Happy Ice Cream

A very happy man holding a just purchased ice cream cone on Saturday night on 14th Street and Broadway just below Union Square.

What gives with my camera and the blurry images? Ugh.

Christina Ricci's Graffiti Truck

Spotted on Union Square recently: Christina Ricci parking this rad graffiti truck. She sure gets around in style.

New Yorkers Are Not Rude

If you're not from New York then you surely know that the city has a reputation for a certain amount of rudeness. It's really not true. New Yorkers aren't any ruder than anyone else or from any other city. Yes, we do everything a lot faster and have less patience for slowness than elsewhere in the world. However, I think we just don't want to be bothered by anyone handing us flyers or begging for money or asking directions or any other sort of random nonsense and that comes off as rudeness. But most New Yorkers are actually very helpful if they aren't rushing off somewhere. Though that's actually rather rare that we're not rushing from one place to another. We do have helpful opinions and ideas about everything and anything and are usually not afraid to share a good tip on a restaurant or a quick way to get somewhere.

One thing we New Yorkers do love is to point out other people's rudeness. So we're used to seeing great signs like the one taped to the information desk/book pick up counter downstairs in the basement at The Strand Book Store telling us exactly how not to be rude. There are a lot of books behind the counter awaiting pickup and I can just imagine it can get pretty frustrating when people come up to the desk all day long and point a finger in the general direction of the massive wall of books and say "I have those books right THERE on hold."

All that being said, The Strand has a really great system for ordering books. You just call and place your order and they find it in the 18 trillion miles of books (and growing) and wrap a rubber band around the books and place them behind the counter awaiting your eventual pickup. It's super efficient, just don't be rude and point your finger.

Happy Sukkot

I was in Union Square this afternoon to visit my doctor after a 24-48 hour case of H1N1 hysteria. I convinced myself that I had all the symptoms (I did!), but alas, it was just some regular old terrible cold and I'm in no danger of imminently dying. As I was leaving my doctor's office and crossing towards the park, this extremely happy truck pictured above passed by and it was just interesting and homemade enough that it warranted taking a picture or two. It's not technically a graffiti truck per se, but it also kind of is so I took a picture anyway.

I've lived in New York for many years now, but for some reason I have never heard of Sukkot before. The friendly driver was definitely excited that I was taking his picture. He asked me if I was Jewish and when I said no, he told me to Google "Sukkot" to find out more about the holiday (which I did). "Sukkot is a seven day holiday, with the first day celebrated as a full festival with special prayer services and holiday meals."

Several hours later, I went out to dinner with one of my friends who lives in Israel and was visiting New York for a night and I showed her the picture and because I was curious I asked her what "Happy Sukkot" was. Of course, I mistakenly pronounced it and said, "What's 'Happy Suck It?'" It's actually pronounced like "sue cot," but obviously I didn't know that. My knowledge of religious holidays is definitely pretty lacking. She thought my mispronunciation was pretty much totally hilarious and laughed and laughed at me. I laughed too. So everyone, if you're Jewish, I hope you have a Happy Sukkot and if you're not, well then you know what to do.

News from the Street

Some more brilliant spontaneous thoughts from the chalk graffiti gang.

Where's the Gus?

Asparagus is now on sale in Union Square at a very good price - $1 per bunch. It's usually not a good thing when the -gus has gone missing. Mostly, I like it in limited doses.

The problem I have is that I'm not a very good cook. Even still, asparagus, like most green vegetables (brussels sprouts, green beans, etc.), is fairly easy to prepare. You just cut off the bottoms and you steam them until they are tender and then add a little butter to taste. There are other, much better ways to cook asparagus, but I don't have those culinary skills.

I have no idea where -gus went.

All Arrows Lead Forward

For reasons unbeknownst to me, there are arrows in on the floor at Barnes & Noble in Union Square.

Are the lines so long there that people would get confused which way to go to find one of the 10 or so cashiers? Is the process of buying books that entirely mind-boggling that in order to go a dozen or so steps straight forward, someone felt compelled to haphazardly affix masking tape of some sort directly onto the carpet as though this will radically simplify things?

I should realize that some people have difficulty doing what they say they are going to do. You can't wait around forever for even the simplest of things to happen like making a phone call, or waiting in line to go to see a movie or buy a book. You need to put directions directly on the floor and if they can't figure it out you have to realize they'll never get to the cashier and you just need to look for more thoughtful customers.

Broadway Bound

As I was walking through Union Square on Thursday night I ran into this girl who wanted directions. I think her name was Ginger (she kind of said it quickly) and she was looking for directions on how to get to 1087 Broadway.

All City Tags

Subway maps for sale this afternoon in Union Square. Only $10. If you look closely they are very well done. I should have bought one. They hand out clean non-graffiti versions in the subway for free if you ask for one.

Wheat Paste Art

The back of this news stand is a popular place for all sorts of street graffiti. Just north of Union Square.

Two of a Kind

Vampire Zombies out for a night on the town.

Vampires drink your blood, zombies eat your flesh. I think by combining the two you get the most healthy combination. Nothing goes to waste.

Farm Farmers Farming

Pumpkins and a wide variety of apples at the Farmer's Market in Union Square on Wednesday afternoon.

I bought some apple cider ($2.50 half gallon). Plans to make hot apple cider are in the very near future.

Colorful Sunglasses

A selection of sunglasses on Friday in Union Square.

We Got The Neutron Bomb

If we had the neutron bomb, I'm thinking the best place to hide it would be at night in a colorful, fully-bombed graffiti truck just north of Union Square.

Hailing from Los Angeles, The Weirdos were arguably the first American punk band and as such were hugely influential. In 1977 they released one of the coolest records ever. This is Side A.

18 Miles of Paper

Can you really have too many books?

If you're like me, you know the answer to that question. I like The Strand, but I don't love the Strand like some people. There is something that I can't quite put my finger on, but even still this is probably one of the best places to get books in New York City. I primarily buy the art and photography books on the 2nd Floor, the review copies of new fiction and non-fiction in the basement and sometimes I even find myself lugging a small stack of new cookbooks up to the register.

(The purple dress is nice too.)

Union Square Twins

Consulting a map in the Union Square subway station. It's pretty clear they are mourning the death of the cassette. 80's style to the max.

Tired of Prostitution Need Money Please Help

5:32PM - May 24, 2008. Union Square, New York City.