New York, New York
"I was born here, you know."
"You're gonna die here, you know. Convenient."
Well, I was born in Brooklyn. This week, I had a chance to return --- and to spend some time in the parts of the city that aren't Manhattan. What the heck is that? Well, it's the Unisphere! All I can say is that it's much bigger in the stainless steel, so to speak, than you can possibly imagine when you see it on television. The fountains were off so I walked out to the main platform to get an up-close look, as well. I'd hoped to see the structure when I was at the New York Auto Show last week, but time didn't permit me to do so. Luckily, I had reason to return to NYC this week and this time I had the time. You can see the Unisphere in any number of TV shows and movies but this is my favorite:
After that, it was time to check out the so-called Iron Triangle:
No, that's not Bangkok or Nairobi. It's part of the world's largest and most thoroughly-developed city. I'll be writing about the Iron Triangle and how it came to be for TTAC some time in the next week.
I've stayed all sorts of places in Manhattan over the last few years, from the Muse and Andaz to the Best Western in Hell's Kitchen, so to shake it up I decided to stay in my actual home town of Brooklyn, at the King and Grove in Williamsburg. I ate most of my meals around there, on Bedford, and even bought a few ties at Hickoree's second-floor location on South Seventh. All I can say is this: I would live there again in a heartbeat. I feel completely at home there. Of course, it costs two million dollars to live in Williamsburg, and even that exalted figure doesn't get you a place to store a Porsche or crank up a MESA/Boogie. It's also chock-full of hipsters and wannabes. I suspect that most of them were born somewhere else because they're just trying soooooo hard to be Brooklyn people.
Still, I loved it there and once I'm completely healthy I'm going to head back with my Supercross Dirt Devil skatepark bike for some urban riding.
Wednesday night, I went to Arthur's to see Alyson Williams, as is my habit when I'm in the Village or anywhere close. Ms. Williams was kind enough to let me direct her set a bit, and I had the pleasure of hearing her sing a few songs that she does particularly well, including "Been So Long" by Anita Baker and the criminally underrated "Through The Fire":
Through the fire To the limit To the wall For a chance to be with you I'd gladly risk it all
Not, mind you, to be with her man. For a chance to be with her man. Satisfaction not guaranteed. You can lose some, or all, of what you invest. Sometimes you ask someone to risk everything for a chance, and they won't do it. Or they do it, and it doesn't work. Your mileage may vary.
On the way out the following morning, I missed a turn and had to go through Chinatown. I found myself here:
Canal and Bowery! Open up your Genericana songbook and follow along with me:
I don't think you're right for him! Think of what it might of been If we Took a bus to Chinatown I'd be standing on Canal And Bowery And she'd be standin' next to me
That, by the way, is a reference to a Chinatown bus. Oh, the romance of being young and going somewhere with someone you love. What if she'd made that trip with him? But now she's with someone else. Isn't that always the way it goes?