So I figured I ought to start spreading the news about my vagabond shoes longing to stray, etc.
I'm going to New York -- for a bit. Not long really. But soon. Finally I can start wearing my I [Heart] NY keyring without irony.
Anyway I thought it was about time I started compiling a list of things to do, as well as New York-centred books, movies, TV shows, bands, etc. to revisit there and beforehand. I'm basically asking you lot to help me out here. Anyway this is my list so far:
* Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (film) [duh!]
* The Terminal (film)
* Muppets Take Manhattan (film)
* Godzilla (film)
* King Kong (film)
* The Woody Allen filmography
* Friends (TV series)
* Sex And The City (TV series)
* Futurama (TV series) [... sort of]
* Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing (Book)
* The Simon & Garfunkel discography
* The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (Genesis album)
* Annie (shithouse musical)
* Rhapsody In Blue (Gershwin piece...) [*drool*]
Oh, and one video game:
* Mike Tyson's Punch-Out (NES game)
And who could forget Eskimo Joe's killer single, "New York"? Most people, probably.
I'm also going to be in Vegas and LA for fractions of bits, so get thinking.
Talk to me, people.
Friday, May 04, 2007
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I am thinking about doing a 'best of ' list for you...so here's the start I guess.
Movies - Any Woody Allen movies. kieren's dad basically went to New York because of them.
Musicals - RENT...d'oh!
Music - Fucking STEELY DAN!! Embrace them, Darryn!
Music store - LOADS of great ones at the Villages...COlony Music on Broadway is on the site of the 'tin pan' alley and it sells any sheet music you could want to find. GREAT selection of musicals. Manny's on 48th Street - where i got my keytar from. I can email Marc there about you and you should visit him - might be able to pick out an instrucment for yourself? There's a cluster of great music equipment shops there too.
P.S. Is that the keyring I got for you? You'll be So sick of seeing the I [heart] symbole while you're there...5 t-shirts for 10 bucks around Time Square.
I've met a few people around New York...one of them is an Asian actor who lives in the very bohemian East Villages. He does plays and tv shows, so you'll like him i'm sure. I can certainly tell him you're coming and give his email to ya.
And don't be such a nerd - compiling things. Just go and enjoy yourself. Wandering around with a map is the best way...
And about US Customs - they are the meanest, most horrible creatures ever. They make you get off the plane at L.A (as first point of entry into the US) and subject you to various probing/scanning procedures and take your finger prints.
To make it easier for yourself - take NO liquid thingos with your person. They WILL open and smell things...etc Don't wear a belt or shoes you can't take off in a hurry, or too many layers of clothing. They'll only make you take it all off until you're basically in a bra. And if you fail to comply with ANYTHING - they make you stand to one side like a 3rd grader and do a special search of your body while guards stand around with scary looking machine guns. Do NOT try to be funny or crack a joke with them..some guy behind me in the line said - a terrorist would be scared off by how bewildering it is to just get on a plane...or something similar and he was taken aside and I didn't see him again. Probably in Guantanamo about now.
Then, they make you collect ALL of your luggage, which you then take to the next room and put back onto the conveyer belt (Most fucking pointless exercise ever).
Then you follow some woman with a sign that takes you through a maze back to where you first got off the plane and wait for the flight to new York. Eveyrone looked a little paler after the ordeal. Oh, not to mention you can't congregate anywhere on a plane while flying continentally across the US - makes the 'waiting for bathroom' process interesting.
You're lucky you're getting off at LA...I was glad to be let in the country at all after all that.
Wow, I'll make sure I wear my good bra then.
I'm not sure where you're planning to stay in New York, but I hopped 3-4 different hostels and I can recommend Hostelling International on Upper West side (83 something street). It's a nice place and very social...the beds and facilities are good. HUGE lockers in the rooms which is always very handy. Pretty good prices too.
THe best things about it is (even if you don't stay there, it might be cool to check it out) is the organised tours. They're about 10 bucks each and tour guides take you on walks to different parts of the city. I went to Harlem and Brooklyn with them and it was fantastic as you learn a lot more local history and you probably woldn't want to go wandering into those areas on your own first time in NYC. Harlem is a must - i even sat in on a Gospel choir church service. Not to mention all the jazz history.
Oh, and the hostel itself is about 5 minutes from the 'Seinfeld' restaurant. It's also across the road from where John Coltrane used to live...just thought I'd mention it.
Frank O’Hara and his New York School buddies.
Ginsburg
New Yorker (mag)
Fortress of Solitude (book)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (book)
Seinfeld
Squid and the Whale (filum)
Countless amazing bands, bars and record shops
What is China's customs like?
Sexus, Plexus, Nexus and Tropic of Capricorn, all books by Henry Miller. (There's more Miller, but those are the ones I'm familiar with that are set in New York ... )
I second the previously mentioned poets O'Hara and Ginsberg ... also, John Ashbery, Ted Berrigan, Alice Notley etc.
As for films, have you mentioned Taxidriver?
When are you going?
Oh and near the Hostel is 'The Hungarian Pastry' shop. Dingy looking but it's where Jack Kerouac & co used to hang out a lot. And Columbia university is around the corner and it's worth checking out. So that's upper West side above 83rd street on Amsterdamn Avenue I think.
But everywhere in NYC is packed with history anyway. Get Lonely Planet...
Having just stumbled upon this site by chance I thought i'd offer my humble and completely unbiased opinion.
This blog sucks.
I have come to loathe everyone who has posted on it by association. Particularly the owner, words cannot describe the contempt I have for him. It has also become blatantly obvious to me that he likes the cock, and refuses to acknowledge this.
I have a few suggestions to improve things:
1) Add more dragons.
Everything could be improved by the addition of more dragons. Take for example Sleepless in Seattle; dull movie where some people decide to fall in love in some sort of revolving tower. However, add some dragons to the mix, and suddenly they're fighting for their life! Perhaps the dragon could be voiced by Sean Connery...
2) Stop being in Emo Denial
Let’s face it. You have a blog filled with nothing but whiney rants and attempted witty and subverting social commentary. But we all know that means you’re just a My Chemical Romance song away from the razor blades. Quit being in denial and give this site a much darker tone. I recommend everything be black; the background, the links and especially the text. That way it’s win/win; you more accurately convey your tortured inner feelings and nobody else is able to read this pointless drivel anymore!
I’d also suggest making your picture a little more disturbing. Nothing says ‘nobody understands me’ like a poorly lit self portrait of you staring at the floor.
3) Let your ex write more than just the blog description
That short, three line paragraph contained more hilarity and wit than the entire year long archive of the rest of the blog. I particularly found her reference to sexual inadequacy amusing. Don’t you understand we see through your little scheme? Using dragons to try and compensate for something! Why that’s the oldest trick in the book!
4) Change the URL
Along the same lines, it is clear that by trying to combine the awesomeness of such things as robots and pirates the blog owner is trying to win friends through sheer cool factor. Unfortunately I, like many others I am sure, was hugely disappointed to discover the name bears no relation to the coolness of the content. This is blatant false advertising. I recommend you adjust the URL to something more indicative of the sort of person the blog owner really is. Something like:
http://flamingfairysteelmillworkers
fromnurseyrhymeland.blogspot.com/
At least that way people would know what they are getting into.
5) Remove References to Pop Culture
What the hell is the deal with this ‘Emma Watson’ counter on the side. Way to go jackass. I don’t think it would be possible to demean yourself any more in a single move than to scream “I like underaged girls” and combine it with “I’m in love with the most overhyped piece of literary trash in the world”. Next you’ll be telling us you like Ricky Martin. “Oh yes, he actually writes great songs!”
Homo.
If you want to retain any respect from your readers at all, I’d change it to something more awesome, like a counter for American Ninja XII: Ninja O’Clock.
With these few simple changes I think your site would improve dramatically. Don’t get me wrong, I’d still hate your and all of your family personally, but at least this way you may actually be able to keep some people reading past the first, snore-inducing sentence.
There is a whole lot of hate going on there.
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