The New Yorkest

Official New Yorkest Book Group

nobody@vox.com(heath) — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 00:09:39 -0500

Molly's got it going on!

This is the official New Yorkest book group title for this month.

And if you want to join us, please do.

Should be rad.

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Continuing Education

nobody@vox.com(heath) — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 19:32:20 -0500

I just got the spring 2007 course catalog from the New School in the mail today. I'm a growing fan of adult education, and if I had $500 to drop, I'd drop it at the New School, which, since 1919, has been offering courses of all sorts. With a slightly lefty bent, the school sports the first facility in the United States designed for adult ed. That's some history!

It's little surprise that my interest in the New School sticks largely to its city- and history-based curricula. Here are some of the courses I'm champing at the bit over:

Burn, Baby, Burn: Riots and Urban Disorder Since 1863
History of Twentieth-Century Manhattan: The Power of the Past, the Promise of the Future
Urban Spaces: Sociological Perspectives
The City Inside-Out: Layers, Shapes, and Spaces
Black Manhattan: A Cultural History of New York
Night Fever: Music and Culture in the 1970s
Henry James: Short Fiction
Introduction to Media Studies
Writing the City: Urban Memoirs

And so I announce the Heath Row Continuing Education Fund. If you donate money to my PayPal account (at this email address) -- indicating that it's for this use -- I will count it toward taking a course at the New School. I'll detail my experiences and studies in full right here, in this blog. If I raise at least 50% of a course's fee, I'll pony up the second half myself (I'm no freeloader!).

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Planet NYC

nobody@vox.com(heath) — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 18:54:08 -0500

WelcomeToNewYork

Planet magazine continues to celebrate it's landing in New York City with a party next Wednesday. From their email invitation:

We hope you’ll make it out for part 2 of the ongoing celebration of our arrival in New York City, which will culminate with a specially themed “Welcome to New York” issue of PLANET Magazine at the end of 2007.
Welcome to New York is dedicated to everyone who has ever come to New York City in search creative and personal freedom, to pursue their art or just the art of living, and this includes just about everyone we know -- from every corner of the earth -- as well as a pantheon of inspirations from the recent and distant Manhattan half-life.

I've been receiving their missives for awhile now, have never read the magazine, but have been impressed by the meaning of what they're trying to do.

Welcome to New York! Can't wait to see the special issue

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Sweet Dreams, City People

nobody@vox.com(heath) — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 12:07:00 -0500

Goodnightny

Last night, while browsing the main Barnes & Noble
store at 18th Street, I saw this charming little board book.

Good Night New York City by Adam Gamble and Joe Veno basically walks your child through saying goodnight to some of the city's best sights and sites. But it's the last spread that tugged on my heart strings: The focus turns to New Yorkers.

Two questions arise. One, when was the last time you thought of yourself as a New Yorker among New Yorkers -- and thought of the city's population as an aggregate?

And two, what's your favorite children's book that relates to New York City? Let me know, and I'll compile a list.

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[Insert Name Here] and the 40 Thieves

nobody@vox.com(heath) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 21:10:28 -0400

I've been going to the same bodega on the corner for two years now, and I just tonight learned one of the proprietor's names.

My inspiration? People in the neighborhood call him Ali Baba. And while he is of Indian, Pakistani, or other descent, that surely can't be his name. Can it?

It's not.

It's Ahmed.

That's a pretty common and easy to pronounce name, so I'm intrigued why people call him Ali Baba. His answer?

"It's a nickname. People here can't say it. Ali Baba is easier."

Not so much.

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Flood Zoning Out

nobody@vox.com(heath) — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 21:44:39 -0400

According to a recent mailing from the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the street on which I live is smack dab on the border of hurricane evacuation zones B and C, which means that I may experience storm surge flooding from a moderate (category 2 or higher) or major (category 3 and 4) hurricane making landfall just south of New York City.

Because much of McCarren Park is landfill, I'm not surprised. I am surprised that there aren't more evacuation centers to handle all of the area residents. The nearest evacuation center to where I live is at HS 610 Aviation High School in Queens -- Queens! -- more than two miles away.

That said, kudos to the OEM for sending out that mailing. I'm glad to at least know where I'm supposed to go should a hurricane hit! Do you know whether you live in an evacuation zone?

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Book Tourism

nobody@vox.com(heath) — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:55:27 -0400

The new issue of Cometbus is out -- I just picked up a copy Saturday -- and it features a great piece entitled "A New York Used Book Report" that highlights some of the better bookstores in the five boroughs, including some I didn't know about in my neighborhood, Greenpoint. I snagged my copy at Somethin' Else in Park Slope, but I'm sure you can find it elsewhere in town... Kudos on another fine issue, Aaron!

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Brooklyn, Industrious

nobody@vox.com(heath) — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:06:20 -0400

Lexy Funk, cofounder of Brooklyn Industries, was profiled by BrandChannel late last month.

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Subway Serious

nobody@vox.com(heath) — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:29:58 -0400

Kudos to Matt Green and Donald Badaczewski, two men who take after my own heart.

At 6 a.m. today, the duo set off on a journey that would take them to -- and through -- every single stop on the New York City subway system. While I've often thought of riding every line from end to end, they aim to do so within the next 25 hours.

They're even leaving frequent voicemail messages detailing their progress. You can call 718-407-4697, but you can't leave a message of encouragement -- their mailbox is full. When I called moments ago, they were heading up to the Bronx on the 1 train.

Best of luck, gents!

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Mark of the Mole People

nobody@vox.com(heath) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:23:06 -0400

Tonight, I watched Marc Singer's 2000 documentary Dark Days. It's a fascinating portrayal of some of the 150 people who lived in the largely unused train tunnels underneath and along Riverside Park until they were "evicted" in the early '90s. Many had built elaborate homes out of found materials, and it was amazing how much of a normal life they could lead underground, living in homes with working kitchens, electricity -- even showers. Apparently, the tunnel is still accessible.

Watching the film made me track down my copy of Jennifer Toth's book The Mole People, which details "life in the tunnels beneath New York City." I know I haven't posted a review of The Gangs of New York yet, so we haven't wrapped up July's book club yet -- and I know it's now almost the end of August -- but I think The Mole People would make a good choice for the next book for New Yorkests.

And it might be fodder for a weekend outing!

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