselves up to drug dealers! So I couldn't really buy this whole part of the movie. I realize the writer probably thought that this made Luke a more compelling character (hard nosed drug dealer, wimp with the ladies) but the logic left me cold. However, Josh Peck's performance is so wonderful that you forgive this and, with all the other great characters that populate this quirky flick, you give The Wackness a chance and, as character of Luke would say, roll with it. And Ben Kingsley is so incredible that it's worth seeing the movie for him alone.

Of course, if you want to see a much, MUCH darker coming of age in NYC movie, then watch Kids from 1995. It'll make you have a mental breakdown.

Save Our Swedes!

The Swedish government is threatening to close its consulate's office here in NYC. (I guess the economic hard times is hitting Scandinavia as well.) According to this piece by Clyde Haberman in The New York Times, this has the 30,000 Swedes who live in this town "irked."

Who knew there were that many Swedes in this town?

But since NYC is the ultimate melting pot, this doesn't come as much of a surprise.

And Haberman points out an interesting historical tidbit about Swedes and NYC: The Bronx was named after a Swedish farmer named Jonas Bronck (if you want proof of NYC being the ultimate American melting pot, just look at who and what inspired our boroughs' names: The Bronx was named after a Swedish guy, Manhattan was the name of an Algonquian Indian tribe, Queens was after the British monarchy, and Brooklyn and Staten Island have their names in Dutch roots: Brooklyn was named after a Dutch town called Breukelen, and Staten Island comes from Staaten Eylandt after the Staten-Generaal, the Dutch parliament. Go figure.)

And of course Sweden has given us such wonderful cultural imports as Ingmar Bergman movies, Ikea, and Swedish meatballs.

But my favorite Swedish import above all has to be ...this guy ...

New York on Tap

Looking for a bar in NYC - with subway directions?

Check out New York on Tap. Very cool site.

Bailout!

Well, it looks like our esteemed elected leaders finally managed to hammer out some kind of bailout of the MTA. Good for them!

Considering that they had until May 31 before the so-called doomsday budget would have kicked in with its massive fair hikes and service cuts, I guess we should be grateful. Still, they could have acted sooner and saved us New Yorkers from weeks of financial agita.

But even though we've been saved from doomsday, this bailout still contains some pain. Here's the rundown:

• MetroCards go from $2 to $2.25
• Monthly MetroCards go from $81 to $89.
• Metro-North and LIRR fares, and bridge and tunnel tolls, go up 10%.
• Tolls and fares will be increased again in 2011 and 2013.

So some of this is pain deferred. That's the bad news. The good news: there's no service cut and also money for capital improvement projects like the 2nd Avenue Subway (the White Wale of NYC transportation).

Thus we New Yorkers can sleep a little sounder tonight know that our dear, beloved MTA has been made solvent again. Until next time ...

All In The Family

All in the Family isn't necessarily considered a great NYC show but it really was: a great show about working class, outer borough New Yorkers. You never see shows like this on TV anymore - thank God for re-runs!

More Proof of NYC's Dying Middle Class

Once ‘Very Good Rent Payers’ Now Facing Eviction

And Mayor Mike is going to spend $100 million to get re-elected?

I have an idea: why doesn't Mike's campaign employ every New Yorker facing eviction? Then they could pay the rent and he could single-handily save middle class New York!

Seriously, as I've said before, Mike's been a good mayor in many ways but he has a tin-ear when it comes to the middle class in this town. The middle-class is dying and Mike doesn't seem to notice or care. The most we've gotten out of him about this issue is lip-service but no action.

The term-limits law was extended precisely because Mike is supposedly an expert on ... the economy. But what is the "economy" if not the entity that gives people the ability to the pay their bills? Mike's supposed expertise is in short supply when it comes to rescuing the middle class.

It's much too early, in my opinion, to endorse for Mayor yet but Mr NYC will endorse and vote for the candidate who has the best plan to save middle class New York.

John Lennon in NYC

Many thanks to the always great Zen at Debonair Debacles for giving the heads up to an exhibit opening this month at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex here in NYC. It's called "JOHN LENNON: The New York City Years" and, obviously, it's about his post-Beatles/Yoko Ono/hippie-free love period that tragically ended one day in 1980. Apparently this exhibit will include lots of his artifacts from that time including his handwritten lyrics!

It's hard to remember but John Lennon lived here for many years and became quite the New Yorker. It ways also during this period that he wrote probably his greatest song, "Imagine", and engaged in anti-Vietnam activities that almost led to his deportation.

I really hope to check out this exhibit, it looks fascinating.

Bolt Bus Update

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about Bolt Bus, the super-cool service that runs between DC and Boston. I had noted that it's generally a big city bus service (only stopping in DC, Philly, NYC, and Boston) and doesn't stop in any of the more mid-size cities in between.

Well, since Mr NYC has so much clout, the good people who promote Bolt Bus emailed me today to let me know that, starting May 7, Bolt Bus will now be running to Baltimore. In fact, between May 7 and 10, all tickets to Baltimore only cost $1. That's good news for anyone who's got a reason to head to Charm City.

So it looks like Bolt Bus is here to stay and is only getting better.