Exploring NYC through 26 words
Vaticinator:
On the local train
the seer in the corner rhapsodizes
to all, but really to himself, he knows
what is good and true, but he’s lost sight.
He sleeps fitfully splayed across the bench
a waking dream, recurring nightmare,
the lullaby of Next stop
36th Street
and Steinway
and Northern Boulevard.
I’m going home,
I’m going home.
Melanie Daly
by Brandt Wrightsman
I went to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on 110th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan. The Cathedral is stunning, but I was more dazzled by the surprising inhabitant of the Cathedral’s gardens. Here is even more evidence of the breathtaking unpredictability and wonder of New York.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqKhMhMw1Bw
In trying to understand the sky and heavens above New York, I decided to take the most simple approach I could muster: observation. Everyday for two weeks I took reference footage of the sky above New York with my cellphone in the off chance that I would capture something that I haven’t noticed during my day to day operations.
At the end of those two weeks of observation I met a man, Jonathon (with his kids), on the sidewalk outside of a small East Village congregation and he proceeded to welcome me inside and talk with me about his perception of heaven. I recorded our conversation on my cellphone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8OqHDMdQks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKoKf0dCreI See Bill Brand’s phenomenal moving image subway art as a brillant FOUDROYANT New York City experience.
On his land use and transportation blog, Starts and Fits, Aaron Donovan, examines Charlotte Street, and the effort to bring suburbia to the Bronx in “New Hope in the Bronx.” The post is from 2006, but thoroughly examines the history of development in the area using detailed maps and diagrams. If you’re interested in urban planning and Bronx history, it’s a fascinating read. While on the site check out his other posts on locations from St. John the Divine to DUMBO, and browse the Planning and Urbanism link collection.
In case you were wondering, yes, The New York Public Library (NYPL) has a YouTube channel, and the “Treasures of The New York Public Library” playlist is an amazing resource for all that obscure archival footage you never knew you were looking for. Start here with “The New York World’s Fair, 1939-40” and then travel to Manhattan’s Sputyen Duyvil Creek in “Mapping the World” with curator’s from the Map Division.