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THE_BRIGHT_GRAY_LANDS
January 3, 2007
February 9, 2007
New York in winter is all
gray tree branches and dark
stone, but here and there I've got this feeling
a fire escape sparkles with that there's a lot to
strands of colored lights. be said, a lot that's
worth writing, and now
Staying in a place by the is when it should be
Marcy Ave stop, the trains done before it all
on the el bother us not at fades from memory.
all... but the store across
the street has put some Don't know where to begin.
kids to work advertising
New Year's horns. Shall I parade the places we went,
the events attended
This trip we spend the people we saw?
more time off of
the Bedford strip, And so, I postponed
looking around the the task a month, so
odd backstreets. only the highlights
remain.
Site specific art: plastic
bags collected and attached
to a chainlink fence facing
the river: a mosaic of
windsocks.
Out for breakfest at
a small place down under the
Williamsburg bridge: "Pies We walk down an alley,
and Thighs", tucked away in between two small
the back of the "Rock Star Bar": factories, to look at A view of
A gray concrete hole-in-the-wall the waterfront. Manhattan
with an absurdly good style of across the
post-hippie-hipster food. A chinese dragon East River.
I order the "hash", which is a statutte stands
facinating pile of miscellanious on a small pylon. The bridge,
meats -- leftovers from other looming on
dishes. A Hasid hides the left.
around the corner
Moto: a narrow wedge flipping through
shape cafe/bar with a stack of polaroids.
mediterranean cusine.
A small jazz band plays
something like ragtime,
set-up just inside the
front door on the point
of the wedge. Dark, Returning to the Bay Area,
exposed brick walls, I go to a "KZSU reuninon",
barred windows under the and discover that one of
el tracks... the story the old guard is now living
goes that this was once off in Williasmburg... when
a speakeasy, and we don't his wife hears where we
doubt it. were staying, she
immediately begins telling
me about Moto... I gather
that was the location of
their first date.
Walking across the Williamsburg
bridge... a view of the empire
state building lined up between the
two towers of the sugar factory on The Bedford Street
the river, a steep diagonal chute strip is much the
running between them. same, though sadly
The Fixx is gone,
or at least radically
EAST_OF_THE_EAST scaled back into
a record store.
There's a new,
really good, We spent some time at
vegan-asian place. the respectable
"Reader's" cafe.
The Form Fit Custom Girdle Factory
(aka "hipster shopping mall")
(January 14, 2007) had only changed only slightly
The place at Marcy Ave is a Without thinking about
sublet (all praise craigslist): it, I ordered *another*
an excellent little apartment, Soy Latte, which I see is
complete with stereo, DSL line, what I was drinking there
and a pair of cats: several years ago. It's
not my usual, but some
The older white male quirk of environment
Bowie and the young (menu layout?) steered
black female Iman. This sinuous little me into the same groove.
beast won't leave
The apartment leave me alone:
leaves me with
the funny Dangerbaby repeatedly
impression comments: "You little
that it's hussy!"
set-up like a
movie set for
an urban pad...
Or maybe it's A small place on Grand St,
just me being open late (Royale Records,
hyped up about I think): I look for excuses
"authenticity". to buy things, and pick up
some George Antheil vinyl
and a few zines, including
Cometbus #50.
A cover story in
Cometbus: "New York
Bookstore Round-up".
I read through it
immediately.
I almost tossed it aside
after an inane Dave Eggers
dig (the new Gotham
EGGING_ON bookstore "reeks of
privilege and McSweeny's"),
but luckily I persevered
and learned of "The Thing",
up in Greenpoint...
"The Thing" is seriously We stalk up the
packed, definitely a main drag of
While I was place to go looking for Greenpoint, in
there, a vinyl, but I end up at a hurry lest we
group of the mystery/sf shelves, miss the Thing's
six, six jockeying for space with closing hour...
foot tall a gray haired lady who
black men seems to be after Andre The sheer scale of
entered the Norton books. New York overwhelms:
store and this is an authentic
very seriously (I already had a stack neighborhood, a
walked single- of Andre Norton Ace pre-car holdover;
file into Doubles stashed in my like San Francisco's
the tiny luggage, checked out Mission Street, but
vinyl room of the old Brenner it runs on for miles,
in the back, collection.) and it's not the only
where they such strip.
immediately I settle on the two
began a volume hardcover set
careful of "The Rivals of
examination Sherlock Holmes"
of records. (facimiles from the
Strand and so on).
Without a
doubt: I wince at the thought
Turntablists. of adding this much
weight to the luggage,
Supposedly but if it has to be...
there's a stash
of vinyl down
in the basement
as well: I had
no time to
look. And I
was warned
to skip the
idea of flying
out of town in
a few days if
I got started
down there.
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