went to brooklyn to find a cabinet magazine. I ended up in a rough hispanic town where i kept getting glances. i found the address to find an old man sitting in front saying "ive lived here for fourty years, aint no cabinets." So i left brooklyn. Walked accross the bridge. So many people thought of this idea also, as the walkway was a jamm of mixed languages, races, flashes, smells, trasportation devices, etc. I then stopped at barnes and noble and bought the magazine there.
stopped at union square to see a huge gathering of about 5000 people watching a micheal jackson look -a-like dance marathon. The police showed up saying no music was allowed to be played in union square, and people got really pissed. A riot broke out, and the police called the riot brigade. It ended as quickly as it started.
I have heard michael jackson music (since he died) about every hour. I hated it before, and I hate it even more.
Went to a bar that a load of couchsurfers were attending so I could meet some people. They were giving out name tags, so I left. I hate name tags and the whole organization of meeting people in which it creates.
next
went to PS1, a section of the MOMA. IT was by far even more amazing that MOMA, a really good conceptual art galllery that is non-profit, so people do what they want to do because they want to do it. Huge installations, by a number of artists, and it is in the first public school in queens. Later I took the subway to the world trade centre. The station has tiled eyes on the walls for decorations, which i found really creepy that follow you all from the street to the platform. When I emerged from the station the sky was this grey/black and there was thunder pounding everywhere, people were running in every which way. I was terrified, I thought there was another attack or there was a reinactment of the whole thing. Turned out it just started to pour, thunder, lightning, wind and all that. Strange because just an hour ago it was the hottest and most humid weather to date. The sky was a huge cobweb of lightning. Within minutes I was the only one on the street, being from the northwest, I have been carrying around a rain jacket everyday, and was well protected. I walked around for hours in the storm witnessing the intesnity of the storm. I really wish we had weather like this back home.
Walked to St. Marks to this vintage clothing shop, where I met the owner, a lady who was singing Janis Joplin from New Zealand. I talked to her for over an hour, she gave me her contact info, and said that if I wanted to I could stay with her and her family in Brooklyn after she gets back from Montreal on the 4th of July. It would have been fun, she was carrying about an ounce of marijuana under her wing and a black coffee under the other. She said that her visa will expire in a year and if I ever end up going to New Zealand I will have a place to stay. She gave me a really good deal on a t-shirt and I left.
I have mosquito bites all over my body.
Ate the best sushi Ive ever had, and if you spend over $6, you get 50% off.
When I was leaving I noticed hundreds of people staring up into the sky which was a dark yellow/pink almost brown too. Everyone was pointing and taking pictures. I looked and got the chills. The clouds, there were also hundreds of them but they were all in funnel shapes pointing down, as if they were dripping cloud ooze. It was so bizzarre, I have never seen clouds like this before. I love the feeling of being helpless in the hands of nature.
bought a $4 bottle of wine and listened to goof music with people in the hostel and then had better than the best pizza Ive had.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
the shakes, the runs, the views, the people, the noise, the sights, the etc.
coney island is a creepy paradise. no other place gave me so many chills in such a short time frame. I saw giant rats and snakes, a headless woman, a four-armed student and two headed horse all in one place. It was both "entertaining and educational!" I rode the wonder wheel. Wasnt that wonderful. Everything is supposed to be cheerful, but everything is dingy, decaying, and the carnies, are really authentic: their hands are like boiled popcorn hands, and they yell at just about everyone. I walked out to the beach on a peir that Ive dreamed about before coming to new york.
Earlier on in the day I went to the International Centre "Center" for Photography. The exhibit was featuring Richard Avedon. It was amazing to see his prints.
On the subway I oversaw 3 business types exchange perscription drugs and ingest them. Their converstaion ranged from gossip about fellow employees, fashion, and being sore from over exercising. The drugs they mixed were xanith (spelling) and something that started with a v. they were also robots.
Went out that night to a good bar with the people from the hostel. The jukebox had really good music, and pints were $2. I met a guy there who reminded me of Robin Williams, he was so extroverted and loud. He squats in abandoned flats in the city and turns them into artists lofts. He was with this girl who was wearing an egyptian gown with triangles on it, smoking a really long straight cigarette, who was really amazing at pool, everything about her were angles: her elbows, glasses, legs. She was an angle, an acute angle.
Anyway this was about the time when I got food poisioning, from cheap indian food I had earlier that day. I had to listen to my bowels and run back to the hostel, ending my night early. As a night cap I downed a pepto bismol on the rocks.
Woke up around 5am still poisioned.
8am still poisioned, thinking I may have ingested rat pesticides.
10am, 100 percent refreshed.
I made my way to the Rockefeller centre where I rode an elevator 75 stories up to the rooftop. Got a good view. Took some touristy pictures of other tourists taking touristy pictures.
GOD I went to the MOMA, now that I have seen all the works that Ive cared about, what the point of going on? I mean everything I cared about for so long and wanted to see, I just saw! From the surrealists, to dadaists, to old schools and new schools of photography. I was there for about 6 hours. They kicked me out at closing. The only thing that sucked was the price to get in. $30!
Ate a slice of the best pizza Ive ever had.
Today
I wondered around had espresso made from a robot, the experience was good but the coffee was shit.
Wound up on top of an old subway line above ground that they turned into a park. Huge trees, grass and ferns were engulfing the old line. Alot of people were there. Theres alot of people everywhere. Ended up accidently finding B&H photography store. The whole place is run by jews. Everyone has one of those hats and long curly strands of hair. To buy something you go through 3 different lines. 1 - tell someone what you want to buy - they then put it on a track that follows the ceiling to the pick up line 2 - you pay for your goods in a different line 3- after your goods arrived via conveyor belt you pick up your goods at the last line. I dont have time to reread that to see if it makes sense, hopefully it does.
And now I am back in that library, where I drew for a few hours before my internet time, which I am occupying now. I am going to go to walk over the brooklyn bridge later tonight, then meet with a few couchsurfers at a bar at 8.
weather report:
SUNNY! if you move to fast, everything gets sweaty.
Earlier on in the day I went to the International Centre "Center" for Photography. The exhibit was featuring Richard Avedon. It was amazing to see his prints.
On the subway I oversaw 3 business types exchange perscription drugs and ingest them. Their converstaion ranged from gossip about fellow employees, fashion, and being sore from over exercising. The drugs they mixed were xanith (spelling) and something that started with a v. they were also robots.
Went out that night to a good bar with the people from the hostel. The jukebox had really good music, and pints were $2. I met a guy there who reminded me of Robin Williams, he was so extroverted and loud. He squats in abandoned flats in the city and turns them into artists lofts. He was with this girl who was wearing an egyptian gown with triangles on it, smoking a really long straight cigarette, who was really amazing at pool, everything about her were angles: her elbows, glasses, legs. She was an angle, an acute angle.
Anyway this was about the time when I got food poisioning, from cheap indian food I had earlier that day. I had to listen to my bowels and run back to the hostel, ending my night early. As a night cap I downed a pepto bismol on the rocks.
Woke up around 5am still poisioned.
8am still poisioned, thinking I may have ingested rat pesticides.
10am, 100 percent refreshed.
I made my way to the Rockefeller centre where I rode an elevator 75 stories up to the rooftop. Got a good view. Took some touristy pictures of other tourists taking touristy pictures.
GOD I went to the MOMA, now that I have seen all the works that Ive cared about, what the point of going on? I mean everything I cared about for so long and wanted to see, I just saw! From the surrealists, to dadaists, to old schools and new schools of photography. I was there for about 6 hours. They kicked me out at closing. The only thing that sucked was the price to get in. $30!
Ate a slice of the best pizza Ive ever had.
Today
I wondered around had espresso made from a robot, the experience was good but the coffee was shit.
Wound up on top of an old subway line above ground that they turned into a park. Huge trees, grass and ferns were engulfing the old line. Alot of people were there. Theres alot of people everywhere. Ended up accidently finding B&H photography store. The whole place is run by jews. Everyone has one of those hats and long curly strands of hair. To buy something you go through 3 different lines. 1 - tell someone what you want to buy - they then put it on a track that follows the ceiling to the pick up line 2 - you pay for your goods in a different line 3- after your goods arrived via conveyor belt you pick up your goods at the last line. I dont have time to reread that to see if it makes sense, hopefully it does.
And now I am back in that library, where I drew for a few hours before my internet time, which I am occupying now. I am going to go to walk over the brooklyn bridge later tonight, then meet with a few couchsurfers at a bar at 8.
weather report:
SUNNY! if you move to fast, everything gets sweaty.
the difference between french and americans
i went from kissing on both cheeks to yelling accross the streets.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
psycho robotic runners in the park
today i walked the entire length of central park. i really needed to get into nature after more than a month of human density. I started at 59th and walked through straight to Harlem. Its a strange park, highly decorated, pruned, manicured, exercised, much like most new yorkers here actually. There was this one section that was left to run vampid, it was called The Ramble. There were just tiny dirt trails through dense forest. I thought it could have been found in the desolate parks near port coquitlam, not in this megacity. Then i went farther north to the Jackie Onassis Resevoir, where I was the only one walking. Hundreds and hundreds of runners, in extremeley annoying large groups came plowing through trails kicking dirt into my face with their new cross trainers. Along with them were groups of spandex enthusiast bikers, and roller bladers. They're all robots.
saw the trump tower.
had the worst burrito ever.
Today.
I went into an extremely expessive department store called Sax, Sacs, Sacks or something. It was hilarious. The prunes behind the make up counters all were giving me glances as I passed by.
I bought a double feature ticket to go up in the Rockefeller tower (rather than the empire state- where you wait 4-6 hours) and MOMA.
Today I'm off to the Internation Centre for Photography and if I have time Coney Island.
saw the trump tower.
had the worst burrito ever.
Today.
I went into an extremely expessive department store called Sax, Sacs, Sacks or something. It was hilarious. The prunes behind the make up counters all were giving me glances as I passed by.
I bought a double feature ticket to go up in the Rockefeller tower (rather than the empire state- where you wait 4-6 hours) and MOMA.
Today I'm off to the Internation Centre for Photography and if I have time Coney Island.
Monday, June 22, 2009
riding trains to new york
before nyc (typing really fast, on a 47minute crunchtime)
got into montreal successfully.
a midget on our carshare left her pillow behind. dave took it, it was down feathered.
bought our last lunch of bagels and ate a whole containter of creamcheese under the trees on top of the pigeons. drank wine and smoked cigarettes in the park.
ran into a guy from spartacus books in vancouver. he was having throwing a party on mont royal street.
we met our couchsurfers, they (all three) are film students. they took us out to a quebecois tradition. kareeoke karoekee karaoke (fuck it) and drinking labatt 50s, i mean huge labatts, like one and your done. it was hilarious there was an old fat lady wearing gold sequens with long black curly hair dj'ing the night and lip singing all the songs. what was best about it, most of them were in french.
woke up at 5:30am to walk to the station where i will depart dave.
i'm leaving my favorite city of montreal for new york. we walked down st. catherines and saw the walk of shame (all the dancers leaving the after party - high and delerious, stumbling out onto the street full of broken bottles, puke, wrappers, half eaten burgers...etc.)
"Their jaws, or their chin bone? Man this is good chewing gum"
On the train to new york there were these abandoned power lines or telephone poles that followed the entire length of the trip. some were completely submerged in these swampy like sections of a river, other were hanging on the edge with full might. Passed alot of fishermen who all waved at the passing train, and alot of american flags. There were christian rockers accross from me, and an old man who smelled of all-dressed chips beside me, wearing a suit.
I got into the subway station Penn station, when it hit me.
All these people milling, just conveyor belts of humans going in all directions, over the loudspeaker a black person with a thick ny accent screaming words i dont understand (may as well have been french). Finally found the hostel after transfering subways 3 times. Its a crumy shack. It looks like a front. There is no sign of a hostel anywhere, theres just this huge sign that reads "kung fay do - bakery" Anyway found the buzzer and went up. They were expecting me.
Australlians everywhere.
Went out on the streets (forgetting it was a saturday night) to get some food. People everywhere, it was humid like a dogs breath and it was raining, hard.
next
met an actor from DC and a lady from london who i spent the day with. we hit times square first. I am never going back. for reasons you may work out. the one thing found interesting is that there were green lawn chairs in the middle of the street for tourists to sit in. They faced all different directions for about 3 large city blocks. Walked to soho, grenich, chealsea. The rain is intense and hard, but only lasts a few minutes. Its tremendously humid. Went to the Anthology film archives, saw a japanese film from 1957 about Keirin Bicycler Racers.
Today. First day on my own:
Took the train to Strands.
Took 5 subways in the wrong direction. Strands is a huge bookstore. I bought Blood Meridian and got a map of the city finally.
Took the train uptown to Grand Central Station. Walked down to 42nd and Avenue of the Americas where I am now in the New York Public library. The most amazing library I have ever seen. Its all wood, marble, murals, its like if the renaissance was alive in the 1930s and barfed out its interiors. The people here are really nice and will help with directions.
I may go to Central Park today, as the moma is closed on monday.
The sky is white, nothing but white.
got into montreal successfully.
a midget on our carshare left her pillow behind. dave took it, it was down feathered.
bought our last lunch of bagels and ate a whole containter of creamcheese under the trees on top of the pigeons. drank wine and smoked cigarettes in the park.
ran into a guy from spartacus books in vancouver. he was having throwing a party on mont royal street.
we met our couchsurfers, they (all three) are film students. they took us out to a quebecois tradition. kareeoke karoekee karaoke (fuck it) and drinking labatt 50s, i mean huge labatts, like one and your done. it was hilarious there was an old fat lady wearing gold sequens with long black curly hair dj'ing the night and lip singing all the songs. what was best about it, most of them were in french.
woke up at 5:30am to walk to the station where i will depart dave.
i'm leaving my favorite city of montreal for new york. we walked down st. catherines and saw the walk of shame (all the dancers leaving the after party - high and delerious, stumbling out onto the street full of broken bottles, puke, wrappers, half eaten burgers...etc.)
"Their jaws, or their chin bone? Man this is good chewing gum"
On the train to new york there were these abandoned power lines or telephone poles that followed the entire length of the trip. some were completely submerged in these swampy like sections of a river, other were hanging on the edge with full might. Passed alot of fishermen who all waved at the passing train, and alot of american flags. There were christian rockers accross from me, and an old man who smelled of all-dressed chips beside me, wearing a suit.
I got into the subway station Penn station, when it hit me.
All these people milling, just conveyor belts of humans going in all directions, over the loudspeaker a black person with a thick ny accent screaming words i dont understand (may as well have been french). Finally found the hostel after transfering subways 3 times. Its a crumy shack. It looks like a front. There is no sign of a hostel anywhere, theres just this huge sign that reads "kung fay do - bakery" Anyway found the buzzer and went up. They were expecting me.
Australlians everywhere.
Went out on the streets (forgetting it was a saturday night) to get some food. People everywhere, it was humid like a dogs breath and it was raining, hard.
next
met an actor from DC and a lady from london who i spent the day with. we hit times square first. I am never going back. for reasons you may work out. the one thing found interesting is that there were green lawn chairs in the middle of the street for tourists to sit in. They faced all different directions for about 3 large city blocks. Walked to soho, grenich, chealsea. The rain is intense and hard, but only lasts a few minutes. Its tremendously humid. Went to the Anthology film archives, saw a japanese film from 1957 about Keirin Bicycler Racers.
Today. First day on my own:
Took the train to Strands.
Took 5 subways in the wrong direction. Strands is a huge bookstore. I bought Blood Meridian and got a map of the city finally.
Took the train uptown to Grand Central Station. Walked down to 42nd and Avenue of the Americas where I am now in the New York Public library. The most amazing library I have ever seen. Its all wood, marble, murals, its like if the renaissance was alive in the 1930s and barfed out its interiors. The people here are really nice and will help with directions.
I may go to Central Park today, as the moma is closed on monday.
The sky is white, nothing but white.
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