New York City at Night

There's no more beautiful sight in the world.

Memo from NYC

Paterson Calls Obama Wrong on 9/11 Trial

Why has this thing become such a big deal? One of the masterminds of 9/11 is going to be tried in NYC. The main crime occurred in NYC. Therefore ... shouldn't he be tried here? Makes sense to me.

All these critics say he should be tried in a military tribunal. Why? Don't these critics believe in the American judicial system? I do. Isn't the American judicial system something we're fighting to protect? Don't we help protect the American system by practicing what we preach? In my opinion, putting this guy who wants to destroy America through the wringer of our legal system and showing him why we're better than him is exactly what we should be doing.

It's called the power of our example.

Call me naive, but it looks like a lot of people who say they believe in America don't really trust it. I've even heard some of these critics say that he should be tried quietly in a tribunal, that trying him here will flick the scabs off the wounds of 9/11.

Are we, the American people, really that weak and insecure that putting this nutjob on trial here will overwhelm us? I think we the people are better than that.

I would think that trying this "evildoer" and passing judgment on him would help bring some kind of closure to the trauma of that day. Sure, he'll get a platform to spout his nonsense -- and we'll get a platform to condemn him before the world.

To me, all of this carping is ginned up political nonsense generated by opponents of the Obama administration. These people (mostly Republicans but not all) are politicizing 9/11 (again) to create a wedge between the president and the American people. As usual, these people don't care about justice or America or the constitution -- they just care about hurting Obama so that they can get back into power. This is not about justice or the victims of 9/11 -- this is pure politics at the deepest, most cynical and disgusting level.

A Trip to the High Line

This weekend I finally -- FINALLY! -- made it to the High Line. Located in the West Village between 14th and 20th streets, it's an old abandoned train track turned into New York City's park in the sky.

Park isn't actually the right word for it: the High Line is more like a promenade. It is a long, unbroken stretch of pavement. You go up the stairs (or the elevator) and find yourself about two stories above Manhattan. The surrounding buildings loom over you and Hudson River is just off to your right. As you trek down the promenade, besides the people, there are patches of greenery and brush and various interesting flora. There are also lots and lots of benches -- some small, some large -- that were built so they look as if they're growing out of the cement floor. There are also large wooden chaise lounges where lots of people, in beautiful weather, like to sun themselves.

People like to walk, sit, and chill on this most unique of promenade parks.

Best of all are the little surprises I found on the High Line. There was actually choir from a local church performing on the day I went there. Also, at certain points, the promenade cleaves off into different levels so you can actually walk back and forth and have a totally different experience. At the northern end of the High Line, near 18th street, is perhaps its strangest but, if you think about it, the most logical feature: a gigantic window overlooking the street. In front if it are several levels of wooden benches where you can sit, read the book or the newspaper, and people/traffic watch to your hearts contents.

Strange. But uniquely New Yorkish.

So I liked the High Line. I can't wait to see the whole thing when they open more of it next year. What I'd really like to do at some point is go back at night, with the lights of the city in the background.

The New Colossus

If you go to the Statue of Liberty, you will find the following poem on a plaque at the pedestal of the mighty lady. Entitled "The New Colossus", it was written by Emma Lazarus in 1883 but the plaque containing the poem was not actually mounted onto the statue until 1903 -- twenty years after it was written and seventeen years after Emma Lazarus died in 1887. It's hard to imagine that this amazing poem that so perfectly captures the spirit of American and this great city was originally given such short shrift. However, reading it today, you realize that it's message has not only not faded but has only grown more powerful over the years:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

A few interesting things about this poem and its writer:

1. Upon reading it, I was surprised to realize that it's "breath free" and not "be free." I always thought it was the latter, and you can see why it's easy to think that, but just for the record: it's breath, not be.

2. The part "harbor that twin cities frame" refers to the fact that, in 1883 when this was written, New York harbor served two cities: New York and Brooklyn. Brooklyn did not become part of NYC until 1898.

3. Emma Lazarus, in you case you didn't realize it from her last name, was Jewish. Specifically, she was a Sephardic Jew, her family having come over from Spain during colonial times. Not only that, but she was related to Associate Justice Benjamin Cardozo and was also a strong Zionist.

Medical Leave

Apologies yet again for the lack of blogging lately. This past week I had to have a small operation and posting on here took a backseat to my medical issues. However, I'm recuperating nicely and hope to be blogging full time in the next couple of weeks.

Many thanks to the people at the Hospital for Special Surgery for fixing me up so well. Routinely ranked as one of the best hospitals in the country, this is an amazing, beautiful place located on 70th between York Avenue and the FDR Drive. Truly, I felt unworthy to be operated on in such elegant surroundings. Not only that, but the doctors, nurses, assistants, etc. were not only highly courteous and caring but they were also all really good looking! It was like Grey's Anatomy come to life.

New York Yankees' World Series Victory Parade

Maybe Greed Isn't So Good

Bonuses Uncertain for Bloomberg Election Aides

I love this. Karma is a bitch. In the mayoral election just passed, a whole lot of Democratic political consultants betrayed their party to help Mike Bloomberg win re-election. Why'd they do it? Because Hizzoner the Billionaire promised to pay them vastly more money than they could earn working on Democratic campaigns. They were so friggin' greedy, so consumed with doing well rather than doing good, that they showed their true beliefs, their true colors, their true motivation, their true attitude towards the public good, by abandoning their party and helping a Republican win a third term. After all, who cares about the dying middle class in this city when Bloomberg can help these consultants rise above the middle class?

Uh-oh. Something happened on the way to the bank. Something nobody expected. Bloomberg won his third term -- by a humiliating 51%! He was supposed to win in a landslide but barely squeaked by a broke, unknown opponent. For the first time in his eight years in power, Bloomberg looked foolish.

Bloomberg is pissed. He didn't spend all of this money for that. Now these greedy consultants might not get their big bonuses. They might get the shaft! They pissed off their party because their greed got the better of them -- and now they might not get all that money after all!

Serves them right. Bastards. I hope they not only not get their bonuses (or get severely reduced bonuses) but that they become unemployable. I hope they never work again. Why would any Democrat hire these pricks ever again? Why would Republicans hire them either -- after all, they screwed up! So it looks like they might be joining that withering middle class after all. And if we're lucky, they'll fall out of that as well.

Interview: Arianne Cohen of The Tall Book and New York magazine Sex Diaries

Arianne Cohen must have one of the more interesting job descriptions around: when she's not writing and talking about life as a very tall woman, she's in charge of editing New York's favorite voyeuristic pastime: the New York magazine Sex Diaries. It takes a lot of imagination to come up with that as a career! Arianne was kind enough to talk to Mr NYC about "Tall World," editing the erotic adventures of others, and her thoughts on this crazy city.

So you stand 6 foot 3 inches and have written a whole book about your height and other tall people called The Tall Book. Briefly, what is Tall World?

Tall World is where life is lived up high! It's a unique perspective. For example, it's very dirty--people rarely clean above six foot, so the tops of things tend to be quite dirty. And more to the point, like any group that's somehow different, you gain a great vantage point on society.

Based on your research, as well as your own experience, are there big differences between being a tall woman and a tall man?

It's mostly the same--the biggest challenge is living a very public life, which is akin to always having a spotlight on you. And that's genderless. The biggest differences are romantic. Tall men are the most successful dating and mating group in the world, bar none: they're more successful than rich men or powerful men. Tall women, on the other hand, have low birth rates--they have half the birth rates of average women, and it's because they insist on dating men taller than they are, and thus don't find partners. Which leads me to my big recommendation: ladies, consider dating down. At least an inch or two. It'll triple the size of your dating pool.

And talking about mating (sorry for the bad pun), you are also the editor of New York magazine's Sex Diaries that chronicle a week in the sex life of various New Yorkers. Like most readers I wonder: are these people real and where do you find them?

They're quite real! Most come from online ads, though these days many are referrals from previous writers--they'll tell their friend, "oh you have to do this."

How do people get their sex diaries published? What makes a good "diary"? What goes on "behind the scenes" at the Sex Diaries?

A good diary tells not just what happened, but what the diarist was thinking. It's a journal of thoughts. Roughly 1 of every 3 commissions runs--many writers have a hard time with delving into their own personal lives honestly, so a lot are too shallow to run. And of course there are those who try to make them up. After reading 400 of them, it's pretty obvious what's what.

What is the best and what is the worst diary you've edited?

There have been many great ones--recently, I was a fan of the 68 year-old tantra student, a man who was getting over his wife's death by throwing himself into tantra and nudism. I just learned so much because he has so much perspective. The worst? It did not run, because among other issues, it involved body bags. I'm forever mentally scarred.

Finally, you live in both NYC and Portland, Oregon. What do you like/dislike about both places?

New York is where I work, and Portland is where I live. Portland is like Brooklyn, but 1/3rd the price, and everyone bikes everywhere. Same type of people. It's heavenly. In New York I fill my schedule morning to night seeing people and going to museums and lunching and dining out 14 times in a week and going to back-to-back theater, which I love to do a week every month. The cultures are quite different though. My New Yorker friend visited me in Portland, and was helping me put out the trash and recycling. Portland trashcans are quite small, half the size of recycling cans. And she goes, "So where do you put your garbage?"

Thanks Arianne!

Note

My previous post about the Yankees winning the World Series included a video of the blessed event that has since been removed courtesy of MLB. Sorry.

THHEEEE YANKEES WIINNN! THHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YANKEES WIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNN!

Congratulations to our very own New York Yankees for scoring their 27th World Series Championship title!

Great way to close out the first season in the new stadium.

On behalf of a grateful city, Mr NYC says thank you.