Literary Strips

Yesterday's post was a bit of me challenging, ranting, perhaps being a bit overbearing for a blog like this, maybe being a little heavy (or a little bit too light and happy depending on your taste) so I decided to counter it on this splendid Monday with a little bit of light fun and humor.

The world really is awesome, sponsored in part by comics, which are unquestionably awesome.  Everyone likes comics, even if they are too "cool" to admit it.  At least, that's my theory.  But these strips are just a bit of literary hilarity and entertainment.  I'm not sure who the author is, but whoever he or she is, they are pretty darned brilliant, and their comics were featured in a display set-up at Housingworks Bookstore and Cafe in Manhattan last week.  They may still be, but I went to Housingworks last week, and they were definitely there then.  I was hoping to share more of them with you, but my photos turned out to be tragically, unintelligibly blurry... thus a few comic photos and the other random stuff from Housingworks at the bottom.

Anyways, enjoy!  

(Oh, and I still dare you to consider that the world might be beautiful.  For kicks and giggles if nothing else.)

Oh, and Happy Columbus Day!

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

An Amazing City and a More Amazing Man

Our new apartment is all signed for and everything, and we move on Sunday!!  This is exciting to me, partially because we will probably have fewer bugs in our apartment (we upgraded to a location with an exterminator contract).  Mostly, though, because we are going to buy our own internet.  Danny and I have been stealing from our neighbors this entire year, using their not-so-password-protected network.  It's not that internet is expensive or anything, it's just that, well, why pay for it if it is free?  However, the past month, it has been working only on occasion.  Which is unfortunate and annoying.  But, since we knew we were going to move, we didn't see many good reasons to buy a router and call our provider with just a month to go.  So, my access to internet has been restricted to work, and when my unsuspecting neighbors' connectivity decides to play along with my Mac.  Updating is going to be so much easier so soon.

Today is pretty exciting for me for lots of reasons.  The new apartment, and accompanying private, password protected internet are two of them.  The big one, though, is Danny.  My amazing, wonderful, spectacular man.  He's so great.  That sounds remarkably trite, but I just love this man.  He's so intelligent and intellectual, but very feeling and artistic.  He's practical and logical, but also imaginative and creative.  Open to new ideas, tolerant of others, but also opinionated.  But, respectful.  He's athletic, talented, and very successful in his line of work.  Not to mention how unbelievably gorgeous he is.  By the way, he is GORGEOUS.  He treats me like I'm gold, but also a person.  I've never felt more loved or respected.  Danny is a beautiful blessing in my life, and I cherish him. And, it's our anniversary!

Oh look, that's him.

In other news.  It's getting cold.  I'm wearing a jacket.  I'm trying to be happy about this, but, frankly, I'm not. I like warmer weather.  Instead, I'm trying to remember how much I adore blazers and boots, because I do.  It's just difficult when walking around in this city becomes unpleasant, like it is during the dead of winter.  Walking this city is one of my favourite things in the world, because you see so much in a short period of time.  Over the course of a few miles, you can pass through ten different, extremely distinct neighborhoods, hundreds of people, hundreds of cars, many lampposts, pay phones, mailboxes, buildings, dogs, trash cans, signs, stores, restaurants, bridges, parks, trees, murals and squirrels.  This city is incredible in that way.  The variance between blocks is really extraordinary.   That's why I love warm weather here.  You can see the beauty of the melting pot- that everything is together, but each vegetable (or whatever it is one puts in a melting pot, because really, who does that) retains its own special taste!

These photos were taken on one of these multiple neighborhood walks.  Enjoy.

Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Old World

I love how old parts of New York City look.  For a US city, New York really is old, but in some areas, you'd never know it.  I find that people who have never been to New York, or who have even only been once or twice, have no idea that some streets are lined with buildings from the late 1700's and early 1800's.  People are surprised that these type of historical sights exist in New York, which always surprises me.  Then again, before I moved here, I mostly thought of Times Square, flashing lights and glass too.  I thought of honking horns and cars driving on sidewalks... and some angry Fuhgeddaboudits.  

Now... I think of scenes like this.  

Not all of them are of things that are actually old, though most of them are.  But they show the way I see the city.  The way I feel it.  More importantly, they show what I wish more people would stop and see.  But, one of the beautiful things about us is that we all see the world differently.  I don't want to change that either.

Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Take it to the Street

Stencil graffiti seems to be getting more respect these days.  Once upon a time, it was seen as the easy way out- the less dangerous form of tagging.  Taking your time, and spray painting a design on a wall freehand is far more labor and time intensive than placing a stencil, spraying a color in its general direction, and running at the sound of a siren. Lately, it has become a much more acceptable form of street art, and I would mostly blame Banksy for that. 

If you haven't heard of Banksy, he is a very famous street artist, who was recently further popularized by his self-directed documentary about his work,  and the work of many other street artists and "artists," "Exit Through the Gift Shop".  It's a quality film, and I would highly recommend it.  The piece sheds a lot of light on pop culture phenomena and fame, as well as helping the normal person to understand more about street art culture.  Banksy began tagging with self-designed stencils in Bristol, and now has art in cities all over, including Bristol, London, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, and New Orleans.  In addition, much of his work is now on display in museums and galleries, including The Imperial War Museum in London.  He generally paints in some kind of rebellion, and teeters on the edge of legality.  His works is occassionally invited, and sometimes loathed by the owners of the space.  For example, one of his most famous works, a stencil of a scene from Pulp Fiction, was on a wall in a London Tube Station.  Even though he was already a well known artist at the time, Transport for London had the art removed in 2008, for the purpose of not promoting graffiti.

I think that stencil street art is perfectly legitimate.  It takes just as much time, if not more, to design the stencil, and saves time during the actual tagging.  To me, that makes a lot of sense.  It's safer, and a more sure design, and it is a little bit more individualistic than a sticker.  Basically, I'm a fan of the street stencil.

The newest trend that I have seen with them, however, is to paint the stencils directly onto the sidewalk, instead of a building, a fence or a sign.  Or, whatever.  Maybe this has been going on for a long time, but I've been seeing it happen more and more recently.  The sidewalk would be faster, simpler, subtler, and not quite so much of an obvious violation of someone's personal property.  I mean... who owns the sidewalk?  The city?  It's not quite as vandal-tastic as painting on a restaurant or a subway station, I think.  It is also very obvious.  In this city, people walk around looking at the ground extremely often.  Maybe it is to avoid standing out, being seen, getting hit on, or being blinded by direct sunlight, or possibly because they are cradling their iPhone in the crook of their neck as they do work on their iPad.  I don't know.  It doesn't really matter.  People look down at the sidewalk, and they see these stencils. 

Here are a few of these sidewalk stencils I noticed, and photographed, in SoHo last weekend.  I particularly love the first one- it has a Pablo Neruda, "pen is mightier than the sword" vibe about it.  After the sidewalk art are a few other choice sights from around SoHo.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Prince Street People

I really like wall art.  Murals, graffiti, mosaics, frescos... you name it. If it's on a wall, I probably like it.  Why is this?  Because I appreciate public art in general.  I really enjoy how adding art to a public space, like a bridge, a park, or even a subway station can brighten up everyone's day.  Suddenly that commute on the train turns into a mini museum trip every morning, and that run through the park turns into a private viewing of a statue gallery.  I love it.  And, lucky for me, New York is smothered in public art- it's just everywhere.  It doesn't hurt that I live near one of the largest and prettiest parks in the city, Prospect Park.  That kind of just fuels my adoration.

In any case, the subway art in New York City is pretty great compared to other cities I have visited.  Many stations have intricate mosaic work, some have statues, like the 14th Street 8th Ave Station in Manhattan, and some, like many stops along the J, M, and Z trains, and a few stops along the Q line, have stained glass designs in the platform or station.  Some of the stations are rather decrepit, and almost rotting, but some of the ones I would have currently put on that list are currently under renovation by the MTA, the Metropolitan Transport Authority, which is the governmental department that runs all of New York City's transportation.  As annoying as it is when they close down stations for a weekend, or even months at a time, the results can be rather impressive.  For example, the relatively new mosaic work in the Bay Ridge 86th St Station on the R line in Brooklyn is quite nice.  However, some of the station mosaic art is just simply exquisite.

One station that I would say falls into the exquisite category, is the Prince Street Station in Manhattan on the N and R lines.  There are mosaics of... silhouettes of people.  People who look like they'd be in New York City.  There are rich women with heels and fancy bags, men with construction hats and beer guts pushing carts full of who knows what, children, people with backpacks and hats, nuns, pregnant women.  Of course, not everyone is represented, but it's  a pretty nice cross section of the people you might see actually standing in the station.  I get to see this most every day- I generally ride the express train that passes through this station without stopping, and as I look out the window, I see the actual people and their shadow counterparts side by side, captured in a moment, frozen.  The people mix with the art on the wall, and it really is beautiful.  My New York.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA