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April 24, 2007
NEW LEVELS OF GOV'T PATERNALISM
Mayor Bloomberg seems to be looking abroad for his policy proposal ideas recently. His big Earth Day initiative was to timidly raise the concept, and then come out full-bore in favor of congestion pricing in Manhattan. It would involve charging drivers $8 to use Manhattan's busier streets from 6am to 6pm. London started a similar program just two months ago.
Now Bloomberg is down in Mexico studying a program dubbed Conditional Cash, but called Opportunidades south of the border. It involves the government paying poor people for attaining certain goals, like seeing a doctor regularly, making sure your kids attend school, and following proper nutritional guidelines. Actually, only women can receive the money. It's assumed Mexican men will just blow the cash on tequila and cockfights.
If this sounds like government paternalism taken to an extreme, that's because it is paternalism--literally. This amounts to the Mexican government giving its citizens an allowance as long as they've done their chores and eaten all their vegetables. Why is Bloomberg looking for good governance ideas in Mexico, anyway. He's the Mayor of New York City, for chrissakes.
Tagged: allowance, bloomberg, mexicoPosted by Lexiphane at 3:01 PM | Politics & Policy | Comments (0) | TrackBack
In Other Words . . .
Whew, tough weekend. The Yanks delighted Bostonians by losing three straight in Fenway and in ridiculous fashion. They just lost to Tampa last night because the team's pitching is simply awful. ARod has silenced all doubters in the meantime, slamming another two homers at Tropicana Field. Anyway, a little excitement this weekend as I ran out to pick up the new copy of WIRED. Don't forget I'll be doing double duty this Thursday and Friday while Jen and Jake are in San Francisco accepting accolades. Let's get on with the links:
Early Morning Contest to Light the Empire
Two contractors get up early or stay up late shining test colors and patterns on the upper floors of the ESB.
Extra, Extra - 4/20/07
Firfighters finally get to try out some cool new gear when window washers are trapped outside a highrise, daffodils are the new city flower, and all sorts of other stuff.
Stung By Closure, A Chef Seems Paralyzed to Re-Open
An older french chef's mental mise en place is messed with by the Health Dept. and now he's not sure if he can ever re-open his famous restaurant.
Rose Bends the Mayor's Ear
101-year-old mugging victim Rose Morat gives those two whippersnappers Mayor Bloomberg and police commissioner Ray Kelly a piece of her mind and everyone loves it.
Beware of Roommates Installing "Air Cleaners"
A woman sues her roommate, who installed a hidden camera in her bedroom with obvious consequences.
Daniel Radcliffe to 'Apparate' on Broadway Stage
Young girls love Harry Potter and horses, but Danielle Radcliffe plays a character who abacinates a stable of horses and then swings his junk on stage, so leave the kids at home when his play comes to NYC next spring.
Creeping US Out
When are middle-aged men going to realize that it's a horrible idea to cruise the Internet offering young girls cash for sex lessons? That's what the food court at the mall is for. Sheesh!
Bloomberg to City Drivers: Pay Up, You Can Afford It
Mayor Mike can't even wait 'til Sunday's Earth Day address to drop the coy act in regards to the congestion tax that will charge Manhattan drivers $8 to sit in traffic.
McGreevey Divorce Gets Contentious––and More Public
The details of the divorce between the former NJ Governor and current "gay American" Jim McGreevey and his spurned wife, gets dirty and interesting. All in the interest of their young daughter, of course.
Ratner Free to Proceed With Demolition
More legal wrangling over the future of the Atlantic Yards Development project in Brooklyn with the advantage going to developer Bruce Ratner. When I suggested a graphic to Jen, she came back with exactly what I wanted times ten. I love it.
Extra, Extra - 4/21/07
Sharp ears means that Gothamist's the first large online NYC media source to link to a story about an idiot Met fan who tried to blind Atlanta Braves players with a high-powered flashlight. I had to go to Atlanta for a link.
When Co-op Boards Say "No", They May Have to Say Why
Good tips for what not do when showing up for your co-op interview: don't dress like a hooker or with a security detail that suggests you will be an assasination target in the near future.
Boys Town
Downtown Manhattan is like a big frathouse except with huge bonuses and probably hookers instead of date rape.
Tree-mendous Plan for Cityscape
Mayor Bloomberg wants a million trees planted around the city over the next decade. Just pay no attention to the one's we're buzzsawing on 5th Ave. this week.
Day One of a 1000
A look at the boyfriend-girlfriend team that plan on sailing 1000 days straight without landing or stopping for re-supply. The first blog post reveals that the girlfriend has never actually gone sailing on an ocean before.
Adventurer Returns Home
That Indiana Jones-looking guy from the History Channel is actually an Upper East Side native and city kid.
Construction Barriers Are Your Friends
Man leaves OTB in the middle of the day, proceeds to fall into giant hole dug by ConEd crew. Family swears he never drank, but the consensus is that he was doing all his drinking at the OTB.
Extra, Extra - 4/22/07
Hint to prospective bloggers: always finish a daily wrap-up entry with something that engenders fury and indignation. It keeps people warm at night.
Kick Map Finds Its Way to the MTA
For some reason I thought this was going to be a bit of a non-starter, but was actually hugely popular. It's about a guy trying to develop a new subway map.
DOT Plan For Grand Army Plaza
A crazy overhead photo of just part of Grand Army Plaza's insane pedestrian traffic accomadations. The DOT is taking steps to improve what could be one of the greatest pedestrian spots in all of NYC.
Extra, Extra - 4/23/07
If you hate your job, consider this: after Ricki Lake filmed herself giving birth in the bathtub in her West Village apartment, she told her assistant to clean the tub. Also, Gov. Corzine intends to run NJ by remote control from his bed.
That's all for now! Check back soon for original Lexiphane.com content and more links to my day job.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 8:30 AM | Gothamist , In Other Words . . . | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 23, 2007
MUSICAL INFLUENCES
I was flipping around radio stations the other day and found myself listening to a public service announcement that made me sit up and think "What the . . .?" Usually you know where a PSA is going, so to be surprised by the usual telegraphed anti-drug message is pretty rare. This particular PSA, which can be listened to here, features a girl's voice that has been altered to make it sound digitized, like a computer from 1982 is speaking. As the ad progresses, the girl's voice becomes gradually more human, until the final line, when it's just the voice of a girl. Then a male voice pops in with the punchline, or lesson, I'm not certain. Here is the transcript:
Being popular was all I could think about last year.
I wanted to be, like, cool with everybody.
I listened to music I didn't like and laughed at things that weren't funny.
I programmed myself to be a totally different person to everyone.
But I wasn't myself.
Now I'm not pretending to like indie rock or anything like that, and people think that's cool.
Male voice: Live above the influence––above weed.*
In case you missed it, liking indie rock was used there as a metaphor for being a brainless stoner intent on leading an inherently fake existence. So you kids just drop your joints and back slowly away from the Death Cab For Cutie cds. In fact, just leave your iPods over there by the door on your way out. There's no telling what kind of unhomogenized stoner crap might be on them.
*Brought to you by the slightly misguided and bizarre people at abovetheinluence.com.
NB: Apparently I am woefully behind the times. Either that or have enough sense to never listen to the radio. Pitchfork Media wrote about this all the way back in October of last year.
Tagged: drugs, musicPosted by Lexiphane at 3:35 PM | Music , Total Jackassery | Comments (2) | TrackBack
GET WIRED
I recommend everyone pick up the latest (May) issue of WIRED Magazine that hit newsstands this weekend. In its 2007 Rave Awards (p.129), the magazine selected 22 individuals who were changing the world. Some of them: The Allen Brain Atlas (team that genetically mapped the entire brain of mice), Alfonso Cuaron (director: Pan's Labrynth, Children of Men), California's Gov. Scharzenegger, J.K. Rowling (author: Harry Potter books), and Jen Chung (Gothamist.com co-founder). The last mention, of course, is my employer; although she certainly doesn't seem like a boss when I'm working with her, perhaps because we've emailed off and on for so many years on a friendly basis. I won't overpraise, lest I be accused of brownnosing. I will say that I enjoy my time at work a great deal and am not at all surprised that Jen, Jake and Gothamist.com are being recognized for their work thus far.
Jen and Jake are heading to San Francisco this week for some Rave Award recognition events. I promised I wouldn't throw any parties while they were away or burn the site down, so expect increased posting from me Thursday and Friday, as well as the now-usual weekend festivities.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 7:59 AM | Gothamist | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 20, 2007
IN OTHER WORDS . . .
Highlight of the week: being the first local blog to catch on to Sludgie the Whale in the Gowanus Canal. Lowlight: VTech shooting and Sludgie dying suddenly. Increasing use of the photoshop skills in this week's entries. Let's take a look:
A Little Competition Never Hertz
Hertz stats an hourly rental service in NYC to go head-to-head with Zipcar. I guess that it will probably come down to customer service, like car availability, and the commentors agree with woeful tales.
Extra, Extra - 4/17/07
Staten Island Ferry passengers are tossed by story seas and slamming into the pier, a kid is shot in the neck and no one's talking, and a Chinatown apartment is trashed by hipsters.
Blackberry Jam
RIM's network gets dunked overnight and Blackberry users may have to consider alternate modes of communication, like speaking.
C-eau-ney Island
Downtown perfumer designs a scent inspired by Coney Island, but you can't smell the hot dogs or fried clams.
Clear for Takeoff on the East River
Mayor Bloomberg wants to turn NYC's waterways into runways using and I reminisce about Howard Hughes' 'Spruce Goose'. Some commentors are almost fooled by my photoshopping.
Extra, Extra - 4/18/07
Gondola between Brooklyn and Manhattan via Governors Island is still in the works, the search for the Hamilton Heights rapist-torturer draws closer, and a to-do over naming streets in the City Council.
Posted by Lexiphane at 11:50 AM | Gothamist , In Other Words . . . | Comments (0) | TrackBack
SCIENCE NOTE TO BACARDI'S MARKETING FIRM, NOT THAT THEY'D CARE
If you're a company marketing your booze in a diet-conscious way, it would make sense that you're looking out for the best interest of the consumer. The thinner your customer looks the better theh bla blah blah . . . I'm sorry. I just got headbutted back to reality. Booze, dieting, and advertising really are a perfect storm of not making sense and, in fact, makes zero, or multiple-zeroes sense. Let's start with the graphic to the right: "0 Carbs 0 Sugar". It is from Bacardi, recommending mixing Bacardi rum with Diet Coke, because the resulting cocktail contains zero calories from carbs and zero calories from sugar. This is redundant, of course, because sugar is a carbohydrate. Sugars are certainly simpler molecules than complex carbohydrates, but when classifying food as either carb, fat, or protein, sugar goes in the carbohydrate column. The graphic to the right is the same as writing "0 Beatles 0 John Lennon".
The impression given by the Bacardi ads touting its zero-level qualities is that a Bacardi and Diet Coke cocktail is a godsend to the weight-conscious or Atkins-minded partygoers planning on drinking so often and in such quantities that the calorie content of their drinks will make a noticeable impact on their waistlines. Let me disabuse those people of that impression.
There's no fat or protein in a Bacardi and Diet Coke cocktail, so let's remove those from the equation. The Bacardi ad people double-emphasized the fact that there are zero calories from carbohydrates in that cocktail. The great unmentioned––and the presumable reason that people would be drinking a Bacardi and Diet Coke in the first place––is that the drink contains alcohol. Alcohol is a different type of molecule than fats, carbs, and protein. It gets a nutritional category all its own, and the alcohol molecule contains seven calories per gram.
The standard cocktail made with 1 1/2 ozs. of 80% proof liquor contains about 14 grams of alcohol equalling 97 calories. If you were to consume 35 Bacardi and Diet Cokes in an evening you would gain approximately one pound, althought that would be the least of your worries the next morning, presuming you wake up. The next time that you see one of these ads, remember that they are being cut off at the end, like an annoying repetitive drunk by a tired and annoyed bartender. After they tout zero calories from carbs and zero calories from sugar, they are forgetting to add 97 calories from alcohol.
Tagged: advertising, bacardi, caloriesPosted by Lexiphane at 12:20 AM | Science & Technology , Total Jackassery | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 19, 2007
A BRIEF NOTE
I have very little to say about the killings at Virginia Tech. It's the sort of horrible occurence that does not bear attention very well. Excessive bathos and disturbing inquisitiveness about the macabre details of events seem to be a pathology of our times. We want to feel tragically sad, but we want to see the brutal fucking details as to what caused that sympathetic sadness, while affected families are experiencing actual grief. It's a sick, schizophrenic, have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too society we live in.
I'm frankly disgusted. Less disgusted with the VT murderer and more with the media for deliberately distributing the A/V propaganda of a killer, thus propelling a self-involved loser into a recognizable figure sure to propel copycats hoping for the same level of recognition. And this is how a new generation of disturbed kids reach out for the outsized recognition they sorely lack and inflicting damage they feel is proportionate in their feeble adolescent brains [sorry adolescent readers, you really will understand later, trust me.] That jackass idiot is dead, of course; no one wants to live up to his greatest achievement when it turns out to be one of pure malice, hurt, and cowardice.
If you're interested in seeing some of the victims of a disturbed pathetic loser, see here. These are some of the valuable individuals that hoped to contribute something to the world.
(I am fully aware that someone in all this was mentally disturbed. That is really horrible for him. It earns him a few iotas of mention in this post, in the third person.)
Tagged: media, murder, virginia techPosted by Lexiphane at 10:28 PM | Current Events | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 17, 2007
IN OTHER WORDS . . .
Wow, that was a quick week, amazing how time flies when one is busy. It seems like everyone survived the great Nor'easter 2007 in okay shape. Houseboats floated, flights were cancelled, a few basements got leaky, but they still ran the Boston Marathon and the Yanks were at McAfee Stadium in Oakland, high and dry so to speak. Shall we get to the links? Yes, lets:
Extra, Extra - 4/17/07
It's a good thing Sharpton got those death threats from deranged Imus fans because he's upped his personal security and has police protection. No offense to Liev Schreiber or Eric Bogosian, but people who love and hate shock jocks don't kill people. Rappers, however, some of those guys'll kill you for real!
Grass To Be Cut In City Parks
Jen threw me this one after I dug up an amusing graphic of Grass perfume by Demeter. I do the math and wonder what the city is thinking replacing grass in city parks with artificial turf when the investment won't break even for 100 years minimum, but probably closer to 150 years.
Reasons To Stay, Reasons To Move
I actually made this graphic myself using PS Elements and used it as the basis for a perennial story about comparing the cost of living: what it takes to live like a Manhattanite earning $100K in different cities. Living like a bum is still pretty much the same everywhere.
Extra, Extra - 4/15/07
A great photo tops a list of stories, including a car flying off the West Side Highway and Trump's son not reacting well to "You're fired!"
It's Not Like Water Falls Out of the Sky, It Costs
NYC's got water problems as taxpayers are gonna have to fork over another $200mn to get their billion-dollar filtration plant built. And Bloomberg is pissed because the city council figured out how to fix the water scofflaw problem is to just raise rates on the people that do pay.
Hunts Point Residents Are Anti-Jail
Who does want to go to jail, anyway? But this is about the Bronx neighbors who don't want a house of D built in the lot they reserve for illegal dumping. The arguments of planners in these cases always strike me as vaguely racist or downright condescending as they explain "We're practically doing you people a service, as you won't have to travel all the way to Rykers to visit your father/brother/sister/cousin."
Arabic-Themed School Generates Controversy
What do you get when a woman wants to open a non-religious magnet school to promote bi-lingualism, cultural understanding, and name it after a Middle Eastern Christian man who grew up in the U.S.? You get called an Islamist nut. Critics say it'll churn out grads with a pro-Arab, anti-American frame of reference. If a NYC public school can churn out graduates who can even locate the Middle East on a map, I say go for it! Hearts and minds is a college-level course anyway.
Woman Rund Down By, Trapped Under SUV
That walk signal is meaningless. Like your mother always told you: look both ways before crossing the street.
Dummkopf
Mostly a lesson in Bronx appreciation after a German Army instructor tries to motivate a recruit holding a machine guy to pretend he's being yomamma'd by a bunch of black guys in the Bronx. Seriously.
Nor'easter Of The 21st Century
Everyone was eyes-open awake the morning I tried to post this and a server switch sent the whole apparatus hobbling on stilts. Fun look back at how differently--or not at all--the city approached impending weather disasters 15 years ago.
Extra, Extra - 4/14/07
I pick on a former pitcher for beating a cat to death and slamming his girlfriends around; consensus: hot guys can do that. The mysterious red pickup and its driver, who started the whole Corzine-crash phenomena is found.
Panama Murder Mystery
A Staten Island woman is found dead, dismembered, and set on fire in a Panamanian soccer field. Local cops correctly figure the butler (female employee) did it.
Keeping Starrett City Affordable
I wonder if Sheldon Silver was thinking "get the hell off my podium!" when U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer hogged the spotlight at an announcement over State Assembly legislation. Hey Chuck, if you want to be a state senator go for it, but they don't get the capital letters.
Sharpton's Death Threats
Sharpton is triumphant in getting Imus booted from the airwaves and now some of the latter's deranged fans want to get all Biggie-Tupac about it.
He-A Culpa
A pun so bad, I emailed the publisher to make sure it was usable, half hoping he'd talk me out of it. Nope.
Metallic Nature in City Park
Just a photo-post of a piece of artist Roxy Paine's installation in Madison Square.
Mill Hil Robbery
You know it's the weekend when not a single commentor writes in to excoriate you for spelling millenium with two n's. Otherwise, it's a crazy story about some tourists from Georgia getting Shanghai'd in a pretty nice hotel downtown.
Stormy Weather Set For Sunday
Basically a PSP (public service post) directing people to online resources for disaster preparedness as the city starts to psych itself up for the nor'easter.
Pols Pay Taxes Too
The Post paws through the tax returns of Gov. Spitzer and SAG Cuomo and we figure, what the hell, count us in.
Hollaback Girls And Then Some
I'm actually very proud of the graphic I created for this post, but the first commentor complains that it's "weak." The only time man-on-woman violence is ever really funny is when it's accompanied by regular use of the phrase "attack of the killer lesbians."
Extra, Extra - 4/13/07
Lucked out with a great black cat photo for Friday 13th. Then late-breaking news that NJ Gov. John Corzine was in a car accident and is seriously messed up. Also, I thought a funny bit about cops and bar owners.
Westward Expansion
Bidding opens for the Hudson Rail Yard, the largest undeveloped bloc of land left in Manhattan. It is real estate bloodsport in the making.
Face-Off!
This was initially much longer, but Jen told me to hack a good portion of it off, which probably made it better.
I'll try to post some more original stuff here this week. Frankly, I'm feeling a little bummed tonight about the VTech shooting. I have no connection to the school or any of the people there; but damn, 32 victims is a lot of dead kids.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 7:24 AM | Gothamist , In Other Words . . . | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 15, 2007
THE TRUETH IS OUT THERE
Oh my, I did not realize this. According to the site English-language version of the Russian website Pravda, that whole ruckus over Don Imus was an effective effort by "US War Leaders" to discredit and silence a challenging media voice. Another high-profile public figure who can expect his integrity to be demolished is Charlie Sheen. [Oh God, not little Charlie!, ed.]
"US actor Charlie Sheen is reportedly in talks to narrate an internet documentary that suggests elements of the US government were behind the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre.
Sheen's representatives say he was involved in the production of a new version of Loose Change, a 90-minute conspiracy theory film that has been seen by more than 10 million internet viewers."
The US War Leaders found Don Imus' destruction deceptively easy. With such a sharp and practiced COINTELPRO operator like the Rev. Al Sharpton on their side, Imus never stood a chance. It's not stated in the article, but we know for a fact that N.O.W. has been a virtual harem to Bush and his war cronies for years. Oh you insidious "US War Planners!" How will you ever be defeated? Many thanks to organizations like the Pravda site, that keep criticism of government abuses and excess credible and in the public eye.
(Tip o' the pixel to Mikester for keeping me abreast of the best on the web.)
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 10:32 PM | Journalism | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 12, 2007
IS CONAN MOONLIGHTING AT CBS? OR DOES HE HAVE A YOUNGER BROTHER?
New York's local CBS affiliate, WCBS, just got a new weatherman named Lonnie Quinn. According to the linked-to post, he's a former soap star. Is it me, though, or does Lonnie Quinn look like Conan O'Brien completely maxed out on Botox? Quinn was formerly a Miami weatherman after he left the soaps, so that might explain the tan/fake-tan factor.
I'd love to see the two of them in a room together. It's too bad they're not on the same network, or they could recreate that "I Love Lucy" scene from the episode where Lucille Ball and Harpo Marx do some mimed mirror schtick. In lieu of some old vaudeville though, I'd be content to watch Quinn and O'Brien duke it out in some old-school Irish bare-knuckle boxing. Or as we call it in the real world: a big 'ol sissy slap fight!
Tagged: cbs, conan, lucy, nbcPosted by Lexiphane at 10:59 PM | Television | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 11, 2007
IN OTHER WORDS . . .
Sitting here scoring the Yanks game and Moose just left the mound under injurious circumstances, so let's just go to the links from the past two days:
City Dogs Unleashed
A change in the leash laws brings frothing mad commentors out of the shrubbery, on both sides of the issue.
Extra, Extra - 4/10/07
Alright, I only picked the crazy neon monkey photo for this one and let Jen do the rest. She's nice like that.
Reversal of Fortune? Rent vs. Buy Revisited
Up is down; black is white; The New York Times crunches the numbers and finds renters made out better than home buyers over the last two years. This is real estate apostasy in NYC.
Supermarket Sweep: Electoral Edition
Rudy gets stumped by the old "How much does a can of corn cost?" question while campaigning in Alabama. If Rudy told the truth about NYC grocery prices, his campaign would be over as the rest of the country found out how crazy NYers are.
Extra, Extra - 4/11/07
Dogs, Imus, subway accidents: it's all there.
No Extra, Extra from me tomorrow so I'll try to see if I can squeeze something in during the morning.
Tagged: imus, leash, real estatePosted by Lexiphane at 8:50 PM | Gothamist , In Other Words . . . | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 10, 2007
The Finiteness of Life & Art
Someone forwarded me an email this morning that gave me pause. My first reaction was one of urgency, as in "somebody should do something!" Considering all the circumstances, however, I wonder. The image above was taken on the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum in NYC; it's of a piece called Splotch #3 by Sol Lewitt, who died Sunday at the age of 78. From his NYTimes obit:
Mr. LeWitt helped establish Conceptualism and Minimalism as dominant movements of the postwar era. A patron and friend of colleagues young and old, he was the opposite of the artist as celebrity. He tried to suppress all interest in him as opposed to his work; he turned down awards and was camera-shy and reluctant to grant interviews. He particularly disliked the prospect of having his photograph in the newspaper.
Typically, a 1980 work called “Autobiography” consisted of more than 1,000 photographs he took of every nook and cranny of his Manhattan loft, down to the plumbing fixtures, wall sockets and empty marmalade jars, and documented everything that had happened to him in the course of taking the pictures. But he appeared in only one photograph, which was so small and out of focus that it is nearly impossible to make him out. His work — sculptures of white cubes, or drawings of geometric patterns, or splashes of paint like Rorschach patterns — tested a viewer’s psychological and visual flexibility. See a line. See that it can be straight, thin, broken, curved, soft, angled or thick. Enjoy the differences. The test was not hard to pass if your eyes and mind were open, which was the message of Mr. LeWitt’s art.
I loved the post written by Jen Carlson that we ran at Gothamist because it had a large-sized crop of the above photo. It was interesting enough that in Monday's Extra, Extra post, I chose a picture of a young girl embracing LeWitt's art: literally.
So this morning's recieved email was a bit of a surprise, as it described some of LeWitt's wall drawings that exist inside one of the buildings slated for destruction at Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards development project. An excerpt:
644 Pacific Street is in the footprint of Bruce Ratner's proposed "Atlantic Yards" project, specifically in the footprint of the arena itself. In that building, once occupied by one of Mr. Lewitt's studio assistants, are at least two wall paintings by the artist. The building is in the list of the first round of demolitions the developer intends to begin in the coming weeks. These wall paintings should be photographed for historical documentation and the Sol Lewitt catalogue.
This is a fairly small request. The sender doesn't even seem to be calling for perservation of the works, just documentation before they are destroyed. I then remembered the closing lines of the obit that Carlson wrote for Gothamist, recounting LeWitt's lack of sentimentality in regards to his works' temporary nature.
LeWitt moved to New York in 1953 and had a variety of short-term jobs, including night receptionist at the Museum of Modern Art. His first solo art show was at the John Daniels Gallery in 1965 and his first wall drawing, part of a 1968 display, moved the gallery owner so much that she couldn't bear to paint over it and insisted LeWitt do it himself, which he did without hesitating.
Of course, LeWitt was only 39 then, just halfway through his 78 years. I'm sure the cavalierness of an artist with decades of productivity ahead of him may have been tempered as those years ahead diminished. In that respect, LeWitt treated his art as most of us treat life. And the end of both LeWitt's life and some of his work may intersect at Atlantic Ave. and Pacific St. in 2007.
Posted by Lexiphane at 2:31 PM | Art | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 9, 2007
CAN YOU SMELL ME?
When your employer sends you the above image in the middle of the afternoon as part of a work-related conversation, you might feel fortunate enough to imagine a full-blown fragrance ad-campaign.
Tagged: ky, sponge bobPosted by Lexiphane at 9:24 PM | Current Events | Comments (0) | TrackBack
LAMEST INVOCATION OF 9/11 OF ALL TIME, OR LATELY ANYWAY
Unfortunately, the passage of time and the resilience of our regional society following the 9/11/01 attacks has somehow been transformed from a source of pride for all, to a catch-all excuse to others. There is nothing political about this slide whatsoever, it is simply a case of grasping at tragic straws in order to cover one's suddenly-exposed rear end. The only metric of shame in play is how quotidian an embarassment can be used as a backdrop for a 9/11 invocation-as-explanation.
When a Union City, NJ school district found out that one of its employees or students had rung up $250 in Pay-Per-View charges with Cablevision while watching porn at one of its schools, an attorney for the district was quick to remind why cable boxes with pay-per-view porn were necessary in public schools:
"The board has cable boxes in the event of an emergency," education board attorney Thomas R. Kobin told the Jersey Journal of Jersey City for Saturday newspapers. "We are just a few minutes from the Lincoln Tunnel and New York City. There has been a history of attacks in New York City."Granted, if I found out there was a nuclear device planted in the Lincoln Tunnel "a few minutes away", I'd probably want to pull up some episodes of HBO's "Rome" for a few end-of-empire survival tips On-Demand, but even if there was a legitimately good reason for cable boxes in local schools, Kobin could probably state them explicitly without the stilted historical allusions. Tagged: 9/11, pathetic, porn, ppv, schools
Posted by Lexiphane at 12:06 AM | Total Jackassery | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 8, 2007
EAST VILLAGE AUTOPSY
I wrote a piece this afternoon about the closing of a longstanding Alphabet City hangout coffeeshop called Alt Coffee. It was based on a NYTimes article with all the usual details: humble beginnings, quirky clientele, changing neighborhood, higher rents, luxury condos, blah blah blah. How many of these stories does the Times run per month? Wouldn't they be better served by saving them up for a once-a-month or once-a-week section called Urban Eulogy or something?
Is there newsroom shortand for this type of story? I imagine they call it an East Village Autopsy, regardless of where it happens, just because the EV ones are so typical. I'm picturing Monday-morning story meetings at the Times beginning with the Metro Editor Joe Sexton before his assembled staff, saying stuff like "Alright, we got a new guy on the desk; he's young and from Sacramento. Let's give him Sharpton's press conference this afternoon, elephants in the tunnel Tuesday, and an EVA by Thursday. That shit writes itself."
Tagged: east village, nytimesPosted by Lexiphane at 9:13 PM | Journalism | Comments (0) | TrackBack
IN OTHER WORDS . . .
Happy Easter! I managed to sneak away from work long enough to hit church and celebrate a young man's early birthday. A-Rod's first at bat, first pitch in fact, after yesterday's walk-off grandslam was a 2-run homer. I haven't caught the rest of the game. It's Easter and it was snowing in NYC today, but let's get to the links:
She's Getting Too Old For This
The 85-year-old woman who was beaten in a highly publicized push-in robbery last month is moving out of her neighborhood 'cause she's too afraid to live there anymore.
Something to Chew On Over Sunday Brunch
The Times looks at the origins of Eggs Benedict and its story is chock full of satisfying tidbits.
Alt-Coffee-Delete
The Times should just inaugurate a once-a-week gentrification section, because here's a story about an Alphabet City coffee shop remaking itself as a more family-friendly environment, e.g., taking the "No ODs Allowed" sign out of the bathroom.
Not Just Happy To See Cops
Transit cops are finding a number of guns and knives on people they search after car hopping on the subway.
The Evictees of 2nd Ave.
It's starting to sink in that the MTA actually intends to knock down UES buildings to start its 2nd Ave. Subway Anti-Project.
"You boo puppets! You hiss villains in silent movies!"
Hecklers ascendant: the rise of the self-appointed critic willing to give you his two cents no matter the time or place.
Sisters Act
Three Brooklyn sisters charged with having a hand in the death of the youngest's infant upon birth.
One Man, One Vote
My favorite of the day: The NYPost finds a doorman who voted for the Clintons before, but now wants to vote for Obama, and puts him on the front page.
Extra, Extra - 4/8/07
Easter ice on the Gowanus, extraditions in the Park and Shoot killing, and a great holiday pic.
Posted by Lexiphane at 7:55 PM | Gothamist , In Other Words . . . | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 7, 2007
IN OTHER WORDS . . .
When one works the weekend shift, Friday-Sunday become pretty hectic. Did anyone else get a chance to watch or listen to that Yankees game today? A-Rod is starting to earn some Bronx love with a 3 for 4 performance and a walk. That included two home runs and a double. The capper, of course, was the two-out two-strike walk off grand slam that won the Yanks the whole game. Now to the links:
Old School Is New At The Met
The Metropolitan Museum has expanded with 30,000 sqf of new space devoted to Greek and Roman antiquities.
Release The Hounds
Geese Police in Central Park!
Extra, Extra - 4/6/07
Don Imus is apparently broadcasting under the influence again and a friend shows the opposite of gratitude for his lift to the airport.
Indian Point of Concern
Another unscheduled shutdown at Indian Point is enough to give me and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission cause for concern.
Egg-Hunt Rundown
Easter activities at NYC parks!
Leaving Town In A Hurry
When a friend gives you a ride to the airport, you're not supposed to shoot and kill him outside the terminal.
Clarifying Taxi Charges
New graphics are supposed to simplify taxi fare structure. I just go ahead and confuse things more.
Former Fugitive Bucky Talks
One of those weird outlaw-hero stories, except it's set in Western NY and just last year.
Lesser Charge For Playground Killer
13-year-old who killed a kid his own age on the playground is showered with love and sympathy.
New Galleries Open at Brooklyn Museum of Art
Sackler Center for Feminist Art opens at the Brooklyn Museum.
More Trouble For Bell-Shooting Cop
Det. Marc Cooper is now getting sued by a guy he arrested the month before the Sean Bell shooting.
Extra, Extra - 4/7/07
Just tons of fun stuff.
Posted by Lexiphane at 10:19 PM | Gothamist , In Other Words . . . | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 4, 2007
IN OTHER WORDS . . .
I've decided to provide the links to stuff I've done over at Gothamist in a daily post called IN OTHER WORDS . . .. At least I hope it will be daily. If I ever miss a day, I'll lump in the previous day's links with the latest entry. And here are today's links:
Extra, Extra - 4/4/07
Where it's best to change your mind about jumping in front of an incoming train before you leave the platform.
The House of D
New and old residents of a Brooklyn neighborhood have differing ideas of when exactly the good old days were and the Times quotes a guy who's only lived there for four days.
Streets Paved With Gold
I take a look at The Real Deal's examination of the best neighborhoods in each of the five boroughs.
Enjoy!
Tagged: in other words . . .Posted by Lexiphane at 10:56 PM | Gothamist , In Other Words . . . | Comments (0) | TrackBack
THE BOORISH MANNERS OF SOME YALIES
Three Yale students, who police identified as 23-year-old Said Hyder Akbar, 19-year-old Nikolaos Angelopoulos and 19-year-old Farhad Anklesaria, were arrested yesterday after police picked them up in the area where a burning American flag was found and estinguished. The three Yale University students admitted setting the flag on fire, but no reason was listed for their actions. The headline of this WNBC article says that the three were "accused" of burning a flag. The body of the article says that the students were "charged" with flag-burning. We're not sure of the Constitutionality of laws against flag-burning (and we're against them), but expect that local prosecutors will prefer to go the easy route and charge the men with a more arson-oriented crime. Is it arson to burn a flag? I'd say it is, when the flag you light on fire is attached to someone's house.
Posted by Lexiphane at 11:24 AM | Total Jackassery | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 3, 2007
PARDON THE INTERRUPTION
Some of you may have noticed a disappearing story yesterday regarding NYC's plans to protect itself from nuclear attack. That's not coming back, but it's not for national security reasons and you can still read it elsewhere. The new job as Weekend Editor at Gothamist is going very well, I think. I'm having a lot of fun doing it. I'll also be doing some things for the site during the week as well, like the end-of-day wrap-up post titled Extra, Extra. This will feature stories that the staff didn't get around to during the day or stories I think warrant inclusion at a one-line level. I'll also be contributing full posts during the week if the Gothamist finds itself short ten fingers, or if I, again, see something that seems particularly interesting for the site. I'll still be posting regularly at Lexiphane.com, and also the least I can do is post links to my other work. Come on over and see what's happening. Without further ado, the links:
Extra Extra - 4/3/07
Starbucks in Hot Water With Labor Advocates
I almost got in trouble with this one for relying on the NYTimes to correctly identify a union.
Extra, Extra - 4/2/07
We Need More Cowbell AND Frying Pan
I take a look at an article on some of the finer Mets and Yankees superfans. If you don't understand what the title means, you must watch this.
Keeping NYC Nuke Free
Designed the graphic myself.
Extra, Extra - 4/1/07
"What A Dangerous Man"
A look at the Daily News' labor intensive dirt digging article on "31-Shot Cop" Michael Oliver.
No Cabinet Post For Mrs. Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani backtracks on saying his wife will be too involved with his administration and some more on the former Mayor's Kerik problems.
Brooklyn's Black Gold
Why is oil coming out of the ground at a Williamsburg construction site?
Bloomberg's Billions
He's not just the mayor, he's the richest New Yorker!
Boardwalk Bulletin
A quick rundown of opening-day activities at Coney Island's boardwalk and perhaps its last.
Church To Hotel: Stick With Chocolate Bunnies
Some people don't like the idea of a naked Jesus rendered in chocolate hung in a hotel gallery, and a lot people hate those people. Lotta love in the Comments section in my debut.
Posted by Lexiphane at 7:35 PM | Gothamist , Lexiphane | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 2, 2007
YESTERDAY'S LEAST FUNNY APRIL FOOL'S STORY
I thought the Associated Press crossed the border into BadTasteIstan with this story about gunplay at an afterparty following the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards Saturday.
Shots were fired at a party attended mostly by teenagers early Sunday following the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, wounding three people, and police said they suspected gang members were involved.
This is obviously a parody referencing the unfortunate frequency of violence at ceremonies like the Source Awards. We're of a mind that it's not generally funny to joke about kids getting hurt. Especially coming from a source like the Associated . . . wait, what?
Posted by Lexiphane at 6:09 AM | Journalism | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 1, 2007
OLD AND AUGUSTA SPORTSMAN
Tiger Woods will tee off this week at Augusta National ten years after he demolished the field and won his first Masters by 12 strokes in 1997. In other news, we are all old. I seem to distinctly remember Woods being a wunderkind as he won serial U.S. Amateur Championships. Now he's a seasoned tour veteran and has already won four Masters.
I don't know about the rest of you, but Lexiphane.com is going to spend the rest of the weekend discovering a cure for cancer or developing his until-now-latent 103 mph fastball.
Tagged: golf, masters, tigerPosted by Lexiphane at 1:29 AM | Sports | Comments (0) | TrackBack
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