Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Sophocles rides the N Train
Me too, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK HAND !
Today the AP reports...A $125 million compound is being built to hold war crimes trials. It is being built at Guantanamo by the usa to hold trials for the people we have been torturing there.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 11/18 at 09:11 AMwill they have a gift shop?
Posted by owen on from schmarcelona 11/18 at 09:19 AMHello Expendables...from sunny NYC.
RMJ. I’ve got Black Panther news for you:
http://tinyurl.com/u88qxOwen: Good thinking. They could make a fortune selling replica orange jumpsuits.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 09:22 AMOwen....Probably, for those involved in S & M.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 11/18 at 09:23 AMI just came across a quote that made me laugh: The fundamental difference between capitalism and communism is that under capitalism, man exploits man, whilst under communism, it’s the other way around.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 09:25 AMOn the topic of “enemy combatants,” the Democrats are making noise about changing the Military Commissions Act:
http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/226It might just be posturing on their part as Bush will veto such changes and a veto override is unlikely.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 09:28 AMthat´s brilliant. I must tell that one to my economist friend.
Posted by owen on from schmarcelona 11/18 at 09:29 AMEconomist friend? Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 09:32 AMGood Saturday morning Mickey & everyone.
Love your story today, Mickey.
My experience with the NYC subway was like this:
On the platform stood a homeless man encased in his own world, reciting the most beautiful poetry in a loud and deeply moving voice. He was, by far, the most articulate person I had encountered on that trip.
Before our train arrived, my daughter, whom I was visiting at the time, said, “don’t freak out but there is a rat behind us running up & down the platform”, When I turned around, I saw a relatively small rodent paying no heed to us at all, just going about its business and our fellow passengers returning the favor by paying no heed to it.
Had many unique adventures while I was there, but that was my ultimate subway experience.
I totally fell in love with NYC, the good, the very good, and the not so good.
Posted by Canadian Observer on from 11/18 at 09:37 AMhe knows it´s complete voodoo as well, so we have fun.
Posted by owen on from schmarcelona 11/18 at 09:38 AMSpeaking of communism, this sounds like great news for the entire international community to me:
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/10616.htmlVive la France…
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 11/18 at 09:39 AMCO: Thanks for the story. As a lifetime New Yorker, it’s always a kick when I bring visitors for their first subway trip. How about you, Cat Lady?
Owen: Voodoo is the ideal word, huh?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 09:56 AMI make that observation every day regarding people standing by the door. I’ve been in New York for over 6 years and I just can’t understand why they do it. I’m one of those who shoves my way to the middle of the car, but then I’m 6’4” and over 200lb. so people move outta my way. Then I stand in the open space and chukle at the people who push and shove into their little cluster by the door. I’m also in the habit of walking to the end of the platform, that way I get on either the first or last car. They are usually not as crowded. I come from the spawl of the midwest, and grew up in total car culture (like driving for 20 minutes for a loaf of bread) and am more than happy to put up with the headaches of mass transit.
Posted by Brian on from Brooklyn 11/18 at 09:59 AMto say it´s like guys with bones through their noses carrying spears and yabbering would be to insult all yabbering guys with bones through their noses carrying spears.
Posted by owen on from schmarcelona 11/18 at 10:01 AMI was in Rome last month for a visit to my girlfriend. She´s from the south though we stayed there with friends and relatives. Cars rule that place, it´s weird - even on the outskirts of town cars park lined up blocking the entire pavement so you spend most the time squeezing by the fenders of cars or skipping out onto the road. I´ve never been in a place with so little thought given to humans, you skitter along these skimpy pavements, it´s kind of like an affluent Calcutta. The people were lovely but there are far nicer places in Italy, though it was nice to have something make returning here feel like stepping back into a sleepy hamlet.
Usually in cities you can feel some of the character of the people who live there in the layout of the place and whathaveyou, like you can feel the eccentricity of local Barcelonafolk from the buildings and goofily useless monuments. Rome could contribute to confirming my thesis about it being built by extraterrestrials because all the architecture is so rigid and pompous and the people are so fuckin messy and fluid and they can barely organise to go for a cup of coffee without half an hour discussion, never mind take over the entire of Europe. It´s easy to pick up Italian if you speak Spanish and/or French but if you can´t it´s just as fun to watch the people´s hands dance as they talk.Posted by owen on from schmarcelona 11/18 at 10:18 AMBrian: I am a last car/first car person, too. I’d rather miss a train and be late than get into one the crowded middle subway cars.
Owen: When someone tells me they’re studying economics, I’m always tempted to say: “Do I tell you my problems?”
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 10:18 AMSorry, Owen, I was typing as you posted your excellent story. I think you have the line of the day so far: it´s kind of like an affluent Calcutta. My father was born just outside Rome and, to my everlasting regret, didn’t teach me Italian as a child. I learned some from having many Italian friends in my teens but it’s not the same.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 10:21 AMGood day Expendables,
I’ve never been in NYC’s subway, but London’s Tube system is pretty freaky. Particularly some of the downtown stations where you have to navigate an intricate series of stairways steep enough to induce vertigo and pass through many, ever deeper platforms to reach the line you want to get on. Funny the things that stick in memory - I remember ‘Ani-Vivisection” posters being place of the usual ads inside the trains, and Muhammad Ali posters for a campaign on Parkinson awareness. Of course the strangest thing (not so strange in today’s climate) were all the signs which read “Bombs - Be Alert”. It took me a while to connect the dots there...it was all about IRA bombings in the city’s letterboxes and litterbins, but it was completely strange to me at the time.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canadia 11/18 at 12:46 PMAnd a HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY FROM ME AS WELL, MARK HAND! Thanks for reminding us of these important dates, Mickey - I actually used to be in regular email contact with Mark but then it ‘fizzled’ out, as such contacts too often do.
Another sunny day lies ahead - it is 6:30 am on a Sunday morning and quite warm already.
Hello to Rosemarie, Owen, The Canadian observer (I share your love of NYC), James, Brian and Amelopsis. Be as well as possible ..
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 11/18 at 02:29 PMHello Expendables.
Caution: if you fail to supply an e-mail address, the message is wiped.
It is November weather in MA, almost three weeks late. I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ve got to harvest the last of my organic parsley (this may qualify as hate speech in some parts of the US).
Re: Sophocles: I’ve never seen the door crowding MZ describes, but the comments on antiquated infrastructure are very American. The right wing recently jumped on Al-Jazeera’s case for pointing some of this out, proving something I suppose.
In Berlin, the train system has the S-Bahn and U-Bahn - surface and underground. Sounds cool.I missed the playlist lyrics, so perdon:
Rush: Between The Wheels
from Grace Under Pressure (1984)To live between a rock and a hard place
In between time
Cruising in prime time
Soaking up the cathode raysTo live between the wars in our time
Living in real time
Holding the good time
Holding on to yesterdays[Chorus]
You know how that rabbit feels
Going under your speeding wheels
Bright images flashing by
Like windshields towards a fly
Frozen in the fatal climb
But the wheels of time
Just pass you by
Wheels can take you around
Wheels can cut you down
We can go from boom to bust
From dreams to a bowl of dust
We can fall from rockets’ red glare
Down to “Brother can you spare...”
Another war
Another wasteland
And another lost generationIt slips between your hands like water
This living in real time
A dizzying lifetime
Reeling by on celluloidStruck between the eyes
By the big-time world
Walking uneasy streets
Hiding beneath the sheets
Got to try and fill the void
*******
Yeah, it’s really cheerful, but sometimes a dirge is called for.The captcha word for this message is “class.” I thought this didn’t exist in the US.
Posted by Zenprole on from Urth 11/18 at 02:39 PMI got lost on the U-bahn much more than I did on the Spanish metro, which I thought should have been the reverse. the strangest thing about Germany´s commuters is that at the traffic lights the pedestrians wait to cross when the red man is showing, even if there are no cars on the road - something that drives my sane German friends mad. They´re waiting for nothing! said a Palestinian guest at my house during summer, he´s been living there some years. A few years ago, a friend of mine crossed the road safely while the red man was showing and a woman on the other side of the road with a child covered the little girl´s eyes.
Posted by owen on from schmarcelona 11/18 at 03:31 PMA dirge sung by Geddy Lee is still just a little cheerful - his elfin voice can’t help it.
Owen as a child I remember being amazed at the giant bendy Strassenbahn.
I’m suprised that german efficiency hasn’t devised a workaround for the ‘red-man’ problem...it certainly makes no sense to wait purposelessly.Posted by Amelopsis on from Canadia 11/18 at 05:34 PMHi Amelopsis and everyone else, too. I don’t have a subway story because I have not been on a NY subway since the 80’s when I was in NYC at a big protest.
Today in Bennington, the day was designated as a change-your-light-bulbs and save electricity day. Many of us went to the hardware store and bought those light bulbs that look like curlicues. I just switched mine. Reminds me of an old family story. When my grandmother came to this country from Poland back in the early 1900s, she did not want her house to be electrified. She said that electricity was not safe or good for people. She never allowed it to be wired. I wonder what Grandma would think of TV and the Internet.Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 11/18 at 05:44 PMHello again, my friends. Excellent conversations today. I have a story to add. I was just in Washington Square Park with my friend, Seth. Nice vibe among the folk singers, chess players, hackysack games, etc. We saw two guys getting into costume: one as Robin Hood, the other as Friar Tuck. I joked to Seth: If they plan to steal from the rich and give to the poor, I’m sticking around. In reality, I just figured it was NYU film students in action. Well, in a matter of minutes, the Robin Hood guy pulls out a megaphone and starts running through the park, yelling something about free money. Then he begins to toss clean, crisp bills into the air...dozens of them. After a beat, the people catch on and mob him...but not as madly as I expected. Seth and I moved closer to see if it was real money (it was) and as it floated toward us, Seth deftly grabbed some singles and a five. He gave me $4 and we watched Robin Hood dash out of the park. Classic NYC moment, I’d say.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 05:56 PMMickey, I like the story about your serendipitous day in the park.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 11/18 at 06:13 PMRead the story, agree with it, cant make a Jackass a race horse though, that means people wont listen till it’s to late. That’s not new I know. The older I get the smarter I get, the smarter I get the more I realize, people don’t listen. Wisdom is worthless, when your trying to teach three hundred million retards, oh excuse me, mentally challenged, that there stinking ways are going to kill them, till their breathing gets extremely labored they won’t listen.
HeeeeeHawwwww
RonPosted by Ronald L. Stanford on from Ramona, CA 11/23 at 11:30 PM
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